Singapore Tourism Board recently organised a 10-day, six-city road show across key markets in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Themed “Extending Hands in Partnership”, the delegation was led by GB Srithar, Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) newly appointed Regional Director for South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA). The initiative is envisioned as an annual platform for the region’s trade partners to get updated on the latest leisure and MICE offerings in Singapore. The Singapore delegation comprised representatives from top hotels, cruise liners, attractions, airlines and Destination Management Companies (DMCs), which travelled to the cities of Colombo in Sri Lanka and then to the Indian cities of Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Jalandhar. The sessions saw an enthusiastic turnout from travel trade professionals with an average participation of 135 agents per city. Srithar said, “As we move into the next exciting phase of promoting Singapore to wider audiences in tier II cities, we look to fostering closer strategic and tactical partnerships with the travel trade to entrench the positioning of Singapore as one of the must-see destinations for the Indian audiences.”

Air India has signed a free flow code share agreement with Air Austral enabling the former to code share on Air Austral operated flights on the Chennai-Reunion-Chennai sector as well as beyond Reunion to/from Johannesburg, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar. Reciprocally, Air Austral will put its marketing code on Air India operated flights beyond Chennai to/from Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi. Air India, member of the prestigious Star Alliance, will offer its passengers flights departing from India to Saint-Denis de La Réunion via Chennai with the Chennai/Saint-Denis flight operated by Air Austral. The passengers of Air India will be able to connect in Saint-Denis on flights beyond to/from Johannesburg, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar operated by Air Austral. Air Austral will offer its customers flights from Reunion to Chennai and beyond to/from Mumbai, New Delhi and Kochi on flights operated by Air India. Air Austral has been operating on the route Reunion Island-Chennai-Bangkok since 19th February 2013. From the beginning of November 2016, Bangkok will be discontinued, leaving all the capacity available to the Reunion Island – Chennai service. The code share will initially be implemented on the Reunion-Chennai-Reunion sector from 16th September 2016. Code share on the other sectors is likely to be implemented subsequently.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Cultural Authority (TCA) along with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has decided to offer free UAE visas to registered delegates attending the Indian Travel Congress and 63rd Convention and Exhibition of TAAI being held in Abu Dhabi from October 14-17, 2016. TCA will offer two nights pre- and two nights post-tours to delegates in Abu dhabi/Al Ain/Sadayat Island and Yas island. The theme for this year’s convention is “Tomorrow Begins Now – Rise above the routine”. The National Managing Committee from TAAI is currently in Abu Dhabi to iron out the details.

The ninth edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) was inaugurated in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan; Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Abraham George, President, KTM Society, V. Venu Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism, among other dignitaries at Le Meridien, Kochi. 57 countries besides 20 Indian states are participating during the three-day biennial event, which is being organised by the KTM Society in association with the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala on September 27, World Tourism Day. Ten countries will be represented at the Mart for the first time, with Mexico, Georgia, Japan, China, Chile, Greece, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Botswana. The 560 total international delegates registered for KTM 2016 features the biggest-ever contingents from 10 highly-prized traditional markets, including the US, Canada and Australia. Domestic participation too has seen an uptick, buoyed by aggressive marketing campaigns. Some 1,304 Indian buyers will participate this year.

On occasion of World Tourism Day, the Ministry of Tourism organised a special sightseeing tour of the monuments and heritage places of Delhi where 35 differently abled students from of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya School for Divyang Children participated. The World Tourism Day theme was ‘Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility’ on which Dr. Mahesh Sharma said, “Accessible Tourism for all is about the creation of environments that can cater for the needs of all of us, whether we are traveling or staying at home. May that be due to a disability, even temporary, families with small children, or the ageing population, at some point in our lives, sooner or later, we all benefit of universal accessibility in tourism.” Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism said, “On this year’s World Tourism Day help us spread the word of both the importance and immense benefits universal accessibility has and can bring to society at large.” The celebrations continued with an awards presentation acknowledging the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism offices and its organisations, where India Tourism, New Delhi held a painting competition. Finally, the minister flagged off the ‘Swacch Paryatan Run’ from Transport Bhawan to India Gate, New Delhi in an effort to promote cleanliness and the Clean India campaign.

Sarovar Hotels announces the opening of RBD Sarovar Portico, Bengaluru, strategically located close to the IT hub in Outer Ring Road and Whitefield. It is Sarovar’s fourth hotel in the city. Guests can choose from 86 rooms and suites including Club Rooms, Premium Rooms or Deluxe Rooms, each of which features sleek and modern designs. Other facilities include a multi cuisine restaurant Brunchili with attached bar that offers some unique gastronomic fare. Commenting on the launch, Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels, says, “We are delighted to be opening yet another hotel in Bengaluru. RBD Sarovar Portico being close to the major tech parks of the city is ideal for business travellers.  With Bengaluru emerging as one of our key markets, we look forward to further growth and increased traffic contribution from our hotels here. We will continue to focus on our expansion and also strengthen our position as we look to spread farther across South India.” Outstanding business facilities and banquet hall with board rooms make it an impressive destination for conferences and events. The facilities are managed by efficient team to keep your event seamless and worry-free. Crystal Palace, the banquet hall located on the roof top, has an area of 2700 sq. ft. including 400 sq. ft. of pre-function area. It can accommodate up-to 250 people for reception event, 175 in theatre style, 100 in classroom style and 45 in U shape.

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a PSU under Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, on completion of its 50 year of inception on October 1, 2016, launched a logo marking the golden jubilee of ITDC. The logo was unveiled by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture in presence of Vinod Zutshi, Tourism Secretary, and other senior officers of Ministry of Tourism and ITDC. In order to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebrations, various activities have been introduced during the fortnight starting September 24, 2016 till October 8, 2016. Special offers on room tariff and food & beverage outlets in all ITDC hotels, issue of Elite Card to every 50th guest during this period, plantation of 50 saplings each in some hotels of ITDC, painting and slogan competition, lighting of all Delhi based hotels, presenting souvenirs to guests visiting ITDC hotels on 1st October 2016 are certain activities planned during the celebrations.

OYO has launched early check-in up to 7 days prior to booking. This facility is being offered free of cost in many OYOs, and at a nominal charge in others. With this launch, OYO claims to be the first hotel brand in the world to offer guaranteed early check-in to guests. OYO’s Sunrise check-in is now live both on its website and mobile App. Customers can easily identify, select and book hotels that offer confirmed early check-in. In addition, guests can also modify their existing booking and secure an early check-in. Speaking on launch, Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO, said, “Despite changes in the way we live, travel and work, the hotel industry across the world continues to follow the outdated concept of a standard check-in time. Nowadays, travel is no longer about following prescribed itineraries. At OYO we understand our guests and build features tailored to their needs. With Sunrise check-in travellers can plan their mode of travel, duration and trip-itinerary in a better way, without being constrained by the check-in time.”

Genting Hong Kong announced the official river conveyance of Genting Dream, the newest ship for the Dream Cruises line, that began on Sunday, September 18 in Papenburg, Germany. After Genting Dream’s official handover ceremony from Meyer Werft to Dream Cruises scheduled for October 12, the ship will begin her epic ocean voyage that will take her from Germany to Gibraltar, through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal, across the Indian Ocean with visits to India, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong before ending at her new homeport in Guangzhou, China on November 13. The river conveyance marks the official start of Genting Dream’s journey from her birthplace at the Meyer Werft shipyard to her first home in Guangzhou, China where she will begin service on November 13, 2016.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day 2016, under the theme of ‘Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility’, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) relaunched www.PATA.org designed with greater ease for those with hearing impairments, colour blindness and physical disabilities. “As we recognise and celebrate the vital contribution that travel and tourism contributes to the world, both socially and economically, we understand that both the public and private sector must share the responsibility in affording all people the opportunities of experiencing the incredible beauty and diversity of our world, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, age and disability,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “We have taken the first steps in making sure all people may access the valuable information and insights available on our website and we hope to be an example for other organisations to follow.” Using guidelines provided by the World Wide Web Consortium, the redesigned website provides greater ease for those with hearing impairments, colour blindness and physical disabilities. New features added to the website allow screen reading software to read all content of the website, enable a reduction in required physical motion to navigate, reduces contrast of colours for better reading and allow for the easy adjustment of text size. Dr. Hardy added, “We hope to bring greater knowledge of this issue and we will continue to look for avenues to incorporate them within our advocacy messages and activities.”