Kerala Tourism to organise roadshows in Lucknow and Bhopal on Sept 6 and 8

Kerala Tourism will organise roadshows in Lucknow and Bhopal on September 6 and September 8, 2010 respectively. Another roadshow was planned for Jaipur on September 3, 2010, but it has been postponed till October. The date for the same is yet to be decided. Besides, the Kerala Tourism will also organise around 12 roadshows between January-March 2011 in Gwalior, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Surat and Kolkata.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals up by 4.1% in July 2010 at 4.52 lakh

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during the month of July 2010 were at 4.52 lakh as compared to 4.35 lakh during the same month in the corresponding period, thereby registering a growth of 4.1 per cent over July 2009 as compared to a growth of 0.6 per cent registered in July 2009 over July 2008. FTAs during the period of January-July 2010 were 30.85 lakh against FTAs of 28.10 lakh showing a growth rate of 9.8 per cent.

3,516 visa on arrival (VoAs) issued during January-July 2010

During the period January-July 2010, a total of 3,516 visa-on-arrival (VoAs) were issued under the scheme Government had launched from January 2010 for citizens of five countries, namely Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore. The number of visas issued under this scheme during January-July 2010 for nationals of the five countries were Singapore (1164), New Zealand (856), Finland (847), Japan (625) and Luxembourg (24). In July 2010, a total of 365 such visas were issued, which included 45 for Finland, 104 for Japan, 88 for New Zealand, 124 for Singapore and 4 for Luxemberg.

Steering Committee headed by Joint Secretary to work on MoU for CITTI

The CITTI initiative has been a result of long deliberations of the Steering Committee set up under the Chairmanship of Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, MOT with all leading industry association partners. The said committee will now formulate the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), rules and regulations that will govern CITTI. As per the present deliberations, CITTI will have all the leading trade associations as part of its governing council. All these associations will become members after paying a sum of `10 lakh to CITTIs corpus, which will also receive `1 crore from the Ministry of Tourism. Individuals and corporates will also be allowed to become members at a predetermined fee. A full time CEO to attain the mandate of CITTI will be on board and will report to the Governing Council. Among the various charters and objectives set for CITTI, the foremost priority will be to conduct the Global Travel Mart- India, which will be an international travel trade exhibition in India. Sources reveal that the first such global event is likely to be organised in September 2012. Amidst various unique travel offerings, Destination India has seen an increase in the number of international tourist arrivals from 2.38 million in the year 2002 to a mere 5.11 million in the year 2009. However, once CITTI brings all the associations on board, along with other strategic stakeholders under a single umbrella, the target of touching 10 million travellers by 2013 and 15 million travellers by 2015 wont remain a distant dream.

One Voice Dream comes true with CITTI

With unparalleled efforts of the Ministry of Tourism, leaders of the industry and associations, a unique platform, namely, the Confederation of Indian Travel and Tourism Industry (CITTI), under the leadership of Kumari Selja, Union Minister of Tourism, is finally underway, which is like a dream that has been realised after 60 years of commitment, persuasion and hard work. It is pertinent to glance through the names of the legends, who had stood by the idea of forming a single platform to pursue larger interests of the tourism sector in India. It includes Nari and Adi Katgara, Cyrus Guzder, Inder Sharma, Gautam Khanna, Vinoo Ubhayakar, M S Oberoi, Krishen Kumar, Krishan Amla, Late Lalit Suri and many others. The present leaders, who had contributed to making this dream into a reality include Rajindera Kumar, Priya Paul, Jyotsna Suri, Arjun Sharma, Peter Kerkar, Nakul Anand, Nandini Verma, Jehangir Katgara, Captain C P Krishnan Nair, Vivek Nair, Ajoy Misra, Raymond Bickson, D K Beri, K B Kachru, Naresh Goyal, Ragini Chopra, Ashwini Kakkar, Dipak Deva, Madhavan Menon, Vijay Thakur, Rajesh Mudgill, Pradeep Thukral, Harish Sud, R K Puri, Rajji Rai, Ajeet Bajaj, Tejbir Singh Anand and many others. Senior representatives of the tourism industry had many times come together in the past to discuss this subject. The effort finally fructified, when MOT spearheaded the initiative. The final proposal to form CITTI was given shape in a meeting chaired by Sujit Banerjee, Former Secretary, MOT, which Sanjay Kothari, Additional Secretary, MOT, Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, MOT, and many other senior officials of the Ministry attended. The industry was represented by its associations that participated in the meeting and included IATO, WTTC-India Initiative, PATA - India, FHRAI, HAI, TAAI, TAFI, ADTOI, ATOAI, IMTA etc.

The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai to reopen its doors to the restored Palace wings on August 15

After intricately working for over 21 months on the Palace Wing of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai after the 26/11 attacks, the Palace Wing will be reopened for guests on August 15. To announce the reopening of the Wing, guests are being offered free nights in suites. Moreover, to get back their guests, Taj will soon offer a complimentary night for every night spent in its suites. It will also offer a third night free stay for every two nights at the Luxury Grande rooms in the restored wing.

IATO commits 1 lakh to Leh rescue efforts, urges its members to donate generously

At a recently concluded monthly meet, Indian Association of tour Operators (IATO) committed a sum of ` 1 lakh to the rescue effort in Leh region where flash foods had run havoc. It had also affected many tourists other than the local citizens, many of whom are still missing. Vijay Thakur, President, IATO has also urged its socially responsible members to donate generously to the said cause. The donations made for this cause will be entitled for tax benefits.

Etihad Airways to launch All Economy service to India in October

Etihad Airways will introduce its first all economy class aircraft into its fleet in October 2010. Two irbus A320s have been configured to accommodate 162 economy class passengers, which is an increase of 42 passengers from the present economy capacity. The aircraft will operate on short-haul destinations including Trivandrum, Calicut, Alexandria, Colombo, Damascus and Doha.

Sentosa announces Preferred Partners Scheme for Indian travel agents

Sentosa, an island resort in Singapore, has announced a Preferred Partners Scheme which aims to target three cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Under this scheme, a total of 12 agents will be appointed as preferred partners for Sentosa. These Preferred Partners will have Sentosas commitment and exclusive support in their efforts to promote the island resort and its products. Besides being a significant contributor to the Indian arrivals for Sentosa, these valued trade partners are selected based on key factors such as their creativity in developing new Sentosa programmes, a shared common interest to promote Sentosa to the Indian consumers as well as their excellent partnership and collaborations with the Singapore Tourism Board.

Spain Tourism Board opens its office in Mumbai

The National Tourist Office of Spain was inaugurated in Mumbai on July 28. The office will be headed by Miguel Nieto Sandoval, tourism counsellor of the Embassy of Spain and director of the Tourism Office of Spain. Sandoval will work closely with the travel trade to increase awareness of the destination. The tourism board will undertake a series of joint promotions and campaigns, media and trade shows to generate a high recall value for Spain.

VisitBritain Travel Summit coming to Bengaluru in 2011

UK national tourism agency VisitBritain will stage its main international travel trade event in Bengaluru next year, as was announced during Prime Minister David Camerons visit to New Delhi on July 28. Destination Britain and Ireland 2011 will enable 70 leading suppliers from the UK travel trade to meet 100 of the top buyers from 15 countries across the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Australia region. The event is scheduled in May next year at Leela Palace Hotel, Bangalore.

Jordan Tourism Board announces online e-learning academy for travel agents

The Jordan Tourism Board has launched Visit Jordan Academy, an online travel accreditation program that enables agents to learn everything they need to know about the Jordanian tourism product to help them plan unforgettable dream trips for their clients. The tool, available for agents worldwide, offers a wide spectrum of information on Jordan and its history. Agents can join by registering at www.visitjordan.com

Accor to launch India-centric website in October

In order to increase its brand awareness in the country, European hospitality major Accor will unveil the Indian version of its website in October. The website will communicate specifically to the Indian domestic market for domestic and even international hotels. The company is also increasing capacity at its 70-seater reservation call centre in Pune to cater to the increasing domestic demand.

Carlson opens its 30th hotel in India in Indore

Global hospitality company Carlson has announced the further expansion of its India portfolio with the opening of its 30th hotel in Indore. The 201-room Radisson Hotel Indore is situated in the business hub of the city. The hotel is also the 12th Radisson hotel operating in India. The Radisson Hotel Indore features a 38,000 square ft area for conferences, meetings and social gatherings, and can accommodate up to 1,000 people. Another key highlight is the extensive wellness facilities located on the hotels landscaped roof top.

Ezeego1.com with Sportsnet, Australia, launches sports travel holiday packages

To promote sport travel holiday packages in India, Ezeego1.com, in association with Sportsnet, has introduced sport travel holiday packages in India for major sporting events to be held across the world. Sportsnet is Australia leading sports travel company, which provides official ticket and accommodation travel packages to all major sporting events in the world.

MOT, with private sector, plans to form Confederation of Indian Travel and Tourism Industry (CITTI)

The Ministry of Tourism in consultation with all the stakeholders has planned to form a registered body under the Chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, which will be named Confederation of the Indian Travel and Tourism Industry (CITTI). It will also have a full Chief Operating Officer, who will report to the Governing Council. All leading travel trade association will be part of the governing council. Individuals and companies could also become the member of the confederation in their personal capacity, as well.

R H Khwaja, a 1976 batch IAS officer, to assume charge as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism

R H Khwaja, who belongs to the 1976 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), will take charge as the new Secretary, Ministry of Tourism as Sujit Banerjee demits office on his superannuation. Khwaja had been serving the Government of India as Special Secretary, Environment & Forests and is a committed environmentalist with special interest in the conservation of Biological Diversity.

PATA India gears up for PATA Travel Mart in Macau

PATA India Chapter is all set for PATA Travel Mart (PTM) in Macau this year. On September 17, the Ministry of Tourism will host welcome dinner for almost 1,000 delegates in Macau. “The programme for the welcome dinner has already been reviewed by Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, MOT. There will be an audio-visual film on the historic areas of New Delhi followed by a cultural programme,” Kabir Vasudeva, executive director, PATA India Chapter informed.

Domestic passenger carriage up by 21.86% during January-June 2010

According to passenger data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), domestic passenger traffic recorded a 21.86 per cent growth during the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year. The scheduled domestic airlines in India carried 257.10 lakh passengers this year, compared to 210.99 lakh during January-June last year. During June alone, the passenger carriage registered a growth of 21.43 per cent.

Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian to offer 75 weekly flights from 7 Indian destinations in winter schedule

SWISS, Austrian and Lufthansa will together offer 75 weekly flights from seven Indian destinations in the upcoming winter schedule. From October 29, 2010, Lufthansa Airlines, Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) and Austrian Airlines will offer more flights from seven Indian destinations to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna, with a total of 75 weekly frequencies. Lufthansa will serve its Pune – Frankfurt route with four weekly frequencies, up from three currently. In addition, the carrier will deploy a larger A340-600 aircraft on its Chennai – Frankfurt route.

Bengal Pandaw announces its second season on the Ganges

Pandaw Cruise India is ready to begin its second season starting October. The cruise company has recently announced 10 scheduled upstream and downstream departures from October to April. It will offer 14 nights/15 days itinerary from Varanasi to Kolkata and Kolkata to Varanasi navigating through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Launched last season, river cruise in the Ganges by this company traverse four states and cover more than 1000 kilometres.

First edition of Commonwealth International Travel Mart scheduled for August 26 to 28, 2010

The first edition of Commonwealth International Travel Mart (CITM) has been announced to be held from August 26-28 at hotel Ashok in the national capital. About 200 buyers and over 100 exhibitors from the Commonwealth countries are expected participation in the event. The event will offer buyers and sellers platform to network, conduct business and create new opportunities. CITM will now be an annual fixture in the calendar of events in India.

InterGlobe and Accor announce new hotel investment fund

InterGlobe and Accor have announced the establishment of an investment fund for a portfolio of hotel assets in India. According to this, an affiliate of Pacifica Partners (Pacifica) will take a significant stake of up to 36 per cent equity in the fund, subject to requisite regulatory approvals. Accor and InterGlobe will hold 32 per cent equity in the fund, each. Gilles Pelisson, chairman and CEO, Accor said, “The investment of Pacifica into this fund provides a platform for further growth in the strategic market of India, where Accor and InterGlobe have extensive property developments in the pipeline.”

First Aloft hotel opens in Chennai, second to be inaugurated in Bengaluru on August 1, 2010

Aloft Hotels, the mid-scale brand by Starwood Hotels and Resorts opened its first property in India, Aloft Chennai this month. The hotel has 130 rooms and offers over 5,000 square feet of meeting space and a restaurant. The second Aloft property is scheduled to open on August 1, 2010 at Bengaluru. Urbanedge Hotels, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Auromatrix Hotels Private Limited, plans to set up several properties of Aloft hotels in the country over the next few years.

Taiwan records 60% growth in arrivals from India

Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA) has reported a positive arrival of visitors from India registering a record 60 per cent growth in the second quarter (April-June 2010) of the year over the same period last year. It received 7377 visitors from India between April-June this year against 4641 arrival during the same period last year. The destination registered a record 120 per cent growth in May 2010 over the same period last year. The first six months of the current year has witnessed an average growth of 47 per cent over the same period last year.

27% increase in French tourist arrivals in India till May 2010: India Tourism Overseas Office in Paris

The number of visas issued to French nationals has registered a double-digit growth over the last year. Data from the India Tourism Overseas Office in Paris, France shows the number of visas issued to French nationals has climbed up this year, till May. In the January-May period, January witnessed the maximum number of French tourists in India. The number of visas issued to French tourists rose to 19,254 in January, 2010 compared to 15,161 in the year-ago period, registering a sharp rise of 27 per cent.

Abacus ties up with ACE Travel Insurance to distribute insurance products to travel agents

Abacus, a leading provider of travel solutions and services, has announced its partnership with ACE Travel Insurance to distribute insurance products to all Abacus-connected travel agents. During the first phase, travel agents across the Asia region, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Thailand will be able to access the content via Abacus’ fully integrated travel insurance booking solution, Abacus TravelSecure. In the second phase, the insurance product will be available to other Asia Pacific markets as well.

Agents to be rewarded for booking Jet Airways on Galileo or Worldspan platforms

Jet Airways has launched a joint promotion with Galileo and Worldspan where travel agents will be awarded for booking Jet Airways flights from now until October 15, 2010. Agents who successfully increase the number of segments booked on Jet Airways flights during the promotion period will be eligible for a lucky draw and will stand chance to win the grand prize- a Tata Nano car. Also, first 100 bookings will qualify for early bird prizes. Travelport’s Galileo and Worldspan global distribution systems (GDS) are officially distributed by ITQ and its affiliate Calleo Distribution Technologies in India.

TSI launches tsi.travel, a B2B/B2E portal

Travel Services International (TSI), a leading consolidator, recently forayed into B2B/ B2E segment with the launch of tsi.travel. Targetted at travel agents and corporate customers, the portal provides a comprehensive air booking tool enabling agents to offer their customers significant cost savings opportunities and cater to their demand of doing more for less. Built on the concept of web2.0, the portal offers end-to-end integrated travel platform with multi channel architecture capable of handling content from multiple sources.

Travel agents to be denied access to IRCTC website daily from 8 am to 9 am

The Ministry of Railways has decided to bar travel agents, web-service agents/web agents of IRCTC from booking Tatkal tickets and ordinary tickets over the internet during first hour of booking on the opening day. This comes in the wake of increased complaints regarding IRCTC website being inaccessible to common users at the time of commencement of Railway reservation booking in the morning. In addition, special checks would be conducted between 7:30 am to 9 am for a fortnight to prevent touts/unscrupulous agents from cornering seats.

Domestic passenger carriage in the second quarter touches 134.77 lakh

According to the passenger data released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the domestic passenger carried by Scheduled Airlines of India during April-June 2010, touched 134.77 lakh. This was up 13.7 per cent over the previous quarter, where in the number of passengers carried by scheduled airlines stood at 118.53 lakh during January-March 2010. The total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled airlines in the month of June alone were 45.04 lakh.

210 projects worth Rs 540 crore sanctioned for North East

According to the passenger data released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the domestic passenger carried by Scheduled Airlines of India during April-June 2010, touched 134.77 lakh. This was up 13.7 per cent over the previous quarter, where in the number of passengers carried by scheduled airlines stood at 118.53 lakh during January-March 2010. The total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled airlines in the month of June alone were 45.04 lakh.

MOT's initiative to overhaul overseas marketing strategy to benefit trade

The stakeholders across all value chains of travel business will benefit from the overseas marketing strategy that had been overhauled by Ministry of Tourism (MOT) to devise methods to provide best support at most competitive air packages. As part of start the overhaul in the marketing policy, MOT will share its annual calendar of activities well in advance with stakeholders to facilitate better and informed participation. Further, the ministry will invite bids for facilitating movement during such events from state and private carriers.

Jordan posts 92% growth in the first five months in 2010

After posting a strong growth of 92 per cent in overnight stays from India in the first five months this year over the same period last year, Jordan Tourism Board is now targeting to establish India as one of its top five tourism generating market. JTB opened its tourism marketing office in India in April last year and is currently organising a seven-city road show in India.

12-city Learn South Africa programme kicks off from Mumbai

The first phase of South African Tourism’s Learn South Africa, a programme designed to train Indian travel agents on South African tourism products, kick-started on July 10 in Mumbai. The first phase of the training session is being held in 12 cities including Mumbai (July 10, 2010), Kolkata (July 17, 2010), Delhi (July 24, 2010), Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad (July 31, 2010), Bengaluru (July 31, 2010), Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Surat, Kochi, Nagpur and Pune on (August 7, 2010). More than 700 agents have registered for this destination training programme.

Sikkim inks tourism pact with Goa to promote tourism

Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) has signed an agreement with Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC). The MoU was signed on June 23 by STDC after which it was forwarded to GTDC for agreement. The agreement stands effective from June 23 for a period of two years, said STDC Chief Executive Officer, S. Anbalagan. As per the terms of agreement, both the states will be promoting each other for attracting more tourists from each end. Both the corporations will seek to tap tourism potential of the respective states, thereby enhancing employment generation for tourism stakeholders, develop tourism packages service and product and make them accessible to the public through tourism publicity.

Travelport, Avis Budget Group sign multi-year agreement

Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, on July 16, announced details of a new long-term marketing and distribution agreement with Avis Budget Group, a leading provider of vehicle rental services with operations in more than 70 countries. The multi-year agreement secures access to Avis Budget Group’s rates and services for all Travelport-connected customers worldwide including corporate customers and online agencies booking through Galileo and Worldspan.

Abacus-connected travel agents to benefit from wider choice of payment options

Abacus, Asia’s leading provider of travel solutions and services, on July 15 announced that Abacus-connected travel agents can benefit from a safer and wider choice of payment options that will energise sales, thanks to a new partnership agreement with AsiaPay, a leader in internet payment services. With this partnership, Abacus-connected agencies can expand both their walk-in, call-in and online business with AsiaPay’s suite of advanced electronic payment and fraud prevention solutions, all within a 3D-secure and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS) compliant environment, the payment industry’s highest level of data security.

TSI launches tsi.travel, a B2B/B2E portal

Travel Services International (TSI), a leading consolidator, recently forayed into B2B/ B2E segment with the launch of tsi.travel. Targetted at travel agents and corporate customers, the portal provides a comprehensive air booking tool enabling agents to offer their customers significant cost savings opportunities and cater to their demand of doing more for less. Built on the concept of web2.0, the portal offers end-to-end integrated travel platform with multi channel architecture capable of handling content from multiple sources.

Puducherry expects 20% surge in tourist arrivals this year

The tourism sector in Puducherry is buzzing with development initiatives and tourism infrastructure development is in full swing. The Union Territory recorded close to 5.6 lakh domestic tourist arrival last year and the number of inbound tourist in the region reached over 53, 000. This year, the Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation expects the tourist arrival to increase by 20 per cent over last year.

Over 50 lakh passports issued in 2009

As per the annual report of The Ministry of External Affairs 2009-2010, the number of passports issued in 2008 by the 37 passport offices was 53.10 lakh. However, during the year 2009, the growth had stabilised, with 50.28 lakh passports issued, but still the number remains commendable. The total revenue generated through the passport and visa services during the period April 2009-20 January 2010 are Rs 685.5 crores & Rs 924.41 crore respectively.

Tourism Queensland to organise trade workshop in November & December in India

Tourism Queensland is arranging trade and media workshops in November and December in Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai later this year. Tourism Queensland has engaged over 700 agents in India who are promoting Queensland.

Tourism Spain to organise Madrid roadshow in September in Delhi and Mumbai

Tourism Spain will organise the Madrid Road show in the month of September in Mumbai and Delhi, with 15 suppliers from Madrid. There will be a trade interaction session along with a seminar which will give the Indian travel trade an opportunity to network and understand the destination better. Tourism Spain will also organise a B2B road show in January 2011.

Macau registers 120% growth in arrivals from India in May

Macau received 25,631 visitors from India in May this year, registering an increase of 120.46 per cent compared to the same month of 2009 when it received 11626 visitors from India, according to the latest report of the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). This growth surpassed the impressive growth for the month of April this year when arrivals from India grew by 66.85 per cent over the same month last year. Overall the region has registered a growth of 85.17% between Jan-May 2010 over the same period last year.

Foreign tourist arrivals grow by 10.8% in Jan-June

Continuing the upward march, foreign tourist arrivals registered a growth of 8.0 per cent in June 2010 over June 2009 as compared to a growth of 0.2 per cent registered in June 2009 over June 2008. FTAs in India during June 2010 were 3.70 lakh as compared to FTAs of 3.42 lakh during the month of June 2009. During the period January-June 2010, they had registered double digit growth of 10.8 per cent at 26.32 lakh, as compared to the FTAs of 23.76 lakh and a negative growth rate of 9.0 per cent during January-June 2009 over the corresponding period of 2008.

Anand Kumar takes over as Joint Secretary, MOT

Anand Kumar (IAS) has taken charge as Joint Secretary in The Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Government of India. A 1984-batch Kerala cadre IAS Officer, Kumar was Resident Commissioner in Kerala House, New Delhi prior to joining MOT. Kumar has held numerous positions including Additional Director �Tourism, Secretary Finance, Government of Kerala; Under Secretary in Ministry of Surface Transport, and Commerce & Industry, to name a few.

MOT mulls strategic plan for next 5-years

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is all set to finalise a strategic policy for the next five years, after elaborate brain storming sessions with all the stakeholders in the travel trade. Two such sessions were held in the first week of July 2010. The agenda was to leverage Incredible India brand by undertaking a market and product specific approach in the next five years. The new strategy will facilitate destination India�s transition to becoming a destination for 365 days in a year for long, medium and short haul vacations

Thomas Cook enters a 7- year deal with Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delh

Thomas Cook has launched 9 exchange and travel counters at the newly opened Terminal 3 at IGI Airport. The one-stop-shop counters by Thomas Cook will offer foreign exchange services to the passengers along with other products and services like insurance, air and rail tickets, domestic and international travel packages, hotel bookings etc.

A380 set to arrive in India

To celebrate the launch of the new terminal at the IGI Airport, Emirates has commissioned a special commercial service of the 517-seat A380 offering passengers flying from Delhi to Dubai a one-off opportunity to experience the aircraft�s grandeur, not to mention its luxurious onboard amenities. Emirates will be the first international carrier in Indian Civil Aviation history to bring the world�s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 at the newly opened terminal at the IGI Airport in New Delhi.

EL AL to launch 4th flight on Mumbai-Tel Aviv route from its winter schedule

Israel�s flag carrier, EL AL Israel Airlines has announced that it will increase the flights frequency on Mumbai- Tel Aviv route to four flights per week from the present three during the winter schedule this year. The fourth flight will operate on Tuesday every week, departing Mumbai at 11:00 pm to arrive in Tel Aviv at 4:15 am the next day. Presently, EL AL operates three flights on this route on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, departing at the same time from Mumbai.

AirAsia to unveil state-of-the-art booking system

AirAsia will launch a hi-tech unser-friendly booking system on July 11. The new system will allow the airline to book up to almost 1 million flights a day. The new system is powered by Navitaire, a subsidiary of industry-leading technology and business solutions provider, Accenture.

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Pre-owned aircraft for sale

Follow the link to see full details of these latest advertised pre-owned aircraft in EBAN: • Bombardier Challenger 604 (Airclaims Limited) • Bombardier Learjet 40XR (Indigo Lyon Ltd) • Cessna Citation Sovereign (Herrenknecht Aviation) • Embraer Phenom 100 (Par Avion Ltd. ) • Embraer Phenom 100 (Global Brands) • Hawker Beechcraft 800B (Airclaims Ltd) • Hawker Beechcraft 800B (JetFlight Ltd) • Piaggio P.180 Avanti IIÂ (Orion Fly) To advertise an aircraft in the July 2010 edition, please contact Mark Ranger before the booking deadline of June 22, 2010

The latest press releases at the EBAN Handbook web site

The latest press releases at the EBAN Handbook web site The Handbook of Business Aviation in Europe web site features business aviation press releases, and here are some of the highlights: • Riga FBO to open in July • Falcon 7X training extended • Patriot acquires Coventry • EBAA calls for FTL feedback • CAE adds Falcon in Dubai

Did you know?

TRTO training organisations from around the continent are now listed on the Handbook of Business Aviation web site, and searchable by aircraft type and location. Need Super King Air training? HBAE is the only site to list all the options.

Meet new customers at BGAD 10

The sixth Business and General Aviation Day (BGAD) will take place on Tuesday September 21st, 2010 at Marshall Cambridge Airport, and now is the time to secure a prominent location. Booths are all 3 metres by 2 metres with electrical power, lights, carpet, table and two chairs, for an inclusive price of only £750. You can display aircraft of any size at BGAD, the static parking area is directly outside the exhibition hall. There is no need for overnight or expensive additional staffing costs, and you will be away from your office for only one day. To register your interest in exhibiting, please contactt mark@bgad.aero.

Looking for staff, or a career move for yourself?

Follow the link to see full details of these latest advertised vacancies in EBAN: • Program Manager for Jet-Care (Jet-Care) To advertise a vacancy in the July 2010 edition, please contact Mark Ranger before the booking deadline of June 22, 2010

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Reach decision makers across the continents

The printed version of this issue was mailed on June 2, 2010 to 6,081 individuals in 74 countries, comprehensively covering Europe and the Middle East. These owners, chief pilots, ops manager and others are responsible for 11,896 aircraft, including 3,570 business jets and 4,981 turbine helicopters. An extra 847 copies are available in the lounges of 76 leading FBOs. To reach this hugely valuable audience with your advertising, please see our latest media brochure or contact Mark Ranger on +44 (0)1279 714509. To be included in our next issue, please place your booking by June 21, 2010. Our features will include: We'd like to thank our advertisers, who this time included: Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, Dassault Aviation, Spectro Oil Analysis Co. Ltd., FlightSafety International, AVCARD, Spectro Oil Analysis Co. Ltd., Aero Specialties Inc. and Tim Leacock Aircraft Sales

The latest news from European Business Air News

The June 2010 edition of European Business Air News has just been mailed, and you can now see it in all its glory as a digital edition. Here are some of the news highlights: • SPA selects 7X for global and Middle East charter • HeliClub makes first Russian order for AW139 • MJet advocates bespoke regulations for Europe's private charter sector • Royal Jet to offer BBJ 'magnificent seven' • Acropolis ACJ to meet 600 hour luxury long haul target in first year of charter operation

Rs 8.81 crore sanctioned for developing camping sites at Surajkund and Dundahera in Haryana

The state of Haryana is further making use of the sanctioned amount of over Rs 8 crore for developing camping sites at Surajkund and Dundahera. These sites will serve as an alternate accommodation during the Commonwealth Games, as camping sites are being encouraged to give a different experience to the discerning travellers. The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned Rs 3.61 crore for the development of camping sites at Surajkund area and Rs 3.20 crore for development of camping site at Dundahera to the state of Haryana.

Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) to work with private sector for setting over 268 wayside amenities on highways

MPSTDC is working on a project to develop 268 wayside amenities on national, state and other highway. In the first phase, it aims to develop 25-30 projects and is open to weigh all options to engage private sector. Presently, there are three models being worked by the state corporation to engage with the private sector in our endeavour to expand our chain of highway retreats under our umbrella.

Oman Tourism appoints India representative

Blue Square Consultants has been awarded the mandate to represent Oman Tourism in the India market. The mandate for Oman Tourism is to develop and promote the destination in the Indian market with emphasis on the B2B and the B2C segments. Salim Bin Adey Al-Mamari, director general of Tourism Promotion, Sultanate of Oman said, We have appointed BSC as our India representative and we believe that they have credentials to promote the unique products that Oman has to offer the discerning Indian clientele

Pau Pyrenees and Lourdes Tourism Offices from France appoints representative office in India

Pau Pyrenees and Lourdes regions in France have appointed Outbound Marketing as its tourism representative office in India. This was announced on May 28, 2010 in New Delhi at a press conference addressed by Didier BRISSET, member of Pau CCI Board and Sanjay Sondhi, president, Outbound Marketing. Also present on the occasion were senior delegate members from the Pau Pyrenees and Lourdes Tourism Offices

MOT sanctions Rs 2,183 cr for 761 state tourism development projects

The Ministry of Tourism under the Central Financial Assistance scheme extended assistance to states for development of tourism infrastructure. According to the recent data released by the MOT, an amount of over Rs 2,183 crore has been allocated to 761 tourism projects that have been sanctioned during the last three years, from 2007 to 2010, under the 11th five year plan.

JHM Interstate signs an upscale luxury resort at Kukas, Jaipur

JHM Interstate Hotels India, a leading international, independent hotel management company in India, has signed agreement to open and manage Rajasthali Resorts & Studios first resort project, located at Kukas, Jaipur, India. The 62-guestroom resort, to be managed as an independently branded property, is JHM Interstate Hotels second managed property and will start operation by October 2010. The property is located at the entrance to Jaipur on National Highway 8

TAFI Karnataka Chapter announces office-bearers for 2010-2012 term

At its recent AGM in Bengaluru, TAFI Karnataka Chapter elected a new committee for the term 2010-2012. The chapter will be headed by Seeraj S Sabharwal, proprietor, Charter Tours & Travels as the chairman. Ajay Prakash, current national general secretary of TAFI, was present to oversee the arrangements. Over 70 members were present at the AGM.

Global traffic falls by 2.4% in April: IATA

International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently released the international scheduled air traffic results for April 2010. Iceland's volcanic ash played spoilsport as air traffic reduced, interrupting the industry's recovery from the global financial crisis. Passenger demand slumped by 2.4% as a result of massive flight cancellations centered in Europe. In comparison, international scheduled cargo traffic recorded a modest 25.2 per cent growth in April, compared to 28.1 per cent growth recorded in the month of March.

Air Arabia increases services to Goa

Air Arabia will add two additional flights on Mondays and Fridays between June 1 and October 30 to cater to the growing seasonal demand for low-cost services to Goa. The two additional flights will enhance the level of convenience for travellers from the UAE to Goa. In order to offer convenient itinerary options, the flights will depart from Sharjah at 22:25 pm and arrive in Goa at 03:05 am, the following day. The return flights will depart from Goa on Tuesday and Saturday at 03:45 am and arrive in Sharjah at 05:25 am the same day.

Etihad launches online UAE visa application service in India

The statistics published by the DGCA office unveiled that passengers carried by domestic airlines from January to April were 16.28 million as against 13.34 million in the corresponding period of year 2009. This made a growth of + 22.05 per cent. The total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled airlines of India in the month of April were 4.19 million. The figure for the month of March was 3.90 million. The break-up for the month of April, is as follows: Kingfisher .90 million, Jet Airways .77 million, Air India (domestic) .76 million, IndiGo .66 million, Spice Jet .53 million, Jet Lite .31 million, Go Air .25 million and Paramount .01 million.

Agents on Galileo and Worldspan platform to benefit from acquisition of sprice.com

Travelport, one of the world's leading global distribution system (GDS) providers, on 19 May completed the acquisition of Singapore-based Sprice Pte, which owns and operates the hotel and travel search engine Sprice.com. As a consequence of the deal, Travelport will significantly expand its hospitality offering by providing Galileo and Worldspan-connected agents with access to Sprice's portfolio of over 240,000 international hotel properties, as well as a comprehensive suite of hotel reviews, merchandising options and comparison tools.

IATO sends fresh proposals to MOT for organising new roadshows this year in key markets

Indian Association of Tour Operators has sent fresh proposals to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, for fresh trade roadshows to be organised in some of the key markets this year like East Europe, China, Syria and Australia. IATO in association with MOT and GOI conducted about 22 roadshows last year in the key source markets worldwide to revive the declining foreign tourist arrivals in the aftermath of global financial crisis. Confirmation from MOT in this regard is awaited.

DIAL CEO appointed as director, Airports Council International for Asia Pacific region

PS Nair, chief executive officer (CEO) of Delhi International Airport (DIAL), has been elected as a director of Airports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific Regional Board for a three year term. Considered as the voice of the world's airports, ACI works to foster cooperation throughout the air transport industry. It has 575 members operating over 1633 airports in 179 countries and territories. Nair has 33 years of experience in airport management encompassing operations, commercial and cargo, infrastructure planning and development. He had been the CEO of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) and Board member of the Airports Authority of India as well as the airport director of Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai and Delhi airports.

SpiceJet to expand its international services on four destinations

SpiceJet, India's leading low fare airline is all set to commence its international flight by July 2010 as it completes five years of operation in India this month. Starting July, the carrier will make its international debut connecting Colombo with one of its South India hub followed by Dhaka from Kolkata, Kathmandu from Delhi and Male from Mumbai in the subsequent months. SpiceJet will fly daily to all four destinations.

Jet Airways domestic traffic grows by 26% during Q4

Robust demand for air travel in the domestic market helped Jet Airways post a 26.3 per cent increase in its domestic traffic for Q4 which ended in March 2010. The seat factor recorded 8.3 percentage point growth and came in at 72.9 per cent, compared to 64.6 per cent during the same period last year. On its international operations, the airline achieved a record 81.6 per cent seat factor against 75.3 per cent during the same period last year.

AI flies record 50,308 passengers on May 16 for the first time post merger of Air India and Indian Airlines

National carrier, Air India, flew a record number of 50,308 passengers on its entire network of domestic and international stations on May 16, 2010. While a total of 32,456 passengers flew on IC coded flights, the international passenger carriage notched up by Air India and Air India Express flights totalled 17,852. The passenger carriage on the IC network of flights is a record figure that has been achieved for the first time; post the merger of erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines in August 2007.

Domestic travel increases during January to April by 22% this year as compared to the same period in 2009, says DGCA

The statistics published by the DGCA office unveiled that passengers carried by domestic airlines from January to April were 16.28 million as against 13.34 million in the corresponding period of year 2009. This made a growth of + 22.05 per cent. The total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled airlines of India in the month of April were 4.19 million. The figure for the month of March was 3.90 million. The break-up for the month of April, is as follows: Kingfisher .90 million, Jet Airways .77 million, Air India (domestic) .76 million, IndiGo .66 million, Spice Jet .53 million, Jet Lite .31 million, Go Air .25 million and Paramount .01 million.

Indian Railways plans to launch special tourist trains, Bharat Tirth

Indian Railways will launch special tourist trains called ‘Bharat Tirth’ connecting popular tourist sites in different parts of the country. This step has been taken by the Indian Railways to support the government’s effort of promoting tourism in the country. Union Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee disclosed this plan in the Railways Budget for 2010-11. She said that to emphasise the country’s ‘Unity in Diversity’, these trains would be run from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, from Dwarka to Vindhya Parbat, from Ajmer Sharif to Gangasagar, and from Madurai to Patna Sahib. These trains have been proposed on 16 circuits.

InterGlobe General Aviation introduces seaplanes in India

InterGlobe General Aviation, a group company of InterGlobe Enterprises, recently added seaplanes to their aviation portfolio and introduced them in the Indian market. Nigel Harwood, president & CEO, InterGlobe General Aviation informed that to begin with, the company is planning to introduce 10 seaplanes in India over the next two-three years. Travelling between islands and coastal cities in India will be made quicker and hassle-free with these seaplanes. The seaplanes will be marketed in both corporate as well as leisure tourism sectors. The new fully certified all composite, twin-engine Seastar CD2 from Dornier is the most advanced seaplane in the world, providing the fastest cruise speeds and greatest reliability of any amphibious aircraft available.

Ministry of Civil Aviation makes its website more informative

In view of the changing scenario in the aviation industry in India and to be more focussed on the information that helps the industry people, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is upgrading its website www.civilaviation.nic.in. Addressing a conference on Indian Business Aviation in New Delhi on February 25, Prashant Sukul, joint secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation informed that the new features will be added to provide more information on policies, rules and regulations and status of applications regarding clearances. He also invited suggestions from the aviation industry in this regard.

UK-based VOSAIO Travel Group starts operations from India

VOSAIO Travel Group, a UK-based tour operator company has started its operations in the Indian market. To begin with, it has appointed Veena Bhatia as its sales director for India, and started functioning from Mumbai and Delhi. The company is also keen on developing its penetrations in the tier-II cities of India. Concentrating on products within Europe, VOSAIO brings over 50 years of expertise to its programmes for leisure groups, independent travellers, specialist tours, events, meetings and incentives.

HTT Holidays appoints four GSAs in India

HTT Holidays and Incentives has appointed a GSA each in four cities across India in a move to attract more Indian MICE and high-end travellers to the destinations it manages. HTT has appointed Raja Rani Travels as GSA in Mumbai, Om Holidays as GSA in Ahmedabad and SGL Tours and Travels as GSA in Bengaluru. For Delhi, the GSA is yet to be finalised.

Kingfisher Airlines set to join oneworld

Kingfisher Airlines, is lining up to join oneworld after signing a memorandum of understanding as its first step towards full membership of the world’s leading quality airline alliance, subject to Indian regulatory approval. Kingfisher Airlines has applied to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation for authority to proceed with its membership of oneworld. The agreement was concluded at a meeting between Kingfisher Airlines’ chairman Vijay Mallya and chief executives from oneworld’s 11 existing member airlines. The process to bring any airline on board normally takes around 18 months to complete. Therefore, Kingfisher Airlines could be expected to start flying as part of oneworld during 2011.

Qatar Airways begins operations to Bengaluru

Qatar Airways embarked on its 2010 global expansion programme with the launch of flights to Bengaluru. With excellent connectivity to Europe, Middle East, Africa and the United States, the new route is expected to be popular among expatriates returning to Bengaluru and the international business community having strong commercial links with the city. The launch of daily flights to Bengaluru takes Qatar Airways’ Indian capacity to 71 services a week, spread across 11 key points – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kozhikode, Goa and Amritsar.

Jet Airways to introduce daily non-stop flights from Mumbai-Johannesburg

Jet Airways will be commencing daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg from April 14, 2010. The airline will introduce services to Johannesburg using a new state-of-the-art Airbus 330-200 aircraft. The launch of this new international route will mark the airline’s entry to Africa on its international route network. Johannesburg will be the twenty-second destination in the airline’s international network.

NAJ PEOPLE: (Covering 12 organizations and 11 people)

NAJ PEOPLE: (Covering 12 organizations and 11 people)

Hotels Trends: Gladly Bid Adieu to 2009

Hotels Trends: Gladly Bid Adieu to 2009

"Kuoni Acquires US Event Management Company

"Kuoni Acquires US Event Management Company

The Top 15 Travel Category Websites for December

The Top 15 Travel Category Websites for December

OTA Hotel Tax Recovery Suit overturned in Anaheim

OTA Hotel Tax Recovery Suit overturned in Anaheim

State-level guides in national capital territory to be issued licenses as per 2003 guidelines

Recently, the Delhi High Court has adjudged that State-level guides of the NCT of Delhi can be issued licenses as per the 2003 guidelines with endorsements from the Government of national capital territory of Delhi (GNCTD), the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the department of tourism, to enable them to operate in any of the monuments within the NCT of Delhi, which includes State monuments as well as monuments protected under the 1958 Act.

India Tourism showcases Incredible India campaign at Yemen

India Tourism, Dubai organised an Incredible India presentation in Sana'a on January 31 at Hotel Sheba, Sana'a, Yemen. Praveen Verma, ambassador, Embassy of India, Sana's, Yemen, inaugurated the event. A brief presentation on Incredible India showcasing various aspects based on tourism was made during the occasion. The event was attended by over 175 guests including regional dignitaries, members of the travel trade, media and other opinion makers. The chief guest for the event was Omar Babeigheith, deputy minister for tourism development, Government of the Republic of Yemen.

First Best Western Premier opens in Kolkata

Expanding its footprints in the East India, Best Western India (BWI), has signed up with Vedic Village Spa Resort in Kolkata, to launch its first premier hotel in India. With this association, Vedic Village Spa Resort becomes the first Best Western Premier Hotel in India, which is spread over 150 acre and is located about 20-minute distance from the Kolkata International Airport. BWI is part of Best Western International, which provides marketing, reservations and operational support to over 4000 independently owned and operated member hotels in 80 countries.

Courtyard by Marriott makes its debut in Ahmedabad

Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad opened its doors to Gujarat’s vibrant hospitality industry on February 4. The hotel has the finest business amenities that match global standards and features a choice of accommodation of 130 deluxe rooms, 22 executive deluxe rooms and 12 courtyard suites for business and leisure. The hotel is strategically located at the Ramdevnagar Cross Roads, near S G Highway, which is also known to be the business hub for all leading corporate houses in the city and travellers alike.

Selja inaugurates the newly renovated Hotel Janpath

Kumari Selja, Union minister of tourism inaugurated the newly renovated Hotel Janpath on February 3, which has been designated as the Games Family Hotel to host international delegates for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. It now boasts of 148 renovated rooms including 20 suites. The lobby of the hotel has been completely re-designed and is reminiscent of Lutyen’s architectural theme. A Manglorean restaurant, Swagath was also launched on the occasion. Cuisines ranging from Italian to Mediterranean and Manglorean to North Indian will now be on offer at the hotel.

GoAir to add two new aircraft to its fleet

As part of its expansion plans, GoAir will be upping its fleet strength from eight to ten this year. With the addition of two Airbus A320 by mid-2010, the airline will aggressively market and tap fliers to increase its load factor.

SWISS enters in code-share agreement with Edelweiss; now links Goa with Zurich

From February 7 onwards, Swiss International Air Lines will connect Goa directly with its Zurich hub. Switzerland’s national airline added its “LX” code to the regular charter flights operated by its subsidiary Edelweiss Air. The Edelweiss service has been geared towards incoming group tourists from Switzerland. The code-share agreement will facilitate booking access to these flights for individual travellers, whether they travel for leisure, business or personal reasons between Goa and Europe.

Thomas Cook ties up with India Post to provide foreign exchange and travel service

Recently, Thomas Cook (India) and India Post have entered into an agreement to provide foreign exchange and travel related services through five major post offices in New Delhi. The post offices are Connaught Place (A Block),Chanakya Puri, Greater Kailash Part-II, Karol Bagh and Vasant Vihar. According to the memorandum of understanding, which was signed in New Delhi in the presence of A Raja, Union minister for communications and IT, foreign exchange and travel desks will be established within the post offices. According to Madhavan Menon, managing director, Thomas Cook India, more post offices would be added to this project in other parts of the country, as and when required by the Indian Post.

Cox & Kings launches 200 per cent cash back offer

Cox and Kings (India) has announced an offer where the tour operator will be offering up to 200 per cent cash back for 100 travellers. To avail this offer, travellers will have to book a holiday on payment of Rs 3,000 and the balance payment should be made within 20 days from the date of booking. To win the 200 per cent cash back offer, one needs to answer three simple questions and write a slogan. While the winners get 100 per cent of their money back and a free holiday the year after, everyone else gets cash back up to 50 per cent. The offer includes holidays to Europe, Far East, USA, Australia, Middle East and other exotic destinations and is valid till January 24, 2010.

Travel agents federations for SAARC countries to be formed

Recently, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has attended a meeting of the travel agents associations from SAARC countries to form a new federation. Organised jointly by the associations in Nepal, the meeting was also attended by Rajji Rai, president, TAAI. According to Rai, the objective of the federation will be to enhance regional tourism and fight for the common issues jointly. He also informed that a follow up meeting will be held in Delhi in February this year to give a final shape to the federation.

AirAsia.com integrates with Akbartravelsonline.com for online bookings

AirAsia announced integration of its website AirAsia.com with Akbartravelsonline.com, a travel website operated by Akbar Travels of India. Travellers can now book AirAsia flights online from akbartravelsonline.com. Recently, AirAsia launched three new routes from Kuala Lumpur to Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Along with the above mentioned routes, AirAsia also operates two daily flights from Kuala Lampur to Trichy in Tamil Nadu and plans to increase its network in India in future by adding destinations like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

NAS Air appoints The Great India Aviation Services as its GSA for Kerala

National Air Services Group, a Saudi Arabia based low cost airline, has appointed The Great India Aviation Services, a sister concern of Airtravel Enterprises as its general sales agent for Kerala. The agreement was signed by Maria Angelika Hanne, chief commercial officer, NAS and Mehboon Peshimamam, director sales- India subcontinent and E M Najeeb, chairman and George Tharakan, managing director, The Great India Aviation Services. Nas Air, which launched operations in 2007, is the new airline with affordable fares, easy to purchase and a youngest fleet in Saudi Arabia.

Kingfisher Airlines launches direct flights from Kolkata to Patna and Ranchi to Raipur

Kingfisher Airlines launched direct flights connecting Kolkata to Patna and Ranchi to Raipur. With the launch of flights on the Ranchi-Raipur route, Kingfisher Airlines is the only airline to offer direct flights between the two cities. The flights are being operated using the ATR family of aircraft featuring the award-winning Kingfisher experience. The flights between Kolkata-Patna and Ranchi-Raipur are being operated as Kingfisher Red service. The Kingfisher Red service is a unique class of low fare flying from Kingfisher Airlines and offers guests a whole host of benefits, besides the renowned Kingfisher service at compelling low fares. The Kingfisher Red service features complimentary hot, delicious food and a choice of beverages, reading material, frequent flier privileges and multiple check-in options.

Lufthansa and Austrian integrate sales and service operations

Lufthansa German Airlines and Austrian Airlines have started serving clients in India with a completely integrated sales and service network. Starting January 11 2010, bookings and reservations have been handled by a joint call centre. Since the beginning of this year, sales managers have already started to represent both airlines in the Indian market. Marketing, customer services and feedback management are now jointly handled. A common corporate head office in Gurgaon centralises all core functions on an all-India basis. This deep collaboration in India has been made possible by the successful integration of Austrian Airlines into the Lufthansa Group, which was completed last year.

aSpire launches web-hosted application to simplify mid and back office automation

aSpire e-Travel Technologies, the strategic business unit of Sakshym Services, has launched the beta version of the travel workflow software IntramGAZEBO. It is a specialised web-hosted workflow application software designed for changing the way the mid and back office automation in the travel industry works. IntramGAZEBO provides a unified collaborative platform by bringing in an end-to-end solution from booking to invoicing, from credit realisation to statutory compliances to final culmination in financial reporting.

MOT sanctions 94 infrastructure projects worth Rs 3.9 billion

The Ministry of Tourism has put infrastructure development as its top priority to boost the potential of attracting higher number of foreign arrivals to India. It has sanctioned 94 projects worth Rs 3.9 billion for infrastructure augmentation till November for the current financial year 2009-10. India has immense potential as a destination with a very strong possibility that many foreign tourists will make repeat visits to further explore destination India once the world class infrastructure is developed.

Ministry of home affairs to scan frequent tourist visa applications

In a bid to check the misuse of tourist visa facility, the ministry of home affairs will scan the frequent applications by foreign nationals prior to granting tourist visa. For instance, the government has passed instructions that if a foreign national applies for tourist visa frequently, say within one month of expiry of the previous visa, the Indian Missions abroad should refer such cases to MHA for clearance before granting fresh visa.

Gujarat Tourism soon to unveil investor-friendly tourism policy

Gujarat Tourism recently organised a roadshow to promote The International Kite Festival which will be organised in Gujarat from January 10-14. Vipul Mittra, Secretary, Tourism, government of Gujarat, informed TravTalk that Gujarat Tourism is drafting a policy that will augment private-public partnership to develop tourism in the state. He said that the policy is being drafted and will be complete by March-end. Through the policy, Gujarat Tourism will attract investors to develop tourism, which will, in turn, attract domestic and foreign tourists to the state.

IRCTC renews contract with yatra.com

IRCTC has renewed its contract with yatra.com to offer train ticket bookings on its travel portal. Those booking rail tickets on yatra.com will also be entitled to get a discount of Rs 1,000 on hotel stay. IRCTC has extended its agreement with yatra.com due to its proven track record and number of bulk bookings. Yatra.com has also rolled out a scheme wherein clients making rail travel bookings on the website can avail a discount of Rs 1000 on any domestic hotel.

Clarks Inn hotel opens in South Delhi

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels on January 8 announced the opening of its Clarke Inn branded property which is third in Delhi. The all executive 30-room property, equipped with three-star facilities, is located at Kailash Colony near Nehru Place in South Delhi. The room tariff is expected to be in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000. The company now manages a portfolio of seven Clarks Inn hotels across India as well as two Clarks Exotic properties located at Bengaluru and Goa.

VITS Pune, a Kamat Hotels property, opens doors to guests

VITS Pune recently opened its doors. The 208-room luxury hotel, a latest offering from Kamat Hotels India, is located on the Pune-Bengaluru highway. The property is 45-minute drive from the airport and 30-minute from the Pune railway station. Soft launched a few months ago with limited inventory, the hotel is now fully operational. The hotel, apart from the modern day trappings of a luxury property, offers a well-designed banquet hall of 6464 sq-ft pre-function area for buffet spread and 21,000 sq-ft of open lawn for various events.

Alila Hotels and Resorts unveils its first property in India

Alila Hotels and Resorts launched Alila Diwa Goa, a resort property in December. The resort is Alila’s first property in India and tenth in Asia. The 149-room Alila Diwa Goa is situated in South Goa along Majorda Beach, which is a 20-minute drive from Goa Dabolim International Airport.

ESOI to conduct two workshops on sustainable tourism at Amritsar and Kochi

The Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) will organise two more workshops on Environment Laws & Sustainable Tourism in partnership with WWF-India. The two-day workshops, which are being co-sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and PATA India Chapter, will be conducted in February at Amritsar and in March, at Kochi. Building on the discussions held in its first such workshop at New Delhi in December, ESOI will further sensitise the tourism service providers on environmental and forest laws, as well as on the mechanisms to profitably incorporate sustainable tourism practices in the business.

Egypt woos visitors from NCR region in Gurgaon Tourism Fair

The Egyptian Tourism Authotiry (ETA) participated in the first-ever Gurgaon Tourism Fair to exhibit the various travel attraction in Egypt and enhance the footfall from the National Capital Region (NCR) around Delhi. The board also leveraged the opportunity to attract MICE decision makers from the hub of multinational companies and its adjoining satellite towns in the NCR.

India 2009 scheme to be revised

The impact of Visit India 2009 scheme, which was launched at the beginning of 2009, is being studied by the Ministry of Tourism. Once the final assessment is out on the stimulatory effects of the scheme, it will be revised to attract higher number of foreign tourist arrivals, told Sujit Banerjee, secretary, Ministry of Tourism. The initiative was undertaken to minimise the negative impact of the global economic in collaboration with all stakeholders in travel sector.

The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace opens on December 21

The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace opened its doors to all guests on December 21. Situated in the heart of hi-tech city, the hotel is a 30-minute drive from the international and domestic airport. The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace has 428 guest rooms and suites, apart from an in-house spa, a 24-hour fitness club among other features.

Rajasthan's first Ecotel certified The Fern-An Ecotel Hotel launched at Jaipur

Soft launched in August 2009 with 34 guest rooms, a fully operational The Fern – An Ecotel Hotel was recently launched in Jaipur. The 85-key five star hotel, owned by UKM Group, will be managed by Concept Hospitality. This is also the first Fern branded property of Concept that opens door. The most differentiating feature of the property is the status of being the 1st Ecotel certified hotel in Rajasthan.

Kumari Selja launches three new social awareness commercials

Ministry of Tourism sets January 11 as the deadline to invite all entries for National Tourism Awards for the year 2008-09

North India's first Courtyard by Marriott opens in Gurgaon