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As a part of its 260 years’ celebration, Cox & Kings’ Bharat Deko held its first-ever Partner’s Meet with its vendors from across India. Hoteliers, transporters and other suppliers, who have long been partnered with Cox & Kings, participated in the meet. The domestic wing of Cox & Kings, Bharat Deko had organised the event for its panel of partners and suppliers to recognise their support and performance. The event served as an opportunity for both suppliers and the operational staff to interact with each other who otherwise are connected digitally. Bharat Deko also conducted an orientation presentation to familiarise the partners with its ethos, policies, achievements and new plans. Speaking about the event, Yusuf Poonawala, Head, Bharat Deko said,” The Partner’s Meet reiterates our efforts in acknowledging our supplier’s commitment to our brand. They are our important stakeholders who encourage us to be further innovative by offering us their timely and commendable service. While the oldest travel brand Cox & Kings is turning 260 years, we wish to have our partners to be a part of the celebration”

Cox & Kings has opened its first Holiday Club store in Mumbai to cater to the increasing demand for holiday products. The centre, located at Dadar, is the fourth Holiday Club store in India with the other three in New Delhi. The stores aim to attract a diverse set of customers through innovative offers and customised solutions, and offer a range of domestic and international holiday packages. In keeping with recent travel trends, the company has forayed into niche segments such as Enable Travel for the physically challenged, Trip 360 for adventure enthusiasts and Getaway Goddess for the women-only travel segment. Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings said, “Central Mumbai is now the hub of retail activity and our Holiday Club store is perfectly positioned to engage with customers on a one-on-one basis, as they seek personal engagement in making sure they have a memorable holiday.” The Holiday Club stores will complement the existing points of sales that Cox & Kings has in Mumbai.  

Observing the immense growth and potential in India’s outbound traffic, The Czech Republic has decided to open its tourism office India. The Czech Tourism India office will be located in Mumbai and will be represented through VFS Global. Present at the opening was Monika Palatkova, Managing Director, Czech Tourism Board, who said, “We have been working with VFS for visa processing since the last two years but it is only now that we decided to open an office in India. In the last five years, the volume of Indian arrivals to Czech Republic has almost tripled and we want to increase this further. From 66,000 Indian tourists that we received in 2016, we have a target to cross 1,00,000 Indian tourists by 2019.” The Czech Tourism India office will be led by Arzan Khambatta, Head, Czech Tourist Authority – Czech Tourism India. The tourism board is currently in the midst of a three-city roadshow – New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The delegation consists of 10 sellers from the country, including Prague Airport, who will meet the Indian trade in these cities.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a US-based cruise industry trade association, in partnership with Singapore Tourism Board in India, has launched its accreditation programme that was developed over the last five years. It is currently being used in Australia, New Zealand, UK and the Europe markets. It is targeted at any travel agent or tour operator who sells cruise packages. Peter Kollar, Head, International Training & Development, CLIA, who was in Mumbai to announce the launch said, “We have opened our membership to the Indian travel trade and it is the first market in Asia that we have done this. We see India with a huge potential as a source market for cruising. The travel agents need to convince the travellers to cruise. For that to happen, they need to believe in cruising and be educated about the segment.” The accreditation, he adds, is comprehensive. “We start off with a general form of accreditation which is learning about basic skills and knowledge that one needs to sell cruising. It then evolves into a more senior level certification called Ambassadors and then a Masters. Its not just for training. Travel agents actually have to also experience cruising. We take them for ship inspections, engagement through events, etc.” Annie Chang, Director, Cruising, Policy & Planning Group, Singapore Tourism Board, added, “We approached CLIA to come to India and offer its membership and accreditation program. We have also worked on the module to customize it to the India market. We know the India market, they don’t. So we not only brought content to this module but also our expertise in the India’s cruising market.”

Cox & Kings marked Children’s day by granting wishes of over 100 children with life-threatening illnesses at a fun- filled event, organised by Cox & Kings Foundation and Make a Wish Foundation. Cox & Kings planned the celebration across cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings said, “The Cox & Kings foundation is committed to help bring positivity and joy into the lives of many children every year. Today, as the nation celebrates Children’s Day, this is our effort to reduce the pains and struggles of children with life-threatening illnesses and fill them with happiness and enjoyment to make them feel better” More than 150 employees of Cox & Kings across cities celebrated Children’s day with the kids. Describing the event, Deepak Bhatia, CEO, Make A Wish Foundation said “it is our endeavour to make this a special day for our children and we partnered with Cox & Kings who supported us and all our children had a very good time.’’ Different wishes of Bicycles, TV, Remote control cars, Mobiles, Laptops etc. were fulfilled across India.

Cox & Kings opened its first dedicated foreign exchange branch at Panjim in Goa. The branch designed as a one-stop-shop for all foreign exchange requirements was inaugurated by Ravi Menon, Head, Foreign Exchange, Cox & Kings. The flagship store located at Magnum Centre, First Floor, Shop 20, MG Road, Panjim will offer a slew of products – buying and selling of all frequently traded foreign currencies, sell pre-paid cards, enable Money Transfer business where tourists can receive money from overseas, as well as provide domestic money transfer facilities.  Students who desire to travel overseas from Goa for further studies can avail Foreign Currency Draft and Outward Remittance facilities through this outlet. According to Menon, “Goa is a key market as it receives a large number of foreign tourists. Our bouquet of foreign exchange products and services are designed to cater to this segment. Our branch will cater to all the requirements which are allowed under Authorised Dealer CAT II activities.” It has been observed that foreign tourists need help to exchange and exhaust their money when on their holiday. Cox & Kings will cater to both these needs, where these guests can exchange their money as well as use the money transfer facility to receive money from overseas. In case foreign tourists need help with their domestic holiday they can approach this branch, which in turn will refer them to the nearest Cox & Kings store. According to data released by the department of tourism, government of Goa, in 2015, Goa received 5.40 lakh international tourists, an increase of 5 percent over 2014. This year the state is expected to attract even more tourists especially from traditional markets such as …

India continues to be the number one source market for Bhutan. With the latest regional arrivals touching 1,09,052 demonstrating a growth of 57 per cent over last year, India remains as the biggest market for both regional and overall arrivals. As part of its India agenda, Tourism Council of Bhutan has focused on Gujarat as one of the key source markets to enhance its Indian footprint in the year 2016, through a road show targeted at key travel agents in Ahmedabad. This would be the first of many initiatives to tap the Gujarat market. Damcho Rinzin, Head, Marketing and Promotion Division, Tourism Council of Bhutan, says, “As a leading international tourism destination, Bhutan is seeking to diversify its source markets and attract new visitors. Countries like India are emerging more and more in the world outbound tourism sector, and Bhutan believes it could offer a special proposition to visitors from India. Further, international travelers to Bhutan are lured by the myriad of offerings that include heritage, culture, natural beauty and a range of quality world class hospitality and tourism industry which make a strong proposition for Bhutan as a destination.”