Vietnam Airlines has withdrawn its IATA commission for travel agents applicable for all tickets issued in India, effective July 15, 2018. According to a statement released by the airline, the commission will be reduced from the existing 3 per cent to 0 per cent. Earlier, Oman Air, Jet Airways and Etihad have also have withdrawn IATA commission for agents.

K J Alphons, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism, highlighted that the tourism industry alone has created 14.62 million jobs in India over the last 4 years. The minister met ambassadors from 20 countries in New Delhi to further promote India. Reaching across the world, the ministry of tourism recently conducted roadshows in the USA and will be conducting roadshows in Russia and China. The Moscow office is also slated to open in the next 3-4 months.

In a bid to increase the number of tourist arrivals to India, K J Alphons, Minister of State ( IC) for Tourism, met ambassadors from 20 countries to further promote India. The minister met with ambassadors & diplomatic representatives of various embassies including Austria, Argentina, Bhutan, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Philippines, Brazil, Malaysia, Germany, Indonesia, Finland, Russia, New Zealand, Oman.  He personally made a presentation and showed promotional films further to attract more foreign arrivals to the country. He also highlighted the transformational experience, a visit to India provides. The minister will continue to meet more ambassadors. The newly launched video “Yogi of the Racetrack” has already got 25 million views. Global promotions will continue with films in 9 foreign languages.

Thomas Cook (India) has said that its domestic business is growing at a robust pace of 35-40 per cent, and its share in the total revenue is expected to rise in the next few years. The outbound business currently contributes 80 per cent and is growing at 20-25 per cent, while domestic travel generates the rest, but over the next two-three years, the revenue ratio is expected to change, Romil Pant, Vice President, Thomas Cook (India) said. “I think the share of domestic business is ideally expected to move up to 30 per cent from 20 per cent now in the next two to three years, looking at the growth rate,” he said. Pant was in Kolkata to promote special regional Bengali tours in the city during the Durga Puja festivities. In these tours, managers will use the local dialect, and more such tours in other languages are also planned, such as Assamese, Pant said. Deepening reach is another step to maintain growth momentum, he said, adding, “In the next two to three quarters, the total number of exclusive outlets will touch 300. The major focus would be to expand in Tier-II and tier-III cities,” he said. Pant said about 60-70 per cent of the tours are in the packaged tour segment, while the rest are customised. Customised leisure travel has got traction in recent years and is growing at 30-40 per cent. Source: PTI  

The Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) has announced a four-city roadshow in July and August in India in alignment with its plan to increase Indian arrivals to the country. The Ministry will begin with its maiden roadshow in Nashik on July 19, followed by Ahmedabad on August 27, Kolkata on August 29 and concluding in New Delhi on August 30. The events will start off with a destination presentation leading to an interactive workshop followed by a press conference with the IMOT team. The Israeli delegation will be led by Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines along with Judah Samuel, Director – Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India and will include representative partners from the tourism industry of Israel. Hassan Madah said, “Israel is an emerging destination for the Indian traveller and tourist arrivals have been growing progressively over the last couple of years. 2017 was a record breaking year for us with close to 60,000 Indian tourists visiting Israel, and we are constantly striving to increase destination awareness among consumers, Indian travel trade and MICE agents. Besides the source markets, we are looking to focus on cities like Nashik that has immense potential and recently conducted maiden roadshows in Guwahati and Lucknow as well. The plan is to organize 11 roadshows in different cities of India by end of 2018 and successfully introduce and reinforce the varied tourism offerings of Israel.”

BLS International has entered into a contract with Ministry of Foreign Affairs Italy and commenced operation of processing Italy visa applications in Singapore. The centre will also extend premium services such as Premium Lounge, photocopy, courier, SMS alert and photo booth for the convenience of applicants. Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International said, “The new Joint VAC for Ministry of Foreign Affairs Italy in Singapore, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to strengthen the visa processing services for citizens. Looking at the growing trend of emerging popularity of Schengen areas as a new tourist destination, the centre will cater to the ever-increasing volumes of visa applications for Italy and Spain – the two most preferred destinations for Schengen entry.” The application centre is centrally located and has well-trained staff to handle applicants’ queries while the website is user-friendly and informative. The centre is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and has the capability to service other Schengen countries.  

Logitravel Group of Spain and Thailand’s CBS Travel Asia have agreed for a joint venture that will give the European group a foothold in Southeast Asia. Logitravel has 12 offices worldwide and its first expansion in Asia will establish its 13th base to sell both inbound and outbound travel between Asia and Europe. In the long term, the company plans expansion to other major markets in Asia. The partnership will also help to build and grow the network opf two companies to new levels of success. The Thailand-based DMC will gain access to foreign markets covered by the Spanish Group. It will also help in offering added value for its B2B customers through the group’s technology and global distribution network. CBS Travel Asia will operate as the regional partner of Smyrooms, the Logitravel Group bed bank.  The joint venture will involve the integration of CBS Travel Asia’s full travel content for distribution through the group’s XML platform to more than 1,000 online travel agents, tour operators and B2B partners. Logitravel Group is making a firm commitment to expand its business using Thailand as a regional hub, to extend its footprint to other Asian countries by acquiring a stake in CBS Travel Asia, Financial details were not disclosed, but it is understood that joint venture talks first commenced in early 2017.

The High Commission of Malaysia in association with Tourism Malaysia recently celebrated Eid Ul Fitr Open House. Diplomats from various embassies along with the travel trade attended the event. Authentic Malaysian cuisine was served to the invitees. Eid Ul Fitr Open House is a casual affair, where visitors mingle with other people and relish sumptuous Malaysian food together. In Malaysia, Eid is more commonly known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Hari Raya means Celebration Day. In Many part of Malaysia, pelita (oil lamps) are lit up and placed outside around homes as decoration. Special dishes like Ketupat (packed rice in leaf pouch), Rendang (slow cooked meat with spice and coconut milk), Lemang (glutinous rice cake cooked in bamboo), etc are served on this day.

The Ministry of Tourism is set to host the first edition of India Tourism Mart from September 16-18, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, in association with Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), along with different states and union territories. Speaking at the event, KJ Alphons, Minister of Tourism (I/C) said, “ITM is created to have a dedicated tourism event for India on the lines of WTM London, ITB Berlin, ATM Dubai, etc, which provide a platform for stakeholders in the industry to network for business opportunities with international buyers. The event is going to see over 300 international buyers and around 250 stalls for exhibitors. The buyers will be selected from potential source markets by the international offices of MOT as well as by the participating associations on merit and quality.”

Pegged at $40 to $50 billion, the Indian wedding industry is the second largest market in the world after the USA, revealed Rajeev Jain, Founder and Director, Rashi Entertainment at the 5th Travel Wedding Show, held recently at Jaipur Marriott Hotel. The event witnessed over 2000 B2B meetings between exhibitors and buyers spread across two days. Speaking on trends in the wedding industry, Jain said, “The global wedding industry is pegged at $300 billion. As far as international destination weddings are concerned, the most wanted destination initially was Thailand but now people are venturing to Turkey, UAE, Cyprus, Mauritius, Macau, Malta, Sri Lanka, Bali, London, among other new destinations.” A panel discussion was held on ‘Destination Weddings: An overview, India v/s International.’ Moderated by Jain, the session’s panelists included H Deniz Ersoz, Culture & Tourism Counsellor, Turkish Embassy, New Delhi; Hemant Mediratta, Senior Vice President – Sales, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts; Saurabh Bhargava, AVP Sales, Indian Hotels Company; Shampa Dhali, Area Director, National Sales – India, Marriott International and Abinash Manghani, Area Manager and Head Travel, ITC Hotels. A knowledge book titled ‘An Insight on Weddings in India & abroad’ was also released on the occasion.