TravTallk India

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Vol. XXV No. 4; February 2 nd fortnight issue 2013

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TRAVTALK

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FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Simplify! Pay VoA in Dollars Committed to promoting tourism in the North East, Parvez Dewan, Secretary, MOT, said that he expects FTAs to the North East to increase by 20%.

Dewan also talked about making VoA schemes simpler and faster.

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t the International Tourism Mart, which was held in Guwahati between January 18-21, Dewan looked a happy man. And why not, the first-of-its-kind mart in North East India took off with a great start, and Dewan credits the Assam government for pulling off this feat. “They have done a fantastic job and the private

sector of Assam has been really involved in this. The Assam government has pulled out all stops, the arrangements are marvellous, and all the 79 delegates are very happy.”

Talking to about the reception of the International Tourism Mart, Dewan said, “Our expectations are that the 79 delegates should go back and say ‘Wow, what a great place it is!’

This is what we are hoping for.” With insurgency problems plaguing the area, security is a major concern for the area. But Dewan says,

“I don’t think there is any security problem in the North East for tourists.

One or two internal things between some people

does not mean there are security problems for the tourists. Mizoram has had peace for 20 years, Nagaland for about 30 years, Sikkim has always been peaceful, Assam is a great place to be in, and I don’t feel insecure anywhere.”

And he definitely walks the talk as throughout the event, he was seen without any security around him. While the result of the mart is something that cannot be

See full story on page 08

Reed expands to Latin America See full story on page 10

Investments flying high Parvez Dewan

5%

Industry status for tourism

10%

44%

26%

Focus on infrastructure development and connectivity

Reduction in taxes

15% GST

See full story on page 14

Secretary, MOT

predicted so soon; however, Dewan expects the foreign tourist arrival in North East Contd. on page 8

Infrastructure, highest priority Others

Big hopes from Union Budget 2013

conducted a poll asking the industry which issue they feel should get priority in the Union Budget this year.

A majority of the respondents want to see a focus on infrastructure development and connectivity; this being the popular demand with 44 per cent of the votes. Reduction in taxes was another demand that gained momentum. While our earlier poll results showed that infrastructure development was the most significant milestone for the industry in 2012 a lot still needs to be done and the industry is anticipating more. We hope that the Union budget this year addresses the demands of our industry.

RBI opens ECB floodgates for hotels See full story on page 20

BULLETIN

Tourism on global economic agenda During his official trip to FITUR in Spain, K Chiranjeevi, Hon. Minister for Tourism met with Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO and emphasised on a proactive approach to make tourism a global economic and political agenda.

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he Ministry of Tourism has been in top gear in terms of tourism promotion under the leadership of the new Tourism Minister. Lately, Chiranjeevi has conducted several meetings with the stalwarts of the industry including representatives of the Government and UNWTO during the course of his official trip to Spain.

Chiranjeevi met Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO on February 1, 2013 in Madrid, where both the leaders deliberated on diverse issues relating to the tourism cooperation between India and the world. During the talks, the Secretary General and the Indian Tourism Minister emphasised for a proactive approach to make tourism as global polit-

K Chiranjeevi (third from left) and Taleb Rifai (fourth from left), in a group photo in Madrid. Also seen in picture is K Surekha, wife of Tourism Minister and Girish Shanker, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism (fifth from left)

ical and economic agenda.

Chiranjeevi also informed Secretary General about the efforts taken by the Indian Government towards easing the visa regime in India.

Spain Tourism Promotion Forum for building a dialogue between the stakeholders of tourism, travel and hospitality industry of India and Spain.

In fact, the bilateral discussions with Jose Manuel Soria Lopez, Minister for Industry, Tourism & Trade, Spain led to both countries agreeing to set up an Indo-

Chiranjeevi had also met with Artur Mas, President of Catalonia province of Spain in Barcelona, which serves as a hub of Spanish Tourism

and receives about 23 million tourists every year. As part of engaging the Indian market, Catalonia Tourist Board plans to organise familiarisation trips for the media and trade in May this year. The Catalonia Tourist Board will also launch its online training and certification programme for the Indian travel and tourism agents.

STATISTICS VIEWPOINT

Prudent Budget to stimulate tourism

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he Finance Minister has hinted at, what he calls will be a prudent budget, which will ensure India continues to witness strong economic growth. Hope, unlike the previous instances, when the tourism sector has only been forced to live with additional taxes, the Union Budget 2013-14 will augur initiatives that lessens the tax burden and enhances competitiveness of Incredible India vis-à-vis its competitors.

In line with in the government’s target to doubling the number of foreign and domestic tourists arrivals in the 12th Plan Period, at the outset there is strong case for grant of Infrastructure status to the tourism Industry in the Budget 2013-14. It will help them mobilise much-needed resources to build tourist infrastructure, promote tourism and avail benefits extended to various other sectors that are pro-poor and possess inherent employment creation potential.

In fact, as per the findings of the recent poll conducted by TravTalk, the travel industry rates creation of state-of-the-art infrastructure and enhanced connectivity among the most desired announcements in the Union Budget of 2013-14.However, the industry remains wary of multiple taxation, which many a times result in dual taxation.

The leading trade bodies of inbound and outbound tour operators hope that there will be adequate clarification on the service tax rules announced in the previous budget. The clarification should also clear the air about the use of sub agents by agents at various levels of selling a travel package and incidence of tax at such levels. It has been seen, in such cases tax has been submitted by various agents at different levels of the tax, which amounts to dual taxation.

Incredible India has fabulous tourist attractions that can be accessed round the year, but unfortunately falls in the list of countries that levies the highest rate of tax on tourism and allied services. A reduction in incidence of tax, which, at times, amounts to over 20 per cent cost of building a package, will definitely help market Incredible India to lure international and domestic tourists.

Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Publisher Deepa Sethi Editor

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

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

Ease visa rules for tourism boom In 2011, 110 million international tourists were required to obtain a paper visa in order to visit G20 countries. This represented just 17% of all international tourist arrivals to the G20 nations.

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nternational tourism contributes substantially to the world GDP, and especially to the economies of the G20 nations. In 2011, around 656 million international tourists visited G20 countries (67% of all international tourist arrivals across the world). These tourists spent approximately US$ 830 billion, generating nearly 78 million jobs (direct, indirect and induced). These are significant figures in themselves, just to have an idea of the fiscal benefits of tourism.

The market opportunity associated with improveal tourists by 2015. These tourists would generate between US$38 billion and US$206 billion additional tourism receipts (exports) by 2015. The additional visitor spending would directly create between 560,000 and 3.1 million additional jobs in the tourism sector by 2015. Total job creation (including direct, indirect and induced impacts) would reach between 940,000 and 5.1 million additional jobs by 2015.

Visa on Arrival (VoA)

Summary of results Considering current visa requirements, an estimated 17% of tourists will face visa requirements to enter G20 countries in 2013-2015.

By enacting visa facilitation opportunities, G20 countries have the potential to gain between 20 million (low impact) and 112 million (high impact) additional international tourists by 2015.

These tourists would generate between US$38 billion and US$206 billion additional tourism receipts (exports) by 2015.

The additional visitor spending would directly create between 560,000 and 3.1 million additional jobs in the tourism sector by 2015.

Total job creation (including direct, indirect and induced impacts) would reach between 940,000 and 5.1 million additional jobs by 2015.

ments in visa facilitation is massive. The 656 million international tourists who visited the G20 countries in 2011 represent over twothirds of international tourist arrivals globally. Of these, Advertising (Mumbai) Suchita Saran Branch Manager Harshal Ashar Deputy Genral Manager Priyanshu Wankhade Asst. Manager Advertising Rishika Karra Sales Coordinator Advertisement Designers Vikas Mandotia/Nitin Kumar Design: Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal Production: Anil Kharbanda Circulation: Ashok Rana

international tourist arrivals of affected markets by 5-25% following the implementation of visa policy changes.

By enacting visa facilitation opportunities as outlined in the following section, G20 countries have the potential to gain between 20 million (low impact) and 112 million (high impact) additional internation-

Opportunities for visa facilitation Improve delivery of information Facilitate the process to obtain visas

17% (110 million) were citizens required to obtain a visa to travel to their destination.

Differentiate treatment to facilitate tourist travel

An extensive analysis of case studies revealed that visa facilitation has increased

Establish regional agreements

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Institute eVisa programmes

This kind of visa can be obtained directly at the destination upon arrival. They are defined by a limited period of stay in the country and cannot be used for immigration. The general requirements for visa on arrival include a valid passport for the upcoming six months, a round-trip airplane ticket, and certain fees. For example, Indonesia offers visa on arrival to 64 countries while India offers the programmes to eleven countries.

VoA a success in India Beginning in January 2010, India instituted a Visaon-Arrival programme for 11 countries (New Zealand, Finland, Luxembourg, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam). In 2010, the combined arrivals from these 11 countries increased 10.6%, with arrivals increasing from all but Myanmar. This programne is estimated to have accounted for 3.7% of the combined growth in arrivals from these markets in 2010.

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MOT

FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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Go Beyond known destinations: MOT Once domestic tourists start going around the prominent tourist places, other lesser-known destinations will gradually develop into major tourist attractions through promotions and word of mouth.

VIVEK SETHI

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ndia is fortunate to have a substantial base of domestic tourists, who as per recent statistics, had already crossed

K Chiranjeevi Minister of State for Tourism

These campaigns mark a paradigm shift in MOT’s strategy to promote India within the country and abroad the 850 million domestic visits mark. In other words, it offers a great opportunity, which the Ministry of Tourism plans to tap through its new campaign ‘Go Beyond’.

“India has a great number of heritage sites, forts, beaches, backwaters, lakes,

Anand Kumar Joint Secretary Ministry of Tourism

We would like to see domestic tourists going beyond Kochi, Bhuj and Darjeeling to other places mountains, adventure, wildlife, culture, festivals, wellness, MICE, religion or shopping. Many of them are extremely popular among

domestic tourists. But, there is an urgent need to make our domestic tourists go beyond, or in other words around those popular destinations.

We would like to see domestic tourists going around Kochi, Bhuj and Darjeeling areas around the various prominent tourists sites in

various states,” said Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism on the sidelines of the recently held IATO members meet in New Delhi. “In fact, once the domestic tourists start going around the prominent tourists places, other lesser-known destinations gradually develop

into major tourist attractions through adequate promotions and word of mouth. This will help us develop many new sites for domestic tourists, which eventually will also start to attract international tourists,” he added. For the uninitiated, the Ministry of Tourism had launched two new

campaigns: an international campaign called ‘Find What You Seek’ and a domestic campaign called ‘Go Beyond’ at the recently-concluded ‘World Travel Market-2012’, which was held at London.

As per K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism

with Independent Charge, these campaigns mark a paradigm shift in MOT’s strategy to promote India within the country and abroad, where the ‘Go Beyond’ campaign focusses on promoting lesser-known destinations to domestic as well as international tourists.

MOT

ITM-2013 puts NE on world map The International Tourism Mart in Guwahati was not just the first-of-itskind event in East India that saw the participation of 79 delegates from 23 countries, but it also got the Minister for Tourism, K Chiranjeevi to shake a leg. gives details...

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ever has the North East witnessed an event of this magnitude! These were the words that were very often heard at the International Tourism Mart in Guwahati. On from January 18-20, the three-day mart was attended by 79 delegates from 23 countries including ASEAN, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Japan, Korea, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, UK and USA. The overseas delegates

included Deputy Tourism Minister from Lao PDR, Executive heads of National Tourism Organisations from Cambodia, Singapore, Bangladesh and Bhutan, tour operators, hoteliers and media representatives. In a bid to facilitate business opportunities, the delegates from abroad engaged in oneon-one meetings with sellers from the North Eastern region Sikkim and West Bengal. Besides foreign delegates, domestic buyers from other parts of the country

K Chiranjeevi, Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) I’m aware of the immense potential of this region as a tourism destination.

The ITM has been organised with the objective of highlighting the largely untapped tourism potential of the North East region in the national and international market. We have also included West Bengal. The Ministry of Tourism has taken several initiatives to promote tourism in the region with a view to create quality infrastructure in the region. The ministry has sanctioned more than ` 560 crore to the North Eastern states for infrastructure development during the 11th Five Year Plan.

also participated at the event.But it was not just the trade talk, the cultural evening also saw the Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), K Chiranjeevi, Parvez Dewan, Secretary, Tourism and other dignitaries shake a leg at the event. A cultural evening replete with performances from artistes of the various states of the North East, Sikkim and West Bengal ensured that the delegates also got a taste of the unique cultural heritage of various

A separate section on the North East is also available on the official promotion website of the ministry – incredibleindia.org, ministry provides space complimentary to NE states in the India pavilion at major tourism exhibitions and fairs, including WTM and ITB Berlin. The North East is ideal for adventure tourism and the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned adventure tourism projects in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. The MOT has also sanctioned projects for construction of convention centres and heliports in the North Eastern states. The ministry has sanc-

Tarun Gogoi Chief Minister, Assam I’m very happy at the successful completion of this mart. The response has been very encouraging for the North East. India is lagging behind in the tourism sector and the North East is further so. This is also because of the wrong perception of the area. The truth is that the North East is the most colourful place in the country, and people here are very hospitable. However, we are not very good salesmen. In spite of having all the products, we are not as aggressive as the others in promoting our states. The North East has a lot of scope in tourism and this is one sector that can generate the largest number of jobs for all.

states. In Dewan’s words, the seamless cultural programmes presented during the evenings showcased ‘a new North East’.

Not just that, even the breakfast, lunch, tea breaks and dinner were hosted by each of the nine states familiarising the delegates with the unique cuisine of each state.During the three-day event, the states made presentations showcasing what they have to offer to tourists across all segments. From January 21 to 28, post-mart FAM tours have also started.

tioned central financial assistance for setting up hotel management and food craft institutes in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

Ten per cent of the planned budget allocation of the MOT is earmarked for the North Eastern region.

The MOT is committed to promote the North East region as a leading tourist destination. If the state governments of North East so desire and depending on the outcome of this mart, the ITM can become an annual event.

Chandna Brahma Minister of Tourism, Assam We have had a very fruitful and informative session. We assure you that we will service tourists all over the world and promise a safe and convenient visit to all. We are also undergoing some major infrastructural development and some world class hotels will be coming up in Assam within this year.

S Hiato, Minister of Tourism, Mizoram This is the first time in East India that such a mart has been organised. We are an unexplored destination. This sort of a mart brings people closer and helps them understand each state. If this sort of a mart is convened occasionally in other states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur, it will help others get familiar with the states of North East India and it will help tourism flourish.

The concerns put forward by the Manipur tourism government The ministry’s scheme of assistance for large revenue generating projects should be reviewed as only four projects have been sanctioned so far in the country, since the inception of this scheme. The scheme was born out of recognition that the development of tourism infrastructure projects requires very large investment that may not be possible out of the budgetary resources of the government of India alone. In order to remove such shortcoming and to bring in the private sector, corporate and institutional resources, promotion of large revenue-generating projects for development of tourism infrastructures have been undertaken. However, there have been no takers from the NE region because big industrialists have not come forward to invest in the NE. Presently, the subsidy under the scheme has a cap of ` 50 crore subject to a maximum of 25% of the total project cost or 50% of equity contribution of the promoters, whichever is lower. Considering special dispensation of the North East states, it is suggested that subsidy may be enhanced to 75% of the total project cost and the rest 25% may be borne by the North East states and private promoters under the PPP model. With a view to enable the expansion of Imphal airport, additional land has been acquired and handed over to the Airport Authority of India but there has been little visible progress on the proposed expansion on the ground. I would request the Ministry of Tourism to impress upon the Civil Aviation Authority to advise AAI to expedite the expansion work.

ANALYSIS

Big hopes from Budget 2013 The tour operators and hotel industry want relief from high rate and instances of double taxation in general, while expecting relief on specific issues pertinent to their respected sectors. has more details…

VIVEK SETHI

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he annual Union Budget is a mixed bag for the stakeholders in the tourism industry, who look upon the budget presentation every year with baited breath hoping that many of the demands their trade association had put get a policy framework. brings to you the key sectoral perspective proposals put forth by the leading travel trade associations. Here are selected excerpts…

Subash Goyal

Guldeep Singh Sahni

President IATO

President OTOAI

Hotel industry eyes stimulus for additional 1,80,000 room inventory in

Vivek Nair

Nakul Anand

President FHRAI

President HAI

HAI & FHRAI The Hotel Association of India (HAI), in its pre-budget memorandum, has built a strong case for grant of Infrastructure status to hotel industry in the Budget 2013-14 highlighting the need of additional room infrastructure in line with the government’s target to double the number of foreign tourist arrivals in the 12th Plan Period. HAI estimates that the hotel industry is required to create additional hotel accommodation infrastructure of 1,81,752 rooms to cater to the accommodation needs of the additional 5.66 million tourists by 2016, which will require the industry to mobilise financial resources of the magnitude of Rs 20,00,000 crore.

HAI also wants benefits of Sec 80-ID of Income Tax to be extended to all cities, which presently is available to hotels located in National Capital Territory and the districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad presently for five years.

Further, both The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and HAI had highlighted administrative difficulties imposed by Section 194H of Income Tax for hotels, as the payments received from travel agents and credit card companies by hotels are

the 12th Five Year Plan Period The hotel industry is eyeing stimulus for creating additional room inventory of over 1,80,000 rooms spread over the 12th Five Year Plan Period. It is in line with the government’s target to double the inbound and domestic tourists’ arrivals and meet the demand of projected 12 million foreign tourists and 1.5 billion domestic tourist visits, which presently stands at 6.31 million and 850 million in 2011 respectively as per provisional data of the Ministry of Tourism.

net of commission. This may be revised to exclude commission payments to travel agents and TDS on commission payments to Travel Agents may therefore be exempted. Similarly, both the hotel industry associations suggest that the hotel should obtain PAN only when the payment is made in cash. It is further recommended that prescribed limit for reporting may be increased to Rs 1,00,000 against the existing unit of Rs 25,000.

Both hotel industry associations had highlighted that there should be no duplication of taxes. HAI expects the introduction of Goods & Services Act to help the Industry currently reeling under multiple and heavy taxation making it competitive as compared to hotels in other South SE Asian countries where tax is about 5-10 per cent.

FHRAI has also highlighted the difficulty being faced by hotels that had been asked to explain the Eco-Tourism activity in the projects, wherein the hotels had sought deduction under Sec 80IC of Income Tax. As per FHRAI, there must be a suitable clarification issued to allow benefits under the said act to the hotel industry. Further, FHRAI also wished that Income Tax benefits should be extended to players in the hotel industry that supports cause of restoring, or building heritage hotels.

Contd. on page 37

Making VoA simpler for tourists Contd. from page 1

India to increase by 20% every year.

Talking about easing the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) schemes, Dewan said that India will try to make its VoA

schemes simpler and faster for tourists. He said that there are plans within one year to make sure that, instead of insisting on rupees, the VoA payment can be made in dollars and maybe even credit cards.

Dewan said that they are also

trying to expand the definition of Transit visa. When asked to comment on the future plans of the ministry, Dewan talked about extending the Clean India campaign to more monuments and one city - Banaras.

ASSOCIATIONS

FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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New biz models for agents@TAFI 2013 The TAFI Convention-2013 will be held at ICC-Durban Convention Centre from February 24-27. It will provide future insight for delegates on the current industry issues beyond this year.

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ith the global economic slow-down, and diminishing returns from conventional streams, traditional travel agents face a plethora of challenges that the industry needs to tackle on a priority basis. The convention

Praveen Chugh Vice President TAFI

We are proposing to organise Business Sessions from February 25-26 to highlight and find solutions to create better business has been scheduled so that participating agents get to learn about future trends and business opportunities, along with power networking.

As per Praveen Chugh, Vice President, TAFI, “Considering present challenges faced by the travel trade, we had aptly chosen the theme of our 2013 convention as- ‘Navigating The Future’. In the current scenario, the traditional travel agent has begun to feel the heat on a daily basis.”

“The TAFI Convention will give new insight on current industry issues and our vision beyond 2013. For this we are proposing to organise Business Sessions

TAFI Convention The tentative business session schedule will include topics like Beyond 2013, Winning the Battle for Relevance, Golden Horizon, and Power of Today among others In the past, TAFI conventions were successfully held in Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai and Macau

from February 25-26 to highlight and find solutions to create better business models.

There will also be discussions on bilateral exchanges between the two countries and educating the travel industry on future business & cultural opportunities. This will bring the two countries closer and

rekindle the path started by Mahatma Gandhi,” he added.

The tentative business session schedule will include topics like Beyond 2013, Winning the Battle for Relevance, Golden Horizon, and Power of Today among others, which will be presented to member-delegates

by stalwarts from the industry.

In the past, TAFI conventions were successfully held in Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai and Macau.

“It is interesting to note that there has been a tremendous increase in inbound as well as outbound traffic

between India and these destinations just after the convention. This in turn has paved the way in improving bilateral trade and developing friendly relations with these countries. The Convention will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble President and Tourism

Minister of South Africa on February 24,” said Chugh.

“The new team of TAFI Managing Committee is pledged to work in a transparent manner and is determined to make a difference in its day-to-day functioning,” he added.

EXHIBITIONS

Reed expands WTM legacy For the first time, Reed Travel Exhibitions is duplicating WTM as a brand, which will promote Latin America to the world and will also bring the world to Latin America through the new show, WTM-Latin America.

T T B U R E AU Latin America Advantage The travel industry remains one of the most important sources of incoming revenue and job provider around the world. Travel remains a key sector for both public sector (National Tourist Office) and Private sector.

They try to get the biggest piece in this increasing market. Of course increase comes from large countries such as China, India and Brazil. Latin America is a huge target for all players, particularly Brazil.

There is a strong demand coming from the market. All industry players are waiting for a professional world class event such as WTM Latin America. The show is sold out and all the continents are exhibiting.

India Pavilion

India has booked a 55 sqm booth. The show’s total surface will be around 18000 sqm and will gather around 10,000 professionals and 1000 exhibiting brands.

The hosted buyers will gather 250 international

buyers coming from all around the world. We have a strong conference and seminar programme and will also hold destination briefings for the buyers and speed networking sessions.

The floor plan of the show will deliver one area for Brazil, one area for Latin American countries, one area dedicated to overseas destinations and one area for the ‘Global Village’ (international private sector brands). India will be situated in the overseas area.

Vincent Lhoste Project Director Reed Travel Exhibitions

The international buyers will be from the Leisure (tour operator product manages) and MICE sectors.

WTM-Legacy It is the first time that Reed Travel Exhibitions is duplicating WTM as a brand somewhere else in the world. This event will promote Latin America to the world and will bring the World to Latin America. We are concentrating on both outgoing and incoming sectors.

Also, we will target Leisure, MICE, Corporate and Business travel at the same time. And ultimately, we will provide exhibitors with a unique opportunity to meet 100 per cent of their B2B targets under the same roof during three days of the show.

The world will exhibit in Sao Paulo to showcase their products to Latin American Buyers and improve travel agents expertise on destinations. For the incoming sector, we are organising a strong international Hosted Buyer Programme to bring senior international buyers to buy Latin America and Brazil. We will organise pre scheduled appointments for the buyers.

Allocating Area The floor plan of the show will deliver one area for Brazil, one area for Latin American countries, one area dedicated to overseas destinations and one area for the ‘Global Village’ India will be situated in the overseas area

ASEAN, India ministers meet The fourth meeting of ASEAN and India Tourism Ministers (4th MATM+ India) has held in Vientiane, Lao PDR recently, in conjunction with the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2013 (ATF 2013).

The Meeting was jointly co-chaired by K. Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, Government of India and Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lao PDR. Both the ministers have signed the protocol to amend the Memorandum of Understanding between

ASEAN and India on strengthening tourism cooperation, which would further strengthen the tourism collaboration between ASEAN and India national tourism organisations. The main objective of this protocol is to amend the MoU to protect and safeguard the rights and interests of the parties with respect to national security, national and public interest or public order, protection of intellectual property rights, confidentiality and secrecy of documents, information and data.

The ministers welcomed

the adoption of the vision statement of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held on December 20, 2012 in New Delhi, India, particularly, on enhancing the ASEAN connectivity through supporting the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN connectivity.

The ministers also supported the close collaboration of ASEAN and India to enhance air, sea and land connectivity within ASEAN and between ASEAN and India through ASEAN India connectivity project.

Re-launching Dreamliner for test flights Aerospace giant Boeing has sought Federal Aviation Administration permission to carry out test flights on the grounded Dreamliner 787. All 50 of the aircraft presently in service with airlines around the world are grounded due to an ongoing investigation into battery problems.

AVIATION

95% business from agents 2012 has been a good year for Turkish Airlines globally as well as in India. This year, they are celebrating 10 years of operations in the country and have a lot planned for the Indian market.

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he year 2012 showed promising results and stirred Turkish Airlines in the direction of immense growth, especially from India. “It was

Adnan Aykac General Manager, Northern and eastern India, Turkish Airlines

really a good year for us in terms of India and worldwide operations. We opened 32 new destinations within a year and also saw good profits for the first nine months.

Our fleet size reached 203 in 2012 and the average age is now down to five. With

regard to the Indian market, it was again a very successful year. Our sales revenues increased by more than 25 per cent and also load factor increase to over 10 points.

Now our load factor is over 85 and we need to add more capacity from India.

Discussions are on between the two governments and we await the authorisation to increase operations.

We are ready to fly to more Indian destinations as well as increase frequency to Delhi and Mumbai,” says Adnan Aykac, General Manager, Northern and Eastern India, Turkish Airlines.

“We are discussing with Air India to increase our code sharing deal. Currently, we have code sharing for Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai routes. We want to

expand this and add more new routes. New routes depend on the airline’s expectations but, for example, it could be the Australia route. Air India is planning to start flying to Australia and we have good Australia traffic,” adds Aykac.

Towards the end of 2011, Turkish Airlines upgraded their aircraft to India and flew their new A 340-300 on the India route.

“We offered new products to the Indian market and now we can see the result of that,” highlights Aykac. The airline still receives more than 95 per cent sales from the travel agents and has very limited direct sales.

“This year is the 10th year for the airline in India.

We will celebrate with special fares, campaigns and promotional marketing activities.

We have already started on the agency side and the activities will be year long and supported by marketing activities.”

N-Air eyes India N-Air International, a US-based aviation company, is looking at operating as a budget airline from Fujairah in UAE to different Indian cities from July 2013… five flights a week from Fujairah to any of the South Indian destinations, probably Kochi and will deploy an Airbus A320 on the route gradually expanding further.

The new budget carrier will be offering cheaper airfares and allow additional baggage to passengers on India – UAE route.

A N I TA J A I N

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-Air International which is currently operating chartered and cargo flights from US, is now eyeing the Indian aviation sector. After contemplating airport and passenger traffic on various routes, the airline is in the process of introducing a new budget airline from Fujairah, UAE to various Indian cities. To start with, the company will start with

Captain Rajan Nair CEO N-Air International

Air Kerala a reality soon?

The much-awaited Air Kerala, a proposed low-cost carrier initiated by Government of Kerala, which had registered as a subsidiary of the Cochin International Airport Limited is facing some turbulence to open wings in the Indian skies.

The concept was initialised in 2005 with an aim to offer budget air travel options between Kerala and West Asia routes. According to the Union Government condition, an airline should have five years experience in operating domestic services and a fleet of 20 aircraft before starting international operations. But if Air Kerala begins domestic operations, it would incur a huge loss due to intense competition in domestic skies and heavy taxes. The state government has been pushing for a permit to fly on international routes and bypassing the rule of five years of domestic operations.

Captain Rajan Nair, CEO, N-Air International informed that the Indian operations are expected to begin from June or July 2013. The aircraft and crew is standing by, awaiting approvals from DGCA. “Our prime focus is on Indian market, primarily, on cities like Kochi, Kozhikode, Vishakhapatnam and Madurai, with flights to and from Fujairah.

We plan to market these flights to the expat population from these cities which fly home frequently and also carry huge amounts of excess baggage,” he said.

ANALYSIS

Investments flying high From discussing the impact of the grounded Dreamliners to the FDI deals in the pipeline, Kapil Kaul, CEO South Asia, CAPA, provides an insight into the Indian aviation sector.

D E V I KA J E E T

Q

How will the grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliners impact the aviation industry, especially, Air India?

B 787 is a very critical part of Air India’s turnaround. The results have been visible since the induction of B 787 in Air India’s fleet, as the operating performance has significantly improved especially with lower fuel burn on the routes and higher customer acceptance. The grounding will seriously impact Air India’s current and future international operations if the delay is longer than expected. As on date, it looks like the B 787 resumption might be delayed, as it might have to return with a new battery system but nothing can be confirmed till there is an official word from FAA. B 787 is the world’s most modern and fuel-efficient aircraft with a cutting-edge technology but needs to emerge out of this crisis immediately.

Q

Is there a possibility of any new airline making a beeline for India? Will the recent increase in charges at the Mumbai airport make a negative impact on travel from the city?

There are two or three serious joint ventures being structured and evaluated especially after the government’s recent decision on allowing foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers but there is no clarity on the issuing of new licenses. The operating environment continues to be very challenging and the regulatory risk is high.

This might act as a deterrent especially the increasing regulatory risk.

Recent increase in charges at the Mumbai airport are on expected lines and are significantly lower than charges approved for DIAL. However, I do a see a near term impact as the overall cost structure continues to be very high and will impact growth.

Kapil Kaul CEO South Asia CAPA

I expect around US$ 425- 450 million plus investments in both SpiceJet and Jet Airways for about 24% equity in this fiscal with about US$ 330 million for Jet

Q

With the increase in FDI last year, will we witness any foreign airline investments this year?

Yes, I expect Jet-Etihad deal to be the first announcement that will be followed by SpiceJet. Go Air is also in discussion but might choose to get listed in financial year 2013-14, subject to market conditions. I expect around US$ 425- 450 million plus investments in both SpiceJet and Jet for about 24 per cent equity in this fiscal with about US$ 330 million for Jet.

Q

2013 will also see some new airport terminals opening up. To what extent will these boost the aviation sector?

Yes, Chennai and Kolkata airport have been modernised with the worldclass infrastructure with additional passenger and cargo capacity and this will help in increasing traffic from South and East India. The remaining of the 35 nonmetro projects are under var-

ious stages of development and will be commissioned in 2013. However, long-term plan for airport infrastructure needs to be fast tracked as some of the non-metro airports might see capacity saturation after the 12th FiveYear Plan. Airport capacity challenge is most serious in Mumbai as Navi Mumbai airport project is further delayed.

Q

What are your expectations from the Government to help boost the aviation sector?

Our Government needs to deliver on the policy and regulatory front as we are operating without a structured policy framework.

Regulatory risk has increased since 2008 and overall we see a structural deterioration in the last few years which is not being addressed. The continuing negative fiscal regime is the biggest challenge. India’s aviation system is at risk and we need to take it more seriously and end the existing adhoc approach.

Q

Is 2013 going to be a good year for the Indian aviation sector? Will we see profits or losses?

The current fiscal is likely to see improved results largely due to Kingfisher Airlines’ operational shutdown and with greater capacity and pricing discipline. Air India’s net losses will be under US$ 1 billion which is significantly lower than CAPA’s January 2012 estimates of US$ 1.3-1.4 billion.

All the four existing private airlines will report combined profits of under US$ 150 million but all subject to Q4 performance, lower than CAPA’s Jan 2012 estimates of US$ 200 million. We might still end up with modest full year losses for the private airlines except IndiGo as Q4 is very weak. IndiGo continues to be a star performer and will be profitable for the fourth-consecutive year. Overall, the financials of airlines are much better than last fiscal but sustained recovery is not visible as yet.

Private airport at Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa has officially become the only five-star resort in the Maldives with its own private executive terminal just five minutes away by speedboat. The venture is a result of the successful partnership between the resort and Gan International Airport in Addu Atoll.

GUEST COLUMN

Tax burden hurting India Incredible India levies one of highest incidence of taxes on tourism in the world, which results in our competitors garnering major share of global tourist arrivals.

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ourism is an Industry which generates millions of job through business houses run by small and medium entrepreneurs, which urgent attention of the Government. Our tourism products cost much higher than our neighboring countries due to high incidence of multiple taxation. As a result, Incredible India loses to its competitor destinations a major share of global tourist’s arrivals. Further, question arises as to how we can achieve a target of 1 per cent of world tourism or 12

A tourist is charged following Taxes on their travel expenses On Hotel accommodation

– Luxury tax @ 10% on room rent (in some states on rack rate not on selling rate – Service Tax @ 7.42%

Meals

– Sales tax 12.5% – Service tax 4.94%

Transportation

– Service tax @ 4.94% – Interstate road tax (different state charge at different rate some times it is more than/ equal to the transport cost) – Petrol/Diesel cost already burdened with heavy taxes 40-50%

Air Ticket

Pronab Sarkar Managing Director Swagatam Tours

million tourists by 2016 with lengthy visa process, shortage of International air seats, lack of infrastructure like roads, connectivity, economical hotel rooms, Tourist vehicles, foreign language speaking guides etc.

As per the new service tax rules definition of Service tax replaced as “Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012, w.e.f.

July 1, 2012 under Reverse charge of service tax notification no. 15/2012 is applicable on Tour Operator & Transport Operators also.

This means those service providers who were liable or not liable under previous law but providing services to the principle operators, now the responsibility lies with the principal operator to deposit the service tax availing such services.

– Air Turbine Fuel Taxes 4% to 25% depending on state to state – Fuel Surcharge Tax – Airline Service tax 2.48% – Passenger Service fee 4.75% – User development charges –Del, Blr, Bom, Hyd etc – Airport tax International ` 1200 per travel – Service Tax issuing agent 0.618%

Guide charges/ entrance – Service tax 3.09% ON TOTAL PACKAGE TOUR to the monuments/ escort charges / tour operator’s markup On the basis of above calculations each tourist spending US$.100 in India pays approximately US$.22 TO 25 as Government taxes under various heads, in some cases double tax is applicable. This 22% to 25% tax on tourism is one of the highest tourism tax in the world.

For example transporters who were not liable to or not depositing the service tax in this case, those who are availing the services, have to deposit 100 per cent service tax and those transporters are paying service tax, one has to deposit on abetted value. With the introduction of above notification i.e. July 1, 2012 all tour operators have to pay service tax on services provided by the person located in non – taxable territory and received by any person located in the taxable territory. For example : A person located in taxable territory and receiving services from a person located in non-taxable territory ( Jammu & Kashmir ), service receiver (person located in

taxable territory) have to pay service tax under Reverse Charge Mechanism.

Similarly, all tourism related services are covered under service tax on outbound tours i.e. all foreign countries, Nepal, Bhutan & Sri Lanka.

With this multiplicity of Government taxes following is the chart showing an example that on a tourist spending $100 in India, taxation attracts approximately 22 per cent under various heads in some cases double tax is applicable.

This 22 per cent tourism tax is one of the highest tourism taxes in the world.

(The writer is Pronab Sarkar, Managing Director of Swagatam Tours)

First hotel to have lord & lady staff TThe new Hotel Indigo London Kensington Earl’s Court is the world’s first hotel to grant Lord and Lady titles to its staff as part of their employment package.

Following a revival of the Victorian era in the recent TV phenomenon Downton Abbey, each member of staff has been given a Lord of the Manor title or Lady of the

Manor title with a dedicated land plot and historic coat of arms. Set in West London, Hotel Indigo London Kensington Earl’s Court draws on its location among the Victorian terraces and this new initiative reverses the traditional societal roles from the era, which would have seen lords and ladies being waited on upstairs

rather than behind the reception desk, downstairs.

Hotel Indigo London Kensington Earl’s Court’s interior is similarly inspired by the surrounding Victorian mansions, terraced houses and English gardens, whilst the townhouse style entrance hall and winding corridors are reminiscent of a Kensington residence.

HOTELS

CGH’s secret: Go local CGH Earth’s expansion plan will use three modes - community partnerships like in Nagaland; the conventional buy, build and operate properties and public-private partnerships.

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he Kochi-headquartered company, CGH Earth, is now looking at spreading its wings in the Central and

solidate the brand presence in the country. The expansion plan will use three modes community partnerships like in Nagaland; the conventional buy, built and operate properties and public private partnerships.

Throwing light on the group’s targets, he says,

Jose Dominic Managing Director CGH Earth

South India and the Andamans as well. The group, formerly known as the Casino Group of Hotels, also wants to foray into the North East. This was revealed by Jose Dominic, Managing Director, CGH Earth. Going forward, community partnerships will form the main component of its strategy to con-

“CGH Earth will open four or five small properties in the circuits of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

We also plan to set up seven or eight properties (of not more than 30 rooms each) in the North East circuits covering Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, West Bengal and Assam. But the expansion will not necessarily be implemented the normal way. We will use unconventional strategies that will involve communities as partners in progress.”

As Jose explains, he is in search of the less than five per cent of travellers who seek the unpredictable and the unique.

“At the Marari beach property, for instance, the roofs are made of coconut palm leaves. They last only 18 months, and have to be redone. Coconut palm is abundant in the region, and the rethatching every 18 months provides employment for the villagers,” he claims.”

CGH Earth is dedicated to such travellers. The group will adopt a village in Nagaland and then help the villagers build around 12 Naga cottages with certain modern amenities. “The company will manage market and maintain these cottages according to CGH Earth’s set standards,” he adds.

Without divulging details, Jose also said that the group is planning to raise capital either through an IPO or private equity investment to fund its growth plans.

Rotana eyes Indian market In a freewheeling discussion with , Aman Aditya Sachdev, Senior Vice President-India, Rotana talks about their strategies for tapping the Indian market even further…

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ith its robust presence in Africa and the Middle East, Rotana Hotel Management Corporation is recording good demand from the Indian market. According to Sachdev, India, both as a travel destination and as a hotel services potential, represents a strong proposition with important business and synergy.

“India is an important guest feeder market for UAE hotels, and the opportunities are important both in terms of leisure and business hotels,” he says.

Currently, the Indian market contributes to ten per cent of the group’s total revenue. Rotana expects to grow this figure by at least 40 per cent in 2013, making India one of the top source markets for the MEA (Middle East and Africa) portfolio.

“With the growth in our portfolio of hotels and the increasing travel trends from India, we fully expect to double this figure within the next year,” he adds.

Aman Aditya Sachdev Senior Vice President-India Rotana

As the 21-year-old company readies to move out of the MEA market and spread its wings, the group is upbeat about its growth in India. Eight months ago, it opened its first regional office in India in Gurgaon.

The prime function is to put in place Rotana’s strategy for its development within the market in terms of managing properties and introducing

the brand to developers. “In addition to this, the group already has sales and marketing office in India. The main responsibilities of the sales office are to promote, market and sell the Rotana properties. This is in line with the overall expansion of Rotana and our growing market segment. We are cashing in on our existing share of this market and exploring other key segments such as MICE,” he informs.

On the awareness side, the new outbound sales office will assist Rotana in enhancing its brand reach and awareness. “This move has allowed us to understand how the Indian market works, in addition to providing us with the opportunity to present the chain as a multi-brand hospitality management company, operating four brands -Rotana Hotels & Resorts, Centro Hotels by Rotana, Arjaan Hotel Apartments

by Rotana and Rayhaan Hotels & Resorts by Rotana,” he adds.

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HOTELS

TRAVTALK FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Carlson Rezidor to score 76 Now, Haridwar for MICE Carlson Rezidor is targetting to expand its reach in As the hotel successfully completes a year of India by adding another 13 properties to its current operations, the GM of the property outlines targets for future growth in the Uttarakhand region… portfolio of 63 existing hotels.

M E G H A PAU L

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s a testament to the group’s growing presence in India, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has 13 hotels in the country this year.

According to Simon Barlow, President- Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor, India is a priority for the group. “We have more hotels here than in China,” he adds. “The company has witnessed a 40 per cent growth in the Asia Pacific region, since it decided in 2010 to concentrate on building its management business.

We managed to open 13 new hotels last year. Out of which 11 are managed properties

Quick View The company has customised its room size and F&B options to suit the Indian consumer The company started operations near the Delhi airport with its four-star property Radisson in 1998

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oised to cater to the luxury segment, Radisson Blu Hotel Haridwar is an elegant, international hotel – a first of its kind in the region.

Simon Barlow

K B Kachru

President- Asia Pacific Carlson Rezidor

Executive Vice President – South Asia, Carlson Rezidor

and only two are franchised properties, which is in line with our strategy of managing hotels,” Barlow reveals.

up with a new design concept for Park Inn targeting the aspirational young traveller,” he points out.

The group is transforming into a company focused on management contracts in Asia, instead of franchising agreements. The chain is bullish on Country Inn and Park Inn by Radisson. “While there are 28 Country Inn hotels, the company is in the process of re-launching Park Inn by Radisson. With around 20 of these hotels expected across India, the company has come

K B Kachru, Executive Vice President – South Asia, Carlson Rezidor confirms, “The company has signed a strategic partnership with Bestech Group, giving it the exclusive development rights to develop 49 Park Inn Hotels in North and Central India by 2024. Carlson Rezidor will also invest ` 213 crore in the first two projects in Gurgaon and Mohali by 2015.”

Arun Kumar Manikonda Manager Radisson Blu Hotel Haridwar

The hotel offers well-appointed rooms and exclusively designed suites, including comprehensive business facilities, an exciting range of F&B options, along with modern spa & fitness centre facility complete with a salon, to cater to the needs of a discerning business clientele.

According to Arun Kumar Manikonda, Manager of the hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel Haridwar, in the recent times, Haridwar has witnessed transition to become a diversified market rather than just a pilgrimage centre catering to various business, leisure, religious and tourism interests such as industrial tourism, educational tourism, adventure tourism, etc.

“Being located in the business hub of Haridwar, the group is targetting the corporate segment in a big way.

The property augers well for MICE, leisure and group business,” he informs.

Strategically located in SIDCUL, a fast growing industrial area in Haridwar, Radisson Blu is an ideal destination for the business executives. The meeting and banqueting facilities at The Radisson Blu Hotel Haridwar

are well-equipped to cater to seminars, conferences or weddings. The choice of function rooms and modern equipment, combined with quality service delivery, guarantees the success of every event. Also, being located just 10-km away from the holy place Paudi, a lot of foreign and domestic travellers visit Haridwar and thus, this hotel is well suited as per the demand of the leisure travellers and pilgrims as well, he adds.

Regarding the occupancy rate in the hotel currently, Manikonda reveals, “For 2012, we witnessed average occupancy of 45 per cent.

With the new diversified interests being developed at the hotel, we foresee a growth of 25-30 per cent in overall occupancy rates.”

The GM points out, “According to Uttarakhand Tourism, the total foreign tourist arrival in Uttarakhand for 2000 was only 57,000.

This has grown to 1,43,000 in 2011.”

NEWS

FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

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From 12 to 21 nations: Numbers say it all In 2013, the Surajkund International Crafts Mela witnessed the participation of 21 foreign countries compared to 12 in 2012. The mela held on February 1-15 has become a must on the calendar of many domestic and foreign tourists.

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naugurated by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on February 2, the Surajkund International Crafts Mela showcased the richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handloom and the cultural heritage of India. Jointly hosted by the Surajkund Mela

Parvez Dewan Secretary, MOT

Authority in collaboration with the Union Minister of Tourism, Textiles, Culture, External Affairs, Department of Tourism, Government of Haryana and Haryana Tourism Corporation, the festival attracts scores of domestic and foreign visitors for 15 days.

Compared to last year’s record participation of 12 countries, the mela, this year has 21 countries, including Rwanda, Guinea, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Congo, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Krgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Peru participating.

As you enter the mela, the gates that are replicas of the gates of Mysore Palace, Belur, Hampi and the monuments of Jain Basadis and Bijapur sure are reminiscent of the theme state of this year’s Crafts Mela Karnataka. With a contingent of more than 300 craftspersons, weavers, artisans, folk musicians and dancers, Karnataka is showcasing its unique, cultural and archaeological heritage.

At the press meet held on January 31 at the venue, the mediapersons got a taste of the unique culture of Karnataka as the stage came

Growing Numbers Compared to last year’s participation of 12 countries, the mela, this year has 21 countries, including Rwanda, Guinea, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Congo and many more

alive with the colourful and vibrant performances put up by the folk musicians and dancers of the state.

Addressing the media, Parvez Dewan, Union

Secretary of Tourism, called the Surajkund Crafts Mela a national institution and a must in the calendar of the Ministry of Tourism. He said the mela gives a unique opportunity to showcase India as a

microcosm of architectural and cultural diversity. During the course of the mela, cultural programmes will also be put up by countries like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Krgyzstan, Sri Lanka, etc.

A family each from Haryana and the coastal area of Karnataka lived in the sp

cially created Apna Ghar opening a window to the lifestyle that’s typical to the area.

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TRAVTALK FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

ANALYSIS

RBI opens ECB floodgates for hotels The recent move is expected to benefit the hotel industry as it will allow the players to raise money overseas and repay loans taken from domestic banks as well as for capital expenditure. speaks to industry stakeholders and finance experts to get insights M E G H A PAU L

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roviding much-needed relief to the hospitality sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed companies owning hotels to prepay loans out of external commercial borrowing (ECB) proceeds. It has been decided to include Indian companies

repayment of the outstanding rupee loans.

within the overall ceiling of $20 billion.

The recent move is expected to benefit the hotel industry as it will allow the players to raise money overseas and repay loans taken from domestic banks, as well as for capital expenditure.

All other aspects of the

According to Kamlesh Barot, EC Member and Immediate Past President, FHRAI, the previous budget, which created the anomaly that only three-star or higher category hotels located outside cities with a population of more than one million are included in the RBI’s Infrastructure lending List and the Government of India’s Master List of Infrastructure Sub-sectors, is addressed partially now. “We, at FHRAI, are particularly grateful to the Department of Economic Affairs and the Reserve Bank for favourably considering FHRAI’s vigorous representations since the past year and more, in this regard,” he says.

“Unfortunately, the relaxation doesn’t come fully, in as much as they have fixed the maximum limit of ECBs at 75 per cent of the average or 50 per cent of the highest foreign exchange earnings realised for the last three years foreign exchange earnings, whichever is higher, thus restricting the benefit that accrues to the industry under this policy. For the rupee loan conversions, this would enable barely 15-20 per cent of the outstanding high cost

Kamlesh Barot,

KB Kachru

EC Member and Immediate Past President, FHRAI

Executive Vice President – South Asia, Carlson Hotels, Asia Pacific

We, at FHRAI, are particularly grateful to the Department of Economic Affairs and the RBI for favourably considering representations since the past year in the hotel sector with a total project cost of ` 250 crore or more, irrespective of geographical location as eligible borrowers under this scheme, RBI said. As per the existing guidelines, Indian companies in the manufacturing and infrastructure sector, which are consistent foreign exchange earners, are allowed to avail external commercial borrowings for

ECB is a highly regulated method of financing.

The end-use restrictions do not permit secondary acquisitions and funding of working capital scheme shall remain unchanged and the amended ECB policy will come into force with immediate effect.

The Reserve Bank had earlier relaxed the ECB norms to help companies raise more funds from overseas markets, to boost infrastructure sector funding in the country. Besides, RBI had also relaxed the ECB norms for repayment of rupee loans

Of Rupees & Dollars The threshold of ` 250 crore may limit the impact on development considering the shift in focus on mid-scale and budget hotels in secondary and tertiary cities for emerging middle class There are several other challenges that continue to affect development such as FSI limitation, licensing process and multiple taxation issue

domestic debt of various hotel companies to be refinanced by way of ECBs. To give a whole-hearted incentive to our sector, this cap should be raised to seven times the quantum of the average of the last three years earnings in foreign exchange, of the respective company. We will continue to lobby with the Department of Economic Affairs and the RBI for this,” he adds.

11 hotels in India have availed ECBs in 2012 to an equivalent amount in USD of 20,23,90,651. Most of these borrowings would be under the RBI’s policy of allowing hotels to raise ECBs of up to $200 million under the automatic approval route, specifically to finance fresh capital expenditure, he reveals. As Barot rightly points out, the recent move is only the first step towards existing loan and fresh loan borrowings, which does not actually translate into any tangible benefits for the hotel sector.

The reasons are obvious from the above arguments and the following facts.

“As per our research, the outstanding credit of scheduled commercial banks in India to the ‘Tourism, Hotel & Restaurant’ sector is ` 392448.9 million. The foreign exchange earnings of the top 20 listed hotel chains for 2012 and 2011 were ` 2709.63 crore and ` 2664.54 crore, respectively. The interest rate range that our companies are currently being forced to borrow from domestic banks is at rates as high as 13-16 per cent whereas ECBs are available at attractive spreads of LIBOR+4-6 per cent,” he claims.

Talking about the new development, KB Kachru, Executive Vice President –

South Asia, Carlson Hotels, Asia Pacific reiterates, “ECB is a highly regulated method of financing. The end-use restrictions do not permit secondary acquisitions and funding of working capital.

Considering the oversupply situation in key markets, the number of greenfield projects in near future seems to be

considering the shift in focus on mid-scale and budget hotels in secondary and tertiary cities for emerging middle class. There are several other challenges that continue to affect development such as FSI limitation, licensing process and multiple taxation issue, he laments.

Saionton Basu

Param Kannampilly

Partner & Co-Head India Group, Global Chair Multilaw India Practice Group, Penningtons Solicitors

Chairman & Managing Director Concept Hospitality Group

The cost of borrowing under the ECB route has three components the LIBOR rate, the Spread, and the Exchange Rate limited, and thus may restrict the benefits of ECB.” It will certainly affect the industry positively considering the option to refinance existing loans and thus provide relief to degraded profits, but the benefits may be confined to five-star and luxury hotels, he confirms. The threshold of ` 250 crore may limit the impact on development

This is a positive move in the right direction by the RBI. It will benefit many projects, especially the larger ones Feels Saionton Basu, Partner & Co-Head India Group, Global Chair Multilaw India Practice Group, Penningtons Solicitors, “The cost of borrowing under the ECB route has broadly three variable components -- the LIBOR rate, which is common to all lenders and borrowers; the Spread, which could be indiContd. on page 25

NTO

Switzerland calling Switzerland Tourism is offering new prospects for promoting tourism in 2013. The country is focussing on ‘Living Traditions’ for promoting its rich heritage.

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witzerland Tourism is making the most of the country’s rich customs and traditions that are still being cherished by local people.

Celebrating this heritage, Switzerland Tourism has dedicated year 2013 to the ‘Living Traditions’. The diverse linguistic, culinary, architectural and musical traditions shaping the Swiss culture in different parts of the country can now be enjoyed by tourists also.

Stephan Heuberger, Director, Switzerland Tourism India, says, “India is a key market for us. Both countries take pride of their rich heritage of culture and traditions. People here believe and follow their traditions. ‘Living Traditions’ is an endeavour to showcase the way of life that reflects the true Switzerland. We are sure that Indian visitors will find it enthralling whilst they are experiencing our traditions and customs in our nature.”

As a part of the theme, Switzerland Tourism has introduced almost 100 activities to provide visitors an experience of the Swiss traditions. Witness how alpine

cheese is made at the Chalet Lioson d’Enbas or have a go at playing an alphorn in Nendaz or be it admiring the beautifully adorned cows in Charmey, visitors will be able to experience some of the oldest Swiss traditions.

The boad will undertake varied marketing activities for 2013 including training programmes for travel agents. It will also launch an official Facebook page with an Indian feed followed by other social media.

Stephan Heuberger

Ritu Sharma

Director Switzerland Tourism India

Deputy Director Switzerland Tourism India

Switzerland Tourism will also focus on MICE majorly this year. The country is becoming more popular with small groups of 100-200 people as well as for large movements. It is also creating the ideal infrastructure to promote this market segment. MICE groups have grown by more than 22 per cent in the year 2012 as compared to the previous year.

“We value the cooperation of the travel trade and will continue to work closely with them to promote various offerings that we have to propose to the Indian outbound. India market has shown a positive growth even in 2012, which is commendable,” says Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism India.

Indonesia: More than Bali!

The Indonesian Tourism Board is going all out to introduce India to places beyond Bali. With 3,000 inhabitable islands, it is ready to usher more Indian tourists.

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ali is usually the first place that comes to mind when you think of a holiday in Indonesia, but the country has much more to offer. “We have the island of Bali, which has been voted as the best tourist destination several times by various tourism institutions. But we also have other destinations with tourist attractions.

Indonesia has 17,000 islands out of which 3,000 have been inhabited and

Priority Markets Discussing their priority markets, Indrakesuma adds, “Most of our tourists are from the South and Maharashtra, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai, and some from North India. Thus, our promotions are a bit focused on South India and will eventually and comprehensively extend to across India

Rizali W. Indrakesuma Ambassador EP Republic of Indonesia

Bali is only a small portion.

Our culture is also worth exploring for tourists. We are looking at promoting other destinations such as Java, famous for its BoroBoro temple and also Western Indonesia, and the Sumatra islands,” says Rizali W. Indrakesuma, Ambassador EP, Republic of Indonesia.

Indrakesuma reveals that at least two to three million Indians visit SouthEast Asia each year. “We are

the largest country in terms of population and size as compared to other neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. With more places of interest and tourism destinations, we get only 150,000 of the three million Indians coming into the region. The rest are divided amongst the other three countries. We are not even receiving 10 per cent of the Indian visitors,” he admits.

“The problem is that we are yet to have a direct flight. We are in the process of getting our national carrier Garuda Indonesia to connect India. To begin with we will have a code share between Garuda and Jet Airways”, he adds. The end of this year should see some concrete developments.

“We realise that Indian market is yet unexposed to Indonesia. We plan to change that,” he adds.

NTO

A fresh vision for SA This year the country plans to make changes in its online training programme to help the trade understand and package the destination better. this, the board is aiming to touch 1,00,000 Indian footfalls in 2013.

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ver the years, India has become one of the top five tourist generating markets for South Africa. The number of Indian visitors to the country increased by 18.3 per cent (with 79,306 tourists) between January – September 2012 over the same period in 2011 (with 67,039 tourists) due to working closely with the travel trade. This year, South African Tourism is looking at further strengthening the ties, making the online training programme more crisp and to the point, penetrating potential Tier-II Indian

Hanneli Slabber Country Manager – India South Africa Tourism

cities, launching its new outdoor campaign across the country followed by a cinema campaign. Through

4 VACs in SA The Indian High Commission recently opened the first of four visa application centres in South Africa to streamline the consular services. The first centre is opened in Bedfordview (east of Johannesburg) and other three centres will be soon opened in Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria.

These will be basically collection centres wherein applications from here will be sent to the Indian Embassy based in Pretoria and visa will be processed in four working days.

Last year, over 60,000 South Africans visited India and this year, the number is expected to grow by 10-15 per cent.

Talking about the activities for this year, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager – India, South Africa Tourism said, “The best way to engage our travel partners is through our annual roadshow where we bring in suppliers from South Africa and also through our online and offline training activities. We are really getting an amazing response from the industry.

This year, we intend to portray South Africa as not just a destination for adventure and wildlife but also for wine tourism, family tours, same sex travellers, etc.

We will add in new face of South Africa which will not only attract first time traveller but also engage repeat traveller.”

A new spin on Argentina After appointing Knack Marketing as its representative in India, Argentina is hoping to grow at a higher speed with more intense trade activities...

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ith action-filled marketing plans and trade activities planned for 2013, supported with direct air connections being offered by South African Airways, Qatar and Emirates, the Argentina Tourism Board is aiming to develop interest in Argentina among the travel trade and end-consumers.

To start with, Argentina National Institute of Tourism Promotion (INPROTUR) has appointed Knack Marketing as their representative in India to encourage agents and assist them in packaging various tourism products that are apt for Indian travellers.

It will be targetting agents in Mumbai and New Delhi to educate them about the variety of products offered by Argentina and will gradually move to cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai. Talking about the development in Indian market, Leonardo Boto, Chairman, INPROTUR said, “Our aim is to develop

the interest in Argentina among our travel trade partners and Indian travellers.

Around 15 million Indians travel abroad annually and we intend to tap a percentage of that figure.

We will position Argentina as a ‘must visit’ destination for Indian travellers this year.” To increase the tourism traffic from India, it will organise fams, workshops and training programmes for the trade. Boto adds, “We are training the trade with many Argentina workshops before we can

Leonardo Boto Chairman INPROTUR

commence targetting the consumer. We are looking at developing the Indian market with a long-term perspective.

Our focus will be on the experimental and well-travelled travellers from FIT and MICE segments.”

Options for every segment of travellers As a destination, Argentina is offering unique experiences to every segment of travellers. The most appealing ones are the Iguassu Falls (recently named as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World), the Perito Moreno Glacier, the metropolitan city off Buenos Aires, etc. Argentina is also the main tourism receptor in South America with 5.8 million international visitors in 2012, surpassing Brazil.

HOTELS

It’s raining offers for travel trade!

The Holiday Inn, Kochi which opened doors in July 2011 is looking to step up its association with the travel trade in India to garner more business…

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s Holiday Inn Kochi gears up to grab a bigger share of the hospitality pie in leisure destination, the hotel is betting big on the travel trade industry in India. Anticipating tremendous growth in this segment, Nilay Saran, Director of Sales, Holiday Inn Cochin says, “We have tied up with large Indian DMCs and domestic operators who are looking forward to promote Kochi.”

Talking about the hospitality scene in Kochi, Saran informs, “I was earlier at Ramada in Kochi in 2007. So I have seen the market grow.

The hotel industry in Kochi is maturing now. Lot of inventory is being added up this year and the potential will only increase.”

Targetting a rise in business share with a stronger tie-up with the travel trade, Saran reveals, “Currently we receive almost a 40 per cent contribution from the travel trade industry.

We started with 15 per cent of our business being generated through the travel trade.

Thus, they are surely growth drivers.”

The hotel will also further strengthen its relationship with the aviation industry, the Director of Sales adds. Talking about the occupancy at the hotel, he

markets.” The domestic and GCC markets, due to its excellent connectivity, are essential for the property. Especially, during the Ramadan period during June-July, GCC is the biggest source market, he adds.

Nilay Saran Director of Sales Holiday Inn Cochin

reveals, “The hotel is operating in its full capacity with 212 rooms. This year looks promising as the hotel is targetting an occupancy of 58 per cent. In terms of Average Daily Rates (ADRs), the hotel performed well last year as well. For reaching the target this year, we would not dilute prices but look for new source

Corporate segment is the single largest segment for the hotel. “Holiday Inn Cochin is the closest to the Infopark and thus, even during the lean season, corporate clientele forms the mainstay of the hotel. Almost 40 per cent of our revenues come from the corporate FITs,” he articulates.

With the opening of its sister hotel, Crowne Plaza Kochi, IHG is expected to be the largest brand operator in Kochi with 500 rooms in total.

Welcome to the jungle world The Group will inaugurate its two new properties, one at Jog falls; and the second at Belgaum by March 2013, while it recovers from the ban on wildlife tourism.

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he Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR), a fully owned Government of Karnataka initiative, formed to promote wildlife destinations in Karnataka is all set to add two new properties. Its tally will now grow from present 16 to18 its kitty.

P Anur Reddy

Jungle Fun The Supreme Court of India had lifted its interim ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves in October 2012, after National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) framed and notified guidelines for tiger tourism under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972)

Managing Director Jungle Lodges and Resorts

“We will inaugurate our two new properties, one at Jog falls and second one at Belgaum by March 2013. On an average, our properties have close to 16 keys each.

The wildlife tourism is catching up and in the previous fiscal, we had made a profit of close to ` 4 crore,” said

P Anur Reddy, Managing Director, Jungle Lodges and Resorts.

demand slows down, it takes considerable time to build momentum.

Further, JLR is fast recovering from the jolts that resulted due to cancellations after the interim ban the apex court had imposed on wildlife tourism in India mid-2012.

The Supreme Court of India had lifted its interim ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves in October 2012, after National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) framed and notified guidelines for tiger tourism under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

Fortunately, we witnessed a strong resurgence in demand and we hope to end the present fiscal year in the black,” said Reddy.

“It was a difficult time, as cancellations started pouring in after the interim ban, which continued for some time. Moreover, once the

JLR is a pioneer in promoting eco-tourism, wildlife tourism, adventure tourism and various outdoor activities like trekking, camping, white water rafting, and fishing, that are non-consumptive components of eco-tourism and in general help in environment conservation.

Weddings & Celebrations in Thailand Tourism Authority of Thailand launched its second edition of the Wedding book ‘Weddings & Celebrations in Thailand’ at a gala evening held at The Leela Palace Hotel on the January 15. The first edition ‘Fall in love in India and get married in Thailand’ was so popular and extremely successful that 2nd edition with more information has been produced. The book showcases the enormous

range of facilities and services that Thailand has for hosting Indian weddings. “We are very pleased to circulate this informative book among our valuable partners: wedding planners, wedding organizers, media and others,” says Runjuan Tongrut, Director TAT New Delhi Office.

Thailand has firmly become established as a perfect venue for Indian weddings. In 2012, over hundred

couples from India celebrated their weddings in Thailand.

The popular destinations for Indian weddings are Bangkok, Hua Hin, Phuket, Khao Lak, Pattaya, Kanchanaburi and Chiang Mai. In a 2011 survey, Indians voted Thailand as ‘The World’s Best Wedding destination’ survey done by Travel & Leisure magazine.

And in Nov 2012 Thailand also received the “Best Wedding Destination” Award

at the 8th Annual International Awards 2012 organized by Hospitality India and Explore the World.

This resounding vote of confidence is sure to encourage more couples to plan their weddings in Thailand in the coming years. Also helping grow this market segment is the tireless effort in providing information and the ‘can do’ mindset of the Thai Hospitality industry.

NEWS

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43% business to Oz via travel agents Statistics released by Tourism Australia show a 14 per cent increase in leisure arrivals to Australia from India, with spending from Indian leisure travellers increasing by 17 per cent.

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ourism Australia has found important behavioral insights on the preferences of Indian consumers in terms of factors that determine their choice of a longhaul destination. The findings of a major international

What’s in store for Indian hotels Contd. from page 20

vidual to each lender and each borrower; and the Exchange Rate. Any variation in any of these components will impact the overall cost of borrowing and since the entire raison de etre of raising debt through the ECB route is to gain from the lower cost of borrowing, corporates must carefully consider hedging arrangements and whether they are appropriate to mitigate against fluctuation in the variable elements.” These are the challenges which are universal to all corporates raising ECBs and, particularly, in the hotel sector, where positive cash flows are protracted and servicing levels have to be carefully monitored.

On whether this move will augment increase in development, Basu opines, “There is usually a gap of at least two-four per cent between a domestic term loan and a comprehensibly hedged ECB, through a combination of principal, interest rate and cross currency swap contracts. This move will likely free up the cash flow situation on account of lower debt servicing levels and thus augment capacity in the industry. Accordingly, this move will most certainly be welcomed by the hotel industry in India.”

Throwing light on the way forward, Param Kannampilly, Chairman & Managing Director, Concept Hospitality Group points out, “This is a positive move in the right direction by the RBI. It will benefit many projects, especially the larger ones. We would like the RBI to continue in the same direction and extend this ECB facility to hospitality projects below ` 250 crore in a bracket that encompass the majority of our industry.”

tourism research project into the Indian market also reveal dependence on travel agents, which was released in January.

As per Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager – India, Tourism Australia, “The study provides an understanding of what moti-

vates long-haul travellers and provides directional guidance to our promotion efforts.”

“In 10 months to October 2012, there has been a 14 per cent increase in leisure arrivals to Australia from India, with spends from Indian leisure travellers increasing by 17 per cent.

Using the India 2020 strategy, we will work towards amplifying the strengths that consumers identify with Australia,” he added.

The study points out that over 43 per cent travellers planning their trip to Australia will use a travel agent to book their Australia holiday. The

research also highlights that most Indian travellers preferred the months of November and December as the most likely time of the year to take a holiday to Australia.

The study was conducted across 11 key tourism markets of Australia and surveyed 1,200 Indian customers.

Nishant Kashikar Country Manager – India Tourism Australia

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SpiceJet connects Delhi with Guangzhou

New routes, better service for India With the new premium economy class, Cathay Pacific expects to achieve further 30 per cent increase in yields. The company intends to make Hong Kong a hub for Indian passengers to connect with US, Europe, etc.

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fter adding new destinations on its route network in India (Hyderabad and Kolkata) and introducing premium economy on two Indian

Charlie Stewart-Cox

SpiceJet announced its entry into the People’s Republic of China with the launch of services between Guangzhou and New Delhi.

The airline will connect the two cities by deploying a 189-seater Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft on this route. SpiceJet will fly on Guangzhou-Delhi route four days a week at convenient timings. Commercial flights on this route will commence from February 8, 2013. Booking of tickets for flights of these routes are open. “Guangzhou marks our debut in the Chinese sky. We are offering the air connectivity at very affordable fare to the passengers from India and China,” said SpiceJet Chief Executive Officer Neil Mills at the inaugural function held at Guangzhou.

General Manager – South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Cathay Pacific Airways

routes (New Delhi and Chennai), Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways recently announced that it would extend the premium economy service on MumbaiHong Kong route.

Starting March 2, 2013, the new premium economy seats will be added on Mumbai route which will be priced at 30 per cent higher than economy fares.

Moreover, the airline is also increasing the number of flights between Mumbai and Hong Kong to 10 weekly non-stop flights starting April 2, 2013.

Thus, flights from Mumbai to Hong Kong via Bangkok will be non-operational. Currently, India is pegged at one of the top ten source markets for the airline and with the increase in capacity (it added eight per cent capacity in Indian market in 2012 over 2011); it intends to bring the country on 7-8th position.

Talking about the growing Indian market, Charlie Stewart-Cox, General Manager – South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Cathay Pacific Airways said,

Benefitting out of remodeling the aircraft With the addition of new premium economy class, the airline intends to increase yields by 30 per cent. It will fly B747300 aircraft with nine first class, 46 business class, 26 premium economy and 278 economy class seats. On Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, it will operate A330-300 with 39 business class, 38 premium economy and 105 economy class seats.

“India is one of the top ten performing markets for Cathay Pacific, but it is also becoming an expensive aviation market to operate in.

By adding premium economy, we are trying to increase our yields and further improve on productivity. We intend to make Hong Kong a hub for Indian passengers to connect with Australia, US, Europe and even Asian countries. With

over 75 per cent on-ward traffic passengers from India, we intend to make connections smoother and reduce travel time. Thus, we planned to cease the onestop Bangkok flight from Mumbai to Hong Kong. India is moving on the growth path despite the global economy fluctuations and was quite stable with an average of 80 per cent loads in 2012.”

Together with sister airline – Dragonair– the group now operates 46 weekly flights from six cities.

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India’s unexplored paradise at ATOAI Convention The two-day 10th Annual Convention of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) came to a close on January 21 in Guwahati. With the theme ‘India`s Unexplored Paradise’, the association used the convention as a useful platform to showcase North East India as an adventure destination.

ASSOCIATIONS

Pitching for the North-East With the theme ‘India`s Unexplored Paradise’, ATOAI used the convention to showcase North East India as an adventure destination. gives details on the convention.

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he Adventure Tour Operator’s Association of India (ATOAI) members did full justice to showcasing and promoting the North East as a potential adventure tourism

form for the adventure fraternity for new networking opportunities and to provide an environment for learning workshops. Speaking on the theme of the convention, Anand said, “It is a great opportunity that has come

the North East, the outstanding work done by the Assam Tourism in the development and promotion of tourism and the immense potential for development of adventure tourism that the states possess, are major reasons for

Tejbir Singh Anand

Sanjay Basu

David Singh

President ATOAI

Convention Chairman

Co-Chair of the Convention

destination. As the association conducted its 10th Annual Convention at Guwahati from January 20-21, it hosted business sessions chaired by prominent dignitaries like Chandan Brahma, Minister for Tourism, Government of Assam; Parvez Dewan, Secretary (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India; Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India;

our way to promote North East India as an adventure tourism destination.”

Elaborating on the choice of Guwahati as the venue for organising the convention, Sanjay Basu, Convention Chairman, added, “North East India is a land of jungles, rivers, mountains and remote tribal cultures, making it a great adventure destination offering many active holiday concepts.

organising the convention at Guwahati.”

With more than 30 national and international experts from the adventure and eco-travel segment present at the convention, delegates got an opportunity to interact, network and exchange new ideas with the travel and trade community.

ATOAI also announced its annual awards in various

Recommendations at the ATOAI Convention: 1. Support MOT’s ‘Clean India’ campaign and to launch a major sensitisation drive in gateway cities such as Guwahati, Siliguri, Darjeeling and Gangtok about the importance of cleanliness.

2. To promote Himalayas as a brand to encourage adventure tourism in the country. The next Incredible India campaign should be ‘Brand Himalaya’.

3. Promote the North East as an adventure & ecotourism destination with itineraries/routings often spanning more than one state.

4. Not sell the North East as a cheap destination and emphasis should be on lowvolume and high-value clients. However, higher tariffs should be balanced

with high client satisfaction through authenticity of experience, quality training for human resource and high quality of infrastructure, easier accessibility, etc.

5. To sell North East as one cohesive product drawing the best of all states, and creating experiential circuits, i.e. trekking, safaris, river cruises, natural history, buddhism, golf, historical sites, war memorials, etc.

6. To compete with and to link Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal by the opening of the borders between these states and the neighbouring countries.

7. To lobby for international airports in Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Dimapur.

8. Every tour-operator or tourism provider must be certified by state governments to have minimum standards of safety, ethics, sustainability and standard operating procedures.

9. The entire aspect of RAP/PAP/ILP permits to be relooked at and dismantled for Indian and foreign travellers visiting the North East, except in case required to protect specific tribal communities.

10. Areas near national park boundaries to be declared ‘sensitive zones’. Central guidelines/ recommendations for resorts/tourism activity in these areas.

States disregarding econorms not to be given Central funding for adventure/wildlife tourism.

HS Das, Principal Secretary, Assam Tourism & Finance; Dhrubajyoti Hazarika, Secretary (Tourism), Govt. of Assam; Baladev Malakar, Director (Tourism), Govt. of Assam and Anurag Singh, Managing Director, Assam Tourism. Tejbir Singh Anand, President (ATOAI) said that the convention was held in Assam to help create a plat-

We have recommended to the Ministry to showcase the Himalayas as a great summer destination as this will offer a great solution to India’s off-season. For this, air connectivity to the Himalayan destinations needs to be greatly improved.”

categories. Amitabh Kant received the President’s Award for Significant Contribution to Adventure Tourism, the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mandip Singh Soin, while the recipient of the Hall of Fame Award was Vaibhav Kala. The Award of Excellence for Adventurer of The Year was given to Deeya Bajaj.

David Singh, Co-Chair of the Convention added, “The tremendous richness and variety of tourist destinations in

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Getting Bihar’s air & road act together The government of Bihar has already taken a decision to provide 100 acres of land for runway extension of Gaya airport, which they believe should now get regular domestic as well as international flights operated from the Gaya international airport.

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s per Sunil Kumar Pintu, Minister of Tourism, Government of Bihar, the number of domestic and the foreign tourists visiting Bihar has increased from 1.84 crore domestic and 9.72 lakh foreign tourists in 2011, which has increased to 2.14 crore and 10.96 lakh respectively in 2012.

Moving forward, to get more tourists to India, the Chief Minister of the State Nitish Kumar pitched for more air connectivity at the inaugural of the three-day Bodh Mahotsava at Kalchakra ground, around 100 metres north-west of the world heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara.

“To invite more tourists to Gaya and Bodhgaya, there should be regular domestic as well as international flights operating from the Gaya international airport. Being bigger than the Patna airport, Gaya airport has a lot of potential.

The state government has already taken a decision to provide 100 acres of land for runway extension of Gaya airport,” said Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister, Government of Bihar.

“I have also raised a demand to introduce regular domestic and international flights operating from Gaya airport demanded. Presently, good number of tourists visit Bodhgaya by charter flights but they bring tourist guides and even other daily use items with them. We want to introduce language courses that will create job opportu-

Spreading Wings Kumar also apprised the audiences that to facilitate smooth drive for tourists between Bodhgaya and Patna, construction of the four-lane Patna-Gaya-Dobhi road will start soon.

After this four lane road is completed, it would take only one and a half hours for travellers to reach Bodhgaya from Patna

nity for local youths as tourist guides. Other facilities will also be improved at par with international standard; he said and added that in the coming days, tourists

will enjoy the facilities,” he added. Kumar also apprised the audiences that to facilitate smooth drive for tourists between Bodhgaya and Patna, con-

struction of the four-lane Patna-Gaya-Dobhi road will start soon. After this road is completed, it would take only one and a half hours to reach Bodhgaya from Patna.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurating the three-day international Buddha Mahotsav at Bodhgaya. Tourism Minister, Sunil Kumar Pintu and DM-cum-Bodhgaya temple management committee chairperson Bandana Preyashi also seen

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Goa goes the Brazil way With their five-day extravagant carnival set in February, Goa Tourism is marketing the state as a cultural destination with festivals, heritage and adventure.

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he Goa carnival this year is being organised from February 8 to 12 and will revive the yesteryears’ fervour with larger-than-life décor and mask installations.

This food and cultural festival is the biggest of its kind in Goa.

including the food festival where we have involved 15 other states as well.”

Goa Tourism has left no stone unturned to take the 2013 Carnival experience to a heightened level of excitement and entertainment. The festival, will feature float

increased the deployment of police force at tourist spots.

We are also in the process of increasing room inventory for tourists.”He added that the tourism board is keen on promoting Goa not only as an important cultural destination but also for its festivals, heritage and adventure.

RK Verma, Principal Secretary Tourism, Government of Goa comments on the adding of more room inventory is Goa, saying,“ Four new five star hotels are underway in Goa including the Four Seasons hotel. We are also developing golf courses and focusing on monsoon tourism along with promoting the carnival in a big way”.

(L-R): Desai, Verma,Parulekar

“This much-awaited event that draws tourists from all over India and abroad will be on an even bigger scale and more colorful,” says Dilip Parulekar, Minister for Tourism, Government of Goa. He adds, “The Goa carnival is one of our biggest events of the year. I hope that this event becomes the second-most popular event of the world after the Brazilian Carnival. We have added more attractions this year

parades in four cities i.e.

Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa. Apart from the float parade, this year’s event will also include a food and cultural festival for the first time where visitors will not only get to taste local Goan cuisine but also cuisines of 15 other states of India.

Nikhil Desai, MD, GTDC, and Director of Tourism, Government of Goa, says, “We have taken measures to ensure 100 per cent safety for everyone and have

This year the carnival has been rebranded and elements of Bollywood have also been introduced. The Goa Carnival has evolved over a period of time and taking forward this tradition, it has now been rebranded and repositioning the carnival.

Parulekar adds, “The other highlights of the event will include a vintage car rally, Serenade parade, a Harley Davidson Bike rally and King Momo’s lead float. The event will also see many Bollywood personalities.”

A master plan on the anvil The government in Goa is formulating a tourism master plan and state tourism policy to identify and boost infrastructure and new tourism products within the state.

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oa is now geared to play another inning. Goa Tourism is all set to unveil its new tourism master plan within the next eight months to chart the course of the tourism development.

This was revealed by Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC).

“The government in Goa has begun the task of formulating a tourism master plan and state tourism policy for the next 40-50 years to dictate how tourism should develop and what should come where. The master plan will look into what kind of infrastructure and new tourism products are required,” he said during the sidelines of the HIFI event recently held in Delhi. He revealed,

“Once the master plan and policies are formulated, we will create an investment policy for tourism in Goa and encourage new tourism products.

Green practices will form the cornerstone of the master plan. Though the government has a role at the macro-policy level, sustainable tourism is the responsibility of every stakeholder and not only of the

government.” Goa Tourism has already floated a global tender to invite bids for the drafting of the plan.

The government is also looking at developing the state as a world-class MICE destination. Other plans include developing theme parks and integrated tourism circuits within Goa. The state is developing two golf courses in North and South Goa. “The golf course in the North is already being promoted by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts,” he added.

NEWS

0.1mn Indians in Korea Keen to be known as an ideal holiday destination, Korea is all set to charm the Indian travellers to visit the country. over 100,000 Indian visitors to Korea in 2013 with opening a new Korean Air route from Incheon International Airport, Korea via Colombo in Sri Lanka to Maldives on March 2013,” said Jae-Sang, Lee, Director – Korea Tourism Organisation.

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orea Tourism Organisation has begun the year 2013 with the successful completion of the previous year. The 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year campaign was an achievement as it encouraged overseas tourists to visit Korea. This helped promote Korea’s unique traditional culture, beautiful environment and hidden treasures throughout the world.

Aimed to attract 10 million tourists from overseas by 2012, the country welcomed its 10 millionth visitor on November 21, topping the tourism record for the country.

Over the years, Korea and India have shared an inseparable link which is reflected in their traditions, culture, heritage, economic, trade and tourism ties. This year 2013 is the 40th

Jae-Sang, Lee Director Korea Tourism Organisation

anniversary year of diplomatic ties between both the countries. In this remarkable year, culture and tourism will be the major focus. A month ago, Korean Cultural Center was open in New Delhi.

Based on all these changes, a huge leap of visitors is expected from India to Korea.

“There were 92,000 visitors from India to Korea up till the end of 2012. We expect

Korea offer’s every traveller a special something that could capture and excite them with countless memorable memories when they return home.

“We are concentrating on developing tourism between the two countries and accelerating the marketing opportunities to make Korea an ideal holiday destination,” added Lee.

Now ETAA has NI Chapter Travel Enterprising Agents Association (ETAA), inaugurated its North India Chapter on Jan 17, 2013 with cocktails & dinner at the India habitat Centre, New Delhi. Stefan Ionkov, Head – Commercial,

Karl Dantas, the President of the Association, announced and appointed the 36-yearold, Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Holiday & Destinations as the Chapter Chairman for North India who had been

losophy of the Association, he shall try and forge a strong bond between the Association and the various stakeholders of the industry . “I plan to bring to our fold 150 members specially the small and the medium Retail

Embassy of Bulgaria was the Chief Guest. The Association presented a perfect blend of youth and experience when

instrumental in establishing the North India Chapter of the Association. Nagpal said that going by the basic phi-

operators from North India and hold the first Members Meet in April, 2013 at Delhi,” he added.

Private jet services to Bhutan Freeborn Chapman Airchartering recently announced a new strategic private jet partnership with Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines, the national airline of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Through the unique partnership with Drukair, Chapman Freeborn can now provide this service for private jet aircraft and obtain the necessary permits to operate charters to Bhutan.

Global sales and marketing director Alex Berry says the partnership will provide private jet travellers with totally unique access to the Kingdom of Bhutan as a travel destina-

Shailendra Seth Director Chapman Freeborn India

tion, setting Chapman Freeborn apart from all its competitors. Shailendra Seth, Director of Chapman Freeborn India, added, “Drukair and Chapman Freeborn are both niche organisations and this synergy between the two will

enhance opportunities to boost luxury travel to the Kingdom of Bhutan.”

Welcoming the partnership Tshering Penjore, General Manager of Drukair, said: “Drukair has been providing reliable and safe transportation for the last 30 years and as the only airline that links Bhutan to the outside world, the challenge to fulfil diverse air transportation needs has become critical. The partnership with Chapman Freeborn will enable us to use the wide and global resources and portfolio of aircraft for private charters.”

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FAMILY ALBUM

Tipple and Chat , in association with The Lalit, Mumbai recently organised 'Networktalk', a travel trade get-together for the western India's tourism players.

With the tourism season around the corner, the last Monday of January was packed with travel events in the city. Despite this, ‘Networktalk’ recorded an outstanding response from the industry with over 100 key players from various national and state tourism boards, tour operating companies, travel agencies, airlines, hotels, IATA, GDS operators and car rental companies. The who's who of the industry were present at the cocktail party.

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make the travel trade go round

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ANALYSIS

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All eyes on Union Budget 2013 Contd. from page 8

IATO urges for fair tax treatment The inbound sector needs Government support and a fair treatment in terms of avoiding been discriminated in terms of levy of service tax on tour operators. Inbound tour operators, perhaps, is the only service which is being taxed in a manner, which has to bear excessive burden of service tax.

Tour operator’s services were initially brought within the ambit of service tax in the year 1997. Year after year, the Government has extended the scope of service tax, which has resulted in increase in the input costs of the tour operator has increased because of the levy of service tax.

Inbound Tour operator services are within the service tax net since 1997. Prior to 1st March 2006, while availing such abatement, the CENVAT Credit of service tax paid on input services was also allowed. In Notification No.26/2012-ST dated June 2012, such abatement has been revised in respect of cer-

tain taxable services, for instance, renting of hotels, inns, guest houses etc. On the other hand, in respect of certain services such as transport of passengers by air and renting of hotels, inns etc, CENVAT Credit can be availed in respect of relevant input services. However, tour operator service has been discriminated and CENVAT Credit has been absolutely denied even though all its input services have been taxed, while earlier CENVAT Credit of service tax was allowed to the tour operators.

Further, in the inbound sector, it is a common business practice that services are subcontracted to the same category of service provider i.e a tour operator sub-contracts to other tour operator. However, neither of two is allowed any kind of CENVAT Credit.

Eventually on the same transaction, tax is being paid by two tour operators without being allowed the CENVAT Credit.

OTOAI expects more clarification on service tax issues in budget FY 2013-14 The members of Outbound Tour Operators Association (OTOAI), in its pre budget memorandum to the Ministry of Tourism, have highlighted the lack of clarity that persists on various provisions that were amended in the previous union budget. This includes significant changes in the method of taxation of services with the implementation of the Negative list regime and Place of Provision of Service Rules 2012 (PPS Rules).

In terms of the provisions in the negative list, prior to the enactment of negative list, service of arranging tours was qualified as tour operator service and was subject to service tax in India. However, outbound tours as the services were performed outside India and the consideration was received by the tour operator in convertible foreign exchange, the same were considered as zero rated supplies.

Moreover, in our understanding as per the PPS Rules made effective from July 2012 that determine the place of provision of services depending on its place of consumption, outbound tours should not be subject to service tax as

place of performance is outside taxable territory. The tax on outbound tours in hands of tour operators makes the services of outbound tour operators less competitive. This for the reasons that an Indian booking a hotel overseas on hotels website will not be subject to service tax, while the same transaction will be subject to service tax if done through an outbound tour operator.

Further, there is an exigent need to provide exemption from service tax to sub agents as to avoid instances of double taxation. The outbound sector involves various stakeholders including agents, sub-agents, and even sub-sub agents, who operate together many times to serve the end user.

The taxation on services provided by tour operators acting as sub-agents leads to multiplicity of taxation, as the same service is taxed at the hands of multiple instances. Here, the abatement rates should be increased for the tour operators keeping in mind the present scenario that has seen erosion net margin due to gradual shrinking of commissions earned on air tickets and challenging global economic environment.

Give industry status to tourism: IAAI

Biji Eapen President, IAAI

The hotels should be included as an Infrastructural facility eligible for benefits under Income Tax Act like Airports, Seaports and Railways. Our Industry should be granted deductions on Foreign Exchange Earnings on the same lines as being given to other foreign exchange earnings Industries. All states in India may be requested to recognise Tourism as an industry. The present limit for quoting PAN Number while making cash payments to Hotels & Restaurants against bills must be increased from ` 25000 -100000.

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FAMILY ALBUM

MOT gets a good turnout at ITM in Guwahati To highlight the tourism potential of the North East India in India's key source markets, the Ministry of Tourism organised an International Tourism Mart from January 18-20 at Guwahati, Assam. The mart was attended by 79 delegates from 23 countries, including ASEAN countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Japan, Korea, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, UK and USA.

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FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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IATO welcomes the new Secretary IATO, in its first monthly interactive meeting in January, 2013 welcomed Parvez Dewan, Secretary Tourism, Government of India, and other new key appointees, while wishing farewell to former Tourism Secretary, R H Khwaja in New Delhi.

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CRUISES

Princess Cruises woos travel agents The travel agent handling the booking will get a gift voucher worth ` 2,000 for shopping on Jabong.com for each balcony cabin sold in addition to the applicable commission. an agent booking a family of 10 pax on five balcony cabins would be entitled to shopping vouchers worth ` 10,000 for just one booking. “This is our way of engaging and rewarding the travel agency staff who works hard throughout the year to convert cruise bookings,” he adds.

T T B U R E AU

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ntering its 13th year in India, Princess Cruises is all set for a phenomenal business growth in 2013 and beyond, by adopting an aggressive deployment and promotional strategies which would keep the distribution channels engaged throughout the year.

With additional benefits to travel agents, Princess Cruises has launched the

Sailing Smooth The Balcony Bonanza promotion is valid for fresh bookings for February 2013 An agent booking 10 pax on five balcony cabins would be entitled to vouchers worth ` 10,000 for just one booking Princess Cruises is introducing the largest deployment by a global cruise line in the Japanese market when it brings Sun Princess to Japan for in April 2013

Nishith Saxena Director Cruise Professionals

2013 Balcony Bonanza promotion with a bang in February this year. According to Nishith Saxena, Director, Cruise Professionals, the travel agent handling the booking will get a gift voucher worth ` 2,000 for shopping on Jabong.com for each balcony cabin sold in addition to the applicable commission (terms & conditions apply).

The Balcony Bonanza promotion is valid for fresh bookings for full month of February 2013. For instance,

Enjoying a long-standing and fruitful relationship with Princess Cruises, Cruise Professionals continues to offer revenue generating opportunities to the travel agencies who, in turn, offers a diverse mix of cruise products to their HNI clients.

“The offering is geared to suit every conceivable taste, price preference and target market, including contemporary, premium and ultra-luxury.

We aspire and deliver exceptional vacation experiences through the world’s best-known cruise brands that cater to a variety of different lifestyles and budgets, all at an outstanding value unrivalled on land or at sea, coupled with enhancing India’s image in the global cruise business in terms of revenue & value contribution,” he points out.

Regarding the other initiatives, Princess Cruises is introducing the largest deployment ever by a global cruise line in the Japanese market when it brings Sun Princess to Japan for a spring to summer season of cruising in April 2013.

Princess Cruises is launching an 87-day programme featuring a total of nine

cruises on seven different itineraries operating April through July 2013 from both Yokohama and Kobe.

The new Japan deployment is three times larger than that of any competitive international cruise programme, with superior itineraries specifically designed for the Japanese and other Asia markets.

Princess Cruises first set sail in 1965 with a single ship cruising to Mexico. Today, the line has grown to become the third largest cruise line in the world, renowned for innovative ships, an array of onboard options, and an environment of exceptional customer service.

CLIPBOARD

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MOVEMENTS

TRAVTALK FEBRUARY 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Cathay Pacific

Premier Inn, South Asia

Shangri-La’s-Eros Hotel

Mumbai

Gurgaon

New Delhi

Rajeev Babbar has been appointed as the Vice President – Finance & Planning, South Asia (India, Sri Lanka and Maldives), Premier Inn. As a key member of Premier Inn’s executive team, he will facilitate the company’s continued growth and success by optimising capital structures, raising capital, and improving and enhancing the company’s financial growth. At Premier Inn, Babbar’s core responsibilities will include interaction with the capital markets and leadership of the finance, accounting, corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures for the company.

Aditya Shamsher Malla has been appointed as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Shangri-La’s-Eros Hotel, New Delhi. Malla has over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to this assignment, he held the position of EAM Sales and Marketing at The Westin Mumbai, Garden City. He has also worked with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Hyatt Hotels in India and The Taj Group holding leadership positions in their properties in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. In his current role, he will work towards maximising the hotel revenue from various market segments and will lead the hotel’s sales and marketing team.

Goa Marriott Resort & Spa

Teknokraaft Info Systems Pvt. Ltd

Ramada Chennai Egmore

Goa

Thiruvananthapuram

Chennai

Rakshit Talwar has been appointed the Director of Sales at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa. He comes to the property after his last assignment as Director of Sales at the Courtyard by Marriott, Pune Hinjewadi since 2010. Talwar started his career in 2002, and has worked with Taj and Hyatt in several markets before joining the Marriott as Associate Director of Sales in 2008, where he worked as the sales leader. Rakshit’s key expertise lies in developing and implementing sales strategies, and his biggest strengths are community outreach and customer engagement.

Anil Kumar Kurukshetra has taken over as the Executive Director of Teknokraaft Info Systems Pvt. Ltd. Kurukshetra brings over 20 years of varied experience, expertise and proven efficiency in travel, tours, airline and GSA management, business networking and chain management domains.

Based out of the head-office of Teknokraaft, he will be responsible for the strategic planning, business development and global positioning of the organisation. He has strong working business relationships in India, GCC, SAARC, South Africa, Far East and select countries in Europe and Americas. His previous assignments were Vice President – GITC/ATE Group, CEO – Interserve, Regional Manager – InterGlobe etc.

Prakash Chandran, a hospitality professional for over 17 years, has been appointed as the General Manager of the Ramada Chennai, Egmore. He has been responsible for re-opening properties in Le Royal Meridien, Chennai and Speke Resort Convention Centre, Uganda, Africa. Prior to Ramada Chennai Egmore, Chandran has worked with Makaseb Group, Saudi Arabia, and has been responsible for over 50 hotels in Saudi Arabia and GCC countries. In addition, he has also worked with Sheba Hotel, Sanaa, Yemen, Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental Hotel, Muscat, Oman and Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Fujairah,UAE.

Charlie Stewart-Cox has been appointed as the airline’s General Manager – South Asia, Middle East & Africa. Stewart-Cox will be responsible for overseeing the business and operations of Cathay Pacific and Dragonair in the three regions and will be based in Mumbai, India.

Stewart-Cox joined Cathay Pacific in September 1982. He has held a number of positions within the airline including Assistant Reservations Manager - Central Reservations Control; Country Manager India, Nepal & Bangladesh; Airport Services Manager Kai Tak; Marketing & Sales ManagerHong Kong; and Marketing Communications Manager.

Hyatt Regency, Chennai Chennai Ayan Karmakar has assumed the role of Restaurant Manager at Spice Market, Hyatt Regency, Chennai. Hailing from Kolkata, he brings with him myriad experience, owing to his stints at Mumbai and the pre-opening exposure at Hyatt Regency, Chennai.

Karmakar was always fascinated with the fast track life of the hospitality world and this led to his interest in the hotel service industry. He started off with Leela Kempinski, Mumbai as a trainee waiter for 18 months and then worked as an Executive for a year. He then shifted to Hyatt Regency Chennai as Assistant Manager in the preopening team and then was promoted to Room Service Manager.

Lee Wun joined Hyatt Regency Chennai as Assistant Outlet Manager at Stix. Hailing from Kolkata, he brings with him a rich and varied experience of over 9 years, having worked earlier with Kong Ming, Harbour View Marina, Tortola in Virgin Island. He started off as a waiter at Dubai and then moved on to becoming the Assistant Catering supervisor. Wun has also spent quality time working for the Herbron children home in Assam (Diphu) which he is still actively engaged and during this time, he also tried his hand at his family hotel business before moving to British Virgin Island and then finally joining the Hyatt Regency Chennai as an Assistant Manager.

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

Contributed by: Vivek Sethi, Megha Paul & Devika Jeet

Anand Singh

Anand Singh, Minister for Tourism, Government of Karnataka, says that he is a social worker and he loves to travel in his state to attend to people’s needs.

According to Singh, tourism sector is a sunrise sector. “India has an advantage of abundance of tourist attractions blessed by nature, rich history, culture, which is unlike many other leading tourist destinations that have to build them through artificial means,” he adds.

Sathish Sundaram has assumed the role of Manager, Room Service at Hyatt Regency Chennai. He brings with him a vast experience of over 15 years, and has been associated with eminent brands like Grand Hyatt, Muscat and Dubai, The Trident, Chennai and Chola Sheraton, Chennai. He started off as a Banquet Trainee in Chola Sheraton, Chennai and then moved on to The Trident, Chennai as a waiter. Sundaram was part of the pre-opening team and was promoted to Assistant Outlet Manager. Prior to joining Hyatt Regency Chennai, He was with Grand Hyatt, Muscat as Outlet Manager of F&B.

KB Kachru, Executive Vice President – South Asia, Carlson Hotels, Asia Pacific loves watching Bollywood movies. “Any light-hearted comedy movie is good. I don’t know why people did not like Dabbang. I can watch it endless number of times,” he says candidly. For KB Kachru Kachru, playing cricket with his Executive Vice President – South Asia, three-year old grandson is one Carlson Hotels, Asia Pacific of the best pastimes. He also wants to visit places with adventure options. “I like Thailand for adventure activities it has to offer. In India, Mashobra in HP and Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir are his favourite destinations.

Nilay Saran, Director of Sales, Holiday Inn Cochin, originally from Agra, has worked in various places such as Jaipur, Bengaluru and Kochi.

“So basically, I have met different people, different communities and I like interacting with them,” he says.

A calm guy who enjoys time with his family, Saran loves the Kochi weathNilay Saran Director of Sales er. “The city is beautiful. It is so clean Holiday Inn Cochin and pristine,” he adds. Saran loves to go for long drives and vacations, provided he gets time. “Good food interests me. I love to cook and taste authentic cuisines.”

Hanneli Slabber has been living in Mumbai for the last two years and absolutely loves this country. She has been driving around the city and feels she should get a medal for that! “I have an Indian driver’s licence and have learnt to cook a lot in the country.” She has also travelled to 42 Indian cities in the last two years and loves exploring India. “ My favourite holiday place is definitely Pondicherry. I had the best and most disgusting experience there. The local surfer food is a dish made with Indian bread, nutella chocolate spread and a fried egg, its highly disgusting and I was really taken aback. I didn’t try it, but my kids absolutely loved it.

They took the recipe back home with them.”

Minister for Tourism Government of Karnataka

Hanneli Slabber Country Manager-India South African Tourism

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:14-02-2013

HIGHLIGHT

Travel agents are important assets From increasing flights to Delhi to joining Oneworld and continuing to offer five per cent IATA commission, SriLankan Airlines is investing in their most important market- India. talks to Nishantha Wickramasinghe, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines to know more...

D E V I KA J E E T

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riLankan Airlines has rapidly grown in India and is steadily increasing its presence in the country. “When we started four-five years back, we only had a few flights to India. And now, we are flying to Chennai four times a day, we just stated flights to Madurai, we have double daily flights to Trichy and fly daily to Thiruvananthpuram and Delhi once a day. From February, we will add five more flights a week to Delhi, operating a total of 12 flights a week”, says Wickramasinghe. “I also look after Mihin Lanka, and these are flights for both the airlines as they both operate under one umbrella,” he says.

Working with travel agents from across the country is priority for the airline.

Discussing their USP, Wickramasinghe says, “Our in-flight service and excellent connectivity make us an ideal airline. We sell at very affordable and competitive prices and still offer five per cent IATA commission. Over all, we work very closely with IATA and feel that our agents are our most important assets.”

From February 1, Sri Lanka-based airline Mihin Lanka has increased its IATA commission and is now offering a five per cent commission for sales conducted by travel consultants, online travel portals, travel management companies and consolidators in India only

“Now we are also enrolling in Oneworld. We are working to upgrade our technology and join this global network. I am very confident that by the end of this year, we will be joining Oneworld. It will be a huge bonus and increase our network manifold.”

Discussing the reasons for their rapid growth, Wickramasinghe

adds, “This demonstrates the market (India) and its growth potential. There is not much point-to-point traffic from India, and we aligned ourselves to offer the best connections to transit passengers. A lot of passengers are transiting through Colombo and go to either the Far East or the Middle East. We are also the popular choice for a lot of work traffic to the Middle East. Around 60 per cent of the passengers from India are transit category.”

“We do have a number of leisure groups from India which bring

point-to-point traffic, but the majority of the leisure groups travel to the Far East, such as Malaysia, Singapore and Male,” he says. Sri Lanka offers beaches, hill stations, culture and religion; making it an ideal holiday destination.

SriLankan Airlines is also focussing on MICE traffic and recently unveiled new MICE

Dubai and Bangkok and cater well for transit passengers on those routes,” says Wickramasinghe.

He further highlights the importance of the India market for the airline by adding, “India is the market of today, tomorrow and the future. Our two countries have a very close relationship. Politically, both the countries are stable and have a healthy relationship. Sri Lanka is also one of the safest countries and an affordable destination to travel to

Wickramasinghe speaks India is the market of today, tomorrow and the future It is a big hub for flights to the Middle and Far East Working with travel agents from across the country is priority for the airline.

Our agents are our most important assets brochures describing what Sri Lanka has to offer as a MICE destination in Asia.

“India is a big and growing economy and is least affected by world crises.

Air traffic is growing from the region and we are increasing our frequency. India is the market of the future and I can put my money on it.

We are also well-connected with

for Indians.” Sri Lankan Airlines is a popular choice for transit passengers as it provides quick connections. “We provide connections to and from Indians with quick and well well-connected flights.

It is a well-known fact that passengers are not ready to wait in the airport for long hours. Our maximum waiting time between two flights is three hours. We have increased the frequency of our flights to provide these good and well suited connections,” he says, “India is a big hub for flights to the Middle and Far East.”

Discussing growth prospects for this year, he says, “I reckon that India will grow about 8 to 10 per cent by the end of this year.”