In an effort to promote inbound tourism from important source markets, PATA India Chapter, in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism, will conduct India Tourism B2B Meet to Europe from September 25-October 4, 2018. Meetings are proposed to be held with travel agents and tours operators in Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Geneva and Paris. The roadshow will commence with an introduction of sellers and a 15-minute Incredible India presentation, followed by a 5-minute product presentation by Air India. Each roadshow will have a two-hour B2B session between Indian sellers and local tour operators and travel agents. All these markets have a variety of travellers representing both high end as well as mid-market. Their interest in India as a preferred destination is well established over many years and is focused on its history, culture, wellness, beach tourism amongst others. Air India will support the association with preferred air fares for delegates participating in these roadshows. 100 per cent of the basic fare will be waived on each ticket as per the applicable booking class for such tickets. Participants will only be charged applicable taxes, fuel surcharge and government levies for travel. Authority for tickets will be issued on a first come first serve basis, only after full non-refundable participation fee has been paid by the participating organisation.    

The Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) witnessed 650 pre-registrations on its first day in Lucknow. The inaugural lamp was lit in the presence of Sunil Satyawakta, Chairman, TAAI UP Chapter; Vivek Pandey, President, TTAUP; M Shoeb, President, TAFCA; Manish Marwah, Director-Sales, Indigo; SMA Sheeraz, Managing Director, Sheeraz Tours and Yogesh Aggarwal, Manager-Sales, Oman Air. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, said, “The numbers speak for themselves; 650 is a great number to begin with in Lucknow. The industry is accepting what we are offering at GPS. GPS. The exhibition is more of an opportunity for future endeavours.”  

Goa Tourism is on a fast track towards scaling up skill development in the tourism sector to young local Goans seeking avenues in tourism through self-employment opportunities. Sharing insights into how the state is catering to the industry requirements in terms of resources and skills development, Menino D’Souza, Director of Tourism, Govt of Goa said, “We are extremely keen on encouraging more youth to venture into tourism and providing them with all the necessary training, education and knowledge on latest developments in the tourism sector.” To begin with, Goa’s Institute of Hotel Management, Porvorim offers the best of education to those aspiring to enter the hospitality sector. Both degree and diploma courses, short term courses and trainings are conducted all year round. Around 500 to 600 students are availing education and training through IHM. Similarly, several professional colleges in the state are also offering courses in hospitality and food production, catering and restaurant management. Considering the increase in demand for hotel management, the Goa government is also in the process of setting up a state-of-the-art Hotel Management Institute in Goa. Following a slow-down in the mining sector, today Goa’s economy is surviving on tourism and the state government through the Department of Tourism and  Goa Tourism Development  Corporation is opening new doors and opportunities. More than one-third of Goa’s population is now engaged in tourism, both directly and indirectly.  

Pacific Travels has celebrated its 50 years of operations and opened a new office in New Delhi. “Having started with a conventional business model in 1968 in Kanpur, we are now carrying forward our legacy in New Delhi. We expanded our business with new products to offer. July 18 is an important day for us as we complete 50 years of operations” said, Nasir Zaidi, Managing Partner, Pacific Travels.

Skål International India’s National Congress will be held from August 17-19 in Kolkata. Commenting on the upcoming events of the association, Ranjit Vig, Secretary, Skål International Delhi said, the general body’s AGM will take place on August 14, 2018. The Skål International India’s World Congress will be held in Mombasa, Kenya later this year, he said. He announced this during the luncheon meeting hosted at The Park, New Delhi. During the meeting, special invitee and guest speaker, Rajeev Talwar, CEO, DLF addressed the members on promoting tourism within India. He said, “The industry should focus more on promoting destinations within India for Indian tourists. The domestic market has huge scope of growth.” Talwar along with Sunil Ghadiok, President, Skål International Delhi also felicitated new Skål members with membership certificates.

Airbus Group has taken yet another step in the direction to realise its ‘Make in India’ plans, appointing Ashish Saraf as Vice-President – Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets. Saraf will head of the helicopter division of Airbus India. He will also drive the Group’s existing ‘Make in India’ initiatives and conceive new ones for all the businesses of Airbus Group India with the aim to increase their industrial footprint here. The move comes close on the heels of Airbus Group uniting its Divisions in India under a single company. “Ashish is a dynamic Indian executive with experience in leading industrialisation initiatives in the aerospace and defence sector. Having him as a part of our India management team with the mandate to expand our local industrial partnerships is a shot in the arm for our ‘Make in India’ plans,” said Pierre de Bausset, President, Airbus Group India. “Airbus Group’s ambition is to be a benchmark setting company when it comes to realising the ‘Make in India’ vision of the Indian government. I look forward to supporting the Group fulfil its ambition while helping my country meet its indigenisation goals. I feel privileged to be in this role at a company which has put ‘Make in India’ front and centre of its India strategy,” said Saraf. Prior to joining Airbus Group, Saraf was the India head of the Tata Sikorsky joint venture since 2010 and led Sikorsky’s industrialisation and strategic partnerships in India. An industry veteran with an extensive experience in offsets, industrial relations, greenfield start-up development and strategic partnerships, Saraf started his career with Dassault Systems and Deloitte Consulting.      

Weizmann Forex has announced that it has been awarded licenses to operate foreign exchange counters across Hyderabad, Goa, Cochin, Chandigarh and Mumbai airports. Out of these five cities, the company has received exclusive rights for Goa and Hyderabad airports for six and five counters, respectively. In these five cities the company has received mandates for three years at three and five years at two airports. With these additions, Weizmann Forex now operates 18 airport forex counters across the country. Commenting on the development, B Karthikeyan, Managing Director, Weizmann Forex Limited said, “As part of our strategy, we are committed to serving our customers through multiple touch points in an omni-channel distribution strategy that covers its digital website, substantial branch network and a renewed focus on airports. We have increased our presence across various Indian airports which will significantly enhance our brand visibility while enabling us to serve more walk-in customers. Going beyond business objectives, we remain conscious about our customers’ need for convenient access, the need of our airport partners to provide world-class ambience and experience and also our own objective as a responsible company to protect the environment for ourselves and for our future generations. We are committed to staying in the path of relevance of our customers by providing new, innovative and value-added offerings, helping us strengthen our position as a leading player in the forex and remittances space.”  

In a move to capitalise on the significant and growing student travel segment, Thomas Cook (India) has launched ‘Study Buddy’ – a student-focussed foreign exchange promotion available across Thomas Cook India’s omni-channel network, including over 150 foreign exchange outlets pan India, and extends over a three-month period ending September 30, 2018. Deepesh Varma, Senior Vice President, Foreign Exchange – Sales & Relationship Management, Thomas Cook (India)  said, “The student travel market in India is a significant opportunity and at Thomas Cook India we have already witnessed impressive growth of 20-25 per cent YoY. Hence in an initiative to inspire demand and maximize transactions, we conceptualized ‘Study Buddy’, timed to coincide with the student travel season. ‘Study Buddy’s’ attractive offers and assured gifts are intended to delight the value seeking student community. Being a specialist in Foreign Exchange, our core product-service offering includes Remittance of university/tuition fees, forex prepaid cards and currency notes backed with years of experience in guiding students and parents on changing forex regulations and the safest way in carrying foreign exchange abroad.”Against the backdrop of a steady increase in Indian students opting to study abroad for graduate and post graduate studies, Thomas Cook India has registered a 20-25 per cent YoY growth in its foreign exchange student business over the last three to four years. Given the strong growth potential and in a focussed initiative to catalyse demand and expand its student market-share, Thomas Cook India has launched a three-month strategic Study Buddy promotion- timed strategically to target the critical booking window for student travel.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has tied up with Google for promoting tourism through its new website. KJ Alphons, Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) addressed the media and revealed that they have tied up with Google for their new website, which was launched recently, with an aim to promote India as a destination in countries around the world and attract tourists. Alphons said that Google is helping them bring online a 360 degree virtual reality video that features the iconic destinations in India and offer an immersive experience for visitors on the website.

Ginger has announced the signing of a new hotel in Noida, New Delhi’s satellite city. It will be the third Ginger in Noida. Deepika Rao, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ginger said, “Noida is a commercial hub with presence of some of the world’s largest international companies. We are delighted to partner with Admired Height Projects and expand our presence in Noida.” The new Ginger hotel is a Greenfield project slated to open in 2021. With 119 rooms, an all-day diner, a meeting room and a fitness centre, the hotel will be housed in Paras One 33, a one-stop mixed-use destination on Noida Expressway in Sector 133. It is located a short drive from Greater Noida, Akshardham Temple and with close proximity to major IT hubs. With two existing hotels in Sector 63 and the addition of this new hotel in Sector 133 (Noida Expressway), Ginger will have a combined inventory of about 300 keys in Noida. This takes the count to 15 hotels in the IHCL portfolio in the National Capital Region.