Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will have its elections on April 25, 2020 at The Ashok, New Delhi. The information was shared by Rajesh Mudgill, Hony. Secretary, IATO during the last interactive luncheon meeting of the current Executive Committee of the association took place on February 28. He said that official notification about the election will be soon shared with the members. Akshay Kumar, CEO, Mercury Himalayan Explorations will be the returning officer.

IndiGo has announced that it will start operations to Agra with the launch of a direct non-stop flight from Bengaluru on March 5, under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, revealed William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo. Agra will be IndiGo’s 63rd destination and 86th overall in its network, which also has flight services to 23 international airports. The airline already operates flights to and from Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Varanasi. “It gives us pleasure to announce Agra as the 63rd domestic destination in our network. Operating exclusively under the UDAN scheme, the new services will promote trade and tourism in the region through increased mobility,” said Boulter. With its fleet of over 250 aircraft, the airline offers 1,500 daily flights, connecting 63 domestic destinations and 23 international destinations.

Amusement Parks in India attract over 30 million (3 crore) visitors annually. Children & Youth visit the park either in school groups or with families and constitutes 50% of park visitors. Adults constitute the remaining 50% as they either visit with their families or in corporate groups. India has over 160 plus amusement parks and the future growth of the sector are going to be away from the city limits along with resorts and hotels at a tourism destination. The figures were revealed at the 20th IAAPI Amusement Expo 2020, the biggest B2B exhibition on sourcing for amusement, leisure and recreation industry supported, by Ministry of Tourism (Incredible India). It was inaugurated by Amanda Thompson, Chairperson – International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) with Sohansinh Jadeja – President – Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI), along with key office bearers.

Eastern Himalayas Travel and Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA) signs MoU with Bangladesh at Bengal Travel Mart to promote cross border tourism. Some of the main objectives of the MoU include, promotion of tourism activities jointly, annual meeting to be held jointly in Bangladesh and India every alternative year, TOAB Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in India, EHTTOA Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in Bangladesh, registration fee for each member is proposed as Tk. 1500 or Rs 1200, Below are the main objectives of the MoU (in detail): Each Association will induct Affiliate Members mutually [TOAB 50 & EHTTOA 50] without voting power and other facilities enjoyed by General Member. Registration fee for Each Member is proposed as Tk. 1500 Or INR 1200 INR per member. Membership Renewal every 02 years of TK 1000 Or INR 800 per member. Annual meeting to be held jointly in Bangladesh and India in every alternative year. Issues on Common cause to be addressed jointly. Exchange and use of logo to be permitted. EC of Each Association to approve Affiliate Membership. Development launching and other tourism related issue to be taken up jointly for the promotion of the sector. Rules for induction of members will be revised every two years if necessary. First Joint Move will be on Identifying, Listing and Promotion of Home Stays and Rural Tourism. Promotion of tourism activities jointly. TOAB Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in India and EHTTOA Affiliate Members cannot be involved in B2C in Bangladesh. Each Association Member will monitor all aspects respectively.  

According to HVS, management contracts continue to be the most preferred form of brand signings, although Franchising is now steadily growing popularity. In 2019 almost 14% of the total brand signings were franchised compared to 10% in 2018. However managed properties accounted for 76% of the total brand signings in both 2019 and 2018.

The Accor Showcase took place at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity on 26 February and is slated to take place in  Sofitel Mumbai BKC on 28 February. Speaking at the event, Jean–Michel Cassé, COO, Accor, India and South Asia, says, “ It is now four years since we are conducting this exercise of the Accor Showcase. It is an opportunity for our hotels in India and across the world to come and present themselves to the Indian market. They come and showcase whatever products and services they have for the Indian market.  It has been very successful in the last few years and in spite of the challenging times, we are really happy that it is happening this year again in 2020.” On their upcoming hotels, he said, “We have one opening expected very soon, mid-March, which is Grand Mercure in Bengaluru, mid-2020 we will be opening Raffles in Udaipur, that is truly our first exclusive luxury property opening for the Indian market, we also have very high expectations for this brand to succeed in India as it will be the first Raffles in India.  Across 23 cities in India, we are offering a  variety of brands and services for the travel trade to choose from.” Rohit Chopra, Regional Director Sales-India, Accor, says, “The event is growing strength by strength and doing very well.  We have hotels here from all different categories. We have multiple Raffles, Fairmont’s from different countries, they are looking to tap the M!CE and wedding segment. This year we have participants from Baku, Azerbaijan, London, north Europe and also representatives from the USA, global sales, so it’s a very proud moment for us that we are …

Rakesh Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary, MOT, will be travelling for ITB Berlin 2020 with a delegation of around 49 exhibitors, which will be led by Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism and Culture. The format has been changed this time for ITB Berlin, as there will not be a presentation and press conference, but a panel discussion instead. “We will be having a breakfast meeting with the German FTOs in Berlin. We have a panel discussion on the first day, which will focus on global trends in tourism focusing on Incredible India and will be moderated by a CNN journalist. It will have around 5 panelists including German tour operators who will be talking about India and their experience. While there will not be a specific campaign for ITB Berlin, we will project the efforts we are taking and the whole range of offerings we have been developing at MOT. Apart from that we have small group engagements and one-to-one engagements at the VIP lounge at India Pavilion of ITB. We are trying to project India as an experiential and transformational destination for the travellers, which is one of the key messages that we are putting across,” he shares. “The Ministerial delegation would consist of 49 co-exhibitors, including state governments, tour operators, hotels, wellness centres, as well as Ayurveda society. We’ve taken a huge space of 705 sq. m. CMD, ITDC, will also be there. It will be a combined marketing effort by the Government and the stakeholders,” reveals Verma.

Virgin Atlantic will be flying from Delhi to Manchester with services taking to the skies from October 2020 onwards. For the first time, Virgin Atlantic will fly from India to Manchester. Coupled with the airline’s double daily service from Delhi to Heathrow and daily service from Mumbai to Heathrow, the airline will now offer over 600,000 seats per year between India and UK. Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic commented: “2020 marks our 20th anniversary of flying to India and as the destination continues to grow in popularity for both business and leisure travel, we’re thrilled to announce for very first time a new service flying three times a week from Delhi to Manchester, our home in the north.’’

In an effort to further promote the Rann Utsav, Gujarat state aviation infrastructure company limited has added direct flights between Bhuj- Ahmedabad and Bhuj- Delhi from 27th February 2020 till 12 March 2020. The flights connecting Ahmedabad and Bhuj will be operated by Air Deccan and the flights connecting Bhuj and Delhi will be operated by Zoom Air. These new flights and connectivity were promoted at a tour operators meeting in New Delhi.

VFS Global invites all members of the travel trade to participate in the webinar today that will highlight the organisation’s new initiatives to ensure seamless visa application experiences, as well as the optional services on offer to customers. It will be held at 12 PM today. Sanjeet Joher, Head – South Asia, VFS Global, says, “The travel agent fraternity is a key partner in the VFS Global ecosystem, and it is important for us to collaborate for a smooth peak travel season. Our webinar will help educate them on the services we offer and answer their top queries on visas.” Those who are interested in participating can get in touch with Jaspreet Kaur for further information either via email jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91-9650196532.