Category Archives: Agents

Goa’s lifeguarding organisation, Drishti Marine, has expanded operations in the state to offer premium ferry services within Goa. From November, 2017, tourists and locals will be able to hop on to a 40-seater luxury catamaran and take in the sights and sounds of coastal Goa while they cruise along the sea to their next destination. In phase 1, Drishti Marine will commence operations between the Airport Ferry Terminal (AFT) Vasco, Panaji and Old Goa. Phase 2, which will include Baga and Fort Aguada will commence later this year. Drishti Ferry has acquired two luxurious 40-seater, high-speed catamarans which will ferry commuters between designated pick-up points. The passenger ferries, named Drishti Two and Drishti Three will enable passengers to ride between Panaji, Baga, Old Goa, Fort Aguada in Sinquerim and Dabolim. The two passenger ferries will travel within the state daily. G Ravi Shankar, CEO, Drishti Marine, said “The luxurious ferries have plush seating, spacious interiors, clean bathrooms, charging points and safety belts. Air-conditioned passenger lounge and waiting areas, on-board baggage assistance with free wifi, packaged snacks and beverages will be available on-board. The crew on-board include trained lifeguards who are trained to carry out rescue operations.” The website for this is now live and tickets for the ferry services can now be booked online. Tickets can also be purchased at the time of boarding at the ticketing counters at the terminals once operations commence. Fares for the ferry service range from Rs. 100 for a ride between Old Goa and Panaji to Rs. 800 for a trip between the Airport Ferry Terminal (AFT) at Baina and Panaji. The Airport Ferry Terminal is located at Baina beach, Vasco da Gama, and is …

Under the ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ of Ministry of Tourism, seven shortlisted companies or Monument Mitras have been given the Letter of Intent for the adoption of 14 monuments, which were presented at the closing ceremony of the three-week-long ‘Paryatan Parv’ at Rajpath Lawns, New Delhi. K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Government of India, said, “We had over 1200 events across numerous sites in the country, across schools, monuments etc. In the past 20 days, we have turned India into a land of celebrations with the help of our 18 sister ministries and thanks to the overwhelming participation of our own people.” SBI Foundation was shortlisted for the adoption of Jantar Mantar, Delhi, while TK International Limited would be adopting Sun Temple, Konark; Raja Rani Temple, Bhubaneshwar, and Ratnagiri Monuments, Jajpur, Odisha. On the other hand, Yatra Online Pvt. Limited would adopt Hampi, Karnataka; Leh Palace, Jammu & Kashmir; Qutub Minar, Delhi and Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra. Travel Corporation of India Ltd. was shortlisted for the adoption of Mattancherry Palace Museum, Kochi, and Safdarjung Tomb, Delhi. Adventure Tour Operator Association of India (ATOAI) will be adopting Gangotri Temple Area and Trail to Gaumukh, as well as Mt. StokKangri, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Special Holidays Travel Pvt. Ltd., along with Rotary Club of Delhi was shortlisted for the adoption of Agrasen ki Baoli, Delhi, and NBCC would adopt Purana Quila, Delhi. Arun Jaitley, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Government of India, also the Chief Guest presented certificates to the ‘Best Participating Central Government Ministry and Best Participating State Government’ at the closing ceremony. The grand spectacle included cultural performances by different state troops, craft mela showing diverse handicrafts …

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) will host its 8th Annual Convention-cum-Exhibition at Novotel, Varun Beach, Visakhapatnam from November 17-18, informed P P Khanna, President, ADTOI. The theme of the convention this year is ‘Domestic Tourism: Explore India – One Country, Many Worlds,’ under which the association will explore various facets of its convention venue – Visakhapatnam. Khanna says, “We are expecting over 300 delegates from across India. Through this convention, we hope to showcase the world-class facilities in Andhra Pradesh and its vast potential for domestic tourism. We will address key industry issues like GST and its impact on domestic tourism; the threat of online travel agents to the small and medium businesses and we will also deliberate on the ways the central government, state government and private players can work in collaboration to improve tourist infrastructure in the country.” Rajat Sawhney, Vice President and Convention Chairman, ADTOI, adds, “We realised that despite being a national association, we did not have a significant presence in South India. With this convention, we hope to leave an imprint in various parts of South India which will also benefit our members from the region. We also plan to start a state chapter in Andhra Pradesh soon.”

According to Passport Index developed by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital, Singapore tops the rank of being the most powerful passport in the world under the Global Passport Power Rank 2017. This ranks passports of the world by their total visa-free score. Singapore is closely followed by Germany, Sweden and South Korea who are tied at number three, followed by eight other countries holding the number four spot jointly. The Indian passport appears at number 75 with a visa-free score of 51, ranking even lower than African countries like Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Some of the countries with a lower ranking than India are Egypt, Bhutan Cambodia, Jordon and our neighbours Sri Lanka and Nepal. The last on the list is Afghanistan with a score of 22 preceded by Iraq and Pakistan with a joint visa-free score of 26.

Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) is all set to present itself to a new city in its next edition—Hyderabad. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, revealed, “We are taking GPS to a new city in 2018 and we will be having GPS Hyderabad from February 8-11, 2018. The venue still needs to be decided. With this new addition, GPS 2018 will be held in a total of eight cities around India.”

After the success of Global Panorama Showcase (GPS)’s Educational Destination Workshop-International (EDWIN) in Ladakh, it is now set to go to Bali, Indonesia in November. Harmandeeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, has revealed that the registrations for EDWIN – Bali have started, and interested delegates can choose to fly from Delhi on November 29, 2017 and from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Coimbatore and Kochi on November 28, 2017. The 5 nights/6 days package starts at Rs. 32,000 all inclusive. The workshop would allow agents and tour operators from various cities to experience the destination.

The Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) launched its first ever South Korea specialist programme in India with an aim to educate Indian travel trade partners about the travel assets of South Korea. The content is specifically designed as per the needs, requirements and expectations of the Indian travellers. The course is structured into four modules, each focusing on different aspect of tourism offerings of the destination. Upon completion, the participants will be duly acknowledged with Korea Specialist certificates. The course is created and hosted on TravelGyaan website. After completing the module, the participants can further take up the itinerary challenge and stand a chance of winning an I Phone 8. Approximately 450 travel agents have registered for the programme so far while 170 have finished their training programme. Jong Sool Kwon, Director, KTO, said, “Indian outbound market has tremendous potential and diverse requirements based on which we would like to educate the travel trade partners about South Korea’s tourism assets. We urge all the travel agents to come forward and make the most of the knowledge we intend to impart.”

Travel insurance provider TrawellTag Cover-More planned an accelerated growth strategy with the recent acquisition of Cover-More Group by Swiss-based Zurich Insurance Group. Dev Karvat, CEO, TrawellTag Cover-More said, “Zurich Insurance Group is one of the top three insurers in the world. With this development, we will benefit from their infrastructure and technology. Our Customer Care facility has now merged with Zurich’s World Travel Protection. We will not only manage claims now but also have a fully in-house support system to take care of customers anywhere in the world.” “The mother brand will continue as is and while the front-end will not change for its travel partners in India, the back-end will in terms of better facilities and infrastructure,” Karvat adds. He also revealed that TrawellTag Cover-More planned to tie up with another airline in the next few months. It currently works with GoAir to offer travel insurance to its passengers.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India awarded Abercrombie & Kent India the first prize in Category-I as the Best Inbound Tour Operator, for 2015-16. This is A&K India’s fourth National Tourism Award. The award was received by Vikram Madhok, Managing Director and Arunendu Roy, Director (Finance). Speaking on this occasion, Madhok said this award reinforces and enhances Abercrombie & Kent’s reputation for conducting our business in an honest, ethical and reliable manner, demonstrating integrity in everything we do. The award was presented by the Hon’ble President of India Ram Nath Kovind, in the presence of Minister of State for Tourism and other select dignitaries & invitees from the travel fraternity at New Delhi on September 27, 2017.

Karan Anand, Head-Relationships and Supplier Management, Cox & Kings Ltd, was conferred the prestigious Gold Medal for Tourism (Médaille d’Or du Tourisme) by the French Government during a special ceremony hosted at the French Consulate in Mumbai. This is the first-ever Gold Medal given by the French government to an Indian in the tourism industry. Anand was awarded the gold medal by Yves Perrin, Consul General of France in Mumbai, for his pioneering contribution in promoting France in India. Perrin said, “We are pleased to give the gold medal to Mr. Karan Anand for his efforts in strengthening touristic ties between our two countries. As the Consul General of France, I would like thank him for his distinguished work towards the promotion of France as a prime tourist destination.” Sheetal Munshaw, Director – Atout France, added, “We are absolutely elated that Mr. Anand is the first Indian recipient of this prestigious gold medal in tourism conferred by the French Republic. Mr. Anand has been a great friend of France since several years and has actively contributed to the evolution of tourism to France. He has lent his expertise consistently and has over the years willingly extended his unwavering support to showcasing destination France in his capacity as member of the Advisory Board for Atout France. Our association with Cox & Kings has resulted in many innovative promotional programs showcasing the myriad experiences France has to offer. The role of Cox & Kings in introducing new destinations such as Chamonix Mont Blanc, the Grevin Wax Museum in Paris has been instrumental in our showcase of France. In 2016, a joint collaboration resulted in the creation of a first ever gastronomic brochure …