Lords Hotels and Resorts has launched Max Lords Plaza equipped with 116 rooms, business center, conference room, board boom, lawns, f&b outlets, spa, gym and a lavish pool. Commenting on the occasion Pushpendra Bansal, COO, Lords Hotels and Resorts, said “We are delighted to expand our presence in the very popular tourist destination in India. Max Lords Plaza is located near the serene Varca beach and popular tourist spots in South Goa”. The unit like all other Lords Hotels would also follow the company ethos of being ‘True Value’ and offer its guest great prices while ensuring no compromise on world class facilities, services and amenities

VFS Global has commenced Belarus visa services for the residents of India through centres in five cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. This is the first time the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs has outsourced their visa services. The centres accept applications for tourist, business, and private visit visas across all these locations. Prior to this, customers in India had to visit the the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in New Delhi to apply for their Belarus visas. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global said, “It is always exciting to commence our visa services for a new country and bring our travellers the best application experience we can offer. Footfall to Belarus has been growing in recent years, and we are looking forward to serving customers for Belarus in India.” Belarus has recorded a steady increase in the number of Indians travelling to the destination in recent years, with an average of 1,200 applications being submitted annually. H.E. Andrei Rzheussky, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to India said, “Starting cooperation with VFS Global on visa issues in India is an important step of Belarus in tourism development strategy in South Asia region. New approach of Belarus in this cooperation is reflecting the gradual tendency of  travels facilitation between India and Belarus which is crucial for developing fruitful bilateral relations between our friendly countries.”

Low-cost carrier airline based in Kuwait, Jazeera Airways, will soon launch its new flight from Kuwait to London Gatwick starting from October 27, 2019. This will be a direct flight from Kuwait and a first for a low-cost carrier from the Middle East. Sharing this news is Romana Parvi, Country Manager – India, Jazeera Airways, says, “Jazeera Airways is now preparing to launch new routes in Q4, staring with flights to the British capital, London in October 2019. London Gatwick is a milestone for us as it is the very first low-cost service between the Gulf and United Kingdom. We will operate four flights a week in the initial stage of our LGW ops until 30 November, 2019 (Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun). Effective December 1, 2019, we will operate daily non-stop flights between KWI and LON. Passengers from five Indian stations can connect to LGW with a smooth transit of anything between 2.5 hrs to four hrs via Kuwait.” Besides London Gatwick, by the end of 2019 Jazeera Airways will see a couple of more routes launched on its network  including Nepal and Bangladesh. On flights to London Gatwick, Jazeera Airways will fly passengers using the new A320neo aircraft with a cabin configuration in three classes: Business Class, a new Premium Economy Class and Economy Class. The Business Class offers passengers a 33-inch seat pitch, 50 kilograms in baggage allowance, priority boarding and a complementary inflight meal. The Premium Economy Class offers passengers a 31-inch seat pitch, while Economy Class offers a 29/30-inch seat pitch. Hot meals will be provided for the first time on Jazeera flights – complimentary in Business Class and Premium Economy, and from the Jazeera …

The Tourism Office of Spain (Turespaña) in Mumbai, India, has appointed a new director in Elisa Robles-Fraga. She has joined operations in this office with effect from September 1, 2019 and has commenced her position as the Tourism Counsellor and Director of Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai. Throughout her professional experience Robles-Fraga has been mainly working at the Spanish General Administration both at national and international levels, including European Union related matters. In a previous position as Director General of the CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial – Center for Industrial Technological Development), the Spanish Innovation Agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Government of Spain, she has had the opportunity to bilaterally work with India for several of her projects during her tenure at CDTI. Her roles and responsibilities will remain the same as the previous directors of the said office.

The Travel Unified global campaign by Travelport, launched in 2019, drives awareness about DPNA (Disabled Passenger with intellectual or Developmental disability Needing Assistance) as a Special Service Request (SSR) code available in the airline industry for passengers. In India, the use of the code for flights booked through Travelport has increased by 165%. Under the campaign, the requests for assistance for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities have nearly doubled. Globally, use of the code on flights booked through Travelport has increased by 89% since the launch of the Travel Unified campaign. Little-known SSR code, DPNA 1, can be used to alert airlines when a traveler has an intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance. Travelport has now extended the campaign until at least the end of 2019 and called for all parties in the travel industry to do more to support people with intellectual disabilities. Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient, stated: “Air travel is meant to be hassle-free and safe for all passengers and particularly for specially-abled. And, when there is a system in place for them, it is our responsibility to let the patrons with intellectual and developmental disabilities benefit from it. Travelport‘s Travel Unified campaign is a great initiative that has been instrumental in raising awareness about DPNA SSR code among travel trade fraternity as well as specially-abled passengers. The code usage while booking flights through Travelport has grown by 165% in India, which clearly shows the effectiveness of this campaign. We encourage all travel professionals in the travel industry to come together and make this campaign reach to everyone.” SSR codes are used in the airline industry to communicate traveller preferences or needs …

Hahn Air has added seven new carriers to its leading network of more than 350 airlines in the third quarter of 2019. The new partners are expanding their distribution reach with Hahn Air’s product HR-169. Travel agents can issue their flights on the insolvency-safe Hahn Air HR-169 ticket, even in markets where the airlines are not participating in the local payment system (e.g. BSP or ARC). The new HR-169 partners include Air Chathams (3C) from New Zealand, Jeju Air (7C) from South Korea, Air Peace (P4) from Nigeria, Amaszonas Uruguay (Z7), MAYAir / Aerocuahonte (5G) from Mexico, as well as two regional US carriers, RavnAir Alaska (7H) and Southern Airways Express (9X).

In a bid to increase the tourist footfall from China, Kerala has become the first Indian state to partner with the China Ready programme, which has already been conducted in 48 countries. Kerala Tourism has joined hands with Welcome China, a government accredited initiative that works to help travel and tourism engage meaningfully with China. This is part of the state’s tourism promotion plans. In this regard, a destination audit from Chinese tourists’ perspective to ascertain the attractiveness of the destination has commenced in Alappuzha, Thekkady, Munnar and Kochi, which will go on till October 5. Kerala Tourism is also putting in efforts to attract more Chinese travellers to the state. Recently, a workshop for travel and tourism trade was held as part of designing a marketing strategy to attract the Chinese tourists. It was attended by 40 leading tour operators and hoteliers of the state. Kerala Tourism has reportedly provided ₹12 lakh for the audit, workshop and for providing inputs for the next one year. Source: Hindu Business Line

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture, has announced that single-use plastic will not be allowed within ASI protected monuments and within 100 m of these monuments. He made the announcement at the launch of Paryatan Parv 2019, which was inaugurated on October 2, 2019 at Rajpath lawns, by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting and Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel. Expressing his happiness that the inauguration of the Paryatan Parv is coinciding with the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Patel said, “In line with Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts regarding sustainable and clean tourism, efforts are being made to phase out single use plastics in various organisations of ASI and MOT. Single Use Plastics will no longer be permitted within ASI protected Monuments and within 100 m of these Monuments.” Paryatan Parv is being held in Delhi till October 6 and across the country till October 13, 2019.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the national carrier, Air India with a common objective of promoting tourism to India. Now, Air India offices abroad will function as extended arms of MOT. The MoU was signed by Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and MD Silva, General Manager (Sales & Marketing), Air India recently. As earlier reported in Tourism Breaking News in May 2019, the Ministry was looking to partner with Air India for its overseas operations apart from its overseas offices. It was reported that eight overseas destinations would shift to Air India offices. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and MOT were in discussions for the partnership, as part of the cost restructuring by the ministry, under which it will require to shut offices at prime tourist destinations, like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Toronto, Tokyo, Sydney and Milan. As part of the arrangement, India Tourism will pay rent to Air India along with a nominal amount for the service rendered by the Air India staff.

In a first such initiative in the country, Kerala Tourism will start issuing guidelines and a certification scheme from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to promote more systematic approach and safety in adventure tourism. The procedural guidelines for registration are under consideration of the state government and is expected to be effective from October 2019. The BIS certification scheme is meant to comply with safety and security standards. As per the new guidelines, all adventure activity providers need to follow the guidelines and to be registered with the Department of Tourism for running business for a period of two years. Moreover, qualified instructors and employees must be appointed at the centre.