The next edition of FITUR,  organised by IFEMA will take place at Feria de Madrid, from January 22-26. The sustainability, technology and expertise, will remain principal axes of FITUR, to which the momentum of the shares will add targeted to grow in professionalism and inter-nationality and thus overcome the results of the last edition, which brought together more than 11,000 exhibiting companies from 160 countries, and 253,000 participants. For this, the FITUR organisation has paid special attention to strengthening its International Guest Programs as well as the agenda of  B2B meeting.

FITUR and the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH) are organising a specialist section for tourism sector technology and innovation – FITURTECHY – to be held from 22 to 24 January in Hall 10 at FITUR. It will further focus on how innovation and the application of the right technology in the tourism industry can offer major changes – ranging from vast differences in the service provided to customers to greater resource efficiency – which can lead to improvements in the conservation of the environment and, ultimately, the preservation of our planet’s future. The Cajamar Cooperative Bank will also be showing their support for the tourism sector – one of Spain’s strategic industries – at FITURTECHY, as part of its endorsement of innovation, sustainability and quality, as well as its commitment to helping travel agencies, groups and companies from the hotel and services sectors in the development of their business and their international expansion projects.

The Kempegowda International Airport has commenced operations on the new South Runway with the landing of the first flight on the 4,000-metres long and 45-metres wide airstrip. The South Runway will begin with limited landings and take offs before gradually scaling up flight operations. This makes the BLR Airport the first in the country to operate independent parallel runways, enabling aircraft to land or take-off simultaneously on both runways.

ibis Jaipur Civil Lines has refurbished its interiors, dining and 22 new premium rooms for the new-age traveller in line with the global ibis brand. Shwetank Singh – Vice President of Development & Asset Management, InterGlobe Hotels says, “The completion of the project has far exceeded expectations of what we had envisioned which is in line with our ‘New Generation’ Design and we are excited about the new look and feel of the hotel. The culinary offerings along with the vibrant and colourful public area bring about a great amount of energy to the place and it fits in well with the Rajasthani art and architecture. I would like to congratulate the operations team and our projects team whose tireless efforts resulted in the completion of the project within timelines and budget whilst the property was still operational.”

Lufthansa and Vistara has started offering its customers codeshare flights. This new partnership will add 126 weekly flights to ten key Indian cities. This will be in addition to Lufthansa’s current schedule of 56 weekly international flights to and from the major Indian hubs of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai with aircraft like the Airbus A350. It is planned to subsequently add more destinations of Vistara’s network under the umbrella of the codeshare agreement in 2020 and beyond. Connecting Vistara‘s strong domestic network with Lufthansa‘s global reach gives European airline customers immediate access to many more Indian cities than ever before. At the same time this partnership offers customers from ten key Indian cities like Kolkata, Goa and Pune unlimited access to the Lufthansa Group’s worldwide network, including top-tier destinations in Europe, Canada and the United States. Further, Lufthansa and Vistara are in the final stages on enabling customers being able to earn miles flying Vistara or Lufthansa. Vistara joins Air India as the second Indian airline having a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa. George Ettiyil, Senior Director Sales for the Lufthansa Group Airlines in South Asia emphasises the strategic importance of taking the existing interline agreement with Vistara to the next level. “This marks Lufthansa’s commitment to offering its Indian customers world-class international travel experiences and will enable them to use their preferred mileage program on codeshare routes. By teaming up with Vistara, we will strengthen and expand our position as the leading and most popular European airline in India – a country all set to become the third-largest aviation market in just a few years’ time.“

Delhi is all set to enter the list of world’s top 10 most popular destinations in the world, according to a recent report by Euromonitor International. Currently, the city ranks at the 11th position in the list of world’s top 100 destinations and is forecast to climb to 8th place in 2019. Mumbai, the financial capital of India, has grabbed the 14th rank. The next city in line is Agra at 26th spot, while Jaipur is on 34th rank. Chennai is at 36th rank, Kolkata is at 74th spot, and Bengaluru is at the 100th spot. Overall, India has emerged as the strongest emerging destination with seven cities in the top 100 popular cities this year, according to Euromonitor report. The number 1 spot has been grabbed by Hong Kong while New York City is the most popular American destination on the 2019 ranking list.

Over last four years, domestic aviation traffic has grown at a CAGR of 18.6 per cent rising from 89.6 million to in FY2015 to 137.6 million passengers in 2019. International CAGR has grown at a CAGR of 8.1 per cent during the same period. CAPA India total traffic to grow only marginally during FY2020. (Approximately 2-3 per cent). In the first 7 months of FY 2020, total airport traffic has increased by just 0.7 per cent year on year.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has forecast that India will receive 20 million tourist visitors by 2024. John Koldowski, Special Advisor to CEO, PATA, in his presentation at the 2nd PATA Tourism Powerhouse in New Delhi, said that if India continues to grow its tourism arrival numbers at a similar pace as today and the scenario remains the same, it will reach the 20 million mark in the next 5 years. He made the statement with reference to the PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2019 to 2024.

The second edition of PATA Tourism Powerhouse, presented by the Inder Sharma Foundation (ISF), concluded at The Park, New Delhi on December 6, 2019, with the attendance of the stalwarts of tourism industry from India and outside, who shared knowledge and forecast for tourism in India and across the world. The day-long event was inaugurated by Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA; Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Tourism, Government of India and Chairman, PATA India Chapter; Jatinder Taneja, Vice- Chairman, PATA India Chapter; John Koldowski, Special Advisor to CEO, PATA  and Professor, School of Tourism, Leshan Normal University, Sichuan Province, China; Priya Paul, Chairperson, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels; Arjun Sharma, Trustee, ISF and Chairman, Select Group; Neeraj Ghei, Chairman, ISF and SanJeet, Hony. Treasurer, PATA India Chapter.

Abercrombie & Kent, a luxury travel company, headquartered in Illinois, United States, has completed the acquisition of Cox & Kings UK. Post this acquisition, both the companies will continue to increase its presence in the luxury travel world as these two brands have a database of loyal clients and strong trade partnerships. Abercrombie & Kent believes the two entities will complement each other and will grow the UK luxury travel market, together.