PATA’s CEO Mario Hardy has resigned after serving the association for six years. He will leave in December when his current contract expires. He is on a fix-term contract and simply decided not to extend to another term. By the end of the year, it will be 7 years spent at PATA (1 year as COO and 6 years as CEO) for him. Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

To take it’s customer experience a level up, VFS Global has revealed that it is toying with the idea of offering its customers the option of picking up their passports without entering its visa application centre. Speaking about this is Belson Coutinho, chief marketing officer, VFS global, who said, “We are exploring a feature in Mumbai where it is like a drive-through concept where people who want to pick up their passport can drive through and collect it without entering the vac. We hope we get thhis opportunity because it largely depends upon the infrastructure and space we are able to get at the VAC but that’s a concept we want to adopt. ” He added that 2020 is going to be the year of customer experience for VFS Global. It had also recently Upgraded its VACs.

The Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) has launched the Penang specialist Programme designed for the Indian market. The Programme will equip select outbound travel, M!CE, wedding and filming agencies with first-hand knowledge of Penang through a full day workshop conducted in each city concurrently with the B2B engagement session. Among the incentives that the Penang Specialists can qualify for are special incentive for group sales of 100 pax and above, family opportunities to Penang, opportunities to attend PCEB’s training and networking programme in Penang and India and much more. The Certification of the Penang Specialist Programme is valid for three years upon which qualifying members will be invited for recertification. The workshop is conducted by Katharine Chua, Managing Director, Penang Tropical Spice Garden.

Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur celebrated the commencement of its high-end luxury banquet Sky Greens.  Sky Greens, an all-new premium event space for social and corporate events on February 1, 2020. Located in the heart of the city, Sky Greens by Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur brings a rare combination of high- quality, designer banqueting experience under one roof. Sky Greens promises to provide grandeur for all customized services that will redefine the standards of celebration for everyone.  The occasion was graced by the crème de la crème of Maharashtra. Sky Greens can house up to 120 guests at a time and is spread over 3000 square feet built-up area includes and climate-controlled glass gazebo. The rooftop terrace space at Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur has been created as a premium banquet space overlooking the horizon of the city at the 8th Floor level. Sky Greens will make you fall into tranquility as you get a mesmerizing view. Richly elegant and adaptable, it will allow the experienced events team to cater for every occasion. The custom-designed food & beverages with live preparations or a 6-course sit-down service; make the culinary experience a memorable one. Every event is made unique by the dedicated team of expert Chefs & service team.

Tripura Government is all set to host an event on similar lines of Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival from February 8-9, 2020, in order to boost tourism in the state. The two-day festival will be organised in Hathai Kortor or Baramura Hills in West district. It was decided last year that the Government will organise a festival on the lines of the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland since forest official Animesh Das said several hornbills are spotted in Tripura. The name of the festival in Tripura has not been decided yet. The forest officials have even set up a Hornbill viewpoint at Baramura hills, where fruit-bearing trees have been grown for the birds.

Kerala Tourism is organising partnership meets and participating in in ten cites across India in the first quarter of 2020, in order to attract domestic tourists to the destination. The cities include Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Guwahati, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Minister, Kerala, revealed that domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala in 2019 saw an overall increase as compared to 2018. The number of domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala is up by 16 per cent for the first three Quarters in 2019

ISA Tourism (India Sales Associates, ISA), has been appointed as the Indian representation partner for BUCCARA – The Private Collection, owners of a bouquet of luxury villas, castles and yachts in bespoke destinations. The signing up of ISA Tourism is done to bring the unique and luxurious accommodation offerings of BUCCARA to the Indian Outbound market. Manas Sinha, Director of ISA Tourism said: “We are proud to be associated with BUCCARA – The Private Collection and to promote their bouquet of luxury properties in South Africa, Spain, Austria and private yachts in Spain. Their unique portfolio enhances the range of luxury products and experiences that we are able to offer to our key travel partners and corporate clients across India. Working with our key partners we look forward to introducing Indian guests to the BUCCARA brand and to experience their villas, castles and yachts.” “With the growing number of discerning luxury travellers from India, it is important for us to have a local presence and provide better customer service to the travel partners. We believe that the dedicated team of ISA Tourism professionals is a great fit for us to get the outreach and to engage with luxury travel bookers,” said Kashif Arif, Managing Director, BUCCARA.

Setting up of an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation with the status of a deemed university under the Ministry of Culture, has been proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism and Culture, has expressed his happiness with this announcement and has said, “The much-awaited Indian Institute of Archaeological and Conservation was announced in the Budget. This will enable trained, qualified persons to conserve manuscripts, including monuments, museums. All partner institutions will benefit.”

India has temporarily suspended e-visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in China with immediate effect from February 2 in view of the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has spread to 25 countries, including India, the US, and the UK. “Due to certain current developments, travel to India on e-visas stands temporarily suspended with immediate effect,” the Indian Embassy announced in a advisory in Beijing on Sunday. “All those who have a compelling reason to visit India may contact the Embassy of India in Beijing or the Indian consulates in Shanghai or Guangzhou, as well as the Indian Visa Application Centres in these cities,” it said. “This applies to holders of Chinese passports and applicants of other nationalities residing in the People’s Republic of China. Holders of already issued e-visas may note that these are no longer valid,” the announcement said.

Amaresh Tiwari, Vice Chairman, Indian Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), says, “The Finance Minister has focused on the  importance of tourism and announced following measures to boost tourism in India which is an inclusive growth indicator. She acknowledges the contribution of tourism in the development of India. 2500 cr have been allocated for tourism in 2021. 100 more Airports will be built by 2024 under Udaan and doubling of aircraft fleet has been announced. More trains like TEJAS to connect tourism sites will be initiated. Tribal museum is to be set up in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Five archaeological sites are to be developed to iconic sites with on –site museums.”