KOCHI 19, 20, 21 JANUARY 2017 KOLKATA 24, 25, 26 FEBRUARY 2017
Vol XIV
Issue II
Pages 48
December 2016
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Senior Citizen Travel market gets on discovery mode!
Gets Experiential!
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4>> TENDER ‘CHANGE’ IN TRAVEL!
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s the note ban saga crossed over a month of mixed reactions, outbursts and take-it-in-our-stride responses, there is a clear indication on what the travel industry should brace up for. Travel agents across metros, Tier 2 and 3 cities, should take to digitized mode of payments for bookings. With a majority of hotel booking being offline in the country today, it is now becoming imperative for properties to have access to POS machines, digital payment instruments, real time options to pay through the customer’s mobile or through the internet. In this issue, we have featured the important segment of senior citizens who brave the odds of age and age-related limitations to explore the world. As the year comes to a close, one can anticipate more economic moves from the government in the near future, that will, it is hoped, propel the shift from offline to online transactions and make the travel industry more organised. Warm Regards
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Industry Buzz
6>>
Oman Air inaugurates new office in Kochi
Singapore Airlines offers Ruchi Thali on board
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ingapore Airlines recently introduced a traditional, Indian set meal - “Ruchi Thali” for its Business Class passengers travelling between India and Singapore which was specially curated by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor from Singapore Airlines’ International Culinary Panel. Ruchi Thali is currently provided also on Mumbai and Delhi flights and will be introduced on other Singapore Airlines India sectors.
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man Air celebrated 46th National Day with the inauguration of its Kochi office at a new location by the ribbon cutting ceremony by the Honorable Mayor of Kochi, Soumini Jain , IhabSorial, Senior Vice President - International Sales, Sunil VA, Regional Vice President – Indian Subcontinent, Bhanu Kaila, Country Manager – India, JayakrishnaBhaskaran – District Sales Manager,Kochi and Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group of Companies.People from across the industry were invited to join Oman Air for the opening ceremony. In 2001, Oman Air started its operations in Kochi with 3 flights in a week which was later increased to 5 flights a week.
Washington, DC visits India on three-city sales and media mission
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ashington, DC in partnership with Etihad Airways, Washington Dulles International Airport and U.S. Travel Association visited India for Three-City Sales & Media Mission in Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, nearly 1.13 million Indian travellers visited the U.S. in 2015. This number is forecasted to increase 25.6 percent by 2020, to 1.41 million visitors. In 2015, Washington, DC welcomed 80,000 visitors from India, making it DC’s sixth largest overseas market.
Helpchat partners with nearbuy to offer local offers
H Dragonair rebrands Cathay Dragon
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ragonair is now officially re-branded as Cathay Dragon that will provide customers with a more seamless travel experience across the airlines. The re-branding has introduced to both airlines to a wider audience, from the growing inflow of overseas passengers who are more familiar with Cathay Pacific brand, to the large numbers of Cathay Dragon passengers from Mainland China. Cathay Dragon brand will be at check-in desks, boarding gates and lounges across the airlines’ networks, from crew uniforms to boarding passes.
elpchat all-in-One app partnered with nearbuy offline businesses to improve the user experience and increase the outreach for both the players by tapping the growing online demand for deals. The users on the Helpchat app will be able to explore best local offers powered by nearbuy for restaurants, spas, salons, things to do, movies and travel in and around their city. The users can view the nearbuy offers by clicking on the Offers’ tab in the Helpchat app. Helpchat has already partnered with CouponDunia, MysmartPrice and Little to offer all offers in one place. Users will now be notified about the best nearbuy offers in and around them.
Peru organises seminar in Bangalore
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he Commercial office of Peru in India organized a seminar for the travel trade, titled ‘Peru Empire of Hidden Treasures’ on 28 November in Bangalore, highlighting the wonders of Peru to Indians, by Luis Cabello, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of Peru in India, Aromica Bhattacharya, Tourism Advisor, Commercial Office of Peru in India and Vikram Viswanath, Honorary Consulate of Peru in Bangalore. The destination has a lot to offer like the Amazon jungle, Andes mountains, architecture of Lima, ancient cities like Caral, Machu Picchu and Cusco .
Tourism Malaysia organizes Fam for UP agents
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ourism Malaysia and Tiger Air conducted a familiarization trip for a group of 10 travel agents from the state of Uttar Pradesh. The five-day trip focused on Johor Bahru for shopping experiences in the South East Asian region with its Johor Premium Outlets that offers a collection of 130 designer and brands. “Johor is a perfect family destination right from adventure parks, theme based hotels to shopping and natural scenic beauty. We understand that the travel trade plays a big role in influencing holiday destinations,” said Sulaiman Suip, Director, Tourism Malaysia.
Industry Buzz
8>> ETAA announces 2nd convention in Hyderabad in March
roomsXML receives High Credit Worthiness Rating
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oomsXML Solutions Limited was rated ,MSE 2’ by CRISIL, an S&P Global company. The rating indicates high credit worthiness; good financial strength and highest operating performance. Says Prakash Bang, Founder & Executive Chairman, “It is really humbling for a family owned, bootstrapped and debt-free business like ours to get this rating in a highly competitive industry. I would like to recognise the support extended by our suppliers and thank our customers for reposing the confidence in us.”
EfceeSarovar Portico opens in Bhavnagar
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arovar Hotels launched the EfceeSarovar Portico Bhavnagar offering 99 rooms premium . The property was launched in the presence of Mansoor Adil, Executive Vice President, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd., Komalkant F. Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, Leela Worldwide Group, Rajesh Ranjan, Director – Development, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. and Sanjay Wadhwa, General Manager, EfceeSarovar Portico.
Kerala Minister greets visitors at virtual reality kiosk in IGIA
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Celebrity Constellation maiden voyage to Mumbai
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tihad Airways organized a Fam trip to watch Premier League soccer club Manchester City in England for travel trade partners in southern India. The group saw sights of Manchester and the surrounding area before enjoying a trip to the Etihad Stadium to watch home team Manchester City, sponsored by Etihad Airways, play a match against Southampton. The visit offered representatives of nine local agencies to experience the airline’s service and hospitality from Cochin, Chennai, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram to Abu Dhabi and onwards to northwest England.
Voyager’s World > December 2016
The release added, ‘With a tourism focused government now, we as a leading trade association decided to do our bit in promoting our country by announcing a Domestic Convention this year specially in the newly crafted and youngest state of Telangana. We expect over 250 of our members from across the country to attend the same owing to capacity constraints.
Ankush Nijhawan comes aboard GPS as Executive Director nkush Nijhawan,MD of Nijhawan Group, has come onboard with immediate effect as the Executive Director of Global Panorama Showcase (GPS), the multi-city trade show for Tier- II & III cities. He said,”We will offer our expertise in bringing more number of quality buyers to GPS as there is a new generation of travellers in Tier-II and III cities and educating and reaching out to travel trade in these markets become important.”
Etihad hosts Fam for South Indian agents to Manchester
he ‘Enterprising Travel Agents Association of India’, India’s leading travel-trade association with over 700 members across the country and focused on non-IATA membership announced its second convention at the Leonia Resorts at Hyderabad from the 3 - 5 March 2017.
IRUN announced the arrival of Celebrity Cruises’ millennium class ship, Celebrity Constellation in Mumbai for the first time. The Millennium-class cruise ship docks in the City of Dreams as part of its existing Asia sailings. The ship is equipped with unparalleled features, promising activities, entertainment and dining options that will enthrall cruise-enthusiasts. Indian families can look forward to receiving celebrity treatment for the entire duration of the cruise. The 66 newly furnished staterooms, including spa-inspired Aqua Class accommodations, have been designed to revitalize cruisers.
erala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran guided passengers at a virtual reality (VR) platform at the international airport in New Delhi recently to give an experience of cruising through the state’s backwaters. He spent the day at the kiosk set up by Kerala Tourism greeting passengers drawn to the lifesize ‘kettuvallam’ (houseboat) placed in the airport departure area and explaining how the technology works. Visitors can don a VR headset and be instantly transported to a boat floating on the tranquil waters, listening to conversations of locals, watching coconut palms, paddy fields, etc. The VR zone is part of the department’s ‘Out of Home’ marketing campaign targeted at high net worth individuals in the domestic market.
Southern California cityPass offers best attractions
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isitors to Orange County can use the CityPASS to get a combination of the best Southern California theme parks at great savings of $142 or more person. The 2017 CityPASS e-tickets and cards for use or after 1 January 2017, are now available for purchase. Those with CityPASS ticket need not wait in ticket lines and can show the e-ticket or admission card at the turnstiles. This is valid for 14 consecutive days, including first day of use and tourists can visit theme parks in any order as they wish during that period, unless the e-ticket is purchased from another website.
Industry Buzz
9>> Initiatives rolled out to enable infrastructure in tourist focal islands These guidelines aim to establish infrastructure in tourist focal islands. PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
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iti Aayog has informed that they have taken up an initiative for preparation of a Concept Development Plan and detailed Master Plans for Holistic development of 10 Islands in Andaman & Nicobar as well as Lakshadweep Islands. Andaman & Nicobar Administration has formulated a “Tourism Policy” in 2010 for development of tourism. Similarly, Lakshadweep Administration has notified Lakshadweep Tourism Policy-2016, which envisages for holistic development of tourism in the entire UT of Lakshadweep Islands. Lakshadweep Administration has informed that they are in the advance stage of finalizing the Guidelines for establishment of Eco-friendly Resort, Scuba diving Centres etc. These guidelines will enable establishment of tourism infrastructure in all the tourist focal islands of Lakshadweep through Public as well as Private Investment and Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
Department, New Delhi, ISRO, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). In Lakshadweep, the Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP) has taken care of the protection in
of Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) to different States/ Union Territories for the year 2013, 2014 and 2015 were 19.95 million, 22.33 million and 23.33 million, respectively. The top five States, in terms of number of FTVs during 2015 were Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal.
roomsXML rated “MSE 2” by NSIC-CRISIL* It stands for
A Request for Qualification (RFQ)cum-Request for Proposal (RFP) document has been prepared and uploaded on the website of NITI Aayog for engagement of a suitable consultant to facilitate preparation of Concept Development Plan and Detailed Master Plans for five Andaman & Nicobar Islands as well as five Lakshadweep Islands. The Administration of Andaman & Nicobar Islands has established separate Department “Directorate of Disaster Management” for managing disasters.
High Credit Worthiness Good Financial Strength Highest Operating Performance And that, we believe, says it all.
16 013/quiksel.com
A State Control Room has also been established and functioning 24/7 x 365 days. The Emergency Operation Centres are functioning in coordination with all line departments/ stakeholder under the supervision and control of State Emergency Operation Centre with fine state of Art communication linkage with support of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad, Indian Meteorological
the event of natural calamities. At present, SPORTS (Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism & Sports), the Government agency of Union Territory of Lakshadweep, employs tribals for running tourism and the UT Department of Tourism is imparting training to them in tourism related field. The number
*S&P Global (Standard & Poor’s), established in 1860, is the world's foremost credit rating agency. Government and Corporate sector rely on S&P Global ratings to make informed investment decisions. CRISIL, an S&P Global company, is India's leading rating agency.
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India Outbound
10>>
Peru is fast turning out to be favoured destination for Indians!
Luis M. Cabello, Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Peru, India, talks about how the South American country is gaining increased attention from Indian travellers. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Indian Market Peru has seen encouraging growth in the number of tourist arrivals from India. Expecting a growth of 15% this year and 18% for 2017, Luis M. Cabello, Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Peru, India. “The Commercial Office of Peru in India has been working on promoting Peru as a destination, not only for the tourist, but also for the business traveller and we have noticed that 50% of the travel to
Peru is generated from the business sector and the other 50% are Indians who travel for recreational reasons. India and Peru are already in the advanced stages of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement and that we would be the first South American country to sign this agreement, we hope that Peru becomes a favorite destination for business as well as leisure sector,” he said. Segments “We are focusing on all the segments as Peru has everything to offer to the Indian market right from a destination related purely to business and investment, leisure, incentive travel. Over the past years, Peru has hosted some of the largest conferences and exhibitions on an international scale. A large delegation from one of the largest IT
companies of India will be traveling now to Peru for an incentives trip. It is internationally renowned to be on the best culinary destination and Peru has been an ardent fan of Bollywood since 1970s.” New destinations The heights of Machu Picchu have always been a favorite spot among couples which is now quickly converting into a honeymooner´s destination as well. The beautiful beaches with turquoise-blue waters, like the Mancora beach in Piura are perfect to celebrate something special. For those who love nature, birdwatching in the Amazonian forests is scintillating. In the south, Lima offers a world-class metropolitan infrastructure. The Arequipa is also called the ‘White City’ due to the predominance of a
white volcanic stone in construction called Sillar and Lake Titicaca, the world´s highest navigable lake in Puno. For those who would like to explore the North, the bold colonial facades of Trujillo are beautiful. For literature buffs, the small town of Chiclayo, also in the north, was home to the famous Nobel-prizewinning author, Mario Vargas Llosa. Promotional plans “We plan to have seminars and interactive sessions with the travel trade and media in strategic cities for 2017. The online training campaigns will also be launched very soon. The Peru Travel Mart 2017 is an annual B2B event will be held between 5 and 8 May in Lima and just like the previous years, we will continue to promote Peru Travel Mart to the Indian market.”
Sharjah evolves into a multi-faceted destination Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, says, the Emirate has emerged as a destination suiting families, cruisers, sports and nature lovers. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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he travel and tourism sector in Sharjah has been steadily growing and is enjoying a period of recovery; hotels and hotel apartments across the Emirate welcomed an increase in room nights in the first nine months of the year as guests stayed longer, although the overall occupancy rates remain at 62%.
Voyager’s World > December 2016
Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, the Chairman of Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), informs that there have been many additions to the Emirate’s tourism including the AED 80 million (US$22 million) tourism project on Al Noor island in Sharjah’s Khalid Lagoon. It includes a pedestrian bridge and a literature pavilion on the opposite side of the island. “Sharjah has also been making strides in promoting its eco-tourism sites like Kalba Ecotourism Project and eco-tourism locations like Jazirat Sir Bo Naair, Alqurm Wa Lehhfaiiah, Wasit Nature Reserve, Ed Dhelaimah, Wadil Helo, Mleiha Protected Area, Elebriddi, and Lemdynah.”
Marketing Plans The SCTDA organised a number of roadshows this year to promote the Emirate as a year-round destination that included a roadshow in Saudi Arabia, China and India covering the four major areas of Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Bangalore. Sharjah Tourism also took 60 tierone travel agents from Kazakhstan on a familiarisation trip to the Emirate and participated in the Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (MITT) for the 17th consecutive year and the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. Spending and stay patterns Hotel guests spent a total of 2,943,106 nights in the Emirate’s hospitality facilities during the first
three quarters of 2016 – a 19% increase from the same period in 2015. In the January-to-September period in 2016, Sharjah’s travel sector generated AED497 million in revenues Segments Sharjah has emerged as a family tourist destination, offering families many attractions.Sharjah is also working to grow its cruise tourism sector and will welcome 28 cruise trips with 72,000 tourists to Khorfakkan Port in the 2016 -2017 season. The Emirate has continued to develop its global festivals and events like F1H2O World Championship Grand Prix, Aquabike World Championship, the Sharjah Light Festival and the Sharjah International Book Fair.
India Outbound
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Switzerland sees increased stay patterns among Indian travellers
Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism India, notes encouraging trends from the Indian market in terms of their holidaying preferences . IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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he year 2015 proved to be extremely heartening for Switzerland Tourism from India, as it received almost 600,000 overnights in hotels and approximately 200,000 overnights in serviced apartments and holiday rentals. Talking about the country’s forthcoming plans for India, Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director,
Switzerland Tourism India, said, “We have our summer campaign for 2017 ‘Nature wants you back targets the nature lover’. This campaign is for nature loversfor one who is looking to escape from his daily routine to a holiday. This campaign is endorsed and promoted by our brand ambassador - Ranveer Singh.
Seeking new experiences In the past, Indians were mostly into sightseeing and tried to visit as many destinations as possible in a limited period. The new traveller today is more interested in exploring a destination completely, trying out new experiences including soft and hard adventure as well as new cuisines.
Spending and stay patterns of Indians Ritu says that the spending and stay patterns of Indians are difficult to define as they are very varied and depend on the type of the traveller. “We have noticed a trend of Indians spending more for experiences in the last few years while the demand for a unique or special activity has gone up. In fact, according to paragliding operators in Interlaken, their biggest customers are from India.”
Key destinations for 2016-2017 Some of the key destinations that Switzerland Tourism is promoting for 2016-2017 are Zurich, Interlaken and Lucerne with new activities such as the FIFA museum and food week in Zurich, skydiving, jet boating and chocolate making classes in Interlaken and the roundtrip on Mt. Pilates. Davos, St.Moritz, Gstaad and Zermatt are lesser known
destinations, each with a unique offer such as the free mountain pass in St.Moritz and Davos , the Bollywood tour in Gstaad and the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Some of the destinations like Geneva, Basel, Montreux and Lausanne in Lake Geneva Region. MICE, weddings, adventure Ritu says the tourism board has been promoting MICE in a big way for the last four years. “We see almost 15% to 18% of our overnights coming from this segment. Weddings are also being promoted and at least five to six big Indian weddings take place in Switzerland every year. The adventure segment is still a very small number. Adventure activities like paragliding, bungee jumping, trotti biking, jet boating and rope parks are very popular .”
Indian business travellers spend more than leisure tourists
Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Tourism Counselor - Embassy of Spain in India and Director of Tourism Office of Spain, says Indians spend nearly twice the global average of business tourists. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN showcase Madrid through Bollywood. Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Tourism Counselor, Embassy of Spain in India and Director of Tourism Office of Spain, informs that the whole of the country is being promoted, besides the 15 UNESCO World Heritage cities and other offbeat destinations like the Canary Islands, Bilbao, San Sebastian and Galicia.
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ourism remains an important product for Spain and has grown to become one that Indians desire to visit when choosing European destinations. The rising interest among Indians to visit Spain is evident from the growing number of events and promotional events that are held there. The IIFA event was held in Madrid in June this year to
Voyager’s World > December 2016
Segments Both MICE and weddings are important segments for Spain, so also FITs, honeymooners, female solo travellers, women groups, luxury, adventure and gastronomy lovers. Spending and stay patterns The stay of Indian tourists in Spain is estimated at eight to 10 days. Barcelona leads in the number of
Indian arrivals to Spain. Arrivals at Madrid, Ibiza, Granada and Seville are also growing sustainably. The three main autonomous communities Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia also account for 90% of arrivals of Indian tourists. Indians have a high propensity to do business and spend more money than leisure tourists. Compared to business tourists from other countries, Indians spend almost twice the global average. A study by Nielsen and Travel Association of Asia Pacific emphasizes that leisure tourists from India spend € 1.020 on average per person while business tourists spend € 1.302 on average per person. “One of the most marked trends this year is the prominence of experiential
travel and luxury offering a status symbol to Indians. Adventure is in an early stage but is growing steadily. Golf segment is still very small. Nightlife and music, particularly among the youth, is growing by 15%18% annually. The cruise industry has also become fashionable.” The segment of women is also very important with 35% of women wanting to travel to new destinations and outside India. According to the study HolidayIQ Insights: Trends Travel Forecast 2016, women have a budget of up to 17% more than men . “We are also looking forward to the direct flight commissioning of Air India, 1 December onwards and this will be a stepping stone in reaching our 100,000+ mark,” he concluded.
Hospitality
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Orange County goes strong through nearness with nature George Ramapuram, Vice President- Projects,Orange County Resorts & Hotels, talks about new initiatives and expansion work planned by the brand. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
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he Orange County Resorts brand mainly focuses on promoting the destination itself. Our occupancy in all our properties has been excellent over the years. The World Legacy Awards is a new initiative of the National Geographic Society, honouring organizations that are driving positive transformation of the
tourism industry through sustainable tourism best practices. The Orange County Resorts is the global winner chosen in the category ‘Earth Changers‘ – recognising cuttingedge leadership in environmentally friendly business practices and green technology. “Orange County, Kabini is honoured to be featured among the 25 World’s Best Ecolodges by the National Geographic Traveler,” says George Ramapuram, Vice President - Projects, Orange County Resorts & Hotels. Earthitects, the design house of Orange County Resorts, offers Stone Lodges the serviced private residences in Wayanad, Kerala with 15 villas, a major highlight being with nature. The serviced private
residences can be used as a vacation home where you can own your villa that offers all the facilities of a resort. Earthitects is looking forward to add more of Serviced Private Residences in the future in India and abroad. Some of the other services provided are private dinning decks and private chefs. “The whole idea of our virtual tour video of the Serviced Private Residences-Stone Lodges is to give you the experience of the place before you visit the property.” Marketing Plans The group has been participating in multiple travel fairs that includes ITB Berlin,WTM London.“We are planning to add resorts in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Assam around 2019- 2020. ”
Segments Some of the segments we are focusing on include rural tourism for experiential travellers in all its resorts to provide unique experiences by connecting with the local culture and the local community of the destination, honeymooners, FITs and groups. “We also have village visits as one of our activities that offers you the opportunity to interact with people in a village. Our property in Kabini is focused on experiencing wildlife in a tribal way and our property in Hampi highlights the Vijaynagar Empire for people to experience the reawakening of the empire. George concludes by noting that the hospitality Industry in India looks very positive in the long run.
U Tropicana Resorts Alibaug foresees positive growth for 2017
Russell Gregory, General Manager – U Tropicana Resorts, Alibaug, observes a surge in hotel occupancy in India despite a slump in the world economy. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Growth in Indian Hospitality India has become an attractive destination for holiday makers with inbound tourism set to see further increase in tourist traffic from countries like Russia, Europe, Middle East and the Asian segments. Domestic travellers are also adding to the demand for the same and hence, India is soon expected to be among the top five destinations in the world.” The industry, is going definitely boom, with the demand slowly showing
Voyager’s World > December 2016
signs of meeting the surplus supply, which wasn’t the scenario a year ago,” says Russell Gregory, General Manager of U Tropicana Resorts in Alibaug, while talking about what the tourist traffic heralds of the demand for hotel rooms. “The hospitality and tourist sector in India has seen a tremendous growth and has finally seen a shift in being able to have a demand for the excessive supply of inventory which suddenly, stormed the market.”
increasing as much as two fold. The online hotel bookings in India are expected to double due to the increasing penetration of the internet and smart phones.”The overall average occupancy for the country grew to a decent 61.3% this year, after a stagnant three years at 60%. We have noticed an increase in movement with all these factors so the year 2016 -17 looks to be an exciting prospect for business and leisure segments.”
He observes that the increase in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and the medical tourists, in particular, as well as student exchange programmes across the country, have boosted the demand for hotel rooms. The growth in domestic and outbound tourism has been supported by the increase of the country’s middle class with their disposable incomes,
Marketing Plans “With the trend in rooms revenue looking to be very bright, the focus for promotional and marketing ideas would be to stay more on the food and beverage and ensure that with the current competition heating up, with free standing restaurants, newer and exciting dining concepts coming at us, we would have to
keep up with the latest trends in the market and ensure that the market is also aware of the same.” Travellers U Tropicana Alibaug has had various kinds of travellers from all age groups, besides a lot of corporates from cities especially south Mumbai and Pune for a lot of off-sites. Segments “We are mostly looking at Free & Independent Travellers (FITs) from Mumbai and Pune markets for leisure as well as MICE events. Weddings are another prime generator of footfalls, for some small niche weddings which are not more than 120 people. We do have a lot of the families coming FITs mainly on the weekends from areas around the South Bombay market.”
Hospitality
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The Chedi Mumbai prepares for launch in 2017
Giulio D’Alberto, General Manager, the Chedi Mumbai, aims to offer world class experience for business and leisure travellers, besides priding itself on a huge meeting facility. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN development project by GHM this year.The soft launch of the hotel is scheduled for late 2016 or early 2017.
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he General Hotel Management Limited (GHM) was trying to find the perfect project to hoist one of its core brands like the Chedi or the Chedi Club in India, particularly in Mumbai. Mumbai has a tremendous diversity of hospitality options and is a demanding market. The announcement of the opening of the Chedi Mumbai marks the third
Giulio D’Alberto, General Manager, the Chedi Mumbai, says the hotel would offer 316 guestrooms, four outstanding thematic restaurants that will cater to the discerning palates of the well-heeled traveller, extensive meeting facilities with state-of-the art equipment and technology, a holistic spa and wellness facility. The hotel will also launch India’s tallest hotel open-air rooftop bar located 136 meters above ground level. “It will offer a world class hospitality experience for business and leisure travellers. For meeting planners,
we offer extensive meeting facilities with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.” Segments and promotions The Chedi Mumbai’s marketing plans will follow an omni-channel approach, merging online and offline to transform the luxury experience. Being a corporate business hotel, the Chedi Mumbai will focus on the MICE segment. It will offer 11 state-of-the-art meeting spaces including a 545 sq.mtr ballroom accommodating up to 580 guests for business conferences, high impact presentations, social and cocktail receptions; the hotel will house a vast repertoire of stylish, fully-equipped versatile venues.
Trends Giulio feels that the hospitality landscape has changed a lot in the last decade, not least of all the exponential emergence of new lifestyle brands in recent years, many touting similar brand propositions and aspirations. India’s hospitality market “The hospitality industry in India is the most exciting environment any hotel operator can find themselves operating. India has an incredible diversity of hotel brands, products and offerings. India is one of the world’s biggest and brightest talent pool any operator can access and burgeoning growth across almost all key customer demographics.”
Hostels are poised to serve as a market in near future
Rajat Kukreja, Founder, Cuckoo Hostel, believes that hostels are the best place for community living with their share of inter-woven way of life and experiences. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN its Founder, while going on to say how the occupants utilise the rooms. “The common room on the first floor is a reading room and a jamming area for passing musicians. People at the hostel often gather in the mornings to share their stories. Some of the other services provided are laundry, lockers, free cycles, bikes on rentals, home food, city trails and pub crawl.”
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uckoo Hostel is an eco-friendly backpacker’s hostel in Bangalore that officially opened since three months. The hostel offers 18 beds that include individual beds and bunkers and two private rooms. The concept of Cuckoo Hostel is to create new experiences and new knowledge. “We have had 300 people in last three months and organized 20 inhouse events,” says Rajat Kukreja,
Voyager’s World > December 2016
Each of the hostels has its share of uniqueness and experience. “Hostels need to educate the Indian culture about the hosteling culture as the idea is to promote social living. We also need to educate the domestic market by gathering the hostels together in sometime. The Government of Karnataka is very active in promoting hostels. We have had all kinds of travellers right from the corporates, backpackers,
delegates, artists from different countries,” he says. Cuckoo Hostel also has in-house activities in music, theatre and learning like the standup comedy nights on Sundays that bring together a lot of local comedians in Bangalore and the Katharsis Karicatures, a series of eight short plays inspired by the lives of Bangaloreans. Marketing Cuckoo Hostel has maintained 60% - 70% occupancy for the past three months as it is spread across several hostel booking sites. It is planning to add more beds in the next two to three months with a total of 20 beds. “We are planning to launch a travel company for travel experiences across the city and outside by December 2016. We are planning to
create venues and restaurants that will fall under the partner network to boost the business in restaurants. We have plans to add some more hostels across India. We are also planning on building an internship program which would focus on learning entrepreneurial skills, the business and finance of running an organization and also people who focuses on personal development.” Hostels as a segment Rajat believes that hostels are the best place for community living. “Hostels are now targeting international and domestic travellers, backpacker travellers, work travellers, transit travellers, work travellers, students coming over for internships. Hostels will innovate to serve as a market in the next one or two years,” he signed off.
Hospitality
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Occupancy in Indian hotels sees optimistic growth in 2016
Virendra Teotia, Director, Umrao Hotels & Resorts, expects the Indian hotel industry to sustain its growth due to improved market sentiments and government initiatives. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN rigorously promoting leisure and MICE and are competing with the best of the hotels brands in the city. We have also been awarded as the Luxury New Hotel, India by World Hospitality Hotel Awards.”
Hospitality industry in India The Umrao Hotel & Resort, a luxury boutique hotel located on National Highway-8, offers 55 rooms and suites. “One can also organize corporate events and meetings. Our clients come from different sectors and profile mainly corporates, MICE, leisure and family travellers,” says its Director Virendra Teotia. “We are
Virendra anticipates a sustainable growth in the hospitality Industry in the country over the years due to improved market sentiments and various initiative of the Government including the Ministry of Tourism. “The Indian hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India. The growth from Indian market is consistently upwards and the occupancy for this year is above 60% for first half year and the expected growth for 20162017 is expected to be around 75%.”
Marketing plans “We are working on our next year’s marketing plan and look forward to reach to segments and markets where we had weak penetration. We also plan to include promotions on social and electronic and print media. We are also working towards marketing tie-up with different media sectors.”
Trends in the industry The rise of the digital age is quickly transforming the way hotels communicate with their customers. “The need for immediacy in social media has paved the way for all of the most popular social networks of today and that’s what trending in hospitality industry as well.”
PR vs. Advertising: Which is best for Hospitality Start-Ups?
Jennifer Nagy, President of JLNPR, talks about why PR will be more effective than advertising for hospitality start-ups. VW BUREAU
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here’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. Here are five examples of when using PR will be more effective than advertising for hospitality start-ups: 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 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
Voyager’s World > December 2016
process – and a confusing one for your audiences. That’s where PR comes in. 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) 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 thirdparty 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. When you want to sell your product’s story, not just your product The inherent nature of a start-up creates a story angle that will be of greater interest, and therefore, 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. 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. 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.
2 Nights Hong Kong & 2 Nights Macao Stay period: 31 October 2016 to 28 February 2017
Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central @ USD 305 The Parisian Macao
@ USD 355
The Venetian Macao
@ USD 375
Conrad Macao, Cotai Central
@ USD 385
Hong Kong Inclusions
Macao Inclusions
• SIC coach transfer (Airport - Hotel - Pier) • 2 nights accommodation in Regal Oriental Hong Kong for two guests • Daily breakfast at the hotel. • SIC Hong Kong city tour (Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, Aberdeen Fishing Village, Stanley Market, Jewellery Factory) • Ferry tickets (Hong Kong - Macau)
• 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
Condition: Rate are subject to change without prior notice. Package is subject to availability. Supplement will apply for weekend & peak day arrival. Blackout dates apply.
AKQUASUN HOLIDAYS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
CORPORATE OFFICE : Options Primo, Unit No. 501/502, Cross Road No. 21, MIDC, Andheri (East), Mumbai-400093 INDIA. TEL : +91-22-6134 1515 FAX : +91-22-6134 1516 CONTACT: contact@akquasun.com WEBSITE : www.akquasun.com
AKQUASUN HONG KONG HOLIDAYS
CONTACT: it@akquasun.com
Incredible India
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Senior Citizen Travel market gets on discovery mode! Gets Experiential! Senior Citizens are experiential in terms of travel especially in interacting with the local people and getting immersed with their culture.
The Silver Surfers Club
IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Vikram Ahuja,Director, Byond Travel
Senior citizens are the largest and fastest growing segment especially in leisure and interest-driven travel, often in the company of other like-minded travelers. Seniors are more open to new experiences like outdoor activities. This segment is driven by a lot of awareness about travel and experiences from social and traditional media.
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enior Citizens in India are now a major part of the travel industry’s age pattern, mainly targeted between the age group of 55 to 80. The segment comes with an inherent passion to explore the world whether it a pilgrimage or sojourn into the exotic. This segment is evolving day by day as the seniors are ready on travelling and exploring various destinations both within the country and abroad. The senior citizens are also actively involved in activities of adventure, wildlife, history, culture. This segment is one of the fastest growing segments in terms of leisure. Some of the destinations the senior citizens have already exploring are Bhutan, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Jordan. Vikram Ahuja, Director, Byond Travel, says “Senior Citizen travelers (+65) are currently at 1.3 Million and expected to increase to 7.3 Million. By 2030, i.e.
Voyager’s World > December 2016
a growth of ~500% is expected. This is a massively growing segment.” Holidaying as a concept is likely to grow among the senior citizens over the years with more and more destinations to add on to their list. Senior Citizens contributing to the travel industry Dipti Varma Narain, Founder, The Silver Surfers Club, says “We have witnessed clear growth in the industry in terms of senior citizens contributing to the travel industry. Seniors aren’t what they were before or have always been perceived to be today and with medical advancement, we see 60 as the new 50.” “Most of my members who are aged between 55 and 80 are fit and have good health so they prefer to choose retirement as a stage to chase their dream destinations,” she adds.
Preference of destinations Dipti says, “We have noticed that senior citizens prefer exotic destinations closest to nature, history, culture and a little bit of adventure seems to thrill our senior travellers. We haven’t had a religious holiday so far we might have this option soon.” “Silver Getaways offers customized holidays designed especially for our limited group of members, we have been averaging at 1 holiday every two months and this count is set to double in the coming year. So we believe holidays for seniors are to stay and grow substantially in the next few years”, she further adds. Vikram explains “Traditionally the senior citizens were thought to be primarily religious travelers or mostly traveling to visit family, today the largest and fastest growing segment for them is leisure and interest-driven travel, often in the
company of travelers.”
other
like-minded
“Senior Citizens have the highest propensity to be experiential with their travel that includes everything right from a cultural expedition in Bhutan to a wildlife adventure in Kenya. We have also noticed senior citizens travelling to Sri Lanka and Jordan,” he added. Marketing Plans Dipti observes, “Senior Citizens dislike being treated differently from any other age group. This age group mostly prefer relaxed holiday on the body and the mind. Social Media marketing is what amplifies our reach and visibility of our holidays.” Vikram states “The largest chunk of our approach to the seniors market has been mainly through referral based. We have found that while seniors might be open to new travel
Incredible India
Byond Travel
The Silver Surfers Club
The Silver Surfers Club
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Dipti Varma Narain, Founder, The Silver Surfers Club
History, Culture and Adventure thrills our senior travellers. The senior citizens enjoy a relaxed holiday comfortable on the body and the mind. Senior travellers are willing to be a little adventurous as they enjoy doing things that are local to the place of visit and mingle with the people to better understand their culture. ideas, discovery can sometimes be an issue. So we focused our efforts on getting through to our existing customers first. We targeted our campaigns to their kids on social media which allowed us indirect access to this group.”
audience! For example, we part sponsored a marathon recently targeting the seniors audience. The turnout was excellent and we were to make a lot of new friends, many of whom joined us in our recent Bhutan trip,” he added.
“Surprisingly most of Senior Citizens are active on social media and reached out to us directly themselves. We plan to conduct a lot more on-ground events and activities to reach out directly to our target audience. For example, we will run a seniors-themed version of The Lime Diaries, our flagship travelthemed storytelling series, which brings together 100-150 people under one roof to swap stories and get to know each other,” he says. “Unfortunately the seniors market is a hugely overlooked one, so we hope to partner with others in the lifestyle space with a like-minded objective of serving this wonderful
Trends Vikram explains, “We have noticed that the Senior Citizens are today more comfortable traveling both domestically and internationally since a lot of them are used to visiting children either working abroad or in another city. This has opened them up to newer destinations, which the previous lot was hesitant typically such as Bhutan, Sri Lanka or Pushkar.” Dipti observes, “senior travellers are willing to be a little adventurous, they enjoy doing things that are local to the place of visit and mingle with the people to better understand
their culture. These travellers would love to do a little community service as well, when possible. On our most recent trip to Bhutan, we had 3 seniors join us on a trek up the famous Taktsang Monestery, which hangs on a cliff 3120 m above sea level; the access to which is through mountain paths.” “Senior Citizens are more open to new experiences and will insist on active, outdoor activities. This segment is driven by a lot of awareness about travel and experiences from social and traditional media. This includes learning archery during our recent Bhutan trip, whale watching in Sri Lanka or even doing a hot air balloon ride,” Vikram says. “We have had also other travellers enjoy visiting monasteries and shopping from local markets. On another holiday into the Masinagudi
forests, some members took a jeep ride to spot wild animals. Senior travellers who are generally well travelled enjoy new company, being close to nature and love exploring new cultures,” Dipti added. Vikram concludes, “Travel is a great way for seniors to meet other likeminded folks and many of them ask us multiple questions about the other travelers beforehand. We therefore structure our travel journeys to ensure there’s plenty of bonding and interaction between the groups itself.” “Destinations are now slowly becoming sensitive to the seniors audience but there is a long way to go to make spaces accessible and inclusive. We are hoping to do a lot by driving awareness for their needs through our outreach and campaigns,” he added.
www.voyagersworld.in
Incredible India
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Jalmahotsav returns………………..!
The event offers a host of water, land and air activities besides several recreational activities in the nearby villages.
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he second edition of Jalmahotsav, a festival of adventure tourism in central India, is back with a bang and is about to unfold between 15 Dec 2016 to 15 Jan 2017, at Hanuwantiya, District Khandwa. It is 3hours approx. from Indore A serene destination by the banks of the Indira sagar dam- one of the largest man-made dam reservoir in Asia and offers unmatched scope for adventure lovers. The one month long water carnival will be a treat for the adventure seekers. A gamut of water , land and air activities to choose from like parasailing, para motoring, hot air ballooning, para -sailing, island camping, jet -skiing, artificial climbing wall, Burma bridge, night camping, bird watching and lots more. Paramotoring and hot air ballooning will make you reach out for your cameras to freeze the thrilling moment of your life up in the air. Not to miss the cycle rides in the lane and by lanes of the villages and many more recreational activities
are waiting to be explored. For a month long, this quiet and serene place will be buzzing with activities when it will transform into a tented city hosting guests from across the country. After sun down you will witness a wide range of cultural renditions from the folk to classical to fusion catering to different sensibilities. A great atmosphere to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Retail therapy at its best can be experienced at the Craft bazaar displaying handicrafts of heritage brought in from different parts of the state. Food is an integral part of any festivity and therefore you will have a wide spread of lip smacking dishes at the food bazaar to savour. In a nutshell it will be one of the most happening place in the next one month
Nearest rail head: Khandwa/Indore Nearest Airport: Indore Tourist Helpline: 18002337777 www.mptourism.com
There are attractive packages to choose from a tent city package in the premium / deluxe category to island night camping package in the. The basic tariff ranges from 12000/= to 18000/=
5th International Tourism Mart inaugurated in Imphal
The annual event organised in the North East region aims to highlight its tourism potential in the domestic and international markets. PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
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he 5th International Tourism Mart (ITM) was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh in the presence of Union Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi in Imphal Manipur on 24 November. The ITM was organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with the North Eastern States and West Bengal. Inaugurating the Mart, Okram Ibobi Singh expressed the International Tourism Mart would provide a good platform to promote tourism in the State of Manipur besides the other neighbouring states in the region. He further added that timing the ITM during the 10 day long Sangai Festival organised by the State
Voyager’s World > December 2016
Government of Manipur brings out an opportunity to showcase the varied cultural and natural heritage of the state. He also stated that it was the first ever time that the state had seen such a large presence of tourism stakeholders from abroad which will lay the foundation for promotion of tourism in the State. He also stressed on the need for developing air connectivity to the state especially bringing in international flights to Imphal. Zutshi affirmed the commitment of the Ministry of Tourism in developing and promoting the tourism in the north east region. He touched upon the various initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism
in developing and promoting the tourism infrastructure in the North East Region. He said that for North Eastern States, the Ministry has sanctioned 12 projects worth Rs. 1070.07 crores covering all the eight states under its flagship scheme of Swadesh Darshan. Zutshi urged all the states in the North East region of the country to synergise their efforts for integrated and holistic development and promotion in the region. This event saw the participation of 48 international delegates comprising of tour operators and media persons from delegates from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Germany,
Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, U A E, UK and USA. This mart also has participation of 80 tour operators from eight north eastern States and West Bengal besides domestic buyers (tour operators) from different regions of the country. The State Tourism Departments of eight north eastern states and West Bengal have put up colourful exhibitions at the mart venue. These States are also highlighting their rich and varied culture and distinct cuisines.
Incredible India
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Andhra Pradesh beckons UK and European travel markets
Andhra Pradesh Tourism appealed for investment in tourism projects and invited players to be a part of its wonderful growth story, at a roadshow held during WTM London 2016. VW BUREAU
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he Government of Andhra Pradesh recently participated in WTM London and also organized its first roadshow on 9 November in London for tour operators and travel service providers of UK. The Andhra Pradesh delegation was led by Dr. Srikant Nagulapalli, IAS, Secretary, Culture and Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The roadshow highlighted mainly the beaches of Visakhapatnam , the backwaters of Dindi , the holy Lord Balaji temple of Tirupati and the Araku Valley to the UK and European travel markets. The agenda for the roadshow was to give a high level overview of the state’s culture, destinations and incentives to promote tourism in the Sunrise State of Andhra Pradesh. It also invited them to partner by becoming members of APEX (Andhra Pradesh Experts Scheme). AP Tourism hosted a networking dinner after the roadshow to showcase Andhra cuisine while displaying its dance and music at the roadshow. Andhra Pradesh Government is working on a Mission approach to promote the state as India’s most
preferred tourist destination and position as a global tourism brand by providing world class tourism products and services, while preserving the culture, heritage, environmental balance and natural beauty of the state. In line with this goal, Andhra Pradesh plans to identify and partner groups which will operate as key partners for promoting inbound tourism in the state and act as state partners for national and international tourism road shows, expos and events. With this focused approach the state has in place the APEX scheme – Andhra Pradesh EXperts (APEX) on tourism to promote the state nationally and internationally. Dr. Srikant Nagulapalli, IAS, Secretary, Culture & Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said “Our endeavor is to develop Andhra Pradesh as the most preferred destination and under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu we are taking progressive steps in that direction. Our vision is to create an all-round tourist friendly
environment in the state which ensures a memorable experience for each and every guest every time they visit Andhra Pradesh.” With an aim to attract tourists from far and wide, the state is also organizing multiple mega festivals such as Visakha Utsav, Lepakshi festival, Araku festival and Flamingo festival in the upcoming months. Andhra Pradesh is participating in this prestigious event by sending a fourmember delegation led by Mr. Srikant Nagulapalli, IAS - Secretary (T&C). The Indian Government has in the last 18 months invested more than $300m (US Dollars) on developing its tourism infrastructure around the country as it aims for more than 13 million visitors a year by 2020. India is experiencing a 10% annual growth in foreign tourist arrivals this year taking visitor numbers to a projected nine million in 2016. World class cruise passenger terminals are being developed to make India a central hub of the global cruise industry. The de-boarding process has been dramatically speeded up to improve the customer experience,
while Costa Cruises has recently announced the launch of an itinerary from Mumbai to the Maldives. The key to India’s strategy is also to focus on a variety of products including heritage, cultural, rural, wellness, medical, adventure, and golf. India boasts 32 World Heritage sites including Islamic, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu religious sites, which it will continue to promote alongside its most popular destinations. The Ministry of Tourism spoke to WTM Buyers’ Club members from its key source markets of the USA, UK, China, Australia, France, Germany, Canada and Spain and also growing markets of South East Asia, Middle East and Russia. A special focus is being put on coastal and beach tourism, cruise and eco-tourism. The Government is developing world class infrastructure in its pristine beaches on the West Coast of the country between Mumbai and Kerala and alongside East Coast from Rameshwaram to Visakhapatnam.
www.voyagersworld.in
Incredible India
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BENGAL’S FESTIVE EXTRAVAGANZA..SPANNING TIME, CULTURE AND COMMUNITIES! West Bengal celebrates several festivals with great pomp throughout the year, Durga Puja being one of the most important ones.
VW BUREAU
DURGA PUJA The Durga Puja festival is held in West Bengal on the last six days of Navratri and is the largest festival of the year for Bengali Hindus. In the months leading up to Durga Puja, highly decorated, life-sized idols of Durga that depict her slaying Mahishasura are created by potters out of clay. In large open spaces around West Bengal, elaborate pandals, or temporary temples made of bamboo and cloth, are created to house the idols. More than 4500 pandals are set up in Kolkata and its suburbs, apart from large number of old family pujas. The idols are worshipped for five days and then carried in magnificent procession to a local river for immersion, symbolizing Durga’s reunion with Shiva. Songs and mantras are chanted through loudspeakers. Pandal-visiting with friends, family members and relatives along with other festivities continue late into night. Streets, alleys, parks, gardens and most of the neighbourhoods glitter with lighting decorations. Shops, restaurants and eateries stay open all night. The five-day period of worship is a time of personal introspection and bodily purification for devotees, with many avoiding meat, alcohol, onions, wheat and grains. The end of Navratri and Durga Puja further marks an auspicious time for starting new activities or business ventures.
Voyager’s World > December 2016
KALI PUJA & DIWALI Kali Puja is held in accordance with the lunar calendar around the first week of November. The Goddess Kali is worshipped at night on one night in thousands of pandals, temples and homes. Animals, especially goats are ritually sacrificed in some places during the puja. Kali Puja is light-up night for Kolkata, corresponding to the North Indian festival of Diwali (pronounced Dipabali in Bengali), where people light candles in memory of the souls of departed ancestors and decorate their homes with lights and rangoli. Most homes celebrate the evening with a wondrous display of candles along roof tops, verandas and window sills; during the afternoon, thousands of beautifully decorated hot-air balloons fill the sky. This is also a night of spectacular fireworks, with local youth burning sparklers and crackers throughout the night. Luminous darting streaks and deafening bangs and booms enlivens the atmosphere. However, Kolkata had to pass legislature a few years back to ban fireworks which break the 65 decibel sound limit, as ambient noise levels were going up to 90 decibels or more in parts of the city. SARASWATI PUJA Saraswati Puja, the puja of the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati, is celebrated with domestic pujas, and familial gatherings in Kolkata. The typical fare (bhog) which accompanies the Puja depends dramatically on whether the family is initially from West Bengal (or ghoti) or from East Bengal—now Bangladesh—
(or bangal). Ghotis have vegetarian fare, while bangals partake paired Hilsa fishes. Idols for these and other Pujas are made in the famous potters’ district of Kumartuli. In Bengal, during Saraswati Puja, students celebrate the Homecoming of the Goddess of Learning. Books are often worshipped in lieu of the clay image of the Goddess. The puja is especially celebrated in schools and other educational institutes. And gives an opportunity of free-mixing among school children and students. HOLI(DOLYATRA) Dol, corresponding to the North Indian festival of Holi, is celebrated on account of the god Lord Krishna, and is supposedly coincident with the advent of spring. Holi is locally known here as Dolyatra or Basanta Utsab. The celebrations start in the city with the burning of Holika bonfire on the night before Holi. The festival of colour involve throwing and sprinkling powdered colour (aabir), and water colour (jal rang) on others. Unsuspecting passers-by are often drenched by coloured water balloons, and celebrations often get rowdy with the men partaking the intoxicating drink of shiddhi (bhang), often laced with the stronger charas. Nowadays, Holi party usually means frolicking dance and various delicacies like sweets, biryani, beverages etc. RATH YATRA The symbolic movement of the chariot of Jagannath is celebrated with much fanfare in Kolkata due to the huge chariot brought out by
ISKCON. The destination of the cult figures are the Maidan. Thousands of people spill into the roads to witness the pulling of the chariot. The “idols” are brought back after a week in the chariot in the festival of Ulto Ratha. Images of Jagannath are set upon the chariots and pulled through the streets by the children as well as by the adults in many neighbourhoods and areas. The week is synonymous with numerous fairs (Rather mela) held all over Kolkata parks, known for their distinctive food and carousels. Myth has it that it always rains on the day of Ratha Yatra in Kolkata. Rath Yatra is an ancient culture in Bengal in spite of having its origin at Puri, Odisha. VISHWAKARMA PUJA Vishwakarma Puja is a unique day in Kolkata when all factories, shops, engineering institutes organise puja of Vishwakarma, the Hindu god of mechanics and crafts. It usually includes kite-flying as a celebration. JANMASHTAMI Janmashtami in Kolkata is mostly confined to personal and family worship of Lord Krishna. Special puja is held at famous Madanmohan Temple of Baghbazar in North Kolkata and Birla Temple in South Kolkata where devotees celebrate Janmashtami by praying, fasting and listening to devotional songs. Images of infant Lord Krishna are placed in swings and cradles at temples and homes and sweets are offered to the visitors. It is a public holiday in West Bengal.
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Incredible India
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Changing Travelers’ Behavior Can Cut Travel Over-Spend up to 15%: CWT Findings by CWT Solutions Group show corporations could reduce travel over-spend by up to 15% by enforcing existing corporate travel policies. VW BUREAU
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ecent research by Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) Solutions Group found that corporations could reduce travel over-spend by up to 15 percent by enforcing existing corporate travel policies. The latest white paper launched today focuses on the challenges of travel policy compliance and how to influence the behavior of travelers. Encouraging travelers to comply with a company’s travel policy can make a big difference. The white paper: Behavior Management: a new way to think about an old problem focuses on increasing travel data visibility, and increasing traveler responsibility with the aim to have business travelers stay within the corporate travel policy. Katie Raddatz, head of the CWT’s Solutions Group Americas, said, “Travel departments spend significant time and resources getting the best corporate deals to keep costs down. But often travelers think the policy might not apply to them or they just don’t know the policy. Effectively enforcing compliance is often one of the hardest parts of
Voyager’s World > December 2016
travel management, but also the area with significant missed savings.” Solutions Group has developed a proven traveler engagement system, Traveler 360 (T360), which looks at the entire compass to find every possible way to reach and educate the traveler to increase policy compliance and recapture significant missed savings. This targeted approach provides the tools for non-travel professionals to actively manage traveler behavior. The four stages of T360 include: 1. Analyze - Start with an analysis of the potential savings and the different traveler segments to uncover non-compliance issues. 2. Educate - Traveler scorecards are created to educate stakeholders by using terms and language they use with a format that can be immediately executed. 3. Engage - Traveler scorecards, containing individualized reports, are sent directly to the traveler. The clear information in the reports makes it easier for managers to speak to employees about their booking behavior.
4. Compete – Creating a traveler gamification program promotes positive traveler behavior by introducing motivating, game-like elements that provides incentives to travelers to stay compliant. “There’s pressure to reduce costs from every direction. Making sure people stick to the rules is an easy way to cut spend,” continued Raddatz. ”We want to make sure we’re increasing compliance as much as possible. When it’s done properly, you can see the percentage of missed savings fall almost immediately.” Solutions Group has developed a proven traveler engagement system, Traveler 360 (T360), which looks at the entire compass to find every possible way to reach and educate the traveler to increase policy compliance and recapture significant missed savings. This targeted approach provides the tools for non-travel professionals to actively manage traveler behavior. The four stages of T360 include:
uncover non-compliance issues. 2. Educate - Traveler scorecards are created to educate stakeholders by using terms and language they use with a format that can be immediately executed. 3. Engage - Traveler scorecards, containing individualized reports, are sent directly to the traveler. The clear information in the reports makes it easier for managers to speak to employees about their booking behavior. 4. Compete – Creating a traveler gamification program promotes positive traveler behavior by introducing motivating, game-like elements that provides incentives to travelers to stay compliant. “There’s pressure to reduce costs from every direction. Making sure people stick to the rules is an easy way to cut spend,” continued Raddatz. ”We want to make sure we’re increasing compliance as much as possible. When it’s done properly, you can see the percentage of missed savings fall almost immediately.”
1. Analyze - Start with an analysis of the potential savings and the different traveler segments to
Traveller 360 (T360) is CWT Solution Group’s powerful, proven traveller engagement system designed to
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change behaviours and recapture significant missed savings. It means looking at the entire traveller ecosystem and finding impactful approaches to reach and educate the traveller for increased travel policy compliance. Ultimately, it is about putting and keeping the travel policy high on people’s agenda, making compliance as unavoidable as possible. It starts with the right data and then creating visibility of traveller’s non compliant spend and its impact to both the traveller and other stakeholders. This is a key driver of behaviour change. Once people can see that their actions have financial consequences, they are more likely to change. And when travellers know their leadership can see exactly the same information, it provides a real incentive to change. Non-compliance can no longer fly under the radar if lots of eyes from multiple levels in a company can see it. The result is travellers being accountable and having to take responsibility to ensure they are compliant. The four stages of T360 are-
Analyse traveller segmentation and missed savings - The first step is to start with an analysis of the potential savings for an organisation. Educate business unit scorecards - Once the focus areas have been identified, business unit scorecards are created and configured to educate stakeholders and engage them in terms and language they use and in a format that can be executed immediately. Engage traveller scorecards - The traveller scorecards, containing individualized reports, are sent directly to the traveller. They are formatted and branded specifically for each traveller, creating immediacy and emphasizing the importance of the initiative. Compete traveller gamification The final stage of T360 is putting a gamification programme in place to provide a public arena for friendly competition. Traveller gamification promotes positive traveller behaviour by introducing motivating, game like elements to the travel programme. This solution provides incentives
to travellers to stay compliant and increase cost savings. Some other trends in the meetings market include the volatile situation of the Indian rupee, visa restrictions by the UK government, economic situations, rising cost of air fuel, etc. The 2017 Global Travel Price Outlook highlights six key risks heading into 2017 that could impact both travel industry prices and the global economy as a whole. They are emerging market performance, financial market turbulence, geopolitical risks, uncertainty surrounding Brexit, potentially fluctuating U.S. interest rates and oil prices. Created by the Global Business Travel Association and CWT, this report showed that in Asia Pacific: Air - Airline prices are projected to increase only slightly (2.5 percent) in 2017, while fares may actually fall below 2015 levels in some markets due to continued low oil prices. Ancillary fees will have an increasing impact: they grew to 7.8 percent of global airline revenue in 2015, up from 6.7 percent in 2014 and that
trend is set to continue. • Asia Pacific, while projected to experience a 1.1 percent decrease in prices, is expected to remain mostly stable throughout 2017, helped by lower fuel prices. Japan and Singapore however, are expected to see a significant impact on airfare pricing given currency exchange rate projections. • EMEA is a mixed bag. It is anticipated that Eastern Europe will see a 4 percent increase in prices due in part to limited competition prices in Western Europe prices are expected to increase by 0.5 percent and in Middle East and Africa by 2 percent. • Latin American and the Caribbean are expected to experience a 1.9 percent decrease in prices. • In North America fares are projected to increase 3.7 percent. Carriers are expected to reinvest some of the profits enabled by low fuel prices to purchase new aircraft and improve their product. Hotel - Mega hotel mergers are grabbing headlines, but their impact
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Incredible India on prices likely won’t be felt until 2018. Hotel services such as room service, laundry and security remain important to corporate travelers. Traditional hotels, therefore, remain an attractive option for business travelers, despite the sharing economy options. • Asia Pacific is expected to see hotel prices fall slightly, by 0.6 percent. • EMEA again varies by region as geopolitical issues impact on hotel rates. Also, low oil and gas prices have decreased corporate travel for the sector, primarily in the Middle East, Africa and Russia. It is anticipated that Eastern Europe prices will fall 2.4 percent, Western Europe prices will increase 1.8 percent, and Middle East and Africa rates will fall slightly, by 0.5 percent. • Prices in Latin America and the Caribbean are projected to decrease by 0.9 percent. • Overall, North American hotel prices are expected to rise by 4.0 percent in 2017, but it will be a tale of two coasts. West Coast cities, including Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose and Vancouver, will experience high single- to doubledigit growth because of the hightech boom and a shortage of hotel rooms. Meanwhile, East Coast cities including New York City and Toronto, as well as Canada’s oil and gas region, will face low growth or even a reduction because of an over-supply of hotel rooms. Ground - An intensely competitive climate will dictate continued flat pricing for the global ground transportation sector. • Asia Pacific prices are expected to increase slightly, by 0.8 percent. • EMEA is projected to remain flat across the board, with a very slight 0.1 percent decrease expected in Western Europe. • LATAM prices will edge forward by 0.5 percent. • Prices in North America are expected to remain flat in 2017. Meetings & Events - Modest increases in cost per attendee, per day, for meetings and events are expected for Asia Pacific and North America. Europe is expected to remain flat and Latin America will see a decrease of 10 percent. Group sizes will increase marginally in the 3-6 percent range for Asia Pacific, Europe and North America, while remaining flat in Latin America. The strongest overall growth will take place in Asia Pacific, with both group sizes and daily attendees sizes anticipated to increase. The demand will remain strong though supply vs. demand will vary according to the country. Ground transportation projections for
Voyager’s World > December 2016
2014 Carlson Wagonlit Travel studies and found that car rental prices will increase modestly though options are limited by local restrictions in some locations that prevent foreign visitors from driving without a local driver’s license. In those countries, such as China, car rental is typically chauffeured by local drivers. Challenges A survey by Abacus a few years ago identified some key trends that are anticipated to have an effect on business travel in the next few years. 97% of respondents have received instructions to further tighten business travel policies. There is no relaxation of the rules in sight, despite the more favourable economic outlook acknowledged by all. 73% reported business clients implementing policies to decrease the number of business trips. Six in ten clients are extending economy class thresholds to reduce business class travel. 47% of travellers are also now encouraged to opt for lower-star accommodation. 43% of respondents felt that their role had recently shifted more in favour of business procurement. 73% of business clients have increased their preference to use low cost carriers. Other parameters in the policy include the flight time, booking channel, trip changes, etc. 73% of business travel companies have implemented a business booking tool (CBT). 64% of respondents agreed that a good number of travellers wants to deal with travel management companies and agencies, with 55% perceiving business travel itineraries to be too complex a task to undertake themselves. Over 83% of travel management companies and agencies felt that smartphones would have a moderate to significant impact on business. Only 33% had implemented any mobile web or native applications for smartphones, leading with a simple mobile itinerary tool. Though the adoption rates of smartphones and tablets are high in Asia Pacific region, only four in ten enable flight and hotel bookings on mobile. 33% of business travel companies have created a mobile web or native mobile app for smartphones for business bookings. Keeping aside the trends and expectations, let us take a look at the challenges that business travel is burdened with. Rising costs of travel and accommodation seem to be the biggest concern presently. In the last few years, airfares have gone skyhigh, so also the room rates, thereby adversely affecting travel budgets. Going beyond complaining, the need to travel is still there. Employees
demand access to first class travel and hotel arrangements; hence companies have to design their travel budgets in a way as to keep costs at a certain level. While people talk about technology pervading all levels of travel on the one hand, a lot of people still find it difficult to book a LCC flight. There are several issues pertaining to booking the seat, hand luggage, meals onboard, window seats and making reservations in the first 10 rows, for instance. With varying demands on part of the employees and rising airfare and different airline policies, it is quite a challenge for companies to draw up a cost-effective, value for money travel and accommodation plan. Hence, it is not surprising that business these days are resorting to a single-window booking system to take care of all the booking aspects. Some of them also engage a separate travel concierge desk in their organizations. This kind of a set up not only eases the process, but also brings about a lot of deals and discounts in hotels and flights for the employees. Besides this, companies can also formulate a meticulous travel policy in order to keep a lid on costs. These policies can be about fixing a ceiling on the accommodation category like star hotels, guest houses or serviced apartments and also go on to limiting budget on first class travel and opting for economy class. Through this, companies will be able to effect a substantial cut in their travel spending. As for those who face disagreement on such conditions, the best alternative would be to re-look at their suppliervendor contracts. Business travel planners can reach a deal with long-standing suppliers and bring about contracts that reward loyalty while ensuring a win-win situation for both the parties. They can negotiate with the airlines and the hotels for a certain number of seats and rooms during a certain period and reach an amicable policy while drafting their request for proposals. Other problems encompass increase in the number of new airlines entering the skies, growing passenger numbers, route expansion, need for trained manpower and infrastructure, all required to grow at the same pace. As for price sensitivity, airlines have become cost conscience more than just Passenger Revenue by changing the business models constantly. For instance, carriers generate revenue on sale and lease back (wet lease). Indigo 89 % planes are on lease. Jet Airways is 90%, SpiceJet is 69% and GoAir is 93%. It is expected that the near future
capacity will increase in the domestic market. As of today, the entire industry in India is 62 million passengers annually; but the market will add 40 million passengers over the next four years. LCCs have paved for a new trend with the industry going for adding capacity in short haul segments that are usually more profitable. On an average, a Mumbai-Delhi flight is sold at INR 8 / Air Mile and in comparison Mumbai - Ahmedabad is sold at INR 12/Air Mile. Airlines in India are following models like Air Asia and Southwest Airlines by charging extra for specific seats like by the window or the aisle seat, reducing baggage allowance and increasing cancellation of ticket and no show charges. Indigo is expected to add nearly 10 aircrafts a year over the next decade or so mostly to operate domestic segments. In so far as fares are concerned, Zero Frill Carriers are found to offer a reasonable alternative to the premier carriers. A successful LCC in India is very clear about what it promises to deliver. If the airline charges a fare without any frills, whilst promising a certain standard of service, with ‘Arriving on Time’ being their USP, then it stands to win hands down in terms of running full or almost full. Meals, water and other such add-ons have to be borne by the passenger. This kind of a policy is better than running a LCC and supplying a newspaper, a sandwich and a water bottle. Tiny supplementary costs can go a long way in adding to its overall cost. With increasing international travel and exposure to world class travel and accommodation standards, today travellers seek the best arrangements. Irrespective of the nature of the travel, work or the company policy, employees anticipate and desire a four or a five star hotel accommodation . Budget accommodation options remain at a secondary level. A business booking tool or an OTA usually facilitates the work. However, an inefficient and unproductive booking tool will not serve the process. One requires the complete booking options to find out the best and most ideal travel and hotel choices, that would not only fit in their budget but also be of a certain standard. India still has a very adoption rate for business travel technology in comparison to western markets. An exhaustive travel solution is the need of the hour to ensure the most effective delivery of travel services, be it a simple individual package or complex group itineraries, domestic or international.
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Meetings drive hotels to develop focused MICE strategy IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Deep Preet Bindra, Director of Sales & Marketing, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield talks about the various value additions and services provided to its MICE clients. 2016 with strong investor sentiment, domestic absorption and falling oil prices, India is emerging as one of the strongest outbound MICE markets in the world. MICE requirements are growing for different sectors ranging from industries such as FMCG, telecommunications, insurance to pharmaceuticals, healthcare and energy.”
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engaluru Marriott Whitefield has been witnessing a robust demand year-on-year from the MICE segment. The average rates in the first quarter of 2016 registered growth by 5.2% as compared to the same period last year. “Almost 15 % of our business comes from the MICE segment,” says Deep Preet Bindra, the hotel’s Director of Sales & Marketing. He continued, “In
Marketing plans “We keep creating MICE specific offers that offer our clients add-ons and services when they book with us. BITB is one of those events which gives instant recognition to India and as a growing center for travel and tourism.” New apps promoting MICE events Marriott has a meetings centric
app called Meetings Imagined. This platform offers clients a visual feel and glimpse of the meetings. Be it a networking event, or an extremely formal business meet, our platform showcases the various scenarios that help create the perfect meeting set up. “The Meetings & Incentives market is possibly the most important segment of the travel industry . With positive growth trends in the Indian
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Chiang Mai to host Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2017 Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced the 16th Thailand Travel Mart Plus Amazing Gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion (TTM+) 2017 in Chiang Mai from 14 – 16 June, 2017 at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre. The theme will be ‘Discover Unique Local Experiences.’ TTM+ 2017 has a special focus on exquisite forums with high-level keynote speakers, tourism showcases and workshop and a local tourismrelated products and services exhibition.
FKCCI conducts interactive session with Cyprus Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI) held an interactive session with H.E. Demetrios Theophylactou, High Commissioner of Cyprus and FKCCI members at the Cabinet Hall of FKCCI, Bangalore. M C Dinesh, President – FKCCI, said, “Our two countries need to do much more to tap into the tremendous economic opportunities and synergies that exist between us. Our interactive collaborations with India and Cyprus will definitely provide several opportunities and strengthen our bilateral relationship.”
ATPI Group improves business traveller profile experience The new version of ATPI On The Go mobile app now syncs traveller profiles across all proprietary systems. Business travellers can update their personal profile information on the move; their records will be automatically amended, with, for example, frequent flyer and passport information across all ATPI systems. It includes a travel directory of local emergency contact details around the world, access to ATPI offices directory, mobile wallet function to store photocopies of passports and visas.
IHTC 2017 to be held on 3 & 4 March The International Healthcare Tourism Congress (IHTC) 2017 will be organised by CIMGlobal in Bangalore on 3 & 4 March. It aims at bringing together India’s top executives/decision makers from the medical, healthcare and tourism industry along with innovative solution providers to discuss acute technological issues and business challenges in the healthcare sector in India. A special hosted buyer programme has been launched for Medical Tourism Agencies (MTA) providing a pre-set number of discounts for registrations.
economy, India presents a potentially lucrative market. Technology and social media are gaining increasing importance in the MICE landscape when it comes to the Indian market. The increase in demand for meetings has resulted in many foreign destinations implementing a focused strategy to target the Indian outbound MICE segment,” he concluded.
December 1, 2, 3 Chengdu International Tourism Expo (CITE) China 5, 6, 7, 8 International Luxury Travel Market Cannes, France
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
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EXPANDED VISION FOR DEVELOPMENT AUGURS WELL FOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY
Spotlight on the north-east region, digitization of bookings, medical tourism, GDP contribution, portend well for a fruitful 2017 for India’s travel and tourism industry. VW BUREAU
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iven the current chaos in the current over the demonetization policy by the government, those who are partially online or rely on cash transactions for their travels have now got to adapt themselves to a digital travel experience. As the Incredible India campaign has evolved over the years, with several of the states expanding budgets to come up with innovative advertising and marketing campaigns, it is heartening to note that the northeast region, which remained somewhat of a backbencher, is now catching up. Destinations in the region that were hitherto receiving scanty visitors are now getting a good chunk of travellers. Here is a look at the important initiatives taken by the government for boosting tourism in the north east, improving GDP contribution, etc.
was prepared by the Ministry of Tourism for North Eastern Region during the year 2003.
The Ministry of Tourism recently made an assessment of tourism potential of the North Eastern Region (NER) for development of Tourism. State wise 20 year Perspective Plans on Tourism Sector
Under Swadesh Darshan, integrated development of theme based circuits has been taken up for holistic and inclusive development which can provide engaging and complete tourism experience to
Voyager’s World > December 2016
Development and promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments/ UT Administrations. However, Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations for various tourism projects subject to availability of funds, liquidation of pending utilization certificates against the funds released earlier and adherence to the relevant scheme guidelines. Based on the project proposal submitted by State Government, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned the tourism projects for North Eastern States for the last three years and the current year.
both domestic including low budget tourists and foreign tourists. The Scheme envisages enhancement of tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the circuit destination. The PRASAD Scheme guidelines envisage the integrated development of pilgrimage destinations in a planned, prioritized and sustainable manner to provide complete religious tourism experience to both domestic tourists including low budget segment and foreign tourists. The Ministry of Tourism has a scheme namely “Product/ Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits (PIDDC)”. Under this Scheme, Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance to State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations for various tourism projects which are prioritized in consultation with them subject to availability of funds, inter-se priority, liquidation
of pending utilization certificates against the funds released earlier and adherence to the scheme guidelines. Under PIDDC Scheme 20% of the sanctioned amount is released as 1st installment, 60% of the sanctioned amount as 2nd installment on receipt of Utilization Certificate of 1st installment and the balance/final installment of 20% is released on receipt of Utilisation Certificate, Completion Certificate and other documents required as per scheme guidelines. SpiceJet, fastening the north eastern states on its pan-India radar the airline, flagged off 16 new flights on the Kolkata-SilcharGuwahati; Kolkata-Aizawl-Guwahati; and Kolkata-Gorakhpur-Delhi routes in October 2016. SpiceJet is the first low-cost carrier to introduce direct daily flights on the Guwahati-Silchar, Guwahati-Aizawl, Aizawl-Kolkata, Gorakhpur-Delhi and GorakhpurKolkata routes. In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index of last year,
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31>> India takes 52nd place overall. T&T already accounts for 5% of India’s employment and its huge potential for further growth is made visible by comparing the country’s 7 million international visitors to China’s 55 million. The country’s natural resources (17th) are vast and diverse and its cultural resources (10th) include a unique intangible heritage (8th), sports events and a large entertainment offer. India’s relevance as business travel destination is increasing along with its economic growth, it remains a price-competitive destination (8th) and recent changes in its visa regime: not yet reflected in the data rankings—have the potential to boost international arrivals. However, longstanding infrastructure gaps remain, especially in tourismspecific infrastructure (109th) and the quality of roads. Despite some uneven progress, India also lags on health and hygiene (106th) and ICT readiness (114th). The safety and security situation is unsettling, with a perceived increase in the impact of crime and violence (97th), and India ranks only 139th for environmental sustainability. According to findings by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) for this year, the contribution of the travel industry to the GDP in India is given belowGDP: DIRECT CONTRIBUTION - The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was INR2,668.3bn (2.0% of total GDP) in 2015, and is forecast to rise by 7.1% in 2016, and to rise by 7.9% pa, from 2016-2026, to INR6,115.5bn (2.4% of total GDP) in 2026. GDP: TOTAL CONTRIBUTION - The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was INR8, 309.4bn (6.3% of GDP) in 2015, and is forecast to rise by 7.3% in 2016, and to rise by 7.5% pa to INR18,362.2bn (7.2% of GDP) in 2026. EMPLOYMENT: DIRECT CONTRIBUTION - In 2015 Travel & Tourism directly supported 23,454,500 jobs (5.5% of total employment). This is expected to rise by 3.2% in 2016 and rise by 2.0% pa to 29,629,000 jobs (5.8% of total employment) in 2026. Travel & Tourism investment in 2015 was INR2,264.1bn, or 6.0% of total investment. It should rise by 4.8% in 2016, and rise by 6.3% pa over the next ten years to INR4,356.7bn in 2026 (6.0% of total).
As per the 2nd Tourism Satellite Account of India - 2009-10 and subsequent estimation for the next three years namely 2010-11, 201112 and 2012-13, the contribution of tourism to total Employment in the Country during 2009-10, 201011, 2011-12 and 2012-13 were
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2016 over 2010 is estimated to be 1,90,108.
The FTVs during 2015 was highest in West (30.6%) followed by South (29.1%), North (28.4%), East (11.4%) and North East (0.5%). The region-wise number of FTVs during 2013, 2014 and 2015 is also given below.
Construction of hotels is primarily a private sector activity. The Ministry of Tourism, however, has advised the State Governments/UT Administrations to follow tourism friendly policies for augmenting hotel room supply like allotting land sites for hotels on revenue sharing basis, granting extra Floor Space Index (FSI)/ Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for hotels, adopt Single Window approach for clearing hotel projects, rationalization of taxes, etc. To encourage the growth of budget
10.17%, 10.78%, 11.49% 12.36%, respectively.
(Volume 14, May 2016), during 2015, India ranks 40th in terms of International Tourists Arrivals. The number of Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) to different States/ UTs during 2013, 2014 and 2015 is given below. This information is not available for the year 2016.
As per the Report of the ‘Working Group on Tourism’ for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) set up by the then Planning Commission, the requirement of additional hotel rooms under classified category in
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MIDDLE EAST EDITION 27 February - 1 March 2017 Dubai, Kuwait, Doha
GLOBAL EDITION 20 - 25 March 2017 Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai
As per the UNWTO Barometer
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hotels, the following incentives were announced by the Government: - Extension of Investment Linked tax incentives under Section 35AD of the Income Tax Act to new hotels of 2-Star category and above anywhere in India, which will facilitate growth of Accommodation in the country. - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has de-linked credit for hotel projects from Commercial Real Estate (CRE), thereby enabling hotel projects to avail credit at relaxed norms and reduced interest rates. - Hotel and Tourism related industry has been declared a high priority industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed upto 100% under the automatic route. The growth in the number of foreign tourist arrivals as well as that of domestic tourists has been optimistic. The growth could be attributed to the rising numbers of people travelling across the country for pilgrimage, wildlife, sightseeing, photography and adventure sports holidays. Other reasons would be better economic growth of the country, rising disposable incomes, etc. Domestic tourism has also registered a decent growth figure
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thanks to increased marketing and promotional activities through various media, tour operators and agents. Domestic tourism is where the states have better scope to display their offerings, vying for their share of the leisure segment from across the country, primarily because the VFR segment offers negligible possibility for them to lure travellers. In an attempt to delve into what the country has, what has been already tapped and what are the hidden gems waiting to be discovered, here is an breakdown of the potential of tourism in the southern part of the country from various angles; not just the metros and the main tourist spots but also the lesser known destinations that offer tremendous opportunities for the players in the travel industry. This article seeks to explore what the Indian traveller can see and experience down south; this includes any traveller from across the length and breadth of the country. Focus on the south While a lot is being discussed about the fall in the Indian rupee, the emerging Indian middle class and the rising interest in international
travel, a three-four day holiday or an extended weekend is now considered for an overseas trip. This extended weekend or festive season holiday is one area that travel agents and tour operators can work on to design packages, what with the increasing air travel in the country. A few hours flight from Mumbai and Delhi is what it takes to maneuver prospective travellers from the North and West part of India. Well, the North-East is not being mentioned elaborately here because the region is taking baby steps onto the tourism front itself. So, focusing on the core markets in the country should do at the moment. Advantages of a brief sojourn in the southern region There are many pluses and value for money for a short holiday in the southern part of the country. Board a quick flight to any of the southern metrosBangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Trivandrum and you are at the gateway of a plethora of travelling options. The infrastructure is quite developed in these states thanks to steady and regular development of hotels, roads, tourist spots, transport, etc. Now, South
India is not merely restricted to these four metros and their states; Lakshadweep, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands do deserve a fair mention in this story as well as in your conversations with your clients. Other popular options airports are Kozhikode Airport, Cochi Airport, Trichy Airport, Mangalore Airport and Coimbatore Airport. The places in the south boast of a fairly stable climatic condition, unique to its geographical condition, barring a few places that experience extreme heat during summer. Yet, the summer is not a bad time to plan a visit. There has also been a proliferation of reliable and exhaustive road transport options inter-connecting states, districts and the smallest units of township, quite round–the-clock. A three-day itinerary from the capital or a principal town in a state will thus allow you to visit a minimum of eight to 10 places, with ample rest time in between. In this respect, the quintessential image that the southern region has of being a traditional region abounding with places of religious importance is what tour operators and travel agents must work on.
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As a matter of fact, even a three-day inter-state tour is possible in order to provide the best of both worlds package to the discerning traveller. An overnight train to Bellary or a flight to Hubli from Bangalore throws open the roads to Hampi, the renowned historical site by road from Bellary in a few hours or a pilgrimage to Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh, again a few hours on road from Bellary. If you can spare more time, you can even stop at the Chitradurga Fort, two hours from Bellary. Likewise, from Madurai one can head to Kodaikanal on road in a couple of hours’ time or deviate towards Kerala and go to Thekkady, known for its wildlife sanctuary. As the northern part of the country does not have a coastline except for Gujarat and West Bengal, tour operators can bet on the long coastlines of all the four southern states. Alternately, as mentioned earlier, Andaman & Nicobar Islands can also be marketed aggressively. However, an itinerary to that island would probably require a little more than three days in order to get the best value for the money spent. Hence, travel agents and
tour operators, especially the ones in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country must come up with some kind of an inter-linked network with their counterparts in the southern region. This way, a tour operator in Kashmir or Delhi can help book a package for a customer seeking to visit Kanyakumari, without having to worry about lack of first-hand experience of the destination themselves. The kind of location that customer would finally book depends on their interest level, your conviction in selling them and the facilities available in that have demonstrated a flair for impactful innovation. First, they need to work on the best pricing strategies for supportive services of tourism in the South, based on the source of request, itinerary, budget and season. Then the agents should gauge the best promotional strategies that could be implemented to attract a demographic segment to give a new dimension to their perception of visiting the south. It will take a while to assess the benefits accumulated from tourism in these states for
them, based on the spreading of awareness, the revenue generation much before the break-even stage. Other trends Mumbai may be set to witness an increase in domestic and international tourist footfalls as new research from Booking.com sees the city rank among the world’s top trending destinations for 2017. The data experts at Booking.com analysed the top 300 destinations based on growth in search and bookings to find the most up-andcoming places to visit in 2017. When analysed against wider trends*, Mumbai has recorded increased volume of travel and higher than average growth in bookings, while moving up ten places among the most searched destinations relative to last year. The experts at Booking.com also shed light on 8 major travel predictions for 2017 by harnessing the wealth of data, traveler endorsements, reviews, preferences and insights and inspired by industry leading understanding and innovation in e-commerce travel technology.
- Instant Gratification 2.0 Technology is fuelling a more demanding and impatient traveller. 44% of travellers already expect to be able to plan their holiday in a few simple taps of their smart phone and over half (52%) expect their use of travel apps to increase in 2017. With this, we’re increasingly looking to technology to eradicate any and all on-the-road niggles, deliver answers to our specific needs in the moment and enhance our experience with recommendations and short-cuts we haven’t even thought of. The coming year will see this expectation addressed in an unprecedented way. From finding the nearest ATM or available Wi-Fi to queue jumping at top attractions and getting onthe-go advice on how to get over jetlag, meaningful functionality in palm-based technology will abound. And with all of the exciting new developments in machine learning and AI, our favourite go-to apps will go beyond mere functionality and evolve into real companions— travel besties, if you will, capable of predicting our own unique needs and catering to them before we even have to ask. Use of smart, instant message technology that
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moulds to our preferences to solve every question and wish in real-time, regardless of where we choose to stay, will become second nature. Seamless assistance at your fingertips. - Getting to Business The ‘bleisure’ boom is well and truly underway, and 2017 will see a further upswing not only in the blurring lines between leisure and business travel, but in the value we attach to workplace travel opportunities. Of the 40% of global travellers who journeyed for business this year, 46% think they will travel even more for business in 2017.More than business suites and PowerPoint presentations, 49% of business travellers already extend their business trips to further enjoy the destination, while three quarters (75%) intend to do so the same or more in the coming year. No longer seen as lost time or a career inconvenience, business travel is increasingly appreciated as an opportunity to expand horizons, find inspiration and progress in a career. So much so that 30% of travellers would even accept a lower paid job if it meant they could travel more for work!
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- Appetite to Discover The discovered world has many undiscovered places and 2017 promises to see travellers unleashing their inner explorer like never before. 45% plan to be more adventurous in their choice of destination in the coming year, while 47% would like to explore corners of the globe that none of their friends have been to. Whether it’s trekking into a remote mountain village or finding a gem of a guest house on the other side of tracks, we’re seeing evidence all round of an ever-growing appetite to embrace undiscovered environments in an authentic way. 56% of travellers would like to do more independent travel in 2017, a trend particularly prevalent amongst those from Brazil, India, the United States, China and Thailand. Top destinations where Indians can indulge their pioneering spirit include Indonesia, Turkey, New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines. - Mind, Body and Soul In a hectic world, people are increasingly seeing travel as a way to bring balance back into their lives. Almost half (48%) see going on
holiday as a moment to reflect and make better lifestyle choices. The coming year will see many travellers prioritising health conscious trips that promise harmony for the mind, body and soul - particularly those from India, China and Thailand. 44% are interested to experience spa/relaxation travel and 38% in a health/wellbeing travel experience in 2017. The days of leaving paid holidays on the table at the end of the year are fading even in the most demanding work cultures, with over half (51%) intending to take more of their annual leave in the coming year than this year. Accommodations across the world are upgrading their offerings to match this growing demand. In 2017, it won’t be uncommon to find a diverse range of SanctuStays, accommodations ranging from villas to apartments, resorts and more, offering complementary meditation facilities, health spas, wellness workshops and outdoor facilities to promote a holistic lifestyle and clearer path to self-discovery. - Go Green or Stay Home Sustainable travel means many things to many people, but there’s
no denying the trend for both travellers and accommodations becoming more environmentally and sustainably aware as well as responsible. The coming year will see over a third (36%) of travellers planning to choose more ecofriendly travel options than they did in 2016 and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) interested in an eco-tour travel experience. This mirrors the way in which people are increasingly finding ways to fulfil their aesthetic travel needs while maintaining cultural and environmental integrity by taking longer, more scenic routes and modes of transport. Eco-friendly stays are no longer the preserve of the few, but an expectation of the many. As the year progresses we will likely see increased discussion around economic incentives such as tax breaks for eco travellers (41% of travellers would be in favour[i]), introduction of an international standard for sustainable accommodation (41% in favour) and transport providers giving travellers more information about carbon offsetting (26% in favour). - Simple Pleasures Travellers in 2017 will be inspired
Domestic Travel
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by their own aspirations rather than material possessions. If fact, 58% of travellers plan to prioritise spending on experiences rather than material possessions while they are on holiday in 2017. Travellers are also becoming less interested in fancy embellishments and more interested in the small moments and simple pleasures of a journey. Only 10% of travellers said that a butler/ concierge service was essential to enjoy their travel experiences in 2017. Fancy, high-end toiletries also appear to be a thing of the past as only 13% of travellers said that these would be essential to enjoying their travel experiences in 2017. - The Human Touch As the ying to technology’s yang, interacting with amazing staff and forging genuine relationships on holiday will be an increasingly important hallmark of travel in 2017. 42% of travellers assert that they wouldn’t stay in an accommodation without friendly/helpful staff, while accommodations such as B&Bs and Ryokans look set to continue as the most highly rated by visiting travellers. Our reliance on those who’ve gone before remains
undiminished with 40% of travellers confirming that they would not stay in an accommodation with more than three negative reviews. 2017 travellers are starting to understand that human touch is irreplaceable and crave this human interaction to make their holiday memorable. As a result, we can expect to see meaningful human interactions becoming the currency of travel in the months ahead, prompting huge advances in chat bot technology to match the warmth, personality and spontaneity of real human communication and connections. - Fly Me to the Moon Travel has become a lifestyle, not a luxury for increasing numbers, and it’s unsurprising that we are starting to see people’s desires to explore go beyond this world. In fact, 44% of people see a future where we’ll be holidaying in far flung corners of the galaxy or deep under the ocean, which may not be as far off as one might think. The merging of technology with the increasing desire to travel into the unknown is leading to many innovations and travel advances in 2017.While space tourism remains a work in
progress, trips to some of the darker recesses of earth’s oceans are well underway. High-speed rail continues to advance and is scheduled to connect travellers to the remote corners of northern Africa. NASA is investing in a supersonic passenger aircraft that will allow for faster, greener, safer and quieter air travel. Not to mention, a Tesla autopilotenabled vehicle is scheduled to “drive” from Los Angeles to New York in the summer of 2017. These advances are steadily stoking our imaginations, as well as our collective desire to explore beyond the horizon - who knows what new additional frontiers will open up for us over the coming year… Medical tourism Ministry of Tourism publishes the data of Nationality-wise Foreign Tourist Arrivals by Visa Type in India in which one of the visa categories is Medical Visa including Medical Attendant Visa. The development and promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. The Ministry of Tourism as part of its ongoing promotional activities releases
campaigns in the international and domestic markets and also undertakes other promotional activities including promotion of Medical Tourism. A National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board has been constituted to provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of Medical Tourism, Wellness Tourism and Yoga, Ayurveda Tourism and any other format of Indian system of medicine covered by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH). The Board works as an umbrella organization that governs and promotes this segment of tourism in an organized manner. It has representatives from AYUSH, Quality Council of India, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH). For promoting quality in the healthcare sector, the NABH provides accreditation to hospitals and wellness centres for adhering to quality standards. Under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme, Ministry of Tourism also provides incentives to stakeholders accredited by NABH.
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Online Travel
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De-monetization will drive overall growth of travel sector Jaal Shah, Group Managing Director – Travel Designer Group, Founder – RezLive.com, talks about trends and plans for the new year. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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lans for the upcoming year 2016 has been a very prosperous for us as we have ventured into
newer markets and even became bigger both in terms of inventory and manpower. We have been
growing at a very good pace and are considered as the preferred travel brand in different markets all across
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the globe. As far as coming year is concerned, we will be shifting our corporate office to a new and bigger premises in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in order to meet the growing needs of our travel partners from a state of the art premises with a much bigger team. At the same time, we will also be looking at venturing further into newer markets and increase our footprints on the global map. Effect of de-monetization on business As far as online distribution business is concerned, this ban has come as a progressive step for the industry as paying by cheque/demand draft/ wire transfer or credit card will be a positive sign for the industry and will help in the overall growth of the sector. Emerging patterns in distribution globally Every company in the travel market is trying to keep the distribution channel simple and having less intermediaries before it reaches the final customer. Lot of travel agents are now shifting towards the xml platform and we have been getting lot of queries in that respect from the agents all across the globe. Growth in the Indian market The Indian market has always been our fortress, and we have been getting good response from the same. We have increased our footprint in India by appointing new sales people in different regions and are getting good response from newer regions also.
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Voyager’s World > December 2016
Engaging with the hotels/agents We keep on participating in all the local shows in India and global trade shows like ATM and WTM and meet the prospective travel agents there. We even do FAM trips in association with different hotel chains for different regions. We take other channels like mailers, social media and print to stay in touch with our travel partners and hoteliers. We have even started with Travel Agents Training Program wherein we brief them on different products and offering we have for them.
Flight Talk
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Ahead of 70th anniversary, Singapore Airlines unveils more services David Lim, General Manager India, Singapore Airlines, elaborates on a host of services and options introduced on board as well as its marketing plans in the coming years. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram) in India,” says David Lim, the carrier’s General Manager India.
Indian Market During the past year, Singapore Airlines has focused on increasing and improving the connectivity from India. One major development in the first quarter of 2016 has been additional frequencies from the country, which is testament to the demand for Singapore Airlines in the Indian market. “Today, combined with SilkAir, our regional wing, we currently operate 104 weekly flights from 11 cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Hyderabad,
India became the third largest tourist generating market for Singapore in the first half of 2016 with an increase of 41% from 2015. Singapore Airlines works closely with Singapore Tourism Board and Changi Airport Group to cater to the travelling needs of the Indian market with special packages and offers. Changi Airport is an important hub offering non-stop connections for Singapore Airlines and Silk Air’s weekly flights from 11 Indian cities. Indian nationals can also avail of one-way, Visa Free Transit Facility for up to 96 hours in Singapore with a valid onward ticket and visa. The transit visa will be provided at the discretion of the immigration authorities.
“While 2016 was a momentous year for the Indian aviation industry, the coming year is going to be critical with respect to the successful implementation of all initiatives within the new civil aviation policy in 2017. Over the next five years, domestic and international passenger traffic is expected to increase at an annual average rate of 12% and 8%, respectively, while domestic and international cargo are estimated to rise at an average annual rate of 12% and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, we are also looking forward to the commencement of the A350 services to India.” Special services “Recently we announced the launch of Ruchi Thali for our Business Class passengers designed by International Culinary Panel Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The passengers
are treated to a wide array of sophisticated services ranging from in-flight entertainment to on-board connectivity.KrisWorld, a state-ofthe-art inflight entertainment and communications system is offered on board where content regularly refreshed. Passengers can now preselect their inflight entertainment options through our companion app. Singapore Airlines celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2017. This is an important milestone and customers can expect interesting promotions around it. “While our traditional marketing activities continue to grow, we will focus on digital assets enhancement and better social media engagement in the coming year. Our upcoming campaign includes special Premium Economy Class fares to Singapore and onwards to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland and San Francisco for travellers from Mumbai.”
COIMBATORE
27, 28, 29 January 2017
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Technology
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Changeover to online mode is the way forward in travel! There has been a sweep of changes in the travel industry and apps, startups and newer distribution platforms are constantly re-defining the way one looks at the travel and hotel booking experience. VW BUREAU
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hen two of the continent’s iconic luxury hotel groups, Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Mumbai-based Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, announced that they had formed a strategic alliance to broaden their reach and offer more unique experiences to guests across Asia and the world, the news showed the way forward for seamless benefits for members under the alliance. There has been a sweep of changes in the travel industry and apps, startups and newer distribution platforms are constantly re-defining the way one looks at the travel and hotel booking experience. Online travel agent MakeMyTrip.com says there has been a significant change in the travel behaviour vis-àvis last year. A major trend observed is that Indian travellers have now become increasingly younger. Smartphone penetration and adoption led by the young travellers is driving shift from offline to online in the travel industry. Findings by
Voyager’s World > December 2016
MakeMyTrip.com through the India Travel Report 2016 shows that young Indian travellers are also very spontaneous, as demonstrated by the surge in last minute bookings. The other top trends observed this year include higher spending on luxury travel experience within India & abroad by travellers, rise in solowomen travel amongst others. With higher disposable income, people have started spending more time on their holidays (12-14 nights) by clubbing multiple destinations in their itinerary. The average holiday frequency has also gone up due to extended weekends and average vacation time period is up by 10%. More people are taking 3-4 long weekend breaks in a year and a couple of short-holidays, especially during the festive season. The average spends by travellers have also seen a rise with INR 50,000 per person for short-haul and INR 1 lakh per person and above for long haul destinations. While international hotels witnessed planned bookings, domestic hotels
saw a rise in last minute bookings with 50% of bookings having an Advance Purchase window of only 02 weeks. The mobile saw a high usage with more than 8 million out of the total 23 million downloads of the MakeMyTrip app (till June 30th 2016) happening between January 2016 and June 2016. Mobile transactions saw a growth of 313% and constitutes for 54% of the total transactions, versus 25% last year. For MakeMyTrip, mobile now accounts for over 73% of the total transactions in the strategically important online Standalone Indian Hotels segment in Q1FY17. Emerging trends According to Duncan Keene, UK MD of Content Square (Courtesy: Tnooz.com), it used to be relatively straightforward to predict annual online spending habits in the travel industry. January and July would form two travel “peaks”, with spending rising
as holidaymakers book time off for the following summer or winter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the events of this year have made 2016 a different story. First Brexit, then Trump. These events took the world by surprise, with fluctuations in markets and consequently consumer confidence. Online spending habits, which for the most part have been fairly predictable, have been increasingly erratic and, in the online travel industry, ever-present security threats across Europe have acted as a constant dampener. An opportunity It’s important to remember that it’s not all negative, and that turbulent markets create opportunities. Data collected by ContentSquare from numerous European online travel agents (OTAs) suggest that more continental European travellers are looking to Britain for holidays in the wake of a weaker pound, with the average value of purchases to UK destinations climbing by 38% in the weeks after the Brexit referendum. It’s important, therefore, for travel
Technology
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brands to fully capitalise on the website visits that they do receive. Travel is a highly considered purchase, and the experience that your users have on your website (UX), matters more than in other industries. The issue is that many travel brands are still making common UX errors, which, in this uncertain environment, could mean the difference between booking and just another abandoned holiday cart. The “how” and “why” Fundamentally, the key here is for travel companies to go beyond traditional website analytics to understand how and why customers are behaving in a certain way on their website. It’s difficult to decode emotive purchases at the best of times, and in an increasingly uncertain world, it’s even harder to predict. Ensuring that easy-tounderstand insight into online user behaviour is shared throughout the business, and not just IT, will mean the entire team is focused on
making the customer journey and experience as clear and seamless as possible. It’s a funnel thing Booking on travel sites is often a complex process, with a user journey, or ‘funnel’, that is much longer and more arduous than other sectors. Our data, collected from 12 OTAs and 75 million sessions, suggests that exploratory sessions on mobile last nearly five minutes, and eight and a half minutes on desktop, substantially longer than other sectors. This generates significant challenges in terms of UX optimisation – users find it difficult to modify their search or change information half way through the funnel without having to restart the entire process, which understandably generates frustration. Travel companies need to look carefully at where users are dropping out, and include some encouraging or helpful information at the right stage. For example, our research found that 62.9% of online
users read customer reviews during the 10th browsing session. Recognising this, and providing appropriate content at the right point, will keep users engaged. What’s more, if you can identify specific points in the user journey where your visitors are frustrated, features such as progress trackers or page bookmarking can really help. It’s also very important to refrain from overloading your user with information, as this can easily be overwhelming. Our data suggests that travel brands which split the information up over multiple pages fare better, as it’s clearer to the user what the required action is. Some apps to look forward to, as per Tnooz.com, are as below Discover - Discover is described as a Tinder-like iPhone app for travellers to mark destinations with Been There, Add to Bucket List or Not Interested. For any that make the bucket list, travellers can view average flight prices and weather
for the upcoming year to find the best dates and then book via Skyscanner. Additional information on attractions, restaurants and hotels in the destinations is also available in the app. “We want to help travelers discover and ultimately reach their dream destinations. As we learn more about their likes and dislikes, we’ll continue to refine our inspiration/ recommendation engine. And capturing previous trips and allowing travelers to rate them only enhances our smarts. In addition to browsing popular destinations, travelers can also take advantage of our Advanced Search. It’s basically like asking friends a common question we see in social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I have two kids and live in London. Can anybody recommend a fairly close, cheap and warm place to fly to this December?” “We encourage everybody to give this one a try!” Discover is currently a side project for eight founding team members
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Technology
(some ex-Expedia employees) who live in California and the UK. Discover was just chosen as the 2016 Build with Skyscanner winner for most innovative and visually inspiring travel app using Skyscanner’s flight APIs. The company is looking for pre-seed capital to fuel further growth and development. As You Stay - As You Stay is a mobile app enabling travellers to check-in when they want and have their stay priced accordingly. Co-founder and CTO Chen Atlas says: “As You Stay is revolutionizing the current “hotel stay” paradigm, which has changed very little over the last century. “Check-in and check-out times are set in stone, reservation processes are cumbersome, and the overall experience is rarely flexible enough to meet the rapidly-changing needs and schedules of many of today’s travelers. This is where As You Stay comes to the rescue, offering an evolved ‘Pay As You Stay’ model where guests can specify an exact desired reservation time and be accommodate accordingly.”
Voyager’s World > December 2016
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As You Stay is currently operating in New York and Miami with plans to expand to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Fransico, Washington D.C. Funding to date has been via friends and family but the startup is looking for seed investment. Journi - Journi is a mobile app to help travellers keep a journal and share their trips. It works by enabling travellers and invited friends to take photos and makes notes while it creates a travel story in the background. It also enables anyone not on the trip to share along the way and acts as inspiration for future trips. CEO Andreas Roettl says:“More than ever we want to create, share and relive our travel adventures. “At the same time we want to enjoy the moment to the fullest without wasting any time creating our journal, blog, photo book, etc. Journi offers the perfect solution here.” Many of the digital forces that have impacted on the travel industry in recent years have come from internal changes. Consider
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consolidation, meta-booking, the evolution of distribution models – each have been as a result of elements within the industry itself. But perhaps some of the most significant changes (challenges?) that are likely to affect the way the industry operates over the next 12 months could arrive as part of wider enhancements to technology across multiple industries. Juniper Research, in its annual forecast of tech advances expected to hit the business world, has highlighted a number of trends that will put many a chief technology officer on high alert during 2017. For example, 2016 may have been the year that “bots” surfaced in a meaningful way, with many travel brands working out what to do. But next year will be when the technology both improves and the process becomes more accepted by those actually using them. Juniper says bots (virtual customer service agents that operate mostly on social networks, especially Facebook) will improve as “product capabilities catch up
with expectations”, with retailers realising they can push offers to consumers as well as engage with customers. As a result, with Facebook Messenger is likely to be the major platform, consumers should expect to see more advertising and branding associated with their use shifting to the mainstream. Related, as a business process but using a different type of technology, is the growing use of voice recognition systems. Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri are not entirely new but, again, are expected to move into wider circulation as tools to which consumers can interact with brands and services. In particular during 2017 will be a rapid increase in the type of functionality made available to voice-recognition platforms, including profile/account control. Juniper estimates that there will be a massive 2.15 billion voice assistants in use in 2017.
Technology
41>> Alongside bots in terms of adoption, and certainly the most creative when it comes to its application to the travel industry, will what Juniper predicts to be “mass expansion of virtual reality content creation”. In other words, with VR headsets and devices becoming more commonplace, brands will no longer just test the idea of these types of tech-led experiences but dive in head-first. Mobile applications are the most likely area where VR experiences will be found, with many examples being formed in collaboration with media brands that can bolster the marketing message of the provider. Finally, Blockchain technology (distributed ledgers and data files on individuals and services) may not hit the mainstream but will find itself under consideration by product providers and intermediaries along the consumer foodchain. Organisations and companies will probably use 2017 to evaluate the use of Blockchain technology in terms of overall benefits around efficiency, transparency and costs. Social media trends in hotels It is now commonplace to find that people increasingly prefer social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Google Plus for the latest updates on people, events, places and organisations. The booming hotel industry is no exception when it comes to capitalising on social media in order to engage with its clients. However, such means, aimed at a long-term relationship with its customers, require genuineness and proactive synchronism on part of the hotels. - The majority of hotels employed social networking sites to showcase promotional and marketing related information to a large number of people at a time. It is used to increase visibility, build trust, take feedback, service recovery, improve community relations and facilitate online bookings and reviews. The top reason, however, for their presence in the social network is for generating feedback from clients. All the hotels that were surveyed agreed that the more informed the people stay, the more popular will be the hotel. The blending of online and offline worlds is guaranteed by active
engagement in the online world which translates to more informed and satisfied guests when they stay at our hotels and meet us in persons. Marketing strategies- The key to a successful social media marketing strategy is in keeping patrons updated regularly on the hotel’s promotional activities, maintaining an online logbook where people can give feedback and recommendations, protecting brand integrity; gauging the website’s immediate impact on business, interaction with past and future guests. These sites prove to be most effective in terms of customer loyalty, promotions, saving time, updating news, consumer profiling and immediacy in responding to complaints. Quick Response (QR) Time by the service provider is particularly appreciated. The hotels unanimously anticipate an upward trend in this segment; only there would be newer apps and marketing strategies used such as Smart phone apps, QR code, Youtube videos of virtual tours of the hotels and mobile friendly websites to name a few. The Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai, has an exclusive Four Seasons iPhone app, as well as websites that are designed to be mobile friendly. QR codes acts as the ideal medium for ‘Scan and Win’ mCoupon to trigger the callto-action for participants. Interested consumers simply point their camera at the QR code and - through their mobile internet connection - retrieve a Mobile Coupon, which they can save on their phones. Likewise, the Txt4Coupon is a 2-way SMS service that allows the hotel to share discounts, offers, or special available with the broad public by making it available through the channel of SMS.
there on every other site. Some of the reasons due to which hotels have come to use social networking websites areReview of Hotels-Today, a customer does not rely on the website of a particular hotel alone while booking reservations. Everyone is a reviewer today and negative and positive reviews can be posted in real time. Hence, ratings and comments given by third party travel sites, guests who have previously used the hotel’s services, first-hand experiences by friends and colleagues play a key role in shaping one’s decision. Reviews posted on sites like Trip Advisor, Expedia, Cruise Critic and Yahoo Travel Planner are very popular in terms of credibility of information. They offer hotel deals, star ratings, travellers’ photos from all over the world, slide shows, package rates and travel guides. It is also imperative that the hotels regularly check what people are commenting about its services. Travel Blogs – An increasing number of travel enthusiasts have taken to maintaining a blog on their travel stories and post travel photos and even have threads on
comments and discussions. There are innumerable user-friendly travel blog sites. TravelPod, for example, is one such travel blog hosting system in which one can create one’s own blogs for free, post photos, videos, read other public travel blogs and meet people. When a person wishing to travel hits the destination’s name in the search engine, travel blog references invariably form a part of the search results. All that the traveller needs to do is to click on the blogger’s site and read his reviews, check out photos and recommendations. This information may give him a brief idea of the dos and don’ts while going to a particular place. Authenticity Factor- Media content posted by users on social media websites is perceived to be more genuine and reliable because it is created by neutral third parties. Therefore apart from posting photos, videos and offering virtual tours of their hotels on their websites, featuring their presence on social media sites does have its share of influence in the sense that the website is perceived to be authentic and reliable.
Time is of the essence when it comes to marketing via social networking websites. However, it is imperative that hotels exercise caution while posting any article. They must post only copyright free material and respond immediately. It is important that the hotels do not resort to tailor-made and clichéd responses. They must really listen to the guests and keep the conversation going. It is better to focus on only one or two such websites rather than being
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Happenings
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Akquasun organises Fam with Mega Maldives launch
Kerala voted Best Leisure Destination in India by Conde Nast Traveller
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ith the launch of Mega Maldives direct flights to Maldives, Akquasun group had organised a FAM in November. Mega Maldives commenced operations from 18 November 2016. Akquasun Canopus Maldives, one of the leading DMCs in Maldives, carried 10 top tour operators selling Maldives in this inaugural flight to showcase two properties - Paradise Island Resort & Spa and Adaaran Resorts. The tour operators appreciated the service and the connectivity time of Mega Maldives and were extremely happy with the service of Akquasun Canopus Maldives and the resorts showcased.
erala has taken the top prize as India’s best destination for leisure at the Conde Nast Traveller readers’ awards 2016. It was voted the ‘Favourite Indian Leisure Destination’ this year by readers of the international travel magazine. Kerala Tourism Deputy Director K. Radhakrishnan accepted the travel award at a ceremony held in New Delhi recently. “Kerala is known for its natural beauty and the state’s historical connections with many other parts of the world have contributed to its popularity as a top destination for leisure,” Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said.
Charson Advisory Services wins accolade at ITCTA
TAT hosts 4th edition of luxury roadshow in India
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he Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti awarded Charson Advisory Services with ‘Excellence In International Destination PR and Brand Management Award’ at 4th International Tourism Conclave & Travel Awards (ITCTA) in Jammu . Carl Vaz, Chairman & CEO, CASPL, said “Jammu and Kashmir is one of India’s premier tourism destinations. This award belongs to the entire team at Charson Advisory and the network of travel agents, tour operators, OTAs and members of the travel fraternity that we work with in building our clients profile in India.”
he Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hosted its fourth edition of luxury roadshow in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. The Amazing Thailand Luxury Road show was led by Soraya Homchuen, Director, TAT – Mumbai office, HE. Mr. Ekapol Poolpipat, ConsulGeneral, Royal Thai Consulate, Mumbai and TAT team and suppliers, hotels, DMCs from Thailand . The series focused on high end holidays for agents who sell staple five-stars and simply add a few touches of luxury to an otherwise regular itinerary and those whose itineraries include private islands and helicopter rides.
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Akquasun Hong Kong showcases Parisian Macao to Indian travel trade
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kquasun Hong Kong, along with Cathay Pacific, showcased the Parisian Macao to productive tour operators from Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Keen tour operators paid a subsidized price but took interest to fly down and get first-hand information about the Parisian Macao.
The Parisian Macao is an integrated resort inspired by the magic and wonder of the famed “City of Light.” Featuring a half-scale authentic recreation of the Eiffel Tower, it offers a full array of integrated resort facilities, including approximately 3,000 guestrooms and suites, convention and meeting space, international restaurants, kids’ club, health club, pool deck with themed water park, 1,200-seat theatre and entertainment. The shops at Parisian retail mall offer the latest in fashion and couture in a setting reminiscent of the streets of Paris. B A Rahim, Group Director and CEO - Akquasun added, “Akquasun Hong Kong DMC owned and operated by Akquasun Group initiated this FAM with The Parisian Macao and Cathay Pacific Airways, coordinated with interested tour operators and made it happen. We are expecting more of such kind of FAMS in near future to give first-hand information to our supporting Tour Operators.”
GNTO organizes its annual roadshow in India
Camp Wild Dhauj organises Fam for travel trade
Costa marks upcoming Mumbai sailings aboard Costa Luminosa
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MD & Founder Tejbir Singh Anand said, “The camp is surrounded by three villages and we felt a need to create an opportunity for everyone to be able to explore this amazing vicinity of our camp.”
For the first time, Indians can embark on a cruise liner from Mumbai and travel to destinations within India as Goa and Cochin and Maldives and Colombo. Costa neoClassica will also perform a series of weekly sailings from 16 Dec 2016 - 18 March 2017.
he German National Tourist Office (GNTO), India conducted its annual four- city roadshow in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi with a presence of 250 travel companies. The delegates were Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Schifffahrt AG, City Tourism Board of Cologne, State Tourism Board of Saxony, Stuttgart & Southwest Germany, City Tourism Board of Baden –Baden, Airberlin, Lufthansa German Airlines and Maritim Hotels. Romit Theophilus, Director Sales & Marketing, GNTO, said, “Germany has recorded over 5,00,432 overnights from India for January-August 2016 a growth of 4.4% over the same period last year.”
he Camp Wild Dhauj in the Aravali Valley, a unit of M/s Holiday Moods Adventures, recently organized a Fam trip for 50 travel trade members and members from ATOAI and ADTOI to the Aravali Valley that included three routes Aravali Exploration Ride, rural experiential ride, corporate team building ride with activities as rock climbing, rappelling, etc.
osta Cruises, with the Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai, welcomed guests on board the Costa Luminosa on the upcoming Mumbai sailings at an evening event. It witnessed the launch of FestaItaliana 2016 in Mumbai and celebrated the upcoming home porting of the Costa neoClassica in Mumbai from December 2016.
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Association
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9th ICPB Conclave deliberates on India’s MICE potential VW BUREAU
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he 9th ‘Conventions India Conclave’ was successfully held from 13 - 15 October, 2016 at the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel Delhi. The Conclave was supported by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India with Delhi Tourism as the Host State, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the Department of Tourism, Government of Gujarat as Gold Sponsors. In continuation to the theme of last year’s 8th Convention India Conclave “Unleashing the Potential”, with a focus on “Marketing, Networking and Skill Development” in the MICE sector, the theme for the 9th Conventions India Conclave event was “Harnessing the Potential”. The conclave provided an opportunity for participants from many different but related disciplines to interact, seek information and share experiences. Also, with the aim of strengthening the brand positioning of `Incredible India’ as a MICE destination, buyers from overseas were invited to meet with suppliers from India’s MICE industry and experience the product for themselves.
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The two-day conclave was attended by over 250 delegates from different segments of the industry attended the conclave including speakers, buyers (domestic and international), sellers /exhibitors, delegates, sponsors, students and media, the conference planners from overseas and from within the
country, besides representatives of hotels and tourism industry including hotel chains, travel agents, tour operators, event organisers. The event was inaugurated by Vinod Zutshi, IAS, Secretary Tourism, Government of India and the opening remarks were delivered by Suman Billa, Chairman ICPB & Joint Secretary (Tourism), Government of India. Chander Mansharmani, Vice Chairman ICPB welcomed the Guests. Zutshi shared the good news that as per ICCA, India’s ranking has gone up from 35 to 31 in the MICE sector and observed that India has potential to be one of the top 20 destinations in the world to hold International Conferences. The Ministry of Tourism supports Single window clearance for organizing meetings and conferences in India. Further, Secretary (Tourism) informed that a proposal for generation of a corpus fund is being proposed again to the Ministry of Finance for bringing International Conference to India. According to Suman Billa, India has a significant amount of infrastructure, but the challenge is to bring together all the stakeholders, conference venue, world heritage sites, stakeholders, professionals & experienced conference managers, tour operators and to connect the dots.
take off in the coming future. India’s booming economy and resurgent tourism sector augur well for the future of the Convention Tourism in the country. But there are some challenges – one of the key problem facing India’s MICE industry is lack of research information, secondly, there is no single body either at city or central level to track the Meeting Industry, its growth and impact on the economy. Unless we know the size of the Industry, it is difficult to work on economic development of the MICE Industry.
Vice Chairman ICPB, Chander Mansharamani expressed his views over the huge potential in the country for convention business to
He also suggested that the way forward through marketing activities. Source markets need to prioritize and develop an Annual
Marketing Calendar for tapping the source markets. ICPB as a Nodal Agency should bid for International Conferences and create State Chapters to bring all stakeholders on one platform for effective marketing. Mike Williams - Gainingedge. Com; Consultant - Destinations & Convention Bureaus, from Australia addressed the audience as a keynote speaker on Competitive Best Practices - what are the destinations doing to build a sustainable business events industry. A post tour to Agra was organised for the buyers.
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Voyager’s World > December 2016
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Top Appointments
45>> R. Ravi Varma
Surajit Ghose
General Manager Poetree Sarovar Portico Thekkady
Director of Sales The Suryaa, New Delhi
S
arovar Hotels appoints R. Ravi Varma as the General Manager of Poetree Sarovar Portico, Thekkady. Prior to this, he had worked as Executive Vice President at Linbur Group of Hotels, UK, and Group General Manager at Barracuda Beach Resort and Pearl Hotel, UAE, and also worked with Kumarakam Lake Resort and Silverwoods Resort Wayanad .
S
urojit Ghose has joined the Suryaa family back as Director of Sales. He was also associated with the Suryaa in the past as the Director of Sales Leisure. He has a vast experience with a front office and sales background and had started his career with ITC Maurya. He has been associated with brands like IHG, the Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and the Pallazio to mention a few.
Nicholas Dumbell
Sandeep Johri
GM, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Exec. Apts
N
icholas Dumbell is appointed as the General Manager of Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Mumbai Marriott Executive Apartments. He brings over 16 years of experience with the Marriott brand and has worked with prestigious brands under the Marriott portfolio such as Bengaluru Whitefield Marriott, Renaissance Kiev, Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel and Country Club.
General Manager, Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences
S
andeep Johri joins Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences as the General Manager. Prior to this, he had worked at Novotel Ahmedabad. He has worked with the Chancery Group in Bangalore, Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Centre – Vadodara, the Ambassador Group and Ramada in Mumbai. He has also worked as the Area Director with Sarovar Hotels.
Tanushree Joshi
Ranju Alex
Regional Sales & Marketing Manager-India & Australia, Sun Siyam Resorts
General Manager JW Marriott Kolkata
J
W Marriott Kolkata has appointed Ranju Alex as the General Manager. She is also the Multi-Property Vice-President, East. She joined Marriott International in 2010. She had worked as the General Manager at the Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata, Goa Marriott Resort &Spa and Courtyard by Marriott, Pune Hinjewadi. She has an experience of close to two decades in the hospitality.
A
T
he Sun Siyam Resorts in Maldives and Sri Lanka appointed Tanushree Joshi as the as the Regional Sales & Marketing Manager of India and Australia. She will be responsible for the overall sales, PR and marketing activities. She has an experience of over 12 years in the service and hospitality industry. Prior to this, she worked as the Account Director for Sun International Hotels, Southern Africa represented by Outbound Marketing.
Charu Surtani
Elroy Tulkar
Director, Hong Kong Office Akquasun Holidays Hong Kong
Director of Food & Beverage Grand Hyatt Mumbai
kquasun Holidays Hong Kong has appointed Charu Surtani as Director. With more than 19 years of experience in the travel trade covering both leisure and MICE fields, Charu has been associated with Akquasun Hong Kong from past three years. Charu will head its Hong Kong office taking care of inbound business globally. She will lead Akquasun inbound team in both the segments FIT and MICE segments .
G
rand Hyatt Mumbai appoints Elroy Tulkar as the Director of Food and Beverage. He is a seasoned professional with 14 years of experience in operations, training and management ,a dynamic leader and strategic thinker and decision-maker. He had worked at Conrad Pune & Conrad Dubai as the Director of Food and Beverage
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NETWORKING ISThE THE NETwORkING IS kE KEY y December 2016
January 2017
February 2017
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Arpil 2017
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26 Dec 2016- 28 Jan 2017 Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) Dubai
January 2017
February 2017
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Fitur Spain
Tourest Estonia
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India International Travel Mart Kochi
Guangzhou Int’l Travel Fair China
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Emitt Turkey
India International Travel Mart Kolkata
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Holiday Expo Coimbatore
Ferie for Alle Denmark
April 2017
March 2017 27 Feb, 1 Mar
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Meetings Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
World Travel Market Latin America Brazil
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International Luxury Travel Market Japan
Aitf Azerbaijan
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Kolkata 24, 25, 26 February 2017
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