Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Peter Semone, Chair, PATA, said, “PATA forecasts international visitor numbers by the end of 2023 are predicted to exceed 516 million, approaching 76% of the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. This is expected to further increase to 107% in 2024 and 116% in 2025.”

A World Bank study states that air pollution is having significant impact on the tourism sector. It highlights that air pollution is costing India’s tourism sector $1.7 billion every year. The pollution is being restraining factor for people visiting India, causing tourists to shorten their stay,

Voicing concern at the increase of 5 per cent in VAT on liquor, HRAWI has urged the govt. to reconsider the decision in light of the concerns including the impact on tourism and the State’s revenues, loss of business to hospitality establishments and the possibility of bootlegging, among others.

The MTF Cricket League returns for a 2nd season bringing with it some new players from the trade. The player auction will be held on Oct 29 in Mumbai and the matches will be held on January 14, 2024. The organisers believe that this event is not just a cricketing extravaganza but a celebration of sportsmanship, camaraderie and excellence in the travel industry.

Hotel investments in Asia-Pacific will total up to US$ 10.1 billion for 2023 for a variety of external factors, representing a year-on-year decline of 14 per cent. According to JLL’s recent report, a decline in both transactions and investment volumes versus 2022 is largely attributable to the combined headwinds of interest rate increases, cost inflation, and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Mamaka by Ovolo is hosting an exclusive webinar for its Indian travel trade to give highlight their key offerings. The webinar is scheduled for October 31, from 3-4 pm (IST). Additionally, Mamaka is introducing special promotional offers for their trade partners. For more details, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The DGCA has finalised the new winter schedule for domestic flights effective October 29, 2023 for Indian airlines. It is 3% more than this summer and almost 8% more than last winter flights. Among the big airlines, the maximum increase in flights is by IndiGo and Air India. There are 23,732 departures per week to/from 118 airports as compared to 22,907 from 110 airports in summer schedule 2023.

Experience Kissimmee is organising an exclusive virtual tour of the sunny destination in Florida for the travel trade on Nov 1 at 11am. Through this webinar, attendees can understand myriad ways in which their clients’ trip can be made memorable. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has approved a unified tourist visa, much like the Schegen Zone, that will allow visitors to travel freely between all 6 GCC countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE. This is expected to be rolled out in 2024 – 2025. Specific regulations and legislation are to be prepared, with a projected implementation between 2024 and 2025, depending on the readiness of each GCC country’s internal systems. This initiative is an integral part of the GCC 2030 tourism strategy.  

The Ministry of Tourism recently attended the BRICS Tourism Ministers Meeting held in Cape Town, South Africa. The joint communique signed on the occasion highlighted mainstreaming sustainable policies and practices, developing more sustainable tourism business models and reconsidering perceptions of tourism success to achieve a resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism sector.