Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

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.

PATA India Chapter will conduct its next webinar on 15th July, 2020. Titled, ‘Tourism PowerHouse in an Evolving Landscape’, the webinar will have key international speakers such as Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA and Oliver Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys. They will share global trends and analysis on the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector and the way forward.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has assured the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) that the government is working on re-opening protocols. He said that they would re-open in a phased manner to avoid any backlash. Thackeray also informed that the government is working on certain concessions such as in excise fees to help revive the industry.