Thomas Cook has launched Holiday Mate, allowing the travel trade to get direct access to their booking system. To know more about Holiday Mate, join the webinar on Thursday 12 January 2023 at 3pm. To register contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com; +91 9650196532.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, has said that there were only 74 airports in the country till 2014, today this number including heliports and water aerodromes has increased to 148 which is a 100 per cent increase in eight years.

According to data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) till November, residents of India make up the second largest group of visitors after Chinese travellers to Singapore with a total of 612,300 visitors up to November 2022.

J K Mohanty, CMD, Swosti Group, has said that Swosti Group is soon unveiling the first five-star premium luxury beach resort Swosti Premium Beach Resorts at Puri, which have been permitted to go up to 13 floors. “The work is going on in full swing and the resort will be inaugurated by Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha in early 2024,” he said.

Rajasthan Police has said that no license will be required by hotels and wedding venues in the state to play music to avoid violation of Copyright Act at any social function, including weddings. MP Bezbaruah, Secy General, HAI has called it a welcome move, while Rajeev Jain, Founder & MD, Rashi Entertainment, has said that money was being illegally extracted by some unauthorized associations and this move will help the industry.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS FRAS, CEO- China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), has said that there are big changes in the demand and expectations of Chinese outbound travellers and the tourism industry has to re-learn and to re-adapt what Chinese outbound tourism is all about.

Sudeep Jain, MD, SWA, IHG Hotels & Resorts, has revealed that in the next 2-3 years, they plan to add another 52 hotels in South-West Asia, out of which 42 hotels will be added to their portfolio in India. “We also see potential of debuting our global brands such as Regent, Kimpton, Voco and the recently launched Vignette Collection, at the right time with the right partners, at the right location,” he claimed.

Sandeep Dwivedi, COO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient, has said that they expect travel to be at the peak of renewal next year and international traffic to pick up pace at around 120 per cent of the pre-COVID levels.

Jatinder Taneja, Chairman, PATA India Chapter, has said that they will work with MOT to conduct result-oriented roadshows to key source markets. “This is to supplement the efforts of MOT. Apart from that we are in talks with state governments to conduct roadshows to overseas markets in 2023,” he added.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has said that the Mission LiFE by Govt has lot of relevance for travel & tourism. “All the stakeholders can contribute to mission life by adopting responsible tourism practices,” he added.