Absolute Hotel Services India has announced the opening of Eastin Hotel Kurseong Darjeeling, the first International four-star deluxe resort hotel in Kurseong Darjeeling. The hotel has opened its door to guests on April 15, 2017 with special opening rates starting from Rs. 4,999++ per room per night. Located on the foothills of the Himalayas, Eastin Hotel Kurseong Darjeeling will offer 35 rooms under Deluxe, Executive and Suites with views of the Himalayan mountain range, green woods and tea estate. Other recreation activities include star gazing sightseeing, local dance and music, trekking, bird watching and tea tourism. Facilities include a signature all day dining multi-cuisine restaurant, specialty vegetarian restaurant, lounge bar, terrace café to relax and admire the scenic beauty, banquet and meeting centre, wellness spa,, gym, meditation and yoga. It will also feature first of its kind teahouse which will offer finest Darjeeling tea and spiced up creative tea mocktails/cocktails to the guest.  The contemporary wooden interiors will provide guests a warm cosseting atmosphere reminding them of the colonial era. The resort hotel has easy access to attractions like Eagle Craig, Dow hill, Giddapahar View Point amongst many, along with tea estates, temples, churches, museums, as well as famous historic schools that were setup during the British colonial days.

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd has carefully curated a segment to address the unique needs of mothers and mothers-to-be (mother and baby-moon packages) and incorporates the special interests of India’s women travellers with engaging experiences like shopping, sampling global cuisine while learning to cook it, as well and local cultural tours and rejuvenating spa-wellness programmes. Thomas Cook India’s Mother’s Day tour packages feature easy to access short-haul International destinations like Singapore, Dubai (including a stay in the resort destination of Ras-Al-Khaimah), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Oman, Maldives and Mauritius. Rajeev Kale, Thomas Cook India’s President & Country Head-Leisure Travel, MICE, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “India’s Mommy travellers are clearly the next growth drivers and our product teams at Thomas Cook India have developed unique packages, personalized to serve their needs. We understand that the Protagonist Traveller of today looks beyond the ordinary & likes to customize her packages, which is why we have taken into consideration not just accommodation and sightseeing, but also exciting elements like water sports, local cuisine & cooking, shopping; equally safety and cultural sensitivities of each country.”

RARE has taken on board, Pepper Trail, located in 200 acres of spice plantation in Wayanad, north Kerala. A part of the plantation heritage, Manglam Carp Estate founded by Colin Auley Mackenzie, Pepper Trail is a sliver of dense land that is visually fenced in by flat paddy lands, large swathes of forests and a road leading up from Sultan Bathery. Accommodation in the tree houses, bungalows and pool villas are designed as intimate abodes to relax, play, walk, read, cycle or indulge in a spa till city life claims you or your itinerary urges you ahead. Thoughtfully plated meals, serving Kerala’s delicacies with a hint of surprise, cater to well-travelled palates. ‘Pazhey Bangala’ – the beautifully restored Mackenzie colonial home offers two suites. Soon, two beautiful pool villas will be ready within the plantation Wayanad stretches across the Western Ghats, ranging between 700m to 2100m. The higher regions induce a kind of misty romanticism intensified as the sun goes down and dusk turns its head to the sun at dawn. Picture this on a continually farmed, active plantation of tea, coffee and spices from the high grounds of a 200 acre plantation and you are in nature’s idyll.

Sabre Corporation has announced a new global distribution partnership with Scoot-Tigerair. This partnership is in line with Scoot-Tigerair’s vision to bring affordable flight options and seamless customer experience for passengers around the world. With the market becoming more competitive as travel service providers adapt to the changing habits and behaviours of travellers, particularly around addressing the demand for low-cost flight options, Sabre’s technology will enable Scoot-Tigerair to maximise its reach through the Sabre Travel Marketplace, connecting them to more than 425,000 travel agents globally. This helps ensure that consumers have access to the best possible deals available while creating more revenue opportunities for the airline and travel agents. “Low-cost carriers (LCCs) are the biggest growth drivers in the region. This trend is likely to continue as countries in the region experience rising incomes and a propensity for short- to mid-haul travel. Airlines like Scoot-Tigerair are expanding their reach rapidly to cover destinations across the region to keep up with traveller demands. As one of the first LCCs in the region, we are honoured to work with Scoot-Tigerair, and our technology will allow them to compete more effectively in a very competitive environment,” said Rakesh Narayanan, vice president of Supplier Commerce, Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific. Effective May 2017, Scoot-Tigerair’s fares and ancillary offerings will be available to Sabre travel agents globally, allowing them to choose the most cost-efficient routes and packages for their customers. “Scoot-Tiger Airways has offered affordable airfares since Tigerair started in 2004 and Scoot in 2012. We have been adding more destinations constantly and entered into partnerships with airlines and alliances to ensure that we provide the best value for our customers,” said Trevor Spinks, Head of Sales …

New Zealand has witnessed a steady increase in arrivals from India with 53,424 travellers visiting there as of March 2017, a 14.9 per cent growth from same period last year. To further boost the Indian tourist numbers, Tourism New Zealand is tying up with two airlines to promote the island country in the India sub-continent. The partnership between Tourism New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand is valid from May 2017 to April 2018 and will seek to position Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines as the preferred carriers for travelling to the country and promotional fares will be offered to passengers. The strategic partnership aims to encourage more travellers from key cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Vishakhapatnam. “New Zealand is the ultimate destination for many Indian travellers and special promotional fares provide a great opportunity to turn their dream holiday into reality,” said Tourism New Zealand regional manager, South and South East Asia, Steven Dixon. Elaborating on the initiative, David Lim, General Manager, India, said, “We offer 98 weekly connections from 11 cities in India to Singapore and together with our partner – Air New Zealand, we provide over 25 weekly, onward connections to three cities (Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington) in New Zealand.” Scott Carr, Regional General Manager-Asia, Air New Zealand, said, “India is one of our fastest-growing emerging markets and we’re excited about the potential of this campaign to reach more Indian travellers. Through our alliance and code share services with Singapore Airlines, we connect passengers from 11 Indian cities to Singapore, where they can access three non-stop flights a day to New Zealand.”

After the recent transfer of several IAS officers in Maharashtra, Nitin Gadre (IAS 1989 batch) who was Enquiry Officer at General Administration Department, has now been posted as Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, according to a report. Valsa Nair Singh, (IAS 1991 batch), Principal Secretary Tourism and Culture, has been appointed the Principal Secretary, Enquiry Officer, GAD, Civil Aviation and Excise.

Etihad Airways has launched a fourth daily non-stop service between Kozhikode in Kerala and its Abu Dhabi hub offering convenient onward connections to cities worldwide. The airline is celebrating 10 years of flying to the southern Indian state with the introduction of additional flights to the destination. The extra capacity takes to 63 the total number of weekly services between Abu Dhabi and its three Kerala gateways of Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. This represents over 30 per cent of Etihad Airways’ frequencies from across 11 Indian cities it serves. In addition, strategic Indian partner Jet Airways operates seven flights a week from Kochi to Abu Dhabi. The services largely cater to the huge expatriate population from all three Kerala cities and the surrounding areas, living and working in the Gulf region. Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways Vice President Indian Subcontinent, said: “With our multi-frequency scheduled flights to and from Kerala, Etihad Airways has demonstrated a commitment to this vibrant state by offering convenient global access and boosting the domestic tourism industry. We have been able to bring the world closer to this beautiful state and connect the people of Kerala to destinations in the Gulf, including our Abu Dhabi home, which has also been the base for thriving ventures by Kerala business houses. Reaching a 10-year milestone is fitting tribute to the support Etihad Airways has received from the state government of Kerala in making our operations a success.” Dr Venu Vasudevan, Principal Secretary Kerala Tourism, said: “Kerala Tourism is delighted to learn of the extra flights launched by Etihad Airways, which adds more connectivity to Kerala. We congratulate Etihad Airways on a decade of flying to Kerala and look forward to conducting …

Jet Airways has expanded the scope of its popular eduJetter programme for upcoming 2017-18 academic year. The revised program will make it easier for Indian students and those from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal – holding confirmed admissions for studying at universities/ institutions in Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the USA, to commence their new academic journey. Effective this year, privileges include special baggage allowance of up to 69 kg, free SIM cards (with exclusive calling rates), and through baggage check-in up to the final destination. Participating students also receive a free ISIC Forex Card  that offers easy and safe access to foreign exchange besides enjoying a five per cent discount on JetEscapes Holidays. Jet Airways has also simplified the entire process of eduJetter application and booking, as part of widening the appeal of the programme. The new, automatic application process is user-friendly and allows students to apply in three steps – book a flight ticket, visit the EduJetter page on the Jet Airways website to fill an online request form. The student then receives  an updated ticket from the airline with applicable eduJetter benefits within 72 hours. Commenting on the programme and its enhancements, Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways said, “Jet Airways  has always endeavored to provide exceptional value to guests by way of special programmes and partnerships. EduJetter is one such initiative that offers tremendous value to the student community travelling abroad for higher education from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, in the form of a bouquet of services that have been specially created by anticipating their needs at this significant moment in their life.”

Indians planning to travel to the UK on Virgin Atlantic this summer can now make use of the new campaign by the airline, called Brexit Calculator campaign. With an exchange rate of Re. 1 to 0.012 British Pound, the campaign focuses on the bright side of Brexit and emphasises that there has never been a better time to book a trip to the UK. Virgin Atlantic offers a daily flight between Delhi and London Heathrow with return fares from Rs. 45,845. With the new campaign, Virgin Atlantic has introduced a fun ‘Brexit calculator’ application to help holidaymakers in India work out how much they could save on a trip to the UK. The calculator will compute the savings based on the pre-and post-Brexit prices and show how popular tourist attractions have become a bargain. With those savings, customers can save so much on popular tourist activities in London that it’ll cover the cost of their flight. Nick Parker, Head of India and Middle East, Virgin Atlantic Airways said, “Clearly there has never been a better time to travel to the UK. The Indian Rupee is at a record high against the Pound which means you’ll save on literally everything when you visit the UK. Britain is emerging as an increasingly popular destination for Indians traveling for their holidays, adventures, and business trips. The Brexit calculator is a fun way to explore quintessential British tourist activities, and work out how much you could save in the UK at the same time.”

South African Tourism is putting the final touches on an event that will foster closer collaboration and targeted business interactions in an effort to have a more productive trade show for buyers and exhibitors. INDABA, Africa’s leading travel show, returns to the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban from May 16 to 18, 2017, sporting a more streamlined programme and improved floor layout. INDABA 2017 will see more than 7,000 delegates from around the world meeting in Durban to grow the African tourism economy through conversations, partnerships and a focus on doing business, South African Tourism Chief Executive Sisa Ntshona said. Through the online diary and matchmaking system, delegates can use technology to set up pre-scheduled meetings with buyers or exhibitors that may match their needs. A new INDABA app will also function as a digital resource for updates. The Hidden Gems pavilion will introduce the world’s travel buyers and visitors to small tourism enterprises from each of South Africa’s nine provinces that may otherwise have remained undiscovered. Delegates at the trade show will be exposed to the full breadth of Africa’s tourism offerings, including high-end products at the Tourism Grading Council’s new luxury pavilion. This feature will cater to global buyers who are on the lookout for the premier five-star offerings many destinations on the continent are famed for. Apart from the pre-scheduled meetings, buyers will have the chance to meet with exhibitors during the morning speed marketing sessions on each of the three show days. Here, participating exhibitors will be grouped according to themes such as lap of luxury, scenic outdoors and award winners before making short presentations on their offerings. These sessions are an excellent …