Trav Talk

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A DDP PUBLICATION

Pages: 52 (Excluding cover)

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Vol. XXV No. 11; June 1 st fortnight issue 2013

` 50/-

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TRAVTALK

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JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

PLB back on SpiceJet runway Within days after withdrawing it, SpiceJet restores Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) with due recognition to their travel trade partners.

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he airline recently informed travel agents that it was restoring productivity-linked bonus (PLB) with effect from May 1, days after withdrawing it.

“The decision to withdraw the PLB was taken hoping that (the) civil aviation ministry will come up with a solution for travel agents’ remuneration as guided by the Supreme Court. As there has been no solution till now, SpiceJet has decided to rein-

state the withdrawn PLB effective May 1,” the airline said. “This means the earlier incentive components will continue. After the ministry’s pending decision on transaction fees, SpiceJet would come up with a comprehensive incentive which will be mutually beneficial,” it added.

Speaking to , Priti Dey, Executive, Corporate Communication at SpiceJet, said, “The travel trade community is like our colleagues.

Post the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s pending decision on transaction fee, we will take decision that will be beneficial for both the parties.”

Unlike full-service airlines, low-cost carriers (LCCs) don’t pay regular commission on all ticket sales and do not give 15-day credit to agents to remit the sales amount.

LCCs collect advance deposits from agents releasing inventory worth that amount. They are paid one per cent

Contd. on page 14

India shines@WTM Latin America See full story on page 24

100 more airports for India, says DGCA Priti Dey Executive Corporate Communication, SpiceJet

The travel trade community is like our colleague

Check-in baggage: Free of charge!

Special declaration of valuable baggage

Musical instrument carriage Sports equipment

10%

7% 30%

9%

Check-in baggage

12% Using airline lounges

14% Meals/Snack/Drink charges

18% Preferential seating

Airport charges for smaller cities to go See full story on page 5

deposit incentive and productivity commission of 13% if the sales target is met.

SpiceJet had withdrawn the commission. This led to protests from travel agents who feared that other airlines too will follow suit.

Ajay Prakash, Chief Executive, Nomad Travels, said, “The travel agents of India have individually and collectively asserted their right to livelihood and restoration of the PLB is the

News Bulletin

In a poll, an overwhelming majority voted for not charging check-in baggage.

With the Ministry of Civil Aviation permitting scheduled airlines to charge fees for unbundled services, conducted a poll to see which service should not be charged. Out of several choices, readers preferred to keep check-in baggage a free service. Other choices checked by participants included preferential seating, meal charges and the use of airport lounges.

See full story on page 26

Low safety standards mar adventure tourism See full story on page 49

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BULLETIN

MOT puts the spotlight on India India has vibrancy and enthusiasm waiting to be captured on global cinema screens, which the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will highlight at various forums as per the recent MoU. T T B U R E AU

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he Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote Indian cinema as a sub-brand of ‘Incredible India’ at various international film festivals like IFFI Goa, European Film Market, Cannes Film Festival and markets abroad. As per the agreement, both the ministries jointly organised a presentation and

Joint Venture Both the ministries jointly organised a presentation at the exhibition during Cannes Film Festival to enable partnerships between the Indian and global film industry

K Chiranjeevi Minister for Tourism Government of India

an Incredible India booth at the exhibition during the Cannes Film Festival to provide a platform for enabling partnerships between the Indian and global film industry.

“Our country represents immense vibrancy and enthu-

siasm waiting to be captured on global cinema screens.

India offers a range of locations from magnificent Himalayas to sprawling beaches; from vast deserts to placid lakes and back waters; from legendary forts to world heritage sites.

We constantly try to create new opportunities for the international filmmakers to access diverse Indian locations, and state-of-the-art production and post-production facilities,” said K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, Government of India at the Cannes International Film Festival at Cannes, France.

Referring to the single window clearance system to facilitate film shooting and making in India, the Minister said that both the ministries will work in tandem in simplifying proce-

dures and fast-tracking multiple clearances required for shooting. He said

“Our endeavour is to offer the filmmakers best facilities. I take this opportunity to invite every director, every producer and every actor to India.

I promise, you will find the location and facility what you are seeking in our beautiful country”. Chiranjeevi also had detailed discussion with Aureli Fillipeti, Minister for Culture, France, Gilles Jacob, President, Cannes Film Festival and Ang Lee, Director of Life of Pi during the film festival.

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STATISTICS VIEWPOINT

Filming Incredible India

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t’s a wise move to roll out a red carpet for the best filmmakers across the globe and invite them to shoot in India. The Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting have jointly signed an MoU to promote ‘Cinema of India’ as a sub brand of ‘Incredible India’ at various international film festivals. The government officials deserve full credit for have chosen the Cannes Festival to start this crusade.

Films have always been instrumental in creating curiosity among the people to explore different regions of the world, where the movies were shot. Lately, the recent Bollywood movies like ZNMD, Don-2, and Cocktail had created tangible results for destinations like Spain, Germany, and South Africa in terms of increased Indian tourist arrivals. Similarly, on the other hand, the recent Oscar winning film ‘Life of Pi’ was shot in Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala). The Ministry of Tourism is promoting these destinations as the “Land of Pi”.

With a wide range of locations for shoots spread across the magnificent Himalayas to sprawling beaches; from vast deserts to placid lakes and back waters; from legendary forts to world heritage sites, India exudes immense vibrancy and enthusiasm waiting to be captured on global cinema screens and is a complete film making destination.

Fortunately, our Star Minister, knows that the invitation to promote India as a complete film destination needs to be backed by ample opportunities for the International filmmakers to access diverse Indian locations and stateof-the-art production and post-production facilities. Hence, the Government is also in the process of setting up a Single Window Clearance mechanism for foreign production houses interested in shooting films within India.

Going forward, both the ministries should target other prominent markets abroad to develop synergy between tourism and the film industry and to provide a platform for enabling partnerships between the Indian and global film Industry, which eventually will help promote incredible India.

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

Challenges ahead for LCCs The CAPA’s Indian Aviation Report 2013-14 predicts IndiGo opting for strategic investors or an IPO. Air India’s privatisation is also high on the agenda for the next administration.

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or the first time in recent years, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) sounds a warning for the low-cost airline IndiGo in its Indian aviation report 2013-14. India’s most profitable and biggest airline (by passengers carried) is likely to face a more challenging landscape in FY14.

The increased competition could come from Jet placing much greater attention on its low-cost subsidiary JetKonnect; SpiceJet and

order for over 50 A320Neos which will be utilised by its low cost subsidiary JetKonnect,” the report noted. Jet Airways could have a longer-term need for as many as 200 aircraft, but CAPA expects that the purchases will be announced in phases.

GoAir & strategic investor in FY-14 GoAir is expected to launch international den of US$ 9 billion to suboptimal aircraft utilisation, poor labour productivity, fleet limitations, and a fundamentally weak business model, with the Jet-Etihad deal being the latest challenge hurled at the airline.

As a result Air India has no future under continued government control which should bring privatisation back on to the agenda, with a possible decision on the divestment schedule in 2014 triggered by the impact of foreign airline investment transactions.

GoAir setting to be strengthened by new investors; Air India introducing its low-cost subsidiary on domestic routes; and the launch of AirAsia and other Greenfield carriers, all of which will create a new market dynamic, the report said.

IndiGo has a 65-strong fleet of Airbus SAS A320 planes and a 27 per cent market share. “With the changing market structure, the carrier might review its funding plan over the next 12-18 months and could also explore options from strategic and financial investors to an IPO,” the report said. “The carrier may also seek opportunities in new territories by establishing crossborder JVs (joint ventures) in Africa and South-East Asia.”

For Jet Airways (India), CAPA predicts it to expect a very large order from the airline at the upcoming Paris Air Show. “CAPA understands that Jet Airways has already confirmed an order for 50 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft together with 8-10 777-300ERs, which will be announced at the Paris Air Show. We expect a further 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

operations in FY-14.

Although it has been operating for six years now, its fleet size is below the current minimum threshold of 20 aircraft for operating overseas.

Kingfisher’s ruled out

revival

Despite continued efforts and statements by the promoter, Kingfisher’s revival now appears to be all but ruled out. A number of resumption plans submitted to the Ministry have been

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

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rejected as not being feasible as there was insufficient commitment to capital.

Air India’s privatisation is likely to be high Air India has delivered a significant improvement in its operational and financial performance in FY-13, reducing losses by US$ 500 million. But despite these improvements, deep structural issues remain, ranging from its massive debt bur-

AirAsia plans to make India a focus market AirAsia India could launch operations by late October 2013 and CAPA believes that the airline is planning a much larger play in the market than has been indicated so far. Aside from domestic operations if the 5 year/20 aircraft rule is abolished in the near term, we could see the launch of regional international services sooner than expected.

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AVIATION

JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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Airport charges for smaller cities to go Airlines will soon be exempt from landing, parking and navigation charges, says VP Agrawal, Chairman, Airport Authority of India.

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he civil aviation ministry has decided to scrap most of the airport charges at TierII and Tier-III cities for scheduled airlines in a move aimed at boosting connectivity to remote areas. Airlines will be

Dynamics of MoCA’s proposal MoCA official talks about new plans...

Scrapping airport charges in Tier-II and Tier-III cities seems more populist than viable. Would you agree to that?

Regional connectivity as it exists today is not commercially viable. So, from the government’s side, we are taking steps to make it a practical proposition so that airlines get interested in this sector. We have analysed the operating cost of the

KN Shrivastava Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)

airlines and have realised that there is scope of giving concessions on airport charges, parking and landing, route navigation charges charges. We feel that we should exempt all these charges for regional airlines or smaller aircrafts, so that their financial prospects improve. The US and Australia have already used this policy to provide connectivity to remote areas.

How soon will this be implemented?

In the next six months. These concessions should be offered till regional airport operations become commercially viable.

Contd. on page 14

exempt from landing charges, parking charges and navigation charges. The government has also decided to do away with the passenger service fee, Agrawal said in an exclusive interview with .

“I will be building and maintaining these smaller

airports with the additional income generated from leasing airports like Delhi and Mumbai,” he said.

Airlines are also given incentives to fly to Tier II and Tier III airports with sales tax levied at 4% for jet fuel at these facilities.

Currently they need to pay 4-30% sales tax on ATF. “We will wait for the market to firm up before recovering landing, parking and navigation charges from airlines.

For instance, Dehradun airport took four years to break even and will

take 7-8 years to make profit,” explains Agrawal.

Airlines are mandated to fly to such areas, according to guidelines issued in 1994 with a view to ensuring better connectivity.

Contd. on page 14

VP Agrawal Chairman Airport Authority of India

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TIME MACHINE

23 years ago...

BOP Crisis

Buck stops with the Trade!

The balance of payment in the context of the Indian economy is where there is a net deficit in the foreign trade. It means that the imports or the foreign exchange expenditure is more than the export or the foreign exchange earnings.

The continuous adverse balance of trade leads to eating up of reserves exchange available with the Indian economy to pay for its essential imports or even to meet its obligation of payment of its existing liabilities.

guarantee or Letter of Credit instead of Letter of Credit or a guarantee by the Indian banks.

Apart from the capital goods costs going up in real rupee terms, the interest rates charged by suppliers would also go up. Psychologically the foreign suppliers as well as the tourists would rather not do business with Indian if they have a choice.

The suppliers insist on cash and carry or the suppliers’ credit shrinks. The suppliers would like to have as early payments as possible due to loss of credibility of the Indian economy.

The royalty costs of international trade names and chains including knowhow would become more costly in terms of rupee, to the Indian franchise holders.

The facility of world-wide bookings of rooms would cost more in rupee terms pushing up the cost of rooms to the foreign tourist as well as facility expenses for the Indian tourist.

The suppliers want co-lateral security of due payment on time due to lack of credit-worthiness of the Indian banking system which is closely linked up with the performance of the Indian economy. In most cases, foreign suppliers would start insisting on International Prime Banking

Keeping in mind this major problem the country is faced with, not forgetting that the tourism industry could be a savior, and the fact that the forthcoming Travel Congress has based its theme on this issue, we decided to organise a debate of some eminent people from the trade.

The direct effect of such a crisis is the devaluation of the Indian rupee vis-àvis the foreign currency.

September 1991 Vol 1 Issue 1 Page 4

... AND NOW

No pay-out, total crisis The travel agents today are facing multiple crises at the agency level. The remuneration has tanked, with airlines literally offering near zero commission to agents.

VIVEK SETHI

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oreover, the transaction fee has been held by Court of law to be illegal, while the weekly settlement is all set to roll out shortly this year.

Today, agents are clearly much more than mere apprehensive about their occupation and want to put an end to their miseries through all possible means.

“The travel agents can’t survive without earning adequate remuneration for the wide array of services they offer to their clients. We had very successfully organised a one-day protest against the various wrong practices that are hurting the travel agents.

We will definitely take it further and are seeking expert guidance to register our protest on all possible platforms,” said Iqbal Mulla, President, TAAI. Echoing similar sentiments, Zakir Ahmed, President, TAFI said, “We are in constant touch with all stakeholders and are approaching various challenges collectively in a combative mode. We are confi-

Iqbal Mulla

Zakir Ahmed

President TAAI

President TAFI

We are seeking expert guidance to register our protest on all platforms

We are very confident that our joint efforts will shortly yield results

dent that our efforts will shortly yield results.”

the agents. “We are successful in our endeavour and are hopeful that the end results will also be favouring our travel agents’ fraternity,” said Biji Eapen, President, IAAI.

IAAI, which has spearheaded the legal fight to reinstate commissions, is also confident that the final decision will be in favour of

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STATES

JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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Odisha to get a radical makeover The policy is aimed at attracting fresh investments through fundings and interest subsidies for development of world-class tourism products and infrastructure. The new policy will definitely bring a makeover to the state.

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he new tourism policy of the Odisha government has divided the state into three zones for administration of incentive schemes.

Zone ‘A’ comprises of the municipal corporation area of Bhubaneswar, while Zone ‘B’ includes rest of the state except KBK (KalahandiBolangir-Koraput), Kandhamal and Gajapati districts. The Zone C comprises KBK, Kandhamal and Gajapati dictricts.

Setting up of any tourism projects in Zone A will get capital investment subsidy of 20 per cent, maximum up to ` 20 lakh, for investments ranging from `10 lakh to ` 20 crore. For investment of ` 20 crore and above the subsidy is 25 per cent (maximum up to ` 30 lakh).

In Zone B, the policy offers 25 per cent subsidy with a ceiling of ` 25 lakh on

Future Steps The state Cabinet approved the much-delayed policy for the tourism sector, a move that is expected to boost the tourist inflow

VoA up by 23.5% in Apr The Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme of the Government continues to be popular with foreign tourists. It registered a growth of 23.5 per cent during April, 2013 as compared to April, 2012.

During the month, a total number of 1,408 VoAs were issued as compared to 1,140 during April, 2012. During the period January to April, 2013, a total number of 7,152 VoAs were issued as compared to 5,045 VoAs during the corresponding period of 2012, registering a growth of 41.8 per cent. The number of VoAs issued under this scheme during April 2013 are Japan (387), New Zealand (306), Philippines (248), Indonesia (198), Singapore (152), Finland (74), Vietnam (15), Myanmar (12), Cambodia (12), Luxembourg (3) and Laos (1).

the projects worth between ` 10 lakh and ` 20 crore and for investment above ` 20 crore, the subsidy is 30 per cent with a ceiling of ` 35 lakh. In Zone C, there is 30 per cent subsidy on capital investment offered with a ceiling of ` 30 lakh for a proj-

ect within the range of ` 10 lakh to ` 20 crore while the subsidy for investments above ` 20 crore is fixed at 35 per cent with a cap of ` 40 lakh. Two months earlier, the state Cabinet approved the much-delayed policy for the tourism sector,

a move that is expected to boost the tourist inflow and pump new investments in the sector. The policy’s objective is to position Odisha as the most preferred tourist destination and place it prominently on the domestic and international tourism

map. The focus will be on employment generation and

promoting small and medium enterprises.

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NEWS

TRAVTALK JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

For 1,500 agents in 50 Indian cities

Technology putting the ‘e’ in hotels

‘Travel Air Representations’ recently celebrated its fifth anniversary and launched a new logo to mark the occasion.

This B2B wholesale division of the 36-year-old Travel Tours Group specialises in providing sales and distribution services to tourism businesses.

Currently, the division wholesales a wide range of products, which include Star Cruises, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Banyan Tree & Angsana Resorts, etc. Joseph K. Jose, Vice President, Travel Air Representations, says, “The wholesale division was started in May 2008 with a five-member team servicing 55 agents in Bengaluru. It has been an incredible journey for us in the past five years.

After a hiatus of three years, the two-day HAI Hoteliers’ Conclave positioned itself as an e-conclave, with the theme ‘Technology- Leading the Change’.

Today, we service over 1,500 travel agents across 50 plus towns and cities in India with a team of 55 dedicated team members. We would like to thank our principals and travel agents for their tremendous support and faith in us.

I am delighted to say we are amongst the fastest growing non-air wholesalers in the sub-continent.”

also working on introducing innovative electronic threedimensional ‘walking tour’ experiences of tourist landmarks of major cities in the country in a couple of months time,” he added. By the end of this year, the Incredible India website will be available in 10 foreign languages.

M EGHA PAUL & SANJEEV B HAR

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alking about the importance of technology and the Incredible India website, Parvez Dewan, Secretary (Tourism), Government of India, said the Ministry will add more features and services into the website as part of making electronic delivery of travel services easier.

“MOT is working with different agencies and many innovative features will be added in the coming months. There has been a big spurt in the number of visitors into the Incredible India website since the Ministry introduced electronic service delivery features into it,” he informed.

According to the Secretary, the department is working with YouTube to introduce ‘Travel Planning’ as a novel feature to help foreign travellers chalk out a travel plan in India within their available budget. “India will be the second country (after Brazil) in the world to intro-

Parvez Dewan

Anand Kumar

Secretary Ministry of Tourism

Joint Secretary Ministry of Tourism

By the end of this year, the Incredible India website will be available in 10 foreign languages duce this service to travellers. The Incredible India website is already offering

Food and wine festivals and competitions like Master Chef India should promote Indian food overseas services, including online visa, airline and railway booking, etc. The Ministry is

While addressing the session on ‘Digitising the Culinary Experience’, Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism pointed out Indian cuisines are recognised as a new segment by the Ministry. “Food and wine festivals, and competitions in the line of Master Chef India, are required to promote Indian food in the overseas markets,” he urged.

Giving a presentation on mega trends in tourism and hospitality, Nakul Anand, President, Hotel Association of India (HAI) and Executive Director, ITC said, “The five mega trends in the tourism and hospitality currently

Nakul Anand President Hotel Association of India (HAI)

The five mega trends in tourism are the Internet, green concepts, safety, luxury, and health include Internet, green concepts, safety and security, luxury, and health. Mobile technology and the Internet are game changers and businesses cannot be compromised. ”

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AGENTS

Emirates partners TUI & LPTI As per the partnership terms, LPTI has now become the exclusive DMC for inbound, while TUI India has become the PSA for outbound segment of Emirates Holidays.

VIVEK SETHI

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n a first of its kind partnership, Emirates Holidays, the tour-operating arm of Emirates Airlines announced its partnership with TUI India

Jeannette Linfoot, Director of Tour Operations, New Markets, TUI Travel with Marc Bennett, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Destinations & Leisure Management signing the partnership

for outbound segment of Emirates Holidays.

Arjun Sharma Managing Director LPTI

We envisage setting new standards of quality products and services for the Indian traveller and Le Passage To India (LPTI).

As per the terms of the partnership, LPTI will be the exclusive DMC for inbound, while TUI India will act as the PSA

“Over the years, we have realised that in the tour operation business, we need to deploy expertise of local talents to jointly serve inbound and outbound segments. India has incredible potential and we have forged the partnership to build our business in the inbound and outbound segments here. We will soon announce a similar partnership in Europe,” said Marc Bennett, Divisional Senior Vice President-Emirates Destinations & Leisure Management. Highlighting the win-win scenario for all partners, Jeannette Linfoot, Director of Tour OperationsNew Markets, TUI Travel said, “We are pleased to announce the new strategic partnership between TUI Travel PLC and the Emirates Group. This

exclusive agreement between TUI India and Emirates Holidays in India is just the start of many joint initiatives which will be forthcoming on a global basis. As two of the largest companies in the global travel sector, we see great advantage from leveraging the strengths of both the Emirates Group and TUI Travel PLC.” Arjun Sharma, MD, LPTI, in a written message said, “Our partnership with Emirates Holidays will combine the knowledge and expertise of both the companies to deliver quality holidays to Indian customers. This partnership will further drive the outbound industry in the country and we envisage setting new standards of quality products and services for the Indian traveller.”

Promoting packages via B2B Under ‘Last Minute Hotel Deals’, hotels and properties across the country provide discounted inventory for last minute bookings over internet and mobiles.

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nline travel agent MakeMyTrip is focussing on selling hotels and holiday packages on its B2B platforms.

The travel portal also aims at expansion through its franchisee stores across the country. Deep Kalra, CEO & CoFounder, MakeMyTrip opined, “We have realised that there is further opportunity for growth in the hotels and packages segment. To rely solely on air packages is not prudent in today’s climate. We feel there is a need to diversify and we are continuously focussing on non-air products to increase their share of revenue as well.”

MakeMyTrip has launched a new initiative called Last Minute Hotel Deals. Under this initiative, hotels and properties across the country provide discount-

Deep Kalra CEO & Co-Founder MakeMyTrip

ed inventory for last minute bookings through the internet and mobile on MakeMyTrip.

MakeMyTrip is also looking for further acquisitions.

Kalra said, “We are looking at both domestic and international acquisitions especially in Southeast Asia.

Additionally, we are also keen

for acquisitions in the pilgrimage tourism segment as we feel that it has tremendous untapped potential.”

The Delhi-based travel portal is also pursuing a hybrid model of expansion in the country. MakeMyTrip currently has 61 stores in 38 cities across India. Kalra stated, “We are adopting a franchise model for further expansion and are on the look-out for the right partners. Our target market currently is the Tier-II cities in India and we will then reach out to Tier-III cities.”

Expansion In 2010, over 85 per cent of MakeMyTrip Limited’s revenues came from air ticket bookings, but in the December quarter of 2012, air ticketing revenues dropped to 68 per cent

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EXHIBITIONS

JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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LGBT travel bucks world trends Despite the higher growth, the sector faces the same challenges as the rest of the industry, of personal movement, high taxes and the long-term sustainability of the industry.

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he lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) sector is making a dynamic and influential contribution to the global industry. This was shared by none other than David Scowsill, President and CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Speaking at IGLTA’s 30th anniversary Global Convention in Chicago recently, Scowsill revealed the LGBT market in the United States alone is estimated to be over US $55 billion and around US$ 165 billion globally.

“Significantly, the LGBT sector is growing faster than the broader travel & tourism economy.

It grew by almost 10 per cent in 2012, year on year against global growth of the industry of around three per cent,” he pointed out.

2nd edition of ITM in Arunachal Pradesh After the successful completion of the first edition of the International Tourism Mart in Guwahati, the second edition is now scheduled to be held in Arunachal Pradesh in October this year. Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, had made this announcement at the Arabian Travel Mart this month. However, the Arunachal Pardesh tourism department is tight-lipped about it as talks are still on. K Chiranjeevi, Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), had announced at the ITM in Guwahati this year that if the state governments of North East so desire, and depending on the outcome of this mart, ITM can become an annual event. If the event is held in October this year, ITM would seem to be on its way on featuring in the annual calendar of the tourism industry.

Scowsill explained, “This is because travel is a way of life for a lot of people in this world, whatever their sexuality. Even in the toughest of times, it continues to be a priority for populations around the world.

Travel and tourism drives economies and creates jobs.

Even in challenging economic times, it still has the potential to grow, as consumer appetite for travel beyond national borders remains undimmed.”

Despite the higher growth among LGBT travellers and the fact that the sector is viewed by marketers, tour

operators, product development specialists and advertisers as a niche market, the sector faces the same challenges as the rest of the industryrestrictions on personal movement, high taxes and the long-term sustainability of the industry. These are

the three strategic priorities that underpin the work of WTTC as it seeks to gain global understanding of the economic and social contribution of an industry which represents nine per cent of global GDP and supports one in 11 of all jobs on the planet.

David Scowsill President & CEO World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

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12

EXHIBITIONS

TRAVTALK JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

ATM 2013 just gets bigger and better The Arabian Travel Market (ATM) has helped the global stakeholders unlock business potential in the Middle East for both inbound and outbound segments. gets the opinion of industry leaders.

Reflecting on the remarkable growth and diversity of the region, ATM-2013 attracted industry and government decision-makers at the highest levels. We are very happy with the response at the ATM 2013, where our chief objective was to build India as a 365-day destination. The Gulf region is very important to India and has been delivering strong double-digit growth, which we hope will further enhance, because of our efforts at the ATM 2013.

A lot of interesting players, who are located in the Middle East region, are now making use of the Arabian Travel Market. Today, the Middle East and the Far East market have become even more important, when European market is likely to take some more time to bounce back. The exhibition gives plenty of opportunities to the buyers as well as sellers to explore variety of new products. Therefore those who want to make serious business deals will never skip this event.

ATM is the best platform to build new partnerships and meet potential customers from around the Middle East region. We launched our new version of XChange ERP during the show and got a very favorable response from the market. ATM has helped us for many years in the market. Every year, we meet many new potential partners and renew our partnerships with industry leaders. With our new and more aggressive marketing plan for this region, ATM is one of the most important platforms for us.

Girish Shanker

Amit Prasad

Gaurav Chiripal

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism

Chief Operating Officer, Go India Journeys

Chief Executive Officer, QuadLabs

The overall experience was good. The logistics of the show was well organised and the India Tourism office was extremely supportive. From a business building perspective, there is need to further improve the buyer-seller participation, and put greater emphasis on prescheduled appointments as this would result in better utilisation of available time. It should be mandatory for the buyers to attend the meetings, as fixed by the exhibitors. That said, it is a great platform to interact with various FTOs from different parts of the world.

Sanyog Gupta President, Sales & Marketing, Sanyog Gupta Voyages - India

ATM-2013 was a very well-organised trade event that provided ample networking opportunities with various stakeholders of the industry. It was also a showcase of the new tourism and travel products that can be incorporated into one’s product portfolio for enhancement or expansion. ATM this year was much bigger and had more exhibitors than in 2011, when I had participated last time. Having a large dedicated exhibition space, and maximum exhibitors from the Middle East, gives a remarkable platform for buyers.

Jagdeep Bhagat

Pankaj Nagpal

Owner & CEO, Vee Bee Tours & Travels

Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group

India Tourism, Dubai at ATM 2013 India Tourism, Dubai successfully participated in the Arabian Travel Market 2013 which was held from May 6 – 9, 2013 in Dubai. The Chief Guest during this event was Mr. Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Govt of India. Around 30 co-exhibitors in the India pavilion, representing the State tourism Boards of Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand along with Air India, tea board of India and tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers wellness/ ayurvedic/ spas centres showcased innumerable products of ‘Incredible India’ to depict India as a multifaceted tourist destination for luxury, wildlife and wellness/medical tourism. The

main attractions in the India Pavilion was the sampling of Indian tea along with activities including Hena application, Kathakali artists, sketch artist, attractive giveaways through a Wheel of Fortune, distribution of Indian bangles and bindhis and Bhangra dance performances which kept the visitors occupied and provided an opportunity to experience India.

The importance of tourism ties and potential of tourism business between India and the Gulf and the Middle East region was evident by the presence of nearly 20 tour operators and hotels from India who had taken independent booths around India pavilion including Indian Railway, Catering &

ATM has become an iconic symbol for the travel trade in the Middle East. For a big show like ATM with over 2,700 exhibitors, it is not always possible to browse through the profile of each exhibitor. Since each exhibitor and visiting delegate attending the show preregisters with all details of their profile and product line, it would be prudent if a pre-matching of profiles is done through software. Based on that, the Buyers and Exhibitors would get suggestions on prospective business alliances.

Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) & the State Governments of Karnataka and Goa this year in ATM. The official openings of the India Pavilion was held in the presence of MK Lokesh, Ambassador of India to the UAE and Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India amid a vibrant Bhagra dance performance in the presence of a large number of members of the trade and media on May 6, 2013.

An overwhelming response of the media was also witnessed during the Press Meet on the opening day where Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism Jammu & Kashmir, Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry

of Tourism, Government of India, Vikas Rustagi, Regional Director (West Asia & Africa), India Tourism, Dubai and Ms. Seema Srivastava, Regional Manager, Air India highlighted the new developments taking place in the tourism sector of India. The newly launched International Campaign ‘Find What You Seek,’ highlighted that tourists from over the world can find the destination or product of their desire in India, be it heritage sites, forts, beaches, backwaters, lakes, mountains, adventure, wildlife, culture festivals, medical or wellness, MICE, religion or shopping. Air tickets by Air India and Jet Airways were also Contd. on page 15

This year, the location of India Pavilion was much better and we could see there was increase in visitors at India Stand.

On all four days, we had tour operators and travel agents coming from various regions of the Middle East. Swagatam is attending the ATM ever since it was launched and we are happy to see the growing market and demand for India visitors. Middle East is one of our prime markets. We have received many inquiries on visit to Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Pronab Sarkar Managing Director, Swagatam Tours

The buyer-seller session was very wellorganised and provided a great networking opportunity. The quality of stall set-up and the exhibitors was very high. The event provided me an opportunity to meet new sellers and view new products. That said, in my opinion, the hall placement and numbering needs to be improved and done in a systematical manner.

Rajeev Sabharwal CEO, Gaurav Travel

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HOTELS

JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

13

Thank God for F&B on weekends Catering to 80 per cent corporate and 20 per cent leisure clientele, the hotel aims to complement India’s ever-expanding business travel industry with quality service and cost-efficiency.

T T B U R E AU

H

ilton Worldwide opened the doors of the first Hilton Garden Inn in the Asia Pacific region in New Delhi in 2009, marking the addition to the brand’s burgeoning portfolio. Since then, the brand has been a success story in the country, opines Satya Prakash, General Manager, Hilton Garden Inn

Satya Prakash General Manager Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi/Saket

The experience from other markets gives us an upper-hand in anticipating, understanding and catering to guests’ requirements New Delhi/Saket. The hotel had an occupancy rate of 74 per cent last year with ARR of 7,000. This year, the hotel is targetting an increase in occupancy to up to 80 per cent. However, the hotel plans to keep the ARRs

Jet flies daily on KochiAbu DhabiKuwait route Jet has introduced daily flights from Kochi to Kuwait via Abu Dhabi from May 16 onwards.

Currently, Jet operates double daily flights between Mumbai and Kuwait. Flight 9W 576 will depart Kochi at 1755(LT) hrs to arrive in Abu Dhabi at 2030(LT) hrs; on the return it will depart at 2120(LT) hrs and arrive in Kuwait at 2205(LT) hrs.

unchanged, due to increased supply in the vicinity, he affirms.

The Hilton Garden Inn is already a market leader in the US. “HGI was a new concept back then for India, unlike the US. This region had its own challenges, but only in the initial phases. The

brand has now been responding well to the demand from business and corporate travel segments for focussed service hotel products in India for both from domestic and international travellers,” Prakash adds.

“The experience from other markets gives us an

upper-hand in anticipating, understanding and catering to guests’ requirements, while remaining flexible to the region’s needs,” the GM points out. For tech-savvy business travellers, there is 24x7 WiFi for all customers, once they have checked in the hotel. Remote printing from

the room is also available.

Nestled amidst the DLF Place Mall in Saket, the mall also adds to the F&B quotient of the property. “Being a business hotel has its own shortcomings. While during the week days, the hotel earns maximum revenues through the ARRs from the usual cor-

porate clientele, the weekends see less of this business. It is during the weekends that our F&B segment takes the front seat. We receive a lot of walkin customers for dining over the weekends, thus adding to the F&B revenues. The trend has only been growing now,” he reveals.

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14

COVER STORY

TRAVTALK JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Won the battle and ready for war Contd. from page 1

first step. But the real issue is payment of a base commission on every single ticket sold by every agent - big or

small. As per the DGCA order of March 5, 2010, and under the Indian law, the only legitimate form of remuneration to a travel agent is by way of

Curtain raiser to the entire picture…

A N I TA J A I N

E

Ajay Prakash

Biji Eapen

Former President TAFI

National president – IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI)

commission. And the law is applicable to all airlines, including LCCs.”

Madhav Oza Director Blue Star Air Travel Services

According to Biji Eapen, National president – IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), “The ordinary travel agents are not much bothered on the PLBs or incentives. It is only an overall productivity incentive to certain consolidators and not affecting the ordinary 80% of travel agents in India.” Eapen reiterates saying, “Almost

arlier, in a letter circulated to the travel fraternity, SpiceJet had said, ‘To maintain uniformity across all market segments and considering the escalating costs, we have taken a conscious call to withdraw the Productivity-linked Bonus Component effective May 1st, 2013. We request you to please appreciate this decision of ours in the right spirit and hope that we will continue to receive your support and patronage.’

This decision came between issues like zero commission and increasing insurance rate on BSP (Billing Settlement Plan) and introduction of weekly payment

cycle from June 1, 2013.

Explaining the PLB dilemma, Jay Bhatia, Chairman – Western Region, TAAI had said, “PLB is something which is paid to few select travel operators.

Airlines are putting all their eggs (ticket sales) in few baskets (consolidators) by paying them hefty PLBs for meeting their ticket sales target. However, the airlines don’t know what happened

75% of the airline business is through travel agents. So I hope our message is clear and airlines comply with the national law that enable agents to be remunerated at 5% commission.”

Madhav Oza, Director, Blue Star Air Travel Services, says, “I believe in the basic principle survival of the fittest. If the airlines can manage the show without the

agents, they will definitely do that. But considering the size and diversity of Indian market, no airline can reach the deep pockets and explore business singlehandedly. In the past one

Sanjay Kumar

Giorgio De Roni

CCO, IndiGo Airlines

CEO, GoAir

Travel agents are our core sales channels

We don’t intend to suspend PLBs

with Spring Travels in New Delhi, where the agency defaulted on the payment of ` 120 crore for ticket sales.

With healthy PLBs (over 10 per cent of the total fares), consolidators pass on a percentage to customers, thus undercutting mid and small sized travel agents.”

Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Office, IndiGo Airlines had said, “Currently, we are not looking at any changes in our PLB levels.

Travel agents are our core sales channels and we intend to continue having a strong partnership with our travel partners.” On similar note, Giorgio De Roni, CEO, GoAir said, “As per my knowledge, we don’t intend to suspend PLBs.” month, since the withdrawal of PLB by SpiceJet, the sales of the LCC were badly affected and since they now believe in the principle of ‘give and take’, they reinstated the PLB.”

Incentives for airlines Contd. from page 5

According to these guidelines, all scheduled airlines need to deploy at least 10% of their trunkroute capacity on flights to less well-served areas, or so-called Category II routes, such as the North-East, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.

Trunk, or Category I routes connect the country’s biggest cities such as Mumbai and

Delhi or Chennai and Bengaluru. Further, at least 10% of the capacity on Category IIA routes (J&K, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep) has to be devoted to connectivity exclusively within those regions. Apart from this, scheduled operators have to deploy at least 50% of their capacity on trunk routes on so-called Category III routes-smaller towns and cities such as Coimbatore and Hubli.

Recently, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India was commissioned by MoCA to identify the factors that are inhibiting the growth of domestic connectivity.

“We will be considering more incentives to airlines to fly to these airports. This financial year alone, AAI will get around ` 3,000 crore from the airports of Delhi and Mumbai as a revenue share.

So it is not difficult to subsidise these charges of ` 300 crore,” Agrawal said.

Connecting remote routes Contd. from page 5

What about the waiver of passenger fee of ` 77 per ticket in smaller cities? Does that sound practical too?

We will see to it that a little bit of income should come to these airports.

And since this is a small amount it should be continued as there will be some incidental expenses occurring at the airport, so a source of revenue is welcome.

What are the challenges you are facing while dealing with the state governments?

State governments are willing partners in supporting regional connectivity. Many states have already agreed.

They should look after the security aspects of these airports. They should not burden the airport authority with property tax. They should provide water and power infrastructure to the airport.

Also, they should charge concessional VAT rate of four per cent on ATF. Right now it is ranging from 4-30 per cent.

According to the general order of government of India, this concession is available to aircrafts up to 40 ton all over India. But even aircrafts that

weigh beyond 40 ton and provide regional connectivity should get this concession.

Any incentive to soften up the directives of RDG? We are considering whether RDG can be replaced with direct subsidy scheme.

Today, airlines are forced to operate on loss making routes and the loss is offset by their profit making routes. But the profit made on busy flight routes can be collected upfront (by the government) and used in subsiding regional loss making routes.

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HOTELS

We are family: Ginger Convincing the family-run hotels to take up the Ginger brand and be part of the organised sector is a challenge, feels MD and CEO of the Ginger group…

MEGHA

Mumbai and Bengaluru and Tier-1 cities in South such as Mysore, Trichy, Mangalore and Salem, he confirms. In the North, places such as Chandigarh and Amritsar and new emerging towns such as Kota will be our focus,” Mohankumar points out.

PA U L

L

aunched in 2004, Ginger started operations with room rates priced almost at ` 1,000. However, the soaring land cost and slow process for approvals and permits in the hospitality industry has forced the hotel chain to increase its average room rates to near about ` 2,000. In a bid to cut costs, the hotel chain is now tweaking its business strategy for future expansion plans. The budget segment chain is eyeing management contracts with family-run businesses to scale up room inventory. The group is looking at regions such as Guruvayur in Kerala for the same, PK Mohankumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Ginger reveals.

“There are thousands of hotels in the budget segment in the unorganised sector. To convince the family-run hotels to take up the Ginger brand and be part of the organised sector, is a challenge. Especially in the South, this market is highly mature, unlike the North or East. But most family-run hotels are now facing the heat with branded hotels entering the market and this is where we see a lot of potential,” he says.

The huge wedding market in the South is also untapped, he opines. “At places such as Guruvayur, there are many wedding halls

PK Mohankumar Managing Director and Chief Executive Ginger

No other brand has ventured into the metro to sell rooms at ` 1,800.

This is a huge challenge but no accompanying facilities for lodging, especially in the branded hotel category.

In many of these places, families own large pieces of land.

But they don’t have the bandwidth to design and architect a hotel,” he informs.

Apart from management contracts, the group is also exploring various options like conversion of existing operations and greenfield and brownfield projects as well.

“We are looking at the franchise option also. The company has got responses from

Talking about the challenging task of setting up and promoting the brand, he replies, “Ginger is the most challenging assignment for me. No other brand has ventured into the metro to sell rooms at ` 1,800. It’s a huge challenge. We have a hotel in Andheri (Mumbai) today at that rate. Yet, the hotel is making Gross Operating Profit. But leveraging the corporate costs and bringing in the returns that is required in terms of investment is a challenge. To achieve this, we will have to scale up and bring in 10 Gingers in Mumbai and Delhi.

This is going to be a task.”

Throwing light on the incentives that are needed for the mid-market segment, he feels, “The government has to bring in more incentives for the budget segment.

Today, the rules are designed and tailored for luxury and upscale segment. It’s not a level-playing field. For a greenfield Ginger hotel to get the approval time, it takes the same amount of time as a luxury hotel. Also, the sector has not yet become a powerful lobby to influence policy making.”

Gulf and ME important for India Contd. from page 12

given away as Door prizes to the members of the media during the Press Meet. Tourism in India has been increasing steady over the years. In 2012, the total Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India stood at 6.65 million as compared to 6.31 million in 2011. The recent move of the Government of India to lift the restriction of the two month gap of re-entry of foreign nationals between two visits on tourist visa, will further facilitate travel of international tourists to India.

The Gulf and the ME are an important market for India.

There has been a consistent and positive growth of FTAs from this region to India over the last 2 to 3 years with the year 2011 having registered an overall growth of around 18.5 per cent over the previous year. Some of the countries, particularly the UAE, KSA, Oman, Yemen and Turkey have registered a significant growth and are emerging as major tourism generating markets for India from this region.

An ‘Incredible India’ presentation

was held at the Address Dubai mall Hotel on May 7, 2013 which was attended by over 250 members of the travel, tourism industry and media. Nearly 20 Door Prizes in the form of air tickets by Air India and Jet Airways along with prizes in the form of hotel stays and tour packages were offered by the co-exhibitors of India Tourism pavilion and the guests also returned home with a framed photograph of themselves against the backdrop of Taj Mahal as a souvenir/memento.

Scotland sees 30% increase in BRIC visitors in 2012 Edinburgh last year attracted 1.3 million overseas visitors, making it the second most-visited destination in the UK.Last year also saw a boost in the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) markets.Glasgow enjoyed a 54 per cent rise in these markets.

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TECHNOLOGY

Tech edge for Indian agents The International Conference on Travel Technology India is the first-of-its-kind international meet on travel technology to be hosted in Kerala on June 7.

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

T

he International Conference on Travel Technology India, which will be inaugurated on June 7 by Kerala’s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, takes note of the all-pervading impact of technology in every sphere of life. This three-day meet, from June 7-9, at The Leela Kovalam, will be the first-ofits-kind international meet on travel technology. Organised by the Association of Travel Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI) with the support of the state tourism department, the event will be attended by more than 400 delegates from India and abroad.

An exhibition will also be organised on the sidelines of the conference to provide an opportunity for travel and tourism businesses to showcase their products and services. In a bid to keep abreast of the rapidly changing business scenario where the tourism fraternity is heavily dependent on technology and innovations, the event will trace changes happening over the web space, travelrelated software and mobile applications.

Talking about the event, Shailesh Nair, Convenor, ICTT, says, “The idea is to educate the travel and trade fraternity. Technology is very important for tourism as the industry has become heavi-

Shailesh Nair Convenor ICTT

ICTT will help the agents and hoteliers to expand their online presence and attract more tourists ly-dependent on tech lately.

Most businesses have gone online, and most of the enquiries that come to us are also online these days. Online is the future, and the event is a continuing education programme for the fraternity.

ICTT will help the agents and hoteliers to expand their online presence and attract more tourists.”

The event will also host international speakers including Sheila Scarborough, a writer and speaker specialising in tourism, travel and

social media, Selina Power, Social Media Specialist and Social Media Commentator from Australia, Adam Franklin, Australian Social Media Expert and marketing manager of Bluewire Media, Philip Calvert, an award-winning social networking entrepreneur, a professional speaker on Social Media sales strategy, LinkedIn expert and author. From India, the speakers include Avijit Arya, CEO, Internet Moguls; Jaydip Parikh, Founder and CEO of Digital Marketing Company, Tej SolPro and Namrita Sehgal, who currently leads worldwide Digital Marketing for Taj Hotels and manages a multi-million dollar global Ecommerce revenue stream.

Nair adds, “In the current scenario, there is only 5 per cent Internet penetration in our country. Can you imagine what it is going to be like if it escalates to 10 per cent ICCT is a preparatory class for our trade partners.”

e-Revolution An exhibition will also be organised on the sidelines of the conference to provide an opportunity for travel and tourism businesses to showcase their products and services The event will trace changes happening over the web space, travel-related software and mobile applications

Now, MBA in Tourism from Thomas Cook & Pondicherry University The education wing of Thomas Cook India plans to expand across the country through a mix of alliances, tie-ups and franchisee partners…

Centre of Learning, the education and training vertical of Thomas Cook India, has entered into an alliance with the University of Pondicherry to offer MBA in tourism through distance learning. The course has been approved by the Joint Committee of Distance Education Council (DEC), All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and University Grant Commission (UGC), and focusses on upgrading skill sets for a career in the travel and tourism industry.

Learning is the first non-academic partner of the University of Pondicherry.

Speaking of the Centre of Learning’s expansion plans, Gulvady said,

Smeeta Gulvady Vice President & Head – Centre of Learning, Thomas Cook (India)

Smeeta Gulvady, Vice President & Head – Centre of Learning, Thomas Cook (India) said, “Besides travel aspirants, our focus at the Centre of Learning is also on working professional’s skill up gradation through this distance learning MBA. An MBA in tourism will allow them to master the multiple aspects of tourism by developing a range of skills.” The Thomas Cook Centre of

“We plan to expand via strategic alliances, tie-ups and franchisee partners as part of our bid to build more talent in the travel and tourism sphere across the country.”

Gulvady also said that the educational wing of Thomas Cook India was also adopting and applying emerging trends in the industry to their learning modules.

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AVIATION

Reaffirming faith in agents Air France-KLM-Delta will relaunch its B2B portal as www.agentconnect.biz with enhanced information, services and assistance.

A N I TA J A I N

W

ith an aim to augment services on its B2B platform, Air France-KLMDelta is in process of relaunching its B2B portal www.afkl.biz. Effective June 13 this year; the airline’s B2B website will be named as www.agentconnect.biz, which will have improved information on its products, routes and services. The new portal will also provide travel agents with vital information on airline policies and offer 24x7 access to online services such as PNR confirmations, name change, etc.

Travel agents who are cur-

Kamal Sengupta Director Sales-South Asia Air France-KLM

B2B portal and take advantage of the services provided.

According to Kamal Sengupta, Director SalesSouth Asia, Air France-KLM,

Want to become a partner with Air France - KLM? If you are a travel agent and want to register for the VIP service desk of the airline, you need to be in the top 15 revenue-performing category of agents for Air France/KLM/Delta. The key trade desk is a specialised cell within the call centre which handles all generic reservation queries of the top 20 agents in India on priority. These agents are also provided with a special access code to the website. rently registered on www.afkl.biz (over 1,100 travel agents) will be automatically enrolled to www.agentconnect.biz. The airline is encouraging more travel agents (both IATA and non-IATA) to register on this

this is one of their initiatives to underline the importance of travel agents as distribution partners for the airline.

She said, “Close to 90 per cent of our revenue comes from our business partners (travel agents) and 10 per

cent is generated from our direct channels like website and sales team. Thus, travel agents are an important sales channel for us. Through this new initiative (of relaunching a web portal), our endeavour is to make ourselves more available to them (travel agents) with our products and services which will assist in meeting the needs of the end consumer.”

To cater the offline part, the airline group launched the All-India Sales Support desk in July, 2012. This desk aims at providing seamless service to all contracted partners in sales support queries. Furthermore, to assist the key trade partners (who can access the desk via a desiccated process to avail VIP service), a specialised desk was launched on March 1 with the objective to give those select partners more prioritised, efficient and professional service. Commenting on these services, Gupta said, “From the sales support desk, we cater to the top 15 partners from multiple locations in India. The desk is the centralised cell of indoor sales based in New Delhi. It is a solution-provider for all trade partners under special contract with us. The key agents are encouraged to forward all their queries for corporate ticketing by mail. The response time is just under half an hour.”

Agents are always relevant Travel agents will continue to stay relevant in India and elsewhere, as Hong Kong, Singapore and many other leading destinations had seen growth in number of travel agencies.

T T B U R E AU

A

n Indian traveller will stick to a travel agent, feels GM Toh, General Manager (India), Singapore Airlines; especially when it comes to international travel.

“The Indian consumers might have started booking domestic travel more often through other channels, but when it comes to international travel, they prefer services of travel agents. It’s because international travel requires various services like visa, travel insurance, and other allied services.”

“We get a major chunk of bookings from travel agents in India and have a performance-linked benefit structure in place for them.

In fact, our experience shows

GM Toh General Manager (India) Singapore Airlines

We get major bookings from agents and have a performance-linked benefit structure

that in markets like Hong Kong, Singapore and many other leading destinations, there has been growth in number of travel agencies.

The travel agents will continue to stay relevant in India and elsewhere,” he added.

Toh highlighted that ideally, an open-sky policy has done a world of good for all destinations. “We have witnessed our business grow in the markets that have complete open-sky policy like China and Australia, where the demand and supply determines the operations,” said Toh. Singapore Airlines currently operates 57 weekly flights from 6 cities in India. SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, is a fullservice airline that currently operates 42 weekly flights from 8 cities in India.

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AVIATION

‘Not interested in India stake’ Emirates Airlines has no plans to follow Etihad and bid for a stake in an Indian carrier, Vice President (India & Nepal) Essa Sulaiman Ahmad exclusively told .

T T B U R E AU

“T

o be honest, we are, right now, focussing on our traditional organic growth in India. And we are extremely busy with the growth we are anticipating,” he says. Emirates, which is the largest foreign carrier in India by market share, is currently offering network-wide savings of 8 per cent to foreign destinations for bookings made by May 24 for travel till July.

Recently Emirates President Tim Clark was quoted by Bloomberg, saying, “There were no plans to acquire equity stakes in India’s indebted airlines because they lack the control of operations, finances and their workforces that Emirates sees as necessary.”

“If the Indians themselves can’t make a go of it – as Vijay Mallya can’t, Naresh Goyal struggling, and Air India also combating the challenges? If they can’t make it work, then who can?” Clark was quoted as saying, referring to the bosses of the two Indian carriers believed to be seeking a link up with an international partner to help service their mounting debts.

CAPA’s India Aviation Outlook 2013/14 report too mentions that Emirates does not look like a prospective investor at this stage as the model goes against its broader strategy. “Emirates has remained conspicuously quiet, although bilateral discussions are underway between the governments of

Essa Sulaiman Ahmad Vice President (India & Nepal) Emirates

To be honest, we are, right now, focussing on our traditional organic growth in India. And we are extremely busy with the growth we are anticipating India and Dubai to increase weekly seats by 26,000 with immediate effect,” it said.

Emirates, which began its India operations in 1985, currently has 13.04 per cent of the total market share of international air traffic in India. It has flown 45.32 lakh passengers in and out of the country in 2011-12, while Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express jointly carried 41.38 lakh passengers or 11.91 per cent. Talking about its India market and growth prospects,

Ahmad says, “I just met a person who is spending 45 days in India, doing an exhaustive and intensive tour of the country. Our Emirates Holidays division is entering into partnership like TUI India and Le Passage to India to bring such unconventional tourists to India. We have a network of 134 destinations and we are tapping all these destinations to feed into India.”

When quizzed about Emirates’ network expansion plans between India and Dubai, Ahmad says, “When it comes to better access between both the countries, airlines are merely used as a bridge between the nations.

It’s more to do with governments. They have to decide on the bilateral policies. We have just entered into a big partnership with Qantas. It’s more about going to different markets and complimenting each other.”

So any cost cutting measures to strengthen the financial viability of the airline? “We have had a successful operation for the past many years. The hub and spoke has really helped us. We have always remained focussed on luxury and such services to our passengers.” Ahmad seems hopeful about A380 being operational in India soon. “It’s a beautiful aircraft with double decks, shower and spa in first class and business class lounge within the aircraft. It is the flagship of our fleet. We already have 35 of these in operation all around the network. But in India, the government has to approve it first.”

Indian agents say ‘Viva Bali’!

VITO-India (Visit Indonesia Tourism Office), along with Malaysian Airlines & MG Holidays, recently organised a familiarisation trip to Bali for travel agents from Chennai. The objective of the fam was to showcase Bali and help the agents understand the destination better.The agencies who participated were Airland Travels, Fly Albatross, Maharaja Travels, Greenwood Travels, Akshaya India Tours & Travels, Shitij Tours, Club Mahindra, Ascon Travels, Sheriff travels and Emerald Airways.

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NDC is not a threat to the industry: IATA The soon-to-be-launched NDC has been met with wide-ranging criticism although it has significant industry involvement from airlines, GDS and travel agents. Amitabh Khosla, Country Director-India, IATA, clarifies the myths and facts.

A N I TA J A I N When is NDC launching worldwide?

The NDC foundation standard was approved in October, 2012. IATA has identified a five-year roadmap for the implementation of a new standard, which may be used by any airline. The pilot phase was launched in 2013. It is expected that this phase will last through 2014. From 2014 to 2016, the focus will move to supporting deployment and adoption of NDC, with widespread adoption in 2016 and beyond. However, it is up to each airline to decide whether to implement the standard. IATA believes that adoption of NDC will enable airlines to provide travel agents with real-time access to the various ancillary services offered by airlines.

Agents, in turn, will have the ability to present broader value to clients via customised offers.

The global travel fraternity is worried that NDC will cut out GDS from the system, while IATA denies the fact. Can you elaborate on how GDS will benefit out of this?

NDC will enable GDSs to have broader access to airline products and services.

Standardising on an XML platform will enable the GDSs to meet the needs of their clients better, creating more value.

Once the direct connection is established between each airline and travel professionals participating in NDC, will the airlines be in a position to force travel agents to use the direct connection rather than the aggregator?

There is a ‘content aggregator’ role in NDC itself, which is essential to enable comparison-shopping. GDSs are participating in the standard-setting process. And given their industry knowledge and know-how, they are well-

products. And by allowing the traveller to be identified even when booking through a travel agent, the airline has the opportunity to add value to the traveller’s experience.

Will the NDC be the end of ‘pre-filed fares’ or will the new NDC serve the information to a travel professional, based on their track record with an airline?

Amitabh Khosla Country Director-India IATA

placed to take advantages of the innovation that NDC will make possible.

In India, over 95 per cent of the bookings are done through travel agents. How will NDC benefit travel agents in India?

The NDC will help travel agents add value for their clients. It will allow for comparison of information that is only available on individual websites today. It will facilitate the easy sale of ancillary

NDC does not require fare-filing. Airlines that do not currently file fares will not have to file anything in order to participate in NDC. Airlines that file fares today can continue to do so.

Will a travel agent be required to broadcast traveller information to search through IATA? Are passenger profiles being shared amongst the airlines? Also, will this allow airlines to bypass the booking agent?

It is important to understand that IATA is developing a technical standard with industry input, but it will be

Moving forward on NDC IATA recently marked a major milestone in its New Distribution Capability (NDC) initiative with the assignment by Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) of its Open AXIS license to IATA. “XML schemas are one of the building blocks of NDC, setting the parameters for transmitting data between partners in the air travel distribution value chain. The Open Axis framework is well advanced,” said Eric Leopold, IATA Director Passenger. up to the market to implement and fares searches will not take place through IATA. Customers will not have to surrender their privacy to compare fares or services and amenities. But consumers will benefit by providing additional information. In this regard, buying air travel through NDC will be no different than other shopping experiences, such as grocery and department stores providing discounted offers to ‘club members’. Furthermore, airlines will have to conform to privacy laws and regulations concerning the collection and use of personal data-just as they do today. The NDC standard is intended to bring more value to the agency channel by

enabling personalisation and customisation, as well as the ability to offer customers more value-added products and services (e.g. priority boarding, a special meal, etc.). Airlines can already make personalised offers on their own websites. NDC will bring the same opportunities to the agency channel.

There is a tiff between the Indian airlines and travel agents over the agency commission issue. Will NDC make any difference?

Commissions are a commercial matter between airlines and travel agents.

IATA, (and by extension, the NDC) is not involved in it.

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London’s special gift to travel agents London & Partners, the official promotional agency for the capital, has a new strategy to work with the domestic and international travel trade, which directly addresses the needs of the industry.

London’s key markets for travel trade activity, there will be dedicated representative Punam Singh, who has already been operating in India since 2007, and the newly-appointed Yan Zhao in China.

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ollowing the recent International Passenger Survey (IPS) figures for UK for the year 2012 which showed an increase in visitors to London; London & Partners has decided to unveil a new strategy to work with the travel trade. Since the India market is heavily dependent upon agents and operators whilst booking international travel experiences, the agency realised it is imperative to support their trade partners in selling their destination.

With UK £10.08 billion in tourism receipts received last year, the travel trade plays a crucial role in the promotion of London and bringing visitors to the capital. London & Partners has recently appointed Louisa Jackley in London, as the dedicated travel trade manager to drive and deliver the strategy. In

Punam Singh Representative London & Partners

My remit in India is to engage with the B2B market to promote London for leisure and business purposes

The industry relations team will attend both international and domestic events to meet the travel trade in order to build relations with the travel trade. They will also work with key stakeholders such as ETOA and VisitBritain. This programme of events has already started with VisitBritain’s ‘Destination Britain’ in Bangkok from mid-May. This forum attracts agents from Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and London & Partners presented a seminar on helping agents create the best London itineraries for their clients. This was opened by renowned chef Gary Rhodes who spoke about the culinary delights in the capital.

Singh says, “Besides this, our agent friends can refer to the travel trade section of the London website, www.londonandpartners. com. From here, they can download the latest PDFs of the London Travel Trade Guide, the monthly London Planner and the Agent’s Guide. Additionally, there are already almost a dozen different itinerary suggestions from one to five days preloaded at http://www.londonandpartners.com/traveltrade/itineraries. Agents who find these attractive can cost them or get these costed from London-based DMCs and sell them for leisure, incentive or even MICE. We also have a section, London for Groups at http://www.londonandpartners.com/traveltrade/london-for-groups/ and a full-fledged Events Solutions team in London to help for agents’ MICE requirements.”

Talking about her role, Singh says, “My remit in

India is to engage with the B2B market to promote London for leisure and for business purposes.”

As part of the programme, the agency offers in-house agency training programmes in India, B2B road shows with their London partners, a sales mission format along with VisitBritain and B2B Fora participation, where the agents can meet them. They also have a London specialist programme with E-certification which is upgraded and updated annu-

ally. They also work with airline partners to offer online packages, boarding card delights and boarding passengers’ London Booklet of Offers, besides agency familiarisation trips.

About the response from agents, Singh says, “London has always been a popular destination for Indians. Agents are very receptive and there are many who are now making focused and multi experiential itineraries only for London from five days to two weeks.”

Tourism in curriculum The skill knowledge providers for hospitality and tourism organised a special seminar where Vineet Joshi, Chairman, CBSE and Biswajit Saha, Programme Officer (vocational), CBSE addressed principals of various schools. The session focussed on tourism and hospitality as a vocational training progamme for students of Classes XI and XII. The travel fraternity was also present to show their support and encourage schools to introduce this subject.

Getting Obama to endorse tourism...

New Jersey is wooing US President Barack Obama to visit the hurricane-ravaged state just in time as the state’s tourism season begins. In an effort to promote the fact that the Jersey shore is safe for tourism again, the state government is trying to get celebrities and dignitaries from Obama to Prince Harry for visitations.

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Singapore welcomes all on Christmas The tourism board looks at promoting the city-state as a weekend destination to the Indian markets of Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Hyderabad, cities with short flight times to Singapore.

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n a bid to attract more Indian travellers to visit Singapore during the winter season, the Singapore Tourism Board is heavily promoting its Christmas in the Tropics campaign in the Indian market.

Chang Chee Pey Executive Director-South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board

Our focus will be on cities with short flight times to Singapore served with lowcost carriers such as Tiger Airways Chang Chee Pey, Executive Director-South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board said,

GB Srithar Area Director-South Asia Singapore Tourism Board

We want them to immerse themselves in the culture of Singapore and experience life as a local would “The Christmas in the Tropics is part of our three-pronged approach to increase visitor arrivals to Singapore from

India. The strategy also consists of promoting Singapore as a multi-faceted events destination.” The tourism board is also looking to promote the city as a destination to travellers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi which had shorter flight times to Singapore. Chee Pey

informed, “Our focus will be on those cities which have shorter flight time to Singapore and it will be lowcost carriers such as Tiger Airways which will serve this weekend.” “The travel trade is the most important intermediary in bringing Indian travellers to Singapore,” said GB

Srithar, Area Director-South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board. He added, “We constantly conduct trade engagements, product promotions as well as workshops and road shows in the Indian market.

Our focus is on the four metros in the country as well as the Tier-II cities such as Kochi,

Highlights Singapore recorded 6,69,570 Indian visitors from January to September 2012, an increase of 4.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2011

Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.” Srithar also said that STB’s aim was to highlight the destination as an immersive experience. He said,“ we want them to immerse themselves in the culture of Singapore and experience life as a local would.”

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Now, 10 caravans in MP The Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) is set to increase the number of its caravans from three to ten.

Raghvendra Kumar Singh, Managing Director, MPSTDC said that the state tourism board decided to increase the

India shines@WTM Latin America Brazil and India are seen as emerging tourism economies for both inbound and outbound tourism, which the participants can productively explore at the WTM Latin America show. finds out how Indian exhibitors made it big on the exhibition floor...

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n the first edition of the WTM Latin America show, India marked its presence with largest number of representatives, among other

Raghvendra Kumar Singh Managing Director MPSTDC

number of caravans in view of the increasing number of tourists in the state and the rise in demand for caravans especially during the summer. MPSTDC has also received a national permit for its caravans, according to a Times of India report. At present, the three caravans are being operated in Jabalpur, Indore and Bhopal.

EXHIBITIONS

Lawrence Reinisch Exhibition Director WTM Latin America

destinations, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal and Malaysia. In fact, the organizers of the show expect the India participation to grow further in 2014.

“We were very pleased with the response from the

Indian market for the very first edition of WTM Latin America.

In total, we had 28 exhibitors from India including 13 main stand holders.

For a first edition, we were very pleased with this involvement.

Brazil and India are seen as emerging tourism economies for both inbound and outbound tourism, so the relationship and communication between the two (both the public and private sector) is critical for the future success of the global industry, and WTM Latin America can help aid this,” said Lawrence Reinisch, Exhibition Director, WTM Latin America.

“We are expecting a bigger involvement and delegation to attend next year’s WTM Latin America. The

Promoting Swiss visibility

feedback we have had from all exhibitors, including those from India, is that it was a great event that has helped

about their organisation taking a stand. So I expect the next edition of WTM Latin America will be much bigger

Gastão Vieira, Constanze Hilgers, Mácrio Favilla, Marco Ferraz, Andrew Fowless during the opening ceremony of World Travel Market Latin America 2013, São Paulo, Brazil

them achieve their objectives of signing as many business deals as possible. Many exhibitors have approached me and my team saying the success of the first edition means they want to increase their exposure and stand space. Furthermore, many visitors have approached me

than the first, and the Indian delegation will play a vital role in achieving this,” he added.

At the moment, the Reed Travel Exhibitions is conducting thorough research of visitors and exhibitors, as to shape the event and the delegate expe-

rience next year. They also highlight that The WTM Latin America website is a very useful information tool for all those people and organisations looking to take part next year.

“I would advise people to have a detailed look at the website and take advantage of the many tool, videos and information available. It is even possible to register your interest for next year’s event now. Full registration will go live later in the year, after WTM in London,” said Reinisch.

In the Offing RTE is conducting thorough research of visitors and exhibitors to shape the event and the delegate experience next year The WTM Latin America website is a very useful information tool for all those looking to take part next year

LATAM Airlines holds its first workshop

While Switzerland focuses on Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India, it has invited around 30 tour operators from India to participate at the Switzerland Travel Mart-2013 from May 31-June 2.

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he Switzerland Travel Mart 2013 (STM2013), that is being held at Bern from May 31-June 2, is one of the most important trade shows to increase sales of Switzerland Travel Products.

Switzerland Tourism, in close cooperation with Swiss International Air Lines, Switzerland Travel System and the hosting city-Bern, will be welcoming 450 tour operators and travel trade journalists from over 40 countries and the 350 Swiss suppliers to the 17th edition of the STM. The STM-2013 provides a professional platform for meeting the entire range of tourism products in

Good to know The STM-2013 provides a professional platform for meeting the entire range of tourism products in Switzerland and the principality of Liechtenstein

Switzerland and the principality of Liechtenstein. A tried-and-tested system of meetings lasting 20 minutes each, allows suppliers to hold business talks with as many as 42 different buyers over the two days.

Switzerland Tourism’s aim is to strengthen the presence and increase the number of Swiss offerings in the portfolios of tour operators.

Around 30 tour operators from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai will be participating at the event. In addition to

the workshop, social events have also been organised during STM-2013. The mart will also help familiarise Indian agents with the various destinations that Switzerland has on offer.

In India, Switzerland Tourism is getting ready to win over first-time Indian travellers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities with their various packages. However, in spite of the focus on smaller towns and cities it is not shifting its attention from Tier I cities. Switzerland is also focusing on India’s MICE crowd.

In its first workshop as LATAM Airlines, the company held a workshop in New Delhi and Mumbai to familiarise the industry with trade and destination information. Representatives from the embassies of Brazil, Peru and Chile also talked about the various destinations of interest for Indian travellers. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is the new name given to LAN Airlines S.A. as a result of its association with TAM S.A.

Landmark joins hands with Al Rais Tours Landmark Tours and Travels has now partnered with Al Rais Tours & Holidays LLC, a leading DMC of Dubai. Al Rais Tours is one of the largest independent travel agencies in the UAE. It has grown, since its commencement of operations in 1977, into a large travel and shipping group. It offers a diverse range of services on everything from flights bookings, holidays pack-

ages and logistics-related requirements to every corner of the globe. It is the General Sales Agent for 19 international airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Kenya Airways to name a few, and has 27 strategically-located offices throughout UAE. “Today, Dubai has become one of the most preferred destinations for Indian travellers.

Landmark is now the India representative office for Al Rais Tours to provide sales, marketing and operational support to the travel trade partners in Indian subcontinent. The said partnership has given Landmark an opportunity to leverage the outbound potential from India to UAE,” said Ravi Luthra, Managing Director of Landmark Tours & Travels.

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100 more airports for India, says DGCA Giving a push to aviation infrastructure development, Government is planning to build or modernise 100 airports over the next few years. speaks to Director General of Civil Aviation, Arun Mishra, about the excitement it has infused in the airline industry.

T E E N A B A R UA H Could you tell us about Greenfield airport projects in the pipeline?

At present, we have about 82 operational airports and more than 400 airports, air-strips, and air-fields in various stages of use. To improve regional connectivity, we need to develop these.

About 80 airports, which will be commercial, will be developed from this list. We will be working with state governments and other stakeholders to develop these airports so that small aircraft can land there.

Some of these must be defence spaces…

There are 457 airports, out of which 91 belong to Airport Authority of India (AAI) and 125 for defence.

Then, there are 22-25 state government-owned airports.

These unused defence and state government airports are

now being developed. But these will need some investment before they become operational.

We are looking at lowcost, no-frills airport with a basic terminal building and facilities. The idea is to reduce the cost of operations, so services can be started at a lower cost in order to build up traffic. The investment has to be minimum. Apart from that, we need cooperation from other stakeholders.

The state government should provide land and offer tax benefits. The AAI can give free night-parking. And when traffic picks up, these airports can sustain themselves.

What incentives are being offered to airlines to improve connectivity with Tier-II & III airports?

Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Ranchi in Jharkhand have reduced the ATF cost and now, the connectivity from Raipur has improved

Arun Mishra Director General of Civil Aviation

tremendously. AAI is also giving them free night-parking and these incentives are available for scheduled airlines.

How big is the security concern in defence airports like Goa as well as the one in the Northeast?

Security is not a major concern. The concern is the capacity. These airports are small, their runways are small and the weather is unpredictable, so the regular-

ity of operation is an issue. In Goa, the capacity is very limited and there is a lot of demand, but we will soon get a new airport in North Goa.

sive mode of communication, and is not sustainable in all weather conditions, because they do a lot of low flying.

Tell us about the new focus of the aviation ministry, Northeastern connectivity and its challenges.

According to the Route Dispersal Guidelines for Scheduled Air Operators, all airlines have to now run 10 per cent of their main routes in areas of Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshadweep. It’s a difficult task for airlines, but it will boost regional connectivity.

There are three greenfield projects in the Northeast, Sikkim Pakyong, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and Chiethu in Kohima, Nagaland. The Sikkim airport has already taken off and will be commissioned next year. The character of the land (because of uneven terrain) is such that airports can’t be constructed there.

These will need a lot of investments to cut hills and will impact the local environment somewhat.

Another way of increasing NE connectivity is helicopters, but it is a very expen-

Why has the buzz around smaller international airports died down in the last few months?

The Agra airport is functional, and it is being used by Air India. But again, it’s a defence airfield, so there are constraints. You have to have your own terminal building and the requirement of the defence take precedence over civil aviation. Hence, flights can get delayed.

India’s passenger traffic has grown by 1.59 per cent, has it brought some optimism in the market?

The Indian market is bound to grow. We have a huge middle-class which is just waiting to travel by air, so we need to make some enabling circumstances, so that people can start flying.

But for that, there has to be policies that promote aviation. Right now, taxation and ATF expenses comprise 40-50 per cent cost of airlines. Also, maintenance and repairs organisations should be encouraged to set shop in India, as a lot of airlines go abroad for maintenance. We also have a challenge of human resources, hence we are planning to start Masters in Aviation Management in our upcoming civil aviation university in Fursatganj, Raebareli. It should be operational by next year.

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Go, get the online visa power: Turkey The Turkish government launches e-visa initiative for 94 countries, including India. A valid UK, US, Schengen or a valid visa from any of the OECD member countries is enough for an online tourist visa to Turkey PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

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ow travelling to Turkey has got that much easier, provided you have a valid UK, US, Schengen or a valid visa from any of the OECD member countries. According to a new system put in place by the Turkish government, Indians with a valid UK, US, Schengen or a valid visa from any of the OECD member countries, can now get an online tourist visa to Turkey.

With an aim to woo more tourists from all over the world, to the country, Turkey has launched this new revolutionary online visa application system for citizens of 94 countries all around the world, including India Pakistan and African countries.

This e-visa replaces “sticker” and “stamp-type” visas formerly issued at the border gates and enables tourists to obtain a visa in just a few minutes. You can apply for the visa by going to www.evisa.gov.tr, pay by credit card and you will get your visa

Ozgur Ayturk Culture and Tourism Counsellor Turkey

in your email. Culture and Tourism Counsellor, Turkey, Ozgur Ayturk says, “With

most of the countries we normally have a reciprocal system, this is the general policy of the Turkish government.

However, India has a large population, and we see a big potential in this market. That is why we have Visa-onArrival (VoA) facility for Indians in Turkey, even though there is no such facility for Turkish nationals in India. Evisa is much easier you give all the information, you make your payments in advance and you just take a printout of the visa and carry your passport while travelling. VoA was also

In A Snap…

The e-visa when granted would be e-mailed to the applicant. Applicants must take a print-out and then show it to airport officials and customs officers and carry it with them at all times during their travel. Indian citizens can benefit from this new initiative provided that: a) Their passport has a minimum of 6-month validity, b) They hold necessary documents related to their travel purposes {such as a return ticket, hotel reservation, adequate financial means (minimum U.S. $ 50 for each day)}, c) They hold a valid Schengen visa or a valid visa from any of the OECD member countries or a valid residence permit in these countries, d) They are traveling for the purposes of tourism or business/ commercial negotiations.

a good facility, but you had to go through one counter to make payment and another counter for the checking procedure so it was taking time. E-visa is all about single window clearance.”

The e-visa is helpful for those who would like to travel to Turkey for tourism or business purposes, as people do not have to waste time standing in queues at Turkish Embassies or Consulates or at the airport to obtain a visa.

The e-visa is only valid for people travelling as tourists

or for business purposes. If you want a study or a work visa, you require regular visa given by the Turkish embassies or consulates.

“Indians travel very frequently to Europe and America. The share of the people who have valid Schengen, UK and US visas in India is very high so I believe the use of e-visa will also be very high here,” says Ayturk.

Talking about the general activities to promote tourism in Turkey, Ayturk says, “We are looking to

engage in some joint advertising campaigns with some big players in the travel trade industry as well as organise some cultural activities. We are planning a few fashion shows in which we are getting designers from Turkey to showcase here. Once we decide on it, we are going to look for some collaborations in India as well. Also, we had hosted the Turkish hoteliers’ federation in India last year as this gave the hoteliers a platform to interact with the Indian travel trade and their counterparts in the hotel industry. I also wanted them to see the potential of the Indian market for themselves and I wanted their Indian counterparts to see what the Turkish resorts and hotels have to offer to the travellers.

The event was a great success and now I have received a call from the federation saying that they want to come again this year in November. But this time, the federation want to come with the travel agents as well.”

A full 15 years in India!

Gilpin Travel Management recently celebrated 15 years in India with a grand celebration at the Shangri La Hotel in Mumbai. IPL cricket team Rajasthan Royals were the special guests at the evening.

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Travel scores well on the cricket pitch India’s hottest cricket season is not just about the game any more. Travel brands are now putting their innovation caps on to cash in on the IPL game.

We are providing holiday packages to destinations, which include Rajasthan Royals memorabilia

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nto its sixth year now, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has nine teams from various parts of India battling it out in the field. But going beyond, OTAs have launched new offers to grab a share of an increasingly large pie of the bookings. Thanks to the cricket fever, hotels are witnessing increased occupancy during the ongoing season and the car rental industry is expecting more demand for its luxury cars.

Online travel portals have got IPL special schemes and discounts. MakeMyTrip, the principal sponsor for the Sunrises Hyderabad team, has launched a special offer called ‘Toss Ka Raja’. It offers people to get live on TV with the Sunrisers Hyderabad as they flip the toss, says the website homepage. Opines Manish Kalra-Marketing Head, MakeMyTrip, “We are delighted to partner with Sunrisers Hyderabad and reach out to millions of IPL fans through

Adil J. Bajirao, Vice President-Outbound, Gilpin Tours & Travel Management(I)

Manish Kalra

Sharat Dhall

Gaurav Aggarwal

Marketing Head MakeMyTrip

President Yatra.com

Founder and CEO Savaari Car Rentals

Fans follow their teams to match venues across different parts of the country this association. The IPL demonstrates the synergies of the twin passions of cricket and travel, with fans following

This trend is being seen in cities such as Pune and Jaipur where ARR has risen by 25 % on the weekends their teams to match-venues across different parts of the country. Our partnership with Sunrisers Hyderabad will help

This year, the demand for cabs has risen by 40 % and luxury cars has risen up by 35 % us reach out to the next set of people who are going to come online, since cricket gives us the opportunity to reach out

to Tier-II markets.” This year, the main focus of the company will remain on the hotels. IPL is a natural fitment, as cricket involves a lot of travel as well, he adds. Revenue from the hotels and packages business has also increased by 55.2 per cent in this quarter, showcasing the opportunities in this segment, Kalra informs.

Yatra.com has seen a surge of 15-20 per cent in hotel bookings on weekends during the IPL season. “This trend is being seen in cities such as Pune, Jaipur and Chandigarh, where average room rates have risen by 25 per cent on the weekends,” Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com reveals.

According to Gaurav Aggarwal, Founder and CEO,

Savaari Car Rentals, there has been a spurt in the demand for luxury cars during IPL consistently since the six years.

“This year, the demand for cabs has risen by 40 per cent and the request for luxury cars has risen up to 35 per cent, which is otherwise around 20-25 per cent on normal working days. IPL is one of the peak seasons, where the business sees a rapid growth, resulting in good profits,” he comments. During IPL there have been a lot of takers for luxury cars. “Our fleet of luxury cars such as Jaguar, Mercedes C/E/S Class, BMW 3/5/7 series, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Toyota Fortune are in huge demand,” Aggarwal adds. Sunil Gupta, Contd. on page 32

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STATES

Seaplanes in Maharashtra The company will appoint regional GSAs across India for a strong B2B network, and is working to spread intra-state travel in Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. regional air connectivity in the state.

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ith intention of giving a boost to the tourism sector, the Maritime Energy Heli AIR Services (MEHAIR) is in the process of introducing seaplane services in Maharashtra by July 2013.

The company, which launched India’s first seaplane service in Andaman & Nicobar Islands in early 2011, had announced the seaplane services in Maharashtra as early as 2011, but had got delayed due to approvals from multiple government departments. It is now awaiting its last approval from Agriculture Department of the state to clear everything and start services. Once launched in Maharashtra, the company intends to start services in Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh with nation-wide marketing sales team presence.

To start with, the company will induct Cessna Caravan 208 Amphibian (nine passenger capacity) in Maharashtra, connecting top tourist destinations like Shirdi, Lavasa, Ambey Vally, Ali Baug and Lonavala with Mumbai. In the second phase, which will be launched by mid next year, it will buy another Cessna

Siddharth Verma CEO MEHAIR

Seaplanes will not only help the travellers, but also the state to boost tourism and take it to the next level Caravan 208 (18 seater) for Maharashtra connecting Konkan destinations like Tarkarli, Ganpatiphule, Sindhudurg, etc; informed Siddharth Verma, CEO, MEHAIR. The company has also sent proposals to other state tourism boards to start similar services to enhance

Talking about seaplane services and tourism, Verma said, “Seaplanes will not only help the travellers, but also the state to boost tourism and take it to the next level. With these services, travellers can explore multiple destinations in less time and in a budget-friendly way. We intend to connect all the tourist destinations in the state and work closely with corporate companies, MICE operators and travel agents. Along with our strong online booking channel and marketing team, we will also appoint GSAs across India who will manage both inbound and domestic tours.” The company will introduce promotional fares with the launch of services to increase sales and improve awareness. It will also put in an active marketing team in place to increase product awareness on both B2B and B2C level. Adding further on the expansion plans, Verma said, “Once we launch our Maharashtra operations, we will move to Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. We will not offer any interstate connectivity and aim to operate only on intrastate levels.”

Goa: Highest tourist arrivals in 2012 In 2012-13, the Department of Tourism, Government of Goa registered record arrivals of 27.8 lakh tourists in the state of Goa, of which 4.5 lakh were foreigners. This was against 26.7 lakh during 2010-11, which includes 4.45 lakh foreigners; showing an overall increase of 4.4% in the inflow.

Goa also witnessed an increase in arrival of chartered flights.

According to Goa Tourism Department statistics, 987 chartered flights carrying 2.15 lakh tourists from nine international destinations landed in

Goa during October 2012 to mid-May 2013. About 742 chartered flights arrived from Russia followed by 152 flights from United Kingdom. This was against 910 flights with 1.69 lakh tourists flying in chartered planes in 2011-12.

Similarly, the number of cruise ship arrivals in Goa has also seen an increase with 25 vessels carrying 22,233 passengers in 2012-13, as against 20 vessels carrying 11,946 passengers in 2010-11. Dilip Parulekar, Tourism Minister, Government of Goa, said, “In

2012-13, Goa did extremely well than previous years. Goa has emerged as a preferred destination for MICE, weddings and also leisure. Positive steps have been taken by the Goa Government, such as introduction of water sports policy, security force on Goan beaches, improvement of tourism infrastructure, marketing and promotional efforts, etc. However, for a sustained inflow, there is always a scope for improvement, and we are working hard to further the cause of tourists’ comfort in Goa.”

IPL hooks hoteliers Contd. from page 30

Chief Executive Officer, Avis India feels IPL has given the company a marginal increase in business of approximately 15 per cent. “These bookings are through hotels and travel agents as well. However, for us, it is limited to the day of the match,” he points out. The Rajasthan Royals have tied up with Gilpin Travel Management as the team’s

exclusive travel partner for the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Pepsi Indian Premier League. Offering end-to-end travel solutions and high quality service in all facets of travel including corporate, incentive and leisure, the company’s association with Rajasthan Royals is even more significant now. According to Adil J. Bajirao, Vice PresidentOutbound, Gilpin Tours &

Travel Management(I), “We are providing holiday packages to destinations, which includes RR memorabilia as well as lucky draw prizes, which entitle the recipients to an evening with the Rajasthan Royals team in Mumbai.”

Gilpin Travels is also offering several IPL match-based packages, which include accommodation, transfers and tickets to the match.

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HOTELS

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Beating summer blues with the Met The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa, New Delhi has been recently renovated; and innovative design, modern technology and eco-friendly practices have been enhanced to attract domestic travellers in the summers.

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ccording to Sanzeev Bhatia, General Manager, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa, New Delhi; innovation is the most essential part of success of hospitality. “The most important part of the hospitality industry is guest service. We keep on innovating our training modules based on guest feedbacks and ensure consistent training to all staff members.”

“The next step is problem solving for which we have Defect Tracking System to enhance quality of delivery. In the current scenario, security is paramount, particularly in the case of single female travellers. We have

Sanzeev Bhatia General Manager The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa, New Delhi

We introduced few non-smoking rooms/guest floors, enhanced and updated wifi system, club lounge on club floors and NeoVeda Spa with ayurvedic therapies ensured the security and privacy through special handling procedures for such travellers in our hotel,” he confirms.

The Met was recently renovated and innovative design, modern technology and eco- friendly practices have been enhanced with new ideas and bright insights. “We introduced few non-smoking rooms/guest floors, enhanced and updated wifi system, club lounge on club floors and NeoVeda Spa with ayurvedic and international therapies,” he adds.

The hotel is targetting domestic leisure travellers during the summers. “We focus on domestic clientele during summers. This is otherwise a low period for

inbound leisure travellers and thus, domestic segment helps us to fill in the gap.

Usually, during the other months, our share from inbound corporate market is the maximum,” he informs.

Talking about Delhi being more of a business destination and how the state is

changing its dynamics and attracting other sets of travellers, the GM opines, “The recent report released by Hotels.com reveals Delhi is the most preferred Indian destination among international travellers for their holidays to India. Another segment growing in Delhi

and other metropolitan cities in India is MICE. We are very well present in leisure segment also. With few series of groups from different travel management companies and through FIT & GIT business, our MICE business is also growing well.”

Regarding the initiatives for the B2B market, Bhatia points out, “The alliance between the travel agents/tour operators and the hotels has become crucial. Most of the international travel agents are picking up the inventory and rates through B2B por-

tals or wholesale travel companies only. The Met is strongly present on all these B2B portals and we get good share of business from this market. We also have few tie ups with offline wholesale travel companies in the international market.”

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RAILWAYS

A Kingdom floating in the clouds The Jungfrau-Top of Europe is the highlight mountain excursion in Switzerland and offers a renewed experience for travellers all over the world.

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ny destination that is the highest rail station of Europe, with a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and 100 years of history is a special place to visit.

3,454 metres and into a world of ice and snow. The excursion is open every day, 365 days a year.

On August 1, 2012; Jungfrau–Top of Europe celebrated its centenary year. As a part of this celebration, the Jungfrau Railway opened a new attraction on the Jungfraujoch–the Alpine Sensation. The history of the

Some of the other highlights of the excursion include the Super Ice Palace and comprises a vaulted ceiling, imposing pillars and superb sculptures of wildlife and other exhibits, carved out of natural ice and shimmering in light transparent blue.

More than one top excursion!!

Grindelwald First The six-seater aerial gondola on the sunny side of the Grindelwald valley leads from the village of Grindelwald to First at 2168 meters. The wide variety and exciting attractions found in the excursion include the First Flyer, which is unique in Europe, scooter-bike rides and First Mountain Guesthouse.

The First Fun package offers excursion and activities this year.

Famous Lake Bachalpsee is known as the pearl of mountain lakes and is the favorite hiking destination.

Harder Kulm Harder Kulm, Interlaken's ‘own mountain’, takes only ten minutes to reach by the red funicular. The journey by the funicular is singularly exciting as it offers superb scenic sights of mountains, lakes and valleys, a glorious garden terrace and a new two-lake footbridge.

The Jungfraujoch, First and Harder Kulm excursion can be available in one JUNGFRAU VIP PASS, a value for money product for tourists.

Jungfrau Railway and development of tourism in the Alps are staged in a 250-metrelong experience tour. A 360°cinema has been built in the Sphinx Hall and a film carries visitors into the high Alpine world surrounding the Jungfraujoch. On a moving walkway, visitors pass a 90metre-long mural showing romantic paintings, illustrating the passion for the Alps

and the development of tourism. The founder of the Jungfrau Railway, Adolf Guyer-Zeller, and his groundbreaking vision are also themes in the Alpine Sensation. The excursion to the Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe starts from the wellknown resort village of Interlaken and is done on the charming red cogwheel. The train journey takes one to

While the Sphinx terrace offers panoramic views of mountains, the Glacier Plateau provides an inspiring walking path in eternal ice and snow. At Jungfrau one can even experience winter sport in summer! The Snow Fun Park offers activities like the Zip line – swoop on a steel cable over glacier crevasses, snow tubing, sledging fun in the middle of the glacier world.

Ice and Spice offers the perfect combination at the Bollywood restaurant with a capacity of 120 seats. An Indian buffet lunch is enjoyed nowadays not just by many Indians visiting the place, but even by Europeans. Culinary delights are offered in five other restaurants too, with a total capacity of 700 seats.

Even shopping is possible at 3,454 metres, with an opportunity to buy favourite holiday souvenirs at Europe’s highest altitude rail station.

What would the Jungfrau Region be without the world-famous railway that year for year carries thousands of guests from all over the world up to the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe.

Down Memory Lane The history of the Jungfrau Railway and development of tourism in the Alps are staged in a 250-metre-long experience tour

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ASSOCIATIONS

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TRAVTALK

FAITH releases the ‘Big-5’ targets Now on a continuous basis, FAITH will engage and work with the Central Government and various state governments on the Big-5 for Indian tourism and hospitality.

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he Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), which has 10 travel trade associations as its members conducted a launch event recently in Delhi.

Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH, kickstarted the event with his presentation, deliberating on the global perspective and then highlighting the tourism potential in India.

“In 2012, we saw the global tourist visits cross the 1 billion mark.

However, we need to transform ‘Impossible India’ to ‘Incredible India’ and win over 1 per cent share in the global international travel market,” said Anand.

Aashish Gupta, newlyappointed Consulting CEO, FAITH, then announced the top five priorities that FAITH will pursue with the Central Government and the various State Governments. “Now, on a continuous basis, FAITH will engage and work along with the Central Government and will start on the ‘Big-5’ for Indian Tourism and Hospitality. It includes elevation of tourism and hospitality to get benefits similar to industry; creation of an enabling tax regime for both direct and indirect (service tax); creation of specialised tourism and hospitality infrastructure; creation of sustainable supply of skilled and highly-motivated workforce and further extension of visa on arrival for seamless travel.”

“Creation of seamless and cost-efficient ground transportation movement; development of specialised tourism infrastructure and last-mile tourism infrastructure; availability of competitive land bank and FSI; highspeed of project approvals and State taxation that stimulate growth of the industry,” said Gupta, as part FAITH’s list of priority to be taken up with the State Government.

In his address Parvez Dewan, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said, “At the recentlyheld UNWTO event in India,

its chief had disclosed that travellers spend almost four times higher than the global average in India.

FAITH will a good platform to sit together and brainstorm with the industry behind closed doors.”

Then Sarab Jit Singh, Vice Chairman, FAITH thanked all the policymakers, member of various member associations and other dignitaries present in his vote of thanks.

The core team of FAITH taking pledge at the launch event of the federation in New Delhi

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FAMILY ALBUM

FAITH starts a new chapter The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), which has 10 travel trade associations as its members, conducted a launch event recently in Delhi. The event was attended by policymakers, members of various travel trade associations and other dignitaries.

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FAMILY ALBUM

ATM: Marking two decades of Excellence Marking their twenty years, ATM 2013 welcomed industry leaders and government decision-makers at the very highest level. This four-day event welcomed over 2,500 exhibitors from 87 countries with exhibition floor space sold out at over 22,000 square metres. This provided ample opportunities of growth and business development.

Contd. on page 40

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The Emir of travel trade exhibitions Contd. from page 38

For ATM India Evening pictures, see page 42

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evening @ATM’13

Contd. from page 40

‘V’ for weekend getaways Club Med to tap metros The chain targets resort properties at great locations, It will target Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru; and has which are underperforming or undermanaged. announced a worldwide brand repositioning campaign. tances from major cities in North India.

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limited service chain of resorts in off-beat destinations, V Resorts is looking at opening 10 new resorts by December 2013 in various parts of Northern India, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and DelhiNCR. The group currently operates five properties in Uttarakhand at Corbett, Ramgarh, Sattal, Pauri and Almora.

Betting on the weekend getaway segment, Vaibhav Dayal, Managing Director, V Resorts opines, “V Resorts is a limited service holiday resort chain where just the right services are provided with no major frills, so that customer pays for only what he wants and doesn’t have to cough up hard-earned cash for the few frills that few would value. Our pricing is designed in a way that customers can easily afford at least four holidays every year.” As part of its current expansion plan, V Resorts will focus on properties located

Vaibhav Dayal Managing Director V Resorts

Our pricing is designed in a way that customers can easily afford at least four holidays every year. primarily in hilly terrains and forested areas with special emphasis on driving dis-

According to Dayal, the strategy is to take up resort properties at great locations, which are underperforming or undermanaged, and make them better with superior services and marketing.

Currently, the chain gets maximum bookings through its own website. “We only get 20 per cent of our bookings from the B2B channels of the tour operators. However, during the summer vacations, we promote school excursions. For this segment, around 99 per cent of our business is generated through our alliance with this network. Going forward, we are looking at strengthening our partnership with the travel trade community,” he adds.

Talking about the funding model, Dayal reveals, “V Resorts has been funded by a clutch of investors including a VC fund (Bedrock Ventures). More value-added investors are getting associated with us.”

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rance-based luxury resort chain Club Med will target travellers from

Vijay Sharma Country Manager Club Med India

key source markets of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in India. Vijay Sharma, Country Manager, Club Med India said, “We want to promote the Club Med brand in these three metros, as well as increase awareness about Club Med. Over the next couple of years, we hope to expand into other metros in the country.”

Club Med also recently announced a worldwide brand repositioning campaign. Sharma added,

“The new brand campaign is to highlight this unique proposition of all-inclusive holiday where we offer a variety of activities to our guests. Our aim is also to underline our premium holiday offering in a variety of other hotel options.”

Mainly targeting the premium segment in India, Sharma elaborated, “With the all-inclusive concept, all age groups who want a relaxing and hassle-free holiday are attracted to Club Med, especially mature travellers.

Additionally, we also want to attract special interest groups

of 20-30 travellers to Club Med properties across the globe. We have also launched several summer promotional packages to attract Indian guests.”

Club Med’s main aim in the Indian market is centred on increasing awareness in target cities and expanding through their distribution network of travel agents and tour operators in the country.

Sharma said, “We have 20 key travel agents with whom we work. We also offer incentives to the trade in order to reward agents for promoting Club Med actively. We will also work jointly with cruise lines, and our trade partner to conduct product training workshops for the travel trade in India. Our focus is on doubling the number of Indian visitors by 2014.”

Aims & Objectives Club Med’s main aim in the Indian market is centred on increasing awareness in target cities and expanding through their distribution network of travel agents

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CRUISES

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Cruise Club: One-stop shop for cruising The cruise specialist is adopting a multi-pronged approach to educate the consumer and train the travel trade at the same time. reports how it will serve the cruising needs of the Indian travellers.

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ruise specialist Cruise Club has been appointed as the preferred partner for polar cruising company Quark Expeditions in India.

Established in 1991, Quark Expeditions specialises in expedition cruising to the Arctic and Antarctica.

Tarique Hussain, Co-founder, Cruise Club said, “Quark Expeditions continues to be the only travel company to exclusively offer expeditions to the polar region. We have a special emphasis on polar cruising and we have taken

Tarique Hussain Co-founder Cruise Club

We hope to become a significant partner for the Indian travel industry in the cruise space the lead to develop this segment. We anticipate that this segment will grow significantly in the next 2-3 years.” Cruise Club also recently introduced Embark 2013 - a cruise planner which aims to educate its travel trade partners on cruises around the world.

Elaborating on the potential of the cruise segment in India, Hussain said, “The market potential for cruising from India is very strong. However, the bigger question is the growth rate and current market size.

Eyes on India There is potential in both TierI and Tier-II cities in India for both mass and premium products Cruise Club recently appointed a partner in Bengaluru and is looking to work with similar partners across the country, who are keen to grow the concept of cruising in India

Cruising is at a very nascent stage in India. Cruise companies globally are looking for new and exciting itineraries, and Asia is emerging as a popular choice to port their ships. Singapore has taken the lead in developing infrastructure, with the new cruise terminal, and cruise

companies are following with increased deployment. What this means is that Indian guests have lot more choice closer to home, and we should certainly see a boost in Indian guests taking cruises as a result.”

Hussain also revealed that there is potential in

both Tier-I and Tier-II cities in India for both mass and premium products. Cruise Club recently appointed a partner in Bengaluru and is looking to work with similar partners across the country, who are keen to grow the concept of cruising in India.

Hussain stated, “Cruise

Club can offer a one-stop solution for the travel agent’s cruise needs. And two, we don’t see ourselves as simply a cruise booking agent. We see ourselves as knowledge partners - cruise specialists who are able to guide and assist our partners to help select the right

cruise for their clients.”

Cruise Club has recently partnered with the Disney Cruise Line as well as with Crystal Cruises and it is also in discussion with a few river cruise companies.

“2013 is about setting up systems and process,” Hussain concluded.

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NEWS

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Sri Lanka specialist e-training In order to create more awareness about Sri Lanka’s tourism products and offerings in the Indian market, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau plans to launch an online training programme titled Sri Lanka Specialist for Indian travel agents and tour operators this year. This information was revealed by Rumy Jauffer, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. Jauffer said, “India is the number one source market for visitors to Sri Lanka and we want to increase these numbers.

This online training programme will increase the knowledge about Sri Lanka among travel agents and tour operators in the country and will enable them to create itineraries and give appropriate advice to travellers who are considering Sri Lanka as a destination.”

Alongside the online training programme, Sri Lanka Tourism will also conduct fam trips, sales calls, workshops and road shows across the country as well as establish its own office in India this year.

Jauffer was speaking on the sidelines of Sri Lanka Tourism Mega Joint Promotion held in Mumbai which targets both the travel trade as well as consumers.

A similar promotional event was held in Bengaluru earlier this year.

The tourism board plans to hold similar events across the country in 2013 in cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.

He also said that these cities would be Sri Lanka’s target cities in India this year.

Jauffer concluded by saying, “Sri Lanka’s affordability, proximity and connectivity to India make it an ideal destination for Indians to visit and we are fully committed to developing this market.”

Besides offering plenty of products in its kitty, Sri Lanka also gives a chance to the Indian travellers to shop a lot.

SL Tourism to enter India by Sept The tourism board has recently launched ‘Get Sri Lankaned’ campaign.

This year, the country targets to welcome 2,00,000 Indians and by 2016 the aim is to receive 4,00,000 Indian footfalls. gives details...

Lanka Tourism Development Authority & Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, said, “For India, we are working on a multi-prolonged strategy. Our first step is to underline Sri Lanka as a tourist destination by high-

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ith India being the biggest tourist source market, Sri Lanka has finally decided to have a presence in India by opening its office in Mumbai by September this year. Last year, the country catered to 1,70,000 Indians, this year it targets to welcome 2,00,000 Indians and by 2016 the aim is to receive 4,00,000 Indian footfalls. To achieve this target, the tourism board has allocated a marketing budget of close to seven million Sri Lankan rupiah for India. This year, it has launched ‘Get Sri Lankaned’ campaign in India and is reaching out to end-consumers through interactive events and activities in multiple Indian cities.

On the B2B level, the tourism board has introduced a programme for travel agents where they can register for free and receive a familiarisation trip to understand the destination better.

Bhashwara Senanka Gunarathna Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority & Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau

By opening a branch office in India, we would be more accessible to both travel agents and travellers Talking about the Indian market, Bhashwara Senanka Gunarathna, Chairman, Sri

ellers. India is currently our top tourism source market and we are working hard to tap the maximum potential from this country.”

The country offers online visa facility for tourists

Improving air connectivity At present, 99 flights a week (through Sri Lankan Airlines, Air India Express, Jet Airways and SpiceJet) are being operated between Sri Lanka and India. To improve tourism and trade between both the countries, the Sri Lankan government is in talks with Indian aviation ministry to improve air-connectivity and offer more bilaterals. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau is keen to see Kingfisher Airlines to start services again, as it offered excellent connectivity from Indian cities to Colombo. lighting our unique offerings.

Our next step is to educate travel agents, and later promote the destination through experts for both MICE and leisure segment. By opening a branch office in India, we would be more accessible to both travel agents and trav-

and business travellers wherein the visa is issued within 24 hours. There is also a Visa-on-Arrival facility for Indian citizens, which is charged US$5 extra over US$10 for the online tourist visa and US$ 15 for a business visa.

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RAILWAYS

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IRCTC runs Chardham tour again IRCTC launches the second edition of the Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri rail and land tour packages, after the success of its first offering.

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n a bid to provide a fillip to religious tourism, the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is now operating rail/land

Religious Offering The Chardham Rail Tour Packages from Mumbai (13 nights/14 days) costs ` 26,300; the one from Indore (13 nights/14 days) costs ` 25,150; from Ahmedabad (13 nights/14 days) it costs ` 25,850 (AC class accommodation in the train journeys above) while the Jaipur (12 nights/13 days) one costs ` 14,400 (SL class accommodation in the train journey). There is also a Chardham Land Tour Package from Delhi (11 nights/12 days) with an all inclusive cost of ` 21,150. There will also be EkDham (Badrinath) and Dodham (Badrinath and Kedarnath) land tour packages originating from Delhi and Haridwar. tour packages, which cover the holy shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunatri.

The Uttarakhand Chardham Circuit tour commenced on May 16 and will run till the third week of June. “The Uttarakhand Chardham Yatra is revered by

AI brings Boeing Dreamliners from May 22 Government-owned national carrier Air India expects to resume their global flights from May 22, 2013 with the government saying the airline would cut costs to the tune of ` 2,000 crore in the current financial year. The national carrier would begin full-scale global operations with these planes from Delhi to Birmingham and SydneyMelbourne from August, Rome and Milan from October and Moscow from later this year.

pilgrims from all parts of the country. Thousands of pilgrims visit these holy shrines every year during the summer months,” says Pradip Kundu, the JGM/PR, IRCTC. After its overwhelming success last year, this is the second time that IRCTC is making this kind of a pack-

age, in which berths have been earmarked for the Chardham Yatra in a number of trains originating from different parts of the country, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore and Jaipur. The yatra commences from Delhi and Haridwar as the two nodal points. The

package, which is said to be all-inclusive without any hidden costs, guarantees confirmed rail tickets in 3rdAC class from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore and in SL class from Jaipur for the toand-fro journey up to Delhi or Haridwar as the case may be. The other inclusions of

the package are exclusive road transport for passengers, non-AC accommodation at all destinations, meals including bed tea, breakfast and dinner, the services of a tour escort and a relaxed itinerary with overnight stay at every place after a day’s journey.

Pradip Kundu JGM/PR IRCTC

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EXHIBITIONS

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Incredible India on INDABA’s agenda In INDABA 2013, the message was loud and clear that India is the market of future for South Africa. It was clearly evident that the country is all set to accommodate more number of Indians in its tourist list. The owners of different resorts also shared their strategies for wooing Indian travellers.

2012; 106,774 Indians visited South Africa between January to December 2012 which is an increase of 18.2 per cent to the corresponding period last year.

“The month of December itself saw 9,110 Indians visiting South Africa which is an increase of 18.8 per cent from

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he colours of the Rainbow Nation wooed one and all at INDABA this year which was held in Durban from May 11-14 at ICC Stadium. No matter whether the stalls were of NTOs or hoteliers, agents or airlines, all had set Indian travellers as their focus. Said Hanneli Slabber, Country Head, South African Tourism, said, “The high airfares are a big constraint in bringing Indian arrivals to South Africa.” However, she felt happy informing that Emirates has changed its schedule to cater to the Indian market.

Slabber said that putting right information for Indian market is important for India market.

She was proud of the fact that repeat business has been going up for South African market. “Leisure is a real big market for us, but MICE has

Country Head, South African Tourism

also come up in a big way,” she adds. According to the latest arrival figures of December

AGENTSTALK

It was a pleasure to be part of INDABA 2013.

The exhibition did help showcase some existing & new potential opportunities not just in South Africa, but also rest of African countries. The response towards the Indian buyers was quite upbeat.

Vineet Raina Vice President, Outbound, Trail Blaizer India

John Paulose Kuoni Travel India

Besides these NTOs, even the Luxury Lodges and Hotels in South Africa look

Hanneli Slabber

We had a target of 100,000 Indian visitors by 2014, but we already achieved it in a year itself

I found it to be a good platform for the travel trade. With buyers and suppliers at one place, it helped us in getting good business leads.

I found Western Cape a suitable market for Indian travellers. However, I think we should have direct approach with decision makers there so that we can finalise the deals there and then itself.

It was an enthralling experience to be able to interact with exhibitors and operators at INDABA because it helped in understanding the various products that South Africa has to offer.

Apurva Marda Managing Director, Vibrant Holiday Destinations

have seen 30 per cent rise in numbers from India. Due to many Bollywood movies being shot here, we have already garnered a great response. To ensure that we continue getting big numbers, we are making our visa system quick and easier for Indians.”

Nils Flaatten Chief Executive Officer WESGRO

We are making our visa system quick and easier for Indians, to ensure we get good number of visitors December 2011. SA Tourism had set a target to achieve 1 lakh tourist arrivals from India by 2014, but we have managed to achieve that in a year itself in 2012,” she informed.

Nils Flaatten, Chief Executive Officer, WESGRO, The Western Cape Destination Marketing Investment and Trade Promotion Agency, South Africa, also shared his big plans for India. He said, “We will promote ‘Geo Caching’, our new campaign to be launched in July, and work with trade in India to ensure its successful promotion. In terms of visitors, we

Jaco Ehlers

Rodney Wyndham

Manon Van Der Veen

Sales Manager, Singita

Managing Director, SABI SABI

Marketing, Morukuru Family

We are doing everything to give Indian tourists a homely feeling in South Africa upon the India as a potential market. Cindy Sheedy Walker, from Extraordinary, a collection of Luxury Lodges and Hotels in South Africa, said, “We have a special Kingfisher (one of our properties) representative who looks after the India market.

We know that Indians love food and have therefore appointed special Indian chefs to cater to their taste.”

Jaco Ehlers, Sales Manager, Singita, had a

India is the fourth biggest tourism market for us, and we are confident of increasing our share proud smile on his face for hosting big Indian families like Ambanis. He says, “India market forms a substantial market and therefore, we are doing everything to give them a homely feeling in South Africa.”

Rodney Wyndham, Managing Director, SABI SABI also has big aspirations from the Indian market.

“India is the fourth biggest market for us. Presently, we are getting 4-6 per cent

Indian travellers are now asking for adventure activities and plush properties, which we offer business from India.

However, we are confident of increase in this market share,” he adds.

Manon Van Der Veen, Marketing, Morukuru Family, says that the group has set its focus on the Indian market as the travellers from this market are now asking for a combination of adventure activities and plush properties. “So, we hope to get good numbers in future,” she adds.

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HOTELS

JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

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Indian metros preferred destinations Metros dominate the top 10 favourite Indian destinations’ list for overseas travellers, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index statistics in 2012.

TT B U R E AU

A

ccording to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com, Indian metros dominate the top 10 favourite Indian destinations list amongst international

Top Indian destinations for overseas travellers Rank Destination 1 ..................................Delhi 2 ............................Mumbai 3 ....................................Goa 4 ..........................Bengaluru 5 ..............................Chennai 6 ................................Jaipur 7 ..................................Agra 8 ........................Hyderabad 9 ..............................Cochin 10..........Thiruvananthapuram

Jetescapes’ fly-cruise vacations JetEscapes, the holidays brand from Jet Airways, launches ‘FlyCruise’-exclusive vacations onboard the Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Mariner of the Seas in partnership with TIRUN Travel Marketing.

This ‘Fly-Cruise’ vacation is a comprehensive offer for Indian travellers as they combine airfares from Jet Airways with Royal Caribbean International’s cruises.

Packages are valid for sailings on June 01 and June 04, 2013. With accommodation in balcony cabins, these itineraries aboard Mariner of the Seas call on ports such as Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Malaysia, Singapore, and include return air travel in economy class to/from Singapore.

Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “This partnership further provides synergies for both Jet Airways and TIRUN Travel Marketing in the corporate and leisure markets.”

Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing, India Representative of Royal Caribbean International said, “This collaboration will allow guests a convenient and valuable option to book their cruise and air travel.”

travellers. New Delhi bags the number one spot as the most preferred Indian destination for overseas travellers, followed by the metropolitan city of Mumbai.

Other popular destinations for travellers include Bengaluru, Chennai and Agra on the 4th, 5th and 7th

positions respectively. Goa is the 3rd favourite destination among foreign travellers while Jaipur, the Pink City is on the 6th spot. The HPI report also reveals that South East Asian destinations dominate the top 10 favourite destinations list amongst Indian travellers

while travelling abroad.

According to the report, the great value rates available in Bangkok make it the most preferred international destination amongst Indians.

Singapore is ranked at number two on the list while Pattaya is on 4th spot, Hong Kong on the 5 th, Phuket on

the 7 th spot and Kuala Lumpur on the 9th. New York and Las Vegas represent America on the list, bagging the 8th and 10th spot respectively. London was the sole representative from Europe being on 6 th spot while Dubai bagged the 3rd position.

Top overseas destinations for Indian travellers Rank Destination 1 ............................Bangkok 2 ..........................Singapore 3 ................................Dubai 4 ..............................Pattaya 5 ........................Hong Kong 6 ..............................London 7 ................................Phuket 8 ............................New York 9 ....................Kuala Lumpur 10..........................Las Vegas

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FAMILY ALBUM JUNE 2-4

Cape Town

IATA: Annual General Meeting

3-6

Shanghai

International Luxury Travel Market Asia (ILTMA)

5-7

Thailand

Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2013

5-7

Guwahati

Macau Govt Tourist Office’s Sales Blitz

11-13

Chicago

Americas Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibitions (AIBTM)

13-16

Hong Kong

International Travel Expo

19-23

Vancouver

Cruise3sixty 2013

20-28

New Zealand

New Zealand Tourism’s VIP/ Directors Famil

21-23

Beijing

Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE)

26-27

New Zealand

Tourism New Zealand’s MEETINGS 2013

JULY 5-7

Kolkata

Travel & Tourism Fair - Kolkata

5-7

Australia

The Wagga Great Outdoor Expo

5-14

Brazil

Expotche

10-11

Honolulu

Hawaii Lodging Hospitality & Foodservice Expo

11-14

Germany

European Outdoor Trade Fair

12-14

Hyderabad

Travel & Tourism Fair - Hyderabad

13-14

Mumbai

Times Travel Trade Fair

17

Zambia

Mte Exhibition - Zambia: Solwezi

17-28

California

California Mid State Fair

19-21

Bengaluru

India International Travel Mart Bangalore

19

Zambia

Mte Exhibition - Zambia: Kitwe

20-24

Reno

STN Expo

24-27

China

Asia Outdoor Trade Fair

26-28

Gold Coast

Midyear Caravan, Camping, Boating & Fishing Expo

26-28

Chennai

India International Travel Mart Chennai

31-Aug 1 Delhi

Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link B2B Roadshow

AUGUST 3

Kolkata

Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow

5

Bengaluru

Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow

7

Mumbai

Tourism New Zealand’s Kiwi Link India B2B Roadshow

9-11

Aurangabad

India International Travel Exhibition

16-18

Ahmedabad

Travel & Tourism Fair Ahmedabad

20

Chennai

German India Pool’s B2B Event

22

Delhi

German India Pool’s B2B Event

23-25

Surat

Travel & Tourism Fair - Surat

25-28

Goa

Tourism Australia’s India Travel Mission

26

Chennai

Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event

27

Mumbai

Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event

29

Kolkata

Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event

29-31

Dubai

Royal india Luxury Show

30

Delhi

Hong Kong Tourism Board’s B2B Event

30-1Sept Mumbai

Travel & Tourism Fair - Mumbai

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

HAI hosts third conclave The Hotel Association of India (HAI) Hoteliers' Conclave 2013 was held at The Oberoi Gurgaon. Themed ‘Technology – Leading the Change’, the two-day conference witnessed brainstorming sessions around emerging and future technology trends. It also discussed how the hotel industry could leverage technology in different aspects of hoteliering to enhance experience as well drive profits.

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ANALYSIS

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Low safety standards mar adventure tourism Indians don’t have the same level of trust for home-grown adventure operators and instructors whether in India or abroad. The TripAdvisor Adventure Travel Survey interviewed 1,000 Indians, 50% of whom were planning an adventure holiday in the next six months. which interviewed nearly 1,000 Indians. Nearly 50 per cent of the Indians interviewed said they will go on an adventure holiday in the next six months and 46 per cent said they would try out extreme adventure sports.

However, over 50 per cent of them didn’t want to involve Indian companies or instructors in high-risk activities.

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hile Indian travellers have been bitten by the adventure tourism bug, most don’t trust Indian operators when it comes to high-risk activities, a survey conducted by online travel portal TripAdvisor reveals.

“Indians have a poor perception of Indian adventure sports instructors,” states the TripAdvisor Adventure Travel Survey,

Nikhil Ganju Country Manager TripAdvisor India

Adrenaline junkies to be While the share of respondents who claimed to participate in extreme sports regularly or occasionally was a surprising 30 per cent, what was even more impressive was the willingness of travellers to try such activities. About 16 per cent claimed to be open and willing to participate in all extreme sports while another 31 per cent, who had never participated in an extreme sport, were willing to try it out at least once in their life. And if they get addicted to the adrenaline, who knows? Interestingly, not only are Indians willing but as much as 61 per cent respondents are confident they are absolutely fit for any form of adventure sports.

While 75 per cent attributed their lack of faith to poor quality and maintenance of equipment, 70 per cent blamed it on overall low standards of safety. As much as 51 per cent respondents clearly refused to indulge in adventure activities which involved an element of risk, either in India or if they were managed by Indian instructors, even if it was in a foreign country.

According to Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, “The survey reveals that the

The price to pay

Top 5 destinations for adventure activities

Adventure travel comes at a heavy price. In fact, 60 per cent respondents claimed that they backed out from an adventure activity as it was simply too expensive.

This may not be an exaggeration as a hot air balloon ride in Masai Mara, Serengeti in Kenya or Luxor, Egypt can set you back by up to ` 20,000 or more. In fact, for the same experience in Jaipur and Ranthambore you would still dish out upwards of ` 10,000 for an hour in the skies. Similarly, skydiving in Dubai may leave your wallet lighter by ` 25,000 or more, which is the same amount you may pay for the sport at Aamby Valley in Maharashtra.

India

perception of Indian adventure instructors/operators is abysmal among travellers, with over 50 per cent respondents showing little faith in them for organising activities with an element of risk-safety being the primary concern.” He adds, “The Adventure Travel Survey clearly demonstrates the Indian travellers’ enthusiasm to add a dose of adventure to their holidays. About 53 per

cent of survey respondents claimed to be planning a holiday with the primary purpose of participating in an adventure activity/ sport within the next six months, with most popular activities ranging from camping and paragliding to bungee jumping, sky diving and scuba diving.”

Although 47 per cent of the respondents pre-plan their adventure activities, 37

Goa Himachal Pradesh Leh & Ladakh Rishikesh in Uttarakhand Andaman & Nicobar islands

International New Zealand Australia Thailand Switzerland Spain

per cent said such activities are more spontaneous decisions when they are on holidays. Also, friends are clear winners as company on adventure travel with 72 per cent respondents claiming them as their first and foremost choice.

Understandably, the next preference is spouses, with 47 per cent respondents wanting to pursue their adventure activities with their better halves.

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NEWS

Galaxy now stars in Worldhotels The only hotel in the NCR region to have this tie-up, Galaxy is now part of a chain of 500 hotels affiliated to Worldhotels.

M E G H A PAU L

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n a bid to enhance its Global Distribution System (GDS) to business and leisure travellers across the world, The Galaxy Hotel, Shopping and Spa has tied up with Worldhotels. The only hotel in the NCR region to have created this affiliation, Galaxy will now be a part of a chain of 500 hotels, managed by the group globally and be a part of the 10 premier properties in India who are affiliated to Worldhotels.

According to Pradipta N Biswas, GM, Galaxy Hotel, Shopping and Spa, the hotel is currently garnering around 12 per cent of its business from the OTAs. “With this recent tie-up, we are targetting an increase in this share to a minimum of up to 15 per cent,” he adds.

With this strategic and marketing and sales-oriented tie-up, the hotel will now be serviced on a global platform by a team of professionals, who set standards in global

Pradipta N Biswas General Manager Galaxy Hotel

sales, marketing and distribution support that is to be found only in major chains, the GM opines. Worldhotels’

Sales and Reservations offices in over 30 key locations worldwide will service the hotel for customers in their own language.

The Galaxy hotel will now be connected to highvalue business from over 500 key accounts, plus worldwide distribution channels that include preferred travel consortia, the Worldhotel’s websites, internet booking channels and online travel agencies.

Galaxy will also find support and commitment through the Worldhotels’ social media network; through Facebook and Twitter pages of Worldhotels. The global marketing and e-commerce team will further provide a range of services from branding to online CRM solutions.

The hotel has been operational since 2007.

Regarding the current occupancy at the property, he points out, “We are currently doing an average of 65 per cent occupancy at the hotel.

Going forward, the hotel is expecting an increase of another 12 per cent on the back of this tie up.”

New move With this strategic marketing and sales-oriented tie-up, the hotel will now be serviced on a global platform by a team of professionals, who set standards in global sales, marketing and distribution support that is to be found only in major chains

Reaching 500 agents in India Verchaska is a technology provider for the travel industry. Primarily based in Mumbai, it has expanded in both Delhi and Chennai.

S U S M I TA G H O S H

“T

hrough various trade show participations, we have reached out to almost more than 500 travel agents in India. We have 35 customers and all have come through word of mouth. We have signed up five more customers this year and are doubling the number of staff.

Presently, we are observing lot of young programmers coming in to innovate,” added Amitabh Mendiratta, VP – International Sales, Verchaska Infotech. “We are coming up with many mid-segment markets - one of the simple platforms that can access B2B and other segments.

We have observed 70 to 80 per cent growth in terms of closures in 2013 over 2012,” he said.

Since its inception in 2000, Verchaska is focussed in creating and delivering critical software solutions and services that range from web-based integrated business platforms to complex e– commerce solutions for travel companies. As a company, it’s passionate towards the business goal, ‘to help customers in solving their business problems using innovative software products and services’. Their software products and services reflect their fundamental thought process towards solution-finding.

The last 10 years of Verchaska growth was fuelled by key innovations in the enterprise space of the travel industry. It came out with the first web-based software platform in India that allowed customers to implement their travel e-commerce model in a cost effective way. This helped Verchaska secure

Amitabh Mendiratta VP – International Sales Verchaska Infotech

large marquee customers in India and globally. The next 10 years will be even more interesting imagining Verchaska playing a more fundamental and significant role in how the travel commerce is going to be shaped using technology.

With increasing pressure of global economics and decreasing margins, the focus will shift from process automation to business model innovation.

“We are marketing in Middle East for about a year and half now and have signed with dnata in Oct 2012. We are doing very big and challenging project for them, building B2B engine for the Iraq market. It’s not an easy project as it’s a complex market. We are doing virtual interlining, virtual training and virtual hubs for them so that you can actually cross and book a combined ticket with a full cost carrier along with low cost carrier, explained Mendiratta.

Did You Know?

It came out with the first web-based software platform in India that allowed customers to implement their travel e-commerce model in a cost effective way

Longest-ever Shikara race at Dal Lake

The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group organised the longest Shikara Race-‘The Lalit Shikarathon’ for the third time at Dal Lake recently. The Shikara race that started from The Lalit Point at Dal Lake, was cheered by thousands of locals, and witnessed participation of 100 shikaras from four locations- Nigeen Lake, Dal Lake, Manasbal and Jhelum River

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CLIPBOARD

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MOVEMENTS

TRAVTALK JUNE 1 ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

AirAsia India

Tourism Malaysia

Indian Travel Promotion Company

Mumbai

New Delhi

New Delhi

Mittu Chandilya has been appointed as the Chief Executive

Amran ABD Rahman has been promoted as the Director of

Sidhartha Roy has recently taken over as Senior Vice President

Officer of AirAsia India. Chandilya will assume office effective June 1, 2013. In his last role as Principal and Head of Services practice in Asia-Pacific at Egon Zehnder, he took leadership in the travel and hospitality segment where his primary focus was Aviation. Chandilya grew up in India, Africa and the USA and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics (Dean’s List) with a distinguishing triple major from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA. Chandilya also has MBA degrees from INSEAD, France/Singapore and from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Tourism Malaysia for New Delhi. Having a strong background in business, economics, management and international relations, Rahman started his stint with Tourism Malaysia in 1991. He was responsible for penetrating the Middle Eastern and Western European market for Malaysia Tourism in its early stages. Rahman started out as the Deputy Director of Tourism Malaysia in London, then as a Unit Head for Market Intelligence at Tourism Malaysia HO, moving on to become the First Director for Tourism Malaysia in Beijing.

– Business Development in Indian Travel Promotion Company and TRN Marketing and will be located in the company’s Gurgaon office. Roy was till recently associated with Travel House as Vice President for just under 5 years and brings with him 35 years of experience in marketing in service businesses, i.e. ITC Hotels, Accor, Hyatt, Jet Airways, Mudra and Rediffusion; these included leadership roles as well. He is a 1982-84 PGP from IIM, Calcutta.

Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida New Delhi

Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport

New Delhi

Greesh Bindra has been taken on by the Intercontinental Hotel

Mumbai

Ravi R has been appointed as the Director of Events for Hyatt

Group as the GM of Crowne Plaza, Greater Noida. Previously to this, he has also been the General Manager & Vice-President at The Suryaa New Delhi, Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon; Crowne Plaza Soaltee, Kathmandu; and the General Manager at Crowne Plaza, New Delhi. As of now, Bindra will be looking after the hotel and the convention centre.

Anang Chaturvedi has been newly appointed as the Director of Sales & Marketing, at the Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport. Anang brings with him 12 years of experience in the hotel industry. He started his career with the Marriott family at Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad as one of the core members of the pre-opening team in 2010. Prior to working at Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad, Anang had a considerable stint with Courtyard

by Marriott, Chennai both in front office and sales, from 2006 to 2008.

Hyatt Regency Gurgaon Regency Gurgaon. He is a qualified Hotel School graduate from IHM Bhubaneshwar and has been associated with Jaypee and Taj Hotels in the past. He has worked with Hyatt Hotels Corporation for over eight years now, starting as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at Grand Hyatt Mumbai. He was promoted to Director of Conventions and Events, and later to Director of Sales and Marketing at the same property.

Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre

Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport

The Leela Palace

Pune

Mumbai

New Delhi

Neha Saigal has been appointed as an Associate Director of Rooms

Kunal Shanker has joined as Executive Assistant Manager

at Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. She brings with her 10 years of experience in the customer service industry. Before joining Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre,Saigal was the Assistant Front Office Manager at Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International, where she was responsible for smooth functioning of the front office operations. Neha has also worked with JW Marriott Chandigarh as a Front Office Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai as an Assistant Front Office Manager and with Melbourne Marriott Hotel, Australia as an Assistant Front Office Manager.

Kunal Chauhan has been taken on as the Resident Manager of

at Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport. He will be responsible for hotel operations and sales/marketing. He has been associated with the InterContinental Hotels Group for the last 14 years. Before joining the Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport, Shanker was working at Holiday Inn Cochin and Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kathmandu as Executive Assistant Manager responsible for hotel operations and sales/marketing.

The Leela Palace New Delhi. He brings with him over 13 years of hospitality experience working with luxury hotel chains in India.

In the capacity of a Resident Manager, Chauhan will oversee and drive operations and initiatives for the group’s flagship property in New Delhi. He has earlier been associated with The Leela Group spearheading the F&B affairs at The Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon. And before taking up the mantle to manage the Palace, Kunal led the project development for The Leela Palace, Jaipur.

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

Contributed by: Peden Doma Bhutia, Vivek Sethi & Megha Paul

Sandeep Dwivedi , Chief Commercial Officer,

Sandeep Dwivedi Chief Commercial Officer InterGlobe Technology Quotient

InterGlobe Technology Quotient, is a Chartered Accountant by qualification. According to him, he has been the finance person throughout his life. “I had recently moved into the corporate side and like interacting with various business leaders.

My stint in the finance side has taught me to balance work and life. I am an off loader, when it comes to planning holidays and love travelling with my motorbike group of friends exploring hills or deserts. I love to spend time with my six-yearold daughter and my wife who works in a fashion house, “ he adds.

Vasudha Sondhi, Managing Director, Outbound Marketing, doesn't get a lot of spare time as she needs to travel a lot.

However, music is one of her passions that keep her going. “I learnt to play the sitar for 10 years, which is like 20 years ago.

Now I am learning light music on Vasudha Sondhi Managing Director the keyboard,” she says. Sondhi Outbound Marketing is also an avid reader. “I read a lot…mostly historical fictions. I have read all of William Dalrymple’s book. Currently, I am reading his latest one on Afghanistan. I like reading Hindi literature as well.” Sondhi also loves gardening.

Marion Walsh-Hédouin Group Director of Public Relations & Communications, Minor Hotel Group

Satya Prakash, GM, Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi Saket, says, "Like every child draws the picture of a hut, stream and mountains with sun shining on top, I have been picturing myself in that drawing. And now my dream has come true.” Prakash has recently bought a land tract in Nainital and is very excited about the future Satya Prakash times. "I obviously do not get time but General Manager I keep running to Nainital whenever I Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi Saket get time. I have always lived in big cities and thus, this comes as such a refreshing change. And like any dream, the added perk is that a natural spring has been discovered in my land. So, it is clean crystal water straight from Mother Nature," he chuckles.

Marion Walsh-Hédouin, Group Director of Public Relations & Communications, Minor Hotel Group was born and raised in Ireland. Marion is currently based out of Bangkok and she loves the city. "It is such a lively and vivacious place where you have the right mix of nature, people, culture and food." One of her favourite destinations in the world is India. "I have been to India number of times and every time I try to go to a different geographical location. One of my favourite experiences in the country was the Ladakh trip. When we trekked to the peaks, the sights there were unbelivable. There was such a beautiful amalgamation of the colours of browns and greens in the area. The best sight was the planes almost touching the peaks," she reminisces.

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Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication:30-05-2013

HIGHLIGHT

Not just an add-on destination India is high on New Zealand’s tourism map. Offering better visa facilities, focussing on MICE and keeping travel agents at the centre of their marketing plans, are some of the steps to increase inflow of Indian tourists.

G U N JA N SA B I K H I

T

ourism is a very important aspect of New Zealand’s financial budget this year and the country is investing $44.5 million to attract visitors from emerging growth markets and $24.5 million to boost tourism from existing markets.

lining is that Air New Zealand is acquiring Dreamliner aircraft, the only aircraft capable of flying this route.

focus both on the trade and consumer.”

At present, most of the travellers use New Zealand as an add-on destination with Australia but the country has

Auckland, will allow us to host more, and significantly larger conferences,” says Key. Adding to this, Bowler says, “Till now, we have hosted only mediumsized conferences

Kevin Bowler, Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand, also stresses on the Our new convention centres in huge potential in Christchurch and Queenstown, and the India, “We will focus on marketproposed Conference Centre ing the destina“Attracting more in Auckland, will allow us to tion among the tourists from growing martrade through the host more conferences kets such as India, Indonesia Kiwi specialist and Latin America is a key programmeJohn Key, Prime Minister and part of the Government’s roadshows, trade Minister of Tourism, New Zealand strategy for tourism. These and media fams. countries have strong ecoWe are very and incentives mainly in much more to offer. It is an nomic growth and a big numexcited about co-hosting the Auckland, Queensland & all land accessible driving ber of people with huge 2015 Cricket World Cup with Christchurch but we will now destination, easy to move spending power to travel,” Australia and are trying to concentrate on increasing the around and distances are relsays John Key, Prime host one Indian game also.”

MICE traffic into the country atively much shorter. as we have many interesting “Visitor numvenues to offer.” bers from India Discussing their shorthave been steadily We are very excited about term prospects, Bowler adds, growing, with co-hosting the 2015 Cricket “Now our focus for the next almost 30,000 visithree years will be to grow the tors in 2012. Indian World Cup with Australia portfolio of the markets and tourists tend to visit and are also trying to host marketing activities on clearly from April to June, defined higher value visitors. making them an one Indian game important source of Key also has high hopes visitors during our Kevin Bowler, Chief Executive, pinned on the tourism indusautumn season,” Tourism New Zealand try, stating, “Tourism in the adds Key. next five years will be significantly large because of the Along with international trends. Pointleisure, New Zealand is also Discussing their marMinister and Minister of to-point connectivity with focussing on MICE tourism. keting plans, he adds, “Till Tourism, New Zealand. long range aircraft will “We will spend $34 million in now, we have invested heavKey highlights that New encourage travel. Low cost the next four years to signifiily in a digital strategy to Zealand will spend more airlines are making the travel cantly expand our focus on reach customers directly and money to open more offices in more affordable for a much international business events, to facilitate their planning, India and speed up the visa broader audience. And lastly, including conferences, conbut I believe that for a destiprocessing time in Delhi and Asia is fast growing. It is getventions and exhibitions. nation such as New Zealand, Mumbai. The issue of limited ting much wealthier which is Our new convention centres the travel agent will conair connectivity is also a big directly reflecting the numin Christchurch and tinue to be important for challenge. Hoping for direct ber of people travelling. A Queenstown, and the proa long time to come. connections between Mumbai combination of this will make posed New Zealand Hence our marketing and Auckland is also not a travel, easy to go, more International Conference plan will dream in the distant future. affordable and drive people Centre in Though still a challenge, to New Zealand.” the silver