Enhancing its connectivity in the Northeast, AirAsia India has launched flight services to Imphal, Guwahati, Kolkata and Delhi from Agartala, the capital of Tripura. Biplab Kumar Deb, Chief Minister, Tripura flagged off the first AirAsia India flight to Kolkata from the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. Sanjay Kumar, COO, AirAsia India informed that 14 flight per week would be operated from the Maharaj Bir Bikram Airport on the Agartala-Kolkata, Agartala-Delhi, Agartala-Guwahati and Agartala-Imphal routes. “We also have plans to extend our service for connecting Agartala with Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. This is our 20th destination in the country,” he further said. On the occasion, he said that air connectivity is very important for the northeastern state. “When SpiceJet had withdrawn their service from the state early this year, we took up the matter with the Union Civil Aviation minister and requested him to take some initiative for more air connectivity with the state,” he said.

Goldstone Hotels has expanded to Thailand with its four hotels catering to different segments. Sandeep Singh, Managing Director, Goldstone Hotels says, “Signing these four hotels abroad feels great as Thailand is a preferred tourist destination for many Indians and also with direct air link between New Delhi and Phuket, business to this destination will get a boost. We have expanded in Thailand to cater to every segment of visitors. We have ultra luxurious apartments called as Goldstone Luxury; Goldstone Comfort, caters to the budget segment and then we have Goldstone Express and Goldstone Stay.” These properties are spread across Phuket in Patong and Kathu.

When it comes to paying for corporate travel expenses, majority of organisations (67 percent) continue to use corporate credit cards, with 60 percent saying they are very or extremely satisfied with them, reveals a global study conducted by Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), called ‘Evolving Payments in Corporate Travel’. 63% say it is their preferred payment method. While just 15 percent of organisations surveyed use virtual cards or single use accounts for business travel, another 28 percent plan to adopt them in the future.

As per the latest versions of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) statistics, India ranks 28 in number of meetings and conferences held in a country in 2018. India has considerably improved its ranking, which was 31 in 2016 and 27 in 2017. It stands at seventh position in Asia-Pacific region. India is at par with Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore Smaller countries in Europe, South East Asia, and a few Central European countries in leading the 150+ (upto 200) meeting categories in a year.

The average age of Indians going for a cruise vacation is 37 years, according Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). This age group basically includes millennials and those travelling with families. In 2018, 43,000 Indians in the age group of 30-39 took cruises, as compared to 32,000 Indians in the same age-group going for cruises in 2017, which translated into a year-on-year growth of 36% in 2018 over 2017.

According to the Annual Travel Monitor 2019 Final Edition (ATM) released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), over the five years between 2014 and 2018, the 46 Asia Pacific destinations covered in the report have collectively seen their International Visitor Arrivals (IVAs) increase by almost 24%, adding more than 136 million additional arrivals to the collective foreign inbound count in the process.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) launches its first Buddhist Circuit train today, which will take tourists to all the major Buddhist sites in India and Nepal. The destinations that will be covered by the train include Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, Bodhgaya in Bihar where Buddha got enlightenment, Sarnath in Varanasi where Buddha gave his first sermon to his five disciples, and then Kushinagar in Nepal where Buddha attained nirvana. According to a statement by IRCTC, “The significance of these destinations can be seen in the Mahaparinirvana sutra, wherein the Lord Buddha tells his followers that they can attain merit and a noble rebirth by going on pilgrimages to these places.”

Travel MiCE Show, this year, has been scheduled for December 14 & 15 at the Trident Chennai. The show is a platform to meet over 65 buyers from across the country. The show will entail pan-India corporate meetings on day 1 and interactions and meetings with MiCE specialists on Day 2. The show also guarantees 60+ pre-scheduled B2B meetings in two days.

Israeli carrier Arkia Airlines has expanded its network in India with the launch of its flight service to Goa from Tel Aviv. The full-service carrier Arkia has deployed 220-seater Airbus 321 neo plane to service the new route, which will have one flight per week. Goa is the second Indian destination for the West Asian airline after Kochi. “We announce the commencement of one more international flight today from Goa international airport connecting Tel Aviv and Goa,” Airports Authority of India recently commented.

The 11th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will be held from September 24-27 in Kochi, announced Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. He said KTM 2020 will aim at exploring new markets for Champions Boat League (CBL), adventure tourism and MICE along with finding excellent global buyers. “KTM 2020 will be a four-day event starting on September 24, with two days packed with sessions involving international buyers, MICE operators and corporate houses. The remaining two days will be for those involved in domestic tourism,” The biennial conclave, being organised by the KTM Society with support from the Kerala Government’s Department of Tourism, will see increased number of quality buyers from countries that have the potential to boost the state’s travel industry. Further, KTM 2020 aims to go a step ahead in buyer selection, stall allocation and buyer-seller appointment. The venue will be Sagara and Samudrika convention centres of Cochin Port Trust in Willingdon Island.