The Indian government has reportedly increased the visa fee in different categories for nationals from the US, the UK, Canada, Israel, Iran and UAE. As per a government notification, a tourist visa up to one year will now cost $153 from the earlier $100. The tourist visa for over a year and up to five years will cost $306 instead of $120. Mainly affecting foreigners who work in the country, the move comes about as a reciprocal measure, since countries like the US, New Zealand and Australia have planned or already implemented such processes. However, UK nationals, who used to cough up $162 for a tourist visa up to a year, will now pay $248. And for a five year tourist visa, they will pay $741 instead of $484. For the employment visa, nationals from Canada, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand will now pay $459 instead of $300 for a visa spanning over a year and up to five years. Israelis continue to cough up the most for a short-term visa. They will now pay $1,714 instead of $1,120.

SpiceJet is all set to launch a new service between Delhi and Patna from July 10, which would take the number of flights from Patna to the national capital to 19 daily. On the other hand, Jet Airways will withdraw its morning connection between Patna and Delhi from July 15. Starting July 1, SpiceJet will be connecting seven new destinations to Patna, including Chennai, Hyderabad and Surat, which are new connections for SpiceJet. Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi are the other four destinations.

The Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Ministry of Shipping will prepare an action plan for development of cruise tourism in India. MOT intends to promote cruise shipping and tourism in a big way and will be an important element of the Incredible India 2.0 campaign. The Netherlands-based consultant Bermello Ajmali has prepared a report on cruise tourism in India, which has a low penetration rate in the sector. During the National Workshop on Cruise Tourism conducted by MOT and Ministry of Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Government of India, said, “The report prepared on cruise tourism by the foreign consultant will be discussed and the action plan will be ready in next 3-4 months. Next year is going to be very good for cruise tourism in India.” At present, India has a very small share in world cruise tourism market, as against 23 million passengers globally in 2016. Various stakeholders from the ministry of tourism, Shipping ministry, Bureau of Immigration, Central industrial Security Force (CISF), department of Revenue (Customs) and policy consultants etc. came together to discuss the nuances of the action plan to be put in place. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister for Tourism, Government of India, said that cruise tourism will be a game changer for tourism sector as it helps in foreign exchange earnings as well as job creation. Rashmi Verma, Secretary-tourism, Government of India, informed that in 2013-14 only 103 cruise ships visited India which increased to 158 in 2016-17 and in 2013-14, 80,645 cruise passengers disembarked in India which grew to 191,725 passengers in 2016-17. She said, “This workshop is a landmark in promotion of cruise tourism in India and …

Jet Airways has announced codeshare enhancements with Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Delta Air Lines to expand connectivity options for guests flying between India and Europe. In the first instance, Air France and Delta are code-sharing on Jet Airways’ current service between Mumbai and Paris. Additionally, Air France, together with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines, also codeshare on Jet Airways’ newly announced flight between Chennai and Paris, scheduled to begin October 29, 2017. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines will also codeshare on Jet Airways’ daily flight between Bengaluru and Amsterdam commencing October 29, 2017. Additionally, Delta Air Lines will also codeshare on Jet Airways’ third frequency between Mumbai and London. Athens, Barcelona, Bilbao, Budapest, Dublin, Krakow, Leeds, Lisbon, London Heathrow, Lyon, Nice and Warsaw will now be seamlessly connected on code-shared flights. Jet Airways also codeshares on Air France services connecting Mumbai and Paris as well as KLM’s newly-announced thrice-a-week service between Mumbai and Amsterdam, beginning October 29, 2017. All these new flights are already open for sale. The new codeshare additions enable the airline’s guests to enjoy convenient access to as many as 43 European destinations via Amsterdam and 27 via Paris as well as 34 in North America, together with the unmatched flexibility and choice of flying via multiple gateways and routes. Guests travelling from Europe or North America will gain easy access to 45 Indian cities on Jet Airways’ extensive domestic network via Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “The expanded cooperation reaffirms our commitment to offer our guests choice and seamless connectivity. In fact, our guests travelling to Europe and North …

According to the latest monthly data from STR Global, India’s nationwide occupancy increased 5.4 per cent year-on-year to 61.4 per cent last month, which marked the highest absolute occupancy level for a May in India since 2007. And this extra demand is allowing hoteliers to hike their rates; India’s average daily rate (ADR) climbed 3.5 per cent to Rs. 5,406.77 (approx. $84) in May. These two factors combined to raise nationwide revenue per available room (revPAR) by +9.1 per cent to Rs. 3,319.71. RevPAR has now increased 4.2 per cent during the first five months of 2017, driven by strong domestic tourism and rising affluence among India’s growing middle class. Specifically in May, hotel demand was supported by the Indian Premier League cricket and the African Development Bank annual meetings in Ahmedabad.

The new Germany Visa Application Centre was formally inaugurated in Langford Town by representatives from the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru. Margit Hellwig-Bötte, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, and Jürgen Pengel, Consul and Head of the Consular Department of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, inaugurated the centre on June 23. Services at the spacious new facility, which moved from its earlier location in Shivaji Nagar, commenced in March this year. The centre is located at No. 11, First Floor, Global Tech Park, O’ Shaughnessy Road, Langford Town and houses visa operations of 31 diplomatic missions (including Germany) under one roof. With more counters for applicants and expansive waiting and registration areas, the new centre has a larger Premium Lounge for applicants looking for more personalised assistance. An ATM has also been installed within the premises for the convenience of all applicants. Germany visa applicants can avail of separate submission counters, biometric booths, and dedicated services in the Premium Lounge. They can make payments by credit and debit card (in addition to cash payments) at this centre.

Delhi-NCR is all set to have its second international airport, after the government granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida. Making this announcement, P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister, Civil Aviation, said that the air traffic in the NCR region is growing very fast. From the current level of 62 million passengers per annum, it is expected to reach upto 91 MPPA by 2020 and 109 MPPA by 2024, which would be the saturation point for the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. So Delhi will require a second airport in the next 7-10 years. The minister said that the Government of Uttar Pradesh had submitted a proposal for construction of a new Greenfield International Airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation has accorded in principle approval for the project based on the recommendations of the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports, headed by the Secretary (CA). The Noida International Airport will be located 72kms from IGI Airport and 65 kms from Hindon Air Force station Ghaziabad. Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) is the implementing authority of the project. An area of 3000 hectares has been notified for the airport which will be developed in phases. An area of 1000 hectares will be developed in the first phase at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crores. There will be one runway in the first phase. Three more runways will be developed in subsequent phases. The total cost of development of all phases is expected to be around Rs 15-20,000 crores. The airport is expected to cater to 30-50 million passengers per year over the next 10 to 15 years. Government …

The Managing Committee of TAAI has decided Kunming as the venue for the 64th Convention & Exhibition of TAAI, to be held from August 18-20, 2017. Sunil Kumar R, President, TAAI, said, “We are excited to inform you that we are hosted by Yunnan Government, People’s Republic of China. The event is being coordinated by MFITS – Mao Fa International Travel Services, a unit of Service Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China.” The exhibition and inaugural dinner will be held at the InterContinental Hotel, Kunming. The registration forms will be soon rolled out. The registration will be open by July 5, 2017 and close by July 20, 2017. During 2016, TAAI had organised its convention at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.

Cygnett Hotels and Resorts has now entered Jammu and Kashmir with the launch of their first hotel in the region-Cygnett Park Asia in Jammu. The hotel houses 44 rooms and suites, with an open swimming pool, and other fitness services such as an in-house multi gym, sauna, steam, and whirlpool facilities. Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder & Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, says, “Cygnett Park Asia, Jammu is an exciting addition to the Cygnett Hotels portfolio. We believe the city of Jammu has incredible potential for business and hospitality growth, making it an obvious choice for the Cygnett Hotels brand. Working with one of the most experienced Hotels in this region will set new standards in offering guests a dynamic hotel experience, and this association will resonate the essence of The Cygnett Hotels and Resorts in its global expansion.” At Cygnett Park Asia, the menu features exquisite Kashmiri cuisine, an array of extensive continental, Chinese and Indian delicacies.

Tata Elxsi, a global design and technology services company, has been selected by the Airports Authority of India(AAI) out of a competitive global bid to improve passenger experience for all AAI-managed airports. As the design partner, Tata Elxsi will help AAI to provide a seamless passenger travel experience. Tata Elxsi will be primarily responsible to set the wayfinding and information design guidelines for all AAI airports coming up in the future and enable AAI to set a team and create a process to design and implement world-class, customer-centric information and wayfinding systems. This will cover the entire passenger journey right from parking to boarding the plane, to making the spaces efficient and user-friendly. The design will be in line with global standards and Tata Elxsi will set the guidelines/standards for all future airports. Tata Elxsi has already started the work on creating an intuitive, customer-centric wayfinding system and developing a unique image for several airport terminals. Narendra Ghate, Chief Designer, Service Design, Tata Elxsi said, “Having worked in the past on redefining the passenger experience for some leading airports in India, gave Tata Elxsi an edge. Tata Elxsi has already commenced work across the shortlisted 10 airports – Goa, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Trivandrum, Coimbatore and Guwahati.”