Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

In a statement, The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has said that travel agents should issue refunds to their clients only when the same is received by them from the airlines or IATA. Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI stated that they have raised strong objections on the refund issues and mechanism with all airlines and IATA while also seeking the Ministry of Civil Aviation to direct the airlines to refund all monies since additional funds of the agents is also blocked with airlines paid for advances in float accounts of low-cost carriers operating in India. TAAI has told its members to inform their customers, who desire to refund their tickets, that they shall be updated as soon as they receive refunds from airlines/IATA for the tickets issued and also assure that the same shall be given.

According to a report released by CAPA India, domestic air traffic is expected to drop to 80-90 million passengers in the current fiscal against an estimated 140 million passengers. The delivery of more than 200 planes to Indian carriers are also likely to be deferred by up to two years. International traffic is expected to fall from approximately 70 million in the previous financial year to 35-40 million passengers or maybe even less in the current fiscal. As a result, the majority of the fleet is likely to be surplus to requirement during the first half of the current financial year. While giving the forecast, CAPA India said it is an initial estimate and would be continually revised. A gradual path towards normalcy could be expected towards Q3 and Q4, the aviation consultancy firm said.

During the TravTalk Digital Conclave, Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation & Silk Road Development, UNWTO said that it may take almost 7 years for tourism to scale back growth achieved in recent years. According to him, the global tourism demand will not be the same again post-COVID-19 crisis is over. “COVID-19 may cost tourism seven years of growth – that’s seven years of lost jobs and lost opportunities. UNWTO’s recommendations for recovery urge governments to act decisively to protect jobs, protect companies and include tourism in all recovery plans,” the former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. In its analysis estimating the global impact, UNWTO predicted a loss of 290-400 million international tourist arrivals globally. 

Travel Nevada will host a webinar for travel agents today, 8th April, 2020, starting at 11:30 am. For registration and more details on the event, please contact, Ritesh Ahluwalia at ritesh.ahluwalia@buzzindia.in or +91 9818576755. Over 500 agents from across India are expected to participate. Through this, agents will learn about the key highlights of the destination and will be educated on what makes Nevada an ideal destination for Indian tourists.

Analysing the revival plans for the tourism industry post-COVID-19crisis, Naveen Kundu, Managing Director, EbixCash Travel & Holidays has said that there will be a lot of behavioural changes in the industry including a complete price realignment for every tourism product. He said that post-COVID-19 crisis, rationalisation and consolidation will become important they will look at special interest acquisitions going forward when the situation is normalised.  “Ebix has always been bullish about the Indian market. Post COVID-19, there will be a complete paradigm shift in the industry, which will make a consolidation opportunity for us. We will be looking at special interest acquisition and continue the way we have progressed in the Indian market. Among sectors, I believe MiCE industry will be the first one to bounce back,” said Kundu.

The Returning Officer for IATO Elections 2020, Akshay Kumar in a meeting with IATO EC decided to postpone the association’s election scheduled to take place on April 25 amid ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Starting 6th April, the elections are postponed by 30 days. The IATO EC will meet after 30 days to decide upon new dates. The election should, however, take place within 90 days starting 6th  April 2020. The timelines suggested during the meeting varied from two months to all the way till 2021. In case the election cannot be held within 90 days, the Returning Officer recommended that IATO call for an EGM and allow the house to decide upon the new dates for election. In the interim, the Office Bearers and EC of IATO are hereby allowed to work and lead the association in the best interests of its members and the industry at large.

TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave got off to a roaring success with over 6000 plus attendees in three sessions that took place yesterday. TravTalk got on board eminent stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss various issues arising because of the COVID-19 crisis for the industry. Session one focused on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session included Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The second session was on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session included experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). The final session covered the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session had industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

The Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association (ETAA) is preparing to conduct its second webinar for its members on April 8,2020. This time it will be on technology conducted by Karthik Venkataraman, Head of Business Development, GMR Tech Solutions. He will talk about the importance of having a digital presence during such challenging times. The association’s first webinar was conducted on April 6, 2020 where more than 100 ETAA members from across India attended. This webinar focussed on ‘Bonding’ and it was a one hour session conducted by TEDX speaker Bharat Jethani who also helps in community building. The members also suggested some unexplored destinations that can be promoted to domestic tourists once things get back to normal. ETAA plans to conduct more such events in the future to engage its members.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) held a virtual conference with the tourism and hospitality sector associations of the industry recently, which was led by Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary Tourism, MOT, along with senior officials of the Ministry. The Associations represented through remote conferencing were FAITH, CII, FICCI, PHDCCI and IMAI. The industry put forth a number of ideas and suggestions for tiding over the crisis created by COVID-19 in the sector of tourism and hospitality. The Ministry on its part shared the concerns and assured the associations that the government is very much with them in this grim hour and that they would work towards the suggestions put forth. There would be a lot of thrust on promoting domestic tourism was a common takeaway. MOT is using its social handles to create awareness of the need to stay at home safe in the period of lockdown and prepare to travel once the world opens up. In the meantime, the course modules of the Institutes of Hotel Management are being held online and faculty and students are using technology to remain abreast with their course curriculum.

Addressing concerns from member agencies regarding refunds/credits from airlines/ IATA due to the impact of Covid2019 as customers are demanding refunds from travel agents, TAAI has said, “With reference to the unilateral decision of the airlines to give credit notes and no cash refunds, we have made it very clear to all concerned that, cash refunds are required due to the global pandemic situation. It is the right of the passenger to get back his amount paid in stipulated time. Cancellation charges shall not be borne by the traveller due to the cancellation of flights/ lockdown situations/ banning of flights by government of India as well as of other countries, etc.” In an official statement by TAAI to its members, it was written, “We are in daily communications with the Indian Prime Minister’s office(PMO), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Niti Aayog, IATA Global Head Quarters, IATA-India, all airlines individually including Low Cost airlines in India. We are working in support with, all associations of travel, tourism & hospitality trade under UFTAA, FAITH, CII and other leading trade bodies. Our concerns have been voiced not only in our communications but also in mainline media being TV channels & newspapers, trade media as well as social media.” The TAAI team urged its members to be patient, claiming that the as Govt. of India, is prioritising the requests of citizens, industries, trade, travellers, etc. and are actioning to the best of their abilities, with timelines. “Their main objective right now is to ensure the health safety of all persons and providing proper medical …