Tag Archives: Managing Director

Suresh Periwal, Managing Director, Clubside Tours and Travels, has won the prestigious Gallery of Legends award at the East India Travel Awards 2016 in Kolkata. With over 40 years of experience in the travel trade, he has been instrumental in putting the eastern region on the tourism map of the country. He is the founder President of the Eastern Himalayan Travel and Tour Operators association and was the Chapter Chairman of IATO for North Bengal and Sikkim Chapter last year.

The Indian wedding industry is flourishing at a growth rate of 25 per cent per annum and is pegged at an estimated Rs 250,000 crore ($40 billion), said Rajeev Jain, Managing Director, Rashi Entertainment, keynote speaker at the Travel Wedding Show. In his speech, Jain said that with Indians spending 80% of their wealth on weddings, the sector has proved to be a great contributor to GDP. About 8% of Indians opt for destination weddings from which connectivity and accessibility is the chief factor while choosing locations. The inauguration of Travel Wedding Show also witnessed speaker sessions with Shaji Thomas, Director – Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah, Guldeep Singh Sahni, President – OTOAI, and Rajneesh Rathi, Editor-in-Chief, Wedding Affair as the speakers.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has been selected as a facilitator for the ‘Hunar Se Rojgar Tak’ scheme, launched by Ministry of Tourism – Government of India, to impart valuable courses at state level in the hospitality sector. MTDC has associated with identified hospitality institutions in Maharashtra for the Hunar Se Rojgar Tak scheme which primarily focuses on providing economic empowerment of the youth in the remote parts of Maharashtra. The programmes running under the scheme are free of cost for the students with an aim to empower the under privileged youth of the country ensuring economic benefit through employment generation and to reduce the skill gap that affects the hospitality sector. Dr. K. H. Govinda Raj, IAS, Managing Director, MTDC, said, “We have conducted various courses at Pune, Nasik, Baramati and Nagpur regions under the ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’ scheme which has benefitted thousands of students belonging to low economic strata. MTDC has associated with reputed hospitality institutes to provide a skill based training programme in categories like food production, bakery and housekeeping which will help these students to be financially independent. Many students have benefitted from this course and are already employed and started their own career in the hospitality sector. MTDC believes in contributing towards state economy and work hard to enhance the opportunities and support youth’s contribution in the hospitality sector.”

Lords Hotels and Resorts, has announced the launch of its latest property in Agra – Hotel PL Palace. Located in the heart of the city at a close proximity to the Taj Mahal, the hotel aims at offering affordable luxury. Segmented under its brand, ‘Lords Inn’, Hotel PL Palace houses fifty-six contemporary rooms with all facilities, an in-house coffee shop, a specialty restaurant and bar, and is equipped with a state of the art health and fitness club, a rejuvenating spa and also a roof-top pool. “We take immense pride and pleasure in announcing the launch of our twenty-sixth property, especially because we did not have presence in the east, until now. Besides, this property will be the kind that will be as inviting for foreign tourists who visit India to witness the grand splendor of the Taj Mahal as it will be to MICE travelers,” says P.R. Bansal, Managing Director, Lords Hotels and Resorts.

Vikram Madhok, Managing Director, Abercrombie & Kent India, and Honorary Treasurer, PATA India Chapter, has been elected as the next Chairman of the PATA Industry Council, for the term of May 2016-May 2017. The PATA India Chapter, established in 1974, has grown to include 236 members and is one of the most dynamic Chapters in the Asia Pacific region today. With major support from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India which is the main and largest PATA India member organization, the Chapter includes State Tourism Boards, Carriers, Hotels, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Service Providers and other travel-related companies.

Pride Group of Hotels will invest over Rs 600 crore over the next 2-3 years to strengthen its portfolio through greenfield projects and acquisitions, a top company official reportedly said. The investments will include a new project in Goa, acquisition of a hotel in Mumbai, and addition of inventory to its existing property in Nagpur. “When we started off in the 1980s, we grew by greenfield projects and by acquiring existing properties and renovating them to our specs. In the past five years, we went into management model for faster growth and have built a portfolio of 12 operational hotels,” said SP Jain, Managing Director, Pride Group of Hotels. The company has all its hotels under three brands —Pride Plaza (5-star), Pride Hotel and Resort (4-star) and Pride Biznotel (3-star). Jain said the company has already acquired a land parcel in Goa to build a luxury property with an investment of about Rs 225-250 crore. This will be the group’s second property in Goa. The hotel firm is also adding additional inventory of 72 rooms to its existing property in Nagpur for about Rs 60 crore. “In Mumbai, we want to have a presence near the airport as the area is getting well connected. Since greenfield projects take a long time, mainly on account of approvals, we are looking to acquire an existing asset in the four or five-star category with an investment of about Rs 300 crore,” said Jain. Over the next three years, the company will also be opening three properties under management contract in Bengaluru, Nashik and Indore. Jain said the investments for expansion will be funded through a mix of debt and equity. The company also …

Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group, says, “The blasts in Brussels will definitely impact the outbound tourism sector to Europe. As Brussels is the headquarters of many airlines and international forums, the impact will be seen on the numbers travelling to Europe. However this may actually increase the inbound traffic of tourists to other regions like South East Asia. India will not be particularly affected as Jet Airways has decided to shift out its base from Brussels so apart from the damage to aircrafts, the numbers will not be affected from India.”

Jagsons Travels has introduced ‘ibe4all’, the first of its kind B2B online booking engine which is an android mobile App for the travel agents to allow a easy booking experience. The App has been developed by Influence Technolabs and Jagson Travels is the first travel agency to launch it for agents. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Jagsons Travels, says, “We are probably the first company to launch an exclusive B2B application for the travel agents. Currently, the clients can book flights and check the updated flight schedules. In due course of time other services like hotel bookings, transfers, railways, buses etc. will also be made live.” The App will also be launched for iOS devices soon informed Anand. Malini Jain, Chief Commercial Officer, Influence Technolabs, informed that online booking of flights can be made using one’s Agency Wallet on the App. It works for both domestic and international sectors, including LCC Airlines. All the fare segments are available on the App and the existing B2B functions can be operated like the Booking List, Ledger Statement, Request for Credit, Request for Deposit etc. “We have also added the “Import PNR” functionality in the ibe4all app itself and any agent who is interested in doing ticketing through an IATA agency can do so, making it suitable for IATA and Non-IATA agents. The agent has the facility of sending the e-ticket to his client through the ibe4all App itself and he can also cancel the ticket if required, making him work more efficiently and effectively.” She further said that the App has also encapsulated the GDS Dashboard which includes a GDS Emulator which empowers the agency to use GDS cryptic system on the …

Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC), in association with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Jet Airways branded 200 cabs in Delhi. The inauguration of the taxi branding campaign was done by H.E. Alphonsus Stielinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India; Jos Vranken, Managing Director, NBTC; Wilco Sweijen, Director Aviation Marketing, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; and Gaurang Shetty, Senior VP, Commercial Wholetime Director, Jet Airways, at the Amabassador’s residence in New Delhi on March 21, 2016. The taxis will be running on Delhi roads for one and a half month. The campaign is part of showcasing Holland’s tourism products, and will be followed by strategic activities, which will focus on trade, press and consumers.

Bengaluru International Airport greeted its 100 millionth passenger at the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB) reaching a historic milestone in less than eight years of operations. The 100 millionth passenger, Vinay Kulkarni arriving from Mumbai on Jet Airways 9w394 was greeted by the airport’s management. G.V. Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, Bengaluru International Airport, says, “This is a very special moment for all of us. The achievement comes within eight years of operations and is a testimony of our ability to meet the rapid demand and growth of the domestic and international air traffic. This recognition would not have been possible without the collective showcase of passion and perseverance of the KIAB workforce to create an unparalleled experiences for our passengers.” Bengaluru International Airport determined the 100 millionth passenger after it created an algorithm that was based on actual passenger numbers from the start of airport operations in May 2008 to March 2016. KIAB, is India’s third busiest airport with the highest passenger traffic in South India. Surpassing the 100 millionth passenger milestone is a validation of the airport’s reputation as being the region’s largest hub. In March 2015 KIAB was classified as a mid-sized airport when it clocked 15 million passengers. The airport further experienced a positive growth in 2015 with 18.1 million passengers transiting through the airport at the end of the calendar year. On an average approximately 52,000 passengers transit through KIAB every day