The Turkish Tourism Board in India recently announced that the number of Indian tourists travelling to Turkey has doubled with 95 per cent increase from January to July. Commenting on the growth, Deniz Ersöz, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Turkey said, “In 2017, Turkey hosted more than 32 million international tourists while from India the number was 87,000. This year, from January to July, we recorded 25 per cent increase in the number of overall tourists. That means we will be hosting 40 million international tourists by the end of 2018. When we look at figures from India, we see 95 per cent increase for the same period. If this trend continues we will be hosting almost 2 lakh Indian tourists by the end of this year.” Ersöz further added, “Istanbul, Antalya, Cappadocia, Troy and Izmir are extremely popular with Indian travellers. However, Bodrum and Marmaris have also emerged as major tourist attractions in recent past. In addition to that, Konya where Celaleddin Rumi spent his last 45 years, the sacred site where he was buried is also among the popular destinations for Indians.”

PATA Travel Mart (PTM) 2018, being held at Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Malaysia, has opened to more than 1400 delegates. Addressing them, Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, PATA, said, “PATA Travel Mart continues to stand tall in the Asia Pacific as the most value-adding network. The event’s continued success is due to its ability to strike the right balance between quality and quantity when it comes to buyer and seller appointments. So far, PTM has welcomed a total of 389 sellers from 208 organisations and 33 destinations. On the buyer side, we have a total of 252 buyers from 241 organisations and 53 source markets. Overall, there are more than 1400 delegates who have joined us this week.” Speaking at the occasion, YB Tuan Mohamaddin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia, said, “As the host country of PTM, it is an opportunity for us to promote Malaysia as the ideal leisure and business destination. A key area we are constantly working on is visa facilitation. Improved visa facilities in India and China are making it convenient for more travellers to visit Malaysia. In fact, we are seeing double-digit growth from these two markets due to the positive steps taken to facilitate their travel here, and we hope that this can be expanded to other markets.” PTM 2018 is Asia Pacific’s worldwide travel trade exhibition featuring unparalleled networking and contracting opportunities to help travel trade and tourism organisations access decision makers, meet new clients, expand their network, establish new relationships, and consolidate existing business partnerships.

Thomas Cook (India) has identified Rajasthan as a significant growth market for its Foreign Exchange business and to leverage this opportunity, it has opened two new counters at Jaipur International Airport. The outlets were inaugurated by J S Balhara, Airport Director, Jaipur International Airport, in the presence of Deepesh Varma, Sr Vice President – Foreign Exchange. Industry data highlight that Jaipur International Airport has witnessed strong growth in passenger numbers – from 2.20 million passengers in 2014–2015 to 4.80 million passengers in 2017–2018. In addition, Thomas Cook India’s internal research has reiterated the strong and growing potential of India’s tier II and III source markets and based on this high potential, Jaipur airport was selected for its new Foreign Exchange outlets. The two new airport counters extend Thomas Cook India’s Foreign Exchange distribution and reach for Rajasthan to a total of 11 consumer access centres: 6 owned branches and 5 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Deepesh Varma, Sr Vice President & Head – Sales & Relationship Management Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) said, “Being a prime gateway airport for the cultural tourists, Jaipur is a key and high-growth opportunity for our Foreign Exchange business.  We have identified Jaipur as a powerful source market given strong growth continuum of 18 per cent YoY for our Foreign Exchange business. Our two new Foreign Exchange outlets at Jaipur International Airport, will offer travellers easy access to Thomas Cook India’s range of Foreign Exchange products and services – right at the airport on arrival or departure.”

Every year, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, observes ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ from September 16-30 by organising various cleanliness programmes at the premises of its offices, educational institutions, prominent tourist places, etc. This year, ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa’ (Cleanliness is service), to be held from September 15, 2018 to October 2, 2018, coincides with the ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’. Indiatourism Mumbai invited Indore Municipal Corporation to interact with Mumbai and neighbouring municipal corporation representatives, travel and tourism fraternity and students to show how the Indore Municipal Corporation has achieved this feat by undertaking cleanliness drive. Indore has worked on retaining its “Cleanest City in India” title for the Swachh Sarvekshan Survey best city award for two consecutive years. The survey aims to encourage large-scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in. Dr Uttam Yadav, Health Officer, Indore Municipal Corporation, gave a detailed presentation on the initiative and scientific approach taken in mission mode for bringing Indore the status of cleanest city in India. He focussed on the minute detailing like changing the behaviour of citizens, changing mind set and using services of rag-pickers for loss of work due to cleanliness drive. Further, he highlighted the after effect of the cleanliness drive, which saw decline in the number of cases of health-related issues. Indiatourism Mumbai will be organising cleanliness drive at important tourist sites during the period, including clean-up activities, pledge swearing, awareness activities, essay competition, nukkad natak, etc.

The Western India Chapter of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has elected a new team for the term 2018-20. Jitul Mehta is now the Chapter Chairman, while Suprabh Oza has been elected as the Chapter Committee. Besides, Burjis Mehta is now the Secretary and Jay Kantawala has been elected as the Treasurer.

German Airlines Lufthansa has completed 55 years of operations on Delhi – Frankfurt route on September 1, 2018. In June 1963, there were three flights a week to the far east. On Mondays and Wednesdays, the routing led from Duesseldorf via Frankfurt, Rome, Cairo, Dharan, Karachi, Calcutta, Bangkok and Hong Kong to Tokyo. On Fridays, the route led from Duesseldorf via Frankfurt, Rome, Cairo, Kuwait, Karachi, Kolkata, Bangkok and Hong Kong to Tokyo. As of September in the same year, the stop in India took place in New Delhi, instead of Kolkata. The flights were operated by a Boeing 720. Nowadays, Lufthansa operates the route by a A380 that covers the distance in a bit more than 7.5 hours. Delhi has always been a key market for Lufthansa and over the years, the airline has experienced healthy growth on the route as more customers experience world-class product and services. These include state-of-the-art products and best-in-class services such as in-flight entertainment and enhanced FlyNet allowing in-flight, high-speed internet to help stay connected with business partners or family on ground. Currently, Lufthansa Group and its carriers – Lufthansa, SWISS and Brussels Airlines, offer 61 flights from four Indian gateways, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru connecting to 343 destinations in more than 100 countries via its four European hubs of Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Brussels.

In a bid to promote Ganesh Festival amongst travellers, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), in association with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), has made special arrangements for international tourists at Girgaum Chowpatty. A pavilion with the capacity of more than 300 people has been set up for tourists to participate in the spirit and cultural fervour of Maharashtra. Looking at the overwhelming response received last year during the festival, MTDC and MCGM are offering many amenities this year. Commenting on the occasion, Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “It is a pleasure to showcase the best of Maharashtra’s rich culture and tradition. The distinct pavilion has been set up for overseas travellers to perceive our beloved deity Ganesha. The amenities offered include clean drinking water, mobile toilets, bus transport, along with refreshment. Tourists can see the Ganapati idols from all over the city at Girgaum Chowpatty.” The two corporations together aim to make Ganeshotsav an international event. Tourists can study and participate in various aspects of the Indian culture and rituals. Vijay Kumar Gautam (IAS), Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “To position this festival on the global map, we are inviting international tourists to participate through MCGM registration facilities. I am certain that the festival will attract a large number of international visitors.” Suhas Diwase, Managing Director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) said, “Ganeshotsav is a festival that has always brought individuals from different cultures and communities together. Tourists from diverse countries come to experience Ganesh Darshan every year. We are happy to associate with MCGM to accommodate international tourists and give them an experience of one of the most popular festivals in …

Sending out a strong message that tourism in the flood-battered Kerala will be back on the rails in double-quick time, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will hold its biennial meet in Kochi from September 27-30. Being held in the wake of the devastating floods, the tenth edition of KTM will focus on measures that would lead to a strong resurgence of tourism, which is the mainstay of Kerala’s economy. The inaugural session of the four-day event, being organised by the KTM Society in association with the state tourism department, will be held at Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty on September 27. In the next three days, a series of buyer-seller meets, seminars and policy deliberations will take place at Samudrika and Sagara Convention Centre at the Willingdon Island. “The response to this edition of KTM has been overwhelming with 395 overseas buyers and 1,095 domestic buyers having registered as participants. The complete list of participants for the buyer-seller meet will be released on September 10,” said Baby Mathew, President, KTM Society. KTM will serve as a strong platform to showcase its time-tested as well as new products of Kerala. The new products launched by the state government like the Malabar River Cruise project, focusing on nine rivers in north Kerala, will be showcased before the delegates.  

Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Director, Pritam Hotels has been elected as the President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) at the 68th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Mumbai. Prior to being elected as the President, Kohli served as Senior Vice President of the association. Prrem Tiwari, former Vice President will now serve as Sr Vice President along with Sherry Bhatia acting as the Vice President and Pradeep Shetty as the Honorary Secretary. Nirav Gandhi will continue in the office as Jt Honorary Secretary with Dilip Kothari as the Honorary Treasurer and Aspi Nallaseth as Secretary General. “The HRAWI has made tremendous progress, and I would like to congratulate my predecessor Dilip Datwani and his team for doing an outstanding job during his term. From here, it is my intent to complement the efforts made so far by the association and maintain the momentum. I also hope to engage with the government, concerned authorities and other trade bodies as best as possible for the benefit of our fraternity. We will focus on resolving issues that are potential hindrances for the industry’s growth and will align efforts to best address and meet our members’ needs,” says Kohli. A second generation hotelier, Kohli is the owner of Dadar’s famous Pritam restaurant and who set up the iconic Pritam da Dhaba and the four-star Hotel Midtown Pritam in the 80s.

Thomas Cook (India) has strengthened its presence in Faridabad with the inauguration of a new branch at SCF 51, First Floor, Sector 15, Faridabad. It was inaugurated by Romil Pant, Senior Vice President and Jatin Sharma, Associate Vice President, Thomas Cook (India). This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in Faridabad and Delhi-NCR to 16 consumer access centres – six owned branches and 10 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Thomas Cook India’s internal data had highlighted Faridabad/Delhi NCR as a high potential source market for its holiday business. Hence, in an initiative to harness this opportunity, the company has identified Faridabad to set up its new Gold Circle Partner franchise outlet. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Leisure Travel and MICE, Thomas Cook (India) said, “The North market has been identified as a prime growth driver and continues to deliver strong growth of 32 per cent YoY for our leisure travel business. Delhi NCR offers us significant potential and we have selected one of Faridabad’s prime localities for our new branch.” Gold Circle Partner Mamta Arora, a resident of Faridabad is an industry veteran. Her domain expertise and relationships/contacts will assist Thomas Cook in establishing and growing the market.