Reaffirming its credo of ‘Responsible Luxury’ with a comprehensive focus on sustainability, health and hygiene, ITC Hotels is proud to announce that 3 of its properties in India have been ranked as the world’s top 3 LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Zero Carbon certified hotels, a first-of-its-kind achievement globally. ITC Windsor, Bengaluru, became the 1st hotel in the world while ITC Grand Chola is one of the largest hotels in the world to have received the prestigious LEED Zero Carbon Certification. ITC Gardenia has become the third hotel in the world to receive the certification.  LEED Zero Carbon recognizes buildings operating with net-zero carbon emission and LEED® Platinum is the highest rating awarded by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). ITC Hotels is the world’s largest chain with the maximum number of LEED Platinum Certified Properties as per USGBC. From using renewable energy and recycling solid waste to conserving water, actively mitigating single-use plastic, and reducing the carbon footprint at every step, ITC Hotels have been delivering luxury experiences with planet positive offerings embedded in product, processes, people & progress. Over 40% of consumable food materials used at ITC Hotels is sourced locally and the properties have adopted infra–red based efficient cooking in kitchen leading to near 20% energy savings.  Living upto its promise of ‘Responsible Luxury’, ITC Hotels launched a path–breaking“WeAssure” programme, adopting highest standards and protocols in health, hygiene, safety and infection control management. For this initiative, ITC Hotels became the first hotel chain in the world to receive Platinum level certification under DNV’s My Care Infection risk management programme. In addition, the hotel group introduced waste segregation methods to achieve more than 99% waste recycling and also pioneered mitigation of single use …

Secretary Tourism, Arvind Singh said that the Ministry of Tourism with the objective to provide experience to the tourists launched Swadesh Darshan Scheme and has till now sanctioned 76 Projects. With the learnings of this scheme, we have now revamped the Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0. “The idea of Swadesh Darshan 2.0 is to undertake holistic development with the vision to develop Sustainable and Responsible Tourist Destinations. While formulating the guidelines for SD 2.0 we have kept various elements in mind in order to undertake destination development in a sustainable and responsible manner. Through the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 sustainable and responsible tourism practices will be implemented in various projects and initiatives. The Scheme will encourage the adoption of principles of sustainable tourism including environmental, socio-cultural and economic sustainability”, he added.

The hospitality sector is a critical part of the tourism industry. COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on Maharashtra, and the state government has been taking concrete steps to revive the tourism industry. In this regard, the Maharashtra government had announced that from 1 April 2021, hotels in the state registered with the Union Ministry of Tourism to be charged an industrial rate for electricity, seed fee, water tax, property tax, development tax, increased carpet area index, and non-agricultural tax. Hotels that are not registered with the Union Ministry of Tourism will be charged tax at the industrial rate only after meeting the stipulated criteria for attaining basic minimum standards. The state government also established an expert committee for this cause and also ensured that the process of meeting the criteria is completed within the duration of two months. Following that, hotels that meet the conditions for the online application process are levied taxes and fees at the industrial rate. The state government issued this decision in compliance with the approval given at the cabinet meeting on 5 November 2020. The mechanism in place is assisting in the growth of hospitality businesses by providing industry status in a fast and effective manner, as well as promoting sustainable practices.

Singapore is ready to welcome fully-vaccinated Indian visitors back to cruise from its shore. To update the trade about Singapore’s latest cruise offerings, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Resorts World Cruises (RWC) and Royal Caribbean International (RCI) are organising the ‘Reimagine Cruising from Singapore’ on Thursday, 9 June 2022 at 11:30 am IST. Register on https://event.webinarjam.com/register/405/5v7qwi1w or contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. 

India-focused Cordelia Cruises is planning to pump in $1 billion by 2025 for acquiring at least three cruise ships as it aims to target the domestic market. Waterways Leisure Tourism CEO Jurgen Bailom said with government’s focus and support, the investment from this Indian venture could rise to $1.5-2 billion to meet the growing appetite for cruising by Indians over the next few years. 

Research conducted by the WTTC has revealed the Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to the Indian economy could surpass pre-pandemic levels this year, with a year-on-year growth of 20.7%. The forecast from the WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Report (EIR), shows the sector’s contribution to the nation’s economy could reach almost ₹15.9 trillion (U.S. $215 billion) in 2022, 1% above 2019 levels. 

Tanes Petsuwan, Deputy Governor for International Marketing – Asia and the South Pacific, Tourism Authority of Thailand, revealed that the duration of Indian stays has increased post-pandemic. Pre pandemic the average stay of Indian traveller used to be five and a half days per trip which rose to six and a half days per trip after easing the travel restrictions. 

A new Asia Pacific survey by Marriott International revealed that over 81% of customers believe that in-person engagements with clients are vital for business recovery. The findings also revealed that 53% of customers felt face-to-face activities were important to motivating and establishing bonding among teams and building company culture. 

Findings from a study by GlobalData reveals that as luxury travellers resume travelling both domestically and abroad post-pandemic, they may begin to seek experiences that are more immersive and exceptional than in previous years. With travellers determined to make up for lost time, 2022 could see an increase in holiday budgets for luxury travellers, with an uptick in demand for ‘once in a lifetime’ adventures. 

India was ranked 54th place in a global travel and tourism development index by World Economic Forum, down from 46th in 2019, but still remained on the top within South Asia. Japan has topped the global charts, followed by the US, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, UK, Singapore and Italy in the top ten.