Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, launched ‘Heal in India’ initiative to boost medical tourism growth at India Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. “India has become a favourite destination for yoga and wellness, the government of India recognizes medical value travel and wellness tourism as important sectors having the potential of accelerating the country’s development and attaining the objective of Aatmanirbhar Bharat” he stated.

Hong Kong announced strict new anti-coronavirus controls on Wednesday, banning flights from eight nations after the Omicron variant was detected within the city. Flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, UK and US will be banned from midnight on Saturday for two weeks.

As a result of a recent study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), total passenger numbers are expected to reach 2.3B in 2021 and grow to 3.4B in 2022, which is comparable to 2014 levels. It is expected that airlines will offer lower prices, better seats, and longer flights by 2022.

Tamara Leisure Experiences headquartered in Bengaluru, India has added to its German portfolio of hospitality outlets with the recent acquisition of Moxy Bremen at Uberseestadt in Bremen. This marks the 4th hotel acquisition by Tamara Leisure Experiences in Germany, strengthening its hospitality portfolio in the region. Speaking on this latest acquisition, Shruti Shibulal, Chief Executive Officer, Tamara Leisure Experiences says, “This is a proud moment for all at Tamara Leisure Experiences, especially as we close 2021, another tumultuous year for the hospitality industry. We, at Tamara, aim to strengthen our global presence and this latest acquisition in Germany marks our fourth property acquisition outside of India. With it, we further diversify our portfolio and continue on our path to achieving 1000 keys globally by 2025.”

TravelBullz added Destination India in its product portfolio for B2B travel fraternity. The launch package with WelcomHeritage Elysium, Shimla included a one-way helicopter ride, which has never been done in the past in the Indian domestic market. The aim and focus is not only to bridge the gap between the supply chain and our B2B partners and making Domestic Hotels and packages available for all of India on one platform but also to focus on niche products in each destination. With the help of technology, the agents will be able to book multi-city, multi-state packages with one click and instant confirmation without having to call various hotel/vendors. Currently the domestic product is very fragmented at a regional level and the focus is to make all hotels, transfers, tours and multi-city packages available at the most competitive prices under one login for the B2B agents. The Dynamic Packaging Module will play a big role in how the B2B fraternity makes bookings for the domestic product and is expected to be a game changer.

Since 22 December travel agents across the country have been unable to access Air India’s inventory on the GDS while the flights can be seen on the airline’s website. Attempts to contact senior management have proved futile, attributing the problem to a ‘technical issue’ . “Such disruptions, coupled with zero communication to the trade further erode Air India’s credibility,” said Ajay Prakash, TAFI President. “We’re all waiting for the House of Tata to take over the reins of the Airline and we hope that the new management will work more closely with their trusted trade partners – the Travel Agents who have supported the national carrier at all times,” he concluded.  

G Krishan Reddy, Union Minister For Culture, Tourism And Development Of North Eastern Region holds interactive meeting with various tourism stakeholders of Goa along with Department of Tourism, Goa, to discusskey issues pertaining to promotion of tourism in the state and various developmental initiatives & welfare programs of the government. Shripad Y. Naik, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism Govt. Of India was also a part of the meeting.

In its 249th EC Meeting on 23rd December, 2021PATA India Chapter announced that Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, will remain as Chairman. Apart from that Jatinder Taneja, MD, Travel Spirit International was re-elected unopposed as the Vice Chairman; as well as Vikram Madhok, MD, Abercrombie & Kent as Hon. Secretary. SanJeet, Director, DDP Publications, remains Hon. Treasurer and  Runeep Sangha will continue as Executive Director, PATA India Chapter.

Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), India-chapter dedicated to the incentive travel industry, has elected Barun Gupta, Director of Sales and Marketing, CrownePlaza Greater Noida, as the new President for the next one year (2022-2023). Barun will replace Nitin Sachdeva as President who has now been nominated as the SITE Global Board of Directors representing the Asia region.

Shilendra Mohanachandran, VP-Sales, CGH Earth, has shared that by 26th December, 2021, they will have a new hotel opening in Havelock on Andaman, called Tilar Siro. “It’s a 25-room hotel, which has 16 villas. It’s a new area for us  and an upcoming destination amongst Indians, as well as inbound,” he added.