Group packages to Europe traditionally covered five to eight destinations within a couple of weeks. However, millennial travellers are expressing a preference for visiting fewer destinations on a single trip, reports a study by CAPA India and Expedia titled ‘The Inflection Point for Indian Outbound Travel’. There are two drivers to this. Firstly, a desire to better discover and experience the places visited. This is supported by the increasing affordability of travel which means that people believe that they will have the opportunity to travel again in future, rather than a trip being a once-in-a-lifetime event where they need to tick multiple destinations off a list. Secondly, travel is increasingly seen as a means to rejuvenate and recharge and hence more leisurely itineraries are preferred.

Emirates and Latam Airlines have entered a new codeshare partnership agreement with Latam Airlines Brazil, under which it would cover domestic services in Brazil. Emirates passengers travelling to and from Brazil will now be able to connect with 17 cities in Latam’s domestic network covered by the codeshare agreement including Belo Horizonte, Brasília and Foz do Iguaçu. Passengers travelling to/from these cities will now be able to connect seamlessly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with Emirates’ flights to its Dubai hub, which serves over 150 destinations worldwide. Under the deal, Emirates passengers get more choice to travel to/from Brazil with minimum connection times to destinations in Emirates’ global network such as Japan, Australia and India amongst others. “We’re pleased to establish a partnership with Latam Airlines Brazil, providing our passengers with increased choice, flexibility and ease of connection to different cities within Brazil. We continuously invest in providing more benefits to our customers. With our award-winning product and strong partners in Brazil, we look forward to continue supporting the country’s growing inbound tourist numbers and business trade opportunities,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation and Aeropolitical Affairs.

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has chosen Thomas Cook (India) to sign a strategic agreement that involves bringing more tourists from India to Sentosa. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this was signed between Mahesh Iyer, Executive Director and CEO, Thomas Cook (India) and Quek Swee Kuan, CEO, SDC in Mumbai. This three-year strategic agreement is aimed to strengthen Sentosa’s position as a top-of-mind destination for all Indian tourists visiting Singapore, increase Sentosa’s capture rates of the India market particularly in tier 2 and 3 cities, and grow visitorship to and spend on the island. To this end, both parties will collaborate on a multipronged effort comprising activities such as product development, joint consumer promotions, as well as publicity to raise Sentosa’s profile in the India market.   According to Sentosa’s visitorship numbers, India is currently ranked as the island’s top source market. While Sentosa has been featured as part of Thomas Cook India’s Singapore portfolio, the company has now focussed on curating exclusive Sentosa packages as well. Additionally, as part of the partnership, Thomas Cook India will offer enhanced access to multiple Sentosa attractions, coupled with exciting promotions and special offers on accommodation and attractions.  

OYO Hotels & Homes has announced that it has agreed to acquire Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group. @Leisure is a leading vacation rental company in Europe and manages holiday homes, holiday parks, and holiday apartments. @Leisure Group, through its Belvilla, DanCenter, and Danland brands, offers more than 30,000-fully managed holiday homes across 13 countries in Europe and through its Traum-Ferienwohnungen brand, offers a subscription-based home management service with over 85,000 homes across 50 countries. This represents a total inventory of 300k+ rooms. @Leisure Group has the unique ability to offer varied collections of managed homes across Europe to customers from across the world. The acquisition helps OYO move a step closer in realizing its vision of becoming a global real estate brand while maintaining leadership in the hospitality industry.

From Amsterdam, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will operate 777-300ER to Mumbai on May 10, 12 and 13, instead of 787-9. This will allow the airline to carry more passengers as 777-300ER will have additional 114 seats.  

International tourists’ spend on hotels in India expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 14 per cent by 2022, as per a latest study by KPMG and Google. Indian players currently enjoy a 55 per cent share of revenues in the accommodation industry. This is expected to reduce to 50 per cent by 2022 as international players plan to expand aggressively into Tier I and Tier II cities in India. Accommodation providers in these cities are set to witness influx of international travellers. Cities like Manali, Ooty, Gangtok are gaining popularity. Tier I and Tier II cities see the majority of leisure travel spending (approximately 87 per cent of overall international tourist spending is for leisure purposes). The accommodation market in these cities is dominated by several small and unorganised Indian players. Indian players have tapped into the opportunity through tie-ups with multiple sales representation companies for lead generation, global promotion campaigns and loyalty programmes. Promotional activities are supported by comprehensive marketing campaigns globally. Select large players have set up hotels overseas whereas smaller players depend on international travelers visiting India as it is challenging for these players to operate internationally without the desired scale. Online travel aggregators play an important role in organising the fragmented market and bridging the accessibility gap for international travelers by creating a transparent ecosystem.

PATA India Chapter’s First ‘Tourism MasterClass’ to be held on May 15, 2019 at the Le Meridien, New Delhi from 9:15 am – 5:30 pm for tourism professionals. It is a platform for gaining knowledge and learning from the experiences of well-known leaders of the tourism fraternity. MasterClass is targeted to attract middle to senior business leaders and help to add to their professional strengths to deliver a differentiated and profitable product offering  and will be inaugurated by Assistant Director General (ADG)- Meenakshi Sharma, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

Travel and tourism is expected to provide employment to nearly 53 million people in India, directly and indirectly, by 2029, as per a latest report on inbound tourism commissioned by FICCI and Yes Bank. The sector has been a key source of employment as well, directly accounting for 26.7 million jobs in 2018. Further, the total jobs from indirect and induced activity stood at 42.7 million. The number is estimated to reach 43.7 million in 2019, accounting for 8.1% of the total employment in the country.

In an official statement dated, May 2, 2019, The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced that the Royal Thai Government has approved the extension of the visa-on-arrival fee waiver for citizens of 20 countries for another six months, until 31 October. The decision was announced in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 30 April, reasoning it as a measure to stimulate and promote tourism as well as to enhance the kingdom’s attractiveness among foreign visitors. Citizens of Andora, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China including Taiwan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan will be exempted from the 2,000 Baht visa-on-arrival fee for the purpose of touring in Thailand for not more than 15 days. The government first approved the visa-on-arrival fee waiver from 15 November, 2018, to 14 January, 2019, and further extended the measure to 30 April.

South African Tourism is hosting the annual tourism marketing event, Africa’s Travel Indaba, at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa, from May 2-4, 2019. The event serves as one of the largest platforms for Africa’s tourism industry to showcase the extensiveness of its products to an international market. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Derek Hanekom, Minister, Tourism, Government of South Africa, said, “Africa’s Travel Indaba has become synonymous with storytelling. This continent is teeming with stories and folklore which are woven into all the products and experiences that are showcased here. In 2018, Africa reached 67 million international tourist arrivals, a growth of 7% over 2017. This represents 5% of all global international arrivals, up nearly 14 mn from the low of 2015. On the African continent, we have grown at an average of 8% for three years in a row.” The Minister also shared that UNWTO predicts that 1.8 billion people will be travelling globally by 2030, and that Africa will increase its share from the current 5% to 7% of all global arrivals. While buyers at Indaba include tour operators, online booking companies and DMCs from across the world, the exhibitor profile includes provincial authorities, tour operators, game lodges, luxury products, etc., from as many as 20 African nations. The India market continues to be a significant contributor to Africa’s, particularly South Africa’s, international tourist arrival numbers, and Indaba is seen as one of the most significant events to help strengthen this relationship even further. Over 1,000 exhibitors are said to be participating in the continent’s annual tourism showcase. Last year, the event received delegates from 80 countries and participant numbers crossed the 7,000 …