Category Archives: Agents

The pandemic with its unprecedented hardships/challenges have caused Indians to actively seek spiritual solace. Thomas Cook (India), and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have witnessed a strong 35% growth in spiritual tourism. In a focussed endeavour to tap into this high potential yet unorganised segment, the Companies have expanded their portfolio to include a range of ready-to-book pilgrimages and personalised spiritual journeys. Products start at an affordable Rs. 20,000.00 per person for a 5-day tour, with premium-personalised options priced at Rs. 200,000.00 per person for a 6-day tour. India’s seniors segment and 45+ age group form the core segment for Pilgrimage Tours. Keeping this in mind, the Companies’ top pilgrimage tours extend across: the popular Char Dham Yatra and Do Dham Yatra (option to charter a helicopter as well; VIP darshans) Muktinath in Nepal, Amarnath Yatra, Vaishno Devi shrine with Kashmir, Varanasi with Prayagraj, Ayodhya, etc. India’s couples and solo travellers (30-45 yrs) are displaying strong preference for the Companies’ customised spiritual tours that include meditation, yoga and wellness programs like the Yoga Centre/Ashram in Coimbatore, Dharamshala and Rishikesh; Panchakarma programme at Kumarakom, etc. India’s millennials/young professionals and families present the highest growth opportunity – and their preference is for spiritual journeys in combination with outdoor-adventure and authentic local culture/culinary experiences. Thrilling experiences like white-water rafting and night trekking in Vaishno Devi, Kathadi (close to Rameswaram – an emerging hub of water sports), Badrinath’s famous valley of flowers trek; bungee jumping in Rishikesh, etc. are inspiring India’s millennials to explore the land of spiritual journeys. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) said, “Post the pandemic, we are witnessing a definitive surge in Spiritual …

Jaal Kalpesh Shah, Group Managing Director, Travel Designer Group, has said that going forward, the traditional family travel agent could play a huge role. “This is because there is more trust factor, customisation and flexibility along with local knowledge. Technology will also play a part.”

Deepak Rawat, Senior Vice President, MakeMyTrip, has said that their internal team survey revealed, “75 per cent of Indians are willing to spend more than what they were doing pre-pandemic on their travel and 52 per cent are willing to take a loan to travel. He was speaking at a panel discussion on India tourism recovery at ATM.

Spree Hospitality, boutique and mid-market hospitality operator, has added one more feather to its wings with the opening of Sparsh Hotel and Resort in Uttar Pradesh, in Bareilly. This 4-star property is just 7 km away from Airport and 8.5 Km from railway station. It is also in proximity to some popular tourist attractions and other places of interest in Bareilly. Some of the tourist attractions include Bareilly Sports Stadium, Jagannath Temple, Phoenix Mall and Fun City situated nearby to the property. The property rooms are comfortable and spacious with luxury amenities to make guest feel satisfied. When looking to satiate one’s cravings, the in-house restaurant in the property offering multi – cuisine food to satisfy the tastebuds. At Spree Hospitality the safety of the guest is the top priority and so Sparsh Hotel and Resort by Spree committed to deliver clean and safe environment through health and safety protocols. The property boasts of green lawn, massive outdoor pool and banquet hall.

Sharing his disagreement with offering discounts to travellers, Naveen Kundu, Managing Director EbixCash, says, “Burning money has become a fashion and in pursuit of gaining market share everyone is discounting which is not required there is enough and more business available for everyone in this country. We have to learn to live out of fear and handle the market dynamics better. I see most travel companies offering discounts to customers. Those who have to travel will travel irrespective of discounts. If that wasn’t the case, airlines and hotels wouldn’t be full.”

Adding another hotel to its portfolio, Ananta Hotels & Resorts has launched 52-key Jagira Ananta Elite Gir Hotel in Gujarat. Gagan Katyal, says, “We have launched Ananta Gir, our latest resort outside Rajasthan. It will have four types of residential options and will be located right at the doorstep of this sole home to the Asiatic lions in Gir.”

The Official State Gazette (BOE) publishes an order of the Ministry of the Interior that relaxes the health requirements for entry to Spain for travellers from non-EU countries, who from today will be able to show a certificate of vaccination, recovery or a certificate of negative diagnosis in the checks of entry to the country, equating to tourists from non-EU countries the same conditions as citizens of the European Union and Schengen associated countries. “The new phase of the pandemic allows us to relax health requirements for entry into Spain by equating non-EU travellers with those of the EU and Schengen Associated Countries. This excellent news, much awaited by the tourism sector, will make it easier for tourists from outside the European environment to visit us this high season guaranteeing safe mobility. Spain is becoming one of the most desired destinations in the world, as shown by the demand indicators that are approaching pre-pandemic levels month after month and this measure will accelerate the recovery of the sector by facilitating the entry of international travellers”, said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto. According to the order published in the BOE on 21-May-22, travellers entering Spain at air or sea borders, whatever their place of origin, must be provided with one of these three certificates: Vaccination certificate meeting the requirements established by the Ministry of Health. SARS-CoV-2 negative diagnostic test certificate. NAAT (PCR or similar) tests carried out in the 72 hours prior to departure to Spain or an antigen test carried out in the 24 hours prior to departure to Spain will be worth. Certificate of recovery issued by the competent authority or a medical service at …

As of midnight on May 20, 2022, testing is no longer required for anyone traveling to Israel.  The requirement to present a negative RT-PCR test prior to departure, complete RT-PCR test upon arrival followed by isolation has also been removed.  Travellers are still required to complete an entry statement (https://corona.health.gov.il/en/flights/) within the 48 hours from departure to Israel. In addition to the removal of testing requirements, as of today (May 23), the mask mandate for international flights to/from Israel has been lifted as well. Regarding the changes in entry protocols, Sammy Yahia, Director of Tourism to India & Philippines said, “This new development in Israel’s entry requirements is great step in being able to welcome visitors back to Israel.  This will make traveling to Israel simpler and more relaxing, and your vacation will begin the moment you step off the plane.  I for one am thrilled to have visitors enjoy my home country.” The revised regulations can be found here: https://corona.health.gov.il/en/abroad/arriving-foreign-nationals/ All this, against the background of a slow and consistent rise in incoming tourism to Israel post-pandemic.  207,400 tourist entries were recorded in April of this year, compared with 30,200 in April 2021 and 405,000 in April 2019. This points to a continuation of the recovery trend for incoming tourism to Israel, with a significant increase in relation to April 2021 and a decrease of about 49% in relation to April 2019. The pace of tourist entries to date represents the basis for a forecast assessment of 1.5 to 2 million tourist entries in 2022.

Thailand is now open and restrictions have eased for Indian visitors! To update the travel fraternity on the SOPs for travel to Thailand, Akbar Holidays along with Tourism Thailand, will conduct an exclusive webinar today at 3PM IST. The session will also focus on Thailand packages. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

MakeMyTrip has introduced Book Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment option while booking travel (flight or hotels) on MakeMyTrip as well as on the Goibibo app. TripMoney, MakeMyTrip’s fintech arm, has established a marketplace attracting 15 leading fintech players and NBFCs/Banks including Capital float, Zest Money, IDFC Bank, Kissht, Lazypay, Simpl, HDFC Bank among others, to offer easy travel credit to the travellers.