Hyatt has announced the opening of its Hyatt Place Rameswaram, the first Hyatt Place hotel in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the fifth Hyatt Place hotel to open in India. The hotel offers 101 guestrooms and suites, 4,757 square feet of high-tech meeting space, free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, 24-hour gym, and an outdoor swimming pool. “The opening of Hyatt Place Rameswaram is a significant milestone for the Hyatt Place brand as it continues to expand in India and across the globe,” said Kurt Straub, Hyatt’s vice president of operations, India. “Rameswaram’s first Hyatt Place hotel will be a vibrant and dynamic hotel that combines comfort and style that fits right into the region’s religious tourism.” Hyatt Place Rameswaram is situated in the heart of the Rameswaram, close to the holy Ramanathaswamy Temple and Agni Theertham, one of Rameswaram’s sacred bodies of water, as well as the house of former Indian president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalamvarious. The holy city of Rameswaram is located on an island connected through the famous Pamban Bridge to mainland India. It is one of the four renowned “Chaar Dham” pilgrimage spots in the country and a place of great interest for both domestic and international travelers. “We are delighted to announce the opening of Hyatt Place Rameswaram in South India. The Hyatt Place brand offers an innovative service concept and a modern design, and we are confident this hotel will provide a wonderful new lodging option to those visiting the area. JKR remains highly committed to providing modern and affordable accommodation and services that cater to the needs of those visiting the holy city,” said Sharda Deepa, managing director, JKR Enterprise Limited, …

With effect from April 1, 2017, the e-visa facility for business and medical tourism is finally open for application. While the e-tourist visa facility was the first one to be launched, the central government further added the e-business and e-medical visa in an effort to propagate ease of visa facilitation. Furthermore, the facility has been extended to the nationals of 161 countries for entry through 24 airports and three Indian Ports while the window for application under e-visa scheme has been increased from 30 days to 120 days. Duration of stay on e-visa has also been increased from 30 days to 60 days with double entry on e-Tourist and e-Business visa and triple entry on e-Medical visa. Additionally, separate immigration counters and facilitation desks to assist medical tourist have been provided at six major Indian airports. A new category of Visa, Film (F) Visa, has also been introduced with maximum duration of one year with multiple entry facility.

Strengthening its position in the Middle East, IndiGo has introduced its first daily non-stop flight connecting Doha to Delhi and Mumbai. Doha is IndiGo’s 7th international and 46th overall destination. With Doha as a new destination, IndiGo is all set to enhance connectivity between India and the Gulf region after Dubai, Muscat and Sharjah. The introduction of direct flights connecting Doha to New Delhi and Mumbai will open more convenient travel options for business and leisure travellers including the Indian expatriates based in Middle East. Aditya Ghosh, President and Whole Time Director, IndiGo said, “Being an economic and cultural hub of Qatar, Doha attracts a lot of business and leisure tourists. Adding Doha on our network is in line with our growth strategy and more so for the Middle East. IndiGo has established itself as a preferred carrier on India-Gulf routes. We are hopeful that this daily service would also prove equally popular with our flyers.”

The Skål Delhi chapter has announced the Executive Committee for the term 2017-19 in which Sunil Gadhiok, who was earlier the Vice President, has now been elevated to the post of President. Similarly, the new core committee members include Greesh Bindra, Vice President; Ranjit Vig, Secretary; Ajay Bhatnagar, Treasurer; Sanjay Datta, Immediate past President; Homa Mistry, Member; Ankush Nijhawan, Member (Director Young Skål); Rajinder Rai, Member; Tekla Maira, New Member; Rohit Khosla, New Member, Sunny Sodhi, New Member. Speaking on the focus of the new committee, Sunil Gadhiok said, “With the commencement of the new team, we will continue aiding memberships to the chapter which currently stands at a 200-member strength. Skål Delhi is the second largest Skål chapter globally and our aim is to take it to the top. The Young Skål chapter has also been initiated and we would like to drive memberships to nurture talent and shape them into strong leaders of the future. In terms of club activities, members can expect more team-building activities and events that are in sync with the current happenings, along with expert speakers to give more value for the membership. CSR has always been one of our priorities and the emphasis will continue for the coming term.”

India’s Travel & Tourism sector ranks 7th in the world in terms of its total contribution to the country’s GDP, shows a new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). According to the new data, Travel & Tourism generated Rs. 14.1 trillion ($208.9 billion) in 2016, which is the world’s 7th largest in terms of absolute size, the sum is equivalent to 9.6% of India’s GDP. India’s Travel & Tourism sector was also the fastest growing amongst the G20 countries, growing by 8.5% in 2016. A further 6.7% growth is forecast for 2017. India’s strong Travel & Tourism figures are predominantly generated by domestic travel, which accounts for 88% of the sector’s contribution to GDP in 2016. Additionally, the sector supported 40.3 million jobs in 2016, which ranks India 2nd in the world in terms of total employment supported by Travel & Tourism. The sector accounts for 9.3% of the country’s total jobs. Visitor exports, money spent by foreign travellers in India, only represents 12% of tourism revenues and in 2016 totalled Rs. 1.5 trillion ($22.8bn).  This is 5.4% of the country’s total exports, compared to a global average of 6.6%. Data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that India received only 9 million international arrivals in 2016, placing it 40th in the world, and a tenth of those received by top-ranking France. Over the past few months India has already starting to address this gap and made significant changes to visa facilitation, which will help to boost international arrivals. WTTC data suggests that visitor exports will grow by 5.4% in 2017. David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, said, “India is a tremendous Travel & Tourism …

Marriott International has expanded its portfolio in India with the recent opening of the Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa. The property offers 135 exquisitely designed rooms with 9 suites featuring breathtaking views of the magnificent Jaisalmer Fort and beautiful central oasis. The resort has mobile Check-in/Check-out facilities to ensure that guests have a seamless experience. This application enables Marriott Rewards guests to check-in to their upcoming reservation up to 24 hours in advance, select an estimated arrival time, receive a room-ready alert notification from the hotel, and check out through their mobile device as well. The resort is situated just3.3 km away from the Jaisalmer Railway Station, with Jodhpur being the closest airport at a distance of 284 km. “We want our guests to experience forward-thinking, aesthetically pleasing spaces that help foster their inventive nature. Marriott Hotels has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation in travel to create experiences that inspire and encourage our guests’ creativity,” said Matthew Carroll, Vice President, Marriott Hotels. Perfect for weddings and social events, the newly opened property offers 3251 sq. m of outdoor space surrounded by lush green lawns interspersed with sparkling water bodies which can host up to 1,500 guests. The resort also boasts of a dedicated event planning team. The resort has an added 577sq. m of Indoor meeting space that includes three meeting rooms along with the Grand Ballroom. The renowned Quan Spa is also offered at the resort. “Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa reflects the refined sophistication, quiet elegance and exceptional service – attributes that have grown synonymous with the Marriott Hotels brand worldwide. The Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa caters to the entire family with a wide range of …

Australian High Commission in India has advised visa applicants not to finalise their travel arrangements until they get a visa. The visa office at the Australian High Commission, New Delhi is currently experiencing a very high volume of Visitor visa lodgements from applicants travelling to Australia from India, especially in the upcoming summer months.  As a result, visa processing is taking longer than usual. Visitor-Tourist visa applications are currently taking up to 17 working days (over 3 weeks) to be processed. Visitor-Business visa applications are currently taking up to 10 working days (up to 2 weeks) to be processed. Hence, they have recommended to lodge the visa application well ahead of the proposed travel date and only finalise travel arrangements after the visa process has been completed. Agents are also advised to write to the High Commission only if the application is not processed within the current processing timelines.

To leverage tourism sector in Assam, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 98.35 crores for a Heritage Circuit in the state. This was announced by Mahesh Sharma, Tourism Minister, Government of India. This amount which has been sanctioned for development of the Tezpur, Majuli and Sivasagar circuit under the scheme of Swadesh Darshan includes development of a composite tourist infrastructure in Majuli, comprising of an interpretation centre near Kamalabari ghat, log huts, watch towers, cafeteria, elevated walkway, solar illumination and landscaping worth Rs. 61.26 crores, development of Ranghar, Joy Sagar and Talatal Ghar in Sivasagar and development of Kanaklata Udyan and Bamuni Hills in Tezpur. Also, the Tourism Ministry has decided to transfer the rights of Brahmaputra Ashok Hotel, currently managed by ITDC, to Government of Assam. All necessary modalities to formalize the transfer of rights will be executed within next 15 days. An amount of Rs. 2 crore was also sanctioned by MoT for the Namami Brahmaputra festival organized for the first time by the Government of Assam to glorify the river Brahmaputra as well as to promote tourism, economy and civilization of the state at global arena. Source: Economic Times

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a US-based cruise industry trade association, in partnership with Singapore Tourism Board in India, has launched its accreditation programme that was developed over the last five years. It is currently being used in Australia, New Zealand, UK and the Europe markets. It is targeted at any travel agent or tour operator who sells cruise packages. Peter Kollar, Head, International Training & Development, CLIA, who was in Mumbai to announce the launch said, “We have opened our membership to the Indian travel trade and it is the first market in Asia that we have done this. We see India with a huge potential as a source market for cruising. The travel agents need to convince the travellers to cruise. For that to happen, they need to believe in cruising and be educated about the segment.” The accreditation, he adds, is comprehensive. “We start off with a general form of accreditation which is learning about basic skills and knowledge that one needs to sell cruising. It then evolves into a more senior level certification called Ambassadors and then a Masters. Its not just for training. Travel agents actually have to also experience cruising. We take them for ship inspections, engagement through events, etc.” Annie Chang, Director, Cruising, Policy & Planning Group, Singapore Tourism Board, added, “We approached CLIA to come to India and offer its membership and accreditation program. We have also worked on the module to customize it to the India market. We know the India market, they don’t. So we not only brought content to this module but also our expertise in the India’s cruising market.”

Travel and hospitality associations came together to analyse the impact of the Supreme Court’s liquor ban judgement and will lay out a future course of action after due deliberations on the issue with the government after a week. “This is a very challenging time for us as an industry. We are going to analyse the judgment in detail and go through how we can still serve guests and how we can manage employment impact,” said Kapil Chopra, President, The Oberoi, during a press conference held in New Delhi. Associations such as WTTC, FHRAI, NRAI, HRAH and IATO participated in the press conference. Chopra said, “We totally respect the Supreme Court’s judgement but the biggest challenge that we foresee is the loss of employment in both the hotel and restaurant sector. Also I don’t know how the government sees it but if it has to be 500 metres, it at least should be motorable distance because when people go out to pick liquor, they go by road. Generally hotels and restaurants do not sell bottles of liquor, you have to sit and consume it; now that sitting and consumption can happen in your home or in your car. So there are lot of issues we need to discuss with the government before we actually make a verdict. “If you look at Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi first five points, tourism is among those and there is a lot of work that’s happening around e-visas but what are we going to do with those e-visas when people will not apply for it. We need to make sure that India is being seen as a welcoming country, with friendly laws, strong compliance and strong focus on …