IndiGo is set to enter the China market by launching new flight between Delhi and Chengdu, which will become the airline’s  19th international destination. This will be the first non-stop service between Chengdu to India, and will be effective from September 15, 2019. The aircraft on the route would be an Airbus 320, with a capacity of 180 seats. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “This is truly a milestone moment for all of us at IndiGo. “India is witnessing a much higher growth rate with respect to aviation and currently the India-China route is underserved by Indian carriers. With our plan to operate non-stop daily flights to this Chengdu we are providing the much needed connectivity between the two destinations. China is a market with immense potential and holds prominent trade, cultural and tourism values. We hope to further strengthen this relation by announcing our entry into China.”  

Speaking on the launch of Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign by NTB, Suraj Vaidya, National Coordinator, Visit Nepal 2020, says, “We will be conducting the first Nepal Tourism Investment Summit in January 2020. We are doing it as a strategy to bring Nepal back in the forefront. Also, about the Visit Nepal Year 2020- the last one was held in 2011, and since then, probably the world knows Nepal through a very negative picture. It is just not the numbers that we are looking at from India, but also the products. We want to show much more of Nepal, primarily, beyond its conventions- Mt. Everest and Lumbini.”

Discussing InterGlobe’s aggressive plans for the Indian market, JB Singh, President and CEO, InterGlobe Hotels, says, “We are looking to develop a second ibis in Goa which will be an ibis Styles. In fact, we are also looking for sites to develop a third property there. We are going to start a new project in BKC, Bandra Kurla, which will be a 150-200 room project. We are looking at developing more hotels in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune.  

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) launched the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign in New Delhi on June 12. The event has been organised to help Nepal receive two million tourists by 2020. Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer, Nepal Tourism Board was present at the event. Commenting on the increase of more than 25 per cent in tourist arrivals from India in 2018, SanJeet, Director, Buzz Travel Marketing India, says, “The Indian market continues to be one of the most important contributors of international visitors to Nepal. Over the years, there has been a steady increase in both MiCE and FIT movement to Nepal from India, a trend that led to the double-digit growth in arrivals in the previous year. Friendly relations between the two South Asian nations and Nepal’s growing focus on tourism from India have helped cement the bond even further.” Nepal is also set to add 4000 rooms in the four and five-star categories, in Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara. A number of international hotel chains, including Hilton and Marriott, are expected to operate properties in Nepal in the coming years. These positive developments coupled with the innovative approach of the government and the tourism board are sure to make 2020 a riveting year for tourism in Nepal!

Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) has entered a tripartite agreement with SNCF (French National Railway Company) and AFD, a French agency, to support the railway station development programme in India. Under this agreement, AFD will provide in-kind grant financing of up to 700,000 Euro through French National Railways (SNCF)-Hubs and Connexions as a technical partner, to IRSDC. This will impose no financial liability on IRSDC or Indian Railways. The agreement was signed in the presence of Suresh Angadi, Minister of State of Railways, Government of India; Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Government of France; Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France in India and other senior officials.Speaking on this occasion, Angadi said, “India and France have a strong and long-standing prosperous partnership in the railway sector. French Railways (SNCF) in the past has been associated with Indian Railways in conducting a speed upgrade study for Delhi-Chandigarh section and development of Ludhiana and Ambala stations. I am sure that this effort will go a long way in further strengthening Indo-French cooperation and will help Indian Railways in positioning its stations to world-class standards.”

In a bid to strengthen its international network, IndiGo has launched non-stop daily flight on Kolkata – Hong Kong route, which would be effective from August 20, 2019. Bookings for the flight are open and the one-way fare would be Rs 10,999. The aircraft on the route would be an Airbus 320, with a capacity of 180 seats. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “As part of our international expansion plans, we are happy to announce the launch of a daily direct flight on the Kolkata – Hong Kong route. We are committed to strengthen and grow our international network, in line with our overall growth strategy to meet the requirement of both business and leisure travellers. It is our constant endeavour to provide flexibility of choice to our customers as IndiGo continues to offer on-time, affordable, courteous and hassle-free flying experience consistently.” Departure                                              Arrival                                           Capacity Kolkata                22:40                     Hong Kong          04:55                     180 seats Hong Kong          05:50                     Kolkata                 07:40

Visitor arrivals to Mauritius from India went down -24.3% in May. Speaking to Tourism Breaking News, Vivek Anand, Country Manager- India, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), says, “The reason tourist arrivals from India has declined is because of the decrease in the number of flights flying from the various Indian cities to Mauritius. Earlier, there were 32 flights flying out, now there are only 22.” The total number of Indian visitors to Mauritius in the month of May were 10,463 compared to last year’s  13,815.

The secretary general of ICAO, Fang Liu, and the Director General and CEO of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac, have officially launched new ICAO legal guidance on the management of unruly and disruptive passengers. “Unruly and disruptive passenger conduct can pose distinct threats to the safety and security of aircraft, flight crew and passengers,” said Liu. “It can also generate costly disruptions to airlines and passengers alike in situations when aircraft must be diverted to manage these incidents.” “Enhancing safety is the shared goal for governments and airlines, and deterring unruly and disruptive behaviour on flights is key to this,” said de Juniac. “IATA welcomes today’s new ICAO guidance, which is intended to help governments address unruly passengers under their own national law. It covers many practical measures for consideration by policymakers, including ‘on the spot’ fines to boost enforcement action.” The new ICAO manual on the legal aspects of unruly and disruptive passengers is a key result emerging from the adoption of the protocol to amend the convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft. Its chief aim is to assist national governments in legislating appropriate and better harmonized legal measures to prevent and deal with unruly and disruptive passenger incidents on international flights.

To promote Mauritius as a golfing destination, MTPA organised Mauritius Tourism Invitational Golf Tournaments in collaboration with IGTA , MGTA & Air Mauritius in three metro cities of India, namely: Bangalore, Mumbai & NCR Delhi.  The events in all three cities were well attended by players, corporates, businessmen, senior persons from the travel industry and golf enthusiasts.  The tournament had prizes in two handicap categories and one for the Best Gross Player. In addition to the nine main prize winners, there were lucky draw winners who walked away with half board couple stay vouchers by The LUX Collective,  Heritage Resorts, Beachcomber Hotels and Sun Resorts. MTPA India hosted the top three winners from each city for the finals in Mauritius at Heritage Golf Club on 31st May. The winner of Mauritius-India Golf Cup 2019 was Mr Arjun Mallik and he was felicitated and awarded at the World Travel Award held in Mauritius on 1st June 2019. While speaking to the media, Mr Vivek Anand, Country Manager, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority was overwhelmed at the success of the initiative and said, “Mauritius, besides being an ideal round the year destination for the entire family, also boasts ten 18 hole golf courses, each offering a unique golfing experience. He added, “MTPA plans to do more such events to attract more Indian golfers to the island.”

Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo will be warmly welcoming guests back from Wednesday 12 June 2019 onwards. The Shangri-La Group is grateful to the local authorities and the global community for their outpouring of support and messages of commendations received these past seven weeks. We remain deeply appreciative of the selfless service and courageous spirit demonstrated by our colleagues and the Sri Lankan community in the face of such adversity.   Our heartfelt sympathies and support continue to be with those who have suffered injuries and lost loved ones on 21 April 2019. They will always be remembered.   Shangri-La stands united as one with the Sri Lankan community. With everyone’s support, we will come back stronger.   Our team’s passion for service remains undiminished and we look forward to welcoming the public back to Shangri-La Colombo.