Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has been honored with four awards at the SKYTRAX 2021 World Airline Awards. Ethiopian has taken the crown for: Best Airline in Africa 2021 for 4th consecutive years, Best Business Class in Africa 2021 for 3rd consecutive years, Best Economy Class in Africa 2021 for 3rd consecutive years and Best Cabin Crew in Africa 2021. Moving 7 ranks up, Ethiopian has also been placed 37th in the World’s Top 100 Airlines for 2021 as voted by airline customers around the world Regarding the award Ethiopian group CEO, Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam remarked, “Keeping up with the same phase as before Covid had been a challenging task. However, here at Ethiopian we never gave up, keeping our loyalty of serving at all times to our customers, we never stopped flying. The awards we received today are proof of our consistent effort to provide our passengers with a world class service at ups and downs at all geographies across the globe. As a customer focused and market driven airline, a SKYTRAX award where winners are determined based on the votes of travelers manifests the airlines’ journey on the right direction thus it is with deep pleasure that we accept these awards.” Commenting on the Award as the Best Airline in Africa, Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax said: “Ethiopian Airlines have firmly established themselves as the Best Airline in Africa by winning this award for the fourth consecutive year. It is a strong recognition for both the management and all of their front-line staff who contribute to the success of the Ethiopian Airlines customer experience.” The World Airline Awards are independent …

Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam has been awarded with Air Cargo Leadership Award in the Airline Strategy Awards ceremony organized by Flight Global in London on 27 September 2021. The Airline Strategy Awards is launched by Airline Business to recognize excellence in boardroom leadership and awarded Group CEO of Ethiopian, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam and Ethiopian Airlines for the commendable air cargo leadership during the pandemic. The award is in recognition of the airlines agile strategies during the COVID 19 crisis through the CEO’s excellence in crisis leadership. Among the key criteria for the award are business performance, network strategy, innovative thinking during the crisis. Ethiopian is among the pioneers in reconfiguring its passenger aircraft to enhance its cargo capacity and responding to the soaring demand for shipments when the passenger business declined. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said “I am very happy that Flight Global and the airline strategy award judging panel recognized our unique crisis management skills, agility, speed of decision making, creativity and resilience. Despite the enormity and devastation of the global pandemic crisis in the world in general and the aviation industry in particular, we at Ethiopian Airlines have successfully changed the crisis in to an opportunity. Accordingly, we have taken advantage of the booming cargo business and converted 25 of our passenger aircraft into freighters. We have done well by doing good to the global community by providing critical medical supplies, equipment and vaccines. I am very grateful to all Ethiopian management team, the board of Directors and the 17,000 plus hard-working employees for whom I have the greatest appreciation. I would also like to thank Airline Business and Flight …

“The German Government has lifted all travel restrictions for persons residing in India, effective Sunday, September 19, 2021. Travel to Germany for all purposes is permitted again from India. However, a proof of vaccination, proof of recovery from COVID-19, or negative test result is still required for entry.” All Indian travellers who are entering the Federal Republic of Germany above the age of 12 must either show that they are fully vaccinated or fully recovered or have tested negative prior to departure. Travellers who received all the required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine cited on the website of the Paul Ehrlich Institute are considered fully vaccinated. A period of at least 14 days must have elapsed since receiving the last vaccine dose. Persons vaccinated with Covaxin or any other vaccine which is not recognised by the Paul Ehrlich Institute have to carry a negative PCR test report which is not older than 72 hours on entry in Germany. Any person entering Germany by plane, regardless of whether they have spent time in a risk or high incidence area, must provide the airline with a negative test result, a vaccination certificate or a recovery certificate. Vaccinated travellers must additionally show no relevant symptoms. Travellers who can prove they were previously infected with COVID through a positive PCR test, taken at least 28 days but no more than six months prior, and who show no relevant symptoms are considered to be fully recovered. Travellers who are neither fully vaccinated nor fully recovered must continue to present a negative COVID test prior to departure. Both PCR tests and rapid antigen tests are accepted. If travellers are vaccinated in India with Covishield, please note …

Tourism New Zealand today launched it’s 100% Pure New Zealand Marketing Hub in India, housing free and professionally designed marketing assets, so that when international travel resumes, the travel trade will be well prepared to convert sales for New Zealand. The hub aims to keep the New Zealand travel dream alive by providing agents with an extensive digital toolkit. The free marketing tools include emails, images, print ads, sales flyers, web banners, sharable Facebook posts and more. Agents will be able to customise these marketing assets with their own sales message, logo and contact information. “India is an important market for New Zealand. In launching this self- service Marketing Hub we aim to empower our agents with the right kind of information and assets that will creatively engage their customers and ultimately help make their job easier and more effective,” says Venessa Chen, Regional Marketing Manager-Asia, Tourism New Zealand. New Zealand is also launching a new season of its Virtual Road Trip webinar series which supports the travel trade with New Zealand information that’s most relevant to Indian consumers. The webinars will highlight trade tools and resources that will help agents to qualify and become a 100% New Zealand specialist, along with popular themes like self-drive campervan, adventure and adrenaline, culture, food and wine to name a few. Just a click away, the https://marketinghub.newzealand.com/ is now available to agents in India. To register for the Virtual Road Trip webinar series 2.0 and for engaging travel trade information, visit https://traveltrade.newzealand.com/pa-in/

Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Government of Rajasthan & Chairman, Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) has said that her department is reviving the Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM), which was last held in 2018, to attract domestic buyers and sellers. According to Rathore, Rajasthan Tourism is eying to organise RDTM in February 2022 in association with the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR) apart from launching small, localised travel marts in booming destinations such as Jodhpur and Udaipur to tap the domestic market in the smaller cities as well.

Switzerland Tourism will conduct a webinar today at 3pm IST with Interlaken Tourism. Interlaken is an extremely popular and sought after holiday destination, as well as a hub for adventure activities. The webinar will give attendees an insight into the various tourism offerings available in and around Interlaken for Indian guests across the year. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog has said that the travel, tourism and hospitality industry have to go digital and green to convert the crisis into opportunity. He highlighted that this is important for attracting capital as well as enhance valuation. Kant was addressing the hoteliers at the HICSA Hotel investment conference in Delhi. The global pandemic will demand radical changes the way businesses are operated. Europe will be putting rigorous restrictions on unsustainable travel beyond 2026. The travel tourism industry have to take those as challenges and change themselves by going green, Kant said.

The first ever congress of tourism professionals from across the country in Manipur concluded at Classic Grande, Imphal today. The event which started on World Tourism Day-September 27th, 2021, was organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur, in association with MATO (Manipur Association of Tour Operators) under the theme “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. The congress witnessed the participation of representatives from tour operator associations and travel agents, hoteliers from Manipur and other neighbouring North-Eastern as well as other states, and home-stays owner from Manipur. Speaking at the inauguration of the Congress, Shri P. Vaiphei, Additional Chief Secretary-Tourism, Govt. of Manipur, congratulated the organising teams of the congress for sending out the message of restarting the tourism industry in the State for a quick recovery. The participating delegates from different states had productive idea sharing sessions with state tourism officials and tour operators from the state.  The Manipur Association of Tour Operators showcased a wide array of tourism products and services available in the state during the inaugural function of the congress. A FAM trip to various tourist destinations in the state was organised as part of the event in order to give the participants a first-hand experience of the state. Director (Tourism), Shri W. Ibohal Singh, gave a presentation on the tourism products of the State and emphasised on the need for the North Eastern states to come together while promoting the region as a favourite tourist destination for domestic and international travellers. He highlighted the arrival figures of international travellers to the State which increased by leaps and bounds every year till the outbreak of the COVID pandemic at the end of 2019. The participation of members of premiere tour …

Marriott International president Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China) Rajeev Menon said: “In a highly unpredictable year, these signings are a testament to Marriott International’s resilience and agility in driving strong growth within a hospitality landscape that continues to evolve,” commented. “It is a sign of confidence from our owners and franchisees who have been an integral part of our growth journey. We are grateful for their continued support and trust in the power of our brands as we continue to welcome back travellers.”

GTFF in association and support of Netherlands Tourism, announces a diverse slate of films, workshops and seminars ahead of the October 21-24 virtual event. Having received entries from almost every continent, GTFF 2021 film selections include feature films that showcase fascinating world regions and cultures ranging from Netherlands, Japan, Turkey, France, Nepal, Zambia, and Russia, among many other destinations. GTFF 2021 film categories screened during October 21-24, 2021 include Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films and Tourism Commercials. Netherlands Government Board of Tourism and Conventions will host a seminar for visitors to the country on ‘Beyond the Tulips’ that educates audiences on what else there is to experience visiting the country outside of its iconic Tulips, and discusses the future tourism strategy of the Netherlands. During the presentation, travel professionals can discover the diversity of travel experiences found in the Netherlands with information geared to imbue marketing knowledge on successfully selling the destination in global markets. A special seminar from the Uganda Tourism Board will introduce travel professionals to the newest up and coming travel destination that is heating up the world. Seminar participants will have the opportunity to win a US 700 value Gorilla Tracking Permit as well as register for a 10 day hosted educational visit to the country operated by Venture Uganda. Travel Professionals can learn about Belize of Central America and the Caribbean, with a tourism seminar delivered by the Belize Tourism Board. Travel professionals may also find out about Familiarization programs for the trade to Africa, South America and Asia by attending the event. There is no cost for travel professionals to attend Tourism Seminars. To receive a free travel trade tourism seminar pass, travel professionals …