Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has shared that the National Tourism Board of India (NTBI) will have a separate M!CE Vertical plus dedicated M!CE promotion for India. “A dedicated funding of ₹50 crore has been proposed for M!CE vertical, which should go into incentivising organisations and associations for getting events in India,” he said.

Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary, Tourism, J&K, has said that they are celebrating different occasions and festivals, like spring festival and early almond blossom festival. “In spring, i.e. March and April we have tulip festival. There are many summer festivals, winter carnivals and we have a houseboat festival. Such events help us convey a message that things are happening in J&K,” he added.

India’s aviation sector is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6 percent in the next 20 years, revealed Andrew Matters, Head of Policy Analysis, International Air Transport Association (IATA). “We at IATA expect Indian aviation to cater to 430 million additional air passenger journeys to and from and within India in 2040 compared to 2019,” he said.

Khalid Mohamed Said Al Arzi, Director of Tourism Trends Department, Sultanate of Oman, has said that they are working on incentives for wedding planners. “We are working with the stakeholders, with the ROP,and the board itself. There will be promising incentives on offer for the key wedding planners,” he said.

Inmarsat latest Passenger Experience Survey, has highlighted that 92% of Indian passengers would rebook an airline based on quality inflight Wi-Fi experiences. It revealed  83% of APAC passengers would rebook an airline based on quality inflight Wi-Fi.

Arun Kumar, Market Vice President- North India, Nepal and Bhutan, Marriott, has said that the boom of business in India and the average rate growth has helped them to get profitability back in place. “This has helped us to spend and reopen all the facilities, areas much quicker than we thought,” he added.

FAITH has unanimously elected board Members to Office Bearer positions for the term 2022 to 2024. Nakul Anand is the Chairman, while Tejbir Singh Anand and Jyoti Mayal are Vice-Chairman. Rajiv Mehra is the new General Secretary and P P Khanna is the Treasurer.

ATOAI organised its 26th Virtual Members Meet recently, where they introduced ATOAI Member Advantage Card. The card will empower its members in their marketing, sourcing, contracting and lowest possible B2B purchases enhancing their profitability.

To promote the Amazing Golf Experience, Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi office held a Golf Roadshow at the Qutab Golf Course and The Delhi Golf Club. The event was attended by more than 100 golf travel specialists from India. Her Excellency Ms. Pattarat Hongthong, Ambassador of Thailand to India graced the occasion. She said “We thank all Indian partners who have been working closely us for many years and supporting Amazing Thailand. Thailand is fully opened and ready to welcome guests from India returning to Thailand once again.” Thailand also has Amazing Golf facilities. The country has more than 250 golf courses throughout the country—Golf courses by the sea, by the mountains, by the lakes, inside the cities even besides the airports. Top quality courses, reasonable green fees, friendly caddies. From the beach resorts in the south such as Phuket to the mountainous surroundings in the Chiang Mai, north of Thailand or the bustling cities of Bangkok and Pattaya, there are golf courses to suit every preference.

Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, while addressing the press at the WTM London, stated that India has achieved phenomenal growth in enhancing infrastructure, which along with massive vaccination drive, will help India to achieve pre-pandemic levels of international tourist arrivals. It also offers huge opportunities for investors and an Investor Summit will be organised by the MOT in February 2023.