IndiGo has announced that it will start operations to Agra with the launch of a direct non-stop flight from Bengaluru on March 5, under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, revealed William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo. Agra will be IndiGo’s 63rd destination and 86th overall in its network, which also has flight services to 23 international airports. The airline already operates flights to and from Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Varanasi. “It gives us pleasure to announce Agra as the 63rd domestic destination in our network. Operating exclusively under the UDAN scheme, the new services will promote trade and tourism in the region through increased mobility,” said Boulter. With its fleet of over 250 aircraft, the airline offers 1,500 daily flights, connecting 63 domestic destinations and 23 international destinations.

Amusement Parks in India attract over 30 million (3 crore) visitors annually. Children & Youth visit the park either in school groups or with families and constitutes 50% of park visitors. Adults constitute the remaining 50% as they either visit with their families or in corporate groups. India has over 160 plus amusement parks and the future growth of the sector are going to be away from the city limits along with resorts and hotels at a tourism destination. The figures were revealed at the 20th IAAPI Amusement Expo 2020, the biggest B2B exhibition on sourcing for amusement, leisure and recreation industry supported, by Ministry of Tourism (Incredible India). It was inaugurated by Amanda Thompson, Chairperson – International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) with Sohansinh Jadeja – President – Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI), along with key office bearers.

The Accor Showcase took place at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity on 26 February and will take place in  Sofitel Mumbai BKC on 28 February. Rohit Chopra, Regional Director Sales-India, Accor, says, “The event is growing strength by strength and doing very well.  We have hotels here from all different categories. We have multiple Raffles, Fairmont from different countries who are looking to tap M!CE and wedding segment. This year we have participants from Baku, Azerbaijan, London, North Europe etc.”

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) together with 3 travel partners (Resorts World Sentosa, Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean International / TIRUN Travel Marketing) took part in a trade engagement event organised by Sheeraz Tours in Lucknow on February, 26. The session was held in Hotel Hilton Garden and was well attended by more than 100 tour operators and agencies from in and around the city. Leveraging on Sheeraz Tours’ strength as a leading player in Uttar Pradesh on both b2c and b2b fronts, the event enabled STB and its partners an effective platform to reach out to and build connections with the local travel trade partners and providing them with an update on their respective product offerings. This was all about the new product updates and also about the speculation for coronavirus which is going in the mind of tourists travelling abroad, Raymond Lim, Area Director, Singapore Tourism Board, India has gave the presentation along with Dhirti Kapoor. Ms Diksha Batra, Vice President- Sales, Dream Cruises, Pradeep Israni-Senior Manager, Resort World Sentosa and Midhat Hussain, Head North India, Royal Caribbean Cruise were also part of the event. Apart from giving the product information for 2020, they also guided the travel agents on how clear the myth of COVID-19 from the client’s mind and what safety measures are being taken to fight the virus. S.M.A.Sheeraz, MD, Sheeraz Tours said that the session like this was required to boost the enthusiasm among the II-tier and III-tier city travel agents of Uttar Pradesh and he is working to give the best exposures for the outbound tourism in the state. Hina Sheeraz, Director-Sales, Sheeraz Tours was also present at the event as she coordinated …

Eastern Himalayas Travel and Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA) signs MoU with Bangladesh at Bengal Travel Mart to promote cross border tourism. Some of the main objectives of the MoU include, promotion of tourism activities jointly, annual meeting to be held jointly in Bangladesh and India every alternative year, TOAB Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in India, EHTTOA Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in Bangladesh, registration fee for each member is proposed as Tk. 1500 or Rs 1200, Below are the main objectives of the MoU (in detail): Each Association will induct Affiliate Members mutually [TOAB 50 & EHTTOA 50] without voting power and other facilities enjoyed by General Member. Registration fee for Each Member is proposed as Tk. 1500 Or INR 1200 INR per member. Membership Renewal every 02 years of TK 1000 Or INR 800 per member. Annual meeting to be held jointly in Bangladesh and India in every alternative year. Issues on Common cause to be addressed jointly. Exchange and use of logo to be permitted. EC of Each Association to approve Affiliate Membership. Development launching and other tourism related issue to be taken up jointly for the promotion of the sector. Rules for induction of members will be revised every two years if necessary. First Joint Move will be on Identifying, Listing and Promotion of Home Stays and Rural Tourism. Promotion of tourism activities jointly. TOAB Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in India and EHTTOA Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in Bangladesh. Each Association Member will monitor all aspects respectively.  

Trulyy India Hotels, Resorts, Camps and Safaris has announced the addition of 50 more rooms to its existing hotel, Hotel Trulyy The Desert Palace Jaisalmer. The total number of rooms at the property are now 104. The new block of the hotel was inaugurated by Shashikant Khetan in presence of Naresh Arora, MD, Trulyy India Hotels, Janak Singh Bhati, Kailash Vyas, Mayank Bhatia, Om Bhatia, Maan Singh Devra, Churchill Vyas, Gulab Singh, Mukesh Doshi and other guests from the travel trade fraternity. Trulyy India is also planning to open a new hotel, Amar Mahal in Udaipur.

Atul Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, says, “We are opening about 8 hotels in India and 3 in Bangladesh. For 2021, we are opening about 5-6 hotels. Also, we are launching a new brand in the Indian market- Aiden, which will be opened by August in Goa. Apart from this, we are focussing on SureStay hotels and Best Western Plus. We will be opening 5-6 BW Plus in the country very soon.”

According to HVS, management contracts continue to be the most preferred form of brand signings, although Franchising is now steadily growing popularity. In 2019 almost 14% of the total brand signings were franchised compared to 10% in 2018. However managed properties accounted for 76% of the total brand signings in both 2019 and 2018.

V Ravindran, Regional Manager-India & Bangladesh, SriLankan Airlines, has revealed that they have plans to add Ahmedabad and Calicut to their list of destinations in India. Ravindran revealed, “We are focusing on M!CE from India. We also have some new destinations to be added as per the business plan, but subject to aircraft procurement. Ahmedabad and Calicut are going to be the latest Indian destinations to be connected via SriLankan. With that, we are going to fly to 11 destinations in India, and we will start a minimum of 4 flights a week. We also have plans to operate to Sydney. We are already flying to Melbourne 4 daily flights and we have plans to come start operations to Sydney as well. This will be a good product for the Indian leisure market specifically to Australia.”

The Accor Showcase took place at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity on 26 February and is slated to take place in  Sofitel Mumbai BKC on 28 February. Speaking at the event, Jean–Michel Cassé, COO, Accor, India and South Asia, says, “ It is now four years since we are conducting this exercise of the Accor Showcase. It is an opportunity for our hotels in India and across the world to come and present themselves to the Indian market. They come and showcase whatever products and services they have for the Indian market.  It has been very successful in the last few years and in spite of the challenging times, we are really happy that it is happening this year again in 2020.” On their upcoming hotels, he said, “We have one opening expected very soon, mid-March, which is Grand Mercure in Bengaluru, mid-2020 we will be opening Raffles in Udaipur, that is truly our first exclusive luxury property opening for the Indian market, we also have very high expectations for this brand to succeed in India as it will be the first Raffles in India.  Across 23 cities in India, we are offering a  variety of brands and services for the travel trade to choose from.” Rohit Chopra, Regional Director Sales-India, Accor, says, “The event is growing strength by strength and doing very well.  We have hotels here from all different categories. We have multiple Raffles, Fairmont’s from different countries, they are looking to tap the M!CE and wedding segment. This year we have participants from Baku, Azerbaijan, London, north Europe and also representatives from the USA, global sales, so it’s a very proud moment for us that we are …