Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Breaking Boundaries, Indian travellers have reached a new peak in overseas spending. According to data from India’s central bank, Indians spent $31.7 billion overseas under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, in fiscal 2024. More than half of that- 54% was on international travel $17 billion, a 25% increase from the previous year.

Based on a survey on Indian travellers, FINN’s Future of Travel report revealed that 65% of young Indian travellers manage their finances carefully by balancing travel with other financial responsibilities indicating a market for value-for-money travel options that do not compromise on quality while 31% are willing to stretch their budget for travel.

Bengaluru Airport City unveils investment plans for a 2 million sq. ft. business park and a 775 keys hotel. Rao Munukkutla, CEO, BACL, said, “This investment will propel our vision of transforming the airport city into a bustling hub for businesses, knowledge-intensive zones, R&D centres and Global Capability Centres.”

The World Economic Forum published its 2024 edition of its Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) which measures factors and policies that enable sustainable and resilient development of the tourism sector. It offers insights into tourism economies’ strengths and areas for improvement, and the interconnected nature of tourism development, as well as facilitating strategic planning and multistakeholder dialogue to encourage sustainable growth.     United States The United States is the top scorer in the TTDI and the largest contributor to T&T GDP, both within the Americas region and globally. While the recent increase in sector wages has helped contribute to climbing operation costs, it has also helped partially bridge the T&T sector’s historically low wages in countries such as the United States. Thanks to typical advantages ranging from favourable business environments and open travel policies to well-developed transport, tourism and ICT infrastructure and natural, cultural and non-leisure attractions, United States ranked highest.   Portugal The growth in ‘bleisure’ travel and digital nomads has created new opportunities for businesses and destinations that can offer favourable conditions for business travel and leisure activities. In particular, economies that combine strong ICT infrastructure and healthcare standards, relatively reasonable cost of living, favourable visa policies and rich tourism attractions rank among the most attractive for digital nomads, with countries like Portugal and Spain ranking among the top for attractiveness for this new market.   Uzbekistan Newly ranked developing country of Uzbekistan experienced the greatest growth in TTDI scores between 2019 and 2024. While most high-income economies have experienced slight changes in their TTDI scores, the performance of Uzbekistan (+7.8%, 94th to 78th) has shown the most improvement in both score and rank compared to …

The Network of Indian MICE Agents completing its landmark 10th anniversary on 25 May, plans to go global to expand its membership. “Over the last decade, NIMA has achieved umpteen accolades and significant milestones and is a true representative of Indian M!CE operators,” said, Gajesh Girdhar, Founder, NIMA.

Kerala is preparing for the 12th Kerala Travel Mart (KTM-2024) from 26-29 September 2024, expecting its largest turnout. So far, 592 foreign buyers from 71 countries have registered. Notably, buyers from 27 countries, including China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, will attend for the first time at Asia’s largest tourism event.  

According to JLL, the Jan-March quarter saw 90 branded hotel signings with 9,710 rooms. 13 hotels were conversions, making up 12% of the inventory. Focus was on tier II and III cities, with 75% of the 2,316 keys from 36 hotel openings in Jaipur, Indore, Surat, Ayodhya, and others. 

VisitBritain’s latest inbound tourism forecast estimates £32.5 billion will be spent by international visitors in the UK this year, up 5% on 2023, and up 14% on 2019. Looking at visits to the UK, 38.7 million visits are forecast, up 2% on the 38.0 million seen in 2023 however still 5% shy of 2019 levels. 

Gyan Bhushan, IES – Senior Economic Advisor, MOT said, “As India continues to assert its position as a premier global travel destination, fostering collaborations and partnerships within the tourism sector is imperative for realizing its vast potential. By facilitating direct engagement between GCC buyers and Indian tourism stakeholders, not only opens new avenues for collaboration but also lays a robust foundation for sustainable tourism growth.”  

Radisson Hotel Sector 29, Gurugram, proudly announces the promotion of Parul Trehan to the position of Learning and Development Manager; and Bhupendra Tomar to the position of Food and Beverage Manager, effective April 1, 2024. Parul Trehan, an English Honors graduate from Jaipur,  started her remarkable career at the Heritage Hotel, owned by the Jaipur royal family. She has since refined her skills in prestigious establishments such as The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. Driven by her love for providing exceptional service and hospitality, Parul joined Radisson in 2023 and eventually made the shift into learning and development. Parul’s key priorities will be team building and improving hotel quality. Alongside Anuj Soin, she will strive to uphold and surpass Radisson Sector 29, Gurugram’s high standards for service excellence. Anuj Soin, General Manager at Radisson Sector 29, Gurugram said, The selection of Parul as Learning & Development Manager is a reflection of her unrelenting commitment, ceaseless efforts, and steadfast quest of excellence. Bhupendra Tomar, an IHTM, Ghaziabad graduate in hotel management; joined Radisson Hotel Group in 2014. He was formerly connected to prestigious companies like Hilton and The Leela. Bhupendra has improved the food and beverage experience at Radisson Sector 29, Gurugram, across his whole stay. He will put a lot of effort into creating distinctive dining experiences in his new capacity. Increasing team productivity, integrating the newest F&B trends into menu items, and guaranteeing that F&B operations and hotel operations are seamlessly integrated are some of his duties. “Bhupendra’s promotion demonstrates our dedication to developing internal talent and elevating from within, said Anuj Soin, General Manager at Radisson Sector 29, Gurugram. Parul will carry out our training …