Tag Archives: Mumbai

As its first route to India, Air Italy is set to begin operations to Mumbai from October 31, 2018. The new service will operate between Mumbai and Milan with an Airbus A330-200, offering 24 flatbed seats in Business Class and 228 seats in Economy Class. This will be the Italy-based airlines’ fourth new international destination to be served from its Milan Malpensa hub. Air Italy will offer five weekly flights between Milan Malpensa and Mumbai and will be the only non-stop flight between Italy and Mumbai. This new route between Milan and Mumbai comes after the earlier announcements of new routes from Milan Malpensa to New York and Miami starting in June 2018 and to Bangkok starting from September 2018. The new service to Mumbai will operate the following schedule and is open for sale. Flight schedules are effective from October 31, 2018.  The Milan Malpensa (MXP) flight to Mumbai (BOM) IG 927 departs at 14:20 hrs and arrives at 02:50 hrs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  The Mumbai (BOM) to Milan Malpensa flight (MXP) IG 928 departs at 04:50 hrs and arrives at 09:20 hrs on the same days.

With a vision to strengthen its pan-India service network, Travkart has signed on its first franchise in Mumbai. The move is in line with Travkart’s endeavour to tap the immense potential that Mumbai offers. What also makes the launch of Travkart’s franchisee programme in Mumbai an interesting development is the end-to-end business support that it offers to partner travel agencies. As part of the programme, the company will provide assistance to the associated travel agency to help it deliver better end-customer services. It provides comprehensive training spearheaded by a qualified in-house franchise manager, in addition to extensive operational assistance, to ensure seamless operations. The platform plans to undertake similar expansion in cities such as Chennai, Chandigarh and Nagpur. Manheer Singh Sethi, Co-founder, Travkart commented, “As India’s business hub, Mumbai is one of the most promising travel markets in the country. There exists a growing demand for travel packages within the city, which is why we are delighted to have signed our first franchisee here. While we received a large number of requests, we closed a franchising agreement with The Kangaroo Travels based on its commitment to the brand’s long-term growth and the end-customer’s satisfaction. Our aim is to expand our presence in all major cities in India and build 100 Travkart franchisees by 2020.”  

Israel Ministry of Tourism has joined hands with Ola cabs in India to collaborate on a two-week contest that will run on the Ola app which is valid for its Mumbai and Pune users only. The Ola users who undertake the maximum number of rides during the two weeks period and use code ISRAEL stand a chance to win a free trip to Israel for three nights or four days. Utilising Push notifications, in-App promotion, e-mailers , Ola Website and their Social Media pages, the ride-sharing company will promote the contest. Talking more about the association Hassan Madah, Director – Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines said, “Ola is one of the largest taxi services in India and have a large user base, especially in metro cities. Today, many urban dwellers use the services of taxi hiring in big cities as it is convenient. We are always thinking of distinct ways to promote Israel and felt this association with Ola cabs will help us reach Ola’s over 80 lakh users in Mumbai and Pune. We look forward to creating more awareness of the beautiful destination among Ola users so that they can plan a trip soon to Israel.” Israel has welcomed close to 10,000 Indian travellers between January and March, resulting in a 15% increase in Indian tourists arrivals compared to the same period in 2016. With the recent addition of Air India’s direct connection from Delhi to Tel Aviv, Israel hopes to witness one lakh Indian tourist arrivals in 2018.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has relaunched its Sarovar Portico Lonavala located in the hill town near Mumbai. Back with a refreshing new look, Sarovar Portico Lonavala is an ideal destination for a summer holiday complemented with excellent services. The hotel offers great facilities and comfortable rooms to create a quintessential vacationing experience. Sarovar Portico Lonavala features 23 well furnished rooms including three Dupleix rooms. Each room is equipped with modern facilities and carefully selected amenities. A multi-cuisine restaurant, The Restaurant at Sarovar Portico Lonavala, offers wide range of delicacies. The hotel offers excellent conferencing and banqueting services overseen by experts to keep an occasion memorable. Outfitted with the latest audiovisual equipment, picture screens, overhead video and slide-projectors and advanced audio and microphone systems, the two meeting spaces at the hotel are equipped with a host of facilities tailored to cater to business and social needs.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) conducted a member’s meet in Mumbai last week to introduce the new team to the members in the Western Region. Present at the event were the association’s Executive Committee (EC) led by its President, Mahendra Vakharia. He said, “We have decided to have the EC meeting once a month on every second Saturday so everyone can plan their month accordingly. It will be held in different cities but predominantly in Delhi and will rotate between Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.” Speaking about the association’s upcoming convention, he said, “It is shaping up very well. We will announce the name of the country in a week. We are doing it with the support of the destination’s tourism board and it will be held sometime in August or September 2018. The team will start working on the logistical details now like airlines, hotels, etc.” The next EC meeting will be held on May 14, 2018 in New Delhi. The EC members had met earlier in the day to discuss the plan of action for the association as well as its upcoming convention. Ajay Sengar, Chapter Chairman – Western India, OTOAI, who is from the tier city of Akola in Maharashtra, was also present at the networking event. Some other EC members had flown down from New Delhi including Shravan Bhalla and Rajeev Sabharwal, along with General Secretary Chitra Bhatia.

The 4th Global Exhibition on Services is set to take place from May 15-18, 2018 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. A curtain raiser for the event was held in New Delhi at the Shangri-La hotel. Organised by Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India, GES is meant to promote the services sector including tourism as well as education. This year, the focus is on Northeast India and ASEAN region as it is themed on ‘The Northeast India-ASEAN Opportunity’.

Garuda Indonesia will now serve Denpasar and Mumbai with direct flights starting April 23. This new route will offer a variety of connection flights to Indonesia for Indian tourists as the airline has served Jakarta–Mumbai route since 2016. Sigit Muhartono, Director of Cargo, Garuda Indonesia, who is also in charge for international routes said that the opening of Denpasar-Mumbai route is part of Garuda Indonesia’s international network development programme particularly in the South Asia region as the number of Indians visiting Indonesia is projected to grow to 500,000 in four years compared with 262,000 in 2015, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism. “This new service is also facilitating the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism’s programme to increase the number of tourist visitors to Indonesia, especially India. To support the joint synergies of both countries, Indonesia and India, Garuda Indonesia continues to strive to maximise the base connectivity between the two countries that is expected to further strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and India,” Muhartono said. The Denpasar-Mumbai route will be served twice a week from 23 April (Monday and Thursday) and will be increased to three times a week on June 2 (Monday, Thursday and Saturday). The flight will be served by GA 814, leaving Denpasar at 15.40 LT and arrive in Mumbai at 20.25 LT. On the return flight, GA 815 will depart from Mumbai at 21.50 LT and will be arrive the next morning at 07.55 LT in Denpasar.

Tamarind Global has announced the launch of a wedding division at its Delhi office. After the exponential growth of its weddings and events division of Tamarind Global in Mumbai, the company now looks forward to tapping the flourishing wedding business in Delhi-NCR. Tamarind Global’s Delhi office already offers event management and MiCE services. The division will be led by Karan Malhotra, Head – Events and Weddings, Tamarind Global. Kunal Rai, VP, Events and Weddings, Tamarind Global, said, “This strategic expansion has always been on the cards for us. We are excited it is finally coming to fruition and we can have a dedicated presence catering to our already growing client base in Delhi. Delhi-NCR is prominent for the size and scale of its thriving wedding and events business, making the move of securing a strong presence in the region an inevitable progression. A team of 10 people has already successfully executed one wedding. This fully fledged team is geared to provide hospitality and logistics services as well as client servicing support for turnkey wedding and event solutions for Delhi and other North markets. The aim is to increase the team size to handle multiple weddings, and pitch for new weddings in the region.”  

In an effort to expand its reach further in the market, Kolkata-based ‘A Travel Duet’ has moved its head office to Mumbai. Pritish Shah, Founder, A Travel Duet, who has also moved to Mumbai, says, “We had a branch office in Mumbai while being headquartered in Kolkata. But we soon realised that if we want to expand, Mumbai is the place to be, specially with the kind of products we offer. Mumbai is also a trendsetter in many ways. We also have a huge emphasis on having Preferred Partners such as Relaix & Chateau, Four Seasons, and Luxury Lodges of New Zealand and we are keen to expand that portfolio from about 10 brands right now to 100 this year. That is also one of the reasons why we wanted to move to Mumbai.” The Mumbai office will have a staff strength of about 15-20 people and will be located in Khar West. The company offers high-end, exclusive leisure holidays to couples. Speaking more about expansion plans for this year, Shah adds, “We want to make the company the best luxury travel brand for couples in India. At a later stage, we will also open an office in Delhi which will purely have a sales and operations team.”    

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) and The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco hosted a joint event in Delhi. The occasion was graced by His Excellency Mohamed Maliki, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, along with the senior management of Cox & Kings Ltd. The event showcased Moroccan culture and various tourist attraction in Morocco from the imperial cities to stunning beaches. “I’m honoured to co-host the travel agents event together with CKGS, which gives us opportunity to promote the Kingdom of Morocco as an Authentic and Exotic destination and showcases the numerous Tourism potential it has. Foreseeing growth and significance of the Indian tourism market to Morocco, we are also planning to open of a full-fledged Moroccan National Tourism Office in Delhi very soon.” said His Excellency, Mohamed Maliki. CKGS has recently opened Morroco Visa application centres in different cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa and Indore. Centres in more cities will be opened shortly. “We provide visa application services to Indians travelling to Morocco through our various offices in India. we have taken one more step further to promote Indian outbound travel to Morocco by partnering with The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco for this event.” said Venku Murthi, Chief Operating Officer, CKGS.