Trawelltag Cover-More recently conducted a Travel Agents’ Engagement Programme (TAEP) for travel professionals based in Jaipur. This session was attended by 70 of the leading travel agents in Jaipur. Dev Karvat, CEO-Emerging Markets, Cover-More Group conducted this session on the emergence of disruptive innovation and its impact on the travel industry. TrawellTag Cover-More started TAEPs for its clients and associate travel professionals to impart practical insights of achieving higher quality of travel ancillary sales, increased penetration and improve cross-selling skills, in the year 2013. Commenting on the TAEPs, Karvat said, “The TAEP initiative began 5 years ago with a vision to enrich pioneering minds in the industry. Today it is known to be a platform to enable our clients tap various ancillary revenue generation opportunities. We are delighted that many industry bodies like ETAA are coming forward to extend TAEPs exclusively to their members.” TrawellTag Cover-More has strived, to not only find opportunities where there were none, but also identify the right prospect to accelerate business growth for their clients. Therefore, making it a preferred partner for global assistance & travel insurance in India.

M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman & Managing Director, Empee Group, has been named as the DDP Trailblazer at the South India Travel Awards in Kochi. He forayed into the industry with a three star hotel. Thanks to his vision, today he is at the helm of a conglomerate that includes sugar, hospitality, property, power, and packaging across South India. He has been the President of Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI), for three terms and has also been the President of the Tamil Nadu Hotels & Restaurants Association for 18 long years, and President of South India Hotels & Restaurants Association for 10 years. It was under his leadership that FHRAI had set up a world-class institute for hotel management in 2016.

K.C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travels Interserve, is the stalwart to enter the Gallery of Legends at the 4th South India Travel Awards in Kochi. A visionary in the travel and tourism industry, he has been the President of TAAI- Kerala Chapter as well as the Chairman of Air Passenger Association of India. A renowned author of several Malayalam plays and writer and director of two Malayalam films, Chandrahasan has even won a National Award for ‘The Thekkady Tiger Trail’ project. He is one of the brains behind Interserve, which was reckoned as Indian travel industry’s answer to the inundation of multinational companies in India.

The fourth edition of South India Travel Awards was held at Crowne Plaza Kochi, Kerala on May 2. Achievers from the travel and tourism industry of South India were awarded in total of 47 categories. Attended by the who’s who of the region, the Chief Guest for the evening was Dr. A. Jayathilak, Chairman, Spices Board of India. Other dignitaries present during the inauguration ceremony were  K.C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travel Interserve, M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman and Managing Director, Empee Group, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager: India at South African Tourism, Gladrags Mrs. India 2017 Arni Saikal, Riyaz U.C., Managing Director, Spiceland Holidays, Shuvendu Banerjee, GM, Crowne Plaza Kochi, and SanJeet, Mentor, India Travel Awards.

India’s business travel industry has grown by 16.2 per cent over the past five years (2011-2016), according to a report by Travelport and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) launched at the WTTC Global Summit 2017 in Bangkok. It has been predicted that Asia-Pacific will lead the way at a predicted rate of 6.2 per cent each year to 2027, with India (7.2%) among the top five countries attributing to the growth. Over the past five years, at a global level, business travel spend has grown at an annual average of 3.6 per cent, with the strongest growth in the past 5 years having taken place in Asia, the Middle East and Sub Saharan Africa. The CEO of Travelport, Gordon Wilson, commented: “Every day we see business travel growing at a significant rate in many emerging markets with technology playing an in increasingly important role in easing the way for those on trips for their work. As an industry we need to continue to invest in the best technologies and infrastructure whilst governments need to be more business-friendly by removing burdensome visa requirements.” David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, said: “Travel & Tourism generates USD$7.6 trillion in GDP and supports over 292 million jobs. Business travel is a vital part of the sector, and it is a key catalyst for global growth. It drives the relationships, investments, supply chains and logistics that support international trade flows.”

The Indian Railway PSU, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to start two new circuits of their flagship luxury train Maharajas’ Express, this year. These two new trips have been named as ‘Southern Sojourn’ and ‘Southern Jewels’ which will cover prominent destinations in West and South India. The Southern Sojourn will cover Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Ernakulam, Kumarakom and Trivandrum. The Southern Jewels will cover Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysore, Hampi and Goa. Though the regular trip of these two new journeys will take place in September 2017 for this year, however two new tour circuits with a view to cater especially to domestic travellers are being planned during monsoon period of June-July 2017. The Southern Sojourn-Monsoon Special shall start from Mumbai on June 24, 2017, & stop at Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Cochin, Alleppey before terminating at Trivandrum. The Southern Jewels-Monsoon Special shall depart from Trivandrum on July 1, 2017, and terminate at Mumbai covering Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysore, Hampi and Goa. Each journey shall be of 8 Days/7 Nights duration. The regular trip of Southern Sojourn will start from Mumbai on Sep 9, 2017, and Southern Jewels will start from Trivandrum on Sep 16, 2017. In addition to visits to monuments and sight-seeing at each destination under these trips, the guests shall have an opportunity to enjoy traditional cultural performances at Cochin, visit a Coir Factory and enjoy a cruise with lunch at Alleppey, savour traditional Chettinad Cuisine demo and much more on these fabulous journeys. Tariff in Indian Rupees has been introduced for the Monsoon Special itineraries. Lucrative offers to attract domestic travellers have also been planned. On the booking of first adult on twin sharing at full cost, …

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has announced the signing of a hotel property in Belgaum, Karnataka. The new property, a 60-room strategically located business hotel, is currently in its last phase of development and is slated to start operation by the year end. The hotel is merely an hour’s drive from Goa. Speaking on the latest addition, Rahul Banerjee, Associate Vice President–Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “Clarks Inn witnessed one of its biggest growth year in 2016 opening and signing a total of 21 new properties, including 12 operational, with the total tally reaching 75 hotels last year spread across 17 states in India and one in Nepal. With a strong development pipeline, we are expecting another year of robust growth in 2017. And with the latest addition at Belgaum we are confident of reaching a 100 hotel portfolio milestone by the end of the year.” With the latest addition Clarks Inn now boasts of a portfolio of 76 hotel properties, including 42 in operation, spread across 17 states in India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. “The 60-key Clarks Inn Belgaum will be a vibrant hotel property with strategic location that will cater to all the needs of the modern day discerning business and as well as leisure travellers. As a hotel company, we now have the most widespread presence in Karnataka with as many eight hotels currently in operation at Badami, Bagalkot, Bengaluru, Gadag, Hampi, Hubli, Mysore and Shimoga and four more slated to open door over the next one year,” said Rupam Das, Area Director-Operations (South), Clarks Inn Group of Hotels.

AccorHotels has announced the opening of Uttar Pradesh’s first Novotel in the capital city of Lucknow – Novotel Lucknow Gomti Nagar. The business hotel is located in the heart of the city’s commercial hub – Gomti Nagar, a short drive from Lucknow airport and railway station. The hotel features 106 rooms, including two suites, all equipped with modern in-room amenities, plush interiors and high speed Wi-Fi connectivity. Designed to meet the needs of today’s modern and hyper connected travellers, the business hotel’s lobby features a dedicated web corner equipped with Mac PCs, a multi-touch table interactive platform that allows guests to experience a wide range of entertainment from fun learning games for children to the latest movie blockbusters for guests and a virtual concierge help desk that gives guests access to important information on their fingertips to plan their travel itinerary in the city. Jean-Michel Cassé, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, AccorHotels said, “The cultural capital of North India, Lucknow has traditionally been the epicentre of literature, cuisine, and performing arts. The city’s radial expansion has given way to new growth corridors, attracting plentiful investments. It is this confluence of culture and business that makes Lucknow a compelling destination for travellers and we are delighted to open our very first Novotel property here.”

Kempegowda International Airport Limited (KIAL) is going to undo the restrictions it had imposed on flight operations. For about two and a half months from mid-February, the airport was closed to flights during the day due to Aero India  2017 and later for upgradation of its sole runway. Growing traffic at the airport necessitated the expansion. Airport operations president Hari Marar said the runway upgradation, which will increase aircraft handling capacity, was completed on April 30. Travellers and airlines had to reschedule or cancel some of their trips as flights took off before 10.30 am and after 5 pm. “Approximately 80 flights were cancelled per day due to runway closure,” a KIAL official reportedly said. in 2012, the runway was entirely closed for a month for resurfacing work. The Bengaluru airport clocked 178,117 air traffic movements (ATMs) in the past financial year, which translates to around 500 ATMs a day. Ranked third busiest in India, the KIA registered 22.88 million travellers during this period. This comes to around 62,000 passengers a day. (Source: Economic Times)

Union minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain flagged off a new Shatabdi Express train between Dibrugarh and Guwahati. Guwahati Shatabdi Express train would operate three-days-a-week from Dibrugarh and Guwahati. He said, the train would have latest fully air-conditioned LHB coaches to provide safety and extra comfort. The minister said that the Shatabdi Express trains are among the fastest and most prestigious trains of Indian railways along with Rajdhani and Duronto trains which connect metro cities with other important cities from the point of view of tourism, pilgrimage or business.