Jet Airways has expanded the scope of its popular eduJetter programme for upcoming 2017-18 academic year. The revised program will make it easier for Indian students and those from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal – holding confirmed admissions for studying at universities/ institutions in Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the USA, to commence their new academic journey. Effective this year, privileges include special baggage allowance of up to 69 kg, free SIM cards (with exclusive calling rates), and through baggage check-in up to the final destination. Participating students also receive a free ISIC Forex Card  that offers easy and safe access to foreign exchange besides enjoying a five per cent discount on JetEscapes Holidays. Jet Airways has also simplified the entire process of eduJetter application and booking, as part of widening the appeal of the programme. The new, automatic application process is user-friendly and allows students to apply in three steps – book a flight ticket, visit the EduJetter page on the Jet Airways website to fill an online request form. The student then receives  an updated ticket from the airline with applicable eduJetter benefits within 72 hours. Commenting on the programme and its enhancements, Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways said, “Jet Airways  has always endeavored to provide exceptional value to guests by way of special programmes and partnerships. EduJetter is one such initiative that offers tremendous value to the student community travelling abroad for higher education from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, in the form of a bouquet of services that have been specially created by anticipating their needs at this significant moment in their life.”

Indians planning to travel to the UK on Virgin Atlantic this summer can now make use of the new campaign by the airline, called Brexit Calculator campaign. With an exchange rate of Re. 1 to 0.012 British Pound, the campaign focuses on the bright side of Brexit and emphasises that there has never been a better time to book a trip to the UK. Virgin Atlantic offers a daily flight between Delhi and London Heathrow with return fares from Rs. 45,845. With the new campaign, Virgin Atlantic has introduced a fun ‘Brexit calculator’ application to help holidaymakers in India work out how much they could save on a trip to the UK. The calculator will compute the savings based on the pre-and post-Brexit prices and show how popular tourist attractions have become a bargain. With those savings, customers can save so much on popular tourist activities in London that it’ll cover the cost of their flight. Nick Parker, Head of India and Middle East, Virgin Atlantic Airways said, “Clearly there has never been a better time to travel to the UK. The Indian Rupee is at a record high against the Pound which means you’ll save on literally everything when you visit the UK. Britain is emerging as an increasingly popular destination for Indians traveling for their holidays, adventures, and business trips. The Brexit calculator is a fun way to explore quintessential British tourist activities, and work out how much you could save in the UK at the same time.”

South African Tourism is putting the final touches on an event that will foster closer collaboration and targeted business interactions in an effort to have a more productive trade show for buyers and exhibitors. INDABA, Africa’s leading travel show, returns to the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban from May 16 to 18, 2017, sporting a more streamlined programme and improved floor layout. INDABA 2017 will see more than 7,000 delegates from around the world meeting in Durban to grow the African tourism economy through conversations, partnerships and a focus on doing business, South African Tourism Chief Executive Sisa Ntshona said. Through the online diary and matchmaking system, delegates can use technology to set up pre-scheduled meetings with buyers or exhibitors that may match their needs. A new INDABA app will also function as a digital resource for updates. The Hidden Gems pavilion will introduce the world’s travel buyers and visitors to small tourism enterprises from each of South Africa’s nine provinces that may otherwise have remained undiscovered. Delegates at the trade show will be exposed to the full breadth of Africa’s tourism offerings, including high-end products at the Tourism Grading Council’s new luxury pavilion. This feature will cater to global buyers who are on the lookout for the premier five-star offerings many destinations on the continent are famed for. Apart from the pre-scheduled meetings, buyers will have the chance to meet with exhibitors during the morning speed marketing sessions on each of the three show days. Here, participating exhibitors will be grouped according to themes such as lap of luxury, scenic outdoors and award winners before making short presentations on their offerings. These sessions are an excellent …

Trawelltag Cover-More recently conducted a Travel Agents’ Engagement Programme (TAEP) for travel professionals based in Jaipur. This session was attended by 70 of the leading travel agents in Jaipur. Dev Karvat, CEO-Emerging Markets, Cover-More Group conducted this session on the emergence of disruptive innovation and its impact on the travel industry. TrawellTag Cover-More started TAEPs for its clients and associate travel professionals to impart practical insights of achieving higher quality of travel ancillary sales, increased penetration and improve cross-selling skills, in the year 2013. Commenting on the TAEPs, Karvat said, “The TAEP initiative began 5 years ago with a vision to enrich pioneering minds in the industry. Today it is known to be a platform to enable our clients tap various ancillary revenue generation opportunities. We are delighted that many industry bodies like ETAA are coming forward to extend TAEPs exclusively to their members.” TrawellTag Cover-More has strived, to not only find opportunities where there were none, but also identify the right prospect to accelerate business growth for their clients. Therefore, making it a preferred partner for global assistance & travel insurance in India.

M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman & Managing Director, Empee Group, has been named as the DDP Trailblazer at the South India Travel Awards in Kochi. He forayed into the industry with a three star hotel. Thanks to his vision, today he is at the helm of a conglomerate that includes sugar, hospitality, property, power, and packaging across South India. He has been the President of Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI), for three terms and has also been the President of the Tamil Nadu Hotels & Restaurants Association for 18 long years, and President of South India Hotels & Restaurants Association for 10 years. It was under his leadership that FHRAI had set up a world-class institute for hotel management in 2016.

K.C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travels Interserve, is the stalwart to enter the Gallery of Legends at the 4th South India Travel Awards in Kochi. A visionary in the travel and tourism industry, he has been the President of TAAI- Kerala Chapter as well as the Chairman of Air Passenger Association of India. A renowned author of several Malayalam plays and writer and director of two Malayalam films, Chandrahasan has even won a National Award for ‘The Thekkady Tiger Trail’ project. He is one of the brains behind Interserve, which was reckoned as Indian travel industry’s answer to the inundation of multinational companies in India.

The fourth edition of South India Travel Awards was held at Crowne Plaza Kochi, Kerala on May 2. Achievers from the travel and tourism industry of South India were awarded in total of 47 categories. Attended by the who’s who of the region, the Chief Guest for the evening was Dr. A. Jayathilak, Chairman, Spices Board of India. Other dignitaries present during the inauguration ceremony were  K.C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travel Interserve, M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman and Managing Director, Empee Group, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager: India at South African Tourism, Gladrags Mrs. India 2017 Arni Saikal, Riyaz U.C., Managing Director, Spiceland Holidays, Shuvendu Banerjee, GM, Crowne Plaza Kochi, and SanJeet, Mentor, India Travel Awards.

India’s business travel industry has grown by 16.2 per cent over the past five years (2011-2016), according to a report by Travelport and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) launched at the WTTC Global Summit 2017 in Bangkok. It has been predicted that Asia-Pacific will lead the way at a predicted rate of 6.2 per cent each year to 2027, with India (7.2%) among the top five countries attributing to the growth. Over the past five years, at a global level, business travel spend has grown at an annual average of 3.6 per cent, with the strongest growth in the past 5 years having taken place in Asia, the Middle East and Sub Saharan Africa. The CEO of Travelport, Gordon Wilson, commented: “Every day we see business travel growing at a significant rate in many emerging markets with technology playing an in increasingly important role in easing the way for those on trips for their work. As an industry we need to continue to invest in the best technologies and infrastructure whilst governments need to be more business-friendly by removing burdensome visa requirements.” David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, said: “Travel & Tourism generates USD$7.6 trillion in GDP and supports over 292 million jobs. Business travel is a vital part of the sector, and it is a key catalyst for global growth. It drives the relationships, investments, supply chains and logistics that support international trade flows.”

The Indian Railway PSU, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to start two new circuits of their flagship luxury train Maharajas’ Express, this year. These two new trips have been named as ‘Southern Sojourn’ and ‘Southern Jewels’ which will cover prominent destinations in West and South India. The Southern Sojourn will cover Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Ernakulam, Kumarakom and Trivandrum. The Southern Jewels will cover Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysore, Hampi and Goa. Though the regular trip of these two new journeys will take place in September 2017 for this year, however two new tour circuits with a view to cater especially to domestic travellers are being planned during monsoon period of June-July 2017. The Southern Sojourn-Monsoon Special shall start from Mumbai on June 24, 2017, & stop at Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Cochin, Alleppey before terminating at Trivandrum. The Southern Jewels-Monsoon Special shall depart from Trivandrum on July 1, 2017, and terminate at Mumbai covering Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysore, Hampi and Goa. Each journey shall be of 8 Days/7 Nights duration. The regular trip of Southern Sojourn will start from Mumbai on Sep 9, 2017, and Southern Jewels will start from Trivandrum on Sep 16, 2017. In addition to visits to monuments and sight-seeing at each destination under these trips, the guests shall have an opportunity to enjoy traditional cultural performances at Cochin, visit a Coir Factory and enjoy a cruise with lunch at Alleppey, savour traditional Chettinad Cuisine demo and much more on these fabulous journeys. Tariff in Indian Rupees has been introduced for the Monsoon Special itineraries. Lucrative offers to attract domestic travellers have also been planned. On the booking of first adult on twin sharing at full cost, …

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has announced the signing of a hotel property in Belgaum, Karnataka. The new property, a 60-room strategically located business hotel, is currently in its last phase of development and is slated to start operation by the year end. The hotel is merely an hour’s drive from Goa. Speaking on the latest addition, Rahul Banerjee, Associate Vice President–Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “Clarks Inn witnessed one of its biggest growth year in 2016 opening and signing a total of 21 new properties, including 12 operational, with the total tally reaching 75 hotels last year spread across 17 states in India and one in Nepal. With a strong development pipeline, we are expecting another year of robust growth in 2017. And with the latest addition at Belgaum we are confident of reaching a 100 hotel portfolio milestone by the end of the year.” With the latest addition Clarks Inn now boasts of a portfolio of 76 hotel properties, including 42 in operation, spread across 17 states in India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. “The 60-key Clarks Inn Belgaum will be a vibrant hotel property with strategic location that will cater to all the needs of the modern day discerning business and as well as leisure travellers. As a hotel company, we now have the most widespread presence in Karnataka with as many eight hotels currently in operation at Badami, Bagalkot, Bengaluru, Gadag, Hampi, Hubli, Mysore and Shimoga and four more slated to open door over the next one year,” said Rupam Das, Area Director-Operations (South), Clarks Inn Group of Hotels.