Trafalgar has launched its new 2019 brochure that will include some new itineraries and elements. It recently organised an exclusive meeting between its top agent partners in Mumbai and Gavin Tollman, CEO, Trafalgar & CostSaver. Tollman flew down to Mumbai from Geneva to meet the travel agent partners and exchange ideas and get feedback from them on the India market. He was accompanied by Nicholas Lim, President, Trafalgar Asia, and the India team during the networking event in Mumbai. After that, the team visited Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai to launch the 2019 brochures. The new brochure will have a new destination – Africa, which has been launched recently. Trafalgar’s in-house survey has revealed that India delivers a repeat booking rate of 58.3 per cent and these guests are choosing to travel to further destinations like South America and other exotic destinations.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has launched South India’s first Airport Radio under its signature “#PassengerIsPrime” programme at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Mirchi Airport Radio is a 24×7 custom-produced, exclusive airport radio, creating a melodious theme to the travel experience for the passengers at the airport, as per a press release by GHIAL. SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, said, “It is our continuous endeavor to enhance the passenger experience at the airport and the ‘Airport Radio’ concept is one of our many #PassengerIsPrime initiatives. We hope that the passengers would enjoy this welcoming and melodious feature that the airport offers during their journey.” The airport handles over 55,000 passengers on a daily basis. Typically a passenger stays at the airport from 15 minutes to three hours depending on his/her travel. Airport radio – Mirchi Hyd will offer the passengers a musical treat across the 1.2 lakh square metre expanse of the terminal building and delight them, the press release mentioned. Source: PTI

Lufthansa will offer five weekly flights from Frankfurt Airport to Austin – Bergstrom International Airport commencing on May 3, 2019. The airline will operate the Airbus A330-300 in a three-class cabin configuration offering customers business class (42), premium economy (28) and economy class (185) seats. Flights will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Optimally timed, flights arriving from India will connect perfectly to  LH468 departing from Frankfurt at 10:05 am and arriving in Austin at 2:20 pm. On the return, LH469 leaves Austin at 4:05 pm and arrives in Frankfurt at 9:10 on the following day thus comfortably reaching all departures to India. Paurus Nekoo, General Manager – Sales, India, Lufthansa Group, said, “With more and more Indians displaying a growing zeal for exploring the world, the launch of the new Frankfurt-Austin flight brings the world closer to Indians within the country as well as the Indian diaspora in Texas and Europe.”

Star Alliance Invitational Golf tournament 2018 was organised for corporate clients at Delhi Golf Club recently. The event was a great opportunity for the 28 Star Alliance member airlines to network with the corporate community and educate them about benefits of Star Alliance. The game of golf was followed up by an awards function in various categories with a gala lunch. The pleasant weather, great food and great sitting at the Delhi Golf Club was a treat to the players. Also seen playing golf was Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The championship prizes were given away by the Star Alliance members.

Travelport has signed a long-term supplier agreement with India’s Jet Airways that will be effective from April 2019 and enable online and offline travel agencies around the world to shop, book and manage itineraries for leisure and business travellers. Jet Airways will also deploy Travelport’s Rich content and Branding, from which over 270 airlines now benefit by displaying graphical content, their fares families and a full range of ancillary products. Damian Hickey, Head, Air-Travel Partners, Travelport, commented, “Travelport’s commitment to the Indian travel market and the provision of the widest range of content has been further evidenced today with the announcement of this new mutual commitment between Jet Airways and our company beginning April 2019. Furthermore, our position in the rest of Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas means that we are able to deliver to them a wide mix of international travellers. This is in addition to the millions of outbound and domestic Indian travellers they serve.”

With over 10 full-inventory – franchised and operated hotels and more than 1100 rooms in 3 emirates – Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah, OYO Hotels has launched its operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The property is ready to offer the benefits of its full-stack technology-led hospitality model to hoteliers across the country, with room rates starting 150 dirhams. OYO plans to host guests in over 12,000 rooms, 150 Hotels and all 7 emirates across UAE by 2020. According to data from Dubai Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), overall, Dubai hotel room supply is set to reach 132,000 by the end of 2019. The Dubai Tourism also forecasts the hospitality sector to experience sharp, sustained growth over the coming years, with occupied room nights set to reach 35.5 million annually in 2019, representing a 10.2 per cent compound annual growth rate over the next 24 months. Commenting on the developments, Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OYO Hotels, said, “With over 170 countries committing to the World Expo 2020, the hospitality sector in the Middle East, and more specifically the UAE, is poised to grow substantially and with our market learnings and expertise, we are ready to tap this opportunity. We’ve been at the forefront of the budget and mid-segment hotels revolution in the markets we operate in, and can bring in our operational expertise and technology edge to the benefit of independent hotel owners. As per a recent report, Dubai alone will host over 20 million visitors and currently records approximately hotel keys per resident at 29.9 per 1,000 people.” Vartika Goel, Country Lead, OYO Hotels, UAE, said, “The country is an attractive market with sizeable internet …

CzechTourism has witnessed a significant rise in Indian arrivals over the years having seen a growth of 128 per cent from 2015-2017. In 2017, Czech Republic welcomed 85,680 Indians, a growth of 27 per cent in Indian arrivals over 2016, according to the Czech Republic Authority. The Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism – along with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, successfully conducted three-city roadshow in New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai on October 8, 9 and 11, respectively, to promote the Czech Republic’s unique attractions. On the occasion, HE Milan Hovorka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, stated, “With the Indian economy growing at a pace no one has seen before, the number of people visiting other countries is skyrocketing. And, it’s no surprise that the Czech Republic is very high on the list of countries to visit. We’re happy to see this kind of growth and we believe that with events like this roadshow, we’ll be able to connect the right people to ensure that every holiday in the Czech Republic will be as smooth and well-organised as possible.” Veronika Janečková, Head of International Markets Management, Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism added, “We see India as a promising market; Czech Republic has a lot to offer to the Indian travellers in terms of unexplored destinations and unique experiences. The country hosts a diverse array of natural landscapes that appeal to visitors of every kind – be it architectural lovers or adventure seekers. Through this roadshow, we are able to reach out to new markets and further strengthen our relationship with Indian travel trade partners.”

AirAsia India has appointed Sunil Bhaskaran as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director with effect from November 15, 2018 to oversee the next phase of expansion and growth of the company. Bhaskaran is currently Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel. He has over three decades of experience in the fields of manufacturing, export and commercial operations with the Tata group. S Ramadorai, Chairman, AirAsia India, said, “We are delighted to welcome Mr Bhaskaran as the new CEO & MD of AirAsia India. With India’s aviation sector growing at a rapid pace, we are confident his extensive experience, ability to drive performance and work seamlessly with all stakeholders will be a great asset for AirAsia India.” Bhaskaran has held several senior positions in the Tata group. He is also on the Global Advisory Board of Social Accountability International (SAI), New York. He was with Tata International from 2001 till 2005. He completed his B Tech from IIT, Delhi in 1985, followed by a post-graduation in management from IIM, Kolkata in 1987. He joined Tata Steel in 1987 and subsequently completed his GMP from Cedep at Insead, France in 2000.

GoAir has launched its first-ever direct flight from Mumbai to Male. The new international schedule introduces direct flights connecting Male to India – Mumbai and New Delhi. Flight G8 023 was given a ceremonial flag off at 13:25 IST which departed from Mumbai on its maiden flight to Velana International Airport, Maldives. In sync with the aviation tradition to mark key milestones, the flight was greeted with a grand water cannon salute upon its arrival at the Male Airport followed by ribbon-cutting ceremony. GoAir’s international service is operated by airbus A320 Neo aircraft and with immediate effect, it will mark the commencement of a direct service 2 times a week between New Delhi – Male – New Delhi sector and direct service of 3 times a week between Mumbai – Male – Mumbai sector. Speaking on the occasion, Cornelis Vrieswijk, Chief Executive Officer, GoAir said, “We welcome Male as a part of our new global network. In light of the significant increase in outgoing tourism from India over the past few years, GoAir introduced a direct flight services from Mumbai and New Delhi to Male. It is a huge amendment in the books of GoAir and we hope to provide our customers with superior experience at the best yet affordable prices.”

The Hyderabad International Airport has inaugurated the Interim International Departure Terminal (IIDT) that is set to commence operations from October 23. The terminal has been designed to cater to the continued growth in passenger traffic, while the existing Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) facility has been expanded to more than double the present capacity. The terminal was inaugurated by Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) in the presence of Shailendra Kumar Joshi, IAS, Chief Secretary, Telangana government and other dignitaries. The new terminal building is an exclusive concourse to handle check-in, security, immigration and customs processes for departing international passengers. Coinciding with the opening of the new terminal, the Hyderabad Duty-Free (HDF) store at the departure level has been relocated and upgraded to offer an enhanced shopping experience to the passengers. SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), said, “Our city is witnessing a boom in air travel and with its strategic locational advantage, the passenger traffic through Hyderabad airport is growing at a rate of about 24 per cent year over year. The changes will only affect our departing international passengers and we will continue to handle international arrivals from the main passenger terminal building.” Source: ANI