Business travel has made a strong comeback in India after two years post pandemic. OYO has recorded an 83% year-on-year uptick in bookings in business cities, between April and November this year. According to the company’s Business Travel Trends Report 2022, Delhi emerged as the most-booked business city. 

A unique integrated limited validity tourist pass has been introduced by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal in Association with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to facilitate easy and convenient access initially to 21 places of tourist interest across Kolkata for both domestic and international tourists visiting the city of joy. This project has been initiated by the Department of Tourism as part of the FAITH policy recommendations and will soon be made available online or obtained through recognized tour operators or at any other authorized POS. The access and the validity of the pass will be managed digitally through a specially designed QR-based application. The visitor can pick and choose the places of interest and obtain the same through an online payment. Truly an effective and meaningful initiative and I am super delighted to be part of this project.

The Kerala government is planning to create a woman-friendly tourism network with over one lakh women travellers and entrepreneurs as members, said state tourism minister P A Mohammed Riyas. More than 1000 women have already registered in the programme. 

This popular excursion to Mt Titlis transports visitors to a world of ice and snow. The iconic revolving cable car, Rotair, takes visitors 3062m above sea level to the summit where panoramic views await them. This webinar will highlight the Titlis excursion along with its various offerings. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2023. For more information, write tojaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

New research by edyn reveals generational shifts in consumer habits that are set to transform the sector. According to the research, 34% of generation Z and millennials plan to take longer trips than they did before the pandemic, compared to 15% of older generations.    

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has informed that the venue of the inauguration of IATO convention has been shifted from Indira Gandhi Pratishthan to Centrum Hotel in Lucknow. The date and time will remain the same, 1.e. 16 December at 5pm, and it will be inaugurated by the CM. The inauguration of the IATO Travel Mart will also happen on 16 December at 7pm, instead of 17 December 10 pm.   

DCT Abu Dhabi is organising an exclusive webinar to educate the travel trade about luxury hotels and experiences at the destination, which will be held on 8 December 2022 at 3pm. To register contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com , +91 9650196532. 

Sharing that MICE sector will be a key focus in the days to come for the MOT, G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister- Tourism, Culture & DoNER, said, “India will also hold an investors’ conclave in 2023 to promote global investments and MICE tourism.”

The Tata Group announced the consolidation of its airlines, Vistara and Air India. With this consolidation, Air India shall be India’s leading domestic and international carrier with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft, making it India’s largest international carrier and second largest domestic carrier. 

ETAA announced its new team for the North India chapter. Taking on the baton from Sangeeta Manocha, Saurabh Tuteja is appointed as the new Chairman of the association. He shared that ETAA will be creating more opportunities for members to learn, network and empower and will continue to contribute to the success and growth of the association. Punit Bhasin is the Senior Vice Chairman, Deepika Khanna is the General Secretary, and Sangeeta Manocha is the new advisor. Gaurav Arora and Praveen Ghai will continue their stint as Joint Secretaries.