Tag Archives: Bengaluru

Dubai Business Events (DBE) has showcased the city’s capabilities and services to business event planners during a a three-city roadshow in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, attracting an attendance of approximately 490 business events and incentive buyers as well as wedding planners. DBE was joined on the roadshow by a number of stakeholders from Dubai, including Dubai Parks and Resorts, Jumeirah Hotels and Emaar Hospitality. The roadshow offered a platform for the DBE team to meet and engage with key decision makers, educate them about the services available to them, and detail how the convention bureau can support in planning their events in Dubai. Attendees were also able to discover Dubai and the world-class factors that combine to make the city a premier destination to host business events. Over the coming months, DBE and stakeholders from the city will conduct further in-market activities in UK, Sweden, Finland and Russia while also continuing to welcome business event planners for study missions from around the world to Dubai.

The Wallonia Foreign Trade along with Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX) recently took a tourism mission to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi. The Consulate General of Belgium, AWEX and BIE in association with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) organised the event for its members in Mumbai. Nine delegates from different tourism attractions from Brussels and Wallonia (Southern Belgium) presented its undiscovered and unique tourist attractions to the TAAI members. The delegation also visited top tour operators in the city. Peter Huyghebaert, Consul General, AWEX Team; Emmanuelle Timmermans, Trade and Investment Commissioner, and Dominique Andre from Wallonia Belgium Tourism, joined Ellona Pereira, India Director, Visit Brussels, for the roadshow. Also part of the delegation were Albert Joris from Caves of Han, Catherine Vuidar from Euro Space Center, Rodolphe Brohée from Durbuy, Malati Dasi and Martin Gurvich from Radhadesh Castle, Jérôme Aussems from Ardennes Incoming and Steven Truyman from Hey Belgium. Top tour operators from Mumbai and Pune attended this event.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has announced to roll out the facility of Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) to the nationals of South Korea with effect from October 1, 2018. The facility will be available with double entry for a period of 60 days for business, tourism, conference and medical purposes at the country’s six major international airports which are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.  

Jet Airways has introduced new flights effective August 1, 2018 on the Indore-Chandigarh, Indore-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Guwahati routes, thus connecting guests from emerging cities to metropolises. Jet Airways flight 9W 955 will depart from Indore at 12:45 hrs, arriving into Chandigarh at 14:45 hrs. On its return journey, flight 9W 958 will depart from Chandigarh at 15:15 hrs. and land at Indore at 17:15 hrs. The flight will then depart for Hyderabad at 18:00 hrs, arriving at its destination at 19:25 hrs. This flight will be operated by Jet Airways on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Jet Airways is set to offer enhanced connectivity to the Northeast from Bengaluru with daily direct services to Guwahati. Guests arriving at Guwahati can avail of excellent connectivity to beyond points to include Aizwal, Bagdogra, Jorhat, Imphal and Silchar. Jet Airways’ guests from Hyderabad will be able to connect to Chandigarh via Indore. Marnix Fruitema, Executive VP – Commercial, Jet Airways said, “With the aviation industry witnessing growth in travel from emerging to metro cities in India, we have introduced several direct flights between new city pairs. Providing enhanced connectivity will enable more flyers to travel for both business and leisure across our network, and at the same time, experience Jet Airways’ famed service excellence.”      

Jet Airways has announced plans to introduce new city pairs Bengaluru – Guwahati (subject to final regulatory approvals) as well as Hyderabad-Indore, thus connecting travellers from emerging cities to the metropolises. The airline will introduce new first daily direct service  effective from August 1, 2018, on the Bengaluru-Guwahati-Bengaluru route and on the Hyderabad-Indore-Chandigarh-Indore-Hyderabad route. Jet Airways 9W 659 will depart from Bengaluru at 1015 hrs and arrive Guwahati at 1315 hrs. On the return leg, Jet Airways flight 9W 660 will take off from Guwahati at 1620 hrs. and arrive into Bengaluru at 1930 hrs. The airline will also connect Hyderabad and Chandigarh from August 1. Jet Airways 9W 955 will depart from Hyderabad at 1050 hrs. and have a stopover at Indore, arriving into the city at 1215 hrs. The flight will depart from Indore at 1245 hrs. arriving into Chandigarh at 1445 hrs. On its return journey, flight 9W 958 will depart from Chandigarh at 1515 hrs. and land at Indore at 1715 hrs. The flight will then depart for Hyderabad at 1800 hrs., arriving at its destination at 1925 hrs. This flight will be operated by Jet Airways on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Business travel spending is expected to grow at 6.7 per cent in 2018 and rise to 7.0 per cent per annum between 2018E-2028, according to a recent report by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The emergence of business hubs like Mumbai (Finance), Bengaluru (IT), Chennai (IT) and Delhi (Manufacturing, IT) is likely to boost business travel. Leisure travel spending (inbound and domestic) generated 94.6 per cent of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2017 US$ 201.7 billion compared with 5.4 per cent for business travel spending US$ 11.6 billion. Leisure travel spending is expected to grow at 7.6 per cent in 2018 and rise to 7.1 per cent per annum between 2018E-2028.

As the term of the current Skål National Committee Board came to an end, a new Skål National Committee Board for the term 2018-20 was elected at the Skål India AGM held recently at Hotel Grand Hyatt Bolghatty – Kochi. Sk Ranjini Nambiar, CEO, Footloose Yatra Consultants, Bengaluru has been appointed as the President.

Cathay Dragon has recently celebrated 10 years of passenger flight operations between Bengaluru and Hong Kong. Since the launch of these flights in 2008, more than 800,000 passengers have travelled from Bengaluru and approximately 32,000 tons of cargo have been carried. In celebration of the 10th anniversary, the airline’s check-in counters wore a festive look and passengers travelling from Bengaluru were given commemorative gifts. The airline has also launched a special offer – 10 per cent discount on fares from Bengaluru to destinations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, Seoul, Narita, Taipei and Hong Kong. This discount is applicable on tickets booked on the airline’s website for travel right until the end of the year. Rajesh Menon, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager – South Asia, Cathay Pacific says,” We have always been very confident of the potential that Bengaluru holds, which is why we launched services in 2008 with daily flights. Karnataka’s GDP growth at 7 per cent is in line with the national average. From South India, the highest traffic to countries like North America, Japan and Australia comes from Bengaluru. At Cathay Dragon we are perfectly positioned to cater to this traffic with excellent connections to these key destinations with our differentiated product and service”.

Ronaldo Colaco, Owner, Clarks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa, Bengaluru received the DDP Trailblazer award. An NRI based in Dubai, Colaco started his career in Oman in 1975 as an accountant and then moved on to become a financial controller. He also held some key positions in the past; he was Commercial CEO for a consortium of three multinational corporates based in Greece, Germany and Italy. Apart from being a successful entrepreneur, he is also a pioneer in providing infrastructure facilities for the public. Many MNCs and corporates have followed his footsteps to carry out their CSR activities. In 2015, Colaco was awarded the International Recognition Award for Leadership in Service Excellence from the office of The Prime Minister of Australia.

The fifth edition of India Travel Awards South concluded on May 14 at Clarks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa, Bengaluru amidst the presence of stalwarts of the travel and tourism industry. The Chief Guest for the ceremony was Kumar Pushkar, an IFS officer and Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation. Anita Mishra, Gladrags Mrs India Maharashtra 2018, was the guest of honour for the occasion. The India Travel Awards South recognises the hard work and effort put in by regional industry players to grow the tourism and hospitality industry. The awardees are selected based on a non-biased system of voting.