Cox & Kings-owned Meininger Hotels will open a property in close proximity to Leipzig’s main station at the beginning of 2017. The existing building and the former ibis Leipzig City (Germany) from the Accor Group which was closed in March 2016 will be converted in accordance with MEININGER standards and will ultimately have 404 beds available in 126 rooms. The hotel is located in the centre of Leipzig and is the perfect starting point from which to explore the city. Owing to its proximity to the main station, the hotel can be easily reached on public transport. The flexible room structure of MEININGER Hotels means that the accommodation options will range from traditional double rooms through private rooms with multiple beds right down to a bed in a shared dorm room. All the public spaces, such as the lobby, lounge, bar, breakfast room and terrace will be located on the ground floor of the building, as will the guest kitchen and games zone, which are also typical features of a MEININGER hotel. In the well-equipped guest kitchen customers will be able to prepare their own meals at any time, day or night. Moreover, the kitchen will also have a washing machine and a dryer. Peter Kerkar, Director, Cox & Kings, says, “This hotel in Leipzig will strengthen our portfolio of hotels in Germany where we have a presence in five other cities. Its proximity to the main station and city centre will attract a sizeable chunk of our clientele.”

Indonesia-based travel company Panorama Destination has joined hands with Outbound Konnections Reps to establish a partnership in India and launch a range of products and organise Fam trips for Indian travel agents. Anjum Lokhandwala, Founder & Director, Outbound Konnections, said “We are happy to be appointed as the India office for Panorama Destination Indonesia and Bali. Panorama Destination is the leader in providing competitive packages and quality of services for all travel segments and we are keen to develop and multiply their market share in India. Indonesia has a lot to offer in terms of culture, scenic beauty, adventure and spas.” Panorama Destination has recently joined OTOAI (Outbound Tour Operators Association of India). There will be a range of new, diverse and competitive products created specifically for the Indian market by Panorama Destination in the coming months and a Director of Business Development will also be appointed specifically for the Indian market. The company specialises in inbound services and offering tailored tours. It has its own fleet of air-conditioned vehicles.

The first Asia Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC) is all set to be held at the Hilton Colombo in Sri Lanka from Nov 27-29, 2016, in partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Club (SLTC). AHTIC will attract an international audience of senior figures and decision-makers involved in all aspects of hotel and tourism investment in South Asia. The conference will focus on hotel development and infrastructure plans in these key markets. Join us in Sri Lanka and hear from regions industry experts on the opportunities available in the region, find out what lessons they have learnt about doing business in the region and how they have overcome development and operational challenges. Find out how banks are working together with investors to drive this economy forward, and what developers and owners need to provide to attract the big operators.

The ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 is likely to be held in Vietnam. Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s proposal for Vietnam to host the 38th ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2019. The annual event, which was held in the Philippines this year, is likely to be held in Hanoi, Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City in 2019. It brings together tourism officials and industry executives from the 10 ASEAN member nations and dialogue partners China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Russia. It will also include an ASEAN tourism ministers’ conference, meetings of national tourism agency officials and an ASEAN Travel Expo.

Representation and marketing company, RARE has added four new hotel partners to it’s portfolio. “We are thrilled to introduce these fresh off the boat properties for the year 2016. Call us RARE 50 as we endeavor to be a curated collection of 50 of the most unique concept oriented properties,” says Sowmya R Vijaymohan, Partner, RARE India in a statement. These new properties are: Raas Devigarh, Udaipur and Khaas Bagh, Jaipur in Rajasthan; Rajakkad Estate, Palani Hills in Tamil Nadu; and Reni Pani Jungle Lodges, Satpura in Madhya Pradesh. 39-suites strong Raas Devigarh, Udaipur, is within the spectacular fort complex of Devigarh in a rural setting just under an hour, north of Udaipur. While Khaas Bagh, Jaipur (Raj.) is no more than a ten minute drive from the city of Jaipur. Built on the lines of a haveli, but spread out like a country home with large open terraces, courtyards, verandas, and offers 18 spacious suites. The Rajakkad Estate in Palani Hills (TN), just under a two hour drive from Madurai, is a unique homestay located on a 40 acre coffee and pepper plantation. Reni Pani is an elegant lodge focused on the wildlife experience, a short drive from the Tawa Reservoir. Stylish and spacious cottages, 12 of them are distributed for privacy on a varied landscape featuring grass lands, a seasonal nulla and a hearty tree cover allow animals, insects, reptiles and birds to flourish. The lodge manager, himself an avid birder captains a team of naturalists constantly trained under his supervision.

Rajen Gohain assumed the charge of new Minister of State for Railways. He is a Member of Parliament from Nagaon constituency in Assam. Soon after taking charge, he had had a brief discussion with Chairman, Railway Board, A.K. Mital. Talking to media after taking charge, Gohain listed out his priority areas as Safety and Security, Expansion And Growth of Railway Infrastructure, Passenger Amenities and Passenger Services, Improving Punctuality, Redressal of Public Grievances, Expediting Railway Projects in North-East. A graduate in Arts and also in Law, Gohain has been active in social and political field right since his youth days.

Nepal Tourism Board along with Nepal Airline Corporation is conducting a three-city roadshow in India. It started with Mumbai on July 5, followed by Ahmedabad on July 6 and Hyderabad sometime in August this year. The eight-member delegation from Nepal included hotels, agents and allied services. Ranu Shah, Senior Officer (Tourism Product & Resources Development), Nepal Tourism Board, said, “We want to promote Nepal aggressively in India after the earthquakes that hit tourism business last year.” Meanwhile, Nepal Airlines is looking at improving air connections between India and Nepal. Shailesh Kansakar, Deputy Director (External & Public Affairs), Corporate Development, Nepal Airlines, added, “We are currently busy with conducting a survey to calculate the potential in starting operations from Ahmedabad and Hyderabad to Kathmandu.”

In a bid to garner investments worth Rs 20,000 crore by 2029 for tourism projects in the state, Andhra Pradesh tourism department organised an investor’s meet which was attended by more than 26 key investors for multiple sectors like hotels, water sports, cruises among others on July 5. The department in a statement said that Andhra Pradesh is endeavouring to make the state an ideal destination for investments and facilitate ease of doing business. The tourism department also added that the progress of each project was reviewed with various departments and investors’ pending issues were resolved across the table. Investors such as ANI Technologies (Ola), Amaravati Tourism, Samudra Shipyard, Shore View Hospitality, Sky Choppers, Water Sports Simple participated in the discussions. Urging the investors to begin commercial operations at the earliest and assuring them of coordinated effort by all relevant government departments to ensure ease of doing business and faster project execution, Neerabh Kumar Prasad, Principal Secretary-Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said, “Time is ripe to fast track the execution of projects and ensure timely completion. We stand committed to extend our full cooperation to all investors to streamline the entire process.” He also informed that in total 33 new projects have taken off with an investment of Rs 2,400 crore which generate sizeable employment opportunities as well. The state has already seen investments from prominent hospitality brands such as ITC, Accor Group, Taj, JW Marriot etc. and has launched many water sports and adventure tourism facilities in Vijayawada along with some other places in the state.

With annual growth of 18.8 per cent (in a market of 80 million domestic passengers), India’s performance surpassed that of Russia (11.9 per cent growth, in a market of 47 million domestic passengers), China (9.7 per cent growth, in a market of 394 million domestic passengers) and the United States (5.4 per cent growth, in a market of 708 million domestic passengers), as per International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) industry performance statistics for 2015. This information was included in the recently released 60th Edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), the yearbook of the airline industry’s performance. “Last year airlines safely carried 3.6 billion passengers— the equivalent of 48% of the Earth’s population—and transported 52.2 million tonnes of cargo worth around $6 trillion. In doing so, we supported some $2.7 trillion in economic activity and 63 million jobs,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO. Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers with a 34 per cent market share (1.2 billion passengers) registering an increase of 10 per cent compared to the region’s passengers in 2014.

Bird Travels has been appointed as the GSA for Avianca Brazil in India. “We are very delighted to represent and promote Avianca Brazil as their GSA in India. Avianca is a member of Star Alliance covering 22 domestic and one international destination with over 200 daily flights. It has a modern fleet of 41 Airbus aircraft. The major hub airports are Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador. In India we are also entering the BSP very soon for wider distribution,” said Praful Khosla, Executive Vice President, Bird Travels.