This year, according to FCM Consulting’s latest Global Trends Report, Q1-2023 has seen the positive momentum of H2-2022 continue in both business and leisure travel with demand across the world forecast predicted as 85.5 per cent of 2019 levels.
Read More »International travel by Indian doubled in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022: Airbnb
The UK, USA & various European countries are the top destination for Indian travelers. Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb, General Manager said, “We want India to have a diverse range of accommodation options to harness the travel rebound, while also helping to promote responsible travel practices”.
Read More »Akasa Air acquires 20th aircraft to enable Int’l operations within 60 days: Vinay Dube
CEO of Akasa Airlines, Vinay Dube said that within next 60 days, the airline will welcome its 20th aircraft. This will enable the airline to start international operations and connect India to rest of the world. This ex-Vietjet aircraft is going to be India’s first B737 MAX 8 200.,” he adds.
Read More »Lake 360 to organize the Turkish Fest from 12 – 31 May to bring Turkish culture to India
Lake 360, the only elevated deck restaurant of Delhi NCR is organizing the Turkish Fest from 12th May 2023 to bring the vibrancy of Turkish culture, soulful music and traditional Turkish food under a single roof. The Turkish fest will be held from 12th May to 31st May and early reservations are recommended. We are super excited to celebrate this joyous occasion with you
Read More »Atlys.com announced the addition of Morocco and Georgia eVisas
A leading online eVisa application platform, Atlys.com has announced the addition of Morocco and Georgia eVisas to their services. This expansion enables travelers to conveniently apply for eVisas to these two countries through this platform. Atlys.com has implemented AI-based technology that empowers agents to submit bulk visa applications for the mentioned countries. This cutting-edge technology automates tasks such as document collection, reformatting, cropping, and typing application information, as well as facilitating payment for each individual application. With this breakthrough feature, agents can now submit over 400 applications in a single batch, significantly simplifying what was once a laborious and time-consuming process. Atlys.com continues to handle a significant volume of 2000 to 4000 daily applications, processing several thousand applications for various other eVisa destinations including Vietnam, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kenya, UAE, Oman and more.
Read More »Domestic air traffic steady in April, up 17% in comparison to pre-Covid levels: ICRA
Commenting on the monthly domestic passenger traffic data for April 2023, ICRA states that numbers for April 2023 is estimated at 129 lakh, similar to that in March 2023, though 22% higher in comparison to 105 lakh in April 2022 and 17% higher than pre-Covid levels of 110 lakh in April 2019. It added that despite a healthy recovery in passenger traffic, the domestic aviation industry continues to face challenges on account of elevated ATF prices and depreciation of the INR vis-à-vis the US$ compared to the pre-Covid era, both of which have a major bearing on the airlines’ cost structure. While the ATF prices have witnessed a sequential decline over the past four months, they still remain at elevated levels as compared to the pre-Covid era. The airlines’ efforts to ensure fare hikes proportionate to their input cost increases will be key to expanding their profitability margins.
Read More »Schengen visa rejection rates for Indians among highest in world: Schengen Visa Statistics 2022
According to Schengen Visa Statistics 2022, Indian travellers have one of the highest rejection rates in the world when it comes to Schengen visa. It states that Indians filed over 6 lakh Schengen visa applications in 2022, which happens to be the third highest in the world, but also faced a steep rejection rate of 18 per cent.
Read More »Huge relief for tourist transporters in NCT as SC allows registration of tourist buses
After a prolonged gap of many years, tourist transporters have been permitted to register BS VI complaint diesel tourist vehicles with a capacity of more than 7 +1, buses and coaches, following the order of the Hon. Supreme Court. The application was moved by Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA). This is major relief to the tourist transporters, who have been unable to register such new vehicles for 8 years. This will help the industry successfully cater to G20 summit. Also barring of registration was putting financial burden on the transporters and was restricting their growth. Most importantly it will also create valuable tourism transport capacities to propel Indian tourism to cater to increased foreign tourists & domestic tourists over the medium to long run which will boost GDP and will also lead to enhanced employment, said Amrit Mann, Board of Director, FAITH – Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality
Read More »MakeMyTrip does a turnaround, reports profit of $5.4 mn in 4th quarter
Announcing its unaudited financial and operating results, MakeMyTrip said in statement that profit for the period was $5.4 million in Q4 FY23, as compared to a loss of $4.1 million in Q4 FY22. Loss for the year has reduced significantly; loss for FY23 was $11.2 million as compared to a loss of $45.6 million in FY22, being a reduction of $34.4 million. Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, commenting on the results, said, “We witnessed robust recovery in travel demand with significant improvement in consumer sentiment during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. We capitalized on this trend to deliver strong results with over 120% YoY constant currency growth in Gross Bookings. Our profitability expansion has also been significant, as we delivered a YoY increase of over 200% in Adjusted Operating Profit for the reported fiscal year 2023. We are glad that our strategy of investing in the right areas coupled with our initiatives to optimize certain costs has helped us to preserve and strengthen our moat. We remain well positioned for the next fiscal year with a strong pipeline of product innovation to further enhance customer experience.”
Read More »Rail Europe enables the travel industry to sell seat reservations to their customers holding Eurail or Interrail passes
Rail Europe is proud to announce the launch of its latest offer: travel professionals and the whole industry willing to buy seat reservations for their customers holding a Eurail or Interrail pass are now able to do so via Rail Europe’s API and B2B website. Rail Europe is thrilled to provide this exclusive feature: The seat reservation that goes with a pass is a valuable asset to its range of products and functionalities, as it offers travel professionals the necessary information to book tickets for their customers holding train passes with ease. With this feature, agencies can quickly determine whether an additional seat reservation purchase is required for specific routes (such as TGV, Lyria, Eurostar, Frecciarossa, among others), and if so, the associated cost. This new offer further enhances Rail Europe’s commitment to providing the best possible travel experience and options for its customers. “The possibility of selling seat reservations for passes greatly contributes to the expansion of Rail Europe and to our mission to make train travel easy. We are now able to provide information about the required reservation type for nearly every train trip within Europe, which extends well beyond train tickets. We are thrilled to offer this fantastic and almost unique feature and can’t wait for our partners and customers to make the most out of it.”, says Björn Bender, President & CEO of Rail Europe. The seat reservation in addition to a pass holder fare is available for a range of train services across Rail Europe’s network. API partners and agencies willing to book seats with Trenitalia or SNCF for their customers using Interrail or Eurail passes can now do it with more flexibility and convenience …
Read More »