Uniglobe Travel and Goomo have entered into a strategic partnership that marks a first-of-its-kind alliance between a traditional travel agent network and an online platform. The partnership will involve deeper collaboration between the Uniglobe franchisees, whereby customers on the Gooomo platform will be able to find a trusted agent and discuss their off-line booking requirements with them. The partnership will serve as an ideal foundation for Uniglobe and Goomo to further expand their omni-channel presence in the booming South Asian travel market and add more diversity to Goomo’s suite of travel products, which can be availed either online or through a specialist agent. Uniglobe Travel South Asia currently has over 60 agency locations across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with an annual sales volume of over Rs 3,500 crore. Varun Gupta, CEO, Goomo, says, “Clients have the right to choose the channel they’re most comfortable with while booking their travel. That’s precisely what our partnership with UNIGLOBE promises – a one-stop shop for our clients to access the best online and offline travel deals and products, so they don’t have to bother looking elsewhere.” Raja Natesan, CEO, Uniglobe Travel (South Asia), adds, “Our association with a dynamic platform like Goomo presents a unique opportunity to target both offline and online consumers through the convenience of an omni-channel platform and the assurance of a knowledgeable travel expert. We are excited about our partnership and the value we could unlock by extending our superior travel management services, that offer unparalleled access to professional advice for extensive trip planning, to Goomo’s online client network.” Not just the end-consumer, but even the wide network of Uniglobe Travel agencies across South Asia, stand to benefit …

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched its new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’. Speaking about this is Soraya Homchuen, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai, who says, “For 2018, TAT has launched a new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’ to support the government’s national tourism development plan featuring an action-packed schedule of unique Thai local experiences and international events. In the coming year, the emphasis will be on inclusive tourism, that maintains a balance between the economy, environment and benefits for Thai society. This campaign will see the Thai travel and tourism industry move into a new era of development and further underscore its new status as a nationwide movement that yields significant benefits for national security, the economy, society, well-being and foreign relations. The campaign’s overarching objective is to ensure that Thailand remains a Preferred Destination and delivers a Quality Product, thus boosting the average length of stay, expenditure and repeat visit. In 2018, the marketing strategy will continue to position Thailand as a ‘Preferred Destination’.” Homchuen observed that Thailand is naturally blessed with a busy schedule of annual cultural events that appeal to both domestic and international audiences and said that they were delighted to see increasing number of tourist arriving in Thailand. The video campaign will highlight activities based on 13 core niche products that include sports, gastronomy, maritime tourism, wedding and honeymoon, medical and wellness, community-based tourism, leisure, green tourism, night tourism, MICE, trade fairs, B2B marketing activity and logistics. Some of the local Thai events that will take place in 2018 are Thailand Tourism Festival (January 2018); Thailand International Kite Festival/Thailand Marathon (Songkhla/Bangkok, February 2018); International Balloon Festival (Korat, May 2018); …

Fern Hotels & Resorts is on an expansion spree not only in India but in neighbouring Nepal as well and is all set to close the financial year with three operational properties with a total of 233 keys, reveals Suhail Kannampilly, COO, Fern Hotels & Resorts. The company recently started managing the 73-room Summit Hotel, a Nepali-styled boutique hotel located 7 km from Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. “The Fern Residency, Bharatpur in Nepal is a 48-key property which will be operational by the end of the current financial year,” Kannampilly informs. The company will also be managing another 112-room upcoming hotel property in Kathmandu under The Zinc brand. It is scheduled to be operational by year end as well. The company is looking to increase the key count to 500 in Nepal during the course of the next 18 months and aims to become one of the biggest hospitality players in Nepal by having presence in key destinations like Pokhara, Lumbini, Nagarkot, Biratnagar. The company already manages a chain of six boutique island resorts in Seychelles. “As of now we are managing seven properties outside India and will add two more to our kitty by the year end taking our tally to 9”, he said. “In the Indian market we are going to open a property every single month in the current financial year and are expecting to reach a figure of 59 operational properties,” he adds. “Our long-standing relationships with local Corporates and the Travel Trade, along with our strong connects with all the key OTAs, ensures volumes are driven into all our hotels from all these key channel partners”, he further elaborated. The company has appointed a full-fledged …

Cathay Pacific Airways conducted a series of sales blitz and workshops in Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai to mark the reintroduction of its Premium Economy Class and the increase in capacity on flights from Mumbai. Cathay Pacific used to operate Premium Economy until October 2015. The airline has introduced the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the Mumbai–Hong Kong route from October 30. Rajesh Menon, Regional Sales & Marketing Manager-South Asia, Cathay Pacific, said, “We are thrilled to share these new developments in Cathay Pacific with our key trade and corporate partners. It is their support that has encouraged us to increase capacity on this route and reintroduce our Premium Economy cabin, which will provide even greater convenience and give our customers another reason for choosing Cathay Pacific.” Workshops were held for the travel trade fraternity in Mumbai which consisted of interactive sessions and covered a range of topics that include Cathay Pacific’s product and service, network and connections, loyalty programme, destination guides etc. This was followed by a week-long sales blitz that included a competition for the travel agents to upload their most fun picture on Cathay Pacific’s Facebook page. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will operate on the daily CX 660 service from Mumbai to Hong Kong and CX 663 flight from Hong Kong to Mumbai. This will mark a 21% increase in passenger capacity and 67% increase in cargo capacity out of Mumbai on Cathay Pacific flights.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) participated at World Travel Market, London, to showcase the rich diversity of Maharashtra. Maharashtra pavilion at WTM London 2017 was inaugurated by Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, in the presence of Rashmi Verma, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India, and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC. This year, MTDC promoted wildlife tourism, heritage tourism, fort tourism, heli tourism, medical tourism, city tours, wine tourism, mine tourism, cruise tourism and wellness tourism. Maharashtra is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive state for the travel industry both for leisure and business purpose. MTDC is also focusing on associating with hospitality colleges including ICE to develop and build skills and provide internship to students in MTDC’s resorts at various locations in Maharashtra. Rawal say, “It is wonderful to discover the world under one roof and get encouraged by industry leaders and their innovations in the travel sector. This is a brilliant stage to growour businesses and meet the new stakeholders around the world under one roof. Maharashtra has rich tourist destinations to fulfill the needs of tourists across the globe. Participation at WTM London 2017 was our golden opportunity to aggressively market the tourism inventories, vibrant culture, unique destinations and investment opportunities in Maharashtra.”

FCM Travel Solutions, the Indian subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), Australia, under its retail leisure arm ‘Flight Shop’ has launched Group Inclusive Tours (GITs) in the country. Foraying into the segment, Flight Shop has introduced new exclusive itineraries to Europe specially designed for large group travellers. The service will also offer customers the flexibility to choose dates and destinations in its group tours. Shravan Gupta, Executive Director, Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions, Indian subsidiary of FCTG, Australia said, “GITs are the biggest segment in the organised travel sector and are growing at 10-12 per cent every year. Travelling in a group costs lesser and is around 20-30 per cent cheaper than travelling solo to any destination. At Flight Shop, we believe that we have the required land and cruise holidays’ expertise to organise unbeatable group tour experiences for Indian travellers. While we want to experiment with the flexible tour concept, which is a pioneering concept in India, our GITs will have fixed departure dates and conventional packages too.” Offering travellers the opportunity to leverage and make the most of the services, Flight Shop has announced ‘Europe on Sale’ Campaign as an introductory offering to their customers. Flight Shop has curated over 200 Europe Group Tour itineraries with departures beginning from April 2018. Flight Shop specialists can also provide individual customization of itineraries for travelers requiring extensions on a trip, etc. Groups are also eligible for discounted deals on ‘Europe on Sale’ itineraries until December 10, 2017. Each tour group will include – Return Economy Airfare with Taxes, Visas, Insurance, Accommodation in Standard Hotels, Meals & Sightseeing as per Itinerary, Ground Transportation in Luxury Coaches and an Independent Tour …

Yatra Online has been shortlisted for the adoption of four monuments including Qutub Minar (Delhi), Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra), Hampi (Karnataka) and Leh Palace (Jammu & Kashmir), under ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ of Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. The ‘Letter of Intent’ has been given to select companies, including Yatra, for adopting certain monuments under the scheme at the closing ceremony of ‘Paryatan Parv’ held in New Delhi recently. As a part of the ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’, Yatra along with the other shortlisted companies will be called ‘Monument Mitras’ or ‘Monument friends’ as they will work towards managing the monuments/heritage sites across India in a planned and phased manner. The objective of this initiative is to increase the attractiveness of the sites, enhance the visiting experience, improve accessibility and engage with the community in addition to providing and managing basic and advanced amenities at these sites. Commenting on the same, Dhruv Shringi, CEO Yatra.com, “At Yatra, we want to create and conserve an India that is enjoyed by all visitors whether Indians, foreigners, residents or tourists, for today and future generations. By being a part of this endeavour to promote heritage and conserve India’s historical legacy, we are committed to give back to the society by putting our community at the very core of our business. Yatra was selected by Inter-Ministerial Oversight and Vision Committee of Ministry after detailed scrutiny of 57 responses ranging from travel industry, hospitality industry and banking industry for adopting monuments.”

Dilip Puri, Former Managing Director and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, South Asia, announced his new education venture – Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) with a promise to reimagine hospitality education in India. ISH has partnered with LHC in preparation for an academic certification by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), the world’s oldest and top ranked hospitality management higher education institution worldwide. Located at Sector 83, Gurgaon, ISH will be housed within a commercial campus that boasts of state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities. The campus, which is under development, will be ready by May 2018 for the first intake of students in August 2018. Puri said, “Education in hospitality is the beginning of a journey into a diverse and exciting range of career opportunities, not limited to hotels and food and beverage, or even the corporate world. While more and more businesses in the service sector are reaching out to professionals with a qualification in hospitality, a large number of young graduates are also pursuing entrepreneurial ventures straight out of college.”

GoAir has announced its first daily flight between Jammu and Leh. As part of its new winter schedule, the airline launched 15 new flights including additional flights from Mumbai to Patna; and Delhi to Chandigarh, amongst other sectors. This comes in line with the growing demand from the corporate travellers and upcoming holidays for leisure travellers. With the introduction of the winter schedule, the airline will increase its operations by 26 per cent to 1544 flights per week.

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, destinations worldwide welcomed 901 million international tourist arrivals between January and August 2017, recording 56 million more than in the same period of 2016. This corresponds to a robust 7 per cent increase, well above the growth of previous years. With upbeat prospects for the remaining months of the year, 2017 is set to be the eighth consecutive year of continued solid growth for international tourism. South Asia (+10 per cent) led growth in Asia and the Pacific (+6 per cent), followed by South-East Asia (+8 per cent) and Oceania (+7 per cent). By UNWTO regions, growth was strongest in Africa (+9 per cent) and Europe (+8 per cent), followed by Asia and the Pacific (+6 per cent), according to a survey by experts for the UNWTO Confidence Index, who evaluated the May-August period very positively. “Tourism is a major economic engine and employment generator, contributing to the improvement of livelihoods of millions of people around the world,” stated UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. Among the top 10 markets, international tourism expenditure grew fastest in China (+19 per cent), the Republic of Korea (+12 per cent), the United States (+8 per cent) and Canada (+7 per cent).