Travtalk july2nd 2013

A DDP PUBLICATION

Pages: 40 (Excluding cover)

travtalkindia.com

ddppl.com

Vol. XXV No. 14; July 2 nd fortnight issue 2013

` 50/-

ddppl.com

Group landings to reap benefits by 2015-16 With group landing permits, MOT gave a large role to agents. Now, agents should pay back by ensuring better service to travellers.

M E G H A PAU L

R

equesting the travel trade to take initiatives to ensure 100 per cent safety to female travellers to India, Parvez

This move will definitely provide larger benefits to the industry in the long run. We do not predict this policy to impact the current year that much.

However, 2015-16 will see revolutionary positive changes on the back of this Ministry of Tourism (MOT) initiative.”

Throwing more light on making India a favoured summer destination for tourists, Dewan added, “The ‘777 days of the Indian Himalayas’ has

K Chiranjeevi Union Minister for Tourism

Dewan, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India said, “The Centre has relaxed visa rules and extended the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) facility to nine airports from four. The government has allowed collective landing permits to groups comprising four or more travellers.

TRAVTALK

1

travtalkindia.com

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Parvez Dewan Secretary-Tourism Government of India

Contd. on page 9

AirAsia for smaller agents AirAsia is coming to India at a time of minus five per cent aviation growth.

Tony Fernandes, Group CEO, shares the airline’s optimistic strategy...

T E E N A B A R UA H

FROM

DELHI

A N I TA J A I N

Dial E for Enterprise: “E commerce is big in India. Hence, our preferred mode of distribution will be the Internet. But we can’t wait for every Indian to get the Internet, so the airline will go to every channel. We will look at mobile ticketing, prepaid cards and utilise smaller travel agents as well. The travel agents are very experienced here.”

Take off into Indian skies We are now more confident about the October launch. I’ve already met four ministers, including home minister, civil aviation minister and minister of commerce. The interaction was very productive and we also talked about the minus five percent aviation growth.

We will find a way of working with the ATF pricing.

E-commerce Benefits of air travel should go to everyone. Our ticket prices should be such that the guy who drove me to this press conference should be able to fly.

That is our benchmark. Our mantra is low cost terminals, more routes and better frequency.

South India is our natural playground as we are already operating there. We have no plans to fly to Delhi and Mumbai because of the high taxes. We will allow 15 kg of luggage free and booking will start nine to 12 months in advance.

Contd. on page 26

FROM

MUMBAI

A

irAsia, which has made the low-cost model a success in South East Asia, is coming to India at a time when the Indian aviation has been incurring heavy losses.

AirAsia India is expected to take to the Indian skies from Chennai in the fourth quarter of 2013 (hopefully October).

With an investment of close to US$30 million, the airline will focus on connecting underutilised airports within India, instead of offering services to metro cities for the time being. The airline is likely to intensify the already stiff competition in India’s domestic aviation market.

Tony Fernandes, Group CEO, AirAsia said, “I want to get fares down in India, so I am looking at all components that can bring down fares. We will be India’s first low-cost airline in real sense which will make profits.” Part of his strategy for bringing down the cost of flying is to avoid more popular and pricey routes, such as Mumbai and New Delhi, which have relatively high airport costs. In line with its aggresTony Fernandes, Group CEO, AirAsia and Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India sive expansion

strategy, AirAsia India plans to start operations with three aircraft and add 10 every year.

‘Our rates to be the lowest’ Following a strict cost structure across its route network in India, the airline will focus on unconventional routes in the South. “We want to focus on the South and then steadily expand to the other parts of India. Our game plan Contd. on page 26 Col. 2

BULLETIN

Now conventions to get ‘export’ status Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) talks about the recent initiatives taken for boosting MICE. M EGHA PAUL

T

his fiscal year has begun on a good note for the convention industry. “India has been ranked 25th in the best convention destinations of the world. This ranking was given by ICCA in its last AMEX meet in May. Last year, India ranked at 33rd position. Hence, this is a big gain,” Mansharamani revealed in an exclusive interview with .

Also, ICPB recently had a meeting with the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce in June. “They have agreed to give the convention industry an 'export industry' status soon. This will be a game changer for the industry,” he added.

ICPB has geared up for its 25th year of existence with a slew of initiatives that will

be rolled out in the next few months. “

We have already done a research on the economic impact on a particular city when it hosts a convention.

Post this, we will do regional workshops during the 25th year of ICPB in most state capitals. The idea is to involve the state governments and private stakeholders for these workshops. Earlier, people were talking about the usefulness of conventions, but nobody really had approached the states to educate them on the economic benefits of the same,” the Vice Chairman said.

Along with the regional workshops, ICPB will host

roadshows in many cities.

“We will invite local buyers and enlighten them on how they should bid for international exhibitions and how ICPB can help them in preparing such bidding doc-

Chander Mansharamani Vice Chairman ICPB

uments,” he informed. The roadshows will be conducted in six cities starting with Mumbai in August. This will be followed by Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata,

Chandigarh and Jaipur in the coming months. The order in which ICPB will host the roadshows will also depend on the availability of the state governments, but the idea is to finish the roadshows by the end of March 2014. Anand Kumar, ICPB Chairman and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is in touch with the state officials for the same,” he confirmed.

Most of the foreign organisations feel there are two roadblocks to bring international conferences to India. Firstly, there are many permissions required and secondly, the visa rules need to be made less stringent.

Regarding this, ICPB had a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra and Principal Secretary-Tourism, Govt. of Contd. on page 5

NEWS VIEWPOINT

AirAsia entry to trigger price war

T

he LCC segment in India has been full of excitement post the announcement of AirAsia India. Everyone is talking about the magic formula that AirAsia might introduce in the Indian market that others missed. The more seasoned section of aviation experts wonder that if ATF accounts for a substantial part of the operation and most of the other charges remain same, what variables will work wonders for AirAsia?

Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, who was recently in Mumbai and Delhi, had subtly highlighted that in the Indian aviation, silly capital has moved out now, and only the serious players are left in the aviation business.

No doubt, all players in the aviation industry are working out various modalities to gain from the no frill approach, enticing the consumers to choose for themselves the services they want to pay for. The good news for the travel fraternity is on two ends: Firstly, due to the onset of intense competition, air travel costs are likely to stay at the most competitive level, which will encourage more domestic and international tourists to move freely in India.

Secondly, and more importantly, Tony Fernandes shared his plan to make all possible modalities to work with travel agents, who he said, are an important distribution channel in India. We hope it spreads like a viral and all other players work towards restarting an era that rewarded travel agents generously for acting as extended hands of airlines.

Finally, it’s impossible to put aside the mindless act of terrorism that targetted the Mahabodhi Temple, a world heritage site in Bihar's Bodh Gaya. In our opinion, it’s an attack against the world, where devotees and visitors come from all over in reverence to Gautam Buddha. The most appropriate response to any such barbaric act would be a growth in tourism that should de facto lead to creation of necessary safeguards, security arrangements, weaken terrorism and make humanity stronger.

Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Publisher & Editor Deepa Sethi Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Ratan Kr Paul Vivek Sethi Megha Paul Devika Jeet Anita Jain Teena Baruah News-Editor Peden Doma Bhutia 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

AI: Completing the bridge to Oz With Dreamliners getting back in the fleet, Air India would soon add more connections to international destinations. Fourth connection to UK starts from August 1 and first to Australia starts from August 29, 2013.

A N I TA J A I N

The airline will soon connect Australia, Africa and additional European destinations

A

fter experiencing delays in delivery and technical snags in the engine, Boeing 787 aircraft are ready to take off for Air India. Along with working on revenue management scheme for the losses incurred, the airline is also working on its route rationalisation area to operate on profitable route. The national carrier is starting direct flights to Australia from New Delhi effective August 29, 2013 and later introduces direct flights on New DelhiRome-Milan flight from October and New DelhiMoscow scheduled operations from next year on the Dreamliner aircraft. The airline also plans to re-operate

Ajit Singh Civil Aviation Minister From August 1, 2013, the airline would operate four days a week service on Amritsar – Delhi – Birmingham route (fourth service between India and UK). The new flight would operate on the AmritsarDelhi- Birmingham-DelhiAmritsar route with

Analysis suggests we’ll need around 345,000 more seats to meet the expected demand for Australia from India by 2020 Andrew McEvoy MD, Tourism Australia its Mumbai-Nairobi route.

Buoyed by the aircraft's performance, the ministry has asked the carrier to explore the possibility of operating it to Bali and Istanbul.

Ajit Singh, Civil Aviation Minister said, “We have extensive plans to scale up Air India’s international network with B787 aircraft which are fuel-efficient. The airline will deploy B787s on new routes which are financially viable for the airline.

The airline will soon connect Australia, Africa and additional European destinations.”

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

Dreamliner aircraft on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, he added. The carrier is also offering attractive inaugural fares on the DelhiBirmingham-Delhi sector for a limited period with a free add on sector from Delhi to Ahmedabad, Kochi,

TRAVTALK is a publication of DDP Publications Private Limited. All information in TRAVTALK is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regret that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract and/or in interviews are not necessarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readers that one or more recognised authorities may hold different views than those reported. Material used in this publication is intended for information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific

Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. The airline presently operates 21 flights to London per week, seven on the MumbaiLondon sector and 14 on Delhi-London sector.

The Aussie Connection After a 16-year gap, Air India is restarting its direct flights to Australia using its new fleet of B787 Dreamliner aircraft (256 seats) from August end. The airline will begin flying a triangular route between Delhi, Sydney and Melbourne. For four days a week, flights will be DelhiSydney-Melbourne, and for three days they will run Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney.

On the new services, Andrew McEvoy, MD, Tourism Australia said, “Preliminary analysis suggests we’ll need around 345,000 additional seats to meet the expected demand for Australia from India out to 2020. On top of the capacity that already exists, these new, direct services soon to be launched by Air India, rep-

The introduction of direct flights on the India – Australia route will not only increase connectivity, but also improve arrivals Nishant Kashikar Country Manager – India, Tourism Australia

advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use, and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Contents of this publication are copyright. No part of TRAVTALK or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publication in writing. The same rule applies when there is a copyright or the article is taken from another publication. An exemption is hereby granted for the extracts used for the purpose of fair review, provided two copies of the same publication are sent to us for our records. Publications reproducing material either in part or in whole, without permission could face legal action.

resent a huge boost in realising the full potential of this important market. As with most of our recent aviation success stories, this positive outcome owes much to a team Australia approach.

Sydney and Melbourne Airports, Destination New South Wales and Tourism Victoria all deserve great credit for getting this deal done and we look forward to combining our marketing resources to ensure the new services are now aggressively promoted within India.”

Close to 160,000 Indians visited Australia in 2012, spending nearly Australia USD 800 million. By 2020, Tourism Australia believes the market has the potential to rise in annual value to up to Australia USD 2.3 billion and deliver 300,000 annual visitors.

Adding further from Indian perspective, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager – India, Tourism Australia said, “Strong growth of up to 10 per cent could occur in 2013 if Air India launches its proposed Australian services in the second half of 2013.

Building aviation capacity is critical to achieving the India 2020 potential. Most Indian travellers to Australia presently travel through South East Asian hubs such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, and Tourism Australia currently has a cooperative marketing agreement with Singapore Airlines, Silkair and Malaysia Airlines.”

Delivery pending The airline currently has six 787s and will take delivery of eight more by the end of this year, another five in 2014, six in 2015 and two in 2016.

Air India had booked 27 Boeing 787s in 2006 in a mega-deal

The publisher assumes no responsibility for returning any material solicited or unsolicited nor is he responsible for material lost or damaged.

504, Marine Chambers, 43, New Marine Lines, Opp. SNDT College, Mumbai - 400 020, India, Ph.: +91-22-22070129; 22070130

This publication is not meant to be an endorsement of any specific product or services offered. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw, amend or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation.

Durga Das Publications Middle East (FZE) Z1-02, PO Box: 9348, Saif Zone, Sharjah, UAE Ph.:+971-6-5528954, Fax: +971-6-5528956

All advertisements must comply with the Indian and International Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by delayed publication, error or failure of an advertisement to appear.

MUMBAI:

MIDDLE EAST:

TRAVTALK is printed and published by SanJeet on behalf of

DDP Publications Private Limited 72, Todarmal Road, New Delhi-110 001 Ph.: +91-11-23710793, 23716318, E-mail: sanjeet@ddppl.com Printed at Cirrus Graphics Pvt. Ltd. B-62/14, Phase-II, Naraina Industrial Area, New Delhi - 110 028

EXHIBITIONS

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

5

India gains big at World Travel Market 2012 The contracts signed at WTM 2012 with WTM Buyers’ Club members will generate more than £253 million for exhibitors from Asia Pacific, Indian Ocean and the India regions.

TT B UREAU

A

n independent analysis, by Fusion Communications, of WTM 2012 reveals this, the figure is a massive 51% higher than WTM 2011’s £168 million in deals for the regions.

For WTM 2012, Asia had 13 first-time exhibitors – such

Simon Press Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, World Travel Market

The amount of business WTM 2012 conducted for all our exhibitors from the Asia and India region is phenomenal as China Southern Airways – which demonstrated the growth in China’s travel industry. The event also witnessed the emergence of newer tourism destinations such as Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, represented

India ranks 25th Best Convention Destinations Contd. from page 3

Maharashtra and decided that a nodal agency for one-window clearance is needed to grant all these permissions In principle, Maharashtra Govt. has agreed they will appoint Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) as a nodal agency for getting all the permissions, he elaborated. “In Delhi, we are requesting the Ministry of Home Affairs to appoint ICPB as nodal agency for visa purposes,” he added.

Regarding manpower training, Mansharamani opined, “To bid for international MICE, international standards for training is imperative.”

by the likes of Victoria Vietnam Group, Saigontourist, Uzbektourism and the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators.

Furthermore, India had its own dedicated standalone region at WTM 2012, with 12 new exhibitors, including Brys Hotels, Inbound Tour Operator Council (ITOC) -

West Bengal, ITC Limited and Odisha Tourism. Both regions were also strongly represented at the WTM Speed Networking events.

Exhibitors took advantage of the chance to meet contacts briefly before the event opened and arrange a more detailed discussion later.

Overall, WTM 2012 will gen-

erate £1,860m of business for all exhibitors before WTM 2013 opens on November 4. WTM contin-

ues to generate double-digit business growth for the global travel industry despite the gloomy economic picture of the past few years.

Last year’s total business figure of £1,860m is 13% higher than 2011’s £1,653m, which was 16% ahead of 2010’s £1,425m, with the 2010 sum representing a

25% hike on 2009. Simon Press , Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, World Travel Market, said, “The amount of business WTM 2012 conducted for all our exhibitors from the Asia and India region is phenomenal and a testament to WTM’s role in facilitating business on a truly global scale.”

6

23 YEARS AGO

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

THEN

NOW

, 23 years back, had featured a story on Tramcar Restaurant, a novel concept introduced in West Bengal.

Now, the same idea has been worked upon in the same state, thereby bringing a fresh hope to revive tourism.

September 1991 | Vol 1 | Issue 1 | Page 2

Tramcar Restaurant Rajen Bali Calcutta is the only city in India where trams still ply and are popular as a means of transport. They are so much a part of Calcutta’s history that a special horse-drawn tramcar attracted large crowds when it was run as a part of Calcutta’s tricentenary.

SM Gani, who has taken over as the Regional Director, Government of India Tourist Office, Calcutta has come up with an extremely novel and brilliant idea. He has put forward the proposal that a ‘tramcar be fabricated with a pantry and all other infrastructure required to run as a mobile restaurant on a specified route perhaps from the Esplanade to the Birla Planetarium.’

The matter is under discussion between the Department of Tourism Government of India, West Bengal Tourism and Calcutta Tramways.

The design is being considered and thought is being given to overcome the peculiar engineering problems of providing airconditioning on DC current. Among the features sought to be incorporated are big ‘sight-seeing’ windows,

comfortable seating and adequate space for guests. Perhaps being the only project of its kind, it will take off quite some time for the idea to become a reality. But the matter is being progressed.

Efforts are also being made to involve some big airline or other interested parties to co-sponsor the project. One hopes that the sheer novelty of the idea will appeal to someone. It would be a tremendous opportunity for advertising. The tramcars are already a very popular advertising medium. All credit to Gani for coming up with this idea. One hopes that the day is not far when one can savour culinary delights while enjoying the view of the Victoria Memorial, gently rolling along in the tramcar restaurant.

City of Joy on wheels TT B UREAU

T

he Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) and the West Bengal Tourism Department have started operating an air conditioned tram service from Esplanade to Shyambazar in North Kolkata and Kidderpore in the South. Talking about the recent initiative that was launched in the last week of June, Vikram Sen, Principal Secretary, West Bengal Tourism Department informs, “In this renovated AC tram, there will be five trips taking tourists across the heritage buildings in Kolkata—two in the morning and three during the evening. The

North Kolkata ride will start from Esplanade at 7.30 am and take passengers through Dalhousie Square, Chitpore, Jorasanko Thakurbari to

Vikram Sen Principal Secretary West Bengal Tourism Department

Shyambazar and back via College Street. In the evening, the tram will ply from Esplanade to Kidderpore through the Maidan. The ` 260 fare includes tea and snacks to be served by IRCTC during the ride.

Tickets can be booked online

from the IRCTC website or bought from the Esplanade tram depot.”

Currently, around 40 per cent bookings come from the IRCTC website while almost 60 per cent is spot bookings, Sen adds.

Encouraging the B2B travel fraternity to come forward and book such tours, Sen confirms the agents will be given a commission of five per cent. “In case they book all the 24 seats, we will give the travel agents a commission of 15 per cent as well,” he adds. The 24-seater single-coach tram has a steel body and reinforced tinted glass windows.

The interior has plush seats and walls with photographs of old Kolkata.

An LCD screen is placed behind the driver’s cabin to screen short clips on the city’s heritage, tourist Contd. on page 13

ASSOCIATIONS

PATA India’s pit stops: US, Oz, China A cross-section of PATA India members will go to the United States, Australia and China for the two roadshows and PTM in next two months.

Then, they expect to fly Air-India’s maiden Dreamliner flight to Sydney.

V IVEK S ETHI

T

he PATA-India Chapter is readying itself for building incremental business in important source markets like USA, Australia and China. As per Vikram Madhok, Vice Chairperson, PATA-India Chapter, the coming few months are going to be eventful for PATA-India members.

“The PATA-India Chapter has high-quality mix of members that come from the various chains of tourism

Vikram Madhok Vice Chairperson PATA-India Chapter

All our PATAIndia members participating in the mart will get a chance to tap several business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region and hospitality industry. Over the years, the PATA India roadshows had been instrumental in creating business opportunities for our members, both in conventional markets and in new emerging source markets.

This time, we are working on our first roadshow in USA in the month of August. We, then, are streamlining our second roadshow in Sydney in such a manner that our members get to fly the Air India’s maiden Dreamliner flight probably in September,” said Madhok.

Representation PRESENT: A mix of all value chains from across the Asia-Pacific region will represent India at the PATA Travel Mart to be held at Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center (CCNICEC) in Chengdu, China from September 15-17, 2013.

Post the roadshows being scheduled in AugustSeptember, PATA India members will gain hands-on opportunity to grow business, as a healthy mix of all various value chains from across the AsiaPacific region will represent India at the PATA Travel Mart to be held at Century City New

International Convention & Exhibition Center (CCNICEC) in Chengdu, China from September 15-17, 2013.

“China is a big market that all countries are trying to tap. This year, the PATA Travel Mart is being organised in China. All our PATA-

India members participating in the mart will get a chance to tap several business opportunities in the AsiaPacific region. I would also like to see growth in numbers of luxury segment travellers to India from China post the PTM-2013,” Madhok added.

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

7

MOT promotes film tourism The IIFA awards ceremony was organised at Macau on July 6, 2013.

Addressing the occasion, K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, said that global award functions such as IIFA not only promote films, but also provide an effective platform for promoting tourism and the Incredible India brand.

“The Tourism Ministry is Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, in Macau providing financial assistance for films and facilitating single-window clearance for filming in the country. We are also participating in various international film festivals like the Cannes Film Festival to showcase Incredible India,” said Chiranjeevi.

HOTELS

A story of many firsts The concept of being a mixed-use project and being adjacent to the mall has been a brilliant business strategy for Leela Kempinski Gurgaon Hotel.

TT B UREAU

P

art of the upscale, mixeduse development in New Delhi satellite business and shopping district, The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon Hotel and Residences is looking forward to the next five years.

Talking about the successful stint in the Gurgaon hospitality landscape, Michel Koopman, General Manager, Leela Kempinski Gurgaon says, “The hotel opened its doors five years ago. The journey till date has been a story of many ‘firsts’. A highly successful hotel in terms of performance, the hotel did an average occupancy of 75-83 per cent every year. This year we are targeting an average occupancy of around 80 per cent.”

The concept of being a mixed-use project and being adjacent to the mall has been a brilliant business strategy.

“This hotel almost pioneered the concept in India. For business travellers, time is

Michel Koopman General Manager Leela Kempinski Gurgaon

luxury. We have a lot of longstay travellers as well.

So what gives us an edge is the fact that shopping, dining, bowling and other entertainment zones can happen just next door,” he elaborates.

Positioning itself as a hardcore luxury MICE hotel has its own advantages.

Feels Koopman, “As we look for new avenues, the corporate segment and MICE would be the two main growth drivers. Around 20 per cent of our business currently generates 80 per cent of our revenues. We get a huge chunk of crew segment that generates around 45 room nights as well.

However, the country lacks a proper conferencing and exhibition centre. We fail to attract major conferences, which go to Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. Hence, for us, selling Destination India is equally important.”

The hotel also targets leisure but the trend is shifting towards local leisure. “We receive a lot of clients from Gurgaon and Delhi. In the last few years, the idea of a weekend getaway within the city itself is evolving now and we are targetting this in a big way,” he adds. The property currently does an ARR of around 10,000.

Eyeing corporate tie-ups Having entered the Indian market in 2002, Preferred Hotel Group is aiming at corporate level partnerships across hotels in the country.

T T B U R E AU

T

alking about the growth of the India portfolio till the year-end, Saurabh Rai Bhatnagar, Regional Director, South Asia & Middle East, Preferred Hotel Group says, “In line with our global strategy in 2013, we will continue our growth campaign and establish a footprint in new destinations.

Moreover, we will be focussed on rolling out new and innovative consumer marketing initiatives for our member hotels.”

The group is currently in the eleventh year of its presence here. “We had exponential growth in the first decade,” he adds.

According to Bhatnagar, the development strategy in the region is to have two to three corporate level partnerships in India across different categories of hotels, which will give presence in cities where the group has business support capability such as Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, South Mumbai and even Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Regarding new challenges that the group is facing in India while providing competitive advantage to independent hotel owners,

Saurabh Rai Bhatnagar Regional Director, South Asia & Middle East at Preferred Hotel Group

he informs, “Such challenges can be bifurcated. These concerns could be the lack of brand equity at an international level, underpenetrated access to global trade partners and consumers, purchasing muscle for vendor pricing, access to cutting edge distribution technology and quality assurance services. These are all key objectives of our partnership with our member hotels, which we continue to successfully address. Other than these,

external challenges faced by independent hotel owners are largely similar to trials that any other branded hotel would face. These are largely to do with external business environment like the overall economy, market competitiveness, profitability ratios, cost of land acquisition and debt, paucity of quality human resources, etc.”

The group plans to have a twin city roadshow in September covering New Delhi and Mumbai.

“We typically organise two such platforms every year. One is usually in April at the onset of Indian summer holiday season and another one in later part of the year,” he adds.

Highlights STRATEGY: The development strategy in the region is to have two to three corporate level partnerships in India across different categories of hotels, which will give presence in cities where the group has business support capability such as Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, South Mumbai and even Sri Lanka and Nepal

COVER STORY

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

9

Call of the Himalayas for foreign tourists Contd. from page1

been launched with the twin objective of attracting more foreign tourists during the lean summer season and at the same time reminding the world that a major part of the Himalayan range is in India.

Usually the season to visit India is September-March.

The idea is to extend this season by offering more of the mountains. Also, when people think of the Himalayas, they think of Nepal. We want to give the message to the travellers

HRAWI Convention in Pune next month The Hotel & Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) will hold its 17th regional convention on August 23-24, 2013 in Pune. The theme of the convention is 'Tourism: Awakening the Sleeping Giant'. The convention is

K Chiranjeevi Union Minister for Tourism Government of India

being organised under the chairmanship of Dilip Datwani and Sunit Kothari, co-chairman, Convention Organising Committee. The convention will be inaugurated by Dr K Chiranjeevi, Union Minister for Tourism, Government of India and the chief guests address will be presented by Chhagan Bhujbal, Tourism Minister, Government of Maharashtra.

IT&CM India deferred to August 2014 The second edition of IT&CM India, originally planned for August 20-23, 2013, has been rescheduled for August 2014. Due to a smaller-thanexpected exhibition showcase, the organisers have deferred the tradeshow in the interests of stakeholders and participating delegates.

Clients and partners affected by the rescheduling will be contacted.

that 73 per cent of Himalayas is in our country, and herein lies the opportunity.”

The Ministry is working on the advertisement, which will be aired abroad only.

Talking more about the upcoming ad, Dewan articulated, “Each of the six Himalayan states will feature in this ad. Even the gateway cities, which will serve them with their international and domestic airports and railway

When people think of the Himalayas, they think of Nepal. We want to give the message to the travellers that 73% of Himalayas is in our country, and herein lies the opportunity Parvez Dewan, Secretary, MOT stations would be promoted.

Also, we have realised most people who visit these moun-

tains do not go there to trek or climb the peaks. Their idea might be to venture into the

small monasteries, visit the quaint little cafeterias or simply sit in their hotel room balcony and look at the mountains. Thus, all these small aspects would be included in the ad.”

Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi along with his colleagues in the Ministry of Shipping G K Vasan and Milind Deora have agreed to provide Central financial assistance for the development of heritage

lighthouses as tourist destinations. Out of the 15 heritage lighthouses of historical importance, in the first phase, Konhoji Angere lighthouse in Maharashtra will be taken up for development. The Ministry of Tourism plans to support construction of a boat jetty and passenger terminal at Konhoji Angere lighthouse. The Konhoji Angere island is situated nine nautical miles away from the Gateway of India, Mumbai, Dewan said.

HOTELS

Lavish service apartments The Ascott Ireo City Gurgaon will offer 220-service apartment units in the configurations of studio, 1-BHK and 2-BHK, out of which 160 will be serviced residences.

TT B UREAU

B

etting big on the hospitality sector of the country, Pankaj Dugar, HeadHospitality, Ireo is confident about the mid-market hotel space in India. “Hospitality business is a cyclical one at the macro level, but there are so many micro-markets in India which are untapped.

Whenever there is an increase in supply in the short term, occupancy will take a hit. But this gets rectified in the long term. An example of this would be the Mumbai hospitality market where from 2003-09, there was tremendous increase in

Alfred Ong, MD, Strategic Development, Ascott (Left) and Pankaj Dugar, Hospitality Head, Ireo at the press conference

1-BHK and 2 BHK, out of which 160 will be serviced residences, and the remain-

partnership with Angsana and a hotel and branded residences in North Goa with Banyan Tree Hotels.

Talking about the new development, Dugar informed, “Despite phenomenal commercial activity in and around Gurgaon, there is a dearth in terms of quality service apartments for longstay guests in the city.

Currently, the market is underserved and we see a huge opportunity in that

supply. However, demand necessarily did not witness a drop and occupancy never dipped. Thus, the outlook needs to be for long-term. In short term, this industry will always see challenges.

Overall, we are positive about service apartment and midmarket hotel space in India in the long term market,” Dugar said, while announcing the company’s hospitality tie up with Ascott for managing the

We have six under development properties and two operational properties in India at the moment Alfred Ong MD, Strategic Development, The Ascott ing 60 will be private residential apartments. The company had also signed a pact with Hyatt Hotels for Grand

We are positive about service apartment and mid-market hotel space in India in the long-term market Pankaj Dugar Head-Hospitality, Ireo proposed service apartments project in the upcoming 700-acre integrated Ireo City development project in Sector 59 in Gurgaon.

The Ascott Ireo City Gurgaon will offer 220-service apartment units in the configurations of studio,

Hyatt Hotel and Residences for the Ireo City complex earlier this year. Ascott Ireo City Gurgaon will be the fourth hospitality investment by the real estate company.

The other projects include the Grand Hyatt mix use project in Gurgaon, first branded club in Ludhiana in

space. Thus, this will mark the entry of Ireo into luxury service apartment space. Ireo will be developing the project with technical assistance from Ascott, which will manage these apartments. These are expected to become operational by 2016 end or 2017 beginning.”

The world’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator, Singapore-based Ascott now has a total of eight properties in India. “We have six under development properties and two operational properties – Citadines Richmond Bangalore and Somerset Greenways Chennai in India at the moment,” Alfred Ong, MD, Strategic Development, The Ascott added.

Gay tourists in Russia could now face two weeks in jail This is a warning for visitors and tourists wanting to travel to Russia. Anything considered pro-gay, from gay-affirmative speech, to gays holding hands in public, to even wearing rainbow suspenders is now illegal. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed it into law, which is one of the most draconian anti-gay laws on the planet.

12

STATES

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

CM flags off 30 ITTA buses to Uttarakhand

Hill forts get UNESCO sheen Six hill forts of Rajasthan - Amber, Chittaurgarh, Gangron, Jaisalmer, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore - make it to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Gagron, the dense forests at Ranthambore, and the desert of Jaisalmer. It also exhibits an important phase of development in architectural typology based on established ‘traditional Indian principles’.”

TT B UREAU

S On June 21, 2013; over 30 buses were flagged off by Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, from the residence of Monitoring Committee Chairman Bhure Lal. The buses had been sponsored by ITTA members to supply food and rescue people from the natural calamity in Uttarakhand

ix hill forts of Rajasthan have been selected to be in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Minister for Tourism, Art & Culture,

ADTOI Gujarat Chapter’s first meet in Udaipur Bina Kak Minister for Tourism Art & Culture, Rajasthan

Mixing fun with work, ADTOI Gujarat Chapter held its first-ever members’ meet in Udaipur, where they were invited on a fam trip by Sheraton Udaipur in June. PP Khanna, Vice-President, ADTOI was present along with Bimal Mehta, Gujarat Chapter Chairman, ADTOI, Pankaj Gupta, Secretary Gujarat Chapter, ADTOI, Sharvil Patel, Treasurer Gujarat Chapter, and other members on the occasion

Rajasthan, Bina Kak said, “The selection of these forts is a reflection of our work done in the past. We stand by our commitment towards conservation and protection of our rich cultural heritage, of which we are immensely proud.”

She further informed that the hills forts were

approved in the 37th Meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The selection of these forts, as a serial cultural property, is the first of its kind ever by UNESCO. With the selection of these six forts, they will receive enhanced international recognition the way the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur did after being selected in the World Heritage List in 2010. This selection will also pave way for other monuments to be nominated for being included in the World Heritage List.

The ICOMOS (Advisory body of UNESCO) report recognises the outstanding universal value of hill forts with the following statement, “Within the state of Rajasthan, six extensive and majestic hill forts together reflect the elaborate, fortified seats of power of the Rajput princely states that flourished between the 8th and 18th centuries and their relative political independence. The extensive fortifications up to 20 kilometres in circumference optimised various kinds of hill terrain, specifically the river in

Work relating to stepwells of Abhaneri, Bandikui, Bundi as well as the Fresco paintings of Shekhawati region for consideration to UNESCO list has already begun. Kak reaffirmed that all these efforts will reinforce positioning of Rajasthan on the world tourism map as a favoured tourist destination.

Heritage List ROYAL GESTURE: The selection of these forts, as a serial cultural property, is the first of its kind ever by UNESCO GLOBAL VISIBILITY: These six forts will receive enhanced international recognition the way the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur did after being selected in the World Heritage List in 2010

NEWS

Teeing off golf tourism in Sept Rajan Sehgal, President, India Golf Tourism Association, speaks to about the three-day CII Asia Golf Expo slated for 20-22 September at Ashok Hotel.

T EENA B ARUAH

O

ver the past five years, the Asia Golf Industry Show has become one of the premier consumer golf expos in the country, attended by golf course proprietors and manufacturers of machines and products associated with the sport. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is set to play a key role in the development of the Indian golf industry as it takes over the Asia Golf Industry Show this year.

The theme this year is ‘Growing the Business of Golf’.

In its sixth edition, the show will be held this year from September 20-22, 2013 at Hotel Ashok, New Delhi.

The event will provide a platform for golf course makers and maintenance equipment manufacturers to showcase the latest technology. This event is being supported by Asian Golf Course Owners Association, which has its headquarters in Singapore, The Indian Golf Union, The Professional Golf Tour of India, Golf Course Superintendents and Managers Association of India and Indian Golf Travel Association. IGTA will be organising a seminar on how to promote golf tourism, followed by a friendly tournament. “Many tour operators are interested in promoting golf tourism in the country.

The Ministry of Tourism needs

Rajan Sehgal President India Golf Tourism Association

The Ministry of Tourism needs to market India as a golf destination just as heritage tourism is being promoted to market India as a golf destination just as heritage tourism is being promoted, because golfers are high-value tourists,” says Sehgal.

“We have around 220 golf courses in India, out of which 45 are designer courses bearing signatures of such great names such as Jack

Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Robert Trent Jones Jr. The weather is playable in some golf courses throughout the year. We have excellent caddies, health spas and resorts in the clubs. If we bring 20 golf tourists to India, they’d spend more money than 40-50 average tourists,” says Sehgal. The show would also work as a catalyst in creating new golf infrastructure and facilities, thereby increasing the demand of products and services. Conferences to exchange ideas and best practices for further development of the golf and related industry would be held in all the subjects with experts and some of the most distinguished speakers from around the world sharing their experiences.

Sports and Leisure Worldwide (SLW) is the knowledge partner for the show. Golf course and resort owners, architects, designers, managers, maintenance engineers, contractors, and other related professionals are expected to attend this event from India and all across Asia.

Coming Together PARTICIPANTS: This event is being supported by Asian Golf Course Owners Association, The Indian Golf Union, The Professional Golf Tour of India, Golf Course Superintendents and Managers Association of India and IGTA

` 1700 for Kolkata heli-tour Contd. from page 6

attractions and Bengal’s renowned personalities.

Moving beyond wheels to air, Pawan Hans has also

recently started its operations from Kolkata. The ride in a twin-engine, 11-seater Dolphin chopper, manufactured by the France-based Eurocopter, takes off from the helipad at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club in the heart of the city and hovers over the city’s landmarks. Passengers planning to enjoy the helicopter joyride have to dole out ` 1,700 for a 10-minute trip. According to Sen, flying to destinations in North Bengal may soon

become easier. The state-run helicopter operator is expected to introduce fixed-wing aircraft shortly to places such as Cooch Behar, Bagdogra, Malda and Siliguri.

“We have suggested Pawan Hans three to four places in North Bengal including Malda.

There are old airstrips in these places and some of them need to be refurbished. Pawan Hans will go and examine the airstrips,” the principal secretary reveals.

The new Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi has a camel milk mixologist The newly opened Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal has an in-house “Camel Milk Mixologist” and offering up various flavoured milk shakes — strawberry, mint and others — to guests. The new service is being launched with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starting in a week.

14

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

AVIATION

Lesson for airlines: Go Big or Go Home Manoj Papa, Acting GM – Commercial, South African Airways talks about strategies for building an outstanding airline brand, enhancing bottom lines and growing importance of travel agents. love to have more connecting points in India in coming years. Currently, we fly daily out of Mumbai and are positioning this city as our strategic location for other international routes in South East Asia. Currently, we are happy with our alliance with Jet Airways.

TT B UREAU

Q: How is SAA changing itself with the requirements of the aviation markets?

The global aviation industry is facing some real challenging times since 2008 global recession. Customers are more demanding and are no more brand loyal. In this situation, it’s either ‘Magic or Tragic’ flight. The key is opting for the right strategy at the right time for the right market.

Airlines need to reinvent, innovate and change their revenue management strategies, work on route rationalisation and bring in more options for customers. There is a fine line between meeting customer expectations and operating commercial profits.

Q: How do you build a brand in markets which have stronger airlines?

The airline needs to offer the real feel of its nation. For instance, Asian

Manoj Papa Acting GM – Commercial South African Airways

carriers are known for their hospitality while Middle Eastern carries are popular with their services. In the same way, SAA is popular for giving out the real experience of South Africa. We might not be perfect, but we are real.

Q: What is your perspective on Indian market?

India is an interesting aviation market and has the most potential for SAA. However, since India is a continent in itself, we have a different approach. We would

Q: Can you please elaborate on your recent code share agreement with Jet Airways?

The code-share agreement will enable seamless connectivity to several business centres in India and South Africa. SAA (which is the only airline offering non-stop flights between Johannesburg and Mumbai) has code-share on Jet Airways’ operations between Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. In return, Jet Airways will code share on SAA’s flights between Mumbai,

Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. In essence, the agreement further supports the objectives of the BRICS member states.

Q: With enhanced presence in India, will you also start competing with travel agents to attract customers directly?

We are an airline, expert in providing safe and comfortable flight connections from point A-point B. The travel agents community is skilled at making complex itineraries simpler for travellers. We consider travel agents as our partners and not competitors.

Case Study

SAA - A role model Though South African Airways (SAA) is facing financial issues similar to our national carrier, the airline is still performing well for operating cost and revenues earned. The airline has recently borrowed R1.5 billion from two banks as an interim measure until the government adopted the airline’s turnaround plan.

The R1.5-billion is working capital to keep operations running while SAA grapples with high fuel prices and its loss-making, long-haul business in a highly competitive market.

SAA used a R5-billion state guarantee extended to it last year to secure the loan. However, the airline still occupies the biggest market share in South African aviation market wherein in India, Air India takes third position

The biggest challenge today is survival.

right market at the right time, target the right segment with the right price point and offer the right product with appropriate frequency.

Lesson No.1: Airlines need to understand that one common business strategy won’t fit for all airlines.

Airlines need to enter the

Lesson No.2: Go Big or Go Home. Airlines need to make it big as in brand awareness and better service.

They should invest in at the

Q: What are the top three lessons you have learnt at SAA?

right places to earn handsome revenues.

Lesson No.3: Don’t try to be perfect, try to be real and you will be perfect.

Create your own USP, make your employees proud of their own brand, the travellers should feel the culture of your country while flying with you.

AVIATION

South India on Ethiopian radar Ethiopian Airlines is keen on expanding to other Indian cities such as Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

TT B UREAU

T

he airline currently operates daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to its base Addis-Ababa in Ethiopia. The carrier also recently launched flights to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo in Brazil from July, operating a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on these routes. Talking about the airline’s plans for the Indian market, Tekeba H. Selassie, Regional Director - India Sub Continent, Ethiopian Airlines said, “We also want to increase

the number of leisure travellers from India to Ethiopia as we already receive a large number of business travellers.

At the moment, we have aver-

Ethiopian Airlines is targetting to operate a minimum of two new sectors every season.”

Tekeba H. Selassie

Working with Trade WORKING MODE: Our distribution channel in India comprises of agencies and GSAs. IN FUTURE: We will work out new improved marketing strategies for the trade from time to time

focus on promoting the airline as a network carrier to South America in the Indian market through our recently-launched flights to Brazil. Additionally,

Regional Director - India Sub Continent Ethiopian Airlines

age load factor of over 75 per cent on our Indian routes.”

The airline operates Boeing 767, 777 and 787 aircraft on the Indian routes currently.

Selassie added, “We will also

The addition of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will bring the number of its international destinations across five continents to 75. Speaking of working with the travel trade, Selassie said, “Our distribution channel in India comprises agencies and GSAs. We will work out new improved marketing strategies for the trade from time to time.”

India-USA via Narita, Japan ANA, the Narita-based carrier is focussing on increasing awareness on Japan in the Indian market.

LYANDRA D’ SOUZA

J

apan’s flag carrier, All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to promote itself as a gateway from India to the USA via its hub in Narita airport in Tokyo. Tsuneya Katagiri, General Manager, Mumbai, All Nippon Airways said, “The numbers of Indian travellers to the US are rapidly increasing and we are keen to promote our hub in Narita, which is in an ideal location for flights to the US from Delhi and Mumbai. In USA, we fly to Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, thereby giving travellers several options to choose from.”

The airline which is currently experiencing average load factors of approximately 40 per cent on its Indian routes is also keen to tap the Punjab region due to large passenger numbers to the US from the region.

Tsuneya Katagiri General Manager, Mumbai All Nippon Airways

The airline which carries a large number of business traffic on its Indian route is also keen on attracting more leisure travellers to Japan.

Katagiri elaborated, “However, to attract more Indian traffic to Japan, we need more awareness on Japan as a destination. Therefore, we regularly host fams for members of the Indian travel trade as well

as participate in roadshows organised by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) in the country.

Additionally, we are also offering tour-based fares in India to increase traffic from India to Japan.” ANA, which operates a Boeing 737 on its MumbaiTokyo route and Boeing 767 on its Delhi route, is also looking to bring in a large aircraft on the Mumbai route in the near future. However, Katagiri said, “The plans for this are still under discussion and nothing has been confirmed yet.

Route FREQUENCY: ANA flies daily to Mumbai and Delhi from Tokyo. In Mumbai, the airline operates an all-business class flight on Thursdays and Sunday every week.

New Kesari corporate office in Mumbai Family-run Kesari Tours recently inaugurated its new corporate office in Ghatkopar in Mumbai on the sidelines of the company's 29th Foundation Day. Shailesh Patil has taken charge as Managing Director of the company.

18

ANALYSIS

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Self Drive Tours: The road to success With Indian outbound travellers becoming independent, self-drive tours are getting popular. analyses the potential of marketing self-drive trips in the Indian market.

Road Blocks LYANDRA D’ SOUZA

T

he growth in travel and leisure sectors in India has been phenomenal as travel abroad has come within the reach of large sections of Indians. In the past decade, Indian travellers

freedom as travellers are not bound by schedules and timelines. Several national tourism boards are also focussing on promoting these experiential self-drive options to outbound FITs from India.

Destinations such as Australia, South Africa,

Explaining the potential of self drive tours, Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager – South and South East Asia, said, “We see an increase in the number of Indians opting for self-drive tours when they visit New Zealand. The numbers will only increase as Indians are opting for more flexibility in their itineraries. It is also a

Operating, Kuoni India opined, “Self-drive tours are fast emerging as a hobby of passionate travellers and are no more just a mean of vacationing. Many youngsters falling between the age group of 20-35 seek self-drive travel options.

Karan Anand, HeadRelationships, Cox & Kings

The main challenge to selling self drive in India is that it is still a fairly niche product finding favour only with the well-travelled and confident Indian. The mass (volume) segment still prefers the comfort of group tours and evolves to the pre-packaged FIT itineraries. Suri also said

that barring the US, right hand drive destinations still held a challenge for Indian travellers. “With steep parking rates, high taxes on autos, especially in metro cities, public transport works out far more effective and economical than a self-drive to most tourists.”

and at their own pace. A niche product, this has gained popularity over the past 3-4 years and we are seeing growth of approximately 10 per cent per annum in this segment. Hanneli Slabber,

motor-homes), accommodation, the duration of their selfdrive tour and which regions to visit. Most importantly, agents need to work around a flexible tour itinerary that fulfils their personal interests.

Promoting Self-Drive Mischa Mannix-Opie

Hanneli Slabber

Regional Manager – South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand

Country Manager-India South Africa Tourism

Tourism New Zealand will include a module on selfdrive tours in its online training programme have certainly evolved. There has been a considerable shift in demands and expectations of the travellers from a holiday. They seek to explore the cultural heritage of the destinations they visit apart from the usual sightseeing. Self drive tours offer considerable

Agents need to work around a flexible tour itinerary in such selfdrive tours Ireland, New Zealand and Spain among others are promoting themselves as aspirational destinations for Indian travellers. They are aiming to attract them through experiential packages in which self drive tours feature prominently.

Karan Anand

Vishal Suri

Head-Relationships Cox & Kings

CEO, Tour Operating Kuoni India

Self drive has gained popularity over the past 3-4 years with 10% growth year-on-year

Many youngsters between the age group of 20-35 seek self-drive travel options

cost-effective option.” Travel agents too are concurring on the growing demand for self-drive tours among Indians travelling internationally.

Vishal Suri, CEO, Tour

added, “Self-drive experiences are popular among a certain segment of travellers.

These are for those who want to discover, explore a destination on their own time

Madhav Pai, Director–Leisure Travel (Outbound), Thomas Cook India, informed, “With regards to promoting selfdrive tours to our clients’ over the last five years; our FIT brochures have introduced various elements of self-drive options which range from budget trips to super-luxury decadent car drives in Italy under our ‘Indulgence’ brand.” The national tourism boards too plan to work extensively with the Indian travel trade to promote self-drive in the country. Mannix-Opie revealed, “Tourism New Zealand will include a module on self-drive tours in its online training programme. Other

activities for the Indian market will include joint marketing campaign partnerships, familiarisation opportunities and participation at events, such as attendance at SATTE and Tourism New Zealand’s own organised event, Kiwi Link India.

Country Manager-India, South Africa Tourism said, “With self drive, tourists can choose their type of vehicle for hire (cars, campers,

Today, young travel junkies, couples and even families opt to hire vehicles and explore the country on a self-drive tour.

Madhav Pai Director, Leisure Travel (Outbound) Thomas Cook India

22

RESEARCH TALK

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

A DOZEN LAURELS FOR INDIA See where India stands: Absolute contribution, 2012 Travel & Tourism's Direct Contribution to Employment

Travel & Tourism’s Total Contribution to Employment

Travel & Tourism’s Direct Contribution to GDP

Travel & Tourism’s Total Contribution to GDP

The tables provide brief extracts from the full WTTC Country League Table Rankings, highlighting comparisons with competing destinations as well as with the world average.

The competing destinations selected are those that offer a similar tourism product and compete for tourists from the same set of origin markets.

These tend to be, but are not exclusively, geographical neighbours.

of Travel & Tourism’s Total Total Contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP Breakdown Contribution to GDP and Employment 2012 2012 INR billion

GDP (2012 INR billion)

966

1,920 Direct

25,041

+Indirect

+Induced

Employment ('000)

3,500

9,364 5,107

Direct

Indirect

Induced

= Total contribution of Travel & Tourism SOURCE :

RESEARCH TALK

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

23

IN WORLD TOURISM RANKING Breakdown of Travel & India Travel & Tourism’s Contribution India Tourism’s Total Contribution to GDP to GDP, 2012 Business vs Leisure, 2012

Domestic vs Foreign, 2012

27.7%

80.3%

Business spending

Domestic spending

All values are in constant 2012 prices & exchange rates

30.1% Direct

54.8% Indirect

72.3%

19.7%

Leisure spending

Foreign visitor spending

Total Contribution of Travel & Tourism to Employment '000 jobs 48,592,000 39,512,000

39,420,500

15.1% Induced

GLOSSARY

Direct contribution to GDP :

GDP generated by industries that deal directly with tourists, including hotels, travel agents, airlines, as well as restaurant and leisure industries. It is equivalent to total internal Travel & Tourism spending within a country less the purchases made by those industries (including imports). In terms of the UN’s Tourism Satellite Account methodology it is consistent with total GDP calculated in table 6 of the TSA: RMF 2008.

Direct contribution to employment : the number of direct jobs within the Travel & Tourism industry.

Total contribution to GDP : GDP generated directly by the Travel & Tourism industry, plus its indirect and induced impacts.

Total contribution to employment :

2012 Direct

2013 Indirect

2023 Induced

7.5%

Visitor exports : Spending within the country by international tourists for both business and leisure trips, including spending on transport, but excluding international spending on education.

% of whole economy employment 7.7%

the number of jobs generated directly in the Travel & Tourism industry plus the indirect and induced contributions.

8.0%

Domestic Travel & Tourism spending : Spending within a country by that country’s residents for both business and leisure trips. Multi-use consumer durables are not included since they are not purchased solely for tourism purposes.

Indirect Contribution : The contribution to GDP and jobs of the following three factors: Capital Investment Government collective spending Supply-Chain effects

2012 Direct WTTCII

2013

2023

Indirect

Induced

Induced Contribution : The broader contribution to GDP and employment of spending by those who are directly or indirectly employed by Travel & Tourism.

24

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

FAMILY ALBUM

ANA honours trade & welcomes new team Japan-based All Nippon Airways recently hosted a grand awards night in Mumbai for its top three agents,Riya Travels, Akbar Holidays and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The airline also recognised three of its long-standing supporters, Vinayak Travels, Thomas Cook (India) and Yash Travels.

ANA also bid farewell to Kenji Sugino, General Manager-India, ANA after a six-year tenure in the country and welcomed the new management.

Air Arabia’s Visa class

AirArabia recently hosted workshops on visa and awarded top 10 agents for 2012 at an award ceremony held recently at The Royal Plaza hotel.

The event was a hit with prominent names from the travel fraternity marking their presence on the occasion.

TECHNOLOGY

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

25

A ‘digital valet’ in luxury hotels DigiValet is an Indian born product, proclaimed as a global leader of in-room automation technology for the luxury hospitality industry.

TT B UREAU

C

utting-edge technology married to comfort is the best way to describe DigiValet, the flagship prod-

Rahul Salgia Managing Director Paragon Business Solutions

We release new features based on guests and hotel feedback, and research trends on what to do and add uct from Rahul Salgia, Managing Director and Rachana Salgia, President of Paragon Business Solutions.

Launched in 2010, DigiValet is an offering to luxury hotels which allows its guests to control all inroom facilities at the touch of a button, literally. Guests can control room lights, AC, television, drapes, order room service, browse spa

Rachana Salgia President Paragon Business Solutions

Hotels take great care to ensure that it is a unique experience for the guests menus, check billing status, contact housekeeping and even check out from the hotel, without having to pick up the phone– all this can be done through the Apple iPad docked in the room.

A revolutionary onestop shop for guests, DigiValet helps eliminate the service directory and helps save a lot of time and energy for the guests, and reduces the stress on service. It’s specially helpful during the peak season when hotels

are running on 80-100 per cent occupancy.

Salgia says, “Our company is into the tech business for the past 19 years, but DigiValet is only 3 years old.

We thought of the many options to excite a guest, researched on different

things happening around the world and then decided on this. The first product was on an iPod Touch. The latter has given us a bigger space to play on, and today we are the most feature rich product globally. This is the first tech product from India which has been globally accepted. We

are leading by releasing new features based on guests and hotel feedback, we also research trends on what to do and add.” Rachana adds, “DigiValet is not presented as a technology product, but as a hospitality product. Also, since it is a guest-facing product, hotels take great

care to ensure that it is a unique experience for the guests.” DigiValet is currently being used by leading hotels like The ITC Grand Chola, ITC Maurya, Leela Palace, Armani Hotel, Dubai, Oberoi Bangalore, Radisson Ahmedabad and the Address Dubai Mall.

26

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

‘Unfriendly aviation policy’ Contd. from page 1

Bizarre Policy The policy of allowing carriers to operate international flights only after five years of domestic operations should be changed. These are bizarre rules ... that you can’t fly abroad before five years and 20 aircraft (fleet). That rule makes no sense. It is a negative for the Indian airlines.

Fair Inventory When a plane takes off empty the money is lost forever. I would rather fly people for free than have an empty seat in my plane. There is a marginal cost in flying someone for free, but then we may make money if he buys food on board or book our hotel.

Survival Game I started Air Asia with $250,000 and it took me seven years to build this company. I have survived SARS, revolutions, earthquakes, you name it. But it came at a price. If I show you a picture of me ten years ago, you’ll be shocked. If Mittu Chandilya (CEO, AirAsia India) looks this good after two years in this job then you will know that we have failed. Chart our progress by the way he looks after two years. The worse he looks the better.

Two to Tango “AirAsia is interested in forging partnerships with many airlines. Japan’s All Nippon Airways looked good initially, like a sexy woman you go out on a date with. But when we went to bed it was a horrible experience. So we had a quick divorce.

We have a great partner in Ratan Tata. He has an impeccable reputation and brings a wealth of experience to AirAsia.”

Market Buzz “Indian aviation is still small. South East Asian aviation is far ahead of India and this is bad since there is a ridiculous amount of talent here. In fact, this is a great time to join the Indian aviation scene. Couple of years ago people with too much money to throw were entering the market without any sensible business plan. They have gone bust now and left this business.

COVER STORY

‘We can’t ignore travel agents’ Contd. from page 1

is simple. We will have the lowest fares and a low-cost structure. If we can’t get the right cost structure, we can’t be successful,” said Fernandes, adding that the fares of AirAsia keep going down because of growth in volumes.

Adding further, he said, “We want to stimulate the market while charging as low as we can go. We need less fat everywhere, we will charge for extra baggage (free baggage allowance of 15 kg on domestic routes), and not go in for decisions like code-share agreements which just add to the fat.”

The airline intends to get into profit from Day One of its operations.

According to Fernandes, if

Commission model STRATEGY: Since transaction fee model is not valid in India, we will work on agency commission model with agents PROFITS: if the airline achieves more than 58 per cent average occupancy, it will start making profits

the airline achieves more than 58 per cent average occupancy, it will start making profits.

Travel agents important AirAsia would match its sales strategy in India as per the market requirements and would push to encourage online sales. In India, nearly 80-85 per cent of bookings are done through travel agents while in AirAsia’s home market, most of the bookings are done online. “We do have an online selling plan, but we cannot ignore travel agents.

Therefore, we will have a mix of different strategies at this point of time. Since transaction fee model is not valid in India, we will work on an agency commission model with agents. We keep receiving requests from other online travel portals like MakeMyTrip, but we have a special partnership with Expedia,”' he said without divulging more details.

MRO opportunities Fernandes also informed that he is in talks

Lessons learnt from Indian aviation If people say the market is shrinking, that’s because other players aren’t doing it right. The key for us is in our discipline and focus. India still hasn’t seen a true low-cost carrier, even Air Deccan got the cost management wrong.

AirAsia India would try and avoid the mistakes made by India’s first low-fare airline.

“Probably Air Deccan opened up too fast, but the vision of Air Deccan was right. But it messed up with the fundamentals by expanding fast and inducting ATRs (small turboprop planes).

We will be focusing on having all Airbus 320 aircraft and point-to-point services.”

The airline will also stick to its model on aircraft ownership. The key is to have low fares everyday. We were the lowest cost airline when we started 11 years ago and we are still the lowest cost airline. It is our religion and in our DNA. with Airbus for setting up a regional MRO centre in India. Noting that Indian carriers were sending their aircraft abroad for MRO services, India is losing on foreign exchange as taxes on spares and related items are high, discouraging airlines to get their planes fixed in India. He said, “The MRO

facility in Cochin is hugely under-utilised, as it is lying empty and so are skilled engineers. There is need for skill development and connectivity that will help low cost airlines to bring commerce in terms of small businesses. We are looking at a huge opportunity here for Indian companies.”

ASSOCIATIONS

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

27

Indians lack evacuation cover: Kumar Insurance doesn’t cover the costs of evacuation in case of emergency for Indians, whereas in case of foreigners, it is taken care of. Akshay Kumar, President, ATOAI sheds light on insurance rules in foreign nations.

T T B U R E AU

N

atural disasters don’t come with prior warning, while most of the times,

Akshay Kumar President, ATOAI

Nothing has come our way from insurance companies that can serve our clients effectively during the emergency situations

JATA, Tokyo from Sept 12-15 The 4-day JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase 2013 that starts in Tokyo from September 12, will also host the JATA Tourism Forum.

The Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) has confirmed its scheduled line-up for the JATA Tourism Forum, one of the key four programmes in this year’s JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase 2013 that will run from September 12-15, 2013, at Tokyo Big Sight (East Halls 1, 2, 3, 6).

Other programmes under the JATA TABIHAKU Travel Showcase umbrella are the exhibition show Travel Showcase, the International Business Meetings and the Commendation Awards.

Following the Sept 13 opening ceremony, the JATA Tourism Forum will kick off with a lecture and symposium centring on the theme of ‘Analyzing the Asian Market’. The keynote speech will be presented by Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

they lead to massive sufferings for people in the region, especially tourism industry.

The utmost priority in such circumstances is to evacuate people from the spot of natural disaster. Here, Akshay Kumar, President, ATOAI, says that lack of evacuation

cover for Indians poses a great difficulty.

“Our members at the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) accord top priority to safety of all our guests. Our guests don’t come to our camps, or use our services without adequate

insurance cover, just to be prepared for even unforeseen circumstances.

However, a typical insurance cover doesn’t cover the costs of evacuation in case of emergency for India,” said Kumar.

“In case of foreigners, insurance covers emergency evac-

uation. We have spoken to a lot of insurance companies and deliberated on extension of insurance cover in cases of evacuation that result due to unforeseen circumstances.

Unfortunately, nothing has come our way so far that could equip us to serve our clients

effectively even during the emergency situations,” he added. Going forward, ATOAI is keen to brainstorm on the said aspect with relevant stakeholders in the insurance industry and policy makers, so that the interests of Indian tourists are safeguarded.

Advertisement

NTO

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

29

Outbound to Australia: Unfazed by ` slide For the first three months of 2013, there has been a 24 per cent increase in leisure arrivals from India. Previously, the visitor arrivals to Australia from India grew by 7.5 per cent in 2012, reaching 159,400 for the year.

VIVEK SETHI

I

ndians have become so much inclined to spend on an overseas experience that Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager India, Tourism Australia believes that even the depreciation in value of Indian rupee will not be a deterrent to growth of outbound from India to Australia.

“Depreciation of the rupee could have a shortterm sentimental effect on the outlook of Indian travellers, however, leisure travel has become an essential part of the urban Indian lifestyle and the

Nishant Kashikar Country Manager India Tourism Australia

demand for travel is likely to continue growing,” said Kashikar.

“We continue to see a strong demand for holidays to Australia from India.

For the first three months of 2013, there has been a 24 per cent increase in leisure arrivals from India,” he added.

According to him, the currency fluctuations are an expected feature in business, and can result in marginal changes in operational budgets. In fact, Tourism Australia had doubled its marketing spend during the first year of the India 2020 Strategic plan, launched by Martin Ferguson, Minister for Tourism at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Perth during June 2012.

“As part of our activities towards achieving the 2020 plan, we will continue to build on our current global brand campaign; There’s nothing like Australia with a focus on showcasing ‘Best of Australia’ destinations and experiences through our consumer focussed activities. As part of our promotion activities, we will be looking at integrated campaign activities with pres-

ence across traditional and new media platforms. We will continue with consumer engagement activities like the recently initiated the ‘Who deserves a break in Oz’ contest, in association with LinkedIn, world’s largest professional social media network,” said Kashikar.

“Our efforts will also be directed towards fostering aviation partnerships, where airlines will be encouraged to advertise their tactical fares to Australia and we will also have cooperative campaigns with our key distribution partners and online travel agencies. Tourism Australia

has worked with industry and its State and Territory Tourism Organisations (STOs) to introduce new products into the India market, including self-drive and luxury experiences, as well as new destinations such as Tasmania, South Australia and Uluru,” he added.

IN 2012 Indian visitor arrivals : 7.5% Numbers : 159,400 Overnight expenditure : AUD 786 million Average expenditure : AUD 5,008

AGENTS

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

31

TCI to open 6 new overseas rep offices The idea is to push market specific products at the most competitive price and win business from new target markets round-the-year. The focus should not be solely on American and European markets.

TT BUREAU

I

t’s the sole USA and the Europe-centric focus that has put most Indian inbound operators in a stagnancy in growth, says Surinder S Sodhi, Senior Vice President & Head Inbound, Thomas Cook India. “The present slowdown has occurred due to our over dependence on the European and the USA market. We had not done enough to

Surinder S Sodhi Senior Vice President & Head Inbound Thomas Cook India

There is an urgent need to pay adequate attention to growing neighbouring markets such as the Far East and the Middle East tap more source markets beyond the European region and the USA.” “Intra-regional tourism can take us to heights and our focus should include Greece, Italy and Turkey and many other potential markets.

There is urgent need to pay adequate attention to growing neighbouring markets such as the Far East and the Middle East. The advantages of growing these markets is that time taken to travel is less. Moreover, air fare and other incidental expenses are comparatively lesser,” he added.

Here, Singh promptly adds that TCI, for past 8-10 months, had been targetting new markets. “It’s right time for us to get there, especially when there has been a change in the travel preferences of the travellers in the conventional market. Earlier, travellers will make plans almost a year in advance, however, this time has now been reduced to six months.

Further, now, advance booking for travel can get as

prompt as three months in advance. Whereas, if we have the right product at the correct price, we can pick business from our new target markets roundthe-year.”

In fact, Thomas Cook India is looking at further enhancing its overseas net-

work and has set an ambitious target of opening six new overseas representative offices in India. “We have an extensive presence in India and overseas, which we are further going to expand in 2013. We have our head offices in Gurgaon, while other offices in India are spread across Agra,

Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Udaipur and Varanasi.

Our overseas offices are located in New York, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Tokyo and Kathmandu. In addition to the above said offices, we have opened TCI

Representative Offices in Moscow, China, Korea, Portugal and Australia.”

“Going forward, we are looking at opening six new overseas representative offices in Dubai, Mexico, Brazil, France, Canada and Netherlands,” he added.

TCI Presence IN INDIA: Gurgaon, Agra, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Udaipur and Varanasi ABROAD: New York, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Tokyo, Kathmandu, Moscow, China, Korea, Portugal and Australia TO BE OPENED: Dubai, Mexico, Brazil, France, Canada and Netherlands

32

CRUISES

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Cruise towards higher commissions In the competitive times where airline commissions are dwindling, a new alliance between cruise professionals, travel agents and tour operators is the way forward.

TT B UREAU

W

ith cruise holidays as an alternative to landbased vacations, it was expected to take off in a big way particularly because of its all-inclusive appeal.

However, the potential of cruise tourism in India is still untapped. In competitive times, where airline commissions are dwindling, a new alliance between cruise professionals and the travel agents and tour operators is the way forward.

Feels Siddharth Roy, Senior Vice President Business Development, AMA Waterways, “This is a very good opportunity for the travel agents and tour operators, as commissions from cruise are huge. For our company, travel agents can rake in commissions as high as 30 per cent.

Thus, stakeholders should continue educating and updating the travel trade about cruise products.”

Nishith Saxena

Naresh Rawal

Director Cruise Professionals

VP, Sales, South Asia, Russia, ME and South Africa, Star Cruises

The potential of India in coastal cruising is huge compared to river cruising With river tourism being at a nascent stage in India to attract Indian tourists, cruise stakeholders

Marketing for the promotion of domestic cruise tourism is indispensable should provide world-class products to their clients.

Their products should be excellent, opines Ratna

Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing and India Representative, Royal Caribbean Cruises. “A complex tax regime, along with tedious immigration processes, is costing the Indian government precious foreign exchange. To bring an international cruise experience to the Indian backwaters, the government has to modulate cruise policies,” she says.

Nishith Saxena, Director, Cruise Professionals opines, “India has two options for the promotion of cruise tourism.

One is river cruising and the other is coastal cruising.

Each port has something different to offer to a passenger, but unfortunately we have not been able to package it and present it to foreign cruise lines in a composite manner.”

Talking about the importance of domestic cruise tourism, Naresh Rawal, Vice President, Sales, South Asia, Russia, Middle

Siddharth Roy

Ratna Chadha

Senior Vice President Business Development, AMA Waterways

Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing and India Representative, Royal Caribbean Cruises

Stakeholders should continue educating the travel trade about cruise products East and South Africa, Star Cruises confirms, “Marketing for the promotion of domestic cruise tourism is indispensa-

The government has to modulate cruise policies to bring international operators here ble. Stakeholders should market cruise products in the right manner at the right time.”

34

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

EXHIBITIONS

IBTM India debuts this September Shinu Pillai, Project Manager, IBTM India, Reed Travel Exhibitions, talks about IBTM India, which is the firstof-its-kind to focus on inbound and outbound business.

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

Q. What are your expectations from IBTM India?

The first IBTM India will take place at the Grand Hyatt in the financial hub of

Mumbai from September 12-14, 2013. The show will provide an integrated platform for the MICE and Business Travel sectors to come together and transact business, share knowledge and network over three

days. IBTM India will provide a tabletop format for a select group of 100 exhibitors to meet with 100 top meetings, incentives and events planners for highlytargeted one-to-one meetings and networking.

India is a lucrative market Anup Nair, President, Site India Chapter, comments, “The Meetings & Incentives market is possibly the most important segment of the travel industry. With positive growth trends in the Indian economy, and the increasing competition in the manufacturing and services sectors, India presents a potentially lucrative market. This has brought many international corporations to India and created a Anup Nair burgeoning work force that offers a huge market for motivational President, Site India Chapter experiences.” He adds, “The Outbound & Inbound MICE segment in India needs professional education and training. In association with Site Global, we in the Site India Chapter plan to develop quality professionals. IBTM coming to India and partnering with the Site India Chapter will give the right impetus to this drive.”

We are introducing a mutual match-making strategy for IBTM India, which is different from each of the other shows in the IBTM portfolio. This will affect the way in which buyers and exhibitors are matched for meetings, as both parties will have the opportunity to choose

Shinu Pillai Project Manager IBTM India, Reed Travel Exhibitions

who they would like to meet with prior to the event.

We believe that this format will benefit both buyers and exhibitors, promoting valuable and profitable business meetings.

Q. Why did you choose Mumbai as the venue?

Mumbai, where IBTM India will be hosted, is the commercial and financial capital of India. The city houses India’s major corporates and multinational companies, thus offering a great buyer base for the show.

Mumbai sets the perfect stage for IBTM India with its vibrant culture.

Q. Your comment on the MICE market in India?

India holds enormous potential for the MICE industry with a projected GDP growth of over 8% in the next five years. The global MICE industry associations such as Site, ICCA and ACTE are very active in this market. We work closely with each of these organisations to bring together every aspect of the MICE industry through IBTM India. We are committed to integrating, educating and elevating the standards of India’s meetings industry.

AGENTS

Vancouver woos Indians

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

35

Foundation of the Kuoni Academy way

Service Attitude Development

A multi-cultural city framed by mountains and sea, Vancouver, British Columbia is a beautifully-set city.

Brendan Crasto, Head, Kuoni Academy talks about the It’s also a lot more than a pretty backdrop. need for travel and tourism professionals.

TT B UREAU

A

ccording to Praveen Syal, Managing Director, INDUS Travels, “People like a lot about Canada, but I think the wide open, clean spaces is something most people from India appreciate.

They are also overwhelmed with the natural beauty Canada has to offer in its various lakes and mountains.”

Here’s top five recommendations by Indus Travels, DMC specialising in Canada:

1. Stanley Park: This 400 hectares of beaches, forests and gardens fills

almost half the downtown core. To see it, rent a bike and cruise around the multi-path Seawall, stopping to visit the otters, dolphins and penguins at the Vancouver Aquarium on the way.

2. Granville Island: A former industrial site just south of downtown, Granville Island is a mix of galleries, studios and food purveyors.

Grab a snack at the bustling public market, shop for handmade crafts, and watch artisans at work. To get there, hop on a foot passenger ferry from the north side of False Creek.

3. Gastown: The oldest part of the city is home to hip nightspots and trend-setting eateries. Join a walking tour to learn about Vancouver’s rough-and-tumble past or browse the boutiques lining the cobbled streets.

Nearby Chinatown bustles with open markets and dimsum restaurants.

4. Yaletown: This trendy district of revitalised warehouses on the North shore of False Creek harbours chic design shops and some of Vancouver’s top restaurants. The sunny patios, built on former warehouse loading docks, are prime spots in this fashionable part of town.

5. North Vancouver: See the lofty Capilano Suspension Bridge or ride the Skyride aerial tram to the top of Grouse Mountain.

Indus Travels is also offering special packages to Vancouver, Victoria & Whistler area.

where there is a significant requirement for travel and tourism professionals.

TT B UREAU

Q. What are Kuoni Academy’s key focus areas in 2013?

2013 will be a year of consolidation for Kuoni Academy. We completed 10 years in the travel education sector last year, and this year, we will focus on consolidating our position. Kuoni Academy will introduce 12 new programmes to provide students with the best learning opportunities.

Previously, we adopted the Abacus GDS platform for our courses and our goal is to give exposure to all our students on various platforms used in the travel industry.

Courses at Kuoni Academy, which cover travel and tourism as well as hospitality, focus on Knowledge Enhancement and Service Attitude development and we continue to ensure our students are up-to-date with current trends in the travel and tourism industry.

Q. How do you view the potential of the travel and tourism industry?

Brendan Crasto Head, Kuoni Academy

Q. What are your expansion plans for Kuoni Academy?

For FY 2013-14, we intend to expand our presence from 15 cities across the country to 24 cities. These will be a mix of metros and Tier II cities. We want to add a professional training touch to the travel and tourism industry not just in India, but also in key developing countries, therefore, we also plan to establish Kuoni Academies internationally, especially in South East Asia and Africa,

This is an industry with a continuous learning process and it is important to constantly update knowledge on various aspects of this industry.

The need for travel professionals is on the rise. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), from US$ 6 trillion in 2011, the industry is going to move up to US$ 10 trillion over the next 10 years.

By 2022, it is anticipated that the industry will account for over 325 million jobs, i.e. every 10th job one on planet earth will be a Travel & Tourism Job. With the kind of impetus that the tourism industry is witnessing, there is a requirement of professionals to manage the industry assets, resources and flow of tourists.

36

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

FAMILY ALBUM

When Heritage Welcomes agents The joint venture between ITC and Jodhana Heritage, WelcomHeritage recently organised a get-together in Delhi. This was attended by stakeholders of WelcomHeritage from Rajasthan and the travel trade fraternity from Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR).

FINAL TT July_2nd -2013:TT Layout 7/18/2013 6:07 PM Page 38

NEWS 17 17-28 19-21

Zambia California Bengaluru

19 20-24 24-27 26-28

Zambia Reno China Gold Coast

26-28

Chennai

JULY

Mte Exhibition - Zambia: Solwezi California Mid State Fair India International Travel Mart Bangalore Mte Exhibition - Zambia: Kitwe STN Expo Asia Outdoor Trade Fair Midyear Caravan, Camping, Boating & Fishing Expo India International Travel Mart Chennai Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link B2B Roadshow

31-Aug 1 Delhi

AUGUST 3-5 3

Ludhiana Kolkata

5

Bengaluru

7

Mumbai

9-11

Aurangabad

16-18

Ahmedabad

20 22 23-25 25-28

Chennai Delhi Surat Goa

26

Chennai

27

Mumbai

29

Kolkata

30

Delhi

30-1Sept Mumbai

India Travel Mart Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow Tourism New Zealand’s 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 Travel & Tourism Fair - Surat Tourism Australia’s India Travel Mission Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event Travel & Tourism Fair - Mumbai

SEPTEMBER 2-3 2 2-4 4-6 4 6 6-8 6-8 8-11 8-11 10-12

Delhi Pune Beijing, China Mumbai Ahmedabad Hyderabad Mumbai Pune Prince Edward Island, Canada Kochi Seoul

12-14 12-15 13

Mumbai Tokyo Mumbai

13-15 16 17 18 19 19-21 24 24-27

Delhi-NCR Bengaluru Chennai Kolkata Delhi Kochi Ukraine Paris

25-27 25-27 27 27-29 30-3 Oct

Kazakhstan China Almaty Delhi Mexico

Atout France’s France Promotion Oman Tourist Office’s Roadshow CIBTM Atout France’s France Promotion Oman Tourist Office’s Roadshow Oman Tourist Office’s Roadshow IITM Mumbai TTF Canadian Tourism Commission’s Go Media IATO Annual Convention World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) The Asia Summit IBTM India JATA TABIHAKU European Quartet’s (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary) Roadshow IITM Gurgaon European Quartet’s Roadshow European Quartet’s Roadshow European Quartet’s Roadshow European Quartet’s Roadshow FHRAI Annual Convention Luxury Travel Market International French Travel Market Top Resa Astana Leisure PATA Travel Mart 2013 Luxury Travel Market Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar International Luxury Travel Market Americas (ILTMA)

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

Filmy route for tourism growth Destinations like Switzerland, London, etc gained mileage among Indian travellers due to popular Bollywood movies. reports more... can really make or break the image of destinations for Indians. Bollywood movies showcase the beauty of the country and connect Indian movie lovers to the destination. It is increasingly becoming an excellent tool for marketing which is well utilised by NTOs.”

T T B U R E AU

C

onsidering the growth registered from Indian tourists to Switzerland post Yash Chopra movies, growth in Spain post ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, etc, it is increasingly becoming important for destinations to turn their focus on production houses. Countries like Ireland, Thailand, Singapore, Czech Republic, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc are offering special perks and incentives to production houses to shoot at locations in their country and spread awareness about their

Joe Rajan Director, Harvey India

destinations among Indian travellers. Believing on this strategy, Joe Rajan, Director, Harvey India said, “Bollywood

Rajan recently finished shooting for his movie ‘Luv U Soniyo’ with locations in Mexico and South Africa. He said, “Mexico served as an excellent destination for the movie and the Mexican tourism board did help us with

some perks. We even have a song named ‘Chalo Chalte hai Mexico’ shot in Mexico.

However, as compared to what we have spent to shoot in Mexico and giving that destination a mileage among Indians, the perks are way too small. NTOs should bring in attractive incentives and perks for production houses to encourage them to shoot at their locations and in return enjoy excellent branding and marketing through the movies.” The movie is directed by Joe Rajan and produced

by Beena Hemanshu Mehta and Pradeep Goradia.

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

T T B U R E AU

P

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 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, 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.”

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

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

Ashley Monteiro Managing Director, Pathfinders Destinations

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.”

WOV Travels opens up SA market The company will bring in more options for the Indian travel trade from South African products and offer better incentives to B2B network partners.

T T B U R E AU

W

orld of Vacations (WOV) Travels Company has recently set up a branch office in South Africa to provide uncomplicated groundhandling services for Indian travel agents’ passengers for African continent.

Irshad Dadan, Director, WOV Travel Company said, “We selected South Africa because we know the destinations better and are confident to sell the best products and deals to our Indian partners. Indian travel agents are more comfortable dealing

with Indians in other countries and thus, we are positive to receive good responses from our partners for South Africa office. Our team will be as competitive as other South African DMCs and bring in the best possible deals.”

According to Dadan, South African Tourism Board is doing an excellent job in promoting the destination among Indians. However, air-connectivity is a big hurdle to overcome. “For us, Western India, especially Mumbai and Ahmedabad are doing excellent since our launch. Even the North Indian market is picking up. I’m sure with

Irshad Dadan Director, WOV Travel Company

more direct air-connectivity to the Rainbow Nation, Indians will travel more.”

Considering the fall of rupee, the Indian travel

industry is recording a downfall in terms of bookings for outbound packages. When asked if the company is considering shifting focus from long-haul to short-haul destinations, Dadan said, “For short-haul destinations there is strong competition in the market where the volumes are high, but bottom-lines are low. Moreover, travel agents face intense competition from OTAs. Travellers are even booking directly with airlines and service providers of that particular country. In this situation, we prefer selling long-haul destinations.”

CLIPBOARD

JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

39

40

MOVEMENTS

TRAVTALK JULY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

National Tourism Advisory Committee

AirAsia India

Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi

Chennai

New Delhi

New Delhi

Amisha Sethi has been named as the Chief Commercial Officer for AirAsia India. Sethi brings with her over a decade of consumer and brand marketing experience. In her previous roles she has spearheaded the brand marketing for Asia Pacific region at BlackBerry and has also worked for Airtel in Marketing and Communications. Sethi is an executive scholar in Marketing and Sales Management from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA and an MBA in Marketing from Amity Business School, India.

Vishvapreet Singh Cheema joins Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi, after a six-year stint with Ista Bangalore (now Hyatt Bangalore MG Road). An alumnus of Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development (OCLD), Cheema has been in the hospitality industry since 1998. He started his career with The Trident, Mumbai, and The Oberoi, Mumbai. Thereafter, Cheema joined P&O Cruise Lines and launched their new ship ‘Ocean Village’.

He was responsible for establishing and running all the four restaurant operations on the ship since inception.

Heavens Portfolio

Lemon Tree Hotels

The Acura BMK

New Delhi

Mumbai

Gurgaon

Vani Singh has been appointed as the Branch Head of Heavens Portfolio, Delhi. Singh is joining the existing team of Hita Almeida and Lubna Mukhi who have been in the Indian market for over 5 years representing Heavens Portfolio's clients.

Singh’s role will be to develop sales and assist in marketing strategies from Northern India. Having spent more than two decades in the travel trade, her experience started in inbound tours, and then moved to outbound.

She has worked in companies such as Star Cruises and Macau Tourism.

Maahesh. S. Aiyer has been taken on as the Vice President Operations of Lemon Tree Premier -the up-scale brand of Lemon Tree Hotels. Aiyer has over 18 years of experience across Sales & Marketing and Operations with The Taj Group of Hotels, in India and abroad. He was part of the team that created the ‘Vivanta by Taj’ brand. His last assignment was as General Manager at Vivanta by TajWhitefield. He holds a MBA from Madras University and has studied at IIM Bangalore and Cornell Winter University.

Sameer Malhotra has been appointed as the General Manager of The Acura BMK in Gurgaon. He has previously worked in the Ramada Gurgaon Central as the Associate Director Sales & Marketing for two years. Before that, Malhotra worked in Seasons Hospitality (Tarudhan Valley Golf Resort) as the Head of Sales for two years; and Usha Lexus Hotels as the Corporate Manager Sales & Marketing. He has also stints at Virgin Atlantic Airways and SriLankan Airways as the Sales and Marketing Manager.

The Ritz-Carlton

Marriott Executive Apartments

Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon

Bangalore

Mumbai

New Delhi

Hugo Montanari has been appointed as Director of Operations of The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore. Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore, Montanari worked at The Plaza Hotel, New York and The Fairmont Dubai.

He started his career as an intern at the Restaurant Des Trois Tours, in Switzerland. A French-Italian native, Montanari is a graduate from Lausanne (Switzerland), Hotel Management School in 2006.

He is also an athlete and has participated in several sporting events to raise money for community services in New York, London, Bangladesh and India.

Mitesh Narula is the newly-appointed Resident Service Manager of Lakeside Chalet, Mumbai – Marriott Executive Apartments. With career spanning over 10 years, Narula began his career with operations at Le Meridian in Pune, and then he moved on to join Hilton Starthclyde, UK. He was also associated with various prominent properties across India including Radisson Pune, Oakwood Premier, Pune and Berggruen Hotels.

Prior to joining Marriott, he was working with Berggruen Hotel as their Corporate ManagerAccommodation.

Umesh Dalal has been appointed as the new Assistant F&B Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon. In his new profile, Dalal will be responsible for looking after day to day operations of the unit and will assume responsibility of sales, profitability, and performance of the F&B unit. He is trained in wines & spirits from Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), London and has certifications in guest relations management, first aid, health and safety among others.

JP Sharma has been appointed as a member in National Tourism Advisory Committee by Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi. Sharma has served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Minister for Mines from 2006 to 2008. The National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC), which serves as a think-tank of the Ministry of Tourism for the development of tourism in the country, consists of representatives from various Union Ministries, trade and industry associations.

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: Vivek Sethi, Megha Paul, Teena Baruah & Anita Jain

Dipak Deva CEO, India and South Asia, Kuoni Destination Management

Dipak Deva, CEO, India and South Asia, Kuoni Destination Management says, “My hobby is working, working and working. In terms of present favourites, I like the wild life experience at Bandavgarh National park and the soothing experience at Kerala. In terms of international destinations, South Africa and Bali are my present favourites for great food, fine beaches and pure relaxation. I love to spend my weekends with my wife, who works on special projects for GoI and my seven-year daughter.

It’s important to read, play and spend time with children in the formative years. In my opinion, we cannot outsource upbringing of our children to nannies, or school entirely.”

Veena Patil, MD, Veena Patil Hospitality says that she loves travelling and is always looking at ways to bring in best strategies to let more people fulfill their dream of travel. She is also a regular columnist in local newspapers writing on management theories. The Bollywood fever Veena Patil MD, Veena Patil Hospitality has not spared her as she loves organising 'movie marathons' during her free time. She recently started her own venture (Veena World) after parting ways with Kesari Tours. Veena Patil, Sudhir Patil, Sunila Patil and Neil Patil are in the founding management team of the new venture.

Ajuka Mahajan, Senior Manager – Sales, Foresee Aviation, says, “A travel experience in India that really touched me was my recent visit to Ajmer Sharif Dargah. It was special as it made me believe why it is visited by scores of devout pilgrims from all religions across the world.

It is one of the holiest places of wor- Ajuka Mahajan ship in India not only for the Senior Manager – Sales Muslims but also for the people of Foresee Aviation other faiths who have high esteem and reverence for the saint. I also enjoy reading, swimming and listening to music.”

Richa K Singh, EVP, Treehouse Group admits that motherhood and work does not leave much time with her. "My favourite pastime would surely be to run after my son, the mischievous brat he is," she chuckles. Singh is an avid cyclist. "I have joined this cyclist club.

We meet every weekend in the wee hours of the morning at India Gate and then cycle a long way. This is what keeps me going all the time."

Richa K Singh EVP Treehouse Group

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:14-07-2013

HIGHLIGHT

Liberalising agency commissions Rakesh Kumar Tandon, Chairman & Managing Director, IRCTC, talks to about the new SMS booking service and how they want to associate with more and more travel agents.

P EDEN D OMA B HUTIA

Q. What prompted the decision to come up with the new SMS booking service, and how effective will it be?

About 48% of total reserved tickets on Indian Railways are now being booked online through www.irctc.co.in. The growth rate has stagnated at about 20% for the last two years. It was felt that users with access to the Internet were now accustomed to booking accommodation online, whereas people who do not have access to Internet have to go to reservation counters. In order to address the need of this segment of rail passengers, we have launched SMS booking service. We hope that, with the passage of time, this mode of booking will surpass bookings through website.

•

Q. Is IRCTC exploring any new routes to ply trains?

It is a continuous process; we always look for new routes, new packages.

There was a request from the West Bengal Tourism Department to launch operations for a Buddhist Pilgrim Tour in the Buddhist circuit for budget travellers. We are presently working on it.

We are promoting Self-Charter Train Tours from Chennai to other parts of India like Jyothirlinga Circuit, Rajasthan, Kashmir, Shimla, Kulu-Manali, Rishikesh, Puri, Varanasi, Gaya, etc.

Q. Do you intend to work more closely with travel agents in the future. If so, in what way?

Yes, the focus would be to associate with more and more travel agents. The strategy would be: • Multi-tier travel agents franchise-based, preferred agents, graded commission structure.

• Increase the base of our travel agents • Liberalise the agency commission norms to get more travel agents • Tie up with travel agents’ associations • IRCTC is focussing for the empanelment of registered and non-registered e-ticketing agents for Tourism Sales Agency as channel sales marketing and for cover-

ing wide market for selling IRCTC products and services IRCTC is supporting agents by issuing promotional material like brochures, flex banner, standees, etc. along with their contact details for distribution and information to general public

We have also devised special charter train packages from Secunderabad to Auranagabad-Ajanta-Ellora and New Delhi-JaipurAjmer-Pushkar-Fatehpur Sikri-Agra and are planning to launch these products soon.

For the Western part, we have devised packages on FTR coaches on new routes such as:

•

Ahmedabad to Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Panchmarhi (MP), Kerala, Goa;

• • • •

Mumbai to Kerala, Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty, Goa; Pune to Amarnath; Jabalpur to Rameshwaram; Bhopal to Puri, Gangasagar, Kerala, Goa, etc.

From the northern part of the country, we have worked on introducing new tour packages on routes such as Delhi and Chandigarh to Kerala, Goa, Puri, Bhubaneswar and Rajasthan.

Rakesh Kumar Tandon Chairman & Managing Director, IRCTC

Q. What prompted the decision to start a pilgrimage tour service with South Western Railway from Hubli to Tirupati?

Tirupati is one of the most-visited religious tourist places. There is also a huge religious tourist base at Central and North Karnataka and we wanted to give them a better reach of Tirupati through our product. That’s how this package came up and it became operational from June 2013. This will definitely benefit the tourists from this region.

Q. What is your focus for the next few years?

For the next few years IRCTC will emphasise on: Tour • International packages • Eco-Tourism • Promotion of hill railways including steam traction (Kalka-Shimla section) • Customised package tours for North-East India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands • Corporate travel business by targeting clients of PSUs, defence and

•

various other ministries, etc.

Educational Tours under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA)/ Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA)

Q. IRCTC is focussing on pilgrimage tourism.

Can you comment on that?

India is a religion-oriented, cultural and traditional nation with pilgrimage to religious places.

The middle aged and the elderly like to visit shrines, so we are facilitating this section of tourists. We operate special tourist trains and packages on religious pilgrimage routes. Further, religion-based tourism is selfmotivating and there is a huge demand for it.

Q. Can you talk about your tie-up with Spice Safar?

Spice Safar is the brand name of Spice Digital Limited for distribution of B2B services of IRCTC. Spice is the newlyappointed B2B principal agent of IRCTC.