Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, along with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Sarbanand Sonwal met Yogi Adityanath, CM, Uttar Pradesh to deliberate on how respective ministries can synergise on development of roads, railways, tourism, culture and shipping.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister, Tourism, Culture & DoNER held a review meeting with officials of Ministry of Tourism, ASI, Ministry of Culture, Institute of Hotel Management and Cochin Port Trust in Kochi, Kerala . He also reviewed various projects of Ministry of Tourism and Culture including the commemoration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav

With the rapid revival of business travel and corporates accelerating their digital transformation, Thomas Cook (India) Limited – India’s leading omnichannel forex services company has launched FX-Now – a pioneering digital tool that empowers its corporate segment with convenient, customizable and contactless end-to-end foreign exchange services. Foreign exchange procedures require careful documentation and approvals – resulting in complex/cumbersome processes. In an initiative to simplify the process, yet maintain necessary checks and balances, Thomas Cook India’s FX-Now ushers in a digitized foreign exchange model that ensures speed, accuracy and seamless services for its on-the-go business travellers

Radisson Hotel Group has announced its APAC Expansion Plan – a major initiative that will unleash the power of its diverse brands and partnerships to drive 400% growth across the Asia Pacific region by 2025. The APAC Expansion Plan will enable Radisson Hotel Group to increase its regional footprint in the Asia Pacific. By 2025, it will add 1,700 hotels and resorts to its current portfolio of over 400 properties. It will aim to achieve this through a combination of organic growth, mergers and acquisitions, master license agreements, and leases in key locations.

According to GlobalData, a total of 73 deals comprising M&A, private equity, and venture financing were announced in the global travel and tourism sector during May, which is a growth of 1.4% over 72 deals announced in April 2022. Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Although this is a marginal growth, it has reversed the decline that the sector has been witnessing for the past few months. This growth is mainly driven by the improvement experienced in the Asia-Pacific region, as deal activity declined in May in other key regions such as North America and Europe compared to the previous month.” The number of deals announced in the travel & tourism sector in the Asia-Pacific region increased from 10 in April 2022 to 17 in May 2022, while Europe and North America witnessed a decline in deal activity by 10% and 10.7%, respectively. Bose continues: “Within Asia-Pacific, India, Australia, and China registered a month-on-month improvement in deal activity in May. Meanwhile, deal activity declined in several key global markets including the US.” The number of venture financing and private equity deals also decreased by 39.1% and 9.1% in May compared to the previous month, respectively, while M&A deals volume increased by 28.9%.

There’s more on the minds of the business travel industry these days beyond COVID-19 when it comes to the sector’s continued recovery. The return of global business travel remains strong – this month a majority of global travel managers surveyed report their companies are allowing domestic and international employee travel, and travel suppliers continue to cite increased travel bookings from their corporate customers. Conference attendance is also back – stronger than in 2019 as an overall share of business travel budgets. Current affairs and economic concerns, however, are also now in the mix and are having a significant impact on travel programs, according to industry stakeholders. And as the world starts traveling for work again, companies are also considering their policies for employees who aren’t quite ready to get back on the road or in the air. Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA, said “As Covid becomes more manageable in many regions, companies and employees are getting back to traveling for business, fueled by the need to get back to business. We are now seeing, however, other factors beyond Covid coming into play that could affect the speed and trajectory of recovery for business travel as we head into the second half of 2022″.  

Learn, be inspired, and find everything you need to create new experiences in New Zealand for your clients at this webinar that will take place on Tuesday, June 28 at 11 am IST. New Zealand’s bespoke experiences cater to a wide range of new interests and tastes ensuring your clients will encounter true warmth and uncompromising hospitality. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The swiftly emerging hospitality company, Espire Hospitality Group has signed an agreement with Ranjana Overseas Private Limited to introduce Country Inn Tarika Goa, Varca Beach, located just 200 meters away from the Varca Beach. This resort featuring 48 keys will be launched in September this year. Espire Hospitality Group currently has three resorts under its Country Inn Hotels & Resorts brand and this signing will strengthen the important mid-segment portfolio of the company. Located in the most scenic part of this popular leisure destination, South Goa, the resort is at a walking distance from Varca Beach and in close proximity to other beaches such as Colva Beach and Marjoda Beach. Country Inn Tarika Goa, Varca Beach will feature well-designed cottages for a leisurely stay, a poolside bar, a multi-cuisine all-day dining restaurant, fitness centre and a ballroom. Commenting on this important signing, Akhil Arora, Chief Operating Officer, Espire Hospitality Group said “We are thrilled to take the first step towards our expansion plan of having 20 resorts in our portfolio by 2023. Goa has latterly started attracting travellers throughout the year and is an extremely important market for us. We are already planning to add more resorts in Goa, in the near future.” He further added: Our Country Inn Hotels & Resorts brand has always been successful, for the consistent warm hospitality and for creating inspirational family experiences. We will continue to expand this brand exponentially, making it a leading mid-market resort brand in the country. Mr. Girish Batra, Director, Ranjana Overseas Private Limited, added: “We have decided to work with the Espire Hospitality Group as we recognize them as a trusted partner for creating a success story. Our resort’s …

Vietjet has officially launched four more services linking top destinations of India and Vietnam including Mumbai – Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi routes and New Delhi/Mumbai – Phu Quoc services. The new routes’ launch ceremony was held in Mumbai during the visit of Ho Chi Minh City’s leaders to Mumbai as India and Vietnam mark their 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations. The ceremony witnessed the presence of Phan Thi Thang, Vice Chairwoman of People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, representatives of Consulate General of Vietnam in Mumbai along with Vietjet’s leaders. On the side-lines of the event, the Vietjet spokesperson also said the carrier is planning more routes from India to Vietnam by launching services from cities such as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad etc. The Mumbai – Phu Quoc route will operate four weekly flights on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, starting September 9, 2022. The services between New Delhi and Phu Quoc will also commence on September 9, 2022 with three weekly flights on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi – Mumbai routes started operation in early June, 2022. The two countries’ two first direct services connecting New Delhi with Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi resumed operation earlier this year in April with the frequency of three to four flights per week for each route. Passengers can book these routes’ air tickets now with fares starting as low as US$18 for one way. (*) Nguyen Thanh Son, Vietjet’s Vice President said: “Vietjet’s Vietnam-India’s flight network expansion will boost and strengthen travel connectivity and trade ties between the two countries. We have been the first carrier operating direct services between Vietnam’s capital city Hanoi and its largest city of …

Experience Hub, the trade and promotion arm of Yas Island Abu Dhabi and a subsidiary of Miral and Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT) partnered to host 45 Indian leisure and MICE travel agents on a four-day familiarization trip to Abu Dhabi. The group was invited to be part of the glitz and glamour of the IIFA Awards along with discovering and participating in all of Abu Dhabi’s and Yas Island’s attractions. Yas Island,  one of the world’s fastest growing leisure and leading entertainment destinations hosted one of the grandest celebration of the Indian Cinema; the 22nd International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) 2022. The event took place at the Etihad Arena, the Middle East’s largest state-of-art indoor entertainment venue and was organized in collaboration with the Department  of Culture and Tourism—Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences. The trip saw the agents experiencing rides at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World™  Abu Dhabi to trying their hand at golf at Yas Links Abu Dhabi, venturing to Yas Mall for some shopping, appreciating the amazing artworks at the Louvre Museum, marvelling at historical landmark Qasr Al Hosn, the presidential palace Qasr Al Watan, and then visiting the largest mosque in the country, none other than the architectural masterpiece Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to learn about the Emirate’s culture. They had the opportunity to experience the best of hospitality as Yas Island has more than 2,000 rooms and suites across 10 hotels including the Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island. Located on the Waterfront, Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island features a 545-room and around 2000 sqm …