A Tripartite Memorandum of  Understanding (MoU) for implementation of tourism projects in Jammu and Kashmir was signed between Ministry of Tourism, NPCC & NBCC and Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The MoU was signed in the presence of Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Tourism and the signatories for the MoU included Suman Billa, Joint Secretary , Ministry of Tourism; Shamim Ahmad Wani, Managing Director, J&K Cable Car Corporation;  K K Sharma, Executive Director, NPCC; and Alok Rastogi, Chief General Manager (BD), NBCC. The Prime Minister announced the Development Package (Reconstruction Plan) for Jammu and Kashmir on 7.11.2015. The Ministry of Tourism under the new initiative -Development of Tourism in the State–New Projects has sanctioned two projects to NPCC and NBCC in J&K for being implemented this September. Integrated Development of Tourist facilities at Gulmarg–Baramulla–Kupwara–Leh to NBCC for Rs. 96.92 crore and Integrated Development of Tourist facilities at Mantalai–Sudhmahadev–Patnitop in Jammu & Kashmir to NPCC for Rs.  97.82 crore. Major components sanctioned under the projects are Yoga centre, wellness SPA, Log Huts, heliports, Open air theatre, walking trail, landscaping, solar lighting, solid waste management & public amenities etc.

IndiGo has announced Sharjah as its sixth international destination in its schedule. It also introduces new flights to the existing Muscat network. The new schedule sees introduction of new daily non-stop flights on Sharjah-Kozhikode, Muscat-Kozhikode effective March 20th 2017 and Sharjah Thiruvananthapuram effective 8 April, 2017. Aditya Ghosh, President and Whole Time Director, IndiGo, said, “We are extremely pleased to expand our international network with Sharjah and an additional connection between Muscat and Kozhikode. Middle-East has been an important market for IndiGo and expanding operations to Sharjah and Muscat is a testament to the growing demand from the sector. We are hopeful that these new flights will prove to be immensely popular amongst flyers.”

U&I Holidays is out again with its annual roadshow devoted only to Bali and it is bringing more than 32 suppliers from the region to interact with travel agents in India. The show will travel to six major cities in India and offer great insights into the wonderful world of Bali. Starting with Chennai on February 6, it will head to Bengaluru on February 7, Kolkata on February 9, New Delhi on February 10, heading to western India on February 13 in Ahmedabad and finally touching Mumbai on February 14. Apart from Bali, U&I Holidays is also a DMC for Maldives and its Maldives team will also be present to discuss further business avenues during the same event.

The latest scheduled airline in India — Zoom Air — which received an air operator’s permit (AOP) on February 3, might start operations from Pasighat airport in Arunachal Pradesh. The airline will launch its scheduled commercial operation on Delhi-Kolkata-Durgapur-Delhi route on February 12. The airline is in talks with the Arunachal Pradesh government to connect the newly built airport. Koustav Mohan Dhar, Executive Director and CEO, Zoom Air has reportedly revealed that they are awaiting clearances from the state government as well as the DGCA.

Consolidating leadership in the luxury private rental market, AccorHotels has initiated exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of 100 per cent of Travel Keys, one of the leading players in the private vacation rental market. Founded in 1991, Travel Keys represents a luxury collection of over 5,000 highly curated villas across more than 100 destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii & the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.  A pioneer in the industry, the Atlanta-based company focuses on guest satisfaction, offering professional vacation planning and 24/7 concierge services. The combination of Travel Keys with onefinestay and Squarebreak will provide AccorHotels with a unique offering of about 8,500 addresses in the luxury private rental market, with highly curated properties in both the vacation & urban segments. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2017 after customary due diligence.

Goa Tourism will organise the annual Goa Carnaval from February 25-28, 2017 in Panjim. The state will come alive to celebrate the four-day event with spectacular float parades, Carnaval festivities and an array of events and activities. The float parades will take place in four cities of Panjim, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa. The government has formed various Carnaval committees and drawn up guidelines for smooth conduct of the four-day festivities. In addition to maintaining the traditional and cultural essence of Carnaval, this year the focus is weeding out non eco-friendly floats, polluting vehicles and a total crackdown on indecency.

Oman Air is growing its capacity to India by increasing flight frequencies from 126 to 161 flights per week between Oman and its 11 Indian destinations to boost the tourism sector. The airline informed that from February onwards, Mumbai, Delhi, Calicut and Hyderabad will be operated with 21 weekly flights each and Lucknow with 14 weekly flights. “The demand for all 11 of our Indian destinations has always been high and the increased frequencies offer yet more choice and convenience to our guests. Oman Air first launched flights to India in the 1990s and the demand for seats has grown exponentially not only increasing tourism traffic and revenue but also promoting vital trade agreements between the two countries,” said Paul Gregorowitsch, Chief Executive Officer, Oman Air. The extended traffic entitlements will give a further boost to the tourism sector, prompting many discerning tourists to visit Oman as well as India. With this development, Oman Air is flying its wide bodied aircraft to selected destinations in India. Source: The Indian Express

RwandAir will add two new destinations to its portfolio in April this year, first Harare on the 01st of April with daily flights and then Mumbai on the 03rd of April with four flights a week. Mumbai, RwandAir’s first ever intercontinental destination, will see one of the airline’s new Airbus A330’s, configured with a Business, Premium Economy and Economy class layout deployed for the nonstop flights from Kigali. Harare will from April onwards be combined with Lusaka as flights to Johannesburg revert to non-stop services, also operated with Boeing B737NG aircraft.

The Indian market has reportedly shown good numbers for South Africa during 2016 as it closed the year on a successful note with a 27 per cent growth in arrivals that clocked at 81,429 by the end of the third quarter. Overall spends from India crossed ZAR 1,100,000,000 by the end of the third quarter and average spend per leisure traveller was placed at Rs 590,000 indicating that South Africa attracts a variety of pocket-sizes. Market intelligence delivered by trade partners tells the tourism board that the destination sells to travellers with an Rs 1.5 lakh budget as effectively as it appeals to travellers with Rs 10.5 lakh budget. Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism– India, said, “We want to sustain this growth and also attract return travellers. Going forward, we are going to focus on increasing the geographical scope of the market – our biggest sources are Mumbai and Delhi, followed by Bangalore and Chennai. The average number of nights spent by Indian tourists in South Africa is now at 11 days for holidays and 19 days for business travellers. I reckon that they’re taking some time off to explore South Africa after the conclusion of their work in SA.  VFR is at 21 days average stay.” The global campaign for 2017 will be rolled out in India through joint marketing campaigns with travel agents, a brand-new Facebook page (Visit South Africa India), television and outdoor advertising campaigns. The Facebook page and all other campaigns will be tailored for India. Travel agents will also undergo destination training and all the aspects that make South Africa amazing through a 17-city Learn SA programme slated for mid-2017.

Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it will expand its India operations further by adding Chennai to its network. Esayas Woldemariam Hailu, Managing Director (International Services), Ethiopian Airlines, said, “We are considering adding Chennai to our network in India soon. It is difficult to comment on the timeline as there are a lot of things being planned. We don’t have an exact date yet but we want to keep it as a surprise for the travel trade. This will be thrice weekly and upscale it to daily as the route develops.” Ethiopian Airlines made its debut flight to Mumbai in December 1971 and has since increased its airlift to 28 scheduled weekly flights to Mumbai and New Delhi. The airline also celebrated its 70th anniversary of the corporate airline as well as 45 years of service to Mumbai. Speaking about the celebrations lined up for this, Hailu added, “On this occasion, we are offering a 70 per cent and 45 per cent discount in our Business Class and Economy Class fares, respectively for a week till February 10 but valid for travel for the rest of the year for travel originating from India.”