Category Archives: Agents

In a significant move to strengthen tourism ties with India, South Africa has come up with a newly gazetted Trusted Tourist Tour Operator System Scheme which will take effect on 20 January 2025. Aimed specifically at the Indian and Chinese markets, it will allow for bulk visa processing for group travellers. 23 Indian tour operators applied in the first phase.

To stay ahead of emerging trends, travel agents are seeking new tools, technologies, and resources to meet clients’ needs. Robin Lawther, Vice President, Expedia TAAP, says, “They prioritise platforms that offer seamless, all-in-one functionalities. The ability to plan, book, and manage trips within a single portal is crucial, with 18% of agents citing this and ease of use as primary factors.1 These preferences underscore an industry-wide demand for efficiency, where streamlined workflows are critical to a travel agent’s success.”

Jungle Camps has set the stage for IPO, aims to raise ₹29.42 crores fund to be utilised for strategic expansion plans and upcoming four properties across India, namely Sanjay Dubri National Park, Sheopur Fort, Kukru Jungle Camp near Melghat Tiger Reserve, and 4-star hotel in Mathura. They are going to offer special schemes to travel agents bringing around 1000 room nights to the upcoming properties, while their current offerings include US$130-US$200 rates depending on rooms per night to inbound travel agents for their existing properties.

At its 16th annual convention, ATOAI launched the Roadmap & Toolkit for Arunachal Pradesh, positioning it as a model for sustainable adventure tourism. Aimed at enhancing its identity as the “Last Shangri-La,” the initiative integrates ecological, cultural, and technological advancements, promising a balanced approach to promote pristine experiences while preserving local heritage.

Rail Europe, together with Lufthansa Group, Swiss tourism boards, and high-speed rail operators, recently organised an exclusive familiarisation tour to Switzerland and Paris for its key partners. Rail Europe planned this trip after a gap of almost four years post pandemic and this trip was a reward to their GSAs for their continuous efforts to sell train travel in Europe. Their adventure began in the picturesque Swiss Alps in Interlaken region. The unique experiences were the Raclette rafting on the lake of Brienz with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains, chocolate making workshop, adventurous activities like First Glider where everyone could fly like an eagle and the First flyer on the Grindelwald First mountain. Then the group headed to Montreux region with experiencing the Prestige class on the scenic train of Golden Pass line and enjoyed some snow activities on the Glacier 3000. The highlight of this region was cellar wine tasting at the Domian Bovy, Charlie Chaplin’s Museum, and the stunning view from the Chillon castle. The objective of this trip was to showcase the agents the benefits of Swiss Travel Pass and their add-ons such as discounts on mountain excursions and free entry to museums, and to experience the high-speed TGV Lyria from Geneva to Paris – the headquarters of Rail Europe. From the romantic Swiss Alps, they boarded the high-speed train to the city of Love Paris. The group strolled through the streets of Montmartre, explored the city with hop on hop off city tour, got on the highest level of the Eiffel tower and ended the mesmerising FAM trip with the romantic dinner on the Seine river cruise. This trip was a resounding success where they experienced Rail …

Travstarz Global Group, a Trip.com invested company hosted a networking evening and training for its travel agent partners at Hotel Hyatt Regency, Amritsar on 25th November, 2024. The extremely successful event saw a packed crowd with over 45 agent partners joining in for the evening from Amritsar and even Jallandhar. Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group added, “Over the last one year this is our 3rd event at Amritsar besides Chandigarh and Ludhiana covering all major Punjab cities and we have received an overwhelming response each time at our events. Other than the event, we have received tremendous support for all our destinations from Punjab partners specially Amritsar for Baku, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Dubai & Abu Dhabi and USA and Canada. The show showcased our entire portfolio of products and destinations specially focussing on Japan and Georgia which has been recently added to our DMC list. We already have unmatched offerings for USA and Canada both with over 600 short and long-haul itineraries for these countries alone now with our headquarters in Los Angeles, USA and Punjab has been a strong support market for these destinations” Vani Singh, Vice President, Travstarz Global Group said, “Our focus has always been Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and we have witnessed the large volume of outbound business coming from these cities. These shows and networking events are our way to reconnect with our partners to apprise them of all new products and to thank them for their support to us. We plan to host more events in each of the coming months till April 2024 across the country moving to South India as well”  

In January 2025, VisitBritain will launch a major marketing campaign aimed at showcasing the UK’s cultural richness through the lens of popular films and TV shows. “Our Starring Great Britain campaign is all about bringing the magic of British films and TV to life. Whether you’re walking the streets of Bath like in Bridgerton or visiting locations from Peaky Blinders in Birmingham, we want visitors to feel like they’re part of these cinematic landscapes,” said Patricia Yates, CEO, VisitBritain.

Accepting the India Travel Awards for ‘Best Tour Operator – West India’, Ashish Shah, Founder, Dewberry Holidays, said, “Receiving this award motivates us to work even harder and I am truly grateful to the organisers for this.” Based in Mumbai, the company was established in 2017 with the idea to create a world of affordable tourism and to explore as well as innovate new avenues in the travel industry.

Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in his address at 12th Edition of the International Tourism Mart (ITM), in Kaziranga in Assam, underscored the Northeast’s legacy, cultural diversity, and natural wealth emphasizing its rich cuisine, crafts and biodiversity. This ITM is a remarkable opportunity for Northeast India to showcase its rich culture and diversity to the world and also offers a platform for people from across the globe to witness the extraordinary heritage of this region, he said. He further highlighted the significance of hosting the ITM in Kaziranga, stating that it reflects the increasing importance of the Northeast on the national stage. Mentioning the event in Kaziranga as special, the minister said that over the past decade, development in the region has accelerated.

With an eye to reinforce Taiwan’s post-pandemic tourism profile, Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) has announced the launch of new global brand positioning campaign, and logo, Version 3.0 titled ‘Taiwan – Waves of Wonder.’ It also launched a new series of  animated short films and Taiwan tourism promotional song to accompany the new logo. Inviting visitors to ‘engage now’ to experience Taiwan in all its colours and across four-seasons, the new campaign aims to drive demand, accelerate inbound tourism growth, fully revitalise country’s tourism sector. The campaign also aims to drive 10 million international tourist arrivals this year, eyeing a significant growth over last year’s 6.48 million tourist arrivals. The new version of the brand integrates images of Taiwan’s mountains, oceans, highways and railways, presenting a wave-like design to convey the seasonal highlights of the destination showing that Taiwan is diverse and beautiful, while emphasizing its year-round hospitality towards visitors. The logo adopts the orange tones of sunrise and morning light to not only align with the ‘warmth and vitality of the previous brand’, but also to symbolise the future development of Taiwan’s tourism industry. The campaign showcases Taiwan in all its hues, from modern tourism infrastructure and landmarks, great outdoors and activities, pristine nature, architectural and cultural heritage, to exotic cuisines and immersive culinary experiences, vibrant nightlife, shopping, music, entertainment and its vibrant festivals, among others, to position Taiwan as round-the-year destination.