Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), along with its Managing Committee, has decided to reduce its annual subscription for its agents by 25 per cent across the board in view of the current situation. Pradip Lulla, President, TAFI, says, “We realise that there isn’t much business for the trade right now. Keeping this in mind we decided to reduce our fee.” The association is looking to conduct its virtual convention in November and will shortly finalise the details.

The Agra district administration (ADA) is mulling plans to reopen the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort for tourists in the second week of September. A final date has not been decided yet. However, it is speculated that other ASI protected monuments in the region like Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandara Tomb will open by the end of this month.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for leasing out Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports, which are currently run by Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Adani Enterprises had won the bid last year to operate, manage and develop these airports for next 15 years.  

Speaking on charter flights, Nilesh Shah, President, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa, says, “We request the government to allow international charter flights into India from October-end which is when the season starts from key markets such as the UK, Germany, Russia and Scandinavian countries. If the state government is serious about restarting tourism, then it has take such bold steps.”

Yatra Online has announced its collaboration with Amazon Business, in an effort to provide hospitality partners with products, catering to the hospitality segment.- Hospitality partners can access over 15 crore products ranging from commercial-grade kitchen appliances, home décor products, large appliances, consumer electronics, office supplies and much more with GST invoice and with discounts linked to bulk volume purchase. Commenting on this association Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder & CEO, Yatra.com, said, “We are glad to announce our association with Amazon Business to help our hospitality partners for all their daily and monthly product requirements. This is another step towards diversification of our portfolio beyond travel. Backed with our extensive network of hotels across India, we are moving ahead to extend our portfolio through seamless integration on the Yatra partner platform. Amazon has been a market leader in the e-commerce space and through Amazon Business, we want to offer an avenue to our partners where necessities are just a ‘click’ away.” Sharing his comments on the tie-up, Peter George, Director, Amazon Business, said, “We are happy to partner with Yatra.com and help its hospitality partners get access to a one stop destination for all their emerging operational needs. Amazon Business marketplace helps business customers conveniently discover and save on over 15 Cr products ranging from commercial grade kitchen appliances, Large Appliances, Home Décor, Office supplies and storage solutions and more with the added advantage of GST invoice for input tax credit and bulk purchase discounts. The partnership will help our sellers reach lakhs of hotels across the country as they kick-start operations again.”     This initiative is live on Yatra’s hospitality partner platform and is available pan-India. Extending the company’s purpose of …

JLL’s Q2 2020 performance trend chart revealed that Mumbai continues to be RevPAR leader in absolute terms despite the decline of RevPAR by 81% in comparison to Q2 2019. All key 11 markets in India witnessed a decrease in RevPAR Performance in Q2 2020 over the same period last year Mumbai continues to be the RevPAR leader in absolute terms, despite the decline of RevPAR by 81% in Q2 2020 compared to Q2 2019 Goa saw the sharpest decline in RevPAR in Q2 2020, with a 93.9% decline compared to the same period in the previous year. ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ remains a major demand generator for hotels in key cities. Total no. of signings in Q2 of 2020 stood at 7 hotels comprising of 673 keys, witnessing a decline of 83% of signings in terms of inventory over the same period last year. International hotel operators dominated signings over Domestic operators with the ratio of 63:37 in terms of inventory volume.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel along with MOT officials met legendary cricketer and Padma Bhushan awardee Kapil Dev to discuss the promotion of tourism, especially golf tourism in India.   .  

Vistara will operate special, non-stop flights between Delhi and London Heathrow from 28 August to 30 September 2020, marking its foray in long-haul international operations. The flights have been introduced as part of the bilateral ‘transport bubble’ formed between India and the UK. During the period, Vistara will fly thrice a week between the two cities – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The one-way fares from Delhi to London start from INR 29,912 in Economy Class, INR 44,449 in Premium Economy, and INR 77,373 in Business Class. Bookings for these flights are being progressively opened on all channels, including Vistara’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents. The airline will deploy its brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on the route to provide an exceptional, non-stop flying experience to travellers in both directions. The airline also received its second Dreamliner aircraft recently, further strengthening its fleet to operate more such long-haul flights and expand its international operations. Vistara is also seeking necessary regulatory approvals to soon operate similar special flights to Paris, France and Frankfurt, Germany. Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “As the world starts opening up in a phased manner following an extended global lockdown, these special flights give us the privilege of facilitating travel between the two countries. We are confident that travellers will appreciate having the choice of flying India’s only five-star airline to and from London, which also upholds the highest standards of safety and hygiene.” “The arrival of our second Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner further strengthens our fleet and underlines our commitment to expanding globally. There is an inherent need for an Indian carrier with a modern fleet, world-class cabin products and onboard service to …

In a series of tweets, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, announced that MoCA has proposed air bubbles with neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. “We are now taking these efforts forward and are negotiating with 13 more countries to establish such arrangements. These countries include Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. We continue to further strengthen the reach and scope of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’. Air travel arrangements are already in place with USA, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar and Maldives,” he tweeted.

EM Najeeb, President, Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI), met Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Minister of Kerala and thanked him for the Rs 445cr package and support on behalf of the entire tourism industry. “The minister has informed me that another package for the houseboat sector, homestay sector as well as the tourist guides will be announced this week,” he revealed.