Red Apple Travel will be hosting roadshows in 3 cities in July this year. On 18th July, they will start in Chennai, then move on to Ahmadabad on the 20th and finally end in Mumbai on the 21st. Commenting on this, Neha Goenka, Group Director, Red Apple Group said, “The roadshow will be a platform where we will be getting all our destination heads to meet our travel industry partners one on one. It will help them get an insight of our DMC offices and what kind of services we offer. We will be portraying our new products and destinations for this year at the roadshows.”

Tourism Fiji, represented by Mumbai-based Global Destinations in India, has planned a six-city roadshow in the country at the end of July this year. The roadshow will start on July 24 in Mumbai, then reach Kolkata on July 26, moving on to New Delhi on July 27, then to Ahmedabad on July 28 and Chennai on July 31 and finally end at Bengaluru on August 1, 2017. Pranav Kapadia, Founder, Global Destinations, explains, “We will have 10 Fijian partners coming down for this roadshow. These will include hotels, resorts and DMCs.” Global Destinations will also be present at the Global Panaroma Showcase (GPS) 2017 in three cities: Pune, Kochi and Chandigarh.

Fern Hotels & Resorts has recently announced the opening of its 31st hotel, namely, Amanora The Fern in Magarpatta, Pune, Maharashtra. Suhail Kannampilly, COO, Concept Hospitality, says, “Amanora is the second property we are opening under the Fern brand. We already have a property at MIDC Pune and we have got a very good response from the market. People have realized how committed we are to responsible luxury. This will also give them a chance to participate in their little way to the cause of environment.” The 26-key property, which is spread over 4.5 acres with a capacity to cater 3000 people, is owned by City Corporation Limited. It also has a squash court, a tennis court, a gym, a spa, a library and a huge indoor swimming pool. It also has an amphitheatre.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu recently launched e-Inner Line Permit (eILP) to make the entry to the state paperless and hassle-free for domestic visitors. Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the central government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period. Khandu optimistically expressed that with this step, there would be a significant increase in the number of visitors to the state as they can now get ILPs from their homes without having to go to the designated offices physically. Visitors can apply and obtain the mandatory inner line permit online at www.arunachalilp.com. Special Secretary Information Technology, Prince Dhawan, explained that after fulfilling all criteria online, visitors will receive the ILP with unique identity number and codes in soft copy in their emails, which can be displayed on their mobile handsets or tabs at the entry gates for verification. However, ILPs can also be obtained at entry gates and other designated places (like Guwahati airport) physically on payment of fees.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia and Cruise Club Vacations announced their partnership whereby Cruise Club Vacations has been appointed as the first Executive Partner (travel and tourism) for CLIA in Asia. Commenting on the appointment, Tarique Hussain, Director, Cruise Club, said, “By appointing Cruise Club as the first Executive Partner (Travel & Tourism) for CLIA in Asia, the partnership recognises the contribution Cruise Club has made in the Indian industry in training and empowering travel agents to grow their cruise business from India. Our appointment with CLIA further endorses the opportunities in the market and reinforces our focus on training our travel partners in India.” He further elaborated that India is one of the fastest growing source markets for cruise lines and Indian guests are now expanding their horizons from mainstream and popular cruises and moving to exploring luxury, expedition, river and small ship cruising as well. Peter Kollar, Head of International Training & Development, CLIA, added, “CLIA is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association and is dedicated to promoting the cruise travel experience; educate and train its travel agent members and promote and explain the value, desirability and affordability of a cruise holiday. We value the focus on training that Cruise Club brings and through this partnership, Cruise Club will work with us and represent CLIA at regional cruise trainings, along with introducing it to the Indian travel industry.”

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) addressed its members’ queries regarding the recently implemented GST regime. Chartered Accountant Ashok Batra made a presentation to explain the nitty-gritty of this new tax structure and also elaborated on how this would affect the members of the association in day-to-day business activities. The members attended the seminar with full enthusiasm and raised various queries, all of which were addressed during the event itself.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Northern Region received a huge attendance for its seminar on GST at The Claridges, New Delhi. Sumit Jhunjhunwala, Senior Partner GMJ and Co., Mumbai, gave a presentation on how GST would affect the TAAI members and how they can cope up with the new regime. He also addressed the queries of the members on the application procedure and invoicing under GST.

For May 2017, Changi Airport’s biggest source market was India with a 21 per cent y-o-y growth in passenger traffic. Traffic to and from Mumbai and Chennai have risen by more than 20 per cent, states the official report.For the month of May, passenger traffic was boosted by a robust 17 per cent growth in South Asia traffic, while 5.0 million passenger movements were recorded which was 4.6 per cent higher than in the same period last year. As on June 1, 2017, more than 100 airlines operate at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to some 380 cities in about 90 countries and territories worldwide. With more than 7,000 weekly scheduled flights, an aircraft takes off or lands at Changi roughly once every 90 seconds.

According to reports, Batik Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air, is expected to introduce two new daily flights that will fly to three cities in India, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, from Bali. Passengers will be transported on an Airbus A320 fleet, departing from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali to India. Achmad Luthfie, President Director, Batik Air, said, “It is already in the finalisation stage and will start operating around July. We’ve already received slots in India, Malaysia and Australia.” He further added,”The economies of both countries keep growing. Moreover, these two countries have the biggest populations in the world. In India, there are about 200 million people who are in the upper middle class group and have travelled overseas. This is where the market potential lies.” Currently, Batik Air has 37 planes, but by the end of this year, the airline plans to have 41. The total number of flights that Batik Air has on a daily basis has reached 209, with the airline’s on-time performance at 95 percent.

Foreign tourists will reportedly be able to book train tickets 360 days in advance from abroad instead of the present 120 days. The booking service will be available for first AC, second AC and executive class of mail express trains and in Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Gatimaan and Tejas trains (it is not applicable for sleeper and third AC). Foreigners are also not allowed to book tickets in Suvidha trains that cater to last minute travel planners. This move would allow foreigners to book tickets online using credit or debit cards. They would be required to give visa details, passport and international mobile numbers while booking through the IRCTC ticketing site. A service charge of INR200 will be levied by IRCTC. Besides announcing this facility for foreigners, railways will also launch an integrated mobile application for passengers shortly. The app will offer facilities of booking tickets, retiring rooms, taxis, porters, ordering food and inquiry service among others.