After the discovery of the Omicron variant, tickets for both arrivals and departures in India dived, however, arrivals have now slowly been recovering back to pre-omicron levels and departures are not far behind, with figures for the week commencing 3rd March at 19% and 58% vs 2019 for arrivals and departures. The latest travel data reveals that the top international source markets for India are Australia, the USA, and Ireland. 

Rupinder Brar, Additional DG, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said “When we look at infrastructure there are two parts of the infrastructure that drives tourism, one is infrastructure in terms of making sure that the tourists facilities are there, but what also drives tourism is connectivity. we are working with the roads ministry to make sure that the last mile connectivity, the highways are in good shape for all of us to travel. I am happy to share that in India today, we have the second largest network of excellent quality roads and as we speak, every day in India 36km of national highways are being carried. So, I must say it is a fantastic time to do road travel in India”. 

Lotus Destinations, as the Preferred Sales Agent of Carnival Cruise in India, takes great pleasure in conducting a Carnival Cruise webinar for the travel trade highlighting safety protocols, new fleet introductions, and new itineraries to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Australia, and more, on Thursday, March 31 at 3 PM IST. Also, get a chance to win exciting prizes. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. 

Apart from ayurvedic treatment, Kerala offers numerous experiences, such as backwater holidays, resorts, and houseboats. Responsible tourism and adventure tourism are also important aspects of Kerala tourism. “Adventure tourism has become part and parcel of travel today and Kerala has reinvented itself as a destination for nature-based adventure activities, especially in the hills and forests of the Western Ghats”, said V R Krishna Teja, Director, Kerala Tourism. 

1World Dmc, one of the leading Destination & Event Management Company has announced its foray into the United Arab Emirates under the brand “One World Travel & Tourism” located in the heart of Business Bay, Dubai. With its credible & rich experience in handling HNI Travelers, medium-to-large MICE movements and Big-Fat Indian Weddings, One World Group opens another destination for its B2B clients globally and also adds Financial Services & Relocation business to its portfolio. After spending years and running successful operations in Thailand, the management of One World Group saw a sizable opportunity in the destination UAE, which offers unique & uber-luxury experiences as well as a diverse product mix. Sharing his views Anshuman Mitra, Founder & CEO of One World Group, said “At the onset, we present our compliments and extend our highest respect to the visionary leadership of Dubai & UAE, under whose exemplary leadership, they not only opened Dubai to International tourists by successfully managing the pandemic but also launched the most awaited event on the planet “Dubai Expo 2020”. This vision, backed by an ever-evolving world-class infrastructure puts UAE and in particular Dubai, in the front seat, fuelling the economic as well as aspirational growth for all stakeholders. “We are elated and proud to take the One World portfolio to the UAE and with our rich experience in handling HNI Travelers, M.I.C.E, in-house capabilities in bespoke Catering, Destination Weddings & Celebrity Management, we are well-positioned to cater to the ever-evolving needs of our guests visiting UAE. Our primary focus will be on enhancing the overall experience of our global travellers to the UAE, as well as curating their dream weddings in exotic locations.

Maharashtra Tourism has initiated a 9 city road show tour across the nation. As a part of this initiative, Maharashtra Tourism conducted a road show in the glorious city of Delhi. Milind Borikar (IAS), Director of the Directorate of Tourism, Govt. of Maharashtra said, “We at Maharashtra Tourism are organizing a road show series with a core motive of promoting tourism industry in Maharashtra and to boost inter-state travel and tourism opportunities. We are happy that post the second Covid wave, hospitality sector in Maharashtra is witnessing a steady increase in recovery and travel companies too are seeing surge in the booking trends. It is astounding to have received such an overwhelming response from Delhi towards Maharashtra Tourism road show and we wish to see the same response from other cities as well.”

Rupinder Brar, Additional DG, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in an interview said that the Buddhist circuit in India has gained a massive boost with the addition of the Kushinagar airport, which is an airport with the capacity to receive international flights. “India now has 140 airports, and 20 of them are international airports. There will be a number of airports being added to India as we move forward” she added.

India continues to have the largest share of inbound travellers to the APAC region, at 24.4% of total arrivals in Q1 as of 11 March. Not a bad result when considering the air ticketing data from ForwardKeys shows that international arrivals in APAC in Q1 was down by 86%. However, in terms of recovery India as a destination is performing at -59% vs 2019. The best performing region in APAC for on-the-book arrivals is Pakistan with a 0.2% increase vs the same period in 2019. The Maldives and Bangladesh are also showing strong signs of resilience.

Travel trade In India can learn to sell Europe, America, Asia and Australia again. Get the on-ground situation report and updated travel protocols of these destinations in Hindi at the Thomas Cook webinar today at 3pm IST. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. Register directly at https://event.webinarjam.com/register/385/8v79mirn  

Dame Judith Macgregor, Chair, British Tourist Authority (BTA), has said that with travel to UK from India resuming, the MICE business and group travel will also resume soon. “The Indian travel trade representatives I met in Dubai also want that. We are partnering with a many people to put out good messages focused on the MICE market. We had MeetGB recently and there are a number of great locations across Britain to hold events,” she said.