Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Vishal Suri, Managing Director, SOTC Travel, shared that it was an electrifying experience to watch ICC World Cup, India v/s Pakistan match at Old Trafford in Manchester. “Both inside the venue, and outside the stadium, the experience was electrifying.” If you want the same experience, make your Dream 11 team with VisitBritain Cricket Carnival Season-1 and win many prizes, including ticket for two at Old Trafford, Manchester for the hospitality lounge when India tours England later this year. Register on http://bit.ly/VisitBritainCricketCarnival or contact Vartik Sethi on vartik.sethi@ddppl.com or +91 83684 28139.

BLS International has revealed that it has started accepting visa applications for the Embassy of Thailand in Delhi. Shikhar Aggarwal, Jt. Managing Director, BLS International, said, “We are pleased to partner with the Embassy of Thailand and will ensure a smooth, efficient and delightful experience for the applicants. Our endeavour has always been to facilitate best-in-class services to the travellers by creating value for our stakeholders. We at BLS have reinvented the wheel of visa services by making it a holistic solution with dedicated and professional teams that bring highest levels of customer satisfaction.”

The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), has suggested to the Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of the state, to allow chartered flights in the state from ‘safe destinations’ under an ‘air bubble’ agreement to boost tourism. In a memorandum, they have suggested to form travel bubbles with Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, the UK, Poland and Finland for commercial flights.

Unveiling a new product, TravelBullz is offering travel agents to book online Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) Hotels in Thailand  on its portal which is designed to become a new opportunity to earn for travel agents selling outbound packages. With instant confirmation, trade partners can easily complete COE to Thailand, do visa formalities and book the quarantine hotels at the best rates on www.travelbullz.com

With MICE travel from India slowly gaining momentum, JTB India will host an unique B2C virtual platform dedicated to MICE travel slated to be held on April 28, 2021. JTB invites National Tourism Offices and global hotel chains to participate in this in order to take advantage of its wide corporate network. The event will see attendance from top corporate companies in India. For more information, contact Kritika Kunden at kritika.kunden258@jtb-india.com or Deepali Gupta at deepali.gupta040@jtb-india.com.

Founded by Jerrin Jos and Satheesh Satchit, Verteil Technologies is a travel technology company that is transforming the 40-year old legacy airline distribution space with its retailing and distribution platform using the new distribution capability (NDC) standards promulgated by IATA. Kochouseph Chittilappilly, Chairman Emeritus of V-Guard Industries, has made an investment in this Kerala-based travel technology start-up Verteil Technologies as part of its Pre-Series A funding round. Verteil has on-boarded more than 26 airlines from around the globe, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa Group, British Airways, and Singapore Airlines. Verteil operates from Kochi, Kerala and has an operating unit in Tokyo, Japan. A beneficiary of the vibrant start-up ecosystem in Kerala, Verteil has been backed by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC). The amount of the Pre-Series A Round was undisclosed. Verteil will use the money raised for onboarding more airlines into the platform and will invest further in technology to augment additional features to the current product.

Speaking exclusively to TravTalk on the sidelines of the annual five-day global trade event ExploreGB, Sally Balcombe, CEO of VisitBritain, said, “We expect 2022 to be a stellar year. The event will see around 30 buyers from India this year and we are expecting huge numbers from India when international travel resumes. India is one of the fastest growing markets for us.”

HVS ANAROCK’s monthly report titled ‘Hotels & Hospitality Overview’ reveals that in the month of January 2021, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Goa witnessed the highest increase in occupancy compared to the previous month. In fact, for the Indian hotel sector, occupancy remained between 46-48% on average, almost a 2% growth over December 2020.

In a discussion hosted by Indiatourism Guwahati on World NGO Day, panellists concurred that active participation of NGOs in the tourism sector has been a successful phenomenon in the First World, and that their role in the Northeast is evolving. ‘Such associations for the sustainable development of tourism industry has now gradually started in India,’ the MOT also Tweeted.

Rani George, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Government of Kerala, has said that the new tourism campaigns by the state government are helping Kerala resume tourism and that Ayurveda can be an added attraction for tourists arriving in the state. “We are also seeking suggestions from tourism stakeholders on how we can further promote domestic tourism in Kerala,” she added.