Vistara, one of India’s full-service carriers, recently announced the addition of Ranchi, capital of the Jharkhand state, as the 21st destination to its steadily expanding network. Effective October 29, 2017, Vistara will operate two flights a day between Delhi and Ranchi, providing a convenient same-day return option to travellers from both cities. Bookings are now open through all channels, including Vistara’s website, its iOS and Android mobile apps, and through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and travel agents, with one-way fares starting from Rs. 2,199, inclusive of taxes. Commenting on the addition of the new destination, Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara, said, “Jharkhand has immense potential for industrial development, with sectors such as steel, cement, electric, rubber, khadi, handicraft and textile flourishing here. It is also emerging as an educational hub for the region. So, there is now a consistently growing number of corporate travellers as well as tourists and educationists emerging from this state to whom Vistara brings world-class air travel with the addition of Ranchi as a destination to our network. Further, as we operate from the state-of-the-art terminal in Delhi, travellers to and from Ranchi will get to enjoy the superior experience of T3, and those connecting to and from international flights at Delhi will appreciate the convenience of same-terminal connections.”

The much-awaited Singapore’s Changi Airport Terminal 4 will officially open on October 31, 2017. The new $985 million, two-storey T4 is the airport’s smallest terminal at just half the size of Terminal 3. Transport Minister, Khaw Boon Wan, said, “After endless rounds of testing and fine-tuning, we are ready to open T4… Another big step forward in our journey as a global air hub.” Both full-service and low-cost carriers of nine airlines, including the AirAsia Group (which comprises four airlines), Cathay Pacific Airways, Cebu Pacific Air, Korean Air, Spring Airlines and Vietnam Airlines, will operate from the new terminal. Cathay Pacific and Korean Air will be the first two that would move on October 31, followed by Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines on November 2, and then, the AirAsia Group and Vietnam Airlines on November 7. With a capacity of about 16 million passengers, T4 will bring the airport’s overall capacity to 82 million passengers a year. Automation is touted as one of T4’s major breakthroughs, especially the Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) system installed here. This system includes automated check-in kiosks for the retrieval of flight bookings as well as the printing of boarding passes and bag tags. Also, it features automated baggage drops, immigration clearance and boarding gates—all equipped with facial recognition technology, wherein passengers’ identities will be verified by matching their faces with their photos in passports. Besides the FAST system, the airport is introducing new technology in security, retail and housekeeping—sectors which employ 80 per cent of all Changi Airport staff. The new terminal will also showcase elements of local heritage and culture, a mini theatre show in collaboration with composer Dick Lee, as well as designs inspired by the orchid. There is to be …

India Sales Associates has been appointed as the GSA for five-star luxury resort Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali, and will represent their services in the India market. “The Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali, trade marked as ‘Authentically Bali’, is an iconic Balinese resort, with 200m of white sandy beach, 382 rooms in varied categories, unique design and architecture, world-renowned spa, superlative personalized services, and multiple leading restaurants, along with a meeting and wedding venue that has a capacity of 30 to 1000 persons; which make it an undoubtedly superior choice for Indians travelling to Bali, and hence a resort for us to build an association with,” said Manas Sinha, Director, India Sales Associates, GSA – Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali.

Germany received 329,860 Indian visitor overnights during January-May, 2017, reflecting a 12.8 per cent growth over the same period in 2016, informed Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales and Marketing, German National Tourist Office (India), at the Discover Germany roadshow held in Delhi recently. “We have had a phenomenal year. We grew by 8.6 per cent year on year and recorded over 413,000 overnights last year. By the end of this year, we hope to close nearly 800,000 overnights from India to Germany. We are on track to achieve our goal of a million Indian visitors to Germany by 2020 and hopefully receive 2 million Indian arrivals by 2030,” said Theophilus. He further informed that until now, Germany had especially been very popular for MICE and business travel from India, but lately, the destination has picked up for leisure travel as well. “It is now a 50-50 split between MICE, business and leisure travellers from India, and we are hopeful that Germany will be seen as a choice destination for all segments,” he adds. The next leg of the roadshow, organised by Destination Germany, will be held in Ahmedabad on September 6 and then in Mumbai on September 8.

Of all the tourists visiting South Africa, Indian women have been found out to be the greatest enthusiasts in signing up for adventure activities, including bungee jumping, shark-cage diving and mountain hiking, according to the data given by South African Tourism. Hanneli Slabber, India Country Manager, South African Tourism, says, “The demand for adventure activities here is largely driven by Indian woman travellers. Indian women are the biggest participants in the adventure tourism sector in South Africa, with majority of them taking part in hardcore adventure, such as bungee jumping, sky diving, shark-cage diving and mountain hiking.” In fact, she said, Indians are only the second from the top nationality to bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge and the third from the top nationality to go for shark-cage diving in South Africa. Further, Indian travellers visiting South Africa buy five to six adventure activities per day, which is comparatively much higher than tourists from other nationalities. Revealing the reason for this, she says, “We pride in offering some of the most-value-for-money adventure activities coupled with top safety standards. These are two factors which play a decisive role for Indian tourists.”

Tourism Australia has appointed Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra as the first Indian woman ambassador for the ‘Friend of Australia’ (FOA) advocacy panel. The FOA recognition was presented to Parineeti by Australian Consul General, HE Tony Huber, for her contribution in promoting Australia. This appointment will help to further cement the close ties between Australia and India. The FOA programme has been devised as a way for Tourism Australia to foster mutually beneficial and long-term ‘friendships’ with those they regard as unique, positive and influential storytellers. Parineeti Chopra joins Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle as fellow Indian Friends of Australia, who have been great advocates for Australia, encouraging Indians to visit the land Down Under. Chopra is all set to visit Queensland and Northern Territory, exploring Australia’s aquatic and coastal experiences, rugged outback, unique wildlife and its incredible variety of world-class food and wine offering. Being a lover of nature and adventure, Parineeti’s trip to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ayers Rock will see her indulging in adventurous activities such as whale watching cruise, meet the dolphins, surfing, Sky point adventure climb, helicopter flight over the Ayers Rock (Uluru), Harley Davidson ride, aboriginal experiences, and witness the spectacular ‘Field of Light’ installation in the Red Centre of Australia, among many others.

Ezeego1.com has opened a new franchise store at Kukatpally, Hyderabad, to cater to the growing travel demands in the capital city of the Telangana state. The outlet will provide all sorts of travel services, like flight and rail tickets, hotel bookings, customised and discounted packages, and cruise holidays from leading travel product suppliers of India and overseas. Ezeego1 will provide the franchisee with complete marketing, technical and store development support. The marketing activity will include print and radio advertising—attractive and preferential commercials. Store development support will include store designing to reinforce the brand’s look and feel. Training and technical support will be provided to all franchisee staff to effectively address the changing technology issues and enhance customer interface. Travellers can choose from a variety of group tour summer packages to domestic destinations like Ladakh, Andaman, Sikkim, Himachal, Goa and Kashmir and international destinations like Europe, South Africa, Dubai, Thailand, Mauritius, Hong Kong and Singapore amongst others. The store will also be able to offer only-veg tours for travellers who have vegetarian or Jain food preference.

Ark Travels, the Preferred Sales Agent for Star Cruises in India, is keen on doing more and more charters for the India market. Explaining this, Kishan Biyani, Managing Director, Ark Travels, says, “Charters deliver more value to customers at almost the same price. Next year, you will see a lot of charters coming in, in co-operation with Star Cruises, from Bangkok and Malaysia, which will be a three-night itinerary. We want to show our partners what charters can offer their clients – multiple entertainment options such as Indian Idol night and DJ party at multiple venues.” Last year, Ark Travels did two charters and this figure rose to eight charters this year. “So far, we have managed to do eight charters. Next year I am planning around 18 charters, almost one every month, from Bangkok and Malaysia,” Biyani reveals.

Thailand-based hotel and property development company, Dusit International, has opened a new Global Sales Office (GSO) in Mumbai, India, to promote Dusit Hotels & Resorts in India. The new office will manage sales across all market segments, including leisure, MICE and corporate business. Primarily, the team will focus on tier-I cities, such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, but will also cover smaller cities. Keshwar Bhagat, Director of Sales – GSO India, will head the India office. Lim Boon Kwee, Chief Operating Officer, Dusit International, says, “With the volume of outbound travel increasing by about 25 per cent a year, India is now one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world. If the prediction of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) about the number of outbound Indian travellers reaching 50 million by 2020 is likely to be true, now is the perfect time for us to open a GSO in the country. This comes in tandem with our own growth, which will see our current tally of 29 hotels and resorts crossing 80 worldwide within the next three to four years.”

The Maharashtra State Excise Department has issued a notification to all concerned authorities to begin reissuing or renewing licences of bars and permit rooms affected by the highway liquor ban, which had come into effect from April 1, 2017. The move comes on the back of the Supreme Court’s clarification regarding the non-applicability of ban on sale of alcohol in hotels and restaurants within municipal limits. The notification states, effective September 4, 2017, any liquor vend or liquor serving establishment that may have been affected by the ban can apply for renewal of their licences after providing the required documents and paying the necessary fees. Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), reveals, “In the last five months, the industry has suffered a loss of roughly Rs. 5000 crore and this is only in the State of Maharashtra. The notification will provide relief to approximately 25,000 restaurants and 5,000 hotels operating on the State and National Highways and which fall under either Municipal Corporations or City Councils or Cantonment Boards or Town Municipalities. HRAWI will continue to work in the best interest of the industry and wishes all its stakeholders a speedy recovery.”