Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

SpiceJet has started its daily direct flight service from Goa to Surat. This will be the first ever direct connection between Goa and Surat by any airline. As the first nonstop flight between Goa and Surat, the new flight will provide travellers with a convenient travel option, thus saving their time while making their journey hassle free. To cater to the peak summer rush, from March to October, SpiceJet has unleashed a whole new summer schedule wherein the airline has added 19 new domestic and 3 new international flights, thus offering more seats and connecting key metros and cities.

Beijing Capital Airlines (JD) joins Hahn Air’s network of 300 air, rail and shuttle partners. The Chinese carrier signed an Interline Electronic Ticketing Agreement (IET) with the German scheduled airline and can now sell its flights even in markets where it is not participating in the local BSP. Travel agents worldwide using the Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Travelsky, Apollo, Abacus, Worldspan, Axess or Infini can issue the services of Beijing Capital Airlines on Hahn Air’s HR-169 ticket under the IATA code JD. Based at Beijing Airport (PEK), Beijing Capital Airlines operates a fleet of 78 Airbus aircraft and flies more than 200 domestic and international routes. Its network spans 73 destinations in ten countries, including Madrid, Moscow, Sydney, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. As part of the HNA Group, Beijing Capital Airlines launched several new long-haul services in 2016, for example Qingdao-Melbourne, Hangzhou-Chengdu-Madrid, and Hangzhou-Qingdao-Vancouver. The same year, Beijing Capital Airlines was named among the 10 Best Regional Airlines in China by the leading air travel review portal Skytrax. In 2017, Beijing Capital Airlines continues to add new routes, such as Hangzhou-Beijing-Lisbon (the first direct connection between China and Portugal), Qingdao-Moscow, Qingdao-London Heathrow and Qingdao-Sydney. “Beijing Capital Airlines is our 12th interline partner from the People’s Republic of China”, says Steve Knackstedt, Vice President Airline Business Group at Hahn Air. “With Beijing Capital Airlines we are adding a wealth of new routes and destinations to cater to the demand of passengers worldwide. We are happy to support our more than 100,000 travel agent partners in 190 countries with another key player in China which is now available for ticketing on our HR-169 ticket in all major GDSs.”

Due to Jharia coal field fire and acting on subsequent advisory received from Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Railways has decided to stop the operation of goods and passenger traffic on Dhanbad-Chandrapura Railway line w.e.f. June 15, 2017. Keeping in view the safety of passengers, Ministry of Railways has diverted seven trains, cancelled 13 Mail Express Trains and six passenger trains. Member Traffic, Railway Board Mohd Jamshed gave a brief about this development at Rail Bhavan today. He informed that on an average 11 pairs of Mail/Express and 6 pairs of passenger trains run on the section daily. Special counters to facilitate refunds as per extant rules will be provided for the affected passengers. He reiterated that all efforts would be made to minimize passenger inconvenience

The second edition of Travel Wedding Show 2017, a B2B meetings platform for buyers and suppliers of the wedding segment, is scheduled to be held from July 8-9, 2017, at Jaipur Marriott Hotel. The show will be graced by Chief Guest Rajeev Jain, Director – Rashi Entertainment, and Guest of Honour Hema Hariramani, Director–National Sales India at Marriott International. More than 30 high-profile exhibitors including Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre; Taj Hotels & Resorts; The Oberoi Group; AccorHotels; Abu Dhabi Tourism Board; Austria Tourism Board; Ras Al Khaimah Tourism; Destination Canada and a number of others are expected to be present at the event. The show will include a gala dinner on July 8, 2017, where industry experts will address industry participants. The first day will see the presence of 35 wedding trade specialists from all over India, showcasing the variety of weddings they specialise in. For the second day, 35 wedding planners and agents from across the country have been invited to the event. The two-day event, organised by PLG and DDP Exhibitions, addresses the need for a consolidated face-to-face opportunity between the travel and wedding sectors. The show hosts buyers with a range of offerings relevant to the exhibitor’s niche. The focus is on bringing new business opportunities to its exhibitors. Sarika Bhambhani Rawal, General Manager, Travel Wedding Show, said, “The idea is to amalgamate the two vibrant sectors, wedding and travel, a scenario that is seldom witnessed. The show will bring a selected group of people together and facilitate business for the growth of both the industries. Moreover, there will be collision of the two worlds for face-to-face interactions that are more effective. The two-day …

In a bid to boost the tourism yields from India market and to expand its business, the Reunion Island Tourism Board has come up with their first-ever ‘Cash Incentive Program’ for the Indian travel agents and tour operators. Under this new scheme which is conceptualised in partnership with Representation World, the India representative of the Reunion Island Tourism Board, the agents will have to commit as well as deliver min 10 numbers of visitors from India market and upon successful completion of commitment, they are entitled to get the cash bonus which can go up to more than EUR 32,000*. This “Cash Incentive Program” is only valid post signing the official agreement with Reunion Island Tourism Board. The scheme is performance-linked and is valid with both Air Austral and Air Mauritius (flights operating from India to Reunion Island). Under the scheme, one travel agent can earn upto EUR 32,000 for 1751-2,000 pax (selling reunion Island as a standalone destination) and up to EUR 20100 for 1751-2,000 pax (in combination with any other destination) in one year. This scheme is valid from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. “India market is an important market for Reunion Island and recently we have registered a growth of 175% from this market, which are an encouraging numbers for us. We are thrilled to announce this special scheme for India as it will undoubtedly help us to strengthen our position as a preferred holiday destination for Indian travellers through our trusted travel agents’ network in India,” said William Techer – Head of Promotion & Marketing India and Indian Ocean, Reunion Island Tourism Board. Vineet Gopal, Director India, Reunion Island Tourism Board, shared, “I welcome this …

The Philippines has witnessed a growth of 28 per cent in Indian tourist arrivals during January-February, 2017, compared to the same period last year. As per the official data released by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, more than 19,000 Indians visited the Philippines in the first two months of 2017 and as a result India has now jumped to the 11th rank among the top source markets for the island nation. In 2016, more than 90,000 Indian tourists visited the Philippines and recorded 21.27 per cent of annual growth. Speaking about the growth, SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office India, said, “Over the years, we have seen a steady growth in Indian tourists to the Philippines and are confident that this trend will continue. We are extremely delighted that the year 2017 is giving us a good start and our continued efforts in targeting the Indian holiday planners through aggressive marketing initiatives will yield even better results by the year end.” In 2017, the DOT Philippines will be more focused on consumers as well as corporates to promote this beautiful archipelago as a Leisure, Luxury, Wedding and MICE destination. “We want to leverage on our tourism product offerings and attract the Indian traveller to soon achieve our target of 100,000 tourist arrivals to the Philippines,” added SanJeet.

GoAir is set to expand its operations to Patna with the launch of their fourth daily flight between New Delhi and Patna, with effect from June 11, 2017. The launch of this additional daily service between Patna and New Delhi aims at strengthening GoAir’s extensive network of flights to Patna. This additional flight will benefit the large number of passengers travelling from Patna to New Delhi further bolstering the airline’s already extensive network. The flight G8 133 from DEL-PAT will depart at 15:10 hours and arrive at 16:50 hours daily from June 11, 2017, till October 28, 2017. Upon return, the flight G8 134 from PAT-DEL will depart at 17:20 hours and arrive at 19:10 hours daily from June 11, 2017, till October 28, 2017.

The Ministry of Culture has offered a total of 116 ASI monuments to the Ministry of Tourism (MOT), which would then be open to PPP model, it was revealed by Rashmi Verma, Secretary of Tourism, in a meeting with FAITH recently. Under the PPP model, these monuments will be taken over by private players for the upkeep, maintenance and to be illuminated for night tourism as well.

The Lemon Tree Hotel Company is on an expansion spree and will be opening 8-9 hotels at various destinations in India this year. Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels & Director, Carnation Hotels, said, “In the Carnation operating space, we have 8-9 hotels opening in this fiscal year. Since the demonetisation pressure, some of our properties are getting delayed by another three months or four months. We will open hotels in Sikkim, Siliguri, Jammu, Corbett, Trivandrum, Coimbatore and we will open one hotel in Sohna Road as well. Also, there will be 7-8 hotels in managed space. But mid next year, there will be few openings that we will be doing in our own spaces. We will have Kolkata and Pune open and even Udaipur could be on cards.”

The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has announced the opening of its first Citadines-branded serviced residence in the city – Citadines OMR Chennai. The 269-unit Apart’hotel is located in Sholinganallur and is wholly owned and managed by Ascott. Speaking at the launch, Tony Soh, Ascott’s Chief Corporate Officer and MD for India, said, “India will be a key market and a vital part of Ascott’s global expansion to achieve our target of 80,000 apartment units by 2020. India continues to be an attractive destination for foreign direct investment, with a record $46 billion being invested in the country in 2016. Foreign tourist arrivals are also on an upturn, as India saw 8.9 million in arrivals in 2016 – a growth of 10.7 per cent from the previous year. India’s fast-growing economy, increasing visitor arrivals and rising affluence present immense opportunities for international hospitality companies like Ascott. With the increase in business activities and tourist arrivals, Ascott foresees a growing demand for premium serviced residences in India. Our strategy for India is to expand in high-growth cities where there is strong demand for international-class serviced residences from expatriates, project teams and business travellers. We will establish more strategic alliances and seek investment opportunities as well as management contracts.” Ajit Koushik, Ascott’s Area General Manager for India, said, “With the launch of Citadines OMR Chennai, Ascott now has two operating serviced residences in India. Ascott also has six properties with over 900 units in various stages of development in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Sri City. We are also seeking opportunities in key business cities including Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.” Citadines OMR Chennai is strategically located along Rajiv Gandhi Salai, more popularly known …