Vinod Zutshi, Secretary-Tourism, informed that the modification of eTV’s validity from 30 days to 60 days has been principally approved and will be put into action soon. Zutshi added that they are contemplating on creating an eTV for MICE, as well as a business tourist visa for visitors travelling to India on work purposes. “While the eTV currently allows single-entry, double-entry on eTV is also on the cards,” he shared.

The Buddhist Conclave will be held from October 3-5, 2016, in Varanasi, Sarnath and Bodh Gaya, informed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary-Tourism, Govt. of India at the PATA India Update and Outlook meeting. “As many as 500 monks from ASEAN countries will be attending the three-day event,” he shared. Zutshi added that the International Tourism Mart (ITM) 2016 will also be held the same month in Imphal, Manipur to boost visitors to the Northeastern states. He further revealed that to develop infrastructure on the Swadesh Darshan circuits, funds to the tune of 1600 crores have been sanctioned while 284 crores have been allotted for development of the Prasad scheme circuits.

A 10-member delegation from the southern African country of Zambia, led by Zambia Tourism Agency, travelled to India to conduct roadshow in the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi.Felix Chaila, CEO, Zambia Tourism Agency, said, “We met around 100 outbound tour operators in Mumbai. This is the first time that Zambia has created such a dedicated marketing platform to activate our destination in this market. We have been coming to India for about three years now. India not only has a huge middle class but also more HNIs than most other countries. Our number one source market is the US followed by the UK and this shows that Zambia is an extremely safe country.” He expects to meet the same number of buyers in New Delhi as well on May 4. “This will not be the end. After the roadshow we will invite some members of the Indian outbound trade to attend the Zambia Travel Expo in early June,” Chaila said, adding that Zambia is adding 3to 5 lakh Indians coming to Zambia within three to four years for leisure and incentive segments.

Etihad Airways’ Flight EY204 from Abu Dhabi landed at ChhatrapatiShivaji International Airport in Mumbai last night (on May 1) on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, the 56th anniversary of the state’s formation. Mumbai becomes the airline’s fourth A380 destination following London Heathrow, Sydney and New York, with Melbourne set to join on June 1. Etihad Airways introduced Mumbai to its A380 network with the launch of daily scheduled flights featuring its award-winning The Residence – the world’s first three-room suite on a commercial airliner. Etihad Airways senior management team led by Mohammed Al Bulooki, Vice President Commercial UAE, flew on the inaugural flight, arriving to a traditional lamp lighting ceremony attended by officials from the airline and Mumbai airport operator, GVK. Etihad Airways’ one-way fares, including taxes and surcharges, in The Residence in either direction between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai are approximately $5,000; between London and Mumbai, approximately, $26,000; and between New York and Mumbai approximately $38,000.

The first edition of the Global MICE Travel Mart will be held in New Delhi from May 19-21 2016, informed RajanSehgal, Member, FICCI Tourism Committee. Organised by the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in support with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and India Golf Tourism Association (IGTA), the by-invitation event will focus on inbound Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism and will showcase buyer-seller meets. So far, 34 buyers comprising foreign MICE tour operators, MICE associations and foreign corporate entities who will be hosted by MOT have been roped in while 22 suppliers including Indian corporate entities, tour operators, hotels and MICE venues have been registered for the event, with more registration expected. “The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has showed keen interest in hosting the foreign delegates and showcasing its Golf and MICE Tourism offerings such as Sher-I-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar and Pahalgam Golf course in Pahalgam. J&K Tourism also plans to spread awareness about the refurbished Pahalgam Club with state-of-art facilities,” stated Sehgal.

Maharashtra Government intends to reposition and promote Mumbai as a tourist destination, sharedValsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Maharashtra, during a round-table organised by the Indian Merchant’s Chamber’s Travel, Tourism & HospitalityCommittee in Mumbai. She was the chief guest at the event that was attended by a few tour operators as well as the hospitality trade to discuss and deliberate on policy framework and to promote tourism in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Singh said, “We have recognised niche areas in tourism in which we want to promote Mumbai. We want to make the city the event capital in Maharashtra. Asia’s biggest convention centre is coming in Mumbai next year followed by two more convention centres. We are also working towards creating adventure tourism, medical tourism and Bollywood tourism here.” According to her, 2.5 lakh Mumbai tourists enter Mumbai for medical tourism. The government is therefore working on e-medical visa and medical reimbursement, and tying up with insurance companies overseas to facilitate reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by tourists. She added that the new state tourism policy will be out in the public domain soon. It focuses on three aspects: product development, skilling, and investment and promotion. ParaagJaiinNainuttia, IAS, MD, MTDC, shared details of the recent initiatives MTDC has taken like the helicopter Mumbai Darshan, and facilitating commercialisation of yacht facilities on Mumbai’s coast through a possible tie-up with private companies.

VinooUbhayakar, past president of Travel Agents Association of India (1975-1978) and the first Asian and Indian to be elected as the president of Universal Federation of Travel Agent’s Association (UFTAA) (1982-1984), passed away yesterday. He was 90.Ubhayakarbegan his travel industry career in 1949 with Asiatic Travel Service where he went on to become the Managing Director in 1953. He joined Trade Wings as Executive Director and in 1965 was appointed the Managing Director a position he continues to hold today. He was elected to the board of Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association for four years then as Vice President for two years and then President for two years of this World Body. During his tenure,Ubhayakarorganised the Silver Jubilee Function in Mumbai and introduced the Agastya Awards too.

India and New Zealand have signed a deal on Sunday that opens the door for direct flights between the two countries that could boost tourism and trade sectors. The signing ceremony of the bilateral air services agreement was witnessed by visiting President Pranab Mukherjee and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. New Zealand airlines now have the opportunity to code-share to seven Indian cities – Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. For code-sharing operations, India will have any point in New Zealand. As intermediate points, India can have Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok and any two points in Australia, according to the text of the agreement. “India is an emerging superpower, and its population of 1.25 billion people presents enormous opportunities for New Zealand,” the minister said. “Our annual trade with India is worth more than 1 billion dollars. In the year to March 31, 2016, almost 52,000 Kiwis travelled to India and close to 60,000 Indians visited New Zealand. In addition, more than 160,000 people of Indian descent live here. Since the Government’s Air Transport policy was introduced in 2012, Bridges said 50 new or amended air agreements had been negotiated, bringing the total to 78. Most of the major airlines in the world are now able to operate services to New Zealand without restriction, with 18 new air routes announced in the past year alone, the report said.

The Government of Papua New Guinea has announced Visa on Arrival for Indians travelling to Papua New Guinea. This will help boost tourism and business links between our two countries. Leaders of Papua New Guinea deeply appreciated the role played by the Indian community in the development of Papua New Guinea as well as our initiative in organizing two FIPIC Summits.

Vistara flew its inaugural flight to the city of Chandigarh from IGI airport, Delhi at 1320hrs on May 2. The fares for Delhi to Chandigarh flight start from Rs 3700+ one way on Economy super saver and Rs 4900+ in Premium Economy saver. The airline will operate daily direct returnflights to Chandigarh from Delhi and Hyderabad (same aircraft service between Hyderabad and Chandigarh via Delhi). The new service will also offer convenient connections via Delhi between Chandigarh andBengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad. International travellers from the city will also be connected to global destinations via Vistara’s hub at T3 Delhi, making it a convenient connection for them to travel overseas with 12 global interline airline partners of Vistara.