Kerala Tourism launched its 24×7 WhatsApp chatbot ‘Maya’ to enable tourists to access all information and updates about the tourism ecosystem in the state. Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said “Maya will serve as a virtual travel assistant for tourists to ask and get complete information they need for a hassle-free travel experience in the state”. 

Fortune Hotels, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, has signed two new operating agreements for hotels in popular leisure destinations of Kalimpong (West Bengal) and Kufri (Himachal Pradesh). With this addition, the group enhances its brand-print in the country and further boosts its leisure portfolio and inventory.

ForwardKeys has revealed that Tickets for travel to key APAC destinations are on the rise. And it is India leading the way forward. India has recovered 80% of 2019’s level in the week of 5th March 2022. “The success behind India’s reactivation is the fact that India had announced in advance its reopening plan for this year, generating awareness and interest,” says Nan Dai, Market Analyst at ForwardKeys.

In a study commissioned by Travelport and conducted by Toluna Research with thousands of respondents from seven different countries, has revealed that on average, travellers visit a whopping 38 different websites before booking their trip. “While the last two+ years have been a significant challenge, the global travel industry recovered more than 50% of its gross activity by the end of 2021,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer for Travelport.

Manoharan Periasamy, Senior Director, International Promotion Division (Asia & Africa), Tourism Malaysia, speaking at the 4th edition of Gulf Travel Show has said that they are looking at confidence building as they are now ready to welcome back tourists as they are opening the borders from 1stApril, 2022. He also revealed that 90% of their population has been fully vaccinated and have even got the booster dose.

“In 2022, for trade engagement, we are planning several destination trainings in Tier 2 markets our Annual India Roadshow in Q3 in Delhi & Mumbai”, said Sara Sodhi Juneja, Country Manager – India & UAE, Visit Finland. She further revealed about Finland’s e-training platform. She said, “Finland has launched its brand new destination e-training platform Finland Travel Pro. In the platform, travel industry professionals around the world can learn about Finnish touristic attractions, what to do during all four seasons and get an overview on Finnish tourism companies. The platform is available in English and In addition to desktop version, Finland Travel Pro is also available as mobile application. The platform is targeted for international travel trade companies globally and it aims to increase the desire to promote and sell travel to Finland. Additionally, In 2022, for trade engagement we are planning several destination trainings in Tier 2 markets and our Annual India Roadshow in Q3 in Delhi & Mumbai”.

In order to create a robust framework and synergy amongst the Central Government Ministries, State Governments, and Private Sector for promoting India as a Medical and Wellness Tourism destination, the Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism. To provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of Medical Tourism, the Ministry of Tourism has constituted a National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board with the Minister of Tourism as its Chairman. As part of its ongoing activities, the Ministry of Tourism, releases global print, electronic and online media campaigns in important and potential markets overseas, under the ‘Incredible India’ brand line, to promote various tourism destinations and products of the country. Digital promotions are also regularly undertaken through the Social Media accounts of the Ministry on different themes including the theme of Medical Tourism. 

The government will remove the remaining restrictions on international travel for all passengers ahead of the Easter holidays, the Transport Secretary announced. From 4 am Friday 18 March, all COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form (PLF) for arrivals into the UK, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated. This change, therefore, removes the need for unvaccinated passengers to take a pre-departure test and a day 2 post-arrival test. 

At Goa, a new airport should open later this year, one of few during the period of the coronavirus pandemic. As it will be heavily tourist-oriented there will be great interest around the world in how it performs during the winter 2022-23 period – the acid test for the industry’s ‘recovery’ ahead of schedule.  The airport is scheduled to begin operation in Aug-2022, said Center for Civil Aviation in a recent report. 

The development of Tourism is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. However, the Ministry of Tourism under its Swadesh Darshan scheme since its inception has sanctioned 76 projects under 13thematic circuits including ‘Buddhist theme’ for the development of tourism infrastructure in the country. The projects under the scheme were identified for development in consultation with the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations and sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of suitable detailed project reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilization of funds released earlier, etc.