HRAWI presented inputs for curating the Maharashtra Convention Promotion Bureau to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), a council to promote the state as an attractive and suitable location for hosting conferences, conventions, and business events, considering that events boost economic development and accelerate tourism in the state.

To enhance the relationship of Uttar Pradesh Travel Trade Professionals with India’s and overseas travel trade fraternity and to highlight UP as a tourist destination, a cricket league was organised by UPTCL after 4-years in Lucknow. Eight teams from varied cities of UP participated. Rezbook Allahabad Warriors lifted the trophy.

Teleport –  India’s Most Trusted Visa Platform, invites Indian travel agents to attend a B2B webinar on 23 April at 3 PM. Participants will learn tips for easy visa appointments; tricks to avoid visa rejections, & all of it at the lowest rates. Contact: jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com, 9650196532.

Naveen Kundu, MD, EbixCash Travel, said, “The size of the MICE market is about 30 million today, including domestic and international. Therefore, there is a huge potential for the organised M!CE industry to come together, collaborate, innovate, and then handle the entire mammoth business that is coming our way.”

Independent Hotels witnessed a 34.5 percent rise in bookings in 2023 compared to 2022 via the Global Distribution System (GDS), according to HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts’ Independent Accommodation Insights Report. Additionally, there was 4.2 per cent increase in reservations compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Moscow City Tourism Committee will host the BRICS+ Tourism Forum from 20 to 21 June this year, in Moscow. They expect to welcome 9 tourism ministers and 18 delegations from countries from the Middle East and South East Asia with over 300 delegates. It was revealed at the conference ‘Shaping the MICE Future,’ held recently.  

At ‘Tourism Beyond G-20 Revealing J& K’s Tourism Treasures’ organised by the J&K Committee of ICC, Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, said, “The significance of environment-friendly travel to Kashmir, is to guarantee the prosperity of the state, the necessity of preserving the environment and creating more equitable tourist initiatives.”

“Malaysia will host Visit Malaysia Year in 2026 with a target of 35.6 million foreign tourist and RM147.1 billion in expenditures,” revealed Manoharan Periasamy, Director General, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, during the announcement of the expansion of strategic destination marketing collaboration between Travelport and Tourism Malaysia.

Addressing TAFI members in Mumbai, Fernando Heredia Noguer, Consul General of Spain in Mumbai, said, “We have increased our visa processing capacity by 30 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022 and increased 40 per cent compared to the average of the four years before the pandemic! In 2023, we managed to issue almost 52K visas versus 40,000 visa applications in 2022.”

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman kicked off its 3-city India sales mission in Delhi with key trade partners. The next cities are Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The India sales mission will help the trade to gain insights into the new offerings of Oman, enabling them to better promote the destination.