Showcasing the diversity of handicrafts, handlooms and cultural fabric of India, the 33rd Surajkund International Crafts Mela, 2019 gets underway from February 1-17 at Surajkund Mela Ground, Faridabad. Speaking at a press meet for the event, Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Chairman, Surajkund Mela Authority said, “Tourists today are looking for immersive experiences and the 33rd Surajkund International Crafts Mela provides that very culturally enriching experience for visitors. We have craftspersons from all over India with participants from 30 countries.” Other dignitaries present at the event included Vikas Yadav, Managing Director, Haryana Tourism Corporation and Chief Administrator, Surajkund Mela Authority; Vijai Vardhan, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Haryana and Vice Chairman, Surajkund Mela Authority. The event is organised by Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. Maharashtra has been chosen as Theme State for the 33rd Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2019. A large number of renowned national and international folk artistes and cultural groups will present day performances at open-air theatres located in the Mela premises. The multi-cuisine food court provides ethnic cuisines from all over the world.

Global Destinations is organising a four-city roadshow in the country in order to strengthen relations with the travel fraternity and various private players. Having kicked off in Delhi, the roadshow will travel to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. Pranav Kapadia, Founder & Director, Global Destinations, shared, “We have got 12 partners with for the roadshow, which includes five properties from Bintan Resorts and partners from Greece, Vietnam and Bulgaria. We’ve got  Swiss-Belhotel International from Bali, a partner from United states and Air New Zealand from New Zealand. We have invited very select agents for the roadshow. The idea is to either target agents who have the potential as we have not been getting the required support from them or look at agents who have been supporting Global Destinations and haven’t met the partners.”  

Following the successful implementation of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) roadmap during 2018, Travelport  has completed the onboarding of the first group of travel agencies to receive access to NDC content. In October 2018, UK-based travel agency Meon Valley completed the first live booking using NDC content through Travelport’s Smartpoint desktop. The next phase of Travelport’s NDC roadmap involved onboarding a larger group of travel agencies. To ensure NDC works for all parts of the travel ecosystem, Travelport has implemented its booking solution with a wide variety of agencies of different sizes, including American Express Global Business Travel, dnata, Gray Dawes Group, Global Travel Management, Meon Valley Travel, Premier Holidays, TAG, Travel Counsellors and Travel & Transport Statesman. Commenting on this milestone in Travelport’s NDC delivery, Nick Dagg, SVP Global Agency Sales said, “We work at the heart of the travel industry and our agency customers rely on us to provide them with choice through access to the broadest range of travel content. NDC is no exception and we’ve taken great care in managing the roll-out of our NDC booking capability through Smartpoint to our agency customers. This has allowed us to learn as we go, listen to the important feedback from our customers as they operate in this new distribution era and refine our NDC solution to ensure it provides seamless, integrated travel choice.” John Bukowski, Director, Content and Distribution, American Express Global Business Travel said, “We are working with key parties to ensure we continue to deliver access to all content, with a focus on improving traveller experience, controlling cost, maintaining full end to end servicing, as well as transparent fares, pricing and comparison shopping. NDC is an …

Registering an annual traffic of over 89.1 million for 2018, Dubai International (DXB) has retained its position as the world’s busiest airport for the fifth consecutive year with Indian travellers emerging as the largest source of traffic for the airport. India continued to hold to its position as Dubai’s top destination country by passenger numbers, with traffic for the year reaching 12,279,485 – propelled mainly by top destinations like Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi. Saudi Arabia was number two on the list with 6,471,142 customers, followed closely by the United Kingdom with 6,284,771 customers. Other destination countries of note include the US (3,205,524 customers) and the fast-growing markets of China (3,512,075) with 6 per cent growth and Russia (1,533,654) which grew 14.5 per cent. The top three cities were London (3,817,889 customers), Mumbai (2,540,750) and Kuwait (2,194,576). Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region with double-digit growth of 16.7 per cent, followed by CIS at 12.9 per cent and Africa growing 9.8 per cent. A statement released by the airport said that the annual traffic at the major transit hub rose just over 1 per cent to 89.15 million passengers in comparison to 2017. Although the figure was a new record high, it missed on the 90.3 million passengers that Dubai airport had projected for 2018.

K J Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the project ‘Development of North East Circuit: Rangpo– Rorathang- Aritar- Phadamchen- Nathang-Sherathang- Tsongmo- Gangtok-Phodong- Mangan- Lachung-Yumthang- Lachen- Thangu-Gurudongmer- Mangan- Gangtok-Tuminlingee- Singtam’ implemented under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism in the presence of Ugen T Gyatso, Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation, Government of Sikkim at Zero Point, Gangtok. This project was sanctioned by Ministry of Tourism in June 2015 for Rs 98.05 crores. One of the many challenges region faces in development of tourism is the absence of quality infrastructure, services and awareness about the array of tourism products region has to offer. The Ministry is carrying out number of activities to handle the issues on above fronts. On one hand, the Ministry has given great impetus to the tourism infrastructure in the region under its flagship schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD. For development of tourism infrastructure, the Ministry has sanctioned 16 projects for Rs 1349.04 crores covering all North Eastern States under its schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD.  The Ministry is actively working with other Central Ministries like M/o Culture, M/o DONER, M/o Road Transport and Highways, M /o Civil Aviation, etc for development of tourism in the region. For promotion of North East region Ministry carries out special promotion in domestic and international markets highlighting regions diversity, tourism products and its rich culture. The Ministry of Tourism has also set up hotel managements and food craft institutes for creating skilled manpower in tourism and hospitality sector in the North Eastern Region.  

In line with the Government of Thailand’s initiative to promote tourism, the Immigration Bureau of Thailand has partnered with VFS Global to offer the new eVisa On Arrival (eVOA) service that will enable a faster and more convenient arrival process for travellers from 21 countries like India, China, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, to name a few. Travellers who are eligible to use the online eVOA service provided by VFS Global will receive their travel authorisation from the Immigration Bureau of Thailand prior to their departure from their country of origin. The eVOA service will be available as of February 14, 2019 on thailandevoa.vfsevisa.com. The new Thailand eVisa On Arrival offers travellers a whole new experience when applying for a travel pre-authorisation to Thailand and when entering the country at the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueng airports in Bangkok, as well as at Phuket and Chiang Mai airports flying by Thai Airways and other airlines. In three simple steps, eligible travellers can apply online for eVOA for Thailand by visiting thailandevoa.vfsevisa.com anytime, anywhere or get assistance at VFS Global visa application centres across the globe. Travellers receive their pre-departure travel authorisation online before the trip within 24 to 72 hours. Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Commissioner of Immigration Bureau, said, “With the eVOA service, we are proud to offer a new age digital solution which enhance the overall experience for the modern-day traveller who seeks to visit Thailand from 21 countries across the globe. In our cooperation with VFS Global, we aim to effectively meet the objective of increasing tourism to the country through this solution especially taking into consideration the all-important security aspect that allows pre-check of travellers prior the arrival, as …

The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme is set to fly international. The results for UDAN 3 were announced recently, and Suresh Prabhu revealed that for the first time, international routes have been introduced under UDAN by launching flights from Guwahati to Bangkok and Dhaka. Both these routes will be served by SpiceJet. Prabhu said, “It’s going to be a major game changer as these connections would bring North East closer to the rest of the world. As a result, there will be a tremendous scope for tourism and economic development in the region.” Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation, revealed, “The state government of Assam had asked us to conduct bids for connecting Guwahati to the neighbouring countries and we are happy to announce that Guwahati is now going to be connected with Bangkok and Dhaka, which are the international UDAN routes which have been awarded.” It was revealed that SpiceJet has taken a very competitive underwriting of the seats. The per annum VGF would be Rs 11 crore, which would be borne by the state. Having set the service frequency at seven-times-a-week, the government has given a flexible template of starting with thrice-a-week service, which will then be increased and finalised within six months.

The Department of Tourism, Kerala organised Kerala Tourism Partnership Meet 2019 in Delhi to brief the media and trade about developments and initiatives in the state besides highlighting its marketing and promotional plan for the year. The presentation was followed by a cultural programme that showcased Kerala’s dance, art and music forms. On the occasion, BS Biju, Tourist Information Officer, Kerala Tourism informed, “Delhi is one of the most promising markets for us. Business meetings are being organised by Kerala Tourism in both domestic and international markets annually as part of our marketing strategy. 32 tourism industry players and trade partners including tour operators, hotels and other service providers from Kerala held meetings with their counterparts in Delhi.” To further reach out to the domestic market, a series of Partnership Meets are planned in 10 cities. After Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Delhi, the Meets will be organised in Jaipur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Madurai in February. According to the data released by Kerala Tourism, domestic arrivals in the state increased to 1,46,73,520 translating into an 11.39 per cent year-on -year growth in 2017 while international arrivals during the year was 10,91,870, an increase of 5.15 per cent over the 2016’s figures.

InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with Tipping Point Hospitality for Holiday Inn Goa Candolim. Nestled amidst two of North Goa’s famed destinations – Candolim and Calangute, the hotel is expected to welcome guests in November 2019. Offering leisure and corporate travellers a perfect stay experience, the newly built , 110-room Holiday Inn Goa Candolim will be a 30-minute drive from the city centre and a 60-minute drive from Dabolim Airport. The hotel is also in close proximity to North Goa’s popular entertainment and nightlife destinations and is a 15-minute walk from Candolim beach and Sinquerim fort. In addition to featuring well-designed, fully-equipped guest rooms, Holiday Inn Goa Candolim will comprise expansive meeting spaces and a business centre to meet the rapidly growing MiCE demands in the city. Holiday Inn Goa Candolim will feature an all-day dining restaurant and a lobby bar, offering guests some great dining options at the hotel. The hotel will also feature leisure facilities such as an outdoor pool and a gymnasium for guests to enjoy their time during their stay.  

The Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) has been appointed as Advisor in National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) after Ministry of Tourism nominated the association to the council for preserving heritage monuments and promoting Buddhist tourism in the country. Thanking the Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, KJ Alphons for imparting the accolade, Dr Kaulesh Kumar, Secretary General, ABTO said, “ABTO is the platform for all tourism service providers and others stakeholders engaged in the promotion of Buddhist pilgrimage tourism in India, Nepal and other Asian countries. From the last four years, our association is working hard to promote, protect and preserve Buddhist monuments and pilgrimage sites around the Buddhist circuit on national and international level. We are trying to raise awareness among tourists about the importance of these heritage sites. We also organise heritage walks around these monuments so that people can get to know more about the cultural and historical significance of Buddhism in India.” “With all these initiatives, we are aiming to increase the tourist footfall in the Buddhist sector. I am happy that our work has been appreciated by the Ministry and we have been nominated to NTAC. We also organised the first-ever International Buddhist Travel Mart in Bodh Gaya for the travel trade. After receiving appreciation from the industry, ABTO is now going to organise roadshows in nine countries- Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Japan starting from April 2019. It will provide a good platform to everyone, who is looking to promote Buddhist tourism on an international level.”