Korea Travel Expo, to be held from 22-24 June 2021, will mimic a real-life exhibition, says Young-Geul Choi, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office. “It is a 3-day event, and the 1st day we have reserved for ‘by invite only’ buyers who we would be inviting personally. The next 2 days are open for all Indian travel agents who want to meet our Korean exhibitors. The platform offers the option of both pre-scheduled meeting as well as on-spot meetings by visiting the exhibitor booth as you would do in a physical exhibition. While people wait for their meetings, we will also have an interactive fun page where people can get interesting Korea related information, watch videos and participate in quiz/activities to win exciting prizes. We have kept everything very practical and business focused and avoided having any preloaded or live presentations or too many interactive features, which at times slows down the interface.” points out Choi. Register at www.koreatravelexpo.com, email jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

Jatinder Taneja, Vice Chairman, PATA India Chapter, has said that they will wait for some time before planning any activities for the association, and said that the Government should do the same. “They need to plan a roadmap for inbound tourism and probably they need more time for the same. Unless covid numbers are controlled and vaccination drive is fast we can’t expect international arrivals,” he added.

The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai continues with its webinar series exclusively designed for the Indian travel trade with one-hour webinars in June-July. The next one will be held on Thursday, 10 June at 3pm IST and will focus on Valencia. Those who attend all three webinars and participate in the educational quiz stand a chance to win Amazon gift vouchers. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has signed Ramada Encore by Wyndham in Indore. Nikhil Sharma, Regional Director Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts EMEA said: “This upcoming opening adds to our existing portfolio of Wyndham-branded hotels in Madhya Pradesh and reaffirms our commitment to continued growth in this important market. We look forward to our partnership and to adding an internationally-recognised hotel brand to the city of Indore.” The new property, scheduled to open in 2022, will have a modern design and will feature 100 contemporary rooms, a lobby lounge, an all-day dining restaurant and bar, meetings and event spaces, a business centre, refreshing wellness areas and an outdoor rooftop swimming pool. Once operational, Ramada Encore by Wyndham Indore will provide more than 100 jobs to the Indore city.

TBO Group, which acquired Island Hopper in 2019, has now also acquired Gemini Tours & Travels. Headquartered out of Bangalore India, Gemini Tours & Travels, will be merging with Island Hopper, which already has over 21% share of Indian Travel Market to Maldives. Mr. Ankush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, TBO Group, said “Gemini merger will help Island Hopper further expand its presence in South India Market and consolidate its numero uno position as an Island Specialist even further. This acquisition would also help in providing our customers more hotel options especially in the luxury segment in Maldives.”

Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), with probability of hotels not being able to reopen for two to three months more in the state, have asked for Rs. 5,000 to 6,000 as subsistence allowance for 1.4 lakh people directly employed in hotels and tour companies. “It won’t suffice to meet their needs, but at least it will be of some help,” said Nilesh Shah, President, TTAG.

PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, has said that since many of their members could not get vaccination, owing to shortage of vaccines, the association has tied up with hospitals to organise vaccination camps for its members on a pan-India basis. “This will be provided to members at a special rate. To elevate the financial burden on the members, we have decided to give a subsidy to all primary members by reimbursing 50% of what they spend on getting vaccinated, whether it’s the first shot or second shot or both, to the maximum limit of  Rs 600 for each shot within a period,” he adds.

Since physical inspection of office premises of applicants cannot be undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, they have given extension to the existing validity of the tour operators, travel agents and tourist transport operators up to 31.12.2021. It will also include the extended validity already given to such tour operators. However, this will be subject to the condition that they have submitted their complete application seeking renewal of their approval/recognition with the Ministry of Tourism. In an order, the MOT has announced that all agencies, whose validity expires (including extended validity) up to July, 2021 will be given extension of validity(approval/recognition) up to 31.12.2021 subject to the condition they have submitted their complete application for renewal. For agencies seeking fresh approval/recognition, they will be considered for giving provisional approval up to 31.12.2021 subject to submission of complete application fulfilling all the documentary requirements as mentioned in the guidelines issued by the Ministry. MOT also said that the status of all such cases will be reviewed from time to time as the situation required and suitable decision taken will be communicated accordingly.

Young-Geul Choi, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi office, has high expectations from the Korea Travel Expo, which is set to be held from 22nd to 24th June 2021. “Through this expo, Indian buyers can reconnect with Korean suppliers and start preparing their tour products and packages for sale in future. The response that we receive from this expo will set the tone for the kind of marketing activities we will do in the rest of 2021,” he says. Register at www.koreatravelexpo.com, email Jaspreet at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

A high-level meeting presided by the new Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas has decided to finalise projects and implement them at the earliest, for instilling confidence in travellers and woo them to a number of places across Kerala. The state is charting measures to revive its tourism sector by rolling out packages that encourage domestic travellers to visit the destinations in the state. In a month, the various approval/classification schemes under Ease of Doing Business will go online. Authorities will draft new COVID-19 protocols for tourists arriving from other states.