Club 7 Holidays and World of Wonders (WOW) Travels have come together in a strategic alliance where both companies will leverage on each other’s strengths, plans and strategies to offer dynamic tours and packages. The alliance will see WOW Travels offering assistance to Club7 Holidays with tour packages, products building, services of professional tour managers, staff training as well as marketing and sales. Sriram Rajmohan, CEO and MD, Club7 Holidays said, “We have been availing services offered by WOW, and have received positive feedback from our customers which has promoted us to enter into a joint venture. With this alliance, we can leverage the knowledge and experience of WOW and expand the base of Club7 from an East-based company to a pan India network.“ At present, both companies will function independently, targeting group holidays, FIT and MICE segments. The companies will also be organising joint roadshows for the travel trade soon. Madhav Pai, CMD, WOW Travels also added, “We are planning to introduce a wide range of products that will be innovative and economical, and will take on the best in the business.”

The maiden edition of Travel Wedding Show will be held from July 9-10 in Gurgaon. The exclusive closed-door event aims to bring together a selective list of 30 exhibitors and 30 buyers under one roof. Speaking about the inaugural edition, Executive Chairman and Founder of PLG, Alwin Zecha said, “Our aim has always been to provide our clients with a complete range of services for all their business requirements with assistance from our experienced and dedicated staff. With this event, we intend on bringing the same level of expertise to the Indian market and thoroughly delighting our clients.” The first day will cater exclusively to wedding planners, while the second day will target specialised travel agents with experience of global weddings informed Sarika Rawal Bhambani, General Manager, Travel Wedding Show. “Travel Wedding Show aims to deliver real value by successfully targeting the right customers as well as the discerning wedding clients who have vast spending power and are frequent buyers of high quality fashion, jewellery and related services.”

Varun Beach Bheemili Resort managed by AccorHotels has opened doors for public. Located 25 kilometres northeast of Visakhapatnam, the resort has 28 rooms overlooking the Bay of Bengal. The room rate start from Rs. 5850. The resort is within walking distance to Bheemili beach. Bheemili is known for its rich history and traces of Buddhism which offers a culturally rich experience to the tourists. Bheemili Resort is also well connected to the Varun Beach by beautiful marine drives and is within relative proximity to the city’s airport and railway station (42 kilometres and 33 kilometres respectively). For outdoor team building activities or social events the resort offers five acres of outdoor space, perfect for any corporate weekend retreats. Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations, AccorHotels India says, “India is a priority market for us and one in which we are seeing solid growth momentum. By the end of this year, we expect to have a strong presence with a network of 45 hotels in the country. The state of Andhra Pradesh is integral to our development strategy and we are committed to opening more world class hotels here. The Varun Beach Bheemili Resort is our second hotel alongside the 225-room Novotel Visakhapatnam and we have plans to open another Novotel with a convention centre in Vijayawada sometime later.” Madhav Bellamkonda, General Manager, Varun Beach Bheemili Resort managed by AccorHotels & Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach says, “Varun Beach Bheemili Resort infuses local architectural elements with the warmth of Novotel hospitality, elegance and simplicity focused on the needs of the leisure or business traveller. Our large sea-facing rooms with balconies are the closest to a cruise experience on land made even more …

Tourism New Zealand’s annual travel trade event, Kiwi Link India, is scheduled to take place from July 11-13, 2016, in Mumbai. The event will include full-day workshops on July 11 and 12 and a frontline training for travel trade agents in Mumbai on July 13, 2016. The event provides the opportunity for the Indian travel agents, product managers and planners to interact with New Zealand operators and understand the new developments in the tourism sector. Kevin Bowler, Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand, says, “Kiwi Link India 2016 will see participation from 35 operators from New Zealand, four airlines, Immigration New Zealand and 80 Indian delegates. Tourism New Zealand will also be hosting key buyers from around India in Mumbai for the first two days of the event. It is one of Tourism New Zealand’s biggest trade shows and is very important to us as India is one of our priority emerging markets. Having a well-informed travel trade is critical to converting interest into bookings. This event provides an ideal platform for us to strengthen relations with our stakeholders in the Indian travel trade, supporting their ability to sell travel to New Zealand, particularly during the shoulder seasons”.

Thomas Cook India has announced the launch of exclusive international packages – ‘Sharod Shubheccha’ for avid Bengali travellers this Durga Puja, one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India offering a long holiday opportunity, especially in West Bengal. Thomas Cook India has introduced special packages to some of the top favourite international destinations like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Egypt, China, Dubai, Hong Kong, Macau, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, U.K, etc. starting from INR 35,500/- onwards (per person on twin share basis) giving more than one reason to its Bengali travellers, to celebrate an auspicious occasion in a foreign locale. Kolkata & West Bengal, as also Bhubaneshwar & Orissa have been earmarked as an important market for Durga Puja holidays accounting for 10% of our overall leisure travel business and has witnessed an uptake of 27% in bookings y-o-y with consumers booking their holidays almost 2 months in advance. Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in West Bengal augments to 6 consumer access centers: 3 owned branches, and 3 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Commenting on the Durga Puja special packages Mr. Rajeev D. Kale, President & Country Head – Leisure Travel & MICE, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “Durga Puja is one of the most significant festive occasions and is widely celebrated in West Bengal. Marked by grand celebrations, the 9-day festive extravaganza is one of the biggest holiday seasons in the state. Keeping in mind the strong support received from our discerning Bengali travellers, also considering their evolving preferences and demands, we at Thomas Cook India have designed special packages at exciting price points, to enable Bengali travelers celebrate their favourite festival at their dream destinations- with their loved …

Travel Boutique Online has taken equity stake in Deyor Camps, a chain of branded adventure camps in India. Travel Deyor Camps will be leveraging Travel Boutique Online’s distribution of 19,000 agents in India. Deyor Camps was founded by Dheeraj Jain, Chirag Gupta, Aakaar Gandhi and Gautam Yadav. Under the new partnership, Travel Boutique Online will enable its partners to sell branded campsites at more than 45 locations in India. Ankush Nijhawan, CEO, Travel Boutique Online, said, “Deyor Camps is a niche product, which would certainly attract the young, under 30 crowd in India as well as the MICE segment, especially within the Small and Medium Enterprises. The camps offer a great scope for team building. With the new partnership, TBO is exposing the inventory of Deyor Camps to its partners, to further sell this niche product to their customers.” Gautam Yadav, CEO, Deyor Camps, said, “Travel Boutique Online has access to 19000 travel agents, and we are sure of getting good business through that for Deyor Camps.”

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price has been hiked by 5.5 per cent for the fifth month in a row. ATF in Delhi was increased by Rs 2,557.7 per kilolitre (kl), or 5.47 per cent, to Rs 49,287.18 per kl, the oil companies announced today. This is the fifth straight monthly increase in rates, the last being on June 1 when prices were hiked by a steep 9.2 per cent, or Rs 3,945.47, to Rs 46,729.48 per kl. In the five increases, ATF rates have increased by 25 per cent, or Rs 9,985.87, per kl since March. ATF rates vary at different airports because of differential local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline’s operating cost and the latest price increase will add to the financial burden of cash-strapped carriers. No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of the price increase on passenger fares. Source: PTI

VFS Global has opened a Turkey Visa Application Centre in Mumbai on July 1. It was inaugurated by Erdal Sabri Ergen, Turkish Consul General in Mumbai.  He was accompanied by other dignitaries from the Turkish Consulate, and members of VFS Global staff. The new facility is located at Urmi Axis Building, Mahalaxmi. This inauguration comes close on the heels of the contract signing between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and VFS Global in March 2016, to roll out centres in 18 cities across India, the Maldives and Nepal, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Goa, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Puducherry and Thiruvananthapuram in India, and Malé (the Maldives) and Kathmandu (Nepal).

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (MPSTDC) has announced the third edition of the Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart. To be held from 14-16 October, 2016 at the Hotel Lake View Ashok in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the event will focus on promoting Madhya Pradesh as a year round destination. Om Vijay Choudhary, Executive Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, said, “We are going to increase the scale of the convention and will be inviting more buyers, exhibitors as well as media.” The three day event in Bhopal will showcase the various offerings of the state.

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) concluded its national elections on June 30 in Ahmedabad and the new team thus elected will take over office from today. The unopposed Office Bearers include Praveen Chugh as the President, Pradip Lulla as the new Vice President, Aditi Bhende as Secretary and Jayesh Tharani as Treasurer. Zakkir Ahmed is now the Immediate Past President. The seven Committee Members for whom the elections were held include: Basheer Ahmed, Darshan Shah, Rajat Bagaria, Urvashi Gupta, Bharat Shah, Teddy Thomas and Sanjay Gupta. All of them have been re-elected except for Bharat Shah who replaces Jayesh Tharani as the Managing Committee Member.