Uttarakhand Tourism has approved the Tourist Incentive Coupon Scheme, under which tourists opting for e-bookings for their stay in hotels and homestays, will get a rebate of Rs 1000 for a 3-day stay, revealed Satpal Maharaj, Minister of Tourism, Uttarakhand. “The tourists will be given the discount coupon while registering themselves on the government portal under tourist category. They will then be able to use the coupon during their stay in a hotel or homestay in the tourist spots of the state. The tourist will have to provide his Aadhaar card details while registering to avail the coupon and have to stay for minimum three days in the hotel or homestay. The scheme will also apply for the Char-Dham pilgrims,” said Maharaj. He also revealed that under the scheme the tourists will be given a discount of ₹1000 or 25% of the hotel charge per day, whichever is less. Source: Hindustan Times

Nagsri Prasad Sashidhar, Chief Happiness Officer, NAGSRI- Creating Special Memories, shares that as soon as Thailand is ready to open, they will be looking forward to send a whole lot of clients to the Land of Smiles. “With TAT India offices doing their job phenomenally, our clients are waiting to explore the lovely region and have wonderful experiences. Thailand is a wholesome holiday getaway for Indian travellers.”

The Rajasthan cabinet has approved a new tourism policy for the state. The new policy aims to rebuild the marketing policy for international branding of tourism and promote domestic tourism. The policy proposed to strengthen the tourist assistance force, encourage startups. Two or three prominent monuments and sites will also be developed in every division as ‘Iconic monuments’ or sites. For MICE and wedding tourism, the policy lays out a plan to identify, grade and list facilities. The policy also outlines a scheme for classifying all tourism units such as hotels, paying guest houses. An annual event, ‘Rajasthan Startup Tourism Connect’, will be organised to bring innovation to the sector.

GRN Connect now has a new provider on board, which would give agents the access to a wider selection of accommodation anywhere in the world. From now on, agents would see Booking.com rates and availability in its search results. Also, subscribers to GRN Connect will get exclusive access Booking.com discounted rates. There is also more availability and choice, within budget, closer to where your travellers need to be. There will be no changes to agents’ current way of booking.

In today’s FHRAI webinar with Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India suggested FHRAI to put forth their general problems along with other Associations like CII and FICCI. The main problem that Association addressed pertains to restructuring of loans and extending the moratorium period. They also said that onetime restructuring which was allowed till March 31 is not taken very seriously. Sanyal said that the restructuring guidelines addressed in KV Kamanth Committee will not be considered in a normal account, banks may not be taking the guidelines seriously but RBI is. Plus, he suggested that it is important to focus on the schemes that are already existing in the framework and push it forward. Association also requested that moratorium should continue until the situation is better and banks could get a solution. They also mentioned that Amitabh Kant is making some progress in deal with Saudi Arabia for a new credit line. To which Sanyal said that funds is not a problem, economy is doing good, there is liquidity in the market, the task is how to leverage it.

Korea Tourism Organization will conduct a destination presentation today at 11am with a special focus on Gyeonggi region. Along with KTO, the webinar will also have representatives from Gyeonggi Tourism Organization and a DMC joining from Korea for product updates. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com

According to a JLL report, Bengaluru’s hotel sector performance declined 59% in RevPAR in YTD July 2020 (YoY) but is expected to bottom out in Q4 2020 as domestic travel gains momentum. Occupancy was also down 53% YTD July (YoY).

Naeem Khan, Director, Mulberry Tours , says, “Thailand is a destination well suited for all kinds of travel, whether it be leisure, FIT, MICE or weddings. The country has a lot to offer—amazing beaches, wonderful food, great night life and a vibrant culture, I have so many fond memories to remember from my numerous trips to Thailand. It is the most preferred holiday destination for Indian travellers.”

Ramada by Wyndham hotel at The Mall, Mussoorie, with an inventory of 45-rooms, has opened its doors. Owned by RKM Enterprises, the hotel is strategically located at Picture Palace on the Mall, which ensures that you are just a walk away from the best that Mussoorie has to offer. “It gives us great pleasure to be able to bring affordable luxury lodging accommodations to the Queen of Hills- Mussoorie community and we look forward to welcoming travellers to the area’s newest hotel,” said Mr. Rakesh Mediratta, the hotel’s owner. Nikhil Sharma, Area Director Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts said: “Ramada by Wyndham Mussoorie Mall Road is our second hotel in hill state of Uttarakhand and our first hotel in Mussoorie, a sought-after destination known for its Colonial charm, beautiful churches and scenic surroundings. We are proud to introduce another Ramada by Wyndham hotel to the Uttarakhand market and we look forward to welcoming guests looking to venture out to pristine hills of the north.”

Manish Kriplani, MD, Baywatch Travels, has launched Baywatch Stayzz, which include serviced luxury villas and houses for rent. “There was a huge void of having luxury full-service villas, where travellers can relax with having dedicated butler service, and housekeeper, chef and other resources at their disposal. We found that there was demand and availability for the same, which was a great prospect. We have 9 villas as of now and we plan to have 50 such villas in the next 2-3 months in Chennai. While some villas we are obtaining on lease, some are on revenue share, while for others we are only doing sales & marketing. While we have made PDF brochures now, we are preparing a very robust e-commerce website portal, where we are going to host all these villas and which will have all the information about them.”