After strategic tie ups with six state tourism departments across India, Stayzilla now gets on board with Andhra Pradesh Tourism for the joint promotion and development of homestays in the state. The MoU was signed in the presence of Ankit Rastogi, Vice President Marketplace, Stayzilla and Himanshu Shukla, IAS, Director Tourism of APT at Vijayawada. With this association, APTDC becomes the first Tourism Board to associate with a homestay aggregator in South India. Under this agreement, Stayzilla will lend its expertise to APT to conduct verification procedures and jointly boost homestays and unique stay experiences within Andhra Pradesh. This partnership will also enable verification and training of these new Homestays being developed right from the start. Stayzilla’s team in the South, headed by Stayzilla headquarters of Bangalore, will be part of the Service and Quality Assurance Committee under APT for Inspection, which includes property verification and screening. .

Sarovar Hotels forayed into yet another international market as it signed a hotel in the Ethiopian capital city, Addis Ababa. The hotel in Ethiopia marks Sarovar’s presence in the fifth country in Africa after Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan and Zambia. This move comes after the group recently took over the management of a hotel in Lusaka, Zambia. The 101-rooms hotel will be called Sarovar Premiere Addis Ababa. This will be Sarovar Hotels’ seventh hotel in Africa. The group currently manages New Africa Hotel in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), The Heron Portico in Nairobi, The Zehneria Portico in Nairobi and Panorama Sarovar Portico in South Sudan. The Lazizi Premiere opens in Nairobi in February 2017 and Sarovar Premiere Lusaka is expected to be opened in 2018. Commenting on the new endeavor, Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels, said, “We are very excited to be expanding to another new destination in the African region. With Sarovar Premiere Addis Ababa, we exceed a total of 1000 rooms in Africa. Being Ethiopia’s biggest commercial hub and the host location of the African Union headquarters, Addis Ababa has become a major destination for many travellers to the continent, business as well as leisure. We see great growth potential in this market with high demand and this development makes a momentous step in our growth and expansion strategy in the overseas market.”

Delhi International Airport, a subsidiary of GMR Group, launched India’s first airport e-Shopping platform – www.shopflydel.in  – to improve the experience of airport shopping among the domestic travellers. Domestic travellers now can pre-order wide range of products of their choice online from India’s largest airport retail offering from the comfort of their whereabouts. Through this online shopping portal, now travellers have access to over 20 categories of products such as Beauty, Confectionary, Fashion, Souvenirs, Pens etc. sold across Terminal 3 and Terminal 1 domestic outlets. Products can be searched and chosen from menu listed under terminal, category, sub category or outlet. Travellers can collect their pre-ordered items from respective outlets by making the payment through cash or card. With this unique facility in place, one can book product(s) of his choice from 30 days upto 12 hours before his flight in three simple steps – Click-Pick-Fly.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, inaugurated the first ever airport in Bathinda at Virk Kalan village. Addressing the gathering on the inaugural function, Raju said, “In India there are 31 domestic airports, which are functional at the moment and now with the inclusion of Bhatinda Airport, it will rise to 32.” He also said that the government will construct another 10 airports in Punjab by April 10, 2017, including in Ludhiana, Pathankot and Aadampur, where the foundation stone would be laid very soon. Among other dignitaries who were present on the occasion are AAI chairman Guru Prasad Mohapatra, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and many BJP leaders.

Sabre Corporation and Air Seoul, Korea’s newest low-cost carrier (LCC) under the Kumho Asiana Group, have signed a multi-year global distribution agreement making Air Seoul content available to travel agents via a Global Distribution System (GDS) for the first time. The agreement between Air Seoul and Sabre will give 425,000 Sabre-connected travel agents access to even more low-cost flights and fares in the Sabre Travel Marketplace, which now includes content from over 100 LCCs globally. Air Seoul launched earlier this year, commencing domestic flights between Gimpo and Jeju in July. Last month it began its international operations, adding routes to Japan and Cambodia. “Gaining access to Sabre’s extensive network of travel buyers is a key component in our growth strategy and particularly important as we expand our operations internationally,” said Ryu Gwang-hee, president of Air Seoul. “Sabre has a vast global network of agencies using its travel marketplace which it pairs with a unique and very local approach to doing business with airlines in Asia Pacific – meaning we get the tailored support we need to market and sell our services effectively as we expand our network.” “We have a rapidly expanding portfolio of low-cost carriers distributing their fares through Sabre, making us a global leader in this area. But really importantly we’re pairing this rich content with a continued investment in technology innovation, which has allowed us to develop more advanced low fare shopping tools that help travel agents find the most relevant travel options for their customer, quickly and reliably – driving revenues for both the agent and the airline,” commented Roshan Mendis, senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific.

AVIAREPS has launched Aviacollect, an online payment solution that allows small to medium offline airlines, hospitality brands, including standalone hotels and resorts, DMCs and providers of travel services, such as visa application, ground transportation, airport lounge access, car hire, attractions, sightseeing and travel insurance, to economically extend their international consumer and travel agent sales networks around the world. Aviacollect was launched in response to the urgent business development needs of many small to mid-size tourism related companies to extend their sales distribution channels and presence internationally, in a manner that respects their unique brand, and is cost effective to ensure a return on investment given limited resources. The payment solution can be used as a white label solution for AVIAREPS clients, allowing them to accept payments in targeted countries with local bank connections and in local currencies. Edgar Lacker, Chief Executive Officer, AVIAREPS, says “For over 20 years AVIAREPS has seen the great potential of many small to mid-size aviation and tourism entities to expand their services overseas, however an economic solution for that was not always possible. Thanks to today’s technology and a great AVIAREPS innovation team, a solution is finally at hand! Through Aviacollect, and AVIAREPS’ global network of self-owned offices, our clients can now not only present their brands in a way that is directly relevant to the targeted markets, but comes with the in-market expertise and know-how of our sales and PR professionals on the ground to help spread the sales points of that brand.” Aviacollect is also tailored to the needs of consumers and local travel agents seeking an online one stop information and payment platform, as visitors to the site can book all types …

Preferred Hotels & Resorts has added 24 member hotels over the past three months, which mark the company’s debut in key regions, signal the expansion of existing partnerships, and represent enhanced presence in key markets. Highlights of the new hotel additions include: The Hari London in United Kingdom, Lancaster Bangkok in Thailand, Vivienda Granada & Vivienda Residences in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center in Tarrytown, New York. Additional properties that joined the Preferred Hotels & Resorts brand portfolio from August through early November 2016 include: Rosen Centre (Orlando, Florida, United States), Rosen Plaza (Orlando, Florida, United States), Rosen Shingle Creek (Orlando, Florida, United States), AT Six (Stockholm, Sweden), Hotel Monville Montreal (Montreal, Canada), The Domain Hotel & Spa (Manama, Bahrain), Pendry San Diego (San Diego, California, United States), Hotel Royal Palm Tower Indaiatuba (Indaiatuba, Brazil), Mukul Residences (Rivas, Nicaragua), Dukes Dubai (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), Nordic Light Hotel (Stockholm, Sweden), AKA University City (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States), Edgewood Tahoe (South Lake Tahoe/Reno, Nevada, United States), Zota Beach Resort (Longboat Key, Florida, United States), Hyde Resort & Residences (Hollywood, Florida, United States), among others.

World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) has appointed Ashwani Lohani, Chairman & Managing Director, Air India, as its Chairman for the year 2017. Lohani, who served as the Vice Chairman of WTTCII for the year 2016, takes over from Kapil Chopra, President, The Oberoi Group, who completed his term at the recently held AGM in Delhi. Sunder G. Advani, Chairman & Managing Director, Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited, has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of WTTCII for the year 2017. This was announced at the Annual General Meeting of the World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) held on 12 December 2016 at New Delhi. Lohani said, “Over the years, WTTCII has been championing convergence between Government of India and States to facilitate tourism in India and we will continue to do so. With the GST in place by next year, the States will have the major onus of implementing smart policies for facilitating tourism on the ground. We will continue to work with the States, with the strength of our Members, to improve access, address infrastructural gaps and policy bottlenecks for tourism to flourish, and most importantly create jobs, employment and provide a vigorous boost to tourism’s contribution to the State’s GDP. The sub sectors of Aviation, Hospitality, Transportation, Railway compliments each other. In a country like India, all the subs sectors of tourism need to be integrated and treated uniformly by the Government in its various policy initiatives to give it a competitive edge vis-à-vis other countries.” Advani said, “We welcome the ground breaking move by Government of India introducing E-visa policy for 158 countries at 16 Airports and 5 Cruise Ports. These …

Banyan Tree Holdings has entered into a long-term partnership with AccorHotels under which both parties intend to collaborate to develop and manage Banyan Tree branded hotels around the world. Banyan Tree will also have access to AccorHotels’ global reservations and sales network, as well as its loyalty programme Le Club AccorHotels. AccorHotels will invest an initial SGD 24 million (c. €16 million) in Banyan Tree and both parties will then co-develop the brands owned by Banyan Tree around the world. This investment will be made through a mandatory convertible debenture that at conversion will give AccorHotels an approximately 5% stake in Banyan Tree. AccorHotels has an option to purchase an additional approximately 5 per cent stake. Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree, said, “Our strategic alliance with AccorHotels allows us to remain an independent company, enabling us to continue securing hotel management agreements on our own and yet accelerating Banyan Tree’s speed and scope of expansion but with AccorHotels helping us to grow our brands around the world. We believe this agreement will propel our brands rapidly to global reach and range and strengthen our ability to embrace change and innovation in the hospitality industry with a strong global partner.” Sebastien Bazin, CEO and Chairman of AccorHotels, said, “Our collaboration with Banyan Tree is a great opportunity to complement our business proposition to owners with iconic brands, while always better servicing our Guests. Banyan Tree Holdings has created key leading positions across Asia with luxury resorts, one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. We will bring scale to the network through our ability to develop and manage hotels under the Banyan Tree brands globally, hence strengthening …

Hokkaido Tourism Organisation Office held a destination seminar to educate the travel trade about Hokkaido in Delhi. The FTAs have increased in Japan steadily every year and now Japan wants to target the growing outbound market of Indian travellers. A presentation was given by Masaki Kakeda, Manager–Inbound Promotion Section, Hokkaido Tourism Organisation which included introduction of Hokkaido apart from the varied seasons, modes of transportation, various itinerary suggestions and recommendations. The presentation was followed by a Q&A and Hiroyasu Miyake, General Manager, Hokkaido Tourism Organisation, was present along with Kakeda to address all the questions. Apart from a full house of travel agents, the seminar also had Kenko Sone, Minister (Economic & Development), Embassy of Japan, Yasuo Taki, General Manager India-Delhi-All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. and Kenichi Takano-Executive Director (JNTO) – Preparation Office for Delhi Office in  attendance.