Tag Archives: Director

Jyoti Mayal, Director of New Airways Travels (Delhi) who was previously a Member of the Managing Committee at TAAI, has been elected as the Honorary Secretary General of the association. Mayal says, “There are a lot of changes that need to be done at TAAI. To start with, we need to change the memorandum which has been long pending and that is the first thing that I am going to do. I was with the airline council earlier, and I need to continue that job because our main concern is how the airlines are dealing with us on GST.”

Mahendra Vakharia, Managing Director, Pathfinders Holidays has been elected as the President while Himanshu Patil, Director, Kesari Tours is the new Vice President for Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI). The other office bearers are Chitra Bhatia, Director, Aashman Air Travels who is the new General Secretary; Gurdeep Gujaral, Founder Director, Gujral Tours and Travels continues to hold the post of Joint Secretary while Siddharth Khanna, Partner, Khanna Enterprises is the new Treasurer. The Executive Committee members include Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, Sujit Nair, Founder and Group Managing Director, Akquasun Group, Riaz Munshi, Managing Director, N. Chirag Travels, Shravan Bhalla, Chief Executive Officer, High Flyer, Adl Karim Director, Creative Tours and Travels (India) and Rajeev Sabharwal, CEO, Gaurav Travels. Vakharia says, “I feel extremely happy, privileged and honoured to be trusted with this position. Increasing our membership across India remains to be our top priority.” The state chairmen will be announced in due course of time, informs Vakharia.

Air Canada has been on an expansion spree in India. The airline will make its Delhi-Vancouver-Delhi flight a daily service from December 1. Margaret Skinner, Director, Sales—EMEAI, Air Canada, said, “We are delighted with the response we’ve got from the Indian market, and we like that India is a growing market and the economy is strong. We are seeing business coming from all market segments—corporate, leisure and students, and it’s a good mix of business for us. Our Toronto-Delhi service went daily very quickly. Now our Delhi-Vancouver service will get daily soon. It’s four times a week currently and will go daily from December 1, 2017. Air Canada’s Mumbai-Toronto flight is four times a week and we would like to see all these services get daily year round.”

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched its new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’. Speaking about this is Soraya Homchuen, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai, who says, “For 2018, TAT has launched a new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’ to support the government’s national tourism development plan featuring an action-packed schedule of unique Thai local experiences and international events. In the coming year, the emphasis will be on inclusive tourism, that maintains a balance between the economy, environment and benefits for Thai society. This campaign will see the Thai travel and tourism industry move into a new era of development and further underscore its new status as a nationwide movement that yields significant benefits for national security, the economy, society, well-being and foreign relations. The campaign’s overarching objective is to ensure that Thailand remains a Preferred Destination and delivers a Quality Product, thus boosting the average length of stay, expenditure and repeat visit. In 2018, the marketing strategy will continue to position Thailand as a ‘Preferred Destination’.” Homchuen observed that Thailand is naturally blessed with a busy schedule of annual cultural events that appeal to both domestic and international audiences and said that they were delighted to see increasing number of tourist arriving in Thailand. The video campaign will highlight activities based on 13 core niche products that include sports, gastronomy, maritime tourism, wedding and honeymoon, medical and wellness, community-based tourism, leisure, green tourism, night tourism, MICE, trade fairs, B2B marketing activity and logistics. Some of the local Thai events that will take place in 2018 are Thailand Tourism Festival (January 2018); Thailand International Kite Festival/Thailand Marathon (Songkhla/Bangkok, February 2018); International Balloon Festival (Korat, May 2018); …

The Tourism Department of Kerala has launched a marketing campaign “#GoKerala” in association with HolidayIQ, India’s largest travel community, in order to promote state tourism. Under this campaign, five couples will get a chance to win a 10 days, all-expense paid trip to Kerala. Speaking about the campaign, P. Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism and Managing Director, Kannur International Airport said, “Kerala Tourism has always sought new and innovative marketing avenues to build Kerala as the top tourism brand and destination. Hence, we are excited to partner with Holiday where they have provided an innovative concept to invite real travellers with varying preferences from their vast travel community to experience the beauty and hospitality of Kerala and Kerala Tourism department.” #GoKerala campaign is a content-led, multiple-platform campaign with a dedicated microsite, integrated touchpoints and targeted reach. The experiential campaign, unlike traditional marketing campaigns, is completely powered by the holiday experiences and reviews of travellers across the country. “A holiday itinerary, specially curated by Kerala Tourism and HolidayIQ, will show these travellers a Kerala beyond its backwaters and mere honeymoon destination to being a wholesome family destination – a true taste of God’s own country!” P. Bala Kiran further added. The campaign has been live on all social platforms and receiving overwhelming response from travellers across the country, looking for the perfect destination to holiday this winter season. The idea is to promote and showcase unexplored destinations of Kerala and position Kerala as a family holiday destination across the country. Speaking on the occasion, Rohit Rawal, Head of Brand Solutions, Holiday said, “As India’s first and largest travel community, HolidayIQ has always been a pioneer in bringing experiential marketing to the …

The Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) launched its first ever South Korea specialist programme in India with an aim to educate Indian travel trade partners about the travel assets of South Korea. The content is specifically designed as per the needs, requirements and expectations of the Indian travellers. The course is structured into four modules, each focusing on different aspect of tourism offerings of the destination. Upon completion, the participants will be duly acknowledged with Korea Specialist certificates. The course is created and hosted on TravelGyaan website. After completing the module, the participants can further take up the itinerary challenge and stand a chance of winning an I Phone 8. Approximately 450 travel agents have registered for the programme so far while 170 have finished their training programme. Jong Sool Kwon, Director, KTO, said, “Indian outbound market has tremendous potential and diverse requirements based on which we would like to educate the travel trade partners about South Korea’s tourism assets. We urge all the travel agents to come forward and make the most of the knowledge we intend to impart.”

Lemon Tree Hotels announced the opening of its two hotels, Lemon Tree Premier, Patna and Lemon Tree Hotel, Alwar. Signaling the group’s focus on Bihar, and their overall expansion plans across India, Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels and Director, Carnation Hotels, said, “We are delighted to bring the Lemon Tree brand to Patna and Alwar. These hotels are a first for us and present an exciting branded alternative to the city residents as well as our existing customer base. Both cities imbibe a rich cultural heritage and attract business and leisure travelers alike. We invite guests to discover our unique brand and enjoy the same refreshing experience, quality and consistency that Lemon Tree is known for.” Lemon Tree Premier, Patna boasts of plush and stylish interiors and charms its visitors with large glass doors and a beautiful fountain in the driveway, a contemporary lobby accentuated by a serene Buddha sculpture and remarkable modern art. Designed to offer both comfort and convenience to its guests being located in the heart of the commercial and entertainment hub of the city, just 5 minutes from the railway station, it’s proximity to prominent office near Gandhi Maidan such as, RBI, Biscomaun Bhavan, FCI, NABARD, and city landmarks like Vidhan Sabha, Patna Secretariat and Patna High Court, is also an advantage. Together with 105 plush and spacious rooms and suites, a 24×7 multi-cuisine coffee shop– Citrus Café with a show kitchen, a rejuvenating spa and salon- Fresco, a fully equipped gym, a rooftop swimming pool and a soon to open Indian restaurant, the hotel offers a refreshing alternative to both business and leisure travelers as well as city dwellers. The hotel also …

In 2017, up until August, Spain recorded as many as 86,000 Indian tourists, registering an approximate growth of about 50 per cent in 2017 over the same period in 2016, informed Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Director, Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai, during the Spanish Travel Show in New Delhi. This year, Spain Tourism is organising its annual roadshow in three cities – Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai. “We have seen a huge increase in the number of Indian tourists travelling to Spain in 2017 and we hope to increase this number further. Since our roadshows are an annual affair, we try to cover different cities every year. Next year we will reach out to other cities which we have never visited before like Nagpur and Jaipur apart from the ones we have covered this year. We are expecting around 100-150 travel agents and tour operators in each city for the roadshows,” said Gutierrez. Various tourism boards and regions of Spain participated in the show which included Madrid Region, Barcelona Premium, Andalucia Tourist Board, Costa del Sol Tourist Board, Galicia, Castilla y Leon Tourist Board and AVE Cities Network. Various travel agencies and hotels like Europamundo Vacaciones, Warq Events and Holidays, Century Incoming, Melia Hotels International and Palladium Hotel Group etc. also showcased their products to the travel agents in the various cities.

A new campus of Indian Aviation Academy was launched in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. P. Ashok Gajapati Raju, Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India, inaugrated the campus in the presence of R. N. Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation; Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI); Dr. Dewakar Goel, Director, Indian Aviation Academy (IAA) and Kumar Rajesh Chandra, DG, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The academy is a joint venture by BCAS, AAI and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala won the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association Grand and Gold Award 2017 for the Film Tourism Brochure in Marketing Media – Consumer Travel Brochure category. P Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala received the award at the 32nd edition of the PATA Awards as the committee recognised its marketing strategy, which boosted Kerala as a must-visit destination. The PATA awards were presented to the best entries in four categories – Marketing, Education and Training, Environment and Heritage and Culture. PATA had received 220 entries from 77 organisations and individuals from different corners of the world for the category that Kerala Tourism bagged the honours. After receiving the award, Bala Kiran said, “The award has given us the opportunity to showcase the picturesque locations to a global audience that Kerala has to offer. Picturesque backwaters, pristine beaches, dreamy hill stations & exotic wildlife are the key attractions to shoot any form of media. This award is a testimony of the innovative marketing initiatives and promotional activities undertaken by the tourism department of Kerala.” “Film tourism also contribute to the overall economic development of the respective destination through income generation, investment, job creation, etc. We at Kerala Tourism are committed towards promoting tourism in a responsible manner,” he concluded.