VFS Global recently received authorisation from the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi and its Consulates in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai to process Thailand Visa Application Centres across India. In order to provide convenience to the travellers from across East, West, North and South India, VFS Global has expanded its network of Thailand Visa Application Centres to 13 cities. VFS Global has already been servicing Thailand visas in East, North and South India, with centres in the cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Kochi and Chandigarh. With the addition of operations in Western India, travellers can now also apply for a Thailand visa at any one of the VFS Global Thailand Visa Application Centres in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Goa. Vinay Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer – Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global, says, “Thailand has long been a popular destinati0n for Indian travellers, and a long-standing partner of VFS Global. For well over a decade, we have proudly served The Royal Thai Embassy and The Royal Thai Consulate General in India, with nine centres. It is therefore an honour to announce that VFS Global has been authorised to expand its Thailand visa services across India through its network of visa centres in 13 cities.” With Thailand emerging as one of the top destinations for Indian travellers, VFS Global’s appointment as a service provider will greatly benefit the growing volumes of applicants from India. When applying through VFS Global, applicants will be able to avail of the additional benefits on offer across VFS Global’s Visa Application Centres including services such as SMS updates, courier services, online tracking services, among others.
Read More »Philindex 2017 to travel to 4 Indian cities this October
DOT Philippines, along with prominent travel partners from Philippines, is all set to host Philindex 2017 in four cities in India. Representatives from Philippines and DOT Philippines will educate over 600 travel trade partners from Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Lucknow, about the tourism offerings of the Philippines. Participating delegates will get an overview of the booming tourism industry during the interactive sessions. Other partners from Philippines, would include Cathay Pacific, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Thai Airways, Philippine Airlines, Shroff International Travel Care Inc., and VFC Travel and Tours. The B2B meetings at Philindex 2017 will offer an insight to the travel trade partners on Philippines being an ideal destination for scenic wonders, adventures and business pursuits.
Read More »Thai Airways to start flights to Vienna from Nov 16
Thai Airways has added Vienna to its European network in order to cater to the increasing demand from India to destinations beyond Thailand. The airline will start operations from November 16, 2017. The flight is already online for sales and aims to optimise connectivity at Bangkok for passengers from Southeast Asia and Australia, reveled Bryan Ernest Banston, Vice President-Sales, Thai Airways International. He said, “With regards to the India market, it remains an important market for us. The Thai Smile program that we have, covers Tier-II cities like Jaipur. We also see a lot of traffic from India going beyond Thailand to Australia and New Zealand. We especially see growing traffic going to China from India’s secondary cities.”
Read More »Yatra now offers self-drive cars on its website
Online travel portal, Yatra.com claims to have become the first in the online travel industry to offer self-drive car rental service on its platform in partnership with Revv Cars. Diversifying its product offerings, this alliance will allow travellers to book their local and inter-city self-driven transport on Yatra’s mobile app. Currently, the feature is live in nine cities namely Delhi/NCR, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Vizag. On every booking, customers can save up to 5% using their eCash as well as can earn eCash up to Rs 1000 on booking made above Rs 10,000. Manish Amin, Co-founder & CIO, Yatra.com, “The concept of self-driven cars is gaining popularity especially amongst the millennials and experience seekers. With self-drive option now available on the Yatra app, we are further strengthening our commitment towards offering all kinds of travel solutions for all kinds of travellers. We are confident that this new product will enable us to add more value to our existing as well as potential customer base.” In a similar collaboration, Yatra had launched a first-of-its kind in-app integration with Uber, for its customers to book their local and intra-city transport directly through the Yatra app. Yatra also offers Chauffeur-driven Outstation Cabs for inter-city travel in more than 300 cities.
Read More »Six Senses makes Indian debut with first resort in Rajasthan
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas has announced plans to open Six Senses Fort Barwara featuring 48 suites in Rajasthan – its first in India. Situated 68 miles (110 kilometres) southeast of Jaipur, the property is located in the village of Chauth ka Barwara on the site of a 700-year-old fort, which was owned by the Rajasthani royal family. Prithviraj Singh, heir of the family, is now restoring the fort to its previous glory in tandem with Espire Group. The project team will seek the five-star green rating for the Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) certification, the highest classification of national sustainable design ratings in India. Bernhard Bohnenberger, President, Six Senses, said, “Six Senses Fort Barwara marks the second heritage property that Six Senses will manage. It is slated to open in late 2018.” Six Senses Fort Barwara will feature two restaurants, a bar and a lounge, a spa and a fitness centre spread over 30,000 sq ft, two swimming pools, a banquet space, a retail boutique and a kids club. The key focus of the landscape concept is at reinterpreting the gracious and regal ambiance experienced at Rajasthan’s royal forts and palaces. Rooted in the rich history of the fort, the design will include traditional gardens and water features as well. Shekhavati art will be used to depict the rich history of the fort in the landscape. A Six Senses Spa, located in the original women’s palace, will feature an extensive ayurveda programme, meditation and Six Senses Integrated Wellness programmes, including Six Senses Integrated Wellness and Sleep with Six Senses. Thirty minutes from the Ranthambhore National Park, Six Senses will offer daily safari drives into the 1,400 sq km park.
Read More »SpiceJet to start Hyderabad-Puducherry flight under UDAN
SpiceJet has announced its third daily direct flight on the UDAN routes of Hyderabad-Puducherry, starting August 16, 2017. After the new flight, Puducherry will be connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Vijaywada and Varanasi with convenient onward connections. SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes in the first phase of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s UDAN scheme. Out of the six finalised proposals, four will cater to the unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer, and the other two will be for the underserved markets of Porbandar and Kanpur. Flights have already started on Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai routes from July 10.
Read More »Jet Airways’ new flights from Indore and Silchar
Jet Airways has launched three direct flights from Indore to Jaipur, Ahmedabad and New Delhi. In addition, Jet Airways also started new daily flights from Silchar in southern Assam to New Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati. All flights started on July 16, while flight from Indore to Ahmedabad started on July 17. With the three new launches, Jet Airways will operate a total of nine flights from Indore.
Read More »TrawellTag Cover-More conducts engagement programme for Jaipur agents
Trawelltag Cover-More recently conducted a Travel Agents’ Engagement Programme (TAEP) for travel professionals based in Jaipur. This session was attended by 70 of the leading travel agents in Jaipur. Dev Karvat, CEO-Emerging Markets, Cover-More Group conducted this session on the emergence of disruptive innovation and its impact on the travel industry. TrawellTag Cover-More started TAEPs for its clients and associate travel professionals to impart practical insights of achieving higher quality of travel ancillary sales, increased penetration and improve cross-selling skills, in the year 2013. Commenting on the TAEPs, Karvat said, “The TAEP initiative began 5 years ago with a vision to enrich pioneering minds in the industry. Today it is known to be a platform to enable our clients tap various ancillary revenue generation opportunities. We are delighted that many industry bodies like ETAA are coming forward to extend TAEPs exclusively to their members.” TrawellTag Cover-More has strived, to not only find opportunities where there were none, but also identify the right prospect to accelerate business growth for their clients. Therefore, making it a preferred partner for global assistance & travel insurance in India.
Read More »Czech Republic opens visa application centre in Jaipur
VFS Global has launched its Visa Application Centre for the Czech Republic in Jaipur. Applicants for visas to the Czech Republic from Jaipur can now visit the centrally-located centre to submit visa applications and enrol for biometrics in a spacious and comfortable environment. The centre was inaugurated by Martin Smolek, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and H.E. Milan Hovorka Ambassador of the Czech Republic in India, and Mayor of Municipal Corporation in Jaipur, Dr. Ashok Lahoty. The new centre in Jaipur is located inside Mangalam Ambition Tower, Subhash Marg (Malan Ka Chauraha), C Scheme, Jaipur. Over the last few months, VFS Global has set up centres in nine other cities in India to increase accessibility to visa services for applicants across the country. Applicants earlier had to travel to Mumbai or Delhi to apply for Czech Republic visas. Over the next few days, VFS Global will launch more such centres for the Czech Republic in India, in a phase-wise manner.
Read More »Scoot and Tigerair announce exclusive India campaign
Scoot and Tigerair have announced the #YaadeinBanao campaign for travellers across their India network with attractive all-in one way fares starting from as low as Rs. 5,099. The offer period begins from February 20, 2017, and lasts until March 02, 2017. The applicable travel period for this offer is from March 01, 2017 to October 28, 2017. Passengers from all 8 destinations from India namely Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Jaipur, Amritsar, Lucknow, Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) can enjoy exclusive fares on Scoot and Tigerair’s network such as Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bali, Manila, Cebu and many more. Speaking on the roll-out of this offer, Leslie Thng, Chief Commercial Officer for Scoot and Tigerair said, “Summer is the most preferred holiday period for Indians to plan their annual family getaways. It is an apt opportunity to bond with loved ones and make memories that will last for a life time. We are confident that this specifically curated value for money offering will provide Indian families enough time to plan comfortably by choosing from our wide network of international destinations.” Tickets can be booked through Scoot and Tigerair’s official websites – www.tigerair.com and www.flyscoot.com or from Scoot and Tigerair’s mobile app for supported devices. Scoot and Tigerair together operate a total of 50 weekly flights to Singapore from eight Indian destinations – Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Lucknow and Tiruchirappalli.
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