Julia Simpson, President & CEO WTTC said, “Putting women on centre stage of Travel & Tourism will ensure a better future for the sector. One of the major barriers to improving gender diversity is the lack of insightful and robust data in the public domain. Companies need to hold themselves accountable to guarantee progress is made over time.” 

Union Minister For Culture, Tourism and Development Of Northeastern Region (DoNER) said, “A two-day brainstorming meeting is scheduled to take place in February or March before the Global Travel and Tourism Summit (GTIS), during which the Ministry and state governments will discuss the necessary steps to enhance tourism in India.” 

Tourism New Zealand will conduct an exciting webinar highlighting their campaign ‘If You Seek’ and related trade tools and assets on Tuesday, Feb 28 at 11am. Agents can earn a place on the ultimate New Zealand family by showing their curiosity during this webinar. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 to register. 

ITC group firm Fortune Park Hotels plans to add 15 new properties with 1,500 rooms in the next two-and-a-half years to its portfolio as part of its expansion across India, revealed Samir MC, Managing Director. The hospitality firm is looking to cater to a strong domestic demand in smaller cities and also from pilgrimage tourism. 

According to Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head of MEISEA for South African Tourism, Mumbai remained the top source market for South African tourism in India, as more Indian visitors traveled from there. For the period of January to June 2023, the city accounted for the highest number (64%) of forward bookings to South Africa.  

According to Bookings.com, 2023 will see millennials planning more last-minute trips (53%) whilst older generations will take comfort in planning ahead as the best opportunity to get a good deal (Gen X 60% and Baby Boomers 54%). 

G Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister of Culture, Tourism, and DoNER, announced that the Department of Tourism will provide financial assistance to enhance port infrastructure and stimulate the growth of cruise tourism in India. 

Research by the World Travel & Tourism Council has revealed that within the next decade, Beijing will overtake Paris to become the world’s largest Travel & Tourism city destination.    

Naveen Kundu, Managing Director, EbixCash said, We have launched an entire cruise division. Cruises are going to be a big focus area for us this year and we are working with the government on various projects on this.” 

Arvind Singh, Secretary Tourism, said, “We have seen significant investment in the past. However, there was no investment in the last two years. GTIS is to rekindle interests of the investors in that sector and to show them the new areas or new products where there are possibilities of investment.