Pasang Dorjee Sona, Tourism Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, said, “We are still in the process of framing the tourism policy. The government is committed to fostering sustainable tourism. While inviting people to explore our natural treasures, we must also protect our fragile ecology. This balance is a major focus as we develop the policy. The policy is not finalised yet, but we are optimistic about having it ready by the end of next month.” 

Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director, Tourism Australia, said, “Inbound aviation capacity between Australia and India recovered quickly after international travel resumed and now sits well above 2019 levels. By December 2024, aviation capacity will be 333% of what it was in December 2019, with 26 flights per week between the two countries, compared to just 8 flights per week in 2019.” 

In a significant move, Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi, during his visit to Vientiane in October 2024, proposed the year 2025 to be celebrated as the “ASEAN-India Year of Tourism” , committing a substantial USD$5 million towards this initiative. This declaration has been warmly received by various sectors of the Indian tourism industry, particularly the “Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA)” , who have long championed India’s rise as a global hub for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE). NIMA (Network of Indian MICE Agents) announced 2025 as the “Year of MICE Tourism,” emphasizing India’s growing leadership in the global MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) sector. This initiative aligns with the vision to position India as a premier destination for global conferences and events, offering world-class venues and rich cultural experiences. NIMA aims to foster collaboration between government, travel professionals, and global stakeholders to elevate India’s presence in the MICE industry. This declaration reflects NIMA’s continued commitment to promoting India’s excellence in MICE tourism worldwide. NIMA’s efforts have consistently been aligned with the national agenda to elevate India’s standing in the global travel and tourism industry. In this spirit, NIMA recently celebrated a decade of progress, commemorated by the ” World MICE Tourism Day ” on 21st June. With 2025 on the horizon, NIMA fully supports the Prime Minister’s initiative to take the Indian travel fraternity to new heights. A Vision for a Global MICE Day Vikas Khanduri, Advisor to NIMA, emphasized that India’s potential as a global MICE hub is immense, especially when considering the synergies between tourism and large-scale business events. According to him, India is perfectly positioned to lead the global conferencing business due to its …

Leading global travel app Skyscanner has published its latest industry travel report exploring the latest trends in travel. Titled ‘Skyscanner Horizons: 2024/5 spending, planning and destination insights’, the report unpacks and explores a combination of consumer survey and proprietary search data to provide the industry with a unique view of how travellers are thinking about their plans for the next 12 months. Surveying 19,000 consumers across 16 markets, the report delves into key indicators such as travel propensity, spend, trip type, and the trip planning process, including the top sources of destination inspiration, AI use and views on overtourism. Of the total, there were 6,000 survey respondents from APAC countries — Australia, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Skyscanner’s search data further complements these insights by offering details on destination choice, average lead times, average trip length and year-on-year search volume comparisons. Indian travellers are leading the charge in the APAC region, with 66% planning to travel more in 2025. Overall, across the APAC region, travel and travel expenditure remain a priority, with 80% of travellers planning to take as many, if not more, trips next year than in 2024. Key findings relevant to the APAC region summarised below. Travellers seeking out collective experiences Across the board, travel behaviour is being shaped by a desire for collective experiences, from sports events and immersive art installations to gaming “pilgrimages” that bring people together. Seven travel trends were identified, consisting of Sport mode, Astro Adventurers, Reset Jetters, Art-Venture, Cowboy Core, Horti-Culture and Gami-Vacation. Travel remains priority, with travellers expecting to spend more Travel Spend: Across APAC, 72% of travellers are planning to spend more or the same on flights in 2025 versus …

Fly24hrs was awarded the ‘Best Business Travel Platform’ award at the India Travel Awards. Expressing his gratitude, Vaseem Parvez, Vice President (Sales & Operations) at Fly24hrs, said, “I dedicate this award to all my travel partners and my team. Their hard work and commitment to excellence have paid off, and this award is a testament to their success. We have been operating this B2B platform for the last four years.” 

Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, calls for a more sustainable and visitor-focused approach in the UT’s tourism sector. He highlights the importance of shifting tourism efforts from high volume to high value, emphasising quality over quantity. “There is a need to treat tourism as a structured, long-term endeavour, rather than an ad-hoc activity, by adopting a tourist-centric perspective. We need to enhance the tourist experience, so visitors are more likely to revisit and recommend J&K as a destination,” he said

Aloke Singh, Managing Director of Air India Express, shared that the airline’s growth will focus on connecting tier II and III cities, as they are the growth engines of the market. He highlighted that the largest share of the market lies in metro-to-non-metro routes, adding that the airline’s future international network will largely link smaller cities to destinations in the Gulf, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and eventually South Asia, with potential plans to extend to the Far East over the next few years. 

Explore Abu Dhabi like never before through an exclusive webinar on 15 November at 3pm, highlighting its luxury experiences, culinary adventures, and exceptional hospitality standards. The webinar promises to be a gateway to creating unforgettable memories in Abu Dhabi. For additional details, please contact Jaspreet Kaur on +91 9650196532 or at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. 

Staunch International LLC, a premier luxury travel service provider with a presence in Sharjah and Dubai, was honoured with the ‘Best Luxury Holiday Planner’ award at the India Travel Awards. Dr (Capt.) Devender Khurana, Director, Staunch International, expressed his appreciation for the recognition and said, “Maya is truly invaluable to us, representing both material success and esteemed prestige. We are thankful to DDP and the India Travel Awards for this esteemed honour.” 

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “Our potential is enormous, but our performance is lacking. We have some of the greatest attractions in the world, yet the tourist experience remains poor. We need to create synergy between state governments and the industry. Results will only come if we optimise our actions among these players.”