Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off Gandhi Darshan Special Tourist Train on June 17, 2017. In order to commemorate the centenary celebration of Sabarmati Ashram associated with the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, Ministry of Railways has decided to run Gandhi Darshan Special Tourist Train covering all the important tourist places under Gandhian Circuit. The train will be operated by its PSU IRCTC. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off this train through video conferencing from Bandra, the train started its journey from Sabarmati on June 17 (Saturday), the centenary day of Sabarmati Ashram in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani. This Gandhi Special Tourist train will cover all the important destinations like Wardha, Motihari, Bettiah, Gaya, Varanasi, Allahabad and Surat connected with India’s freedom struggle movement & Mahatma Gandhi. The train will be on a special tour for 10 days from June 17 to 26, 2017.

The Australian High Commission and Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection have announced that all Indian nationals will be able to lodge visitor visa applications for Australia online from July 1, 2017. The Acting Australian High Commissioner to India, Chris Elstoft, said eligible Indian nationals can now apply online for a visitor visa through the Department’s ImmiAccount portal. Online application offers benefits such as 24/7 accessibility, electronic payment of the visa application charge and the ability to check the status of applications lodged online. With the applicant’s permission, the online form can be completed by a third party such as a family member here or in Australia, a travel agent, or its contracted visa application centre, VFS. “Processing times for these visas will now be faster, as both applications and supporting documentation are immediately available to the processing office. This is good news for every Indian visitor to Australia, whether they are travelling for business or pleasure,” Elstoft said. Being able to check the status of an application online, as soon as it is finalised, will allow Indian applicants to finalise their travel arrangements as soon as possible. “With the rising popularity of Australia as a holiday destination, there has been a significant rise in demand for Australian visas in India. There were more than 265,000 Indian visitor arrivals from July-Mar 2017, an increase of 15.4 per cent compared to the same period last year,” he adds.

Thailand Travel Mart 2017 has ended a successful two-year run in the northern capital of Chiang Mai, and will move to the resort city of Pattaya next year. The event was attended by 423 buyers from 56 countries. Although the main markets of China, India, Russia, Europe and the UK dominated the list, the focus on buyers from the eastern European countries, Latin America and South Africa. Moreover, first-time buyers comprised 47.8 per cent of the total. The theme “Delivering Unique Experiences” was designed to be in line with the overall tourism marketing slogan. All the pre and post-tours were specially selected to include the spectacular range of Royal Projects, Northern Thai museums, restaurants, community-based products and heritage sites in line with that theme. This year, the show was attended by 362 sellers from Thailand and the neighbouring Mekong countries, the vast majority of whom were small & medium sized hotels and boutique resorts emerging by the dozens all over the country. Giving exposure to these SMEs, most of whom cannot afford to attend the large global travel trade events, is  a primary objective of the TTM+. The first knowledge-transfer session was held on the first day, led by Minister Kobkarn on community-based tourism. She was followed by speakers talking on crisis management, culinary tourism and the digital economy. On the third day, around 600 participants from travel & tourism training institutes and entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai benefitted from a day-long seminar series by TAT executives and some of Thailand’s leading private sector executives on market trends. One of the key highlights of the event was a showcase of indigenous products reflecting the best of Northern Thai culture, arts and …

Flight Shop, the leisure brand of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), Australia, in India opened its first retail store in Surat and second franchise outlet after Hyderabad. With the launch of this store, FCTG, Australia now has 17 operational Flight Shop stores across India. Spread over 1100 sq. ft., the Flight Shop outlet in Surat is based in VIP High Street, and will cater to the needs of up market urban consumers – families, business travellers, honeymoon couples and groups of travellers. Shravan Gupta, Executive Director – Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions India (the Indian arm of Flight Centre Travel Group, Australia) said, “Over the last few years, Surat has grown to become one of the fastest developing cities in the country with constantly rising travel demands of two to three trips in a year per household. As an affluent market driven by diamond and textile merchants, Surat is one of the highest contributors to the GDP amongst other emerging metros such as – Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam and Lucknow.” Flight Shop stores are spread across Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and via a combination of owned branches and newly opened franchise outlets. FCTG, Australia plans to open 50 more Flight Shop stores across the country in the next two to three years.

The 10th Conventions India Conclave, a flagship event of the India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) has been finalized to be held in Hyderabad from 29th – 31st August 2017. ICPB will be hosting their annual Conventions India Conclave at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre this time around. This was announced by Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, ICPB who also added,“ We will take this opportunity to project ICPB as a parent body for promoting as a convention destination especially when we are working on restructuring of ICPB and strengthening of ICPB .” The theme of the event is Expanding the Boundaries – Mission Possible, focusing on all the segments of MICE. The conclave is expected to have a huge turnout of 250 – 300 delegates comprising stakeholders, corporate heads, the medical fraternity representatives, the scientific community and all other decision makers. Along with them there will be nearly 60 – 70 exhibitors at the conclave. In addition to the B2B meetings this year there will also be an association networking evening, where members will get a chance to interact with all the medical association leaders who are responsible for conducting their events and meeting in India.

The Government of Kerala is looking at 50 per cent increase in the number of domestic tourists and 100  per cent increase in foreign arrivals by 2021, Tourism Minister, Kadakampally Surendran has said. “Digital platforms are the key to achieve the aim. Year after year, we see a constant growth in the number of tourists we host. Hence the industry needs to evolve in accordance with the changes in global market. Kerala Tourism has been exploring new media as a key platform and has witnessed the reach and response to it,” he noted. Dr. Venu V, IAS, Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism, says, “Kerala Tourism has always been in the forefront as we were the first tourist destination to start a website. Later, we spread our presence to other social media platforms. The technology platforms are gently stronger. Hence we need to redesign and reengineer to cater the demands of guests.”

Effective June 12, 2017, Ethiopian Immigration and Nationality Affairs main Department in collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines is offering e-visa service for international visitors to Ethiopia. The e-visa is processed and issued online on a single webpage where applicants apply, pay and secure their entry visa online. Once the online application is approved, applicants will receive an email authorising them to travel to Ethiopia and they will get their passport stamped with the visa upon arrival in Addis Ababa. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines, says, “The full commencement of the Online Visa application and issuance system will promote tourism, trade and investment to the country. It will save time, energy and cost for travelers to Ethiopia in addition to the simplicity and convenience that it facilitates. With direct flights to/from more than 95 destinations from all corners of the world operated by the most modern airplanes, we will continue to make travel to Ethiopia, dependable, easy, convenient and affordable. I will take this opportunity to thank our IT team and our colleagues at the Main Department for Immigration & Nationality Affairs for the commendable collaboration and the job well done.” Gebreyohannes Teklu, Director Main Department for Immigration & Nationality Affairs, commented, “We are glad that we have been working together with Ethiopian Airlines for the effective implementation of e-visa facilities at Bole International Airport. Now international visitors to Ethiopia, from countries provisioned for visa upon arrival, will make use of this service. Moreover, we have set up separate counters to process the visas of travelers under electronic travel authorization.”

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council has considered revision of tax on hotel rooms and decided that while those in the range of Rs 2,000-Rs 7,500 a day tariff would face 18 per cent tax, rooms with daily tariff above Rs 7,500 would be taxed at 28 per cent. This comes as a slight relief for the hospitality and travel industry, especially in comparison with the initial rate of 28 per cent being levied for hotels charging over Rs 5000 per night. However, Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister, has said that the GST on restaurant service in 5-star hotels would attract 18 per cent tax.

Singapore Airlines has announced a special offer exclusively for its new and existing KrisFlyer loyalty card members. Customers booking a Singapore Airlines or SilkAir (regional wing of Singapore Airlines) return ticket from June 16-30, 2017, on www.singaporeair.com or SingaporeAir mobile app will receive two complimentary flights on Vistara. This offer is valid for travel between July 01 and August 31, 2017, on Suites, First, Business and Economy (Flexi and Flexi Saver) fares. Travel on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir flights must originate from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Except for Singapore Airlines Suites or First Class passengers who will be entitled to Vistara’s Business Class, customers will be allotted the same cabin class on their complimentary Vistara tickets with a travel validity from July 21, 2017 – August 31, 2018. Furthermore, travellers from India can redeem a complimentary S$20 Changi Dollar Voucher for use at all participating shops, restaurants and lounges when they transit at Singapore Changi Airport. Indian nationals can also avail of one-way, Visa Free Transit Facility for up to 96 hours in Singapore with a valid onward ticket and a valid visa from selected countries. The transit facility will be provided at the discretion of the immigration authorities.

Cox and Kings (C&K) has launched four Holiday Clubs in New Delhi which will offer customers a variety of experiential holiday options. Travellers can select from various holiday divisions of C&K to enable travel, getaway goddess and trip 360. The purpose behind launching these lounges is to mark its presence in areas where there is heavy footfall of consumers. “We launched four lounges in Connaught Place, Rajouri Garden, South Extention and MGF Metropolitan mall. Delhi is one of our key markets and these concept stores will provide the customers with a unique shopping experience,” said Karan Anand, Head Relations, C&K. He further added that these stores will complement the existing points of sales that C&K has in New Delhi with an aim to be present where the customers would most likely shop. The company is going to market these stores along with their trade promotion strategies.