Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) has setup a Soft Adventure Park at Garden of Five Senses Said-ul-Ajaib Village. The park was inaugurated by Kapil Mishra, Minister for Tourism, Art, Culture & Languages and Water, Govt. of Delhi in the presence of Dr. Pooja Joshi, General Manager, DTTDC and other senior officers of Govt. of Delhi. While inaugurating the Adventure Park, Mishra said, “This Adventure Park came up as a blessing for people of Delhi and will provide children with space to play and get enthralled with adventure activities which this park has to offer. It will also act as a catalyst to promote Garden of Five Senses as an eco friendly project and bring more families to spend their time in the Garden”. The sprawling park is designed keeping nature lovers in mind in the area of 22 acres of the Garden. The games are such that one would feel close to the nature. Some of the highlighting features/activities the Adventure Park has to offer are :- Paint Ball, Rock Climbing Wall, Zip Line, Burma Bridge, Commando Net, Running Bungee, Sumo Wrestling, Zorbing, Air Rifle Shooting, Archery and more. The Adventure Park will commence its operations for general public from tomorrow. The entry ticket to the Garden of Five Senses has been kept Rs. 30 per person only (for adults) and Rs. 10 only (for children) and the price for activities ranges from Rs. 100 to Rs. 120 per person.

Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) will inaugurate its Rajasthan Chapter in Jaipur on December 10. Mahender Singh, Director, K K Holidays N Vacations, has been appointed the Chairperson, informed P. P. Khanna, President, ADTOI at the General House Meeting of the association. He said, “This is being coordinated with India Travel Mart-Jaipur 2016 which is being held from December 9-11. The ADTOI website is under construction and we will be launching the same around next month in order to improve connectivity between association members, the Ministry of Tourism and state tourism bodies. We are also in talks with various state tourism bodies to organise specialised programs for the members and are trying to reach out to the remotest corners of places like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to introduce our members to newer destinations and allow them to sell the products better.” Akshay Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) was also present at the meeting. Khanna informed, “We are trying to collaborate with various associations in order to explore sectors that have not been focused upon till now like adventure travel”. He also added that that the association was joined with 30 members during Sept-Nov and more members are being enlisted in the organisation.

Indians visiting the Netherlands in the past year has crossed the 100,000 mark, informed Carola van Rijn, Project Manager, NBTC Holland Marketing. “There has been a steady rise in Indian travellers the past year and we expect a growth of 30 per cent in 2016,” she said at the Holland Club meeting, held in New Delhi. Along with representatives from Schiphol airport and Jet Airways, Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India was also present on the occasion and highlighted the bond shared between the two countries in terms of investments and trade. The Netherlands is promoting destinations such as Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam etc, apart from the capital, Amsterdam and is also working towards digitalising its visa services. With the relocation of Jet Airways’ hub from Brussels to Amsterdam eight months ago, the move is expected to give a boost to arrival numbers with direct connectivity from Mumbai and New Delhi.

Sunil R. Kumar has been re-elected as the President of United Federation of Travel Agents’ Association (UFTAA) for the term 2016-17, at the association’s golden jubilee congress. UFTAA members gathered  in Istanbul on November 25 for the event. Welcoming the attendees at the congress, Kumar thanked TURSAB to invite them to the destination and arranging the event in Istanbul and assured that it would help boost inbound in the country. The theme of the congress is ‘Celebrate the Connect’. Kumar said that its necessary for different associations around the world to connect with each other and grow together. UFTAA also plans to have its global office in Doha, Qatar.

Mumbai, the financial and entertainment hub of India, may be set to witness an increase in domestic and international tourist footfalls as new research from Booking.com sees the city rank among the world’s top trending destinations for 2017. The data experts at Booking.com analysed the top 300 destinations based on growth in search and bookings to find the most up-and-coming places to visit in 2017. When analysed against wider trends, Mumbai has recorded increased volume of travel and higher than average growth in bookings, while  moving up  ten places among the most searched destinations relative to last year. The other top trending destinations recorded are Reykjavik in Iceland, Cairns in Australia, Savannah in US, Puerto Rico, Kyoto and Jericoacoara in Brazil. The experts at Booking.com also shed light on 8 major travel predictions for 2017 by harnessing the wealth of data, traveler endorsements, reviews, preferences and insights and inspired by industry leading understanding and innovation in e-commerce travel technology.

Under a new agreement with the IndoCanadian Bus Service, Jet will provide bus services to passengers wanting to connect between Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Punjabi city of Jalandhar. The service is also available to passengers in several other cities in north India, including Amritsar, Chandigarh and Mohali. “Our agreement with IndoCanadian Bus Service illustrates the way in which Jet Airways goes the extra mile to set new service standards for its guests,” said Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways. “We’re confident that the added convenience of being able to book their first-mile or last-mile connection to [and] from Jalandhar via Delhi, simultaneously with their flight booking.” IndoCanadian will operate the services using air-conditioned tourist coaches. The company will also provide free pick-up and drop-off services via shared cabs for passengers in other cities.

FCM Travel Solutions launched FCM 360, a new product suite for customers which delivers an all-encompassing travel experience. FCM 360 consists of three categories of products and services falling under: ‘FCM 360 technology’, ‘FCM 360 travel’ and ‘FCM 360 services’. The program provides real solutions for travellers, travel bookers and organisations designed to meet every need throughout the travel buying process. Introducing the product suite, Global General Manager for FCM Travel Solutions Marcus Eklund said that FCM 360 was born to demonstrate the total approach FCM take when developing and managing client travel programs. “Within FCM 360 we offer a wide range of specialised travel services and technology solutions which drives transformation of our clients’ business travel programs,” said Marcus. “In most markets we offer a complete suite of products and services ranging from our own exclusive travel product, best-in-class technology tools, specialised services and partnerships with leading travel service providers, which demonstrates our holistic approach to travel management.”

Bhutan Airlines will start flying to Bodh Gaya next month, catering to the Buddhist pilgrimage market. Effective 4 December 2016, the airline will fly from Bangkok and Paro to the UNESCO-listed heritage site in India’s Bihar state, which is said to be where the Lord Buddha gained enlightenment. Flights will operate twice a week (every Wednesday and Sunday) on a seasonal basis, ending on February 26, 2017. A 122-seat Airbus A319 aircraft will be deployed on the route.

Lords Hotels & Resorts has recently signed its 26th property in Bharuch, Gujarat. To be branded under the Lords Eco Inn banner, it is scheduled to commence operations from December 2016. This makes Lords Hotels & Resorts the largest hotel chain in the state. Located between the two major cities of Surat and Vadodara, Lords Eco Inn – Bharuch serves as an ideal stopover destination. With a 48 rooms, the eco inn offers luxurious accommodations and full-service at friendly prices for the discerning business and leisure traveller. P.R. Bansal, CMD, Lords Hotels & Resorts, says, “The addition of this hotel to our chain of hotels marks a significant milestone and one that is unique, for us. From the first hotel back in 2007 which was set in this very state to this one in 2016, we have gone on to become the largest chain of true value hotels in Gujarat. Today our hotels dot the entire region. We now have all its four brands including Lords Plaza, Lords Inn, Lords Resort and Lords Eco Inn that caters to the leisure, corporate and also the pilgrimage tourists which Gujarat Tourism is known for in the state. Of the 15 Lords Hotels & Resorts properties in the state, this will be the sixth ‘Eco Inn’ brand for the group.” “We have been looking to aggressively establish our presence across the country while maintaining Gujarat as the home. In the last few months we have added three new properties in Jammu, Agra and Thrissur. We are looking to expand our portfolio not just in India but also outside, especially in the neighbouring countries where the hospitality sector still has a huge margin for …

SpiceJet will commence its daily direct flight on the Hyderabad–Jabalpur route from December 23, 2016. Hyderabad is the third metro after Delhi and Mumbai that SpiceJet will be serving a daily direct flight connecting Jabalpur. The fares for the Hyderabad-Jabalpur route will start from Rs 3,613 whereas for Jabalpur – Hyderabad route it will start from Rs 3073. Bookings for the routes are currently open.