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 …

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak has announced the launch of multiple entry e-visa valid for 15 days for Indian nationals. The announcement came a day after Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), met Dato’ Seri Mohd. Nazir Abdul Aziz, Minister of Tourism & Culture, Govt. of Malaysia, along with Raghuvinder Singh of D Pauls Travel and suggested that e-visa facility being offered to Indians should be made multiple entry. The suggestion led the Minister to take action and decision was taken within a day, and the Malaysian Prime Minister announced, “I would like more Indians to visit Malaysia and I have informed the Prime Minister that we have decided to allow no visa fee, online application approval within 48 hours and multiple entry to be accorded for Indian nationals.” The Malaysian Prime Minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his official visit to the country on April 1. Sahni said, “Thanks to Datuk Seri Mirza Mohd Taiyab, Director General Tourism Malaysia, Dato Daljit Singh, Indian Community Relations Advisor to the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia, Datuk Siew Ka Wei, Chairman Tourism Malaysia and Sulaiman Suip as the new Director, North & East India operations, for their contribution. We acknowledge Hon. Dato Seri’ Mohd Nazir Abdul Aziz and his team for taking action so quickly.”

VFS Global, in partnership with United Kingdom Visas and Immigration, inaugurated a new Visa Application Centre in Pune to allow travellers from the city easy access to the United Kingdom. The newly opened centre offers a number of benefits to customers in Pune including more application counters to make it quicker and easier for customers to submit their visa applications. In addition the VAC has a new Premium Lounge which offers complimentary drinks and a separate lounge so that customers can apply for their visas more quickly and in more luxurious surroundings. The VAC is co-located with the Schengen Visa Application Centre to make it more straightforward for customers to apply for both visas at the same time. Speaking at the launch, Nick Crouch, Regional Director-South Asia, UK Visas and Immigration, said, “The UK continues to welcome more and more visitors from India. The latest visa figures show that over 395,000 Indian visit visas were issued for UK last year, a six per cent increase from 2015. We hope to see even higher numbers for 2017. India is an incredibly important market to the UK which is why we continue to make improvements to our visa service. Last year we introduced a new Visit Visa Application form which for the first time is translated into four regional languages and allows customers to download a completed Schengen visa form. We will continue to listen to feedback from our customers in order to make further improvements where we can.” Vinay Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer- Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global, added, “VFS Global and UK Visas and Immigration continue to invest and improve the visa service we offer Indian customers. Due …

Brussels Airlines now connects Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to Brussels Airport with a direct flight. The departure of the first flight out of Mumbai, was celebrated with a ribbon and cake cutting ceremony. The flight schedule consists of daytime flights to Mumbai on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The flights depart in the morning and arrive late in the evening at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. “Our new service received a warm welcome here in the Indian market. We see very encouraging booking results for travel to Belgium and many destinations beyond Brussels like Canada, the States, the UK, Spain, France and several African destinations.” – Patrick Roofthooft, Brussels Airlines Director India and Commercial Development. Flights leave Mumbai on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and arrive in Brussels early the next morning. Since the past year, there was no longer a direct connection by air between India and Belgium. The demand from various industries (pharmaceutical, diamond, maritime amongst others), from leisure travelers and cargo forwarders for a direct service was high. The Mumbai-Brussels flight schedule will allow seamless connections to many European, African and American destinations in the Brussels Airlines network, like London Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Geneva, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Stockholm, Milan, Madrid and the intercontinental flights to New York, Toronto, Washington and 19 African destinations.