Air India has launched a new flight from Delhi to Kochi to Dubai, which would be starting from February 1, 2017, revealed Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India. Talking at an informal meeting, he said, “The Delhi-Kochi sector is an important an busy sector and hence the new flight has been started. This would further offer connection to Dubai, allowing people from Kochi to go to Dubai, which too is a popular route.” Other than that he revealed that in the international sector Air India will be starting a total of 6 routes and around 22 flights in the regional sector, which would eventually come under the government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme.

TMI Academy of Travel, Tourism & Aviation Studies, has recently been appointed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, to train students from the Backward Classes in Tourism. More then 2000 students will be trained all over India in 2017  by TMI Academy. This is under the direct supervision of National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation under the Ministry. The trainees will be certified by National Skill Development Corporation. Trained students will be placed by TMI Academy in the industry.

A total of 162,250 foreign tourists arrived in December 2016 on e-Tourist Visa (eTV) as compared to 103,617 during December 2015 registering a growth of 56.6 per cent. The UK (22.4%) continues to occupy top slot followed by USA (16.4%) and Russia (7.7%) amongst countries availing eTV facility during December 2016. The number of e-Tourist Visa availed by foreign tourists visiting India during the month of December, 2016 has registered a substantial growth rate over the corresponding month of 2015. During January-December 2016, a total of 10,79,696 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 4,45,300 during January-December 2015, registering a growth of 142.5 per cent. This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 161 countries as against the earlier coverage of 113 countries. The percentage shares of top 10 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during December, 2016 were as follows: New Delhi Airport (36.6%), Mumbai Airport (23.1%), Dabolim (Goa) Airport (13.6%), Chennai Airport (6.0%), Bengaluru Airport (5.1%),Kochi Airport (4.7%), Kolkata Airport (2.5%), Hyderabad Airport (2.4%), Trivandrum Airport (1.9%) and Ahmadabad Airport (1.7%).

Marriott International has appointed Anuraag Bhatnagar as Multi-Property Vice President, Luxury, India. He will be part of the Luxury APEC Market leadership team led by Victor Clavell. Bhatnagar has been with Legacy Starwood for 16 years now. He previously served as the Area General Manager of India and concurrently the General Manager of The St. Regis Mumbai. In the role, he successfully handled 12 hotels in six different cities of all Legacy Starwood brands including the core responsibility of leading the first St. Regis property launched in South Asia in 2015, as General Manager. A doyen of the hospitality industry with an innate understanding of the luxury landscape, Bhatnagar will now be at the helm of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio for the Indian market. He was also the Legacy Starwood Security Champion for South Asia and a member of OSAC (Overseas Security Advisory Council), United States Department of States Bureau of Diplomatic Security. He is an avid spiritualist and seeker. His fitness regime is a must and he enjoys his leisure time watching movies and listening to music.

In a bid to create awareness about digital payments and cashless banking in the wake of demonetisation, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) organised an interactive awareness program for its employees in association with State Bank of Hyderabad. During the awareness program, various available modes of cashless transactions such as POS machines, e-wallet, mobile banking, online banking, using apps such as SBI Buddy, SBI Freedom etc. were demonstrated and explained in detail. Umang Narula, Chairman and Managing Director, ITDC, said, “It’s a matter of great satisfaction and pride that this workshop was organised. The government is promoting cashless transactions to overcome the acute shortage of lower denominations. In my opinion, this is a good move as digital transactions ensure transparency and proper payment of taxes.” He appealed to the employees and the young trainees to join the digital system of operations at the earliest as the nation is moving towards the cashless mode of transactions. The program was also graced by Piyush Tiwari, Director Commercial and Marketing, ITDC, Pradip Kumar Das, Director Finance, ITDC, and Vinayak Garg, Chief Vigilance Officer, ITDC.

Rajasthan tourism department has initiated the formulation of a new tourism policy. Nihal Chand Goel, Additional Chief Secretary-Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, informed that the department has started consultation process with various stakeholders on a range of elements to be incorporated in the new policy and the tourism department plans a huge campaign in the coming days in the conventional as well as new emerging mediums to lure tourists to the state in a big way. “Rajasthan tourism will kick-off a multi-modal and a multi-crore global marketing campaign, inspired by the Incredible India campaign, and the success of states like Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in recent times,” he said. Besides organising music and folk festivals, new exhibitions and events for tourists will be organised to allow enable tourists to spend more time in the state. Goel further added that upgrading tourist facilities are a priority for the department which includes infrastructure like integrated plan for roads, tourist police, cleanliness drives and government-to-government partnerships. The launching of intra-state aviation connectivity between Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur is also part of the initiative to save time for tourists who require speedy travel modes, added Goel.

The Embassy of the Czech Republic and VFS Global have opened a Czech Republic Visa Application Centre in Ahmedabad, to make visa application facilities more accessible for people in the western region. Ahmedabad is the seventh city in India where VFS Global has launched a Visa Application Centre for the Czech Republic, in the last one year. Earlier, applicants from Ahmedabad seeking a Schengen visa (if the main country of travel to Europe was the Czech Republic) were required to travel to Mumbai or New Delhi. H.E. Milan Hovorka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, said, “Yet again, we continue to expand our footprints in the seventh major city in India, where people can submit their Schengen visa applications for travel to the Czech Republic by going to the visa centre of VFS Global. Like always, we strive to fulfil on our promises. And I will continue this journey of building convenient ways to ensure seamless travel to Czech. Our endeavours sees no limit as we will announce the opening of additional Czech Visa Applications Centres soon.” Vinay Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer – Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global, said, “We are pleased to further enhance the visa services network for the Czech Republic in India, through this modern visa application facility in Ahmedabad. The new centre will serve the ever-increasing volumes of visa applications for the Schengen country, and illustrates the emerging popularity of the Czech Republic as a tourist destination. We are confident that the introduction of professional and hassle-free Czech Republic visa services in Ahmedabad will be well-received by aspiring travellers from this city.”

Air India is allowing up to 40kg and 50kg of free check-in baggage for economy and business class passengers respectively on Boeing 747 Delhi- Mumbai service. Passengers flying on Delhi-Mumbai route will have an opportunity to experience flying the airlines’ legendary ‘Queen of the Skies’ and can avail this facility from January 7, 2017. Presently, Air India allows 25kg in economy class and 35kg in business class of free check-in baggage on its flights as compared to 15kg offered by other airlines. Air India is the only carrier to operate the 423 seater, four engine jumbo jet wide body aircraft called, B747 on the busiest route of India. Air India is also offering attractive fares starting from Rs.15000 onwards for travel in First class till January 15, 2017, a service that is being offered only by the flag carrier.

Lemon Tree Hotels is planning to expand to 100 hotels with 12,000 rooms by 2021, shares Patu Keswani, Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels. Sharing this at the Global Hospitality Conclave., Keswani said, “Lemon Tree is planning to expand with 100 hotels with 12,000 rooms and 12,000 staff members by 2021.” “By 2021, Lemon Tree hotels will consist of 25 per cent of mid-market space.” The Global Hospitality Conclave is an initiative organised by the alumni of the erstwhile Oberoi School of Hotel Management (OSHM), now The Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development (OCLD). The alumni include stalwarts like Rajiv Kaul, President – Leela Hotels, Ajay Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels, Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels. The world of hospitality, like many other businesses, is imperatively moving toward an era of extensive collaboration and partnerships.

As part of its two year celebration, Vistara has increased its frequency between Delhi and Pune, starting January 9, 2017, to twice a day. The airline now offers a daily morning and evening departure from Delhi, except on Saturdays. The rapidly growing airline connects 20 destinations across India and a fleet of 13 A320s, serving more than 500 flights a week at present. Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara said, “We complete two years today and we are still as excited as we were on the day Vistara was born! It is extremely heartening to see that we have carved a niche for ourselves in the Indian aviation industry with our extraordinary products and services. Together with my entire team, I say a big ‘thank you’ to each and every customer and trade partner of ours, who has believed in us and helped us become stronger and more confident. It has been a challenging, yet extremely satisfying journey so far, and we promise to continue offering a seamless, world-class flying experience to our customers.” As part of the second anniversary celebrations, Vistara, in association with the NGO, Round Table India, took off with a group of less-privileged children and enabled a ‘Flight of Fantasy’ for them to Ahmedabad, where they had a day packed with fun-filled and educational activities, including visit to the Gandhi Ashram, play-acting the professions of their dreams at Kankaria Kids City and a boat ride to have the time of their lives. To celebrate the momentous milestone with its customers, Vistara has curated an exclusive menu of delectable desserts like Banana & Praline Bavarois and Toasted Almond & Chocolate Parfait, which is being served on especially designed …