Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Bhupinder Singh has recently been promoted to Director of Airport Services – India for Marriott International. With over seventeen years of distinguished experience in the hospitality industry, Singh brings a proven track record of success in strategic management and a guest-centric approach to his new role. He will be responsible for leading airport services across Marriott’s portfolio of hotels in India. Since joining Marriott International in February 2013, Singh has consistently demonstrated dedication to exceeding guest expectations and optimizing operational efficiency. In his previous role, he oversaw airport operations and airline sales for the Delhi & NCR Cluster, which included prestigious hotels such as JW Marriott Hotel Aerocity, Aloft Aerocity, Westin Gurgaon, Le Méridien Gurgaon, Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon, and Courtyard by Marriott Aravalli (Faridabad). Singh played a pivotal role in establishing and developing the Cluster Airport Operations Team for all Marriott hotels in Bengaluru. He also implemented standard operating procedures and fostered a seamless approach to handling elite guests, earning high praise for his team-building efforts. Bhupinder is an alumnus of Meerut’s JP Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and bike riding.

Somali Bajpai has been appointed as the Cluster Marketing Manager for Crowne Plaza New Delhi Mayur Vihar and Holiday Inn Katra, bringing a strategic, dynamic, and creative approach to enhance the brand presence and market penetration for both the hotels. Somali’s strategy will focus on enhancing Crowne Plaza New Delhi Mayur Vihar’s positioning as a vibrant destination catering to both business and leisure travellers in the capital city. She plans to implement innovative storytelling, curated events, and tailored PR and digital campaigns that resonate deeply with diverse set of guests & clients. At Holiday Inn Katra, Somali aims to leverage the hotel’s serene surroundings to attract spiritual and adventure-seeking travellers. Her approach will include crafting unique, compelling narratives and creating memorable experiences that highlight Katra’s tranquil yet adventurous allure. Veenu Rastogi, Area Director of Sales and Marketing, IHG South West Asia and DOSM, Crowne Plaza Mayur Vihar. said, “Somali is known for her knack for creating strategic collaborations with media and industry partners. Her appointment signifies a strategic initiative to innovate marketing strategies and reinforce the market positioning of both Crowne Plaza New Delhi Mayur Vihar and Holiday Inn Katra within the IHG portfolio.” With a robust background at leading PR agencies such as Ad factors PR, PR Pundit, and roles at HT City and DD News, Somali brings a profound understanding of media dynamics and consumer behaviour. Her successful tenure at Crowne Plaza New Delhi Okhla, marked by award-winning food festivals, demonstrates her ability to drive marketing and public relations initiatives. Somali has been recognized as a young achiever with notable awards, including the PR Moments 30 Under 30, Exchange4Media 30 Under 30, and the Women Achiever’s Award by …

Royal Caribbean International welcomes the action-packed Ovation of the Seas to Singapore from October 2025 through March 2026. The fan favorite Quantum class ship brings a line-up of experiences that make for a memorable holiday for every type of traveler as they visit awe-inspiring destinations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and more on 3- to 5-night getaways. Starting today, holidaymakers can be the first to mark their calendars and book the new holidays on Ovation on Royal Caribbean’s website.   With their pick of 3- and 4-night getaways, travellers of all ages have in store a taste of the sights and sounds of Southeast Asia, from indulging in renowned street food in the heart of UNESCO World Heritage Site George Town in Penang, Malaysia, to kicking back on the sandy beaches of Phuket, Thailand. Holidaymakers can also enjoy more time on holiday with longer adventures, such as a 5-night cruise that features a night in Phuket to explore the ever-popular night markets and an 8-night escape to Bali to indulge in culture and adventure while roaming the waterfalls and temples of Celukan Bawang in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia.   “Ovation is a ship packed full of adventure, and with the new season’s line-up of holidays, friends and families can choose to holiday their way between short getaways to Penang and Phuket and longer sailings to Indonesia or with nights out in Phuket,” said Angie Stephen, senior vice president, International, Royal Caribbean International. “Singapore is the gateway to explore many of Asia’s most loved destinations, and it’s the combination of all Southeast Asia has to offer and the variety of unparalleled Royal Caribbean experiences that has made this region a central part …

In a bid to attract foreign tourists to India during summer, MOT has come up with a campaign to develop destinations that have good weather during this time. Manisha Saxena, DG, MOT, says, “The idea is to dispel the notion that India is too hot in summers, and attract tourists from warmer countries like Middle East, South East Asia and African countries. We hve picked over 50 destinations to actively promote them as tourist attractions.” Efforts are on to develop places like Bir Billing, Kinnaur, Dalhousie and Tirthan in HP, Patnitop in Jammu & Kashmir, Auli in Uttarakhand, Wayanad in Kerala, Thenzawl in Mizoram and Kurseong in West Bengal.

The 2024 edition of the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) released by World Economic Forum states that India has climbed to the 39th position, while US topped the list. India also ranks the highest in South Asia among the lower-middle-income economies. Earlier, India was ranked 54th in 2021 published index. Covering 119 economies, the TTDI measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the sector, which in turn contributes to the development of a country.

As Europe’s summer approaches, travel insights from digital travel platform Agoda reveal that Asia is a top choice for European globetrotters. Asia not only ranks as the most popular non-European region, but its popularity is increasing compared to last year, with Agoda noting 52% more accommodation searches by Europeans for travel to Asia, and 26% more accommodation searches for travel to India.

The Indian hospitality sector continued to witness Y-o-Y growth in performance in Q1 2024 (Jan-March), driven by a rise in ADR of 8.5% over Q1 2023, resulting in a RevPAR growth of 11.4%. Major factors contributing to this growth included an increase in corporate travel, weddings, and M!CE demand at the end of the financial year (FY24).

Since 2002, dcs plus has empowered travel players to stay relevant in this constantly evolving sector. Backed up by valuable insights gathered while working closely with travel professionals, dcs plus has designed a full software stack of business-critical solutions, addressing the complex needs of all types of travel operators. dcs plus is involved in business transformation projects in more than 60 markets, enabling travel agencies to become more operationally efficient and competitive, through an end-to-end technology platform with Travel ERP at its core. Having 2 of the largest European Venture Capital Funds, EarlyBird and Credo Venture as shareholders reconfirms the sustained dedication and drive of the dcs plus team in helping travel agencies maximize revenue and improve process efficiency while optimizing operating costs. dcs plus is the only travel tech company that offer an enterprise-grade, business critical end to end solution addressing the needs of all types of travel operators at a global scale, regardless of its business model or market. Either if we are talking about travel management companies (TMCs) or destination management companies (DMCs), tour operators, OTAs or the regular business and leisure travel agencies – everything is covered. dcs plus’s solutions perform across the travel distribution chain, from managing the full mid-back office operations (using TINA), creating and managing owned inventory (using AIDA) to aggregating and distributing travel content (using IRIX), developing fully functioning B2C website (using TRIP) or addressing the corporate travel needs (through NOVA). Headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, dcs plus targets the global market with regional offices in Dubai, Singapore, Buenos Aires and Gurgaon. dcs plus India Office 301, Unitech Cyber Park, 3rd floor, Tower A, Durga Colony, Sector 39, Gurugram, Haryana 122003, India

India and the UK have updated their air service agreement, allowing airlines to add 14 weekly flights between London Heathrow, Delhi, and Mumbai, enhancing connectivity. Both sides can now operate 70 flights per week between Heathrow and Delhi & Mumbai. Previously, only 56 flights were allowed.

On the occasion of 92nd Anniversary of EgyptAir, Amr Ali, Country Manager, EgyptAir, said, “Indian market is very crucial to us but instead of expanding we are focusing to stabilise the current operations in India. We will continue to monitor the Indian market and the traffic between India – Egypt and will introduce new routes at right time. Currently, our aim is to increase the traffic between Cairo and Delhi and enhance the options of cultural tourism, beach tourism, and wedding tourism between the two countries.”