Realising the potential of the Indian wedding industry, FICCI organised the first-ever Wedding Tourism Summit at The Lalit to give impetus to the booming segment. The gathering was welcomed by Dr Jyostna Suri, Past President, FICCI and Chairperson – FICCI Tourism Committee. Also present at the inauguration were Ajay K Sharma, Deputy Director – Tourism, Govt of Rajasthan, along with Siddharth Chaturvedi, CEO, Eventcrafter and Secretary, EEMA. The Wedding Tourism Summit will conclude on May 26, 2017. The two-day summit gives buyers and suppliers an opportunity to interact and explore potential business opportunities under one roof and also address issues and concerns pertaining to the wedding segment. Suri said, “Weddings not only benefit the hotels where the events take place, but also the destination as well as ancillary services like florists, caterers etc. We need to tap countries like UK where there are many tourists looking for good destinations to get married in and what better place than India, with its historic hotels and other sites. The objective of this platform is to create a bigger awareness of India and the various destinations as a sought-after wedding location.” Suman Billa, Joint Secretary – Tourism, Govt of India delivered the inaugural address where he stated, “If we want to achieve our target of attaining 2 per cent of global international tourist arrivals into India by 2025, we need to address all segments that have the potential to grow, and weddings is definitely one of them. People who come for weddings stay longer and spend more so there is a need for us to come up with a game plan on what we need to do to promote it. We need to look …

Phoenix-based Best Western Hotels & Resorts has acquired Sweden Hotels, a collection of 59 hotels across Sweden, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition makes Best Western the largest hotel chain in Sweden, with a total of 135 properties. Sweden Hotels, which has been in business since 1977, now gets access to Best Western’s loyalty program, Best Western Rewards, its distribution channels, and its customer relations, marketing, and purchasing services. Best Western said the deal will help the company grow its newly formed SureStay Hotel Group brand, as well. In a statement, David Kong, CEO of Best Western said, “Best Western is always on a quest to grow our offerings around the globe. The opportunity to broaden our footprint with a quality partner like Sweden Hotels is one that we couldn’t turn down. We look forward to what I’m confident will be a longstanding and prosperous venture.” In another press statement, Jenny Bänsch Larsson, chairman of Sweden Hotels said, “It feels good to be part of BWHR (Best Western Hotels & Resorts). With the merger with BWHR, we will now be able to help hotels better in areas such as distribution, marketing, purchasing and sales.”

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its ‘In Principle’ approval to transfer the property of Hotel Janpath, New Delhi to Ministry of Urban Development. The property can be considered for construction of Government offices and similar purposes which would save government funds spent in hiring of government offices. Details of implementation of the project, land usages, etc. would be taken subsequently by a Committee of Secretaries to be constituted under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary. The building of Hotel Janpath has to undergo major rehabilitation work since the building structure of Hotel Janpath has been found to be unserviceable, in distressed condition and deficit in the context of seismic requirements, according to the inspection report of IIT Roorkee. The Government of India has initiated the process of disinvestment of hotels / properties of the India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ITDC). The decision on disinvestment-has been made, keeping in view that running and managing hotels on professional lines is not the work of the Government or its entities. In the first stage of the disinvestment process, it was decided to disinvest three hotels, viz. Hotel Lake View Ashok, Bhopal, Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati and Hotel Bharatpur Ashok. Hotel Janpath, New Delhi is next in the list.  

Vistara has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo (new engine option) at Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, making it the 14th aircraft in the airline’s fleet. Apart from the technical advancements that come with the A320neo, Vistara has unveiled several enhancements to the product on the aircraft, including mood lighting (first time in India for an Airbus A320 operator), more comfortable seating with a new seat bottom and seat-back design, softer cushions, and a refreshing new look across all three cabin classes. The aircraft also carriers the Vistara and Airbus A320neo logos on the underbelly of the aircraft, a first for Vistara. The Business Class cabin exudes a luxurious ambience with a fine blend of airline’s brand colors, Aubergine and gold. Features such as wider seat backs, softer cushions, enhanced literature pockets and softer leather upholstery promise a premium experience onboard. The rich color scheme of Aubergine and Gold continues into the exclusive Premium Economy cabin, with improved seat cushions, softer seat leather, re-designed height four-way adjustable headrest. Economy Class in the new aircraft has a calm Grey and rich Aubergine color scheme with enhanced cushioning for seats crafted in soft leather and with padded head support.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) opened the doors to the first Kimpton outside of the Americas, with the Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Sudeep Jain, Vice President-Development, South West Asia, IHG, says, “The concept of lifestyle hotels is about stimulating a diverse, innovative environment enhanced by a sense of belonging and style. It is encouraging to see the signature Kimpton experience being introduced to Europe. Lifestyle hotels have been trending for over 20 years, and now is the right time to accelerate our growth in India through the lifestyle segment.” Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants was acquired by IHG in 2015. IHG announced the further expansion of the brand across Europe with its second Kimpton hotel set to open in Paris in 2020. There are currently over 60 Kimpton hotels and more than 70 Kimpton restaurants, bars and lounges in 33 cities across Europe and the Americas. The hotel, which is in the heart of Amsterdam’s vibrant city centre and near the city’s Centraal Station, marks a milestone for IHG as it brings the Kimpton brand to Europe for the first time. This is IHG’s 20th hotel in The Netherlands and is an addition to the 675 IHG hotels across Europe. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants introduced the boutique hotel concept to the United States when it opened in San Fransisco in 1981. “Europe was the original inspiration behind Bill Kimpton founding the brand and now we’re bringing the brand home again. Opening in Amsterdam, gives us the perfect opportunity to indulge in the playful, creative and innovative approach to luxury that the city inspires in Kimpton’s unique and special way,” comments Angela Brav, IHG’s CEO, Europe.  “Amsterdam as a city …

Dubai-based airline, flydubai, has launched its new holidays division titled ‘Holidays by flydubai’ which will become its tour operating arm. It aims to simplify travel by providing customers with the choice to customise packages including flights, hotels and other ancillary services such as airport transfers, sightseeing packages, car rental and more. “Holidays by flydubai will represent a new milestone in flydubai’s journey as we enter a more mature phase of our operation,” said Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai. “We continue to challenge the conventions of travel in the region and exceed our customers’ expectations. Holidays by flydubai will enhance the overall travel experience as we give customers the freedom to design their own holiday in one convenient place.” As part of the offering, a new online portal for Holidays by flydubai, will allow customers to browse, book and pay for flights, accommodation and services all within a single booking process. The portal will also allow travel agents, distributors and flydubai-authorised travel shops to design and book tailor-made packages. Around the clock sales support will be another feature available to customers. Nelson D’souza, Vice President-Holidays, said, “By combining internally sourced wholesale hotel rates and rates provided by third parties along with our competitive airfares, Holidays by flydubai will aim to provide affordable packages making travel more accessible to more people. We will work closely with travel trade experts to ensure the customer interface and the functionality of this portal is user-friendly, enjoyable and reliable.” Holidays by flydubai will offer holiday packages around the flydubai network including popular destinations such as: Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Egypt, Georgia, India, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey and the UAE.

Langkawi is the venue for PATA Travel Mart 2018 (PTM 2018) with the signature Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) event being hosted by Tourism Malaysia and Langkawi Development Authority. The announcement was made by the Association’s CEO Dr. Mario Hardy during the PATA Annual Summit in Negombo, Sri Lanka on May 21. Dr. Hardy said, “Tourism Malaysia and Langkawi Development Authority have been a valuable PATA member and partner since 1959 and 2017 respectively and we look forward to the opportunity of showcasing the culture, heritage and beauty of Langkawi. Delegates to PTM 2018 will experience one of Asia’s most remarkable and attractive destinations.” Tourism Malaysia Director General, Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab said, “Malaysia is proud and honoured to be given the opportunity to host another PATA event again, this time in the beautiful island of Langkawi. We are pleased to be co-hosts of PATA Travel Mart 2018 with Langkawi Development Authority and look forward to welcoming all PATA members to Malaysia for a fruitful and memorable meeting and networking session.”

Karnataka Tourism is planning to intensify its 2017 campaign ‘The Year of the Wild’ by installing intelligent displays at 279 railway stations, which will enable it to reach 10 crore people a month. The campaign is running across 7 states including Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. This has been made possible as Karnataka Tourism has entered into collaboration with outdoor media company, Vyoma Technologies. From eco-trekking along the scenic Western Ghats, to celebrating the iconic Golden Chariot, tourism in Karnataka is definitely on the uptake, recording a 15.5% growth in tourism in 2016 as recorded by the Ministry of Tourism.

Against the backdrop of a high growth potential in Indian Travel & Tourism market, an organized tax structure is vital, claims Anil Parashar, President and CEO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient. He adds, “The implementation of the unified tax structure is a huge step towards preparing the nation that is expected to grow at $160.2 billion by 2026. Although, the industry presently has mixed reactions towards the introduction, going forward, this step would attract more industry growth as the GST has been planned according to the tax player’s capability. For example, GST Council reduced service tax on economy class from 6 to 5 per cent while increasing business class to 12 per cent from the current 9 per cent.”

P. K. Anish Kumar, President, ATTOI, was quite disappointed with the GST announcement. “Most of the foreign travellers have concerns regarding safety, security, cleanliness in India and thus choose 4 or 5 star hotels to stay in. This does not mean they are rich but prefer safe, quality accommodation. Now with 28 per cent tax on hotels and 5 per cent GST to be paid by agents kills the industry as the effective tax to be paid will be 33 per cent. How will we compete with destinations like Hong Kong ,which has no tax on hospitality industry? Earlier tax in Kerala was 19 per cent even on 4 and 5 star hotels and now competitiveness of the industry is thrown off with direct 28 per cent. A houseboat in Kerala costs above Rs. 6000 and the tax will deter the USP of the destination. India will not be seen as a long haul destination any more as packages will become shorter due to the expenses to be incurred by the foreign tourists. Tourism has to be seen as an employment and revenue generator and government’s approach to penalise tourists and earn money from them will ruin the tourism industry overall,” he claimed.