Northeast India will now have more representation and promotion, said Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism, Government of India. He added, “Every Northeast state has so much diversity with its unique culture, heritage, and food. The circuits that are being created across the country to promote domestic tourism is a great concept. Earlier Northeast India faced connectivity issues. But now, there will be train and air connectivity through UDAN. We need to change the perception of northeast and talk a more about its beautiful offerings. Road developments and infrastructure have to be talked about.”  

The Global Panorama Showcase will go completely digital in 2020, with the first event of the year starting in Nagpur from January 27-28, 2020. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, said, “We had set a goal for ourselves to go completely green in 2020. This year, we will have only 70 table spaces, with a fixed format wherein the backdrop will be eco-friendly. Instead of using flex, we are giving 15-inch screens to everyone, wherein it will be a 4000 ultra HD TV where exhibitors can showcase anything through their smart tabs, phones, devices or laptop, whether it is wired or non-wired. Even the sticker or paint used in the exhibition area will be eco-friendly, reusable, or recyclable. We will go almost 90 per cent eco-friendly, as we are already paperless. In future, we will have water dispensers put for the exhibitors and provide them with copper bottles to be refilled to avoid any plastic waste. This will be followed in all the cities. Every city will have a maximum of 70 exhibitors in 2020 and we have to go green completely. There will be a total of 8 GPS events and 4 Eco Connect events. Additionally, there will be around 4-6 EDWINs like every year.”

Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has launched a destination wedding package, in a bid to promote tourism in the region. The above package will be available at six Panthanivas (a chain of hotels operated by OTDC) in Rambha, Gopalpur, Chandipur, Puri, Konark, and Barkul. Development work on these places would be started during the first phase. Shreemayee Mishra, Chairperson, OTDC, has reportedly said that apart from the wedding package, the newly-wed pair would also get a complimentary honeymoon as well as packages for their first two marriage anniversaries. She further said that since people are interested in destination weddings, it is expected that this new initiative is likely to become a trendsetter. The wedding package would cost around INR 2.17 lakh, which will cover the cost for two days and would include 25 rooms, the main wedding meal, three principal meals for 50 persons, basket snacks, cocktail snacks, mineral water in the rooms, and the wedding drum. The price may increase in case people require more facilities. The package can be booked online and it could further be extended to other Panthanivas of the state.

Vachirachai Srisumpan has been appointed as the new Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), New Delhi office, and will be taking up his new role from February 1, 2020. He will be replacing Isra Stapanaseth, who would now move to Bangkok to take up his new assignment, after working as Director of TAT, New Delhi for 4 years. Speaking at the Amazing Thailand evening in the capital Srisumpan, said, “I am honoured to be lucky and to be the representative of TAT in New Delhi. The Indian market is a great opportunity and a very important market for Thailand. We have very good partners with the travel agents and media here. I hope to take forward the work done by Isra Stapanaseth.”

The UAE Cabinet has approved the issuance of a five-year multi-entry tourist visa for all nationalities visiting the country. The decision was made during the Cabinet’s first meeting during 2020 the Year of Preparation, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The move comes in a bid to support the UAE’s tourism economy and affirm the country’s position as a global tourist destination. The decision is one of the first policy changes in line with the mega event -Expo 2020 planned in the UAE this year. Another key decision made during the meeting includes the introduction of a visa waiver for Mexican citizens travelling to the UAE. The two decisions will be implemented during the first quarter of 2020. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid emphasised that 2019 was a year full of achievements across multiple areas, adding, “We are leaving this year behind and we are proud of our government working teams, and we are full of excitement and positive energy for the year of preparation for the next fifty years to come.”

The India International Travel & Tourism Mart (IITT), Mumbai, has been rescheduled to August 2020. The event was previously scheduled to be held from January 15-17, at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. The new dates and venue for the event have not been announced. The annual event offers a networking and marketing platform for the travel and tourism industry.

Nepal will develop night tourism in Kathmandu and will be focusing on M!CE tourism from India, revealed Lila Bahadur Baniya, Officiating Director, Nepal Tourism Board, while addressing the delegates at the Nepal Sales Mission, organised by Nepal Tourism Board, the National Tourism Organization (NTO) of Government of Nepal, in Amritsar. Nepal Sales Mission, is travelling to 9 Indian Cities from 6th January to 1st February 2020. The event has successfully concluded in Amritsar and will now go to other Indian cities of Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore, Surat, Pune, Trichy, Trivandrum and Kochi. The mission is aimed at bringing all the travel trade partners together to update about various destination of Nepal and educate regarding the recent developments in Nepalese tourism. The sales mission is important for Nepal as Nepal is celebrating Visit Nepal Year 2020 with an objective to bring 2 million tourists in Nepal. The Nepalese delegation is led by Lila Bahadur Baniya, along with  Robin Regmi, Officer-India & South Asia Unit. The delegation has 9 private companies/DMCs representatives and is looking forward to interacting with 80 agents and 20 Media Person from each of the 9 cities.

Holders of US, UK or Schengen visas can now obtain a visa on arrival in Saudi Arabia, it has been announced recently. The move comes in line with the kingdom’s recent implementation of tourist visas. While holders of American, UK and Schengen visas will now be able to obtain a tourist visa on arrival, they are not eligible for the electronic visa system. However, the visitor must have already used his US, UK or Schengen visa to visit the respective countries before arriving in Saudi Arabia.

Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels has filed draft papers with market regulators Sebi for its proposed initial public offering to raise up to Rs. 1,000 crore. The amount to be raised through OFS comprises up to Rs. 125.4 crore by promoter selling shareholder, up to Rs. 354.9 crore by Apeejay, up to Rs. 84.7 crore by Apeejay House Pvt Ltd and Rs. 34.9 crore by investor selling shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). The company proposes to utilise the net proceeds towards repayment/prepayment of certain borrowings availed and for general corporate purposes. The company currently manages 22 hotels with 1,937 rooms across 15 cities in India. As per the DRHP, it has a pipeline of 1,536 rooms expected to begin operations within the next three years. The company also has a retail food and beverage business under the ‘Flurys’ brand, which operates 38 outlets in Kolkata, and one outlet each in Navi Mumbai and New Delhi.

“Rumours regarding Air India shutting down or closing operations are all baseless,” Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani said in a tweet. His statement read, “Rumours regarding Air India shutting down or closing operations are all baseless. Air India would continue to fly and also expand and there should be no cause for concern whatsoever to travellers, corporates or agents. Air India the national carrier is still the biggest airline of India.” In a bid to cut down its losses, the national carrier has recently ended the 20-year-old partnership with Sabre on account of higher premium and has entered into a partnership with Amadeus GDS. Sabre was the second-largest GDS for Air India after Travelport with nearly 25 per cent share in international GDS sphere of the airline. Air India had ended its GDS partnership with Amadeus for the domestic segment in December 2018. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had clarified on December 31, 2019 that the national carrier, which is incurring a loss of Rs 20-26 crore daily, will keep on running till it is privatised. While Air India’s net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore, its current total debt is around Rs 80,000 crore.