TravTalk September 2013

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A DDP PUBLICATION

Pages: 44 (Excluding cover)

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Vol. XXV No. 18; September 2 nd fortnight issue 2013

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TRAVTALK

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SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

The New ‘Don’ in Town ‘Invest in budget hotels’ 1 award for TRAVTALK TV in its first month st

K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, India had emphasised the need to develop mid-segment hotels in India. reports more on the recent development.

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t shows that the Government wants to play the role of a catalyst and ensure inte-

TRAVTALKTV was the talk of the town in Kochi, when it won an award of recognition at the Indian Association of Tour Operators’ (IATO) Convention-2013. ’s new TV initiative was awarded as it brings a new dawn in the industry.

There is good potential for budget hotels for tourists coming from across the world to India grated development of enabling infrastructure through effective partnerships with various stakeholders. Chiranjeevi had invited Japanese investors to look into this segment, as Japan Tourism prepares to organise a Contd. on page 12

K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, India

Preparing for the big ‘What If?’ Dollar appreciating, profits receding, airfares going high, and travel industry dreading the ‘What if’ question. shares strategies ‘if ever’ another slowdown hits the market.

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here are reports in the media everyday talking about travellers cancelling their international trips due to the freefall of the rupee, airlines increasing fares due to shooting ATF prices, Indian economy going down, etc. To provide relief to cash-strapped airlines which are reeling under the

impact of the rupee slide and hike in crude prices, the Civil Aviation Ministry of India will continue to press the state governments to reduce taxes on ATF. Industry leaders and experts expressed concern over the rising cost of operations of the airline industry, but cautioned it not to take ‘irrational steps’ like getting into a price war, as such a move would further

impact their financial bottom-line. However, the airlines have already started taking steps to sustain during these tough times. Since air travel occupies a major portion of the Indian outbound and domestic travel packages, overall price of tours has gone up.

On the other hand, to cope with the increasing tour

Rajeev Wagle

Nikhil Ganju

MD, Kuoni India

Country Manager – India, TripAdvisor

package costs; travellers are either cutting short on their holiday duration, adjusting with their accommodation price or opting for an Asian

country instead of Europe or USA or even a luxurious domestic vacation.

Contd. on page 24

News Bulletin ATF subsidy to up tourism

See full story on page 6

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BULLETIN

MOT & ATOAI in USA & Canada ATOAI, along with the India tourism offices, will host a five-city roadshow in USA and Canada from October 2-10, 2013. reports the schedule of these roadhsows in West Coast US and Canadian cities.

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he Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and India Tourism offices in USA and

K Chiranjeevi Minister for Tourism India

The ‘777 Days of the Indian Himalayas’ campaign will attract more international tourists and promote India

Canada will host a five-city roadshow for USA and Canada tour operators and travel professionals interested in learning more about India’s wide range of travel options. The roadshow will be attended by K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism, Chandan Brahma, Minister of Tourism, Assam and Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.

The roadshow, which is on from October 2-10, will involve detailed presentations by ATOAI and Ministry of Tourism and will form an ideal platform for the international launch of the “777 Days of the Indian Himalayas” campaign.

Some Himalayan state governments are expected to join as well. The roadshow will be held at Los Angeles on October 2, San Francisco on

The roadshows will be held on: October 2 : Los Angeles October 3: San Francisco October 7: Seattle October 8: Vancouver October 10: Toronto

October 3, Seattle on October 7, Vancouver on October 8 and Toronto on October 10.

It will also offer the opportunity for adventure travel professionals to meet

Akshay Kumar President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI)

We chose these cities as they are the best for adventure travel, mainly West Coast US and Canada with Toronto thrown in

and network with several of India’s leading adventure travel organisations, while exploring India’s unique mosaic of natural beauty, outdoor activities, rich culture and history. The India-based travel companies exhibiting at the roadshow are Mercury Himalayan Explorations, Far Horizon India, Kash Venture Travels, Luxury India Holidays, Shikhar Travels India, Banjara Camps & Retreats, Kalypso Adventures and Royal Expeditions.

Speaking on the selection of these cities, Akshay Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), said, “We chose these cities as they are the best cities for adventure travel, mainly West Coast US and Canada with Toronto thrown in.”

Details The roadshow, which is on from October 2-10, will involve presentations by ATOAI and MOT It will form an ideal platform for the international launch of the ‘777 Days of the Indian Himalayas’ campaign.

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TIME MACHINE VIEWPOINT

November 1991 | Vol 1 | Issue 3 | Page 4

Rupee fall boosts domestic

, 23 years back, had featured a story on Gujarat Tourism. Even today, the state continues to march forward with rising number of tourists.

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he only industries that will probably gain from the devaluation of the rupee are the inbound and domestic sectors, and hospitality, in general. Although, with rising fuel price resulting in costlier airfares, the picture looks quite bleak… but here we should applaud the never-say-die approach of the Indian traveller. They may change their holiday/business plans from distant shores to closer ones, especially domestic destinations, but they will definitely take that vacation they were planning.

The Indian domestic sector of the tourism industry must gear up and make the most of this situation. Special innovative packages should be planned with hotels, in all categories, car rental companies and bus services giving good rates to boost numbers.

Incremental business is there for grabs if handled correctly and sensibly.

India just crossed the 1 billion mark in domestic travellers compared to the 1 billion mark crossed by global tourism. That is the potential of the Indian domestic market!

The top five states in terms of number of domestic tourist visits in 2012 (in millions) were Andhra Pradesh (206.8), Tamil Nadu (184.1), Uttar Pradesh (168.4), Karnataka (94.1) and Maharashtra (66.3).

What these states need to improve and what is required from other states to boost domestic traffic is a subject to be discussed at all the tourism conclaves, including MOT and FICCI’s Great Domestic Tourism Bazar, to be held on 27-29 September 2013.

Corporate houses, like ONGC, are taking on heritage sites, to keep them clean and maintained. This will greatly attract the inbound traffic to these cities. We need many more organisations like these to take the onus on themselves and join the Clean India campaign.

Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Editor & Publisher Deepa Sethi Editor-in-Chief

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

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

Gujarat Tourism on the march Rajen Bali

The rapid strides made by Gujarat in tourism and their extremely progressive tourism policies can be a role model for tourism authorities in many other states.

Having granted tourism the status of an industry quite sometime back, Gujarat is way ahead of other states in selective privatization and incentives to entrepreneurs.

They have different incentives for different formulated categories with a six year common period of incentives. These are applicable to hotels, motels, amusement parks, ropeways and water sports facilities. The incentives are inclusive of varying exemptions on sales tax on cooked food, electricity duty and luxury tax. In some cases, there is a 100 per cent exemption from entertainment tax for the first six years.

The areas for tourism promotion and development have been identified and include places on the coastline, places of historical, cultural and religious importance, hill stations and wildlife spots.

These suggested areas include Dwarka, Palitana, Patna, Saputara, Pavagadh, Ahmedpur, Mandvi, Kutch Mandvi, Madhavpur,

Chanch, Ubhrat and Tithal. Efforts are also afoot to develop more fair sites. The fairs at Tarnetar Somnath, Bhavnath and the festivals like International Kite Festival, Janmashtami, Navratri and Makarasakranti festivals are already very popular with tourists from home and abroad.

Gujarat has a vast heritage of places of religious interest like Somnath, Dwarka, Pavagadh, Palitana, Mahudi and Shankeswar-of great importance to Hindus and Jains. It has the longest coastline in India.

Two excellent resorts have been built for sea lovers based on an erstwhile palaces at Chorward and Ahmedpur Mandvi. Full advantage is being taken of the unique wild ass sanctuary in Kutch and the

Sasan Gir Lion Sanctuary, the abode of the Asian Lion. For wildlife enthusiasts there are also a great variety of birds and other animals. Porbandar is a great attraction for tourists with its rich traditions of colourful textiles and handicrafts, spanning hundreds of years and the tourism authorities are taking full advantage of this aspect. Rural Gujarat is being projected through folk art, dance and music. Gujarat Tourism’s plan appears to be multi-pronged and very well conceived.

They have also decided to go in for aggressive marketing in various parts of the country. Not long ago, a high level team from Gujarat Tourism had come to Calcutta to interact with central and state tourism officials and representatives of the tourism industry. They came fully equipped with attractive packages to woo the tourists from the eastern region and their packages included all budget levels and also an offer to tailor packages to suit the requirements of travel agents and individual clients/groups.

Their dynamic efforts are bound to make them one of the leading states in tourism.

British High Commission response to OTOAI Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India B-8 Aman Chambers, Main Pusa Road 47/21-22, Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi 110060 Thank you for your letter of 2 August, setting out your Association’s concerns about a possible bond scheme for certain applicants for a UK visa. Much of the media reporting about this issue has been misleading or simply wrong. I welcome the chance to clarify matters. Britain is and will remain open: for business, for students, and for the hundreds of thousands of Indian visitors and tourists who come to the UK every year.

We have an excellent visa service in India: 12 application centres (more than any other country), fast turnaround, and a positive approach: nine out of ten Indians who apply for a UK visa get one. And we are constantly seeking to improve our service, for example with the new same-day visa we launched recently: India is the first country in the world with this service. At the same time we are committed to tackling abuse of our immigration rules. As part of that, the UK government is considering a pilot scheme which would test the impact of requiring a financial bond from certainvisa applicants to deter them from overstaying their visa. No decisions have been taken on the details of how such a scheme would work.

Any such scheme would be tightly targeted on a small number of visa applicants assessed as high risk, and designed in a way that does not cut across the UK’s wish to remain open for business, students and tourists.

I should like to reassure you onthreefurther points.

First, as we decide whether and if so how to take forward this scheme, we will take into careful consideration the concerns that you and others have expressed. Second, once we have taken decisions, we will seek to inform you and others with an interest quickly and clearly. Third, we greatly value the manyIndian tourists who come each year to the UK, and are keen to increase further their numbers: we have no intention of placing obstacles in the way of legitimate visitors.

Let my conclude by saying how much wevalue the work which you and your members do to promote the UK as a destination of choice. We remain committed to our partnership with you on this, and will continue to work with you to ensure it goes from strength to strength.

Sir James Bevan KCMG, British High Commissioner

Advertising (Mumbai) Suchita Saran Branch Manager Harshal Ashar Deputy Genral Manager Priyanshu Wankhade Asst. Manager Advertising Rishika Karra Sales Coordinator Advertisement Designers Vikas Mandotia / Nitin Kumar Aarushi Agrawal 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

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ANALYSIS

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Insurance a must for domestic travel Travel insurance in India is usually purchased for overseas travel. However, going forward, tour operators and insurance companies are looking to tap the domestic segment.

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ccording to industry estimates, the travel insurance business has been growing at about 12-15 per

PP Khanna Director Diplomatic Travel Point

The segment for domestic tourism has just grown five to ten per cent in our company and much needs to be done cent annually for the past decade. However, for domestic travel, the figure still stands in single digit figures of five to eight per cent. Thus,

Rakesh Lamba Chairman Prakriti Holidays

Given the small premium, it is always advisable to buy insurance while travelling within India as well insuring domestic travellers will be the next area of thrust for tour operators and general insurance companies.

Currently, the insurers’ travel portfolio primarily caters to international travellers from the country. Travel insurance in India is usually purchased for overseas travel. These

products cover claims arising out of unforeseen incidents, including sudden medical costs, loss of baggage and passport, among others.

However, while medical costs incurred overseas are covered, individuals travelling abroad for treatment is not covered for medical costs under a travel policy.

Talking about the potential of domestic travel insurance, Rakesh Lamba, Chairman, Prakriti Holidays feels, “Following the recent floods in Uttarakhand in which thousands lost their lives, general insurance companies have hardly seen any claims related to medical emergencies. This is because the pilgrims were

mainly domestic travellers and Indians do not believe in taking travel insurance, especially if they are travelling within the country. Even when travelling overseas, most Indian travellers take insurance only if it is mandatory. But given the small premium, it is always advisable to buy insurance while travelling within India

as well. Also, it is the travel agents who need to push their customers to buy travel insurance. Thus, it becomes vital for them to get updated on details.”

Affirming that domestic travel is an untapped market with huge potential, PP Khanna, Director, Diplomatic

Travel Point feels, “Looking at the natural calamities such as the one that happened in Uttarakhand, it is mandatory for people travelling out of state to get their travel plans registered and secure travel insurance. Not just natural calamities, but even road Contd. on page 16

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STATES

ATF subsidy to up tourism Projecting West Bengal as a unique travel destination, the travel industry gathered in full support at the recently organised Tourism Promotion Roadshow in Delhi hosted by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Excerpts: TT B U R E AU

Officials of West Bengal Tourism along with the WB Tourism Minister and leaders of the travel trade industry at the recently conducted road show in Delhi.

Reduction of sales tax on ATF

Wildlife in focus

The recent policy announcement of the state for reduction of the Sales Tax on ATF will boost connectivity to three airports in West Bengal. To encourage more flights, enhance business opportunities and promote tourism, the state will not levy sales tax on fuel sold from Durgapur, Cooch Behar and Bagdogra airports for the next three years. Also, there will be a 50 per cent rebate on tax on additional ATF sold to any airline from the Kolkata airport. The state government has increased its tourism budget to ` 120 crore from ` 36 crore. Last year, West Bengal received 24 million tourists.

The state is planning to develop numerous tourism projects on PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) mode like Gajoldoba Tourism Hub, Sylee Tea Tourism, Kolkata Giant Wheel, Jharkhali in the Sunderbans, River Cruise in West Bengal, etc.

The Gajoldoba Tourism Hub is being structured as an integrated multiproduct tourism park in the Dooars in North Bengal. This project is a part of the Tera-Dooars Forest Circuit giving the tourists an opportunity to experience wildlife tourism here. The projected investment of this project is about ` 1,500 crore.

— Krishnendu Narayan Choudhary Minister-in-charge of Tourism West Bengal

— Vikram Sen Principal Secretary Tourism West Bengal

IATO welcomes sales tax cut on ATF On 29 May this year, I attended the meeting that was chaired by the CM and her team. We discussed how to boost tourism in the state post the opening of the new international wing at the Kolkata Airport. Despite this new wing, the Kolkata airport was not receiving many international airlines. Post the meeting, the West Bengal government reduced the Sales Tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel after receiving a request from IATO. This is indeed a brilliant step and will go a long way in making Bengal a much-sought after destination in the country.

– Subhash Goyal, President, IATO

Durga Puja Carnival should be promoted There is immense potential in the region and thus, last year, ADTOI also launched its West Bengal and North-East chapter to promote the region. The state should aggressively promote its unique products such as Durga Puja carnival along with various tourism attractions and activities in the state.

— PP Khanna, Vice President, ADTOI See more pictures on pg 12

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STATES

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‘Tourists seek participatory experiences’ EM Najeeb, Managing Director, Air Travel Enterprises, says the pattern of the industry is changing day-by-day, redefining the role of the stakeholders and players.

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n the fast changing global travel industry, travellers preferences have also changed. According to Najeeb, the most prominent travel attraction has always been the sun, sand and the blue sea. But more than that the visitors look for experiential tours that give a feel of India to them.

“Specially - designed experiential programmes are

E M Najeeb Managing Director Air Travel Enterprises

Our targets and expectations are in sync with the national trend of growth and targets.

We look for all opportunities to expand our market share the thread of tourism products new-age travellers look for. Tourists look for more of participatory experiences at the places they visit. They are keen on the body, mind and soul programmes including yoga, meditation and ayurveda. The greenery and the beautiful nature of Kerala with its backwaters, beaches, spice plantations, and the hills and traditional homestays make it an irresistible attraction for them,” said Najeeb.

“Medical tourism is on the increase as people look for world-class treatment at modern hospitals at competitive prices. MICE tourism is also on the rise, and almost all new hotels coming up have conference and convention facilities.

History, heritage and culture also are in good demand,” he added.

Najeeb is also prompt to highlight statistics, which point out that Kerala witnessed 7.93 lakh Foreign

Tourist Arrivals in 2012, and 1.01 crores domestic tourists in 2012. There is consistent growth in the tourist arrivals to Kerala and foreign exchange earnings had gone up to ` 4,550 crores in 2012. The total tourism receipts in the state amounts to ` 21,125 crores.

“We are going strong, developing new products, new markets, and addressing the challenges. Our targets and expectations are in sync with the national trend of growth and targets. We look for all opportunities to expand our market share and to improve visitor satisfac-

tion. The world is going through a period of fast evolution in all fields, including tourism,” said Najeeb.

“The patterns of the industry are changing day-by-day redefining the role of the stakeholders and players. The introduction of technology is revo-

lutionising the pattern of business and philosophy so much in tourism. New products and services are coming up every now and then. Tour operators have to keep themselves trendy, adaptable, innovative and successful in this process,” he added.

In Numbers Kerala witnessed over 7.93 lakh Foreign Tourist Arrivals in 2012 It also saw 1.01 crore domestic tourists in the same period

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STATES

TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Eyeing 3 million foreign tourists by 2021 Kerala will publicise the VoA facility for 11 countries which are already enjoying the benefits of this scheme.

It will take part in travel fairs and roadshows to tell travellers how convenient visiting Kerala is.

VIVEK SETHI

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he introduction of Visaon-Arrival (VoA) facility at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports marks a new chapter for Kerala Tourism, which has already carved

the foreign exchange earnings touched ` 4,548 crores.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Anil Kumar, V S Sivakumar, Minister for Health, Kerala and senior officials including Suman Billa, Secretary,

sq ft holding area has been set aside in the Immigration section and the exclusive visa desks are manned by Intelligence Bureau officials.

VoA was rolled out in the first phase in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Two other airports

Oommen Chandy

AP Anil Kumar

Suman Billa

Chief Minister Kerala

Minister for Tourism Kerala

Secretary Kerala Tourism

an important place in the global tourism map.

As per AP Anil Kumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala, “We believe the VoA scheme will help Kerala Tourism achieve its target of 30 lakh foreign tourist arrivals by 2021,” Kumar said. Kerala recorded 7,89,698 foreign tourist arrivals in 2012 and

Kerala Tourism, S Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism and VN Chandran, Director, Thiruvananthapuram Airport reviewed arrangements at the special VoA counter which became operational on August 15 at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on 28 August 2013. A roughly 250

that got VoA facility in the second phase are Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Kerala is also the only state to have two airports offering the service. VoA is currently available for citizens of 11 countries-Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.

“These countries are markets where Kerala Tourism sees vast potential and is beginning to make significant inroads.

For instance, the tourist arrivals from Japan rose by around 56% in five years to 11,440 in 2012; and the arrivals from Finland more than doubled over the period to 5,160 last year. Tourist arrivals from countries such

as New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines have similarly risen between 75% and 90% since 2008.

The VoA facility has been a long-standing demand from Kerala Tourism and now, we intend to take full advantage of it,” said Anil Kumar.

“We are especially thankful to the Central Government and Union Ministers from Kerala, including Mullapally Ramachandran and KC Venugopal, for bringing this service here.

The Department of Tourism will take our campaign to these countries. We will take part in travel fairs and take our roadshows there,” he added.

VoA facility launched at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports The introduction of VoA facility at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports marks a new chapter for Kerala Tourism and will help attract more foreign visitors to the state, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said recently. The Chief Minister, accompanied by Minister for Tourism AP Anil Kumar, Minister for Health V S Sivakumar and senior officials, reviewed arrangements at the special VoA counter which became operational on August 15.

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STATES

Nashik for tourists The state government has approved ` 317.5 crore plan to boost tourism in the Nashik region…

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ith an aim to offer more tourist circuits to inbound and domestic tourists during the Kumbh Mela in 2015 in the state, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has chalked out a ` 317.50-crore plan to boost tourism in the Nashik revenue division. The state government has approved the plan, which will promote tourism in North Maharashtra. Of the total fund of ` 317.50 crore, ` 126 crore has been sanctioned for various tourism projects in Nashik district, ` 46 crore for Dhule, ` 36 crore for Jalgaon, ` 57 crore for Ahmednagar and ` 52 crore for Nandurbar districts.

Talking about the same, Jagdish Patil, MD, MTDC said, “Apart from developing the Konkan region for beach tourism, we are also developing other regions to bring in variety of tourism products in the offing. One of the recent plans approved by the state government is Nashik circuit.

We will develop an adventure sports complex and are in process of building a Convention Centre for MICE facilities. The convention

Project Highlights The Gangapur dam Someshwar temple Godavari Kund Durgawadi waterfalls

Jagdish Patil MD MTDC

We are going to develop the wine tourism circuit in Nashik, along with adventure, leisure & MICE centre will be built through central government financial assistance and would offer state-of-the-art international standard facilities for MICE events. We are also going to develop the wine tourism circuit in Nashik district.

With these new developments, we are looking at developing Nashik as a complete tourist destination for adventure, leisure and MICE visitors.”

Additionally, the plan will include development of projects like the Gangapur

dam, the Someshwar temple, the Godavari river and Godavari Kund. The Jyotirling temple, Teertha Kund, Prayag Teerth, Srikeshtra Kapildhara, Anjaneri, the Dugarwadi waterfall, Bhatsa and Darna dams and Vani have been included in the plan for Trimbakeshwar. In Igatpuri, the Ghatandevi temple and Kavnai temple and the Vipassana Meditation Centre are to be developed.

Bhandardara, Kalsubai temple, Shirdi, Puntamba, Nevasa, Devgad, Navnath, Mohatadevi and Shani Shignapur will be developed in Ahmednagar.

"People who visit Nashik also visit these places. During the Kumbh Mela, which will take place in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, many pilgrims will also visit Igatpuri, Vani, Shirdi, Bhandardara and other places. Developing these places as tourist destinations will boost tourism in the region," adds Patil. The state tourism board is also leveraging various fairs and festivals of the state to create a year-round calendar which is promoted among Indian and global travel trade and travellers. The board organises fests on the sidelines of these events to boost tourism, few of them being – Elephanta Festival (February), Chikoo Festival (March), Turtle Festival (April), Govinda Festival (August) and Diwali (October-November).

It now intends to organise a Strawberry Festival in the state during April.

MTDC appoints Accenture The consultancy firm will aid the state tourism board in setting up an online single window clearance system.

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n a bid to revamp the inefficient licensing process in the state currently, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has appointed consultancy firm Accenture to work on the number of licenses needed for hotels, the departments involved and also help MTDC design a single-window clearance system for the whole process.

Jagdish Patil, Managing Director, MTDC said, “In many of our meetings and conversations with the hospitality industry in the state, they highlighted the difficulties they were facing with regard to licenses. Therefore,

we decided to appoint Accenture to review the current licensing procedure and to make recommendations on how the process can be made more efficient.”

Patil added, “Accenture will look at the possibility of some licenses as deemed to be approved until there is a violation. They will also reexamine 50-60 year old Acts

Long Overdue The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation is targetting the end of this year to launch the single window clearance system for hotels in the state

and give suggestions on creation of one master form that will collect all the information and share it with multiple government departments.

The various issues being experienced currently are due to the lack of an integrated platform. Additionally, Accenture will also attempt to identify a nodal body to handle the licensing process.”

Once the recommendations are made by Accenture, MTDC aims to launch an online single-window clearance system for the hospitality industry on its own website. Patil informed that the MTDC was targetting the end of this year for the launch of the system.

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NTO

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France welcomes Indians with open arms talks to Patricia Barthelemy, Marketing Manager, Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau and Catherine Oden, Director, Atout France India to know the NTO’s plans.

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den: (When asked about the effect of the falling rupee) Luckily, people had already made their bookings before the slide of the rupee, so we did not see a drop in tourists this summer. Now, we are working very hard, along with the Indian travel agents, to introduce new packages, a new promotion - Be There! Do That! - roadshows, sales visits to various smaller

Catherine Oden Director Atout France India

We are working very hard, along with the Indian travel agents, to introduce new packages cities in India, like Chandigarh, Ludhiana in the North and Hyderabad, Mysore, Kochi in the South, along with Mumbai and Delhi. Our aim with the roadshows is to give the visiting professionals a broader perspective of the Indian market through meetings and networking, so they can understand the potential of India as an important tourist market for France. It also helps grow inbound tourism for India. We took some of the delegates on a Bollywood tour in Mumbai, acquainting them with studio visits and other facets of the movie making industry for French tourists coming to India. Wine tourism is picking up in a big way. In recent years, the number of Indians opting for specific wine tours in France is steadily increasing and a growing number of tourists like to visit a wine region during their holidays.

Today’s discerning Indian visitors are ready to experiment and create a different holiday experience of their own. We have seen a growing demand for specific wine itineraries from travel agents and direct

clients alike. It is also encouraging to note that many travel companies are actively promoting the concept of wine tours in this market.

The demand for easier processes for visas has been accepted by the French

Government to encourage Indian tourists to visit France.

Visa process for students travelling to France has become easier. France also announced many India-specific measures easing visa norms for those wanting to pursue higher education.

B

arthelemy: We like Indian tourists because they like to walk and see places. Some roads and bridges along the Seine River have been converted into walking zones.

The famous museums and buildings are lit up every evening. Days are being earmarked to make Paris a fun city late into the night. There are other places around Paris, less than an hour away, for out-of-the-ordinary experiences, where you can go ballooning, paragliding, rock climbing, rafting and so much more. The French Government is doing a lot to promote tourism, both leisure and MICE. There are new activities coming up so often.

For example, every Friday evening, there is a music festival in different areas of Paris. The streets close down to traffic and people can enjoy the music, festivities and food.

Patricia Barthelemy Marketing Manager Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

FAMILY ALBUM

Contd. from page 6

Roadshow for Durga Puja Carnival The recently organised Tourism Promotion roadshow in Delhi was hosted by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry. The roadshow, held at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi, witnessed many stakeholders from the travel and hotel industries amid a grand cultural rendezvous.

All for promoting bilaterial tourism Contd. from page 1

world-class two-day IndiaJapan Tourism Expo in New Delhi from 13-17 January, 2014. “There is good potential for budget hotels for tourists coming from across the world to India,” said

Chiranjeevi at a recent meeting held in New Delhi between him and Hiroshi Kajiyama, Japanese Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. In fact, India and Japan have resolved to strengthen cooperation in

the tourism sector and move further on signing an MoU to promote bilateral tourism relations.

Chiranjeevi also informed his Japanese counterpart about the measures being taken to

improve Golf Tourism and MICE Tourism in India, which can attract to Japanese tourists and businessmen. He also invited Japan to invest in the affordable hotel sector where India has liberalised the FDI

route. Echoing similar sentiments, Kajiyama said “The proposal for investments in the budget hotel sector could form a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries.

Two Japanese airlines are

operating daily flights between India and Japan, which is an indication of the gravity of tourist traffic between countries. Japan has set for itself a target of attracting 10 million visitors from across the world to Japan.”

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

ASSOCIATIONS

IATO Theme summarises agents’ needs The IATO theme ‘Innovations and Partnerships’ states what is needed to jump-start and invigorate the state of the travel agents in India, feel the IATO Chapter Chairmen of various states. Here are a few excerpts from what they said: Bhim Singh Chairman IATO Rajasthan Chapter

C Nagendra Prasad

The greatest challenge now is to promote and increase inbound tourism, which has been almost static for many years in spite of attractive sites and facilities of the international standards available in the country. There are new trends being witnessed in the industry, which show that the sector is evolving. The large ‘group tour’ business is now replaced by smaller groups and more FITs.

The security for women tourists is the first issue that needs to be tackled. With the recurring rape cases, inbound has been impacted in recent times. So this situation has to be resolved to boost our tourism potential. Also, political agitations in the country, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Darjeeling and Srinagar need to be curbed. These are areas which can tap a lot of inbound.

The theme is most relevant and probably the only solution to put Indian tourism on the path of rapid growth. Through sustainable partnerships amongst various stakeholders, we can realise the huge employment and economic potential that tourism offers for our ever-growing population.

Harihar Patra Member, IATO Tour Guide Relations Committee

Ramesh Wattal Committee Member, IATO

Rakesh Chopra Chairman IATO Madhya Pradesh Chapter I feel the convention is really timed right. Margins are shrinking and if one wants to excel, then ‘innovation’ is the only way forward or otherwise, the market forces would throw you out of business. ‘Partnerships’ are like pillars for any business and one should try and build on it over the years. We wish some steps are taken on a war footing, so that border taxes are paid online and free flow of tourist vehicles across borders becomes a reality.

Chairman, IATO Tamil Nadu Chapter

Innovations and partnerships are the only two ways to survive in the present competitive market.

This creates a new hype in the market, where stakeholders or partners support you. Going forward, the tour operators need to get educated and updated on how to create new destinations with the partnership of state governments. It is very important that our B2B community keeps creating new products.

Sunil C Gupta Chairman IATO Uttar Pradesh Chapter

The theme ‘Innovations & Partnerships’ has been chosen to emphasise that new partnerships in the Indian travel trade will only innovate, if the partnerships themselves are innovative. It is important to have innovative partnerships to bring small stakeholders in the industry up to the same platform as others. And once the requirements of these small stakeholders are met, it will lead to an all-round growth of the industry.

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AVIATION

TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Keen on boosting Oz connection

Have a safe journey

The airline has started a direct service to Australia which will connect Delhi to Melbourne four times a week and to Sydney three times a week…

accidents have now become more frequent.” With a boom in intra-state and inter-state travel, travellers usually might take their own cars on the highways. “When you take travel insurance, it insures you against possible road accidents as well.

However, we see that the segment for domestic tourism has just grown five to ten per cent in our company and much needs to be done,” he adds. According to Khanna, there is minimal domestic insurance in the leisure, FIT and family travel segment.

We have already signed a seat-sharing agreement with one of the leading players in the Australian market.

In fact, we are also looking to work with more strategic partners,” he added.

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fter a long break of over 16 years, the flagship carrier of India has restored its direct non-stop flight to Australia. Air India commenced its daily non-stop operations using state-of-the

a week and to Sydney three times a week.

Rohit Nandan CMD Air India

art Dreamliner, which will give travellers to reach Melbourne directly four times

“The Air India flight will open many new vistas for tourism and hospitality industry. We have designed the flight in such a manner that people from all over India could reach Delhi conveniently to be able to catch our non stop flight to Australia. At present, the non-stop flight connects Delhi to Melbourne four times a week and to Sydney three times a week.

MINTCENTIVE wins laurels MINTCENTIVE has won the Most Creative DMC award in India as a part of the Annual MICE Report Awards 2013. This award has been conferred by The MICE Report. The MICE Report is the official media partner for IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX Las Vegas and EIBTM. Sanjay Malhotra, Senior Vice President, MINTCENTIVE while Arjun Sharma Managing Director, thanking the readers who voted for Le Passage to India Tours & Travels the company, said, “I am absolutely elated that MINTCENTIVE has been voted as the most creative DMC in India. It is most humbling and gratifying to know that end-users and suppliers have voted for us.”

Arjun Sharma, Managing Director, Le Passage to India Tours & Travels said, “Even as difficult times descend on us, the MICE secSanjay Malhotra tor will continue to evolve. There Senior Vice President may be changes in the packaging of MINTCENTIVE the content-the meetings may get smaller, nearer home; but will happen nevertheless. DMCs need not be threatened by technology as their roles will be bigger and better defined.

The travellers will reach their chosen destination in Australia early in the morning and hence will have an entire day at their disposal,” said Rohit Nandan, CMD, Air India.

“Going forward, we are hopeful that the results of the first phase of connecting Australia will lead us to enhance our connectivity in such a manner that there is a daily flight to Melbourne and Australia.

There is more good news in the offing for stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector, who had been waiting for Air India to revive this route. “We are keen to start a new connection to Italy and connect Rome and France by 2013-end. The year 2014 will soon witness a flight to Moscow,” said Nandan.

“Today, Air India is a changed entity, if one looks at the sense of devotion of staff and the aggressiveness to grow. Our on-time performance today is at par with the best in the domestic and even in the international sphere,” he added.

Contd. from page 5

Feels Harjinder Singh, Proprietor, Odyssey Tours, “Now even tour operators and transporters feel the risk involved while travelling domestic. Big transport companies are insuring their drivers as well. In our company, we have seen a 20 per cent increase in domestic travel insurance and 70 per cent increase in travel insurance for the Far East companies. The challenge in promoting the need for domestic travel cover is the fact that

Harjinder Singh Proprietor Odyssey Tours

We have seen a 20% increase in domestic travel insurance and 70% increase in travel insurance for the Far East companies there is lack of knowledge in this domain. Thus, travel agents need to come forward and push their clientele to buy the cover.”

Now, Kuala Lumpur to Kochi Malaysia Airlines, starting from September 2013, launched its inaugural service on the Kuala Lumpur-Kochi route.

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he airline is also looking at all possibilities to aggressively tap the burgeoning MICE market from India. Duncan Bureau, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Distribution Malaysia Airlines was in New Delhi to interact with select media.

“We are pleased to bring our service to Kochi. We will be operating Kuala LumpurKochi route on the new and improved 160-seater B737800. The B737-800 aircraft with a configuration of 16 business and 144 Economy seats, will provide premium travel experience with on-

demand in-flight entertainment system at every seat,” said Bureau.

“Kochi will be a great addition to the destinations offered

by Malaysia Airlines via oneworld alliance.

various aspects including fluctuation in the Indian currency and the economic scenario in general. According to him, “There is uncertainty in the global economy.

However, Malaysia Airlines is com-

The daily Kochi flight will depart Kuala Lumpur at 10.30pm and arrive in the Indian city at 12.01am the next day. The return service leaves Kochi at 12.50am and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at Duncan Bureau, 7.40am,” he added. Bureau Senior Vice President also shared his opinion on the Global Sales & Distribution Malaysia Airlines

mitted to the India market, where we will keep investing further.”

“We operate in many markets, which had seen steep movements in their national currencies. Japan is one such example. On the whole, we are bullish on the Indian growth story.

Moreover, we work with travel agents on performance linked basis,” he added.

Going forward, Bureau added that Malaysia Airlines now will aggressively look into promoting MICE from India.

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NTO

India roadshow by GNTO The 3-city roadshow will be organised in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, from Nov 24. Around 15 suppliers are expected to participate in the roadshow. leisure and incentive travel.

We are also seeing a lot of student traffic from India to Germany to visit industries there.”

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G

ermany currently ranks No 2 for people travelling to Europe, after UK. Boosting the India growth story, German Tourism will conduct its annual roadshow in India in November this year. The three-city road show will be organised in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, starting from November 24. Around 15 suppliers comprising hotels, destinations and tour operators are expected to participate in the roadshow. This was revealed by Romit Theophilus, Director – Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office (GNTO) during the recently-concluded Germany India Pool roadshow in New Delhi. The event, which is part of GNTO’s sales activity week 2013, was organised with the idea of facilitating interactions on the latest updates, highlights and attractions for the Indian travellers between India Pool members and the Indian travel trade. The India Pool members who participated in the roadshow included Saxony Tourism, the association of Magic Cities, BadenBaden, Alpha Travel Consultants, Cologne Tourism, Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn.

Romit Theophilus Director – Sales & Marketing German National Tourist Office (GNTO)

The ratio of leisure versus business tourist is about 40:60, making India one of the most important source markets Talking about the changing perception of Germany among outbound travellers from India, he opines, “The image of Germany as a business and trade fair destination is changing rapidly.

Of late, there has been a tremendous growth in

According to Theophilus, GNTO strongly believes in the India growth story and is looking at a significant market share out of potential 50 million outbound travellers by 2020.

“Our growth in terms of Indian arrivals over the past five years has been consistently good. The 2012 figures stood at 584,508 overnights which was about six per cent higher than 2011.

India is one of the most important source markets for Germany. The Jan-April 2013 Indian visitor arrival figures recorded 174,128 overnights, which is an increase from the 172,746 overnights recorded during the same period last year.

The ratio of leisure versus business tourist is about 40:60,” he confirms. Despite the rupee slide affecting outbound to Germany, he believes Germany has fared better than many other European destinations.

Incentives for Indian outbound The Singapore Tourism Board has launched a first-ofits-kind reward programme in the Indian market called In Singapore Incentives & Rewards Programme.

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n order to boost Singapore’s position as a destination for corporate incentive groups, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has launched a first-ofits-kind reward programme in the Indian market called In Singapore Incentives & Rewards (INSPIRE) programme. Targetted at the MICE outbound segment from India, the programme is a partnership between STB

Cashing In Incentive groups travelling no later than December 31, 2014 and staying at least 1,000 visitor nights are eligible to apply for the INSPIRE programme.

Applications are open from August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2014

and its trade partners such as Changi Airport Group, Gardens by the Bay, Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa Leisure Group, Singapore

Chang Chee Pey Executive Director, South Asia Middle East and Africa

Airlines, Singapore Turk Club, and Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Chang Chee Pey, Executive Director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, STB said, “Despite tough

times being faced by the industry; incentive travel will still be very important, and with the depreciation of the rupee, we feel that more MICE travel will turn to Singapore. With the shorthaul flights, value-for-money and complimentary travel deals that we are offering, we hope to see more incentive travel from India to Singapore. Through this programme, for a minimum of 1,000 visitor nights, incentive groups looking for something different can have bespoke experiences amidst world-class attractions.” The INSPIRE rewards programme will include complimentary incentive experiences such as Dinner Lunch at Flower Dome (Gardens by the Bay) or Wildlife High Tea Encounter at Singapore Zoo, special guided tours at Singapore Turf Club and Sentosa among others.

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

CRUISES

ACA urges for better cruise infrastructure In view of emerging customer demands for cruise tourism in South and South-East Asia, the Asia Cruise Association (ACA) recently met trade practitioners in Mumbai and Delhi to make them aware of current trends. Kevin Leong, General Manager, ACA spoke to on the prerequisites to harness opportunities.

RATAN KR PAUL

S

tudy says over eight out of 10 tourists in Asia are interested in cruise tourism.

Kevin Leong General Manager ACA

This includes 42 per cent affluent and 54 per cent ultra-affluent people. They are primarily keen to travel within India, because of cultural proximity. The growth

tourism in Asia,” Leong underlined. Currently, ACA has 12 members that include A Passenger Bill of Rights, Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Australia, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises SPA, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Cruises & Cunard Line, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises and Star Cruises.

rate of cruise tourism is very high in South-East Asia.

Interestingly, the current cruise tourism is predominantly mixed with landbased tourism products like shopping, city tours, and amusement parks.

“Tourists are opting for cruise as a value-for money, comfort and experience,” said Leong.

Leong has firm belief that India will be able to position itself a viable cruise tourism hub thanks to its huge coast line, number of affluent people (for outbound tourism) and lucrative landbased tourism products (for inbound tourism). “However, the country is lagging behind, because of the absence of basic infrastructure. The government of India should put serious thought in this regard. ACA

Key objectives of ACA is in the process of dialogue with the Government of India. We are conveying the message from our member shipping-lines to them that some of our members are willing to make direct calls at Indian ports, provided

proper infrastructure is available with a clear and cruise tourism-friendly policy,” said Leong.

Formed in 2009, the objective of ACA is to promote cruise tourism across

the region. It is a key representative association for the cruise industry in Asia. “ACA serves as a non-partisan platform for cruise industry stakeholders to engage each other on cruise matters with the goal of promoting cruise

Promoting the interest of cruise lines Lobby the support of governments and cruise industry stakeholders to build a cruise-friendly environment in Asia

Cruise to SA, Dubai, Miami More for the Indian market MSC Cruises has so far been seeing a good demand Costa Cruises has doubled its presence in the Far East from India for its Mediterranean and Scandinavian and will offer travellers cruises covering Malaysia, cruise itineraries.

Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

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or its third season in South Africa (SA), Europe-based MSC Cruises will have MSC Opera and MSC Sinfonia sailing from November 2013 – March 2014. The ships will have a wide spectrum of itineraries ranging from 2 nights to 5 nights starting from Durban and Cape Town and covering various African countries like Kenya, Nairobi, Mozambique and popular points within South Africa.MSC also announced the arrival of MSC Lirica to Dubai for its winter routes from November 2013 to March 2014. The ship will have one-week itineraries starting from Dubai, covering Abu Dhabi and Oman. The MSC Divina, the biggest and one of the newest ships in the MSC Fleet, will be positioned in Miami next year. The ship will cover both the Western and Eastern Caribbean in different itineraries to cover

Triple Bonanza Under the offer, the traveller

receives a 50% discount on companion, an added On-Board Cruise Credit of upto USD 100 per cabin and children sail free

points in Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexico, Cayman islands etc. This information was shared by Amit Mathur, Country Head – India, MSC Cruises.

Talking about the potential of the cruise segment, Mathur said, “Cruising is still at a nascent stage in India.

While the impact of the depreciation of the rupee as

Amit Mathur Country Head – India MSC Cruises

compared to the dollar and the economic slowdown will definitely have an impact, in the long term, I expect the cruise market in India to boom as travellers gain awareness about cruising as a holiday option.” He added, “MSC Cruises is already very popular in the Indian market for its Mediterranean cruises as well as its Scandinavian cruises.”

MSC Cruises plans to target incentive groups and families from the Indian market. Mathur explained, “All three itineraries are well suited to meet the needs and demands of Indian incentive travellers.

With children-free policy, Indian meals on board and a Mediterranean style of cruising, we expect to do very well on the newly-introduced routes.

MSC’s Triple Bonanza offer also makes it much more attractive to book a cruise. Under the offer, the traveller receives a 50% discount on companion, an added On-Board Cruise Credit of upto USD 100 per cabin and children sail free.”

Outlining their marketing strategy, he said, “We will work with MICE agents to tap the incentive segment.

Additionally, we will also work on raising the awareness of the travel trade about MSC Cruises and its offerings. The company will also work with the destination tourism boards to promote our itineraries.”

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talian cruise company Costa Cruises has strengthened its offerings for the Indian market by offering variety of sailings in the Far East, onboard Costa Victoria and Costa Atlantica.

Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Costa Cruises India said, “The itineraries will depart from Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong and will give Indian travellers the opportunity to discover Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Hong

Carrying Capacity This year, Costa’s capacity in the region has doubled (+112%), thanks to the arrival in May 2013 of the Costa Atlantica (2,680 passengers)

Nalini Gupta Managing Director Costa Cruises India

Kong. Costa provides an extensive network to exotic destinations, has an impeccable product, world-class entertainment and has deep insight of customer service. The market has a lot of potential and with the phenomenal air connectivity to the Far East, we are extremely bullish about cruising in India.”

Costa Cruises India is also working extensively with the Indian travel trade. The

cruise company has been conducting training programmes and workshops for travel agents and tour operators in metros and Tier II across the country. Costa Cruises is also working with tourism boards such as the Singapore Tourism Board, Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Italian Tourism Board to encourage sailings and footfalls in various destinations.

Gupta added, “Additionally, the number of travel agents connected with us this year has grown exponentially. We have seen some superb numbers in summer and this excites us.

We are keen to tap the families and wedding segment from the Indian market as well as the MICE segment.”

Jet’s second service from Mumbai to Singapore from Nov 1 The new Jet Airways service, flight 9W 010 will depart Mumbai daily at 0950 hrs (Local Time) and arrive Singapore at 1800 hrs (Local Time). On the return, flight 9W 009 will depart Singapore at 2005 hrs (Local Time) and arrive in Mumbai at 2310 hrs (Local Time).

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

SPECIAL FEATURE

UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia) Over 250 UNIGLOBE Travel Professionals from across South Asia gathered to celebrate individual and collective achievements, interact, sharpen skills, network and gain insights.

T

he 8th Annual UNIGLOBE Regional Conference and Excellence Awards were conducted recently at the Fairmont Hotel. Themed ‘Leading the Way!’ the historic city of Jaipur, famous for its legendary Rajput leaders, played host to this year’s edition of the conference. With over 250 UNIGLOBE Travel professionals attending, insightful education sessions and entertainment packed evenings, the two-day conference turned out to be a great event celebrating leadership, best practices, new technology solutions and the spirit of Jaipur! UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia) which was recently awarded the Most Preferred Operator for Business Travel at the CNBC Awaaz Travel Award 2013, organizes the conference every year to support interagency networking, professional development and to build relationships with each other and with key suppliers from the South Asian region, as well as other parts of the globe.

Says Michelle Desreux, COO and Executive Director, UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia), “Our theme for this year, ‘Leading the Way!’ highlights the vital importance of taking a leadership attitude in responding to the many changes that are occurring in

region. Also awarded were the top performing agency personnel for continually pushing the benchmark of excellence higher. The awards included recognition for Counselors, Managers, Sales, Accounts, Leisure and Facilitation personnel at various levels of performance assessment.

Michelle Desreux COO and Executive Director UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia)

‘Leading the Way!’ highlights the importance of taking a leadership attitude in responding to many changes nationally renowned experts, the conference highlighted how UNIGLOBE professionals can explore their personal creativity and bring it into their business life to help save their clients and agency staff, time, money and trouble - whether online, face-toface or over the phone.

“Our agencies found the conference sessions to be extremely beneficial and appreciated the opportunity to network with Suppliers.

And as always, this event could not have happened

“Awards for superior growth through constant innovation, excellence in client sales and service have always been an integral part of the UNIGLOBE culture. The achievement of these individual ‘excellence’ agency growth awards will provide both current and potential business and leisure travel clients with the added assurance of the strength and dependability of

Ritika Modi Regional President UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia)

Our agencies found the conference sessions to be beneficial and appreciated the opportunity to network with Suppliers

sized corporate travel clients and high-net worth individual travelers - our members target customers, across India. India is on the move with more mobile devices than almost any other country in the world. Keeping this in mind, at the conference, we announced the delivery of mobile websites for every member agency. It supports our UNIGLOBE marketing mantra for positioning our members competitively ... “ No matter where travelers go, there we are!” informs Desreux.

Earlier this year, the UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia) Region also launched a new travel portal for members to improve traveler interaction and engagement.

With this new portal, travelers can share expertise and

Sanjay Arya President, UNIGLOBE Franchise Owners Association (UFOA)

“Leading The Way!” is a call to action – a call for all of us to seek the rewards of financial and personal success

New at UNIGLOBE Travel Superfast and efficient agent desktop aggregates multiple channels (GDS, LCC Airlines, UNIGLOBE Network Consolidators, etc) to one screen thus transaction time to 5 minutes

tool that Mystifly, Partners, reducing

Improved credit management through pre-trip authorization feature Mobile websites for every member agency for accessing information on-the-go Full-fledged travel community based website

Awarded “Most Preferred Operator for Business Travel” by CNBC Awaaz Added 4 new member agencies, UNIGLOBE Swiftravel, New Delhi, UNIGLOBE Flight Travel House, Nagpur, UNIGLOBE Remarkable India, Pune & UNIGLOBE Shan Travel, Sri Lanka taking the network upto ` 1700 crores+ and 50+ locations Partnered with Plan India to support 25 families affected by Uttarakhand Enhanced Brand recognition and visibility for member agencies through a Brand Building Program tinations and various other things to do.

Participants interact with over 20 Suppliers, sharpen skills, network and gain insight in the “Supplier Showcase”

our industry and the marketplace- to focus on solutions that help businesses thrive.

Throughout the conference, travel professionals learned tips and techniques for gaining more sales and enhancing revenues. They also learned how the latest, super fast and efficient UNIGLOBE agent desktop tools will enable them to deliver world-class client services in record time.”

Corporate clients expect the ‘best’ fares and rates, increasingly rich reporting, evidence of savings and delivery of expert client service. Through experiential sessions conducted by inter-

without the support and participation of our suppliers including Amadeus, Tata AIG, Air Canada, Roam1, SpiceJet, Fairmont Hotel, North Tours and many more,” says Ritika Modi, Regional President, UNIGLOBE Travel (South Asia).

Top performing agencies were rewarded for achieving the organization’s highest standards of growth through professionalism and client satisfaction.

Six awards for top-level sales and revenue growth achievements were given to the owners of UNIGLOBE member agencies from across the South Asia

An education session - “It's the little things” conducted by Michelle Desreux for Agency Owners and Staff

their UNIGLOBE agency,” adds Modi.

“This year we further enhanced the visibility of our members and their locations by putting UNIGLOBE in the news, and in front of cricket fans, financial people, people looking to hire talent on the web and corporate travel

“Innovation at Amadeus and the big four travel effects” by Bertrand Saillet, Amadeus for the Agency owners and their staff

buyers. The UNIGLOBE Travel brand is being featured in in-flight magazines, with giant banners in airports and in consumer magazines.

Altogether in the last year, we have enhanced our members’ market recognition by putting their UNIGLOBE Travel brand in front of 65 million small to medium-

ideas with fellow UNIGLOBE clients, contribute travel information or special experiences, upload travel photos and join online conversations with UNIGLOBE experts and other travelers.

It’s a full-fledged travel community based website complete with online booking, rich information about des-

“Leading The Way!” is a call to action – a call for all of us to seek the rewards of financial and personal success. We are well positioned to continue to be a significant player in the world of travel here in South Asia. The market for travel is growing, we are increasing our brand recognition, we are harnessing technology to help both our people and our clients, so they continue to value us when they want the best of travel purchasing and support,” concludes Sanjay Arya, President, UNIGLOBE Franchise Owners Association (UFOA).

In partnership with PLAN India and in the spirit of community leadership, UNIGLOBE Travel members also raised funds at the Conference to help support 25 flood-affected families in Uttarakhand.

The money will be used to buy survival kits comprising hygiene, water, shelter and cooking items.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

21

‘Leads the Way’ in Jaipur Gold award for Excellence in Domestic Travel Counselor category

Gold award for Excellence in International Travel Counselor category

Gold award for Excellence in Travel Accounts category

Gold award for Excellence in Travel Counselor category

Gold award for Excellence in Travel Facilitation category

Gold award for Excellence in Travel Leisure category

Gold award for Excellence in Travel Manager category

Gold award for Excellence in Travel Sales category

Silver award for Excellence in Domestic Travel Counselor category

Silver award for Excellence in International Travel Counselor category

Silver award for Excellence in Travel Accounts category

Silver award for Excellence in Travel Counselor category

Silver award for Excellence in Travel Facilitation category

Silver award for Excellence in Travel Leisure category

Silver award for Excellence in Travel Manager category

Silver award for Excellence in Travel Sales category

Bronze award for Excellence in Domestic Travel Counselor Category

Bronze award for Excellence in International Travel Counselor category

Bronze award for Excellence in Leisure category

Bronze award for Excellence in Travel Accounts category

Bronze award for Excellence in Travel Counselor category

Bronze award for Excellence in Travel Facilitation category

Bronze award for Excellence in Travel Manager category

Bronze award for Excellence in Travel Sales category

UNIGLOBE Air Travel Bureau, awarded for Top Sales & Revenue Volume - Multiple Locations

UNIGLOBE Bharath International Travel, awarded for super performance by TATA AIG

UNIGLOBE Le Travelworld, awarded for Top Sales & Revenue Volume - Single Location

UNIGLOBE Mod Travel, awarded for super performance by TATA AIG

UNIGLOBE Sunny Travel, awarded for Highest Sales Growth Percentage

UNIGLOBE Utopia Travel, awarded for super performance by TATA AIG

Over 250 UNIGLOBE Travel Professionals across India make a statement about their service promise - We've got our clients covered

Participants walking on fire as a part of the Believe & Achieve Firewalk Activity - 9th August 2013

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

COVER STORY

Trade gears up for ‘worst’, well in advance!

Contd. from page 1

On the other hand, Cox & Kings launched their winter packages with luckydraw offer for 100 customers to win a car/bike/free holiday/ smart phones/ home appliances, etc.

Meanwhile, the question is that how are travel agents gearing up for the big ‘What if’ question? What kind of strategies are they opting to ensure sustainable business?

Survey by TripAdvisor According to TripAdvisor’s Traveller Sentiment Survey, while inflation, falling rupee and high airfares seem to be primary factors impacting holiday budgets, 75% of those surveyed say that they are modifying holiday plans and not abandoning them. Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager – India, TripAdvisor said,

“Though the balance may have tipped marginally in favour of domestic holidays, the overall holiday estimates remain healthy with 60% respondents still looking at taking between two to four holidays this year.”

About 19 per cent respondents said they replaced their international holiday with a domestic one on account of the staggering fall in rupee value. This will give impetus to domestic tourism as domestic holidays show no detraction from travellers’ estimates for 2013 taken at the beginning of the year, indicating that domestic vacations stay stable. While 36 per cent respondents said their international holiday plans stood unchanged, 16 per cent picked a more economical foreign destination for their vacation than initially planned. Only 10 per cent respondents said they had

cancelled their foreign holiday for this year altogether.

Unique strategies Considering the fluctuating falling rupee, Kuoni SOTC recently announced the launch of its holiday packages at ‘fixed exchange rate’ to destinations like Malaysia and Singapore. The interesting aspect of these packages are: It’s for a SouthEast Asian country (means airfares are lower and currency exchange rate is better than euro or dollar) and secondly, the fixed rate currency exchange allows travellers to book without bothering about the fluctuating currency rate.

Tour companies are now pitching certain destinations to their clients where the local currency’s fall is comparable to that of the rupee, so that the impact is not felt by the traveller. For instance, apart from South Asian destinations which have a ‘comfortable’ exchange rate as compared to Europe and US, companies are also promoting destinations like

Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico.

According to Rajeev Wagle, MD, Kuoni India; it’s too early to comment on this issue, but it’s a good thing for preparing for worse circumstances. He said, “India is a very interesting market with unique customer behaviour.

We haven’t seen any kind of changes/ cancellations as of now as it’s too early to predict anything.

However, we have introduced a few interesting and attractive packages for customers who are planning

their dream holiday, but are worried about the falling rupee.” When asked about what kind of strategies a travel company can adopt during such challenging times, Wagle said, “Travel companies should work on more budget packages for the booming middle-class travellers. This is the segment in India which is growing at the fastest rate for tourism. Also, they should try to build in more transparent pricing and finally, never compromise on quality and service. These are the challenging times when you can build life-long loyal customer base with your service, pricing model and knowledge.”

Fool-proof plan for recession ☛ Avoid pricing wars: When demand becomes inelastic, it is the pricing strategy that must change. If firms try to use price to increase sales, competitors respond and price wars break out. ☛ Focus on creative pricing power: Think about both the demand-side and the supply-side elements of pricing. Travel firms have to convince customers that their products are worth the price.

☛ Offer both high- and budget-value offerings: One of the most effective tools to deploy in tough times is lower-price, lower-value ‘flanking’ products. ☛ If you've been giving products and services away, it will be hard to charge for them again when the recession ends: Remember, if your product or service carries a benefit, it is worth charging for, even during a recession.

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‘Travel agents are very important for us’ Nepal is keen to woo Indian tourists to their country. The tourism board held a workshop to listen to travel agents’ suggestions and plans to open an office in New Delhi soon.

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o promote Nepal’s tourism and culture in Delhi, the Embassy of Nepal, New Delhi, organised a Naturally Nepal Evening in the capital recently.

Talking about the target audience, Subash Niroula, Acting CEO, Nepal Tourism Board says, “The target group has now shifted. The younger generation has now come up; they have specific interest areas, be it religious, cultural, or adventure-based.

We are trying to find out where is the missing link and we want to listen to the trade

Subash Niroula Acting CEO Nepal Tourism Board

We are concentrating on cities that have direct connectivity and areas where we have identified that there is a market for Nepal people. Hence we, as the tourism board, have created a platform for the tourism people from both the countries to interact and look for what they want.”

Talking about the advantages of B2B interactions, Niroula says that these have helped them to identify a few bottlenecks, “For Indian tourists, Nepal has so many advantages of currency, easier travelling, culture, food habits, etc. It’s a home away from home.” He goes on to say, “But then, things are easier said than done. There are a few bottlenecks as we have come to understand from these interactions.

Some may say we don’t have good roads, and some may have difficulties flying into Nepal. We want to see that these barriers lifted. We need to know why travel and tour operators in India are not willing to sell Nepal. We are looking into these issues and

I think the tourism board will find out a solution.” Niroula says, “We have been encouraged by the presence of the people at these events. They want some assurance and commitment from our part that things can move forward and faster. We are trying to provide them that assur-

ance.” The Tourism Board has been promoting Nepal in Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Siliguri, Patna, Dehradun and bordering towns. However, Niroula feels there has to be a shift in their strategy of promotion, and says that they have been creating value for cross-border tourism. “We need to

rope in the private sector from both the countries. So, when the private sector from Nepal shows an interest to do business in a particular city of India, we take them there on a case-to-case business.

We are concentrating on cities that have direct connectivity and areas where we

have identified that there is a market for Nepal. We are also planning to have an office in New Delhi soon.”

Niroula understand the importance of travel agents and says, “Travel agents are very important to us, and without them, we have nothing.”

Promoting Nepal The Tourism Board has been promoting Nepal in Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Siliguri, Patna, Dehradun and bordering towns

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FAMILY ALBUM

IHG showcases its international properties To exhibit its properties abroad to the Indian travel trade stakeholders, InterContinental Hotels Group Showcase was organised. The event at the Warehouse Cafe in Delhi saw the bigwigs of the travel trade industry come together.

AI celebrates India-Australia direct connect Air India celebrated the launch of its non-stop flight connecting Melbourne and Sydney with stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector.

The flight has been designed in such a manner that travellers from India can reach Delhi to enjoy this flight that reaches their chosen destination early morning in Australia.

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ASSOCIATIONS

GBTA launches India Chapter The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) recently launched its India Chapter in Mumbai during the one-day business travel symposium organised by the association for business travel operators.

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he India Chapter would consist of Indian team and have an advisory committee in place in various locations across India. During the one-day symposium, the association organised a few educational sessions and pre-

sented the latest research on business travel trends. The presentation focussed on India’s rapid growth as a major business travel spending nation in the APAC region and the opportunities and challenges that buyers face in this market.

Talking about the growth of Indian business travel market, Welf J Ebeling, Vice President, Operations – Asia, GBTA said, “By 201516, China would overtake UK in terms of business spend, while on the other hand, India is growing at an equally fast rate like China in this

segment. Developing markets like India, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia will continue to leapfrog the slower moving mature markets of the western world. The future of business travel is happening in APAC region and India is one of the two countries which is growing at the fastest pace.”

To bring in better understanding of the potential of Indian business travel market, the association will be launching Business Travel Outlook Report on India in mid 2014.

The association also introduced the Associate Level Certification Course Welf J Ebeling Vice President Operations – Asia, GBTA

The future of business travel is happening in APAC region and India is one of the countries growing at the fastest pace and Fundamentals of Business Travel Management in Mumbai. The course teaches the basic elements of travel management and has been specially tailored for APAC region. Upon completion of the course, participants will be presented with the GBTA Academy – Associate Level Certificate.

Aims & objectives To operate GBTA Academy for travel professionals Bring Global Travel Professional Certification to India in 2014 Organise GBTA Conference 2014 in India Launch a detailed GBTA Business Travel Outlook Report on India in 2014

New Gateway hotel in Chennai The Gateway Hotels & Resorts has unveiled The Gateway Hotel IT Expressway Chennai. This marks the first of The Gateway Hotel & Resorts brand in Chennai. This is also the first hotel to be launched in a metro city after the brand was unveiled in 2008 in India.

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FAMILY ALBUM

The French connection to India Atout France organised a workshop to showcase its niche products and network with French and Indian tourism professionals.

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In the name of golf...

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently organised a Gala Dinner and Award Presentation at the Delhi Golf Club in Delhi.

The event, which TAT had organised in association with Caddies’ Welfare trust, Thai Airways International and Royal Thai Embassy, raised funds for the welfare of cadies in India.

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AVIATION

Extended T1 to open in Oct The new terminal in Bengaluru will boost the passenger handling capacity and provide a face-lift. city based on the theme of flight and referring to city’s heritage as the aerospace hub of India and the flag-bearer of modernity and technology in the country.

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tarting October this year, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) will open the new extended Terminal 1 in phases for passengers. The expansion of T1 was undertaken early this year alongside the fully operational airport and trail-runs on check-in counters, operations, air traffic control tower, etc is taking place since mid-July.

GV Sanjay Reddy MD GVK Group

Getting expensive at the same time The Karnataka Cabinet recently permitted BIAL to hike the User Development Fee charged on domestic as well as international passengers. A request to raise the State Government’s equity proposed by BIAL to meet the additional expenditure being incurred for expansion of the terminal has been rejected by the state Government and a hike in the UDF has instead been suggested. Presently, the UDF is ` 231 for a domestic passenger and ` 952 for an international passenger. The UDF at Hyderabad is ` 430 for domestic passengers and ` 1,000 for international passengers and the Karnataka government will convey to BIAL that the UDF should not be more than that charged by the Hyderabad airport. However, the authorities have not yet decided on time-line to impose the revised UDF. Once extended, the terminal will double the current floor space and improve the passenger capacity from 12 million passengers to 20 million passengers per year. It will have more check-in counters, seating areas, a large security hold area, added aerobridges and better commercial facilities. The airport will also have enhanced Airport Operations Control Centre to streamline processes for ensuring faster turnaround of aircraft and better operational efficiencies.

Apart from expanding the terminal, the airport is also upgrading infrastructure on airside. For instance, the airport has painted the jet blast fence – a safety device that redirects the high energy exhaust from a jet engine to prevent damage and injury to people, equipment and other aircraft. The modification of

the existing terminal is also in process alongside the preparations for opening the extended terminal area in October.

Similar to Mumbai’s T2 terminal, the extended T1 in Bengaluru will also provide a journey through culture of

Talking about the flight mural, GV Sanjay Reddy, MD, GVK Group said, “BIAL is more than just a transit point for passengers entering or leaving the South of India.

While planning the expansion of T1, we felt that the airport should not just be an extension of Bengaluru city’s ethos, but also that of the community.

The business traveller – who makes up the majority of passengers using the airport – will get a feel of the cultural tones that contribute significantly to the ‘South India’ experience.”

Over 100 acres of landscaped spaces have been added through the expansion of T1. The commercial space too will get a boost post the launch. The airport recently started the Visa On Arrival

Current highlights of BIAL Currently, BIAL witnesses about 315 aircraft movements every day, and handles a whopping 12 million passengers.

BIAL officials estimate that the traffic will rise to 17-20 million passengers by 2017. Over the last five years, it has catered to over 50 million passengers, linking the city to 51 destinations and created a passage for 33 airlines. These include seven domestic (including one freighter) and 26 international (seven freighters) flights.

South India via art. The passengers arriving at the airport will come across ‘flight mural’ installed in domestic arrival corridor. It will showcase many dimensions of the

(VoA) facility for visitors travelling from Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Philippines, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Finland, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

First run of the season for Palace on Wheels The Palace on Wheels – Rajasthan’s luxury train, rolled on its first commercial journey for 2013-14 to Rajasthan and other destinations. In the first trip, tourists from 34 different countries of the world are travelling on this super-luxury train. The Palace on Wheels, a Joint Venture of Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), is in for major refurbishment. All facilities are being modernised, including superior communication and entertainment.

Even the dining cart, the bar

and lounge will take on a new look with the planned refurbishment. The spa and health club will also receive major upgrades. Palace on Wheels starts its journey on every Wednesday for a seven-day

journey between September, 2013 and April, 2014 from Delhi. In 34 trips, 3,000 passengers are expected to travel in this royal train. The capacity of the train is 104 passengers at a time.

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Concur launches TripLink for TMCs

Maharashtra to leverage tourism

Technologies Concur recently launched Concur TripLink for Travel Management Companies and corporate customers to capture every booking and control program leakage.

Created from the combination of the Concur Open Booking product and the recently acquired TripLink technology from GDSx, Concur TripLink includes features for corporate customers, TMCs and suppliers for unprecedented visibility across all itineraries, and enables TMCs to better serve travelers regardless of how the booking originated.

The Concur TripLink product suite includes: TripLink – TripLink provides a complete view of all travel transactions, giving business travellers and their companies’ better visibility, more control and stronger negotiating power while still retaining negotiated discounts.

TripLink for Agencies – TripLink for Agencies enables TMCs to capture and manage bookings, regardless of what booking tool is used on the itinerary.

Agency automated solutions will be automatically integrated with TripLink, providing value-added processing and information services.

Supplier TripLinks – Concur’s AppCenter will include TripLinks to partner suppliers, including Avis, IHG, La Quinta, Marriott and others, to ensure travelers book using corporate negotiated rates and that companies have visibility into direct bookings.

The CII Tourism Fest-2013 will be held in Chandigarh from December 5-7 to showcase tourism products of multiple states and countries.

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onfederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is organising a B2B Trade Fair – CII Tourism Fest 2013 in Chandigarh from December 5-7, 2013. Led by Arjun Sharma, MD, Le Passage to India, 35 members of organising committee are aiming to make this a big hit for the Indian domestic, inbound and outbound tourism sector. To promote the fest, CII recently organised an event in Mumbai.

Talking about the first-of-itskind mega travel and tourism fest by CII, Arun Srivastava, Regional Director – Central & Western India, India Tourism, Government of India said, “To revamp their image, Maharashtra and other states are participating actively in the CII Tourism Fest to reach out to the world. The tourism industry has still to come at par with the growth figures of world tourism average. The fest provides a great scope to national and international tourism stakeholders to

Arjun Sharma MD Le Passage to India

CII Tourism Fest would bring together state governments, agencies and tourism representatives on one platform quality buyers & exhibitors, Chief Ministers’ Forum and ideation platforms in addition to showcasing of various projects under PPP mode by different states. He adds, “In the present scenario, with rupee weakening against dollar,

The fest provides immense scope for national and international tourism stakeholders to expand businesses, bring more investments and play a pivotal role in the growth story Arun Srivastava Regional Director – Central & Western India, India Tourism, GoI expand businesses, bring more investments and play a pivotal role in the growth story .”

He informed that the key highlight of the fest would be

inbound tourism in India has a huge scope. This must be capitalised by our tour operators as an opportunity to promote India as a globally competitive and diverse tourist destination.”

Highlighting the importance of this fest for the Indian tourism sector, Sharma said, “To showcase India as a Global Tourist Destination by creating synergies between stakeholders, creating policies and desired infrastructure, CII Tourism Fest would bring together various state governments, central tourism agencies and senior representatives from travel, tourism and hospitality industry on one platform. These segments include hotels & resorts, hospitals, tour operators, airlines, airport authorities, air charter companies, tourism boards of various countries, city transport providers, academia, policy makers and industry experts.

Adding on similar notes, Abhijeet Patil, President – Maharashtra Chapter, ADTOI said, “CII Tourism Fest would bring about a healthy dialogue and interstate co-operation that is of utmost importance to attract tourists to the Western India. We would take a structured delegation from Maharashtra & Gujarat to the fest and would also present a White Paper on the Roadmap to promote tourism in this region.”

Iqbal Mulla, Member, CII Tourism Fest Core Group - Travel Agents & Tour Operators & President, TAAI called for portraying India as a continent to the tourism world, considering the diversities offered by the country. He said, “CII Tourism Fest would be an

CII states support Chandigarh is the host city and Punjab is the principal partner state for the CII Tourism Fest, while Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are the focus states.

Other participating states at the fest include - Gujarat, Goa, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Pondicherry, Delhi and Tamil Nadu.

Abhijeet Patil President Maharashtra Chapter, ADTOI

We would present a White Paper on the Roadmap to promote tourism in this region. ideal platform to showcase India’s beautiful heritage and serene beauty to the world. I call upon all stakeholders to actively participate in this mega fest and harness India’s full tourism potential where Canada,

Trade association support Various associations like Outbound Tour Operators Association of India, Le Passage to India, India Golf Tourism Association, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Northern India and Indian Federation Associations of Culinary World Association of Chefs Societies, are supporting the event.

Iqbal Mulla, Member, CII Tourism Fest Core Group - Travel Agents & Tour Operators & President, TAAI

I call upon all stakeholders to actively participate in this mega fest and harness India’s full tourism potential Indonesia, China, Philippines, Malaysia, and Macau have confirmed to participate and countries like Abu Dhabi, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Germany, Mauritius, Egypt and Kenya are also likely to participate in the fest.”

Rahul Himalian, Additional General Manager - Western Region, IRCTC was also present at the event. He said, “IRCTC would actively partner in the CII Tourism Fest and provide all possible support to promote tourism in India.

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AVIATION

Boosting biz jet aviation Baron Aviation will educate the market that business jet flying is ‘not so expensive’ and has further plans to address the travel trade as a key distribution channel.

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aron Aviation, a division of Baron Luxury and Lifestyle is gearing up for making charter flights more popular in India by aggregating the business jet operators

helicopter operators; corporate companies and also travel companies. Apart from incentivising travel trade for bringing business, the company is also educating the industry about how travelling in a business jet or helicopter is not so

leisure travellers. Also, for high-end weddings, family tours and MICE; travel agents offer excellent luxury packages wherein we fit perfectly as the air-transport partner.”

Currently, the company has

Baron Eagle Membership The company recently launched Baron Eagle Membership card for select frequent flyers. As India’s rupee, and its economy faces downward pressure, “We found this the right time to introduce the jet card. While India is not short on billionaires, people aren’t making business jet purchases at this time,” adds Wadhwa. and helicopters in the country.

Baron aims to corporatise general aviation market in India by consolidating the aircraft inventory, aggregating customers and professionalising the approach towards quality of services to match with the global standards. The company currently provides access to a large fleet inventory having various range, size and seating capacity. Currently flying 160 hours a month, the company aims to fly over 5,000 hours a year by end of March 2014. To achieve the target, the company is working closely with multiple business jet operators in India and

expensive and makes business sense for corporate travellers.

Rajeev Wadhwa, Chairperson, Baron Luxury and Lifestyle said, “Travel agents are one of our key partners in selling our fleet and promoting our business.

Over 60 per cent of our business is generated from travel agents and tour operators who cater to MICE and high-end leisure clients.

With our business model, we offer a variety of choice in aircrafts and helicopters which travel agents can combine with their high-end itinerary for corporate and

an inventory base of 25 aircraft that includes single and twin-engine helicopters, turboprops, midsize and executive jets.

Talking about rates of charter flights, Wadhwa said, “People need to understand that charter flights are not that expensive to hire, when compared to the time it saves. It offers direct connectivity to the final destination and more importantly, a stress-free travel experience.

Once this myth is debunked, there are many opportunities in Indian market for charter flight operators.”

3rd daily flight to Delhi SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will also operate an additional service between Singapore and Visakhapatnam, up from the current 3 times a week.

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ingapore Airlines plans to launch a third daily flight to the capital New Delhi.

Additionally, SilkAir, the

season, adding an additional service between Singapore and Visakhapatnam, taking services from three times a week. GM Toh, General Manager-India, Singapore Airlines said,

“We’re also adding flights to Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram exclusively during the peak period between November and January.”

GM Toh General Manager-India Singapore Airlines

regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will also make network adjustments during the Northern Winter operating

Talking about the impact of the rupee deprecation, Toh said, “I would expect an impact on outbound travel from India in the short term, but in the long term, I expect the Indian traveller to continue

to travel abroad. The market is very resilient.”

Singapore Airlines is already participating with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in the launch of its INSPIRE Incentive programme for MICE travellers. He added, “We have done well, but demand has been much softer than expected. The Incentive market is very strong in India and Singapore is popular as an Incentive destination.”

High Fly Singapore Airlines currently operates 56 weekly flights from 6 cities in India. SilkAir, currently operates 42 weekly flights from 8 cities in India.

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir combined schedule feature 98 weekly flights from 11 cities in India

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AGENTS

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A sound time for new acquisitions The group is open to new alliances and partnerships, including acquisitions, which in the present environment makes sound business sense. Arjun Sharma, Managing Director, Le Passage to India talks about the journey of the company, its various strategic business units and much more in a candid interaction with .

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Q. Kindly brief us on the journey of Le Passage so far?

It has been a very exciting journey and a one of self-realisation, too. For example, when we as a team first went about expanding the market base. Once that was done, we started to work at building our brand and increasing our market share. It has been a fulfilling journey because we brought smiles to faces of millions of people who travelled with us.

Our work enabled us to showcase the myriad hues of Incredible India which compelled a lot of travellers to come back to India again and again. And somewhere, while we enjoyed what we were doing, we reached the Number One position in the country. One of our most cherished and humbling achievements is the smile we could bring to the faces of little children by creating the first dedicated foundation in the history of the Indian travel industry, ‘Shaping Lives’.

of Le Passage work to stay on top in their respective domains?

Since inception, we have created 12 dedicated Strategic Business Units (SBUs) that work across entire gamut of the Indian tourism products, representing all the market segments. Each of these verticals is an individual profit cen-

Q. How do the various strategic business units

Our work enabled us to showcase the myriad hues of Incredible India which compelled a lot of travellers to come back to India. And somewhere, while we enjoyed what we were doing, we reached the Number One position in the country Arjun Sharma Managing Director, Le Passage to India (LPTI)

tre with its own targets, goals and working with its distinct methodology. It is this diversity that blends beautifully into a tapestry and forms the unique identity of Le Passage to India. Each of these SBUs has relevant leadership, great teams and every one of them is either already a market leader or fast on their way to becoming one. All

the SBUs have been nurtured with patience and dedication while providing them with an environment and apt tools to grow.

Q. What new SBUs are in the offing? Is it a good time for acquisition?

While currently all our Strategic Business Units are in various stages of maturing, growth and consolidation, we are open to new alliances and partnerships. Acquisitions, in the present environment are also a sound business sense as we can achieve good valuations for a good idea. We, at Le Passage, are committed to long-term growth of the tourism sector and strive towards being responsible leaders.

Q. From your perspective, what attributes of leadership infuses the burning desire to stay on top year after year?

There is no magic wand to all this. There is no substitute to passion, perseverance and hard work. As a company, we will grow by between 1015% this year across our various business verticals viz. inbound, Outbound and MICE segments.

How important are the annual conventions of leading travel trade associations? Why? Annual conventions are a melting pot of ideas and a platform, where the industry can iron out differences, find solutions and most importantly set the tone for future growth.

It is also an opportunity to bring the industry together and create the necessary platform for creating a single voice that can bring about evolution.

I must congratulate the current leadership at IATO for steering the industry well during these challenging times. I wish the IATO convention much success.

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ASSOCIATIONS

OTOAI holds AGM & discusses Vision 2014 ‘OTOAI-Vision 2014: Business Way Forward’ in New Delhi was followed by the AGM of the association and an evening networking function on September 5, 2013.

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he Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has decided to produce a white paper on the current issues faced by the outbound tour operators in India It will also put emphasis on the role and contributions of outbound tourism industry to the national economy.

Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI informed that the future agenda of the association will be pursuing

the government to recognise outbound tour operators in India—the integral part of travel and tourism industry.

He also maintained that outbound tour operators will have to be more professional through best practices and specialisation, and self-regulated by certain guidelines.

The association will chalk out various plans and programmes in the months to come to train its members for their growth.

sented OTOAI-Vision 2020 by highlighting some scintillating statistics pertaining to the present scenario and future prospect of the outbound tourism industry in India. He pointed out the emergence of booking through internet and impact of e-commerce on travel and tourism industry.

“Currently, 68 per cent of outbound travellers take information by accessing to internet,” he underlined.

Earlier, Vinit Gopal, Joint Secretary, OTOAI, pre-

Taking part at the panel discussions, Vasudha Sondhi,

MD, Outbound Marketing, emphasised on the fast changing industry scenario heading towards professionalism and self-regulations for the greater interest. “Only well-trained and specialised companies with highly professional approach will survive in the days to come,” said Sondhi.

whether travellers are becoming internet savvy. However, it is the efficiency of a tour operator that can retain and expand his/her customer base.

There is always a scope of growth for traditional tour operators, who can offer dynamic packages to its customers by fulfilling their requirements,” he added.

Ankush Nijhawan, MD, Nijhawan Group said, “Agents should focus on niche products with adequate domain knowledge. It is immaterial

Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office and Dhananjay S. Saliankar, Regional

GLIMPSES

Director – Starwood Sales Organisation, South Asia endorsed Nijhawan.

According to Theophilus, the online buying will take time in India though internet browsing is growing tremendously. “Indian customers are yet hesitant about online transaction through credit card,” he argued. “Be innovative and specialised, find new destination, experiment new ideas and pamper the travellers aspirations,” added Saliankar.

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Poland keen to tap Indian MICE In a bid to draw the India outbound, Poland Tourism came to India to promote itself as a destination. reports more on the NTO’s strategies and plans.

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hristened the ‘best kept secret of Europe’, the Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO) showcased nine participants in a three-city roadshow in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. The event was sup-

Aneta Ksiazek Chief Conference Expert PTO

ported by the Poland Convention Bureau (PCB), which came to India for the first time.

Talking about the marketing strategy of PTO with the Indian travel trade industry, Aneta Ksiazek, Chief Conference Expert, PTO said, “In India and Japan, we will be concentrating on the travel trade.

SA partners with Club7 Holidays To leverage on the forthcoming Diwali and Christmas vacations, South African Tourism has partnered with Club7 Holidays to offer travel packages and deals to South Africa for Indian travellers and trade.

Commenting on this joint marketing activity, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism said, “In the current scenario, as a result of the strengthening of the Indian Rupee against the South African Rand, Indian travellers going to South Africa will get exceptional value on the ground as they can partake in so many more activities and experiences in their desired budget.” As proven by the recent tourist arrival figures, an increasing number of Indian tourists have been travelling to South Africa.

From less than 9,000 Indian arrivals in 2006, Poland received around 20,000 Indian visitors last year. As part of improving the engagement with the Indian travel trade, PTO has plans to launch Poland Specialist Programme in this market by the end of this year. In

addition, we will conduct fam trips for the travel trade soon. PTO will also launch our media campaign by end of October.”

MICE will be the key driver for outbound to Poland. According to Ksiazek, PTO, Poland’s unique location in the heart of Europe,

excellent transportation facilities, warm hospitality of the people, rich history and natural beauty make it an attractive destination. A lot of new convention infrastructure has been developed in the last decade, along with niche venues including coal mines, salt

mines, etc. “No other destination in the world offers an opportunity to play Turbo Golf inside a coalmine. The Wieliczka Salt mine can host a gathering up to 600 people that too 300m below the ground. There are plenty of castles that can be used as conference venues which are

rare to be found in any other country,” Ksiazek revealed.

Poland Convention Bureau will now bid for many international conventions and congresses because of the freshness of the destinations and competitiveness compared to many other European destinations.

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TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

RAILWAYS

Educational express chugs along IRCTC’s Gyanodaya Express was flagged off this month. Around 850 students, including about 150 international students from the Universities of Edinburgh and London, set off for Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Kurukshetra…

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fter two successful trips in 2012, IRCTC has set off its third trip of Gyanodaya Express this month. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Minister of State for Railways has flagged off the train from Delhi Safdarjung station.

Rakesh Tandon, CMD, IRCTC and other top railway and IRCTC officials were also present on the occasion.

IRCTC, in association with the Delhi University, embarked, in 2012, on a firstof-its-kind unique project, “Gyanodaya Express – An

Educational Train Journey” to impart quality education and assist nation building by carving overall personalities and help explore hidden talents in students.

The earlier two trips were run in DelhiAhmedabad-Mumbai-Goa-

Bangaluru-Wardha-Delhi and Delhi-Jodhpur-BikanerJaisalmer-Delhi sectors in 2012. This time, it will be a 7 nights/8 days tour covering AmritsarLudhianaChandigarh- Kurukshetra.

There are around 850 students in this trip including

about 150 international students from the Universities of Edinburgh and London.

The aim of this trip is to acquaint and provide the students an exposure on the advancements in urbanisation and industry along with the cultural, religious and

traditional diversity of India.

The students will also visit villages to know the rural India, its farms and farmers.

The educational sojourn will visit industrial hubs of Ludhiana, architectural marvels in the city of Chandigarh – showcasing its model for town planning and development and the revered religious pilgrimage of the Sikhs – the Golden Temple at Amritsar to have a glimpse of Sikhism and the teachings of Sikh religion. The students will also visit Kurukshetra, the place of epic battle of Mahabharat.

It will also enable the Indian and the international students to interact with each other giving them an opportunity to know about their culture and practices.

Bergrruen unveils first upscale property in Pune Soon after the launch of Keys Hotels’ upscale brand, Keys Klub, Berggruen Hotels, its parent company recently launched its first Keys Klub property – Keys Klub Hotel Parc Estique, Viman Nagar, Pune.

Sanjay Sethi, Managing Director & CEO, Bergrruen Hotels said, “Keys Klub is meant to be elite, stylish, world-class and cheerful with cutting edge technology and infrastructure support. Keys Klub Hotel Parc Estique is the perfect match, and this move is in the direction of turning Berggruen Hotels into a holistic hotel company catering to all categories of customers.” He added, “This is also the launch of our first franchised property.”

The Keys Klub Hotel Parc Estique Pune offers 115 rooms, suites and service apartments with en-suite bathrooms, a business floor with a dedicated lounge, a business centre, banquet options for weddings, conferences and meetings, 3 restaurants, a swimming pool, gymnasium and a full service spa.

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INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL

SEPTEMBER

16 17 17 18 18-21 19 20 24 24

Bengaluru Delhi Chennai Kolkata Kochi Delhi Kolkata Chennai Mumbai

25

Bengaluru

25 26

Mumbai Delhi

26 27 27 27-28 27-29 30

Hyderabad Delhi Mumbai Mumbai Delhi Delhi

European Quartet’s Roadshow Tourism Australia's Workshop European Quartet’s Roadshow European Quartet’s Roadshow FHRAI Annual Convention European Quartet’s Roadshow Tourism Australia's Workshop Tourism Australia's Workshop Tourism Office of Spain’s B2B Workshop Tourism Office of Spain’s B2B Workshop Love For Africa Roadshow 2013 Tourism Office of Spain’s B2B Workshop Tourism Australia's Workshop Love For Africa Roadshow 2013 Zimbabwe Roadshow Locations Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar Zimbabwe Roadshow

INTERNATIONAL 12-15 15-17 24 24-27

Tokyo China Ukraine Paris

25-27 Kazakhstan 27 Almaty 30-3 Oct Mexico

OCTOBER

NATIONAL 1 4-6 11 22

Bengaluru Indore Mumbai Delhi

23

Mumbai

24

Chennai

29

Delhi

31

Mumbai

INTERNATIONAL 1-3 2 3 7 8 10 14-18

Bangkok Los Angeles San Francisco Seattle Vancouver Toronto China

23-25

Singapore

NATIONAL

JATA TABIHAKU PATA Travel Mart 2013 Luxury Travel Market International French Travel Market Top Resa Astana Leisure Luxury Travel Market International Luxury Travel Market Americas (ILTMA)

Tourism Australia's Workshop Indian International Travel Exhibition Tourism Australia's Workshop Scandinavian Tourism Board’s Seminar Scandinavian Tourism Board’s Seminar Scandinavian Tourism Board’s Seminar Austrian National Tourist Board’s Roadshow Austrian National Tourist Board’s Roadshow IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific ATOAI Roadshow ATOAI Roadshow ATOAI Roadshow ATOAI Roadshow ATOAI Roadshow Canadian Tourism Commission’s Showcase Asia ITB Asia

NOVEMBER

11 13 22-24 26

Mumbai Bengaluru Pune Delhi

27

Bengaluru

29

Mumbai

29-Dec2 Hyderabad London Spain

MGTO expects more Indian visitors this year as it celebrates the 25th edition of its Annual Macau International Fireworks Display Contest.

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ver the years, more than 100 international teams from China, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan - China, Japan, Korea, USA, Australia, the UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain have participated in this world-class pyrotechnic shoot-out.

Many travellers and holiday makers from all over the world choose this time of the year to come to Macau to enjoy an exotic holiday illuminated by spectacular displays in the night sky. It is one of the most colourful events in Macau that can be enjoyed from many vantage points

on the Macau Peninsula and Taipa Island.

The contest runs over two weeks with many other cultural events and festivities taking place around the city.

One can also head to popular shopping malls and flea markets in the city and also try out a range of traditional

dishes. The Taipa Flea Market is easily accessible from Taipa Old Town and comprises dozens of stalls selling hundreds of surprise items! From traditional delicacies, period postcards to stamps to lamps, jade pieces, jewellery, coins, toys, collectibles and bric-abrac of every description.

World Travel Market Golf Travel Market

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

MGTO has been aggressively promoting its unique festival culture, including traditional Chinese celebrations as well as the important Western festivals of Easter, Procession of our Lady of Fátima, and Christmas to attract more visitors to Macau. In addition to this, the destination is holding the legendary Macau Grand Prix and other festivals like the Macau Food Festival in the coming months.

Fireworks Display Event Dates September 14, 19, 21, 28 October 1, 2013

Nordic Fires Adventures in India Nordic Fires Adventures, an Estonia-based B2B tourism company, now has Nijhawan Group as the partner for Nordic package tours and cruises in India.

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ordic Fires Adventures and Nijhawan Group signed a contract recently that both the parties will pool their knowledge and resources to sell Nordic Fires tourism products in India.

They will also work cohesively with the respective Tourism Boards to promote Nordic and Estonian tourism in India.

The tour packages include St Peterline 4-city cruises in the Baltic Sea with destinations such as St Petersburg (Russia),

Ankush Nijhawan Managing Director Nijhawan Group

Stockholm (Sweden), Tallinn (Estonia) and Helsinki (Finland) as well as citybreaks and tailor-made pack-

ages for honeymoon, business and incentive travel.

Chartered flights and dedicated cruises for Indian travellers are targetted for next seasons. Nordic Fires will offer customised itineraries for the Indian traveller. In 2014, the companies are planning to serve up to 2,000 tourists, who will be able to experience the hospitality of St Peterline cruises and the spirit of the above-mentioned Baltic Sea capitals.

satisfy the relaxation and interest needs of Indians, showcasing them the quality and culture that the Nordic region is known for.

Riina Palu, CEO, Nordic Fires Adventures, said that the aim of the Nordic Fires packages is to

For example, a 4-night St Peterline cruise is offered together with a weekend in Tallinn.

Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group said

The Indian market is ready for new destinations and shorter cruises.

Meet Etihad’s Flying Nanny!

Etihad Airways launched an in-flight child care assistance programme for families, led by the introduction of a new Flying Nanny on board.

During the flight the Flying Nanny will utilise her specialist training, supporting the needs of families and unaccompanied minors, as well as supporting other cabin crew members when they interact with families.

TT B U R E AU Monaco Tourism’s B2B Roadshow Monaco Tourism’s B2B Roadshow IITM Pune German National Tourist Board’s B2B Event German National Tourist Board’s B2B Event German National Tourist Board’s B2B Event IITM Hyderabad

INTERNATIONAL 4-7 11-14

Fireworks Festival in Macau

I

dentified by bright orange aprons, each Flying Nanny aims to provide a ‘helping hand’ to families and unaccompanied minors.

During the past two months, 300 Etihad Airways cabin crew members have completed enhanced training for the role. A further 60 will be trained in September and 500 Flying Nannies will be working across Etihad Airways flights by the end of 2013.

Aubrey Tiedt, Etihad Airways’ Vice President Guest Services, said, “Flying with a young family can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced travellers,

and the Flying Nanny role demonstrates our understanding of our guests’ needs and our commitment to making the journey as relaxing and comfortable as possible.”

Claire Burgess, Early Years Consultant, Norland College, said, “Norland College is delighted to be a key partner in developing and delivering the Flying Nanny program with Etihad Airways.”

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NEWS

Destinations unaffected by Denmark, Sweden and Norway are some of the destinations unaffected by the Rupee fall, and therefore still viable options. is Emirates’ second destination in Scandinavia post Copenhagen that was launched in 2011. Emirates will be operating B-777300ER aircraft on the Dubai Stockholm route.

VIVEK SETHI

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he Indian outbound segment is deeply worried about depreciation in the value of Indian rupee and increase in airfares. Here, Mohit Batra, India Representative, Scandinavian Tourist Board suggests that a simple solution is to look at destinations that are not affected due to fall in value of Indian rupee vis-à-vis Dollar.

“There are many destinations that are unaffected by depreciation in the Indian currency as their local currencies had not seen any such fluctuation against the Indian Rupee. In my case, I will recommend that Indians should look at exploring Denmark, Sweden and Norway,” said Batra. He was speaking at a workshop jointly organised by Emirates and Scandinavian Tourist Board in New Delhi “With introduction of Emirates’ new flight to Stockholm from Dubai, our travel partners in India will

Essa Sulaiman Ahmad

Mohit Batra

Vice President India & Nepal, Emirates

India Representative Scandinavian Tourist Board

This workshop willl help our channel partner understand our services find it easier to build and sell round trip itineraries around Scandinavian countries. With this connection, they can arrive at Stockholm and exit

It is easier to sell round-trip itenaries around Scandinavian countries from Copenhagen or the other way round,” he added.

Emirates launched flight to Stockholm from Dubai on September 4, 2013. Stockholm

“Following the launch of Emirates' service to Copenhagen in 2011, our Stockholm launch gives the airline's Scandinavian network a significant boost. This workshop will better equip our channel partners to understand the flexibility provided by Emirates services to these cities and in promoting the entire Scandinavian region,” said Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice President, India & Nepal, Emirates.

“Through initiatives like these, Emirates’ endeavour is not only to promote tourism from India by providing world-class connectivity but to bring visitors to India from the region,” he added.

Bollywood on the high seas Guideline Travels will be getting Bollywood singers aboard its cruise ship SuperStar Virgo for its sailings in November and New Year.

South Asia, Russia, Middle East and South Africa, Star Cruises added, “We have partnered with Guideline Travels for this mega-event on the SuperStar Virgo.”

Talking about plans to promote the mega Bollywood events, Saboo informed,

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n a bid to provide quality entertainment to all those sailing onboard Star Cruises, Mumbai-based Guideline Travels, in association with Star Cruises, is organising a Bollywood Dhamaal event onboard the SuperStar Virgo sailing from Singapore.

During November 10-15, 2013; singer Parthiv Gohil shall be live in concert for two consecutive sailings i.e. three nights on November 10, 2013 and for two nights on November 13, 2013.

Additionally, singer Amit Jadhav will be bringing in the New Year between December 29, 2013 – January 3, 2014 onboard the SuperStar Virgo for two consecutive sailings,

Naresh Rawal, VP (Sales) - India,

Pradeep Saboo

South Asia, Russia, Middle East and South Africa, Star Cruises

Managing Partner Guideline Travels

|i.e.

December 29, 2013 sailing for three nights and for two nights on January 1, 2014.

Pradeep Saboo, Managing Partner, Guideline Travels said, “This is the first time such an event is being conducted by a cruise line in

Asia. Until now, the cruise was only looked at as an option for leisure holiday or a corporate (MICE) movement, but it shall now also be a destination for events such as these.”

Naresh Rawal, Vice President (Sales) - India,

“Guideline Travels has been one of the top-selling Preferred Selling Agent for Star Cruises over the years.

We will inform the travel trade about the events through our email marketing campaign as well as through our network across the country. ”

Fortune Select Grand Ridge opens in Tirupati Fortune Park Hotels has further expanded its portfolio of hotels with the opening of the brand’s 41st hotel, ‘Fortune Select Grand Ridge’ in Tirupati. The hotel is conveniently located at the intersection of the new Airport Bypass Road and Tiruchanoor Road on

the way to Tirumala, on a major highway network that provides congestion free travel to the Lord Venkateshwara Temple. Being just 1.5 km from the city centre and 13 km from the airport, the hotel provides easy access to all key areas, major temples and

tourist attractions.

Suresh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Fortune Park Hotels, said, “We are extremely happy to announce our second hotel in the holy city of Tirupati, Fortune would be opening at least 5-6 new properties under its various brands

in the current Financial Year.”

Fortune Select Grand Ridge offers 138 furnished rooms, consisting of 98 Standard Rooms, 35 Fortune Club Rooms and 5 Suites. Some of the rooms also offer the spectacular view of Tirumala Hills and the Shilparamam Park.

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CLIPBOARD

SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

TRAVTALK

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MOVEMENTS

TRAVTALK SEPTEMBER 2 ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2013

Global Hotel Representations

Leela Mumbai

Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square

New Delhi

Mumbai

OP Mendiratta has been appointed as Managing Director of the Global Hotel Representations. A Hotel Management graduate from EIILM University, he specialised in Persian language courses from IHM Panipat and JNU respectively.

Mendiratta has been in the hospitality industry for over three decades. He started his career with ITC Maurya and then worked with The Connaught and Parkland Group as Group General Manager. Mendiratta is heading the team for Marketing - St. Marks (Bangalore) / St. Laurn (Ahmedabad) / The Resort (Mumbai - Aksa Beach) / Sayaji (Indore) / Sayaji (Pune) and Sayaji (Vadodara) in Delhi/NCR.

Ashish Kumar Rai has been appointed as the General Manager of the Leela Mumbai. In his new role, Rai will oversee the general operations and management of the 392-room property. He began his career with The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts as a management trainee in 1998 and went on to lead the Front Office Department at The Leela Palace, Bangalore, and thereafter at various luxury hotels as Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, Taj Bengal, Kolkata, Taj Land’s End, Mumbai and most recently, as the General Manager at Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur.

Raghu Sapra has been appointed as the General Manager at DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, Bangalore.

He joins the as a pre-opening member of the first DoubleTree Suites in Asia Pacific. Sapra brings to the hotel 17 years of industry expertise having had associations with established hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt and Imperial New Delhi, amongst others. Sapra has also served as Director of Operations with Hilton Bangalore Residencies.

Latha Nair has been appointed as the Director of Sales at DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore. She joins as a preopening member of the first DoubleTree Suites in Asia Pacific.

Nair brings to the hotel 20 years of industry expertise having had associations with established hotel brands like The Park, Accor, Hyatt International Hotels & Resorts and The Leela Palaces and Resorts, amongst others. Nair will be responsible for the overall management and leadership of the Sales department.

Vivek Sharma has been appointed as the General Manager of Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square.

Sharma brings with him over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry. In his former position, as General Manager for DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore, Sharma was responsible for steering the pre-opening team. Before joining the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of hotels in February 2012, he served as the General Manager for The Galaxy Hotel, Gurgaon, Delhi NCR.

ibis Jaipur

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore Bangalore

Gurgaon

Jaipur Manish Kakkar has been taken on as the Hotel Manager of ibis Jaipur. Before assuming the current responsibilities, Kakkar was working with Trident Hilton Gurgaon and Oberoi, New Delhi, Uppal's Orchid (an Ecotel Hotel), New Delhi, Hotel Hindustan International, Le Meridien, New Delhi and as a Revenue Manager in Novotel Hyderabad and Hyderabad International Convention Centre. Hailing from the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology Gwalior, Kakkar comes with over 14 years of experience in Front Office Operation, Sales, Revenue Management and Reservation.

Gold Coast Tourism Mumbai Ashish Bhandari has been appointed as the Business Development Manager India for Gold Coast Tourism. Bhandari will be responsible for heading the organisation’s strategy to promote the Gold Coast as a leading leisure and business events destination for Indian travellers. Bhandari has served as an Associate Director of Hotel Sales for Outbound Marketing, India; working across all trade industry channels for the past five years.

Jitin Neol has been appointed Head of Sales, ibis Jaipur. His first association with Accor India began in 2008, supporting the launch of ibis in India. Neol comes with over eight years of experience and hails from International Institute of Management Technology, Gurgaon (IIMT). Jitin has earlier worked with Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Jaypee Hotels and Radisson Edwardian Hampshire. He has completed his Higher Senior Secondary School Examination from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s Vidyashram, Jaipur. Neol enjoys sports and plays cricket, table tennis, and horse riding.

Hem Chander has been appointed as the Executive Sous Chef, ibis Jaipur. Chander comes with almost a decade of experience in Food & Beverage Operations and Team Management in the Hospitality Industry. Chander is well-versed to handle coffee shops, specialty fine dining and banqueting. He has earlier worked with Atlantis, The Palm Jumeriah Dubai, The Oberoi Wildflower Hall, Shimla, The Piccadily, Himalaya Marg, Chandigarh and Comfort Inn & Suits by Choice Hospitality International.

Tony Fernandes, Founder & CEO, AirAsia, says that when he is on the ground and out of the office,

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

Contributed by: Peden Doma Bhutia, Anita Jain & Lyandra D’Souza

Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Gujarat, a published writer, an avid traveller and a bureaucrat is a self-confessed bibliophile. He says, “I generally spend my drives from my home to the office and back browsing through the latest works of fiction. Otherwise, I love spending time with my wife and children Megha and Mehul. We often go for a drive after dinner and weekends are spent catching up on my socialising and movies.”

it's family first for this time-stretched CEO. His children are his priority, he adds. Fernandes cooks sometimes when he's at home, or the family would just stay home and watch TV. Or he would take his daughter out to do her hair, or go shopping. Weekends at home, when he's actually in Kuala Lumpur and where he tries to be these days, is spent with his eight-year-old son. And they do stuff guys do, like play rugby, football and hockey. His wife, who used to write for television, is now a stay-at-home mother, and 'a fantastic painter' who keeps them all grounded, he declares.

Tarun Sathya Lakhanpal, General Manager-Revenue Management and Distribution, The Lemon Tree Hotel Company, free time is family time. He says he loves to read biographies and is currently gathering information on the life and work of Bhaskaracharya. Sunday mornings (when in town), he usually meets up with his friends and they get together for a game of cricket. His hobbies also include skiing, trekking and mushroom collection. He says, “My recent trek and a mushroom collection foray was to Chur Dhar in Himachal Pradesh. I also love driving and have driven across the Sangla valley till the Kaurik border. Next year, I plan to do the Valley of Flowers.”

Pawan Chandra, Marketing Head – TUI India, is an absolute gadget-lover and he confesses that he cannot live without his iPad mini and his iPhone. He says, "Thanks to my work, I get to travel considerably and explore new things and places during my free time after official work. One of the things that I love to do while travelling is to try out new restaurants and cuisines.

From a culinary point of view, my favourite places are France and South Africa. And while out of office, I love to spend time with my wife and 18-month-old son.”

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Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91 Date of Publication:14-09-2013

HIGHLIGHT

It’s time to woo the home crowd In an uncertain environment – where global economic slowdowns have become a way of life – the Indian travel industry is coming to realise that domestic tourists are their primary audience. In a tete-a-tete with , PP Khanna, VP, ADTOI, talks about the new focus on the domestic traveller.

M E G H A PAU L Future of tourism

A

domestic

ccording to MOT figures, Indian domestic tourist visits have crossed 1 billionmark. In other words, when the world was celebrating one billion tourists internationally, Indian domestic tourists also crossed the 1billion mark. The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2012 have reached 6.58 million. The estimated number of domestic tourist visits in 2012 was 1027 million. This reiterates the growing importance of domestic tourism in India.

Earlier, the approach in India was to woo the foreign traveller who pays in dollars.

However, visitor numbers in recent years indicate that it is the Indian tourist who should be the target. But for several reasons, some of them fortuitous, a growing focus on the domestic market is already visible. Indians may not be as free with their spending but the advantage is that they are unlikely to put off travel plans within the country. There is another reason behind the spurt in domestic tourism. It is finally being marketed. For many years, all tourism advertising

and promotion was handled by central government bodies. They sold India, but not any particular state or destination. Now with state departments aggressively marketing their own products, the scenario is changing.

Challenges Due to crisis in Indian economy and natural calamities, domestic tourism has got a setback. However, even then it will not be affected in the long term.

We need the support of MOT and state tourism departments so that we can explore more avenues of inter-state and intra-state tourism. Also, our domestic airfares are higher than airfares from India to South East Asian countries.

Airfares thus need to become more rational.

Currently, security, especially for women has become a major issue. This needs to be tackled.

The Rupee Impact With rupee at an alltime low, planned foreign holiday travel this season has obviously become dearer.

Thus, people are expected to travel more in India. The rupee’s travails have given an accidental push to

domestic tourism. It will also be a shot in the arm for India’s stagnant hospitality sector, which is reeling as high inflation and rising import costs eat away at profit margins. But such beneficial fallouts cannot be counted on forever. More physical infrastructure is needed at these domestic destinations to cash in on the situation in the long run.

ADTOI growth

The association was established in 1996, almost 17 years back with seven founder members. Now in 2013, we have about 725 members, including 300 active members. We are targetting at least 300 new members as we look at reaching the 1000-mark for our members till the end of term of this team. The association has recently also launched its fifth chapter in Maharashtra in August.

The state has the potential to promote adventure, MICE, wine and spiritual tourism.

Through this chapter, we will

Indians may not be as free with their spending but the advantage is that they are unlikely to put off travel plans within the country. Another region behind the spurt in domestic tourism is that it is finally being marketed. Now with state departments aggressively marketing their own products, the scenario is changing for the better PP Khanna Vice President ADTOI

Membership

Aims & objectives Our domestic airfares are higher than airfares from India to South East Asian countries. Airfares thus need to become more rational.

Currently, security, especially for women has become a major issue.

This needs to be tackled

take up issues faced by travel agents, tour operators and transporters at the grass root and macro levels, he said. In addition, the Maharashtra Chapter will play an integral part in boosting tourism in the state. “We have taken up the initiative to establish two to three chapters in the next two years and thus, Maharashtra was the top priority. Going forward, the association will look at establishing chapters in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh,” Khanna said.