Category Archives: Agents

Lisbon, capital of Portugal and a vibrant city full of history on the Atlantic coast, will soon become the latest addition to the worldwide route network of LOT Polish Airlines. As the Polish flag carrier, which is a member of Star Alliance und which serves its global hub Warsaw daily from India, is continuously expanding its connection within Europe, the new capital-to- capital service between Warsaw and Lisbon will be launched on 3rd February 2025. Flights will initially be operated five times a week (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays). From 24th February 2025, the airline will operate this route daily. LOT Polish Airlines will be using modern Boeing 737s for these flights, with a travel time of just over four hours each way. The new LOT Polish Airlines flights between Warsaw and Lisbon: Departure with LO-425 in Warsaw at 10:15, arrival in Lisbon at 13:25 local time Departure with LO-426 in Lisbon at 14:25, arrival in Warsaw at 19:30 local time “Our valued guests from India may become spoilt by choice when travelling with us through Europe because with Lisbon we are adding a true gem to our global network that is fascinating for visitors from all over the world,” emphasises Amit Ray, Director India, DACH Markets and Italy and Head of Global Corporate and Strategic Sales at LOT Polish Airlines. “It will be the first time for us to fly to Lisbon. This further expansion of our route network is just another step of implementing the five- year growth strategy which LOT Polish Airlines had proclaimed in 2023.” Just recently, LOT Polish Airlines had announced new flights to Innsbruck/Austria, Lyon/France and Oradea/Romania and also resumed routes that had …

Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI, said that he was happy with Maharashtra’s Tourism Policy 2024, adding, “The annual financial allocation of INR 1,666 Cr for incentives and operational support underscores the Government’s commitment to enhancing tourism and hospitality infrastructure. This progressive framework, aimed at positioning Maharashtra as a global tourist destination, is a game-changer for our industry.”

Travelport, in its 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report, finds that most respondents (88%) agree they would prefer to see all flight options and fares on one screen, which is likely the reason that more than half (54%) said they frequently use a comparison site to search for information before purchasing their ticket. The majority of Millennial (70%) and Gen X (64%) travelers often use online travel agencies (OTAs) to book, citing choice and price transparency as the primary reasons.

Speaking of the new Tata Asset Management’s tourism Index Fund, Anand Vardarajan, Chief Business Officer at Tata Asset Management said, “We are witnessing exponential growth in domestic aviation, hotels, restaurants and travel which augurs very well for the tourism segment.  All types of travel, be it pilgrimage, business, medical or leisure are registering a surge.  This makes a compelling case for looking at tourism as a segment and how one could invest and aim to benefit from the growth of this sector.”

Switzerland Tourism invites the Indian outbound travel trade to attend an exclusive webinar today on Schilthorn, a mountain which offers stunning views of the surrounding Alpine landscape including the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2025! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

B2B travel platform TripJack is thrilled to announce the outstanding success of its Check-In Guarantee program, achieving a remarkable check-in rate of 99.60%. This milestone underscores TripJack’s commitment to providing seamless and reliable travel experiences. The Check-In Guarantee program was designed to address and mitigate potential check-in issues that travelers might face. By closely collaborating with hotel partners and suppliers, TripJack ensures that travel agents can offer their clients a hassle-free stay. In the rare instances where a check-in is denied, TripJack has developed a seamless resolution process. Travel agents can quickly address and resolve the issue, ensuring minimal inconvenience for travelers. Additionally, TripJack offers compensation to travelers if they experience any disruption due to check-in denial, reaffirming their dedication to customer satisfaction. Speaking about the Check-in Guarantee program Mayank Kapoor, a TripJack registered Travel Agent said. “As a travel agent, I am happy with TripJack’s Check-In Guarantee program. I had a customer who was denied check-in because hotel confirmation was not updated. I connected with Team TripJack and within 20 minutes my customer was given check-in. Really happy with this customer centric initiative.” Abdul Thingna, Vice President, Hotels & Holidays at TripJack said, “Our primary objective is to ensure that every traveler enjoys a seamless experience. We work tirelessly and collaborate closely with our hotel partners and suppliers to ensure exceptional service, and our Check-In Guarantee program is a testament to this commitment.” TripJack’s Check-In Guarantee program exemplifies the company’s innovative approach to enhancing the travel booking process for agents and their clients. With a focus on reliability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction, TripJack continues to set new standards in the travel industry

Sharing his reaction to the Union Budget 2024, Pradeep Shetty, President of FHRAI, says, “The hospitality sector has been pinning high hopes on the Union Budget for 2024- 25 presented today, on the backdrop of the Government of India’s stated vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 and the critical role tourism industry holds in achieving it. However, there is nothing spectacular in the budget to bring structural changes to address the fundamental challenges it faces in a competitive world order and to accelerate the growth of the sector to be a $ 3 trillion economy by 2047. Some key demands of tourism & hospitality to revitalise the sector such as GST rationalisation, granting of infrastructure status and bringing ease of doing business and policy reforms have not been considered in the budget once again, given the well accepted multiplier effect of tourism on employment and economy. The hospitality sector is disappointed but not dejected as the overall focus on infrastructure development, employment generation and skill development and development of religious tourism centres are the silver linings which will help the sector to tide over some of the critical challenges that it faces today. The focus of Budget 2024 on youth employment, skill development and job creation are welcome initiatives. The industry has been facing a shortage of skilled workforce,especially in the hospitality sector. It is also laudable that the Honourable Finance Minister’s Budget speech highlights the Governments’ commitment to make India a premier global travel destination through targeted investment and strategic initiatives. Development of iconic spiritual sites along with promotion of cruise and beach tourism can be helpful in attracting both domestic and international tourists.”

Commenting on the just-concluded Union Budget 2024, Ajay Prakash, National President, TAFI, says, “As usual, the tourism industry has been left high and dry this year too. Every year, we put forward what we think are absolutely necessary steps if tourism is to realise its full potential. And like every year, it has been ignored. While tourism was mentioned as one of the three important aspects, the only thing that the FM said that the government would do was to develop the temples and the corridors at Rajgir and Bodh Gaya and Gaya, revive the Nalanda university, and there was some concession about for domestic cruises. But that is the sum total of what the Budget has to offer us, so we are very disappointed. While there has been an allocation for new airports and roads, mere infrastructure does not promote tourism. GST and TCS are burning issues and she did not touch it at all. There has to be a better system to address this.”  

The Ministry of Tourism has been encouraging cruise tourism for a while now, and we have seen some developments on that front. But in this Interim Budget, the FM has gone a step further. She said, “There is tremendous potential for cruise tourism in India. To give a fillip to this employment generating industry, I am proposing a simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating domestic cruises in the country.” For domestic tourism, the FM announced projects for better port connectivity and more tourism infrastructure, that will be taken up on islands in India, including of course Lakshadweep! All in all, her Budget highlighted promoting investments into India, including its infrastructure projects. The FM has also proposed to put in place a presumptive taxation regime for cruise ship operations of non-residents. Further, it is proposed to provide exemption for any income of a foreign company from lease rentals of cruise ships, received from a related company which operates such ship or ships in India.

Rules for FDI and Overseas Investments to be simplified to increase FDI inflows and promote use of Indian Rupee as currency for overseas investments, said the FM in her Interim Budget speech. She also said that 1.5 lakh core provision for long-term interest-free loans will be made to support infrastructure investment by state governments. The states will also be incentivised to implement Business Reforms Action Plans and digitalisation to develop tourism. All in all, the Union Budget 2024 was not a total let-down as far as tourism is concerned. Perhaps it has sown the seeds for a better tourism experience in India. But that may be too far into the future. Moreover, there has been no change in taxation, which has disappointed the travel trade no end. Their main gripe was the extremely high GST rates and the procedures, as well as bearing the onus of determining the quantum of TCS.