Vistara has introduced two additional daily return flights between Delhi and Bengaluru to celebrate the second anniversary of its service on the route. With this addition, Vistara now flies five times return daily (four times on Sundays) between the two cities, taking the count of weekly flights on the route (both ways) to 68. Elaborating on this, Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “In a short time Vistara has emerged as the airline of choice for corporate customers, and the increase in frequency from 3 to 5 flights daily each way between Delhi and Bengaluru is in response to their request for more Vistara flights between these cities. Not only will these flights help us meet the needs of our frequent flyers, it will also attract those wanting to fly us more often.  Bengaluru is a key market for Vistara, and we intend to add more flights there over time, slots permitting.”

Qatar Airways has said that their operations to and from its Doha hub are running smoothly, and in fact, they will only be growing their network. The airline launched direct service to Dublin, Republic of Ireland on June 1. Qatar Airways will also start service to Nice, France, on 4 July, and flights to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on 17 July. Other new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018 include Las Vegas (USA), Canberra (Australia), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Medan (Indonesia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as many others. The airline’s much talked about ‘First in Business seat’—Qsuite, will be showcased at the Paris Air Show from 19–25 June before debuting on its first route, between Doha and London Heathrow, later this month.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has finalised the Chairman and Co-chairman of their convention scheduled from September 7-10, 2017 at The Mayfair Convention Centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Rajiv Mehra, Vice President, IATO, is the Chairman, while Lally Matthews, Hon. Secretary, IATO, has been designated as the Co-Chairman for the convention. On their planning for the convention, Mehra said, “We are looking forward to an excellent convention, and discuss various issues like GST, role of social media, as well as how to get leads through websites and developing websites. Through sessions, we will be working towards the ultimate aim of telling our members how to grow their business. We are choosing topics through which we can do something for our medium and small sized operators.” Matthews, on the other hand, said, “Right now we are trying to get the registrations started. Also, we are waiting for the GST roll out, so that the hotel rates can be finalised under the new regime.”

SpiceJet has announced its e-commerce venture SpiceStyle, which would reportedly help in increasing the airline’s ancillary revenue. This would be SpiceJet’s entry into the retail segment, and the airline has announced that the portal is expected to rake in additional revenues worth Rs 150 crore in the first year. According to a statement by the airline, “The new venture will further boost SpiceJet’s ancillary revenue income which has grown from 6 per cent to around 17 per cent in the last two years.” Initially planned as an in-flight service, SpiceStyle is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpiceJet and an e-commerce portal ‘www.spicestyle.com’ has been set up in this regard. Besides, it has tied up with Amazon to launch an all new brand store. The strategic alliance would offer SpiceStyle’s entire portfolio of brands on the shopping portal at launch prices offering 25 per cent discount.

Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) is organising the 2nd Odisha Tourism Conclave on June 17, 2017, at Hotel Swosti Premium, Bhubaneswar. The theme of the conclave is ‘Tourism to be the Driving Force of Future Economy’. The conclave will see discussions on different potential issues relating to tourism sector and the conclave is planned to cover sub themes like ‘Branding of Odisha’, ‘Infrastructure to boost Tourism’, ‘Richness of Eco & Wildlife Tourism’, ‘Creating Tourism Friendly Awareness’, ‘Media & Tourism’, ‘Social Media & Digital Marketing in Tourism Promotion’, ‘Advantages of Odisha Tourism Policy 2016’, ‘Planning From Smart City to Smart State’, ‘Odisha a Buddhist Tourism Circuit’ and ‘Enhancing Skills & Training in Hospitality Education in Tourism Promotion’. Dr. S. C. Jamir, Governor of Odisha,  is expected to inaugurate the Conclave in the morning and the valedictory ceremony will be attended by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the evening of June 17, 2017, at the Swosti Premium Hotel, Bhubaneswar.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on e-Tourist Visa during May 2017 were 0.68 lakh as compared to 0.44 lakh during the month of May 2016 registering a growth of 55.3 per cent. During January-May 2017, a total of 6.50 lakh tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 4.35 lakh during January-May 2016, registering a growth of 49.4 per cent. The percentage shares of top 15 source countries availing e-Tourist Visa facilities during  May, 2017 were as follows: USA (15.1%), UK (13.1%), China (8.4%), Germany (4.3%), Australia (4.1%), France (4.0%), Canada (3.9%), Korea (3.4%), Singapore (2.8%), Malaysia (2.5%), Russian Fed (2.2%), Spain (2.1%), UAE (2.0%), Thailand (1.9%), and South Africa (1.6%). The percentage shares of top 15 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during May, 2017 were as follows: New Delhi Airport (45.1%), Mumbai Airport (21.4%), Bengaluru Airport (8.6%), Chennai Airport (7.8%), Kochi Airport (3.6%), Hyderabad Airport (2.8%), Kolkata Airport (2.5%), Dabolim (Goa) Airport (1.9%), Ahmedabad Airport (1.4%), Amritsar Airport (1.2%), Tirchy Airport (1.1%), Trivandrum Airport (1.1%), Jaipur Airport (0.4%), Calicut Airport (0.4%)and Pune Airport(0.3%).

The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in May 2017 were 6.30 lakh as compared to FTAs of 5.27 lakh during the same period last year and 5.09 lakh in May 2015. The growth rate in FTAs in May 2017 over May 2016 is 19.5 per cent compared to 3.5 per cent in May 2016 over May 2015. FTAs during the period January-May 2017 were 42.15 lakh with a growth of 16.4 per cent, as compared to the FTAs of 36.22 lakh with a growth of 8.7 per cent in January-May 2016 over January-May 2015. The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during May 2017 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (29.73%) followed by USA (14.37%), UK (6.76%), Malaysia (3.64%), China (2.91%), Sri Lanka (2.68%), Japan(2.38%), Germany (2.34%), Canada (2.33%), Australia (2.26%), Singapore (1.99%), France (1.77%), Afghanistan (1.76%), Nepal (1.73%) and Republic of Korea (1.52%). The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during May 2017 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (24.17%) followed by Haridaspur Land check post (17.06%), Mumbai Airport (15.04%),Chennai Airport (7.75%), Bengaluru Airport (6.50%), Kolkata Airport (5.29%), Gede Rail Land check post (3.62%), Hyderabad Airport (3.33%),Cochin Airport (3.25%), Ghojadanga land check post (2.14%), Tiruchirapalli Airport (1.76%), Ahmedabad Airport (1.61%), Trivandrum Airport (1.36%), Goa Airport (0.78%),and Attari-Wagh Airport (0.77%).

The Q Experiences, a luxury travel company in India, has launched an exclusive 11 day trip for only 200 people to Antarctica. The expedition, which is a part of their Curated Journeys segment, will start from Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina on December 9, 2017. Travellers would be on board ‘The Great Majestic Explorer’, which is a sleek yacht with 132 staterooms and suites. Speaking about the unique expedition, Vasim Shaikh, Founder, Q Experiences, said, “Curated Journeys are constant endeavour at the Q. With the launch of the White Continent, we aspire luxury travel to unsurpassed heights and focus on rare destinations that Indians are yet to explore.” Also, the ship would have on board Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar to curate Indian delicacies for guests on board.

Come July 25, 2017, Scoot and Tigerair will be putting finishing touches to the integration of their reservation systems, flight schedules and connections, etc. by merging the two airlines to operate under a single brand. With the merger, Tigerair will operate under the Scoot brand, however the Scoot designator code (TZ) will be re-designated as TR. Scoot flight schedules (departure/arrival dates and times) will remain unchanged, i.e. flights will depart as scheduled, however instead of TZ, the designator code will be TR. For passengers travelling on any Scoot flight on, or after 25 Jul 2017, the airline will be sending out a separate email over the next few weeks (either directly or through the travel agency) to inform passengers of updated itinerary with the new Scoot designator code (TR). With the merger, Scoot will operate two different fleets of Boeing 787 Dreamliner (existing Scoot fleet) and Airbus 320 (Tigerair fleet repainted into Scoot livery). Some of their networks will be served by both fleets.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) signed an MoU with Travel Agents Federation of India to promote tourism between India and Malaysia. The MoU was signed the roadshow organised recently by the associations along with Tourism Malaysia at the Royal Plaza, New Delhi, which had Malaysian tour operators, product owners, as well as Indian travel agents. The objective of the road show was to create good connection between tour operators from both countries and increase the number of arrivals from India to Malaysia.