Express Travelworld (Vol.11, No.7) August, 2016

EDITOR’S NOTE

August dynamics

A

s per our tradition, the Express TravelWorld August issue celebrates the country’s Independence Day and salutes the spirit of national pride by placing in prominence the hidden jewels of our freedom struggle.

It's no news that our country has deep rooted history, however the historical sites and monuments of significance have received feeble recognition.

Internationally, countries have wonderfully maintained their historical sites and monuments.

It is rather unfortunate that somewhere in our government's mindset, tourism has always been a secondary sector and maintaining of tourism sites has always been on the backburner. It would be interesting to create freedom trail circuits that can be promoted and marketed, for both, the domestic and the international markets. Awareness and accessibility to these significant sites will generate interest and in turn will lead to a steady inflow of tourists to these sites. From Martyr's Memorial in Meerut and Hazarduari Palace Museum in Murshidabad to Kolaba Fort in

HEAD OFFICE MUMBAI EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD® Ashwin Kamble The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 2nd Floor, Express Tower, Nariman Point Mumbai- 400 021 Board line: 022- 67440000 Ext. 527 Mobile: +91 9833666558 Email id: ashwin.kamble@expressindia.com Branch Offices NEW DELHI Prabhas Jha The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division Express Building, B-1/B Sector 10 Noida 201 301 Dist.Gautam Budh nagar (U.P.) India.

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Raigad, there are a host of sites that have historical and heritage value. From student tourism and historical tourism to architecture tourism, niche sectors can be well explored to increase tourism movement.

Banking on local and domestic tourism may not be a bad idea, keeping in view the changing world scenario and increasing uncertainties in established and traditional tourism markets in the global network.

“Banking on local and domestic tourism may not be a bad idea, keeping in view the changing world scenario and increasing uncertainties in traditional tourism markets” KOLKATA Ajanta Sengupta The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division JL No. 29&30, NH-6, Mouza- Prasastha & Ankurhati, Vill & PO- Ankurhati P.S.- Domjur (Nr.Ankurhati Check Bus Stop), Dist. Howrah- 711 409 Mobile: +91 9831182580 Email id: ajanta.sengupta@expressindia.com KOCHI Mathen Mathew The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Ground Floor, Sankoorikal Building, Kaloor – Kadavanthra Road Kaloor, Kochi – 682 017 Mobile: +91 9840826366 COIMBATORE The Indian Express (P) Ltd. No. 205-B, 2nd Floor, Vivekanand Road, Opp. Rajarathinam Hospital Ram Nagar, Coimbatore- 641 009

According to outbound tour operators and agents, trips to Western Europe have witnessed a beating in terms of tourism traffic. From cancellations, to rerouting of flights, travellers are being cautious. Brexit too will have its own share of impact, both, on the inbound and outbound tourism business. The industry is surely heading for new changes and only those who are ahead of the curve will survive the dynamic and volatile change in tide.

REEMA LOKESH Editor editorial.etw@expressindia.com

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Important: Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,it is not possible to verify its contents.The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot be held responsible for such contents,nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies,associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications.We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

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August 2016

CONTENTS MANAGEMENT Vol 11 No 7 AUGUST 2016 Pages 40

28

Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka Sr Vice President - BPD

Neil Viegas Editor

Reema Lokesh* Chief of Product

Prabhas Jha Assistant Editor

BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AIG TRAVEL SURVEY REPORTS TRAVELLERS ARE RECEPTIVE, BUT SAY THAT THERE ARE BARRIERS TO RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Steena Joy Sr. Associate Editor

Sudipta Dev CONTENT TEAM Kolkata

Joy Roy Choudhury New Delhi

Saloni Bhatia

EDGE

DESIGN National Design Editor

Bivash Barua

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Assistant Art Director

Pravin Temble Senior Artist

Ratilal Ladani, Kiran Parker SCHEDULING & COORDINATION

Ashish Anchan Photo Editor

Sandeep Patil MARKETING Regional Heads

Harit Mohanty - East & West Prabhas Jha - North Manager

Ashwin Kamble Marketing Team

Debnarayan Dutta Ajanta Sengupta Mathen Mathew Ravindra Pawar CIRCULATION

Mohan Varadakar PRODUCTION

CONNECTING WITH FREEDOM As India celebrates her 69th Independence Day, Express TravelWorld rediscovers these iconic freedom monuments that were witness to India’s struggle for Freedom and spoke to travel agents to find out how these can be promoted to attract the new age traveller wanting to connect with his historical roots (22-27)

General Manager

B R Tipnis Manager

Bhadresh Valia Express TravelWorld® POSTAL REGD. NO. MCS/163/2016 – 18 RNI Reg. No.MAHENG/2005/15993 Printed by The Indian Express (P) Ltd. and published by Ms Vaidehi Thakar on behalf of The Indian Express Press, Plot No. EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400710 and Published from Express Towers, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021.

(Editorial & Administrative Offices: Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021)

WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER WORLD INTERNATIONAL TOURISM CONTINUES TO GROW ABOVE AVERAGE IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2016

LIFE

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MARKETS

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JAPAN SEES 20 PER CENT RISE IN INDIAN TOURISTS IN FIRST HALF OF 2016

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INDIA TOP SOURCE MARKET FOR DUBAI CRUISES

P03: EDITOR’S NOTE P35 : APPOINTMENTS

INTERVIEW: NISHANT KOLGAONKAR, HEAD HR, SOTC TRAVEL, SPEAKS ABOUT THE HR BEST PRACTICES IN HIS COMPANY AND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN THE FUTURE

P36 : WEEKEND

Copyright © 2016 The Indian Express (P) Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. *Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act

IN THE NEWS

Mumbai to be gateway for international cruising Upgradation of cruise terminal, eastern seafront planned Sudipta Dev Mumbai WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT that Mumbai will be the new homeport of Costa neoClassica, from December 2016 to March 2017, comes the interesting new development that a lot of concerted efforts are being made at every level to develop and promote India's financial capital city as the country's cruise tourism hub. Sanjay Bhatia, chairman, Mumbai Port Trust revealed that there is a clear mandate from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to union minister for shipping, Nitin Gadkari to make Mumbai the gateway for international cruising. “Within this year 59 ships will come here

and next year the number will increase to 100. This year we will see 70,000 to 80,000 cruise tourist arrivals,” stated Bhatia.

A significant amount will be spent on upgrading the cruise terminal. All facilities that are available in airports will be provided at the cruise terminal.

Bhatia assured that there will be ease of business in terms of immigration, etc. New SOPs have been prepared which will be further improved. “We are preparing a masterplan for the eastern front. Very soon there will be a walkway. There will be an eco park, a big garden and a marina.

You will see a very different Mumbai in the next three-four years,” informed Bhatia.

Costa neoClassica will sail

from Mumbai to Male in Maldives. The itinerary is for seven nights in each direction. Valsa Nair-Singh, principal secretary, Tourism and Cultural Affairs,

Government of Maharashtra, said, “After a long time, we finally have Mumbai as a home port. This should be the beginning of more cruise ships to have

Mumbai as their homeport. It will coincide with the state government's initiative to launch the Visit Maharashtra Year in 2017.”

Costa Cruises, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Asia this year, has four ships in the region. Kelvin Wong, VP, Costa Cruises Asia Commercial, said, “India is a strategically important market for us. Starting December 2016, our Costa neoClassica will depart from Mumbai. It will be a relaxing holiday for Indian customers.”

Nalini Gupta, MD, Lotus Destinations (GSA of Costa Cruises India), informed that if the response from the market is good, more Costa ships will sail Indian waters.

Focus on investment in tourism infrastructure Saloni Bhatia New Delhi THE SECOND EDITION of FICCI's Tourism Investor's Meet was held in New Delhi recently. The inaugural session saw the release of FICCI- Yes Bank knowledge paper on 'Investment in Tourism Infrastructure: Unleashing the growth Potential'. Dr Jyotsna Suri, immediate past president FICCI, chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and chairperson & MD, Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, stated, “Strategic initiatives have been taken to make the right investment decision by the ministry of tourism (MoT), the states and FICCI over the past four years. We initiated this event last year and have seen increased participa-

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tion this year. More than 600 meetings have been scheduled between 72 buyers in comparison to the 350 meetings and 52 buyers last year.”

Vinod Zutshi, secretary, MoT, Govt of India, said, “While the tourism sector is undergoing a paradigm shift, it is also important to focus on how to get more tourists. We need to develop core infrastructure in the country, including rail, road, air and waterways. According to a report in 2010 there is a shortage of 192,000 rooms in the country wherein lies an immense scope of investment. A task force has already been created by MoT, Civil Aviation and Railways to improve connectivity to tourist destinations. But more initiatives can only be takes with the help of state governments and

private partnerships.”

Talking about the tourism industry's contribution to India's GDP Suman Billa, joint secretary, MoT , Govt. of India, added, “The real potential of tourism lies in the non devel-

oped areas which have not attracted enough attention.

While there is still shortage of rooms in the country, the transfer of hotels from infrastructure segment to the hospitality sector has enabled the segment

to grow. However, the threshold for hotels, which is at present `200 crore needs to be brought down to `50 crore to meet the deficit in hotel rooms and allow middle level players to enter the market.”

AVIATION

Vistara focuses on strong domestic network to go international Sudipta Dev Mumbai VISTARA had done a study some months back with CAPA, which indicated that by 2020 Indian aviation sector can be the third largest in the world. The airline which has a strong focus on exceeding customer expectations is committed to strengthen its connectivity in India and with the world. “The first set of routes we will fly internationally will be with existing aircraft, within three-and-a-half hour flights from India,” said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief strategy and commercial officer, Vistara.

“When we decided to go with full service airline our plan is to be both domestic and in-

ternational carrier. You need a strong domestic network to grow internationally, and the easing of 5/20 rule is welcome.

We are working on those plans and as those fructify we would look at potential routes and then place orders for aircraft,” added Kapoor. Regarding boost to regional air connectivity, he said that it has to work in a hub and spoke model for it to be successful and there are no slots available at major airports like Mumbai.

The airline is launching the all new Club Vistara programme this month, and according to Kapoor, it will be the most attractive frequent flyer programme in the country.

Kapoor asserted that the

airline is making an impact.

“We command a premium in existing routes and there is a segment who is willing to pay more for superior experience.

Our flights are full, the load factor in economy class is almost

90 per cent while premier and business class loads are increasing,” he pointed out.

The team at Vistara is at work to understand the unique needs of the customer, for instance the three class configu-

Japan sees 20 per cent rise in Indian tourists in first half of 2016 Saloni Bhatia New Delhi WITH AN AIM to provide more knowledge about Japan to Indian travel agents and tour operators, Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) hosted its first specialist programme in Delhi and Mumbai.

Daisuke Kobayashi, senior director, India, Singapore and Malaysia, JNTO stated, “This is the first time we are hosting a specialist programme in the country. We have had road shows before but this is to further enhance the knowledge of the tour operators. About 65 agents in Delhi and 80 in Mumbai will be trained under this

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specialist programme. We don't have an online programme to train the operators right now. But if our offline attempt to educate the operators is successful, we might shift to online training as well.”

Kobayashi further informed, “Japan has seen a 20 per cent rise in inbound tourists from India from January to May in 2016 in comparison to last year.

The new goal is to increase international tourist visitations to 40 million by 2020.”

Kenichi Takano, deputy manager, South Asian Section, Inbound Promotion Department, JNTO said, “This is the first time we are hosting such kind f a road show to enhance

the operator's knowledge about our country. Majority of the inbound tourists from India go to the states of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. We plan to promote other cities of Japan as well. Earlier the shows were held just to provide an introduction, but now we are focusing on teaching and assisting the operators on how to create a product in detail. Japan sees a lot of business travellers from India and only 30- 40 per cent are leisure travellers. ” On an average an Indian spends about a week in Japan in cities like Hiroshima, Tokyo and Osaka. “We wish to promote the Alpine region of Japan as well,” added Takano.

ration which includes premium economy. A significant segment of the feedback came from the banking and financial sector.

The airline has recently introduced the Corporate Upgrade offer for corporate customers.

Till October 2, 2016, corporate customers can book under a flexi fare in economy class, or premium economy, and enjoy complimentary confirmed upgrade to premium economy or business class respectively. The airline has also launched the Axis Bank Vistara Credit Card for both corporate and leisure travellers. The credit card has many unique features. It will be a lifestyle choice with many benefits, including access to golf courses.

IN THE NEWS

Indians spend most overnights in SouthWest Germany Steena Joy Mumbai INDIAN TRAVELLERS were the longest stay visitors to SouthWest Germany (BadenWurttemberg in German), logging an average of 5.3 nights vis a vis the global average of 2.2 nights during the period January to May 2016, an increase of five per cent. During their stay the average tourism spend is EUR 175 on shopping and dining. Hector D'souza, directorIndia, SouthWest German Tourism informed, “During the period the region saw 13,400 travellers from India. Additionally, the Going Cuckoo online training programme of SouthWest Germany for travel agents now has certified 520 specialists in the India market.

We are the only state in Ger-

many to have an exclusive online travel agent training programme.”

Launched five years ago, the programme is named after the state's most identifiable symbol, the cuckoo clock, and has five courses, combining essential facts and background information with interactive activities and insider knowledge about SouthWest Germany.

Popularly known as the sunny side of Germany because it averages more than 1700 hours of sunshine each year, SouthWest Germany's main cities include Stuttgart, Heidelberg and is home to the Black Forest, (a mountainous region after which the cake is named) popular in the India market.

D’souza informed that SouthWest Germany has developed winter packages targeting

repeat visitors from the India market, especially the high networth individuals looking for mature and experiential

tourism.

He added, “We are looking at promoting unusual ideas like sleeping in a wine barrel,

room with a view from a tower in Konstanz, vacation in a rail carriage, the Teddy Bear hotel, etc.”

MoTinvests `23.33 billion in projects in last 18 months ETW Staff Mumbai THE MINISTRY of Tourism, in last 18 months, has sanctioned projects worth `2,333 crore under Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD, the flagship schemes of the ministry of tourism, aimed at infrastructural development of tourism sites with special emphasis on tourist facilities including tourist facilitation centres, illumination, sound and light shows among others. In the meeting of the National Steering Committee (NSC), the apex committee for steering these

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schemes, the status was reported by the mission directors of Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD schemes. In his inaugural address, Dr Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for culture and tourism, stressed on the need of coordination / convergence of schemes with central ministries for development of infrastructure in the country.

Speaking on occasion, Vinod Zutshi, union tourism secretary, emphasised upon the need for proper rail, road and air connectivity with places identified under various circuits. A total of 11 projects worth `284.53 crore

have been sanctioned so far under the PRASAD scheme in Amravati, Kamakhya Temple, Patna Sahib, Patna, Vishnupad Gaya, Shri Jaggannath Puri, Amritsar, Ajmer-Pushkar, Varanasi, Mathura-Vrindavan, Kedarnath Dham Uttarakhand. They include two projects worth `36.96 crore approved for Varanasi River Cruise and Dwarka. Three projects: Laser show on ghats of Varanasi and projects of Kanchipuram and Vellankanni are under consideration of the ministry.

A total of 13 themed-tourist circuits including Buddhist cir-

cuit, eco-tourism circuit, wildlife, Himalayan, spiritual, North East India, tribal, Krishna, rural, coastal, heritage, desert, Ramayana have been identified to attract both domestic and international tourists having special interest of visiting such places. From January 2015 till date, 25 projects for `2048 crore have been sanctioned. They include ecotourism circuit in Uttarakhand, Telangana, Kerala; tribal circuit in Nagaland, Chattisgarh, Telangana; coastal circuit in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, West Bengal, Maharashtra,

Goa; Buddhist circuit in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh; Himalayan circuit in Jammu and Kashmir; Desert circuit in Rajasthan; wildlife circuit in Madhya Pradesh and Assam; and North East India circuit in Arunachal, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura under Swadesh Darshan.

Five pan-India mega circuits have been also identified namely, Ramayana-Krishna-Buddhist Mega Circuit, Himalayan and adventure, world heritage, coastal and wildlife circuit for development under Swadesh Darshan to showcase India.

IN THE NEWS

'TRAVELAGENTS SHOULD Australia ENCOURAGE USE OFCREDIT witnesses record CARDS BYCUSTOMERS' tourism inflow from India in 2015 Praveen Chugh, president – Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), shares his views with Reema Lokesh on the current business scenario As an industry expert, what are the changes in the business of travel since your previous tenure?

Since my last tenure as president of TAFI, way back in 2010, the travel business has undergone several changes, few of these favourable while the rest were mostly unfavourable to agents. The travel industry, at the moment, is overstressed with various changes been done to the direct and indirect taxation grid by the Indian Government, especially the Service Tax. Low cost carriers (LCCs) have captured a major share of the overall pie thus putting travel agents in a tough financial position as valued corporate customers enjoy same credit facilities, usually varying between 30 to 45 days but on the other hand a travel agent has to prepay the LCC for future business. This apart, IATA, the focal body of the travel industry, has reduced the fortnightly credit period to weekly settlements. Airlines are also becoming strict on their internal policies and travel agents' profits are shrinking. These days in order to sustain the goodwill and presence among market competitors, the travel agent can be asked to furnish both bank guarantee and insurance coverage. All these factors reduce down the gross earnings of the travel agent. The retail business has been hit hard with focus shifting to OTAs. Is there a renewed vision under your leadership to address the challenges of today?

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minimum competition in order to maintain stability in the market; considerable relief from heavy taxation; the end user should get maximum benefits while striking travel deals; and the fruits of technological advancement are made available on a single platform.

Praveen Chugh

Travel and tourism in India is a highly-taxed industry, which makes India an expensive tourist destination. Various taxes are levied across the entire industry which include service tax, luxury tax, tax on transportation, tax on aviation turbine fuel (airline industry).

For the survival of this industry, there should be considerable reduction in levy of taxes. In order to lessen the financial burden, use of credit cards in meeting the weekly settlements should be encouraged. It should be borne in mind that travel agents are only consultants and not financiers. Moreover, lot of funding is being inducted from overseas and the market competitors are playing valuation games making old time agents suffer due to low profits.

What is your primary goal as president TAFI ?

As president of TAFI, my primary goal would be to see that each and every member should get adequate ticket stock; that there is parity between the agents and the principals, be it airlines or hotels;

Are there any special benefits that a TAFI member enjoys?

Active members can make use of TAFI logo in their day-today activities. A Joint Bank Guarantee Scheme has been introduced to reduce the cost, make the members more professional and at the same time educate them on how to work on greater margins.

Any plans for a future convention post Israel ?

TAFI conventions help members enhance their networking and expand their business as well. It is well known that TAFI is famous for exploring new convention destinations by way of increasing to and fro tourist traffic between countries. We are in the process of looking for various exoticconvention avenues.

Do you think the travel agents of today need to re-look at their business strategy ?

I would like to emphasise that travel agents should introduce technology-savvy systems in conducting their day-to- day business and encourage the use of credit cards by their customers since they would be getting credit from the banks while agents will get their payments immediately.

ITM 2016 to see largest supplier delegation from Down Under Reema Lokesh Mumbai THINGS ARE LOOKING up for the 'Maites' Down Under, especially in terms of the tourism business that emerges from the India market. A number of reasons has led to the upswing. From the recently extended electronic visa facility and around 85 agents across India, to the stable Australian dollar, Tourism Australia's marketing initiatives has led to increasing inflow into the country. According to the Tourism Australia office in India, there has been a 19 per cent increase in tourism arrivals in the year 2015 vis-a-vis the previous year and a 38 per cent increase in terms of tourism spend. The India office under the leadership of Nishant Kashikar, country manager - India and Gulf, has worked closely with travel associates and partners like tour operators, travel agents and airlines and the visa office to boost tourism inflow into the region.

Kashikar said, "We are seeing some encouraging results in terms of the tourism inflow into Australia from India. There are a number of factors that have led to the growth, especially in recent times. From the ICC World Cup Cricket initiative and Air India's direct services to

Nishant Kashikar

primary cities of Australia, to digital marketing initiatives and education sessions with key partners in our business, all has worked well in our favour. The other factor is student traffic from India into Australia. As per statistics, there are around 53,000 Indian students in the region, which further gives impetus to the VFR traffic."

The soon to be held India Travel Mission (ITM) 2016, will also witness the largest ever supplier delegation.

Eighty three suppliers, including airlines and 104 buyers from across India will meet at a three-day business event in Chennai in August to understand the new changes and developments in the markets. The country is also working to grant a three-year multiple entry visa for Indian travellers.

IN THE NEWS

India top source market for Dubai cruises Mohit Rathod Mumbai THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai is promoting the emirate's cruise offerings in the India market.

The cruise tourism department of Dubai Tourism recently conducted a six-city road show to tap the cruise segment. The cruise tourism road show, which was started last year with three cities, was expanded to six cities this year – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Jamal Humaid al Falasi, director, cruise tourism, Dubai Tourism, is optimistic about the growth in cruise tourists from India due to the inclusion of more cities this year. He said, "We find big demand from Indian travel agents to sell Dubai's cruise offerings.

We conduct the road show mainly in India, because we find huge demand from the India market. Through cruises, travellers can visit three countries - Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. Most of the ships can accommodate MICE events, so we are also promoting MICE segment, alongside leisure.

However, leisure is doing well than MICE at present."

In 2015, India was the number one source market for cruise tourism in Dubai. Additionally, India is the fastest growing source market in overall tourism in Dubai, with 26 per cent year-on-year growth. On global basis, the emirate generated US$ 30 billion through annual sales in the cruise segment in 2015.

The cruise department aims to reach one million cruise tourists by 2020.

"The response from India has been good. We have seen

good progress since we started our road show last year. We have introduced multiple-entry cruise visa, which is exclusively for cruise tourists, which is a great news for India. We see a lot of response from the Tier II cities as well," stated Suresh Babu Balan, manager, cruise tourism, Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing. Adding to that, Carl Vaz, director Dubai representative office in India, Dubai Tourism, commented, "The

response from other cities, along with the key cities of Mumbai and Delhi, has been exceptionally good. We are interacting with travel trade to have more promotions."

Currently, seven cruise lines operate in Dubai which include Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, TUI Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Thomson Cruises. Kunal Sampat, general manager – India, MSC Cruises, informed, "Cruising numbers are growing not just from India, but globally. Until last year,

we had MSC Musica in the UAE waters, but due to the growing demand, this year we have introduced another ship – MSC Fantasia in the region.

Dubai has been popular for MICE and we promote MICE on our cruises, as Dubai has seamless connectivity with India."

The cruise department is planning to study the demand from the India market and include more target cities in the market, alongside working with more cruise lines.

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IN THE NEWS

Nepal looks at India market to stabilise tourism Joy Roy Choudhury Kolkata RAVAGED by a series of earthquakes in April last year, Nepal's tourism industry is banking on Indian tourists to sustain the growth in international tourist arrivals. Last year's earthquake had dampened sentiments on the tourism front and conveyed a wrong message to the world that Nepal is not safe for tourists. "Starting from 2016, however, things are again limping back to normalcy.

There has been a 25 per cent rise in the flow of tourists after it ebbed to an all time low in 2015. Foreign tourists from the US and European countries are again coming back to Nepal. Chinese tourists are coming in big numbers, " said Sudarshan Prasad Dhakal, director-general, Department of Tourism, Govt of Nepal. Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is mak-

ing efforts to convey and convince the global tourism fraternity, especially Indians that things are back to normal in the Himalayan nation.

"We are convincing the world that things are back to normal in the country and it is

a safe destination for holidaymakers. We are hosting road shows in all the major cities of India and approaching tour operators and tourism agencies in these places to spread the message. The aim is to regain tourists from India,

which touched an all-time low last year. Our efforts this year will be to focus on tapping the market in the major metros in India, and exploring new avenues. Our new product for the India market would be the adventure segment and we

are positive it will strike a chord with young tourists at this point of time," commented Ujjwala Dali, officiating director – tourism promotion and marketing, NTB. According to estimates provided by NTB, around 1.2 lakh Indian tourists on an average used to visit Nepal every year till 2014. In 2015, less than 80,000 Indian tourists visited Nepal.

Dali informed that Nepal Airlines, the national carrier of Nepal, has resumed direct air connectivity between Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru after a gap of few years.

Presently, there are daily direct flights from Delhi to Kathmandu, and flights from Mumbai and Bengaluru are available thrice in a week. Efforts are on to start direct flights between Kolkata and Kathmandu to attract tourists from the states of Eastern India.

Bangladesh safe for tourists: TOAB Joy Roy Choudhury Kolkata FOLLOWING the recent terror attacks in Bangladesh, the tourism industry is fearing impact on the flow of foreign tourist arrivals into Bangladesh. The country faced two terror attacks when terrorists massacred several foreign nationals at Holey Artisan Bakery Cafe in capital Dhaka's posh Gulshan area and then triggered grenade explosions at Kishoreganj during Eid prayers.

Some countries have al-

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ready issued warnings to their citizens residing or travelling to Bangladesh against further possible terror attacks. Commenting on this, Taufiq Rahman, secretary-general, Pacific Asia Travel Association (Bangladesh Chapter) and director, Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), who was in Kolkata recently told Express TravelWorld, "Today terror attacks are taking place in different parts of the world, be it Paris, Istanbul or elsewhere. It has now become a global menace. We strongly condemn such

ghastly and cowardly acts, but at the same time, it is very unfortunate that efforts are being made to put a terror tag on Bangladesh, which is not at all accepted. These were stray incidents and the government is committed to deal with them sternly. So we are here to convince and convey to Indian nationals that Bangladesh is totally safe for tourists."

Jyotirmoy Barman, joint secretary, ministry of civil aviation and tourism, Government of Bangladesh, who was also in Kolkata, said, "Our prime minister, Sheikh Hasina

has categorically said that terrorism and violence in any form will not be tolerated and the government will strongly deal with those elements who want to distabilse Bangladesh."

Barman said that tourists visiting the country should feel totally safe and secure as these were stray incidents, which the Bangladesh government is determined to finish.

Meanwhile, Bangla tour operators have chalked out new packages to attract tourists into their country during festivals. “We will soon launch

some short-term packages to commemorate 'International Mother Language Day' on February 21 next year,� added Barman. During this time, tourists would be taken around the various places of interest in Bangladesh and also get a chance to taste a variety of Bengali cuisines.

There will be also tour packages during other major festivals of the country like the Bengali New Year and the Durga Puja. "Besides the festivals, we have conducted tours in and around Dhaka and Sunderbans," added Barman.

IN THE NEWS

Wildlife Reserves Singapore taps leisure segment in India Mohit Rathod Mumbai WILDLIFE RESERVES Singapore (WRS); the holding company of Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo; is interacting with Indian outbound tour operators to promote its attractions through their inclusion in Singapore iteranaries and packages. Isabel Cheng, chief marketing officer, WRS, said, "WRS attractions are becoming more and more popular among tourists. Indians comprise of one of the largest segments of visitors to WRS attractions, hence India is one of the most important markets for us. At present, the India market is among the top three markets for WRS." WRS is targeting both leisure and MICE segments, however, leisure forms a larger proportion of visitors to WRS attractions. Alongside these two major segments, Cheng revealed that

student groups are another important focus segments, which frequently visit WRS attractions for educational tours. Elaborating on Indian visitors to WRS, Cheng said that most Indians visit along with families, which often include three generations. She stated, "Considering this trend, we make sure that we have something to offer to all the three generations. We also provide utility services such as wheel chairs for elderly people."

WRS aims to promote its offerings primarily in the leisure market, through its participation in Singapore Tourism Board (STB) road shows in India, whilst organising product training sessions for the Indian travel fraternity. "Indian travel trade seems excited and we have got positive response from them. Many tour operators have included WRS attractions in their packages, alongside our own packages. Our focus cities are Mumbai and Delhi. We work in sync with

Singapore Tourism Board for further strengthening our marketing efforts," commented Cheng. WRS is currently also working in coordination with Cox & Kings and Make My Trip.

In order to cater to MICE groups, WRS banks on team

building activities, educational programmes, camping among others. Night Safari and Jubong Bird Park are the most popular attractions among Indian visitors. WRS, a self-funded organisation, also works for wildlife conservation as part of its CSR programmes to promote sus-

tainable tourism. Cheng added, "We are also part of animal exhange programmes with several wildlife reserves in India.

We do breeding of endangered species and are active in wildlife awareness. Singapore Zoo ranks No 1 in Asia and third globally."

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IN THE NEWS

Eco Hotels to expand 'green hospitality' brand pan India Sudipta Dev Mumbai ECO HOTELS is being promoted as the world's first carbon neutral premium value hotel company. The company has two brands – 'The Eco' and '‘Ecolodge’, both for travellers with a green consciousness. “Having started the concept hotel in Kochi in 2012, Eco Hotels is currently targeting to be in Hyderabad, Bhopal and Pune. We also run Ecolodge in Kochi and potentially in the near future in Ben-

galuru and Nagpur. We look to add five-six properties under the Eco Hotels banner through leasing models in 2016-17, and aim to reach 10,000 rooms by 2023,” said Jay Krishnan, CEO, Eco Hotels. The company is also targeting Tier I cities in its expansion strategy.

For expansion, the company is looking at conversions as well as greenfield projects.

“We believe that 30 to 40 per cent of our projects will be conversions in the long run,” stated Krishnan. He is happy

with the response from small hotel owners. “As a concept, Eco Hotels is a one-of-its kind model that combines economy with ecology, giving birth to a hybrid brand of hospitality,” said Krishnan. He explained that the Enterprise, Build, Operate and Trade (EBOT) model offers a true start and operational experience to deliver an efficiently managed property that will help maximise and sustain operating profits. “We cater to multiple stakeholders, which include the customer, the owner, the

staff and the environment. We would also provide administrative services which include incorporation of the special purpose vehicle (SPV), annual audit and other statutory compliance. With the power of our intelligent reservations system and the efficiencies of our revenue management strategies, every property is proactively managed to maximise profitability,” he commented.

Eco Hotels follows many green practices without compromising on the experience of

the traveller. “Eco Hotels’ rooms are built with maximum comfort for the traveller including elements that are not seen in Indian hotels yet. ‘The Eco’ is a budget three-star hotel, offering luxurious facilities supporting sustainable living. Use of various environmentally-sound technologies allows us to maintain low cost and create a symbiotic cycle of efficiency.

Whereas ‘Ecolodge’ is a limited-service budget brand which targets value-seeking customers of all kinds,” added Krishnan.

'OUR TARGETMARKETWILLBE INFORMALWORKERS' Chototel is being launched as a chain of super-budget hotels starting at US$ 2 per day with uninterrupted utilities and social infrastructure such as crèches and community kitchens.

Rhea Silva, founder and managing director, Chototel talks about the pilot project in Nagothane, on the new Mumbai-Goa Expressway. By Sudipta Dev What is the brand concept of Chototel and what demand does it fulfil in the Indian hospitality sector?

Chototel’s brand concept is the super-budget hotel, positioned between social renting and affordable housing. Chototel aims to respond to the demand for affordable housing from ordinary individuals and families moving towards urban clusters.

Where are your existing/ upcoming properties?

Chototel’s pilot project is based in Nagothane, 75 km outside of Mumbai. There were two main reasons for choosing Nagothane as our first site.

Firstly, the site is situated on the new MumbaiGoa Expressway. This

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Rhea Silva

industrial belt has over 50,000 informal workers. Consequently, there is a high demand for clean, affordable and temporary accommodation in this area. Our second project is targeted near Pune, one of India’s fastest growing industrial corridors, predicted to create over 50,000 additional jobs over the next decade. In India, we intend to expand to locations in Ankleshwar, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. Overseas, we are also looking at Bristol in the UK and Ajman in the UAE.

location enables us to take advantage of the passing tourist traffic and increase income received from providing secondary amenities, such as food and beverages.

Secondly, the Raigad

Your expansion plans. Is there a focus on any particular region/state?

Our plans for expansion are to have a presence in fast-growing urban centres where the demand for affordable accommo-

dation is predicted to rise within the next decade. As such, we are initially targeting locations around Mumbai, Ankleshwar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. A similar demand can be seen in other developing regions such as Nigeria and China, where rapid urbanisation is causing young working people to move towards cities in search of better career opportunities.

Are all your projects greenfield? What kind of tieup are you looking at for expansion?

All our projects are greenfield. Presently, we are working independently; however, in the future, we are open to partnering with organisations

which share our vision.

Which is your target market?

Generally, our hotels are expected to appeal to a wide demographic of individuals and families who are currently affected by housing shortages and are in need of affordable accommodation.

At Nagothane in particular, the target market for our hotels will be the 50,000 informal workers who work in the Raigad industrial belt.

Our robust social infrastructure – including a crèche, children’s play area and community kitchen – is designed to appeal to the families and non-working dependents of these workers.

IN THE NEWS

MPTravel Mart to be held in Bhopal ETW Staff Mumbai MADHYA PRADESH State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) is organising the third edition of Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart from October 14 – 16, 2016 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Primary objective of this mart is to market and promote Madhya Pradesh as a destination throughout the year. There is special focus on promoting domestic and inbound tourism into Madhya Pradesh to reaffirm the position of the state as a preferred global tourist destination.

The show promises to provide an opportunity to tap into this market by bringing a forum of effective one-to-one business meetings. MP Travel Mart aims to create a platform that will offer the perfect environment for like-minded people from the travel trade to interact and do business together. The goal is to ensure each participant, whether its the exhibitor, buyer or visitor, gets value for their investment and time spent.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh was adjudged the best state for comprehensive development of tourism, followed by Gujarat and Karnataka respectively, at the National Tourism Awards for the year 2014-2015. Additionally, monuments of Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh were declared the best maintained and disable-friendly monument.

WB Tourism to unveil packages for Durga Puja Joy Roy Choudhury Kolkata WEST BENGAL TOURISM is making an effort to promote Durga Puja, the biggest festival in this part of the country, as a major draw. "We have big plans for the ensuing Durga Puja. We are trying to make Durga Puja the most happening event and increase the footfall of tourists into the state during that time," said Goutam Deb, tourism minister of West Bengal. Bengal's biggest festival, Durga Puja, which will begin in the first week of October this year, is a four-day melange of fun and devotion.

West Bengal Tourism will shortly unveil a number of Durga Puja packages to attract tourists from

different parts of the country and abroad. It would start with the 'Mahalaya' package, the first day of the festival, when tourists would be taken to witness 'Tarpan', the ritual of paying tributes to the forefathers at Babughat on Hooghly river, a cruise on the river Hooghly past Dakshineswar Temple and then visits to Belur Math and the artisans' hub at Kumartuli, where the huge idols are created.

Other packages would include visits to major community Puja pandals of the city and some of the century-old Pujas conducted by renowned families of Kolkata, celebrating Pujas on the Ganges and a river cruise connecting Belur Math, Dakshineswar Temples.

Also on offer would be a spread of Bengali dishes and desserts. "The tourism department will be working

closely with different tour operators, hotel owners and transport agencies, besides several other government

departments to put up a co-ordinated effort," he pointed out.

The government is focusing on creating more innovative and diversified products that will increase the number of tourist arrivals to the state.

"One of our thrust areas would be to develop the tourism infrastructure in North Bengal, one of the most visited places

by Europeans. Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai region in North Bengal, are the most visited places," he stated. Deb also mentioned that the state tourism department is in close coordination with other state government departments and agencies like forest, power and PWD are developing a mega tourism project at Gajoldoba in Jalpaiguri district of the state.

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Tourism New Zealand targets independent Indian professionals Mohit Rathod Mumbai TOURISM NEW ZEALAND, as part of its marketing efforts, is targeting independent professionals in the India market. The destination witnessed an increase of 11.2 per cent in arrivals from India. Specifically in the holiday segment, New Zealand marked 15.4 per cent growth from India. "In the last FY, overall arrivals in New Zealand have been up than ever before. We continue to see double digit growth globally and particularly from India. We are targeting independent professionals aged between 25 and 54 years. Within this age group, we also focus on MICE segment; we target groups ranging from 50 to 400.

We encourage groups to visit New Zealand outside of our peak season, because we remain busy with other segments during the

peak season. We have signed an MoU with Immigration New Zealand, wherein we have six travel agancies focusing on MICE, which has resulted in a lot more feedback and more MICE business coming to New Zealand," said Steven Dixon, regional manager – South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand, while speaking to Express TravelWorld at the recently held Kiwi Link 2016, an annual travel trade show by Tourism New Zealand, in Mumbai. New Zealand is one of the major film tourism destinations in the world. Dixon informed that after the destination's association with films such as The Hobbit, there has been an increase in the number of arrivals.

He stated, "Film tourism has been really successful in New Zealand; we have marked 60 per cent growth from the India market after our previous cam-

paigns on the sidelines of film tourism. We have had 48,000 arrivals from the India market and we believe that we will continue to see double digit growth from India."

Tourism New Zealand is currently focusing significantly on Mumbai and Delhi, alongside Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai. Elabor-

ing on the marketing efforts, Dixon informed, "We are increasing our efforts in the India market; we have amazing relationships with the travel trade and we want to enhance those even more. We will continue to focus our efforts in Mumbai and Delhi. We don't have a direct flight, but we have a lot of one-stop options. At the mo-

ment, we are also seeing an increase in stay days from India, which is about 8.2 per cent. We are reactive to Tier II and Tier III cities, but we need to be focused on the Tier I markets."

About 50 per cent of arrivals in New Zealand comprise of leisure, 30 per cent includes friends and families and the remaining consists of MICE.

India is top MICE source market for Thailand in Q1 2016 Mohit Rathod Mumbai THAILAND IS concentrating its efforts to promote the country as a MICE destination in Asia, particularly in India. In the first quarter of 2016, Thailand witnessed more MICE delegates from India than any other source country in 2015. "India is the second largest MICE market for Thailand, after China, with over 100,000 arrivals from this segment in 2015," informed Nooch Homrossukhon, director, meetings and incentives department, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), at the recenly held Thailand Connect buyer-seller meet organised

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by TCEB in Mumbai.

The event saw participation from 30 partners from Thailand.

Speaking at the event, Ekapol Poolpipat, consul general, Royal Thai Consulate General, Mumbai, said, "India is a vital and an emerging market. India and

China are the biggest markets for us. Other key markets include Europe, the US and Australia. TCEB has worked hard to promote Thailand as a MICE destination in Asia. TCEB has also encouraged the Thai government to invest more in MICE

infrastructure in the country."

TCEB, a government organisation overseen by Thailand PMO, is working closely with public and private sector to boost MICE business in the country. "During the last four years, we got a lot of MICE business from India, because Indians are increasingly interested in Thai destinations for corporate events. We have received a lot of business from Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru due to huge presence of corporates in these cities," commented Chutipong Tantisahasrangsee, director of sales and marketing, Pheonix Events Group, a Thai-based event management firm.

Currently the five key MICE

destinations in Thailand include Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.

Alongside, TCEB is also promoting the Tier II MICE cities such as Chian Rai, Kanchanaburi, Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Hat Yai, Krabi and Phang Nga. "TCEB has helped us connect to partners from the Indian travel trade. We try to showcase our MICE offerings and promote Chiang Mai. We are expecting growth from the India market this year," stated Natenapha Suttithamdamrong, vice president, Pinkanakorn Development Agency, and director, Chiang Mai Exhibition and Convention Centre (CMECC).

IN THE NEWS

Kerala bags 12 National IndiGo expands Tourism Awards footprint in Gulf market, launches ChandigarhDubai flight ETW Staff Mumbai

ETW Staff New Delhi KERALA TOURISM won three out of the six National Tourism awards for 2014-15 in the marketing category for states, while it received two more awards, including the one for its Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative in the hilly district of Wayanad that has transformed its economy through intensive participation of the local people.

Hoteliers, tour operators and an Ayurveda Centre swelled the kitty of awards for God’s Own Country to 12 by winning seven more, including the Best Hotel in Five Star category and the Best Heritage hotel.

The awards were presented by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in the presence of Union Tourism Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi. The awards on behalf of Kerala Tourism were received by principal secretary Dr Venu V and director U V Jose.

Sargaalaya Arts and Crafts Village at Iringal, a small but

thriving village in Kozhikode, fetched the award in the Rural Tourism project category.

“The awards are a heartening and robust reaffirmation of our Responsible Tourism initiative, which has emerged as a trailblazing tourism product for the entire country. We also received three national awards for our brilliant marketing initiatives which are designed to woo travellers from both inside the country and abroad,” said Kerala tourism minister, A C Moideen. Dr Venu V noted, “It is a welcome recognition of our pioneering measures, especially our cutting edge marketing techniques and leveraging of technology, to position Kerala as a tourist-friendly destination.”

Kerala and the Spice Routes, a coffee-table book, won in the category of Excellence in Publishing in English language. ‘The Great Backwaters’, a brochure in German language, was adjudged for the award in foreign language segment. The third award for Kerala Tourism in ‘Tourism Promotion and Publishing’ category came for its most in-

novative use of information technology for the website.

Kerala Tourism has 12.8 lakh Facebook followers, the largest figure for any tourism board in India.

Private players bagged seven awards: Turtle on the Beach, Kovalam, was adjudged the best hotel in the Five Star category; Coconut Lagoon, Kumarakom, bagged the award for Best Heritage Hotel in Classic Category; Coconut Creek Farm and Homestay, Kumarakom, was given the award for ‘Best Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishment’ approved by State Governments / Union Territory Administrations’ and Somatheeram Research Institute & Ayurveda Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, was declared the Best Wellness Centre.

Kochi-based Lotus Destinations was awarded Best Tour Operator, Kalypso Adventures received the award for Best Inbound Tour Operator/Travel Agent and Dravidian Trails Holidays got a third prize in the category of Best Inbound Tour Operator/Travel Agent.

BUDGET CARRIER INDIGO is further expanding its network with the introduction of new flights. Effective September 26, 2016, IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Chandigarh and Dubai, alongside a second daily flight between Chandigarh and Delhi. These new operations will further expand the airline’s network to 812 daily flights connecting 40 destinations across India and internationally.

Speaking on the launch of the Dubai flight, Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo, said, “We are excited about the introduction of new flight launch from Chandigarh to Dubai. Chandigarh has been promising for us at IndiGo. We are excited to provide an international connection from Chandigarh which has been a long standing request from the people of the city. The new service connecting Chandigarh with Dubai will reinforce our commitment to Punjab and Haryana. This will also provide increased convenience for customers travelling from Himachal

The new service connecting ChandigarhDubai will reinforce our commitment to Punjab & Haryana Pradesh and other adjoining cities of Punjab and Haryana.”

The Chandigarh-Dubai flight will offer an all-inclusive return fare of `10,000.

With this launch, IndiGo will become the first airline to connect Chandigarh with Dubai.

Ghosh added, “IndiGo is committed to create an air transportation network across the country and addition of these new flights is a reflection of the same. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibility of choice to our customers as IndiGo continues to offer them on time, hassle free and always affordable flying experience.”

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Adventure tourism in Ethiopian India witnesses 300% commences growth in last decade NewYork-Newark flights ETW Staff Mumbai

Saloni Bhatia New Delhi AKSHAY KUMAR, president, Mercury Himalayan Explorations has been leading Adventure Tour Operators Association of India ( ATOAI) for the past three years, promoting adventure travel in the country. As one of the oldest operators of the industry, he believes that there has been tremendous growth in adventure tourism but major potential still lies untapped. Talking to Express TravelWorld, about his company he shared, “We have a big base of tourists coming to India for adventure travel as we offer everything from rafting, off-road expeditions, youth adventures, trekking, climbing, luxury camping to other expeditions in adventure travel. While we started as an inbound company only, we moved to providing exclusive trips for domestic travel as well.”

Commenting on the growth of adventure tourism in the country, he said, “The industry has grown more than 300 per cent in the last ten years. The adventure segment has evolved and the economy has opened up as more people are finding alter-

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Akshay Kumar

native ways to spend their holidays. Tour operators have already recognised domestic market as a very important source for adventure travel. But unfortunately the growth has been unregulated. There are little or no barriers for people to enter the sector which had led to increase in number of operators. But not everyone has trained professionals or are financially sound to run the business in an appropriate manner. Safety on adventure trips, carrying capacity in sensitive areas and availability of trained manpower is now a key

concern for all of us.”

Talking about the recent achievements of the association, he informed, “We had requested the state governments and tourism ministry to include ATOAI recommended standard guidelines for all who wish to register as an adventure tour operator. The guidelines mainly include the kind of equipment that you have to use, what experience the guide should have and who are the local guides and people whom one should associate with. While MOT has already accepted these SOPs some state governments like Andhra Pradesh have also included them in their new tourism policies.

Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have expressed interest to make these guidelines mandatory for operators.”

He added, “We have already signed an MoU with Madhya Pradesh Government to start 25 training programmes in their villages. Our professionals will identify spots where adventure tourism can be promoted and then train the people skills to meet the client's expectations.

We have already done it in Uttarakhand and look forward to bring it to more states.”

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES has commenced thrice weekly flights to New YorkNewark from Addis Ababa, via via Lomé, Togo. The airline has deployed Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route, the world’s most environmentally friendly aircraft with its lower carbon and noise emissions.

Ethiopian’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner is configured with 24 business class and 246 economy seats, all of which are equipped with audio-visual inflight entertainment consoles.

This new service enables passengers’ to connect between New York-Newark and various African cities.

At Lomé, passengers can enjoy connections to/from points in West Africa with ASKY, Ethiopian partner airline based in Lomé. Connections are available to/from Abidjan, Bamako, Bissau, Brazzaville, Conakry, Dakar, Douala, Kinshasa, Lagos, Libreville, N’djamena, Niamey, Ouagadougou and Yaoundé.

At Addis Ababa, passengers will be enjoying connections to/from points in East and Southern Africa, including Nairobi, Dares Salaam, Khartoum, Kampala, Kigali, and Johannesburg.

Tewolde GebreMariam,

Including NY in our expanding network will play a critical role in the expansion of trade and tourism group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines, remarked, “We are thrilled to resume our service to New York, our fifth gateway in the Americas.

New York is one of the world’s most economically powerful cities and including it in our expanding network will play a critical role in the expansion of trade, tourism and investment between the fast growing continent of Africa and the United States.”

New York-Newark is Ethiopian’s 93rd international gateway and fourth in North America. The airline currently operates daily nonstop flights from Washington DC to Addis Ababa, as well as three weekly nonstop flights from Toronto to Addis Ababa and three weekly flights from Los Angeles to Addis Ababa via Dublin.

IN THE NEWS

Travel Boutique Online makes strategic moves on Forex with Fxkart.com ETW Staff Mumbai NASPERS BACKED Travel Boutique Online enters into strategic partnership with Fxkart.com, an online aggregator/marketplace of Foreign Exchange Dealers, enabling its 19,000 travel agents to make foreign exchange bookings for their customers seamlessly.

Travel agents are yet considered as the backbone of the travel industry and while online travel portals are increasingly taking market share, there is a large consumer segment who prefers making their travel bookings through a travel agent who offers them personalised itinerary planning.

Travel Boutique Online (TBO), promises that his partnership will enable travel agents on their system to access and

discover the best forex rates instantly from a network of 250+ RBI authorised money changers at 1300+ locations in India.

Speaking on the development, Ankush Nijhawan, co-founder, TBO Group said, “Fxkart.com is one of the most promising start-

ups in the fin-tech sector. With foreign exchange being one of the biggest pain points for the travel agent, this would be a shot in the arm to seamlessly book forex on the portal and servicing the customer at the lowest rates.” Adding further, Abdul Hadi Shaikh, CEO Fxkart.com said, “We are happy to be on the platform as it gives us an instant reach to service travel agents who trust TBO across India with the help of technology.” Fxkart.com is an online fin-tech startup for buying and selling foreign currency.

It deals in currency, travel cards and international money transfers. In the last 16 months, the company has already become India’s largest online foreign exchange platform.

Panorama Destination partners with Outbound Konnections Reps for India market ETW Staff Mumbai RECOGNISING the potential of the emerging Indian outbound tourism market, Panorama Destination has joined hands with Outbound Konnections Reps to establish a partnership in India.

Outbound Konnections’ experience and strategic office locations (Mumbai and New Delhi) is expected to substantially build Panorama’s market share in the region.

Panorama Destination is set to launch a range of products for Indian tourists and FAM trips for travel agents.

Panorama Destination has recently joined Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), due to the importance of the India market. There will be a range of new, diverse and competitive products created specifically for the India market by Panorama Destination in the coming months and a director of business development will also be appointed to cater specifically to the market.

One of the biggest travel companies in Indonesia, Panorama Destination specialises in inbound client services and tailored tours.

Anjum Lokhandwala

Renato Domini

Panorama has its own fleet of vehicles for overland travel and has offices located in var-

ious strategic travel hubs throughout Indonesia.

Panorama Destination’s serv-

ices are delivered by over 350 tourism professionals and 250 licensed tour guides nationwide.

Anjum Lokhandwala, founder and director, Outbound Konnections, said, “We are happy to be appointed as the India office for Panorama Destination Indonesia and Bali. Panorama Destination is the leader in providing competitive packages and quality of services for all travel segments and we are keen to develop and multiply their market share in India. Indonesia has a lot to offer in terms of culture, scenic beauty, adventure and spas.”

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CONNECTING WITH FREEDOM As India celebrates her 69th Independence Day, Express TravelWorld rediscovers these iconic freedom monuments that were witness to India’s struggle for Freedom and spoke to travel agents to find out how these can be promoted to attract the new age traveller wanting to connect with his historical roots

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W

ith landmarks like the Red Fort in Delhi and Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar marking historic movements in India's freedom, the northern region of the country has many famous as well as little known sites that can be promoted as freedom trails. Ex press TravelWorld got some interesting insights from travel agents across the country to understand the tourist footfall at these places. Anurag Agarwal, director of Delhi-based SA Southend Travels, states, “Not many customers prefer to visit these places associated with our freedom struggle. Since Delhi is a major region with great historical significance people wish to explore more. We as agents accommodate it in special tours like cultural and food so people get a chance to see these locations. But, I feel if we make these trips more interesting and knowledgeable by adding a few interactive sessions or audio guides on history, it would make a huge difference to the tourist footfall.”

Talking about the interest of foreign tourists about historical monuments Lally Mathews, director, Vacations Travels and Tours, mentions, “If we look at North India then we have major places like Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar and Red Fort in Delhi.

When we plan itineraries for these areas we include these major hotspots that define India's heritage. But domestic footfall is more than foreign tourists. This is mainly because foreign travellers see various factors like cleanliness and audio guides in their languages.

The government lacks in spreading awareness about historical places and maintaining cleanliness standards for international tourists.” Some of the major places in the northern region are:

region of Awadh. Famously known as The Indian Rebellion of 1857, it refers to the rebellion that broke out against the rule of British East Indian company.

Our history books define it as the Revolt of 1857 or First War of Indian Independence. A mutiny broke out between the sepoys of East India company's army in Meerut and soon the revolt spread like wildfire to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and central India. It posed a significant threat to the company who could see their rule weaken in the army. Leaders like Mangal Pandey and Rani Lakshmi Bai are legendary for their brave

PLACES TO SEE ■ Martyr's Memorial,Meerut ■ Lucknow Residency Museum,Lucknow ■ Kanpur Memorial Church,Kanpur ■ Christ Church,Kanpur ■ Nana Rao Park,Kanpur

Lucknow and Meerut The beginnings of freedom struggle started in the erstwhile

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■ Red Fort,New Delhi ■ Jallianwala Bagh Memorial,Amritsar

fight against the British Raj. The Martyrs' Memorial in Awadh commemorates the memory of the brave Indian soldiers who gave up their life fighting against their British masters.

In Lucknow, the ruins of The Residency mark the struggle of Indians to fight British dominion. The complex houses a museum consisting of lithographs, photographs and paintings that are reminders of the fierce battle. About 80 km from Lucknow is Kanpur which became the headquarters of struggle led by Nana Sahib. The Nana Rao Park and Sati Chaura Ghat-Massacre Ghat, Kanpur Memorial Church and Christ Church are reminders of 1857.

Delhi The many historic landmarks of Delhi have witnessed milestones in India's freedom movement. The Red Fort in Delhi acquired a significant position when India's first prime minister hoisted the national flag at the entrance and delivered his Indepen-

dence Day speech. The lane leading from the Red Fort to Jama Masjid is a remembrance of the time the country celebrated its Independence. Delhi's freedom trail also extends to Gandhi Smriti, a Gandhi memorial built in a home where he used to stay when he visited the city. In the museum you can find photographs, sculptures, frescos and other remains of his past.

Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh Martyr’s Memorial The bullet holes at the Jallianwala Bagh Martyr's Memorial in Amritsar revive the horrific accident that shattered the country. Under the command of General Dyer, the British army fired over 1600 rounds of bullets at the large group of men, women and children gathered there for the Baisakhi festival. The memorial was inaugurated by India' first president, Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Pic courtesy: Aliven Sarkar

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people. The memorial houses freedom fighters' photographs and an exhibition gallery on the ground floor. The Netaji art gallery and a library on the freedom movement remind people of India's rich history. Apart from the gallery on First War of Independence, a FreedomSwatantrya Jyot has been erected in the vicinity of the Cellular Jail in memory of all freedom fighters and martyrs. A visit to the jail memorial is a thrilling reminder of the hard days of India's freedom movement.

Madurai

South India

T

here are not many landmarks related to the freedom movement in south of India. However, the Cellular Jail in Andaman & Nicobar Islands stands out as an exception.

Trichy- based tour operator, Pandin K, director, South Tourism, explains,“Not many domestic tourists come to us with queries about these historical places. They are more interested in the new experiential destinations where they can indulge in various activities. Only 15- 20 per cent of people would travel to these places. But some NRIs whose earlier generations have lived in India and wish to explore the historic connect that India offers, sometimes request for such itineraries.”

Ranga Reddy, managing partner, Geruda Tourism, mentions,“There are not many places in the south that can be added to the freedom trail. Apart from Madurai, there are hardly any spots known for their historical connect. We do not see many tourists planning their itineraries along these places. The third generation of travellers are not

interested in the past but prefer experiential travel. They wish to see the beaches and connect with nature. But I am sure better awareness on the government's part would once again bring back tourists to historical monuments.”

Bagh in Srirangapatna of district of Mandiya houses a museum. There are exhibits like oil paintings, pencil sketches, aquatints and engravings, coins and medals, costumes, furniture, arms, etc, mostly related to Tipu Sultan.

Karnataka

Cellular Jail

In the late 18th century, Mysore or Mahishuru, was under the power of Tipu Sultan who was known as the Tiger of Mysore. A series of wars were fought here. The third war saw the defeat of Tipu Sultan where he surrendered half of his kingdom to the British East India company. Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace in Bengaluru is a must visit place. The palace is known for its teak pillars and ornamental frescoes. The 17th-century Venkataraman Temple nearby and the massive Jamia Masjid make it a site worth a visit. Daria Daulat

The Cellular Jail in Port Blair completed in the year 1906 acquired the name 'cellular' because it was entirely made up of individual cells for solitary confinement. It came to be known as 'Kala Paani' that housed freedom fighters after the Revolt of 1857. The jail had seven wings, each having cells for solitary confinement of prisoners. To rebel against the hardships by the jail authorities, the prisoners went on a hunger strike.

Three prisoners died during the strike after which the authorities stopped issuing drinking water. The freedom fighters did not budge and their demands had to be met after a gruesome 46 days.

The place has now been declared as a National Memorial and has become a place for pilgrimage for all freedom loving

PLACES TO SEE ■ Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, Bengaluru ■ Cellular Jail,Andaman and Nicobar Islands ■ Gandhi Memorial Museum,Madurai

Madurai became an important landmark because it was visited by Mahatma Gandhi almost five times. On his second visit in 1921, he was deeply moved by the condition of poor farmers. In 1934, he refused to enter the Meenakshi temple because his escort was not allowed. The latter was a Harijan who were not allowed to enter temples at that time. This initiated a movement across the country for entry of untouchables in the temples. The temple also has a mural of Mahatma Gandhi which was made during the renovations.

The Gandhi Memorial Museum is located in Tamukkum Summer Palace of Nayaka queen Rani Mangammal and houses 14 original artifacts used by the Mahatma.

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cover )

East India

tic tourists we always include it in their itineraries.”

K

West Bengal

olkata was the capital of British India before it was shifted to Delhi in 1911.

Some great monuments built during that time and war memorials attracts local visitors even today. Debjit Dutta, CEO, Impression Tourism Services, points out that Kolkata has many places with great historical significance.“But there is not much demand in the market for tours that include these monuments and memorials. People just go for general sightseeing. So these places see more domestic tourists than international ones.

However, we can create special interest products to attract an audience by adding interactive tours and interesting story walks. But since there is no demand in the market, we as agents don't focus in that area,” he adds. According to Vikas Sarawgi of Kolkata based NCS Holidays the places that attract majority of tourists are Victoria Memorial (1921), Tagore House (18th century), Howrah Bridge, Marble Palace (1835) , Indian Museum (1814) and Shaheed Minar (1828).“Victoria Memorial has the highest footfall going up to 50,000 a day on Christmas and New Year. So for the domes-

26 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2016

This region played a crucial role in India's struggle for Independence as it was a hotbed of resistance to foreign rule. The Battle of Plassey took place in the capital province of Bengal which included states like West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, Bangladesh and Tripura. When the last free ruler of Bengal Sirajud-Daulah attacked Fort William in Kolkata, the British sent reinforcements headed by Colonel Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson to fight back.

The end of the battle was the end of the ruler as he fled to Awadh while the Britishers took over the region. A small memorial on the banks of river Bhagirathi is a

PLACES TO SEE ■ Victoria Memorial,Kolkata ■ Shaheed Minar,Kolkata ■ Fort William,Kolkata ■ Hazarduari Palace Museum, Murshidabad ■ Victory Pillar,Barrackpore ■ Smarak Sanghralaya Museum, Barrackpore

reminder of the Plassey battle.

Murshidabad was another important region before the emergence of Kolkata. The Hazarduaari Palace built in the 1837 has been transformed into a museum. Also known as the palace with a thousand doors it was built for Nawab Najim Humaun Jah by British Duncan McLeod. There are various historical artifacts on display including armoury, paintings, portraits of the Nawabs, works of ivory (Murshidabad school) and of China, swords used by Sirajud-Daulah and his grandfather, Nawab Ali Vardi Khan. There is also the Khushbagh Cemetery where rest the remains of Sirajud-Daulah and Nawab Ali Vardi Khan.

Barrackpore was the very first site of military barrack set up in 1772. The initial Revolt of the 1857 started here as the two rebellions took place led by Sepoy Binda Tiwary of the 47th Bengal Native Infantry. Now the place has been transformed into a garden in the memory of Mangal Pandey who led revolts against the British army. The Smarak Sanghralaya has many memoirs of Mahatma Gandhi's work. The district was also home to Surendranath Banerjea, who together with Anand Mohan Bose organised the National

Congress in 1883 which led to the birth of Indian National Congress. The Khadi Pratishthan in Sodepur was set up by an employee of Bengal Chemical, Satish Chandra Dasgupta. He was influenced by the work of Mahatma Gandhi and quit his day job to create cottage industry products.

The biggest stalwart from Bengal was Subhash Chandra Bose who was famously known as Netaji. He raised the Azad Hind Fauj or the Indian National Army and had a plan to gain India' Independence. He was sent to the Alipore Jail and exiled to Burma. He was later released because of a hunger strike. His residence in Kolkata has been transformed into a museum consisting of archives and a library of Netaji Research Bureau.

The freedom trail in Kolkata leads you to the Victoria Memorial and the Shaheed Minar. The memorial surrounded by 64 acres of well manicured lawns was dedicated to Queen Victoria. The museum now houses memorabilia from India's Independence movement. The Shahid Minar is a memorial for martyrs, built in 1828. The 218 steps of the tower lead you to the top which provides a bird's eyeview of the city.

Pic courtesy: Raveesh Vyas

( West India

T

he western region of India has been closely associated with the freedom struggle of the country,leaving behind a grandeur of heritage and history holding deep significance.In order to utilise this heritage as a tourism offering,some travel agencies and non-profit organisations conduct special tours.

However,a large segment of this offering still remain untapped by the tourism industry.Sujit Banerjee,former secretary,ministry of tourism, Government of India,opines,"Freedom trails could be a good idea to start a new tourism product.There are certain spots that are promoted because they have been maintained well,and have been preserved because of certain episodes related to the Independence struggle.”

Apart from reknowned personalities associated with the Indian freedom struggle,Maharashtra Exservicemen Corporation (MESCO) recently initiated 'Veer Yatra Military Tourism',which not only sheds light on the history,but also imparts awareness about the defence forces through various tour packages in Maharashtra."Military tourism is a well-established concept worldwide but it has not been explored in a structured way in India so far.Amilitary association is looked up to very proudly by every Indian and a thought of being part of the military establishment comes in the mind of every individual at some point in their life.As ex-servicemen,we strongly feel the need to promote military tourism with a view to inculcate sense of patriotism among the children and youth of the country," says Colonel (retired) Suhas S Jatkar,managing director,MESCO, adding that the Indian tourism industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth."With India's large military,long borders,huge spread in strategic and often picturesque sites in the country,it's time for military tourism.The idea is to cater to the entire spectrum of tourists,be it school children,youth, executives or even the corporates," he states.

Maharashtra Located on the Laburnum Road in

Gamdevi in Mumbai,Mani Bhavan served as an important place where Mahatma Gandhi carried out his activities for India's Independence, while he was in Mumbai (then Bombay).Mani Bhavan belonged to Shri Revashankar Jagjeevan Jhaveri who was an ardent devotee of Gandhi and his host during that period.Mani Bhavan was the epicentre of India’s freedom struggle,especially between 1917 to 1934.The first phase of non-violent freedom struggle was launched here.This heritage building is now a tourist attraction, drawing a number of visitors from India and abroad.Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya is open througout the week between 9.30 am to 6.00 pm.It houses a museum and a library that has a collection of about 40,000 books,an auditorium, the room where Gandhi lived and worked,and an exhibition depicting his life.

Awalk around Mumbai gives a glimpse of the past.One can start from the Gateway of India,the IndoSaracenic archway built to commemorate King George V's visit to India.Another important event that

PLACES TO SEE ■ Mani Bhavan,Mumbai ■ Sabarmati Ashram,Ahmedabad ■ Watson Museum,Rajkot ■ Kaba Gandhi no Delo,Rajkot ■ Kolaba Fort,Raigad,Maharashtra

adds to the historical significance of the place is that the last British platoon left from here,marking an end to the 282 years of British rule in the country.The Azad Maidan where people gather to play cricket today was where Gandhi addressed the largest gathering of people.

The Aga Khan Palace in Pune, built by Imam Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III in 1892 is where many prominent freedom fighters were placed under arrest.Mahatma Gandhi,along with his wife Kasturba Gandhi,and Mahadev Desai stayed in the palace during the Quit India Movement in 1942.The palace has been transformed into a museum with some pictures of the freedom struggle.

Located at a distance of two km from the shores of Alibag,the Kolaba Fort is surrounded by sea and has two chief entrances.In 1662,Shivaji Maharaj toughened and fortified Kolaba fort and made the fort one of his main naval centres.The charge of the fortress was given to Darya Sagar and Manik Bhandari under whom Kolaba fortification became the heart of Maratha assaults on British ships.

THE MAIN FOCUS

seum,with an exhibit of old photographs,some of his possessions and a library of books.

Situated 34 km from Surat,Bardoli town saw the birth of the ‘No-tax movement’led by Sardar Patel,in protest of the British rule.It was a precursor to the Namak Satyagraha.

The Swaraj Ashram,garden,museum,and khadi workshops,are worth a visit,as well as the Aitihasik Ambo,a mango tree under which Gandhi declared that he would settle for nothing less than independent home-rule for India.For many years Ahmedabad was the centre of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggle.One can get a sense of his life,the history of the movement at the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya,a small museum that includes pictorial and written documentation, a library of Gandhian literature and paintings,and an archive of letters written by him.

Goa The Reis Magos Fort was initially used to house viceroys and other dignitaries who were arriving from or departing to Portugal.With the threat of invasion from neighbouring Indian states,the fort became a military stronghold.It is said that the British occupied the fort from 1798 for the duration of the Napoleonic wars. The fort is now a cultural centre and a prominent tourist attraction.

Gujarat On October 2,1869,Mahatma Gandhi was born in a threestorey building in Porbandar.Now called Kirti Mandir,the building has been converted into a small mu-

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CORPORATE FILE

Barriers to sustainable tourism AIG Travel Survey reports travellers are receptive, but say that there are barriers to responsible tourism

A

ccording to a new survey, most travellers agree that travelling sustainably is important, but many may feel it's easier said than done. AIG Travel, a worldwide leader in travel insurance and assistance services, recently released the results of its latest Pulse Poll on sustainable travel, which received more than 1,500 responses from travellers and followers of the brand.

Chief among the findings: Most respondents (52 per cent) said it's important to travel sustainably, but more than one third (35 per cent) reported difficulty doing so, with 50 per cent of those citing "not knowing how" as the top barrier. This lack of awareness was reflected elsewhere in the survey, with 71 per cent of respondents defining sustainable travel as "minimising environmental impact" despite the World Tourism Organisation's broader definition of the term, which includes economic and social elements.

"International travel is more accessible today than ever before, and with this access comes a responsibility to positively impact the places we visit. This Pulse Poll is one of many efforts to help us understand potential barriers to sustainable travel, so we may help travellers overcome them. The results suggest a major opportunity for consumer education around this important cause,� says Jeff

28 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2016

Rutledge, CEO, AIG Travel and a vice chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

In April, AIG Travel sponsored WTTC's Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, which celebrate sustainability best practices by recognising exceptional tourism businesses, organisations and destinations.

In August, the travel company will partner with award-winning family travel blogger Heather Delaney Reese of "It's a Lovely Life" to host its first

#WhereNext? Twitter chat on sustainable travel, educating travellers on the basics of the movement and exploring key survey themes, including: Catch 22: In the survey's open-ended section, 41 respondents questioned whether air travel is at odds with sustainable travel. The group will discuss ways to mitigate the environmental impact of air travel, including purchasing carbon offsets, opting for public transportation once at one's destination, and practicing social

and economic consciousness.

Team Effort: When asked who had the most power to help people travel sustainably, respondents held themselves (37 per cent) and the travel industry (45 per cent) about equally responsible. The group will discuss ways in which these parties may work together to promote responsible tourism.

Golden Rule: When asked what sustainable travel means to them, 49 respondents wrote in with variations of "treating

others the way you'd like to be treated" and "leaving destinations better than you found them." The group will explore ways to bridge the gap from these abstract, but commendable, goals to concrete actions to support them.

In May 2016, AIG Travel distributed a 12-question Pulse Poll on the topic of sustainable travel to its US direct marketing email list and Twitter followers. The survey received 1,508 responses from May 3 – May 10, 2016.

IN FOCUS

The Brexit impact Four thought leaders of the travel and tourism industry share their views with Reema Lokesh on the immediate effect of the Brexit on the tourism industry David Scowsill, president & CEO,World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) The UK is currently still part of the European Union and nothing changes with immediate effect.

The UK remains a full member state of the EU, all EU rules and regulations continue to apply until the country evokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, after which, there is a two year period for negotiations to take place.

The most significant effect in the immediate aftermath of the referendum result is the drop in the pound sterling, which makes it more expensive for the British to travel abroad as their spending

David Scowsill

power has decreased. Nevertheless, we have registered little immediate impact on the British or European travel market as many summer trips had been booked before the referendum and will continue to go ahead over the summer. Our analysis does suggest, however, that this impact

may be felt more intensely in 2017. This could have implications for the Indian tourism sector for which the UK is an important market. At this time it is impossible to predict the longer term impact of Brexit on tourism in India, however it could present a significant opportunity as the UK seeks to intensify trade relationships with emerging markets such as India, and given the close historical ties between the two nations.

Kapil Chopra, chairman,WTTC India Initiative & president, The Oberoi Group The long-term effect of Brexit needs to be watched. India has been the third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK in 2014-15, behind the US and France. In 2014, India was the most common nonUK country of birth. An estimated 793,000 residents of the UK were born in India (9.6 per cent of the total number of nonUK born residents in the UK in 2014). There is a significant amount of travel both leisure and business between India and UK. If the pound sterling continues to have a balanced run against the rupee, it will be a great influencer in determining travel both inbound and outbound between the two countries. It will mean that the Indian outbound traveller will have a

HOWTHE NUMBERS STACK UP 2015

Number of visits

( India to UK)

422,409

(UK to India)

931,000

Total expenditure (GBP)

£433.1 m

£801 m

Average length of stay (nights)

21.84

26.4

Average spend per visit (GBP)

£1,025

£860

Data compiled by WTTCII; source: Visit Britain & Office for National Statistics

Kapil Chopra

greater propensity to spend in travel to the UK and vice versa.

For the Indian outbound, Brexit will not have much impact, because, in any case, an Indian travelling to UK and Europe still needs to obtain two separate visas. According to Visit Britain statistics, India in 2015, accounted for 422,000 visitations to UK with spends of GBP 433 million. India ranks 18th in the top 50 source markets to UK and 16th on spend capacity. India is the only country in Asia to make it to the top 20. UK cannot afford to ignore the Indian outbound. In terms of inbound to India, UK ranks 3rd as India’s prime source markets in 2015 and continues to be an important established market for India. The Government of India has also made considerable efforts to entice travellers from all over the world with its newly launched e-Tourist Visa (e-TV).

Under this scheme an UK citizen can get an Indian visa of 30 days duration for GBP 39. This is competitive with offers made by destinations like Thailand or Cambodia. We need to spread this awareness and open up the rich travel experiences one can have in India through massive “Brand India” campaigns targeted at every segment of consumers in the UK. Today, air connectivity between London and all cities in India is multiple times daily and the ease of getting to India is like never before.

India is also a great value for money destination in terms of quality of hotels and pricing.

Ease of travel – visas being the primary trigger of travel – will influence outbound travel from India to the UK. There needs to be reciprocation between governments – the Government of India’s decision to extend eTourist Visa (e-TV) to citizens of the UK, its terms and pricing must be matched and rationalised by the Government of UK, in order to attract more tourists in the longer run from India. Intrinsic historical and trade linkages between the UK and India dates back to more than two centuries, this we foresee, will grow.

Karan Anand, head, relationships, Cox & Kings

Karan Anand

The weakening of the pound by about 12 per cent in the last one month is a boon for Indian travellers who intend to travel to UK this year as this will automatically bring down the cost of their holiday. Once in UK, all services such as entry to museums, attractions and dining out will become cheaper. This in itself will lead to a substantial saving of between 10 to 12 per cent. In 2015, close to 4.5 lakh Indians visited UK and this number is expected to grow by at least 15 per cent this year as well. The additional savings will spur holiday traffic to the UK. As for inbound, the booking pattern is very different.

They book at least six to eight months before travel. So those who have already booked will not have to factor a higher outgo.

However, those who book now will be careful as the pound has weakened against the Rupee and they will still travel but may trade down to a certain extent.

Rajeev Kohli, joint MD, Creative Travel and president, SITE 2016 The UK is a significant source market for many countries and the referendum results have undoubtedly created a level of uncertainty for many, especially for Asia and South America. The concerns are of the potential shift of outbound British groups away from long haul destinations brought about by the severe depreciation in the British Pound. There is also the potential impact on suppliers’ bottomline for groups already contracted for the near future.

However, British travellers tend to be very resilient. Regarding the outbound impact, I feel, although travelling to the UK has become somewhat cheaper, I doubt if that will create long term effects for Indian travellers to the UK. The destination was always expensive and the ten off

Rajeev Kohli

per cent depreciation in costs is unlikely to divert significant numbers. It will however reduce the cost of experiencing the destination for the existing traveller.

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SPOTLIGHT

'TraveLibro's USP is the on-the-go feature in our app' Monish B Shah, co-founder and CMD, TraveLibro Online, shares with Reema Lokesh, the vision of the company keeping in sync with the demands of the new age traveller What triggered the thought to establish TraveLibro ?

The idea to set up TraveLibro Online germinated in my mind while I was planning my honeymoon to Greece and Spain. I realised that there was no single portal, which was of assistance as I spent hours on different websites, connecting with friends to draw inspiration from their past trips, speak with numerous travel agents, all a daunting task. Being a new-age discerning traveller, there was no portal that enabled me to plan my holiday from end-to- end. Thus, TraveLibro originated in order to bridge this gap. The basic plan was to have a single platform that would help a potential traveller to draw inspiration from, connect with travel agents, and list out things to do in the particular city.

How do you intend to position the product in the India market ?

We believe that our biggest opportunity is to be the world’s largest travel social network, an area which has not been explored well yet. Apart from the obvious word of mouth, we use various social media such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, to draw users. We are also networking with some of the most popular travel bloggers in the world, so that users of the portal can also follow and get inspired by their travel journeys.

Is there a specific plan to penetrate the Indian travel trade market ?

TraveLibro is looking to create

30 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2016

an ecosystem where travellers can interact with travel agents.

We are working hard on making this amalgamation seamless. Currently, our sales team is reaching out to travel agents and educating them on the benefits of being on TraveLibro. It aims to provide a forum for travel agents to display their tours and packages to the universe of travellers looking for standard and customised packages, in an enhanced format.

What are the salient features of the company and the business module?

The three words that best describe TraveLibro are: ‘Capture. Inspire. Relive.’ Life is a journey full of memorable moments, those that are experienced while travelling as well as the local activities done in the city a person lives in.

TraveLibro seeks to not only enable users to capture those precious memories but also inspire other like-minded travellers by sharing them (if they desire to do so). TraveLibro aims to connect its users with other travellers, bloggers, agents along with being a metasearch engine for bookings such as flights, hotels, homestays, car rentals, and more. Besides, it’s a perfect go-to for those who like to take the road less travelled. However, the USP is the on-the-go feature in our app. This feature enables users to capture and record each moment of their unforgettable travel journey while experiencing it, as the name suggests, on the go. Users can track their travel experience with simple check-ins, picture up-

Monish and Malhar

loads, status messages and post moments to a stunning shared timeline with friends and family and cherish memories forever.

cerned we are at a very nascent stage and we are concentrating our efforts in positioning TraveLibro in the market.

Would you like to share with us the company’s growth story?

We have about 30,000 registered users and over 35,000 unique visitors from 49 countries on our portal every month.

With a presence of over 50 top bloggers and over 400 travel agents on our portal, we are confident that our user base will only increase from here on.

What are the primary challenges within your line of business ?

As a start up looking to build an entire eco system, all the aspects must grow simultaneously to work cohesively. Additionally, marketing the entire gamut of services that TraveLibro provides is a challenging one in itself. The primary challenge is to establish ourselves as a travel social network portal where users can capture and relive precious travel and local memories as well as inspire other likeminded users.

What is the initial investment in business and has it met your expectation in terms of the initial turnover ?

TraveLibro is bootstrapped by its founders, Monish Shah and Malhar Gala. Our next step is to reach out to potential investors to seek investment and form synergies with various industry partners.

Our initial investment is being used to build a new-age product that adds value to a traveller; our product is now almost ready and aligns to our expectations in terms of what we set out to do.

As far as initial turnover is con-

Is the India market ready for your business ?

TraveLibro is a unique combination of the travel and social networking industries. More than 2.8 billion people across the world use the internet, 2.1 billion users have smart phones, 2.08 billion are active on social media platforms, above 1.1 billion people travel each year and the entire travel

industry is worth more than US$ 2.4 trillion. India is an extremely important mix in these statistics and we rank in the top three countries when it comes to outbound travel and the usage of social networks. There is no entity though that combines travel and social networking providing an entire experience to a traveller, from planning the next big holiday on the bucket list to cherishing all your travel memories forever. TraveLibro looks to address that void in between both these massive industries. As a brand, TraveLibro has managed to receive a good initial response from the Indian audience as 65 per cent of our active user base is from India.

What are the plans for the company for 2016-17 and the vision forward?

Keep our head on our shoulders and continue working hard towards achieving our goals. It has been a long and enriching journey of joy, sweat and tears since we started and have come a long way since then. Yet, we have miles to go before realising our dream.

Is there a new development that you wish to share ?

We are currently in the process of enhancing our user experience and user interface along with forming synergies with industry partners to create a metasearch engine for bookings. We foresee that 201617 is where all the elements come together to make TraveLibro the travel ecosystem it aims to be.

REPORT

World tourism barometer World international tourism continues to grow above average in the first four months of 2016

2

016 STARTED on a strong note for international tourism. International tourist arrivals grew by 5 per cent between January and April 2016 according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Results were robust across almost all subregions and many destinations reported doubledigit growth. Prospects for

May-August remain positive, with around 500 million tourists expected to travel abroad in the Northern Hemisphere summer holiday peak season.

Destinations worldwide received 348 million international tourists (overnight visitors) between January and April 2016, some 18 million more than the same period last year (+5.3 per cent). This follows an increase of 4.6 per cent in 2015, and could make 2016 the seventh consecutive

year of above-average growth, with international arrivals increasing by 4 per cent or more every year following the crisis in 2009.

“Results show a strong desire to travel and this continues to drive tourism growth.

Destinations keep benefitting from solid demand across all world regions despite ongoing challenges, showing that tourism is a dynamic and resilient economic sector,” said UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai.

“Yet, despite these good results, the tragic events of recent months remind us that safety and security remain a major challenge for all. We must continue to work closely together to address this global threat and ensure tourism is an integral part of emergency planning and response at global, regional and national level” added Rifai.

By region, Asia and the Pacific (+9 per cent) recorded the highest increase in inter-

national arrivals, with all Asian subregions enjoying growth of 7 per cent or above.

By subregion, Subsaharan Africa (+13 per cent) led growth, strongly rebounding from previous years’ modest results.

UNWTO forecasts international tourist arrivals to increase by 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent over the full year 2016, in line with UNWTO’s long-term projection of 3.8 per cent growth a year for the period 2010 to 2020.

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REPORT NUMBER OF FOREIGN TOURIST VISITS (FTVS) TO DIFFERENT STATES / UTS DURING 2013, 2014 & 2015 : (SOURCE: STATE / UNION TERRITORY TOURISM DEPARTMENTS) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

32

State / UT Andaman & Nicobar Island Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chandigarh Chhattisgarh Dadra & Nagar Haveli Daman & Diu Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand J&K Karnataka Kerala Lakshadweep Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal Total

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2013 14742 69552 10846 17638 765835 40124 3886 1582 4814 2301395 492322 198773 228200 414249 45995 60845 636378 858143 371 280333 4156343 1908 6773 800 3304 66675 42624 204074 1437162 31698 3990490 153966 11853 2054420 97683 1245230 19951026

2014 17235 66333 5204 21537 829508 28365 7777 1799 4620 2319046 513592 235524 314757 389699 154731 86477 561870 923366 514 316195 4389098 2769 8664 921 2585 71426 83291 255449 1525574 49175 4657630 75171 26688 2909735 101966 1375740 22334031

2015 14674 237854 5705 24720 923737 29538 6394 1797 5858 2379169 541480 284973 303118 406108 167785 58568 636502 977479 1173 421365 4408916 3260 8027 798 2769 66971 106153 242367 1475311 38479 4684707 126078 34886 3104062 105882 1489500 23326163

REPORT Results by region Asia and the Pacific (+9 per cent) recorded the highest growth in international arrivals across world regions in January-April 2016, with robust results in all four subregions. South-East Asia and Oceania both achieved 10 per cent growth, while arrivals in North-East Asia increased by 8% and in South Asia by 7 per cent. In Africa (+7 per cent), international tourist arrivals experienced a clear rebound in Subsaharan Africa (+13 per cent), while in North Africa results were down by 8 per cent.

In the Americas (+6 per cent), all four subregions continued to enjoy significant growth in the first four months of 2016, led by Central America and South America (both at +7 per cent). Arrivals in the Caribbean (+6 per cent) and North America (+5 per cent) were fuelled by continued strong outbound demand from the United States, where tourism expenditure increased by 9 per cent through May. Europe (+4 per cent), the world’s most visited region, consolidated its healthy growth of recent years with Northern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe (both at

+6 per cent) in the lead, followed by Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+4 per cent) and Western Europe (+3 per cent). International tourist arrivals in the Middle East are estimated to have declined by 7 per cent through April according to available information.

Results for both Africa and the Middle East should be read with caution, as they are based on currently limited data available for these regions.

Janeiro in August. A downside is that security concerns remain high on the agenda. Furthermore, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union in the recent referendum (‘Brexit’) has raised uncertainty in the market and led to a substantial depreciation of the UK pound Sterling. However, UNWTO does not expect this to have a significant impact on international travel in the short term.

India

Prospects remain positive UNWTO estimates that some 500 million tourists will travel internationally between May and August 2016, the Northern Hemisphere summer holiday peak season, accounting for about 41 per cent of the year’s total international tourist arrivals.

According to the UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index, prospects for May-August 2016 remain positive and in line with the performance of JanuaryApril. The Index shows confidence is highest in Europe, followed by the Americas.

On the positive side, Brazil is looking forward to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de

As per the UNWTO Barometer (Volume 14, May 2016), during 2015, India ranked 40th in terms of international tourist arrivals. As per the Second Tourism Satellite Account of India - 2009-10 and subsequent estimation for the next three years namely 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, the contribution of tourism to total employment in the country during 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 were 10.17 per cent, 10.78 per cent, 11.49 per cent and 12.36 per cent, respectively.

The Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) during 2015 was highest in West (30.6 per cent) followed

by South (29.1 per cent), North (28.4 per cent), East (11.4 per cent) and North East (0.5 per cent). The region-wise number of FTVs during 2013, 2014 and 2015 is also given below.

As per the report of the ‘Working Group on Tourism’ for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) set up by the then Planning Commission, the requirement of additional hotel rooms under classified category in 2016 over 2010 is estimated to be 1,90,108.

Construction of hotels is primarily a private sector activity. The ministry of tourism, however, has advised the state governments/UT administrations to follow tourism friendly policies for augmenting hotel room supply like allotting land sites for hotels on revenue sharing basis, granting extra Floor Space Index (FSI)/ Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for hotels, adopt Single Window approach for clearing hotel projects, rationalisation of taxes, etc.

To encourage the growth of budget hotels, the following incentives were announced by the government: ■ Extension of investment linked tax incentives under Section 35AD of the

Income Tax Act to new hotels of two-star category and above anywhere in India, which will facilitate growth of accommodation in the country.

■ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has de-linked credit for hotel projects from Commercial Real Estate (CRE), thereby enabling hotel projects to avail credit at relaxed norms and reduced interest rates.

■ Hotel and tourism related industry has been declared a high priority industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed upto 100 per cent under the automatic route.

The ministry of finance has also included the following in the 'Harmonised list of Infrastructure Sub Sector' to boost supply of hotel rooms in the country: ■ Three-star or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with population of more than one million.

■ Hotels with a project cost of more than `200 crore each in any place in India and of any star rating.

THE REGION-WISE NUMBER OF FTVS TO INDIA DURING 2013, 2014 & 2015 Region (*) West South North East North East Total

2013 6575215 5766266 5400990 2123735 84820 19951026

2014 6994179 6385410 6405494 2431405 117543 22334031

20151 7146094 6784620 6628812 2647993 118644 23326163

The States / Uts covered under the jurisdication of regions mentioned above are as below: North: Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh Chandigarh; South : Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Island; East : Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand; West : Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli; and North East: Arunchal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

'THERE IS DEMAND FOR MORE SPECIALISED AND AMBIDEXTROUS WORKFORCE' Nishant Kolgaonkar, head HR, SOTC Travel, speaks about the HR best practices in his company and what are the challenges in the future

By Reema Lokesh What is the HR philosophy at SOTC, especially in an industry that faces high turnover ?

Our HR philosophy is clearly enunciated through our Employee Value Proposition and our HR mission. Our mission is to serve our internal customers by continually focusing on adding value to business and maximising employee experience through their life cycle.

Our HR strategy is designed in alignment with business strategy and focuses on resource optimisation, employee engagement and development, corporate governance, compliance and risk management. At SOTC, we focus on building a culture that enhances employee engagement and communication. This is done through our organisational effectiveness and engagement initiatives across locations. We also encourage employees to brand some of our initiatives as it helps to create awareness, provide clarity and ensure sustenance. Few of the programmes conducted under Organisational Effectiveness are employee engagement surveys (Empower), new joinees’ feedback survey (Anubhav), exit interviews (Samvaad), Buddy programme, amidst others. We also conduct Happiness Audits.

Further, we take pride in our gender diversity. More than 33 per cent of our workforce comprises of women employees who are working across various levels.

Is there a certain programme which was designed to give employees the much needed work security?

34 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2016

strategic, process improvement, product innovations, stretched assignments, and all of these help in increasing employability skills.

Nishant Kolgaonkar

The nature of work has significantly changed and concept of life time employment has become elusive.

Work is now more cognitively complex, dependent on interpersonal skills, technology, and conducted with speed.

Employees have to focus on “employability skills or skill security”. There is a difference between occupational and employability skills. Recently an in-house programme called, 'Develop your X factor' for one of the business division was created and it was based on OD intervention techniques. The programme aimed at helping employees enhance their employability skills. In addition, there are various products and process training conducted and even tests administered to check occupational skills. Along with formal trainings, we also encourage knowledge sharing through various webinars, articles and videos. Employees are encouraged to work on various projects that are

What are currently the important trends in the HR, especially in the travel and tourism industry? ● Generations are colliding at work place and employees are putting a stronger satisfaction rating on whether their employer is developing them ● As business environment continues to get more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, competition for talent will get more intensified and HR along with business leaders will have to develop and implement talent management practices ● Digital strategy, social media and mobile platform will enhance communication and accentuate the migration of HR and business processes from being manual and administrative to more automated and selfservice in nature ● Big Data and analytics will become a reality in HR ● Organisations will have to consistently monitor governance, risks and compliance ● Assessment tools and psychometric tests will be used widely in workforce planning, optimisation, productivity measurement and leadership development ● Mentoring and coaching will become critical for future leadership development

How unique are your training programmes and are there any refresher courses the company encourages the employees to take?

Our trainings vary from product and process trainings, on-the-job trainings, induction, governance and compliance related trainings, behaviuoral, functional, managerial and leadership development programmes like MDP, KMS, innovation workshops, etc. We conduct five day intensive Management Development Programmes (MDP) for our staff to develop their managerial and leadership competencies and business acumen. Our functional trainings cater to sales, product, operations, IT, finance, compliance and risk management topics. In addition, we have also introduced coaching at senior level and currently working on introducing mentoring for employees.

Since you come from a nontravel background and have worked in other sectors, how different is this industry and what are the primary challenges ?

Unlike IT, banking, pharma and few other industries where there are entry barriers in terms of education and pedigree, the travel industry is very inclusive in nature since it employs people across all strata of society.

Having said that, with the arrival of MBA, hospitality, specialised travel and tourism courses, things are beginning to change. Like any other industry, the travel and tourism

industry is becoming increasingly competitive. Technological advances are changing the way businesses operate.

Rather than deteriorating the offline travel industry, new technologies are pushing it forward. Amidst these challenges, the travel and tourism industry is growing substantially. There is an exciting opportunity to create new industry standards and best practices. From the HR perspective, regardless of any industries, people challenges across all industries continue to remain the same. Earlier employment in the tourism industries used to be considerably varied ranging from professional, skilled positions to unskilled and semi-skilled work. Over the years the demand is now for more specialised and ambidextrous workforce. In a VUCA world, building capacity and developing capabilities of 'ambidextrous' workforce to multi task could be quite daunting.

What is your advice to the millennials who are seeking a career in the industry ?

The travel and tourism industry provides exciting opportunity to work in a global environment. Gen Y are highly impatient, inquisitive, innovative, brand conscious, crave for constant recognition and instant gratification.

Young employees need to get their hands dirty, be flexible to relocate anywhere, appreciate different perspectives and develop strong learning orientation and domain competencies.

MOVEMENTS Global Destinations Global Destinations has appointed VAIJAYANTHI KARI as India representative, Tourism Fiji. Prior to joining Global Destinations, Kari

group Amanogawa LLC, where he advised the leadership of several multi-national companies on global strategy and expansion plans, with clients that included Rakuten and TripAdvisor.

Novotel Hyderabad Airport

Air New Zealand

Vaijayanthi Kari

worked in the field of public relations for a period of three years. She will be based out of the Mumbai office of Global Destinations.

TripAdvisor TripAdvisor has announced that GARY FRITZ has joined as the chief growth officer and president, Asia Pacific, TripAdvisor. In these roles, Fritz will be responsible for driving growth and strategy across the entire family of TripAdvisor brands. Additionally, he will be responsible for leading TripAdvisor’s operations and strategy throughout the Asia Pacific region. Before joining TripAdvisor, Fritz founded the advisory and investment

Gary Fritz

Air New Zealand has appointed MICHEAL MEREDITH as consultant chef. Renowned for his adventurous approach to food and degustation menus at Auckland’s fine dining restaurant, Merediths, the Samoan-born chef will work with the airline to design dishes for its business premier menus. Meredith joins Air New Zealand’s current consultant chef, Peter Gordon of SkyCity’s Sugar Club, The Providores and The Tapa Room in London, who has partnered with the airline for more than 20 years. The airline’s business premier menus will include both Meredith and Gordon's dishes from early next year.

CWT Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has announced new appointments at the top management level. The new CWT team now includes KURT EKERT as president and CEO, ANDREW JORDAN as chief technology officer, KELLY KUHN as chief customer officer, PATRICK ANDERSEN as chief strategy and commerce officer, SCOTT BRENNAN as president – hotels, and DAVID MORAN

Andrew Jordan

Kelly Kuhn

as chief human resources officer. Aditionally, CWT has SIM KIAN PENG as general manager – Southeast Asia.

FCM Travel Solutions FCM Travel Solutions has appointed MARCUS EKLUND as global leader. Most recently from the travel technology company Amadeus, Eklund has worked with FCM in recent years and has experience working with both travel agencies and corporations on the management of business travel programmes.

The announcement comes after Eklund's predecessor, Gregory Lording, announced his intention to take an extended sabbatical leave after six years of growing the organisation's global network and multinational business.

Diethelm Travel Cambodia RONNI DALHOFF has been appointed as managing director of Diethelm Travel Cambodia. Dalhoff replaces former managing director, Pierre Jungo, who has retired after being with the company for 20 years. A Danish national, Dalhoff has been living in Cambodia for the past five years, working as operations manager and hotel manager. Prior to these roles, he worked as a sales representative in a Danish travel agency that specialised in South East Asia, as well as a travel consultant to tour operators in Cambodia.

Novotel Hyderabad Airport has appointed RAVI KHUBCHANDANI as the hotel’s new general manager.

In his role, Khubchandani will focus on enhancing overall guest experience at Novotel Hyderabad Airport, bringing growth in revenues, and developing the team to manage the hotel operations.

An AccorHotels veteran with over a decade of experience in the industry, Khubchandani started his career with AccorHotels in 2003 in Wellington, New Zealand. Over the course of his career with AccorHotels in New Zealand, he worked across various verticals and locations, including MICE, corporate, boutique and airport hotels. His tenure with AccorHotels in India began

in 2011 as the hotel manager for ibis Pune and in 2012 he was appointed as the general manager of ibis Gurgaon. He was also part of AccorHotels' International Hospitality Management Program (IHMP), run by Academie Accor – Singapore.

Hokulani Waikiki by Mövenpick Resort & Hilton Grand Spa Jimbaran Bali HORST WALTHER-JONES Vacations Club has been appointed the genROBERT ISHIHARA has been appointed as the general manager of the Outrigger-managed Hokulani Waikiki by Hilton Grand Vacations Club. Ishihara has been general manager of the Wyndham Royal Garden at Waikiki and was assistant general manager at the Wyndham at Waikiki Beach Walk, both resorts managed by Outrigger. His previous Outrigger experience also includes a temporary assignment as general manager for the Ohana Waikiki East by Outrigger, in addition to serving as guest services manager, front office manager and then director of front office for the then Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber and assistant front office manager at the Waikiki Beachcomber before it transitioned to the Ohana brand.

Before Outrigger, Ishihara worked at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel as guest services representative, hotel assistant manager and assistant executive housekeeper.

eral manager of the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali. Walther-Jones hails from Germany where he began his career in hospitality as an apprentice and commis de cuisine before becoming executive chef and director of food and beverage at Hyatt Cancun Caribe Villas & Resort in Mexico and later at the Hyatt Regency in Macau – China. His first management role was at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai where he became executive assistant manager and Jumeirah Group co-ordinator for food and beverage, before taking on the role of general manager in March 2004 at Jumeirah Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa, also in Dubai. After five more years with Jumeirah, Walther-Jones joined Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts in 2009 as the general manager of the Mövenpick Hotel Al Nawras in Saudi Arabia.

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weekend

E V E N T S

NATIONAL TOURISM AWARDS

The National Tourism Awards by ministry of tourism recognises Kerala Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism and The Ashok, New Delhi for their work in various categories of tourism and hospitality

HONOURING PERFORMANCE Adam Boukadida, deputy treasurer, Etihad Airways; and Ricky Thirion, group treasurer, Etihad Airways, at the recent Treasury Today Adam Smith Awards in London

THE NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE Actor Sidharth Malhotra (centre), Tourism New Zealand’s brand ambassador for India, sharing the experience of his New Zealand journey at a recent event in Ahmedabad

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weekend

E V E N T S

A NEW HOLIDAY DESTINATION Seychelles Tourism Board recently organised a promotional road show in Bengaluru

CELEBRATING MILESTONE Air Arabia recently celebrated 10 years of operations in Jaipur with an awards ceremony for travel agents

INDIA’S FIRST TRAVEL WEDDING SHOW The first edition of Travel Wedding PROMOTING GREEN Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) participated in the recent "VasudhaivaKutumbakam" tree plantation programme undertaken by the Maharashtra government at MTDC head office in Mumbai

LEADING THE REGION Patrick Brannelly, divisional vice president – customer experience, Emirates Airline receiving the Best Airline in the Middle East award at Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016

Show 2016, a B2B meetings platform for buyers and suppliers of the wedding segment, was held at Le Meridien, Gurgaon

EMBRACING NEW RESPONSIBILITY Jaykumar Rawal (fourth from left) was recently appointed as Tourism Minister, Government of Maharashtra

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REGD.WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2005/15993,POSTAL REGD. NO. MCS/163/2016 – 18,PUBLISHED ON 11TH EVERY MONTH, POSTED ON 12TH,13TH,14TH OF EVERY MONTH, POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE,MUMBAI – 400001.