Tag Archives: MoU

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has signed an MoU with Mount Carmel College (Autonomous) in Bengaluru. M.S. Raghavan, Chairman, TAAI Karnataka, said, “We will collaboratively work broadly in the following areas besides other issues arising from time to time on tourism education. This will include designing the course curriculum and making it industry-relevant, and sourcing internships and final job placements for students of Mount Carmel College. We will also assist in arranging guest lecturers from the industry to update the current developments and conducting trade-related workshops. Other activities will include undertaking capacity development initiatives for the faculty members, sourcing live projects for the students from corporations in the sector, and other related initiatives with an objective of making B.Voc in Hospitality & Tourism Course and industry-oriented course that includes skill-training as well.” TAAI has in the past signed a similar MoU with HR College, Mumbai, Garden City College in Bengaluru, and the Lucknow University. Jay Bhatia, Tourism Council Chairman, TAAI, stated, “We at TAAI want to empower the future generations to understand and preview the industry. We want leaders of tomorrow to feel and understand the world before they set foot into the trade. Enhance and empower them is what we are looking at.”

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Africa Travel Association (ATA), a division of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), to strengthen the tourism links between Africa and the Asia Pacific region. Both the organisations have agreed to cooperate in a number of areas including market intelligence and proprietary research; conferences and events; advocacy themes and grass-roots development through Chapter networks. ATA will also contribute content for the PATA monthly Visitor Economy Bulletin and for the dedicated PATA website on sustainability. PATA will be seeking to use the good offices of the ATA to strengthen further its presence throughout the continent. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority recently became the first government member from Africa to join the PATA. Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA said, “I am very pleased that there is shared determination within our organisations to forge this new MoU into a worthwhile partnership that produces tangible and mutually beneficial benefits for ATA, PATA and all our members. The demand from source markets across the Asia Pacific to visit tourist destinations in Africa is unprecedented. We look forward to helping ATA and the nations of Africa as they bid to maintain a balanced and sustainable approach to managing even greater numbers of visitors to some of the world’s most famous attractions and landmarks.” Stephen Hayes, President & CEO, CCA, said, “We believe an active MoU with PATA is important to strengthen tourism to Africa. The potential for tourism in Africa is enormous and it offers very significant opportunities for business as well as environmental awareness. We couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Travel and holiday information portal HolidayIQ signed a Memorandum of Association (MoU) with The Indian National Trust for Arts and Culture Heritage (INTACH), to jointly identify ‘Next Big Heritage Destination’ in India for 2017. Through this strategic association, the two partners aim to identify at least one lesser-known Indian Heritage Destination (living, built, or natural), with significant potential for tourism. The destination will be selected through a nationwide contest on HolidayIQ portal, where Indian travelers will be asked to identify heritage destinations and share their views via reviews, images and videos. The campaign to identify the ‘Next Heritage Destination’ will be spread over a period of three months, starting September 2016. The Winning Heritage Destination will be selected by a joint jury of INTACH and HolidayIQ and this is culminate with an award ceremony to honor the winner in December 2016. Speaking about the MoU, Dr. (Mrs.) C.T. Misra, Member Secretary, INTACH said, “INTACH has been a pioneer in conserving and protecting India’s natural and cultural heritage. It is our aim to initiate innovative ideas in not only preserving but also promoting the cultural heritage of the country. Our MoU with HolidayIQ therefore seeks to reiterate our commitment by seeking to identify a heritage destination through the views of the Indian traveler and then offer support to the site from INTACH through next year in 2017.” On the signing of the MOU with INTACH, Hari Nair, CEO and Founder, HolidayIQ said, “Promoting domestic tourism amongst Indian travelers has always been the key vision for us, especially amongst the youth. As a leading travel information site, it is our endeavor to ensure that we promote the Indian culture and heritage. This …

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, Maharashtra Government, and Airports Authority of India have signed a tri-partite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), kicking off the collaborative process for the successful launch of the Regional Connectivity Scheme. The MoU was signed in Mumbai in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. With this MoU, the State Government of Maharashtra has formally agreed to provide the concessions required from the State Governments in the Regional Connectivity Scheme, thereby becoming the first state in the country to do so. The agreement was signed by Chairman, Airports Authority of India, Principal Secretary Civil Aviation (Maharashtra) and Joint Secretary (Ministry of Civil Aviation). Earlier during the day, Raju and Fadnavis discussed various other aviation related issues in the State of Maharashtra at length. The meeting was attended by R. N. Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Swadheen Kshatriya, Chief Secretary of the State and other officials. Amongst others, the subject of rehabilitation of slums (that have come up right next to the Mumbai International Airport) was deliberated upon in details.  Early operationlisation of several available airports and airstrips in the State (like Shirdi, Kolhapur, Nasik, Sholapur etc) also figured prominently in the discussions. Later, Raju undertook an aerial survey of the proposed airport site for Navi Mumbai and took a status briefing from the officers concerned. He laid emphasis on timely completion of the project and conveyed that this can be achieved only if timelines for all sub-activities are adhered to. Raju conveyed that he will be undertaking similar visits to several other states across the country to promote the Regional Connectivity Scheme and discuss other related issues …

As part of ambitious expansion, GoAir has chosen Airbus for its further expansion plans by signing an MoU for 72 A320neo aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow. The airline announced its latest order following a similar agreement for 72 A320neo placed in 2011 bringing the total order book to 144 aircraft. The first two aircraft from this order were delivered in June. GoAir CEO, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said, “The new A320neo provide us the competitive edge to achieve our growth targets and help us strengthening our presence in the wider region. It also reaffirms Go Air’s commitment to deliver the most modern, comfortable and excellent air travel experience to all customers as well as to strengthen the sustained positive growth and business expansion of the company. The new aircraft will help us in unlocking new domestic routes while providing a springboard for continued international network expansion in the years to come.”

OYO Rooms has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) for standardising and promoting hospitality in the state. Under the MoU, OYO will help in transforming and standardising hospitality real-estate units and make local homestays better equipped to suit the need of visitors and tourists. In the first phase, OYO has already standardised 15 home stays registered with UTDB. This will be followed by listing and marketing these properties on OYO’s channels. “We are very proud to partner the efforts of the Uttarakhand Government in building a tourism-friendly infrastructure while sustaining local communities. The pace of our efforts is aligned towards ensuring that while infrastructure is upgraded and standardized, the local ecosystem is not disrupted. OYO has built deep expertise in standardizing amenities and guest-experience in the unbranded hotels segment. This tie-up gives us the opportunity to transfer these skills and learning to the state of Uttarakhand.” said Abhinav Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, OYO. Commenting on the development Shailesh Bagauli, CEO, Uttarakhand Tourist Development Board said, “UTDB is happy to partner with OYO, the leading brand of hotel-networks in the country. We are confident that OYO’s expertise in standardizing and marketing large inventories to customers in different parts of India will drive immense value to this partnership. We look forward to our joint efforts contributing to increased tourist influx and a better stay experience for visitors to Uttarakhand.”

After recently signing a MoU with Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation, Stayzilla.com, the largest aggregator for verified homestays in India and Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) has signed an MOU to jointly promote and market homestays in Uttarakhand. The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat, Shailesh Bagauli, Secretary Tourism & CEO, Uttarakhand Tourism and Ankit Rastogi, Vice-President, Marketplace, Stayzilla.com. The company is closely working with various state tourism departments for joint promotion of homestays. Stayzilla recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation for joint promotion of homestays. Bagauli, CEO, UTDB said, “These are interesting times for Uttarakhand tourism with growing influx of tourists from across the country and we are working towards strengthening our homestay eco-system. We believe that our partnership with largest aggregator of homestays, Stayzilla will be extremely beneficial for offering best-in-class stay experience for our tourists. We are cognizant of Stayzilla team’s strength as they are already closely working with various state governments such as Madhya Pradesh, North East and more for joint promotion of homestays” he added. Under this agreement, Stayzilla will support verification procedures and jointly boost homestays across Uttarakhand. All homestays registered with UTDB will receive technological and operational support to run the homestays. Also, Stayzilla & UTDB will jointly conduct education and training sessions for UTDB registered homestays on best practices such as online usage, content management, operations and expense management. Stayzilla has been constantly conducting sensitization workshops for promoting the concept of homestays and bed & breakfast outfits across Uttarakhand region in cities such as Dehradun, Haridwar, Almorah, Nainital, Gopeshwar, Munsiyari, Rudraprayag, Chamba, Uttarkashi, Tehri, Rampur, Rudrapur, …

India and the US have signed an MoU to facilitate hassle-free entry of Indians into the US at selected airports by providing speedy security clearances for pre-approved, low-risk travellers from the country. India is only the ninth country with which the US has entered into this International Expedited Traveller Initiative (also known as the Global Entry Programme), reflective of the growing relationship between the two largest democracies of the world. The move would take a few months to implement and will provide speedy security clearances for pre-approved, low-risk Indian travellers upon arrival in US at selected airports. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K Singh and Kevin K McAleenan, Deputy Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection. “After joint scrutiny and clearance by both countries, the approved Indian travellers will be extended the facility of expedited entry into the United States through automatic kiosks at select airports,” a statement said, adding, the procedures are expected to be completed in the coming months. “Expedited entry for the Indian travellers under this programme at the US airports will enable further easing of travel environment, and will have positive impact on all kinds of people-to-people exchange between our two countries,” Arun K Singh said at the MoU signing ceremony. He said strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries has been at the very core of Prime Minister’s vision of India’s bilateral relationship with the US. “In the last two years, several initiatives have been taken by the Government of India for easing travel from the United States to India, which includes issuance of long term visas and introduction of electronic-tourist visas for US citizens.” “India’s …

OTOAI has signed an MoU with Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) for bilateral tourism promotion between India and Turkey on the sidelines of the 2nd OTOAI Convention in Bali. The MoU was signed between OTOAI President Guldeep Singh Sahni and TITC Chairman Emin Cakmak. Through this MoU, OTOAI will form an Indo-Turkish Tourism Council with its members who can coordinate with members of TITC to promote tourism between the two countries. Both sides will meet regularly to discuss ways in which this an be done.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. Of India and the Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) to propagate the cause of responsible and sustainable tourism to the next level. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, said, “ESOI works towards promoting sustainable and responsible tourism practices so we have joined hands with them since our agendas are the same. ESOI will partner with us and assist in sensitising the travel trade first, and then the general public.” It was also announced that a 10-year road map for advocacy and certification under the Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India will be charted. Steve Borgia, Honorary President, ESOI, said, “This MoU is also going to set a plan-of-action for the next 10 years for sustainable and responsible tourism.  The planning needs to be aggressive. Regional workshops will also be organised at various cities all over India with different guidelines for each destination.” ESOI, through stakeholder consultations will formulate criteria and classification guidelines for certification for the accommodation and tour/travel operators within the STCI guidelines and later develop standards for destinations which will also be in sync with the internationally accepted Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. The two bodies previously formulated and published the Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) and plan to put these practices to the forefront through the MoU.