CAPA’s report titled, ‘Indian Civil Aviation—The USD250 billion Investment Opportunity’, stated that the investments and economic impact growth of Civil Aviation is estimated to continue to outperform GDP growth through 2040. The industry’s economic impact is estimated to have increased from less than 1 per cent of GDP in 2003 to almost 7 per cent of GDP in 2018. It is projected to increase to almost 9 per cent of GDP, or USD1.1 trillion by 2040. The report states that civil aviation has a multiplier effect on the economy through direct, indirect, induced impact. The comprehensive scale and potential of the industry is yet to be covered in totality which prompted.

In 2018, Goa witnessed the largest signing of keys in India, according to statistics shared by HVS ANAROCK India Hospitality Industry Review 2018. The report revealed that a total of 2209 keys were signed in Goa, exceeding Bengaluru by a mere margin of 192 keys at 2017 keys in total for the Southern state. This was followed by Jaipur at 1282 keys and Mumbai at 1226 keys at third and fourth place respectively. Noida recorded 591 keys, while Lucknow was at 504, followed by Visakhapatnam at 487.

The India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in its latest report titled ‘Tourism and Hospitality’ has ranked India as eighth in the world in 2017 in terms of absolute direct contribution of travel and tourism to its GDP. The tourism and hospitality sector’s direct contribution to GDP in 2017, was Rs 5.94 trillion (US$91.27billion). This is expected to reach Rs 12.68 trillion (US$194.69billion) in 2028, implying a CAGR of 7.23 percent during 2012-28. According to 2018 report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India was ranked third in the tourism sector. India generated revenue of about US$247 billion in 2018

V Muraleedharan, Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs has announced the time-frame for issuing a normal passport has been reduced to 11 days, while passports under the ‘tatkal’ category are issued within a day’s time. The minister stated that in India, people are getting a passport within 11 days under normal circumstances. The statement also said that a tatkal passport is issued within a day’s time. The central government has also described the passport as a tool of empowerment. In its effort to cut down on corruption and delays in obtaining passports, the central government has launched an application in 731 police districts for police verification of applicants, said Muraleedharan. Muraleedharan said that at present India has 36 passport offices, 412 post office passport seva kendras and 93 passport seva kendras.

Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has reconstituted its board, under which it has appointed 12 directors. Dayanand Sopte, who is also one of the appointed directors, will continue to be the Chairman of GTDC, according to its Article of Association. Ashok Kumar is Secretary Tourism, Goa; Nikhil Desai remains the Managing Director; Sanjiv Gadkar is Tourism Director; and Savio Messais is the President, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa. Other appointed directors are: Shrikant Azgaonkar, Sudesh Sawant, Suchana Gadekar, Mohammad Modassir, Anand Khandeparkar, Vishwanath Tirodkar, Deepraj Prabhu.

Hong Kong-headquartered, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is targeting to open five more hotels in India by 2024. Shangi-La has two hotels in the country, in Delhi and Bengaluru and is scouting for various locations including Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata and Hyderabad, said its Executive Vice President for the Middle East, India & Indian Ocean, John Northern. “The important thing for us is to find the right partner. Out two hotels in India are also under the management contact,” he added. (Source: PTI)

Russia has offered India to mutually abolish visas for tourist groups & E-visas to Russia slated to start in 2021. Tourism professionals of the two countries discussed the expansion of air connectivity between Russia and India, the mutual promotion of tourism between the two countries, as well as the facilitation of the visa regime between the countries, including preparations for the introduction of an electronic visa in Russia since 2021 and the possibility of introducing group visa-free travel between the countries.This proposal was made by the head of the Federal tourism Agency Zarina Doguzova during the Second Russian-Indian strategic economic dialogue in Delhi. The Indian side expressed interest in the joint development of a draft government agreement on visa-free group travel for up to 21 days. According to the press service of the Federal Tourism Agency, the Second Russian-Indian strategic economic dialogue is taking place in India, within the framework of which a round table “Tourism and inter-territorial communication” was held on July 10, 2019. The moderator of this event, dedicated to the development of tourism between Russia and India, was the head of the Federal Agency for tourism Zarina Doguzova. The round table was also attended by Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). As a result of the round table, it was decided to establish a joint working group between representatives of the tourism authorities of the two countries, representatives of business and the expert community to develop a joint action plan to increase tourism exchanges. According to forecasts, in the future, mutual tourist flows may exceed 1 million people annually. Mutual steps to increase tourism exchanges between the countries Zarina Doguzova …

Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India is set to launch its daily direct operations under UDAN scheme Hyderabad, Kochi and Goa from Mysuru. Commuters have the option of travelling from Hyderabad to Mysuru and returning the same day with onward options of Kochi, Bengaluru and Goa from Mysuru. All flights will operate with a 70-seater ATR-72 in view of the short runway of the Mysuru airport (1740 metres) which cannot support larger aircraft at the moment. Mysuru Airport Director, Manjunath, says, “Talks are under way for flights from Mysuru to Belagavi and Shirdi as well and may become a reality in due course.”

OYO Hotels & Homes has announced that the company has now emerged as the world’s third largest hotel chain (as per room count) as of June 2019. OYO has expanded its presence to 800+ cities, nearly 23,000+ OYO-branded hotels and 850,000 rooms, surpassing the scale of traditional and established hotel chain brands in the world. This growth is backed by a balance sheet of about $1.5 billion, and fueled by the company’s presence in China’s 337 cities with over 500,000 rooms, followed by Indonesia with presence in 80 cities and over 20,000 rooms and 720 hotels and other regions in Asia. Additionally, the UK with presence in 25 destinations and 85 hotels, and more recently the U.S., with a presence in 40 cities and over 68 hotels, have been strong growth drivers. A significant part of its funds is being invested in the business as the company focuses on maintaining its growth momentum across geographies. The company has created over 300,000 direct and indirect job opportunities across India, China, U.S., and the U.K. The recent acquisition of @Leisure has further helped the company strengthen its leadership in the vacation home segment in Europe.

Vistara has launched its international operations with its maiden flights to Singapore from Delhi and Mumbai. The full service carrier owned by Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines will commence two daily flights to the South Asian nation, one each from Delhi and Mumbai from August 6 and 7, respectively. Bookings for flights to Singapore are now being opened progressively on all channels. The airline will fly its With increasing demand and available war chest for rapid expansion, starting for Rs. 21,877 for the economy class and Rs. 76, 890 for the business class for the flight from Delhi, while the fare starts from Rs 20,778 for the economy class and Rs 63,331 for the business class from Mumbai. Speaking on the launch, Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We present to the world today a shining new symbol of warm Indian hospitality with a contemporary approach and world-class service. We’re excited to start with Singapore as our first international destination, which we see as a very important market, given the opportunities it presents for corporate, business as well as leisure travel. As we soon take the ‘new feeling of flying’ to more international destinations, we hope to provide our customers from overseas the finest way to experience India, and inspire travellers from across India to explore more of the world.” Flight no UK115 from Delhi starting August 6 will depart to Singapore at 23:45 and reach its destination by 08:15 hours (+1), while, flight UK116 will fly back to Delhi from Singapore at 09:30 hours (+1) and land the IGI International airport at 12:45 hours on August 7. Similarly, flight UK 105 from Mumbai will fly to Singapore on …