The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has announced that its Maharashtra Chapter will come together once again in Karjat on June 21. IATO’s National Committee along with Chairman of Western Region, N.S. Rathor are expected to present for this. Announcing this is Himanshu Agashiwala, Chairman, Maharashtra Chapter, IATO, who says, “Our Maharashtra chapter conducts at least four to five meetings in a year. One such meeting will be held on June 21 at Hotel Radisson Blu in Karjat. It is a day-long event and we have even invited our executive committee from New Delhi to join us. They might stay overnight. This will be third time that the executive committee from Delhi will be attending a Western Chapter meeting. They normally meet in Delhi itself. One of our members Arika Holidays has managed to get rooms and lunch at the hotel for our members.”

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has posted a growth of 6.32 per cent with a total turnover at Rs 495.14 crore as compared to Rs. 465.69 crore in last financial year. Revenue from operations stood at Rs. 473.15 crore as compared to Rs. 437.13 crore in the last fiscal. Corporation posted profit before tax (PBT) of Rs.17.52 crore and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs.12.05 crore in 2016-17 against Rs. 32.42 crore and Rs. 22.55 crore respectively in the previous year. The results were announced in the Board Meeting held on May 30, 2017, at the Group’s flagship hotel, The Ashok, New Delhi. Piyush Tiwari, Officiating Chairman & Managing Director and Director (Commercial & Marketing), India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), said, “FY 2016-17 has been a motivating year for ITDC as it was the golden jubilee year for the organisation. The profit is result of several proactive initiatives taken by the organization to improve productivity and efficiency at the beginning of the year. Besides posting continuous profit year after year, ITDC has maintained its status of Mini Ratna and its commitment towards the shareholders through announcing consistent dividends for last four consecutive years.” Hotel The Ashok, Ashok International Trade division and Ashok events division of ITDC were other contributors to the profit for FY 2016-17. The Ashok hotel posted a highest ever turnover amounting to Rs. 152.91 crore.

Tourism and air traffic in Qatar is likely to witness a significant dip following four Arab nations—Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—severing diplomatic ties with the country over allegedly backing terror groups, including Islamic State. The four countries have not only declared to withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, they have also said they plan to cut air and sea traffic to the peninsular country. While it is not clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers, but it could be a big jolt to the airline as well as tourism in and out of the country.

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) has announced the opening of Algeria Visa Application and Information Centres (AVAIC) at six different locations including Mumbai. The main centre in Mumbai is located at Dalamal Towers at Nariman Point. The other AVAIC s are based in Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa, Indore and Chennai, respectively. The Centres will cater to all categories of Visa such as tourist, business, work, family, cultural and press, accepting applications from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. With this move, CKGS will become the main service provider for Algeria Visa in West and South India. The Mumbai VAC was inaugurated by His Excellency Hamza Yahia-Cherif, the Ambassador of Algeria to India in presence of the senior CKGS officials. Speaking on the occasion, His Excellency Hamza Yahia-Cherif said, “We are pleased to appoint CKGS as our representative to manage the Algeria Visa Application centre in India. We want to encourage more and more Indians to consider travelling to Algeria and at the same time provide a seamless experience in applying for visas. These centres will ensure that Indian travellers find a faster and reliable way to obtain visa to visit Algeria.” Commenting on the new mandate, Venku Murthi, Chief Operating Officer, CKGS, said, “We are happy to know that the Embassy of Algeria has put their trust in our proven expertise. All 6 centres in India will be committed to ensure excellent visa services to applicants who want to travel to Algeria. We are confident, this partnership will make visa processing quicker and easier for travellers.”

To cope with the characteristic trait of last minute travel bookings that the Indian market has become notorious for, Trafalgar has resorted to offering early bird discounts that its trade partners can extend to their clients. Speaking about this was Nicholas Lim, President – Asia, Trafalgar, who was in Mumbai for the opening of the company’s new office. “We started quite successfully to get Indians to book early two years ago. But the team has had a hard time this year. We have been urging them to book earlier. As a result they are missing out on the opportunities, trips get full and we are unable to squeeze them in. Sometimes Indian travellers decide to book one week before the departure. Other markets like the US, Kiwis, Australians, book six to nine months in advance. Here in Asia, and its not just in India, travellers are late bookers. We are hoping to change that over a period of time.” To counter this, Trafalgar offers small incentives to the trade and the consumer. “We have early payment discounts to encourage Indians to book early. The closer you move to the departure date, the more expensive it gets. So we start with a 10 per cent discount, that goes down to 7.5, and then five per cent. For instance, travellers who book between June 1 – 30, 2017 for any itinerary in our brochure for September 2017 can avail 10 per cent off on any departure. In fact, we made a decision in March 2017 to guarantee every single departure in our brochure all the way to October 2017. An agent doesn’t have to worry about a departure getting cancelled. We give …

The Trump administration has reportedly enforced a new extreme visa screening process for foreign nationals–—including those from India–—under which applicants might be asked to share information regarding their social media accounts, emails and telephone numbers. The State Department, which issues visas to foreign nationals through its diplomatic missions across the world, said that it started implementing this new change from May 25. But these additional questions would be asked only in extreme circumstances, the State Department said. “The additional questions apply to nationals of every country worldwide, including Indian nationals, but only when a consular officer determines that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting,” Will Cocks, a State Department spokesman, told PTI. Asserting that national security is a top administration priority when adjudicating visa applications, Cocks said every prospective traveller to the US undergoes extensive security screening. “We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes and to support legitimate travel and immigration to the United States while protecting US citizens,” he said. The State Department took these measures after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in this regard. “In accordance with the presidents March 6, 2017 memorandum on enhancing the screening and vetting of applications for visas, the Department of State has begun collecting additional information from visa applicants worldwide when a consular officer determines that such information is required to confirm identity or conduct more rigorous national security vetting,” he said. Such visa applicants will be asked to provide additional information, including their social media handles, prior passport numbers, additional information about family members, and a longer history of past travel, employment and contact information, Cocks …

Global passenger traffic for April 2017 increased by 10.7 per cent as compared to April 2016, which was the fastest pace in six years, according to data provided by International Air Transport Association (IATA). The international passenger demand in April 2017 rose 12. 5 per cent as compared to April 2016, with all regions recording double-digit year-over-year traffic increases for the first time in 12 years. Total capacity climbed 7.7 per cent and load factor climbed 3.5 percentage points to 81.5 per cent. Demand for domestic travel climbed 7.7 per cent in April compared to April 2016, while capacity increased 6.2 per cent, causing load factor to rise 1.2 percentage points to 83.0 per cent. All markets reported demand increases with the exception of Australia, which showed a 2.1 per cent decline. IATA attributed the strong performance to a pick-up in global economic activity and lower airfares. After adjusting for inflation, the price of air travel in the first quarter was around 10 per cent lower than in the year-ago period and it was estimated that falling airfares accounted for around half the demand growth in April. However, it was also noted that the cabin ban on the carriage of large portable electronic devices (PEDs) from 10 Middle Eastern and African airports to the US seemed to have weighed down Middle East-North America passenger traffic. “April showed us that demand for air travel remains at very strong levels. Nevertheless there are indications that passengers are avoiding routes where the large PED ban is in place. As the US Department of Homeland Security considers expanding the ban, the need to find alternative measures to keep flying secure is critical. If the …

Fairfield by Marriott, part of Marriott International, has announced the opening of Fairfield by Marriott Kathmandu, which marks Marriott International’s entry into Nepal. Mike Fulkerson, Vice President, Brand & Marketing Asia Pacific, Marriott International, says, “As with all Fairfield by Marriott hotels around the world, guests can expect the same high standards of service and seamless experience so they never have to skip a beat. We are very proud to debut in the kingdom of Nepal and introduce the Fairfield by Marriott brand as Marriott International’s first hotel in the country.” Fairfield by Marriott Kathmandu is located in Thamel, a district at the heart of the capital’s central commercial hub, which was previously known as a bohemian haven before it became a popular shopping destination. Close to all the destination’s popular attractions including the Narayanhiti Palace Museum, Garden of Dreams and the Kathmandu Durbar Square, the hotel is also situated 5km away from the airport. Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President, South Asia for Marriott International added, “We believe this is exactly the right product for this market as it fills a much-needed gap in the moderate tier segment with its fresh, contemporary design, service excellence and great value. We are confident this will resonate well with both leisure and business travelers to Kathmandu.” Fairfield by Marriott Kathmandu is the latest addition to the brand’s footprint in South Asia, with four hotels in India currentlyopen including Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar, Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Outer Ring Road, Fairfield by Marriott Lucknow and Fairfield by Marriott Belagavi. The hotel offers 115 rooms. Kava, the all-day dining restaurant, serves local, Indian and international cuisine. Meanwhile, Kava – The Bar and lobby lounge …

Air Astana has announced the expansion of its India operations by adding a new flight between Delhi and Astana, starting July 2, 2017. The airline offers flights three times a week with onward domestic Kazakhstan and international connections within Air Astana network. The fare from Delhi to Astana starts from Rs. 18,592 return all-inclusive. The airline is also offering connecting flights between Delhi and Istanbul via Astana, starting from Rs. 33,861 all inclusive. The DEL-IST flight departs from Delhi at 12:00 hours and arrives at Istanbul at 21:10 hours, while the IST-DEL flight departs at 22:10 hours and arrives in Delhi the next day at 10:55 hours.

Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) hosted a session on Goods and Services Tax (GST) for its members in Mumbai. Service Tax expert CA Manish Gadia from GMJ & Co gave an insight on how GST will come into play. TAAI has initiated GST training sessions in cities such as Kolkata, Ahmedabad and now Mumbai. Revealing more is Jay Bhatia, Hon. Treasurer & Tourism Council Chairman, TAAI. “By June 30, we plan to complete these sessions in all the 20 cities across the country where TAAI is present. Subsequently by July-August we will have detailed session as the government gives more clarity on GST. Currently, we are not happy with the GST rates and we will be making representation through FAITH to the government which is definitely going to be reviewed by the government but as of now the current intention of the government is to implement GST from 1st of July. Once it is implemented we have assurance from the government that they will look into the issues faced by agents and take the right steps,” he said. Sampat Damani, Chairman – Western Region, TAAI, commented, “Although we received notifications from the government but still a lot of things are not clear. With GST being very complex we see tourism and hospitality industry getting a big hit. Like demonetisation we may see day to day changes by the government which will be a chaos for the next 6-8 months. We were supposed to go into a paperless scenario but here with 37 returns to be filed annually we are taking a step backward instead of going forward.”