Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

In India, from 2019 to 2021, nights booked at unique properties have increased by over 30 percent, revealed Airbnb. Unique listings collectively earn ₹250 million in India just in 2021. Farmstays are the most-booked unique listing type in India, with more than 30,000 nights booked in 2021.

Travel and transportation services combined are likely to account for 21% of India’s total services exports in Financial Year 2022-23, compared to around 15% in the first half of 2021-22 and 2020-21, when the pandemic struck, according to SEPC. In pre-pandemic 2019-20, travel and transportation services made up nearly 23% of services exports of $213 billion.

According to WTTC Annual Research India, it has been revealed that India visitor spend on leisure was $153.6 billion in 2021, as compared to the business spend of $6.3 billion during the same period. This meant that the leisure spend was 24 times higher than business spend.

Oman recorded 794,000 inbound travellers till the end of the end of May 2022. As many as 111,883 Indian travelers visited Oman till the end of May 2022 as compared to 24,881 recorded in April this year. According to the tourism indicators for May 2022 released by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), while 1.5 million travelers departed Oman by the end of May 2022, the nation received 794,000 travellers from GCC nations, India, Yemen, Germany, and United Kingdom by the end of May 2022.

A survey of over 2,000 travellers by Thomas Cook India-SOTC, has revealed that the spiritual tourism segment has the potential to grow by 20-30 percent for the next five years. Also, it was found that 55 percent of the respondents said they took a religious/ spiritual tour or trip as soon as they could.

As per the 3rd TSA (Tourism Satellite Account) for 2019-20, the contribution of tourism to employment of the country is 79.86 million, revealed G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. Tourism and Hospitality sector is one of the largest employments generating sector in India, he added.

The second edition of Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM) 2022 was held from 22-24 July, where the Rajasthan Film Tourism Promotion Policy 2022 was also unveiled. Speaking at the inauguration, Usha Sharma, Chief Secretary, Rajasthan, said, “Rajasthan has maximum number of UNESCO sites, but we’re not doing justice to this. Hence, we need to ensure people get to explore these sites and make Rajasthan a world heritage state.” Gaj Singh, President Emeritus, Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) said, “Domestic tourism has a lot of potential. It is a very strong segment that needs to be promoted. If domestic is strong we don’t need to be dependent on international travellers.”

New Zealand’s border fully reopens from August 1, 2022. This webinar will highlight details on what to expect while travelling to the country and some simple guidelines that need to be followed to stay safe whilst there. Join the webinar on July 27 at 11am IST. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Redefining travel in the Konkan region is the Ropax vessel named ‘Kokan Gaurav’ that will cruise from Mumbai ferry wharf to Kashid and Dighi in Raigad. It is Asia’s first high-speed craft (HSC2000) Ropax vessel in India and is being built in Goa by Gaurav Cruises. This modern, high-speed craft, built under the IRS flag, will reduce the travel time from 5.50 hours to less than 3 hours, travelling 49 nautical miles, and will be the safest mode of transport in the region. The HSC craft, expected to be operational by January 2023, can ferry 260 passengers, 20 cars and 11 bikes from the ferry wharf and will have A/C, business and VIP classes. It will be a multi-purpose vessel for logistics, travel, tourism and entertainment. Many senior dignitaries from the Mumbai Port Trust, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Directorate General of Shipping, and Indian Register of Shipping graced the occasion. Gautam Pradhan (Director, Gaurav Cruises), said that he was guided and supported by all the Government authorities to make this project a possibility in spite of multiple challenges. He added that this Ropax will be a role model for others to follow. With the ambition to make tourism in Konkan of international standards he said that his resort in Shriwarhan will be accessible in 3.30 hours from Mumbai via Ropax and 45 minutes by chopper from Juhu. Pushkar Bendre (Director, Gaurav Cruises), said that this high-speed craft will change the way tourists travel in western parts of Maharashtra and will bring a much needed change in the travel to Konkan region.

To satisfy the current and projected rise in demand for commercial air travel, Indian airlines have placed large orders for aircraft. The nation’s airplane fleet is projected to quadruple in size to approximately 2500 airplanes by 2038 and India to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2024.