Sabre Corporation and its partner in the payment space Conferma have integrated the Sabre Virtual Payment solution for air tickets into the Sabre Red Workspace used by more than 425,000 agents around the world. An industry first, the enhanced digital payment capability is offered as a new standard form of payment, giving agents the ability to generate virtual cards as part of existing ticketing and payment processes. The new payment method will be listed alongside credit cards, cash or check options, providing flexibility within a seamless payment process for the agency, corporation and the traveller. The standard payment integration eliminates the need for mid/back office providers and online corporate booking tools such as GetThere to modify their business processes and incur additional technical expenses. “The new black” for air ticketing payments, Sabre Virtual Payments gives agents the option to set credit limits, apply date restrictions and define merchant categories – a set of controls that help agents to pay more efficiently while reducing the risk of fraud. Sabre’s Virtual Payment can be used at time of ticketing, refunding and exchanging, and it can be stored in customers’ preferences through the Sabre Profiles capability. “For each air ticket, the traditional forms of payment challenge travel agents with high risk of fraud, exposing corporate accounts and requiring extra time for reconciliation. A more secure and efficient way to pay is now available for Sabre-connected agencies, and it is part of the core reservation flow in the Sabre Red Workspace and Sabre APIs,” said Neil Fyfe, vice president of Virtual Payments at Sabre. “In addition when using virtual payments within the GetThere booking tool, we provide incremental detailed reconciliation data available for expense …

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has announced a partnership in India with RoomsXML, an accommodations wholesaler that exclusively services travel agents. Tajinder Singh, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Best Western Hotels & Resorts India, Bangaldesh & Sri Lanka, said, “We will provide them with ready access to our more than 4,100 hotels around the world. RoomsXML meets our business needs and aspirations as we look to grow our footprint across the region, and we are confident they will help us be successful in our mission moving forward.” RoomsXML is a winner of numerous industry awards and accolades, including India Travel Awards – West. All properties available on roomsXML are 3-stars and above.  RoomsXML is also the world’s first system to have a dedicated mobile interface exclusively for travel agents. Prakash Bang, MD, RoomsXML, said, “We believe our focus has led Best Western Hotels& Resorts to choose us as a preferred direct distribution partner. We are excited to formalise our relationship with Best Western. The association will bring incredible value to our travel agent partners, who will gain from seamless access to the company’s global portfolio of 4,100 hotels.”

Stayzilla has got on board with Assam Tourism Development Corporation for the joint promotion and development of homestays in the state. The MoU was signed in the strategic presence of Ankit Rastogi, Vice President Marketplace, Stayzilla and Anurag Singh, Managing Director, Assam Tourism Development Corporation. With this association, Stayzilla becomes the first aggregator to associate with governments in the East. Under this agreement, Stayzilla will lend its expertise to Assam Tourism Development Corporation to conduct verification procedures and jointly boost homestays and unique stay experiences within Assam. ATDC as Implementation Agency for Department of Tourism, Assam will be one of the first state tourism bodies to launch a model Rural Homestay scheme providing financial incentive for development and standardization of new Homestays in Assam. This partnership will also enable verification and training of these New Homestays being developed right from the start. Stayzilla’s team in the North East, headed by Regional Office of Kolkata, will be part of the Service and Quality Assurance Committee under ATDC for Inspection which includes property verification and screening. The Tourism Board & Stayzilla will also jointly conduct educational and training sessions for registered homestays on best practices such as online usage, content management, operations and expense management. Stayzilla team will also be involved in imparting Hospitality and Skill Training to all the New Homestays under the ATDC scheme.

Air India launched its first direct flight from Delhi-Madrid at a gala ceremony in Delhi, which was graced by P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Minister, Civil Aviation; Pankaj Srivastava, Director-Commercial, Air India; I Prabhakara Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi International Airport; Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Tourism Counselor, Embassy of Spain in India and Director, Tourism Office of Spain in India, Mumbai; and other dignitaries from the travel and tourism industry. Madrid is Air India’s ninth European destination and 42nd international destination. Srivastava addressed the gathering and said, “The nine-hour flight would be able to cut down the flying time to Madrid by 4-5 hours, and would offer further connections to South American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Chile.” The thrice a week flight with a  B787 Dreamliner, offers a convenient departure at 1425hrs from Delhi and arrival at Madrid at 2020hrs. From Madrid the departure time is 2150hrs and arrival in Delhi at 1110hrs the next day.

Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has brought all tourism business’ under the ambit of cashless transactions. Whether hotel reservations, package tours, cruise rides or any other tourism service, GTDC has introduced systems that have facilitated cashless transactions, both on-line and off-line. Cashless facility is made possible by GTDC through online portal, booking of services and products through mobile app on iOS and android platform at GTDC residencies and restaurants through point-of-sale machines thus enabling a 360-degree approach to the new cashless system. GTDC is also working  to introduce  pay wallets and  talks are  underway  with  leading pay wallet  providers so that  pay wallets can be accepted  as another mode of   cashless payments. The Santa Monica Jetty also offers payments through credit cards and debit cards. Nilesh Cabral, Chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation said, “To further this  process,  the launch of  the  new e-commerce portal and mobile app  in February this year has  provided  a fool-proof platform for e-business and cashless transactions  also bringing  other tourism stakeholders into the cashless circuit. Official records from the  GTDC reveal that  cashless transactions  to the tune  of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh are executed daily for various  services provided by the GTDC which  is in addition to  cashless  transactions recorded on GTDC’s e-commerce portal and mobile app.” Gavin Dias,  General Manager (Hotels), GTDC said,  “All GTDC residencies are provided with point-of-sale (POS) machines to facilitate cashless payments and most tourists prefer to use this facility. It is encouraging to see tourists opting for cashless transactions.” He pointed out that  in addition to  cashless business for  GTDC’s hotel accommodation,  GTDC through the e-commerce portal has direct tie ups with  more than  160 …

The Incredible India Global Tourism Mart that was scheduled to take place from February 1-4, 2017 has been postponed until further notice, confirmed a senior government official. “The new dates will be decided hopefully next week after a consultation with the associated bodies,” the source said. This is the second postponement of the mega travel mart which was initially proposed to be held in January 2017.

The e-tourist visa (eTV) has been revised to include travellers visiting India for business, conference, tourism, and medical purposes under one category, confirmed Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. “It will now be termed e-visa and will be valid for 60 days, as opposed to the earlier duration of 30 days. Travellers will also be able to apply for the e-visa four months in advance and will be granted a double-entry for tourism and business, and three entries for medical purposes,” Billa said. As per the Cabinet decision, the e-visa scheme will be extended to eight more countries, taking the total number of nations that avail the facility to 158. The liberalisation of visa services is expected to stimulate economic growth, increase earnings from export of services like tourism, medical value travel and travel on account of business and to make ‘Skill India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’ and other such flagship initiatives of the government successful.

Starting from December 1, Myanmar Airways International will operate two times weekly service between Yangon and Kolkata on Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft. These flights between the two destinations will be operated on Thursdays and Sundays. MAI currently flies between Yangon and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Gaya, Guangzhou, and between Mandalay and Bangkok. An official statement from MIA stated that Myanmar Airways is offering very attractive introductory fares on Kolkata to Yangon sector and can contact STIC Travel Group’s office in Kolkata-their representatives in India- for making flight reservations or any of the preferred travel agents. MAI also has code share agreements with Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.

Two of Asia’s most iconic luxury hotel groups, Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Mumbai-based Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, announced that they have formed a ground-breaking strategic alliance to broaden their reach and offer more unique experiences to guests across Asia and the world. The alliance will officially launch in March 2017 with the introduction of the “Warmer Welcomes” programme, which integrates Taj InnerCircle and Shangri-La’s Golden Circle guest loyalty programmes and will provide members reciprocal and seamless benefits at a scale never seen before under a hospitality alliance. Both Taj and Shangri-La are renowned worldwide for their exceptional service philosophy that is deeply rooted in, and inspired by, the cultures and traditions of the markets they operate in.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) call on the UK government to lift the current ban on UK-based airlines flying to Sharm el Sheikh. In a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, and Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO, stressed the importance of resuming operations to the Egyptian coastal resort as the current travel advisory is having devastating effects on the country’s economy and social stability. The ban has been in place since a Metrojet airline flying from Sharm el Sheikh to St Petersburg crashed in the Sinai Desert in October 2015. They said, “Travel & Tourism is vital to Egypt’s economy and social peace, contributing 11% of the country’s GDP and 2.6 million in jobs in 2015. The reduction of visitors has created huge employment losses. The country’s biggest concern is how the lack of employment opportunities, especially for young men and women, has instilled a desperate disposition and thus vulnerability to radicalisation or to fleeing on a refugee boat.” Egyptian authorities have taken significant measures to step up the level of security not only in the airport but in the surrounding area as well. These improvements now meet the safety standards as indicated by the UK Department for Transport. All other countries, including Germany and Russia, have allowed their airlines to start flying to Sharm el Sheikh again. They concluded, “It is devastating to see the impact the current UK travel advisory has on Egypt and on the young workforce in particular. We call on the UK government to review the advisory and allow commercial aircraft to fly to Sharm el Sheikh and thereby help restore the …