Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that India’s rank on the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index has jumped to 34 from 65, adding that it could become one of the major tourist destinations by 2022 with the countrymen’s support. He said, “Our rank is 34 on this index, whereas, five years ago we were ranked 65th, which in a way is a big jump. If we tried all that harder, then by the 75th year of our independence (2022), we would have carved a place for ourselves amidst the major tourist destinations of the world.”

GVK Mumbai International Airport has released a statement stating, “RWY 09/27 will not be available for aircraft operations  from 1 November 2019 to 28 March 2020, 6 days of week, from Mondays to Saturdays between 09:30 Hrs to 17:30 Hrs, due to major rehabilitation and re-carpeting works. The present runway handles 46 flights per hour, however the secondary runway will operate 35 flights per hour.”

Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has said that, by 2024, India is likely to have 200 operational airports with 70 of them catering to international travel. Emphasising on sustainable development, he says, “While we adopt state-of-the-art communication, navigation and surveillance technologies, we are conscious and mindful that our growth must be environmentally sustainable.”

Ebix has announced that its EbixCash Indian subsidiary has signed an agreement with Cox and Kings to transfer its Business Travel agreements with corporates in India, to EbixCash’s corporate “Mercury” Travel Division. This announcement comes as a part of EbixCash’s initiative to aggressively grow its corporate travel business in India.Each of the transferred corporate clients of Cox and Kings will now be serviced by EbixCash’s Mercury Division across the length and breadth of the country. Under the agreement some key core employees of Cox and Kings will also be transferred to the EbixCash payroll with immediate effect. This transfer agreement is part of EbixCash’s efforts to double its revenues as compared to the last year, from the corporate travel sector by the end of this Financial Year. (Source: globenewswire.com)

Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the National Tourism Awards 2017-18 on World Tourism Day in New Delhi. A total of 76 Awards under various categories were presented. The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel;Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili; Tourism Minister of Paraguay, Sofia Montiel De Afara; Tourism Secretary Yogendra Tripathi; DG Tourism, Meenakshi Sharma, senior officers of Ministry of tourism and 82 international delegates were  among those present on the occasion.

Prahlad Singh Patel, State Minister (I/C), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “For thousands of years, India has followed the motto of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’- which means the entire world is a family and everyone is alike. We are glad to be associated with UNWTO, and we assure the support that they need from us. India is a diverse country and we are now at the 34th position in the UNWTO index. I also want to thank our Prime Minister for being our ambassador and popularising India across the world. e-Visa in tourism and GST for hotels has been rationalised. This will improve the positioning of India at the global level and will boost tourism. National Tourism Award has been presented to achievers of the tourism industry, and I believe that everyone who is a part of this industry, right from a guide, driver, tour operator, hotel executive is important and makes a huge contribution to a tourist’s experience and hence needs to be felicitated. They represent the nation and are key to change the perception of India.

Addressing the audience on the occasion of World Tourism Day, Zurab Pololikashvili- Secretary General, UNWTO, said, “World Tourism Day is the birthday of our sector and this time it is being celebrated in the incredible country of India. It is the most important day for us and we are happy that tourism sector is on a rise. It is not only a huge contributor to the economy but an employer to a diverse range of people including school and university graduates. India, today is able search of job opportunity. People are attracted by the Indian economic growth and are creating job opportunities in metro and other cities. If we are open for new ideas, tourism will be ready for growth.”

Inaugurating the World Tourism Day celebrations in New Delhi, Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu, urged all stake holders of the tourism industry to be mindful of their ecological foot print and called for more responsible and sustainable tourism practices. Observing that tourism is a major engine of economic growth and an important source of employment and foreign exchange earnings in many countries, Shri Naidu said that tourism in India has tremendous potential, considering the country’s rich cultural and historical heritage, varied ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread across the country.

Hindi makes its way into the UNWTO Academy course. Zurab Pololikashvili- Secretary General, UNWTO, said, “We have launched Hindi into our Academy course. It will help Indian tourism students learn effectively. We will also take more of such initiatives.” This announcement was made on the occasion of the World Tourism Day which was celebrated by UNWTO in Delhi.

Jean-Michel Cassé, Chief Operating Officer (COO) – India & South Asia, Accor, says, “For Accor, hotels in Mumbai recorded around 80 percent occupancy with almost 12-15 percent rate increase. Delhi/NCR hotels were at around 75 percent with double digit ADR growth in H1. Bengaluru hotels recorded maximum occupancy growth with almost 20 percent rate growth. Goa had a soft Q1 with under 5 percent RevPAR growth.