1988-batch officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Meenakshi Sharma has been appointed  the new Director General (Tourism) with the rank of Additional Secretary. The appointment comes amid a senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Central Government. She will take over charge from former Director General, Satyajeet Rajan. At present, she is Additional Director General (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism. In 2016, she was appointed  Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism replacing Usha Sharma, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre. She used to look after Administration-1, Establishment & Vigilance Division, Overseas Marketing Division, Domestic Offices Division, PSU Division including ITDC, Travel Division, Territorial Zone Division (West), PRASAD Scheme, Planning & Coordination Division, IT Division.  

AirAsia India has launched a new direct daily flight between Kolkata and Chennai. The airline already has 18 flights connecting Kolkata to Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Indore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam. The flight from Kolkata, I5 556, will take off at 3.40 pm and reach Chennai at 06:05 pm. The return flight, I5 557, will take off from Chennai at 6.35 pm and reach Kolkata at 9.10 pm. Speaking on the development, Sanjay Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, AirAsia India said, “Kolkata is a key market for AirAsia India. The addition of this new route will strengthen up our connectivity in the east.”

flynas, the Saudi national air carrier and leading low-cost airline in the Middle East, has announced the launch of its new direct international flights between Riyadh and New Delhi, starting from the 1 July, 2019. flynas stated that it will operate 5 direct flights weekly between King Khalid International Airport and New Delhi India Gandhi International Airport following the opening of flights to Hyderabad last June 2018. the adding of this new destination aims to meet the growing demand for flights between Riyadh and New Delhi, and comes to support flynas’ global expansion strategy. flynas passengers can now book their flights between Riyadh and New Delhi through all flynas’ booking platforms, including sales agents and the flynas website and mobile application, or by calling flynas’ 24\7 call centre on 920001234.

Hampi’s tourist inflow has dipped by nearly a lakh between April 2018 and March 2019 where 6,34,145 lakh tourists visited Hampi. The footfall for the same period last year was 7,30,456 lakh.  Despite, the dip, tourism officials are hopeful that the numbers will go up by the end of the year since the tourist season is mostly from September to March. The arrival of foreign tourist is above 500 in the months of April, May, June, and July which gradually increases from August. (Source: The Hindu)

THE Park Hotels has announced the opening of its new hotel located at Juhu Tara Road, THE Park Mumbai. The 60-room property will offer six categories of rooms; with views of either the Arabian Sea or the city while some overlook the historic Juhu airfield. The rooms and studio suites have been designed with a monochromatic colour palette with world-class amenities. The room rates start from INR 17,000 onwards.  

Cox & Kings has entered into a strategic tie-up with RCI to facilitate ancillary travel services for their India membership base. The tie-up will provide RCI members with all facilities under one roof while on a RCI holiday; be it visa processing, air tickets or transfers. The concept of vacation ownership is fast gaining ground in India with increasing number of vacationers finding timeshare more appealing and cost-effective. According to JP Singh, COO, Sales & Distribution, Cox & Kings, “We are happy to partner with RCI whose members in India can avail of our expertise in travel management to complete their holiday experience. ‘’ Cox & Kings has over 170 offices across India spanning metros and mini-metros and all located in the key tourism source markets.  We also have a 24X7 call centre to facilitate travel fulfilment of all the RCI inquiries.   Commenting on the tie-up, Aruna Jathar, Director- Marketing, RCI India, said, “It has always been our endeavour to provide the best travel and stay experiences to our members across the globe. We have invented and reinvented our strategies to meet the changing needs of new age travellers and to enhance their overall experience. This tie-up with Cox & Kings will enable RCI members in India who have booked their timeshare vacations overseas to enjoy the various travel related services seamlessly.’’

Sarovar Hotels has announced that it will open its Dalhousie property in September, 2019. The brand has also announced its plan to open a Hometel in Jalandhar by 2022. Talking about the brand’s expansion spree in India, Middle-East and Africa, Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, says, “Besides, Saraovar’s pipeline, we would really like to be in are Varanasi, Bhopal and Patna. Our pipeline includes properties in Dehradun, Dahisar, Goa, Dibrugarh, Morbi, Junagarh, Bodhgaya etc.”

International MiCE and Wedding Forum (IMWF) 2019 opens in Antalya, Turkey. The four-day event (12-16 MAY) is being held at hotel Rixos Premium Belek Hotel powered by Inventum Global and in partnership with Turkish Airlines. The world-renowned names and decision makers of the sector will meet in Antalya under the IMWF 2019. The fourth edition has increased the demand from destination weddings and MICE markets by 8 times. Necip Fuat Ersoy, MD, IMWF said, “For IMWF19, there was a record number of applications for participation. This gave us the opportunity to select the best, most effective ones from these applications. While we are at the heart of the industry, we are also conducting an international communication study for the IMWF all year round, with the inclusion of the industry phenomenon Sabbas Joseph in our international advisory board.”

The Consular Section of the Embassy of Chile in India states that henceforth all Indian travellers holding B1/B2 Visa or Residence Permit (Green Card) from USA, with current validity of six months, do not require a Chilean tourist visa (either Simple Tourism or Multiple Tourism or Multiple-Business).  This is for the period of stay in Chile for tourists up to 90 days and is not applicable to USA Transit Visa.

Air India has announced 40% discount on flight tickets bought within three hours of departure. This last-minute ticket buying discount will provide much needed relief to travellers who book tickets for emergency travel and are often charged high prices. This has been facilitated in view of the exorbitantly rising prices of tickets after the shutdown of operations by Jet Airways. The decision was taken at a commercial review meeting of the airline at its headquarters on Friday, the airline statement added. It also said that the travellers can buy flight tickets from all outlets which include Air India’s website, mobile app, and booking counters.