Tag Archives: India

Thailand-based low-cost carrier (LCC) is set to launch four weekly direct flights connecting New Delhi and Bangkok from December 19, 2018. It has also announced a special promotional one-way Economy Class fare starting from Rs 7,200 (USD 99), inclusive of taxes and surcharges. The special promotional fares are available from December 07 to 31, 2018 for travel between December 19, 2018 to March 30, 2019. The new services will be operated with Boeing 777-200 wide-bodied, twin-aisle jets. Configured with a total of 415 seats, the Boeing 777 offers an unprecedented LCC level of comfort to customers with 24 seats in ScootBiz Class and 391 seats in Economy. Giam Ming Toh, Deputy CEO, NokScoot, said, “We are proud to announce NokScoot’s inaugural service from Delhi to Bangkok on December 19, 2018.  This route marks our first ever service to South Asia and follows the launch of services to Tokyo Narita in June 2018 and Osaka Kansai in October 2018.”

India’s passenger traffic grew at 16.52 per cent year on year to reach 308.75 million. According to a report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), it grew at a CAGR of 12.72 per cent during FY06-FY18.  The report reveals that by 2036, India is estimated to have 480 million flyers, which will be more than that of Japan (just under 225 million) and Germany (just over 200 million) together. India has become the third largest domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to overtake the UK to become the third largest air passenger market by 2025.

Addressing delegates during the inaugural ceremony of 14th CII Annual Tourism Summit in Delhi, KJ Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) Tourism, said that tourism is the future of India. “Tourism is the future of the country. Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) have gone up by 14 per cent, while the global figures were at 7 per cent. Approximately, 84 million people are currently employed by the tourism industry across the country,” he said. Suggesting ways to keep tourists for longer in the country, he said, “We are also thinking in terms of further visa reforms. I think Yoga and Ayurveda are the two things that can bring wellness and help us to keep tourists for longer in our country. Tourism is about jobs, money and bringing the world together. We have ambitous targets and we all can achieve them together.”

In a bid to lure Indian tourists, the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in association with Om Tourism organised a roadshow in Delhi on the theme ‘Vietnam- A charming destination for Indian tourists’. HE Pham Sanh Chau, Ambassador of Vietnam to India, Nepal & Bhutan, revealed that around 110,000 Indian tourists travelled to Vietnam in 2017. He affirmed that the number is estimated to increase in the coming years. “Vietnam is home to eight UNESCO world heritages, well preserved historic relics and beautiful beaches. Indian travellers can find the affulence of Indian culture in Vietnam through Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh or at the My Son sanctuary with an abundance of Indian restaurants,” he added. The event proceeded with a product presentation by the five Vietnamese partners namely, Victoria Tour, Hello Asia Travel, Go Indo China Tours, Melia Hotels International and Orchid Global. The event witnessed an active participation from several trade partners and tour operators around the city.  

NYC & Company has unveiled its refreshed digital-first global tourism campaign “Famous Original New York City” to reach travellers around the world, celebrating the personal ways NYC can be experienced. Original in-house creative—along with supporting video, photo galleries, editorial and social content—is pegged to distinct newly curated travel “affinities”. Fred Dixon, President and CEO, NYC & Company, said, “Our refreshed campaign ‘Famous Original New York City’—with its affirming tag line ‘Welcomes You. Always.’—is designed to reinforce New York City’s fundamental values of diversity and inclusion and its world-class welcoming spirit. Utilising our new digital tools and affinity-driven content, we invite global visitors to discover their ‘Famous Original New York City’ now.” Digital, in-kind and partner media contribute to an approximate campaign value of $15 million, with promotions running globally across 17 countries through summer 2019. Out-of-home advertisements will appear domestically in New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and San Juan. Internationally, the campaign will appear in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. With our out-of-home media partner JC Decaux, the promotions will run for the first-time in Colombia, India and Peru. In partnership with Facebook and Instagram, the campaign will utilise content marketing that has been developed to attract members with specific interests and behaviours. Artificial intelligence will target social media users with an intent to travel, ultimately encouraging visits to the campaign landing page, where dynamically-generated content—pegged to the travel affinity of interest—will live, along with market-specific travel offers. NYC & Company holds several tourism alliances domestically and internationally. These strategic city-to-city partnerships spotlight New York Cityvia in-kind media in Toronto, Canada; Madrid, Spain; and Tokyo, Japan.

Speaking at the 5th edition of the Travel MiCE Show at the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, RH Khwaja, Former Secretary, Tourism, revealed that India’s capital expenditure was 11 per cent in tourism between 2011-17. He further said that India is growing in MiCE sector and there is a need for quality in terms of offering MiCE services. Besides, he insisted that India needs to work on its domestic products, apart from foreign exchange earnings by inbound tourists.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has awarded VFS Global the global tender to provide visa services in eight out of nine regions worldwide. It will operate for the Netherlands government in Africa, North America, Central and South America, Asia and Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Western Europe, and India. VFS Global has worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 2006 and will provide Schengen visa services, Caribbean visa services, long-stay national visas, Dutch Travel Documents and Civic Integration Exams under the new contract. Chris Dix, Head—Business Development, VFS Global, said, “VFS Global is delighted that we will continue to serve the Netherlands Government. We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for well over a decade, and welcome this opportunity to enhance our service capabilities on their behalf. We look forward to opening our facilities in 40 new locations to offer Netherlands visa applicants best-in-class visa solutions and a seamless application process.” Since August 2018, VFS Global has signed visa service contracts with nine existing and new clients, and governments from Europe to extend their visa service network. This includes contracts to provide additional visa services for client governments such as Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia and The Czech Republic.

About 81 per cent of commercial aircraft in India are leased, compared with 53 per cent globally, according to a recent report by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) titled ‘Aircraft leasing in India: Opportunity knocks for an Indian lessor’. Leased aircraft take a high share of all operators’ fleets in India. There are 652 commercial aircraft with operators in India at 17-Oct-2018 (including 34 in storage), according to the CAPA Fleet Database. Of these, 531 aircraft are leased, which is 81% of the total. This compares with a leased aircraft share of 52% in Asia overall and 53% globally. Indian airlines’ leasing dependency reflects their relative youth and/or financial fragility. By comparison with other parts of the world, Indian operators rely much more heavily on leased aircraft. In Asia as a whole, leased aircraft account for 52% of all aircraft in service and in storage. Globally, the share is 53%.

LATAM Airlines, a South American airline, conducted workshops for the travel trade in Mumbai and Delhi on November 20 and November 22 respectively. Citing a double-digit growth, Marcio-Ma, Account Manager—Southeast Asia & India, LATAM Airlines Group, said that India market has been very important for the airline. “Through this workshop, we want the travel trade in India to get an idea about the LATAM product portfolio and the destinations we connect to. For next year, we want to grow further in the Indian market and will be taking required steps to do the same.”

A total of 13 Indian buyers including top travel companies from across India, Tourism Australia and Malaysia Airlines, marked their participation at ‘Queensland on Stage India 2018’ at Top Golf, Gold Coast held on November 20. Around 17 Queensland sellers exhibited their offerings at the event. Speaking on the occasion, Ryna Sequeira, Country Manager of Tourism and Events Queensland in India said, “Queensland witnessed a 17 per cent growth in June 2018 and welcomed around 78,000 Indian visitors. We have seen a strong year-on-year growth out of the market. We thank all the Indian buyers for their consistent business to Queensland and the sellers who believe and invest in the market.” The event provided participating operators the opportunity to meet with Indian agents to enable them to expand their product knowledge; look for new and exciting experiences and products; and to build on existing relationships.