Tag Archives: 2016

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced the launch of direct daily flights ex-Mumbai to Narita on its new Boeing 787 with effect from March 27, 2016. Till now, it was only servicing New Delhi to Narita flights. On the new route, the Dreamliner will have flat beds, 46 staggered seats in business class, 21 in premium economy and 102 seats in normal economy class. This will make ANA the only airline to operate direct flights to Japan with business class seating. The airline has also announced introductory fares as well as special fares for the travel agents.

The maiden Bengal Travel Mart 2016 (BTM 2016) will be organised from February 26-28, 2016, at Hotel Mainak in Siliguri. It will be jointly organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal with North Bengal Development Department (NBDD) and Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA). A total of 100 buyers and 80 suppliers are expected to attend the three-day exhibition. Surajit Bose, Joint Director, West Bengal Tourism, has reportedly revealed that BTM 2016 will comprise exhibition of travel and tourism products, B2B meetings, panel discussions, and cultural events. While the first day will only see B2B engagements, general public will be allowed on the second and third day.

SpiceJet has announced the launch of two new flights to Jaipur and Hyderabad. With the introduction of these two new flights, SpiceJet now connects 10 Indian cities with Dubai every day. The airline is offering an introductory one way offer of Dh359 (all-inclusive) between Dubai and Jaipur. The Dubai-Hyderabad fares are available at Dh397 (all-inclusive) on a first-come-first-served basis. The flights will commence on February 16, 2016, for which bookings are now open. “With the launch of our Jaipur-Dubai sector, SpiceJet will become the first private airline to operate a direct flight on this route. SpiceJet will also be the only airline to fly five times per week on this route. The Hyderabad-Dubai flights are so timed as to allow business travellers to India’s IT hub make the most of every working day,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Senior VP Commercial, SpiceJet. The airline will deploy its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on these routes.

The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) is gearing up to celebrate its annual festival–the Goa Carnaval 2016 from February 6-9, 2016–that draws a huge amount of international and domestic traffic. This year Goa Tourism is working on a European commission project entitled ‘Destination Carnaval’ to improve the standard and quality of the float parade and performances. The main float parade will be held in the capital city – Panjim on February 6, followed by float parades in the other cities of Margao on February 7, Vasco on February 8 and Mapusa on February 9. GTDC will also organise its annual wine festival called ‘Grape Escapade 2016’ from February 4-8, 2016 at the DB Bandodkar Grounds, Campal.

Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) was inaugurated on January 8, 2016 at Hotel Centre Point, Nagpur, where Raju Akolkar was announced as the CEO of the exhibition. GPS 2016 was also the platform for the global launch of DREAM cruises by STAR cruises under the Genting HK banner. Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Jagsons Travels, organiser and promoter of GPS, also announced the launch of NGO tourism under the name Voluntourism. He also pledged that 5% of the revenue generated from this edition of GPS will go to NGOs. GPS is a premier business networking event and business-to-business trade show that is held annually in Nagpur. Akolkar has been associated with GPS and Jagsons for a long time. This year the event is a five city exhibition and will also go to Coimbatore, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad in the coming months.