Category Archives: Agents

Indian business travellers feel safer in ride-sharing services than in taxis, according to research commissioned by Carlson Wagonlit Travel. More than a half (56%) of the Indian respondents surveyed expressed safety concerns about using taxis when traveling for business, compared with 47% for ride-sharing services. Business travellers in several other newly industrialised countries like Mexico and Brazil also responded similarly. “In cities across the globe, using ride-sharing services has become a way of life,” said Bindu Bhatia, Managing Director – Asia Pacific, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “The familiar and convenient experience they provide has made them a preferred mode of transport for many business travellers. Still, one continues to hear about safety incidents surrounding ride-sharing services around the world, which might explain in part why some travellers are worried about using them.” Looking at ride-sharing, 56% of Asia Pacific women feel somewhat nervous versus 38% of men. For taxis, that is 48% and 35% respectively. Even though ride-sharing is associated with the younger generation, the findings show that these travellers are more concerned about personal safety. Millennials, in all regions, are the most worried, followed by gen X travelers and baby boomers. In Asia Pacific, half of the millennial travelers are very/somewhat concerned when using a rideshare service, followed by 44% of gen X and 35% of boomers. In the Americas, the percentages are 47% for millennials, 42% for gen X and 29% for boomers.

With an aim to augment the career prospects of students in the field of tourism, Amadeus India recently conducted a training session for students at the University of Kashmir. The training was undertaken in collaboration with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) to introduce and prepare tomorrow’s budding professionals for the job market. Rakesh Bansal, CEO, Amadeus India, said, “Kashmir is one of the most preferred tourist destinations with thousands of travellers visiting throughout the year. We are trying to impart job training to students which will prepare them well and open up a lot of avenues when they step into the market for jobs eventually.” Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI said, “This week-long programme of Amadeus to train about 90 students on reservation and ticketing process has been a huge success. The students are now inspired to get actively connected with the growing travel and tourism industry that requires specialised training to meet the ever-increasing demands of the industry. We are delighted to join hands with Amadeus India who have played a valuable role in organising this training for the students of J&K.” As part of the company’s CSR initiative, the training focused on imparting the right skills, aptitude, knowledge and approach by showcasing different models and case scenarios.

Yatra Online has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of India.  This MoU will enable overseas and domestic tourists to conveniently book their tickets online for 141 historical monuments, museums and sites in India, such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Ajanta and Ellora caves, Red Fort, Sun Temple, all of which fall under the purview of ASI. This move, aimed towards supporting Government of India’s ‘Digital India’ initiative, will facilitate digitisation of ASI’s service offerings, thereby providing fast track access and a world-class e-ticket booking experience to visitors. The partnership with Yatra, the only OTA to provide this facility, will also be significant in promoting tourism and cultural heritage in India. The online booking services comes at no additional cost to a customer. Speaking on the partnership, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder & CEO, Yatra.com said, “India has an extraordinary and diverse pool of cultural heritage and footfalls to such destinations are astounding. Therefore, we want to provide a high quality visitor experience, which will empower the visitors (both Indian & International) to book their tickets to these monuments online. In addition to providing online booking services, Yatra will be extending its platform for promoting cultural heritage and featuring all the essential information that a tourist needs, to plan their visits along with a synopsis of the monuments.”

Europamundo Vacations has started a pre-sale offer under which patrons can book for their vacations for 2019-20 at the prices quoted in their brochure for 2018-19 for the corresponding week and month. This means that one can freeze the rates from March 2019 till March 2020 for travel till March 2020 from the company’s 2018-19 catalogue for any destination. The company ensures guaranteed departures on the same day of the week, during the same corresponding month and season of the year.

Tourism Enterprises has recently collaborated with a destination management company-Hello Asia Travel to cater to destinations like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The DMC specialises in offering tailor-made itineraries to FITs, GITs, incentive travellers and soft adventure seekers at these destinations. Tourism Enterprises has been promoting outbound destinations like Greece , Morocco , Bulgaria , Romania ,Serbia , Macedonia  Dubai and Sri Lanka for more than five years. Indian Outbound market is increasing day by day and people want to explore more and more Tourism Enterprises have also opted this pattern and now they  have joined hands with Hello Asia Travel headed by Kelly Bui (President and Chief executive Officer ) & Tony Nguyen  (Vice President of product Development)  who will take care the Indian market.

Private Safaris Southern Africa, a leading destination management company based in South Africa and Namibia, has recently appointed The Strategy Store as its representative in India. Talking about the appointment, Monika Iuel, CEO, Private Safaris Southern Africa says, “The Private Safaris brand has always enjoyed a healthy support from the Indian market. By partnering with The Strategy Store, and through their excellent relationships and reputation, we will no doubt improve our footprint even further. We look forward to the presence our new partnership with The Strategy Store will bring us.” Commenting on the development, Sherry Varma, Founder, The Strategy Store said, “We have a very emotional connection to South Africa, and we are extremely happy to be assigned the task of handling marketing and sales for Private Safaris Southern Africa in India. Private Safaris’ competitive packages and quality of services will help us to develop and multiply their market share in India. We are very thankful to Private Safaris for this opportunity and are very excited to be part of the team.” Private Safaris arranges all aspects of destination management services in Southern Africa for FITs, groups, business and leisure.

Representation World has been appointed as the official India representative for Reunion Island Tourism for the fourth time in a row. Speaking on re-appointing the company as their face in India, William Techer, Head of Promotion & Marketing India, Reunion Island Tourism Board, said, “We are extremely happy to announce Representation World as our official India representative. Under their focused aegis, we have delivered various successful campaigns in the past and tourist arrivals from India to the destination has increased to multiple folds. We are very happy to associate with them and look forward for another encouraging inning with them. India is a promising market and there is a huge opportunity for Reunion Island to tap this burgeoning market. We will also be introducing new marketing strategies and few innovative campaigns, exclusively for India market that will further strengthen India and Reunion Island travel, relationships.” Vineet Gopal, Director – India, Reunion Island Tourism Board shared, “We are extremely happy and feel proud to be appointed as India representative for the Reunion Island Tourism Board. This country has a lot to offer to Indian travellers and there is lot to be explored and experience there. We will ensure that we keep up doing good work and will deliver as per the expectation of the tourism board”. Representation World has already started the activities from June 2018 and will take over all the India market activities from immediate effect.

With around 27 per cent of its overall business be it the holiday side and 15 per cent of its foreign exchange business coming through the online channel Thomas Cook is now focusing on enhancing customer experience. Speaking at a media interaction Mahesh Iyer, Executive Director & CEO, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd said, “As a channel we have seen decent growth coming in and we are clocking around 30 per cent CAGR year on year and are quite optimistic on the future of online business. Our focus in the long term is on customer experience. If we look at the current summers we are operating we have packed new experiences like curated food menu by Ranveer Brar, Boman Irani doing a red carpet night for our travelers. We have also launched Japan this year in terms of adding new destinations and have already crossed 1000 passengers.” In terms of forex Thomas Cook is looking to bring more digital options for the customer. It is working on a premium product and will soon be launching a mobile card which will allow customers to use their prepaid card on the NFC platform. He further added, “There is lot of innovation and product development happening with an underline of technology. We launched our customer self service app which allows the customer to keep tab on their bookings, visa status, itineraries etc.”

Cholan Tours Pvt Ltd has signed an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department for special darshans of Lord Venkateshwara at world famous shrine Tirupati Balaji, thus becoming first tour company to offer this service in collaboration with the Tourism Department. It is a known fact that it is probably the most visited Hindu temple by devotees from all over India and also by NRIs settled across the world. Pandian, MD of Cholan Tours Group informs, “Recent news reports mentioned that on certain days pilgrims waited for darshan for 20 hours and even people who paid Rs 300 for VIP darshan waited for 6 hours. Given the fact that mostly family members and elderly people come for Tirupati, these uncertain waiting hours are always a big concern for who wish to do this pilgrimage. Here, we in association with Andhra Pradesh Tourism come with a service of guaranteed special darshan (in maximum 02 hours’ time) in morning slot. I believe it will be a good news for those potential pilgrims who wishes to come to this holy destination. Those who book with us, will be taken in a group escorted by a guide who will ensure a quick & smooth passage for the tourists-cum-pilgrims.” He further informs that soon South Tourism will have its own office in Tirupati to ensure better coordination for the clients who book this service with them.

Cleartrip has tied up with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) as its exclusive online booking partner for local tours and activities. Under the association, KTDC will sell all of its exclusive set of activities through the Cleartrip platform, including both existing and new inventory of conducted tours and boat trips. The partnership is also Cleartrip’s first with a government tourism board, marking a major milestone for the online travel agency. Commenting on the association, Ankit Rastogi, VP- Experiences and Accommodation, Cleartrip, said, “The biggest benefit of this tie-up will be to the travellers, who now can access and book all of KTDC’s inventory of tours and activities online on a single platform. We hope that this partnership will spur more such associations where Cleartrip partners with other government tourism promoters to make their offerings available through its online portal.” Mr Rajmohan, Marketing Manager, KTDC, commented, “Our goal is to extend greater convenience in terms of planning and booking these popular activities. We have recently launched a new set of conducted tours to highlight local experiences which best convey the state’s distinct culture and heritage. Cleartrip’s pioneering efforts in the tours and activities space made it our first choice when it came to choosing a partner to help us connect with and engage young travellers.”