Naveen Kundu, Managing Director of Ebixcash Travel Group, urges the Finance Minister, stating, “Increasing the budget for meetings and events under the ‘Meet in India’ initiative is not just an investment in event hosting but a strategic move to bolster India’s global standing and economic growth. I kindly request your support and consideration in revising the budget allocation to ensure that ‘Meet in India’ continues to thrive and contribute significantly to our national goals.” 

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said that the National Tourism Policy needs a fundamental transformative idea to be launched in a big way. “The MOT can do everything in the draft policy even without its launch. We need to look at what is that single all-encompassing transformative idea that we need to leverage into the new policy,” he said.

Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT), the travel division of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), New Delhi has been appointed as the official travel partner for Team India at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This partnership highlights ATT’s commitment to excellence and its expertise in travel management. M.R. Synrem, IAS Managing Director, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), said,“ATT’s collaboration with Team India exemplifies our commitment to promoting Indian sports and assisting our athletes on their journey to greatness. We look forward to providing exceptional service to Team India, helping them focus on their performance and bring home the glory from the 2024 Paris Olympics. We are thrilled to be a part of this historic event and wish our athletes the best.” As the official travel partner, ATT will be responsible for coordinating and managing all travel arrangements for Team India, ensuring a seamless and comfortable journey for the athletes, coaches, and rest of the contingent. This collaboration highlights ATT’s expertise in travel management and its support for Indian sports. Sanjay Singh, General Manager, Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT) said, “We are incredibly proud to support our nation’s athletes as they represent India on the global stage. At Ashok Travels & Tours, we believe in the power of sports to unite and inspire, and have handled similar contingents successfully in the recent past as well “ The announcement was made at a grand send-off event hosted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) at The Ashok, New Delhi.  

Air France-KLM warned that the Olympic Games would lead to a drop in revenues of up to 180 million euros ($193 million), due to a decline in travel to Paris over the summer. Air France-KLM had been hoping for a boost to its brand image from the Games, but there have been concerns that the Games may keep other travellers from visiting Paris. 

Ahmad Johanif Mohd Ali, Director, Tourism Malaysia’s office in New Delhi, stated that one of Malaysia’s primary focuses is promoting itself as a filming destination. Through the Film Production Incentives in Malaysia (FIMI), they offer a 35% rebate on total expenditures, attracting numerous filming locations to choose Malaysia. They also aim to attract Indian filmmakers through these incentives.

Samual Machado, Managing Director for India and South Asia, Sabre Travel Solutions said, “The data shows that India travel market will be more than $250 billion worth in the next four to five years. When it comes to challenges, the speed at which we are growing will bring a lot of challenges to us. One of these challenges is technology adaptation, which will be a huge challenge in India because most of the agencies that we have are brick and mortar. They all have to invest to make sure that they are elevating the offline travel business to online travel business.” 

The Department of Culture & Tourism, Abu Dhabi invites the Indian outbound travel trade to attend an exclusive webinar on Al Ain city, thethrilling new attractions it has to offer, exciting adventures, and authentic Emirati hospitality that your clients can enjoy. Tune in today at 3 pm. To register and get more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Bobby KS Sawhney, Hon. Secretary, ITTA, explained the challenges faced by the company in importing high-end vehicles, stating, “All vehicles imported primarily from Japan lack financial institution support for loans. They insist that the vehicle must be purchased by us, brought into India, and registered in Delhi within 14 days for them to provide a loan. Specifically, they require registration within 14 days of landing in Delhi, which necessitates having speed governors installed. However, speed governors are currently unavailable.”

Jammu and Kashmir has seen a remarkable rise in tourism, with a 300% annual increase in foreign tourist arrivals. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha urges collective efforts from experts and industry leaders to tap into adventure, border, and heritage tourism, along with offbeat destinations, golf, bird-watching, agro-tourism, and destination weddings to boost the region’s tourism sector.

Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that India will develop the North and South Blocks of Delhi’s Raisina Hill complex into the world’s largest museum in 2025 which will be almost double the size of France’s Louvre museum. An agreement has been signed between France and India for this purpose, the tourism and culture minister said, adding that he was fortunate and proud to be part of the opportunity to execute the world’s largest museum project.