Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Spicejet, has said that we need to use this opportunity to try and collect the imbalances in the industry like the structural problems, get aviation turbine fuel under GST and make this crisis into an opportunity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Singh also lauded the government on resumption of flight operations and putting in place a contactless digital experience for travellers. He shared that there is a need to build confidence among the masses which can be done with the dissemination of information.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways (RT&H) and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), has said that the cabinet is working on introducing ropeway, cable car and funicular railway at many areas in place of roads to lead way for hotels and restaurants. “In our country service sector includes hotels/restaurants which has a very big role and contribution in it. We are opening around 2000 roadside amenities, and restaurants have great potential for growth in these upcoming green highway projects. Along with this, wherever we are developing tourism, we would be needing more hotels, restaurants, taxis and entertainment. As the highway projects are going in full swing, people will be travelling in large amount by road as they now have appropriate conveyance so they will be looking forward to resorts and restaurants which are hygienic and safe, which will give boost to the industry. It will also uplift the regional food and culture of the area which will be served to them by the respective hotels and restaurants,” he was speaking at a FHRAI webinar.

In an hour-long discussion in a webinar titled ‘Flying Through Covid-19’ under the TravTalk Agent Connect series, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Tourism explained to the travel agents joining in about the readiness of both the airline as well as the destination in receiving not just visitors but also transit passengers. Duncan Bureau, Senior VP, Global Sales & Distribution, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We have introduced a range of waivers to help ease the burden of travel and provide maximum flexibility. We want our trade partners to book with us with full confidence.” He added, “We will be looking at travel insurance and we are working with our travel insurance partners to make sure people are covered.” The panel also included Neerja Bhatia, Vice President (Indian Sub-continent), Etihad Airways, and Saeed Al Saeed, Destination Marketing Director, Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT), Abu Dhabi. The webinar saw more than 1,700 participants in attendance.

TravTalk and Etihad Airways are set to host an ‘Agent Connect’ webinar, a live journey of flying through COVID-19, today from 11 am onwards. Travel agents will get the chance to learn about Etihad Airways and UAE’s capital city – Abu Dhabi. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

In a bid to attract tourists back to the state after lifting all travel restrictions, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) has introduced ‘Intezar Aapka’ campaign with includes a series of communication on MP Tourism’s social media pages. The campaign highlights the prime factors of all historic destinations in the state. The campaign further highlights all the key attractions of various destinations. MPTB is promoting places of tourist interest such as Ujjain, Panchmari, Amarkantak, Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Mandu, among others.

Various travel & tourism associations of Gujarat have met the tourism minister of the state to discuss revival and tourism development plan in the state. Demand seeking industry status was also made along with waiver or relief from the current pandemic. Minister Jawaharbhai Chavda listened to the associations calmly and assured to the needful. A white paper on behalf of all associations was also presented.  

India’s first aviation terminal for private jets and charter flights is expected to open up at the Indira Gandhi International Airport of New Delhi by end of July. According to officials familiar to the matter, the new facility will provide faster turn-around to business jets & charters, shielding them from the clutter of general passenger terminals.  

A customer survey conducted by Vistara has revealed preference and perceptions of about air travel in the near future. On the topic of top international destinations flyers would prefer to travel in the next one year, the survey revealed that respondents prefer Singapore followed by the United Kingdom and Dubai.

The latest key findings from CAPA India’s exclusive ‘Traveller Sentiment Tracker’ indicate that the second quarter is increasingly looking like a washout. The outlook for Q3 will depend upon how fast the infection curve can be flattened so that consumer confidence is restored. But at this stage, the public does not appear to be in any rush to return to the skies, especially when it comes to international travel.

The railway ministry has offered nine routes to private players in the Northeast Frontier Railway zone that covers most parts of north Bengal and the entire North East region. It is estimated that the total project would bring in investments of Rs 30,000 crore. Among the routes selected are Guwahati’s link to Delhi and cities like Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru and Bhopal.