The GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has been awarded the Best Airport by size and region in over 40 million passenger category by the Airport Council International (ACI) World. The accolade was in recognition of excellence in customer experience in the Asia-Pacific region. The award ceremony will be held at the second ASQ Forum & ACI Customer Experience Global Summit that will take place from September 2 – 5 in Bali, Indonesia. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA)has been a pioneer in introducing technological advancements for passengers by launching fully-automated check-in process, generating boarding pass and baggage tag through ‘Common Use Self Service (CUSS)’ kiosks. It also introduced the Surface Awareness and Guidance at Airport (SAGA) and implemented paperless boarding for all domestic airlines operating via T2 amongst many other firsts, making it a smart-digital airport for the convenience of its air travellers. CSMIA is also the first of the airports in the country to release the sustainability report on activities undertaken by the airport.

Cygnett Hotels & Resorts has launched its new property, Cygnett Inn Trendz, in heart of capital city, Itanagar of Arunachal Pradesh. Constructed in a modern contemporary design, the premium Inn offers spacious and stylishly designed rooms with all modern amenities including a well equipped gym, swimming pool and spa. The Inn offers a variety of dining option with Cygnett Pavilion, an all day dining restaurant. For children, the inn offers a swanky game zone that is fully equipped to ensure that the little ones cherish their play time. Cygnett Inn Trendz also offers conferencing and banqueting services. The Inn promises to serve both corporate events and social celebrations. The premium location allows guests to visit the commercial hubs and entertainment zones of Itanagar without travelling for long distances.

sbe, a leading international hospitality group that develops, manages and operates global hospitality brands has announced the launch of its new luxury global brand, The House of Originals in partnership with Accor. The House of Originals is a luxury collection of properties from sbe featuring a bold spirit that challenges and inspires. sbe has launched this new hotel brand collection which will include the Sanderson and St. Martins Lane in London, 10 Karakoy in Istanbul, and the Shore Club in Miami Beach. The House of Originals combines the best of what sbe has to offer. This new brand will create a community for its guests, predicated on luxury experiences and cantered around sbe’s iconic culinary and mixology offerings. Further, the support of sbe’s partner, Accor, will be critical in establishing the brand internationally by offering sbe’s customers and partners access to an unparalleled global distribution and procurement infrastructure.

SpiceJet has partnered with Amadeus to sell services and fares on its extensive global travel agency network. This is the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner. By connecting to travellers through the world’s largest community of travel sellers and buyers, the airline will be able to showcase its products on a global scale, access new markets and partners, and grow its customer base. This partnership offers travellers the opportunity to choose how, where and when to buy travel, which is a basic travel need today and such a distribution deal allows them to compare value instead of just price in the shopping process. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “I am delighted to announce our new partnership with Amadeus which will help SpiceJet reach new customers both within and outside India. SpiceJet is in the midst of its most exciting growth phase and I am sure that this new distribution network will enable a large number of customers to connect with our huge domestic and growing international network.” Cyril Tetaz, Executive Vice President, Airlines, Amadeus, Asia Pacific said, “With our partnership including distribution and IT solutions, we are very proud to support SpiceJet in its growth in India and beyond. SpiceJet will be able to differentiate its offers and empower travelers with the transparency and customization they need through our global travel network.”

Travelport has announced the launch of its global campaign to improve awareness and use of the DPNA Special Service Request (SSR) code, which can be used by travel agents, among others, to alert airlines when a passenger has intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance. The campaign was initiated after Travelport found evidence of exceptionally low use of the code on bookings made through its global distribution system (GDS). GDS are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items. Despite registering more than 250 million flight bookings through its GDS globally in 2018, and an estimated 200 million people worldwide having an intellectual disability2 (2.6% of the global population), the code was used just 4,309 times (approximately 0.0015% of total flight bookings). A poll of 136 of travel agents, conducted by Travelport, revealed just 24% know the code exists. Travelport’s six-month long campaign will reach more than 100,000 travel agents in over 30 countries. It features electronic direct mails (EDMs) as well as ‘sign on alerts’ and graphical ‘prompts’ delivered through the company’s flagship Travelport Smartpoint tool, which is used by travel agents, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms and more. The EDMs and ‘sign on alerts’ are being shown to its travel agent partners globally, while the ‘prompts’ are activated when a consultant is at the booking stage of a flight to over 30 of the most popular destinations in the world such as London, New York, Sydney and Delhi. The ‘prompts’ are also being shown when any flight is about to be booked …

SpiceJet has announced that it will be connecting Hyderabad with Colombo along with the launch of 11 other new direct flights on domestic routes from March 31 onwards. The Hyderabad-Colombo route, the first by any domestic carrier, will commence from April 15 and operate on all days except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, said the budget carrier in a statement. “Our new flight to Colombo reinforces our commitment to strengthening the network between India and Sri Lanka. We see tremendous potential in this sector for both leisure and business travelers,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet. Expanding its footprint on the UDAN routes, SpiceJet will launch services on six new flights on the Kishangarh-Ahmedabad, Lakhimpur-Guwahati and Jaipur-Amritsar routes. With this announcement, the budget carrier became the first operate to fly between Hyderabad and Colombo and between Chennai and Patna. With the launch of its services between Hyderabad and Colombo, SpiceJet will connect the Sri Lankan capital with three direct flights from India, the release said. It currently connects the city with single daily frequencies from Chennai and Madurai each.

Seyfert Sarovar Portico has been rebranded as Seyfert Sarovar Premiere, Dehradun. The property has undergone extensive refurbishment from adding extra facilities to upgrading the existing services. The added features incorporate Indian specialty restaurant- Aanch, spa and up-gradation of amenities and its 68 rooms. The hotel is conveniently located close to Dehradun Airport, bus stand and railway station providing easy access to tourist and numerous pilgrimage destinations in the upper and lower hills of Himalayas. Commenting on the development, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said “The decision of rebranding the hotel reflects company’s continues efforts to push for higher standard while driving business growth for the company. The rebranding will bring fresh perspective to the hotel, sturdier base and will offer services at affordable prices for business and leisure traveller alike”.

Roseate Hotels & Resorts has unveiled The Roseate Ganges, a luxury retreat on the banks of the river Ganges in Rishikesh. “The opening of The Roseate Ganges is a significant milestone in our expansion and is the only retreat in the region to offer an exceptionally luxurious stay experience. We now offer a collection of six unparalleled stay experiences around the globe,” said Kush Kapoor, Area General Manager, Roseate Hotels & Resorts. “We are confident that guests at The Roseate Ganges will appreciate the retreat and bespoke services offered, becoming a focal point to explore and experience,” added Kapoor.

Tourism Malaysia Mumbai, in association with Kesari Tours & Travel, has announced a four-city seminar that will include product briefings. This will be held in Surat on March 11, Indore on March 13, Nasik on March 15 and Pune on March 16. The seminars aim to highlight Malaysia as a value for money destination for its various product offerings and attractive packages. An update on visa documentation will be the key feature of this seminar. Product partners of Tourism Malaysia will include Resorts World Genting, Star Cruises, Legoland and Lexis, Swiss Hotels and Ipoh, Malindo Air and Desaru Coast who will be present to showcase their offers. Mohd Hafiz Hashim, Director, Tourism Malaysia Mumbai said, “We are happy to announce our four-city product briefing seminar in Surat, Indore, Nasik and Pune. We look forward to a fruitful association with Kesari Tours & Travel to boost Indian tourist to visit Malaysia. Malaysia is a bio-diversity country with rich tradition and culture. Our natural environment surrounded with rich flora and fauna, pristine beaches, theme parks, adventure activities, nightlife are appealing to Indian tourists. Luxury enjoyed at affordable price is what Malaysia is and will be.”

Messe Berlin has announced that it will be organising the inaugural ITB India in 2020. The three-day B2B travel trade show and convention will be held at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from April 15-17, 2020. The show will bring together key travel industry leaders and buyers from cities across India, and international exhibitors from the MiCE, leisure and corporate sectors. ITB India will also have a Hosted Buyers’ Programme that will cater to buyers from first, second, and third tier cities in India. The Indian travel industry is expected to be valued at US$56 billion by 2020 with UNTWO, the World Tourism Organization, predicting that there will 50 million outbound travellers by then. ITB India represents a major opportunity for National Tourism Organisations (NTOs), travel, and hospitality companies to be part of this dramatically expanding market opportunity. “In recent years we have given the ITB brand an increasingly international dimension,” said Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin. “From a global and regional perspective, India is a vast source market for the travel industry with a huge growth potential. We are delighted that ITB India will in future complement the trio of ITB Berlin, ITB Asia and ITB China, making it a quartet and strengthening the global ITB brand.” India’s economic growth means that its citizens are earning more disposable income to spend on travel. India’s outbound travel expenditure increased 7% on average year-on-year between 2006 and 2016 and saw an even higher growth rate of 8.5% in travel expenditure from 2015 to 2016. This rate was considerably higher than growth rates seen by other major countries including China, Indonesia, and Brazil for the same period. “Having …