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Thomas Cook India’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Thomas Cook Lanka has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the purpose of acquiring 24 per cent of the issued, subscribed and paid up share capital of Sita World Travel Lanka. Sita World Travel Lanka was incorporated in 1997 to promote leisure travel to Sri Lanka. The balance 76 per cent is held by SOTC Travel Service which is a subsidiary of Thomas Cook India and Travel Corporation of India. The successful completion of the acquisition is subject to statutory and regulatory approvals. (Source: PTI)

Tourism Authority of Thailand’s offices in Mumbai and Delhi are in the midst of a four-city roadshow. TAT Delhi began the roadshow with Raipur on August 18 and Bhubaneshwar (August 20) while TAT Mumbai will take the annual initiative to the travel trade in Hyderabad (August 22) and Pune (August 24). “We are taking the Thailand product beyond metros because we are also experiencing huge traffic and interest from these cities,” says Soraya Homchuen, director, TAT Mumbai office. “The focus of the roadshow will be new segments and new regions. In Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata we have already announced our focus on families, women-only holidays, bachelorette parties and luxury-seekers. We have already begun to see traction for new regions such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi, Rayong, Koh Samet, Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan,” adds Homchuen. The Amazing Thailand roadshow will see over a dozen suppliers visit all four cities. Sellers will be briefed on each city’s unique needs and way of doing business, along with demand-related information, trends and connectivity to ensure that they are on the same page as the travel trade who will attend the roadshow. “The focus of the roadshow will be new segments and new regions. In Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata we have already announced our focus on families, women-only holidays, bachelorette parties and luxury-seekers in a clear shift away from bachelor parties and budget holiday makers. Additionally we have showcased and begun to see traction for new regions all over Thailand such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi, Rayong, Koh Samet, Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan,” adds Homchuen. She and the team …

The Reunion Island Tourism Board (French Island in Indian Ocean) has announced the appointment of Representation World LLP as its representative office in India. Representation World LLP has been tasked to implement ongoing public relations and travel trade programs, to educate potential travellers on the destination’s unique attributes, thereby attracting a larger number of visitors to Reunion Island from India. Reunion Island aims to receive more Indian Tourist, with this Partnership with Representation World. “Reunion Island offering Activities for all segment of the travellers be it in Air – Paragliding, Heli Tours , On Land – Casino, Culture Tour, Lava Caves. In Water – Deep Sea Diving, Coral Tours, Surfing, Canyoning etc will surely be interest of Indian Traveller and 42% whole Island is Protected by UNESCO world heritage and only place to see Volcanic Eruption even by hiking. The Mars Surface resemblance will definitely attract Indian Visitors Said Mr. William TECHER Head of Marketing & Promotion INDIA. Vineet Gopal, Director, Representation World LLP added, “We are thrilled & honoured to represent the Reunion Tourism Board in India. The destination offering will definitely attract Indian Honeymooners, Family, Adventure Tourist, etc. Also the 15 Days Short Stay Visa simplification for Indian who wish to travel to Beautiful Reunion Island will also boost Tourism from India to Reunion Island.”

Foreign Tourist Arrivals during the July, 2016, were 7.36 lakh as compared to FTAs of 6.28 lakh during the same period last year registering a growth of 17.1 per cent over the same month the previous year. A sum of Rs.14, 319 crore foreign exchange was earned through tourism in July 2016. FTAs during the period January- July, 2016 were 49.22 lakh with a growth of 10.0 per cent as compared to the FTAs of 44.73 lakh with a growth of 4.6% in January- July, 2015. FEEs from tourism during the same period were Rs. 87,384 crore with a growth of 15.0 per cent. The top five countries with the maximum share in FTAs for July include Bangladesh (17.30%) followed by USA (16.51%), UK (11.67%), Malaysia (3.49%)and France (3.12%) while the Percentage share of FTAs among the top 5 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (26.22%) followed by Mumbai Airport (17.04%), Chennai Airport (10.11%), Haridaspur Land check post (9.82%) and Bengaluru Airport (7.31%).

Hyatt is all set to have a total of 27 properties in India by the end of this year. Harleen Mehta, Vice President, Sales Operations, South Asia – Hyatt Hotels Corporation says, “Currently we have a portfolio of 24 hotels in India, representing five brands (Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt and Hyatt Place). A sixth brand (Andaz) will enter India in latter part of 2016 with the opening of the Andaz Delhi. By end of this financial year, we aim to have 27 properties in India. Apart from the aforementioned Andaz Delhi – the thirteenth Andaz hotel in the world.”

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) has sought amendments to the draft Goods and Services Tax law that include making an exception for tourism and hospitality businesses, and classifying them under 6-8 per cent tax slab. FAITH has asked the GST commissionerate and the revenue secretary to provide an amendment under Section 2 (44)c to the tourism & hospitality industry. According to a letter from FAITH, Section 2(44)c, under the draft GST model law describes an export service as one which is rendered abroad. FAITH has put forwarded the rationale that tourism services to foreign exchange paying tourists can’t be rendered abroad as all our destinations are within India and it is an intangible product & hence an exception needs to be provided in the law itself to the tourism & hospitality industry. Once tourism & hospitality is classified as an export service, FAITH will request the GST council for a 0% rating of GST on tourism & hospitality exports. This will make our tourism industry extremely competitive globally & remove the uncompetitive 18-25% indirect taxation. FAITH will also ask the GST council for a below 10% GST rating on domestic tourism. This is in line with global practices where the introduction of GST has seen tourism GST kept at less than half the standard rate of GST. Implementation of both of these recommendations have the potential to spur our tourism forex earnings to $30-$35 billion from 13-15 million foreign tourists & has our domestic tourism to 1.8- 2 billion domestic visitations. This could double the employment induced by tourism to 9 crore jobs from 4.5 crore jobs. They have also shared their concerns with the …

The Indian Association of Tour Operators took its members for a Fam tour to Orchha Palace and Convention Centre. The new property opened its doors to the IATO members before its formal opening on October 1, 2016, and showcased its various offerings to the tour operators. The two day tour saw the members experiencing the facilities at the property and sightseeing of the historical city of Orccha. The property is owned by Ashok Jain, MD, Orchha Palace and Convention Centre, who also owns Orchha Resort in the same region.

Indian tourists travelling to Thailand after September 27, 2016 will be charged 2000THB for Visa on Arrival (VoA), according to the Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi. Tourists from Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are entitled to apply for VoA at 42 designated immigration checkpoints, which will allow tourists to stay in the country up to 15 days. The reason for the doubling of the VoA fee, which earlier stood at 1000THB, is to encourage tourists to apply for visas at Thai embassies or consular offices instead to enable thorough inspection and avoid security threats.

Mumbai-based Avant Garde Consulting has taken on JA Resorts & Hotels as part of its connoisseur’s collection, which is a collection of seven properties spread across Dubai, and one each in the Maldives and Seychelles. Pooja Wadhwa, Partner, Avant Garde Consulting, said, “The company has an analogous marketing philosophy and market segmentation as ours, and we see a perfect fit for each of their properties in various segments within the ever evolving Indian market that desires an authentic and enriching experience. We look forward to building the JA Resorts & Hotels brand in India, and subsequently acquire a large market share for JA in India.” JA’s Portfolio includes seven properties in Dubai, JA Manafaru exclusive island resort in the Maldives and Enchanted Island Resort by JA in Seychelles, which is a super-luxurious 10 villa property each with private beach access and a private pool.

The Sultanate of Oman in association with the national airline Oman Air will conduct multi-city roadshow for the travel trade in India during September. The roadshow will commence on September 19 at Park Hyatt, Hyderabad; September 21 at The Oberoi, Kolkata; September 23 at Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad; and conclude on September 26 at JW Marriott, Pune. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative – Ministry of Tourism, Oman says, “In 2015, we witnessed 17 per cent growth in Indian arrivals and in the first six months of 2016 too we have seen a positive growth. Encouraged by these figures and to penetrate better in tier II cities, we have decided to conduct the roadshow in Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. This year, we also identified Kolkata as a new market for Oman and will be conducting our first roadshow in the city. With this new addition, Oman has made presence in 8 Indian cities with Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai being our main source markets.” Representatives from Ministry of Tourism, Oman along with a 15-member delegation representing hotels, DMCs and attractions in Oman will interact with key travel agents and tour operators from India. The roadshow will follow a pre-fixed meeting format whereby the invited travel agents will get adequate time to meet each delegate from Oman.