Tag Archives: Delhi

Jet Airways has commenced an additional flight between Delhi and Bangladesh capital Dhaka with effect from June 27. The four-day-a-week operation on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, is in line with the airline’s Think India, Think Jet Airways policy. This new service will complement the existing daily operations between the two cities, providing guests more flight choices between Bangladesh and India. Jet Airways 9W 280 will depart from Delhi at 1035 hrs (LT) and arrive into Dhaka at 13:45 hrs. On its return leg, Jet Airways 9W 279 will depart from Dhaka at 15:15 hrs (LT) and reach Delhi at 1725 hrs (LT). Gaurang Shetty, Whole-time Director, Jet Airways, said, “There was a need and potential to develop the operations between the capitals of India and Bangladesh. The new service presents an opportunity for businesses and leisure travellers to explore the potential of our neighbouring country. Guests from Dhaka can benefit from the connectivity options provided by Jet Airways’ extensive network across India and across the world through its hubs in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.” The airline has deployed a state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft on this route, offering Premiere and Economy guests the best in-flight product and services.  

The GDP in Delhi in terms of travel and tourism is set to experience double-digit growth over each of the next 10 years (10.8%), according to a recent report by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Its share of overall city GDP will remain relatively unchanged from the current 3.6 per cent as other industry sectors also gain prominence. The sector’s share of Delhi’s employment is also set to remain steady at 8.3 per cent over the years to 2026. The Capital generated US$3.2 billion from travel and tourism in 2016, just over one third coming from international visitors. Delhi has much less source market dominance than in other Asian Pacific cities, however, with the largest market, the US, contributing just 11% of inbound traffic.

India has been projected to be the second fastest growing country in the world for passenger traffic by the Airports Council International (ACI) in its traffic forecasts between 2017-40. ACI has put Vietnam at the top position with a 8.4 per cent growth rate, followed by India at 7.5 per cent and Iran at 7.3 per cent. China has been placed at the 8th position with 5.9 per cent growth rate. In its forecasts, the ACI said by 2022, passenger traffic in emerging economies like India would surpass advanced economies. By 2040, international passenger traffic would attain parity with domestic traffic, meaning more and more number of people would travel off shore with heightened economic activities, it said. By 2022, passenger traffic in emerging economies would touch 5.4 billion, slightly ahead of advanced economies at 5.3 billion. Source: PTI

In an effort to encourage more Indian travellers to visit Israel, the country has reduced its visa fee to INR 1,100 from its previous INR 1,700 charge for Indian citizens. VFS Global currently offers visa processing services for Israeli visas in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Centres will soon open in Hyderabad and Kolkata to service the residents in these cities, who will not be required to send their documents to the Consulates in Mumbai and Bengaluru or the Embassy in New Delhi. The revised application fee is on the B2 visa category, where a visit to Israel is for purposes including business, meeting or conference or tourism. Commenting on the initiatives, Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism – India & Philippines said, “We are happy to announce the reduction in visa fees for Indian travellers with immediate effect. I am confident that this move will encourage more people to choose Israel as a holiday destination and boost inbound numbers from India. I am confident that the revised visa fees will help grow the numbers.” In September 2017, the Ministry introduced one-year multiple entry visas for business travellers to Israel. Steps are being taken towards bringing more changes to make the process faster and easier for Indian travellers to visit Israel.

The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) expects that the number of visitors from India will increase in anticipation of the upcoming cricket series set to be held between India and Australia in Adelaide in December this year. The Adelaide Oval will host the first Test Match, scheduled for December 6-10, 2018, which is expected to attract a large number of Indian visitors to Adelaide. In addition to focusing on attracting honeymooners, families and independent travellers between the age of 25-45 years in the primary markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, SATC is also working to attract cricket lovers this year. This will be executed through SATC’s influencer, media, marketing and trade partnerships throughout 2018. Commenting on the announcement, Dana Urmonas, Regional Director (India & Southeast Asia), SATC said, “We look forward to hosting Indian cricket enthusiasts and travellers for the Test Match. Adelaide witnessed a surge in Indian tourist arrivals during the ICC India-Pakistan World Cup in 2015 and we’re confident this December will be no different. The match gives us a unique opportunity to showcase Adelaide and its surrounding regions to Indian travellers and cricket enthusiasts alike.” Speaking on Adelaide Oval hosting the game, Laura Robinson, Tourism Manager, Adelaide Oval said, “Adelaide Oval has hosted some historic games in the past and we believe that this time will be no different. India and Australia have shared excellent cricketing ties over the years.”

Ariana Afghan Airlines, one of the largest airlines in Afghanistan, has recently commenced operations of its flight on the Herat-Delhi-Herat route. The Delhi-Herat flight will arrive in Delhi at 13:20 hours and depart Delhi at 14:30 hours. The airline flies once a week on Mondays. The first flight was inaugurated by Nader Omar, President, Ariana Afghan Airlines. The Delhi-Kandhar and Delhi-Kabul flights will arrive in Delhi at 13:05 hours and depart Delhi at 14:35 hours.

Ukraine International Airline (UIA) has started operating its first non-stop scheduled connection from Kiev to Delhi from May 1, 2018. The flights are being operated on Boeing 767, providing passengers with options of three class configuration. Currently UIA will operate its flights thrice a week and the fourth frequency will be added to the operations on June 7, 2018. Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC group, GSA for Ukraine International Airline, said, “This historic step will bridge the gap between the two nations and tourism sector will witness about 20-25 per cent growth by the end of 2019.”

Tajik Air, the national air carrier of Tajikistan, has recently commenced operations of its second flight on the Dushanbe-Delhi-Dushanbe route. The 2.15 hours long flight will arrive in Delhi at 13:30 hours and depart Delhi at 15:00 hours. The airline flies twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays.

New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has jumped six notches to break into the league of the top 20 busiest airports in the world for 2017 in terms of traffic volumes. The GMR-group-run New Delhi airport jumped from 22nd rank in 2016 to 16th rank, solidifying its status as one of the fastest growing airports in the world for passenger traffic, as per the Airports Council International (ACI). The ranking is based on the preliminary passenger traffic results for the most-travelled airports in 2017, released by ACI. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was ranked the busiest airport in the world with 103 million passengers (both departing and arriving) despite a 0.3 per cent decline in traffic volumes over 2016. Delhi, the country’s busiest airport for passenger traffic, grew by 14.1 per cent year-over-year at 63.45 million, pushing it up from 22nd to the 16th busiest airport in the world,” the ACI said in the release. Even with this rapid growth in throughput, Delhi was also ranked first in Airport Service Quality for airports above 40 million passengers per annum along with the Mumbai airport, it said. Besides, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai were also ranked among the fastest growing airports in the world with an year-over-year growth of 26.9 per cent, 19.6 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively during 2017, the ACI said. Source: PTI

Tamarind Global has announced the launch of a wedding division at its Delhi office. After the exponential growth of its weddings and events division of Tamarind Global in Mumbai, the company now looks forward to tapping the flourishing wedding business in Delhi-NCR. Tamarind Global’s Delhi office already offers event management and MiCE services. The division will be led by Karan Malhotra, Head – Events and Weddings, Tamarind Global. Kunal Rai, VP, Events and Weddings, Tamarind Global, said, “This strategic expansion has always been on the cards for us. We are excited it is finally coming to fruition and we can have a dedicated presence catering to our already growing client base in Delhi. Delhi-NCR is prominent for the size and scale of its thriving wedding and events business, making the move of securing a strong presence in the region an inevitable progression. A team of 10 people has already successfully executed one wedding. This fully fledged team is geared to provide hospitality and logistics services as well as client servicing support for turnkey wedding and event solutions for Delhi and other North markets. The aim is to increase the team size to handle multiple weddings, and pitch for new weddings in the region.”