With an array of cruising choices on offer for the discerning travellers, the Globus family of brands is celebrating its 90 years of operation in the travel business. In 2018, the company plans to showcase its nine-decade journey through a revamped corporate website and is also offering a discount of five per cent on all Globus Europe vacations. Varesh Chopra, Regional Director – South Asia and Middle East, says, “Our journey began 90 years ago on March 28, 1928 & now, nine decades later we are still paddling, steering and cruising travelers across the world through the wonders of six continents. We want to thank all our agent partners for being such a strong support for us through this journey. Without them, we would not have been able to achieve this huge success. We want everyone to be able to celebrate this landmark anniversary with us and hopefully toast with us to another 90 years. On this occasion, we are offering five per cent off on all our Globus Europe vacations.”

One of the key takeaways from the AccorHotels Showcase 2018 was that MiCE is on the rise globally – with multiple events being held internationally, and also in India which is increasingly becoming a chosen destination for MiCE. Furthermore, with globalisation and Indian corporates opening offices around the world, the hospitality industry has seen traction for corporate travel both inbound and outbound. The AccorHotels Showcase 2018 witnessed participation from 35 hotels and resorts from the global network along with 22 hotels from India. The event was the ideal platform to discuss how to work together to benefit from the burgeoning travel market. The delegates were representing India’s topmost travel agents, wholesalers, corporate clients, tourism partners and MiCE organisers in attendance. Arif Patel, Vice President – Sales, Marketing, Distribution & Loyalty, AccorHotels said, “By 2020, Indian outbound travel is estimated to reach 48 million and foreign tourist arrivals is forecasted to cross the 10 million mark. This annual AccorHotels Showcase gives an opportunity for our attendees to engage with AccorHotels’ representatives from around the world to see how best we can work together given the opportunities in the market.” The daylong event in Mumbai on March 21 and Delhi on March 23 was packed with networking sessions where customers discovered the group’s newest offerings and met with hotel representatives from across the region.

Ethiopian Airlines has announced that effective March 25 and until October 26, 2018, it will increase capacity in its India operation by deploying the ultra-modern B777 aircraft on its twice daily operation to/from Mumbai and 767-200 aircraft on its twice daily operation to/from New Delhi. Both the B777 and 767-200 aircraft will have flat beds in business class. Tadesse Tilahun, Regional Director, India Subcontinent, Ethiopian Airlines, remarked, “As part of our strategy to expand in India, we have been increasing frequency and upgrading aircraft in the past few years to accommodate the growing demand to Africa. As a customer focused airline, we have the passenger’s comfort level in mind at all times with a view to continuously enhance our customers‘travel experience and meet their growing expectations.” Tilahun further added “India is a very strategic market for Ethiopian Airlines and we are on the final stage of preparation to launch one more entry point to South India. With our 47 years of service to India, the Ethiopian Airlines has played significant role in bringing India and Africa together in general and India and Ethiopia, in particular.”

The Cyprus Convention Bureau facilitated the meeting of its local partners with tour operators and event planners from India at Limassol during an educational trip to Cyprus. About 14 suppliers from Cyprus were led by Michalis Metaxes, Director, Tourism, Cyprus Tourism Organisation. Indian agents from Mumbai and New Delhi toured around the key cities of Cyprus to inspect hotels and venues for clients. The five-day tour also included an exposure to the Cypriot culture.

Adding another milestone in its fast expanding network, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels debuts in Andhra Pradesh with the opening of Triguna Clarks Inn in Kurnool. With the latest addition, Clarks Inn now boasts of a portfolio of 84 hotel properties, including 44 in operation, spread across 18 states in India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. Triguna Clarks Inn is strategically located in the city centre in close proximity to city businesses and a 10 minutes’ drive from Kurnool’s historical Konda Reddy Fort. The property boasts of 49 aesthetically designed rooms across different categories to cater to the needs of discerning business as well as leisure travellers. Speaking on the latest addition, Rahul Deb Banerjee, Associate Vice President – Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “This opening marks our first foray in the state of Andhra. Both Kurnool and Andhra present huge opportunity for the hotel sector here because of the state’s fast growing economy as well as a growing tourism sector.” The hotel’s 49 guestrooms are epitomised by their elegant décor and are well equipped with modern and contemporary amenities. Clarks Inn’s signature multi-cuisine restaurant brand ‘The Bridge’ will delight guests with its offering of Indian and international cuisines.

More than 50 travel agents from India and South East Asia visited New Zealand recently to wrap up almost a year of upskilling themselves on New Zealand. The agents landed in Auckland where a one-day workshop was held with 25 regional tourism organisations (RTOs) before they headed out around the country. Steven Dixon, Regional Manager – South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand, says it was fantastic to be able to bring these agents to New Zealand to show them first-hand what they’ve been learning about. “The agents ticked off the final requirement to become Gold 100% Pure New Zealand Specialists through their visit to New Zealand. We are confident that the knowledge agents acquired by experiencing New Zealand will help them to better sell the country as a holiday destination to their clients,” Dixon said. Consumer insights and product updates were shared between the agents and RTOs through one-on-one meetings. Tourism New Zealand also provided a market update before the workshop concluded with an award ceremony to recognise the agents becoming Gold specialists. Tourism New Zealand worked with the RTOs to develop three different itineraries for agents. The itineraries were designed in a way that agents could experience as many regions as possible withing their time in New Zealand. They got to experience tourist attractions, accommodation and restaurants that would appeal to their clients.  

Sydney and regional New South Wales (NSW) are set for an influx of Indian visitors, thanks to the NSW Government’s 2018 ‘Focus on India’ workshop which aims to encourage Indian travellers to book a trip to Australia’s premier tourism and events state. Adam Marshall, Minister for Tourism and Major Events said while Chinese visitor numbers continue to dominate headlines, the NSW Government is working hard behind the scenes to grow visitation from other overseas markets, which have enormous untapped potential, like India. “India has been our state’s fastest growing inbound tourism market for the past five years and it shows no sign of slowing. With the size of India’s middle class rapidly expanding and Indian millennials seeking to travel more than previous generations, the market presents a lucrative opportunity for our tourism industry,” Marshall said. Marshall continues to share, “The 2018 Focus on India workshop, is all about tapping into this market and putting NSW in the global spotlight by inviting 30 key India-based travel agents to NSW to meet one-on-one with some of our best export-ready tourism businesses. We will continue to focus on the dispersal of international tourists beyond the fringes of Sydney and into rural and regional NSW so that local communities reap the benefits of tourist dollars being spent all over town.”    

Travel Tours, the flagship leisure travel brand of FCM Travel Solutions, has inaugurated their second retail and first franchise store at Salt Lake City, Kolkata. The store was inaugurated by Shravan Gupta, Executive Director – Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions and Sitaram Sharma, President, Bharat Chamber of Commerce & The Consular General of Belarus. With the launch of this store, FCM Travel Solutions now has 28 operational Travel Tours stores across India. The new Travel Tours store in Kolkata aims at redefining travel experience from the region by focusing on both tailor-made vacations and group holidays catering to different kinds of travellers in the city. Spread over 1200 sq. ft., the outlet at Salt Lake City will cater to needs of up-market urban consumers – families, business travellers, honeymoon couples and groups of travellers. The new retail outlet will offer a range of products and services – domestic and international flights, customised and group holidays, hotels, car transfers, visa, cruise vacations, honeymoon packages, adventure holidays and more. Commenting on the launch, Gupta said, “Our second store in Kolkata is a reiteration of our strategic intent at Travel Tours, FCM to expand our footprint across key markets in East India. Through this launch, we aim to provide unbeatable travel experiences to our patrons in an untapped market.”    

According to the data released by Ministry of Tourism, Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during the month of February 2018 were ₹17, 407 crore as compared to ₹15,790 crore in February 2017 and ₹13,661 crore in February 2016. The growth rate in FEEs in February 2018 over February 2017 was 10.2 per cent, compared to the growth of 15.6 per cent in February 2017 over February 2016. The FEEs during the period of January-February 2018 were ₹35,132 crore with a growth of 10.0 per cent, as compared to the FEE of ₹31,925 crore in January-February 2017 with a growth of 16.8 per cent over January- February 2016.

With a strong development pipeline and industry’s and developers’ confidence in its ability to deliver profitable partnership, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has now set sight to reach the magical figure of 100 hotel properties by the end of 2018. Last year, the group added 13 new hotel and resort properties, including eight operational. Three of the new operational properties have come up in Karnataka at Bagalkot, Mysore and Shimoga. Two properties have opened doors in Madhya Pradesh that include Ujjain and Gwalior. Clarks Inn has also entered the state of Jammu & Kashmir with a property in Srinagar. Besides, the company has also established presence in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh and has added a second property in Patna in Bihar. Commenting on the strong growth for the company last year, S N Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “We have seen another year of stellar performance and growth in 2017 with as many 13 new properties signed up and eight new properties that have joined operation. Our total portfolio today stands at 84 hotel properties, including 43 in operation, spread over 18 states in India and one in Nepal.”