Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Air India’s Alliance Air plans to start the much-needed Jaipur-Agra flight. Madhu Methen, General Manager – Sales and Marketing, Air India, said, “Our future plan includes a Jaipur to Agra flight under the UDAN scheme. The aircraft that will be used will be an ATR. We also plan to introduce a Delhi-Bikaner direct flight on an ATR. Alliance Air will announce the dates and other details of these routes soon.”

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma has said that the Government of India will soon announce a new ‘Adopt a Heritage’ campaign in association with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). With an aim to encourage the corporate and private sectors to adopt a heritage monument, the campaign will give a boost to the heritage tourism circuit through public-private partnership. Verma announced this on the sidelines of IATO Convention underway in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She also announced the second edition of Incredible India campaign, which will be market specific and will be based on India’s thematic circuits.

A high-level government delegation inaugurated the 33rd IATO Annual Convention in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, at Mayfair Convention Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Alphons Kannanthanam, Odisha’s Minister of Tourism and Culture Ashok Chandra Panda and Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma were present during the inauguration. They announced that the 34th IATO convention will be held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Tourism Secretary spoke about the new campaign that the Government of India will announce soon. Called ‘Adopt a Heritage’ the campaign is aimed at the corporate and private sector to adopt a heritage monument in association with ASI.

Japan Airlines and Vistara have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue commercial operations between India and Japan. This MoU will help the two airlines pursue significant cooperation in the near future, such as codeshare, frequent flyer partnership as well as other operational arrangements, allowing them to leverage each other’s network, expertise and assets, subject to necessary approvals from authorities. Commenting on the same, Tadashi Fujita, Executive Vice President, Japan Airlines (JAL), said, “The strengthened partnership with Vistara represents a significant milestone for the two airlines to provide customers better access to destinations between and in Japan and India, and we believe it will open up commercial opportunities on the two airlines’ networks.” He informed that JAL recorded 75 per cent PLF last year between India and Japan. “Out of the total passengers from India to Japan, 20 per cent are business travellers while 30 per cent are leisure travellers. We are hoping to increase the leisure market from India to Japan, primarily in cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka etc.,” said Fujita. Earlier this year, Vistara and Japan Airlines entered an ‘Inter-Airline Through Check-in (IATCI) partnership, enabling customers to enjoy a seamless ‘Through Check-In’ facility, when connecting to or from a Vistara flight in India and more than 50 countries across the globe on Japan Airlines’ network, using a single ticket. Phee Teik Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, added, “Vistara and Japan Airlines share a great deal in common, key among which are the focus on excellence in operations and delivery of exceptional service to customers. We are delighted to enter the next phase of our association with Japan Airlines, and we believe this is only the beginning of …

Indonesia-based travel and destination management company, Pacto, in collaboration with its India partner, AHS India, recently concluded the first leg of its annual two-city roadshow in Mumbai and is now headed towards Delhi. The 22-member delegation of Pacto represented 29 products in Mumbai, which included various hotels and attractions. Umberto Cadamuro, COO (Inbound), Pacto Ltd Indonesia, said, “This is a stable number as we usually get around 30 every year. This year we also have Indian restaurants and plenty of activities and attractions, apart from hotels, cruises, safaris and cultural shows in our kitty.” He also claimed that India is one source market that Indonesia cannot ignore. “While Australia and China are still a long way ahead, it is reasonable to assume that Japan which was number three for Indonesia for a very long time, will be overtaken by India this year. If this does not happen this year, then definitely by 2018. This is because of the increased airlifts with Malindo Air, Garuda Indonesia and AirAsia X,” Cadamuro commented.

Vistara, one of India’s full-service carriers, recently announced the addition of Ranchi, capital of the Jharkhand state, as the 21st destination to its steadily expanding network. Effective October 29, 2017, Vistara will operate two flights a day between Delhi and Ranchi, providing a convenient same-day return option to travellers from both cities. Bookings are now open through all channels, including Vistara’s website, its iOS and Android mobile apps, and through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and travel agents, with one-way fares starting from Rs. 2,199, inclusive of taxes. Commenting on the addition of the new destination, Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara, said, “Jharkhand has immense potential for industrial development, with sectors such as steel, cement, electric, rubber, khadi, handicraft and textile flourishing here. It is also emerging as an educational hub for the region. So, there is now a consistently growing number of corporate travellers as well as tourists and educationists emerging from this state to whom Vistara brings world-class air travel with the addition of Ranchi as a destination to our network. Further, as we operate from the state-of-the-art terminal in Delhi, travellers to and from Ranchi will get to enjoy the superior experience of T3, and those connecting to and from international flights at Delhi will appreciate the convenience of same-terminal connections.”

The much-awaited Singapore’s Changi Airport Terminal 4 will officially open on October 31, 2017. The new $985 million, two-storey T4 is the airport’s smallest terminal at just half the size of Terminal 3. Transport Minister, Khaw Boon Wan, said, “After endless rounds of testing and fine-tuning, we are ready to open T4… Another big step forward in our journey as a global air hub.” Both full-service and low-cost carriers of nine airlines, including the AirAsia Group (which comprises four airlines), Cathay Pacific Airways, Cebu Pacific Air, Korean Air, Spring Airlines and Vietnam Airlines, will operate from the new terminal. Cathay Pacific and Korean Air will be the first two that would move on October 31, followed by Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines on November 2, and then, the AirAsia Group and Vietnam Airlines on November 7. With a capacity of about 16 million passengers, T4 will bring the airport’s overall capacity to 82 million passengers a year. Automation is touted as one of T4’s major breakthroughs, especially the Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) system installed here. This system includes automated check-in kiosks for the retrieval of flight bookings as well as the printing of boarding passes and bag tags. Also, it features automated baggage drops, immigration clearance and boarding gates—all equipped with facial recognition technology, wherein passengers’ identities will be verified by matching their faces with their photos in passports. Besides the FAST system, the airport is introducing new technology in security, retail and housekeeping—sectors which employ 80 per cent of all Changi Airport staff. The new terminal will also showcase elements of local heritage and culture, a mini theatre show in collaboration with composer Dick Lee, as well as designs inspired by the orchid. There is to be …

India Sales Associates has been appointed as the GSA for five-star luxury resort Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali, and will represent their services in the India market. “The Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali, trade marked as ‘Authentically Bali’, is an iconic Balinese resort, with 200m of white sandy beach, 382 rooms in varied categories, unique design and architecture, world-renowned spa, superlative personalized services, and multiple leading restaurants, along with a meeting and wedding venue that has a capacity of 30 to 1000 persons; which make it an undoubtedly superior choice for Indians travelling to Bali, and hence a resort for us to build an association with,” said Manas Sinha, Director, India Sales Associates, GSA – Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Bali.

Germany received 329,860 Indian visitor overnights during January-May, 2017, reflecting a 12.8 per cent growth over the same period in 2016, informed Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales and Marketing, German National Tourist Office (India), at the Discover Germany roadshow held in Delhi recently. “We have had a phenomenal year. We grew by 8.6 per cent year on year and recorded over 413,000 overnights last year. By the end of this year, we hope to close nearly 800,000 overnights from India to Germany. We are on track to achieve our goal of a million Indian visitors to Germany by 2020 and hopefully receive 2 million Indian arrivals by 2030,” said Theophilus. He further informed that until now, Germany had especially been very popular for MICE and business travel from India, but lately, the destination has picked up for leisure travel as well. “It is now a 50-50 split between MICE, business and leisure travellers from India, and we are hopeful that Germany will be seen as a choice destination for all segments,” he adds. The next leg of the roadshow, organised by Destination Germany, will be held in Ahmedabad on September 6 and then in Mumbai on September 8.

Of all the tourists visiting South Africa, Indian women have been found out to be the greatest enthusiasts in signing up for adventure activities, including bungee jumping, shark-cage diving and mountain hiking, according to the data given by South African Tourism. Hanneli Slabber, India Country Manager, South African Tourism, says, “The demand for adventure activities here is largely driven by Indian woman travellers. Indian women are the biggest participants in the adventure tourism sector in South Africa, with majority of them taking part in hardcore adventure, such as bungee jumping, sky diving, shark-cage diving and mountain hiking.” In fact, she said, Indians are only the second from the top nationality to bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge and the third from the top nationality to go for shark-cage diving in South Africa. Further, Indian travellers visiting South Africa buy five to six adventure activities per day, which is comparatively much higher than tourists from other nationalities. Revealing the reason for this, she says, “We pride in offering some of the most-value-for-money adventure activities coupled with top safety standards. These are two factors which play a decisive role for Indian tourists.”