Category Archives: Agents

A group of 18 inbound Tour operators from Delhi undertook a Trip to Dholpur and Ramsagar Lake with an appeal to the government for opening up Tourist Visas and regular international flights. People from the tourism and hospitality industry travelled to Dholpur in Rajasthan from 15th to 18th September to make an appeal to the government to initiate issuance of tourist visas under the banner of “Unlocking International Tourism”. Beginning of this month, the government announcement to extend the ban on international flights by another month put further jitters in the inbound tourism market from India. Already hit by the pandemic, the tourism industry has been suffering for more than 18 months now leading to massive job losses in the industry and multiple tour operators and hotels shutting shop. It is estimated that the tourism industry in India contributes to almost 10% of the GDP and more than 8 million livelihoods. As vaccination across the globe keep increasing by the hour, more countries are opening up borders to the people, especially the double vaccinated population. Multiple countries in Europe are now accessible to fully vaccinated Indians enabling them to restart travel to foreign destinations. However, the same has not been offered to tourists wanting to come to India as e-visas remain suspended, even though the government has indicated that the same would start soon. Around 25 people made their way to Dholpur in Rajasthan and also met 4 time Member of Parliament and a hospitality industry stalwart himself, Mr. Dushyant Singh. Dushyant Singh assured everyone that the government is working hard to come out with the new guidelines to reopen international travel towards India. Sanjay Razdan, Director – Razdan Holidays …

As Thailand prepares to re-open its borders to the World, TravelBullz and the Tourism Authority of Thailand prepares to welcome Indian guests back to Amazing Thailand. In the first phase of the destination re-opening, the Indian Travel League (ITL), a fun-filled quiz program aimed at engaging the travel agent community in India will focus on Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Khao Lak, Koh Yao Yai & Noi. The goal would be to generate interest, awareness and educate sellers about the destinations and hotel & attraction partners. To help achieve the above objective we welcome the Indian travel agent’s fraternity to join us in the Indian Travel League (ITL) & The Amazing Thailand Grand Re-Opening Sale!! While ITL would focus on generating interest in destinations, hotels, resorts, attractions & sightseeing options “The Amazing Thailand Grand Reopening Sale” is aimed at helping agents in India to increase their margins while selling these destinations. There would be Exclusive Deals on offer (discount of 30-50%) for agents to Buy Now & Travel Later, not only increasing their margins but also enhancing the traveller experiences given the range of value adds on offers. ITL will be a weekly campaign with a total of 4 rounds, starting on 20th of October. Each week a match would conclude with a wordplay format quiz. Minimum scores would be tallied to qualify for the next round. Winners will be announced on 19th of November, on social media. There would be a lot of prizes up for the winners of the quarter-final & semi-final matches. The final 10 winners would win: 4 Nights Package for Stay in Phuket (Flights excluded) A Trophy A Certificate Vachirachai  Sirisumpan, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand …

Diego Barcelo Perez, Founder & CEO, CCIBA Spain in his presentation at the ‘Destination India – European Perspective and Opportunities’ webinar by PATA India, shared that India should do PR activities to reduce the perception that India is an ‘infected’ destination. He also said that this is the time for India to promote itself in Spain, because next month Spanish people will start planning their travel in 2022.

Sebastian Sarrasin, Director, Representation Plus Europe, has revealed that French people are keen to travel abroad. “Looking at the searches for online booking engines, we found that around 60% of French people are looking for a holiday next year and want to book a long haul holiday, while 29% wish to remain in Europe and only 11% wish to spend the holiday in their own country,” he said during his presentation at the ‘Destination India – European Perspective and Opportunities’ webinar by PATA India.

Alison Cryer, Founder & MD, Representation Plus, while speaking at the ‘Destination India – European Perspective and Opportunities’ webinar by PATA India, said that while UK travellers to India look for culture, spiritual, wellness, experiential, holiday of a lifetime, volunteering, and MICE. However, she said, “MICE will come back, but not before 2024.”

Etihad Airways is giving all its guests travelling into or via Abu Dhabi a complimentary ticket to Expo 2020 Dubai that will take place between 1 October, 2021 and 31, March 2022. Visitors can enjoy a visit to Expo and also explore the attractions in Abu Dhabi. The special promotion under the ‘Exponential Abu Dhabi’ campaign will run until 31 March 2022. Expo 2020 is just a 45-minute drive from Abu Dhabi. The city now welcomes fully vaccinated travellers without the need to quarantine.

According to the results of the SAP Concur study, Indian business travellers (99%) want to resume work travel within the next 12 months. Nearly 78% of business professionals surveyed in India were eager to start a journey, and according to the study, the percentage was much higher than the global average. About 84% of Indian business professionals felt that their inability to extend travel would hurt them both professionally and personally. Respondents from India said that most business activities such as new deal sign ups, (47%), customer additions (41%) and contract renewals (43%) would be adversely affected if their organizations did not increase business travel.

The base camp of Siachen glacier, the world’s highest and coldest battlefield, was opened on Monday for domestic tourists on the occasion of World Tourism Day. The step has been taken to boost tourism in Ladakh and give people a window to appreciate the tough work done by army jawans and engineers in extreme weather and inhospitable terrains. Secretary Tourism, Ladakh, Mehboob Ali Khan, flagged-off a cleanliness drive from the tourist reception centre. The department of tourism, Leh, also organised a cleanliness drive along with various stakeholders of the tourism industry such as All Ladakh Tour Operators Association (ALTOA), All Ladakh Hotels and Guest Houses Association (ALHGHA), Ladakh Mountain Guide Association (LMGA) and others.

Switzerland Tourism will conduct a webinar on Thursday, 30th September, 2021 with Interlaken Tourism. Interlaken is an extremely popular and sought after holiday destination, as well as a hub for adventure activities. The webinar will give attendees an insight into the various tourism offerings available in and around Interlaken for Indian guests across the year. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Under the banner of AlUla Moments, AlUla’s events calendar published today highlights four festivals including Winter at Tantora which is back by popular demand and celebrates heritage, AlUla Skies, AlUla Arts and AlUla’s Wellness Festival.  The festivals will offer curated experiences of art, culture, music, nature, wellness, equestrian, gastronomy and astronomy. The events will include free and ticketed experiences, with tickets and information available at experiencealula.com. The four distinct festivals will commence on 21 December and run through to 30 March against the backdrop of AlUla’s many timeless wonders. Musical performances will also be back in AlUla with Maraya taking centre stage again as the venue for regional and international acts starting from this October. Winter at Tantora, the very first music and arts festival in the Kingdom returns – now in a six-week format. A stunning Candlelit Symphonic Concert at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra will set the tone for the festival season as the opening event.  Equestrian events will include the eagerly awaited new haute couture horse fashion event, Ikmah Fashion Calvary, the return of the competitive Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Race and the oh-so-chic AlUla Desert Polo. A new Citrus Festival will celebrate AlUla produce and the Harrat Observation Deck with Back to Black restaurant will offer stunning sunrise and sunset views of AlUla from the top of the Harrat Uwayrid. Archaeology and cultural workshops will be introduced at the heritage sites, there will be live immersion shows at AlUla Old Town and in the oasis. Winter at Tantora will run from 21 December to 12 February. From February 2021, the AlUla Arts festival will bring together exhibitions and encounters created by …