The Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, reportedly plans to promote tourism in the state through special tour packages for the Dussehra festival. The department, through its arm Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), intends to launch the ‘Dasara Special Tour Package’ in the Golden Chariot, the only luxury tourist train in South India, run by KSTDC, to promote this state festival. The first trip will run from September 23 to 25, and the second from September 29 to October 1. The train will depart from and arrive at the Yeshwantpur railway station in Bengaluru. Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology, Bio-Technology, Science and Technology and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, reportedly said, “This initiative of KSTDC provides an excellent opportunity to people to experience royalty on board, which would showcase the Nadahabba, the Mysuru Dasara and its grandeur.” KSTDC has also planned curated royal walks to allow guests to explore the heritage-rich city of Mysuru. Guests will be offered a gold pass to witness the Dasara and cultural programmes in front of an illuminated Mysuru Palace. Source: Hindu Business Line

In a bid to tap into the growing corporate travel segment in India, MakeMyTrip has launched MyBusiness, a convenient, transparent and efficient self-booking tool on the MMT app. The tool will help keep control in the hands of the company while providing corporate travel benefits and savings for all. Speaking at the launch, Rajesh Magow, co-founder and CEO-India, MakeMyTrip said, “MakeMyTrip has always been an enabler of change in the way Indians travel, our focus and investment in MyBusiness underlines our sense of purpose in changing the way corporate India moves. We have an aggressive plan in place to tap into this fast-growing business travel market by moving complex offline processes to a convenient and efficient online booking experience for employees and employers alike.” Ranjeet Oak, Chief Business Officer, MakeMyTrip, said, “For most organisations, business travel spending is the second largest expense, and the entire process allows certain amount of discrepancies and reimbursement issues later on. SME corporates are contributing to 70% of the flourishing Indian corporate travel business and with MyBusiness, we are empowering the entire ecosystem, by establishing the ‘Choice’ with the traveller, ‘Control’ with the company and ‘Benefits and Savings’ for all.” MyBusiness will not only make businesses of any size avail best corporate travel deals but will also bring down friction in the expense process. By introducing the new corporate wallet on MyBusiness, the companies will be able to reduce payment inefficiencies, liabilities and potential corporate card abuse—in turn providing employees and companies greater flexibility. This would be supported via dedicated corporate helpdesks which will be operational 24×7.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has launched special Ganesh Darshan tours for the devotees in Mumbai, Pune and Konkan region to celebrate 125 years of Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav. On this occasion, MTDC is promoting Ganpati mandals, which was started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Mumbai. Ganesh Darshan tours will not only surge tourism in the state, but also give a chance to foreign and domestic travellers to be a part of the celebrations. The tours will include sighting of the most popular Ganesh pandals in Mumbai, including Lalbaug-cha-Raja, Ganesh Gully, GSB Mandal, Fort-cha-Raja, Fanaswadi Ganesha, Jitekarwadi Ganesha and Bramhansabha Ganesha. The tour will commence from Prabhadevi, from where dedicated 45-seater AC buses will take tourists on this devotional ride. These tours have started from August 26 and will continue till September 5, 2017.

Starting October 3, 2017, Chandigarh airport will limit daily flight operation timings for upgrade and repairs, according to a report in The Economic Times. The report stated that the airport will stop functioning from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. The move was opposed by airlines citing inadequate advance notice. The Federation of Indian Airlines opposed the plan and asked the Indian Air Force, which owns the airport, to shift renovation timings to night to minimise impact. Airlines had planned to increase daily flights from 74 to 84 in the winter schedule, and closure every afternoon will affect 28 flights, they said. Reduction in operation timings could lead to a 35-40 per cent drop in passengers and flights, the federation said. International and domestic passenger traffic at Chandigarh increased 42 per cent to 216,694 in June, 2017, according to the data on the Airports Authority of India website. Source: The Economic Times

Vistara has announced that it will resume its daily flight services from New Delhi to Varanasi starting October 10, 2017. In March this year, the airline had discontinued its services to the holy city in Uttar Pradesh owing to operational issues. A statement by the airline read, “Vistara is delighted to reintroduce daily non-stop flights between New Delhi and Varanasi starting October 10.” The TATA-SIA airline has also launched introductory one-way fare of Rs 1,500, without taxes, to attract customers for the route.

Looking to establish Delhi as a prime tourist destination, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with Delhi Tourism, held an interactive conference at the PHD House, New Delhi. The deliberations focused on the various OUVs (Outstanding Universal Values) that the city possesses and the various measures, including policy matters, that are needed to bring forth Delhi as a destination rich in history, culture and various forms of art, as well as a political and business destination. Speaking at the occasion, Guest of Honour, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Tourism, Art, Culture and Language, Government of Delhi, said, “Tourism is not just about successful branding; we need massive collaborations to create, manage and sell efficiently. The impetus should be on creating circuits, infrastructure and activities to extend the average length of stay of a tourist.” From adding dimensions in order to better practice heritage conservation to introducing a heritage-centric strategy to reinvent the ecosystem of the city, the conference discussed about a makeover of the city that would augment tourism in the city and strengthen the overall economic framework of the city in the process. The forum also laid stress on the need for more result-oriented heritage projects and for synergies to be created between private and public players to establish the image of Delhi as a modernised city rooted in the history and culture of its people.

Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has announced Turkey as the venue for its next convention, which will be held from October 27-31, 2017. The 4-night, 5-day convention is planned to be held at two different locations in Turkey and entail pre- and post-convention tours for the delegates, according to an official document released by the association. However, their names have still not been announced.

Airbnb has entered into a partnership with Jet Airways. This is the first Indian airline that Airbnb has signed an agreement with. With this move, Airbnb is strengthening its footprint in the Indian market and establishing a deeper connect with the new age Indian travellers who seek unique travel experiences. Promoting this partnership, Jet Airways and Airbnb are running contests on their websites as well. Amanpreet Bajaj, Country Manager – India, Airbnb said, “Airbnb’s philosophy is centered on providing unique experiences to modern day travellers, who seek newer and more interesting ways to travel. Indian travellers have become more decisive and are keen to break away from conventional means of travel and accommodation. Airbnb has been committed to building local partnerships which enable us to strengthen our connect with the Indian audience. With this partnership, Jet Airways fliers who are also Airbnb travellers will be able to enjoy the added-value they receive from being associated with two dynamic brands.” Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways said, “An increasing number of Indian travellers are embracing the fresh and highly personalised experiences that a platform like Airbnb offers. Our focus on being innovative and offering differentiated travel experiences enables us to anticipate the changing needs of our guests and recognize trends much earlier than the market, thus allowing us to offer exciting travel related initiatives. We are delighted to be the first Indian airline to partner Airbnb, and look forward to creating more of such innovative experiences for our guests.”

The Supreme Court has clarified that the ban on sale of alcohol within 500 meters of state and national highways does not apply within city limits, granting relief to the liquor and hospitality industry. The Apex Court’s directive that no liquor shop shall be visible and directly accessible from the highways nor it should be situated within 500 metres of the outer edge of the national or state highway or of the service lane, created chaos in the hospitality industry. While lakhs of people lost their jobs, the MICE business impacted a great deal in the country. Terming it as a landmark order, Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) says, “This was a much needed clarification as millions of jobs and the very survival of the nation’s tourism industry was at stake. It has been HRAWI’s contention right from the start that the original order could not have been directed at hotels and liquor vends within city limits. We are thankful to the Bench and the Hon’ble Justices for unequivocally clarifying this. The order will bring relief to almost 70 per cent of the affected hotels.”

Skål International Delhi has surpassed Skål International Istanbul to become the largest club in the world; this was announced by Sunil Ghadiok, President, Skål International Delhi. With a current membership sitting of 229 members, the Club is targeting a total membership count of close to 300 by the end of the calendar year. Commenting on the this accomplishment, Ghadiok exclaimed, “It’s not so much about being the largest club in terms of membership rather it’s about bringing value to the members of the club both in terms of professional and personal aspects of their life”. He also added that the club will be starting various initiatives along with making efforts into bringing in the younger generation to further substantiate the Delhi club.