Globally, medical tourism market is estimated to touch a market value of USD 40 bn by 2020 and Indian medical tourism industry is expected to touch USD 09 billion by 2020, according to FICCI-Yes Bank Knowledge Paper titled ‘Tourism Infrastructure Investments: Leveraging Partnerships for Exponential Growth’. India is fast developing into a medical and wellness tourism hub of Asia owing to its superior quality healthcare services offered at affordable prices coupled with a dedicated policy framework of government to promote medical tourism. Rising disposable incomes, self-awareness on personal well being and increased air connectivity has encouraged market for wellness services, tourists seeking specialised medical treatments, mainly Ayurvedic, spa and other therapies look forward to India as preferred destination.

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter’s first-ever TourismPowerHouse will be held on August 5 and 6, 2018 at The Park, New Delhi. The initiative is aimed at igniting the minds of the leadership of the tourism industry and fully tap the immense potential of India, in line with global best practices. It will also help meet and exceed expectations of international travellers. The meeting will be led by Rashmi Verma, Secretary Tourism, Government of India and Chairperson, PATA India Chapter, along with Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. The keynote address on ‘Tourism Trends and Opportunities’ will be delivered by John Koldowski, an international tourism research expert. Participants will get the opportunity to network, learn, and interact with knowledge leaders and industry stalwarts and also participate in engaging discussions on digital marketing, tourism disrupters and enablers, luxury travel trends and more.

Princess Cruises has unveiled new details revealing features onboard its new ship Sky Princess, including a first look at its first-ever Sky Suites. The accommodations are centrally located on the top decks of Sky Princess and feature the largest private balconies ever offered by the line. Measuring 700 square feet, the balconies will provide a private vantage of the ship’s Movie under the Stars screen and create the ultimate space for entertaining. The two suites will also offer a 270-degree panorama and have sleeping capacity for five guests, and more for entertaining — making them ideal for families. “Our two new Sky Suites reflect Princess Cruises’ continued commitment to offer new and expansive accommodations that meet the needs of our guests who wish to explore the world in ultimate comfort,” said Jan Swartz, President, Princess Cruises. She also added that Princess Cruises’ guests could look forward to the roll-out of more new features as the cruise line’s fleet expanded debuting in the Mediterranean in October 2019. The 143,700-ton Sky Princess will include the best of the stunning features found on its three sister ships as well as new offerings that represent an evolution of the current ships’ designs. In addition to the Wake view pool, Sky Princess guests will enjoy two new deep-tank top deck pools, a restorative Retreat Pool, and more jacuzzis than previous Royal-Class ships including two jacuzzis cantilevered over the deep-tank pools. Nishith Saxena, Founder & Director, Cruise Professionals, shared, “Princess Cruises has always been in the forefront of meaningful innovations which enhance customer experience and it is great to see innovations like Ocean Medallions & Sky Suites which are changing the way high-end clients perceive cruising.

In a move that highlights its dominating position in the activities and experiences space, Cleartrip has tied up with Haryana Tourism as its exclusive online booking partner for tours and activities in the state. Cleartrip will now enable its users to easily discover and book a variety of experiences, including visits to museums, amusement parks and kids gaming zones, recreational activities, day outings to Haryana Tourism’s resorts and visits to the renowned Yadavindra Gardens (formerly Pinjore Gardens), a historic 17th century garden in Mughal architectural style. Ankit Rastogi, VP- Accommodation and Activities, Cleartrip, said, “We are glad to be the first OTA chosen by Haryana Tourism as its exclusive online booking partner for activities and tours. Haryana is a much-admired destination among weekend travellers in North India as well, who travel several miles to visit the gardens, forts, palaces and other popular sites in the state. However, the inability to plan these visits by booking them online often leads to inconvenience. The biggest benefit of this partnership will be to our customers, who will now be able to conveniently discover and book a variety of tours and activities online on a single platform.” Vikas Yadav, Managing Director, Haryana Tourism, said “The aim behind making our inventory of tours and activities available on Cleartrip is to extend greater convenience by bringing ticketing online and ensure a larger footfall of travellers to the state.”

Having sought advice from experts on the subject of use of plastic products, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) in the interest of its members and the industry, has recently conducted a seminar on the subject in Mumbai. It had invited Dr Sangita Hasnale, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, Nodal Officer of Plastic Ban, MCGM to share her insights. “The industry is in agreement with the decision to do away with the use of plastic. The use of materials that disturb the ecology and which eventually may cause irreparable damage to our ecosystem has to be abandoned. The urgency in implementing this ban is understandable but it has repercussions for businesses. We are looking for all possible options to regularise the day to day functions without the use of plastic,” says Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI. “One of the more significant consequences of the ban has been the disruption in managing food deliveries. While budgeting expenses, hoteliers and restaurateurs take into account all its revenue sources. Additionally, adopting eco-friendly materials has cost implications which will raise the prices on the menu and may not be appreciated by the customer. We are seeking the most constructive way to cope with the change and hope to come out with a win-win solution,” concludes Datwani.

As per the order issued by Archaeological Survey of India, there will be no entry inside the Red Fort for public and general visitors from the morning of August 8 to 15, 2018 till the Independence Day celebration is over.

Thomas Cook (India) has opened a new branch at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad to leverage the growing potential of Telangana. Present at the inauguration were Romil Pant, Senior Vice President- Leisure Travel, and V Pradeep, Associate Vice President, Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India). This expansion extends Thomas Cook India’s presence in Telangana to 10 consumer access centres (4 owned branches and 6 Gold Circle Partner franchise outlets) across Saifabad, Begumpet, Hitech City, Gachibowli, Kukatpally, Banjara Hills, Attapur, Sainikpuri and Malakpet; with five additional outlets in Andhra Pradesh. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa & Passport Services, Thomas Cook (India) said, “At Thomas Cook, Telangana State has been identified as a prime driver and continues to deliver strong growth of 25 per cent YOY for our leisure travel business. Our new branch at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad (a key residential, commercial and retail centre), gives our consumers convenient access to a wide range of travel and foreign exchange services. Innovative products like our Holidays and Forex apps with doorstep delivery of foreign exchange; equally our cutting edge prepaid cards (Borderless and One Currency) are of great value to Hyderabad’s tech savvy travellers and we are confident of seeing a strong uptake.” Deepesh Varma, Senior Vice President– Sales & Relationship Management, Foreign Exchange, at Thomas Cook India said, “Given the impressive increase of 45% across our key Forex product-segments, we have identified Telangana State as a strategic source market. Telangana is also a significant outward remittances market for us; our Send Money Abroad service seeing increased uptake.”    

Mercury Travels, based in Mumbai and Leisure Corp from Delhi has been acquired by one of the Indian subsidiaries of Ebix. Agreements have been signed for a cumulative amount of approximately $14.2 million. The acquisition has been done with an aim to create a new travel division by Ebix, which will focus on a niche segment of the travel market, and the new Travel Exchange will be called Mercury – An EbixCash Luxury initiative, to be headed by Leisure Corp Founder Naveen Kundu. The Mercury Exchange will have three tightly integrated components— Mercury Travel’s entire corporate, leisure & adventure related travel business with the exception of its Forex business; Leisure Corp’s entire sports and events related travel business (MICE) and Via.com’s events based travel business (MICE). Naveen Kundu will hold 15 per cent of shares in the new entity, while Ebix will have a controlling 85 per cent share in the venture. Mercury’s Forex business will be integrated into EbixCash’s existing CDL Forex exchange business. Ebix is an international supplier of on-demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries.

Over 900 registrations were recorded on the first day of the third edition of  Global Panorama Showcase in Kolkata. The inaugural day was inaugurated by Bruce Bucknell, Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata; Anil Prashar, CEO & President, ITQ; Natihaika Msuya, Minister Plenipotentiary (Political & Consular Affairs), Tanzania Embassy, New Delhi; Devesh Aggarwal, Chapter Chairman- Eastern Region, TAAI and Anil Punjabi, Chapter Chairman – Eastern Region, TAFI; among others. With a huge footfall on the first day of GPS Kolkata, Team GPS has high hopes for the same on the consecutive two days. Bucknell, while sharing his views on GPS, said, “GPS is a great platform as it brings the entire travel fraternity together and bridges the gap between Tier I, II and III cities. India is a market with great potential.”

Taking a deep dive into the hotel searching habits and preferences of Indian travellers, travel search engine Kayak has launched its first Hotel Travel Report. The report highlights the most popular month and best combinations for booking hotels, as well as the most popular destinations for Indians, both for short breaks and longer holidays. The report also revealed that Thursday is the most popular weekday to search for a hotel destination among Indians. Abhijit Mishra, Director of India and Middle East, Kayak said, “While travelling, factors such as the destination and flight prices are extremely important. Equally, the choice of travel accommodation plays a crucial role in determining the holiday experience. A great hotel can be the saving grace of a disappointing holiday, while a bad one can ruin an entire trip.”