With the growth of religious tourism in India, Royal Orchid Hotels has added a new property, ‘Regenta Central’ in Somnath. The hotel is located on the main highway of Veraval and is located within 5 kilometres from Veraval and Somnath railway station. The hotel offers spacious banquet halls and plush lawns which can accommodate up to 2000 people for various occasions such as large-scale family social gathering, business presentations, seminars and confidential corporate meets. The guests can also indulge in various relaxation activities at the hotel’s gymnasium, spa and swimming pool. Chander K Baljee, Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels said, “We are excited to add another property to our portfolio, continuing our ambition of expanding hotels across India. With a constant surge in domestic travellers, not only are we benefitted but consumers also have an advantage of an affordable stay with the finest facilities and services. The current year looks promising for the hotel industry and we plan to make the most of it by expanding our brand all over India.”

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is set to hold its annual convention in Visakhapatnam from September 6-9, 2018. The venue of the convention is Hotel Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach. IATO announced its convention almost a year in advance and declared Andhra Pradesh as the host state for the 2018 convention, just when they had announced the 2017 convention in Odisha. The IATO team will start working on the convention post its election, which is due on April 28, 2018.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2018, marking the start of the 25th edition of the show. This year’s show, which is taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22-25, 2018, has more than 400 stand holders. India’s presence at the show includes state tourism boards, hotels, tour operators and technology providers. Showcasing India’s diverse tourism offerings and the growing inbound numbers from the UAE, Navdeep Suri, Ambassador of India to the UAE, highlighted that there are currently 1065 flights a week between both nations connecting 17 Indian cities to the UAE. Suri was accompanied by Manas Pattanaik, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Tourism and Braja Mukherjee, Assistant Director (in-charge), Indiatourism, Dubai, while promoting the country at the show. ATM 2018 has adopted Responsible Tourism – including sustainable travel trends – as its main theme and this will be integrated across all show activities.      

The 10th edition of Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) opened with 280 foreign buyers from 55 countries and 270 exhibitors at The Lalit Jaipur on April 22. Committed to boost tourism in India, the inbound show was inaugurated by Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister, Rajasthan; Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee; Dipak Deva, Co-Chairman, FICCI Tourism Committee; Nihal Chand Goel, Additional Chief Secretary (Tourism, Art & Culture), among other officials from the Government of Rajasthan. The show, celebrating a decade of successfully promoting inbound tourism in Rajasthan, hopes to cross the 11,000 mark in terms of pre-scheduled B2B meetings between the exhibitors and buyers. Raje said, “It is heartening to see such an enthusiastic participation at GITB. The tourism sector has seen a new vigour and dynamism after the launch of the campaign ‘Jane Kya dikh Jaye’. Our vision was to get 50 million tourists in Rajasthan by 2020 but by the end of 2017 itself, the state received 47.5 million tourists and we would compete our target by the end of 2018.” Raje also thanked the central government for the financial support provided for the state’s various tourism projects. An MoU was also singed on behalf of the Government of Rajasthan and FICCI under which the GITB will continue to be hosted till 2024. The dates for the next edition of the show in Jaipur are April 28-30, 2019.  

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has announced an extension of the Super Priority Visa service (SPV) to Pune and Bengaluru, meaning that more Indians can get a visa decision in 24 hours or less. SPV is an optional service for customers in India who need to travel to the UK urgently. Pune and Bengaluru add to the three locations this service is already offered – Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. SPV applications are assessed to exactly the same high standard as all other applications but are handled by UKVI at the highest priority, with dedicated staff members processing cases at the front of the queue and an express courier service ensuring quick return to the customer. This means that the 24-hour turnaround is achievable and secure. Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes said, “I am pleased that the Super Priority Visa service is being extended to even more Indian cities, giving many more UK visa customers the opportunity to receive a visa decision in 24 hours or less if needed. India was the first country in the world to receive this service in 2013 – and is once again leading the way as two more cities – Pune and Bengaluru – receive this first class visa service. This is further proof of the strength of the UK-India relationship and of the focus by UKVI on providing a convenient, world-class experience for Indian visa applicants.” The extension of this service aims to support the UK-India Technology Partnership, which will include establishing ‘tech clusters’ in these strategically important cities.

Ebix, Inc, an international supplier of On-Demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare industries, has acquired India-based CentrumDirect Limited (CDL) that operates in the foreign exchange and outward remittance markets, for approximately US $175 million. CDL will be tightly integrated into Ebix’s Financial Exchange EbixCash offering in India and abroad, with key CDL business executives becoming an integral part of the combined EbixCash senior leadership. Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina said, “The acquisition of CDL provides us with new abilities in niche financial exchange sectors while expanding our footprint in India and establishing our EbixCash Financial Exchange as the largest financial exchange in the country. We have been eager to build a strong footprint in India’s airports and shipping ports, as their high levels of customer traffic provide recurring sources of revenue and income for any Financial Exchange. With a long-term presence in 24 international airports, and a few others to be deployed this year, the addition of CDL will substantially extend EbixCash’s branding and leadership position in India’s financial exchange markets.” Raina adds, “CDL already has a strong financial trajectory in terms of top line and operating margins, though we intend to build upon its success through complementary products and operational synergies. I am particularly pleased that the CDL acquisition will also further strengthen our management resources with the addition of CDL’s strong senior leadership team.”

Oman Tourism along with Cox & Kings hosted a networking evening in Delhi and Mumbai recently. Around 40-45 attendees representing the top management and decision makers of various corporate entities were present for this session to discuss Oman emerging as the next big hub for corporate events and MiCE groups. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “Conducting networking session for corporate organisations gave us an opportunity to showcase to them various MiCE offerings. For this, we feel privileged to be associated with Cox & Kings who bring along their expertise. Being a short-haul destination from India, with excellent air connectivity from major Indian cities, world-class hotels and easy availability of Indian food, Oman makes an ideal MiCE destination.” Khalid Al Zadjali, Director, Oman Convention Bureau said, “With new international hotel chains that have recently opened in Oman and many more to launch soon, we are seeing a considerable increase in the number of rooms and venues in the country. The recent revision in visa regulations (granting of Visa on Arrival for non-sponsored tourist visa for certain categories), increasing number of flights from India to Oman, diversification of tourism products and the upcoming phase II of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) will bring momentum to MiCE tourism.”

The countries that have seen the greatest growth in flight bookings from travellers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the last 12 months are Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey, according to analysis conducted by Travelport. From April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018, bookings made in the KSA through all global distribution systems (GDS) to Egypt increased by nearly 190,000, up 17 per cent on the previous 12 months. Bookings to the UAE rose by over 70,000, up 13 per cent, and to Turkey by just over 65,000, up 31 per cent. Matthew Powell, Managing Director – Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Travelport said, “Growth in flight bookings tends to be driven by increased airline capacity, rises in demand from leisure travellers, economic and political advances, which attract more interest in trade and investment, and major construction projects that require large international labour forces. The results we’re seeing here cut across all of these.” Travelport will participate in the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai for the 10th consecutive year. Its stand will include demo pods that allow visitors to experience how the company helps travel agents and airlines drive revenue by delivering intelligence through analytics tools like Travelport Business Insights and Travelport Competitive Insights.

Royal Orchid Hotels adds another property Regenta Central Point in Srinagar to its portfolio. Located at city centre, Regenta Central Point is 12 kms away from the airport and a 10 minute walk from Dal Lake. The four-star property has 46 rooms in a range of options – Deluxe Rooms and Executive Suites with modern amenities. Chander K Baljee, Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels said, “We are happy to announce the opening of our new property in Srinagar. Srinagar is a well known travel destination and we are privileged to be associated with this beautiful city. This adds to our expansion plan with prime focus on mid market segment. Currently, we operate 47 properties in 33 cities across the country with close to 3,500 rooms. Following our asset light model we are looking to add 15 more properties for FY19.” The hotel also offers a multi-cuisine all-day dining restaurant, specializing in Kashmiri cuisine and has an outdoor seating arrangement, gymnasium and steam and sauna.”

rooms XML and getabed have announced merger of their businesses. Both roomsXML and getabed are independently owned and have been successfully providing accommodation to travel and wholesale partners in their respective markets. Ruchir Bang, Executive Director, roomsXML commented, “We currently are in a very interesting phase within the travel wholesale industry and certainly see a great future if we have the right mix of passionate team, user-focused technology and strong financials, and that’s exactly what both roomsXML and getabed bring to the table.” He added “This all started with the vision on where we want to see our businesses in future and what growth opportunities we can bring to our valued staff members across offices, rather than just seeing if the balance sheet numbers added up.” Under the new structure, owners of both roomsXML and getabed will continue to play an integral part in running the combined business, with Ruchir Bang as the CEO and Matt Stuart as the Chief Commercial Officer. The remaining senior leadership roles will be announced soon. The joint business will provide significant benefits and scale, which will then be passed on to their customers and suppliers.  As a result of the merger, they now offer a genuine global business with deep penetration in travel agency space across India, Middle East, APAC and Europe. Matt Stuart, MD, getabed said, “This is a hugely exciting time for both getabed and roomsXML. With the accommodation wholesale market evolving rapidly, we needed to ensure that we remain relevant. “