Speaking about the success of the 5th edition of Emirates Travel Agents Cricket Tournament 2023, Sunil Kallyat, Regional Manager, WI at Emirates, says, “We saw a desire to participate in this tournament from other cities as well, so we decided to hold matches in Delhi and Chennai as well. In future we may look at replicating this in Hyderabad and Bengaluru too to engage the travel trade in these cities too. We are trying to accommodate everyone since the registrations are quite high. We had over 32 teams and 600+ players registering this year for the tournament in Mumbai alone.”

The captivating Indian superstar comes face-to-face with his new figures, launching in the London and Singapore attractions 18th December 2023 – Bollywood’s golden boy Ranveer Singh meets not one, but two, figures of himself at Madame Tussauds! The international star, known for box-office-breaking performances, unapologetic personal style and magnetic personality, visited the world-famous attraction in London to welcome his two new figures. He was accompanied by his mother, who, as a child, first introduced the would-be megastar to the world of Madame Tussauds London by showing him album pictures of her own visits to the iconic attraction. This is the first time the Bollywood star has been immortalised by Madame Tussauds and guests will be able to meet his new figures at Madame Tussauds’ London and Singapore attractions. Singh’s rise to fame was nothing short of iconic, with a streak of back-to-back blockbuster hits, solidifying him as a much-loved staple of Bollywood. He has starred in many awe-inspiring films internationally, from his acting debut in Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) to beloved films Bajirao Mastani (2015), Padmaavat (2018), and Gully Boy (2019). Maintaining his high-octane presence in India for over a decade, the star has appeared in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list every year since 2012 and has been celebrated by GQ, India Today, and The Indian Express as one of the nation’s top 50 most influential and powerful people. Ranveer Singh was involved throughout the creative process and specifically chose the distinct looks and styling for his figures. The London figure pays homage to Ranveer’s culture and heritage with the neon sherwani designed by Manish Arora as part of his wedding celebrations. The eye-catching outfit includes hundreds of individually sewn …

The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department has launched a new star hotel classification portal to boost the tourism and hospitality industry in the state. Under the new system, the hotels and resorts in Uttar Pradesh will now be classified under five categories — platinum, diamond, gold, silver and bronze. State Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh said that the classification of hotels and resorts in the state will be done based on their quality, services and overall facilities and guest experience.

India became the first international market to hit pre-covid levels for Australia says, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager- India & Gulf, Tourism Australia. He adds, “Arrivals from India for year-ended Sept 2023 were 386,000, which were at par with 2019 levels. Total trip spend by Indian tourists for the year ended June 2023 was A$ 2.2 bn, approx. Rs 12,000 crore, which was 24% higher than pre-Covid.”

According to CAPA Advisory Mid-Year Guidance on India Aviation Outlook FY2024, international operations are coming into greater focus and will receive an increasing share of planned capacity. It adds that both domestic and international airfares are normalising from post-pandemic highs, despite the capacity shortages. It expects this to be particularly visible from Q4.

As per figures released from MoT, India received about 6.43 million foreign tourism arrivals in 2023 (Jan-Sept) who spent about Rs 1,66,660 crore while here. In order to increase the footfall of international tourists in India, Ministry of Tourism, participated in various International travel fairs during the Year 2023 such as FITUR 2023, ITB Berlin, and ATM Dubai.

SITA explores shifting trends that have emerged in the last year and states that while some megatrends identified in 2022 have witnessed rapid growth in the last 12 months, others also continued to develop, including digital travel, with the emergence of digital identities. According to SITA’s 2023 Air Transport IT Insights, by the end of 2026, 82% of airlines will use biometric-enabled digital identity technologies for aircraft boarding, a further 67% confirmed using touchless and 50% single token.

Digital travel platform Agoda collaborated with the Government of Goa and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to organize a Hotel Sustainability Training for industry professionals in Goa. This two-day program brought together local hoteliers for a series of sessions led by influential industry experts, aiming to provide them with the competences and tools necessary to enhance their sustainability practices. Throughout the training, participants immersed themselves in real-world insights drawn from best-in-class sustainability practices and actual hotel case studies. Using as a checklist the GSTC Industry Criteria for hotels, attendees were empowered to assess their current performance and then set achievable short-, medium-, and long-term sustainability objectives. Krishna Rathi, Agoda Country Director India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives, sharing his views on the initiative, said, “We are honored to announce our partnership with the Government of Goa and the GSTC for the inaugural session of our Hotel Sustainability Training in India. This initiative, a modest yet important step, aligns with the Goa Roadmap and ‘Travel for LiFE,’ contributing to our collective vision. Agoda is committed to fostering responsible connections between people and destinations. Embracing sustainability practices is more crucial than ever for a more sustainable future in the hospitality industry. With the right knowledge and tools, we aim to accelerate this evolution.” Suneel Anchipaka, Director of Tourism (Goa), at the opening ceremony of the training, commented, “Our government has made sustainable tourism a top priority, and this initiative by Agoda aligns seamlessly with our vision. By equipping hotel professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to adopt sustainability practices at their properties, we can create a more responsible and resilient tourism industry in Goa. I encourage all hotel professionals to take …

Concluding a tenure of 7.5 years as Regional Director (IMESA) at Singapore Tourism, GB Srithar, stated, “This year has been an interesting year for us. The arrival of Indian visitors has been steadily increasing post-COVID, month by month. As of November 2023, we have recorded 977,500 visitors and we anticipate surpassing 1 million by the year end.” He passes on the baton to Markus Tan from January 1, 2024.

Sharing his expectations from 2024, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, said, “We hope that in the new year, India will also look at liberalizing its visa regime so that foreign tourists will be able to travel to India more freely and with fewer hassles. Travel is increasing and India needs to get a fair share of inbound traffic.”