Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Thailand-based hotel and property development company, Dusit International, has opened a new Global Sales Office (GSO) in Mumbai, India, to promote Dusit Hotels & Resorts in India. The new office will manage sales across all market segments, including leisure, MICE and corporate business. Primarily, the team will focus on tier-I cities, such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, but will also cover smaller cities. Keshwar Bhagat, Director of Sales – GSO India, will head the India office. Lim Boon Kwee, Chief Operating Officer, Dusit International, says, “With the volume of outbound travel increasing by about 25 per cent a year, India is now one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world. If the prediction of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) about the number of outbound Indian travellers reaching 50 million by 2020 is likely to be true, now is the perfect time for us to open a GSO in the country. This comes in tandem with our own growth, which will see our current tally of 29 hotels and resorts crossing 80 worldwide within the next three to four years.”

The Maharashtra State Excise Department has issued a notification to all concerned authorities to begin reissuing or renewing licences of bars and permit rooms affected by the highway liquor ban, which had come into effect from April 1, 2017. The move comes on the back of the Supreme Court’s clarification regarding the non-applicability of ban on sale of alcohol in hotels and restaurants within municipal limits. The notification states, effective September 4, 2017, any liquor vend or liquor serving establishment that may have been affected by the ban can apply for renewal of their licences after providing the required documents and paying the necessary fees. Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), reveals, “In the last five months, the industry has suffered a loss of roughly Rs. 5000 crore and this is only in the State of Maharashtra. The notification will provide relief to approximately 25,000 restaurants and 5,000 hotels operating on the State and National Highways and which fall under either Municipal Corporations or City Councils or Cantonment Boards or Town Municipalities. HRAWI will continue to work in the best interest of the industry and wishes all its stakeholders a speedy recovery.”

A pioneer in the Indian travel industry, Mr. Inder Sharma, Chairman of The Select Group, passed away in New Delhi on September 4. He was 85 years old. Mr. Sharma opened the first SITA World Travel (India) office in New Delhi in 1956. Among the many hats he donned includes being awarded the Padma Shri in 1990 by the Government of India for his contribution in the field of Tourism. He was the president of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) from 1966-69 and 1978-79 and was also awarded by the British Tourism Authority with the Holder of the Keys to Britain Award in 1980, the only Indian to have been so awarded. Mr. Sharma is survived by his wife Dr. Aruna Sharma and his daughter Neeraj and son Arjun. The travel industry comes together in this time of grief and deeply mourns his demise.

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma reportedly said that the Ministry of Tourism is considering setting up government-run offices in key markets such as the US, the UK and Russia to attract more visitors to India. It will also set up facilitation centres to address queries of tourists at airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. With Incredible India 2.0 campaign expected to be launched in September, Verma reportedly said the ministry will run market-specific campaigns on it in different countries through local and electronic channels as well as digital media. “A synergy between Incredible India campaign and overseas markets will get us better results. Our offices in different countries would work on a hub and spoke model which will be in sync with our PR agency. This time the states are also complementing our plans and the industry can plan campaigns around it. Our spends are higher than last year,” said Verma. Source: Economic Times

Hyatt announced today the opening of Hyatt Regency Lucknow, the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Lucknow. Hyatt Regency Lucknow is the 27th Hyatt-branded hotel in India and further expands the company’s brand presence in South Asia. With 206 guestrooms, including 19 suites, Hyatt Regency Lucknow offers elegantly decorated, bright and spacious accommodations. Kurt Straub, Vice President, Operations for India at Hyatt, said, “The opening of Hyatt Regency Lucknow marks a significant milestone for the Hyatt Regency brand as it continues to expand its footprint throughout India.” “Not only is the hotel strategically located for business travelers visiting Lucknow, it is also well positioned for leisure guests who are interested in enjoying a journey through the Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc of Lucknow, Agra and Varanasi.” “We are delighted to announce the opening of Hyatt Regency Lucknow in the dynamic capital of the largest and most populous state of India. Chartered Hotels Private Limited remains focused on developing full service hotels across tier one and tier two cities in India for the ever growing business and leisure traveler,” said Varun Saraf, managing director, Chartered Hotels. “The hotel’s strategic location along with the food and beverage offerings and large state-of-the-art meeting and banqueting facilities will provide guests with an unforgettable experience which Lucknow has not yet seen.” Conveniently located in the corporate hub of Vibhuti Khand, Hyatt Regency Lucknow is designed to connect business and leisure travelers to all Lucknow has to offer. The hotel is in close proximity to the city’s High Court and multiple public sector head offices, and the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport is less than 16 miles (25 kilometers) away. Additionally, landmarks and tourist attractions include Bara Imambara, La …

Satyajeet Rajan has been appointed as the Director General – Tourism, Government of India. The IAS 1987 Kerala cadre official was previously Principal Secretary of Personnel & Administrative Reforms – Government of Kerala; Managing Director of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and has been associated with the Ministry of Defence and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in the past.

Air India has resumed its Ludhiana-Delhi flight from the Sahnewal Airport almost three years after the flight was discontinued in 2014. The 70-seater ATR-72 plane of Alliance Air under Air India will be operational on this route. Pawan Kumar, Assistant Manager, Air Traffic Control, Sahnewal Airport, informed that the flight would be operational four days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Restarted under the UDAN (Udey Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, 50 per cent of the 70 seats are subsidised at Rs 2,000. “Price for rest of the tickets will depend on daily demand and supply formula,” said Kumar.

The number of Indians visiting London is set to increase by 90 per cent by 2025, according to official data released by London & Partners, the business arm of the Mayor of London’s office. Last year, London received 0.27 million Indian visitors which is expected to increase to 0.52 million in the next eight years. In terms of spend Indian visitors to London from India spent 258 million pounds (USD 333 million) in 2016, which is projected to rise to 721.2 million pounds (USD 931 million) by 2025, marking a 180 per cent increase, according to the data. “Visitors to the capital bring huge benefits. The industry boosts London’s economy, as well as supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and showing the world that London is an open, welcoming and diverse city,” said the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan at the launch of a new Tourism Vision for London. Besides India, the other fastest growing markets for visitors to London by 2025 include China (103 per cent growth), the US (43 per cent) and the UAE (43 per cent). For the new Tourism Vision, London & Partners has collaborated with more than 100 of the capitals tourism leaders, including the Greater London Authority, Gatwick Airport, Hilton and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, to define a new vision for the tourism industry. “As a combined force, we believe that if this vision is realised, tourism will drive economic growth and stimulate the city’s cultural scene, support even greater numbers of jobs and strengthen London’s reputation as an open and welcoming city,” L&P said. The vision states that the growth in visitor numbers is not a given with increasing competition from …

Gujarat has received an overwhelming response in terms of investment in tourism projects after it launched its Tourism Policy 2015-2020 in September 2015, according to Jenu Devan, Managing Director, and Commissioner of Tourism, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. He says, “It has become a tremendous success. Till date, there are 220 applications for various tourism projects like hotels, resorts, amusement parks, etc. worth Rs 9,000 crore. So in the next few years, Gujarat is poised to have a fantastic tourism infrastructure for both the inbound and domestic tourists.” Gujarat received a total of 448 lakhs tourists during 2016-17. This was 16.9 per cent higher than the flow in 2015-16. The flow of tourists within Gujarat also increased with a 15 per cent growth. Speaking about the source markets in India and abroad, he adds, “We see the entire India as our source market. However, we get maximum traffic from our neighboring states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Internationally, UK tops the list followed by USA. We would like to receive more traffic from the South East Asian markets as they are short-haul destinations for India.”

Piyush Goyal has replaced Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu as the Minister of Railways. Goyal was the MoS (I/C) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in the Government of India. He will reportedly get to manage his power portfolio as well. He is currently a Member of Rajya Sabha and was earlier the National Treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He headed the BJP’s Information Communication Campaign Committee and oversaw the publicity and advertising campaign of the party including the social media outreach for the Indian General Elections 2014. He is an all-India second rank holder Chartered Accountant and second rank holder in Law in Mumbai University. He was a well-known investment banker and he has advised top corporates on management strategy and growth. He earlier served on the Board of India’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.