InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with Indroyal Hospitality Services for Crowne Plaza Amaravati. The 300-room hotel will be the first IHG hotel in the city and is expected to be operational by 2024. Amaravati, the soon to be capital of Andhra Pradesh is being rapidly developed as a world class city and is expected to attract high-value manufacturing and service industries, creating strong economic growth opportunities in the years to come. Connected to the major cities in India by land, rail and air through its neighbouring city of Vijaywada, Amaravati is expected to attract both domestic and international travellers.” Commenting on the announcement, Sudeep Jain, Vice President, Development, South West Asia, IHG said, “We are delighted to partner with Indroyal Hospitality Services Pvt Ltd. for our first hotel in Amaravati. Amaravati is being developed as a world class capital city, offering a business-friendly environment, and we are confident it will emerge as an important destination for corporate travellers. Our brand Crowne Plaza with its business ready services, is a perfect fit for the city’s future, and we are very pleased to be one of the first hospitality companies to establish our presence in this upcoming city.

In a new online visa application journey, Indian customers for UK visas can now experience a more digital visa service as a result of improvements developed by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), and VFS Global. UK visa customers can now fill the visa application form, book regular or priority appointments, selfupload documents prior to visiting the centre, or choose from a range of services, in a single online journey. The intuitive and simplified online visa application system, developed by VFS Global for UKVI, is part of UKVI’s continuing initiatives to transform the visa application journey for customers around the world. Shift to an integrated online system previously, Indian visa applicants applied for a visa via two separate websites – Gov.UK and VFS Global. As part of the new customer journey, customers can access information about, or opt for, all visa services at the outset of their visa application journey. Customers now have the option to digitally upload documentation prior to visiting the Visa Application Centre using their smartphone, tablet or other camera/computing device. Customers who opt for the self-upload option can visit the centre with just their passport – meaning less need to carry original documents with them. A scanning service will still be offered by VFS Global, for a fee of 500 INR, however this will be free to customers for a short period. A range of optional services aimed at providing a stress-free application experience can now be opted for online, at the application stage. Customers can opt for the ‘Walk-in without appointment’ service (for customers seeking to submit applications urgently), or ‘Keep My Passport While Applying’ (enabling customers to apply for other visas during the processing of …

Travelport has announced that it has renewed its long-standing, successful partnership with BCD Travel. With this new agreement, Travelport Digital will continue to collaborate on BCD Travel’s digital traveller engagement solution, TripSource, making it the preferred way to manage all aspects of business travel. TripSource allows travelers to shop and book air, hotel and car, and to evolve the next generation of self-service corporate travel experience. Since 2013, Travelport has been a key digital partner for BCD Travel, one of the largest TMCs in the world. As a trusted technology partner, Travelport Digital has collaborated with BCD Travel to develop the award winning TripSource platform. The collaboration allowed BCD to vastly expand upon TripSource’s early iteration as an itinerary management app to produce a popular destination for shopping, booking, policy guidance and self-service trip management. TripSource now offers a cutting-edge user experience that drives the best purchasing decisions, allows users to book and manage travel and helps travelers to stay organized. “We’re delighted to continue our relationship with Travelport, who share our mission to deliver a simple, digital, adaptive and global experience for travelers,” said Will Pinnell, BCD Travel Vice President, Product Strategy. “Our longstanding alliance offers us immense value as we strive to lead the corporate travel industry in innovation that translates into tangible value for businesses and a superior experience for their travelers.” “As a key partner for the TripSource platform since its early stages, we’re thrilled to continue to support its future growth with our technology solutions,” said Julie O’Sullivan, Head of Digital, Business Travel, Travelport Digital. “This renewal is yet another example of our commitment to enabling our partners to continue providing the very best digital …

Vistara has announced the addition of Raipur as its 23rd destination. Effective 31 March 2019, Vistara will operate double daily flights between Delhi and Raipur, providing a convenient same-day return option to travellers from both cities, along with convenient one-stop connections between Raipur and Amritsar, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu, Lucknow and Varanasi. Bookings are now open on all direct and indirect channels at an introductory all-inclusive one way fare in Economy Class starting INR 2698. Vistara aims to serve the burgeoning industries and businesses based in Chhattisgarh by providing better connectivity and more travel options including the choice of three classes of travel, to customers travelling to and from Raipur. With the city’s stature as the state capital and its growing importance as a centre for major national and international investments, Raipur is a perfect fit into Vistara’s growing network. Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “We’re delighted to start operations in one of India’s fastest growing states, Chhattisgarh, with double daily flights to and from its capital city, Raipur. Vistara offers three classes of travel including India’s only Premium Economy class, and a level of service designed to attract discerning customers looking for better travel options. Travellers from Raipur travelling to and from international destinations via Delhi will also benefit from seamless same terminal domestic-international transfers at Delhi’s T3, from where Vistara operates.”

Continuing to improve its rank on the global passport power rank, the Indian passport has become 10 ranks stronger in the last five years improving its position from 77 in 2015 to 67 in 2019. According to the Passport Index 2019, the Indian passport allows visa-free travel to 25 countries while Indians get visa-on-arrival for 39 countries. The country has improved its position by one spot in comparison to last year. In 2018, the Indian passport ranked 68. Indian tourists still need visas to enter 134 countries in the world. The 2019 Passport Index, which ranks passports of 199 countries on the basis on their Visa-Free Score and their ranking on the UNDP human development index has ranked UAE passport as no 1, which allows visa free entry to 113 countries and provides visa-on-arrival facility in 54 nations around the world. Among SAARC nations, India is only behind Maldives, who ranks 51 on the list. Maldivian passport holder can enter 84 countries visa free or with visa-on-arrival facility.

Taiwan Tourism Bureau has a new team in India based out of New Delhi and Mumbai. Representing TTB for all PR and trade relations in India are Ritushri Dhankher and Reem Khokhar. Joining them is Ruden Dias, a Senior Sales Manager based in Mumbai, handling trade relations and MICE for West and South India. Dias has 20 years of professional experience in travel and tourism. He has worked with airlines such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, tourism boards including Tourism Ireland and the Canada Tourism Commission, as well as various destination management companies. He is a specialist in sales, travel trade engagements and relationship and destination training. Ritushri Dhankher has over 21 years of experience in the field of marketing, communications, events and public relations. She began her journey in event marketing with Wizcraft International, the pioneer in event management in India. Her career in destination promotion spans 12 years at VisitBritain. Reem Khokhar has over 15 years of experience in communications, public relations and marketing. Her prior roles include working at the American Embassy in New Delhi with the US Department of Commerce. Her career in destination promotion spans 10 years across VisitBritain, VisitEngland and The Beatles Story. She is also a writer, covering travel, culture and social trends with bylines in The Times of India, The Hindu, Mint Lounge and many other publications.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has added another hotel to its portfolio with the launch of Viola Beacon Resort, Lonavla, Maharashtra. This is the 56th hotel which is managed by the company. The other Beacon properties are located in Ajmer, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajkot and Udaipur. Beacon Hotels (a brand owned by The Fern Hotels & Resorts) are positioned as “Smart & Efficient” hotels in the economy segment, providing value-for-money accommodations and offering limited services with all the essential amenities for a comfortable stay. Located amidst sylvan green surroundings off the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway in the Waksai-Maval area of Lonavala, the 40 room hotel is just 6.5 km from the Lonavala Market. The popular weekend getaway (2 hours drive from Mumbai) offers guests a relaxed holiday blended with style, comfort and privacy. The rooms are designed with care and offer all essential amenities and services. The bright coffee shop and pillar less banquet hall for conferences, parties and events, complete the stay experience. Conversation Café is an all-day dining multi-cuisine restaurant, offering a wide range of local and global food and beverage selections. Located on the 1st floor, the 40 cover cafe serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and all-day snacks and savories. The COO of the group, Suhail Kannampilly said, “This is the first hotel opened by the company this year. We plan to open more than 20 properties this year.”

Under Swadesh Darshan Scheme, Ministry of Tourism is developing critical tourism infrastructure in the country in a sustainable and inclusive manner to make India into a world class tourist destination. The focus under the scheme is to develop public facilities like last-mile connectivity, tourist reception centers, wayside amenities, solid waste management, illumination, landscaping, parking etc. where private sector is not willing to invest. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals: 1. Continuation of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme during 14th Finance Commission period and beyond; 2. Rs. 2055.96 crores for 60 on-going projects completing in December 2019; and 3. Rs. 324.09 crores for 6 projects for which substantial funds have been released and projects to be completed in September 2020. Details: Swadesh Darshan Scheme – Integrated Development of theme based tourist circuits is the flagship scheme of Ministry of Tourism for development of tourism infrastructure in the country. The scheme has following objectives: 1. Position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation; 2. Develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner; iii. Promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods in the identified regions; iv. Enhance the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the circuit/destinations; v. Follow community based development and pro-poor tourism approach; vi. Create awareness among the local communities about the importance of tourism for them in terms of increased sources of income, improved living standards and overall development of the area. vii. Create employment through active involvement of local communities; viii. Harness tourism potential for its effects in employment generation and economic development. ix. …

Union Tourism Minister, K J Alphons, will chair the National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) meeting to be held on February 21- 22, 2019, at the site of the newly made Statue of Unity, Kevadiya in Gujarat. Apart from regular members of the NTAC, experts from the hospitality, travel and tour industry have been invited to attend the meeting. The objective of the brainstorming would be how to achieve a target of 5 million visitors to the Statue of Unity by next year. The world’s tallest statue of the iconic leader Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel is 182 meter tall. The National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) serves as a think tank of the Ministry of Tourism. The present NTAC was constituted on 20th October, 2016 under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Tourism with tenure of 3 years. The committee constitutes important Ministries, individual experts in the field of travel and tourism management and Ex-offico members from the industry associations. Last meeting of the NTAC was held ion 12th April,

Robinville Intech, New Delhi, has appointed by the Wiener Mozart Orchester Konzertveranstaltungs GmbH as its General Sales Agent for the Indian market. The Vienna Mozart Orchestra plays concerts in Vienna with internationally known singers and soloists – all in magnificent historical costumes and wigs – and creates a unique atmosphere in Vienna’s largest and most famous concert halls such as Musikverein and the state opera.