After Sri Lanka and Thailand, Vietnam may be the next destination to allow entry of Indian travellers without the need for a visa. Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism, Nguyen Van Hung has called for short-term visa waivers for major markets like India to drive tourism recovery. In the first ten months of this year, Vietnam received nearly 10 million international visitors, marking a 4.6-fold rise compared to the corresponding period in 2022 and surpassing the targeted goal for 2023.

Sharing his views on the current startup landscape, Nishant Pitti, CEO & Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip says, “Over the years, we’ve seen a startling paradox. Loss-making companies often receive astronomical valuations, while bootstrapped, profitable ventures garner relatively modest market caps. In a world enamored with valuations, profitability often doesn’t get the spotlight it deserves.”

Given the government’s focus on rural and border tourism and developing tourism infrastructure in rural areas of Ladakh, the Administration of UT of Ladakh plan to establish 10,000 homestays over the next 5 years. It has recently released its revised Ladakh Homestay Policy 2023 to strengthen its rural economy. It is drafted based on feedback from stakeholders.

According to the latest McKinsey & Company report, prior to the pandemic, India’s outbound market was among the fastest growing markets in Asia. It has already recovered 61% of its pre-pandemic market, with 13 million outbound tourists in 2022. This represents a much quicker recovery than most Asian countries.

Ovolo Hotels Hong Kong is organising an exclusive webinar for the travel trade. Join the webinar to explore the offerings of the property on Friday, 24 November 2023 at 3pm (IST). Get ready for a blast! Kindly register to attend the webinar. Contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 for more info.

According to JLL’s Hotel Momentum India Q3, 2023, the six markets of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, and Mumbai continue to display strong growth driven by in Average Daily Rate (ADR) on the back of sustained demand from corporate travel. Delhi leads with a 36% growth in ADR, followed by Hyderabad (22.2%) and Mumbai (16.7%).

Sharing its data on the global top 10 busiest domestic airline routes in November 2023, OAG has found that the Mumbai – New Delhi route ranks tenth on the list with 596,440 seats in total on the route. This is the only Indian airline route that figures on this list. Number one is Jeju International – Seoul Gimpo route with 1,200,905 route.

Rikant Pittie, Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip.com, has revealed that in the months to come, the company plans to add new travel-related business verticals inorganically which are asset-light, tech-based and synergistic. It’s Q2-FY24 results shows highest-ever quarterly PAT of 47.2 Cr (YoY growth of 67.2%) with Profit Before Tax of INR 64.7 Cr.

The ninth edition of the annual Travel M!CE and Corporate Show organised by DDP will be held in January 20-21, 2024 at Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre. The two-day show will offer exhibitors and attendees a chance to network with experts, forge business connections and be a part of the niche fraternity. For more information, contact ritul.malhotra@ddppl.com or 9810191852.    

Oman Air has been awarded the 2024 Five-Star Major Airline rating by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) for the fourth consecutive year. The APEX Five Star and Four Star Airline Awards, formerly APEX Official Airline Ratings™, were created based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt from Concur, the world’s highest-rated travel-organising app. Nearly one million flights were rated by passengers across more than 600 airlines from around the world using a five-star scale, and are independently certified by a professional external auditing company. The award is the latest in a string of accolades Oman Air has received from APEX, including the 2022 Passenger Choice Award® for Best Seat Comfort in the Middle East, as well as the Five-Star Major Airline rankings for 2023, 2022 and 2021. The airline was also recently named ‘Best Airline Staff in the Middle East’ at the Skytrax 2023 World Airline Awards, a testament to its unwavering commitment to setting new benchmarks for guest experience, year on year.