TravTalk India

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Vol. XXIV No. 8; April 2 nd fortnight issue 2012

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TRAVTALK

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APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Industry status for Tourism

Talking loud and clear contacted Tourism Secretary to inform him that the trade was unhappy with his recent comments. Khwaja said, “Everybody has a right to showcase their opinion. Nobody has spoken to me (regarding industry status) and if they do, I can certainly discuss.

If I think that I have made a statement that is factually incorrect, I will correct it myself.”

RH Khwaja, Secretary, MOT, GoI

JUSTIN THOMAS n a recent interview with , Khwaja, while answering a query on giving an industry status to

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Tourism, said, “Tourism is not a manufacturing sector. An industry by definition is a manufacturing process.

Tourism is a service sector, it is not an industry.”

He further clarified that, “When the travel trade says you declare Tourism an industry what they mean is to give us more concessions.

That is an unending process.”

We had put up the Secretary’s statement to major associations in the Country and their replies ranged from disappointment to despair. Most of them

pointed out that Tourism generates maximum employment in the country while the tax generated from the sector is also one of the biggest in the Country. After the jewels

industry, it is the Tourism Industry which gets the highest foreign exchange earnings in India.

Contd. on page 12 u

GITB 2012 getting bigger and better The success of any of the leading travel marts largely rests on the number of B2B meetings. GITB will surely break the record set in the previous edition.

Bina Kak, Minister for Woman & Child Development, Tourism, Art & Culture Archeology, Printing & Stationery

VIVEK SETHI

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n a very short period of time, the ‘Great Indian Travel Bazaar’ (GITB)

has become one of the most coveted marts in South East Asia region, says Usha Sharma, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Rajasthan on basis of the feedback she keeps receiving from stakeholders of the tourism industry.

“The success of any of the leading travel mart largely rests on the number of B2B meetings. With over 8,050 B2B meetings confirmed

much prior to the Show, is evidence in itself about our surety that we will break the record set in the previous edition, while the numbers can go much higher on the back of excitement being shown by the foreign tour operators and large Indian sellers,” said Sharma.

GITB will be held in its fifth edition and is all set to break the record of the B2B Contd. on page 12 u

Usha Sharma

Jyotsna Suri

Principal Secretary Tourism Government of Rajasthan

Chairperson FICCI Tourism Committee

BULLETIN

8,050 prefixed B2B meets at GITB There has been an increase of 700 pre-fixed B2B meetings this year at the Event that had surpassed the record of 7,350 B2B meetings in 2011.

T T B U R E AU he Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) has been a strong platform for the industry. The fifth edition of GITB in 2012 has become even more bigger having left behind the benchmarks it had created in the previous edition.

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“There has been an increase of 700 pre-fixed B2B meetings at the event that had set a new record of 7,350 B2B meetings in 2011. As per the current statistics, the participants at the GITB will witness over 8,050 such B2B meetings,” said Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in its response to queries shared by .

“In this edition, there will be 261 Foreign Tour

Operators coming down from 55 countries. There will be 252 stalls spread across six halls and leading state

Tamil Nadu, Delhi Tourism and Chhattisgarh,” the statement adds.

Additional Director, FICCI

For the uninitiated, the objective of GITB event is to portray India as a world-class tourist destination. It is organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The fifth edition is being organised from April 15-17, 2012 at B M Birla Convention Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

tourism boards including Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand,

FICCI’s The Great Indian Travel Bazaar has been a huge success & is looked forward to by the fraternity, which it hopes will reflect in terms of the industry participation in a

Rahul Chakraborty

similar Industry event it wants to hold for the domestic segment called ‘Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar’.

Post the event there will be fam tours of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators (RATO) will be organising 4-day and 3-night post-mart tours for foreign buyers covering major destinations in Rajasthan.

Growing Numbers There’s been an increase of 700 pre-fixed B2B meets at the event that had set a new record of 7,350 B2B meetings in 2011.

As per the current statistics, the participants at GITB will witness over 8,050 such B2B meetings

STATISTICS

Travel tops leisure activity list

VIEWPOINT

The summer of 2012 will witness more leisure breaks and less IPL, more adventure and less email, reveals the annual ‘Summer Holiday Travel Survey’ of TripAdvisor®. Conducted over 1,500 respondents, the Survey highlights that 35 per cent Indian travellers are ready to head out. Excerpts...

Marketing Indian Magic one are the days when India was known as a land of snake charmers.

Modern India, today, is a vibrant young country that has invested heavily in creating the right infrastructure. The international airport in Delhi, Delhi Metro and state-of-the-art Hyderabad International Convention Centre are some of the flag bearer projects that are functional and reflect that India is not ready to settle for anything less than global best practices.

It’s of great significance for the stakeholders in the tourism industry to realise the strengths India has acquired over the past few decades. Presently, there is a clear disconnect between the way India is portrayed in comparison to the rest of the world at various international travel trade events.

India is today one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, which certainly has a lot more to offer than a conventional golden triangle tour, which has been the mainstay of tour operators for years and marketed in literally speaking the most repetitive manner.

Once the Indian and international stakeholders realise the change themselves, then only will they think of marketing destination India in the most befitting manner, which means selling travel attractions spread across its length and breadth.

MOT needs to play a pivotal role here, which is perfectly in line with its ambitious target set for doubling numbers in the inbound and domestic sectors. In fact, the representative associations of the travel and hospitality industry must take the lead in this direction and tie up with their overseas counterparts.

MOT here should extend the benefits of the MDA scheme for building such partnerships and also commit necessary hand-holding support for unleashing a holistic B2B force to promote destination India.

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Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Publisher Rupali Narasimhan Editorial Director Deepa Sethi Editor

Editorial Ratan Kr Paul Megha Paul Anita Jain Justin Thomas Vivek Sethi Desk-Editor Archana Sharma Sub-Editor Raina Mandal Photographer Simran Kaur

Advertising Gunjan Sabikhi General Manager Karishma Khanna Sr. Manager Marketing Megha Puri Manager Marketing Amit Sarkar Sr. Marketing Co-ordinator Advertising (Mumbai) Suchita Saran Branch Manager Harshal Ashar Deputy General Manager

T T B U R E AU ikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, says, “It seems like a bustling summer for travellers this year. It is interesting to note that more Indian

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travellers are willing to explore newer destinations and seek more adventure on their vacations.” Talking about the annual ‘Summer Holiday Travel Survey’, Ganju says, “The survey unveiled interesting insights

Places travellers are heading to!

20% of those travelling within India are going to visit at least one of the three destinations – Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan Among international holiday spots, South East Asian destinations such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia emerge as favourites followed by Australia, UK and USA etc Destinations like Kashmir, Port Blair, Spain, Greece, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia and Vietnam also emerge as new vacation choices for a few, indicating a trend to go off the beaten track Promotional campaigns seem to have influenced choice of destination, 30% travellers shared that they made the decision to holiday in some destinations after seeing the promotional campaigns. The top 3 destinations people decided on visiting after watching promotional campaigns were Gujarat, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Travellers are also showing an increasing interest in exploring J&K and the North East

Destination unknown Indian travellers seem to be opening up to new and unique holidays with 48% respondents willing to experiment with mystery trips 50% men in India are willing to experiment with mystery holidays this summer compared to 40% women The big surprise is that 65% of travellers in the age group of 65+ were game for a mystery holiday Kolkata strides ahead as the city most willing to go on mystery trips among the six major metros

on women travellers.

Women were mostly travelling with family or spouse, but our survey results show that the Indian woman is ready to go solo with 64 per cent female respondents willing to travel alone on

Travel on their mind 89% respondents confirm planning a holiday this summer 74% travellers looking to take 2 or more leisure trips in the next 6 months 48% travellers open to mystery holiday and 35 per cent plan to tread off the beaten track

(Mumbai) Rishika Karra Sales Coordinator Advertising (South India) Vinu V Nair Regional Head-South India Advertisement Designers Vikas Mandotia Nitin Kumar Renuka Mahich Design: Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal Production: Anil Kharbanda Circulation: Ashok Rana

TRAVTALK is a publication of Durga Das Publications Private Limited.

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

Country Manager TripAdvisor India

Setting a new trend, Indian women are ready to head out by themselves on a holiday with 64% willing to travel alone on leisure However, a disheartening trend to note is that only 11% women are comfortable with travelling alone only within India; as opposed to 18% women who are actually more comfortable travelling only internationally.

An indication probably of how safe women feel in the country which is their own, even when compared to unknown international destinations 49 % women are planning to splurge between ` 50,000 – ` 2,00,000 on their summer vacation this year Though only 40% women are open to the idea of mystery travel, 67% are happy heading for offbeat destinations Largest percentage of women who would not consider travelling alone are from Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi

tionally this summer, Chennai & Hyderabad have the highest percentage of travellers going abroad for the first time Hyderabad, followed by Chennai and Kolkata, are the top 3 cities with travellers planning to venture to offbeat destinations on holiday this summer Bengaluru leads the adventure trail with highest respondents across cities planning to take a safari/wildlife sanctuary or camping/hiking/rafting holiday

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Nikhil Ganju

Women break away solo

How the big six metros fare in the travel chart Chennai has the highest percentage of travellers across 6 major metros in planning a holiday this summer (94%) Among the 6 key metros, Kolkata has the highest percentage (17%) of travellers looking to travel only to international destinations Kolkata has the highest social quotient with the highest percentage of respondents looking to post regular social updates while on holiday, followed by Delhi Among those travelling interna-

leisure. Adventure travel too is gathering steam; the percentage of travellers opting for adventure activities such as outdoor camping/ rafting/ hiking and a safari/wildlife sanctuary trip has seen a fillip from last year.”

69% Mumbai respondents are set to spend between ` 50,0002,00,000, the highest across six metros Chennai followed by Hyderabad and Kolkata are least likely to plan short breaks over upcoming long weekend holidays Mumbai followed by Bengaluru and Delhi are least excited about the upcoming IPL season Chennai could do with some help from Cupid, as the city shows the lowest percentage of respondents going on a romantic or honeymoon holiday this summer

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AVIATION

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

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Air India loses monopoly

11 new international sectors up for grabs Preferential treatment for the State Carrier is still expected, but the earlier monopoly has been removed.

T T B U R E AU he Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to open 11 new international sectors under the bilateral air services agreements (ASAs) to Indian scheduled carriers.

These sectors include DelhiMacau, Mumbai-Dar-esSalaam, Delhi-Guangzhou, Delhi-Yangon, DelhiTashkent, Delhi-Ho-ChiMinh City, Delhi-Hanoi, Delhi-Almaty, Delhi-Addis Ababa, Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney.

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Ajit Singh, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, had earlier reviewed the utilisation of traffic rights under the bilateral aviation agreements and has decided to allow the Indian scheduled carriers to utilise the bilaterals till such time they reach the maximum permissible limit under air service agreements.

However, Air India's operational plan would receive priority while considering allocation of traffic rights and entitlements.

With this, the Services of Air India and Air India Express will increase from 430 services per week during winter 2011 to 471 services per week in summer 2012. These services will include increase of services from 94 to 109 on the Dubai sector, from 39 to 47 in Abu Dhabi sector, from 33 to 49

Bahrain Air waiting... n Bahrain Air could resume its flights to Thiruvananthapuram soon after a dispute forced the airline to ground flights last week.

The reason for grounding of these services was that the Civil Aviation authorities had still not approved of the continuation of flights to Thiruvananthapuram for the summer season. The Airline is still waiting for written approval from Civil Aviation Affairs Ministry to resume services on the newlylaunched route to Thiruvananthapuram. A delegation from the airline and Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs earlier flew to India in a bid to resolve the issue.

services in Sharjah sector, from 12 to 21 services in Doha sector and from 42 to 48 services in Saudi Arabia sector. The services of Air India and Air India Express will further increase from 471 services per

week in summer 2012 to 577 in winter 2012.

Similarly, the other Indian scheduled airlines have been allocated seats under the bilateral agreement to fly on various inter-

national routes in summer and winter 2012. SpiceJet will run 98 services per week in summer and additional 90 services per week in winter hence a total of 188 services per week in winter 2012.

Similarly Jet Airways has been allocated 102 services per week in summer and additional 98 services per week in winter, hence a total of 200 services per week in winter 2012. IndiGo has got 84 services per week in sum-

mer and 41 services per week in winter totaling to 125 services per week in winter 2012. The private carriers have thus been now allocated a total of 513 services in addition to their existing allocation.

GITB

Adventure Tourism grows in the domestic market There is a marked improvement in products offered

by Indian agents in this sector, but the perception of India being a red-tape country has not changed.

T T B U R E AU omestic market for Adventure Tourism is clearly on the rise as tourists are mixing adventure activities with regular activities.

“Earlier only hardcore adven-

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other side, there is a decline in international tourists in the sector.

“Perception of India being a difficult destination due to formalities has not changed, despite government making concentrated effort to

“Industry is making encouraging effort in following international standards,” says Kumar. This can be seen in improved quality of existing products. “There is a new trend in the adventure travel segment such as fam-

Vinayak Koul

Capt Swadesh Kumar

Tejbir Singh Anand

Director Snowlion Expeditions

Owner Shikhar Travels

President ATOAI

Earlier only hardcore adventurers were seen in this sector. But now, common tourists are also asking for it along with the regular sightseeing trip

Perception of India being a difficult destination due to formalities has not changed, despite the govt. making concentrated effort to lessen the redtape

turers were seen in this sector.

But now, common tourists are also asking for it along with the regular sightseeing trip,” says Vinayak Koul, Director, Snowlion Expeditions. On the

lessen the redtape,” remarks Capt Swadesh Kumar, Owner, Shikhar Travels. Lack of promotion overseas by government to change this mindset is one of the main reasons for decline.

Growing n Growing

Although the last couple of years have been challenging for the entire tourism industry, adventure travel by the virtue of its own character, remains relatively unaffected. The fact that these travels are fuelled by passion of the travellers, it is almost seen as recession proof.

Earlier only hardcore adventurers were seen in the Adventure Tourism sector. But now, common tourists are also asking for it along with the regular sightseeing trip Although the last couple of years have been challenging for the entire tourism industry, adventure travel by the virtue of its own character, remains relatively unaffected The corporate world has also shown great interest in offering adventure activities as part of their training programmes

“I welcome the entire tourism industry to encourage the retail segments of the market to re-sell adventure travel products sourced from the branded renowned companies and join the bandwagon reaping profits and goodwill while at the same time learning the ropes of Responsible Tourism,” says Tejbir Singh Anand, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India.

There is a new trend in this sector such as family adventure vacations, soft adventure vacations, multiactivity trips and women getaways ily adventure vacations, soft adventure vacations, multiactivity trips and women getaways,” informs Anand.

The corporate world has also shown great interest in offering adventure activities as part of their training programmes as well as incentive getaways for their personnel. There has been a tremendous change in the outlook of the people towards adventure sports and tourism.

Anand points out that in the next 5 years, the market size is set to grow by 100 per cent specially with keen interest from the corporate sector and the growing awareness in the domestic market. There is a clear trend of growth of agents in source markets like Ladakh where tourists directly get their bookings done. Even with the growth, industry leaders are in consensus that there is a huge scope for improvement.

GITB

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

7

Eco-Tourism in India on the rise There is more awareness on Responsible and Sustainable Tourism in the country than ever before with the market paying attention on how to spread Eco-Tourism in all facets of business.

JUSTIN THOMAS here is a definite increase in tourists who are asking for this segment of tourism,” says Mandip Singh Soin, President, Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI). “Industry should start looking inward and sort out the details as implementation needs to be pro-active,” observes Suhail Gupta, CEO, & Beyond India.

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“Travel should be for preservation of ecology and

Jose Dominic Managing Director and CEO CGH Earth Hotels

community encouragement,” says Jose Dominic, Managing Director and CEO, CGH Earth Hotels. Though there is a consensus that it is a small sector and education and awareness is the key for future growth. Dominic compares Goa with Kerala and

Industry should start looking inward and sort out the details Suhail Gupta, CEO, & Beyond India

points out the difference in approach for Sustainable Tourism. Big properties are sprucing up in Goa while there is more concentrated effort in socially integrating the society coupled with indigenous growth in Kerala.

ESOI had taken the lead in organising workshops in 10

Taking Lead The Association is planning to conduct an Eco Tourism Mart & Conference in April, 2013 and is being supported by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Madhya Pradesh Government

locations across the country.

“We discussed issues such as government policies and how to extend the scope of EcoTourism,” informs Soin. The Association is planning to conduct an Eco Tourism Mart & Conference in April, 2013 and is being supported by the

Union Ministry of Tourism and Madhya Pradesh Government. The Mart will highlight Eco-Tourism projects, sites and products.

Passion is the key for any operator to work in this sector. “Building rooms in

tourist spots does not imply Sustainable Tourism. There are other factors which define this sector,” affirms Gupta.

“It requires to be more than just the customer’s needs to address this issue and if there is no sustainability, there is no luxury,” says Dominic.

It is clear that community involvement is the key to develop this sector. This is reflected in employing the locals, lodges innovating to implement eco-friendly aspects like solar usage, etc.

Homestays have also become an integral part of Eco-

Mandip Singh Soin President Ecotourism Society of India

Tourism with local communities enjoying the benefits. For India, this sector is advantageous because of its diverse culture and region.

8 TRAVTALK

AVIATION

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Hyderabad gets its first city Park Hyatt

100% satisfaction with the TAAI event

n Hyatt Hotels announced recently the opening of Park Hyatt Hyderabad, the first city Park Hyatt hotel in India. It is also the first city hotel in Hyderabad to offer 42 fully serviced luxury apartments, The Residence, with five-star facilities and amenities. Centrally located, the hotel is just fifteen minutes from the technology hub of Hi-Tech City and the business district, and 45 minutes from Hyderabad’s international airport.

“Park Hyatt hotels are premium luxury hotels designed to cater to the discerning individual seeking the privacy, personalized service and luxurious elegance of a contemporary hotel,” said Sven Hoffmeyer, General Manager, Park Hyatt Hyderabad. "This new hotel will maintain the brand’s emphasis on art and culinary excellence with locally inspired artwork in the public areas and a signature restaurant headed by experienced chefs.”

After their impressive showcase at TAAI in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines is ready to capture the Indian market and satisfy its demands. They have introduced promotional fares, new aircraft, good food, improved connectivity and extra baggage allowance. tourism fraternity and offer our hospitality. We are 100 per cent satisfied with the TAAI event and feel it was a great opportunity for us”.

D E E PA S E T H I & D E V I K A J E E T n 2011, Turkish Airlines opened its own office in New Delhi and have seen unprecedented growth ever since. The airline is keen to enhance its network in India and will set up second flights from New Delhi and Mumbai once they get an approval from DGCA. At present, they are using all their traffic rights and talks are underway between the two governments to enhance the bilateral agreement.

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“Last year, our business grew by 10 - 15 per cent and now we have similar expectations this year. We expect better results as we now offer an improved product and new aircraft. Our new A330-300s have been deployed on the India routes and we are concentrating on passenger sales,” says Adnan Aykac, General Manager, Northern and Eastern India, Turkish Airlines.

As part of the airline’s vision to offer a good product at an applicable fare, Turkish Airlines offers one of the best products in India. They have also improved their catering service, “Our change in food and better catering is also a step to improve the product and services. We bring the food from Turkey and our food is now relished by passengers,” adds Aykac.

The load factor of Turkish Airlines is an average of 75 per cent and has been around 90 per cent for the first three months of this year. “85 per cent are transit passengers. Our geographical location offers great convenience for passengers flying on to Europe or the US, as the airline is not only well-connected but also offers outstanding benefits to its fliers,” he states.

Adnan Aykac General Manager - Northern and Eastern India, Turkish Airlines

Discussing this issue, Aykac says, “There is a huge potential to promote travel between Indian and Turkey.

Last year, 75,000 Indians visited Turkey but only 10,000 Turkish people came to India.

Promoting tourism to India and vice versa was also one on the reasons that we supported the TAAI event to such an extent. We are very happy as we could show our products to over 500 people from the

To further enhance their connectivity in India, the airline has improved their codeshare agreement with Air India, from block-space to a free-sale agreement, now Turkish Airlines can sell domestic flight tickets for Air India on flights to Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai among others. “As a marketing strategy, Turkish Airlines is also working closely with the Indian tourist offices overseas to increase tourism to India, and in India we are carrying out direct promotions at shopping malls to let people know more about Turkey,” he stated.

Discussing B2B marketing initiatives, he says, “We are concentrating on making our

relationships transparen where we should be easily approachable for our business partners and must be able to address their queries at the earliest.

Incentives, promotional fares and familiarisation trips are part of our marketing initiatives. This year, we hope to organise at least two familiarisation trips for the industry.”

Understanding the psyche of the Indian traveller, Turkish Airlines offers promotional fares, especially during the busy summer season (May to July). They are offering good food and 10 kg extra baggage allowance. It has many special offers - especially for corporate travellers and students.

New Features Their recently launched Business Class offers passengers the comfort of fully-flat beds

10 TRAVTALK

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

AVIATION

Implementing carbon tax

Air ticket prices to go up by 4 to 24 Euros Expert Talk The carbon tax imposed on airlines by the EU came into effect on January 1, but carriers will begin receiving bills only in 2013 EU says that the tax will help it achieve a goal of cutting carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 Denmark currently holds the EU's rotating presidency EU argues that the cost for airlines is manageable, estimating that the scheme could prompt carriers to add between 4 and 24 euros to the price of a roundtrip long-haul flight China has blocked purchases of Airbus planes by Chinese companies in reaction to the disputed tax

The Indian aviation industry cannot stay away from European Union’s decision to include aviation under its Emissions Trading Scheme. While the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has voiced its opinion against carbon tax, passengers might be burdened with another tariff.

D E V I KA J E E T he European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation has put Europe in conflict with a number of developed and developing countries. USA, China, India, Russia and others have all stood up against this decision.

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“Indian carriers have been asked not to take part in the EU ETS and this includes not sharing the emissions data or buying carbon credits. This issue is between the Indian government and EU and Airlines are currently out of it.

Indian government along with China, Russia and other countries are taking a unified stance to deal with EU. This issue can lead into a full-fledged trade war between EU and the rest of the

world,” says Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, CAPA.

technology, operations, infrastructure and economic measures to maintain competitiveness under EU ETS. New business models may emerge,” adds Kaul.

IATA has warned the EU that the ETS dispute could trigger a trade war. IATA recommends that, EU should embrace a global approach to airline emissions and thus allow the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), to set a solution.

The India government barred its Airlines from complying with EU’s controversial carbon taxation scheme. All Indian carriers were told not to share emissions data with the EU. “Clearly the Government of India has taken a very strong view on the issue of carbon tax. They are united with other nations and we support them. This is a very important industry and only one part of the world is

Kapil Kaul

Dinesh Keskar

CEO, South Asia, CAPA

President, Boeing India

focussing on carbon tax while others understand that the airlines industry needs help.

Adding another tax will only increase their burden and will be duly passed to the consumers,” says Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India.

EU ETS is expected to cost the industry € 2.5 bil-

lion in 2012 and about € 20 billion by 2020. Indian carriers will get impacted as well as other international carriers. CAPA expects Indian government to take very strong measures against EU carriers if forced to act. “Eventually, affected airlines need to devise innovative strategies based on

Discussing possible solutions for carriers to address this issue, Kaul says, “We see that the industry is already making continual efforts in fleet management, route and air traffic optimisation, fuel conservation and the development of sustainable aviation fuel. At an international level, it is encouraging to see the added value and enormous potential of programmes, such as, SESAR in the EU and NextGen in the USA to improve ATM and thus reducing CO2 emissions globally.”

12 TRAVTALK

COVER STORY

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Tourism: Service sector or an industry?

Contd. from page 1 u

Domestic Tour Operators of India on the issue of definition of an industry raised by Khwaja responds, “Industry does not necessarily need to be a manufacturing unit.

tourism industry. “If we get a status, the funding for the infrastructure will get better interest rates which will reduce the cost and taxation to a certain extent.”

seen in the half hearted sops given to the sector.

Tejbir Singh Anand, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of

Devesh Chaturvedi Additional Director General MOT, GoI

Says Iqbal Mulla, President, Travel Agents Association of India, “We are fine if the Government says that since Travel & Tourism is not a manufacturing sector, we can’t get an industry status. But, with the forex exchange and employment generation share, we, at least, need to get the status of an export/importoriented industry with more benefits, tax subsidiaries and relief from service tax to certain extent.”

Subhash Verma, President, Association of

Iqbal Mulla

Ajay Prakash

Subhash Verma

President TAAI

President TAFI

President ADTOI

Definition of industry should evolve with time.”

Ajay Prakash, President, Travel Agents Federation of India, highlighting MOT’s indifferent attitude towards the sector, points towards the recent budget presented where the blanket of service tax has increased while impacting the business margins of the

The Associations are on the overdrive convincing the Government to collect taxes from the source (service providers like airlines) and not from the facilitator (travel agents) as the double taxation is increasing the overall cost of the industry for the end-consumers. Associations point out the indifference

the Secretary’s point on, “Tourism not being a manufacturing industry,” by remarking that, “Are exporters called an industry?

Yes they are and they get subsidies.”

SM Shervani, Vice President, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India doesn’t hold back when he says, “They only imagine hospitality sector as five-star luxury hotels. India is attracting business class to come and do business here. Then, what about the stay factor of the people who look for quality accommodations? By giving infrastructure status, interest on loans will become

to 1, 2, 3 star categories. In this context, smaller chains need far more support from the government to grow further in this industry.

Sarab Jit Singh, President, Indian Tourist Transporters Association sums up the collective state of mind of the trade, when he says, “We have not seen any of our demands being met by the Government of India in the past ten years. We have no other option other than to take what is coming our way.”

Meanwhile, Devesh Chaturvedi, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism informed,

Sarab Jit Singh

Tejbir Singh Anand

SM Shervani

President ITTA

President ATOAI

Vice President FHRAI

India, remarks, “Ski can be imported but ski boots are barred in that list. Similarly, the most imported equipment in Adventure Tourism is camping gear. This is also not on the list.” He counters

tax free and this will address the concerns of room shortage in the country.”

It is to be noted that 70 per cent of the hotel rooms in India belong

“We had an interaction with the travel trade a few days back, though they were unhappy with the budget. They didn’t say anything against the Ministry.”

GITB redefines grandeur Contd. from page 1 u

meetings which it had registered in the previous edition. It is targetted towards the potential consumers for tourism products from across the globe and India, which is organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on an annual basis.

Further, on being asked about the possibility of shifting the venue of the show within Rajasthan, an exuberant Sharma replies, “The manner in which the venue of other successful travel shows like ITB or WTM is not changed, similarly, we also see no merit in thinking about changing the venue for GITB.” “There is a certain degree of comfort and favourable atmosphere in terms of organising logistics

around the BM Birla Convention Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan, which has served as the venue on the previous occasions as well,” she said.

“From the Rajasthan Tourism perspective, it has been our endeavour to promote our state in such a manner that even the lesser known destinations get highlighted at important trade platforms and help make Rajasthan, a travelfriendly inbound destination,” she added.

There is a strong degree of cohesion behind the vision and efforts of Rajasthan Tourism that the Principal Secretary attributes to the consistency in the team that has been spearheading tourism in the State.

“It’s my fifth year in the tourism department and am delighted by the unparalled co-ordination between our team that is being led

by Bina Kak, Minister for Woman & Child Development, Tourism, Art &

Culture, Archeology, Printing & Stationery, Rajasthan. Due to the mutual trust, there is a great degree of comfort that results in seamless planning and execution of our initiatives to promote Rajasthan,” concluded Sharma.

“GITB has been a great platform for the industry and the journey has been unwavering. This would be the fifth edition of GITB, and is growing by leaps and bounds every year. One of the USPs of the show has been new record set in terms of structured and pre-fixed B2B meetings between the registered Indian sellers and foreign buyers, spread over 2 days,” says Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee.

Growing Numbers The ‘Great Indian Travel Bazaar’ (GITB) has become one of the most coveted marts in South East Asia region

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HOTELS

Incredible India is the best At the recently concluded ITB in Berlin, Incredible India Stand was the winner of the Best Exhibitor Award (BEA) adjudged by the Cologne Business School in the ASIA, AUSTRALIA and OCEANIA region. Future tourism managers from this university visit around 11,000 booths to choose a winner. The booths are judged on various criteria like design, information content, service quality, friendliness and special effects. It notched third position in the event.

The India pavilion was a balance of the traditional and the modern India. The key elements for the pavilion were derived from traditional Indian architecture. The painted fresco archways from Rajasthan formed the main theme. The central focus was a recreated Indian market featuring handicrafts paintings and jewellery. An interactive photo display with different headgears and a unique wall showcasing myriad faces was also exhibited

New age hotels in NCR Accor launches its two brands. Formule1 as the innovative budget hotel brand that will promote the concept of standard rooms with a single price for up to three people while Pullman will redefine the MICE segment.

T T B U R E AU argetting completely two different segments, April marks the debut of Formule1, Accor’s economy hotel and Pullman, its upscale hotel brand.

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Speaking about the debut of Formule1 in the country, Philip Logan, Vice President, Formule 1 Hotels, India said, “This hotel will be a game changer in the budget hotel sector. Formule 1 will appeal to domestic corporate clients and frequent travellers for work and leisure who are looking for outstanding value combined with quality and service standards.” The hotel will offer limited services. The food and beverage facility in these hotels will be outsourced to third-party firms and will promote the concept of standard rooms with a sin-

gle price for up to three people. “Formule1 will be the first true international budget hotel brand in the country filling the void for standardised

Formule1 buffet breakfast, a Café and a 24x7 Snack Kiosk.

Speaking about client segments, Logan said the hotel is bullish on the Greater Noida

Philip Logan

Scott Davies

Vice President Formule1 Hotels, India

General Manager Delegate, Accor Hotel Operations - Delhi and NCR

comfort at a highly competitive price of around ` 2,000 per person,” Logan added.

The other innovative measures at this property include complimentary Wi-Fi facilities,

location. “Formule1 will target corporate travellers, institutions, small and medium enterprises in Greater Noida Contd. on page 17 u

NEWS

VUSACOM India Chapter training travel agents US exempts the interview clause for business and transit visa renewal which will further help the committee to promote its objectives.

A N I TA J A I N he Visit USA Committee (VUSACOM) was formally inaugurated in Mumbai by John Bryson, US Secretary of Commerce in the presence of all committee members and members of US Commercial Service and Consulate. The main objective of the committee is to increase the tourist arrivals from India to the US and ease the visa process for the same. To encourage the objective of the committee, US government has waived the personal interview requirement for visa renewal in the B1/B2 business/ tourism, C transit and D crew member categories. The easing of rules for full-validity visas applies to applications under the same category as the previous visa and those done before the expiry of the visa or within 48 months of it.

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Talking about the new initiative, Bryson said, “The US Consulate in India processed more than 6,60,000 non-immigrant visa applications in 2011 and with the launch of VUSACOM, we

Ashwini Kakkar President VUSACOM India

expect this number to grow further. India is currently holding 12th position in visitor arrivals and 13th in visitor spend and through this new committee, we intend to bring the number to single digit within next few years. We are working closely with the travel department in USA to increase travel for countries like India.”

According to Ashwini Kakkar, President, VUSACOM India, the committee is holding regular seminars and training programmes on new products, destination to promote, activities, visa, etc. on USA in metro cities and mini metro

cities like Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, etc. It is also in the process of introducing a certified online destination specialist programme for the Indian travel trade in the coming months. Talking about the new visa waiver scheme, Kakkar said, “The new scheme is launched as a pilot project to encourage travel from India to USA. The process of getting a visa is likely to be much faster for almost all applicants as there are 40 windows at Mumbai Consulate compared to mere three windows in the past.

Those who will be covered by the personal interview waiver should, however, be careful when submitting their documents, since in the absence of an interview, the paperwork will carry more weight.

The fact that the US gives B1 and B2 - tourist and business travel - visas together helps in tapping the segment of business travellers who want to combine their trip with tourism and the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions segment.”

CII Tourism Retreat at Neemrana

As part of its initiative to promote Tourism in the country, CII National Committee on Tourism held a Tourism Retreat for its committee members at Neemrana For t and Palace on 23-24 March. The workshop held under the chairmanship of Arun Nanda, Co-chair CII National committee on Tourism and Chairman Mahindra Holidays deliberated on key topics underlying “Strategic Convergence” as a theme and to identity tangible suggestions.

Issues discussed included – enhancing the centre-state working mechanism on tourism in India,common legislated vision, destination development guidelines enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian Tourism and streamlined approval mechanisms among others. The suggestions from this retreat will be brought out as a white paper and will be presented to the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

Robust Tourism sector: Economic Survey n Despite the slowdown and recessionary trends in the economies of Europe and America, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2011 were 6.29 million with a growth of 8.9 per cent over 2010 and foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) in 2011 were ` 77,591 crore with a growth of 19.6 per cent.

In the case of outbound tourism, the number of

Indian nationals departures from India during 2010 was 12.99 million with a growth of 17.4 per cent for the year.

Domestic Tourism has also emerged as an important contributor to the sector providing much needed resilience. Domestic tourist visits during 2010 are estimated at 740.2 million, with a growth of 10.7 per cent.

Hotels and restaurants is an important component

of the tourism sector. As on 31 December 2011, there were 2,895 classified hotel having a capacity of 1,29,606 rooms in the country. The survey notes that imposition of luxury tax by States ranging from five per cent to 12.5 percent is an anomoly. In some cases, the luxury tax is applicable on printed room rates whereas actual hotel rates offered to guests are much lower.

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Starwood shines bright at Expo 2012 On a starry night, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific organised an evening dinner to celebrate its sixth successful Starwood showcase in India - Starwood India Expo 2012. Held in The Westin Gurgaon, the event saw the who's who of the travel trade industry.

XTC’s rewards for India After setting up its Gurgaon office, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts’ first regional office in India, the Group is promoting loyalty programme for its business partners.

T T B U R E AU aunched in 2011, Xtraordinary Travel Consultants (XTC) University Programme by Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts is offering benefits and opportunities for its business trade partners

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across the globe. With over 200 members in India (and 3,000 agents worldwide), the Group is encouraging more and more travel trade partners to participate, register and complete the course. It is designed to recognise, incen-

Assistant Director – Key Accounts Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts

Manas Sinha, Assistant Director – Key Accounts, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts said, “XTC is a programme dedicated to our loyal business partners who promises and performs well in generating business for our properties across the world. We understand the importance of our partners and unlike other global hotel brands, we have loyalty programme for our business partners and not guests. Through attractive XTC Rewards, we intend to increase our member base in India and sustain the numbers, as a member has to pass the XTC programme every year depending on the performance and business generated for our group properties.”

tivise and engage top-producing travel agents and is available to consultants via a qualifying selection process or by invitation only. All travel agents and IATA licensed travel advisors who complete the course before May 31, 2012 and successfully pass the final exam are eligible for a chance to win a two-night stay in a Spa Pool Villa at Banyan Tree Spa Sanctuary in Phuket.

XTC University consists of course modules in accommodation, amenities and food and beverage presented in a concise and clear manner.

Developed as an exclusive recognition programme for the Group’s top-performing travel agents, XTC members are awarded one point for every room night they secure.

Bookings made for specialty inventory will be recognised with higher points.

XTC Rewards • XTC Classic – valid with at least one booking, members are treated to 50% off best available room rates, dining expenses and spa treatments at all Banyan Tree and Angsana Hotels and Resorts XTC Deluxe – valid for those who achieve between 250 and 450 XTC points, members will receive 75% off best available room rates and 50% off dining and spa services at all Banyan Tree and Angsana properties XTC Premier – valid for those who earn over 450 XTC points where a topperforming agent can enjoy an all-expenses-paid oneweek getaway for two at a Banyan Tree or Angsana property, inclusive of dining and spa treatments

Manas Sinha

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‘Bharat Darshan’ trains by IRCTC With multiple trains on offer, IRCTC is cashing in on the popularity of religious trains. Two ‘Bharat Darshan’ trains have been proposed in May to Somnath and Shirdi-Shani Shignapur as well as to Tirupati and Ujjain.

T T B U R E AU ndia as a religious destination is a no-brainer.

However, connectivity and other infrastructure issues have lagged behind. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) seems to have noticed it and is repeating popular ‘Bharat Darshan’ trains to religious destinations as they have been running on full capacity whenever a special train is run.

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Among the most popular are the packages to Shirdi. Over the past year, special packages have been offered twice by IRCTC for Shirdi. The first train was run in August last year.

Bharat Darshan To encash on this popularity, two ‘Bharat Darshan’ trains have been proposed in May to Somnath and ShirdiShani Shignapur as well as to Tirupati and Ujjain

Formule1 & Pullman debut Contd. from page 14 u

and event organisers in the NCR to develop business.”

Accor’s upscale hotel brand Pullman is designed for the requirements of the business traveller.

Throwing more light on the MICE-centric hotel, Scott Davies, General Manager Delegate, Accor Hotel Operations - Delhi and NCR stated, “The Pullman brand offers a unique ‘Co-Meeting’ concept for MICE business which revolves around the fundamentals of providing the guest with our commitment towards service delivery, efficient connectivity solutions, ergonomic and ambient comfort and cohesion of all services packed as a one-stop shop to ensure a successful event.”

Going forward, he added, “At Pullman Gurgaon Central Park Hotel, along with the dedicated Events Concierge team, the Events Manager and IT Solutions Manager we deliver this one-stop shop service attitude by assisting with planning and executing events to the last detail with our Meeting Matrix event planner solution.”

Seeing the response, another package was launched and passengers embarked on their journey in December.

To encash on this popularity, two ‘Bharat Darshan’ trains have been proposed in May to Somnath and Shirdi-

Shani Shignapur as well as to Tirupati and Ujjain. Prior to this, a special train to the seven Jyotirlingas has been proposed for April. The train, which will commence its journey on April 18, will take passengers on an 11-day journey to the seven Jyotirlingas. The

package will cost ` 6,156 per passenger, including tickets, accommodation and meals.

“The response to religious tourism packages has been encouraging.

That is why packages have been offered repeated-

ly to some places like Shirdi,” says RK Sondh, Chief Regional Manager, IRCTC. He adds, “In fact, there was a long waiting list for the previous two trips and this is why the package is being offered again.”

The ‘Bharat Darshan’ packages cost ` 500 per day per passenger, apart from taxes. Passengers availing the special packages are given a tour of the temples apart from other places of tourist attraction at the place.

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NTO

Showcasing Macau Macau Government Tourist Office took leading travel agents from Delhi for a fam to Macau from Mach 25-29. The purpose of the fam was to showcase the new developments in Macau to the travel agents.

Berlin’s USP: Attractive and affordable Berlin as a destination registered over 39 per cent growth with 36,514 arrivals, on a yearly basis between January and December 2011. It’s the value-for-money factor that helped Berlin continue to register growth, despite major downfall in tourist arrivals.

T T B U R E AU he Bollywood movie Don2 has done a world of good to destination Berlin, if not the box office in India!

Burkhard Kieker, CEO, Berlin Tourismus & Kongress feels that Bollywood is one of the best means to create awareness among the Indians, that can help the travel agents to easily convert into meaningful travel decisions.

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“We loved the awareness that Don-2 had created among the Indian mass about destination Berlin. In fact, all the leading cinema halls played a brief promotional film on destination Berlin, while screening the movie.

The clip will also be a part of the DVDs,” said Kieker on his visit to India in New Delhi.

“Bollywood is a good medium to connect with the

Indians, especially in the nonmetro cities. As part of our marketing efforts, we look forward to handholding more Bollywood projects in terms of choice of locations and availing best packages from the private sector. Don-2 made use of attractions like Paul Lobe House (Government Quarter), DZ Bank at Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Cathedral, Alexanderplatz,

French Cathedral and Concert Hall at Gendarmenmarkt among others, which the travel agents can now use to send Indian FITs, GIT MICE tourists to experience,” he added.

Kiekar also boasts of the fact that unlike other major attractions in Italy or Spain, destination Berlin offers many attractions at a value-for-money cost.

“Berlin is attractive yet affordable. It’s for the valuefor-money factor that amid major downfall in tourists’ arrivals across leading European destinations, Berlin has continued to register growth. Europeans want to travel and due to the economic stress, they have now started getting more conscious on the value-for-money aspect, which helped attract many

Burkhard Kieker, CEO, Berlin Tourismus & Kongress

of them to our destination,” said Kieker.

“On the Indian arrival front, we have registered over 39 per cent growth with 36,514 arrivals, yearon-year basis between January and December 2011,” he added.

ASSOCIATIONS

ADTOI debuts in the East To further promote Domestic Tourism in the Country, ADTOI has rolled out its newest chapter in WB & NE. M E G H A PAU L

IN

K O L K ATA

ith no passport, no visa, no forex, it is obvious that Domestic Tourism is the way forward. And, in order to increase Domestic Tourism in the country, the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) recently

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body, including Subhash Verma, President, ADTOI; PP Khanna, Vice President, ADTOI and Rajat Sawhney, General Secretary, ADTOI, apart from the EC members and those from the travel trade industry in the region.

Post this new chapter, more emphasis will be laid on aggressively promoting Sunderbans, Darjeeling, Dooars, Murshidabad and other lesser-known destinations, Singh informed. “As the new budget allocation has gone up by 100%, we are focussing on developing

(L-R): Dutta, Sawhney, Khanna, Verma, Singh and Sarkar

announced the commencement of the ADTOI West Bengal and North East chapter.

This is the Association’s fourth chapter in the country after Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala and Gujarat besides a Central Secretariat in New Delhi.

The Chapter was inaugurated by Pritha Sarkar (Ray), Director, West Bengal Tourism & Managing Director, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) and Raghavendra Singh, Principle Secretary, West Bengal Tourism. The event was well-attended by members of the ADTOI governing

Debjit Dutta, Director & CEO, Impression Tourism Services was nominated by ADTOI members as the Chapter Chairman of West Bengal and North East.

Regarding the initiatives taken by the West Bengal government, Sarkar remarked, “WBTDC is keen to promote innovative tours but they lack in marketing.

Going forward, we would lay more emphasis in this area for the promotion of the state.” Also, if tour operators from other states come to WBTDC, it will help give a boost to the state, she added.

the infrastructure in order to have built-up roadmaps,” he revealed.

Speaking on the reason for choosing West Bengal and North East, Verma said, “The Association has already covered Jammu & Kashmir (North), Kerala (South) and Gujarat (West).

Hence, in order to mark a pan-India presence and reach out to all four corners of the country, West Bengal and North East were obviously the preferred choice.”

In the 12th Five Year Plan, a budget of ` 25,000 crore has been reco\mmended by Contd. on page 30 u

Employment via tourism IATO will be conducting a 2-day seminar on Adventure and Rural Tourism from April 21-22, 2012 at Japyee Residency Manor, Mussoorie.

T T B U R E AU two-day seminar on the theme of ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Through Adventure

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of Tourism’s effort to create more employment locally and promote Rural Tourism on a larger scale.

Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, speaking on the objective of the theme of the seminar, said “The Adventure Tourism segment in India has evolved over the years from a nascent stage. It is now estimated to cross ` 400 crore by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan and will continue to grow at the rate of 15 per cent on a yearly basis.

Subhash Goyal President IATO

& Rural Tourism’ will be held by IATO from April 2122 in Mussoorie. The seminar in line with the Ministry

“We expect over 300 delegates for the seminar (including invitees, media and spouses). There is a growing interest in Experiential Tourism and the state of Uttarakhand holds a lot of potential. This is also

in line with Ministry’s efforts to create more employment locally and promote Rural Tourism to give a unique experience to the tourists.

Thus, the theme has been focussed on ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Through Adventure & Rural Tourism’,” he added.

IATO has also planned various post-seminar fam tours like river rafting; Skiing at Auli by UTDC; rural experience to ‘Purda Sankir’ & water sports to Assan Bar rage; Rural & Panoramic experience of Bhimtal, Pithoragarh, Chawkori and Jogeshwar, which Goyal believes will give IATO members an excellent opportunity to market Uttarakhand in a big way amongst international as well as domestic tourists.

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NCR the new hospitality hotspot The NCR is no longer limited only to Gurgaon. The NCR region has been witnessing a rapid transformation in the recent times in the change of hotel landscapes. find outs more on the changing scenario.

M E G H A PAU L n the hospitality front, Delhi and NCR were two different geographical territories earlier. However, with hoteliers making a bee-

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companies rolling out plans for expansion, availability of medical facilities, gateway to the rest of world through its world-class airport, upgraded road and metro rail infrastructure, the NCR is expect-

along NH8.” The reasons for the shift to NCR include lack of space available to built hotels in NDMC area, cost of the NDMC/DDA land parcels auctioned, business districts emerging in Gurgaon and

Philip Logan

Ajay K Bakaya

Manju Sharma

Vice President Formule 1 Hotels, India

Executive Director Sarovar Hotel & Resorts

Director Jaypee Hotels

line to the NCR to set up shop, the demarcation between Delhi and NCR is getting blurred in the recent times. Noida, Greater Noida Expressway, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, are slowly acquiring the glamour tag. Backed by the infrastructure development on the back of the Commonwealth Games & F1 and a coinciding revival in the overall economic condition, the NCR has been witnessing a growth in interest across all segments, from investors to multi-national corporations and tourists alike. With tourism promotion, IT/ITES bouncing back,

Reasons NCR has been witnessing a growth in interest across all segments, from investors to multi-national corporations and tourists alike With hoteliers making a beeline to the NCR to set up shop, the demarcation between Delhi and NCR is getting blurred in the recent times

ed to attract foreign and domestic footfalls.

Commenting on the burgeoning hospitality segment in the NCR, Akshay Kulkarni, Regional Director – Hospitality, South & Southeast Asia, Cushman & Wakefield says, “There is no question that in the last 5-7

now in Noida. However, this does not mean that Delhi has been sidelined. The costliest hotel in India opened recently in the heart of Delhi like The Leela Palace in Chanakyapuri.

“It would be unfair to compare the performance of Delhi hotels and the NCR

Akshay Kulkarni

Gaurav Jain

Regional Director – Hospitality, South & Southeast Asia, Cushman & Wakefield

Managing Director Aamod

years most of the new inventory has emerged in the NCR outside of the NDMC area.

The only exception is the launch of the hospitality district by DIAL and some very small, unorganised assets that came on track during the Commonwealth Games

markets. The way the city has grown, it has clearly identified micro markets, which have different price point expectations, different profiles and also different objectives. Moving forward, when the entire inventory comes online, there will be further

demarcation of which markets are catered by which hotels and then the comparison should be done with those hotels in a particular micro market and not to those spread over a large area,” Kulkarni added.

Apart from Gurgaon and Noida, Greater Noida is witnessing a huge investment in the hospitality sector. According to Manju Sharma, Director, Jaypee Hotels, with the launch of the 18-hole Greg Norman Golf Course, Jaypee Greens has witnessed immense growth. Even the nongolfers community is experiencing golf during their stay at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort. “Another USP is the location. Just down the road is the entrance to the all-new Yamuna expressway which will be opening soon.

This means that a trip from Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort to Agra and Taj Mahal will be a pleasant 90minute drive,” she said.

Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort recorded a healthy response followed by robust inflow of foreign tourists, especially during India’s maiden Grand Prix.

Realising the potential of the NCR, Royal Orchid Hotels has launched Regenta Hotel & Convention Centre at Rajokri in NCR. The newest offering from the Bengaluru-based chain has been positioned in the upscale category and will be targetted towards the growing needs of conventions, conferences and weddings in the NCR city spaces.

According to Chander Baljee, CMD, Royal Orchid Hotels, the market for wedding and events is growing in the NCR as there is a void for good event venues. “As demand for events is growing, our first Regenta proper-

ty in Rajokri will address the space concern,” he added.

With 7 existing properties in NCR, Sarovar Hotel & Resorts is betting big on the NCR as well. Ajay K Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotel & Resorts informed, “Opportunities in the NCR have spiralled now. The new area to be explored for this market is Sahibabad and Ghaziabad, which are still unsaturated. The average occupancy in our NCR prop-

Sohna is also the emerging hub for hospitality.

Sanjay Sharma, Complex General Manager, The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi and The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa felt, “The aspect of being an ideal weekend getaway is integral to The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa because it is merely a 40-minute drive away from Delhi/NCR. During the week, it is a great site for extended corporate leisure stays and over the weekend a perfect spot for recreational

Sanjay Sharma

Chander Baljee

Complex GM, The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi & The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa

CMD Royal Orchid Hotels

erties has been increasing as compared to our Delhi hotels. This reflects the rising importance of the region.” The hotel occupancies in the NCR are witnessing occupancy of 75-80% while for Delhi properties, the occupancy ranges from 70-75%, Bakaya revealed.

French hospitality major Accor has unveiled a new brand in the NCR, Formule 1 in Greater Noida.

Cashing in on the location of Greater Noida for Formule 1, Philip Logan, Vice President, Formule 1 Hotels, India said, “For Formule 1 this region was our preferred choice.

We will target corporate travellers, institutions, small and medium enterprises in Greater Nodia and event organisers in NCR for this hotel.”

family weekends.” What further enhances the appeal of the Resort is the fact that it offers state-of-the-art facility, global dining venues and world-class recreational facility and since the distance is not a limitation, the funds that would be otherwise spent on travelling can be utilised in enhancing the personal experience of guests, he added.

About how successful the Aamod Manesar property, – Golden Turtle Farm has been in attracting clientele away from the Delhi market, Gaurav Jain, Managing Director, Aamod said, “It has just been three months till now but people who once visit the property, do plan to visit the property again.”

The property in Manesar is targetting both families as well as corporates.

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PATA launches Mobile Travel Data Platform released n PATA PATAmPOWER, a real-time travel data platform that travel industry professionals can use on their mobile devices. The latest information such as aviation passenger flows, flight capacity and frequency, hotel occupancy, social data and consumer trends is now available through PATAmPOWER. “Speed is a competitive advantage,” said Martin Craigs, CEO, PATA. “No one else in the travel industry in Asia Pacific offers such a mobile yet fully integrated platform of updated travel information. mPOWER exemplifies our commitment to PATA Next Gen services.”

“We’ve called it ‘mPower’ as the service

There’s more to destination London The Indian travel trade can opt for many new itineraries and plenty of opportunities to sell destination London which still remains unexplored.

Country Representative – India, Visit London.

T T B U R E AU ondon has created history and is the only destination, which has got the opportunity to host the Olympics thrice. London’s Olympic legacy is an eye opener and bound to create lots of excitement about the destination. But, in the Indian context, there are plenty of new opportunities to sell des-

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Martin Craigs CEO PATA

empowers travel industry professionals 24 hours a day, wherever they are,” said Stu Lloyd, Senior Director of Marketing & Membership Services, PATA. PATAmPower will officially launch on April 20 at the 2012 PATA Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

quick read india experienced the second strongest growth among the major domestic markets at 12.3%. This lagged behind the 16.3% increase in capacity over previous-year levels.

Nonetheless, india’s carriers filled 75.4% of seats. The strong traffic growth masks financial weakness resulting from high operating costs and taxation.

Punam Singh Country Representative – India Visit London

I’m confident of offering London itineraries for 30 days where no two days would have a repeat experience

tination London which still remains unexplored.

“The Indian travel trade is largely selling London around a one-day, Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) tour despite the plethora of up selling options available for the destination. In an effort to encourage my trade colleagues, I have personally put together suggested itineraries for 7-8 days along with MICE & student itineraries too,” said Punam Singh,

“My challenge to them is to sell the Destination as I’m confident of offering London itineraries for 30 days where no two days would have a repeat experience.

Such is the potential of this vibrant city! All they have to do is to make the cost themselves or get their DMCs and ground operators to do the same. These product offerings have been introduced over e-mails and on training and roadshow platforms,” she added.

On the likely presence of the India visitors at the Games, Singh says that India traditionally had been a late booking market.

In view of the above, predicting outbound numbers out of India for 2012 is a guessing game at best.

Moreover, on the preparedness on the accommodation front, London has to

offer twice as much the requirement of numbers expected during such a mega sport event.

“London will have 1,20,000 rooms available during the Games, double the required amount for an Olympic Event. What people need to understand very clearly however, is that rooms at that time will definitely not be available at the same rates as they would usually. And, that is true for any destination worldwide which hosts the Olympics. The more you delay in bookings, the costlier one will find in accommodation options,” said Singh

Unexplored London The Indian travel trade is largely selling London around a one-day London will have 1,20,000 rooms available during the Games, double the required amount for an Olympic Event

NEWS

Salman Khan is Mr Yatra now The move is aimed at increasing its brand’s recall value by using the celebrity as the Brand Ambassador, who now also happens to be a shareholder in the company.

T T B U R E AU atra.com to cement its brand’s recall value in Tier-II and Tier-III towns has launched a new marketing campaign and has roped in Bollywood celebrity Salman Khan. He will be the face of Yatra.com’s new marketing campaign in India and the US starting from April 2012.

Khan now has also come onboard as a shareholder in the Company.

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Commenting on the association, Dhruv Shringi, CEO & Co-founder, Yatra.com said, “We are excited about our association with Khan, who will now be seen in a new avatar as Mr Yatra. The partnership is part of our overall strategy to reach out

Shringi and Khan launching the new brand campaign of Yatra.com

to newer mass markets and associating with Salman Khan would enable us to do the same.”

Talking about his partnership with Yatra.com, Khan said, “I am really excited about my relationship with Yatra.com. This is a multi tiered association, where I am the brand

ambassador and a shareholder. Additionally, Being Human, an NGO being run

by Khan, will be supported through the Yatra.com website in various ways. I have immense confidence in the brand and am hopeful that the association will help Yatra.com and also help society courtesy the tie-up with Being Human.

Strengthening presence in Indian subcontinent n Starting as one of South India’s first package tour operator Travel Tours has grown to a network of 15 offices in seven cities across India. With plans to expand their network, Travel Tours will soon unveil their 16th office in a new region.

Established in 1977, the Company has grown to a network of 7 cities across India and is all geared up to soon be present in other regions. “We are keen to establish our business in a new region of India and to grow and consolidate our position in the cities that we currently operate from. Our goal clearly is to become a formidable player in the outbound tours business. To

Ashwin Narayanan COO, Travel Tours Group

achieve the same, we are investing sufficient energy, time and money to create new products and technology that will enable us to reach out to multiple customer segments. This will aid in taking our service standards and experience to the next level,” says Ashwin Narayanan,

COO, Travel Tours Group.

Further discussing developing tourism products, Narayanan says, “Emerging tourism markets from a FIT perspective, include, South America, Brazil and Argentina, Peru, Ecuador. In Eastern European countries such as Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Russia are very popular. In the East, we see a growing interest in Japan. We have also noticed a strong increase in experiential travel amongst FIT customers.

From a MICE perspective, Thailand continues to amass big numbers but we have seen a growing share of our clients opting for Hong Kong, Macau, South Africa and Czech Republic.”

Mumbai gets theme-based 5-star Waterstones Hotel n Mars Enterprises recently re-branded its Mumbai-based, The Gordon House Suites to Waterstones Hotel, a new theme-based 5-star boutique property as a part of its integrated project consisting of a Club House, Hotel and serviced apartments.

The Group has already opened doors for the Club House and the property is investing close to a US$ 25 million. An additional US$ 100 million will be invested in the serviced apartments and offices which will be introduced in the next 2430 months. The 95-room property (10 suites and 85 rooms) has six floors, five of

which have customised natural theme (Glacier, Rainforest, Fire, Mountain and Marine) with dedicated room temperatures, colours, feel, touch and atmosphere of that specific theme.

Talking about the unique features and offerings of the property, Sanjay Narang, President, Mars Enterprises said, “In a bustling metro like Mumbai, Waterstones will provide our guests a peace of mind with lifestyle brands having a seamless combination of signature products and services. Despite the number of hotels coming up in Mumbai, the demand is still high with more hotels in the

Sanjay Narang President, Mars Enterprises

pipeline. We will price our product very competitively in the market to achieve higher occupancies and better rate of repeat guests.

Furthermore, we will also introduce loyalty programme to boost brand loyalty among our guests. We are not looking for any expansion at the moment as we would first like to focus and concentrate on the success of this project.”

24 TRAVTALK

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

ASSOCIATIONS

Another success story in the offing ‘Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar’ (GDTB) will be a platform for the State Tourism Boards, industry stakeholders and customers to come together and share best practices and spur growth in the Domestic Tourism segment.

VIVEK SETHI ive years since, the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers

F

Dipak Deva, Co-Chairperson FICCI Tourism Committee GITB is purely the numero uno inbound show in the country. Over the past five years, we have effectively demonstrated significance of this platform to market and build business for stakeholders. Our emphasis had always been on the quality. The enhanced filtration processes implanted this year to invite buyers with the help of key industry leaders that will add more quality to the show, like in the previous editions. The source markets for GDTB are different. But, on the basis of

SanJeet, Co-Chairperson FICCI Tourism Committee the South Asian market.

India is a complex market. Its uniqueness and diversity makes it imperative to have GITB to grow business for the stakeholders.

the resounding success of the first ever Domestic Tourism Conclave held in 2012, we are hopeful that GDTB will create a similar success story in the domestic tourism space.

GITB is the strongest show in the region. Sincerity, hard work and right direction has paid off here. Today, it’s perhaps the ‘ONLY’ quality inbound travel show left in

On the query of building GDTB on the GITB legacy, I believe that inbound and domestic are two separate segments, which shall not be compared. However, the success of GITB is a clear indication of the success that shall follow for GDTB.

business opportunities for the sellers as 80 per cent of the industry people are attending the show with new buyers and sellers,” said Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and CMD, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group.

“We have foreign tour operators from across 55 countries under one roof. It acts as a platform for everyone to exhibit and showcase varied tourism products of India and has over 500 key tourism product sellers from

Jyotsna Suri Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and CMD, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group

of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) got together to launch an international tourism event titled ‘The Great Indian Travel Bazaar’. The show has risen to meet the growing expectations

of the foreign buyers from across 55 countries and over 500 key tourism product sellers from India.

“This would be the fifth edition of the GITB which is growing by leaps and bounds every year. The event has made it conven-

ient for foreign buyers to interact with the local suppliers/markets. And on the other side, for the local businessmen, it allows them to exhibit their tourism products for their international clients. In this edition, there will be more

the country. Also, with the last year’s huge success, one extra hall has been added which would incorporate 52 new stalls,” she added.

Going forward, FICCI also has high hopes from a similar event it has lined up to spur momentum in the domestic tourism segment. Like GITB, it will also bring on a common platform leading public and private sector stakeholders.

“FICCI has played a pioneering role in launching an inbound exhibition, GITB, five years ago and GDTB will be another success story in itself. GDTB will be a platform for State Tourism Boards, industry stakeholders and customers to come together and share best practices and spur growth in the domestic tourism segment,” concluded Suri.

Book launch at The Suryaa, New Delhi

The Suryaa, New Delhi hosted a panel discussion for the launch of News Room Mafia written by Author Oswald Pareira. The panel discussion had eminent personalities like UB Rao, Rajedeep Sardesai, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Pareira discussing the corruption in the media and the politics in the newsroom. The event was attended by various eminent personalities from the media and authors.

Green CSIA Mumbai n The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai, is the first Indian airport to be accredited the prestigious ISO 14064-1:2006 certification for its Carbon Emissions Accounting by Bureau Veritas, a global leader in carbon certification worldwide. Incidentally CSIA is also the second airport in Asia to receive this certification.

This achievement comes

at a crucial time when both corporates and governments are taking measures to tackle climate change globally. The European Union (EU) has brought the aviation sector under its Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). In an attempt to get the aviation industry to ‘introspect’ and assess their own carbon emission footprint, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had brought out guidelines to help airports prepare a strat-

egy in order to comply with relevant regulations and policies without adversely affecting their growth.

CSIA is also the first airport in India to voluntarily initiate its carbon footprint mapping process even before the circular issued by DGCA in January this year. Thus, it was again the first airport to submit all data pertaining to energy consumption by facilities and offices located at CSIA.

28 TRAVTALK

STATES

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

CTB celebrates ‘Lok Prasang’

Selling ‘Brand Maharashtra’ After allocating ` 228 crore for tourism this year, the State is also taking some critical steps to lure domestic and international tourists, including setting up a world-class sea world and theme park in Sindhudurg.

T T B U R E AU

Chhattisgarh Tourism Board organised a 3-day cultural fiesta ‘Lok Prasang’, a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Board to promote the State’s thousand year old heritage by bringing together the different communities and regions of the State at one place. The Festival was held in Purkhoti Muktangan, Raipur, from March 23-25. The Event was inaugurated by Chief Miniter, Raman Singh. He was accompanied by Tourism Minister of the State, Brij Mohan Agarwal.

quick read idukki arch dam is the world's second and asia's first arch dam, constructed across the kuravan and kurathi hills in idukki. 550 ft. high and 650 ft. wide, the dam lies close to the cheruthoni barrage.

resenting the state budget for the year 2012-13, the State Government plans to sell ‘Maharashtra tourism’ as a brand by executing several tourism projects costing ` 228 crore this year. The key projects to be taken up in this fiscal include development of Lonar Lake (world famous salt water lake), Buldhana district (formed 60,000 years ago by a meteor impact), Khas Plateau (known as Maharashtra’s Valley of Flowers) and setting up a world-class Sea World and Theme Park in Sindhudurg district. In addition, an outlay of ` 176 crore under the State Plan scheme; ` 50 crore under Tribal Sub-Plan and ` 10 crore under Special Component Plan for forest development and EcoTourism has been announced.

To provide quick accessibility to the interiors of the State,

Corporation (MTDC) is inviting Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in tourism and hospitality sector. Talking about the PPP project opportunities, Dilip Shinde, Joint MD, MTDC said, “There are acres of land around various tourist destinations across the State which belongs to MTDC.

P

Dilip Shinde Joint MD MTDC

the Government has proposed ` 438 crore for civil aviation projects for this year.

This amount will be utilised for acquiring land to develop airports at Shirdi, Rajgurunagar, Amravati, Kolhapur, Karad and development of runways and other works under the ongoing MIHAN project in Nagpur.

To further boost ‘Brand Maharashtra’, Maharashtra Tourism Development

ect. We are also encouraging investors to consider MTDC resorts at various locations which we are ready to hand over on management contract.

MTDC will provide all possible, handholding support to private players who are willing to participate in developing tourism activities in Maharashtra and

Work-in-progress MTDC has prepared a five-year action plan to boost the tourism industry in and around the State such as development of infrastructure at various tourist destinations, Accessibility to tourism destinations & amenities, identification of destinations and monuments for PPP and development of control regulation at different tourist destinations.

These lands are hotspots for tourist amenities like hotels, theme parks, amphitheatres, etc. However, we are looking for private investors as we cannot pump in big amounts for developing one single proj-

support in getting NA permissions, raising funds from different institutions, acquisition of land, single window clearances system & also in getting approvals from Government agencies.”

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APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Rolling out new chapters Contd. from page 19 u

Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and the Planning Commission of the Tourism Ministry for poverty alleviation through employment generation, he confirmed.

Khanna stated that the State is also coming up with good policies and infrastructure. It is time that tour operators from the East and North East networked with tour operators from other states, he urged. Sawhney spoke about the spirit of the travellers in the East and North East and stressed on the need for state specialist programmes.

Commenting on the importance of the North East, the newly-nominated Chapter Chairman, stated, “I would be focussing on innovation in an effort to mark a shift from the conventional destinations of West Bengal & North East towards the unknown circuits. Apart from few destinations for the masses, our target is also to promote it as an unexplored region for different classes.”

STATES

AP gears up to upgrade tourism facilities Andhra Pradesh receives 3.2 million tourists every year, which is the highest for any state in India, majority of these are domestic visitors visiting Tirupati. In international arrivals, the state is 7th in the Country. Vatti Vasant Kumar, Minister for Tourism & Culture, Govt of Andhra Pradesh and Sandeep Kumar Sultania, VC & MD, APTDC talk exclusively to .

R UPALI N ARASIMHAN e are developing the destination in a very systematic manner and are working towards strengthening our brand. Infrastructure is being upgraded throughout the state as we want to facilitate both domestic and international tourists alike. Our State is known all over the world because of Tirupati and we have made concerted efforts to facilitate all visitors,” said Sultania.

“W

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has developed integrated packages which take visitors to other destinations within the state, in addition to Tirupati.

“We have tied up with various domestic carriers and are providing online booking facility,” he added.

The Minister of Tourism is convinced that AP has the potential to become the destination of the future. “There is much more to Andhra Pradesh than just Hyderabad.

There is a part of Andhra that is unknown but equally breathtaking,” added Kumar.

While the world recognises AP because of Tirupati, what is not known is that the State boasts of Buddhist pilgrimage sites also.

Along with leisure, AP has already been established

as India’s convention and medical hub. The State Government is working in conjunction with the private sector and has created autonomous bodies viz Hyderabad Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as Hyderabad Medical Tourism Bureau. “Hyderabad has become the convention capital of the country and this has been a concerted effort by the State Tourism organisation. HCVB is an initiative taken by all the stakeholders of the industry with the purpose of promoting Hyderabad

We are working towards strengthening our brand. Infrastructure is being upgraded throughout the state Vatti Vasant Kumar Minister for Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh

brands from across the world,” he stated.

Sandeep Kumar Sultania Vice Chairman & Managing Director APTDC

as an affordable yet an attractive venue for event,” said Sandeep Kumar Sultania.

The growth in the convention business is manifesting in a number of ways. The increase in hotel rooms is the most obvious one. “By the end of 2013, the City will offer 5,000 additional 5-star rooms. All those hotels around the HICC are the best

Sultania further added that the State is laying special emphasis on developing new products and adding new experiences to existing circuits and destinations. Developing cruises is one such option.

“River Cruise is a leisure activity that has a potential and is being treated as infrastructure development. Vizag for instance has a cruise terminal and this will be upgraded to international standards,” said Kumar.

Talking about the State’s marketing initiatives, Sultania informed, “APTDC is very keen on promoting the State in the international market. We are therefore undertaking roadshows, participating in international exhibitions, in short, going out with a new revamped campaign.”

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Sikkim high on adventure n Having witnessed a steady increase in tourist traffic over the last couple of months, Assam is geared up to target more footfalls this year. The State is now eye-

ing a traffic growth of 12-15 per cent this year.

A pilot project ‘Youth to the Edge’ has been flagged of by Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). The State is expecting to benefit immensely from the new project. The Tourism Department, Government of Sikkim organised a month-long youth adventure festival in March at Chemchey. The Festival aimed at sensitising the youth and the local community on various features of tourism and take up

adventure sports as a viable career option. A fiveday spring tourism carnival would be held from May 11 in Sikkim with events spread across the State.

Rural Tourism also augurs well for the tourism industry in Sikkim where the State is evolving a policy to penetrate in the interiors of Sikkim and villages to spread economic benefits by introducing Village Tourism and Homestay Tourism. The areas identified by the Tourism Department for development of Village Tourism include Tingchim in North, Gari Budang in East, Jaobari in South and Darap in West.

According to the Tourism Department of Gangtok, this will, help make Sikkim an all-year round, Eco-Tourism destination. The Asian Development Bank is also working with Sikkim’s Tourism Department to link up the Buddhist Circuit starting from Lumbini in Nepal connecting Bodhgaya in Bihar.

Branding Madhya Pradesh All geared up to exhibit their tourism products during the Great Indian Travel Bazaar 2012, to be held from April 15-17, Madhya Pradesh looks forward to reap the benefits of their investments in tourism development.

D E V I KA J E E T eing a partner state for the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) this year, Madhya Pradesh Tourism will use this platform to showcase the relentless efforts made by the State towards growth of tourism. “Being a partner state gives us a better chance to promote our state with greater visibility and prominence. We can interact with foreign travel agents at home and create awareness about our brand – Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT),” says Pankaj Rag, Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC).

B

Enthusiastic about interacting with foreign travel agents on a domestic platform, Rag adds, “This will help draw the agents towards the State. There has been a steady growth in inbound and outbound

tourist arrivals over the years and we are targetting towards achieving more foreign tourist arrivals in our state.”

tourism option through public private partnership (PPP).

Islands within the Narmada are open for investment, that include, Sailani island, 78kms

Being a partner state gives us a better chance to promote our state with greater visibility and prominence Pankaj Rag, Managing Director, MPTDC

The State Tourism Department has been developing its tourism products and offers new attractions every time. Now, focussed on developing water bodies, Rag adds, “After Caravan we introduced air taxi and became the first state in the country to provide intra-state air connectivity. We are looking forward for investors to invest in water bodies and develop them as a

from Indore and Mala Shree island in Gandhi Sagar. We have a number of heritage properties that can be converted into hotels. Private investment is also open for Wayside amenities. The Cruise between Tawa and Madhai is already popular. We believe in novelty. We are investing a lot in tourism development in the State and are now looking forward to reap the benefits.”

MPT’s promotional agenda does include participation in international shows, such as, ITB and WTM, but they feel a sense of encouragement to meet international agents on the home turf. “It is encouraging to know that organisations such as FICCI are holding such events that helps bring together key players of the tourism market including international and domestic travel agents,” says Rag.

MPT Efforts MPT is the partner state for GITB 2012 Madhya Pradesh Tourism will use this platform to showcase the relentless efforts made by the State towards growth of tourism The State Tourism Department has been developing its tourism products and offers new attractions every time

36 TRAVTALK

NEWS

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Tourism now books big-ticket stars States are now roping in celebrities as Brand Ambassadors to connect to a larger audience. However, industry veterans warn that without proper infrastructure development, the campaigns cannot be a success.

P EDEN D OMA B HUTIA mitabh Bachchan can sell anything. After honey, chocolates, cars, clothes and jewellery, the superstar has now tagged his name to a state. And, Gujarat has predictably become a hit among the tourists. The way the star has been promoting the State’s pristine white sands, forests and ancient ruins, it has finally got an image makeover that was long due.

already been signed up as the brand ambassador of Andhra Pradesh.

A

There are, of course, figures to prove the windfall that has come the State’s way. The Gujarat tourism industry has registered a 400 per cent increase in tourist inflow to Kutch post the launch of the ad campaign. This year, they are hoping to get more than two crore visitors to the State.

Ambitious, for sure, but not impossible, given that they have none other than Big B doing the beckoning.

Vipul Mittra

Subhash Verma

Pratik Mazumder

Principal Secretary Gujarat Tourism

President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India

Head - Marketing & Strategic Alliance, Yatra.com

As Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary, Gujarat Tourism, puts it, “The celebrity you choose to endorse your state has to be iconic in nature. Not every celebrity makes a difference and Gujarat proves just that.

We all know that Bachchan is an icon and since he is popular across all age groups and income brackets, he was an obvious choice.”

The Campaign though, has to be effective enough to comple-

ment the star persona. Mittra adds, “Celebrities certainly help, but more than that it is the way in which the campaign is created.”

With Bachchan leading the way, can the other stars be far behind? When Bengal needed a Brand Ambassador to boost its image, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, West Bengal settled for nothing but the best. So, in stepped Shah Rukh Khan!

About choosing SRK as the Brand Ambassador, Rachhpal Singh, Tourism Minister, West Bengal, had said that the star would help build ‘Brand Bengal’ and help bring up foreign tourist arrivals in the State.

There are also talks of Madhya Pradesh approaching Abhishek Bachchan to don the role of the State’s Brand Ambassador.

Shuttler Saina Nehwal has

Subhash Verma, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), is happy that states are finally focussing on their tourism, but he exercises a word of caution, “It’s good news that states are waking up to their tourism potential and increasing the tourism budget. However, one must remember that celebrities just form the support system to help bring in tourists but cannot serve as replacements to road and infrastructure. Infrastructure is a must and so is aggressive marketing. Gujarat may have roped in Bachchan, but the State has also done a lot to improve its overall infrastructure. This has contributed to the State’s success story.”

Travel portals have taken their lessons from Gujarat.

With Yatra roping in Salman Khan as brand ambassador, Pratik Mazumder, Head Marketing & Strategic Alliance, Yatra.com, says, “Khan is one celebrity who connects with the masses as well as the classes. Our association with him is part of a well thoughtout strategy to strengthen Yatra’s connect with the masses and increase the brand’s recall value in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.”

Explaining the trend, Mazumder says, “India is a star-struck nation. Having a known face as a Brand Ambassador is a great way to increase brand recall.”

Brand Ambassadors Amitabh Bachchan Gujarat Shah Rukh Khan West Bengal Saina Nehwal Andhra Pradesh

NTO

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

39

Embracing the high-end Indian market Kesang Wangdi, Director General, Bhutan Tourism Council, speaks on his country’s effort of taking significant steps to improve tourism in the region to ensure that it makes a mark in the global tourism platform. Excerpts: L E K H A S H A N KA R How important is the tourism industry for the Bhutanese Government?

Tourism is the top priority of the Government and the Prime Minister is himself heading the Tourism department. The Minister of Economic Affairs, who attended the Mart, is also the Vice Chairman of our Tourism Council. The Tourism Ministry was formerly part of the Government but has now been privatised, although the policy making is with the Government. We are awaiting the passing of a Tourism Bill that includes some important legislation. We also have the ABSD (Accelerating Bhutan’s Socio-Economic Development) project, which closely monitors our programmes, so that both the

Kesang Wangdi Director General - Tourism Council Bhutan

environment and employment are benefitted equally.

Are there any new policies or strategies?

Yes, there are. Our tourism is seasonal and during the low season, we get very little business. Through ABSD’s diagnostics, we want to spread tourism throughout the year with product diversification. We want to diversify in 3 areas; nature (trekking, rafting, birdwatching), culture (various festivals) and wellness (stone-baths, herbal treatments).

How important was the PATA Travel Mart?

It was a historical, seminal conference for us, as it’s for the first time that we have organised such an international travel conference.

The timing was good as it came soon after we attained democracy and reported an unprecedented double digit growth in the tourism figures.

How good is your air-connectivity?

Druk Air will acquire new planes and will also lease new aircraft. A new

private airline, Bhutan Air has also just started. We opened two airports at Yonphula in Eastern Bhutan and Bumthang in Central Bhutan, so that tourism can spread there. Tourists can take

domestic flights to these regions from Paro, where we have the only international airport. We can also travel by road as well. We will also improve the road-system.

We want tourists to visit other parts of Bhutan,

instead of the standard ‘Golden Triangle’ Thimphu, Paro, Punakha.

What about room capacity?

We had 40,000 rooms in 2010 and now, we have 50,000 rooms. These include

eight 5-star, seven 4-star and a number of three-star hotels. We have received enquiries from many big chains and are further involved in business discussions with them. In fact, the Government is trying to add

incentives for infrastructure development and welcomes foreign direct investments. It is offering 100 per cent profit sharing incentive for 5-star hotels, 75 per cent for 4-star hotels and so on. But, they all Contd. on page 42 u

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ANALYSIS

APRIL 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

th

12.38% annual growth in 12 5-Year Plan?

Stakeholders argue for addressing the need of streamlining the visa process, tax structures imposed on the sector along with a roadmap to develop the necessary air connectivity and accommodation across various categories and other amenities…

VIVEK SETHI ourism is now being recognised as one of the key drivers of growth and employment generation in India. Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister of Tourism, with help of the stakeholders, wants to put the sector on an accelerated development mode. In fact, MOT has set the target of doubling its share in the inbound market in line with the Planning Commission with the projected growth rate of 12 per cent for tourism sector during 12th Plan.

11.24 million and 35.96 million respectively. The Minister has similar target for growing the Domestic Tourists Visits to 1451.46 million by the end of 12th Plan.

T

An increase of at least 1 per cent in the country’s share in international tourist arrival by the end of 12th Plan will require an annual growth of 12.38 per cent during the 12th Plan. The number of foreign tourists’ arrival and foreign tourists visit by the end of 12th Plan is estimated to be

Subhash Goyal

Arun Anand

President IATO

Hony Treasurer IATO

There is a strong case for extending the VoA facility to the top 10-15 markets that generate huge business

One needs to look at the target holistically and address the need of reducing and streamlining the tax

Subhash Goyal, President, IATO believes that there is a need to lay a practical foundation to attain such a target. “There is a strong case for extending the Visa-on-Arrival facility to the top 10-15 markets that generate huge business in addition to the ones offered at

most crucial aspects is the visa application process for foreign travellers. The system needs to become userfriendly, which in realistic terms, would mean a simplified application form that can possibly be submitted online and could also be available in local languages around the world. Another key aspect of tourism growth in 2012 would be the rationalisation of taxes and the introduction GST pan India.

Lastly, but certainly very importantly, the Incredible

As per Deep Kalra, CEO & Founder, MakeMyTrip.com, India is one of the fastest growing markets for travel in the world. “With travel costs increasing due to hike in the service tax rates and the deemed value of services for purposes of taxation, the cost will be higher and same will be passed on to the consumer. On the flip side, Indians will have higher disposable incomes with the increase in income slabs from last year. So we are fair-

Arjun Sharma

Arup Sen

Deep Kalra

Managing Director LPTI

Director Special Projects, Cox & King

CEO & Founder MakeMyTrip.com

The Incredible India brand needs a new look, where the Incredible Experiences of Destination India are the brand focus present. Moreover, the restriction on multiple entries within a stipulated period of 30 days on tourists’ visa should be done away with immediately. Tourists, who earlier used India as the central point to visit our neighbouring countries, are now shifting their long stays to the other destination due to such restrictions,” highlighted Goyal.

Government should implement tourist-friendly policies and encourage the private sector to create the infrastructure India brand needs a refreshing new look, probably some rejuvenation where the Incredible Experiences of Destination India are the brand focus, alongside an extensive marketing reach into new source markets and product innovation,” said Sharma.

Echoing similar views, Arun Anand, Hony Treasurer, IATO, said, “One needs to look at the target holistically and address the need of reducing and streamlining the tax that’s imposed on the sector, along with a roadmap to develop the necessary air connectivity and accommodation across various categories.”

Arup Sen, Director, Special Projects, Cox & King also emphasised that the government should implement tourist-friendly policies and encourage the private sector to create the infrastructure in terms of hotels, convention centres, exhibition spaces etc. “The Tourism Ministry should work closely with the private sector and provide them with incentives to achieve this objective,” he added.

Arjun Sharma, Managing Director, LPTI is of the opinion that there are some key issues that need streamlining. “One of the

The growth prospects are good for both the inbound and the domestic tourism due to rise in the disposable income in the country.

Indians will have higher disposable incomes with the increase in income slabs from last year.

So we are fairly bullish ly bullish about achieving our internal targets,” said Kalra.

“Industry associations and partnerships help form consensus on the critical issues impacting the sector as a whole. In turn, this helps build momentum and advocacy with key stakeholders.

We feel any platform that addresses these issues in a non-partisan manner and constructively provides visibility and focus on the industry is a step in the right direction,” he added.

Rising Figures An increase of at least 1% in the country’s share in international tourist arrival by the end of 12th Plan will require an annual growth of 12.38% during the 12th Plan The number of FTAs and foreign tourists visit by the end of 12th Plan is estimated to be 11.24 m and 35.96 m respectively

NTO

South Africa: It’s possible South African government is strengthening trade and political ties with India to enhance air connectivity, trade and tourism, ease visa regulations and create investment opportunities.

A N I TA J A I N fter spreading the word of ‘It’s possible’ in every nook and corner of India, South African Tourism is now raising a bar to further improvise the efforts to increase visitor traffic from India.

A

Recently, Tokozile Xasa, Deputy Minister of Tourism, South Africa visited India to launch the travel diary on South Africa by Jonty Rhodes, former South African cricket player. During the visit, Xasa expressed her desire to enhance the trade and political ties with India to further boost the tourism between both the countries. The Tourism Board has identified

Tokozile Xasa Deputy Minister of Tourism South Africa

eral rights, the Tourism Department is also in talks with Department of Home Affairs to either ease the visa regulations or deploy visa-onarrival facility for Indian passport holders.

Better positioning To position tourism as a service driven industry, Xasa, recently launched the National Tourism Service Excellence Requirements.

She also introduced a National Service Excellence campaign under the theme Excellent Service Starts

with Me. The Campaign is aimed at creating awareness and educating consumers and tourism product owners about the requirements. It will be rolled out in the nine provinces as from July 2012.

few key source markets including India, which it intends to grow in future through unique strategies, marketing activities and promotions. Apart from enhancing the air connectivity through attaining more bilat-

Talking to about the plans for India, Xasa informed that she will be leading a delegation of 10-15 members from South Africa to India in September to meet different ministries in India handling tourism, aviation,

immigration, trade, investments, etc. She said, “Currently we share a sound relationship with India but there’s still lot to explore as there are many opportunities with both the countries. We are keen to strengthen our relationship with India not only in terms of trade but political as well.” When asked about the tourism opportunities, she said, “Post IPL, South Africa recorded growth of 27 per cent in Indian arrival figures. We are known for best wildlife experience in the world but now we are adopting strategies to divert our focus on other tourism offerings like sports tourism, cultural tourism, cruise tourism, bird tourism, etc. We intend to make South Africa the top most destination of choice for Indians. Since India is one of our key source markets, we are undertaking various efforts to increase the visitor arrivals and marketing niche tourism products. With growing popularity, more and more Indians are keen to explore South Africa and the consulate offices in India are battling to clear the growing number of visa applications. Thus, we intend to ease the visa application procedure by putting in simpler regulations but all depends on the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa.”

‘Indian market is important’ Contd. from page 39 u

have to follow our strict guidelines of low-rise constructions, limited number of rooms, local design, minimum carbon prints, etc.

Constructions of many resorts and lodges have also started which will help the local community.

Which are your important source markets?

The no. 1 market is USA followed by Japan. China and Korea have become big markets too. We also have Buddhist pilgrims from countries like Malaysia and Singapore. We have not been able to regulate the Indian market, as many travellers opt for self-drive into the country from the North-East and make their own travel arrangements.

How important is the Indian market?

Indian market is very important for many reasons.

It is one of the three neighbouring countries (the others are Bangladesh and Maldives), who don’t have to pay the daily tariff of $ 250.

The bilateral relation between the two countries is very good. The rupee currency can be used in Bhutan and the Indian language (Hindi) and food are also common here. Most important is the connectivity, as there are direct flights from 4 points Kolkata, Guwahati, Bagdogra and Mumbai. That’s why we attend all the big travel marts in India and also organise many roadshows. We were quiet invisible to the highend Indian market, but we want to embrace them now.

What about the MICE market?

It’s a growing market and we are working to improve it. We’ve had many important conferences like the SAARC Summit, various

UN Conferences, private companies, etc. You might be interested to know that TCI wanted to have their annual conference here but we did not have enough rooms for them in Thi\mpu.

We have no Convention and Exhibition Centre as yet but the Government is considering building one in Thimphu.

Most of the hotels and resorts, however, both in Thimphu and Paro have meeting rooms of various capacities.

What are your personal connections with India, since you studied and worked there?

I believe our entire cultural ethos and spirituality come from India and I am deeply influenced by it. I speak Hindi, I love ghazals and the old Bollywood films. I love ‘makki ki roti’ and ‘sarson ka saag’. We have so much of India, in Bhutan!

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KSM Hotel Connections boosts hotel biz The Hotel marketing group currently has a total inventory of 800 rooms to sell in the market per day and caters to 20 hotels in 14 destinations.

T T B U R E AU ew-Delhi based hotel marketing group KSM Hotel Connections India extends best of marketing solutions to the franchisees across the country.

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Talking about the USP of the Company, KB Mahanta, Director, KSM Hotel Connections India says, “Keeping the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ in

KB Mahanta Director KSM Hotel Connections India

mind, our entire team has now reached a stage where we have achieved a remarkable growth in the number of lodging franchisers.”

On a look-out n A&K is now seeking further B2B alliances with interested & qualifying trade partners on panIndia basis to promote & sell its global portfolio of products and services.

Vikram Madhok, Managing Director, A&K India says that the company is on a look-out for trade partners. He explains, “We are seeking like-minded trade partners who are either already selling luxury or are keen and willing to build an extensive portfolio of experience based luxury products for highend clients. A&K India provides full support and works as a single point of contact giving access to its global network of A&K DMC offices for customizing private journeys and booking end-user products.

Never before the travel agents and/or tour operators in India have had such a wide choice of luxury products & destination management services from a single global brand like A&K which completes 50 years of offering inspiring journeys to world’s most discerning and influential travellers.

Discussing the existing portfolio of KSM Hotel Connections India, Mahanta informs, “At present, we have a total inventory of 800 rooms to sell in the market per day. We cater to 20 hotels in 14 destinations broadly categorised in three groups.

In the first sector, we have chosen prime locations of royal Rajasthan, including Jaipur, Bikaner and Udaipur.

In the second category, there are the business hubs like Kochi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The last category is

for leisure sectors such as Rishikesh, Amritsar, Corbett and Shimla.”

Talking about the new developments, the Director reveals, “We have added a 198-room five-star deluxe hotel in Bengaluru

called Matthan. Soon we are going to add another four-star deluxe 50-room property in Jaipur.”

While throwing light on the future plans, he says, “We plan to increase our emphasis on both the corporate and domestic market. Also, we have got good response from our corporate for the international sector. Currently, we are also

promoting Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau.”

Presently, KSM has two associate offices in Ahmedabad and Kolkata. “I am happy to inform that as the Company is receiving huge influx of corporate and leisure clients from the region, we are going to have our owned set up in Ahmedabad in the next three months,” he adds.

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FAMILY ALBUM

Celebrating roadshow in Delhi To discover the ultimate charm of its properties, The Address Hotels + Resorts Group (Dubai) and the Armani Hotel, Dubai & Milan hosted a cocktail dinner during its roadshow in Delhi.

MUMBAI

DELHI

BENGALURU

ADTOI goes East on Vivada Cruises On March 23, in a colourful ceremony at the banks of the Ganges, ADTOI unveiled its fourth national chapter --East and North East in the Vivada Cruises on Ganges, Kolkata. The event was attended by the ADTOI officials, West Bengal Tourism officials and the local travel trade community.

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NTO

Canada woos Indian travellers T T B U R E AU

Destination Canada, through the Canadian Tourism Commission, had not looked back post 2009, when it re-entered the Indian market and appointed Buzz Travel Marketing as its representation arm in India. interacted with delegates representing different regions. Excerpts...

Harvey Hamazaki, Trade Consultant, Asia, Ontario Tourism

Wade Harper, Executive Director International Marketing, Travel Alberta

Ontario Tourism is keen to open its representative office in India in the new fiscal.

This region gets about 80,000 Indian arrivals, which is the single largest chunk of the total Indian arrivals to Canada. Ontario Tourism uses the CTC’s representative office in China. The Buzz Travel Marketing takes care of the

Alberta – undoubtedly is one of the most beautiful places. We are located in the heart of western Canada. In summers, hiking, golf and spa experiences are the most attractive options that we have on offer for our Indian partners. We’d also like our Indian travel trade partners to create special ski packages in winter to

CTC’s representation office in India.

The move is seen to foster, Ontario’s appeal in India, which is the second fastest growing emerging market for India after China. “We are keen to open a representative office in India to project Canada and Ontario as a round-the-year destination,” Hamazaki added.

promote the ski packages on the best powder snow in the world. Moreover, we would like our trade partners in India to tap educational tours market. The young students will love to take a day trip into the Canadian Badlands and go back millions of years to the age of the dinosaurs.

Helene Fortier, Market Advisor Tourism Quebec

Monica Leeck, Market Development Manager, North America, Tourism British Columbia

Glen Duncan, Vice President of Sales, Tourism Ottawa

I am very happy to be back in India.

During the Focus Canada 2012 event, my priority is to check with my friends in India, many of whom I had met during the Showcase Canada 2011 event. They all look very excited about promoting Canada and I would like to review their itineraries fea-

India is a very strategic market for us. We had registered over 19 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in 2010, while 2011 remained flat with close to 43,000 Indian arrivals.

Most of our Indian arrivals are seen in the months from April-September, which coincides with the

We are very keen on attracting high yield Indian travellers through our partners in the Indian travel trade, many of whom I had met at the Focus Canada 2012 event. I think India as a country has immense potential and is a great opportunity, which can create

turing Quebec.

Post renewing their packages, I’ll like to guide them about new itineraries that they can promote to their Indian clients.

Ours is a round-theyear tourist destination.

Summers present the perfect season for cruising, while winters see an average of 10 ft of snowfall.

Alaska Cruise season. Our Indian travel partners can easily convince the travellers to explore fruit-laden orchards in the Thompson Okanagan, the ranch lands of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, laid-back lifestyles of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and many more destinations.

many meaningful opportunities for the stakeholders in Canadian and Indian tourism business.

The stakeholders of the Indian travel trade can easily make itineraries keeping Ottawa as an easy access point for Ontario, Quebec or Montreal.

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ANALYSIS

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After calamities, the road to recovery After being hit by political disturbances and natural calamities, countries are pulling out all stops and leaving no stone unturned in aggressively promoting and reviving the tourism pie. gets the details.

M E G H A PAU L he tourism industry of any country is adversely hit during a disaster situation – be it due to political turmoil or a natural calamity in the region. However, countries are pulling out all stops to aggressively promote and revive the tourism pie.

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Despite the recent political upheaval in the Maldives, it is business as usual for this island nation. Months after

period of 2011. This is a big accomplishment despite the challenges faced by the destination due to the recent incidents.

The destination has now geared up to achieve the important milestone of 1 millionth tourist by the end of 2012.

To underline the tourism stability in Maldives, the country also participated in ITB 2012. “In the ITB fair,

that they can see that the destination is as safe and secure for tourists as it has been in the past. The Tourism office is planning to woo tourists from Mumbai by organising an Egyptian food festival. “We will also have special performances by artistes to showcase a new Egypt. We would like to organise roadshows in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai

Mohamed Maleeh Jamal

Adel El Masry

Ozgur Ayturk

Deputy Minister of Tourism Arts, & Culture, Maldives

Director Egypt Tourism Office India

Culture and Tourism Counsellor Turkish Embassy in India

the change of President threw the island nation in turmoil, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, & Culture, Maldives reveals that they are planning a promotional office in India to promote Maldives as an outbound tourism destination in a more targetted manner in India.

The organisation sees India as a growing market.

According to Jamal, India is the third largest market from the Asia region. At the end of 2011, Maldives attracted 30,978 Indian tourists, which was a 20.3 per cent growth compared to the figure at the end of 2010.

Up until end of March 2012, the Maldives tourism has achieved a positive growth figure of 3.3 per cent compared to the same

Maldives representation was quite an achievement this year. It will always remain an ideal platform and provide an opportunity for exhibitors to take their message to those from the travel trade industry and visitors. Apart from the Maldives Tourism industry participants, the Maldives delegation also included a music band, a boduberu group & a cultural dance group,” he informs.

Post the protests at Tahrir Square, last year, Egypt is eyeing India as an important source market.

According to Adel El Masry, Director, Egypt Tourism Office India, an experimental marketing approach will be adopted where tours will be organised for travel partners to witness Egypt in the aftermath of the political unrest so

Indian travellers as compared to last year.

Regarding the earthquake that struck Turkey last October, Ozgur Ayturk, Culture and Tourism Counsellor, Turkish Embassy in India feels, “The earthquake hit the east area in Van, which is very far from our main tourist destinations in West and South.

Hence, the number of incoming tourists to Turkey remains undisturbed.” Yet unfortunately, the Turkish ministry was promoting Van as the new upcoming destination. Regarding the measures that need to be taken to mitigate the effects of the destruction caused by the earthquake, it is currently

Inbound traffic to Thailand fared better than many countries in Asia with 19.09 million visitors recorded in 2011. Talking about the importance of the Indian market, Runjuan Tongrut, Director, New Delhi Office, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) states, “Arrivals from India surpassed nine lakh for the first time, totalling 9,16,787 visitors, a robust increase of 20.57 per cent over 2010.

Indian tourists ranked number six of all countries into Thailand, following Malaysia, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.”

The record year was achieved despite massive flooding in many parts of

and Jaipur. We are not just focussing on big cities but also the Tier-II cities.”

“Also we are launching a new campaign, ‘We’re Egypt’ which is straight from the heart of the Egyptian people, where we will be inviting tourists from all over the world to visit and experience the new Egypt,” he adds.

In the recently-concluded TAAI Convention, free visas were given to the members for a FAM trip to encourage them to see Egypt. The main reason was to put the Indian tour operators in direct contact with the local Egyptian tour operators and thereby, build a strong relationship amongst them, he informs. The Egypt tourism office is targetting at least a 25-30 per cent increase of

Runjuan Tongrut

Akitaka Saiki

Director, New Delhi Office Tourism Authority of Thailand

Ambassador Japan to India

extremely cold in that region. And hence, not much can be done. Recovery would start only after the winter subsides this year.

“We are hoping that by the end of this year, Van will be in a position to attract tourists after the buildings are restored and reconstructed,” he comments.

Thai tourism industry reached a milestone in 2011, when the Country registered the highest ever, number of foreign tourist with a 19.8 per cent increase over 2010 figures.

Thailand in the second half of the year. Though large areas in northern and central Thailand were inundated, most major tourist spots were spared. “Main tourist markets of Thailand bounced back quickly, with arrivals in January 2012, returning as normal. India, in particular, still showed a growth even at the height of the floods. Cities like Bangkok and Pattaya remained hugely popular with Indians and there was a noticeable rise in demands for the regional destinations of Phuket, Ko Samui, Chiang

Mai, Hua Hin, and Krabi,” the TAT Director informed.

The most favourite activity for Indians in Thailand continued to be shopping and sightseeing but there was also a significant increase in the number of Indian weddings in the country with over 100 large-scale weddings of over 200 guests each, as well as more golf tours, student travel and Eco-Tourism.

Last year’s deadly earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent disaster at Fukushima nuclear power plant took a toll on Japan’s tourism industry. However, a year later, the country’s travel landscape is rebounding. In order to promote Indian inbound into Japan, the Country’s tourism will target high-end leisure and incentive travel. According to Akitaka Saiki, Ambassador of Japan to India, Indian tourists should go beyond ASEAN. “We want them to know that beyond ASEAN there is Japan. Japan is 100 per cent ready to host more and more Indian tourists. In Japan, we have several Indian restaurants to cater to the demands of Indian tourists.” To showcase its rich F&B heritage to its Indian clientele, The Japanese Embassy in Delhi recently organised a Japanese style spring festival – Matsuri.

The festival showcased six types of Sake, the Japanese rice wine and two kinds of Shochu, a Japanese spirit made from sweet potatoes, along with Japanese cuisine.

Combating Calamities Promotions Galore Aggressive advertising Rep offices gear up

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Swiss Night celebrations in Mumbai To highlight the young and trendy aspect of Switzerland, Swiss Tourism launched a new commercial for the Indian market during ‘Switzerland Night’ organised by Swiss Tourism and SWISS International Airlines in Mumbai. The red and white event was endorsed by Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh.

AGENTS

Coach tours for Indian outbound International travel group with over 25 award-winning brands, The Travel Corporation has stepped up operations to woo the Indian outbound market.

T T B U R E AU ays Robin Yap, Managing Director, The Travel Corporation, Singapore, “We see India as an important emerging outbound market for scheduled coach tours.

Hence, we have appointed Darshan Maheshwari, Country Manager, The Travel Corporation, based in Mumbai to support the local trade and to identify opportunities.”

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Highlighting the importance of the scheduled coach tours, he feels, “We believe yesterday’s tailor-made coach touring customers will be tomorrow’s scheduled coach touring customers

Robin Yap

Darshan Maheshwari

Managing Director The Travel Corporation, Singapore

Country Manager The Travel Corporation

because it gives an international flavour and tour experience like a united nation on tour. With over 300 million middle class, growing in India, we see India as an important market for our

coach touring brands and river cruising in Europe.”

According to the MD, the Company will focus on growing its Indian outbound touring market on the scheduled coach touring products.

Regarding the new Country Manager in India, he informs, “Maheshwari came on-board two months ago and he has been providing the support needed by the GSAs in terms of the trade promotional direction and more specifically, training the consultants on promoting the scheduled coach tours and luxury river cruises.” The Company is keen to work with more GSAs. “In the coming months, the Company will be focussing on helping the GSAs to understand the different products they are representing and roll out more training programmes,” he adds.

Air charter services

Cheers: Awards galore

Diversifying into new business ventures, Minar Travels decided to provide non-scheduled air transport services within India with Minar Air Charters.

Southern Travels has been in the forefront of tourism sector and has been recognised regularly by the MOT for its contribution.

T T B U R E AU

T T B U R E AU ealising the growing demand from tourists and corporate houses for dedicated air charter service, Minar Travels has decided to open a new field of operation, Air Charters.

They have been granted a Non Scheduled Operators Permit (NSOP) by Ministry of Civil Aviation and are in the process of finalising suitable aircraft.

ecently in the news for winning National Tourism Award for promoting the state of Jammu &

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Spreading the wings, Minar Travels has been a leader in bringing Iranian tourists to India besides entering European markets such as Spain, Portugal and Germany. They are also expanding their business as a DMC with offices in Almaty, Kyiv, London, Madrid, Moscow, Porto and Tehran. The company has diversified into aviation and

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tality with a property already functional in Delhi under the name Southern Hotels with 110 rooms. In May, the second property with 38 rooms will be ready

HS Duggal Managing Director, Minar Travels

is the GSA to nine international airlines.

With a team of over 200 professionals, HS Duggal, Managing Director, Minar Travels, says, “We give our customers value for money. All programmes are tried and tested before being offered.

Our product development team is always on the look out for different programmes.”

National Integration Tour by Maxxfun Maxxfun Holidays recently organised ‘Motivational and National Intergration’ Tour for the children of Baramulla in J&K to Delhi, Jaipur and Ajmer with the 2nd batallion of the Rajputana Rifles from March 9-22.

The Indian Army had shor tlisted 30 students.

Surpal Singh Deora, Director, Maxxfun Holidays offered his professional consultation on the historical and cultural aspects along with monuments visited at these places. The President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil met students from Baramulla District of Jammu and Kashmir at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 19 that participated in this tour organised under Operation Sadbhavana.

A Venkateswara Rao, Chairman, Southern Travels and AV Praveen Kumar, Joint Managing Director, Southern Travels receiving National Tourism Award for promoting the state of Jammu & Kashmir by Pratibha Patil, President of India and SK Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism, Government of India

Kashmir, Southern Travels repeated the feat for the second year running. It has previously won three awards as Best Domestic Operator under the Rest of India category.

They have also entered the field of hospi-

to be launched in Vijayawada and the third with 50 rooms will come up in Jaipur by the end of this year. With more than four decades of experience, Southern Travels has been extending excellent services in the sphere of travel & hospitality.

OPPORTUNITY / CLIPBOARD

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MOVEMENTS

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Cleartrip Gurgaon

Switzerland Tourism Mumbai

Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai

Samyukth Sridharan joins Cleartrip as the President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for providing leadership across the businesses.

Sridharan has a vast amount of experience in scaling businesses in a way that brings considerable value to the customer. Prior to this, he was at the helm of Sales and Marketing for over 18 years across a diverse range of industries spanning FMCG, Insurance, Advertising and Aviation. Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer at Spicejet.

Stephan Heuberger has been appointed as the Director for

Gautam Bhandari is the newly appointed General Manager at

India of Switzerland Tourism. Hueberger possesses great experience and high expertise in marketing and also a profound knowledge of the product Switzerland. He started in 1976 at Switzerland Tourism and held various senior positions in Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Brussels and Zurich since 2001. Most recently, he was responsible as a senior account manager in the strategic partnerships at head quarters. He will commence his duties in May and will be located in Mumbai.

Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport. He is responsible for managing the personnel, financial operations, streamlining the objectives of food and beverage and the marketing activities of the hotel. With a career spanning over 14 years in the hospitality industry, Bhandari has worked with leading international brands like Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group. Prior to this, he was working with the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre and Hotel as the Hotel Manager.

JW Marriott Hotel Aero City New Delhi

Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre Pune

Ananda in the Himalayas Tehri-Garhwal

Balan Paravantavida joins JW Marriott Hotel Aero City, New Delhi as the General Manager. With over 28 years of experience in handling pre-openings, conversions and takeovers of hotels in six countries, covering three continents, Balan brings with him a multitude of assets - strong operational background, cost control, concept development, multi property experience, MVCI property management and experience in business, convention and mega luxury resorts properties.

Caroline Alexander is appointed as the new Director of Sales at the Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. Alexander has been a part of the hospitality industry for over 9 years now and has been a part of some of the most prominent hospitality brands. She will be responsible of the overall strategic planning of the sales function at the hotel.

Luis Guillermo Molina Guisado joins Ananda as the new Spa Manager with more than 14 years of experience within the spa industry and was formerly the Spa Manager at The Sanctuary Spa at Mount Wolseley Hotel in Ireland.

Guisado brings with him a vast knowledge and experience from the hospitality industry, across countries.

He will be instrumental in continuing to develop the property’s holistic philosophy and excellence in marrying the knowledge of ancient Indian sciences and modern western treatments.

The Westin Mumbai Garden City Mumbai

JW Marriott Mumbai Mumbai

Novotel Hyderabad Airport Hyderabad

Aditya Shamsher Malla has recently been appointed as the

Leena Sengupta is the new Rooms Division Manager at JW Marriott Mumbai. She will head the operations for the Rooms Division, looking after the Front Office, Housekeeping and Spa functions of the hotel. She has spent nearly 16 years within the hospitality industry having worked with prestigious hotels like the Oberoi Group, The Grand, New Delhi and The Taj Palace. Sengupta first joined the JW Marriott Mumbai as Executive Housekeeper in 2005 and returned in 2008 as the Director of Services.

Rajesh Gopalakrishnan is the new Resident Manager of Novotel Hyderabad Airport. With over 19 years of experience in various roles, he started his career as a Chef working in various capacities and environment.

He first joined Accor India in 2005 and brings with him a wealth of experience in the hospitality business. Before assuming his current role, Gopalakrishnan was the Hotel Manager of the Mercure Hyderabad Abids in pre-opening since 2009.

Executive Assistant Manager – Sales & Marketing at The Westin Mumbai Garden City. With over 18 years of operations and sales experience in the hospitality industry, his key expertise lies in planning and executing hotel sales and marketing strategies in varying market conditions. Prior to joining this, Malla was associated with The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace as Director of Sales & Marketing.

Pradeep Bohra is the General Manager of the prestigious, award winning Palace on Wheels and thus the public face and image of Rajasthan Tourism and the Railways. Ever smiling Bohra has been associated with Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur for several years, when he headed the RTDC. 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: Anil Mathur & Megha Paul

A science graduate from Rajasthan University, Pradeep has also done tourism courses and acquired good knowledge of French and German. When not travelling, Pradeep loves to do gardening and read history books.

Pradeep Bohra General Manager Palace on Wheels

Manas Kumar Chatterjee , popularly known as Mike, has spent 50 years in the industry, and rose to the top slot in SITA before embarking on his own TIME – Tourism India Management Enterprise, with his colleagues. Now, he wants to spend time in social work. He wants to give back to the society by teaching & training the under priviledged children and helping in eye treatment for many of those who cannot afford it.

Manas Kumar Chatterjee Veteran Travel Industry

He is fond of travelling and meeting people, knowing cultures and places and this opportunity he has got in plenty in his 50 years career. He says he learnt a lot from Ghulam Naqshband at SITA.

Alison Taylor Vice President – Sales Starwood Hotels and Resorts for Asia Pacific

Alison Taylor is Vice President – Sales, Starwood Hotels and Resorts for Asia Pacific. After 240 days of travelling for work in a year, Taylor says she likes to spend the rest of the time with her family. "I love going to the Maldives," she says. She says that she enjoys her work that gives her an opportunity to explore the world. Talking about her travel experience in India, The lady says that she loves Coimbatore. On her visit to the region recently, she ended up buying a lot of Indian fabric. Taylor who earlier used to be a polo player has now shifted allegiance to horse riding. Every Friday, she rides for the disabled. Skiing is another sport that the VP loves. "I go for skiing with my family very often. I am not too good at skiing. My son is way better and overtakes me all the time. But still I enjoy the experience," she laughs.

Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication:14-04-2012

HIGHLIGHT

Comfortable Indian sojourn: Boeing Despite hiccups, Boeing reports that it has not got a single cancellation for Indian air carriers. In an interview with , Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India explains its growth and how the sector is faring.

JUSTIN THOMAS oeing’s outlook for India in the coming years is encouraging, and Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India, comments further, “Boeing’s performance has been good and we feel that the relationship with our customers has built strongly and closely.”

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either Boeing or the Airlines.

Keskar informs that the first delivery of Dreamliner in India is expected in May and

see the first aircraft entering the facility. Air India will add other components facility in the complex. The State

Recently, the Company was in news as Air India reportedly asked for compensation over delay in delivery over 787s or popularly known as Dreamliner.

“Air India has demanded one billion US dollars but Boeing has agreed to pay only $500 million. But we are pushing Boeing to pay more,” said Prashant Sukul, Joint Secretary, Union Civil Aviation on the sidelines of the recently concluded

Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India

Air India would be the first Indian airline to operate it.

Boeing order book points out that it has around 100 aircraft to be delivered in

From our perspective, we obviously want an airline that is able to pay for the aircraft and undertake the delivery. If they lose money, how will they grow and if they don’t grow they will not be able to buy Indian Aviation 2012. “People have their prerogative and we cannot comment on that since it is a component of the price,” says Keskar.

He points out that the situation is akin to when a house is bought and the owner doesn’t like it, he will discuss the issue with the builder, rather than going to papers. Though he admits that delay was faced around the world and wasn’t good for

India. Despite delays, he said, “None of our orders in the Indian market has got cancelled.” As far as Boeing’s MRO facility in Nagpur is concerned, work is in full swing at the site in Nagpur. About 1,700 people have been employed. It consists of two hangars and each can take a 777 or 747. It is spread over a 25 acre plot. The construction is expected to complete by the end of this year. The 2nd quarter of 2013 should

Carrier will be the majority user and if they allow other airlines, it is possible.

On the current scenario of the aviation sector in India, “Sixty million people flew on domestic routes last year, yet airlines are not making money. Fuel prices are going up, while the fares don’t go up. Exchange rate is fluctuating. Rentals, spares, expat pilot salaries are fixed in dollars,” says Keskar. The issue of exchange rate fluctuation makes the cost go up by almost 10 per cent without breaking a sweat.

He further adds, “From our perspective, we obviously want an airline that is able to pay for the aircraft and undertake the delivery. If they lose money, how will they grow and if they don’t grow they will not be able to buy. And, when demand increases, we will have a situation where only 2-3 airlines will exist and the fares will be so high that air travel would be unviable for the consumer.”

The point raised by Keskar is that the idea is to manage the losses to a level which is somewhat acceptable to the investors. This will at least allow achieving a raise in capital. Currently, the Airlines are looking for capital but they haven’t been able to firm up. External Commercial Borrowings were opened up but the question is that ‘who is going to invest when there are attractive options around the world’.

“Currently we are predicting a growth of 15 per cent. With a hike in air fares, it will still be in double digits. Lower growth will be there but it will give an opportunity to wipe out losses. We are striving for breakeven or much reduced losses. The Airlines should have the fares in a manner where they can pay leases, airport charges and salaries,” elaborates Keskar.

Boeing in India The first delivery of Dreamliner in India is expected in May and Air India would be the first Indian airline to operate it Boeing order book points out that it has around 100 aircraft to be delivered in India Work on Boeing’s MRO facility in Nagpur is in full swing It consists of two hangars and each can take a 777 or 747. It is spread over a 25 acre plot. The construction is expected to complete by the end of this year. The 2nd quarter of 2013 should see the first aircraft entering the facility