Premier Hotels of Asia has added another feather to its cap with its official appointment as the Sales and Marketing representative in India for The Chatwal, New York. Karan Singh, Joint Managing Director, Premier Hotels of Asia, says, “The hotel represents excellent value as a luxury hotel. Our close alliance with business partners in the travel industry and trade associations gives us the advantage of reaching out to  affluent travellers and the appropriate segment in the most focused way.” The Chatwal Hotel, situated between Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park and the Theatre District in the heart of Manhattan was originally built in 1905 by Stanford White and was restored and re-launched in 2010 with 76 rooms and suites, several of which feature spacious terraces. The landmark hotel is home to the Red Door Spa by Elizabeth Arden, and the famous Lambs Club Restaurant, while its bespoke services make it an ideal choice for both leisure and business travellers.

PATA India has announced a training programme for its members and their employees on May 5, 2017. The programme is titled “Win-Win Negotiations” and is a full day training program. This training program will be conducted by Roshan Suhail, an accomplished Trainer, who had the honour of working with leading organisations like ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, Dhanuka, Shriram Group, UFLEX, YKK, Ashok Leyland, INTEX, HERO Cycles, iEnergizer, Shree Cements, Reliance Securities, and many more. Suhail has also conducted programmes for Govt. organisations and PSUs like Air India, Engineers India Ltd., FIEO, EPCH etc.

Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways, both members of Star Alliance, have entered into an expanded codeshare agreement, inked on October 01, 2016 and projected to be effective as of 2017 summer season. The revamped codeshare agreement is anticipated to further enhance the cooperation among the two carriers and avail a range of additional destinations for customers to travel to. Girma Shiferaw, A/Vice President Strategic Planning and Alliances, Ethiopian, remarked, “As a successful Pan-African carrier, we have an unshakable stance to work in collaboration with all African carriers. Therefore, revamping the already existing codeshare agreement with our partner, South African Airways, emanates from our common ambition and joint effort to expand our footprint to different destinations and better serve our esteemed customers globally. The expanded codeshare agreement between the two carriers enables our customers enjoy the best possible connectivity options to multiple destinations and also plays a significant role in enabling greater people-to-people, investment, trade and tourism ties within Africa as well as with the rest of the World.” Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways signed the first codeshare agreement on 17, September 2003 and extended codeshare agreement on October 01, 2016 on destinations such as Cape Town, Durban and Toronto. More codeshare destinations will be added in the near future.

The second edition of Travel Experiential Show concluded with nearly 1800 meetings conducted among 27 exhibitors and nearly 60 buyers from April 8-9, 2017, at WelcomHeritage Sheraton, New Delhi. Representatives from hotels, travel agencies, cruises, railways, tourism boards, etc. met tour operators and travel agents from across Tier-I, Tier-II and Tier-III markets under one roof to network and explore business opportunities for the experiential and luxury segment of travel. The show was inaugurated by His Excellency Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Bhutan and Nepal. “I believe luxury begins from the airport. It is how you are treated upon arrival; it is in the destination and also on how comfortable or at ease is a destination with itself,” said Stoelinga. Speaking at the inauguration, Tekla Maira, Director Luxury Sales-India, AccorHotels Luxe, said, “If we look at the demographics where the luxury market resides in India, then according to a report, 55 per cent of the market is in the Tier-I cities while Tier-II and Tier-III markets combined offer a 45 per cent market share. Thus I feel that though we should be bw looking at high-end markets but at the same time not ignore the smaller cities as the potential is very high.” Other dignitaries inaugrating the show were Neha Lidder, Marketing Head-DLF Emporia Mall and Shanawaz Shah, Manager Marketing Tourim, SKICC Srinagar.

The country’s first Medical and Wellness Policy will be launched on June 21, 2017, announced Dr Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister – Tourism and Culture, Govt. of India at a press conference in New Delhi. The policy will be instrumental in streamlining the process for making India a preferred medical and wellness destination, owing to its affordability and quality of services. The Board had recently held its second meeting with various stakeholders to discuss the framework of the policy. As many as 201,333 foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India on Medical Visa were recorded in 2016, while there were 1,34,344 FTAs in 2015 and 75,688 FTAs in 2014.

Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO, has said that the members of IATO are unhappy with the transport tax hike by the Transport Department of Haryana Government in the state. Addressing the monthly luncheon meeting of IATO, he said, “The transport tax in Haryana has been increased by 1700% from April 1, 2017. He said that while the government has increased this tax after four years, but such a steep hike is unacceptable. We will be meeting the Haryana Chief Minister as well as the Union Finance Minister to request them to implement any increase gradually.” Starting April 1, commercial vehicles entering Haryana would have to pay Rs. 3000.

Starting in April, Korean Air will increase its flight frequency between Incheon and major US cities on the West Coast during summer schedule, strengthening its routes to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Taking advantage of Korean Air’s newly launched direct flight to Delhi, together with its Mumbai flights, Indian customers can now enjoy widened flight options for traveling to the West Coast, transiting seamlessly at the airline’s world-class hub at Incheon. Korean Air representative for India said, “We are very positive about the expanding traveller sector in India, and we see that our flights to Delhi, launched in December last year, and also flights to Mumbai are well-received by the Indians. Furthermore, according to Brand USA, it is expected that Indian visitors’ number to US will increase by 72 per cent between 2015 and 2021, therefore we are confident on the growth of this market, especially on routes between India and the US West Coast.” “With our strong connectivity with the West Coast, we are committed to deliver our true ‘Excellence in Flight’ to all Indian travellers, offering them the best travel experience during the long haul. We hope to offer them the utmost in comfort with our convenient flight schedules and premium in-flight services, supported by the state-of-the-art transit facilities at the Incheon International Airport – Korean Air’s hub airport and one of the world’s top airports,” said Korean Air. Observed an increase in demand, Korean Air will increase the frequency of its flights to between Incheon and San Francisco on a gradual basis, starting from April 28th. From late April, flights will be increased from seven to 12 per week, and from September, flights will be further …

Emirates has introduced another service to mitigate the inconvenience of the recent ban on electronic devices on board US-bound flights. Beginning today, First and Business Class passengers will be able to borrow tablets on board Emirates’ US-bound flights allowing them to continue working during their flight. The new service is in response to the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) directive which requires all passengers travelling on non-stop flights to the US from Dubai to check-in their laptops, tablets, and other personal electronic devices larger than a smart phone. As part of this latest service, Emirates premium customers will have a Microsoft Surface tablets equipped with Microsoft Office 2016 available for loan on board. Customers can download their work on to a USB which can be brought on board and plugged into the devices to continue working seamlessly. The service is complimentary and will be available on all non-stop flights from Dubai to Emirates’ US destinations. For customers who prefer to stow away their personal devices, Emirates had introduced a laptop and tablet handling service for US-bound customers. This complimentary service has been made available to passengers in all cabin classes since March 25, 2017, which was when the new TSA rules took effect. This service allows customers to retain and utilise their personal devices until just before they board their US-bound flights. Passengers must then declare and hand over their laptops, tablets, and other banned electronic devices to security staff at the boarding gate, who will pack and tag each device to be stored in the aircraft hold and returned to the customer at their US destination.

Crystal Sarovar Premiere Agra has been certified as a 5-star hotel by the Ministry of Tourism. The 112 keys hotel has received the certification for a period of five years till the year 2022. Speaking on the recognition, Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd., says, “This certification reinforces our strengthening position in the leisure markets. Agra holds a high significance in the tourism map and we are glad to be able to offer the best of our signature Sarovar hospitality in this city.” Commenting on this acknowledgment, Vivek Mahajan, General Manager, Crystal Sarovar Premiere Agra, says, “We are delighted to be certified with 5 – Star ratings for Crystal Sarovar Premiere. We have been delivering a premier full-service and upscale hotel experience to guests visiting one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Crystal Sarovar Premiere will continue to set new standards by offering unmatched hospitality services to the guest at attractive price points”.

IndiGo airlines is all set to launch a dedicated mobile app for the travel trade to make it easier for the trade to do bookings. During a presentation on IndiGo products at the IATO Luncheon on April 6, 2017, Ajay Wadhawan, Associate Vice President, Trade Sales, India, IndiGo, informed that after launching a user friendly application for its consumers, the airline would soon be launching a mobile application for the travel trade fraternity as well. PATA India is pleased to announce its Training program for its Members and their employees on 5th May, 2017. The program is titled “Win-Win Negotiations” and is a full day training program. This Training program will be conducted by Roshan Suhail, an accomplished Trainer, who had the honour of working with leading organizations like  ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, Dhanuka, Shriram Group, UFLEX, YKK, Ashok Leyland, INTEX, HERO Cycles, iEnergizer, Shree Cements, Reliance Securities, and many more. Suhail has also conducted programs for Govt. organizations and PSUs like Air India, Engineers India Ltd, FIEO, EPCH etc. While the venue will be communicate shortly, we request you to confirm your participation shortly, no later than 13th April 2017. The participation fee for the program is Rs. 3,000/- per participant. Organization registering six or more participant will enjoy the benefit of one free place.