The Fern Hotels & Resorts has opened UK 27 The Fern – An Ecotel Hotel at Belagavi (Belgaum), Karnataka. With this, the tally of the hotels managed by The Fern Hotels & Resorts goes up to 53 hotels.  UK 27 The Fern is an upscale 90 room hotel which is situated in the heart of the city. It offers rooms in different categories such as Winter Green, Winter Green Premium, Fern Club Studio, Fern Club Premium Studio, Hazel Suite and Fern Club Suite.  All the rooms are equipped with modern amenities suiting the requirements of a business traveller. Some of the comforts which the guests can enjoy in the room include LED television, eco friendly bathroom amenities and lighting arrangements, in-room dining, digital safe, in-room tea & coffee facility. Various other facilities available to the discerning guests are express check-in & check-out, car parking, 24-hour front desk, banquet and meeting rooms, health club, swimming pool and many more. The hotel offers many dining and entertaining options. Mélange, the world-cuisine restaurant offers a culinary voyage spanning the length of Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean and Continental. The UK 27 Lounge at the rooftop is a chic haven based in the heart of Belagavi where cocktails and cuisines strike the perfect balance. Spices, the authentic Indian vegetarian restaurant showcases the best of Indian cuisine with exotic flavors and ingredients. The Deli @ lobby level serves hot & cold beverages along with a variety of light snacks.

The Institute of Tourism of Spain has launched ‘Spain in 10 seconds’, a new tourism promotion campaign which is based on personal recommendations and motivations to visit Spain expressed by a dozen of Spanish personalities related with culture, cinema, fashion, sports and gastronomy. Each one from his/her personal approach shows his/her favorite experiences and destinations of the Spanish geography through short videos in selfie format. The first of the ambassadors who are part of the campaign is the psychiatrist Luis Rojas Marcos. Designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and the badminton player Carolina Marin will also participate. The rest will be unveiled bit by bit over the coming months. This new campaign which is being carried out on social networks and digital media has a budget of two million Euros and the target audience is the tourist segment characterized by its high propensity to spend on the destination to which it travels and with a high index of affinity for more experiential activities. It also serves as a great catalyst to seasonally adjust the tourist demand. This campaign will be broadcasted in 15 countries and is based on a strategy of segmentation by profiles of interest that can reach tourists based on their place of origin, their motivations when travelling and their affinity with each of the celebrities.

In 2017, 4,85,314 Indian tourists visited Indonesia. The numbers saw a 30 per cent increase from the previous year in 2016, when 376,802 tourists visited Indonesia, said Arief Yahya, Indonesia’s Tourism Minister. He is visiting India from May 6- 9,  2018 along with a delegation from Jakarta. Upon arrival in Delhi the Minister met with top tourism operators and members of the media. In honour of Yahya’s visit, HE Sidharto Suryodipuro, Indonesia Ambassador organised a cocktail reception at the Indonesia embassy. The event was well attended by travel agents, tour operators, wedding planners and media persons. While addressing the guests,  Yahya commended the Indian tourists. He also said, the Indian market has the potential for still more significant growth.    

British Airways has announced the introduction of the new direct route between London and Durban to a global audience attending Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban. This long awaited decision was announced by Sihle Zikalala, MEC–Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, KwaZulu Natal, to delegates at the event. The new route adds to the airline’s existing twice-daily flights between Johannesburg and London, and daily flights between Cape Town and London. “This new route adds to our growing number of international flights‚ connecting us to key destinations such as the Gulf region‚ the Middle East‚ the Indian subcontinent‚ Australia as well as Beijing‚ Shanghai‚ Tokyo and Seoul through the hub in Abu Dhabi. The trade opportunities presented by this direct flight between Durban and London is set to add huge value to our economy‚” Zikalala said. The route is a huge leap forward for the tourism sector, propelling foreign direct investment, improving business potential and ensuring the economic empowerment of South Africans.

More than 6000 representatives from 80 countries around the world converged at Durban’s ICC to attend the biggest travel trade show in Africa. “It’s fair to say that good business concluded at this show can translate into measurable economic growth for the entire continent,” says Sisa Ntshona, CEO, South African Tourism. According to the organisers, the online meetings confirmed for the show between buyers and exhibitors had already exceeded the 2017 numbers two weeks before the opening. In total, more than 1060 exhibitors will be doing business from 22 African countries. “Over 1460 buyers from 69 countries are attending the show. Having the right buyers in front of the right products will take African tourism growth to the next level,” says Ntshona.

TAT’s Mumbai and New Delhi offices, recently organised the sixth edition of the Indian Wedding Symposium and B2B session 2018 exclusively for the Indian market. Top eight wedding planners from South and West of India and 10 wedding planners from North and East of India were hosted in Thailand from April 23-27, 2018. The itinerary included the scenic route of Phuket-Khao Lak-Krabi-Bangkok. During the trip, the group visited numerous beautiful hotels in these destinations to evaluate their potential as ideal venues for grand Indian weddings. The trip concluded in Bangkok with a Wedding Planners’ Symposium and B2B session at Centara Grand AT Central World, which included a panel discussion between representatives of the planners, hotels, and Tourism Authority of Thailand to strengthen the existing relationship and to attract more and more Indian weddings in Thailand. The discussion was followed by a B2B session in which the planners and various suppliers met and discussed future business prospects. Santi Chudintra, Deputy Governor, Asia Market extended his warm welcome to the Indian wedding planners and the 26 Thai private sectors. “The Indian wedding planners are the most important influencers to help promote Thailand as the most preferred wedding destination after they have first-handed experience and learned what Thailand has to offer from this familiarization trip. India is one of the key markets for us, last year we witnessed more than  300 Indian weddings in Thailand and we aim at doubling the number by the end of 2018″.

Dream Cruises has unveiled the world’s first permanent e-sports facility at sea onboard World Dream. The 1,700-sq.ft venue is part of ESC Experience Lab, the VR games central onboard the World Dream. The 150,000-ton megaship has dual homeports in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Referring to video game competitions that involve intensive mental and physical training, Thatcher Brown, President, Dream Cruises said, “We are excited to announce that the world’s first dedicated eSports facility at sea is now available on World Dream, where professional and recreational e-players can compete in state-of-the-art setting with a great variety of games. This initiative also supports the Hong Kong government and Tourism Board’s commitment to promote eSports in the region.  We look forward to inspiring our guests from millennials to the young in spirit in these exciting eSports activities.” To celebrate the unveiling of World Dream’s dedicated eSports facility and in anticipation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Dream Cruises collaborated with CR1, the most listened-to radio station in Hong Kong, to host an eSports football competition on the cruise ship. The facility can accommodate a live audience of 80 persons and up to 10 player.  

Claiming that overall security condition has improved in Meghalaya, Governor Ganga Prasad sought withdrawal of travel advisory by the Japan consulate cautioning its citizens not to travel to the hill state. The travel advisory has been issued to Japanese citizens for quite a long time against visiting Meghalaya in view of internal security apprehensions in the state. Some data relating to the improved security situation of Meghalaya has been obtained and shared with the ambassador so that appropriate steps could be taken to review the situation (adverse travel advisory), Prasad said in a note to Japan Ambassador Kenji Hiramatus. The note was given when the Japanese Ambassdor had called on the governor at Raj Bhawan in Shillong. Prasad said this (withdrawal of the travel advisory) will help build a long-term relationship between the people of Japan and India. The governor was quoted by an official as briefing the Ambassador of the states unique opportunity for tourists from Japan to visit. The state is home to Sohra (erstwhile Cherrapunji) which is known for receiving the world’s heaviest rainfall in a single day besides the recent development in which the longest sandstone cave (nearly 25 km in length) was discovered in Mawsynram. The governor also sought assistance of Japanese experts to facilitate introducing cultivation of Shiitake mushroom in the state, taking advantage of similar climatic condition as in that country. He said Meghalaya have native species of woody trees that are suitable for Shiitake mushroom cultivation and farmers can benefit immensely. Source PTI  

Celebrating 260 years, Cox & Kings Ltd has won ‘The Champions of Chinaplas 2018’ title that is given to the tour operator who brings the largest number of overseas delegations for the event. The award was presented by Adsale Marketing, the event organisers of Chinaplas, in Shanghai. Commenting on the achievement, Ajay Seth, Head- Outbound Travel MICE, Cox & Kings said, “We have been successful in bringing a large number of delegates for this event and we are thankful for the recognition bestowed upon us.” Chinaplas 2018 was the 32nd International Exhibition on Plastics & Rubber Industries and it was held at Shanghai in China.  

Durban’s tourism sector has geared up to welcome more than 6,000 delegates to Travel Indaba 2018, Africa’s top travel trade show. The annual event (which the city tendered for and won last year) will be held in Durban for the next five years and each year the benefits are more widely felt. “We are excited as KwaZuluNatal to host Africa’s Travel Indaba for the 27th consecutive year. This tourism showpiece has brought major spin-offs for the tourism industry and associated businesses, big and small, in KwaZulu-Natal. We expect this year’s three-day show to inject to KwaZulu-Natal’s GDP a whopping R89 million,” says Sihle Zikalala, MEC, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental affairs. “One of the strategic thrusts for Africa’s Travel Indaba going forward was to ensure that the platform drives more local jobs and opportunities and we know that this has been achieved with our committed partners and service providers,” says Sisa Ntshona, CEO, South African Tourism. The theme for this year’s show is about telling African success stories, and a big part of this will be celebrating the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth with the tourism delegates from all over the continent and the world. The show will also be used to launch the improved Mandela Journey App which has been especially updated in celebration of the centenary year. The exhibition will be held from May 8-10 at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre.