According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the growth of medical tourism in India is optimistic. The segment has witnessed exponential growth of 111 per cent in the last three years from 2015 to 2017. The Ministry stated that some 4.95 lakh foreign tourists visited India for medical purposes in 2017, a rise from 2.33 lakh in 2015, while in 2016, a total of 4.27 lakh foreign tourists visited the sub-continent. To boost the sector in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has also taken various steps like expanding the scope of e-visas for medical visits. The government launched e-tourist visas in 2014 to ease the visa regime in the country, following which Medical and Medical Attendant Visa was introduced for medical tourists.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu is organising the 2nd edition of CII Tamil Nadu Travel Mart to showcase the potential of Tamil Nadu’s tourism on a global platform from 19-22 September in Chennai. The registrations for the same have been opened. The three-day exhibition will witness more than 300 exhibitors showcasing tourism business opportunities in the state along with 1000 domestic and international buyers.

M. Vinod, President, Andaman Association of Tour Operators (AATO), recently met Prahlad Singh Patel, the Tourism Minister, Govt. of India at his office in Delhi and discussed various tourism related issues affecting the industry.  Some of the major grievances raised during the meeting were- Closure of swimming in a majority of the beaches since last six months along with suspension of sports like sea walk, scuba diving and snorkeling.   One of the major issues raised was also the lack of co-ordination between the stakeholders and Andaman administration where AATO says the Administration closes all the activities during peak season without any intimation affecting the industry.    

Luxurious 13 coaches with glass ceiling termed as- Vistadome coaches having panoramic view have been introduced on 8 scenic routes by Ministry of Railways. Some of the sections on which these coaches are deployed are: Kalka Shimla Railway, Kangra Valley Railway, Matheran Hill Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Dadar and Madgaon, Araku Valley, Kashmir Valley and Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Some of these coaches will have infotainment system as well along with larger glass windows and high-class interiors. Cost of manufacture of a new Broad Gauge (BG) Vistadome coach is approximately 4 crores. The glass windows of the BG Vistadome coaches manufactured in Integral Coach Factory/Chennai have laminated glass sheets which will not shatter, Zonal Railways take necessary precautions wherever necessary during the operation of trains/coaches.  

Global Panorama Showcase kick-started its 2019 season from Hyderabad with a new format and approach. The two-day show will now start with half-day educative sessions and seminars followed by B2B meetings on both days. The show is looking to impart more knowledge and new products from this year along with more exposure and focus on quality business.  “With 170 hosted buyers, flown in to Hyderabad by our airline partner, IndiGo, we have buyers from more than 40 cities such as Vishakhapatnam, Amravati, Vijaywada, Triupati among others. A large number of buyers from Hyderabad have also turned up,” informed Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS. An MoU was also signed with Meeting Means Business, to showcase the value of face-to-face meetings and conventions, managed by Nitin Sachdeva and Barun Gupta in India. GPS is also looking to strengthen and promote the MiCE movement and the growth of meetings, incentives and conventions in India.  

The tourism in Leh has seen a big decline, with numbers declining by over 50 per cent in 2019 as compared to last year, claim hospitality stakeholders in the region. The reason for the low numbers is because of Jet Airways grounding, Lok Sabha elections, safety situation in Kashmir and late opening of Leh-Manali road, according to reports. Zahoor Qari, Chairman, J&K Chapter—TAAI, however says that the situation is improving, saying, “There was a steep decline initially, but the situation is now improving and we are seeing a rise in numbers now going to Leh. Things have settled down and demand is increasing, and people are travelling to Ladakh in good numbers. We might not see a huge rise this year, but the situation is not bad.”

Air India will launch direct flights from Kolkata and Indore to Dubai next month. Praveen Bhatnagar from Corporate Communications at Air India, said: “The non-stop flights to Kolkata will be launched on July 16. They will operate on all days of the week except Sundays. We will be adding another flight to Indore from July 17.” On its website, Air India is already offering ‘attractive deals’ on the non-stop flights to Kolkata and Indore. The introductory fares, it says, are on offer till July 31, for travel between July 15 and July 31. Source: Gulf News

OYO Hotels is now managing 500,000+ rooms in China and is seeking to invest $100M in quality of infrastructure, service with continued focus on talent. Shella Ng, General Counsel, OYO China, commented, “For the year 2019, we have recognized key priorities, including a deep and wide expansion of OYO’s chain while ensuring a consistent product and service delivery, and high-quality customer experience. To that end, we are continuously working towards establishing the highest standards of quality, compliance, and integrity.”

With an intent to focus on supporting its members and foresee the trend and updates of the tourism industry, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), organised its first of the series ‘Knowledge Conclave’ in Delhi. The conclaves are meant to support TAAI members with a vision for the future and upgrade them with executive education. Sunil Kumar R, President, TAAI, “The objective of these Knowledge Conclaves is to help our members unlearn, update and upgrade their knowledge. Over the two-day conclave, we will have five different sessions on executive education including sessions aviation trend, technology and optimising business opportunities. With 120 members attending the conclave in Delhi, TAAI members can attend Conclave in other cities as well, if they miss out.” After Delhi, the Knowledge Conclave will take place in four other locations across India during June-July 2019. In Mumbai, the conclave is scheduled on 19-20 July. These five conclaves are based on geographical location and members of respective TAAI regions and chapters are invited to attend the conclaves.

Sri Lanka is expecting 5-10 per cent decline in Indian tourist arrivals this year. Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga, stated, “We were moving along to our expectation of 5,00,000 visitors from India, but unfortunately, the events of April 21 have derailed our expectation…Sri Lanka is now safe to travel. I can give assurance or guarantee to all Indian people that Sri Lanka remains secure.” The island nation was expecting a 25 per cent growth from Indian travellers this year, over 5 lakh visitors from around 4,25,000 last year.