Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Switzerland Tourism invites members of India’s travel trade to participate in its exclusive webinar series. The webinar series aims to educate the trade about one of the most popular travel destination for Indian travellers – Switzerland. Those interested can get in touch with  Jaspreet Kaur  via email at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com  or call  9650196532. This webinar that will take place on March 5, 2020 at 3:00 pm will highlight the summer attractions in Lucerne.  Lucerne is a city in Central Switzerland situated on the Lake Lucerne and surrounded by mountains. It is a popular destination for travellers and has numerous attractions and accommodation options in and around it. Viewers get a chance to learn about the various offerings in Lucerne in the summer months so that they can plan their clients’ itineraries accordingly. Travel partners who attend all the webinars also stand a chance of winning a trip to Switzerland.

The 35th edition of Aahar was inaugurated by LC Goyal, IAS, Chairman & Managing Director, ITPO. Reassuring the participants of Aahar he said, “Large complexes are sensitive to the needs and requirements of participants, I am afraid that ITPO has a long way in achieving this. They need to feel more receptive to all of you when you visit our office. I am going to revisit the entire system and make it robust. In case of any malpractice, please bring it to my attention. Infrastructure is one aspect; we need to develop the soft skills. The industry is getting very competitive, more venues are coming up, so best of service is required and we have a long way to go.” Assuring  better, transparent  and  accountable  professional  services  to  all  the   trade and industry by ITPO in future, he further adds, “ These events are extremely important, and we cannot undermine them. Last year we offered an area of 24000 square metres, this year it is 44 ooo square metres. There has been  a huge gap between demand and supply. For next year’s edition of Aahar hopefully we will be able to offer 1 lakh square metres.”

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism and Culture, Government of India, has said that they are thinking of declaring 2021 as Visit India Year, with an aim to invite people across the world to the country and showcase its diversity. “We want people across the world to know India and see its cultural heritage and its attractions. In order to showcase that we are in discussion to declare 2021 as Visit India Year. We want to make the new multilingual website and language facilities at important tourist sites, act as facilities to attract tourists from different countries across the world,” he announced at the launch of the multilingual Incredible India website in New Delhi.

Artem Chernyshov, Event Director, MITT has confirmed that MITT 2020 will proceed as planned. There is no directive from the Russian government to halt any event or impose any ban on the entry of foreigners to Russia. The organisers are currently making all necessary preparations to run the 27th edition of the Russian travel trade show as planned in Crocus Expo, Moscow from 17-19 March 2020. The update came following the rapid outbreak of coronavirus globally. MITT is taking extra measures to ensure the health and safety of all exhibitors, visitors and staff. For any other queries, people can contact the official call-centre on 8 800 555 43 43 designated by the Russian Federation. The organisers are also in constant touch with WHO and the Russian Federation to stay up to date with the latest developments. With IMEX due to take place in the middle of May (still 10 weeks away), the IMEX team continues to plan confidently for the show. They currently have NO plans to postpone or cancel. They are very grateful for the ongoing support of their exhibitors and attendees who continue to register and plan for the show and they have not experienced any substantial impacts so far. The IMEX team remains in close contact with their partners in Germany, as well as the relevant health authorities. As this unprecedented situation is changing every day, they remain watchful but also focused on delivering what is an extremely important event for the global business events community. Mindful of our duty of care, they are also carefully considering and consulting with experts on what the appropriate sanitary, health and other measures should be. Ray and I assure you …

The ITB India organisers have announced to postpone ITB India 2020 due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. Originally scheduled to be held on 15- 17 April 2020 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, the show is now scheduled to be held on 7 – 9 April 2021 at the same venue. The participants of the show can reach the organising team by sending queries with regards to ITB India directly to exhibitor@itb-india.com. Significantly, it was the first-ever edition of ITB India. The 3-day B2B travel trade show was being organised by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and supported by Messe Berlin (Singapore). The ITB India organisers will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates based on official assessments of the overall risk situation.

Online travel aggregator, MakeMyTrip has announced the expansion of its existing Franchise Program where it is looking for new strategic partners. Interested people can call on 7838166660 or email at Franchiseenquiry@makemytrip.com The company is calling all enterprising business-owners and entrepreneurs interested in nurturing a sustainable, profitable business and who can associate with MakeMyTrip and take benefits of attractive commissions, online booking tool with live inventory for instant quotations, training, post-sales, visa and operational support.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the cancellation of its Annual Summit scheduled to take place from March 31- April 3, 2020, in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE due to evolving dynamics of the spread of the COVID-19 globally. In 2021, the summit will be hosted by Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA) and for next year’s event will be announced in due time, announced Dr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. Delegates who have paid the registration fee or purchased tickets for the PATA Foundation Charity Dinner have the option of transferring the registration fee and/or the Charity Dinner ticket fee to the PATA Annual Summit 2021 or receive a full refund.

The experience center located at the hotel lobby would allow users to indulge in an immersive 8K 3-d, computer-generated virtual environment that can be explored and interacted with as per the client’s requirements. This technology , launched in association with VR-Tech startup, The Knotty Tales additionally allows the product to be carried to the doorsteps of the potential customers and allow a technologically advanced way to explore a hotel like never before. The experience centre was inaugurated by Dr Mahesh Sharma, MP, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ex-Central Minister, Government of India.    

The Globus family of brands has instituted a travel policy which states that they are proactively suspending the operation of all China itineraries – and those vacations that include stops in China – through April 30, 2020. Travellers affected by these cancellations have been informed in order to adjust their travel plans. The step has been taken in response to COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent Health Ministry warnings to avoid all travel to China. As an added precaution for the health and safety of all of its guests, anyone who has travelled from/visited or transited through China, Macau, or Hong Kong, within the 21 days prior to the start of their vacation will be restricted on Globus family tours. Additionally, some governments have implemented wider restrictions that limit the arrival of travellers who have travelled from/visited or transited through countries beyond those currently within the Globus policy above. If they have recently travelled overseas, it is recommended that travellers check the current travel policy of their final destinations. The Globus family of brands continues to monitor the situation closely to determine if additional modifications and updates are needed in accordance with the Indian and international travel advisements and policies. Therefore, Globus is offering an interim policy for its travellers and agents to adjust travel plans and help alleviate immediate concerns and related penalties. At this time, all of its tours are operating as scheduled with the exception of mainland China. Further updates are available on the websites – CosmosVacations.in; GlobusJourneys.in

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has launched the multilingual website of Incredible India during an event in Delhi. The website which is currently hosted in English and Hindi has been revamped with a new design to provide more information about India’s tourist destinations, attractions, experiences and providing support in Chinese, Arabic and Spanish languages. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (I/C) unveiled the new website at The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi in presence of key stakeholders of the Indian tourism industry. Incredible India website (www.incredibleindia.org) is a promotional website of MOT for projecting India as a ‘must-visit’ destination across the globe. Incredible India 2.0 website aims towards showcasing the varied tourism products of India at a global arena by providing visitors with relevant, personalized and contextual digital experience escalating tourism awareness, attraction and opportunities.