IRCTC has cancelled first 17 scheduled departures of Maharajas’ Express from Oct 3, 2021 to Jan 23, 2022 due to operational reasons. The decision has been taken considering the current situation when the global tourism Industry is going through a very difficult time in the wake of COVID-19 and the lockdown that has severely impacted inbound business, revealed and IRCTC official.

CAPA Advisory (India) says that while reforms are just a start, they are required to instil confidence. It has recommended some reforms to fix the core of the aviation sector, including implementing a refund protection scheme for consumers and extending the airport tariff control period in the AERA Act from five years to eight years, among others.

Anil Oraw, Regional Director, Indiatourism North, has said, “One support we give to tour operators is that if they are doing online activities and have a website with 50-100 itineraries, we give financial assistance of up to Rs50,000 to revamp the website. If a tour operator is doing a campaign on Facebook or Google, we will support them.”

Krishna Murthy, Founder & Managing Director, SWT Club, shares that they have developed an authentic-time solution platform potentiated with technology and customisable product offerings for agents across India. “It is supplemented with a team of enthusiasts who handhold travel agent partners’ business growth with zeal and transparency. The year 2020 gave us enough time to redesign our business process by harnessing technology,” he says. SWT is a Global DMC, empowering Travel Agents in India to connect with travel service providers worldwide through a dynamic two-way online interface. With an industry experience of more than 18 years, the company has a vast network of travel supplier across the globe.

Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel recently chaired a hybrid meeting of the Central Advisory Board on Culture (CABC) in New Delhi. In the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the ongoing activities undertaken by the government and the way ahead in the celebration of 75 years of India’s independence – Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Members of the CABC took cognizance of the activities and gave their valuable suggestions in this regard.

Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel surveyed over 4000 customers across India’s Tier I-III cities in a recent survey to identify emerging consumer behaviours and trends that will drive travel preferences in the COVID era. The survey revealed that as many as 66% respondents are willing to spend additional towards personal health & safety, while 19% cite uncertainty as a concern. Safety seems to be a key parameter for at least 70% respondents.

Ministry of Tourism and its field offices have initiated week-long online activities within the country and abroad to celebrate International Yoga Day 2021. Besides organising a webinar titled ‘Yoga for Immunity’, various programmes ensuring the wide participation of people from different segments of society and age groups have also been planned to create more awareness about Yoga.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has drafted separate national strategies and roadmaps for MICE as well as medical & wellness tourism. Before proceeding to finalise the draft strategy document and to make the document more comprehensive, MOT has invited feedback/ comments/ suggestions to be sent to the Ministry on or before June 30, 2021.

Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), New Delhi office is set to welcome buyers to the 1st virtual ‘Korea Travel Expo’ B2B event that starts tomorrow. Scheduled from 22-24 June, the event will commence with Day-1 dedicated to invite-only buyers, and will be open for all after that. Register at www.koreatravelexpo.com, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

Urging the industry to plan for the future now, Madhavan Menon, CMD, Thomas Cook India, speaking at the company’s ‘Mission Tomorrow’ event, said, “Q4 2021 and all of 2022 are going to see a rush. I believe we are going to enter that phase where people are going to go into revenge mode. I can see domestic travel and international travel bouncing back. Please plan your trips!”