Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Tourism New Zealand will conduct an exciting webinar highlighting their campaign ‘If You Seek’ and related trade tools and assets today at 11 am. Agents can earn a place on the ultimate New Zealand famil by showing their curiosity during this webinar. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 to register.

Connaissance De Ceylan, Travel Design by CDC and Thema Collection, two highly respected destination management companies in the travel industry and a leading hospitality brand in Sri Lanka, are delighted to announce their collaboration with Ark Travels Group and the appointment of Ms.Anjum Lokhandwala as their representative in India. The signing of the agreement took place at the recently concluded SATTE event in Delhi, India. This strategic partnership aims to increase the visibility and appeal of Sri Lanka as a preferred tourist destination in India. Anjum Lokhandwala, Director of Ark Travels Group, has been tasked with marketing the products and services of Connaissance De Ceylan , Travel Design by CDC and Thema Collection in India. She brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise in the travel and tourism industry and is excited about the new partnership. “Ark Travels Group is extremely elated with their association with such a prestigious brand and looks forward to servicing them and making it a success story for both companies” , said Ms.Anjum, Director of Ark Reps. “We are confident that this collaboration will help us to promote and better serve the booming Indian market and further strengthen our position as leading destination management companies/hospitality brand in Sri Lanka,” said Mr. Wickramasinghe, Chairman of Connaissance De Ceylan, Travel Design by CDC and Thema Collection The partnership with Ark Travel Group and the appointment of Anjum Lokhandwala is a significant step for Connaissance De Ceylan, Travel Design by CDC and Thema Collection in expanding their reach and tapping into the growing Indian tourism market. The companies are optimistic that this collaboration will bring mutual benefits and look forward to a successful partnership.

Continuing its ambitious and dynamic strategy of fleet and network expansion, Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has unveiled its summer schedule for 2023. The schedule specifies significant frequency increases on existing routes, and the addition of four destinations—representing a 60% increase in the number of flights from its hub in Muscat compared to the previous year. This will provide the market with approximately 60,000 more seats weekly across its network and provide greater convenience and connectivity for Oman Air guests. The four additional destinations being introduced for the summer schedule are: four-weekly flights from Muscat to Chittagong (from March end); four-weekly flights from Muscat to Maldives (from June end); twelve-weekly flights from Muscat to Lucknow and five-weekly flights between Muscat and Thiruvananthapuram (from August). Due to popular demand, the new summer schedule will see frequency increases to the following regions:   Far East Indian Sub-Continent Europe GCC Daily flights to Phuket (from March end, wide- body) Double-daily flights to Mumbai (from March end, wide-body) Daily flights to Moscow (from March end, wide- body) Double-daily flights to Kuwait (from June) Ten-weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur (from June) Double-daily flights to Chennai (from March end) Six-weekly flights to Paris (from March end) Five-daily flights to Salalah (from July)   Double-daily flights to Cochin (from March end) Daily flights to Trabzon (from March end)     Double-daily flights to Kozhikode (from March end) Double-daily flights to Istanbul (from June)     Double-daily flights to Hyderabad (from March end)       Daily flights to Dhaka (from March end, wide- body)     The expanded network and schedule for 2023 demonstrates Oman Air’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the …

Sapneal Rao has announced that he will bring his former company, Destination Masters LLP  Maldives and Mauritius portfolio under his existing company SSR Travel Solutions (SSRTS) which is present in the expanding DMC segment. Rao says, “On the successful completion of 13 robust years in the travel industry, it gives me immense pleasure to announce that the Destination Masters, LLP portfolio of Maldives and Mauritius, has now been amalgamated into his existing entity’s DMC vertical, renowned as SSR Travel Solutions (SSRTS).” Rao, a partner in a former company called Destination Masters LLP, conceptualized and started this partnership company pre-Covid and was instrumental in setting up the business and the B2B agency network for Maldives and Mauritius. Going forward, the dedicated team of SSR will now cater to three most sought-after island destinations under this vertical – Bali, Maldives and Mauritius. Rao says, “We will direct our efforts to deliver timely responses to queries and amplify our client servicing experience through maximum support and continue to retain the name of SSR’s legacy.” The company operates 3 B2B verticals which are representation, PSA and DMC/wholesaling. In a short span. the company has grown and is currently working with a large network of travel agents pan India and are continuously working towards adding more every month. They look forward to being your trusted source for booking B2B  Hotels and Packaged tours. Current wholesale and B2B business is currently focused under the below verticals:   BALI BALI  INBOUND  – SSRTS DMC   MALDIVES MALDIVES INBOUND – SSRTS DMC    MAURITIUS MAURITIUS INBOUND  – SSRTS DMC   REPRESENTATION VERTICAL  OMAN EIHAB TRAVELS LLC OMAN    KENYA WILDTREK SAFARI KENYA & TANZANIA    CRUISE PSA VERTICAL  CORDELIA CRUISES  CARNIVAL CRUISES 

Shrikant Wakharkar, Area Vice President, North and General Manager, Hyatt Regency Delhi said, “The brand is on expansion spree this year, with plans to open about 8 hotels in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets in India, following the opening of 10 hotels last year.” 

Julia Simpson, President & CEO WTTC said, “Putting women on centre stage of Travel & Tourism will ensure a better future for the sector. One of the major barriers to improving gender diversity is the lack of insightful and robust data in the public domain. Companies need to hold themselves accountable to guarantee progress is made over time.” 

Union Minister For Culture, Tourism and Development Of Northeastern Region (DoNER) said, “A two-day brainstorming meeting is scheduled to take place in February or March before the Global Travel and Tourism Summit (GTIS), during which the Ministry and state governments will discuss the necessary steps to enhance tourism in India.” 

Tourism New Zealand will conduct an exciting webinar highlighting their campaign ‘If You Seek’ and related trade tools and assets on Tuesday, Feb 28 at 11am. Agents can earn a place on the ultimate New Zealand family by showing their curiosity during this webinar. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 to register. 

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism has said that  based on the discussions at the last G-20 tourism working group meeting,  the members will distill the proceedings and draw the roadmap for further deliberations  on the 5 priorities at the next working group meeting which will be held in April at Siliguri.

According to Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) has shared that the number of annual outbound journeys at more than 27 million, with a total value of over $42 billion by the year 2024. ATM calls India well-positioned to become one of the world’s most important outbound tourism markets.