Tag Archives: Mumbai

India ranks in top five list of highest number of visitors to Thailand after China, Malaysia, Korea and Laos. In 2017, over 1.4 million Indians travelled to Thailand which is over 18 per cent increase as compared to last year. Thailand welcomed over 35.3 million international visitors in 2017 and earned 1.82 trillion baht in tourism revenue. The precise number of overseas tourists visiting Thailand in 2017 was 35,381,210; showing an increase of 8.77 per cent over 2016. Soraya Homchuen, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai said, “TAT is initiating many unique activities and projects this year with a focus on promoting women, family and first-time traveller segments for the Indian market.” Santi Chudintra, Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and the South Pacific) said, “Our new campaign ‘Open to the New Shades of Thailand’ aims to give more attention to unique local experiences and inclusive tourism, reflecting Thainess and Thai people’s warmth in welcoming visitors. The new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’ has been launched to support the government’s national tourism development plan, ensuring that Thailand remains a preferred destination.”  

To reach out to the domestic market, Kerala Tourism is organising a string of Partnership Meets in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kolkata, Patna and Delhi in the 1st quarter of 2018. At the Partnership Meet in Mumbai on January 09, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, said, “To ensure the accomplishment of an ambitious target of a 100% increase in arrival of foreign tourists and 50% in domestic tourists in five years, a tourism regulatory authority has been formed. This would help put a stop to any unhealthy practices and guarantee better intervention of the Tourism Department through scrutiny and a licensing system.” The new Kerala Tourism Policy also forms a major highlight of this year’s domestic campaign. The revamped fare with an array of new tourism products was showcased at Mumbai today.

In order to promote cruise tourism in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs has, on request of the Ministry of Shipping, exempted cruise tourists arriving with e-visa from the requirement of biometric enrolment for a period of three years i.e. till December 31, 2020. This will make immigration clearance of such passengers faster, leaving them with more time to spend on shore.  The shipping ministry has been working towards simplifying the immigration clearance procedure and providing passengers a customer-friendly and hassle-free logistics process at Indian ports. E-visa has been in the place in five major ports of Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin and Chennai. Till now biometrics of passengers were required at port of first arrival for immigration clearance. However, with the existing facilities at the cruise terminals at these ports, the immigration procedure was taking more than the internationally accepted norm of clearing immigration for all cruise passengers in a maximum of 90 minutes. This is especially significant because, as per the schedule of arrivals of cruise ships for the current cruise season 2017-18 and 2019-20, many of the cruise ships coming to India are mega ships with 2000-4000 passengers on board. Most of these cruise passengers are expected to arrive on E-Visa, and biometric enrolment of all these passengers would slow down immigration clearance. Hence the need for the exemption.

In a historic move, an aircraft carrying perishables arrived at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) from Kabul, Afghanistan, marking the launch of a dedicated air freight corridor service between the two cities. An initiative implemented with the joint efforts of Danish Sarwar, Vice President of Afghanistan and Chennamanneni Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, this connectivity will provide the land-locked Afghanistan greater access to markets in Maharashtra. Additionally, it will allow Afghan businessmen to leverage the economic growth, enhance trade networks and offer Afghan farmers direct access to the markets in western India for their perishable goods. The event was presided over by the Principal Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra, diplomats from the office of Governor of Maharashtra and officials of the Consulate General of Afghanistan. The dignitaries along with officials of CSIA welcomed the inaugural flight routed Kabul-Mumbai-Kabul which carried 40 tons of fresh apples on the inbound and 20 tons of bananas along with 20 tons of fresh tomatoes on the outbound.

Situated in the commercial hub of Goregaon in Mumbai, Radisson Mumbai Goregaon recently opened its doors to the financial capital. The hotel is surrounded by shopping districts, entertainment centers, tourist attractions, corporate set-ups and located in proximity to the international airport. “We are pleased to announce the opening of Radisson Mumbai Goregaon as this hotel marks an important addition to the Radisson brand family in a key gateway city. The Balwa Group are astute hoteliers and we are looking forward to expanding our relationship with the group,” said Raj Rana, CEO, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. “We are confident and delighted to be working with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. We are committed to offer a differentiated experience at Radisson Mumbai Goregaon and epitomise the business tradition of our city,” said Hussein Balwa, Managing Director, Balwa Group. Radisson Mumbai Goregaon features 98 contemporary rooms with modern amenities. The rooms are spread across three categories namely, superior, business class and suite. All rooms are equipped with amenities including free Wi-Fi, 42-inch LED TV with premium channels, and coffee and tea making facilities. With wellness as a brand pillar, the hotel features facilities such as an in-house spa, salon and a rooftop swimming pool.

The Department of Tourism, Philippines, branded taxis and buses in Mumbai and Delhi in order to increase the visibility of the archipelago. Her Excellency Ma. Teresita C.Daza, Ambassador, Republic of Philippines to India, inaugurated the promotional campaign with 50 taxis in Mumbai and two HOHO buses in New Delhi. Addressing the gathering, she said, “DOT Philippines has been very active in India in promoting it as a tourism destination. We have launched around 50 taxis, and it will hopefully raise interest and awareness about the Philippines as a tourist destination. We have been doing pretty well in terms of tourist arrivals and we are hoping to increase the numbers further in the coming years. Currently India is at 12th rank in terms of arrivals to the Philippines. During January-July this year, 72,498 Indian tourists travelled to the Philippines as compared to 60,658 tourists for the same period last year, registering a growth of 28.41 per cent. It was made possible by the hardwork of Buzz Travel Marketing India and also the growing interest of people about the Philippines as a tourist destination.”    

Visit St Petersburg India announced the opening of its office in Mumbai. Located at the Russian Centre of Science & Culture at Peddar Road, the office was inaugurated by Elena Fedorova, Deputy Chair of the committee for Industrial policy & Innovation, Government of Saint Petersburg. The event was attended by delegates from St. Petersburg, MTDC, MCGM, TAAI, TAFI and leading travel agents. Evgeny Pankevich, General Director, Saint Petersburg City Tourist Information Bureau, said, “There has been an increase of interest in tourism from India to St. Petersburg and by the end of this year, we expect to record 1,00,000 Indian tourists to Russia which is an increase of 30 per cent. We see this as a good opportunity and therefore, we opened the tourism office in Delhi earlier this year and now we are here in Mumbai. This is a great moment to open the office as we are celebrating Days of St. Petersburg in Mumbai, marking the 50th anniversary of St. Petersburg and Mumbai’s sister –city status that was established in 1967.” The new office in Mumbai will give Visit St. Petersburg a strategic access to some of the most important source market regions in western and southern India.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) recently organised a two-day weekend programme for its members in and around Mumbai held at RMP foundation- UTTAN. The rejuvenating weekend was attended by 40 travel agents. ETAA organised team-bonding activities with the support of Adventure Holidays, followed by a knowledge session to help agents improve their business skill by renowned business coach R Muthye. Apart from music and dance, members also participated in a yoga session.  

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority hosted its first roadshow in India in Mumbai at the St Regis Hotel. Around 18 delegates including Bahrain Tourism officials, Bahrain’s leading hotels and destination management companies participated at the event. Yousef Mohammed AlKhan, Director of Tourism Marketing & Promotion, Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority said, “We are here in India to showcase Bahrain offerings in Mumbai and Delhi to tour operators and travel industry. We have had got good growth from the India market this year. We have been witnessing an increase in tourist numbers from India as compared to last year. We are also working closely with Gulf Air to increase the numbers from India. 2018 will be a crucial year for us as we are extremely focused on the Indian market now.” Currently, Bahrain Tourism is looking to tap cities where they have direct flights after which they will focus on other Indian cities. The destination also showcased new products at the roadshow like pro diving and water sports activities, adrenaline sports like indoor skydiving, cultural and historical offerings for Indian tourists.

Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) India has announced the dates for its annual meeting of aviation industry leaders with an interest in India. Now in its 14th year, the CAPA India Summit will be on January 30-31, 2018, in Mumbai. This year CAPA has added a third day dedicated to airports and airspace opportunities. Titled CAPA India Airport & Airspace Summit, this will be held on 1 February, 2018.  Part of the agenda is announcement of a series of strategic research reports by CAPA, including its annual outlook for Indian aviation in 2018-19. The association expects participation from every airline and airport operator in the country and an audience of close to 250 critical decision-makers from airlines, airports, investors and financiers, manufacturers and lessors, suppliers, travel companies and tourism boards.