TravTalk June 2nd by Ashish Chakraborty

A DDP PUBLICATION

Pages: 52 (Excluding cover)

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Vol. XXIV No. 12; June 2 nd fortnight issue 2012

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TRAVTALK

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JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Stop bleeding Indian carriers!

While majority of Indian airlines are facing financial turbulence, especially in domestic operations, it is high time to adopt some pragmatic antidotes to fly high. Dinesh Keskar, Vice President - Sales, Asia-Pacific & India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes shares his thoughts... R ATA N K R P A U L

n an exclusive interview with , Keskar strongly advocated for adequate corrections, which should be from within the airline community in India. Keskar said, “A viable price mechanism and a rational capacity deployment should be the two-pronged strategy that the airlines must adopt to stop bleeding.” According to him, in view of the escalating aviation fuel price hike with additional tax burden on the

Dinesh Keskar Vice President - Sales Asia-Pacific & India, Boeing

airlines industry in India, there is no other affective

alternative to remain in the business. On the other hand, there is a mismatch between demand and supply. Presently supply (capacity) is more than demand. As a result, cost remains on the higher side as compared to revenue earned. He, however, maintained that decrease of capacity is already happening, though not deliberately. For instance, one of the major airlines has grounded its flights and some have squeezed their services, because of dwindling revenues on certain routes.

“At this moment the viable option is to increase fare at the proportionate way to offset the increasing expenses,” he emphasised. When asked about safeguarding the consumers’ interest in these testing times for the aviation industry as a whole, Keskar unequivocally maintained that it is always desirable to see flying aircraft rather than grounded ones. It would not be a good thing for the coun-

try’s economy to imagine that the aviation industry is crawling for its survival. “Yes, there would be less traffic in air. However, it is always welcome to witness the industry, Contd. on page 33

Boeing’s Forecast According to Boeing’s current Forecast Report about India, the country would be requiring 1,320 aircraft (worth US$ 150 billion) in 20 years. There might be a slight change in the Boeing India Forecast, which will be unveiled in mid July this year

Suri makes a clean sweep W

hen we asked you to choose the most popular woman in the travel industry we had hardly anticipated the gusto with which you’d reply. The response we received was simply overwhelming and the person who came out

trumps in the poll was Jyotsna Suri, the Chairperson and Managing Director of The Lalit! Suri registered a clean sweep over the other ladies. For the second and third positions, the names of Sunita Patil, the Pioneering Founder of Kesari Tours and Veena Patil, MD, Kesari Tours, were the most prominent.

The others nominated were: Sunita Patil

Veena Patil Priya Paul Ritika Modi Urrshila Kerkar Tina Kunerga Garima Tuli Renu Kapoor Nagsri Prasad Nandini Verma

Jyotsna Suri Chairperson and Managing Director The Lalit

Foreign airlines weather Indian turbulence See full story on page 14

Cross-border highway to speed tourism? See full story on page 16

Tribal Tourism: The way forward See full story on page 36

Cost competency @Delhi Duty Free See full story on page 40

BULLETIN

‘Buying time’ for weekly payments The verdict on the weekly payments is out and IATA decided to defer it till Oct. 31, 2012. Trade associations have 5 months to either train their members or remove the weekly payment settlement concept from India. A N I TA J A I N

o ease the struggling Indian travel agents fraternity, International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced to defer the implementation of the weekly settlement system till October 31, 2012. The association had announced the execution of the weekly settlement system from June 1, 2012, but received strong protest from the travel trade associations like TAAI, TAFI and IAAI. With the latest verdict from IATA, the associations have bargained a duration of ‘five months’ to either educate their members on weekly settlement plan or Contd. on page 50

Ajay Prakash

Biji Eapen

Iqbal Mulla

President, TAFI

President, IAAI

President, TAAI

It’s a relief for a major chunk of travel agents in India operating in small and mid-sized travel companies

The five months are just grace period for travel fraternity to prepare for the inevitable

For the next five months, we will educate our fellow members about the weekly payments system

STATISTICS

Liquor tops demand at Duty Free

VIEWPOINT

CAPA’s India Travel Retail Report, which was released on May 22, 2012, surveyed more than 7,000 passengers across 12 airports and highlights the massive potential of travel retail in India. Excerpts:

he traditional notion of participating in trade exhibitions has undergone a sea change. It is no longer viewed as an outing to reinforce the company’s superior image in the marketplace. In recent years, trade exhibitions have consolidated their position as an effective marketing tool. Trade events and exhibitions create multifarious opportunities to enhance brand and product visibility, promote new and existing products, generate leads, and drive sales. It is definitely an economic way to gain market share. Experts in the industry were at one time convinced that virtual and social networking world would destroy the need for human interface. However, most of the professionally managed trade exhibitions have used these additional tools and incorporated it in their repertoire to make it a complete package. It does become an ideal place to establish business contacts, to meet up with existing clients and to win over new clients. However, the key to success is to identify markets and target groups. It is also important to identify and understand the objective while participating in events. Mere presence does not guarantee business. A lot of work goes into preparing for a show which should also include a real estimate on the return of investments. Participation at shows can be very distinctly divided into three categories: marketing initiatives done before the show, engaging prospective buyers during the show and an aggressive post show follow up. Secondary benefits from attending international events help companies get a clear idea about competition-who they are and how do they fare as compared to oneself. Exhibitions provide on-the-spot feedback on new products as well as existing ones. Trade events are the best way to sound out the markets, to learn future trends and in general to grow in the fiercely competitive environment.

Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Publisher Rupali Narasimhan Editorial Director Deepa Sethi Editor

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

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

T T B U R E AU

ndia’s underperformance in the duty free channel stems from a number of factors including a lack of good airport retail infrastructure, distribution complexities and a previously rigid investment policy.

International Duty Free Sales by Category at Indian Airports FY2011

Tobacco Confectionery

Destination Super Market Others

Exhibiting change!

Fragrance

Current Profile of Duty Free spend at Indian Airports

14% Wines & Spirits

63%

In FY2011, duty free stores across India turned over an estimated US $ 215 million, with Delhi Airport leading the way at US $ 72.7 million. Liquor is the leading duty free category in India, accounting for 63% of sales. It should be noted that of the $3.5 billion forecast, close to 70% is projected to be generated at the PublicPrivate-Partnership (PPP) airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin. These airports already have a strong demonstrated commercial orientation, said CAPA. Delhi Airport has the greatest prospects to establish itself as a hub airport.

Growth Chart In FY2011, duty free stores across India turned over an estimated US $ 215 million, with Delhi Airport leading the way at US $ 72.7 million Liquor is the leading duty free category in India, accounting for 63% of sales

Conclusion

Top categories passengers would like at Indian Airports Airport

1st

2nd

3rd

Delhi Mumbai Ahmedabad Amritsar Bengaluru Kolkata Jaipur Cochin Goa Hyderabad Chennai Pune

Souvenirs Sports Good Fashion & Clothing Fashion & Clothing Electronic Goods Fashion & Clothing Electronic Goods Alcohol Electronics Goods Cosmetics Fashion & Clothing Fashion & Clothing

Electronic Good Fashion & Clothing Sports Good Cosmetics Watches/Jewellery Electronic goods Watches/Jewellery Watches/Jewellery Sports Good Electronic Goods Electronic Goods Electronics Goods

Books Electronic Goods Electronic Goods Electronic Goods Cosmetics Cosmetics Cosmetics Confectionery Watches/Jewellery Fashion & Clothing Fragrances Sports Good

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

TRAVTALK is a publication of 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

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

The publisher assumes no responsibility for returning any material solicited or unsolicited nor is he responsible for material lost or damaged. This publication is not meant to be an endorsement of any specific product or services offered. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw, amend or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian and International Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by delayed publication, error or failure of an advertisement to appear.

The CAPA study found that the key challenge for retailers and brands will be to understand that the Indian consumer is incredibly diverse in terms of income levels, travel experience and tastes and that this is further complicated by rapidly changing socioeconomic influences. Detailed research about the consumer must be central to the planning, design and development of retail formats.

MUMBAI:

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

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17, Mummy’s Colony, Kowdiar, P.O., Trivandrum-695003, Kerala Mob.: +91 9747511144

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CRUISE

Cruises sailing through the sliding ` crisis Unlike other segments where travel insurance companies themselves increase the insurance premium, experts feel that the cancellation protection policy (which is a major part of the travel insurance) priced in dollars, isn’t much affected by the sliding rupee concern. M E G H A PAU L

ravellers going abroad might have to dole out more money as travel insurance premium may rise due to the slipping rupee. The AprilJune quarter is usually the best for the travel insurance segment but the presumption by some analysts that the rupee may fall to a 60-mark low in coming days has raised the concerns of the insurers. Insurance companies pay claims for outbound travel insurance in foreign currencies but collect premiums in Indian rupee. Thus, the rupee fall has affected the general insurance firms. But, this is not true in case of cruises where the cancellation protection policy is priced in dollars. Commenting on how no additional cost would be borne by the Princess Cruises passengers, Nishith Saxena, Director, Cruise Professionals says, “Most insurance products offered to Indian outbound travellers are priced in Rupee and the insurance companies have to shell out a specific amount to their corresponding partners overseas in US$. Given the current high US$ to rupee exchange rate, the settlement with the overseas insurance company would be at a higher rate. If the same logic is

Travel Insurance Insurance companies pay claims for outbound travel insurance in foreign currencies but collect premiums in Indian rupee. Even though the rupee fall has badly affected the general insurance companies in India. Nonetheless it does not effect in the case of cruises

applied to any/all travel products, it should affect the travel cost positively but premium segment cruiselines such as Princess Cruises always maintains the cost of their Cancellation Fee Waiver programme in US$. Therefore there is no

lation penalties without any paper work/medical certificate. In addition, this programme covers damage or loss to baggage during the voyage, in case of passenger sails,” he claims.

Nishith Saxena

Gautam Chadha

Director Cruise Professionals

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

This programme also covers damage or loss to baggage during the voyage, in case of passenger sails additional cost which has to be borne by the Princess Cruises passengers.” According to Saxena, the Cancellation Fee Waiver programme is pegged at 10 per cent of the cruise fare (Cruise Cost + Port Charges). This cover needs to be purchased along with the deposit payments at least 75 days prior to the sail date and this covers up to 100 per cent cancellation penalties till five working days prior to the sail dates. “There is no such programme in the industry which protects passengers against cancel-

Unlike an insurance company which directly hikes the cost of the premium, in our case, we do not hike the prices Reiterating the impact of this cancellation protection programme, Gautam Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing, India Representative, Royal Caribbean Cruises feels, “Our cancellation protection programme is a combination of insurance and assurance. And this is priced in dollar. So unlike an insurance company which would directly hike the cost of the premium, in our case, we do not hike the prices. However, it might still impact our Indian customers due to the exchange rates between dollar and rupee.”

Patna gets its first mall hotel Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has recently announced the opening of Vijay Tej Clarks Inn in Patna. It is among the five hotels added to its portfolio this year, the others being in Delhi-NCR, Pune, Lucknow and Jim Corbett. “We are extremely delighted to foray in this market,” said

SN Srivastava, Vice President, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels. “We recognise great potential in Patna, in both business as well as leisure segments. Bihar is also emerging in rank and profile as a leisure destination in the domestic as well as the international market.”

NEWS

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

Will ‘Maharaja’ rule Indian skies again? With an objective of showcasing employee-friendly initiatives, Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced the implementation of Justice ‘Dharmadhkari’ Committee Report for the revival of Air India (AI). R ATA N K R P A U L

he deadlock is still on owing to the AI pilots’ strike, resulting in an adverse impact especially in the international services of the airline. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), however, asserted that about 75 per cent international flights were operational and the AI management is planning to hire pilots to make all international flights of the Airline operational. Till

Ajit Singh Union Minister for Civil Aviation

We have decided to form an ‘Implementation Committee’ to discuss the recommendations pertaining to employees’ benefits the time of filing of this story, the Airline was operating 38 flights a day out of 45 regular international flights. According to the minister, from August 1, AI will start a new flight between Delhi & Kuala Lumpur. Prior to that, AI will connect Hong Kong from July 1, which will be further extended to Seoul and Osaka from August 1. Moreover, with an objective of showcasing employee-friendly initiatives, MoCA (the national carrier AI is under this ministry) has announced the implementation of Justice ‘Dharmadhkari’ Committee Report on the revival of AI.

On The Rise 75 per cent AI international flights are operational The AI management is planning to hire pilots to make all the international flights of the Airline operational

Unveiling the salient features of the report, Ajit Singh, Civil Aviation Minister, maintained that the report was the key to make AI work on its growth trajectory. “AI is in a serious crisis. Human resources development is an effective

way to bring the national carrier into business. The success of recently announced turn-around of the Airline is heavily dependent on the efficiency of the airlines’ management and other employees,” said the Minister.

The Justice Dharmadhikari Committee Report also suggested bringing in rationality pertaining to pay scale and promotion, with an objective to resolve the controversy and in-fight between the employees of erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India. It is

worth mentioning that the conflict of interest was one of the major reasons behind the AI pilots’ strike. Nevertheless, there are some anomalies in this report, which can further create new controversies. “We have decided to form an ‘Implementation Committee’

to discuss the recommendations pertaining to employees’ benefits in the combined entity (AI) after the merger,” Singh stated. He also maintained that soon AI would announce a new business plan to make the airline strong and profitable by 2014.

8 TRAVTALK

HOTELS

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Radisson Blu Indore, Jet Airways and MP Tourism join hands

Indore: Now a leisure and pilgrim hub Radisson Blu Indore, on its 2nd anniversary, has a ‘Big Idea’ for the city; the idea to convert Indore into a leisure and pilgrim destination. The hotel, with Jet Airways and MP Tourism, is working aggressively in this direction. ARCHANA SHARMA

“H

ow many of us are familiar with the fact that Indore has two ‘jyotirlingas’ in its vicinity; Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain and Omkareshwar near Khandwa?” asks Arun Arora, General Manager, Radisson Blu. “In fact, there are a very few number of travellers who

are aware of this fact and therefore, awareness is the need of the hour to promote Indore as a pilgrim destination,” he opines.

by demonstrating the best practices in environmentally sustainable operations in association with EarthCheck. “ I am delighted that Hotel Radisson Blu Indore has achieved this benchmark, and topped the list across the world in its first year of its operations,” Stewart Moore, CEO, EarthCheck.

and Omkareshwar. Speaking on the strategic move of tapping leisure and pilgrim segments, Arora says,

“While we will consistently focus on business travellers, we see great potential in Leisure and Pilgrimage travel segment.

Taking up the responsibility of implementing this ‘Big Idea’, Radisson Blu Indore has come out with two special packages, ‘Mandu-Maheshwar & Beyond’ and Jyotirlinga Darshan respectively.

Top Benchmark Achiever Radisson Blu Hotel, Indore added one more feather to its cap by securing the top benchmark certification from Earth Check Australia, for its efforts in operational efficiency and reducing its environmental footprints. The hotel has raised the bar in operational excellence

While the first package comes at a price of ` 23,999 + applicable taxes, the latter is

Arun Arora General Manager, Radisson Blu

available at ` 19,999 + applicable taxes. The Jyotirlinga Darshan promises two night stay for a couple inclusive of guided tour to Ujjain and Omkareshwar. ManduMaheshwar & Beyond promises three night stay for a couple and is inclusive of tour of Mandu, Maheshwar, Ujjain

Proximity to two Jyotirlingas – Ujjain and Omkareshwar makes Indore an ideal destination to stay to visit these places. For leisure travellers, world-famous Maheshwar & Mandu are just 2 hours from here.” We also see a great potential for MICE in Indore. Indore is very well connected by air, road and rail from

major metro towns. Its central location and large inventory at Radisson Blu Hotel Indore along with meeting and banquet spaces makes it an ideal place for MICE. We have special packages for MICE. The ‘12 Benefits’ programme, which has been specially launched for MICE, is a wonderful opportunity to organise meetings and events at Indore,” he adds. Presently, the hotel is positioned as a business hotel and is receiving a good occupancy rate from corporate travellers. “Indore is often referred to as the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh with a bulk of its trade coming from small, mid and large scale manufacturing and service industries. These industries range from automobile to pharmaceutical and from software

to retail and from textile trading to real estate. Business traveller constitutes the major share of the market,” Arora explained. Looking at the wedding segment, the hotel is bringing up a banquet hall adjacent to the property. “We are creating a large banquet facility of around 40,000 sq ft with state-of-the-art facilities to help position Indore as a destination for conducting large conferences, conventions and events,” he concludes.

MICE in Indore The ‘12 Benefits’ programme, which has been specially launched for MICE, is a wonderful opportunity to organise meetings and events at Indore

10 TRAVTALK

HOTELS

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

“The Best of the Best” The Leela Palace New Delhi is the only hotel in India to be named among the ‘Best of the Best’ hotels in the world by Robb Report, USA, which is a deﬁnitive authority on the most prestigious luxury brands around the globe. ulminating an entire year’s search for the most exceptional new products and services on earth, Robb Report USA handpicked The Leela Palace New Delhi for offering the finest in luxury, placing the hotel amongst the most elite in the world.

and holistic consultations with trusted correspondents, associates, and veterans in the luxury-hospitality community who selected the most exceptional and exclusive properties around the globe. The result is a one-ofa kind compendium of destinations that Robb Report recommends to connoisseurs and elite audiences.

The exclusive list of winners, announced in the 24th annual flagship edition, ‘Best of the Best’ Hotels 2012, is a result of thorough

Commenting on the recognition, Tamir Kobrin, General Manager, The Leela Palace New Delhi said, "We are delighted to be the only

T T B U R E AU

Coffee Day’s Resort

the highly respected team at Robb Report. This prestigious honour reaffirms our commitment towards serving and satisfying the world’s most discerning travellers and leisure seekers.

hotel in India awarded with the recognition as the world’s best hotels by

With just one year of operation under our belt, we have been ranked amongst the world’s best and this is just the beginning.”

The Leela Palace which opened last year is fast gaining critical acclaim for its world-class facilities and traditional Indian hospitality. The latest property launch by The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has set new standards of luxury in the hospitality industry in India.

making it one of the most sought-after destinations for discerning business and leisure travellers.

The Leela Palace New Delhi offers the largest guest rooms in the capital city; unparalleled culinary experiences, award winning ESPA spa facility and an infinityedge rooftop swimming pool,

The latest property launch by The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has set new standards of luxury in the hospitality industry in India

Rising Glory Only hotel in India to join the finest league of luxury hotels worldwide

Asia on Indian travellers’ minds

Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Indian metros such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are amongst Company unveils its third property; the favourite Indian destinations for domestic as well as international The Serai, Bandipur in Karnataka. travellers; reveals the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com. TT B U R E AU

fter the success of its coffee chain – Café Coffee Day in India, Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company has forayed into the hospitality

Vejay Anand President – Marketing Coffee Day Hotels and Resorts

sector through its subsidiary Coffee Day Hotels and Resorts. The company has recently unveiled its latest luxury resort property – The Serai, Bandipur, in Karnataka after The Serai, Chikmangalur and

The Serai, Kabini. The 35-acre property is located close to Bandipur National Park offering 24 rooms. It also houses a multi-cuisine restaurant with a seating capacity of 90 pax. Talking about marketing strategies to promote the properties, Vejay Anand, President – Marketing, Coffee Day Hotels and Resorts said, “Travel trade being one of the key contributors, we are encouraging them to sell The Serai, Bandipur property by providing them special inaugural commission depending on sales volume.

We are planning to expand our hotel chain of The Serai resorts beyond Karnataka and are looking at taking over an existing property in the Andaman.”

TT B U R E AU

he latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com reveals that Asian destinations dominate the top 10 list of favourite overseas destinations for Indian travellers. Singapore retains its place as the most popular overseas destina-

Top domestic destinations in 2011 For Indian travellers Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

For foreign travellers

Destination Rank New Delhi 1 Calangute 2 Mumbai 3 Varca 4 Goa 5 Bengaluru 6 Jaipir 7 Chennai 8 Hyderabad 9 Baga 10

(Hotels.com’s HPI report)

Destination New Delhi Mumbai Bengaluru Chennai Jaipur Agra Goa Hyderabad Cochin Kolkata

tions for Indian travellers ahead of Bangkok which is placed second on the list. Other Asian destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Pattaya and Phuket enjoy the 6th, 8th and 10th positions respectively on the list. London is the 5 most favourite destination for Indians travelling overseas. Interestingly, it is the only European destination that features in the top 10 list of favourite overseas destinations for Indian travellers. On the other hand, two American destinations feature on the list – with New York at the 7th position and Las Vegas at the 10th. Dubai, an old favourite with Indians, enjoys the 3rd spot on the list. th

The report also reveals that metro cities dominate the top Indian destinations list for domestic as well as overseas travellers. According to the report,

New Delhi is the most preferred destination for both, domestic and international travellers. Other metros which feature

Top overseas destinations for Indian travellers in 2011 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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

(Hotels.com’s HPI report)

amongst the top 10 ranks in both lists are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. Mumbai finds itself at the 2nd spot on the list for

international travellers and on the 3rd spot on the list for Indian travellers. Bengaluru seems to be more popular with international travellers at 3rd place whereas on the Indian travellers list it is placed on the 6th position. Chennai is the 4th most favourite city amongst the overseas travellers, whereas amongst the Indian travellers it occupies the 8th position. IT city Hyderabad is almost equally preferred by Indian and overseas travellers, occupying the 8 th position for overseas travellers and 9 th for the Indians. Apart from the metros, Goa and Jaipur also hold positions in the top 10 list of favourite destinations for Indian and overseas travellers.

12 TRAVTALK

AVIATION

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

for Indian students British Airways recently announced its exciting annual promotional offer for university students travelling to the UK, US, Canada and select European destinations. This initiative allows students flying with British Airways between June 1 and October 30, 2012 to carry an extra piece of luggage weighing up to 23 kg in addition to the permitted checked in allowance

Student Offer The existing baggage allowance is 23 kg to the UK and customers connecting to the US are entitled to two pieces of 23 kg each The Matrix SIM card will be delivered to the customer absolutely free of cost Students flying British Airways to USA will get 300 minutes of free call back to India on an annual US student connection Students flying British Airways to UK will get 400 minutes of free call back to India on an annual UK student connection

(conditions apply). To make travel easier, British Airways has teamed up with partners to provide special offers and attractive discounts to students bound for foreign universities.

"Our student offer is extremely popular and we are delighted to be able to offer our young customers an enhanced assortment of benefits this year. Students travelling with BA this year will receive exclusive assistance to make their entire experience one of ease and comfort." said Christopher Fordyce, Regional Commercial Manager, British Airways, South Asia. The offer is valid for students holding a valid student visa to the UK, Europe, USA or Canada only. The outbound travel must be completed on or before October 30, 2012, originating in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Chennai.

Indian agents are our focus: BA 2012 is a landmark year for London and British Airways plans to make the most of it. The airline is offering special fares and strengthening relations with the Indian travel agents. gives details… D E V I KA J E E T

osting the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympic, Paralympic Games and hundreds of festivals this year, London is sure to be buzzing with tourists this year. Making most of this opportunity, British Airways will participate at events across the world to welcome more tourists. Wooing the Indian travellers, the airline offers fantastic opportunity to experience London in light of the celebrations in 2012. To begin with, British Airways has also opened its archives to reveal the long-standing history between the airline and the British Royal Family. “British Airways has been in India for the last 83 years and is working towards offering Indian passengers the finest services. We launched our codeshare with

American Airlines a month ago and now offer seamless transfers to a number of destinations in North America,” says Christopher Fordyce,

Christopher Fordyce Regional Commercial Manager British Airways

Regional Commercial Manager, British Airways. Highlighting the airline’s long-standing relationship with the travel agents, Fordyce adds,

“The ratio of the percentage of business through travel agents in India is high. It’s more than half. The travel agents are a significant part of our work and they are valuable partners. We conduct a lot of joint events and promotions along with the travel agents. Our account managers are constantly developing the relationship and we also offer incentive and training programmes for the trade.” India is a key market for the airline network and they work actively to grow in this market. At present, British Airways flies to five destinations in India; Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and

Chennai. “We want to give the agents as much knowledge as we can about the product, provide them with some great fares to sell and then help them sell it. Our trade partners are an extension of the sales team so we want to offer them with the most we can,” adds Fordyce.

India Calling British Airways has been in India for the last 83 years and is working towards offering Indian passengers the finest services India is a key market for the airline network and BA works actively to grow in this market At present, British Airways flies to five destinations in India; Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai

AGENTS

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

2-digit traffic from India despite slowdown Emirates Holidays, the tour operating arm of Emirates Airlines recorded a double digit trafﬁc growth from India in 2011-12. The company also launched its latest ‘A World of Choice 2012-13’ brochure featuring new destinations. T T B U R E AU

t has also launched ‘Dubai and Emirates’ brochure exclusively for Dubai as a destination. According to Nadeem Ulde, Business Development ManagerIndia, Emirates Holidays; the

Nadeem Ulde Business Development Manager- India Emirates Holidays

company has recorded double-digit growth from India in the previous fiscal and

IRCTC starts training under ‘Hunar Se Rozgar’ IRCTC, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, recently started the ‘Hunar Se Rozgar’ training programme at the Indian Railway Customer Care Institute at Kishanganj in Delhi. Inaugurated by Satya Prakash, AM (T&C), Railway Board, last month, the programme is aimed at creating employable skills in the hospitality sector under the Capacity Building Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism. Speaking at the inaugural function, Prakash applauded the role of IRCTC in providing quality hospitality education to youngsters from weaker sections of society to fulfill the demand of skilled manpower in the industry. Those between 18 – 28 years of age, having passed at least class 8, will be eligible to receive training. Rakesh Tandon, MD, IRCTC also said that there is a huge potential in the hospitality industry, especially with the inbound tourism growing rapidly in India. There are two short-term training programmes, which have been started with batch strength of 25 trainees in each course.

expects similar growth in 2012-13. He said, “Through the new brochure, we intend to reach out directly to our travel trade partners (only IATA agents). Even though end travellers come directly to us,

we forward the query to one of our travel partner as we work on pure B2B basis. So, we will continue to strengthen our partnership with the travel trade through direct mailers, roadshows, sales calls and training programmes.

We have over 200 regular travel partners from across India with more adding to the list every month.

To encourage our partners, we constantly come out with attractive fares, discounts, prices, incentives and even FAMs.” Without divulging any figures, Ulde informed that it expects a double-digit growth in business from India. “We have launched

new leisure packages to compliment our new air routes to new destinations. There is a high demand for Middle East and Europe from India and to cater the needs, we have both fixed and customised packages for Indian travellers.”

14 TRAVTALK

AVIATION

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Foreign airlines weather Indian turbulence CAPA India’s International Aviation Outlook 2012-13 foresees a number of developments which could surprise and re‐define the aviation sector. Here are the excerpts… T T B U R E AU

hile the Indian aviation sector has been through various ups and downs, international traffic has been the steady performer, growing at a compound annual rate of 11.8 per cent over the last eight years.

International traffic growth of 8-10 per cent International passenger traffic is projected to grow by 8-10 per cent in FY2012/13 to reach approximately 44 million. However, much will depend upon the development of Air India, which has the largest share of international capacity in India at 14.4 per cent. Short-haul international traffic growth to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Gulf and Central Asia, is expected to be above 10 per cent as IndiGo and SpiceJet ramp up their overseas operations. GoAir has also applied

for permission to launch international services, despite the fact that it has not yet met the qualification threshold of having a fleet of at least 20 aircraft (it has just twelve). However, its application is likely to be approved. Meanwhile, Jet Airways may also deploy its hybrid subsidiary, Jet Konnect, to develop its regional international network.

For every airline that has faced challenges, there are several incumbent carriers that see growth opportunities,

• Kenya Airways commenced a non-stop Nairobi-Delhi service on May 12 • Air China launched a Chengdu-Mumbai service on May 12 • Iraqi Airways launched routes from Baghdad to Delhi and Mumbai in Q1 2012

Foreign carriers remain interested in the India story despite challenges In the last few months, a number of carriers have either suspended services to India (including AirAsiaX, American Airlines and Qantas) or reduced frequencies on certain routes (Air France, Austrian and Lufthansa). Jet Airways recently announced plans to suspend its MumbaiJohannesburg service from June 12. Reasons for these reductions have included insufficient traffic, poor yields and high airport charges.

• Virgin Atlantic will resume London-Mumbai services from October 12

Kapil Kaul CEO South Asia, CAPA

primarily those from emerging regions such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

•

bmi commenced a London-Amritsar service on October 11

• SilkAir launched a new Singapore-Kolkata route on August 11

plans to launch services to Kolkata from November 12

• Singapore Airlines has launched five additional frequencies to Mumbai in the last year

• Etihad will launch an Abu Dhabi-Ahmedabad services from November 12

Virgin Atlantic will benefit from the suspension of Kingfisher’s Mumbai-London

• Dragonair has announced

operation and is planning to schedule the service to facilitate convenient onward connections to at least four US destinations. The airline is expected to emerge as an important player on Mumbai-UK and MumbaiUS routes. Meanwhile, Africa is a region of growing interest. Kenya Airways, which launched its second Indian destination on May 12, has already identified 4 cities; Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad to plan its further expansion over the next few years. Ethiopian Airlines has similar expansion plans. Several airlines that do not currently operate to/in India are in the process of evaluating the possibility of entering the market in the next 12 24 months which include:

Europe: Alitalia and Czech Airlines;

Asia: Garuda Indonesia, Jetstar Asia, Lion Air, Myanmar Airways and Vietnam Airlines

Africa: Air Austral But carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have the most aggressive expansion plans and are pushing for additional bilaterals as their current entitlements are exhausted. Emirates, already operates 184 weekly services to ten cities across India, not including its low cost subsidiary, flyDubai, but has exhausted its bilaterals. Turkish Airlines, which has daily service to Mumbai and Delhi, is seeking to increase the frequency to double daily and wishes to operate to an additional six destinations.

Etihad heads to Ahmedabad Etihad Airways will start daily ﬂights to Ahmedabad in November 2012. This will be its ninth destination within India. It also underlines the airline’s commitment to serve Indian market needs with direct ﬂights to Abu Dhabi. T T B U R E AU

he new route will be served by an A320 and

James Hogan President and Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways

support Etihad Airways’ aims to connect key strategic cities with its home base of Abu Dhabi, enhancing commercial and leisure travel with the UAE’s capital city. James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways said, “We continue to build strength and depth to our global network and the addition of Ahmedabad, will make significant contributions to traffic flows to Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Etihad’s biggest tech project Etihad Airways has started rolling out Sabre software, following the billion dollar technology agreement signed by the two companies in 2011. The implementation of Sabre’s catering software kicks off the largest technology project in the airline’s history, as it migrates all business operations to

Sabre software, including rolling out Sabre’s passenger reservations software. Using the software, the airline can more accurately cater for in-flight meals, special requests and centrally control the onboard product requirements to improve consistency across the network.

Ahmedabad is an economic centre and daily flights to Abu Dhabi will build greater ties with the UAE’s capital as it continues to invest in world-class development projects and attract business and leisure travellers.” Etihad Airways’ new service to Ahmedabad will offer nearly 1,000 seats a week into the Gujarati city and the November 2012 launch will coincide with the beginning of the peak travel season in India. The airline anticipates strong traffic flows from Ahmedabad to Abu Dhabi and onto its European and US destinations. The airline’s growing network will now expand to reach 86 passenger and cargo destinations. The A320 that will serve Ahmedabad have two cabins with 16 Pearl Business Class seats and 120 Coral Economy Class seats.

MOT

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TRAVTALK

MOT calls for tourism-friendly policies Sultan Ahmed, Minister of State for Tourism, has urged the state governments and Union Territory administrations to follow tourism-friendly policies. T T B U R E AU

n a recent written reply to the Lok Sabha, Sultan Ahmed Minister of State for tourism, highlighted various incentives that have been announced, while pressing on the need for the states to undertake more tourismfriendly policies. Sultan Ahmed in his written statement also high-

Sultan Ahmed Minister of State for Tourism

The Ministry of Tourism has advised the state governments and Union Territory administrations to follow tourism-friendly policies

lighted the various incentive schemes that are already in operation to facilitate growth of the travel and hospitality sector in India. “The Ministry of Tourism has advised the state governments and Union Territory administrations to follow tourismfriendly policies like allotting land sites on revenue sharing basis, granting extra Floor Space Index (FSI)/ Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for hotels, creation of land banks, single window

QUICK READ Under the Rural Tourism Scheme, Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for activities involving development of rural tourism including propagation of the Gurukul process.

approach for promoting hotel projects, rationalisation of taxes etc for the growth of tourism sector in the country,” said Sultan Ahmed, Minister of State, Ministry of Tourism. Ahmed also highlighted several incentives that had

already been announced. The first initiative he highlighted was the Five-Year Tax Holiday for 2, 3 and 4-star category new hotels located in all UNESCO declared ‘World Heritage Sites except in Mumbai and Delhi, which is operational till

March 2013. He also highlighted the investmentlinked deduction under Section 35 AD of the Income Tax Act extended for new hotels of 2-star category and above anywhere in India to facilitate the growth of tourist accommodation in

the country. He was also quick to mention that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had de-linked credit for hotel projects from Commercial Real Estate (CRE), thereby enabling hotel projects to avail credit at relaxed norms and reduced

interest rates. Moreover, External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms are relaxed by the Ministry of Finance to solve the liquidity crunch being faced by the hotel industry for setting up new hotel projects, he said.

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ASSOCIATIONS

Cross-border highway to speed tourism? The revival of the Joint Task Force on the Trilateral Highway between India-Myanmar-Thailand during the visit of Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar from May 27-29, 2012 at the invitation of U Thein Sein, the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, made great headlines. The two leaders decided that India would undertake the upgrading of the Kalewa-Yargyi road segment to highway standards, while Myanmar would undertake the upgradation of the Yargyi-Monywa stretch to highway standards by 2016. India will undertake the task of repair and upgrading of 71 bridges on the Tamu-Kalewa friendship Road. This project would help in establishing trilateral connectivity from Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar. finds out more:

Driving to Thailand VIVEK SETHI

Subhash Goyal President, IATO

Guldeep Singh Sahni President, OTOAI

Reaction to the initiative

President, ADTOI

Present Scenario

Future

he project announced by one of our former Prime Minister that envisages connecting the IndoASEAN countries had been under consideration for some time, which was very well-received by the industry. We welcome the announcement of connecting trilateral highways between IndiaMyanmar-Thailand. It will create an alternate to air travel and should also be supported by railway links.

he sooner the said project is executed, the better the prospects of tourism in these countries will flourish. France, today, is the top global destination because it is connected to the rest of Europe via road. The trilateral highway connectivity will help inbound travellers, budget travellers and the economies of respective countries.

resently, the Indian highways are not truly world-class due to many reasons. For instance, we need to stop at various points for toll. Around the villages, there are many bottlenecks like cattle, pedestrians and other impediments that act like a speed breaker. Many states like Gujarat and Bihar to name a few have done a lot of work on their highways and we hope others will lead by setting new benchmarks.

t is a welcoming initiative looking at the growth in the number of passengers travelling to Myanmar and Thailand. We are glad that there will be an alternative to air travel. I can imagine people flying to a convenient place in North East and then continuing the rest of the journey via road, which will certainly bring a lot of traffic to our North Eastern states.

ourism will definitely benefit if we succeed in creating an experience thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually worth experiencing. Road journey from Christchurch, The Garden City of New Zealand to Queenstown is a memorable experience. Europe also offers many memorable road experiences and the circuit between India, Myanmar and Thailand can certainly become one of the most sought after travel attraction.

resently, many states have improved their highways and the national highways have also set new benchmarks connecting DelhiAgra-Jaipur and Mumbai-Pune, to name a few. But, there is a lot that still needs to be done on a pan India basis. We need to understand that the infrastructure within India also needs to go hand in hand.

nfrastructure development and highway development are great investments for a growing country like us. We welcome the announcement of connecting trilateral highways between IndiaMyanmar-Thailand.

Subhash Verma

How tourism benefits

ll the segments of the travel and tourism sector will benefit due to the said announcement, if the infrastructure required for the said project is developed in a time bound manner. The domestic sector will also benefit, as it will mean that all national and other highways will also require upgradation to international standards. Road travel is the biggest asset for domestic sector, as most of the time railways are full.

resently, the road travel experience vary across different states. States like Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have improved roads, while others are in different phases of such revolution.

o realise the true potential of tourism in India, we need to ensure that highways, rivers and our coastlines are fully explored.

tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an amazing experience travelling by road from one country to another and after witnessing everything from landscape to culture change. It is surely an ambitious project and we need to ensure that adequate roadside amenities and security provisions are created well ahead of times to make it a successful venture.

owever, we expect, a more uniform and seamless road travel experience in future.

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TRAVTALK

‘India is a fast moving market’ Pierre-Stephane Austi, CEO, Rail Europe, in an interview with , talks about new trends, initiatives, marketing activities and the growing potential of India as a market for Rail Europe. Excerpts: A N I TA J A I N

*Rail

Europe’s top business generating markets...

Last year, our sales were up by 28 per cent over 2010. Australia remains on talk for Rail Europe (24 per cent growth), followed by Japan, South Korea, India and Brazil. There is a close competition between India, Brazil and China, but with the increase in sales and revenue we are certain that India will become our 3rd biggest source market by 2014.

*India’s performance... India has consistently registered an average growth of 18 per cent over the last five to six years. In terms of sales, we recorded a healthy business of 16 million Euros in 2011 and

Pierre-Stephane Austi CEO Rail Europe

expect to reach 20-22 million Euros this year.

We are determined to make India our third biggest market but it is a challenging job. In terms of growth potential, India is indeed a maturing and fast moving market for us. We generate 85 per cent of our business from B2B channels in India, while our worldwide average is 75 per cent. This shows that our GSAs (and their appointed PSAs) network in India is really strong and performing well.

*Plans for India... India is our focus market for 2012 and we will take some big initiatives in this market next year. We will to celebrate ‘2013: Year of Switzerland’ in India for Rail Europe and will have massive campaign across the country. We will work closely with the Switzerland Tourism Board and will increase commissions for the travel agents to

encourage them for selling more rail tickets. Our worldwide support centre for GSAs in India has also successfully completed the two-year trial period and now we are expanding it further with a bigger sales force.

We are also in the process of introducing an Indian version of Rail Europe website to get into the interior parts of the country. We can’t promote rail as a standalone product in India as its not attractive enough. Thus,

we are inspiring Indians to explore the European destinations through railways.

*Trends in the Indian market...

India is still a last minute booking market. We encourage all the travel partners and trav-

ellers to benefit from attractive discounts by booking at least a month in advance from the date of departure. Moreover, we are also observing the shift from Indians buying point-topoint tickets instead of passes. This is a good sign which

shows that more and more Indians are getting well versed with European trains and saving cost as point-to-point tickets are cheaper than passes. Also, Switzerland remains the hot favourite destination among Indians.

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ASSOCIATIONS

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Bookings still rising

No poaching of employees: IATO

The Claridges’ relationship with Worldhotels has helped develop the The objective of setting guidelines by IATO is to address concerns over attrition, employee poaching and aspects regarding employment of staff among members. hotel’s brand across India. TT B U R E AU

TT B U R E AU

laborating on his new role Oliver Martin, Regional General Manager, The Claridges Hotels & Resorts in India, says that now the challenge is to consolidate and synergise marketing strategies and streamline cost management, revenues and good hospitality practices. Talking about the growing relationship of the hotel brand with the Europe-based collection of independent hotels and regional hotel brands – Worldhotels since 2007, he informs, “Being part of Worldhotels’ global portfolio provides us with an access to an advanced reservation and distribution system. It also boosts the group’s recent initiatives to further expand and develop the Claridges brand across other major gateway cities in India. The share of reservations from this segment has now risen from five per cent to 15 per cent. Thus, today, 15 per cent

he Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) released the guiding principles

“IATO has a long standing reputation and goodwill of being the travel industry’s seal of approval when it comes to the professionalism of

Salient features of the code on employment: Oliver Martin, Regional General Manager The Claridges Hotels & Resorts

of our bookings for The Claridges New Delhi are generated through their booking channel and this will only grow in the future.” Claridges currently has three luxury hotels in New Delhi, Surajkund and Mussoorie. “Our next property will come up in Bharatpur. A boutique palatial property, this hotel will take two years for completion. The hotel brand’s sub brand in the four-star category, Atrium Surajkund is also being refurbished for a new look,” he adds.

Pay fair wages and provide steady employment, education and career opportunities to employees Before recruitment issue a Letter of Interest and seek No Objection Certificate from the previous employer Engage in fair play when relieving an employee No solicitation of confidential information, or creative ideas from the new employee Any misrepresentation of fact by employee should be reported to IATO Legal and Grievance Cell as Code of Conduct for Inbound Tour Operators Regulation 2012 at its recently held monthly meet at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Greater Noida, which was attended by members in good numbers.

our members as service providers. We operate in a world, where relationships between suppliers, service providers and customers have become more complex,” said the document issued by IATO.

“The members of IATO pledge themselves to conduct their business activities in a manner that promotes the ideals of integrity in the travel trade and agree to adhere to applicable sections of the principles of the IATO Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility & Accountability, thereby setting benchmarks for quality service that befits an IATO member,” it added. The concerns over attrition, employee poaching and

other aspects regarding employment of staff among members had been topics of hot discussion even at the IATO Annual Convention in Udaipur. The complaints arising from this code will be required to be filed in writing with IATO’s Legal and Grievance Cell.

Code of Conduct The Code of Conduct for inbound Tour Operators Regulation 2012 aims at regulating the conduct of IATO members with clients, among members and on engaging employees

QUICK READ There are no specific inputs which suggest that the reported incidents of super-bug have affected Medical Tourism in the country.

Looking for double success in homeground FHRAI representing the hospitality sector in India, will host its 47th Annual Convention on September 6-8, 2012 to brainstorm on the ongoing challenges regarding employment generation in the industry… TT B U R E AU

he Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations

Kamlesh Barot President FHRAI

of India (FHRAI) is looking at garnering a huge participation from stakeholders. Talking about the upcoming convention, Kamlesh Barot, President, FHRAI says,

“Last year, we received around 400 participants at the FHRAI Convention in Bangkok. This time, it is a domestic destination; and we expect to double the participation at Goa.”

The Association is also reconsidering its decision to hold the convention at Grand Hyatt Goa. The convention scheduled from September 6-8, 2012, will have the theme ‘Employment Generation: Engine of Inclusive Growth’. Elaborating on the ongoing challenge regarding employment generation in the industry and its support to the government initiatives towards this goal, Barot says, “The hotels in both classified and unclassified segment will register a spiral growth in the near future. For bridging the gap

of skilled labour in the industry, the Ministry of Tourism has launched a training programme called ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’, to create employable skills in the interested youth within the age group of 18-25 years. The number of beneficiaries under this scheme has already exceeded the target. The target was to train around 5,500 people but till date almost 9,600 students have been trained.” This only means that the hospitality industry is giving full support to this cause of employment generation in the industry.

The President of the apex body representing the hospitality industry has also predicted a flat growth rate for the sector as a result of higher service taxes introduced in the budget this year. According to Barot, the hike in service tax from 10 to 12 per cent in the budget has affected the growth prospects of the sector. “The industry is witnessing a growth of about 5.5 to six per cent at the moment. While, it could have grown at a pace of eight-nine per cent this year but, the government policies are responsible for a flat

growth of 5.5 per cent this year,” he laments.

Annual Convention The convention has been scheduled from Sept 6-8, 2012 It will have the theme ‘Employment Generation: Engine of Inclusive Growth’ FHRAI received 400 participants at its convention in Bangkok last year This time, it is a domestic destination; and double participation is expected at Goa

IATA: Demand for air travel continues to grow The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global traffic results for April showing that the total passenger demand rose 6.1% while freight demand was 4.2% down on April 2011. Despite continuing economic weakness in some parts of the world, demand for air travel contin-

ues to grow. The 6.1% overall growth recorded for April is above the 20-year trend. Strong demand for air travel with limited capacity expansion pushed load factors to 79.3% which is a record high for an April load factor. The 4.2% contraction in air freight markets compared to April 2011 is somewhat

misleading. Air freight markets slumped sharply in the first half of 2011 and bottomed out towards the end of the year. Various distortions and month-to-month volatility have marked the industry performance since the beginning of 2012. However, April cargo levels stood at about 2% higher

than in November 2011. About 80% of this improvement has been captured by Middle Eastern airlines. Air freight for the Asia-Pacific, European and North American carriers has continued to show weakness. “It is a volatile and risky world. Airlines are being cautious managing

through the uncertainty.

Overall passenger demand was up 6.1% in April and capacity increases were held back to 3.8%. There are signs that cargo has bottomed out. Amid the

many distortions that have marked the first four months of the year, it is possible to identify the start of a growth trend in cargo for some parts of the world. But economic uncertainty in Europe makes it very difficult to be optimistic in the near to medium-term,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

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FAMILY ALBUM

CTC: A tearful goodbye and a smiling hello At a recently held event at the Canadian High Commissioner's residence, CTC welcomed Siobhan Chretien as its new Regional Managing Director. Chretien has taken over the reigns from Derek Galpin, who is now Managing Director, China. At the event, Chretien interacted with trade partners, while speaking about the upcoming â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Signature Experiences Collectionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (SEC) in India. SEC has already been launched in other markets.

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TRAVTALK

TECHNOLOGY

‘The tech era in tourism’ Internet Moguls is a Hospitality and Travel marketing company. Avijit Arya, the Chief Mogul, talks to . T T B U R E AU

How important is technology to tap true potential of the tourism sector in India? Kindly elaborate. Technology is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to reach the ‘connected’ population in India, which is constantly growing in tier 2, 3 and rural areas. To get the domestic tourism flowing and truly realise its potential for growth, technology in tourism is a must not only in the private sectors through web portals like www.cheapairticketsindia.com and makemytrip.com, but also through governmentbuilt technologies to access the various modes of travels.

What are the latest offerings from your organisation that will help your travel partners tap the most of emerging business opportunities? Do mention the new launches in the pipeline?

We "socialise" with our clients on a daily basis and we connect to them with their closest to exact TG through many social media applications formats and even engagement platforms. This enables them to get in touch with their consumers better.

In your opinion, the financial outlay on technology should be seen as an investment or mere current expenditure? Why? A firm is bound to incur costs while hiring personnel. Thus, even to upgrade the technology the firm will have to spend a certain amount. And if you are progressive enough to see it as a natural part of the growth engine, this expenditure will be viewed as an investment. If you do not invest now, you are already too late as there is always an advantage for those who make the move first. Besides, your customers use it every day and so they demand it too. Hence, tech-

Parting Note Unfortunately most of the large travel and hospitality companies in India are still on the sidelines, waiting for others to adopt first and follow suit. There are many who want to be the next makemytrip.com, but without investing one tenth of the time, money and commitment. We always inform our clients to upgrade technology keeping in mind that it is an investment. This will reap fast returns, but they might start with indirect tangibles like large time period and cost savings, and eventually in revenue generation

Avijit Arya Chief Mogul Internet Moguls

nology can play an important role in making your firm the preferred travel agent, agency or even supplier – B2B and/or B2C.

What are your important markets on the demand side? What new centres have you been developing? Hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, both domestic and international, are looking for smart solutions to plug their gaps and make technology seamless for them. Internet Moguls is primarily a Hospitality and Travel marketing company, where we plug the exit points in the sales cycle of a guest to your hotel or a traveller to your agency, and we do it all online. Five years back, we were in the business of educating hotel and travel companies on why, how and which technology to adopt. Now, we only advice them as to which technology must be adopted and try to match their investments based on the ROI.

Travel agents must sell all amenities to their travellers universal desktop, inventory of branded and nonbranded accommodations for leisure and room inventory specifically meant to meet corporate travel requirements.

With margins and revenues drying from the conventional source of air booking due to various reasons, the travel agents today need to enhance their income from non-core segments. “As per our estimates, over 50 per cent leisure travel decisions are made on the basis of the desired place of stay than the chosen airline to fly. These developments hold great potential for travel agents, who are willing to change with time and focus equally hard on non-core operations, especially when margins in core business are diminishing,” said Niklas Andreen, Group Vice President, Global

Niklas Andreen Group VP, Global Hospitality & Partner Marketing Travelport GDS

Hospitality & Partner Marketing, Travelport GDS. “Travel agents today need to be equipped to sell along with the air ticket, all other amenities that a traveller will require,” he added. Travelport has committed sizeable investments to develop new products that range from

“Given the present circumstances, we see ample demand and willingness among our travel agent partners to incorporate new potential in new offerings like ‘Travelport Rooms and More’ that will shortly be rolled out in India,” he informed.

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FAMILY ALBUM

IAMAI deliberates on tech-led growth The Internet and Mobile Association of India conducted the 4th Travel & Tourism Summit in New Delhi. The Summit gathered great response from stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry and saw many business sessions that deliberated on growing businesses across all value chains on the back of new technology adaptation.

TECHNOLOGY

Now, an ‘AgentBox’ Cleartrip’s fastest & most comprehensive online product, AgentBox is offering free registration for agents. T T B U R E AU

ith an aim to simplify travel booking systems, Cleartrip has created AgentBox - a simplified tool, which not only offers an endto-end solution to the travel trade in terms of best products and pricing for both air and hotel content, but also facilitates agents in reducing their cost to serve the customer by at least 85 per cent. This means more profits to the agents with enhanced opportunities to grow. Agents can login at www.agentbox.com and register their details for free and get access to this simplified and easy-to-use tool. Backed by our award winning search and book tool, AgentBox is empowered by both Amadeus and Galileo at the back-end.

AgentBox also offers commissions across all products, whether LCC airlines or hotels, and offers unbeatable special rates and deals across all products thanks to its strong positioning in the Indian market. Agents can sort flights and hotels by price, review, time slot and even commissions earned, which is visible upfront before they book it. Options to add more markups (product-wise) with the dynamic markup engine further assists in generating additional revenue, in addition to the commissions earned. The tool also enables

all agents to get real time reports to keep a watch on business summary, sales summary, bookings, customer details and deposit accounts. For effective customer management, a tool enables agents to store their customers’ travel preferences such as FF no, seating & food preference, passport details etc to ensure a faster turnaround for repeat bookings. With efficient technology, users can even hold seats on international flights temporarily and build multiple city itineraries and price them in one shot.

Times To Log In Agents can login at www.agentbox.com and register their details for free and get access.

Ezeego1-Viator join hands India’s online travel meta search engine – Ezeego1.com has joined hands with San Francisco based Viator, Inc – an online resource company which offers more than 10,000 tours and activities in 800 plus destinations. T T B U R E AU

he deal gives access to Ezeego1’s partners and customers to more than

travellers and trade partners with seamless access to tours and activities through Ezeego1’s B2B and B2C channels beginning with the company’s flagship website in India and Australia and later extending it to US, Middle East and Taiwan. Neelu Singh, COO, Ezeego1.com said,

Neelu Singh COO Ezeego1.com

10,000 tours and activities in 800 plus destinations. Viator, Inc. is now a preferred partner to provide

“With the addition of Viator’s global sightseeing products, our customers and agent partners will now be able to create their customised destination experiences.

With this partnership, Ezeego1.com will introduce options of sightseeing tours and activities on its website apart from the regular integrated tours. This option is for those customers who prefer to book airfare and accommodation separately and want to book only sightseeing tours for the destination.”

Future Plans The company recently launched its first franchise shop in Surat marking its presence in offline space and aims to open close to 50 franchise outlets by the end of March 2013. It is constantly in the process of introducing innovative products for travellers and the trade partners to enhance their online travel booking experience

QUICK READ Good News for Android users and Evernote lovers! Evernote Food is also now available on Android platform, Evernote Food is an Evernote app that is designed to make it easy to save and find every meal that you create and enjoy. What’s more, in Evernote Food locations are powered by Foursquare that means that the app grabs your location whenever you create a Meal, then drops a pin on a map.

TECHNOLOGY

Making a trip Down Under Makemytrip.com has recently struck a deal with Australia’s channel manager SiteMinder to boost its hotel room offerings for the international market. T T B U R E AU

akemytrip.com now offers a huge audience to SiteMinder’s global hotel customers who are keen to sell their rooms in the rapidly growing travel market of India. In turn, Makemytrip.com’s customers can access a wider array of hotels that partner with SiteMinder in the APAC region, especially Australia, Asia, UK, Europe and South Africa. Thus, the two-way booking partnership helps Makemytrip.com to extend its footprint to vendorpartners in the APAC region and signals SiteMinder’s expansion in Asia. Makemytrip.com can now manage hotels using SiteMinder’s channel management system, adding to the list of global sites on SiteMinder. Real time inventory can now be listed on Makemytrip and in turn, bookings from this site can now be delievered automatically back into hotels’ PMS (Property Management System) and CRS (Central Reservation System), providing a seamlesss, twoway connection that will bring great benefits to hoteliers keen to reach a lucrative online travel market like India.

Amit Saberwal Chief Business Officer – International markets, Makemytrip.com

We see a lot of synergy in this partnership and a win-win proposition in our mutual association Providing further details, Amit Saberwal, Chief Business Officer – International markets, Makemytrip.com said, “SiteMinder is a global channel manager which connects leading booking websites from one central cloud application, ensuring hotels of all sizes to maximise their online expo-

sure, increase revenue and reduce time and cost. We see a lot of synergy in this partnership and a win-win proposition in our mutual association. This partnership also helps our network of sub-agents to explore a greater choice and volume of hotel room nights, along with last room availability and best rates to sell further from global market. We are looking out for more such deals to delight our customers and partners through innovation in product and technology.”

40% repeat clients More than 40 per cent of Makemytrip’s 3.5 million customers are repeat clients. The portal attracts more than 4.5 million unique visits every month. Close to 12,000 flight tickets and 1,000 hotel room nights are booked on the site each day.

Online rate parity for hotels RateTiger, which is the longest serving channel management solution on the market, offers bespoke and premium products for hotels of all sizes, with connectivity to over 750 sales channels. T T B U R E AU

ateTiger continues to be the leading product of choice for hotels to manage online distribution intelligently. The premier online channel manager has been making life easy for the revenue management team at The Paul Resorts & Hotels which has now improved rate parity across multiple online sales bookings channels. The group implemented advanced allocation management capabilities through RateTiger’s Channel Manager to improve its position and rate management with third parties. The award-winning Indian hotel group has been selling across 15 online channels and

wanted to ensure the same rates were available to customers across all channels. However, managing so many OTAs manually was becoming a challenge, especially when the guests were discovering rate inconsistencies. Further, the luxury properties experience high demand round the year, hence managing inventory intelligently was a must to ensure they did not lose out on maximising revenue at the right time. Shelley Thayil, Director of Revenue Management, associated with the Paul Hotels commented, “Given our small inventory and high occupancy rates throughout the year, it is essential we engage in more future planning across our sales channels.

Managing flexible rates especially for extended weekends and other holidayperiods is becoming increasingly important as it impacts our bottom line. With RateTiger, we can keep rates dynamic and make quick changes across all sales channels in one go without errors and ensuring rate parity.” RT Suite Channel manager has already proven to be a very effective tool. “We are more proactive and have competitive rates," she added. The hotel group sells across global booking portals as well as regional OTAs with the prospect to add more channels in the coming months.

TECHNOLOGY

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TRAVTALK

Online solutions@Fore Technology The focus in travel companies is now more on providing an online solution to the existing clientele and preserving the business rather than going all out to launch a B2C portal on a large scale with huge budgets, says Sawhney. T T B U R E AU

alking about the importance of technology in the travel domain, Parikshit Sawhney, Managing Director, Fore Representations & Travels highlights, “Technology has been the key

Parikshit Sawhney Managing Director Fore Representations & Travels

We see a huge demand at Fore Technology for online hotel and ticket booking engines from Indian and ME retail travel companies driver of the travel industry for the last 15 years. Whether it is the introduction of the CRS systems worldwide or the e-ticketing and other online modes of booking, everything has evolved in the past few years.” The key difference today is that the retail travel agents and tour operators are now expected to provide these online solutions to their customers. Those who would

QUICK READ Today technology has brought many essentials of travelling at your fingertips. Mobile applications for one, have proved to be very useful for a traveller. Right from booking until reaching your destination and then getting about town, the latest mobile applications have changed the face of a travel experience. Here are some apps that you can try for hassle free travelling in a foreign land…

evolve and provide these solutions to their clients would still be relevant in the future and those who would not would perish in the long run, he adds. Regarding the scenario these days, the MD says, “We

are seeing a huge demand at Fore Technology for providing online hotel and ticket booking engines from retail travel companies across India and the Middle East. The focus in travel companies is now more on providing an online solution to the

existing clientele and preserving the business rather than going all out to launch a B2C portal on a large scale with huge budgets.” Fore Technology (a subsidiary of the larger group Fore Representations &

Travels) provides a complete online booking engine solution to our customers, including flights, hotels, transfers, sightseeing and customised tours worldwide. “We also give the option of adding third party and direct contracts that the customers

have on the engine. The booking engine also consists of a complete Mid Office solution for management of bookings by the front-end staff as well as an accounting reconciliation system by the back finance teams,” Sawhney reveals.

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TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Ambica Empire Hotel awarded

InterGlobe Technology Quotient Gears Up

‘GDS is yet to tap 95% market’ Ambica Empire Hotel has been awarded the Epicurus – South India Hospitality Award 2012 as the Best Three Star Hotel on May 20 at Hitex, Madapur in Hyderabad. The award was presented by Epicurus in association with Andhra Pradesh Hotels Association, supported by South India Hotels and Restaurants (SIHRA), Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka Hotels Association for the Hotels in Southern India.

Presently, there is around 3-5 per cent of room inventory available online through the various online aggregators and other means. This brings up a big opportunity for GDS to build on the rest of the 95 per cent. ﬁnds out more. aggregators even collectively have only succeeded in building a miniscule part of the room inventory online.

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Simplifying operations of aircraft advanced airport technology. She said,

Office automation and value-added service provider, NCR Corporation has announced the India launch of a service infrastructure to help airport operators and multinational travel companies simplify the management and operation of all equipment through a single point of contact.

“Indian airports are expected to cater close to 100 million passengers by 2020 and the airports at major metro cities are enhancing their infrastructure

According to Vanessa Barcellone, Service Marketing Manager - NCR Asia Pacific, NCR Corporation; the Indian aviation sector is rapidly growing with a special focus on

Our Total Premise Service will help airport operators to manage their services from single point-of-contact and reduce cost and time, and also enhance the user experience.”

IAVRA.com offers a deal of Olympic proportions With the upcoming Olympics setting the city alight, London-based international holiday rental website www.iavra.com are marking the occasion with a special offer to travel providers across North America - one-year free access.

"Having focussed our marketing efforts predominantly in Europe over the last 12 months, we thought it was the opportune time to launch our product on a large scale to the North American travel market. We recognise the high standard of professionalism from our international neighbours and we know that they will appreciate the value add of joining IAVRA",

explains partner Moquette.

acked by the finding of the Economic Survey of India 2010-11, Marco Gorin, Chief Commercial Officer, InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ) highlighted the immense potential that destination India offers. The travel and tourism sector is all set to grow as India catches up with the global trend. “The global average on contribution of travel and tourism sector to GDP is as high as 13.87 per cent, while in India, it’s merely 4.48 per cent. Similarly, the global average of contribution to employment is 13.6 per cent, which is about 7.5 per cent in India,” said Gorin. “Backed by a strong economic growth and the rising middle class population, the Indian travel and tourism sector will rapidly near the

global average, which will translate into great business opportunities for the stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry,” he added.

“Our official estimates suggest that by 2015-16, India will have over 1,00,000 incremental room inventories. But in my opinion, the incremental inventory will be much more and can almost be even double of the original estimates.

Here, technology will have a greater role to play and ITQ is gearing to facilitate the hospitality sector by making the most from the upcoming opportunities. The hotels and various room

Presently, only about 35 per cent of room inventory is available online through the various online aggregators and other means, which means we have an opportunity to build the rest 95 per

Marco Gorin Chief Commercial Officer InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ)

cent of such room inventory online,” Gorin opines. “Here we have our new offerings for leisure hotels and corporate hotels, we can also engage with agents via the GDS platform and reap the benefits like the aviation industry has witnessed previously. Along with the hospitality industry, the agents here will greatly benefit by a click of a mouse through GDS, as they would get an access to a substantial amount of room inventory and all other amenities that a tourist requires,” he concluded.

Forging Ahead Only about 3-5% of room inventory is available online through various online aggregators. The rest 95 per cent of such room inventory online are available to GDS

New Solutions For Travel Trade JC

The top European travel agents and concierge companies are already using IAVRA.com to deliver holiday rentals to their clients in a secure, professional and effortless way. They appreciate that the platform provides a simpler, more cost-effective way to do business; that it extends beyond the remits of a typical listing site, providing a comprehensive platform with tools that make the process of offering holiday rentals far easier. IAVRA was developed to help introduce a more standardized process and to make it easy for travel agents not yet maximizing the potential of property rentals to do so. "As we move in and out of difficult economic times, many smart agents want to find new revenue streams but without having to make major investments in time, training and money. IAVRA offers the solution," says Moquette.

Travel technology gets Wizie tinge The US-based travel technology company Wizie provides various solutions for airlines, travel wholesalers/consolidators, travel agents and OTAs. T T B U R E AU

stablished in 1999 with its headquarters in the US, the company has branch locations in Canada and India. With over 150 highly trained, certified and experienced staff, the travel technology firm is currently processing over $1 billion in annual ticket sales. Sharing more details about the company,

Multi-tasking The company also delves in strategic sales campaigns, development (generating leads), content distribution and trade relationship development available to GDS Wizie can create advertising, sales and marketing campaigns that will result in creating a brand for a company in untapped markets

Moondeep Aggarwal VP-Operations Wizie

Moondeep Aggarwal, Vice President - Operations, Wizie elaborates, “The company focusses on four core areas – technology, consulting, sales and marketing.” According to Aggarwal, technology domain focusses on core business activity which includes BPO, GDS, Infrastructure Management (Data Centre Management, Network Administration), Booking Engine and Custom Software Solutions. The BPO includes front office (reserva-

tion, customer service and support desk etc), mid office (accounting, quality control and sales audit), back office (ticket fulfillment, running reports). The Booking Engine includes B2B, B2C and B2B2C modules which are fully customisable as per the customer’s requirements. “We also provide XML/API,” he adds. In terms of consulting, the company deals with a gamut of issues such as business analysis, business intelligence, migration planning, system architecture, product evaluation, data mining, system integration, contract negotiation, mergers and acquisitions. Keeping in mind the critical role of sales segment, Aggarwal points out, “Realising the importance of sales, we have gained expertise in providing the following sales activities, which will provide the business maximum exposure.

We strive in providing brand representation. We can represent any airline, destination, tourism board, hotel, media companies at different locations where we are present. We also delve in development (generating leads), strategic sales campaigns, content distribution and trade relationship development.” In terms of marketing, Wizie can create advertising, sales and marketing campaigns that will result in creating a brand for a company in untapped markets. “We could brand a product or an organisation, SEO/SEM, market research, eMarketing, lead generation, trade show representation,” he adds.

TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

Making a mark in mobile technology With the launch of a uniﬁed mobile distribution platform, BOOKQ, Quadlabs now allows you to access tourism products with the help of your mobile phone. T T B U R E AU

ith the travel industry becoming more technologically savvy, their demands for making content easily available are also increasing. To meet these expectations, QuadLabs has

Gaurav Chiripal, CEO QuadLabs

BOOKQ has taken the booking interface onto the mobile platform that allows users to make bookings from their mobile phone launched ‘BOOKQ’ to distribute travel products seamlessly through the mobile channel. This platform connects to the central booking engine to fetch travel content and passes it on to the mobile interface. Users can now search, book and pay for their travel itinerary with ease. They can also view existing flight bookings, e-tickets and destination information through this platform. “QuadLabs tradition to remain ahead of the current travel technology industry trend prompted this launch. QuadLabs has always been the front-runner in coming

Features QuadLabs has launched ‘BOOKQ’ to distribute travel products seamlessly through the mobile channel This platform connects to the central booking engine to fetch travel content and passes it on to the mobile interface Users can now search, book and pay for their travel itinerary with ease. They can also view existing flight bookings, e-tickets and destination information

up with solutions for the travel industry, be it inclusion of advance features into the system or launching the travel technology on cloud and making it affordable to small and medium-sized travel agents. To this list, BOOKQ is the latest addition. It has

taken the booking interface onto the mobile platform that allows users to make bookings from their mobile phone itself,” says Gaurav Chiripal, CEO, QuadLabs. The features of this platform include fast and

easy booking process, availability on multiple mobile platforms, live content search, centralised connectivity with booking engines, low bandwidth usage, rich and interactive user interface, encrypted data communication and

its integration with a payment mechanism. This mobile distribution platform can be connected to QuadLabs’ Mid-Office or with any other booking processing system in the backend. BOOKQ will

fetch content from the underlying backend system and show it to the end user’s mobile screen for further use. Payments will be accepted through the payment gateway integrated with the backend booking processing system.

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TECHNOLOGY

Airlines in relationship with social media With both domestic and international airlines directly engaging with passengers through the social media platform, how will this development affect the relationship that the air companies share with OTAs? T T B U R E AU

ocial media has made the customer powerful. Expressive opinions, quick responses and shared con-

cerns, all spread like wild fire on a social network. Lufthansa decided to launch a special Facebook page for India in 2010 in view of the

Sangeeta Sharma

Adnan Aykac

Manager, Marketing Communication South Asia, Lufthansa

General Manager Northern and Eastern India, Turkish Airlines

Within the fast growth of social media, it is extremely important to decide the space you want to be in and why

We are developing a local facebook page for India as we want to be present in the social media

fact that India is a strategic market and Indian customers have distinct preferences. It is the only country in the Lufthansa network with an independent Facebook page and is actively engaging over 1,00,000 fans. “Within the fast growth of social media, it is extremely important to decide the space you want to be in and why. We believe our social media platform is a powerful tool to listen to our customers and actively engage with them. Far beyond another channel to expand our reach or crowd source ideas, it helps us understand the preferences and concerns of our customers better, thereby enhancing our ability to serve their needs,” says Sangeeta Sharma, Manager, Marketing Communication, South Asia, Lufthansa. Following their footsteps, Turkish Airlines is also planning to launch a local Facebook page for India this summer. “We are developing a local facebook page for India as we want to be present in social media,” says Adnan Aykac, General Manager, Northern and Eastern India, Turkish Airlines.

Indian carriers are not lagging behind in their social media presence. Air India decided that it would be aggressively targetting the social media industry by using Facebook and Twitter as its primary platforms. Jet Airways is the first Indian airline to add over five lakh fans on Facebook. Surat is the first destination that will see launch of flight from SpiceJet on passengers demand from Facebook. While the airlines are all geared up to engage with their customers, OTAs are also making the most of social media. “Social media outreach is now a critical element of marketing-mix and customer relationship management strategies. We also monitor conversations to address traveller concerns and industry issues to positively influence outcomes,” says Mohit Gupta, Chief Business Officer, MakeMyTrip.com. Addressing the concern of the impact on OTAs of the relationship airlines build with customers on social media, Sunny Sodhi, Vice President

Mohit Gupta

Sunny Sodhi

Chief Business Officer MakeMyTrip.com

Vice President Air products,Yatra.com

Social media outreach is now a critical element of marketing-mix and customer relationship management strategies. Air products,Yatra.com, says, “Airlines keep coming up with offers for customers directly but it has never impacted our business. We offer all the airlines in one

Airlines keep coming up with offers for customers directly but it has never impacted our business search which is extremely convenient for the customer. This is evident from the fact that a sizeable portion of the airline inventory is distributed through the OTAs.”

Now, log in to check-in to hotels With the internet now penetrating into hotel inventories, has there been a rise in the number of bookings at hotels. digs in for more info on this aspect... T T B U R E AU

t is a no brainer to see that social media is here to stay for good. The hospitality industry cannot discount the buzz of social marketing. How hotels decide to address it and what technologies they would invest time and money into should be a thought out plan – much like the approach to any good marketing initiative to increase footfalls. Thus, the hotel industry is now increasingly looking at leveraging social media as a way to engage with customers and increase affinity and loyalty. Hospitality business has embraced effective social media marketing techniques to boost their customer service, enhance brand reputation and develop strong professional relationships. Says Anuradha Kumar, Director Sales and Marketing,

Hyatt Regency Delhi, “We are seeing a major growth in social media uptake in India. Hyatt has a strong market presence worldwide and social media marketing enables us to sustain and further our brand recognition in the Indian markets.”

restaurant reservations, which it introduced in January 2012. The tool is available on every restaurant page on the Hyatt.com website and there has been a 50% monthly growth in online reservations from this channel alone.

Social network is seen as a way to enhance the consumer’s experience. “An online concierge can do it all for you – from generating reservations and making travel plans to shop for a lastminute gift. Having a concierge on your side is like having a full-time assistant ready and waiting for your next command. Although we do not have a virtual social concierge facility, we do have an E-Concierge option in place, which helps us a lot and is much appreciated by our guests,” Kumar opines.

Online reputation management has become the frontrunner for any hotel’s PR policy. It is not a question of whether hotels use social media but how effectively these networks are being utilised to improve brand recognition, loyalty and bookings. Apart from gaining customer loyalty, boosting conversations and building online reputation, one of the key reasons that hotels now maintain a consistent social media presence is for online bookings. This is where social medium and the hotel websites play a pivotal role. Feels Kriti Budhia, ADOS e-commerce, Accor India, “Social

According to her, Hyatt Regency Delhi is the only hotel in Delhi to offer online

Anuradha Kumar

Kriti Budhia

Director Sales and Marketing Hyatt Regency Delhi

ADOS e-commerce Accor India

An online concierge can do it all for you – from generating reservations and making travel plans to shop for a last-minute gift

Social media has come up in a big way, and despite its benefits one must be cautious before going overboard

media has come up in a big way and although there are obvious benefits on engaging through this medium, there are a certain few things also that need to be taken care of before going overboard. We are looking at social media very seriously as a platform to engage with our customers and also potential customers and drive loyalty. For the same, we do a lot of work with TripAdvisor, Facebook, etc.” Regarding the increase in business via this medium, she argues, “A consistent social media presence has helped Accor India see an upward trajectory when it comes to the contribution of online bookings. The focus for Accor India will remain on increasing our engagement with the customers, in order to ensure they are captivated and get the information they want from the media.

TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

Guest Column

How you can take your biz to the next level B

eing a travel technology service provider, we no longer live in a world where one solution (buy, install, run) fits everybody. We understand that your business existence and growth is founded on your own principles, processes and services which creates the unique selling proposition making your business – ‘A Travel and Tour Company’. We have come across many case studies and found that every growing or grown travel and tour company has its own set of unique processes, features and specifications for growth which are really complex to map with the standard software available in the market, but the most important part is that your business is successful because it is unique, and this unique process must be mapped with the software.

Facing competition In the last few years, many travel companies are switching to adopt customised application/software. Many compromise by adopting generic solutions while ignoring the process mapping possibilities in the selected software. This means that the companies will have to scale down their requirements according to the software. Later they get to know that their other competitors are working on the same software and processes and there is nothing to distinguish them from others. Here

comes the real problem. There are many traps available in the market for a custom software development for your business. Companies track the growing need of custom software for travel business to stay ahead in the market. Analysing this prime need, there are many travel technology companies that provide customised solutions to customers at prices which are very affordable. Be careful, as most are not qualified to align your business goal with the technology. Here I suggest service seekers to find a service provider who has analysed your business, processes, requirements, competition and uniqueness thoroughly to include various features and customisation into the software or recommended solution which can help you take on competition and stay ahead in the market.

Efficiency is the key What we feel taking the customisation of software into consideration is that for any successful business, it is mandatory that we customise the software solutions which are quick, easy, robust and accurate to ensure greater productivity, profitability, while maintaining your business model. A good customised approach should run with the customer’s need in the manner that it was meant to function and operate. The

Meenu Sachdeva Managing Director TI Infotech.

There are many travel technology companies that provide customised solutions to customers at prices which are very affordable core customisation approach focussed on streamline business operations and to enhance efficiency via reducing manual operations. Mapping your requirements with the software is not limited to processes or reports, it also demands cus-

tom design while maintaining your branding, navigation, back office system and recall value. The use of updated technologies and designing techniques must be incorporated with the adopted solution whether it is online booking system/engine or an e-commerce portal. Apart from designing user interfaces, the inbuilt features (like centralised communication, base reports, securities, business utilities and tool etc) and their customisation as per business need is a major rate point to take care by the technology companies. Mapping of process is not only meant to define the process of portal (B2B and B2C), it is all about defining the steps, calculation, business policies (commission) in the system with the scope of scalability and expansion in the future. The integration of services like payment gateways, XML or any other third party service with the designed and customised software/solution should not disturb the results, performance of system or any business operation within the system.

Assisting business travel We at TI Infotech have a great team of techno functional business analyst, domain experts and developer with years of expertise in travel technology service. We have also developed a few

travel business solutions for your business – Travel Assist. It is a comprehensive tour management software, which can be customised/configured at any level based on your back office business model.

that your business system should be there to help you take your company to the next level, not to stand in your way. Your business software should help you do it your way and do it efficiently.

For the e-commerce part of travel business, we have a standard software - Travel Cloud Suite, which is not bound to any limit while talking about rich design, features, process and business management service within the solution. We have many happy customers who are running their businesses with their unique requirements in terms of designing, features and processes. We have a clear picture in our mind while talking about travel technology and customised solution

So before planning or adopting the solution do your homework in terms of solution, company, partner and scope of customisation research. I personally feel that instead of going for standard software for your business; opt for a software/solution which has the capability to be configured/ customised as per your business need.

The writer, Meenu Sachdeva, is the Managing Director of TI Infotech.

Checklist Take a quick scan of your business and check the below mentioned points • Easy to update, upgrade and develop • Easy adoption by employees • No need for licence fees • Timely implemented • Secure the processes mapping • Custom reports • Distinguish from competitors • Scalable and expandable • Improve profits and productivity • Lower implementation and support cost. If all of the above points are not reflecting in your system then you need custom software, because either you are changing your business processes like booking, reporting, reports to fit the needs of your current system or you are fighting with your current system.

Travelport is carving its own niche in IT Travelport has invested over US$ 450 million in research and development to provide solutions that meet the business needs of customers and reduce their overall cost of revenue. Elaborating on the details about the product, Porter informs,

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ravelport has been instrumental in providing technologies that have enabled customers to promote richer content and reduce their cost of doing business. Anil Porter, Chief Technology Officer, InterGlobe Technology Quotient says, “With a resilient and successful business model in place since the last five years, Travelport has invested over $ 450 million in research and development to provide solutions that meet the business needs of customers and reduce their overall cost of revenue.” Travelport has continued to invest in solutions which are based on

Anil Porter Chief Technology Officer InterGlobe Technology Quotient

some ground breaking technology and provide huge benefits to the travel agents. Some of these products such as Travelport Universal API have already been rolled out in other markets and have generated great response.

“Travelport Universal API offers a wide-open access to comprehensive GDS travel content worldwide, expansive content from low-cost carriers worldwide and direct connections to high-speed rail providers. Travelport Universal API accesses the diverse cross-section of content in order to stay competitive, both globally and locally.” It

also leverages the power of Travelport’s industry leading shopping and pricing technologies. Universal API is part of a revolutionary strategy to support development efforts, operations, efficiency and customer service, he adds. Besides providing access to optional and ancillary services from travel suppliers worldwide, it also provides full access to the nextgeneration travel technologies such as Travelport Universal DesktopTM.

stores data for all trip segments booked via the Universal API – regardless of the content source. It eliminates the need to manage PNRs across content sources and enables mid and backoffice integration. Travelport Universal Profile is the most advanced customer profile management solution that seamlessly integrates multilevel profiles and streamlines traveller and agency policy management through a highly configurable rules engine.

This groundbreaking booking solution unifies travel selling and merchandising in a single, powerful platform and provides access to a world of multi-source content. Travelport Universal Record is a Super PNR that

The Universal Record and Universal Profile are built on fully relational databases to make searching for and finding information easier than ever before. To maximise return on development investments, users can

change to Universal API all at once or in phases. It works side-by-side with existing interfaces, so users can gradually supplement existing content feeds and functionality with new content and tools provided through Universal API. Users can also request results from multiple sources in one system response. Users can also send queries to an individual source for information. Travelport Universal API helps secure programming and operating environment. It performs across platforms that are Web Servicecompatible and complies with Web Services foundation layer Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and supports compression.

TECHNOLOGY

Expedia offers more on air bookings Expedia, one of the world’s leading online travel company, recently entered India. Here are the selected excerpts from ’s interaction with Vikram Malhi, Country Head, Expedia India. T T B U R E AU

xpedia has set many new benchmarks in India and has also made a mark in the B2B segment through its Travel Agents Affiliation Program that offers attractive business opportunities. Here are excerpts from our interaction with Expedia’s country head:

Technology as the backbone: With the evolving Indian travel market, the need to innovate and improvise has become critical to expanding the consumer base. The process involves everything right from having an apt Global

Vikram Malhi Country Head Expedia India

Distribution System, funnel inventory to ensuring the ambit for adopting the new and augmenting. Henceforth, like for mobile travel booking platforms or catering to a growing demand for ancillary services such as theatre and sightseeing tickets to be offered through the same window (site) etc, technology is the key. Our TAAP is easy to use and designed in such a way that even without training, an agent will be able to start booking on the platform. We have made further changes to the hotel section, our main product, where the agent can now book a room in just two steps, making it faster than any other product in the market. It is our technology that enables a seamless integration of 1,50,000 hotels and 438 airlines globally, making them readily available to our consumers. In fact, going one step further, we have also launched our hotel application to enable bookings on

the mobile interface. We have other services especially for our customers, such as verified and segmented reviews and the ability to login from Facebook.

At Expedia, our intent is to provide a great and complete travel experience that a traveller would value and come back to us for. In pursuit to do so, we strive to bring the new and unmatched to the customer together with making pre-research convenient, ensuring a hassle free process and guarantee secure payment gateways – all of this depending on our robust technology. Expanding footprints: We have increased our share in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia which we are viewing as new destinations in addition to South East Asia. We have also launched our TAAP product in Honk Kong, Thailand, Korea and would be launching soon in Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines and Vietnam. Our product roadmap will enable more features and payment options for our business partners.

Investment focus: At Expedia, our focus and endeavour has been to deliver consumers with relevant and seamless travel solutions and to be able to do that, we have consistently invested in our brand, operations and technology. We are the only online travel company that has innovated to deliver interesting and newer options to our consumers, be it our ‘build your trip’ options, travel simplifying features or a host of other innovative products. As India grows as a travel market with evolving customers, continuous augmentation and innovation,

enabling smooth booking process have become imperative. We incessantly strive towards providing our consumers with hassle-free bookings, plethora of options and secure payment processes and technology plays a vital role in this. To be able to provide a splendid overall travel experience, we view and account for the financial outlay for technology as a great and regular investment. Expedia has earmarked $20 million towards technology upgrades and marketing for APAC, with roughly $10 million spend in India.

New opportunities: Our core target consumer is primarily based in the metro cities due to a higher internet/credit card penetration. We are also expanding our markets to tier II and III markets, which also holds great importance through our B2B channel. The Travel Agents Affiliate Program (TAAP) engages local travel agents and lets them earn additional commission while allowing them to deep-link to worldwide travel products. We recently announced an increase in the commission for its Affiliate Agents on air bookings when it is booked as a part of a package through the Expedia website.

Expedia(te) travel The company’s TAAP is easy to use and designed in such a way that even without training, an agent will be able to start booking on the platform It has made further changes to the hotel section, our main product, where the agent can now book a room in just two steps, making it faster than any other product in the market It has also launched our hotel application to enable bookings on the mobile interface. We have other services especially for our customers, such as verified and segmented reviews and the ability to login from Facebook Expedia is also expanding to tier II and III markets, which hold great importance through their B2B channel

STATES

MTDC gets ‘super-active’ While in the process of choosing Brand Ambassador for the State, the Board is also revamping its portal and segregating tourist facilities and products. It is also streamlining a new process for managing tourist arrivals and launching a training programme for the travel trade. Talking about the new plans, Kishore Gadre, General Manager, MTDC said, “The revamped website will be more detailed and act as a platform of information and marketing for private players. The content on the website will be from the experts and will have a transparent system of working.

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aharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is betting big on its plans to revamp its website in the next six months. The corporation has already floated an EoI for the same and expects to re-launch its website with well managed content, authentic suppliers, accommodation facilities, tourist information, etc. before December this year. It has identified 88 destinations in the State with tourism potential and quality infrastructure. Recently, it has

Kishore Gadre General Manager MTDC

website is ready, the corporation will start educating travel agents about the new destinations and is also in the process of intro-

Luxurious Maharashtra MTDC has recently launched the tour schedule of its luxury train – Deccan Odyssey for the next season (October 2012 – April 2013). The rates are commissionable at 20 per cent and depending upon volume of business, it can go up to 25

per cent. For every 15 paid pax in a group, one complimentary seat is provided to the group leader. MTDC is planning to offer commission of as high as 40 per cent for agents who are booking 65 per cent of the total seats on a tour.

also launched theme-based and destination-based brochures for tourists and travel agents. Once the

ducing an organised class-room training programme with modules and certification.

We are also planning to merge a booking channel to manage online bookings for MTDC resorts. Once the system is in place, we are going to hold talks with travel agents, tour operators and trade associations asking their suggestions to improve on tourism in the State and their support for further promoting it. We are currently working closely with travel trade, but once we have our website in place we will extend our reach to the smaller cities and towns of Maharashtra. We are also in the process of considering a training programme for travel agents on national level next year.”

Far Horizon Tours debut in hospitality Experientia India, a newly established hospitality division of Far Horizon Tours, is looking at forging mutually beneficial partnership with the travel trade partners. The company was launched in May 2012. The company’s portfolio presently includes group travel boat in Kerala, cruise ship M V Mahabaahu in Assam along with two other properties under its wings. “On the successful completion of twenty years of our Far Horizon Tours, we had

announced the launch of our new hospitality division in May 2012. The vision behind the venture offers state-of-the-art experiences through B2B channel to inbound and highend domestic travellers,” said Anju Babbar Basu, Director, Experientia India. “We will offer special rates to B2B partners for FIT, GIT and Charter operations, who wish to make use of our inventory and also offer special incentives on bigger vol-

umes like a series of eight groups consisting of fifteen people each,” she added. The group is also open to the option of inducting a strategic investor. Elaborating on the same, Basu said, “We are amenable to the idea of inducting a partner willing to invest and take out business to the next higher level. We have not received any such expression of interest and can only consider it, if the strategic investor has similar vision and devotion towards our business.”

‘Fleet acquisition is important’ Contd. from page 1

growing at a low rate in terms of profitability, instead of the so called ‘remarkable growth’ at the cost of huge losses,” Keskar explained. Commenting on the international services offered by Indian carriers, Keskar

maintained that fleet modernisation and fleet acquisition would be major factors to compete with foreign carriers. In his opinion, it would automatically add value and increase market share by Indian carriers, which is only 30 per cent at present (out of total traffic to and from India). “The carriers

from India are in the process of fleet acquisition,” he said. Presently, from India Boeing has some 113 direct orders that include B-787 and B-737. In addition, more than 100 aircraft would be delivered on lease to Indian carriers. All aircraft will be delivered by the next 4-5 years.

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STATES

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Idyllic Getaway Endowed with a rich cultural heritage of old world charms and bestowed liberally with the bounties of nature, Odisha is a kaleidoscope of past splendour and present glamour. T T B U R E AU

ourism today gets top priority in the government agenda. Some mega projects are underway in different parts of the State. Under Circuit Development Scheme, the Buddhist Circuits of Odisha comprising Ratnagiri-LalitgiriUdayagiri-langudi have been integrated with Dhauli for development of the region. A Peace Park and amphitheatre at Dhauli is being developed. Raghurajpur near Puri has been designated as a Rural Tourism hub, the first of its kind in India, for the promotion of indigenous art and crafts.

Odisha is a fascinating state with unspoilt beaches, sprawling lakes, luxuriant forests, teeming wildlife, superb monuments, exotic handicrafts, traditional tribes, colourful fairs and festivals. It is a land of unforgettable memories; a land of hidden treasures, comparatively undiscovered and relatively unexplored. Odisha has a beautiful and enriching 480 km long coastline. Stretching from North in the West Bengal to down South touching Andhra Pradesh, it is abound with beautiful and unspoilt beaches. The beaches of Odisha at Chandipur, Konark, Puri, Gopalpur, Paradeep, Pati Sonapur, Balighai etc are rated among the best.

Odisha is a treasure house of nature. More than 37 per cent of the land mass is covered with thick and dense forest. There are two National Parks - Similipal and Bhitarkanika and more than twenty sanctuaries. Similipal is one of the best tiger reserves in the country. Bhitarkanika is one of the two mangrove forests of India and is rich in crocodile population and migratory birds. There are a plethora of fairs and festivals, celebrated with pomp and gaiety in every nook and corner of Odisha. Rath Yatra of Puri is perhaps the grandest festival of Odisha that attracts pilgrim tourists alike. Festivals like Konark Festival, Rajarani Festival, Shreekshetra Festival, Kalinga Mahotsav, Puri Beach Festival, Baripada Chhow Festival,

Sambalpur Folk Festival, Koraput Tribal Festival are theme-based tourism festivals which have become a major attraction for tourists. Traditionally known as the land of Lord Jagannath, Odisha has innumerable temples. It is probably the only state where one can find the chronological development of temple architecture starting from 2nd century BC to the 13th century AD and beyond even to the modern times. Harnessing and promotion of natural and historical wealth, coupled with large-scale investments in infrastructure, Odisha is poised for greater heights.

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ANALYSIS

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Tribal Tourism: The way forward Disruption of local economies and land use, offending villagers by being unaware of village etiquettes, are a few major concerns that could be raised while we talk of Tribal Tourism. attempts to gauge the tourism fraternity on how beneﬁts that include increased income and preservation of customs and traditions is the way forward, when it comes to promoting Tribal Tourism in the country. M E G H A PAU L

he recent abduction of two Italians by Maoists in Odisha has triggered a major concern among the tourism industry players. This has been a big blow to the tourism industry in the state, says J K Mohanty, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO). “Restrictions imposed in tribal areas and now the abduction of two Italians has created confusion, sending a wrong message to tour and travel operators around the world, especially in the European Union. We had recently geared up to create a niche in the national map besides focussing on ways to draw a large number of foreign visitors. Now, Odisha Government’s proactive role in brand building and campaign for ‘Visit Odisha Year’ has got a retreat,” he reveals. The foreign tourist arrivals in 2010 was 50,000 and is expected to register a growth of 10 per cent each year, he adds.

This recent incident has opened up a countrywide debate on whether the Tribal Tourism should be encouraged by the State and Central Governments. Says Siddharth Tripathi, Managing Director, Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC), “To get support in tourism schemes, the government should build up a long-term dialogue process with the tribals and Maoists.” According to the MD, Tribal Tourism is no isolated segment and there is a very thin line between tribal, rural, sustainable and Eco-Tourism. The foreigners in India are looking at Pilgrimage and Experiential Tourism and Tribal Tourism is an indispensable part of the latter segment, he believes. Tour operators can play a pivotal role in developing Tribal Tourism. Some believe that giving tribal communities a role to play in tourism may resolve the conflict to an

J K Mohanty

Siddharth Tripathi

Harihar Patra

President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO)

Managing Director JTDC

Director - Marketing Toshali Resorts International

We had geared up to create a niche in the national map besides focussing on ways to woo foreign visitors extent. He feels, “The unfortunate incident in Odisha should be taken as an aber-

The government should build up a long-term dialogue process with the tribals and Maoists ration and this should not discourage tour operators from promoting Tribal Tourism. Maoists don’t oppose us. I have been a forest officer and I used to venture deep into the forests. Despite the fact that I was a government official, I was never targetted by the Maoists.” In a bid to build a comprehensive module for promoting Tribal Tourism, Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation has taken the tribes into confidence. They sell tribal art

Tribal Tourism is one of the major revenue generators for inbound operators of Odisha and the money is put into a village fund for development, Tripathi confirms. The State is only getting three per cent of visitors via the organised B2B segment in India and in the future, it plans to enhance its relationship with the travel fraternity. According to Harihar Patra, Director - Marketing, Toshali Resorts International, “Tribal Tourism is one of the major revenue earners by the

inbound operators of Odisha. It has been hit hard due to the recent incident. For a way forward, we have to look beyond Tribal Tourism. We should focus to such tourism segments, which are not affecting the privacy, culture, etc. The government has directed the tourism fraternity to take permission for operating such tours so that there is remote possibility of tourist security. The stakeholders should involve the local hotels, villages, local community to discuss and involve the district administration to find a formula so that everybody can work in a loop for a win-win situation.” To offset the negative impact on restrictions on Tribal Tourism in Odisha, the State is looking at promoting Pilgrimage Tourism aggressively, he says. “Buddhist Tourism is a different product and caters to a different segment of tourist vis-a-vis the tribal tourists. The tourists who visit tribal areas most often visit the Buddhist sites as well as they are not too far off from the airport. The Buddhist pilgrimage market has huge potential in Odisha,” he feels. Toshali Resorts has recently in June, joined hands with Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) to promote Buddhist Tourism in Odisha.

Railway ups earnings by 19.13 % during May The total approximate earnings of the Indian Railways on originating basis during the period from May 11-20, 2012 were ` 3,282.38 crore compared

to ` 2,755.19 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 19.13 per cent. The total goods earnings have gone up from

` 1,884.04 crore during the period from May 11-20, 2011 to ` 2,351.07 crore during the corresponding period this year, showing an increase of 24.79 per cent.

The total passenger revenue earnings during the period May 11-20, 2012 were ` 821.79 crore compared to ` 765.98 crore during the same period last year,

reflecting an increase of 7.29 per cent. The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during the period May 11-20, 2012 were

223.96 million compared to 215.91 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 3.73 per cent.

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Great Domestic Travel Bazaar Subhash Verma, President, ADTOI exhorted members to participate in Great Domestic Travel Bazaar. TT B U R E AU

n the back of the successful Domestic Tourism Conclave in 2011, Verma exhorted all ADTOI

Subhash Verma President, ADTOI

members to participate in GDTB 2012 to be held on August 24-25 at Federation House, New Delhi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the lines of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar,

which has become a premier inbound show, GDTB will take the domestic tourism to new highs.

ADTOI is working in close collaboration with FICCI for making GDTB a grand success, which will become an annual event. I hope all our members participate in the show. ADTOI members are being offered discounted rates,â&#x20AC;? said Verma at the monthly meet held in New Delhi on May 26, 2012.

ASSOCIATIONS

ADTOI training & monthly meet The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board with Kuoni Academy conducted a specialist training programme on Punjab for the travel trade on May 26, 2012 in New Delhi. Over 20 ADTOI members received Punjab Specialist certificates. ADTOI also announced June 30, 2012 as the date for their election to fill the recently vacated post for Joint Secretary and one EC member.

Punjab Specialist

Monthly Meet

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AVIATION

Cost competency@Delhi Duty Free Two-and-a-half years since it started operations, speaks to Abhijit Das, Head-Marketing, Delhi Duty Free Services (DDFS) to understand the evolution of the duty free concept in India. M E G H A PAU L

joint venture company between Delhi International Airport (DIAL), IDFS Tradings and Aer Rianta International (ARI), DDFS is managing and oper-

Abhijit Das Head-Marketing Delhi Duty Free Services (DDFS)

ating the Duty Free Shops at Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. With 40,000 sq ft of retail area, India’s largest duty free operator is earning huge revenues from all seg-

ments in its portfolio. After concentrating on stabilising and growing the range of liquor, tobacco, perfumes and cosmetics available at the airport terminal, DDFS has also diversified into fashion retail to score brownie points. According to Das, for any duty free operator to be at par with international standards, there are three criteria; competitive prices, wide range of products and excellent human resources. The addition of several new internationally acclaimed concepts has made the Delhi Duty Free an admired retail destination, which is now being compared to Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore airports. “We have ensured a wide range of products and product categories. The DDFS has a dedicated area for one of the largest-ever collection of Single Malts, called the ‘Uisge Beatha’, Gaelic for ‘Water of Life’,

which accounts for 35 per cent of the revenues garnered from the liquor section,” he further explains. Tobacco products are up to 70 per cent cheaper than European duty free counters while many liquor brands are priced nearly 20 per cent lower than Middle East and South East Asian airports as well, Das reports. Currently, the duty free operator earns 40 per cent of its revenue from the liquor segment, 20 per cent from the perfume and cosmetics segment and 15 per cent from the confectionary segment.

Incentives Galore For the first time, DDFS will soon be introducing a loyalty programme, for the B2B travel fraternity. It will be an incentive programme which would be introduced across India and will be unveiled in the next four months

Talking about challenges before the Delhi Duty Free, Das feels, “Liquor buying is still limited to two litres and this hampers business. The overall infrastructure problem and congestion at the smaller airports and ports is also another major concern.” Indian rupee spending limits are applicable in line with custom regulations and as of now in arrivals, Indians can spend up to INR 7,500. Departure spending in rupees is not

allowed. All this does hamper the business to an extent,” argues Das. On whether the duty free facilities will be extended beyond the airport territory, he reveals, “There are small countries where duty free shops are present within city limits. However, in India, I do not see this scenario in the immediate future as having duty free shops inside the city involves several statute-related policy decisions.” Das states,

Reaching new heights The DDFS has a dedicated area for one of the largest-ever collection of Single Malts, called the ‘Uisge Beatha’, Gaelic for ‘Water of Life’, Tobacco products are up to 70 per cent cheaper than European duty free counters while many liquor brands are priced nearly 20 per cent lower than Middle East and South East Asian airports DDFS has a ‘Shop n Collect’ service for travellers who can shop at departures and collect the goods later from arrivals. Betting big on luxury market, DDFS claims to be the only international duty free in India to launch fashion brands including Hugo Boss, Samsonite Black and Swarovski.

“DDFS has a ‘Shop n Collect’ service for travellers who can shop at departures and collect the goods later from arrivals. They can use this service by contacting the retail team members at DDFS departures highlighting the products they want and pay for the same. The goods are securely stored, transferred to arrivals and after returning one can pick up the goods from ‘Shop n Collect’ counter at the arrival shop.”

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GUEST COLUMN

Women success stories

‘How I endeavoured to create my self’ Being a successful woman in this industry, Vasuki Sundaram, Joint Secretary, TAFI, has faced a share of ups and downs. In this guest column, she writes about her struggles and achievements in . ‘When no opportunity existed, I made my own’ The travel industry is a tough and challenging sector, and is more difficult when times are tumultuous. I entered this male bastion at a critical juncture – it was a time of turbulence, it was a time of new overpowering trends, it was a time when growth seemed to wait in the wings. My tryst with TAFI started in 2006, when I was elected as a committee member. This was just the beginning, and in the same term I was elected as the first woman secretary. I continued to forge ahead and in the very next year I was elected as the Western India Chairperson. At the time when various airlines were moving towards Zero

Commission, the situation was bleak and I had my hands full. However, I persevered and at a point when little or no opportunity existed, I endeavoured to create my own. With the responsibility that was entrusted in me by the members, I maintained faith in my leadership. With belief in inclusion, I succeeded.

‘One Voice’ For me, the decision making capacity should not rest in the hands of few, instead the organisation must have a holistic approach. I initiated meetings at different levels with the leaders of the industry, the consolidators, tour operators, destination specialists, corporate agents, mid size agents and the smaller agents.

Dear Ladies, To quote Candice Carpenter, If you are committed to creating value and if you aren’t afraid of hard times; obstacles become utterly unimportant. A nuisance perhaps; but with no real power. The world respects creation; people will get out of your way. Belief in myself and commitment to work has been the basis of my life. A moment of pride was when all the associations, namely, TAFI, TAAI, IAAI, IATO, ETAA, ADTOI, came together on one platform at IMC Mumbai in 2008. It was a collective effort of my team and the entire Western India Chapter to urge the industry to think and act like one entity. It was

another first and an extraordinary feat.

‘Member First’ As the Chairperson, I believe that the member of association always comes first. In Western India, the voting system would first start with the members, which then would be carried out pan India to ensure that

the Commission was not changed in favour of a transaction fee model. To create awareness among the members about the current happenings in the industry, we work in tandem with the consulates, initiated changes in the visa policies, held workshops with the airlines, worked with the tourism boards and became active with MTDC at the regional level. The members are also the stakeholders, as they are equally responsible for the growth of the association. We even involved a local visa agent, also a TAFI member, to help the committee with updates from various consulates. We even organised a training session with Kuoni India, where eminent speakers addressed legal issues.

Vasuki Sundaram Owner Wings Travel & Tours Co.

The participants of the meeting grew (from 30 to 120), not only from the point of the ongoing fight for Commission, but with the constant endeavour of ensuring that the meeting was valuable in terms of time, awareness and action. Contd. on page 50

NEWS

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TRAVTALK

SpiceJet to launch daily flights to Dubai Expanding their network in the international sky, SpiceJet has decided to launch daily services on the Mumbai-Dubai and Delhi-Dubai network from June 25, 2012. T T B U R E AU

piceJet will now add another destination on their international network with daily flights to Dubai. Dubai would be SpiceJet’s third international destination. In the domestic market,

Neil Mills Chief Executive Officer SpiceJet

The Government of India has taken substantial and positive steps to open the market and allowed private carriers to connect with new international destinations

SpiceJet has a wide network and connects 34 destinations. With excellent facilities at Dubai International Airport, Dubai offers something for everyone and is a preferred choice for many Indians for tourism, business and employment. The first flight to Dubai will take off on June 25, 2102 at 11:55 AM from Delhi and the first flight from Mumbai will take off at 08:30 PM. “The Government of India has taken substantial and positive steps to open the market and allowed pri-

QUICK READ Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during the Month of May, 2012 was 3.72 lakh as compared to FTAs of 3.55 lakh during the month of May 2011. There has been a growth of 4.6 per cent in May 2012 over May 2011 the previous year.

vate carriers to connect with new international destinations. To leverage the opportunity and offer quality services at affordable prices to our guests, we are pleased to announce the launch of flights to Dubai with more exciting destina-

tions coming soon,” says Neil Mills, Chief Executive Officer, SpiceJet. SpiceJet will fly its new generation Boeing 737-800 on these international sectors. They have received all the required regulatory/gov-

ernment approvals from concerned authorities in India as well as from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to launch its services and put tickets on sale. To celebrate this launch, SpiceJet is offering

introductory airfares starting from just ` 4,477 (plus government taxes) one way, on the two routes connecting Dubai with Delhi and Mumbai, which will be a limited seat offer on its online bookings.

Inaugural Flights The airline is connecting Dubai with daily services to India’s two biggest metros—Delhi and Mumbai and inaugural flights are set for last week of this month.

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Sights & sounds of SouthWest Germany With jewels such as the Black Forest, River Neckar and Lake Constance, the scenic beauty of Baden-Württemberg, the SouthWest state of Germany offers something for every discerning visitor. D E V I KA J E E T

FROM

GERMANY

he SouthWest state of Germany is full of pleasant surprises and its beauty is sure to take your breath away.

From the mountains to the water and from shopping to automobiles, the state offers something special for every

visitor. Bordered by France, Switzerland and Austria, this sunny state in the very heart of Europe is called BadenWürttemberg in German. This region in Germany is for

Stuttgart SouthWest Germany’s capital has it all. The vibrant city is a delight, with excellent shopping, plus outstanding museums, cultural festivals and entertainment. It is also home to two of the world’s finest automobile museums, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. From a number of Indian food restaurants to hosting a Bollywood film festival each year, this city is quite popular among the Indian visitors. Along with welcoming tourists, Stuttgart is also ideal for MICE movements.

Esslingen am Neckar A city where medieval meets modern with a visible history to experience, you’ll have a brush with the past in every corner of the city. It lies in the midst of the charming countryside, nestling in the hilly vineyards above the Neckar valley. A stroll around the medieval city centre, with its half-timbered houses from centuries past, its beautiful churches and museums, is sure to make you fall in love with the city.

Black Forest Famous for its cuckoo clocks and cake, the Black Forest is the perfect outdoor playground. This low range of mountains includes valleys with bubbling streams, beautiful waterfalls, thickly wooded hillsides and lakes. But the Black Forest also offers excellent wine from vineyards along the Rhine and more spas, health resorts and thermal baths than anywhere else in South West Germany.

Lake Titisee Situated in the Black Forest Highlands, Lake Titisee is surrounded by meadows and forest. Set high in the Black Forest (2,800ft), Lake Titisee is a popular summer destination. Drive around and you will enjoy breathtaking views of the forest. Don’t forget to check out the indoor water park!

Freiburg Freiburg is Germany’s sunniest and one of the greenest cities. The old centre is pedestrianised around a 14th century cathedral, whose magnificent tower soars above the lively daily market. Cobbled streets are lined with ‘Bächle’ (mini- canals) and cheerful old pubs. This student town makes an excellent base for trips into the Black Forest and nearby vineyards.

Lake Constance Framed by the Alps and surrounded by orchards and vineyards, this is Germany’s Riviera: sunny, pretty, and laid back. A must for visitors for centuries, Lake Constance is dotted with islands and attractive charming towns.

Mainau Island Lush flowers year-round, a park with a 150-year-old tree population, the stately baroque splendour of the palace and the church; that is Mainau, the flower island on Lake Constance (Bodensee). This 111-acre botanical garden is a must for nature lovers. Thanks

connoisseurs, the perfect destination for sophisticated travellers, whether they are looking for great music or art, fine dining or relaxing spas, unspoiled forests and moun-

to the ever-changing tapestry of flowers during the seasons, the outstanding arboretum makes it one of Germany’s largest butterfly houses.

Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen An archaeological open-air museum on Lake Constance consists of reconstructions of stilt houses or lake dwellings from the Neolithic Stone Age and Bronze Age. The open-air museum is laid out over a large area with reconstructions of lake pile dwellings from 4,000 BC to 850 BC. The museum was opened in 1922 with various reconstructions being added up until the present day.

Schwarzwalder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, Gutach Culture and history comes to life in this openair museum, showcasing how people have lived and worked in Black Forest farmhouses over the last 400 years. Each farmhouse represents the architecture and economic situation of its area of origin, giving you the opportunity to explore nearly the whole Black Forest. Experience how kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms were once equipped and discover the day-to-day life of their inhabitants.

Baden-Baden Famous among royalty from across the world, Baden-Baden is one of Europe’s most sophisticated destination. This five-star resort town is on the edge of the Black Forest. Visitors have been soaking in the hot mineral spring water for 2,000 years. The palatial Friedrichsbad spa offers a traditional experience. With its grand hotels and chic shops, parks and gardens, Baden-Baden is relaxing and stylish. Entertainment is world-class in the elegant 19th century Kurhaus, with its glamorous casino and the Festival Hall, Europe’s second largest concert and the opera house.

tains. There are beautiful landscapes, dotted with mighty castles, magnificent palaces, medieval towns, grand churches and UNESCO World Heritage sites. South

West Germany is also famous for its stunning vineyards producing fine wines. And, this is also Germany’s premier spa destination with some 60 spa and health resorts.

NEWS

Guides show the way... A private initiative – ‘The Sindhudurg Guide’ has been launched by a group of tour guides to highlight the offerings of the destination to the domestic tour operators and travellers. A N I TA J A I N

aunched in March this year, ‘The Sindhudurg Guide’ is a private initiative launched to develop the potential of Sindhudurg district as a tourist destination. Close to 30 local youths have

known destinations. It has identified close to 80 destinations in the Sindhudurg district which can keep a traveller engaged for an average seven nights and eight days. Once, the association strengthens its tour guide number, it will start connect-

Tourism is not only providing a revenue generating option for locals but also helping them educate themselves about sustaining their culture, history and environment Pankaj Sawardekar Chief Programme Co-ordinator The Sindhudurg Guide been trained by experienced tour guides in the region and the numbers are expected to reach 100 by year end. The association is educating local travel suppliers like hoteliers, tour operators, car rental operators, activities operators, etc to enhance their offerings and improve the infrastructure. Furthermore, it is also putting up information hoardings at various tourist locations to increase awareness of the lesser

ing to tour operators based in major metro cities and tourist source market in India. It also plans to launch a website to provide first hand information of ‘The Sindhudurg Guide’, the destination and its offerings. Pankaj Sawardekar, Chief Programme Co-ordinator, The Sindhudurg Guide said, “More than marketing the destination, we are keen to promote the experience by promoting the activities that

travellers can indulge in. Tourism is not only providing a revenue generating option for locals, but also helping them educate themselves about sustaining their culture, history and environment. We will soon market our offerings among domestic tour operators by inviting them for FAMs, writing to them, educating them through sales calls and we are also looking at a possibility to work closely with Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation in the near future.”

Initiatives Close to 30 local youths have been trained by experienced tour guides in the region The association is educating local travel suppliers like hoteliers, tour operators, car rental operators, activities operators, etc to enhance their offerings and improve the infrastructure It is also putting up information hoardings at various tourist locations to increase awareness of the lesser known destinations

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TRAVTALK

Experiential Learning Tourism Lifex Delhi-based Learning, an outdoor activity division of Lifex Discovery is enhancing its offerings based on the concept of experiential learning. It is now building products to create awareness through indoor and outdoor activities for children and adult travellers. The outdoor programme consists of adventure, activities, team building and involves knowledge lessons on local geography and history. The company recently organised special tours for students during the Venus Transit 2012 at various locations in India. Talking about the company and its vision, Madhukar Sharma, Director, Lifex Discovery said, “One of our major thrust areas is to creatively

and sensitively combine outdoor-based experiences with various aspects of tours and adventure.

We creatively conduct purposebased programmes in villages, historical places and geographical extremes through camping, trekking, skiing, river rafting, orienteering and other adventure activities. Our work and dedication has been time and again appreciated by a number of schools, corporate firms, parents and NGOs since we are able to combine different aspects of tourism with various

Madhukar Sharma Director Lifex Discovery

developmental needs of individuals by addressing number of activities like astronomy, animation, film-making, school curriculum and of course outdoor adventure. Apart from Lifex Learning, the company operates two more divisions – Lifex Tours for inbound traffic and Lifex Travels to manage the domestic travellers’ movement.

Jet increases Mumbai-Kuwait frequency Jet Airways will enhance connectivity between Mumbai and Kuwait with the introduction of a second Mumbai-Kuwait service which will operate four times a week from June 8. With the launch of the added service, the Airline will now offer 11 flights a week from Mumbai to Kuwait. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said “We are

confident that this new service will prove equally popular with our guests.

The new flight will provide seamless connectivity to guests from Kuwait flying to our international hub in Mumbai, as well as onwards on

Jet Airways' domestic network as well as to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Colombo.” Jet Airways presently operates 46 daily flights between India and the Middle Eastern region. The airline will deploy its state-of-the-art new generation Boeing 737-800, offering Premiere and Economy configurations.

It’s more fun in the Philippines... The Philippine Tourism Marketing Office organised a fam trip from April 24-30, 2012 for leading the Indian travel agents. The trip was aimed to allow the participants to get a first hand experience of the destination and to explore why 'Its more fun in the Philippines'. The places visited by the agents were Manila, Cebu and Boracay. All agents were fascinated by the majestic beauty of the virgin beaches and the untouched islands of Philippines. Overall, the trip was successful and all the agents were satisfied.

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FAMILY ALBUM

The industry was in high spirits On June 4, 2012, all roads led to The Park, New Delhi, as everybody from the travel fraternity made their presence felt at the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Network Talkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; event, organised by The Park Hotels and TravTalk. After the success of the first such get-together on April 23, the May event witnessed many of the industry bigwigs networking with their counterparts. This was truly the perfect platform for the industry representatives to catch up with each other.

FAMILY ALBUM

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in Delhi...

TRAVTALK

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NEWS

Grace for 5 months Contd. from page 3

hold talks with airlines to continue with the fortnightly payment system from November 1, 2012.

JUNE Date

Particulars

14-17

International Travel Expo, Hong Kong

15-17

Beijing International Tourism Expo, Beijing

FICCI’s Advertising: Gateway to Build a Successful Brand Advertising & Marketing Seminar and Consultation for Emerging Advertisers, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industry & Agriculture (MCCIA), Pune

20-22

FICCI’s Industry Confidence & Capacity Building International Workshops on “Advanced Energy Efficient Technologies for Meeting PAT Scheme Targets By DC Industries”, FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi

22 & 24

Cultour Global Heritage & Cultural Travel Exhibition, Quito, Ecuador

FICCI’s Potential of Petrochemical Sector in Northern India with special focus on Downstream Plastic Industry, Hotel Mount View, Chandigarh

26-27

FICCI’s Industry Confidence & Capacity Building International Workshops on “Advanced Energy Efficient Technologies for Meeting PAT Scheme Targets By DC Industries”, Chennai

Capacity Conclave on Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism 2012; Rejuvenating Tourism Experience, FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi

JULY Date

Particulars

10-12

HAI’s F&B Profit Maximization, The Park Hotel, New Delhi

13-15

Travel & Tourism Fair, Kolkata

20-22

Travel & Tourism Fair - Hyderabad

20-22

India International Travel Mart (IITM 2012), Chennai

B2B Full Day Indonesia Sales Mission, Kolkata

B2B Indonesia Sales Mission, Ahmedabad

B2B Indonesia Sales Mission, Pune

27–29

India International Travel Mart (IITM 2012), Bengaluru

Confirming the announcement by IATA, Iqbal Mulla, President, TAAI said, “We were awaiting for the response from IATA for a long time and are really happy to receive a positive revert from their side. It’s nice to know that IATA has understood the problems faced by us and have supported us by extending the execution date for weekly settlement plan. For the next five months, we will educate our fellow members about the weekly payments system and how to manage business in the scenario. We understand that our partner airlines are facing turbulent times with business and revenues. We would like to hold fruitful discussions with them to come out with a win-win solution to avoid weekly settlement system in future.” On similar notes, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI informed that the

national carrier has indeed played a major part in rolling back the new settlement system. He said, “We are thankful to Air India for supporting and understanding our situation. It’s a relief for a major chunk of travel agents in India operating in small and mid-sized travel companies. Over the span of next five years, we need to revise the business model of a travel agency as our business is in sorry state due to tight credit situation in the market. We are just ‘Rea cting’ over the actions taken by the airlines but not acting ourselves. It’s time for the airlines and the agents to work together for common solutions. We are going to ask the airlines to encourage credit card usage and incentivise it for mutual benefits.” However, according to Biji Eapen, President, IAAI, the five months are just ‘temporary waiting time’. He said, “IATA has just extended the date of implementation of weekly settlement programme. The five months are just grace period for travel

fraternity to prepare for the inevitable. However, all the associations came under one umbrella and opposed the move completely. I’m sure the airlines would accept the non-implementation of this plan. IAAI has already filed another Writ Petition in the Madras High Court against the weekly settlement system and are expecting the verdict anytime in June. We will continue our fight against this new system and retain the fortnightly settlement system through legal means and ways.”

Waiting Time IATA had announced the execution of the weekly settlement system from June 1, 2012 With the latest verdict from IATA, the associations have bargained a duration of ‘five months’ to either educate their members on weekly settlement plan or hold talks with airlines to continue with the fortnightly payment system from Nov 1, 2012

My journey in travel industry Contd. from page 44

‘Make a Difference’ As the Joint Secretary of TAFI, I have been the Chairman for the Airline Council, Website and the Secretariat. We got monies from ADM’s, which were later resolved and were long overdue. With the constant support of the committee, we

revamped the website, generated better opportunities and have now tied up with tourism boards to put up e-learning modules, membership and created discussion forums to increase interaction. I have co-chaired two conventions at Dubai and Macau. Both were successful, yet different. The first was a challenge since the destination was not new,

and one had to reinvent it. At the Macau convention, women were handling most of the spheres

‘Ladies First’ It was A BREAKTHROUGH observed that women not only attended the conventions, but also took part in the activities that were held. Their presence was felt during our movement to establish our rights.

New Aitken Spence properties AUGUST Date

Particulars

10-12

Holiday Expo, Vadodara

13-14

Kiwi Link India B2B Event, New Delhi

16-17

Kiwi Link India B2B Event, Mumbai

21-23

HAI’s Rooms Revenue Management – Products & Pricing, WelcomHotel Sheraton, New Delhi

24-26

Travel & Tourism Fair, Ahmedabad

FICCI’s The Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar, The LaLit, New Delhi

The Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar, FICCI, New Delhi

MGTO’s Macau Tourist B2B Megamart, Chennai

MGTO’s Macau Tourist B2B Megamart, Mumbai

MGTO’s Macau Tourist B2B Megamart, New Delhi

31-2

Travel & Tourism Fair, Surat

31-6

Tourism Australia’s India Mega Famil & Workshop, Australia

The ‘Grand Marena‐ Chennai’ and ‘The Hideaway‐ Yercaud’ will be operational by 2012-13 and take the tally of the Sri Lankan Hotel Management Company to six. Aitken Spence Hotel Managements, South India, a Sri Lankan Hotel Management Company in India, has signed two new properties. The group works very closely with its B2B partners. “Tour operators and travel agents play an important role in our business mix and contribute around 40 per cent of the total revenue. We are working on several promotional schemes with many players and this has provided good results.

India is a large country and it is difficult to cover all parts of the country and therefore this model has helped us to reach many small agents in different parts of the country,” said Lakshman Ekanayake, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aitken Spence Hotel Managements, South India. “Presently, we manage Hotel Atithi Puducherry, The Poovar Island ResortThiruvananthapuram, Barefoot at Havelock Andaman Islands and

Lakshman Ekanayake Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aitken Spence Hotel Managements, South India

Tamara – Coimbatore. Lately, we have signed agreements to manage two more properties, The Grand Marena –Chennai and The Hideaway – Yercaud, which will come on stream in 2012 and 2013. It is our vision to have around 10 hotels in near the future under our portfolio and establish a firm footprint in India,” he added.

CLIPBOARD

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

TRAVTALK

52 TRAVTALK

MOVEMENTS

JUNE 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts Singapore

Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad

The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa New Delhi

Abid Butt has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer

Nishan Silva has been appointed as the General Manager

Sanzeev Bhatia has been promoted as the General Manager of

(CEO) of Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts. Butt will be responsible to propel the company’s portfolio forward. He has previously served as the Area General Manager for the Group’s flagship resort, Banyan Tree Phuket over ten years ago, followed by his appointment as the first Vice President of Operations from 2000 – 2002. Prior to his appointment as the CEO, he was the Vice President for Asset Management of Host Hotels & Resorts in the United States.

Fortune Park Vallabha Hyderabad Rahul Nama has recently taken over the reins at the Fortune Park Vallabha as the General Manager, in Hyderabad. He has been transferred from Fortune JP Palace Mysore, where he was the Preopening General Manager. He brings with him a rich experience of over 15 years in the hospitality industry and has worked in Indonesia, Israel and Philippines with renowned Indian and international chains such as Sarovar, Intercontinental Hotels and Thunderbird Resorts. He is an alumnus of IHM Lucknow.

for the soon to be launched proper ty, Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. In his new role Silva will have to bring managerial experience and a range of other hospitality-related skills to the position. Silva’s key responsibilities will include overseeing the hotels operations, expansion and growth in Hyderabad.

Pavan Kakar has been appointed as the Director of Sales & Marketing for Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad Banjara Hills. Kakar comes with over 17 years of experience in Hotel Sales & Marketing and his key expertise lies in developing and implementing sales strategies in sync with market conditions. In his new role, he will be responsible for directing all Sales and Marketing effor ts towards achieving the operational goals of the hotel. He has worked with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Nikko and Golden Tulip Hotels & Resorts – South Asia as Corporate Director for Sales & Marketing.

the Metropolitan Hotel & Spa in the capital. He has experience of more than 28 years in the industry. Bhatia had joined The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa in 2005 as the Operations Head – Front Office and was later promoted to Operations Head, Rooms and Assistant General Manager in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Bhatia holds a Diploma in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management. He will be responsible for overall operations, profitability, growth and creation of unique guest experiences for the hotel.

Aditya Sarovar Premiere Hyderabad Michael G Singh has been appointed as the General Manager of Aditya Sarovar Premiere in Hyderabad. In his current role he will be expected to ensure efficient and effective operations in all areas, specially department goals, budgets and financial planning for the hotel. He has 13 years of experience across diverse areas in the hospitality industry, from food and beverage, room operations, systems installations and front office management. Previously, he worked with J W Marriott Chandigarh as the Director of Rooms.

Le Meridien Jaipur

Sheraton Bangalore Hotel Bengaluru

Best Western India New Delhi

Rajan Malhotra has been appointed as the Director Sales &

Joyjit Chakravorty has been appointed the Director of Food

Yuvneet Suri is now the Associate Vice President – Operations,

Marketing, Le Meridien, Jaipur. In his new role, his responsibilities will entail organising and directing all Sales & Marketing effort for the luxury resort with a specific focus on creating and developing new markets and business associations. He has a rich experience of over a decade where he has worked with well known domestic and international hotels. He is expected to support the hotel in its current plans of upgradation.

& Beverage at the Sheraton Bangalore Hotel, at Brigade Gateway. He brings with him over 12 years of experience. In his new role, Joyjit will monitor all service standards of the F&B department to ensure exceptional guest satisfaction. Joyjit has a Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from IIHM Kolkata. Previously, he headed the F&B division at Doubletree by Hilton & Hilton, New Delhi.

of the Best Western India in the capital. He has experience of over two decades in the industry. He has worked for Ruby Tuesday, Carlson Hotels and Sarovar Hotels. Yuvneet started his career with The Ashok, Delhi as a management trainee in 1989. With experience in handling in operational activities, he will have to focus on the goal of qualitative growth of the hotel chain. He has a 3-year Diploma in Hotel Management from IHM Chennai. He will be based in Bengaluru.

Oliver Martin , General Manager at The Claridges, New Delhi and Regional General Manager of The Claridges Hotels & Resorts, is a half Swiss and German, was born in Kolkata. He has worked in Mumbai as well, and says that the experience helped him to understand the multicultural nation. He has two boys; one is four-years-old and the other just one-and-a-half years old. He loves travelling and motorcycling, scuba diving, sky diving and snow-boarding are his favourite adrenaline pumping sports. He believes that spending time with children makes one more youthful.

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

Oliver Martin General Manager The Claridges, New Delhi

Siobhan Chretien Regional Marketing Director CTC

Siobhan Chretien , Regional Marketing Director, Canada Tourism Commission (CTC), who is based out of Vancouver, loves exploring her own country. She is passionate about dancing which is her hobby. She loves French cuisine and is an ardent connoisseur of wine. “However, the type of wine depends on my mood,” she says. Although, she prefers white wine more, but can occasionally indulge in red wine and good champagne. She likes the multicultural set of Indian society and appreciates the harmonious manner in which all respect their traditions and religion.

Christopher Fordyce , Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia, British Airways is a cricket enthusiast. He even joined a cricket team and supported Delhi Daredevils throughout the season of IPL. He moved to Delhi in January this year from United Kingdom, and says that he already feels much at home. The attractiveness and vibrancy of Indian cities is what he loves the most. Fordyce also enjoys snow-boarding, sailing and football. He is a graduate of Sheffield University where he studied business. Christopher Fordyce Regional Commercial Manager South Asia, British Airways

Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication:14-06-2012

HIGHLIGHT

India in Canada’s Top 3: Siobhan India has emerged as one of the top three markets in terms of consolidated percentage growth. Canada witnessed over 23 per cent rise in Indian arrivals in March 2012 compared to the corresponding period last year. finds out more. VIVEK SETHI iobhan Chretien, Regional Managing Director, Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), was on her maiden visit to India after taking over the responsibility of the Indian market. In a freewheeling interaction with , she shared her opinion on the way forward in India, which has emerged as one of the top three growth markets for Canada. Here are the selected excerpts:-

market. The students market is also fast picking up and we are all geared up to welcome the new generation of Indians who settle for nothing but the best in the world.

Canada witnessed over 23 per cent rise in Indian arrivals in March 2012 compared to the corresponding period last year, while the January-February data reflects over 14 per cent in Indian arrivals that crossed the 21,000 mark. In the Indian market, the B2B players hold great significance. We will continue handholding our B2B partners with training, marketing and other support. The objective is to create adequate awareness and ensure that the travellers get great experiences. The huge population of the Indian origin as Canadian citizens is a great advantage, which provides for a sizeable chunk of VFR

On visa facilitation front, we work closely with the Canadian Embassy in India and are committed to expedite the process. In fact, we have got five preferred visa agents and want to ensure that all processes are duly in place prior to the extended number of such agents.

Average stay and spend:- The average stay

Indian Market:- I have been working on the emerging markets for the past two years. I now take care of five markets that include India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Brazil based out of our Vancouver office. Markets like South Korea and Brazil have been very promising. India has emerged as one of the top three markets in terms of consolidated percentage growth.

dynamics will convince the stakeholders in the aviation sector to look into all the sectors that hold great potential.

Siobhan Chretien Regional Managing Director Canadian Tourism Commission

Our research shows that the average spend of Indian travellers on hotel, food and travel attraction is about $1,500 and they stay on an average of 21 days

Direct Air Connectivity and Visa Facilitation:There are no doubts that direct air connectivity facilitates movements of tourists, but we do not have any direct influence on aviation sector and can only give our recommendation on the potential of various destinations based on our research and analysis. We are hopeful that the demand

and spend of tourists in Canada is higher than the global average at many other leading travel attractions. Our research shows that the average spend of Indian travellers on hotel, food and travel attraction is about $1,500 and they stay on an average of about 21 days.

Trade Events and Signature Experiences:Our trade events had been very well received by them. The Showcase Canada event in 2011 and Focus Canada event in 2012 had been a great success. Here we had leading stakeholders interacting with key stakeholders in the Indian market while dwelling over various new products, itineraries and business opportunities. We will like to continue with the success of these two events and conduct more such events in the times to come. We also encourage our trade partners in India to participate in Rendezvous Canada 2012 (RVC), which is our largest annual international market place for the tourism industry. RVC 2012 was held during May 13-16,

2012 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre and connected some of the world’s most influential travel buyers from over 20 countries with Canadian sellers of tourism products and services. During 23,000 face-toface business appointments over four days, buyers and sellers hold meetings that would otherwise only be possible through a number of around-the-world trips. RVC enables tourism professionals to broker deals and close sales, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Canadian businesses. The CTC’s Signature Experiences Collection (SEC), a collection of 163 outstanding experiences from every region of the country and a key feature of Canada’s Federal Tourism Strategy, were also highlighted at RVC 2012 after first being announced last year in Quebec City.

Looking Ahead We have got five preferred visa agents and want to ensure that all processes are duly in place prior to the extended number of such agents The students market is also fast picking up and we are all geared up to welcome the new generation of Indians who settle for nothing but the best in the world We will continue handholding our B2B partners with training, marketing and other support. The objective is to create adequate awareness and ensure that the travellers get great experiences