Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Lotus Destinations, as the Preferred Sales Agent of Carnival Cruise in India takes great pleasure in conducting a Carnival Cruise webinar for the travel trade highlighting safety protocols, new fleet introductions and new itineraries to Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Australia and more, today at 3PM IST. Attendees will also get a chance to win exciting prizes. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

A new e-visa portal that went live on March 30, 2022, is set to enhance the travel to Azerbaijan. The portal was developed as a part of a cooperation agreement signed between VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide and the E-GOV Development Center (EGDC) in the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has been a chosen destination for a diverse segment of travellers globally. Currently travellers from 70 nationalities are eligible to travel to Azerbaijan with travel restriction likely to open for other markets. Fariz Jafarov Director of EGDC, said “We are delighted to partner with VFS Global in our endeavour to encourage seamless travel to Azerbaijan. We are confident that travellers across the globe would realise the advantages of e-visa service and leverage its benefits.” “Azerbaijan is the 64th client served by VFS Global. This mandate reiterates our proven record of nurturing trusted partnerships, excellence in business delivery and our approach on customer-centricity over the past two decades,” said Noel Swain, Business Head – Passport Services, eVisa & Tourism services, VFS Global.

Hotel Association of India (HAI), the national apex body of the hotel industry and an integrated hospitality industry platform held its 25th Annual General Meeting on the 16th of March in New Delhi. In his presidential address at the meeting, Puneet Chhatwal emphasised the need to forge closer ties and collaborate with other industry bodies for a stronger and a more unified voice. While highlighting the pandemic related challenges confronting the Industry, Chhatwal commended the tremendous resilience and enormous innovation shown by the sector. While the industry is firmly on the road to recovery, supply chain disruptions, subdued employment growth, rising inflation, food insecurity, the setback to human capital accumulation, supply-demand mismatches, and climate change will continue to pose difficulties and would be  some of the key issues of concern going forward. He said, “International travel has gone back 30 years globally and the ripple effect of tourism is affecting the economy of countries. Indian hospitality sector has rebounded due to various components of domestic travel and a vigorous internal demand.”

After the discovery of the Omicron variant, tickets for both arrivals and departures in India dived, however, arrivals have now slowly been recovering back to pre-omicron levels and departures are not far behind, with figures for the week commencing 3rd March at 19% and 58% vs 2019 for arrivals and departures. The latest travel data reveals that the top international source markets for India are Australia, the USA, and Ireland. 

Rupinder Brar, Additional DG, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said “When we look at infrastructure there are two parts of the infrastructure that drives tourism, one is infrastructure in terms of making sure that the tourists facilities are there, but what also drives tourism is connectivity. we are working with the roads ministry to make sure that the last mile connectivity, the highways are in good shape for all of us to travel. I am happy to share that in India today, we have the second largest network of excellent quality roads and as we speak, every day in India 36km of national highways are being carried. So, I must say it is a fantastic time to do road travel in India”. 

Lotus Destinations, as the Preferred Sales Agent of Carnival Cruise in India, takes great pleasure in conducting a Carnival Cruise webinar for the travel trade highlighting safety protocols, new fleet introductions, and new itineraries to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Australia, and more, on Thursday, March 31 at 3 PM IST. Also, get a chance to win exciting prizes. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. 

Apart from ayurvedic treatment, Kerala offers numerous experiences, such as backwater holidays, resorts, and houseboats. Responsible tourism and adventure tourism are also important aspects of Kerala tourism. “Adventure tourism has become part and parcel of travel today and Kerala has reinvented itself as a destination for nature-based adventure activities, especially in the hills and forests of the Western Ghats”, said V R Krishna Teja, Director, Kerala Tourism. 

1World Dmc, one of the leading Destination & Event Management Company has announced its foray into the United Arab Emirates under the brand “One World Travel & Tourism” located in the heart of Business Bay, Dubai. With its credible & rich experience in handling HNI Travelers, medium-to-large MICE movements and Big-Fat Indian Weddings, One World Group opens another destination for its B2B clients globally and also adds Financial Services & Relocation business to its portfolio. After spending years and running successful operations in Thailand, the management of One World Group saw a sizable opportunity in the destination UAE, which offers unique & uber-luxury experiences as well as a diverse product mix. Sharing his views Anshuman Mitra, Founder & CEO of One World Group, said “At the onset, we present our compliments and extend our highest respect to the visionary leadership of Dubai & UAE, under whose exemplary leadership, they not only opened Dubai to International tourists by successfully managing the pandemic but also launched the most awaited event on the planet “Dubai Expo 2020”. This vision, backed by an ever-evolving world-class infrastructure puts UAE and in particular Dubai, in the front seat, fuelling the economic as well as aspirational growth for all stakeholders. “We are elated and proud to take the One World portfolio to the UAE and with our rich experience in handling HNI Travelers, M.I.C.E, in-house capabilities in bespoke Catering, Destination Weddings & Celebrity Management, we are well-positioned to cater to the ever-evolving needs of our guests visiting UAE. Our primary focus will be on enhancing the overall experience of our global travellers to the UAE, as well as curating their dream weddings in exotic locations.

Travel trade In India can learn to sell Europe, America, Asia and Australia again. Get the on-ground situation report and updated travel protocols of these destinations in Hindi at the Thomas Cook webinar today at 3pm IST. To attend register on https://event.webinarjam.com/register/385/8v79mirn or contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +919650196532.

IRIS Reps partners has not just survived, but thrived in the last few quarters and so did IRIS Reps. Year 2022 is poised for a strong recovery for them, as international air bubbles get lifted, flight frequencies increase and capacity increases. Alefiya Singh adds that the company is gearing up for its next phase of growth across its business verticals. The 2022 year has given us tremendous opportunity to make new connections, reinstate the contract with existing partners, and announce a series of senior appointments to ramp up its strength. IRIS Reps proud to represent Luxury resorts in Maldives; Coco Collection Maldives, Makunudu Island Maldives, Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives, Sri Lankan Resort ; Amari Galle Sri Lanka, DMC partners; Tour Managers Fiji , Millennium Tours Azerbaijan. Attractions for South Africa include Marine Dynamics Shark Tours which is the recent venture added in the account. Singh says, “We cannot change or predict each and every new surprise and challenge what fate has in store for us but there’s tremendous pent-up demand, which we are hoping to cash on.” Alefiya Singh has been in the travel industry for over two decades, starting with tourism boards, airlines, representations and many more. She helms her team in India and adept at collaborating and implementing innovative high profile travel and hospitality brands and aimed to develop the business with her client centric approach.