According to the latest monthly data from STR Global, India’s nationwide occupancy increased 5.4 per cent year-on-year to 61.4 per cent last month, which marked the highest absolute occupancy level for a May in India since 2007. And this extra demand is allowing hoteliers to hike their rates; India’s average daily rate (ADR) climbed 3.5 per cent to Rs. 5,406.77 (approx. $84) in May. These two factors combined to raise nationwide revenue per available room (revPAR) by +9.1 per cent to Rs. 3,319.71. RevPAR has now increased 4.2 per cent during the first five months of 2017, driven by strong domestic tourism and rising affluence among India’s growing middle class. Specifically in May, hotel demand was supported by the Indian Premier League cricket and the African Development Bank annual meetings in Ahmedabad.
Read More »VFS opens Germany VAC in Bengaluru
The new Germany Visa Application Centre was formally inaugurated in Langford Town by representatives from the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru. Margit Hellwig-Bötte, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, and Jürgen Pengel, Consul and Head of the Consular Department of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, inaugurated the centre on June 23. Services at the spacious new facility, which moved from its earlier location in Shivaji Nagar, commenced in March this year. The centre is located at No. 11, First Floor, Global Tech Park, O’ Shaughnessy Road, Langford Town and houses visa operations of 31 diplomatic missions (including Germany) under one roof. With more counters for applicants and expansive waiting and registration areas, the new centre has a larger Premium Lounge for applicants looking for more personalised assistance. An ATM has also been installed within the premises for the convenience of all applicants. Germany visa applicants can avail of separate submission counters, biometric booths, and dedicated services in the Premium Lounge. They can make payments by credit and debit card (in addition to cash payments) at this centre.
Read More »Delhi-NCR to get its 2nd international airport at Jewar
Delhi-NCR is all set to have its second international airport, after the government granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida. Making this announcement, P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister, Civil Aviation, said that the air traffic in the NCR region is growing very fast. From the current level of 62 million passengers per annum, it is expected to reach upto 91 MPPA by 2020 and 109 MPPA by 2024, which would be the saturation point for the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. So Delhi will require a second airport in the next 7-10 years. The minister said that the Government of Uttar Pradesh had submitted a proposal for construction of a new Greenfield International Airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation has accorded in principle approval for the project based on the recommendations of the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports, headed by the Secretary (CA). The Noida International Airport will be located 72kms from IGI Airport and 65 kms from Hindon Air Force station Ghaziabad. Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) is the implementing authority of the project. An area of 3000 hectares has been notified for the airport which will be developed in phases. An area of 1000 hectares will be developed in the first phase at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crores. There will be one runway in the first phase. Three more runways will be developed in subsequent phases. The total cost of development of all phases is expected to be around Rs 15-20,000 crores. The airport is expected to cater to 30-50 million passengers per year over the next 10 to 15 years. Government …
Read More »TAAI Convention to be held in Kunming, China from Aug 18-20
The Managing Committee of TAAI has decided Kunming as the venue for the 64th Convention & Exhibition of TAAI, to be held from August 18-20, 2017. Sunil Kumar R, President, TAAI, said, “We are excited to inform you that we are hosted by Yunnan Government, People’s Republic of China. The event is being coordinated by MFITS – Mao Fa International Travel Services, a unit of Service Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China.” The exhibition and inaugural dinner will be held at the InterContinental Hotel, Kunming. The registration forms will be soon rolled out. The registration will be open by July 5, 2017 and close by July 20, 2017. During 2016, TAAI had organised its convention at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.
Read More »Cygnett Park Asia, Jammu opens doors
Cygnett Hotels and Resorts has now entered Jammu and Kashmir with the launch of their first hotel in the region-Cygnett Park Asia in Jammu. The hotel houses 44 rooms and suites, with an open swimming pool, and other fitness services such as an in-house multi gym, sauna, steam, and whirlpool facilities. Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder & Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, says, “Cygnett Park Asia, Jammu is an exciting addition to the Cygnett Hotels portfolio. We believe the city of Jammu has incredible potential for business and hospitality growth, making it an obvious choice for the Cygnett Hotels brand. Working with one of the most experienced Hotels in this region will set new standards in offering guests a dynamic hotel experience, and this association will resonate the essence of The Cygnett Hotels and Resorts in its global expansion.” At Cygnett Park Asia, the menu features exquisite Kashmiri cuisine, an array of extensive continental, Chinese and Indian delicacies.
Read More »AAI selects Tata Elxsi to improve passenger experience
Tata Elxsi, a global design and technology services company, has been selected by the Airports Authority of India(AAI) out of a competitive global bid to improve passenger experience for all AAI-managed airports. As the design partner, Tata Elxsi will help AAI to provide a seamless passenger travel experience. Tata Elxsi will be primarily responsible to set the wayfinding and information design guidelines for all AAI airports coming up in the future and enable AAI to set a team and create a process to design and implement world-class, customer-centric information and wayfinding systems. This will cover the entire passenger journey right from parking to boarding the plane, to making the spaces efficient and user-friendly. The design will be in line with global standards and Tata Elxsi will set the guidelines/standards for all future airports. Tata Elxsi has already started the work on creating an intuitive, customer-centric wayfinding system and developing a unique image for several airport terminals. Narendra Ghate, Chief Designer, Service Design, Tata Elxsi said, “Having worked in the past on redefining the passenger experience for some leading airports in India, gave Tata Elxsi an edge. Tata Elxsi has already commenced work across the shortlisted 10 airports – Goa, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Trivandrum, Coimbatore and Guwahati.”
Read More »India records 12.6% increase in domestic, 5.9% rise in foreign tourists in 2016 YoY
The number of visits by domestic tourists and foreign tourists has increased by 12.68% and 5.92%, respectively, during 2016 over 2015. The number of domestic tourists rose from 1431.97 million to 1613.55 million with the top states being (in millions), Tamil Nadu (343.81), Uttar Pradesh (211.71) and Andhra Pradesh (153.16). The number of foreign tourist visits in the country rose from 22.33 million to 24.71 million with the top states being (in millions), Tamil Nadu (4.72), Maharashtra (4.67) and Uttar Pradesh (3.16). This data was compiled by the Market Research Division of Ministry of Tourism for various State/Union Territories (UTs) through information given by the Departments of Tourism of each State Government and UT Administrations.
Read More »GoAir launches third daily direct flight between Bengaluru and Delhi
GoAir is set to increase its operations between Bengaluru and New Delhi from June 24, 2017 with the launch of a third daily direct flight between the two cities. The flight will leave Bengaluru at 11:35 hours, reaching Delhi at 14:20 hours. A return flight will leave Delhi at 15:05 hours and reach at 18:00 hours. The new additional service has been introduced in response to a growing demand in this sector, particularly from corporate travellers. With this addition, GoAir now flies 1225 weekly flights between its 23 destinations serviced.
Read More »Airbnb and the World Bank Group partner to boost rural tourism
Airbnb and the World Bank Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to partner toward boosting developing economies through tourism. The two organizations will also share information on the current scale of alternative accommodation options and home sharing across several countries, beginning with pilot projects in Sri Lanka and India. Through the agreement, signed at the 2017 Tourism Knowledge Exchange, an event highlighting the latest innovations in sustainable tourism, Airbnb and the World Bank Group will examine ways in which emerging destinations use new technology and platforms such as Airbnb to create economic opportunities for communities that have not traditionally benefited from tourism and hospitality. Travel and tourism is the largest service industry in the world and accounts for nearly 10 percent of global GDP. In 2015, revenues from international tourism represented $421 million in emerging economies. Emerging markets’ share of total global arrivals is expected to reach 57% by 2030. This corresponds to over 1 billion travelers, each spending money, transferring wealth, and creating jobs. “At Airbnb, we believe home sharing can help close the widening gap in economic opportunity between urban and rural areas,” said Clark Stevens, director, Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Airbnb. “We’ve already seen the important economic engine that home sharing has become for communities around the world, and we’re excited to partner with the World Bank Group to further study the development impacts of home sharing and pilot projects in emerging tourist destinations.” “Travel and tourism is one of the largest service industries in the world and accommodation is at its core. The sharing economy has created opportunities across the sector and this partnership with Airbnb allows us to better understand those opportunities, …
Read More »Etihad and China Southern announce codeshare partnership
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and China Southern Airlines have announced a new codeshare partnership, which comes into effect on June 22, 2017. This increases the number of codeshare agreements operated by the Abu Dhabi-based airline to 53. Under the agreement, China Southern Airlines will put its ‘CZ’ code on Etihad Airways’ daily services between Beijing (PEK)/Shanghai (PVG)/Chengdu (CTU) and Abu Dhabi. The codeshare partnership will give China Southern guests the opportunity to book codeshare flights to and from Abu Dhabi, and connect onto Etihad’s network of over 100 destinations worldwide. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways’ Executive Vice President Commercial, said: “The codeshare partnership with China Southern Airlines is a significant milestone in the airlines’ network development strategy and a key component of its footprint in the China market. This is a further example of our strategy of working with partners to extend our reach, and provide business and leisure travellers with more options. Zhang Lin, China Southern Airlines’ senior management on international cooperation, welcomed the establishment of the new partnership with Etihad Airways’ management team. He said: “We are excited about the new partnership with Etihad Airways, which will further strengthen the global network of both airlines and provide increased benefits to all our passengers.”
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