AccorHotels has launched India’s first ibis Styles in North Goa. The 197-room ibis Styles Goa Calangute is conveniently located within walking distance from Tivai Beach, a short drive from Calangute and Candolim beaches and minutes away from popular entertainment and night spots. Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations, AccorHotels India, said, “The opening of the ibis Styles Goa Calangute marks a strategic growth milestone for the group as we now have 43 hotels operating across a well-rounded portfolio of ten distinct brands in the country. Not only are we excited to introduce the ibis Styles brand to our guests in India, but we are also proud to share that we are now the largest hotel operator in Goa with a growing collection of midscale and in-demand economy brands presence.” Speaking on the opening, Nikheel Shirodkar, General Manager, ibis Styles Goa Calangute, said, “ibis Styles Goa Calangute offers a resort feel experience at an affordable price, making it the perfect destination for family vacations, leisure retreats or corporate team bonding sessions. Its bright and vibrant colours are seen throughout the hotel from its unique blend of architectural design. We look forward to extending the ibis Styles’ signature service to guests travelling to Goa.” A non-standardised economy and design brand, ibis Styles offers an all-inclusive package, with breakfast and internet access. Situated in the heart of cities and in other major centres of activity around the world, each ibis Styles has its own distinct personality that resonates a colourful and bright brand spirit which are hip and trendy. The hotel is deeply influenced by Goa’s Portuguese heritage and charm that are infused with a contemporary twist. All guest rooms are pool facing …

Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism in association with the Association of Turkish Travel Agents & Turkish Hoteliers Federation will conduct an eight-city roadshow titled ‘Destination Turkey Workshop B2B and Trainings’ for the travel trade in India. The roadshow will commence on September 26 in Mumbai; September 27 in Bangalore; September 28 in Kolkata; September 29 in Lucknow; September 30 in Delhi; October 1 in Ahmedabad; October 3 in Hyderabad; and concludes on October 4 in Chennai. The workshop will see an attendance of 35 participants comprising of suppliers, restaurateurs & hoteliers from Turkey and Turkish Airline.

Atout France India has announced that Indian arrival figures to France touched the 5,00,000 mark in 2015. Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India, said, “India’s largest incentive movement to France comprising of 2,200 passengers also took place in December 2015 enhancing France’s positioning as a preferred incentive destination. The growing influence of Bollywood has had a positive impact on tourism. With the much awaited Yash Raj’s ‘Befikre’ shot in its entirety in France to be released in December this year and last year’s ‘Tamasha’ shot partly on location in Corsica, France is steadily gaining favour with Indian film-makers as well.” Atout France’s recently-concluded annual showcase saw a record-breaking participation of 29 French-Indian delegates that was an interesting mix of established partners and new entrants. A large contingent of the delegation was from the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region that showcased its alpine destinations and activities. Held between September 12-16, the showcase commenced in Mumbai, travelled to Kolkata for the first time with a finale in Delhi. Munshaw also announced the launch of a first ever MOOC (Massive Online Programme) for the French travel industry enabling them to better understand the Indian market specificities and in turn better serving the Indian traveller. Optimizing on France’s popularity as a wedding destination, a destination wedding guide was released this summer in France to better acquaint the French travel and hospitality industry with the nuances of planning the Indian Wedding.

Ministry of Tourism’s maiden Incredible India Tourism Investors’ Summit 2016 kicked off in New Delhi. Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs inaugurated the three-day summit. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture delivered the key address. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also addressed the audience on the occasion. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). IITIS is a platform for domestic and international investors to meet project owners from across Indian states and the private sector. Highlights of this summit will be state presentations encompassing all investible properties, session on “Why invest in India?,” MSME in tourism sector, panel discussions on core infrastructure for tourism, session on start-ups, digital India, investing into Swadesh Darshan, PRASAD, MICE and niche tourism products, B2B meetings and signing of MoUs. Four Knowledge Partners i.e. Ernst & Young, KPMG, Yes Bank and Invest India will assist States and UTs for identifying projects, suggesting tourism policy updates and presenting these to the potential investors during the summit. Around 250 domestic and overseas investors are set to participate in the summit. More than 2000 delegates have registered for the event.

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) during August 2016 were 6.70 lakh as compared to 5.99 lakh FTAs in August 2015, registering a growth of 11.8 per cent over the same month the previous year. A sum of Rs.12,903 crore foreign exchange was earned through tourism in August 2016 as compared to Rs. 11,411 crore in August, 2015 corresponding to a growth rate of 13.1 per cent in August 2016 over August 2015. FTAs during the period January- August, 2016 were 55.92 lakh as compared to the 50.73 lakh FTAs during the same period in 2015 corresponding to a growth of 10.2 per cent. FEE from tourism during January-August, 2016 was recorded at Rs. 1,00,287 crore with a growth of 14.7 per cent. The percentage share of FTAs amongst the top five source countries was highest from Bangladesh (16.61 per cent) followed by  USA (12.59 per cent), UK (10.57 per cent), Sri Lanka (5.92 per cent) and Malaysia (3.41 per cent) while the percentage share of FTAs amongst top five ports was highest at Delhi Airport with 28.38 per cent followed by Mumbai Airport (17.32 per cent), Chennai Airport (10.17 per cent),  Haridaspur Land check post (9.10 per cent) and Bengaluru Airport (6.83 per cent)

Jayaraj Shanmugam takes over as the new Chief Commercial Officer of Jet Airways. Since joining Jet Airways’ in mid-2015 and as Sr. Vice President of Products & Services, Shanmugam has been instrumental in sharpening the organization’s focus towards delivering superior guest engagement experience together with a host of outstanding, innovative initiatives. He will now be responsible for leading Jet Airways’ commercial teams to maximize revenue streams and use its market reach, people capabilities and brand appeal to accelerate the airline’s reputation for service excellence and efficiency. Specifically, his responsibilities will cover areas of product enhancement, guest services, passenger and cargo sales, marketing as well as corporate communications. He will also oversee other critical functions such as airport and in-flight services, catering, revenue management, cabin crew and e-commerce.

The fifth edition of the Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) has added a new city – Pune – which helps it cover the Vidarbha as well as the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Madhu Saliankar, Director, EntReps Solutions, that promotes GPS, says, “We are adding a new city this time – Pune – which will be the sixth city to GPS. So in Maharashtra, we will be touching the Vidarbha region which also has a lot of potential as well as the Marathwada region. So two different regions in Maharashtra will be addressed in this edition of GPS. We will also be announcing the prices for the six cities. People can start booking their space. The participation price for one city is Rs 1 lakh, which includes accommodation for one person for two nights, participation fee, setting up of the booth, and networking dinners. We also have extra delegate charges. We are not doing the airfare this time as there are a lot of last-minute changes. For participation in all six cities, the fee is Rs 5,30,000 plus taxes.” The B2B travel event will start with Nagpur from January 19-21, 2017, and then go on to other cities starting from July and through August 2017.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has crossed the 400 members mark till now and is aiming at 30 per cent growth in membership. The association that 407 registered members called on them to stand united on the issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST). “We would like to stand together for GST. I would request all our members to come together and make suggestions regarding that. We don’t have much time in hand for this and GST is a big deal,” said Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, said during the 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of OTOAI. The main agenda of the AGM was to present the accounts for this year.  The association also discussed that it is going to work closely with its partner DMCs and NTOs. Sahni said, “We will try to benefit our partner NTOs and enhance their product development for our customers.”

Legoland Malaysia Resort has announced that it will launch a new ride called Lego Ninjago in November 2016, to co-incide with the holiday season in India. It is based on the popular Lego series Ninjago and will have 4D effects. Here, guests will be able to enjoy interactive elements with heat, smoke and wind incorporated throughout the ride and use teamwork to battle the Great Devourer. Thila Munusamy, Director of Sales & Marketing, Legoland Park, says, “It’s a cutting-edge technology which has never been seen before in any other theme park in the world. Legoland Park has already launched this at its parks in Denmark and California and it has been very well-received in these two parks. We are now bringing this to Malaysia. This is a unique cutting-edge technology using hand gestures sitting in a car that can fit four people with a screen in front. So it’s perfect for families but we are also promoting this to corporates.” The ride is located in the newly-constructed Ninjago World.

Both runways at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will not be available for landing and take-off from October 31 to November 28, 2016 on Mondays and Thursdays from 1200 to 1700 hours due to runway maintenance work. Hence, flights schedules to and fro Mumbai will be affected during this period. All passengers flying during that time are requested to check their respective flight status online during this period.