Showing the way forward, speaking at the 2nd session of the second Digital Conclave held by TravTalk, Arjun Sharma, Chairman, Select Group, said, “My suggestion to travel agents is to focus on packaging experiences, experiential travel can also be a luxury. Travel agents need to first build their database and then identify the potential clients and then create packages for them.” He also added that travel will not stop, but it will just take some time for it to build up again.

Speaking at the first session of the second Digital Conclave held by TravTalk, Lohani, Chairman, APTDC said, “Everybody needs to get ready for domestic tourism, travelling within the state as well as the region is likely to grow. People will be apprehensive to go far but will be willing to travel within the country. India has everything to offer, now is the right time to position domestic tourism in the country. We need to commission a study on domestic tourism and all states and stakeholders need to follow that.”

Post the success of the maiden TravTalk Digital Conclave, the second edition of the e-event also had an overwhelming response with various question posed across the three sessions. The eminent speakers from state tourism boards, Indian tour operators’ associations, airlines, hotels, as well as visa and technology service providers among others, who will deliberate on the next steps in domestic tourism and India as a global source market. The list of speakers included Ashwani Lohani (APTDC), PP Khanna (ADTOI), Kerrie Hannaford (Accor), Arjun Sharma (Select Group), Ankur Bhatia (Bird Group), Sanjay Kumar (IndiGo), Vinay Malhotra (VFS Global), Sandeep Dwivedi (ITQ) and KD Singh (TravelBullz)

New Zealand is the home of adventure tourism. For more inspiration on how to include adventure activities in your itineraries, sign up for the upcoming webinar on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 1430 hrs (2:30 pm). To participate, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532. If your clients enjoy adventure sports or extreme activities, they’ll love New Zealand. Whether they want heart-pounding excitement or to simply achieve something memorable. From canyoning, rafting and zip-lining, to bungy-jumps and skydiving, New Zealand has it all. Take their breath away with exhilarating experiences amidst spectacular scenery. Thrills and excitement can be found at every turn.

As initiated and facilitated by the Government of Srilanka, SriLankan Airlines, brought back 829 Sri Lankans who were stranded in India. They have been arriving in the country, as Sri Lanka was going into 48-hour quarantine curfew, since Friday , March 20,to Sunday 22nd 2020. The Airline wishes to state that these passengers had travelled to India on other airlines and were stranded there as the carriers concerned stopped operations to Colombo due to travel restrictions. The National Carrier took every measure to bring them home swiftly and safely, given that these passengers mainly consisted of senior citizens, an age group that has been advised to take extra precautions to be safe from the virus. Ever since the global outbreak, SriLankan Airlines has been playing a pivotal role in facilitating passage home to many Sri Lankans, which includes the mercy flight that was operated to Wuhan. The Airlines’ operational areas have been fully functional despite the government declared holidays and ‘work-from-home’ , and the staff members have been attending to their work dedicatedly and diligently, understanding fully the role that they are expected to play during these difficult times. SriLankan Airlines, going above and beyond the call of duty and not aiming at any commercial fulfillment despite the irretrievable impact this has made on business, has continued to step in and fulfil what is expected of the National Carrier, thus playing its part of staying united as a country in this crucial hour. Our Global Contact Center(0197331979), including Airport ticket office offering 24×7 service to our valuable customers for their ticket related services.

Archaeological Survey of India‘s (ASI’s) Delhi circle expressed gratitude for Corona Warriors by illuminating historical sites  like Red Fort, Qutub Minar & Humayun’s Tomb in a special way on the occasion of World Heritage Day in New Delhi. The gesture was to show gratitude towards corona warriors for their selfless services to the humankind. In the evening ASI Delhi circle illuminated all the three monuments in a special way. At Red Fort, the candles (Diyas) were arranged in the shape of India’s map with a massage ‘Hum Jitenge’; at Qutub Minar. candles (Diyas) were arranged in the shape of house with a massage ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’; at Humayun’s Tomb, 41 candles were lighted in addition to the general illumination. This symbolized our fight against CORONA outbreak for which 41 days of lockdown is being observed. ASI Delhi circle also administered oath to school students through video conferencing to safeguard and respect the monuments and their heritage.

The French authorities have declared that every traveller is requested, from April 8, 2020, 12 AM, to fill out and carry one of the following travel certificates according to their situation. This comes in line with the French Government’s measures to prevent and slow the spread of Covid-19 for the tourism sector and inbound tourists into France. The official statement released by Atout France stated that once the containment and confinement system is lifted, certain restrictions will remain. “As announced by the President, French international borders will remain closed until further notice. In the context of the implementation of the state of health emergency in France, access restrictions to Mainland France and to French Overseas territories are in effect. Every traveller is requested, from April 8, 2020, 12 AM, to fill out and carry one of the following travel certificates according to their situation, whether it is for a trip from mainland France to French overseas territories, for international travel from abroad to mainland France, or for international travel from abroad to French overseas territories. The document is to be presented to transportation companies before boarding, as well as to the border control authorities,” the statement said. The France president has also announced specific economic measures in order to help the tourism sector. These measures will be announced in May 2020.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State, Tourism & Culture (I/C), launched the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India on World Heritage Day. MOT celebrated the special occasion by conducting a series of webinars, titled ‘Dekho Apna Desh’. Patel addressed live through the webinar on Ancient Temple city of Mamallapuram which had participants from all over the world. The second webinar was titled ‘World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism at Humayun’s Tomb’. Speaking on the occasion Patel said, “India houses a repository of unique Intangible Cultural Heritage(ICH) traditions, 13 of which have also been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The National ICH List is an attempt to recognise the diversity of Indian culture embedded in its intangible heritage. He said that It aims to raise awareness about the various intangible cultural heritage elements from different states of India at national and international level and ensure their protection. This initiative is also a part of the Vision 2024 of the Ministry of Culture.” Patel also added, “Our tradition and culture is not only ancient but also invaluable. He further said that in the present crisis where the world and our country also is dealing with COVID-19, it is the values of humanity and warm hospitality of our heritage which define us and make us what we are. He alluded to the shloka ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam’(the world is our family) from the Maha Upanishad wherein India’s spirit is demonstrated in its warmth and humility through the help extended to all tourists stranded in India.” Following UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, this list has been classified into five broad domains in which intangible cultural heritage …

Riding on the success of the maiden TravTalk Digital Conclave, the second edition of the e-event is set to commence today from 10am-1:30pm and will see industry stalwarts discussing the way forward for domestic and aviation industry till. There will be three sessions of one hour each. To attend, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 and jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. The eminent speakers from state tourism boards, Indian tour operators’ associations, airlines, hotels, as well as visa and technology service providers among others, who will deliberate on the next steps in domestic tourism and India as a global source market. The list of speakers include Ashwani Lohani (APTDC), PP Khanna (ADTOI), Kerrie Hannaford (Accor), Arjun Sharma (Select Group), Ankur Bhatia (Bird Group), Sanjay Kumar (IndiGo), Vinay Malhotra (VFS Global), Sandeep Dwivedi (ITQ) and KD Singh (TravelBullz).

In light of the changing global situation relating to the COVID-19 virus, Arabian Travel Market will now be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 16-19, 2021. An official statement on the event website reads as follows: “Many meetings took place with the Dubai World Trade Centre and we reviewed other options to organize an event in the last quarter. However, after consultation with our key stakeholders and after listening to our Industry, ultimately it became apparent that the best course of action, and with everyone’s best interests in mind, is to postpone the event to 2021.” Furthermore, it states, “We are firmly focused on delivering positive business and networking opportunities to the Middle East’s vast travel and tourism community and as such are excited to announce that we will be running an ATM Virtual Event across 1st – 3rd of June 2020. Join webinars, live conference sessions, speed networking events, 1-2-1 meetings, plus so much more keeping the conversations going and delivering new connections and business opportunities online.”