Tag Archives: Executive Director

Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director, UNWTO, said that there is a need to rethink the whole sector, boost rural tourism, and improve safety for travellers. “This has been very tough two years, but we see that in the future, we need to rethink the sector fully and that maybe an opportunity,” she said.

Sharing the idea behind organizing a virtual roadshow dedicated to MICE, Anil Srinivasan, Executive Director at JTB India, says, “The feedback we received from our corporate customers is that their channel partners were not very happy about doing more virtual meetings and events. They are keen to do offline events now and resume physical travel. We had been waiting for an apt time to launch our virtual roadshow – MICE Engage 2021 – where we could bring the buyers to meet exhibitors from the travel domain such as NTOs, hotels, airlines, etc.”

Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group, commented that India’s vaccination program may help in economic recovery. “However, the Indian economy is awaiting a return to normalcy in sectors such as travel and aviation. These sectors are now carrying most of the COVID-19 burden and have yet to start operating at anywhere near pre COVID-19 levels. They are also the sectors responsible for enormous job losses and consumption declines. We expect a full throttle vaccination programme to bring the long-awaited cheer to the sector,” he added.

In a bid to attract the Indian outbound travellers, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has launched its brand new ‘Your Japan 2020’ campaign, aimed at offering special experiences and never-before kind of offers to Indian visitors. Through the campaign ‘Your Japan 2020’, JNTO wants to invite visitors globally to experience Japan their way through events. This high magnitude campaign began on 1st January and will extend till end of this year; that is 31st December 2020. JNTO, through its premeditated partnership is allowing travellers on an economical trip to Japan as both, domestic and international airlines are handing out phenomenal discounts. Yusuke Yamamoto, Executive Director, JNTO said, “The year 2020 is highly crucial for Japan as all eyes would be on our destination for hosting the World Olympic Games. In order to make every individual’s visit to our destination enthralling, JNTO has made conscious efforts in planning. We have categorically focused on each areas of traveler’s interest and spread activities all around the year starting from 1st January to 31st December 2020. We are extremely thrilled to host each one of you in Japan and are certain that your visit would be something, which you would never forget. Through our new campaign “Your Japan 2020”, we would like to invite more and more Indian to come and explore Japan to the fullest the way you want it to be.” Japan witnessed 11,700 Indian tourist arrivals in December, posting 13.9% SPLY hike. Moreover, 175,900 Indians visited Japan from Jan-Dec’19, posting a phenomenal 14.2% year-on-year hike. In addition, 2020 also marks the year of Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan, and hence the country is set to welcome visitors from across the …

ITC Hotels has announced the opening of its 13th luxury hotel in India, ITC Grand Goa, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, formerly known as the Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa, on Arossim beach in Cansaulim, South Goa. Celebrating the spirit of Goa, this 252-keys beach-side, village-styled resort’ s architecture draws inspiration from the Indo-Portuguese vintage and comprises six signature dining options, indoor and outdoor meeting and banquet spaces and Kaya Kalp- The Royal Spa. Speaking on the occasion, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC said, “With this resort ITC Hotels has expanded its footprint in a globally sought-after leisure destination in Asia. The addition of ITC Grand Goa Resort & Spa to our luxury hotel portfolio further reinforces ITC’s vision to consolidate its portfolio in key business and leisure destinations in the country.” Each of the 252 well-appointed rooms and suites feature private outdoor spaces in the form of a balcony or patio providing picturesque views of the Arabian Sea, lush landscaped gardens, lagoons or the multi-level swimming pool. Underscoring ITC Hotels’ ethos of ‘Responsible Luxury’, ITC Grand Goa Resort & Spa endeavours to showcase the culture and ethos of the destination through unique, enriching experiences reflected in bespoke services, indigenous cuisine and engagements that foster partnerships with local artisans and communities.  

ITC Hotels has announced the successful acquisition of Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa as part of an auction held by Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) for Rs 541 crores in 2015, and upheld by the Supreme Court in its March 19 judgement. Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa at Cansaulim, spread across 45 acres and comprising 252 Indo-Portuguese style rooms and suites, is currently under renovation and will soon echo ITC’s standards of excellence.  The sprawling property is currently under minor renovation to comply with all the ITC’s exemplary sustainability practises to deliver the best of luxury to its customers. Commenting on the chain’s entry into Goa, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC said “ITC is pleased to announce the latest addition to its luxury hotel portfolio in the hospitality landscape of Goa. This has been a long-awaited destination for ITC and we welcome the opportunity to be integrated into the multi-faceted culture and ethos of Goa.” He further added, “In order to ensure business continuity and seamless transition, the leadership team of ITC Hotels is at hand to support the current team of managers and associates. ITC Hotels has received tremendous support from key officials in the state government to ensure that we can recommence operations at the earliest and support the tourism goals of this great state.”    

Bird Apps, a venture by Bird Group, has launched Odigos, a marketplace app that provides an opportunity to select and book a travel guide on the go to make travel experience more worthwhile. Odigos facilitates a connect between expert tour guides and travellers according to preference of years of experience and languages spoken with a simple tap anytime anywhere. Be it a local who wants to explore the city, or a visitor who wants to discover monuments, historical sites, go for wedding shopping or even enjoy a guided nightlife experience, Odigos ensures a smooth, transparent and hassle free experience. A pre-booked guide saves the hassle of looking for a guide after reaching the spot. Odigos ensures a safe experience for its tourists through diligent checks and screening of each tour guide before taking them on board. “Through Odigos, we ensure that domestic as well as international travellers can make most of their travel time by booking an appropriate guide who provides them with an itinerary, curated, customised and charted out especially as per individual requirements. Most of the Odigos guides are certified by the Ministry of Tourism.” said Dr Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group. For tourists, Odigos provides information such as the profiles of tour guides, their background details, packages and areas of expertise enabling the tourist to make an informed decision. It saves time and eliminates the hassle of negotiation by providing a convenient option of pre-booked guides who can meet at the choice of venue, at a transparent service fee.

Air India and Ethiopian Airlines, both members of Star Alliance and with an extensive network in their home countries, have agreed to strengthen their cooperation by expanding the current free-sale codeshare agreement, thereby allowing Air India to access Ethiopian Airlines’ network in Africa and Ethiopian Airlines to access Air India’s network in Australia and Hong Kong, in addition to the Indian domestic points. Tadesse Tilahun, Regional Director for Indian subcontinent, Ethiopian Airlines, commented, “The expanded codeshare cooperation between Ethiopian Airlines and Air India gives seamless connection to our esteemed customers. He added, on top of the seamless connection, passengers will get more benefits such as accruing their miles as both airlines belong to the largest airlines alliance – Star Alliance.” “Air India’s esteemed passengers now have access to multiple destinations in the African countries served by Ethiopian Airlines through this expanded cooperation with our long standing partner airline, Ethiopian Airlines, viz through Addis Ababa to Accra, Seychelles, Mombasa, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kilimanzaro and Zanzibar vv sectors besides the existing access through Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Dar-Es-Salaam, Harare, Entebbe and Kigali vv sectors. Likewise, Ethiopian Airlines customers will be able to access a number of points on Air India network through Delhi to Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney vv sectors besides the existing access through Mumbai and Delhi to Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Goa, Jaipur vv sectors”, said Seema Srivastava, Executive Director – Strategy and Planning, Air India.  

Gokulam Grand Hotel & Spa Bangalore has been accepted as a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts brand that represents more than 700 hotels, resorts, residences, and unique hotel groups across 85 countries as the newest experience available within the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Lifestyle Collection. Baiju Gopalan, Executive Director, says “As we step into one of India’s most dynamic and competitive hospitality/travel markets, we understand that we need strategic partnerships to leverage international travel markets, distribution systems and loyalty programmes. Preferred Hotels and Resorts was the ideal choice for us to go global.” Akash Gupta, General Manager, says, “We are excited to be in Bangalore to take the erstwhile MSR Hotel and Spa with its existing service and brand standards and market recall to newer heights. The hotel has grown from strength to strength, and with the new management team coming in, a new growth phase for the hotel is being charted out. In keeping with the international brand presence the hotel once enjoyed, we have judiciously decided to partner with Preferred Hotels and Resorts to connect with the overseas market. This strategic alliance is the first step for us to initiate and strengthen our brand presence globally, and benefit from the global sales, marketing and distribution network of Preferred Hotels and Resorts.” Gokulam Grand Hotel & Spa has 182 rooms and suites with three F&B outlets, a pool, Sohum Spa and a gym.

With around 27 per cent of its overall business be it the holiday side and 15 per cent of its foreign exchange business coming through the online channel Thomas Cook is now focusing on enhancing customer experience. Speaking at a media interaction Mahesh Iyer, Executive Director & CEO, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd said, “As a channel we have seen decent growth coming in and we are clocking around 30 per cent CAGR year on year and are quite optimistic on the future of online business. Our focus in the long term is on customer experience. If we look at the current summers we are operating we have packed new experiences like curated food menu by Ranveer Brar, Boman Irani doing a red carpet night for our travelers. We have also launched Japan this year in terms of adding new destinations and have already crossed 1000 passengers.” In terms of forex Thomas Cook is looking to bring more digital options for the customer. It is working on a premium product and will soon be launching a mobile card which will allow customers to use their prepaid card on the NFC platform. He further added, “There is lot of innovation and product development happening with an underline of technology. We launched our customer self service app which allows the customer to keep tab on their bookings, visa status, itineraries etc.”