The visa services, which have been expanded for tourism, medical and business purposes, has been extended to eight countries namely Angola, Rwanda, Niger, Cyprus, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Mali and Burundi, revealed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India. “Apart from this, we are also working on extending the e-tourist visa for five other countries among which Italy, Slovak Republic, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are included,” he said at a closed-door meeting held in New Delhi. With this announcement, the total count of countries that can avail the e-visa services is 158.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation in association with Vidarbha Economic Development Council will be hosting ‘Maharashtra Food Festival’. The six-day festival will be held from December 6, 2016 to December 11, 2016 at the South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur. The first three days will showcase cultural performances followed by a khadi fashion show to promote the use of khadi material. Madan Yerawar, Hon’ble State Tourism Minister, Government of Maharashtra stated, “The local cuisine of the state is the greatest indicator of the traditions of Maharashtra. Maharashtrian food has created benchmarks all over the world with certain dishes being specialties of the regions or communities. Nagpur is a major and third most populated city of the state of Maharashtra in India and is famous for its culture, cuisine and oranges. This six-day festival will not only boost tourism in the state but will also highlight various facets of the city and will also push local economy.”

RezLive.com, a product of Travel Designer Group, appointed Continental Travel Group as its exclusive General Sales Agent (GSA) for Kenya. With the launch of Kenya office, RezLive.com is slowly and steadily increasing its foot prints in the Africa region and is looking very competitive. Jaal Shah, Group Managing Director of RezLive.com, said, “Our presence in Kenya will strengthen our reach in Africa market and will boost trade from that region. So, this region will contribute to a greater extent to our overall business and will help us to reach out to more travel partners.Wherein Continental Travel Group, which has its roots in the Kenyan Travel Industry for over a decade now, has been offering best deals to its clients, be it domestic or international. By partnering with Continental Travel Group and the experience they bring to the table, will help us to mutually accelerate our success in this market.”

According to a report from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore-BLR) will not have flights landing and taking off between 10:30am and 5pm from February 19 to April 30, 2017. The move is to facilitate upgradation work in the existing runway. The release says that operations at the airport will be partially closed for three months next year. The runway will be partially closed during the rehearsals and show timings of the Aero India 2017. Authorities have worked out the flight schedules in the hours preceding and following the closure each day during this period with the Air Traffic Control and all the airline companies that operate in KIA, with the approval of the civil aviation ministry, the statement said. The plan is to build two rapid exit taxiways (RETs) under the existing runway to enhance air traffic movement from 38 per hour to 48 per hour. The enhancement is part of KIA’s total upgradation. BIAL authorities say work has to be completed before the onset of monsoon in May. Other activities related to the building of two RETs will be carried out with minimal impact on airline operations and passenger movement. The airport taxi and BMTC shuttles have also been informed to align their services to accommodate the increase in traffic between 5pm and 10:30am. KIA is also building the second runway towards the southern side of the airport, which is estimated to become functional by September 2019. The second terminal will be operational by 2021. Together, the two terminals will be handling 55 million passengers a year by 2021.

India’s e-visa will now have three components — e-tourist visa, e-medical visa, e-buisness visa. Talking about the various changes in e-visa, Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India, says, “For the first time in this country, medical visa is going the electronic way and so is the case with business visa. This has been one of the biggest landmark decisions, and it’s going to catapult Indian tourism into a new orbit. The best thing is that the initial period of application, which used to be 30 days, has been extended to 120 days, which is logical, especially for foreigners who plan their travel much in advance.” Talking about the extension of eTV, Zutshi says, “The validity of eTV was just 30 days and it’s been increased to 60 days now. Also, when tourists come to India, they would like to visit other countries of Southeast Asia and come back. We have made e-tourist visa and e-business visa double entry. For e-medical visa, the government has provided triple entry, which is a redeeming feature. Film visa has also been streamlined and rationalised, which has come at the right time and would encourage filming in India.”

Riding high on the success of the first Bharat Parv, the cultural program’s 2nd edition, showcasing the rich heritage of India, will be held on January 26-31, 2017 in Red Fort, revealed Vinod Zutshi. “There will be theme based pavilions by all the states to highlight the country’s diverse culture, along with performances, food stalls etc. The last edition of Bharat Parv was well appreciated and because of that, we’ve decided to have another edition next year.”

Mumbai based ARK Travels has strengthened its ties with Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings (NCLH). As a Preferred Sales Agent (PSA) for Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) over the last many years, ARK Travels will now promote and sell upper premium and ultra-luxury segments in the Indian market. Kishan Biyani, Managing Director, ARK Travels, says, “We are all geared to welcome the upcoming holiday season, we anticipate a 15 per cent increase in inquiries for NCLH products as compared to last year. NCLH group’s fleet of 20 cruise ships along with our existing cruise and resort products will further cement our position in the luxury cruise and holiday segment in India.” Starting this holiday season, the 20-year old travel firm will leverage its pan-India network of 300-plus travel agents to sell NCL Holdings Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises targeting the upper premium and ultra-luxury clientele. The newly christened initiatives by both will see jointly planned roadshows and presentation, familiarisation trips for sub-agents, marketing collaterals and joint meetings to attract corporate clients from India. The announcement came on the heels of ARK Travels throwing a cocktail and networking dinner to appreciate NCL Holdings along with sub-agents of ARK Travels in Mumbai. Felix Chan, Vice President Sales, NCLH said, “ARK Travels is already our top agent for NCL in India. Put it simply, I want ARK Travels to be our top agent for Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises as well. ARK Travels needs to focus on the upper premium and ultra-luxury segments in India in order to sell Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises effectively.  We need to work with ARK Travel together to reach out to a niche …

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the opening of its first Radisson Blu in Coimbatore. It is the second-largest city in Tamil Nadu. Centrally located on Avinashi Road and a mere seven kilometers away from Coimbatore International Airport and Coimbatore Junction, the city’s primary railway station, the hotel is also close to textile and engineering industries, educational institutions and multi-specialty hospitals. Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said, “Radisson Blu Coimbatore is set to raise the bar on the city’s upper-upscale hospitality landscape and bring new standards to the city. We are honored to be partnering with GBJ Hotels Pvt. Ltd and appreciate their trust in our brand and expertise. With 140 hotels in operation and under-development, this hotel will be a valued addition as we expand and grow our footprint in South India.” G. Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, GBJ Hotels Pvt. Ltd., added, “This is our first hospitality venture and we are happy in the strong leadership of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its South Asia team.  We are confident that their proven experience and marketing expertise will benefit the hotel and I look forward to a mutually rewarding long-term association with the Group.”

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has signed an academia-industry partnership MoU with the School of Tourism and Hospitality at DY Patil University in Nerul in Mumbai’s Navi Mumbai region. It was signed on December 2, 2016 between Vandana Mishra Chaturvedi, Director, School of Hospitality and Tourism Studies, DY Patil University and Jay Bhatia on behalf of TAAI at the second International Conference on Tourism and Hospitality held for the students at the university campus. Bhatia shall also be on the advisory board of DY Patil University. Sampat Damani, Chairman Western Region, TAAI, said, “We are continuing with our agenda to educate and mentor Generation Next with relevant training and making the curriculum more to the industry specific. It is a historic day for the industry when two giants the DYPU and TAAI have signed an MoU to ensure students and the future of the tomorrow are so keen to be a part of the tourism and hospitality industry.”

Garuda Indonesia has announced that they will be starting flight services from Mumbai to Jakarta from December 12. The prices of the flight will start from Rs. 27,600, and the flight would offer further connection to Bali from Jakarta. Bird Travels is the GSA for the airline in India.