Starting February 1, Air India will enhance frequency on its Delhi-Surat sector from 4 days to 7 days. At present, Air India operates a, CRJ-700 aircraft four times a week. The flight AI 0607 departs from Delhi at 0745 hrs and arrives Surat at 0925 hrs. The return flight AI 0608 leaves Surat at 0955 hrs and lands in Delhi at 1135 hrs. Delhi-Surat-Delhi AI flight is highly popular among textile and diamond businessmen and provides seamless connectivity between two business cities. It also offers convenient connections to other international flights from/to Delhi.

Maharashtra is in high level talks with the Chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust to upgrade the port for cruise terminal. Valsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary Tourism & Cultural Affair, Government of Maharashtra, said, “We have had a series of meetings with some of the biggest cruise liners when we were at WTM London last year that led us to think in this direction. There is a high-powered committee set up by the Ministry of Shipping to promote cruise tourism. The Secretary of Tourism, Secretary of Shipping and the Chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust have had some meetings on that already. One of the areas which has been highlighted is the infrastructure in the port terminals. As per the requirement Cochin port trust has completed the infrastructure work on one of the best cruise terminals. Maharashtra now needs to have a cruise terminal separate from a normal port because one cruise liner brings in so much business to the destination. I have written to the Mumbai Port Trust chairman and discussed with him to step up our infrastructure in the Mumbai terminal. We will work out an upgradation plan for this and the MoT will fund it under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. The short term plan is to ensure easy immigration and customs with the current infrastructure.”

Singapore Tourism Board has announced that over 1 million Indian tourists visited Singapore in 2015 marking a year-on-year growth of 7.4 per cent in visitor arrivals. To celebrate this achievement, Singapore Tourism Board surprised all passengers flying to the country with special in-flight celebratory experiences in partnership with  Air India, Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines on December 31, 2015. Chee Pey Chang, Executive Director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa – Singapore Tourism Board, said, “2015 was a landmark year for us as Singapore celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Last year, the Singapore Botanic Gardens was accredited as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the opening of the National Gallery Singapore and Indian Heritage Centre generated great interest among Indian travellers.”

SAMHI and Marriott International have introduced the first ever integrated property – Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott in Bengaluru, as part of their joint venture. The 336-room integrated property is set in the commercial hub of Bengaluru. Courtyard by Marriott Bengaluru Outer Ring Road features 170 rooms that comprise 134 deluxe, 24 executive deluxe rooms and 12 suites. The property is strategically located in Outer Ring Road of the city in the commercial IT hub. Craig Smith, President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Marriott International, who was present at the launch, said, “Marriott International has always been at the forefront of driving innovation in the hospitality industry in India and to further this commitment, the Marriott International group has for the first time, invested in a property in the country.” He further added, “The property, which is our first integrated hotel complex in India, is set to provide an unrivalled hospitality experience to the office-goers in Bengaluru with its state-of-the-art facilities and a commitment to customer experience excellence.” Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Outer Ring Road is the 2nd Fairfield by Marriott hotel in the city and comprises of 166 guest rooms including 112 deluxe rooms and 54 deluxe pool view rooms.  Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott together bring to guests a luxurious Mediterranean restaurant called BG’s which offers a splendid ambience that is available in an indoor and outdoor setting and a magnificent spread of Mediterranean cuisine prepared by a specialty chef.

IndiGo has launched eight new flights in its domestic network connecting Delhi to Chennai, Chennai to Kochi, Guwahati to Delhi and Hyderabad to Delhi, with effect from January 27, 2016. Effective January 27, IndiGo introduced second non-stop daily flight between Chennai and Kochi, third daily non-stop flight between Delhi and Guwahati, ninth daily non-stop flight between Hyderabad and Delhi and 10th daily non-stop flight between Delhi and Chennai. With 679 daily flights connecting 39 destinations, these new flights will further consolidate IndiGo’s position as the fastest growing airline in India. Commenting on the new flight schedule, Aditya Ghosh, President IndiGo said, “We are delighted to announce the take-off of our new flights from Delhi, Chennai, Kochi, Guwahati and Hyderabad. The increased flow of tourist and business traffic to and from these cities gave us the perfect opportunity to launch additional flights and serve more passengers on board. We are confident that these new flights will prove immensely popular and convenient to our travellers.”

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Western Region invited Yossi Fatael, Vice President, UFTAA, and Chairman, Air Matters, to conduct an in-depth presentation on New Distribution Capability (NDC) and IATA’s NewGen ISS in Mumbai. Also present was Sunil Kumar, President, UFTAA and National President, TAAI, and a few members of the Managing Committee. The presentation titled ‘Changing Trends in the Travel Industry and its Impact’ highlighted the travel agents’ perspective on these two important subjects. TAAI will conduct a similar workshop in New Delhi on January 30 at The Claridges from 4 pm onwards.

Indonesia received 262,000 Indian tourists in 2015 meeting their target for the year, stated Taufik Nurhidayat, Deputy Director – Office of the Deputy for International Marketing, Ministry of Tourism Indonesia at the sales mission organised by the Visit Indonesia Tourism Officers (VITO) India in New Delhi. He shared that they are targeting 350,000 Indian visitors this year and is optimistic after the recent regulation of a 30-day visa-free entry into Indonesia for Indian tourists. Delegates from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism will also participate in SATTE as part of their sales mission.

Thailand’s Minor Hotel Group (MHG), has announced the first Oaks property in India with the development of Oaks Neemrana, in partnership with India-based NSP Associates (India). Neemrana is a fast developing business hub located southwest of New Delhi, on the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, a mega infrastructure project worth US $90 billion, approximately 90 km from Gurgaon and 140 km from Jaipur. Its history dates back to the 15th century with the construction of the famous Neemrana Fort Palace, which was restored in 1991 and subsequently converted into a hotel that began attracting tourists to the destination. Oaks Neemrana is under development in the centre of the town and is scheduled to open in 2017. Facilities at the 116 unit Oaks Neemrana will include an all-day dining restaurant with sky garden, a lobby café and lounge area, a pool bar, meeting space of 160 square metres with capacity to accommodate up to 80 people, plus a gym and a kids’ play area. There will be three different room types: 68 Studio Apartments; 40 One Bedroom Apartments and eight Two Bedroom Apartments. Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, Minor Hotel Group, commented, “We are excited to announce both the first Oaks in India and also the first Minor Hotel Group property in India. The Oaks brand is a great fit for this market, which represents a huge opportunity, and we are confident that the property will be a great success. We are delighted to be partnering with NSP Associates and look forward to working closely with the team to bring this new hotel to the market.”

Passport services can now be availed with greater convenience in a five-day appointment window, shared the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, on Twitter. As part of a citizen-centric initiative, the new provision would allow applicants to choose any appointment date online from the earliest five available dates while scheduling appointment for passport related services. Steps to liberalise the police verification procedure for passport issuance have also been implemented with the paperless end-to-end digital flow of Police Verification Report (PVR) process, further reducing the time required for PVR within the desired time limit of 21 days. Henceforth, normal passport applications of all first time applicants furnishing Aadhaar, electoral photo identity card (EPIC), permanent account number (PAN) card, and an affidavit in the format of Annexure-I will be processed on post-police verification basis without payment of any additional fees, subject to successful online validation of Aadhaar number. Furthermore, mPassport Police app has been launched for digital submission of PVR by field officers. 1.20 crore passport services were rendered in 2015 registering an increase of 21 per cent over 2014.

After gaining immense popularity in India, Travel TV has made its way into the Middle East markets. Launched this year, this news channel is rapidly increasing its viewership in the GCC region. Capturing the essence of the industry and offering timely news, Travel TV Middle East has been warmly welcomed in this new territory.