Ti may 2013

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Vol. 16

No. 01

Park Plaza

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May 2013

Reg. No. KL/TV (N) 432/2012-2014

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Cruise

Ethiopia Oman Air

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he role of Government in tourism development has been redefined from that of a regulator to that of a catalyst. Apart from marketing and promotion, the focus of tourism development plans is now on integrated development of enabling infrastructure through effective partnership with various stake holders.

As per the working strategy for the 12th five year plan the Ministry of Tourism has adopted a ‘propoor tourism’ approach which could contribute significantly to poverty reduction. This has been stated in the Annual Report of the Ministry of

Tourism for the year 2012-13 released recently.

The report says that the Ministry of Tourism has been making sustained efforts to augment the tourism infrastructure across the country.

Detailed discussions were held with the State and UT Governments to prioritise projects to be taken up for funding during the year 2012-13 and out of the 54 Mega tourism projects identified, 40 have already been sanctioned till the end of January, 2013. The mega projects are a judicious mix of culture, heritage, spiritual, and eco-tourism and aim to give tourists a holistic perspective.

Contd. on page 13

head of the Asia-Pacific division of Egon Zehnder International, a firm focused on advisory leadership in aviation, travel and hospitality.

“I am a native of Chennai and I am excited about returning to India to

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irAsia India, Joint venture of low cost airline major Air Asia, Tata Sons Limited and Mr. Arun Bathia of Telestra Tradeplace Pvt. Ltd. announced the appointment of Mr. Mrithyunjay Chandilya (Mittu Chandilya) as its Chief Executive

Contd. on page 13 Officer, who will take charge on June 1.

33-year-old Mr. Mittu will be the youngest CEO of Indian aviation sector and currently he is based at Singapore as a management consultant whose last appointment was as the

Macau

May 2013

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May 2013

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‘Emergent Leaderships”

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orld stares in wonder at the outperformance of Travel & Tourism industry. Its growing faster than manufacturing, retail, financial services and communications. Figures loud an increase of 3% in GDP and 1 in 11 jobs are from Tourism sector. While Europe and US saw a sluggish growth of 1% to 2%, G20 nations such as South Korea, China, South Africa, and Indonesia counter balanced it by 6% to 10% growth. WTTC is envisaging the Travel & Tourism industry is going to increase the contribution to GDP by 3.2% in 2013 by supporting almost 266 million jobs in 2013 with an expansion of 4.4% on average per year in the next 10 years. The two-thirds of the additional jobs are expected to in Asia.

Asia’s middle classes will see an exponent increase in income. Mighty China will have the reign here in tourism sector too overtaking United States as the world’s largest Travel & Tourism economy, in terms of total GDP terms and the size of the outbound market.

The question of leadership influence arise here by how do we facilitate the growth of our industry responsibly and sustainably, without destroying our planet in the process. The

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dvancing economic diversification, cultural and environmental preservation through tourism are the key objectives of a new Strategic Partnership signed between UNWTO and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) on the occasion of the PATA Annual Summit (25-28 April, Bangkok, Thailand).

The lasting support to the development objectives and the positioning of tourism as a central contributor to economic growth and sustainability in Asia are at the centre of the Strategic Partnership signed by UNWTO Secretary-General, Mr. Taleb Rifai, and PATA CEO, Mr. Martin Craigs.

“We are proud to further deepen our relationship with PATA, a leading voice of tourism in Asia Pacific”, said Mr. Taleb Rifai, attending the PATA Annual Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

“In providing market intelligence, setting global standards and joining our voices to advocate for the value of tourism, this partnership will help the continued growth of tourism in Asia and the spreading of its socio-economic benefits in one of the most dynamic regions of the world”, he added.

“On behalf of PATA members, public and private, large and small across the

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17 time zones and 104 destinations we serve, I am delighted to initiate the new Strategic Partnership with UNWTO.” Mr. Craigs said: “I’m warmly welcoming Taleb Rifai to PATA’s first Next Generation Summit and the 62nd AGM. PATA’s balanced business building embracing the Complete Visitor Economy are closely aligned to UNWTO’s vital global mission”, he added.

The Strategic Partnership includes a series of projects, such as a PATA/ UNWTO Forum on Marketing Outlook and joint research. The first research initiative will address air connectivity and its impact on tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, and is expected to be implemented already this year, in collaboration with the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia-Pacific Cities (TPO). Other topics include visa facilitation, taxation, aviation policies as well as consumer and enterprise protection.

The UNWTO/PATA partnership builds on a track record of successful joint activities, such as the annual UNWTO/ PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook, launched in 2007 in collaboration with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Municipal Government of Guilin in China.

travel industry should be prepared to take up the 2 billion new middle class international travelers from China and India.

Travel industry needs the kind of leadership that can generate growth, jobs, prosperity and sustainability at both global and regional level, like no other industry on this planet.

With leadership, however, comes responsibility. The world is changing dramatically. Global economies are shifting, populations are growing, social classes are fluctuating, and the world’s wealth is being redistributed. Consequently there will be a shift in the ‘world order’ of Travel & Tourism. This is our Time for Leadership”. When we analyse the Indian context, is our leaders in the industry are capable of lead us to the new horizon? Can they dictate the terms with authority for our requirement like many other industry leaders do it for their sector? Hope the formation of FAITH is the start of new innings in Indian Tourism scenario.

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ver the past decades, Asia and the Pacific has consolidated its position not only as one of the major tourism destination regions, but also as an increasingly important outbound market.

Asia accounts for 14 of the world´s top 50 source markets in terms of international expenditure. ‘Key Outbound Tourism Markets in South-East Asia’, a new joint report by UNWTO and Tourism Australia, responds to the growing need to better understand five of these dynamic source markets and the opportunity they represent to destinations around the world.

‘Key Outbound Tourism Markets in South-East Asia,’ launched at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), Australia´s premier tourism trade event (Sydney, 26 April), provides an up-todate perspective on major tourism trends and developments in five key South-East Asian outbound markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In 2012, these five countries accounted for US$ 49 billion in international tourism expenditure, almost doubling up from US$ 25 billion in 2006. The increasing size of the prospering middle class in SouthEast Asia is a crucial factor behind the growth in travel out of Asian markets.

“According to UNWTO’s long-term outlook in Tourism Towards 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals generated by source markets in Asia and the Pacific is expected to more than double from 205 million in 2010 to 541

million in 2030. UNWTO is very pleased to have partnered with Tourism Australia in producing this report that sheds new light on the travel trends of some of these countries and thus empowers destinations in Asia and beyond to be more competitive when approaching these fast growing source markets”, said UNWTO SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Taleb Rifai.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Mr. Andrew McEvoy said that the study would help the Australian tourism industry to better understand, communicate with, and serve these five, key emerging outbound markets. “Each market is different, but they all possess significant potential, which we need to understand to really make the most of this Asian Century,” Mr. McEvoy noted.

In addition to economic and demographic factors, the region’s expansion has also been boosted by developments at the technological and supply-side levels. This includes a boom in air travel, driven largely by the emergence and expansion of low-cost carriers, and the growing access to the internet.

‘Key Outbound Tourism Markets in South-East Asia´ is one of a number of collaboration initiatives between UNWTO and Australia in recent years.

It is hoped that the report will serve as a useful resource for destination planners, strategists, marketers and researchers, to better understand the characteristics and potential of outbound travel from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Managing Editor: Ravisankar K.V. Executive Editor: Rajani A. Art Editor: N. Bhattathiri Associate Editor: P. Gopalakrishnan Sub Editors: Rahul Krishnan, Anoop B. Special Correspontant: James Joseph Senior Layout Artist: Vijayagopalan G. Marketing: Ravikumar.K. (AGM) Mob: +919847560531 Director - International Marketing - Theresa Van Den Dool Consultants: Baby Mathew (Hospitality) Ashokan C.V. (Technical) R. Bhadrakumar FCA& D Ravi FCA (Financial) P. Govardhan (Legal) Dr. S. G. Pandalai (Editorial) Business Offices: UK-England: T. Haridas (Advisor) 86 Tooting High St. London SW 17 0RN Mob:+447775833754 New Delhi: D. Anil Kumar Tel: +91 11-24634248, Mob: +91 98681 23311, Mumbai: K.V. Sathyanath Tel: +91 22 29209285 Kolkata: Jayasree Singh Tel: +91 33 24187750 Mob: +91 9433060333 Bangalore: Damodaran K. Nair Mob: +91 9035616040 Hyderabad: Premraj A. Mob: +91 9446514732, Pondichery: K.Ramasubramanian Mob: +91 98949 77161 No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of Tourism India Publications Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2012

May 2013

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arlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, announced the promotion of Mr. K.B. Kachru to chairman of the hotel group in South Asia, and the appointment of Mr. Raj Rana succeeding him as chief executive officer. Mr. Kachru and Mr. Rana will both report directly to Simon C. Barlow, president, Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, who is based in Singapore. The changes will take effect on July 1, 2013.

In his new role as chairman, Mr. Kachru will continue to drive the growth of the company’s hotels in South Asia, as well as mentor Mr. Rana in his new role as Chief Executive Officer.

“K.B. is the founder of Carlson Rezidor’s hotel business in India, and I am personally very pleased that he has accepted this very important and strategic position as chairman of our South Asia business.

He has been instrumental in building the company in India over the past 15 years, and it is very important to Carlson Rezidor that we maintain continuity and preserve our position as the number one International hotel company in India by number of hotels,” said Mr. Simon C. Barlow.

Mr. Rana, a 22-year veteran of Carlson Rezidor, is a welcome addition to the South Asia management team. Mr. Rana, a US national born in Delhi, is an alumnus of the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, where he was awarded a diploma in Hotel Management. Mr. Rana was most recently the vice president, Radisson Franchise Operations, Americas, based in Minneapolis.

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ark Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge opens its door to welcome international and domestic guests visiting Kolkata, a major commercial, cultural and educational hub in eastern India. Park Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge is the first Carlson Rezidor hotel in eastern India.

Park Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge is a

“I am very excited to welcome an executive of the caliber of Raj Rana, who joins our South Asia management team with a wealth of international hotel management experience, Mr. K.B. Kachru having held numerous senior positions at Carlson Rezidor hotels in the United States and in Europe over the past 20 years,” said Mr. Simon C. Barlow. “Raj has proven ability to work exceedingly well with third party owners and Mr. Raj Rana possesses exceptional relationship skills.

He has recently demonstrated a high level of skill in capturing market share and driving financial success across a large portfolio of hotels in the U.S., whilst at the same time delivering excellent guest experiences. Raj will be a valuable addition to our South Asia team and his appointment also marks the beginning of the next phase of growth for Carlson Rezidor in India, where we are on track to have 100 operating hotels by 2015.”

Rana starts his new role on April 1, and will work alongside Kachru until June 30.

92-room hotel, strategically located in the upscale Ballygunge area, close to local attractions such as the Howrah Bridge, Kali Temple, the Indian Museum and St. Paul’s Cathedral. The hotel has 14,800 square feet of banqueting facilities, including a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 900 attendees, making it an excellent venue

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he Hill Forts of Rajasthan is a serial nomination consisting of six sites located on rocky outcrops of the Aravalli mountain range. They represent Rajput military hill architecture, which are exceptional examples of centres of Rajput power and control, are reflections of courtly culture and patronage of arts and music, their mercantile business, etc. The structural remains/ruins range from 8th to 19th century A.D. and comprises multigated approaches through massive and high fortification walls, palaces, temples, memorials and water reservoirs. The extensive fortifications – up to 20 kilometres in circumference – exploit the contours of the hills, and specifically the river at Gagron, the dense forest at Ranthambhore, and the desert at Jaisalmer.

for business and social events, from small to large scale. Recreational facilities at the hotel include a full gymnasium with spa facility and an infinity pool with attached Jacuzzi.

Park Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge also offers a range of dining options, including an open air lounge bar with a 20ft tall Buddha statue as an added attraction, a restaurant grill and a rooftop restaurant with a dance floor.

Park Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge is designed to be contemporary to reflect the modern outlook of its guests. It has incorporated abundance of natural light and greenery as part of its design to bring nature into the hotel. The interiors of the hotel consists of an inviting lobby with vibrant colors providing a warm welcome to guests returning from business meetings or exploring the city.

Mr. R.K Gupta, Managing Director of the Mukti Group, which owns the hotel said, “We chose to partner with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group as we believe that they have the expertise in managing successful hotels. We hope that visitors to West Bengal will choose to stay at the Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge as it provides an unforgettable stay experience. We are confident that our hotel will make its mark on the hospitality landscape and at the

The six sites are Chittaurgarh Fort at Chittaurgarh district, Kumbhalgarh Fort at Rajsamand district, Ranthambhore Fort at Sawai Madhopur district, Jaisalmer Fort at Jaisalmer district, Amber Fort at Jaipur district, and Gagron Fort at Jhalawar district.

The nomination dossier on Hill Forts of Rajasthan comprising five forts namely Chittaurgarh Fort, Kumbhalgarh Fort, Ranthambhore Fort, Amber Fort and Gagron Fort was prepared by State Government of Rajasthan and was sent to World Heritage Centre in January, 2011. Later, a two member ICOMOS (International Council On Monuments And Sites) Advisory Mission consisting of Mrs. Susan Denyor and Dr. Giles Tillotson visited Jaipur on 23rd November, 2012 and held a meeting with ASI and State Government of Rajasthan officials.

In terms of categories of cultural property set out in Article 1 of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, this is a serial nomination of six sites. The ICOMOS in its report has recommended that the Hill Forts of Rajasthan be inscribed on the World Heritage List on the basis of Criteria (ii) and (iii).

This is the first site to be recommended for inscription on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list after Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch took over as the Union Minister for Culture in late 2012.

same time contribute to the community and the growth of West Bengal.”

“The Park Plaza brand is known the world over for delivering outstanding value by combining contemporary design and modern facilities with warm and engaging service. Now with the opening of Park Plaza Kolkata Ballygunge, travelers will be able to enjoy the Park Plaza experience when they visit West Bengal,” said Mr. K.B. Kachru, Eexecutive Vice President, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

Park Plaza is Carlson Rezidor’s fullservice, upper midscale hotel brand for business and leisure travellers. With award-winning meeting facilities, trendsetting design and staff who live the brand’s value proposition by going out of their way to show their appreciation to guests through smart, spirited service, Park Plaza offers outstanding customer value.

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he Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management (PolyU) have released their joint publication, the Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2013-2017. The new forecasts on the complete visitor economy will make it easier for tourism organisations to anticipate demand trends and manage supply.

For the first time, PATA’s Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2013-2017 have been produced in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management. The annual and quarterly forecasts cover a fiveyear horizon (up from three) and include price elasticity variables for most of the destinations covered.

High-level snapshots from the forecasts show that: • Visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific region will continue to grow with an average annual growth rate of 4.1% over the period 2013-2017 and reach 581 million by 2017 • Northeast Asia will maintain a dominant position in the inbound market of Asia Pacific, and its market share will reach 53.52% by 2017

• China will continue to be the top inbound destination in the Asia Pacific, peaking at 147.4 million visitors in 2017 • Hong Kong SAR will surpass the USA to be the second largest inbound destination in Asia Pacific in 2015 • Visitor arrivals to the Asia Pacific from China will exceed 100 million by 2015 • Cambodia, the Maldives, Chinese Taipei, Bhutan and Mongolia are the top five fastest growing destinations in terms of visitor arrivals over the period 20132017.

T a k e n together these projections provide essential information for tourism planners and operators alike.

The forecasts aim to help destinations set strategy for the coming years by supporting the complete visitor economy in both long-term decision and policy making by predicting arrivals, tourism receipts and departures according to country/region of origins for 41 destinations.

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The cruise industry needs to play its part in fighting visa bureaucracy and deterring more taxation” urges Mr. David Scowsill, CEO and President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Speaking at the ‘Cruise Shipping Miami’ Conference, Mr. Scowsill complimented the cruise sector for making a vital and rapidly growing contribution to the global Travel & Tourism industry but called on it to come together with other sectors of the Industry to speak with “One Voice” and ensure visa processing and taxes, which support growth, remain high on governments’ agendas.

Mr. Scowsill explains: “Visa processes are needed which are transparent, cost

effective and streamlined to enable travellers to move around the world quickly, efficiently and with minimum ‘hassle’. The cruise sector is looking to open up new markets including China, where a growing middle class is expressing a desire to cruise and see the world. Lengthy and complicated visa processes for potential Chinese, Russian and Indian passengers will hamper that growth.”

WTTC undertook a joint study with UNWTO to determine the economic value and job creation potential of improvements in visa procedures and policies. The research showed that improvements within G20 countries could generate up to 112 million additional tourists, increase tourism receipts by up to US$ 206 billion

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of the monuments including Sun Temple Konark is a continuous process which is executed by ASI as per the resources available. In addition CBRI Roorkee, has been assigned the work of structural investigations. The work of peripheral development is taken up by Indian Oil Foundation under National Culture Fund, to be controlled and supervised by the ASI.

nion Minister for Culture Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that the Sun Temple Konark in Odisha is a protected monument of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and conservation/ maintenance work of it is attended regularly. Full care is being taken by the ASI for the upkeep and protection of the Temple Konark in Odisha.

Ms. Katoch said, conservation work

“I am delighted to recommend these next generation forecasts to PATA members and associates. The scope and quality of the forecasts will add value to our many different members across 17 time zones and many different functional groups,” said Mr. Martin J. Craigs, CEO, PATA. “We are very pleased to be part of the new PATA NextGen forecasting initiative, as transferring our knowledge to practice has been high on our school’s research agenda,” said Prof. Kaye Chon, Dean of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Published annually with a quarterly breakdown, the Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2013-2017 will include information about visitor arrivals to select PATA member economies from key source markets, visitor expenditures in PATA member economies, and visitor departures of member economies. The annual edition of the forecasts will also

and add 5 million jobs over three years.

The findings were tabled at the meeting of the G20 Ministers of Tourism at the WTTC meeting in Mexico last May and the declaration from that meeting was submitted to the G20 Leaders. It was the first time that Travel & Tourism had been included in the G20 World Leaders’ Declaration.

Mr. Scowsill says: “Leaders are beginning to get the message but Governments need to understand how much revenue they are missing out on by not having progressive visa policies.

Rampant taxation in the aviation sector in most parts of the world demonstrates that governments view passengers as a revenue source rather than a revenue generator; I’m asking the cruise sector to play their part in ensuring that taxes stimulate growth, rather than thwart it.”

He congratulated the industry on being the fastest-growing sector of travel & tourism. CLIA’s industry outlook forecasts that 20.9 million passengers will take a cruise in 2013 – an increase of 3.3% on passenger numbers in 2012.

The worldwide cruise market for 2013 is estimated to be worth US$ 36 billion – up 4.8% on last year. Total worldwide cruise capacity in 2013 will be around 439,000

feature reports analysing the forecasts and their implications, taking into account particular trends for certain regions.

Though it is clear that demand for inbound and outbound travel in Asia Pacific is growing, it is the details shown by forecasts of travel demand that will guide the visitor economy in the measurement of tourist arrivals and expenditure. Forecasts can help justify decision-making in terms of planning investments in visitor infrastructure, human resource management, marketing resource allocation decisions and new product development.

The forecasts have been created using a combination of statistical and judgmental methodologies, with a view to generating more accurate and reliable forecasts. In other words, this forecasting system incorporates advanced econometric techniques as well as expert opinion in forecasting the demand for travel from various source markets to destinations within the Asia Pacific region.

The outputs of this forecasting system will provide useful information on the future trends of the complete visitor economy (measured by tourist arrivals, departures and tourist expenditures).

PATA government members and Premier Partners will have access to the forecasts included in their membership benefits through PATA’s insights tool, PATAmPOWER. Other members may purchase the forecasts. Customized forecasts are also available upon request, for an additional fee. passengers - an increase of 3% on 2012. But Mr. Scowsill says connectivity with other sectors is vital.

Finally, Mr. Scowsill is calling on the cruise industry to play its part in sustainable growth which ensures benefits for consumers, businesses, local people and the environment. Over the next ten years, with a significant shift in terms of Travel & Tourism GDP from the mature to the newly emerged and emerging markets, WTTC forecasts that China will overtake the US by 2023 as the world’s largest Travel & Tourism economy. He says, “I know that the cruise industry is inextricably linked to the environment and you are dedicated to preserving the marine life and oceans upon which your ships sail. CLIA members have adopted aggressive programmes of waste minimisation, waste reuse and waste stream management. I ask you to continue with valuable policies such as these and play your part in finding the right balance between people, planet and profits.”

“Engaging with policy-makers from governments and international organisations is central to WTTC’s mission.

Getting our message across is vital. But we cannot do this alone. It does not matter who leads and who follows, but it is vital that private and public sector come together to speak and that all sectors of our industry unite, so that our messages coalesce and we state our case in terms which make governments and world leaders sit up and listen. We call on the cruise industry to play a part in doing this with ‘One Voice’,” Mr. Scowsill concluded.

May 2013

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nion Tourism Minister Mr. K. Chiranjeevi has said that the conclusion of the quick random survey undertaken by ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation are incorrect.

The survey has concluded that there has been a decrease of 25% in foreign tourist inflow and a decrease of 35% in women foreign tourist inflow in India since December 2012. The Minister said that as the figures given below clearly show that the number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during January, February and March 2013 have registered positive growth over the corresponding months of 2012:

for various reasons.

Ministry of Tourism has already posted its advisory on the website www.incredibleindia. org indicating that India remains a safe destination for international visitors including women tourists.

Mr. Chiranjeevi said that Ministry of Tourism has also written to all the Chief Secretaries of the State Governments and the Union Territory Administrations to take immediate and effective steps for ensuring conducive and friendly environment for all tourists. They have also been requested to publicize the steps

Period FTAs in 2013 (P) FTAs in 2012 (P) Growth rate

(in lakh) (in lakh) in 2013 over 2012 January 6.99 6.81 2.6% February 6.88 6.77 1.6% March 6.40 6.23 2.8% January - March 20.27 19.81 2.3% *P: Provisional Estimates *The gender-wise break-up of the FTAs for 2012 and 2013 is not available.

The minister said that Travel Advisories are issued by various countries from time to time, advising their citizens to avoid travel or to take precautions while travelling to other countries/certain areas in other countries

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s a major initiative to promote Tourism in Kashmir Valley, the Union Minister for Tourism Mr. K. Chiranjeevi has announced that “Kashmir Festival 2013” will be held for a fortnight from May 14 to 29 at different places in the State of Jammu & Kashmir. The Minister said, his Ministry is providing financial support for the festival, which will be organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department at various venues in Kashmir.

In Srinagar, main venue for the event is Kashmir Haat where the Festival will be inaugurated by Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Minister for Tourism, J&K. At the Kashmir Haat, stalls have been set-up for display of handicraft, handloom, agro products etc, while the traditional cuisine (Wazwaan) would also be available for visitors. Daily cultural programmes will also be organized for entertainment of the visitors.

Apart from Srinagar, events are also slated at tourist resorts of Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Yousmarg, Verinag, Kokernag, Daksum, Aharabal and Manasbal with a special Qawali programme by

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he revamped Incredible India website www.incredibleindia.org has crossed two million hits mark recently. It has started receiving almost six thousand hits every day. This major increase is the result of the Ministry of Tourism’s new policy to place a large number of services on the website in pursuit of the directions of Mr. K. Chiranjeevi, Union Minister for Tourism to concentrate marketing efforts through the internet in proportion to the number of potential tourists using the internet vis-à-vis other traditional media.

A study commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism revealed that in USA, 15 percent of those polled received the Incredible India message through the internet, 15 percent through television, 26 percent through the print media and the remaining through at least two of the three media. In Australia, the figures

being taken/proposed to be taken to increase the sense of security amongst the present/prospective visitors as also to counter the negative publicity, the Minister added.

Aslam Sabri and a party at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar on May 15 as one of the highlights. Other main events of the Festival include a Jehlum River Cruise, Shikara Race on the Dal Lake, Photography Exhibition at SKICC, Painting Competition at Nigeen Club/Martand Sun Temple, Golf Championship at Kashmir Golf Course, Polo Match at Sonamarg, Horse Races at various resorts, Adventure Activities – Cycle Race, Roller Skating, Paragliding, Trekking Expeditions, Rafting Competition, All Terrain Vehicle Demonstrations etc.

Local service providers such as hoteliers, Guest House owners including House Boat owners of Kashmir Division have already offered discount of 20-30% as a special case for the tour packages/ tourists during the forthcoming tourist season.

During the Festival, the tourist hub areas of the Boulevard will wear a festive look as Houseboats, Shikara Ghats, Hotels are being illuminated. Tourist visiting Kashmir during the Festival will be able to savour the local culture/ traditions while enjoying the events.

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he Secretary General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mr. Taleb Rifai accompanied by Union Tourism Minister Mr. K.Chiranjeevi handed over an “Open Letter” to the Vice President of India, Mr. Hamid Ansari on the occasion of the UNWTO Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development held at Hyderabad. The letter jointly signed by Mr. Rifai and Mr. David Scowsill, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) urges world leaders to join hands with the leaders from other countries as well as with UNWTO and WTTC to position travel and tourism higher on the global agenda.

The Open Letter says travel and tourism currently accounts directly and indirectly for about 3% to 5% of global GDP, as well as 30% of the world’s export of services. If the

were 14 percent for the internet, 19 percent for television and 22 percent for the print media and the remaining through two or more media.

Through the Incredible India website it is now possible for an internet user sitting in any part of the world to book a domestic airline ticket in India on the five main domestic airlines and also to book a hotel room at any hotel in India that is a member of one of the three major hotel associations.

The spurt in the popularity of incredibledindia.org is also attributed to a number of other services that have been put on the website, in collaboration with Google and its affiliate YouTube. Now anyone can watch complete recordings of 14 sound and light shows at different locations in India through a collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism and YouTube.

Anyone wishing to get a glimpse of the luxurious hospitality given to delegates of the recently concluded United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference held in Hyderabad can go through a video of the hospitality and entertainment provided at the various palaces of Hyderabad through a button on the home page of the Incredible India website. This film was produced free of charge by Mr. Chiranjeevi’s own production company. induced impacts of travel and tourism are factored into the calculations, its total contribution is greater still. According to the letter, “The total contribution of Travel &Tourism to employment-including jobs indirectly supported by the sector is estimated at 7% to 8%. This makes Travel & Tourism a vital contributor to the global development agenda, affording it a unique role in building strong, sustainable and balanced global growth”.

With a view to acknowledge the instrumental role of tourism in the global economy, the UNWTO and WTTC have jointly initiated a ‘Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign’.

The basic objective of the campaign is to send a message to the world to accord high priority to the development of the tourism sector for promoting employment opportunities and economic development. The campaign was launched in 2011 and till date, 47 countries have joined already. The Open letter along with the testimonials of the Head of States and Governments who have joined the Campaign will be compiled in the Golden Book of Tourism Campaign.

May 2013

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nion Tourism Minister Mr. K. Chiranjeevi has launched a web based Public Service Delivery System for Hotel approval and classification

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ith a view to encourage Foreign tourist arrivals, the Government has decided to provide collective landing permits. According to the revised procedure, foreign tourists in groups of four or more arriving by air or sea and sponsored by Indian travel agencies approved by the Ministry of Tourism and with a pre-drawn itinerary may be granted collective landing permit for a period not exceeding 60 days, with multiple entry facilities to enable them to visit

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eceipts from international tourism in destinations around the world grew by 4% in 2012 reaching US$ 1075 billion.

This growth is equal to the 4% increase in international tourist arrivals which reached 1035 million in 2012. An additional US$ 219 billion was recorded in receipts from international passenger transport, bringing total exports generated by international

with a view to bring in transparency in granting approvals for hotel projects and classification status to functioning hotels.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister

said that with the help of this system, all applicants seeking hotel project approvals, hotel classification and approvals for other related services will be able to track the progress of their cases online on a real time basis. “ By putting this system in place, there will be a pressure on the officers of the Ministry to deliver on time and an increased accountability on their part. Now onwards, all applications will have to be examined within 15 working days from receipt for completeness.

Thereafter, all hotel inspections will be scheduled within next 15 working days.

The recommendations of Hotel and Restaurants Approval & Classification Committee will be communicated on the spot to the applicant and these recommendations will also be put on web with final decision within 10 days of the inspection,” said Mr. Chiranjeevi. The Minister stated that in due course, the Tourism Ministry would move towards an e-regime and accept e-applications and proposals. The Ministry of Tourism will now erect such systems in other spheres of functioning also. He urged his officers in the Ministry and industry to work in ‘one vision one mission’ framework Mr. Nakul Anand, President, Hotel Association of India (HAI); Mr. Vivek Nair, President, Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI); and Mr. Rakesh Mathur, Executive Committee Member, Heritage Hotels

neighbouring countries. In order to avail of this facility the tourists or travel agencies shall fill in a mandatory application online.

A complete list of members along with printed visa application and their itinerary would be submitted by the tourists or travel agencies to the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office/Foreigner’s Registration office at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Goa, and Lucknow concerned 72

hours in advance. The tourists or travel agencies shall also give an undertaking to conduct the group as per the itinerary and extend a further assurance that no individual would be allowed to drop out from the group at any place.

It may be recalled that Prime Minister’s Office has been monitoring the progress of visa simplification. Union Minister for Tourism, Mr. K. Chiranjeevi met the Union Home Minister, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde recently in this context, when he was assured that Ministry of Home Affairs would simplify visa procedures further.

Union Tourism Minister Mr. K. Chiranjeevi has welcomed the new initiative. In a statement, he said, “ This was a move forward and would go a long way towards boosting group travel to India, and would also give a boost to the tourism industry in the country”.

tourism in 2012 to US$ 1.3 trillion.

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism receipts hit a new record in 2012, reaching an estimated US$ 1075 billion worldwide, up 4% in real terms, from US$ 1042 billion in 2011.

“It is encouraging to see that the growth in international tourist arrivals

was equalled by a comparable increase in spending in spite of continued economic challenges” said UNWTO SecretaryGeneral, Taleb Rifai. “Considering that tourism is a key export for many economies around the world, this result is good news as it provides foreign reserves to destinations, and contributes to job creation in tourism as well as in related economic sectors” he added.

By regions, the Americas (+7%) recorded the largest increase in receipts, followed by Asia and the Pacific (+6%), Africa (+5%) and Europe (2%). Receipts in the Middle East were still down (-2%); yet report a steady improvement compared to the decline recorded in 2011.

In absolute values, Europe saw US$ 457 billion in tourism earnings equivalent to 43% of the world’s total tourism receipts, the largest share by region. Destinations in Asia and the Pacific (US$ 323 billion) account for 30% of international tourism receipts and the Americas (US$ 215 billion) for 20%. In the Middle East (4% share) total tourism receipts reached US$ 47 billion and in Africa (3% share) US$ 34 billion.

Except for international tourism receipts (the travel item in the Balance of Payments), tourism also generates export earnings through international passenger transport. The latter amounted to an estimated US$ 219 billion in 2012, bringing

Association of India also spoke on the occasion and lauded the efforts of the Ministry and stated that this is a path breaking initiative taken by the Ministry of Tourism to bring transparency in its functioning Presently, the hotel promoters and owners seek voluntary approval from the Ministry of Tourism for their projects and classification from one Star to Five Star Deluxe by submitting applications.

These requests are processed for a final decision within 90 days from the receipt of applications. At present, the applicants remain unaware of the status of their applications till the final decision is conveyed to them. With the new move, all information relating to such applications indicating the latest status will be put on the website of the Ministry of Tourism www.tourism.gov.in . All applicants will be given a password to access the details posted on the web. The web details will indicate the date of receipt of applications, status regarding project approval, proposed date of the visit of Hotel and Restaurant Classification Committee, final recommendation of the Committee and final status of Classification/Approval This measure will bring in more transparency, make officials more accountable in working and enable the applicants to access information and check status of their applications sitting at their own places.

total receipts generated by international tourism to US$ 1.3 trillion, or US$ 3.5 billion a day on average.

International tourism (travel and passenger transport) accounts for 30% of the world’s exports of services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services.

As a worldwide export category, tourism ranks fifth after fuels, chemicals, food and automotive products, while ranking first in many developing countries.

The top 10 ranking of destinations by receipts remained virtually unchanged in 2012, with the United States, Spain, France, China and Italy leading, followed by Macau (China), Germany, United Kingdom, Hong Kong (China) and Australia.

A number of the more mature destinations among the world’s top 10 earners showed remarkable results: the United States (+11%), France (+7%), Germany (+6%), the United Kingdom (+5%) and Hong Kong (China) (+14%).

Other advanced economy destinations with growth rates of 10% or above include Sweden (+17%), Japan (+33%), the Republic of Korea (+14%) and Finland (+16%).

Among the emerging economy destinations highest receipts growth was reported by Thailand (+25%), India (+22%), Poland (+13%), South Africa (+18%), Egypt (+14%), Vietnam (+18%) and Ukraine (+13%).

May 2013

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he Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Ajit Singh has directed the CMD, Air India to stop the Companion Free Scheme with immediate effect. This action was taken following the detection of irregularities.

The Vigilance Department of Air India earlier discovered serious irregularities and misuse of Companion Free Scheme (CFS) in Air India while scrutinizing the CFS data from October, 2011 to April, 2012, for tickets issued at Delhi Airport. In a sample of 332 CFS tickets issued at Delhi Airport Terminal-III, irregularities were found in 196 tickets, These irregularities include:l CFS tickets have been issued without any full-fare ticket. l Main tickets were cancelled after issuance/use of CFS tickets. l F o r d o m e s t i c C F S t i c k e t s t h e accompanying passenger should be spouse, child or parent – this stipulation has not been followed. l Main tickets and CFS tickets do not have the cross reference.

l Outbound journey was not undertaken together by main and CFS ticket pax. l CFS tickets were issued on a sector different from the main ticket routing.

Similar irregularities have also been detected in the CFS tickets issued at Chandigarh where 435 tickets were scrutinized. In the CFS tickets issued at Delhi, the agent code of one particular employee, Mr. Rajesh Sharma, Traffic Assistant, is featuring in large number of tickets. He issued about 130 fraudulent CFS tickets in the sample check at Delhi Airport Terminal-III. An FIR has been lodged by Air India Airport Manager against Mr. Rajesh Sharma and he has been placed under suspension. Airport Manager has been directed to lodge FIR against all other errant officials. Besides the Vigilance Department has advised the Commercial Director, Air India to verify the CFS tickets issued on all-India basis and to initiate action against erring employees.

Under the scheme , passengers buying first class or business class tickets or full fare economy class tickets are entitled to one free ticket for their companion.

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This move is expected to give a major boost to Indian carriers and spur growth of the Indian civil aviation sector as a whole by considerably improving connectivity of Indian cities with international destinations.

The Government has received requests from eligible Indian carriers for operation on international routes. During the last three years Government has granted traffic rights to eligible Indian carriers for operation to countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macao, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, USA, and Vietnam.

he Government has recently granted traffic rights to Indian scheduled carriers for operation on the following new international routes - Delhi-RomeMadrid/ Barcelona, Delhi-Moscow, DelhiSydney/ Melbourne, Mumbai-Nairobi, Mumbai-Al Najaf, Lucknow-Al Najaf, Varanasi- Al Najaf, Mumbai-Jakarta, Mumbai-Zurich, Delhi-Tashkent, MumbaiHo Chi Minh City, Delhi-Ho Chi Minh City, Delhi-Macau. However the allocation of traffic rights to an applicant airline for international operation on a particular sector depends upon the availability of such rights under the respective bilateral air services agreement.

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r. Ajit Singh, Union Minister for Civil Aviation has taken initiate in the appointment of five eminent personalities as part-time Directors on Board of Air India, to use their specialized skills and valuable suggestions for achieving the targets set by the Government of India in the Turn Around Plan and Financial Restructuring Plan for Air India.

The five non-official part-time Directors who have been appointed on the Board of Air India are Mr. Gurucharan Das, Dr. Prem Vrat, Air Marshal (Retd.)

K.K. Nohwar, Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, and Ms. Renuka Ramnath.

Mr. Gurucharan Das is a Graduate with Hon. from Harvard University in Philosophy and has worked as CEO of Procter & Gamble India, besides holding

high posts in other organisations. Dr. Prem Vrat is M.Tech. and Ph.D. and is presently working as Vice Chancellor and Professor of eminence, ITM University Gurgaon. Air Marshal (Retired), K.K. Nohwar is a military aviator with more than 40 years of experience in the field of aviation. Dr. Dholakia is Ph.D. in Economics and M.A. with distinction, Gold Medalist in Economics and EcoMetrics. He is Professor in Economics and Public System of IIM, Ahmedabad.

Ms. Renuka Ramnath holds a Bachelor Degree of Engineering and MBA with AMP from Harvard Business School. She is the founder, Managing Director, and CEO of Multiples Alternate Asset Management which manages $400 million of Indian and international capital.

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he Government has approved the proposal of Ministry of Civil Aviation to constitute an InterMinisterial Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Civil Aviation for suggesting various measures to overcome the bottlenecks in the development of aviation hubs at various airports In India. The six metros with state-of-theart airports that have been modernized and expanded include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. The following bottlenecks have been identified and need rectification.

• Need to coordinate the development of tourism and promotion of brand `India’ in a concerted manner • Visa norms need to be liberalized and `visa on arrival’ needs to be extended to as many countries as possible • Present instructions issued by Government of India impose conditions on Indian passport holders as well as the foreign nationals with regard to carrying / spending Indian currency • Exchange of their left over Indian currency into foreign currency in the security hold area respectively which acts as an impediment in development of hubs

• ATF price and taxation also pose a road block for development of aviation hubs • Service charge on air travel needs to be withdrawn in order to make air travel more attractive to passengers and thus improve prospects for the airline industry • Rules and legislations dealing with trans-shipment cargo also needs to be streamlined to facilitate growth in trans shipment cargo • Encourage MRO business • Issues regarding confluence flights relating to immigration, security check.

In the last decade, India has witnessed a traffic growth rate of about 15 to 18%, which is likely to continue in future also.

Development of these airports as aviation hubs would boost the growth of airlines, airports and would increase the flow of tourists to India. After the inter ministerial group submits its recommendations, the Government expects to implement them within the shortest possible time, after seeking approval at an appropriate level.

May 2013

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atar Airways’ inaugural flight to Chicago touched down at O’Hare International Airport marking the airline’s fourth gateway in the United States. With the launch of thrice-weekly passenger services between The Windy City and Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, Chicago becomes destination number 126 in the airline’s impressive worldwide network.

Qatar Airways now operates 24 passenger flights a week between the United States and Doha – daily from New York, Washington DC and Houston and the new thrice-weekly services from Chicago.

Soon, the Chicago – Doha route will increase to a daily service. Qatar Airways also operates twice-weekly dedicated cargo flights between the two cities, launched in August 2010.

The flight, QR991 arrived to a warm welcome at a grand airport ceremony attended by a number of dignitaries, including Qatar’s Ambassador to the United States of America His Excellency Mr. Mohamad Bin Abdulla AlRumaihi, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker and airport officials. The maiden flight carried international media and airline management. The new route offers a connection between Chicago and a vast number of destinations across the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia Pacific via Doha.

Al Baker and Chicago airport authorities delivered speeches at O’Hare International to mark the occasion, noting the economic impact of Qatar Airways’ arrival in the city.

“I would like to take this special opportunity to thank the people of Chicago and local airport authorities for their great support in helping Qatar Airways launch passenger flights to this vibrant city,” said Al Baker.

“After more than five successful years of operations in North America, we are pleased to introduce Chicago as our fourth and newest US gateway and look forward to welcoming travellers from the Midwest and its catchment area to fly with us to many parts of the world and, similarly welcome visitors from around the world to this great

city.“Chicago is a key route for business and leisure travellers alike, home to the world’s second busiest international airport with 70 million passengers a year,” he said.

“Qatar Airways was first introduced to the city in 2010 through its successful cargo operations, which helped set the stage for a longer term partnership with this thriving city.

With the local tourism industry receiving 50 million visitors annually and Chicago being the headquarters of some of the world’s biggest corporates, including Boeing, there are many business opportunities linking our two cities and regions.

Qatar Airways today spreads its reach in North America and we are proud to say that our commitments here will continue,” added Al Baker.

City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sent a congratulatory message to Qatar Airways, commenting: “Chicago is pleased to welcome Qatar Airways’ worldclass service to our global gateway, O’Hare International Airport. This new international air service creates additional economic opportunities, increases tourism to our city and strengthens Chicago’s cultural and business connection to the world. This service will generate more than $200 million in annual economic impact and will connect passengers from Chicago to destinations across India, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.”

Aside from Chicago, New York, Washington and Houston, Qatar Airways’ North American operations cover thrice-weekly services to Montreal. Al Baker explained that Chicago marked yet another significant milestone for the airline which is expanding its global network at a remarkable pace. The airline’s Doha – Chicago route is being operated with a Boeing 777-300 Extended Range aircraft in a twoclass configuration of 293 seats in Economy Class and 42 in Business Class.

The aircraft features seat-back TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system – a choice of more than 1,000 audio and video-on-demand options.

One of the world’s fastest growing airlines, Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 122 aircraft to 126 key business and leisure destinations worldwide.

The airline is set to launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes during 2013, including Salalah, Oman; Basra, Iraq; Sulaymaniyah, Iraq; Chengdu, China and many more start-ups to be announced.

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a range of packages, designed to suit customers’ differing requirements. Vouchers can be purchased for use with smart phones and tablets (excluding iPads) aboard the airline’s Airbus A330 long haul fleet at the rate of US$5 for up to 3MB of data or US$15 for up to 10MB of data. Vouchers for iPad and laptop connectivity can be purchased for US$15 for up to 10MB of data and US$30 for up to 25MB. Usage beyond these data allowances is charged per MB. Coverage is available throughout Oman Air’s range of long haul services, except when flying over countries such as India, which prohibit onboard mobile phone and wi-fi communications.

However, the airline’s Muscat to Bangkok services, which overfly India, report the second highest rate of uptake, after Muscat to London.

“Digital communications are playing an increasingly important role in all our lives and, in addition to onboard connectivity and services such as online booking and web check-in, Oman Air is rapidly expanding its online customer engagement. Our social media presence is growing daily and we are offering many more onlineonly special offers than ever before. Having pioneered onboard connectivity, we are committed to remaining in the vanguard of 21st Century communications,” Mr. Pearce concluded.

man Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, has announced major growth in uptake by passengers of its inflight mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity. Between January 2012 and January 2013, the airline experienced a 130 per cent increase in internet package sales and a 180 percent increase in connectivity revenues. Mobile phone connectivity is charged at roaming rates by individual service providers.

Oman Air’s Muscat to London Heathrow service saw the greatest use of inflight connectivity and the most popular method of accessing the internet was via smart phones, indicating that most users relied on the connectivity service for leisure, rather than work, purposes.

Oman Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wayne Pearce welcomed the figures, saying: “Oman Air was the first airline in the world to offer both mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity inflight and I am delighted that our customers value this service so much. The increase in passengers’ use of the service in 2012 underlines their growing expectation that similar levels of connectivity should be available in the air as they are on the ground.

I am pleased that the continued increase in uptake since we introduced the service in 2010 shows that Oman Air still leads the field in this area.”

Oman Air’s inflight wi-fi connectivity is available in

May 2013

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new association, named the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) will be formed by ten major industry associations to address the tourism industry issues and find solutions by putting it before the Union and State Governments. The federation, which will be formed by Adventure Tour Operators Association of India, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, Hotel Association of India, India Convention Promotion Bureau, Indian Association of Tour Operators, Indian Heritage Hotels Association, Indian Tourist Transporters Association, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, Travel Agents Association of India, and the Travel

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he Union Minister of Culture Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that the Yuva Saathi Programme aims to engage young minds in dialogue with the objects of National Museum to widen the understanding of the story of civilization across time and space. She was speaking at the launch of the Training of the Yuva

Agents Federation of India, will aim to address and collectively brain storm on the macro dynamics of the industry to ensure tourism gets its rightful place in India’s growth story, said Mr. Nakul Anand, President, Hotels Association of India (HAI), and CEO, ITC Hotels; who is going be the first chairman of FAITH. The bodies believe that the federation will help the industry put out a united front before the Union and State Governments on macro issues as well as create awareness among the policy makers about the sector’s contributions to the Indian economy. Mr. Anand added that a lot of issues that concern the tourism and hotel industry are at the State level and the association will

work towards becoming one national voice of the tourism industry. “FAITH will be working with various state governments to solve various issues faced by the tourism industry. At present each state, except for Sikkim, spends less than one per cent of their GDP on tourism,” said Mr. Anand.

Commenting on the new industry body, the Secretary of Tourism, Mr. Parvez Dewan, said that the ministry of tourism will be regularly brainstorming with FAITH to seek better policy environment, however the issue of multiple approvals and ministries will remain as everything can’t be handled by the tourism ministry alone. To begin with, FAITH is looking at seeking industry status for the sector and enabling tax regime and visa on arrival facility for more countries for seamless travel.

The Chairman of Hotel Leela Venture, Mr. Vivek Nair, who is also the president of FHRAI, added that the new body will press for long standing demands of the sector such as seeking infrastructure status for all the hotels. In 2012, India registered

6.6 million foreign tourist arrivals. The industry and government is looking at ten million foreign tourist arrivals by 2017, that is about l per cent share in world tourism.

Mr. Sarabjit Singh, Vice Chairman of FAITH; and Chairman of Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA), added that the founder members having been working towards the setting up of FAITH since 2011 and the body will work towards achieving the target of having nearly 16 million foreign tourist arrivals in the country by 2020. The newly formed industry body has already met with the Tourism Minister. The Ministry is expected to bring together all the State Government level tourism officials on one platform for further dialogue.

“The body’s key mandate will be strategic ideation with the Union and State Governments and global branding initiatives. Other issues concerning visa on arrival, service tax, skill development, etc. will be aggressively pursued by the association,” said Mr. Aashish Gupta, Consultant CEO for FAITH.

Saathi –Young Volunteer Guides for Young Visitors to the National Museum.

She said that the training programme, Yuva Saathi, designed by the National Museum Institute aims at guiding young visitors, who come in school groups and with their families around the galleries of National Museum.

Ms. Katoch said, a sense of belonging and ownership towards the collective heritage can be sown in young minds through such programmes as it is for these young visitors, who are our future generation that every museum hopes to preserve, safeguard, display and interpret its collection. She said that the programme would create awareness for young people about the museum’s role in the society.

The Minister said, National Museum is the premier museum of India showcasing the cultural history, tradition and heritage of India through its collection of over 2.00 Lakh antiquities. These objects have been put on display for the visitors in 20 galleries

Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch Union Cultural Minister of the National Museum. A visitor to the Museum would like to know, understand and appreciate these objects for their context, history, and unique features and this programme will help in that direction.

May 2013

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zeego1.com, the online travel portal has recently launched the ‘Online Sports Ticketing’ on its website in association with Sports Events 365 for sports enthusiasts.

This facility will allow the customers to book tickets for major sporting events like Football, Tennis, Basket Ball, Ice Hockey, Rugby, Formula1, etc. happening globally.

Sports Events 365 is an International sports and concerts ticket supplier that sells over 20,000 tickets yearly, to people from all over the world at competitive prices.

Apart from listing upcoming events, this product on Ezeego1’s website will also allow users to perform a locationbased search of future sports events.

One can also search for sports events by selecting a competitor. For example, fans of Manchester United or Roger Federer can find out where it is possible to see their favorite team or player in the coming months. It will provide detailed information on each event with date, time, place, venue, seating charts, local street map and address and public transportation to the venue.

Speaking on the launch, Neelu Singh, COO, Ezeego1.com said, “We are proud to launch this new product on our website in alliance with Sports Events 365 for sports fanatics who are interested in watching major sports events at the stadium. With sports tickets beings the fastest growing segment in the travel industry and our customer loyalty growing day by day, it was necessary to introduce an attractive product like this. It will not only enhance our product offering but will also attract a new category of customers.”

The ‘Online Sports Tickets’ section will feature the popular events like Football / Soccer - European leagues, Champions League, Europa League, Euro 2012; Basketball – EuroLeague, European leagues; Tennis - Grand Slams, Masters, ATP and WTA tournaments, Davis and Federation Cup; Motor Sports - Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR; American Sports - Basketball (NBA), Football (NFL), Baseball (MLB), Hockey (NHL) and various Cricket, Rugby, Athletics and special events.

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ndia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an MoU on Air Services, following the two-day bilateral negotiation at Abu Dhabi. The UAE had urged India to allocate additional 40,000 seats per week, grant Goa, Pune, Amritsar and Lucknow as additional points of calls, remove the maximum cap prescribed from each point of call in-term of seats/ frequency per week and allow 3rd country /domestic code share facility.

India was looking at the negotiations in overall economic interest of India and Government’s policy of liberalization for attracting foreign investment in India, including civil aviation sector. The Indian side had requested the UAE side to grant change of gauge facility at Abu Dhabi to Indian carriers in addition to ensuring full 5th freedom rights from UAE. As per the present Air Service Agreement, the designated carriers of both sides have existing entitlement of 13,330 + 2% flexibility (total 13,600) Seats per week with eleven points of call available to UAE . After present negotiations both sides have agreed to allocate an additional entitlement of 36,670 seats per week spread over a period of 3yrs; 11,000 seats per week in year 2013, 12,800 seats per week up to winter schedule 2014 and 12,870 seats per week up to winter schedule 2015. Both sides have also agreed to extend 3rd country and domestic code share facility. However Indian side has not agreed to the request of UAE for any

Mittu Chandilya will head AirAsia India revolutionise the air travel industry here.

I am looking forward to being part of the dynamic AirAsia family, and most importantly, to bring a whole new meaning to the word ‘flying’ to consumers in India,” he was quoted in a statement.

Mr. Chandilya, who has MBA degrees from INSEAD, France/Singapore and from Tsinghua University, Beijing, has promised to provide a new meaning of flying for Indian consumers. He left India at the age of 17 and lived in the US, China, Malaysia and Singapore. Father of two sons — Rishi and Rohan — Mittu, went to boarding school (Rishi Valley in Andhra Pradesh) at the age of nine. He also trained under Mr.

Contd. from page 01 Ramesh Krishnan as a junior professional tennis player.

“Mittu has always been a passionate follower of the aviation industry, and in his last role at Egon Zehnder, took leadership in the travel and hospitality segment where his primary focus was airlines and aviation,” said a release from AirAsia.

Recently India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board formally approved the formation of Air Asia India. The application made by AirAsia Berhad (“AirAsia”) through its investment arm, AirAsia Investment Ltd. (“AAIL”) to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (“FIPB”) of India seeking approval for

a 49% investment into an Indian joint venture company named ‘AirAsia (India) Pvt Ltd” partnering Tata Sons Limited and Mr. Arun Bathia of Telestra Tradeplace Pvt. Ltd. has been granted a formal approval on Thursday, 4 April 2013.

“AirAsia is confident that it can replicate its unprecedented success across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other joint ventures. In particular, AirAsia believes its success in affording people to fly through superior operational performance by emphasizing a focused and disciplined cost structure will tremendously benefit the Indian consumer “, said a top official of Air Asia.

Changing the Role of Government in Tourism Sector from Regulator to Catalyst

According to the report, more than half of Tourism Ministry’s Plan budget is channelized for funding the development of destinations, circuits, mega projects as also for rural tourism infrastructure projects. The Ministry of Tourism ensured

additional point of call and removal of cap in terms seats/frequency from each point of call. The additional 2% flexibility on total entitlement has been done away with. Both sides have agreed to extend 3rd country code share and domestic code share of designated airlines of either side. The UAE have agreed to Indian request of change of gauge facility and both sides have agreed to allow designated airlines of each side to have the option to change the aircraft in the territory of the other party.

The enhancement in the present capacity spread over 3yrs would allow the carriers of both the countries to plan their future operations. The change of gauge facility will provide operational/commercial flexibility to Indian carriers to enable deploy equipment corresponding to market demand. This will help in enhancing international connectivity for Indian passengers and also facilitate local and international r o u t e networking.

that 10% and 2.5% of its total Annual Plan outlay went to the tourism projects in the North-Eastern region and the tribal areas respectively.

The Annual report says that under the Hunar se Rozgaar scheme of the Ministry, the addition of more trades/training areas like Drivers, Golf caddies, Stone Mason, Security Guards and Tourist Facilitators etc. has been a significant step to reduce the skill gap effecting the hospitality

As a pioneer of the low cost carrier model in Asia and currently Asia’s largest LCC with 120 aircraft and over 350 orders, AirAsia believes Indian aviation has enormous long-term growth potential.

The joint venture plans to operate from Chennai, Tamil Nadu focused on providing domestic Tier II and Tier III city connectivity to Indian travelers.

Currently, AirAsia through its operations based in Thailand and Malaysia already connect Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruchirapalli, Kochi and Kolkata to Asean and beyond through its Group’s operations.

Contd. from page 01 and tourism sector. During the last financial year, 21,175 persons were trained under this initiative up to January 31, 2013. Innovative approaches are being adopted by the Ministry to augment the training output and to reach newer areas.

Such initiatives include the Training of sentenced prisoners at various jails, Training of physically challenged persons (deaf and dumb), Training of Children Home Inmates, and Heritage, Heritage Walk Escorts and Trainings to providers, Nature Guides etc.

To ensure the contribution of tourism in the development of remote and backward areas in the country, 2.5% of total plan outlay of Ministry of Tourism from 201213 was earmarked for tribal areas under Tribal Sub Plan (TSP).

The scheme of Rural Tourism was started by the Ministry in 2002-03 with the objective of showcasing rural life,

culture, and heritage at rural locations and in villages. Rural tourism projects at 186 villages in 29 states/Union territories have been sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism since the inception of the scheme.

56 of these sites are located in the NorthEastern region.

The Ministry has also decided to bring hospitality education into the mainstream through Government vocational schools, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnic institutes, Government colleges, Universities and Public Sector Undertakings. The Central assistance will be available to all. The assistance can be utilized for creation of infrastructure necessary for the conduct of courses/ training. Under the policy of broad-basing of hospitality education, grants have so far been provided to 31 ITIs, 7 degree colleges, 4 Polytechnics, 26 Schools and 15 Universities to start new hospitality courses.

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The Union Minister for Culture, Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch addressing at the inauguration of the Conference on Developing the Buddhist Pilgrimage (Circuit) in India

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he Union Minister for Culture Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that the Buddha’s social philosophy of inclusiveness is most relevant to today’s world. Inaugurating a Conference on

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he new interactive online map by Emirates allows passengers to explore its network and find their dream holiday.

Emirates has always been synonymous with personalised service – be it onboard or on the ground, With the new ‘Inspire Me’ feature on the Emirates website, www. emirates.com, passengers are able to bring this personalised service to their travel planning.

Emirates route network spans the globe and they now brings this international travel expertise directly to the travellers, allowing them to search for holiday ideas based on their personal preferences. Be it a holiday for one, family travel, or a group of friends, the Inspire Me application can accommodate every traveller’s need – from beach-side resorts , historical journeys, indulgent shopping sprees or escapes into nature – Inspire Me can be customized for every trip a traveller can dream of.

Furthermore, in line with Emirates position as a global carrier, the tool is accessible for travellers from any origin point on the Emirates network.

Displayed in an easy-to-navigate graphical map, the Inspire Me also has scroll bars embedded so that visitors to the site can easily adjust their criteria as they explore their travel options. In addition

Developing the Buddhist Pilgrimage (Circuit) in India, she said, “we all must seek to inculcate true values and practices of altruism, love, compassion and nonviolence taught by the Buddha to cope up

to helping people choose their type of holiday, Inspire Me then provides extra details on each suggested destination including flights, date, region of the world, climate, travel time, and, unique to Emirates,’ real-time prices. Destination information is also available including suggested activities and local information – allowing passengers to discover new places and sites they had never considered before.

“As it has grown, Emirates has naturally fallen into the role of connecting people from around the world. Our passengers look to Emirates to not only bring them together with distant family and friends but, as our destinations have grown, also as a way to explore the wonders of the world; dreaming bigger and further,” said Mr. Bob Kabli, Vice President, e-Commerce and Mobile. “Our new Inspire Me tool is our way of bringing our passengers closer to their dream holidays, whatever their interests, budgets or preferred travel style may be. Available on emirates.com, Inspire Me represents one of the world’s first trulyglobal inspirational tool,” he added.

Inspire Me can be found online when booking. Emirates encourages passengers to come, explore and find their dream vacation with Emirates.

with worldly pressures.”

Stating that her Ministry is supporting Buddhist educational institutions located at Sarnath, Leh, Nalanda and Bomdila, the Minister reaffirmed the commitment to preserve and protect and promote Lord Buddha’s teachings and values of love, compassion and non-violence.

She said, apart from providing regular funding to various Buddhist Institutions and individuals working to spread the teachings of the Buddha the government is committed to undertake initiatives which will enable people to personally visit the places where the noble Siddhartha was born, got enlightenment and became the Buddha, shared his wisdom with his followers and himself travelled great distances to benefit the needy and liberate them from their sufferings.

The Minister said, since India is the place of origin of Buddhism, we are deeply conscious of the country’s important position, particularly among the Buddhist countries. A number of important places connected with the Buddha like the place of enlightenment (Bodhgaya), the place of his first sermon (Sarnath) and the place of his Mahaparinirvana (Kushinagar) are all located in India. It was here that Buddhism flourished for centuries and spread in various parts of the World. The learned monks and philosophers from famous Buddhist educational institutions such as Nalanda, Takshshila, etc. helped in

the dissemination of the teachings of the Buddha to various countries and helped the seekers and scholars from outside India who came to these Universities to enrich their knowledge and further strengthen their faith in the Buddha and his teachings.

She said, even now, a large number of devout from all over the world visit every year the holy Buddhist sites in India and pay their respects to the Tathagata.

The Minister added, in order to facilitate spread of the sacred teachings of the Buddha the Government constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr. B. Mungekar, the then Member of Planning Commission.

Developing Buddhist Circuit is one of the recommendations of the said Committee. She said, it is in this context we have to generate attractive but workable alternatives to better connectivity and infrastructural facilities for both pilgrims as well as other tourists.

She said, the government is committed to undertake initiatives which will enable people to personally visit the holy places connected with the life of Buddha.

Besides the already known important spots connected with the life and teachings of the Buddha, efforts should also be aimed at identifying hitherto unchartered territories which deserve to be identified, developed and connected. Such endeavour will help not only in spreading the noble teachings of the Buddha but also give a boost to tourism as well as economy of the so far neglected territories.

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for our partners – to packaged holidays in destinations across the airline’s network, cutting across seasonality and at extremely competitive prices,” he added.

Key to this strategy is a new technology which will centralise DLM’s contracting system. Emirates Holidays, a part of Emirates’ Destination & Leisure Management Division, is putting in place, a suite of state-of-the-art technology components that will enable it to achieve better buying power and greater opportunity for its partners. The technology will provide Emirates Holidays and its partners, real time direct access to room inventories not only in Dubai hotels, but also worldwide – through a variety of methods – from direct hotel connectivity to bed banks, allowing them to have access to the critical last bed availability.

In turn, the technology will empower Emirates Holidays to offer packaged holidays to trade partners through a variety of channels to suit diverse needs.

This will range from seamless direct connection to partners’ own sales systems, to simple online business-to-business and business-to-consumer channels for other trade partners and direct clients. These systems will enable Emirates Holidays to provide their partners with round-theclock, updated access to its products.

“The flexibility and scalability of the technology solution will allow Emirates Holidays to seize opportunities that may otherwise not be fulfilled. The technology will give us the agility to adapt to market conditions and steer the business a lot quicker. It will also provide our partners greater accessibility to a larger customer base and allow us to wholesale accommodation where appropriate,” concluded Mr Bennett.

mirates Holidays is set to implement changes that are aimed to improve operations and offer its trade and travel agent-partners greater opportunities as well as easier access to attractive holiday packages across the airline’s network. As Emirates’ tour operating arm, Emirates Holidays is currently the largest wholesale tour operator in the region, with strength in servicing outbound traffic from Dubai and GCC. With its evolving new trade strategy, Emirates Holidays will strengthen its role as a major distribution channel for the airline as well as solidify its position as a leading leisure brand in Dubai and beyond. With year-long offers and access into new markets that the airline has launched, Emirates Holidays is targeting an increase in its operating revenue by 30 per cent, and passenger numbers by 20 per cent this year and double digit compound annual growth over the next five years.

“Following in-depth research and a re-examination of our core strengths and assets, Emirates Holidays’ new approach will place it in the formidable position of offering the industry an exciting cache of new products,” said Mr. Marc Bennett, Divisional Senior Vice President, Destination & Leisure Management (D&LM), Emirates.

“We are keen to offer continuous support to our trade and travel-agent partners. Towards this end, we will implement new distribution platforms harnessing the reach that our flagship brand, Emirates, affords us. As tour operator of one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, we are in the position to offer the largest number of seats into Dubai, tap into the massive customer base of Emirates, as well as provide easy access

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he Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr. K.C. Venugopal has said that at present, scheduled air services are available at nine airports in the NE Region

viz. Agartala, Lengpui (Aizawl), Bagdogra, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Guwahati, Imphal, Jorhat and Silchar. In addition, Lilabari, Shillong and Tezpur are also operational

airports but scheduled flights are not operating from these airports at present.

Shillong airport in Meghalaya is an operational airport. However, at present no commercial operations are taking place from here.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has constructed a new terminal building at Barapani (Shillong) airport with an allocation of Rs. 28.27 crores in the 11th Five Year Plan. The work commenced in June 2009 and completed in May 2010 at a cost of Rs. 29.70 crores. There is a proposal for expansion and modernisation of Shillong airport and Rs.75.65 crores has been earmarked for this project in the 12th Five Year Plan, the Minister added.

In order to connect the remote hill areas of the North Eastern Region the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing non-operational airports at Daparizo in Arunachal Pradesh, Tura in Meghalaya and Kamalpur in Tripura for operation of ATR42/ATR72 type of aircrafts. The AAI is also developing civil enclaves at Along, Passighat, and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh and Rupsi in Assam.

However, the proposals are subject to the land acquisition by the State Government

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Gallery that has elaborate captions, text panels, slide show of Tanjore and Mysore schools. Ms. Katoch also released the portfolio of Tanjore and Mysore school, booklet and five types of greeting cards on the occasion. This permanent gallery will remain open to the public every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except Mondays.

The important themes of Tanjore and Mysore Schools Paintings are broadly divided into three categories. 1. Devoted to Vaishnavism portraying images of Krishna, Rama, Vishnu and his other incarnations, Lakshmi and other Vaishnava gods and saints; 2. Devoted to Shaivism portraying various forms of Shiva, Parvati, Karttikeya or Subramanya, Ganesha and other Shaiva deities; and 3. Portraits of various kings, saints and others.

Tanjore painting has a brilliant and jewel-like tone that its artists had created by judiciously using real gold and silver foil, precious and semiprecious stones, beads, mirrors, and powdered metals –

gold in particular.

Besides the use of primary colours – red, green, blue, black and white to depict the Gods, infant Krishna is often seen in pink with a marble like translucence while Lord Vishnu, and his incarnations are often depicted with a distinctly green body tone.

The Mysore school of painting sprang in south Karnataka in the reign of Maharaja Mummudi Krishnaraja Wodiyar (17991868). Under his discerning patronage the older artistic traditions of the region such as the music, dance, literature and paintings were revived and most of the surviving traditional paintings can also be ascribed to this period. These works present a wide variety, from murals to stylistic Mysore paintings on cloth, paper and wood.

nion Minister for Culture Ms. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has reopened the renovated gallery of Tanjore and Mysore Schools of South Indian Paintings at the National Museum, New Delhi for public. The Gallery comprises 88 paintings. Although almost every painting is unique, some of the masterpieces are examples par excellence: Tanjore School – Navneeta Krishna with Tanjore King Shivaji II, 1830 A.D.; Nataraja Shiva, early 19th century; Rama Pattabhisheikha, early 19th century and Durbar of Serfoji II (1798-1833).

Mysore School – The marriage ceremony of Shiva Parvati and Sita with Rama, end 18th century; Sandhya Tandava of lord Shiva before Parvati, late 18th century; Hanuman stopping Bharata for entering into fire, early 19th century; Devi Sarswati, late 19th century; Rama Darbar, late 19th century and Gita Serman, late 19th century.

The renovated gallery is a State of Art

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he Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission with the objective of conserving and restoring the heritage sites associated with ‘Father of the Nation’.

The Mission would be entrusted with the identification, collation and assessment of information on ‘Gandhi Heritage’ material for its management and deployment. Its task would also include the determination of conservation methodology and priorities for documents and objects, particularly from the point of view of archival storage

and museology and for physical structures and sites, as also guidelines for their subsequent maintenance.

The dissemination of information based on relevant material for identification, collation and assessment and conservation would be through web based portal, publications, audio/visual (CDs, digital prints, etc.); and communication through core sites while specifying – where necessary – function and use and the significance of the site.

The Mission will aim at preserving for posterity 39 core sites as well as other 2,000 important sites earlier identified by the panel under the chairmanship of the ex-Governor of West Bengal, Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

for these projects. In addition to this, construction of Greenfield airport in Pakyong and operationalisation of Tezu airport in Arunachal Pradesh has also been taken up, which can handle ATR-72 type of aircrafts. Once these airports are developed, they can be used for STOL aircrafts also, subject to commercial viability and demand. The AAI had undertaken a study through Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) for improving the air connectivity in north east which includes air connectivity among state capitals and other important remote locations in the north-east region.

The Minister also said that Air India is operating three flights per week on Aizwal-Imphal route through Airbus A 319 and eight flights on Aizwal-Kolkata route through Airbus A-319. Operations in domestic sector have been deregulated and flights are being operated by airlines concerned on the basis of commercial viability subject to adherence of Route Dispersal Guidelines laid down by the Government with a view to achieve better regulation of air transport services taking into account the need for air transport services of different regions of the country. According to these guidelines, all scheduled operators are required to deploy in the North Eastern region, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep (Category-II routes) at least 10% of their deployed capacity on trunk routes (Category-I routes). Further, at least 10% of the capacity thus required to be deployed on Category-II routes, is required to be deployed for connectivity exclusively within these regions (Category -II A).

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key global conference aimed at helping tour operators and travel professionals in India leverage the power of social media, the internet and digital technologies gets underway in Kerala from June 7, 2013.

The International Conference on Travel Technology (ICTT) India is the first event of its kind in the country and is being organised by the Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India (ATTOI) at The Leela in Kovalam.

ICTT India, which is supported by Kerala Tourism will be inaugurated at 5.30 pm on June 7 by Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy in the presence of Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Mr. A P Anil Kumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala.

“The conference is a natural fit for Kerala Tourism since we have always been pioneers in using digital tools for promoting our state,” said Mr. Suman Billa IAS, Tourism Secretary of Kerala. “However, the digital space is vast and dynamic and initiatives such as ICTT will help the travel industry keep up with the rapid changes,” he added.

Mr. Suman Billa will make a presentation on Kerala Tourism at the inaugural function.

Mr. Sreekumara Menon, President, ATTOI; Mr. Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO); Mr. E M Najeeb, President, Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI); Mr. Anish Kumar P K, ICTT Organising Secretary; and Mr. Shailesh Nair, ICTT Convenor will speak at the occasion.

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erala Tourism received a shot in the arm as the first seaplane to enter a pioneering service that will connect the state’s most popular backwater destinations arrived at Kochi airport to a ceremonial welcome.

Mr. A P Anil Kumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala accompanied by Mr. K M Chandrasekhar, Vice Chairman of Kerala State Planning Board and Mr. Suman Billa IAS, Tourism Secretary, Kerala formally received the aircraft as it touched down at the Cochin International airport on its maiden flight to Kerala.

The six-seater Cessna 206 H amphibian aircraft, capable of flying five hours at a

More than 300 delegates, mostly tour operators, from around the country and abroad are expected to attend the three-day conference which will feature talks and discussions on technologies that can help travel businesses sustain growth in a changing world. Travel media professionals and bloggers will be among the participants.

Social media, online marketing, mobile applications, pricing and distribution strategies, managing reviews and handling competition, revenue management, business intelligence and the future of technology will be among the topics covered in the sessions. ICTT features 17 eminent speakers from countries such as the US, UK, Australia, UAE, and India with expertise in the travel industry and digital entrepreneurship.

Among them are Ms. Selina Power, a social media specialist from Australia; Mr. Chad Wiebesick, an award-winning entrepreneur who oversees social media for the tourism office in the US State of Michigan; Mr. Philip Calvert, a UK based writer, strategist and LinkedIn expert; Mr. Avijit Arya, the founder and CEO of digital marketing company Internet Moguls; and Mr. Bicky Carlra, Group President of UAEbased TraVision.

“For travel and tourism businesses in India, this is a great opportunity to learn from professionals who have utilised digital technologies to maximum effect,” said ICTT organising secretary Mr. Anish Kumar P K.

stretch, was welcomed at the airport’s aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) hanger with a water salute by two tankers of the CIAL fire force.

The aircraft was escorted from the runway to the MRO area by a pilot jeep of CIAL. It was flown in by Captain Michael Fabry, a Belgian national, who has about 3,500 hours of flying experience.

Speaking to the media at the airport, Mr. Anil Kumar described the introduction of the seaplane as a big boost to the fast growing tourism sector and said the service would be formally inaugurated by Mr. Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala at

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inister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr. K. C. Venugopal has informed that during the last six months, Air India has taken a number of pricing initiatives to widen the market base by reaching out to a new segment of price sensitive travellers. The measures include short window sale, such as Jaldi Jaldi, introduced in the month of November, 2012 and short term advance purchase promotion (purchase 7 days advance) on domestic network, and advance purchase fares at 30 days (AP30) and 60 days (AP60) before departure. These initiatives have helped Air India to retain its competitive position in the market. Fares offered by Air India are competitive and based on market considerations, such as fares offered by competitors, seasonality, extent of competition and product features like frequency, timings, direct/indirect operations etc.

The Minister informed that in accordance with Turn Around Plan (TAP) approved by Government for Air India, some flights, which were not meeting the fuel cost /cash cost of operations, have been withdrawn by the airline. However, commencement and withdrawal of flights by any airline

depend upon the commercial judgment of the airline. He further said that Air India periodically monitors the carriage/ load factors/financial performance of services on its network and makes efforts to improve their performance.

Whenever any service recurrently gives rise to cash losses, Air India analyses the reasons for the losses and based on the strategic importance of such services to its network, arrives at a decision whether to continue or withdraw such services.

While determining the desirability or otherwise of discontinuing operations of loss making services Air India takes into account the revenue contributions made by the subject services to its other services by way of feeder traffic. As such nonprofitability of any one flight is not taken in isolation as the sole barometer of its financial performance. A committee which was constituted by the government to recommend various cost cutting measures has submitted its report to the Government and its recommendations mainly relate to efficiency audit, strong accountability at all levels, operating model, rationalization of loss making routes, dynamic pricing, passenger facilities etc, the Minister said.

Ashtamudi lake in Kollam district on June 2.

He also thanked the various central ministries for their coordinated efforts in granting approval for the pioneering project in less than one and a half years of the proposal being put before the Centre.

The Minister allayed apprehensions that the operation of the seaplane will affect fishing operations and fishery resources in the state’s backwaters, saying all these concerns will disappear once the service becomes operational.

Mr. K M Chandrasekhar said the introduction of the seaplane in Kerala marks a new chapter in the country’s civil aviation sector and it will soon encourage other coastal states to follow suit.

Mr. Suman Billa said the seaplane operation is a turning point for tourism promotion activities. He informed that the service will have the four airports of Trivandrum, Kochi, Calicut and Mangalore as base stations and will connect key backwater tourism destinations of Ashtamudi in Kollam, Punnamada in Alappuzha, and Bekal in Kasaragod districts.

Bengaluru-based Kairali Aviation will run the maiden service of the seaplane project

which is based on a Zero Subsidy - Open Sky Policy. The seaplanes will fly roughly 6,500 feet above ground providing panoramic views of the lush green Kerala landscape.

Besides Kairali Aviation, Kerala Tourism has shortlisted four other companies for operating the seaplane services. “Once the other agencies begin operations, it will give ample scope for competition in this sector.

We expect it to be a very profitable activity, going by the growing number of domestic and overseas tourists reaching the state every year,” Mr. Billa said.

Mr. Anil Kumar, MD, Kerala Tourism Infrastructure Limited (KTIL) and CIAL senior officials including Mr. A Chandrakumaran Nair, Airport Director; Mr. A M Shabeer, Executive Director (Engineering Services); Mr. P Gourisankar, Security Advisor; Mr. R. Venkiteswaran, MD, CIASL (MRO Operator); Mr. C. Dinesh Kumar, AGM (operations); Mr. R S D’Cruz, AAI Airport Director; Dr. Shishir Kumar Gupta, CISF Sr. Commandant; Mr. Anil Kumar, Asst. Commissioner of Customs; and Mr. S K Nair, Immigration PRO were present at the function.

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he Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Ajit Singh has said that out of six Dreamliners, two have already been modified for commercial operations and all 6 planes will be ready for operation by the end of this month. While addressing the media he said that Air India would get another eight Dreamliners by December this year. This will make the total availability of fourteen B-787 Dreamliner aircrafts with by December, 2013. The Minister said that the first commercial flight will restart from 15th May, 2013, for which all operational regulatory requirements have been complied with and all pilots have been subjected to the required checks before release for flight duties. The first international flight is proposed to restart from 22nd May. The new international routes are Delhi-Birmingham-Delhi, DelhiSydney/Melbourne-Delhi, Delhi-Rome/ Milan-Delhi, and Delhi-Moscow-Delhi.

On the performance of Air India during financial year 2012-13, the Minister said

the total revenue during the period has increased by about 9.6% from Rs. 14,714 crores in 2011-12 to Rs. 16,130 crores in 2012-13. Air India carried 14.05 million passengers in the year 2012-13 as against 13.40 million passengers in previous financial year, which shows a growth of about 5%. The net loss of Air India for the financial year 2012-13 has come down by about Rs. 2,261 (Net loss: Rs. 7,559.74 crores in 2011-12, Rs. 5,198.55 crores in 2012-13).

The EBITDA has improved by Rs. 2256 crores over previous year and it stands at Rs. 19.45 crores during the financial year 2012-13 (EBITDA in 2011-12 - Rs. 2236.95).

Passenger Loan Factor (PLF) has shown a great upward trend. For the whole network operation, the PLF stood 72.7% during 2012-13 compared to 68% during financial year 2011-12.There is a marked improvement in On-Time Performance (OTP). The network OTP achieved during financial year 2012-13 has been 77.1% (domestic, 80.2% and international, 70.8%).

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operate with any aircraft type except A-380. The delegation level talks were held between Dr. Prabhat Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Mr. Yap Ong Heng, Director-General, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Both the sides have agreed to review and update the air services agreement and meet every two years to discuss various air services matters.

Mr. Ajit Singh, during his visit to Singapore, also held Minister- level discussions with Minister of Transport of Singapore, Mr. Lui Tuck Yew and Second Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. S. Iswaran, to explore the possibility of cooperation in the area of civil aviation. Both the sides, while expressing satisfaction on growing trade and economic cooperation, felt that there was a need to foster greater co-operation in the area of airport development and airport management. Besides, institutional- level co-operation is needed in the areas of training in aviation skill development, maintenance repairs and overhaul services, aviation safety and exchange of technology transfer in air space management and air navigation services.

ndia and Singapore signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral air services arrangement in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Ajit Singh and Minister of Transport of Singapore, Mr. Lui Tuck Yew on April 2 in Singapore. It rationalizes the capacity entitlements of both countries in terms of seats per week in each direction with a route specific cap for Singapore on each route.

The MoU also enhances, by 10%, the capacity entitlement with India now entitled to operate 29,400 weekly passenger seats from India to Singapore and the designated airlines of Singapore entitled to operate 28,700 weekly passenger seats from Singapore to India. No additional point of call has been given to Singapore.

India also did not agree to the demand of Singapore for additional point of calls from Pune and Madurai.

The common pool rights to the extent of 5160 seats earlier available to Singapore, which provided greater operational flexibility to Singapore carriers at major metro centres viz Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai, have now been withdrawn.

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he Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Ajit Singh, has decided to permit scheduled airlines to unbundle certain services and to charge fees for these services separately.

This is based on the recommendations of the Nathan Economic Consultants in their report on “Economic Regulations to Airlines Ticket Pricing in India”. Nathan Economic Consultants in their report have recommended unbundling of services since it has become a necessary aspect of exercising more control over operational costs and running a successful airline.

Globally, scheduled airlines are permitted to unbundle services and levy a charge for each of the unbundled services. These are called “Unbundled Flight Products” or a la carte pricing.

The objective of the decision is to facilitate airlines to offer low base fare for price sensitive travellers, while at the same time offer choice to service seekers at a price.

This will allow the passengers to benefit from lower base fares and to customise the product to better suit their requirements and budget while allowing airlines to develop more sustainable operations in an environment of wafer thin margins.

DGCA is empowered to monitor the levy of charges for such services/flight products under Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and such services come under tariff as per the definition provided under Section-5 of the Aircraft Act. However, the levy of such charges will be based on the following principles:l Safety, schedule and reliability not to be compromised.

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inister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr. K. C. Venugopal informed that at present, 66 Instrument Landing Systems (ILSs) are in operation at 53 Airports and 93 Visual Omni Ranges (VORs)/Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) are in operation for en-route and terminal navigation facility at and around the airports or on the routes all over India.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has plans to provide 5 more ILSs, one each at Durgapur, Jabalpur, Barapani, Chennai and Kochi airports, one Glide Path (GP) at Port Blair airport and 5 more VOR/DMEs, one each at Tezu, Mundra, Chennai, Pakyong and Durgapur airports in 2013-14 period.The Minister further said that ILS provides landing guidance to the aircraft with the following decision height and visibility/ runway visual range: Cat-I (Category-I) : with a decision height not lower than 60 meters (200ft) and either a visibility not less than 800 meters

l Services permitted for unbundling shall be distinct with a clear description and without any ambiguity. l Services to be provided on opt-in basis and not on opt-out basis that is, customers should be given opportunity to pick and choose which amenities they want to receive and pay for. l Charges for unbundled services shall be a fixed amount and announced well in advance by the airlines which shall not vary with the base fare for a particular flight. l The key guiding principle shall be adequate disclosure and transparency on the part of airlines on the websites, online travel portals and travel agents so that the consumers maximize the informed choice. l Airline to file details of services to be unbundled and fee charges for the same to DGCA in terms of product description, charges/fee, manner of disclosure to public, terms and conditions etc. l DGCA may not fix fee for unbundled services but shall have the right to intervene and stop charging if regulatory principles are violated by the airlines.

The services are Preferential seating, Meal/snack/drink charges (except drinking water), Charge for using Airlines’ lounges, Check in baggage charges, Sports equipment carriage, Musical instrument carriage, and Fee for special declaration of valuable baggage. The list will be reviewed after a period of six months.

or a runway visual range not less than 550 meters; Cat-II with a decision height lower than 60 meters (200ft) but not lower than 30 meters (100ft) and a runway visual range not less than 300 meters and Cat-IIIA : with a decision height lower than 30 meters (100 ft), or no decision.

The Minister further added that the Government has decided to replace the present Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with more powerful Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The proposed Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will have adequate financial and administrative flexibility to meet functional requirements for an effective safety oversight capabilities over air transport service operators, air service navigation operators and operators of other civil aviation facilities, development and standardization of civil aircraft and aeronautics, matters relating to financial stress on safety of operations, consumer protection and environment regulation in civil aviation sector and for matters connected therewith and thereto.

The proposal form CAA is in the stage of inter-Ministerial consultations.

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Love at first sight bara stopped the vehicle. On the left there is a steep hill and on the right, a deep gorge. “This is ‘gaara’. Climb up and watch Wenchi lake from distance” Abara asked us. “Gaara?” I could not get the Oromo word. “Gaara means hill.

Visitors to Wenchi lake climb up this hill and get their first view of the whole lake from the distance. Let us go”, Taklu made it clear. Some of us were a bit confused as to what should be done first – climbing the hill or taking a snap with magnificent valley as background? “No. we will take photos from down latter. First we climb up”, Taklu insisted. When we started walking upward, a local person joined us and started voluntary help. “This is good way”, “Don’t go there” he started guiding us. “Maqaa ke enyu?”, one from my feeble stock of Oromo language to get the stranger’s name. “Wolesso”, he answered.

Then my question on his age: “Umri?”

Answer: “soddoma” (thirty). Wolesso was a local ‘kothabula’ (farmer) turned tourist guide. His behaviour and body languages were impressive. He became our friend quickly. He plucked bunches of leaves from a bushy plant that were growing lavishly in the hill and gifted to us. Its aroma was refreshing and rejuvenating. Gents reached the top first and ladies a couple of minutes later. At the peak, Wolesso pointed to a distant place. Wow!! There is Wenchi lake in all her beauty. She shined like a blue pearl encircled by a black and greyish ridge. The sight was amazing. That was our first visual experience of a crater lake. “Magnificent” “Wow! Beautiful” “Marvellous”, commented each one of us.

We were searching for the best word to describe the fascinating scene. Our cameras blinked their eyes to catch the images of the beautiful lake. We descended.

Down near the vehicle, Walesso, his wife, Birkkee; three girl children, Radio Direbe, Bashannano, Kabbanese waved hands to

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us. The farmer-family’s baby boy, 6-monthold Gammada threw a hidden smile for us.

Eco-tourism After two hours of travel through golden yellow farms of barley and teff; and the violet of potato flowers, our vehicle came to a stop near the sign board of Wenchi Eco-Tourism Association (WETA).

Local children encircled us with flowers – fresh and dried ones. Their mission was to sell them to us and get one or two Birr (currency of Ethiopia). Some children needed our pen. Their innocent faces were dotted with dust and flow from the nose.

We felt pity of them. But the officials of the WETA requested us not to encourage them. “Because if you give, their parents will not allow them to go for education anymore”, was the rationale one of the guides had.

WETA is an admirable initiative with people’s participation. Its office had a traditional ambience. It was on the right side of the road on an elevated place. The office was built of soil and wooden logs.

There were wooden doors and windows.

The roof was thatched with metal sheets – one of the common sights in Ethiopia.

On the rear side there was a local type of latrine. It was nothing more than a pit covered with pieces of wood with a hole in the centre. Pieces of plastic sheets on four sides hardly covered the place. But in the native scenario, this is nothing unusual.

We met four young official guides there – Dawit, Fayera, Kebede and Ayale.

All of them were nicely behaving and had the readiness to serve the visitors. Their limited competency in English language, was but enough to satisfy curious inquirers.

WETA office works throughout a week. A handwritten poster vividly showed the rate of inflow of tourists, countrywide visitors, and the income generated. The approach of the WETA was enough to give us an impression that things are rather transparent.

Taklu and Prof. Zuberi had serious deliberations with Fayera, the WETA official on the trekking, boating and things of interest with Wenchi. We hired one horse for the toddler girl Amel to use. Then a to and fro boating for visiting an island was also reserved. All payments had to be made with the WETA office. 19-year-old Kebede joined us as an official WETA guide. Our vehicle could move only one more kilometre from there. From there onwards no more permission for automotives. On the right side of the vehicle stop point, was beautifully built cafeteria of Ambo Abebech hotel. It is a place for the travellers to sit and relax. Earlier there were a dozen of traditional huts for the overnight stay of the visitors. They are almost abandoned now. On the left we had our second sight of Wenchi lake. Now she is a bit closer. Awe inspired by the sight, we started trekking.

Trekking experience Amel and Dr. Salma Zuberi seated on the horses named Magal and Buzu; and others walking. Payment for the extra horse should be paid to the official guide. Baby boy Ruben found a comfortable seat on a baby-carriage mounted on the back of his father, Dr. Elahi. The dusty pathway was full of rubbles and loose soil. Till the lake, it is almost a downward trail. Literally there was no chance for a trekker to be absentminded or careless. Cost of absentmindedness, as I had experienced once, was a free fall and then a slide down a few feet forward! I expected breaking of my back, but I was bit lucky. Thanks to a couple of feet thick bed

of fine dust! I got my specs immersed in the dust.

As you walk down, majestic sceneries unveil before you. During entire span of your trekking you find steep mountain on one side and deep valley on the other.

Mountains and valleys are covered with flora of diverse colours and varieties. In the valleys you find barley cultivation. Ethnic vegetations, like Hyginia abyssinica a tree covered with green leaves and red flowers, give you a refreshing break under their shade. “Essence of this tree, seen only in Ethiopia, is used for curing intestinal problems. Hence the name, Hyginia abyssinica”, Taklu explained.

‘Colobo’ monkeys with black and white hair gestured at us. I glanced only once at them. Who wants to look at monkeys and fall down?

At many places mountain surfaces are exposed – a clear evidence for soil erosion. “Erosion takes place even due to wind because of the loose and dry nature of the soil” Dr. Akhila commented.

Pointing to the rings of layers found on the exposed mountain parts, Prof.

Zuberi said, “See this is a layer of clay, this is a layer of pebbles. White patches indicate calcium”. According to his observation, all these mountains were once submerged under water. “Layers of this kind could be formed only due to sedimentation under water”, he says.

Two-hour-long trekking accompanied by an Environmental Sciences professor and hydrologist was thoroughly

May 2013

17 enlightening. After each stunning sight they would comment something that would inspire your thoughts. Thousands of years back a huge volcanic eruption occurred. Hot lava flowed for a long time.

Whole place and its surroundings were boiling! Once everything was cooled down things started settling down. Lava created rocks. Mouth of the volcano turned into a ridge with rainwater collecting inside. No way to run out, the water has been staying there stagnant. The quantity of water and the frequency of replenishment by rain are very large so that the usual problems with stagnant water are not applicable for crater lakes. Magnificent truths – I thought.

On the way, we found four tourists from China. They were so delighted to know that we were from India and Bangladesh.

“China and India are friends”, shrugging, one of them said. During our downward trekking, wherever we got a chance, we competed each other to get the best snaps of the lake. After two hours, we were on the shore of the majestic lake. There were not more than a dozen of tourists and a couple of boats on the shore. The shore was also spotted by a lone building.

When you look from outside, inside of the building is perfect dark. I went inside and saw some people sitting on wooden chairs and chatting. Grass leaves were scattered all over its floor to form traditional carpet – an indication that something auspicious a meeting it was. It was a meeting of the local boat owners, our guide Kebede said.

Sailing on celestial waters Now, time for boating. There were two small open boats near the shore.

One was with wooden body and metal covering inside. The other was smaller fibre boat with two oarsmen. We were led

to the smaller one. “What is the seating capacity?” I asked. “Six” replied one of the oarsmen. We are already eight including official guide and it is 10 if we count oarsmen also. Amel and baby Ruben are extra. This arithmetic was enough to switch on my water phobia. As the boats moved, it was celestial a beauty unfurling for us.

What a beautiful world the almighty has created! We never blinked our eyes, but kept our camera lenses blinking and blinking. At the middle of the lake, one of the oarsman, Asfa Meconin shared his acquired knowledge: “Here the lake is 75 metres deep”. Everyone was thrilled at the fact. To me it was an inconvenient truth. After a few minutes we reached the island.

Nestled on the bosom of a pristine crater lake 3380 meters above the sea level, the island was so tranquil. There was a trail through the woods. It ended at a Christian monastery. The church was closed. “This church opens only if devotees come”, Taklu said. Nobody stays there – even not the priests. The island is owned only by birds and trees. Here silence is the hallmark and peace of mind is a gift for every visitor. We sat down on the grasscovered terrain, against the lake. Birds started singing songs to entertain us. Every one of us felt so tired and wanted to eat something sitting on this heavenly piece of land. Oarsmen Asfa and Abeta joined us. “If you want we are ready to boat you a full circle around this island”, Abeta put forward an idea. Everyone endorsed it, even me. But Astrid wanted to sit lonely and feed baby Ruben. “Is it safe for her to sit here alone?” Taklu asked the oarsmen.

“Definitely, there is no problem for her. She

will be safe”, WETA guide Kebede assured.

We had one full round sailing of the island. It was even more beautiful and captivating. Submerged plants played hide and seek around our vessel. Water sparkled like jade. “Deep colour of the water shows that the lake is too deep”, observed Dr. Elahi The ridge around us stood aloft with all its grandeur and multiplicities of colours. After a round we joined back Astrid and Ruben on the island. Astrid was sitting on an old log of wood and on her lap was a sweet smiling Ruben. Which baby on this earth dislikes scintillating beauty of nature!

Time for go back. There was a ferncovered old tomb. Mounted on it was a black and white image of the deceased throwing a frozen but friendly smile to us.

Rest in peace! We got into the boat – this time the wooden one. There was a new traveller. He wanted to take a photo of

him sailing the boat. When he attempted to get the oar, the boat tilted a bit. Island of monastery went far and far away.

Approaching was the shore showing us the way back. During return trip Akhila also needed a horse. Three ladies on three horses and we followed. “Cow girls!” someone commented. Hiking was still more difficult. We took intermittent rest, drank plenty of water. Reached back the vehicle stop point. Had one more view of the Wenchi lake. At 3.45pm she was more bluish. The entire blue sky was reflecting over her body. She is beckoning.

K.P. Sivakumar

[Author is a trainer with a college in Ambo, Ethiopia. His wife Dr. Akhila S. Nair serves Ambo University as Asst. Professor in Environmental Sciences.]

End...

May 2013

18 convention and exhibition centre. Macau has also diversified its offerings to Business Tourism visitors and incentive travelers in recent years to provide designer shopping, luxury hotels and resorts as well as many more dining and entertainment options.

Mr. SanJeet, said, “Macau realizes the importance of the growing Indian economy and welcomes Indians by providing them seamless travel and value

M

acau Government Tourist Office has announced that visitor arrivals from India have recorded double digit growth in the month of March and April 2013. In March 2013, visitors from short haul markets to Macau recorded a 6.2% increase. India registered a double digit growth of 26.9% in arrivals. During April 2013, the provisional visitor arrival in Macau was 2.39 million, representing an increase of 0.7% over April 2012.

The Indian market contributed to the growth again with a double digit growth of 12.8%.

According to Mr. SanJeet, Indian Repesentative, MGTO, “Macau is fast becoming a favourite with the Indian tourists because of its perennial charms.

Indians love the opulence of Macau.

From awe inspiring UNESCO world heritage sites like the Ruins of St. Paul to the Macau Tower the very best in modern architecture, it offers rich attractions to everyone.” Macau weaves into its culture beautifully, the old and the new of the European and Chinese culture. Macau has something for everyone hence it is fast becoming the preferred destination for the discerning traveler who wants full value for his/her money.

MGTO has been working extensively to explore the Indian market. All efforts are being made to lure the Indian traveler to Macau. MICE movements are also contributing significantly to the upsurge in the number of Indians travelling to Macau. Macau is considered to be one of the hottest wedding destinations by event management and wedding planning industry. Hotels are offering special packages and facilities for Indian weddings being organized in Macau.

Macau is one of Asia’s newest and most exciting Business Tourism destinations, after a period of rapid and unprecedented infrastructure development. Macau is home to Asia’s largest fully integrated

for money. With more and more luxury hotels and resorts opening up, Macau surely has gained popularity as one of the most sought-after tourist destination in Asia. In 2013 all efforts will be made to lure the Indian traveller. We have been seeing a steady increase in numbers over the past few months and we are sure the momentum will be maintained in the coming months too.”

May 2013

19

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nion Tourism Minister Mr. K. Chiranjeevi has inaugurated the new campus of Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) at Noida.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister said India has a long lived tradition of Athiti Devo Bhava that has been shadowed by social tensions of modern lives. “We cannot promote tourism if our visitors do not trust hosts and hosts do not welcome visitors. The host community must provide the landscape for tourism. To revive the tradition of Athithi Devo Bhava; tourism students can act as the brand ambassadors and also help the host community in realizing the importance of this industry,” the Minister said.

Referring to many gaps in the tourism supply chain, the Minister expressed the confidence that our constant and active efforts shall bridge these gaps and we shall emerge as one of the leading tourism destinations in the world. He said, in order to create a pro tourist environment in our country we have given a new lift

to Incredible India campaign by targeting both domestic and international tourism.

“Safety of tourists is our top most priority and there shall be zero tolerance for crime against tourists,” he said.

The Minister said, “As you all know that tourism has been an age old activity and it is of no surprise that it has become one of the most important social and economic activity of today’s world. We can gauge the importance of tourism by the fact that tourism’s contribution to employment is estimated to be 6 – 7 % of the overall number of jobs worldwide. He said, “In India, the travel and tourism sector is estimated to create 78 jobs per million rupees of investment compared to 45 jobs in the manufacturing sector for similar investment. The millennium development goal of poverty alleviation can be achieved by the job opportunities available in the travel and tourism industry.”

Underlining the importance of research, the Minister urged the academicians and tourism professionals to actively take part

in conducting research on various aspects of the tourism industry, thus providing essential information to enhance the effectiveness of tourism projects. He said, “Research is one area which needs to be carried out continuously in tourism to harness the benefits while avoiding the disadvantages associated with it”.

The new campus of IITTM is spread over 10 acres of land in Se ctor 62 of Noida.

The campus has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 27.7 crore.

The Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) is an autonomous organization of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and is one of the premier institutes in South Asia offering education, training, research and consultancy in sustainable management of tourism, travel and other allied sectors.

IITTM, Delhi offers two year PGDM programme in tourism & leisure. It has pan India presence with its centers at Gwalior, Nellore, Delhi, Goa and Bhubaneswar.

IITTM Delhi was started in 2007 from a

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Defence, Home and Directorate General of Resettlements, have been forwarded to the State Governments and UT Administrations.

The Minister said in addition, the Union Ministry of Tourism, along with stakeholders has adopted the Code of conduct for “Safe & Honourable Tourism”, which is a set of guidelines to encourage tourism activities to be undertaken with respect for basic rights like dignity, safety and freedom from exploitation of both tourists and local residents, in particular women and children.

However, the Minister added that ‘Public

Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. As such, prevention of crime against tourists/foreign tourists is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments and Union Territory (UT) Administrations.

The Tourism Minister further said that the number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India during January – March, 2013 were 20.27 lakh (Provisional) as compared to 19.81 lakh (Provisional) during the corresponding period of 2012, registering a positive growth of 2.3%.

nion Tourism Minister Mr. K. Chiranjeevi has said that in order to ensure safety and security of domestic/ foreign tourists, the Ministry of Tourism has advised all the State Governments and UT Administrations to deploy Tourist Police.

He said some of the State Governments have deployed tourist police in one form or the other. Further, the guidelines for formation of Tourist Security Organization(s) comprising ex-servicemen, formulated by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in consultation with the Ministry of

temporary campus in IHM Pusa. It has contributed in various capacity building programmes of the Government and has been instrumental in training of more than 5000 students under Earn While You Learn, Capacity Building for Service Providers, Hunar Se Rozgar etc. schemes.

IITTM Delhi is committed to developing quality human resources for tourism, allied services and has been serving as a focal point for higher tourism education and has a unique distinction of 100% placement of its eligible students since inception.

The Institute is committed towards tourism sensitization and capacity building and in this endeavor has trained many officials of organizations like Bureau of Immigration, tourism officers of various states etc. apart from imparting training to the Regional Level Guides. IITTM Delhi faculty has won many accolades for research projects for Ministry of Tourism and other state governments, like evaluation study of Visa on Arrival Scheme, Hunar Se Rozgar Scheme, Problems and Prospects of accessible tourism in India, analyzing the factors responsible for slow down of tourist arrivals to India, evaluation study of the Market Development Assitance scheme, Development of Beach Tourism and Visitor Facility Management in Kerala etc.

These researches have contributed a great deal in policy formulation as well as the implementation.

To promote tourism education at all levels IITTM Delhi has collaborated with CBSE for promotion of tourism education at secondary school level. The centre has also been actively involved in the designing of the tourism curriculum for the National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework. Recently IITTM Delhi has won the prestigious National India Education Excellence Award for the “Best Institute in Tours and Travel Education” in the country for 2013, awarded by Time Research.

Edited, Printed and Published by Ravisankar K.V. for Tourism India Publications Pvt. Ltd., Printed at Arsha Offset Graphix Sreehari, TC 9/2519-1, Janvilla Lane, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram 695 019 and Published from TC 9/1785, Anandam, Pattanikkunnu Lane, Sasthamangalam P.O,Thiruvananthapuram-695010. Editor: Ravisankar K.V.

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