a cross section publication
VO LU M E 1. I S S U E 2 . J U N E 2 015 . ` 5 0
TOURISMFIRST T R AV E L & TO U R I S M I S E V E RY B O DY ’ S B U S I N E S S
GUREZ BECKONS TOURISTS AS NEW AREAS OPEN IN KASHMIR Tourism is now getting the Red Carpet treatment NAKUL ANAND Executive Director, ITC Hotels and Chairman, FAITH
Number One position is based on total recall of a destination ASHWANI LOHANI Principal Secretary Tourism and MD, MPTDC
Tourism must coexist and grow in Harmony with Nature ASHOK LAVASA
Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change
Outsourced visa services are cost-effective and traveller friendly
ZUBIN KARKARIA CEO, VFS Global Group
Bangladesh: Bilateral push opens new vistas for tourism in the region St Regis checks into Palladium in Mumbai, its first property in India
JUNE, 2015
Indian cities lack the global edge, shows MasterCard’s annual survey
06 Tremors on Top: Crises of the Hill Station 08 Children of a lesser God in tourism business 14 Tourism must coexist and grow in Harmony with Nature, says Ashok Lavasa 16 Car Rental Business: Rajiv Vij Exponential growth ahead with new defining products on anvil
21 ICCA 2014 report recognizes Hyderabad as Global MICE Destination 22 Destination Gurez: Kashmir’s new product offering is unsurpassed for its solitude and beauty 28 Madhya Pradesh positions for Number One tourism state in the country 32 Number One position is based on total recall of a destination: Ashwani lohani, Principal Secretary Tourism and MD, MPTDC 34 Perception plays spoilsport to Kashmir tourism: Naeem Akhtar, Education Minister, J&K state 36 Tourism in Bihar: An exclusive with its minister: We intend to diversify our tourism products: Javed Iqbal Ansari, Tourism Minister, Bihar 39 Operating Environment Remains Very Challenging, says CAPA Report 40 Curtain Raiser for Cinema Tourism Summit 2015
3 Macau: Top things to do this summer 5 54 Bangladesh: bilateral push opens new vistas for tourism in the region 58 Kathmandu: Life and tourism is coming back 62 Bhutan: Black & White images that bring out the colour of a pristine landscape 66 Outsourced visa services are cost-effective and traveller friendly: Zubin karkaria, CEO, VFS Global Group 68 Trinidad & Tobago: “Chalo, Chalo” calypso call from willow warriors 71 Asian cities dominate Global Destinations Index 72 Atlantis, The Palm has been in the forefront of Dubai’s marketing efforts to promote tourism from India 74 Nakul Anand Unplugged: This issue, we bring you an exclusive one-on-one with Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Hotels 80 St Regis checks into Palladium in Mumbai, its first property in India
MAHARAJA’S MAINTENANCE
Air India now has an advanced MRO facility
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FIXED FARE
IndiGo 6E Pass promises to knock off price fluctuation worries
STAKE CONSOLIDATION
GMR buys out Malaysian partner’s share in DIAL
MAJOR LAUREL
Taj figures in top three global landmark list from TripAdvisor
TRAFFIC TRENDS
Foreign Tourist Arrivals grow by 9.2% in May
EASY PAYMENT
Buy Air Arabia tickets with Indian debit cards
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LALIT PANWAR
SUJIT BANERJEE
RAKESH MATHUR
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AIR CONNECTIVITY
Madurai to be hub for tourism centric helicopter services
BRAND AMBASSADOR
Assam to emulate Gujarat model, to pick brand ambassador
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ENTERTAINMENT ZONES
MTDC in favour of allowing nightlife in Mumbai
ICCA 2014 report recognizes Hyderabad as Global MICE Destination
Kashmir’s new product offering is unsurpassed f
for its solitude and beauty
SHIVRAJ SINGH CHAUHAN
SURENDRA PATWA
ASHWANI LOHANI
ASHWANI LOHANI
NAEEM AKHTAR
DR. JAVED IQBAL ANSARI
KAPIL KAUL
Operating Environment for Aviation remains Challenging, says CAPA Report
Cinema Tou​rism gets a boost with every new edition of ​this annual event