The 47th Annual General Meeting of Pacific Asia Travel Association, India Chapter and Election to the Executive Committee PATA India Chapter, for the term 2017-19, will be held on December 19, 2017 at The Claridges, New Delhi. The primary agenda of the meeting is to elect members of the Executive Committee for the period 2017-19, besides confirming minutes of the 46th AGM of PATA India Chapter, approve and adopt the audited accounts for the year 2016-17, appoint the auditors and fix their remuneration for 2017-18.

  Marriott International has launched the new Club Marriott in India, a leading dining loyalty programme that integrates three powerful dining loyalty segments—Club Marriott, Eat Drink & More and Star Privilege—into a single paid membership programme. The newly combined Club Marriott provides members with more choices and benefits whenever they dine out in their hometowns or visit one of the 250 participating hotels across 16 brands in 13 countries across the region. The new programme will be granting its members exclusive access to a diverse assortment of hotels that will furnish locally relevant benefits and dining options. As Club Marriott members, the guests will have easy access to a range of select hotel facilities and also be entitled to lucrative discounts over fine dining and accommodation at the participating hotels across APAC countries. “We’re all set to recognise and reward our Indian guests with memorable experiences with a distinctive range of dining options and exclusive benefits across our wide portfolio of brands under Marriott International,” said Ralph Frehner, Vice President, Food and Beverage, Asia-Pacific for Marriott International.  

Kerala’s new Tourism Policy 2017, unveiled by Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, envisages creation of new customised products for attracting young travellers, professionals, students and artists to the state. The policy emphasises on the active participation of the differently-abled and transgenders, while implementing the Responsible Tourism Mission across the State to promote the tourism sector. Surendran said, “The new policy aims to address the key issues of the tourism industry in cooperation with the local bodies such as waste management and renovation of roads. The state has immense tourism potential to attract travellers from all corners of the world.” “Following the Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala Tourism has guided all the regional bodies and authorities concerned to implement and follow the Green Protocol at all the destinations of Kerala,” he further added. The Department of Tourism, Kerala, has proposed to establish a Kerala Tourism Regulatory Authority (KTRA) to ensure quality service for tourists and curb unhealthy practices in the tourism sector.  

Sarovar Hotels announced the opening of Golden Sarovar Portico Amritsar. Situated in the hub of the city and just 10 minutes away from the Golden Temple, Golden Sarovar Portico, Amritsar is set to offer the best of services and facilities. Accommodation facilities categorised into Superior Rooms, Executive Rooms, Deluxe Suites and Presidential Suite ensure guests a delightful stay. Featuring elegant rooms with all modern amenities, the hotel is suitable for business travellers as well as tourists and pilgrims who travel to the city for visiting Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh. Golden Sarovar Portico, Amritsar offers all modern facilities including restaurant, bar, banquet hall, meeting room, fitness room and other amenities at par with international standards.

Concept Hospitality has opened a 110-key property in Kolkata called The Fern Hotels & Resorts. Spread across 20 acres of landscape, the resort offers a host of activities such as rock climbing, rappelling, shooting and paddling. It offers rooms in five different categories. The property also has one of the largest banqueting facilities both indoors as well as outdoors. The indoor space is spread over 5,000 sq ft and is ideal for big conferences and cocktail dinners. The lawns occupy an area of 45,000 sq ft. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, Concept Hospitality, said, “We feel proud to announce the opening of Ibiza. This takes the tally of hotels managed by the company to 52. We are trying to consolidate our position in the eastern part of the country. The company will be managing a few more hotels in the near future.”

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) launched its Andhra Pradesh Chapter during its 8th Annual Convention held in Visakhapatnam recently. Vijay Mohan, Member, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, Government of Andhra Pradesh and President of Tour and Travels Association of Andhra Pradesh, will head this chapter for the association. Rajat Sawhney, Vice President, ADTOI, said, “The membership of the association is predominantly based in North, East and West India. In the South, barring Kerala we had less presence in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The launch of the Andhra Pradesh State Chapter of ADTOI is a maiden attempt to set its imprints and penetrate the southern parts of India for the larger benefits of the domestic tour operators.” Commenting on the targets of this newly formed state chapter of ADTOI, Mohan said “The association of tour operators of Andhra Pradesh has about 187 members. We received 12 registrations just in 24 hours. We would work towards increasing membership and are looking at approximately 50 members at the end of this financial year.”

The Government of Karnataka, Department of Tourism, announced the inaugural edition of ‘Karnataka International Travel Expo’, in Bengaluru from February 28–March 2, 2018. The inaugural edition of ‘Karnataka International Travel Expo’, is set on a B2B platform with over 400 registered buyers and media from over 25 countries exploring business opportunities for discerning travel and tourism products, which will make the event one of the most sought-after travel events in the country and enhance the marketing efforts of the state to promote Karnataka as a destination which is diverse, fascinating and safe. Priyank Kharge, Minister for Tourism, IT & BT, Government of Karnataka, said “Karnataka is home to a large and exciting portfolio of globally acclaimed tourism products with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, splendid wildlife and resplendent nature, virgin beaches to adorn. ‘Karnataka International Travel Expo’, being held for the first time will provide the impetus to the inbound travel and tourism industry and would enhance the marketing efforts of Karnataka Tourism to promote our destinations to the travel trade from all over the world.” The event is supported by major travel trade and hospitality associations in India such as ADTOI, ATOAI, IATO, TAAI, SKAL, FICCI, Karnataka Tourism Forum, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), among others. The 2018 event will showcase both the rich cultural heritage and high-tech features of the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka. “Karnataka with its diverse range of products is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive states for the travel trade industry both for leisure and business travel. A globalized one-stop sourcing platform is vital for stakeholders within the tourism industry to effectively reach out …

InterGlobe Hotels (IGH) has acquired land at Hebbal, Bengaluru to build another ibis hotel in the city as part of a long-standing joint venture between AccorHotels and InterGlobe Hotels. Currently, IGH has 15 ibis hotels operational in India with ibis Pune Hinjewadi set to launch next month and ibis Kolkata launching early in 2018. With a total of seven hotels now under development and planning, IGH’s total inventory in India is projected to be 3,700 rooms by 2021. Shwetank Singh, VP Development & Asset Management, InterGlobe Hotels, said, “With this acquisition, we are marking our entry into one of Bengaluru’s established commercial hub – Hebbal. ibis Hebbal will be a perfect destination catering to both leisure and business needs. We are viewing this acquisition with a great deal of optimism and will continue with our strong focus on new expansions in the future as well.” Strategically located opposite to the main gate of Manyata Tech Park and surrounded by some key commercial developments of the region, the location is a preferred destination for business travellers to the region. The ibis Hebbal proposes to feature a 153-key hotel and over 250 sq m of meeting space.

VisitBritain recently conducted an educational trip for 10 Indian travel agents in partnership with ACP Rail to promote the BritRail pass to travel around Britain by train. The trip was part of a B2B campaign which the national tourism organisation of Great Britain has launched with ACP Rail in India. Agents started their trip in Edinburgh, before travelling north for a two-day tour of the Scottish Highlands. They further headed across the border into Northern England, finishing their trip in the medieval town of York. Rail travel within UK is one of the most important part of the strategy to promote destinations beyond London amongst Indians. All hosted agents are considering sign-ups with ACP Rail and will soon begin installing their software to enable sale of UK rail passes along with sector tickets to promote rail itineraries and thus, give a fresh approach towards the UK holiday experience. With over 2,500 train stations in Britain, visitors have the chance to discover both cities and countryside throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

GoAir has announced new additional flights for the winter schedule, effective from November 23, 2017. The airline will operate 22 of these flights on new routes apart from increasing the frequencies by eight flights on existing routes during winters. With the new additions, GoAir would operate an average of 240 flights a day, strengthening its market presence at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolktata, Lucknow, Nagpur and Patna. The airline is also inducting new A320 NEOs, taking its fleet strength to 31 aircraft. To commensurate its 12 successful years in the domestic skies, GoAir has also announced an exciting anniversary fare offer starting from Rs 1212 plus taxes on all new sectors. The booking period will be from November 18-21, 2017 for the travel period from November 24, 2017 to October 28, 2018. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said, “The induction of four new aircraft will cater to the enhanced seasonal demand whilst offering flexibility to customers with more flight options to choose from. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibility of choice for our customers and offer them seamless connectivity, hassle free and affordable flying experience.”