The latest addition to WelcomHeritage portfolio – WelcomHeritage Mani Mansion – is a 94-year-old heritage property that was once home to the Dalal family. The property reopened on May 9 after it had shut for renovation last year. The hotel room rates start from rs 6000. Built by the legendary social worker and acclaimed businessman, Manibhai Dalal in 1923 and the property was formerly known as “Corporate Suites – The Heritage Home Stay.” Located on Ashram road in Ahmedabad, the property aims to preserve the rich cultural heritage associated to the ancestral home. From an ancestral mansion, it has been suitably modified as one of the city’s finest heritage hotels. WH Mani Mansion is a boutique heritage hotel with 21 suites providing an experience of ancient era in Ahmedabad. WH Mani Mansion has also received heritage property stature from the Government of Gujarat. The hotel offers a multi cuisine Restaurant serving variety of cuisines including authentic Gujarati cuisine prepared by chefs who have been associated with the family since past 2 generations thus giving a taste of true Gujarati culinary prowess. While staying at WelcomHeritage Mani Mansion, one can explore the attractions of Ahmedabad that involves Kalupur Temple, Calico Museum of Textiles, Gandhi Ashram, Adalaj, Hatheesing Jain Temple, Sarkhej Roza, and Vishala Vessel Museum. Also one can take a day trip to Champaner, Pavagadh Temple Trek, Raja Ravi Verma Collection, Modhera (Sun Temple), Rani Ki Vav (Patan) (World Heritage Site), White Rann of Kutch, Palitana Temple, Gir Forest, Lothal. One can also visit Ambaji Temple, Mount Abu, Udaipur & many more places within comfortable and drivable distance from Ahmedabad.
Read More »North East agents register for IATO for free
The Executive Committee of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has decided to waive off the Rs. 5000/- registration fee for new members from North East India till March 31, 2017. Lally Matthews, Honorary Secretary, IATO, said, “IATO is looking at adding more members now. We would like to increase membership from the North East and have thus waived off the registration fee of Rs. 5000/- for interested tour operators from the region.”
Read More »32 Foreign Tour Operators attend GMTM
Around 32 Foreign Tour Operators from 12 countries, and 10 corporates attended the first edition of Global MICE Travel Mart (GMTM). In all, 42 buyers and 27 sellers were in attendance. The next edition of GMTM will be held in July 2017, announced Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Immediate Past President, FICCI, and Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee at the inauguration of the 1st edition of Global MICE Travel Mart. Organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), the mart is being held from May 19-21 2016 at The Lalit, New Delhi. Dr Suri said that the conference is a step towards promoting India as a MICE destination and will be held annually here onwards. The FICCI-MRSS report on ‘India Inbound MICE Tourism – Trends and Opportunities’ was released during inaugural session where Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, Chander Mansharami, Vice Chairman – ICPB, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, MOT and Rahul Chakravarty, Director & Head – Tourism, FICCI, spoke about MICE tourism in India. A panel discussion on ‘Furthering MICE Tourism into India – Rejuvenating the Roadmap’ with several well-known industry professionals followed after.
Read More »130 agents apply for TAAI’s Joint Bank Guarantee scheme
Four members of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Managing Committee met in Mumbai yesterday to review applications received by the association from its members for the Joint Bank Guarantee (JBG) Scheme. Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI, said, “We have received over 130 applications from members who are keen to join the guarantee.” Among the Office Bearers present were Marzban Antia, TAAI’s Vice President; Lokesh Bettaiah, TAAI’s Secretary General; and Imtiaz Qureshi, TAAI’s MC member who looks after Legal. Bettaiah added, “We are scrutinising each and every application received from 20 regions and chapters across India and the TAAI auditors will come out with a final list by May 20. After that, we will send them to IATA who will conduct their own verifications. We do multi-level checks and follow stringent procedures, which take a lot of time. It’s a huge responsibility on us to pick the right members. We will need to submit these applications to IATA by July 1, 2016. There has been a good response for it this year. TAAI has been successful in managing this scheme earlier as well and lot of members have benefitted from this scheme monetarily as well as for smoother day-to-day business as far as capping issues are concerned. If anyone else is interested to join, they can do so the following year.”
Read More »Auckland to host TRENZ from May 9-12, 2017
New Zealand’s biggest annual international tourism showcase, TRENZ, will return to Auckland in 2017, Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) announced. “After two highly successful years in Rotorua, we look forward to taking TRENZ back to New Zealand’s biggest city and international gateway,” says Chris Roberts, Chief Executive, TIA. The announcement was made on the final day of TRENZ 2016, which has brought more than 350 influential international travel buyers and media to meet about 300 leading New Zealand tourism operators at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre this week. TRENZ 2017 will take place on the Auckland waterfront, 9-12 May 2017 and will be hosted by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED).
Read More »Marriott’s all-suite hotel opens in Pune
Pune Marriott Suites offers 199 fully furnished, serviced apartments providing the comforts of a home in a luxurious hotel-like setting. Located on a private road in Koregaon Park, the property is only 5 kms from Pune airport and 3 kms from Pune Railway Station. Being the only pet friendly hotel in Pune, this luxury accommodation is ideal for discerning business and leisure travellers looking for respite from hustle bustle of the city. Guests can enjoy access to upscale leisure facilities, which include a fully-equipped fitness centre, outdoor pool and wellness centre. Regular rates for a one Bedroom Suite is Rs 8,650/night, 2 Bedroom Suite is Rs 13,750/night and 3 Bedroom Suite is Rs 15,250/night.
Read More »Jet Airways doubles frequency to Dammam from Mumbai & Delhi
Jet Airways will launch additional daily services to Dammam from Mumbai and Delhi, further boosting its operations to the key Saudi Arabian port city. The airline will introduce the new services, one each from Delhi and Mumbai, starting July 1, 2016, adding to the single daily flights it already operates on those routes and from Kochi. The fares for flights from New Delhi (DEL) to Dammam (DMM) start from Rs 19,224. The additional service from Mumbai to Dammam, Jet Airways flight 9W 506, will depart Mumbai at 0045 hrs and arrive into Dammam at 0205. The return flight to Mumbai, 9W 505, will depart Dammam at 0305 hrs and arrive in Mumbai at 0920 hrs. The service from Delhi to Dammam, Jet Airways flight 9W 518, will depart Delhi at 2230 hrs and arrive Dammam at 0010 hrs. The return flight, 9W 517, will depart Dammam at 0110 hrs and arrive in Delhi at 0730 hrs. All times listed are local. Jet Airways currently operates flights from 12 cities across India to 10 in the Gulf.
Read More »Schengen comes home for biometrics
VFS Global has introduced the On-Demand Mobile Visa Service for Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Portugal and Slovenia visas applicants across India. Travellers can give their biometrics data and visa application in the comfort of their home or office. A well-trained and professional team from VFS Global will visit the applicant at his/her chosen location anywhere in India to collect the details. The service is ideal for corporate groups, incentive groups, on-campus students and cultural & sports groups. It is available on any day of the week, including weekends across India. VFS offers a dedicated Helpline numbers for appointment bookings and assistance. The applicant can call the country specific Helpline number to book an appointment, pay the fee online and receive confirmed appointment details, following which a team will make a visit at a location convenient to the applicant on the appointed date and time to collect biometrics and accept the application.
Read More »April ’16 sees 10.7% rise in FTAs over 2015
As revealed by Ministry of Tourism, India witnessed a 10.7 per cent growth in FTAs in April, 2016 over the same period in 2015. The total number of FTAs during April, 2016 was recorded at 5.99 lakh, which is higher than the total number of FTAs in April, 2015 and April 2014, where the numbers were recorded as 5.42 lakh and 5.35 lakh foreign tourists respectively. Bangladesh accounted for the highest percentage share in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) into India with 18.09 per cent during the month of April 2016. Among the top 15 source countries, USA was ranked second with 12.24 per cent share, followed by the UK with 9.58 per cent share, making Bangladesh, USA and UK, the top three source markets for India in April 2016. The percentage share of FTAs from other source markets like Sri Lanka was 3.71 percent; Malaysia was 3.23 per cent; China was 3.14 per cent; Australia was 3.05 per cent; Germany was 3.02 per cent; France 2.86 per cent; Canada was 2.83 per cent; Russian Federation was 2.81; Japan was 2.50 per cent, Nepal was 2.07 per cent; Singapore was 1.85 per cent and Thailand was 1.61 per cent.
Read More »11, 637 cr foreign exchange earned in April
According to the data released by Ministry of Tourism, foreign exchange earnings (FEEs)through tourism was recorded at Rs 11,637 crore in the month of April, 2016 as compared to Rs. 10,091 crore in April, 2015 and Rs. 9,179 crore in April, 2014. The growth rate in foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) in terms of rupee during April, 2016 over April, 2015 was higher, with 15.3 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 9.9 per cent in April, 2015 over April, 2014. The FEEs during the period of January-April, 2016, was recorded at Rs. 52,048 crore with a growth rate of 15.7 per cent as compared to the FEE of Rs. 44,966 crore with a growth rate of 5 per cent during the period of January-April, 2015 over January- April, 2014.
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