In order to promote cruise tourism in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs has, on request of the Ministry of Shipping, exempted cruise tourists arriving with e-visa from the requirement of biometric enrolment for a period of three years i.e. till December 31, 2020. This will make immigration clearance of such passengers faster, leaving them with more time to spend on shore.  The shipping ministry has been working towards simplifying the immigration clearance procedure and providing passengers a customer-friendly and hassle-free logistics process at Indian ports. E-visa has been in the place in five major ports of Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin and Chennai. Till now biometrics of passengers were required at port of first arrival for immigration clearance. However, with the existing facilities at the cruise terminals at these ports, the immigration procedure was taking more than the internationally accepted norm of clearing immigration for all cruise passengers in a maximum of 90 minutes. This is especially significant because, as per the schedule of arrivals of cruise ships for the current cruise season 2017-18 and 2019-20, many of the cruise ships coming to India are mega ships with 2000-4000 passengers on board. Most of these cruise passengers are expected to arrive on E-Visa, and biometric enrolment of all these passengers would slow down immigration clearance. Hence the need for the exemption.

Adventure Tour Operators’ Association of India (ATOAI) is all set to organise Adventure Tour Summit from April 26-28, 2018. Captain Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI, reveals that they had requested the Ministry of Tourism to declare 2018 as the ‘Year of Adventure Tourism’. He claims that it took them almost three months to convince MOT, and now they will organise activities related to this every month of this year in India. “Under this, we have requested the ministry to put adventure as the theme as part of its advertisement. We are doing a mega show where we are inviting 500 tour operators, travel agents and media from across the world from April 26-28, 2018. The aim is to make India’s incoming business for adventure tourism double in three years. The celebration will start from Delhi in January when we will be doing a roadshow, where we wish to have a seminar on an industry level and talk about adventure tourism. February we will be going to Maharashtra, and we will be carried on. One important thing we will be doing is that we will be launching the guidelines for adventure tourism in this country—guidelines for sustainable tourism, good practices and safety,” he elaborated.

Kapil Chopra has stepped down as the President of The Oberoi Group. He began his journey with the group in 1994 as a Management trainee with OCLD. Chopra has run the group efficiently and has always been admired by his peers and colleagues. He will be leaving a legacy behind as he has run the group successfully for more than two decades. It is believed that Chopra will be starting his own venture post his stint with The Oberoi Group.

The Oberoi, New Delhi reopens after an extensive renovation of two years. The interiors of the hotel have been redone including the refurbishment of its soft furnishings. The hotel is open for reservations and the basic room category is available from Rs. 18,000 onward. Despite being contemporary, the hotel has managed to retain the essence of heritage within its premises.

At the sixth edition of Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) Nagpur two new products will be launched—RainbowCTM and Trip38—informs Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS. A new membership card ‘GPS 10X Membership’ will also be launched at the show. The card will allow its holders to avail discounts on various products and services across India. “This will be a virtual card which would not be required to be carried physically but will be stored on the cardholder’s smart phones. Currently, GPS has a following of over 15,000 travel professionals across India and this would be a good opportunity for hotels, restaurants and FMCG industries to offer discounts to the GPS members. Those enrolling for GPS membership will have a full year access to the GPS App at no additional cost. All new tie-ups, offers and benefits would be available to the registered members. Exhibitors not only in India but overseas will also be able to promote their services and products to the Indian travel trade through the App and through the RainbowCTM platform. Trip38 would be a travel assistant tool for the agent’s client database,” says Anand.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has now made it mandatory for travel agents to mention their registration number in advertisements. Justice AB Chaudhari has directed Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to make it compulsory for travel agents to mention their registration number in any advertisement that is being issued by them in any medium, whether it is in the electronic or print media. Even insertions in newspapers or pamphlets and posters on walls or vehicles will need to include this number. Justice Chaudhari also made it clear that the publisher would have to verify and retain the registration certificate’s copy. The move comes after incidences of travel agents, not registered or licensed by the government, taking money and sending people abroad were reported. Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have been asked to initiate action against TV channels and advertisers in case the advertisements broadcast are not by registered agents. The Judge has also directed these three states to issue immediate instructions to district magistrates to publish “a list of registered agents and to warn the citizens not to go to unauthorised agents”. The list is required to be made public on a regular basis.

The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) is planning to open up a slew of citizen-focused facilities being built at a cost of up to Rs 300 crore over the next six months, a senior official has said. “Many projects are in different stages of development and nearing completion. Works of around Rs 250-300 crore will be opened before the onset of the monsoon,” said Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, MbPT. The port remains one of the biggest land owners in the cramped megapolis and is undertaking a slew of projects aimed at benefiting the citizens and also the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. The projects to be completed include starting the ropax ship, which ferries both passengers and motor vehicles, from Mumbai to Mandwa for which a separate jetty and break water is being built, a ferry service connecting south Mumbai with Belapur in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai and beautification of the waterfront at Princess Dock. Bhatia said a domestic cruise terminal with restaurants will also be inaugurated, which is slated to handle a cruise service between the financial capital and Goa that will be starting soon. The projects to be inaugurated also include water taxis on the eastern waterfront, two floating restaurants at Gateway of India and one at Marine Drive, he said, adding that for deepening the tourism potential, a ferry service to the Kanhoji Angre island at Khanderi will also be started. The port is planning an event for the Rs 3090-crore International Cruise Terminal on January 11. It will take up to 18 months to complete the project that is aimed at upping the calls by global cruises to the country. MbPT is also working on starting …

The Tourism Department of Seychelles has launched a new leaflet providing tips to hikers, especially tourists, keen to explore Seychelles’ walks and trails. The leaflet has been produced by the Risk Management Section within the Tourism Department, in collaboration with other partners including the Seychelles National Parks Authority and Seychelles police. Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, said, “This goes well with the Seychelles brand as the country is a champion of a clean environment and when we engage in activities such as trekking this also helps us to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” The leaflet is available on the Tourism Department’s website. Physical copies are also being distributed to the various stakeholders including the tourism establishments, SNPA, police, tourist information office, among others. It has taken around five months to produce the document. The leaflet also has a list of essential numbers to be contacted in case of emergency. According to Chief Superintendent Sean Jacklin, the police records at least one incident of tourists being lost on trails every two months, but they are usually provided with assistance within 12 to 24 hours. The Seychelles National Parks Authority is also collaborating with the Seychelles Tourism Board to design a smartphone app, which will present the new Seychelles Hiking Guide launched by STB in a digital format, also allowing hikers to access a host of other features.

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has added another feather to its growing portfolio with the opening of Clarks Inn Srinagar. The 41-room property is strategically located at a stone-throw distance from the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Srinagar’s scenic Dal Lake and just about three kilometres from the Mughal Garden. Located in the city centre at Jawahar Nagar, Clarks Inn Srinagar boasts of 41 rooms across different categories to cater to the needs of discerning business as well as leisure travellers. Speaking on the latest addition, S. N. Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “The opening of Clarks Inn Srinagar is the culmination of long cherished dream of the company. We have always strongly believed in the potential of Srinagar as well as Jammu & Kashmir as a destination. And our presence today is a testimony to that. Not only we promise to offer our guests one of the finest traditions of hospitality that is in line with the Kashmiri ethos of incredible warmth, but we would also like to leverage our network strength and resources to promote the state of Jammu & Kashmir beyond just our own business interest here.” With the latest addition, Clarks Inn now boasts of a portfolio of 80 hotel properties, including 43 in operation, spread across 17 states in India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. The hotel has a multi-cuisine restaurant brand ‘The Bridge’ besides meeting rooms and halls that can cater to various corporate and social events.

The entire erstwhile team of HVS India will cease to exist under the HVS trademark, and will operate under the new brand identity of Hotelivate. Manav Thadani, Founder Chairman, Hotelivate said, “As HVS, we were able to bring in systems and processes never seen before in the region, and that helped us establish a niche for ourselves as consultants. It’s with great pleasure that we announce the expansive role of Hotelivate, adding more services to our portfolio as we begin a new journey in consulting. A change in name does not change our commitment to excellence and passion for all things hospitality.” Specifically, Hotelivate will assist clients right from inception to divestment of their hospitality ventures, by offering an entire spectrum of services that are focused, practical and tangible value-adds for clients. In addition, some of Asia Pacific’s most successful conferences, previously hosted by HVS, will now continue under the Hotelivate banner. Megha Tuli, Partner & Co-Founder, Hotelivate added, “We are enthusiastic about the road ahead. With a team of consultants having over 250 years of collective experience, Hotelivate is well-entrenched to service client needs through empathetic and tailor-made solutions that are focused on adding value to their projects.” Source: The Economic Times