Displaying keen appetite in India’s high growth international education segment, Thomas Cook (India), has announced its ‘Study Buddy’ program – with special offers on all student remittances made until September 30, 2021. The offers are available across the company’s omnichannel touch points – over 1100 retail outlets (both owned and FX Mate B2B partner outlets), toll free contact centre # 1800 2099 100, and portal www.thomascook.in With Indian students having lost out on their academic year due to the pandemic, 2021 has witnessed a significant resurgence in the overseas study opportunity. The increasing uptick in admissions for the upcoming semester commencing July-August 2021, offers Thomas Cook India strong potential. To maximise on this opportunity, the company’s Foreign Exchange business has launched its special ‘Study Buddy’ program to benefit students on every education remittance made until September 30, 2021. Highlights of the Study Buddy offer include a Grand Prize – One Free* Air Ticket to study destination per month (for travel up to Sept 2022), daily prize to be won – a bluetooth headphone, and assured gifts including a Lenskart Gold membership, P&G vouchers. Deepesh Varma, Senior Vice President, Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) said, “The international study segment is a highly opportune one and we are already witnessing growth of over 20%. Our Study Buddy program with attractive offers has hence been specially designed to benefit our students and thereby increase our share of the education remittances business.”

Imaginative nature play is the order of the day at the Koala Conservation Reserve, Phillip Island Nature Parks, with a new nature play area opening on Saturday 26 June, just in time for the school holidays. The play area is designed so that kids will create their own fun and be imaginative as they jump, run, sit, crawl and climb throughout the different areas that showcase some of the island’s native species – an Eastern barred bandicoot burrow, a honeyeater nest and a koala deck. Recycled timbers were sourced from the plantation at the Koala Conservation Reserve, as well as Churchill Island, to allow for a sustainable and aesthetic design that complemented the surrounding woodland. The new nature play area is located at the front of the Koala Conservation Reserve, so paid entry is not required. It’s the perfect place for families to bring along a picnic and spend some time getting back to nature with the kids. Nature will also be a feature of a new mural artwork being created by renowned contemporary artist Jimmy Dvate. Wildlife will be celebrated in this mural that is set to feature native species including a honeyeater, a curlew and more. Work will be starting on the walls of the old Chisholm centre on Wednesday 30 June, and Jimmy is expecting the project to take approximately ten days to complete.

The first virtual ‘Korea Travel Expo’ will see buyers from West and South India indulging in B2B meetings with over 15 exhibitors from South Korea. In fact, 1/3rd of the delegation from South Korea is looking to explore the India market for the very first time or after many years. Register at www.koreatravelexpo.com, email jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani visited Nadabet on India-Pakistan border and inspected various border tourism development works under the ‘Seema Darshan’ project. It is being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 125 crore and is expected to be completed before 15 August, 2021. Under this project, the Gujarat Tourism Corporation has completed the work of shelter development near Nadeshwari Mata temple. Tourism amenities are being developed in four phases.

Highlighting the importance of yoga on International Yoga Day, Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (I/C), said, “We know that the discussion around the world regarding mental health as well as post-Covid wellness – if anyone has a permanent solution for that it is India – whether it is in the form of Yoga, Ayurveda or Ayush.”

Despite the adverse impact of the pandemic, Thomas Cook India (TCIL) has witnessed sequential business recovery during the last nine months of fiscal 2021. This has resulted in sequential reduction in operating losses. The fund infusion TCIL received from its parent Fairfax of Rs 436 crore of optionally convertible cumulative redeemable preference shares during March 2021 has also mitigated impact of operating losses and provided support to its liquidity. Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India), said, “The reaffirmation of the rating from CRISIL is a reassurance of our sound business fundamentals and financial management, despite the headwinds brought on by the pandemic. Factored in equally, is our strong brand equity and leadership positioning in the forex and travel businesses; as also the strong support from our parent Fairfax. Our consistent efforts at reimagining our businesses coupled with effective cost management have played a key role in navigating through the past 15 months and we will continue to focus on innovation and digitisation as we build momentum towards recovery.”    

The Resolution Plan submitted by the Jalan Kalrock Consortium for the corporate insolvency resolution of Jet Airways (India) Ltd was approved earlier today by the Hon’ble National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench. The Consortium awaits the written order by the National Company Law Tribunal approving the Resolution Plan and shall inform all stakeholders on next steps for the revival of Jet Airways. NCLT asks the DGCA, Aviation Ministry to decide on slots within 90 days. A two-member bench of the NCLT pronounced its final ruling on the Kalrock Capital and Murari Lal Jalan consortium resolution plan for Jet Airways on June 22. Jalan had claimed that the consortium intends to get Jet back in the skies within four to six months of getting the approval. NCLT says the airline will have no historic right over landing slots.

The Yaas relief and health check-up camp organised by ETAA Eastern India Chapter in association with CAS, NatureMates and The Rotary Club of Calcutta (South Central) was completed smoothly in June 2021 in Mousuni Islands, Sunderbans despite the challenges of the bad weather, flooded roads, partial lockdown, and unavailability of public transport. Koushik Banerjee, Chapter Chairman (East India), says, “This couldn’t have happened without the co-operation of the forest department. The local people of Mousuni islands amazed us with their hospitality, humility and discipline.”

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has announced that it will hold its national elections in July 2021 via electronic-voting for the safety of its members. The term for the team coming in this election would have been 2020-2022, but due to the delay this team will only have an effective term of 2021-2022. As per regular procedure, TAFI was supposed to have its national elections in 2020. However, due to COVID its chapter elections were delayed, which affected the national elections. The final dates will be announced soon.

Research is the very cornerstone of Phillip Island Nature Parks (Melbourne) operations, informing wildlife management and environmental programs within the Parks and helping us to understand and respond to threats to Phillip Island’s wildlife.   Phillip Island Nature Parks’ research program is diverse in scope, covering both terrestrial and marine domains. Its functions include producing evidence-based information to guide the development of policy and wildlife management programs specific for Phillip Island, and with application regionally and internationally.   Our research team is an authority on little penguins, seals and other seabirds. Little penguin research on Phillip Island has been ongoing for over 50 years – one of the longest continuous seabird studies in the world.   In the 1980s, the future of the penguin population was uncertain. A housing estate on the peninsula was presenting many dangers to the colony; Little Penguins were being killed by cars, foxes, dogs and feral cats. Their habitat was being destroyed by houses, fire and weed invasion.   A scientific paper prepared by Phillip Island Nature Parks’ research staff predicted that, if nothing were done, the world’s most famous colony of Little penguins at the Penguin Parade could be extinct on Summerland Peninsula by the year 2000. This colony was the last remaining of the original 10 penguin colonies on Phillip Island prior to European settlement, and the findings set off alarm bells across the community and Government.   A major program of revegetation and regeneration commenced, and still continues today. The penguin colony began to rebuild and grew from 12,000 to 30,000 breeding birds. More and more of the Peninsula is being used for nesting as the penguin habitat is progressively re-established and …