Tag Archives: Punjab

“Punjab government to boost tourism, create opportunities for both inbound and domestic tourists, in order to elevate the state’s reputation with business-friendly policies and captivating attractions,” said Anmol Gagan Mann, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.      

Hotel Association of India (HAI) has launched its State Chapter for Punjab and appealed to the State Government to accord ‘industry’ status to the hospitality sector, thus enabling hotels across the state to avail the benefits towards lower electricity and water tariff, lower property tax, rationalisation of taxes & licence fees, and simplified approval process for hotel projects and hotel operations.

Commemorating 18 years of successful journey in India, Virgin Atlantic hosted a celebratory evening in Jalandhar for its major trade partners and travel agents. The evening witnessed the presence of Virgin Atlantic’s senior management including David Hodges, Country Manager, Virgin Atlantic India, Sameer Duggal, Commercial Manager and Inderpal S Anand, Sales Manager, Punjab. The evening began with company’s product update and latest offerings such as the new SME programme called Flying Co, which offers unique and differentiated reward opportunities. It offers members the chance to earn and spend miles across a range of product and services of Virgin Atlantic and its partners. A grand dinner and cocktails followed the product presentation. Hodges said, “The evening highlighted our fantastic new SME programme – Flying Co and our codeshare partnership with Jet Airways. These initiatives are a part of our commitment to give more rewards and a seamless service to the Punjab market. We want everyone to have the opportunity to fly the best service in the skies and look forward to our continued partnership with the Punjab travel market.” Virgin Atlantic with its active focus on India market is working round-the-clock to offer best in-class services such as three new ways to fly economy and its recent campaign ‘Depart the everyday’ which extends to the LGBT community in India.  

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) has inaugurated its Punjab and Haryana Chapter today. Manmeet Singh, Proprietor, Sky High Tours and Travels is the new chapter chairperson, as informed by P P Khanna, President, ADTOI. In total, the chapter will comprise 20 active members and also expects another 15 to 20 members. Delhi-NCR is not going to be included in the chapter. This is exclusively for the Haryana segment. The chapter is going to get launched exclusively for the places left unexplored. It will encourage rural, village, agro based areas of the state and make people aware about unexplored places. The association will work with the government and local state tourism boards to promote these places. Khanna also plans to open the North East chapter to showcase the rural and tribal areas and promote them before the country.

In a bid to enhance customer experience, Hyatt Amritsar has rebranded itself as Hyatt Regency Hotel. The property, which was established in 2013, offers a full range of services and amenities – remarkable restaurants and bars; technology-enabled ways to collaborate with associates; and space to work, engage and relax.  Featuring 248 adorned rooms (including 10 Regency Suites), Hotel Hyatt Regency is the idyllic holiday retreat to unwind at. The culinary professionals of Hyatt Regency Amritsar take visitors on a gastronomic expedition not just to the different nooks and crannies of the country but also to the different cities of the world with their numerous eclectic recipes. Hyatt Regency Amritsar is ideal for all sorts of events, both social and corporate. Keeping up with the brand’s identity, Hyatt Regency Amritsar has exclusive facilities for rejuvenation in the form of a spa, a fitness centre and a swimming pool. The beautifully appointed spa rooms offer the perfect ambience to unwind and destress. The facility equips a total of eight rooms that are divided into two Ayurvedic Therapy Rooms, four Western Therapy Rooms, one Couple Therapy Room and one Oriental Therapy Room.  

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) plans to inaugurate its Haryana and Punjab Chapter soon. This was informed by P P Khanna, President, ADTOI at the associations’s General House Meeting, recently conducted in Delhi. Giving a recap of the activities undertaken by the association in the last year, Khanna said, “We launched our revamped website in February 2018 which is linked with the website of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. This will prove beneficial for the members of the association for their future business prospects. We will also launch our Chapters in Haryana and Punjab which will further enhance the growth of ADTOI. We have also launched an activity manual for 2018 for the reference of members. Thus, members can plan well in advance for all association events that shall be conducted throughout the year.”

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has now made it mandatory for travel agents to mention their registration number in advertisements. Justice AB Chaudhari has directed Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to make it compulsory for travel agents to mention their registration number in any advertisement that is being issued by them in any medium, whether it is in the electronic or print media. Even insertions in newspapers or pamphlets and posters on walls or vehicles will need to include this number. Justice Chaudhari also made it clear that the publisher would have to verify and retain the registration certificate’s copy. The move comes after incidences of travel agents, not registered or licensed by the government, taking money and sending people abroad were reported. Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have been asked to initiate action against TV channels and advertisers in case the advertisements broadcast are not by registered agents. The Judge has also directed these three states to issue immediate instructions to district magistrates to publish “a list of registered agents and to warn the citizens not to go to unauthorised agents”. The list is required to be made public on a regular basis.

Banking on its agricultural heritage, Punjab tourism department has authorised 60-plus properties for the purpose of farm stays. They signed an MoU with MakeMyTrip so all these farm stays and B&B are available online. Punjab has been so far one of India’s best-kept tourism secrets, believes Shivdular Singh Dhillon, Special Secretary and Director, Department of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Archeology, Museums & Archives, Punjab and CEO, Punjab Heritage & Tourism Promotion Board. In order to tap experiential travellers who visit Amritsar, the tourism board is promoting farm tourism. “We have come up with farm stays in the outskirts. Agriculture has been Punjab’s backbone so what better place than here to create this experience. The department has so far authorised 60-plus properties for farm stays. For this, we have just signed an MoU in August 2017 with MakeMyTrip so all these farm stays and B&B are online for everyone to book. Travellers don’t look at Punjab as a tourist destination and this perception will change now,” Dhillon adds.

With a 150 per cent growth in registrations in comparison to last year, GPS Chandigarh managed to outdo itself in this Tier-II city by some margin. “We received nearly 1000 registrations for GPS Chandigarh this year and with the excellent quality of buyers we have brought in, the number of exhibitors saw a growth of 30 per cent, registering 80 exhibitors over 50 exhibitors in the last edition,” revealed Harmandeep Singh Anand, Founder, Global Panorama Showcase (GPS). The show received over 600 buyers over the two days of the B2B session.  One of the key features of GPS this year was the paperless format, which was introduced last year but perfected this year. The use of technology in conducting a major business show like this was very well received by the trade present in Chandigarh who heralded it as a revolutionary and futuristic concept. The exhibitors were especially happy with the quality buyers that the show provided them from key market areas such as Punjab, J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh etc apart from local buyers from Chandigarh. The next stop for GPS this year is Kolkata which will be held from July 27-29, 2017 and is expected to bring to the fore vast tourism offerings from the eastern wing of the country.

After launching its Rajasthan chapter, ADTOI is all set to launch its Punjab and Haryana chapter in the first week of March, revealed P.P. Khanna, President, ADTOI. While more new chapters are on cards, Khanna revealed that the biggest concern for them right now is service tax and help its members sail through this crisis.