In a recent update, Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has shared that AAI has taken up up-gradation work at Jabalpur Airport to make it suitable for operation of A-320 type of aircraft. This includes contruction of new terminal building, ATC tower, fire station, extension of runway, construction of new apron, isolation bay, perimeter road etc. the work of Terminal Building and ancillary building is expected to be completed by June 2021.

USA, Australia and India continue to take the top spot for the UK’s most favourite long-haul inbound tourism markets, according to research revealed at WTM London 2019. In third place, India showed a phenomenal growth, up 14.5% compared to 2018, with a quarter of all Indian arrivals staying more than 22 nights. The Cricket World Cup, held in the UK in May and June this year, were cited as having a huge impact on visitor numbers.

With a focus on specialisation, business and professionalisation, the upcoming edition of FITUR, International Tourism Fair, organised by IFEMA, from the 22 to 26 January at Feria de Madrid, presents its greatly enhanced B2B meeting programs. These include the general meetings agenda, FITUR B2B Match, and the specialised meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, FITUR MiCE, schedule. Both programs have proven to be an effective tool, concentrating a high business activity during the professional events at FITUR. Data from the latest edition show that there were a total of 9,150 B2B meetings with professionals from around the world.

Minar Group received the TravTalk-WTM World Travel Leaders Award at the recently held World Travel Mart London. The World Travel Leaders Awards honours companies and individuals for their outstanding contribution to the industry over the last 24 months voted for by the WTM partners. Speaking on the occasion, Gren Pacheco, VP, Business Development, said, “It’s a pleasure to be at WTM London. I want to thank TravTalk for this award and it feels great to have received it at such a big international forum.” 

PATA India Chapter is organising its 8th Update and Outlook Meeting on 21 November which will have Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Tourism who will update the attendees on the initiatives and achievements of the Ministry and will also talk about India Tourism’s advanced website, and what it can do for the members’ and attendees’ business development efforts. The event will be held at Taj Palace, New Delhi. DG Tourism will also share details on MOT’s online Tourism Education & Tourist facilitator/guide program, and how it can be used for building a tourism friendly approach. Sharma would be updating on the progress and impact of Adopt a heritage program by MOT, and how it benefits PATA India Chapter members and the tourist. In addition, she will be taking up queries of the attendees. To confirm participation for the meeting, write to manager@pataindia.org latest by November 15, 2019.

Scheduled from 17-19 March, with just four months short, MITT 2020 is taking shape as one of the most prominent events of the travel and tourism industry. This event will witness 1,523 exhibiting companies from 229 countries and regions of the world besides 52 regions of Russia. MITT is the largest B2B travel & tourism trade show in Russia, attracting representatives of the tourism industry from Russia, regions and all over the world.

World Travel Market kick-started in London and will be held from November 4-6. India is participating too at the WTM London 2019, one of the largest international exhibitors of the travel and tourism industry to showcase India as a preferred destination for tourism. This year, India pavilion will focus on targeting internal experiences of travellers by showcasing not only India’s culture and heritage but also niche tourism products such as cuisine, wellness, yoga, wildlife and luxury. This year, over 30 co-exhibitors/partners comprising state governments, tour operators, hoteliers, wellness centres and other stakeholders will be present at India pavilion.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently said that he is planning to connect Amritsar with the rest of the world by air. “Amritsar is not just known for the Golden Temple. It is a religious place and we have Ramtirath Temple, Duryana Temple and we have some famous churches here. This is a place which people of all religions come and seek blessings,” he said.

Addressing a gathering of Indian diaspora in Bangkok, Thailand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Northeast India is being developed as a gateway to Southeast Asia. He also said that plans are on cards to establish seamless connectivity between Thailand, Myanmar and North East India in the years to come. He also said, this initiative will immensely strengthen India’s Act East Policy and Thailand’s Act West Policy.

India ranked seven in Asia-Pacific region, in terms of hosting highest number of meetings in 2018, revealed International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). India hosted a total of 158 meetings last year. Japan topped the list in the region with 492 meetings, followed by China with 449 meetings. Third in the list was Republic of Korea with 273 meetings Australia at number four with 265 meetings. Thailand (193 meetings) was ranked fifth while Chinese Taipei ranked sixth (173 meetings).