2015 Nov Dec

Edited & Published by Shailendra Kesari • For Online News visit: www.safariplus.co.in • Email: info@safariplus.co.in • Nov - Dec 2015 • Vol: 17 Issue: 2

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NEWS FLASH India’s Ministry of Defence Orders 22 AH-64E Apache And 15 CH-47F Chinook Helicopters India’s Ministry of Defence has finalized an order with Boeing for the production, training and support of Apache and Chinook helicopters.

The order is for 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. Both are the newest models of those aircraft.

Mr Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India, said, “This is a milestone in Boeing’s expanding commitment to India. Large sections of the Chinook fuselage are already manufactured in India and discussions are ongoing with our Indian partners to make Apache parts.”

The AH-64E Apache, the most modern variant also flown by the U. S. Army,

features enhanced performance, joint d i g i t a l o p e r a b i l i t y, i m p r o v e d survivability and cognitive decision aiding.

The CH-47F Chinook alsp operated by the U.S. Army and 18 other defense forces.

Mr Dennis Swanson, Vice President, Defense, Space & Security in India, said, “We look forward to delivering the newest Apache and Chinook to our customers and remain focused on delivering on its commitments to the Indian Air Force and India’s Ministry of Defence.”

India is the 14th nation to select the Apache and the 19th nation to select the Chinook.

Shah Rukh Khan To Promote Bengal Tourism In New Ad Film Bollywood Superstar Mr Shah Rukh Khan is all set to promote West Bengal’s vital tourist spots by shooting an ad film for Bengal tourism in late-mid October.

Bratya Basu, West Bengal Tourism Minister, said that the actor will visit Kolkata in the third week of October for the indoor shoot, who is also a brand ambassador for Bengal, they have fixed a budget amounting to Rs 8 crore for film’s shooting.

She further revealed that the ad will depict Bengal’s variety, the picturesque of North Bengal- Darjeeling hills and Dooars. Also the rustic rural sights of

Santiniketan in Bolpur and coastal areas will be highlighted in the ad. The film will be dubbed in English, Hindi and Bengali, as per the sources.

Changes In Schengen VISA Application Process As part of the worldwide introduction of the Visa Information System (VIS)1, the Schengen States will launch the VIS in India (and in the neighbouring countries) on 2 November, 2015. Since October 2011, the VIS has been functioning in seventeen (out of 23) world regions. All Schengen consulates worldwide will be connected to VIS by the end of November 2015.

The purpose of this global VIS introduction process is to better protect applicants against identity theft and to prevent document fraud and so-called "visa shopping". Fingerprints are widely used within the EU as a more secure means of identification. The use of biometric data for identification

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purposes of a visa holder is a faster and more accurate way to identify a visa holder by border police.

As from 2 November 2015, Indian citizens requesting a Schengen visa will have to appear in person in order to provide biometric data (fingerprints and digital photography). This concerns the applications for the short-term Schengen visas (max. 90 days in 180 days). For subsequent applications within next 5 years the biometric data will be copied from the previous visa application included in the VIS. Apart from that, there will be no change in current procedures such as visa fee or forms.

Maharashtra Becomes Most Preferred Tourist Destination In India According to the recent survey compiled

by World Travel and Tourism Council, Maharashtra has been rated on top in terms of tourism potential. The ranking has been done by assessing the relative competitiveness of over 30 states in India.

Maharashtra has moved up one position from the survey done last in 2013. In comparison, national capital Delhi — which topped last time's rating — is second on the list. Similarly, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu won the third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

According to the Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition report by the UNWTO, the total number of International Tourist Arrivals (ITA) worldwide was 1,133 million in 2014. India attracted 0.67% of

the world's international tourist arrivals whereas Maharashtra attracted 4.5 million tourists from foreign countries and over 8.4 million domestic tourists, becoming the most preferred state than any other state.

The Report said that the India's travel and tourism economy is poised to grow 7.5% in 2015 over last year, exceeding the 6.9% growth that the global forum.

By the end of 2015, the travel and tourism sector will contribute Rs 8.22 trillion or 7% of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and 37.4 million jobs almost 9% of total employment. In comparison during the year 2014, the industry contributed Rs7.64 trillion and 36.7 million jobs to the Indian economy.

Assam Tourism To Introduce Cruise on Brahmaputra River Assam Tourism, in order to attract domestic tourists introduces cruise on the River Brahmaputra. They will be adding a new vessel to their fleet by early next year.

Mr. Manoj Kumar Deka, Director, Assam Tourism added “We have two cruise liners currently under Public Private Partnership, and they majorly attract foreign tourists. We will have another vessel, which will be announced in February or March 2016.

With the new ship, we want to target domestic tourists, and so this one will be economical and will cover s h o r te r d i sta n c e s , a s compared to the existing cruise ships that are

generally heavily booked, as early as six months in advance.”

Mr. Deka also added that they have a target of increasing the number of domestic tourists to Assam by 10-15 lakh and Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) by 10,000, for this year. Last year, 4,600,000 domestic tourists visited Assam, while 25,000 foreigners toured the state.

Online application of Visa on Arrival in Thailand T he Royal Thai Government has launched the new online application service for Visa on Arrival to boost the Tourism in Thai. This service is available only for the worldwide travelers who travel Thailand for tourism purpose. In total 19 countries are eligible to enter Thailand under the rules which are Bh u t a n , C h i n a , C y p r u s , C z e c h Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mauritius, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia,

Slovenia, Taiwan, and Ukraine.

V isa on Arrival is possible if an individual meets the rules and regulations. Traveler has to prove that they have sufficient funds like 10000 THB per individual and 20000 THB per family during their stay in Thailand. There should be a confirm ticket of return journey within15 -30 days of entry. A fee of 1000 THB should be paid at the entry and is subject to change without notice.

November - December, 2015

3

EVENTS

EVENTS

Maharashtra International Travel Mart 2015 The Govt of Maharashtra's ambitious international tourism promotion project, Maharashtra International Travel Mart 2015 popularly known as MITM – amid the huge number of buyers and sellers of the tourism industry from various countries. The first ever edition of MITM, which is set to take Maharashtra's robust tourism growth story on a global level was launched by the gracious hands of Hon. Shri Devendra F a d a n v i s , C h i e f M i n i s t e r, Maharashtra State.

Among eminent dignitaries present at the occasion were Hon. Prof. Shri Ram Shinde, Minister of State for Tourism, Home (Rural), Public Health and Marketing, Hon. Shri Subhash Desai, Minister of Industries, Maharashtra

State, Hon Smt Vidya Thakur, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Hon Shri Gajanan Kirtikar, Member of Parliament, Shri Swadhin Kshatriya, IAS, Chief Secretary, Maharashtra Smt. Valsa Singh Nair, IAS,

4th International Tourism Mart Held In Gangtok

The 4th International Tourism Mart (ITM) was held in Gangtok from 14–16 October, 2015. International buyers and media delegates from 27 countries participated in this year's ITM. The ITM showcased the rich tourism potential of the North East States. Dr. Mahesh Sharma Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), said that the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi gives utmost priority to the North-east and promoting tourism in the region has been the emphasis of the Ministry.

He also said that improving connectivity is the key to promoting tourism in the North-east for which the Government has taken new initiatives. One of the major steps in this direction is creating Guwahati as a hub to provide improved connectivity to the North-East. For this

purpose, the Govt has sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 1200 c r o r e f o r development of Guwahati Airport.

He also informed that Rs 484 crore have also been sanctioned for up gradation of Agartala Airport and Rs 90 crore for Tezu Airport (Arunachal Pradesh). The Ministry of Tourism is working on 3 projects in Majuli, Tawang & Kamakhya for promoting Tourism in North East States. Rs 250 crore have already been sanctioned for the projects under the Swadesh Darshan (North-east Circuit) and PRASAD schemes of the Ministry of Tourism.

He said that we need to increase India's share in world tourism from 0.68 to 1 % by 2020 to realize the full potential of this sector. Tourism helps in women empowerment and youth employment.

He reiterated the motto of the Ministry of Tourism 'Cleanliness, Safety and Hospitality'. The facility of e-visas have been extended to 113 countries and the government will extend it to 150 countries by March next year.

P r i n c i p a l S e c r e t a r y, Department of Tourism & Culture, Maharashtra State, Shri Paraag Jaiin Nainuttia, IAS, Managing Director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).

A single forum of MITM witnessed an exciting response from the global tourism stakeholders with more than 250 registrations coming in from hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators from abroad and India.

It also bears a great significance when the State Tourism Department and its flagship agency MTDC have been

strategically building and promoting the u n ex p l o re d t o u r i s m w e a l t h o f M a h a ra s h t ra b e s i d e s b o o s t i n g conventional tourism assets on Indian and global circuits.

Smt Valsa Singh Nair, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Maharashtra State, said, “MITM is an endeavour to bring in the maximum number of tourism buyers and sellers on a single platform and empower them to explore economic growth opportunities in Maharashtra's tourism sector. We are happy to witness such a promising response from buyers and sellers from the globe. We are sure to see a number of partnership, tie-ups happening among tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents. It will also pave the way to attract foreign investments in the sector.”

Jakarta To Hosts Next Year’s Prestigious PATA Travel Mart 2016 Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has been selected to host prestigious PATA Travel Mart in 2016, o n e o f t h e international tourism industry’s must-attend contract shows, to be staged at the J a k a r t a International Convention Center occupying Hall A and B. The event will be held from 7-9 September, 2016.

The Jakarta PATA Mart is envisaged to be participated by 600 industry sellers from 31 countries, ranging from hotels, resorts, airlines, and travel agents who will meet an expected 1,000 buyers, CEO’s and decision makers from large tour operators and specialized travel agencies from 49 countries.

At a press conference in Jakarta, accompanied by PATA Indonesia Chapter Chairman Mr SD. Darmono and Jakarta Head of Culture and Tourism Office,

Purba Hutapea, Indonesia’s Tourism Minister, Arief Yahya said that Indonesia looks forward to hosting the PATA Mart again, having last hosted the Mart in Bali in 2003 and in 1983.

For PATA Mart 2016, Indonesia will highlight the country’s Marine Tourism resources and destinations since, as a huge archipelago Indonesia offers m a g n i f i c e n t a n d u n fo rg e tta b l e underwater diving opportunities besides swathes of white sand beaches alongside great swell for surfing, and islands galore to explore by yachts or cruise ship.

IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 Concludes On A High Note IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 concluded with over 100 business, education and networking sessions successfully. Held at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld Bangkok, Thailand, presented the largest line-up of over 20 MICE, events intelligence, corporate travel and association management knowledge sessions helmed by over 30 expert speakers. Headlining the education front is the first-ever ASEAN MICE Forum, endorsed by the ASEAN Marketing and Communications Working Group. This initiative enables IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific to facilitate closer collaboration between ASEAN’s MICE industry leaders.

The 2015 edition sees a growth of 14% in ex h i b i to rs ’ p a r t i c i p a t i o n , w i t h sponsorship engagements increasing by more than 40% over 2014. All these have been made possible by TTG Events’ unwavering commitment to deliver quality content and buyers to the events. Featuring one of the largest CVB collections in the region, IT&CMA has once again delivered a truly global showcase of Convention Visitor Bureaus. The international presence is witnessed by the entrance of new European, Middle Eastern and North Asian bureaus like Berlin, Geneva, Lucerne, Zurich, Dubai and Jeju, while returning destinations Switzerland, Philippines, Macau and India are making a statement with an event bigger showing this year.

They are joined by all the leading Asian MICE destinations including Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Sabah and Thailand. This consolidates IT&CMA position as the must-attend MICE-focus event in Asia.

‘Heaven Unveiled A Night in Paradise’ the opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner treated delegates with Thai c u i s i n e . M r. N o p p a ra t Maythaveekulchai, President of TCEB, said, “As the host of the Opening Ceremony, TCEB had the opportunity to present our 2016 global branding campaign ‘Thailand CONNECT - Our Heart, Your World, and showcased Thailand as Asia’s top business events destination. The Opening Ceremony represented the start of the trade show, as well as the beginning of many new relationships and partnerships for the delegates. In turn, the exposure we had received was tremendously beneficial.”

6 other destinations, CVBs and

Corporates including Seoul Metropolitan Government, Dubai Business Events, Frasers Hospitality, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, Oakwood and HRS have secured hosted luncheon, dinner and coffee break sessions second day.

Delegates gave their thumbs up to highly satisfactory outcomes across board, from business appointments, to knowledge fulfilment, and networking engagement. On the education front, delegates expressed their satisfaction with this year’s stellar line-up of topics and speakers.

The highlight of the last event day was the announcement of the 2015 IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific Sticky Award winners, who were selected by their delegate peers for making an unforgettable impression with exciting exhibits, booths, functions, promotions, individual personalities and social media sharing.

This year saw a total of 12 winners, with

Korea Tourism Organization and Thai Airways taking the gold title of Stickiest National Pavilion and Stickiest Corporate Booth. Other booth winners include Resort World Sentosa (Corporate Booth, Silver), Centara Hotels & Resorts (Corporate Booth, Bronze), Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (National Pavilion, Silver) and Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines (National Pavilion, Bronze). TPB Philippines took home double honours for also winning “Stickiest Function”, while Taiwan Convention & Exhibition Association walked away all smiles with the Stickiest Marketing & Promotion honour.

Mr. Henry Waltz, CEO/ Owner, Gecko Incentives & Events, Germany; Mr. Abhimanyu, Global Head, MICE & Travel Procurement HCL Technologies, India; and Mr. Hugo Slimbrouck, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ovation Global DMC, Belgium were named Stickiest Buyer, Corporate Travel Manager and Guru respectively.

Approved by Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India.

Aditi Nanivadekar Avleen Mehra

www.ravinetrek.com

Corp. Office: Shop No:1, B-4, Highland Garden, Dhokali Road, Thane (W) - 400 607

sales@ravinetrek.com

Mumbai: Shop No 3 Ganjawala Tower, SVP Road, Borivali (W), Mumbai - 400092. Maharashtra, INDIA Mumbai: +91 22 28936320 / 32954953 M: +91 9967009904 / 9322647575 E: ravinetrek@gmail.com Branch Operational Office: Leh, Srinagar, Delhi, Manali, Mumbai (Andheri Lokhandwala)

4

November - December, 2015

www.safariplus.co.in

www.safariplus.co.in

November - December, 2015

5

EVENTS

EVENTS

Maharashtra International Travel Mart 2015 The Govt of Maharashtra's ambitious international tourism promotion project, Maharashtra International Travel Mart 2015 popularly known as MITM – amid the huge number of buyers and sellers of the tourism industry from various countries. The first ever edition of MITM, which is set to take Maharashtra's robust tourism growth story on a global level was launched by the gracious hands of Hon. Shri Devendra F a d a n v i s , C h i e f M i n i s t e r, Maharashtra State.

Among eminent dignitaries present at the occasion were Hon. Prof. Shri Ram Shinde, Minister of State for Tourism, Home (Rural), Public Health and Marketing, Hon. Shri Subhash Desai, Minister of Industries, Maharashtra

State, Hon Smt Vidya Thakur, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Hon Shri Gajanan Kirtikar, Member of Parliament, Shri Swadhin Kshatriya, IAS, Chief Secretary, Maharashtra Smt. Valsa Singh Nair, IAS,

4th International Tourism Mart Held In Gangtok

The 4th International Tourism Mart (ITM) was held in Gangtok from 14–16 October, 2015. International buyers and media delegates from 27 countries participated in this year's ITM. The ITM showcased the rich tourism potential of the North East States. Dr. Mahesh Sharma Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), said that the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi gives utmost priority to the North-east and promoting tourism in the region has been the emphasis of the Ministry.

He also said that improving connectivity is the key to promoting tourism in the North-east for which the Government has taken new initiatives. One of the major steps in this direction is creating Guwahati as a hub to provide improved connectivity to the North-East. For this

purpose, the Govt has sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 1200 c r o r e f o r development of Guwahati Airport.

He also informed that Rs 484 crore have also been sanctioned for up gradation of Agartala Airport and Rs 90 crore for Tezu Airport (Arunachal Pradesh). The Ministry of Tourism is working on 3 projects in Majuli, Tawang & Kamakhya for promoting Tourism in North East States. Rs 250 crore have already been sanctioned for the projects under the Swadesh Darshan (North-east Circuit) and PRASAD schemes of the Ministry of Tourism.

He said that we need to increase India's share in world tourism from 0.68 to 1 % by 2020 to realize the full potential of this sector. Tourism helps in women empowerment and youth employment.

He reiterated the motto of the Ministry of Tourism 'Cleanliness, Safety and Hospitality'. The facility of e-visas have been extended to 113 countries and the government will extend it to 150 countries by March next year.

P r i n c i p a l S e c r e t a r y, Department of Tourism & Culture, Maharashtra State, Shri Paraag Jaiin Nainuttia, IAS, Managing Director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).

A single forum of MITM witnessed an exciting response from the global tourism stakeholders with more than 250 registrations coming in from hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators from abroad and India.

It also bears a great significance when the State Tourism Department and its flagship agency MTDC have been

strategically building and promoting the u n ex p l o re d t o u r i s m w e a l t h o f M a h a ra s h t ra b e s i d e s b o o s t i n g conventional tourism assets on Indian and global circuits.

Smt Valsa Singh Nair, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Maharashtra State, said, “MITM is an endeavour to bring in the maximum number of tourism buyers and sellers on a single platform and empower them to explore economic growth opportunities in Maharashtra's tourism sector. We are happy to witness such a promising response from buyers and sellers from the globe. We are sure to see a number of partnership, tie-ups happening among tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents. It will also pave the way to attract foreign investments in the sector.”

Jakarta To Hosts Next Year’s Prestigious PATA Travel Mart 2016 Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has been selected to host prestigious PATA Travel Mart in 2016, o n e o f t h e international tourism industry’s must-attend contract shows, to be staged at the J a k a r t a International Convention Center occupying Hall A and B. The event will be held from 7-9 September, 2016.

The Jakarta PATA Mart is envisaged to be participated by 600 industry sellers from 31 countries, ranging from hotels, resorts, airlines, and travel agents who will meet an expected 1,000 buyers, CEO’s and decision makers from large tour operators and specialized travel agencies from 49 countries.

At a press conference in Jakarta, accompanied by PATA Indonesia Chapter Chairman Mr SD. Darmono and Jakarta Head of Culture and Tourism Office,

Purba Hutapea, Indonesia’s Tourism Minister, Arief Yahya said that Indonesia looks forward to hosting the PATA Mart again, having last hosted the Mart in Bali in 2003 and in 1983.

For PATA Mart 2016, Indonesia will highlight the country’s Marine Tourism resources and destinations since, as a huge archipelago Indonesia offers m a g n i f i c e n t a n d u n fo rg e tta b l e underwater diving opportunities besides swathes of white sand beaches alongside great swell for surfing, and islands galore to explore by yachts or cruise ship.

IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 Concludes On A High Note IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 concluded with over 100 business, education and networking sessions successfully. Held at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld Bangkok, Thailand, presented the largest line-up of over 20 MICE, events intelligence, corporate travel and association management knowledge sessions helmed by over 30 expert speakers. Headlining the education front is the first-ever ASEAN MICE Forum, endorsed by the ASEAN Marketing and Communications Working Group. This initiative enables IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific to facilitate closer collaboration between ASEAN’s MICE industry leaders.

The 2015 edition sees a growth of 14% in ex h i b i to rs ’ p a r t i c i p a t i o n , w i t h sponsorship engagements increasing by more than 40% over 2014. All these have been made possible by TTG Events’ unwavering commitment to deliver quality content and buyers to the events. Featuring one of the largest CVB collections in the region, IT&CMA has once again delivered a truly global showcase of Convention Visitor Bureaus. The international presence is witnessed by the entrance of new European, Middle Eastern and North Asian bureaus like Berlin, Geneva, Lucerne, Zurich, Dubai and Jeju, while returning destinations Switzerland, Philippines, Macau and India are making a statement with an event bigger showing this year.

They are joined by all the leading Asian MICE destinations including Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Sabah and Thailand. This consolidates IT&CMA position as the must-attend MICE-focus event in Asia.

‘Heaven Unveiled A Night in Paradise’ the opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner treated delegates with Thai c u i s i n e . M r. N o p p a ra t Maythaveekulchai, President of TCEB, said, “As the host of the Opening Ceremony, TCEB had the opportunity to present our 2016 global branding campaign ‘Thailand CONNECT - Our Heart, Your World, and showcased Thailand as Asia’s top business events destination. The Opening Ceremony represented the start of the trade show, as well as the beginning of many new relationships and partnerships for the delegates. In turn, the exposure we had received was tremendously beneficial.”

6 other destinations, CVBs and

Corporates including Seoul Metropolitan Government, Dubai Business Events, Frasers Hospitality, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, Oakwood and HRS have secured hosted luncheon, dinner and coffee break sessions second day.

Delegates gave their thumbs up to highly satisfactory outcomes across board, from business appointments, to knowledge fulfilment, and networking engagement. On the education front, delegates expressed their satisfaction with this year’s stellar line-up of topics and speakers.

The highlight of the last event day was the announcement of the 2015 IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific Sticky Award winners, who were selected by their delegate peers for making an unforgettable impression with exciting exhibits, booths, functions, promotions, individual personalities and social media sharing.

This year saw a total of 12 winners, with

Korea Tourism Organization and Thai Airways taking the gold title of Stickiest National Pavilion and Stickiest Corporate Booth. Other booth winners include Resort World Sentosa (Corporate Booth, Silver), Centara Hotels & Resorts (Corporate Booth, Bronze), Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (National Pavilion, Silver) and Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines (National Pavilion, Bronze). TPB Philippines took home double honours for also winning “Stickiest Function”, while Taiwan Convention & Exhibition Association walked away all smiles with the Stickiest Marketing & Promotion honour.

Mr. Henry Waltz, CEO/ Owner, Gecko Incentives & Events, Germany; Mr. Abhimanyu, Global Head, MICE & Travel Procurement HCL Technologies, India; and Mr. Hugo Slimbrouck, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ovation Global DMC, Belgium were named Stickiest Buyer, Corporate Travel Manager and Guru respectively.

Approved by Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India.

Aditi Nanivadekar Avleen Mehra

www.ravinetrek.com

Corp. Office: Shop No:1, B-4, Highland Garden, Dhokali Road, Thane (W) - 400 607

sales@ravinetrek.com

Mumbai: Shop No 3 Ganjawala Tower, SVP Road, Borivali (W), Mumbai - 400092. Maharashtra, INDIA Mumbai: +91 22 28936320 / 32954953 M: +91 9967009904 / 9322647575 E: ravinetrek@gmail.com Branch Operational Office: Leh, Srinagar, Delhi, Manali, Mumbai (Andheri Lokhandwala)

4

November - December, 2015

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November - December, 2015

5

TRADE PLUS

New Team At TAAI FAITH Team 2015-17

M e m b e r s o f T R AV E L A G E N T S ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (TAAI ) elected office-bearers and Managing Committee for the 2-year term (201517) at the 64th AGM held in Mumbai.

Team TAAI Positive emerged victorious with a sweeping majority.

Mr Sunil Kumar R has been elected as President, Mr Marzban Antia has been voted as Vice President, Mr Lokesh Bettaiah, as the Honorary Secretary General and Mr Jay Bhatia as Honorary Treasurer.

The new Managing Committee of TAAI also includes Mr R. Venkatachalam, Mr Imtiaz Qureshi, Mr Bhagwan Ramnani, Ms Devaki Thiagarajan, Mr Shreeram Patel, Mr Anil Kumar and Ms Jyoti Mayal.

Mr Sunil Kumar thanked the members

6

for their faith in the TEAM and said that the Team TAAI POSITIVE will go all out to attempt meeting the expectations of the members. The focus will be on trying to guide members into a changing industry era where the challenges will be many while opportunities too will multiply. TAAI will do all possible to boost their positive image levels and take TAAI to next level.

It will be our endeavour to lead members from the "today-we-exist" into an environment called "tomorrow", rather than trying to get the tomorrow's to meet our today's.

He added that our immediate agenda will be design our planning and form committees to assign agenda and accountability to our members. Among the things we need to do is to get a closer connectivity with the Govt.

November - December, 2015

New Team at FAITH - Mr. Nakul Anand & Mr. Sarabjit Singh continue as the Chairman and Vice Chairman, nominated by HAI & ITTA respectively.

Mr. Saaed Shervani nominated by FHRAI replaced outgoing Honorary Secretary M r. S u b h a s h Ve r m a w h o h a d represented ADTOI. Mr. Akshay Kumar,

nominated by ATOAI replaced outgoing Treasurer Mr. Sunil Kumar who represented TAAI. Mr. Aashish Gupta continues as the Consulting CEO. The whole team gave a warm farewell & thanked Subhash Verma and Sunil Kumar for their invaluable support while requesting for their ongoing inputs.

Dessert Dash 2015 India’s most awaited luxurious road trip ‘THE DESSERT DASH’ is announced on 1st December 2015. Cougar Motor Sport has come up with the 6th edition of luxurious road trip with thrill to enjoy driving on off-beaten road. It’s a self drive expedition in which the journey commence from Jaipur to Jodhpur, exploring the vast dessert of Rajasthan and its internal countryside roads.

The event will cover nearly about 1200 km in five days. The destinations in the expedition are Jaipur, Bikaner,

Jaisalmer, Khimsar and Jodhpur.

The person who is holding a valid license recognized in India may register to participate the drive. Both 4WD and 2WD vehicals are allowed .

No prior experience of motorsport required for this expedition. Cougar Motor Sports takes care of all the journey like Government policies, FMSCI rally licenses, insurance, medical facilities etc.

M o r e d e t a i l s o n www.cougarmotorsport.in

www.safariplus.co.in

www.safariplus.co.in

November - December, 2015

7

TRADE PLUS

New Team At TAAI FAITH Team 2015-17

M e m b e r s o f T R AV E L A G E N T S ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (TAAI ) elected office-bearers and Managing Committee for the 2-year term (201517) at the 64th AGM held in Mumbai.

Team TAAI Positive emerged victorious with a sweeping majority.

Mr Sunil Kumar R has been elected as President, Mr Marzban Antia has been voted as Vice President, Mr Lokesh Bettaiah, as the Honorary Secretary General and Mr Jay Bhatia as Honorary Treasurer.

The new Managing Committee of TAAI also includes Mr R. Venkatachalam, Mr Imtiaz Qureshi, Mr Bhagwan Ramnani, Ms Devaki Thiagarajan, Mr Shreeram Patel, Mr Anil Kumar and Ms Jyoti Mayal.

Mr Sunil Kumar thanked the members

6

for their faith in the TEAM and said that the Team TAAI POSITIVE will go all out to attempt meeting the expectations of the members. The focus will be on trying to guide members into a changing industry era where the challenges will be many while opportunities too will multiply. TAAI will do all possible to boost their positive image levels and take TAAI to next level.

It will be our endeavour to lead members from the "today-we-exist" into an environment called "tomorrow", rather than trying to get the tomorrow's to meet our today's.

He added that our immediate agenda will be design our planning and form committees to assign agenda and accountability to our members. Among the things we need to do is to get a closer connectivity with the Govt.

November - December, 2015

New Team at FAITH - Mr. Nakul Anand & Mr. Sarabjit Singh continue as the Chairman and Vice Chairman, nominated by HAI & ITTA respectively.

Mr. Saaed Shervani nominated by FHRAI replaced outgoing Honorary Secretary M r. S u b h a s h Ve r m a w h o h a d represented ADTOI. Mr. Akshay Kumar,

nominated by ATOAI replaced outgoing Treasurer Mr. Sunil Kumar who represented TAAI. Mr. Aashish Gupta continues as the Consulting CEO. The whole team gave a warm farewell & thanked Subhash Verma and Sunil Kumar for their invaluable support while requesting for their ongoing inputs.

Dessert Dash 2015 India’s most awaited luxurious road trip ‘THE DESSERT DASH’ is announced on 1st December 2015. Cougar Motor Sport has come up with the 6th edition of luxurious road trip with thrill to enjoy driving on off-beaten road. It’s a self drive expedition in which the journey commence from Jaipur to Jodhpur, exploring the vast dessert of Rajasthan and its internal countryside roads.

The event will cover nearly about 1200 km in five days. The destinations in the expedition are Jaipur, Bikaner,

Jaisalmer, Khimsar and Jodhpur.

The person who is holding a valid license recognized in India may register to participate the drive. Both 4WD and 2WD vehicals are allowed .

No prior experience of motorsport required for this expedition. Cougar Motor Sports takes care of all the journey like Government policies, FMSCI rally licenses, insurance, medical facilities etc.

M o r e d e t a i l s o n www.cougarmotorsport.in

www.safariplus.co.in

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November - December, 2015

7

Exotic Places To Hangout On The New Year’s Eve We Indians just need a reason to celebrate and enjoy life. New Year’s Eve is one of the largest global celebrations as it marks the last day of the Gregorian calendar. Nowadays, India is one of the popular destinations in World to celebrate the New Year.

Hotels and Resorts are booked a month before and all the party passes are sold out. New Year Eve especially in Metro cities is worth enjoying with Live concerts by Bollywood veterans and the known singers, DJ’s rock out the Pubs and Night Life. Let’s check out the cities of India which don’t sleeps on 31 night ~ Goa, Mumbai, M a h a b a l e s h w a r, M a t h e r a n , McleodGanj, Puducherry, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkatta, Ooty, Manali, G u l m a r g , A m r i t s a r, U d a i p u r, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Munnar,

Coorg, Shillong , Manali, Mussorie, Mt. Abu, Udaipur and the list goes on.

Goa Goa is the city to rock-on the nightlife and its cassino. Over here you can loosen yourself and enjoy the electic mix of night life filled with music, booze and fun. Sea-Food and the local liquor adds fun to the celebration. One can enjoy Beach side party at Vagator and Anjuna headed for the spectacular ambience. Apart from Indians, you can find many foreigners around the globe visit here to celebrate the eve. Dona Paula Beach, Agonda Beach, Calangute Beach, Miramar Beach, Palolem Beach, Bogmalo Beach, Beach Baga and Chapora Beach are some beaches to welcome the new year. SUNBURN FESTIVAL at the Candolim Beach. The three-day party on Candolim Beach, in Goa, gets down massive

international artistes.

Mumbai It is said that, ‘Mumbai is the city which never sleeps’. So how this city will be unprepared for the New Year?

There are many 5-Star Hotels located here which are geared up for parties with cocktails, dinners and live events.

You can spot a Star celebrity from film industry around here. There are many clubs around the city, who are full of Glam and lights which are generally visited by the VVIP and Page 3 people.

The Best among them are; Tryst, Trilogy, Aer, Blue Frog, Prive, Hype

etc., where the top Dj’s burn the Music.

One can also visit with family and f r i e n d s at E s s e l Wo r l d , Wate r Kingdom, Adlabs Imagica. There are many other super liked destinations for celebrating New Year Night nearby Mumbai which are Alibag, Matheran, Lavasa, Mahabaleshwar, Pune... here you can celebrate your new year with family and friends. Special packages and events are organized for the celebration of New Year Eve in all the Hotels.

Puducherr y The most popular destination we can say for New Year Eve. There are many House destinations Lounges and Beach Parties in Puducherry on 31st Dec. The New Year Parties are mainly organized near the Beach side hotels as it is the first preference of the tourist. Here are the few hotels who are ready for the bash on 31 December, 2015; Mango Hill Sea gulls, Big Beach, Dune Eco Beach Hotel, Kailash Beach Resort, Le Pondy, Nalla Eco Beach Resort, St James Court , The Ashok Beach Resort, The Wind flower, Hotel Annamalai International, Hotel Bon Sejour, Le Dupleix, Malson Perumal, palais de mahe, The Promenade, The Richmond, Accord Pudicherry, Atithi, Ginger, Hotel Dei orient,Hotel Mass, Le Royal park, Ocean Spray, The Sun Way, Villa Bayoud, Mid Scale, Devis Grand, Hotel Sun Park, Mother Sea View Residency, Pride, Red Carpet Residence, The Mercure Hotel, etc.

Delhi In Delhi New Year Eve has its own charm in areas like Gurgaon, Noida, Connought Place, Faridabad etc. Delhi as a pubbing capital is ever set for New Year eve. Many passes of night clubs get sold out. Celebrites host special night concerts for this special day. Hotels like The Lalit, The Park Hotel, JW Marriot, ITC Grand Bharat, The Claridges, Striker Pub & Kitchen, Shiro, Hotel Samrat, The Blue Bar etc have special Nights for New Year Eve arranged. Packages are made consisting Dine & Wine. We can also find youth hanging out at India Gate.

All eyes set on the Clock to strike 12.00.

Around the city we can see fancy fire crackers lit up and people welcoming the new year with family & friends.

Safari Plus wishes HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our readers. May the new year bring joy, prosperity in your life and may all your dreams come to reality and all your efforts turns into great achievements!

By: Aditi Nanivadekar

8

November - December, 2015

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Heritage Arc of Uttar Pradesh N Uttar Pradesh has nurtured EGIO ri R A R ik human thoughts and AG hpur S e t a F human endeavour in equal Agra measures through the ages. o arsana r With rich mythological origins o B eshwa nctuar y the centuries behind us have o Bat a ri mbal S shaped this land defining what o Cha ah Lion Safa we know as the Heritage Arc. o Etaw l u The Heritage Arc runs across the o Gok gaon heart of Uttar Pradesh, covering and three very distinct regions- Agra, o N thura Lucknow and Varanasi. The o Ma davan Heritage Arc effortlessly traverses o Vrin great epochs of Indian history, heritage, art, culture, myriad cuisine and spiritual traditions. This Heritage Arc is well connected through the Air, Rail and Road expressway.

Agra Agra, erstwhile imperial capital of the great Mughals, home of the immortal Taj Mahal, needs no introduction. As an earlier and premier city of a vast and powerful empire, Agra and its environs are studded with architectural gems.

Beyond the better known monumentTaj Mahal, Agra fort, Fatepur Sikri. The founder of the dynasty – Babar's pleasure garden, Arambagh tombs of the greatest Mughal – Akbar and his Hindu Rajput wife, mother to his son and heir Jahangir, the tomb of ItmadudDullah built in memory of her father by Jahangir's wife Noor Jahan, bazaars and palaces where vestiges of the glory of the empire may still be seen and felt.

Heritage can do with a walk through Agra, with local historians and residents, brings to life a city beyond the staple guidebook prattle. This ancient land has also many artistic expressions like marble stone – inlay work, sculpture, murals and carpets. The adjoining region of Bateshwar which has one of the oldest temple series on the banks of a flowing river also encompasses a very rich culture.

The National Chambal Sanctuary supports the largest population of Ghariyals, the Gangetic Dolphins and rare species of Turtles. This region is home to rich variety of indigenous and migratory birds like the Indian Skimmers. Likewise in the Keetham region has the largest congregation of rescued sloth bears, apart from elephants, reptiles and other endangered species. The Lion Safari in Etawah will soon be another attraction.

The twin holy cities of Mathura, 56 km from Agra and Vrindavan a further 15km

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kababs, kormas, kaliya, naharikulchas, zarda, Biryani, sheermal, roomali rotis and warqi parathas. Shahi tukda and halwas are among the many delicious desserts this city offers.

LUCKNOW REGION VARA N o Lucknow o Vara ASI REGIO n N o Bithoor o Sarn asi Varanasi a o Dewa Sharif o Vind th Varanasi, one of the oldest h o Dudhwa o Sonb yachal living cities of the world, h o Katarnia Ghat inhabitated since time o Chu adra nar immemorial, a thriving center o Kus o Naimisharanya hinaga mentioned in the great Hindu r o K ap o Nawabganj Bird epics – Ramayana and ilvastu o Srav Mahabharata, and later in Sanctuary asti

a r e traditionally recognized as the capital of Braj Bhoomi, are integral to the legend of Lord Krishna. Charkuls dance, Phoolon ki Holi, Lathmaar Holi and the Rasleela are famous cultural activity in this region.

Culture, Craft & Cuisine - Agra is also known for its fabulous handicrafts, made of marble and softstone inlay work. The Mughals were great patrons of arts and crafts. Empress Nur Jahan took personal interest and was an accomplished artist herself in Zari embroidery work. Agra's major handicraft products besides inlay work are: leatherware, brassware, carpets, jewellery and embroidery work. Agra is also well known for its sweets 'petha' and 'Gazak' and saltish snack 'Dalmoth.

Lucknow Lucknow, the land of the Nawabs and Taluqdars an explosive profusion of minarets and domes of refinement and indolence, of languid grace of adab and tehzeeb indulgence and yet great turmoil. Almost a counterfoil to Agra, Lucknow began its ascent even as Imperial power and Mughal might declined. The architectural styles like Bara Imambara, Chhota Imambara, Rumi Darwaza, Kaiserbagh Complex, and its cultures, languages, traditions, handicrafts like Chikankari, the exquisite embroidery, Lucknowi cuisine which include the famous kebabs have earned Lucknow the sobriquet of the land of Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb – a distinct identity that blends the best of all to produce a refinement uniquely its own.

It is here that colonial power is reflected

in the battle scarred ruins of the British residency, in edifices like the La Martiniere College, Dilkusha, the grand avenues of the shopping area of Hazratganj, the stately homes of the nobility in Kaiserbagh, the impressive buildings of power now serving as offices of the state government.

Dudhwa Nation Park is India's most exciting forest reserve. The largest number of swamp deer, which move in herds, is found in the Sthiana and Kakraha blocks. Dudhwa is a major habitat for tigers. The grasslands are also the natural abode of the Indian one horned rhinoceros. Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary is a paradise for bird lovers; it attracts various rare migratory birds.

The famous pilgrim sites in this region include Deva Sharif, Naimisharanya, Misrikh and Ayodhya.

Culture, Craft & Cuisine - For centuries Lucknow has been famous for its various handicraft most well known is the exquisite Chikan work, Zardozi and Kamdani hand embroidery. 'Attar'('Itr') or perfumes attained new heights in Lucknow. Apart from perfumes, Lucknowi Paan, Zarda and Khamira produced by the local tobacconists are hot favourites. Another craft that has reached a high level of artistry in Lucknow is Kite making. Kathak, Thumri, Khayal, Dadra, Gazals, Qawalies and Sher-o-Shairi reached their zenith point in this city. The bawarchis of Awadh achieved a high degree of finesse in cooking and transformed the traditional dastarkhwan with elaborate dishes like

Buddhist chronicles. The great stupa at Sarnath commemorates Buddha's first sermon.

Varanasi is the starting point of the Gachhami Buddhist path where Lord Buddha walked and preached in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Kushinagar, is where He attained Mahaparinirvana and Sravasti is where Lord Buddha spent maximum monsoons and showed his divine prowess impressing even non believers.

Varanasi has charmed and challenged travelers through the ages. It has a tumultuous history, both materially and spiritually. Varanasi is representative of the inclusiveness of Indian traditions, the acceptance of divergent philosophies, their rise and fall and resurrection all in one time capsule on the banks of the mighty Ganga, in the very heart of India.

The handicrafts, exotic embroidery on Banarasi silk, royal carpets, fantastic wooden work, attractive bead and pearl jewelry are all fascinating enough to win your heart.

Allahabad crowned in scriptures as Prayag, Prayagraj or Teertharaj, the holiest pilgrimage center, blessed with the amazingly picturesque Sangam- a confluence of India's most revered rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Allahabad boasts of All Saints' Cathedral one of the finest Anglican Cathedrals in Asia.

Ramnagar, Vindhyachal, Sonbhadra, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Chunar are among easy excursions from Varanasi.

Culture, Craft & Cuisine - Varanasi is famous for its silk weaving. Banaras Brocades are prized the world over.

Brassware, copperware, wooden and clay toys and exquisite gold jewellery are some of the other craft the city is famous for. The hand - knotted carpets of Mirzapur and musical instruments are among the other shopping attractions.

Banaras is also famous for its ‘Langda Aam’, a variety of mangoes available in the summer. Betel leaf is also a specialty.

This city is also reputed for its schools of dance, arts & music.

November - December, 2015

9

DOMESTIC PLUS

DOMESTIC PLUS

Gujarat Tourism Policy

Big B To Be The Tiger Ambassador

Global Village Of Cultures

Of Maharashtra

Hosting The 5th Youth Delphic Games 2016

Tourism Gets Industry Status In State Shri Saurabhbhai Patel, Minister for Tourism, Government of Gujarat, said, “Since the foundation of Gujarat state, it is for the first time that Tourism sector has been granted status of an industry under the leadership of Honorable Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel. With this initiative, tourism sector will now get all the benefits that industry gets.

He also added that with the increase of tourist and pilgrims, tourism sectors need a more boost. Hence development in infrastructure and facilities at various tourism spots is needed. Considering this aspect, Honorable Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel has decided to provide capital subsidy for setting up new hotels.

The new policy will give encouragement for self-employment. Handicraft and khadi sector will benefit a lot. It will also create employment to near about 20 lakh people by the year 2025. There are also unique incentives for female entrepreneurs.

This policy shall come into force with effect from the date of issuance of the policy GR and shall remain in force till 31 March, 2020 or till the declaration of a new or revised policy, whichever is earlier.

Vision behind the new Tourism policy is to position Gujarat as a Vibrant tourist

10

destination, with an emphasis on improving visitor experience, livelihood linkages, environmental concerns and enhancing investment opportunities, thus catapulting tourism as one of the most important economic drivers, leading to sustainable development and inclusive growth in the state.

Mission of this policy is to preserve and upgrade the environment as also to encourage responsible tourism in the state. I will also help in investment friendly policy framework. Employment opportunities will be created especially for the local populace. New policy also focus on promotion and branding of Gujarat as a leading tourist destination the world over.

Objective of the policy is to make Gujarat one of the top 5 tourist state in India in terms of national and international tourists footfall by 2025. To attract the MICE segment by creating convention/exhibition facility and support infrastructure. To give leverage to adventure, medical, islands, waterways, cruise tourism. Also to develop divers tourism packages and products to encourage the repeat visits. Make affordable accommodation and travel circuits especially for students, homemakers farmers etc.

November - December, 2015

Incentives and Concessions 1) Capital Subsidy A) 15% subsidy as per size of investment in a project B) 5% additional subsidy on Yatra Dhams and Eco- tourism sectors C) 5% additional subsidy for women entrepreneurs and those belonging to SC/ST categories and differently-abled persons D) New tourism units coming up within corporation limits of Gandhinagar and also adjoining areas falling within radius of 20 kms but within the district of Gandhinagar 2) Interest Subsidy A) 5%-7% for eligible tourism units in specific areas B) 7% for heritage hotels 3) R e g i s t r a t i o n / S t a m p D u t y Concession - 100% reimbursement of stamp duty and registration fee for all eligible tourism units 4) Luxury Tax - 100% exemption for five years 5) E n t e r t a i n m e n t Ta x - 1 0 0 % exemption for five years 6) Electricity Duty - 100% exemption from paying electricity duty for five years

7) Mega Tourism Project - State government shall duly promote and facilitate Mega Tourism Projects that have a large multiplier effect on the economy, leading to employment generation and inclusive growth of the state. Capital subsidy of 15% for eligible capital investment subject to a ceiling of Rs. 20 crores, exemption from luxury and entertainment tax for a period of seven years 8) Support for Sustainable Tourism Assistance to eligible tourism units up to 75% of the cost of carrying out Energy Audit or maximum token amount of Rs. 50,000 per unit. It shall be disbursed once during the operative period of the policy 9) Other incentivesA) Reimbursement for training modules to eligible institutions for skill development B) Monthly stipend to local tourist guides on regular basis C) Incentives to innovative tourism projects D) Marketing support for travel agents, tour operators for taking part in various national and international events

www.safariplus.co.in

Bollywood star Mr. Amitabh Bachchan h a s a c c e p te d to b e t h e T i ge r ambassador of Maharashtra on the request of Maharashtra’s Forest Minister Mr. Sudhir Mungantiwar .

Mr. Mungantiwar has written letter to Mr. Bachchan on July 29 (World Tiger Day) to promote the eco tourism and t i g e r t o u r i s m i n M a h a ra s h t ra .

Mr. Bachchan accepted to represent the state as tiger ambassador.

For further promotions a event was organised to celebrate ‘Wild Life Week’ in October which was held at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Big B expressed his happiness and said that Tigers population in Maharashtra is much better than other States. He also said that he will give his best to help forest department to conserve the tigers in states forests and reserves.

He also inaugurated two new buses at Sanjay Gandhi National Park with the imprints of tigers and lions. These buses will be used for wildlife safaris in the park. Mr. Bachchan himself had a jungle safari in that bus accompanied by ministers and politicians. He was chased by tiger for almost 4 Kms. He also mentioned that being in the city for almost 45 years he had never seen the beauty of these natural that abound within lungs of the city.

The State has 6 National Parks, 47 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 4 Conservation Reserves(Total 57 Protected Areas) with a total of 10,057.013 sq km area, amounting to 3.26% of the State’s geographical area. Maharashtra has six Tiger Reserves: Melghat Tiger Reserve (Amravati District); Pench Tiger Reserve (Nagpur District), TadobaAndhari Tiger Reserve (Chandrapur District) , Radhanagari- Koyna Tiger Reserve (Sahyadri Tiger Reserve),Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve(Gondia-Bhandara Distt) and Bor Tiger Reserve(Wardha Distt).

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Goa To Be A The 5th Youth Delphic Games 2016 will be hosted in Goa in April 2016, attracting 125 Countries with over 7000 participants, 6 Art categories and over 70 sub-categories, with many parallel artistic and fun events and activities for everyone.

This time, Goa is inviting the artistic youth of the world between 15 and 25 years of age, to participate under the motto "Celebrating Arts and C u l t u r e s " . A r t i s t i c competitions,presentations and exhibitions define the essence of the Games.

The Delphic Games Celebrate 6 Art

categories namely: Musical Arts & Sounds (Singing, Instrumental Music, Electronic Sounds), Performing Arts (Dance, Theatre, Circus, Puppetry)Language Arts (Literature,

Poetry, Moderation), Visual Arts (Painting , Graphics, Fashion, Sculpture, Installation, Photography), Social Arts (Communications, Internet, Media, Pedagogic, Didactic) & Ecological Arts & Architecture (Urban Planning, L a n d s ca p i n g , P re s e r vat i o n & Conservation of nature, monuments) Globally celebrated Indian personalities such as Alyque Padamsee, Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Shiamak Davar, Pahlaj Nihalani, Cultural Icons from around the world are associated with the Delphic Games. Late Legend Nelson Mandela was the Delphic Youth Ambassador till his lifetime.

November - December, 2015

11

DOMESTIC PLUS

DOMESTIC PLUS

Gujarat Tourism Policy

Big B To Be The Tiger Ambassador

Global Village Of Cultures

Of Maharashtra

Hosting The 5th Youth Delphic Games 2016

Tourism Gets Industry Status In State Shri Saurabhbhai Patel, Minister for Tourism, Government of Gujarat, said, “Since the foundation of Gujarat state, it is for the first time that Tourism sector has been granted status of an industry under the leadership of Honorable Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel. With this initiative, tourism sector will now get all the benefits that industry gets.

He also added that with the increase of tourist and pilgrims, tourism sectors need a more boost. Hence development in infrastructure and facilities at various tourism spots is needed. Considering this aspect, Honorable Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel has decided to provide capital subsidy for setting up new hotels.

The new policy will give encouragement for self-employment. Handicraft and khadi sector will benefit a lot. It will also create employment to near about 20 lakh people by the year 2025. There are also unique incentives for female entrepreneurs.

This policy shall come into force with effect from the date of issuance of the policy GR and shall remain in force till 31 March, 2020 or till the declaration of a new or revised policy, whichever is earlier.

Vision behind the new Tourism policy is to position Gujarat as a Vibrant tourist

10

destination, with an emphasis on improving visitor experience, livelihood linkages, environmental concerns and enhancing investment opportunities, thus catapulting tourism as one of the most important economic drivers, leading to sustainable development and inclusive growth in the state.

Mission of this policy is to preserve and upgrade the environment as also to encourage responsible tourism in the state. I will also help in investment friendly policy framework. Employment opportunities will be created especially for the local populace. New policy also focus on promotion and branding of Gujarat as a leading tourist destination the world over.

Objective of the policy is to make Gujarat one of the top 5 tourist state in India in terms of national and international tourists footfall by 2025. To attract the MICE segment by creating convention/exhibition facility and support infrastructure. To give leverage to adventure, medical, islands, waterways, cruise tourism. Also to develop divers tourism packages and products to encourage the repeat visits. Make affordable accommodation and travel circuits especially for students, homemakers farmers etc.

November - December, 2015

Incentives and Concessions 1) Capital Subsidy A) 15% subsidy as per size of investment in a project B) 5% additional subsidy on Yatra Dhams and Eco- tourism sectors C) 5% additional subsidy for women entrepreneurs and those belonging to SC/ST categories and differently-abled persons D) New tourism units coming up within corporation limits of Gandhinagar and also adjoining areas falling within radius of 20 kms but within the district of Gandhinagar 2) Interest Subsidy A) 5%-7% for eligible tourism units in specific areas B) 7% for heritage hotels 3) R e g i s t r a t i o n / S t a m p D u t y Concession - 100% reimbursement of stamp duty and registration fee for all eligible tourism units 4) Luxury Tax - 100% exemption for five years 5) E n t e r t a i n m e n t Ta x - 1 0 0 % exemption for five years 6) Electricity Duty - 100% exemption from paying electricity duty for five years

7) Mega Tourism Project - State government shall duly promote and facilitate Mega Tourism Projects that have a large multiplier effect on the economy, leading to employment generation and inclusive growth of the state. Capital subsidy of 15% for eligible capital investment subject to a ceiling of Rs. 20 crores, exemption from luxury and entertainment tax for a period of seven years 8) Support for Sustainable Tourism Assistance to eligible tourism units up to 75% of the cost of carrying out Energy Audit or maximum token amount of Rs. 50,000 per unit. It shall be disbursed once during the operative period of the policy 9) Other incentivesA) Reimbursement for training modules to eligible institutions for skill development B) Monthly stipend to local tourist guides on regular basis C) Incentives to innovative tourism projects D) Marketing support for travel agents, tour operators for taking part in various national and international events

www.safariplus.co.in

Bollywood star Mr. Amitabh Bachchan h a s a c c e p te d to b e t h e T i ge r ambassador of Maharashtra on the request of Maharashtra’s Forest Minister Mr. Sudhir Mungantiwar .

Mr. Mungantiwar has written letter to Mr. Bachchan on July 29 (World Tiger Day) to promote the eco tourism and t i g e r t o u r i s m i n M a h a ra s h t ra .

Mr. Bachchan accepted to represent the state as tiger ambassador.

For further promotions a event was organised to celebrate ‘Wild Life Week’ in October which was held at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Big B expressed his happiness and said that Tigers population in Maharashtra is much better than other States. He also said that he will give his best to help forest department to conserve the tigers in states forests and reserves.

He also inaugurated two new buses at Sanjay Gandhi National Park with the imprints of tigers and lions. These buses will be used for wildlife safaris in the park. Mr. Bachchan himself had a jungle safari in that bus accompanied by ministers and politicians. He was chased by tiger for almost 4 Kms. He also mentioned that being in the city for almost 45 years he had never seen the beauty of these natural that abound within lungs of the city.

The State has 6 National Parks, 47 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 4 Conservation Reserves(Total 57 Protected Areas) with a total of 10,057.013 sq km area, amounting to 3.26% of the State’s geographical area. Maharashtra has six Tiger Reserves: Melghat Tiger Reserve (Amravati District); Pench Tiger Reserve (Nagpur District), TadobaAndhari Tiger Reserve (Chandrapur District) , Radhanagari- Koyna Tiger Reserve (Sahyadri Tiger Reserve),Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve(Gondia-Bhandara Distt) and Bor Tiger Reserve(Wardha Distt).

www.safariplus.co.in

Goa To Be A The 5th Youth Delphic Games 2016 will be hosted in Goa in April 2016, attracting 125 Countries with over 7000 participants, 6 Art categories and over 70 sub-categories, with many parallel artistic and fun events and activities for everyone.

This time, Goa is inviting the artistic youth of the world between 15 and 25 years of age, to participate under the motto "Celebrating Arts and C u l t u r e s " . A r t i s t i c competitions,presentations and exhibitions define the essence of the Games.

The Delphic Games Celebrate 6 Art

categories namely: Musical Arts & Sounds (Singing, Instrumental Music, Electronic Sounds), Performing Arts (Dance, Theatre, Circus, Puppetry)Language Arts (Literature,

Poetry, Moderation), Visual Arts (Painting , Graphics, Fashion, Sculpture, Installation, Photography), Social Arts (Communications, Internet, Media, Pedagogic, Didactic) & Ecological Arts & Architecture (Urban Planning, L a n d s ca p i n g , P re s e r vat i o n & Conservation of nature, monuments) Globally celebrated Indian personalities such as Alyque Padamsee, Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Shiamak Davar, Pahlaj Nihalani, Cultural Icons from around the world are associated with the Delphic Games. Late Legend Nelson Mandela was the Delphic Youth Ambassador till his lifetime.

November - December, 2015

11

Tiger Safaris in India

If you are a nature lover and want to experience the wildlife at its best then, India can be your stop. Most of the Wildlife lovers travel to India to see Tigers in the wild, as it is the most photographed animal.

In India you can easily sight this majestic animal wandering in the jungle with pride and enormous strength, playing with its cubs, hunting for its prey......Tiger Safaris is the best option to fulfill all your expectations. Tiger represents to the world the wealth of wildlife in India. Out of total World's Tiger population nearly 50% of tigers are found in India. From the latest records the population of tigers has increased in India from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014.

There are almost 48 Tiger reserves in India. Safaris in India can usually be made from November to June.

And wildlife lovers have many options to experience the Royalty of Royal Bengal Tiger at the closet. Tiger Safaris in an open gypsy in the jungle to see the wild cat is the combination of feelings of nervousness and excitement. So let explore some top destinations and the national park which offers tiger safaris.

TADOBA - ANDHARI TIGER RESERVE It’s the largest national park in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, which is often reffered as “Jewel of Vidarbha”. It is one of the oldest national park and tiger reserves as the p o p u l a t i o n o f t i g e rs h av e increased rapidly. Many tourist visit here enjoying the thrills of Jungle safaris in open gypsy jeeps and buses with the trained guide. One

can enjoy the tiger safari along with the other wild animals spotted apart from tigers. Like leopards, wild dogs, jungle cats, hyenas, sambar and barking deer.

Best time to visit here is from February to May. MTDC has provided accommodation facility at Tadoba.

JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARK This park is located in the foothills of Himalayas in Nainital, Uttarakhand. Spread over an area of 520 square kilometers, the park is a complete package for wildlife buffs. Tourism activity is allowed in selected areas of the park, so that you can easily spot the wild tiger here. Corbett is also well known for wild elephants. The climate here is a dusty environment, so a proper guide is required to guide you. The park here has huge grasslands and watch towers where one can stand for hours and explore the jungle.

Best time to visit here is November

to June.

KANHA TIGER RESERVE Kanha National park situated in central Indian state Madhya Pradesh is the king of Tiger Territory in India, in the ranges of Saputaras. The park is spread over in total area of 1945 sq km. Kanha National park is very scenic and beautiful which attracts wildlife photographers. One can easily spot the tiger over here. There is a tiger show where elephants are trained to block the tigers by their own ways. Kanha is always in the top list of wildlife lovers. Best time to visit here is April To June.

RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK This is one of the largest and famous national park in India located in Rajasthan. One of the promising national park where you can easily get glimpse of the tiger. The most interesting

features of the park that its dotted with ancient ruins, including a fort where tigers and leopards often spotted.

Tiger Safaris with a trained guide are available here. Best time to visit here is April and May. SUNDARBANS NATIONAL PARK Sunderbans is the famous destination where the lands meet the sea in the west tip of India. The biggest mangroves forest in the world are at Sundarbans Tiger

Reserves. Its home to almost 400 Royal Bengal Tigers. One can enjoy the truest and rawest wildlife safari here. Few species of Tigers are man-eating over here. Apart from tigers one can spot leopards, chitals, fishing cats. Best time to visit here is November to February.

In India Tiger Safaris can also be done in National Parks like Pench, Melghat, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Bandipur, Panna etc. Largest tiger reserve in India area wise is Nagarjunsagar- Srisailam Tiger Reserve which is spread over in two states i.e Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with the total area covered is 5904.7 sq.km. In Maharashtra we find tiger reserves at Melghat, Tadoba-Andhari, Pench, Sahyadri Nawegaon-Nagzira Bor. India is blessed with great treasure of TIGERS so let’s reserve it. To conserve and save tigers, Indian government has a special project 'Save Tigers' and a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Fo re st s a n d C l i m ate C h a n ge , Government of India - National Tiger Conservation Authority Project Tiger takes charge to it.

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November - December, 2015

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November - December, 2015 13

Tiger Safaris in India

If you are a nature lover and want to experience the wildlife at its best then, India can be your stop. Most of the Wildlife lovers travel to India to see Tigers in the wild, as it is the most photographed animal.

In India you can easily sight this majestic animal wandering in the jungle with pride and enormous strength, playing with its cubs, hunting for its prey......Tiger Safaris is the best option to fulfill all your expectations. Tiger represents to the world the wealth of wildlife in India. Out of total World's Tiger population nearly 50% of tigers are found in India. From the latest records the population of tigers has increased in India from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014.

There are almost 48 Tiger reserves in India. Safaris in India can usually be made from November to June.

And wildlife lovers have many options to experience the Royalty of Royal Bengal Tiger at the closet. Tiger Safaris in an open gypsy in the jungle to see the wild cat is the combination of feelings of nervousness and excitement. So let explore some top destinations and the national park which offers tiger safaris.

TADOBA - ANDHARI TIGER RESERVE It’s the largest national park in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, which is often reffered as “Jewel of Vidarbha”. It is one of the oldest national park and tiger reserves as the p o p u l a t i o n o f t i g e rs h av e increased rapidly. Many tourist visit here enjoying the thrills of Jungle safaris in open gypsy jeeps and buses with the trained guide. One

can enjoy the tiger safari along with the other wild animals spotted apart from tigers. Like leopards, wild dogs, jungle cats, hyenas, sambar and barking deer.

Best time to visit here is from February to May. MTDC has provided accommodation facility at Tadoba.

JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARK This park is located in the foothills of Himalayas in Nainital, Uttarakhand. Spread over an area of 520 square kilometers, the park is a complete package for wildlife buffs. Tourism activity is allowed in selected areas of the park, so that you can easily spot the wild tiger here. Corbett is also well known for wild elephants. The climate here is a dusty environment, so a proper guide is required to guide you. The park here has huge grasslands and watch towers where one can stand for hours and explore the jungle.

Best time to visit here is November

to June.

KANHA TIGER RESERVE Kanha National park situated in central Indian state Madhya Pradesh is the king of Tiger Territory in India, in the ranges of Saputaras. The park is spread over in total area of 1945 sq km. Kanha National park is very scenic and beautiful which attracts wildlife photographers. One can easily spot the tiger over here. There is a tiger show where elephants are trained to block the tigers by their own ways. Kanha is always in the top list of wildlife lovers. Best time to visit here is April To June.

RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK This is one of the largest and famous national park in India located in Rajasthan. One of the promising national park where you can easily get glimpse of the tiger. The most interesting

features of the park that its dotted with ancient ruins, including a fort where tigers and leopards often spotted.

Tiger Safaris with a trained guide are available here. Best time to visit here is April and May. SUNDARBANS NATIONAL PARK Sunderbans is the famous destination where the lands meet the sea in the west tip of India. The biggest mangroves forest in the world are at Sundarbans Tiger

Reserves. Its home to almost 400 Royal Bengal Tigers. One can enjoy the truest and rawest wildlife safari here. Few species of Tigers are man-eating over here. Apart from tigers one can spot leopards, chitals, fishing cats. Best time to visit here is November to February.

In India Tiger Safaris can also be done in National Parks like Pench, Melghat, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Satpura, Bandipur, Panna etc. Largest tiger reserve in India area wise is Nagarjunsagar- Srisailam Tiger Reserve which is spread over in two states i.e Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with the total area covered is 5904.7 sq.km. In Maharashtra we find tiger reserves at Melghat, Tadoba-Andhari, Pench, Sahyadri Nawegaon-Nagzira Bor. India is blessed with great treasure of TIGERS so let’s reserve it. To conserve and save tigers, Indian government has a special project 'Save Tigers' and a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Fo re st s a n d C l i m ate C h a n ge , Government of India - National Tiger Conservation Authority Project Tiger takes charge to it.

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November - December, 2015

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November - December, 2015 13

THAI SPECIAL

THAI SPECIAL

Tourism Authority of Thailand and Bangkok Airways FAM Trip To Ko Chang, Pattaya and Bangkok

KO CHANG

The KO CHANG - Thailand's second largest island includes many unspoiled islands which are nearby. It is located in Trat Province of about 300 km east of Bangkok. A dream destination for budget travelers and families, with a wide variety of affordable accommodation options and numerous gorgeous beaches surrounded by crystal clear water. In addition the island is also home to a wide range of wildlife, including native birds, snakes, deer, and

Island

even a number of elephants. As for activities, Ko Chang and the nearby islands national park are great for snorkeling, diving, camping, and jungle hiking.

Attractions Koh Mai Si is a private island, not far from Koh Kood. There is abundance of nature—beautiful beach with clear water and full of various types of fish—is still preserved. The tourists can go diving and see the coral reefs.

Ao Khlong Son is the northernmost bay of the west islands. It is the location of Ban Khlong Son community. There are spectacular coral reefs under the sea and many accommodations near the bay.

Namtok Khlong Nonsi Waterfall is 4 Km from National Park, or visitors have to walk for around 3 Km pass through Ban Dan Mai, rubber plantations and orchards.

Khlong Nonsi Waterfall is a small waterfall in the northeast part of the island. There is a 3 km sidewalk from Ban Dan Mai or 4 km sidewalk from the National Park Office.

Khlong Plu Waterfall is the most magnificent waterfall on Koh Chang.

There are three levels, the water runs through the cliff towards the swamp below. Its entrance is 3 km from Ao Khlong Prao plus a 20-minute walk.

Hat Sai Yao is in the south of Koh Chang.

It looks like a bay with extended beach.

People can swim, walk in the woods, and go to visit the place of the Battle of Koh Chang at this place. There are a lot of breath-taking sceneries along the surrounding islands such as Koh Laoya, Ao Salak Phet, and Koh Wai. Hat Khlong Prao- The northernmost part of Hat KhlongPrao is attached to Laem Chaiyachet. It is quite steep at this beach but the tourists can still go swimming.

Ao Bai Lan- It takes approximately one hour from Hat Kai Bae on foot to Ao Bai Lan. On the way to the bay, the tourists can see the breath-taking scenery of the mountain ranges. Ao Bai Lan is a long peaceful beach for swimming and relaxing.

Ban Salak Phet and Ban Rong ThanThese are the largest fishing villages on the island and are located on the southwest of Ko Chang. They are popular for its abundance of fresh seafood and homestay accommodation.

Ko Chang Naval Battle Ground is located in the South of Ko Chang. The Thai Navy holds an annual event to commemorate the combat victory of the Navy.

Ban Kwan Chang- In a beautiful forest, the three elephant camps on the island the best thing one can experience; deeper in the jungle and you get more time riding the beasts. Tours range from 1½ to three hours which include feeding, bathing and riding a pachyderm.

Bang Bao Fishing Village -A village where former fishing community is built in the traditional fashion of interconnected piers. A homes to souvenir shops and restaurants. Has being developed now it is the mainland market.

Cuisine Koh Chang has a variety of dining options for visitors. Resorts will serve a variety of Thai and international dishes and frequently host beach-side seafood barbeques, there are a number of international restaurants serving fairly authentic Indian, Italian, and other foreign cuisines, particularly around (Haad Sai Khao) White Sand Beach.

Drinks- For the best experience try Koh Chang wine, which comes in a variety of flavors, including mangosteen and pineapple.

World’s 1st Cartoon Network Themed Water Park

The World's First and only fully branded waterpark CARTOON NETWORK AMAZONE which is themed on globally l i ke d k i d ' s c h a n n e l C A R T O O N NETWORK. The park is spread in around 14 acres of land. It is located on the Eastern Seaboard in idyllic Bang Saray, Thailand. The Waterpark is 20-minute drive from south of Pattaya and about 90 minutes drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok. There is a daily shuttle from Pattaya city to the park.

As the name describes the amusement park features captivating live and multimedia entertainment which incorporates the latest technology bringing fans all over the world closer to the Cartoon Characters which was never

Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai Office and Bangkok Airways jointly organized a Familiarization trip to Thailand from 28 September to 3 October, 2015 to Ko Chang, Pattaya and Bangkok. The highlight of the FAM was to explore the unexplored destination of Ko Chang. And a presentation by Bangkok Airways as Gateway to ASEAN Countries.

The trip comprises of 10 travel agents and media - Travel Agents - Mr. Ashish Bhansali (Arihant Holidays); Ms. Delna Besania (Orbitz); Mr. Amjad Deshmukh (Zest Tours and Travels); Mr Vivek Naidu (Youdian Business); Mr. Sagar Joshi (Cox and Kings); Mr. Sai Raghunath Raghupatruni (Panoramic World); Mr. Vineet R. Kudale (V2 Holidays); Ms. Swapna Tilak (Jet Chase Travels); Mr. Sanju Bharuka (Akashdeep Travel); Ms. Mamta Shah (Sanskruti Holidays); Media - Mr. Shailendra Kesari (Safari Plus) TAT Mumbai Ms.Soraya Homchuen (Director - TAT Mumbai) and Ms. Minal Mahadik (Exec. Assistant to Director). Bangkok Airways- Mr.Konthi Asavaphanlert (Country Manager – Bangkok) and Mr. Kishore Bukane (Sr.Sales Manager – Mumbai Office)

14

November - December, 2015

www.safariplus.co.in

www.safariplus.co.in

before. It is developed by Thailandbased attractions developer Amazone Falls Co.Ltd under license from Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc. The waterpark was open to the public in the end of 2014, with 10 exciting themed entertainment zones. The World' s largest aqua playground boasting 150 different water features.

The major attractions in the park are Alien Attack, Banana Spin, Cartoonival, Goop Loop, Humangaslide, Intergalatic Racers, Jake Jump, Mega wave, Rainfall Rainicorn, Riptide Rapids, Surf Arena, The Omintrix, XLR8-TOR. Go on a ‘Riptide Rapids’ an adventerous 355 meter river that winds through The Omniverse and Adventure Zone.The ‘Omniverse’ Zone is home to six of the

fastest, steepest water tube rides & coasters in the world. Cartoonival is an amazing aqua-play area with slides, fountains, buckets, and tubes. In ‘MEGAWAVE’ one can enjoy perfect long ocean waves, or watch the world go by from your shaded cabana. Catch the waves and surf all day at ‘SURFARENA’ There is also a DJ show of Power Puff Girls at Surfarane DJ Booth.

One can meet their CN friends like Ben10, Johny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and The Amazing World Of Gumball, Adventure Time. So just come and watch amazing shows that will take you the electrifying world of Cartoon Network’s most awesome characters. Cool stunts, thrilling arobatics and jaw-dropping action scenes are performed by this Cartoon characters at Amazone. Food is also served here theme based. You can get delicious yummy food at Dexters IceLab, Dee Dee's Café. There is also a roof top restaurant “ TO O N A L AC I O U S” which is overlooking the Waterpark and the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Thailand.

Cartoon Network

Amazone is a funfilled park open, no matter your age is. It's a family experience one can spend a whole day on wet rides with dry amenities.

Corporate Events, School Outings, Birthday Parties, special Events can also be conducted at CN Amazone.

For a family vacation packed with fun, recreation, culture and natural beauty, the Bang Saray area has it all. Start with gorgeous Bang Saray Bay itself, the tropical setting for Cartoon Network Amazone with a backdrop of alluring tropical seascapes and dramatic sunsets.

Now there is one more destination added to the itinerary of Bangkok, CARTOON NETWORK AMAZONE. For more information please visit: www.CartoonNetworkAmazone.com

November - December, 2015 15

THAI SPECIAL

THAI SPECIAL

Tourism Authority of Thailand and Bangkok Airways FAM Trip To Ko Chang, Pattaya and Bangkok

KO CHANG

The KO CHANG - Thailand's second largest island includes many unspoiled islands which are nearby. It is located in Trat Province of about 300 km east of Bangkok. A dream destination for budget travelers and families, with a wide variety of affordable accommodation options and numerous gorgeous beaches surrounded by crystal clear water. In addition the island is also home to a wide range of wildlife, including native birds, snakes, deer, and

Island

even a number of elephants. As for activities, Ko Chang and the nearby islands national park are great for snorkeling, diving, camping, and jungle hiking.

Attractions Koh Mai Si is a private island, not far from Koh Kood. There is abundance of nature—beautiful beach with clear water and full of various types of fish—is still preserved. The tourists can go diving and see the coral reefs.

Ao Khlong Son is the northernmost bay of the west islands. It is the location of Ban Khlong Son community. There are spectacular coral reefs under the sea and many accommodations near the bay.

Namtok Khlong Nonsi Waterfall is 4 Km from National Park, or visitors have to walk for around 3 Km pass through Ban Dan Mai, rubber plantations and orchards.

Khlong Nonsi Waterfall is a small waterfall in the northeast part of the island. There is a 3 km sidewalk from Ban Dan Mai or 4 km sidewalk from the National Park Office.

Khlong Plu Waterfall is the most magnificent waterfall on Koh Chang.

There are three levels, the water runs through the cliff towards the swamp below. Its entrance is 3 km from Ao Khlong Prao plus a 20-minute walk.

Hat Sai Yao is in the south of Koh Chang.

It looks like a bay with extended beach.

People can swim, walk in the woods, and go to visit the place of the Battle of Koh Chang at this place. There are a lot of breath-taking sceneries along the surrounding islands such as Koh Laoya, Ao Salak Phet, and Koh Wai. Hat Khlong Prao- The northernmost part of Hat KhlongPrao is attached to Laem Chaiyachet. It is quite steep at this beach but the tourists can still go swimming.

Ao Bai Lan- It takes approximately one hour from Hat Kai Bae on foot to Ao Bai Lan. On the way to the bay, the tourists can see the breath-taking scenery of the mountain ranges. Ao Bai Lan is a long peaceful beach for swimming and relaxing.

Ban Salak Phet and Ban Rong ThanThese are the largest fishing villages on the island and are located on the southwest of Ko Chang. They are popular for its abundance of fresh seafood and homestay accommodation.

Ko Chang Naval Battle Ground is located in the South of Ko Chang. The Thai Navy holds an annual event to commemorate the combat victory of the Navy.

Ban Kwan Chang- In a beautiful forest, the three elephant camps on the island the best thing one can experience; deeper in the jungle and you get more time riding the beasts. Tours range from 1½ to three hours which include feeding, bathing and riding a pachyderm.

Bang Bao Fishing Village -A village where former fishing community is built in the traditional fashion of interconnected piers. A homes to souvenir shops and restaurants. Has being developed now it is the mainland market.

Cuisine Koh Chang has a variety of dining options for visitors. Resorts will serve a variety of Thai and international dishes and frequently host beach-side seafood barbeques, there are a number of international restaurants serving fairly authentic Indian, Italian, and other foreign cuisines, particularly around (Haad Sai Khao) White Sand Beach.

Drinks- For the best experience try Koh Chang wine, which comes in a variety of flavors, including mangosteen and pineapple.

World’s 1st Cartoon Network Themed Water Park

The World's First and only fully branded waterpark CARTOON NETWORK AMAZONE which is themed on globally l i ke d k i d ' s c h a n n e l C A R T O O N NETWORK. The park is spread in around 14 acres of land. It is located on the Eastern Seaboard in idyllic Bang Saray, Thailand. The Waterpark is 20-minute drive from south of Pattaya and about 90 minutes drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok. There is a daily shuttle from Pattaya city to the park.

As the name describes the amusement park features captivating live and multimedia entertainment which incorporates the latest technology bringing fans all over the world closer to the Cartoon Characters which was never

Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai Office and Bangkok Airways jointly organized a Familiarization trip to Thailand from 28 September to 3 October, 2015 to Ko Chang, Pattaya and Bangkok. The highlight of the FAM was to explore the unexplored destination of Ko Chang. And a presentation by Bangkok Airways as Gateway to ASEAN Countries.

The trip comprises of 10 travel agents and media - Travel Agents - Mr. Ashish Bhansali (Arihant Holidays); Ms. Delna Besania (Orbitz); Mr. Amjad Deshmukh (Zest Tours and Travels); Mr Vivek Naidu (Youdian Business); Mr. Sagar Joshi (Cox and Kings); Mr. Sai Raghunath Raghupatruni (Panoramic World); Mr. Vineet R. Kudale (V2 Holidays); Ms. Swapna Tilak (Jet Chase Travels); Mr. Sanju Bharuka (Akashdeep Travel); Ms. Mamta Shah (Sanskruti Holidays); Media - Mr. Shailendra Kesari (Safari Plus) TAT Mumbai Ms.Soraya Homchuen (Director - TAT Mumbai) and Ms. Minal Mahadik (Exec. Assistant to Director). Bangkok Airways- Mr.Konthi Asavaphanlert (Country Manager – Bangkok) and Mr. Kishore Bukane (Sr.Sales Manager – Mumbai Office)

14

November - December, 2015

www.safariplus.co.in

www.safariplus.co.in

before. It is developed by Thailandbased attractions developer Amazone Falls Co.Ltd under license from Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc. The waterpark was open to the public in the end of 2014, with 10 exciting themed entertainment zones. The World' s largest aqua playground boasting 150 different water features.

The major attractions in the park are Alien Attack, Banana Spin, Cartoonival, Goop Loop, Humangaslide, Intergalatic Racers, Jake Jump, Mega wave, Rainfall Rainicorn, Riptide Rapids, Surf Arena, The Omintrix, XLR8-TOR. Go on a ‘Riptide Rapids’ an adventerous 355 meter river that winds through The Omniverse and Adventure Zone.The ‘Omniverse’ Zone is home to six of the

fastest, steepest water tube rides & coasters in the world. Cartoonival is an amazing aqua-play area with slides, fountains, buckets, and tubes. In ‘MEGAWAVE’ one can enjoy perfect long ocean waves, or watch the world go by from your shaded cabana. Catch the waves and surf all day at ‘SURFARENA’ There is also a DJ show of Power Puff Girls at Surfarane DJ Booth.

One can meet their CN friends like Ben10, Johny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and The Amazing World Of Gumball, Adventure Time. So just come and watch amazing shows that will take you the electrifying world of Cartoon Network’s most awesome characters. Cool stunts, thrilling arobatics and jaw-dropping action scenes are performed by this Cartoon characters at Amazone. Food is also served here theme based. You can get delicious yummy food at Dexters IceLab, Dee Dee's Café. There is also a roof top restaurant “ TO O N A L AC I O U S” which is overlooking the Waterpark and the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Thailand.

Cartoon Network

Amazone is a funfilled park open, no matter your age is. It's a family experience one can spend a whole day on wet rides with dry amenities.

Corporate Events, School Outings, Birthday Parties, special Events can also be conducted at CN Amazone.

For a family vacation packed with fun, recreation, culture and natural beauty, the Bang Saray area has it all. Start with gorgeous Bang Saray Bay itself, the tropical setting for Cartoon Network Amazone with a backdrop of alluring tropical seascapes and dramatic sunsets.

Now there is one more destination added to the itinerary of Bangkok, CARTOON NETWORK AMAZONE. For more information please visit: www.CartoonNetworkAmazone.com

November - December, 2015 15

HOSPITALITY PLUS Grand Launch of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts in Bengaluru Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru opened in South India's capital state of Karnataka and is set to be the city's leading destination for business and pleasure, offering a dynamic array of restaurants and bars and arresting public and meeting spaces.

The 397-room Shangri-La –sited on nearly two acres of land between the central business district and residential suburb– will deliver a unique blend of the group's signature service of 'hospitality from the heart' and legendary Indian hospitality at one of Bengaluru's premier addresses over looking Bangalore Palace and Cubbon Park.

L o c a t e d 3 0 m i n u t e s f ro m t h e international airport, Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru stands 19-storeys tall in a leafy blue ribbon suburb on Palace Road.

Mr. Greg Dogan, President and CEO, said, “Shangri-La's expansion on the Indian subcontinent marks an exciting

third quarter for the group. We are excited to reveal a new luxury landmark in Bengaluru that adds to our international presence and will welcome our loyal and new guests for business or leisure.”

The hotel's 30 suites– awash in colours of gold, plum and green – range from 98 to 274 square metres, and include three Governor Suites and the palatial Shangri-La Suite; guests can marvel at the panoramic views and enjoy full access to the Horizon Club Lounge.

Royal Orchid Hotels Adds 2 More Hotels To Its Portfolio Royal Orchid H o t e l s announced the opening of two hotels under its upscale arm Regenta in Haridwar and Kolkata.

Regenta Orko’s Haridwar is the first property from the group in this pilgrimage city. The hotel is conveniently located on the Haridwar-Rishikesh highway, the railway station and just 20 mins drive to the religious sites of Chandi Devi and Har-Ki-Pauri temples.

Regenta Orko’s Kolkata is a blend of exquisite style and substance making it ideal for business & leisure travelers as it is located in Kasba popular for its

shopping areas and a walk away from the Acropolis Mall.

Mr.Chander K. Baljee, Chairman and MD of the Royal Orchid Hotels added, “We are glad to bring our brand of hotels in these cities. Kolkata has always been an important market for hoteliers in terms of both business and leisure segments. Whereas under Narendra Modi’s Government, pilgrimage tourism is going to witness a boost and we intend to tap this segment with our existing portfolio along with our newly launched property in Haridwar”.

Renaissance Hotels Debuts in North India Renaissance Hotels announced the opening of its first hotel in North India, in the city of Lucknow. With 16 floors and 112 stylish rooms, it is the tallest hotel to open in Lucknow and offers stunning views of the Gomti River and the city’s landscape.

Mr. Rajeev Menon, COO – South East Asia & Pacific for Marriott International, said, “Lucknow is fast emerging as a cultural and business hub in Uttar Pradesh and makes for the perfect location for a Renaissance Hotel. It is a global, lifestyle hospitality brand that seeks to inspire and provoke its guests to discover something new and different each and every time they visit.”

The hotel features- the international cuisine all day dining restaurant; Sepia – the Awadhi speciality fine dining restaurant, Coffee & Cakes - the hotel patisserie that specializes in freshly baked pastries, sandwiches, cakes and brewed coffee; and the Sky Bar – the pool-side

Avari Dubai Hotel Introduces Holiday Getaway Package This Festive season, witness the essence of Dubai hospitality at The Avari Dubai Hotel with its special Holiday Getaway Package. The package has something for everyone to enjoy right from the opportunity to experience the real grandeur and beauty of Dubai.

The longer you stay, the lesser you pay is the Holiday Getaway package starts from AED 798/- for all 3 nights, one can also extent the stay by paying AED 1,500/for 6 nights which includes the Avari World Traveler room, welcome drinks on arrival, a sumptuous complimentary buffet breakfast as well as complimentary internet services.

Your Special Occasions Come To Life At...

Pride Hotels, one of the fastest growing hotel chains in India exemplifies a luxurious brand of hospitality with its banquet and conference facilities. The contemporary banquet facility features such as catering services, showcase your event with pomp and efficiency that they deserve. Leave the worries about your event to us and fill the halls at The Pride Group of Hotels with the beating of your heart.

16

With taste fully designed banquet halls, well equipped meeting and conferences rooms, sprawling green lawns, modern and luxurious guest rooms and delicately chosen menu from separate vegetarian and non vegetarian kitchen this luxury hotel which is centrally located in all the locations can cater your every need and is superb setting for an unforgettable event.

Whether you are considering a large

November - December, 2015

bar located on the 16th floor. Leisure facilities at the hotel also include a wellequipped fitness centre, a yoga studio and a rooftop infinity pool and Jacuzzi.

Spread over 26,000 sqft, the versatile indoor and outdoor space features the Renaissance Hotels signature R.E.N. meetings program, designed to bring live entertainment and the best of the local destination to your business or social gathering. Dedicated event & wedding specialists, specialized services, customized menus and modern fittings ensure attention to the last detail.

That’s not it, in this package one can also avail of the complimentary shuttle to the major shopping centers in Dubai.

For the guest leisure and comfort, this package includes complimentary pick up & drop service from Dubai International Airport.

Pride Hotels

lavish wedding affair at our hotels in Kolkata, Nagpur and Ahmedabad for 500-1000 pax or a simple intimate gathering at Pune, Bangalore, Chennai for 50 to 250 pax or a blissful wedding experience at our picturesque locations in Goa, Jaipur, Dharamshala for 500-1000 pax we believe in making your dreams come true in every aspect with our magnificent halls and breathtaking lawns. Our exclusive wedding package comprises of essentials like Venue d e c o r a t i o n , We l c o m i n g g u e s t , Entertainment (DJ with live music), Sitting arrangement with floral touch, Pooja Vidhi, Photography, Gourment

Wedding cake, First night suite, Home coming ceremony etc. at select Pride locations.

Pride Hotels also has an option suited for Conferences and Meetings in these locations with a host of Meeting Hall, Conference Venue, Lawn, Business center etc. We understand that every meeting or a conference has different needs and we offer the flexibility of space to cater for residential and day conferences, product launches, board meetings, training, investment seminar etc. All the venues have been upgraded to State of the art technology like audio visual equipments, Onsite IT support, High speed internet access etc thereby facilitating a smooth functioning of your event.

www.safariplus.co.in

HOSPITALITY PLUS Royal Cliff Group of Hotels, Pattaya Serving Indian Travelers With Personalized Touch

The Royal Cliff Hotels Group, a magnificent Pattaya beach resort composed of four 5-star hotels in Pattaya beach: Royal Cliff Beach HotelCasual Luxury, Royal Cliff Beach Terrace- Exotic Luxury, Royal Cliff Grand Hotel-Formal Luxury, and Royal Wing Suites and Spa- Ultimate Luxury. The luxurious yet secluded 64 acre area is located between beautiful Jomtien Beach and Pattaya. The property is renowned for its striking, yet peaceful atmosphere and well-appointed rooms.

Whether you are family oriented, M.I.C.E inclined, honeymooners or passionate about "green holidays", the Royal Cliff Hotels Group Pattaya luxury hotel is an ideal match for every traveller. Offering breathtaking, panoramic views of the Gulf of Thailand.

The Royal Cliff's team continually innovates, upgrades and improves on its existing facilities as well as adding new products so that guests are always enjoying something new on each visit.

The resort has always welcomed travelers, guests and business groups from India and the sub-continent. They recognize and pay particular attention to the needs of all guests. The only hotel property in Thailand with restaurants offers a choice of Vegetarian Meals as well as “Jain Meals”.

offers extensive leisure facilities including, 10 restaurants, 10 bars, 5 swimming pools, 7 floodlight tennis

courts, 2 air-conditioned squash courts, a state-ofthe-art fitness centre with saunas and steam rooms, 2 health spas, 4-hole golf pitch & putt, exclusive beach and a Thai cooking school.

For the business traveler, the hotel provides ballroom and meeting rooms, and also the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), which is a multipurpose convention and exhibition hall with a capacity of around 5,000 people.

Situated on secluded parkland only 2 km

from central Pattaya, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort is a little over an hour's drive from Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

For more info: www.royalcliff.com

Indian - Friendly ! In-house Indian TV channel (free of

charge) ! Delectable North & South Indian

snacks, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, in the breakfast buffet at the Indian Corner, Panorama Restaurant, Royal Cliff Beach Hotel. ! Specialty Indian Restaurant – Maharani, Royal Cliff Beach Hotel, offering “Jain Meals” as well as authentic North & South Indian delicacies, including a wide selection of Roti, Naan, Kebabs, Tandooris, Grilled Meats and Seafood dishes. ! Three well-experienced Resident Indian Chefs to take care of large Indian groups. ! All the food served at the buffets containing pork or pork fat is clearly marked with “PORK” signs. ! The only Resort in Thailand with restaurants offering vegetarian snacks, starters, main dishes and soups including Appadam, Samosa, Idly, Poori, Dosa, Masala Dosa, Vegetable Dosa, Pongal, Sambar and a variety of Chutnies.

With 1,090 rooms and suites, the Resort

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November - December, 2015 17

HOSPITALITY PLUS Grand Launch of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts in Bengaluru Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru opened in South India's capital state of Karnataka and is set to be the city's leading destination for business and pleasure, offering a dynamic array of restaurants and bars and arresting public and meeting spaces.

The 397-room Shangri-La –sited on nearly two acres of land between the central business district and residential suburb– will deliver a unique blend of the group's signature service of 'hospitality from the heart' and legendary Indian hospitality at one of Bengaluru's premier addresses over looking Bangalore Palace and Cubbon Park.

L o c a t e d 3 0 m i n u t e s f ro m t h e international airport, Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru stands 19-storeys tall in a leafy blue ribbon suburb on Palace Road.

Mr. Greg Dogan, President and CEO, said, “Shangri-La's expansion on the Indian subcontinent marks an exciting

third quarter for the group. We are excited to reveal a new luxury landmark in Bengaluru that adds to our international presence and will welcome our loyal and new guests for business or leisure.”

The hotel's 30 suites– awash in colours of gold, plum and green – range from 98 to 274 square metres, and include three Governor Suites and the palatial Shangri-La Suite; guests can marvel at the panoramic views and enjoy full access to the Horizon Club Lounge.

Royal Orchid Hotels Adds 2 More Hotels To Its Portfolio Royal Orchid H o t e l s announced the opening of two hotels under its upscale arm Regenta in Haridwar and Kolkata.

Regenta Orko’s Haridwar is the first property from the group in this pilgrimage city. The hotel is conveniently located on the Haridwar-Rishikesh highway, the railway station and just 20 mins drive to the religious sites of Chandi Devi and Har-Ki-Pauri temples.

Regenta Orko’s Kolkata is a blend of exquisite style and substance making it ideal for business & leisure travelers as it is located in Kasba popular for its

shopping areas and a walk away from the Acropolis Mall.

Mr.Chander K. Baljee, Chairman and MD of the Royal Orchid Hotels added, “We are glad to bring our brand of hotels in these cities. Kolkata has always been an important market for hoteliers in terms of both business and leisure segments. Whereas under Narendra Modi’s Government, pilgrimage tourism is going to witness a boost and we intend to tap this segment with our existing portfolio along with our newly launched property in Haridwar”.

Renaissance Hotels Debuts in North India Renaissance Hotels announced the opening of its first hotel in North India, in the city of Lucknow. With 16 floors and 112 stylish rooms, it is the tallest hotel to open in Lucknow and offers stunning views of the Gomti River and the city’s landscape.

Mr. Rajeev Menon, COO – South East Asia & Pacific for Marriott International, said, “Lucknow is fast emerging as a cultural and business hub in Uttar Pradesh and makes for the perfect location for a Renaissance Hotel. It is a global, lifestyle hospitality brand that seeks to inspire and provoke its guests to discover something new and different each and every time they visit.”

The hotel features- the international cuisine all day dining restaurant; Sepia – the Awadhi speciality fine dining restaurant, Coffee & Cakes - the hotel patisserie that specializes in freshly baked pastries, sandwiches, cakes and brewed coffee; and the Sky Bar – the pool-side

Avari Dubai Hotel Introduces Holiday Getaway Package This Festive season, witness the essence of Dubai hospitality at The Avari Dubai Hotel with its special Holiday Getaway Package. The package has something for everyone to enjoy right from the opportunity to experience the real grandeur and beauty of Dubai.

The longer you stay, the lesser you pay is the Holiday Getaway package starts from AED 798/- for all 3 nights, one can also extent the stay by paying AED 1,500/for 6 nights which includes the Avari World Traveler room, welcome drinks on arrival, a sumptuous complimentary buffet breakfast as well as complimentary internet services.

Your Special Occasions Come To Life At...

Pride Hotels, one of the fastest growing hotel chains in India exemplifies a luxurious brand of hospitality with its banquet and conference facilities. The contemporary banquet facility features such as catering services, showcase your event with pomp and efficiency that they deserve. Leave the worries about your event to us and fill the halls at The Pride Group of Hotels with the beating of your heart.

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With taste fully designed banquet halls, well equipped meeting and conferences rooms, sprawling green lawns, modern and luxurious guest rooms and delicately chosen menu from separate vegetarian and non vegetarian kitchen this luxury hotel which is centrally located in all the locations can cater your every need and is superb setting for an unforgettable event.

Whether you are considering a large

November - December, 2015

bar located on the 16th floor. Leisure facilities at the hotel also include a wellequipped fitness centre, a yoga studio and a rooftop infinity pool and Jacuzzi.

Spread over 26,000 sqft, the versatile indoor and outdoor space features the Renaissance Hotels signature R.E.N. meetings program, designed to bring live entertainment and the best of the local destination to your business or social gathering. Dedicated event & wedding specialists, specialized services, customized menus and modern fittings ensure attention to the last detail.

That’s not it, in this package one can also avail of the complimentary shuttle to the major shopping centers in Dubai.

For the guest leisure and comfort, this package includes complimentary pick up & drop service from Dubai International Airport.

Pride Hotels

lavish wedding affair at our hotels in Kolkata, Nagpur and Ahmedabad for 500-1000 pax or a simple intimate gathering at Pune, Bangalore, Chennai for 50 to 250 pax or a blissful wedding experience at our picturesque locations in Goa, Jaipur, Dharamshala for 500-1000 pax we believe in making your dreams come true in every aspect with our magnificent halls and breathtaking lawns. Our exclusive wedding package comprises of essentials like Venue d e c o r a t i o n , We l c o m i n g g u e s t , Entertainment (DJ with live music), Sitting arrangement with floral touch, Pooja Vidhi, Photography, Gourment

Wedding cake, First night suite, Home coming ceremony etc. at select Pride locations.

Pride Hotels also has an option suited for Conferences and Meetings in these locations with a host of Meeting Hall, Conference Venue, Lawn, Business center etc. We understand that every meeting or a conference has different needs and we offer the flexibility of space to cater for residential and day conferences, product launches, board meetings, training, investment seminar etc. All the venues have been upgraded to State of the art technology like audio visual equipments, Onsite IT support, High speed internet access etc thereby facilitating a smooth functioning of your event.

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HOSPITALITY PLUS Royal Cliff Group of Hotels, Pattaya Serving Indian Travelers With Personalized Touch

The Royal Cliff Hotels Group, a magnificent Pattaya beach resort composed of four 5-star hotels in Pattaya beach: Royal Cliff Beach HotelCasual Luxury, Royal Cliff Beach Terrace- Exotic Luxury, Royal Cliff Grand Hotel-Formal Luxury, and Royal Wing Suites and Spa- Ultimate Luxury. The luxurious yet secluded 64 acre area is located between beautiful Jomtien Beach and Pattaya. The property is renowned for its striking, yet peaceful atmosphere and well-appointed rooms.

Whether you are family oriented, M.I.C.E inclined, honeymooners or passionate about "green holidays", the Royal Cliff Hotels Group Pattaya luxury hotel is an ideal match for every traveller. Offering breathtaking, panoramic views of the Gulf of Thailand.

The Royal Cliff's team continually innovates, upgrades and improves on its existing facilities as well as adding new products so that guests are always enjoying something new on each visit.

The resort has always welcomed travelers, guests and business groups from India and the sub-continent. They recognize and pay particular attention to the needs of all guests. The only hotel property in Thailand with restaurants offers a choice of Vegetarian Meals as well as “Jain Meals”.

offers extensive leisure facilities including, 10 restaurants, 10 bars, 5 swimming pools, 7 floodlight tennis

courts, 2 air-conditioned squash courts, a state-ofthe-art fitness centre with saunas and steam rooms, 2 health spas, 4-hole golf pitch & putt, exclusive beach and a Thai cooking school.

For the business traveler, the hotel provides ballroom and meeting rooms, and also the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), which is a multipurpose convention and exhibition hall with a capacity of around 5,000 people.

Situated on secluded parkland only 2 km

from central Pattaya, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort is a little over an hour's drive from Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

For more info: www.royalcliff.com

Indian - Friendly ! In-house Indian TV channel (free of

charge) ! Delectable North & South Indian

snacks, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, in the breakfast buffet at the Indian Corner, Panorama Restaurant, Royal Cliff Beach Hotel. ! Specialty Indian Restaurant – Maharani, Royal Cliff Beach Hotel, offering “Jain Meals” as well as authentic North & South Indian delicacies, including a wide selection of Roti, Naan, Kebabs, Tandooris, Grilled Meats and Seafood dishes. ! Three well-experienced Resident Indian Chefs to take care of large Indian groups. ! All the food served at the buffets containing pork or pork fat is clearly marked with “PORK” signs. ! The only Resort in Thailand with restaurants offering vegetarian snacks, starters, main dishes and soups including Appadam, Samosa, Idly, Poori, Dosa, Masala Dosa, Vegetable Dosa, Pongal, Sambar and a variety of Chutnies.

With 1,090 rooms and suites, the Resort

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November - December, 2015 17

TRADE PLUS Wildlife, Heritage, Culture and Tourism Showcase At Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart in Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh Tourism launched its second edition of 'Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart', from 16th – 18th October 2015. The Travel Mart was set on a B2B platform with 200 registered Buyers and Media from over 20 countries exploring business opportunities for discerning travel and tourism products, will make the event one of the most sought after

travel events in the country.

The event attracted buyers from Australia, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, UAE, Sri Lanka, Latvia, Greece, I re l a n d , P h i l i p p i n e s , M a l ay s i a , Indonesia, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc.

The inaugural event had the presence of several dignitaries from the Indian travel and tourism industry such as Mr. Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Mrs Jyoti Mayal, Member Managing Committee, Chair person Airline Council, Travel Agents Association Of India (TAAI), Mr Sarab Jit Singh, Vice

President, Federation of Associations in Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), Mr. Jyoti Kapur, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Capt. Swadesh Kumar, Vice Chairman, Indian Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), Mr. Akshay Kumar, President, etc Inaugurating the mart Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Honourable Chief Minister of

Madhya Pradesh said “With 2015 being the Visit MP Year, the Government has initiated several projects to increase visitors to the State to see some of the country's best kept world heritage sites, amazing landscapes. The State also offers a safe and secure environment.

With the Simhastha 2016 taking place from 22nd of April to the 21st of May, we will see one of the biggest gathering of pilgrims in the country and we would like to invite the travel agents to promote this event in a big way.”

Shri Surendra Patwa, Honourable Minister for Tourism, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh mentioned about the various proposals and schemes by the Madhya Pradesh Government to give a fillip to the industry in the state. Smt. Veera Rana, IAS, Secretary Tourism, gave details of the second edition of Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart. Mr. Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators mentioned about the various facets of the tourism industry and how Madhya Pradesh has been in the forefront of tourism marketing.

The event showcased over 100 different products of Madhya Pradesh from diverse profiles such as Pilgrimage, Heritage, Adventure, Corporate Hotels, Wildlife Resorts, Travel Agents and Tour operators, handicrafts, culture pursuits of Madhya Pradesh, Wildlife Resorts and National Parks, Medical Tourism, Destination Management Companies, Travel Agents, etc

18

November - December, 2015

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The Futuristic City Masdar City, Abu Dhabi

Located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Masdar City is a sustainable urban development and economic free zone. The city provides a 'green print' for cities of the future, with traditional Arabic architecture blending seamlessly with state of the art modern technology to maximise energy efficiency.

Masdar City has the potential to host up to 40,000 residents and 50,000 commuters by 2025. This mixed-use development provides a unique, sustainable, living and working environment, with integrated residential and commercial zones that feature food and beverage outlets, along with extensive leisure and entertainment facilities. Already home to the Masdar Institute of Science & Technology (MI), Masdar City will soon welcome the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The arrival of leading multinationals in Masdar City, includes GE, Siemens, Mitsubishi and SK Energy.

Sustainable Construction Every element of Masdar City's 700hectare site has been designed with sustainability in mind; cutting energy demand and water consumption by 40% while also reducing embodied carbon by 30% compared to business as usual. The city's streets have been built to be optimally oriented on a southeastnorthwest axis, thereby providing shading at street level throughout the day. The materials used for the building façades are also designed for cooling purposes. Buildings within the Masdar Institute Campus are shielded with ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) cushions that ensure almost no solar gain on the structures - as well as limiting the heat radiated on to the street. While windows not already shaded by adjacent buildings have louvres set to prevent direct sunlight from entering the building. An on-site 10MW solarpower plant, supported by a series of smaller rooftop installations, helps to provide the development with a clean, sustainable source of energy.

Sustainable Living With integrated residential and commercial zones Masdar City offers a unique, environmentally friendly, living environment. The development's pedestrian-friendly design looks to encourage a healthier and more active lifestyle, with amenities easily accessible on foot or via public transport, while communal areas have been intelligently landscaped and designed to provide natural shading and cooler air temperatures.

Sustainable Business As a special economic zone, Masdar City operates on a 'free zone' basis with

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benefits that include 100% foreign ownership, no restrictions on capital movements, profits or quotas, and a favorable tax regime. Businesses operating within Masdar City also enjoy exclusive access to a one-stop platform for setting up locally, including companyz registration, office leasing and fast-track visa processing.

Over the next 5 years, Abu Dhabi plans to spend US$90 billion on development projects, covering housing, schools, roads and other infrastructure.

Combined with further steps to create a business friendly environment, that is

FACTS

confirming Abu Dhabi's place as a truly global city. As a zero-tax jurisdiction Abu Dhabi offers investors an attractive and convenient place to do business with 100% foreign ownership within Free Trade Zones, such as Masdar City. Abu Dhabi sits at the centre of the MENA and South Asia, and is best placed to capitalize on future growth prospects from this burgeoning region, where currently cumulative market value stands at US$ 3.5 trillion. As an energy leader, Abu Dhabi has made a commitment to ensuring that by 2020, 7% of its installed energy capacity is met by renewable sources.

! Water demand reductions of 40% (40% less energy demand than conventional cities of comparable size) ! Street level temperatures 10 Celsius cooler than Abu Dhabi city ! Buildings produce 1/5 of the world's CO2 emissions ! Cities account for about two-thirds of global energy demand ! Buildings account for roughly 40% of the world's energy use ! Walkable and pedestrian-friendly city ! Design that encourages and promotes zero-carbon public transportation options ! Transportation options that include: 1) A driverless, point-to-point personal rapid transit system; 2) a ride-sharing programme featuring electric vehicles; and 3) accessible and strategically positioned car parks ! Future transportation options may include: 1) electric buses; and 2) a centralised, zero-carbon, automated public transportation network

Distance from ! Abu Dhabi International Airport 2 kms (3Mins) ! Yas Island 4 kms ! ADNEC 24 kms ! Downtown Abu Dhabi 30 kms ! Downtown Dubai 112 kms

November - December, 2015 19

TRADE PLUS Wildlife, Heritage, Culture and Tourism Showcase At Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart in Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh Tourism launched its second edition of 'Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart', from 16th – 18th October 2015. The Travel Mart was set on a B2B platform with 200 registered Buyers and Media from over 20 countries exploring business opportunities for discerning travel and tourism products, will make the event one of the most sought after

travel events in the country.

The event attracted buyers from Australia, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, UAE, Sri Lanka, Latvia, Greece, I re l a n d , P h i l i p p i n e s , M a l ay s i a , Indonesia, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc.

The inaugural event had the presence of several dignitaries from the Indian travel and tourism industry such as Mr. Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Mrs Jyoti Mayal, Member Managing Committee, Chair person Airline Council, Travel Agents Association Of India (TAAI), Mr Sarab Jit Singh, Vice

President, Federation of Associations in Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), Mr. Jyoti Kapur, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Capt. Swadesh Kumar, Vice Chairman, Indian Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), Mr. Akshay Kumar, President, etc Inaugurating the mart Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Honourable Chief Minister of

Madhya Pradesh said “With 2015 being the Visit MP Year, the Government has initiated several projects to increase visitors to the State to see some of the country's best kept world heritage sites, amazing landscapes. The State also offers a safe and secure environment.

With the Simhastha 2016 taking place from 22nd of April to the 21st of May, we will see one of the biggest gathering of pilgrims in the country and we would like to invite the travel agents to promote this event in a big way.”

Shri Surendra Patwa, Honourable Minister for Tourism, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh mentioned about the various proposals and schemes by the Madhya Pradesh Government to give a fillip to the industry in the state. Smt. Veera Rana, IAS, Secretary Tourism, gave details of the second edition of Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart. Mr. Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators mentioned about the various facets of the tourism industry and how Madhya Pradesh has been in the forefront of tourism marketing.

The event showcased over 100 different products of Madhya Pradesh from diverse profiles such as Pilgrimage, Heritage, Adventure, Corporate Hotels, Wildlife Resorts, Travel Agents and Tour operators, handicrafts, culture pursuits of Madhya Pradesh, Wildlife Resorts and National Parks, Medical Tourism, Destination Management Companies, Travel Agents, etc

18

November - December, 2015

www.safariplus.co.in

The Futuristic City Masdar City, Abu Dhabi

Located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Masdar City is a sustainable urban development and economic free zone. The city provides a 'green print' for cities of the future, with traditional Arabic architecture blending seamlessly with state of the art modern technology to maximise energy efficiency.

Masdar City has the potential to host up to 40,000 residents and 50,000 commuters by 2025. This mixed-use development provides a unique, sustainable, living and working environment, with integrated residential and commercial zones that feature food and beverage outlets, along with extensive leisure and entertainment facilities. Already home to the Masdar Institute of Science & Technology (MI), Masdar City will soon welcome the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The arrival of leading multinationals in Masdar City, includes GE, Siemens, Mitsubishi and SK Energy.

Sustainable Construction Every element of Masdar City's 700hectare site has been designed with sustainability in mind; cutting energy demand and water consumption by 40% while also reducing embodied carbon by 30% compared to business as usual. The city's streets have been built to be optimally oriented on a southeastnorthwest axis, thereby providing shading at street level throughout the day. The materials used for the building façades are also designed for cooling purposes. Buildings within the Masdar Institute Campus are shielded with ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) cushions that ensure almost no solar gain on the structures - as well as limiting the heat radiated on to the street. While windows not already shaded by adjacent buildings have louvres set to prevent direct sunlight from entering the building. An on-site 10MW solarpower plant, supported by a series of smaller rooftop installations, helps to provide the development with a clean, sustainable source of energy.

Sustainable Living With integrated residential and commercial zones Masdar City offers a unique, environmentally friendly, living environment. The development's pedestrian-friendly design looks to encourage a healthier and more active lifestyle, with amenities easily accessible on foot or via public transport, while communal areas have been intelligently landscaped and designed to provide natural shading and cooler air temperatures.

Sustainable Business As a special economic zone, Masdar City operates on a 'free zone' basis with

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benefits that include 100% foreign ownership, no restrictions on capital movements, profits or quotas, and a favorable tax regime. Businesses operating within Masdar City also enjoy exclusive access to a one-stop platform for setting up locally, including companyz registration, office leasing and fast-track visa processing.

Over the next 5 years, Abu Dhabi plans to spend US$90 billion on development projects, covering housing, schools, roads and other infrastructure.

Combined with further steps to create a business friendly environment, that is

FACTS

confirming Abu Dhabi's place as a truly global city. As a zero-tax jurisdiction Abu Dhabi offers investors an attractive and convenient place to do business with 100% foreign ownership within Free Trade Zones, such as Masdar City. Abu Dhabi sits at the centre of the MENA and South Asia, and is best placed to capitalize on future growth prospects from this burgeoning region, where currently cumulative market value stands at US$ 3.5 trillion. As an energy leader, Abu Dhabi has made a commitment to ensuring that by 2020, 7% of its installed energy capacity is met by renewable sources.

! Water demand reductions of 40% (40% less energy demand than conventional cities of comparable size) ! Street level temperatures 10 Celsius cooler than Abu Dhabi city ! Buildings produce 1/5 of the world's CO2 emissions ! Cities account for about two-thirds of global energy demand ! Buildings account for roughly 40% of the world's energy use ! Walkable and pedestrian-friendly city ! Design that encourages and promotes zero-carbon public transportation options ! Transportation options that include: 1) A driverless, point-to-point personal rapid transit system; 2) a ride-sharing programme featuring electric vehicles; and 3) accessible and strategically positioned car parks ! Future transportation options may include: 1) electric buses; and 2) a centralised, zero-carbon, automated public transportation network

Distance from ! Abu Dhabi International Airport 2 kms (3Mins) ! Yas Island 4 kms ! ADNEC 24 kms ! Downtown Abu Dhabi 30 kms ! Downtown Dubai 112 kms

November - December, 2015 19

AVIATION PLUS THAI Launches social.thaiairways.com Website

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) launched website social.thaiairways.com, with the tagline “Your Travel Buddy”, which provides travel-related information to passengers.

THAI’s social media website consists of four content areas:news and promotions, travel, lifestyle, and events, as well as other content areas such as postcards, blogs, Sawasdeemagazine, and inflight duty free brochure.

The launch of the website was at a press

conference event held at the Plaza Athenee Bangkok. Mr. Chutinthorn Srisittikum, THAI Vice President of Digital Commercial Department, and Mrs. Pariya Chulkaratana, THAI Director of Digital Marketing & Customer Management, presented the LIVE website to demonstrate the latest travel t r e n d s u s i n g T H A I ’s social.thaiairways.com as “Your Travel B u d d y ”, w i t h M r. K r i t t a p h o n Chantalitanon, Vice President of Aviation Services Support, lending support at the event.

Ethiopian Airlines Announces Special Discounted Fares From Mumbai Ethiopian Airlines announced the introduction of below special offers for travel from Mumbai -Addis Ababa & Addis Ababa-Mumbai on specified flights. Tel Aviv (TLV) for sales effective from 26 Oct, 2015 until 31Dec, 2015.

They are as follows: !Buy One Get One 50% Companion Fare for travel between Mumbai (BOM) and Mombasa (MBA), Nairobi (NBO), Hargeisa (HGA), Djibouti (JIB), Juba (JUB), Khartoum (KRT), Entebbe (EBB), !Special Business & Economy baggage allowance, Business Class (4pcs, 23 Kgs each ); Economy (50kgs ) between

Mumbai (BOM) and Mombasa (MBA), Nairobi (NBO), Hargeisa (HGA), Djibouti (JIB), Juba (JUB), Khartoum (KRT), Entebbe (EBB). !Special Business & Economy promotional fares from Mumbai (BOM) and Mombasa (MBA), Nairobi (NBO), Hargeisa (HGA), Djibouti (JIB), Juba (JUB), Khartoum (KRT), Entebbe (EBB). ! Double Miles for Mumbai-Addis Ababa (BOM-ADD) sector only for ET Sheba Miles frequent fliers for travel EX Mumbai on flight ET641 to Addis Ababa or connecting onward to any ET.

Etihad Airways Neerja Bhatia Appointed Vice President of India Etihad Airways has appointed Ms. Neerja Bhatia to the position of Vice President India and Indian Sub-Continent (ISC).

Ms Bhatia joined Etihad Airways in 2004 as Sales Manager Western India, shortly after the airline had launched its flights to Mumbai, its first Indian destination. She then progressed to become Manager for Western and Southern India, before being appointed as General Manager India in 2007.

Danny Barranger, Etihad Airways’ Senior Vice President Sales, said,

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“Neerja has played a key role in the expansion of Etihad Airways in India during the last 11 years and has a wealth of experience and expertise which will be key to the continued alignment of our activities together with our strategic partner Jet Airways in this important geographical area. We are delighted that Neerja will take up her new role, based in Mumbai, to lead Etihad Airways’ commercial activities across the region as we look to expand our sales operations in India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.”

November - December, 2015

AVIATION PLUS Tourism Malaysia And Malindo Air Launch Direct Flights From Trichy To Penang Tourism Malaysia and Malindo Air, a Malaysia based hybrid Airline, announced the launch of the first direct flight from Trichy to Penang. Trichy Airport has become the first international airport to have direct flight services to Penang.

Malindo Air will operate two services a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The flight will depart from Penang airport at 8.30 pm and arrive at Trichy airport at 9.40 pm. In the return direction, it will depart from Trichy at 10.30 pm and reach Penang at 4.45 am, the following day.

Mr Noor Azman Samsudin, Director, Tourism Malaysia, Chennai said, “The decision by Malindo Air to start this new route emphasizes the value and importance of tourism, trade and business links between India and Malaysia. In fact, India is the 6th largest contributor to the tourism sector in Malaysia. We hope that this new air link will contribute to boost tourism in support of MYFEST 2015, encouraging Indian tourists to come more often and stay longer in order to enjoy the festival

offerings nationwide”.

The special introductory offer is available now with return fares for Economy starting from INR 16852 inclusive of taxes with 30kgs baggage allowance, meals on board and the business class return fares of INR 48474 inclusive of taxes with 40kgs baggage allowance and meals on board for Trichy-Penang-Trichy. The Boeing 737900ER series aircraft will operate in this sector, with a seating capacity of 180 which includes 168 Economy and 12 Business class seats.

Last year, Malaysia received 27.4 million tourists, which was an increase of 6.7%.

This year Malaysia is expected to welcome of 29.4 million tourist arrivals and garner RM89 billion in tourist receipts.

Ethiopian Airlines Double-Daily Operations on Addis Ababa – Mumbai Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and most profitable African Airline, is pleased to announce the commencement of its

double daily operations Addis Ababa – Mumbai – Addis Ababa as per schedule mentioned under.

Tigerair to Launch Flights from Quanzhou and Lucknow

Tigerair is to launch flights from Singapore to Quanzhou and Lucknow.

The flights of both will be operated three times weekly with the aircraft Airbus A320 .

Flights to Quanzhou are scheduled from September 2015, while the inaugural flight to Lucknow schedule is to begin from 3 December, 2015.

For Flight bookings of the Quanzhou and Lucknow services go on Tigerair website, which is opened since September.

Mr. Lee Lik Hsin, Tigerair CEO, said, “Tigerair is constantly looking to introduce new services to expand our offerings and enhance connectivity for customers. The addition of Quanzhou and Lucknow will further improve Singapore’s link to China and India.”

Quanzhou, a coastal city in the Fujian Province, will be Tigerair’s 12th Greater China destination.

Lucknow will be Tigerair ’s 6th destination in India.

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Air India’s Domestic Operation Air China to Launch From Mumbai Terminal 2 Flights From Beijing - Mumbai

Effective from October, 2015 Air India starts its domestic operations from Terminal 2 (T2), Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Sahar, Mumbai.

Mr. Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India along with Mr. Mark Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance were present for the ceremonial ribbon cutting and cake cutting to mark the occasion.

With this move, Air India passengers will have the advantage of a smooth and s e a m l e s s t ra n s i t i o n w i t h e a sy connectivity, between domestic and international sectors, all from the same terminal. With this development Air India can operate Mumbai as its second hub in the region.

Mr. Lohani said, “We have moved our entire operations under one roof, which is a much more efficient way of handling transfers and provide the best experience to our passengers. It is a great beginning for us at the new terminal and our people are charged up and excited. We will look to make Mumbai a second hub for Air India.”

Air India Embarks On A Direct Flight To San Francisco Air India will start first-ever nonstop flights between San Francisco and Delhi on 2 December, 2015.

Air India officials said the airline plans to launch service with three flights per week, on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, using Boeing 777 long-range aircraft, the flight will connect to Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

Mr Joe D'Alessandro, President and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association,

said, “We are pleased with the announcement of the new route by Air India from New Delhi to San Francisco.

San Francisco is a major gateway city in USA specially the west coast. We are confident that this new service will not only enhance travel and trade between these two cities but also connect other key cities in the region. With this enhanced air connectivity, we hope to welcome even more Indian travelers.”

Qatar Airways expands its Dreamliner service in India Qatar Airways has announced an expansion of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner route network to India with the launch of services to and from Kolkata starting December 1, 2015.

The increase in demand for travel to and from the region and the airline’s steadfast commitment to the Indian market has resulted in the introduction of the state-of-the-art Dreamliner on the daily flights between Doha and Kolkata bringing an additional capacity of more than 76% compared to the A320 which is being operated on the route.

Qatar Airways’ daily seat capacity to Kolkata has nearly doubled from 144 seats on the A320 to 254 seats on the 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

India remains a key market for Qatar Airways having an extensive route network offering 95 passenger flights non-stop each week from 12 gateway cities to Doha. Currently, Indian operations cover services from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Trivandrum.

Flight Schedules from Kolkata to Doha: Depart Kolkata QR541 at 03:15, arrive Doha at 06:25 and Depart Doha QR540 at 18:45, arrive Kolkata at 01:45 next day.

Air China is to launch the flights between Beijing and Mumbai, it will spare passengers from the trouble of having to make a detour by transferring in Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok.

The one-way flight takes about 7 hours.

The Beijing - Mumbai flights, aircraft CA889/890 will be operated four times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The outbound flight will depart from

SpiceJet Announces Direct Flights To Dubai From Amritsar And Kozhikode and Bengaluru. To celebrate the launch, SpiceJet announced the launch of direct the airline is offering tickets at an flights to Dubai from the cities of introductory fare of Rs. 4999/- all-in one Amritsar and Kozhikode (Calicut). way between Kozhikode - Dubai and Bookings for tickets are open now and Amritsar – Dubai. flight services will commence from 15 November, 2015.

While SpiceJet will operate daily flights on the Kozhikode – Dubai route, flights With the launch of these flights, SpiceJet on the Amritsar – Dubai route will will be serving Dubai direct from eight operate on all days except Saturdays.

Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, SpiceJet will be deploying its Boeing Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, Madurai, 737NG aircraft on the newly launched Amritsar, and Kozhikode, with routes. connections from dozens of more cities including Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Flt. No. From To Departure Arrival Days SG 53 Kozhikode Dubai 1:05 3:55 Daily SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 16:10 21:15 1 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 18:00 23:20 1 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 16:10 21:15 2,3,4,5 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 5:00 10:20 6 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 16:55 22:15 7 SG 55 Amritsar Dubai 11:30 13:55 1,2,3,4,5,7 SG 56 Dubai Amritsar 5:00 9:35 1,2,3,4,5,7

SpiceJet Creates History In The Andamans!

Flydubai Expands Its Network Adding Nizhny Novgorod & Novosibirsk Flydubai inaugurated flights to two new destinations in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk, making it the first Dubai based airline to serve these cities.

The flights from Dubai to Novosibirsk commence three flights a week and flights to Nizhny Novgorod commence two flights a week. flydubai’s extensive network in Russia

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includes Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa and Yekaterinburg. flydubai announced 18 new destinations since the start of 2015 creating a network of more than 95 destinations in 45 countries. It operates a fleet of 50 new Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft with an average age of 3.1 years and has more than 100 new aircraft on order.

Beijing at 19:40 and arrive in Mumbai at 01:00 the following day. The return flight will depart from Mumbai at 02:30 to arrive in Beijing at 11:20.

SpiceJet successfully carried out the first ever civilian airliner night landing at Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair.

Under the command of Capt. Gurcharan Arora and Capt. Ranbir Singh, SpiceJet’s 212-seater Boeing 737-900ER aircraft VT-SLD was greeted upon arrival by a grand water cannon salute, an aviation tradition to mark key milestones. The aircraft later departed for Kolkata,

thereby completing a cycle of landing and take-off from the Port Blair airport during the night time.

Lt G e n A K S i n g h , Lieutenant Governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said, “This is another landmark achievement to realise the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to increase connectivity to t h e re m o te st p a r t s o f I n d i a . I congratulate SpiceJet for being the pioneering airline to undertake the night landing at Port Blair, and look forward to SpiceJet and other airlines now adding regular night landing flights to Port Blair providing more domestic connections, and introducing international connections as well.”

November - December, 2015

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AVIATION PLUS THAI Launches social.thaiairways.com Website

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) launched website social.thaiairways.com, with the tagline “Your Travel Buddy”, which provides travel-related information to passengers.

THAI’s social media website consists of four content areas:news and promotions, travel, lifestyle, and events, as well as other content areas such as postcards, blogs, Sawasdeemagazine, and inflight duty free brochure.

The launch of the website was at a press

conference event held at the Plaza Athenee Bangkok. Mr. Chutinthorn Srisittikum, THAI Vice President of Digital Commercial Department, and Mrs. Pariya Chulkaratana, THAI Director of Digital Marketing & Customer Management, presented the LIVE website to demonstrate the latest travel t r e n d s u s i n g T H A I ’s social.thaiairways.com as “Your Travel B u d d y ”, w i t h M r. K r i t t a p h o n Chantalitanon, Vice President of Aviation Services Support, lending support at the event.

Ethiopian Airlines Announces Special Discounted Fares From Mumbai Ethiopian Airlines announced the introduction of below special offers for travel from Mumbai -Addis Ababa & Addis Ababa-Mumbai on specified flights. Tel Aviv (TLV) for sales effective from 26 Oct, 2015 until 31Dec, 2015.

They are as follows: !Buy One Get One 50% Companion Fare for travel between Mumbai (BOM) and Mombasa (MBA), Nairobi (NBO), Hargeisa (HGA), Djibouti (JIB), Juba (JUB), Khartoum (KRT), Entebbe (EBB), !Special Business & Economy baggage allowance, Business Class (4pcs, 23 Kgs each ); Economy (50kgs ) between

Mumbai (BOM) and Mombasa (MBA), Nairobi (NBO), Hargeisa (HGA), Djibouti (JIB), Juba (JUB), Khartoum (KRT), Entebbe (EBB). !Special Business & Economy promotional fares from Mumbai (BOM) and Mombasa (MBA), Nairobi (NBO), Hargeisa (HGA), Djibouti (JIB), Juba (JUB), Khartoum (KRT), Entebbe (EBB). ! Double Miles for Mumbai-Addis Ababa (BOM-ADD) sector only for ET Sheba Miles frequent fliers for travel EX Mumbai on flight ET641 to Addis Ababa or connecting onward to any ET.

Etihad Airways Neerja Bhatia Appointed Vice President of India Etihad Airways has appointed Ms. Neerja Bhatia to the position of Vice President India and Indian Sub-Continent (ISC).

Ms Bhatia joined Etihad Airways in 2004 as Sales Manager Western India, shortly after the airline had launched its flights to Mumbai, its first Indian destination. She then progressed to become Manager for Western and Southern India, before being appointed as General Manager India in 2007.

Danny Barranger, Etihad Airways’ Senior Vice President Sales, said,

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“Neerja has played a key role in the expansion of Etihad Airways in India during the last 11 years and has a wealth of experience and expertise which will be key to the continued alignment of our activities together with our strategic partner Jet Airways in this important geographical area. We are delighted that Neerja will take up her new role, based in Mumbai, to lead Etihad Airways’ commercial activities across the region as we look to expand our sales operations in India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.”

November - December, 2015

AVIATION PLUS Tourism Malaysia And Malindo Air Launch Direct Flights From Trichy To Penang Tourism Malaysia and Malindo Air, a Malaysia based hybrid Airline, announced the launch of the first direct flight from Trichy to Penang. Trichy Airport has become the first international airport to have direct flight services to Penang.

Malindo Air will operate two services a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The flight will depart from Penang airport at 8.30 pm and arrive at Trichy airport at 9.40 pm. In the return direction, it will depart from Trichy at 10.30 pm and reach Penang at 4.45 am, the following day.

Mr Noor Azman Samsudin, Director, Tourism Malaysia, Chennai said, “The decision by Malindo Air to start this new route emphasizes the value and importance of tourism, trade and business links between India and Malaysia. In fact, India is the 6th largest contributor to the tourism sector in Malaysia. We hope that this new air link will contribute to boost tourism in support of MYFEST 2015, encouraging Indian tourists to come more often and stay longer in order to enjoy the festival

offerings nationwide”.

The special introductory offer is available now with return fares for Economy starting from INR 16852 inclusive of taxes with 30kgs baggage allowance, meals on board and the business class return fares of INR 48474 inclusive of taxes with 40kgs baggage allowance and meals on board for Trichy-Penang-Trichy. The Boeing 737900ER series aircraft will operate in this sector, with a seating capacity of 180 which includes 168 Economy and 12 Business class seats.

Last year, Malaysia received 27.4 million tourists, which was an increase of 6.7%.

This year Malaysia is expected to welcome of 29.4 million tourist arrivals and garner RM89 billion in tourist receipts.

Ethiopian Airlines Double-Daily Operations on Addis Ababa – Mumbai Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and most profitable African Airline, is pleased to announce the commencement of its

double daily operations Addis Ababa – Mumbai – Addis Ababa as per schedule mentioned under.

Tigerair to Launch Flights from Quanzhou and Lucknow

Tigerair is to launch flights from Singapore to Quanzhou and Lucknow.

The flights of both will be operated three times weekly with the aircraft Airbus A320 .

Flights to Quanzhou are scheduled from September 2015, while the inaugural flight to Lucknow schedule is to begin from 3 December, 2015.

For Flight bookings of the Quanzhou and Lucknow services go on Tigerair website, which is opened since September.

Mr. Lee Lik Hsin, Tigerair CEO, said, “Tigerair is constantly looking to introduce new services to expand our offerings and enhance connectivity for customers. The addition of Quanzhou and Lucknow will further improve Singapore’s link to China and India.”

Quanzhou, a coastal city in the Fujian Province, will be Tigerair’s 12th Greater China destination.

Lucknow will be Tigerair ’s 6th destination in India.

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Air India’s Domestic Operation Air China to Launch From Mumbai Terminal 2 Flights From Beijing - Mumbai

Effective from October, 2015 Air India starts its domestic operations from Terminal 2 (T2), Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Sahar, Mumbai.

Mr. Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India along with Mr. Mark Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance were present for the ceremonial ribbon cutting and cake cutting to mark the occasion.

With this move, Air India passengers will have the advantage of a smooth and s e a m l e s s t ra n s i t i o n w i t h e a sy connectivity, between domestic and international sectors, all from the same terminal. With this development Air India can operate Mumbai as its second hub in the region.

Mr. Lohani said, “We have moved our entire operations under one roof, which is a much more efficient way of handling transfers and provide the best experience to our passengers. It is a great beginning for us at the new terminal and our people are charged up and excited. We will look to make Mumbai a second hub for Air India.”

Air India Embarks On A Direct Flight To San Francisco Air India will start first-ever nonstop flights between San Francisco and Delhi on 2 December, 2015.

Air India officials said the airline plans to launch service with three flights per week, on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, using Boeing 777 long-range aircraft, the flight will connect to Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

Mr Joe D'Alessandro, President and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association,

said, “We are pleased with the announcement of the new route by Air India from New Delhi to San Francisco.

San Francisco is a major gateway city in USA specially the west coast. We are confident that this new service will not only enhance travel and trade between these two cities but also connect other key cities in the region. With this enhanced air connectivity, we hope to welcome even more Indian travelers.”

Qatar Airways expands its Dreamliner service in India Qatar Airways has announced an expansion of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner route network to India with the launch of services to and from Kolkata starting December 1, 2015.

The increase in demand for travel to and from the region and the airline’s steadfast commitment to the Indian market has resulted in the introduction of the state-of-the-art Dreamliner on the daily flights between Doha and Kolkata bringing an additional capacity of more than 76% compared to the A320 which is being operated on the route.

Qatar Airways’ daily seat capacity to Kolkata has nearly doubled from 144 seats on the A320 to 254 seats on the 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

India remains a key market for Qatar Airways having an extensive route network offering 95 passenger flights non-stop each week from 12 gateway cities to Doha. Currently, Indian operations cover services from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Trivandrum.

Flight Schedules from Kolkata to Doha: Depart Kolkata QR541 at 03:15, arrive Doha at 06:25 and Depart Doha QR540 at 18:45, arrive Kolkata at 01:45 next day.

Air China is to launch the flights between Beijing and Mumbai, it will spare passengers from the trouble of having to make a detour by transferring in Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok.

The one-way flight takes about 7 hours.

The Beijing - Mumbai flights, aircraft CA889/890 will be operated four times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The outbound flight will depart from

SpiceJet Announces Direct Flights To Dubai From Amritsar And Kozhikode and Bengaluru. To celebrate the launch, SpiceJet announced the launch of direct the airline is offering tickets at an flights to Dubai from the cities of introductory fare of Rs. 4999/- all-in one Amritsar and Kozhikode (Calicut). way between Kozhikode - Dubai and Bookings for tickets are open now and Amritsar – Dubai. flight services will commence from 15 November, 2015.

While SpiceJet will operate daily flights on the Kozhikode – Dubai route, flights With the launch of these flights, SpiceJet on the Amritsar – Dubai route will will be serving Dubai direct from eight operate on all days except Saturdays.

Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, SpiceJet will be deploying its Boeing Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, Madurai, 737NG aircraft on the newly launched Amritsar, and Kozhikode, with routes. connections from dozens of more cities including Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Flt. No. From To Departure Arrival Days SG 53 Kozhikode Dubai 1:05 3:55 Daily SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 16:10 21:15 1 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 18:00 23:20 1 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 16:10 21:15 2,3,4,5 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 5:00 10:20 6 SG 54 Dubai Kozhikode 16:55 22:15 7 SG 55 Amritsar Dubai 11:30 13:55 1,2,3,4,5,7 SG 56 Dubai Amritsar 5:00 9:35 1,2,3,4,5,7

SpiceJet Creates History In The Andamans!

Flydubai Expands Its Network Adding Nizhny Novgorod & Novosibirsk Flydubai inaugurated flights to two new destinations in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk, making it the first Dubai based airline to serve these cities.

The flights from Dubai to Novosibirsk commence three flights a week and flights to Nizhny Novgorod commence two flights a week. flydubai’s extensive network in Russia

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includes Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa and Yekaterinburg. flydubai announced 18 new destinations since the start of 2015 creating a network of more than 95 destinations in 45 countries. It operates a fleet of 50 new Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft with an average age of 3.1 years and has more than 100 new aircraft on order.

Beijing at 19:40 and arrive in Mumbai at 01:00 the following day. The return flight will depart from Mumbai at 02:30 to arrive in Beijing at 11:20.

SpiceJet successfully carried out the first ever civilian airliner night landing at Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair.

Under the command of Capt. Gurcharan Arora and Capt. Ranbir Singh, SpiceJet’s 212-seater Boeing 737-900ER aircraft VT-SLD was greeted upon arrival by a grand water cannon salute, an aviation tradition to mark key milestones. The aircraft later departed for Kolkata,

thereby completing a cycle of landing and take-off from the Port Blair airport during the night time.

Lt G e n A K S i n g h , Lieutenant Governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said, “This is another landmark achievement to realise the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to increase connectivity to t h e re m o te st p a r t s o f I n d i a . I congratulate SpiceJet for being the pioneering airline to undertake the night landing at Port Blair, and look forward to SpiceJet and other airlines now adding regular night landing flights to Port Blair providing more domestic connections, and introducing international connections as well.”

November - December, 2015

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INTERNATIONAL PLUS Mauritius Tourism Switzerland Launches Roadshows In India #INLOVEWITHSWITZERLAND

M a u r i t i u s To u r i s m P r o m o t i o n Authority conducted 3 cities Luxury Roadshows from 24-28 August, 2015 in Mumbai, Bengaluru & Delhi.

20 stakeholders from Air Mauritius, Top Luxury Hotels, DMCs and activity co m p a n i e s p a r t i c i p ate d i n t h e roadshow. The objective of the event was to create a platform where the Indian travel trade partners could interact with the stakeholders and understand the destination better.

Mr. Arnaud Martin, Chairman of MTPA, said, “India represents a very fertile ground for future growth and we expect it to become the source market in the next five years. From January to July this

year we have had a tremendous growth of 21.5% as compared to last year and we expect to close the year at over 70,000 tourists from India.”

Mauritius has recently been adjudged as the “Best International L u xu r y We d d i n g Destination”.

Mr. Vivek Anand, Country Manager, MTPA said, “The incredible natural beauty of Mauritius is complemented by some of the best and most luxurious seaside resorts in stunningly picturesque surroundings. Mauritius is an ideal destination for the couple looking to tie the knot in a far off and enticing location. It is a great tribute to all the stakeholders of the Mauritian Tourism Industry who contributed towards the Wedding Planners Congress in May 2015 and it was a great honour for us to receive it on behalf of the Mauritian Tourism Industry.”

TCEB To Create Light Festival At Ratchaprasong Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) signed a partnership agreement with Amsterdam Light Festival to create a world-class light festival in Thailand. The partnership is tipped to impart new vigour to the Thai economy and restore the confidence in high level of safety that international visitors and event organisers can expect from Thailand as a top destination for tourism and events.

Mr. Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, Director of TCEB said, “TCEB has a mission to promote and facilitate development of international events, mega events and world-class festivals in Thailand. Strategically, we are focused on pooling in events from our bidding targets and increasing arrivals of international visitors by hosting international events and mega events, as well as profiling Thailand as the destination of international events and mega events through strong exposure in international media, and developing a network of public-private partnerships that will reinforce supportive role of TCEB in every step to increase Thai chances to win in world-class events.

We also invited Mr Rogier van der Heide, the world-renowned lighting designer who serves as Artistic Director of Amsterdam Light Festival, to survey potential locations for a large scale light festival in Thailand. The survey started with Ratchaprasong as a prioritised location due to its prominence as a

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central district for business, trade and transport of Bangkok and Thailand at large, and not to mention that R a t c h a p r a s o n g S q u a r e Tr a d e Association is a strong ally of TCEB for our MICE industry promotion. It later exposed him to many other locations and attractions of Bangkok. We believe that the new partnership will send across a favourable signal for more international collaborations, leading to greater confidence of international visitors and event organisers to choose Ratchaprasong district as their destination.”

Mr Rogier van der Heide has previously completed numerous lighting design projects for well-known places all over the world. The light festival to be held late this year is an important project to drive forward Thai MICE industry in 2015. It will expectedly attract interested visitors around the world to Bangkok and Thailand about 1,036,300 international MICE visitors and generate a turnover of 106,780 million baht.

November - December, 2015

S w i t z e r l a n d To u r i s m h a s announced the launch of its 'In Love with Switzerland' Campaign for Mumbai, to celebrate 150 years of winter tourism. This campaign is to promote tourism to Switzerland from India, not only during summer but also during autumn and winter. The winter campaign was launched in presence of tourism regions from Switzerland - St. Moritz, Davos Klosters, Rhaetian Railways and Ticino.

After a relatively stagnant growth over the last 3 years, 2015 has seen a huge surge in Indian tourists with a growth of 26.7% recorded during Jan to June this year.

A lso the 'Grand Tour of Switzerland' was introduced – a 1600km road-trip that combines all of Switzerland's best touristic and nature highlights, in one scenic journey. This tour can be done from different gateways like Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lugano etc and can be split into any number of journeys.

M r. Claudio Zemp, Director – India, Switzerland Tourism, said, “As Indians are getting more and more adventurous and are looking for new experiences, we think they are now ready for a winter holiday. In view of this we are delighted to launch 'In Love with Switzerland' Campaign in India to promote the winter season. With this campaign we expect to see a rise of 15 to 20 % overnights in the winter months. We expect most of this growth to come from main metro cities as this product is for the more evolved tourist.”

Singapore Tourism Appoints TRAC As Its Marketing Representative in South India

With two existing offices in India in Delhi & Mumbai, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has appointed TRAC Representations as their marketing representative for the South India market to strengthen trade relations and execute marketing initiatives in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala. TRAC will be operating offices in Bangalore and Chennai for STB. Ms. Shreekala Sukumaran and Ms. Meenakshi Gupta have been appointed as marketing representative for Chennai & Bangalore market. Both have a strong background in each and every aspect the travel trade, which is an added advantage.

The key objective of the marketing representative is to enhance the positioning of Singapore as a favoured travel destination for leisure and business amongst the travellers from the South India market.

Chang Chee Pey, Executive Director for South Asia, Middle East and Africa, STB said, “We are pleased to have appointed TRAC as STB marketing representative for the South Indian market and confident that they can support our quality tourism strategies. We look

forward to work with TRAC to further strengthen our presence in South India and seek out new growth opportunities in the metro cities as well as Tier 2 markets.”

Commenting on being appointed as the Official Marketing Representative for Singapore Tourism Board in South India, Mr. Rajeev Nangia, COO, TRAC Representations said, “We are delighted with this appointment and privileged to be representing STB in South India.

Singapore has a lot to offer and promises the best of everything to the India traveller. The team is ready and looking forward to interact with the South India travel market and consumers.”

Singapore ranks amongst the most aspired travel destinations for Indians. It is consistently one of the top visited destinations for families, honeymooners, cruisers, business travellers and incentive groups from India. Visitor arrivals from India to Singapore reached more than 520,000 in the first half of 2015 with a 6% yearon-year growth. South India is an important source market with direct flights from 8 different cities to Singapore, contributing nearly 30% of Indian visitor arrivals in 2014.

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INTERNATIONAL PLUS Tourism Malaysia Unveils Special Tourism Packages At PATA Travel Mart 2015 Tourism Malaysia launched special tourism packages at the PATA Travel Mart 2015 in Bangalore.

At a special media briefing session, Tourism Malaysia's Deputy Director-General (International Promotion) Dato' Haji Azizan Noordin announced that special tourism packages have been developed in conjunction with the upcoming 1Malaysia Year-End Sale (1MYES), to be held from 14 November, 2015 to 3 January, 2016.

Mr Dato said,“India is a significant contributor to tourism in Malaysia. Last year, we had 770108 Indian visitors which is 18% growth from 2013 (650989). We are hopeful that MyFEST 2015 will keep Malaysia as top-of-themind tourist destination, encouraging Indian tourists to stay longer in order to enjoy the festival offerings nationwide.”

During the participation at the PATA Travel Mart, Tourism Malaysia also

organised v a r i o u s programmes for travel trade players to meet up and network a m o n g themselves, providing Malaysia's tourism industry players the opportunity to strengthen ties with their Indian counterparts.

This year, the 38th PATA Travel Mart attracted more than 1,000 delegates from over 60 countries and facilitating over 10,000 pre-matched appointments, as well as brought together qualified international buyers and sellers for face-to face meetings, educational forums and networking functions.

Last year, Malaysia received 27.4 million tourists, which was an increase of 6.7%.

This year Malaysia is expected to welcome of 29.4 million tourist arrivals and garner RM89 billion in tourist receipts.

Thailand Tourism Amazing Thailand Luxurious Pleasure Roadshow To keep the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s global focus on quality versus absolute numbers, TAT Mumbai has tied up with only the most exclusive standalone and chain hotels for the event titled Amazing Thailand Luxurious Pleasure Roadshow.

Over a dozen suppliers, including hotels and DMCs, were present at the event.

Ms Soraya Homchuen, Director, TAT, M u m b a i o f f i c e s a y s , “ TAT representatives from our regional offices in Chiang Rai, Koh Samui and TRAT are part of the delegation. Their participation is definitely an opportunity because they are able to share the intricacies of travel planning and execution in these destinations. We have definitely seen a firm shift as a direct result of our luxury-oriented initiatives in this market – from

Lanuza Surfing Festival

APCT Promotes South East Asia As A Single Tourist Destination To The Indian Traveller

The ASEAN Promotional Chapter for Tourism (APCT) – India Chapter got together in Mumbai to promote ASEAN as a single and collective tourism destination to the Indian audience.

Mr Manoharan Periasamy, Chairman APCT – India Chapter, also Director Tourism Malaysia, India, said, “South East Asia has always been an attractive destination for Indians. In fact, India has consistently been one of the top 10 tourist generating markets to this region. Historically Indians have been visiting Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. ASEAN has much to offer with the inherent diversity in terms of peoples, lifestyle, culture, religion and culinary experience, together with the rich natural landscape and deep historical heritage.”

ASEAN recognizes the strategic role of the Tourism Sector in its economic growth and hopes that by 2025, the region will be a quality tourism destination offering a unique, diverse experience.

Through the APCT, numerous initiatives are being taken to ensure that the tourists get the best during their holidays in the ASEAN region. Special emphasis is being laid on enhancing product development through regional

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packages, increase in public awareness of ASEAN products and offerings, facilitation of intra-ASEAN travel etc.

Each individual country has been assigned the role of lead coordinators to ensure that the tourists can expect world-class facilities when they visit the ASEAN. Areas like Homestay, Spa service, Security and safety guidelines, Clean tourist City standards, community based tourism standards are being finely looked into.

With some of the world's best travelling experience awaiting the tourists at the ASEAN region, the members of the travel trade were urged to create special ASEAN packages like the immensely popular European packages. The ASEAN region has a plethora of offerings for the traveller: the best shopping destinations, theme parks for children, unexplored islands and adventure, cruise tourism, exotic spa treatments and the most beautiful wedding and honeymoon locales.

Last year the ASEAN region saw 102 million visitors with Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, being the top 5 visited countries and Myanmar and Laos registering the highest growth of 53% and 10% respectively.

advertising to media and trade fams and of course, the important deals inked during earlier editions of our luxury roadshow. We have put special effort into bringing in brand new, hitherto unseen hotels and experiences to India for this third edition and I am certain that the travel trade will benefit from the people they are meeting here.”

Among branded chain-linked hotels, the delegation includes the Minor Hotel Group, the Conrad Koh Samui, Centara Grand at CentralWorld, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (A Luxury Collection Hotel) and Sofitel Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort.

L a n u za S u r f i n g Fe s t i va l 2 0 1 5 , Philippines will take place from 23 to 28 November, 2015.

The waves at Lanuza create awesome swells during this time of the year when the November winds bring along a perfect vibe for a dose of surf, sun and more fun.

Watch the much-awaited Lanuza Surfing Festival happens every November with

international, national and local surfers performing on surfboards, long boards and skim boards. The week-long festival promises to provide endless celebration in this beach paradise that is fast emerging as a premier surfing destination.

Crescent-shaped beaches dusted with talcum powder-like sand; uninhabited tropical islands, lush impenetrable jungles bristling with unique wildlife, the thrusting soaring capital of Manila, historic cities, a diverse local cuisine and culture. The Philippines has all this and more.

Go there and discover some of the 7,107 islands of this vibrant archipelago where English is widely spoken, the people are fun loving and life moves to a lilting beat.

Taiwan Gets Ready In Bettering MICE Destination Services With beautiful landscapes, diversified culture, appetizing cuisine, hospitable climate and people, Taiwan is an amazing destination for incentive travel groups and meeting planners.

Hotels such as the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the Grand Hotel Taipei, and Howard Plaza Hotel have renovated their rooms and facilities to welcome meeting and incentive groups with high standard modern services. In addition, there have been more and more newly invested international hotel chains in Taiwan in recent years including globally well known Regent, W Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Le Méridien and Humble House. The brand new Taipei Marriott Hotel just had a grand opening in August 2015, targeting large MICE group with event space of 1500 pax and 320 rooms.

Besides, construction of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2 is in full swing,

making Taipei surely Taiwan's most robust MICE destination.

With regard to the supports from the government, Taiwan Tourism Bureau provides subsidies to encourage incoming meeting and incentive travel groups including tour planning assistance, cultural performances and special souvenirs, etc. Financial grants range from USD 1,000 to 60,000 depending on group size .Last year in 2014, Taiwan climbed to 28th in global MICE ranking by ICCA, and propelled to No. 4 in Asia.

November - December, 2015 23

INTERNATIONAL PLUS Mauritius Tourism Switzerland Launches Roadshows In India #INLOVEWITHSWITZERLAND

M a u r i t i u s To u r i s m P r o m o t i o n Authority conducted 3 cities Luxury Roadshows from 24-28 August, 2015 in Mumbai, Bengaluru & Delhi.

20 stakeholders from Air Mauritius, Top Luxury Hotels, DMCs and activity co m p a n i e s p a r t i c i p ate d i n t h e roadshow. The objective of the event was to create a platform where the Indian travel trade partners could interact with the stakeholders and understand the destination better.

Mr. Arnaud Martin, Chairman of MTPA, said, “India represents a very fertile ground for future growth and we expect it to become the source market in the next five years. From January to July this

year we have had a tremendous growth of 21.5% as compared to last year and we expect to close the year at over 70,000 tourists from India.”

Mauritius has recently been adjudged as the “Best International L u xu r y We d d i n g Destination”.

Mr. Vivek Anand, Country Manager, MTPA said, “The incredible natural beauty of Mauritius is complemented by some of the best and most luxurious seaside resorts in stunningly picturesque surroundings. Mauritius is an ideal destination for the couple looking to tie the knot in a far off and enticing location. It is a great tribute to all the stakeholders of the Mauritian Tourism Industry who contributed towards the Wedding Planners Congress in May 2015 and it was a great honour for us to receive it on behalf of the Mauritian Tourism Industry.”

TCEB To Create Light Festival At Ratchaprasong Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) signed a partnership agreement with Amsterdam Light Festival to create a world-class light festival in Thailand. The partnership is tipped to impart new vigour to the Thai economy and restore the confidence in high level of safety that international visitors and event organisers can expect from Thailand as a top destination for tourism and events.

Mr. Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, Director of TCEB said, “TCEB has a mission to promote and facilitate development of international events, mega events and world-class festivals in Thailand. Strategically, we are focused on pooling in events from our bidding targets and increasing arrivals of international visitors by hosting international events and mega events, as well as profiling Thailand as the destination of international events and mega events through strong exposure in international media, and developing a network of public-private partnerships that will reinforce supportive role of TCEB in every step to increase Thai chances to win in world-class events.

We also invited Mr Rogier van der Heide, the world-renowned lighting designer who serves as Artistic Director of Amsterdam Light Festival, to survey potential locations for a large scale light festival in Thailand. The survey started with Ratchaprasong as a prioritised location due to its prominence as a

22

central district for business, trade and transport of Bangkok and Thailand at large, and not to mention that R a t c h a p r a s o n g S q u a r e Tr a d e Association is a strong ally of TCEB for our MICE industry promotion. It later exposed him to many other locations and attractions of Bangkok. We believe that the new partnership will send across a favourable signal for more international collaborations, leading to greater confidence of international visitors and event organisers to choose Ratchaprasong district as their destination.”

Mr Rogier van der Heide has previously completed numerous lighting design projects for well-known places all over the world. The light festival to be held late this year is an important project to drive forward Thai MICE industry in 2015. It will expectedly attract interested visitors around the world to Bangkok and Thailand about 1,036,300 international MICE visitors and generate a turnover of 106,780 million baht.

November - December, 2015

S w i t z e r l a n d To u r i s m h a s announced the launch of its 'In Love with Switzerland' Campaign for Mumbai, to celebrate 150 years of winter tourism. This campaign is to promote tourism to Switzerland from India, not only during summer but also during autumn and winter. The winter campaign was launched in presence of tourism regions from Switzerland - St. Moritz, Davos Klosters, Rhaetian Railways and Ticino.

After a relatively stagnant growth over the last 3 years, 2015 has seen a huge surge in Indian tourists with a growth of 26.7% recorded during Jan to June this year.

A lso the 'Grand Tour of Switzerland' was introduced – a 1600km road-trip that combines all of Switzerland's best touristic and nature highlights, in one scenic journey. This tour can be done from different gateways like Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lugano etc and can be split into any number of journeys.

M r. Claudio Zemp, Director – India, Switzerland Tourism, said, “As Indians are getting more and more adventurous and are looking for new experiences, we think they are now ready for a winter holiday. In view of this we are delighted to launch 'In Love with Switzerland' Campaign in India to promote the winter season. With this campaign we expect to see a rise of 15 to 20 % overnights in the winter months. We expect most of this growth to come from main metro cities as this product is for the more evolved tourist.”

Singapore Tourism Appoints TRAC As Its Marketing Representative in South India

With two existing offices in India in Delhi & Mumbai, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has appointed TRAC Representations as their marketing representative for the South India market to strengthen trade relations and execute marketing initiatives in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala. TRAC will be operating offices in Bangalore and Chennai for STB. Ms. Shreekala Sukumaran and Ms. Meenakshi Gupta have been appointed as marketing representative for Chennai & Bangalore market. Both have a strong background in each and every aspect the travel trade, which is an added advantage.

The key objective of the marketing representative is to enhance the positioning of Singapore as a favoured travel destination for leisure and business amongst the travellers from the South India market.

Chang Chee Pey, Executive Director for South Asia, Middle East and Africa, STB said, “We are pleased to have appointed TRAC as STB marketing representative for the South Indian market and confident that they can support our quality tourism strategies. We look

forward to work with TRAC to further strengthen our presence in South India and seek out new growth opportunities in the metro cities as well as Tier 2 markets.”

Commenting on being appointed as the Official Marketing Representative for Singapore Tourism Board in South India, Mr. Rajeev Nangia, COO, TRAC Representations said, “We are delighted with this appointment and privileged to be representing STB in South India.

Singapore has a lot to offer and promises the best of everything to the India traveller. The team is ready and looking forward to interact with the South India travel market and consumers.”

Singapore ranks amongst the most aspired travel destinations for Indians. It is consistently one of the top visited destinations for families, honeymooners, cruisers, business travellers and incentive groups from India. Visitor arrivals from India to Singapore reached more than 520,000 in the first half of 2015 with a 6% yearon-year growth. South India is an important source market with direct flights from 8 different cities to Singapore, contributing nearly 30% of Indian visitor arrivals in 2014.

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INTERNATIONAL PLUS Tourism Malaysia Unveils Special Tourism Packages At PATA Travel Mart 2015 Tourism Malaysia launched special tourism packages at the PATA Travel Mart 2015 in Bangalore.

At a special media briefing session, Tourism Malaysia's Deputy Director-General (International Promotion) Dato' Haji Azizan Noordin announced that special tourism packages have been developed in conjunction with the upcoming 1Malaysia Year-End Sale (1MYES), to be held from 14 November, 2015 to 3 January, 2016.

Mr Dato said,“India is a significant contributor to tourism in Malaysia. Last year, we had 770108 Indian visitors which is 18% growth from 2013 (650989). We are hopeful that MyFEST 2015 will keep Malaysia as top-of-themind tourist destination, encouraging Indian tourists to stay longer in order to enjoy the festival offerings nationwide.”

During the participation at the PATA Travel Mart, Tourism Malaysia also

organised v a r i o u s programmes for travel trade players to meet up and network a m o n g themselves, providing Malaysia's tourism industry players the opportunity to strengthen ties with their Indian counterparts.

This year, the 38th PATA Travel Mart attracted more than 1,000 delegates from over 60 countries and facilitating over 10,000 pre-matched appointments, as well as brought together qualified international buyers and sellers for face-to face meetings, educational forums and networking functions.

Last year, Malaysia received 27.4 million tourists, which was an increase of 6.7%.

This year Malaysia is expected to welcome of 29.4 million tourist arrivals and garner RM89 billion in tourist receipts.

Thailand Tourism Amazing Thailand Luxurious Pleasure Roadshow To keep the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s global focus on quality versus absolute numbers, TAT Mumbai has tied up with only the most exclusive standalone and chain hotels for the event titled Amazing Thailand Luxurious Pleasure Roadshow.

Over a dozen suppliers, including hotels and DMCs, were present at the event.

Ms Soraya Homchuen, Director, TAT, M u m b a i o f f i c e s a y s , “ TAT representatives from our regional offices in Chiang Rai, Koh Samui and TRAT are part of the delegation. Their participation is definitely an opportunity because they are able to share the intricacies of travel planning and execution in these destinations. We have definitely seen a firm shift as a direct result of our luxury-oriented initiatives in this market – from

Lanuza Surfing Festival

APCT Promotes South East Asia As A Single Tourist Destination To The Indian Traveller

The ASEAN Promotional Chapter for Tourism (APCT) – India Chapter got together in Mumbai to promote ASEAN as a single and collective tourism destination to the Indian audience.

Mr Manoharan Periasamy, Chairman APCT – India Chapter, also Director Tourism Malaysia, India, said, “South East Asia has always been an attractive destination for Indians. In fact, India has consistently been one of the top 10 tourist generating markets to this region. Historically Indians have been visiting Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. ASEAN has much to offer with the inherent diversity in terms of peoples, lifestyle, culture, religion and culinary experience, together with the rich natural landscape and deep historical heritage.”

ASEAN recognizes the strategic role of the Tourism Sector in its economic growth and hopes that by 2025, the region will be a quality tourism destination offering a unique, diverse experience.

Through the APCT, numerous initiatives are being taken to ensure that the tourists get the best during their holidays in the ASEAN region. Special emphasis is being laid on enhancing product development through regional

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packages, increase in public awareness of ASEAN products and offerings, facilitation of intra-ASEAN travel etc.

Each individual country has been assigned the role of lead coordinators to ensure that the tourists can expect world-class facilities when they visit the ASEAN. Areas like Homestay, Spa service, Security and safety guidelines, Clean tourist City standards, community based tourism standards are being finely looked into.

With some of the world's best travelling experience awaiting the tourists at the ASEAN region, the members of the travel trade were urged to create special ASEAN packages like the immensely popular European packages. The ASEAN region has a plethora of offerings for the traveller: the best shopping destinations, theme parks for children, unexplored islands and adventure, cruise tourism, exotic spa treatments and the most beautiful wedding and honeymoon locales.

Last year the ASEAN region saw 102 million visitors with Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, being the top 5 visited countries and Myanmar and Laos registering the highest growth of 53% and 10% respectively.

advertising to media and trade fams and of course, the important deals inked during earlier editions of our luxury roadshow. We have put special effort into bringing in brand new, hitherto unseen hotels and experiences to India for this third edition and I am certain that the travel trade will benefit from the people they are meeting here.”

Among branded chain-linked hotels, the delegation includes the Minor Hotel Group, the Conrad Koh Samui, Centara Grand at CentralWorld, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (A Luxury Collection Hotel) and Sofitel Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort.

L a n u za S u r f i n g Fe s t i va l 2 0 1 5 , Philippines will take place from 23 to 28 November, 2015.

The waves at Lanuza create awesome swells during this time of the year when the November winds bring along a perfect vibe for a dose of surf, sun and more fun.

Watch the much-awaited Lanuza Surfing Festival happens every November with

international, national and local surfers performing on surfboards, long boards and skim boards. The week-long festival promises to provide endless celebration in this beach paradise that is fast emerging as a premier surfing destination.

Crescent-shaped beaches dusted with talcum powder-like sand; uninhabited tropical islands, lush impenetrable jungles bristling with unique wildlife, the thrusting soaring capital of Manila, historic cities, a diverse local cuisine and culture. The Philippines has all this and more.

Go there and discover some of the 7,107 islands of this vibrant archipelago where English is widely spoken, the people are fun loving and life moves to a lilting beat.

Taiwan Gets Ready In Bettering MICE Destination Services With beautiful landscapes, diversified culture, appetizing cuisine, hospitable climate and people, Taiwan is an amazing destination for incentive travel groups and meeting planners.

Hotels such as the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the Grand Hotel Taipei, and Howard Plaza Hotel have renovated their rooms and facilities to welcome meeting and incentive groups with high standard modern services. In addition, there have been more and more newly invested international hotel chains in Taiwan in recent years including globally well known Regent, W Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Le Méridien and Humble House. The brand new Taipei Marriott Hotel just had a grand opening in August 2015, targeting large MICE group with event space of 1500 pax and 320 rooms.

Besides, construction of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2 is in full swing,

making Taipei surely Taiwan's most robust MICE destination.

With regard to the supports from the government, Taiwan Tourism Bureau provides subsidies to encourage incoming meeting and incentive travel groups including tour planning assistance, cultural performances and special souvenirs, etc. Financial grants range from USD 1,000 to 60,000 depending on group size .Last year in 2014, Taiwan climbed to 28th in global MICE ranking by ICCA, and propelled to No. 4 in Asia.

November - December, 2015 23

TRADE PLUS

TUNISIA

Business Networking at Epic Party

The Taste of North Africa

One of the not so famous destinations, Tunisia is the smallest country of Africa.

Famous city of Carthage as it has a wealth of ancient history to discover.

There's a wonderful collection of wellpreserved Roman ruins near Dougga.

City center of Tunis is a World Heritage a 7th century old town of narrow streets and nail-studded doors, also includes a large street market (souk), stylish french architecture and the Bardo Museum. As the 99% of the Sunni Muslims reside there are large forts, mosque, massive city walls and excellent museums specializing in 3rd century mosaics.

Activities

Travel Fraternity connecting with each other for a reason “Business and Promotion”, a networking business party organized by Mr. Ankur Kalra (Wellcome tours), Mr. Ajay Chhabria (Intime travels), Mr. Rohit Shorey (Destination Travel Services) and Mr. Siddharth (Jain-click2travel).

After the huge success of the first party in Jan 2015 at Delhi, they came up with another mega glamorous bash in Mumbai on 18 August, 2015 at Café Infinito, BKC. The event was hosted by Mumbai famous emcee Anie Noorish Shaikh.

The Key event sponsors were Nijhawan

Group, Address Group of Hotel- Dubai & Constance Group of Hotels, ARK TravelsMumbai and Sahib Ji Group- Delhi.

There were lots of prizes for the guests starting from-Air tickets to Oman, Land package & Maldives packages by Island group. Dubai packages by Lama, Fly & Ski Dubai by Ms. Sonalee and Mr. Carl

Vaz, Bali packages from Panaroma, 09 Nights package from Gold Coast Tourism Board in all luxury hotels.

Tashkent package with Air tickets by Dook and Leh Ladakh packages from Ravine Trek.

Coming up Bash will be in Delhi on 30 Jan, 2016.

Having a long coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, it has amazing endless sandy beaches with a perfect weather for travelers. Seaside resorts and towns offer a wide range of waterfront hotels, also water related activities like boating, fishing, and sailing, scuba diving and wind-surfing can be enjoyed.

It has a gateway to the Sahara Desert which offers travelers a colorful market, camel riding and sand dune trekking.

Mediterranean in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous and moving towards the south gives way to a hot, dry central plain. The south is semiarid, and merges into the Sahara.

Tourist Attractions Tunisia a destination which is appropriate for all the ages as it is traditional in site. It has white sand beaches as well as desert, one of the historic regions of North Africa. Some of the attractions are as follows:· Sidi Bou Said- A traditional attraction which looks classy with its extensive use of blue and white colours.

The village itself is a tourist attraction with fine architecture and natural beauty.

For Shopping it is the best destination, especially for souvenirs. Family House i.e an old house turned into museum is worth a visit. · Bardo MuseumThe major variety of Roman mosaics on display in this museum is most beautiful in the

world. A traditional attraction but it has all from the pre-historic artifacts to the modern jewellery. Also, have antiquities from the Ancient Greece, Tunisia and Islamic period. · Dougga- Located in the North-West region of Tunisia, it is an archaeological site. UNESCO qualified it as the World Heritage Site, as it is the best preserved Roman small town in North Africa. There are numerous pre-Roman monuments including Necropolis, Mausoleum, and temples. You will find market full of oldest earthworks. · El Djem- This place is famous for Amphitheatre, being one of the best preserved in the world. It's a three tier theatre with underground area as well. It is also a World Heritage Site. It hosts annual International Music festival. The museum contains a large selection of mosaics and a restored Roman villa, with all the mosaics in place and gives a real feel for their style of living. · Kairouan- It is fourth important holy city for

Muslims in Tunisia, also the oldest mosque in the country. Because of the cultural history and large mosques it has being added to the World Heritage Site.

Shops for carpets and Muslim clothes are famous.

Cuisine Tunisia food has a variety of Arabic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and French influences dishes. One will find fresh seafood while in the Sahara region, roast chicken and baked lamb dishes are popular throughout the country. Salads are an integral part of the diet. Tunisia doesn't have that great desserts, instead there are Arabic sweets and cakes to

choose from, filled with nuts and drenched in honey.

How to Travel Tunisia from India?

By Air is the shortest distance from India to Tunisia of nearly 9 hours. No airlines fly direct to Tunisia. Flights such as Air France, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Saudia, Egypt Air, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa fly to Tunisia from India.

Tunisia has 4 airports viz.

Tunis - Carthage Intl. (TUN), Habib Bourguiba Intl. (MIR), Djerba - Zaris (DJE) and Enfidha (NBE).

Climate Tu n i s i a ' s c l i m a t e i s

Some Interesting Facts About TUNISIA ! Tunisia officially known as the Tunisian Republic with Tunis as the capital. ! Tunisia is the most northern country in the whole of Africa with strong trade ties to Europe. ! The estimated population of this beautiful country is over 10 million. ! 98% of the population are Arab-

24

November - December, 2015

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Berber and small percentage being European, mostly from Italy and France with some Jewish residents. ! The highest point in Tunisia is Jebel ech Chambi which stretches 1,544m. ! The official language is Arabic, though many people also speak French. ! The main religion is Muslim.

! Kairouan is the fourth most important city in the Muslim world after Mecca. ! This country is the only country who ever had two presidents. ! This country is known for it’s Roman archaeological sites with Carthage being the most popular among tourists. ! Tunis is the only Tunisian area that enjoys the benefit of a tube service, the

others rely on coach, public bus and taxi services. ! Kebili has evidence of stone age settlers. ! The life expectancy in Tunisia is 74 years. ! 71% of adults can read. ! Tunisia is the world’s fourth-largest olive oil producer.

November - December, 2015 25

TRADE PLUS

TUNISIA

Business Networking at Epic Party

The Taste of North Africa

One of the not so famous destinations, Tunisia is the smallest country of Africa.

Famous city of Carthage as it has a wealth of ancient history to discover.

There's a wonderful collection of wellpreserved Roman ruins near Dougga.

City center of Tunis is a World Heritage a 7th century old town of narrow streets and nail-studded doors, also includes a large street market (souk), stylish french architecture and the Bardo Museum. As the 99% of the Sunni Muslims reside there are large forts, mosque, massive city walls and excellent museums specializing in 3rd century mosaics.

Activities

Travel Fraternity connecting with each other for a reason “Business and Promotion”, a networking business party organized by Mr. Ankur Kalra (Wellcome tours), Mr. Ajay Chhabria (Intime travels), Mr. Rohit Shorey (Destination Travel Services) and Mr. Siddharth (Jain-click2travel).

After the huge success of the first party in Jan 2015 at Delhi, they came up with another mega glamorous bash in Mumbai on 18 August, 2015 at Café Infinito, BKC. The event was hosted by Mumbai famous emcee Anie Noorish Shaikh.

The Key event sponsors were Nijhawan

Group, Address Group of Hotel- Dubai & Constance Group of Hotels, ARK TravelsMumbai and Sahib Ji Group- Delhi.

There were lots of prizes for the guests starting from-Air tickets to Oman, Land package & Maldives packages by Island group. Dubai packages by Lama, Fly & Ski Dubai by Ms. Sonalee and Mr. Carl

Vaz, Bali packages from Panaroma, 09 Nights package from Gold Coast Tourism Board in all luxury hotels.

Tashkent package with Air tickets by Dook and Leh Ladakh packages from Ravine Trek.

Coming up Bash will be in Delhi on 30 Jan, 2016.

Having a long coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, it has amazing endless sandy beaches with a perfect weather for travelers. Seaside resorts and towns offer a wide range of waterfront hotels, also water related activities like boating, fishing, and sailing, scuba diving and wind-surfing can be enjoyed.

It has a gateway to the Sahara Desert which offers travelers a colorful market, camel riding and sand dune trekking.

Mediterranean in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous and moving towards the south gives way to a hot, dry central plain. The south is semiarid, and merges into the Sahara.

Tourist Attractions Tunisia a destination which is appropriate for all the ages as it is traditional in site. It has white sand beaches as well as desert, one of the historic regions of North Africa. Some of the attractions are as follows:· Sidi Bou Said- A traditional attraction which looks classy with its extensive use of blue and white colours.

The village itself is a tourist attraction with fine architecture and natural beauty.

For Shopping it is the best destination, especially for souvenirs. Family House i.e an old house turned into museum is worth a visit. · Bardo MuseumThe major variety of Roman mosaics on display in this museum is most beautiful in the

world. A traditional attraction but it has all from the pre-historic artifacts to the modern jewellery. Also, have antiquities from the Ancient Greece, Tunisia and Islamic period. · Dougga- Located in the North-West region of Tunisia, it is an archaeological site. UNESCO qualified it as the World Heritage Site, as it is the best preserved Roman small town in North Africa. There are numerous pre-Roman monuments including Necropolis, Mausoleum, and temples. You will find market full of oldest earthworks. · El Djem- This place is famous for Amphitheatre, being one of the best preserved in the world. It's a three tier theatre with underground area as well. It is also a World Heritage Site. It hosts annual International Music festival. The museum contains a large selection of mosaics and a restored Roman villa, with all the mosaics in place and gives a real feel for their style of living. · Kairouan- It is fourth important holy city for

Muslims in Tunisia, also the oldest mosque in the country. Because of the cultural history and large mosques it has being added to the World Heritage Site.

Shops for carpets and Muslim clothes are famous.

Cuisine Tunisia food has a variety of Arabic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and French influences dishes. One will find fresh seafood while in the Sahara region, roast chicken and baked lamb dishes are popular throughout the country. Salads are an integral part of the diet. Tunisia doesn't have that great desserts, instead there are Arabic sweets and cakes to

choose from, filled with nuts and drenched in honey.

How to Travel Tunisia from India?

By Air is the shortest distance from India to Tunisia of nearly 9 hours. No airlines fly direct to Tunisia. Flights such as Air France, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Saudia, Egypt Air, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa fly to Tunisia from India.

Tunisia has 4 airports viz.

Tunis - Carthage Intl. (TUN), Habib Bourguiba Intl. (MIR), Djerba - Zaris (DJE) and Enfidha (NBE).

Climate Tu n i s i a ' s c l i m a t e i s

Some Interesting Facts About TUNISIA ! Tunisia officially known as the Tunisian Republic with Tunis as the capital. ! Tunisia is the most northern country in the whole of Africa with strong trade ties to Europe. ! The estimated population of this beautiful country is over 10 million. ! 98% of the population are Arab-

24

November - December, 2015

www.safariplus.co.in

www.safariplus.co.in

Berber and small percentage being European, mostly from Italy and France with some Jewish residents. ! The highest point in Tunisia is Jebel ech Chambi which stretches 1,544m. ! The official language is Arabic, though many people also speak French. ! The main religion is Muslim.

! Kairouan is the fourth most important city in the Muslim world after Mecca. ! This country is the only country who ever had two presidents. ! This country is known for it’s Roman archaeological sites with Carthage being the most popular among tourists. ! Tunis is the only Tunisian area that enjoys the benefit of a tube service, the

others rely on coach, public bus and taxi services. ! Kebili has evidence of stone age settlers. ! The life expectancy in Tunisia is 74 years. ! 71% of adults can read. ! Tunisia is the world’s fourth-largest olive oil producer.

November - December, 2015 25

INTERNATIONAL PLUS THAI Airways Wins TTG Travel Awards 2015

Monaco To Host Celebrity Designer Narendra Kumar

For Best South-East Asian Airline Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand Minister of Tourism and Sports, congratulated Mr. K r i t t a p h o n Chantalitanon, Vice President of Aviation Services S u p p o r t Department, (THAI), who accepted the TTG Travel Awards for Best South-East Asian Airline at the 26th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2015 ceremony. Also present at the event were Mrs. Petchpring Sarasin, THAI Vice President of Corporate Image & Communications

Department and Mr. Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media.

The event was held at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Conventions Centre at Central World, where over 500 guests and award recipients were present.

During the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015 collection, Celebrity Designer Mr. Narendra Kumar was presented with a voucher for a stay at Hotel Fairmont, Monaco by Mr.

Rajeev Nangia, Director, Monaco Government Tourist Bureau. The designer showcased his collection inspired by charismatic fashion character and style of Monaco.

Equestrian Activities In Jamaica Jamaica beautiful island that offers fa nta st i c b e a c h e s , p i c t u re s q u e landscapes and broad expanses of rugged terrain, there is no better way to explore the mountain trails, the peaceful meadows and the sandy shores of the island than by horseback. The island country is not only familiar as wedding and honeymoon destination, but is also popular for family vacations for its adventurous equestrian activities.

Caymanas Park situated in Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica promises one to be the most fun-filled experience of equestrian activities. For those travelling with families, the fully staffed Kiddies Stable is open for childrencentred activities on racing days.

Experience the thrill of riding a beautiful horse through the scenic countryside, along the shore to a beautiful, whitesand beach where your dream of riding a horse into the sea becomes a reality.

Braco Stables is a truly fun and enjoyable equestrian experience for the whole family offering you a ride with trained guides. Your knowledgeable guide will give you a constant narration of the scenery and area, telling the story of Jamaica along the way.

It is well known for its love and passion for sports. With fun filled equestrian activities to unforgettable experience to elegant and vibrant views, the land of Wood and Water has a lot to offer to its tourist. Whether an experienced horse rider or a first timer, horse back rides in Jamaica will be an incredible experience.

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November - December, 2015

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www.safariplus.co.in

November - December, 2015 27

INTERNATIONAL PLUS THAI Airways Wins TTG Travel Awards 2015

Monaco To Host Celebrity Designer Narendra Kumar

For Best South-East Asian Airline Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand Minister of Tourism and Sports, congratulated Mr. K r i t t a p h o n Chantalitanon, Vice President of Aviation Services S u p p o r t Department, (THAI), who accepted the TTG Travel Awards for Best South-East Asian Airline at the 26th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2015 ceremony. Also present at the event were Mrs. Petchpring Sarasin, THAI Vice President of Corporate Image & Communications

Department and Mr. Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media.

The event was held at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Conventions Centre at Central World, where over 500 guests and award recipients were present.

During the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015 collection, Celebrity Designer Mr. Narendra Kumar was presented with a voucher for a stay at Hotel Fairmont, Monaco by Mr.

Rajeev Nangia, Director, Monaco Government Tourist Bureau. The designer showcased his collection inspired by charismatic fashion character and style of Monaco.

Equestrian Activities In Jamaica Jamaica beautiful island that offers fa nta st i c b e a c h e s , p i c t u re s q u e landscapes and broad expanses of rugged terrain, there is no better way to explore the mountain trails, the peaceful meadows and the sandy shores of the island than by horseback. The island country is not only familiar as wedding and honeymoon destination, but is also popular for family vacations for its adventurous equestrian activities.

Caymanas Park situated in Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica promises one to be the most fun-filled experience of equestrian activities. For those travelling with families, the fully staffed Kiddies Stable is open for childrencentred activities on racing days.

Experience the thrill of riding a beautiful horse through the scenic countryside, along the shore to a beautiful, whitesand beach where your dream of riding a horse into the sea becomes a reality.

Braco Stables is a truly fun and enjoyable equestrian experience for the whole family offering you a ride with trained guides. Your knowledgeable guide will give you a constant narration of the scenery and area, telling the story of Jamaica along the way.

It is well known for its love and passion for sports. With fun filled equestrian activities to unforgettable experience to elegant and vibrant views, the land of Wood and Water has a lot to offer to its tourist. Whether an experienced horse rider or a first timer, horse back rides in Jamaica will be an incredible experience.

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November - December, 2015

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www.safariplus.co.in

November - December, 2015 27

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