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With a strong development pipeline and industry’s and developers’ confidence in its ability to deliver profitable partnership, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has now set sight to reach the magical figure of 100 hotel properties by the end of 2018. Last year, the group added 13 new hotel and resort properties, including eight operational. Three of the new operational properties have come up in Karnataka at Bagalkot, Mysore and Shimoga. Two properties have opened doors in Madhya Pradesh that include Ujjain and Gwalior. Clarks Inn has also entered the state of Jammu & Kashmir with a property in Srinagar. Besides, the company has also established presence in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh and has added a second property in Patna in Bihar. Commenting on the strong growth for the company last year, S N Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “We have seen another year of stellar performance and growth in 2017 with as many 13 new properties signed up and eight new properties that have joined operation. Our total portfolio today stands at 84 hotel properties, including 43 in operation, spread over 18 states in India and one in Nepal.”    

India will add around 10 million jobs in the travel and tourism sector by 2028, according to a latest report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). WTTC forecasts that the total number of jobs related to tourism will increase from 42.9 million in 2018 to 52.3 million in 2028. India is currently the seventh largest travel and tourism economy in the world. Overall, the total contribution of the sector to the economy was Rs 15.2 trillion (US$234 billion) in 2017, or 9.4 per cent of the economy once its direct, indirect and induced benefits are taken in to account. Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, said, “Travel and tourism creates jobs, drives economic growth and helps build better societies. This is particularly clear in India which is forecast to be one of the fastest-growing tourism economies in the world over the next decade, adding 10 million jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy by 2028.” “Looking to the future, India can strategically lead travel facilitation within the SAARC region by introducing a standard technological solution, modern technology and biometrics. This will enhance the travel and tourism economies in the region. The Indian aviation market is expanding with rapid advancement in connectivity within India. Indian airlines have booked 900 plus new aircrafts to add capacity and expand operations over next couple of years,” Guevara shared.

Skål International Delhi-125 will be hosting the club’s first wellness programme on April 15 at Nehru Park, New Delhi. The members will be able to enjoy various active and wellness activities based on health and age like nature walk, yoga and meditation and cycling tour, informed Ranjit Vig, Secretary, Skål International Delhi-125. Vig further added that this year, the club has witnessed an increase of 26 per cent in membership, making it the largest club. The announcement was made at a special dinner event hosted at Le Meridien Gurgaon. The gathering was also a way to boost the morale of one its members, Ajeet Bajaj, Managing Director, Snow Leopard Adventures and his daughter Deeya Bajaj who will be undertaking an expedition to climb Mt. Everest in April. Sharing details about the activities of the club, Vig added, “For the first time, Skål Delhi has formulated an events calendar to have a clear agenda for the year. The same has been shared with all the members to allow them enough time to plan and participate wholeheartedly.” The club has also strengthened its PR and communication arm by making inroads to various social media platforms, informed Sunil Ghadiok, President, Skal Delhi. He said, “This year we will be twinning with Washington, wherein like minded members will come together to find business opportunities, network and share the best business practices. An agenda for the same is underway and will be announced soon.” It was also noted that the CSR and wellness committees of the club have taken initiatives to support child education and NGOs.

Celebrity Cruises has announced the launch of two new ships – Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Flora in Mumbai with operations beginning from December 2018 and May 2019 respectively. Capable of hosting about 2952 guests onboard, Celebrity Edge has an innovative design with an infinite veranda, magic carpet and a suite. Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises said, “The first itineraries of Celebrity Edge will be in the Caribbean this year followed by Europe in April 2019. Based on the travel patterns and desires of the Indian market, we plan to work here to bring Indian guests onboard throughout the itineraries we will be offering in Europe from Barcelona and Rome. Celebrity Flora is also a brand new ship purposefully built for the Galapagos Islands, a bucket-list destinations for many people around the world. The ship is an environment friendly ship with 50 suites for 100 guests. The design of the ship is like a yacht and the sailing starts from May 2019 for seven-night cruise itineraries.” Celebrity Cruises also revealed it will be investing USD 400 million to modernise its fleet of ships between 2019 to 2023. Four of the ships will undergo complete renovation of the staterooms and bathrooms. Redesigning the public space on the ships will also be part of the modernisation.

Commerce and Industries minister Suresh Prabhu has been given additional charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, a day after the resignation of TDP’s Ashok Gajapathi Raju was accepted by President Ram Nath Kovind, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said. In a brief communique, the spokesperson said, “The President, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed that Suresh Prabhu, Cabinet Minister, shall be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in addition to his existing portfolio.” Raju and another Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Y S Chowdary had resigned from the council of ministers after party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu decided to pull out his ministers. Naidu took the decision after facing relentless attacks from the opposition for “failing” to secure special category status for Andhra Pradesh. SOURCE: PTI

India will require 1,750 new passenger and cargo aircraft over the next 20 years to meet an exponential rise in both passenger and freight traffic, according to Airbus’ latest India Market Forecast. To help meet this growth, India will need 1,320 new single-aisle aircraft and 430 wide-body aircraft valued at US$255 billion. While much of the air traffic growth is expected to be driven by the fast expanding economy, rising wealth and urbanisation, ambitious government-backed regional connectivity programmes are also set to enhance demand for air travel. By 2036, Indians will each make four times as many flights as today. As a result, traffic serving the Indian market is forecast to grow 8.1 per cent per year over the next 20 years, almost twice as fast as the world average of 4.4 per cent. Domestic Indian traffic is expected to grow five-and-half times over the next 20 years, reaching the same level as USA domestic traffic today, making it one of the world’s fastest growing markets, according to Airbus’ latest India Market Forecast for the period. Srinivasan Dwarakanath, President, Airbus Commercial Aircraft in India, says, “Make in India is at the heart of our strategy. Airbus has the largest footprint in India of any International aircraft manufacturer, nationwide across all aircraft programmes. Our sourcing volume has grown 16 times over the past ten years and it is currently at more than US$550 million annually.”

Trafalgar’s definite departures now extend to 17 countries and five continents. Following its announcement of 100 per cent definite departures to Italy, Ireland, Hawaii and Discoveries, Trafalgar has extended these guarantees to departures covering Europe (Spain, Scandinavia, Scotland, Portugal and Germany), Asia (China and India), Africa (Morocco), and North and South America (Canada, Alaska, National Parks programmes, Southern USA, Peru and Costa Rica). Nicholas Lim, President, Trafalgar, Asia comments, “At Trafalgar, we firmly believe that success breeds success, so we thank our partners for the stellar role they’ve played in the exceptionally positive results we are seeing that have resulted in so many definite departures. We hear you and are always here to turn words into actions to put #AgentsFirst. When it comes to closing sales for 2018, there truly is no time like the present to reap the rewards.” Additional incentives to get clients over the line are early payment deals of 7.5 per cent for payments made before March 29, 2018.  

After launching its new office in New Delhi in partnership with RL Group, Oman Air is now planning to open offices in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Sunil V.A., Regional Vice President-ISC, Oman Air along with Chetan Gupta, Chairman, RL Group; Varun Mohindra, Head of Sales & Marketing, RL Group and Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group were present for the inauguration. “We have 162 flights operating from India, all connect well to the destinations. With our focus on Europe and Europe GCC, we are now planning to sell the east. We are not just dependent on the online network but also looking at the offline too.” said Sunil V.A. Oman is currently focusing to develop MICE segment in 2018 with a launch of its new airport on March 20, 2018.

TAAI’s limited edition convention in Srinagar has gathered keen interest from the trade. “Within 24 hours of opening registration, we received over 100 forms. Registrations for the TAAI Convention opened on February 19 and more than 200 delegates have already confirmed their participation. The hotels are in huge demand,” confirms Sunil R. Kumar, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). Set to be held from March 27-30, 2018, the TAAI Convention is being organised in association with the Ministry of Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir with a view to promote a more visible J&K and its outstanding attributes that extensively support tourism and culture.

Thomas Cook (India) has partnered with the Government of India for the Khelo India School Games, a part of the Khelo India Programme initiative of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to create a sports ecosystem and revive sports culture at a grassroot level in India. Thomas Cook India was selected as Hospitality Partner for the Khelo India School Games, held from January 31-February 8, 2018 in New Delhi, where India’s Under-17 athletes were invited to participate across 16 disciplines. Thomas Cook India had set up a dedicated team of 160 members during the Khelo India School Games to project drive this strategic initiative. The team has successfully executed the partnership by providing both accommodation and meals for an approximately 5000-strong contingent for a duration of 10 nights. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head- Leisure Travel, MICE, Thomas Cook (India), said, “The Khelo India programme is inspirational in its aim to scout young talent from schools in various disciplines, groom them as future champions and thereby, serve to catalyse the sporting culture of the nation. It is hence, truly an honour for us at Thomas Cook India to have been selected to partner with the Government of India for this unique initiative.”