Travtalk august 1st 2013

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A DDP PUBLICATION

Pages: 52 (Excluding cover)

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Vol. XXIII No. 15; August 1 st fortnight issue 2013

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TRAV TALK

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AUGUST 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

MOT, state ministers meet trade The first-of-its-kind state tourism ministers’ meet took stock of the various developments across states and union territories. MOT also gave its nod to making this a biannual meet. will be happy to conduct the state ministers’ meet at least twice a year,” said K Chiranjeevi, Minister of Tourism, Government of India.

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he Ministry of Tourism had called for state ministers meet on July 18, 2013 in New Delhi.

All 35 states and union territories participated, which included over 20 state tourism ministers. The Federation of Association in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) got the biggest opportunity to showcase its perspective on India tourism potential, which Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH narrated in his 20 minute presentation. The other 21

(L-R): Anand Kumar, Parvez Dewan, K Chiranjeevi and Nakul Anand

stakeholders at the state tourism ministers’ meet to hold such brainstorming session frequently which has full participation from states and private sectors players. We

association representatives also presented their perspective to the Minister.

“I am happy to accept the suggestion made by

Addressing the first subject on the agenda regarding security, Chiranjeevi urged the state governments and UTs to enact the cadre of Tourist Police in one form or the other, which can be done either by borrowing some companies from the police department or hiring ex-servicemen or home guards. “It

is not only important that we provide security to the tourists but it is also important that we must instill a sense of confidence in them,” said Chiranjeevi.

Chiranjeevi said the second important issue which has become a serious cause of concern and due to which we are losing business to other markets is cleanliness and hygiene. “The problem is serious and if we fail to tackle it now, it may be too late. All states and UT administrations must declare tourist Contd. on page 6

Need nightlife tourism products

conducted a survey to find out what new tourism products should be introduced in India to boost nightlife 3 options for tourists. The responses were as follows:

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The respondents stressed on the urgent need to introduce nightlife products and felt that India is lacking in such tourism offerings. City night tours, traditional dance and cultural shows, dinner cruises, night markets and more bars with live music, are the most sort after choices. While nightlife products will add to the tourism portfolio in India, safety and security remains a concern. Gambling and dance bars were also popular suggestions, but it might be a while before they get legal approvals in India. Sound and light shows in more monuments, aerial tours, film-shoot tours and the traditional tonga (horse) rides also received many votes. The ideas are plenty, but we hope these are implemented soon.

Clean India ONGC takes the onus of adopting as many as six monuments.

Minister for Tourism, K Chiranjeevi, India is hopeful that the Clean India Campaign will continue to gather more momentum. To kickstart this initiative, the Minister took a delegation and the trade to the Taj Mahal in Agra.

See story & picture on page 38

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BULLETIN

Domestic visits cross 1 bn mark K Chiranjeevi chaired the recently-held NTAC meet in New Delhi and sent a clear message to all stakeholders to put in more hard work. He cited the progress in inbound and domestic sector, by reaching the one billion mark. growth in the world, the share of India at 0.64% continues to be low. We have to strive harder to increase this share”.

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ndia is a unique destination with immense potential.

Its domestic tourist visits equal the number of global tourist visits all over the world. In other words, when the world was celebrating one billion tourists internationally, Indian domestic tourists also crossed one billion mark. In fact, India has also managed to grow its inbound segment well ahead of the global average in recent time.

Sending a clear message to all stakeholders to do more while chairing the National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC), K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism said, “Tourism sector in India has witnessed a substantial growth in the last

“The huge size of domestic tourism helps to sustain the Indian tourism industry, even when there is negative or low growth in inbound tourism,” he added.

K Chiranjeevi Minister for Tourism

decade. During 2012, the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India have reached 6.58 million. The estimated number of domestic tourist visits in 2012 was 1,027 million. Although the growth of inbound tourism in India has been higher than the overall

important tourist sites and monuments under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). To set a precedent, the ITDC has come forward and adopted the Qutub Minar. Now, ONGC has come forward to adopt six monuments, namely the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Elephanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Mahabalipuram, and the Golconda Fort. Steps are

We need active involvement of the corporate sector to adopt important tourist sites and monuments under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Further referring to the role of private sector, Chiranjeevi said, “We need active involvement of the corporate sector to adopt

being taken for formalising these arrangements. Of now, we have identified about Contd. on page 6

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INTERVIEW VIEWPOINT

Ring in the Twilight

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cultural phenomenon, tourist treasure, shoppers’ haven, and one of the most cosmopolitan and compelling of Asian countries, India is a must-visit nation on every traveller’s list. With the recent easing of the Visa-on-Arrival regime by the MOT, India will surely receive a bigger share of foreign tourists. Also, there is a growing pool of domestic visitors in the country. Hence, it is time that we move away from the regular business models and think out-of-the-box.

The response received for our recent TravTalk poll clearly spells out the fact that there is an untapped lucrative sector in nightlife tourism. While Singapore and Thailand are frontrunners in attracting foreign tourists through nightlife and Malaysia is catching up, we are nowhere in the race. India needs to position itself as a destination with a fun ‘after dark’ element, but also secure for tourists.

We have innumerable world-class monuments, rural heritage, shopping bazaars (like Dilli Haat) and if one looks beyond, we have all it takes to create profitable night tourism packages. As an already popular tourist destination, India’s local economy could benefit greatly by providing a night option for visitors to interact and explore cities and villages. This way, we can also counter the socalled ‘lean period’ during summers.

We can promote India through its rustic ambience, model villages on the lines of Chokhi Dhani that will organise rural sightseeing and night-trails for the foreign and domestic tourists. An authentic Indian experience can be combined with entertainment zones. Thus, gleaming monuments with light and sound shows, diverse markets and ritzy shopping malls with street bazaars are exciting alternatives. In addition, culinary trails, pub-hopping, dinner cruises and ghost-walks can add to the flavour of nightlife for the experimental sort.

As the traveller finds his own niche, and the travel trade community gets a better understanding of what sells, it will provide for innovative itineraries for exploring night tourism options. Of course, India will have to match up to international competition. It needs to face the challenge of safety and security and ensure that it maintains good quality infrastructure, transportation and facilities with a ‘Clean India’ approach.

‘Sliding rupee a grave concern’ In an exclusive interview with , IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh discusses the impact of depreciating rupee on the aviation sector and highlights the carrier’s growth strategy to stay ahead.

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Q. How has the weak rupee affected the business?

The continued weakness of the rupee is a matter of grave concern for the airline industry, just like any other industry. The rupee has depreciated by 15 per cent year-on-year. Since 70-75 per cent of an airline’s costs are dollar-

Q. IndiGo is now a leader in ASKMs (available seat kilometres). How do you manage to stay ahead?

We focus on our core competence: on-time performance, neat and clean operations and courteous and hassle-free service at affordable prices. It all boils down to a sense of discipline, ownership, accountability, which drives this organisation. Everything from our meetings, increments and flights happen on time. Our growth has been consistent.

Today, we fly 66 aircraft, 422 flights daily, covering 33 destinations in seven years of operations.

Q. Any plans to increase in capacity?

Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo

denominated, the impact has an overall bearing on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and other costs as well. Lower costs of operations will help us to consistently deliver better performance. Moreover, India is a growing economy, which means that the demand for affordable air travel will increase year-on-year. While there may be a bad period in between, but the long-term picture of the aviation definitely provides for a greater opportunity for the entire industry.

We had initially placed an order of 100 aircraft in 2005, out of which 66 are already flying today. In 2011, we placed an order for 180 aircraft. All these A320s will come into the system between 2015 and 2025. Whether we fly to metro or other cities, same flights operate everywhere, all economy. That gives us consistency in technology, maintenance and makes life much easier for us.

Q. There is a lot of buzz about impending Star Alliance partnership. What is the true picture?

Right now we are only a point-to-point carrier, with low cost of operations and web-based distribution. We have not thought of a Star Alliance partnership yet.

Q. Why hasn’t IndiGo expanded rapidly into new destinations unlike its peers?

Opening new destinations mean more costs as it is not just restricted to adding capacity and new flights on existing routes.

New destinations mean more staffing at the airport and ticketing stations as well as investment on ground staff. Our strategy is not to expand the network random-

not want to open stations randomly just with two flights a day. Rarely have we gone into a market where we had to pull out. In India, the demand outstrips supply and we are running 422 flights… the fact that we’ve remained profitable means that the network makes money.

Q. Can boosting regional connectivity be a viable business model?

We were the first to connect Guwahati, Lucknow and Jaipur with Bangalore; Jaipur with Hyderabad; Bhubaneswar with Hyderabad and Vizag; Kolkata with Vizag, Nagpur

In India, the demand outstrips supply and we are running 428 flights… the fact that we’ve remained profitable means that the network makes money ly, but adding more flights to the existing route.

Depending on the overall viability of the market, we take one particular market, create connectivity around it, especially to Tier-II and III cities, so that customers don’t have to depend on a few flights of IndiGo and other airlines to complete their journey. It brings down the overall cost of operation and also gives us the advantage of a better recall. We do

with Pune. Flights connecting Ranchi, Varanasi, Mangalore are on the cards.

We have been successful in developing new markets and routes. Until we went to Patna in 2010, it was a stagnant market. Now, we operate three flights a day from various cities and the traffic has grown more than 85 per cent. Also, smaller airports have plans to improve facilities that will allow A320s to land.

See more on page 7

Vikramajit Chairman

Editorial Ratan Kr Paul Vivek Sethi Megha Paul SanJeet Devika Jeet Editor & Publisher Anita Jain News-Editor Deepa Sethi Peden Doma Bhutia Editor-in-Chief Desk-Editor Archana Sharma Sr. Sub-Editor Hritvick Sen

Advertising Gunjan Sabikhi Asst. Vice President Karishma Khanna Sr. Manager Marketing Udit Pandey Sr. Manager Marketing Geetika Pathak Manager Advertising Amit Sarkar Asst. Manager Marketing Photographers Simran Kaur-Delhi Bharat Dangiya-Mumbai

Advertising (Mumbai) Suchita Saran Branch Manager Harshal Ashar Deputy Genral Manager Priyanshu Wankhade Asst. Manager Advertising Rishika Karra Sales Coordinator Advertisement Designers Vikas Mandotia / Nitin Kumar Aarushi Agrawal Design: Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal Production: Anil Kharbanda Circulation: Ashok Rana

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HOTELS

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More room space in Delhi

The proposal for allowing hotels in Delhi to increase their floor area ratio (FAR) by adding more storeys has received the Master Plan 2021 committee’s nod.

You would recall that , in its May 2012 issue, had raised this matter; and now after a year, the project has finally seen the light of day.

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ne of the committees of experts, management action group on enforcement and planning, which is reviewing the Master Plan of Delhi 2021, has approved an increase in the FAR of hotels from present 225 to 400. The proposal would now be moved to an advisory committee headed by the

Rajindera Kumar Former President, FHRAI and HRANI

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, who is also the chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The suggestion to increase the FAR, which would allow hotels to build more rooms and also add more storeys had come from

M D Kapoor Secretary General, FHRAI

the FHRAI. It had presented a report to the committee with projected increase of international tourists in the 12 th Five Year Plan (2012-17).

After a detailed discussion on the issue, which included looking into the FAR in other metropolitan cities and requirement of additional guest rooms, the committee agreed to increase the FAR to 400.

However, the ground coverage allowed for hotels has been kept at 40 per cent.

This means that while hotels would now be able to add built-up space, they would have to add more floors in case they have already covered 40 per cent of the land.

Reacting to this, Rajindera Kumar, Former President, FHRAI and HRANI says the development has run out of its usefulness. “The news is no longer going to be

as useful as it could have been. Times have changed. Inventory is going up anyways. This implementation would mean inventory would increase further.”

FHRAI has also ruled out the speculation mounting over the report that five star hotels can now sell branded residences built inside their hotel residences stating that the

reports are ‘premature’ and the proposal is still under examination.

MD Kapoor, Secretary General, FHRAI said in a press statement, “The

DDA proposal to permit hotels to build service residences within an overall 20% of the hotels built-in space is subject to a 45-day public comment period.”

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EXHIBITIONS

ITM in Tawang from Oct 18 K Chiranjeevi, Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Parvez Dewan, Secretary, MOT, and Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism are expected to attend the International Tourism Mart in Arunachal Pradesh.

Nabam Tuki, Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh will also be present at the mart.

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he second edition of the International Tourism Mart will be held at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh from October 18-20.

Sonam Chombay, Secretary, Tourism, Arunachal Pradesh, said that they are expecting 125-150 foreigners from 23 countries as well as leading travel agents from within the country.

All Northeastern states will come up with presentations on the tourism products of the respective states.

K Chiranjeevi Union Minister of State for Tourism

to their clients. This is said to be followed by B2B meetings that are scheduled for two days of the mart.

Chombay said the inaugural festival will be similar to the one that took place in Guwahati in its first edition. There will be cultural showcases from all the states and various programmes will be held to highlight the culture of the northeastern states.

The mart will be followed by the now-famous Tawang Festival that is expected to kick

Parvez Dewan

Girish Shankar

Sonam Chombay

Secretary, MOT

Additional Secretary, MOT

Secretary, Tourism, AP

This will help highlight the products on offer and familiarise the foreign tour operators with what they can sell

The B2B meetings with foreign tour operators will provide an ideal platform for networking.

off from the afternoon of October 20. The Tawang Festival is being proposed to be held for two days.

Bring in Tourism Police Contd. from page 1

destinations as plastic and garbage free. We should build proper toilets and sensitise the community about the need to keep the destinations clean,” he added.

Further, expressing concern on high tax structure, Chiranjeevi said that collective taxes on tourism-related services range between 20 to 30% in India as compared to 5 to

10% in the neighbouring countries. “I have opened a dialogue with the finance ministry to rationalise the central taxes. I would request you to take up the issue of rationalisation of state taxes with your counterpart in finance department of your state”, he added.

Finally, Chiranjeevi taking up the last item on agenda said the outstanding advance with states is a matter of con-

cern to the central government. While many states and UTs were able to liquidate the advances up to 31.3.2011, some are yet to do so. “This year after 1.9.2013, Ministry will not be able to release any CFA unless the state governments and UTs submit utilisation certificates for the advances given to them up to 31.3.2012 or refund such advances,” added Chiranjeevi.

For safety of women tourists Contd. from page 3

120 monuments across India that can be given for adoption.”

Referring to religious tourism, Chiranjeevi said a substantial component of domestic travel is for pilgrimages and there is a need to enhance amenities and facilities at our major pilgrimage centres. He also highlighted that safety of tourists, partic-

ularly for foreign women tourists, is an area of concern.

“As law and order is a State subject, I have written to all Chief Ministers to take effective steps to create conducive and friendly atmosphere for all tourists,” said Chiranjeevi. NTAC is a ‘think-tank’, constituted by the Government and comprises experts from various fields, representatives of industry associations like CII,

FICCI, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI, FHRAI, HAI, IATO, TAAI, ITTA, ADTOI, ATOAI, IHHA, ICPB as well as Ministries of Finance, Railways, Culture, External Affairs, Urban Development, Road Transport and Highways and Planning Commission and advises the Government on various aspects of tourism with the objective of promoting domestic and foreign tourism in the country.

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STATES Nature & Uttarakhand

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Seaplanes to fly in Kerala by August

The state is emphasising on the fact Kerala has engaged five companies, which will run the sea planes. These that places like Mussourie, Dehradun are likely to commence operations by August-end of this year. & Nainital are safe to travel.

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ccording to Umakant Panwar, SecretaryTourism, Uttarakhand, “The fury of floods has badly hit the tourism sector. While some parts have been damaged by the floods, most other destinations, are unaffected and absolutely safe.”

Subhash Verma, President, ADTOI pointed out, “Domestic tourism has already taken a hit in the state.

It will bounce back soon. At the state tourism ministers’

Subhash Verma President, ADTOI

meet, I met the Uttarakhand Tourism Minister. ADTOI has proposed to be a part of the rehabilitation committee they will initiate soon.”

SM Shervani, Managing Director, Shervani Hospitalities and Hon. Treasurer, FHRAI revealed,

SM Shervani Managing Director, Shervani Hospitalities

“We surely need financial assistance from the Central government. Service tax on hotels in Uttarakhand should be abolished for the next 5-6

A Noble Cause

Aditya Loomba Director, ECOS (India)

CSR: ECOS (India) Mobility & Hospitality Group’s employees are donating one-day salary to PM Relief Fund towards Uttarakhand disaster relief work.

years. Luxury tax needs to be waived off. Allocate budget and advertise that everything is fine in the state now.

Occupancies have surely been hit. It has decreased by 50-70 per cent. Banks should give a subsidy to the smaller hotels so that they can manage their cash flows better for the next two years.”

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erala Tourism had been leading among its peers with various tourism initiatives. One of its strategic projects on PPP mode is to introduce seaplanes in various parts of Kerala, which AP Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala said is on track and will see the light of the day by August. “We

have initiated the sea plane project in Kerala to facilitate speedy connectivity at various strategic tourism attractions including backwaters at various places in Kerala. We witnessed some concerns, but those have been adequately dealt with. In fact, we have engaged five companies, which will run the sea planes and are likely to commence operations

by August end,” Kumar said on sidelines of the recently held State Ministers Conference in New Delhi. Kerala is emphasising on the use of technology. In fact, lately, the Chief Minister himself had encouragedthe tourism industry to make use of technology to explore new markets at the International Conference on Travel Technology (ICTT).

AP Anilkumar Minister for Tourism, Kerala

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HOTELS

Greater Noida for MICE The upcoming hotel Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida is already booked for the F1 season in October and the Auto Expo in Feb 2014. tion centre. This, however, will only open in the Phase II of the hotel construction.

“Despite the fact that we will be opening the hotel in phases, we are pretty much sold out already for the F1 race that will happen in October.

The entire Ferrari team will stay here during the event,” he points out. Betting big on the segment, Bindra opines, “With brilliant roads where you can escape the traffic jams of Delhi, this region is similar to South or Central

M EGHA PAUL

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ccording to Greesh Bindra, General Manager of the upcoming Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida; the tour operators’ community is excited over the prospects of the Greater Noida region. The B2B community is already introducing new itineraries to include the region. They are now altering packages Greesh Bindra General Manager, Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida and pushing the Jaipur-Agra-Greater Noida We are pretty much sold out for the and then Delhi packages, he reveals. Regarding the potenF1 race that will happen in October. tial of Greater Noida as a region for developing the hosThe entire Ferrari team will stay pitality industry, the GM of the here during the event hotel feels it will do great business by 2015-16. “Post 2016, there is no looking back Delhi. Also, the region will With an inventory of 400 and hospitality sector will see gain big time as it positions rooms, in the first phase the a boom here. Till then, we will itself as the new MICE hub hotel will only open with 200 not overexpose ourselves. The near Delhi. With Pragati rooms. “Being a hotel with hotel will try to gauge the Maidan being shut for the 400 rooms, with 49 long-stay market sentiments and move next two years, this area is apartments, has its own forward,” he adds. seeing a lot of MICE activiadvantages. Big companies Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida ties. So the need is to push such as Yamaha and Moser will open its doors in October. the destination rather than Baer are coming along at the the individual hotel. The next Expressway and thus, there edition of India’s flagship is tremendous potential here biennial automobile show, for this particular segment,” FACILITY: MICE is going to be Auto Expo, will be held in Bindra suggests. the biggest growth driver here.

February 2014 at Greater MICE is going to be the Apart from the Greater Noida Noida, moving away from the biggest growth driver here.

Expo Centre that caters to traditional venue of Pragati Apart from the Greater Noida large MICE business, this Maidan. We already have Expo Centre that caters to hotel will also have a over 340 rooms booked for large MICE business, this convention centre. the occasion.” hotel will also have a conven-

Making a MICE Zone

Cinema most wanted in airports A global survey of over 10,000 travellers conducted by travel search site Skyscanner has revealed that the complimentary feature most travellers wanted at an airport is a cinema. Around 49% of the respondents voted for the silver screen over other services. Getting a quick nap also scored highly with over a third of the respondents voting for

Top 10 most wanted features: Cinema Sleep pod Library Park Vanity area Kids play area Pool Gym Man-made beach Bikes

49% 36% 32% 31% 30% 21% 20% 15% 12% 11%

sleep pods, a feature that Abu Dhabi Airport unveiled last month which, at UAE Dirham 45 per hour

(approximately ` 700), provides an affordable alternative to a hotel room.

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HOTELS

Connecting with agents Starting its first hotel Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre way back in 2006, the French hotel company Accor has come a long way.

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ccording to Nikhil Dhodapkar, Regional Director, Sales & MarketingIndia, Accor; the traditional selling channels such as travel agents in markets such as India are extremely important. A step towards strengthening this alliance was taken almost two years back with the tie-up with Connect-Worldwide (CWW) Accor.

Talking about the successful initiative, Dhodapkar says, “With the CWW pact, we have been able to strengthen our relationship with the traditional travel agent. The idea was to bring the Accor brand closer to the travel agent, help Accor to drive its visibility and of course, to reward our travel agents.

CWW has helped us expand our reach into the Indian market quicker, and at the same time, helped drive business to our hotels globally.”

However, to gauge the exact increase in the num-

Nikhil Dhodapkar Regional Director Sales & Marketing- India, Accor

The idea was to bring the Accor brand closer to the travel agent, help Accor to drive its visibility and of course, to reward our travel agents ber of travel agents working with Accor in India is diffi-

cult, feels Dhodapkar. “Two years back, we had seven hotels. Now we have 19 properties. So, the base then was minimal. But certainly, an increase has been witnessed. We have also created e-learning programmes like ‘Learn with us’ exclusively for the travel agents. This has various modules, so that the B2B fraternity can understand our various brands and then they go on to become our ‘Ambassadors’. Currently, the company has at least 500 ambassadors within India,” he adds.

Amplified by the presence of six brands of the company in India, the group has 19 operational hotels and two convention centres as of now. The company will open four Novotels in Goa, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune; two Ibis in Jaipur and at the Delhi Airport; two Formule1 in Pune and Bengaluru Whitefield by end of this year, the Regional Director confirms.

10 hotels in India by 2020 Svenska Design Hotels, the Sweden-based company will invest approximately ` 25-40 crore per property in the Indian market...

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eadquartered at Stockholm in Sweden, Svenska Design Hotels plans to expand across India and have 10 hotels in the country by 2020. Svenska Hotels is a collection of boutique and design hotels having a room inventory of less than 100.

Zia Sheikh, CEO & CMD, Svenska Design Hotels said, “Currently, Svenska has two hotels operational in India in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and four are under development in Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh

Expansion Mode INVENTORY: Svenska has two hotels operational in India in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and four are under development in Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal LOOKING AHEAD: The company believes that they will reach the target of 10 hotels across the country before 2020

and West Bengal. We believe that we will reach our target of 10 hotels across the country before our goal of 2020.

We are also looking for further properties in the Indian market to either own and develop or manage for third parties.” Sheikh added that Svenksa was looking for a mix of locations across the country.

Elaborating on Svenska’s plans to engage with the travel trade, Sheikh said, “OTAs are an important segment for us. Our smaller inventories mean that we have not had extensive dealings with the traditional travel agent. However, we do work with travel agents and tour operators who deal with FIT clients.” He also said that 2012 was a rather subdued year for the tourism industry in India, but in the middle and long-term, he was bullish about the potential of the tourism industry.

Sheikh revealed that Svenksa would be investing approximately ` 25-40 crore per hotel in the Indian market for its target of 10 hotels by

Zia Sheikh CEO & CMD Svenska Design Hotels

Our smaller inventories mean that we have not had extensive dealings with the traditional travel agent. However, we do work with travel agents and tour operators 2020 and that each property would definitely be less than 100 keys per hotel.

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ANALYSIS

TRAV TALK AUGUST 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Student tours are the new pastures With the education tour segment market in India to be worth ` 1,000 crore, the travel fraternity is increasingly looking at this new avenue for business. speaks to industry veterans to know more...

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he growth of both education and tourism as key industries over the past few decades has led to growing recognition of these sectors from both an economic and social perspective. Education increasingly enables or facilitates travel mobility and learning has become an important part of the contemporary tourist experience.

The tourism industry has realised that students are a powerful long-term investment for destinations. A large number of travel agents and tour operators are, thus cashing in on this opportunity.

The money churner segment According to Karan Anand, Head-Relationships, Cox & Kings, the education tour segment market in India can be pegged to be over worth `1,000 crore and is seeing a double-digit growth.

Nearly 60 per cent of revenue contribution for Cox & Kings India comes from outbound travel. Domestic travel contributes about 22 per cent and is growing fast while business travel accounts for 9-10 per cent. The remainder comes from inbound travellers. India is the largest market for the group, and as it rolls out the education travel concept, the company believes it will see faster growth.

The company acquired Holidaybreak about 19 months ago. “One reason why we made this acquisition was because we wanted to roll out this concept in India and Australia and other South Asian regions. We hope that by next financial year, our first centre will be up and running in India. The concept will be identical to what we do in the UK. We expect to price it in the range of ` 2,500 a night and do not want this to be elitist,” he

reveals. “We will start with the Southern market, but the North will also be a huge source. The only deviation will be that we will offer similar programmes for adult education, which will focus on team and leadershipbuilding experiences. We

reports at the end of tours. In India, such tours are not part of the education policy till now. So, yes, there is a challenge in promoting educational trips in India. But now, several schools in India are taking a step forward and appreciating the point that it

Karan Anand

Madhavan Menon

Head-relationships Cox & Kings

Managing Director Thomas Cook (India)

We believe there is huge potential in this segment, which is currently fragmented and managed by small operators believe there is huge potential in this segment, which is currently fragmented and managed by small operators.

We are looking at three regions to develop these centres-Mumbai, Pune and Gujarat, the Rishikesh region and the Delhi NCR-Jaipur region. The idea is to develop these centres within three hours of driving distance from the city,” he adds.

Regarding the challenges the segment is witnessing, Anand reveals, “Within Europe, education tours are an integral part of the curriculum and students take these trips and write

With a more hands-on and experiential approach to education today, travel itself is a delightful tutor is essential to deliver an integrated learning and development experience to students.

Obviously, there would be some challenges initially but we believe eventually both the stakeholders (schools and parents) would emerge strong supporters of such trips.”

For Thomas Cook (India), the student segment is a strong emerging market.

“With a more hands-on and experiential approach to education today, travel itself is a delightful tutor. At Thomas Cook India, our ‘Travel & Learn’ vertical was launched to harness this potential. Our

packages offer as out of school experiential learning concept—tours combining education and fun to ensure that young minds are challenged and opened to newer ideas. These tours cater to teachers and faculties as well, by helping them understand different ways of imparting knowledge to young minds,” Madhavan Menon, Managing Director – Thomas Cook (India) informs.

Many institutions are now coming up with their own travel division and thus, looking after these tours directly.”

Currently, the company garners 25 per cent of its business from educational tours.

“Most popular programmes which are offered in North India are Corbett National Park for tiger viewing, Amritsar for Wagah Border and Golden Temple or visiting Shimla, Dalhousie and

new destination itself is an educational experience for the students, they are more interested in participative trips rather than visiting historical sites and monuments. In this context, the company has seen a growing demand of trekking trips in the Himalayas, rafting trips on the Ganges, etc. As far as the overseas trips are concerned, even though there is a demand, it is not very big.

Whenever there is such demand, it is mainly based on places of historical and scientific importance. For examplewe had handled a team of students who visited Egypt to visit the pyramids. Similarly, there is a demand for students to visit NASA or Dubai,” Kumar confirms.

Seasonal yet qualitative Capt. Swadesh Kumar

Amaresh Tiwari

Managing Director Shikhar Travels

Managing Director A.T Seasons & Vacations Travel

We have handled over 8,000 students during 201112 for tours within the country Domestic trails Says Capt. Swadesh Kumar, Managing Director, Shikhar Travels, “There is huge potential for educational tours in India. It is an extremely important market for the company. Shikhar Travels has been focussing on the school segment for the domestic market mainly and we have handled over 8,000 students during 2011-12 for tours within the country. For the last year, there was a decline in this business.

The challenge lies in persuading the school as this segment of travel needs proactive participation other hill stations, etc. in the summer months. Tours to South India are also popular, especially for Kerala. Another popular destination is Rajasthan and we also receive requests for Maharashtra,” he adds.

From history to adventure In the recent times, there has been a shift to adventure and experiential holidays from the conventional historical tours. “Even though visiting a

Amaresh Tiwari, Managing Director, A.T Seasons & Vacations Travel opines, “Education tours should be made an integral part of curriculum in India as well. This gives exposure and confidence to the children.

Since it is not a part of the curriculum, many schools do not encourage the students to join these study tours.

Thus, to sell these study tours, the company regularly meets school administrators and explains them the benefits of such travel arrangements. The challenge lies in persuading the school as this segment of travel needs proactive participation from the schools as well. Also, schools do not bear the cost of the study tours and hence, the parents need to be urged as well.” The company generates approximately `5-6 crore of revenues from this segment annually. However, this segment is seasonal, confirms Tiwari. “Summer holidays are the biggest vacation time and we do approximately 3,000 students just during summer time from May 15 to June 30,” he adds.

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Triple-digit growth for Expedia

A late entrant in the India market, Expedia set its eyes on India in 2008. Having tripled its business by 2010, the online travel portal is now moving forward and tapping the Tier-II and Tier-III cities M EGHA PAUL

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hile Expedia might have a number of competitors in the Indian market, Vikram Malhi, General Manager, South Asia and Southeast Asia, Expedia feels the travel portal is different especially because they offer tickets to more than 7,000 activities around the world.

Also real-time change on partnering websites is reflected immediately on Expedia. While Expedia might have most hotels listed for the leisure destinations, the company needs to list hotels from Tier II and Tier III

Vikram Malhi General Manager, South Asia and Southeast Asia, Expedia

In Tier-II and TierIII cities, people still find booking through travel agents an easier and more reliable option cities now. “This is one of the areas we are focussing in 2013. We will give content and deals to travel agents in smaller cities,” the Expedia country manager says.

Towards the beginning of this year, Expedia strengthened its TAAP (Travel Agents Affiliate Programme) by tying up with Track India to distribute its global inventory to travel agents. Talking about this initiative and roping in the traditional travel agents in smaller cities, Malhi points out, “Online bookings are witnessing a great response

Trichy to Kuala Lumpur Starting August 30, 2013; AirAsia will introduce its third daily flight from Trichy to Kuala Lumpur. With this, the airline will have three flights daily departing from Kuala Lumpur for Trichy.

in the metro cities. Over the last few years, bookings have been on the rise. However, in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, people still find booking through travel agents an easier and more reliable option.

Thus, it is imperative for the OTAs to tie-up with travel agents in smaller towns,

who in turn book online with our site.”

Regarding the performance of the company in terms of bookings, Malhi asserts, “We have seen a huge potential in the country with triple digit growth since our entry. Last year, we launched the first integrated

brand campaign ‘Expedia: One word for travel’, that helped us increase our brand awareness and also doubled site shoppers. This year, we had earmarked ` 50 crore budget for our marketing campaign ‘Be the neighbour who travels’. With Expedia, you can be the neighbour who travels with the avail-

ability of 18,000 live deals at any given time.” It has been three months since the company launched the campaign. Since then, bookings have been on the rise.

Expedia is expecting the momentum to continue the same way and achieve triple digit growth in 2013 as well, Malhi adds.

Success Trail BEGINNING: Expedia has seen triple digit growth since its entry in India PROMOTION: Last year, the company launched ‘Expedia: One word for travel’, that helped it increase its brand awareness

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AP invests in tourism and connectivity The state body is introducing new airports and hotels to enhance tourist accessibility and promote new destinations. It further plans to work closely with travel agents as partners. reports.

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ith an aim to improve destination awareness in domestic and global markets, Andhra Pradesh Tourism is undertaking various initiatives on both PPP and government’s modes.

AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has earmarked ` 1,000 crore investment in the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode

for developing tourism infrastructure in the state.

The state government is focussing on the development of new and unexplored destinations, and seeks to attract tourists from the already popular destinations such as Tirupati and Hyderabad. Besides upgrading infrastructure, the corporation is also promoting awareness about its attractive tourist locations by mar-

Maharashtra connection The state tourism board recently tied up with Maharashtra to jointly promote and develop tourist circuits in the states. According to Khan, there are several common tourism features such as Buddhism and films among the two neighbouring states which their governments can jointly explore. APTDC has also announced certain exclusive packages for travellers from Maharashtra

Travel agents connection We at AP Tourism understand the pivotal role that agents play as travel intermediaries in extending the tourist season of a state/ destination. They hold a far greater influence to create a new demand or to expand the present demand. We intend to work in close partnership with the travel Chandana Khan Chairperson & MD, agents and tour operators both Andhra Pradesh Tourism nationally and internationally in Development Corporation order to promote virgin locations.

That is why we have been organising fam and tours for not only travel and tour operators, but also travel agents.

Hussain Sagar Hyderabad

keting and promotional activities within the State and at the national level.

A sum of close to ` 40 crore is likely to be spent on marketing in this fiscal.

The corporation plans to offer promotional packages that are woven around themes such as culture, art, cuisine, dance, rural, water sports, textiles, etc, informed

Chandana Khan, Chairperson & MD, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. AP’s tourism development plans are being supported by the Union Tourism Ministry which has already sanctioned ` 221 crore towards it. Besides, the state is also expecting investment to the tune of ` 58 crore for new projects. The APTDC is also developing a Tirupati Convention Centre at a cost of ` 70 crore. The domestic tourist footfall in the state for 2012-13 was 15.31 crore with the state also receiving 2.9 lakh foreign visitors in the same period. The State Government plans to build

coastal corridors along the Vizag-Bheemunipatnam sea front and the VizagVizianagaram-Srikakulam Regional circuit with an investment of ` 175 crore.

Also to be developed are eight new beach properties in the Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, east Godavari, west Godavari, Prakasam and Nellore districts of Andhra Pradesh.

This year, APTDC has decided to focus on the unexplored destinations like Araku, Horsely Hills, Nagarjunasagar and Dindi, etc. besides special destinations like Tirupati and Contd. on page 49

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FAMILY ALBUM

MOT conducts Tourism Ministers’ Meet A National Tourism Ministers’ Conference was held in New Delhi in July to discuss the future strategies for realising the full tourism potential of the country. The Conference was chaired by K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State, Government of India and attended by over 23 State Tourism Ministers and tourism officials were present from all states and union territories.

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NTO

Straight to ‘China Town’ The China National Tourism Office (CNTO) in New Delhi is launching new marketing efforts to promote Tier-II tourism destinations in the country. you really want to explore China, you don’t care about the language or food barrier there.” At this moment, the tourist traffic between India and China is very encouraging, Qianguo adds.

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peaking at a recent Hangzhou tourism promotion event in Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, New Delhi, Li Qianguo, Deputy Director, CNTO, said, “We are now promoting Tier-II destinations in China.

Lesser known provinces like Yunnan and Hangzhou offer a variety of tourism products. Earlier, Beijing and Shanghai were in the forefront of our marketing campaign. China is an emerging destination for Indian tourists.”

“Medium-sized provinces like Dalian, Qingdao, Changsha, Chendu, Tianjin and Suzhou are beautiful and colourful cities with modern tourism facilities. The infra-

Li Qianguo Deputy Director CNTO

structure at these provinces has developed very well.

However, promoting these provinces amongst the Indian tourist offers certain challenges in terms of language and food, as you’ll rarely find English-speaking staff at these hotels. But if

“In the first five months of this year, the Indian arrivals to China had increased more than 12 per cent, with approximately 3 lakh Indians travelling to China, which is a very good number.”

The growth is impressive considering there’s a lack of adequate direct air connectivity between India and China.

Saying ‘I do’ at Yas Islands Lama Tours is confident of easily accommodating 100-600 people for Indian weddings at the Yas Islands and offer its guests a memorable experience.

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ndia is an important market for Lama Tours, Dubai and it’s willing to undertake all possible innovations to stimulate India demand to explore the Middle East coun-

moting 50 itineraries, which we keep updating and tweaking according to the needs of the Indian travellers.”

“We are now looking at a strong possibility of promoting Indian weddings at

accommodate 100-600 persons for Indian weddings at the Yas Islands and offer our distinguished guests a memorable experience,” he added.

Echoing similar views, Karim El Guanaini, Vice President, Destination Management, Yas Island said,

“India is a strategic market and has potential to become among one of its top three markets in the medium term.”

Kulwant Singh

Karim El Guanaini

Managing Director Lama Tours

Vice President, Destination Management Yas Island

tries. As per Kulwant Singh, Managing Director, Lama Tours, “We see about 150,000 people from India that constitutes over 40 per cent of our total business. At any point in time, we are pro-

the Yas Islands in Abu Dhabi, which in itself is a perfect destination with a state-ofthe-art water park, amusement park, and an upcoming shopping mall among other attractions. We can easily

Representatives of both Lama Tours and Yas Islands were recently in India to meet close to 100 travel agents in India spread across Delhi, Mumbai and two other Indian cities. “It’s one of the exclusive initiatives that got two private players together and fly all the way to India to dwell on the various business opportunities with their Indian counterparts,” Singh added.

Asia's hotel transaction volumes skyrocket 85% Hotel transaction volumes within Asia reached US$1.3 billion in this year, representing an 85 per cent year-on-year increase over 2012. Strong investment in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Thailand and Maldives markets were the main engines for growth in the first half of the year.

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Jet’s 2nd daily from India to Singapore Jet Airways announced the enhancement of a second daily frequency from India to Singapore with the introduction of a second daily Boeing 737 flight from Chennai.

This new service effective August 1st, 2013 will complement the night flight currently in operation, on the high demand ChennaiSingapore route. The airline

Sudheer Raghavan Chief Commercial Officer Jet Airways

will deploy Boeing 737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft on this route. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways said “With the introduction of this additional service, we aim to popularise this amongst guests wanting seamless connectivity to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Vietnam via Singapore, with our codeshare partners.”

SA ready for Indian budget travellers With the industry and travellers worrying about the dollar prices, South Africa is calling budget travellers from India by offering ‘value for money’ ground services.

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ith the rupee dwindling, Indian travellers are smartly re-planning their vacations aboard – with options like shifting from a long-haul to short-haul destinations, cutting down on the vacation duration, opting for lower accommodation options, etc. During these times, the South African Tourism Board is going all out attracting Indian travellers who are not looking to compromise on any of the options

mentioned above. The Indian rupee which is going weak against US dollar has actually strengthened against South African currency, making the overall tour package to South Africa cheaper than a year ago. “Along with a better currency rate, South Africa is also offering ‘value-formoney’ land services like accommodation, transport, activities, etc. What’s the fun in going to destinations where you can’t spend and have to compromise on standard of services? With a

Direct air connectivity At present, only South African Airways provides direct air-connectivity from India to South Africa through its Mumbai – Johannesburg services. On the other hand, Emirates offers one-stop connections from 15 Indian cities to South Africa via 184 flights from Dubai to different South African cities.

According to Slabber, the tourism board is in talks with few airlines to start direct connections from North and South Indian cities. She said, “For assuring the airlines that they will have profitable loads on services from North and South India to South Africa, we need to register a 25 per cent growth from India. The airlines want to see the demand in the market; we on the other hand are sure that once the services start demand will follow.”

stronger rupee, Indians now have more to spend in the Rainbow Nation,” explains

haul destinations (12-13 per cent). At present, India is the eighth biggest market for South Africa and first in terms of repeat travellers.

Slabber said, “The UK and Australia are one of our top source markets as a major portion of travellers consist of VFR traffic. However, it is interesting to note that India is the biggest market for repeat travellers with minimum VFR traffic. Two years back, we received 45 per

brings in more revenue for our economy by opting for ground services and spending on travel services.

We intend to further expand in the Indian market and bring in more travellers to South Africa.”

The tourism board recently concluded its 14-city training programme (Module III of Learn South Africa certified program) for travel agents by educating

Hanneli Slabber Country Manager – India South African Tourism Board

Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager – India, South African Tourism Board.

According to Slabber, India is expected to beat France and Australia in terms of tourism arrivals for South Africa this year. The Indian tourism market is growing at the rate of 17-18 per cent for South Africa which is higher than its (India) outbound tourism growth rate on long-

Rainbow Nation O The Indian tourism market is growing at the rate of 1718% for South Africa which is higher than its (India) outbound tourism growth rate on long-haul destinations (12-13%).

cent repeat travellers from India while last year, this figure moved to 55 per cent.

Thus, it’s purely tourism and MICE, which means India

O At present, India is the eighth biggest market for South Africa and first in terms of repeat travellers.

close to 1300 agents. Around 106,000 Indians visited South Africa during 2012, up 17 per cent from 90,000 in 2011.

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Emphasising on Buddhist circuit The Sirpur Buddhist site is to act as a catalyst to attract international and domestic tourists to Chhattisgarh. Working closely with Bihar and UP governments, it aims to enhance Buddhist tourism.

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fter launching the ‘Chhattisgarh – Full of Surprises’ campaign five

Santosh Misra Managing Director Chhattisgarh Tourism Board

years back, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board has seen growing awareness about the state in the domestic tourism

Buddhist site between 6th – 10th centuries AD, as a top attraction of the state for Buddhist tourism, heritage and culture tourism destination and is also organising festivals around the same. The board is focussing on attracting tourists from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Laos and Vietnam. In fact, the board is also working with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh tourism to develop Buddhist circuit between all the three states with better infrastructure.

According to Santosh Misra, Managing Director, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, major marketing and promotional activities would revolve around the Sirpur tourism district. He said, “Dalai Lama visited the Sirpur site this year

Step-by-step Mishra calls his board the ‘startup company of tourism’, but says they’ve registered a 30 per cent growth in tourists. “Though we can’t say how much of this can be attributed to the marketing campaign, I can say for sure that now more people know about sites like Brij Mohan Agrawal Department Minister the Chitrakoot waterfall and Bastar,” Chhattisgarh he says. The state has stepped up its tourism marketing budget by 20 per cent in the last one year. After development of tourism infrastructure, Chhattisgarh needed a fresh Tourism Policy, Department Minister Brij Mohan Agrawal said. For promoting tourism industry in the state, there is an ever need for a new Tourism policy for the state, Agrawal said recently in a review meeting of the State Tourism Department. market. It aims at making Sirpur, a famous heritage site which was an important

and is coming back again next year in January. This shows how religious, authentic and

Focus on Buddhism After realising the potential of Buddhist tourism, states like Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are aggressively promoting Buddhist circuits of the state by developing infrastructure around the Buddhist sites and providing convenient facilities to the travellers. With growing response for these tours from international markets (especially South East Asia), states like Maharashtra and Chhattishgarh are joining the bandwagon by underlining their rich Buddhist sites dating back in 5th and 6th century AD. Mishra said, “To attract visitors from southern states, we will offer packages such as tribal, architecture and rural tourism. The under- excavation site in Sirpur is bound to provide exciting times to the visitors.”

peaceful this site is. We are focussing on building more infrastructure around the site without disturbing the excavations and important sites.

We have already built excellent road connectivity to Sirpur and recently launched a property for travellers who intend to stay overnight.

Also, by working closely with UP and Bihar, we are building Buddhist circuits connecting Buddhist sites from all the three states.

For example, travellers visiting the popular Buddhist site Sarnath in UP can extend their tour and visit Sirpur.”

The board owns 43 properties across the state wherein a few are leased out to private players on ‘manage and operate’ basis. In the last five years, the board has invested close to ` 200 crore for building tourist infrastructure.

The state is exploring possibilities to develop more infra-

structure on PPP mode, informed Misra. The state received close to 53 lakh domestic tourists while the international tourist arrival was minimal. “We expect to register 10-15 per cent growth in domestic arrivals this year and a much higher percentage growth in international tourist arrivals,” informed Misra.

When asked about the strategy to achieve the expected growth target, Misra said, “We have started participating at travel exhibitions and fairs across India to reach out to travel agents and end consumers and spread awareness about the state as a tourist destination.We are focussing on key states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa by inviting travel agents for educational trips.”

The state is also organising a seminar on ‘Niche tourism in Chhattisgarh’ for travel agents in Raipur in the month of September in association with PWD (Public Works Department).

White-Labelling Solutions for travel agents As online bookings surge in India, every travel agent needs a professional online presence. roombookpro.com offers white labelling option to agents to enable them to make their online presence more authentic and reliable.

White-labelling completes all features of travel agents’ online presence and fulfils all aspects required for making bookings. An online website is critical for travel agents in making a first impression with the prospective and current customers.

“As majority of travel bookings are moving online, our white-labelling service helps agents to be competitive with our excellent technology and back-office support,” says Vidur Singal, CEO, roombookpro.com

roombookpro.com’s white-labelling partnership is a customised travel services solution for any agent who wants online presence. The technology and support is provided by roombookpro.com and branding design will be agents’ own choice. “We will provide the technology and support required to run the travel services through the agents own site, all within the agent’s own design and branding. A one-time setup fee is required to be paid by the agent whereas the revenue and commission will depend on the sales volume that is generated,” says Vidur. roombookpro.com offers a full range of private label solutions for its trade partners

which includes easily configurable and hosted HTML solution that can be launched quickly with no upfront costs,

Vidur Singal CEO roombookpro.com

XML-based solutions that allow full control and interface customisation, fully tailored, custom developed XML and HTML solutions with complete control over the user experience, presentation of supplier's

inventory, and the ability to integrate ancillary products within the primary booking path.

An agent using the white-labelling feature can customise the site with online hotel booking option using roombookpro.com’s inventory of over 1,50,000 hotel & apartments around the world.

White-labelling with roombookpro.com will help travel agents give their customers access to hotel & apartment bookings anywhere in the world at a click of a mouse. roombookpro.com’s network of national and international hotels & apartments offers the lowest price promise as it aggregates rates from the 12 best hotels & apartments suppliers around the world.

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ADTOI’s 5th chapter coming in Maharashtra To boost domestic tourism and increase its existing members in the state, ADTOI is set to launch the fifth chapter in Maharashtra by the end of next month. “In Maharashtra, we have over

Subhash Verma President, ADTOI

30 members currently. For the formation of the chapter, we need at least 15 members,” Subhash Verma, President, ADTOI said.

However, the launch date and venue of the office of the chapter are yet to be decided.

Regarding the increase of members in the country, Verma revealed, “The association recently formed 10 sub committees. One of them is the membership development committee. This week we have launched our membership ID cards. The sample for this was approved in our last general meeting.

FAMILY ALBUM

Unforgettable Hangzhou in China China National Tourism Office New Delhi recently hosted a Hangzhou promotion evening, Unseen Beauty of Unforgetable Hangzhou, at Shangri La’s Eros Hotel. A 15-member delegation headed by Deputy Director-General Zhuge Jinhua of Hangzhou Tourism Committee met local tourism partners to highlight itineraries earmarked for Indian tourists.

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India-Indonesia on direct route soon Indonesia hopes to raise Indian arrivals by 20%, and is positive to have direct air-connectivity with India soon.

Indonesia received close to 1,77,000 Indians in 2012 and expects a 20 per cent growth in 2013.

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ith India standing 11th on Indonesia’s tourism source market, the country is now expanding its target segment and markets in India.

Indonesia received close to 1,77,000 Indians in 2012 and expects a 20 per cent growth in 2013, which converts into 2,00,000 Indian tourist footfalls.

When asked about the strategy to meet the 20 per cent growth target, Iyung Masruroh, Deputy Director of Promotion for Asia Region, Ministry of Tourism,

Iyung Masruroh Deputy Director of Promotion for Asia Region Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia

Indonesia, said, “Along with expanding focus segment and markets, we are also working closely with Indonesia Embassy in New Delhi to promote tourism.”

Talking about the growing potential of Tier-II cities, Masruroh said, “Indian metro

Arzoo focusses on hotel packages now Online travel agent Arzoo.com will now focus on selling hotels and packages in the domestic as well as international segment on its B2B

Amal Purandhare Head – India Operations Arzoo.com

channels. Amal Purandhare, Head – India Operations, Arzoo.com observed, “There is more opportunity for growth in the hotels and packages business compared to airline ticketing. Therefore, our energy will now be focussed on promoting these segments.”

Purandhare said, “Currently, hotels account for approximately 15 per cent of our business and approximately 25 percent is packages.”

cities are full of business, but even the mini-metros are showing potential signs. We included Pune this time (in our multi-city roadshows) and received an excellent response.” Along with expanding markets in India, Indonesia Tourism is also spreading out its target segment by

focussing on MICE, adventure and youth travellers.

“Indonesia is number one in the ASEAN region registering the highest economic growth.

Thus, the business and investment opportunities are excellent. We also intend to promote mutual business opportunities in both the countries,”

adds Masruroh. However, for making Indonesia a valuefor-money destination, the country needs direct air-connectivity to bring down the travel cost. Earlier, Air India has direct connectivity to Indonesia, which got discontinued in 2008. Both the countries are now working on

reinstating direct air-connectivity. Indonesia’s Batik Air is in discussion with Indian civil aviation ministry to start direct flights on IndiaIndonesia route, informed Masruroh. She said, “We are hopeful that Batik Air will start operations on India route by end of this year.”

Visa connect FACILITY: Indonesia offers both pre-visa and visa-onarrival service for Indian travellers. For both the service, Indians are charged US$25 for a 30-day visa.

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RESEARCH TALK

India: A big fish in a South Asian pond Average Daily Rate ADR, or Average Daily Rate of a hotel, represents the average rental income per paid occupied room in a given time period. From 2009 to 2012, the ADR of Indian hotel rooms have remained fairly steady, fluctuating between $138-$139, except touching a high of $145 in 2010.

Purpose of Visit Through 2009 to 2011, there has been significant change in the motivations of people coming to visit India. From an all-time high of 58%, the leisure traffic has dropped to 24% in 2010, and 26% of the total international visitors in 2011. On the other hand, VFP has risen from 18% in 2009 to 28% in 2010, and a respectable 25% in 2011.

But the biggest gain has been in business travel. From a lowly 15% in 2009, it went up to 19% in 2010, and jumped to 23% in 2011.

Tourism Receipt Comparison Even with 0.06% of the total international visitor arrivals, India has earned a respectable US$11.13 billion in tourism receipts in 2009, going up to $17.74 billion in 2012. When compared to its South Asian compatriots, India leads. But when it comes to its tourism peers in Southeast Asia, India has a lot of catching up to do. Thailand has seen its tourism receipts spike from US$14.88 billion in 2009, to a staggering US$ 31.65 billion in 2012. Even Malaysia stays ahead of the game, nudging ahead with US$ 18.36 billion in 2012. The good news is, India is catching up.

Revenue per available room

Visitor Forecast Comparison In its region, India is the king. When compared to its South Asian neighbours (Sri Lanka and Maldives), India stands head and shoulders above the rest. For 2013, India’s visitor arrivals, according to PATA forecasts, stand at 7.45 million, going up gradually to 10.09 million by 2017. To this figure, Sri Lanka and Maldives get a fraction of India’s tourist arrivals.

Occupancy Rate Since 2009, India’s occupancy rate in hotels has risen steadily, albeit for a slight slump in 2011.

From 59% in 2009, the occupancy rate of hotels rose steadily to 61% in 2010. Unable to maintain the rise, the occupancy rate slid by a percent the next year. But in 2012, hotels rose to the challenge to have an overall occupancy rate of 63%.

RevPAR, or revenue per available room, is a performance metric in the hotel industry, which is calculated by multiplying a hotel's average daily room rate (ADR) by its occupancy rate. It may also be calculated by dividing a hotel's total guestroom revenue by the room count and the number of days in the period being measured.

RevPAR Comparison between India, Sri Lanka & Maldives

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New kinds of travellers, so new rules...

Meaning of Hospitality The etymology of hospitality in many languages around the world is derived from the concept of welcoming guests: hospes in Latin or literally “being friendly to strangers”; haoke ( ) in Chinese or “to treat guests well”; and ukarimu in Swahili, “generosity”. Although the word hospitality in its sense of welcoming guests came into common use in the early Middle Ages, the hospitality industry goes back much further. For example, in Ancient Greece the hotel equivalent was a ‘pandocheion’ – these were facilities open to any person willing to pay the fees for lodging and food. The word meant “accepting all comers”.

Asian travellers: New force in tourism In terms of both volume and value, travellers from Asia are a new force in global travel. Asian travellers will account for one third of travel spending by 2020, an increase of 21% from today, and the growth in Chinese tourism has been particularly striking. Over the coming decade, new explorers will become more regionally diverse as more people from the CIVET countries (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt and Turkey) and Africa start to be able to afford travel.

Building Relationships More travellers are starting to travel independently without industry support, while large numbers are demanding a more personalised experience. The questions to be asked are: • How can the industry build relationships with independent travellers – offering an invisible pillar of support?

• How can the hospitality industry balance the growing expectation for personalisation with the desire of some to remain independent?

The True Picture by Tourist/Reviewer

It is a fact that almost all travellers conduct extensive research before finalising a trip. And peer review forms a big part of the decision-making process. Now, most travel sites have user reviews on places, hotels, sites, restaurants and everything, down to the ambience outside the airport. This carries a lot of weight for the future visitors of a place.

For the hospitality provider, trust is critical.

Connected to everything via smartphones The Social Pulse The industry needs to recognise that when customers are not physically present, they still have a relationship to nurture. Maintaining a point of connection with departed guests – for example, by making time to respond to reviews they have posted on company websites – will become more important in retaining customers

Samsung and Holiday Inn worked together on a high profile trial of new in-room technology during the 2012 Olympics. Guests at the Holiday Inn London - Stratford City were able to employ an app on a Samsung smartphone to control their rooms’ TV, air conditioning and lights. In the future, this might extend to directly handling communications with the front desk, housekeeping and concierge staff, and even facilitate checkout.

One in four travellers have used social networking sites to plan their travel while 45% have made travel plans based on reviews and experiences of others. This is true of both leisure and business travel. One in three business travellers posts reviews online of properties they stay at.

Multi-generational family tourist groups rule It’s becoming more common for extended families from countries such as India, where disposable incomes are growing, to go away on holidays together, creating more demand for bigger spaces.

A photo of the family having a superb meal at a top restaurant is a source of pride as much as a memento or souvenir.

By 2023, there will be 1 billion people over 60 years old, raising the bar for hotels to cater to the senior travellers.

Already, 1.4 billion adults worldwide – or 30% of the global adult population – have sufficient disposable income to be able to travel abroad.

Source: IHG

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‘Run For Tourism’ with Clarks Inn, Alwar On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of hotel Clarks Inn, Alwar in Rajasthan, parent company MGB Group organised a cross-country 'Run For Tourism' to promote Alwar and Sariska as tourist destinations. The initiative got a wide response from different sections of society.

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Maldivian Konnection

Targetting 8 lakh Indian visitors Celebrating the fourth ‘Visit Malaysia’ year in 2014, India has been placed as one of the top potential tourism source markets. The country is also planning to tap the repeat travellers from India.

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n a bid to further boost tourist arrival numbers from India, Tourism Malaysia is focussing on various marketing strategies and working on multiple promotional plans. The country is expecting to receive 7.8 lakh Indian arrivals this year and eight lakh in 2014. The country is encouraging travel agents to promote the destination by offering attractive incentives, deals, offers and FAMs. It is also highlighting new desti-

nations in Malaysia for repeat travellers. To further connect Indian tourists and announce ‘Visit Malaysia 2014’ pro-

Ng Yen Yen

Growing Trade

Outbound Konnections – representing The Residence Hotels in India, recently organised a fam for 11 travel agents to the Maldives. Hosted by The Residence Hotels and supported by Sri Lankan Airlines, the fam provided in-depth knowledge about the hotel brand and the destination overall. For instance, the group experienced Dolphin cruising with cocktails and a MasterChef experience at the hotel’s popular restaurant – The Falhumaa. The Residence Hotels consists of four properties – The Residence Tunisia, The Residence Maldives, The Residence Mauritius, and The Residence Zanzibar.

Bilateral trade between Malaysia and India in 2013 could surpass the targeted US$15 billion if the 20 per cent growth experienced in the first quarter were to persist through the year The tourism board is tapping Bollywood and is in talks with several production houses encouraging them to shoot in Malaysia

Chairman Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board

gramme, Tourism Malaysia recently launched a Bollywood music album ‘Tum Mile’ comprising Kishore Kumar songs voiced by singer Kumar Sanu, and Malay counterpart Princess Toh Puan Noor Suzaan Abdullah.

Ng Yen Yen, Chairman, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Ministry of Tourism and

Culture Malaysia said, “India is a very important market for us in terms of investments, business, trade and tourism.

With the dollar inflating, Malaysia is a safer bet as a destination for Indians. We are working closely with travel agents, investing on promotions and also focussing on active social media channel activities to promote Malaysia as a preferred destination for

Bollywood and is in talks with several production houses encouraging them to shoot in Malaysia. “We offer 30 per cent discount to production houses, besides facilitating all ground-level arrangements like finding locations, getting permits, transport among others,” adds Yen. At present, Malaysia and India are connected by 106 weekly flights and according to Yen, there is

We are working closely with travel agents, investing on promotions and also focussing on active social media channel activities to promote Malaysia as a preferred destination for Indians Indians.” The destination is focussing on budget and luxury segment offering adventure, leisure, wildlife, eco, rural, shopping, cuisine tours along with MICE facilities. The tourism board is tapping

a need for more flights to increase the tourism inflow.

She informed that Malaysia based LCC Malindo Air will be starting daily flights from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur starting August 15, 2013.

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gives competition to OTAs Google launching its flight travel search service in India has got mixed reactions from all quarters. While some feel this may be a boon to many, it is not so well-received by many who fear a possible threat.

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aunched first in the US, Flight Search allows users to compare fares of various airlines and book tickets directly from airline websites.

With this facility, flight aggregators such as MakeMyTrip, Yatra and ClearTrip have been made redundant, industry observers said.

However, Hrush Bhatt, Co-Founder and Director (Product & Strategy) Cleartrip, says, “We don’t see Google’s Flight Search as a direct threat at all. However, it could possibly alter the way aggregators allocate their online marketing budget.”

Online travel firms such as Yatra.com and Makemytrip declined to comment on the impending development.

Google also called the move entirely speculative and refused to comment on any speculations.

Gaurav Chiripal, CEO, Quadlabs, says while in the long run it may be a cause of

Hrush Bhatt

Gaurav Chiripal

Avijit Arya

Co-Founder and Director (Product & Strategy) - Cleartrip

CEO Quadlabs

Chief Mogul Internet Moguls

We do not see Google’s Flight Search as a direct threat at all concern for OTAs, but in the short run, they need not bother. He, however, says that airlines will benefit the most once Google makes an entry into this space in India.

“This will boost the online

The OTAs have to worry on a longterm basis, but on a short-term they will not see much difference travel search and booking process to a much larger extent. Currently, an average user goes to multiple websites before making a final booking. With Google’s more efficient search functionality,

The OTAs will compete to advertise on the medium to get better visibility the user will end up at the correct destination website faster. We still have more than 60% of Indian air tickets been booked through a travel desk. Google’s meta-search technology will bring these

booking directly to the websites. I guess the OTAs have to worry on a long-term basis, but on a short-term they will not see much difference. The main beneficiaries would be the airlines as they will see a new set of customers directed to their websites. You will see more deals on airlines websites than through the travel desk,” says Chiripal.

Avijit Arya, Chief Mogul, Internet Moguls, dubs it as a positive change.

“Innovation brings change, change brings fear and uncertainty where we feel our digital ecosystem as we knew it will never be the same again. Similar concerns are flying around with the advent of the new flight search that Google has rolled out. The platform for search is Google and can decide how to leverage its platform to give a better experience and a value product to its searchers (A smart business always focusses on its main consumers, in this case the

searchers) and of course to monetise the same. Now there are two ways to look at it. You could think the Flight Search will take away OTA’s business or say a new metasearch type platform now exists as a top search result for flights which will again benefit consumers in the end who will get to see the best deal showcased. The OTAs in turn will also compete to advertise on the medium to get better visibility. In short, yes it’s a change.

Yes, some people might be seeing Google getting into the OTA business, but it’s eventually their platform and they are innovating to show flight searches differently and modifying the ways consumers buy online and how OTAs compete online,” says Arya.

Benefits DIRECT APPROACH: Google’s meta-search technology will bring booking directly to the websites

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Targetting high-end FIT India travellers Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will start itineraries to Bordeaux, France in 2014. The US based company’s aim is to introduce the art of luxury cruising on European rivers.

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uxury cruise line Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is targetting the high-end luxury FIT segment from the Indian market. The US-based company has appointed Maison De Voyage, the sales and marketing arm of the Zaka Group, as their representative in India.

Uniworld offers cruises through Europe, Asia and Egypt. Jenaifer Daruwalla, India Representative, Uniworld said, “Uniworld is the only cruise line to offer an exclusive boutique experience. It provides travellers with the opportunity to sail on historic rivers in a luxurious ambience and immerse

From August 2013 onwards, we will conduct workshops for Indian travel agents and tour operators to educate them about Uniworld as a product Jenaifer Daruwalla India Representative, Uniworld themselves in the local culture. Uniworld’s philosophy is ‘No request is too large, no detail too small’. For the luxury Indian traveller, we are focussing on promoting European river cruise itineraries.” Uniworld cruise itineraries include all gratuities for all onboard and onshore services; unlimited fine wine, beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages; shore excursions with local experts as guides; free Internet and Wi-

GBTA to launch India Chapter in Sept The Global Business Travel Association is launching the GBTA India Chapter at its inaugural event in Mumbai in September 2013. GBTA is the world's premier business travel and corporate meetings organisation. Indian business travellers are forecasted to become the second largest group after Chinese within the next few years.

Fi; and all arrival and departure day transfers.

Daruwalla added, “Uniworld Boutique River Cruises markets itself in India through our Preferred Agents. However, we also work extensively with other members of the travel trade.

From August 2013 onwards,

we will conduct workshops for Indian travel agents and tour operators in order to educate the frontline staff of travel agencies and tour operators about Uniworld as a product. Additionally, we also send regular e-mailers and pay sales calls to our travel partners across the country.” Uniworld primarily

plans to target the metros of Mumbai and Delhi in India as well as selected Tier-II markets, such as Pune and Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat.

For the 2014 calendar, Uniworld will introduce seven-night river cruise itineraries to Bordeaux in France.

Daruwalla informed, “This cruise will give travellers an opportunity to sample the unique gastronomic heritage of the Bordeaux region. It will also appeal to travellers interested in food, wines, history, and culture, as well as nature lovers.” Uniworld will deploy its newest super ship in 2014, the SS Catherine,

which will sail through France’s Burgundy and Provence regions.

Sailing On FLEET STRENGTH: Uniworld Boutique River Cruises currently operates a fleet of 18 cruise ships

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Contd. from page 1

Clean India Campaign reaches Taj Mahal VIVEK SETHI

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ith ONGC coming forward to adopt as many as six monuments, K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, Government of India is hopeful that Clean India Campaign will gather more pace.

The Ministry of Tourism is keen to put its ambitious Clean India Campaign in top gear as part of its overall objective of undertaking all possible measures to ensure that a tourist in India gets the most incredible experience.

In fact, with the initiative of Ministry of Tourism, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has agreed to the proposal of ONGC for adopting six monuments under the Clean India Campaign which include Taj Mahal, Ellora & Elephanta Caves – Maharashtra, Red Fort – Delhi, Golkonda Fort – Hyderabad and Mahabalipuram – Tamil Nadu.

K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, Government of India

“I remember that my predecessor and friend

All for a cause

Subodh Kant Sahai had initiated the Clean India Campaign, where I was also present. On taking up the charge of Ministry of Tourism, I spoke to my team at the ministry and realised that there were communication snags holding back this initiative. It had not taken off at the pace as it should have otherwise. It is an important project to grow tourism. Hence, I

CSR Adoptions GRAND GESTURE: ONGC had adopted six monuments under the Clean India Campaign. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) vetted the proposal with the blessings of the Ministry of Tourism. These are:

Taj Mahal Ellora Caves Elephanta Caves Red Fort Golkonda Fort Mahabalipuram

spoke to ONGC, and its Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva expressed his desire to adopt as many as six monuments. Moreover, I am hopeful that this campaign will gather more pace,” said Chiranjeevi in Agra.

“All stakeholders need to acknowledge that cleanliness and a hygienic environment will ensure that tourists extend their stay and also revisit often. This will help maximise revenues from tourism. In first phase of Clean India Campaign, we have identified 36 monuments that can be adopted by corporates as part of their CSR initiative. It’s my appeal to the corporate sector to come forward and make their CSR contribution to the Clean India Campaign. I have been told that some of them had stepped back due to the levy of tax on the CSR activity. I will take the initiative of talking to the government that there should be no tax levied on CSR initiatives which are directly or indirect-

ly helping to create employment in India,” he added.

The Ministry of Tourism launched Clean India Campaign as part of the Government’s strategy for the 12th Five Year Plan to improve quality of services and the environs in and around tourist destinations across India. It entails a comprehensive strategy to ensure acceptable level of cleanliness and hygiene practices at tourist destinations through involvement of private and public sector stakeholders.

Here, Parvez Dewan, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “Tourists in India should have an incredible experience from the airport or railway station to their chosen destination, and in and around the surroundings of the destination. The Campaign Clean India is one such initiative that is aimed at improving the overall appeal and addresses concerns pertaining to cleanliness and hygiene for good.”

K Chiranjeevi, Minister of Tourism, Government of India along with other dignitaries took Clean India Campaign to Taj Mahal, Agra on July 24, 2013. Taj Mahal is the second heritage site to be covered under this project. In fact, at the initiative of Ministry of Tourism, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has agreed to the proposal of ONGC adopting six monuments under the Clean India Campaign. The first was Qutub Minar in New Delhi which has been adopted by India Tourism Development Corporation in June 2012.

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India to the Far East, Dubai and China

Grand Taj Holidays, the UK-based company which targets the high-end FIT segment, plans to launch packages to Australia and New Zealand in 2014 besides launching packages to Far East, Dubai & China soon.

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he UK-based Grand Taj Holidays plans to introduce packages to the Far East,

Rajesh Khanderia General Manager Grand Taj Holidays

Outbound travel from India has fallen by approximately 3 per cent over the last year Dubai and China in the coming months. It also plans to launch packages to Australia and New Zealand next year. This infor-

Clarks Inn opens in Moradabad Clarks Inn’s latest venture was formally opened in Moradabad on July 7, 2013.

Talking about the prospect of a mid segment hotel in the UP industrial city, SN Srivastava, Executive VP, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “We have been mov-

SN Srivastava Executive VP Clarks Inn Group of Hotels

ing towards smaller and less-approached cities that later on attract the attention of big chains. This hotel happens to be the second-branded property in the city. We opened 10 properties in 2012, and are consistently adding more properties. Now, we are on track to open 15 properties in 2013 including places like Pune, Mathura, Garhmukhteshwar, and many more.”

mation was shared by Rajesh Khanderia, General Manager, Grand Taj Holidays. The Mumbai office of Grand Taj Holidays was established in December 2012. Khanderia added, “We initially began by offering tours to Europe.

However, now, we plan to expand to the Far East countries as well as in China and

Dubai. Next in line are countries such as Australia and New Zealand where we have expansion plans in the next year. Our packages are targetted at the high-end FIT segment.”

Elaborating on the trends seen in the outbound segment from India,

Khanderia stated, “We are increasingly seeing trends of small family groups travelling abroad. The adventure and wine tourism segment too are growing steadily.

However, the deprecation of the rupee definitely had an impact on outbound travel and my estimate is that outbound travel from India has

fallen by approximately 3 per cent over the last year.”

Grand Taj Holidays will also be focussing on the Diwali season and organising winter departures for the same period. Khanderia concluded by saying that Grand Taj Holidays hoped to double its numbers by 2014.

Newer Trends GROUP TOURS: Grand Taj Holidays is increasingly seeing trends of small family groups travelling abroad NICHE TOURS: The adventure and wine tourism segment too are growing steadily

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Indian catering on a cruise to Alaska Game changer on deck With the changing taste of travellers, the food habits also seem to be undergoing a sea change. Nowadays, it’s common to see cruise travellers relishing biryanis, idli-sambhar and Jain food prepared by the finest chefs of the cruise line.

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atching the melting glaciers of Glacier Bay National Park while gripping onto the deck rails – a typical scene onboard a Holland America Line cruise to Alaska! More and more travel diaries are being filled with the pictures of sunbathing seagulls and glorious whales as the popularity of cruise holidays in Alaska continues to rise. An important chapter of the memoirs is filled by the authentic biryanis, idlisambhar and Jain food cooked by the finest chefs of the cruise line.

This is just a glimpse of the many facilities that are offered with the objective of delivering the ultimate holiday experience to Indian customers. And why not?

With over 130,000 Indians opting for international cruise holidays last year, this segment is poised to become a serious product category.

In comparison to other nationalities, this number

may still seem quite small but it is growing every season at a steady 25-30%. Ten years ago, it was very difficult to get special meal

requests for Indian food on Holland America Line. But over the last few years, the cruise line has not only started catering to Indian vegetarian food in general, but

specific segments like Jain and South Indian vegetarian cuisine. In fact, a few years back, we arranged a group of 50 pax on the 16 day South

America and Antarctica cruise of Holland America Line and provided a full South Indian menu throughout the cruise in a region like South America!

This evolution has also happened because of a greater understanding of the mindset and travelling habits of the Indian tourist. As a travel service provider, we have shared numerous cook books on authentic Indian cuisines and DVDs to showcase the diverse food palettes of India with the culinary department at Holland America Line for research and further development of client-specific menu. This has helped them offer a great product to Indian clients. Last year, Holland America Line introduced a standard alternative vegetarian menu on all their ships with the largest offering at sea of 52 unique vegetarian dishes. Among those were some of the most favorite Indian dishes like vegetable biryani and palak paneer. This has been a game changer for the cruise line’s business from this region.

This is also because Indians have a late booking profile

which makes it difficult for the cruise line to entertain special requests like cuisine customisations.

However, with such standard additions to the menu, HAL has very effectively captured the service expectations of vegetarian clients who make last minute bookings.

As the Indian outbound market is evolving and growing, the customer segmentation is becoming more complex. While Indian travellers are becoming more adventurous in trying different cuisines, as they explore the planet there will always be a preference especially among vegetarians towards Indian food. We represent three of the top rated cruise lines – Holland America Line, Windstar and Seabourn.

Over the years, we’ve had customers who have asked for customizations in

Richa Goyal Sikri

regards to services and special needs to primarily menu options. The cruise lines have not just obliged but served lavish spreads, which further reinforces the base line – No matter what route you take, your heart or rather your stomach is satiated only by food that reminds you of your roots.

The author is the Director, Group Business Development, Stic Travel Group

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An extra 12 million international tourists in the first four months of 2013 A total of 298 million international tourists travelled worldwide between January and April 2013; 12 million more than in the same period last year, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

Prospects for the current tourism peak season remain positive, with some 435 million tourists expected to travel abroad in the May-August period.

International tourist arrivals grew by 4.3% in the first four months of 2013 to reach a total of 298 million, up from 286 million, despite a challenging global economic environment.

Results were positive in all regions, with the strongest growth in Asia and the Pacific (+6%), Europe (+5%) and the Middle East (+5%) and weaker growth in the Americas (+1%)

and Africa (+2%). By subregion, South-East Asia (+12%), South Asia (+9%) and Central and Eastern Europe (+9%) were the star performers.

“International tourism continues to show an extraordinary dynamism” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “The 4.3% growth in the number of international tourists crossing borders in the first months of 2013 confirms that tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of our times”, he added.

Emerging economies growing faster Growth was stronger in emerging economy destinations (+4.6%), as compared to advanced economies (+3.3%), a trend which has marked the sector for many years now. By region, growth was positive in all regions, but results were rather mixed.

Asia and the Pacific (+6%) saw the highest relative growth boosted by arrivals in South-East Asia (+12%) and South Asia (+9%). International tourist

arrivals to Europe were up by 5%, an excellent result in view of the economic situation in the region.

Central and Eastern Europe (+9%) continues to lead growth, while Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+5%) also turned in strong results.

Africa (+2%) and the Americas (+1%) reported a rather weak growth in the first four months of 2013, though following the strong progress of 2012 (+6% and +5%, respectively). At the subregional level, results were rather flat in all subregions of the Americas except in Central America (+4%). In Africa, the 3% growth in Subsaharan Africa contrasts with even results in North Africa.

Growth in the Middle East is estimated at 5%, though this figure should be taken with caution as it is based on still rather limited available data. For 2013, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 3% to 4% in line with UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8% per year for the period 2010 to 2020.

Baby on board! British Airways marks the Royal birth with free flights for infants To mark the birth of the Royal baby, British Airways is offering complimentary flights for all infants travelling from India to London.

Parents travelling with children under the age of two can benefit from this offer with an all-inclusive return fare, starting at just `63,692 in World Traveller economy cabin, `1,03,378 in World Traveller Plus cabin and `1,62,954 in Club World cabin.

The offer is valid for bookings made by August 1, 2013 and outbound travel period until September 30, 2013 Christopher Fordyce, Regional Commercial Manager, British Airways, South Asia, said, “We wish the royal baby a lifetime of happiness and invite our customers to witness London as the city basks in celebrations.”

British Airways has had a long-standing history with the British Royal Family. The

Queen and other members of the Royal Family have regularly chosen British Airways to fly them in comfort and safety during their international tours.

The airline takes special care for babies travelling on board. For the baby’s comfort, British Airways has specially designed carrycots on board, so that the baby can sleep during the flight.

Bollywood: Across the borders Five Indian movies to be showcased South Korean Film Festival The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2013, Korea’s leading fantastic genre film festival, will take place in the Wonmi-gu area of Bucheon-si, Gyeonggido from July 18 to 28.

Marking its 17th year, this year’s festival will showcase 229 films from 44 countries under the theme of “Love, Fantasy and Adventure”.

The festival will showcase Reema Kagti’s Talaash, Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru’s Go Goa Gone,

Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che, Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish along with Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly.

PiFan held in Puchon, one of the satellite cities of Seoul, is famous for its strong suppor t for film and animation industry.

Ireland woos Indian Directors for Bollywood shoots Tourism Ireland in India, in conjunction with the Irish Film Board, has recently invited a group of Bollywood producers, directors and location scouts to explore the potential of the island for a Bollywood blockbuster.

Over the next seven days, the invited producers will check out locations in Dublin, the West of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is to be noted that last year, Ek Tha Tiger, shot on location in Dublin became one of the biggest-grossing movies ever in India. “Bollywood is deep-rooted in the psyche of most

Indians and in Indian communities across the world.

Films have considerable influence on Indian travellers, when they are deciding on their holiday destination,” said Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland’s chief executive. “We are delighted to have co-operated with the Irish Film Board, to secure the visit of these influential Bollywood producers and directors for Ireland. We realise that film and television are recognised as strong influencers for prospective holi-

daymakers and Tourism Ireland regularly works with TV and film production companies,” he said.

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First edition of Times Travel Trade Fair The two-day exhibition, which was inaugurated by Maharashtra politico Uddhav Thackeray, saw several prominent players from the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.

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o give a platform to those involved in the business of travel, and bring them together under one roof, the first edition of the Times Travel Trade Fair 2013 was recently organised in Mumbai

by Asiatic Expositions, in association with The Times of India Group. The Fair held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai on July 4-5, 2013 saw many travel professionals participating and networking over the two days. The exhibition had over 30 exhibitors participating at the event.

The Times Travel Trade Fair 2013 was inaugurated

by Uddhav Thackeray, President, Shiv Sena in the presence of Sunil Prabhu, Mayor, Mumbai and Iqbal Mulla, President, Travel Agents Association of India.

Speaking at the inauguration, Thackeray said,

“I’m glad to see that efforts are being undertaken to boost tourism to India.

India has the culture and heritage as well as natural beauty to attract tourists from the world. It’s only in terms of marketing that we are lagging behind.

I hope that the enthusiasm and efforts taken by the organisers to launch such a unique platform for stimulating travel and tourism business today will boost tourism to India.”

Mulla added, “Mumbai is one of the most wellknown commercial destinations worldwide. Outbound tourism from India is approximately 18-20 million as compared to Inbound which is barely 6-7 million visitors every year.

TAAI is one of the oldest associations in the country and our motto is to increase tourism. Tourism is one of India’s highest earners after exports. This event will give all participants a platform for debate, networking and discussion as I firmly believe that tourism can be one of the best modes for developing the country.”

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CRUISE

Calling Indian repeat cruise travellers Oceania Cruises, the US-based cruise line, which is focussing heavily on its B2B channels, also plans to introduce its online training programme ‘Oceania Cruise Specialist’.

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Ian Banerjee Director Global Anchor Holidays

pper premium class cruise-line Oceania Cruises, which recently entered India through its sales and marketing representative Global Anchor Holidays, plans to target the

repeat cruise traveller from India. The Miami, Floridabased shipping company operates five luxury cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. According to Ian Banerjee, Director, Global Anchor Holidays, the cruise line which plans to work mainly through the travel

trade in India will tap a mix of metros and Tier-II cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow in the country. He said, “The cruise segment in India still has tremendous untapped potential. The Indian tourist has not yet fully understood the concept of cruising, which is a style of

vacation unlike any other.”

Alongside high-end leisure travellers, Global Anchor Holidays also plans to tap MICE traffic from India.

Banerjee added, “Currently, we are conducting offline workshops for the travel trade to introduce them to cruising as an option

for travellers, as the cruise segment is still in a very nascent stage in India. Post these workshops, we also plan to launch our Oceania Cruises Specialist online training programme for travel agents and tour operators in the Indian market.

The agents who complete the first module of the training programme will be certified as Oceania Cruise Specialists.”

Oceania Cruises has also introduced an exclusive sales incentive programme for the Indian market. The incentive programme, which is calculated on the basis of number of rooms sold, is valid from August 1, 2013 to September 1, 2013.

Fast Facts LARGE CAPACITY: Oceania Cruises has five ships in service currently, with capacity ranging from 684 guests to 1,250 guests REACHING OUT: The cruise line will tap a mix of metros and Tier-II cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow in the country DIFFERENT AUDIENCE: Alongside high-end leisure travellers, Global Anchor Holidays also plans to tap MICE traffic from India

FDI in hotels hits 6-month high of $2.32 billion Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India for hotels increased 25 per cent year-onyear to $2.32 billion in April,

the highest level in the past six months. In April 2012, the country had received FDI worth $1.85 billion, according to data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The sectors that received large FDI inflows during April this year include hotels and tourism ($2.32 billion), pharmaceuticals ($987 million), services ($238 million), chemicals ($51 million) and construction ($32 million).

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FAMILY ALBUM

PATA think tank at work PATA recently organised its Executive General Meeting at Hotel Ashok.

The event saw the stakeholders of the industry brainstorming on the important tourism issues.

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ANALYSIS

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Evolution of the Indian traveller Indian outbound travellers have evolved. Repeat travellers are now keen to venture further and explore new, unknown destinations. With maturing tastes and preferences, they’re no longer satisfied with standard checklist holidays, but seeking experiential and engaging ones. These travellers are also willing to explore their favourite holiday destinations more than once in search of newer experiences and routes.

INDER RAJ AHLUWALIA

Tailor-made bespoke travel will hold the greatest appeal Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office, feels the Indian outbound traveller has now matured enough to move away from the conventional, and travel to off-the-beaten track destinations. He/she wants to experience more than the regular sights and is increasingly opting for experiences such as discovering Germany’s wine trails and other destinations. Indian honeymooners have been spotted on a hiking trip in Bavaria, and they are now taking the 300-feet base jump from the Alexanderplatz in Berlin, which was made famous by Shah Rukh Khan in Don 2.

Indians keen to discover new areas

Indians love to get close to nature

Medha Sampat, Representative, Argentina Tourism, feels that Argentina which is a relatively new destination for the Indian market, is an absolute wonder for leisure travellers, allowing them to create unique itineraries and discover the unexplored. Argentina offers them a chance to discover a new destination and great experiences, ranging from buzzing urban cities, to the majestic glaciers, to the energetic Iguazu Falls – identified as one of the seven natural wonders of the world – to the beautiful wine regions in Mendoza, San Juan and Salta, among others.

Mohit Batra, Representative, Scandinavian Tourism, stated that most Indians travelling to Norway wish to experience the fjords and get close to nature. They opt for cruise options that make detours within the fjords and allow docking of the boats to enable passengers to go hiking or walking. Increasing numbers of Indians are now inclined towards wildlife safaris, seeing sea eagles and whales from close range. Travellers to Denmark are seeking ‘active’ holidays that involve excursions.

One activity that has interested the young and energetic has been to paddle one’s own kayak through Copenhagen.

Seeking uniqueness Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism, feels Indian travellers’ mindsets have evolved drastically.

They’re seeking uniqueness and customisation in their accommodation, sightseeing tours, cuisine, or experiences. High adrenaline adventure is becoming more popular, including shark-cage diving, sky-diving, quad-biking, etc. In recent times, Indian travellers have also adopted a concept called ‘voluntourism’, wherein they opt for volunteering activities like animal rescue and rehabilitation work with private game reserves. Self-drive holidays are becoming more popular.

More FITs, and greater preference for luxury Runjuan Tongrut, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, sees certain trends in Indians visiting Thailand. There are more FITs, and greater preference for luxury. Indians now like to experience new activities such as sailing, yachting, and island – hopping at places like Phuket, and adventure activities such as treetop flights; elephant safaris; and big bike rides etc. They’re also venturing further out to discover new destinations such as Koh Samet ( East Coast next to Pataya); Koh Chang ( East Coast); Koh Nangyuan & Koh Tao ( near Koh Samui); and Chiangrai ( Northern Chiangmai)

Brag value of new destinations Beena Menon and Huzan Frazer who represent Tourism Ireland and Trinidad and Tobago Tourism, feel that today many travellers prefer to spend more time in a particular destination, exploring and getting the feel of a place as a local and not as a tourist. Road trips are becoming popular and Indians are venturing beyond Dublin to other sites like the Victorian city, Belfast, where they enjoy the Titanic Museum, or indulge in luxury shopping across the streets of Belfast. They’re also exploring fascinating landscapes such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher.

Travelling to new places is Indians’ first love

Trying out new cuisines

Komal Seth, General Manager, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office, India, feels Indians are now interested in travelling to new places, such as the Boracay and El-Nido in Palawan, which are becoming popular. They’re also becoming more adventurous when it comes to eating in the Philippines, relishing both local and international cuisine. Further, they seek adventure activities such as scuba-diving, mountain trekking, snorkeling, hot-air balloon rides and wildlife exploration.

Navritu Rai, Account Manager, MGTO India, sees increasing interest among Indian visitors to explore Macau’s natural landscapes and architectural marvels. Indians are now keen to learn more, and go deeper into local culture. Food is intrinsic to Macau’s society and many Indians love to be pampered by the combination of Portuguese, Indian and even Malay and Chinese cuisines that constitute the unique Macanese cuisine. An increasing number of young Indians are opting for water-based adventure sports and activities such as the sky-jump from Macau Tower, the world’s second highest commercial building.

Theme-based and experiential travel MS Chawla, MD, Siddharth Travels feels the trend in Indian outbound travel is indeed changing, and it’s changing faster than many people think.

Many of the popular tourist destinations in the world - which were once the charm of international holidays - have become commonly visited and are now giving way to lesser-known destinations. Further, Indian travellers are now looking for new experiences during their international holidays.

This is leading to an increasing trend of theme-based and experiential travel as opposed to destination-based travel.

Indians are seasoned tourists now Gunbir Singh, MD, Divine Destination feels that Indians travelling overseas are maturing into seasoned tourists, and are today willing to try new destinations. Having done the normal South East Asia, European and Australian junkets, the pull is now on experiential, thematic journeys with a difference. Wine tours, Kenyan safaris, premium car journeys, Alaskan adventures are now up for grabs.

“We need not forget however that this is 1.2 billion people now wanting to travel, and the first-timers shall continue to throng the beaches at Pukhet and Pattaya, as well as the Gentings of the East,” he says.

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Hotels focus on domestic conventions With over two million Indians travelling abroad every year for MICE, hotels are increasingly focussing on domestic conventions. analyses the potential of MICE in the Indian market.

Domestic Focus

LYANDRA D’ SOUZA

W

ith its rich culture, heritage and vibrant natural beauty, India has much to offer to leisure tourists.

However, to attract MICE tourists, the country lacks the infrastructure required to host large numbers. Numerous plans have been mooted to develop world-class convention centres, international standard airports and hotels with capacity to host these large numbers. The number of domestic companies choosing to hold their MICE activities outside the country has seen

Sobering Stats According to ICCA statistics, every year 4,00,000 conferences are held worldwide which costs up to US$ 280 billion From this, India’s share is US$ 4.8 billion Every year, two million Indians travel abroad for MICE

Ajay K Bakaya Executive Director Sarovar Hotels and Resorts

Hotels should come together and ask big conferences to come to India.

We need greater team work to develop MICE India’s outbound MICE grow to US$600 million last year, according to statistics from International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA).

Several hoteliers in the country, though, are of the opinion that instead of aiming to attract more international conventions to India, the focus should be on domestic conventions.

Vikram Kamat, Executive Director, Kamat Hotels observed, “One-sixth of the world’s population is in India and the country has tremendous potential in the MICE segment. I believe that we should forget international conferences, for the moment at least, and focus on the domestic segment. Domestic conventions are increasingly going abroad because they find greater value there. We need to offer them similar opportunities in the country and begin by ironing out any problems or issues that arise here.”

Partha Chatterjee, Advisor, Keys Hotels concurred, “One of the most popular destinations for outbound MICE activities from India is France, which has over 200

Vikram Kamat Executive Director Kamat Hotels

We should forget international conferences, for the moment at least, and focus on the domestic segment locations for MICE activities.

In India, the preferred destinations for MICE are New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Greater Noida, Bengaluru, Kochi, Jairpur and

Kolkata. Other then these, there are over 4,000 towns in India, so there are locations available. For instance, Lavasa has 1,000 rooms available, but is not generally thought of as a MICE destination, though 40 per cent of its revenues come from the MICE segment.”

Chatterjee also opined that, “With 60-70 per cent of a hotel’s business coming from the domestic segment, this is where the focus of hotels should lie.”

MICE Potential With growing interest among business travellers to experience the culture and beauty of India, MICE travellers are constantly on the lookout for new and unique destinations. And India has plenty to offer to this segment.

Chatterjee stated, “The startling statistic is that over two million Indians travel abroad for MICE every year. In India today, the MICE segment contributes 20 per cent of a hotel’s business in India and the growth year-on-year is also 20

Partha Chatterjee Advisor Keys Hotels

With 60-70% of a hotel’s business coming from the domestic segment, this is where the hotel’s focus should lie per cent currently. It is the infrastructure that needs to be developed further. For instance, a state-of-the-art convention centre will be built Contd. on page 48

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NEWS AUGUST

NATIONAL 1

Ahmedabad

2

Hyderabad

3-5 3 5

Ludhiana Kolkata Chennai

5 7

Bengaluru Bengaluru

7 9-11 16-18 20 22 23

Mumbai Aurangabad Ahmedabad Chennai Delhi Delhi

24

Kolkata

23-25 25-28

Surat Goa

26

Mumbai

30-1Sept Mumbai

Philippines Tourism’s B2B Roadshow Philippines Tourism’s B2B Roadshow India Travel Mart Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow Philippines Tourism’s B2B Roadshow Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow Philippines Tourism’s B2B Roadshow Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow India International Travel Exhibition Travel & Tourism Fair Ahmedabad German India Pool’s B2B Event German India Pool’s B2B Event Polish Tourist Organisation’s Roadshow Polish Tourist Organisation’s Roadshow Travel & Tourism Fair - Surat Tourism Australia’s India Travel Mission Polish Tourist Organisation’s Roadshow Travel & Tourism Fair - Mumbai

SEPTEMBER NATIONAL 2-3 2 4-6 4 6 6-8 6-8 8-11 12-14 13

Delhi Pune Mumbai Ahmedabad Hyderabad Mumbai Pune Kochi Mumbai Mumbai

13-15 16 17 18 18-21 19 24

Delhi-NCR Bengaluru Chennai Kolkata Kochi Delhi Mumbai

25

Bengaluru

25 26

Mumbai Delhi

27 27-29

Delhi Delhi

Atout France’s France Promotion Oman Tourist Office’s Roadshow Atout France’s France Promotion Oman Tourist Office’s Roadshow Oman Tourist Office’s Roadshow IITM Mumbai TTF IATO Annual Convention IBTM India European Quartet’s (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary) Roadshow IITM Gurgaon European Quartet’s Roadshow European Quartet’s Roadshow European Quartet’s Roadshow FHRAI Annual Convention European Quartet’s Roadshow Tourism Office of Spain’s B2B Workshop Tourism Office of Spain’s B2B Workshop Love For Africa Roadshow 2013 Tourism Office of Spain’s B2B Workshop Love For Africa Roadshow 2013 Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar

INTERNATIONAL 2-4 8-11 10-12

Beijing Prince Edward Island Seoul

12-15 15-17 24 24-27

Tokyo China Ukraine Paris

25-27 Kazakhstan 27 Almaty 30-3 Oct Mexico

CIBTM Canadian Tourism Commission’s Canada Go Media World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) The Asia Summit JATA TABIHAKU PATA Travel Mart 2013 Luxury Travel Market International French Travel Market Top Resa Astana Leisure Luxury Travel Market International Luxury Travel Market Americas (ILTMA)

For more information, contact us at: talk@ddppl.com

Nestling in the lap of Pushkar The Orchard Resort in Pushkar gears up to improve its average occupancy of 50-60% in the forthcoming season.

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rchard resort, located in the tranquil rural reaches of Ganahera village, amidst the orchards of amla, offers 11 tents that are as luxurious as a five-star hotel room.

Manish Pratik, Director, Eastbound, says, “We have just got in brand new tents for the 2013-2014 season to give our guests an even more comfortable experience of staying at Orchard. We replace the tents every three years to give our guests noth-

ing but the best in terms of experience and quality.”

Orchard was inaugurated in 2006 and has been consistently expanding its business ever since. “We currently have 11 tents and we are closely working with the travel trade fraternity and our sales, media and marketing team to aggressively target the domestic market this year to draw in customers. It runs at an average occupancy of 50-60%, which we aim to increase this year,” says Pratik. So, how does being an exclusive tented accommo-

dation add to the USP of the property? “Staying in a tented accommodation adds to the unique experience of visiting Pushkar. This gives an out-of-the-box and unique flavour to a holiday that one might not get staying in a regular hotel,” he adds.

So has Pushkar evolved as a leisure destination as opposed to the conventional pilgrimage destination?

“Pushkar is one of India’s holiest cities, but thanks to its proximity to Delhi and the NCR area it has also become a preferred

Manish Pratik Director, Eastbound

weekend destination for the leisure and family crowd,” he says.

Inviting big conferences to India Contd. from page 47

in Pragati Maidan in Delhi by September 2015 which will give the MICE market a tremendous boost.”

According to Ajay K Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, with Indian hotels not having enough rooms to host large conventions, two-three hotels or more as needed could come together and approach large conventions. He also said that there was undoubtedly potential in the segment but that it

needed to be tapped in the right way.

Challenges The lack of infrastructure and support for MICE is the biggest roadblock to further growth of the segment in India. Kamat stated, “There is no mindset for growing MICE. For instance, when a convention is held in Bombay, the evenings see delegates jostling for auto-rickshaws and taxis which is not feasible. We need greater teamwork to develop MICE. Hoteliers, travel agents,

tour operators, transport providers; all need to work together. A convention with 5,000 participants, for example, will require many vehicles and we need to see if the basic support is available for conventions of that size. MICE events don’t involve only hotels. It’s an important component, but there is a much larger eco-system that goes with it. We need more conference co-ordinators who are capable of handling conventions of that size. MICE in India still has a long way to go.”

Bakaya added, “We have an opportunity to grow MICE in India, but these opportunities are not available all across the country. We need hotels to come together and ask big conferences to come to India.

MICE travellers want to go to good destinations. When we’re talking large-scale conventions in India, we only have one convention centre, which is the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. So these facilities need to be developed on an urgent basis.”

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Pathfinders on the outbound track With India estimated to account for over 50mn outbound travellers by 2020, Pathfinder Destinations believes there is big untapped potential in the Indian market…

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athfinders Destinations is investing heavily in its own office, sales force and technology in India, to tap the rapidly growing outbound market from the country.

Ashley Monteiro, Managing

Ashley Monteiro Managing Director, Pathfinders Destinations

Director, Pathfinders Destinations said, “India is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world. The UNWTO has predicted that by 2020, India will account for 50 million outbound tourists. I believe that the Far East will continue to be the most popular,

Tapping the tourist flow to AP Contd. from page 14

Hyderabad. Khan said, “We are running campaigns in different media for awareness and to attract more visitors and induce them to explore new tourist locations. We have revamped and relaunched our website which is now more userfriendly and provides online guidance to tourists and facilitates online booking.

Considering the exponential growth in the use of internet, we plan to tap various social networking sites to promote these destinations across generations.”

According to Khan, Andhra Pradesh has good infrastructure and well-connected transport system. The state has got the highest number of commercial airports with as many as five airports, where regular passenger flights are being operated (Hyderabad, Visakahpatnam, Rajahmundry, Vijaywada and Tirupati). Besides, there are new airports expected to be ready at Cuddapah, Warangal and Guntur soon. APTDC has also been running various tourist properties across the state under the brand name – Haritha. It is looking at opening more resorts under the brand at virgin locations with less or no options for lodging to boost tourism.

because of prices and logistics.

According to a report on the tourism industry, India ‘remains a largely untapped travel market with, by far, the lowest travel penetration in the major Asia Pacific economies’. Needless to say, this points towards an enormous potential in the market.”

Speaking on the outbound travel season this year, Monteiro observed, “It has been an ‘FIT’ season, and not a ‘groups’ season. So companies like Pathfinders, that do FIT, thrived. But for most Indian tour operators, the season has been weaker compared to 2012.”

Monteiro also said that the most popular destinations this season have been Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi becoming popular as well due to cheaper airfares from Etihad and Emirates.

Monteiro also opined that the impact of the depreciation of the rupee would be felt from July onwards. He said, “I am predicting a time frame of three months for Indians to get used to the falling value of the rupee.”

Challenges SENTIMENT: The Indian economy and stock markets are in the doldrums. People don't feel like spending money when they are not making it AIR FARES: Airfares were at an all-time high this season and there was a lack of any product innovation by leading Tour operators

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ANALYSIS

Tier-II hospitality ups growth rate With the Indian hospitality industry becoming competitive, hospitality chains in the country are looking to invest in Tier-II towns to capitalise on the growth of domestic travel. analyses the opportunities and challenges in the segment…

L YA N D R A D ’ S O U Z A

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ith the recent boom in the Indian hospitality sector, several major hotel chains in the world have entered the Indian hospitality industry. Despite a relatively dismal 2012 compared to pre-

& Resorts is planning to take the count of its hotels in India to 20 properties by the end of 2013 and 70 properties in the next five years. Kapil Aggarwal, Vice President, Hotel Sales and Marketing, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Southwest Asia said, “With the

Uttam Dave

Rajesh Punjabi

President & CEO InterGlobe Hotels

VP-Development Hilton Worldwide

Goa and Jaipur too are good Tier-II markets to invest in, as they provide as good returns as some metros in India vious years, hoteliers in the country are optimistic about the growth of the hospitality sector in the next few years. International hotel chains are targetting 50-100 hotels in the country over the next five years.

With Tier-II markets developing quickly and gaining in promise, especially in the mid-market segment, more hotel chains are looking to enter the segment and establish their brands there.

However, while there is undoubtedly tremendous potential in these markets, there are several challenges hovering around.

Opportunities in Tier-II markets As development costs in metros are rising, the emergence of Tier II cities has encouraged hoteliers to invest in these markets. Hyatt Hotels

It’s about developing a hotel, and building the right segment in the right market rise of middle class, our growth strategy includes adding to our select service brands (Hyatt Place and Hyatt House) which cater to the upscale and mid-market segment. A significant part of our development efforts will go into Tier-II and Tier-III markets.”

Rajesh Punjabi, VPDevelopment, Hilton Worldwide stated, “Tier-II markets need a strong commercial drive around them. It’s not just about developing a hotel, but about building the right segment in the right market. Hilton Worldwide will be developing six hotels in India in the next 10 months.”

Beni Agrawal, General Manager-Development, Keys Hotels stated, “The opportunities in Tier II cities are tremendous. However, it is not a good idea for hotels to bundle brands under cities. If owners want

hotels to be commercially viable in Tier II markets, they must build hotels in a manner that brings their recurring costs down.

Challenges in Tier II markets Exorbitant land costs, high costs of development and low room rates often make investment in Tier II markets in India unviable. Hoteliers prefer to invest in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Detailing the drawbacks to investing in Tier II cities in India, Uttam Dave, President & CEO, InterGlobe Hotels stated, “Mid-market segments are generally the

markets is finding quality staff.

It is difficult to convince young talent to go to Tier II cities and it’s even harder to find quality sales staff to engage with your partners.”

Path for the Future While there is potential in Tier II markets, hotels need to exercise some caution before rushing to plant their flag in these markets.

Guwahati, for instance, is not a feasible market for hotelier. Dave observed, “Chandigarh and Pune are great Tier II markets. Goa and Jaipur too are good Tier II markets to invest in, as they provide as good returns as some metros in India.”

Kapil Aggarwal

Beni Agrawal

VP, Hotel Sales and Marketing, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Southwest Asia

General Manager-Development Keys Hotels

A significant part of our development efforts will go into Tier-II and Tier-III markets model adopted for Tier II cities. In recent years, we’ve seen 30-40 per cent increase in development costs and low room rates which make investment in the smaller markets not feasible. Opening hotels in Tier II markets such as Vishakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram and Vadodara is difficult. Metro cities always give a profit.

Punjabi added, “The other main challenge in Tier II

Opportunities in Tier-II cities are tremendous.

But hotels should not bundle brands under cities Agrawal, however, stressed on the need for hotel owners to not overguild the hotel. He opined, “Generally, in Tier II markets, more functional hotels are needed. For the average business traveller who stays a day or two, at the most, a swimming pool, for instance, is not really a necessity. Hotels need to assess whom they are targetting and accordingly plan their hotels.”

VoA up by 23% in June’13 The Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme of the Union Government has registered a growth of 22.9 percent during June 2013 as compared to June 2012. During the month,

a total number of 1,062 VoAs were issued as compared to 864 during June 2012. The numbers of VoAs issued under this scheme during June 2013 for nationals of the eleven

countries were Japan (275), Indonesia (208), the Philippines (171), New Zealand (171), Singapore (152), Finland (44), Myanmar (15), Vietnam (14), Laos (5), Cambodia (4)

and Luxembourg (3). During the period January to June 2013, a total number of 9,328 VoAs were issued as compared to 6,721 VoAs during corresponding period of 2012.

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MOVEMENTS

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Gulf Air

JW Marriott, Bengaluru

Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi

Mumbai

Bengaluru

New Delhi

Hussain Abdul Rahman has been appointed by Gulf Air, the

Parul Thakur has been appointed as the General Manager of The

national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as its new country manager for India. In his new role, Rahman will be based in Mumbai and responsible for driving the commercial performance of Gulf Air in India and building on existing strong relationships with the airline’s key travel agents and corporates. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the aviation industry. Rahman replaces Mario Xavier Selvadurai, who retired after a career spanning nine years at the airline.

JW Marriott, Bengaluru. In her current role, she is responsible for the opening of the hotel and will oversee and drive the operations.

Thakur has been a part of the Marriott family since 1998. Prior to this, Thakur was the General Manager at the Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad from July 2011. In her earlier stints, Thakur has been the Director of Operations for Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and Marriott Executive Apartments in 2010 and Director of Sales & Marketing-India for Marriott International in 2008, Renaissance Mumbai & MEA in 2007 and Renaissance Mumbai in 2004.

Vishvapreet Singh Cheema has been appointed as the General Manager at Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi. Cheema joins Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi after a highly successful six-year stint with Ista Bangalore (now Hyatt Bangalore MG Road).

An alumnus of Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development, Cheema has been in the hospitality industry since 1998. Cheema started his career the Oberoi Towers (now The Trident) Mumbai, and The Oberoi, Mumbai, with a total room inventory of about 1,000 rooms. Thereafter, he joined P&O Cruise Lines and launched their new ship ‘Ocean Village’.

Radisson Blu MBD, Noida Noida Rajat Sethi joins the Radisson Blu MBD, Noida as its General Manager. He brings to this position an experience of over one and a half decades. A Hospitality Management graduate from Institute of Hotel Management, Chandigarh, Sethi has had successful stints with The Oberoi Group, The Taj Group of Hotels and Hilton Worldwide, bringing to each professional experience rich insight and acumen. In his eight years of career at the Trident Gurgaon, Sethi’s career graph grew from Assistant F&B Manager to the Executive Assistant Manager (EAM) of the property.

Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa Goa Subhrajit Bardhan has been appointed by the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa as Executive Assistant Manager - Rooms. Bardhan brings more than 18 years of expertise and has worked at numerous properties across the world. In his new role, Subhrajit will oversee the functioning of the Rooms Division, Security, and Recreation. He began his career at Oberoi Grand, Kolkata before rising to become the Executive Chef at Ista Hyderbad. He was then promoted to Executive Assistant Manager. Prior to this assignment, Subhrajit was the General Manager at Ista Amritsar.

Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru Bengaluru Pranay Verdia has been appointed as the General Manager of Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru. In his new position at Fairfield by Marriott, Verdia’s mandate would be to facilitate smooth and efficient functioning of the property and guide the teams across departments to meet the set goals.

Verdia joined Marriott in 2000 as a Management Trainee at Marriott Executive Apartments and Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and progressively held different positions to become Front Office Manager in 2006. He began his career in hospitality with Accor and was a part of the pre-opening team at Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai and an Executive Committee Member at Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa.

Gaurav Aggarwal has been appointed to head the Sales function of the soon-to-be launched Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru. With a career span of seven years in the hospitality industry, Aggarwal began his career with Marriott in 2007 as a Sales Executive at Courtyard by Marriott Chennai. Within two years, he was assigned the responsibility of Corporate Sales at Marriott International by being promoted as the Assistant Sales Manager.

Aggarwal holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel and Hospitality Administration from the Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Chennai.

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: Peden Doma Bhutia, Megha Paul & Anita Jain

Ranjan Mishra, Managing Director, Eastern Voyage, says, "My hobby is to work day and night to promote my motherland Odisha and its tribal tours to the rest of the world. I like meeting tribal people in Odisha.

Having a meal with them is what gives me utmost happiness. My favourite destination in the country is Odisha. The region is so unexplored. The state has the best virgin beaches and untamed wilderness," Mishra says. Spending time with family is also the best recreation for him. "I love to be with my little son and wife.

My son is just seven years old and keeps me on my toes all the time."

Gurgaon Ashish Sud has been appointed by Accor India as the Director of Finance, Hotel Operations. Hailing from the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Sud holds expertise in corporate and financial planning initiatives in Strategic Planning, Accounts & Finance, Auditing & Taxation, MIS, etc. He comes on board with over 17 years of rich and extensive experience in financial control and planning/ budgeting/ treasury function in the hospitality and manufacturing industries.

Matrix Cellular New Delhi Mukesh Srivastava has been appointed as the Assistant General Manager - Sales at Matrix Cellular. In his working profile, he will be responsible for Channel Sales (Travel Partners) in North India (Delhi NCR). In his previous roles, Srivastava has worked in Clay Telecom as General Manager - North. Srivastava has spent five years in international wireless telecom solutions and ten years in Outbound Travel Trade- Meetings, Incentive, Conventions and Events (MICE), trade fairs, Corporate / Business Travel.

Kanika Hasrat, General Manager,

Rajeev Wagle, Managing Director, Kuoni

Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon accepts the fact that she is an avid reader. "I am a diehard Lee Child fan.

If I find a Lee Child book, I will be lost for hours. My favourite would be Jack Reacher. But, I did not like the movie starring Tom Cruise. I will always prefer a book to a movie, but my husband is an avid movie watcher. So to make him happy, I do watch movies with him as well,” she says. She also likes travelling. “I grew up in Shillong and I love the place. I like Kerala Kanika Hasrat and its hospitality,” she says.

India is a total family man. His life outside office revolves around his family. Wagle enjoys watching movies with his family (latest favourite is Barfi) and the rest of the time, watches whatever is playing on the television as he never gets the access to remote. He started his professional career as a Chartered Accountant, Wagle says, "I was earlier a ‘copilot’, but now I'm leading a successful travel company as a pilot. Hope it flies smoothly with no turbulence, and Rajeev Wagle doesn't crash-land."

General Manager Courtyard

by Marriott Gurgaon

Managing Director, Kuoni India

Ross Veitch, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wego, says he loves coming to India. “For us, it’s an emerging market, and the change here is very fast. It’s a lot more interesting here for us.” Ross says he likes North Indian food and having lived in Singapore for 15 years, where there is a sizeable Indian population, he says he’s pretty much used to having spicy food. Talking about Bollywood, he says he is familiar with it, but wouldn’t call himself a connoisseur. “To be frank, I haven’t really understood the musical format, be it Bollywood or Western. In my free time, I like to read and watch a lot of TV. Television has been going through a renaissance of sorts in the last decade, and the long-form narrative dramas are making their way into it,” Veitch says.

Ranjan Mishra Managing Director, Eastern Voyage

Accor India

Ross Veitch Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wego

FINAL_TT AUGUST-1ST -2013:TT Layout 8/1/2013 3:37 PM Page 53

FINAL_TT AUGUST-1ST -2013:TT Layout 8/1/2013 3:37 PM Page 54

Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication:30-07-2013

HIGHLIGHT

Association politics killing GTMI Arjun Sharma, MD of LPTI and Co-Chairman of CII Tourism Committee shares his views on initiatives required to push India inbound on double digit growth trajectory. He also gave critical views on association politics having barred India from becoming the centre of business creation. Selected excerpts…

T T B U R E AU

Q. Expectations for inbound this year?

Economic uncertainty is still prevalent in the European market, which has been affecting most of our key source markets for India. In the coming winters starting from October till April, we can see growth rate for inbound growing by 8-12 per cent. Overall, the year is likely to end at around 6-8 per cent. India will end the year at a higher growth rate than the global average, but I strongly believe that as a country, we need to do much more. If we look at our neighbours, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai are still growing in double digit. We should also grow in double digit, hence there is lot more that needs to be done.

should also be given all necessary operational freedom and privatisation inputs. If we give more access to our airports to Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, AirAsia, and other leading airlines of the world, we help spur growth in domestic, inbound tourism and help the economy of the entire region.

It’s unfortunate that association politics and individual pettiness are killing good initiatives.

India has some good regional shows, but still lacks a global platform that will help the trade to grow business

Q. Initiatives to spur double digit growth?

We need to work on accessibility, which should address air access and visa aspects. Indian visa procedures remain to be the most complex, difficult and also expensive. We should look into the entire visa delivery mechanism. India is a land of IT and there are no reasons that it can’t be handled. Indian visas should be made available fast, efficiently and at the right price. If countries like Sri Lanka or Dubai can offer evisa, India also should tap this channel for attracting more tourists. Extension of Visa-onArrival scheme to new ports including Goa, Kochi, Trivandrum, and Hyderabad is a step in the right direction.

On the air capacity front, we should remember that India is more important than Air India. The airline

on the benefits of devaluation to the end traveller. The tour operators today quote in various currencies depending on the market specific needs. In India, hotels follow rupee pricing. It has been felt that a few hoteliers, perhaps stressed due to dollar dominated loans, are toying with the idea of quoting dollar rates. It is an abhorrent move and they should

Arjun Sharma

Q. Your view on the depreciation of Indian Rupee?

The devaluation in Rupee is going to help by making India more affordable. In many key source markets including Europe, these developments have been very wellreceived. In fact, we are getting more queries from our partners for adhoc visits of clients, whom we can pass on additional benefits that have risen due to devaluation of our currency. But, one needs to understand that it also leads to increase in costs like fuel and other inputs coupled with inflation, which is another major hazard.

The tour operators, especially looking at the present market conditions, are passing

understand the difference between profits and profiteering. Hotels should follow rupee rates and command market share on its basis.

Q. Has the second phase of Incredible India campaign taken off?

The second phase of consumer-centric Incredible India campaign has started. But I will like to suggest that our policy makers should take it to the regional and vernacular mediums as well. We need to tap all channels that directly influence the consumption behaviour of travellers, instead of merely restricting our focus to a few channels that appeal mostly to the business traveller like BBC or CNN.

Q. In an era of specialisation, why are you doing outbound, inbound and domestic at your CII fest?

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is organising Tourism Fest 2013- an International Fest on Tourism & Hospitality in Chandigarh, India.

We need to realise that the same individual can be a domestic, inbound, or outbound tourist. Hence, over a period of time, it will emerge as an important must-attend international tourism fest in India.

Q. Yours views on Global Travel Mart India?

I am not very involved in the associations that are leading this initiative. It’s very unfortunate that such an ambitious project that’s good for the country had been abandoned. The objective of conceiving the Global Travel Mart India was to make India the location and place where business of inbound, outbound and domestic tourism will be conducted, which could have grown the tourism cake in India. We notice that PTM, ATM and ITB Singapore are taking away our Indian international buyers throughout the year. It’s unfortunate that association politics and individual pettiness of some people are killing such initiatives.

India has some good regional shows, but still lacks an international global platform that will help all stakeholders to grow business. It’s still doable and the present regime at the Ministry of Tourism will definitely ensure that GTMI is pulled on as a global platform in India with strong government backing and complete private sector support.