TravTalk

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Vol. XXV No. 7; April 1 st fortnight issue 2013

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Mission MOT: Visa, Connectivity In addition to proposing 16 countries for VoA, the MOT is also keen on boosting international and domestic air connectivity, while making India attract tourists across price points.

Government of India before leaving for ITB Berlin, 2013 and submitted a proposal to extend Visa-onArrivals to 16 more countries,” said Chiranjeevi.

VIVEK SETHI

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ddressing the gathering of global media at ITB-Berlin on March 6, 2013, K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) announced that MOT will be focusing on easing visa process, facilitating affordability and enhancing air international and domestic air connectivity in India.

The move is in line with the ministry’s ambition to garner one per cent of global

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APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

K Chiranjeevi addressing the press at ITB 2013, while other dignitaries look on

international arrivals during the 12th Plan Period.

“It is important to make visa procedures faster. I had

met Sushilkumar Shinde, Union Home Minister,

Presently, the Tourist VoA facility is being granted by immigration officers at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata airports to the citizens of eleven countries viz.

Singapore, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Japan, Finland, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia and Contd. on page 14

National Tourism Awards Low-cost airports is the next step

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Tourism Awards for the year 2011-12 to Select World Tours and Kuoni Travel. Every year, the Ministry of Tourism presents these awards to felicitate efforts put in by stakeholders in the tourism sector. This year, 86 awards were presented in 36 different categories

See details on page 26

New policy is in the offing which will boost operations from regional airports, says Ajit Singh, Union Minister for Civil Aviation.

Ajit Singh See full story on page 14

Union Minister for Civil Aviation

Chiranjeevi prods MHA and states on safety See full story on page 5

Indian hotel room fares are the best See full story on page 13

Airfare war, but it’s a short term gain See full story on page 22

Old monuments, but steady visitors See full story on page 28

BULLETIN

Visa-on-Arrival churns 54% rise During February 2013, a total of 1,947 Visa on Arrivals (VoAs) were issued as compared to 1,259 VoAs during February 2012, registering a growth of 54.6%. The following facts are the highlights of the reasons behind the rise.

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uring the period January-February 2013, a total number of 3,637 VoAs were issued as compared to 2,618 VoAs during corresponding period of 2012 registering a positive growth of 38.9%.

The number of VoAs issued under this scheme during February, 2013 for nationals of the 11 countries were Japan (874), New Zealand (286), Indonesia (246), the Philippines (197), Singapore (171), Finland (110), Cambodia (18), Luxembourg (18), Vietnam (17), Myanmar (8) and Laos (2).

The number of VoAs issued under the scheme January-February 2013 were Japan (1403), New Zealand

K Chiranjeevi Minister of State for Tourism

At all possible points, the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) scheme should be rolled out in potential source markets to India, especially those countries where there are no securityrelated issues in the past

(653), Indonesia (427), the Philippines (406), Singapore (357), Finland (277), Cambodia (35), Vietnam (33), Luxembourg (29), Myanmar (14) and Laos (3).

issued at Delhi airport (2123) followed by Mumbai (792), Chennai (513) and Kolkata (209).

During the period January-February 2013, the highest number of VoAs were

As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, the Government

launched the VoA scheme in January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. The Government extended this scheme to the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar in January 2011.

Meteoric Rise The number of VoAs issued under this scheme during February, 2013 for nationals of the 11 countries were Japan (874), New Zealand (286), Indonesia (246), the Philippines (197), Singapore (171), Finland (110), Cambodia (18), Luxembourg (18), Vietnam (17), Myanmar (8) and Laos (2)

STATISTICS VIEWPOINT

Zero tolerance for crime against tourists

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ndia with its ethos of ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’ reveres tourists from overseas and within India. Moreover, tourism today is being recognised as a key sector to create growth opportunities, while creating humongous job opportunities to spread economic benefits to even the remotest corner of our country. The Ministry of Tourism is aggressively initiating measures that will help double the number of foreign and domestic tourists during the 12th Plan Period.

Unfortunately, there has been a spurt in reported instances of crime being committed against tourists. Such incidents should be condemned, but should not be allowed to overshadow the hospitable culture and tourist loving ethos of Indian society.

The government should take every possible step to ensure such instances are never repeated, while the culprits are brought to book through speedy justice. The private sector should also pitch in to put in further safeguards like sensitizing their staff and communicating to the global audience that India by and large is safe and a round-the-year hospitable destination.

The section of media, especially the one critical of such incidents that end up blowing the picture out of proportion for various reasons and end up creating panic psychosis should be involved in highlighting the positive side as well. For instance, K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism with Independent Charge has personally started speaking to the chief ministers of all the states, to ensure that the state security system is put in top gear, which will ensure safety and security of tourists.

Further, if need be, the Ministry of Tourism should convene a meeting of all the chief secretaries of states to do a reality check on the areas that need attention so as to create a zero tolerance environment in favour of tourists. India has to win the big opportunity that the tourism sector presents in the most competitive manner.

Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Publisher Deepa Sethi Editor

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

Advertising Gunjan Sabikhi General Manager 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

Still a long road to success...

The theme of this year’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, ‘Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation,’ reflects the importance of the sector for this purpose. Some excerpts from the report: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013: Asia Pacific

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ndia has moved up by three notches to 65th rank out of 140 countries in terms of travel and tourism industry competitiveness, a report by World Economic Forum has said.

According to the fifth Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report by WEF, India has been ranked in the 11th place in the region and 65th overall, gaining three positions since the last edition.

“As with China, India is well assessed with its natural resources (ranked 9th) and cultural resources (24th), and has many natural and cultural World Heritage sites, rich fauna, many fairs and exhibitions, and strong creative industries,” the report said.

Among the other emerging market economies, however, India was ranked below its peers, as Brazil was placed in the 51th position, Russia 63rd and China enjoyed a rank as high as 45. India also has quite good air transport (ranked 39th), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and reasonable ground transport infra-

Country/ Economy

OVERALL INDEX Regional Overall rank rank Score

Singapore Australia New Zealand Japan Hong Kong Korea, Rep. Taiwan, China Malaysia Thailand China India Indonesia Brunel Draussalam Sri Lanka Azerbaijan Vietnam Philippines Kazakhstan Mongolia Cambodia Kyrgyz Republic Nepal Tajikstan Pakistan Bangladesh

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

10 11 12 14 15 25 33 34 43 45 65 70 72 74 78 80 82 88 99 106 111 112 114 122 123

5.23 5.17 5.17 5.13 5.11 4.91 4.71 4.70 4.47 4.45 4.11 4.03 4.01 3.99 3.97 3.95 3.93 3.82 3.63 3.56 3.45 3.42 3.41 3.25 3.24

T&T regulatory framework

SUBINDEXES T&T human, Business cultural and environment and infrastructure natural resources

Rank Score

Rank Score

6 23 4 24 19 38 29 55 76 71 110 95 94 61 46 88 70 62 91 105 93 100 90 131 124

5.74 5.32 5.75 5.31 5.43 5.02 5.19 4.82 4.47 4.50 3.92 4.18 4.18 4.68 4.94 4.30 4.51 4.66 4.25 4.06 4.23 4.14 4.28 3.38 3.56

4 25 12 24 3 17 34 41 44 63 67 84 57 86 87 94 89 79 107 112 131 128 123 104 109

Rank Score

5.31 4.81 5.06 4.86 5.32 4.98 4.63 4.36 4.25 3.77 3.69 3.36 3.94 3.35 3.34 3.26 3.33 3.48 2.96 2.86 2.61 2.64 2.69 2.99 2.91

25 4 22 10 29 20 44 17 23 13 21 31 67 66 96 43 64 119 90 78 103 105 122 116 124

4.64 5.39 4.69 5.22 4.59 4.74 4.29 4.93 4.68 5.09 4.72 4.56 3.91 3.93 3.63 4.30 3.95 3.30 3.69 3.77 3.51 3.48 3.26 3.38 3.24

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index

Rank Score (out of 140) (1-7) 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 65 4.1 2011 Travel & Tourism Competitivenes Index 68 4.1 2009 Travel & tourism Competitiveness Index 62 4.1 T&T regulatory framework 110 3.9 Policy rules and regulations 125 3.7 Environmental Sustainability 107 4.2 Safety and Security 74 4.7 Health and Hygiene 109 3.0 Prioritization of Travel & Tourism 98 4.0 Business environment and insfrastructure Air transport infrastructure Ground transport infrastructure Tourism infrastructure ICT infrastructure Price competitiveness in the T&T industry T&T human, cultural, and natural resources Human resources Education and training Availability of qualified labor Afinity for Travel & Tourism Natural resources Cultural resources structure (ranked 42 ), although the quality of roads and ports require further improvement, the report said. The WEF report said India is also a relatively price nd

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 Design: Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal Production: Anil Kharbanda Circulation: Ashok Rana

67 39 42 95 111 21 21 96 75 109 111 9 24

3.7 4.2 4.4 2.6 2.1 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.3 5.4 4.7

competitive destination (20th), even in the regional context. The report however, said that some aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underde-

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

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veloped. Another area of concern is the policy environment, which is ranked 125th because of the long time and high cost required to start a business

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and a restrictive visa policy. Other areasrequiring attention are health and hygiene standards (109th) and the country's human resources.

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MOT

APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

Chiranjeevi prods MHA and states on safety The Minister is urging them to put in place a proper system to ensure safety and security of all tourists, especially women and children. reports more...

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t the time when India inbound figures had been growing at a slower pace, the apprehension about safety aspects among foreign tourists can act as serious dampener. To put state safety and security in order and to

Mobile Vacation Planner for agents Travel software services and solutions provider Blue Star Infotech (BSIL) has recently launched a mobile platform app called Mobile Vacation Planner (MVP) in India. This tablet-based app provides a range of travel planning

Douglas Gray Chief Solutions Officer Blue Star Infotech Ltd

capabilities. Commenting on the launch, Sunil Bhatia, CEO & MD, Blue Star Infotech said, “Being a B2B offering, our main target audience include tour operators, traditional and online travel agencies, and visitors bureaus.”

The app which will be initially available on Apple iPad will enable travel agents to plan their itinerary for a trip or vacation to any destination of their choice. From the prebooking stage to pre-travel itinerary management, as well as intra-trip and post-travel sharing, Mobile Vacation Planner addresses all the aspects of planning a trip.

Douglas Gray, Chief Solutions Officer, Blue Star Infotech stated, “The Indian travel industry is yet to fully gear up with regard to technology adoption. We see a lot of opportunities which can help travel players to streamline their business processes and information flow.”

curb adverse effects of the negative press, K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) met the Union Minister of Home and is also contacting chief Ministers of various states.

“Expressing distress at the reported attempt to

assault a British tourist in Agra, I have spoken to the Union Home Minister to express concern and to request for putting in place a proper system to ensure the safety and security of all tourists, especially women and children,” said Chiranjeevi in a press communication in New Delhi.

“I have also started contacting individually Chief Ministers of all states, urging each to institute an adequate law and order mechanism in their respective states,”

he added. The Ministry of Tourism had also promptly suspended the star rating of the Hotel Agra Mahal, in Agra where the British national was assaulted; pending enquiry and assured that due punishment would be meted out to the culprit.

K Chiranjeevi Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge)

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TIME MACHINE

22 years ago...

Soaring Dreams & Ground Reality Hugh & Colleen Gantzer No one was more enthused than we were when Madhavrao Scindia described his proposals to revitalize our tourism industry.

His scheme consists of five segments. First, he will engage his ministry in the job of laying down policy and will not permit it to attempt to do things which can be better done by the private sector.

Second, in those areas in which the government must involve itself in the field activities of tourism, such as aviation, he will let his chief executives run their organizations without interference from the ministry and will demand accountability at the end of the year. Third, the resources of the ministry will not be spread too thin and so he intends to concentrate on the development of 10 to 15 destinations and circuits. Fourth, these destinations and circuits will be identified by a task force.

Fifth, the tourism plan which will emerge out of all this will be hammered into shape by his tourism think tank and the tourism ministers of the states.

These, briefly, minister’s proposals.

are

the

Sadly, however, things seem to be drifting apart even before they’ve had time to gel.

Take the case of the tourism task force, the identification of the 10 or 15 destinations or circuits, and the minister’s expressed view that the government must not involve itself in the field activities of tourism.

When we were in Madras recently we came across a curious news item carried by both the Hindu and the Madras edition of the Indian Express on October 24, 1991. They said, in effect, that an official of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation had come to Madras on his very first visit… one of the news items describes it as ‘his maiden tour of Tamil Nadu’… and that he was the director of the tourism task force set up by the ‘Union Department of Tourism’/’Director General of Tourism’.

The I.T.D.C. has, over the years, travelled far from its original role as a pioneer of tourism in India. Pursuing profit in competition with the private sector it runs restaurants in airports, duty free shops, starred hotels in prime locations, a travel agency and even a publishing organization which gets work from the ministry, farms it out to the private sector, and charges a middleman’s commission. Non e of these are pioneering ventures. All of them depend for their existence on the privileges that the government gives to the ITDC while denying them to its private sector competitors.

But now we have the strange spectacle of an ITDC man donning the mantle of a member of the tourism task force. Can he really be expected to develop tourism for everyone, including the ITDC’s competitors? Is it realistic to expect him to be so even-handed?

November 1991 Vol 1 Issue 3 Page 7

... AND NOW

Rising from the ashes Things have changed. ITDC wants the best of both worlds. Now, it wants to capitalise as a public sector enterprise and simultaneously, cashing in on key ex-ITDC stalwarts in the private sector.

SANJEEV BHAR

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t a recently held press conference on March 19, 2013, Lalit K Panwar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of ITDC evoked the need to use the power of being a public enterprise with strong fundamentals of private institutions.

Panwar recalled the days when The Ashok came into the picture way back in 1955-56. He believes that ITDC still has the power to be at the forefront. But, comparing the scenario 22 years ago, ITDC is again going through

Lalit K Panwar Vice Chairman & Managing Director ITDC

the same pages of history.

After slogging for years under losses, it is showing some

positive results. He said, “We have evolved as a group by strengthening our performance in the last two years, which is also getting reflected at the stock exchange where ITDC share has shown a strong gain. We are extremely happy with our performance.”

The group is expecting to close the year as on March 31, 2013 at a profit of ` 30 Crore with an aim to reaching ` 50 Crore in the current FY. Now it is a zero debt company.

The company is focusing on non-hotel avenues like Contd. on page 7

NEWS ITDC: A makeover in the process

In the last two years, Ashok Events has managed events of 20 different ministries Lalit K Panwar Vice Chairman & Managing Director, ITDC

16 hotels. Further, it is conducting ‘light & sound’ shows at 20 heritage monuments and there are 20 additional requests to look into. It is also becoming aggressive in the Duty Free / Travel Retail division where it has opened seaport shops and is adding airport shops in Coimbatore and Goa. Someone in the conference asked if ITDC (or MOT) needs a brand ambassador to promote itself more… the answer to that was the Minister of Tourism himself; a popular actor, said ITDC Head. Now the question is: Will K Chiranjeevi really give a performance for a tourism and hospitality blockbuster?

The travel trade is optimistic but it will have to again wait and watch, surely not for another 22 years…

Aiming High ITDC has trained 7000 youths in the last two years under ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’ scheme by providing two months skill training and aims to train 10,000 students per year for the entire 12th Five Year Plan through our 16 hotels It is becoming aggressive in the Duty Free / Travel Retail division

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Chiranjeevi bats for Clean India, more infrastructure

Contd. from page 6

Event Management, Duty Free / Travel Retail, Light & Sound shows, etc., renamed as Ashok Events (erstwhile Ashok Reservation & Marketing Services). This event management arm has been managing the flagship events of the Ministry of Tourism but is now getting offers of managing events of other ministries. “In the last two years, Ashok Events have managed events of 20 different ministries, nationally and internationally,” Panwar said.

ITDC has trained 7000 youths in the last two years under ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’ scheme by providing two months skill training and aims to train 10,000 students per year for the entire 12th Five Year Plan through their

APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

K Chiranjeevi, Minister of Tourism (Independent Charge), has urged the corporate world to join hands with MOT to promote Campaign Clean India. During an interaction with CII Tourism committee members, the Minister announced setting up of six MICE centres in the country. He also said that world-class culinary institutes will be set up at Tirupati, Kolkata and Noida by the end of this year.

During an interactive session with CII Tourism Committee Members on March 13 at New Delhi, K. Chiranjeevi, Minister of Tourism, shared with the stakeholders that the Incredible India campaign would be in two parts – ‘Find What You Seek’ and domestic campaign ‘Go Beyond’ urging travellers to travel beyond. During his interaction with industry members,

emphasising upon MICE, he announced the launch of six convention centres in India. Besides, he also made an announcement to establish world-class culinary institutes with the Centre at Tirupati

and centers at Kolkata and Noida in India by November/ December 2013. Reinforcing about ‘Clean India’ campaign, he requested industry representatives to join hands with MOT to promote this cause.

ASSOCIATIONS

ADTOI: Way forward under new term The Association of Domestic Tourism (ADTOI) has come a long way since its inception in 1996 in terms of bringing together domestic tour operators and championing the cause of domestic tourism. Vivek Sethi brings to the fore the achievements of ADTOI and the way forward to further growth in the domestic tourism sector.

Subhash Verma

President, ADTOI (Seeking re-election for II term)

Rakesh Lamba

Past President ADTOI

Arun Verma

Founder Member (Contestant for President of ADTOI 2013-15)

ADTOI a force to reckon with ADTOI was constituted on August 7, 1996 to consolidate efforts of domestic tour operators to promote domestic tourism in the country.

ADTOI has over 600 members, who facilitate travel within India.

ADTOI is also associated with tourism committees of FICCI, CII and other leading chambers of commerce.

The association, with FICCI, created the Domestic Tourism Bazar to promote domestic tourism in the country.

Starting with Domestic Tourism Evening, ADTOI has so far successfully organised six conventions.

Promotion of tourism in the North Eastern Region is important to ADTOI and towards this, ADTOI, in association with the Ministry of Development of the North East Region, organised a roadshow in Guwahati.

ADTOI had tremendous success in making the Government realise the need to focus on Domestic Tourism in India.Speaking of figures, 850 million with annual growth of 15 to 20 per cent.

ADTOI has been represented in all government and industry forums, highlighting how Domestic Tourism is benefiting the states and the country.

It is the constant effort of ADTOI that now most of the states have recognised the potential of Domestic Tourism and are focusing on the same.

ADTOI is recognised today as a nodal body in India to create awareness of Domestic Tourism through its efforts such as participating in DOT & State forums, trade association events, road shows, various conventions and by opening chapters in various states.

Domestic tourism today is the largest generator of both volume and revenue from tourism in India. ADTOI is the only association focusing on issues relevant to the domestic travel trade and brings all the domestic operators to focus on the relevant issues and works on resolving them through various forums, besides other activities like conventions, networking and increasing confidence with both its consumers and suppliers of the trade.

It has come a long way since its inception. However, there is a lot more that is desired and can be done.

The objective of the Ministry is to increase India’s share in world tourist arrivals to 1%, by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan. This would result in achieving 11.37 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals by 2016.

Need key future Initiatives An association makes efforts to work for the benefits of its members and to broaden its membership base on a pan-India basis. We have presently four State Chapters and more chapters shall be opened in the very near future in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh etc. We are working with various states to start State Specialist Programmes for the frontline staff of service providers so that they can disseminate information about states to tourists. ADTOI will more aggressively and vigorously work for the benefit of its members to enhance the growth of their individual business. There is also a need to find a viable solution to protect the small and medium tour operators from the online portals.

ADTOI should take up both direct and indirect verticals of the tourism industry such as sustainable and responsible tourism, green tourism, safe tourism, eco tourism, rural tourism, and cultural tourism.

We should impress upon the government to provide a Tourism Act. We have a Tourism Ministry but not a Tourism Act. Incentives to domestic tour operators such as subsidies, easy loans, training and assistance to adopt the latest technology should be put on the anvil. The Government needs to ease the entry of more and more new domestic airlines to break the monopoly of the few as the tourist is paying heavy amounts for their domestic travel which is a hindrance in promotion of Domestic Tourism.

The association should have quality leadership to guide it to the pinnacles that it currently deserves.

Further, ADTOI should conduct monthly meetings with each State Tourism Department. It should start conducting State Specialist Programmes (SSP).

Funds lying idle with ADTOI can be deployed for creating scholarships for meritorious students at various colleges and create modules for improving HRD levels. ADTOI should also create software for online reservations, so that even small operators are able to afford such software.

It should also have committees to raise and resolve issues at various forums and gain wider participation from members.

Taking ADTOI forward Leadership is very vital for the growth of an Association. There is always scope for improvement and the leadership can take the Association a long way in accomplishing the goals.

In our initiatives, we can organise conventions, roadshows with the support of various states to project the potential of the regions and also to bring awareness of untapped tourist destinations.

In any association, leadership plays a vital role along with the team members. Leader has to have a clear vision and a strong and dedicated motivated team to support that vision to success.

It is of importance for a leader to be at the helm, but as compared to companies where you have paid employees, it is an uphill task and a challenge in associations. Members are the strength of any association.

Leadership is very important, as the captain of the team is able to initially visualise the short-term and long-term goals for the association and motivate the team of office bearers, EC and other members collectively into achieving these goals together.

There is room for new leadership to motivate all members to strive forward for the betterment and growth in domestic tourism.

HOTELS

New Hilton eyes biz, leisure Making an alliance with the B2B segment, Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square will be promoting first night and last night destination for tourists transiting through Delhi...

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he newly-opened midpriced Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square is the second Hilton Garden Inn brand hotel in the country.

Cashing in on the location, the hotel aims to cater to the business, leisure and transit travellers in the region.

Rajat Sethi, General Manager, Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square says, “The convenient location of the property is the prime differentiating factor. The hotel is centrally located within the quadrilateral of NH8, Sohna Road, Golf Course Road and Golf Course Extension Road and can be approached from either of the roads within a four kilometres radius. The hotel is a 10-minute drive which is eight kilometres to DLF Cyber City, the central business hub in Gurgaon and is 30 km away from Delhi city centre.”

The hotel is looking at working closely with the Indian travel trade segment.

“Our hotel is strategically located for tourists transiting through Gurgaon to Jaipur and other tourist destinations.

Making an alliance with the B2B segment, we aim to promote the hotel for the first night and last night destination for tourists transiting through Delhi as well,” he adds.

Talking about the USP of the brand, the GM remarks, “Garden Inn is specifically tar-

Rajat Sethi General Manager Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square

geted for the business travellers. Being a business hotel, Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square strives to ensure today’s busy travellers have everything they need to

centre.” The 24-hour business centre at the hotel is equipped with state-of-theart audio-visual facilities, which will cater to all needs of business travellers. The four meeting rooms, each with city views and natural light, can accommodate from 20 to 150 people. The hotel offers 18,000-square feet of conference and banqueting facilities with green lawns and a courtyard, perfectly suited for all business events, social gatherings, private receptions and weddings of up to 400 people.

According to Sethi, there has been a tremendous inflow of hotel investments in

New Offering With this opening, Hilton Worldwide now manages seven hotels in Delhi NCR The 24-hour business centre at the hotel is equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual facilities, which will cater to all needs of business travellers The four meeting rooms, each with city views and natural light, can accommodate from 20 to 150 people The hotel offers 18,000-square feet of conference and banqueting facilities with green lawns and a courtyard, perfectly suited for all business events, social gatherings, private receptions and weddings of up to 400 people

be most productive on the road. The features at the hotel include the brand’s signature offerings of complimentary Internet access, 24-hour complimentary business centre facilities and complimentary remote printing service from the guestroom to the business

Gurgaon with both national and international hotel chains vying for their footprint.

“There has been a phenomenal surge in number of budget hotels leading to a correction in the prices and average room revenue in the region,” he pointed out.

AMAWaterways announces Sharon Stone as AMAVida’s ‘godmother’ cruise line River AmaWaterways has announced that Hollywood actress, producer and philanthropist Sharon Stone is the ‘godmother’ of its river cruise ship AmaVida. The

new passenger vessel has been leased by AmaWaterways from Douro Azul, its Portuguese partner.

Stone blessed the ship at a traditional christening ceremony in Porto, Portugal on March 22.

“We are thrilled to have such an accomplished and

acclaimed person as Sharon Stone as the AmaVida’s godmother,” said Kristin Karst, Executive Vice President & Co-Owner, AMAWaterways.

“Her beauty and grace make her the perfect match for the

AmaVida, one of the loveliest and technologicallyadvanced river cruise ships in operation today.”

The AmaVida is a deluxe 106-passenger vessel that features a sun deck, a heated pool, massage and beauty salon, fitness centre, and complimentary in-room

Internet access and Video On-Demand.

The cruise ship will cruise exclusively in Portugal’s pristine Douro River Valley.

In an effort to be as environmentally responsible as possible, the AmaVida’s design features photovoltaic solar panels on the Sun Deck to generate energy for the ship’s operating systems.

The AmaVida will serve the Douro River on several itineraries in 2013 and 2014: Port Wine & Flamenco (2013 and 2014); Enticing Douro (2013 and 2014); Impressions of France & Portugal; and Classic Port Wines & Charming Quintas.

HOTELS

Expand and conquer From mono brand, where everything was Taj, Indian Hotels Company is now focussed on brand segmentation with Vivanta, Gateway and Ginger… from one mono brand, where everything was Taj, we went to more specific brand segmentation with Vivanta, Gateway and Ginger, the services and the price point.”

M E G H A PAU L

I

ndian Hotels Company is eyeing 200 hotels globally in its portfolio in the next five years. The company will establish a strong presence of its four brands in India.

This was revealed by Raymond Bickson, Managing Director and CEO, Indian Hotels Company.

“Of the 200 hotels, the number of hotels outside India would double to around 35 from the current 17 properties,” he said.

Going forward, the group will take the management route for its expansion.

“It has grown immensely by having equity in the businesses, but we have to take an approach the international companies take. The idea is that we want to get market share, so that clients can always find your brand wherever they visit. And they also promote our brand globally.”

The majority of the new hotels will be through management contracts. To grow to 200 hotels globally, it would be 75 per cent through management contracts and 25 per cent through equity.

“However, we won’t own the whole thing. It will be in participation with some other companies as well,” he added.

Raymond Bickson Managing Director and CEO, Indian Hotels Company

Of the 200 hotels, the number of hotels outside India would double to around 35 from the current 17 properties Talking about foraying into newer brand segments in the last few years, the MD & CEO informed, “Over the last 10 years, we have reengineered our brand architecture. The group has launched new brands such as Ginger. We were not in the economy sector earlier. So

Regarding the overseas expansion strategy, he pointed out, “The international brands that are coming to India have significant loyalty programmes. So to protect our market share, we have to go outside India. In the beginning, we had six hotels outside India in Colombo, Maldives and London for 30 years. Today, this number has gone up to 17. We were not in North Africa or South Africa or North America.

During these years, we went to Sydney and Malaysia. We have four contracts in China as of now. We are also growing our Taj and Vivanta by Taj brands in four-star and fivestar categories outside India.”

Growth Curve The majority of the new hotels will be through management contracts. To grow to 200 hotels globally, it would be 75 per cent through management contracts and 25 per cent through equity In the beginning, the group had six hotels outside India in Colombo, Maldives and London for 30 years. Today, this number has gone up to 17

Unveiling the new Marriott The hotel will see further changes down the line, upgrading its restaurant and spa. lessly make its way beyond the MHRS brand guidelines, thus proving to be a befitting choice for a JW conversion.

This change will see Marriott International come together to ensure that we surpass the hotels hospitality touchpoints making it more luxury driven, promising and splendid.”

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n a recent move, The Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre has now converted to the JW Marriott Hotel, Pune.

The property is not only the first JW Marriott in the city and the 3rd in the country after the JW Mumbai and the JW Chandigarh, but also the first Marriott property in the Asia-Pacific region to undergo a conversion.

The conversion launch saw the presence of Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President

Makeover The property is the first Marriott property in the Asia-Pacific region to undergo a conversion

Rajeev Menon Area Vice President for the Indian Sub-Continent, Maldives, & Australia for Marriott International

for the Indian Sub-Continent, Maldives, & Australia for Marriott International Inc. Speaking on the occasion Menon said, “The hotel, which was the 500th Marriott property, was a HALO hotel under the Marriott portfolio.

Through the two and half years of its functioning, the hotel has managed to effort-

The General Manager of JW Marriott Pune, Jatin Khanna said, “JW Marriott Pune celebrates constant innovation and will continue to offer to the city of Pune a life of elegance. The hotel that is a wedding, lifestyle and F&B destination will see the introduction of various luxury touchpoints over the next one year.”

The unveiling of the Griffin marked the highlight of the launch evening.

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Indian hotel room fares are the best In terms of the average price paid on a hotel room domestically, Indians found the best value at home at ` 4,715.

When it comes to overseas travel, South-East Asian destinations dominate the top ten list for Indian travellers.

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ndia has topped the list when it comes to getting the best value at hotel room rates domestically, according to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com.

The report revealed that in terms of the average price paid on a hotel room, Indians found the best value at home at ` 4,715 followed by the Portuguese on ` 4,846 and the Spanish on ` 5,009.

Swiss travellers paid the most at ` 10,345 for a night travelling domestically with the Singaporeans in second place on ` 9,994 and the

Top overseas destinations for Indian travellers Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Destination

. . . . . . . . .Bangkok . . . . . . . . .Singapore . . . . . . . . .Dubai . . . . . . . . .Pattaya . . . . . . . . .Hong Kong . . . . . . . . .London . . . . . . . . .Phuket . . . . . . . . .New York . . . . . . . . .Kuala Lumpur . . . . . . . . .Las Vegas

‘Incredible India Travel Card’ Yes Bank recently launched the ‘Incredible India Travel Card’, in association with the Ministry

of Tourism, Government of India, as a value add to enrich India’s tourism campaign, ‘Incredible India’, and build on the new theme, ‘Find what you seek…’. K. Chiranjeevi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism, Govt. of India along with Chitra Pandeya, Senior President and Country Head, Liabilities Mgt, Cards And Direct Banking, YES BANK, jointly unveiled the new card recently at the ITB Fair at Berlin, Germany.

Norwegians in third at ` 9,899. The Australians were in fourth place at ` 9,531 and

there was one more Asian nation in the Top 10 with South Korea at No 6 at ` 8,319. Of the 29 countries analysed, 20 paid more abroad than at home with some of them having a con-

siderable gap between the two sums. The Chinese spent ` 3,513 a night more on average when travelling abroad, followed by the Argentineans on ` 2,866 and the Indians at ` 2,816.

Travellers from Singapore had the greatest difference, spending ` 2,283 more domestically than abroad, followed by the Swiss with a ` 1,233 variation and the Norwegians with ` 958.

Only nine nations paid more at home than away.

The report also stated that when it came to over-

seas travel, South East Asian destinations dominated the top ten lists for Indian travellers. Bangkok bagged the No 1 spot followed by Singapore. Pattaya and Hong Kong found themselves on the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, while Phuket stood seventh

and Kuala Lumpur ninth.

Two American destinations featured on the list – New York on the eighth spot and Las Vegas on the tenth.

Dubai enjoyed the third position while London was the only European destination on the top ten list at the sixth position.

COVER STORY

India round-the-year Contd. from page 1

Myanmar; for a maximum validity of 30 days.

An independent study conducted by the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) has noted that TVOA scheme has a significant and positive impact on the decision to travel to India. In fact, the Ministry of Tourism had also proposed extension of TVOA to more airports like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Goa, Bodhgaya and Trivandrum.

The Ministry of Tourism had proposed extension of TVOA to Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Norway to cover the

European and Scandinavian countries; Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to cover the emerging markets from the CIS countries; Brazil and South Africa to cover foster IBSA Cooperation, Trinidad & Tobago to foster the country’s historical links; Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei to cover all the ASEAN countries.

Keeping in mind the recent travel trends, the Ministry of Tourism has also proposed TVOA scheme for South Korea, which is a very important tourism-generating market.

Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, also apprised the global mediapersons that

efforts are being made in terms of boosting air international connectivity and also making India a round-the-year destination that attracts tourists across all price points, who are willing to experience Incredible India.

In the offing The MOT had proposed extension of TVOA to Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Norway, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Brazil and South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei to cover all the ASEAN countries

Contd. from page 1

New policy for airlines A N I TA J A I N

A

fter expressing his view on low cost airports boom in India (“I must say that if the first Indian aviation boom is due to low cost carriers, the next aviation boom will come from low cost airports”), Ajit Singh, Union Civil Aviation Minister of India recently divulged information about a soon-to-be-announced policy to boost the growth of regional air-connectivity in India.

Under the route dispersal guidelines of current aviation policy, Indian carriers are required to fly to Tier II and III cities including regions of Jammu & Kashmir and North East which are not making commercial sense to the airlines. Thus, the Civil Aviation

and inclusive providing connectivity to Tier II and Tier III cities and remote and difficult areas of the country.

Apart from the development of low frill airports, the gov-

Instead of national carriers flying bigger aircraft with half loads, regional carriers can operate with smaller aircraft and better loads; enhancing regional connectivity Ajit Singh, Union Civil Aviation Minister of India ernment is in the process of formulation of a policy for promotion of regional and remote area connectivity in

Connecting India!

With the formulation of new policy to give boost to the regional air connectivity, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also geared up to build airports in smaller cities and towns. It has already upgraded 30 non-metro airports and four will be upgraded this year. Additionally, it has undertaken the job of modernising 26 new airports along with upgrading undeveloped and inactive airstrips which can handle small-sized aircrafts.

Ministry plans to replace the existing guidelines with a new policy to incentivise airlines to fly to regional airports which includes code sharing and seat credit mechanism among airlines. The ministry is also creating a fund—the Essential Air Services Fund (EASF)—for providing a direct subsidy to encourage domestic airlines to fly to remote areas Talking about the need to give a boost to regional air connectivity, Singh said, “The growth in Civil Aviation sector needs to be equitable

provide extended frequency in smaller cities having lowfrill airports or just an airstrip.

Each available seat-km operated by regional carrier could be given one ‘credit’ and then

India incentivising the Indian carriers to operate on these routes including code sharing and seat credit mechanism. I expect this policy prescriptions will provide much needed driving force to Indian carriers to provide air connectivity to large number of smaller towns and remote areas.”

The seat credit mechanism will create a win-win situation for regional and national carriers. Under this, the regional operators would operate at high seat factors with smaller aircrafts and

be auctioned off to national carriers who can use such credits to meet their requirement of having to connect regional and remote areas without having to lose money on such routes. So, instead of national carriers flying bigger aircraft with half loads, regional carriers can operate with smaller aircraft and better loads; thus creating win-win situation for the market and enhancing regional connectivity in the country.

Singh said, “It is an idea. We are discussing the same with the airline. If we mandate an airline to fly to North East and it is unable to operate, it would be able to trade seats under this new policy. It will be similar to carbon credits.” However, when asked when is the ministry aiming to introduce the policy, Singh says, “We will soon announce it.”

New Tidings This soon to be announced policy will hopefully boost the growth of regional air service in the country

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‘Shoot at Site’ for Bollywood Tourism At the recently-held FICCI ‘Shoot At Site’, industry stalwarts discussed the promotion of Film Tourism in the country, and the roadblocks it faces as of today. reports...

LYANDRA D’ SOUZA

I

n order to bring tourism and entertainment together on the same platform, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) recently hosted the first-ever film tourism conclave titled ‘Shoot at Site’ at the Renaissance, Mumbai.

Speaking at the event, Jyotsna Suri, Vice President, FICCI stated, “This focused and interactive B2B conclave will help stakeholders discover the benefits of shooting in India and facilitate relation-

Jyotsna Suri Vice President FICCI

We hope to see the government providing more support and incentives to film producers to increase film tourism in the country ships between participating countries from across the globe and film experts, decision makers and line producers. Going forward, we hope to see the government providing more support and incentives to film producers to increase film tourism in the country.”

Panel discussions and presentations at FICCI showcased shooting destinations, production services as well information on the various benefits and incentives proved by Indian states and international tourism boards to film producers. The conclave highlights included sessions on finding the right film locations as well as presentations by state tourism boards and international tourism boards on their destinations facilitating tourism.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the event while

presenting the FICCI-Yes Bank study on Film Tourism; Antonio Rozario Menezes, Vice President-SIGA, Yes Bank stated, “In India, tourism contributes 6-7 per cent of the GDP and works as a strong complement to growth in other sectors. There is a

strong influence of film on the motivation of travellers and this should be harnessed to promote tourism. To do so, we need infrastructure augmentation, integrated film cities, single window clearances, tax incentives and greater focus on skill development.”

In the session on ‘Finding the Right Spot: Tourism, Locations & Effective Film Making’. Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions observed, “Internationally, most countries have realised the potential of film tourism and generally the main problem is those of clearances. However; in India,

especially in the smaller cities, producers have to face a lot of red tape. The fear of being handicapped by a lack of government support is holding film tourism in India back. We need an information body to provide information as well as guide to film directors and line producers. Electronic clear-

ances will make it much easier to shoot for both international and domestic film shootings.” Vikram Sen, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department, Govt of Bengal detailed the steps undertaken by the state tourism board to attract filmmakers to West Bengal.

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Tour operators see spurt in ‘Pink’ tourism Travel agents and tour operators are attempting to explore opportunities to provide custom-made holidays for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) segment.

M E G H A PAU L

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ndia is slowly, but surely coming up on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) travel radar as a preferred destination due to its culture, spirituality, destinations and history.

Therefore, it is not surprising to see that that travel agents and tour operators are now trying to explore more opportunities to provide custom-made holidays for the LGBT segment.

The UN-accredited body to look after the travel trade industry of this niche segment, IGLTA feels that with an improving environment in India regarding the gay issue,

Trade Tip Do your homework.

Find out what gay events are happening in the area and identify places that are popular with local LGBT people.

Creating thoughtful itineraries goes a long way. the country will surely attract more LGBT customers.

Talking about the interest generated among the travel agents in the country, John Tanzella, President and CEO, IGLTA reveals, “IGLTA has definitely seen an increased interest from our tour operator members in other countries who are selling more LGBT group trips to India to the growth of our membership base there.”

Addressing the travel operators to cater to this niche segment, Tanzella urged, “LGBT travellers want to feel safe and welcome and sometimes that means an agent has

first gay tour operator, since the de-criminalistion of homosexuality in India, there has been an increase in ‘pink’ tourism in India. “However, India still has a conservative

John Tanzella

Sanjay Malhotra

President and CEO IGLTA

Founder & Director Indjapink

LGBT travellers want to feel safe and sometimes that means an agent has to go the extra mile to go the extra mile to make that happen. Gay travellers often face thoughtlessness such as the hotel front desk asking a same-sex couple if they would prefer two beds rather than a single bed that was booked. A good tour operator can prevent these uncomfortable moments with attention to detail during booking.”

According to Sanjay Malhotra, Founder & Director, Indjapink, India’s

India still has a conservative outlook towards LGBT community outlook towards LGBT community. India has always fascinated foreign travellers in terms of culture, terrain, people, food, etc and the prospects of India becoming one of the emerging LGBT travel destination are very positive,” he pointed out.

Being bullish on the segment, Indjapink has added new staff, expanded its destination portfolio and is working to extend the reach

of its message. “India cannot be covered in one trip and this beckons repeat visitors,” he added. The hospitality industry, according to Malhotra, has been very accepting to his LGBT travellers. The company has successfully conducted PINKPERFECT training programme in a lot of hotel chains on ‘How to Treat LGBT Travellers Right’. It

Talking about this lucrative and expanding market for the travel agents, Abhinav Goel, founder, Out Journeys, a gay and lesbian tour operator in India pointed out, “Now more private sector travel providers want to capture this market. It is not rocket science to be gayfriendly, but it is not that easy as well. Hence, the idea is to send out a message to the

Abhinav Goel

Bhuvan Mehta

Founder Out Journeys

Founder Pink Escapes

It is not rocket science to be gayfriendly, but it is not that easy as well covers key areas of gay travel concerns such as appropriate terminology, debunking stereotypes and provides practical tips on how staff can make their lesbian and gay customers feel comfortable being themselves.

Tour operators often fall short of realising the needs of the LGBT travellers worldwide community that we are a gay-friendly nation.”

According to Goel, the growth potential for gay tourists is so high that it has attracted even established players such as Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings, etc to the

emerging travel segment.

“Looking at the increasing demand, we have now unveiled outbound departures for the growing LGBT segment in India. This was launched around nine months ago. We are promoting South Africa, Australia and Thailand as of now,” he revealed. Regarding the challenge faced by tour operators to explore this segment, he confessed, “Tour operators face hurdles in terms of providing sensitivity training to their vendors, including drivers, tour guides and hotel staff. One of the biggest areas that need to be addressed is training the hotel and tour personnel to be more accepting and less discriminatory. For instance, the word ‘queer’ is acceptable in India, but shunned in many other countries. And you don’t call a same-sex couple ‘friends’. You call them ‘partners’. Besides the general attitude needs to change over time.”

Bhuvan Mehta, Founder, Pink Escapes opined, “There are no substantial statistics to show the exact figures for the LGBT tourism in India. Still, one can affirm the fact that the business from this segment is shifting to ‘pink tour’ companies that have emerged in the last few years.” All tour companies are trying to attract pink business by offering great tour packages, but they fall short of realising the needs of LGBT travellers, which I feel a pink tour operator can understand better.

IndiGo connects Mumbai to Kolkata, Nagpur & Jaipur IndiGo has launched 6 new flights on its domestic network, effective March 20.

The airline will now operate its fifth daily and direct flight

between Mumbai and Kolkata, third daily and direct flight between Mumbai and Nagpur and third daily and direct flight

between Mumbai and Jaipur.

Speaking on the launch of new flights, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said, “We are delighted to enhance our

services out of Mumbai with the launch of these new flights and we are confident that these additional services will prove immensely popu-

lar with our customers. With the increased flow of tourist and business traffic to and from Mumbai, along with the growing demand for connec-

tivity with metros and Tier II cities, we are pleased to provide direct and daily connections to meet our customers’ requirement.”

NTO

Eyeing double digit growth Maturing of the Indian market has led to expansion of the tourist season and also opening of new avenues, which include impressive growth in MICE movement. development. There is a difference between first time travellers and experienced travellers and Indians today are experienced travellers.

They are now keen to go to new destinations and experience the destination they like in different seasons as well,” she added.

T T B U R E AU

T

he Austrian National Tourist Office in India (ANTO) has built a strong case of double digit growth from 2013 in New Delhi on back of various promotional offers. In fact, as per one of the recently announced initiatives, the Austrian Federal Railways is presently offering a promotional scheme on its rail pass, wherein on buying one, the other pass can be bought at 50 per cent discount and children up to sixteen years can travel free.

“India is an important market and we expect strong double digit growth from it in 2013. In line with our growth targets, we have already conducted roadshow in 3 cities, namely, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. They were a huge success with close to 400 agents attending collectively.

We also held our annual workshop from February 5-7, 2013, which included delegates from local tourist boards, incoming agencies, attractions and travel partners to showcase Austria as a destination for summer 2013,” said Christine Mukharji, Market Manager, Austrian National Tourist Office India.

Christine Mukharji Market Manager Austrian National Tourist Office India

We have already conducted roadshows in three cities, namely, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi “In fact, we are also seeing willingness among Indian tourists to explore Austria in winter as well. It’s in line with the changes and development being witnessed in India, where there is immense growth being seen in the economy followed by infrastructure

The maturing of the India market has led to expansion of the visiting season and also opening of new avenues. As per Christine, the Indian market in early days would be limited to the pattern of school holidays in India, especially in

Second@50% The Austrian Federal Railways is presently offering a promotional scheme on its rail pass, wherein on buying one, the other pass can be bought at 50 per cent discount and children up to sixteen years can travel free…

Mumbai and Delhi. But, today, there is sustained growth in terms of arrivals that is evenly spread and will eventually become year round. Moreover, impressive growth in MICE movements has been witnessed.

Austria to heat up summer sale

The Austrian National Tourist Office held its annual workshop that attracted local tourist boards, incoming agencies, attractions and travel partners to showcase Austria as a destination for summer 2013, which was followed by 3 city road shows and press events. Here are the images of the press event in New Delhi

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NTO

Kiwis roll out welcome carpet for India Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager, South & South-East Asia at Tourism New Zealand, talks about how the tourism board is helping to grow the travel trade’s capability in selling New Zealand by overhauling the Kiwi Specialist retail training programme. ending January 2013 were 15,024 (+15.8 per cent) so we are pleased with our results to date. The October-to December visitor arrival (our traditional honeymoon visitation period) now exceeds the visitor arrivals volume of the April-June period, which reinforces that our focus on this segment is the right approach for Tourism New Zealand. We are excited about the opportunities for future growth in the year ahead.

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA How successful have you been in tapping the honeymoon and business traffic?

Along with being a popular destination among Indian honeymooners, New Zealand is also great for MICE travel as we have outstanding venues like hotels and convention centres equipped with skilled hospitality professionals. Besides this, New Zealand provides ample opportunity to bond beyond work with a range of tourism experiences such as adventure activities or more sightseeing activities. We are also currently targeting Indian families to visit New Zealand.

We have tied up with Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines to provide special deals for Indian families to visit New Zealand.

The availability of good quality and reasonable vegetarian Indian food makes us more

Mischa Mannix-Opie Regional Manager, South & South-East Asia at Tourism New Zealand

lucrative as a destination for Indian families. Indian billionaires also prefer exclusive leisure destinations for holidaying, and among overseas destinations, New Zealand is touted as a favourite.

Our total arrivals from India for the year ending January 2013 were 29,920 (+5.7 per cent). Holiday arrival figures for the year

What is your target for 2013? How do you plan to achieve this target?

Our forecast for the India market are still being developed as we enter a new three-year marketing plan cycle. However, Tourism New Zealand will remain committed to growing the Indian inbound market to New Zealand. Partnerships with travel trade and airlines will continue to be part of Tourism New Zealand’s ongoing strategy in India. We will

also continue our marketing efforts focusing on the honeymoon, family and business events sectors. These activities will be integrated across a range of marketing channels, including advertising, promotional, public relations and travel trade and airline partnership.

What other marketing strategies are you adopting to tap the Indian market?

Tourism New Zealand’s three main pillars of marketing activity in India are marketing campaign partnerships, public relations and hosting international media and business development with travel agents. Besides these, special activities like the release of The Hobbit Trilogy and the ‘100% Middle Earth’ campaign will provide us with an additional marketing platform to arouse interest among Indians in visiting New Zealand.

Are you planning any tie-ups with Indian private players for promoting New Zealand ?

Tourism New Zealand works with a range of commercial partners in the India market. We have significant partnerships with Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines where we work together in joint advertising campaigns.

We also work with a range of travel agent partners in joint marketing campaigns.

Currently we have live campaigns with Thomas Cook, Make My Trip, eezego1.com and work with other travel agent partners through the year.

How different is it catering to Indian travellers?

Our target audiences in India are people who are not just aware of New Zealand, but are actively considering New Zealand as one of their preferred holiday destinations.

Based on Tourism New

Zealand’s research there are approximately over 21 million people in India who fall into this category Holiday, visiting friends and relatives, and business are the three main travel clusters from India. Although the luxury travel market in India is still in a nascent stage, it is worth US$4.6 billion and is growing at an impressive rate of 25 to 30% annually (AT Kearney). This coupled with the rise in spending power of Indians as well as eagerness to explore new places makes the future appear pretty bright for an increase in the number of Indian travellers exploring and experiencing the different offerings of New Zealand.

Please share details about your new Trade Special Training Programme Tourism New Zealand is growing the travel trade’s capability in selling New Zealand by overhauling the Kiwi Specialist retail training programme and introducing Contd. on page 44

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Tourism Victoria follows Tier II & III cities With a footfall of over 72,000 Indians in 2012, Tourism Victoria draws up newer itineraries to allow Indians to stay longer in Melbourne. finds out how the NTO is paving its way to tap more numbers from India.

T E E N A B A R UA H

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ndia and China are now the two most important markets for Tourism Victoria, says Leigh Harry, Chief Executive, Tourism Victoria, who recently led a delegation of 180 hoteliers and tourism officials from Victoria to promote the Australian state as a tourist destination. The state enjoyed a footfall of over 72,000 Indian tourists last year and is hoping to see a growth of 7-8 per cent in the next 10 years. It aims to attract 1.2 lakh Indians by 2020 and is targetting Tier II and III cities through its marketing campaign.

They are now concentrating not just on incentive tourism, but also on leisure travellers who can hire a car to visit off road destinations.

“We are highlighting naturebased experiences like the

Leigh Harry Chief Executive, Tourism Victoria

Our real challenge, working with the Indian trade, is to draw up itineraries that include 3 nights in Melbourne and 1 night in Victoria Great Ocean Road and the penguins of Phillip Island Nature Park this year,” says Harry.

The Melbourne Now Campaign, which was launched last year, has been successful in establishing a close relationship with the Indian travel trade. “Our trade mission is not just about tourism,” says Harry, adding, “It benefits a whole range of industry sectors, like education, manufacture, sustainability and films.” Last year, Melbourne hosted a single delegation of 4,000 from Amway India. Tourism Victoria also aims to strengthen its ties with

the Bollywood segment, as in the past, movies like Saalam Namaste, Chak de India and Mein aur Mrs Khanna were shot in Victoria, showcasing Melbourne at its best.

“We are trying not to increase the numbers but stretch their length of stay from 2-3 nights to 4-5 nights.

Our real challenge, while working with the Indian trade, is now to draw up itineraries that include three nights in Melbourne and one night in Victoria, with two paid attractions in both the regions. So now, we have shortlisted the top 15 itineraries, voted by the travel

agents and will soon introduce these in the market,” said Harry. Connectivity remains their biggest challenge. “We were disappointed when Qantas (Airways) stopped flying. We have a good relationship with Singapore and are in talks with Air India and Middle

Eastern Airlines to improve our connectivity. It’s now critical to succeed as the competition from short-haul destinations is getting tough and we need to market ourselves a lot to stay relevant in the market.” At a dinner hosted by Louise Asher, Minister for Tourism and Major Events,

who brought Tourism Victoria’s Super Trade Mission to India for the second time this year, said, “Last year, Indian visitors spent US$217 million in the state, giving Victoria the largest share of Indian visitor numbers and expenditure of any state in Australia for the first time.”

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NTO

CTC going on India overdrive During the recently-held Focus Canada-India 2013 in Jaipur, Megha Paul interacted with Michele McKenzie, President and CEO, CTC and Siobhan Chretien, Regional Managing Director, CTC to get their perspective on India as a source market.

India: The ever-growing source market

Building travel trade partnerships

Talking about the strengths of the Indian market, McKenzie said, “It has ample potential that the stakeholders in Canadian travel trade can leverage. The Indian market reflects the same dynamics of the Chinese market, and it’s already one of our strongest in terms of future growth and investment potential. In 2012, Canada received a record number of Indian travellers. The country welcomed 162,900 overnight travellers, an 8.7 per cent increase over the previous year, who spent nearly $161 million. Indian travellers have been among the top 10 international travellers to visit Canada and ranked eighth last year. Canada witnessed a 9.2 per cent spurt between 2010 and 2011. International travel and tourism research predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound travellers by 2020.” CTC has identified this potential and has been promoting Canada in the Indian market since 2009. A platform such as ‘Focus Canada 2013’ is an essential tool to bring to the table keen Canadian sellers and experienced Indian buyers, who want to take destination Canada to new heights, she added. This year, the exchange brought together representatives from 44 leading Canadian seller organisations with 53 qualified outbound travel and tour operators from India.

The CTC is working to promote Canada as a four-season destination to the travel trade in India. CTC’s approach in India is about building relationships with local travel wholesalers and retailers, Chretien pointed out. “We are spending nearly 80 per cent of our budget this year on trade co-op advertising, business events, trade fams and travel agent education sessions like the ones CTC and partners just hosted in Delhi and Mumbai.” Focus Canada provides networking and relationship building opportunities for Canadian travel industry partners and key travel agents from India. The event provides Indian outbound agents the opportunity to meet their Canadian counterparts and is a professional platform for building relationships and sharing market intelligence, she pointed out.Highlighting the shift in profile of Indian travellers, she revealed, “There has been a shift in our travel numbers. There has been growth in leisure travellers and the average expenditure of the VFR visitors has been growing. We are tapping educated, higher-yield Indian tourists as we continue to work with our trade partners.” Presently, the focus in India has been predominantly leisure. “We do see the potential in MICE, especially with the feedback we received from leading travel brands in India, whom we met recently,” she added.

Michele McKenzie

Siobhan Chretien

President and CEO CTC

Regional Managing Director CTC

Competition or camaraderie On how the entry of Brand USA in India affects CTC, McKenzie replied, “We are happy about the said development for two reasons. Firstly, competition for a country such as Canada is not from USA, but from Australia and Europe, which take tourists away from us. The positive thing in the development is another voice talking about North America. Canada’s offerings are very different from the US. The most important aspect in my opinion is to find the right set of travellers. According to our research, there are about 9,60,000 Indians belonging to middle and upper class, who would like to visit Canada in the next few years. Hence, there is a big opportunity and the pie fortunately is big enough for both USA and Canada, which we will also look into as joint packages.”

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ANALYSIS

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Airfare war, but it’s a short term gain Price wars serve as a short cut for loss laden airlines to survive for a brief period. But where is the assurance for the passengers that the airline will honour their commitments? talks to industry to know more...

Association of India, insists that Directorate General of Civil Aviation should have a machinery to regulate the market pricing – recording, monitoring and controlling.

“The low ticket price war was initiated by Air Deccan, but

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he year 2013 began on an optimistic note for Indian domestic airlines.

Kingfisher Airlines’s exit meant seats were in short supply. This created, for the first time, a demand and supply dynamics which was more in favour of the airlines.

The airfares went up by 2030 per cent. This raised hopes for airlines that profits were finally on the horizon.

But in January, SpiceJet, India’s second largest budget airline, cut ticket prices by more than half for travel between February and April in a move that forced its rivals to follow suit. It offered one million seats at an all-inclusive fare of ` 2,013 for any domestic flight between February 1 and April 30 booked till January 13. As a result, an airline that typically books 40,000 seats on a normal day, registered a booking of 1.7 lakh seats within hours.

IndiGo and GoAir reacted to the move by matching the fare cuts immediately. Air India refused to jump into the game by maintaining that such a cheap sale will ultimately hit the industry.

But on March, the national carrier hit back, offering discounted fares to customers who want to travel 60 days later and beyond, with prices close to those of air-conditioned train travel, to stimulate leisure travel.

Soon, Jet Airways (India)

Kapil Kaul

Biji Eapen

Sumanth Kapoor

South Asia Chief Executive CAPA

National President of the IATA Agents Association of India

Founding Member OTOAI

Growing market is in everyone’s interest but airlines need to avoid loss leadership pricing

joined the 60-day advance discount drive with tickets at least 30 per cent lower than the usual fare.

The long and short of it At the outset, the price war seems to be a win-win strategy for everyone involved. The rock bottom prices boosted airline sales and occupancy dramatically with a record number of Indians flying across the country. “The competition within the domestic airlines creates a greater demand for domestic holidays as people get attracted by the low fares and plan holidays

The price wars serve as a short cut for loss laden airlines to survive for a brief period

which they may not have otherwise,” says Gopika Khanna, FIT Area Manager, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Kapil Kaul, the South Asia Chief Executive of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, explains that the strategy is focussed on selling unsold inventory, raise cash and increase occupancy in a lean season. SpiceJet saw 78 per cent increase in occupancy in February compared to January 2013. Growing market is in everyone’s interest but airlines need to avoid loss leadership pricing.

The tickets already bought may distort the prices when the demand for air tickets increases

Sumanth Kapoor, Founding Member, OTOAI agrees with Kaul, adding, “The tickets already bought may distort the prices when the demand for air tickets increases, as the airline will have less inventory to sell.”

An airline official says on anonymity, “These people are suicidal. Taking people to Madras (Chennai) in ` 900 is plain suicidal. It does not even cover your fuel cost.

The industry is shooting itself in the foot.”

Biji Eapen, National President of the IATA Agents

Gopika Khanna FIT Area Manager, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal

The competition within domestic airlines creates a greater demand for domestic holidays as people get attracted by low fares finally the airline got sold out.

Kingfisher too followed suit.

Also, last February, when Bahrain Air ceased operations, they advised their passengers to find out their own means to complete their journey,” he says.

“India has witnessed so many airline closures: Mahan Air, Swiss Air, Alitalia, Al Jazeera Airways and Nas Air on international operations in India and on domestic, Asiatic Airlines, East West Airlines, Modiluft, NEPC Airlines, Archana Airways, Air Sahara, Vayudooth, Damaniya Airways, MDLR Airlines and Paramount Airlines. Recently the biggest OTA, Travelocity closed down their operation in India. In such a volatile market, the price war serves as a short cut for loss laden airlines to survive for a brief period.

But what is the guarantee that these airlines will operate?

Where is the assurance for the passengers that the airline will honour their commitments?

Indian travellers and agents who sell the airline products need a counter guarantee,” says Eapen.

So, while the aviation sector feverishly speculates over Air Asia’s entry triggering another price war, the travel trade insists that the government should have an airfare structure policy. “The fares should be based on distance and must have a cap on upper limits keeping realistic fare bands. Fares cannot be fluctuating on a daily basis. The fare must be based on aircraft rules with travel agents’ commission as its integral part.

Though fares are based on yield control, classification of RBD should be transparent.

This transparency will provide a level playing field for all players,” concludes Eapen.

Korean Air: Direct to Sri Lanka and Maldives Starting March 9, Korean Air expanded its network to Southwest Asia with the launch of a direct service from Sri Lanka and the Maldives to Seoul Incheon.

Korean Air’s new three

times weekly direct service flies from Male in the Maldives to Colombo in Sri Lanka first, and then onto Seoul/Incheon in Korea. The Male-ColomboSeoul/Incheon flights will operate every Tuesday,

Thursday and Sunday. Flight KE 474 departs from Male at 15:30 and arrives in Colombo at 17:30; the flight will then depart from Colombo at 18:50 and arrive in Seoul/Incheon at 06:10 the next day. On the

return flight, KE473 departs Seoul/Incheon at 22:40 and arrives in Colombo at 04:10 the next day. The flight will then continue its journey departing from Colombo at 05:40, arriving in Male at

06:40 the same day. Korean Air’s new Male-ColomboSeoul/Incheon route will be operated with an Airbus 330300, seating 276 passengers and equipped with Korean Air’s premium seats. The new

Korean Air route ensures travelers from the Maldives and Sri Lanka hassle-free journeys to Korea and convenient transit to destinations in the Americas, Japan, China and other Asian countries.

TECHNOLOGY

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Corporates can now save 15% on bookings Corporates take approximately six days on an average to decide on the air travel component, while airfares keep increasing on almost daily basis. finds out more about the company’s strategies...

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rmed with Concur's suite of cloud-based Travel & Expense Management services, Christopher Juneau, Sr. Director Marketing, Australia, Asia Pacific, Concur was recently in New Delhi to familiarise select media on the recent addition to its portfolio of offerings.

Christopher Juneau Sr. Director Marketing Australia, Asia Pacific, Concur

We are looking at possibility of working with more travel partners to expand our travel management company’s network “All of Asia-Pacific including India presents huge growth opportunity in India. In a scenario where

Embarking/ Disembarking cards to be history Authorities are cutting down on paperwork for those flying into Indian airports. The Bureau of Immigration has decided to do away with disembarkation forms. Under a new system, passenger details will be digitally sent to the destination airport minutes after a flight takes off. Forms for Indians coming into the country and foreigners leaving the country will be done away with from June 1, 2013.

the Global Distribution Systems created by the airlines are very expensive and with the decrease in airline content available in the GDS with the demise of Kingfisher Airlines, corporates are turning to the nonGDS carriers to satisfy their requirements for intra-India

travel. Hence, to tap the growing interest among corporates to shift their employee travel bookings online, we now have also built support of low-cost carrier content for our corporate clients,” said Juneau.

“Our clients are typically corporate, whom we serve in

partnership with our travel partners, namely Amex, BCD Travel, Kuoni, CWX, Thomas Cook. Going forward, we are also looking at possibility of working with more travel partners to expand our travel management company’s network,” he added. Further, sharing the finding of the

survey done by AC Nielson, Juneau said, “Corporates take approximately six days on an average to decide on air travel component, while the air costs keep increasing on almost daily basis. The survey points out at the possibility of easily saving 10-15 per cent on such costs. Here, we

offer our clients the option to choose the entire gamut of our cloud-based services platform, or choose some part of the solution to automate travel request process, acquire online booking tool GDS and excess online expenses reporting cloud based application.

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TRAVTALK APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

FAMILY ALBUM

Felicitating the outstanding performers The Ministry of Tourism organised a grand ceremony to felicitate stakeholders, who put in their best to come up with outstanding performances in the tourism sector. President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented National Tourism Awards for the year 2011-12, while K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) highlighted in his address that tourism industry has immense potential to increase tourism arrivals into the country and tourism within the country.

FAMILY ALBUM

APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

When achievements get recognition

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NATIONAL TOURISM AWARDS

The National Tourism Awards go to...

This time, the National Tourism Awards have come with a difference. Before the awards ceremony took place, the Ministry of Tourism had announced the winners of the most-coveted awards of the tourism industry.

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peaking on the occasion, K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) says, “This is for the first time that the winners of the National Tourism Awards are being announced before the official ceremony takes place.” For

2011-2012, a total of 87 awards were given in 36 categories to the best performers in the industry. The award ceremony was held on March 18 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. President Pranab Mukherjee was the Chief Guest. This year, a special award was given to Yann Marten, Author of ‘Life of Pi’ .

Top 4 category winners Category I 1st: Select World Tours 2nd: Kuoni Travel Category II 1st: Minar Travels 2nd: Abercrombie & Kent India 3rd: Trail Blazer Tours

Category III 1st: SDU Travel 2nd: Caper Travel 3rd: Tushita Travels Category IV 1st: Travelite 2nd: GB Morrison Travels 3rd: Travel Spirit International

Award Winners 2011-2012 Tour Operators Travel Agent/Inbound Tour Operator Category V 1st: Indian Trails Sourcing Services 2nd: Adventure World 3rd: Tour Masters Category VI 1st: Pioneer Personalised Holidays 2nd: Welcome Travels 3rd: Special Holidays Travel

Tourist Transport Operator

Category I 1st: Ajay Travel 2nd: Carzonrent 3rd: KTC Category II 1st: Touraids Travel Services 2nd: Rajindra Bus Service 3rd: Ex-Soldiers Tourist Taxi Service

Category III 1st: Delhi Airport Service 2nd: Shreya Travels

Domestic Tour Operator

1st: Southern Travels 2nd: My Leisure Breaks 3rd: Panicker’s Travel (India)

Adventure Tour Operator

Sea & Sky Travel

Tour Operator Promoting Niche Segments other than Adventure and MICE

Hotels Best Hotel Five Star Deluxe: The Oberoi, New Delhi

Best State/Union Territory: Comprehensive Development of Tourism

Five Star: Vivanta by Taj - Ambassador, New Delhi

1st: Andhra Pradesh 2nd: Rajasthan 3rd: Gujarat

Four Star: Vivanta by Taj Kumarakom, Kerala

Best State: Campaign Clean India

Three Star: Gateway Hotel Vadodara, Gujarat

Best Heritage Hotel Basic: Samode Haveli, Gangapole, Jaipur, Rajasthan Grand: Savoy Hotel, Ooty

Best Eco Friendly Hotel ITC Hotel, ITC Maurya, New Delhi

Best Standalone Convention Centre Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad

Thomas Cook (I) Ltd

Most Innovative Tour Operator

Far Horizon Tours

Best MICE Operator

Select World Tours

Best Overseas Tour Operator to India from North America

Indus Travels, Canada

States

Best Hotel-based Meeting Venue The Ashok, New Delhi

Best Wellness Centre Somatheeram Ayurvedic Hospital and Yoga Centre Kovalam, Kerala

Arunachal Pradesh

Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material Karnataka

Best Tourism Film ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ Gujarat Tourism

Most Innovative Use of Information Technology Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited Special Prize: Arunachal Tourism

Miscellaneous Best Airport Class X Cities: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad Rest of India: Visakhapatnam Airport, Visakhapatnam

National Tourism Awards 2011-12 ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi

Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat win big Andhra Pradesh wins seven awards while Gujarat bags three at the National Tourism Awards 2011-2012.

With seven awards, Andhra Pradesh was the biggest winner at the National Tourism Awards 2011-2012 that was presented in Delhi recently. The state got the first prize for best state in Comprehensive Development of Tourism. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation got Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination while Warangal City was adjudged the Best Heritage City. The state’s Rajiv Gandhi International Aiport, Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam Airport got the Best Airport in Class X Cities and Rest of India respectively. Apollo Health City, Hyderabad was the also awarded the Best Medical Tourism Facility while The Hyderabad International Convention Centre got the award for the Best Standalone Convention Centre.

Gujarat Tourism was among the big winners at the award ceremony. The state tourism bagged three National Tourism Awards for best tourism film, innovative use of information and technology and was also adjudged one of the best states for comprehensive development of tourism in the country.

The state government’s tourism campaign, ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ featuring Amitabh Bachchan was awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award 2011-12 in the Best Tourism Film category. Gujarat Tourism Minister Saurabhbhai Patel and Sanjay Kaul, MD, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) received the awards from President Pranab Mukherjee at a function held in Delhi. K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism and Parvez Dewan, Secretary, MOT were also present at the occasion.

Gujarat was adjudged the third best state in Comprehensive Development of Tourism while Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited also received the award for Most Innovative Use of Information Technology.

Among the northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh bagged an award in the Best State: Campaign Clean India category apart from winning a special prize for Most Innovative Use of Information Technology.

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STATISTICS

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Old monuments, but steady visitors Despite a slight slowdown in 2007, the tourism ďŹ gures for ASI monuments have risen steadily over the years.

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ny monument or site which is 100 years old and is considered to be of national importance is called an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Protected Monument or Site. Such monuments/sites are also commonly referred to as Centrally Protected Monuments/Sites.

The statistics on number of visits to monuments are maintained by the office of the Director General, ASI based on the records of number of tickets sold at the monuments to both Indian and foreign Nationals. For the purpose of conservation of monuments, the country has been divided into 24 ASI Circles, each under the jurisdiction of a

Superintending Archaeologist. Table 1 gives the number of domestic and foreign visitors to all centrally-protected ticketed monuments for the years from 1996 to 2011. Taj Mahal, Agra (4.65 million) was the most visited monument in 2011 for domestic visitors followed by Qutub Minar, Delhi (2.98 million) and Agra Fort (0.31 million).

Visitors to Centrally Protected Ticketed Monuments, 2001-2011 Year

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

No. of Centrally Protected Ticketed ASI Monument

Number of Visitors Domestic

Foreign

126 126 126 116 116 116 116 117 119 117 117

N.A 17333055 19551820 20356940 21035864 23815252 23450419 28786608 30804103 35770242 40534481

N.A 837012 1216615 1788753 2122436 2250502 2614254 2679763 2195382 2998175 2948065

Annual Growth Rate Total

20364901 18170067 20768435 22145693 23158300 26065754 26064673 31466371 32999485 38768417 43482546

Domestic

12.8% 4.1% 3.3% 13.2% -1.5% 22.8% 7.0% 16.1% 13.3%

Foreign

45.4% 47.0% 18.7% 6.0% 16.2% 2.5% -18.1% 36.6% -1.7%

Total

Source: Ministry of Tourism

4.2% -10.8% 14.3% 6.6% 4.6% 12.6% 0.0% 20.7% 4.9% 17.5% 12.2%

Source: Ministry of Tourism

Source: Ministry of Tourism

ASSOCIATIONS

New ICPB vision for MICE The key features include creating awareness among Indian conference organisers to bid for international conferences here and making the world aware that India can hold big international conferences...

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he lack of infrastructure and amenities has hindered the growth of India as a MICE destination for years now. Realising the potential of this untapped segment and to position India as a preferred MICE destination in the world, India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) has recently launched its Vision Document as a long-term strategy.

The Vision Document takes into account the time span till 2015.

According to Chander Mansharamani, ViceChairman, ICPB, there is no MICE policy laid down by the Government of India. “We are keeping this as a base document for the policy in the future,” he added.

The key features of the Vision Document include creating awareness among Indian conference organisers and professional conference organisers (PCOs) to bid for international conferences and making the world aware that India can hold big international conferences.

The association will celebrate 25 years of its existence on May 16 this year.

“We are hoping the government will come out with a MICE policy by then,” Mansharamani said. ICPB is

Chander Mansharamani Vice-Chairman ICPB

We do have the infrastructure to go for much larger events but this needs aggressive marketing in the process of creating awareness regarding the financial benefits a city can have when it holds conferences. Going forward, the association is looking at organising roadshows in a few states that have immense potential such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi and Delhi

NCR. “We will not only involve the professional conference organisers (PCOs) but the state governments as well. We will make the state governments aware of the benefits for the city. All these cities will be covered in the first week of April. The idea is to complete these activities before May 16,” he revealed.

MICE training programme is also an important part of the agenda. As hotel management institutes do not have focussed training on MICE, ICPB is trying to work with them to add one or two modules on the subject.

Charting out roadmap for the future, the ViceChairman says the future for India as a MICE destination is bright but aggressive marketing needs to be done. “As per an analysis by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), 80 per cent of the conferences in India are of less than 1000 pax. We do have the infrastructure to go for much larger events but this needs aggressive marketing. ICPB, with the support and initiatives of the MOT, is poised to play a significant role to achieve the target of 12 per cent growth in inbound and domestic tourism during the 12th Five Year Plan,” he highlighted.

Qatar Airways & IHG showcase Madrid to travel partners

To honour the valuable partnership of the business partners, Qatar Airways organised a familiarisation trip exclusively for key partners from Chennai in association with Intercontinental Hotel Group. The familiarisation trip to Madrid from March 08-12, 2013, was also a part of a promotion to enhance tourism in Spain while experiencing 5-Star/Award winning service on board Qatar Airways. The onboard journey enthralled the delegates and fam trip showcased the best of Madrid, where delegates got a glimpse of the spectacular Royal Palace, Retro Park, Prado Museum and beautiful Plaza Mayor.

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Fly Delhi to Phuket direct Double daily flights to China THAI Airways International introduces THAI Smile With increasing flights, new aircraft and plans of service providing direct connectivity to Phuket from expanding their network to Mumbai; China Southern Delhi and Mumbai. reports more…

Airlines has big plans for the India market.

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oing to Phuket from Delhi or Mumbai? Now, you no longer need to take a detour from Bangkok.

After almost 53 years of service to the Indian mar-

Friday at 01:55am, and from Phuket, it will leave for Delhi at 10:05pm every Monday and Thursday. The Mumbai flight will leave every Thursday and Sunday at 2:20am, and from Phuket, it

will leave for Mumbai at 10:30pm every Wednesday and Saturday.

Pinki Arora, Marketing Representative, North and East India, Bangladesh and Nepal, Tourism Authority of Thailand, who was also present on the occasion, said that the direct flight to Phuket was a much-anticipated one as Indians love travelling to the beach destination, which is also a favourite for weddings. She added that as more and more Indians travel to Thailand the country has now become a year-round destination for all, attracting all segments of travellers – from MICE, honeymooners, leisure to families.

With a seating capacity of 168 seats, the aircraft boasts of two classes – 12 seats in Smile Plus (Business Class) and 156 seats in Smile Class (Economy Class).

Ravi Talwar, the Area Sales Manager of Thai Airways International, said that for the first month, they have been booked almost 80%.

(L-R): Ravi Talwar, Korakot Chatasingha and Pinki Arora addressing the press conference

ket, THAI Airways International is launching its new service – THAI Smile – providing direct connectivity to Phuket from Delhi and Mumbai. The airline will operate twice a week from the two Indian cities. It will depart from Delhi every Tuesday and

“As a budget airline, THAI Smile is providing all services of THAI Airways,” said Korakot Chatasingha, General Manager, India, THAI Airways International.

cent of their total bookings from travel agents. The airline is also upgrading its aircraft on the Delhi route. They fly the Boeing 757, with a seat capacity of 200, but will upgrade to the Airbus A332.

China Southern Airlines has 500 aircraft and ranked third in the world for its fleet size.

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hina Southern Airlines plans to increase its Delhi services to double daily and introduce the modern Airbus A332 aircraft to the busy India runway, as part of a raft of exciting changes on the airline’s Canton Route to the World. From the summer schedule, China Southern hopes to add three additional Guangzhou to Delhi flights, lifting the total to 14 per week.

“The airline has been in India for five years now. From seven weekly frequencies to 10, we anticipate that in the summer season, we will increase frequency to double daily flights. We are awaiting a confirmation from the civil aviation authorities for traffic rights and will hopefully launch new flights from April 1,” says Guo Zhiqiang, Chief Marketing Officer and Director GeneralCommercial Steering Committee, China Southern

Guo Zhiqiang Chief Marketing Officer and Director General- Commercial Steering Committee, China Southern Airline

Airline. The airline has had a load factor of 80 per cent from Delhi and is now looking at expanding services to Mumbai. “We are observing the Mumbai market and then take a decision on it,” he adds. “We launched the Canton route, connecting Asia with Australia, Europe and America,” he adds.

Over 50 per cent of the passengers from India are transit at present. The airline also receives about 60 per

Zhiqiang also met with the Tourism Secretary Parvez Dewan and discussed collaborations to promote the DelhiGuangzhou routes. Zhiqiang further highlights, “There are four important reasons to choose China Southern Airlines; our new aircraft, the best services offered (including Indian food) onboard, smooth transition facilities provided, and the shortest connection time to Australia and North America.”

Big is better China Southern Airlines has 500 aircraft and ranked third in the world for its fleet size

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FAMILY ALBUM

ITB Berlin Convention turns 10 this year The world’s leading travel trade show, International Tourismus Borse (ITB 2013) was held from March 6-10. Over 170,000 visitors, among which 113,000 were trade visitors and 11,000 represented companies from 180 countries, displayed their products and services at this leading B2B platform of the tourism industry. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, UNWTO representatives, the PATA, the WTTC, as well as more than 100 ministers of tourism and state secretaries, met in Berlin to help shape the future for growth in the tourism industry.

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Dynamic trends in global travel industry

Contd. on page 36

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FAMILY ALBUM

MOT makes India Evening mesmerising The Ministry of Tourism conducted an India evening at ITB 2013 on March 7, which was well-attended by Indian and global stakeholders in the tourism industry. K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) inaugurated the evening, which also witnessed presentation by Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.

Now, Germany for Young People ‘Germany for Young People’ is the 2013 marketing theme of the German National Tourist Office in India. The office that is responsible for promoting destination Germany for leisure and business announced a continued focus on growth in India. coming to Germany is growing. In 2012, more than half a million Indians visited Germany. Germany is more than just cars and high-tech.

It is simply worth a trip.”

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s a year-round destination, Germany is opening the window for an array of experiences for the youth in 2013. Weaving the traditional with the modern into all forms of expression, be it art, fashion, food and drink or music, each visit to Germany provides a great value-formoney and lasting memories.

Addressing the media in Delhi recently, Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales and Marketing, GNTO India, said, “Since the establishment of GNTO in India in 2006, we have registered a growth of 55 per cent in traffic to Germany from India from 2007-2012. Our latest 2013 campaign ‘Youth Hotspots in Germany-Share the Moment’ is centered around a broad spectrum of activities targetting the young, ranging from social media, online microsite development, development of youth hotspots etc.”

Michael Steiner, Ambassador for The Embassy

Romit Theophilus Director, Sales and Marketing GNTO India

We are targetting 10 per cent visitor growth from India and an approx investment of half a million Euros by Germany in India in this year of Federal Republic of Germany, who was also present at the event, said, “The number of Indian tourists

The social media campaign ‘Youth Hotspots in Germany’ which has been officially launched at the ITB Berlin 2013 will continue until March 2014.

The core elements of the campaign are a mobile app and a new microsite. GNTB brought out a Youth Hotspots mobile app as part of the campaign available free from the App store and Google Play. It provides young travellers with an overview of 1,300 open access WiFi hotspots in Germany, enabling them to access social networks for free.

Another key aspect is the GNTB microsite at www.germany.travel/youth.

It gives a chance to young visitors to find out about Germany before they arrive.

The five hotspot categories here are Must Sees, Nightlife, Shopping, Bars and Cafes and Festivals and Events.

“We are targetting a 10 per cent growth from all visitor segments from India in 2013 and an approximate investment of half a million Euros by Germany in India in the year,” Theophilus added.

Destination Germany is an economic and political powerhouse with fascinating scenery, vibrant cities, progressive culture and innovation. Enjoying the outdoors from skiing and hiking in well-preserved forests to exploring cities of all sizes, boasting Europe’s best malls, restaurants and pubs, Germany is a visitor’s delight.

“We are confident of Germany maintaining its position as one of the most favoured European destination by Indian visitors,” concludes Theophilus.

Open Invitation The core elements of the campaign are a mobile app and a new microsite. GNTB brought out a Youth Hotspots mobile app as part of the campaign available free from the App store and Google Play

Governors’ Camp to expand Indian presence With traditional markets like US and Europe slowing, Kenya-based Governors’ Camp Collection (operating luxury safari camps and lodges in Kenya and Rwanda) has turned focus on emerging travel markets of Asia, specifically India.

With direct air connectivity and growing interest of Indian travellers in wildlife, Governors’ Camp is confident to establish the brand among Indian travel trade.

Marking its commitment in India, it has appointed Renuka Natu as their Head Marketing and Sales in India. Though the brand receives a small number of Indian travellers at the moment, it expects to double the numbers after the representative’s appointment in India.

The core focus markets for Governors’ Camp Collection will be metro and mini-metro cities. It will also perform sales calls, training programmes and assist with itinerary-building, promotional material for the trade and organising familiarisation trips for top-performing agents. Natu said, “With more and more high-end Indian travellers adapting to experiential travel; it’s the best time to bring new prod-

We will be first focussing on markets like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Kolkata Renuka Natu Head Marketing &Sales-India

ucts on board. We will be first focussing on markets like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Kolkata. With direct connectivity via Kenya Airways and one-stop connections by Air India, Etihad and Emirates; it is easier to sell Governors’ Camp Collection properties to well-off Indian families, FIT travellers, small MICE groups and even wildlife enthusiasts.”

Governors’ Camp Collection properties are situated at Masai Mara, Great Rift Valley, and Lake Victoria in Kenya, and Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda.

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Wooing well-heeled Indian travellers Recently made popular by Bollywood actors, Marrakech is now becoming a must-visit destination amongst high-end Indian travellers. discusses the luxury lifestyle of the destination and finds out what all La Mamounia has to offer along with a 10 per cent commission.

Quick Facts

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nown as the Red City, Marrakech is a former Imperial city in Morocco.

Located at the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, the city provides the perfect mix of traditional and modern. It is home to the largest traditional market in Morocco and is also one of the most trendy and fashionable destinations offering a wonderful year-round climate.

Didier Picquot Directeur General La Mamounia, Marrakech

The hotel is set on 20 acres of garden and includes facilities such as spa and salon, library and a wide variety of restaurants to choose from Discussing the opportunities to promote hotel La Mamounia and Marrakech as a lifestyle destination for highend Indian travellers, Didier Picquot, Directeur General, La Mamounia, Marrakech, says, “La Mamounia is a symbol of traditional Moroccan hospitality. The hotel is set on 20 acres of garden and includes facilities such as spa and salon, library and a wide variety of restaurants to choose from.

Our gardens were a wedding gift by the sultanate to his fourth son and have been utilised for joyful events ever since. The hotel has also welcomed many celebrities over the years”.

The hotel hosted a maximum number of Indian guests during a recent International Film Festival in Marrakech. Many celebrities from Bollywood came for the festival and stayed at La Mamounia. “Morocco is not only a romantic destination, but also an ideal place for

weddings and honeymoon.

Our hotel is also an ideal option for Indian weddings,” says Denys Courtier, Directeur Executif, Responsible, Marketing, Spa et Loisirs, La Mamounia, Marrakech. The hotel offers a

10 per cent commission on all bookings. They are also very strict on rate parity and it will offer the same rates to their agents everywhere and answer all requests within 24 hours. Entering India, the hotel has chosen to start with

mature markets of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. “I met most of the Indian agents in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and there is a huge interest for the destination. High-end travellers are looking at new destinations and the connec-

tivity to Marrakech is also very good. We are very close to Spain and Europe and this new destination is exotic and cultural. I have met around 150160 agents out of which 20-30 are very promising for this hotel,” adds Courtier.

La Mamounia is part of the Leading Hotels of the World network and an average room night is 650 Euros The hotel offers a 10 per cent commission on all bookings

FAMILY ALBUM

ITB: Creating opportunities Contd. from page 33

Corporate Flyers bats for tourism

The company recently organised a cricket match between Corporate Flyers Invitational XI vs Delhi Police XI on March 17, 2013 at Modern School, Barakhamba Rd. Kapil Kumria, the company’s MD & CEO, hosted the post match lunch and Former Australian Cricketer, Dean Jones, Famous Pop Band Sterio Nation were among the invitees and the chief guest was the Commissioner of Police, Neeraj Kumar.

Corporate Flyers Invitational XI was led by Anurag Thakur, Joint Secretary, BCCI.

AVIATION

MIAL T2 ready by year end For the first year, it will only manage international operations and later integrate with domestic operations.

TT BUREAU

T

he GVK Group-run Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) is in the final stages of upgrading its Terminal 2 (T2) which

opening of the new terminal will enable the airport to handle more flights and offer much better passenger convenience in terms of checkin, security hold and baggage delivery — the areas

Alternative to ease congestion from Mumbai airport With air traffic increasing at Mumbai traffic every year and the planned Navi Mumbai airport getting delayed, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is planning to revive the Juhu airport – started in 1928, was India’s first civil aviation airport. At the moment, the Juhu airport is used for landing small aircrafts and helicopters. The ministry is planning to extend its main runway into the sea to enable it to handle ATR turbo prop planes and even Airbus 320 aircraft. Since Mumbai airport would not be able to accommodate more traffic in next two years, it is important to find an alternative solution as the state government is still in the process of acquiring land for the new airport. According to Jayant Bantia, Chief Secretary, Maharashtra; 70 per cent land acquisition for the new airport has been completed and the state government is now in the process of relocating high tension wires. The Navi Mumbai airport was originally scheduled to begin operations in 2015-16, but that appears unlikely. will be ready for handling 40 million passengers by September 2013.

Build and upgraded at an estimated cost of ` 12,380 crore; the new integrated terminal is spread across 439,203 sq m area with four different levels built above the currently operational international terminal building. Currently, the airport handles 30 million passengers which is way above the capacity of current international terminal. Once operational, the airport operators intend to move international passengers to the new terminal and move domestic passengers after a year (end of 2014). Though the problems like airside congestion and lack of adequate night-parking bays that have dogged the growth of the Mumbai airport will not change overnight, the

international terminals will be demolished to make way for the southeast tier of the new terminal.

With more and more international flights flying to Mumbai and Indian carriers expanding their services by connecting Mumbai to other metros, the passenger traffic is increasing simultaneously.

However, with increase of 154 per cent in airport charges along with increase in UDF (User Development Fee), Mumbai has become the most expansive airport to operate in India.

Clearing the air and expecting to reduce cost in next one year, Rajeev Jain, CEO, MIAL said, “Before hiking the charges early this year, Mumbai was the cheapest airport in India, and second cheapest in the world after Dubai. We wanted to hike fares slowly and approached AERA (Airports

Salient features of T2 • Spread across an area of 439,203 sq meters • Capacity to handle 40 million passengers • To house retail space of over 21,000 sq meters • Over 5000 sq meters of landscape areas • 188 check-in counters • 60 departure immigration counters • 76 arrival immigration counters for all of those will be substantially bigger than now.

Considered as the most challenging airport expansion project in the world, by end of 2014, the integrated terminal will handle both domestic and international passengers while the existing

• 104 security check-positions • 10 baggage carousels • 25 fixed link bridges • 52 passenger boarding bridges • 41 travelators • A six-lane elevated express way leading to the terminal • Multi-level car park for 5,000 cars Economic Regulatory Authority) few years back but it was only this year in January that AERA approved our request. Thus, instead of collecting the total amount concurrently in five years (April 2009- March 2014), we just got two years to do that.”

MTOA explores paradise

After receiving an invitation from the Jammu Kashmir Tourism Department, Maharashtra Tour Operators Association organised a study tour lead by Sudhir Patil, Director, Kesari Tours. The main focus of the tour was to highlight the core offerings of the state and understand the tourism problems which were discussed with Talat Parveez, Director - Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir. The members also met Ghulam Ahmed Mir, Tourism Minister, Jammu & Kashmir and underlined the discrepancies related to tourism in the region and thereby requested him to add impetus towards solving those problems.

HOTELS

Anything but ordinary Promising ‘anything but ordinary’, the new branding of The Park Hotels will roll out from April 1 with a re-designed logo to reflect their approach.

D E V I KA J E E T

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he Park Hotels have introduced a new brand identity promising a refreshed approach to their

depth and new layers to the identity. We are known for creativity and innovation and as we continue to grow, we realised the need to communicate boldly the strength of our brand. The fresh design

Vijay Dewan, Managing Director and Priya Paul, Chairperson, Apeejay-Surrendra Park Hotels at the unveiling the new logo

boutique hotels in India.

The new logo expresses The Park being the place to be and to be seen at. The new identity is simple and draws strength from its black and white colour coordination.

Different from the previous branding, this is the fifth time the ApeejaySurrendra Group has redeveloped its brand identity in over 40 years.

Discussing the new identity, Priya Paul, Chairperson, ApeejaySurrendra Park Hotels, says, “The new design is black and white, but bold with lots of

language strongly reflects contemporary India and our ethos. It is striking and captures our personality perfectly. It highlights our leadership through differentiation and reinforces who we are.”

The fresh visual identity system is made up of unique contemporary patterns, created from motifs that symbolise quintessential India. The brand revitalisation exercise has taken more than two years and has expenditure of about ` 12 crore. This process also integrates the execution of unique experiences that are

present in the brand promise of ‘Anything But Ordinary’.

‘Anything But Ordinary’ experiences continue into each of the service touchpoints in the hotel. “The origin of the new identity comes from the vibrant culture built around values of excellence, innovation, teamwork, commitment, integrity, empowerment and respect.

Our creativity has been expressed in every detail,” says Vijay Dewan, Managing Director, ApeejaySurrendra Park Hotels.

At present, the group is represented by 12 hotels across the country with three more scheduled to open in the near future. Already having an inventory of over 1,200 rooms the hotel chain is awaiting an additional 800 keys in the next three to four years. The branding roll out starts April 1 and ‘Anything But Ordinary’ experiences will be there throughout the year.

New Beginning The fresh visual identity system is made up of unique contemporary patterns, created from motifs that symbolise quintessential India.

This process also integrates the execution of unique experiences that are present in the brand promise of ‘Anything But Ordinary’

‘ASEAN together’

It was a big moment when ASEAN NTOs called a high tea meeting on February 27, 2013 at Café Auma, DLF Emporium, New Delhi. The objective of the meet was to discuss cooperation among ASEAN NTOs in India to work together for increasing and promoting Tourism in the ASEAN Region. Those who were present on the occasion included Sanjay Sondhi-Om Tourism (Indonesia), Vani Singh-Om Tourism (Indonesia), Puneet Kumar- Singapore Tourism Board, Meenaxi Jain- Singapore Tourism Board, Amran Abdul RahmanDirector- Tourism Malaysia, Chandra Sehgaran- Tourism Malaysia, Runjuan Tongrut- Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi and Pinki Arora- Direct Representation (Thailand).

RAILWAYS

Now, Trenitalia tickets in India Boarding a train has always been one of the most economical and easiest ways to travel around Italy. And now with Trenitalia train tickets booking facility available in India, travelling in Italian trains now becomes more convenient. for week-end bags and luggage for longer trips.

TT B UREAU

“I

n India, we are introducing Trenitalia’s high speed trains – the Frecciarossa (reaching a speed over 220 mph), the Frecciargento (reaching a speed over 155 mph) and the Frecciabianca (reaching a speed over 125 mph). The high speed trains connect major cities in Italy and are a huge attraction for Indians who want to explore Italy,” says Ramesh Marwah, Director GrandTour Assistance - Appointed Agents for Trenitalia in India.

Trenitalia’s Frecce trains are the fastest way to see the country, carrying around 1 million passengers a month and connect to all the major cities and smaller towns.

With 80 daily connections on the Frecciarossa trains running from the North

The executive carriage offers a luxury journey in a spacious coach with leather seats and exclusive services, including designated waiting lounge and gourmet menu served on the seat.

Ramesh Marwah Director GrandTour Assistance

to the South of Italy (Turin, Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples), the journey is quick, comfortable and safe. The

high speed Frecciarossa trains can reach speed of up to 300 km per hour.

Travellers on Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa trains get a choice of four service levels. All trains feature air conditioning, sound proof walls, comfortable seats and plenty of storage space

The business carriage offers personal attention to the passengers, offering maximum comfort and exclusive services.

Passengers are offered a welcome drink along with national and international newspapers. A dedicated ‘silence area’ is also a choice for business carriage customers who wish to travel in a quiet environment.

Premium carriage has leather armchairs with a completely new design. It is the best option to travel in comfort at convenient price.

Premium customers can enjoy a welcome service with snacks and beverages served at their seats along with newspapers Standard carriage will offer the advantage of travelling Frecciarossa within the reach of every pocket, with access to barrestaurant coach and WiFi. “We are in the process of creating a sales network to facilitate easy access for booking and issuance of tickets on Trenitalia,” adds Marwah.

A quest for survival for agents The 5 th biennial convention of the IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), held from March 1-3 in Mumbai, was a bid to find new avenues for the survival of travel agents. The delegates also discussed getting commission from selling lucrative tourism products available in the country.

42

TRAVTALK APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

NTO

Visa-on-Arrival for Indians in Egypt From Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) to new flights from Delhi and welcoming TAAI this year, Egypt Tourism is focussing on the India market in a big way. has details.

D E V I KA J E E T

W

hile Egypt recently hit a rough patch with tourism due to its political situation, the conditions in this country have now changed and to reiterate this, Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism, Egypt, says, “Tourists are welcomed in our country and we consider this sector to be very important”.

At present, Asians only add up to 3.5 per cent of their total tourist arrivals and Indians are a small majority

Changing Trends In 2010, a total of 114,248 Indian arrivals were recorded and the number for 2012 was 82,698 Out of the total Indian visitors last year, 76 per cent were male and 24 per cent were female and a majority were the first time travellers to Egypt The country only recorded 24 per cent repeat tourists from India

convention in Egypt. I met with Iqbal Mulla regarding the same and we discussed welcoming 1,500 Indians for this convention and are looking at June or July this year as a possible time,” adds Beblawy.

in this. In 2010, a total of 114,248 Indian arrivals were recorded and the number for 2012 was 82,698. Out of the total Indian visitors last year, 76 per cent were male and 24 per cent were female and a majority were the first time travellers to Egypt. The country only recorded 24 per cent repeat tourists from India.

Taking swift steps to promote tourism from India, Zaazou says, “We are providing more facilities for VoA to Indians. Anyone with an American, British or Schengen visa can avail this opportunity.” At present, VoA facilities were only available for group travel of over 10 people with fixed day departures.

His Excellency Khaled el Bakley, Ambassador of Egypt to India, adds to this, saying, “It’s not necessary to have valid visas to avail this VoA facility.”

Another important development will be the increase in connectivity by

(L-R) Khaled el Bakley, Ambassador of Egypt to India; Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism, Egypt; George Nader El Beblawy from Egyptian Tourism Federation and Adel Masry, Director of Egyptian Tourism Office in India at an event in New Delhi

Egypt Air. “We hope to connect Delhi and Cairo with flights four times a week being introduced in the winter schedule this year. I have had very promising meetings with travel agents and have been guaranteed excellent load factors.

Thus, this looks like a promising development in the near future,” adds Zaazou. The airline already has bilateral rights to fly to Delhi.

Along with these developments, Egypt promises to provide continuous support

to their Indian travel partners. “We continue to work on co-marketing activities matching dollar against dollar. We will offer incentives and focus on advertising.

Educational fam trips for the trade are also on the cards,” says Zaazou.

Adel Masry, Director of Egyptian Tourism Office in India, said, “India and Egypt have such cultural and social similarities, even though they are in different continents.

We want to show how serious

we are to strengthen bilateral relations with India. We are sure to encourage tourist and trade traffic from both countries and foster a beautiful relationship between India and Egypt.”

Dr George Nader El Beblawy from the Egyptian Tourism Federation met with Iqbal Mulla, President, TAAI and invited the association to conduct their annual convention in Egypt. “I represent the private sector and extend our welcome to TAAI for their

The tourism department has also come up with an innovative idea of having webcams in all major tourist destinations across the country and the feed from this can be viewed by anyone across the world.

“We want you to see how safe the country is and with the web cameras, you can do exactly that. As it’s live, we cannot change the footage and it’s all available right in front of you,” explains Zaazou.

The famous King Tut Exhibition is also slated to come to India by the end of the year. This will give Indians an opportunity to see the splendor of ancient Egyptians and view their antique artifacts.

Interhome India widens focus to Austria, Spain, France and Italy Founded in 1965 in Switzerland, Interhome; Europe’s provider of quality holiday homes and apartments worldwide will aggressively tap the Indian market for its properties in Austria, Spain, France and Italy for the year 2013-2014.

Interhome is represented in India by Mumbai-based Maison de Voyage, the sales and marketing arm of the Zaka Group. Jenaifer Daruwalla, General Manager, Interhome India said,

“With the everincreasing growth and demand of outbound travel in India, there is space and need of newer holiday concepts.

Interhome is a vacation rental management company, which will match the Indian travellers' requirements, as well as offer them new outstanding holiday experiences. The holiday homes are individually home-owned and therefore, a traveller will not find two similar Interhome properties anywhere in the world. All Interhome properties are self-catered; however, services such as breakfast, maid on request, cooks on request, daily cleaning, pre-grocery shopping and India masalas are possible on request.”

Speaking of their plans to engage with the travel trade, Daruwalla added, “Our main aim is to increase awareness about Interhome India as our

product is very unique and something completely out of the box and one which will have tremendous appeal for the experienced traveller.

Our properties in Switzerland are already very popular with the Indian clientele and hence, we want to showcase our vacation rentals in other European destinations as well as UK and the USA, with a focus on building relationships with the travel trade in India.”

The Interhome portfolio comprises of 32,000 properties in 29 countries across the globe and the locations of the properties range from city centres and Alpine ski slopes to beach resorts and lakes.

7th Starwood India Expo 2013 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific held its annual roadshow, Starwood India Expo 2013 from March 1-7 across Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata. This year's expo showcased over 45 hotels. “Starwood Expo provides a platform for us to

engage with our meetings, corporate and travel trade partners,” said Dilip Puri, Managing Director, India and Regional Vice-President South Asia, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts.

“Starwood sells the way our customers want to buy.

Our goal is to be the easiest hotel company to do business with; we are flexible, reliable, responsive, proactive and focused on creative solutions,” shared Alison Taylor, Vice President of Sales for Starwood Hotels and Resorts for Asia Pacific.

FAMILY ALBUM APRIL 4-6

Azerbaijan

8-9

Cape Town

8-10

Abu Dhabi

9-11

Beijing

11 11-12 11-13

Abu Dhabi Dublin Russia

11-14

Hyderabad

14-16 15 17-19

Jaipur Delhi Shanghai

18-19

Bhopal

18-21 19-21 21-24

Hanoi Barcelona Auckland

23-25

Brazil

23-26 24-26

Riyadh Kazakhstan

25-28 25-28 25-28

Italy Bangkok Bangkok

Azerbaijan International Tourism Fair (AITF) International Luxury Travel Market Africa (ILTM Africa) WTTC Global Travel & Tourism Summit China Outbound Travel Tourism Mart (COTTM) PATA Hub City Forum - Abu Dhabi CAPA CEO Summit 23rd Siberian International Travel & Tourism Exhibitions (TOURSIB) Conference of United Nation's World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Regional Commission for South Asia, East Asia and Pacific countries Great India Travel Bazaar PATA Hub City Forum - New Delhi Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings China (IT&CM) Bhopal International Conference on Sustainable Tourism Vietnam International Travel Mart Salo International del Tourisme Tourism New Zealand TRENZ 2013 World Travel Market Latin America Riyadh Travel Fair Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair (KITF) Leisure Italy 2013 PATA Annual Summit The 22nd PATA Foundation Silent Auction

FICCI Shoots at Site International and domestic tourism boards have realised the potential of film tourism and Bollywood Tourism. To underline the importance of film tourism, FICCI organised an action-packed one-day event in Mumbai - ‘Shoot at Site’ bringing in international and local experts debating on opportunities, challenges and way forward for film tourism in India.

MAY 5-7 6-9 9-11 11-14 12

Germany Dubai Shanghai Durban Maldives

12-14 12-15

Budapest Ottawa

13-15 15-16

Kuwait Bangkok

16-18 21 24-26 24-27 28-29

Switzerland Moscow Kolkata Taiwan Singapore

German Travel Mart Arabian Travel Market (ATM) World Travel Fair Indaba Expo World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony Routes Europe 2013 Canadian Tourism Commission’s Rendezvous Canada Travel World Expo 5th Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference Meeting Luxury 2013 PATA Hub City Forum - Moscow India Tourism Fair Taipei Tourism Expo 9th Travel Distribution Summit Asia

STIC Travel & Europcar tie up

Contd. from page 18

JUNE 2-4 3-6

Cape Town Shanghai

11-13

Chicago

13-16 13-16 21-23

Hong Kong Hong Kong Beijing

26-27

New Zealand

IATA: Annual General Meeting International Luxury Travel Market Asia (ILTMA) Americas Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibitions (AIBTM) International Travel Expo ITE MICE Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) Tourism New Zealand MEETINGS

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

‘Agents key to our success’

(L-R): Mr. Subhash Goyal, Chairman- STIC Travel Group, Mr. Bernard Nassiri, Group Sales Director- Europcar, Mr. Arnd Rieken- Group Franchise Director for Europcar

more incentives for travel agents. Under the newly named ‘100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme’, travel agents will find it easier to qualify to be a 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist. The criteria to maintain the status of a specialist will also change to enable agents to stay in the programme once they initially qualify. To further encourage agents, the first 50 agents who meet the module completion criteria and attend Tourism New Zealand training by December 31, 2013, will stand a chance to win a place in the South and South East Asia mega-familiarisation trip. This

mega fam will take place in March 2014 and will visit both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

How important a role do agents play?

Travel agents and tour operators are the key to our success in increasing visitor arrivals to New Zealand. Even though online travel portals have revolutionised the industry, people still trust a travel agent or a tour operator’s opinions, when it comes to making travel choices, particularly for long-haul destinations such as ours. The “100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme” is one way of showing our commitment to the trade industry.

NEWS

Westin sets foot in Chennai The hotel chain has entered the city which has intense competition, growth opportunities and challenges for hospitality giants with Westin Chennai Velachery.

A N I TA J A I N

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tarwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has launched its 215-room Westin Chennai Velachery property in Chennai. This is its sixth property in India and first of seven new Westin hotels opening this year in Asia-Pacific region. The property has a 24-hour gym, outdoor swimming pool, a spa and a group-running programme called Run Westin. It has three restaurants – all day-dining Seasonal Tastes, Pan Asia EESTTM and the Poolside Grill and Barbeque along with a cricket-themed lounge bar Willows. The hotel also houses more than 1,170 sq metres of meeting space, including two pillarless ballrooms and 12 breakout rooms for MICE events.

According to Shrikant Wakharkar, General Manager, The Westin Chennai Velachery; after the successful launch of the Westin brand in cities like Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Pune, Westin brand’s entry into Chennai as a major metro city had to follow.

Shrikant Wakharkar General Manager The Westin Chennai Velachery

Chennai has tremendous potential for MICE segment as the city has hosted some high-profile international conferences in the recent past According to Wakharkar, the hospitality scene in Chennai has metamorphosed over the last year

or so with highly reputed new entrants across all brands and categories opening hotels in the city. Explaining the current scenario of hospitality sector in Chennai, he said, “The city has tremendous potential for MICE segment as the city has hosted some high-profile international conferences in the recent past. The lodging demand will continue to be dominated by the business segment, but MICE is bound to grow at a rapid pace in the next few years. The continued addition of branded rooms inventory in the city, especially over the last 18 months, has led to a compression in the city, but we are optimistic that the strength of our brand, the power of Starwood and its distribution system and the value that our loyalty programme, SPG brings will give us a definite edge to ramp up our business and outperform the market.”

poised for quantum growth.

“So we want to be a part of this growth story as this is an exciting time for Chennai,” adds Wakharkar.

He informed that the average local has a lot more spending power now than a half a decade back due to rise in income level. Hotels with innovative F&B offerings have a great opportunity to tap the growing segment of locals who are spending more on F&B. With Chennai airport modernisation, more domestic and international flights are expected to fly from the city in coming years.

Many of our SPG members travel frequently to Chennai which is the gateway to the south. Besides being an important IT hub, the retail sector is also

With Chennai airport modernisation, more domestic and international flights are expected to fly from the city in coming years

Why Chennai?

The hospitality scene in Chennai has metamorphosed over the last year or so with highly reputed new entrants across all brands and categories opening hotels in the city

‘Scope and Avenues of Adventures’ The Department of Tourism, Government on West Bengal had organised a seminar on ‘Scope and avenues of Adventure in West Bengal’ in association with the Adventure Tour Operators’ Association of India (ATOAI).

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he seminar was organised to identify the kind of adventure tourism possible in the state, identification of the stakeholders, how to proceed towards the objectives and create awareness of adventure tourism in West Bengal. The seminar emphasised on creation of a favorable atmosphere and motivation for development of adventure tourism and promote the potential at national and international levels. The seminar also highlighted the possibility of hosting the 11th Annual Convention of ATOAI in the State.

Tejbir Singh Anand, President, ATOAI, advised the state government to

Objective The seminar emphasised on creation of a favorable atmosphere and motivation for development of adventure tourism and promote the potential at national and international levels

improve traveller’s experience by improving services at airports and railway stations.

He also emphasised the need to improve taxi services, way side amenities and hygiene and sanitation conditions. He informed that the trade is looking forward to the state government for announcement of investment policies for development of adventure infrastructure in the state.

The policies may be in the form of subsidies, soft loans, cheaper loans, etc. The bringing of ATOAI Convention to the state would also attract and divert the attention of the entire travel fraternity to the state. Singh also encouraged trade to organise series of fam tours to the state for development of new programmes and products and hold workshops. He also encouraged the trade to become members of ATOAI to have wider marketing opportunities and exposure.

He pointed out that there is a need to catalogue homestays, guides, and other resources available in the

state so as to help the industry at large to bring adventure tourism to the state.

Ajeet Bajaj, Immediate Past President, ATOAI, informed the stakeholders about the necessity of the

Tejbir Singh Anand President ATOAI

hour – Safe and Sustainable Tourism, two of the four pillars of ATOAI. He requested state government to adopt safety guidelines devised and adopted by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in consultation with ATOAI. He also advised the state government to recog-

nise tour operators as Adventure Tour Operator so as to ensure safe adventure tourism.

David Singh, Executive Committee Member, ATOAI, encouraged the trade to join hands as there is tremendous scope of development of adventure destination in the state. The synergies are excellent not within the state but also across political frontiers which is the ground root for development.

Reopening of Silk Route Caravans and conversion of Neora Valley into multi-activity adventure park are some of the instances for promotion of adventure tourism in the state.

The occasion was graced with the presence of Goutam Dev, Minister in Charge, North Bengal Development Board, Government of West Bengal; Rudranath Bhattacharya, Chairman, Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority and MLA, Siliguri; Gangotri Dutta, Mayor, SMC, Siliguri;and many more.

CLIPBOARD

APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

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MOVEMENTS

TRAVTALK APRIL 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Ginger Hotels

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts

Le Royal Meridien, Chennai

Mumbai

Mumbai

Chennai

Rajesh Jhingon has been appointed as the Executive Vice President Operations of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts.

In this role, Jhingon will oversee and drive operations and initiatives for The Leela group’s award-winning portfolio of eight hotels as well as four new hotels in the pipeline. Jhingon began his career as part of the opening team of The Oberoi and went on to assume the operational command of The Oberoi in Mumbai and thereafter in New Delhi before taking on the mantle of the opening GM of Amarvilas Agra.

Pankaj Mathur has recently been appointed as the General Manager of Le Royal Meridien, Chennai. His responsibilities include overseeing operations and implementation of new business strategies and models at Le Royal Meridien in Chennai. Mathur has over 2 decades of experience in the hospitality.

Mathur has worked in various global companies like Marriott International, IHG and Hyatt as well as Indian chains like Oberoi Group, Taj Group and the Welcome Group. With a successful hotel career, Mathur was initially tapped by Starwood for the post of General Manager for Four Points by Sheraton, Pune.

Crowne Plaza, Kochi

Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, New Delhi

Le Meridien Jaipur

Kochi

New Delhi

Jaipur

Anoop Joseph has been appointed by the Crowne Plaza Kochi as Sales Head. He started his hotel industry career with The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts after completing MBA in Tourism from Christ College, Bangalore. He has worked with international chains like ACCOR and Mövenpick . Prior to joining Crowne Plaza Kochi, he was associated with Mövenpick Hotel & Spa, Bangalore. In his current role, Joseph will be heading sales for Crowne Plaza Kochi and focusing on having the right positioning of property and driving revenues from key segments like corporate, leisure, MICE, social and airlines.

Priya Sahni has been appointed as Senior Sales Manager for Shangri-La’s-Eros Hotel, New Delhi based out of Bangalore.Priya has over eight years of experience in the hospitality industry. She has worked with renowned hotels including The Oberoi New Delhi, Taj Palace and Hyatt Regency in New Delhi. In her current role, she will be responsible of generating revenue and exploring new business opportunities.

Sanjay Gupta has been appointed as the General Manager of the Le Meridien Jaipur. Prior to this, Gupta had been instrumental in establishing Le Méridien Coimbatore, the newest hotel in India

by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and the 100th Le Méridien hotel globally for the brand. Having spent almost 19 years in the hospitality industry, Gupta has also worked at The Royal Orchid Group of Hotels in Bangalore. In his previous roles, he has worked with The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts and Trident Hotels, Mumbai in the capacity of Food & Beverage Manager.

Singapore Airlines

Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel

Le Meridien, Kochi

Mumbai

Jatinder Pal Singh has joined Le Meridien Kochi as the Executive Chef overseeing Food & Beverage production for the Venues.

Prior to joining Le Meridien Kochi, he worked at the Westin Gurgaon as Executive Sous Chef. He has worked with different organisations like Leela and Taj before joining Starwood.

Singh’s Starwood experience started when he joined Le Meridien, Ahmedabad as Sous Chef and later moved to Westin Sohna as the Senior Sous Chef. With more than 10 years of experience in the culinary arts, his expertise is set to feature authentic yet innovative delicacies in the city of Kochi.

PK Mohankumar has been appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Roots Corporation Limited (RCL), a subsidiary of The Taj Group. In his new role, Mohankumar will lead the management team in consolidating current operations of Ginger Hotels across India and spearheading growth and development in the domestic market. Prior to taking on his current role, Mohankumar served as Chief Operation Officer of The Gateway Hotels & Resorts.

Mohankumar brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table after serving more than 39 years in the hotel industry.

He started his career with the flagship hotel, Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, Mumbai in 1974.

Mumbai Divya Mohan has joined Singapore Airlines as the Public Relations Manager – India. She will be handling all PR aspects in India for Singapore International Airlines and Silk Air. Before this, Mohan was a part of the pre-opening team for the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in India, and has worked with Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai for 5 and half years. She was also a part of the launch of India’s highest roof-top bar AER. CSR initatives like Terry Fox and Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Benefit.

Vijay Taksali has been taken on as the Director of Finance to provide directed and strategic consultancy that will complement the company’s existing business. Based in Mumbai, Taksali showcases a portfolio of working with esteemed companies and servicing them with key designation like Director of Finance of Pullman Gurgaon Central Park; Financial Controller of IBIS Hotels in India; Assistant Financial Controller of Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon; Financial Controller AMAN Bagh; Manager Finance HRH Group of Hotels, Udaipur.

Talking People is a special dedicated corner, created as a sounding board for who’s who of the Indian and International travel industry. With Talking People, it is our endeavour to bring you face-to-face with people.

Contributed by: Peden Doma Bhutia, Vivek Sethi, Devika Jeet & Teena Baruah

Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism, Egypt, has over 30 years of experience in the tourism industry including senior advisory roles in the public sector, as well as key operational roles in the private. Zaazou is fluent in Arabic, English and French. He holds a Bachelor degree in Commerce from the University of Ain Shams in Cairo and a certificate for a public private partnership programme from Harvard University. He is the first Egyptian travel pioneer to Hisham Zaazou specialise in green tourism projects and the first to Minister of Tourism Egypt head the green tourism unit at the Ministry of Tourism. He is also the head of the supreme committee for transforming Sharm Ei Sheikh into a green city.

Desmond Theophilus, Managaing Director AlphaPlus Dmc. “With very little time to spend, whenever I get some spare time, I love to travel. I also play a lot of golf and am an avid golfer. I’m a member of Jaypee Greens, The Air Force and the Delhi Gymkhana Club. Desmond Theophilus In the summer, I’m going to Managaing Director Phuket to play golf. We’ve been AlphaPlus Dmc invited on a fam tour to inaugurate the Phuket-Delhi direct flight,” he says.

Kochi

Adel El Masry, Director, Egypt Tourism office (India), has completed his PhD from Sorbone University in Paris and is specialised in crises management in the tourism sector. This is his second mission in India and he has been living here since October 2009. Masry enjoys social networking, sports, exploring new places, Adel El Masry Director cinema, Indian food and spreading Egypt Tourism office (India) information on Egypt. He is married to a French lady who works with the Ministry of Justice in Paris as a Judge.

Santosh Kumar Sharma, Director, Foresee Aviation, is a gold medallist in Economics . After his graduation, he went on to do his MBA from Mumbai. He always wanted to be a trained pilot, but is now content with the business of aircraft charters, wherein he makes pilots fly for him.

He wants to own a Cessna Citation Cj2+ aircraft one day. His wife is into real estate business and his six-year-old son ‘Nirvana’ can recall the makes of almost all private aircraft models that are in vogue. Jaipur is his favourite domestic travel destination.

Santosh Kumar Sharma Director Foresee Aviation

Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication:30-03-2013

HIGHLIGHT

Philippines adding more flights The country will soon introduce a destination specialist programme for travel partners as part of the business strategy for India.

A N I TA J A I N

A

fter relaxing visa norms for Indian travellers with specific valid visas, Philippines Tourism is now in the process of adding direct air connectivity on the India

Benito C Bengzon Jr, Assistant Secretary, International Tourism Promotion, Department of Tourism, Philippines

We have a share of just eight per cent from South-East Asian market and we intend to increase this further this year – Philippines route. Currently, with just Philippines Airlines serving direct between both the countries, there are other carriers like Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airways, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific Airlines and AirAisa.

According to Benito C Bengzon Jr, Assistant Secretary, International Tourism Promotion, Department of Tourism, Philippines; direct air-connectivity is one of the major hurdles to attract Indian pas-

sengers to the country. The department is now in talks with few network partners from India and Philippines to start direct connections between both the countries.

It is also in process of further liberalising the visa norms for Indian travellers. The plans for this year include introducing a destination specialist programme for trade to enhance their knowledge on Philippines and start focussing on the Tier-II cities in India which have tremendous growth potential.

receives over 40 per cent. On the other hand, we have a share of just eight per cent from South-East Asian market and we intend to increase this further this year.”

Talking about the growing potential of India as a tourism source market, Bengzon said, “India has been identified as a major source market this year as we recorded growth of over 30 per cent in January 2013 over last year and an eight per cent growth in 2012 over 2011. To improve

The country received 46,000 Indian tourists in 2012 and aims to attract 66,000 in 2013. Apart from working on improving the direct air-connectivity; the department is also underlining the destination with multiple products for all kind of travellers. It is currently catering to leisure travellers, honeymooners, FITs and groups and intends to attract families, incentive groups, DINKS and even experiential travellers. On the product side, apart from highlighting its famous beaches, nightlife

Indians to have Fun in Philippines I

n charge of the mission to increase Indian arrivals in Philippines, Glen Agustin, Head, Team India, and Chief Tourism Operations Officer, Department of Tourism, Philippines is keen to apply the findings of the study that points out the viability of introducing new tourist attraction in the Indian market.

“We are increasing the lure of more attractions in the Philippines in a gradual manner with the help of travel partners. The key here is to get the Indian market ready to explore new destinations. In fact, based on the finding of our study, we now try to take along a destination, when we

travel to India for travel-related event, or fair. Further, we are focussing on building the group and MICE movements.

Last year, we had about 25 groups with an average of 40 people,” said Glen.

“India is a strategic market for us and between now

The Philippines is recording a flat growth from Western markets, while Asian markets are performing well.

Explaining the growing importance of intra-Asian tourism, Bengzon said, “We intend to get actively engaged with South-East Asian markets and improve on intra-Asia traffic as there is a huge potential there. For instance, Thailand receives 60 per cent of tourists from Asian region, while Malaysia

tourism traffic from India, the biggest hurdle is direct air-connectivity. We are positive about adding more direct flights between India and Philippines. If we are successful in roping in low-cost carriers with legacy carriers in the scene, it will be a great boost in stimulating the market with exciting air fares, options for passengers and reducing the entire tour package cost to certain extent.”

Glen Agustin Head, Team India, and Chief Tourism Operations Officer, Department of Tourism, Philippines

and August, we are working on meeting more agents, organising fam for the agents and roadshows that will include Tier I and Tier II cities. The detailed programme in this regard is presently being worked by our Indian office,” he added. In fact, to find ways and means to foster air connectivity, the Philippines participated in the Routes Asia, which is the key event for stakeholders in the Aviation industry and brings together key players in the airline and airport industry from Asia and also from Europe for strategic networking on air service development. and shopping; it will be promoting heritage, culture, historical sites and even adventure.

Wooing Indians The country received 46,000 Indian tourists in 2012 and aims to attract 66,000 in 2013 The department is also underlining the destination with multiple products for all kind of travellers