Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Sharing his views on whether travel will become more expensive, Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director of Thomas Cook (India), says, “Air fares haven’t jumped dramatically so far – it is too early to tell. But I don’t think prices are going to change dramatically, because all of us are responsible for inducing demand. So I don’t see air fares and hotel prices going up dramatically in the next 12 months – they may correct from where they are a little.”

IATO in association with TravTalk is organising a motivational session with renowned speaker Shiv Khera for its members as part of its skill development initiative. Scheduled to take place today at 11:30am, the webinar will focus on the topic ‘Turn Setback into Comeback’ and will touch upon various topics for the travel industry.

Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) in association with Pride Hotels hosted its North India members at a physical event called ‘The Comeback’ – an example of creating a safe event in the current times. Sangeeta Manocha, Chairperson of ETAA North India, says, “This is the time to come back as the travel industry has started taking baby steps.” Saurabh Tuteja, General Secretary added that travel industry has gone through many ups and downs from time to time and will surely bounce back this time as well. Dinesh Kumar, Treasurer emphasized that keeping patience is the need of an hour. Praveen Ghai, Joint Secretary is hopeful that domestic tourism has a golden time ahead and international will follow. Punit Bhasin, Joint Secretary added that this is the time, when we need to forget the past and be more innovative in creating the golden time ahead. Arush Mittal, Head-Alliance emphasized members that helping and supporting each other will be the key to success. Gaurav Arora, Head – Events added that soon industry will move to the normal state, MICE will surely pick up as people want to move out of their stress zone. Jagat Mehta, President – ETAA and Dharmesh Advani, General Secretary also shared their thoughts with the members via a video message. The event concluded with a performance by a Bollywood band. During the lockdown, ETAA conducted numerous knowledge sessions via online webinars on different destinations and tourism opportunities.  

The Travel Agents Federation of INDIA (Gujarat Chapter) recently organised a four-day FAM trip within Gujarat to Saputara and Tent city 1, Kevadia. Led by Chapter Chairman, Jigar Dudakiya, the team undertook this educational tour sponsored by Gujarat Tourism. Keeping the health safety in mind, the TAFI team gave suggestions and precautionary measures which every members had to follow during the tour. They also distributed Covid kits to delegates that included steam machine with Genvol inhalant capsules, thermometer, sanitizer, and masks.

Speaking about what he thinks the travel industry needs to do to restart business, Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director of Thomas Cook (India), says, “Adaptability is part of our DNA. Trust me, each and every travel agent will adapt, and is adapting already. I can see agents approaching us to book holidays for their clients, asking if we can provide them with packages. If you have the will to survive, you will adapt, however big or small you are. Even we are now adapting, with an increased focus on domestic business, which we had never put in before.”

Kapil Kaul, CEO, CAPA India, has suggested that leadership and governance will be essential in making structural changes in tourism. “Since tourism is going to be very dynamic going forward, we may require a specialised Tourism Administrative Service, which has policymakers on the lines of IAS. Since tourism covers so many aspects, unless we have policymakers who specialise in tourism, institutional foundations can’t be fed. There is also a need for a legally empowered tourism council on the lines of GST council, which can comprise of union minister of tourism, state tourism minister, secretaries and all other experts whose job should only be focused on policy and regulatory effectiveness, competitiveness, ease of doing business, financing, education and training,” he recommended.

Puneet Dhawan, the newly-appointed Senior VP Operations at Accor India & South Asia, has said the group will continue to grow its network in India. He adds, “The 20th ibis will be launched in Mumbai with the ibis Vikhroli, in the middle of next year. We are also looking forward to introduce Raffles Udaipur early next year, and will be adding Novotel Chandigarh soon.”

Hemant Mediratta, Founder, One Rep Global, has said that Indian travellers are optimistic and are already booking charters for future trips. “There has been a surge in the number of queries in the past four weeks for flights to Europe and island destinations where guests are travelling with their family. Queries just short of half a million USD are in different stages of fruition. Savvy Indian travellers are also buying 30 to 50 flying hours valid for the next 12 months,” he says.

Avneet Singh, Owner, Adarsh Communication based in Jaipur, has been thoroughly enjoying playing the Fantasy League. “This is something new that a B2B travel company has started to engage us. I have been associated with Tripjack since a long time now. I am impressed with their competitive fares and their back-end support. It’s the best portal that I have come across for travel agents. So far, their service has been top notch,” he says. Top winners every week also get Jalesh Cruise Package, Air Tickets, & Hotels Stays. Visit tripjack.com now!

The Supreme Court has pronounced the verdict on the airline refund case that was led by Pravasi Legal Cell. It has accepted DGCA’s recommendations on airfare refund and travel agents will get a full refund for tickets booked by them, and not directly to the passengers. The full refund scheme formulated by the DGCA has been approved by the Supreme Court. Both, the Indian Tour Operators Association of India (IATO) and Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) had filed a writ petition in court for this. Sharing this happy development, Pradip Lulla, Acting President and Vice President, TAFI, says, “We are very happy with the verdict. The tickets purchased through travel agents will be refunded back to agents and coupons of passengers will be made through travel agents.” The judgement copy stated, ‘…the action on the part of airlines operating domestic as well as international flights in India, in refusing to refund the full amount collected for tickets to travel during the period of ban on air travel, as illegal and arbitrary…’ It adds, ‘It is the case of the petitioner that where the tickets are booked by travel agents from their account, refund should be made in the same manner and channel though which payments for tickets have been received by the airlines.’