Tag Archives: Director

The 17th Kailash Sankhala Memorial Lecture organised by Tiger Trust in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature – India, raised awareness about the world of snow leopards. Organised in memory of the Tiger Man of India, the esteemed gathering was addressed by Dr Koustubh Sharma, Senior Regional Ecologist, Snow Leopard Trust; Dr Tsewang Namgail, Director, Snow Leopard Conservancy India trust and Ravi Singh, CEO, WWF. Anjana Gosain, Chief Functionary Officer, Tiger Trust, helped put together yet another insightful lecture while trustee Amit Sankhala added some food for thought. Tiger Trust was founded by Padmashri Late Shri Kailash Sankhala, in 1989 to protect endangered tigers in their natural habitat. The Trust functions in a three-way approach, namely capacity building programmes, awareness campaigns and working with the ground staff.      

Having witnessed close to 60,000 Indian tourists visiting Israel last year, marking a record growth of 31 per cent, Israel Ministry of Tourism office in India is confident of achieving its target of 1 lakh Indian tourist visitors this year. To support the forecasted growth, the Ministry has launched its summer campaign in India to attract the April-June peak holiday season. The advertising campaign incorporates varied media platforms including television, print and digital spaces. The integrated advertising campaign ‘Begin your journey to Israel’ which includes the television commercial (TVC) showcases Israel’s famous cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Talking about the advertising campaign and investments made in the Indian market, Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism – India & Philippines said, “Over the past three years, Israel has recorded a strong double-digit growth in tourist arrivals from India. In 2018 January to March, we have recorded a growth of 15 per cent in Indian arrivals compared to the same period last year. In order to keep this momentum going and to tap into the upcoming summer holiday season, we have launched our advertising campaign. Our campaign highlights the reasons why Indian travellers should choose Israel as their next holiday destination.”  

VITS Luxury Hotels has rolled out three boutique properties in the island of Phuket in Thailand. VITS had recently signed a joint venture with Exhicon Group in Thailand. Located near Patong beach, the new launches are VITS Alfresco Hotel, VITS New Life Classic and VITS Luxur Boutique Hotel. Announcing the launches, Chandrakant Shetty, Director, VITS-Exhicon (Thailand) says, “We are delighted to extend the VITS luxury experience in Thailand with the launch of three properties located in the heart of Phuket. Each of the three hotels distinctive in its own right offer unparalleled hospitality experiences and contemporary amenities. Phuket with its serene beaches, historic museums and vibrant nightlife is ranked as favourite from travellers in India and around the world. With the launch of our properties in the region, we aim to tap the growing potential of tourist inflow. As part of our future expansion, we plan to take over 15 hotels primarily in Thailand and Malaysia within the next two years.” While the 33-key hotel VITS Alfresco is located an hour from the Phuket International Airport, the VITS New Life Classic is about a six-minute walk from Patong beach with 20 rooms. VITS Luxur Boutique Hotel, with 33 rooms, offers guests various activities in the surroundings, including golfing, cycling and fishing.  

Leisure Hotels has entered Himachal Pradesh with the launch of 7 Pines – “An English Retreat” in Kasauli. With this launch, Leisure Hotels are now available at four sates in India including Uttar Pradesh and Goa. “7 Pines – “An English Retreat”, is located in the quaint hill town of Kasauli, home to one of the largest breweries in the world.  A quintessential English Retreat, The ‘7 Pines’ is built with a British colonial décor and is a perfect weekend getaway. Kasauli has a colonial ambience which is complemented by windy paths, quaint shops, lovely homes with charming exteriors and rows of neat little gardens and orchards. While making the announcement, Vibhas Prasad, Director, Leisure Hotels said, “With travel to Kasauli on the rise and attractive hospitality opportunities in high demand, we are happy to add our luxury retreat in the city. Arguably, this new branded bespoke retreat will be a prestigious address in town, situated right across the hills of Shimla.” The luxury retreat in the Kasauli hills offers a populous range of luxurious rooms with comfortable double beds and verandahs overlooking the Shimla Hills. The Dining at 7 Pines- Kasauli comprise traditional homely meals prepared by in-house chefs.

The Cyprus Convention Bureau facilitated the meeting of its local partners with tour operators and event planners from India at Limassol during an educational trip to Cyprus. About 14 suppliers from Cyprus were led by Michalis Metaxes, Director, Tourism, Cyprus Tourism Organisation. Indian agents from Mumbai and New Delhi toured around the key cities of Cyprus to inspect hotels and venues for clients. The five-day tour also included an exposure to the Cypriot culture.

Cathay Pacific and Air Astana have recently announced an agreement that will enhance travel options and offer greater choice to customers of both airlines through Hong Kong and Almaty. Cathay Pacific will place its ‘CX’ code on Air Astana’s non-stop flights between Hong Kong and Almaty, as well as on connecting services between Almaty and Astana, the Kazakh capital. Air Astana currently flies twice weekly between Hong Kong and Almaty, on Tuesdays and Fridays, but will be increasing frequency by adding a third service from March 25. Cathay Pacific will also codeshare on Air Astana’s five weekly services between Bangkok and Almaty, and four weekly services between Seoul and Almaty, giving customers additional options for travel between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. “We are delighted to join with Air Astana and provide our customers with links to one of the most fascinating countries in Central Asia. With its vibrant economy, which is set to grow as a result of its integral role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and beautiful natural landscapes, Kazakhstan has many attractions for both business and leisure travellers alike,” said Ronald Lam, Director – Commercial and Cargo, Cathay Pacific.

Blue Square Consultants has been appointed as the sales and marketing representative for ‘Australia & Beyond Holidays’ in India. Formed by Simon Bernardi, Australia’s inbound travel management operator provides global solutions to Indian travel agents, from both DMC products and FIT. Through its online Agora booking system, the company offers thousands of land products and hotels worldwide, many with allocations. Simon Bernardi, Director, Australia & Beyond Holidays, said “India continues to be an important tourism market for Australia, with growth of over 15 per cent in arrivals over last year and a 30 per cent increase in travel spend. The Indian market spends on average 13 nights in Australia allowing us to develop itineraries to inspire our customers from India. Blue Square Consultants is the apt partner to have in India because of their highly professional team and undisputed knowledge of the travel trade in India.” Lubaina Sheerazi, COO, Blue Square Consultants, added, “Our emphasis has always been to associate with reputed clients and we have achieved this once again with our recent alliance with Australia & Beyond Holidays. We are confident that our association will not only be beneficial for the client but also for Australia as a destination.”  

AccorHotels has launched its latest Novotel in partnership with the Alcon Victor Group and its fourth property in Goa called Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort that was earlier Dona Sylvia Resort. Situated in South Goa, the resort features 181 rooms, villas and suites on the Arabian Sea coastline. Varun Albuquerque, Director, Alcon Victor Group, paid tribute to the late Charles Correa who had originally conceptualised and designed the resort. He said “Dona Sylvia Resort has always resonated with old-world charm and new-world luxury, creating an authentic Goan ambience along with its perfect location on Cavelossim Beach. Today through the rebranding of the property, as a Novotel Resort, we look forward to offering an international standard product to our guests.” Also present on the occasion was Jean-Michel Cassé, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, AccorHotels. He said, “The rebranding of Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort strengthens AccorHotels’ presence in the Indian market. With 17 Novotels in the country, we believe this brand is particularly well targeted for the modern Indian traveller and international guests. We are delighted to partner with the Alcon Victor Group and look forward to bringing our expertise in hospitality to this relationship.” Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort features two conference rooms with a capacity to serve about 200 guests. The resort also offers two seaside lawns by the Cavelossim Beach.

Air India has introduced a non-stop flight from New Delhi to Amritsar in Punjab and Amritsar to Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The inaugural flight was flagged off from Amritsar airport by Vijay Sampla, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in the presence of other dignitaries including Pankaj Srivastava, Director, Air India along with Shwait Malik and Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Member of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively. The direct flight is scheduled to operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays on the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Amritsar-Delhi route. The Dreamliner aircraft AI 117 will take off from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 11:20 am and is scheduled to reach Amritsar at 12:25 am. After a break, the flight will then depart from Amritsar at 1:55 pm and is scheduled to reach Birmingham at 5:15 pm. The return flight will take off from Birmingham at 6:45 pm and reach Amritsar the next day at 7:45 am. After a brief break, the flight will depart for Amritsar at 9:15 am and will arrive at Delhi at 10:30 am. Source: ANI  

The Austrian National Tourism Office hosted a press conference in Delhi on February 9. Partners from Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Zell am See-Kaprun and Swarovski Crystal World informed the media about the growth of visitor arrivals from India in 2017 and laid down the plans for 2018. Christine Mukharji, Director, ANTO, said, “Austria witnessed 177,700 arrivals from India in 2017, which was a 20.5 increase from 2016 and the overnights went up to 324,400, which is a 19.5% increase from last year.” Isabella Rauter, Public Relations Manager, Vienna Tourism Board; Andreas Reiter, Market Management, Spain, India and Arab Countries, Innsbruck Tourism; Inshvinder Maddh, India representative of Innsbruck Tourism; Klemens Kollenz, Sales and Marketing Manager, Salzburg Tourism; Christian Pfeffer, Marketing/Sales, Zell am See-Kaprun and Christiane Gasser, Head of Channel marketing, Swarovski Tourism Services, interacted with members of the press with interactive presentations on what each destination had to offer to Indian tourists.