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Sandeep Nanduri, IAS, Director of Tourism and MD, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation disclosed, “According to 63rd edition of the Indian Tourism Statistics Report,  Tamil Nadu was ranked 1st in domestic tourists visit”. The state has witnessed a remarkable influx of tourists, he added.

Manisha Saxena, DG Tourism, GOI stressed on how MOT is going to focus develop responsible infra and promote sustainable practices in tourism sector. She expressed concern and said, “Tourism industry should minimize its impact on environment and community.

FCM is leveraging disruptive technologies to reshape multi-national service of customer base that stretching over 100 countries. Marcus Eklund, Global Managing Director, FCM told how travel industry is responding to AI revolution and how FCM will take advantage of its potential to fuel transformation and boost productivity. He said, “The age of AI presents us with immense possibilities that we are considering across the whole of our business”. John Morhous, CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group & Architect, FCM declared that  as early user of AI, we are well placed to adopt the newest technologies to transform our business, empower our people and engage with our customers in a brand-new way. “AI has the power to enhance intelligence and creativity while deepening our expertise and insight, ” he added. The company also revealed it is successfully piloting a solution to accelerate hotel data analysis using OpenAI to standardize data for deeper analytics by pulling in additional information like hotel quality and population density across more than 100 markets. This project is already providing valuable insights, and its scope is expected to be widened soon as FCM can now build these capabilities quicker than ever before.  

ITA Airways launched its nonstop service between San Francisco and Rome. The inaugural flight, AZ 641 connecting two cities departed on July 1 at 3:15 p.m. from San Francisco International airport. Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer of ITA Airways & CEO Volare, speaking on the launch of the new flight said that with the launch of this new destination, the second in California and the sixth in North America, we consolidate the Company’s expansion towards the U.S. market, which the first international market for ITA Airways. He said, “The new connection to San Francisco further enriches the intercontinental network of ITA Airways, which is one of the Company’s main assets”. The new San Francisco International Airport – Rome Fiumicino flight will operate from 1 July to 30 July 2023 with 3 weekly frequencies departing every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at 3:15 p.m. and landing in Rome Fiumicino at 12:05 p.m. local time the day after. Return flights from Rome Fiumicino will be departing at 9:35 a.m. to land in San Francisco International Airport at 1:15 p.m., local time. In opening this new North American route, ITA Airways met the high demand and expectation of its customers, who immediately responded positively to the launch of a direct flight between San Francisco and Rome, determining a promising performance as of July, first month of operation

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, President, DOT said how ‘Love the Philippines’ will promote tourism. He said, “Campaign will improve travel experience, build infra for ease of travel, promote regional products”. Will be guidepost for Philippines tourism industry, he added.

‘Meghalaya Tourism Policy, 2023 in Shillong’ aims to develop tourism sector as a game changer for the state and effectively augment its meagre resources by exploiting the abundantly available natural bounty that can attract visitors from across the globe.  

Gaurav Khanna, GM (Products & Industry Relations), FCM India, commented “The travel & tourism sector relies heavily on skilled manpower. The lack of workforce is a concern as it pressurises existing employees and resources, which is not sustainable for businesses in the long-term.”

SC Kamra, Advocate & Taxation Consultant, IATO questioned regularity with which govt. reduced turnover threshold from ₹500 cr to ₹10 cr. “Industry apprehends it to be ₹5 cr, taking tour operators’ compliance cost of e-invoicing,” he added.

Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said that currently there are 0.4 million cruise passengers who board cruises from India. “The target is to take it to 4 million by 2040. For that, there is work already going in strengthening of infrastructure and developing new circuits,” he added.