Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

SriLankan Airlines, in a bid to promote greater travel opportunities from India to Sri Lanka, has announced adding more destinations and frequencies. It currently operates four flights a week from Chennai, three flights a week from Mumbai, and once a week from Bengaluru to its hub in Colombo. It will be introducing a host of frequency enhancements out of key Indian cities effective September 1, 2021. SriLankan Airlines wishes to inform the travel trade partners across India that from September, the airline will resume services between Colombo and the Indian points: Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Cochin with flights once a week, whilst Hyderabad and New Delhi will be connected to Colombo with twice-weekly flights. Further, the airlines’ operations out of Chennai and Mumbai will expand up to five times a week whilst its Bengaluru-Colombo services will be enhanced to flights three times a week.

AVIAREPS India has won the Integrated Sales Marketing and Public Relations mandate for Utah Office of Tourism in India for next five years. The aim is to position the tourism offerings of Utah in India. Rachel Bremer, Tourism Global Markets Director, Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, said, “The Utah Office of Tourism’s mission is to elevate life in Utah through responsible tourism stewardship. We do this through marketing, stewardship, and development. Guided by this mission, we are facing the challenge of responsibly rebuilding Utah’s visitor economy and international visitation. Our partnership with AVIAREPS will help us to not only rebuild but, to expand in India; to forge strategic partnerships that will increase our market share. Utah beckons the road-tripper, the slow traveller, the family, and the experiential traveller, those that will enjoy the viewpoints along our scenic byways, hiking in our national parks, and exploring our urban core along the Wasatch Mountains. We look forward to working with AVIAREPS to expand our product development, execute campaigns, increase Utah’s brand awareness, and work with the industry collectively.”   Speaking on the company’s diverse and expanding product portfolio, Ellona Pereira, Head, AVIAREPS India, said, “We are elated to represent the Utah Office of Tourism in India for the next five years and our immediate priority is to localize their global strategy by providing end to end solutions. In fact, some of the tourism offerings that the Utah State has to offer are apt for the Indian outbound tourists who post the pandemic, are seeking places of tranquillity, craving wide open spaces and inspiring views, as nature breaks continue to be more appealing and on-trend these days. Our team of experts will work towards the development and implementation …

Following its successful transition from BHMA to Cross Hotels & Resorts, the Thailand-based hospitality group will now change the name of its X2 brand to Cross and X2 Vibe to Cross Vibe. This name change is part of the group’s strategy targeted to emphasise the strength of its capabilities, growth, and commitment to identify product position in the marketplace. All X2 and X2 Vibe hotels in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam will be progressively relaunched to further enhance quality and drive consistency across the brand portfolio. All references associated with X2 and X2 Vibe brand name and logo shall reflect the new identity. Cross Hotels & Resorts will continue to drive excellence in comprehensive hospitality solutions as it crosses the globe with new and existing brands, and business proven practice to ensure all its partnerships are a successful collaboration. The group recently signed another hotel in Vietnam and a seven-hotel deal in Japan as well. X2 and X2 Vibe hotels that will be rebranded are: EXISTING NAME & EMAIL ADDRESS NEW NAME & EMAIL ADDRESS THAILAND X2 Kui Buri Cross Kui Buri book.kb@X2resorts.com stay@crosskuiburi.com X2 Koh Samui – A Spa Retreat Cross Koh Samui – A Spa Retreat book.ks@X2resorts.com stay@crosskohsamui.com X2 River Kwai Cross River Kwai book.rk@X2resorts.com stay@crossriverkwai.com X2 Chiang Mai Riverside Cross Chiang Mai Riverside book.cmr@X2resorts.com stay@crosschiangmairiverside.com X2 Pattaya Oceanphere Cross Pattaya Oceanphere book.por@X2residences.com stay@crosspattayaoceanphere.com X2 Hua Hin Le Bayburi Pranburi Villa Cross Hua Hin Le Bayburi Pranburi Villa book.bvh@X2villas.com stay@crosshuahinlebayburi.com X2 Chiang Mai North Gate Villa Cross Chiang Mai North Gate Villa book.ng@X2villas.com stay@crosschiangmainorthgate.com X2 Chiang Mai South Gate Villa Cross Chiang Mai South Gate Villa book.sg@X2villas.com stay@crosschiangmaisouthgate.com X2 Chiang Mai Nimman Villa Cross Chiang Mai Nimman Villa book.nm@X2villas.com …

Members of the Enterprising Travel Agents’ Association (ETAA) North India committee met at the Best Western Country Club Resort, Manesar on 12th August 2021 for a discussion on the positive rebound of the domestic business. The Best Western  group talked about their various aspects of their property , they helped them explore and know more about their property through a presentation and discussed  the various new offerings of the unit. It was an exhaustive show around which was very educative and informative for the members learning about the fine nuances of the unit.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Nasir Kamal, IPS (UP:86) to the post of Director General in Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for a tenure up to his superannuation on 31 .07.2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.  BCAS is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India. Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme(NCASP).

According to Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials, Flybig on Thursday started direct flight services from Guwahati’s Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport to Tezu in eastern Arunachal Pradesh’s Lohit district. With private airline Flybig launching its operations on the new route connecting Assam’s Guwahati with Arunachal Pradesh’s Tezu on Thursday, air connectivity expanded further in the hilly northeastern region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chairman, Shree Somnath Trust, virtually inaugurated development projects at Somnath Temple, which include Somnath Promenade, Exhibition Centre, Reconstructed temple precinct of Old Somnath and also laid the foundation stone of Shree Parvati Temple. He also amplified the steps taken to promote tourism & uplift tourism sector like e-Visa, Visa on arrival and reduction of hospitality GST.

At an event in Mumbai, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, highlighted the need to have credible data as an industry. “We need to collate information like pre-pandemic business figures, employee numbers, etc so that we have some authenticated data right until the decline started. We then need to get a professional agency to conduct a comprehensive survey. This will put us in a strong position when we make our representation to the government and show them what this industry is worth.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has said that e-Visa regime and visa on arrival have been taken forward and visa fees have also been reduced. The GST on hospitality in tourism has also been reduced. All of this has benefited the sector and will help in its re-growth in the post-COVID era. He also spoke about laying the foundation stone of multiple projects in Somnath.

Gujarat Tourism recently conducted a physical roadshow for the travel agents and tour operators of Madhya Pradesh. The event was held in Indore as well as Bhopal and was attended by RK Misha, Assistant Director, Director of Tourism, Deepika Roy Choudhary, Deputy Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism, along with Hemendra Singh Jadon, Chapter Chairman (MP-CG) of TAAI. Gujarat showcased its new and popular tourism products including the Statue of Unity and Champaner. Dholavira in Gujarat has also been recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.