The FICCI-KPMG ‘India Aviation Report 2016’, launched at the civil aviation exposition in Hyderabad, reveals that with 81 million trips, India’s domestic aviation market grew at over 20.3% during January to December 2015-the highest growth rate recorded in the world. It further said that India is well on its way to become the third largest aviation market by 2020, owing to increasing disposable incomes, fall in prices of Aircraft Turbine Fuel (ATF), increase in tourism, visa reforms, etc. have placed India in a unique position. This is bringing the country closer to achieving its vision of becoming the largest aviation market by 2030. The report highlights that the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP 2016) is likely to provide a significant fillip to the industry. The various fiscal and monetary incentives, liberal policies focused on ‘ease of doing business’ and enhanced push for regional and global connectivity are extremely positive. Steps taken to revive and operationalise around 160 airports in India, if chosen carefully, will improve air connectivity to regional and remote areas. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the sector will get substantial support from the state in terms of financing, concessional land allotment, tax holidays and other incentives. The report strongly suggests that in order to ensure high-geared growth, it is imperative to broaden the base of domestic flyers through greater air connectivity in Tier 2/3 cities. Many Indian states have taken positive initiatives, largely in the field of development of airports, reduction in sales tax rates on ATF and direct subsidy to airlines for improvement of connectivity. The government and industry are engaged closely in addressing the various opportunities and challenges in the aviation sector; and that’s a welcome sign. …

GoAir has relocated its arrival operations from Terminal 1A to Terminal 1B at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai. In essence, GoAir’s complete operations, both departures and arrivals at Mumbai, shall now operate from Terminal 1B. Effective March 15, GoAir will be able to offer customers convenient flight transfers and under a single roof in Terminal 1B at Mumbai. The last GoAir flight arriving at Terminal 1A was Delhi-Bombay flight, G8 342, at 23.55hrs while the first GoAir flight that arrived at Terminal 1B was G8 364 Ahmedabad-Bombay at 1.00hrs

Travelport Rich Content and Branding has added over 100 airlines since the start of 2015, taking the count to a total of 150, as of March 15. In the past few weeks, Travelport has announced that carriers such as British Airways, Iberia, SAS and JetBlue have all joined the roster of airlines around the globe using Rich Content and Branding including Fares Families. The travel commerce platform has also added the capability for airlines to make tailored or personalised offers to both individual travel agencies and/or the corporations that a Travel Management Company services. Derek Sharp, Travelport’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Air Commerce, commented, “We’re delighted to be celebrating such a major milestone in the evolution of Travelport’s airline merchandising technology where we now lead the industry by a considerable margin.”

Air India has announced its Summer schedule for 2016 with new flights between Bengaluru-Trivandrum, Kolkata-Agartala, Vijaywada- Bengaluru and the much-awaited Delhi-Vienna. The national carrier will also increase frequency on Mumbai-Bhopal, Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Pune, and Delhi-Kullu (Himachal). Starting March 27, the new schedule will offer a daily return flight from Bengaluru to Trivandrum which has been planned by A321. The flight from Bengaluru will depart at 0700 hrs, while the return flight will depart from Trivandrum at 0855 hrs. Increasing its frequency on the domestic sectors, Air India has also added a daily return flight on the Mumbai – Bhopal sector. The flight will offer day-return facility to its passengers with a flight from Mumbai departing at 1930 hrs. The return flight from Bhopal will take off at 2130 hrs. Frequency on the Delhi- Pune sector is also being enhanced with number of flights added to and from Pune. The flight from Delhi will depart at 1830 hrs whereas, the flight from Pune will depart at 2120 hrs. On its international routes, Air India will start operations on the Delhi–Vienna sector with flights operating thrice a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by B787 commencing April 06, 2016. The Delhi-Vienna-Delhi flight will have a convenient departure at 1400hrs from Delhi arriving Vienna at 1845hrs. The return flight will have a night departure from Vienna at 2245hrs arriving Delhi at 0925hrs (+1). Passengers looking for more options to Punjab will also be able to enjoy the fourth frequency with return flights on Delhi (Del)-Amritsar (ATQ) vv sector. The flight from Delhi will depart at 0500 hrs while the return flight from ATQ will depart at 0650 hrs. The existing thrice a week flight …

Thai AirAsia has announced the first ever daily direct flights from Kochi to Bangkok Don Mueang starting from May 17, 2016. The inaugural fares to Bangkok are available starting from RS. 2999 per way, and can be booked until 27 March 2016 for travel from May 17, 2016- May 22, 2017 on www.airasia.com. Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO, Thai AirAsia, said, “India is a very important market for us and we are very committed to making air travel affordable and accessible from Kochi to Bangkok and beyond. As the first airline to launch a direct flight between Kochi and Bangkok, we are pleased to offer more convenience with a short 4 hour flight so travellers can have more time to enjoy our wonderful country. Beyond Bangkok, Thai AirAsia’s amazing connectivity allows for travellers to connect to over 20 destinations in Thailand including world famous beaches in Phuket and Krabi, and lush green mountains in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, among many other amazing cities. Beyond Thailand, passengers can also easily hop to other international destinations including Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Myanmar, Mandalay and Luang Prabang among many other cities”. Soraya Homchuen TAT Director of Mumbai said, “We are very excited to welcome Indian visitors to Thailand. In 2015, a total of 1,069,149 Indian visitors arrived in Thailand making Indian travellers the 6th largest group of travellers to our country. Apart from our delicious Thai cuisine, we are also very proud to showcase our Thai hospitality and various attractions nationwide. Beyond Bangkok’s temples, shopping malls and night life, there is still much to explore and we invite you to visit our famous beaches in southern Thailand …

Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India, expects inbound tourism to flourish in 2016 after witnessing a growth of 6.8 per cent in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during January 2016. “We are aiming at a 10 per cent growth in FTAs this year. February 2016 alone received a total of 1,17,210 tourists visiting India on e-Tourist Visa (eTV), recording a growth of 369.1 per cent month on month- the effects of eTV will be observed this year.” Commenting on the expansion of domestic tourism Zutshi added that it would grow even further in the coming years. “Domestic tourism has flourished immensely. We had about 1.45 billion domestic tourist visits in 2015 and expect a 15 growth this year. Additionally, we are aiming to reach 2.2 billion domestic tourist visits by 2019.”

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. Of India and the Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) to propagate the cause of responsible and sustainable tourism to the next level. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, said, “ESOI works towards promoting sustainable and responsible tourism practices so we have joined hands with them since our agendas are the same. ESOI will partner with us and assist in sensitising the travel trade first, and then the general public.” It was also announced that a 10-year road map for advocacy and certification under the Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India will be charted. Steve Borgia, Honorary President, ESOI, said, “This MoU is also going to set a plan-of-action for the next 10 years for sustainable and responsible tourism.  The planning needs to be aggressive. Regional workshops will also be organised at various cities all over India with different guidelines for each destination.” ESOI, through stakeholder consultations will formulate criteria and classification guidelines for certification for the accommodation and tour/travel operators within the STCI guidelines and later develop standards for destinations which will also be in sync with the internationally accepted Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. The two bodies previously formulated and published the Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) and plan to put these practices to the forefront through the MoU.

Oman received 299,022 Indian arrivals last year recording 17 per cent growth in 2015 over 2014. Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) released the figures from India which highlight an increase in inbound numbers. The statistics also reflect a growth of 60 per cent in Indian arrivals to Oman in the last five years. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman, said, “The increase is very encouraging and reflects all the hard work we have put in promoting and marketing the destination in India. Since 2014, we started promoting Oman as an ideal wedding destination for Indians as Muscat is close to India. Our efforts were rewarded as we witnessed several large-scale weddings take place in the last two years. Many Indians are now visiting Oman for destination weddings. MICE has also seen an increase and to attract more MICE activities this year, our efforts are aimed at increasing interactions with tour operators and corporates.”

Jet Airways has launched its new flight from Delhi- Muscat starting March 21. The inaugural fare for the new flight to Muscat is Rs 13,105 one way and Rs 29,466 for the round trip in economy class. The daily flight was launched to strengthen the airline’s network in the Gulf region. Alok Sawhney, Head – North India & Nepal, Jet Airways, said, “We are expanding our operations in the Gulf region with the addition of a new daily flight to Muscat from March 21. We are adding another flight to Dubai, making the Delhi-Dubai frequency to three flights a day. Also, we are growing our operations from Mumbai to Dubai, which would make it six flights a day. With this addition on the gulf routes, we are looking forward to an encouraging response from our travel partners.”

Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is all geared up for its Convention to be held from March 17-21, 2016 in Bali, Indonesia. Riaz Munshi, Convention Chairman, OTOAI, says, “We are expecting around 240 delegates. We have booked close to 220 tickets from India and we also have people coming from Singapore, The Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.” Though the names of the panelists at the Convention have not been disclosed yet, Munshi informs that the business sessions are going to be informative with panel discussions on the current scenario of the market and the dynamic changes taking place in it.