The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Pune Chapter recently organised a fruitful meeting in Pune for about 60 members. The meeting was led by Chapter Chairman Sunil Uttam and Secretary Sameer Kulkarni. Pune sales heads of all five domestic airlines along with leading international Emirates’ were present at the event.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Minister of AYUSH, recently tweeted on social media platform requesting individuals, especially the younger generation, to “protect our traditional systems of medicine and knowledge, study them scientifically and prove to the world that AYUSH can serve humanity. Today, AYUSH has a market size of $ 18.1 billion and growing!”

In view of the weather advisory issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the Directorate of Tourism Kashmir has established an emergency 24×7 helpline number service to facilitate the tourists seeking help during any emergency arising due to inclement weather, rain or snowfall in the valley.

Pune airport in Lohegaon is expected to start international flight from January 7 with flight for Sharjah. The international flight operations at Pune airport were completely shut since March 2020 due to the Covid outbreak. Flight for Sharjah may take off from Pune International Airport on January 7, we are waiting for final confirmation. Airport is ready to resume international flight operations. Before the first lockdown, Pune airport had two international flights to Dubai which were operated by SpiceJet and Air India Express.

Ministry of Tourism is celebrating National Tourism Day under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. For the celebration of National Tourism Day 2022, the Ministry of Tourism has been designated as the lead Ministry and Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Railways will be the partnering Ministries. A meeting in this regard was held under the chairmanship of Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism with all the State Governments and Union Territories of India. The agenda of the meeting was to sensitise everyone about the National Tourism Day and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in order to facilitate the planning of the activities to be undertaken regarding the upcoming event.

Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) ordered a temporary suspension of the Thailand Pass for all new TEST&GO and Sandbox applications (except Phuket Sandbox), effective from 22 December 2021, citing the rising number of Omicron variant cases in the country. However, travelers can travel to Thailand via Phuket. Phuket remains open for Indian travelers under the Phuket Sandbox scheme. Under this program, travelers will only need to do a PCR test and wait in the hotel until the result is received. If tested negative, they can then move around in Phuket. The second RT PCR test will be done on the 5-6th day post which they can travel to other parts of Thailand after completing seven days of stay in Phuket (No Quarantine required) or return to their home country within 7 days.  Cholada Siddhivarn Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai office says we are happy to welcome Indians to Thailand. However, we have just altered the entry rules for people entering our country from different entry points except for Phuket. The step comes in after the rise in new variant cases. We believe it is better to take necessary precautions while we still are ready to welcome travelers from different parts of the world. She further added, “Travellers wanting to travel to Phuket can register for Thailand Pass under the Phuket Sandbox program and Happy Quarantine. The TAT India team will work closely with the travel trade partners to assist them with client queries and help them serve the clients better.”

Aastha Bhargava, Head – MICE Outbound Contracting, Zenith Holidays, Parth Satpathy, Director, 5D Global Travel Solutions, and Pooja Vyas Panchal, Manager, Shreeji Travels are the fourth week’s three lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel.     Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking on this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner for the travel trade. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives. Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number  

Seera Group, the region’s leading travel and tourism company, is transforming its portfolio to create the largest travel business in the Middle East with the integration of its diverse verticals under the umbrella of Almosafer. Almosafer will serve as the single umbrella travel brand under Seera Group managing not only consumer travel but also dedicated corporate & government services. Further, Seera’s travel services in the UAE will now also come under Almosafer for further expansion across the region. Earlier, these two services were under elaa and tajawal, respectively. The strategic business integration is part of Seera Group’s transformation journey to enhance its business footprint, enhance customer service through advanced digital technology, and to strengthen operational efficiencies and enhance financial performance by optimising resources and leveraging the strong synergies of the different business units. As one cohesive brand with leading digital and consumer technologies, Almosafer will continue its investment in omnichannel products and services in an effort to enhance the overall customer experience in travel management for corporate & government entities in the Kingdom, as well as creating seamless travel experiences for customers across the Middle East. Majed Alnefaie, CEO, Seera Group, said: “Seera is synonymous with the Kingdom’s transformational journey, playing an instrumental role in driving Vision 2030 and aiming to fast-track the revival of tourism in Saudi Arabia. Our shareholders are of utmost importance to us and with this move, we are leveraging our biggest success story with opportunities to grow further – driving business objectives and sales. Adaptable, innovative, digitally driven, Seera will continue to transform, evolve and grow to meet market, customer and partner needs. The integration will address market fragmentation and help us continue to build …

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According to Travelport’s latest report based on 2021 booking data, the global travel industry recovered nearly 60% of its gross activity by the end of 2021. In October and November 2021, travellers booked 304% more flights for travel in 2022 versus the same time period in 2020 for travel in 2021. Travelport’s predictions for 2022 include a global travel industry recovery of 85% of its gross activity by the year end, international bookings will once again exceed domestic bookings for the first time in nearly two years by early 2022.