During the pandemic, Australian Tourism interacted with the Indian tourism industry through a series of webinars and virtual meetings, strengthening their ties. Also, the Australia Global Summit had the highest participation from the Indian travel industry. Australian tourism reported a doubling of agents’ participation in their Aussie Specialist Agents (ASP) programme in India in 2022 in comparison to 2019.

Costa Cruises will conduct a webinar for the travel trade highlighting new opportunities for them on Tuesday, March 8 at 11:00 hrs IST. The webinar will showcase new sailing itineraries to Europe, Dubai and Singapore, offers, fleet introductions, and Covid safety protocols. They will also get a certificate and a chance to win prizes. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. Register directly at https://event.webinarjam.com/register/379/yy8npb8x

The 06th edition of the Bengal Travel Mart, East & North East India’s largest B2B travel show, was held at Mayfair Tea Resort in Siliguri from March 5th to 7th, 22. Gautam Deb, Mayor Siliguri Municipal Corporation was the chief guest. BTM’s aim is to create Siliguri as a hub for the Eastern Himalayas’ inbound domestic market, providing opportunity for buyers and sellers to closely interact on a productive platform.

In a brainstorming session, Tourism Committee of Federation of Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) and GMR mulled over ‘Roadmap for Building a Stronger Tourism Product’ with an idea to make Hyderabad, Telangana State and nearby region as a tourism hub. At the meeting senior GMR officials headed by Pradeep Panicker, CEO, shared their views on the way forward.

SriLankan Airlines adorns one of its aircraft with customized livery to reaffirm its status as the official airline of the much-awaited ‘Raid Amazones 2022.’ Raid Amazones 2022 is an annual sporting event in which a large number of French female athletes compete in a number of sports and activities against the backdrop of an iconic tourist site. Every year, the event highlights an attractive tourist destination by highlighting inherent elements such as its ecological beauty, residents’ way of life, and culture, which are publicly displayed to the world through worldwide media following the athletes on their tour. The event’s 20th edition will take place in the areas surrounding the iconic Sigiriya rock fortress, which are rich in ecological beauty, cultural heritage, and authentic Sri Lankan village life. The first leg will be held from March 13 to 23, 2022, and the second leg will be held from March 27 to April 6, 2022. The event is likely to attract over 550 participants, including athletes and officials.

To provide further updates on the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Singapore and India & Sri Lanka, Singapore Tourism Board will be organising another round of webinar exclusively for the Indian & Sri Lankan travel trade. The ‘Welcome Back to Singapore’ webinar will be held today at 11:30am IST/SLST. The virtual session will also touch on Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight operations and the customer experience at Changi Airport and Jewel Changi Airport. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. SIA operates daily flights from four Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) points in India and Sri Lanka: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Colombo. In addition, SIA operates non-VTL flights from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. SIA recommends customers to check that they have selected a VTL flight before they book. SIA’s VTL POINTS TO SINGAPORE Country City Flight Number Frequency India BOM SQ423 7x weekly DEL SQ403 7x weekly MAA SQ529 7x weekly Sri Lanka CMB SQ469 7x weekly

Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General, UNWTO, has said that had it not been for domestic tourism, a lot of countries wouldn’t have survived. Hence, she advises, “Domestic tourism must remain at the heart of the strategy, with international and regional strategies complimenting it and not becoming replacements to that strategy.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met with Jyotiraditya Scindia, Civil Aviation Minister, representatives from travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors to discuss various banking-related issues. Travel, tourism and hospitality sectors are among the worst hit due to the COVID pandemic. The industry leaders from these sectors have been pitching for financial support from the government.

Building on its extensive recovery efforts in India , South African Tourism is all set to host their biggest, independent travel trade initiative in India – their annual Roadshow. This in-person roadshow will be the first mega-event post-pandemic and will travel to the 4 Indian cities of Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai from 07th to 11th March 2022. Capitalizing on the massive growth potential offered by the Indian outbound traveller segment, the approximately 20-member South African trade delegation will take the opportunity to educate and enable Indian trade partners to sell the destination holistically, responsibly and safely. In addition to experiences, representatives from accommodation establishments, destination management companies, South African Provinces, SMMEs and women-owned companies will showcase their product and services, while engaging Indian travel and trade associates.

Pradeep Panicker, Chief Executive Officer, GMR Hyderabad International Airport, has revealed that the new terminal of the airport will be ready by next year and will take the capacity from 12million to 40 million. He was speaking at a special meet organised between Sr delegates of GMR Hyderabad and the tourism committee of FTCCI to discuss tourism opportunities in the state.