Category Archives: Agents

With emerging cases of new COVID-19 strain, the British government will introduce pre-departure COVID testing requirements for all inbound passengers to England effective 4 am, 15th January.

Ankush Nijhawan, Co-founder, TBO Group and Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the FICCI Outbound Tourism Sub Committee. In his role, his contribution and perspective will help in outlining the road map for a robust regulatory policy for the promotion of the travel & tourism sector. Nijhawan said, “I am honoured to be appointed as the Chairperson of this sub-committee. With the support of our stakeholders, I am confident that FICCI will be able to achieve greater heights in the tourism industry.” Jyotsna Suri, congratulated, saying, “We intend to work on a more focused way for each and every sub sectors of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality which will be very crucial for the revival.”

IRDAI has proposed a standard travel insurance policy with common coverage and policy wordings. Its draft guidelines issued on December 28 stated, ‘The standard product shall have the basic mandatory covers as specified in draft guidelines which shall be uniform across the market. The product may be both an individual product and a group product.’

A group of around 30 travel agents from Mumbai decided to have a mini celebration recently at Craft Bar, BKC, while observing all safety protocols. Initiated by Ajay Chhabria, Director of In-Time Travels By Design, the travel fraternity members got a chance to let their hair down after a tough 10 months.

Cape Town Helicopters, the largest scenic helicopter operator in Cape Town has today announced a strategic partnership with Outbound Konnections as its Global Sales Agent (GSA) in India. The appointment of Outbound Konnections is part of Cape Town Helicopters’ strategic direction in ensuring they have footprints across all major markets globally. The group has already signed up global sales agents in Germany, France, Russia, United States of America (USA) and China. Speaking after the announcement Herman Geldenhuys, Cape Town Helicopters General manager, noted that the growth in international arrivals from South Africa’s key source markets since the government embarked on a tourism revival programme in 2019, informed the company’s targeted campaign in these markets. “International arrivals have been on a steady growth since 2010 with the Soccer World Cup Finals being South Africa, and the Indian market has been one of the fastest growing source markets. Our partnership with Outbound Konnections gives us a better standing in the industry in tapping into this market.” According to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism on the state of South African tourism in 2019, international arrivals hit 1.2 million in 2018/2019, up 1.5% from the previous year. The Indian market contributed to 8% of these arrivals, as the third largest source market; behind the United States of America, United Kingdom. Anjum Lokhandwala, Founder & Director, Outbound Konnections, on her part said, “We are happy to be appointed as the India office for Cape Town Helicopters. Cape Town Helicopters has been a well-known brand in terms of luxury, innovation and the quality of services it has to offer for all travel segments be it leisure, MICE or incentive groups, and we are very …

Ministry of Tourism’s Regional Office, Indiatourism Mumbai conducted a domestic tourism marketing campaign ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ under the theme ‘Explore Incredible India’ with a brand activation event in Reliance Mall, Borivali in Mumbai from Dec 25 until 31 Dec. Mall visitors were provided information on special promotional packages prepared by local travel agents and tour operators.  

GB Srithar, Regional Director (India, Middle East & South Asia), Singapore Tourism Board, has said that the STB Virtual Tradeshow would allow them to reconnect with the travel trade in India. “It is in line with our ‘United we stand’ messaging for the travel trade in this crisis time. We would like to show our solidarity with the travel trade fraternity in terms of  communication and messages. We want to tell them that we are getting prepared, and as and when the restart happens, we hope to welcome Indian travellers to Singapore through the help and cooperation of our travel trade partner friends,” he said. The STB India Virtual Tradeshow is scheduled on Jan 12, 15, 19 and 21 for South, North, West and East India respectively. Register on: www.stbindiatradeshow2021.com, email: Jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com, or call +919650196532.

Baywatch Travels has launched curated sailing experience brand Baywatch Sailzz. Manish Kriplani, MD, Baywatch Travels, announced the new venture, saying, “Baywatch Sailzz is our answer to fresh outdoor experiences, where we offer curated sailing experiences for birthday, dinner, sunrise, sunset cruise and other celebrations. We have our international medallist skipper Chinna Reddy who will assist with the entire experience around Chennai Harbour and the Bay of Bengal.”

Sunil Kumar, President, UFTAA, has said that the association has initiated a concept of Zero Risk with IATA that can protect the agents and airlines from any future risk to either parties. “The current scenario has reflected our unpreparedness to protect the monies of the stakeholders and the customers, owing to the challenges the agencies had to go through. In an evolving scenario, it is time that such a Zero Risk to either of the stakeholders is envisioned through IATA’s governing resolution and we be better prepared to handle such crisis, if it would ever come up in future,” he says. Towards this, all Global Federations of Associations which are part of IATA’s PAPGJC have come together and a working group is getting created with terms of reference of the committee meeting the expectations of all. “This working group will involve representatives of airlines, agency associations, and IATA. This is anticipated to be finalised by January and thereupon the working group can deliberate to plan a great legacy for the future which does not pose any risk or threat to our customers or agencies. We eagerly look forward to this working group to be able to come up with a favourable solution for the industry and its stake holders,” Kumar adds.

According to Thomas Cook India’s travel survey for December 2020, confidence to travel is on the upswing, with 67% Indians willing to travel within the next 6 months.