To promote inbound tourism, the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has released the revised guidelines for the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) for overseas promotions by tourism service providers. Under the new guidelines, the service providers will be entitled to more financial benefits and simple claim process. The guidelines will be effective from 1st January 2021.

LIM Si Ting, Area Director, India & South Asia (Mumbai), International Group, STB has said that the STB India Virtual Tradeshow will be a great opportunity for the trade to establish new business prospects and strengthen existing connections with 45 confirmed stakeholders from Singapore, comprising airlines, hotels, DMCs, attractions and cruise lines. “Let’s prepare ourselves for tourism restart.” Register Register now at www stbindiatradeshow2021.com, email: Jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com, call: +919650196532.    

SpiceJet has announced the launch of 21 new domestic and international flights including the introduction of two weekly flights from Mumbai to Ras Al-Khaimah from 15th January. It will also increase frequency on the Delhi- Ras Al-Khaimah sector to 4 flights a week. SpiceJet will be the first airline to connect Jharsuguda with direct flights to Mumbai & Bengaluru.  

The Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the World Bank signed a US$ 105 million project to improve the inland water transport infrastructure in Kolkata, West Bengal. In the first phase, the project will enhance the capacity and improve the safety of the Inland Water Transport system; including rehabilitating existing jetties and buying new ferries.

Shahpura Hotels & Resorts has announced an expansion with new hotels in Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. 3 new hotels – ‘Shahpura Boutique’, ‘Shahpura Dev Villa’ and ‘Shahpura Dev Panache’ will soon open up in Udaipur, informed Digraj Singh Shahpura, Director, Shahpura Hotels & Resorts.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday virtually attended the 39th Board of Governors Meetings of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) along with other office bearers at the Ministry of Tourism headquarters in Delhi. He announced the commencement of a national competition in Kargil from January 25 during the meeting.

India Tourism Mart (ITM) 2021 will be held from 18th – 20th February. The event will be mostly virtual, and some part of it will be hybrid. Subhash Goyal, Secretary-General, FAITH, revealed, “This year’s ITM will be slightly hybrid, but 90% virtual. We are expecting around 500 international buyers and around 100-200 domestic buyers.”

Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation has invited proposals from experienced companies in form of bids for allotment of 14 hotels across the state, where the successful bidders will be operating and maintaining the properties on ‘As is Where is’ system. Hotels will be allocated for 10/5 years of tenure.

Singapore Tourism Virtual Tradeshow is all set to be kicked-off on 12th January 2021, for the travel trade in South India. The virtual event will have around 40 Singapore partners showcasing their products and interacting with the buyers from all the regions. To register, log on to www.stbindiatradeshow2021.com or contact Jaspreet Kaur at Jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com, or +91-9650196532. GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board, “The dates are spread out so that we can interact by region, and we can have deeper and more engaged conversations. It is going to be our way of reconnecting with the Indian travel trade early in the year.”

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has announced that it has commenced the process of operating seaplanes on select routes from the hubs cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Surat to various tourist sport of the North and West India. To run such services, the authorities are keen to associate with interested scheduled/non-scheduled airline operators.