Tag Archives: AITTC

As per data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), India features as one of the most popular destinations for Australian travellers. However, travel to the eight North Eastern states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim – each of which is gifted with a diverse range of tourist attractions from splendid nature and diverse wildlife to colourful culture and vibrant history, has been limited. To boost this, Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North East India Tour Operators Association (NEITO), which comprises Ministry of Tourism-approved inbound tour operators specialised for North East destinations. The MoU was signed by Madhushmita Khound , Secretary, NEITO in Guwahati and Sandip Hor, Chairman, AITTC in Sydney. The AITTC part of the signing was done in presence of B Vanlalvawna, Consul General of India in Sydney; Chandru Appar, Deputy Consul General of India in Sydney; Barbara Ward, President, NSW, Australia India Business Council; Phillip Bonicace, Co Chairman, AITTC and Vishnu Daram, Seccretary, AITTC. “This is a major step to put North East India under the tourism radar in Australia”, said Chairman Hor after the signing. According to him, attractions of the region like the Assam’s Brahmaputra River Cruise and the Kaziranga National Park, Tripura’s Royal Palaces Sikkim’s Himalayan beauty, Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival and many more have tremendous potential to add a new dimension to international tourism growth in India. The two main purposes of this MOU are to enhance destination knowledge among Australians and to facilitate the establishment of a suitable ‘travel & tourism connect’ between Australia and North East India.

Australian hotel operator, AccorHotels has signed an agreement with the Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC) to further strengthen the opportunities for promoting tourism between Australia and India. As part of the partnership, AITTC will endorse AccorHotels market-leading Optimum Service Standards program for Indian visitation. AITTC will facilitate a service training program to help AccorHotels staff better understand cultural practices and learn basic greetings so they can respectfully serve these guests. Training is expected to commence in Sydney and Brisbane this August and AITTC will issue hotels with a certificate of accreditation once completed. In addition, AITTC and AccorHotels will be working together on promoting both inbound tourism from India as well as outbound opportunities to India. “Our goal is to see growth in bilateral tourism and this partnership with AccorHotels, which has strong presence in both India and Australia, so it will be win-win for both organisations,” says Sandip Hor, Chairman of AITTC. Chief Operating Officer, AccorHotels Pacific, Simon McGrath said, “We have been very fortunate to develop a great relationship with the Australia India Travel & Tourism Council, and look forward to working with them to better equip our hotels with the skills and knowledge to welcome visitors from India. AccorHotels launched its Optimum Service Standards for Indian visitation program to better cater to the specific cultural needs and growing numbers of Indian travellers to Australia and New Zealand. Accredited hotels have adopted services to meet the needs of this emerging travel market including the translation of hotel welcome kits, menus and business cards, Indian meals in the restaurant, Indian adaptor plugs, TV channels and newspapers to make guests travelling from India feel at home.

AccorHotels has signed an agreement with the Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC) to further strengthen the opportunities for promoting tourism between Australia and India. As part of the new partnership, AITTC will endorse AccorHotels market-leading Optimum Service Standards program for Indian visitation. AITTC will facilitate a service training program to help AccorHotels staff better understand cultural practices and learn basic greetings so they can respectfully serve these guests. Training is expected to commence in Sydney and Brisbane this August and AITTC will issue hotels with a certificate of accreditation once completed.  AccorHotels launched its Optimum Service Standards for Indian visitation program to better cater to the specific cultural needs and growing numbers of Indian travellers to Australia and New Zealand. Accredited hotels have adopted services to meet the needs of this emerging travel market including the translation of hotel welcome kits, menus and business cards, Indian meals in the restaurant, Indian adaptor plugs, TV channels and newspapers to make guests travelling from India feel at home. In addition, AITTC and AccorHotels will be working together on promoting both inbound tourism from India as well as outbound opportunities to India.

A horde of travel agents and tour operators from across Australia, keen on knowing more about India, attended the ‘Know India Better’ event held in Sydney on May 24. A joint initiative of India Tourism and Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC), this was the final of a series of sessions launched last year, aimed to educate the industry with updated travel information on India covering flights, hotels, infrastructure developments, visa, tours and safety awareness. According to Sandip Hor, Chairman AITTC, this project has immensely aided the industry allowing agents and tour operators to excite potential travellers on India. “Australia has moved from ninth to the seventh position in the list of foreign tourists arriving India”, said Kanchan Kukreja, Acting Director India Tourism Sydney. Attendess heard about this exotic destination from various presentors – India Tourism, Intrepid Travel and Air India and on India’s various touristy drawcards , including some of the economic and technological developments. Madhu Mathen, Manager Air India emphasised how the direct flights between Sydney/ Melbourne and Delhi are contributing to the growth in bilateral travel. While Kukreja in her presentation engaged the audience through various showstopping scenes of India, Sandip Hor expressed thoughts of initiating similar program in India to update market with more information on Australia, AITTC objective being to promote bilateral tourism. Representatives from Air India, Accor Hotels, Intrepid Travel, Insight Vacations, Far Horizon, Taj Hotels, Grace Hotel, Special Holidays Travel were also present.