Puvurel said that The Muraka is well suited for Indian market. “It is a first-of-its-kind, three bedroom, two-level residence with a master bedroom submerged 5 meters below sea level. Perfect for a real luxury, bucket-list experience. We have a lot of last minute travel, especially from India who come in their private jets. The Muraka is ideal for families, couples or a group of friends.”

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, told in Lok Sabha that India has sent a proposal to ten countries, including Saudi Arabia, Australia, and New Zealand, that is still pending. While India already has air bubble agreements with a total of 31 countries. International passenger flights are currently being operated in a restricted manner under bilateral air bubble arrangements with various countries.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has revealed that the CM of Gujarat, Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel has confirmed to attend the 36th IATO Convention. “Sripad Yesso Naik, MoS, Tourism has also confirmed his presence for the valedictory session, scheduled on 18th December. We will also have Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, for our session on revival of business along with Dr. V Venu, Additional Chief Secretary, Kerala Tourism.”

Sambit Patra, spokesperson for BJP, has been appointed as the chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. The official order states that ACC has approved the Tourism Ministry’s proposal to split the post of chairman and managing director of India Tourism Development Corporation into chairman, ITDC, and managing director (MD), ITDC. Hence G Kamala Vardhan Rao will continue as the Managing Director of ITDC.

IATA issued a statement that, “Governments are reacting in an emergency mode to the risks posed by the new coronavirus variant, causing panic among travellers. We must move as quickly as possible to a coordinated data-driven approach to find safe alternatives to border closures and quarantine, based on the lessons learned over the last two years. Travel bans aren’t a long-term solution for COVID variant control.”

KTM will be holding its eleventh edition in Kochi in March 2022, giving an impetus to the efforts to revive the pandemic-hit tourism sector by attracting visitors from across the world. The event will have caravan tourism and adventure tourism as the main themes, along with responsible tourism. KTM 2022 will give greater prominence to domestic buyers. The meet anticipates the participation of no less than 1,500 buyers.

Carla Puverel, GM, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has revealed that Rangali Island and main restaurant Atoll Market, will be relaunched in December end. “It is all-water villa Adult Island that will be very popular with the Indian market for honeymoons and extended weekend getaways. The opening of ‘Teens club’ will also be a great addition to our family island,” she said.

Nagaland Ajay Bhatt, MoS, Tourism, along with Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, inaugurated the three day long 9th International Tourism Mart for the North East region at Kohima. Bhatt said that the ITM is focused on domestic tourism and there is a huge potential of Border and wildlife tourism. About 75 sellers from the NE and about 50 buyers from the country are participating in the mart. “Many parts of this region are still untouched from the point of view of tourists. There is a huge potential of border tourism and wildlife tourism,” he added. The event is focussed towards highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets. Coffee table book on Nagaland was also launched on this occasion.

As per the WTTC report, 68 million travellers prefer to book a “Greener Choice” marked flight that is a lower-carbon flight option. In the long run ‘the country side’ destinations, will be the popular choice. The pause in travel has intensified people’s zeal to travel sustainably, with over eight out of 10 (83%) global travellers desiring sustainable travel in the future.

FHRAI has submitted a representation to the FM, Nirmala Sitharaman. In spite of the fact that the scheme was announced for both the health and tourist sectors, the hotel industry has been waiting for the government to inform it for almost five months. The FHRAI has expressed its displeasure with the government’s lack of concern for the hospitality industry.