Join an exclusive Festivals #InAbuDhabi webinar on Thursday, 26 September 2024 at 3 PM IST. Explore the vibrant festivals and cultural events happening in Abu Dhabi, offering insights into the region’s rich traditions. For more details, contact Jaspreet Kaur at +91 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. 

The Phocuswright Global Travel Market Report 2024 highlights the increasing dominance of online travel, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% between 2023 and 2026. By 2026, online bookings are forecasted to account for 65% of all travel bookings globally, up from 61% in 2023. 

During his visit to India, Martin Nydegger, CEO, Switzerland Tourism, stated, “While traveling less is not possible, our strategy is to aim for travel better. This is our strategy for long-haul markets like India. We aim to keep the market growing by steering the traction towards longer stays, extension of seasons, and sustainable travel.” 

The Intrepid Foundation, a non-profit arm of Intrepid Travel- the world’s largest adventure tourism experience provider announced the launch and flag-off of Holy City Rickshaws to promote sustainable travel and tourism in Varanasi. The initiative will have ten e-rickshaws in partnership with ACCESS Development, a not-for-profit organization that female drivers in Varanasi will drive. The Holy City Rickshaw company in Varanasi marks a significant milestone in Intrepid’s commitment to sustainable tourism and empowering the local community. This initiative, a collaboration between The Intrepid Foundation and ACCESS Development Services, aims to provide aspirational employment opportunities to women from low-income households in Varanasi. Intrepid is promoting eco-friendly transportation and supporting cultural preservation in one of India’s most sacred cities through this initiative. Holy City Rickshaw Program will train women to drive and maintain e-rickshaws for city tours and support them with financial and business literacy. The female-led tours will be incorporated into several of Intrepid’s India trip itineraries, providing a greener mode of transport for travellers to explore local neighbourhoods and interact with the community. The Flag-off ceremony was held at IUCTE, Sundar Bagia, Naria-BLW Road, Varanasi in the presence of eminent personalities including Rajendra Kumar Rawat, Deputy Director, Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department and Prof. Prem Narayan Singh – Director, IUCTE, BHU, Varanasi and others. Also, Biheng Zhang – General Manager, The Intrepid Foundation and Rama Mahendru- Country General Manager- India, Intrepid Travel were present at the occasion. The Intrepid Foundation, Intrepid Travel’s non-profit, was created in 2002 to empower travellers to give back. Connecting people and communities around the world, The Intrepid Foundation allows travellers to support impact partners in the places they’ve visited. With Intrepid operating in more than 100 …

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (MoTCE) of the Republic of Indonesia in collaboration with Badung Regency Government of Bali and Indonesia tourism industry holds a Tourism Sales Mission in the South Asia region on 9-18 September 2024. The tourism roadshow will be held in 4 cities in India, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi and Jaipur, and completed in the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu.   The event is an active collaboration between the MoTCE with Badung Regency Government of Bali and Indonesia tourism industry to maintain Indonesia’s existence as a top of mind destination for the South Asia travel market, particularly India and Nepal. The selected cities were chosen through careful consideration, New Delhi and Bangalore were chosen because of the availability of direct flights to Bali. Meanwhile, Chennai, Jaipur and Kathmandu (Nepal) were chosen because they have shown a positive trend of outbound tourists visiting Indonesia.   As of July 2024, there were 417,703 Indian outbound tourists visiting Indonesia, contributing 62.64% from the 671,136 Indian outbound targets of the MoTCE in 2024. Indian outbound are in fifth place of international tourists visiting Indonesia and second place of international tourists visiting Bali as the most popular Indonesia tourist destination.   Aside from targeting the Indian outbound market, the sales mission will also be held in Kathmandu, Nepal, considering the significant positive growth of Nepal outbound tourists visiting Indonesia. In 2023, tourist visits from Nepal had increased by 186% compared to the previous year. As of June 2024, visits by Nepali tourists had reached 3,993, an increase of 65.5% from the same period in 2023. Nepal as a geographically landlocked country, is one of the potential …

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman, in partnership with Ritz Carlton Al-Bustan Palace, Mark Tours, and Oman Air, invites the Indian travel trade to an exclusive webinar on Oman’s destinations and product offerings. Gain valuable insights and updates for your clients on 18th September at 3 PM IST. Don’t miss the opportunity to win exciting prizes! For more information, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532. 

Resigning from his post as MD of Global Panorama Showcase (GPS), Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Jagsons Travels, said, “Due to pre-occupation and other commitments, I resign as MD of GPS. Rishiraj Singh Anand takes over as the show’s MD. Sharing updates for GPS, Rishiraj says, “We have the roadmap for GPS till 2026 ready with 14-city shows. We will have 8 cities every year with 4 key cities of Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Kochi, as constant. We also have our EDWIN planned, including Spain in November, Turkiye in December, Bali in March, etc and Ladakh and South Africa will continue year-on-year.” 

VFS Global was honoured with the ‘Process Excellence in Visa Outsourcing’ award at the India Travel Awards. Ragini Abichandani, General Manager, Operations & SPOC, IRCC South Asia, and Kersi Dastoor, GM, Operations, received the award. VFS Global operates over 3,400 centers in 153 countries, processing 292 million applications since 2001.   

Padraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), recently unveiled the results of SITE’s Incentive Travel and Motivational Events Global Survey. One of the major takeaways from the survey is the dominance of the finance and insurance sectors in using incentive travel programmes. According to Gilligan, “Finance and insurance have consistently been the largest users of incentive travel, and this year is no different.” These two sectors accounted for 35% of all responses, underscoring their ongoing reliance on incentive travel to drive performance and engagement. 

People are increasingly seeking out lesser-known destinations and more meaningful travel experiences. In response, Viacation is positioning itself at the forefront of these trends. Jatinder Paul Singh, Co-Founder & Global CEO, Viacation, said, “We’re expanding our offerings to include eco-conscious and wellness-focused travel packages, and using AI to offer personalised itineraries.”