Under the ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ of Ministry of Tourism, seven shortlisted companies or Monument Mitras have been given the Letter of Intent for the adoption of 14 monuments, which were presented at the closing ceremony of the three-week-long ‘Paryatan Parv’ at Rajpath Lawns, New Delhi. K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Government of India, said, “We had over 1200 events across numerous sites in the country, across schools, monuments etc. In the past 20 days, we have turned India into a land of celebrations with the help of our 18 sister ministries and thanks to the overwhelming participation of our own people.” SBI Foundation was shortlisted for the adoption of Jantar Mantar, Delhi, while TK International Limited would be adopting Sun Temple, Konark; Raja Rani Temple, Bhubaneshwar, and Ratnagiri Monuments, Jajpur, Odisha. On the other hand, Yatra Online Pvt. Limited would adopt Hampi, Karnataka; Leh Palace, Jammu & Kashmir; Qutub Minar, Delhi and Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra. Travel Corporation of India Ltd. was shortlisted for the adoption of Mattancherry Palace Museum, Kochi, and Safdarjung Tomb, Delhi. Adventure Tour Operator Association of India (ATOAI) will be adopting Gangotri Temple Area and Trail to Gaumukh, as well as Mt. StokKangri, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Special Holidays Travel Pvt. Ltd., along with Rotary Club of Delhi was shortlisted for the adoption of Agrasen ki Baoli, Delhi, and NBCC would adopt Purana Quila, Delhi. Arun Jaitley, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Government of India, also the Chief Guest presented certificates to the ‘Best Participating Central Government Ministry and Best Participating State Government’ at the closing ceremony. The grand spectacle included cultural performances by different state troops, craft mela showing diverse handicrafts …

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) will host its 8th Annual Convention-cum-Exhibition at Novotel, Varun Beach, Visakhapatnam from November 17-18, informed P P Khanna, President, ADTOI. The theme of the convention this year is ‘Domestic Tourism: Explore India – One Country, Many Worlds,’ under which the association will explore various facets of its convention venue – Visakhapatnam. Khanna says, “We are expecting over 300 delegates from across India. Through this convention, we hope to showcase the world-class facilities in Andhra Pradesh and its vast potential for domestic tourism. We will address key industry issues like GST and its impact on domestic tourism; the threat of online travel agents to the small and medium businesses and we will also deliberate on the ways the central government, state government and private players can work in collaboration to improve tourist infrastructure in the country.” Rajat Sawhney, Vice President and Convention Chairman, ADTOI, adds, “We realised that despite being a national association, we did not have a significant presence in South India. With this convention, we hope to leave an imprint in various parts of South India which will also benefit our members from the region. We also plan to start a state chapter in Andhra Pradesh soon.”

According to Passport Index developed by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital, Singapore tops the rank of being the most powerful passport in the world under the Global Passport Power Rank 2017. This ranks passports of the world by their total visa-free score. Singapore is closely followed by Germany, Sweden and South Korea who are tied at number three, followed by eight other countries holding the number four spot jointly. The Indian passport appears at number 75 with a visa-free score of 51, ranking even lower than African countries like Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Some of the countries with a lower ranking than India are Egypt, Bhutan Cambodia, Jordon and our neighbours Sri Lanka and Nepal. The last on the list is Afghanistan with a score of 22 preceded by Iraq and Pakistan with a joint visa-free score of 26.

Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) is all set to present itself to a new city in its next edition—Hyderabad. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, revealed, “We are taking GPS to a new city in 2018 and we will be having GPS Hyderabad from February 8-11, 2018. The venue still needs to be decided. With this new addition, GPS 2018 will be held in a total of eight cities around India.”

Post WTM London, Ministry of Tourism is all set to participate in FITUR, which will be held in Madrid from January 17-21, 2018. Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Tourism, revealed that India will be the partner country for FITUR, and is preparing for the same. “We will be participating in a very big way and the campaign has also been planned for the event in and around FITUR exhibition. We have many plans for it. Since the clientele in Spain is different, we will look at the countries which are participating at FITUR and offer our niche products as per their specific markets,” she informed.

Marriott International announced the opening of its brand new hotel- Fairfield by Marriott in Coimbatore. Neeraj Govil, Area Vice-President, South Asia, Marriott International, says, “We believe the market is ideal for Fairfield, which is a brand that enables purpose driven travel and delivers optimised value at a great price. As Marriott further expands its brand portfolio across the growing Tier II markets in India, we definitely see great potential and the opportunity for Fairfield by Marriott becoming a favourite with business and leisure travellers in the city.” The property offers 126 guest rooms, amenities include an inviting living area in the lobby, smart, contemporary interiors and high speed Wi-Fi connectivity. The hotel also has an all-day dining restaurant plus a 24/7 Market where one can shop for an assortment of drinks and snacks when required. The hotel has both banqueting and meeting room facilities with modern technology and a fitness centre.

After the success of Global Panorama Showcase (GPS)’s Educational Destination Workshop-International (EDWIN) in Ladakh, it is now set to go to Bali, Indonesia in November. Harmandeeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, has revealed that the registrations for EDWIN – Bali have started, and interested delegates can choose to fly from Delhi on November 29, 2017 and from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Coimbatore and Kochi on November 28, 2017. The 5 nights/6 days package starts at Rs. 32,000 all inclusive. The workshop would allow agents and tour operators from various cities to experience the destination.

SaffronStays, which started with one property in October 2015 in Matheran called SaffronStays Parsi Manor, announced its expansion plans to other parts of the country. Devendra Parulekar, Co-Founder, SaffronStays, says, “We currently have 28 properties and plan to add 40 more by the end of December 2017. The goal is to have over 2,000 properties managed and branded by SaffronStays in the next five to seven years. Now that we have cracked the product-market fit, achieved unit-level and even transaction-level profitability, and also understood all the operational problems associated with the model and figured out ways to overcome these problems, we think it is time to raise some serious money to rapidly scale the business.” According to the company, it has clocked over USD 1 million in revenues in less than 19 months since it started. SaffronStays is largely operational around Mumbai, Pune, Goa and a few chosen locations in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

The upcoming wedding season starting in November may be impacted by 10-15 per cent, particularly wedding services like marriage garden/marriage hall booking, tent booking, confectionery services, photography and more, reveals industry chamber ASSOCHAM. The GST rate on most of these services has risen from 18 to 28 per cent. Destination wedding or the wedding tourism sector in India which accounts for less than 10 per cent share in the overall industry is not likely to face much adverse impact of GST and demonetisation as it is already a costly affair which mainly lures foreigners, NRIs, rich and famous people for weddings at beaches and royal palaces, says the ASSOCHAM paper. All footwear above Rs.500 is taxed at a whopping 18 per cent. Tax on gold and diamond jewellery has increased from 1.6 per cent to 3 per cent. The booking for a five-star hotel will cost 28 per cent extra in the form of GST. Also, event management service, will have to pay an additional 18 per cent GST on the cost. GST on marriage garden and hall booking is also 18 per cent, same as most other wedding services.

In an attempt to boost connectivity between Jammu and Doda, especially during the winter season, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir plans to begin a chopper service between the two destinations from Tuesday, October 24. Pawan Hans helicopters would be used for this service and will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays between the two districts. The one-way fare for a traveller has been fixed at Rs. 2,500. The service is likely to help promote tourism and provide an alternative means to communicate between the two districts during the winter season when parts of the region remain cut off. Source: Financial Express