In a major setback to state-run Air India, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana has overruled the national carrier’s decision to shift domestic ticket-booking business exclusively on Travelport, asking it to continue using the services of Amadeus and others to book domestic and international flights. Air India had discontinued services of all other global distribution system (GDS) portals from December 5, 2018. The judgement of the HC read, “An interim direction is issued to Air India Limited to continue to allow using GDS of Travelport, Sabre and Amadeus, as was being used prior to Decemeber 4, 2018 and till further orders, Air India inventory will be made available to Amadeus also, as was being done prior to December 4, 2018.” The court has given Air India three weeks’ time to respond to the judgement with relevant documents. The court noted that under Article 12, the Air India was duty-bound to invite bids before giving exclusive rights to any agency for GDS. It is further contended that Air India was duty-bound to call bids in the form of tenders and that Amadeus could not be arbitrarily excluded from sale of tickets for domestic flights. Source: Moneycontrol  

Indian Railways is planning to seal stations just like airports and passengers would be advised to arrive 15-20 minutes before scheduled departure of trains to complete the process of security check. Arun Kumar, Director General, RPF, told PTI, “The security plan has already been put in motion in Prayagraj, in anticipation of the Kumbh Mela, and at Hoobly railway station in Karnataka with a blueprint for 202 more stations ready for implementation. “The plan is to seal the stations. It is primarily about identifying openings and to determine how many can be closed. There are areas which will be closed through permanent boundary walls, others will be manned by RPF personnel and some will have collapsible gates.” He further added, “At each entry point, there will be random security checks. However, unlike at airports, passengers need not come hours in advance, but just 15-20 minutes ahead of their departure times to ensure that they are not delayed because of the security process.” Kumar said that while security will increase, presence of security personnel will not. “If we are inventing in technology, then manpower requirement will reduce,” he said. These steps are a part of a security plan under the Integrated Security System (ISS) which was approved in 2016 to strengthen surveillance mechanism at 202 railway stations. Source: PTI

TIRUN Travel Marketing, the exclusive India representative of Royal Caribbean International has announced that the cruise line is bringing two of its most exciting ships, ‘Spectrum of the Seas’ and ‘Explorer of the Seas’ to the Indian shores. The two ships are scheduled to come to India in 2019, offering Indian guests an incredible chance to sail to/from their home country to some idyllic locations across Asia. Spectrum of the Seas is the first of the quantum ultra class of ships and is the largest ship (1,139 feet-long) ever to sail to/from India, having a capacity of accommodating 5,622 guests. Guests can opt for the 5-night Dubai to Mumbai cruise from May 4 to 9, or the 9-night Mumbai to Singapore cruise from May 9 to 18 onboard Spectrum. Through these sailings, guests can enjoy the beauty of Asia’s most stunning ports of call including Dubai, Muscat in Oman, Cochin, Penang in Malaysia and Singapore. Explorer of The Seas, one of the most popular ship in Royal Caribbean International’s fleet, will also offer a world of experiences in itself. Travellers can opt for the first segment of the cruise, a 5-night itinerary beginning from Singapore and reaching Cochin (India) on April 18 via Penang, Malaysia. In the second segment, the cruise willv sail from Cochin (India) to Dubai via Mumbai (India). Speaking on Royal Caribbean’s top-of-the-line ships sailing to India, Varun Chadha, Chief Operating Officer, TIRUN Travel Marketing said, “India is a growth market for cruising and we are thrilled that Spectrum and Explorer will offer Indian cruise enthusiasts easy access to experience the marvels of Royal Caribbean’s services, amenities and many on-board adventures. We are sure that these itineraries …

Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma has inaugurated the project “Development of North East Circuit: Umiam (Lake View) – U Lum Sohpetbneng- Mawdiangdiang – Orchid Lake Resort” in Umiam, Meghalaya, implemented under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Others present on the occasion were Metbah Lyngdoh, Minister of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya; Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sanbor Shullai, Chairman, Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation. The project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism in July 2016 for Rs 99.13 crores. Under it, the ministry has developed facilities like traditional healing centre, tribal rejuvenation centre, tourist information centre, multi-purpose hall, log huts, cafeteria, sound and light show, souvenir Shops, water sports zone, zip line, canopy walk, trekking routes, cycling track, last-mile connectivity, caravan parking, public toilets and solid waste management. The nort-east region received a total of 1.69 lakh foreign tourists during 2017 as against 1.45 lakh in 2016 registering a growth of 16.7 per cent over 2016. The domestic tourist visits reached 95.47 lakhs in the year 2017 against 77.71 lakhs, registering impressive double-digit growth of 22.8 per cent over 2016.

The government has urged the US to ‘withdraw or modify’ its advisory against travelling in India, which was issued after Zika cases were reported in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, saying the outbreak has subsided. Last month, US Government’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had taken out an advisory for pregnant women against travelling to the two states in India to avoid Zika risk. Raising concern over the advisory, Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, said it has created an impression that the outbreak of the disease is still continuing. “I wish to bring to your attention that Zika virus outbreak in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have now subsided completely. There are no reports of fresh cases and vector indices are also well within acceptable limits. I urge you to take up the matter with the concerned authorities at CDC and withdraw/modify the travel advisory,” Dr Bhargava said in the letter. The withdrawal of advisory is crucial, especially in the inbound season.  

Yatra Online has announced the acquisition of the corporate travel business of PL Worldways Limited (PLW), a Chennai-based corporate travel services provider. This acquisition will help strengthen Yatra’s foothold in the southern India region along with adding over 100 corporate clients to its existing client base of over 700. Commenting on the acquisition, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO, Yatra Online, said, “PL Worldways has an unparalleled reputation in corporate travel in the southern part of the country due to its strong customer focus and unmatched service. With this acquisition, we not only strengthen our position in the growing corporate travel market in India but also in Southern India, which has been in our cross-hairs for some time. Our endeavour will be to deliver best-in-class service to PLW’s existing customer base, through our self-booking platform and expense management solution software. We look forward to welcoming PL Worldways team to the Yatra family.” Anil Pathak, Chairman, PL Worldways, said, “We are excited for PL Worldways to join Yatra family. PL Worldways’ local connect and customer service expertise will complement Yatra’s technology platform and leverage the largest hotel network in the country; helping clients optimise their travel spend and improve their travel processes.”

The sixth edition of the three-day India International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (IITT) kicks off in Mumbai’s MMRDA Grounds in BKC today. The exhibition has over 500 exhibitors from more than 25 countries showcasing their products and services. IITT 2019 will be driven by its content which includes workshops, training academy, speed networking lounge, panel discussions, and much more. IITT has also associated with Cox & Kings which has created specially-designed experiential zones for visitors. Day one will have an expert panel discussion on developing new destinations through film tourism with travel specialists such as Karan Anand, Head – Relationships & Supplier Management, Cox & Kings sharing their perspective. Day two will see many more business sessions focusing on diverse topics such as cruise tourism, outbound MiCE and data privacy. The key sponsors of the exhibition includes Powered by Partner – Cox & Kings, Partner Country – Indonesia Tourism, MICE & Wedding Destination Partner – Sri Lanka Tourism, Host State – Maharashtra, Partner State – Kerala, Platinum Sponsors – Ark Travels, Akquasun Group and Club7. Some of the featured countries include Bhutan Tourism, Malaysia Tourism & Fiji Tourism. Apart from them, the other key partners on the board are Guideline, dnata, Yatra, Urvi travels, Ottila and many more.  

Nepal Sales Mission 2019, an eight-city event, is underway and will run up till February 1, 2019, in Lucknow, Agra, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Kochi, Coimbatore and Madurai. The Mission aims to bring all travel trade partners together to update them about Destination Nepal, educate them on what the country has to offer that will be of great interest to their Indian clientele and allow them to explore opportunities that lie within. Nepal recorded a growth of 25.1 per cent in visitor arrivals from India in 2017, attaining a remarkable surge over the previous year. In Lucknow, the Mission will be held at Hyatt Regency on January 10. It will then proceed to Agra on January 12 to be held at the Clarks Shiraz hotel, followed by Jaipur on January 14 at Hotel Crowne Plaza. Marriott Hotels in Bhopal, Indore and Kochi will host the Sales Mission on January 21, 22 and 28, respectively. It will proceed to Coimbatore on January 30 to be held at Le Méridien Hotel and conclude in Madurai on February 1 at the Poppys Hotel. The Nepalese delegation is looking forward to interacting with over 80 agents from each of the eight cities, where participants include destination specialists, fence sitters, and other key trade partners. Nepal Sales Mission 2019 will witness participation from several private players from Nepal, including Apoorva Tours & Travels, Kathmandu Holiday Tours & Travels, Fishtail Tours & Travels, Heritage Tours & Travels and Outdoor Expeditions.  

U&I Holidays has launched a mobile app for the end customer, enabling them to travel without their vouchers along with giving instant feedback. Shyam Upadhyay, Director, U&I Holidays, revealed, “Innovation is most important today, and every wholesaler or retailer has an online portal now. The latest addition for our portal is mobile application, to be used not by the operator but by the end user. We will start this from Bali. A guest travelling to Bali now need not carry any hard copies. He can simply download the application and have all his itinerary and vouchers on the mobile phone. At the same time, we have connected the driver and the client directly, just like in Uber or Ola cabs, allowing guests to track the location of the driver. At the same time, most of the Indian restaurants, shopping places have been marked and mapped in the application. Hence, wherever the guest is, he or she can see which is the nearby Indian restaurants or shopping area in the app.” Upadhyay further added that it is advantageous for them to get instant feedback as well. “Most important for us as a DMC is real-time feedback. If clients get convinced on tour, it’s fantastic. But if anything is wrong and he comes back to India, one can probably lose the client or bear a compensation. Now with this real-time feedback, everyday once the tour gets over, client will automatically get a pop up, and if they have a complaint they will definitely put it. That will straightway goes to the Bali office or head office and all the senior management at U&I Holidays. We have a dedicated quality control team who’s going to …

Private equity firm, AION Capital has acquired InterGlobe Technologies, the business process outsourcing (BPO) services arm of InterGlobe Enterprises at an undisclosed amount. A joint venture of ICICI Venture and US-based buyout firm Apollo Global Management, AION Capital said in a statement that it will support InterGlobe Technologies (IGT) in its next phase of growth as the company accelerates service expansion in current and new verticals in the travel industry. It didn’t disclose financial details of the deal. InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company of IndiGo airlines, had been looking to sell its back-end services unit for the past few months. “With its strong customer base and deep domain expertise in the travel sector, we believe that IGT is uniquely positioned. We expect IGT will continue to leverage and further strengthen its digital capabilities and global footprint to meet the growing demand for differentiated customer experience,” said Utsav Baijal, Partner, AION Capital. IGT was founded in 1998 by InterGlobe Enterprises. It is focused on the travel and hospitality industry and has more than 70 marquee customers globally. It provides digital contact centre services, digital services and solutions including chatbots, robotic process automation, travel analytics and social media services. Source: VCCircle