The Thomas Cook (India) Group is all set to host its second edition- ‘The India Travel Summit 2017-The New Age of Travel’ on September 26 at Le Meridien, New Delhi. This year’s summit centres around four panels of engaging dialogue on highly relevant and contemporary topics: easing visa processes by consular representatives, tourism boards discussing about the new-age Indian traveller, technology partners and strategists debating on the future of the travel ecosystem and senior policy makers deliberating on the India tourism story -Incredible India 2.0 Thomas Cook India’s exclusive, by-invite only business summit, offers a unique platform for exchange of ideas benefiting the travel & tourism sector and will host highly influential decision makers, influencers and captains of industry. The India Travel Summit 2017 panel discussions will be moderated by Mahesh Iyer, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, Vishal Suri, Managing Director, SOTC Travel Services Pvt. Ltd., Amit Madhan, President & Group Head Information Technology and eBusiness, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. and Dipak Deva, Managing Director, Travel Corporation (India) Ltd. Panellist will include senior government officials, ambassadors and consular chiefs, heads of tourism boards, hotels & airlines as also CXOs from highly respected brands like Facebook, Accenture, Dentsu–Aegis Network, Sabre, etc. Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said, “The India Travel Summit was conceptualised to offer cutting-edge ideation and dialogue among key stakeholders and critical decision makers across the travel and tourism eco-system – focussing on both challenges and opportunities for the sector. India’s travel story is one the world is looking forward to with excitement—a nation that is emerging rapidly as one of the critical markets for tourism, both inbound, domestic and outbound.” Menon elaborated, …

The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has elected Garish Oberoi as its President for the term September 2017-2018. This was announced during the federation’s 61st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Le Meridien New Delhi, on Sept 23. A seasoned hotelier, Oberoi has been in the hospitality industry for over three decades. He previously held the post of Vice President & Treasurer, FHRAI. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from IIFT and is a Graduate in Economics from the University of Delhi. Also, Surinder Jaiswal has been elected as the Honorary Secretary of FHRAI. Speaking on the occasion, Oberoi said, “I am very grateful for this opportunity. I would want to move ahead taking together all stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality fraternity. Key focus would be on getting the GST reduced further to at least 12 per cent. I would also be emphasising on skill development and increasing FHRAI membership base. The next FHRAI Convention will be taking place in the heritage city of Lucknow.” Oberoi is the former Director of Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Corporation Ltd. He has been a special examiner of Hotel Management & Catering Technology at Rohilkhand University and has been Asst. Governor of Rotary Bareilly. Besides being on the Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon University’s Indian subsidiary, Oberoi holds important position in several social and educational organisations of Bareilly. He is a keen golfer as well. As the President, Oberoi will supervise and guide the administration of the Federation that is run on a day-to-day basis by the Secretary General and the Secretariat.

Alitalia is ready to make a comeback to India after it stopped operating into the country in 2008. The Italian airline will start a new direct flight between Delhi and Rome from October 30, 2017. The new daily New Delhi-Rome service will operate for the entire winter season until March 24, 2018. The connection was launched to meet the increasing demand for flights between the two countries. The new connection would be Alitalia’s second new intercontinental destination of 2017, after Male, Maldives (from 31 October), and the extension of direct flights to Los Angeles, USA, for the upcoming winter season. Italy, is the second European country, after Great Britain, for arrivals from India. The flight will be on Airbus A330, which is equipped with exclusive ‘Made in Italy’ amenities. Business Class guests can relax in luxurious Italian brand Poltrona Frau leather seats that fully recline to a comfortable flatbed position, and enjoy award-winning onboard dining featuring the best of Italian regional food and wine. All classes feature newly renovated cabins and include Wi-Fi connectivity for phone calls, Internet and e-mail. Passengers arriving at Rome Fiumicino International Airport from New Delhi will get easy connections to 39 cities in Italy, Europe, North Africa and the Americas served by Alitalia including cultural capitals (such as Florence, Pisa, Venice, Paris) and many more (such as four US destinations, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Miami, as well as Havana). Departures from New Delhi operate every day at 4.40 am, and arrive in Rome at 9.00 am local time. Guests arriving at Rome Fiumicino airport from New Delhi with connections to other cities will have a Transit Team to assist them and ensure they …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flaged off third Mahamana Express on September 22, 2017, to ply between Varanasi and Vadodara through video conferencing from Varanasi. On this occasion, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal, Dy. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Nitinbhai Patel were present at Vadodara station, while Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways & Minister of Communications (Independent Charge), Govt. of India, were present at Surat Railway station. The train, in its inaugural service, will run as special train with the Train No. 09103 Vadodara – Varanasi Special and will depart from Vadodara on Friday, September 22, 2017, and reach Varanasi on Saturday, September 23, 2017. Similarly, in return direction, the special trip with Train No. 09104 Varanasi – Vadodara Special will depart from Varanasi at 22.00 hrs on Saturday, September 23, 2017, and will reach Vadodara at 01.50 hrs on Monday, September 25, 2017. After the inaugural trip, a regular service from September 27, 2017, onwards, Train No. 20903 Vadodara – Varanasi Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express will depart from Vadodara on every Wednesday at 19.40 hrs and will reach Varanasi at 22.20 hrs the next day. Similarly, in return direction w.e.f September 29, 2017, onwards, Train No. 20904 Varanasi – Vadodara Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express will depart from Varanasi on every Friday at 06.10 hrs and will reach Vadodara at 09.40 hrs the next day. The train will halt at Bharuch, Surat, Amalner, Bhusaval, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna and Chheoki stations in both directions. The train will have I AC, II AC, Sleeper Class and II Class General Coaches. Two Mahamana Express are already in service namely 22163/22164 Bhopal – Khajuraho Mahamana Express and 22417/22418 Varanasi New Delhi Mahamana Express.

The Ministry of Railways has commissioned a second glass-roof Vistadome Coach, funded by the Ministry of Tourism, on the Jan Shatabdi Express plying on the scenic Mumbai-Goa route, to provide a panoramic view of the picturesque Western Ghats. The Vistadome Coach boasts of a glass roof which has electrically-controlled opalescence, that is, it can be made transparent or opaque at the turn of a switch. Passengers seeking a better view can head for a special observation deck. All seats are rotatable by 360 degrees and are pushback chairs. The coaches are fitted with automatic sliding compartment doors, multiple TV screens and wider body side door. Ministry of Tourism provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs12 Crore @ Rs.4 crore per coach to Ministry of Railways for the manufacture of three glass top coaches, for developing rail tourism in the country. The first Vistadome Coach was commissioned by the Ministry of Railways on the Vishakhapatnam–Araku Valley Route in April 2017 and is attracting a large number of tourists.

Fiji Airways will soon be appointing a full time Country Sales Manager for the India market, says Marc S. Cavaliere, Chief Marketing Officer, Fiji Airways. “As a sign of our commitment to the Indian market we will be appointing a full time Country Sales Manager for India. The announcement will be made in 2-3 weeks time and the newly appointed person will be based out of Mumbai. We see opportunity in the India market and this is the reason we would invest in having a full time Fiji Airways Country Sales Manager here. The newly appointed person will be working on a dedicated basis not only with the travel trade, tour operators, OTA’s but also working jointly with Fiji Tourism as well. We would also participate in different trade shows as well and continue to show our commitment to the India market,” he said. Fiji Airways will also continue to expand its GSA presence in the country once the country sales manager is appointed. It will be working closely with Tourism Fiji for different marketing activities to drive growth. From the year 2015-2016 Fiji Airways recorded a 19 per cent increase in air traffic between India to Fiji. Fiji Airways looks the maintain the same trajectory of growth this year as well.

Mid-market hospitality chain, Lords Hotels & Resorts has announced the launch of its 27th hotel property in Bengaluru. Located on Mysuru Road, the 53-room property is branded under Lords Eco Inn and is Lords Hotels & Resorts’ second property in the metropolis. The hotel is scheduled to commence operations shortly. The launch of this property brings the hotel chain’s target of expanding to 40 properties by 2020. The hotel chain has announced its ambition to increase presence in the Southern states of India and has hinted at upcoming projects in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh besides Karnataka. “Lords Eco Inn Mysuru Road will be our second hotel in Bengaluru and the third in the southern region. Over the years we have steadily broadened our product portfolio in terms of the segments in which the properties operate and also through the destinations at which they are present. Today we cover a gamut of hospitality products and services. We are pleased to announce the launch of Lords Eco Inn Mysuru Road and are positive that tourists will appreciate the availability of budget friendly accommodations in one of India’s busiest cities,” says P.R. Bansal, Managing Director, Lords Hotels & Resorts. Lords Eco Inn Mysuru Road, formerly Metro View Inn, is located at a distance of just 500 meters from the Mysuru Road metro station and is 5 km away from the City railway station. “This is an exciting opportunity for us and we are confident about the kinds of value add which Lords Hotels & Resorts can bring in. Lords Eco Inn Mysuru Road is only the beginning and we look forward to taking this partnership ahead with a few of our …

Air Arabia along with Sharjah Tourism Board recently launched its inaugural service to Baku. To promote this new flight along with the various tourism products that the destination offers, Destination Azerbaijan conducted roadshows in Delhi and Mumbai to meet with the leading DMCs and hotels from Baku (Azerbaijan). The new route, aimed at boosting tourism in the country, marks Air Arabia’s entry into Azerbaijan with a fast-emerging appeal for tourism. Flights to Baku, the financial hub of Azerbaijan, will depart from Sharjah connecting to India cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Air Arabia currently operates flights to 124 destinations from five hubs across the Middle East and North Africa.

Cleartrip and SpiceJet have announced a partnership with Google Flights. This enables consumers to view flight schedules and fares right within the Google Flight search page. Speaking on the partnership, Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, said, “Google Flights is an innovative offering that makes travel planning fun and intuitive. At SpiceJet, our endeavour has always been to provide the highest value to our customers, and this partnership enables us to provide more options to India’s rapidly growing air travellers.” Balu Ramachandran, Head of Air and Distribution, Cleartrip, said, “Customers love Cleartrip for its products, and we have been working hard for the last few years to dramatically alter the reach, as we are confident that the product will take care of conversion and retention. We are excited about this partnership to bring Cleartrip in front of contextual travel customers, furthering our objectives of reach and efficiency.” Once users are on Google Flights, they can easily conduct search for different flight routings, using an interactive map to explore possible destinations and view live ticket prices. After selecting the flights they want, users can click the “Book” button to proceed to the Cleartrip or SpiceJet websites to purchase their tickets without having to fill in their flight choices again. Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India, said, “India’s online travel sector is incredibly vibrant and has seen extensive growth and innovation. According to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the Indian travel market is projected to grow to $48 billion by 2020 with the biggest contributor, air travel expected to grow at 15% to $30 billion. For Google, a new entrant in the highly competitive online travel sector in India, this partnership with Cleartrip …

A new campus of Indian Aviation Academy was launched in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. P. Ashok Gajapati Raju, Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India, inaugrated the campus in the presence of R. N. Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation; Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI); Dr. Dewakar Goel, Director, Indian Aviation Academy (IAA) and Kumar Rajesh Chandra, DG, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The academy is a joint venture by BCAS, AAI and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).