Following a directive from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airlines in India will be forced to reduce their excess baggage fees. It states that passengers should be charged with Rs 100 for each additional kilogram of baggage, as opposed to the average of Rs300 charged at present. The reduced fares will be applicable for maximum of 5kg extra luggage. At present, IndiGo, GoAir, AirAsia India and Air India all charge passengers Rs250 for every kilogram of extra baggage, while, SpiceJet charges Rs 300, Jet Airways Rs 350 and Vistara Rs 320.

In a bid to attract more tourists to its shores, Andhra Pradesh has launched a host of water sports and adventure tourism facilities. In line with the surge in tourist interest in water sport activities, the state has already introduced a plethora of such facilitates for example parasailing, jeep parasailing, para-motoring, water skiing, speed boat etc. in Bhavani Islands in Vijayawada. Work is also well underway to replicate the same across other key beaches such as Rishikonda, Bheemili, Mangamaripeta, Thotlakonda, among others. Also, two houseboats have been launched with one and three bedroom capacities respectively in the popular tourist destination of Papikondalu in Rajahmundry. To strengthen the tourism development in the state, Andhra Pradesh is also launching 33 hotels offering more than 2766 rooms and with a total investment of Rs. 2400 Cr. Notable global brands such as Taj group, ITC group, Accor group Holiday Inn Associates and JW Marriot Associates etc. has already invested in such projects. Tourism in Andhra Pradesh is also geared up to add a new feather in its cap with the launch of amphibious vehicles in Vijayawada and Rajahmundry. These special kinds of vehicles which can operate on both land and water will give visitors an unforgettable experience. Encouraging Heli tourism, the state is also coming up with sea planes to be functional in Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Kakinada. In Vizag, one of such helicopters will be operated from one of the most prominent tourist attractions of Kailasagiri Hills. Site for setting up sea plane jetty has been identified in all the destinations and currently design work is underway. Neerabh Kumar Prasad, I.A.S., Principal Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture, said “We are extremely proud to …

The Odisha Travel Bazzar will be held for the first time on November 27-28 in Bhubaneshwar this year, informed Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister of State – Tourism & Culture, Govt. of Odisha. The event will be held on the lines of Great Indian Travel Bazaar where tour operators from across the world would participate in the mart. Funds to the tune of Rs 2 cr have reportedly been allocated for the travel bazaar. Odisha Travel Bazaar will be held in association with FICCI and will target potential consumers of Odisha’s tourism products from across the globe.

Treebo Group of Hotels, the Bangalore-based chain of budget hotels, has launched a tablet-based property management system for its hotel partners called ‘Bumblebee’. The app will be used by property managers to manage all tasks related to hotel operations, including check-ins, check-outs, new reservations, room assignments, payments, fulfilling guest preferences, billing for F&B and laundry, among others. Commenting on the launch, company’s co-founder and head of technology and products, Kadam Jeet Jain, said, “In the budget segment you cannot afford highly-skilled manpower. You therefore need to innovate using technology to simplify and hardwire tasks, and thereby reduce errors and time taken for completion. Bumblebee has been designed keeping this in mind. And that’s why we built it on a tablet. This is the first-ever, stand-alone tablet app for hotel managers and it is a big shift away from desktop-based systems, which are often too complex and time consuming. This app helps us crash our check-in times, for example, to less than 3 minutes, when in traditional set-ups it would take 15-20 minutes. Besides, it also helps keep the hotel data safer as the system can be accessed from hotel premises only.”

Vistara has launched its inaugural flight to India’s cultural capital, Kolkata from IGI airport, Delhi at 07.20 am on June 10. Kolkata will now be directly connected to Delhi via double daily flights offering convenient same-day return options in both directions. The one-way fare on this route is Rs 6980, plus taxes. Kolkata travellers will also be able to experience Vistara’s Bengali food festival on-board its flights starting today till June 16, as well as relish the traditional sweet of Bengal, Kheer Kadam, on all its flights until June 14. Kolkata is Vistara’s fourth destination in the east and the fifth metro in the country. This new addition to Vistara’s expanding network will enable leisure, corporate and pilgrimage travellers who especially come to visit the famous religious places like Dakshineswar and Kalighat to enjoy Vistara’s ‘new feeling’ and its world class travel experience with direct connectivity to the capital.

InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the opening of the first Crowne Plaza in Pune-Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre. The 173-room hotel will operate under a management agreement with The Advantage Raheja Group and has been rebranded from an existing property. Room rates start from Rs 5000 plus taxes. Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre lies in the Koregaon Park district, just 20 minute drive from the airport and nearby key local businesses, venues and attractions, this hotel is ideal for hosting business travellers who need convenient access to the city while utilizing ample space for large corporate meetings and events. Designed to truly make business travel work, the hotel will undergo an extensive refurbishment to upgrade guest rooms, public areas, restaurants and meeting space. Furniture and fittings and other interior elements will be enhanced to create more inviting dining options and engaging spaces for both business and social interactions. Commencing June 2016, the refurbishment is anticipated to be complete early 2017 and the hotel will remain fully operational during this time. The hotel is equipped with 24-hour business services and meeting facilities as well as 11,800 sq. ft. of banqueting space. It also features a fully-equipped 24-hour fitness centre and a newly designed swimming pool, as well as a rooftop restaurant and lounge that are designed to keep guests productive, connected, rested, and refreshed during their stay.

After completing all its chapter elections across India, the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) is now gearing up for its AGM and national elections. This will be held on June 30 in Ahmedabad. Rajat Bagaria, Member, TAFI National Managing Committee, revealed, “All our chapter need to complete their accounts and conduct their AGM before the national team can do our AGM and elections. June 15 is the last date for filing the nominations and June 25 is the last date for withdrawal. The final list of nominees will be out on June 26. If there are more than one persons standing for the same post, then we will have elections. Else the person will be chosen unanimously. So we will decide if we need to have elections on June 26.”

During January-May, 2016, a total of 4,34,927 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa (eTV) as compared to 1,10,657 during January-May 2015, registering a growth of 293.0 per cent. A total of 43,833 tourists arrived in May 2016 on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 15,659 during the month of May 2015 registering a growth of 179.9 per cent. The USA (15.63%) continued to be the top source country availing the eTV facility followed by UK (15.63%), China (8.17%), France (5.16%) and Germany (4.91%). New Delhi Airport received the highest share of FTAs on eTV (45.11%) with Mumbai Airport (22.50%) registering the second highest share. Bengaluru Airport (9.00%), Chennai Airport (6.63%) and Kochi Airport (3.68%) are also among the top five airports with highest tourist arrivals on eTV.

Thomas Cook India has launched its Domestic Coach Holidays, allowing travellers affordable seat-in-coach vacations to popular destinations. These destinations would be at a driveable distance from key metros/mini-metros. Currently, the Coach Holidays feature itineraries for popular destinations including Kerala, The Golden Triangle, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh, with departures from key cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kochi, at attractive prices starting from Rs. 6999 (per person on twin share basis).These Coach Holidays are pre-packaged products for customers seeking a bargain domestic holiday in the air conditioned comfort of Volvo/equivalent coaches. The Coach Holidays are targeted at two key segments; families and senior citizens, as also entry level young couples and ad hoc groups of friends. Hence, based on the booking preferences of each segment, the pre-packaged Coach Holidays are available through Thomas Cook’s extensive offline network, its India Toll Free Call Centre or online. The Coach Holidays include transportation by air-conditioned, Wi-Fi enabled Volvo/equivalent coaches and a stay in standard two star hotels with breakfast included. Rajeev D. Kale, President & Country Head – Leisure Travel & MICE, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “Domestic Tourism is witnessing a strong resurgence and the launch of our Thomas Cook ‘Coach Holidays’ intends to catalyse this demand. Popular drive-down locations are seeing strong interest and for today’s travel-hungry yet price sensitive audience, our focus on simple, easy to book, seat-in-coach tours offers the unbeatable quality assurance of the Thomas Cook brand. Our Coach Holidays ensure a comfortable and hassle-free voyage on wheels, for families, couples and ad hoc groups of friends.”

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has introduced its new team for Western India Chapter for 2016-18. The new team comprises Abbas Moiz (Chairman), Sapna Rateria (Secretary), Jitul Mehta (Treasurer), Vikram Paul (Returning Officer), Suprabh Oza (Committee Member) and Burjis Mehta (Committee Member). Rajat Bagaria, Member, TAFI National Managing Committee, said, “The new committee thanks Darshan Mehta, Outgoing Chairman, for his contribution towards TAFI and the trade. We would also like to thank Vikram Paul, who has consented to be the Returning Officer. We re-iterate our commitment to the improvement of the trade. We shall work hand-in-hand with partner associations where needed to stand united as an industry. We request all members to please bring to us the issues which are being faced. We have been approached by members with their visa issues, ADM and other issues, which we are trying to resolve. We look forward to suggestions and guidance from all our members.”