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.

Amaravati, the futuristic capital region of the sunrise state of Andhra Pradesh, adds yet another jewel to its crown with the foundation stone being laid for ITC Hotel’s 144 keys five-star property – ‘My Fortune, Guntur’ in Guntur. This will also mark ITC Hotel’s debut in the city. The hotel will be built with an investment of R. 145 crore and will create employment generation for about 550 people. ITC is also planning to come up with a similar five-star hotel offering 150 rooms in Vishakhapatnam. The foundation stone was laid by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu in the presence of Y. C. Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC Limited. The location of the hotel, on Ring Road, the heart of the city, is going to be an added advantage. Among the other facilities that the hotel will present its patrons with include a 5000 sq. ft. pillar-less ballroom with a capacity to accommodate 500 guests, along with all-day dining. Naidu said “This is the first 5 star hotel in Guntur which is close to the new capital Amaravati. Andhra Pradesh is the new destination for tourism with long stretches of beaches, with hills on one side and sea on the other side, excellent canals. It is also a State with the richest God, Lord Balaji at Tirupati, a city of 100 lakes. Amaravati even has a special gallery in the British Museum, London and there is a map which shows that Amaravati was the gate way to South East Asia even in those times.” Y. C. Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC said, “It gives me immense pleasure in being part of this unveiling of our first property in Guntur. Guntur …

Dhananjay Kumar is the new General Manager at The Suryaa. With over 21 years of experience, having worked with brands such as Radisson Blu Hotel (Chennai), Hilton (Chennai), Technopak Advisors Private Limited (Gurgaon), The Claridges Hotel (New Delhi), Shangri – La (New Delhi), The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, The Park Royal (New Delhi), DLF Hospitality (Gurgaon), & Hyatt International. His last assignment was with Radisson Blu Marina as General Manager. Kumar’s last stint at The Suryaa was as a Resident Manager for a year in 2012. He specialises in hotel operations, revenue management, performance enhancement, best practices implementation, setting up process and implementation, organization development and human resources and training. Throughout his career DJ has been certified with various recognitions for commendable work in the field of hospitality.

AccorHotels and Brigade Group, Bangalore announced the opening of Grand MercureMysuru in South India’s Mysuru. The hotel has 146 spacious rooms and suites and is located within close proximity of all major tourist attractions as well as the central business district. The Grand MercureMysuru is situated on the legendary new SayajiRao Road. The sixth floor of the hotel features a viewing gallery overlooking the Dasara procession. To celebrate the opening, the hotel is offering a Deluxe rooms stay with breakfast for two inclusive of any one main meal from Rs 7,250 per night. This offer is valid from now until 30th June, 2016. The rate for a Standard Room is from Rs 6,000.

HNA Tourism Group, a division of HNA Group Co, a Fortune Global 500 company with operations across aviation, tourism, hospitality, finance, and online services among other sectors, and Carlson Hospitality Group has announced that they have entered an agreement for the acquisition of Carlson Hotels. The combination of HNA Tourism Group and Carlson Hotels will have increased ability to accelerate growth through investments in areas such as digital, owned assets in major gateway cities, building of Radisson RED and other new brands. The Transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the second half of (calendar) 2016. Under terms of the Agreement, which were unanimously approved by the Carlson Board of Directors, HNA Tourism Group will acquire all of Carlson Hotels, including its approximately 51.3 percent majority stake in Rezidor Hotel Group.

Jetsmart.in, a real-time e-commerce platform, has got investments from Travel Capitalist Ventures to make private air charter affordable in India. The Bengaluru-based private air travel company is looking at expanding their present charter and non-scheduled operations through innovations such as selling empty seats or ferry flights on a real-time basis. JetSmart.in has got an investment from Travel Capitalist Ventures, one of the leading multi-stage investment firms globally that focuses on travel private equity and venture capital investments and No Border Investments, a Doha-based investment firm, which has secure a key stake in the company. Speaking at the launch Abrar Ahmad, Partner, Travel Capialist Ventures, said, “The Jetsmart offering allows corporate to service the needs of their key executives, provide discreet offerings to celebrities and HNW individuals to airports closer than legacy offerings all while saving valuable time and money.” ErfanHaque, CEO, JetSmart.in, said, “India is on the cusp of being an aviation super-power—we intend to be there on the stage when it happens.”

The 40th annual Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), Canada’s premier tourism marketplace, took place from April 24-27, 2016, in Montreal, Québec. During the conference, international tourism buyers met with Canadian sellers at a record-breaking 26,000 face-to-face business appointments. Hosted by Tourism Québec and Tourism Montreal, and taking place in the iconic Palais des congrès de Montreal, this year’s sold-out event features 536 buyers from 28 countries and 582 Canadian sellers from coast to coast —boasting the best seller-to-buyer ratio ever with one seller for every one buyer. “With a record attendance of 1,680 delegates at this year’s RVC, buyers and sellers are working to captivate and drive more people to visit Canada,” says David Goldstein, President and CEO of Destination Canada. “With the incredible range of diverse, fun and authentic Canadian experiences showcased at RVC, we are demonstrating to the world that we’re not cold, we’re cool.” There is no better time to #ExploreCanada and that will be made evident by the quality of experiences and products showcased for buyers. With every province, territory and sector of the tourism industry represented, the ripple effect of the connections made at RVC are sure to be monumental.

Air Canada is all set to start non-stop flights from Vancouver to Delhi, India starting October 20, 2016, in time for Diwali festivities. It is the first airline to offer a non-stop service between the two hubs. The seasonal, three-times weekly flights complement Air Canada’s Toronto-Delhi non-stop service launched last fall. To promote the new Vancouver-Delhi route, Air Canada is offering special introductory fares starting as low as $999 round trip, all-inclusive. The tickets can be booked on aircanada.com and through travel agents. Flights will operate three-times-weekly October 20, 2016 to April 8, 2017 with Air Canada’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 30 International Business Class lie-flat pod suites, 21 Premium Economy and 247 Economy Class seats with upgraded in-flight entertainment at every seat throughout the aircraft. “Customer response to our Toronto-Delhi service has been extremely positive, and with this new seasonal Vancouver route, we are strategically increasing our presence in the important Asia-Pacific market in time for Diwali festival celebrations. Our non-stop Dreamliner flights from our Vancouver hub will also offer the shortest elapsed flying time from Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles to Delhi,” said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. “The operating economics of the Dreamliner together with the efforts of the Vancouver Airport Authority who have maintained airport operating costs at levels among the lowest in Canada, have enabled us to grow our Vancouver hub. Together with our extensive western Canada domestic and western US transborder network combined with the seamless connection experience through YVR’s US in-transit pre-clearance facilities, position YVR to be the preferred gateway hub for trans-Pacific travel to and from North America,” he added.

This summer Dubai Visa Processing Centre (DVPC) introduces a new offer of Rs. 4999 only for a 30 days single entry visa to Dubai. Emirates Airline passengers travelling from India can avail this new offer and enjoy the shopping, sightseeing and adventure the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers.Over the last decade Dubai has seen tremendous growth of travellers from India, owing to the region’s wide range of attractions on offer, which caters to the varied tastes of every kind of holiday-seeker. EssaSulaiman Ahmad, Vice President – India and Nepal, Emirates Airline, said, “Emirates has always been committed to improving the convenience of its passengers by providing best-in-class services both on ground and on board. Summer in Dubai is a particularly good time to visit the city, with many activities to enjoy such as the Dubai Summer Surprises, in addition to all the many other attractions which our home and hub is renowned for. With DVPC’s offer, we aim to make the travel process even more cost effective for our passengers in India. We are very happy to partner with DVPC to offer yet another unique service that I am optimistic will assist our many Indian customers to visit Dubai with increased ease.” Adding to this, VinayMalhotra, COO – South Asia and DVPC, VFS Global said, “DVPC, in partnership with Emirates Airline, always seeks to bring its customers utmost convenience, ease and unparalleled service quality when planning their trips to Dubai. This new offering of Rs.4999 for a 30 days single-entry visa will be beneficial to all our Indian travellers, especially with the holiday season being around the corner.” All Emirates Airline passengers can avail this offer by either booking their …