Flight Shop, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of FCTG, Australia, has announced a joint-partnership with Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) to offer combined holiday packages to the discerning Indian traveller. As both tourism boards come together for the first time, the collaboration intends to strengthen mutual relationships and expand their presence in the Indian market. Commenting on the collaboration, Shravan Gupta, Executive Director – Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions India, said, “We are extremely delighted to have collaborated with Japan and Korea Tourism boards in India. As a first-of-its-kind, the partnership aligns with our commitment to offer unbeatable escapades to our customers. The popularity of these destinations amongst Indian travellers has driven us to create the finest itineraries with exciting opportunities and unforgettable lifetime experiences. As key long haul destinations, Japan and South Korea have witnessed a robust growth of 30% in Indian outbound travelers; the joint collaboration aims to double this growth over the next few years. As both destinations bet high on India, we will focus primarily on key and emerging metros.” Byungsun Lee, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, said, “We are elated to collaborate with Flight Shop and Japan Tourism Board to promote Far-East in India as we strongly believe that the Korea-Japan combination holiday is a star-offering for Indian market this summer season. Carriers in India (Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airways, All Nippon Airways) offer excellent connectivity to both the counties with bare minimum connecting times. Together, South Korea and Japan combined will offer an unmatched experience to Indian travellers, especially to families with theme parks, shopping, etc. as the focus themes.” Kenichi Takano, Executive Director, Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said, “Japan is a destination for …

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has started conducting educational workshops on GST for its members across all chapters along with its consultant and Service Tax expert, Manish Gadia, Partner, GMJ & Co. Jay Bhatia, National Treasurer and Chairman (Tourism Council), TAAI, says, “We did a session on GST in Ahmedabad on Saturday, May 27 and are doing another one in Mumbai on June 1. We have planned this pan-India for our chapters and the dates and cities will be announced soon.” The association will conduct another one in Lucknow on June 8. Gadia, who recently conducted a session on the same topic for Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) members in Mumbai says, “The main doubt of the IATO members was whether they have to go for five per cent or 18 per cent, whether they have both options, what will be the place of supply, and how can they get the maximum benefit from GST. Any change will always have some pros and cons. Introduction of GST is one the biggest economic reforms for India. So the tour operators will have to change the way they are doing business today.”  

The seventh edition of South African Tourism’s annual training program titled ‘Learn SA’ will start from July 2017. The program equips travel agents with the best tools and tips to sell South Africa in the Indian market. Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism-India, says, “South African Tourism promises that the 2017 version of ‘Learn SA’ will have new, exciting and useful sessions that will ensure a profitable South Africa business and repeat customers for travel agents who attend the training. Also on offer for the first time ever, attending travel agents displaying high interest levels and strong potential, stand the chance of being invited to participate in marketing activities supported by South African Tourism.” Registration for this is free and travel agents are encouraged to sign up multiple participants. ‘Learn SA’ will cover 17 cities to ensure that travel agents all over the country are given the opportunity to learn and thereby sell the destination. It starts from July 6 in Mumbai and continues to other metro cities and tier II cities across India.  

Andaman and Nicobar Islands is planning to boost tourism in the territory besides showcasing the heritage and culture of the destination. Under the aegis of Swadesh Darshan and other schemes of the government, the tourism department has reportedly identified Cellular Jail along with prominent beaches in different parts of these islands for development of tourism. Amit Anand, Director – Tourism, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, reportedly said that execution of all schemes in the tourism sector is being closely monitored. “The administration is committed to holistic development of these islands and to showcase Andaman prominently in the world tourism atlas. Various schemes for development of tourism launched by the government are being implemented here in the right earnest and the sector is poised to witness rapid growth in the days to come,” he added. The administration has plans in the pipeline to improve facilities and safety measures at beaches like Ross and Smith, Baludera, Ramnagar, Lalaji Bay, Lakshmanpur, Bharatpur, Elephant, Kalapathar, etc. Under schemes for the Union Territories, the administration has formulated plans to introduce ropeway from Port Blair to Ross Island, tented accommodation facilities at Neil, Long Island and Baratang, introduce submersible scooters for adventure water sports, canopy walk at Chidiyatapu besides launching promotional campaigns in a big way. Wayside amenities along the Andaman Trunk Road at Baratang, Scuba Diving Centre are set to be available soon in the Middle Andaman region. Source: The Echo of India

In an attempt to boost tourism in the valley, the tourism department of Jammu and Kashmir has announced to offer rebates on lodging and transport charges. “Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) will provide 50 per cent rebate on lodging and transport charges or even on total packages in some cases to the tourists visiting the Valley,” said Ghulam Jeelani Zagar, Deputy Director of  Kashmir Tourism. He further informed that private tourism players were also offering 32 per cent concessions in boarding and lodging or on total packages to the tourists. Zagar also informed that West Bengal topped the list in domestic tourist inflow in the valley. The total tourist inflow in the valley during 2016-17 was nearly 17 lakh though the state is hoping that this number would be more this year following massive campaigns to boost the sector. ““Foreign tourists, however, was only about 35,000 during the year 2016-17, of which majority were from South Asia,” said Zagar. The state government is emphasizing on carrying out a mass publicity campaign to attract more tourists from other states and abroad to the valley

Following the recent announcement of the 28 per cent GST rates for hotels in the luxury category and those that charge a tariff of more Rs. 5000, to be applicable from July 1, the hospitality industry in South India is protesting the move. K. Syama Raju, President, SIHRA, says, “The recent developments and policies belie the importance of our industry and fail to recognise that this Industry is one of the largest employment generators and net foreign exchange earners with an expected exponential growth. It is imperative that we impress the government of our displeasure on these recent developments that are adversely affecting our industry. We commend the authorities for recognising the value of tourism by lower GST rates for one value chain of tourism i.e. travel, tours and transportation but are extremely disappointed that for the other part i.e. hotels & restaurants a regressive GST taxation regime has been applied. Hotel & restaurant businesses are striving to create higher standards and get higher ratings but the more punitive is the GST regime. Economic & visionary development of the industry cannot simultaneously be branded by exclusivity. The main objectives of GST is to minimise the cascading effect of taxation, harmonise the tax base, laws and administrative procedures across the country, creating a common playing field to promote healthy competition amongst the states that will ensure certain standards across the industry and most importantly minimizing tax slabs to avoid classification issues. The industry is coming together to protest on May 30, 2017, to register dissent against the adverse impact of the proposed GST rates in southern states.”

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of oneworld alliance, will be establishing its presence in Australia with daily non-stop services to Melbourne commencing October 29, 2017. The non-stop services will also facilitate passengers from the Middle East and South Asia seeking onward connectivity via Colombo to/from Australia. The airline will be operating Airbus 330-200 aircraft on the route. For the convenience of travellers seeking onward connectivity from its Colombo hub, SriLankan currently connects over 10 Indian points with over 100 flights a week, which includes services to/from Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Trivandrum, Tiruchirappalli, Cochin, Mumbai and New Delhi. SriLankan will be adding Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore and Hyderabad to its route network in July this year, further expanding its presence in India. SriLankan Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Captain Suren Ratwatte, said, “Our presence in Australia cements the long-standing relationship between our two countries. We recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our nations, and the addition of Melbourne signifies our strategy of optimizing the Airline’s network in line with our restructuring. This also means that we have connected another continent to our global route map. On the other hand, given the number of Sri Lankans residing in and around Victoria, we fulfill a long felt need for a direct service. We are proud to welcome all the diverse residents of Victoria who can now enjoy the direct connections when visiting their friends and families throughout our network.” Australia is home to one of the largest Sri Lankan expatriate communities, many of whom reside in and around Melbourne, the capital of Australia’s ‘Garden State’, Victoria. This factor, together with the tremendous potential for business travel and …

Taj Group has announced that its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Sarna has resigned owing to personal reasons. Sarna had joined Indian Hotels Company Limited as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2014. IHCL Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said Sarna had chosen to resign upon completion of his three-year tenure as MD and CEO, adding “The board respects his decision and has requested him to continue till September 30, which he has kindly agreed to”. IHCL runs the Taj Group of hotels. He had joined IHCL in September 2014 replacing the company’s long-serving head Raymond Bickson. Before he joined IHCL, Sarna was the Group President -Americas of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP), the largest global travel agency affiliation program, has appointed Dex Group as its GSA in India with effect from May 21, 2017. This association will increase the number of travel agents in the TAAP by up to 20%. Dex Group, with a history of 50 years in India’s travel industry including representation of various international airlines in India, will henceforth be responsible to promote and manage sales distribution of Expedia TAAP in India. With Expedia TAAP, travel agents can search and book competitive rates at over 321,000 hotels, 400 airlines, plus thousands of rental car companies, dynamic packages, and attractions worldwide.

Finnair, the flagship carrier for Finland, has joined the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA said, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Finnair to the PATA family as our newest aviation member and the first Nordic airline to join in recent years. The airline is not only a leader in sustainable practices but also in pioneering new technologies such as testing face recognition technology for use by travellers when checking in for flights departing from Helsinki airport.” “Finnair is proud to join PATA, as Finnair’s growth strategy is strongly linked to the Asia & Pacific region. We want to further develop our business and intensify the ties between us and important local tourism authorities, associations and regional/local companies,” states Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Board Member at Finnair.