Hilton has expanded its footprint in the country by launching DoubleTree by Hilton in Goa – Panaji. A unit of Goldfinch Hotels and managed by Hilton, the hotel reiterates Hilton’s aim to double its presence in the country over the next few years. Navjit Ahluwalia, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Hilton India, said, “This property has a number of standout amenities that could offer all our guests unmatched experiences. We are committed to India for the long-term and will continue to make significant investments to expand our presence and further enrich our operational and management capabilities.” Prakash Shetty, Chairman, MRG Group, says, “This resort is testimony to my vision to bring world-class hospitality to Goa by partnering with Hilton. We have augmented a number of products and services across the property to deliver bespoke guest experiences to cater to the needs of global citizens. This resort will also be the first in Goa to offer Mangalorean cuisine at its specialty restaurant Feliz.” With 160 guestrooms including nine suites, equipped with signature DoubleTree by Hilton amenities, the resort features environmentally friendly smart lighting. DoubleTree by Hilton Goa – Panaji offers indoor and outdoor venues for conferences and events – a grand ballroom, two boardrooms and sunset lawns along with state-of-the-art audio-visual technology.

BigBreaks.com has announced the launch of its B2B hotels interface, agents.bigbreaks.com, enabling its B2B partners to gain quick access to wholesale hotel rates across India. Ashish Agri, Business Head—Domestic Leisure, Bigbreaks said, “This was a much needed addition to cater to the ongoing demand from partners and facilitate easy bookings and near instant turnaround times. This state-of-the-art system will not only enhance the overall productivity of our partners but also ease out the overall process of checking rates and processing reservations.” The list of hotels available currently, is close to a 1000 across India, and is expanding everyday, according to Agri.

Sarovar Hotels expands its footprint in Rajasthan, with the opening of Sairafort Sarovar Portico, Jaisalmer. The property offers 53 deluxe rooms and six suites, all equipped with state-of–the-art amenities and comfort. The other facilities offered are spa, gym, nosh- all day dining, suroor- the bar, conference and meeting rooms, swimming pool and a kids’ zone. The hotel is made of golden sandstone, which has become a unique identity of the town. Intricately designed stone carvings, jharokhas and arches create a design that is a token of the rich history of a bygone era. Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, said, “I am delighted to welcome guests to the Sairafort Sarovar Portico in Jaisalmer. For us, it is one of the most significant destinations in Rajasthan, and our sixth in the state. We have ensured the inclusion of everything necessary to make each stay an upscale experience for our guests.”

The Tourism Minister of Western Australia, Paul Papalia, was in Mumbai recently, to announce Tourism WA’s commitment to the India market in terms of funds, and has appointed a dedicated marketing representative based in Mumbai. The Minister also held key meetings with, and delivered business cases to six Indian airlines in a bid to attract a direct service between India and Perth. Papalia said, “The State Government is serious about growing WA’s tourism industry and entering a new market such as India, with the potential to deliver thousand more visitors. We are working with Perth Airport to secure a direct air link between Perth and India, and this marketing activity will help promote WA and create even greater demand for these flights once they begin. Our extraordinary state has much to offer to Indian travellers, whether they’re visiting for business, education or leisure. Perth boasts the best hotels in Australia, with more than 3,000 new rooms opening in the past few years. It is also the perfect launching pad to visit our spectacular regions. Western Australia is also an attractive option for Indians looking to study overseas, with the Premier recently announcing he will give high-achieving education graduates – PhD, Masters, Honours and other higher degree graduates – a pathway to skilled migration.”

Indian nationals having supporting document are now eligible for Turkish e-Visa – equivalent to the sticker visa issued at Turkish missions. Getting e-visa costs 45 USD less than sticker visa and it takes only 3 minutes at the said website. Turkish mission in India delegates no handling company for e-visa. One needs to log on to official web site https://www.evisa.gov.tr. Turkish e-visa is only valid when the purpose of travel is tourism or commerce. For other purposes, such as work and study, Turkish Embassy or Consulates will issue visa. E-visa kiosks at any airport in Istanbul will not be available after October 28, 2018. One needs to get e-visa before departure to Turkey.

Travelport has become the first GDS operator to manage the live booking of flights using the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) technical standard. The first transaction was made by a British agency, Meon Valley Travel, on October 19 for a short-haul low-cost flight from London to Milan issued by a major European carrier. The new capability allows bookings to be made for any services on the airline without incurring a surcharge. Travelport’s new NDC capability is enabled using similar XML connections to those Travelport already deploys with APIs for over 20 low-cost carriers. The company published a roadmap for its initial range of NDC products in February, having been the first GDS operator in December 2017 to acquire Level 3 certification from IATA as an aggregator. It will also be followed by a series of product enhancements, including a version for online agents in 2019. Gordon Wilson, President and CEO, Travelport, said: “We are delighted to have taken a lead in bringing the NDC era to life. It has required an extraordinary amount of skill and expertise to make this happen and I want to thank my own colleagues at Travelport as well as our partners. We are still at the earliest stages of NDC deployment. Its evolution will continue to take time as we learn from the practical experience of its first use. Meanwhile, we continue to offer a comprehensive global travel commerce platform capable of handling mass volumes of searchable and bookable content at speed for the world’s travel providers and agents.”

EbixCash has acquired assets of Business Travels and has appointed its owner Praveen Chugh as the Chief Operating Officer of Via agency sales. The company announced that it has decided to further invest in the growth of its B2B business under Chugh, who has immediately taken over as Chief Operating Officer of Via. As a part of the hiring, Chugh’s existing travel company Business Travels Private Limited assets was also acquired by Via. Chugh has been empowered by the company to recruit as many as one hundred domain specific travel sales executives, besides opening up new travel locations across the length and breadth of the country. Robin Raina, Chairman, President and CEO, Ebix, said, “We are excited to have Mr Praveen Chugh on our side. His vast experience, success record and contacts in the world travel industry provide us with an industry veteran who can lead Via B2B Sales to new heights. He has the ability and drive to grow our Via travel division business at high double-digit rates. We believe that the strength of our vast retail network, end-to-end enterprise travel technology and functionality, coupled with strong sales leadership, positions us to grow our travel business aggressively internationally.”

GoAir will make Phuket as its Thailand hub and fly to the beach island from eight more Indian cities by the end of next year. The carrier currently flies to Phuket and Male in Maldives from Mumbai and New Delhi as part of its overseas route network. It had commenced its international operations on October 11 with flight services to Phuket from New Delhi.

Thomas Cook India has opened its new franchise in Delhi’s Kamla Nagar. Inaugurated by Romil Pant, Sr Vice President, and Jatin Sharma, Associate Vice President, Thomas Cook India, the expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in Delhi-NCR to 17 consumer access centres: six owned branches and 11 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. The Gold Circle Partner outlet offers consumers end-to-end travel solutions with a bouquet of travel and travel-related financial services, including international and domestic holidays value-added services like travel insurance, visa services, etc. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head, Leisure Travel & MiCE, Thomas Cook India, said, “The North market continues to feature strongly as a prime driver, delivering significant growth of 32 per cent YoY for our leisure travel business. We have selected Delhi-NCR as it has a strategic market basis. The Thomas Cook Gold Circle Partner programme increases the brand’s reach across the country, giving consumers access to the company’s products and services in metros/mini-metros and strongly emerging Tier II and III markets.  

The world’s top ten cities in terms of job creation through tourism are Jakarta, Beijing, Mexico City, Shanghai, Bangkok, Chongqing, Delhi, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, Shenzhen, according to World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Annual Cities Report released recently at the WTTC Asia Leaders Forum in Macau. The world’s top ten cities in terms of tourism market size are: Shanghai (US$35bn), Beijing ($32.5bn), Paris ($28bn), Orlando ($24.8bn), New York ($24.8bn), Tokyo ($21.7bn), Bangkok ($21.3bn), Mexico City ($19.7bn), Las Vegas ($19.5bn) and Shenzhen ($19bn). The report covers 72 of the world’s most important tourism cities, which together generated over $625bn contribution to GDP last year (24.3% of global travel and tourism GDP). Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC commented, “With 54 per cent of the world’s population living in urban areas, cities have become global economic hubs, driving growth and innovation. They attract huge quantities of people who travel to experience their culture, do business and live. This growth has also resulted in a rise in city tourism – a trend which is forecast to maintain momentum. Our report highlights the crucial importance of cities to travel and tourism worldwide, and likewise how vital this sector is to the economy. Over half a billion trips are made to cities annually representing 45 per cent of global international travel.” Of particular note, Chinese cities have matured rapidly over the past decade, and are forecast to continue dominating the growth charts between 2017 and 2027. Shanghai, for example, went from being the eighth largest city in terms of travel and tourism GDP in 2007 to become the largest in 2017 – a position it is expected to maintain until 2027.