Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Madhavan Menon, Executive Chairman, Thomas Cook (India), said the travel industry is expected to continue growing at a steady pace for the next four to five years. The increasing purchasing power of people who can afford holidays, regardless of the cost, will continue to drive the growth trend, he said, adding that Covid-19 has taught companies the importance of productivity.

Tourism in Himachal Pradesh has seen a surge this year. By May 2024, the state recorded over 7.4 million tourists. This marks a rise of 3.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. Solan district has emerged as the destination with the highest tourist arrival surpassing Shimla. Kasauli and Chail are also gaining popularity.

Speaking about MICE, Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, said, “It is a big opportunity and there is a need to bring the biggest conferences of the world here, to show the size of India’s offerings. With world-class conferencing infrastructure like Bharat Mandapam, we need to look at how we can utilise those to get more conferences in India.”

Attending the 10th Anniversary of International Yoga Day at the iconic Qutub Minar in Delhi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Tourism, GOI, said, “India has taught ‘Yoga’ to the world. It is a part of our cultural identity. This day has completed a decade today.” He gave the message of including it in daily routine for a healthy lifestyle.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman, along with Kempinski Hotel Muscat, Zahara Tours, and SalamAir, invites the Indian travel trade to attend a webinar on the destination and the product offerings. Get valuable insights and updates for your clients on June 27 at 3pm IST. Join the webinar and stand a chance to win exciting prizes! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

India’s foremost offering in tourism is culture and heritage but as a sub-continent, we have a lot to offer. Manisha Saxena, DG, Tourism, said, “We want to make wildlife a big tourism offering. We need to segment the offerings not only to the traditional source markets but have to identify newer ones as Southeast Asia and others.”

Fitch Ratings report affirmed that the tourism and travel sector in the APAC region will continue to recover although the pace will be slow. Footfalls in APAC will reach 92 per cent of 2019 level this year, with nominal global tourism receipts exceeding that in 2019 by six per cent, fuelled by robust demand, economic resilience, and additional flight capacity.

RateGain report revealed that 40 per cent of the bookings of mid-size hotel chains happen through Online Travel Agency (OTAs). In contrast, for large-scale hotels 32 per cent of bookings come through OTAs, concluding that large-scale hotels mostly use their brand name for bookings, while mid-size hotels take a balanced approach worldwide.

NSE has launched the Nifty India Tourism Index, a new thematic index, which will track the performance of Nifty 500 tourism firms. It will track the largest 30 stocks from the eligible basic industries. Following stocks are presently among the 17 stocks in the index: BLS International, Chalet Services, Easy Trip Planners, GMR Airports, Indian Hotels, IRCTC, and InterGlobe Aviation.

Ranjith Krishnan will be heading the Sales Department of Imperience Hotels & Resort as their new Director of Sales. Ranjith moved from Accor Group, where he was the Director of Sales at Novotel Kochi Info Park. Ranjith comes with twenty years of experience in hospitality industry that too in Sales and Marketing with leading international brands like Le Meridien, Starwood, Marriott and Accor Group. Ranjit started his career with Le Meridien Kochi in Reservations and while leaving them he was the head of room sales division as Associate Director of Sales. Imperience Hotels & Resorts currently handles the Sales & Marketing of six boutique resorts located in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Their product portfolio includes Chandy’s Windy Woods Munnar , Chandy’s Drizzle Drops Munnar Top Station, Reen Resort, Anavilasam, Thekkady and their associates Vythiri Resort, Wayanad, Vayal Veedu, Muthanga and Kaav Safari Lodge, Kabini. ‘Since Ranjith has got the opportunity to handle all major segments of Hotels Sales like Travel Trade, Corporate, MICE, Retail and Airlines, his joining will further strengthen the Salesforce of Imperience Hotels & Resorts and will benefit its member hotels in channelising business from all these major segments’ says Dileep Kumar P I, CoFounder & CEO of Imperience Hotels & Resorts.