The third Annual Convention of Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) kicked off in Ras Al Khaimah with 180 delegates. The Convention was inaugurated by Shaji Thomas, Director-Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah; Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI; Riaz Munshi, Convention Chairman and Vice President, OTOAI; Mohamed Khater, Senior Tourism Development Manager, Government of Ras Al Khaimah; Gurdeep Gujral, Joint Secretary, OTOAI; SanJeet, India Representative, Ras Al Khaimah, and Mahendra Vakharia, Chairman-Western Chapter, OTOAI. Sahni said, “Amidst the challenges in outbound tourism, there are growth opportunities and we need to seize them by raising our game and gearing up for growth. We need to up our value proposition and rise above the competition.” Thomas informed that India is the fourth largest source market for Ras Al Khaimah with Germany being the largest followed by UK and Russia. “India is a very important market for us. Earlier Indians used to stay 1.9 nights in RAK but now they stay for 2.25 nights which means they have explored more things to do at the destination. We have become a popular destination for weddings. This year we have 17 Indian boutique weddings and we hope to increase this number steadily.”

Maharashtra’s Minister of Tourism Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal met H.K Mauder Kakkur, Managing Director, NYC & Company New York, to discuss the prospects of tourism in Mumbai and Maharashtra in order to promote ‘The Brand Maharashtra’ in the City of New York. Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC, were also present at the event.

Banking on its agricultural heritage, Punjab tourism department has authorised 60-plus properties for the purpose of farm stays. They signed an MoU with MakeMyTrip so all these farm stays and B&B are available online. Punjab has been so far one of India’s best-kept tourism secrets, believes Shivdular Singh Dhillon, Special Secretary and Director, Department of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Archeology, Museums & Archives, Punjab and CEO, Punjab Heritage & Tourism Promotion Board. In order to tap experiential travellers who visit Amritsar, the tourism board is promoting farm tourism. “We have come up with farm stays in the outskirts. Agriculture has been Punjab’s backbone so what better place than here to create this experience. The department has so far authorised 60-plus properties for farm stays. For this, we have just signed an MoU in August 2017 with MakeMyTrip so all these farm stays and B&B are online for everyone to book. Travellers don’t look at Punjab as a tourist destination and this perception will change now,” Dhillon adds.

The 40th edition of PATA Travel Mart 2017 (PTM 2017) kicked off with ‘Travolution Forum Asia: Redefining Travel Experience’ at The Parisian Macao. Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, moderated a session on ‘The Importance of Reviews and Personalised Marketing’ at PTM 2017. The Mart will be held in Macao SAR from September 13-15 and is being hosted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). PTM mobilises a relevant contingent of travel trade stakeholders from the Asia Pacific region and around the world and provides a first-hand update about the significant developments in Macao. Last PTM in Macao was held in 2010. Langkawi is the venue for PATA Travel Mart 2018 (PTM 2018) with this signature Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) event being hosted by Tourism Malaysia and Langkawi Development Authority.

In an attempt to boost tourism Odisha Government has set a target to attract new investments to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore in the tourism sector by 2021. The tourism sector is one of the six focus sectors that the Odisha Government has identified for attracting new investment. The state has also set a target of 23.84 million tourist arrivals and the creation of 2,500 star-category hotel rooms by 2021. According to tourism officials, more than 12 million tourists visit Odisha every year and this number is growing by 9-10 per cent per year. The state aims to create 200,000 jobs, set up five convention centres and establish direct flight connectivity to five international destinations. It also aims to create a land bank of 2,000 acres to facilitate investors to get land for tourism projects. “According to Economic Survey done by the state government, the state has the potential to attract Rs 20,000 crore new investments in the tourism sector. We are making concerted efforts to achieve the target by 2021″, Nitin Bhanudas Jawale, Director and Additional Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha reportedly said. Adding to the same, J K Mohanty, Chairman, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha and Chairman and Managing Director of Swosti Group, reportedly said, “Odisha has much more tourism potential compared to its neighbouring states to develop its tourist spots and pilgrimage places to showcase before the world. But, the state has the lowest number of star category of hotel rooms. We are sure that with the new tourism policy of the Odisha government announced in 2016, we can add about 5000 hotel rooms in the next three years.” Source: Business Standard

 Ministry of Development of North East Region organised two-day festival, North East Calling, which concluded in Delhi on September 9-10 that depicted the rich culture of North East. Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, inaugurated the festival. Singh also launched ‘North East Venture Fund’, a joint initiative of Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd, that seeks to promote entrepreneurship and start-ups in the region. The North East Tourism Development Council to promote sustainable tourism in North East India, was also launched. The event included showcase of rich cultural heritage of the North East, including music fest for bands of North East and a cultural night for the dancers as well. There were other contests like Know Your North East quiz contest, In the home chef contest and Beauty of North East photography contest. A B2B conference was also organised at the event to facilitate tourism in the North East region. PK Sinha, Cabinet Secretary, was the chief guest of the closing ceremony and N K Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Naveen Verma Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, and Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, were the other senior officials present. The event saw a huge participation from the public and the DoNER is planning to hold more such events in different parts of the country under the Destination North East Series. These events will promote the culture, art, heritage, tourism, business, cuisine and handicraft from the North East.

Tourism Australia is reaping the benefits of its aggressive marketing and campaigning in India. It recorded an increase in Indian arrivals by 14.6 per cent for the year ended June 2017. This equals to a total of 271,100 visitors in the previous financial year, making India the ninth largest inbound market for arrivals for the year ended June 2017. Not only this, the purpose for holiday or visitation also increased by 21 per cent. As a result they even spent more while in Australia. For year ending June 2017, Indian visitors spent A$ 1.43 billion (Rs 7,150 crores) on their Australian trips, an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. Therefore the average per capita spend for Indian visitors was A$ 5,491. Of the total arrivals, 68 per cent of Indian visitors visited Australia for leisure (187,850). Other visitors travelled for business (31,900), employment (21,000), education (20,450) and other purposes (15,900). Leisure visitors are on holiday (74,550) or visiting friends and relatives (113,300).

Kerala Tourism has announced the dates of the second edition of International Homestay and Rural Tourism Meet which will be organised by the Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (HATS). The three-day event will kick start on September 15 in Kochi at Bolghatty Palace. 1500 participants are expected to attend the travel meet as the main objective of the event is to enhance the business opportunities in the state for homestay providers, serviced villas and Grihastelly providing a platform to network with industry players. International Homestay and Rural Tourism Travel Meet is one of the largest B2B events for homestays and rural tourism in the country which will also be attended by national and international tour operators, entrepreneurs and destination management companies. “Homestays are inevitable part of Kerala Tourism and helps the industry to connect with the travel enthusiasts. The B2B meet is expected to discuss recommendations to boost the rural tourism sector.” said P. Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism. During the B2B meet, potentials and challenges of the sector will also be discussed via seminars and discussions. This travel meet will also address the changing tourism industry trends and evolving needs of the travel enthusiasts, primarily younger generation, who want to experience the village life and hence prefer to visit rural parts of the country.

With a desire to provide women with viable and interesting career options in tourism, Nirvana Excursions has launched a ‘Home Agent Programme’ aimed at housewives. This programme will allow them the flexibility of working from home, while ensuring a steady income. Nidhi Batra, Co-founder, Nirvana Excursions, says, “It is specifically designed to encourage women to use their existing network and relationships, therefore making it a point to avoid any unnecessary stress. At the same time, the agents are also provided with exhaustive and in-depth training and education. In this way, Nirvana ensures that every home agent is completely prepared to work in the travel sector regardless of whether or not they have any prior experience in this industry. Being a woman entrepreneur and a mom myself, I believe very strongly in women having the financial freedom and identity that comes with a career. That’s why, we ensure that the women of our programme receive all the help and support they need and have the confidence to create their own space in this industry.” Nirvana Excursions specialises in travel experiences and customised solutions for the discerning traveller.

Air France celebrates 50 years of its operations on the Paris-Mumbai route ever since it added Mumbai to its historic Far East network by launching flights from Mumbai to Paris on September 7, 1967. The airline now operates a daily service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and India’s economic capital by Boeing 777-200 equipped with the latest long-haul travel cabins. On this occasion of completing half a century, Max Smits, General Manager, Air France-KLM, Indian Sub-Continent said,  “We are proud to celebrate 50 years of service between Mumbai and Paris. Air France has been present in Mumbai since 1967 and has been investing continuously with the aim to provide a great product and excellent connection opportunities to the Indian passengers from its hub at Paris, Charles de Gaulle. We take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers and partners in reaching this great milestone and are absolutely thrilled to celebrate this occasion with our passengers taking the flight 07 Sep from Mumbai to Paris with a small surprise celebration at the Mumbai airport”.