The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Northern Region received a huge attendance for its seminar on GST at The Claridges, New Delhi. Sumit Jhunjhunwala, Senior Partner GMJ and Co., Mumbai, gave a presentation on how GST would affect the TAAI members and how they can cope up with the new regime. He also addressed the queries of the members on the application procedure and invoicing under GST.

For May 2017, Changi Airport’s biggest source market was India with a 21 per cent y-o-y growth in passenger traffic. Traffic to and from Mumbai and Chennai have risen by more than 20 per cent, states the official report.For the month of May, passenger traffic was boosted by a robust 17 per cent growth in South Asia traffic, while 5.0 million passenger movements were recorded which was 4.6 per cent higher than in the same period last year. As on June 1, 2017, more than 100 airlines operate at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to some 380 cities in about 90 countries and territories worldwide. With more than 7,000 weekly scheduled flights, an aircraft takes off or lands at Changi roughly once every 90 seconds.

According to reports, Batik Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air, is expected to introduce two new daily flights that will fly to three cities in India, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, from Bali. Passengers will be transported on an Airbus A320 fleet, departing from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali to India. Achmad Luthfie, President Director, Batik Air, said, “It is already in the finalisation stage and will start operating around July. We’ve already received slots in India, Malaysia and Australia.” He further added,”The economies of both countries keep growing. Moreover, these two countries have the biggest populations in the world. In India, there are about 200 million people who are in the upper middle class group and have travelled overseas. This is where the market potential lies.” Currently, Batik Air has 37 planes, but by the end of this year, the airline plans to have 41. The total number of flights that Batik Air has on a daily basis has reached 209, with the airline’s on-time performance at 95 percent.

Foreign tourists will reportedly be able to book train tickets 360 days in advance from abroad instead of the present 120 days. The booking service will be available for first AC, second AC and executive class of mail express trains and in Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Gatimaan and Tejas trains (it is not applicable for sleeper and third AC). Foreigners are also not allowed to book tickets in Suvidha trains that cater to last minute travel planners. This move would allow foreigners to book tickets online using credit or debit cards. They would be required to give visa details, passport and international mobile numbers while booking through the IRCTC ticketing site. A service charge of INR200 will be levied by IRCTC. Besides announcing this facility for foreigners, railways will also launch an integrated mobile application for passengers shortly. The app will offer facilities of booking tickets, retiring rooms, taxis, porters, ordering food and inquiry service among others.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) for hotels will be charged on the rack rates, or declared rates of hotels, which will have a considerable impact on the hotel industry. According to the notification number 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) New Delhi, dated June 28, 2017, “For accommodation in hotels, inns, guest houses, clubs, campsites or other commercial places meant for residential or lodging purposes, the ‘declared tariff’ will be the basis of tax to be levied.” Declared tariff has been explained as to  include charges for all the amenities provided in a unit of accommodation (given on rent for stay), like furniture, air conditioner, refrigerator or any other amenities, but without excluding any discount offered on the published charges leading to some ambiguity. However, Rashmi Verma, Secretary Tourism, Government of India, had announced in an interactive meeting in Mumbai that the GST rates are on actual invoiced rate and not on published tariff. She also assured to look into any discrepancy or anomaly in the language or wordings of the same.

Singapore is mulling over increasing airline services to India, which reportedly could make India the fastest-growing air-traffic generating market for Changi Airport, leaving behind China and Indonesia. There are talks of new flights being launched to Pune, Madurai, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati from Singapore, according to Lim Ching Kiat, Managing Director for Air Hub Development, Changi Airport Group. A total of nine airlines, including Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Tigerair, Air India and Jet Airways, fly between Singapore and India. Over 1.7 million passengers travelled between Singapore and India between January and May this year, which is a 15 per cent increase over last year. IndiGo also launched a new flight between Singapore and Bengaluru last month.

Passengers travelling to the United States from Abu Dhabi International Airport can now carry their electronic devices with them. According to a statement released by Etihad Aviation Group, following the successful validation of security measures at the US Preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi Airport today, the US Department of Homeland Security lifted the electronic device ban on flights between Abu Dhabi and the United States. It is anticipated that Etihad Airways is one of the first airlines to be able to satisfy the short-term measures required by the Transportation Security Administration due to the superior security advantages provided by the preclearance facility. “We welcome the decision by the US Department of Homeland Security to lift the electronic devices ban on flights between Abu Dhabi and the United States. Effective immediately, the removal of the restrictions allows passengers flying to the US to carry all laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices onto the aircraft, subject to enhanced security measures. We would like to thank our guests for their understanding and loyalty while the ban was in place,” said the statement.

In order to serve their clients better in India, Serena Hotels has appointed Nijhawan Group as their local representative in the country. Serena Hotels is a leading hospitality brand offering quality accommodation, unique holiday and conference solutions, and cultural heritage and adventure tourism in East Africa, with 24 upmarket hotels, safari lodges, resorts and safari camps located in some of the most exquisite and prime locations in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Mozambique. Announcing this partnership, Priyanka Nijhawan, Director – Representations, Nijhawan Group explained, “We will support the tour operators and travel agents in their sales and marketing efforts to maximize the numbers of Indians staying at Serena Hotels. With the addition of Serena Hotels to our representation portfolio, we can now offer a niche product in East Africa to our travel partners to further enhance the experience of their clients”.

In a bid to prepare its members for the new Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India(ADTOI) organised a workshop for its members on July 1, 2017. The workshop was conducted at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. G. D. Lohani, Commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC); Shikhar Pant, Assistant commissioner, CBEC; Ashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, FAITH; Gyan Bhushan, Economic Advisor, Government of India and other officials from Ministry of Tourism were present during  the meeting to interact with the members and  answer their queries on GST.

Air Canada inaugurates new, non-stop Toronto–Mumbai service on July 2, the only non-stop flight from Canada to India’s financial hub. The four-times weekly service will be operated with Air Canada’s most modern aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft feature 29 International Business Class lie-flat seat suites, 21 Premium Economy and 247 Economy Class seats, with upgraded in-flight entertainment at every seat throughout the aircraft. With the new Toronto–Mumbai route, Air Canada now offers three Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes between Canada and India, including year-round daily Toronto–Delhi service and seasonal Vancouver–Delhi service, which resumes in October and will be expanded to up to five times weekly this winter from three-times weekly last winter. “Our non-stop flights from our Asia-Pacific Vancouver hub feature 787-9 Dreamliner service and offer the shortest elapsed flying time from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles to the Indian subcontinent,” said Duncan Bureau, Vice President, Global Sales, Air Canada. “Our non-stop flight, coupled with our streamlined and seamless connections process at Vancouver translates to a savings of three to five hours compared to itineraries with connections in Europe or Asia.”