Mike Barrera, VP, Product Management, Low-Cost Carrier Segment, Sabre said that LCCs need to prioritize choosing a technology partner which offers security and reliability; ensuring their chosen technology is easy to use and train, especially given staff shortages and high turnover rates in the current travel industry; and selecting best-of-breed technology that has scalability and modularity so offer management systems can interact seamlessly with order systems. 

PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera, said “Safety, wellness and smooth travel experiences are top of mind as needs for post-pandemic travellers.  It’s important to provide clarity in processes and deliver good customer support in the face of ever-changing circumstances. Recognition should go to all the travel and tourism staff that are enabling efficient and great travel service delivery and experiences in the face of all these challenges. We need to respect and applaud their efforts as the backbone of the industry through these challenging times.” 

Air India recently started permitting Indian travel agents to issue tickets on their Canada route. Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI said “It was an unfair decision earlier and I think they have finally realised that agents are an intergral part of the airline booking process and I’m glad that Air India has finally woken up to this. Let’s hope that Air India will continue to be proactive and will keep the agents’ fraternity involved and engaged as they go forward embarking on trying to revive Air India.”

Continuing with its series of webinars to help the travel trade discover Spain, the Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai, along with Barcelona Tourism, will conduct an exclusive webinar titled ‘Know Barcelona’ today 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 5-day free trip to Barcelona in October 2022. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Liz Ortiquera, Chief Executive Officer, PATA said, “Around 4.500 travellers in the Asia-Pacific region were surveyed. Among them, 97 percent of Indians considered conscious tourism important.”

Alejandro De La Osa, Director Commercial, Europamundo Vacaciones, feels that Indian travellers post covid have more interest in travel and are ambitious to travel again. The Indian market is stronger than ever and would be their top market globally in near future. 

Malaysia has announced Visa on Arrival (VOA) to Indian Travellers. However, this opportunity can be availed only if the traveller is arriving from selected entryways like Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, or Indonesia.    

According to a report by CAPA, with competition heating up again in the domestic sector, IndiGo sees the international market as having the best potential for growth. It will increasingly look overseas for more opportunities as new aircraft deliveries enter the fleet. 

Anjit Mukherjee, Deputy Manager, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat said with the celebrations of Rann Utsav in November-December this year, Gujarat anticipates to reach pre-pandemic levels. He further added that Gujarat never took a pause and has been continuously working on promoting itself even during the pandemic. 

Continuing with its series of webinars to help the travel trade discover Spain, the Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai, along with Barcelona Tourism, will conduct an exclusive webinar titled ‘Know Barcelona’ on Wednesday, May 15 at 3 pm 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 5-day free trip to Barcelona in October 2022. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.