Jet Airways has introduced #JetAdvance where flyers will have the flexibility to change their booking to an earlier flight for a nominal fee. This customer-centric initiative is applicable for flights across the Jet Airways domestic network and offers guests the opportunity to travel on an earlier flight. This new feature will help guests in reaching their destination ahead of schedule with greater ease and convenience. This facility will be applicable for flights with departure time difference of maximum of 4 hrs. Guests are required to be physically present at the airport for managing the booking. The request for time change will be confirmed at the check-in counter, subject to availability of seats and for a fee of Rs 1,000 per guest per flight. This new feature is not applicable for guests booked under group fares. Gaurang Shetty, Whole-time Director, Jet Airways, said : “The comfort and convenience of guests is our utmost priority. This new feature demonstrates Jet Airways’ continued commitment to the ‘Guest First’ philosophy. We understand the need of guests having to save precious time while travelling between important engagements. With the introduction of this feature, Jet Airways has yet again raised the industry benchmark for customer experience.”

In a first, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has partnered with State Government to set up separate tourism bureaus for Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati. Besides tourism promotion, CII wanted to play a facilitator’s role to woo investments in industries, IT and promote MSME and skill development in a big way in AP post-bifurcation. This figured prominently at the strategy session of CII to finalise its roadmap for 2016-17. CII-AP chairman G.S. Shiv Kumar and vice-chairman J.S.R.K. Prasad told reporters on Saturday. CII committee on tourism convener Neeraj Sarda said the first bureau would be set up for promoting tourism in Visakhapatnam in September. He said a comprehensive website would be created by involving all the stakeholders in the bureau to woo investors and facilitate development of a complete ecosystem. Sarda said building brand image for Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati was their top priority. A CII team comprising Shiv Kumar and Sarda recently visited Puducherry to find out the reasons for their success story.

To promote Buddhist Circuit and attract more tourists from Thailand, the Government of India will soon facilitate a double entry e-tourist visa (eTV) for Thai visitors, revealed PM Narendra Modi while addressing the Thai Prime Minister, Chan-o-cha, and other senior Thai delegates’ visit to India. About 10 lakh Indian tourists visit Thailand every year while about one lakh tourists from Thailand come to India, he said. He also announced that to commemorate 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations, the Festival of India will be held in Thailand and India will celebrate the Festival of Thailand next year.

Udai Pratap Singh has joined the Ministry of Tourism as Additional Secretary. He succeeds Girish Shankar. The 1984-batch senior IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre was previously the Resident Commissioner of Jharkhand in NCR before which he was posted as Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister, Jharkhand Bhavan, New Delhi.

Starting July 1, Indian Railways will implement new passenger-friendly rules. One of the rules is that passengers will get a 50 per cent refund of the amount paid for a tatkal ticket. The tatkal window for AC coach will be open between 10-11 AM and fir sleeper coach, the timing would be 11-12 PM. In case of Suvidha trains, tickets will only be issued for confirmed and RAC passengers. Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains will have more coaches. In fact, Rajdhani and Shatabdi will go paperless and only mobile tickets will be valid on these trains. IRCTC will start ticket bookings in various languages. Passengers will get a wake up call in the trains. The waiting list system on trains will now come to an end and tickets will be issued only for confirmed and RAC bookings.

AccorHotels and Cyberabad Convention Centre, a joint venture between Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) and Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai, announced the renewal of their agreement for the management of the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). This follows the completion of a 10-year commitment to manage and operate the 287-room hotel and the 15-acre convention facility in Hyderabad. Both facilities operate in a complementary yet distinctive manner, guided by Novotel’s brand promise of meeting the needs of everyone, anywhere and anytime. Cyberabad Convention Centre and AccorHotels also announced a refurbishment programme for the hotel and the convention centre to build on the complex’s current position as South Asia’s most recognizable and modern convention facility.

FTAs during the period January-May, 2016, were 36.36 lakh with a growth of 9.1% as compared to the FTAs of 33.32 lakh with a growth of 4.0% in January- May, 2015 over January- May, 2014. 3.7% growth has been recorded in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in May 2016 over the same period in 2015, according to data released by Ministry of Tourism. Bangladesh accounts for highest share of tourist arrivals followed by USA and UK in April 2016. Rs.10, 285 crores Foreign Exchange earned through tourism in May 2016. FTAs during the Month of May, 2016 were 5.29 lakh as compared to FTAs of 5.1 lakh during the month of May, 2015 and 4.65 lakh in May, 2014. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during the month of May, 2016 were Rs.10,285 crore as compared to Rs.9,505 crore in May, 2015 and Rs. 7,936 crore in May, 2014. FEEs from tourism in rupee terms during January- May 2016 were Rs. 62,333 crore with a growth of 14.4% as compared to the FEE of Rs. 54,471 crore with a growth of 7.3% during January- May, 2015 over January- May, 2014.

In response to competition in the global aviation market, Korean Air has announced some network realignment. Commencing December 2016, Korean Air will introduce direct flights from Seoul to New Delhi. The capital is a commercial hub for many Korean and global companies. In addition to corporate travel, New Delhi is currently in high demand as a tourism destination.

After examining the nominations that were received by the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Secretariat in Mumbai, a list of names have been announced of those who have been elected unopposed and those who will be contesting the elections on June 30 at Hyatt Regency in Ahmedabad. These are: A. Basheer Ahmed, Rajat Bagaria, Urvashi Dogra, A Satheesh Hegde, Bharat Shah, Darshan Shah, and Jyoti Singh. The Secretariat has received seven applications for five posts for the Managing Committee Member. Pradip Lulla, the newly-elected Vice President, TAFI, said, “Since we have received more applications for the Managing Committee Members than the posts, we will have elections as planned unless there are withdrawals. We will know this only on June 20 which is the last date for withdrawal and decide whether we will need to have elections or not.”

Jayesh Tharani of Hopco Travels has been elected unopposed as Treasurer of TAFI. His nomination was proposed by Shoiz International Travel Services and seconded by Tulsidas Khimji Holidays. After examining the nominations that were received by the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Secretariat in Mumbai, a list of names have been announced of those who have been elected unopposed and those who will be contesting the elections on June 30 at Hyatt Regency in Ahmedabad. All four Office Bearers for the national team have been nominated unopposed, including Jayesh Tharani as TAFI’s new Treasurer.