A total of 70,045 tourists arrived in April 2016 on e-Tourist Visa (eTV) as compared to 19,139 during the month of April 2015 registering a growth of 266 per cent. January- April 2016 recorded a total of 3,91,094 tourists who availed the eTV services as compared to 94,998 during January-April 2015, registering a growth of 311.7 per cent. The UK (18.82%) continued to occupy top share in source countries followed by Russian Federation (8.16%), France (7.12%), China (6.31%) and Australia (4.67%). New Delhi Airport (46.48%) received the highest number of tourists arriving on eTV along with Mumbai Airport (19.09%), Goa Airport (9.96%), Bengaluru Airport (6.48%) and Chennai Airport (5.55%).

As per the report of the ‘Working Group on Tourism’ for the 12th Five year Plan (2012-17) set up by the Planning Commission, for a projected annual growth of 12% in Foreign Tourist Arrivals, the requirement of additional hotel rooms under classified category in 2016 over 2010 is estimated to be 1,90,108. This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Civil Aviation in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. Construction of hotel is primarily a private sector activity. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India only classifies operational hotels under its voluntary scheme of classification/approval of hotels. In order to give stimulus for construction of new hotels, the Government of India extends the following incentives to hotel industry: 1. Five Year Tax Holiday for 2, 3 and 4 Star category hotels located in all UNESCO declared World Heritage sites (Except Mumbai and Delhi) for hotels operating w.e.f. 01.04.2004 to 31.03.2013. 2. Extension of Investment Linked tax incentives under Section 35AD of the Income Tax Act to new hotels of 2-Star category and above anywhere in India, which will facilitate growth of accommodation in the country. 3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has de-linked credit for hotel projects from Commercial Real Estate (CRE), thereby enabling hotel projects to avail credit at relaxed norms and reduced interest rates. 4. Hotel and Tourism related industry has been declared a high priority industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed upto 100% under the automatic route. The Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India has also included the following in the ‘Harmonized list of Infrastructure sub Sector’ to boost supply …

Preferred Hotels & Resorts expands its partnership with Fortune Hotels (a member of ITC’s hotel group) by announcing the addition of seven new properties to its portfolio within the first quarter of 2016, bringing its partnership with the group to 9 total properties across key destinations in India, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurgaon, Navi Mumbai and Noida. The association between Preferred Hotels & Resorts and Fortune Hotels began in 2014 when My Fortune Bangalore and My Fortune Chennai joined the brand. Since January 2016, the seven Fortune Hotels additions to the Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio include Fortune Select Trinity, Bengaluru; Fortune Park, Ahmedabad; Fortune Select Global, Gurgaon; Fortune Inn Grazia, Noida; Fortune Select Exotica, Navi Mumbai; Fortune Select Grand, Chennai; and Fortune Select Excalibur, Gurgaon. Fortune Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, was set up in 1995 to cater to the mid-market to upscale market segment in business and leisure destinations. With this association, Preferred Hotels & Resorts enhances its presence in India with a total of 32 member hotels across the country. These member properties are located in key leisure and business cities and constitute some of the finest luxury hotels in India. The alliance is pivotal to Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ growth campaign in the Indian market and further cements the brand’s ties with Fortune Hotels. “Throughout its history, ITC’s hotel group has successfully established itself as one of the foremost hospitality brands in India. We are pleased to further strengthen our partnership with Fortune Hotels under the umbrella of the ITC’s hotel group. The fusion of traditional Indian hospitality and contemporary international standards, along with the brand support from ITC’s hotel group, makes Fortune …

Air India has launched its services on two new routes — Bhopal-Jabalpur-Hyderabad and Bhopal-Raipur-Pune sectors from May 23, 2016, on its wholly owned subsidiary Alliance. The fares for Bhopal-Jabalpur-Hyderabad, as well as Bhopal-Raipur-Pune flight start from Rs 2601 one way. The new flights come as part of its Connect India programme. These services will fulfill a long standing demand of the students’ community, IT, Industrial and defence sectors. Alliance Air will operate a 72-seater ATR aircraft on these routes thus giving connectivity to smaller destinations within the country under the Government’s scheme of connecting all cities in India. Flight AI 9863 on Bhopal-Jabalpur-Hyderabad shall operate four days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The flight will take-off from Bhopal at 0845 hrs. and reach Jabalpur at 0950 hrs. The flight will take-off from Jabalpur at 1020 hrs. for its onward journey and will reach Hyderabad at 1220 hrs. The return flight AI 9864 will take-off from Hyderabad at 1250 hrs. and will reach Jabalpur at 1450 hrs. The flight will leave Jabalpur at 1450 hrs. and will touch down at Bhopal at 1625 hrs. Alliance Air will commence another direct flight AI 9867/9868 between Bhopal and Jabalpur from June 16, 2016. The flight will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays thereby making the operation on this route. A daily one. The flight AI 9865 on the second route – Bhopal-Raipur-Pune – will take off from Bhopal at 0845 hrs. and reach Raipur at 1015 hrs. The flight will leave Raipur at 1045 hrs. and will reach Pune at 1300 hrs. The return flight AI 9866 will leave Pune at 1330 hrs. and reach Raipur at 1545 hrs., depart …

Golden Tulip Hotels South Asia announces the launch of its first property in the eastern region of India. Golden Tulip Salt Lake Hotel Kolkata, a four star contemporary luxury hotel will offer 55 rooms along with a multi cuisine restaurant and a coffee shop for both in house guests and outside patrons. A variety of different styled meeting rooms make it an ideal choice for social and corporate events in the region. The hotel is located just 20 kms from the airport and 5 minutes walking distance from the City Centre shopping mall and activity hub hence attracting a number of travellers looking out for leisure stay or corporate get together.

For the first time in India, tourists can get a ringside view of military life thanks to extreme tourism initiative titled ‘Veer Yatra’ organised by Maharashtra Ex-servicemen Corporation (MESCO) – a Government of Maharashtra undertaking. It is a unique concept that encourages civilians to explore various facets of India’s defense forces and its evolution and aims to give citizens a glimpse into military way of life. The tours will be conducted by the brave men who once worked for the military. The first-of-its-kind ‘military tourism’ initiative in India aims at strengthening the emotional bond that exists between the military establishment and the civilian population. Commenting on the launch, Col (Retd.) Suhas S. Jatkar, MD, MESCO, said, “While Military Tourism is a well-established concept worldwide, it has not been explored in a structured way in India so far. Military, its intricacies, heroism, security, wars and its intrigues are such a big part of worldwide history that they generate considerable interest in military sites. A military association is looked up to very proudly by every Indian and a thought of being part of the military establishment comes in the mind of every individual at some point in their life. Through Veer Yatra, MESCO aims to give the real-life experience to these aspirations – there is so much history, so much to see and so much to experience. As ex-servicemen, we strongly feel the need to promote Military Tourism with a view to inculcate sense of patriotism among the children and youth of the country. Indian Military establishment has rich physical and emotional heritage that is worth exploring by all patriotic citizens.” Established in 2002, MESCO works towards the welfare and resettlement of …

AirAsia Berhad will be suspending its three times weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to Goa effective June 7, 2016, as part of its route rationalisation initiative. Guests that are affected by this will be offered options to alleviate any inconvenience that might occur. They will be notified directly via their registered member email account, as well as via an SMS notification. AirAsia strongly urges all guests to keep their email addresses and mobile numbers with their country code prefix updated in their AirAsia member profiles to ensure that the airline can reach them to assist them. Spencer Lee, Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad, said, “We take very careful considerations for every new route that we introduce. However, this suspension is due to our route rationalisation exercise. Despite this route adjustment, we remain committed to the Indian market and look forward to return to Goa in the future.” Affected guests for this route suspension will be able to choose from three options: move flight to an earlier date before the suspension, subject to availability, full credit shell with 180 days validity or full refund.

Air India recorded a growth of 25 per cent in passenger traffic to Singapore in 2015 making it one of the top contributors in terms of absolute growth in passenger carriage between Singapore and South Asia. The growth in Air India’s passenger traffic far exceeded the overall increase in passenger traffic at Changi Airport last year, which increased to 55.4 million passengers corresponding to an increase of 2.6 per cent. Indian nationals accounted for over six per cent of Changi’s total traffic with 3.4 million Indian travellers passing through the airport in 2015. According to Changi Airport’s statement, Air India’s growth in passenger carriage on its Singapore routes in 2015, is largely spurred by an increased passenger capacity due to aircraft upgrade, as well as an expansion of routes in the last two years. Air India increased capacity on its Singapore routes last year, and now operates 42 weekly flights to the Singapore, including daily services from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Singapore is now connected to 13 Indian cities with 404 weekly flights. The statement further added that the passenger traffic between India and Singapore is set to grow, with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Silk Air’s (SIA’S subsidiary) recently increased frequencies to Cochin, Colombo, Hyderabad and Trivandrum and low-cost carrier Scoot’s entry to the Indian market from May 2016. Source: PTI

Malaysia Airlines has revamped its Business Class seats on its A330 aircraft which flies to destinations in New Zealand, Japan, Korea, China, and India. The Business Class seat comes with a 43-inch seat pitch that converts into a fully flat 76-inch bed. It comes with 90 per cent more working space, extra stowage for personal items and the majority of seats have direct aisle access due to the 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 seat layout. Each seat is equipped with a 16-inch touch screen in-flight entertainment system. Paul Simmons, Chief Commercial Officer, Malaysia Airlines, said, “The introduction of the A330 Business Class seat will make us more competitive against other full-service carriers and is part of our push to make Malaysia Airlines the preferred carrier to, from and around Malaysia. This is the start of an exciting roll-out of new, innovative and personalised products and services that we can’t wait to share with our guests.” Business Class passengers can also take advantage of Malaysia Airlines’ award winning satay stick appetizers served with delicious peanut sauce in flight or the ‘Chef-on-Call’ dining service, providing advance meal selection from 25 options consisting of Malaysian specialities, chef specials and healthy choice dishes, with advance booking.

James Hogan, who has served as Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer since September 2006, has been elevated to the post of Etihad Aviation Group President and Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, the key Etihad Aviation Group functions will be led by James Rigney as Group Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Knight as Group Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Ray Gammell as Group Chief People and Performance Officer, and Robert Webb as Group Chief Information and Technology Officer. These areas will provide leadership, governance and strategic direction in their expert areas across all companies in the Etihad Aviation Group. Peter Baumgartner, who was Etihad’s chief commercial officer, is now Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, will report to James Hogan, and will oversee the day-to-day running of Etihad Airways. Baumgartner will have overall responsibility for Flight Operations, Safety and Quality, Guest Services, Aviation Security, Sales, Network Operations, Etihad Airways Marketing, Etihad Airport Services – Ground, and Etihad Airport Services – Catering. He brings with him a wealth of experience in various aspects of the aviation business. He joined Etihad Airways in April 2005 from Swiss International Air Lines and has managed the airline’s intense global commercial efforts during a period of rapid growth, both in terms of commercial expansion and the introduction of new product and service innovations.