Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Cross Hotels & Resorts in Thailand invites the Indian travel trade for an exclusive webinar today at 3 pm IST, focusing on its latest offerings. Get insights to help create enriched itineraries for your corporate clients, showcasing the best of what the brand has to offer. For more information, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is proud to announce the launch of its first-ever India Travel Trade Hub—a dedicated online platform created exclusively for the Indian travel trade community. This initiative serves as a comprehensive one-stop resource for travel advisors, tour operators, and MICE planners across India, offering the tools, insights, and support needed to promote and sell Los Angeles more effectively. The hub provides a curated experience tailored to the Indian market, featuring: Ready-to-sell itineraries DMC list Digital brochures and destination videos Trade-exclusive offers including the LA Perks Pass Training modules and webinars Offline events and trainings “India continues to be a key growth market for Los Angeles, and we are thrilled to deepen our engagement with the launch of this dynamic, first-of-its-kind Travel Trade Hub” said Seema Kadam, Regional Director, Los Angeles Tourism India.” This initiative underscores our commitment to supporting our trade partners with simplified tools and insights that make selling Los Angeles easier, more effective, and more rewarding.” This strategic step aligns with Los Angeles Tourism’s ongoing efforts to deepen engagement in India, enhance destination knowledge, and support the trade with best-in-class selling tools. This also aligns perfectly with Los Angeles’ exciting trajectory, as the city prepares to host a series of global, marquee events—including the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. Major cultural and infrastructure developments such as the opening of Destination Crenshaw, a celebration of Black art and culture, and the ongoing transformation of LAX airport, are also expected to enhance the visitor experience. Visit the India Trade Hub or the QR code.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) had the honour of meeting Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Cabinet Minister for Culture & Tourism , to discuss key matters impacting India’s outbound tourism industry. The discussion focused on the TCS (Tax Collected at Source) issue, where the Minister gave his valuable time and attention to the concerns raised by the OTOAI delegation. The meeting reflected the Ministry’s openness to dialogue and the importance of supporting the travel trade sector. OTOAI also extended a formal invitation to the Minister to attend the upcoming OTOAI Moscow Convention 2025 as the Guest of Honour, further strengthening the association’s vision of collaboration with the government. The meeting was represented by OTOAI leadership, including Immediate Past President Riaz Munshi, Vice President Shravan Bhalla, General Secretary Sidharth Khanna, and Executive Committee Member Vineet Gopal. This marks another significant step in OTOAI’s efforts to advocate for India’s growing outbound tourism industry.

In a focused endeavour aimed at bringing back confidence in travel amidst global uncertainty, Thomas Cook (India) and its group company SOTC Travel, have launched ‘TravSure’. This first-of-its-kind, safe travel program reiterates Thomas Cook and SOTC’s customer-first commitment – and delivers a stress-free journey with comprehensive support and financial protection. Emergency situations result in significant disruption to travel plans for customers – including cancellations, charges and rescheduling.  Understanding the multiple pain-points during emergency situations, TravSure has been meaningfully designed to provide customers with 24/7 assistance-support via a dedicated representative. Importantly, the program protects travellers from financial burdens by covering costs that arise during such unforeseen events. With traditional travel insurance policies typically excluding war/war-like and force majeure scenarios, Thomas Cook & SOTC’s TravSure is a bold industry-first initiative, designed to fill that critical gap and financially safeguard their international group tour customers. The program offers protection against travel emergencies such as flight suspensions, trip curtailments due to war/war-like situations, political unrest, riots, airspace closures, etc. TravSure aims at empowering customers: travel with confidence, knowing that you are protected at every step.

Arjun Baljee, President Royal Orchid Hotels has said that Regenta Z – the everywhere budget hotel brand to explore every neighbourhood, is something he is excited about. “It’s fresh, vibrant, and designed for the new-age traveller. Today’s Gen Z and millennials don’t just want a place to stay—they want an experience. Regenta Z brings together style, tech, art, and social connection in a fun and affordable format. We’re creating spaces where people can work, chill, and share their journeys. It’s bold, it’s local, and we believe it will really connect with today’s digitally driven, experience-seeking crowd,” he says.

According to a new study from Marriott International, luxury travellers in Asia Pacific are approaching their journeys with both confidence and discernment, as 72% plan to increase their spending on high-end travel in the coming year. This growth is led by travelers in Australia (85%), Indonesia (81%), and Singapore (80%), who are showing the strongest intent to invest more in premium experiences. Among all travel types, family travel stands out as the top priority for spending, with 47% of affluent travelers most willing to splurge when journeying with their immediate families.

Cross Hotels & Resorts in Thailand invites the Indian travel trade for an exclusive webinar on 4 July at 3 pm IST, focusing on its latest offerings. Get insights to help create enriched itineraries for your corporate clients, showcasing the best of what the hotels has to offer. For more info, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Speaking about the challenges in booking international train travel, Björn Bender – CEO & Executive Chairman – Rail Europe, says “It is still too complicated – too fragmented. We don’t need more apps, we need more cooperation. We don’t need more ‘mobility talk’, we need open standards, transparent fares and access to data. That’s where our energy and resources goes, every day.”

With the support of its members in Bihar, ADTOI has launched its fifteenth state chapter at a ceremony on 28th June 2025 in Patna. It was attended by state govt. officials, stakeholders of the industry from the state, ADTOI MC Team led by Ved Khanna, President, and members from Bihar. Nand Kishore, MD Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation of Patna was the Chief Guest. This initiative of ADTOI shall make the Chapter Office Bearers to work closely with the State Tourism authorities and stakeholders in the State to bring more domestic tourists to the state. The Chapter Chairman is Prabhat Kumar, Visit Bihar Destination Management, Secretary is Rajesh Kumar, Indian Tourist Bureau, the Treasurer is Sachin Sharma, Shyam Forex Tours & Travels. Khanna in his address emphasised the necessity of having State Chapter for coordination with State Tourism authorities and the stakeholders in the State to bring winds of change in the progressive growth of tourism that will bring economic benefits to the state in many ways. Members are requested to extend their full support to our Bihar Chapter in promoting the destinations in the State among the domestic tourists to increase the tourist traffic in the State. The association has also signed an MoU with Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority to jointly organise ‘ANDHRA PRADESH – ADTOI NATIONAL TOURISM MART-2025 from 17-19 September 2025 in Visakhapatnam. This initiative aims to position Andhra Pradesh as a leading destination for domestic tourism and will serve as a unique platform for industry stakeholders, tour operators and travel professionals to collaborate and showcase the diverse tourism offerings of the region.

Following the overwhelming success of the inaugural edition of ETAA Business Partners Meet 2024 which brought together over 100 travel agents and 25+ B2B partners including international and domestic tourism boards, hotels, DMCs, and VFS Global, the Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) is excited to announce the 2025 edition of this highly anticipated event on July 11, 2025 in Mumbai. Dharmesh Advani, ETAA National Board Member, shares, “This year, the response has been even more enthusiastic—all tables were sold out within two weeks. The event will feature engaging and informative presentations by Global Destinations, along with participation from leading DMCs, Malaysian tourism board, Airlines, and VFS. Our official insurance partner, Asego, will also be present to guide attendees on comprehensive travel insurance solutions.” The event is open to both ETAA Members and Non-Members — all B2C travel agents are welcome! Contact Abhijit Khadilkar at +919820092837 for more details or register directly here.