Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), the apex body of restaurateurs and hoteliers of Western India, has initiated a full-fledged social media campaign on the recent issue of liquor ban. “Through the social media we will convey a few facts that, in normal times, would have been apparent. In the current state, unfortunately, facts are obscured by surround sound. The facts to be considered are alcoholism is a disease and a social evil; drunken driving is a crime; and, hotels and restaurants serve alcohol. What is of significance is that these facts are not correlated. Any arrow of continuity that may exist is forced. The compulsive alcoholic will find ways and means for consuming alcohol and he will continue to drive after drinking. Just as locking up girls at home is not a solution for preventing rapes, banning hotels from serving liquor cannot be a solution for ending the menace of drunk driving. Drunk driving is a crime, and it should be treated as one,” says Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI. HRAWI will run a series of hashtags on Facebook that will try and explain some of the common misconceptions. “One million jobs, Rs. 200,000 crores loss to the exchequer, possible closure of 15,000 establishments is not a small thing. It is a huge social cost to pay. And we would not have minded being sacrificed if the ban were to yield any results. But reality is that all the job losses and other damages would be wasted. Statistics prove that there is a correlation between drunk driving and enforcement; and not between drunk driving and number of restaurants and bars. If true, there would be no drunk driving …
Read More »PATA India training programme for member on May 5
PATA India has announced a training programme for its members and their employees on May 5, 2017. The programme is titled “Win-Win Negotiations” and is a full day training program. This training program will be conducted by Roshan Suhail, an accomplished Trainer, who had the honour of working with leading organisations like ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, Dhanuka, Shriram Group, UFLEX, YKK, Ashok Leyland, INTEX, HERO Cycles, iEnergizer, Shree Cements, Reliance Securities, and many more. Suhail has also conducted programmes for Govt. organisations and PSUs like Air India, Engineers India Ltd., FIEO, EPCH etc.
Read More »Ethiopian Airlines, South African revamp codeshare services
Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways, both members of Star Alliance, have entered into an expanded codeshare agreement, inked on October 01, 2016 and projected to be effective as of 2017 summer season. The revamped codeshare agreement is anticipated to further enhance the cooperation among the two carriers and avail a range of additional destinations for customers to travel to. Girma Shiferaw, A/Vice President Strategic Planning and Alliances, Ethiopian, remarked, “As a successful Pan-African carrier, we have an unshakable stance to work in collaboration with all African carriers. Therefore, revamping the already existing codeshare agreement with our partner, South African Airways, emanates from our common ambition and joint effort to expand our footprint to different destinations and better serve our esteemed customers globally. The expanded codeshare agreement between the two carriers enables our customers enjoy the best possible connectivity options to multiple destinations and also plays a significant role in enabling greater people-to-people, investment, trade and tourism ties within Africa as well as with the rest of the World.” Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways signed the first codeshare agreement on 17, September 2003 and extended codeshare agreement on October 01, 2016 on destinations such as Cape Town, Durban and Toronto. More codeshare destinations will be added in the near future.
Read More »1800 meetings at the Travel Experiential Show
The second edition of Travel Experiential Show concluded with nearly 1800 meetings conducted among 27 exhibitors and nearly 60 buyers from April 8-9, 2017, at WelcomHeritage Sheraton, New Delhi. Representatives from hotels, travel agencies, cruises, railways, tourism boards, etc. met tour operators and travel agents from across Tier-I, Tier-II and Tier-III markets under one roof to network and explore business opportunities for the experiential and luxury segment of travel. The show was inaugurated by His Excellency Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Bhutan and Nepal. “I believe luxury begins from the airport. It is how you are treated upon arrival; it is in the destination and also on how comfortable or at ease is a destination with itself,” said Stoelinga. Speaking at the inauguration, Tekla Maira, Director Luxury Sales-India, AccorHotels Luxe, said, “If we look at the demographics where the luxury market resides in India, then according to a report, 55 per cent of the market is in the Tier-I cities while Tier-II and Tier-III markets combined offer a 45 per cent market share. Thus I feel that though we should be bw looking at high-end markets but at the same time not ignore the smaller cities as the potential is very high.” Other dignitaries inaugrating the show were Neha Lidder, Marketing Head-DLF Emporia Mall and Shanawaz Shah, Manager Marketing Tourim, SKICC Srinagar.
Read More »Medical and Wellness Policy to be launched on June 21
The country’s first Medical and Wellness Policy will be launched on June 21, 2017, announced Dr Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister – Tourism and Culture, Govt. of India at a press conference in New Delhi. The policy will be instrumental in streamlining the process for making India a preferred medical and wellness destination, owing to its affordability and quality of services. The Board had recently held its second meeting with various stakeholders to discuss the framework of the policy. As many as 201,333 foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India on Medical Visa were recorded in 2016, while there were 1,34,344 FTAs in 2015 and 75,688 FTAs in 2014.
Read More »IATO opposes transport tax in Haryana
Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO, has said that the members of IATO are unhappy with the transport tax hike by the Transport Department of Haryana Government in the state. Addressing the monthly luncheon meeting of IATO, he said, “The transport tax in Haryana has been increased by 1700% from April 1, 2017. He said that while the government has increased this tax after four years, but such a steep hike is unacceptable. We will be meeting the Haryana Chief Minister as well as the Union Finance Minister to request them to implement any increase gradually.” Starting April 1, commercial vehicles entering Haryana would have to pay Rs. 3000.
Read More »Crystal Sarovar Premiere Agra receives five star classification
Crystal Sarovar Premiere Agra has been certified as a 5-star hotel by the Ministry of Tourism. The 112 keys hotel has received the certification for a period of five years till the year 2022. Speaking on the recognition, Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd., says, “This certification reinforces our strengthening position in the leisure markets. Agra holds a high significance in the tourism map and we are glad to be able to offer the best of our signature Sarovar hospitality in this city.” Commenting on this acknowledgment, Vivek Mahajan, General Manager, Crystal Sarovar Premiere Agra, says, “We are delighted to be certified with 5 – Star ratings for Crystal Sarovar Premiere. We have been delivering a premier full-service and upscale hotel experience to guests visiting one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Crystal Sarovar Premiere will continue to set new standards by offering unmatched hospitality services to the guest at attractive price points”.
Read More »IndiGo to launch app for travel trade
IndiGo airlines is all set to launch a dedicated mobile app for the travel trade to make it easier for the trade to do bookings. During a presentation on IndiGo products at the IATO Luncheon on April 6, 2017, Ajay Wadhawan, Associate Vice President, Trade Sales, India, IndiGo, informed that after launching a user friendly application for its consumers, the airline would soon be launching a mobile application for the travel trade fraternity as well. PATA India is pleased to announce its Training program for its Members and their employees on 5th May, 2017. The program is titled “Win-Win Negotiations” and is a full day training program. This Training program will be conducted by Roshan Suhail, an accomplished Trainer, who had the honour of working with leading organizations like ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, Dhanuka, Shriram Group, UFLEX, YKK, Ashok Leyland, INTEX, HERO Cycles, iEnergizer, Shree Cements, Reliance Securities, and many more. Suhail has also conducted programs for Govt. organizations and PSUs like Air India, Engineers India Ltd, FIEO, EPCH etc. While the venue will be communicate shortly, we request you to confirm your participation shortly, no later than 13th April 2017. The participation fee for the program is Rs. 3,000/- per participant. Organization registering six or more participant will enjoy the benefit of one free place.
Read More »Jobs at risk as India’s alcohol sale ban harms tourism: WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has urged the Indian government to co-ordinate a countrywide response to the Supreme Court ruling, which has banned the sale of alcohol within close proximity of highways. David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, said: “While we acknowledge the importance of implementing policies that address the abuse of alcohol when driving, we call on the Indian Government to reverse or amend the current ruling. I do not believe that this ban was aimed at the travel industry. It is an unbalanced approach that will have negative consequences for the country’s economy, as business and leisure customers cancel their bookings in those establishments affected. The impact of the ban on drunk driving is impossible to measure, as businesses beyond the stipulated 500 meters will still be allowed to sell alcohol. Businesses within the proposed banned distance, including many hotels, restaurants and bars that serve tourists, will lose customers and revenue. This not only means less income but also means that many people will lose their jobs as a direct result.” The unintended consequences of this ban are that it will have a significantly negative effect on hotels and restaurants in this zone, and will curtail future job creating investment in the industry. Scowsill continued: “Travel & Tourism is an extremely important income stream within the country, the sector contributed INR14.1 trillion (USD208.9 billion) or 9.6% of India’s GDP in 2016 and supported over 40.3 million jobs, which is 9.3% of total employment in the country. India’s Travel & Tourism sector is forecast to be the third fastest growing in terms of total GDP over the next decade. WTTC welcomes the commitment to this sector as …
Read More »India tourism climbs 12 places up, ranks 40th from 52nd globally
India has moved 12 places up to 40th position from 52nd in Travel and Tourism Competitive Index (TTCI) of World Economic Forum. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture, said, “We are pleased to announce that India’s tourism industry has moved up 12 places since 2015, and now occupies 40th rank globally while countries like Japan, China, US, and Switzerland have improved by less than five positions. The ranking is a witness to the several initiatives that have come into effect, such as the liberalisation of visa, formation of tourist helpline 1363, initiation of welcome kits, among many others. Demonetisation has not had much of an impact as we have observed a six-fold growth after it came into action.” He further elaborated that while tourism’s global growth has been 3.9 per cent in 2016, India alone recorded a 10.7 per cent growth, with a CAGR of about 8.4 per cent. The safety and security ranking has also increased by 15 points since the previous year.
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