PATA India has partnered with Amity Institute of Travel & Tourism, Amity University, to conducted two training programmes in August and September. “We are confident that Amity University will bring required professionalism in our efforts to provide relevant training to our members and their employees. We propose to hold the following training in August & September, 2017,” said Runeep Sangha, Executive Director, PATA India chapter. The first training session on ‘Hiring for Success’ aims to help small business owners, senior managers & HR managers in their efforts to hire quality resources to deliver the organisations goals and objective. The curriculum of this training program will emphasis on building a job description and specification, role and responsibility, sourcing Identifying candidates through web sources, short listing/screening applicants, interview process, etc. The program will be held on August 25, 2017, at The Claridges Hotel, New Delh from 10 am to 6 pm. The subsequent training session on ‘Optimisation of Social Media in Tourism & Hospitality,’ aimed at supporting the business development efforts of Sales/Marketing Managers, Product Managers and Business Owners, covering related subjects will be held in September, date for which will be announced shortly.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India (GoI), has granted ‘in principle’ approval for setting up of 18 Greenfield Airports in the country. The list of these airport along with the estimated cost is: Mopa in Goa (approx. Rs. 3100 cr), Navi Mumbai (approx. Rs. 16704 cr), Shirdi (approx. Rs. 320.54 cr) and Sindhudurg (approx. Rs. 520 cr) in Maharashtra, Bijapur (approx. Rs. 150 cr), Gulbarga (approx. Rs. 13.78 cr in initial phase), Hasan (approx. Rs. 592 cr) and Shimoga (approx. Rs. 38.91 cr) in Karnataka, Kannur in Kerala (approx. Rs. 1892 cr), Durgapur in West Bengal (approx. Rs. 670 cr), Dabra in Madhya Pradesh (approx. Rs. 200 cr), Pakyong in Sikkim (approx. Rs. 553.53 cr), Karaikal in Puducherry (approx. Rs.170 cr), Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh (approx. Rs. 448 cr), Dholera in Gujarat (approx. Rs. 1712 cr) and Dagadarthi Mendal, Nellore Dist. (approx. Rs. 293 cr), Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram District near Visakhapatnam (approx. Rs. 2260 cr) and Oravakallu in Kurnool District (approx. Rs. 200 cr), Andhra Pradesh. The timeline for construction of airport projects depends upon many factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances, financial closure, etc. by the individual operator. This information was given by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. The construction of airport project depends upon many factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances, financial closure, etc. by the individual operator. The State Government of Maharashtra has completed the tendering process and MIAL is the highest bidder.

Travel Agents Association of India- Northern Region has elected Neeraj Malhotra, Co-founder and CEO, Ganpati Travels, as its new Chairman, while Gaurav Dogra, Founder, Plan Your Holiday, is the new Honorary Secretary. Gurdevinder Singh of Bhagwant Travel and Tours has been elected for the position of Treasurer for 2017-19. Malhotra said, “I am thankful to the team of TAAI-NR for their support and faith in me. Going forward, our first agenda is to consolidate the members and also focus on increasing membership during our term. Since our industry is going through tough times with the implementation of GST, we will be conducting various knowledge sessions to address and explain to the members how they can work under this regime. Also in collaboration with various organisations like PHD Chamber of Commerce and CII, we will be holding education seminars for our members to increase the information quotient. We are also looking at offering value additions to our members like education conferences abroad, more familiarisation trips to learn about new destinations and sell them to increase their revenue arm.” TAAI Northern Region also plans to partner with multiple tourism boards to conduct learning sessions for its members.

The second edition of Global Panorama Showcase in Chandigarh took off from where it left Ahmedabad last week, with a packed crowd and a plethora of business opportunities for the trade. The first day saw select product presentations from the likes of InterGlobe Technology Quotient, FXKart, Tourism Office of Spain, Genting Hong Kong, Sahibji Group of Companies and Voice of Chandigarh. This was followed by the much-awaited session on GST by CA Manish Gadia from GMJ & Co which gave the present representatives of the travel trade valuable insight into the workings of GST. Day 2 will commence the B2B sessions and with that it will bring to the front the tourism potential of this Tier II city.

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-June 2017 were 561.55 lakhs as against 475.79 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year, registering a growth of 18.03 per cent. This was revealed in data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). SpiceJet recorded the maximum Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 94.5 per cent while Vistara ruled in terms of O Time Performance at 86.1 per cent.

Airfares in India are forecast to see an 8.7 per cent hike in 2018, according to the 2018 Global Travel Forecast. The Asia Pacific region will see a 2.8 per cent rise in airfares in 2018, with domestic demand increasing in India and China. The report has been prepared by GBTA Foundation in partnership with Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and with the support of the Carlson Family Foundation. The report suggests that global airfares are expected to rise 3.5 percent in 2018; hotel prices are expected to be 3.7 percent higher; and ground transportation such as taxis, trains and buses are expected to rise only 0.6 percent. Jeanne Liu, Vice President – Research, GBTA Foundation said, “The most successful programs will have to keep a watchful eye on both geopolitical risks and a rapidly-changing supplier landscape as they re-evaluate strategy often and adapt as necessary.” “The higher pricing is a reflection of the stronger economy and growing demand,” said Kurt Ekert, president and CEO, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “The global numbers from this forecast should be considered strong leading indicators of what 2018 will mean for global businesses, as we anticipate higher spending.”

SriLankan Airlines launched a new four-times-a-week service to Coimbatore on July 16, which took its online destination count to 41, which is the highest ever in Sri Lanka’s aviation history. The airline recently launched flights to Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. Also, seasonal flights to Gaya and Varanasi will resume in August, which would bring SriLankan’s count to 126 scheduled flights a week to 14 destinations in India. This would mean that the airline will serve more Indian points than any other international airline. SriLankan completed the recently ended Financial Year 2016/17 with an improved financial performance and a reduction of its Unit Cost. Since the beginning of the new FY 2017/18, SriLankan has recorded a reversal of the declining yields that it had witnessed in the prior year.

During the month of June 2017 total of 0.67 lakh tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 0.37 lakh during the month of June 2016, registering a growth of 81.7 per cent. During January-June 2017, a total of 7.17 lakh tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 4.72 lakh during January-June 2016, registering a growth of 52 per cent. The percentage shares of top 15 source countries availing e- Tourist Visa facilities during June, 2017 were: USA (17.7%), UK (10.8%), China (6.8%), Australia (5.2%), Singapore (5.1%), Korea (Rep.of) (4.5%), France (4.3%), Germany (3.9%), Canada (3.4%), Malaysia (2.6%), Spain (2.2%), South Africa (1.7%), Thailand (1.6%), Netherlands (1.5%) and Italy (1.4%). The percentage shares of top 15 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during June, 2017 were as follows: New Delhi Airport (42.4%), Mumbai Airport (20.6%), Chennai Airport (10.0%), Bengaluru Airport (9.2%), Kochi Airport (3.7%), Hyderabad Airport (3.3%), Kolkata Airport (2.8%), Tirchy Airport (1.8%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.4%), Trivandrum Airport (1.3%), Amritsar Airport (0.9%), Cochin Seaport( 0.7%), Dabolim (Goa) Airport (0.5%), Pune Airport(0.3%) and Jaipur Airport (0.3%).

Foreign Tourist Arrivals during the period January-June 2017 were 48.85 lakh with a growth of 17.2 per cent, as compared to the FTAs of 41.69 lakh with a growth of 8.4 per cent in January-June 2016 over January-June 2015. The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during June 2017 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (29.23%) followed by USA (19.70%), UK (6.14%), Malaysia (3.82%), Australia (2.56%), China (2.52%), Singapore (2.31%), Sri Lanka (2.24%), Japan (2.21%), Canada (2.19%), France (1.96%), Germany (1.92%), Nepal (1.84%), Republic of Korea (1.50%) and Afghanistan (0.98%). The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during June 2017 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (22.16%) followed by Haridaspur Land Check Post (17.06%), Mumbai Airport (14.98%), Chennai Airport (9.06%), Bengaluru Airport (6.72%), Kolkata Airport (4.82%), Hyderabad Airport (4.37%), Cochin Airport (3.57%), Gede Rail Land Check Post (3.09%),Ghojadanga Land Check Post (2.08%), Tiruchirapalli Airport (1.93%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.60%), Trivandrum Airport (1.35%), Hilli Land Check Post (0.94%) and Changrabandha Land Check Post (0.86%).

Korea Tourism Organisation has announced the appointment of Michael Kwon as the new Director of Korea Tourism Organization, India Office. He will be heading the India office for next three years. Previously working as the Director of International Tourism Strategy team at Korea Tourism Organisation head office, he has all-round exposure across different verticals of KTO like HR, Planning & Coordination, Inbound Marketing & Performance Evaluation. He was the Deputy Director of KTO Chicago office between 2005 & 2007 and has successfully established KTO office in Jakarta in 2011. Holding a major in tourism, Kwon has been associated with KTO for 25 years. He is also a certified Public Labor Attorney in Korea.