Turkish Airlines is launching a 40 percent discount campaign for its guests who wish to discover the world again in the coming good days. Passengers taking advantage of the exclusive prices will be able to discover the most beautiful cities around the globe with the flexible ticket options at advantageous prices of Turkish Airlines. Passengers who wish to take part of the campaign which is valid with all ticket types of the flag carrier’s international flights*, will be able to fly at a 40 percent discount for flights between April 1 – December 31, 2021 as long as they purchase their tickets between January 13 – 15. Turkish Airlines passengers will also be able to change the dates of their campaign tickets free of charge while refunds and cancellations will be subject to the rules of the fare classes. Flights to/from Ercan Airport and Chinese Mainland (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an) are not included in this campaign.

Ankush Nijhawan, Co-founder, TBO Group and Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the FICCI Outbound Tourism Sub Committee. In his role, his contribution and perspective will help in outlining the road map for a robust regulatory policy for the promotion of the travel & tourism sector. Nijhawan said, “I am honoured to be appointed as the Chairperson of this sub-committee. With the support of our stakeholders, I am confident that FICCI will be able to achieve greater heights in the tourism industry.” Jyotsna Suri, congratulated, saying, “We intend to work on a more focused way for each and every sub sectors of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality which will be very crucial for the revival.”

ISA Tourism (India Sales Associates, ISA) will be the India representatives for Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort in Maldives. Mr Manas Sinha, Director of ISA said, “With this partnership, the ISA team will focus on building CONRAD Maldives awareness within the travel trade and driving reservations from the luxury outbound travel market. Additionally, they will generate leads for corporate meetings and leisure groups including family travel and small special interest groups.”

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Western India Chapter has announced that its current team has returned to office unopposed. Jitul Mehta is the Chapter Chairman, Burjis Mehta as the Secretary, and Jay Kantawala as the Treasurer. The team will take over office for the two-year term starting January 2021. Jitul Mehta says, “The work that we started in our previous term will continue with more vigour and determination now with a focus on getting the industry back on its feet.”

ARRA Hotel Group is on an expansion spree and has signed up 25 properties across India, which are under various stages of reinvention as per our standards. Anshu Malik, MD, ARRA Hotel Group, says, “We will operate the above properties under our flagship Brand Arra which is our upscale brand and Twist which is Budget young feel brand. We are opening 5 properties by February 2021 in Gurugram, Manesar, Jim Corbett, Nainital and Dehradun with 450-room inventory.”

Hotel Association of India (HAI) has launched its West Bengal Chapter, and has submitted a memorandum of industry demands to West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Dr. Amit Mitra, seeking industry status for the hospitality sector. The association has suggested that this will help in reducing costs and encourage re-investment while bringing greater transparency in the sector functioning. A favourable policy decision of according industry status and allowing benefits available to manufacturing will strengthen the Indian hospitality industry, preserve and unlock its immense potential to make a significant contribution to the State’s GDP and jobs, supporting the post-pandemic economic revival of the region. MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, Hotel Association of India, said, “The Association believes that granting industry status to the sector will enable hotels across the state to avail benefits towards electricity and water tariff at an industrial rate, lower property tax, rationalisation of taxes & license fees, simplified approval process for hotel projects & hotel operations and other benefits accorded to industries – thus helping in ushering transparency, reduce costs, and encourage reinvestment. Such small steps are crucial for revival of the sector after the disastrous impact of the Pandemic and essential considering the extent of employment and income the sector generates.”

STB India Virtual Tradeshow 2021 is all set to kick-off today for South India. The virtual show will begin from 10am till 4pm, where Singapore stakeholders and travel trade from South India can engage in B2B meetings. The subsequent editions of the show will be held on 15th, 19th and 21st of January in North, West and East India respectively. Register on www.stbindiatradeshow2021.com, email: jaspeet.kaur@ddppl.com, or call +919650196532.

IATO, in association with TravTalk University, is hosting a webinar titled ‘Website Secrets Revealed’ today at 11:30 am. During the session, Digital Marketing Specialist Gaurav Gurbaxani will educate attendees on the most common mistakes to avoid in developing a website. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91-9650196532.

Vistara has announced special, non-stop flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, starting 18th February 2020. The twice a week flight will be on Thursdays and Saturdays, as part of the ‘transport bubble’ formed between India and Germany and the aircraft will be Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Himanshu Talwar, Assistant Secretary General, FHRAI, has been given the additional responsibility as the Additional Director at FHRAI Institute of Hospitality Management (FIHM), Greater Noida. Management of FHRAI has bestowed the new responsibility on Talwar, where he will be working under the guidance of the Secretary General, FHRAI.