The Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) Nagpur edition will be held from January 19-21, 2017. This was announced by Harmandeep Singh Anand, Co-founder, GPS, during the second and final day of GPS Kolkata. Anand said, “We’ve got an overwhelming response from all the regions that GPS has covered. Next year we will start with Nagpur edition from January 19-21. We will invite close to 200 agents, i.e. approximately 50 agents from each region. We will continue to have GPS at all the other cities where we had this year.” Anand also revealed that GPS will add two more cities to its itinerary next year. “We will try to add two more cities next year which have great tourism potential. But we are yet to decide on that,” he said.

The second edition of the Tourism Investors Meet (TIM) organised by FICCI brings together 72 buyers and seven sellers, who are representatives from difference state governments, and aims to host more than 600 meetings over two days, informed Dr Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and Chairperson & MD, Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, at the addressing the inauguration of the summit. The event commenced on July 28 in New Delhi after a speaker session which was graced by Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, DIPP, Govt. of India, Nikhil Sahni, Senior President – Government Banking & Strategic Government Advisory, Yes Bank, Dr Didar Singh, Director General, FICCI. On the occasion, the dignitaries released the FICCI-YES Bank knowledge paper on ‘Investment in Tourism Infrastructure: Unleashing the Growth Potential’. Representatives from the tourism departments of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Telengana were present to showcase projects in a bid to attract more private players. Through the private public partnership model, the summit aims to harness the enormous investment opportunities offered by the tourism sector.

Effective September 26, 2016, IndiGo (6E) will operate its new daily non-stop flight between Chandigarh and Dubai at an all-inclusive return fare of Rs. 10,000. The airline also announced additional daily non-stop flight between Chandigarh and Delhi.Speaking on the launch to Dubai, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said, “We are very excited about the introduction of new launch from Chandigarh to Dubai. Chandigarh has been promising for us at IndiGo. We are excited to provide an international connection from Chandigarh which has been a long standing request from the people of city. The new service connecting Chandigarh with Dubai will reinforce our commitment to the State of Punjab & Haryana. This will also provide increased convenience for customers travelling from Himachal Pradesh & other adjoining cities of Punjab & Haryana.”

An Investment Desk will be set up by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Invest India to facilitate investment for tourism, revealed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary-Tourism, Govt. Of India at the Tourism Investors Summit 2016. In his keynote speech, he stressed that with tourism in India facing exponential growth, the infrastructure needs to be amped up to be on par. This year, foreign tourist arrivals in the country have been growing at an average of 8-9 per cent. With tourism occupying a 12.36 per cent employment share and a 6.88 per cent contribution to GDP, Zutshi stated that the core infrastructure – road, rail, air, and waterways, needs new additions as well as renovation.

Indana’s brand of royal hospitality with a modern twist will be coming to Jaipur in October 2016 with an 118-room hotel. Sharing details of the new property, Meera Pahwa, Vice President  Marketing  & Sales, Indana Hotels, said, “The new hotel will have lavish 350–800 sq ft deluxe rooms and suites. We will tap business and leisure tourists as it will have top-notch venues for MICE and amenities including a 8,000 sq.ft banquet hall, an over 40,000 sq.ft. landscaped lawn, fully equipped state-of the -art business centre and conference. Other amenities will include spa, health club, swimming pool and multiple F&B options. It will be a perfect fusion of historical elegance and modern luxury.” Indana has hosted discerning guests from around the world in the past at its Indana Palace Jodhpur property.

The maiden edition of Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) Kolkata opened at ITC Sonar, Kolkata with 450+ attendees on Day 1. The show was inaugurated by Harmandeep Singh Anand, Co-founder, GPS, Rajeev Duggal, CEO, Lavassa, Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI, and other TAAI Managing Committee members. The show will conclude in Coimbatore next week.

Singapore based international hospitality brand, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts has launched its new vertical Banyan Tree Lifestyle Services (BTLS) to cater to the growing demand of luxury products and services in the Indian market. BTLS encompasses the entire portfolio of hotels, resorts, residences and related services under the Banyan Tree Group. Currently, the Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts portfolio is grouped under four brands – Angsana, Banyan Tree, Cassia and Dhawa; and covers the different segment of evolved discerning travellers and thereby covers the A,B,C,D of segmented hotel portfolio. BTLS has 3 key offerings— Bespoke concierge service, Banyan Tree Private Collection and Banyan Tree Group Residences sales and owners club. BTLS will be promoted by recruiting independent consultants that have prior experience in luxury realty, in high ticket investments and are well connected  with HNI in the upscale segment that values the exclusive lifestyle benefits. They will also be conducting seminars and consumer connect events to educate the membership benefits and uniqueness to the potential consumers. It also entails visit and experience of various Banyan Tree locations so that the consumers can choose the right services and become a part of the growing Banyan Tree brands’ family.

The West Bengal Tourism department has launched a mobile App based on its theme of ‘Experience Bengal’. Alongside information on places of tourist interest, the App would be loaded with other facilities like maps and directions. The sight would be powered by information on each and district of the state and the various places that can be visited and activities that can be taken up. There would also be information on the various festivals of the state. Through some related links on the App, the users can also get access to Facebook, Twitter Page of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation and Bengal cuisine website. Online booking facilities would also be available through the App available on android.(Source: Economic Times)

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-June, 2016, were 475.79 lakhs as against 388.33 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 22.52 per cent, according to the statistics released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). SpiceJet ruled with the highest Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 93 per cent. However, overall the PLF in the month of June 2016 has slightly decreased compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season. The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of June 2016 has been 0.96 per cent. During June 2016, a total of 788 passenger related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. In terms of On Time Performance (OTP), Vistara emerged as a clear winner with a score of 86.5 per cent.

The Medical Tourism Index (MTI), released by Visa and Oxford Economics, shows that India’s medical tourism sector is among the top five markets in the world with affordable yet high-quality of healthcare. Canada, the UK, Israel, Singapore, Germany, France, South Korea, Italy and Colombia are some of the other top markets included in the list. Globally, the sector is worth an impressive US$439 billion, and could soar to a staggering US$3 trillion by 2025. The new report forecasts an annual growth rate of up to 25 per cent over the next decade given that 3-4 per cent of the world’s population will travel internationally for medical treatments in the coming decade. “The borders to quality healthcare access have begun to disintegrate,” MTI’s co-authors, Renée-Marie Stephano, president of the Medical Tourism Association, and Mark Fetscherin, associate professor of international business & marketing at Rollins College, said a joint statement. “Speculation about the medical tourism industry as a ‘phenomenon’ is over. This report and the rankings of the Medical Tourism Index provide a unique opportunity for investors seeking new ventures to make smart choices in destinations driving patient travel.” The report also predicts that China will overtake the US as the world’s largest outbound medical tourism market within the next 10 years.