The average return fare in 2018 was 60% lower than in 1998, before taxes and surcharges, while the cost of air freight ($/Kg) was down 61% over the same period, stated Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, International Air Transport Association (IATA), in the IATA World Air Transport Statistics (2019 WATS), where they released performance figures for 2018 . He added that aviation is good for local economies too— $843 billion in tourism spending was made possible by air travel last year, while governments collected $129 billion in tax revenues from airlines and air travel.

306 different destinations in Asia will receive cruise ships in 2019, which is an increase from the 288 destinations in 2018, according to 2019 Asia Cruise Deployment and Capacity Report by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which details Asia’s planned cruise activity in 2019. Many of the destinations – especially India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea – will see growth. Ships in Asia increasingly call at more places, increasing the range of choice for passengers.  The report adds that 2019 will see a total of 1,917 sailings and generate capacity for 4.02 million passengers to cruise in Asia. This year’s total passenger capacity has been reduced by 5.7% year-on-year after several years of rapid expansion. The decline was mainly due to the reduction of short cruise itinerary options from mainland China. Nevertheless, 2019 will still see 79 ships from 39 cruise brands sailing in Asia, a similar level to last year. Port calls to Asia will remain steady this year with 7,154 calls. Asia will also see a slight rise in passenger destination days. The 13 million passenger destination days forecast in 2019 will translate to more potential onshore visits from cruise passengers, creating a stronger tourism impact for the destinations across the region. Joel Katz, Managing Director for CLIA, Australasia & Asia, says, “The popularity of cruising in Asia is expected to grow further over coming years as cruise lines deploy new, larger vessels that have been purpose-built for Asian consumers. The coming generation of ships will replace older ships previously based in Asia, and when coupled with new cruise infrastructure in several Asian destinations are expected to fuel strong interest among travellers. The result …

Prahlad Singh Patel, State Minister Tourism (I/C) and Culture, has said that the National Tourism Policy needs to be worked on further, and it would take the MOT at least one year to finalise everything and release it officially. The draft of National Tourism Policy is already out and available on the MOT website, but the official release has been pending for the same. MOT has already executed many projects mentioned in the policy, like Incredible India 2.0 campaign, Incredible India website, etc.

The officials at the Louvre Museum has decided to restrict the entry of visitors following the chaos and long queue. Being one of the world’s most visited museum, it experiences large number of tourist footfalls everyday. Considering the crowd that the museum receives, management has decided to implement, ‘obligatory advance booking option’. Hence, online ticket booking is compulsory for those visiting Louvre. 

ETAA North India Chapter during its educational tour to Mashobra announced its two new committee members. The announcement was made by ETAA’s Director National Board & Chairman North India Chapter Sangeeta Manocha.  Punit Bhasin has been elected as Joint Secretary and Dinesh Kumar has been elected as the Treasurer. The complete committee is as follows: Sangeeta Manocha –  Director National Board & Chair Person – North India Region Naveen Manchanda – General Secretary  Dinesh Kumar  – Treasurer Saurabh Tuteja – Joint Secretary Punit Bhasin – Joint Secretary Arush Mittal – Head – Alliances Gaurav Arora – Head – Events

Prahlad Singh Patel, State Tourism and Culture Minister, has announced that the Tourism Ministry will make wildlife its theme for the Incredible India campaign for the next two months. Patel revealed that they have taken this decision in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being featured on a television show. “We have decided to make wildlife the theme for Incredible India for the next two months,” he said. He has earlier shared that the demand of wildlife tourism is there in India, and because of that they are focusing on developing dedicated areas centered around wildlife. “We have pinpointed 2-3 areas where we will develop infrastructure for wildlife tourism. I believe that the choice of travellers has changed and that should be the criteria for offerings,” he shared.

In a bid to improve India’s airport structure, Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to invest about Rs 19,000 crore over the next three years, especially in small cities. According to a report, AAI official said the investment is being made in improving runway capacity as well as building terminal capacity. AAI is also working on plans to build new airports in Gujarat’s Rajkot, Jharkhand’s Dhalbhumgarh and in Hollongi and Halwara in the Northeast. “We are seeking funds from market through debt and other modes to fund these projects. Some of the funding will also come from our profits,” said an AAI official. Source: ET

Prahlad Singh Patel, State Tourism and Culture Minister (I/C), said that they will work towards ensuring that there is a no-crime zone around 500 m–1 km radius area of major tourist attractions by tightening security arrangements. They will also work towards training drivers, guides and tour operators, affiliated with MOT, on dealing with foreign tourists, especially women. He said, “The personnel that interact with the tourists at every touch-point need to be sensitised on how to deal with them, and make sure that they do not carry any negative perception about the country. Even in case of any problem, the tourist shall be able to seek help from his phone, no matter where he/she is. Even in case they enter one state from another, we are trying to work on the technology that the helpline numbers in their phones change automatically, depending on their location.”

E-tickets bought through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will get costlier as the Indian Railways has decided to restore service fee charges it used to charge on AC and non-AC ticket (Rs 40 and Rs 20 respectively) almost three years ago, after they were withdrawn by the government to promote digital payments. The Railway Board has given its approval to the IRCTC to restore the mechanism of charging service charge from passengers booking online tickets. In a letter, the Board has said the IRCTC, the ticketing and tourism arm of Indian Railways, had made a ‘detailed case’ for the restoration of service charge on booking of e-ticket and the matter has been examined by the competent authority. It further said the Finance Ministry has contended that the scheme of waiving of service charges was a temporary one and that the railway ministry could begin charging e-tickets. Officials say that after service charges were discontinued, IRCTC saw a 26 per cent drop in Internet ticketing revenue in financial year 2016-17. (Credit and source: PTI)

The Yogi Adityanath government has planned to set up a development board to promote spiritual tourism in Uttar Pradesh. The state government has already been pushing religious tourism with Deepotsav in Ayodhya, Holi in Barsana and now Janamashtami in Mathura. He also asked travel operators to train local youths to become good guides and service providers in this sector and boost the prospects of tourism development. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh, said, “Uttar Pradesh is a major centre of spiritual tourism, and tourists and pilgrims visit the state in lakhs. The government is going to set up a development board to further improve spiritual tourism in the state.” The state has already developed a ‘Buddhist Circuit’ under which work has been done in Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kapilvastu and Shravasti. Places related to Jainism have also been developed, along with the Ramayana Circuit. “Work is also in progress on linking Uttar Pradesh to Janakpur in Nepal, the birth place of Sita,” Adityanath said. Source: IANS