Category Archives: Agents

Sports events travel company, Cutting Edge has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent of Switzerland-based MATCH Hospitality in India for the sale of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Official Hospitality Programme. The Mumbai-based company had earlier partnered with the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Mayank Khandwala, President, Cutting Edge, says, “We will bring sports fans in India closer to the most coveted football competition in the world by providing fans with the opportunity to purchase ticket-inclusive hospitality packages to the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as offering a comprehensive range of travel packages including accommodation, transportation and even sightseeing.” Jaime Byrom, Executive Chairman, MATCH Hospitality, adds, “We know that Cutting Edge are our best partners to open the door to an Indian travel market ready for the extraordinary experiences promised by this exceptional FIFA World Cup environment.” MATCH Hospitality is the exclusive rights holder of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Official Hospitality Programme and is the only company worldwide that has been officially appointed by FIFA to promote and sell, either directly or via its global network of sales agents, official commercial hospitality packages including guaranteed match tickets.

Internet Moguls, a leading tourism and hospitality focussed digital marketing agency, is coming up with one of its kind on-the-job learning programme – Winners Tribe. It is an advanced and comprehensive programme for learning digital marketing for working professionals and people interested to make a career in Digital. Winners Tribe is a broad programme which will enable one to learn, conceptualise, strategise, execute and be a master in digital learning. The course has 21 Modules which will be covered in 80 hours. Apart from training students, freshers and entrepreneurs this programme is also focused on providing training to the working professionals. On the launch, Avijit Arya, Chief Mogul(Founder) at Internet Moguls, said, “In the year 2017, we are witnessing an increased demand for specialised talents with special impetus on upskilling. However, this space is ever evolving and talent needs to be upto-date with the new trends. Therefore, we at Internet Moguls believe that theoretical knowledge alone in digital marketing is not sufficient. One needs to be abreast with the latest trends and follow the drill practically. Our latest initiative called ‘Winners Tribe’  is an attempt to fill the gap from theoretical to practical knowledge. We aim to impart advanced skills to not just freshers but to working professionals as well who are keen to pursue this stream. The distance between having no job or a disappointing job to getting your dream job is eventually about having the right knowledge about it. As it works in golf, when you shift your grip merely by  two inches, the shot lands up right on the target. In the same way, I promise to change people’s lives by teaching them the right lesson to …

Trafalgar is calling on agents to be part of the revolution in guided holidays and join the journey to even greater success, with the launch of its Trafalgar Academy. The holiday operator has unveiled its inaugural e-learning programme, specially created to help agents increase their earnings and make selling more fun. The Trafalgar Academy empowers industry partners with its interactive guidance on how to sell, as opposed to what to sell, and upon completion of each course they are further equipped to learn, earn and travel more. The initial launch phase of the Trafalgar Academy is available now and invites users to discover ‘The Trafalgar Difference’. Following in close succession in the coming months are ‘Converting Opportunities Into Success’ and ‘It’s Lifestyle Not Features That Matter’, with additional courses forthcoming as the programme gathers momentum. Agents registering for the Academy will uncover insights on increasing conversion and commission, as well as enjoying exclusive travel offers. Commenting on the brand e-learning launch, Trafalgar (Asia) President Nicholas Lim says, “We are excited to introduce our latest industry initiative, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to providing our valued partners with all the tools they need for sales success. For those choosing to become Trafalgar experts, they can look forward to seeing conversion, commission and retention rates rise.”

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau recently conducted a roadshow for the travel trade and wedding planners in Mumbai, with an aim to increase footfalls to the emerald island. The roadshow saw an attendance of 27 participants from Sri Lanka comprising leading travel companies and hoteliers besides the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines. Speaking about India as a market, Madubhani Perera, Director of Marketing, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, who attended and addressed the gathering said, “We have seen an annual rise in arrival numbers from India over the years. The roadshow was conducted to increase destination awareness and highlight the new attractions in Sri Lanka. We hope this event will add a positive impact and further increase Indian footfall in Sri Lanka. We have now planned several promotional activities for Indian markets.” Apart from the roadshow in Mumbai, the SLTPB has plans of conducting roadshows in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune later in the year. The promotion plans for 2017 also include joint promotions with international partners and a digital marketing campaign targeting potential Indian travellers. Sri Lanka received a 12.8 per cent increase in Indian tourist arrivals in 2016 and are expecting an even better double digit increase in 2017.

Having grown its annual roadshow from five cities to six now, Mumbai-based U&I Holidays is keen on adding Tier-II cities from next year. Shyam Upadhyay, Director, U&I Holidays, says, “This time, we wanted to include a new city so we added Kolkata, which to our surprise was a hit. Most of the participants found good potential there. Every city got more than 100 attendees but Kolkata was at 150 which is really good for a city like that.” The six cities were Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. The roadshow had 32 participants from Bali of which 31 were hotels plus one caterer. Speaking about Kolkata, Ashish Indulkar, Director, U&I Holidays, adds, “Although we have been doing some activities in Kolkata, we never ventured full-fledge into the market. We were very happy with the turnout. It is a very interesting market because there are whispers that AirAsia India is planning to launch a direct Kolkata-Bali flight via Kuala Lumpur.” Upadhyay adds that next year’s roadshow will continue to travel to six cities but a new set of cities which will include a Tier-II city like Nagpur, Jaipur or Pune. U&I Holidays sent 15,000 Indian pax to Bali last year. “In 2015, it was 12,000, and this year we are expecting bigger numbers. We are focusing more on MICE as well,” Indulkar adds. U&I has its own office in Bali and they are also a DMC for Maldives. Last year, U&I Holidays entered the wellness segment by opening Ashoka Spa outlet in Mumbai. It opened another one in Bali in December 2016. It will now focus on hotel spas in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra and are already in talks …

The Board of Thomas Cook (India) at its meeting on February 14, 2017, announced the elevation of Mahesh Iyer as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his elevation, Iyer was Chief Operating Officer of the company. He assumes direct responsibility for the company’s P&L, day to day operations, strategic planning, management of key relationships, as well as building a sustainable growth oriented organisation that maximises value for all its stakeholders. Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) said, “I am delighted with Mahesh’s elevation as Chief Executive Officer. A Thomas Cook veteran of 22 years, he will now lead Thomas Cook India. He joins the leaders of the group’s other travel namely Dipak Deva of TCI-Sita, Vishal Suri of SOTC and Maria Ng of Kuoni Hong Kong who will have the freedom in managing their respective companies and will report to me as part of the larger group structure.”

With a view to sensitise stakeholders about the new GST scheme that is to replace a multitude of indirect taxes currently being levied, the Service Tax zone of Kolkata has flagged off a mobile help centre. A network of trained officers will tour the city of Kolkata, conducting seminars, to help stakeholders transition from the Service Tax and Central Excise schemes to the GSTN (GST Network), a front-end system developed by the Government of India as a single interface for the GST roll-out. New registrants will be able to register on-the-spot.

In a bid to transform the face of Indian Railways, Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched the first Phase of the World’s largest station redevelopment program comprising 23 major railway stations on Indian railways network. Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar was present to grace the occasion. Chairman, Railway Board, A.K. Mital, Member Engineering, Railway Board, Aditya Kumar Mittal, Member Traffic, Railway Board, Mohd. Jamshed and other Board Members and other distinguished guests were present to grace the occasion. Prabhu said that the Railways have certain advantages out of which one is holding of land on a large scale. He said that Railway Stations is a place where lots of people wait to board a train and thus Railway Station can be developed into an iconic property.

The Ultimate Travelling Camp (TUTC) is back with the luxurious and widely popular Chamba Camp Thiksey and Chamba Camp Diskit in Ladakh. Introducing a special promotion for travel agents, TUTC offers them the opportunity to earn a complimentary night for their clients on a three-night stay package at one of the luxury suite tents. Travel agents stand a chance to earn incentives over and above their existing commission on this limited offer, for bookings made before March 31, 2017. Chamba Camp, Thiksey operates 15 May to 10 October and Chamba Camp, Diskit from 15 May to 30 September, which is considered to be the most favourable time to visit Ladakh. Speaking on the offer, Rajnish Sabharwal, Chief Operating Officer, TUTC said, “Travel operators play an important role in promoting our bespoke experiences, not only locally but also across the globe. Our early bird offers allow customers to save more and plan their holidays in advance, at the same time serves as an incentive for our associated agents who give us unique opportunities in reaching out to new customers.”

U&I Holidays is out again with its annual roadshow devoted only to Bali and it is bringing more than 32 suppliers from the region to interact with travel agents in India. The show will travel to six major cities in India and offer great insights into the wonderful world of Bali. Starting with Chennai on February 6, it will head to Bengaluru on February 7, Kolkata on February 9, New Delhi on February 10, heading to western India on February 13 in Ahmedabad and finally touching Mumbai on February 14. Apart from Bali, U&I Holidays is also a DMC for Maldives and its Maldives team will also be present to discuss further business avenues during the same event.