Tag Archives: Managing Director

Pride Hotels has entered into a tie-up with the Prabhukrupa Reality Group for the management of Ananya Resort, Puri. The resort will now be known as Pride Ananya Resort. Prabhukrupa Reality Group and the owners of Ananya Resort are also planning to develop a convention centre, two new beach resorts, besides other hospitality projects in the future. Located close to Jagannath Temple, the hotel offers a Deluxe, Superior, Premium rooms and Suites, gym, business centre, swimming pool, convention facilities and two board rooms. A new wing of 28 premium rooms was inaugurated during the launch. This takes the total inventory at the resort to 84 rooms. Speaking at the inaugural function, SP Jain, Managing Director, Pride Hotels, said “Odisha has a number of pristine beaches, awe-inspiring temples, picturesque country side, lakes, bird sanctuary and wildlife, which have a tremendous potential for tourism. Pride Hotels is running and managing hotels and resorts on a pan India basis and has an extensive sales and marketing network spread all over the country.”

Amit Sankhala, Managing Director, Encounters Asia, has been awarded the DDP Face of the Future title. Having explored wildlife and remote cultural experiences from around the world, he worked with the best photographers to capture magical moments. With a legacy to uphold in wildlife conservation, his grandfather was the first director of Project Tiger which established the tiger reserves of India. Today, Sankhala runs safari camps in Central India and puts together out of the ordinary experiences, to showcase the best that the country has to offer and to be able to use tourism as a medium to support wildlife conservation and community partnerships.

The Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) recently-released report ‘2018 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook’ offers an in-depth look at the cruise industry’s overall global economic impact as well as the trends impacting cruise travel in 2018. Joel Katz, Managing Director, CLIA Asia, said, “With an annual source market growth of more than 40 per cent, Asia is emerging as one of the most significant cruise destinations and cruise source markets in the world. Cruising is expected to capture a much larger percentage of the Asian population in the near future, which could catapult Asia’s share of the global market.” As part of the 2018 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook, CLIA forecast nine top cruise travel trends for the coming year. As per the report, travel agents continue to see a steady demand from consumers in planning and executing holidays. One of the trends reported in the study indicates that the next evolution of experiential travel sees travellers taking a step further to seek ‘transformational’ experiences. Some upcoming cruise itineraries include the opportunity to indulge in local cuisine, guided tours through small villages and even visits inside private homes.  

Royal Orchid Hotels has announced the opening of its new hotel ‘Regenta Inn The Dwarika’ in Dwarka, taking the number of properties under Royal Orchid group to 46. Chander K. Baljee, Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, said, “We are taking continuous steps towards expanding our presence in India. The new hotel launch in Dwarka is one such move towards our aim. By now we have added five properities – Mysore, Ahmedabad, Dehradun, Kanpur and Dwarka in the current fiscal year. We are on target to take the number of properties to 50 under the Royal Orchid Group before the end of this fiscal year.” Situated at a walking distance from the main shrine of Dwarikesh Temple in Dwarka, the hotel offers a range of category of rooms including Deluxe Rooms, Executive Rooms, Royal Suites, Club Rooms and Family Suites.

VITS Hotels Worldwide has announced a joint venture with Exhicon Group in Thailand. The new entity will operate under VITS-EXHICON (Thailand) Co. and an office with a seasoned team of professionals will be established in Bangkok. Vikram Kamat and Chandrakant Shetty will be directors in the new entity. The JV partnership will work on hotel acquisitions, OTA management, staff training, procurement and F&B operations within Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai. VITS Hotels will provide hotel management expertise, marketing, sales support, human resources and distribution network while EXHICON will support with its local business network, project acquisitions and overseas procurement. Both VITS and EXHICON will own 50 per cent share in the joint venture management company. Vikram Kamat, Managing Director, VITS Hotels Worldwide, said, “Our partnership offers immense opportunities to leverage on each other’s expertise to expand the VITS hotel brand in Far East and Middle East. We aim to channelise our resources with our valued partner to establish footprints in key destinations and draw tourists from India and abroad.” Chandrakant Shetty, CEO, VITS Hotels Worldwide, said, “With our collaboration with EXHICON Group, we are now pleased to announce the VITS luxury experience in overseas shores. The joint venture will create a formidable recipe for establishing hotels in key destinations. We will be launching our first hotel in Phuket near Patong beach by January 2018.”

Sterling Holiday Resorts has launched its new brand identity in line with its new service philosophy of delivering experiences and discoveries. Ramesh Ramanathan, Managing Director, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, shared that with the new branding, they are looking to become the leading holiday brand in India. “Today, we are not just opening a new chapter for Sterling but one in the Indian holiday market. We have been working on developing our new service philosophy and brand standards over the last few years and are now ready to make our customers ‘holiday differently’.” He added, “At Sterling, we are look forward to being a part of this new India that is looking to have newer experiences and take away a little bit of what they see and feel when they holiday. Over the past few years, we have invested in the revamp of existing resorts and launch of new ones. Our focus will be on delivery and service for all kinds of holidayers. In the process, we would also be contributing to local economies, creating jobs and taking the brand abroad to places where Indians holiday,” Ramanathan added.

Mahendra Vakharia, Managing Director, Pathfinders Holidays has been elected as the President while Himanshu Patil, Director, Kesari Tours is the new Vice President for Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI). The other office bearers are Chitra Bhatia, Director, Aashman Air Travels who is the new General Secretary; Gurdeep Gujaral, Founder Director, Gujral Tours and Travels continues to hold the post of Joint Secretary while Siddharth Khanna, Partner, Khanna Enterprises is the new Treasurer. The Executive Committee members include Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, Sujit Nair, Founder and Group Managing Director, Akquasun Group, Riaz Munshi, Managing Director, N. Chirag Travels, Shravan Bhalla, Chief Executive Officer, High Flyer, Adl Karim Director, Creative Tours and Travels (India) and Rajeev Sabharwal, CEO, Gaurav Travels. Vakharia says, “I feel extremely happy, privileged and honoured to be trusted with this position. Increasing our membership across India remains to be our top priority.” The state chairmen will be announced in due course of time, informs Vakharia.

Vitizen Hotels has launched VITS Park Maple Amritsar, the group’s first hotel in the city. The hotel is strategically located near Amritsar Junction Railway Station, adding to the convenience of both business and leisure tourists visiting the holy city. Announcing the launch, Vikram Kamat, Managing Director, Vitizen Hotels says, “We are delighted to launch our first property in Punjab in the sacred city of Amritsar that would enable us tap the growing potential of tourist inflow. VITS Park Maple will exceed expectations of our guests with its exceptional hospitality services.” VITS Park Maple offers 40 Deluxe and Super Deluxe rooms. It also has a multi-cuisine restaurant, an open air terrace restaurant and a large banquet hall that can accommodate 150 guests. G. S. Khurana, Managing Director, VITS Park Maple, says, “We are extremely pleased to launch the VITS hotel brand in Amritsar. VITS Park Maple brings fresh flavour to the city’s hospitality landscape that will make every guest’s stay a pleasurable experience”.

GoAir has announced new additional flights for the winter schedule, effective from November 23, 2017. The airline will operate 22 of these flights on new routes apart from increasing the frequencies by eight flights on existing routes during winters. With the new additions, GoAir would operate an average of 240 flights a day, strengthening its market presence at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolktata, Lucknow, Nagpur and Patna. The airline is also inducting new A320 NEOs, taking its fleet strength to 31 aircraft. To commensurate its 12 successful years in the domestic skies, GoAir has also announced an exciting anniversary fare offer starting from Rs 1212 plus taxes on all new sectors. The booking period will be from November 18-21, 2017 for the travel period from November 24, 2017 to October 28, 2018. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said, “The induction of four new aircraft will cater to the enhanced seasonal demand whilst offering flexibility to customers with more flight options to choose from. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibility of choice for our customers and offer them seamless connectivity, hassle free and affordable flying experience.”

Royal Orchid Hotels has announced the opening of a hotel in Kanpur – Regenta Central The Crystal – taking the number of properties under Royal Orchid group  to 45. Located at the heart of the city, the hotel offers 44 rooms and three suites and is a 45-minute drive from Kanpur airport. Chander K. Baljee, Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, said, “We have added four properties – Mysore, Ahmedabad, Dehradun and Kanpur – in the current financial year. We are on target to take the number of properties to 50 under the Royal Orchid Group before the end of this financial year. We will continue to pursue our model of management contracts to build our hospitality business.” The  ‘Regenta Hotels’ brand is an upscale arm of the Royal Orchid Hotel group. It is designed for the corporate traveller whose watchword is value and convenience. It is categorized into Regenta, Regenta Central, Regenta Resorts and Regenta Inn.