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Vol. XXIV No. 2; January 2 nd fortnight issue 2012
Sahai deals with ‘burning issues’ The Minister was patient while hearing the issues being faced by the industry and assured of mechanism to rectify the issues in order to yield more visitors. JUSTIN THOMAS
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n a recent meeting with tour operators, Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism said,
Subodh Kant Sahai Union Minister for Tourism
“Government has embarked upon the policy of developing integrated investment plans for key circuits and destinations in states.”
These investment plans will identify components requiring investments through Government of India, state governments, Public Private Partnership (PPP) and private sector. An operator who attended the meeting disclosed to that while assuring full support to the minister for his credible plans for the sector, they, in turn, asked for the urgent curative measures to sustain
the industry. One of the points raised was that both the state as well as union government were discriminately taxing the industry and if not taken care of will lead to the classic case of killing the goose that laid golden egg. Another issue was regarding Market Development Assistance, with the operators asking for the government to be proactive by
encouraging and supporting those who were availing this scheme. Problems prevailing Air India was a concern for the operators. Their argument was even if they supplied their clients with tickets on the national carrier, the lack of tie-ups with other carriers, since Air India has limited connectivity, hampered streamlining of journeys across multiple destinations. Contd. on page 14
Finally, a much needed association Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), the new association’s core objective lies in ensuring ethics and professionalism in the outbound trade. S H AYA N M A L L I C K
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ecognising India’s growing prominence as tourism source market and a need to create a representative trade body that can effectively address various issues concerning the
outbound trade and further contribute to the sector’s growth, the outbound travel fraternity in India has launched Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI). The Association will take it upon itself to provide support for
(L-R): Gopal, Munshi, Sahni, Bhalla, Sabharwal
its members from knowledge building, training and innovation to setting the highest
standards of ethics and professionalism in the industry and its management. It will
also promote entrepreneurship and collaboration with Contd. on page 6
MOT gears up for Clean India See full story on page 3
11 new airports & 26 new helipads in Gujarat See full story on page 32
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BULLETIN
MOT gears up for Clean India Connecting cleanliness with increasing tourist arrivals, Tourism ministry has opened a new revolutionary front which could cause a ripple effect on the travel industry in India. T T B U R E AU
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n an offensive to improve hygiene and cleanliness standards across country, Ministry of Tourism organised a workshop called ‘Campaign Clean India’, which brought together individuals and institutions representing varied interests. The workshop hoped to see the emergence of action groups, each with a clear functional mandate. An independent study, conducted at five tourist destinations, has categorised hygiene and sanitation conditions, solid waste management and provision of hygienically main-
tained public amenities high in importance but low in satisfaction. The Campaign will be expected to correct these weaknesses. Speaking on the occasion, Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism said, “The success of Campaign may well decide if the targetted growth specific to tourism would be achieved.” The Tourism Minister informed the gathering that his Ministry will finalise and plan the campaign strategy, incorporating the workshop recommendations, by March 31, 2012. Contd. on page 6
APJ Abdul Kalam
Subodh Kant Sahai
Former President India
Union Minister for Tourism
RH Khwaja
Anand Kumar
Secretary Ministry of Tourism, GOI
Joint Secretary Ministry of Tourism
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STATISTICS
APAC corporate travel to pick up
VIEWPOINT
The Egencia report predicts growth of six per cent in the Asia Pacific corporate travel market in 2012. Also, the Indian average ticket prices are expected to increase while average daily hotel rates will come down to certain extent. gives details on the growth trends of corporate world.
A close look at filthy facts
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he Global Hygiene Council-an independent body comprising experts in the field of hygiene and medicine-in a study has ranked India at the bottom of the hygiene chart. Compared to the world average of 70 per cent dirt level, India notched up a shameful 95 per cent in dirt and filth. Today’s modern industrialised society, which is getting obsessive about both personal and public hygiene, will view such reports very seriously. In the present context, such negative reports result in bad publicity for India as a travel destination. Ministry of Tourism has, since 2004-05, made a laudable effort in its campaign to sensitise both stakeholders as well as the general public towards their civic responsibility. In 2010-11, MOT along with the actor Aamir Khan, produced television and radio commercials on cleanliness and civic responsibilities. The Ministry of Tourism’s Clean India Campaign is a brilliant initiative that should get wholehearted support from the travel and hospitality industry, and the travel media. The campaign that kicked off on April 1 this year should become more than just a social awareness campaign. The campaign ought to persuade the Government/Parliament to bring in legislation that this country will not accept anything unclean. India has a dubious distinction of being a ‘mature’ democracy and therefore this large populace will resent anything that is asked of them. Yet this mature democracy learnt to wear seat belts and helmets. Not by cajoling but by being fined. This probably seems to be the only workable solution. Singapore is a classic example where public hygiene was brought in as law and that law was sincerely enforced. According to a WHO report, 1.1 million litres of raw sewage is dumped into the Ganges every minute. Who can stop this - social awareness, media persuasion or administrative machinery? A combination of all three!
Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Publisher Rupali Narasimhan Editorial Director Deepa Sethi Editor
Editorial Shayan Mallick Ratan Kr Paul Megha Paul Anita Jain Justin Thomas Desk-Editor Archana Sharma Sub-Editor Raina Mandal Divya Goyal
Advertising Gunjan Sabikhi General Manager N. Sanjiba Singh Sr. Manager Marketing Karishma Khanna Sr. Manager Marketing Manish Mangla Asst. Manager-Marketing Amit Sarkar Sr. Marketing Co-ordinator
TT B U R E AU
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gencia, an Expedia Inc. company, recently unveiled its 2012 Corporate Travel Forecast and Hotel Negotiability Index, finding that airline average ticket prices (ATPs) and hotel average daily rates (ADRs) for top
Average Ticket Prices Charts below illustrate projected yearover-year 2012 versus 2011 ATP and advanced purchase projections in the local currency in selected business travel destinations around the world for Asia Pacific points of sale. Market
Bangkok Beijing Delhi Hong Kong Jakarta Manila Melbourne Mumbai Seoul Shanghai Singapore Sydney Taipei Tokyo London Los Angeles New York Paris San Francisco
ATP 2012
Advance Purchase Saving 22 days
11% 9% 8% 6% 15% 4% 2% 13% -4% 2% 9% 0% 3% 3% 10% 8% 10% 7% 4%
7% 20% 13% 14% 3% 4% 18% 18% 14% 19% 8% 11% 11% 13% 2% 11% 9% 5% 10%
corporate travel destinations will be slightly up overall in North America and Europe, with the most significant increases to occur in the Asia Pacific region. Egencia’s Hotel Negotiability Index also suggests that corporations will continue to face a weak to moderate negotiating environment in 2012 across the Asia Pacific region.
Growth in ATPs Based on Egencia’s 2012 Global Corporate Travel Forecast, ATPs overall for corporate travellers to top business travel destinations are expected to be:
Slightly to moderately up (6%) in Asia Pacific destinations Slightly up (4%) in North American destinations Slightly up (4%) in European travel destinations
Advertising (Mumbai) Suchita Saran Branch Manager Harshal Ashar Deputy General Manager Advertisement Designers Vikas Mandotia Nitin Kumar Renuka Mahich Design: Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal Production: Anil Kharbanda Circulation: Ashok Rana
The hotel environment continues to show signs of year-on-year growth relative to increased corporate demand, resulting in improved hotel occupancy worldwide. In key destinations for 2012, Egencia forecasts average daily rate increases in:
expectations for 2012. According to survey respondents, 40 per cent of buyers have slightly or significantly increased travel over the last 6 months, compared with
Asia Pacific (up 7%) North America (up 5%) Europe (up 2%) Talking about the forecast, Gaurav Sundaram, Country Director Egencia India, said, “We are predicting India will offer a diverse corporate travel landscape next year. In India we will continue to see overall growth of the corporate travel market as a response to the Asia Pacific growth rates, ATPs are increasing in contrast to decreasing ADRs.”
Gaurav Sundaram Country Director Egencia India
We are predicting India will offer a diverse corporate travel landscape next year. In India we will continue to see overall growth of the corporate travel market
APAC outlook
just one third of buyers last year signalling a continued rise in the overall travel demand.
Mobile Mobile devices are becoming increasingly important to today’s travel man-
Travel Management Trends Egencia surveyed more than 250 travel buyers in the Asia Pacific, North America and Europe regarding cost control measures, travel spend, technology trends and
TRAVTALK is a publication of Durga Das Publications Private Limited. All information in TRAVTALK is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regret that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract and/or in interviews are not necessarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readers that one or more recognised authorities may hold different views than those reported. Material used in this publication is intended for information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific
(ATPs) and hotel average daily rates (ADRs) for top corporate travel destinations will be slightly up overall in North America and Europe, with the most significant increases to occur in the Asia Pacific region The hotel environment continues to show signs of year-on-year growth relative to increased corporate demand, resulting in improved hotel occupancy worldwide
He added, “In this complex travel landscape, we work with our clients to ensure that they are well informed and are leveraging the right tools and technologies to optimise their travel programmes and attain maximum cost control.”
ATPs for Asia Pacific are likely to increase in almost every destination we analysed, signifying growth for the region. Rising demand and prices in business travel correspond with Asia Pacific GDP growth expected to average four per cent, except for China and India which are expected to grow nine per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively according to the IMF World Economic Outlook Database. India’s top business hubs of Delhi and Mumbai have increased significantly in comparison to the rest of the region at eight per cent and 11 per cent respectively.
Trends
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On Finger Tips Respondents identified the following as the most important uses for mobile technology during business travel.
Check flight status (77%) Online check-in (77%) Urgent destination/ flight alerts (60%) Review latest itinerary (59%)
The publisher assumes no responsibility for returning any material solicited or unsolicited nor is he responsible for material lost or damaged.
India’s top business hubs of Delhi and Mumbai have increased significantly in comparison to the rest of the region at eight per cent and 11 per cent respectively
agers, with 70 per cent of respondents saying that mobile devices/ functionalities are moderately important to very important to their travel programmes. "With over 5 million new subscribers a month in India for smart-phones, we understand the needs of the business traveller have evolved. The release of Egencia Mobile for the iPhone will deliver global best in class experience and technology solutions to Egencia clients in India. This will soon be extended to all other smart phone platforms like Android, Blackberry & others," said Gaurav Sundaram, Country Director, Egencia India.
Social Media While mobile device use continues to gain popularity among travel managers and their travellers, social media appears to be a lesser priority with 71 per cent of travel managers saying they do not use social media tools to communicate with their travellers. This number is anticipated to decrease as mobile and social media continue to become increasingly symbiotic.
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EXHIBITIONS
JANUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012
TRAVTALK
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India to have a large contingent exhibiting at FITUR The fair will strengthen its initiatives aimed at opening up new trade opportunities for participants. The event is scheduled from January 18-22, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. Focussing on areas of greatest potential
T T B U R E AU
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ndia will have a large contingent exhibiting at FITUR this year. India Tourism has taken large space to promote various niche Indian products and destinations. Besides, State Tourism Boards like Kerala and Karnataka will also be exhibiting separately. Industry body FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations), set up by Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, is also taking part in show. The total Indian presence will be spread over close to 700 square metres. Several first time exhibitors including India Insight Tours, Atithi Voyages, MRS Hospitality are participating to showcase their products to potential buyers. Prominent names like Travelite, Caper Travel, Indo Asian Tours, LPTI, Minar, Somatheeram, Travel Corporation India among others will also showcase at the exhibition. FITUR, the International Tourism Trade Fair, which will take place from January 18-22, 2012, aims to serve, now more than ever, as an effective tool for the tourist industry. With this objective in mind, the fair's organisers have strengthened their initiatives aimed at promoting meetings between professionals, effectively creating synergies that are likely to open up new business opportunities. Among these initiatives, the fair will stage the second edition of the FITUR Workshop, where professionals from all over the world who have been invited to the fair through the Foreign Buyers Programme can hold B2B meetings with the exhibitors at the fair itself. This year, in order to adapt to the interests of the participants even more closely, it will be the exhibitors themselves that choose the buyers who are invited to the fair. This guarantees a high degree of interest in the corresponding interviews and, in turn, the potential for business at these meetings. Also with a view to providing a boost for the tourist industry, FITUR 2012 will host the staging of a Brokerage Event, which aims, among other objectives, to create new opportunities to find trade and technology partners throughout Europe, to facilitate the exchange of experiences with other companies from the international
market, and to open up new opportunities for marketing products, services and technologies linked to the field of tourism.
In addition, at its year 2012 edition, FITUR will seek to highlight one of the business segments of greatest potential within the market: LGBT. Following the excellent results achieved at the first
edition, the fair aims to raise the profile of this segment, boosting the participation of companies and destinations that specialise in the LGBT segment. The fair will also strengthen the conferences aimed at professionals who are interested in reaching this sector of society.
Another aspect is that the fair will continue to strengthen and promote the sustainability of the tourist establishments. In this case,, FITUR GREEN, which is organised by the fair in conjunction with the Hotel Industry Technological Institute (ITH), will stage its third edition in
2012, introducing professionals to the latest-generation solutions and to the companies that are able to help them set up tourism models that are more eco-friendly. For the second consecutive year, FITUR will also provide the staging of the National Congress on the Management of Travel Companies, an event organised by the Iberian Association of Travel Company Managers (IBTA).
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MOT
Joining hands for clean job Contd. from page 3
The implementation will start from April 1, 2012. “Clean environment empowers societies. Involvement of students in large numbers in prevention
shop. Former Union Minister and former Member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha and noted cine actor from South, Chiranjivi in their address offered their wholehearted support to the campaign. The ‘Campaign Clean
liness and hygiene. The objective is also to ensure that these levels are sustained through ownership and involvement of private and public sector stakeholders. The campaign will be part of Government’s
Lamp lighting ceremony at Clean India Campaign
of indiscriminate dumping and better location of garbage collection points is imperative”, remarked former President APJ Abdul Kalam while inaugurating the work-
India’ is aimed to undertake both sensitisation and action at field level on bringing our tourism destinations and their surroundings to an acceptable level of clean-
strategy of the 12th five-year plan for improving the quality of services and environs in and around tourist destinations across India.
OTOAI for outbound’s growth Contd. from page 1
stakeholders like National Tourist Offices (NTO) and Destination Management Companies (DMC). A registered body, OTOAI has been established
Executive Committee Guldeep Singh Sahni President Riaz Munshi Vice President Shravan Bhalla General Secretary Vineet Gopal Joint Secretary Rajeev Sabharwal Treasurer
Gurdeep Gujral, Director, Gujral Tours & Travels has been appointed as Head Chapters.
Sidharth Khanna, CEO, Khanna Enterprises will hold the office of Head IT. as a not-for-profit organisation that will safeguard the interest of India’s outbound trade, the overseas suppliers as well as the end-consumers. The organisation also aims to improve transparency, conduct education programme on new tourism products and destinations and will work in close asso-
ciation with various NTOs present in the country. The Association will take members under various categories including Active, Allied, Honorary, NTO and Overseas Suppliers. Introducing the new trade association at a function held in Le Meridien New Delhi, Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI said, “Bringing ethics and standards will be at the core of OTOAI existence while the association marches forward to bring together India’s outbound trade on a single unified platform, under the aegis of OTOAI. The Association will work towards the welfare of India’s outbound trade and restore confidence of our overseas suppliers as well as travellers in the Indian travel professionals. Arbitration for both, OTOAI members and the customers, will be one of our key functions. We will also closely engage with the industry stakeholders like NTOs towards achieving our objective.” OTOAI has also laid down special focus on arbitration for both customers and its members. The Arbitration Committee will deal with all cases in a fair and just manner and the ruling passed thereafter will be final for both parties involved, whether it is an issue for an international supplier, a customer or its member.
The trade body is built on the belief that the travel industry should be equitable, free and efficient giving every stakeholder the chance to earn a fair return, while ensuring customers take precedence over other industry participants. It will also work towards creating jobs for the weaker
Other Pan-India Founder Members Sumanth Kapoor Travel Engineers Chandigarh Ranjana Sharma Trav & Tours International Gurgaon Himanshu Patil Kesari Tours Mumbai Narinder Pal Singh Marwah Marwah Tours & Travels Nagpur Mahendra Vakharia Pathfinders Holidays Ahmedabad Sajjan Kumar Gupta Vayuseva Kolkata Manish Kirplani Baywatch Travels Chennai
section and promote ‘Green and Sustainable Tourism’.
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8 TRAVTALK
HOTELS
JANUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012
Business Meets and Conferences in style Sinclairs Hotel & Resorts provides the perfect mix of business and pleasure. A conference and business centre of unbeatable standards, it also offers a whole range of value added services. Nestled close to the legendary Mahananda River and surrounded by lush greenery, Hotel Sinclairs Siliguri is an ideal destination for both business and pleasure. A grand address to the town of Siliguri, Hotel Sinclairs is renowned for professional and attentive service. Palm fronds against its giant ochre columns, adds to the beauty of the luxurious hotel. The well-appointed rooms and suites are equipped with modern facilities. Sinclairs Siliguri is an excellent corporate venue for product launches, dealer meets, media conferences, board meetings, doctors’ meetings and medical representive meetings. The excellent, well furnished and air conditioned banquet halls are sure to make your meetings a complete success.
‘The Emperor’ is a tastefully decorated luxurious board room with exquisite furniture, perfect for hosting small meetings up to 16 people. The ‘Summit’ is a stylish, yet striking banquet hall, designed to hold up to 30 people and is ideal for training sessions and small gettogethers. Rich in ambience, ‘The Regency’ is a mediumsize conference hall that can accommodate up to 60 people. ‘The Heritage’ is a large pillar-less conference venue overlooking a well-tended garden covering an area of 30,000 square feet. It can hold up to 200 people and is perfect for major conferences, conventions, seminars, product launches, roadshows, dinner functions and wedding parties. The elegantly designed ‘Durbar’ is a new conference hall with an openair terrace, an ideal venue for large get-togethers, wedding functions and parties. Only 90-minutes by road from Sinclairs Siliguri will take you to Sinclairs Retreat Dooars, a destination with unmatched natural beauty.
Budget or Luxury, take your pick with ibis or Novotel in Bengaluru The fourth ibis property in India is the first combo property of Accor in the country. The hotel will share the property with Novotel Bengaluru Techpark. M E G H A PAU L
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he newest addition in the ibis portfolio of the hospitality chain Accor is the ibis Bengaluru Techpark. Not only it is the fourth ibis
Philip Logan General Manager Delegate Bangalore Hotels, Accor-India
in India, but it also forms a part of the first combo property of Accor in the country. Talking about this combo property, Philip Logan, General Manager Delegate,
Bangalore Hotels, AccorIndia, elucidates, “The hotel will share the property with Novotel Bengaluru Techpark.
The combination product provides a complete business solution with both, the best value international hotel (ibis Bengaluru Techpark) in the mid-scale hotel space, and, an up-market business hotel (Novotel Bengaluru Techpark), designed for the discerning business travellers.”
The hotel is cashing in on the prime location in the IT hub. Regarding the clientele target in the hotel, Logan says, “In India, ibis is popular with global multinational companies and locals alike. Considering the location of the 332-room ibis Bengaluru, our clientele would obviously comprise largely of the corporates.” According to Logan, leisure travel does exist in the Bengaluru market but it is often merged with businessrelated events. He feels, “More than 90 per cent of the city’s inbound travel is from the cor-
Expansion The brand will open two more ibis properties in the city. The third property, ibis Bengaluru City Centre to open by mid-2013
porate market. Ibis operates in 900 locations worldwide and is extremely popular with both domestic and international travellers alike. In ibis Bengaluru Techpark, more than 65 per cent of travel is from the domestic audience.” Capitalising on the growing demand in the Bengaluru hospitality market, the brand will open two more ibis properties in the city in the near future. Logan reveals, “ibis Bengaluru Hosur Road is our second property that will open next year. It is an owned and managed property featuring 185 guest rooms. This property has three floors for commercial space and all rooms have a superior city view. Also, we expect our third property, ibis Bengaluru City Centre to open by mid-2013. It will feature 165 guest rooms and will showcase a mix of commercial office and retail space.”
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10 TRAVTALK
HOTELS
JANUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012
Zuri’s farewell to Goa hotel ‘Meetings Excellence’ by Marriott The 106-room property with Portuguese structure The Marriott Hotels plans to roll out the Meetings and set-up has been sold at a whopping Excellence programme in India, which will address ` 112 crore to Mahindra Holiday and Resorts India. travel agents’ and operators’ search for fresh talent. T T B U R E AU
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uri Hotels and Resorts have sold one of its Goa properties ‘The Retreat, By Zuri, Goa’. The final details of the deal are in process and Mahindra Holiday and Resorts India (MHRIL) is taking over the property starting January 2012. The 106-room property with Portuguese structure and set-up has been sold at a whopping ` 112 crore estimated. Talking about the planned and strategic decision made by the Zuri Group Global, Bobby Kamani, Managing Director, Zuri Group Global informed, “The primary reason is the over-exposure of two Zuri properties in Goa. It was quite an interesting deal that Mahindra made us for ‘The Retreat’ and it works in our benefit.” The decision taken will help reduce debt and completely refurbish Zuri’s other
37-acre property in Goa. More investments will be pumped in to further expand the hospitality basket under
Ludhiana from December 23-25 and from December 31 to January 1, 2012, the event will take place in Dehradun.
Bobby Kamani
Priti Chand
Managing Director Zuri Group Global
Vice President-Corp Comm and PR, Zuri Group
the Zuri Group Global. Priti Chand, Vice President-Corp Comm and PR, Zuri Group, revealed, “We will utilise the money for the renovation of The Zuri Whitesands, Goa Resort and Casino and also our Kumarakom property.” After Gurgaon, the campaign was showcased in
The campaign plans to go to other major cities across the country including Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram,Madurai , Mysore, Coimbatore, Baroda, Bhopal, Indore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Kolkata, Gandhinagar, Bharoach, Nagpur, Jalgaon, Rajkot and Chandigarh. Also, the event will take place in Mumbai twice.
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ollowing the initial success of Hotel Excellence programme by The Marriott Hotels along with Kuoni Academy, the hotel group is now planning to roll out ‘Meetings Excellence by Marriott’ in India. Ramesh Daryanani, Regional Director, Global Sales, Marriott International informed, “The Meetings Excellence programme has been operational globally for 2-3 years now and so far 6 lakh candidates have graduated in this course. We wish to start it here in India too, which addresses MICE industry concerns. Also, this kind of course would allow students to be better equipped for the travel trade industry to utilise their fresh approach for sales.” Earlier, along with Kuoni Academy, the hotel group launched Hotel Excellence programme in August 2011 for undergraduates and even
Ramesh Daryanani
Kapil Srivastava
Regional Director, Global Sales Marriott International
Regional Head (North & East) Kuoni Academy
working professionals who wish to pursue career in sales. Daryanani said, “There is an interest for these courses and we wish to take it a step further. Next year, we expect 3,000 students successfully completing the programme so that our travel trade could hire quality work force. We award successful candidates with ‘Hotel Sales Specialist Certified by Marriott’.” Kapil Srivastava, Regional Head (North & East), Kuoni
Academy said, “A majority of travel course content focus on ticketing and other travel related packages, etc. With this programme, a candidate gets a holistic viewpoint on travel including hotels and is well versed with terminologies that are needed for successful sales agents.” Initially launched as a pilot project in one centre in Delhi, Hotel Excellence programme will now be extended to all other Kuoni Academy centres across the country.
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12 TRAVTALK
JANUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012
HOTELS
Lalit ‘develops’ destinations Lalit’s centenary celebrations The hotel chain has adopted the philosophy of developing destination through innovative initiatives and sports. Samil Malhotra, VP, Sales & Marketing, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, shares details with . S H AYA N M A L L I C K
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ndia’s is a land of attractions, sports and festivals. And probably Lalit Hotels, touted to be largest privately owned hotel chain in India, realises it better than the most as the hotel chain gives equal priority to developing destinations and its properties. The hotel chain today operates 8 properties including 5 in leisure destinations where it is engaged in destination development and branding activities through a host of initiatives. Today Lalit Hotels is not just promoting its properties but is also helping revive some gradually dying sports, creating new products as well as helping promote the destination like in Drass, Srinagar, Goa, Bekal and Khajuraho. “These initiatives help in changing the perception of the destination and
gives more visibility and eventually helps the destinations,” says Malhotra.
Samil Malhotra Vice President, Sales & Marketing The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group
The Company recently organised its first Lalit Shikarathon on Dal Lake in Kashmir to celebrate 100 years of celebrations of The Lalit Grand Palace Srinagar. “The Lalit Suri Polo at Drass in Kashmir is another annual programme that is not only reviving the game in the region but
is also helping in popularising the destination,” he said. Khajuraho, home to company’s another property, ‘The Lalit Temple View Khajuraho’, also witnesses a couple of annual event organised by the Lalit Hotels. “Khajuraho is a great place for cultural experiences combined with wildlife safari. We do several activities there including ‘Shiv Vivah’ which is a full night opera that brings together a multitude of artists from all over the country performing throughout the night. Lalit Art Festival is another activity that we do in Khajuraho,” he informed. Lalit will organise ‘The Lalit Utsav 2012 – a cultural fest to promote art and culture in Bekal, Kerala. Besides that it also organises its annual ‘The Lalit Kabbaddi Tournament’ in Bekal. In Goa, the company organises, ‘The Lalit Suri Cycle Polo.’
To celebrate the centenary anniversary year of The Lalit Grand Palace Srinagar, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group organised the screening of ‘Valley of Legends’ at The Lalit New Delhi on December 7, 2011. The movie showcased beautiful memories of noted celebrities (from Mumbai Film Industry & Politics) associated with Srinagar. Conceptualised by Dr. Jyotsna Suri, CMD, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, the movie is an initiative to bring back the charm of the valley, to revive old memories and strengthen its association with the Hindi Film Industry.
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14 TRAVTALK
JANUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012
NTO
‘Travel Turkey Izmir 2011’ 1 event, many destinations The event attracted record visitors which included over 20,000 from the travel trade and general visitors from 33 countries shopping for tourism products from 19 countries, besides Turkey. S H AYA N M A L L I C K
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s the 7th biggest tourist recipient destination, Turkey is being increasingly recognised as the tourism source market. The recently concluded ‘Travel Turkey Izmir 2011’ was a testimony to the obvious stated above. The tourism mart has grown from its first edition that was spread just over 500 sqm to more than 10,500 sqm of space in the recently concluded edition last month in
IZMIR, TURKEY Conference is organised in cooperation with Izmir Fair Services Culture and Art Affairs Trade Inc. (IZFAS), Hannover Messe International Istanbul and ATTA (TÜRSAB). The first 2 days were strictly B2B while in remaining two days the show welcomed the consumers. A total of 638 exhibitors including 19 countries, DMC, Tour Operators and Travel Agents, Hotels, Transporters
Alexander Kuhnel
Ufuk Altintop
General Manager Deutsche Messe Worldwide
Deputy General Manager Deutsche Messe Worldwide
try, Greece as the honour guest country and Kutahya as the partner city. The 4-day fair was visited by more than 20,000 buyers including trade and consumers from 33 countries.
of international exhibitors to the show in the coming years. The mart has come to a level where it can attract increasing number of exhibitors in the coming years.”
Turkish sponsor hosted buyers Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city. The fair recoded a 10% growth in exhibitors’ participation over the previous year. In 2010, 585 companies from 17 countries had participated in the fair and the fair was visited by close to 16000 people from 30 countries. Travel Turkey Izmir – the 5th Tourism Fair and
and other tourism service providers came to showcase their range of products to the potential buyers from Turkey and 12 other countries. The event had also specially invited 70 international hosted buyers. The fair attracted 78 international exhibitors. The exhibition hosted Holland as the partner coun-
‘India key to drive future tourism growth’ Talking to on the sidelines of the recently concluded ‘Travel Turkey Izmir,’ the Turkish Minister of Tourism & Culture, Ertuğrul GÜNAY said, “We are also aggressively looking at developing newer markets like India, China and other emerging economies by engaging in various activities like cultural shows, cinema festivals and other initiatives.” The Minister said that
India will play a key role in driving future growth of Turkish tourism. He informed that his Ministry is planning study visits, various cultural shows and other market development initiatives in India in 2012. “Turkey has a rich culture and culinary. We have ancient sites of tourist interests which are connected to Roman, Greek, Persian, Ottoman and Seljuk dynasties,” he said.
Turkish Airlines, the airline sponsor for ‘Travel Turkey Izmir’ hosted 70 specially invited guests from 12 countries that included trade and media. The exhibitors had face-to-face meetings with the trade buyers in the B2B Pavilion. Also the international buyer delegates had the chance of visiting Istanbul and Izmir and the historical areas like the Ephesus and Virgin Mary. Talking to , Alexander Kuhnel, General Manager, Hannover Messe International Istanbul, said, “Travel Turkey Izmir provides a great platform to destinations and other tourism service providers and suppliers to promote themselves. The show this year has a very healthy mix of national and international buyers. We have 70 hosted international buyers apart from non-hosted buyers.” Ufuk Altintop, Deputy General Manager, Hannover Messe International Istanbul, said, “We would like to increase the number
Adnan Aykac General Manager – Northern & Eastern India, Turkish Airlines
Speaking at the fair, Ertuğrul GÜNAY, Turkish Tourism Minister of Culture & Tourism, said that with the economic crisis looming large over Europe, Turkey foresees a difficult 2012. “The tourism sector will help the country sail through the difficult phase with relative ease. The sector is driven by the private players and fair like Travel Turkey Izmir will have a major role to play,” He also said that there is need to increase flights and connectivity within and outside the country and products like cruise tours and air fair needs to be cheaper.
Travel Agents & Sahai meeting Contd. from page 1
Visa woes continue to evolve even after the online forms were available. These include the availability of forms in English language only. This becomes a barrier for those from certain European, East
Asian and Arab countries. Putting irrelevant questions on the visa form is another issue. Strangely the form asks a special size of photo which is not available in a normal kiosk. Applicants have to specially go to Indian consulate or embassy
to get their picture clicked and they are charged US$ 15. More importantly for agents, group visa bookings can’t be done online, hence it was pointed out to the minister that the country was losing out on visitors.
The group requested the minister to facilitate visits of foreign tour operators to India so that local partnerships could be easily forged. They added that this process should be reciprocated by arranging more roadshows abroad.
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ANALYSIS
LGBT tourism flourishing in India The first Asian symposium on gay and lesbian tourism in New Delhi was a B2B event that showcased Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) tourism in India to promote the country as a gay-friendly destination. M E G H A PAU L
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ndia is slowly catching up with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) travel radar as a preferred destination. This was reflected in the recently concluded first Asian symposium on gay and lesbian tourism in New Delhi organised by Community Marketing, a USbased LGBT market research company. As travel agents are now exploring more opportunities to provide custom-made holidays for the LGBT segment to garner more revenues, the B2B event brought together about 75 tour and hotel operators in India. Talking about this lucrative and expanding market for the travel agents, Abhinav Goel, Founder, Out Journeys, a gay and lesbian tour operator in India and one
wide community that we are gay-friendly.”
needs to change over time,” he added.
According to Goel, the growth potential for gay tourists is so high that it has attracted even established players like Sita, Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings to the emerging travel segment. To cash in on this segment, the tour operator will introduce packages for GITs and fixed scheduled departures this year. “Last year, we only did FITs. Looking at the increasing demand, we will unveil GIT and fixed departures this year,” he said.
International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), a UN-accredited body to look after the travel trade industry of this niche segment, feels that with an improving environment in India regarding the gay issue, the country will surely attract more LGBT customers. Talking about the interest generated among the travel agents in the country, John Tanzella, President and CEO, IGLTA revealed, “IGLTA has definitely seen an increased interest from our tour operator members in other countries who are selling more LGBT group trips to India to the growth of our membership base there.” “The body now has 11 member businesses in India, which might seem like a small number but this has leaped exponentially since we appointed our first India ambassador in May 2011,” he added.
Regarding the challenge faced by tour operators to explore this segment, he confessed, “Tour operators face hurdles in terms of providing sensitivity training to their vendors, including drivers, tour guides and hotel staff.” One of the biggest areas that the symposium addressed
Abhinav Goel
John Tanzella
Founder Out Journeys
President and CEO IGLTA
of the sponsors of the symposium said, “Now more private sector travel providers want to capture this market. It is not rocket science to be gay-friendly but it is not that easy as well. Hence, the idea was to create a platform for tour operators to send out a message to the world-
was training the hotel and tour personnel to be more accepting and less discriminatory. For instance, the word queer is acceptable in India but shunned in many other countries. “And you don’t call a same-sex couple ‘friends’. You call them ‘partners’. Besides, the general attitude
Addressing the travel operators to cater to this niche segment, Tanzella urged, “LGBT travellers want to feel safe and welcome and sometimes that means an agent has to go that extra mile to make that happen. Gay travellers often face thoughtlessness such as the hotel front desk asking a same-sex couple if they would prefer two beds rather than a single bed that was booked. A good tour operator can prevent these uncomfortable moments with attention to detail during booking.” “Also, do your homework. Find out what gay events are happening in the area and identify places that are popular with local LGBT people. Creating thoughtful itineraries goes a long way,” he added.
Arzoo.com launches online travel guide Arzoo.com recently introduced an online travel guide showcasing the finest and most exotic destinations in India. This new feature on the Arzoo.com website enables the travellers with the information on the historical importance of places that they may want to visit, suggest attractive tourist spots, list out area wise specialties etc. This travel guide furnishes all possible information to the travellers and helps them to
know more about their favourite destination. Speaking on the launch of this new feature, Amal Purandare, Head Operations, Arzoo.com said, “This travel guide simplifies the planing process for travellers in chalking out their holiday plans. We have made sure that we cover the most visited destinations in India through our website. Our customers can now access to exhaustive information on
Amal Purandare Head Operations Arzoo.com
various destinations at a click of a button.”
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Indian arrivals grow by 68% in Spain Aiming to achieve maximum eyeballs and translating into interest and conversions for holidays, Spain is inviting the Indian MICE travellers this year… A N I TA J A I N
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he previous year proved to be a promising year for Spain with a growth of 68 per cent in tourist arrivals from India between January– August as compared to the same period in 2010. However, this year, the tourism board will emphasise on the MICE sector. According to the board, the destination is popular for large Congress and exhibitions and recorded almost 300 per cent increase in incentive travel from India to
Spain. With global congresses scheduled for this year, it is expecting to receive further growth from Indian MICE sector. Congresses like The Mobile World Congress (Feb 27- March 1); World Congress on Controversies in Arthoplasty, Spine, Orthopedic Trauma, Arthroscopic surgery and Sports Medicine (April 1922), the CPHI Worldwide (October 9-11) are just few leading events in Spain which will attract over 30,000 attendees from 140 countries and over 1900 exhibitors. Apart from this, there are
segments of travellers from India and we will concentrate on it by promoting the international congresses, fairs, festivals and events through MICE operators in India.”
Fashion week in Madrid and Barcelona along with Motor Shows featuring latest vehicles from around the world which will be of interest for Indian corporate and leisure travellers’ segment. Talking about the focus and strategies, Arturo Orliz, Director – India, Spain Tourism said, “For 2012, we will continue to establish and build on the brand Spain in India by focussing on a high visibility campaign and marketing activities. We will work closely with tour operators and airlines to make
Arturo Orliz Director – India, Spain Tourism
Spain a top of the mind recall holiday destination in Europe. MICE is one of the growing
Adding further on the challenges and opportunities for Spain Tourism in India, Orliz said, “The challenge lies in the knowledge about the destination with the travel trade and their expertise in packaging it smartly. We feel that there is a lack of understanding among the travel trade in identifying and understanding the profile of the
traveller to Spain. The traveller to Spain is already experienced, and when he or she is planning a holiday to Spain, he looks for experiences. This knowledge and an ability to recommend a suitable itinerary to satisfy the traveller is lacking which is one of our biggest challenges.” The tourism board will continue to train and educate the trade about destination and its product offering as it is the key to success of a destination. It will also assist the travel trade in designing and developing products and right itineraries for the right segment of travellers. Furthermore, it will join hands with tour operators in their marketing efforts across India.
SATB: 5-city roadshow starts Australia: Destination Training in Mumbai from January 30 Programme in 8 Indian cities With an array of activities and promotions planned this After certifying 2200 Aussie Specialists in India, year, South African Tourism Board is positive to beat the Tourism Australia is now organising Destination inevitable financial crisis in 2012 predicted by the UN. Training Programmes for the front line staff in 8 cities. A N I TA J A I N
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outh African Tourism Board in India is gearing up to welcome increased number of Indian travellers this year. Despite the forecast about a global financial crunch in 2012, the tourism board is positive to record a growth in terms of Indian arrivals, average length of stay and expenditure per traveller. It is bidding high on its destination image, brand awareness, distinct portfolio of products, connectivity and consistent support from the Indian travel trade partners. The tourism board will enhance the product knowledge through roadshows, training programmes, workshops and familiarisation trips for the trade. It has also launched cinema campaigns
Hanneli Slabber Country Manager South African Tourism
and outdoor promotional activities to enhance the destination image among the Indian travellers. To start with, it will have its five-city annual roadshow kick-starting from January 30 in Mumbai and winding up on February 6 in Pune.
Talking about the positive outlook for this year, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism said, “At this moment, India is one of the biggest tourist source markets for us in Asia. With an enhanced air connectivity, improved itineraries, array of products to suit every segment of travellers and affordability of the destination, we are positive to record growth from India and are sure that the global slowdown will not affect the Indian outbound segment. Our focus this year will be mainly on MICE and we will work closely with the corporate travel management companies to make South Africa a leading outbound destination for Indian MICE segment.”
T T B U R E AU
detailed knowledge on the destiourism Australia nation to the travel Day City Venue will organise a agents. Speaking Destination Training January 9 New Delhi Taj Palace about the training Programme for frontJanuary 11 Kolkata The Park programme, line staff of travel January 18 Bengaluru The Taj West End Nishant Kashikar, agencies based in January 20 Hyderabad The Park Country Manager – eight potential cities January 23 Mumbai Four Seasons Hotel India, Tourism of India from mid January 24 Ahmedabad Courtyard by Marriott Australia said, January to early February 01 Pune The Westin “The objective of February 2012. The February 03 Chennai Taj Coromandel these training proobjective of the programmes is to gramme is to provide impart knowledge Queensland, South Australia an opportunity to the frontline about Australia as a destinaTourism Commission and staff to enhance their knowltion among the Indian travel DNSW (Dressage New South edge about Australia as a desfraternity. Through this Wales). It also runs an online tination and to aid travel interactive session, we will training programme called agency personnel in planning not only aim at assisting the ‘Aussie Specialist itineraries and handling custravel agents in planning & Program’ for the travel trade tomer queries. managing itineraries, but to develop their destination will use this opportunity The programme will be knowledge. to increase awareness of hosted in conjunction with the diverse experiences & the State Tourism The programme has a products that Australia has total of 19 modules and has Organisations (STOs) – to offer.” been devised to impart Tourism Victoria, Tourism
T
Destination training programme
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Exploring the potential of Heritage Tourism PHDCCI’s (PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry) 1st Heritage Tourism Conclave discusses opportunities to tap the immense heritage tourism potential of India. The conclave was first in the series and will be replicated in various other states of Northern and Central India every year. T T B U R E AU
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he PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI) organised the ‘1st India Heritage Tourism Conclave 2011’ at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi recently. Speaking on the occasion, Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism, dedicated the first Indian Heritage tourism platform for all stakeholders to converge, collaborate and connect towards building the next generation of profitable opportunities and tapping the immense heritage tourism potential of India.
Subodh Kant Sahai Union Minister for Tourism
The India Heritage Tourism Conclave 2011 was the first of its kind in India and touched upon all aspects of heritage that the country is proud of, be it heritage sites, art & craft, music or cuisine. The conclave set the tone to explore & cherish and connect historically to India’s unique legacy but also to come forward actively in helping to conserve and celebrate India’s prized possessions handed over by past generations. Culture, Heritage and Arts have long contributed to the appeal of tourist des-
QUICK READ As per the statistics released by the Department of Strategic Planning, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), India emerged as top MICE source market that supplied 47,448 MICE visitors. China, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia occupied the second, third, fourth and fifth places respectively.
tinations. However, in recent years, ‘Heritage’ has been rediscovered as an important marketing tool to attract travellers with a penchant for vintage Indian culture with the single most important objective of tap-
ping the potential of heritage tourism in India. The 1 st India Heritage Tourism Conclave 2011 was the first in series and shall be replicated in various other states of Northern & Central India every year in an ascending
format. The conclave was aimed at providing a platform for investors and developers who share a passion for tourism, to explore the everchanging dynamics of the travellers’ demands & expectations and to evolve and
bring Indian Tourism Industry to the top. The participants include union minister of tourism, policy makers and senior officials from Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, state tourism ministers and
tourism secretaries, representatives of foreign and state tourism boards, tourism experts, captains of tourism and hotel industries, corporate groups with investments in infrastructure and hotels projects, Indian and foreign tour operators, vacation planners, institutes imparting tourism-related education, tourism boards of other states, airlines and all other stakeholders
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Jordan’s multi-city B2B ‘Amazing Thailand Champion workshops in India in Q2 Agents’ launched in India JTB will be in India for its annual B2B workshops in Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Mumbai is the second quarter this year. The NTO is also eyeing set to have 1,500 trained and certified champions at undertaking consumer-related initiatives in 2012. in India by the end of 2012 through the programme. S H AYA N M A L L I C K
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ndia has emerged as one of the Jordan’s top growing source markets. The destination witnessed a robust 70 per cent increase in the Indian tourist arrivals in 2010. JTB is further expecting a healthy 30 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in 2011. Jordan recorded 51,000 overnights in 2010. Talking to on the sidelines of ‘Travel Turkey Izmir’ in Turkey, Maher Al
Total Indian Overnights visitors to Jordan during the period 2007-2011 Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Arrivals % growth over 30239 36663 29760 50995 60269 (Jan-Nov)
17.1 21.2 -18.8 71.4 18.2
Maher Al Qaryouti Manager – Domestic, Arab & Asian markets, Jordan Tourism Board
Qaryouti, Manager for Domestic, Arab & Asian market, JTB informed that the Indian MICE market will be one of the focus areas to drive growth in 2012. “Jordan is a very good MICE destination. We have some very attractive Meeting and Conference facilities,” he said. Besides, he added, “Jordan also has a lot to offer to the leisure travellers.
Akaba is a haven for sea and beach lovers. Dead Sea and Petra are other major attractions of tourist interest. These places boast of some of the finest resorts and fivestar luxury hotels in the world,” he stressed. The NTO is planning to undertake a number of activities, especially reaching the Indian consumers directly, in 2012. Besides, the tourism board plans to undertake its annual market development initiative, a B2B multi-city roadshow, in the second quarter of this year. Jordan provides Visaon-Arrival to individual Indian travellers on producing their ticket and hotel bookings at a nominal cost of US$ 30 per person. Besides, there is no Visa fee for groups of five pax or above with a stay of at least 2 nights or more in Jordan.
A N I TA J A I N
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or the year 2011, India, amongst all the South Asian countries, has been the biggest tourist source market for Thailand with a strong growth rate of 31.82 per cent (7,69,372 tourists) over 2010. To further shoot up the Indian tourist arrival figures, TAT Mumbai has launched an online training and certification programme for travel trade named ‘Amazing Thailand Champion Agents’. The programme has been divided into 4 modules for the Indian market. Apart from this, the Authority will also conduct a multi-city roadshow giving TAT an opportunity to interact with the travel trade directly and thus understand the ongoing trend in that particular city. It is also aiming to enter the electronic medium through social
media marketing, participate at trade shows, hold joint promotions with the travel trade exhibitors and promote new destinations. Sethaphan Buddhani, Director, TAT Mumbai said,
Sethaphan Buddhani Director TAT Mumbai
“Earlier on ground training programmes initiated by our offices in New Delhi and Mumbai had met with a
high level of intrigue and subscription from front liners and senior management of travel agents and tour operators. In order to further expand the opportunity to all regions of India and widen the base of knowledge of agents promoting Amazing Thailand, it was decided to take the programme online with specific modules designed especially for the Indian market.” Talking about the plans, challenges and opportunities for this year, Buddhani said, “For the year 2012, we will actively target niche segments such as soft adventure, school groups, Medical Tourism and Bollywood Tourism along with aggressive promotions of golfing, luxury holidays, single women travel and destination weddings segments in Thailand.”
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Turkey to host TAAI Convention Outbound trade launches SFTO Green Park Pendik Hotel & Convention Centre, Society of Foreign Travel Operators (SFTO) launched on Istanbul’s largest convention centre, will host the Dec 26 in New Delhi boasts of over 50 members across India. TAAI’s 3-day event, scheduled from March 11-14, 2012. It will educate its members about new tourism products. T T B U R E AU
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he Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) will hold its highly prestigious Diamond Jubilee Convention, the Indian Travel Congress & Exhibition at Istanbul, Turkey on March 11-14, 2012. The event is being supported by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism & Culture and the Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) to ensure that the TAAI Annual Convention is a success. Apart from making all arrangements for the delegates’ accommodation, selecting venue for the opening ceremony, conference facilities and local sightseeing, TITC is also engaged in working out post-convention familiarisation tours of Antalya, Cappadocia and Izmir for the visiting delegates. The Convention Venue will be Green Park Pendik Hotel & Convention Centre in Istanbul. Istanbul is
divided by the Bosphrous Strait into an Asian and European side. The Green Park Hotel, with a great view of the Sea of Marmara, housing Istanbul’s largest
Ozgur Ayturk Culture & Tourism Counselor at the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi
Convention Centre is located on the Asian side, not far from Sabiha Gokcen Airport. According to Ozgur Ayturk, Culture & Tourism Counselor at the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi, “I am confident that TAAI’s Diamond Jubilee
Convention, to be held in Istanbul in March 2012, shall be its most successful convention ever. The Indian travel trade shall be very impressed not only by Istanbul’s fabled monuments and natural beauty but also by the exceedingly warm hospitality of Turkish people. Those who visit other places like Cappadocia, Izmir or Antalya are bound to be fascinated by them.
I am confident that upon their return, these delegates shall greatly promote Turkey as a holiday and a convention destination and thereby enhance people-to-people contacts between our two great countries.”
S H AYA N M A L L I C K
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group of travel agents have launched a nation-
wide forum for the travel agencies who are involved in outbound tourism from India. Named ‘Society of Foreign
trade. We will organise workshops, seminars and other knowledge platform for our members in India as well as
(L to R) Soni, Jain, Jaipuria, Berera, Gupta and Nangia
SFTO Board President Ajay Jaipuria General Secretary Kapil Berera Vice President Sandeep Jain Joint Secretary Sanjiv Nangia Treasurer Dev Roop Soni Advisor on Board Sanjay Gupta
Travel Operators,’ the association aims to understand and resolve issues that trouble the outbound tourism market. The association will also work towards educating its members about new tourism products from existing and emerging markets. “Need was felt to have an association that will be the voice of the outbound trade. There was no trade body exclusively taking care of the outbound agents. SFTO will endeavour to bring more transparency in the outbound
overseas. We will also take up issues such as those related to Visa with the embassies and VFS,” informed Ajay Jaipuria of Travel Oytser India. Jaipuria is President of the SFTO while talking to . He further added that the association will also look at customers’ complaint. SFTO invites all the bonafide Indian tour operators who qualify the criteria laid down in the membership criteria to join the association.
TAAI NR’s year-end meeting Celebrating Chapter Day Travel Agents Association of India – Northern Region (TAAI NR) organised its year end meeting last month. The meeting was followed by a presentation from VFS Global on Visa application processing. Several visa related issues also came up for the discussion.
TAAI Kerala Chapter celebrated its Chapter Day and Diamond Jubilee celebrations at the Chapter level on December 9, 2011. The function was attended by members of TAAI Kerala Chapter, Airlines, Hotels, GDS and Airport officials and other industry stakeholders.
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Toshali to manage 4 Odisha Tourism’s properties Starting with four properties that are bagged from Odisha Tourism under Lease Development Agreement (LDA), the Toshali Group forays into management of hotel units. The hotel Group now plans to expand inorganically, focussing on destinations that cater to the particular segments like Buddhist circuits all the more after attaining properties in such locations. SA N J E E V B H A R
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oshali Group won the bid for four hotels out of six which were floated by the Odisha Tourism to be managed by the private operators. The Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha had floated tenders for leasing out 33 hotel properties spread across the state from private hospitality investors recently.
Harihar Patra Director Marketing Toshali Resorts International
Harihar Patra, Director Marketing, Toshali Resorts International revealed, “We won the bid in October for Odisha Tourism-owned accommodation units for management.” The hotel group will be managing hotels in Pathrajpur, Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Lalitgiri. The Pathrajpur property will be developed as a wayside amenity with 24 rooms, which
Berlin in ‘Places to See Before You Die’ Berlin ranks among the ‘Places to See Before You Die’ as one of world’s top tourist highlights. Now. the destination plays in the league of the leading international travel destinations. According to the US ‘Smithsonian Magazine’, the German capital is one of the ‘43 Places to See Before You Die’ and hence counts among the destinations that one should have visited at least once in a lifetime, just as the pyramids of Giza, the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and the Antarctic. Berlin – a focus of turbulent history, a centre of cultural diversity and a party hotspot – is described as constantly reinventing itself and therefore, worth a visit by all means.
is near to an excavated historic site and would address the local travellers. The Udayagiri will have around 6 rooms more rooms to be added later. For Ratnagiri and
Lalitgiri properties, rooms will be finalised soon. “Our emphasis has always been to promote the tourism of the state. Now that we have won the bid
to manage 4 properties in October 2011, Toshali simultaneously enters into the management of properties too and will look at the lease/management contracts for our brand expansion. We
are still discussing some issue on the brand part with the tourism department,” he said. Apart from that, Toshali has acquired Kolkata-based travel company Pan Asia. The
company, with a team of 5 people, is a specialist in selling Buddhist segment to Southeast Asian countries and Sri Lanka. “Pan Asia will empower us with knowledge on capturing Buddhist Tourism opportunities and now that we have properties in critical Buddhist locations of tourism importance, this knowledge force would be utilised to promote the hotels as well as the destinations,” Patra summed.
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‘Rajasthan Calling’ to tour 22 Indian cities To popularise the lesser-known destinations in the state, the campaign titled ‘Rajasthan Calling’ will tour 22 Indian cities. M E G H A PAU L
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n a bid to attract an increasing number of domestic tourists to the state, the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan has rolled out a two-month long campaign that will tour 22 cities. The campaign titled ‘Rajasthan Calling’ was kickstarted from Gurgaon, Haryana. The aggressive promotional campaign aims to popularise the lesser-known destinations in the state. Speaking on the occasion, Usha Sharma, Principal Secretary and Commissioner
A&K launches ‘Worldwide Luxury Travel Handbook’ Abercrombie & Kent has launched its first India edition of Abercrombie & Kent’s worldwide luxury travel handbook featuring global destinations, its end-user products and suggestive signature itineraries for the featured destinations.
Vikram Madhok Managing Director, A&K India
For nearly 50 years, A&K has been perfecting the art of tailor made travel and now with the opening of its Private Travel India office last year, it continues to entice the discerning luxury travellers in India to savor the experiential and inspiring journeys. “Reading our handbook and reacting to current trends and tastes in travel,” says Vikram Madhok, Managing Director, A&K India, “Our destination specialists have been busy researching new and interesting destinations where A&K delivers memorable experiences in reliable style. We present this exciting collection of destinations which we have identified as the next big thing! Happy travel.”
(Tourism), Rajasthan Government said, “The major reason for organising the ‘Rajasthan Calling’ campaign in the millennium city of Gurgaon was to give a feel of Rajasthan and facilitate a better understanding about the state, provide complete information and showcase
Rajasthan’s traditions and culture.” “The major highlight of the festival will be the live dances and a food court,” she further added. Regarding the number of tourists the state receives, Sharma revealed, “With about 15 lakh foreign tourists and more than 3 crore
domestic tourist arrivals in 2010, Rajasthan is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in India.” After Gurgaon, the campaign will go to 21 major cities across the country, including Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, Mysore,
Coimbatore, Baroda, Bhopal, Indore, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Surat, Dehradun, Kolkata, Gandhinagar, Bharuch, Nagpur, Jalgaon, Rajkot and Chandigarh. Also, the event will be held in Mumbai twice. The campaign was showcased in Ludhiana from December 23-25, 2011 and from December 31 to January 1, 2012, the event was organised in Dehradun.
Usha Sharma Principal Secretary and Commissioner Tourism, Rajasthan Government
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Outbound trade announces the formation of OTOAI India’s outbound trade announced the launch of an industry representative body, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) at a function organised at Le Meridien New Delhi in the National Capital on December 28, 2011. OTOAI is a registered trade association and has been established as a not-for-profit organisation. It will safeguard the interest of India’s outbound trade, the overseas suppliers as well as the end consumers. The launch was supported by Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), India and Le Meridien New Delhi. Headed by Guldeep Singh Sahni as its President, OTOAI will aim to improve transparency, conduct education programmes on new tourism products and destinations and will work in close association with the various NTOs present in India.
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‘Macau Magic Million’ Race in Mumbai Macau Tourism recently organised a ‘Macau Magic Million’ Race at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai inviting over 200 travel trade members and media. The event was dotted by well-known faces of the Mumbai travel industry and was enjoyed by all the attendees.
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11 new airports & 26 new helipads in Gujarat Taking a lead among other states, Gujarat has started the process of increasing aviation footprints across the state and with a new aviation policy aiming to woo investors into the state. JUSTIN THOMAS
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ith Gujarat being favored by industrialists and the state wooing visitors, the State Government is in the process of setting up new airports, helipads and brings out a new civil aviation policy. 11 airports have been earmarked and 225 talukas in 26 districts of the state will have helipads. “Since there is a large scale movement of industries into Gujarat, we are working to provide connectivity,
which was lacking and we need infrastructure in time to support the growth,” says Captain Ajay Chauhan, Director, Civil Aviation Department, Gujarat. He also adds that, “Since we have lots of religious spots which attract large numbers from across the country, we need to reduce the time taken to travel to these destinations.” As per the plan for airports, it will be completed in four stages. In the first stage, work has started at four locations. These are
Morbi, Rajkot, Parsoli, Rajpipla, Dholera and Dholavera will be looked into in other phases.
Captain Ajay Chauhan Director Civil Aviation Department, Gujarat
Dwarka, Palitana, Ambaji and Ankleshwar. Dahej,
Presently, the project is government funded. Future development work will see private players contributing. A pproval required to start the work has been achieved. It is completely a stateowned project. The move to set up helipads in 226 talukas was cleared by Consultative Committee of Civil Aviation department.
As far as state civil aviation policy is concerned, Chauhan informed that it is in the draft stage and the final copy will be available in at least six months. On completion, it will be the first instance where a state has come out with an aviation policy. “The main aim is to boost the aviation industry in the state. It deals with starting an airline, developing an airport, setting up an MRO, a training institute and others. Benefit in starting these ventures in the state
is the idea behind the policy,” he explained. The State Government is also looking at feasibility to develop unused airstrips from World War II era.
Flying High 11 airports have been earmarked and 225 talukas in 26 districts of the state will have helipads Presently, the project is government funded. Future development work will see private players contributing
Kolkata Airport renovates Refurbished corporate travel programme by Lufthansa to invite foreign airlines After repeated delays, a new completion date has been set Starting February, Lufthansa has revamped its corporate for the Kolkata airport terminal and international travel programme launched in the last year. Around 2,900 airlines are looking to set base once the work completes. companies have joined the programme soon after its launch. T T B U R E AU
W
ith a revised deadline of June 2012 for commencement of operations in integrated passenger terminal at Kolkata airport, State Government is actively pursuing foreign airlines to start services from the City of Joy. Six international airlines, including British Airways and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, have evinced interest in flying to and from Kolkata. This information was shared by Saugata Roy, Union Minister of State for Urban Development & Chairman of Airport Advisory Committee. The other airlines wishing to operate out of the city are Japan Airlines, Dubai
Airlines, Fenix Airways and a Mauritius-based airline. “German airlines Lufthansa, which has decided to stop operating in Kolkata after March, would be requested to reconsider its position,” says Roy. British Airways had also withdrawn its KolkataLondon flight in 2008. To propel the talks, the State Government is expected to move the Union Government. Jet is also keen to connect Kolkata to Sydney and Melbourne. “British Airways, Japan Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Air Mauritius have also shown interest. We are in discussion with these and several other airlines.
The project may be slightly behind schedule but when the new terminal becomes operational, it will be the pride of Kolkata and others’ envy,” says BP Sharma, Airport Director. Civil work on the new terminal is nearing its completion. Work will begin on the exterior facade as well as interior fitments soon. The authorities should be able to hand over the terminal to airlines and other agencies by March-end. Thereafter, airlines and other concessionaries will take twothree months to get ready and start operations from the terminal.
T T B U R E AU Lufthansa has revamped is corporate travel programme which can significantly reduce the cost of business travel, primarily targetted at Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Effective from February 2012, Star Alliance Company Plus (SACP) members in India can enjoy easier upgrades, faster free flights and a five-fold increase in the value of cashback awards through a substantial enhancement in the earning power of their reward points. For instance, members can now get one free Economy Class ticket free on purchase of one full-fare First class ticket or two full-fare Business class tickets.
value, making business travel more rewarding than ever before.” says Axel Hilgers, South Asia Director, Lufthansa. These attractive financial advantages extend across the network of the 6 partner airlines - Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, bmi, Air Canada and United Airlines. Axel Hilgers South Asia Director Lufthansa
“Lufthansa has always partnered small and medium enterprises in India and these enhancements are yet another step in this direction. The new SACP programme delivers additional
Membership is free and requires no minimum turnover. Since its launch last year, more than 2900 companies have joined the programme. New SACP members can start collecting PlusPoints immediately after registering on the website, ‘www.staralliancecompanyplus.com’.
MAS concentrates on direct sales in India With a target to set a ratio of 80:20 between Indirect:Direct sales channels, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is positive to enhance services in India after entering oneworld alliance by mid-2013. A N I TA J A I N
M
alaysia’s flag carrier – Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is working on its sales distribution channels to streamline
MAS Plans This year, the Airline will focus on enhancing its direct booking channels along with consolidating its current markets with no plans to add more cities on its Indian route network
its revenue management strategies in India. Currently, the carrier receives over 90 per cent bookings through indirect sales channels like the travel trade and OTAs while the remaining comes from direct channels like its call centre and direct website. However, with the launch of booking option through the social networking site – Facebook.com, the carrier was successful in penetrating the markets by 30 per cent more and promoting the
online direct booking among travellers. This year, the Airline will focus on enhancing its direct booking channels along with consolidating its current markets with no plans to add more cities on its Indian route network.
member airlines. MAS operates 40 weekly flights from India to Malaysia, through New Delhi (12 flights), Chennai (07 flights), Hyderabad (07 flights), Bengaluru (07 flights) and Mumbai (07 flights).
At present, MAS has a codeshare with Jet Airways and by entering the ‘oneworld’ alliance by mid2013, the airline hopes to further enhance its service and reach across India through its oneworld alliance
Talking about the performance of India as a market, Nur Shaffik Haris, General Manager – Western India, Malaysia Airlines said, “India is consistently performing in a positive manner with an average of 20-25 per cent growth
year-on-year since five years with load factors of 75-80 per cent from all five cities. We are constantly working on making the product offerings and flying experience better for our Indian passengers through updating our product offerings from time-to-time. With travellers becoming more techsavvy, we are focussing on increasing our sales through direct booking channels by promoting our website through media channels and social networking sites. We are
Nur Shaffik Haris General Manager – Western India Malaysia Airlines
also encouraging our travel trade partners through innovative marketing and business strategies with mutual benefits.”
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STATES
Take a Break & Join the Dance Festivities It rises on the banks of the boisterous Bay of Bengal and forms a mighty silhouette when seen in the light of the setting sun. The architect of the Sun Temple of Konark intended to create an embodiment of the might of the powerful Sun God and he did just that… with perfection.
G
enerations of tourists, both domestic and international, have fallen under the spell of this chariot of the Sun God, which seems to be sailing across the sky. Every year, in the month of December, the vicinity of this otherwise quiet heritage site becomes the centre of activity, as Konark welcomes the most talented names in performing arts, for the Konark Dance festival. This is the most perfect time to plan your break in this part of the country, as MICEtalk finds out. The stunning beauty of the Sun Temple is the inspiration for the Konark Dance Festival, which takes place in the first week of December
every year. The festival sees the most reputed names in the Indian classical dance and music take the stage at the open air auditorium, with the Sun Temple serving as the most perfect backdrop. It is a feast for the eyes and ears with floodlights illuminating the place and the sound of ghungroos (anklets worn during a dance performance), tablas (percussion instruments) and other musical instruments reverberating against the fantastic façade of the temple. The mute stones of the Sun Temple, seem to be speaking a language of their own and adding to the musical ambience of the place.
Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Manipuri, Kathak and the Chau are some of the dance forms that have taken centre-stage, over the years. The slight nip in the air, with the approaching winter, adds to the surreal atmosphere created here. The performances are dramatic and the perfect ode to India’s tradition of performing arts. The festival also includes a Craft Bazaar. The Konark Festival has been a major attraction for tourists since its inception in the 1980’s. Being one of the most identifiable landmarks of the coastal state of Odisha, the Sun Temple of Konark sees a trickle of tourists through the year. But the time of the Konark Dance Festival sees the town turning into a centre of performing arts and an overwhelm-
ing rush in the handful of hotels available here. If you do take our advice and decide to partake of the festivities at this time of the year, it is advisable to ensure accommodation for your group months in advance. Yatrinivas (OTDC), Travellers Lodge and Panthanivas (OTDC) are the
best options for accommodation in Konark. There are groups who choose to drive down from the nearby town of Bhubaneswar (65 km) and Puri (35 km) instead of staying here. The highways have good roads and make for comfortable journeys. There is a legend associated with the Sun Temple
that its dome housed two strong magnets that were so strong that they could pull ships out in the sea to the shores of Konark. The Sun Temple today attracts tourists in much the same way, who cannot help but be drawn to this architectural wonder, when they traverse this part of the Indian coastline.
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Indiatourism Paris, 13 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris-75009, Tel: 0033 145233045, Fax: 0033 145233345, E-mail: indtourparis@aol.com, Website: www.incredibleindia.org
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OPPORTUNITY
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MOVEMENTS
JANUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Canada
PATA Bangkok Ivy Chee has been appointed as the Regional Director – Asia of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). Chee, a Malaysian national, will be responsible for promoting PATA’s progressive Next Gen range of membership benefits to the travel and tourism industry companies and organisations. Before joining PATA, Chee was Regional Senior Business Development Manager at online travel aggregator Wego Pte in Singapore. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Graduate degree in professional communications from RMIT University Melbourne and has diplomas in Mass Communications from the Melbourne Institute of Business Technology and Taylor's College.
MTDC Mumbai
Jennifer Fox has been appointed as the President of Fairmont Hotels & Resor ts. Fox will oversee Fairmont’s world-class hotels and resorts, bring extensive experience in hotel operations, brand development, marketing and sales and hotel transitions to her new role. With more than 25 years of hospitality related experience, she arrives at Fairmont from InterContinental Hotels Group. Fox holds an MBA from Baylor University in Texas and is currently completing her doctorate in Business Studies (DBA) at the International School of Management in Paris, France.
Swissôtel Kolkata Kolkata
Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon Gurgaon
Dilip Shinde joins Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation
Marco Saxer has been appointed as the General Manager of
Arindam Kunar is appointed as the new General Manager at
as the Joint Managing Director. He will simultaneously also hold the post as Director Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. Before joining MTDC, he was Director, Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra. He holds an MA degree in MCJ and a postgraduate degree in law. He has written some books and has made regular contributions to the columns of some of the leading Marathi dailies. He also produced programmes like ‘Muktichi Mangalgatha’ and ‘Marathwadyachi Lokdhara’.
Swissôtel Kolkata. He brings with him over 20 years of experience from International hotel chains across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Saxer began his career with Carlton Hotel, Singapore during his internship with Hotel Management School Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland. He moved on to work with the hotel group Radisson, followed by Holiday Inn, and was the General Manager of Amari Atrium Hotel, Bangkok from 2001 to 2010. His last position was as the General Manager of Mövenpick Hotel in Kuwait.
Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon. An alumni of IHM Pusa, Kunar brings with him over 20 years of experience in the hotel industry across locations in India. His last assignment was as the General Manager at The Taj West End, Bengaluru. He was associated with Taj Hotels and Resorts for almost 10 years where he worked his way through a number of senior management positions within the group’s portfolio.
JW Marriott Mumbai Mumbai
The Claridges Hotels & Resorts New Delhi
Fairmont Jaipur Jaipur
Ravneet Arora has been elevated as Director of Sales at JW
Arun Yadav has been promoted as the new General Manager
Anurag Bali is appointed as the new Executive Chef for Fairmont
Marriott Mumbai. Her new responsibilities will entail organising and directing all sales efforts towards achievement of objectives and operational goals for the property. She is a Hotel Management Graduate and has been with Marriott International Inc since July 2007. She was the Assistant Director of Sales at the then newly opened Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai. Prior to working here, Arora took on the role of Marriott Executive Apartments (MEA) Manager in April 2009.
- Sales & Marketing of The Claridges Hotels & Resorts. In his new role, he will be responsible for assisting and developing Corporate Sales & Marketing strategies to enhance market penetration and revenue generation. Yadav comes with over 12 years of experience in sales & marketing and has been associated with The Claridges Hotels & Resorts for the last 8 years. He has done his MBA from IMT Ghaziabad, 1999 batch.
Jaipur. In his current role, he will be overseeing the culinary operations at the hotel ensuring culinary excellence, dining distinction and the best of the food to the guests. A Graduate from the Institute of Hotel Management in New Delhi and an Alumnus of Culinary Institute of America New York, Bali has a decade long professional experience. In his previous assignment as Director Food and Beverage for Svenska Hospitalities, he established and oversaw food and beverage operations for two of the groups’ hotels.
Dilip Puri, Managing Director, India & Regional Vice President, South Asia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, is a keen golfer and an avid reader. According to Puri, his approach to life has always been 'work hard, play harder', and he applies this philosophy to both his personal and professional life. As for problems that may crop up from time to time, as far as possible, he confronts and tries to overcome them by seeking alternate solutions. He feels one should always have a plan B in place, and if possible a plan C as well.
Talking People is a special dedicated corner, created as a sounding board for who’s who of the Indian and International travel industry. With Talking People, it is our endeavour to bring you face-to-face with people. Contributed by: Inder Raj Ahluwalia & Sanjeev Bhar
Dilip Puri, Managing Director,
Stephen King, General Manager, India, Virgin Atlantic, is passionate about travelling and exploring new places and cities, and when he isn't travelling, he's busy planning his next trip. Living in India opens up a fantastic range of exciting destinations to visit all across the country.
Stephen King General Manager India, Virgin Atlantic
Always seeking new opportunities and ways to do things better, King feels very excited to be working in India, which he finds is an amazing country with abundant history and great prospects. He feels problems are just opportunities in disguise. Working in travel, you never know what challenge awaits you next, but with a good team, a focus on priorities and an adventurous, 'can-do' attitude, one can resolve issues quickly and effectively.
India & Regional Vice President, South Asia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
The key to success is to do full justice to the job at hand. There are no shortcuts to success. And he doesn't see success as an end in itself. It must lead to happiness, joy and fulfilment.
Kamlesh Barot, when not going through his routine work of his own company and of FHRAI for that matter, prefers to just unwind by doing up with his standy fish aquarium at times or refine his garden's pot culture. But on weekends, he confines himself to take his budgerigars (parakeets) out of their home (cage) and make them fly all around perching back on his finger, every now and then. What Barot likes the most, he says, is to spend quality time with his family, watching culinary shows back-to-back or just chit-chatting with them or friends. That gives him the inner peace. He also indulges himself in Yoga and Swimming to unwind.
Kamlesh Barot President FHRAI
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Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2009-11 for posting on 1-2 and 15-16 of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication: 14-01-2012
HIGHLIGHT
Foreign airlines touch new highs while Indian carriers struggle While none of the Indian carriers are above red, the foreign carriers, operating in India, have found the going a bit easy with their pricing, product, innovations and market conditions. reports... JUSTIN THOMAS
GM, Indian Sub Continent, Air France-KLM.
oreign airlines remarkably had a good run in the country in the year which saw bloodshed in the aviation sector in India, particularly the Indian air carriers.
Challenges: “The main
F
“Throughout 2011, Lufthansa enjoyed excellent overall booking demand on its India routes. Reacting to encouraging demand growth, we deployed a larger aircraft on the MAA-FRA route,” an official reply by the airlines said. “Fuelled by the boom in passenger traffic in the country, we’ve had a good 2011. The year opened with very strong passenger demand from January to June. Our strategic offers like the Dubai Stopover, Companion offer and tactical fares received a very positive response from the market,” says Orhan Abbas, Vice-President, India & Nepal, Emirates Airlines. “SWISS is satisfied with 2011, both operationally and financially. In India, we enjoyed a good booking demand throughout the year,” informed the airline. “We have seen a very positive trend in the market in the last few months for both airlines. Additionally, our load factor last year was to the level of 90 – 95%. Our focus will be on consolidating our position in India before we expand. For the Indian market, we yet hope to bring up the yield and revenue. We have seen an increase in the business class loads with a strong preference from the SME segment,” remarks Pieter De Man,
challenge for our operations in 2011 was the economic turmoil in the European region towards the second half of the year which adversely impacted the demand for air travel across our network,” informs Abbas. “There are challenges with the increasing ATF prices and infrastructure developments. The extremely high increases in airport fees proposed by Delhi and Mumbai airport are most disturbing for the entire industry and the
consumer,” points De Man. Further in his opinion, “The Indian aviation industry is facing challenges in terms of infrastructure development, fare discipline, high taxes, and capacity vs. demand & fuel hike.”
Products: SwissAir introduced a new smartphone app that allows passengers mobile access to services like check in and upgrades as well as real time flight information. “Our passengers from India are especially pleased with the new dock and lounge opened at our hub in Zurich last month, including central security measures which bring substantial time and comfort benefits for all transfer travellers,” the airline says. India was one of the first markets globally
where Lufthansa introduced their new First Class product on B747-400 aircraft serving the DEL-FRA and BOM-FRA routes. “These product upgrades underscore Lufthansa’s commitment to continuously invest for the benefit of its customers in the core market that is India,” said the statement. “We also keep introducing special offers for our trade partners. One such offer we recently introduced is exclusive discounted return fares to select destinations especially for our travel
agents and their families,” informs Abbas.
Imbalance and blinkered interest: Success of the international airlines on the Indian sector is fuelled by the status of bilateral agreements signed by countries with India. The ratio between foreign and Indian carriers in terms of destinations offered abroad is rather skewed. India has Bilateral Air Services Agreement with 108 countries and presently 72 foreign airlines are operating to /from various destinations. Three Indian carriers are operating to 35 destinations in 25 countries. Bilateral agreements for air services provide various types of freedom or flying rights to designated airlines of the two countries. The Sixth
Freedom, a clause, gives the right to fly from a foreign country to another foreign country while stopping in one's own country. A critical report on Civil Aviation sector, prepared by Comptroller and Auditor General last September, cited this disbalance for deteriorating the already beleaguered financial state of Indian carriers. Grimly, Air India blocking the rights while not performing at optimum level makes the situation dire for others.
Criticism: The CAG, in its report on the performance of
the sector, and in particular Air India, had said, “While bilateral air traffic rights on the international routes between India and other countries were decided on the basis of reciprocity, at present, the actual utilisation of available rights on international sectors was highly imbalanced. While utilisation by foreign airlines was around 65 per cent, that of our airlines was only around 30 per cent; as a result, foreign airlines derived disproportionate economic advantage out of the traffic rights.” What is there to stay this year and the near future is that foreign carriers will be the choice of Indians for travel to foreign destinations and this ratio can only be altered by reviewing bilateral agreements.