The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in May 2017 were 6.30 lakh as compared to FTAs of 5.27 lakh during the same period last year and 5.09 lakh in May 2015. The growth rate in FTAs in May 2017 over May 2016 is 19.5 per cent compared to 3.5 per cent in May 2016 over May 2015. FTAs during the period January-May 2017 were 42.15 lakh with a growth of 16.4 per cent, as compared to the FTAs of 36.22 lakh with a growth of 8.7 per cent in January-May 2016 over January-May 2015. The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during May 2017 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (29.73%) followed by USA (14.37%), UK (6.76%), Malaysia (3.64%), China (2.91%), Sri Lanka (2.68%), Japan(2.38%), Germany (2.34%), Canada (2.33%), Australia (2.26%), Singapore (1.99%), France (1.77%), Afghanistan (1.76%), Nepal (1.73%) and Republic of Korea (1.52%). The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during May 2017 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (24.17%) followed by Haridaspur Land check post (17.06%), Mumbai Airport (15.04%),Chennai Airport (7.75%), Bengaluru Airport (6.50%), Kolkata Airport (5.29%), Gede Rail Land check post (3.62%), Hyderabad Airport (3.33%),Cochin Airport (3.25%), Ghojadanga land check post (2.14%), Tiruchirapalli Airport (1.76%), Ahmedabad Airport (1.61%), Trivandrum Airport (1.36%), Goa Airport (0.78%),and Attari-Wagh Airport (0.77%).

The Q Experiences, a luxury travel company in India, has launched an exclusive 11 day trip for only 200 people to Antarctica. The expedition, which is a part of their Curated Journeys segment, will start from Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina on December 9, 2017. Travellers would be on board ‘The Great Majestic Explorer’, which is a sleek yacht with 132 staterooms and suites. Speaking about the unique expedition, Vasim Shaikh, Founder, Q Experiences, said, “Curated Journeys are constant endeavour at the Q. With the launch of the White Continent, we aspire luxury travel to unsurpassed heights and focus on rare destinations that Indians are yet to explore.” Also, the ship would have on board Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar to curate Indian delicacies for guests on board.

Come July 25, 2017, Scoot and Tigerair will be putting finishing touches to the integration of their reservation systems, flight schedules and connections, etc. by merging the two airlines to operate under a single brand. With the merger, Tigerair will operate under the Scoot brand, however the Scoot designator code (TZ) will be re-designated as TR. Scoot flight schedules (departure/arrival dates and times) will remain unchanged, i.e. flights will depart as scheduled, however instead of TZ, the designator code will be TR. For passengers travelling on any Scoot flight on, or after 25 Jul 2017, the airline will be sending out a separate email over the next few weeks (either directly or through the travel agency) to inform passengers of updated itinerary with the new Scoot designator code (TR). With the merger, Scoot will operate two different fleets of Boeing 787 Dreamliner (existing Scoot fleet) and Airbus 320 (Tigerair fleet repainted into Scoot livery). Some of their networks will be served by both fleets.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) signed an MoU with Travel Agents Federation of India to promote tourism between India and Malaysia. The MoU was signed the roadshow organised recently by the associations along with Tourism Malaysia at the Royal Plaza, New Delhi, which had Malaysian tour operators, product owners, as well as Indian travel agents. The objective of the road show was to create good connection between tour operators from both countries and increase the number of arrivals from India to Malaysia.

BirdRes, the B2B distribution channel from Bird Group, has joined hands with OYO, the budget hotel aggregator. With this association, BirdRes would give OYO access to its nationwide network of travel agents and help expand its business in the India market. Rakesh Mehta, Manager – Operations, BirdRes said, “We are pleased that OYO has chosen BirdRes as their preferred B2B partner. This partnership will offer BirdRes customers an easy access to book OYO Rooms for their clients through a simple and hassle-free payment process. Further, it will offer OYO a large platform to offer their services to a wide range of travel agents all over India. At BirdRes, we continue to offer flexible and user-friendly solutions to our partners and customers.” On the partnership, Abhinav Sinha, COO, OYO, said, “We are glad to partner with BirdRes for our channel expansion efforts. With over 25,000 registered Travel Agents, the platform provides us seamless access to this preferred network of India’s top corporates and mid-sized businesses. It enables us to offer OYO’s hassle-free stay proposition to a new set of corporate travelers across the country.”

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma announced that in May the ministry witnessed a 19 per cent increase in inbound tourist numbers despite it being peak summer. She informed that MOT has created a GST cell two days ago to address the industry issues. “We want to handhold the industry through the transition from current tax regime to the new GST regime and solve any hurdles through this,” she said. The much-awaited National Tourism policy would most probably be released before World Tourism Day commemorated on September 27, she added. Verma said that the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet had suggested some changes in the draft policy which have been incorporated and will releasing it soon. This was revealed during a special session on GST organised by the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) for its members, which was attended by members from Central Board of Excise & Customs, Govt. of India. The government officials addressed the issues related to tour operators and explained to them the intricacies of the GST regime and how would it affect them. The event was also a farewell from IATO to former secretary tourism Vinod Zutshi, where they also welcomed the new secretary Rashmi Verma.

Airbnb has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra. Through the partnership, the Department of Tourism and Airbnb will collaborate to boost tourism and create positive travel experiences for both domestic and international visitors in Maharashtra. Under the MoU, the parties agreed to promote tourism in Maharashtra through Airbnb’s global platform, expand the network of quality homestays in Maharashtra, and provide skills development workshops for hosts on hospitality standards, jointly conducted by Airbnb and Department of Tourism within the next six months. Airbnb also announced a first-of-its-kind revenue sharing agreement with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), whereby Airbnb will share a portion of its booking revenue in Maharashtra with the MTDC. The MTDC will support the partnership by identifying high-quality homestays and helping hosts to list on Airbnb. “Tourism is a key pillar for the State of Maharashtra and we are committed to increasing the number of global travellers to the State who could benefit our local communities. In a bid to attract foreign tourists, we have announced 2017 as “Visit Maharashtra” year. As our alternative accommodation partner, we look forward to working with Airbnb to achieve the goals of the Visit Maharashtra campaign, said Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

SpiceJet has started its daily direct flight service from Goa to Surat. This will be the first ever direct connection between Goa and Surat by any airline. As the first nonstop flight between Goa and Surat, the new flight will provide travellers with a convenient travel option, thus saving their time while making their journey hassle free. To cater to the peak summer rush, from March to October, SpiceJet has unleashed a whole new summer schedule wherein the airline has added 19 new domestic and 3 new international flights, thus offering more seats and connecting key metros and cities.

Beijing Capital Airlines (JD) joins Hahn Air’s network of 300 air, rail and shuttle partners. The Chinese carrier signed an Interline Electronic Ticketing Agreement (IET) with the German scheduled airline and can now sell its flights even in markets where it is not participating in the local BSP. Travel agents worldwide using the Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Travelsky, Apollo, Abacus, Worldspan, Axess or Infini can issue the services of Beijing Capital Airlines on Hahn Air’s HR-169 ticket under the IATA code JD. Based at Beijing Airport (PEK), Beijing Capital Airlines operates a fleet of 78 Airbus aircraft and flies more than 200 domestic and international routes. Its network spans 73 destinations in ten countries, including Madrid, Moscow, Sydney, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. As part of the HNA Group, Beijing Capital Airlines launched several new long-haul services in 2016, for example Qingdao-Melbourne, Hangzhou-Chengdu-Madrid, and Hangzhou-Qingdao-Vancouver. The same year, Beijing Capital Airlines was named among the 10 Best Regional Airlines in China by the leading air travel review portal Skytrax. In 2017, Beijing Capital Airlines continues to add new routes, such as Hangzhou-Beijing-Lisbon (the first direct connection between China and Portugal), Qingdao-Moscow, Qingdao-London Heathrow and Qingdao-Sydney. “Beijing Capital Airlines is our 12th interline partner from the People’s Republic of China”, says Steve Knackstedt, Vice President Airline Business Group at Hahn Air. “With Beijing Capital Airlines we are adding a wealth of new routes and destinations to cater to the demand of passengers worldwide. We are happy to support our more than 100,000 travel agent partners in 190 countries with another key player in China which is now available for ticketing on our HR-169 ticket in all major GDSs.”

Due to Jharia coal field fire and acting on subsequent advisory received from Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Railways has decided to stop the operation of goods and passenger traffic on Dhanbad-Chandrapura Railway line w.e.f. June 15, 2017. Keeping in view the safety of passengers, Ministry of Railways has diverted seven trains, cancelled 13 Mail Express Trains and six passenger trains. Member Traffic, Railway Board Mohd Jamshed gave a brief about this development at Rail Bhavan today. He informed that on an average 11 pairs of Mail/Express and 6 pairs of passenger trains run on the section daily. Special counters to facilitate refunds as per extant rules will be provided for the affected passengers. He reiterated that all efforts would be made to minimize passenger inconvenience