Category Archives: Agents

India delivered an exceptional performance in 2025 for SriLankan Airlines, driven by robust demand and its strong operational footprint in the market. With 89 weekly flights across nine online points, covering key cities from north to south India, the airline maintained extensive connectivity that supported both leisure and business travel. “This comprehensive schedule ensured convenience and frequency for travelers, resulting in a significant increase in passenger numbers. The growth translated into a notable improvement in load factors across both economy and business cabins,” says Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Commercial, SriLankan Airlines. On the yield front, the trend was softer, with overall yields under pressure due to competitive pricing and market dynamics, he adds. While revenue growth was positive, it was largely volume-driven rather than yield-led, suggesting that stimulating demand through pricing strategies played a key role. Despite these challenges, India remained a high-potential market for the airline, balancing strong traffic growth with strategic pricing to maintain competitiveness. Tennakoon adds, “We primarily focused on strengthening the regional and international network while enhancing customer experience. Key network decisions included increasing frequencies to high-demand destinations such as Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai. Additionally, for our current winter schedule, we re-introduced our weekend additional flight to London to capture growing traffic flows. These adjustments were part of a broader strategy to improve connectivity via Colombo.” On the fleet side, the airline marked a major milestone by inducting the first wide-body aircraft in eight years, an Airbus A330-200, with plans to add more aircraft over the coming years. Product and menu upgrades complemented these moves, along with digital innovations like the AI-powered Yaana chatbot. “India will remain at the heart of our growth strategy in 2026, …

Speaking at the panel discussion on New Horizons in Jammu & Kashmir at the 17th ATOAI Convention, Waseem Raja, Joint Director, J&K Tourism, said, “We should sign an MoU with ATOAI for skill upgradation in adventure tourism.” He noted that a growing number of youths in Jammu & Kashmir have recently taken up adventure tourism as a profession, adding that “skill upgrading is what we need to focus on”.

Join this special webinar on 23 December at 3 PM IST to discover what Resorts World Sentosa can offer for your MICE clients. This includes showcase of its largest pillarless convention centre in Singapore, multiple MICE venues, world-class attractions, such as Universal Studios Singapore and the Singapore Oceanarium, along with substantial room inventory. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with the team and unlock exciting possibilities. Register now! Contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call ‪+91 9650196532.

Nammos Resorts appointed Indiva Marketing as its representative in India to oversee strategic sales, marketing, and PR campaigns for their upcoming luxury resort Nammos Resort Amaala in Saudi Arabia. The hotel is set to launch early next year and the collaboration with Indiva intends to raise awareness, position the brand, and increase travel to the newest upscale resort location in the Red Sea. Through this partnership, Indiva Marketing will create and carry out integrated campaigns aimed at travel advisors, high-net-worth travellers and luxury lifestyle and travel media in major Indian cities. The collaboration aims to showcase Nammos Amaala’s unique fusion of Red Sea’s natural beauty, Mediterranean elegance, and Saudi Arabia’s emerging luxury frontier. “We are delighted to represent Nammos Resort AMAALA in India. We look forward to building the resort’s unique features and brand among Indian travelers, and are thrilled to share this journey with the resort. As Saudi Arabia is a dynamically growing market for India and a short haul destination for Indian travellers, we are very excited about the potential prospects”, says Beate Mauder Kakkar, Managing Director at Indiva Marketing.

Andhra Pradesh will host the two-day National Tourism Mart in Visakhapatnam on 13–14 February 2026, in collaboration with ADTOI, according to Kandula Durgesh, Tourism Minister. The event aims to boost domestic tourism. An MoU was signed between the state government and ADTOI in the presence of senior tourism officials to support faster growth of the sector. Prominent tour operators, hotel owners, destination promoters, tourism stakeholders, and travel experts from across the country are expected to participate.

Accepting the Leading Bali Destination Specialist trophy at India Travel Awards 2025, Shilpa Shrivastava, Co-Founder and Director Operations, Balitrip Wisata, said, “We are proud and delighted to receive this recognition. It reflects the trust of our partners and clients. With 10 years of commitment to delivering value, quality, and memorable experiences, this milestone further inspires us to keep raising the bar in service excellence.”

Addressing a press conference, Prataprao Jadhav, Union MoS (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush, GoI, said India is expanding Ayush outreach globally through dedicated Ayush visas and attracted nearly 45,000–46,000 foreign patients last year. Many also arrive on regular travel visas for treatment. To support growing demand, the ministry is increasing Ayush health centres at major tourist destinations, strengthening India’s medical and wellness tourism appeal.

Addressing the 17th ATOAI Convention, Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir, cautioned that climate change is a serious and immediate threat to adventure tourism, particularly skiing and glacier-based activities. “I can’t sell Gulmarg as a skiing destination if I don’t have snow. I can’t sell glaciers for ice climbing or mountaineering if those glaciers are melting before our eyes,” he said. Highlighting shrinking ski seasons and receding glaciers, Abdullah stressed the need for responsible and sustainable tourism. He said protecting fragile ecosystems is essential to ensure adventure tourism remains viable for future generations.

Dubai Safari Park will conduct an exclusive webinar for the Indian travel trade today at 3 pm (IST). The session will highlight the park’s latest wildlife experiences, interactive zones, and new offerings for families and groups, helping agents better promote the attraction. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

India made a meaningful impact on Utah’s growth in 2025, both in volume and value, says Tera Atwood, Global Markets Manager, Utah Office of Tourism. “Indian travellers often stay longer and engage more deeply with local experiences. They remain a key emerging long-haul market for us, and we anticipate this growth to continue in the upcoming year. This past year, Utah welcomed approximately 17,000 visitors from India. We saw steady increases in visitation and engagement. This was supported by growing interest from Indian travel trade, as well as strong participation from our communities across the state. This momentum all leads to strengthening our communities and supporting local businesses, and above all reinforces why it’s so important for us to keep investing in India.”   The NTO’s most successful efforts in 2025 were driven by consistent in-market presence and relationship building. With the support of AVIAREPS India, Utah was able to work closely with trade partners to ensure it was present at the right trade shows and industry moments in India, where real conversations and connections are happening. Atwood adds, “We also hosted a familiarization trip in June with leading tour operators, giving them time in Utah to truly experience the destination so they could further develop their product for our destination. That was followed by our first-of-its-kind reverse sales mission in the fall, which welcomed Indian buyers to Utah and allowed them to begin building relationships with our in-state partners and gain a deeper knowledge of Utah. At the heart of all of these efforts is developing relationships built on trust. When we take the time to build genuine connections, we begin to develop trust with the Indian market and …