The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai will be organising a 2-day roadshow with 18 Spanish suppliers on December 2-3, 2020. The suppliers will be a mix of local tourism boards, hotels & DMCs, who will meet key tour operators from key source markets of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh. Register now on www.virtualspanishtravelshow.com.

Ladakh has rolled out its first tourism incentive policy with focus on ensuring equitable and sustainable development of all regions in the Union Territory.special emphasis on the new Capital Outright Investment Subsidy which aspires to promote a concept of small and beautiful fixed assets in Ladakh based on local tradition and architecture

According to Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, domestic air travel in India has reached 65% of what it used to be before COVID-19. He further said the numbers will rise to 80-90% over next few months with lifting of restrictions & reopening of businesses. He said that it may even reach normalcy if everything goes fine.

Air India is planning to operate non-stop flights on the Chennai-London route from January next year. In addition, the national carrier is starting first non-stop flight between Bengaluru and San Francisco; to be operated twice a week from  January 9. Further Air India will also start flying to Chicago from Delhi starting January 13.

Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary, Rajiv Gupta has said that the Statue of Unity situated in Kevadia attracts more tourists than the Statue of Liberty in the US with 3,000 more daily visitors before COVID. The former received around 13,000 visitors in comparison to later’s 10,000 daily visitors.

Vistara will operate special, non-stop flights between Mumbai and London Heathrow from 16 January 2021. The airline will operate these special flights thrice a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. These flights are in addition to recently-launched service between Delhi and London Heathrow as part of the ‘transport bubble’ agreement between India and the UK.

RARE India has partnered with Secret Retreats, headquartered in Singapore to promote responsible and conscious luxury travel across Asia. Secret Retreats has curated collection of independent and privately owned hotels, restaurants and boats – including boutique hotels, villas, yachts and riverboats – located throughout Asia. RARE India will help Secret Retreats in distribution through its strong B2B channels in India, UK, Europe, Australia, US and Canada. On the other hand, Secret Retreats will help RARE India with its strong worldwide B2C distribution as well as growing B2B retailer network. The collaboration of these two major conscious luxury travel communities is expected to benefit the responsible tourism industry across Asia. Speaking about this partnership, Shoba Mohan, Founder, RARE India says, “The pandemic seems to have nudged RARE India and Secret Retreats towards a slightly better world where partnerships and collaborations seem to lessen our pain. For RARE India to collaborate with Secret Retreats means to join forces towards a common destination where like siblings we seem to have grown to common values, to promote travel and experiences that are earth-friendly and people-centric. It also means many more destinations to a wider audience of world travellers.” The aim of this partnership is to help RARE India and Secret Retreat Communities to be known to a wider audience, increase market penetration for members of both the communities with the B2B and B2C markets and through the increased resources create and share a mutual value that will benefit both communities across multiple levels. “Secret Retreats shares a common objective with RARE India – to continually discover and help other people discover the heart of Asia. We share the same commitment to quality and service …

Zen Cruises has announced the sale of its premium cruise line brand- Jalesh to Waterways Leisure Tourism, part of Sant Chatwal promoted Dreams Hotel Group. The restructuring also involves the acquisition of the brand’s entire digital interface, technology, customer database, travel agent partner network backend. Waterways have also hired existing executives and employees of Zen Cruises.  

Middle East’s only first & only virtual travel show, Gulf Travel Show is scheduled to start today at 11:30 am IST. The two day-show will be a key platform that will re-connect travel, tourism & hospitality industry. The event comprises 40 of most proactive tourism boards, hotel chains & travel agencies around the world. To participate, log on to www.gulftravelshow.com

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is gearing up to receive the first commercial flights from SpiceJet on November 26, 2020. Operating an initial schedule of twice-weekly flights, SpiceJet’s first tranche of services will operate from Delhi on Boeing 737-800 with a 189-passenger capacity. The flight will depart Delhi at 22:30 and land in RAK at 00:50.