The India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) held its first interactive meeting of the newly elected Governing Board and all members of the body at Hotel Samrat, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. Enlisting new plans of ICPB in 2018, Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, ICPB says, “For our international roadshows in Europe, we are planning to go in for three cities- Geneva, Paris and Brussels. Most of the international organisations have headquarters in these three cities. We are raising money to hire a PR agency that can get appointments with most of the associations there.” Talking about the key takeaway from the interactive session, he says, “We at ICPB are very happy that we could build up confidence with the Ministry of Tourism, where they are coming forward to ask us what exactly we want, their wish to partner with us and do things together. For 2018, besides roadshows, training programmes and convention, we will be concentrating on the marketing side. We market India as the preferred convention destination, which involves the roadshows abroad. This is the first time we will be going abroad to do a roadshow.”  

Mumbai’s Sassoon Dock will soon become a tourist attraction once the upgradation project initiated by the Mumbai Port Trust is complete. Sharing details of this is Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, who says, “Sassoon Dock is getting a complete revamp. We are doing this in four phases. The first phase is just complete. The area that is known to be dirty is getting some sort of a status and upgrade. We are going to spend Rs 51 crore altogether on the revamping of Sassoon Dock.” Tenders have been invited and the work is expected to start in about three or four months, Bhatia said. “This is being done along with the state government and Sagarmala Project. Meanwhile, work has already started at the international cruise terminal whose foundation stone will be laid by the CM and the Shipping Minister on January 11. This will take about two years to get completed. Currently, the demolition work of two godowns is underway after which the construction work shall begin.”  

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman has launched a new promotional website ‘www.experienceoman.om’ that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all Oman Tourism related information. The website was launched under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture during a gala dinner recently hosted in Muscat on the sidelines of the 2nd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “The launch of the website comes as a part of the Ministry’s initiatives to support the development of the tourism sector in all areas, especially in the use of electronic platforms and digital marketing. Providing insights into suggested travel itineraries; list of tour operators, hotels, and services; MICE opportunities; the website also orients tourists with the latest events in Oman and can be viewed in six languages.” The Ministry aims to enhance the Sultanate’s presence in the digital world by shedding light on the most popular landmarks, creating a platform to interact with visitors and responding to their enquiries through the website. The ‘www.experienceoman.om’ will complement the existing Oman Tourism website to provide diverse information about the latter.

To reach out to the domestic market, Kerala Tourism is organising a string of Partnership Meets in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kolkata, Patna and Delhi in the 1st quarter of 2018. At the Partnership Meet in Mumbai on January 09, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, said, “To ensure the accomplishment of an ambitious target of a 100% increase in arrival of foreign tourists and 50% in domestic tourists in five years, a tourism regulatory authority has been formed. This would help put a stop to any unhealthy practices and guarantee better intervention of the Tourism Department through scrutiny and a licensing system.” The new Kerala Tourism Policy also forms a major highlight of this year’s domestic campaign. The revamped fare with an array of new tourism products was showcased at Mumbai today.

Arrivals from India to Australia grew by 15 per cent for the year ended October 2017, with an influx of 294,000 visitors, compared to the same period last year. This makes India the 9th largest inbound market for Australia, and inches it closer towards achieving its Tourism 2020 goal of 300,000 visitors annually, three years ahead of target. Indian visitor spend in Australia for the year ended September 2017 reached AUD 1.45 billion (approx. Rs. 7,200 crore), an increase of 26 per cent over the previous year, making India the 8th largest market in terms of spend by tourists. With an impressive double-digit growth in arrivals and spend for the fourth consecutive year, India has emerged as Australia’s fastest growing inbound market. Tania Gerlach, Chief Migration Officer, Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) commented, “We are extremely pleased with the success of the e-lodgment process, with over 60 per cent of the total tourist visa applications now received online. The month of November 2017 has witnessed the highest-ever tourist visa lodgments. Online lodgment offers benefits such as 24/7 accessibility, electronic payment of the visa application charge and the ability to check the status of applications lodged online. Processing times for these visas will now be faster, as both applications and supporting documentation are immediately available to the processing office. This is good news for every Indian visitor planning to visit Australia, whether they are travelling for business or pleasure”. Commenting on the success, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India and Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “It is an extremely proud moment for us to achieve the fastest growing market status in our 50th anniversary year of marketing Australia to the world …

Cygnett Hotels Group has announced the signing of a new hotel in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder & MD, Cygnett Hotels Group, said, “We are delighted to announce the signing of a new hotel in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, a brilliant location, proximity to the new upcoming airport, ‘Cygenett Inn’ marking our farther foray.” Cygnett Inn is the budget brand of the Group that does not adhere to the “budget” definition in any way except in it’s prices. It is a full service hotel with modern design, next generation in-room technology among other offerings.

The third luxury train in Rajasthan run by Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) – Heritage Palace on Wheels (HPOW) – departed from Durgapura Railway Station in Jaipur for its maiden voyage, with 27 domestic tourists and a foreign tourist from South Africa. The passengers were given a warm reception up on arrival at the Gandhinagar Station with music and traditional garlanding along with a gala celebration by the RTDC and the Department of Tourism. This train, which departed on December 30, 2017, will run with two itineraries – first three nights (Golden Triangle) Delhi-Jaipur-Sawai Mahdopur-Agra-Delhi and four nights (Desert Triangle) Delhi-Churu-Bikaner-Jaipur-Agra-Dholpur-Delhi. The train can also be booked for facilities like conferences, board meetings and even pre-wedding ceremonies. Pradeep Bohra, General Manager, HPOW, informed that the train arrived at Jaipur’s Gandhinagar Station on the last leg of its ‘Golden Triangle Circuit Tour’.

Sharing its operational plans from Colombo, IndiGo has announced that Colombo will become its eighth international destination effective January 20, 2018 with daily direct flights from Chennai and Bengaluru. With these new flights, the airline will also offer connections to and from Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and other major Indian cities. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “It gives us immense pleasure to add Colombo to our growing network, which will not only help us cater to the growing tourist potential of the city, but also provide affordable travel options to the Indian workforce who can now look forward to visiting the city more frequently. We are also delighted to partner with Hemas as our GSA partner in Sri Lanka for our sales and distribution services.” Malinga Arsakularatne, Managing Director, Hemas Leisure Travel Aviation Group added, “We welcome IndiGo to Sri Lanka and it is indeed our great pleasure to embark on this exciting partnership. We are confident that the team at Hemas Aviation would deliver the growth ambitions of the airline. We look forward to a long-lasting and a win-win relationship with IndiGo.”

Sarovar Hotels announces the signing of a new hotel deal in Dahisar, a 112 suites Royal Hometel Suites. Owned by Lion Pencils, Royal Hometel Suites is expected to open in 2018. With a key location, the hotel under development will offer all facilities of an international standard hotel. Allowing guests a comfortable stay and pleasant experience, Royal Hometel Suites will feature All Day Dining, Bar, Banquet Halls, Conference & Meeting Facilities, Swimming Pool, and Gymnasium. Commenting on the development, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said, “We are delighted to sign yet another hotel in Mumbai which is one of our most significant markets. We are already present in Mumbai with all of our three brands Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel. With this new addition, we look forward to further growth in this city.  It is an important location for us and a significant addition to our portfolio.”

Global hospitality major Wyndham Hotel Group is looking to add 40 new hotels in India by 2020 as part of its expansion plans in the country. The company currently has 35 operational hotels with 3,258 rooms under the Ramada, Ramada Encore, Howard Johnson and Days brands in India. “We aim to have 75 operational hotels in India by 2020 and plan to further expand our footprint in other high potential countries in the region by exploring new opportunities,” Deepika Arora, Eurasia Regional Vice President, Wyndham Hotel Group. Emphasising that India is a key market for the Group, she said the company is also planning to introduce some new brands in the coming years such as Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Wyndham Grand and Wyndham in India. Wyndham Grand is scheduled to open in Bengaluru in 2020. Elaborating on the growth strategy, Arora said, “In India, as part of our development strategy, we look to provide global connectivity and brand recognition with further expansion into secondary and tertiary cities as well as leisure destinations.” The company’s upcoming openings will add leisure locations like Kasauli and Lonavala, pilgrim destinations like Tirupati and Dwarka in Gujarat and business locations like Ghaziabad, Trivandrum, Bhubaneswar among others, she added. Wyndham Hotel Group has two global business models but it primarily follows franchise models for its hotel brands although in many markets, the company also operates properties under management contract. In India, the company has largely grown through the franchise model, she added. “The franchise model has worked well for us and within a short time frame, we grew in India from eight hotels in 2010 to 35 operational hotels to date in 2018,” Arora said. When …