Tag Archives: Chairman

EbixCash Private Limited is progressing towards its prospective IPO, reveals Robin Raina, Chairman, President & CEO Ebix Inc. The company has appointed S Ravi, as a new independent director to the EbixCash Board. Ravi is presently serving as the Chairman and Director of Tourism Finance Corporation of India. “As the Chairman of Tourism Finance Corporation of India, he also has a thorough understanding of the travel industry. All of these attributes are extremely valuable to his role on the EbixCash Board as we chart our next cycle of growth and progress towards the prospective IPO,” said Raina.

Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market that concluded its in-person element on May 19, Taleb Rifai, Chairman, International Tourism and Investment Conference (ITIC) and former Secretary General, UNWTO, said, “Governments must come together. They must work together. There is no sense in any country working on its own anymore.” The virtual element of ATM will take place from May 24-26.

In his letter to the PM, JK Mohanty, Chairman, IATO – Eastern Region and Co-Chairman, FICCI – National Tourism Committee, has suggested measures to battle the financial crunch, including extension of moratorium for a year with minimal interest rate, one-time rescheduling of principal and interest dues of borrowers in hospitality in line with revised estimated cash flows of each project, among others.

The IATO Executive Committee recently reviewed and restructured the IATO Regional and the State Chapters to expand its wings and strengthen its membership base in Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu. In continuation, IATO has further expanded its wings by appointing Co-Chairman and in-charge in various states and union territories. Rajasthan being a large state with a strong membership basis was considered to have a Co-chairman and Mahendra Singh of Holidays N Vacations, Jaipur has been appointed as Co-Chairman of Rajasthan. It was for a long time in the mind of IATO EC to have a Co-Chairman of Uttar Pradesh who should be based in Varanasi, keeping in view the importance of Varanasi as a big tourist attraction,  both for international and domestic tourists and Bhuvanendra Vikram Singh of Prime Value Tours Pvt. Ltd has been given this responsibility. Sikkim being a prime tourist destination needed a Co-Chairman, keeping in view the distance between North Bengal and Sikkim.  Namgyal P Sherpa of Namgyal Treks & Tours, Gangtok has been appointed as co-chairman to assist the Chairman of Sikkim and North Bengal Chapter who is based in Siliguri, Darjeeling. Similar is the case of Andaman & Nicobar and Mohamed Jadwet has been appointed as Co-Chairman in Andaman & Nicobar to assist the Chairman based in Chennai. Besides the above, two-state in-charge have been appointed in Manipur & Tripura to assist Chairman of IATO North East Chapter and H Radhakrishna Sharma, of Seven Sisters Holidays and Soumen Dutta of Hindustan Tour & Travels have been appointed State In-Charge of Manipur and Tripura respectively. Rajiv Mehra, President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) expressed his happiness and mentioned …

Royal Jordanian Airline has appointed STIC Travel Group as its India GSA for passenger services. “Travel agents can contact any of the STIC offices across India. I hope that together we can contribute to growth of business,” says Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group.

Randhir Singh Vaghela, Chairman, Gujarat Chapter, IATO, is leading the #JanAndolan campaign that aims to spread awareness about the safety precautions that the industry needs to follow strictly. He says, “I request the travel industry stakeholders to join #JanAndolan for everyday preventive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We must strictly follow three things: wearing a mask at all times, sanitising hands on a regular basis and keep social distancing. For tourism to re-open safely we all have to adhere to this new normal.”

Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), has appealed Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, to think of a long-term benefit for the tourism industry of Odisha. In a letter addressed to the Minister, JK Mohanty, Chairman, HRAO & IATO Eastern Region, has written, “On behalf of HRAO, we regret to inform that hotel industry of Odisha has not yet received any relief either from the Centre or from the State Government in spite of our continuous appeals explaining the miserable situation faced by the tourism industry. The hotel industry is bleeding profusely and reasons are very well known to your honour through our various correspondences and memorandums presented through our national chapters of HAI, FAITH, FHRAI, FICCI, CII, ICC, ASSOCHAM, PHD Chamber of Commerce, etc. In view of this, we appeal before you to think of a long term benefit that the tourism industry can contribute to the country in terms of employment, both Indian and foreign exchange earnings, image building of the country, and providing service to guests both Indian and foreigners. The Hotel industry as per Swami Vivekananda’s wording ‘Provide Service to mankind is service to God’. Both Union Govt. and the State Govt. must realize the benefit which the Govt. get than the relief which the industry is seeking for its survival.”

Opening the second session titled ‘Where is the money? Selling domestic luxury’ in the second series of the Digital Conclave spearheaded by TravTalk, was Arjun Sharma, Chairman, Select Group, who believes that the industry will go through a deep and prominent transformation in these coming months. “It is just a matter of realising the importance of domestic tourism. Our domestic market is the biggest catchment area after the Chinese domestic market. In fact, all our neighbouring countries have survived on this – be it Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, or Dubai. They have all existed because of the Indian outbound market. I think this is the first time that the Indian travel industry can reposition itself dynamically to create the paradigm that is necessary for that domestic traveller to look at India as their next luxury holiday destination,” he says

Hotel Leela Venture Limited (HLVL) has entered into a binding agreement with a Brookfield Asset Management (Brookfield) sponsored private real estate fund, to sell by way of slump sale, four owned Leela hotels located in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Udaipur and the property that it owns in Agra. The transaction also includes assignment of all Hotel Management contracts currently in operation as well as all management contracts for hotels which are currently under development, along with the employees of the hotels. The total transaction value is Rs 3950 crore plus the applicable transaction costs. This is subject to approval of shareholders, lenders and other regulatory and statutory approvals. Simultaneously, the promoters who own the Leela brand would also be transferring the Leela brand to Brookfield for all hospitality businesses. JM Financial Limited acted as the exclusive financial advisor to HLVL for this transaction. Commenting on the transaction, Vivek Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, HLVL said, “The Leela is rated amongst the top hospitality brands in the world and I am confident that the brand will receive a boost and be further strengthened and continue to be known for its world-class services.” Ankur Gupta, Managing Director and Head-India Real Estate, Brookfield Asset Management remarked, “The Leela is one of the finest hospitality groups in India and over the years it has gained extraordinary recognition from some of the most prestigious authorities on travel and luxury in the world. We are excited with this opportunity and look forward to completing this transaction at the earliest, while ensuring that all operations remain unaffected.  We expect the Leela hotels to continue to be market leaders.”

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a Rs 25-crore project for the restoration of the heritage of the iconic Mascot Hotel, coinciding with the celebrations of 100 years of the hospitality pioneer in Thiruvananthapuram. The comprehensive project, drawn up by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), was unveiled close on the heels of Mascot Hotel bagging the five-star status. Vijayan also unveiled the plaque to mark the historic occasion and opened a month-long exhibition that depicts the 100 years of glorious service of the trail blazer in hospitality sector in the state. Minister for Co-operation, Devaswom and Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran presided over the function held at Mascot Hotel. Surendran said that Mascot has got the unique distinction of being the maiden five-star hotel in the public sector. Recalling the history and fame of the institution, he noted “In the hotel map published by the Bombay-based Indian Hotel Company in 1937, Mascot was one among the four hotels listed from South India. In 1965, it came under KTDC.” The Minister underscored the need to adopt quality service and new marketing strategies in order to compete with private players in the hospitality industry. M Vijayakumar, Chairman, KTDC, delivered a felicitation speech. He said, “Mascot Hotel is a priceless treasure of Kerala. It is the jewel in KTDC’s crown. The heritage restoration project will be carried out without in any way harming its distinguishing architectural features.” The project to strengthen and preserve the heritage property will be executed under the leadership of Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society. The works to be taken up include strengthening of the building, rooms, passages, beautification of the premises and improving the amenities. They will be completed in two phases within a …