Singapore Airlines has announced special Economy Class and Premium Economy Class fares to eight key Australian gateways, namely, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Canberra1, Darwin and Perth. Economy Class customers travelling on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir can avail of all-inclusive, return fares starting from Rs. 63,000 per person for travel from Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kochi, Trivandrum, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam to Australia; while customers from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad can purchase tickets starting from Rs. 66,000 onwards. In addition, travellers can experience extra comfort in the Premium Economy Class with all-inclusive, return fares starting from Rs. 100,000. These fares are available on sale till August 31, 2016, for the travel period starting August 01, 2016 till April 30, 2017. Furthermore, travellers can redeem a complimentary S$40 Changi Dollar Voucher for use at all participating shops, restaurants and lounges when they transit at Singapore Changi Airport till March 31, 2017.

Radisson Blu has opened the first phase of its 102-key ‘Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Karjat’ located in the sub district of Raigad in Maharashtra. This is the Radisson Blu brand’s 29th addition within Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s portfolio in India. A popular weekend destination, Karjat is a two-hour drive from Mumbai and Pune and the resort offers 360-degree views of the Sahyadri mountains. Speaking on the occasion, Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group said, “We are excited to to launch this upper-upscale resort. This resort’s opening reinforces our commitment to enhance the brand’s portfolio and further expand our presence in resort destinations throughout India. With its unparalleled resort experience and commitment to excellence, we are confident Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Karjat will be a shining success.” The resort’s owner, Debasish Chakraborty, noted, “Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Karjat offers a beautiful balance between modern design and enveloping natural beauty. It is a first-of-its-kind luxury offering in an upcoming destination, complete with great connectivity, service excellence and quality standards befitting the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. We are excited to introduce this property to a range of discerning guests.” The resort will tap couples, families, adventure-seekers, wellness enthusiasts, wedding party guests, and business travellers.

During January-June 2016, 25,181 Indian travellers visited Vienna representing a 32 per cent increase over 2015. Of the 3.1 million global visitors, over this period, tourists from India grew at the highest rate, followed by the Great Britain, informed Isabella Rauter, Manager-Media Management, Vienna Tourist Board. The number of Indian overnight stays grew to 55,628, an increase of 38.7 per cent over the previous year, corresponding to an Indian traveller spending an average of 2.21 overnights in the Austrian capital. “This not only reflects Vienna’s continued attractiveness, but also shows that our systematic internationalisation strategy of diversifying into many different markets is paying off,” explains Norbert Kettner, Director, Vienna Tourist Board. Vienna expects attractiveness among youth to get a further boost with the upcoming release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, a bollywood movie shot at the destination. “A popular destination for families and honeymooners, Vienna bewitched younger audiences to savour its romantic ambience. Young Indian couples are now beginning to forge wedding vows in the city, known for its love affair with imperial heritage and architecture,”says Rauter. The tourist board also informed that one in every eight visitors attended one of the 3,685 congresses, corporate events and incentives in Vienna in 2015, setting a new record.

As per the UNWTO Barometer (May 2016), India ranks 40th in terms of International Tourists Arrivals during 2015. The FTVs during 2015 was highest in West (30.6%) followed by South (29.1%), North (28.4%), East (11.4%) and North East (0.5%). As per the Report of the ‘Working Group on Tourism’ for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) set up by the then Planning Commission, the requirement of additional hotel rooms under classified category in 2016 over 2010 is estimated to be 1,90,108. This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

Indian travellers continue to hold the record for highest number of overnights per stay at 5.3 days in SouthWest Germany, during January to May 2016. The number of arrivals from India increased during January-May 2016 to 13,126 travellers. Hector Dsouza, Director-India, SouthWest German Tourism, says, “India is miles ahead. It still has the highest number of overnights per visit, and currently its 5.3 days per visit. The international average for SouthWest Germany is 2.3 days. For the period ended October 2015, we recorded 162,843 overnights from India. We are now expecting 40,000 Indian visitors in 2016 doing 2,50,000 overnights, an increase of 25 per cent from 2015.” The total number of SouthWest German destination specialists across India now stands at 520.

The current Chairman of Railway Board, A.K.Mital has been reappointed to the post for a period of two years i.e. till he attains the age of 62 years. Mital was appointed as Chairman, Railway Board on December 31, 2014. Prior to this appointment, he was Member Staff, Railway Board. Earlier, he served as General Manager of South Western Railway-SWR (Headquarters Hubli) and was also looking after the additional charge of General Manager, South Central Railway- SCR (Headquarters Secunderabad). Mital is a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.). An Officer of 1976 batch of Indian Railways Service of Stores (IRSS), he has worked on various important posts in the Indian Railways. He was Director/Stores, Executive Director/Vigilance and Executive Director/Stores in Railway Board, Ministry of Railways. He has worked as Chief Material Manager in Northern Railway.

Madhya Pradesh, once again was declared the best state at the National Tourism Awards for the year 2014-15. Gujarat and Karnataka clinched the second and third spot in the best state category. Kerala also took home four awards under various categories. The awards were given away during a function held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on July 30, 2016. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan graced the occasion as Chief Guest and gave away awards in various categories. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism and Culture presided over the function. Invitees for the function included Tourism Ministers of States and State Government Officials, members from the travel and hospitality industries including leading hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, MOTm in his welcome address said that the Tourism sector has now been accorded very high priority world over. Our GDP has grown with the development of Tourism. Foreign Tourists Arrival has now touched a new height and our Domestic Tourism is also booming. Many new initiatives of Ministry of Tourism in past two years are remarkable. Uday Pratap Singh, Addl. Secretary, MOT proposed the Vote of Thanks

The Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka has unveiled the newly formed Bengaluru Tourism Advisory Committee (BTAC) under the chairmanship of Priyank Kharge, Minister for Tourism and IT & BT. The scope of the committee is to provide quick action plans for developing Bengaluru region as a tourist destination by creating Brand Bengaluru, identifying different circuits and trails, offering tourism technologies, drawing a calendar of events, promoting art and culture, attracting PPP projects and engaging in inter-city-cooperation concepts. Understanding the tourism potential of Bengaluru and to brand it as a global city and the most favourable urban tourism destination, BTAC was formed after a month of brainstorming sessions and deliberations. Further the committee will help in positioning the state capital as a well connected holiday destination by involving local talent pool and the effective development of local employment and subsequent revenue generation. The committee will also be responsible in enhancing positive perceptions about the city through engagements with travellers across the world which, in turn, will help drive tourism, thus making Bengaluru a SMART global city. The committee will consist of the top officials in the Tourism Department and also experts from verticals such as heritage, urban, landscape, hospitality, architecture and conservationists who can contribute towards branding Bengaluru. As per the statistics provided by the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAL), the international airport alone received 18 million travellers during 2015. Yet, Bengaluru has not been able to convert these travellers’ figures into tourists. It is estimated that with at least 25% of KIAL travellers spending one day in the city, a minimum revenue of $450 mn per year can be generated.

About 250 agents and in total 550 people attended Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) Kolkata just on Day 1, culminating in 9000+ meetings over the two days. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Co-founder, GPS, said, “We received an overwhelming response from all states around. We had agents from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. This region has a huge potential and is untapped till now. Through GPS our exhibitors were able to meet agents from this region whom they generally don’t get to meet.” He added that the Kolkata edition saw 700-750 attendees both the days and close to 9000 meetings happened between the buyers and exhibitors over the two days.

The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) successfully concluded its two-city roadshow in Bengaluru and Mumbai with a delegation of 30 sellers that included hotels, special event venues, DMCs, and airlines. The delegation was led by Nooch Homrossukhon, Director (Meetings and Incentive), TCEB, with the top management of the Meetings and Incentive department. “The agenda for this roadshow was to promote newer destinations catering to the premium segment such as the riverside properties and the Silverlake vineyard in Pattaya. We also want to talk about options for CSR activities that Indian corporate companies can participate in, in Thailand,” she said. TCEB also hosted an exclusive networking dinner for corporate clients in Mumbai after the roadshow. The bureau recently launched its own location-based mobile application for corporates called ‘Biz Thailand’ that helps them find restaurants, attractions, entertainment, hotels, meeting spaces and convention centres around them.