flynas, the Saudi air carrier, announced that its passengers can apply for an electronic Stopover Visa through its website. The “Stopover Visa” is issued after purchasing the airline ticket, and the validity of the visa extends to three months and the stay in the Kingdom up to 4 days. The visa application will be passed automatically to the unified national visa platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to process and issue the digital visa immediately and send it to the beneficiary via e-mail. Expecting that the new service will contribute to increasing the visitors to the Kingdom, including Umrah and Pilgrim visitors, tourists, and businessmen, Bandar Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, said, “the Saudi Vision 2030 has laid the foundations for cooperation among the regulatory and executive sectors on one hand, and with the private sector on the other hand, to serve the Kingdom’s goals in all sectors. Today, we see a practical application of this integration and cooperation by enabling the national carriers to facilitate a request for issuing a Stopover visa, which facilitates procedures of obtaining a Stopover visa for whoever wishes to visit the Kingdom”. Almohanna stressed that this service will contribute to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a global hub for travel and business by facilitating quick business visits, making the Kingdom a point of contact between countries and continents. He indicated that the new service comes in line with the civil aviation strategy to reach 330 million passengers and link the Kingdom’s cities with 250 global destinations and 100 million tourists annually. Thousands of tourists are expected to benefit from the Stopover visa to attend the various cultural and entertainment events in …

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, addressing PATA India membership on future of overseas marketing & promotions in light of closing overseas promotional offices by MOT, said, “The strategy for overseas promotion and marketing will be taken over by the National Tourism Board of India, while any physical work to be done in international markets will be done by the missions, where MOT has already appointed officers in 20 major markets.”

Welcoming all trade partners and potential exhibitors to Global Panorama Showcase 2023, Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Global Panorama Showcase, says, “We successfully completed four cities in the last quarter of 2022, we now welcome trade partners to GPS 2023 with Kolkata, pune, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Lucknow and Bhubaneshwar. We had over 300 buyers register for GPS Bhubaneshwar and we look forward to welcoming more to 6-8 more cities in the third and fourth quarter of 2023.”    

Sharing his views on high airfares, Rakesh Narayanan, Vice President, Regional GM (Asia Pacific), Travel Solutions Airline Sales, Sabre, says, “We see strong airfares for domestic and international flights, including for leisure travel, which tends to book in advance, and for close-in corporate travel. It is also important to note that the average fare disparity between purchase dates is very small. Historically, there has been a more pronounced difference in the average fares based on advance purchase periods. Airlines are continuing to face challenges in bringing capacity back. However, higher air fares encourage carriers to increase the number of seats they plan to fly. We’re already seeing this with the large US network carriers, and we expect to see this trend elsewhere globally. Currently, we do remain in a capacity-constrained period with higher-than-normal fares, but it’s important to note that consumers remain eager to fly despite these challenges. The good news is that airlines and airports are working aggressively to improve their operational throughput. They want to increase aircraft utilization and seat capacity and, as capacity meets demand, we expect fares to rationalise.”

Marking the National Tourism Day on 25th January 2023 under the aegis of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, seminars, cultural events and other programmes are being organised by the Centre where several states are conducting events to promote tourism in their region. The Indian government established January 25 as the National Tourism Day to raise awareness about the importance of tourism for the country’s economy. The day is observed to cultivate awareness among the global community on the importance of tourism and its social, political, financial and cultural worth.

THAI Smile Airways continues expanding international routes by launching Jaipur – Bangkok flight to underscore its aviation standards and excellent service. The new flight aims at accommodating those targeted groups who are looking for convenient travelling from a full service airline, while opening a new window of adventure for the Thai passengers to explore the Pink City of India. It also offers exclusive travelling experience for Indian passengers with the best services. The A320-200 Airbus will fly directly from Jaipur to Bangkok where passengers can continue travel connections to other cities in Thailand and other countries conveniently. The service flight operates 4 flights a week and starts on January 5, 2023 onwards. Thamanoon Kuprasert, Acting Chief Executive Officer of THAI Smile Airways, a subsidiary airline of THAI Airways International Public Company (THAI), stated that “We are proud and ready to reintroduce the another route to India, that is between Jaipur – Bangkok. This is to underscore our proactive strategy in expanding international routes while encouraging passengers from both countries to explore the new travelling experience. Apart from being the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, with more than 3 million of populations, Jaipur is globally recognized as the Pink City of India. There are plenty of interesting tourist attractions, especially for the art and cultural activities and resources. Opening this new route is to answer to the demands of the Indian tourists who love the charming of Thailand. The excellent services are provided by our flight attendants who are committed to serving the passengers with humble and smile, which is the unique of Thainess that is recognized worldwide.” Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand …

Global Destinations will now assist the Outrigger team on further increasing brand awareness and sales amongst Indian travelers and the travel fraternity for its collection of premier, award-winning beach resorts across Thailand, Mauritius and the Maldives. Outrigger prides itself on its world-class hospitality rooted in local culture and has some of the most iconic locations such as Bel Ombre nature reserve in Mauritius, South Ari Atoll Maldives and Koh Samui Beach in Thailand. With a range of new offerings, openings and refurbishments over the last six months across Fiji, Maldives, Hawai‘i and Thailand, Outrigger Resorts & Hotels is a must-visit accommodation option for those wanting to escape to a tropical getaway. Sean Dee, Chief Commercial Officer, Outrigger Hospitality Group comments: “India is an important source market for Outrigger’s properties in Thailand, Mauritius and the Maldives and we are pleased to collaborate with Global Destinations on this expanded role.” He added, “Outrigger is constantly striving to elevate its brand with new properties, technology and amenities – we look forward to welcoming more guests from India and providing them with authentic experiences in iconic beach resort destinations.” Pranav Kapadia, Founder, Global Destinations comments “We are delighted to be working with Outrigger Hospitality Group as their India partner. Over the last year, we have been privileged to work with Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort and do some good work, so to work along with their Thailand and Maldives resorts is a fantastic opportunity for us at Global Destinations.” He also highlighted,” Outrigger Resorts & Hotels are looking at steadily increasing their footprint in India and we aim to achieve this for them by building a strong brand presence as well as taking their sales …

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India participated in FITUR from the 18th to 22nd of January in Madrid which is one of the world’s largest international travel exhibitions. In cognizance of the situation after the pandemic, This participation is significant to step up the recovery of inbound tourism to pre-pandemic levels. The Ministry of Tourism took a space of 253 sq. meters, with over 30 participants co-exhibiting with the India Pavilion to participate in the Exhibition. The India Pavilion was graced by the presence of the King and Queen of Spain and was formally inaugurated by His Excellency, Mr Dinesh K. Patnaik, Dr Abhay Sinha, DG SEPC, Indian Ambassador to Spain, Mr Mohammed Riyas, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism, Kerala, and Mr Rakesh Kumar Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The Inauguration of the India Pavilion was done with Ribbon Cutting followed by Indian cultural performances and Yoga sessions. After the inauguration, the Indian delegation and participants went around the India Pavilion and booths of various participating states and tour operators. The participation was coordinated by Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC). During the day, Incredible India organized various Culture Performances, Yoga Sessions, Mehndi and Bollywood Dance Performances. The Indian Delegation led by Mr Rakesh Kumar Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism participated in key business meetings with senior leadership from Melia Hotels International, Palladium Hotel Group, Expedia Group, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Cushman & Wakefield, and the Indo-Spanish Chambers of Commerce. These meetings facilitated by the dedicated Industry Development & Investment Promotion (IDIP) Division at the Ministry of Tourism managed by Invest India, had discussions around investment opportunities in the Indian tourism & hospitality sector. …

Tripjack is excited to announce the opening of a new office in Chennai, India. The office will act as a focal point for the business operations in the area and offer a variety of services to local travel partners. It will be led by a team of experienced travel professionals who are committed to delivering the highest level of service and will look at new avenues to explore business growth in the region. The team will work closely with local travel partners servicing them across all categories including Flights, Hotels, Cruises, Holidays, Rail and Visas. Speaking on the announcement, Hussain Patel, Director, Tripjack said, “We are thrilled to open a new chapter in Chennai, which is an important hub for both business and leisure travel. We believe expanding our footprint will enable us to serve our travel partners in a more personalized and direct way. Along with our high-quality service we look to explore new avenues of growth in this region.”

The MoT has issued fresh guidelines for recognition of tourism service providers. Based on te requests from stakeholders, the MoT will now consider turiner of 2019-20 applicable till Dec 2023. The minimum annual turnover required for this was Rs 20 lakh.