Tag Archives: Sweden

In an attempt to engage the travel trade and provide a platform to meet Scandinavian partners from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the Scandinavian Tourist Board organised a roadshow in Delhi with 28 Scandinavian partners and seven DMCs from the Nordic countries. The annual event will be held in Bengaluru next and conclude in Mumbai. Briefing about the development of tourism in Scandinavian countries, Mohit Batra, India Representative, Scandinavian Tourist Board said that there has been a tremendous growth in the number of Indians travelling to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. “We are closely approaching 500,000 room nights in 2018 looking at the figures we have till now. We have seen a surge in every segment, be they FITs, groups or MiCE,” he informed.  

Dubai Business Events (DBE) has showcased the city’s capabilities and services to business event planners during a a three-city roadshow in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, attracting an attendance of approximately 490 business events and incentive buyers as well as wedding planners. DBE was joined on the roadshow by a number of stakeholders from Dubai, including Dubai Parks and Resorts, Jumeirah Hotels and Emaar Hospitality. The roadshow offered a platform for the DBE team to meet and engage with key decision makers, educate them about the services available to them, and detail how the convention bureau can support in planning their events in Dubai. Attendees were also able to discover Dubai and the world-class factors that combine to make the city a premier destination to host business events. Over the coming months, DBE and stakeholders from the city will conduct further in-market activities in UK, Sweden, Finland and Russia while also continuing to welcome business event planners for study missions from around the world to Dubai.

According to Passport Index developed by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital, Singapore tops the rank of being the most powerful passport in the world under the Global Passport Power Rank 2017. This ranks passports of the world by their total visa-free score. Singapore is closely followed by Germany, Sweden and South Korea who are tied at number three, followed by eight other countries holding the number four spot jointly. The Indian passport appears at number 75 with a visa-free score of 51, ranking even lower than African countries like Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Some of the countries with a lower ranking than India are Egypt, Bhutan Cambodia, Jordon and our neighbours Sri Lanka and Nepal. The last on the list is Afghanistan with a score of 22 preceded by Iraq and Pakistan with a joint visa-free score of 26.

Air India has launched its first non-stop flight, the Dreamliner B-787, to Stockholm, Sweden, from Delhi. The inaugural flight had an all-female crew on board. The Dreamliner will fly thrice a week, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and leave Delhi at 14.50 hours and reach Stockholm at 18.40. The return flight will leave Stockholm at 20:40 hours and reach Delhi at 07:20 hours next day. According to an official statement, with an increase of passenger volume between India and Sweden by 50 per cent in three years, the direct flight is likely to further bolster the growing relationship between India and Sweden. The launch event on August 16, included lighting of lamp, cake and ribbon cutting ceremonies, was held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi in the presence of Air India Chairman Ashwani Lohani and Chargé d’Affaires of Embassy of Sweden Gautam Bhattacharyya. The flying time of passengers will be reduced by at least 2 hours. Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Air India said, “We are confident that Air India’s first foray to Scandinavia would add new dimensions to trade, commerce and tourism between the two countries – India & Sweden.”

Flag carrier Air India has announced direct flights between New Delhi and Copenhagen thereby adding its 11th destination in Europe. Starting from September 16, these flights will operate thrice a week. “We aim to serve 37,500 passengers each way for the entire year. If we touch that figure then we will make it a daily service,” Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India, reportedly said at an event. This is the third international flight launched by the national carrier this year, besides services to Washington from July 7 and to Stockholm from August 16, Lohani added. In his Facebook post last month, the CMD had also announced plans to connect Los Angeles from September 1 as well as Tel Aviv, Nairobi and Dallas this year. In 2016, traffic between the two countries grew by 10.1 per cent, according to a statement issued by the Embassy of Denmark. The number of visas to Denmark issued in India increased by 20 per cent compared to the year before, the statement added. Copenhagen airport is the third busiest airport in northern Europe and averaged 726 daily departures and arrivals in 2016 and served a total of 29 million passengers. (Source: PTI)