Category Archives: Agents

South African Tourism deepens value proposition for Indian travellers with exclusive deals in partnership with Air Seychelles

South African Tourism announced the launch of an exclusive India airfare campaign in partnership with Air Seychelles. The campaign will run for a month between 25th July to 25th August 2022, offering return tickets on the Mumbai to Johannesburg route for INR 38,148 only. Travel will be valid between 25th July 2022 to 31st January 2023. Air Seychelles is also offering an additional 20% discount on the base fare for consumers who use the promo code 00G4S51T. At a time when fuel prices and air fares are rising, this value-driven offering by the tourism board is expected to significantly support and encourage the rapidly growing Indian tourist footfalls to South Africa. Through this targeted digital campaign, South African Tourism hopes to engage with millennials, double-income-no-kid households, and Indian families. The campaign will showcase the value-friendly propositions offered by the Rainbow Nation, allowing travellers to splurge more on wellness and experiences by saving on air fares. This conversion campaign is an extension of the More & More campaign launched by the tourism board earlier this year and will drive consumers to make their travel bookings with direct calls to action. Earlier this year, the tourism board outlined a strategic roadmap to garner 64% YoY increase in Indian visitors in 2022. With over 11,274 Indian visitors travelling to South Africa between January to April 2022 itself, the tourism board is well on track to surpass these targets. Speaking about the partnership, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism said, “It has been heartwarming to see the Indian travel fraternity respond positively to and welcome the unique adventures, immersive experiences and only-in-South-Africa activities that we …

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Qatar Tourism launches Qatar Specialist Programme to upskill global travel trade partners

Qatar Tourism has launched a new, interactive online training course – Qatar Specialist Programme – designed to enhance its global travel trade partners’ knowledge of Qatar’s diverse product offering and provide a recognised qualification for its global travel trade partners. The programme, which uses the latest technologies in digital learning, replaces the current Tawash programme and supports Qatar’s mission to become a leader in Service Excellence. Available in 11 languages, Qatar Specialist Programme equips trade partners with the relevant knowledge and tools to promote and sell Qatar internationally more effectively. Comprising several modules, each focusing on a particular aspect of Qatar’s tourism offering, the programme allows participants flexibility, letting them complete each module at their own pace, supported by an intuitive, engaging educational tool. Features include interactive maps and knowledge check quizzes. Vice President of International Markets, Philip Dickinson, said: “The Qatar Specialist Programme is another step towards supporting the global travel trade industry in working alongside Qatar Tourism to help drive significant growth in annual international visitor arrivals and welcoming six million visitors a year by 2030.” Qatar Specialist Programme focuses on various aspects of Qatar’s tourism offering, covering history, heritage, attractions and experiences. Partners who complete the full course will receive exclusive Qatar Specialist benefits and receive insider tips, itineraries and the latest information on accommodation and attractions.

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Konkan to get new Ropax vessel that will cruise from Mumbai to Kashid and Dighi

Redefining travel in the Konkan region is the Ropax vessel named ‘Kokan Gaurav’ that will cruise from Mumbai ferry wharf to Kashid and Dighi in Raigad. It is Asia’s first high-speed craft (HSC2000) Ropax vessel in India and is being built in Goa by Gaurav Cruises. This modern, high-speed craft, built under the IRS flag, will reduce the travel time from 5.50 hours to less than 3 hours, travelling 49 nautical miles, and will be the safest mode of transport in the region. The HSC craft, expected to be operational by January 2023, can ferry 260 passengers, 20 cars and 11 bikes from the ferry wharf and will have A/C, business and VIP classes. It will be a multi-purpose vessel for logistics, travel, tourism and entertainment. Many senior dignitaries from the Mumbai Port Trust, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Directorate General of Shipping, and Indian Register of Shipping graced the occasion. Gautam Pradhan (Director, Gaurav Cruises), said that he was guided and supported by all the Government authorities to make this project a possibility in spite of multiple challenges. He added that this Ropax will be a role model for others to follow. With the ambition to make tourism in Konkan of international standards he said that his resort in Shriwarhan will be accessible in 3.30 hours from Mumbai via Ropax and 45 minutes by chopper from Juhu. Pushkar Bendre (Director, Gaurav Cruises), said that this high-speed craft will change the way tourists travel in western parts of Maharashtra and will bring a much needed change in the travel to Konkan region.

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Travel trade and traveller is suffering, so is the destination coz of visas delays: TAFI

Speaking about the current visa delays, Ajay Prakash, TAFI President, says, “Business has been hampered by the current visa challenges for almost every country. It is easier to look at an Asian destination. So while the Indian travel trade and the traveller is suffering, the destination is also suffering. So it is in everyone’s interest to get this back on track.”

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Swadesh Darshan 2.0 aimed to enhance the experience of the tourists: MoT

The Ministry of Tourism has stated that the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 is aimed to enhance the experience of the tourists through a tourist-centric and destination-centric development approach to project planning and development. Its key principles are identified to achieve the vision of sustainable and responsible tourism. The intent is to enhance the contribution of tourism to the local economy and jobs.

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Sign up for Spain Specialist Program and attend the webinar on self-drive in Andalucia on July 23

Continuing with its series of exclusive webinars to help the travel trade discover Spain, the Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai, along with Andalucia Tourism, will conduct an exclusive one-hour webinar titled ‘Self Drive in Andalucia’ on Saturday, July 23 at 3pm IST. Sign up today for the Spain Specialist Program (SSP) and register now to attend the webinar. The webinar will conclude with an exciting quiz on the destination and the winner will leave with a 7-day trip to Andalucia in November 2022. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

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88% Indian travellers willing to share medical information in order to receive customised alerts on health concerns in locations they are visiting

New research released by Booking.com, the world’s leading online travel company, highlights Indian travelers Indians are eager to make their travel dreams a reality in the next few months while keeping health and safety in mind, with 88% of Indian travellers willing to share their medical history, current medical fitness and location tracking in order to potentially receive customized alerts on health concerns in the locations they are traveling to. Personalization in the post-pandemic world One of the biggest trends to emerge in the post-pandemic world is personalization. Traveller preferences are intimately personal, and a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works with 80% of Indian travellers who are okay to provide more of their personal information to their travel partners in exchange for a more personalized travel experience. The insights have been drawn from Booking.com’s inaugural APAC Travel Confidence Index, which provides a snapshot of how confident consumers feel about exploring the world again and their motivation to travel. The commissioned research, which polled 11,000 travellers from 11 countries and territories¹ across Asia Pacific, combined with the company’s proprietary data and insights as a digital travel leader for the past 25 years, offers insights into the region’s travel confidence. Top considerations and motivators for travellers while travelling The Travel Confidence Index explores the overall considerations, motivators, and concerns of consumers across Asia-Pacific and how this varies across the region. According to the research findings, the desire to travel remains strong amongst Indian travellers, with safety (67%), cost (44%) and the variety of destinations and hotels/resorts (42%) being the top three considerations. When asked about their biggest motivators to travel, ‘assurance on health and safety’ emerged as one of the top motivators …

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One Above Global DMC creates more awareness about Maldives hotel brands in Delhi and Bengaluru

With an aim to fuel growth from the Indian market, One Above Global DMC joined hands to create more awareness about Maldives hospitality brands in Delhi and Bengaluru in collaboration with Cora Cora Maldives and Centara Maldives recently. Close to selected 100 top outbound travel companies from each city were invited for the product presentation and cocktail event. Representing Cora Cora Maldives at Delhi event Karishma Kazi, Director, BlackTurtle said, the idea was to showcase the product and provide complete knowledge about the resort’s features and offerings to tour operators. I’m really happy with the response we received at the event. Speaking about the Bengaluru event, the representative from Centara Maldives added One Above offered a platform for Centara Maldives to establish direct contact with the top potential agents and to further increase its market share from Bangalore and other parts for South India Market. Speaking about event collaboration, Rahim Alsam, Founder, One Above DMC said, “Our major business leads are generated from the North and South India market, hence targeting Delhi and Bangalore cities which have immense potential for all the products we sell and promote. We look forward to more such engaging events with our partners in coming months.

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Tour operators will now have to share trip details with Maharashtra tourism dept

Travel companies from Maharashtra conducting tours within and outside the state will have to upload details of their trips and travellers on the tourism department website. These details will be shared with district disaster management teams. Supriya Karmakar, deputy director, state tourism department, said it will soon make this mandatory. “We are currently in the process of registering all tour operators online.”

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