The Globus family of brands has curated a selection of 6 programmes titled Monograms India Discoveries to help travellers discover India. Varesh Chopra – Regional Director – Globus family of brands, says, “In our continuous interactions with our trade partners through 2020, they exhibited immense confidence in the idea of us offering experiences in India for domestic travellers. So we designed some of the best experiences to destinations within India.”

Goa grew to be the RevPAR leader in absolute terms, despite a decline of RevPAR by 33.3% in Q4 2020, making it the fastest recovering market in absolute terms. Jaideep Dang, MD, Hotels and Hospitality Group, South Asia, JLL, says, “We are already seeing signs of domestic business travel pick up in the new year. We expect that occupancies in business hotels to ramp up from March-April 2021 onwards.”

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath will soon be visiting Ayodhya to review the progress of the developmental works that are being carried out to provide world-class facilities to tourists. He will visit spots and oversee the progress of projects which include expansion of Bhajan Sandhya Sthal, Queen Ho Memorial Park, Ram Katha Park, and beautification of Ram Kath Gallery, Ram Ki Paidi. Development works include widening city roads, construction of multilevel parking sites and revamp of bus and railway station.

Speaking on the sidelines of ADTOI’s annual convention at Kevadia, PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, said, “We should all go for ‘Vocal for Local’ and bring make all efforts to promote domestic tourism. Gujarat Tourism has developed Kevadia and it is one of the best upcoming MICE facility in the country. The city has everything – all amenities and great connectivity. MICE travel in India should be incentivised. This is the time to grab all corporates from India for events.”

EaseMyTrip is set to become the first Indian OTA to list on the local bourses as it prepares to launch a Rs 510 crorāe IPO by March end. It will look to utilise a surge in liquidity in primary markets that has led to blockbuster demand for IPOs in recent months. It could, however, face the uphill task of convincing investors at a time when āthe travel industry is struggling to ride out the adverse impact of the pandemic though news on the vaccine has raised hopes of a full

In order to revive film shoots in Jammu & Kashmir, a delegation of film-makers led by producer Mahaveer Jain met Nitishwar Kumar, J&K Principal Secretary to LG, to discuss challenges and opportunities. Also present at this meeting in Mumbai were filmmakers Ekta Kapoor and Imtiaz Ali.

StreetGooser, a cloud-based accommodation management system with 4,000 hotels in its kitty, has signed an MoU with HATS – a consortium of homestays and tourism promoters which has, under its belt, a thousand homestays across Kerala. Shakthivelu M, Managing Director and Co-founder of StreetGooser, says, “We, at StreetGooser, have provided our Property Management System for free to members of HATS as there is an innate synergy between our two organizations.” John Varghese N, CEO and Founder of StreetGooser adds, “StreetGooser will hold webinars to educate and integrate homestay owners into the system. Our cutting-edge technology helps home owners to run their business efficiently and smoothly, giving them the tools to hike occupancy rates and revenue.” “Homestays have their own USPs,” says MP Sivadathan, Director Kerala HATS & Member, State Tourism Advisory Committee. “Homestays offer tourists secure and affordable accommodation, personalized service, the opportunity to interact with hosts who have local know-how and relish cuisine that is fresh, seasonal and organic,” he adds. However, home stays often have challenges, especially when located in off-trail areas. Boosting occupancy and revenue becomes difficult in the absence of an online presence. “Another spin-off of the partnership is that homestays that are unique and experiential will be showcased on GypZe.com, giving them greater visibility,” says  Hema Manghnani, Vice-President Business Development. “GypZe is a flagship venture of StreetGooser and a one-of-a-kind online travel companion and guide,” she explains. “It is essentially a booking platform dedicated to experiential stays.”

As part of Tourism New Zealand’s virtual road trip series, the region to be covered this month is Auckland. The webinar is scheduled for February 18, 2021 at 11am, and will be similar to what it did with Christchurch, West Coast, Nelson Tasman, Queenstown and Wellington wherein pre-recorded video content shared by the New Zealand product operators will be shared. Auckland is New Zealand’s most populous city and is a multi-cultural hub of food, music, arts and culture. To experience this road trip, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Utah Office of Tourism has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. Vicki Varela, Managing Director, Utah Office of Tourism, says, “From The Mighty 5 national parks to The Greatest Snow on Earth, our unparalleled outdoor recreation depends on the thoughtful stewardship of our natural resources. Our Red Emerald Strategic Plan strives to continue powerful branding, promote responsible visitation, and help preserve our world-class quality of life for future generations. We are proud to join the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in establishing Utah as an industry leader in responsible visitation to ensure our treasured places remain forever mighty.” GSTC encourages destinations pursuing sustainability practices in development and management of tourism, to join as GSTC members and apply the GSTC Destination Criteria, which eventually can lead to achieving certification by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body.        

After being completely ignored in the latest Union Budget 2021, the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has written to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing disappointment and has sought his meeting. The apex hospitality association has conveyed dismay and disappointment on the gross neglect shown to the hospitality sector in the Budget. The FHRAI has stated its disbelief on the 19 per cent retrenchment in the budget allocation for the Ministry of Tourism at a time when the sector is facing the worst crisis for tourism. In the absence of a sector-specific stimulus package, at least 30 to 40 per cent restaurants and 20 to 30 per cent hotels in the country are facing imminent shut down of business, resulting into millions of job losses. “We are really disheartened to see that tourism and hospitality – the biggest casualty of the COVID19 pandemic have been continuously ignored by the Government ever since the pandemic hit the country. It did not even find a mention in the Budget presented by the Finance Minister. The FHRAI has been vociferously advocating for some real relief measures to help the sector come out of the biggest crisis. Despite our numerous representations over the last ten months and multiple meetings with the highest echelons in the Government, the Hospitality sector has been blatantly ignored. The Prime Minister has always been a strong proponent of India’s tourism potential. We are hoping that he will understand and offer a remedy for the industry’s concerns for which we have sought a meeting with him,” says Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI.