Mumbai-based travel company Namaste Tourism has now partnered with a Croatia-based regional expert, Adriatic DMC, to represent them in the Indian market. Adriatic DMC is a Balkan regional destination management company and specialises in travel programs to the Balkan region including Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Serbia and Macedonia. Subhash Motwani, Director of Namaste Tourism, said, “We are thrilled to represent Adriatic DMC, the first DMC in India to offer tours to the entire Balkan region. It has a wide range of product available in this growing region, and with a multiple entry Schengen visa you can travel to several Balkan countries.” It will help travel agents and tour operators in India to plan unique itineraries for their customers who are on the lookout for new destinations. “While Indian travelers are shy about discovering new destinations, we are positive that the mix of history, culture and unparalleled natural heritage combined on our bespoke tours will be a fit and of great interest for the travelers in this market,” said Srdjan Kristic, Managing Director of Adriatic DMC.

Odisha Tourism is going to organise ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’ on the lines of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) and Kerala Travel Mart (KTM). Dr. R K Pattanayak, Tourist Officer, Department of Tourism, Govt of Odisha, says, “We are still on the verge of finalising this but we are going to have it by the end of this year or next year beginning. We look forward to attract more investments and tourists through the ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’.” Utpal K Pati, Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Govt of Odisha, says, “We are expecting travel agents as well as tour operators and 10-15 states and Union Territories to participate in the exhibition.”

Odisha received a total of 1,18,53,088 (11.8 million) tourists in 2015, registering a growth rate of 9 per cent, said Utpal K. Pati, Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Odisha. While 66,971 foreign tourist arrivals were recorded, 1,17,86,117 domestic tourists visited the state in 2015, he said during the state’s roadshow in New Delhi held on March 29. “We are mainly targeting the domestic market, especially tourists from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and will be organising roadshows all over India. The other agenda is to improve connectivity to the region and involve more airlines to start direct flights to Odisha. Since Bhubaneshwar airport recently started operating to international destinations, we are hoping to see a growth of about 7-8 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals this year. We are also aggressively promoting the Buddhist circuit as numerous ancient Buddhist sites are located in the state,” informed Pati. The state tourism department is going orgainse 10 roadshows in the country this year.

Pride Group of Hotels will invest over Rs 600 crore over the next 2-3 years to strengthen its portfolio through greenfield projects and acquisitions, a top company official reportedly said. The investments will include a new project in Goa, acquisition of a hotel in Mumbai, and addition of inventory to its existing property in Nagpur. “When we started off in the 1980s, we grew by greenfield projects and by acquiring existing properties and renovating them to our specs. In the past five years, we went into management model for faster growth and have built a portfolio of 12 operational hotels,” said SP Jain, Managing Director, Pride Group of Hotels. The company has all its hotels under three brands —Pride Plaza (5-star), Pride Hotel and Resort (4-star) and Pride Biznotel (3-star). Jain said the company has already acquired a land parcel in Goa to build a luxury property with an investment of about Rs 225-250 crore. This will be the group’s second property in Goa. The hotel firm is also adding additional inventory of 72 rooms to its existing property in Nagpur for about Rs 60 crore. “In Mumbai, we want to have a presence near the airport as the area is getting well connected. Since greenfield projects take a long time, mainly on account of approvals, we are looking to acquire an existing asset in the four or five-star category with an investment of about Rs 300 crore,” said Jain. Over the next three years, the company will also be opening three properties under management contract in Bengaluru, Nashik and Indore. Jain said the investments for expansion will be funded through a mix of debt and equity. The company also …

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has decided that the increase in ASI monument fees will only be 50 per cent of the proposed hike of 300 per cent. This means that for Category B monuments, there will be an increase from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 only instead of Rs. 300. However, a premium ticket will be introduced of Rs. 300/- with some value additions. Similarly for Category A monuments, there will be an increase from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500 only instead of Rs. 750. Premium ticket will cost Rs. 750 with similar value additions. The above new rates will be effective from April 1, 2016. The decision was taken in a meeting with the Executive Committee (EC) members of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and officials from Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI). While the official notification from ASI is awaited, IATO has revealed that after constant deliberations with the MOT, finally the decision was taken in a meeting with Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (IC) Dr. Mahesh Sharma, in his office where Vinod Zutshi, Secretary (Tourism), Narendra Kumar Sinha, Secretary (Culture), Rakesh Tewari, DG (ASI), Navneet Soni, OSD to Minister of Culture, B. Purushottam, PS to Hon’ble Minister for Tourism & Culture, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary (Tourism) and many other senior officials were present. Also, the IATO EC was assured by Sharma that by April 15, 2016, there will be a separate counter and queue to enter at all the ASI monuments for those having ticket in category A of Rs. 500 and above and in Category B of Rs. 200 and above. Some other facilities include clean toilets and some fast food outlets …

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has inked a master franchise agreement with Delhi-based Sorrel Hospitality. Led by a team of seasoned hospitality industry veterans with extensive experience building and managing hotel portfolios, Sorrel will be responsible for Best Western’s future positioning, growth and development across India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka. “We see tremendous potential right now in India and we are delighted to have aligned with a company like Sorrel Hospitality, which has an outstanding track record of success, as we work to expand our footprint in India,” said Ron Pohl Senior Vice President, Brand Management, Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “We are confident that Sorrel is the right partner to help us move closer to our very ambitious international expansion goals, and we look forward to working with their team.” Sorrel has put together a team of leading experts to guide Best Western’s efforts in India, including Gurmeet Singh Uberai, Promoter Director; Atul Jain, Chief Operating Officer; and Tajinder Singh, Vice President Sales & Marketing. Together, the team will execute a multi-pronged, multi-year development initiative. Sorrel has already begun an analysis of the Best Western portfolio in India, which currently includes 22 properties.

Delhi Government has earmarked Rs 10 crore for development of tourism infrastructure in 2016-17. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia announced this while presenting the 2016-17 Budget in the Delhi Assembly. The government also proposed to create a new campaign called ‘Brand Delhi’ and has earmarked Rs 30 crore for Brand Delhi and Delhi Festival in 2016-17. “We will re-develop the online presence of destination Delhi through websites, Apps, maps, social media and micro-sites,” Sisodia said. The government has also propose a skywalk way from Qutub Minar Metro Station to the Qutub Minar, a first of its kind is proposed to be developed in 2016-17. The said walkway will go over the Mehrauli archaeological complex.

In a bid to simplify tax regime, Delhi Government has announced increase in threshold limit of Luxury Tax from existing Rs 750 to Rs 1,500. “This will reduce tax burden on citizens and tourists and make it easy for small hotels to do business,” said Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia. The government has decided to introduce self declaration in Luxury Tax. Assessment of all hotels is compulsory and will be done on random basis. The revenue collection from Luxury Tax has seen an increase of 36.7 per cent. As against last year’s Rs 322 crore of revenue from Luxury Tax, this year will exceed Rs 440 crore is estimated to be collected. Last year, the government had enhanced Luxury Tax from 10 per cent to 15 per cent for all applicable establishment.

Andhra Pradesh reportedly attracted 1,218.3 lakh tourists in 2015 from across the globe. Domestic footfalls to the state increased to 1218.3 lakh in 2015 as against 933 lakh in 2014, thereby registering a growth of 30 per cent. Neerabh Kumar Prasad, I.A.S., Principal Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture, says, “In our endeavor to make Andhra Pradesh as India’s most preferred tourist destination, this data comes to us as a great encouragement. Under the leadership of our Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu and with a focused strategy in place, we are hopeful of this growth momentum to be replicated year after year going forward. We will continue to invest and focus to develop tourism in Andhra Pradesh of global standard.” Anantapur district which houses the famous Puttaparthi and Lord Veerbhadra temple at Lepakshi, became the most visited destination by foreign tourists with a footfall of 1.37 lakh foreigners. Among international tourist arrivals, 2.37 lakh tourists visited the state during the year 2015 as against 66,333 visited in 2014. Majority of the foreign tourists were from the South – East Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Middle East countries such as Dubai among others. Dr. R.P. Khajuria, I.F.S., Commissioner, Department of Tourism says, “Andhra Pradesh is one of the few states in India, which has such a rich diversity in terms of tourism and has the capacity to attract tourists across all age groups. The potential that lays ahead for the state is vast and these numbers are testimonials to the fact that increasing number of tourists both in India and abroad are realizing what the state can offer.” Andhra Pradesh also witnessed large number of footfalls from business travellers …

Starting April 1, 2016, VFS visa application centres for Turkey will be launched in 16 Indian cities along with two more centres in Kathmandu, Nepal and Male, Maldives, to make the visa procedure even faster and smoother, announced H.E. Dr Burak Akçapar, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to India, Nepal and Maldives. He said, “The opening of these visa centres is a very important step in India taking its rightful place in the tourism world. I believe that the launch of these visa centres will contribute to the enhancement of the cooperation between Turkey and India in the fields of tourism and economy.” As an exclusive partnership, VFS Global has become the only authorised visa processing service provider in these three countries for the Govt of the Republic of Turkey. Vinay Malhotra, COO – South Asia and DVPC, VFS Global said, “We are truly privileged to partner with the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey and believe the opening of these centres in India, Nepal and the Maldives will well serve the needs of travellers keen to visit this beautiful country.” The visa centres will be launched in New Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Goa, Puducherry, Kochi, Trivandrum, Chennai and Hyderabad.