Category Archives: Agents

Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group, says, “The blasts in Brussels will definitely impact the outbound tourism sector to Europe. As Brussels is the headquarters of many airlines and international forums, the impact will be seen on the numbers travelling to Europe. However this may actually increase the inbound traffic of tourists to other regions like South East Asia. India will not be particularly affected as Jet Airways has decided to shift out its base from Brussels so apart from the damage to aircrafts, the numbers will not be affected from India.”

Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) says, “The terror attacks are a sad incident and will impact tourism in Europe temporarily. This will not be a long term effect if precautionary measures are taken and the damage is contained timely. Travellers will continue to travel despite fear and worry regarding Europe. As this is the beginning of the season and Europe is one of the most popular destinations amongst Indians, challenges may be faced by agents in terms of FIT and group movements.”

Jagsons Travels has introduced ‘ibe4all’, the first of its kind B2B online booking engine which is an android mobile App for the travel agents to allow a easy booking experience. The App has been developed by Influence Technolabs and Jagson Travels is the first travel agency to launch it for agents. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Jagsons Travels, says, “We are probably the first company to launch an exclusive B2B application for the travel agents. Currently, the clients can book flights and check the updated flight schedules. In due course of time other services like hotel bookings, transfers, railways, buses etc. will also be made live.” The App will also be launched for iOS devices soon informed Anand. Malini Jain, Chief Commercial Officer, Influence Technolabs, informed that online booking of flights can be made using one’s Agency Wallet on the App. It works for both domestic and international sectors, including LCC Airlines. All the fare segments are available on the App and the existing B2B functions can be operated like the Booking List, Ledger Statement, Request for Credit, Request for Deposit etc. “We have also added the “Import PNR” functionality in the ibe4all app itself and any agent who is interested in doing ticketing through an IATA agency can do so, making it suitable for IATA and Non-IATA agents. The agent has the facility of sending the e-ticket to his client through the ibe4all App itself and he can also cancel the ticket if required, making him work more efficiently and effectively.” She further said that the App has also encapsulated the GDS Dashboard which includes a GDS Emulator which empowers the agency to use GDS cryptic system on the …

Continuing with its agenda to inspire the spirit of sportsmanship among the travel trade, Emirates Airlines will organise the second edition of its ‘Emirates Cricket Trade Tournament 2016’ for the travel trade on March 12-13, 2016 and then again on March 19-20, 2016 for the finals in Mumbai. It unveiled the cricket trophy in a pre-event networking event where former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes made a special appearance, enthralling everyone. The format has been made more competitive with 416 players in 32 teams playing 45 games over four days over two weekends. Sunil Kallyat, Regional Manager-Western India, Emirates Airline, wished the players all the best at the networking party.

Cox & Kings has partnered with RBL Bank Ltd to launch the ‘Save Now Travel Later’ programme to suit every budget. In this latest offering ‘Save Now Travel Later’, travellers get an opportunity to meticulously plan their finance by opening a Recurring Deposit account with RBL Bank. This programme has been designed keeping in mind that the traveller gets an opportunity to plan their Holiday one year in advance. Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings said,” ‘Save Now Travel Later’ is a well-thought programme launched keeping in mind the fluctuating market rates. Travellers can now through instalments book their future trips at today’s price with minimal or no effect on their planned travel budget.” The interest accumulated on the EMIs will be refunded back to the customer by way of a crossed cheque to be paid in favour of that customer. Rana Vikram Anand, Head – Products & Segments, Branch and Business Banking at RBL Bank said “At RBL Bank, the customer is at the heart of everything we do. We are excited to join hands with Cox & Kings to launch this innovative new product in the market. The “Save Now Travel Later” offering fulfils the travel aspirations of the growing Indian consumers by enabling them to take charge of their finances in a systematic and convenient manner.” A passenger can also cancel the trip in case of contingencies with NIL cancellation cost, if intimated within 9 months of opening the account.

E.M. Najeeb, Chairman and MD, Air Travel Enterprise Group, says, “Union Budget 2016 is a welcome move and a very mature one by the Finance Minister. While the details are awaited, we are very positive and would really appreciate that the infrastructure allotment will include development in the tourism circuit. I welcome the focus on aviation industry and development of airports, which has been mentioned in the budget. The budget focused on social, agriculture, education, infrastructure and railway, and it scores seven out of ten for me.”

Europamundo Vacations, owned by JTB (Japan Travel Bureau), one of the largest travel and tourism companies in the world, has introduced English guided tours from April this year to focus on Indian travellers and their requirements. In India, Europamundo will be represented by four tour operators— DPauls in Delhi, Guideline Travels in Mumbai,Travel Tours in Bangalore and Akbar Holidays. Europamundo brings in 84 different tours to Europe for the coming season with 3000 guaranteed departures.

Trans India Holidays Group, one of India’s leading offline travel agencies, is now entering the online travel space with its new venture BigBreaks. It aims to touch the unreached aspect of travel planning, and customise travel plans to meet customer requirements to the last detail. Kapil Goswamy, Managing Director, BigBreaks, said, “Unlike other OTA’s which are primarily technology companies selling travel, we are a travel company adopting the latest internet technologies to give our clients the advantages of lower costs, wider variety and the convenience of 24×7 bookings. Being a late entrant in the online space may mean that other OTAs already have an established presence in the field, but it also gives us a unique advantage of having a clear picture of what needs improvement in the industry. We have modeled our services to remove the problems existing in the industry including lack of flexibility in product offering, poor responses from Customer Service teams, slow and tedious refund processes etc.  It is these important customer requirements that we seek to fulfill.” According to a survey by US-based Travel Consulting Firm Phocuswright, the size of the Indian travel market in 2014 stood at Rs 90, 000 crores, out of which the share of online travel market was just Rs 36,000 crores.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Western Region invited Yossi Fatael, Vice President, UFTAA, and Chairman, Air Matters, to conduct an in-depth presentation on New Distribution Capability (NDC) and IATA’s NewGen ISS in Mumbai. Also present was Sunil Kumar, President, UFTAA and National President, TAAI, and a few members of the Managing Committee. The presentation titled ‘Changing Trends in the Travel Industry and its Impact’ highlighted the travel agents’ perspective on these two important subjects. TAAI will conduct a similar workshop in New Delhi on January 30 at The Claridges from 4 pm onwards.

Sriram Rajmohan has been appointed as CEO and Managing Director of Club7 Holidays Limited with immediate effect. He is currently an Independent Director in Club7 Holidays Ltd and has been instrumental in securing relationship with various tourism boards, adding new corporate customers and growing the relationship with the trade partners. In the last two years of his association with the Centrum Group he has brought in tremendous value to the group through on-line visa and other travel products. Prior to joining Centrum Group, Rajmohan was the Group CFO of Kuoni Travel India.