Atout France – France Tourism Development Agency, Leading Hotels of the World and bespoke travel company Destination Globe, recently collaborated for an exclusive pictorial lookbook that showcases France’s premium tourism destinations. Titled ‘Experience France’, this lookbook invites discerning travellers to discover France’s signature destinations or ‘Marques Mondiales’ such as Alsace, Alpes-Mont Blanc, Biarritz Pays Basques, Burgundy, Brittany, Bordeaux, Côte d’Azur, Corsica, Champagne, Languedoc-Mediterranean, Lyon, Normandy, Provence, Paris, Toulouse-Pyrénées and the Loire Valley, its ‘poles d’excellence’ or areas of expertise that include gastronomy, wine trails, summer in the French Alps and classic nuances of the French savoir-faire; all this coupled with glimpses of legendary French hospitality that is a hallmark of France’s  renowned art de vivre. “Experience France” was unveiled in Mumbai by M Yves Perrin, Consul General de France a Mumbai in the presence of a  select gathering of distinguished guests at a gastronomic restaurant in the first week of September. Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India, shares her thoughts, “We believe that every traveller now is an experiential traveller and is looking for destinations that provide an immersive and authentic sojourn. The appeal of France lies in its versatility; the entire country is a feast for the senses and offers something for everyone- irrespective of their age or interests. Experience France is our attempt to invite the avid traveller to embark on a pictorial discovery of our signature tourism brands that already benefit from global renown and learn more about authentic experiences unique to these destinations. We hope that this endeavour inspires our readers to plan their next experiential sojourn in France”. Parul Mehta, Partner, Destination Globe, adds, “Destination Globe is synonymous with exclusivity and a service bespoke to the desires …

Maharashtra Tourism has partnered with Premier Futsal Tournament in order to promote the state as a hotspot for sports tourism by providing world-class sporting amenities, and developing its status for hosting domestic and international sporting tournaments and events. Premier Futsal League is the world’s prominent futsal campaign, with its three-week tournament presenting ex-football megastars, present futsal players around the world and domestic players sourced through a talent hunt, which flagged off in Mumbai. Speaking at the inaugural function, Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “We congratulate the State of Maharashtra for hosting sports events like Ranji Trophy Championship, Premier Hockey League, Derby races at the Racecourse, Common Wealth games in Pune, Indian Primer League, Mumbai Marathon and now the Premier Futsal Tournament. Nearly a million foreign travellers visit the state to watch these matches, according to study confirming the admiration of the Maharashtra as a prominent sports tourism destination. We have exceptional opportunity to take our travel industry to the next level with so many big global sporting moments that will place us at the epicenter of the world stage year after year.” MTDC also facilitated the Mumbai Darshan of Ronaldinho, Legendary Brazilian Soccer player alongwith other soccer legends like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, Deco, Herman Crespo, Luis Figo and Michel Salgado. The star footballers visited the Siddhivinayak Temple, Gateway of India and The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel at Colaba. He added, “Our aim is to promote Maharashtra as a sports destination. The Ministry of tourism is focusing to create new avenues to tap the tourism prospects in the State of Maharashtra. India’s first Aero Sports Academy in Dhule will be initiated with the support …

With over 75 operating hotels across 50 destinations in India and Africa, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement for a 72-room hotel, Nataraj Sarovar Portico Jhansi. Owned by Nataraj Sai Hotels, Nataraj Sarovar Portico is expected to open in January 2018. With a prime location, the hotel under development has 72 rooms with all-day dining, bar, banquet halls, conference & meeting facilities, swimming pool, gymnasium, salon and rooftop open air banquet space. It is located in the center of city about 2 km from Railway Station. Commenting on the development, Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said, “We are happy to open a Sarovar Portico hotel in this historic city of Uttar Pradesh. With its significant development and rich antiquity, Jhansi is an important destination with rising number of visitors from across the country. It is an important location for us and a significant addition to our portfolio. This will the best hotel in the city and will cater to the needs of Corporate, Groups, Leisure and MICE.” Some of the expected openings this year include hotels in Amritsar, Raipur, Mahipalpur, Somnath and Jaisalmer.

Thomas Cook (India) has strengthened its presence with the opening of four new outlets in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, Pitampura, Lajpat Nagar localities and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in North India to 42 consumer access centres: 13 owned branches and 29 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Thomas Cook India’s data has revealed high demand from India’s north markets, with strong growth of 25 per cent for January- August 2017 against the same period of the previous year. The year has seen significant uptake for favorites like USA & Canada, UK, France, Switzerland and Asia’s Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia; equally for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Emerging strongly are destinations like Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Japan and Bali, as also exotic locales like Georgia and Azerbaijan. Rajeev Kale, ‎President & Country Head Leisure Travel & MICE, Thomas Cook (India), said “North India is a powerful source market for us at Thomas Cook India and we are witnessing strong growth of over 25% y-o-y across our leisure travel businesses lines. Our strategic intent is to maximise on this market potential via organic expansion and we’ve carefully selected high footfall centres for our new outlets in prime catchment locations within the larger NCR metro market; also Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Our new outlets give our customers in North India (across families, business travellers, millennials, senior citizens, students and NRIs) access to Thomas Cook’s experts right at their doorstep!”

Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala won the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association Grand and Gold Award 2017 for the Film Tourism Brochure in Marketing Media – Consumer Travel Brochure category. P Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala received the award at the 32nd edition of the PATA Awards as the committee recognised its marketing strategy, which boosted Kerala as a must-visit destination. The PATA awards were presented to the best entries in four categories – Marketing, Education and Training, Environment and Heritage and Culture. PATA had received 220 entries from 77 organisations and individuals from different corners of the world for the category that Kerala Tourism bagged the honours. After receiving the award, Bala Kiran said, “The award has given us the opportunity to showcase the picturesque locations to a global audience that Kerala has to offer. Picturesque backwaters, pristine beaches, dreamy hill stations & exotic wildlife are the key attractions to shoot any form of media. This award is a testimony of the innovative marketing initiatives and promotional activities undertaken by the tourism department of Kerala.” “Film tourism also contribute to the overall economic development of the respective destination through income generation, investment, job creation, etc. We at Kerala Tourism are committed towards promoting tourism in a responsible manner,” he concluded.

The government shall soon roll out its much-awaited National Tourism Policy, expected to provide single window clearance for organisation of meetings and conferences, informed Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, while addressing the second edition of Global MICE Travel Mart, organised by FICCI jointly with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, on September 14 at The Lalit, New Delhi. He said that there was a need to provide incentives to this sector to make it competitive in the world market. He added that there was a pressing need to conduct a study to assess size of the industry and a consultant was being appointed to suggest a workable roadmap for the development of the sector. During the inaugural of this mart, which is underway until Sept 16, a FICCI-MRSS Knowledge Paper on ‘MICE Tourism Powerhouse of a New Era Tourism’ was unveiled by the dignitaries. The six-point agenda of the study suggested a six-point roadmap for development of India as a MICE tourism hotspot. Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, ICPB and Managing Director, Alpcord Network Travel & Conferences Management Company, said that MICE was an economic activity and there was an imperative need for the creation of a market for the sector. Besides, he emphasised on the need for readily available comprehensive database, building capacities and capabilities while taking into account competition to make India a MICE hub. Highlighting the immense potential of MICE tourism in West Bengal, Amitava Rathod, Deputy General Manager, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation, said that that with new convention centres projects such as HIDCO, Digha and Bagdogra coming up in the state, West Bengal is bound to lead the country in …

New and upgraded Belagavi Airport has been inaugurated by P. Ashok GajapathiRaju, Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister, Karnataka. Belagavi is the second capital of Govt. of Karnataka and is 502 km from Bengaluru and 200 km from Goa Airport. The city is one of the 20 cities selected in the first phase, for development as a smart city under the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission. The New Terminal, a centrally air-conditioned building, with an area of 3,600 sqm has a capacity to handle 300 peak hour passengers at a time. It has all essential passenger friendly amenities and conveniences and is provided with CUTE-enabled Check-in Counters, Baggage Conveyors, Elevator, Public Address System, Fire Fighting & Fire Alarm System, Flight Information Display System (FIDS), CCTV, Baggage scanners and Car parking etc. Inaugurating the terminal Raju, Union Minister of Civil Aviation said, “Belagavi is an important City in the state of Karnataka. With the Upgraded Airport, the City is all set to cater to more air passengers from the region. Since Belagavi is amongst the first 20 cities being transformed into Smart Cities, this was a much needed development.” Other dignitaries present for the occasion include Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilisers and Parliamentary Affairs; R.V. Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development, Govt. of Karnataka; D.K. Shivakumar, Minister of Energy and Power, Government of Karnataka, Ramesh L. Jarakiholi, Minister for Co-operation and Belagavi District Incharge Minister; Suresh C. Angadi, Member of Parliament (LokSabha); Dr. Prabhakar Kore, Member of Parliament (RajyaSabha); Sanjay B. Patil, Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Sanjyot Bandekar, Mayor, Belagavi City Corporation as the guests of honour.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for India’s first high speed rail project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on Sep 14, 2017. PM Modi addressed a public meeting on the same occasion and reiterated the ambition and will power of the new India. He said that the bullet train will provide the speed and progress that India has been waiting for. The PM went on to say that focus of the project was to increase productivity via high speed connectivity. Modi didn’t forget to appreciate Japan’s technical and financial help for the project. The project will not only bring Mumbai and Ahmedabad closer, but also bring the people living hundreds of kilometres away closer to each other. The Prime Minister also informed that a new economic system is being developed along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, thus making the entire area a single economic zone. “Technology is useful only if it provides benefit to the common man,” said PM Modi. The project will not only benefit the Indian railways, but also give a boost to the Make in India campaign. The project will be eco-friendly and the high-speed corridor would be the regions of rapid growth in the future. The PM expressed his confidence that people would work together to finish the project in the shortest possible time.

India and Japan have signed an agreement that will allow their airlines to operate unlimited number of flights between the two countries. The pact followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe holding strategic discussions on a wide range of issues. An official release said India and Japan exchanged RoD (Record of Discussions) on civil aviation cooperation with respect to open sky. “It opens skies between India and Japan ie. Indian and Japanese carriers can mount now unlimited number of flights to the selected cities of each other’s countries,” the release said. The National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, allows the government to enter into an ‘open sky’ air services agreement on a reciprocal basis with SAARC nations as well as countries beyond a 5,000 kilometre radius from New Delhi. Currently, Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines — fly into India while Air India and Jet Airways -1.60 % operate services to Japan. ast year India signed open sky agreements with Greece, Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka. India also has open sky agreement with the US, among other countries. Last week, full service carrier Vistara had announced plans to enter into a code share partnership with Japan Airlines by next year. Vistara is also likely to unveil plans for international operations soon and Japan is on the radar, it had said. (Source: PTI)

The 52nd FHRAI Annual Convention is underway at Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru. At the three-day event, being held between September 14 and 16, delegates will get a chance to attend panel discussions on relevant topics and be able to network with fellow hoteliers. The theme chosen for this year’s convention is “Hospitality 2025 – The Future is NOW”. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who blessed the function. Ananth Kumar, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers; Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister of State, Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha; R.V. Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Industries & Infrastructure Development, Government of Karnataka, and many other dignitaries are also present at the event. Speaking at the ceremony, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Hospitality is in the DNA of Indians just like teamwork is in the DNA of Japanese, precision in that of the Germans, etiquette in the English, and marketing in the Americans. India is still lagging behind and needs improvement in infrastructure. We need to have Greece as the benchmark where tourism is soaring. We should host food festivals more often. Also, there is a need for more and more hotels. We do not necessarily have to ape the Europeans, we can set our own standards; an indigenous touch is always welcome. Apart from this, India needs more colleges to train youngsters.” Addressing the audience at the convention, Deshpande said, “Tourism is the highest employment generator but India’s biggest concern is employment as automation is taking over the human touch. Infrastructure has to be definitely looked at and we are getting there. Karnataka has the best connectivity in the entire country with some of …