Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The Centre has mandated pre-booking of RT-PCR tests from December 20. In the first phase, it will be applicable to those arriving at six airports —Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad—for passengers arriving from “at-risk” countries or those who have been in such countries in the preceding 14 days. The Air Suvidha portal would be modified to allow passengers to pre-book.

Ravi Luthra, Director, Landmark Tours & Travels and Supriya Kandhari, Managing Director, Chrysalis Holidays, are the second week’s lucky winners for successfully subscribing to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) India’s WhatsApp Channel. Every week STB India is giving away exciting prizes to its new subscribers. One can easily subscribe to this WhatsApp channel by clicking this link http://bit.ly/stbindia and stand a chance to be the next winner. STB India’s WhatsApp channel provides updates on Destination Singapore in a more direct, swift and timely manner. Win exciting prizes by subscribing to STB India’s WhatsApp Channel: Subscribe to Singapore Tourism Board India’s WhatsApp Channel and stand a chance to win prizes every week. Get real time updates on Destination Singapore and STB’s initiatives. Subscribe by following 3 simple steps: Click this link (http://bit.ly/stbindia) to fill the form Send the prefilled WhatsApp message Save STB India’s contact card or number      

Swiss International Airlines will be restoring the services from Mumbai to Zurich in India from 12th January 2022. The flights were suspended in view of pandemic developments earlier. “Provided all necessary approvals are obtained, we indeed plan to resume the Mumbai-Zurich route on 12 January 2022”, revealed Swiss International Airline official. The airline is to further expand its range of scheduled services next summer and will be adding six new destinations to its European route network.

FHRAI has submitted a comprehensive list of recommendations on the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23 to the Finance Ministry outlining some of the much-needed expectations of the Hospitality industry. “We are requesting that hotels & tourism related sectors be included in infrastructure projects listed in the NIP set up under the DFI by the Ministry of Finance for promoting infrastructure funding”, said Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI.

It’s time to know more about Destination Germany with the Germany Specialist program, tailor-made exclusively for travel trade by German National Tourist Office (GNTO). Learn about new and old offerings in Germany, through four modules that not only inform you about things to do, but also new ways of exploring the destination. Get ready to experience and learn about Destination Germany like never before. Register yourself today on: www.germanyspecialist.com.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region – DoNER, reviewed projects of Haryana and Punjab and functioning of the Central and State Institutes of Hotel Management. He also reviewed the projects under the Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India. Emphasis was given upon the need to work together to give way to effective development and promotion of tourism.

Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) conducted its first roadshow in 2021 across three Indian cities to enhance commercial ties with the Indian travel trade fraternity that focused on outbound MICE travel. The roadshows were held in the cities of Chennai on December 6, Bengaluru on December 7, and Kolkata on December 9, 2021.  The events commenced with a destination presentation which focused on key developments, tourism infrastructure in Israel as well as opening of new hotels and tourist attractions. Following the presentation was an interactive session between the Israel Tourism team and the travel partners, which concluded with light snacks. The Israeli delegation was led by Mr. Sammy Yahia, Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines along with Judah Samuel, Director of Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India. Speaking about the roadshows, Sammy Yahia, Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism – Israel & Philippines said, “The last two years have been extremely challenging for everyone, especially the tourism industry. With restricted number of flights and constant changes in travel policies, many Indian travellers chose domestic travels, similar to Israel. With borders opening for international travel, we are delighted to host our first roadshow since 2019. The aim was to have a concerted group of about 30 attendees in each city, with a focus on reviving interest in Israel as a destination, especially with the MICE segment. The presentation highlighted the upgrades that have been made to the tourism infrastructure in Israel, as well as new and exciting initiatives that have been implemented. It was heart-warming to meet our partners in each city and I am glad to see the enthusiastic response from the travel trade in marketing Israel …

Qatar Tourism attended ILTM Cannes 2021 with a strong Qatari delegation, to profile the new tourism projects and luxury offerings in the country. Qatar is becoming a leading destination as it expands its tourism proposition, in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Its tourism strategy puts the visitor at the heart of all new programmes and initiatives. As part of the ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’, the country has added a variety of exciting experiences, including a wave of new luxury hotels, theme parks, shops, and major leisure projects, that have recently opened, or are set to open in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM. Over 100 new hotels and serviced apartments are currently under construction which will add to Qatar’s already extensive portfolio of properties. Some of the new properties include a Raffles Hotel and Fairmont Hotel and Resort at Katara Towers, Rosewood Doha and the St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island. The hotels will broaden Qatar’s appeal to high value travellers, offering more choice to its existing 80 five and four star hotels. With the aim of raising the tourism sector to 12% GBP by 2030, Qatar will grow and improve assets and attractions, enhance the end-to-end customer experience, invest in Service Excellence and deploy a tailored marketing strategy to target point-to-point (P2P) and stopover visitors. Chief Operating Officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel, said: “We are continuing to expand our tourism offering and are excited to introduce guests to the best of Qatari hospitality. In 2019, we saw over two million visitors to Qatar and we hope to see similar growth trends now that we are welcoming visitors back to the country again. “We are now …

Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) will be conducting a webinar for the Indian travel trade on Belvedere Museum Vienna on 14th December at 2:30 IST. Angelika Czerny, Head of Tourism, Belvedere, will present the webinar focusing on the presentation of the Museum, architecture, highlights of the gallery and on the events and MICE products. After the death of Prince Eugene in 1736, Empress Maria Theresa acquired the entire complex and transformed the Upper Belvedere into an exhibition venue for the imperial collections – making it one of the first public museums in the world. With its unique Baroque palaces and world-class art collection, the Belvedere provides an exquisite setting for Gala Dinners, Weddings, Belvedere at Night and Business Breakfasts. To join the webinar, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532.

As per sources, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation wanted to reopen the resorts closed due to the COVID outbreak, and had invited tenders to award maintenance contracts for 34 resorts in different districts. Surprisingly, the department did not receive a single bid in at least 15 locations. The revenues of the corporation depend on the reopening of the resorts.