Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Tourism, will be moving from Ministry of Tourism, according to a circular by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. She will now be joining the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and will be availing promotion. She will join as Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General. Sharma joined MOT in May 2016as ADG and was promoted as DG in May 2019.

Virgin Atlantic has introduced unlimited free date and flight changes for new bookings as part of a series of enhancements to give further flexibility to customers and support their future travel plans. Alongside the improved changes policy, the rebooking horizon has been extended for all customers all the way until 30 April 2023, giving a broader window of time to reschedule plans if needed. The updated commercial policy enables Virgin Atlantic customers making a new booking for travel up to 30 April 2022, or those with a cancelled flight up until 31 August 2021, to make as many free-of-charge changes as necessary to their travel dates, origin or destination all the way until 30 April 2023, as well as one free name change. The changes also apply to customers who already have an open ticket with credit due to flight disruption. The cost of fare difference for all customers will be completely waived if the new travel date takes place on or before 31 May 2021 – a two-month extension on the previous policy. Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic, said, “We understand the difficulties that Covid-19 and ongoing travel restrictions may pose to our customers, so in order to support them we have revised and simplified our policies. By further increasing flexibility, customers making new travel plans will enjoy unlimited opportunities to make free changes, all the way until 30 April 2023, offering greater peace of mind and enabling them to book future travel with confidence. “We look forward to welcoming our customers back on board and when the time is right, flying them safely to their favourite destinations.” All Virgin Atlantic customers with a pre-existing booking made …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sagarika International Cruise Terminal at Cochin and said that Government of India is taking many efforts to improve tourism related infrastructure in Kerala. “The inauguration of this International Cruise Terminal is one example of this. It brings both comfort and convenience for tourists,” he said.

Virtually Yours Travel Show (VYTS)—a marketplace for consumers, travel agents and travel industry professionals, designed for simplicity and effectiveness— is all set to begin on 15th March, 2021. The show will have DMO and travel suppliers disseminate travel information, engage, sell, acquire consumer bookings and travel agent clients. There will be new shows every week throughout the year, while exhibits remain live for 30 days. One can have advance appoints with travel resellers.

Subhash Goyal, Hony. Secretary General, FAITH, has said that the knowledge conclave at Virtual ITM 2021, will have various sessions, and each of them will be chaired by the head of one of the 10 member associations of FAITH. “There is a session on adventure tourism, a session on MICE, as well as a session on medical tourism, where Dr. Naresh Trehan from Medanta will give a keynote address and it will also have Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, along with the chiefs of Max and Dr. Lal Pathlabs. There will be many other similar sessions on various topics, which will be open to everyone,” he added.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, in his address at the 10th ADTOI Convention has said that Kevadia is the most powerful example of how tourism can improve the standard of living of all. He also added that things are returning to normal in the last quarter of this financial year, adding that 2020 was unprecedented in many ways. Singh also informed that constant discussions are going on with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Health Ministry to relax the ban on tourist visas and the right decision will be taken in this matter when the appropriate time comes.

At a recent press conference, addressing the issue of travel agent commission and the reason it was discontinued post lockdown, Rajiv Bansal, CMD, Air India, said, “We are trying to move to a more web-sale oriented approach, instead of an agent-based sales model. Initially, during the Vande Bharat Mission, all tickets were sold on the website, owing to imbalance in demand and supply. Now, demand and supply are largely matched, and all forms of sale are open, including agents, on-counter and web sale. Our objective is to increase the web sales.”

‘VisitBritain Cricket Carnival – Season 1’, powered by TravTalk is all set to be launched with an aim to capture the ongoing England-India bilateral cricket series in India. Trade partners are encouraged to participate and form their Dream 11 teams for the Fantasy League and win prizes after every match. The official launch will happen soon.

PATA India Chapter team had a meeting with Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, who would also be the Chairman, PATA India Chapter. There were discussions on important matters in inbound travel, and some of the points included that there is a need to promote summer markets as soon as possible, which shall be supported with virtual roadshows. The team also suggested free visa for tourists for a year; and reduced entrance fee to monuments that will attract tourists.

AirAsia India Credit Card Policy has been changed with immediate effect. The credit card upload policy of the airline, which was in effect since 1st Feb 2021, will no longer be valid. The airline has sent a new circular which details the new policy in detail. Ajay Wadhawan, Chief of Sales, AirAsia India shared this on social media. In the previous circular