The Union Territory of Lakshadweep has announced that it will re-open one of its island – Bangaram island – for tourists on October 14, 2016. A.M. Hussain, Assistant Director (Tourism), Department of Tourism, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, said, “The highlight for 2016-17 for Lakshadweep is re-launching of Bangaram island resort, which was the flagship of Lakshadweep Tourism till 2010. But after the expiry of the lease period it had gone under a legal battle and after the hearing from High Court of Kerala as well as the Supreme Court, the resort has come back to us.” The resorts at Bangaram and Agatti islands – two popular destinations in Lakshadweep – had been closed for the past couple of years as they were caught in legal battles between the administration and tourism operators.

The 32nd IATO Convention was inaugurated in Chennai today in the presence of Vinod Zutshi, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India, T.K. Ramachandran, Principal Secretary-Tourism, Culture, & Religious Endowments Department, Ministry of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. Pandiarajan K, Ministry of School Education and Sports and Youth Welfare (responsible for archaeology), Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. Vellamandi N. Natarajan, Tourism Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, Ashok Chandra Panda, Tourism and Culture Minister, Government of Odisha, and senior IATO officials. Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO, thanked the VIPs and the Chief Minister for having the convention in Tamil Nadu. Sarkar said, “Tamil Nadu has all the ingredients to attract tourism. Tourism is one of the major engines of economic growth in the world and has exceeded the automotive and oil industry. We organise IATO Convention to allow members to get a first-hand experience of the States and educate them about the services and offerings. I hope after this convention, Tamil Nadu will experience the growth in tourism as well.”

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is observing a Swachhta Pakhwada (cleanliness fortnight) from September 16-30, 2016, to create awareness of the need for cleanliness in all walks of life. The officers and staff of MOT will undertake cleaning of 10 pre-selected tourist sites in the afternoon during this period. In addition to the cleaning, the officers and staff will carry out cleaning in and around Transport Bhawan and C-1 Hutments and weeding out of old documents and files to achieve ‘Swachh’ office environment. An essay competition on the topic of cleanliness will be organised on September 24 in English and on September 25 in Hindi. Considering the importance of September 27 being the World Tourism Day, MOT will organise a ‘Run for Swachh Paryatan from Transport Bhawan to India Gate with the participation of the public, students and faculty of the Institutes of Ministry of Tourism as well as the officers and staff of the Ministry. Awards and Appreciation Certificates would be distributed on World Tourism Day to the best maintained or cleanest offices at head quarter, regional and domestic offices of MOT to acknowledge and encourage the efforts made towards cleanliness.  

BIAL in collaboration with ThoughtWorks, a global technology company,  announced the launch of the BLR Airport App, as part of its digital platform offering. Through the digital platform bouquet of services, BIAL aims at revolutionising the travel experience at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB) through a combination of digital technologies that include the Internet of: things, people, services and data. The airport will build on its existing technological capabilities to engage with its customers and provide integrated services across various touch points. Through these efforts BIAL aims to future-proof its airport operations and services by making meaning of the abundant digital data available and create a more personalised, just-in-time travel services. A first step, as part of this digital transformation was offering passengers everything at a single click on their mobile phone through the BLR Airport app. The airport app includes a number of useful features to help simplify the passengers airport experience. The navigation provides an intimate interface with real-time flight information and commercial offerings. Available on iOS and Android platforms, the app is designed to provide customers with the best of airport navigation powered by Google Indoor Maps (the first Indian Airport to use Google Indoor Maps), context-specific operational and commercial notifications powered by beacon technology deployed by leveraging leading industry standards.

The government has approved projects to the tune of Rs. 500 crore for tourist infrastructural development in Jammu and Kashmir. The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) chaired by Union Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi for the ‘Swadesh Darshan Scheme’ approved projects to the tune of Rs. 500 crore as part of Development Package of Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan (PMRP) for integrated development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. New projects include Integrated Development of Tourist facilities at Mantalai–Sudhmahadev–Patnitop Circuit for Rs.99.99 crore, Baramulla-Kupwara-Leh circuit for Rs.99.98 crore,  Rajouri-Bafliyaz-Shopian-Pulwama Circuit for Rs.99.99 crore and Anantnag-Kishtwar-Pahalgam–Daksum-Ranjit Sagar Dam Circuit for Rs.99.75 crore. In addition, Rs. 99.99 crore has been approved for integrated development of tourist facilities in lieu of damaged assets in the floods. Highlights of the project involve developing a Convention Centre in Gulmarg and Patnitop, development of Ethnic Villages, Development of Water Sports Centre at Baghliyar Dam – Pool Doda. Other major intervention proposed in the circuits include last mile connectivity, tourist facilitation/interpretation centre, base camps for trekking, facilitation centre for pilgrims for Amarnath Yatra, Sound and Light Show at Shalimar Bag, illumination of heritage structures, provision of eco friendly vehicles, Enhancement of tourist facilities at golf courses across the state.

According to a PHDCII report, 35% of Bollywood films were shot in India during 2014-2016, while 45% were shot abroad and 20% were shot both in India and abroad. Some of the popular foreign destinations for Bollywood film shootings include England, Thailand, UAE, and South Africa. In order to leverage Film Tourism in India, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organised a conference – Global Conference on Film Tourism-India: The Focal Hub – at The Lalit on September 16. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs (I/C), Government of India, graced the conference as the Chief Guest. “We look forward to new ideas so that film tourism gets a new direction in India and promotes tourism in the country,” said Dr. Mahesh Gupta, President, PHD Chamber. Prominent film directors like Madhur Bhandarkar and Prakash Jha, Ambassadors from various countries including Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey, Vietnam, Austria, Romania and Latvia, government officials and travel agents were also present at the conference. An extensive study on tourism was released at the event.

Skyscanner launches partner quality ratings for providers that will give users the ability to distinguish between airlines and OTAs based on the quality of the booking service and not just on price alone. The quality ratings offer the opportunity for airlines and OTAs to gain feedback from Skyscanner users, rewarding companies who offer the very best in booking experience, and allowing travellers to base their decisions on more than just price. The new feature also provides an instrumental yardstick for travel providers who are able use to the feedback to improve the quality of their service provision. The ratings, determined from Skyscanner travellers over the past 91 days, score travel providers based on the quality of the booking site, additional fees, the after sales customer support experience and the accuracy of the prices shown. Travellers will see the score in the search results for a flight after they choose an itinerary. As part of the roll-out of the new feature, all of Skyscanner’s airline and OTA partners have been given access to the search engine partner portal Connect. The dedicated portal has been designed by Skyscanner to allow the meta site’s partners to fully understand how well they are performing in the market to help them improve and optimize their performance. Travel agent and airline partners have access to a host of analytics including detailed meta-data breaking down the feedback from customers, in addition to their current market share on key routes, and API performance. Skyscanner’s Chief Commercial Officer Frank Skivington, said, “Skyscanner aims to be a true product comparison marketplace, and the first choice distribution platform for airlines and OTAs. Our new quality ratings are intended to highlight airlines …

NYC&Company, New York City’s official, destination marketing organisation, is leading a tourism delegation to Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi from September 16-23 to promote travel to New York City. The tourism delegation is part of NYC & Company’s trade and media efforts to promote the “new” NYC in the Indian market. “New York City welcomed an estimated 283,000 visitors from India in 2015, reflecting a growth of 9% since the previous year.” said Makiko Matsuda Healy, Senior Vice President Global Tourism Development. “The City maintains its position as one of the most desirable destinations for both business and leisure travellers from India.” In 2015, New York City welcomed a record 58.3 million visitors, an increase of 1.8 million visitors over a year ago. Visitation for 2015 comprised 46 million domestic and 12.3 million international visitors, both all-time highs. In 2015 a record 6.1 million meetings and conventions delegates visited the City’s five boroughs, contributing to the total 12.3 million business travelers that came to New York City. New York City is the nation’s number one big city destination, the number one port-of-entry for foreign visitors, and has the highest share of overseas visitation to the U.S. – approximately one-third. NYC & Company member businesses joining the delegation include Broadway Inbound, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises and One World Observatory, who will be conducting one-on-one meetings and workshops with various travel trade partners.

The Government of Assam, Tourism Department has declared to open the Kaziranga National Park from the first week of October this year till middle of May 2017. Earlier, it was from November 1 to April 30 every year. The BJP-led government is taking steps to keep the Park open for the tourists for eight months instead of the normal six months with an aim to increase tourist inflow to UNESCO’s world heritage site, which suffered due to the recent floods.

Udaan India has launched Udaan Destination Marketing Conglomerate (Udaan DMC). The company, which has been a frontrunner in visa facilitation, has ventured into the new realm two years after marketing Croatia. Sumit Banerji has been appointed as the Chief Commercial Officer for Udaan DMC. Rajan Dua, MD, Udaan DMC said that with the new venture they can offer more products to their existing clients and ensure good business in the market. He also informed that they will be opening a new office in Noida for Udaan India, and all their offices across the country will also have a team for Udaan DMC.