Category Archives: Agents

Baywatch Stayzz has been appointed as the GSA for The Fern Creek in Kodaikanal, which are experiential glam tents situated in the heart of Kodaikanal. Manish Kriplani, MD, Baywatch Stayzz and Baywatch Travels, says, “These are unique tents in 1.5 acres of land, offering experiential luxury for patrons. With 7 tents, one restaurant and indoor and outdoor lounge areas, they offer everything a traveller can ask for. We are also looking at expanding the number of tents in future.”

Welcoming visitors from around the globe, His Excellency Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, inaugurated the Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on October 1st. The opening was attended by General Commissioners from GCC participating countries as well as a number of dignitaries, officials and partners. Following the inauguration, His Excellency toured the Qatar Pavilion which highlights the country’s achievements across various fields, showcases the most pioneering projects that are being developed in accordance with the National Vision 2030, and spotlights Qatar as the upcoming host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He also visited the pavilions of participating GCC countries, where each country’s most prominent achievements were showcased. The Qatar Pavilion was designed by internationally-renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava, who represented a modern interpretation of the four elements presented in the Coat of Arms of Qatar. Its architectural composition draws inspiration from the two crossed and curved swords, encompassing a Dhow and island with two palm trees, that are at the core of the national emblem of the state of Qatar. Santiago Calatrava said, “We are honoured to have been chosen for the design of the Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020. Our relationship with the State of Qatar and its people lies very close to our heart. The Qatar Pavilion’s design draws inspiration from the four elements represented on the Coat of Arms of Qatar and pays tribute to the nation’s cultural heritage.” The coinciding pair of buildings of the Qatar Pavilion consist of two main galleries of exhibition spaces. Gallery 1 serves as an introductory space and invites visitors to explore the past, present, and future of Qatar through visual arts, sound …

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.