Budget carrier AirAsia India has announced the relocation of its operations to domestic terminal (T1) of the city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from October 15. At present, the Bengaluru-based airline, which has limited operations from the city, flies from the international terminal (T2) of the Mumbai airport. Mumbai will become AirAsia India’s fourth hub in the country after Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata, the airline said in a release.

Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Director, Pritam Hotels has been re-elected as the President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) at its 69th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Mumbai. Kohli has been serving in the office as its President for the year 2018–19 and will now continue to serve in the same capacity. He is also the Vice President of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). Mr. Sherry Bhatia will serve as the Sr. Vice President along with Mr. Pradeep Shetty as the Vice President. Mr. Nirav Gandhi has been appointed as the Honorary Secretary and Mr. Chetan Mehta will act as the Joint Honorary Secretary. Mr. Dilip Kothari will continue in the office as the Honorary Treasurer and Mr. Aspi Nallaseth as Secretary General. “I wish to thank the members for placing their trust in me and re-electing me to the office for a second term and also welcome the newly elected members to the committee. The last year was a challenging phase for the industry with the OTAs and the FSAs infringing on hoteliers’ and restaurateurs’ businesses. With the support of our members and the HRAWI team, we not only were successful in keeping a check on their callous activities but we also brought the entire country together for voicing out against the erring entities. We are determined about pursuing this matter to its equitable and fair conclusion. In the meanwhile, we will continue working inclusively with the Government for creating a favorable environment for the growth of hospitality and tourism in the country,” says Mr Kohli. A second generation hotelier, Mr Kohli is the owner of Dadar’s famous Pritam restaurant, …

The Embassy of Iceland, New Delhi has appointed VFS Global to process Iceland visa applications for Indian travellers. H.E. Gudmundur Arni Stefansson, Ambassador, Embassy of Iceland and Alok Singhal, Regional Head – North & East India, VFS Global signed the contract recently for this. Iceland has been gaining popularity among Indian travellers, with a growth of over 30 per cent recorded in 2017. To ensure greater access to the Iceland visa process for travellers across India, VFS Global now offers Iceland visa services at three locations in India – Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. Prior to this, customers had to submit their applications through the Embassy of Denmark in New Delhi. VFS Global also offers its optional Premium Lounge to Iceland visa applicants, providing end-to-end personalised service throughout the visa application process. The Premium Lounge is just one of several optional services applicants can avail, including Prime Time for application submission and passport collection on weekends, and pick-up services within each city, among others. H.E. Guðmundur Árni Stefansson, Ambassador of Iceland said, “The Icelandic Embassy is looking forward to take over the visa processing services in cooperation with VFS Global and other relevant parties. The Consular section of the Embassy, under the lead of   Kristin Eva Sigurdardottir the Deputy Head of the Embassy, will do its utmost to provide the best service possible in accordance with rules and regulations.“ Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global said, “We are truly honoured by the Embassy of Iceland’s faith in our services, and excited to bring the visa service closer to home for residents in India. Iceland has long been gaining momentum as a destination …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that India’s rank on the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index has jumped to 34 from 65, adding that it could become one of the major tourist destinations by 2022 with the countrymen’s support. He said, “Our rank is 34 on this index, whereas, five years ago we were ranked 65th, which in a way is a big jump. If we tried all that harder, then by the 75th year of our independence (2022), we would have carved a place for ourselves amidst the major tourist destinations of the world.”

GVK Mumbai International Airport has released a statement stating, “RWY 09/27 will not be available for aircraft operations  from 1 November 2019 to 28 March 2020, 6 days of week, from Mondays to Saturdays between 09:30 Hrs to 17:30 Hrs, due to major rehabilitation and re-carpeting works. The present runway handles 46 flights per hour, however the secondary runway will operate 35 flights per hour.”

Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has said that, by 2024, India is likely to have 200 operational airports with 70 of them catering to international travel. Emphasising on sustainable development, he says, “While we adopt state-of-the-art communication, navigation and surveillance technologies, we are conscious and mindful that our growth must be environmentally sustainable.”

Ebix has announced that its EbixCash Indian subsidiary has signed an agreement with Cox and Kings to transfer its Business Travel agreements with corporates in India, to EbixCash’s corporate “Mercury” Travel Division. This announcement comes as a part of EbixCash’s initiative to aggressively grow its corporate travel business in India.Each of the transferred corporate clients of Cox and Kings will now be serviced by EbixCash’s Mercury Division across the length and breadth of the country. Under the agreement some key core employees of Cox and Kings will also be transferred to the EbixCash payroll with immediate effect. This transfer agreement is part of EbixCash’s efforts to double its revenues as compared to the last year, from the corporate travel sector by the end of this Financial Year. (Source: globenewswire.com)

Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the National Tourism Awards 2017-18 on World Tourism Day in New Delhi. A total of 76 Awards under various categories were presented. The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel;Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili; Tourism Minister of Paraguay, Sofia Montiel De Afara; Tourism Secretary Yogendra Tripathi; DG Tourism, Meenakshi Sharma, senior officers of Ministry of tourism and 82 international delegates were  among those present on the occasion.

Prahlad Singh Patel, State Minister (I/C), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “For thousands of years, India has followed the motto of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’- which means the entire world is a family and everyone is alike. We are glad to be associated with UNWTO, and we assure the support that they need from us. India is a diverse country and we are now at the 34th position in the UNWTO index. I also want to thank our Prime Minister for being our ambassador and popularising India across the world. e-Visa in tourism and GST for hotels has been rationalised. This will improve the positioning of India at the global level and will boost tourism. National Tourism Award has been presented to achievers of the tourism industry, and I believe that everyone who is a part of this industry, right from a guide, driver, tour operator, hotel executive is important and makes a huge contribution to a tourist’s experience and hence needs to be felicitated. They represent the nation and are key to change the perception of India.

Addressing the audience on the occasion of World Tourism Day, Zurab Pololikashvili- Secretary General, UNWTO, said, “World Tourism Day is the birthday of our sector and this time it is being celebrated in the incredible country of India. It is the most important day for us and we are happy that tourism sector is on a rise. It is not only a huge contributor to the economy but an employer to a diverse range of people including school and university graduates. India, today is able search of job opportunity. People are attracted by the Indian economic growth and are creating job opportunities in metro and other cities. If we are open for new ideas, tourism will be ready for growth.”