The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is offering battery-operated vehicle for tourists visiting the Raj Bhavan. Owing to an increase in the number of tourists at the Raj Bhavan, the government is now looking to further develop the tourist attraction. Raj Bhavan is the authorised residence of Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, one of the best-protected landmarks in the city, for public viewing and the gates of the inheritance building are open for public for three days a week. The two-hour trip starts at 6 am and comes with a directed walk through the Bhavan. The battery-operated vehicle will assist in offering an eco-friendly tour of the Raj Bhavan. Eco-sensitive zones will be identified by MTDC in areas including the hill stations, coastlines and spiritual sites, where diesel and petrol vehicles will not be permitted and only battery-operated or e-vehicles will be allowed for zero pollution. The state government is working on developing some cities as cycling hotspots and to encourage environmental friendly tourism. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “We are delighted to offer a battery-operated vehicle to the Raj Bhavan to enhance the tourism and create the wide visibility for this heritage site in Mumbai. Raj Bhavan, the governor’s Malabar Hill home has become the town’s novel tourist hotspot and our aim is to transform Maharashtra as an environment friendly tourist destination. This is a small effort by MTDC to diversify tourism products to cater to the passions of growing travellers.”

The Ultimate Travelling Camp (TUTC) is set to extend its philosophy of luxury to lodges and palaces. The rebranded luxury lodge called Jaagir Lodge Dudhwa, located in the rainforests of the Terai, Uttar Pradesh, will be operational from December 19, 2017 to June 15, 2018 when the game viewing is at its best. The colonial structure built in the 1940’s is a gateway to India’s four distinct forests reserves – Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Kishanpur and Pilibhit. The lodge is a witness to the Bengal Tiger conservation programme – ‘Project Tiger’ championed by renowned conservationist Billy Arjan Singh. Rajnish Sabharwal, COO, TUTC said, “We are excited to unveil our new jungle lodge safari experience in Dudhwa. A beautiful colonial structure like Jaagir Lodge preserved deep in the Terai is a rare find and we thought it was a great opportunity to bring this hidden gem to the esteemed travellers seeking wildlife encounters in the comforts of luxury. TUTC’s Jaagir Lodge Dudhwa is infused with the same warmth and exceptional services as our other luxury camping properties.”  

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) certified 13 hotels in Maharashtra under new norms which are more contemporary and global in standards as compared to existing ratings. As per the new norms, hotel properties will be classified, rated or graded under six categories listed as Budget, Classic, Premium, Luxury, Deluxe Luxury and Primo Luxury, and will be uniform for both domestic and foreign tourists. “The objective behind developing the IHQS is to educate our members on modern quality standards as well as reduce the burden of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT). The Government can now focus on improving and promoting tourism, while, we from the industry, are doing our bit to support the initiative,” says Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI. The Shalimar Hotel, The Fern Residency, Golden Swan Beach Resort, The Emerald, Peninsula Grand Hotel, Sun-N-Sand Hotel, Holiday Inn Mumbai international Airport, Waterstones Hotel, T24 Residency, Hotel Transit, Hotel Meluha, Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre and Hyatt Place are among the first hotels to have been audited as per the new classification standards and have been officially certified as of October 25, 2017.

Vistara recorded an excellent performance on several key parameters in September 2017, as per the DGCA monthly report. The airline topped on-time performance (OTP) and passenger load factor (PLF) amongst full service carriers, as well as in consistently maintaining the lowest cancellations and customer complaint rates amongst all pan-India carriers while having zero denied boarding. Vistara’s PLF stood at 84.1 per cent and continued to be the highest amongst all full-service carriers in India for the seventh consecutive month. The airline registered a year-on-year growth of 60 per cent in weekly flights from July-September 2017, operating close to 100 daily flights across 19 destinations. Though its fleet in the period increased just 23 per cent, Vistara had flown 1.1m passengers, compared to 0.6m in the same period the previous year, demonstrating 83 per cent growth and resulting in a 12pp increase in its average load factor. The improved performance was driven by higher utilisation of aircraft compared to the same period last year.

Cairns will become the sixth destination for China Southern airlines’ operations in Australia, starting December 4. The announcement was made by Gloria Wang, General Manager, China Southern Airlines at a cocktail evening in New Delhi, celebrating 10 years anniversary of the airlines’ operations on the Delhi-Guangzhou route. The new flight connecting Delhi to Cairns via Guangzhou will operate thrice weekly. This addition gives a new perspective to the Indian market to use China Southern not only to travel to China but also to use it for its expanding networks globally. Talking about the future operations of the airline Wang added, “By 2020, China Southern Airlines will have 1000 aircrafts in its fleet and our flying map will cover many more international destinations in addition to our existing connections.”

The fourth edition of Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart (MPTM) was held from October 27-29 at Hotel Lake View, Bhopal. Over 200 national and international buyers and close to 100 domestic exhibitors took part in the event. With B2B sessions scheduled over two days, participants had the opportunity to form successful collaborations and network with industry players including airlines, accommodation providers, destination management companies, heritage hotels, wildlife resorts, etc. At the inaugural ceremony, Surendra Patwa, Minister of Tourism, Govt. of MP, launched ‘Tourism – Everyone’s Business’, a book authored by Gour Kanjilal. Hari Ranjan Rao, Secretary-Tourism, MPTB, was also present at the event. “I believe that within a year or two, our team will be at the international level. Security for foreign tourists is one of our biggest priorities and we are continuously ensuring that tourists feel safe and welcome when they travel to the state,” said Patwa. With the mandate of the state tourism board clearly laid out, MPTM and other events of the order aim to showcase MP to domestic and international players.

According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s domestic air traffic registered a growth of 16.43 per cent in September as compared to the same period last year. The Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January to September 2017 were 849.94 lakhs as against 726.98 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 16.91 per cent.  IndiGo carried the highest number of passengers, 3.6 million which was a 38.3 per cent share of the entire domestic aviation market. It was followed by Jet Airways with 1.4 million passengers and SpiceJet with 1.3 million. SpiceJet recorded the highest passenger load factor (PLF) or seat utilisation for the month of September at 94.2 per cent, followed by GoAir at 88.5 per cent and IndiGo at 85.2 per cent, Vistara at 84.1 per cent, Jet Lite at 83.3 per cent, Jet Airways at 80.2 per cent, Air India at 78.6 per cent, TruJet at 74.4 per cent and ZoomAir at 60.1 per cent.  SpiceJet reportedly commented, “This is the 31st month-in-a-row that SpiceJet has flown with load factors in excess of 90 per cent.” However, as compared to the previous months, the passenger load factor in September has shown a declining trend due to the end of tourist season, says the report by DGCA. In terms of on-time performance, IndiGo is at the top with 89.8 per cent of its flights arriving and departing as per schedule. Source: DGCA & inputs fro Business Standard

Finnair is poised to enter the largest expansion in its history during the upcoming winter season with new routes opening to 20 intercontinental destinations including India, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Lapland. Finnair is opening new routes to Goa from November 1, 2017; to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on November 5; to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on November 30 and to Havana, Cuba on December 1. Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair says, “This winter, we are entering the biggest expansion phase in our airline’s 94-year history. We are opening several new destinations, expanding our network and fleet including our eleven Airbus A350s, adding capacity to Finnish Lapland and taking important strides in our customer experience. It’s a very exciting time to fly Finnair.” Finnair currently flies six weekly to Delhi, two weekly to Goa, and 16 weekly to Bangkok, among other Asian destinations. Due to the continued increase in demand for Lapland as a tourist destination, Finnair is also heavily expanding its capacity to several Lapland airports for the upcoming winter season. The airline is increasing its capacity to Lapland by over 20 per cent. As of mid-December, Finnair will start flying new non-stop flights to Lapland airports from London Gatwick, Paris and Zurich. Finnair is also increasing its capacity from Helsinki airport to several Lapland airports for the entire winter season and offers a total of 430,000 seats to five of Lapland’s airports during the winter season.

Goa’s lifeguarding organisation, Drishti Marine, has expanded operations in the state to offer premium ferry services within Goa. From November, 2017, tourists and locals will be able to hop on to a 40-seater luxury catamaran and take in the sights and sounds of coastal Goa while they cruise along the sea to their next destination. In phase 1, Drishti Marine will commence operations between the Airport Ferry Terminal (AFT) Vasco, Panaji and Old Goa. Phase 2, which will include Baga and Fort Aguada will commence later this year. Drishti Ferry has acquired two luxurious 40-seater, high-speed catamarans which will ferry commuters between designated pick-up points. The passenger ferries, named Drishti Two and Drishti Three will enable passengers to ride between Panaji, Baga, Old Goa, Fort Aguada in Sinquerim and Dabolim. The two passenger ferries will travel within the state daily. G Ravi Shankar, CEO, Drishti Marine, said “The luxurious ferries have plush seating, spacious interiors, clean bathrooms, charging points and safety belts. Air-conditioned passenger lounge and waiting areas, on-board baggage assistance with free wifi, packaged snacks and beverages will be available on-board. The crew on-board include trained lifeguards who are trained to carry out rescue operations.” The website for this is now live and tickets for the ferry services can now be booked online. Tickets can also be purchased at the time of boarding at the ticketing counters at the terminals once operations commence. Fares for the ferry service range from Rs. 100 for a ride between Old Goa and Panaji to Rs. 800 for a trip between the Airport Ferry Terminal (AFT) at Baina and Panaji. The Airport Ferry Terminal is located at Baina beach, Vasco da Gama, and is …

Jet Airways is all set to commence its third daily non-stop service between Mumbai and London Heathrow with effect from the forthcoming weekend. This makes Jet the only Indian airline to operate thrice daily services between Mumbai and London Heathrow – one of the world’s busiest airports. The latest frequency to London Heathrow – 9W 116, will depart on Sunday, October 29, 2017, from Mumbai on board Jet Airways’ Boeing 777-300 ER. The addition of the third flight from Mumbai to London Heathrow complements the airline’s existing operations to the English capital from its hubs in Mumbai and Delhi, aboard its flagship B777-300 ER aircraft. Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways said, “Jet Airways is delighted to offer a third non-stop service between Mumbai and London Heathrow. Our latest offering will enable us to capitalise on the demand and popularity of this sector, and together with our codeshare partners, allow us to offer convenience and seamless connectivity to travellers to 14 destinations in North America” The third frequency enhances onward connectivity over London Heathrow to North America. With partners Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic it will allow Jet Airways to offer guests improved connection times to 14 destinations over London Heathrow to North America including Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Washington.