Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has 3400 rooms in India. Ignace Bauwens, Regional Vice President for the Middle East, Eurasia and Africa at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, says, “If you look at India as a market and its evolution, the middle class is travelling more. What we need is more mid-scale hotels of quality. That’s why I strongly believe that the brand that will be successful in India will be Wyndham Garden. This brand has the potential for growth in this market. We are still in discussions; the product is very specific, so we are looking for the right location. We have four brands that are active in India – Ramada, Ramada Encore, Howard Johnson, and Days. We are looking for sites to develop 20 Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham for Eurasia mainly India.”  

Ministry of Tourism has identified 17 sites in 12 clusters in the country for development under Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project, pursuant to Budget Announcements of 2018-19. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism says, “One of the big plans that we are working on is to develop our iconic sites. We have picked out the 17 most iconic sites in India like the Taj Mahal, Kaziranga and we are working backwards to make them world class. We think that all the first-cut master plans are done, so I think that will be a big push as to how we can really make these most iconic sites as truly world-class tourist experiences.” Speaking on the growth of tourism in the country he said, “There is no doubt that tourism will emerge as an economic engine for growth for this country and I don’t think there will be any confusion on that politically. Whatever work that we have been doing and the way that the tourism sector has been pulling together that will continue strongly.” The sites that will be redeveloped are- Uttar Pradesh- Taj Mahal & Fatehpur Sikri; Maharashtra- Ajanta & Ellora; Delhi- Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort & Qutub Minar; Goa- Colva beach; Rajasthan- Amer Fort; Gujarat- Somnath & Dholavira; Madhya Pradesh- Khajuraho; Karnataka- Hampi; Tamil Nadu- Mahabalipuram; Assam- Kaziranga; Kerala- Kumarakom; Bihar- Mahabodhi.

Jet Airways recently has suspended all its domestic and international operations until further notice. Amidst this, the travellers are concerned about the fate of their JPMiles or Jet Privilege Miles. According to a recent, letter from Jet Privilege to all JP Miles holders, these frequent flyer miles are still valid and can be used for flights, hotel stays, fuel and merchandise options. In a statement, on its website, Jet Airways says, “We, at Jet Privilege, as part of Etihad Aviation Group, want to reassure you that your JPMiles are secure and their value remains intact. We know that you have earned and nurtured your JPMiles over the years and we consider it our foremost duty to safeguard the trust you and our partners have placed in us. As always, you can continue to use your JPMiles on hotel stays, fuel & 2500+ merchandise options at the JetPrivilege Reward Store.”

According to a recent report by HVS ANAROCK, 2018 has seen growth in performance over 2017 in almost all major markets across India, with the momentum carrying into the first quarter of 2019, where performance of January & February 2019 is a stellar 11% higher in RevPAR performance than same period last year. The impact of elections on the industry combined with a strong growth in hotel supply in the year. Given the headstart that 2019 has received coupled with the general momentum that has built over the last two years, we are of the opinion that RevPar’s will grow.

A total of 26 million international trips were taken by Indians last year, as per a Google and Bain & Company report. Last year, they took a staggering 1.8 billion trips — domestic and international — giving the travel and tourism industry a major boost in India. Indian travellers spent nearly $94 billion on transportation, lodging and consumption during their travels. While business travellers spent $37 billion in 2018, leisure travellers spent $57 billion.

The proportion of online bookings has been increasing rapidly and is expected to reach 33 per cent of all hotel bookings by 2021 due to a proliferation of online aggregators, according to a latest study titled ‘How does India travel?’ jointly prepared by Google and Bain & Company. The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travellers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 per cent of travellers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 per cent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 per cent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform. Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travellers; and existing travellers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalised marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.” “There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses …

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has invited bids for India’s first undersea tunnel, which is part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor. The bullet train which will cover a distance of 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has a 21 km underground corridor. Going by the tender, the work has to be completed within 1,280 days or 3.5 years. The tender is for construction of tunnelling works including testing and commissioning for double line high speed railway using tunnel boring machine (TBM) and new Austrian tunnelling method (NATM) for the project.

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has opened its latest property in Chhattisgarh. The 52-room property is located in the city-centre and is in close proximity to the Raipur Airport. This would be the first property by Clarks Inn in Chhattisgarh. S N Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “We are ecstatic to announce the newest addition, Clarks Inn Suites Raipur, to our ever-expanding portfolio. We are particularly thrilled to debut in the fast-growing hospitality market of Chhattisgarh with such a wonderful and top-of-the-line hotel property. We expect this property to be the most sought-after hospitality address of Raipur and will also strive hard to leverage our presence here to put Raipur and Chhattisgarh on the tourism map of the country.” Exuding old-world-charm with its heritage style architecture, the property has on offer the latest in amenities and world class guest services. For corporates and social occasions, the hotel boasts huge event space, as well as several F&B outlets, lounge and bar, health club, spa and more. Srivastava added, “Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has made giant strides as a hospitality chain and has emerged as one of the most admired and fastest growing hotel companies in the South Asia region. Today, we have established our presence in over 20 states of India and Nepal with a slew of developments to unfold in various parts of the country and overseas in the South Asia and ASEAN region in the coming months.”

Lion Group’s Malaysian affiliate, Malindo Air, will start its Varanasi operations from July 18. Boeing 737-800 will be deployed on this route which will operate three times a week- Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday. Malindo will be the only airline serving Varanasi from Kuala Lumpur. Right now, Malindo serves destinations like Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Trivandrum and Tiruchirappalli etc. India has been an important market for Malindo since shortly after the airline launched.

In a bid to strengthen its connectivity, GoAir has announced 28 additional flights, starting April 26, offering passengers multiple FlySmart options. The new flights will be connecting 12 destinations, namely, Mumbai (8 flights), Delhi (7), Nagpur (3), Ahmedabad (2), Goa (1), Chandigarh (1), Ranchi (1), Jaipur (1), Lucknow (1), Patna (1), Pune (1) and Kochi (1). The new flights for the first time are: Delhi-Nagpur-Delhi and Delhi-Kochi-Delhi. The 28 additional flights cover the length and breadth of the country and is believed to alleviate the shortage of flights and inconvenience caused to passengers due to the Jet Airway’s flight cancellations. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said: “GoAir is pleased to announce 28 flight options this summer in addition to our existing flights. There are two sectors that GoAir is launching for the first time, namely, Delhi-Nagpur-Delhi and Delhi-Kochi-Delhi. GoAir is committed to provide travelers a value for money proposition through highest standards of customer service and affordable air fares – as low as Rs 1368 on select routes. GoAir is also committed to provide secure and efficient transportation at all times with attention to essential details. Proud to say that for the 7th month in a row, GoAir has ranked top in ‘On-Time-Performance (OTP)’ signifying our efforts towards operational efficiency.” In Mumbai, all flight numbers starting from G8 2000 to G8 2999 will depart and arrive at Terminal 2, effective 26th April 2019.