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.

Israeli airline Arkia will introduce two new routes to India starting from September 28, 2019 using recently acquired Airbus A321LR. The carrier confirmed to begin non-stop flight operations from Tel Aviv to Goa and Kochi with 220 seats and a full flight service on board. With one-way duration of seven hours, Arkia will fly once a week to Goa on Tuesdays and twice a week to Kochi on Mondays and Fridays. From 27th October 2019, the flight to the latter city will move to Sundays and Thursdays. The air travel will run all year round except during the monsoon season in India. This announcement has come at a time when Israel Ministry of Tourism has recorded a 21% growth with 70,800 Indian tourist arrivals to Israel in 2018 vis-à-vis 58,700 travellers in 2017 leading India to the 12th position as the source market for the destination. Speaking about the new development, Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism – India & Philippines said, “In light of the significant increase in incoming tourism from India over the past few years, the Ministry of Tourism has been encouraging of Israeli airlines like Arkia to foray into the Indian market. We see India becoming one of the key source markets for Israel in the coming years and with Arkia’s direct flights to Goa and Kochi, the Indian traveller’s interest will surely increase. Goa attracts many Israeli tourists who visit the Indian state for leisure holidays, while Israel has recorded a notable mix of pilgrimage and leisure travellers from Kochi. With nonstop operations from the West, North and now South of India; this will help meet the growing demand and enable us to achieve …

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received 32 technical bids for privatisation of six AAI-owned and operated airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Trivandrum, Mangalore and Guwahati. The 10 bidders include companies like GMR group and Adani Enterprises. Jaipur and Ahmedabad have received maximum seven bid each while Lucknow and Guwahati have received six bids each. Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram have got three bids each. AAI will open the financial bids on February 25. The winning bids will be announced on February. The other companies include Autostrade from Italy, UK based AMP Capital Investors, I Investments from Mauritius, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), Sanna Enterprises and PNC Infrastructure. The operating, management and developing rights for the six non-metro airports would be awarded to the bidder with the highest per-passenger fee for domestic travellers. The six airports would be leased out for 50 years instead of the 30 years during the previous round, 12 years ago, when the AAI had opened the Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai airports for privatisation. As of now, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Cochin are the only private-run airports in the country. (With inputs from PTI)

In an initiative to reignite interest in Kerala as the must-visit tourist hotspot, Kerala Tourism has launched a new global brand campaign, ‘Human by Nature’, which offers a refreshing perspective of the state where human and nature fuse together in an enchanting spectacle. During the launch event, the tourism board premiered a three-minute destination campaign film. Shot in the enchanting locales of Kerala, the film offers a spectacular snapshot of the state as a mystical and transforming land that delivers an emotional experience for the traveller. The ad-film was unveiled by the Tourism Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran in the presence of Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Rani George , Secretary – Tourism, Kerala and P Bala Kiran, Director, Kerala Tourism. With the new global campaign, Kerala Tourism aims to attract tourists to the state that suffered huge losses in last year’s floods but has made vigorous efforts to completely wipe out the scars of the calamity in double-quick time. The new campaign comes nine years after the 2010 launch of ‘Your Moment is Waiting’ in London.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has acquired renowned global hotel brand, WorldHotels representing a collection of approximately 300 unique and special hotels and resorts in premier destinations around the world. The WorldHotels brand will play a critical role in enhancing Best Western’s portfolio of offerings to include the upper upscale and luxury segments. “There is tremendous synergy between Best Western and WorldHotels. By joining forces in this new partnership, we will create competitive advantages for both companies,” said David Kong, President and CEO, Best Western Hotels & Resorts. WorldHotels will maintain its distinctive personality and individuality while benefiting from Best Western’s robust and scalable e-commerce platform, strong partnerships, award-winning loyalty programme, effective sales and marketing support, global distribution network and powerful revenue engines. “As we join forces, the combined power of our brands sets the stage for a bright future for both Best Western and WorldHotels. Through its established senior leadership team and regional presence in each market, Best Western brings a new level of expertise that will undoubtedly help grow the WorldHotels brand in key markets,” said Geoff Andrew, CEO, WorldHotels. In the last year alone, Best Western was named one of the world’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, expanded its portfolio to 13 dynamic brands reaching new guests in new segments, and won a record number of industry awards and accolades. The acquisition is a testament to Best Western’s commitment to growth, modernisation and continued progression, bolstering the company’s position as a trusted leader in the global hospitality industry.

The Globus family of brands is witnessing huge growth for its Avalon Waterways brand for river cruising from the India market. “Avalon Waterways is our fastest-growing brand in the Indian market,” claimed Scott Nisbet, President and CEO, Globus family of brands. He was in India recently who visited Bengaluru and Mumbai to meet and thank the company’s trade partners for another great year. “The numbers are still relatively small but it has massive potential in India. When we ask our past travellers if they are interested in river cruising, 61 per cent of them said yes. We see this as a very good sign and we have developed a number of river cruises that are shorter – not the seven or 14-night cruises but three, four and five-nights which is perfect for those who just want a taste of what a river cruise is like and maybe add something around it to make it a part of a bigger trip. This will be our focus for 2019 and 2020,” Nisbet said.