Category Archives: Agents

TravTalk and Etihad Airways are set to host an ‘Agent Connect’ webinar, a live journey of flying through COVID-19, today from 11 am onwards. Travel agents will get the chance to learn about Etihad Airways and UAE’s capital city – Abu Dhabi. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

Various travel & tourism associations of Gujarat have met the tourism minister of the state to discuss revival and tourism development plan in the state. Demand seeking industry status was also made along with waiver or relief from the current pandemic. Minister Jawaharbhai Chavda listened to the associations calmly and assured to the needful. A white paper on behalf of all associations was also presented.  

Etihad Airways and TravTalk are all geared up to host an ‘Agent Connect’ webinar, a live journey of flying through COVID, on Thursday, 9th July, 11 am onwards. Agents will get the chance to learn about Etihad Airways and UAE’s capital city – Abu Dhabi. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

VFS Global will host a webinar for the trade and its travel partners today at 11 am. The session titled ‘A Safe Restart- Your Safety, Our Priority’ will offer a glimpse into VFS Global’s plan as it resumes visa services in India. To attend the webinar, register at https://event.webinarjam.com/register/141/pyr19b51 or email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532.

Rare India has unveiled three new initiatives for sustainable living- RARE Travel Agency Network (RATAN), RARE Influencers Network (RAIN) and Beautiful Planet. The company is also open to partnership with travel agencies to promote a sustainable way of living.  

VFS Global is re-opening Visa Application Centres in some cities for specific visa categories. Countries for which visa services will resume are United Kingdom (from July 6), Italy (July 3), UAE, Turkey, Ireland, Belarus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Norway, Portugal and South Korea. Applicants will have to schedule an appointment in advance on www.vfsglobal.com. After specific Embassies/Consulates as well as local authorities have given their approval, VFS Global’s centres will accept visa applications for select countries with strict health and hygiene SOPs in place.

A Travel Consul study reveals that agents, while they wish to create partnerships with new buyers and suppliers, and diversify their product offerings, they will considerably refrain from increasing their marketing & advertising spend (45% respondents) and offering price reductions (37% respondents). The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed travel businesses to alter their products, enhance their reach, modify their policies and much more. With online travel agencies not being able to cope with consumer grievances on booking cancellations, refunds, etc., during the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, it was the traditional travel agent who came to his clients’ rescue. Now, it seems, people feel safer booking with their friendly neighbourhood travel agent rather than going through the online booking process, especially when COVID-19 has turned the industry upside down.

GPS has partnered with EASEBUZZ to bring a contactless payment collection solution for travel agencies, with payment link and payment gateway options available free of cost and with competitive TDR rates. Solutions like webstore and invoicing will also be offered, and agents can get activated and start collecting payments within 24 hours and with minimum documentation.

Redefining the art of bespoke luxury holidays for perceptive travellers – A Travel Circle launches today in India. For Pritish Shah – Founder & CEO, A Travel Circle, this is the newest addition to his successfully established experiential travel brands in India for the high-end traveller – including A Travel Duet that has been specialising in exclusive travel for couples for almost a decade. “This pandemic has fast-tracked us to launch A Travel Circle, as the changing travel expectations in the new normal world align very well with our product offerings – private villas for social distancing, private jets to avoid commercial airports, highest standards in safety with our carefully selected hospitality partners and other service vendors,” he said. Offering thoughtfully designed, private journeys to the most desirable destinations around the world, A Travel Circle helps guests celebrate close bonds and togetherness with their circle of loved ones. The in-house creative team has the calibre to exclusively create an array of special interest vacations and unique bonding experiences for guests. Celebrating the spirit of wanderlust, this bespoke travel brand is dedicated to crafting the most carefully planned holidays, away from the rigmarole of urban life with those who matter. With a meticulously handpicked selection of the finest private villas or small boutique hotels for buy-outs, offering customised service that suit the lifestyle preferences of each guest, A Travel Circle is a preferred partner in India for prominent luxury hospitality brands located across idyllic destinations globally, such as – Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts and more. 

Sabre Corporation has announced an enhanced partnership with one of India’s largest travel companies, Akbar Travels of India, cementing a valued two-decade long relationship between the two firms as Akbar forges ahead with plans for domestic and overseas growth. Akbar Travels is already a long-time user of Sabre solutions, having implemented Sabre’s APIs to drive operational efficiencies and the Sabre Automated Exchange solution to save costs and improve customer service. Now, Akbar Travels, which has 150 branches across India, 36 offices in the Middle East, Malaysia, UK, Italy and the US, has selected Sabre’s Content Services for Lodging APIs to enable its agents to more easily shop, compare and book more than a million lodging options for clients. “Sabre and Akbar Travels have had a long, valued and productive relationship, and we’re excited to be again expanding our partnership by using Sabre’s Content Services for Lodging technologies to provide further choice and even better service for our travellers. There are already clear signs of a pent-up demand for travel post Covid-19 and we needed technological solutions which provide us with the most intuitive way to shop and book for our travellers in order to provide truly personalized options for our clients,” said Mr. K.V. Abdul Nazar, Chairman & Managing Director of Akbar Travels of India. Sabre’s Content Services for Lodging powers agency and corporate booking tools, integrating traditional GDS content from hoteliers, alongside content from the likes of Booking.com, Bedsonline and Expedia Partner Solutions. The Sabre-led Content Services for Lodging has been integrated into Akbar Travels’ operations through Sabre Red 360, allowing agents access to real-time, rich content on an intuitive graphical interface to make it easier for agents to …