Category Archives: Agents

Sachin Kurve takes charge as Secretary of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand and CEO, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. Kurve is a 2003 batch IAS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre and has held several senior key positions spanning close to two decades including key positions in the Government of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. During his tenure, he took responsibility as the District Magistrate of Rudraprayag, Tehri-Garhwal in Dehradun, and Haridwar and as the Director and Additional Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, and also as the Additional Secretary to the Governor. In early 2015, he moved to Maharashtra on deputation wherein he held several key positions including District Collector, Revenue and Forest Department in Nagpur and Mumbai Sub Urban. Other prime positions include his role as the Secretary to the Chief Minister, Secretary to the Governor, and Investment Commissioner, Industries. In the middle of September 2020, he shifted back to Uttarakhand and took up the charge as Secretary, Industries and Excise, positions which he still holds along with food, civil supply & consumer affairs with his current role as secretary of Tourism and CEO of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board.

Sandeep Raghav has been appointed as the Director (Business Development) for the India market. He has over 20 years of experience with international hotels. Working with brands such as Taj Group, Radisson UK Hotels, Jumeirah Group, Frasers Hospitality Singapore, Starwood Hotels, Marriott Hotels and Conrad Maldives has given him immense exposure to the luxury segment to handle FIT and group business from India. He is a seasoned hotelier specialising in luxury leisure and MICE segment for various outbound destinations. He has been a key element for their team goals. Raghav loves cricket, music and travel. He is a team player and goal-oriented in his actions.

Addressing the various stakeholders present at the 7th National Tourism Investors Meet 2022, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, stressed on collaboration between tour operators and airlines for marketing Indian destinations. She said, “The government is working to increase the number of airports in the country to 200 by 2024 from 140 airports. Aviation and tourism are complimenting sectors. Air connectivity needs to be in tandem with what the tourism sector is doing.”

Ministry of Tourism has been supporting 46 identified tourism routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme 3.0 through the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to the Airport Authority of India, to improve connectivity and boost tourism in the country.

As per an ICRA report the hotel industry witnessed a healthy start to FY2023, with 56-58% occupancy in premium hotels in Q1 FY2023. It was up from ~40-42% in FY2022 and closer to pre-Covid occupancy of 60-62% in Q1 FY2020. Pan-India ARR stood at ~Rs. 4,600 – 4,800 in Q1 FY2023, as against Rs. 4,200-4,400 in FY2022. It still remains at a 16-18% discount to pre-Covid levels on an average, although a few high-end hotels and leisure destinations witnessed ARRs spike to higher than pre-Covid levels in the last few months.

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) in partnership with Business Events Australia (BEA) launched a new online game to showcase the destination appeal of Sydney for incentive events from India, Malaysia and Singapore – with prizes on offer. The aim of the game is to educate BESydney’s corporate clients in South and Southeast Asia as well as travel agents, inbound operators and industry. The second phase will see the game launched in Japan and South Korea. “The city has undergone many changes since the pandemic. We have brand new facilities, refurbished properties and new and updated attractions along with exciting new precincts and neighbourhood revitalisation.  There are so many opportunities for visitors to experience the energy and excitement of the city for themselves,” said BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith. The fun and educational game is designed to bring these Sydney experiences to life and has been developed for web-GL, utilising video encoding and 3D animation sequences featuring a combination of a gamified track experience, quirky Aussie koala guide, postcards and destination footage.  The strategy and purpose of the game is a new concept that hasn’t been done in Australia before.  Users race around Sydney’s streets, collecting points to win prizes.  By visiting these new attractions and precincts online, corporate companies and incentive agents can learn more about the variety of venues and what they offer for event organizers. The game allows players to drive around Sydney as a koala, visiting venues, learning about products and experiences along the way, and collecting points by answering riddles and questions on Sydney. Points will determine a player’s position on the leader board and prize vouchers will be awarded for players in top positions, until 22 August …

SSR Travel Group, after its successful league in the travel trade for over a decade, has set foot into representation business by starting SSRTS – SSR Travel Solutions and adding two leading Destination Management companies – Wild Trek Safaris – Kenya & Tanzania and Eihab Travel- Oman. Furthermore, SSRTS has also added Cordelia Cruises effective 1st April 2022 to its collection, wherein the founder,  Sapneal Rao, achieved to become No. 1 PSA as on 31st March 2022. Wild Trek Safaris (WTS), a registered member of KATO (Kenya Association of Tour Operators), has a wide range of products tailored to experience Kenya differently and targets to expand its reach across key Indian markets and emerging segments through the appointment of SSR Travel Solutions.  WTS is certain that the association will assist in strengthening their market presence and boost sales in the upcoming years. Similarly, Eihab Travel, an established DMC for the Sultanate of Oman, positions India as one of its top source markets and is excited to delegate SSR Travel Solutions as its representative to enhance its market presence and entice more Indian travelers to Oman. On the expansion of SSR’s gamut of travel services, Sapneal Rao, Director, SSR Travel Solutions, expressed, “As travel revives slowly but steadily, we are thrilled to announce our expansion and welcome Wild Trek Safaris and Eihab Travel. Owing to our extensive network of B2C players pan India we will drive our efforts to enhance business and boost sales for both Wild Trek Safaris & Eihab Travels. We are positive about the resumption of travel owing to the pent-up demand that will further lead to acceleration in outbound travel and expansion in business forums.” SSR Travel Solutions, …

Costa Cruises is presenting exclusive offers to its travel partners for the first time ever on its 2,3,4 nights cruises ex Dubai and Abu Dhabi from December 2022 on its flagship Costa Toscana. It will highlight these offers in its webinar on Tuesday, 12th July at 3PM. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. Registration link:- https://event.webinarjam.com/register/417/k68xntp1

Hiring by companies in India in June showed a strong growth with a jump of 22 per cent year-on-year, according to a report by Naukri.com. The recruitment in the travel & hospitality sector showed growth in triple-digits as compared to the previous year. Industry-wise, travel and hospitality continued to show a maximum surge in hiring activity in June, up 125 per cent y-o-y, followed by retail (+75 per cent) and BFSI (+58 per cent) showed growth in hiring when compared with June last year.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to remove a host of tax exemptions and hike rates for an even larger number of mass-consumption items. It approved a proposal to impose a 12% tax on hotel rooms costing below Rs 1,000 per day. So far, only hotels above the threshold were charged 12% GST. The two-day GST Council meeting in Chandigarh, is being chaired by the FM.