Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Israel Ministry of Tourism has joined hands with Ola cabs in India to collaborate on a two-week contest that will run on the Ola app which is valid for its Mumbai and Pune users only. The Ola users who undertake the maximum number of rides during the two weeks period and use code ISRAEL stand a chance to win a free trip to Israel for three nights or four days. Utilising Push notifications, in-App promotion, e-mailers , Ola Website and their Social Media pages, the ride-sharing company will promote the contest. Talking more about the association Hassan Madah, Director – Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines said, “Ola is one of the largest taxi services in India and have a large user base, especially in metro cities. Today, many urban dwellers use the services of taxi hiring in big cities as it is convenient. We are always thinking of distinct ways to promote Israel and felt this association with Ola cabs will help us reach Ola’s over 80 lakh users in Mumbai and Pune. We look forward to creating more awareness of the beautiful destination among Ola users so that they can plan a trip soon to Israel.” Israel has welcomed close to 10,000 Indian travellers between January and March, resulting in a 15% increase in Indian tourists arrivals compared to the same period in 2016. With the recent addition of Air India’s direct connection from Delhi to Tel Aviv, Israel hopes to witness one lakh Indian tourist arrivals in 2018.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has announced its participation in Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2018, which will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22-25, 2018. MTDC plans to promote Maharashtra as the preferred destination for medical and wellness tourism, showcase its touristic attractions, meet tourism professionals and promote the opportunities of investment in creating healthcare and tourism facilities. Speaking about the state government plans, Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism & Employment Guarantee Scheme, Government of Maharashtra said, “While the medical and wellness segment is largely untapped and caters to a niche segment of travellers we have seen a steady growth in this sector due to the quality and economically friendly services the state has to offer. Our goal is to position Maharashtra as a medical and wellness tourism hub. We are in the process of signing an MoU with the Indo-Arab Chambers of Commerce and Industries to highlight lucrative investment prospects within the sector.” Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC said, “We are witnessing tourism as one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. Maharashtra has one of the best qualified professionals in each field and this holds true in the domain of medical and wellness as well. We are now looking to create a unique identity by offering best health services for the world and establish ourselves as the best Medical tourism destination. At ATM 2018, we will be promoting various activities ranging from yoga, meditation to natural therapies to name some which is provided in the state.”

The German National Tourist Office (GNTO) introduced the ‘Culinary Germany’ theme in India, to use it as their focus for marketing campaigns this year. The country witnessed 8,52,224 visitor overnights in 2017 making for a 13.8 per cent growth over 2016. Owing to this steady growth, GNTO, India forecasts a 5-8 per cent growth in visitor overnights for the year 2018. Romit Theophilus, Director, GNTO, India said, “Food forms an integral part of any traveller’s itinerary. Experiencing the local flavours helps enhance the flavour of any holiday and makes for everlasting impressions. With over 5,000 beers from 1,300 breweries, 300 types of bread, 1,500 types of sausage, 13 wine regions, 292 Michelin-starred restaurants and 3,000 to 5,000 Christmas markets, Germany is sure to satiate any traveller’s appetite.” According to the Quality Monitor survey of the German tourism industry, 4% of international holidaymakers come to Germany specifically for the variety and quality of its food and drink. The sector, therefore, contributes at least 3.2 million overnight stays to Germany’s inbound tourism. ‘Travelling food-lovers’ are generally quite young, well-educated family people with children; they are often city dwellers and are very active on social media. GNTO, India now boasts over 1 million followers on its Facebook platform.

In a major milestone, The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has announced its foray into the Holy City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, with a partnership with Umm Al Qura Development and Construction Company in the prestigious King Abdul Aziz Road (KAAR) project, one of the largest urban rejuvenation projects in the city of Makkah. Commenting on the signing of this agreement, Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL, said, “We are honoured to partner with Umm Al Qura Development and Construction Company in bringing the first Taj hotel to Saudi Arabia. This signing is aligned to our strategy of a strong focus on global growth markets and to be present where our guests travel to.” This hotel will be IHCL’s fourth venture in the MENA region. The company manages Taj Dubai located in the Burj Khalifa downtown area. It will also open another two hotels in Dubai in the next 12 to 18 months. The hotel, scheduled to open in January 2023, will have approximately 340 keys, banqueting facilities and several restaurants to serve all tastes. Commenting on the partnership, Eng. Mohammad Al Ganawi, Chief Executive Officer, Umm Al Qura Development and Construction Company said, “We look forward to working with them to bring the iconic Taj brand to the unique development project in Makkah.” As the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the site of his first revelation of the Quran, Makkah is the holiest city in the religion of Islam.

Air Guru Travel Solutions has been appointed as the exclusive partner in India to represent Bali’s high-end hotel properties that include Double Six Luxury Hotel, Seminyak, The Breezes Bali Resort & Spa, Seminyak Bali, The Downtown Villas, Seminyak Bali, Le Jardin Boutique Villas Semniyak, and the famous Bali Safari Marine Park & Mrar River Safari Cottages. Air Guru Travel Solutions already represent BPPD (Badung Tourism Promotion Board, Bali) in India. Dhiraj Kumar, Managing Director, Air Guru Travel Solutions, was appointed as an Honorary Representative for Badung Regency Bali by BPPD Badung Tourism Promotions Board, Bali, Indonesia in 2017. With the inclusion of the new luxury segment hotels, resorts and parks, Air Guru has now become a holistic travel solution providers in India for Bali for its B2B clients. He says, “The aggregation of vast variety of travel hot spots under one company will certainly result in more cost benefits for our B2b clients. We are honoured and delighted that Air Guru Travel Solutions is rising in capacity and services rapidly. Our vision is to offer complete travel solutions specially to Bali and Indonesia under one roof. We’ve been handpicking and partnering the most incredible portfolio of hotels, resorts and parks in Bali. Travellers are seeking enhanced ways to enriching travel experience and we believe our partnership with these luxury hotels, resorts and amusement park will meet this need.”

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has relaunched its Sarovar Portico Lonavala located in the hill town near Mumbai. Back with a refreshing new look, Sarovar Portico Lonavala is an ideal destination for a summer holiday complemented with excellent services. The hotel offers great facilities and comfortable rooms to create a quintessential vacationing experience. Sarovar Portico Lonavala features 23 well furnished rooms including three Dupleix rooms. Each room is equipped with modern facilities and carefully selected amenities. A multi-cuisine restaurant, The Restaurant at Sarovar Portico Lonavala, offers wide range of delicacies. The hotel offers excellent conferencing and banqueting services overseen by experts to keep an occasion memorable. Outfitted with the latest audiovisual equipment, picture screens, overhead video and slide-projectors and advanced audio and microphone systems, the two meeting spaces at the hotel are equipped with a host of facilities tailored to cater to business and social needs.

Yatra.com has announced the appointment of Mudit Shekhawat as Chief Marketing Officer of the company. He will be responsible for leading marketing activities, alliances and ancillary revenues across all Yatra.com business-lines and group entities. In addition to further strengthening Yatra’s brand positioning, he will also manage all consumer marketing initiatives across platforms to drive customer stickiness and loyalty. Commenting on the new appointment, Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com said, “We are delighted to have Mudit come on board with us. As a veteran of the industry, he brings with him vast experience in digital and consumer marketing, which will spur additional growth for us and cement our position as India’s travel planner.” Shekhawat comes with rich consumer marketing experience of more than 12 years in the consumer internet space, most recently with Ola, where he was head of marketing. In his earlier stints, he has worked with Myntra, Yahoo and HCL Technologies in various marketing leadership roles. Shekhawat is an alumnus of IIT Madras, from where he went on to do a Masters in Engineering from Pennsylvania State University before finally finding his calling in marketing, and rounding it up with an MBA from ISB Hyderabad.

Strengthening trade and promoting cultural ties with the world’s fastest growing economy will be the priority of Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s trade mission to India next week. Berejiklian said her four-day mission will focus on opening doors for New South Wales (NSW) industries and businesses with India, and will include high-level meetings with Indian business and government officials. “Over the last five years India has been the fastest growing inbound tourism market for NSW, but we need to work to ensure we continue to attract Indian tourists,” Berejiklian said. “India has enormous projected GDP growth of 7.4 per cent for 2018 and I want the people of NSW to benefit from this significant and sustained progress. There are more than 200,000 people of Indian ancestry in NSW. The Indian community is an important part of our multicultural society and I look forward to building on our already strong cultural links. I also look forward to building on our collaboration in sectors such as technology, film and education to benefit NSW industries and businesses,” she adds. The Premier will visit Mumbai and New Delhi from April 16 to 19, 2018.

In an effort to showcase its festivals, Goa Tourism is all set to conduct two of its most captivating events – the Grape Escapade  and Goa Vintage Car & Bike Festival 2018 in the second fortnight  of April 2018. The lifestyle and wine festival organised by Goa Tourism through Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), the ‘Grape Escapade 2018’ will be held from April 19-22 at the D B Bandodkar Ground, Campal, Panjim. The four-day event is expected to draw lakhs of tourists in view of the on-going summer vacations. Over the years, Grape Escapade has provided a platform for local enterpreneurs to share expertise, display products, engage in B2B, and offers tourists and Goans an opportunity to savour on flavours from the vineyard, taste Goan food and experience Goa’s traditions and culture. The festival brings together a host of professionals from the tourism hospitality industry like hoteliers, restaurateurs, wineries and manufacturers to showcase their premium offerings. The Goa Vintage Car & Bike Festival 2018 will hit the streets  of Panjim on April  29, 2018 at the INOX Courtyard from 10.00 am onwards. Various vintage bike and car owners, users, collectors and fans will parade along with their prized possessions around Panjim. The vintage bike and car rally will route from INOX courtyard  to  Miramar Circle and further proceed to Divja circle and head back to  INOX Courtyard where they will be on display till 6.00 pm.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) conducted a member’s meet in Mumbai last week to introduce the new team to the members in the Western Region. Present at the event were the association’s Executive Committee (EC) led by its President, Mahendra Vakharia. He said, “We have decided to have the EC meeting once a month on every second Saturday so everyone can plan their month accordingly. It will be held in different cities but predominantly in Delhi and will rotate between Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.” Speaking about the association’s upcoming convention, he said, “It is shaping up very well. We will announce the name of the country in a week. We are doing it with the support of the destination’s tourism board and it will be held sometime in August or September 2018. The team will start working on the logistical details now like airlines, hotels, etc.” The next EC meeting will be held on May 14, 2018 in New Delhi. The EC members had met earlier in the day to discuss the plan of action for the association as well as its upcoming convention. Ajay Sengar, Chapter Chairman – Western India, OTOAI, who is from the tier city of Akola in Maharashtra, was also present at the networking event. Some other EC members had flown down from New Delhi including Shravan Bhalla and Rajeev Sabharwal, along with General Secretary Chitra Bhatia.