The Netherlands and Canada has announced the launch of a pilot project for paperless travel between the two countries. Identity data that is usually stored on a chip on a passenger’s passport will instead be securely stored and encrypted on their mobile device. Passengers flying from Montreal to Amsterdam will be able to manage their encrypted identity data, consenting to share it with border authorities, airlines and others. It would be checked against biometrics at security checkpoints and airplane boarding gates “without the need for a physical passport,” said a statement by the World Economic Forum, which is leading the initiative. The Traveller Digital Identity project is to be tested internally throughout 2019, with the first end-to-end paperless journey expected to take place in early 2020, it said. “By 2030, international air travel is expected to rise to 1.8 billion passengers, up 50 per cent from 2016. With current systems, airports cannot keep up,” the World Economic Forum’s mobility chief Christoph Wolff said. This project offers a solution. By using interoperable digital identities, passengers benefit from a holistic system for secure and seamless travel. It will shape the future of aviation and security.” Air Canada and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, as well as airports in Montreal, Toronto and Amsterdam are taking part in the pilot, backed by technology companies Accenture, Vision Box and Idemia

Spain Tourism recorded 6.7 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in the first quarter of 2019, revealed Miguel Nieto-Sandoval, Tourism Counsellor (Gulf Region), Spain Tourism. Sharing details, he said, “India is an important market for us and we are hoping that we will grow more in this market. In 2016, we had 106,000 visitors from India and then we grew to 150,000 arrivals. In 2018 , we reached 206,000 arrivals from India and this year we expect to increase it further.”

Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said,”Out of the 705 routes awarded under RCS-UDAN version 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, 174 routes are operational till date.” As per the data presented by Puri, IndiGo has been awarded total 32 networks under UDAN scheme. Ministry of Civil Aviation had launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN scheme on October 21, 2016, to facilitate and stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses. The data said that SpiceJet has been awarded total 50 networks, and the budget carrier has started flight operations on just the half of them. Out of total 705 routes which have been awarded by the Centre under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN, 174 routes have become operational till date, Rajya Sabha was told on Wednesday. Based on their assessment of demand on particular routes, the airlines submit proposals at the time of bidding under UDAN scheme from time to time.

India received 10.6 million foreign tourists in 2018-19 compared to 10.4 million in 2017-18. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism in India stood at US$27.7 billion in 2018-19 compared to US$28.7 billion in 2017-18. The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2018-19 in Parliament recently. The Survey states that, “Tourism sector is a major engine of economic growth that contributes significantly in terms of GDP, foreign exchange earnings and employment. In India, the Tourism sector had been performing well with Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) growing at 14 per cent to 10.4 million and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) at 20.6 per cent to US$28.7 billion in 2017-18. However, the sector witnessed a slowdown in 2018-19. The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) in 2018-19 stood at 10.6 million compared to 10.4 million in 2017-18. The growth rate of FTAs declined from 14.2 per cent in 2017-18 to 2.1 per cent in 2018-19. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism stood at US$27.7 billion in 2018-19 as compared to US 28.7 billion in 2017-18. The FEEs declined from 20.6 per cent in 2017-18 to -3.3 per cent in 2018-19. Outbound tourism increased in recent years, with the number of departures of Indian nationals from India, that stood at 23.94 million in 2017 as against 21.87 million in 2016, with a growth rate of 9.5 per cent in 2017. This was more than double the foreign tourist arrivals in India.”

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) launches its first direct flight linking India and Azerbaijan, from Baku to New Delhi. The chartered flights will be carried out every Tuesday and Friday. Regular flights will soon be added to further support the growth of tourism interest between the countries. Azerbaijan continues to expand its network with flights now to 40 destinations in 30 countries, including seasonal flights. The Caucasus country is currently on the cusp of a tourism boom as it welcomed a record number of in-bound visitors spending more than USD 2 billion in 2018, making it one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. The new route will depart from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and arrive in Baku via Terminal 1 of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Air tickets can be booked online at www.azal.az and purchased through the offices of Azal’s official agents.

Srilankan Airlines will now operate 18 flights a week between New Delhi and Colombo. Vipula Gunatilleka, CEO, Srilankan Airlines said, “The additional flight is the result of consistent growth in traffic flow between North India and Sri Lanka. I am sure this step will further enhance our reach into the Indian market.” Currently SriLankan Airlines operates a double daily flight from Delhi to Colombo. After the new addition, it will fly 4 times a week on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between the two capitals. This would make a total 8 flights a week flying on Delhi-Colombo route. In total , SriLankan Airlines has 127 departures in a week from across India to Colombo.

Indian tourists don’t have to convert the Indian rupee while shopping at Dubai duty free outlets as the currency will be be accepted at all three terminals of Dubai International Airport and at Al Maktoum Airport. While travelling abroad, residents of India are allowed to carry Rs 25,000. Earlier, Indian travellers had to convert the Rupee into Dollar, Dirham or Euro. However, the change will still be given in Dirham. The Indian rupee has become the 17th currency to be accepted for transaction at Dubai Duty-Free since its opening in December 1983.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has spent Rs 1,687.06 crore and Rs 1,986.04 crore during the years 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively under its plan scheme on tourism sector. The budget estimate under the plan scheme for the sector during the financial year 2019-20 is Rs 2,075.12 crore. The Ministry has taken several initiatives to boost tourism in the country and this budget will be spent on activities that include activities such as organisation of the annual global tourism mart for India in line with major international travel marts being held in countries across the world, organisation of biennial International Buddhist Conclave, organisation of annual international tourism mart for promotion of tourism in North Eastern states, promotional activities in overseas markets through its India tourism offices, conducting roadshows and ‘Know India’ seminars, etc. This was revealed by Minister of State (I/C) for Culture & Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel. The tourism sector contributed an estimated (direct + indirect) 5.06% to the Gross Domestic Product of the country during 2016-17. The estimated share (direct + indirect) of jobs due to tourism was 12.38% during 2017-18. An estimated additional 13.92 million jobs (direct + indirect) were created due to tourism during the years from 2014-15 to 2017-18.

The Global Panorama Showcase has kick-started in Ahmedabad. Revealing the schedule of its 2019 season, EDWIN will be held in four destinations, Leh, Zanzibar, Oman and Europe during the month of September and October 2019. Making the announcement during the inauguration of GPS in Ahmedabad, Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS informed that they chose the city of Ahmedabad for a very special reason. “We started GPS ‘On the go’ from here and have got tremendous response from travel trade here. EDWIN is really popular in Gujarat as we got maximum number of participants for the programme from the western state. We also have highest number of 10X members from here, which makes GPS Ahmedabad the perfect city to make this announcement,” he said. “We have received constant support from a number of travel trade associations of Gujarat in organising GPS in Ahmedabad and making it a success. Going forward , Ahmedabad will also become the first GPS city with auto-check in facility in coming future. No check-in booths will be required at the show and all the check-in will be done by kiosks. I am proud to say that GPS is the only paperless digital travel event in the world, he further said. The two day B2B show started in Ahmedabad on Wednesday with half day of knowledge sessions, termed as KIT (Knowledge, Inspiration, Training) Talk and half day of B2B meetings. The day 2 will have full day B2B meetings between, exhibitors and buyers from different regions of Gujarat.

MSC Cruises, the Swiss-based privately-owned cruise line, celebrated a key milestone by welcoming its 20 millionth cruiser on board the Miami-based MSC Seaside since it started operating purpose-built cruise ships in 2003. Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO, said, “Reaching our 20 millionth cruiser is truly a milestone achievement for MSC Cruises, and a representation of how far we’ve come while building a global brand that serves guests from over 170 nationalities across five continents. With our capacity set to triple by 2027, we will continue to raise the bar in two main areas, on board and ashore, offering our guests a unique experience each time they sail with us. MSC Seaside is the perfect example of this: she is one of the most innovative ships at sea in terms of design as well as onboard experience. She also features the latest and some of the most innovative environmental technology at sea.”