Lords Hotels & Resorts has added a new property in Guwahati, Assam, named Lords Eco Inn, which will be launched under the ‘Eco Inn’ brand. The hotel will start operations after implementation of brand standards and refurbishment. It will feature well-appointed rooms, a multi-cuisine restaurant and a banquet hall. The property is at a distance of 22 km from Guwahati Railway Station and walking distance from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport. Pushpendra Bansal – Chief Operating Officer, Lords Hotels and Resorts said “Guwahati is a gateway to seven sisters in North East and increasingly emerging as a commercial and tourism hub. We see immense potential for business and leisure tourism in Guwahati and are proud to introduce Lords Eco Inn in this region”. Bhuban Pradhan, Mrs. Rinchin Droma promoters of Lords Eco Inn, Guwahati further added “It is indeed a pleasure for us to partner with Lords Hotels and Resorts to introduce the first Lords Hotel in North East Region of India. We are proud of the team that has been put together and are confident that our guests are going to be delighted every time they step into this property”.

As a sign of further commitment to the India market, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has become the first US destination to open a tourism office in India in Mumbai. The newly opened office will focus on driving travel aspiration and motivate Indian visitors to increase length of stay and spend in Los Angeles. Seema Kadam serves as Los Angeles Tourism’s first Regional Director for India. Los Angeles Tourism President and CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. officially opened the new office alongside international delegates while in the presence of India’s tourism industry. The office will work with the travel trade to develop customised and tailored product itineraries in line with consumer and travel trade interests.   As the fourth-highest international growth market for Los Angeles, the office will develop a cohesive strategy with the travel trade to sustain growth in 2020 and beyond. The office will also develop and support existing and any new air service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Encouraged by growth indicators in India – especially the market’s vast, growing outbound travel segment – Los Angeles Tourism’s latest visitation forecast projects a year-over-year growth of 4.4 per cent in 2019 with 135,000 Indian visitors. Indian visitation to Los Angeles is expected to grow by a year-over-year average of five per cent over the next five years with nearly 165,000 Indian travelers estimated to visit by 2023.   Commenting on plans for the India market, Ernest Wooden Jr. said, “Los Angeles Tourism’s journey towards this milestone that we celebrate today began nearly three years ago when we set off on a high-octane, strategic and long-term marketing programme. Targeted trade and consumer efforts have helped establish a distinct …

The U.S. State Department has elevated its travel advisory for certain parts of Mexico due to what it describes as widespread violent crime in certain areas. The level two advisory urges visitors to exercise increased caution when traveling to Mexico. The potential for murders, kidnapping, carjacking and robberies exists and “the U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services…” in certain places. The state department warnings said do not travel to Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas.

The Victoria Falls, located on the Zambezi river, is suffering due to Southern Africa’s drought situation. These falls have drawn millions of travellers to Zimbabwe and Zambia for their magnificent views. Locals from the tourism industry say that potential guests are less attracted to see Victoria Falls and is impacting the number of tourists visiting the region. The drought is even causing incessant power cuts in the region that depends on hydroelectric power. Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu had tweeted pictures of the fall in October, saying, “These are stark reminder of what climate change is doing to our environment and our livelihood.”

Lufthansa has announced that it will not be able to provide its regular variety of beverages and meals presumably on Saturday, December 21 due to a strike called by the Verdi trade union at the Lufthansa Group catering company LSG Skychefs. The strike will affect catering loading at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs. This means that no meals and beverages will be offered on domestic and European flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich. Reduced catering will also be available on long-haul flights from Frankfurt and Munich. All long-haul flights to Frankfurt and Munich include the normal selection of meals and beverages. Additionally, Lufthansa will reimburse costs (up to a reasonable level and upon presenting a receipt) if customers purchase meals or beverages for themselves. Beverages should only be purchased after passing the security check. “Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience for its passengers. Customers transiting in Frankfurt and Munich or commencing their journey at these airports have access to catering stations in the transit and departure area. These catering stations will offer customers free snacks and beverages,” the airline said. For customers wishing to travel in a lower class, Lufthansa offers free rebooking to the next lower class if there is seat availability. Lufthansa will refund the difference. In exceptional cases, flights may be cancelled. Lufthansa passengers are requested to check the status of their flight on www.lufthansa.com prior to departure.

Dubai’s Emirates airline has asked all passengers travelling during the New Year to arrive at the airport well in advance. The airline has joined hands with several authorities in the emirate to make travelling during New Year a hassle-free experience. Advisory is for both Terminal 3 and Terminal 1. The carrier recommended that passengers travelling during this period check-in online prior to arriving at the airport and make use of the quick baggage drop counters at the terminal. Passengers should arrive at the airport at least 3-4 hours prior to their flight. The peak holiday travel period will run from December 19 to January 6, with over 5 million passengers passing through Dubai International Airport.

Aircraft-manufacturer Boeing has suspended production of the 737 MAX planes starting January 2020 following an extension in the certification moving into 2020 and uncertainty about the timing and conditions for a return to service of the aircraft, said a company statement. The company added that it has around 400 aeroplanes in storage and would prioritise the delivery of these aircraft. In India, SpiceJet ordered as many as 205 of these planes in 2017, of which 13 have been delivered. The planes are, however, grounded due to the ongoing FAA safety review. SpiceJet is the only major Indian airline with the 737 Max in its fleet. Boeing’s decision on the 737 MAX is expected to pose further problems not only for SpiceJet but also for other airlines worldwide, which have lost huge sums of money due to thousands of cancelled flights and inability to use the fuel-efficient planes in their fleet.

Countries including the US, UK, Canada, Russia, UAE, Israel, Singapore have issued a travel advisory for its citizens, who are heading to or are in India currently. The advisory comes in the wake of ongoing protests that are taking place in several parts of the country owing to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The advisory notified the citizens to stay away from crowded places and areas controlled by protesters. It also advised them to remain to be vigilant and cautious get in touch with the embassy for any additional information. All these countries have also advised their citizens to avoid “non-essential” travel to North-eastern states of the country including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland due to the protests.

IndiGo has achieved the feat of having 1500 daily departures across its network of 83 domestic and international destinations. IndiGo expanded its operations to 11 domestic and 8 international new destinations inclusive of multiple exclusive and virgin routes, increasing its portfolio by 22 percent, between January to December 2019. Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo said, “We are very pleased to be the first Indian airline to touch 1500 daily departures, with one flight taking off every minute. The simple philosophy of offering low fares and on-time, courteous, hassle-free service has been the foundation of IndiGo’s growth and unparalleled network in India. Flying over 2,50,000 customers every day, we are on a mission to promote trade, tourism and economic growth by increasing mobility and accessibility across the length and breadth of the country”.

Domestic air passenger traffic for November was fastest in 2019, carrying 12.95 million people in November, up 11.2% year-on-year, revealed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This was the fastest growth recorded since December last year. This growth can be attributed to SpiceJet, which carried two million passengers in the month, a jump of 43% year-on-year. IndiGo, on the other hand carried six million passengers, up 21%. GoAir’s passenger traffic increased 39.5% to 1.4 million, while that of Air India increased by 10% to 1.5 million. The recent data revealed that passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Nov 2019 were 1311.54 lakhs as against 1262.83 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year hereby registering annual growth of 3.86%.