After taking over as Union Minister of Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is committed to enhancing India’s tourism potential. He said, ‘As PM Modi has stressed our tourism potential, we will work towards enhancing the same, highlighting our various natural and cultural heritage sites from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.’

Leading online travel service provider Trip.com has released its 2024 Trip.Best Global and Asia 100 list, where Cross Chiang Mai Riverside has become a top choice for Instagrammers in Chiang Mai in the category of 100 Instagrammable Hotels due to its stunning design and visually appealing aesthetics. The desire to capture beautiful images for Instagram has led everyone to constantly search for picturesque backgrounds at the hotel. The hotel provides roomy suites with a blend of classic and mid-modern styles. Each room features expansive balconies with picturesque river views. Guests can enjoy panoramic riverside scenes from the rooftop pool and gym. The tastefully decorated interiors and unique furnishings are perfect for Instagram-worthy photos.

To underscore its commitment to the distribution landscape of the future and to strengthen and expand its product portfolio, Hahnair appoints Rachel Pascall as Vice President New Distribution. In this capacity, she spearheads an international team of developers, IT specialists and account managers. Her responsibilities encompass steering the development of Hahnair’s new distribution channels, from both a commercial and technical perspective, and fostering seamless collaboration between the Hahnair teams and the connected partners. In addition, she supports the acquisition of new partners and oversees their implementation. “Moving forward, New Distribution will be a crucial pillar of Hahnair’s future strategy, next to the GDS distribution”, comments Hahnair’s CEO Kirsten Rehmann. “Rachel Pascall brings extensive experience in strategic programme management as well as travel retail and a broad network of relevant relationships in various fields of distribution technologies and in travel management. With her in-depth expertise in API-based technologies and NDC solutions and her proven track record from similar roles at Travelport and British Airways, we are confident that she will drive the development of new distribution technologies and successfully onboard new solutions and all related processes.” Rachel Pascall comments: “Hahnair has been a leading player within the travel industry over the past 25 years and had a pivotal role in transforming and shaping airline distribution. I look forward to working with my team to build upon the company’s success, add to their distribution capabilities and increase the revenue potential for all partners.” With its New Distribution products, Hahnair will give partner airlines access to additional distribution channels as well as the world of NDC without having to develop their own solutions. At the same time, travel agents benefit from access to …

Pitching for increased bilateral flying rights between Dubai and India, Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and CCO, Emirates Airline, said, “Indian aviation market’s pace of growth needs to be matched with capacity, and increased competition will provide more choices for consumers. Currently, India is a top-tier market, with more demand than the offered capacity.”

IndiGo will host the 81st IATA AGM and World Air Transport Summit in Delhi, India, in June 2025. Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo, said, “IndiGo will be the host airline, and this is an important moment for us to showcase how India has changed and the developments in its aviation sector. We will closely collaborate with the government and policymakers to address all relevant issues and highlight India’s transition from a predominantly domestic market to a global aviation giant.”

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said, “We need to think of Viksit Bharat 2047 and plan for the next five years in how to create a stronger tourism sector. Broadly we need to look at having a business plan sort of a strategy—where are we now? Where should we be in 2047? and What is the target that we set for ourselves over the next five years in terms of investment, job creation, promotion & publicity?”

Airbnb in its latest data on India-Thailand travel trends revealed that between 2022 and 2023, bookings in Thailand by Indian guests on Airbnb increased more than 60 per cent year-on-year. This surge in travel interest on Airbnb is driven by India’s changing demographics and a new, more travel-inclined younger generation, with Gen Z and Millennial Indian guests accounting for 80 per cent of bookings in 2023. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, India is the fifth largest inbound market for Thailand.

BJP leader V. Somanna is now part of the new Union Council of Ministers, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has taken the oath as MoS in the Ministry of Railways. Somanna won the Tumkur Lok Sabha segment by a margin of 1,75,594 votes, against Congress’ S P Muddahanumegowda in the recent Lok Sabha polls. The Lingayat leader, who started off as member BBMP in 1983-87, has grown politically steadily and has had his stint in all the three key political parties in the state — Janata Dal (erstwhile), Congress and BJP.

Ravneet Singh Bittu has taken the oath as Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways in Team Modi 3.0. He switched over from the Congress to the BJP just ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election and lost the polls from Punjab’s Ludhiana. BJP believes Bittu is among the popular leaders who are likely to make an impact on the party as it goes it alone in Punjab.

Ashwini Vaishnaw has retained the Railways Ministry and IT Ministry besides getting one heavyweight portfolio – Information and Broadcasting. Vaishnaw held the Railway Ministry since July 2021. He had replaced Piyush Goyal, who led the ministry from September 2017 to July 2021.