When it comes to hospitality no country comes closer to perfection than Thailand offering something for everyone of diverse interest, every age and every budget. From pristine sandy beaches to lush jungles, bustling busy cities to traditional villages, Michelin star menus to roadside noodle stalls, historic Buddhist temples to 21st century sky scrapers, Thailand is truly amazing! Amazing Thailand also has Amazing Golf facilities. Ideally located more than 250 golf courses throughout the country, by the sea, by the mountains, by the lakes, inside the cities even besides the airports. Top quality courses, reasonable green fees, friendly caddies. From the beach resorts in the south such as Phuket to the mountainous surroundings in the north or the bustling cities of Bangkok and Pattaya, there are golf courses to suit every preference. To promote the Amazing Golf Experience, SLW, the leading Golf Management company had launched the first ever loyalty program for a country in 2017. ‘Thai Golf Passport was launched in India to offer Indian golfers a seamless golf experience in Thailand. Indian golfers can be a part of this Amazing reward programs whenever they tee off in Amazing Thailand’ said  Anil Dev, Managing Director, SLW.’ More than 250 quality service providers like Callaway and a number of Golf Courses, Resorts and hotels are on board as partners. While travel business took a hit due to Covid19, we are gearing up to make Thailand the destination of choice when travel resumes’ he added. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) New Delhi Office commenting that “Golf is one of the important segments which we focus on and continue to promote Thailand as Indian Golfer’s favourite destination. In fact, destination …

John Koldowski, Special Advisor, PATA and Professor, Leshan Normal University, Sichuan, China in a webinar has revealed that in terms of countries that are expecting economic conditions in home country will be better in 6 months, India is second in line after Greater China, with 6% more people optimistic about the same since September 2020. Koldowski was speaking at a webinar by PATA, titled, ‘IVAs into Asia-Pacific in 2020 and Expectations for 2021-2023. “Those regions and countries that believe it will be better in 6 months, Greater China leads the pack, then India, followed by Asia-Pacific and North America. In Europe, it is trending in the other way, as they are feeling a bit gloomier,” he said.

Tourism Ireland India is organising a webinar on Nov 19 at 3.30 pm to educate the trade on its offerings and COVID safety guidelines. Huzan Fraser Motivala, its India Representative, says, “It will see participation from four Irish suppliers and attendees can win gift hampers.” Contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or +91-9650196532 to attend.

The Tourism Office of Spain in India is organising its annual travel show virtually for the first time with 18 Spanish companies. Elisa Robles-Fraga, its Director in Mumbai, says, “The Virtual Spanish Travel Show will be held over two days on December 2-3, 2020 and will include private meetings between buyers and sellers, presentations and knowledge sessions.”   

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that air travel in India will reach pre-COVID level by the end of current year or early January. He also urged people to continue to maintain safety protocol with self-discipline.

Lufthansa Group (LHG) airlines, Lufthansa, and SWISS will be the first to use the new Star Alliance Biometrics for elected flights in Frankfurt and Munich from mid-November. The new system is available via the app and Lufthansa Miles & More members will be able to pass through boarding and security without contact and have a touchless experience at airport.

Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, has said that they have written to MoCA and IATA that Jet Airways should not be given IATA membership till the time it is not known how they are working, what is their plan and how they would be moving forward. “They shouldn’t be allowed to become IATA members again for a couple of years, although they have filed for insolvency, which has rules and regulations,” she said.

The Tourism Office of Spain in India is organising its annual travel show virtually for the first time with 20 Spanish companies. Elisa Robles-Fraga, its Director in Mumbai, says, “The Virtual Spanish Travel Show will be held over two days on December 2-3, 2020 and will include private meetings between buyers and sellers, presentations and knowledge sessions.”

About 2.93 lakh domestic tourists have visited monuments, museums and tourist destinations in Rajasthan since June 1 this year. Since the crisis caused by COVID-19 had created a need for policy-level intervention, the state government would adopt a vision to explore the tourism sector’s potential to support economic development, said, Alok Gupta, Principal Secretary (Tourism), Rajasthan.

According to the latest data from HVS ANAROCK on the Indian hotel industry, hotel occupancy improved from approx. 10% in April 2020 to almost 26% in September 2020 as the hotel industry currently cruising on domestic leisure travel & outbound Indian luxury travel. Corporate demand is still subdued and will remain constrained at least for the short term.