Highlighting the importance of Indian diaspora, G Kamala Vardhana Rao, Director General (Tourism), MoT, said it is important for them to talk about diverse tourism offerings of India in their daily places of work and interaction. He was speaking at the Italy edition of the Incredible India Reconnect 2022 virtual roadshow. Rao also mentioned how India as a destination offered the most economical and the most luxurious of tourist offerings at each of the 165-170 declared destinations. While also highlighting Italian tourist preferences towards India’s traditional culture, heritage, wildlife, and nature, he mentioned how India’s success story in vaccination has allowed for tourism recovery at a faster pace than was predicted by global thought leaders like UNWTO and WTTC. He reiterated on the importance of medical and wellness tourism and its popularity in Italy. Dilating on the fact, he mentioned how India was among the only countries in the world having a dedicated Ministry and action plan towards traditional knowledge systems.

South African Tourism announced the launch of an exclusive India airfare campaign in partnership with Air Seychelles. The campaign will run for a month between 25th July to 25th August 2022, offering return tickets on the Mumbai to Johannesburg route for INR 38,148 only. Travel will be valid between 25th July 2022 to 31st January 2023. Air Seychelles is also offering an additional 20% discount on the base fare for consumers who use the promo code 00G4S51T. At a time when fuel prices and air fares are rising, this value-driven offering by the tourism board is expected to significantly support and encourage the rapidly growing Indian tourist footfalls to South Africa. Through this targeted digital campaign, South African Tourism hopes to engage with millennials, double-income-no-kid households, and Indian families. The campaign will showcase the value-friendly propositions offered by the Rainbow Nation, allowing travellers to splurge more on wellness and experiences by saving on air fares. This conversion campaign is an extension of the More & More campaign launched by the tourism board earlier this year and will drive consumers to make their travel bookings with direct calls to action. Earlier this year, the tourism board outlined a strategic roadmap to garner 64% YoY increase in Indian visitors in 2022. With over 11,274 Indian visitors travelling to South Africa between January to April 2022 itself, the tourism board is well on track to surpass these targets. Speaking about the partnership, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism said, “It has been heartwarming to see the Indian travel fraternity respond positively to and welcome the unique adventures, immersive experiences and only-in-South-Africa activities that we …

Hotelivate will host the 9th Edition of its Hotel Operations Summit – India (HOSI) at the Indian School of Hospitality, Gurgaon on 09th September 2022. Riding on the back of the previous edition, this year too will, the conference will see a hybrid format, allowing many more professionals to join in virtually and be a part of the event.  With the most challenging times of the recent years behind us, the hospitality fraternity has been focused on bouncing back, with all its business decisions revolving around hotel operational teams which have gone through turmoil in terms of changing trends, government guidelines, manpower shortages and so much more. The conference is once again returning to the Indian School of Hospitality, one of the country’s leading hospitality management institutes. Home to the first École Ducasse campus in India, ISH offers international education in culinary arts, and their hospitality management programs are offered in alliance with the globally renowned school Les Roches. HOSI is the only dedicated forum for hotel professionals in the region and has always aimed to empower hospitality leaders through enabling discussions on management and operations-related issues, the rapidly evolving marketplace, latest industry trends, benchmarking, and best practices. HOSI aims at furthering the exchange of ideas in the industry. A collection of keynote addresses, interviews and panel discussions will tell the story of operational challenges and opportunities as well as the ongoing journey of hospitality towards better days. The conference will be aimed at providing a much-needed boost to one of the worst-affected industries in the world with some of its most prominent thought-leaders and trend-setters uniting under one roof, discussing operational excellence. The conference will feature some exclusive interviews and keynote addresses in an endeavour to …

Qatar Tourism has launched a new, interactive online training course – Qatar Specialist Programme – designed to enhance its global travel trade partners’ knowledge of Qatar’s diverse product offering and provide a recognised qualification for its global travel trade partners. The programme, which uses the latest technologies in digital learning, replaces the current Tawash programme and supports Qatar’s mission to become a leader in Service Excellence. Available in 11 languages, Qatar Specialist Programme equips trade partners with the relevant knowledge and tools to promote and sell Qatar internationally more effectively. Comprising several modules, each focusing on a particular aspect of Qatar’s tourism offering, the programme allows participants flexibility, letting them complete each module at their own pace, supported by an intuitive, engaging educational tool. Features include interactive maps and knowledge check quizzes. Vice President of International Markets, Philip Dickinson, said: “The Qatar Specialist Programme is another step towards supporting the global travel trade industry in working alongside Qatar Tourism to help drive significant growth in annual international visitor arrivals and welcoming six million visitors a year by 2030.” Qatar Specialist Programme focuses on various aspects of Qatar’s tourism offering, covering history, heritage, attractions and experiences. Partners who complete the full course will receive exclusive Qatar Specialist benefits and receive insider tips, itineraries and the latest information on accommodation and attractions.

Redefining travel in the Konkan region is the Ropax vessel named ‘Kokan Gaurav’ that will cruise from Mumbai ferry wharf to Kashid and Dighi in Raigad. It is Asia’s first high-speed craft (HSC2000) Ropax vessel in India and is being built in Goa by Gaurav Cruises. This modern, high-speed craft, built under the IRS flag, will reduce the travel time from 5.50 hours to less than 3 hours, travelling 49 nautical miles, and will be the safest mode of transport in the region. The HSC craft, expected to be operational by January 2023, can ferry 260 passengers, 20 cars and 11 bikes from the ferry wharf and will have A/C, business and VIP classes. It will be a multi-purpose vessel for logistics, travel, tourism and entertainment. Many senior dignitaries from the Mumbai Port Trust, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Directorate General of Shipping, and Indian Register of Shipping graced the occasion. Gautam Pradhan (Director, Gaurav Cruises), said that he was guided and supported by all the Government authorities to make this project a possibility in spite of multiple challenges. He added that this Ropax will be a role model for others to follow. With the ambition to make tourism in Konkan of international standards he said that his resort in Shriwarhan will be accessible in 3.30 hours from Mumbai via Ropax and 45 minutes by chopper from Juhu. Pushkar Bendre (Director, Gaurav Cruises), said that this high-speed craft will change the way tourists travel in western parts of Maharashtra and will bring a much needed change in the travel to Konkan region.

Speaking about the current visa delays, Ajay Prakash, TAFI President, says, “Business has been hampered by the current visa challenges for almost every country. It is easier to look at an Asian destination. So while the Indian travel trade and the traveller is suffering, the destination is also suffering. So it is in everyone’s interest to get this back on track.”

The Delhi High Court has stayed the recent guidelines prohibiting hotels and restaurants from levying service charge automatically on food bills. Justice Yashwant Varma, while dealing with petitions by NRAI and FHRAI challenging the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)’s guidelines, said the issue requires consideration and directed the authorities to file their reply.

The Ministry of Tourism has stated that the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 is aimed to enhance the experience of the tourists through a tourist-centric and destination-centric development approach to project planning and development. Its key principles are identified to achieve the vision of sustainable and responsible tourism. The intent is to enhance the contribution of tourism to the local economy and jobs.

Continuing with its series of exclusive webinars to help the travel trade discover Spain, the Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai, along with Andalucia Tourism, will conduct an exclusive one-hour webinar titled ‘Self Drive in Andalucia’ on Saturday, July 23 at 3pm IST. Sign up today for the Spain Specialist Program (SSP) and register now to attend the webinar. The webinar will conclude with an exciting quiz on the destination and the winner will leave with a 7-day trip to Andalucia in November 2022. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

New research released by Booking.com, the world’s leading online travel company, highlights Indian travelers Indians are eager to make their travel dreams a reality in the next few months while keeping health and safety in mind, with 88% of Indian travellers willing to share their medical history, current medical fitness and location tracking in order to potentially receive customized alerts on health concerns in the locations they are traveling to. Personalization in the post-pandemic world One of the biggest trends to emerge in the post-pandemic world is personalization. Traveller preferences are intimately personal, and a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works with 80% of Indian travellers who are okay to provide more of their personal information to their travel partners in exchange for a more personalized travel experience. The insights have been drawn from Booking.com’s inaugural APAC Travel Confidence Index, which provides a snapshot of how confident consumers feel about exploring the world again and their motivation to travel. The commissioned research, which polled 11,000 travellers from 11 countries and territories¹ across Asia Pacific, combined with the company’s proprietary data and insights as a digital travel leader for the past 25 years, offers insights into the region’s travel confidence. Top considerations and motivators for travellers while travelling The Travel Confidence Index explores the overall considerations, motivators, and concerns of consumers across Asia-Pacific and how this varies across the region. According to the research findings, the desire to travel remains strong amongst Indian travellers, with safety (67%), cost (44%) and the variety of destinations and hotels/resorts (42%) being the top three considerations. When asked about their biggest motivators to travel, ‘assurance on health and safety’ emerged as one of the top motivators …