Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel, celebrated the completion of its Great Cruise Comeback with the sailing of Norwegian Spirit, the 17th and final ship in its fleet to return to service. NCL’s return to service after a 500-day pause began with Norwegian Jade’s July 25, 2021 sailing from Athens (Piraeus), Greece. Since then, the Brand has systematically relaunched its ships around the world, welcoming guests and crew members aboard its award-winning vessels. “This is an incredibly important day in our history and a defining moment for our future,” said Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line. “We are moving full speed ahead, having already welcomed more than half a million guests for an exceptional vacation at sea.” Norwegian Spirit, which is sporting an extensive bow-to-stern, over $100 million revitalization, will be sailing through the deep blue South Pacific, visiting eight ports in 12 days, with departures from the beautiful Island of Tahiti. Itinerary highlights include a journey to Bora Bora, where guests can enjoy snorkeling and discover why the elegantly calm waters are world-famous. They also can venture to Raiatea, which is considered the most sacred island in the South Pacific, where visitors can spend the afternoon exploring lush rainforests and the extinct volcano, Mount Temehani. The itinerary also features other destinations for guests to experience, such as Nāwiliwili, Kaua’i, where nature is truly the star. Nicknamed “The Garden Island,” guests can admire scenic views of the Kokee Mountains and stop at the geological wonder, Fern Grotto, a lava-rock cave covered with tropical flora. This cruise departs from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia Saturday, May 7, 2022, and disembarks on Thursday, May 19, 2022, …

Further to the lifting of the Air Bubble Agreement in India and to the necessary governmental approval, Air France-KLM and IndiGo, India’s leading carrier, have implemented the extensive codeshare agreement announced in December 2021. With this partnership, Air France and KLM will ultimately offer their customers access to 30 new Indian destinations and a large number of round-trip combinations for both business and leisure purposes. Customers will be able to fly to the destination of their choice with one single booking. Flying Blue members will also be able to earn miles on all routes covered by this agreement. On departure from their respective hubs in Paris and Amsterdam, Air France and KLM already serve four destinations in India: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. On departure from the multiple points in India, Air France and KLM will open up their global network of over 300 destinations to IndiGo customers, with more than 120 destinations in Europe and about 50 in the Americas. Henri de Peyrelongue, EVP Commercial Sales Air France-KLM stated: “We are very proud at Air France-KLM to be the first major European airline group to initiate cooperation with IndiGo. This codeshare agreement will allow us to increase our local footprint and to improve connectivity between India – one of the fastest growing markets – and the rest of the world, via our Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol hubs. For our customers this means an enhanced network with as many as 30 new destinations in India, as well as increased roundtrip possibilities for both business and leisure travel.” Sanjay Kumar, Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer, IndiGo said, “We are pleased to commence the partnership with one of the strongest European …

Liz Ortiguera, CEO, PATA, has said that 2.8 Billion people have still not had the first vaccine – some are even medical front-liners. In a recent message, she quoted WHO Foundation, saying, “While people in high-income countries get back to the things they love, many in low-income countries remain restricted and vulnerable to infection. Vaccine inequity puts everyone at risk, with low vaccination rates creating the ideal conditions for new variants of COVID-19 to emerge. We are still seeing 1.5million cases of COVID-19 globally every day.”

Ministry of Tourism delegation, including Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism met international tour operators and travel agents on the 3rd day of ATM in Dubai, where they discussed matters in relation to e-visa facilities, single window immigration clearance, connectivity, way side amenities etc. Brar also gave a detailed presentation on India’s tourism offerings including niche products that the country offers to the international visitors. In line with Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji’s appeal for ‘Chalo India’ the focus was also given on the role of Indian diaspora for the publicity and promotion of Indian tourism.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has signed a strategic partnership with Trip.com Group, a leading global travel service provider, in an online ceremony at Arabian Travel Market. The partnership’s social and economic initiatives will encourage and entice visitors worldwide to visit Abu Dhabi, promoting the UAE capital as a top-tier travel destination in 13 markets across Asia and Europe, including in India, China, South Korea, Japan, USA, UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The partnership marks the first time DCT Abu Dhabi has engaged Trip.com Group as a whole, rather than with its various singular entities, increasing consistent visibility across its five popular business and consumer global travel platforms. Over a period of 12 months, Trip.com Group’s primary focus is to achieve 57,000 room nights in Abu Dhabi through marketing on its five portfolio channels. These B2B and B2C subsidiaries include Trip.com, a global travel service provider with an extensive hotel and flight route network; Skyscanner, the world leader in global flight meta-search; Travix, a global OTA operating in 39 countries; Ctrip and MakeMyTrip. HE Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi said “We are very pleased to announce our global agreement with Trip.com Group, a partnership that will share Abu Dhabi’s story with international visitors – beginning with the summer season and beyond. Through strategic partnerships such as this and our ever-expanding tourism and culture offering, we are further elevating Abu Dhabi as a top-of-mind destination, providing travellers around the world with diverse, immersive and enriching experiences to discover at their own pace.” Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer at Trip.com Group said “We are pleased to announce, …

The tourism department of Jammu and Kashmir has revealed that 600,000 tourists have visited the valley in the past four months—the highest in the last ten years. The famous Kashmir valley has hotels and houseboats fully booked with tourists queuing up for shikara rides on the Dal Lake. The tourist destination is witnessing record-breaking tourist footfall in the past one decade.

As summer travel approaches, Lotus Destinations will conduct a quick webinar on Costa Cruises and Carnival Cruises, for the travel trade, on Wednesday, May 4 at 3PM IST. Be Summer ready by attending this important webinar which will focus on the itineraries. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Leaders of the global tourism industry praised the Philippines’ successful hosting of the 21st Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) as it closed with high hopes for an industry battered by two years of the pandemic. “I’m not often stumped for words, but I am now. Wow! What an amazing summit. We really have rediscovered travel,” said Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the WTTC, who considered the “extraordinary Philippine welcome” as her personal highlight of the two-day summit. “That warmth, that passion, that generosity, that smile. I haven’t walked out one corridor without people saying to me ‘Good morning!’. It’s incredible. You live it. It’s not a show – it really is in your DNA,” she said after the closing ceremony. In her closing speech, Simpson said the success of the summit was “testament that the country’s tourism industry is well on its feet.” The summit, which gathered world leaders of the tourism industry, has given the Philippines the opportunity to showcase “how beautiful the country is,” Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said on Friday. She said the Philippines is now a top-of-mind destination for delegates, many of whom had decided to stay to savor the rest of the country where “we are setting an example of how to open safely.” “This has been a wonderful global summit and, to echo your brand campaign, we certainly had lots of fun in the Philippines. This is an experience all the delegates of the Summit can definitely attest to,” WTTC Chairman Arnold Donald  said in his closing address. Gloria Guevara, special advisor of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism and former president and CEO of WTTC, said the Philippines …

World tourism executives and scores of delegates from across the global travel and tourism sector gather in iconic Manila for the 3-day 21st World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit under the theme, “Rediscovering Travel”. Earlier in the opening ceremony at the Manila Marriot Hotel, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat welcomed the WTTC delegates attending in person and online, saying the summit “marks the beginning of a new era” for Philippine tourism. “Now is the time for us to revive our connections and engagement with people,” she said. Puyat was joined on stage by WTTC Chair and Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald and WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson. On the opening day, the Philippines was lauded by the global tourism leaders attending the event on site. “Here in Asia-Pacific, the reopening is just beginning. And I have to say I congratulate the Philippines and Minister Bernadette, a nation that showed determination and courage to reignite travel in this region,” Simpson said. Puyat also served as one of the speakers during the summit’s first panel discussion titled Redefining Travel in a Changing World, sitting alongside Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths, Marriott International Group President Craig S. Smith, and The Global Rescue Companies CEO Dan Richards to talk about how travel and tourism sector continue to offer incredible experiences and drive social progress while still protecting health, preserving the environment, and responding to a rapidly changing landscape. Smith shared that the sector is well on its way to recovery, sharing his surprise at how fast tourism–in the Philippines–has been bouncing back. “I’ve never seen a recovery this fast: average rates, first time interest rates. Take the Philippines for example. We have …

The seventh edition of the M!CE Travel Show 2022 organised by DDP Exhibitions in Pune recently also saw a serious panel discussion on Sustainable Business Travel where panellists discussed the possibilities of reducing carbon emissions while travelling. Pratima Badhwar, Head of Commercial (India & South Asia), Accor, said, “Nowadays every hotel chain has its own sustainability goal. At Accor, our target is to have net carbon zero footprint by 2050. We launched a project in 2005 called ‘Planet 2021’ which is based on four main pillars: our guests, our owners and vendors, our associates and employees, and our community.”