Tag Archives: India

TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave got off to a roaring success with over 6000 plus attendees in three sessions that took place yesterday. TravTalk got on board eminent stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss various issues arising because of the COVID-19 crisis for the industry. Session one focused on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session included Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The second session was on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session included experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). The final session covered the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session had industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

Get ready to listen to the most eminent personalities of the travel industry on various issues arising because of the COVID-19 crisis for the industry at the TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave, which will commence today, April 7, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. To register, write to Jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +919650196532. The conclave, divided into three sessions, is aimed to help the travel trade survive in present times amid the COVID-19 crisis, while also focusing on what the future holds for both inbound and outbound tourism. Three eminent speakers and industry experts will speak on a subject during each of the sessions. Session-1 will focus on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session will be Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The next session will delve on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session will include experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). Session-3 will cover the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session will have industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

DEX Aviation is now going to represent Alitalia as GSA (General Sales Agent) for India. According to a statement released by DEX Aviation, the company has become the nationwide GSA for the Italian carrier starting 1st April 2020. Lucio Rigo, Country Manager- India, Alitalia, said that they are hoping that things normalise soon and the industry picks up again, so that they would be able to serve Indian passengers again.

TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave – is all set to take place tomorrow, April 7, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. The conclave will be divided into three sessions, each designed to help the travel trade survive in present times amid the COVID-19 crisis, while also focusing on what the future holds for both inbound and outbound tourism. Three eminent speakers and industry experts will speak on a subject during each of the sessions. Session-1 will focus on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session will be Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The next session will delve on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session will include experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). Session-3 will cover the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session will have industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

In IATA’s recently released 20-year air passenger forecast, India will displace the UK to be the third largest aviation market with 278 million passengers in 2026. More passengers mean bigger crowds and more stringent security requirements, adding up to longer queues and greater potential for disruption. These factors could be why travellers are increasingly prioritising comfort over more functional concerns such as cost and efficiency.

India is among the top 11 destinations in terms of International Visitor Arrivals (IVAs) in Asia Pacific, and will record an Average Annual Growth Rates (AAGR) of 11.5 per cent between 2019-24, reveals the Executive Summary of the Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2020-2024, by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The other destinations in top 11 include Cambodia, Bhutan, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Japan, Northern Marianas, Vietnam, Maldives and Korea. The report has predicted that nine out of 10 of these destinations will have  AAGRs of over 10 per cent between 2019-2024.

India will be the sixth strongest source markets for International Visitor Arrivals (IVAs) into Asia Pacific between 2019-2024, according to a forecast by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). India is predicted to generate IVAs of 6.825mn during this period. The top ten strongest source markets into Asia Pacific between 2019 and 2024 are forecast to include China, the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong SAR in the top three positions, generating a collective volume of more than 369 million IVAs over that period. These three source markets alone are also predicted to generate an additional volume of more than 106 million IVAs into Asia Pacific over the same period. The top group of 11 destinations by strongest IVA increase is likely to account for 77 per cent of the IVA volume into Asia Pacific in 2024. In addition, it is predicted that nine out of 10 destinations will have AAGRs (between 2019 and 2024) in excess of 10 per cent, with India touching an AAGR of 11.5 per cent.

According to the data released by South African Tourism office in India, Mumbai continued to be the leading source market for South Africa in India. Between January to June 2019, around 43% of total Indian visitors to the Rainbow Nation were from Mumbai. Delhi managed to be the second leading source market for the destination in India contributing 21% of the total Indian visitors during the same period. One thing remained common for both cities – the summer and winter holiday months of April, May and December emerged as preferred travel months among Mumbaikars as well as Delhiites for their South Africa trips. With 81,316 Indian arrivals as of October 2019, the destination board shared a positive outlook for the Indian market, noting that as of September 2019, total spends by Indian travellers in South Africa had reached a four-year high. The average length of stay witnessed a year on year increase of 8% in the first half of 2019.

In a recent announcement, Ethiopian Airlines has revealed it will be flying four times a week on Addis Ababa-Bengaluru route, making the tech hub its third destination in India after Mumbai and New Delhi to have direct connectivity. The flight will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday on Boeing 737-800 and the flight duration will be of 6 hours and 30 minutes. The flight will take off at 23:00 hours (GMT+3) and will land at Bengaluru airport at 8 am local time.

Singapore welcomed a record 160,000 cruise passengers from India in 2018 (a 27% increase over 2017), establishing India as the top source market for cruise visitors, revealed GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, International Group, Singapore Tourism Board. He added, “This was possible only with the strong and relentless support from partner-friends like you, making Singapore a must-visit cruise holiday destination and hub.” Talking about the Cruise Tourism Performance in 2018, Srithar said, “2018 was a good year for Singapore’s tourism sector. Singapore welcomed 1.44 million visitors from India to Singapore in 2018 (a 13% increase over 2017’s visitor-ship). Specifically, for cruise, total passenger throughput was at a high of 1.87 million (a 35% increase from 2017). The higher passenger throughput was due to the year-round deployment of Genting Dream and extended sailings from Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.”