Vol XIV
Issue III
Pages 48
January 2017
Rs 60
KOCHI 19, 20, 21 JANUARY 2017
KOLKATA 24, 25, 26 FEBRUARY 2017
CHENNAI 15, 16, 17 JULY 2017
BANGALORE 21, 22, 23 JULY 2017
DELHI 15, 16, 17 SEPTEMBER 2017
MUMBAI 22, 23, 24 SEPTEMBER 2017
PUNE 24, 25, 26 NOVEMBER 2017
HYDERABAD 01, 02, 03 DECEMBER 2017
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4>> In need of a Tax 'break'!
T
he travel and tourism industry in India has become highly taxed and the recent announcement by the Union Ministry of Finance to amend its earlier notification on CENVAT Credit and Service Tax relevant to travel and tourism related services has invited hostile reactions from across the sector. The move will only add to the expensive image of the country, making it difficult to adjust prices on packages, vis-a-vis other countries. As we anticipate the Union Budget for this year, the Government must show leniency in tax structure on an urgent basis in order to continue to receive foreign tourists. While the number of hotels, OTAs and startups facilitating travel are mushrooming by the minute, it is needless to say that what use would these offers and packages be if there are few takers. In this issue, we have looked at emerging trends in the MICE industry in the country, particularly cruises as an option. In addition, we have featured interviews with hoteliers and other industry stakeholders. Happy Reading... Warm Regards
PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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Industry Buzz
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Association
Amusement Park Industry - The Indian Scenario
Hospitality Pro-tourism steps prove a fruitful 2016 for hotel industry!
26
Published By
Surinder Hakhu sanjay@voyagersworld.in & Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagersworld.in
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Mice Point Meetings Aboard Cruises Setting Trends! Cover Credit: Tirun - Royal Caribbean Cruises
Travel Trends 'Short-changed'..Demonetization and the traveller!
45
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Industry Buzz
6>> Travel Tech Launchpad 2017
redBus launches new Bus Hire feature
T
he Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be organizing Travel Tech Launchpad 2017 in association with Agnitio Consulting LLP, Nucleus Partners, TravHQ Media and Charson Advisory mianly to boost India’s digital drive in travel and tourism industry. This event will be a platform for innovation and growth of travel startups while the second edition of FICCI’s flagship event titled “Digital Travel, Hospitality and Innovation Summit” will be held on March 22-23, 2017 in New Delhi. The Indian travel & tourism industry has been growing steadily and needs to be explored with new innovations. The sector’s direct contribution to GDP is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent per annum during 2015–25, as per IBEF. The tourism sector has witnessed investments worth $42.9bn in 2015 and is expected to attract $132.9bn by 2025.
r
edBus has launched a new service - Bus Hire to provide customers seeking to hire buses, mini-buses or tempo-travellers.This platform offers customers an all-inclusive prices along with value added information such as bus photos and convenient payment options .
ATOAI New office bearers and Executive Committee team for 2016-2018
This service is available in seven cities across India- Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Ahmedabad and will soon be extended to other towns. The range of vehicles that customers can choose includes luxury buses, regular buses, mini buses, tempo travellers and cars.
Global Hospitality Conclave 2017 in Gurgaon
A
n initiative by the alumni of the erstwhile Oberoi School of Hotel Management (OSHM), now The Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development (OCLD) organised its 4th edition of Global Hospitality Conclave at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon, brings together a host of industry leaders to discuss the trends and developments in the hospitality industry. Global Hospitality Conclave 2017 will include participants from across the world who have been part of The Oberoi Group in a leadership position. .
A Jet Airways introduces wide body services on additional domestic and international routes
J
et Airways introduced its wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft on the additional domestic and international routes by boosting the capacity on other key sectors and offering guests a superior onboard experience. The state-of-the-art aircraft will be deployed on the Mumbai-Kuwait-Mumbai and Mumbai-Jeddah-Mumbai routes, aside from MumbaiChennai-Mumbai and Mumbai-Bangalore-Mumbai legs on the airline’s domestic network.
dventure Tour Operators Association of India elected new office bearers and Executive Committee Team of two years. The elected office bearers are President- Capt. Swadesh KumarManaging Director- Shikhar Travels India, Sr-Vice President- Ajeet Bajaj –Managing Director- M/s Snow Leopard Adventures, Vice President- Tejbir Singh AnandManaging Director- M/s HolidayMoods Adventures, Secretary-Rajesh Ojha-CoFounder-M/s Banjara Camps & Retreats, Hon. Secretary- Vaibhav Kala FounderM/s Aquaterra Adventures. The elected executive committee members are Mohan Tickoo, Sanjay Basu, Vishwas Makhija, Shashank Gupta, Vinayak Koul, Akshay Kumar (Immediate Past President).
Roadhouse Hostels Opens fifth property in Arambol
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oadhouse Hostels recently opened its fifth property in India, and third in Goa, after Anjuna and Palolem, at Arambol, on 25 December, 2016. The new property is set up in a large, bohemian white house offers three mixed dormitories, one female dormitory and two private rooms. The hostel is designed with a Rastafarian theme and with images of the great prophet of reggae music Bob Marley. Co-founder Rajesh Borah,Roadhouse Hostels says, “Arambol has soul. There’s something truly special about watching the sun go down to the sounds of a drum circle on the beach. We have been waiting to share the experience with our guests for months now.”
The Muse Sarovar Portico in Kapashera opens in Delhi
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arovar Hotels opened a new hotel in Delhi NCR, The Muse Sarovar Portico, Kapashera, as part of their expansion plans the brand will also have other properties opening up in Nairobi, Ranchi, Jaisalmer and Amritsar this year. The Muse Sarovar Portico is a hotel for both business and leisure travellers and offering 73 elegantly-designed rooms that includes the Standard and Deluxe rooms with all modern amenities. The three ballrooms together has an area of 6900 square feet and can accommodate up to 600 people. For dining options Patio, the all-day dining restaurant and The Atrium Lounge Ajay K. Bakaya, Exeutive Director, Sarovar Hotels says, “With this addition of The Muse Sarovar Portico is making travel easy for frequent travellers.”
Voyager’s World > January 2017
7>>
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Industry Buzz
8>> Get ready to explore Yas Island in a Ferrari
‘Best of All, It’s in Hong Kong’tourism campaign
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T
he Hong Kong Tourism Board launches their new tourism campaign titled ‘Best of All, It’s in Hong Kong’ highlighting the local personalities and the city’s stunning skyline and scenery.The campaign showcases four of Hong Kong’s diverse areas like Gourmet Dining, Fashion and Entertainment, Family Adventures by land, sea and sky, and the Great Outdoors introduced by locals. “This campaign will take Hong Kong to new heights as a destination by connecting and inspiring people, especially families and young people, to travel and experience the best and most authentic Hong Kong moments,” said Hong Kong Tourism Board, Executive Director,Anthony Lau.
Ras Al Khaimah’s strategic alliance with TUI India
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as Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) announced a strategic partnership with TUI India to promote its presence in the Indian market.
The agreement included promotion of the emirate by TUI India through specially created itineraries, special promotions on its consumer website as well as a series of co-op activities and campaigns.
You can drive around Yas Island behind the wheel of a Ferrari California and must follow the instructions of your pilot at all times. You will also receive a lesson on how to drive the car from one of their trained pilots and a Ferrari expert will be on hand to give you some insider tips.
Taalbelia kick starts in Mandawa
VIA facilitates seamless payments with mPOS
T
W
aalbelia, a four-day long festival includes music, art & crafts, adventure is scheduled to be held from 26- 29 January 2017 in Mandawa, Rajasthan a Shekhawati town adorned with frescoes, tales and bearings of Rajasthan. The event will be held in 3 stages and more than 30 acts immersed in music, arts & crafts, along with adventure, royal hospitality and gastronomic delights, unique to the belt.
ITDC organises Son Et Lumiere to felicitate bravehearts
he Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi is considered as one of a kind Ferrari branded indoor theme park where you could watch the F1 race and the Tyre Change Show at Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi features two comical Italian mechanics on a mission to fulfill their dream of becoming pit crew for Scuderia Ferrari. The theme park also gives you an opportunity to live your dream of driving a Ferrari.
Kerala Tourism grabs attention at Vakantiebeurs 2017
ith the government’s move towards a cashless society with announcing demonetization over two months back, there has been a big push towards digitization. Being one of the leading omni channel travel, retail & fintech company, Via.com is facilitating digital transactions for its partners. Aiming to change the landscape of electronic payments to enable its agents, VIA has tied up with various mobile payment solutions startups to connect small towns and villages in India with businesses through its mobile Point of Sale (mPoS) services.
SpiceJet re-introduces services on Surat–Delhi route
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elected for the National Bravery Award, 25 children from different parts of the country were hosted to a mesmerizing Sound and Light show run by India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Ltd at Purana Qila, New Delhi. The kids who will receive the National Bravery awards, for their outstanding acts of gallantry, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Republic Day were invited to showcase the incredible 1000 years journey of rise, fall and shaping of the capital city through a spectacular Sound & Light show ‘Ishq-e-Dilli’ operated by ITDC. In addition to this, ITDC also hosted corresponding Sound & Light show at Red fort & Purana Qila for more than 1300 NCC Cadets as per organization announcement to offer free shows for the armed forces and their families.
Voyager’s World > January 2017
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erala’s many advantages as tourism destination were on full display for the jetsetting Dutch and other European travelers at the five-day Vakantiebeurs 2017, Netherlands held from 10 - 15 January at Utrecht. The pavilion spread over 18 sq m, marked Kerala Tourism’s first appearance at the trade fair which is held annually in the second week of January in Utrecht and provides a gateway to the highly promising Dutch and European markets. For Kerala Tourism, the Netherlands is the 11th biggest originating market with 22,276 tourist arrivals registered during 2015, a 40% increase from 2010.
S
piceJet announced the re-launch of twin daily direct flights on the Delhi – Surat – Delhi route effective from 26 March, 2017, bookings for which are now open. SpiceJet is offering an all-inclusive introductory promotional fare starting at INR 2257 for travel to Delhi from Surat and INR 2299 for travel to Surat from Delhi for a limited period. The new flight is a part of SpiceJet’s enhanced summer schedule and will further augment its connectivity in the domestic sector.
Industry Buzz
9>>
Maharashtra emerges as largest source market for Australia The State witnessed 53,800 visitors to Australia, contributing Rs. 1,160 Crores to the Australian economy. VW BUREAU
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ourism Australia has yet again witnessed noteworthy growth statistics from Maharashtra, retaining the State’s position as a key tourism source market in India. As of year ended (YE) September 2016, Maharashtra has recorded an increase of 25 per cent in tourist arrivals, and a remarkable increase of 18 per cent in spend. The State witnessed 53,800 visitors to Australia, contributing A$ 232 Mn (Rs. 1,160 Crores) to the Australian economy, with an average spend of Rs 2.15 lacs per person. Tourism Australia has undertaken several focused activities in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has undoubtedly been our fastest growing market and we will put in our best efforts to keep up the momentum and further drive visitation to Australia.”
One such successful association was that with Veena World. As part of the collaboration, eminent Marathi television and film stars who travelled to Australia for MAAI (Marathi Achievers and Awards International) 2016, urged the viewers of Marathi television’s most popular talk show ‘Chala Hawa Yeu Dya’ to take a trip ‘Down Under’. An exclusive package was launched on the show, offering customers a road trip along the Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne route starting at Rs. 150,000. The association was a huge success and the package reeled in over 2,000 bookings to Australia for travel during the months of August and September 2016.
included significant movement from Maharashtra as well. The organisation’s online training tool, the Aussie Specialist Program, has over 2,100 agents from Maharashtra currently registered.
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Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “We are extremely delighted that all our focused consumer and distribution initiatives in Maharashtra have paid off, resulting in a stupendous increase in arrivals and spend from the state. Going forward, we are positive that our extensive analysis of the market, in tandem with our key distribution partners and airlines, will provide us with the requisite insights to modify and transform our approach to cater to the requirements of travellers from Maharashtra. We will continue to reach out to our audience through a mix of traditional and evolving communication platforms.
Over the past few years, MICE movement has witnessed significant growth from the Indian market, with several Indian companies travelling Down Under for conferences and incentives. These numbers have
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Hospitality
10>>
Culinary trends redefine travel takeaways
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Director, Khana Khazana India, talks about how globalization has shaped people’s take on food, particularly when they explore a new place. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Food & Travel “Indian cuisine has a lot of takers because there is something for everybody. I am really sure any culinary event around Indian food is going to be a hit,” gushed renowned Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Director of Khana Khazana India as he spoke about new trends on the country’s culinary front.
Indian cuisine is a vast one distinguished by way of cultures, traditions; we have always had plenty of food to offer, but it is only very recently that people have become willing to explore it and are getting the opportunities for the same. Globalization, the World Wide Web and social media have completely changed the mindset of people. "Earlier travel either meant a family vacation or a business trip, however, now you have people travelling for a ton of different reasons – food being a major one of them". Talking about crafting a menu for flights, he says, The kind of cuisine you put on a flight menu largely depends upon the route and stopovers the flight has to take. It is one of the
biggest challenges you face because you have to cater to a large cross section of customers without going overboard with the options because there is always a space and weight constraint in an inflight kitchen. Association with Singapore Airlines I have been associated with Singapore airlines for 10 years now. When I joined the panel we created a ‘shahithali’ for the First Class passengers and it has continued to be a big hit. The increase in footfall in Business Class made us see the need to cater to that section as well and that is when we decided to design the Ruchi Thali. Trends in culinary tourism Earlier choosing a holiday destination
was based on the scenic beauty or historical monuments that the place had to offer. Nowadays, food has become a main motivator. Travelling just to explore the cuisine of the place is very common these days. I have always maintained that the best way to imbibe the essence and culture of a place is through its cuisine. New initiatives to promote culinary tourism A chef talking about a regional cuisine and really believes in, is one of the best things that can be done to excite people and make them travel for food. Food talks, culinary tours, degustation menus etc. are also great ways to show people what kind of culinary magic your region has to offer.
Indian destination weddings gets new contender!
Rahul Maini, General Manager of the recently opened Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa says, talks about the property’s event spaces suited for varied events from meetings to big weddings. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN three meeting rooms along with the Grand Ballroom. The spaces include a central courtyard, lush outdoor lawns, a Golden Ballroom and three meeting rooms ideal for meetings and events.”
Property highlights Officially opened in the last quarter of 2016, the Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa is set amidst the magnificent Jaisalmer resplendent fort, elaborate havelis and vast sand dunes. The property’s General Manager Rahul Maini says, “We can host up to 1,500 guests, making it the perfect destination for themed weddings, socials events and MICE events with indoor meeting space that includes
Voyager’s World > January 2017
Marketing plans We have developed a 360-degree marketing plan to ensure that our messaging reaches the right audience. Domestic and international leisure travellers are our key target segments. We are looking forward to host both domestic and international travellers who desire to explore colourful and vibrant Rajasthani culture. “Weddings form a key target area for the property and we hope to further grow it during this year. Jaisalmer’s stunning backdrop along with beating drums, cavalry on camel back, folk dancers and festivity, offers the ideal venue to
host big Indian destination wedding.” “For the upcoming year, we would like to focus on and further grow our key offerings and emerge as the most preferred choice for destination weddings and MICE and continue to strive to offer the best in authentic Rajasthani cuisine as well as unique cultural and regional experiences to our guests. We aim to exceed the targets set for 2017.” Boom in the industry The Indian hospitality industry has recorded healthy growth fuelled by robust inflow of foreign tourists as well as increased tourist movement within the country and has received substantial global recognition. Some of the factors such as increased affordability and affinity for leisure travel is driving tourism in India which in turn is aiding the growth of
the hospitality industry. The trend is visible in not only metro cities but also in the smaller cities. Substantial credit should be attributed to the growth and development of digital marketing platforms that have significantly altered the industry dynamics. We are quite positive about the fact that the hospitality industry is witnessing an upward trend and is expected to flourish in the upcoming years. Various policy measures undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism and tax incentives, medical visa for tourists and visa on arrivals are positive steps in this direction. There has also been a change in consumption patterns. The middle class population with higher disposable incomes has given a push to the hospitality and tourism industry as a whole.
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• Two nights accommodation for two guests • Daily breakfast OR lunch with a selection of restaurants for two guests • One-way Cotai Water Jet Cotai Class tickets for two guests from Macao to Hong Kong; OR Eiffel Tower 7th & 37th floor Observation Deck admission tickets for two guests; OR Gondola Ride for two guests; OR Entries to Qube / Qube 2 / Qube Kingdom for two guests for first night stay • Macao Discovery Tour; OR Dinner at selected restaurants Terms and Conditions Apply
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Hospitality
12>>
Pro-tourism steps prove a fruitful 2016 for hotel industry!
Increase in foreign tourists, visa schemes, staycation patterns, among other factors, contributed to a robust growth in the hotel industry in India in 2016 say leading hoteliers. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Jean-Michel Casse, Senior Vice President, Operations, AccorHotels, India 2016 witnessed the year for the rise of millennial travellers and in the years to come as they are expected to surpass boomers in overall travel spending. The hospitality scenario in India is surging with key drivers of growth in place especially with the implementation of pro-tourism initiatives by the new such as visa-on-arrival to drive inbound travel to the country.
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he Indian hospitality industry experienced good numbers in 2016 particularly by means of several factors including protourism initiatives by the new government and the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) scheme that drives inbound travel to India. An evident trend in the hospitality industry is that of people starting to take more short weekend vacations or ‘staycations’ and the increasing demand for hotel banquets. Technology has created a lot of difference in the last one year by offering personalised experiences at an affordable pricing and the loyalty programmes that benefit the frequent travellers. Hotel occupancy in India surpassed 60% for the first time in four years in 2014-15, according to a report by consulting and services organisation HVS, owing to growth in tourist arrivals, improvements in the economy and supply lag. Industry reports reveal that hotel occupancy rates in India increased to 62% in 2016 mainly with the increasing inflows of international arrivals and a boost in domestic hotel room bookings. The industry will continue to grow tremendously in the next few years with the rising demand in millennial travellers, business and leisure travellers. Growth in 2016 Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations, AccorHotels, India states, “2016 has been an exciting year for AccorHotels globally and in India. We continued to benefit from positive business trends in the vast majority of the group’s key markets. The highlight
Voyager’s World > January 2017
of the year for AccorHotels was definitely the much anticipated acquisition of FRHI Hotels & Resorts.” He says that the integration of the FRHI hotels in the AccorHotels network contributed €145 million in revenue in third-quarter 2016, and thanks to their solid business activity, particularly in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, they should continue to generate a robust contribution during the fourth quarter. For India, the acquisition resulted in addition of two iconic brands - Fairmont and Swissôtel, to AccorHotels growing portfolio in the country while also boosting the Group’s presence in the luxury segment. Pradeep Kalra, Senior VP - Sales & Marketing, Sarovar Hotels, says, “We have had a great year. We stepped into newer territories and opened hotels in Juba (South Sudan), Bhavnagar, Dehradun, Palampur, Vandalur-Chennai. We are expecting to open in Jaisalmer and Kapashera before the end of this year. We have also signed agreements for hotels in Dalhousie, Ranchi and Lusaka (Zambia). In 2017, we are opening in Nairobi in January which will be followed by launches in Raipur, Amritsar, Greater Noida, Junagadh, Gorakpur, Jalandhar and Bekal.” Jean added, “2016 has also been the year of momentous milestones for AccorHotels in India. From our remarkable success in the Aon Best Employer India Study 2016 to completion of 10 incredible years of AccorHotels in India, there were reasons aplenty for the Group to celebrate its continuous commitment to the Indian market.
For hotel openings, we launched eight hotels in 2016, including the opening of India’s very first ibis Styles in Goa which expanded our brand portfolio to 10 iconic brands in India. With each launch, AccorHotels worked towards building an expansive network of hotels while straddling multiple brands and segments in line with the country’s growth momentum.” “We are setting higher targets for the coming year. In 2017, we plan to open 10 hotels, growing our network to more than 55 hotels in India and inching closer to our target of over 80 hotels by 2020. Our growth momentum will see us reach the 10,000 rooms across India in 2017. This means that we will be adding another 2,000 plus rooms through new hotel openings next year across the various brands. To fuel this exponential growth, we plan to add 1,500 more roles by the end of 2017,” he added. Parmeet Singh Nayar, General Manager - Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi explains, “This year has been a great year for us. The award winning Italian restaurant, Sorrento, certified with the Golden Q from Ospitalita’ Italiana 2016 is known for its fresh and authentic produce, artisanal pasta, Neapolitan delicacies, pizzas and offers a lavish indoor seating and an alfresco area that overlooks the lush green gardens. In terms of growth, the Indian food industry is poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution to world food trade every year. In India, the food sector has emerged as a high-growth and high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry. The
coming year will offer revamped accommodation facilities at the hotel along with Shangri-La’s signature CHI Spa. With these new developments in the pipeline we are sure that 2017 shall be a promising year for the hotel.” Marketing plans Sarovar Hotels has carried an extensive brand building exercise through the television media this year. It proposes to consolidate its presence through this medium and also to focus on digital marketing platforms for promotions. Parmeet observes, “From social synergy to the impact of mobile search, digital marketing is a new landscape of creative engagement, seamless integration and the customer journey. The digital presence has become a key tool in promoting brands and is a vertical which is constantly expanding. With our eyes on every algorithm launch and search trend, innovative strategies are being designed for online visibility, content engagement, conversion, ROI tracking and the user experience. We will definitely continue exploring this marketing platform in the coming year.” New segments In India, AccorHotels has a diversified strategy with a committed level of investment expansion across all segments in a homogenous network through a range of diverse brand portfolio. It is targeting the midscale segment and of course, the in-demand economy segment. “As we move forward, densification remains a major strategy for growth for AccorHotels in India, with the intent to be leaders in the markets we operate in. In 2016, owing to our
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Hospitality
14>> Pradeep Kalra, Senior VP - Sales & Marketing, Sarovar Hotels
We will focus to tap the domestic leisure travellers which is growing at a significant rate. Conference is another segment witnessing a surge in demand for quality accommodation and facilities. The number of travellers is growing and they are looking always for value for money options.
Parmeet Singh Nayar General Manager - Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi
The Indian hospitality industry noticed a remarkable growth in the last three years and positions India as the second-fastest growing tourism market in the world. India is a lucrative market for International organizations and visitors with its rich historical, cultural and architectural attractions. densification strategy, we emerged as the largest hotel operator in major cities such as Hyderabad and Goa. We will have our presence further in major cities next year. We took a strategic view and the idea has been to drive top down, so we have significant anchors in great locations in all the Tier 1 cities. As we go forward, we are looking at further expansion into major Tier 2 and 3 locations as well with robust plans and strong pipeline of hotel openings in place,” Jean said.
to also be the largest spenders (on or at hotels) as soon as 2017. Hoteliers now need to define their strategies based on this demographic group’s personality traits and habits—they travel a lot; are early adopters of technology; like personalized interactions and are spontaneous. And because of this, hotels will want to please them with easy check-in, technologydriven interactions with thoughtful personal touches and personalised experiences at affordable pricing.
On the other hand, Sarovar Hotels has increased its footprint in leisure destinations and its focus, therefore, will be to tap the domestic leisure travellers who are growing at a significant rate. Conference is another segment which is witnessing a surge in demand for quality accommodation and facilities.
“The satisfied millennials will actively promote their businesses on social media channels. Our brands meet the needs of millennials by being quirky, playful and fashionable. As part of the home-away-from-home style concept, our hotels boast convivial and comfortable areas that invite guests to enjoy and exchange, thus promoting social interaction. Here I’d like to share the newest concept we have launched, JO&JOE, a new brand designed to keep up with the traits that appeal to millennials. JO&JOE blends the best of privaterental hostel and hotel formats and offers a totally reinvented and disruptive experience in terms of design approach, catering, service, and customer journey. The concept is co-living brought to life for the contemporary traveller, tailor made for travellers who possess the Millennial mind-set. The brand is about building a communitydriven, communal travel experience in what we like to call an “open house” model. As we build and grow the brand, we plan to launch 50 JO&JOE properties by 2020 in cities like Paris, Bordeaux, Warsaw, Budapest, and Sao Paulo,” he added.
Parmeet says “We have been overwhelmed by the positive response our new food and beverage offerings continue to receive. We are also excited to set a new standard in luxury by bringing Shangri La’s Global Spa Brand CHI in 2017. Additionally, our accommodation facilities are also undergoing a facelift. By revamping the food and beverage offerings and having several new developments underway, the hotel is on the path to surpass its own standards of hospitality and continuously delight its guests.” Travellers Jean observes that while 2016 was the year of the rise of millennial travellers, he expects them to surpass boomers in overall travel spending in the years to come. Millennials are now more vital to today’s workforce than any other demographic and according to industry estimates, they appear
Voyager’s World > January 2017
Pradeep says, “ We have had both business as well as leisure travellers who are well travelled and
look for quality accommodation and services. We will continue to reach out to both the segment of travellers. Our focus on leisure would increase with the strengthening presence in leisure destinations.” Parmeet states, “Thehotel witnessed a very good mix of travellers this year. We usually receive a large influx of international tourists, but this year we saw a lot of local residents who came to the hotel during long weekends as well as to celebrate special occasions. We always receive an equal amount of business travellers and leisure travellers.” Trends Jean believes that the hospitality scenario in India is surging with key drivers of growth in place especially with the implementation of pro-tourism initiatives by the new government, such as visaon-arrival to drive inbound travel to the country. India’s vast size with its population, urbanization, strong emerging middle class, cost-competitiveness and massive talent pool have also contributed to a rapid growth in travel and tourism. Noting the improvement of international arrivals in India by nearly 10% in the past six months, he adds that their stays have increased by 14% annually in the last three years. “We have also witnessed the emergence of some new trends, such as an increase in the number of vacations being taken and short weekend vacations are fast becoming the new business model. Another key observation is the increasing demand for hotel banquets which is also becoming one of our biggest year round revenue generators. Technology has also played a prime role in shaping the travel industry and in recreating guests’ experience and
expectations. The internet, which is easily accessible through mobile devices, has established itself as the most preferred method for research, planning and booking travel accommodations. Hospitality loyalty programs have also been proven to be another important decision-maker, especially for frequent travellers, who contribute to the hotels’ highest-earning customers,” he stated. Pradeep says, “The number of travellers is growing and they are looking for value for money options. Whether they are staying at a premium or budget brand, if they receive the service which they find worth their money, they will come back definitely. “ In the opinion of Parmeet, “People have started taking shorter, but more frequent breaks making ‘staycations’ a growing trend. In addition to taking that one big holiday in a year, ‘staycations’ enable people to enjoy shorter holidays. Weekend getaways have also become popular among young travelers. An increasing number of people are choosing to spend their weekends getting pampered at the spa, playing golf or simply relaxing by the pool.” “With technology making sturdy inroads in almost every industry, the Indian hospitality sector is also set to grow leaps and bounds using technology as a springboard. The use of information technology in the hospitality industry has grown immensely over the past two decades, making it a catalyst for the growth of this sector. The Indian hospitality industry is expected to grow exponentially over the next five years. India is projected to be the fastest growing nation in the wellness tourism sector in the next five years, “he concluded.
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Incredible India
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Karnataka declares 2017 as 'Year of the Wild'
The State is home to some of the largest jungle tracts south of the Vindhyas and this campaign will promote the wilds. VW BUREAU
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arnataka Tourism is declaring 2017 as the ‘Year of the Wild’ for tourists who not only want to explore the wilderness & wildlife, but also experience the wild side of life. 'The Year of the Wild', a brand new campaign, to kick-start the year, was launched recently by the state's Chief Minister Shri. Siddaramaiah in the presence of Shri. Priyank Kharge, Minister of State for IT, BT & Tourism along with AN Mahesh , Chairmain JLR, Secretary Tourism Naveen Raj Singh, IAS, Dr. N Manjula, IAS, Director-Tourism and Kumar Pushkar, IFS, MD – KSTDC. From the majestic evergreen forests of the Western Ghats to the scrub jungles of the plains, Karnataka has a wide variety of habitats teeming with diverse flora and fauna, some of them endemic to the region and the best way to explore this is with India’s largest network of eco lodges Jungle Lodges & Resorts with 17 Jungle Resorts and 5 Jungle Camps. Also celebrating Karnataka’s wild side is a host of activities on land, water and in the sky. Karnataka Tourism has already launched Motorcycle tourism with a bike road in Hampi in mid December with a series of more rides in Karnataka’s
Voyager’s World > January 2017
varied destinations. The Government is activity promoting Mysore as an aero sport destination especially for sky diving. Also on the cards is an international level surfing festival in Mangalore in mid 2017 which will go a long way in promoting Karnataka’s beaches as a water sports destination. In December 2016, jointly with forest department, tourism department identified nine eco trekking routes in western Ghats areas which would be legally open to tourists and trekkers. All these trekking routes are being created and trained nature guides would be accompanying and educating tourists about nature conservation. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, "I am happy to know Karnataka Tourism, in its endeavour to promote the state has declared 2017 as the Year of the Wild. We are committed to preserving our precious natural heritage and this is one of the many steps taken to fulfill this objective.” Priyank Kharge said, “Today, most people are passive spectators to the gradual ruination of the earth
and the extinction of species and habitats that we inherited from our forefathers. However, unless we do something we won’t be able to leave behind a livable world for our children and grandchildren. There is an environmental crisis at hand. And we are living through it. We at Karnataka Tourism are doing our duty in conserving our environment in every way possible. Today, JLR is a laboratory for green practices. Our endeavor is to ensure that all of these entities are green-compliant, with a passionate commitment to nature and the environment.“ Dr. N Manjula, IAS, Director-Tourism said, “The Karnataka Government has also established the Karnataka Eco-Tourism Development Board to help the government in protecting wildlife, creating awareness about it, encouraging eco-tourism, forest safaris etc. Along with the EcoTourism Board and JLR, Eco-Tourism Zones are being identified with a chain of nature camps and ecotrails. We are also in the process of finalizing the Green Policy for the state," she concluded. Also during the event, a userfriendly mobile application of
KSTDC and Calendar was released by the chief minister. The Mobile App has been launched on the Android platform, which is now available on the Playstore and the IOS version would be launched very shortly. The Mobile App provides the App based Reservation system for KSTDC hotels, tour packages besides providing all information about the hotels and the facilities. It also provides the geo-location based information on the points of interests for tourists. A unique feature of this app is that it consists of the database of all the trained and certified tourist guides available in the state, district wise and the tourists can directly call these guides and fix up appointment with them. This mobile App also supports the User in submitting their feedback about the KSTDC Hotels and Tours, besides providing links to Karnataka Tourism, Golden Chariot and Jungle Lodges. As a special promotional feature of the App, KSTDC has extended 5% flat discount on the Tariffs for its Hotels and Tours, if booked through the Mobile App. Refer and Earn and Loyalty points for KSTDC Mobile App Users has also been provided in this App”.
Incredible India
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USA accounts for top FTAs in December 2016
The Ministry of Tourism undertook the formulation of national policies and programmes for the tourism sector last year, some of which are listed below. PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
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3.6% growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in December 2016 over the same period in 2015. USA accounts for highest share of tourist arrivals followed by Bangladesh and UK in December 2016. Rs.16,805 crore Foreign Exchange earned through tourism in December 2016. Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis of Nationality-wise, Portwise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism on the basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India. The following are the important highlights regarding FTAs and FEEs from tourism during the month of December, 2016. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) •FTAs during the Month of December, 2016 were 10.37 lakh as compared to FTAs of 9.13 lakh during the month of December, 2015 and 8.85 lakh in December, 2014. There has been a growth of 13.6% in December, 2016 over December, 2015. •FTAs during the period JanuaryDecember, 2016 were 88.90 lakh with a growth of 10.7% as compared to the FTAs of 80.27 lakh with a growth of 4.5% in JanuaryDecember, 2015 over JanuaryDecember, 2014. The Percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during December, 2016 among the top 15 source countries was highest from USA (18.33%) followed by ,
Voyager’s World > January 2017
Bangladesh (13.02%), UK (11.71%), Australia (5.43%), Russian Fed (4.18%),Canada (4.13%), Malaysia (3.38%), Germany (2.80%), China (2.53%), Sri Lanka (2.25%), Singapore (2.12%), France (2.01%), Japan (1.79%), Afghanistan (1.38%) and Nepal (1.34%). The Percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during December 2016 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (27.77%) followed by Mumbai Airport (19.80%), Haridaspur Land check post (7.16%), Chennai Airport (7.13%), Goa Airport (5.64%), Bengaluru Airport (5.43%), Kolkata Airport (4.31%), Cochin Airport (4.17%), Hyderabad Airport (3.42%), Ahmadabad Airport (3.11%), Trivandrum Airport (1.81%), Gede Rail (1.59%), Trichy Airport (1.59%), Amritsar Airport (1.06%), and Gaya Airport (0.84%). Forex earnings from tourism in India FEEs during the month of December, 2016 were Rs.16,805 crore as compared to Rs. 14,152 crore in December, 2015 and Rs.12,988 crore in December, 2014. •The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms during December, 2016 over December, 2015 was 18.7% as compared to the growth of 9.0% in December, 2015 over December, 2014. •FEEs from tourism in rupee terms during January- December, 2016 were Rs. 1,55,650 crore with a growth of 15.1% as compared to the FEE of Rs. 1,35,193 crore with a growth of 9.6% during January-
December, 2015 December, 2014.
over
January-
•FEEs in US$ terms during the month of December, 2016 were US$ 2.475 billion as compared to FEEs of US$ 2.126 billion during the month of December, 2015 and US$ 2.069 billion in December, 2014. •The growth rate in FEEs in US$ terms in December, 2016 over December, 2015 was 16.4% compared to the growth of 2.8% in December, 2015 over December, 2014. •FEE from tourism in US$ terms during January- December, 2016 was US$ 23.146 billion with a growth of 9.8% as compared to the US$ 21.071 billion with a growth 4.1% during January- December, 2015 over January- December, 2014. Tourism post Demonetization After demonetization, the Government has taken a number of steps to ensure that no hardship is faced by the tourists and the industry is not affected. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) smoothly transitioned to cashless mode of payment by simplifying process of e – tickets. Government efforts have paid dividend as there has been a notable growth in the comparative figures of Foreign Tourists Arrival (FTA), Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) and online sale of e – tickets after demonetization. MoU with Kyrgyz Republic The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing Memorandum of Understanding
between the Ministry of Tourism, Government of the Republic of India and Ministry of Cultural, Information & Tourism of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism. Considering the mutual benefits, signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of tourism would enable both parties to enter into a constructive dialogue for development and promotion of tourism in each other’s country for the economic development of two nations. The signing of Memorandum of Understanding with the Kyrgyz Republic will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this important source market. The main objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding include: a) To expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector b) To exchange information and data related to tourism c) To encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders including Hotels and Tour operators. d) To establish exchange programme for cooperation in Human Resource Development. e) To invest in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors. f) To exchange visits of Tour Operators / Media /Opinion Makers for promotion of two way tourism g) To exchange experiences in the areas of promotion, marketing, destination development and management. h) To participate in travel fairs / exhibitions in each other’s country and i) To promote safe & honourable and sustainable tourism.
Association
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“The industry needs more handholding” Ajay Sarin, IAAPI ROHIT HANGAL
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he Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is geared up to unveil the 17th edition of the IAAPI Amusement Expo from 22 - 24 February 2017 at Hall 5, Bombay Exhibition Centre, NESCO Compound, Gurgaon East, Mumbai. Voyager's World spoke to the President of IAAPI, Ajay Sarin, to learn more about how IAAPI is preparing itself to accommodate key industry developments and its future recourse. What will the next edition of IAAPI Amusement Expo hope to achieve in terms of industry support and quality of exhibits? The forthcoming IAAPI Amusement Expo will showcase new rides and attractions manufactured by leading ride manufacturers from around the globe. This year, the expo is spread across 10000 square metres with participation of over 120 + exhibitors from 21 countries - Bulgaria , Canada, China , France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Philippines, Principality of Liechtenstein, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Netherlands, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA as well as India. Indian park operators are adding new sophisticated rides, attractions as well as innovative themes in order to renovate their current infrastructure. This year’s expo will help them to source high quality precision rides. These new attractions will help to increase the footfall in amusement parks / FECs in the country. The show’s aim is mainly twofold. It hopes to help park operators explore the possibility of joint ventures for setting up and running the operation of Parks/FECs in India and overseas. It is also a venue for manufacturers to get into technical tie-ups. With the Annual budget planned, what has been IAAPI’s request from the government?
Amusement sector comes under the Ministry of Tourism and IAAPI over the years has been pushing its agenda for better recognition of our sector. Today, I am pleased to say that Tourism Ministry, both at the centre and state levels; has started giving significant importance to Amusement sector as an integral part of the tourism industry. It has also become more forthcoming in terms of attracting investments in their respective states after recognizing the social value of amusement parks. The implementation of service tax in the Union budget 2015-16 which came into effect from 1st June, 2015 is having a cascading effect on the Amusement industry. The State Government is already charging an entertainment tax. In addition to this State levy, the Amusement sector also has to take the burden of service tax of 15%. However unlike other sectors, the input credit available to set off the service tax that has been paid is negligible. Hence our industry ends up paying a substantial amount of tax which leads to dual taxation. This coupled with high operation costs, man power cost for rendering services as well as the negligible input credit available to set off the paid service tax etc. are dissuading new entrepreneurs from entering the industry with innovative formats. This also prevents current industry players from adding both capex as well as new centres and prompts entrepreneurs to explore other investment avenues. Globally, in markets where GST has been introduced, the tourism rate is half of the GST rate and is under 10 per cent. It is very important to stimulate tourism demand because it has an economic multiplier effect on GDP and on sectors including the employment sector. The Indian Amusement industry needs to be reinvigorated because amusement parks and its likes relieves stress, ushers in excitement and fosters bonding between families and communities; by lowering the GST. This in turn will help in increasing footfall to amusement parks whereby revenues will not be affected because the subsequent increase in ticket sales will generate more tax revenue. • Amusement Park operators can have dynamic pricing structure to attract more footfall. • This scenario will attract FDI in
Amusement sector which is currently negligible and will also encourage international players to invest in India. • The Indian Amusement Industry requires as much consideration and privilege as given to the industries like hospitality and entertainment because of the inherent social value that it holds in nurturing and building communities. How has been the impact of 'demonetization' on the sector? Ans:- Immediate impact was approximate 30% to 40% drop in footfall which was seen across all entertainment sectors but it picked up quickly in metros because most parks started availing various payment gateways like credit / Debit card, Online payment etc. During Christmas and New Year, the peak seasons for our industry, the footfall to Amusement Parks, have registered steady growth. Parks in Tier 2 & 3 cities have been impacted the most during demonetization because of spending patterns in those cities. But there has been resurgence in footfall over the period of one month. The industry in India is still quite small when compared with the counterparts in the west, what are the investment incentives, IAAPI expectations, which would help the industry? Ans:- The Indian amusement industry has an annual revenue of approx. INR 17 billion and is estimated to grow to at least INR 40 billion by 2020 growing at 17.5% CAGR with Capital investing of approx. Rs 7770 crores. An aggregate of 480 Amusement Parks, FECs and allied industries generate around 80000 jobs . With a capital investment of this magnitude, our industry generates a higher employment base as compared to other industries like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals etc. With the right support and a lower capex, we can generate much better employment opportunities. Globally, amusement & theme park industry is very well supported and promoted by their respective tourism boards in countries like USA, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and UAE. This sector contributes to the foreign exchange of these countries and also generates business for other sectors like hospitality, travel, food & beverage & local handicrafts. It also creates numerous employment opportunities
for its citizens. As an apex body belonging to the Amusement, Theme, Water Park and FEC industry in India; we are pleased to propose following recommendations to improve the tourism sector. IAAPI’s recommendations: • 100% entertainment tax exemption for newly built Amusement Parks/ Theme Parks/ Water Parks/ Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) in line with the concession given to multiplexes. • Capital subsidy to be extended to existing parks for upgrading their infrastructural facilities including investing in new and sophisticated rides and equipments as per zonal classification. • The Amusement Parks / Theme Parks / Water Parks and Family Entertainment Centres to be incorporated in all publicity material published by the State Tourism Department. • A List of Amusement Parks /Theme Parks / Water Parks and FECs to be hosted in the official website of the State Tourism Department. • Amusement Parks / Theme Parks / Water Parks & FECs to be promoted by the Tourism Department when participating at national / international exhibitions and road shows Trained Manpower has been a big factor for the industry; what has been IAAPI's plans to enhance the levels of training and also to scale up the present employee strength? Amusement sector today generates approximately 65,000 direct employment and approximately 97, 500 indirectly. Employment requirements of the amusement park industry are more or less similar to hospitality sector with regards to Marketing, Guest Relations, F&B, House Keeping etc. As safety is of utmost importance in amusement sector, technical manpower with regards to ride operations, safety and maintenance of rides, equipment’s and infrastructural facilities within the park are required for which mechanical / electrical engineers, IIT are best suited. IAAPI has proposed an academic curriculum for the amusement sector which can be taught in hospitality institutes so that students can pursue career in this sector. This initiative will definitely help in generating skilled manpower from the industry.
www.voyagersworld.in
India Outbound
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Scotland engages in business development for 2017 across India A delegation from VisitScotland was in India recently for their 2017 activity in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. VW BUREAU
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en tourism businesses joined VisitScotland in India recently aiming to grow a market currently worth £12 million to the Scottish economy. The national tourism organisation, partnering with Etihad Airways, embarked on a two-week business development mission in the emerging market. This in conjunction with the group’s attendance at VisitBritain’s three-day Destination Britain India event in Pune. The VisitScotland business development mission will give companies such as Go2 UK Travels, a destination management firm which has reported a 200 per cent increase in Indian visitors to Scotland in recent years, the opportunity to hold face-to-face meetings with up to 400 key tour operators in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. In addition to the main schedule,
representatives from VisitScotland and the other companies will also conduct meetings with key partners in Pune and Ahmedabad. Between 2013 and 2015, Scotland welcomed an average of 29,000 visitors from India, with the country’s scenery, history, culture and whisky all proving particularly popular. Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “VisitScotland supports industry in their aspirations to internationalize and to attract more business and income from global markets. India is an important emerging market for Scottish tourism and this business development mission – our first of 2017 – will allow tourism businesses to meet face to face with tour operators. It will provide our partners with an excellent platform to showcase their products and we
look forward to welcoming more Indian visitors to Scotland as a result.” Khushboo Shah, Founder and Director of Go2 UK Travels, a firm which focuses on specialised packages and tours exclusively for Indian travellers and Indian travel agents, said: “The modern Indian traveller is looking for natural beauty, untouched landscapes, luxury hotels, great food, great whisky and friendly/welcoming people. This
makes Scotland an ideal destination for Indian travellers. The companies joining VisitScotland on its business development mission to India Cashel Travel (Edinburgh); Kandala Travel (Glasgow, London & Hyderabad); The Spires (Luxury serviced apartments in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen); CHR Travel (Essex); Golden Tours (London); Go2 UK Travels (London); Worldwide DMC Ltd (London); Globus (London); Belmond (London, Edinburgh) and Nira Caledonia (Edinburgh based luxury hotel).
Australia and Budapest are the ‘new kids on the block’: Skyscanner After examining the search habits and changing destination preferences of travellers, Skyscanner names five countries and cities that have experienced consistent increases in searches since 2013. VW BUREAU
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kyscanner reveals which destinations are tipped to be big in 2017. The launch of Travel Trends predicts perennial favorites Singapore, Bali and Malaysia will remain top of travel lists in 2017 and introduces Australia, South Africa and select European destinations to the hit list. Skyscanner’s Travel Trends Report analyses three years’ worth of data from Indian travelers, dating back to 2013. After examining the search habits and changing destination preferences of travellers, Skyscanner names five countries and cities that have experienced consistent increases in searches since 2013.
Voyager’s World > January 2017
Singapore records the highest growth with a whopping 202% average increase in searches since 2013. The Lion City-state draws the attention of travellers from across India thanks to relaxed visa regulations, diverse culture, and its multitude of tourist attractions. Skyscanner foresees continued growth in 2017 with its easy flight connections and multiple-airlines flying to Singapore. Australia has emerged as an ambitious contender for the top spot with 67% increase in searches since 2013. Even though the destination is neither light on travel time or the pocket, Skyscanner has recorded a growth in visitors. Other countries
that made top five are Malaysia (46%), Maldives (22%), and South Africa (11%) respectively. While Malaysia and Maldives have been popular holiday choices in the past, South Africa coming in the top five countries reiterates the Indian travellers adventurous streak to seek uncharted destinations. Similarly, Skyscanner’s data places Bali as a favoured destination in 2017 with 35% recorded average growth in searches in the past three years. Whether a solo trip or a family holiday, the travel search engine anticipates Bali to remain on top due to relaxed visa-regulations introduced in 2016.
Cities in Europe have also emerged in the top five list, owing to the growing interest in off beat destinations. Budapest in Hungary at number two (14%), Madrid at number three (10%) and Amsterdam at number five (2.5%) were featured in top grossing Bollywood movies, Rockstar, Zindagi na Milegi Dobara and Queen respectively, which showcased their travel potential. With increasing pop culture references, Skyscanner predicts more queries to European destinations in 2017. Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) remains in the top five with 5%, for obvious reasons; the city is an excellent tourist attraction, providing great food and shopping experiences.
Flight Talk
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SriLankan Airlines expands service grid in India
SriLankan Airlines has unleashed a host of marketing activities this year, besides plans to add services across Indian cities, says its COO Siva Ramachandran. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN MICE ,while the highest number of tourists and big spenders are from India. We also have some new hotels coming up in Sri Lanka like Shangri La, ITC and Grand Hyatt," states Siva Ramachandran, COO, SriLankan Airlines.
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fter China and the Far East, India is one of the key markets for SriLankan Airlines. In 2017, the airlines is planning to add double service daily for Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. It also plans to add services to various locations like Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Visakhapatnam by April 2017. "We have noticed a mixed bag of everything; tourism has been double digits from India in terms of big wedding groups, leisure, FITs,
Marketing plans We are planning to have big marketing and promotional activities for next year. We will also have social media campaigns in 2017 with the substantial increase in the activities. We did some campaigns in the past together with the resorts in Colombo. India stands as the number one in terms of market. We are partnering with a number of Indian carriers. We are also working with all the top brands in leisure segments. Srilankan Airlines also appointed Jacqueline Fernandez as their Brand Ambassador as the
face of Srilankan Airlines and the brand continues to strengthen its presence in India. The airlines also had organized a month of Radio promotion activity at the UL Mumbai office. SriLankan Airlines’ codeshare partnerships in the Western and Central European region have contributed to the growth of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in 2016, which expanded by 14% and crossed the two million milestones. It made a significant change in strategy in the fourth quarter of 2016 by expanding services to the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia that included the launch of 11 new destinations and the increase of frequencies to existing destinations. The carrier will also become the only one to operate international
COIMBATORE VADODARA NAGPUR VIZAG
flights to Gan International Airport, in Maldives with four flights per week. The commencement of services to Gan is part of the recent strategic shift by SriLankan to heighten its focus on its network in South Asia namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and in the Middle East Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, and the Far East including Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. It will expand its global route network to 101 destinations in 47 countries and also now the largest foreign carrier into India that serves 11 cities with over 100 frequencies, as well as being the largest airline operating to both Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
: 27, 28, 29 January 2017 : 18, 19, 20 August 2017 : 06, 07, 08 October 2017 : 03, 04, 05 November 2017
www.voyagersworld.in
Travel Trends
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'Short-changed'..Demonetization and the traveller!
The recent demonetization move by the Centre, US elections and volatile rupee have created ripple effects on the Indian travel scene. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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hen Britain exited from the European Union last year, there were numerous speculations over the impact of travel and if that would make England less expensive for Indians to travel to or otherwise. Change of governments, policy formulations, rules, MoUs and international business are helping change the scenario of economy in the country, however, the question is how is the weak rupee battling to help the travel industry sustain itself. The constantly languishing rupee has not deterred the burgeoning middle class and the new generation of youngsters who are working from travelling. It has triggered the Indian inbound market, with tourists from both short haul as well as long haul destinations finding India desirable. The recent demonetization move by the Centre was perceived to lend a short-time setback to the travel industry with several tourists on the move running about for change. Indian travellers will continue to travel and plan alternate holiday options within their budget. Travellers are opting for breaks where price is controllable. There
Voyager’s World > January 2017
has been a considerable demand for domestic and short-haul holidays. Weekend packages for destinations at drivable distances have gained popularity with travellers looking for a quick getaway from hectic daily life. Budget travellers are opting for domestic and short haul destinations like Kashmir, Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan and South East Asia & Middle East. Commenting on the recent US elections and the demonetization, Sudarshan Motwani, CEO & founder, BookMyForex said, "Victory of Trump on similar grounds as Brexit that is anti-immigration will create more trade protectionist regime that is expected to discourage immigration to US. Fed is also likely to increase rates in Dec. USD is already down against major currencies but for India, this could mean flight of capital from India from debt market and hence a dearer USD. We expect USD to go past 67 to 67.20 - 67.30 range tomorrow and in near term from current 66.87" "INR 500 / 1000 demonetization will
have major impact on travel industry - almost similar to real estate or the wedding market. Forex travel spends can be significant and use of cash in travel related business is rampant. Although RBI limits cash payment for purchase of forex to Rs. 50K only, but this limit is per person. For instance, four members in a family can buy forex against cash for total Rs. 2 lacs! Apart from that there is no credible check on if these four people can be stopped from going to four different money changers and use Rs. 2 lacs cash for forex four times over. With demonetization, this should change dramatically and while it will be a loss to local money changers who deal in cash for large numbers of transactions, it is major gain for online forex marketplace companies like BookMyForex that have introduced online forex and have been promoting plastic money (forex travel cards) against online or electronic payments. Rough estimate of forex against cash is at least half official outbound retail forex market of USD 15 billion and hence impact from demonetization would be extremely significant. The demonetization will also impact
private overseas remittance (money transfer) market and we expect Banks to gain from this move." Yet, the industry is highly taxed and has made India an expensive destination. Travel costs and accommodation had gone up by around 20% to 25% outside India. With the State Tourism Boards unfolding captivating tourism campaigns around various themes, Incredible India has begun to experience tourist inflow at an alltime high even when the rupee is hitting at an all-time low. As far as foreign tourist arrivals are concerned, India has become an attractive destination for inbound travellers making it an affordable and accessible destination for a large number of foreign visitors. Indians too are more likely to explore weekend breaks and short-format holidays within India. Our rupee makes all exports attractive, as the hospitality industry exports ‘room nights’ to markets elsewhere in the world through inbound tourists, thus rendering India a much more affordable destination.
Travel Trends
23>> All other things remaining same, it should mean more in-bound tourism. That there are other factors such as security concerns and low GDP growth around the world is preventing this from happening is another matter all-together. The cost for the packages have gone up in the past two years but surprisingly it has not led to drastic cancellation trends. As travellers are planning for vacations to short haul destinations and more affordable packages in long haul, to make travel more attractive, companies is offering various deals and discounts to the travellers. The demonetization move can be looked at as a very temporary phase and no one takes India holidays from overseas on impulse as they think, plan and then decide. Only those who are already here have had to face the need for change in places where there are no digital modes of payments. There is a mood of optimism and some hotel chains have indicated that they have increased reservations and getting good inquiries from overseas. But in general, there is now greater interest towards India and whether dollar appreciates or depreciates, tourists, once decided will come. Many Indian travellers who wanted to go on a vacation to foreign countries are cancelling their trips and are going on a vacation to various places in India instead. Also, many foreigners have been planning their trip to India and other Asian countries to take maximum advantage of falling rupee as facilities like travel, hotels, shopping, food, etc. turns out to be more cost effective compared to other places. The fluctuating currency has made the hotel industry lose and gain from it. The Indian traveller planning trips abroad has either cut short his travelling days, looking at cheaper accommodation options, or is opting for vacationing within the country. India has also become an attractive choice for inbound travellers due to the depreciating Indian currency. It is now considered as an economical option for travelling. However, if the trend of instable rupee persists, then the industry is sure to face serious challenges. One could only be hopeful and optimistic about the situation if the dollar value sees the light of the day.
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The tumbling rupee makes India an attractive destination for international travellers as it has further positioned India as an affordable destination over other popular destinations in the Far East and European markets. Short haul travel to India may increase as the cost of packages would be lower and travellers may re-plan their holidays to India compared to other destinations, provided costs like airfare, logistic costs and
India being recognised globally as one of the fastest growing outbound market, the appetite for travelling abroad is increasing among the upwardly mobile audience given the changing lifestyles and relative stability of the economy. We have huge potential for future growth in terms of visitor arrivals and spends. It may be mentioned here that the United Nations World Tourism
Most travellers opt for cabs to travel around the city and keep the car with them for more than a day to travel outstation. Anything volatile is subject to change but one can
THE
Organization (UNWTO) has predicted 50 million outbound travellers from India by 2020.
optimize the utility of the falling rupee by building a healthy relationship with the new set of tourists, both foreign and domestic so that they intend to visit India more.
lifestyle and the demand for travel was likely to continue growing. While the fall of the rupee could have short term sentimental effect on the outlook of Indian travellers, Indians are known to be willing to spend on experiences that are unique and distinguished, and there is an increasing trend of Indian travellers demanding the best experiences in the destinations they visit.
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INDIA EDITION 2 20 - 25 March 2017 Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai
INDIA EDITION 1 15 - 23 January 2018
Leisure travel in itself had become an essential part of the urban Indian
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Travel Trends
operational costs of hotels do not increase significantly to impact our packages. Boost on domestic travel Indians love to travel and holiday, with the demonetization of currency notes and sudden cash crunch meaning foreign destinations that were quite competitive in terms of pricing against the Indian options are suddenly more expensive. Therefore, Indians are likely to travel domestically far more.
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by tourists from overseas only. Travel planners are now looking at options within the country for vacationing and the Indian hospitality industry is sure to see gain from this opportunity in the coming season.
The travel industry can actually do a lot more to promote India as a holiday destination among foreign travellers and showcase the diverse cultural and geographical experiences, while remaining optimistic that the traveller interest in India would continue to grow regardless of currency pressures.
Owing to the current situation, the cost of an international vacation, which includes airfare, accommodation and tours will be significantly higher when compared to the earlier years. Indian vacationers are conservative and value-conscious. It is anticipated that to boost domestic travel, the aviation industry may introduce special packages. According to industry reports there has been an increase of approximately 20% in domestic travel this season particularly to leisure destinations.
Domestic travellers who have been travelling overseas, are now thinking about deferring their plans to visit overseas destinations as it is now cost prohibitive; instead they take holidays within India to places like Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and many more South India destinations. Even J&K, Sikkim and North Eastern states offer good holiday options. India luxury train journeys like the Deccan Odyssey, Palace on Wheels- the heritage train of Rajasthan and the Golden Chariot train in Karnataka, all are now patronized by domestic tourists which were hitherto being promoted
More can be done in terms of experiential and innovative marketing coupled with attractive deals and promotions for customers. OTAs like MakeMyTrip works with a variety of Tourism Boards, in many cases exclusively, to provide customers unmatched advantage and exclusive offers. Their promotions range from an exciting Facebook photo-based contest, to flexible and exclusive itineraries for North & South Islands in New Zealand and main-steam media advertisements. Indian Tourism Boards should tie-up with OTAs and airlines to co-promote their respective destinations.
Voyager’s World > January 2017
Tourism promotion is a continuous process and just a few dollars gain does not make much difference in decision making process in the minds of tourists. A rising US dollar is a worry for airlines as a large chunk of their expenditure is in US$ with salaries to pilots, leasing charges, engine and aircraft maintenance charges all paid in the foreign currency. These costs can be in the range of 50% of airlines total expenditure. High tickets cost is the main problem for tourists. It is further aggravated with the recent rise of the US dollar against rupees and triggered a rather sharp rise in the prices of the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and then state added sales tax. Domestic movements which are generally made in internal movements became also costly. Tax components also are high so we need to look at all these aspects first to make India competitive. Tourism was one of the best avenues to generate Forex earnings and it also stimulates the local economy by generating employment opportunities and handicrafts. Tourist arrivals Indian travellers have also been exploring hill stations like Shimla, Manali, Mussorie and Darjeeling and looking at weekend destinations that offer more than scenic beauty with experiences in adventure or culture such as Ooty, Corbett National Park, Udaipur and Pondicherry.
In the last few years, North-East has emerged as an upcoming travel destination. There has been over 100% increase in the number of people wanting to visit NorthEast India every year since the last three years. The talk-value of having visited a unique destination contributes to the increasing tourist interest in places such as Gangtok, Kalimpong, Shillong, Kaziranga, Cherrapunjee, Pelling and Lachung. The local infrastructure has also geared up to serve the greater number of domestic as well as international tourists visiting these destinations. Tourists mainly coming from South East Asia covering Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, also the Gulf and CIS countries are not affected by the volatility of the Indian rupee and where air connectivity is much better and cost, affordable. Bookings are on the rise for weekend getaways destinations for states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Hyderabad. With a bunch of tourist who had plans of international visits are opting for domestic destinations as this is turning out to be economical. With rising costs, we have to wait and watch if the rupee gains steadiness or rolls down, in turn, making the traveller plan or re-plan his trip accordingly.
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Incredible India
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Meetings on High seas! On Cruise Mode..
The idea of cruising as part of a corporate event or a wedding has gained huge traction among MICE groups in India with many eyeing long haul sailings to mix a bit of leisure with work at sea!
Lotus - Costa Cruises
IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN - Royal Caribbean
Cruise is always a perfect place that combines business with pleasure. MICE Groups are tremendously growing over longer sailings for covering destinations like Europe, the Bahamas and Alaska. The corporates are also increasingly turning towards cruising for MICE.
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he concept of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) on cruises has evolved over the years with a stark increase in demand by MICE groups for long hauls sailings. Most of the business travellers are looking for 'bleisure' activities apart from other events organised like reward appreciation, performance appreciation, recognition ceremonies, special cruises for large incentive groups, organized group travel, management conferences and events such as product launch, dealer incentive programme and weddings. MICE groups and corporate clients prefer to have meetings on cruise ships through large meetings, presentations and showcasing the luxury of cruise travel. Besides the entertainment options and shore excursions for MICE groups. The cruise industry expects to see good
Voyager’s World > January 2017
numbers in terms of MICE for 2017. MICE events in Cruises Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN - India representative of Royal Caribbean Cruises says, "We often reach out directly to MICE groups and corporate clients. Our agents cater to this clientele by making presentations and showcasing to them the many splendors of cruise travel. We have frequently had joint presentations with the agents. Given the novelty and the all inclusive value of the concept, corporate are increasingly turning towards cruising for MICE. Cruise is always a perfect place that combines business with pleasure. We provide more entertainment options and shore excursions for MICE groups with activities for families and children. Our guests experience best services with variety of themes and better onboard technology with faster internet. Cruise itself is being sold
as a destination with the added values of multi destination product unlike a land based tour. We often reach out directly to MICE groups and corporate clients. Our agents cater to this clientele by making presentations and showcasing to them the many splendours of cruise travel."
to ship and itinerary to itinerary. However, Costa Cruises offers a lot of additional benefits for MICE groups. But mostly, it provides a lot of feasibility for the Indian MICE clientele, from supporting guest details, cancellations, additional bookings all accommodated on a last minute basis.
“MICE is tremendously growing in that it is convenient, safe and secure. We have organised many incentive trips on board our ships in the recent past. These include special cruises for large incentive groups like dealers, employees from large automobile, organized group travel, management conferences and events such as product launch, dealer incentive program and weddings." she added.
Growth in MICE events Ratna says that MICE groups are now increasingly considering longer sailings. Earlier, such customers would mostly look at 2-3 night getaways but they are now embarking on long haul sailings that cover destinations like Europe, the Bahamas and Alaska.
Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus, Costa Cruises notes that the facilities keep changing from ship
Nalini explains,"Over the last few years not only has the cruise product been identified as a strong travel option, but has been particularly very popular with corporate groups. Costa has had many Mice Groups sail on
TIRUN - India representative of Royal Caribbean Cruises
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Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus - Costa Cruises
We witnessed most of the MICE Groups are combing work and leisure activities on the Ship that provides the ease of doing everything at one place and provides travelers the flexibility to do whatever activity they would like to choose. We are expecting a growth of nearly 100% increase in MICE numbers for 2017. cruise itineraries from Singapore, Barcelona, Savona (Milan), Stockholm, Dubai. The Europe region had its first charter movement of 1700 Indian passengers from Venice on an Eastern Mediterranean itinerary in May 2016. This was the first time a cruise liner was chartered by an Indian client, in the European waters." Expected growth for 2016-2017 Nalini expects a growth of nearly 100% increase in MICE numbers, with the introduction of the First Time Ever cruise sailings between Mumbai to Maldives from December 2016 to March 2017. Due to the ease of embarking or disembarking from Mumbai port and no requirement of visas, there has been a lot of interest from corporates looking to book large groups in the first quarter of 2017. "The introduction of Mumbai Sailings, has also enhanced the popularity of our sailings from other
regions of the globe and we have already closed large MICE groups for our European Mediterranean itineraries, almost five months prior the sailing date, which is usually not the norm with a MICE clientele. On a separate note, we will also be having a wedding client, who is chartering a 3800-guest capacity ship, Costa Fascinosa, from Barcelona to Italy in April 2017. This would be the first wedding done on such a large scale on a cruise ship." Events in 2016 Royal Caribbean Cruises has so far organized group travel, management conferences, product launches, dealer incentive programme and weddings. Some of our upcoming events include weddings in February and May, celebration groups and company incentives. Costa Cruises has had MICE groups sail on cruise itineraries
from Singapore, Barcelona, Savona (Milan), Stockholm, Dubai. In terms of specific events organized on a cruise ship, we had Shipsomnia, Tomorrowland of the Seas, a party cruise, which sailed on a 4-night round trip itinerary from Singapore in January 2016 with approximately 450 Indian guests. Marketing Plans Most of the marketing and promotions for Costa Cruises are done via social media and belowthe-line (BTL) activities that actually engage the direct customer. "With the Costa neoClassica, docked in Mumbai until March 2017, we do plan on having many events onboard the cruise ship, from training of travel agents and other media related activities.We have also seen a lot of interest from Travel agents to market our sailings via print and social media, which has been great support for us."
Trends in business travellers Ratna states, "The mind set of business travellers is bleisure. Besides that we have witnessed some new fun trends like reward appreciation, performanceappreciation, recognition ceremonies." "Most of the MICE groups, combine work and leisure activities on the ship. Since, everything is confined on the ship, from meetings and award ceremonies in our theatre, to the leisure activities in the various lounges, pool decks and bars on the ship. The ease of having everything at one place, enhances not only the attendance in terms of the meetings that the corporate has planned onboard, but also allows gives travellers the flexibility to do whatever they choose to do in the evening. Events on a cruise ship is the present and future of where we estimate the Indian travel trends heading towards," Nalini concluded.
www.voyagersworld.in
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Della unleashes cutting edge facilities for corporates
Jimmy Mistry, Principal Designer and MD at Della Group talks about business from corporate groups and meeting competition in a growing MICE industry. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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ella Adventure Resort and Spa in Lonavala, has grown into a full-scale event venue by itself with adventure activities, luxury resort, a range of Signature Suites and other facilities, designed to cater to varying needs of corporate groups be it for team outings or incentives. The uber-posh themed suites, designed by Jimmy Mistry, reflect the group’s core values of design thinking, affordable luxury and customer experience. On what sets Della Adventures apart from other such adventure properties across the state and the country, Jimmy Mistry says the property is a setup that offers varied experiences, which are sure to leave you surprised at every step. “My 25 plus years of experience with the corporate has empowered me with knowing their exact pulse. Be it our adventure park, the villas or the resort, every facility strives to create the right environment for team building activities and make them fun.” “At the onset of developing this property itself we had conceptualised it to accommodate large corporate groups. Therefore, every training activity, banquet room, and other facilities have been planned keeping this in mind. We can accommodate multiple groups at the same time, ensuring the comfort of each group, without disturbing other families or personal groups. Since all services are taken care of by an in-house team, we can customise everything from menu to activities and the site to accommodate the need of the corporate event.
Voyager’s World > January 2017
Facing competition Jimmy Mistry accentuates on the adventure park’s most unique proposition unlike other standard venues. It offers a number of avenues to conduct corporate events, and is certainly a delight for a good corporate trainer. “We have about 29 team building activities which are far moved from the routine table-chair-sticks set up. They are hard-core infrastructures like obstacle courses designed on the line of the Swiss alps, a paintball match setup, zip lines, group cycling and much more. We are also developing a counter terrorism academy, about 45 minutes further from Della Resorts. We will be focussing on antiterrorism training for corporate honchos, survival training and jungleonomics. This will certainly be the cutting edge facility for us.” Average group size of incentives and team outings per year Della Adventures sees 20-450 people in a single group. Companies like Omkar Group, Rustomjee, ICICI, Tata, Ernst & Young and Vodafone usually come in large numbers of 1000-1500 on a single day. Usually the groups prefer a day visit. We currently have 163 rooms and most corporate groups are housed on a twin sharing basis. So we can accommodate only 300 – 330 people for an overnight stay. Frequently preferred activities Of course, Della’s biggest USP is the adventure park and it facilitates a lot of team building activities. But unlike other places where food is of secondary importance, we ensure that people also have a memorable gastronomic experience. We focus on hospitality as well as F&B. Fine cigars, nitrogen ice cream, nuclear bhel, choicest cocktails, are some of the elements which make their F&B experiences an unforgettable affair. We want them to have the best of both worlds.
Business from local clients vis-a-vis those from outside Maharashtra We have a pan-India presence, not local. With our new sales offices in Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda, we are gearing for an upward swing of 20-25% in the coming year. We will soon be setting up a sales office in Hyderabad too. So, we have corporates coming in from all parts of India. We are associated with some of the big groups in the country, such as Vodafone, Google, IBN, Reliance, KPMG, Procter and Gamble, Aditya Birla Group, Wipro, L&T, Capgemini, to name a few. Our packages, facilities or services do not differ from client to client, whether they are old or new. Each one of them is served in the best
possible manner and given the same high quality of services. We don’t break our prices. Certain level of services demand a certain price. And once people realise that they are getting value for money, they are happy. Repeat visits from corporate groups We offer them customised packages as well give their employees special offers, which ensures that they return with their families. A large part of our customers are returning corporate event attendees, and we give them specialised discounts when they revisit with their families. We take a 360-degree approach in our business and make sure that all customers have something to look forward to for their next visit.
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VISIT FLORIDA anticipates good numbers for MICE in 2017
Alfredo Gonzalez, Vice President, International Sales & Market Development, VISIT FLORIDA, highlights the various facilities that interest the Indian business traveller in Florida. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN & Market Development, VISIT FLORIDA, expects more numbers this year.
Growth in Indian market In 2015, 70,000 Indians visited Florida, which was a growth of 25% from 2014. Hence, expressing confidence that there would be a substantial growth compared to 2015 as the final numbers for 2016 are yet to come, Alfredo Gonzalez, Vice President, International Sales
Promotional plans VISIT FLORIDA has always focused on the Free Independent Traveller (FIT) and Group Inclusive Tour (GIT); we are also planning to tap MICE and education groups. Florida has some of the best convention facilities in the world that includes the second largest convention centre in USA - the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. For student group travel, Kennedy Space Center offers space camps for international students. Additionally, many Indians come to Florida to study at the major universities and their families come
to visit, making this a lucrative audience as well. VISIT FLORIDA organized a number of activities throughout the year like the VISIT FLORIDA Sunshine Contest, roadshows, trainings with travel agents, participating in India Brand USA mission along with several other travel trade exhibitions. Last year, we hosted a VISIT FLORIDA MICE event in Mumbai and a VISIT FLORIDA VIP event in Bengaluru. Trends in the industry In terms of MICE, corporate travellers are always willing to take up long haul destinations, try new cuisines and experience new destinations in contrast to the trends in the past.
M.I.C.E SCAN
Venture Marketing to represent Sicilia Convention Bureau Venture Marketing was appointed as India Representative for Sicilia Convention Bureau (SCB). SCB is a one-stop shop MICE information centre for the destination. The tie-up will have an immediate and transparent access to all the island’s novelties, new openings and solutions that offer best quality-price ratio. Nitin Sachdeva, Executive Director, Venture Marketing, said, “We will work to provide the Indian planners detailed information, connect them to the right partners that offer the best quality-price ratio for their events in Sicily.”
Brooklyn's vibrant venues offer experience at unbeatable value NYC & Company invites meeting planners and attendees to discover why Brooklyn is one of NYC’s most popular destinations for meetings and events. With new hotel developments, expansive meeting spaces, world-class venues and multiple transportation options, Brooklyn is fast becoming an attractive option for planners looking to offer attendees an authentic New York experience. With over 28 hotels in the pipeline, by 2019, the borough is expected to have more than 3,500 hotel rooms.
Westin Resort Nusa Dua hosts incentive trip for Amway India The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali hosted an incentive trip for Amway India distributors who have performed well throughout the year, including their Diamond Members. This annual event saw over 1000 participants who enjoyed a tour of the island and beach carnival. The resort was the main venue to accommodate almost all of the group. The highlight was a gala dinner and cultural entertainment hosted in the Mangupura Hall at Bali International Convention Centre (BICC).
"In 2015, Turkish airlines and Emirates started flying into Miami and Orlando respectively, which is definitely going to benefit our destination. With the Indian Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) segment growing fast and major airlines steadily competing with each other, we anticipate increased growth for Florida in 2017," Alfredo concluded.
CALENDAR 2016
Parisian Macao to host 5th MICE India & Luxury Travel Congress MICE India and Luxury Travel (MILT) Congress 2017 has announced that it has signed up The Venetian Macao as the Platinum Partner of its 5th annual congress. The Venetian Macao will collaborate with the event to showcase their newest property The Parisian Macao, which opened in September 2016. The objective of MILT is to bring the best destinations and suppliers from all over the world to meet C-level executives from the region.
The previous travellers would stick only to Indian cuisine and only a couple of them tried and tested destinations. But today, MICE travellers are always on the lookout for new and exciting places. We have also noticed that Indian MICE travellers come to Florida with their families for a holiday in Florida.
January 12, 13 Meetings Morocco Marrakech 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 ASEAN Tourism Forum Singapore
February 02 MICE Place CITY Paris, France 07, 08, 09 IBTM Arabia Abu Dhabi, UAE
March 27, 28 February - 1 March Meetings Africa Johannesburg 21, 22, 23 March IT&CM China Shanghai
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Overseas venues continue to hold traction over Indian MICE groups
The eagerness of Indian travellers to explore and experience new places, coupled with the increase in their spending power, makes India an important MICE source market. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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ith the 5th MICE India and Luxury Travel congress (MILT) taking place in March this year at The Parisian Macao it is important to take stock of the evolving preferences of the Indian MICE market. Now in its 5th year, the MILT Congress is organized by Dubaibased QnA International. “It is very important to understand changing preferences of the Indian market and benchmark from the many success stories. The need to source the right destination for the MICE activities is very prominent; it is about finding it all under one roof,” explained Mr. Ackash Jain, a Director at QnA International. “This is where the MILT Congress comes in. As the organisers of MILT Congress, our objective has always been to bring the best destinations and suppliers from all over the world to meet C-level executives from the region. The event’s visitors are decisionmakers on all aspects related to procurement in the MICE, business and luxury travel activities.” Incentive travel has emerged as one of the most promising business areas for event organisers and convention bureaus as they are known to help drive business objectives and bottom line results. Smart business leaders in India; know that the skills and attitudes of their employees can be the very thing that sets them apart from their competition. Incentive travel is one of the fastest growing segments within India's
Voyager’s World > January 2017
outbound MICE movement. Many Indian companies organise annual incentive travel as a business tool to reward and motivate topperforming employees as well as external channel partners to drive topline sales. As Indian incentive groups become more mature and discerning, Singapore, for instance, is making strides towards its ambition to become a technology thought leader through a slew of business events secured in various sectors like information and medical technologies. The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali recently hosted an incentive trip for Amway India distributors including their elite Diamond Members. The trip had over 1000 participants. Indian Corporates from Pharmaceutical, Cement, FMCG, Retail, BFSI and other industries are seeking new destinations for MICE trips beyond traditional destinations and themes, thereby providing their employees and distributors unique experiences and are actively holding regular MICE programs abroad with departments dedicated to take care of business travel & incentive groups of sizeable proportions. Corporate giants such as Wipro, Accenture, Vodafone, Google, IBN, Reliance, KPMG, Procter and Gamble, Aditya Birla Group, L&T, etc. devote extensive attention to their MICE programmes for their employees. In Asia, Macau is fast becoming an attractive destination for Indian
corporate groups thanks to its location, entertainment and air connectivity. Korea offers unique travel experience with state of the art facilities and outstanding services that is fairly unexplored in the Indian market. As a part of Korea's foray into the Indian MICE market, it targets corporate houses, MICE planners, event management companies and travel agents to market MICE destinations in Korea. As far as long haul destinations are concerned, New Zealand hosts many Indian incentive groups annually with group sizes usually ranging from 50-150 passengers. However it is not uncommon for larger groups of up to around 400 passengers to travel to New Zealand from India. In the current business scenario, it is vital that suppliers have direct access to senior executives, with final decision on vendor selection, and the ultimate sign off on all budgets. Reaching the decision maker, however, is costly, timeconsuming and hard to achieve. Estimates show that the number of Indians travelling abroad by 2020 will increase making India one of the fastest growing tourism markets. Given the increasing exposure to international travel and economic growth, India's MICE market has the same potential than Chinese market probably more for some segments and less for other. Chinese market started to operate to Europe before but it is turned especially to a leisure target while Indian will position itself much more on a Mice target.
In Europe, countries like France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Portugal have gained more popularity among Indian MICE groups. There is a growing interest in European destinations that are a new alternative to the traditional main destinations. Portugal has been one of the leading MICE destinations for European and North and South American continent. Italy is also recognized as one of the most important tourist destinations in Europe and in the world, able to offer a complete experience in architecture, history, fashion and food. In this regard, a big contribution to these countries can be attributed to Bollywood films that have managed to lure the attention of Indians. Italy is a popular destination for Indian tourists and it is becoming more and more a mono destination. Even cruises as an option for holding MICE events has been made more popular through Indian movies. With an increase of Indian nationals using international properties over the past few years, NTOs, convention bureaus and overseas event planners are encouraged to get in touch directly with major corporate entities, enabling them to make direct deals with them, on the corporate level. The strong and positive image of Switzerland in India along with the high awareness levels, the convenient air connectivity from various Indian cities to Europe and South Asia make those regions ideal for hosting events.
IITM 2017-2018 EVENT'S CALENDAR Kochi: 19, 20, 21 January 2017
Delhi: 15, 16, 17 September 2017
Kolkata: 24, 25, 26 February 2017
Mumbai: 22, 23, 24 September 2017
Chennai: 15, 16, 17 July 2017
Pune: 24, 25, 26 November 2017
Bangalore: 21, 22, 23 July 2017
Hyderabad: 1, 2, 3 December 2017
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For its 2017 edition, WTM Latin America & the 47th Business Event, the main world event in the Latin American travel industry, has confirmed a partnership deal with HotelMap, the wold’s biggest hotel reservation platform, and Oneworld, an alliance between the world’s main airline companies, which between them offer flights to more than 1000 destinations. The agreements that have been signed will guarantee discounts on flights and accommodation for all those participating in the event, which will take place between 4 6 April in Expo Center Norte in São Paulo. Oneworld flight reservations can be made on the exclusive page (www.oneworld.com/ events), using the access code that will be made available by WTM Latin America. Tickets can be bought for flights arriving up to one week before the event starts and departing up to one week after it ends.
The partnership with HotelMap (http://latinamerica.wtm.com/ en/help/how-to-get-there/ hotelmap/) makes available the latest hotel reservation technology, with the additional benefits of a discount on all types of accommodation and ease of reservation by way of the system that is connected to the event’s accreditation page and that automatically identifies the user’s language and device and allows for the offer to be personalized according to the participant’s profile. The agreements with Oneworld and HotelMap were set up by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), the business unit of Reed Exhibitions and the world’s leading company in the organization of travel and tourism industry shows, which include the World Travel Market, IBTM Events and International Luxury Travel Market portfolios.
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With Oneworld and HotelMap we’re going to be able to offer an even more complete service in WTM Latin America. The reservation systems are easy to use, making it possible for each participant, whether an exhibitor, buyer, the media or a trade visitor to make their reservation quickly and firmly Lawrence Reinisch Diretor da WTM Latin America
The World Travel Market logo, WTM, RELX Group and the RE symbol are trade marks of RELX Intellectual Properties SA, used under license.
WTM Latin America & the 47th Braztoa Business Event sign partnership deals with HotelMap and Oneworld Agreements guarantee advantages and discounts when buying airline tickets and booking hotels for the fifth edition of the event
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Think local for uncommon travel experiences!
I Like Local helps travellers to connect with local people in Asia and Africa while enabling income generation, says its Founder Sanne Meijboom. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
I
Like Local is a social enterprise enables travellers to book authentic local travel experiences directly from locals in Asia and Africa. “The idea for I Like local was born out of my passion for other cultures and wanting to create a social impact,” says its Founder Sanne Meijboom. “As I travelled a lot, I noticed that my best experiences were the
encounters with local people, but also that the only way to get these experiences was to organize them. All travel companies offered the same standard, large group tours that did not let you connect with local people and truly see a country beyond its attractions. I saw numerous travel trend reports pointing out that more travellers were looking for more personal experiential travel options. As poverty alleviation is one of the major global challenges and tourism has proved to be a major source of income, I believed that by connecting locals and travellers directly it could have a transformational power.” As 100% of the money asked by the locals for their activities is directly paid to them (I Like Local doesn’t charge them anything) they now were empowered to earn money and
benefit from tourism in their country. Countries using the service I Like Local is currently used in 19 countries in Asia and Africa. It will only focus on emerging markets as here is where it can create an impact. As of today it supports 1,310 local and serve 14,500 travellers. “We are going to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Start SomeGood in March and after that we hope to raise funds which we will use for marketing purposes.” Challenges The only challenge we witnessed is that not all locals are at their computer all the time to reply quickly to requests. So, they have 48 hours time to reply which we communicate on our website to travellers to manage expectations.
We offer most experiences in India, nevertheless, we do not receive the most bookings for this country. Our main markets are Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. We have to research how we could best reach Indian travellers and foreign travellers in India. New initiatives We will keep expanding our network to serve more locals and travellers. With the crowd-funding campaign we are going to set up an ambassador programme of travel bloggers, photographers and videographers to visit the locals, create assets to tell their unique stories and share these stories via their online network. We would like to create a community of likeminded people who would like to make a change via travel.
Guide-based Zeeno App will launch in March 2017
Tory Wergelis-Isaacson, Co-founder, Zeeno App, says the app allows travellers to be more in control of their schedules and yet get a deeper understanding of the city. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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eeno App is the latest entrant to the online travel booking experience that seeks to help one simply book a tour when one is ready to actually go on the tour. Tory Wergelis-Isaacson, the app’s Cofounder says this app is different as it can be used to call a guide. “Although there is no booking
Voyager’s World > January 2017
in advance and we offer a wide array of unique tours given to you directly by the people that live in, work in, and love the city that you are visiting. Zeeno offers locals the chance to earn money on their own schedule by simply doing the things they already love to do around town.
tour based on one’s location. The guides are all locals who design the tours themselves. Anyone can sign up to be a guide and choose when to work by simply switching on their availability in the guide app and they also set their own tour price. India and its importance
Some additional special features include the ability to search for guides based on the languages they speak. So if you are traveling to another country and want a tour given in your own language, you can find a guide to do that for you. Any traveller can use the Zeeno App.”
“For travellers visiting the states and for the swelling tourism in the country, we believe Zeeno App fits the needs of both. While we initially will only recruit guides in the Philadelphia region, when we do begin our international expansion, we look forward to the interesting and unique stories that guides in India will be able to tell that will give travellers the true sense of the beauty and culture of the country. As for those traveling from India
With different tour options to choose from, one can also see a map screen where all local guides are currently available to give a
to the USA and eventually other parts of the world, we look forward to becoming their go-to app for experiencing a destination in the best way possible”. Zeeno App will officially launch by 1 March 2017, although its websites are active now and locals can sign up as guides, but only in Philadelphia but this does not stop someone from any country from using our app when they arrive here. Promotions When you sign up on Zeeno App you will be given a unique code that can be used to redeem discounts on future tours. For every person that uses your code to sign up, you will get $5 towards your next tour.
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Spare the plan, seize the experience instead!
Eric Espino, Co-Founder, TourMega, says the search engine will add to its inventory and innovation in 2017 to spare travellers the hassle of planning and rather have them focus on the experience. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN in India. India is an important destination for TourMega; because the country is large and perceived by some as chaotic and difficult to navigate, many travellers want a tool that provides them a range of options for tours and activities so they can avoid spending hours calling or emailing local companies.
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ounded in May 2016 by a group of travellers who aim to change the way people travel, TourMega helps search, compare and book tours so one can spend time enjoying the trips, not planning for them. Eric Espino, Co-Founder of the search engine says TourMega has nearly 17,000 options to choose from in 804 cities and 134 countries, including popular destinations
Expected growth for 2017 Our expectation is that global international travel should grow at about 4% in 2017; or the same as 2016. We believe certain countries and regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and South Asia (primarily India and Sri Lanka) will continue to outperform other regions, especially if flight prices remain relatively low and countries such as the USA and China continue to show growth in
outbound travellers. We also think that the weakening of the Euro and British Pound could increase tourism to these countries which had historically been expensive compared to other destinations. Marketing activities Our plan is to focus on popular destinations where travellers are excited about what awaits them but also not sure where to start in terms of finding things to do when they arrive. Language may be a barrier or time taken to call up companies or guides to compare options may be too daunting a task. So, we will engage with travellers online and inperson and demonstrating to them that we offer a valuable and easy-touse tool that can allow them to create and enjoy new experiences, not waste time trying to plan them out.
New initiatives In 2017, we will add new inventory almost weekly with the goal of having at least 60,000 tours and activities on our site by mid-year. My co-founder Quynh Pham is working up some magic with artificial intelligence that should be rolled out later in 2017 so stay tuned. We recently added an innovative tool on to our site from Spatial.ai called Neighborhood Personalities to help travellers uncover a neighborhood’s personality using interest filters such as nightlife, artsy, foodie, healthy etc. TourMega will be looking to partner with a few well-regarded tour operators in 2017 to ensure our site has the variety of tours and activities to meet the demand.
Star ratings directly impact property’s bottom line
Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of REVPAR GURU, talks about star rating and RevPAR in his article 'The Metric (That Most Hoteliers Ignore) That Can Significantly Impact Your Revenues'. VW BUREAU
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hen most hoteliers consider their revenue management metrics, they most likely think about RevPAR, ADR and occupancy. Perhaps, they would also think about historical and current local demand. But for the majority of hoteliers, their property’s star rating wouldn’t even occur to them (beyond when they initially start working with an OTA and are creating their profile). What many hoteliers forget is that a property’s star rating is a hugely important factor, both in marketing your property and in determining the best price for your rooms on a given day – because consumers often use star ratings to filter viewing search results on an OTA. By now, most hoteliers are probably
familiar with the Cornell University study done which offered quantifiable proof that having a better TripAdvisor rating would help boost a property’s bottom line; the study showed that: “… a 1-percent increase in a hotel’s online reputation score leads up to a 0.89-percent increase in price as measured by the hotel’s average daily rate (ADR). Similarly this 1-percent increase in reputation also leads to an occupancy increase of up to 0.54 percent. Finally, this 1-percent reputation improvement leads up to a 1.42-percent increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR)[1]”. The same applies to the impact of your property’s star rating on your room rate. Let’s look at an example of a three-star, 100-room hotel in
the United States, which earns $110 of RevPAR per room, per day; if the same property went up to a three and half-star rating, their RevPAR would increase by $42 per room, per day. If you extrapolate those numbers, the property can increase their annual revenues by approx. $1.5million, simply by increasing their star rating by one half-star (from three-stars to three-and-half-stars)! Even still, some hoteliers are hesitant to try to improve their star rating because they believe that (with a higher star rating), potential customers will have much greater expectations about their property. They operate under the philosophy: “Under-promise, over-deliver,” because they think it will be better, both financially and for customer
satisfaction rates, to be the best hotel in a lower star rating (rather than one of many in the higher rating). But that isn’t always true. Focus on optimizing your actual star rating on the most popular, top-performing OTAs in your region (i.e. Expedia in the North America, Booking.com in Europe, Agoda in Asia, etc.). Since this is the site that brings you the majority of your OTA business, the effort you put into increasing your star rating (on this site) will be a worthwhile investment. Keep in mind though, like every other aspect of the online channels, chaos reigns supreme. Many properties will likely have different star ratings on different OTAs, because each site uses different criteria to determine their ratings.
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Digital Travel
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Savvy demands.. travel and hotel industry go digital!
Content is king; hence how can hotels and the travel industry, as a whole, build and market content that convinces the customer. Here is a look at how they are at the task. VW BUREAU
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ith hotels entering into acquisitions and mergers and new ones opening frequently, as well as tourism boards competing with one another to get tourists, it makes one wonder if there is one best strategy for marketing themselves in the industry. They are often in a dilemma over using PR and advertising or either of them.
bringing them closer together. The multi-channel campaign has been designed and executed by Interface with Robby Mathew as Chief Creative Officer on the account. It will roll out pan India from December 2016 to January 2017 and will unfold simultaneously across all platforms, including TV and digital.
that is selling an innovative, new product is that it is necessary to educate your potential clients on why this product is different/better than others available in the market. Because many of these products are so technologically advanced, this can be a very arduous process – and a confusing one for your audiences. That’s where PR comes in.
Club Mahindra Holidays had made a new brand campaign recently, called 'OnlyAtClubMahindra' which emphasises the thought that taking regular vacations can bring families closer. Shot at the Club Mahindra resort in Ashtamudi, the campaign focuses on the idea that parents can rediscover the child in themselves when they become friends with their children as they bond over shared experiences. This central thought has been brought to life by showcasing the many diverse and unique activities offered at several Club Mahindra resorts. For instance, the first ad in the series shows a family staying in one of the floating cottages at Club Mahindra Ashtamudi fish in the lake right outside their window with unexpected consequences! This results in much laughter and fun,
Jennifer Nagy, President of JLNPR, says there’s a misconception held by many business owners that public relations (PR) and advertising are completely interchangeable (in terms of the benefits that they offer), but that isn’t true. While each has benefits, there are many reasons that PR is more effective for startups – especially for those in the hospitality industry. Here are five examples of when using PR will be more effective than advertising for hospitality start-ups:
In conjunction with content marketing, PR is the best tactic to educate your potential customers and establish the company as an expert. It is possible to do this because hotel trade publications will publish vendor-neutral articles (articles that don’t reference/sell a specific brand/product) that will teach hoteliers how to improve their operational processes. Over time, this exposure will help your company to sell your solution more effectively and significantly shorten the sales cycle.
When you need to educate your audiences One of the most exciting things about working in the hospitality industry is the innovation that you experience firsthand. The difficult thing about being the company
When you want to create a stronger relationship with your target audience(s) The public is accustomed to seeing ads everywhere – and distrusting the messaging that they see reflected in these ads. If you want your public(s)
Voyager’s World > January 2017
to have a positive impression of your company and/or products (and increased trust in purchasing from you), PR is a better approach; articles written about your company by a journalist - an independent third-party expert - gives your company more credibility in the mind of potential customers. The same message delivered by an advertising spokesperson may be ignored by many potential customers, as most know that the ethical standards for advertising are less strict than they are in journalism. In addition, advertising is only effective at telling your audience your message, making it a oneway marketing tactic; in contrast, PR is a two-way communication tactic (communication flows from the brand to the audience and also in reverse), which makes it more appealing to potential customers and, therefore, more effective. When you want to sell your product’s story, not just your product The inherent nature of a start-up (it’s something new and different!) creates a story angle that will be of greater interest, and therefore,
Digital Travel
37>> you are more likely to secure media coverage. As well, PR is more effective at delivering a story, rather than just a list of product benefits: “Public relations executives excel in storytelling and, typically, present a perceived problem (i.e. childhood obesity) and their client’s unique solution (i.e. a new type of fitness equipment designed by, and for, preteens),” said Robert Wynne. Especially when your product is rethinking the industry’s standard way of executing a task, there is a really interesting story behind its development; consumers love to read these stories, so media love to publish them.
comes to promoting and marketing destinations to the people. Hence, in today’s times, mobile and e-marketing would prove more relevant. In fact, this has been the biggest revolution in the travel and tourism industry thanks to the growing use of mobile phones and the internet. According to the UNWTO, about 90% of all travel decisions are made online. The web is as influential as word-of-mouth in the travel decision process. Hence, it becomes vital for any tourism board to plan
and execute an effective digital marketing strategy. NTOs and DMCs are increasingly incorporating e-marketing in their promotional plans and partnerships, so also travel exhibitions and events, more so because online marketing is a much more cost-effective method to gain better visibility of products and services. Tourism Australia, for example, has undertaken marketing activities in India, in collaboration with key distribution and airline partners,
an increased thrust on digital initiatives, integration on leading television shows, and improved air connectivity between the two countries, have been key factors in boosting travel to Australia. To support the travel trade distribution network, Tourism Australia runs the ‘Aussie Specialist Program’, an online training initiative aimed at building confidence and knowledge levels of travel representatives on the destination. Tourism Australia frequently collaborates with its key distribution
Long story, short… If you have it (an exciting story behind your product/ service or company), flaunt it - using PR. When are you are on a budget Traditional marketing tactics (such as billboards, TV commercials and radio ads) are less cost-efficient than PR. For example, a press release only needs to be distributed to media once (if you have a strong angle) and it will be picked up in numerous publications, on- and off-line, over time. This gets your message and product/service ongoing attention without an ongoing financial investment – unlike advertising, which requires you to continue paying for the advertisement to earn ongoing exposure.
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Even more importantly, the results that can be achieved using PR (if executed properly), greatly exceed the ROI that can be earned from advertising. To create or maintain your company’s reputation, especially during a crisis Establishing and maintaining your reputation is the essence of PR. As previously mentioned, having a journalist write about your company or product establishes a sense of credibility with readers/viewers. In addition, during and after a corporate crisis, audiences are not as receptive to traditional advertising. By using PR to communicate with audiences (don’t forget to apologize!) during a crisis, the company can mitigate the negative effects and more effectively protect (or rebuild) their reputation. In the travel industry The situation is same even in the travel and tourism industry when it
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Digital Travel
and airline partners for promotional campaigns across the print and digital space. South African Tourism inked a partnership with Thomas Cook for special packages. As part of their special packages, Thomas Cook showcases the vibrant and fresher aspects of South Africa to the Indian travelers. These specially created packages also incorporate newer regions such as Knysna, Sun City and Kruger under the group package - South African Royale with Kruger, and Cape Town, Knysna, Suncity, Shamwari Game Reserve, Franschhoek under the customized package - South Africa Honeymoon Special. MasterCard and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced a new campaign in April 2016 to entice Indian visitors traveling to Singapore. The initiative was launched through a new digital campaign #FulfilAPromise featuring Indian actors’ father-daughter duo Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. The MasterCard and STB crossborder campaign offers a chance to fulfil the promise of a holiday to your family by winning a grand prize of a trip for a family of four to Singapore.
Voyager’s World > January 2017
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With this collaboration, MasterCard and Singapore Tourism Board will target Indian travelers exploring international destinations for their annual vacations and promote Singapore as a preferred travel destination this Holiday season. MasterCard invited its cardholders to submit entries on the MasterCard India and/or Singapore Tourism Board Facebook page by sharing their stories on the promises they have made to their families and how they would like to fulfil these promises in Singapore. The campaign will be held till 6th May 2016. One grand prize winner of the campaign will get a curated stay experience in Singapore and 10 minor reward winners will be awarded with a three night’s getaway in Singapore. The minor rewards will be announced for every week of the campaign period and a grand prize winner will be announced in the second week of May 2016. Another requisite area is engaging in online surveys, contests and Instagram activities. Dubai Tourism launched the #MyDubai initiative last year by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoumto create the world’s first autobiography of a city. Every day,
a selection of images hashtagged #MyDubai on Instagram were chosen to represent life in Dubai as residents and visitors experience it, which can be viewed on @MyDubai. The intention is to celebrate the everyday lives of the people and communities of the Emirate and show the city that is beneath the landmarks, headlines and superlatives. It also ran an exclusive hotel competition last year, inviting employees of each participating hotel to post images or videos that best defined their #MyDubai experience with one winner selected from each hotel. A few years ago, Visit Florida had launched the ‘Sunshine Contest’ in India wherein the tourism board invited entries from agents and operators to like the Visit Florida India Facebook page, complete their specialist programme within the contest period and design a 10-day itinerary in Florida on a PPT. The winners were given a trip to Florida. Oman Tourism was also not far behind in starting the Instagram handle last year and plunging into the online advertising and marketing space. It ran a few campaigns targeting internet users and one of
them was a tie-up with the blogging community on Indiblogger. Oman Tourism ran a month-long contest to attract bloggers to write about what they would like to experience in the Sultanate, offering lucky winners a trip to the country. With a chunk of urban travellers booking their tickets and accommodation online, it is imperative that tourism boards, DMCs and tour operators capitalize completely on the electronic, online and mobile media to the fullest to get better conversions. Email marketing like sending mailer blast campaigns to thousands of target customers at one shot and in a personalised manner just makes the reach of the campaign wider. There are cruise companies that regularly send e-newsletters talking about the deals and supersaver offers as well as new cruise itineraries. Brands can use on-site events to trigger dynamic content, reminding customers of their intent to purchase and offering to help them take the next step. The more tailored the content, the better. One approach is to be aware of your
Digital Travel
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user’s location. If you have this data in your email list, you can segment it by region, city and even town. After your campaign is sent, you can check the Google Analytics reports to see click rates, average page visits, page views, etc. With this information, you can tailor deals and send them where they’re most relevant, all for no cost at all. While consumers need to trust a travel brand in order to use them, faith itself isn’t enough to secure loyalty. It’s unlikely that a customer is subscribed to only one travel brand’s mailing list, and it’s also unlikely that a customer will subscribe to a list if they don’t trust a company. So, assuming a customer receives marketing emails from two travels brands that they trust equally, the deciding factors are likely to be loyalty and price. Rewarding engagement with discount codes works on two levels. Firstly, consumers who engage regularly with a brand are more likely to become loyal. Secondly, a well-timed money-off voucher can be the deciding factor between Brand A and Brand B. When a customer is flooded with so many mass mailers and newsletters in a month, it is necessary to come up with a creative way of mailing so that the mail gets opened when
it lands in the inbox and doesn’t immediately go to the trash or gets unsubscribed. First impression is what counts and hence choose the right words in the subject lines for better open rates. The subject line as well as the layout and the content must be drafted in a way so as to cater to an e-audience and must differ from other types of advertising and marketing communication. To avoid the risk of trash mails or unsubscription, the best option in mass e-marketing is to utilize permission-based marketing as it is direct and personalised. So when you click the option acknowledging that the recipient has given you permission to send him mails, the chances of the recipient deleting your mail before opening it or of being re-directed to the spam folder will be lesser. When one opens the mail, the salutation addressing his name makes a lot of difference and helps in lesser odds of them dismissing the mail before reading it. After paying attention to the subject line, the content and the personalisation of messages, the next thing to do is optimizing emails for mobile devices in a responsive model. A responsive model of
campaign is one that is compatible and readable on multiple designs be it your PC or your smartphone. Findings by Litmus – ‘Email Analytics’ in January 2015, more emails are being read on mobile phones as against a personal computer. 48% emails are opened now on a mobile device. The mobile breakdown is as follows: 49.5 percent of email opens were on a smartphone, 16.8 on a tablet. Of the 66 percent of mobile opens, 58 percent happened on an Apple device; 7 percent were on Android devices. (Q4 2014). A good designer will consider the break points between mobiles, tablets and desktops and make a responsive model based on different display specifications. A break point is the width at which the email layout transitions from one layout to another. Another factor that may seem not so important, but is, is the time and day of sending the campaign. Depending on your target clients and the urgency of the campaign, you can work out a suitable day to schedule the campaign. Voyager’s World, for instance, has found that its weekly newsletters find maximum opens and reads on Thursdays in the mornings or on Fridays in the
evenings. A mass mail campaign is not what many want to see the first thing in their inbox on a Monday morning or the last thing when they are winding up for the weekend, Hence, the time and day of sending the mailers are crucial. In June last year, the Cinnamon Travel Bloggers conference and awards - Cinnamon TBC Asia was held to recognize the value of both travel blogging and digital strategy for market success. The speakers panel and topic line-up included specialized talks for brands looking to expand their digital portfolios and adopt successful marketing strategies. Some talks were consciously focused on the value of going beyond the written word and evolving into exciting audio-visual content. Presentations designed for individuals and small brands visà-vis digital strategy waslso a key focus of the conference. With the digital and the social media here to stay, it is imperative that the hospitality industry as well as the travel industry stakeholders designate specialised staff for their e-marketing and digital campaigns. The customer is going mobile and tech-savvy and so must our efforts to reach them.
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FESTIVALS OF 25-29 January, 2017
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he Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) will be held from 25 to 29 January at Lumpini Park offering all tourists and travellers to explore the kingdom of Thailand. This festival will be organizing its 37th year and the park will be transformed into a mini representation of the kingdom with replicas of landmarks and examples of cultural events from mainly five regions North, South, East, Central and Northeast. The event will also include processions, musical performances and cuisine and tasty treats from all over Thailand .
Thailand Tourism Festival, Bangkok , Thailand
27th January-12th February 2017
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he Quebec Winter Carnival will take place from 27th January to 12th February 2017 in Quebec, it is a largest winter celebration of 17 days of non-stop festivities. From one winter to the next, the Carnival included more popular activities such as winter sports, snow sculptures, and activities based on the traditional Québec lifestyle, such as canoe races and dogsled races. You can cheer up the canoes race across the St. Lawrence River and watch artists compete in creating giant snow sculptures.
Quebec Winter Carnival, Quebec, Canada
31st January, 2017 28 January-5 February 2017
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he Philadelphia Auto Show motors will be held from January 28 – February 5 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center showcasing hundreds of vehicles from dozens of worldwide manufacturers, including a variety of classic, luxury, preproduction, tuner and exotic models.The Philadelphia International Auto Show began in 1902 and the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia has been producing the show since 1997. The festival will also feature 700 hot production, pre-production, concepts, exotic and classic vehicles from more than 40 worldwide manufacturers.
Philadelphia Auto Show, Philadelphia
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he New Year 2017 event celebration will start from 1till 25th December with fireworks that are set off from Taipei 101 at the New Year’s Eve and will also display light shows. The building will be decorated with 800 lights and addition of 200 lights in its surrounding areas. The Taipei 101 will introduce France’s famous Strasbourg Christmas Market which is set up outside the skyscraper andwith colorful decorative lights providing you with gourmet food as well.
Chiang Rai Flower and Music Festival, Chiang Rai, Thailand
THE WORLD 4th February 2017
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he annual Franschhoek Summer Wines festival is happening on the 4th February that connects connoisseurs and casual drinkers to the valleys of Franschhoek . The attendees can sample the varietals from thirty of Franschhoek’s top-notch wineries.For culinary enthusiasts will be served with a wide selection of gourmet dishes . One can feast on succulent rotisserie-cooked meats, deli-styled meals and best of all, home-baked treats from the harvest table. You can also enjoy live music performances by a string of local and talented musicians.
Summer Wines Festival, South Africa
11 -19 February, 2017
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he Taiwan Lantern Festival will take place from 11 - 19 February at the Taipei Expo Park featuring many traditional lanterns, electromechanical lantern displays, and large themed lanterns sponsored and designed by different companies. The festival is held across Taiwan in different cities every year like Taipei, Kaohsiung, Pingxi and Yenshui. The Kaohsiung Lantern Festival is held along the Love River and other thoroughfares organizes lantern exhibitions along with musical performances.The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival offers you the most colorful activities of the Lantern Festival.
Taiwan Lantern Festival, Taiwan
25 February 25 February-05 March, 2017
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he Crickhowell Walking Festival is happening from the 25 February to 5th March, featuring 90 guided walks at different levels of duration. The terrain varies right from the short and level walks in the beautiful Usk Valley to harder routes that take walkers through the magnificent scenery to be found in Wales. The Festival will include an extensive programme of events for walkers and non-walkers . The festival will include from the wild windy ridges of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons valleys.
The Crickhowell Walking Festival , Wales,UK
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he Punta Gorda Wine & Jazz Festival takes place on 25 February in Florida to celebrate its 12th anniversary. A musical and gourmet event, this festival received several accolades over the years and featured numerous top performing acts. This year will include the world-class jazz artistry and performers, such as Chieli Minucci and Special EFX, Peter White, and the notable festival favorite Mindi Abair. The visitors can enjoy beachside accommodations, fine dining, and attractions on Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Punta Gorda Wine & Jazz Festival, Florida
Happenings
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WWF PATA bagh Mitra Awards
PATA & MINISTRY OF TOURISM concluded its 5th Update & Outlook Meeting in 2016
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ATA India and WWF conducted the WWF PATA bagh Mitra Awards at WWF Secretariat office New Delhi. Inder Sharma, Life Member PATA India, along with Ravi Singh, WWF India secretary General presented the awards to the winners. M S Reddy received the award on behalf of Pench Bor Tiger Conservation Foundation,Ashish Tiwari, Special Secretary, Forest & Environment, Government of Uttar Pradesh also received an award under the Individual category in bringing various stakeholders such as inter-agency cooperation involving enforcement agencies, civil society representatives like WWF, Katerniaghat Foundation, media, judiciary and the trans-boundary Nepal police and forces on a common platform.
ATA India Chapter conducted its 5th Update & Outlook Meeting for 2016 with the Ministry of Tourism for its Membership at The Claridges, New Delhi.
The Membership was addressed by Secretary Tourism Vinod Zutshi and Ashwani Lohani Chairman & Managing Director Air India. The event was attended by three former secretaries, MOT Bezbaruah, Shilabhadra Banerjee and Sujit Banerjee along with the many more prominent members from the industry.PATA will conduct its next Update & Outlook Meeting with Ministry of Tourism in June 2017.
TAT celebrates New Year with a ‘Candlelight of Siam’ ceremony
Visit California Luxury Workshops in New Delhi and Mumbai
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H.E. General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand said, “We would like ‘the Candlelight of Siam’ to be a meaningful event that celebrates everything that unites us as a nation and as a people – our loyalty, our faith and our love and respect for the monarch.”
The workshop included product updates from various destinations like Palm Springs, Los Angeles County (Including Beverly Hills/ Santa Monica), Big Sur, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Napa and Orange County.
hailand announced its plans for celebrating new year with a traditional candle lighting and prayer ceremony, called Sang Thien Haeng Siam or Candlelight of Siam that will take place at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang and various locations nationwide and overseas on 31 December 2016 with the presence of locals and foreign visitors for the pre-New Year Countdown activities including writing an oath to live a good life, getting a candle for the lighting ceremony and taking part in Buddhist rituals.
isit California in partnership with FRHI Hotels & Resorts conducted a Luxury Workshop in Delhi and Mumbai. The workshop had targeted travel companies on luxury and high-end travelers. The workshop was attended by almost a total of 38 agents. Some of the senior agents from selected travel companies in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Ahmedabad were part of the workshop to discuss on various high end destinations and experiences in California.
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SIGTOA 1st Convention in Macau and Hong Kong
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he South Indian Global Tour Operators Association (SIGTOA) will organise their maiden Convention from 2-4 April in Macau at MGM Grand and from 4-6 April in the Regal Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. SIGTOA, which was formed to serve the outbound travel trade of South India, has quality 100 agents as members. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Chapters will be formed by the first week of February 2017 with three states playing an important role in the organisational growth. The first AGM of SIGTOA was held in Bangalore in October 2016 and Rahim BA, its General Secretary was appointed as the Convention Chairman. The Convention will be held with the support of Hong Kong Tourism Boards, Akquasun Hong Kong and Thai Airways. The itinerary is filled with activities, sightseeing, gala dinners and orientation of both destinations. The main Convention will be held at MGM Grand Macau with stay for all the participating delegates at the same hotel.
Akquasun organizes Fam to Seychelles
The 2nd Edition of Food for Thought Fest
J & K Food, Craft & Culture Festival 2016
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kquasun Holidays, Air Seychelles & Hilton Group of Hotels jointly hosted a Fam trip to Seychelles for travel agents from Mumbai and Ahmedabad who were keen to know more on the destination, product and airline. It has been two years since formation of Akquasun Seychelles, which now has a very strong hold in Seychelles. Having the best contracted rates for over 40 properties which are pro to Indian markets. Akquasun has also tied up with Air Seychelles for combined packages which will be launched from January 2017.
he South Asian Association for Gastronomy recently organized the second edition of the Food For Thought Fest, this was an initiative by professionals from the hospitality industry, food scholars and media from eight SAARC nations to celebrate diverse culinary heritage. The Food for Thought Fest 2016 includes four parts; namely the Thought Fest, Food Fest, Fun Fest and Gastronomy Bazaar. Bar Bar Dekho Director, Nitya Mehra, spoke about “Casting Food: Is Culinary Research Important in Creating Authenticity in Cinema?”, while cricket legend Virender Sehwag spoke about the philosophy of “Fitness through Food”.
ammu & Kashmir Tourism and JKTDC is organizing the J&K Food, Craft & Culture Festival 2016 and also celebrated the Christmas day with 3 Santas from Jammu & Kashmir at Dilli Haat,New Delhi specially for the domestic & International Tourist, Delhities, kids, parents, families and their friends. The festival included activities like dancing, drawing, selfie, photo sessions by kids & families. This festival is on from 16th to 31st December 2016 along with events like Daily Cultural Programmes,Daily Food Festival at J&K Wazwan Stall and Kids Drawing Competition.
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Association
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2nd Edition of IHTC to take place in March The second edition of the International Healthcare Tourism IHTC 2017 is set to take place on the 3 and 4 March, 2017 in Bangalore. VW BUREAU
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he second edition of the International Healthcare Tourism Congress (IHTC) will take place on 3 and 4 March in Bangalore. The IHTC is a noted knowledge platform of international standard healthcare and tourism in India with an objective to bring together India’s top executives/decision makers from the health, healthcare and tourism industry, innovative solution providers and stalwarts to discuss on acute technological issues and business challenges currently faced in the healthcare sector in the country. It will, therefore, provide maximum inputs of practical knowledge among Medical Tourism Agencies (MTAs), Tourism experts and Medical Marketing heads, addressing sessions on the latest and most recent developments. The IHTC is more than just a Healthcare Tourism conference. It is a dynamic forum packed with Thought Leadership sessions over a period of two days.
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By creating a platform and by bringing in all the stakeholders of the Healthcare Tourism Sector under one roof, Anitha Niranjan, Managing Director - CIMGlobal wants to encourage the strength of the industry just as much.Keynote Address by Prof. Ravi Ramamurti (Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University and the Founding Director of The Center For Emerging Markets, USA). Also, a parallel session on outcome-based round table closed door discussion, emerging multiple business models and stakeholders in promoting medical tourism.
IHTC has successfully acquired attention and support from both State and Central Government as the topics of the congress are well sorted as per the industry needs. Few of the topic for this congress are as follows like Embracing Health Innovation India's strength on Health tourism, Telemedicine, Oncology, Organ Transplant, Dentistry, etc. IHTC 2017 will be successful in planning and designing the congress around the MTA’s and the Industry prerequisites. We are well aware that Healthcare tourism in India is the next crown jewel that could shape the future of India’s economy and hence we are putting effort in gathering the much-required support. The government also estimates that the growth of health-related services will be more than 5% for the next 10 years and that should further attract more such visitors. Major corporations such as Tata, Fortis, Max, Wockhardt, and Apollo Hospitals have made significant investments in setting up modern hospitals and tourism-related services to cater to the new brand of visitors from abroad. Bangalore is a leading player in the health tourism/healthcare industry. It is increasingly emerging as the destination of choice for a wide range of health procedures - Highest number of JCI hospitals - The only city in India which has national Institute in Unani medicine - Good supply source of medical talent. This includes doctors, nurses,
pharmacist, lab assistants. - Cosmopolitan outlook of the city and that is strong on hospitality - Key source locations are aware of the city and the infrastructure and it can be leveraged. Source location countries for Bengaluru include Middle East and Africa, particularly, Central Africa Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, but it also gets patients from Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Myanmar. - City has well development ecosystem of partners including allied service like language translators - South India has had a good start in attractive medical tourists and Chennai is leading the visitors in the country. The event will offer an opportunity to
interact with leaders in Health tourism industry, both from local and global partnerships. This will be a platform for Pharma companies, hospitals, Health Tourism Agents, Insurance Companies, Health Technology Manufactures, Wellness and hospitality Industry and healthcare investors to meet & associate.
Contact Person Registrations Mr. Gautam Menon (+91 9731261053 / gautam@cimglobal.net) Sponsorships – Ms. Meenakshi Ganesan (+91 98454 31894 / meenakshi@cimglobal.net)
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Voyager’s World > January 2017
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Top Appointments
45>> Saraswathi Naveen
Vijay Krishnan
Hotel Manager Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park
General Manager Alila Fort Bishagarh, Jaipur
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araswathi Naveen is appointed as the Hotel Manager of Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park.She brings with her an experience of over 15 years. She has worked as Associate Director of Sales, General Manager at Regus Millenia Bangalore and Area Director for all four Regus Business Centres in Bangalore. Prior to this, she worked as the Director of South Starwood Sales Organization.
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lila Hotels & Resorts appoints Vijay Krishnan as the General Manager of Alila Fort Bishangarh, Jaipur. Prior to this, he worked as the General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur. He started his career with the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and build his credentials over the years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, The Park Hotels, Hyatt Regency and Le Meridien.
Ajith Nair
Prabhash Prabhakaran
Director of Sales & Marketing Novotel Imagica Khopoli
Executive Chef AlilaDiwa Goa
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ccorHotels appoints Ajith Nair as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Novotel Imagica Khopoli .He has been in the hospitality industry for over 16 years. Prior to this, he has worked as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Radisson Blu Resort- Karjat, Radisson Blu Resort- Goa, Alcon Victor Group of Resorts- Goa and Novotel Imagica Khopoli.
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hef Prabhash Prabhakaran is appointed as the Executive Chef of AlilaDiwa Goa. He has over 20 years of experience. He started his career with the Taj Group of Hotels in South India. After that he worked with Jumeirah Emirates Towers, and The Chedi Muscat in Oman. He has worked as the Executive Chef with AnantaraChiangmai Resorts &Spa,Thailand.
Vinayak Patnekar
Gaurav Malhotra
Director of Operations Courtyard by Marriott, Agra
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he Courtyard by Marriott, Agra appoints Vinayak Patnekar as the Director of Operations. He brings with him an experience of 16 years. He has worked with Fairfield by Marriott, Lucknow, Courtyard by Marriott, Raipur as the Director of operations, Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru as Operations Manager; Goa Marriott Resort & Spa as Food and Beverage Manager.
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Executive Chef, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & HICC
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aurav Malhotra joins Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & HICC as the Executive Chef who will be responsible for overlooking the gastronomic vertical of Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & HICC. He has an experience of over 15 years with AccorHotelS and the preopening teams of flagship properties like Holiday Inn Mumbai and Sofitel Mumbai BKC.
Madhu Joshi
Ashrafi Matcheswala
Director of Marketing AccorHotels India
General Manager Vivanta by Taj – President, Mumbai
adhu Joshi is appointed as the Director of Marketing India for AccorHotels India. She brings with her over 16 years of experience across hospitality, FMCG and retail industry verticals with proven expertise in Corporate Communication, Brand Management and Digital Marketing. Prior to this, she has worked with Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and Hyderabad International Convention Centre and Hotel Formule1.
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shrafi Matcheswala joins as the General Manager at Vivanta by Taj- President, Mumbai. Prior to this she worked as the General Manager at Taj Campton Place, San Francisco. She brings with her an experience of over 35 years. She started her career with the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, Vivanta by Taj- President, the Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur and Taj Wellington Mews.
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NETWORKING ISthe THE netWorking is ke KEY y January 2017
February 2017
January2017
March 2017
Arpil 2017
18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Fitur Spain
19, 20, 21 India International Travel Mart Kochi
26, 27, 28, 29 Emitt Turkey
27, 28, 29 Holiday Expo Coimbatore
February 2017 10, 11, 12
March 2017 27 Feb, 1 Mar
Tourest Estonia
Meetings Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
23, 24, 25 Guangzhou Int’l Travel Fair China
3, 4 Bangalore International Healthcare Tourism Congress
24, 25, 26
8, 9, 10, 11,12
India International Travel Mart Kolkata
ITB Berlin Germany
27, 28 Feb 01 March
20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Outbound Travel Roadshow Dubai, Kuwait, Doha
Outbound Travel Roadshow Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai
April 2017
May 2017
4, 5, 6
7, 8, 9
World Travel Market Latin America Brazil
GTM Germany Travel Mart Nuremberg, Germany
6, 7, 8 Aitf Azerbaijan
19, 20, 21
16, 17, 18 IMEX Frankfurt/Main, Germany
World Travel Market Africa South Africa
24, 25, 26, 27 Arabian Travel Market Dubai
16, 17, 18 Indaba Durban, South Africa
May 2017