Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Tourism New Zealand today launched it’s 100% Pure New Zealand Marketing Hub in India, housing free and professionally designed marketing assets, so that when international travel resumes, the travel trade will be well prepared to convert sales for New Zealand. The hub aims to keep the New Zealand travel dream alive by providing agents with an extensive digital toolkit. The free marketing tools include emails, images, print ads, sales flyers, web banners, sharable Facebook posts and more. Agents will be able to customise these marketing assets with their own sales message, logo and contact information. “India is an important market for New Zealand. In launching this self- service Marketing Hub we aim to empower our agents with the right kind of information and assets that will creatively engage their customers and ultimately help make their job easier and more effective,” says Venessa Chen, Regional Marketing Manager-Asia, Tourism New Zealand. New Zealand is also launching a new season of its Virtual Road Trip webinar series which supports the travel trade with New Zealand information that’s most relevant to Indian consumers. The webinars will highlight trade tools and resources that will help agents to qualify and become a 100% New Zealand specialist, along with popular themes like self-drive campervan, adventure and adrenaline, culture, food and wine to name a few. Just a click away, the https://marketinghub.newzealand.com/ is now available to agents in India. To register for the Virtual Road Trip webinar series 2.0 and for engaging travel trade information, visit https://traveltrade.newzealand.com/pa-in/

Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Government of Rajasthan & Chairman, Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) has said that her department is reviving the Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM), which was last held in 2018, to attract domestic buyers and sellers. According to Rathore, Rajasthan Tourism is eying to organise RDTM in February 2022 in association with the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR) apart from launching small, localised travel marts in booming destinations such as Jodhpur and Udaipur to tap the domestic market in the smaller cities as well.

Switzerland Tourism will conduct a webinar today at 3pm IST with Interlaken Tourism. Interlaken is an extremely popular and sought after holiday destination, as well as a hub for adventure activities. The webinar will give attendees an insight into the various tourism offerings available in and around Interlaken for Indian guests across the year. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog has said that the travel, tourism and hospitality industry have to go digital and green to convert the crisis into opportunity. He highlighted that this is important for attracting capital as well as enhance valuation. Kant was addressing the hoteliers at the HICSA Hotel investment conference in Delhi. The global pandemic will demand radical changes the way businesses are operated. Europe will be putting rigorous restrictions on unsustainable travel beyond 2026. The travel tourism industry have to take those as challenges and change themselves by going green, Kant said.

The first ever congress of tourism professionals from across the country in Manipur concluded at Classic Grande, Imphal today. The event which started on World Tourism Day-September 27th, 2021, was organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur, in association with MATO (Manipur Association of Tour Operators) under the theme “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. The congress witnessed the participation of representatives from tour operator associations and travel agents, hoteliers from Manipur and other neighbouring North-Eastern as well as other states, and home-stays owner from Manipur. Speaking at the inauguration of the Congress, Shri P. Vaiphei, Additional Chief Secretary-Tourism, Govt. of Manipur, congratulated the organising teams of the congress for sending out the message of restarting the tourism industry in the State for a quick recovery. The participating delegates from different states had productive idea sharing sessions with state tourism officials and tour operators from the state.  The Manipur Association of Tour Operators showcased a wide array of tourism products and services available in the state during the inaugural function of the congress. A FAM trip to various tourist destinations in the state was organised as part of the event in order to give the participants a first-hand experience of the state. Director (Tourism), Shri W. Ibohal Singh, gave a presentation on the tourism products of the State and emphasised on the need for the North Eastern states to come together while promoting the region as a favourite tourist destination for domestic and international travellers. He highlighted the arrival figures of international travellers to the State which increased by leaps and bounds every year till the outbreak of the COVID pandemic at the end of 2019. The participation of members of premiere tour …

Marriott International president Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China) Rajeev Menon said: “In a highly unpredictable year, these signings are a testament to Marriott International’s resilience and agility in driving strong growth within a hospitality landscape that continues to evolve,” commented. “It is a sign of confidence from our owners and franchisees who have been an integral part of our growth journey. We are grateful for their continued support and trust in the power of our brands as we continue to welcome back travellers.”

Etihad Airways is giving all its guests travelling into or via Abu Dhabi a complimentary ticket to Expo 2020 Dubai that will take place between 1 October, 2021 and 31, March 2022. Visitors can enjoy a visit to Expo and also explore the attractions in Abu Dhabi. The special promotion under the ‘Exponential Abu Dhabi’ campaign will run until 31 March 2022. Expo 2020 is just a 45-minute drive from Abu Dhabi. The city now welcomes fully vaccinated travellers without the need to quarantine.

According to the results of the SAP Concur study, Indian business travellers (99%) want to resume work travel within the next 12 months. Nearly 78% of business professionals surveyed in India were eager to start a journey, and according to the study, the percentage was much higher than the global average. About 84% of Indian business professionals felt that their inability to extend travel would hurt them both professionally and personally. Respondents from India said that most business activities such as new deal sign ups, (47%), customer additions (41%) and contract renewals (43%) would be adversely affected if their organizations did not increase business travel.

According to the sector’s hiring data unveiled by job site Indeed, job postings and clicks were down by 14% in August 2021 as compared to August 2020. Further, when compared to a pre-pandemic August 2019, hiring activity has witnessed a sharp 62% decline, while job seekers’ interest also plummeted as clicks for these jobs saw a de-growth of 36%. While hiring activity in the sector spiked between November 2020 and January 2021, it immediately began to fall from February 2021, as international and domestic travel was severely impacted due to the second wave of the pandemic. Though clicks seemed to have witnessed a gradual recovery after July, they still witnessed a 48% decline between February 2021 and August 2021. Job postings also witnessed a continuous decline, registering 30% degrowth between February 2021 and August 2021. A city-wise analysis found that Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru led sectoral hiring, while the maximum number of travel and tourism job aspirants emerged from Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, and Kolkata.

The base camp of Siachen glacier, the world’s highest and coldest battlefield, was opened on Monday for domestic tourists on the occasion of World Tourism Day. The step has been taken to boost tourism in Ladakh and give people a window to appreciate the tough work done by army jawans and engineers in extreme weather and inhospitable terrains. Secretary Tourism, Ladakh, Mehboob Ali Khan, flagged-off a cleanliness drive from the tourist reception centre. The department of tourism, Leh, also organised a cleanliness drive along with various stakeholders of the tourism industry such as All Ladakh Tour Operators Association (ALTOA), All Ladakh Hotels and Guest Houses Association (ALHGHA), Ladakh Mountain Guide Association (LMGA) and others.