Category Archives: Agents

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 …

The first edition of Tourism Innovation Summit 2020 (TIS), to be held from November 25-27 in the Spanish city of Seville, will bring together the brightest minds on travel and tourism to reveal key strategies and solutions for tourism recovery in 2021, including extensive health prevention protocols. Free antigen tests will be offered to attendees. In fact, this is the main safety measure and the principle demand from the tourism industry worldwide to all the competent authorities: antigen tests at origin and destination, to recover the confidence of travellers and tourists, as it is expected that the virus will not disappear in a short time.

Sharing an update on the ongoing discussion with the GST Council, Pradip Lulla, Acting President and Vice President, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), has said, “We had requested the GST Council and the Finance Ministry to review the refund of GST on air ticket refunds, and extend the date applicable for refund GST till March 31, 2021 due to the delay in total refunds by airlines. However, we have received no update on this. In fact, we even took this matter up during the APJC meeting. Unfortunately, the airlines argued that the government is not abiding by that. So agents who have submitted refunds after October 1, 2020 will not receive any refunds and GST will be deducted, because the airline has to pay to the government. Those who have submitted before October 1, their GST will not be cut, and will be duly refunded. The government is not willing to extend any leniency in this matter; since its a liability to the government, they will not allow anything to agents.” As per rule, if tickets are not refunded till September 30, 2020, then GST will not be refunded and customers will end up losing 5% in the economy class ticket and 12% in business class of the ticket value. TAFI has also filed a case in Supreme Court for airline refunds.

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.”   

Thomas Cook India has partnered with IndiGo to launch air-inclusive ‘Crazy Deals IndiGo Special’ that includes a range of options and value-adds at great prices. Domestic destinations include Goa, Rajasthan, Kerala, Himachal, North East, etc. and start at Rs 9,990 while international destinations start at 29,990.

EbixCash has launched the ‘Phir Se Ghoomega India’ campaign and offering value-for-money deals to the consumers looking to travel in the festive season. The offers will be available on its portal, Via.com. “I am excited at the campaign and equally optimistic about its success as we are experiencing a great response post-lockdown,” said Naveen Kundu, MD, Ebixcash Travel Group. The airline partners for this campaign are Vistara, AirAsia and GoAir, and the hotel groups having joined this campaign are Taj Group, Marriott, The Park, Radission Hotels, ITC Hotels, Sterling Holidays and Accor. The cab partners for this campaign are EbixCash Cab – AHA Taxis and EbixCash Gift Card.

Yatra.com, leading online travel portal conducted its annual festive survey amongst 5000 respondents, highlighting what the travel trends look like in the new normal. The survey indicated an uptick in demand for travel as almost 75% of respondents said they are planning to take up a vacation compared to 2019 where 61% of respondents were willing to go on a holiday during the festive season. The trend of advance booking continues with 39.3% of respondents planning leisure trips for more than one month in advance to rest, relax, and recuperate. Safety and hygiene take priority while planning a holiday as travelers are looking at the number of cases in the vicinity, sanitization measures adopted, government guidelines, amenities in case of emergency, among other factors. The survey revealed that about 52.5% of respondents are seeking medical/travel insurance for the sake of security and more than 50% of respondents said that they would be prefer ordering room service rather than visiting restaurants and bars. Taking extra safety precautions, about 72.1% of respondents said that they will be going through sanitization processes followed by monuments and tourist spots before planning a visit to them. This assurance is important as about 48.2% of respondents are planning their holiday with the family.  Interestingly, beating beaches as a preferred location for holiday goers, 37.9% of respondents said they would like to visit the hills, to escape the monotony and stress brought by the pandemic. Budget travel continues to see a spike as 35.4% of respondents are keeping Rs.10,000-Rs.25,000 per person as set targets for their budget during vacations. Commenting on this survey Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder and COO, Corporate Travel & Head Industry Relations, Yatra.com, said, “Over the years, consumers have given priority to various aspects of travel while planning a trip …

Kerala Tourism has launched a project to create Miyawaki-model micro forests at 22 tourism spots in 12 districts across the state. Inaugurating the project by planting a sapling at Shanghumukham Beach, State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that more than 30,000 saplings would be planted in about two acres of land identified for the scheme. Creation of micro forests that compare well with natural forests would make the tourist destinations in the state, especially those in urban areas, environment friendly, the Minister noted.

During a webinar organised by IATO and TravTalk on redesigning wellness itineraries, Rajeev Nambiar, Director, National Teachers Desk, Art of Living said that 2 week-long itinerary is ideal for visiting India for wellness tourism. He further said that the Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru offers various programs for wellness, recreation and yoga.