MSR Hotel and Spa Bangalore, which until the end 2017 was operational as Movenpick Hotel and Spa Bangalore Hotel has now been bought over by Gokulam Hotels and Resorts. The Gokulam Hotels and Resorts are owned by Sree Gokulam Chit & Finance Co have ambitious plans for the hotel group to have a strong brand presence built on robust operational services and hotel offerings, amenities and facilities. AM Gopalan, Managing Director says, “The Gokulam Group’s leap into the five star segment is a huge boost for the company. Bengaluru has always been a favourite destination and a start in Bengaluru is like a dream come true. Baiju Gopal, Executive Director says, “We are known for our excellent service standards and stellar properties across South India. Gokulam Grand is our foray into the IT city of Bangalore. We are firmly committed to strengthening, structuring and increasing the reach of our Hospitality division in the country, by standardizing our brand SOPs, deliverables and creating a niche brand in the market. We believe in becoming better with every guest feedback, and this premise of honoring our guest loyalty is our USP in every city that we operate in. Under their hospitality division, the company has properties across South India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) under the brand name ‘Gokulam Park Hotels and Resorts’. With the addition of the MSR Hotel and Spa Bangalore to their portfolio, the group aims to strengthen its presence in the Southern region further and establish their brand in Bangalore.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has revealed its initiatives and achievements in the last four years at a press conference, where Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Civil Aviation, said that the aviation sector in India has reached new heights in the last four years. “In the last four years, we have thoroughly transformed the aviation sector and India has emerged as the third largest domestic aviation market. The connectivity has improved and flying has become affordable for every Indian. This started with the launch of Nationla Civil Aviation Policy in 2016, followed by the highly successful UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, under which air services have started at 30 additional airports. The airlines in the country have ordered 900 new aircraft under different categories. We are working to increase our system capacity threefold in the next 10-15 years through the NABH (Next Generation Airports for Bharat) Nirman capacity expansion programme. Apart from that we will release new Cargo Policy in the near future along with working on the Make-in-India and Drone Task Forces. We hope to take this sector to new heights.” Also present at the conference were Jayant Sinha, Minister of State, Civil Aviation; RN Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, along with senior officials from Airport Authority of India (AAI); DGCA, Air India and Pawan Hans.

Three weeks after not being able to attract any bids for the debt-ridden Air India, The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) is set to review its plans to divest the national carrier. Speaking at a press conference to announce the initiatives and achievements of the Ministry in the last four years, Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, said, “The government’s plans to change the decision of disinvestment of Air India stands as it is. However, since no bids came till May 31, which was the last date for expression of interest: we will review the conditions of disinvestment. We have a committee headed by Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, to review the plans for Air India and regular meetings are being held to come to a decision on that.”  

Yatra Online has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of India.  This MoU will enable overseas and domestic tourists to conveniently book their tickets online for 141 historical monuments, museums and sites in India, such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Ajanta and Ellora caves, Red Fort, Sun Temple, all of which fall under the purview of ASI. This move, aimed towards supporting Government of India’s ‘Digital India’ initiative, will facilitate digitisation of ASI’s service offerings, thereby providing fast track access and a world-class e-ticket booking experience to visitors. The partnership with Yatra, the only OTA to provide this facility, will also be significant in promoting tourism and cultural heritage in India. The online booking services comes at no additional cost to a customer. Speaking on the partnership, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder & CEO, Yatra.com said, “India has an extraordinary and diverse pool of cultural heritage and footfalls to such destinations are astounding. Therefore, we want to provide a high quality visitor experience, which will empower the visitors (both Indian & International) to book their tickets to these monuments online. In addition to providing online booking services, Yatra will be extending its platform for promoting cultural heritage and featuring all the essential information that a tourist needs, to plan their visits along with a synopsis of the monuments.”

IndiGo has recorded the highest on-time performance of 80.9 per cent in May 2018, according to a report by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). On-time performance of the scheduled domestic carriers has been computed for four metros including Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai by the regulator. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “On-time performance is core to our business and is one of the three values that IndiGo stands for. We are indeed happy to record 80.9 per cent OTP for 6E flights operating out of country’s busiest airports including Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. We thank our over 48.53 lakh passengers who flew with IndiGo in May 2018.  IndiGo will continue to provide an on-time, courteous and hassle free service, and affordable fares to our customers, as always.” IndiGo was also ranked as 4th most punctual airline globally in the mega airline category by OAG, air travel Intelligence Company. In its annual review – Punctuality League 2018, OAG included on-time performance for the world’s Top 20 busiest domestic and international routes. IndiGo was ranked 4th amongst Top 20 mega airlines and 9th amongst Top 20 Low-cost carriers (LCCs) by OTP.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has announced the signing of a Vivanta in Katra with Delhi-based DMG Group. Speaking on the signing, Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President – Real Estate & Development, The Indian Hotels Company Limited said, “We are pleased to partner with DMG Group in bringing the Vivanta brand to Katra. This announcement is aligned to our strategy of expanding our footprint and driving growth across popular pilgrimage and tourist destinations.” Located in Katra – the base camp for the holy pilgrimage of Vaishno Devi, the hotel is conveniently located 42 kilometers from the Jammu airport. The 80-room hotel, spread over eight acres, offers charming views of the Holy Shrine and Trikuta Mountains. The hotel features an all-day restaurant, banqueting and recreation facilities including a gym, swimming pool and badminton court. Commenting on the partnership, Sushen Gupta, Managing Director, DMG Group said, “We are delighted to partner with The Indian Hotels Company Limited. We look forward to working with them to bring their unique Vivanta brand and legendary experience to visitors to the holy shrine.” The DMG Group hotel at Katra is an existing property. The owners will further invest approximately Rs 10 crore to bring the hotel to Vivanta brand standards by early 2019. Vivanta Katra will be the third IHCL branded hotel in Jammu and Kashmir, strengthening the company’s presence in the state.  The company also manages the Vivanta Dal View in Srinagar and Ginger in Katra.

The Exceutive Committee of OTOAI led by its President Mahendra Vakharia has signed an MoU with Bunny Bhoola, Director, African Link Travel, for its convention during a press conference held in New Delhi. The association’s conventions till date have been primarily held in Asia and the Middle East – Manila, Bali and Ras Al Khaimah respectively. “Cape Town is a stunning city with table mountain as the backdrop. A lot of excitement is generated since the time we have made convention annoucements as a slow teaser. We have been receiving calls and enquiries from members about packages and commencement of bookings. I am confident that it’s going to be big sell-out,” said Vakharia. Clearing myths about the water scarcity issue in Cape Town, he said, “Everybody in the city are extremely conscious of how they are going to conserve and consume water. The way people have tackled the concern is incredible. Cape Town aims to cut down the usage of water to 50 litres per person within the next few months. With taps running in full swing, Cape Town is ready and alive to welcome any number of tourists.”

Europamundo Vacations has started a pre-sale offer under which patrons can book for their vacations for 2019-20 at the prices quoted in their brochure for 2018-19 for the corresponding week and month. This means that one can freeze the rates from March 2019 till March 2020 for travel till March 2020 from the company’s 2018-19 catalogue for any destination. The company ensures guaranteed departures on the same day of the week, during the same corresponding month and season of the year.

New Zealand has announced plans to introduce a tourist tax and increase other fees for international visitors to fund infrastructure development in the face of a tourist boom. Tourism numbers in the country of 4.5 million have surged by nearly a third in the past three years to 3.8 million in April this year. “This rapid growth has impacted the costs and availability of publicly-provided infrastructure,” said Kelvin Davis Tourism minister. “Many regions are struggling to cope and urgently need improved infrastructure, from toilet facilities to car parks,”Davis said. A tax of NZ$25-35 (US$17-24) would be imposed on international visitors from the middle of next year while price hikes for immigration fees and visas will take effect this November. Australians and most Pacific Island forum countries will be exempt from the new charges. Tourism is a key pillar of the New Zealand economy and the new tax is expected to raise up to NZ$80 million in its first year, which will be split between tourism infrastructure and conservation initiatives. The main opposition National Party claimed the new tax system would make New Zealand a “less attractive” destination. But Davis believed the impact on tourist numbers would be minimal. “When you’re talking about the additional cost to, say, someone coming from the United States who are already paying about NZ$1,200, an extra NZ$25-NZ$30 isn’t going to make that much of a difference,” he said. Source: AFP

India will be the third leading source market for Singapore MiCE tourism by 2021, according to a research report. The Singapore MiCE tourism market shall surge nearly US$ 2.5 billion across the 20 countries by the year end of 2021, the report said. Singapore is one of the world’s top MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions) destination. The research report titled ” Singapore Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions (MICE) Tourism Market Insights, Opportunity, Analysis, Market Shares & Forecast 2016 – 2021” provides detailed information on the Singapore MiCE Tourism Market. The report analyses market data and provides a better understanding of MiCE travellers flows and revenue to Singapore. Singapore enables a conducive environment for MiCE for world-wide travellers with its stable business environment, convenient transportation, pleasant environment and well-appointed facilities. Sightseeing, catering, entertainment, business events and exhibitions together create an integrated tourism chain for the country. Facilities for both business and leisure such as World Resort Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore, Merlion’s Park, Suntec Singapore and Singapore EXPO ensure Singapore’s position as a prime MiCE destination. China and Indonesia will be the major source market for Singapore MiCE tourism by the year end of 2021.  Singapore and Thailand holds the fifth and sixth highest share of the Singapore MiCE tourist arrivals, being followed by United States by the year end of 2021, states the report.