Earning the position of being Asia’s third-biggest market for Eurail after South Korea and China, India has chugged its way into the ‘key’ market category for the rail pass company. To underline how important this market has become to them, Yi Ding, Market Manager Asia, Eurail, was visiting Mumbai from Utrecht recently. She elaborates on this exciting growth and says, “In 2015, we saw that India had the highest growth rate globally for us – it was 50 per cent over the previous year. It continued to grow in 2016 by almost four per cent. In short, India was the best performing market for us the last two years.” She expects about eight to nine per cent growth in 2017 year-on-year because of the growing outbound to Europe. Much of this growth could be attributed to Eurail’s Family Discount of free travel for children under 12 it had introduced in 2014. This alone led the children’s share to double by 2015. In 2016, the market share of children was seven to eight per cent already – highest among all its markets.

After associating with the movie ‘Dear Zindagi’ recently, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has yet again rubbed shoulders with glamour. Together with SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, STB has now announced its collaboration with Dharma Productions for Bollywood movie ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’. The movie features key scenes and songs filmed in Singapore. Talking about Singapore’s association with the movie, G.B Srithar, Regional Director for South Asia, Middle East & Africa, STB said, “This movie will appeal to all segments of Indian society with its over-arching theme of love and the joy of life. Over the past few decades, Bollywood movies have helped build an emotive connect among the Indian audiences with Singapore. We believe through Badri and Vaidehi, they will re-discover Singapore’s variety of experiences and evolving cityscape. Keeping in line with the movie’s theme, we are pleased to welcome Indian travelers to begin their endless love affair with Singapore, by visiting and re-visiting Singapore for memorable holidays.” The film, directed by Shashank Khaitan and starring Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, will hit the screens on Friday, March 10, 2017 across India. Currently, SilkAir and Singapore Airlines have combined operations from 11 Indian cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam connecting to over 100 destinations via its hub, Singapore.

In line with the strategy of aggressive promotional campaign, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism organised various events in Maharashtra and Pune. The event titled Shaam-e-Kargil focused to promote the unexplored regions in the state which special focus on Kargil, informed Farooq A Shah, Secretary Tourism and Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir State Tourism Development Corporation (JKSTDC). Addressing the travel fraternity in Maharashtra as dost-e-Kashmir, Shah explained how the trade in this region has always been a supporter and taken initiatives in promoting Jammu Kashmir as their priority destination. The delegation from the state tourism department interacted with various trade associations and travel agents and displayed publicity material about the products and services on offer in the state. The Secretary also conducted a series of meetings with the airlines and other allied sector representatives in order to ask for better facilitation and balanced fares to the destination.

The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) has made a foray into the Indian market starting 2017 to tap the increasing Indian outbound travel segment. The tourism board recently participated in a travel show in Mumbai to jumpstart its three-year-strategic plan. GNTO’s target is to create increased destination awareness about lesser-known cities of great geophysical, historical and cultural importance and to position Greece in the top five list of European destinations, for Indian tourists. Elena Kountoura, Honourable Minister of Tourism of Greece, says, “With the entry of Greek Tourism in the Indian market we aim to associate with the travel trade industry and offer our audience a customized product. Our strategy aims to promote 365 days tourism in Greece and we are confident that we will see a positive boost in the number of Indian arrivals to Greece with our initiatives. India is a promising market for us and this year we plan to reach out to affluent Indians through a well planned marketing and advertising campaign. GNTO is looking at promoting Greece as an ideal destination for film tourism, destination weddings and celebrations, apart from the existing popular segments like honeymoons, MICE and FITS.” Dimitrios Tryfonopoulos, Secretary General, Greek National Tourism Organization, adds, “Establishing a GNTO Office in India is the ultimate aim. Until then we will associate with our Indian counterpart to bring out the dynamic perspectives of Greek Tourism in the market of India. We are in talks with representatives of large air carriers such as Emirates, Qatar, Etihad and Jet Airways to improve the connectivity to Athens from India.” Greek Tourism recorded a double digit growth in 2016 from India. It is currently represented in India by …

Making visa application facilities convenient for travellers, the Chinese Visa Application Centre was inaugurated at Shivaji Stadium metro station, Connaught Place, New Delhi by HE Lua Zhaohui, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to India; Wei Xiaodong, Vice Director-General, Service Bureau for the Foreign Ministry and its Overseas Missions of China; and Zubin Karkaria, Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global Group. Commenting on the launch, the Ambassador said, “This is going to facilitate tourism between the two countries even further. Both countries boast of a huge population and want a better two-way exchange of tourist arrival numbers.” Adding on, Zubin Karkaria stated, “We anticipate strong tourism growth between India and China and this spacious centre will enable us to cater to the rising demand for China visas and simultaneously enhance the applicant’s experience.” On the occasion, the very first ‘China in Luxury’ outlet was also launched in the centre where travellers can avail of premium packages on exclusive travel experiences.

Jet Airways and Hong Kong Airlines have entered into a codeshare partnership in a move that will help them significantly enhance connectivity between India and the Asia-Pacific region. As part of the reciprocal agreement, Jet Airways will place its marketing code ‘9W’ on Hong Kong Airlines’ flights operating between Hong Kong and Okinawa and Tokyo in Japan; Denpasar in Indonesia; Hanoi in Vietnam; Bangkok in Thailand; and Auckland in New Zealand. Hong Kong Airlines in turn, will place its marketing code “HX” on Jet Airways’ flights between Hong Kong and Mumbai as well as Delhi in India. The agreement will allow Hong Kong Airlines to offer its guests a daily service connecting the key business cities of Hong Kong, Mumbai and Delhi. The codeshare will provide opportunities for both airlines to expand their reach and cater to guests across the region. It will also enhance connectivity for Jet Airways guests from Mumbai and Delhi via Hong Kong to multiple destinations in the Asia-Pacific region including to first time codeshare destinations – Okinawa in Japan and Auckland in New Zealand thus enhancing the proposition for travelers who are increasingly seeking newer and more varied travel experiences. Guest can also enjoy the multi-gateway travel flexibility of travelling to/from India to Hong Kong in one direction and via Bangkok in the other direction. Additionally, Jet Airways’ Jet Privilege members will also be able to earn frequent flyer miles when they travel on Jet Airways marketed flights on these codeshare routes, which will not only be available for redemption but also count towards their tier status in the programme.

PATA India Chapter is conducting roadshow to USA and Canada, in partnership with India Tourism from May 30 to June 8, 2017. Runeep Sangha, Executive Director, PATA India Chapter, said, “We are pleased to inform you that we have received necessary approvals to conduct Roadshow to  USA and Canada, in partnership with India Tourism. More details will be communicated in the coming week.” The roadshow will begin in Toronto (Canada) on May 30, then move to the US with Boston on May 31, Chicago on June 1, Houston on June 6, New York on June 7 and 8. Participants must confirm their participation by March 3.

Internet Moguls, a leading tourism and hospitality focussed digital marketing agency, is coming up with one of its kind on-the-job learning programme – Winners Tribe. It is an advanced and comprehensive programme for learning digital marketing for working professionals and people interested to make a career in Digital. Winners Tribe is a broad programme which will enable one to learn, conceptualise, strategise, execute and be a master in digital learning. The course has 21 Modules which will be covered in 80 hours. Apart from training students, freshers and entrepreneurs this programme is also focused on providing training to the working professionals. On the launch, Avijit Arya, Chief Mogul(Founder) at Internet Moguls, said, “In the year 2017, we are witnessing an increased demand for specialised talents with special impetus on upskilling. However, this space is ever evolving and talent needs to be upto-date with the new trends. Therefore, we at Internet Moguls believe that theoretical knowledge alone in digital marketing is not sufficient. One needs to be abreast with the latest trends and follow the drill practically. Our latest initiative called ‘Winners Tribe’  is an attempt to fill the gap from theoretical to practical knowledge. We aim to impart advanced skills to not just freshers but to working professionals as well who are keen to pursue this stream. The distance between having no job or a disappointing job to getting your dream job is eventually about having the right knowledge about it. As it works in golf, when you shift your grip merely by  two inches, the shot lands up right on the target. In the same way, I promise to change people’s lives by teaching them the right lesson to …

InterContinental Hotels Group strengthens its presence in the East India with the introduction of its first Holiday Inn® hotel in Kolkata – Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport. With the opening of the 137-room hotel in partnership with Jain Group, the total number of Holiday Inn hotels has gone up to 11 in India. Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia, InterContinental Hotels Group said, “Holiday Inn brand family is one of the growth drivers for IHG’s expansion in India.  We are proud to add Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport to our portfolio and look forward to expanding our footprint in West Bengal. We are delighted to be working with the Jain Group and look forward to offering business ready services to our guests in Kolkata.” Shrayans Jain, Vice Chairman, Jain Group said, “We are very happy to partner with IHG and announce the opening of ‘Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport’. Due to increased business activity in the state, West Bengal has become the gateway to North East India enabling an upward swing for the hospitality sector. Strategically located near the airport, the hotel caters to the needs of the guests visiting Kolkata for both business and leisure. We look forward to fulfilling our guests’ expectations with services unique to a Holiday Inn hotel.” Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport is located just five km away from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, with close proximity to Business Parks, SEZs and IT hub of Kolkata in Rajarhat, New Town and Salt Lake Sector-V area. The hotel offers comfort and convenience to the contemporary business and leisure traveler with 137 well-appointed rooms & suites. For MICE and corporate guests, the hotel offers 6,076 sq ft of …

Hahn Air is expanding its network of over 300 air, rail and shuttle partners with high-speed rail operator Eurostar (9F). The UK-based train services are now available to travel agents worldwide for ticketing on Hahn Air’s HR-169 document with the exception of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. To issue tickets for Eurostar, travel agents can use the standard ticketing process in all major GDSs. “Eurostar is our third rail partner and the first to use our HR-169 product through an interline agreement”, said Steve Knackstedt, Vice President of Airline Business Group at Hahn Air. “We believe that we can support them in reaching new markets and unlocking new business opportunities. They can therefore position themselves towards travel agents worldwide as a means of transportation on par with air travel in Western Europe.” Eurostar is the only high-speed railway service connecting London with mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. Services operate between London St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Lyon, Avignon, Marseille and the French Alps. With a change in Brussels, passengers can also connect to any domestic Belgian station. Its trains reach a maximum speed of 300km per hour (186 miles per hour). Their new e320 trains feature more spacious carriages, free Wi-Fi and over 300 hours of entertainment which can be streamed to phones, tablets or laptops. Established in 1994, the company has to date carried over 170 million passengers between London and the continent.