Volume VII l Issue 3 Pages 32 www.travelnewsdigest.in `50 / us $5 decemBeR 16-31, 2017

Posted at NDPSO, New Delhi - 110001 on 5/6 & 20/21 of every month | Date of Publication 01/02 &15/16 every month | Postal Registration No. DL(S) - 01/3404/2015-17 | RNI No. DELENG/2011/40217

INDIA 04 busINess & mIce 14 AsIA 18 AfrIcA 22europe 20 mIDDle eAst 21 AmerIcAs 24 techNology 26 fIlm tourIsm 29respoNsIble tourIsm 28 eveNts 30cArIbbeAN 23oceANIA 19 globAl 25

OTm emerges as the largest travel trade show in Asia-PacificOTM has emerged as the largest in the Asia-Pacific when compared to the other leading travel trade shows in the region.

On the two parameters - the number of participants and gross exhibition area rented by the organisers, OTM has gained an edge over ITB Asia and SATTE; the other two leading shows in the Asia Pacific region (see box).

OTM also had participants from a larger number of countries (45) when compared to SATTE (40), as per publicly available information that can be verified (see box).

The upcoming edition of OTM 2018 will be organised from January 18-20, at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.

According to a visitor survey, approximately 76% of the trade visitors at OTM 2017 did not visit any other show in India. It shows OTM is visited by unique

buyers from Western India and Mumbai, not accessible through any other show.

Approximately a quarter of OTM’s buyers are from outside Mumbai, out of which half are from Delhi. This data shows that OTM is also effective in providing access to trade buyers and visitors from all over India.

India is ranked among one of the fastest emerging travel destinations in the world as Indians continue to take more than a billion domestic and 20 million international visits annually. Fuelling this growth, Mumbai serves as a gateway city to 60% of India’s outbound market, making it the largest hub of inbound and outbound, business, luxury, and MICE travel in India. This is the main reason behind the emergence of OTM as the largest travel trade show in the region.

“We have shared a close bond with OTM Mumbai for a long time now and with this “Travel Technology Track,” we aim to empower the travel industry further. Through this, we will be highlighting the future of travel across segments. Innovators and unique travel agencies using the Internet of Things will give short presentations this time. There will be captivating panel discussions from hoteliers who are maximising revenue through digital marketing, presentation of case studies and workshops for MICE agents and boutique hoteliers,” stated Daksh Sharma, Managing Partner, TravHQ.

Karan Anand, Head-Relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd. said, “OTM has grown over the years and has attracted new outbound tourism products and operators. It is now the premier show with an outbound focus based in Western India, which is growing faster. Participating in OTM gives us an opportunity to exhibit our products and engage with the B2B market that’s looking to partner with us.”

Statistics reveal that it also attracts the largest number of international participants in India

• Greece is returning to OTM in 2018, with a large country pavilion. • Leading tour operator in the country - Cox & Kings has signed up with OTM

for the next three years, as the Knowledge Partner. • Global leader in hotel marketing technology - Google will organise CMO

workshops on the sidelines of OTM 2018. • The National Tourist Organisations (NTOs) of Palestine, Japan, New

Zealand, Maldives, Russia, Greece, Tanzania, Bhutan, Thailand, Korea, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nepal, Zagreb, and Croatia will be exhibiting, with large country pavilions.

• Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar and Andhra Pradesh are also setting up large state pavilions. Many more states are joining shortly.

• The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has planned for the first time a mega publicity exercise at OTM for promoting North-Eastern destinations.

• TravHQ has partnered with OTM, to organise Travel Technology Track, with sessions on innovative travel tech solutions, panel discussions with industry thought-leaders and digital skill development workshops.

• Trade visitors and hosted buyers from all over India have confirmed their attendance.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OTM 2018 (at the time of going to the press)

cRITeRIA OTm’17 ITB Asia’17 sATTe’17

Number of Exhibitors 1,126* 940** 920**

Gross Area of the Exhibition Halls Rented in 2017 17,800** 16,200** 15,900*(rounded off to ‘00 sqm)

Participants from Number of Countries 45* 113** 40**

Number of National Tourism Organisations represented 33* 38** 30*

Number of Registered/Hosted Buyers 443* NA 271*

NumBeRs TeLL IT ALL

*as per respective show directories**as per publicly available information or as claimed by the organisers

Contd on page 2

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 2 • COVER STORY

editor & Publisher Sanjiv Agarwal(editor@fairfest.in)

PresidentV Suresh

Assistant editorAkansha Pandey(akansha@fairfest.in)

contentShruti DugarDarshan Baid

Head of designBruno Peccoud

designDilip MannaRitam MaityMaruti More

managing directors Gazanfar IbrahimRajiv Agarwal

directors Harsh AgarwalRaj Kapoor Singh

Associate directorsGunjan DuttNeeti BhatiaRajarshi DeR MaheshTarique EbrahimVicky MenezesNitin TelangRaminder Singh

Advisors Abraham JohnSheila Leong

managersFatima D’CostaUma SurekaYC AnilPhilomena D’SouzaTania DasRamesh ChauhanSanjeev GuptaMedha Anand

Assistant managersKanika SinghShreya BothraShiv Shankar Dutta

executivesKomal SolankiKhushbu ThakkarPriya DasPriyanka MandalKiran M

circulation Shiv Sagar Mishra

Travel News Digest (TND) is printed and published by Sanjiv Kumar Agarwal on behalf of Fairfest Media Ltd.

Printed at International Print -o-pac Ltd, C-4 to C-11, Hosiery complex, Phase-II, Extension, Noida - 201 301, Distt. G. B. Nagar, UP.

Published at 216A/1Gautam Nagar, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi-110 049

editor Sanjiv Agarwal

No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited manuscripts and photos received. Despite careful selection of sources, no responsibility can be taken for accuracy.

The Publishers and the Editors do not necessarily individually or collectively identify themselves with the views expressed by respective writers and contributors in this journal. The views expressed are those of the authors only. The magazine assumes no liability or responsibility of any kind in connection with the information thereof.

All right reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher.

Head Office 216A/1, Gautam Nagar, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi - 110 049 Tel: (91)(11) 26866874

Registered Office25C/ 1, Belvedere Road, Alipur,Kolkata 700 027 Tel : (91)(33) 24790010-14

Branch OfficesMUMBAI (91) (22) 4555 8555HYDERABAD (91) (40) 27896149 BANGALORE (91) (80) 26761598AHMEDABAD (91) (79) 2646 1217

….…………………………………………

Volume VII • Issue 3

Email press releases on

editor@fairfest.in

akansha@fairfest.in

Web : www.travelnewsdigest.in

Fairfest media Limited(CIN - U74140WB1988PLC045101)

Turkey has been participating in OTM since it started promoting in India. Ozgur Ayturk, Coordinator-Asia and Pacific in the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism remarked that Turkey has shared a long and strong bond with OTM which has always been a great platform to promote new tourism products and lesser-explored destinations in Turkey, among the Indian travel trade.

He said, “For us, the most significant reason in decision making is based on the analysis of how our suppliers benefit from a particular trade show. Turkish sellers wait for OTM to realise the networking value and business out of the Indian market in general and Mumbai in particular. So far, the interest from the seller’s side has been very high. Mumbai is a very

promising inbound source market for Turkey and we witness 35% of the total Indian arrivals coming from West India, through the gateway city of Mumbai. This makes our participation in OTM Mumbai all the more important.”

OTM has always been a very important trade fair for the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), commented Mahmood Shah, Director, Kashmir Tourism. He added, “Our state has been participating in OTM Mumbai for over a decade now. J&K gets the maximum number of domestic tourists from the states of Gujarat followed by Mumbai. Therefore, both the tourism board and the private suppliers in the region eagerly wait for this prestigious event and ensure their presence. We are eagerly looking forward to the next edition to generate new business opportunities and capitalise on the existing ones.”

The newly appointed President of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), Mahendra Vakharia recognised the fact that OTOAI has been associated with OTM since its inception and each year their members look forward to the event. “The OTOAI booth at the OTM has given us additional visibility year after year. I have been attending OTM in Mumbai personally and must say that it is not meant to be missed. For the stakeholders in the travel trade who are looking for serious business and networking opportunities, OTM is a ‘must visit’. I have made new connections with the travel and tourism industry at OTM Mumbai,” he added.

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI), too, has been a part of OTM for a very long time now. A large number of

Indian state tourism boards actively participate in the trade show, remarked PP Khanna, President, ADTOI. “OTM has reached an international level where the whole industry comes down. OTM Mumbai is one of the most sought after travel marts where buyers and sellers meet and generate good business for the industry players. For ADTOI members it is a win-win platform as they get to meet all the who’s who under one roof,” he added.

Gajesh Girdhar, Founder and National Coordinator, Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA) is happy that they have been a part of OTM Mumbai since the past two years. He says, “Our members are excited to attend the upcoming edition.As a matter of fact, it is the best travel trade fair in India, of international standards and is way better than any other travel show in the country.” He also welcomed the idea that all hosted buyers at OTM should attend at least two knowledge sessions at the trade show.

Captain Swadesh Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) said they feel privileged to be a part of highly-celebrated travel exhibition of OTM. He asserted, “OTM is very well organised and reflects the hard work and expertise put in by the organisers. For adventure tour operators, Western India in general and Maharashtra, in particular, has been of immense importance, as the corporate travellers from Mumbai and Pune are our strongest target audience. Needless to say, OTM is indispensable in connecting to the tourism stakeholders from the region.”

“OTM has grown by leaps and bounds,” exclaimed Abhijeet Patil, Chairman, Raja Rani Travels and GlobeHoppers. He has been attending OTM since inception. “A unique feature of OTM is that it has been aggressively promoting Film, MICE and Wedding destinations, for which it is rightly placed being in Mumbai. A lot more of these activities are planned in a big way in OTM 2018,” he added.

“OTM is very informative and a must-attend for travel trade as one gets to renew existing contacts and get informed on the new products and people in the trade,” remarked Shreeram Patel, Director, Unicorn Travels who has been coming to OTM as a hosted buyer.

To avail special rates from Times of India, Mumbai for OTM 2018, e-mail: ycanil@fairfest.in or call on +91 9820009751.

Contd from page 1

• Industry Knowledge Panels: Featuring elite experts from India’s hospitality industry, travel agencies, and OTAs

• Skill Development Workshops for Travel Industry: From decoding analytics to harnessing mobile platforms and many more

• Travel Innovator Showcase: 10-minute dedicated presentation/pitching slot

• Sponsor branding opportunities across the OTM event

• Showcase your travel-tech offerings at APAC’s largest travel industry event

Highlights of the Travel Technology Track

• 65% said that they had participated in OTM earlier.

• 98% felt that OTM was important to exhibit their product and services.

• 52% attributed quality of buyers as the key reason to exhibit.

Highlights of exhibitor survey at OTm 2017

• Outbound tour operators and NTOs: 22%• Domestic tour operators and States: 15%• Hotels and Resorts: 34%

OTm 2017 seller mix

• 63% of had visited OTM before and 37% were new.

• 62% said that they visited because the show was in Mumbai.

• 98% were satisfied and 99% said they were likely to attend OTM 2018.

• 97% said they are likely to conduct busi-ness with the visitor or exhibitor they met at OTM 2017.

• 80% found new suppliers whom they wouldn’t have otherwise met.

• 96% perceived OTM to be a truly global event.

Highlights of Visitor survey at OTm 2017

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 4INDIA-Ministries

Civil Aviation Secretary calls for starting helicopter taxi services in North India

Generation Z dominating adventure tourism market in India: Satyajeet Rajan

Stakeholders need to collaborate for North East tourism promotion: KJ AlphonsThe Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States has organised the sixth International Tourism Mart (ITM) in Guwahati, Assam. Speaking at the event, KJ Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism said, “India is blessed with so much of varied tour-ism potential - whether it is the geographical posi-tion or its cuisines, textiles, cultures, ancient heritage and monuments. Among the diverse offerings, North Eastern India is the most beautiful place under the sun. North East has the capability to put India on the forefront in the field of tourism. To realise the tour-ism potential of the North Eastern states, we need to collaborate with stakeholders.”

Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, said that government is paying all the more atten-tion to the promotion of tourism to North Eastern states. To capitalise on the momentum, states need to have better synergy with the private sector and should regularly participate in the road shows in for-eign countries.

Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam inaugu-rated the sixth ITM in the presence of Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister, Assam, Pema Khandu, Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, KJ Alphons, Dr. Hemanta Biswa Sarma, Minister for Tourism,

Assam, Rashmi Verma, VK Pipersenia, Chief Sec-retary of Assam and other dignitaries from central ministries and North Eastern states.

Delivering the inaugural address, Mukhi said that this Mart is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the unique tourism treasures of North Eastern States. Keeping in view the Act East Policy of the govern-ment, this platform will serve its purpose.

Sonowal highlighted that Assam Government has recently enacted the ‘New Tourism Policy’ which will facilitate the tourists and other stakeholders. He insisted on boosting Assam Tourism in a sustain-able manner.

Khandu lamented that connectivity and infra-structure are the two major concerns which North Eastern states are facing.

Around 66 foreign delegates comprising stake-holders and media from over 28 countries namely Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Canada, China, Cambo-dia, Cyprus, Fiji, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Neth-erlands, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Tanza-nia, Thailand, USA, UK, Vietnam, Turkey and South Korea attended the event. Besides, 50 domestic stake-holders networked with 103 local suppliers from the North Eastern states.

Speaking at the first Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017, RN Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation, said that as per the new National Civil Avi-ation Policy (NCAP), helicopters are free to fly from point to point without prior ATC clearance in airspace below 5,000 feet. The aviation agencies should start exploring the option to start helicopter taxi services between Delhi -NCR and other north Indian states, he added.

He highlighted that India has achieved a growth rate of about 20% in domestic air travel section in the last three years, which is the highest growth rate in the world civil aviation sector. He said that however, this growth rate is confined to fixed wing traffic only and the helicop-ter traffic is much lesser in India.

Inaugurating the event, Satpal Maharaj, Tourism Minister, Uttarakhand said that the helicopter taxi ser-vices have a huge potential for enforcing law and order, operate air ambulance services, to check forest fire and can provide better connectivity to religious and tourist destinations located in rough terrain of hilly areas.

The event was organised by Pawan Hans Limited, in association with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the theme of ‘Enhancing Connectivity’ at the Pawan Hans Heliport, Rohini, New Delhi.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The adventure tourism sector is growing at a stag-gering rate of over 40% year on year globally and the Indian market is driving 30% of its adventure tour-ism revenue from inbound tourists. As per statistics shared by Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, Minis-try of Tourism, the average age of Indian travellers in this segment remains 36 years, with 48% of them travelling solo. The Online Travel Agents (OTAs) are also grabbing eyeballs as 69% are referring online for adventure travel. Only 25% are visiting offline and 17% finally booking the trip.

Going forward, the Generation Z (born between mid-1990s to mid-2000s) will force the adventure tour specialists to grow and innovate further and design itineraries in sync with rising demand from this target audience, he highlighted on the sidelines of the National Seminar on ‘Unveiling Opportunities in Adventure Tourism’ in New Delhi.

The event was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in support with the Ministry of Tourism.

He asserted that states need to lay down opera-tional guidelines for adventure tour operators and should facilitate design and start-up related courses to fill the gap for certified personnel.

Dignitaries inaugurating the International Tourism Mart in Guwahati, Assam

Panellists at the CII National Seminar on ‘Unveiling Opportunities in Adventure Tourism’ in New Delhi

(L) RN Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The debut of India MICE Awards and the third edition of the India Hospitality Awards were held recently at The LaLiT New Delhi. Giving his keynote

address, Chief Guest for the evening – KJ Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism highlighted that in India, guest is considered as God and he wants the whole world to come and experience the cultural diversity and heritage of the country. Indians need to revisit this philosophy and the hospitality sector too, can further play a crucial role in the growth and progress of India Tourism, he asserted.

“About 14.5 million foreign travellers have visited India until October end this year. However, the num-bers aren’t enough. The Government of India aims to double the revenue and inbound arrival figures in the coming years. Thus, the countrymen need to ensure change in attitude to assist in providing a clean and safe experience to foreign tourists. Don’t wait for the government to take action, be innovative and a facil-itator yourself,” he stressed.

At the event, Aman Nath, Chairman, Neemrana Hotels was honoured with the Gallery of Legends Award. Sunil Ghadiok, CEO, Nidra Hospitality was recognised as the DDP Game Changer and Himmat Anand, Founder, Tree of Life Resorts and Hotels took home the DDP Trailblazer Award amongst others.

The ceremony was also graced by Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.

Indians should revisit ‘Guest is God’ philosophy: KJ Alphons

(L-R) SanJeet, Mentor, India Hospitality Awards, Aman Nath, Chairman, Neemrana Hotels, Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson & MD, Bharat Hotels, KJ Alphons, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, MoT

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 5INDIA-State Tourism Boards

Centre to assist J&K Tourism under Incredible India campaign

ITDC collaborates with states for tourism promotion

Karnataka Tourism eyes promoting wine tourism next year

MP Tourism empanels India City Walks to curate heritage walks & content-driven tourismThe Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has empanelled ‘India City Walks’, as their offi-cial agency for curation and operation of heri-tage walks and content-driven tourism in the cit-ies of Khajuraho, Orchha, Mandu and Bhopal.

With a mission to offer engaging interac-tions with local cultures, ‘India City Walks’ intends to showcase Madhya Pradesh’s rich heritage through sto-rytelling and create experiential delivery of tours for showcasing living heritage, like the region’s language, lifestyles, ceremonies, festivities, cultures, etc. The her-itage walking tours will focus on unique story, develop visitor experience, preserve the assets of the region and increase footprints.

Srikant Pandey, IAS, Additional Managing Direc-tor, Madhya Pradesh Tourism asserted, “Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board’s initiative of Heritage Walk is not just a statement but is a commitment.”

Sachin Bansal, Founder and Chief Explorer, India City Walks, highlighted “We are a passion-driven organisation and intend to showcase every city with its own flavour and tale. Madhya Pradesh has a lot to share in terms of history, heritage and culture. We wish to capture it for all the visitors.”

The Centre has assured the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government support under Incredible India campaign and has also called for roping in business and corpo-rate houses for facilitating promotion of tourism in the state. Speaking at a recent high-level meeting to review the progress of tourism projects in J-K under the Prime Minister’s Developmental Package (PMDP), Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, has sug-gested organising the International Travel Mart (ITM) in Srinagar around the Tulip Season in March.

Under the package, INR 2,000 crore has been ear-marked which will be spent over a period of five years beginning 2016 with INR 400 crore to be released by the Centre each year, he confirmed.

The key projects taken up under the PMDP include the development of tourism facili-ties on the Mantalai Sudhmahadev-Patnitop,

Gulmarg-Baramulla-Kupwara-Leh, Jammu- Rajouri-Shopian-Pulwama, Anantnag-Pahalgam-Daksum-Ran-jit Sagar circuits, being executed by NBCC and NPCC.

The projects to be taken up under PMDP include pro-viding infrastructure to 12 tourism development author-ities, creating three tourism circuits, setting up 50 pro-posed tourist villages and conservation of the Wullar Lake, the official said.

In another initiative, J&K Tourism is developing a new comprehensive website - www.jktourism.jk.gov.in and plans to launch it soon. A mobile app is also in the pipe-line for wider access and visibility of tourism in J&K.

The management of India Tourism Development Cor-poration (ITDC) recently invited the state tourism departments from pan India for a roundtable to discuss the possible areas of synergies for collaboration between ITDC and state tourism authorities to enhance tourist convenience and overall experience.

The session was presided over by Ravneet Kaur, IAS, Chairperson and Managing Director, ITDC in the pres-ence of Piyush Tiwari, Director-Commercial and Mar-keting, ITDC and other respective heads of the divisions.

Shivdular Singh Dhillon, IAS, CEO, Punjab Heri-tage Tourism Promotion Board and Suman Thapa, SCS, CEO, Sikkim Tourism Development Board were among the senior delegates who attended the meeting. Other state tourism corporations that were present at the event were Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura.

The strategic business units of ITDC presented the wide spectrum of services through which state tourisms can collaborate with ITDC.

Karnataka produces 80 lakh litres of wine every year. The state has 18 vineyards and over 15,000 grape growers. Karnataka units prepare four vari-eties of red and white wine. The harvesting season for grapes begins in January and the Wine Board, along with Karnataka Tourism is planning to pro-mote Wine tourism in Vijayapura and its vicinity, combining heritage places such as Gol Gumbaz, Badami, Aihole, etc.

The Wine Board officials told media that they are planning to come up with a wine park at Vijay-apura where the board has its own vineyard spread over 141 acres. It will have all the facilities under one umbrella including hi-tech nursery, production of wines, research institute, boutique winery and many more.

According to T Somu, Chairman, Karnataka Wine Board, “January is the right season for grape harvesting. Taking this opportunity, we are intro-ducing wine tourism in 2018. We are going to tie-up with Karnataka Tourism along with the vine-yards. While the tourism department will take care of travelling, lodging, and food, we will take visitors to vineyards to show them how wine is made. They will get to taste different kinds of wines. We are sell-ing 80 lakh litres of wine every year, and with wine tourism, we are expecting to cross one crore litres.”

Kerala Tourism recently announced the state’s new Tourism Policy 2017 which was unveiled by Kadakam-pally Surendran, Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala. It envisages the creation of new customised products for attract-ing young travellers, professionals, students and art-ists to the state. The policy also emphasises on the active participation of the differently-abled and transgenders while implementing the Responsible Tourism Mission.

The state’s tourism board has proposed to establish a Kerala Tourism Regulatory Authority (KTRA) to ensure quality service for tourists and curb unhealthy practices in the tourism sector. The supreme author-ity would be responsible for monitoring the function-ing of different stakeholders. An investment cell would be formed to help potential investors, especially NRIs.

Speaking about the objective of the new pol-icy, Surendran highlighted, “The new policy aims to address the key issues of the local tourism industry in cooperation with the local bodies such as improving the infrastructure facilities, waste management and the renovation of roads. Following the Responsible Tour-ism Mission, Kerala Tourism has guided all the regional bodies and authorities concerned to implement and fol-low the Green Protocol at all the destinations of Kerala.”

Dr. Venu V, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, stated, “The tourism department is keen to appoint a brand ambassador for Kerala Tourism in order to promote the state’s tour-ism across the globe. The sole objective is to double the foreign tourist arrivals and increase domestic tourist arrivals by 50% by 2021.”

Kerala Tourism unveils its holistic Tourism Policy 2017

State Tourism Board Officials at ITDC’s meeting

Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, Ministry of Tourism

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 6INDIA-Associations

Officials from Catalonia Tourism with NIMA Members

TAAI’s new team for 2017-2019

Team OTOAI for the term 2017-19

Rahul Lall, Secretary General, FHRAI

(C) N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh at the ADTOI Convention 2017

OTOAI members choose Mahendra Vakharia as the new President

Sunil Kumar re-elected as TAAI President

ADTOI Convention 2017 updates trade on tourism products of Andhra Pradesh

FHRAI appoints Rahul Lall as Secretary General

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators Associ-ation of India (ADTOI), in support with the Andhra Pradesh Government recently organised their eighth Annual Convention cum Exhibition at Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP). Themed ‘Explore India – One Coun-try, Many Worlds’, the convention played a significant role in further opening the destination and updating the travel trade on the best tourist offerings.

The convention-cum-exhibition was inaugurated by the N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, AP, who elaborated on the tourism potential of Andhra Pradesh and assured to make Vizag as one of the best tourist destinations among other five in the state. Naidu also formally launched the ADTOI Andhra Pradesh State Chapter which will be led by K Vijay Mohan as the Chapter Chairman. This is the eighth

chapter of ADTOI in India.Pre and post convention FAM trips were con-

ducted for the delegates to Sunray Resort and Araku Valley.

Rahul Lall has been appointed as the Secretary General of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). He will be responsible for running day-to-day financial and administrative policies at FHRAI.

A professional hotelier, he brings over 30 years of progressive hotel management and operational expe-rience with brands like Oberoi and Sarovar. He com-pleted his Post Graduate Diploma in Hotel Manage-ment from The Oberoi School of Hotel Management, New Delhi.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) unanimously elected Mahendra Vakharia as

the President for the term 2017-19. Himanshu Patil is the new Vice President while Chitra Bhatia took over as General Secretary. Gurdeep Singh Gujral and Sid-harth Khanna became the Joint Secretary and Trea-surer respectively. OTOAI’s Executive Committee mem-bers comprise Riaz Munshi, Shravan Bhalla, Ankush Nijhawan, Rajeev Sabharwal, Sujit Nair and Adl Abdul Karim.

Vakharia spoke to Travel News Digest saying that he is primarily focused on increasing the membership and resolving the visa concerns in support with the consulates.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) held bi-yearly elections at its 66th Annual General Meet-ing in Mumbai where Sunil Kumar was elected as the President twice in a row, Sanjay Narula as the Vice President and Jyoti Mayal as the Honorary Secretary General. Imtiaz Qureshi is the new Honorary Trea-surer. Members onboard the TAAI Managing Com-mittee include Bhagwan Ramnani, S Saravanan, Rajan Sehgal, Gurmeet Singh Vij, Anoop Kanuga, Devaki Thiyagarajan and Anil Kumar.

Talking to Travel News Digest, Kumar said that connecting TAAI members, addressing their GST concerns and ensuring aggressive initiatives of the association for the growth of the tourism industry as a whole, are topmost on his agenda.

New office-bearers and Managing Committee members will serve TAAI until 2019.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA) took their first Annual Convention to Barcelona, Catalonia last year. Taking the momentum forward, NIMA in support with the Catalonia Tourism Board and Turkish Airlines recently organised a Destination Showcase comprising two workshops and a presentation.

Highlighting Catalonia as a MICE destination, David Miro, Director-Asia Pacific, Catalonia Tourism Board, said, “The Catalonia region, in north-eastern Spain, is a perfect meeting destination and ideal for bleisure too. Suited for MICE events, Tibidabo housing an exciting amusement park comprises alleys depicting the culture of Spanish cities, can be booked for hosting events on lease. The Girona city’s downtown exhibits medieval culture where locals still wear the traditional dresses. The Tarragona Amphitheatre, is another attractive site which promises space for 15,000 spectators and Car-dona city offers castles to host MICE events.”

Over 80 NIMA members attended the MICE work-shop by Catalan Tourist Board who were certified then and there. Jagdeep Bhagat, Founder Member and Coor-dinator-Branding, NIMA highlighted, “Our members wanted to know more on what Catalonia has to offer. Except Barcelona, not much of Catalonia has been explored by the Indian travel trade. This exercise was

conducted to bridge the awareness gap and enhance the product knowledge among the MICE tour operators in NIMA.”

Talking about the association’s plans going for-ward, Gajesh Girdhar, Founder Member and National Coordinator, NIMA confirmed that post the success of “Transforming MICE by NIMA” workshop at BLTM this year, NIMA now plans to organise four more work-shops starting from March next year. NIMA’s Rajasthan and Maharashtra chapter are slated to launch soon, he revealed.

NImA & catalonia Tourism promote catalonia beyond Barcelona

FAITH highlights industry concerns at pre-budget meetThe Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) was recently invited to attend the pre-budget meeting with Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister along with other officials.

Therein, FAITH raised the points of export status for tourism, IGST unlocking for hotels, B2B credit for tour operators, transaction-based GST for hotels, GST reduction from 28%, rate of 1.8% as against 5%, no GST on outbound from India, special status for adventure and heritage, special tourism fund for product development and mon-etise old heritage buildings, highway facilities cre-ating marine drives along all our seas and river coastlines for encouraging domestic and road tourism.

For IGST and export status, they have recom-mended approaching law team of GST.

FAITH was invited to represent the travel, tourism and the hospitality industry. All the par-ticipants were very appreciative of tourism inputs. The federation is now going to follow up on this meeting with the Finance Minister by meeting the officials in Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Tourism.

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 7INDIA-Airlines

GoAir expands operations from New Delhi

IndiGo offers attractive Flexi Fares

GoAir is set to increase its operations with the launch of eight all-new additional flights in and out of Delhi, for the winter schedule effective from November 23, 2017. The induction of new A320 NEOs will see GoAir’s fleet strength touch to 31 aircraft.

To commensurate its twelve successful years in the domestic skies, GoAir has also announced an

exciting anniversary fare offer starting from INR 1212 plus taxes on all new sectors. Book-ing period will be from November 18 to 21, 2017 for the travel period from November 24, 2017, to October 28, 2018. The special fares will be valid only for individ-ual bookings for travel

on direct flights on GoAir network. Available on a first come-first serve basis, bookings for travel can be made across all channels

Speaking about the network expansion Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said “The induc-tion of four new aircraft will cater to the enhanced seasonal demand whilst offering flexibility to cus-tomers with more flight options to choose from. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibil-ity of choice for our customers and offer them seam-less connectivity, hassle-free and affordable flying experience.”

In an endeavour to pro-vide flexibility to cus-tomers, IndiGo is offer-ing Flexi Fare option at attractive price levels. Under this offering, pas-sengers whose travel plans might be tentative can easily reschedule their flights without worrying about the change fee.

Flexi Fare provides travellers the flexibility to make unlimited changes to the flights at a very small premium over the regular fare. Both the corporate and leisure customers travelling with IndiGo will now have wider choices to make changes at lower premium.

In addition to the Flexi Fare product, 6E has also extended the student and senior citizen discounts until March 31, 2018. Under this scheme, students and senior citizens can get attractive discounts, not only on the onward journeys but even higher dis-counts on their round trips with IndiGo.

Rohit Kapur, President, BAOA

Jeh Wadia, MD, GoAir

Indian air traffic sees 15% YoY growth: ICRAThe air passenger traffic in India stood at 24.0 million in September 2017, exhibiting a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 15% over September 2016. According to an ICRA note, the YoY growth rate for aircraft traffic was 14% in September 2017.

Commenting on the develop-ment, Harsh Jagnani, Vice Pres-ident and Sector Head, Corpo-rate Ratings, ICRA Limited, said, “The YoY air passenger growth has remained robust at 15% in Sep-tember 2017, witnessing a slight increase from 14% YoY growth reported in August 2017. The growth has been driven primar-ily by increase in domestic pas-senger traffic, which constitutes around 79% of the total passenger traffic in the country and reported a 16.3% YoY growth in September 2017 as against 15.8% growth in August 2017.”

Overall, for Q2 FY 2017, the YoY passenger traffic growth has remained steady at 14%, which comes out as great the industry given that July-September is tra-ditionally considered to be a lean period. In line with the growth in passenger traffic, the aircraft traffic has also witnessed healthy increase, reporting YoY growth of 14% for September 2017 and 13% for Q2FY2018.

As per an ICRA note, the domes-tic passenger traffic growth after having grown at above 20% over the last two years, moderated to 16.3% in H1 FY2018. Though the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices remained

higher during H1 FY2018 on a YoY basis, the ability of the airlines to pass-on the same supported the profitability of the industry dur-ing H1 FY2018. Though there is a gradual improvement in the core growth drivers like economic envi-ronment, tourism demand and reg-ulatory support, airport infrastruc-ture remains a bottleneck for the industry’s growth potential. Going forward, strong demand during the peak season is expected to support the industry profitability during H2 FY2018.

According to Kinjal Shah, Assis-tant Vice President and Co-Head-Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, “The industry has done well to mitigate the impact of 8.7% Y-o-Y increase in ATF prices during H1 FY2018. The increased ability of the airlines to pass on the costs to the customers due to reduced competitive intensity has resulted in an increase in the revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK)-cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) spread for the airlines, and the financial performance of most of the airlines improved during the current year. With peak sea-son demand expected to be robust in H2 FY2018, the aggregate net loss of the industry is expected to reduce to INR 50 million to INR 1 billion in FY2018 from INR 10 bil-lion in the previous year. It has to be noted that the loss is primarily on account of losses of Air India, while all other major airlines are expected to report profits during the year.”

The Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) con-cluded its third edition of BizAVIndia Safety Workshop in Mumbai recently to facilitate a dialogue between operators and regulator on most pressing issues concerning safety standards for non-scheduled and charter operators.

With presence from operators, DGCA officials and international aviation experts, the half day workshop dis-cussed key issues, global trends and best practices for busi-ness aviation and general aviation in India.

Rohit Kapur, President, BAOA, said, “There are inher-ent risks to any act of aviation. We understand that the operating environment and challenges for business avia-tion and general aviation are different. The curated work-shop aims to highlight relevant perspectives and show-case BAOA’s efforts in following safety norms that meet the international standards.

“With this edition, we wanted to take a fresh look at strategies that bring safety efforts into the business frame-work of BA/GA aviation operations”, he added.

Maneesh Kumar, Director, Air Safety, DGCA appre-ciated BAOA for bringing the forum together. He edu-cated operators on the provisions for the new civil avia-tion requirement on safety management system and recent

safety audit by ICAO. RS Passi from DGCA’s Aircraft Acci-dent Investigation Bureau gave insights on link between approached for prevention of accidents and safety man-agement systems.

Capt. Pankaj Chopra, who is leading BAOA’s SMS and Safety Workshop Committee, gave the operators’ view-point to the audience and member representatives from the DGCA. Capt. Sameer Kohli, a global safety expert, shared some practical examples of safety management system’s implementation internationally.

BAOA organises BizAVIndia Safety Workshop

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 8 • india-Airlines

Vistara Getaways promises one-stop-shop for customisable holiday packages

Air India appoints Pradeep Singh Kharola as CMD

Jet Airways signs Enhanced Cooperation Agreement with Air France-KLMJet Airways and Air France-KLM recently signed a landmark ‘Enhanced Cooperation Agreement’ for the development of their operations between Europe and India. The cooperation agreement will see Jet Airways, Air France and KLM working together to develop their commercial and product offering. Customers will thus benefit from multiple travel options and seamless ser-vice throughout the three partners’ networks spanning 44 cities in India and 106 destinations across Europe.

Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways said, “The enhanced cooperation agreement between Jet Airways, Air France and KLM being signed during Jet Airways’ 25th year and Air France’s 70 years in India, represents the next stage in our journey of offering our valued guests greater choice, connectivity and comfort across our combined global networks.”

Jean-Marc Janaillac, Chairman and CEO, Air France-KLM, stated, “Air France-KLM and Jet Airways are launching the first cooperation agreement of its kind on the India-Europe route which is at the heart of the group’s strategy for the coming years. We are innovat-ing within the airline industry by offering connections with two partnerships for the first time.”

This agreement strengthens the partnership built between the three airlines since 2014. This cooperation was expanded in 2016 with an extensive code-share agreement for connections between Europe and North America and Jet Airways hubs at Mumbai and Delhi in India via Air France-KLM hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol.

Vistara recently announced the launch of Vistara Get-aways, a one stop shop for user-customisable holi-day packages. It covers flights, hotels, cars and sight-seeing options, with immense flexibility expected by discerning travellers. The package prices have been kept much attractive than the rates of individual components.

Commenting on the launch, Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “Plan-ning the perfect holiday involving air, hotel, car and sightseeing bookings can be an arduous and time-con-suming task. The introduction of Vistara Getaways is in line with our promise of providing more options along with a seamless world-class travel experience to our customers.”

Customers can choose holiday packages for as many as 35 cities in and around Vistara’s network of 21 des-tinations. The packages include convenient air travel options on Vistara, airport transfers as well as car rental options, carefully curated sightseeing tours and hotel stays, in partnership with leading hotel chains such as Taj, Hyatt, Radisson, Le Meridien and upscale boutique hotels.

In addition, ‘Vistara Getaways’ offers great flexibil-ity to travellers, enabling them to personalise their holi-day packages by choosing the duration of holidays, their preferred cabin class for air travel, options to upgrade hotels and the category of rooms, and even upgrade the choice of cars for local transportation. Customer can even choose to split their stay in a city in more than one hotel. As a part of ‘Vistara Getaways’, Vistara offers travel support to its customers at all times – before, dur-ing or after holidays, with a dedicated helpdesk.

Pradeep Singh Kharola is the newly appointed Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the dis-investment-bound national carrier. At Air India, he will oversee the transition of the carrier to a private entity. A senior IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre 1985 batch, previously Kharola was the Managing Director of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation.

Kharola has taken over as the CMD of the flagship carrier from Rajiv Bansal, now the Additional Sec-retary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He would be steering the national airline at a time when the government has started the process for its strategic disinvestment.

A regional airline headquartered in Bengaluru, Air Peg-asus, recently raised funds from a clutch of investors and is set to resume its operations from January. These investors will pump INR 20 crore into the airline for a 60% stake. A first tranche of INR 8 crore has already been disbursed. The airline will commence operations in the first half of January 2018.

“The carrier signed an agreement early this month with a Malaysian company to lease an ATR. The airline also expects to fly to Kochi, Madurai, Hubli and Vijay-awada initially. It already has four sets of pilots and the rest of the cabin crew in place. We are also planning to shortly apply for the UDAN scheme. It is good to have a mix of regional connectivity and tier two routes,” said Shyson Thomas, Managing Director, Air Pegasus.

The airline has now tied up with Dawn Aviation for the funds. With the funds in place, the banks have assured us that they will restructure the debt and release more funds for the working capital needs. Most part of the debt has now been settled, he said.

It has also leased an ATR 72-500 aircraft from US-based Amur Aviation, which will be pressed into ser-vice from January. It plans to get two more ATRs next year from Vietnam Airlines. The first ATR is currently parked with Sepang Aircraft Engineering, an MRO based out of Kuala Lumpur. It will undergo a 12-month check in December before being released to Air Pegasus.

Thomas said Pegasus has been able to get the aircraft

at a far lesser rate than before. It will pay $115,000 per month as leasing charges to Amur Aviation apart from a three-month deposit. “The rates have come down because the leasing companies have more confidence in the Indian aviation story than before. The Kingfisher Airlines debacle had made the leasing companies wary of airlines in India,” he pointed out.

The leasing companies used to charge $150,000-175,000 per month earlier with a six-month deposit. The promoters of the airline said the regulator, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is expected to lift the suspension of AOP (air operator permit) once the air-craft gets inducted into the fleet. The airline has already written to DGCA saying it will import the nine-year-old 72-seater aircraft.

Air Pegasus to resume operations from January

Pradeep Singh Kharola, CMD, Air India

L-R Jean-Marc Janaillac & Naresh Goyal

Shyson Thomas, MD, Air Pegasus

Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara

Alliance Air launches Jaipur-Agra flight under UDAN scheme

Air India Express, AI-SATS to be part of Air India sale The Government of India recently voiced its decision that the sale of Air India will involve its core aviation assets packaged with low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and AI-SATS, a ground-handling joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS).

All non-core assets, like the Air India build-ing in Mumbai and other offices, will not be part of the sale and become part of the special purpose vehicle (SPV), said sources.

Core aviation assets include aircraft, slots at airports and flying rights to various coun-tries. Both Air India Express, a no-frills over-seas carrier, and AI-SATS are profit-making subsidiaries of the airline. The other Air India arms - profit-making Air India Air Transport Services and loss-making Air India Engineer-ing Services will be sold separately.

Air India’s Alliance Air recently launched thrice a week direct flight service between Jaipur and Agra from December 8. The flight service is being launched under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik-Regional Con-nectivity Scheme (UDAN-RCS) and the airline will use an ATR aircraft.

The flight will depart every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 11 am from Jaipur and reach Agra by noon. During the return journey, the flight will depart from Agra at 13:15 and reach Jaipur at 14:15. The minimum fare for Jaipur-Agra flight is INR 2007 and Agra-Jaipur flight is INR 1680.

Meanwhile, maiden flights to Kishangarh airport commenced lately, with its first flight from Udaipur.

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 10INDIA-Travel Trade

Indiver Rastogi, President & Country Head-Corporate Travel, Thomas Cook (India)

Anshul Jain, GM & Director, Merlin Entertainments & Marcel Kloos, Director-New Openings, Europe and Emerging Markets, Merlin Enter-tainments with Salman Khan’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds Delhi

Jatinderpaul Singh, COO, Sales & Distribution, Cox & Kings, Vishal Kapoor, Cox & Kings Holiday Club Partner and Sangram Ghorpade, Head, Franchisee, Cox & Kings, at the launch of Holiday Club store in Mumbai

(L-R) Tushar Dhingra, CEO, SMAAASH, Sachin Tendulkar & Ashok Cherian, CMO, SMAAASH, at the launch

UNIGLOBE and Goomo partner for expansion

Cox & Kings’ first Holiday Club store opens in Mumbai

Thomas Cook India driving 30% of corporate business from Click2Book Thomas Cook (India) Group witnessed a significant shift in its corporate travel bookings with 30% of its overall business currently being contributed by its online self-booking tool, Click2Book along with over 30% YoY increase in adoption over the last three years. What is significant is that the uptake is not restricted to multi-national companies or India’s top corporate houses, but equally the company’s small and medium scale businesses.

Speaking about this development, Indiver Ras-togi, President and Country Head-Corporate Travel, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said, “Our investing in a smart corporate self-booker was a strategic impera-tive to capitalise on the strong potential online corpo-rate market. Our endeavour to load strong benefits that strike an exceptional balance of travel budget health/compliance with desired financial outcomes is deliver-ing a highly satisfied customer base which continues to grow at a rate of over 30% year on year.”

UNIGLOBE Travel and Goomo have entered into a strategic partnership to further expand their omni-channel presence in the booming South Asian travel market and add more diversity to Goomo’s suite of travel products, which can be availed either online or through a specialist agent.

Raja Natesan, CEO, UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia), said, “Our association with a dynamic plat-form like Goomo presents a unique opportunity to target both offline and online consumers through the convenience of an omni-channel platform and the assurance of a knowledgeable travel expert.”

Varun Gupta, CEO, Goomo, cited, “Clients have the right to choose the channel they’re most com-fortable with while booking their travel. That’s precisely what our partnership with UNIGLOBE promises – a one-stop shop for our clients to access the best online and offline travel deals and products, so they don’t have to bother looking elsewhere.”

Cox & Kings recently launched its first Holiday Club store in Mumbai to cater to the increasing demand for holiday products. The store located at Dadar will cater to the discerning clientele located in the region through innovative offers and customised solutions, both domestic and international.

Karan Anand, Head-Relationships, Cox & Kings said, “Central Mumbai is now the hub of retail activ-ity and our Holiday Club store is perfectly positioned to engage with customers on a one-on-one basis, as they seek personal engagement in making sure they have a memorable holiday.’’

This is the fourth Holiday Club store in India. The other three stores are located in New Delhi.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The gates of the immersive wax attraction, Madame Tus-sauds, owned by Merlin Entertainments, were thrown open in Delhi at Regal Building, Connaught Place on December 1. Covering over two floors, the attraction currently houses 50 wax statues under the Film, Sports, History and Leaders, Music and Party segments. 60% of them are Indian celebrities while 40% are global who’s who across sections (except History section). All figures are made in London and cost around 1.5 to 2.5 crores.

This must-see attraction can accommodate 500 peo-ple at a time. The timings are 10 am to 7:30 pm, all days open except for schools and groups at attractive rates. By booking online on the brand’s webpage, visitors can avail INR 100 off on the ticket price of INR 960 for adults and INR 760 for kids below 11 years. INR 2900 is a spe-cial rate kept for a family of four where a guidebook is given as a free gift.

“It’s a complete selfie experience where we wouldn’t want to disturb the visitors. It will not be a guided tour but visitors can use the available props and shoot selfies with their favourite stars. Guided tours can be offered to

school groups on request. We expect 2500 visitors on an average per day. Every year, Merlin will add or replace 10-15 figures, so visitors can expect newness every time they visit,” confirmed Anshul Jain, General Manager and Director, Merlin Entertainments India. He also shared that Merlin is contemplating on the opportunity to get Legoland and Sea Life experience to India.

merlin entertainments unveils world’s 23rd madame Tussauds in delhi

In another development, the company also strength-ened its presence in Pune with two new franchise “Gold Circle Partner” outlets in Viman Nagar and Kothrud and one in Delhi at East Centre Mall, Laxmi Nagar. All three outlets were inaugurated by Romil Pant, Senior Vice President-Leisure Travel, Thomas

Cook (India) Ltd. This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in Pune to six consumer access centres: two owned branches and four Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets and 16 in Delhi with six owned branches, 10 Gold Circle Part-ner (franchise) outlets.

Gold Circle Partner outlets’ expand in Pune and Delhi

SMAAASH debuts in Delhi and enhances presence in NCRBrand Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar launched SMAAASH, an urban sports park at the Ambience Mall both in Vasant Kunj and Gurugram, Delhi-NCR. He also unveiled the new brand logo of SMAAASH and the brand ethos “Can’t Stop Playing.”

Shripal Morakhia, Chief Imagination Officer, SMAAASH Entertainment, said, “All the games here are like the three A’s of SMAAASH – Amazing, Aspi-rational and Awesome. We are the best place for cele-brations, as one can eat, play and party, all under one roof. Also, considering the changing tastes of the con-sumers, we will be regularly introducing new gaming concepts. With our presence across 26 centres in 13 cit-ies and growing, SMAAASH aims to change the way our country celebrates each day.”

The newly revived 50,000 sq ft centres are the next

links in the chain of this urban sports park. SMAAASH in Ambience, Gurugram has two exciting new Golf based games – Golf Showdown and Mini Jungle Golf and SMAAASH in Ambience, Vasant Kunj has Laser Blast - a trippy Laser Tag arena for group games. All the sports enthusiasts can experience unique adrenaline

rush with a variety of highly advanced virtual reality games. At the in-house café and bar at SMAAASH vis-itors can enjoy hearty meals and heady drinks.

After the recent acquisition, SMAAASH has trans-formed the earlier bluOs into the multi-sensorial expe-rience of gaming and entertainment.

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 12INDIA-Hospitality

IHG & SAMHI partner to expand Holiday Inn Express portfolio in India

Westin debuts in Kolkata with Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat

Fern announces two new openings in Himachal Pradesh and Kolkata

The Fern Hotels & Resorts marked its foray in Him-achal Pradesh with the launch of The Fern Surya Resort, Dharampur (Kasauli Hills) and another property in Eastern India with Ibiza The Fern Resort & Spa, Kolkata.

Expressing his delight, Suhail Kannampilly, COO, The Fern Hotels and Resorts, said, “The launch of these

two new properties has taken the tally of hotels man-aged by the company to 52. We are trying to consolidate our position in the eastern and northern part of India and are hopeful of managing a few more hotels in the near future.”

The Fern Surya Resort, Dharampur is placed 55km from Chandigarh Airport and 5 km from Dharampur Railway Station. Located in the heart of the hills, the resort currently has 22 operating rooms in two catego-ries: Winter Green Room and Winter Green Premium Room. The rooms are generously proportioned with eco-friendly bathroom amenities and contemporary furni-ture, state of the art facilities. The catch of the resort is its multi-cuisine restaurant - Celeste, which serves sump-tuous food from different parts of the country.

Ibiza The Fern Resort & Spa, Kolkata is situated at a 45km from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport and is 32km from Howrah Railway Station. Spread across 20 acres offering all modern facilities in the tranquil and soothing milieu, it houses 110 rooms in five different cat-egories and has one of the largest banqueting facilities, both indoors as well as outdoors. A multi-cuisine restau-rant - Dolce Vita which means ‘sweet life’ is a star attrac-tion of the resort. The hotel also provides a plethora of indoor and outdoor activities for traveller’s delight.

The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has part-nered with SAMHI to rebrand approximately 2,000 rooms (operating and under-construction) within its India hotel portfolio, to Holiday Inn Express hotels. The recently signed portfolio comprises 14 hotels, including 10 open hotels across key cities such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. The additional four hotels are under-construction. The signing sees IHG growing its pipeline to 41 hotels.

Sudeep Jain, Vice President-Development,

South West Asia, IHG, asserted, “We have recently announced our partnership with SAMHI for conver-sion of their existing mid-market hotel portfolio in India to Holiday Inn Express brand. With this sign-ing, we now have close to 60 hotels open and in the pipeline, across the Holiday Inn brand family. SAMHI is keen to accelerate Holiday Inn Express’ highly effi-cient operating model and engage the brand’s grow-ing familiarity with the country.”

Ashish Jakhanwala, Managing Director and CEO, SAMHI, added, “We are delighted to be partner-ing with IHG and bringing their world class Holi-day Inn Express brand into our business portfolio. We look forward to working with IHG to develop the brand further and create an excellent offering for our domestic as well as international guests across Tier-I cities in India, where there has been a noteworthy increase in demand for quality accommodation in mid-segment.”

Westin Hotels and Resorts, part of Marriott Inter-national Inc., continues to expand its portfolio with the opening of its eighth hotel in India – The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat. It is also the second hotel in Kolkata and East India under the Marri-ott International portfolio and the first under the Westin Hotels and Resorts brand.

Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President-South Asia, Marriott International, said, “The opening of the second Marriott hotel in Kolkata and the first under the Westin brand, marks a great milestone for Marriott International. After tapping the lux-ury market, it was but a matter of time before we presented one of our premium brands to the city of Kolkata. The hotel will offer a restorative retreat in the heart of the new business district of Rajar-hat with Westin’s signature offerings that will fuel and energise our guests’ experience.”

Located eight kilometres from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport and a kilome-tre away from the International Convention Cen-tre, the Westin Kolkata Rajarhat is built over eight acres. The property features 314 well-appointed guestrooms and suites and each room boasts of an unobstructed view of the Kolkata skyline.

For an enriching culinary experience, the prop-erty features a range of premium F&B venues such as Seasonal Tastes, the all-day dining restaurant; EEST fine dining restaurant and the Lounge Bar, a casual meeting place.

The hotel offers 50,000 square feet of flexible function space, ideal for meeting, conferences, corporate events and weddings. Over 2,000 square meters in the hotel are dedicated to Heav-enly Spa by Westin and WestinWorkout fitness studio.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is planning to expand its presence in India with the signing of 12 new hotels this year. The signings add to Carlson Rezidor’s robust pipeline in India where it currently holds a portfolio of 140 hotels in operation and under devel-opment across 60 Indian cities, including 16 state capitals.

The new hotel signings are focused across Carl-son Rezidor’s global brands Radisson Blu, Radis-son, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson. With the announcement of Radisson RED in Mohali, Chandigarh last year, Carl-son Rezidor’s South Asia portfolio now constitutes six well-established and differentiated global brands.

Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer-South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said, “The signing momentum is indicative of the strength of our brands and the value we bring to our owner relationships. We are a dominant international brand in India and our robust pipeline is targeted at state capitals and regional markets with efficient connectivity. We have 85 hotels in operation in the country where we con-tinue to sign a new hotel every four weeks and open a hotel every six weeks.”

The soon to be unveiled hotels comprise Radisson Blu Dehradun (2021); Radisson Jodhpur (December 2017); Radisson Mumbai Goregaon (December 2017); Radisson Bengaluru City Center (Q1 2018); Radis-son Zirakpur (Q2 2018); Radisson Mumbai Andheri MIDC (2019); Radisson Goa Baga (2019); Radisson

Bhopal (2020); Radisson Kufri (2020); Radisson Rewa (2020); Park Plaza Kaushambi (Q4 2018) and Country Inn & Suites by Carlson Bareilly (2021).

carlson Rezidor eyes India expansion with 12 new signings

Raj Rana, CEO-South Asia, Carlson Rezidor

Suhail Kannampilly, COO, The Fern Hotels and Resorts

Poolside at The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat

IHG & SAMHI representatives

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 13 INDIA-Hospitality •

The Neonz Club

(L) Ramesh Ramanathan, MD, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited

Grub Capitol debuts in the strategic location of North Delhi

WelcomHeritage adds its first farm-stay property - Ranjit Vilas, Amritsar

Sterling relaunches brand; eyes doubling of properties and room capacitySterling Holiday Resorts Limited unveiled its new, con-temporary brand in keeping with its new service phi-losophy of delivering experiences and discoveries in the areas of local cuisine, art, culture, history, nature, adventure etc. both within and outside the resort, for its guests. From night safaris and nature walks to authen-tic culinary experiences and culture trails, Sterling is seeking to offer its guests many different ways to have memorable experiences and discoveries. The company is initiating a complete marketing and brand plan for the new Sterling.

The new brand identity reflects this essence and proposition. The design is youthful, vibrant, and con-temporary. “Sterling” is written in a free flowing hand-written font and is supported by a dynamic “Swirl” mnemonic that reminds one of the pinwheel. The Swirl represents movement and dynamism and gives the identity a sense of motion. Purple as the key logo colour, is quite unique, and connotes the brand prom-ise of “discoveries and experiences.”

Commenting on expansion, Ramesh Ramanathan, Managing Director, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, said, “We have been working on developing our new service philosophy and brand standards over the last few years and are now ready to make our customers

holiday differently. I am delighted to present the new Sterling Brand that will stand for great service, unique experiences and amazing discoveries.”

Sterling would be focussing on an asset optimized model as a route to scale and expects to double room capacity and scale up to 50 properties over the next four to five years. To support the new expansion plans, the company has transformed its brand identity completely.

“Over the past few years, we have invested in revamp of existing resorts and launch of new ones. Our focus will be on delivery and service for all kinds of holiday-ers. In the process, we would also be contributing to the local economies, creating jobs and taking the brand abroad to places where Indians holiday,” Ramanathan added.

In another development, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited announced the appointment of Anand Ram-chandran as the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Sterling, he was the Zonal Vice President at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. In his new role, he will be looking after the operational aspects of the com-pany with responsibility to deliver on financial perfor-mance, customer acquisition and engagement, reve-nue maximisation, human resources and IT, amongst others.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

GC Ventures recently announced the launch of their new F&B outlet – Grub Capitol near Hudson Lane in North Delhi. The grand launch of this new restaurant saw the special invitees drooling over delicacies and chilled drinks with foot tapping music.

Grub Capitol is divided into two floors – the lower floor is for fine dining amidst light music while the second floor has more of a loungy area for the younger lot. The place offers 70 covers. Chef Juscool Singh, of merely 25 years of age has passionately handcrafted the multi-cuisine menu.

Talking to Travel News Digest exclusively, Namita Sood, Director, GC Ventures said, “This is our first foray into the F&B sector and we have targeted the strategic loca-tion of North Delhi. With a big chunk of the university goers and other student population residing in the vicinity, Gub Capitol offers scrumptious food and chilling ambi-ence to unwind, keeping it pocket-friendly.” Grub Cap-itol will hopefully be getting the liquor license by early next year.

She highlighted that the youngsters living in this part of the city are running to South Delhi or NCR for party-ing at cool joints. With the launch of Grub Capitol, Sood aims to prove that F&B offerings in north of Delhi are no less than South Delhi.

Going forward, she further plans to organise open mics, stand-up comedy, etc. and capitalise on the launch month which is also a festive month. Among her market-ing initiatives, Sood eyes tie-ups with local event book-ing portals.

WelcomHeritage recently announced the launch of its 33rd property - Ranjit Vilas in Amritsar, Punjab under the ‘Nature Resort’ category. Located 4 km away from Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport and 8 km from Amritsar Junction Railway Station, the property features 20 exquisitely designed Execu-tive Rooms, each with a personal courtyard and two well-appointed Suites.

The in-house restaurant – The Indian Rasoi serves authentic Indian cuisine with a village-like flavour, offering all-day dining a-la-carte menu. The restaurant serves complimentary hi-tea to all the guests residing at the property.

Developed and approved by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) under its Farm Tourism Scheme, WelcomeHeritage Ran-jit Vilas is a joint venture among four family mem-bers of Late Sardar Ranjit Singh Makhni. He dreamt of making his grandchildren stay together in an authentic Punjabi farmhouse and reminisce the rich-ness of Punjabi culture.

Talking about the collaboration, Sunil Gupta, CEO, WelcomHeritage shared, “At WelcomHer-itage we are committed to promoting the Indian cul-ture and heritage and Ranjit Vilas is a beautiful bou-tique property which is an authentic reflection of the Indian hospitality and inheritance. Also, it is the brand’s first farm-stay property and brings the per-fect amalgamation of rustic feel of India with hospi-tality values and rich heritage of the country.”

RCI, a holiday exchange brand and part of the Wyn-dham Worldwide family of brands, announced its affiliation with Gujarat’s lifestyle and recreation hub, The Neonz Club. Located around the Anand district in Gujarat and 45 minutes’ drive from Ahmedabad, The Neonz Club is a 15 acre property housing luxu-rious royal villas based on various geographical/cul-tural themes such as African, Chinese, Egyptian and Indian, amongst others.

The resort also boasts of four restaurants - Shami-yana, Neonz Café, Royal Dining and Cinn’amore offer-ing various delectable cuisines. The estate includes a mini golf course, tennis court and basketball and vol-leyball court for a healthy dose of sporting activities to be enjoyed.

Welcoming this partnership with Neonz Club, Sabina Chopra, Managing Director, RCI India, cited, “Through this affiliation, we aim to provide our mem-bers with superior experiences while adding a touch of luxury, adventure and fun.”

Sureshbhai S Patel, Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, The Neonz Club, said, “RCI resonates with our core values and it is only befitting for us to forge this partnership. Through this alliance, we are sure

to reach out to many more discerning travellers and expand our horizon, not just nationally, but also to the global audience at large.”

RcI partners with Gujarat-based The Neonz club

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 14Business & MiCe

TCEB launches two new mobile apps

Egencia Advantage to help business travellers throughout their journey

ICCA 2017 opens to a record footfall at Prague Congress CentreThe International Congress and Convention Associa-tion (ICCA) chose Prague as the 56th destination of its congress. Over 1,264 congress industry experts from 79 countries from around the world came to Prague to attend the event. Dubai has now begun the count-down to host 2018 ICCA Congress. The ICCA Board of Directors has selected Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, on the island of Taiwan, as the host destination for the 2020 Congress.

The Prague Congress Centre (PCC) had been pre-paring for the congress, which was organised by the Prague Convention Bureau with the support of more

than 40 local partners very carefully. The recon-structed premises, the new corporate identity, the dig-ital navigation system, state of art technologies and, in fact, the revival of the whole building had laid a solid foundation for the preparation of a successful event that was of great importance not only to the PCC but as well to Prague.

In another development, ICCA is now a CAE Approved Provider, meaning ICCA’s education ses-sions meet the requirements for fulfilling the profes-sional development requirements to earn or maintain the Certified Association Executive credential.

To cater to digital needs of MICE travellers and event organisers, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) unveiled the bureau’s online market-ing performance via different digital platforms which connects Thailand with event organisers and MICE travellers from around the world. The bureau is mov-ing forward with the development of digital strate-gies, launching two new mobile applications, Smart BIZ Event and Smart BIZ Organizer, which are a rev-olution in convenience for Thailand’s MICE industry.

Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President, TCEB, said that TCEB is one of the leading agencies which have been supporting and driving Thailand’s MICE industry by the use of technology, creativity, and innovation. The actions are in line with the Thai Government’s Digital Economy Policy as well as the Thailand 4.0.

“TCEB’s strategy focuses on the development of innovations. We aim to catch up with the digital trend and respond to the demand of MICE organisers and travellers in the digital era. In the fiscal year 2017, the target markets show a great response to our activities which include the development of our website, online sales and marketing channels, as well as online mar-keting communications,” added Ayuthaya.

Egencia, the business travel arm of the Expedia group announced Egencia Advantage- a new global programme of services designed to support business travellers throughout their entire journey. From air-port lounge access, to traveller risk management, travel visa services and beyond, the new programme provides travellers with extra perks that improve satisfaction on the road for greater efficiency and productivity, while giving companies the means to improve their travel programmes.

Mark Hollyhead, Chief Operating Officer, Egen-cia said, “As a leading travel management company (TMC), we are going beyond booking to offer trav-ellers the best-in-class integrated experience at all touch points that makes corporate travel as efficient and enjoyable as possible.”

Under Egencia Advantage, global aggregator of airport lounge information - LoungeBuddy will ease the experience for business travellers if they are delayed at the airport or have a long layover. Through a global network of partners including CIBT visas, Egencia now offers unrivalled travel visa processing services, which include visa application, renewal or replacement needs around the world.

AirHelp will facilitate business travellers to apply for compensation from the respective airlines follow-ing a flight disruption. AirHelp supports passen-gers who experience a delayed or cancelled flight, or a missed connection within the EU, leaving the EU or arriving in the EU with a European airline.

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) appointed Ashish Kishore as the new Managing Direc-tor for GBT, India. He will be responsible for GBT’s busi-ness in India and will be part of the Asia Pacific lead-ership team, reporting into Elyes Mrad, Managing Director, International, GBT.

Earlier, Kishore was the Vice President at Yatra.com, where he was responsible for the development of prod-ucts, marketing and sales across the hotel and holiday area of the business. Prior to joining Yatra.com, he was the National Sales Head for the FIT Leisure division at Kuoni.

Expressing his delight, Kishore said, “GBT has an excellent reputation in India, largely due to its signif-icant investment in technology, supported by excep-tional traveller care. This is an exciting time to be join-ing the company, and I look forward to working with Elyes and the team.”

Commenting on the appointment, Elyes asserted, “Ashish’s extensive travel industry knowledge and experience, gained from his leadership roles in the sector, make him an ideal person to lead our busi-ness locally. He has a proven track record of grow-ing travel businesses in India into thriving, successful companies through product development, expanding

into new sectors and implementing best practice in operational areas. I am delighted to welcome him to the organisation.”

American express Global Business Travel appoints Ashish Kishore as md-India

Ashish Kishore, MD-India, American Express Global Business Travel

(R) Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President, TCEB launching the mobile app

ICCA announced Flanders Meeting and Convention Center as the winner of this year’s ICCA Best Mar-keting Award at the Closing Ceremony of the 56th ICCA Congress in Prague, Czech Republic. The “A room with a zoo” campaign, promotes the new con-vention centre in Antwerp, Belgium, with a purpose to introduce conservation in the meeting industry.

Patrick Delaney, Judging Panel Chairman, Best Marketing Award said, “The winning campaign shows the power of how meetings and conferences

have a positive social and economic impact, not only on the local society and economy but also on the wider global community. The ability of their cam-paign to create a genuine authentic legacy that con-nects us all sets a great example for our industry.”Anja Stas, Chief Commercial Officer, FMCCA, said, “We are honoured with this great recognition from our industry’s peers from all over the world. I dedi-cate this award to my whole team because they made this all possible!”

ICCA honours Flanders Meeting and Convention Center’s campaign

(L-R) Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA, Nina Freysen-Pretorius President, ICCA_ Anja Stas, CCO, FMCCA & David Chapple, Group Event Director, Meetings Show

7

India is the fastest growing business travel market in the world.

Delhi is a major business hub of India, with decent buyer potential of Business, MICE and Luxury Travel spending. In addition to hundreds of buyers from the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), BLTM will provide you guaranteed visit of hundreds of Hosted Buyers from all major cities in India.

According to GBTA: "More than any other country, India is poised for breakout growth. It forecasts 11.6 percent growth in business travel spending in 2017, to reach $36.8 billion USD. GBTA projects India will become the 6th largest business travel market in the world by the end of 2019, to reach $45 billion mark." (From its present position of 10th largest market in the world) "Fifteen years from now, India will likely be a top-five market in business travel spending"

BLTM unlike other shows in this category so far, is not a table top show, but a full format booth and pavilion based show, at even better pricing and inclusion. (According to industry analysts, table top shows do not do justice to seller brands, hence full format shows are most popular globally).

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 16 • Business & MiCe

The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is busy gearing up to deliver the ultimate delegate experience in 2018, with 30 confirmed major high-profile events already on its calendar. These events are expected to attract close to 440,000 delegates and visitors to the centre.

Speaking on the sidelines of its 11th consecutive atten-dance at the Global Meetings & Events Expo (IBTM) World 2017, Angeline van den Broecke, Director-Sales and Marketing, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, shared, “Our philosophy of delivering innovative and value-add solutions that are personalised through our partnership approach, creating bespoke experiences and memorable customer journeys, has been accepted and embraced by clients across the board. Our highly knowledgeable and professional team, commitment to continuous investment in venue maintenance and

efforts to adapt our business model to meet new expecta-tions and market conditions, have also played an impor-tant part in why we have such a strong calendar of events to look forward to next year.”

The centre’s expansion also continues to progress and is due to be completed in mid-2019. The extension will provide an additional 11,000 sqm of flexible and multi-purpose space, which means more room to comfortably accommodate larger exhibitions and international asso-ciation meetings, as well as concurrent events, allowing new and current clients to grow their activities and/or events significantly. The mixed-use commercial devel-opment will enhance the Centre’s existing world-class infrastructure, grow Kuala Lumpur’s reputation as a premier business events destination and help attract more international events to Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre to host over 30 high-profile events in 2018

Indonesia to host MICE Event ASEAN 2018 Meet in Reykjavík announces a brand-new website

Indonesia has been chosen to host the Meeting, Incen-tive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) Business Event ASEAN 2018 from April 9 -11 at ICE BSD, Tangerang. Themed “Destin-ASEAN-plus: For meetings and events”, the exhibition will be graced by 200 suppliers, 300 international buyers and 200 Indonesian buyers.

According to Esthy Reko Astuti, Deputy Develop-ment-Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Tourism, Indo-nesia, “MICE tourism is one of the top five contributors for foreign tourists alongside shopping and culinary tourism, heritage and religious tourism, marine tour-ism and sports tourism. Foreign tourists who come for MICE events have the average spending up to three to five times higher than regular tourists. They also usu-ally come in groups and have the tendency to visit the place again in the future.”

Indra Sukirno, Committee Head of the event, said, “The invited buyers are expected to bring in a minimum of US$625 million worth of business transaction for the next three years. Whilst buyers consist of executives, associations, corporations, event organisers and con-sultants, both buyers and sellers will meet in pre-sched-uled-appointment sessions held every 20 minutes.”

The total population of ASEAN countries can reach up to 600 million people. Added with the pop-ulation of affiliated countries such as United States, China and India, the total number is amounted to 90%

the total world population. The participants of the event consist of hotels, cruise lines, theme and recre-ational parks, event organisers and destination man-agement companies. Other activities that will be fea-tured in the exhibition include Golf Friendly Game, Marathon Meeting, One-Day Conference, Investruc-ture Business Forum and other educational and net-working activities.

Meet in Reykjavík recently launched a brand-new website which is visually advanced yet easy to navigate. Through the new website, MICE planners can easily discover why Ice-land is the perfect destination for their next MICE event.

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

Taipei International Convention Center

Esthy Reko Astuti, Deputy Development-Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia

SITE recently announced its partnership with Meeting Professionals International (MPI) to bring SITE + MPI Global Forum from January 12-14, 2018, in Rome, Italy. This event will gather the best and the brightest across the meetings and incentive travel industries to power expanded connections, education and destination explo-ration. Registrations are open now.

Rome to play host to SITE + MPI Global Forum 2018

To advance the conference industry, Meet Taiwan, sponsored by Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade and implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Develop-ment Council (TAITRA), intends to enhance the con-ference environment with complete and advanced development of different industries, such as medi-cal biotechnology, science, and IT. Furthermore, Meet Taiwan will integrate useful resources by cooperat-ing with related organisations, such as NGOs, INGOs, PCOs, and local and central governments to engage more potential buyers and meet their needs.

Moreover, to accumulate conference capabilities, Meet Taiwan continues to spare no effort to discover and develop domestic resources. According to statistics,

most of Taiwan’s small and medium-sized international conferences are initiated by professors from colleges and universities. Meet Taiwan provides a one-stop ser-vice, encouraging and supporting bid applications for international conferences. Meet Taiwan also provides a communication platform for NGOs and PCOs, so all parties involved may easily exchange information.

With an advantageous geographical location, near China, Japan, and Southern Asia, annually, over 400 international conferences are held in Taiwan. Advanced and convenient services are provided by high-tech applications, which Taiwan is particularly well-known for, such as mobile apps, which are espe-cially useful to practice paperless meetings.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), a global travel man-agement company, has appointed David Falter as President of RoomIt, the company’s hotel distribu-tion division, effective December 18. Based in Room-It’s Chicago office, he will report to Kurt Ekert, Pres-ident and CEO of CWT. Scott Brennan, who led the launch phase of the business, will become Chief Growth Officer of RoomIt.

Falter is a six-time CEO and Board Director who has successfully led companies ranging from $25 mil-lion to more than $1 billion across numerous indus-tries – including electronic travel distribution, busi-ness services, systems integration and software development, and cloud-based storage. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Antenna International and Managing Partner of Acorn Growth Partners Inc. Falter is also a non-executive Director at BizPay.

“Dave brings a wealth of business acumen and experience to the team, and I am delighted to wel-come him to CWT,” said Kurt Ekert adding, “He has a terrific track record of leading growth, and with his technology and travel sector background, I am confident he will accelerate RoomIt’s performance, while Scott will focus wholly on executing our growth plans.”

Meet Taiwan to enhance conference environmentCarlson Wagonlit Travel announces David Falter as President of RoomIt

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 18ASIA

Singapore Tourism delights Indian travellers with vegetarian food guide

Air Astana plans to launch direct flights from Mumbai by 2019

Thailand hosts Mega FAM Trip 2017 for over 300 agents and media

Brunei Tourism highlights Belait tour packages

Macao promotes culture to enhance city’s heritage

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in collabo-ration with Thai Airways International, Bangkok Air-ways and EVA Airways, hosted over 300 travel agents and media from around the world on the Thailand Mega FAM Trip 2017.

Soraya Homchuen, Director-Mumbai, Tourism Authority of Thailand, said, “To highlight TAT’s new marketing concept ‘Open to the New Shades of Thailand’, we wanted to give the trade and media a first-hand expe-rience of this new marketing concept in Thailand that encourages visitors to discover a new perspective on Thai-land, with existing as well as new places and attractions.”

The focus of this campaign is to give more attention to enjoying unique local experiences and inclusive tour-ism, reflecting Thainess and the Thai people’s warmth in welcoming visitors. Within this, there is a focus on spe-cific customer segments; such as, gastronomy tourism,

luxury, weddings and honeymoons, families, female trav-ellers and Gen Y.

Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Chon Buri, Surat Thani, Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Nan, Phrae, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, and Nakhon Ratchasima were covered during the FAM.

Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, recently launched new packages for the Belait Dis-trict at Oil and Gas Discovery Centre, Seria. Belait, is the largest as well as the westernmost coastal district in Brunei and is the heart of the oil and gas industry.

The eight Belait Destination Packages comprises Oil and Gas Town Heritage Drive, Weekend Cultural Experience, Scenic Belait River (Day Cruise), Sunset Dinner Experience (Evening Cruise), Labi Nature Tour, Chasing Teraja Waterfalls, Teraja Labi Belait Birdwatching and Tech Dive Belait.

The Government of Macao will be implement-ing a new development strategy to promote ‘Cul-tural Macao’ to strengthen the city’s heritage. It will increase practical training for appropriate profes-sions whilst increasing the protection of the city’s heritage.

The government also aspires to increase the num-ber of professional and international branding con-ventions by nurturing the fast-growing MICE indus-try through a flagship strategy - ‘Elevating Macao into a City of Events.’

For Cultural Macao, a list of Macao’s intangible cultural heritage will be compiled, establishing a her-itage monitoring mechanism, and commencing the formulation of the plan for protection and manage-ment of the historic centre of Macao by-law.

Culture popularisation projects and art education projects will be implemented to encourage original creativity, enhanced cultural connections and the showcasing of the uniqueness of Macao’s diversi-fied culture, enriching, in parallel with the cultural life of local residents.

Keeping in mind the spe-cific dietary requirements that Indian visitors to Sin-gapore may have, Singa-pore Tour-ism Board is offering a Veg-etarian Food Guide, under the campaign ‘Passion made Possible’, to ensure that being vegetar-ian shouldn’t be a challenge.

GB Srithar, Regional Director-South Asia, Mid-dle East and Africa, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “This first of its kind food guide by Singapore Tour-ism for vegetarian travellers has sections on vegan, gluten-free and even organic food. It highlights infor-mation on the best places to eat and where to find specific ingredients, cooking classes that Indian trav-ellers can sign up for and food-related souvenirs to shop.”

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, recently celebrated 13 years of connecting India to Kazakhstan and Eurasia. Speaking at the occasion, Peter Foster, President and Chief Executive Offi-cer, Air Astana, said that they aim to expand in the Indian market further with hopefully direct flight connectivity from Mumbai by 2019.

“The carrier eyes increasing the operations between Delhi and Astana to atleast five times a week from the existing thrice a week. Going forward, start-ing off non-stop flights from Mumbai is next on our cards logically and we hope for a 2019 launch. The potential is huge in the Indian market and we have only scratched the surface,” he highlighted.

Expansion plans of the carrier in Asia are under-way with more flights connecting Astana to Bangkok and China and Almaty to Hong Kong. The airline will also be adding 25 new aircraft in next three years.

Bulat Sarsenbayev, Ambassador, Republic of Kazakhstan in India shared that 12,000 Indian vis-itors travelled to Astana, the capital city of Kazakh-stan in 2016, comprising 5,000 business visitors. This year so far, Astana has already witnessed 8,500 busi-ness arrivals from India, he exclaimed adding that Kazakhstan is eyeing 40% increase from the Indian market each year.

Kazakhstan’s full-service carrier currently oper-ates daily flight between Almaty and Delhi and thrice weekly between Astana and Delhi.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The Korea Culture and Tourism Festival 2017, the two-day festival was held at Ambience Mall, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR to showcase Korea’s rich art, culture and heritage. The event was inaugurated by Min Hong Min, Executive Vice President, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), along with Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.

Representatives from regional tourism boards of South Korea and related organisations such as Gyeonggi Tour-ism Organisation, Gimhae City, Busan Metropolitan City, Busan Tourism Organisation, Jeollabuk Do, Gwangju Met-ropolitan City, Gwangju Convention and Visitors Bureau, Incheon International Airport Corporation and Visit Korea Committee came down for the event.

Speaking to Travel News Digest, Jong Sool Kwon, Direc-tor-India, KTO said that the mall activity aimed at boost-ing the leisure travellers from India. “We will be doing spe-cial promotions with the airlines and pushing film tourism further next year. To ease travel, the connectivity has been sorted to a great extent. We are further working on con-necting South Korea with South India. Visa relaxations are under-discussion.”

On the MICE front, Korea Tourism is open to assist new corporate brands for site inspection in Korea. Experienc-ing Korea first-hand will eventually make them come back, he assured.

The Korea Tourism online training programme has already crossed over 500 registrations in the fourth month itself, which was targeted for a six-month period.

“The online training programme has increased the awareness about the destination and its tourism prod-ucts. Undoubtedly, they will assist the trade in designing best tour packages to Korea. Post seeing the response to the existing modules, we plan to add new ones,” shared Vanshika Kapoor, Manager-India, Trade Relations and PR, KTO.

Korean offerings showcased at Korea culture and Tourism Festival 2017 in delhi-NcR

(L-R) Jong Sool Kwon, Director-India, Korea Tourism Organisation & Min Hong Min, Executive VP, Korea Tourism Organisation

L-R Bulat Sarsenbayev, Ambassador, Republic of Kazakhstan, Peter Foster, President & CEO, Air Astana & Virendra Teotia, Director, Umrao Group

GB Srithar, Regional Director-South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board

Grand procession

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 19OCEANIA

According to its recently released Annual Report for 2016-17, New Zea-land saw total visitor arrival numbers increase by 10% to 3.6 million last year, and holiday arrivals increase by 12% (1.9 million) and is leading world tour-ism trends with record international visitor arrivals.

The leading source markets for vis-itors to New Zealand remained US (up 26.4%), Germany (up 14.6%), Austra-lia (with 1.4 million visitors, up 6.2%), China (up 0.3%), the UK (up 14.3%) and Japan (up 7.3%).

In their Annual Report foreword, Kerry Prendergast, Chairman, Tour-ism New Zealand and Stephen Eng-land-Hall, Chief Executive announced, “One of our key objectives for FY17 was to continue our work in shift-ing the seasonal profile of arrivals by

investing all marketing funds into pro-moting New Zealand holidays in the shoulder and off-peak seasons. We are thrilled to see this working with a combined 13.1% increase in spring 2016 and autumn 2017 arrivals against peak summer growth of 8.3%.”

“We began the year by launching a new 100% Pure New Zealand cam-paign with Hollywood director James Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis Cam-eron sharing their personal stories and insights while exploring some of our most beautiful places. Australian supermodel and actress Megan Gale continued as our ambassador pro-moting spring and autumn holidays to Australian cyclists, and Pete’s Dragon lead actress Bryce Dallas Howard has now joined Tourism New Zealand as an ambassador,” said England-Hall.

Tourism Australia has released a new special interest training module, Self-Drive Australia, on the Aussie Special-ist Program to educate travel sellers on inspiring journeys around the country as well as rules and regulations for safe driving.

The online training module is avail-able in English with a range of support-ing factsheets for each state and territory with links to detailed itineraries. Approx-imately half of international visitors to Australia use some form of self-drive transport during their travels.

A suite of promotional materials – including a video, itineraries, articles and stunning imagery – has been pub-lished by Tourism Australia to promote the Great Fishing Adventures of Aus-tralia collective to keen anglers around the world.

The group of independently owned fishing tourism operators in some of

Australia’s most naturally spectacu-lar and pristine environments is part of the Signature Experiences of Aus-tralia program which packages and promotes outstanding tourism expe-riences within a variety of niche areas and special interest categories.

Fishing enthusiast Dean Cooper is the Executive Officer for the program.

The new Scenic Skyway at Katoomba has opened this week after a three million dollar upgrade to improve the visitor experience

in preparation for the ride’s 60th Anniver-sary in 2018. The upgraded cabin features 30% more capacity, streamlined loading and unloading and free Wi-Fi in response to feedback from international guests.

New Zealand leads with record inbound arrivals in 2016-17

New self-drive module added to Aussie specialists

Australia tackles worldwide Angling market with nationwide Fishing Program

New Scenic Skyway opens doors in the Blue Mountains

Tasman Glacier Explorers Trip

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 20europe

VisitBritain promotes Vishal Bhatia as Country Manager-IndiaShuja Mehdi gets elevated as B2B Manager-India, VisitBritain

Scandinavian Tourism to attract honeymooners from India in 2018

Atout France organises first-ever offsite B2B showcase in Goa

St. Petersburg and Mumbai celebrate the 50th Anniversary of sister-city tie-up

In a first endeavour of its kind in India, Atout France organised its first ever offsite B2B showcase “Experi-ence France” in Goa this year at the Grand Hyatt. This year, the agency also heralded another milestone: a decade of its independent office in India.

The workshop format consisted of pre-scheduled appointments spread over three days allowing for qual-

itative exchanges between French pro-fessionals and travel companies from key metro cities across India who were pres-ent for the event. The Consul General of France to Bombay, M Yves Perrin and his spouse graced the 10 year celebration at the W Goa. Several networking soirees

were organised to facilitate interaction and exchange between the suppliers and hosted buyers.

Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France in India shared, “In keeping sync with the market trends, we thought it opportune to create a common platform to facilitate synergies with travel agents from all over the country, thereby opening up and further expanding opportunities to promote France to a more versatile audience. Our delegation also comprised an eclectic mix of tourism offerings from all over France enabling us to showcase the destination in all its diversity.”

The 2017 edition had a strong presence of 24 rep-resentatives of French entities buoyed to showcase the limitless possibilities that France has to offer the Indian globetrotter. The delegation included key rep-resentatives of regional tourism boards, local tour-ist offices, hospitality partners, versatile attractions and DMCs from across France. The delegation also included eight representatives from the Auvergne Rhone Alpes region keenly positioning France as a winter destination.

As distinct as they are, St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, and Mumbai, India’s financial cap-ital, recently celebrated the 50th Anniversary of sis-ter-city status this month as “Days of St. Petersburg in Mumbai” from December 10-12.

The two cities had entered into the sister-city pact that seeks to establish closer trade, cultural and tour-ism and people to people ties way back in 1967 when St. Petersburg was still known as Leningrad and Mumbai as Bombay.

Promoting St. Petersburg as a tourist destina-tion for Mumbaikars was high on the agenda of the visiting St. Petersburg delegates as the two sides also engaged in a roundtable discussion on tourism opportunities attended by the Consul General office of Russian Federation in Mumbai, Administration of City of St. Petersburg, Visit St. Petersburg’s India representative - Salvia Promoters, Municipal Corpo-ration of Greater Mumbai and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, amongst others.

Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of the sister-city status in 2017, St. Petersburg recently announced the opening of Visit St. Petersburg’s, offi-cial tourism agency mandated with marketing and promoting St. Petersburg as a tourism destination, office in India earlier this year appointing Salvia Pro-moters as its India representative.

VisitBritain recently announced two promotions of Vishal Bhatia and Shuja Mehdi as the Country Man-ager-India and B2B Manager-India, respectively.

Bhatia comes with extensive market knowledge and expertise of the local travel landscape. As the Country Manager-India, he will be taking on the day-to-day aspects of VisitBritain’s operations in India.

Bhatia has been working with VisitBritain since February 2013. He started off as the Deputy Man-ager and subsequently became the B2B Manager. He was also the Interim Country Manager from June to December 2016. During his tenure, he has played an

integral role in delivering the India strategy while leading on all B2B activities in the market. He was also instrumental in delivering the first, joint co-oper-ative partnership under GREAT in 2013.

In March this year, Mehdi re-joined VisitBritain as the B2B Executive and was recently promoted as the B2B Manager-India, VisitBritain. He brings a wealth of industry experience in terms of product dis-tribution, buyer-supplier management, and product development.

Mehdi has been a part of the Indian travel industry since 2004, having begun his career with Amadeus in

India. Previously he has worked for British Airways and Air New Zealand before joining VisitBritain in 2011. In 2016, he then moved to the FCO team in Delhi, looking after consular services.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The Scandinavian Tourist Board (comprising Visit Sweden, Norway Tourism, and Visit Denmark) along with 21 suppliers and three tourism boards conducted a three-city “Explore Scandinavia” roadshow covering Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai. Speaking to Travel News Digest, Mohit Batra, India Representative, Scandinavian Tourist Board, said that the honeymoon travel segment is a low hang-ing fruit and they are planning to enhance the desti-nation’s awareness in the segment through educat-ing the travel trade and press.

“Honeymoon travel hasn’t been tapped much by us. Going forward, we will try to bridge the gap to attract honeymooners from India. The direct flight from Air India now connects in almost 7.5 hours to Scandinavian countries. Easy access will eventually push people to plan their getaways to the serene and pristine locations of Scandinavia. Also, self-drive is another potential travel segment which we aim to highlight in 2018,” added Batra.

The Indian arrivals are growing strongly to Nor-way, highlighted Per Holte, Market Director Tour-ism-Asia and New Markets, Visit Norway inviting Indians to go for Hurtigruten cruise sailings which happen daily round the year.

Flemming Bruhn, Director, Visit Denmark lamented on the hotel capacity constraint in the country and assured that the additional inventory is in the pipeline. He also unveiled five new signature routes exclusively in the Indian market.

Though he doesn’t have the exact count of Indian arrivals to some Scandinavian regions, he shared that in 2016 over 300,000 overnights were recorded from India to the region of Scandinavia. This year we are again hopeful of a 10% increase, he commented.

Rutth Dolla, Project Manager-India, Visit Sweden shared that so far this year they have witnessed 18% increase as compared to the last year.

The top trends from the Indian market this year remained incentive travel and visiting in the winter season. Currently, the average length of stay from the Indian market is 12 nights and the India office is trying to extend it over two weeks. The Scandina-vian Tourist Board plans to organise press and trade FAMs in 2018.

The Eastern European destination of Belarus has appointed Delhi-based Salvia Promoters, a Destina-tion Marketing Company (DMC), as its India Represen-tative. Belarus currently witnesses about 2000 Indian arrivals every year, with an estimated 75% of these vis-its comprising business travellers. The move is aimed at growing Belarus’ share of India’s burgeoning outbound travel market.

In this regard, a MoU was signed in the presence of Vladimir Semashko, Deputy Prime Minister, Repub-lic of Belarus in New Delhi on the sidelines of the state visit of the Alexander Lukashenku, President, Belarus to India in September, marking 25 year of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year. The agree-ment was signed by Filipp Guly, Chairman, Belarusian Touristic Union and Prashant Chaudhary, Managing Director, Salvia Promoters, representing Belarus Tour-ism and Salvia respectively.

Commenting on the appointment, Guly said, “With close to 23 million annual overseas visits, India as an inbound source market is already huge and is recording strong growth year-on-year. Besides Indian travellers are big spenders and a major contributor to the tourism economy of the host destination. As the two countries are celebrating 25th Anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the time is ripe.”

Chaudhary, added, “As Belarus Tourism India office, our primary objective would be to grow Indian arriv-als to the country. Going forward, both trade and con-sumers would see a lot more of Belarus through partic-ipation in travel exhibitions and marts and roadshows in not just the bigger cities like Delhi and Mumbai but also the Tier-II and III cities. Besides, our outreach programme will also include aggressive media and PR activities, digital promotion, familiarisation tour of trade and media, amongst others.”

Belarus appoints salvia Promoters as its India Representative

Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France in India

Shuja Mehdi, B2B Manager-India, VisitBritain

Vishal Bhatia, Country Manager-India, VisitBritain

(L-R) Per Holte, Market Director Tourism-Asia and New Markets, Visit Norway, Flemming Bruhn, Director, Visit Denmark & Rutth Dolla, Project Manager-India, Visit Sweden

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 21middle east

Yousef Alkhan, Director-Marketing & Promotion, BTEA

(L-R) Rohit Ramadchandran, CEO, Jazeera Airways & SGK Kishore CEO, GHIAL

Linda Lewis, Vice President-Global Sales, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Jumeirah Group

Gulf Air ties-up with VFS Global to launch Bahrain tourist visa service

Dubai Tourism promotes 23rd Dubai Shopping Festival

Israel eases visa procedure for Indian travellers

Jumeirah Group collaborates with MakeMyTrip for seamless booking

Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways commences flights to HyderabadJazeera Airways, Kuwait’s Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) recently inaugurated its daily flights to Hyderabad. Kochi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be operational

from early 2018. The airline expands its network to serve its Indian sub-continent targeting the nearly one million Indian nationals residing in Kuwait.

Rohit Ramachandran, CEO, Jazeera Airways, said, “We are delighted to start with Hyderabad, a 400-year old city and a technology hub, bringing more choice to Indian travellers, connecting them to Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Bahrain and Dubai. In addition, we offer for religious traveller’s connections to Taif in KSA, Najaf (Iraq), Mashad (Iran) and Amman for the Holy Land.”

SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad Interna-tional Airport Ltd (GHIAL) welcomed Jazeera Air-ways and asserted, “We are very happy to note that they have chosen Hyderabad Airport as their first Indian destination. We are confident that this will further boost the tourism potential between India and various tourist destinations in the Middle East including Kuwait, Iran, Jordan and Egypt among others.”

Organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establish-ment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), the 23rd edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival will be held from December 26, 2017 to January 27, 2018. It will feature a number of retail promotions and sales offering unbeat-able deals and discounts from a wide range of brands,

as well as unique experiences including concerts by international and regional stars, spectacular fireworks shows and a range of free-to-attend family-oriented activities in malls, and retail themed activations.

Israel recently simplified the visa application pro-cedure for Indian citizens. The relaxed visa rule involves less documentation for Indians who have availed visas of Schengen countries, US, Canada, Australia or Israel and have completed their travel to these countries. These documents include a valid passport, completed visa application form, two pho-tographs (5.5cm x 5.5cm), cover letter with travel

information, traveller’s insurance and passport copy (first and last page).

“We are also working on an express visa service with VFS which will be introduced soon. In addi-tion to this, we are working towards e-visa process-ing as well as easing the group visa process,” said Hassan Madah, Director-India, Israel Ministry of Tourism.

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bah-rain has signed a partnership with VFS Global to launch Bahrain tourist visa service which will be available exclusively for the airline’s passengers fly-ing across its global network to Bahrain.

Waleed Abdul Hameed Al Alawi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air, said, “We are delighted to, in partnership with VFS Global, launch the Bahrain Tourist Visa Service making the process of obtaining a visa to enter Bahrain easier and more convenient.”

Expressing his delight over their partnership with Gulf Air, Vinay Malhotra, COO-Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global, cited, “Our partnership with Gulf Air and the Government of Bahrain is to develop a convenient, next-generation visa service for Gulf Air passengers visiting Bahrain. A dedicated online plat-form not only makes applying for a visa to Bahrain quicker and more convenient than ever before, but also provides passengers with 24x7 accessibility and online tracking of their visas, amongst other advantages.”

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts, part of Jumeirah Group, recently signed a direct booking partner-ship with MakeMyTrip (MMT) India, giving addi-tional choice to travellers to book Jumeirah hotels globally. “MMT has been seamlessly integrated with the official website of Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts. Now, guests can check the room avail-ability and book in real time,” exclaimed Linda Lewis, Vice President-Global Sales, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Jumeirah Group, on the side-lines of the two-city India roadshow. The event was held in Mumbai and Delhi along with 13 hotel partners who successfully networked with the Indian travel trade. Blue Square Consultants also facilitated additional networking of the Jumeirah hotel partners with 25 select wedding planners in Mumbai.

Lewis elaborated saying that from the Indian market luxury travel is a key focus segment along with MICE. The business coming in from India as destination weddings is also growing substan-tially, she confirmed.

“India is the topmost inbound source market for Dubai and to leverage it further we are work-ing along with Dubai Tourism and Dubai Parks and Resorts. Soon, we will be launching a new tour package for the visitors coming down for the 23rd edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival which will be held from December 26, 2017 to January 27, 2018,” she added.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

The island country has been witnessing majorly busi-ness travellers from India. With their debut in the Indian market early this year, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) is expecting increase in leisure travellers from India this year. “We are very serious about tapping the Indian market further. For the next year, we are planning on launching consumer promotions and co-op campaigns to encourage fam-ily travellers from India to visit Bahrain. The focus segments will remain wedding, MICE and leisure for the next year too,” highlighted Yousef Alkhan, Direc-tor-Marketing and Promotion, BTEA while speaking exclusively to Travel News Digest on the sidelines of the recently organised BTEA two-city maiden roadshow in Mumbai and Delhi along with 18 suppliers.

Alkhan added, “Bahrain is like a breath of fresh air. Indian travellers have “Been There, Done That” in almost all major tourist destinations globally and are on the lookout for new options. Bahrain offers unique history and culture which is sure to amaze people. The best season to visit is from October to April when travellers can enjoy outdoors and the cultural events lined up.”

Sunil Mathapati, Country Manager-India, BTEA added that for MICE visitors, the already existing Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention

Centre showcases 16,000 sq m of space. The new exhi-bition and convention centre slated to debut by 2020, is expected to be a game-changer for Bahrain, provid-ing 100,000 sq m of exhibition space and over 25,000 sq m of convention space.

The Bahrain visa can be availed by Indian nation-als in three to five days at $12 visa fees.

Bahrain Tourism eyes influencing Indian travellers in 2018

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 22AfricA

Club Med takes over Beachcomber Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort and Spa

South African Tourism launches domestic tourism campaign

IATA urges African states to refuel the aviation sectorAlexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO of International Air Transport Association (IATA), urged the African states to recognise aviation’s abil-ity to stimulate the region’s economy and spread prosperity. “Africa is the region with the greatest

aviation potential but punitive taxes and high infra-structure and fuel costs are curtailing air transport’s benefits on the continent,” he lamented.

“The African aviation industry loses $1.50 for each passenger it carries, with many airlines struggling to break even. Governments should be aware that Africa is a high-cost place for aviation, taxes, fuel, and infrastructure charges are higher than the global average,” he said.

While Africa’s safety record has improved in 2016 with no passenger fatalities or jet hull losses in Sub-Saharan Africa, Juniac warned that a failure to adopt standards such as the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) will continue to hold back the region’s safety efforts.

“Performance statistics for IOSA show that the accident rate of the 33 IOSA registered carriers in Sub-Saharan Africa is half that of carriers not on the registry. That’s why I urge African governments to use IOSA in their safety oversight,” he highlighted.

The New Mauritius Hotels Ltd, which owns 100% of the shares of Ste Anne Resort Ltd, has signed an agreement with the French Group-Club Med, for the redevelop-ment and subsequent rental of Beachcomber Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort and Spa.

In its official statement, New Mauritius Hotels Ltd has stated that the resort will be refurbished and extended as per Club Med’s five star standards and requirements and will reopen with 295 rooms, provid-ing job opportunities for some 500 employees.

It is estimated that the redevelopment will cost around 70 million Euros and once developed, the resort will be rented to Club Med for an initial term of 12 years. The project is expected to start in the second quarter of 2018, while the handover to Club Med is planned for the end of 2019.

Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Seychelles, said “This is very good news for our tourism industry since this is not only a complete refurbishment of the Beachcomber Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort and Spa, but also a substantial upgrade of the hotel to five-star category and an increase of 208 new rooms. In addi-tion, it will provide additional employment to some 500 staff.”

Jean-Louis Pismont, Operations Manager-Interna-tional, New Mauritius Hotels, said, “We want to bring the resort at Sainte Anne to the next level to upgrade the offer of the destination. We are proud to be linked

with the arrival of the first major French hotel group to Seychelles.”

The Beachcomber brand expanded beyond the shores of Mauritius to Seychelles in 2001, where New

Mauritius Hotels operated the 87-room Beachcomber Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort and Spa. The resort was closed in September this year to make way for the redevelopment.

South African Tourism has launched a consumer-oriented campaign - “It’s your country – enjoy it, because nothing is more fun than a Sho’t Left” invit-ing South Africans to pack their bags and explore all nine provinces.

South African Tourism is aiming to add a million more domestic holiday trips and another four million foreign tourists as part of its “5-in-5” strategy to bolster tourism’s contribution to the economy by 2021.

“We as South African Tourism are ramping up our drive to boost domestic tourism because many South Africans haven’t explored the whole of their own coun-try. The new campaign inspires them to take a Sho’t Left and demonstrates that, in fact, local travel can be simple and wallet-friendly, and fun too,” asserted Sisa Ntshona, Chief Executive Officer, South African Tourism.

The newly revamped Sho’t Left campaign also pro-motes enticing local package deals on the Sho’t Left website – not just during peak holiday season but throughout the year and across all nine provinces. This includes tucked-away “hidden gems” that may not be on the radar of most holidaymakers. Packaged at vari-ous price points, these special deals are geared towards promoting and showcasing various affordable tourism experiences.

“Sho’t Left is a free platform for travel businesses to advertise their deals, a one-stop shop featuring all tour-ism businesses and places around the country that all South Africans simply must visit. These destinations are not only beautiful, but affordable too, and they cap-ture the true essence of our country,” added Ntshona.

Ethiopian Airlines, announced the launch of a brand new mobile application. It encompasses an array of fea-tures that enhance customers’ travel experience with simplified and end-to-end options for flight booking and management by using their Android mobile devices.

With this new application, customers will be able to use their mobile devices to book their flights, do their flight check-in, issue their boarding pass and self-board

their flights, check the status of their flight, get actual arrival and departure times of the carrier’s flights and remain connected and informed throughout their jour-ney in real-time.

On the occasion, Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines remarked, “In the age of the “Internet of things” and “Artificial Intelligence” I am very happy that our “mobility” project is fast advanc-ing which enabled us to announce to our esteemed cus-tomers that Ethiopian Mobile Application has gone live. The mobile application is a critical piece of our overall strategy to bring our customers’ travel experi-ence to another level by leveraging on Information and Communication technology and African flavoured Ethiopian hospitality.

Customers can avail 10% discount on all bookings made on the mobile app.

Ethiopian Airlines’ mobile application goes live

Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines

Beachcomber Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort & Spa

Alexandre de Juniac, DG & CEO, IATA

In less than a span of a month since Ethiopian took delivery of Africa’s first Ethiopian B 787-9, the second B787-9 aircraft has joined its young-est fleet totalling its operating fleet to 95, among which 21 are from the Dreamliner family. The new fleet has been named after the city of London.

Ethiopian receives a second Boeing 787-9 fleet

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 23CAribbeAn

Edmund Bartlett, Tourism Minister, Jamaica

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has declared 2018 as the Year of Wellness and Rejuvenation in the Caribbean. With wellness and reju-venation being important aspects of the Caribbean tourism product offer-ing, the CTO is encouraging member countries and private sector partners to plan and organise events and activi-ties around the theme that will appeal to consumers and travel trade.

Hugh Riley, Secretary General, CTO, announced, “For those who focus on renewing body and spirit, the options are virtually endless; from beachfront workouts and yoga retreats, to wellness resorts and spa treatments, the notion

of being rejuvenated in the Caribbean is one more reason to let us pamper you in 2018.”

The campaign will be promoted through social and traditional media channels and will create opportunities for travellers and holiday planners to share their experiences and ideas of how to welcome visitors to the region for wellness and rejuvenation.

The global wellness sector is a $3.72 trillion industry, according to the Global Wellness Institute, a Miami, Florida-based non-profit-making organisation that provides global research and insight into the wellness industry.

Despite the myriad challenges, this year Caribbean welcomed nearly one million more tourists than the previous year for the same period. For the first six months of 2017, data compiled by the Caribbean Tourism Organization show that the region welcomed 16.6 million international tourists in the first six months as compared to the same period previous year, con-stituting a growth rate of 5.2%,” revealed Edmund Bartlett, Min-ister of Tourism, Jamaica, while speaking at the inaugural of the UN World Tourism Organisation Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism addressing ‘The Future of Caribbean Tourism: Sustainability and Resilience’.

“So far, Jamaica’s tourism per-formance for 2017 has been no less impressive than that of the wider region. We are already on track to surpass last year’s historic growth rate of 4% or 3.84 million visitors in total. We welcomed over 3.3 million visitors in the first nine months of 2017 and we expect total arrivals to surpass four million by the first week of December,” he said.

“I am very optimistic that we will be able to craft a global agenda that seeks to design collabora-tive approaches to mitigate shared tourism risks and strengthen resil-ience as well as build consensus around the strategies necessary

to further position global tourism as a catalyst for promoting inclu-sive economic growth, sustain-able livelihoods, environmental sustainability, and social develop-ment,” Bartlett added.

The resilience of the tourism sector in the region has already been tested with the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria, which affected 13 of the most tourism-dependent countries in the region.

Caribbean Tourism Organization declares 2018 as Year of Wellness and Rejuvenation

Tourism in Caribbean resilient: Minister of Tourism, Jamaica

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 24americas

Coastal city of Santa Monica taps the Indian market

NYC & Company reveals the new global tourism campaign “True York City”

Greater Palm Springs highlights its health and wellness quotientAkansha Pandey | New Delhi

Southern California’s oasis, Greater Palm Springs, which is two hours east of Los Angeles and offers abun-dant options for travellers willing to indulge in health and wellness experiences. Tucked away from the hus-tle and bustle of big cities, there are no high-rise build-ings in Greater Palm Springs. The city promises year-round sunshine and visitors can try activities such as hot air balloon ride and BMW Driving School amongst others, stay at experiential boutique properties or lux-ury vacation rentals and shop from all leading apparel brands present in the vicinity, elaborated Scott White,

President and CEO, Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“Natural mineral springs and abundant outdoor recreation options enhance Greater Palm Springs’ reputation as a Mecca for health and wellness. Activi-ties include golf and tennis, swimming and equestrian sports, as well as biking and hiking on more than 100 scenic trails,” said White.

Going forward, White is planning to open up a repre-sentation office in India to educate travel trade, keep the press posted and organise FAMs for a first-hand expe-rience. He also hopes to leverage on the MOU between Visit California and Producers Guild of India.

Caroline Beteta, President and CEO, Visit California recently led the delegation of 11 CEOs on the first-ever California Tourism CEO Mission to India. The mis-sion covered the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi. Visit California also formalised an MOU with the Produc-ers Guild of India during the mission. This co-operative agreement will further increase the understanding of

each other’s film production markets, promote tourism from India and increase mutual cultural understanding.

On the connectivity front, Air India has announced non-stop Delhi to Los Angeles flights commencing from February, 2018. On the accommodation part, 85 new hotels are under-construction in California, slated to add 17,000 more rooms to the state. Universal and Dis-ney are also continuing to add attractions in California.

Currently, California commands 27.5% of the mar-ket share from the Indian outbound travel market to the US, accounting for 319,000 visitors who spent $706 mil-lion in 2016 in the Golden State. Forecasts show visitation growing by 41% in the next five years, reaching 449,000 visitors and more than $1 billion in spending by 2021 – growth on par with that of China over the last few years.

“We see this mission as an important step in intro-ducing California to Indian travellers. This visit will pro-vide critical learnings on how we can best prepare our state to welcome Indian visitors as the market contin-ues to grow,” she said.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

Santa Monica, a coastal city situated west of down-town Los Angeles in California, is great for vege-tarians and organic food lovers. “With its incom-parable oceanfront setting, world-class dining, and vibrant cultural scene, Santa Monica combines the laid-back appeal of a classic California beach town with big-city sophistication to create a destination that is unlike anywhere else in the world,” high-lighted Misti Kerns, President and CEO, Santa Mon-ica Travel and Tourism (SMTT).

The Indian population residing in Santa Mon-ica is less than 1% out of the total 94,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless, a number of Bollywood movies are shot in the city and locals are big fans of Hindi mov-ies “The only challenge is the long haul flights but this can be somehow addressed with educating the travel trade on how Santa Monica is in close proxim-ity with the major cities of the USA,” asserted Kerns.

The city comprises 40 hotel properties with over 3,500 hotel rooms that range from high-style boutique hideaways to world-famous oceanfront resorts to budget-friendly options. Over 100,000 square feet of unique, offsite function space show-case a top-tier destination for corporate meetings and events.

NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organisation, revealed a new global tour-ism campaign titled “True York City,” with adver-tisements and promotion now live around the world. The new campaign showcases the unique culture produced by the 8.5 million residents of New York City’s five boroughs and invites travellers to discover the iconic and intriguing experiences.

Fred Dixon, President and CEO, NYC & Com-pany, cited, “With ‘True York City,’ we celebrate the fact that we are the world’s greatest creator and exporter of culture, and invite travellers who seek authentic experiences and appreciate the ‘local,’ from arts, design and retail to culture and cuisine.”

In 2016, New York City’s travel and tourism sec-tor saw a record-breaking year, with 60.5 million vis-itors and $43 billion in direct spending, the largest economic impact of any US destination. The indus-try also sustained a record 383,000 jobs for working New Yorkers in all sectors of the economy.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

In order to enhance the perception and educate the travel trade on the new product offerings, Destination DC, the official destination marketing organisation for Washington, DC, organised a three-city sales mission covering Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi. Speaking to Travel News Digest, Elliott L Ferguson, President and CEO, Destination DC stressed on the need to set-up an Indian office by next year.

“In 2016, Washington, DC welcomed 100,000 Indian visitors, majorly visiting friends and relatives, making India the fifth largest overseas source market. The poten-tial is huge, more so with Air India operating a direct thrice a week flight between Delhi and Washington DC since July this year. Hence, we are focussing on India as a long-term market and going forward with the plan to establish a full-time office in India,” he highlighted.

Making headlines everyday, Washington, DC is mostly seen as the political capital of the United States of America. However, Ferguson asserted that the branding reads - DC Cool as it surprises the visitors with its green outdoors and wholesome tourist offerings. “There is so much to see and do, free of cost. From shopping to night-life and adventure sports, Washington DC offers some-thing for everyone. Travellers should ensure a minimum three-night stay in the US capital city,” he suggested.

Destination DC plans to set-up India office

Visit California leads first-ever CEO delegation to India

Elliott L Ferguson, President & CEO, Destination DC

New York city

Caroline Beteta, President & CEO, Visit California

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 25global

Norwegian Cruise Line introduces Cruise Norwegian app

Regent Seven Seas Cruises announces Megan Hernandez as Sr VP and CMO

Diplomats from 95 countries honoured at ‘Diplomats for Peace’ event

VFS Global expands Cyprus visa application centre to 16 Indian cities

Representatives from 95 countries such as Bhutan, Cam-bodia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, India, Mexico, Rwanda, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom were felicitated at the unique ‘Diplomats for Peace’ event held in New Delhi, for their countries’ contributions towards fostering Peace through Tourism.

A total of 15 countries were also honoured with a special ‘Messenger of Peace’ recognition at the event. Awardees were selected based on IIPT’s specific set of evaluation criteria and judgment.

The event was held for the first time in India by Interna-tional Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT), recognised and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, UNWTO and VFS Global.

Expanding the network of Cyprus visa application cen-tres in India, VFS Global has launched four new cen-tres in Thiruvananthapuram, Goa, Gurugram and Jai-pur, taking the Cyprus VFS centre toll 16 Indian cities. The recent launch in Thiruvananthapuram was inau-gurated by Demetrios A Theophylactou, High Commis-sioner of Cyprus to India.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) announced the introduction of the next generation Cruise Norwe-gian app. Providing a stress-free embarkation day, the Cruise Norwegian app provides directions to the port and with mobile online check-in function-ality for guests to save time at the pier and have a paperless boarding process with mobile e-docs.

Andy Stuart, President and Chief Executive Officer, Norwegian Cruise Line said that with the new app, guests’ dream cruise vacation is right at their fingertips with the capability to preview and book shore excursions, make dining and enter-tainment reservations, purchase onboard pack-ages such as dining and beverage packages or spe-cial occasion packages before they cruise.

Once on board, the app allows guests to make reservations for shows, dining and in-port

adventure on a shore excursion. Friends and family can stay connected on board using the Cruise Nor-wegian app, which features unlimited onboard calls and messages for a one-time fee of $9.95. Groups can organise meet ups and share their favourite pho-tos with everyone in their party with group mes-saging through the app. Those wishing to check-in with loved ones back home can make calls through the Cruise Norwegian app for a nominal fee of $0.79 per minute for outbound calls to nearly every coun-try in the world.

The free Cruise Norwegian app is currently available for use on cruises aboard Norwegian Sky. The new app will be available on board Norwegian’s newest ship, Norwegian Bliss, when she launches in summer 2018, and will be available fleet wide by year end 2018.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises recently announced the appointment of Megan Hernandez as Senior Vice Presi-dent and Chief Mar-keting Officer for the cruise line. She will lead the brand’s global marketing strategy and drive worldwide preference among both travellers and val-ued travel agent partners for Regent’s most inclusive luxury experience.

Randall Soy, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, cited, “We are very happy to welcome Megan to the Regent Seven Seas Cruises family. Megan’s proven leadership and extensive experience in the industry will be critical as we continue to expand our fleet and grow our distinc-tive brand.”

Hernandez has worked as the Vice President of Guest Experience Marketing for Norwegian Cruise Line, where she led loyalty, product, consumer, and travel partner marketing, and market research. Prior to Norwegian Cruise Line, Hernandez was with Procter & Gamble and AT&T.

She holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern California – Mar-shall School of Business, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Loyola Marymount University.

Akansha Pandey | New Delhi

Talking about the Indian market, Shikhar Aggar-wal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International high-lighted that this year so far the company has processed over 50,000 Indian applications, with Mumbai being the major contributor, closely followed by Delhi and Bengaluru.

Continuing the uphill graph, this year too, the brand secured two major projects of the Embassy of Afghani-stan - to provide consular services through registration of Afghan citizens in the entire middle east (including UAE and Saudi Arabia) through physical and mobile centres; and second with the Embassy of Algeria for providing visa outsourcing and consular services through visa application and attestation centres across India.

“As per targets set early this year, we have already achieved our target both in terms of countries as well as offices globally. As of now, we are operating in 61 coun-tries serving 31 client governments with a wide network of 2346 offices in domestic and international markets. Since inception, BLS International has processed 20 million applications but going forward, we are opti-mistic to process 16 million applications in just 2018,” he confirmed.

From this year August onwards, BLS International launched its Mobile Biometric Services in India with its first implementation in Uttar Pradesh. This new service got operational in Russia in March early this year and later at various Spain Visa Application Cen-tres (VACs) globally. “The Mobile Biometric Services

will be convenient, time-saving and hassle free for stu-dents, employees, sports teams, celebrities, high-net worth individuals or production unit members, thereby respecting their need for privacy,” he said.

With intent to ease the entire application process, BLS has deployed a team who will visit the given loca-tion of an applicant for scrutiny and collection of the application and visa fees, capturing the fingerprints and photo of an applicant which is recorded live.

mumbai emerges as biggest source market for BLs International in India

Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International

Megan Hernandez, Sr VP & CMO, Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Norwegian Sky

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has awarded VFS Global an exten-sion to its global contract for visa process-ing services. The contract extension cov-ers four regions – Asia and Oceania, Europe and Russia, Middle East and Africa, and the Americas.

Serving the Royal Norwegian Government since 2010, VFS Global currently operates 101 centres across 39 countries for Norway.

The contract renewal was signed by Per Egil Selvaag, Director General, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chris Dix, Head-Business Development, VFS Global.

Royal Norwegian Government renews contract with VFS Global

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 26technology

MiStay raises funding from Axilor Ventures and other investors

Travkart.com bags the PSA mandate for Madame Tussauds Delhi

Booking.com appoints Ritu Mehrotra as Area Manager

MakeMyTrip and Mypoolin collaborate to promote group gifting

Online Travel Agent (OTA) Booking.com announced the appointment of Ritu Mehrotra as Area Man-ager as part of its endeavour to strengthen the com-pany’s leadership team in India. Based out of Book-ing.com’s Gurugram office, she will work closely with

Vikas Bhola, Head-Indian Sub-Continent on business expansion.

Here, she will head the expansion of the company in the various regions of India and work closely with the team to provide business solutions to property part-ners to enhance their growth. She will be responsi-ble for steering India operations at Booking.com ini-tially in the North and leading the next phase of growth focused on building strong partnerships throughout the country.

Accepting the new role Mehrotra said, “I look for-ward to working closely with the India team to take forward Booking.com’s commitment to the geogra-phy and playing a key role in changing the dynamics of the industry with our diverse range of accommoda-tion options. Since the online travel market is expected to account for nearly half of the total translations by 2020 reaching almost $4B, we hope to deepen our part-nerships in India and build its business for the future.”

Prior to this, Mehrotra held the position of Vice President, Global Growth at Zomato where she was responsible for starting enterprise teams for the strengthening of global partnerships, the launch of the table reservation platform and improving the top line growth for the company.

MakeMyTrip has collaborated with Mypoolin, a P2P and social payments company to enable group-pay-ments for travel gift cards. This association aims to ease the process for customers who want to shop for shared gift-cards and vouchers on MakeMyTrip for personal or corporate gifting.

The gifts cards allow recipient to avail a wide range of travel offers including flights, hotels and holiday pack-ages ranging from INR 1,000 to INR 50,000. Tailoring it further per consumer choice, these gifts cards can be easily customised and remain valid up to 12 months from the date of purchase.

Commenting on the partnership, Mohit Gupta, COO-Online, MakeMyTrip, said, “As more and more people now value travel as the ultimate gift, we want to offer them all the choice they deserve. This partnership with Mypoolin will help our customers make seamless and hassle-free group-payments, facilitating ease and convenience in buying travel gift options.”

Announcing the new initiative, Rohit Taneja,

Co-Founder, Mypoolin, explained, “‘Social Payments’ has been a new concept in the last few years. It is the proliferation of ‘shared economy’ lifestyle that makes these social use cases so prominent and common for us. With this functionality, a customer can easily pur-chase gift for wedding or reception or can simply invite his friends to put in their share of contribution with the click of a button.”

MiStay, an online hotel booking company based out of Bengaluru, raised funding from Axilor Ven-tures and a group of angel investors. MiStay allows booking hotel rooms by pack of hours with flexible check-in/check-out times. The funds will be utilised in growing the team, marketing and scaling up oper-ations across India.

“We have seen an overwhelming traction from hotel partners as well as customers in a year. While the hotels are seeing a significant impact in their revenue by optimising their room inventory though MiStay, the end users find the MiStay product use-ful because of the flexibility they get to book hotels only for the hours they require. We are excited to have Axilor Ventures and other investors including some hospitality industry veterans join us, and are looking forward to leveraging their collective expe-rience,” said Sandeep Jaiswal, Co-founder and CEO, MiStay.

Asutosh Upadhyay, Head of Programs, Axilor said, “MiStay has taken a very innovative and cus-tomer-centric approach to hotel bookings, which is reflected in the fast-paced growth they have seen since the launch. While giving travellers the best options, they are unlocking value in hotel inventory, making this a win-win solution for individuals and corporates. Axilor is happy to be backing this enthu-siastic team with the vision to change the way the hotel industry operates today.”

Travkart.com, a unit of Holidays by Sahibji has bagged the Preferred Sales Agent (PSA) mandate for Madame Tussauds Delhi. Now on, visitors may buy tickets on Travkart.com’s website and the mobile app.

Manheer Singh Sethi, Co-founder, Travkart.com said, “We are delighted to be the first online travel platform to have been selected as a PSA by such a globally renowned brand like Madame Tussauds for the launch of its first-ever attraction in the coun-try. Our platform offers customers a wide selection of activities and must-see places they can book, and with the addition of Madame Tussauds, which is a must-see attraction, visitors can now find the answer to all their travel needs under one head.”

Travel commerce platform – Travelport, announced the launch of an online Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance referral ser-vice to help its customers businesses achieve PCI DSS certification. Travelport chose to partner with Security-Metrics, a provider and innovator in data security and compliance.

The PCI DSS Certification program provides cus-tomers with an online Wizard Tool to guide agents through the self-assessment questionnaire process. The multi-lingual tool enables Travelport’s travellers to achieve PCI DSS compliance, a requirement by the card industry for every business that touches card payments.

Alexandra Fitzpatrick, Vice President, Travelport Global Payment Solutions, commented, “Combining consumer protection with customer-driven solutions is key to our goals as it creates frictionless payment pro-cesses and better ways of working. We’re delighted to offer this PCI DSS certification program in partnership with SecurityMetrics. It is our commitment to ensure our customers’ businesses operate within a compli-ant environment so they are able to adhere to indus-try regulations and become a trusted partner to their customers.”

Travelport launches PcI dss for ease of business to customers

Alexandra Fitzpatrick, VP, Travelport Global Payment Solutions

Manheer Singh Sethi, Co-founder, Travkart.com

Ritu Mehrotra, Area Manager, Booking

Mohit Gupta, COO-Online, MakeMyTrip

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 27 technology •

Brett Tollman, CEO, The Travel Corporation

Binu Mathews, CEO, IDS Next11 Gavin Jeddo, Founding Director, STAAH receiving the Excellence in International Business with India Award from Bill English, Former PM & Leader of the National Party

Neelu Singh, CEO & Director, Ezeego1

IDS Next integrates with Maximojo

WTFares offers innovative bookings to travellers

TTC Agent Academy launches five new TTC e-learning modules

PAYBACK collaborates with Goomo; expands in the online travel domain

STAAH wins big at Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards 2017

The Travel Corporation (TTC) Agent Academy recently introduced a TTC course that features five entertaining and interactive e-learning modules

highlighting the diversity of TTC’s immersive travel experiences to its valued travel agent partners.

The academy training consists of four TTC brands – The Trafalgar Academy, Contiki U, Insight Specialist, and Uniworld River Cruise Specialist. On the comple-tion of the TTC e-learning courses, agents can look for-ward to satisfied clients, repeat business, and enhance the possibility to increase their earning potential with greater profitability along with TTC’s industry-leading commissions. Loyal agents will also be given various selling opportunities, incentives and exclusive offers.

“Since we launched the TTC Agent Academy pro-gram in February 2017, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback globally from our highly motivated agent partners who appreciate our on-going commit-ment in helping them skilfully sell our transforma-tional experiences with greater expertise and confi-dence,” said Brett Tollman, Chief Executive Officer, The Travel Corporation.

With the successful completion of all five TTC e-learning modules, agents can access a download-able certificate of accreditation that will enable them to more effectively sell all of the TTC brands within the group.

PAYBACK, a multi-brand loyalty program, announced its partnership with Goomo, an omni-channel travel tech company, to expand its offerings into the online travel domain. Under this partnership, PAYBACK’s 100 million members will be able to use their PAYBACK Points when making flight, hotel and holiday book-ings on Goomo.com. In addition, they will also be able to earn PAYBACK Points for their travel bookings on Goomo.com.

Commenting on this association, Gautam Kaushik, CEO, PAYBACK India, announced, “Travel is an impor-tant category for our customers and Goomo is a young new challenger brand that is well poised to provide great deals and products in this category. This association will help PAYBACK strengthen its travel portfolio and allow its members to enjoy a seamless travel experience”.

Varun Gupta, CEO, Goomo, cited that as both compa-nies have a customer first approach, this will strengthen the strategic partnership. “Online travel continues to see a very strong growth among PAYBACK’s customer base with a majority of consumers earning and redeeming their Points on travel. With this partnership, Goomo will ensure that PAYBACK members on our platform continue to not only get great deals on travel booking, but also get rewarded for their purchases in other cate-gories as well,” he affirmed.

A leading cloud-based hospitality distribution spe-cialist, STAAH took home the Excellence in Interna-tional Business with India Award at a star-studded function in Auckland’s SKYCITY Hotel. The presti-gious award was presented to the STAAH team along with Gavin Jeddo, Founding Director, STAAH by Bill English, Former Prime Minister and Leader of the National Party.

“We are delighted to win this award. It has been a massive two years of growth for us, both in technol-ogy and clients, and India is at the centre of it, lead-ing from the front,” said Jeddo.

STAAH won in the Excellence in International Business with India category, which celebrates out-standing growth in sales to customers in India and other global markets outside New Zealand through key operations in India or growth in sales from goods and services imported from India.

IDS Next Business Solutions, a hotel technology solutions provider, has announced the integration of its hotel property management system with Max-imojo’s channel manager platform. This integration would assist mutual clients of both IDS Next and Maximojo to extract real-time inventory related data from the hotel property management system in order to push the same to connected OTAs via Maximojo’s channel manager platform.

Binu Mathews, Chief Executive Officer, IDS Next, remarked, “This integration will assist our clients to manage the flow of inventory to multiple OTAs via Maximojo’s platform. It also enables Maximojo chan-nel management solution to transfer bookings from OTAs to the hotel PMS.”

Speaking about the partnership, Sudhir Mody, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Maximojo said, “Our solution effectively helps hotels manage their distribution capabilities with over 100 plus OTAs. We are sure that our partnership will help hotels in their effort to streamline the complex distribution environment.”

Travel start-up offering free cancellation on domestic flights, WTFares.com recently launched a new fea-ture called ‘Magic Account’ via which they can book tickets in the most effortless manner over a simple call or just by sending a WhatsApp message. Users can also avail a whole range of services by upgrad-ing their account to a Magic Account.

Varun Sarda, Co-founder and CEO, WTFares.com, highlighted, “At WTFares.com, customers are at the heart of our each initiative and we eye at satis-fying and retaining them. We were the first ones to talk about free cancellation when the concept did not even exist. Now we have come with Magic Account feature to cater to the needs of frequent travellers.”

To get a WTFares.com Magic Account, users have to pay a one-time fee of INR 4,999 and avail the ser-vices for a full year. The offer is valid for all preferred partner airline partners – Indigo, GoAir, SpiceJet and Jet Airways.

Ezeego1.com, recently opened a series of eight new franchise stores across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Dhule, Uttarakhand, Guwahati and Amritsar, to cater to the growing travel demands across the Indian mar-ket. Services like flight tickets, hotels, packages, rail and cruise holidays will be provided on a single plat-form from a diverse mix of travel suppliers offering best in class offerings and services.

Neelu Singh, CEO and Director, Ezeego1.com, said, “Distribution is the key to success in this grow-ing travel market and the opening of our new fran-chise stores in these markets will help us gain a foot-hold. Our offerings are curated from a slew of travel aggregators and we enable and distribute it through our platform.”

Ezeego1 will provide the franchisee with an active marketing, technical and store development support. The marketing activity will include print and radio advertising, attractive and preferential commercials.

Store development support will include store design-ing to reinforce the brand’s look and feel. Training and technical support will be provided to all franchi-see staff to effectively address the changing technology and enhance customer interface.

ezeego1.com opens eight new franchise stores across India

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 28ResPONsIBLe TOuRIsm

Julian Matthews, Founder, TOFT

Trivendra Singh Rawat, CM, Uttarakhand

Nikhil Desai, MD, Goa Tourism Development Corporation

Virgin Atlantic

Goa Tourism’s master plan to emphasise on sustainability

Uttarakhand CM launches eco-tourism project in Kotdwar

Virgin Atlantic offers accessible entertainment for visually impaired

Kerala Tourism’s Green Carpet Action Plan set to roll

In a first, Virgin Atlantic has announced a fully accessi-ble in-flight entertainment system for customers with sight loss via specially adapted iPads. The technology will be offered throughout its fleet serving destinations across North America, the Caribbean, Africa, China, India and the Middle East.

Working with UK-based tech company Bluebox via-tion Systems, the innovative iPad-based platform was tested by representatives from Guide Dogs for the Blind includes audio descriptions, large type, and consistent layout and controls.

Mark Anderson, Executive Vice President-Cus-tomer, Virgin Atlantic, commented, “Working with Bluebox viation Systems and Guide Dogs for the Blind

we’ve been able to create a world first that ensures cus-tomers with sight loss can experience the full range of on-board entertainment including the latest blockbust-ers, TV shows and albums.”

Speaking at a workshop on sustainable and responsi-ble tourism with a special focus on Sustainable Tour-ism Criteria for India, Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), said, “We get tourists 10 times the number of residents of the state and there are times when we criticise that Goa can-not sustain as a tourist destination. I feel that time has come for us to determine the sustainability of this desti-nation. Going forward, GTDC will lay emphasis on envi-ronment and sustainability in the forthcoming tourism master plan.”

Desai informed that several rounds of discussions have taken place with the stakeholders for the tourism masterplan adding the plan will be soon put by before the civil society to seek their suggestions and grievances.

As part of implementing responsible tourism initiatives in the state, Kerala Tourism organised a workshop in Thiruvananthapuram where P Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism and Managing Director of Kannur Inter-national Airport elaborated on the new Tourism Policy, Responsible Tourism and the Green Carpet Action Plan formulated by the government at the workshop.

Kiran said, “The Tourism Policy 2017 implementation will commence with the implementation of Green Carpet Action Plan 2017-18. Also, the tourism department shall implement Green Protocol in all 78 locations by December

15. The action plan has been formulated by including nine agendas by inculcating the points from the total 16 agen-das that is being discussed and deliberated upon world-wide. The Green Carpet Action Plan, as a matter of fact, aims at transforming the tourism sector in Kerala into dif-ferent travel-friendly destinations. The plan is being imple-mented by imbibing the points in the new tourism policy.”

The general development aspects that have been put for-ward by the Tourism policy, the Green Kerala Mission and Responsible Tourism are being implemented in this regard, he added.

Uttarakhand Tourism recently launched an eco-tourism circuit development and safari vehi-cles operation project in Pauri district. The Eco-tourism Development Corporation of Uttarakhand is charged with developing more eco-tourism cir-cuits in the state. Its main aim is to promote ecologi-cally and culturally sustainable tourism, while also augmenting tourism-generated livelihood opportu-nities for local communities.

Inaugurating the project in Kotdwar town of Pauri, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand, said, “Kotdwar is known as the gate-way to Garhwal, the launch of state government-run projects like this will also open its doors to develop-ment and it would boost tourism and generate self-employment opportunities for the local youth.”

The CM also laid the foundation stones of devel-opment projects worth INR 960.77 lakh and handed over cheques of INR 2 lakh each to 200 farmers as loans at 2% interest rate.

A new study by tiger ecologists, funded by Travel Oper-ators for Tigers (TOFT) highlights the significant role that wildlife tourism is playing in securing the long term future of the tiger and its forest habitats in the wild. The report focuses on four Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh, finding that entry fees alone from visitors con-tribute over £2.3 million per annum, over half the total funds now provided by central and state governments for their annual protection.

Furthermore, villages with tourism infrastructure have revenues from small businesses eight times higher than those without and also benefit from higher levels of employment, greatly improved health and better edu-cational levels. Critically these communities are now much less dependent on the forest for wood and liveli-hoods, and wildlife tourism has created a ‘tiger friendly’ perception amongst such communities – a positive win-win for tiger conservation efforts.

However, it is also outlined that the international tourism has dropped by almost 50% in the last five years in central India, despite India being home to some of the world’s most beloved cats, so immortalised in Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’.

“If nature tourism is seen as a conservation tool

rather than a threat, it has the potential to bring sus-tainable and significant economic development to many remote areas. Many countries around the world have shown this and benefitted from increased biodiversity conservation,” said Raghu Chundawat, the scientist who led the research team.

Julian Matthews, Founder, TOFTigers, which funded the report, points out, “The study has found that many of the criticisms levelled at the tourism com-munity are not correct here when examined closely. For instance 80% of jobs are held by locals, 45% of all the direct revenue goes to the local economy and the researchers found zero evidence of forest cover loss.”

He goes on to add that there are certainly still key issues, including poor planning, lighting, noise and waste disposal that need to be improved to enjoy the full potential of this sector to support tiger protection and forest conservation. “However, with the average lodge occupancy at only around 31%, we need to see a revival of interest by the international travel commu-nity in India’s incredibly rich natural heritage and for them to follow our lead in responsible travel by choos-ing the PUG mark when they’re selecting places to stay,” he added.

Nature tourism integral to India’s Tiger conservation efforts: TOFT report

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 29film tourism

Niall Gibbons, CEO, Tourism Ireland & Joan O’Shaughnessy, Chairman, Tourism Ireland, at the Dublin launch of Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans for 2018

Thorir Ibsen, Iceland Ambassador to India(L-R) Officials from Austria & representatives from the Indian film industry

Indian arrivals surged 50% post Dilwale release: Iceland Ambassador

Assam offers incentives to shoot movies in the state

Austria invites Bollywood film-makers to shoot in the regionThe Producers Guild of India in association with Rob-inville Intech - representing Innsbruck Tourism, Cine Tirol, and Location Austria organised an event titled “Bollywood goes to Austria, Tirol, and Innsbruck”. A panel discussion was held which highlighted Austria as the preferred destination for Bollywood

film productions.“Since 2015, representation of Austrian business

and tourism interests have soared in India however, the most significant game-changer was the emergence of Bollywood in Austria in a noticeable way,” said Ish-vinder Maddh, Managing Director, Robinville Intech.

The Chief Guest at the event, Brigitte Öppinger-Walchshofer, Austrian Ambassador to India, said, “When Bollywood searches for new overseas locations for shooting films, Austria is very well placed to meet high expectations. The country offers everything from beautiful mountain scenery, deep forests and rolling green hills to romantic castles and lavish palaces. To film in Austria also ensures to work with excellent infra-structure. Bollywood is more than welcome in Austria. Let us intensify this relationship and by that not only the one from country to country or between institutions but the one from people to people.”

Most recently, the shooting of Yash Raj Films’ Tiger Zinda Hai in March 2017 is slated for release on Decem-ber 22, 2017, and is set to open Austria further to the Indian masses.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Indywood Film Car-nival 2017 held at the Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, Thorir Ibsen, Iceland Ambassador to India high-lighted that Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Hindi movie ‘Dilwale’ worked wonders for Iceland Tourism by increasing the visitors from India.

“It all started with the smaller productions and regional films from South, but the big boom came with the Hindi movie - Dilwale. The music video of song ‘Gerua’ from the movie was shot in Iceland. That was a big break for our destination. We have seen a magnificent growth in the number of tourists from India growing by 50% post the movie release,” he pointed out.

In a bid to encourage tourism in the eastern part of the country, Assam has introduced new incentives and subsidies to encourage directors and producers of the Indian film industry to shoot movies in the state.

Speaking at an event, Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister, Assam, stated, “The Assam Government is offering incentives and subsidies, including financial grant of 25% of cost of shooting in Assam, to filmmak-ers of every language - Hindi as well as foreign lan-guage, who have produced minimum five feature films with countrywide audience and subject to a maximum limit of INR 1 crore.”

He added that there is also an additional rebate of 10% for films having storyline on Assam’s culture, tourism and heritage as well as for shooting over 50% of the film in the state. For producers who have pro-duced minimum 10 films in Hindi, English or any foreign language, there will be free accommodation and transport during the period of stay for shooting of films in Assam.

Tourism Ireland launched details of its marketing plans to promote the island of Ireland overseas in 2018. Screen tourism will remain a priority and over the coming weeks and months, we will leverage the huge global popularity of Star Wars, following the upcoming launch of Star Wars Episode VIII, confirmed Niall Gibbons, CEO, Tourism Ireland adding, “We will implement the actions arising from our comprehen-sive reviews of the US and German markets; and we will exploit new access opportunities from Asia and the Middle East, to grow business from our develop-ing markets.”

2017 is set to be another record year for Irish tour-ism, surpassing all previous records. By year end 10.65 million people will have visited the island of Ireland, spending €5.78 billion. For 2018, Tourism Ireland aims to build on this year’s performance – growing overseas tourism revenue to €6 billion (+5%) to the island of Ire-land and visitor numbers to 10.8 million (+2%).

Positives include strong economies in many of their key source markets; as well as Tourism Ireland’s strength in digital and social media (the organisation is the fourth most popular tourism board in the world on Facebook). The release of Star Wars Episode VIII – which will feature various locations along the western seaboard – also presents Tourism Ireland with a truly unique opportunity to highlight the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland in 2018.

“2017 is set to be another record year for Irish tour-ism, surpassing all previous records and coming on the back of a number of years of strong growth. I am delighted to report that we have seen growth from all our main markets around the world, with the exception of Britain – with record numbers arriving here from North America, Mainland Europe, Australia and devel-oping markets. Tourism Ireland estimates that the year round media exposure is worth an estimated €327 mil-lion in equivalent advertising value,” said Gibbons.

In 2018, Tourism Ireland aims to grow overseas tourism revenue by +5%, to €6 billion for the island of Ireland; and to grow visitor numbers to 10.8 mil-lion (+2%). “We are heading into 2018 in a position of some strength, based on the success of 2017. Our aim is to position Ireland as a year-round, ‘must visit’ desti-nation and to ensure that the contribution of overseas tourism to the economy continues to expand,” he said.

New access developments for 2018 include a new Cathay Pacific flight to Dublin from Hong Kong; Aer Lingus flights to Dublin from Seattle and Philadel-phia; Air Canada services between Toronto and Shan-non and between Montreal and Dublin; as well as increased Ryanair services from Germany. Irish Fer-ries will introduce its new cruise ferry, the WB Yeats, in July – which will mean double the current number of sailings between France and Ireland, with daily depar-tures in alternate directions.

Tourism Ireland to leverage screen tourism further in 2018

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | decemBeR 2017 • 30EVENTS

Dr. Taleb Rifai receives IIPT Lifetime Achievement AwardThe International Institute for Peace through Tour-ism (IIPT) recently honoured seven outstand-ing people from the world of travel and tourism as “Global Ambassadors of Peace through Tourism” at World Travel Market (WTM), London. Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of UNWTO, was conferred with the IIPT Lifetime Achievement Award as a “Global Man of Peace.”

In his address, Rifai said that in recent years, the growth in tourism had exceeded growth in other sectors. However, he added that tourism is far more than numbers and statistics. To travel is a basic human right. Quoting Mark Twain he said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.”

Rifai said, “The 1.8 billion tourists expected to travel the world by 2030 could be 1.8 billion opportunities or 1.8 billion disasters – the choice is ours. There is no conflict between growth and sustainability because sustainability is beyond “Going Green” it’s about sustaining life on Earth. As I come to the end of my journey as Secretary-Gen-eral, the thought I would like to leave with is ‘What-ever you do, do it to make the world a better place.’”

Louis D’Amore, Founder and President, IIPT, said, “IIPT is privileged and grateful to pay trib-ute to Dr Taleb Rifai for his global leadership these past eight years. We look forward to a continuing relationship with him in the years ahead as we join

hands in efforts to promote the transformative role of tourism in making the world a better place.”

“While it’s axiomatic that peace is vital to the promotion of tourism, it is important to reiterate that tourism can be a vital force for the propaga-tion of peace and this can happen only if the con-cept of peace through tourism forms part of the core

business philosophy of the tourism industry,” high-lighted Ajay Prakash, President, IIPT India.

The theme of the awards event was “Tourism – A Catalyst for Peace” featuring Rifai as the key-note speaker. Supported by Incredible India and the UNWTO, this first edition of the awards was spon-sored by Cox & Kings.

In the upcoming edition of FITUR from January 17-21, 2018 at IFEMA - Feria de Madrid, Spain, partner coun-try - India will exhibit its tourism as one of its leading-edge sectors with some of the highest business possi-bilities. With 7% economic growth, India presents a key market for worldwide investments and economic relations and is inviting companies to invest, especially those from industries where the country is a leading global power, prominent among them infrastructures, rail transport and tourism.

This collaboration provides a close tie by linking India brand to the international tourism trade fair, allowing the new FITUR partner, whose presence has increased more than 30% at the fair, to make the most of

the event’s exceptional promotional potential and capi-talise on it. In this way the Asian country, under the slo-gan of ‘Incredible India’, will enjoy an important inter-national showcase for promoting the destination.

Last year was the 60th Anniversary of the establish-ment of diplomatic ties between Spain and India. Both countries are now forging ever closer ties through this alliance. Spanish tourism to India continues to grow. According to figures released by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, it received 76,342 Spanish tourists in 2016. Additionally, the increase in direct connections between Madrid and New Delhi has facilitated traveller flow between both nations and establishes the Spanish capital as the gateway to the Latin American market.

Incredible India all set to capitalise as FITUR Partner Country 2018

Dr. Taleb Rifai receiving IIPT Lifetime Achievement Award from (L)Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings & (R) Louis D’Amore, Founder & President, IIPT

Premium Pa�ner Pa�ner Countries Host State

Pa�ner States

Feature Countries

Feature Countries

Suppo�ed by

Suppo�ed by

OfficialPublication

Organised by

Feature States Pa�ner CityBangkok

DestinationPa�ner

KnowledgePa�ner

Pa�ner Airline

MediaPa�ner