Parineeti Chopra, Bollywood actress and ‘Friend of Australia’, released a series of videos that encapsulate her recent holiday experiences in the Australian states of Queensland and Northern Territory. As an advocacy campaign for Australian holidays, the videos will be promoted on media platforms to influence her followers and motivate potential travellers seeking an idyllic holiday destination. The actress has sung the background score with lyrics for the video showcasing Queensland. The videos feature a spectacular montage of iconic Aussie experiences. In the films, Parineeti can be seen cuddling a koala, learning to surf at the Gold Coast, getting a taste of Australia’s freshest produce, enjoying a bird’s eye view of Surfers Paradise on the Skypoint climb, spotting whales, watching the sunset over the Red Centre in Uluru and standing amidst Brunce Munro’s s beautiful art installation. Commenting on the videos, Chopra said, “I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Australia and the videos reflect every bit of fun I had there. From immersing in the aboriginal culture at Uluru to the fun and frolic in Queensland, I was fortunate to have an enriching experience of two completely different sides of the country.”

Residents of India wishing to travel to Ukraine can now apply for both short and long term visas at the VFS Global Visa Application Centre in New Delhi. Ukraine was recently signed on as VFS Global’ s 57th client government worldwide, when the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and VFS Global signed a contract to provide visa services on behalf of the Eastern European nation across eight countries in the Africa region, Lebanon in the Middle East region, India in the South Asia region and China in September 2017. The contract entails the launch of 10 visa application centres across these eight countries by January 15, 2018, with the one in New Delhi being the first step toward that goal. Vinay Malhotra, COO – Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global, remarked,  “It is with great pride that VFS Global announces its partnership with Ukraine. It is with even greater delight that we launch the first Ukraine Visa Application Centre in New Delhi, India. Ukraine is fast becoming a popular destination for Indian travellers and we look forward to offering travel enthusiasts in the region our best in class visa application services to ease their submission process.”

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) has opened a Morocco Visa Application and Information Centres (MVAIC) in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by His Excellency Mohamed Maliki, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, in the presence of Venku Murthi, Chief Operating Officer, CKGS. Maliki said, “Both Morocco and India have shared values and a history that goes back over several centuries. Foreseeing growth and significance of the Indian tourism market to Morocco, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco has decided to outsource the visa application services and entrusted CKGS to open visa application centres in India. The opening of the visa application centres in major cities in India is an important milestone which reflects the strength of the two countries’ relations as well as Morocco’s outreach to Indian travellers.” In the first phase, centres have opened in the four key metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Murthi said, “We are happy to be entrusted with the role of providing visa application services by the Embassy of Morocco as this is an opportune time to tap the growing Indian outbound travel market. Our offices across 11 centres in India will seamlessly facilitate visa processing, thereby increasing the number of Indians travelling to Morocco.’’  

The Ministry of Tourism is set to organise ‘Bharat Parv’ at the Red Fort, Delhi from January 26-31, 2018 as part of Republic Day 2018 celebrations to promote India’s rich cultural diversity and ensure wider participation of the public. The highlights of the event include display of Republic Day parade tableaux, performances by the Armed Forces Bands, a multi-cuisine food court, craft mela, cultural performances from different regions of the country and photo exhibition by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). The cultural performances include choreographed tribal dances and music as well as performances by cultural troupes from different states. The food court will showcase street food from different regions while the craft mela with 50 stalls will display diverse handicrafts of the country. A live ‘Cookery Demonstration Area’ is being set up in the food court to promote cuisines of different states. The Bharat Parv event will be inaugurated at 5.00 pm on January, 26 and would be open for public till 10.00 pm. The event is open for public and entry is free with a valid identity proof.

MSC Cruises has announced the opening of sales of its second world cruise, setting sail in 2020. With a halt in Mumbai, the 2020 MSC World Cruise has a new itinerary that includes exotic destinations with 43 destinations and 23 countries on board MSC Magnifica. Other destinations include Ushuaia in Argentina, Rapa Nui in Easter Island, Darwin in Australia, Valparaiso in Chile and Salalah in Oman. Gianni Onorato, Chief Executive Officer, MSC Cruises, says, “Following on from the successful launch of our first MSC World Cruise last year due to set sail in January 2019, we are now delighted to open sales for a new world cruise for 2020 developed to offer unforgettable experiences and destinations to guests. In addition, the experience onboard MSC Magnifica been designed to reflect the cultures and cuisines of the countries that the ship visits, giving guests the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in a true around-the-world voyage of discovery both on board and on shore.” Guests embarking from Civitavecchia/Rome, Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona on January 4-7, 2020 respectively will cross five continents on a three-month voyage of discovery to some of the world’s most talked-about destinations.

In line with major airlines reducing agents’ commission to 0 per cent on airline ticket bookings, Etihad Airways too has followed suit. According to a statement released by the airline, from February 1, 2018, Etihad Airways will withdraw its commission applicable to any/all tickets issued in India and move to 0 per cent commission given to IATA agents. All tickets issued prior to February 1, 2018 will be eligible to 1 per cent commission.

India ranks in top five list of highest number of visitors to Thailand after China, Malaysia, Korea and Laos. In 2017, over 1.4 million Indians travelled to Thailand which is over 18 per cent increase as compared to last year. Thailand welcomed over 35.3 million international visitors in 2017 and earned 1.82 trillion baht in tourism revenue. The precise number of overseas tourists visiting Thailand in 2017 was 35,381,210; showing an increase of 8.77 per cent over 2016. Soraya Homchuen, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai said, “TAT is initiating many unique activities and projects this year with a focus on promoting women, family and first-time traveller segments for the Indian market.” Santi Chudintra, Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and the South Pacific) said, “Our new campaign ‘Open to the New Shades of Thailand’ aims to give more attention to unique local experiences and inclusive tourism, reflecting Thainess and Thai people’s warmth in welcoming visitors. The new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’ has been launched to support the government’s national tourism development plan, ensuring that Thailand remains a preferred destination.”  

Following Phase-II of its promotional campaign, Department of Tourism, Kerala has planned to target Europe with a budget of Rs 7.5 crore. Kerala Tourism has planned to showcase diversified products across the European terrain to entice travellers and has been promoting the state as a preferred tourist destination across the globe. Highlighting the significance of the campaign, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala said, “Considering Europe’s top position in the list of high-potential markets for overall tourism growth, Kerala Tourism has activated a rigorous promotional campaign involving diverse products that have the capability to attract travellers from the European countries to Kerala.” Highlighting the growth of state tourism, Rani George, IAS, Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Kerala stated, “Through this promotional and marketing campaign, Kerala Tourism aims to double the foreign tourist arrivals and increase domestic tourist arrivals by 50 per cent, by 2021.” Under the promotional campaign in Europe 2017-18, Kerala Tourism has planned to utilise all forms of promotional tools under various categories, including television campaigns (Rs 3.5 crore), Out of Home (OOH) campaign (Rs 2.5 crore), Consumer Travel Mart (Rs 1 crore) and Kerala Blog Express (Rs 50 Lakhs).  

Sarovar Hotels has launched Singhania Sarovar Portico, Raipur, an upscale hotel strategically located in the hub of the city near AIIMS Hospital. The hotel was inaugurated by Gaurishankar Agrawal, Assembly Speaker, Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, in the presence of Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels; Rajesh Ranjan, Director of Development, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts and Kevin Wilkins, General Manager, Singhania Sarovar Portico, Raipur. Singhania Sarovar Portico, Raipur, has 60 beautifully crafted, spacious and well-appointed rooms offering modern amenities and personalised service. The hotel offers state-of-the-art business and conferencing facilities, fitness centre, an all-day dining multi-cuisine restaurant, in-room dining and a meeting room. Speaking on the occasion, Agrawal said, “Raipur is an evolving city and the gateway to tourist destinations in Chhattisgarh. I believe this hotel will be immensely beneficial to people travelling to this city, business as well as leisure and to the locals here with their excellent F&B and banquet services on offer.” Commenting on the launch, Bakaya said, “We are glad to be setting our footprints in this emerging state of Chhattisgarh. With our immense focus on providing quality accommodation and services at the best rates, we hope to ensure a pleasant stay for all our guests travelling to this region.”  

FCM Travel Solutions, Indian arm of Australia-headquartered Flight Centre Travel Group, is looking to achieve a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore during the current fiscal year. The company, which follows a July-to-June fiscal year, had clocked a revenue of Rs 2,700 crore in the country in the financial year 2016-17. “At FCM Travel Solutions, we are aiming at achieving around 50 per cent growth this fiscal year. Our target this fiscal year is to reach a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore,” said Rakshit Desai, Managing Director India, FCM Travel Solutions. The company operates an extensive portfolio of businesses across leisure, corporate travel and forex, he added. “55 per cent of our existing business is from corporate travel including SMEs and the remaining 45 per cent business is from leisure travel and forex,” Desai added. The travel firm is also looking to re-brand its travel retail and holiday brand – Flight Shop to Travel Tours. Travel Tours has strong brand equity and heritage that will benefit the company when it expands its presence across the nation, he added. The company had acquired the business interests of Travel Tours Group (TTG), in a cash and stock deal in October 2016, Desai said. Source: PTI