Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has announced that it will pay travel advisors commission on non-commissionable fares (NCFs), showcasing its industry-leading commitment to the travel agent community worldwide. NCL is the first major contemporary cruise line to compensate travel advisors on NCFs for reservations booked outside of the 120-day window. Since the establishment of the Brand’s Partners First philosophy, Norwegian Cruise Line has been committed to being the easiest cruise line to do business with by providing agents with educational tools, promotions and marketing assets to help them grow their businesses. “Our Partners First philosophy remains top of mind, and our decision to pay commission on NCFs is further proof of our commitment to this community,” said NCL President and CEO Harry Sommer. “We want our partners to thrive; we want to see their businesses grow all around the world.” The Cruise Line has been dedicated to equipping the travel agent community with the tools and information to provide their clients with exemplary service. This revolutionary choice will further help travel partners establish a stronger relationship with their clients and increase brand loyalty, resulting in repeat business and higher earning potential. “Our travel partners are incredibly important to us and our business; it is a true partnership,” said Braydon Holland ,Senior Sales Director , Norwegian Cruise Line “Advisors know why NCL offers the best cruise experience at sea and when they can speak to our unique, bucket-list itineraries, one-of-a-kind Free at Sea promotion and incredible 18-ship fleet with unparalleled onboard offerings, they are providing immense value to the business. We see this value and we wanted to reward our travel advisors like never before.” The payment of NCFs will go into effect …

Venkatesan Dhattareyan, Regional Director, India Tourism (Western and Central Region), has been promoting MoT’s scheme that the trade associations can avail for their own MICE requirements. “We want the national trade associations to have their major flagship events within India rather than take it outside the country. In fact, the MoT has a scheme which supports the activities of national trade associations of both travel and hospitality industries – where the government provides financial support for organising their annual conventions, etc. the quantum of support depends on the size of the membership, etc. these details are available on the MoT website and various associations are benefited from this scheme,” he says.

Giving an insight into how well the market is growing, Brent Anderson, Regional General Manager for South & South-East Asia, Tourism Australia says, “Right now, we are tracking it at about 86 per cent of the pre-pandemic numbers. That reflects the fastest comeback to ground zero, which is 100% of what we had in 2019. A really conservative forecast of what we should see by the end of June 2023 which is our financial year, is about 10 per cent growth out of the India market. This is while the other markets will still be going towards their respective pre-pandemic level numbers. So it is pretty amazing to see how quickly India has rebounded, recovered and growing.”

VFS Global, opened an India Visa Application Centre (IVAC) for the Indian High Commission in central London to help deal with the surge in demand for visa applications since the opening of international borders and relaxation of Covid guidelines. Indian High Commissioner, HE Vikram Doraiswami said, “The number of appointments we have been able to do has increased to about 40,000 per month.” He also announced that a new process is being introduced for group tourism.

Post the successful launch of its first global campaign since 2019, IF YOU SEEK, Tourism New Zealand unveils its first global trade incentive campaign for travel trade as part of the global campaign. As part of the campaign, two lucky Indian travel sellers will get to experience New Zealand first hand and will be joined by travel sellers from Australia, Germany, Japan, North America, Singapore, South Korea and the UK. Sellers will get to indulge in New Zealand experiences that have been highlighted as part of the campaign.

Ethiopian Airlines and TravoCure Healthcare, the medical travel division and a subsidiary of Akbar Group of Companies headquartered in India, announced their recent Medical Tourism Partnership in order to facilitate services for passengers traveling from Africa to India for medical reasons. This will see both parties conduct joint promotional activities to highlight India as a medical tourism destination for its modern medical technologies at internationally accredited hospitals and clinics. One of the sectors expanding globally at great pace is the medical tourism industry. Recognized as a trusted provider in this industry, Akbar Travels’ main focus through TravoCure Healthcare has always been to offer a plethora of support services in medical and wellness travel to patients anywhere in the world through the 7000 support staff employed in their vast network of over 200 offices across India including those at airport counters. Therefore, with its latest collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines, passengers traveling to India from Africa for medical reasons will receive discounts for feasible medical treatment through the Akbar Travels Group. This step is to further the company’s mission to offer high-quality healthcare to for lower costs. Ethiopian Airlines is among the first to initiate a step in providing more convenience and discounted air fares to its medical travelers. Being the first ever Airline to actively participate towards the future success of the medical tourism industry offering a more seamless travel experience for medical travelers, the airline will also be providing better travel packages to medical tourists at affordable costs. Thus, travelers who were once in a dilemma to visit a destination can now confirm their plans, as they can manage their expenditure and costs while managing a convenient tour. Tigist Eshetu, …

Speaking at the 94th Edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighted the importance of various festivals, celebrations and sports like Chhath, National Unity Day, Janjatiya Gaurav Divas , Gurupurab, Navratri and National Games in uniting people and bringing out the spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat. He said, “The way art, sports and culture came together during the National Games in Ahmedabad, it filled all with joy. They also shared a lot of pictures of Gujarati food and Navratri on social media. After all, through games like these, one comes to know about the diverse cultures of India.”    

Global Destinations announces the launch of their luxury representation vertical ‘Wanderlust Marketing’ with a  focus on luxurious and captivating travel brands and experiences. Under this vertical, Global Destinations aims to curate a compendium of unique and exclusive travel providers offering them comprehensive marketing solutions while delivering the most exclusive, bespoke and memorable experiences from around the globe to discerning luxury travellers. Pranav Kapadia, Director Global Destinations shared, “Experiential Luxury travel from India has grown leaps and bounds and continues to be on a rise. The stagnancy of the pandemic has set the pace for many travellers to look for unique and distinguished experiences. The emergence of experiential luxury travel is one of the outcomes of the pandemic, where Indian travellers now look to engage in luxurious at the same time immersive, meaningful, and sustainable travel. With the launch of Wanderlust Marketing, we are glad to be able to cater to this growing niche traveller segment.” As its premier partner on-board it introduces ‘The Nanee’ a unique 18 room, bespoke boutique oasis in the heart of Bhaktapur, Nepal, providing stylish and comfortable accommodation with purposed handcrafted experiences and services. The boutique property is scheduled to open doors to travellers in early December 2022. Situated in the world heritage historical city of Bhaktapur – an ancient Newar city in the eastern corner of Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, The Nanee is located about 13 kilometres from the capital city Kathmandu. With uniquely designed rooms, it is dedicated to connecting travellers from around the world and creating a unique memorable experience, in the ‘Museum of Life’. Their key purpose is to provide a comfortable oasis where guests connect, experience the living heritage of Bhaktapur and …

The government’s ‘Heal in India’ initiative is focused on positioning India as a global leader in health and to boost medical tourism in the country. Preparations to promote medical tourism under the central government’s ambitious Heal in India campaign are in full swing. This pan-India initiative of the health ministry caters to people across the globe. It involves a digital portal called Medical Value Travel, which will be a window of integrated Indian health care for the world. This portal is meant to assist international patients with their end-to-end medical journey in India as well as provide global presence and discoverability to Indian health facilities and health professionals, along with facilitating transparency to the sector.

Sharing his views on how Singapore has evolved over the years, GB Srithar, Regional Director (India, ME, South Asia & Africa), Singapore Tourism Board, says, “Singapore is not new to pioneering innovation in the tourism space. Quality Tourism – a development model that emphasizes innovative and capable tourism enterprises, local engagement, and attracting visitors who enhance tourism’s contributions to the economy and society – guides our continuous growth and transformation as a future-forward destination. Over the past two pandemic years, the country has made full use of the tourism downtime by radically reimagining what Indian travellers can enjoy when they visit Singapore. Today, travellers can experience the familiar-favourite Singapore that they’ve always known and loved – but with a brand-new side to what the city has to offer.”