Voyager's World December 2015

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From The Desk

2014: The year that was...

And we have raced down to the end of 2014, yet another calendar that has been flipped through too quickly! This year, we, at Voyager’s World, brought you some interesting travel features on adventure, sports, MICE trends across the globe and travel technology stories. New and emerging countries like Ecuador made their entry into India while others like Ras-al-Khaimah, Bhutan, Peru and Vietnam are placing strong bets on this country’s outbound tourists group. AirAsia India and Vistara have spurred intense ‘fare-wars’ on one hand, while existing LCCs have been facing some setbacks due to taxation, losses and internal issues. As the new Ministry of Tourism, which saw a quick reshuffle, is engaging in continous initiatives across the industry, the new technological innovations are sure to bring in new booking patterns and the E-visa facilitation is expected to rake in more forex.

Voyager’s World will bring in exciting new story ideas and inputs from significant opinion leaders in the industry in 2015, in the best interests of you, the core travel industry stakeholders. Here’s wishing a happy completion of 2014 with dynamic businesses in the forthcoming year.

Warm Regards

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

eDIT ORIA

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Associate Editor

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Industry Buzz

10

Editorial & Advertising office

Cover Story

Operations Executive Selvarajramaswamy operations@voyagersworld.in

20 India Outbound

Holiday Trends in India

28

Germany India Pool Roadshow, Peru, Australia

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Travel Technology

Chalo Paris App and Tripda Carpooling in India

Hospitality

Branding, Independent hotel segments, luxury hotels, etc.

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Industry Buzz

6>>

Signature Tours appointed GSA for Insight Vacations

BA, Visit Britain launch 'Unexpected Kingdom'

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s part of the ‘GREAT’ Britain campaign, British Airways and Visit Britain partnered to promote ‘hidden’ travel treasures of the UK through ‘Unexpected Kingdom’ digital campaign.’ Two online films were unveiled on its website- ba.com and its YouTube channel to highlight a ‘never seen before’ twist to the famous English tea experience and the Red Bus.

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nsight Vacations appointed Signature Tours by Creative Travel as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for its Europe and USA escorted journeys. Signature Tours is the outbound holidays division of Creative Travel. Through this Indians have access to lluxury escorted tours and cruises across 40 European countries with Insight Vacations.

France eases visa regime, says 'bienvenue' to Indians

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rance easaed the visa procedures for Indian visitors not only for visa processing but also for providing advanced information for Indian nationals visiting France. Tourist and business visas for Indians visiting France will now be delivered by the French consulates within 48 hours. The measure will be implemented as of 1 January 2015.

A text message will be sent to the applicant should there be an extension of deadline due to missing documents or inaccuracies in the visa application.

National Museum unveils Spice Route excavations

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he National Museum in New Delhi unveiled the ‘Unearthing Pattanam: Histories, Cultures, Crossing’, an exhibition on the ancient Spice Route, on 28 November. It takes visitors through archaeological findings on the trading route unearthed through excavations in Kerala. It will run for a month with glimpses of Muziris, a port city that mysteriously disappeared in the 14th century.

Bangalore is India's first to get Lufthansa Premium Economy

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ufthansa’s global roll-out of Premium Economy Class became available from 22 November for the first time on all routes flown by a Boeing 7478. Bangalore became the first city in India to welcome this. It offers 50% extra legroom space than in Economy. Passengers can access Lufthansa Business Lounges before take- off for nominal fee.

Spain Tourism highlights Barcelona for Indian MICE

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Cm Travel Solutions co-hosted a corporate evening along with the Tourism Office of Spain and Barcelona Tourism Convention Bureau in New Delhi recently to highlight Barcelona as the next best MICE destination. 70 corporate travellers including Ambassador of Spain H.E Gustavo Manuel de Arístegui y San Román, Spain and Barcelona Tourism Teams and FCm India Leadership Team attended the event. The session focused on MICE travel among Indian corporates and Barcelona’s emergence as one of the preferred destinations for that purpose.

Bulgaria records 60.5% growth in Indian tourist arrivals in 2014

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ulgaria registered a growth of 60.5% in the Indian tourist arrivals from the period January-August 2014 in comparison to the same period in 2013. Stefan Ionkov, Head of Commercial and Economic Affairs Office of Bulgaria to India says ,“The growth is a result of the substantial efforts undertaken by the Commercial and Economic Affairs Office of Bulgaria to India team for the last two years. The results show how the destination is gaining momentum among the Indian travellers. We need to develop this success story for Bulgaria in India and unleash the potential to become the preferred European destination for the Indian MICE and FIT travellers. We are looking forward to a rolling success further in 2015”.

Voyager’s World > December 2014

Industry Buzz

8>>

roomsXML.com felicitated

by Dun & Bradstreet

Ministry settles scheme for satellite phone use

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un & Bradstreet, noted global source of commercial information and insight on businesses, felicitated roomsXML.com along with 100 other leading SMEs at the SME Business Excellence Awards 2014 held in New Delhi recently.

Prakash Bang, Managing Director, roomsXML.com, said: “It’s indeed an honour to be featured in Dun & Bradstreet’s Premier Publication. The recognition encourages us to move ahead with greater energy to further enhance our product and service offering.”

Ovre 4000 SME applications were evaluated and the 100 best SMEs were recognised.

Bangalore to host PATA Travel Mart 2015

T

he 2015 edition of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart will be held in Bangalore from 6-8 September at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). This 38th annual PATA Travel Mart is hosted by the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka. The buyer/seller online registration shall be available on PATA’s website soon.

he Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Ministry finalized a scheme for procurement, registration and use of satellite phones by tour operators which has been concurred to by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) had requested the Ministry of Tourism to lift the ban on use of satellite phones for tourism.

Lack of communication facilities had affected certain sports like high altitude mountaineering, trekking etc. Those available in India include mountaineering, trekking, rafting, parasailing, etc.

Goa Tourism starts 'Hop On Hop Off' tours

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n view of the ongoing fervour of the St Francis Xavier Exposition 2014, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) launched an innovative ‘Hop On Hop Off’ tour for tourists and pilgrims visiting Old Goa. The route covers around seven kilometers around Old Goa where heritage monuments and churches of historical importance are located.

Tourism NZ ties up with Malaysia Airlines to woo Indian travellers

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HRAEI seeks government intervention to boost Sikkim hotel industry California 'visits' Ludhiana travel agents

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s part of the Brand USA ‘DiscoverAmerica’ Educational Seminars, Visit California participated in training travel agents in Ludhiana recently. This being Visit California’s first engagement initiative in the city, 50 agents from the city attended the seminar. Accounting for 28% market share of Indian visitors to the US, 240,000 Indians visited California in 2013, a rise of 26% over 2012. Indian visitor arrivals are expected to grow by another 14% in 2014.

Voyager’s World > December 2014

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he Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) recently organized its third committee meeting in Gangtok wherein members invited hoteliers and restaurateurs of Sikkim to discuss their challenges.

HRAEI President, Sudesh Poddar, along with other members of the managing committee, had a one-to-one interaction to understand issues and problems faced by the hoteliers in their day-to-day running of the business and solve them collectively.

ourism New Zealand announced a partnership with Malaysia Airlines and Auckland International Airport to promote special airfares for Indian travellers for the travel period of December 2014 to June 2015, so as to increase traffic to New Zealand on the Auckland route from India. The new campaign will offer special air fares to New Zealand from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi. The partnership aims to help deliver a target of 50,000 tourist arrivals to New Zealand by 2016. The promotion will target young adventurers, honeymooners and families looking to experience a unique holiday in New Zealand.

With these fares available until December 2014, the campaign gives tourists another reason to travel to New Zealand this summer ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which New Zealand is co-hosting with Australia. The tournament opens on February 14 in Christchurch and runs until March 29.

Cover Story

10>>

Rising holiday bookings push OTAs to DELIVER MORE As more and more holiday options are unveiled for the Indian vacationer, there is a pressure on travel agents to cope with last minute rushes, packages, late booking queries and yet try to offer something for every customer.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

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ome New Year or summer vacations, the Indian traveller is spoilt for choice with countless holiday options at his disposal. Naturally, there is a pressure on the travel agents and tour operators to cope with the last minute rushes, new packages, late booking queries and yet try to offer something for every customer. In the past one year or so, the perception of a holiday has taken a new dimension.

The first thing that a traveller would like to know about a destination is how the experience would be and for the need to be recognized, lauded, liked and commented upon on social media platforms. In view of increasing exposure to international destinations as well as new locations within India itself, niche segments like chartered services, cruises, adventure

Voyager’s World > December 2014

sports and home stays are some of the trends that are here to stay.

While sharing the company’s top five most popular searches for 2014 as well as their regional market observations of travel trends during 2014, and key predictions for 2015.

Jackson Fernandez, Managing Director, Wego India, said: “ Wego’s large number of business travel users in India have placed Delhi and Mumbai in the top domestic travel destinations this year, while Goa, continues as a favourite amongst holiday travellers with all our top five domestic hotels located in the popular beachside city.

Southeast Asian cities again top our most popular international destination list, with Dubai climbing strongly to the number two spot.”

He also stated that new domestic airlines, expansion of route services and attractive discounts would continue to add a zing to that sector, while improvements in infrastructure would help the domestic travel market grow with travellers seeking out new serviced destinations.

Affinity Travel like pilgrimage tours, girlfriend getaways, golf tours, reunions, senior citizen groups, etc. is another growing trend. There has also been a lot of focus given to lesser known destinations like Bhutan and Vietnam, so also the Fiji Islands, Maldives and on the other hand, already established popular destinations like Thailand and Sri Lanka are constantly revamping their brand images. For a temporary period, coun-

tries like Turkey and Spain witnessed a sudden flurry of tourist activities as a result of Bollywood influences.

On the domestic front, there have also been rising preferences for rediscovering cultural tourism in the country. Places that used to be favoured by international tourists are now searched by Indians as well, particularly the urban ones. States like Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have been going all out to bring in tourists to their hitherto little known destinations. Madhya Pradesh Tourism recently launched its special chartered bus for tourists.

Booking patterns The recent ICICI Lombard Travel

Cover Story

12>> Trends 2014 survey focused on revealing the difference in behaviour among travellers when it comes to international versus domestic travel.

The survey covered 1063 respondents across a mix of metros and smaller cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh who have travelled to international as well as domestic locations. The survey showed that Indians are travelling more frequently for leisure across international and domestic circuits. While 25% respondents had increased the frequency of their foreign trips in the past three to five years, almost 30% have done so in case of domestic circuits.

Indians still rely on travel agents for ticket purchase for their overseas (85%) and domestic (78%) leisure trips, while only 4% of international travellers booked their overseas travel through online travel portal, as much as 20% of domestic travellers used online travel portals for bookings.

Indians clearly give more importance to travel insurance for international tours compared to domestic trips.

The survey results show that while taking leisure trips, higher number of Indians purchased overseas travel insurance (38%) as compared to domestic travel insurance (4%).

Among those who did not purchase an overseas travel insurance policy, an alarming 50% felt that purchasing the same is unnecessary if one already has some other insurance policy. For the un-insured domestic travellers, nearly 60% did not see the need to buy a policy given the short flight distance to the destination.

After the Internet and the influx of apps and online booking solutions and other web-related services have become a way of life in the country, our way of planning holidays has changed. We have come a long way from looking out for word-of-mouth information, recommendations from

Voyager’s World > December 2014

friends, books and newspapers. Today, we have come to heavily rely on Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and social media, not to forget the growing presence of mobile technology as a mode of access. Word-of-mouth still carries on its significance, just that the form and medium have changed; vacationers are looking out for wordof-mouth information through reviewing and blogging websites.

According to Jackson, Inbound tourism is expected to take a leap forward with the recent introduction of visa on arrival extended to 43 countries.

Travel planning online usually means a lot of work searching the vastness of the internet. Online travel portals usually offer deals to fit in with holiday seasons. Search engines bring about several hundred travel sites instantly, encompassing myriad options of OTAs, accommodation facilities and sightseeing choices on one simple screen.

Today, online travel bookings continue to increase thus proving that travellers feel secure and happy about having found best value for their money using trusted sites.

In the past few years, electronic media, movies and social media have contributed significantly towards impacting outbound travel from India, mainly in prodding people to try and opt for more exotic locations. At the same time, the conventional holiday planning services of travel agents are also flourishing with more customizations being offered and personalized services. OTAs are now exclusively aiming on customer choices and preferences for destinations, comfort and budget.

Today nobody makes plans or travels without checks. Where to go, what to do, destinations, prices, restaurants anything and everything is tested online and through friends and reviews. Travel guides have also come into the scene to fill the gap with

Cover Story

14>> comprehensive details about places, activities, hotels. Lonely Planet India partnered with Skyscanner to launch ‘India Unexplored’, a digital consumer campaign to draw travel enthusiasts to share their discovery of lesser known destinations in the country.

The campaign encouraged travellers to tell, share offbeat travel experiences and win prizes like sponsored holidays to offbeat destinations and interesting travel merchandise.

Key destinations likely to be visited

by Indians this summer As mentioned earlier, there has been a rising appeal towards international travel in the Indian market. What was a luxury reserved only for the elite in the past, has now figured in the top of the bucket-list of the new-age Indian. This fascination for foreign shores can be credited to increased purchase power, aspirations to discover new places as well as to get a high among peers by way of a status.

Likewise, far-reaching hoardings and TV commercials as well as online contests, airline offers and simpler visa regimes have also had a say in this trend.

A survey by Yatra.com showed that the propensity of Indians to spend on travel had clearly increased. More than 25% Indians are willing to spend over Rs.50,000 on their winter vacation. While 34.9% people are willing to spend between Rs.25,000 to Rs.50,000 on their vacation.

Voyager’s World > December 2014

The survey showcased that Indians have started taking frequent holidays through the year, albeit for shorter durations. 81.2% respondents prefer to take holidays of up to seven days, while only 5.4% opt for holidays for more than 15 days. And a whopping 72.8% people take four or more holidays a year.

While Indians enjoy holidaying, the survey found that 18.2% Indians are hooked on to their phones even during vacations. But there were also 28% respondents who said they switched off completely from work, while 53.8% Indians would check their phone at least once a day to stay connected.

The survey found that just 13.4% respondents were keen to stay at a relative or a friend’s place on vacation, while an overwhelming 81.6% preferred to stay at hotels. The survey found that 45.7% Indians prefer staying at two-three star hotels, and nearly 20% stay at four-five star hotels. The new upcoming trend that the survey revealed was that 5% Indians are looking for home stays which was relatively negligible in the past.

While most Indians (48.1%) prefer a retreat in the lap of nature, the lazy beach holidays are also popular with 15% Indians. Hobby-centric holidays are also on the rise – 13% admitting to being adventure junkies, 12% admitted to travelling to satiate the foodie within them, 7.1% admitted to wandering in search of the historical

Cover Story

monuments, and shopaholics accounted for 4.8%.

With the smart phone revolution, there has been a sizable increase in mobile bookings for holidays. 19.8% Indians have started to use various mobile apps for their travel bookings and now only 7.5% of the people prefer the travel agents, while the remaining still preferred booking holidays on their desktops.

A trip to short haul destinations like Dubai, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Macau, Bali or Oman bears the advantage of just a few hours on flight, affordability and assorted sightseeing and enter-

Voyager’s World > December 2014

16>>

tainment activities be it amusement, shopping, heritage, food or adventure.

Offbeat destinations like the Philippines, Taiwan, Langkawi in Malaysia and Seoul have also seen rising interest in the recent months. The Philippines has declared 2015 as the Visit Philippines year. Domestically Coorg, Puducherry, Munnar have been popular.

Jammu and Kashmir has bounced back after its setback from the recent natural calamity and is promoting its winter attractions extensively.

Hill stations like Naukuchiatal, Kulu

and Manali remain ever popular but our neighbours like Kathmandu and Bhutan are also posing as strong contenders.

On the international front, new players like Maldives, Korea, Portugal, Eastern Europe like Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic; international long haul cruises like Alaska cruises are highly favoured and are closely followed by the Mediterranean and Northern Europe cruises. The popularity of a cruise holiday is increasing and every year we are seeing a growth of 60 – 80% in our cruise business. The Indian travel trade has definitely become more focused on

selling and promoting Cruise holidays recognising the high yield nature of the segment. for example, Selling a 7-day Alaska cruise to a couple could generate a commission of Rs 8 – 10 k which is the equivalent of commission earned from selling 15 international air tickets.

In India, a number of cruise marketing companies and representatives of cruise lines have been empowering their travel agents, from time to time, through product training workshops, working in partnership for joint marketing activities and providing them direct access to cruise reservation systems. They also team up

Cover Story with the agents and tour operators to design and send electronic mailers and brochures. But the interesting trend is that of a diverse product. As the Indian travellers grow older or are nearing retirement, they are experiencing a need for moderate leisure product and here is where cruise holidays come in handy. Thus, the Indian travel trade is also taking up this segment to promote ocean and our own domestic river cruises. River cruises will soon be the next travel trend. As of today, the domestic cruise segment is nearly non-existent. In the past, many cruise brands tried to enter this market but in vain mainly due to the lack of infrastructure at the ports, poor quality of products and high tax structure.

18>> bargain even during holiday time because of so many options.

Challenges One of the major concerns for travelers in the OTA segment is trust. The question is about trusting a computer or a payment gateway with one’s money, plans and holiday. Those OTAs which have a fairly quick refund process and secure payment gateway to keep things addressable and clean will be trusted.

Videos are going to matter more in the future as travellers would want to see more about the places they visit and they will also share more of their holidays through the moving images they capture.

As mentioned in the beginning, a new trend that has emerged is the growing interest in homestays, especially in destinations like Coorg, Puducherry and Goa. This choice of alternative accommodation is slowly gaining popularity among Indians. It may be worthwhile to mention about the bed and breakfast campaign promoted across the country in a few states in the past few months. It may be recalled that the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India promoted the ‘Incredible India Bed and Breakfast/Homestay Establishments’ with the aim to provide an altogether Indian ethnic experience of comfortable homestay, local culture, cuisine, customs and traditions with good standards of facilities and services

The international cruise segment is significantly more promising with double digit growth every season.

The challenges here are more behavioural because by the time a decision is taken; it may difficult to get the requested cabin or visa processing may become problematic.

Relevance of low cost airlines in domestic travel The last few months have witnessed domestic airlines vying with each other by coming up with the lowest fares possible with attractive discounts on bookings made for a travel period over at least the next six months.

There was a sudden shift in the bookings, as a result, with these fares coming across as promising for even the emerging middle class. Yet again, these fares are on fluctuating mode and they are often inclined towards hikes than a rare dip in prices.

The number of LCCs in the market helps to keep airfare choice very competitive and diverse. While budget is top of mind for every traveller, there is still significant demand for full service carriers (FSC).

This where using OTAs helps in identifying the cheapest airfares on a FSC; of course, that depends on the airlines’ promotions and the time of travel. Airfares often increase during summer holidays and year-ending festive holidays and so many book their travel far in advance. Yet, sometimes it is not surprising to find a

Voyager’s World > December 2014

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Having said that, the LCC is extremely important for all customer segments.

With increased frequency of inter-city travel, companies and entrepreneurs are becoming more conscious of travel costs and hence have adopted and will continue to adopt the low-cost air travel options. The segment on the whole flourished due to affordability.

e p o r

Fe bru ar y

2015

at an affordable cost to the tourists to make their stay a memorable one and also supplement the availability of accommodation. Households approved under this scheme can generate there lively hood and provide employment to the others in the service chain. This also enables domestic as well as foreign tourists to live in a homely environment and to take advantage of the scheme.

On a concluding note, online travel in India is expected to continue to outpace the total travel market, with air and rail claiming the majority of the market and travel bookings will only rise next year as OTAs push to expand their offerings beyond air and for sure with so many holidays falling on weekdays in 2015!

India Outbound

20>>

Germany India Pool RoadShow 2014 VW BUREAU

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he German National Tourist Office recently organized its Germany India Pool roadshow from 12th to 14th November 2014 in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai with the participation of over 10 German partners, with the representatives from Maritim Hotel, Baden Baden, Saxony, Lufthansa,

Stuttgart, Bavaria, Air Berlin, KD Rhine, Deutsche Bahn and Euro Tours.

The event has helped the German partners to understand the Indian market and in promoting Germany as a great tourist destination. The roadshow witnessed a great response

from the Indian travel trade.

Romit Theophilus, Director Sales & Marketing, said “Germany has retained its position of being a popular European destination among Indians.

Germany has witnessed 435,052 overnights from India for the period of January-August, 2014”.

German National Tourist Board successfully launched the micro site on smart luxury for the travel trade which would facilitate the fraternity to get familiarize with unique style of exclusivity in terms of style, flawless service and infinite options for a pampered luxury holiday in Germany.

India ranks No. 3 AMONG asiaN marketS IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Till Weigl, Destination Manager Asia & Australia, German National Tourist Office says Germany expects 1.2 Million to 1.5 Million overnights by 2020.

Growth of Indian Market The growth from the Indian market has been consistent so far. We have witnessed 10% growth in 2014 and are expecting a growth of 10% to 15% by the end of this year. We are expecting 1.2 million -1.5 mllion overnights by 2020. We have seen 435,000 overnights from January to August 2014. The average stay of an Indian traveller is three to four days in Germany; while business travellers are 58%, leisure is 42% and incentive travel is growing in numbers. Germany has been the No.1 destination for Indians in the last four years. India is the third market from Asia and the fifth in overseas market. The average spending of Indians is 2400 Euros.

New initiatives The smart luxury microsite for the travel trade facilitates unique exclusivity in terms of style, flawless ser-

Voyager’s World > December 2014

vice and infinite options for luxury holidays in Germany. The site was launched in India six months ago and has had a positive response so far.

We have also launched hotspots for honeymooners, castles, countryside, wedding spots, self driving through whole of Germany. The ‘Discover Germany on your own’ campaign offers more leisure activities and honeymoon destination.

Marketing Plans The marketing plans include branding for advertising, Christmas market, press tours and advertorials.

For 2015, we are focusing on traditions and customs for luxury segment, castle, hotels and restaurants so that people can experience the whole culture of Germany. We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall with a thousand illuminated, helium-filled balloons as

a visual reminder of the former wall and a symbol of hope for a world without walls from 9 Nov 2014 till 3 Oct 2015. We are organizing German Travel Mart in Erfut at the end of April for 2015.

Segments Some of the growing segments are spa and wellness, wine tourism, culinary tourism, nightlife, adventures like rockclimbing, skiing, rafting and windsurfing. The backpacking segment is doing well especially with

youth hotspots for free Wi-Fi for young people and budget travellers. The sports segment is promoted through football, f1 races and self drives on racing tracks. Scuba diving is a niche market especially as the German coastline is unexplored in Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, Holstein Wadden Sea National Park and Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park where one can walk over the ocean for a while. People can also indulge in snorkeling and swimming during mid June at the Baltic Sea.

India Outbound

22>>

Baden - Baden: KEEN ON TAPPING INDIAN MICE INDUSTRY IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Anne-Greth Paulus, Head of Marketing, Int. Sales & PR, Baden-Baden Kur & Tourismus GmbH says that the Indian market records a steady growth for Baden- Baden. biking, climbing, horseback riding.

Indian Market Baden-Baden is one of the very first destinations in Germany that started promotion in India eight years ago due to the potentiality of the emerging Indian market. The successful efforts of the German National Tourist Board (GNTO) and South West Germany cre-

ated a new awareness about Germany as an extraordinary leisure destination. Our partnership within GNTO India Pool gives an effective platform to target clients and for many years we have been part of the Cuckoo Clock Training of South West Germany. We have recorded a steady growth in the

Indian market. In 2013 we had plus 24% against 2012 and expect similar growth in 2014. Baden-Baden is ideal for honeymooners, families, high-end FIT clients and MICE. It is also known for wellness and spa for healing through thermal spa water. One can also indulge in golf, tennis, hiking, mountain

Segments Baden-Baden is ideal for MICE with wide range of offerings for conferences, conventions and incentives. It has unique locations at the race course, casino or exquisite villas like the Palais Biron apart from convention centres.

The Incentive groups are benefited from team building activities like the high rope course garden and adventure activities as hot air balloon, which is Europe’s largest fleet with 26 balloons, and the Battert Rock, one of the finest climbing centres. Baden-Baden offers 400 km of hiking trails, a unique 40 km panoramic trail, 300 km of cycling tracks, seven golf clubs; the Golf Region Baden-Alsace that includes one of the first golf courses in Germany.

European Quartet REAFFIRMS INDIAN OUTBOUND POTENTIAL VW BUREAU

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he European Quartet recently organized road shows on 28th November in Mumbai, 29th in Pune, 1st December in Bangalore, 2nd December in Delhi, 2014. The Visegrad Cooperation consists of 4 countries namely Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia that taps the India market.

India being the fast growing outbound market in the world, the Indian outbound numbers is likely to rise.

The European Quartet as a part of marketing campaign is focusing on promoting MICE and Leisure for this year.

The Czech Republic is rich in history and often described as a giant garden which is covered with more than 200 historic castles plus more than 50 spas that offer treatments.

12 Czech landmarks are included in the UNESCO world heritage list. Hun-

Voyager’s World > December 2014

gary is a destination of 1100 years of history and the 5th largest supply of thermal water in the world. Hungary has Europe’s largest Parliament building with rich architectural heritages .Poland a destination for the film industry with beautiful mountain ranges, breathtaking lake views and sandy beaches. Slovakia located in the middle of Europe is a perfect destination for leisure holiday that offers lovely holidays in summer and in winter like golf resorts, marked cycling tracks, mountains suitable for hiking, trekking, mountaineering, rivers and lakes for water sports.

The recent trends states that the Indian travelers visit couple of countries on one trip hence the European Quartet offers the right platform to explore four exciting European countries with some of the main attractions like Warsaw, Bratislava, Prague and Budapest.

Presents

Over TED BUYERS S 300 HO IBITORS H 200 EX

MUMBAI, INDIA

26 27 28

MUMBAI’S BIGGEST B2B TRAVEL EXHIBITION

FEBRUARY 2015

A showcase for stimulating travel, tourism, hospitality, leisure and other related industries from Maharashtra. It provides an opportunity to meet the travel trade, hoteliers and other stake holders from India and abroad.

WHY ATTEND MAHARASHTRA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MART 2015 As a buyer, you have access to networking opportunities with stakeholders of Maharashtra’s buzzing travel & tourism industry.

WHO CAN ATTEND Travel Agents and Tour Operators MICE Operators, Corporate Buyers & Event Managers  Travel Writers and Travel Media 



ONLINE APPOINTMENT Buyers and sellers will make the remaining 40 per cent of their appointments schedule personally during the on-site. Sellers-Meet-Buyers (SMB) Appointment Session.  Travel Agents & Tour Operators are also invited on a Non - Hosted Buyer basis as well.  'Maharashtra International Travel Mart' recognises that networking is essential for the luxury travel industry and offers unrivalled opportunities for buyers and exhibitors to network outside of the prescheduled appointment programme.  Each Pre-Scheduled Appointment lasts 20-minutes and is with the VIP Buyer or Exhibitor who has expressed an interest in scheduling an appointment with each other. 

www.mitmlive.com

EXHIBITOR PROFILE  National Tourist Organization & State Tourism Promotion Boards.  Transportation : Airlines, Charters, Railwas, Passenger Transporters, Car Rentals, Shipping, Cruise Liners etc.,  Trade Associations, Financial Institutions, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Group Travel Operators, Destination Management

Companies.  MICE Operatprs (Meetings, Incentives, Conference & Exhibitions Organizers), convention and Exhibition Centres.  Technology Providers : Online Travel Portals, Hotel Reservation Networks, Property Management Systems.  Hotels & Resorts, Convention Centres, Wildlife Resorts, Eco-tourism Camps, Health Spas & Ayurvedic Centres, Golf Resorts.  Adventure sports: Aero Sports, Aqua sports, Terrestrial Adventure Operators (Trekking, Mountaineering, Jungle Camping,

Adventure Gears, Golf Resorts.

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India Outbound

24>>

Peru: Empire of Hidden Treasures IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Luis Cabello, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of Peru in India says, The Commercial Office of Peru in India

© Macchu Picchu, Peru

promotes one of the most beautiful tourist destinations of the world.

Growth of Indian Market Peru has registered an average growth of 20% year on year in its visitor arrivals from India. There has been a growing interest of people from different age groups in terms of leisure and business travel from India to Peru. In recent months, the profile of the Indian traveler to Peru has been diverse. Families looking to spend time together, groups of mid-career professionals opting for an adventure vacation, nature lovers and honeymooners have visited Peru. In terms of business travel, the number of companies looking to import Peru’s various commodities and products as well as others looking to invest and set up operations in Peru is on a rise. The year 2014 has firmly established an upward trend of outbound travel from India to Peru.

New Destinations Peru as a novel destination has a lot to offer. It is a country of rich cultural heritage where more than 40 cultures, before the Inca Empire have existed in the past. On your must see list should be the hidden city of Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail, the 5000 year old city of Caral and Lima City, the capital of Peru. At the same time, Peru also offers the glittering beaches of Lima, Lake Titicaca which is the highest navigable lake in the world and nightlife full of entertainment in most of its cities. Peru is a paradise for surfers with places like the Chicama beach in North Peru that has the largest left wave in the world and Pico Alto beach with the tallest and the best wave in the world. The beautiful jungles in Peru include the Peru-

Voyager’s World > December 2014

vian Rainforest and the Amazon River Rainforest. Peru has a lot of luxury hotels and the cuisine is very special and most well known in the world.

The World Travel Awards 2014, considered as “The Oscars of Tourism”, has awarded Peru as the leading culinary destination in South America as well as in the World in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Also, Peru has been awarded South America´s Leading Cultural Destination, Leading Heritage Destination and Lima as Leading City Break Destination.

Marketing plans for 2014-15 The Commercial office of Peru in New Delhi, India is planning a number of trade events and workshops in various cities of India, also FAM trips for tour operators and culinary experts to Peru in the near future to raise awareness about the destination.

They had recently organized road shows in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi to educate the tour operators which was a huge success with about 150 people in Kolkata, more than 50 in Mumbai and in Delhi, and planning to organize more road shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata for 2015.

Segments Peru is one of the most fascinating destinations in South America and the world. This fascination stems from the fortuitous combination of thousands of years of history plus the confluence of innumerable cultures which have transcended time, leaving their monuments and artistic relics. The traveler can chose from a

wide range of services with the highest standards of comfort, as well as sample the exquisite local cuisine.

A visitor to Peru will discover an indescribably diverse country, where travel is transformed into a collection of unique experiences and adventures.

Peru is overflowing with history, culture and biodiversity. Travelers can enjoy very diverse destinations in one trip. Each of these destinations is linked to a cluster of bustling cities which are in a process of renovation, sustained economic growth and which are establishing themselves on the international scene.

Its history dates back to more than 10,000 years. Caral, the oldest city in the Americas; Chavin de Huantar, a religious center with widespread influence in the Andean region; the enigmatic Nazca Lines; the Moche and their pyramid temples; the Chimu who built the largest adobe city in the world: Chan-Chan; Machu Picchu, an architectural wonder from the Inca period that enthralls visitors at first sight.

Its biodiversity is nestled between steep mountains that seem to reach the sky; torrential rivers flowing down through twisting canyons; perfect waves that seem endless; preHispanic paths that cross the most amazing landscapes and impenetrable forests which shelter the greatest natural treasures. Its geography allows myriad climates to coexist, making it one of the most bio diverse countries in the world. It is home to 84 of the world’s 117 life zones.

This diversity allows visitors to fill

their lungs with adventure, making Peru a top destination for all kinds of extreme sports. This great natural setting is complimented by significant business operations that provide the security and logistics necessary for adventurers from around the globe to set foot in remote places in our country. The possibilities are endless at all levels of difficulty: trekking, climbing, mountain biking, surfing, paragliding, hang gliding, canoeing, kayaking.

Air Connectivity Peru is a long-haul destination from India with a stopover via Europe or the Middle East. The visa for Indians can be received within approximately 3 working days on the submission of required documents from the Embassy of Peru. Some of the major international airlines offer regular flights from India to Peru.

Average stay of Indian travelers According to some of the tour operators the average stay of the Indian travelers is 4 to 7 days. The Commercial Office of Peru in New Delhi has initiated an intense campaign to promote this splendid country as a standalone destination.

Expected growth for 2015 The changing taste of the Indian travelers and the developing commercial and investment ties between India and Peru are both factors that are providing an impetus to outbound travel from India to Peru. We expect the growth rate to increase from around 20% at present to a sustained annual growth rate towards 25% levels in the coming years.

India Outbound

25>>

Indians prefer tailored tours to independent bookings in Australia VW BUREAU

Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, spoke about its initiatives to draw on the Indian market, when he met with some local travel agents and tour operators in Bangalore. with travellers planning their holiday about two or three months prior to departure. They also prefer flexibility in schedules on the trip. Tailor made packages were preferred over independent bookings or group tours as they were perceived as more relaxing, with free time able to be built into the itinerary. Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia revealed popular travel preferences among Indian tourists visiting the Island Continent.

India’s target market research conducted by Tourism Australia in July 2013 showed a preference for an eight to 15-day stay, covering three to four cities, while visiting Australia. India is a late booking market

Top Indian markets In March this year, the cast and crew of Star Plus serial ‘Pyaar ka dard’ visited Australia and shot quite a few episodes there. The recent Bollywood flick ‘Shaadi ki side effects’, starring Farhan Akhtar, was also shot there.

Nishant said: “Apart from campaign-

ing for our brand, we are looking at exploring the prime television, Bollywood, regional TV, entertainment sectors,” adding that even long before the NTO began its efforts to tap the film industry market in India, there had been a lot of focus on specific destinations for movie shoots, especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The climate conditions of the country proved advantageous for their destination as it was difficult to shoot a movie in the USA or Europe during winter.”

Top booking patterns in India There are queries on dining, availability of Indian food, shopping options and so on. On average, Indians enjoy shopping around for offers and deals with bargaining options. “We are managing the expectations of the customers and keep them informed

about the shopping timings, restaurant timings, details of food store operators, etc. We also advise Indians to be on time too.” Customers also express concern over the availability of vegetarian food in Australia. The entire Australian hotel industry has been informed about typical diet and service needs of Indian travellers.

The one thing that is sought after by travellers from India is discounts. If one is travelling with kids, one can request for minimum charges and free breakfast, for example. Suppose one stays for five nights, a request that we often receive is the option to pay for three nights and get two nights complementary.

The peak travel times to Australia from India are during school holidays, festivals and the year-ending season.

vietnam regards india as big market owing to better spending power VW BUREAU

Vietnam welcomes Indian and Vietnamese tour operators to support tourism cooperation between both nations.

H

is Excellency Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh talked about attracting Indian tourists to Vietnam, during the occasion of the Vietnam Tourism Promotion Gala on 26 November, 2014 in New Delhi. Acknowledging the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Girish Shankar for the keen support to tourism cooperation between India and Vietnam, he thanked the Outbound Marketing Co., Viettravel, Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines for organizing the event.

Citing the many high-level visits that have been exchanged over the past six months. leaders had emphasized the importance of connectivity and tourism between Vietnam and India.

“The success of reform has raised the living standard of the people and brought 100 million people to a

high and middle income level. Last year, 17 million Indian tourists went abroad, among them 2,5 million went to Southeast Asia. It is no doubt that India is a big source of foreign tourists for Vietnam,” he said.

“After nearly 30 years of renovation, together with rapid economic development, Vietnam has become a very attractive tourist destination with many beautiful beaches, UNESCO-recognized world heritages, well-preserved historic and war relics, cheap hotels and resorts, good restaurants, crowded shopping centres. Among them, Ha Long Bay which is recognized as a Natural Wonder of the world has become a must-see place for any tourist. As a result, we received over 7.5 million of international tourists last year and in the first 10 months of this year, the

number of foreign tourists in Vietnam reached 6.6 million; most of them are from China, Japan, Republic of Korea, the US and Australia. Against the backdrop of the above-said facts and figures, only about 30.000 Indian tourists went to Vietnam last year. In terms of connectivity, we appreciate

the recent opening of direct flights by Jet Airways from New Delhi to Ho Chi Minh City.”

He concluded by hoping that connectivity could be enhanced when Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air opened direct flights early next year.

www.voyagersworld.in

Flight Talk

26>>

Draft Civil Aviation Policy prepared to Face New Global and Domestic Demands VW BUREAU

“

It is a step towards making civil aviation a vibrant sector in our country, to rise to its full potential,” said Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati while releasing the Draft Civil Aviation Policy on November 10, 2014 in New Delhi. “The new Civil Aviation Policy is expected to be in place by January 2015,” he added.

The Draft was released for consultation with public and stakeholders within three weeks after which six to seven groups of experts were to be constituted to interact with stakeholders and review the inputs received during the process.

The Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, V. Somasundaran highlighted that the salient features of the Draft Civil Aviation Policy in terms of better services and conveniences to flyers.

The Draft noted that airports were to be designed as integrated multimodal hubs, so that they provide the best possible service levels as well as

potential for growth. “An integrated multi-modal hub should include rail, metro, bus and truck connectivity as well as accommodation and other services,” he added.

While developing airports, it is equally essential to ensure that related sectors such as access to manufacture, business, tourism and pilgrim centres are developed. This needs to be done in association with other Central Government Departments as well as the State Government/Union Territory. The six metropolitan airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad would be developed as major international hubs and would in future be the main access points for international travel to and from India. In future a ‘huband-spoke’ model would be followed, which would also facilitate the development of regional networks and air connectivity as a whole. The existing bilateral agreements with foreign bilateral agreements will be designed

in such a way as to facilitate the huband-spoke model.

Government’s objective will be to provide optimum air connectivity to all regions, subject to commercial viability. A special package will be developed for the North-Eastern Region to improve air connectivity and provide linkages to remote locations.

The Route Dispersal Guidelines will be reviewed with the objective of encouraging Indian carriers to enhance regional connectivity through deployment of small aircrafts and code

sharing arrangements. The 5/20 guidelines will be reviewed with a view to encouraging the entry of new Indian carriers.

Helicopter aviation has considerable potential for growth in reducing congestion in cities, medical evacuation, relief operations, law and order, oil exploration etc. Heliports and helipads will be developed in locations with sufficient potential. It is proposed to provide suitable incentives to helicopter operators for operational costs in the airports.

Air Seychelles starts Mumbai operations VW BUREAU

A

ir Seychelles commenced thriceweekly flights to Mumbai recently with the historic maiden flight, operating under code HM 260, touched down at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in the wee hours of the morning on 3 December to a traditional water cannon salute by a party of dignitaries and airport representatives.

rica. “Mumbai is the 6th most-populated city in the world and represents a key strategic addition to our growing route portfolio. Our three weekly services, which have a capacity of over 21,000 annual seats, will increase the flow of tourism and trade from India into Seychelles and help boost traffic to our archipelago from the wider Asia region.”

On board the inaugural flight was a high-profile delegation comprising Manoj Papa, Air Seychelles’ Chief Executive Officer; Sherin Naiken, Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board; government officials, tourism and trade partners, senior executives from the carrier and representatives from the Indian and business communities, who participated in a cake-cutting ceremony shortly after disembarking.

“As a popular gateway to India, we have optimised our schedule to offer seamless two-way connections from Mumbai to cities such as Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad, simplifying the travel options for both inbound and outbound passengers. We expect strong feed to Seychelles and our new destinations, Dar-es-Salaam and Antananarivo, as well as Mauritius and Johannesburg, all of which have a sizeable Indian diaspora,” he added.

Manoj said that the new Mumbai flights would meet the growing demand for business and leisure travel between India and the Seychelles, as well as the Indian Ocean and East Af-

Voyager’s World > December 2014

Manoj added that the carrier would continue to work closely with its equity partner, Etihad Airways and its Etihad partner, Jet Airways.

Minister Morgan said: “The launch of services to Mumbai is a natural and exciting development for Air Seychelles and the archipelago. Our connection to India was forged in the late 18th century and has since developed into a defining characteristic of our demography and culture today.

Flight HM260 operates on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, departing from Seychelles at 8:45 pm, and arriving in Mumbai early the next morning at 2:55 am. The aircraft has a short turnaround time of one hour, departing Mumbai at 4:00 am and arriving in Seychelles at 7:00 am the same day.

Travel Technology

27>>

‘chalo paris’ the app way VW BUREAU

Catherine Oden, Director of Atout France India, talks about the newly launched Chalo Paris app and its relevance for the Indian traveller while in Paris, be it a first-timer or a repeat visitor.

by Indian travellers while in Paris and to provide a sense of reassurance.

We often have visitors wanting information ‘on the go’ on Indian restaurants or vegetarian food, hospitality, shopping or sightseeing and practical information. An application integrating all these requests and more seemed to be an ideal solution to these commonly asked queries. The app works more as a guide, providing quick information and essays to facilitate travel while in the destination.

Launching the app in India In order to connect with the rapidly growing number of Indian travellers who rely on the Internet and other Internet-enabled applications for researching/planning their holidays, the time was just right to launch a travel-based app for our destination.

The objective was to provide solutions to questions commonly asked

Users can expect information on topics such as top sightseeing attractions, shopping, reliable addresses for dining, entertainment options and also on practical matters such as the weather, useful telephone numbers besides others. In addition, the app also provides information on French regions all of which can be easily accessible from Paris, thus encouraging travellers to foray beyond Paris and add more of variety and flavour

to their French holiday.

Competing with other apps One of Chalo Paris app’s strongest features is that it is a free download and is compatible with updated versions of smartphones and tablets. It is devised specifically for the Indian traveller; for instance, the eating out section contains information on a list of vegetarian/Indian restaurants available in Paris, recommended by noted food critic - Rashmi Uday Singh. Most of our research for this has been sourced from her book, “A Vegetarian in Paris”. The app also has a Euro/Rupee convertor and practical features as a French/English and English/French translator enabling travellers to deal with regular dayto-day situations while in Paris. Our exhaustive list of options for each category render it useful to not only first-time traveller but also to the repeat traveller who may prefer a bit of novelty on their trips back to the

capital. We are sure that Chalo Paris will pave the way for many more such initiatives in the future. We do plan on reinforcing the appeal of this app with an integration of information on our French regions.

Future of travel apps for travel purchase and decision making Destination marketing on travel-apps is already a reality and with technology playing an all-pervading part of our day-to-day life, we believe that travel apps are here to stay and will play a pivotal role in not only sourcing research information on the destination but also enticing the traveller to plan a holiday. Future initiatives and innovations are going to enhance the appeal of travel apps which have already found favour with the discerning tech-savvy traveller. To stay abreast with current trends, it will be vital to establish a strong visibility in the digital domain and endeavour to constantly improvise on our offer.

tripda eyes india’s carpool community VW BUREAU

The Indian carpooling segment, though unorganized now, has great potential for the value-conscious Indian consumer, says Nitish Bhushan, Country Manager, Tripda, a carpooling community for long-distance travel. things like how much you want to pay, their past community reviews from fellow travelers, and their travel preferences. All you need is a Facebook account and an internet connection.

You can register with your Facebook account and choose whether you want to find or offer a ride. Then simply enter in your destination and when you’d like to travel. A few more selections such as price and specific trip requests will help us match you up with the right passenger or driver offers. We have also built multiple security features so that you feel safe and comfortable sharing your ride.

Business model of Tripda Tripda is a genuine carpooling community for long-distance travel. Think of our mobile and web app as a marketplace matching drivers offering rides and passengers looking to go the same way. Once you’ve determined where you’re going, you can pick your travel companion based on

Indians have different perceptions and sentiments towards their cars and carpooling with strangers is something that is not heard of here.

Actually, the concept of carpooling has been present in India for a while, but in an unorganized way. If you know where to look, you will find peo-

ple sharing rides to work, college and even for going back to their hometowns. Tripda plans to organize this unorganized sector which accordng to us has great potential. The Indian consumer is value-conscious, and we believe that Tripda’s proposition of a significantly cheaper way of transport compared to cabs, autos and buses will definitely see traction. Plus, India is ripe as far as technology adoption is concerned. We see significant opportunity in major hubs like Delhi NCR, Mumbai-Pune and Bangalore and this is where our focus will be upfront. Subsequently, we plan to expand to other regions as Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh and so on.

We are majorly tapping students and young professionals as they are early adopters! We are already interacting with universities and corporates to create partnerships. While our core focus remains inter-city rides, we do

facilitate shorter distances and the corporate segment has started using Tripda for their daily work commute.

Background verification process Tripda has several safety measures in place to screen both car owners and passengers like Facebook verification- view the photo, profile information and friends of the person that you will be traveling with; email and mobile verification- see which users have confirmed email IDs or phone numbers for additional level of security; User ratings- check out the ratings and reviews other drivers and passengers have given your potential travel partner; Ladies only option to choose to only travel with other women; Corporate/educational email verification: Users can verify their official email addresses. We’re working on adding additional safety features and will announce them as soon as they’re live!

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

28>>

keeping brand culture intact key to effective communication strategy PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Philip Logan, Vice President- Hotel Formule1 India, talks about the importance of branding in a hotel and the best branding practices, like the ‘Rest Assured’ strategy, implemented by the brand from time to time. reflects the tone and essence of the overall brand culture.

How important is an individual branding exercise when part of a parent hotel brand?

Very important. A sub- brand is an integral part of the parent brand and

How has the response to your ‘Rest Assured’ communication strategy been thus far? Which are the top three areas where ‘Rest Assured’ comes in handy to ensure guest satisfaction?

Rest Assured for Hotel Formule1 is not just a communication message.

It is the complete brand culture. The sense of Rest Assured reflects in every area of the brand- be it our hotel interiors, service standards, employee communication and stakeholder relations. Rest Assured is about consistently delivering our brand promises and treating them as sacrosanct.

What do you think is the scope of innovation in branding for the hos-

pitality industry? Is it possible to innovate in the lines of FMCG brands?

Give examples.

Hospitality brands are getting more and more innovative in branding due to ever evolving customer wants and his exposure levels. Today hotels are bringing in technological as well as service style innovations. Idea is to keep pace with customer expectations, very much in line with how FMCG works.

For example- for our brand- Hotel Formule1, the concept of Café F1- 24/ 7 vending machine reflects on innovative way of servicing the guests.

How often do you plan the branding exercises? What are the key factors behind each of your brand exercise?

Our branding exercises revolves around getting the positioning message clear in the mind of our stake-

holders as well as ensuring that the brand culture is kept intact. The exercise takes shape in the form of brand training and monthly audits.

How has PAYBACK loyalty programme helped in guest retention?

PAYBACK programme has been helped us to penetrate into our target Indian customer and thereby helped us to generate guest loyalty and repeat customer.

Study reveals Luxury Exclusive hotels as most sought-after category The World Luxury Index Hotels 2014 report showed that that the global consumer interest in luxury hotels has increased by 7.7% in the past one year.

Courtesy: Digital Luxury Group

T

he World Luxury Index Hotels 2014 is part of the World Luxury Index, an international analysis of the most sought-after brands within the luxury industry. At Luxury Hospitality 2014, which was organized in Athens in October by the International New York Times (INYT) and the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Digital Luxury Group (DLG) in partnership with the Chair of Luxury Hospitality of EHL, Prof. Samad Laaroussi, unveiled the results of the World Luxury Index Hotels 2014.

The report features an in-depth analysis of leading luxury hotel brands based on unbiased information on consumer interest derived from over 485 million online searches on 70 brands in 20 markets.

Voyager’s World > December 2014

Global consumer interest for the luxury hospitality industry is up +7.7%.

Global consumer interest in luxury hotels has increased by 7.7 % over the past twelve months. All three hotels categories have benefitted from increased interest, but the biggest rise was within the Luxury Exclusive category, with almost 10% growth year-on-year (+9.6%). Four Seasons leads the Luxury Exclusive Category while Langham is the fastest growing brand with +26% consumer interest Year-on-Year. The luxury exclusive category of hotels saw the biggest rise in interest in with 9.6% growth year-onyear. The interest in Upper Upscale categories grew by 7.9% and the luxury major hotels by 5.9% year-on-year.

The most attractive destinations in the Mediterranean region are Rome, Barcelona and Istanbul. Athens only

represents 2% of the total interest for Mediterranean destinations but it is the fastest growing city (+29%).

However, while consumer interest for Rome and Barcelona continues to grow (+12% and +21% respectively), it declined for Istanbul declined by 9%. “This decline in consumer interest is likely the result of heightened political unrest in Turkey between 2013 and 2014,” mentioned David Sadigh, Founder and CEO of Digital Luxury Group.

In the Mediterranean, interest is growing the most significantly for Athens (+29%), where the brand that gets the most consumer interest is Hilton, followed by Sofitel and Intercontinental. ”Interest for Greece continues to rise. As per the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises

17.9 million tourists visited Greece in 2013. Greek Islands remain hugely popular and Athens is generally the gateway. We expect travel to Greece to continue growing in the next two years,” noted David.

A strong statistical correlation between online search volume measured by DLG and the number of rooms sold provided by Smith Travel Research (STR Global), was been revealed in an analysis made by the Chair of Luxury Hospitality at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne. Thanks to STR and DLG proprietary data, the search interest proved to be a good predictor of rooms sold and RevPAR. There are many potential implications for marketing and revenue management,” concluded Prof. Samad Laaroussi.

Hospitality

29>>

Maritim Hotels expects 3% of Indian overnight stays IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Mark Spivey, Director of International Sales, Maritim Hotels says that Maritim Hotels sees a growth of 10% in 2015 compared on the 2014 figures.

Trends of Indian travelers The trends witnessed in Indian travellers are trying out new areas of Germany with new leisure routings incorporating Berlin with Prague (Czech) and Dresden as most of the

Segments India will be the host country for the Hanover Spring Show in April which will be a spotlight on India and expect the head of the state for India to be present for the event. The key focus has been the trade show exhibitors groups attending the key German Shows in Cologne, Duesledorf, Hanover and Frankfurt but also the other cities specific to Indian Trade.

The other segments is the Leisure segment that has been doing good

Š BER_022_Heller, Maritim Hotels

travellers come with family whether on business and extend the visit for a private stay. The Indian food concept that we offer for large groups is unique for any hotel chain so that the Indian traveller can have their comforts in terms of the cuisine and also try out the local cuisine.

for the Southern part of Germany for May-August where people travel to the Black Forest and cities of the Southern part of the country. We have had few groups into the MICE locations like Berlin and Munich for the past 2 years and we are looking forward in developing the Indian chef concept of having our own chefs on site for the incentive groups

Expected growth in 2015 We have witnessed an increase of 30% growth in 2014 YTD of our group in Germany versus 2013 figures and expect to have a 3% market share of all Indian overnight stays in Germany all through our 36 hotels. We are hoping for a growth of 10% for 2015 compared on the 2014 figures.

independent hotels can win online prospects with Pricing, technology PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Vineeth Purushothaman, Chief Executive, White Sky Hospitality Pvt Ltd talks about bridging the gap in the independent hotels segment in terms of expertise, budgets, service, technology and marketing know-how marketing and distribution expertise of international chain hotels to independent hotels in India and beyond.

As we began working with White Sky member hotels that the huge online opportunities missed by independent hotels struck us mainly because they missed the expertise and budgets of the larger chain hotels. This led to the launch of REACH in 2012 in an era of low cost technology options. Most technology products were being sold to hotels as the ultimate solution for all their online requirements. Little or nothing was mentioned about the expertise needed to use them effectively to generate online revenues.

Beginnings and growth White Sky Hospitality was founded to address the challenges of the extremely fragmented nature of independent hotels and bring sales,

Current Indian hotel booking trends India is the third largest market in Asia Pacific with online revenues of US$7 billion in 2013. I expect a 10% Year-

on-Year increase as a minimum and with REACH we expect to contribute significantly towards that. The traditional model of one price per season is giving way to a demand and supply model. More dynamic independent hotels are experimenting with pricing and results are noticeable.

Online bookings with domestic travellers is increasing. New airlines like Air Asia Go are popularising Fly & Stay programmes in cities they fly to. Expedia and Booking.com have invested into India. Cross platform booking is common now for travellers to research on a tablet and post feedback on a mobile; new age closed group OTAs like Secret Escapes allow travellers to receive special deals only if they are signed up; large hotel chains are increasingly using Big Data to

make more informed and faster decisions.

Competing in a market filled with distribution channels and apps We work closely with the hotel owners/GM’s and market managers of OTAs to maximise the hotel’s visibility and generate more bookings. An example of this includes a Performance Linked Bonus (PLB) programme that is customised to hotel & OTAs. With cost-effective cloud technology, independent hotels can compete effectively with larger chains. Smaller hotels and chains have a lot of work to do to improve their business processes to generate significant online revenues. Technology alone is just an enabler; smart positioning, price, high quality content and proactive OTA engagement is key!

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

30>>

Hotels gear up for an optimistic 2015 The occupancy and growth of hotels in India are currently witnessing a rising graph for the year end.

© The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi

© Ramada Udaipur Resort & Spa

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Deepika Arora, Regional Vice President, Indian Ocean, Wyndham Hotel Group Social media plays an integral part of marketing mix and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Zomato.com and Tripadvisor.com. The emerging trends of tier 2 and 3 properties in India continue to perform by the year end.

I

ndia being a fast growing market sees a positive growth in terms of occupancy in hotels. The Indian hoteliers are very optimistic and the tourist inflow is expected to increase in the future, as there is an upward trend with the overall hotel performance.

According to 2014 statistics shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the Indian hospitality sector has been growing at a cumulative annual growth rate of 14 per cent every year, adding significant amounts of foreign exchange to the economy and according to India. According to a report from HVS, the overall occupancy rates showed a marginal increase in the 2013 to

Voyager’s World > December 2014

2014 fiscal year with 58.9 percent occupancy, an increase of 1.9 per cent from the previous year.

Occupancy and growth Raj Rana, CEO, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group explains that the Indian hotel industry is showing early signs of strength as occupancy has moved up despite the challenges of excess supply. We are seeing a steady improvement in demand across all segments and the occupancy starts gaining ground, increase in rates usually follow that leads to improved margin and the overall hotel performance.

The Carlson Rezidor’s portfolio has performed well by segment based approach over 2013 including increasing market share.

Anuraag Bhatnagar, Area General Manager, Westin Mumbai Garden City states that India is a fast growing market and seen an immense growth on the online shoppers and consumers over the past 2 years.

Mumbai being the business capital of India has established as a prominent commercial hub in the global market overall there has been an increase in the occupancy for the Mumbai market resulting in an increase in the occupancy rate for the Westin Mumbai Garden City.

Satyajeet Krishnan, General Manager, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi says , The Indian travel, tourism and hospitality industry has witnessed a positive and steady growth in 2014

which has a combination of higher disposable incomes, fast-paced lifestyles, an increase in tourism offerings and certain policy decisions by the authorities.

“The domestic market this year with the number of Indians traveling abroad and within the country has shown a rise compared to last year.

There will be a boost of the inbound travel in India and the result in greater tourist arrivals with the introduction of the electronic visa facility (eVisa). The Delhi-NCR is fast emerging as one of the largest hospitality markets in the country, “he added.

According to 2014 statistics shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the Indian hos-

Hospitality

© Vivanta by Taj Gurgaon

© Ramada Gurgaon Central

© The Westin Mumbai Garden City

31>>

Sumeet Taneja, General Manager, Vivanta by Taj Gurgaon The occupancy and growth in the hospitality industry witness a positive graph. The growth rate for 2014 is on an upward trend as a result of elections and the new government formation.

pitality sector has been growing at a cumulative annual growth rate of 14 per cent every year, adding significant amounts of foreign exchange to the economy and according to India.

The Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India will be investing approximately Rs 448 billion in the hospitality industry in the next five years. The hotel consultancy HVS has predicted that India will add another 54,000 branded rooms in the coming three to four years.

The Indian government has been instrumental in the growth and development of the industry. The tourism policy of the government has also enabled speedy implementation of

tourism projects, development of integrated tourism circuits, special capacity building permits in the hospitality sector and new marketing strategies. The overall occupancy rates showed a marginal increase in the 2013 to 2014 fiscal year with 58.9 percent occupancy, an increase of 1.9 per cent from the previous year, according to a report from HVS. Sumeet Taneja, General Manager, Vivanta by Taj Gurgaon, said, the occupancy and growth in the hospitality industry has seen an erratic but positive graph. The occupancy has majorly been affected due to macroeconomic factors like change in reins of the ruling government and ministry reshuffle.

Alok Chakravarty, Director of Sales and Marketing, Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi, says that the occupancy and growth has seen an upward trend post new Government formation.

Expected growth for 2014 Deepika Arora, Regional Vice President, Indian Ocean, EMEAI, Wyndham Hotel Group says, The Wyndham Hotel Group expects the year to end on a positive note that will provide the right platform for a good beginning in 2015.

“We expect the emerging trend of tier 2 and 3 markets, such as Udaipur and Jalandhar that continues to perform well by year-end and we have

announced 10 new hotels in India under the Howard Johnson and Ramada flags in tier 2 markets like Jaisalmer, Dharmapuri, Lonere, and Darjeeling,” she added.

Anuraag said, the Westin Mumbai Garden City will close with approximately 3% -3.5% increases in occupancy and 4%-5% increase in Rev-Par over last year. This is also attributed to the rate of increase on retail & corporate segment, managing the non qualified segment to leverage on the existing transient demand followed by a healthy mix of base business to maintain the occupancy.

Satyajeet says that the business scenario for hotels has changed over

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

© Ramada Gurgaon Central

© The Westin Mumbai Garden City

© Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay Mamallapuram

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Anuraag Bhatnagar, Area General Manager, Westin Mumbai Garden City The Westin Mumbai Garden City to be approximately 3% -3.5% increases in occupancy and 4%-5% increase in Rev-Par over last year.

Social media a key distribution channel that drives bookings and generates revenue for hotels. the last few years. Earlier Delhi was considered as a 6 month destination however the scenario has evolved across various segments of business in the past few years. The booking window has shortened and is gaining popularity owing to one’s busy schedule as people are opting for short weekend stay overs at luxury properties to reenergize and rejuvenate.

“The family vacations continue to grow with special celebrations like family reunions, anniversaries and birthday parties. We foresee further development in the Indian travel, tourism and hospitality industry in 2015. The greater investments from domestic and foreign players and support from the relevant authorities

Voyager’s World > December 2014

will boost tourism resulting in greater revenue for the sector and positioning of Destination India in our traditional and new markets,” he added.

Sumeet says the expected occupancy and growth rate of 2014 seems favorable and on an upward trend due to the positive market sentiment as a result of elections and the new government formation.

Raj says that the various reports give an average occupancy for the year with almost 60% over last year. The corporate travel has increased in the second half of 2014 and hotels are seeing the benefit of improvement in bookings from this segment apart from the usual leisure business.

“Our hotels such as Radisson Blu Goa Cavelosim Beach, Radisson Shimla and Radisson Blu Resort Mammalapuram have seen an increase in bookings for the season and likewise our city hotels such as Radisson BluPaschimVihar, Radisson Blu Ahmadabad and Radisson Blu Hyderabad have witnessed an increase in corporate bookings. We are confident this positive trend will continue in 2015 and excess supply will continue to be absorbed by rising demand, “he added.

Alok states that the expected occupancy is set to grow by 2-3 % by the year end with the increased Government initiatives in Defence, Insurance and Infrastructure, the oc-

cupancy will witness a remarkable growth. The facility of visa on arrival, increase in head of states visits and business delegations will also contribute significantly.

Promotional plans of F&B and banquets Deepika says some of the food and beverage offers across the hotels include a Spanish food festival and a Kebab festival at the Ramada Gurgaon, Happy Hours at Ramada Udaipur, Exotic Oriental Food Festival, The Biryani Festival and the Great Onsadya Festivals at Ramada Alleppey and the Hotelier’s Night promotion at Howard Johnson Bangalore.

“The food and beverage promotional activities play a very important role in

Hospitality

© Ramada Udaipur Resort & Spa

© The Westin Mumbai Garden City

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Raj Rana, Ceo, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group The corporate travel increased in the second half of 2014 and the food and beverage plays a big role in attracting banquets business that are all designed to create memorable experiences. The promotions during food festivals, various online websites and food blogs drive footfalls. engaging guests and providing them with a truly enjoyable experience, “she added.

Anuraag said, The hotel offers numerous food festivals in the restaurants as well as innovative food promotions, Happy Hours, food festivals and loyalty program SPG Restaurant & Bars discounts and discounts through the loyalty program Eat, Drink & More.

Satyajeet said, the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi offers exciting and innovative packages during the festive months that are customized as per their travel pattern and preferences.

The hotel has customized offers for its banquet venues catering to specific needs such as Social occasions, ex-

clusive meetings, Corporate functions.

Sumeet says the hotel offers x-mas and New Year promotions and sea food festival at Thai Pavilion.

Alok states that the hotel has tailor made room packages and a dazzling selection of dining offers with soulful music performances for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

is an integral part of marketing and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Zomato.com and Tripadvisor.com are increasingly influencing the decisions of consumers.

In the opinion of Raj, food and beverage plays a big role in attracting banquets business, promotions during festivals, various online websites and food blogs to drive footfalls.

“The Howard Johnson Bangalore is running an exciting campaign such as the “Click a selfie at the airport” campaign where the guests flying into Bangalore can click their selfie with the Howard Johnson billboard at the airport and post it on Facebook with the #hojobangalore hashtag with a chance to win exciting prizes, “she says.

Social media promotions for 2014 Deepika explains that social media

“The #DiwaliwithCaravela contest was run by Ramada Resort in Cara-

vela, Goa on Facebook offered a 2 night stay to the winners. The Facebook promotional activity in Ramada Allepey included booking in advance to receive packages for free vouchers and rooms with best view of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. We will have more of these promotions in 2015,”she added.

Anuraag states that with the international tourist arrivals reaching a record of 1.087 billion in 2013 with travelers from emerging and leading nations are crossing more borders.

Social media is key to any communication strategy for business and one of the most effective media to communicate one’s brand’s message or project its image.

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

© Westin Mumbai Garden City

© Radisson Blu Hyderabad

34>>

Alok Chakravarty, Director of Sales and Marketing, Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi The digital and social media marketing plays a pivotal role in an organization, the E-Newsletters promotes business and updates of new products. The expected occupancy is set to grow by 2-3 % by the year end.

“The Starwood Hotels and Resorts is the first hotel brand to introduce a Google Glass app, an Apple Watch app, a robotic staff member, and stellar social customer service. For example, the shift that everybody is seeing from a PC-based search engine transaction view of the world to a mobilebased dialogue, app-based way of relating to brands, fundamentally opens up new possibilities for how we can have direct conversations with individual guests, how we can anticipate their needs, how we can make sure their room is ready when they get to our hotels,” he added.

Satyajeet says that mobile activity has allowed social media to live in real time by allowing users to create updates, tag friends and check in on their mobile devices, social media

Voyager’s World > December 2014

spans across key platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tripadvisor, Instagram, Pinterest & Youtube .We have introduced key hotel and destination specific campaigns and promotions on our social media channels. The Taj Group recently has introduced complimentary Wi-Fi services for up to three devices for its resident guests.

In the opinion of Sumeet Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube are the most common platforms used for the hotels’ services.

hotel is located. The travelers with the best tips each week won a free room night at any Radisson Blu hotel of their choice.

Raj says, Carlson Rezidor has a lineup of online campaigns on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs. For example in August, we had a contest entitled Social Eyes where we invited travelers to share an insidertraveltip for a destination where a Radisson Blu

Alok concludes that in today’s competitive world, digital and social media marketing plays a pivotal role in an organization. The single most important goal of a social media campaign is engagement, engaging with different segments of customers across the globe through social

“The “Hot Deals” campaign offers discounts of up to 25% on best available rates to customers booking hotels through brand websites and the bonus is that one can accumulate double reward points through Club Carlson, CarlsonRezidor’s loyalty program,” he added.

media helps in product differentiation, communication and positioning.

The E-Newsletters have long been a good way to promote business, communicate with customers update new products and services.

“The Electronic direct marketing (EDM’s) play a crucial role in promoting the packages and promotions amongst our discerning guests. With the launch of online booking portals and travel intermediaries, there are ample number of opportunities for promoting and marketing business online through marketing communications and channels of distribution. Search engine optimization and search engine marketing should be our key focus for driving revenues and reaching out to our target audience,” he added.

35>>

www.voyagersworld.in

Adventure

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europe most popular among indians: outbound adventure tourism report VW BUREAU

The Outbound Adventure Tourism Report, which was recently released by the Active Holiday Company, shows key findings on Indian adventure travellers, Europe and UK being the top destinations for adventure.

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he Active Holiday Company launched its first Outbound Adventure Tourism Report against the backdrop of its recently organized International Adventure Travel Symposium in Mumbai on 2 December. The event witnessed key speakers from Exodus and Intrepid, the two major companies in adventure travel.

The report, which is based on the survey findings on Indian adventure travellers, was conducted along with the Outdoor Journal. The report highlighted that the most popular destination for adventure travel for Indian travellers was Europe and the UK followed closely by the Far East.

Gauri Jayaram, founder, Active Holiday Company, said: “Indian is up and ready for focused adventure holidays.

With the success of our first International Adventure Travel Symposium, we shall plan to make it an annual event and also look to host it in other cities. Our report on Outbound Adventure Tourism is one of the first in the country. We will update the report annually and will also publish trends based on our research from the next edition.”

The symposium also hosted a panel discussion where representatives of Malaysia Tourism, Oman Tourism and Italy Tourism had participated.

The tourism boards touched upon topics like ‘How international tourism boards are promoting adventure travel in India.’

Voyager’s World > December 2014

Manoharan Periasamy, director-India, Tourism Malaysia, said: “Earlier we showcased Malaysia as a family destination. But over the years we have realised that Indian travellers have evolved and so has the demand for adventure travel. Malaysia has a lot of adventure destinations to be explored. We will talk to all the dedicated tour operators who focus on adventure travel to promote Malaysia as an adventure spot. The only challenge which I see is, adventure travel is still a very niche segment, so catering Indian food in unexplored adventure destinations may be an issue.”

Salvatore Ianniello, representative India, ENIT said: “We have identified 64 destinations in Italy which are excellent for adventure travel. It was very difficult to promote Italy in the India market a decade ago, but now Indian travellers are looking out for more active and participatory holidays.”

Lubaina Sheerazi, India representative of the Ministry of Tourism, Oman said: “Since 2010, we have aggressively started promoting Oman. The USP of Oman is its culture, the people and the hospitality along with shopping. We do have a lot of unexplored destinations for adventure travel enthusiasts in Oman. Right from trekking till diving, Oman offers a bouquet of adventure destinations. When it comes to cuisine, Omani cuisine is quite similar to Indian cuisine, so I think we can cater to the demands of Indian adventure travellers.”

The report also indicated that as independent countries Thailand, followed by USA and then Malaysia were the most popular with Indian adventure travellers.

Gauri stated that being an authentic experiential style, adventure travel was important for any country as it connected travellers with grassroots helping economic progress at the local community level. The survey is an attempt to bridge the gap for countries, their tourism boards, tour operators and Indian travel agents who want to invest in developing this segment.”

Key findings of the survey: • The survey showed that as many as 58.62% Indians have taken an adventure holiday in the past 2 years and Indians are spending an average of Rs.8900 per night excluding flights and visas on such trips • Some of the key activities that Indians are engaging in are trekking, wildlife safaris, outdoor photography, cycling and rafting • As a region,Europe is more popular than the Far East, though travel is very fragmented to destinations like UK, Spain, France, Germany etc.

• Average duration of the International adventure trips taken by Indians is 8.65 days.

• Although 62.25% reported prior Adventure Travel experience in India, only 28.1% invested in special equipment for their trips • Online research is the most popular

pre-research tool and word-of-mouth is trusted over social media The survey also defined the scope of adventure travel as per international norms wherein the inclusion of the activity for a significant duration determined whether the trip was an adventure trip or not and as such activities like hot-air ballooning, bungee jumping etc. are disregarded as part of adventure travel as they are only activities incidental to travel itineraries but not the core purpose of travel.

“Compared to their international travellers, the survey showed that unlike their western counterparts, the gender ratio of Indian adventurers was heavily skewed towards men with almost two-thirds being men. Also contrary to the assumption that most of such travellers are single, 71.5% of travellers taking such trips are married whereas internationally, they are usually an equal mix of single and married people. The per day spends of Indians are also lower by almost half of what their counterparts spend of International trips and also on what Indians are typically spending on an average on international tours in Europe. That, however, is the real opportunity that adventure travel presents for Indians. The very nature of no-frills, basic style adventure trips makes it affordable for Indian travellers to realize their International travel dreams while combining it with unique different experiences,” concluded Gauri.

Adventure

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montra tour of nilgiris beckons every biker worth his mettle VW BUREAU

Sridhar Pabbisetty, Co Founder of Tour of Nilgiris, talks about the forthcoming event this December among other things like the awareness of bike tours among cycling enthusiasts in the country. at the Leela Palace and is taking 80 cyclists across 900km, through five wildlife sanctuaries in South IndiaBandipur National Park, Mudumalai National Park, Mukurthi National Park & Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary & National Park and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and the beautiful landscapes from Ooty to Palakkad to Valparai and Munnar.

Highlights of Montra TfN 2014 The Tour of Nilgiris is one of India’s premier multi-day cycling events witnessed every December since 2008 and runs through 900+km across South India. This year Montra TfN 2014, will flag off on 16 December

Montra TfN 2014 will include the ‘King/Queen of the Mountains’ climb to Kalahatty from Masinagudi to Ooty. The climb is considered a ‘Hors categorie’ (something beyond categorization and tough!). It gains 1200m of elevation in about 12km giving an average elevation gain of around 10% with few stretches going up to 15% or more of gradient.

Target demographic segments Montra TfN 2014 has riders coming

from 18 years olds to 60 year olds.

This year there is a diverse bunch of professionals who are in top careers.

Many look at TfN as the next mountain to climb, to test their endurance and to prove to themselves. We have a good mix of pro tour athletes, amateur category and enthusiasts - 80 riders on the tour; 15% foreign riders (from UK, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark etc.); 10% female.

Planning itineraries Preparation begins in earnest atleast six months before with riders and the organizers work with riders to train well. Right from bike maintenance workshops to first aid & emergency training; all the way with actual training rides which are sponsored by The Leela Palace, Bangalore; the entire tour is run professionally. Riders are also provided with a thorough physiotherapy check up along with a profes-

sional bike fit session. Safety is priority and the tour has partnered with Sita Bhateja Specialty Hospital & Spectrum Physio Centre on the tour.

TVS with Solverminds has helped setup the entire gps tracking so our riders are always on the right track.

Trained mechanics and a detailed patrol team patrol through the route daily. Every 30-40 km, a support station is setup to provide energy, nutrition & hydration to the riders.

Awareness on bike tours TfN is the original long distance cycling tour of India and almost every cyclist worth his mettle knows it. Cyclists aspire to be on TfN every year and the ones on tour carry bragging rights of having ridden it. With no active advertising ever, registration exceed final selection easily over five times and enthusiasts wanting to join the tour even at the last minute.

www.voyagersworld.in

2 - 3 December, 2014

C

hichibu Yomatsuri is a festival of Chichibu Shrine with a history of over 2,000 years. On 2nd they feature an event held on the eve called Yoiyama and on the next day, two ‘kasaboko’, that are large parasol-like objects decorated with weapons as spears and artificial flowers along with four ‘yatai’ floats shaped like small houses, are paraded through the city streets. In the afternoon, the floats are transformed into stages by pulling out wings on either side, where Kabuki plays are performed. On the evening of the 3rd when ‘kasaboko’ and ‘yatai’ floats; weighing 10-20 tons each and lit up with countless lanterns, climb up a steep slope with a mikoshi (a portable shrine).

Chichibu Yomatsuri, Saitama, Japan

13 February,- 1 March, 2015

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he annual Nice Carnival is a colourful riot of parades, processions and events with endless fun and festivities. There are carnival parades during day and night as well as flower parades. On the ‘Place Massena’, 18 allegorical or burlesque floats parade with various entertainment elements, street performers and international musical troupes. Special highlights include a spectacular display of the 18 floats making their way up to Place Massena accompanied by dancers and musicians from the world over and the flower parades that take place on the Promenade des Anglais.

Winter Carnival, Nice, France

5 January

31 December

M

onaco is one of the most festive countries of Europe. On New Year’s Eve, the country offers an array of parties, gala nights and outdoor parades. Monaco welcomes the New Year by ushering itself in the potential of the coming year and bidding farewell to the previous years. What makes Monaco a hot spot for enjoying the winter festivals is the temperate weather that is suitable during Christmas and New Year. New Year parties based on various themes are organized in every nook and corner. Lot of private yacht parties are also organized to start the New Year in uber style.

New Year Eve celebrations, Monaco, France

O

n 5 January each year, Spain’s villages, towns and cities receive the traditional, joyful visit of the three wise men of the east. In the afternoon of 5 January, the parades of the three kings, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, who bring good cheer and presents to children at Christmas, get underway throughout Spain. It represents the journey made by the three kings following the star to Bethlehem. A large number of floats carry not only the kings, but also a host of wonderful characters who throw sweets into the crowd. Whichever destination one chooses, one will find a traditional parade.

Three Kings Parade, Spain

17 - 21 December, 2014

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he annual parade, which dates back to more than 100 years in the making, starts and ends at the Bay island in Newport Beach . The humble beginnings included only about a dozen boats that sailed the water with decorations. The theme for this year is ‘Deck the Hulls with Bows of Jolly’. There are hundreds of boats as part of the event and they include vastly unique and extravagant displays. It is not uncommon for boat owners to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the decorations that involves lights, special effects, themes and much more; so one can see everything from multimillion dollar yachts to kayaks and canoes.

Christmas Boat Parade, Newport Beach, California

31 December, 2014

T

he last day of the year sees one of the most populous running events, held in Madrid – the 10 km San Silvestre Vallecana race. The race is divided into two sections. On one side is the San Silvestre Popular, which is open to runners over 10 years of age with 27,500 places available.

On the other side is San Silvestre Vallecana International, a far more select event with just 1,000 places reserved for runners with accredited 10 km times of less than 39 minutes (for men) and 45 minutes (for women).

San Silvestre Vallencana - Running, Madrid, Spain

31 December, 2014

12-15 February, 2015

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eld on a weekend of February in Clark, the annual festival features airsporting events like hot-air balloon competition, aircraft maneuvers and precision flying, ultra lights, RC Demonstration Flying, sky diving, aircraft rally, rocketeering, flag jump, balloon bursting competition, kite flying, trade fair, carnival rides and nightly concerts.

The participation of international hot-air balloons from all over the world draws thousands of people to the site to witness the early morning balloon fly-out and late afternoon fly-in.

The Philippine International Hot Air alloon Fiesta

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n New Year’s Eve, a group of two or three village youths disguised as a grotesque deity called Namahage, wearing masks, straw raincoats and waist-bands, holding wooden knives and pails, visit the houses at night, dancing along as they give out strange cries. They shout out menacing cries like “Any children disobeying their parents?” or “Any lazy daughters-in-law neglecting their work?”

This event has been passed down from ancient times around Oga City. They are received by the family and offered sake and mochi rice cakes. Appeased by the hospitality, they leave the house, blessing them with good health, a large catch and a rich crop in the New Year.

Oga Namahage Festival, Oga City, Akita Prefecture, Japan

Travel Events

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glimpses of iitm pune 2014 India International Travel Mart (IITM) Pune 2014 took place from 21 - 23 November at Deccan College Grounds.

Glimpses of iitm hyderabad 2014 The exhibition was held at People’s Plaza, Hyderabad from 28 - 29 November, 2014.

Voyager’s World > December 2014

Travel Events

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‘Beautiful Bengal’ meets Hyderabad travel trade

West Bengal Tourism Development organized a roadshow in Hyderabad at the Vivanta by Taj on 28 November, 2014 for the local travel trade.

ROHIT HANGAL

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t was a tremendous success with more than 50 people from the travel trade attending the event. The tourism board organized the roadshow during the occasion of its participation in the Hyderabad edition of the India International Travel Mart (IITM) at People’s Plaza from 28 – 30 November, 2014. The delegation was led by high officials from the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) like Amlan Jyoti Saha, Joint Dir. WB Tourism Corporation, Govt. of West Bengal and Supriyo Ghoshal, GM, West Bengal Tourism Corporation.

Amlan Jyoti Saha, Joint Dir. WB Tourism Corporation, said: “In view of the changing perspective and thriving potentialities, West Bengal government is keen to attend various travel and

tourism shows conducted by travel tour organizers, irrespective of volume, genesis and other dimensions of the festivals.” He added that there were suggestions for improvement of publicity and the department welcomed promotional measures.

“Experiential tourism has been given one of the major thrust areas to attract tourists in West Bengal. Customize package are being developed to the optimum level of tourist satisfaction,” informed Supriyo Ghoshal, GM, West Bengal Tourism Corporation.

Unlike other years, West Bengal Tourism will be participating in travel festival even in B Categories cities like Lucknow, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Vizag, Coimbatore to reach out to the target audience in a result oriented way.

J&K Tourism interacts with Hyderabad travel trade

The roadshow drew attention to the state’s tourism attractions with special emphasis on how Jammu and Kashmir had revived from the recent tragedy and how tourism bounced back to normalcy.

VW BUREAU

J

ammu & Kashmir Tourism Corporation organized a roadshow in Hyderabad at the Golkonda Hotel on 29 November, 2014 for the local travel trade. The delegation consisted of Talat Parvez, Director, Tourism Kashmir; R.K. Varma, Director, Tourism Jammu; Shamim Wani, MD, J&K Tourism Development Corp. and Tassaduk Hussain, Joint Director, Tourism Kashmir.

The roadshow, which witnessed a participation of over 50 people from the travel trade industry along with media, drew attention to the state’s tourism attractions with emphasis on how Jammu and Kashmir had revived from the recent tragedy and how tourism bounced back to normalcy.

“We are welcoming tourists from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and oth-

er parts of India. Kashmir has been often described as the Switzerland of Asia. He said that 99% of hotels in Jammu & Kashmir were back in business, reiterating that tourism was back in full swing.

Shamim Wani said: “A major portion of Jammu & Kashmir consists of the western Himalayas, besides many mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, passes, glaciers, plateaus and plains.”

“This year nearly 12 million tourists have already visited Jammu & Kashmir,” said Tassaduk Hussain, adding that the present season was the best time of to see beautiful shades of autumn and migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asia.” The skiing season would soon start and last until mid-March with ski events and winter festivals in Gulmarg and Pahalgam.

www.voyagersworld.in

Online Travel

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skyscanner: Taipei is top searched by Indians with 85% rise in flight search VW BUREAU

The top nine hot spots for 2015 as predicted by Skyscanner are Taipei, Myanmar, Siem Reip, Seoul, South Korea with Indians having become more experimental in seeking destinations that are not mainstream.

S

kyscanner revealed the top nine destinations that it expects will strike a chord with their travel fancies in 2015 - Taipei, Myanmar, Siem Reip, Cambodia, Seoul, Iceland, Colombo, Brazil, Bhutan and Gold Coast, Australia.

Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Senior Marketing Manager at Skyscanner India said: “Over the years, Indians have become more experimental with their travel. While beaches continue to be a favourite holiday destinations for them we know that many travellers like to be more exploratory in their travel options and seek destinations that are not mainstream, yet intriguing at the same time. With Skyscanner’s Best Time to Book feature, travellers will be able to book flights at the best price to these trending destinations.”

Rising as a luxury shopping Mecca, Taipei is the top searched destination by Indians with 85% increase in flight searches. With amazing cuisine, beautiful beaches, luxury hotels and ongoing restoration of its colonial architecture, Colombo has witnessed a growth of 67% in flight searches by Indian travellers. Along a 2,000 km of sandy coastline, the beaches of Myanmar are unspoiled and undiscovered.

A rush of luxury hotel openings, major improvements in air and road, and internet connectivity are transforming Myanmar’s unspoilt culture and heritage into one of the most soughtafter destinations on the planet.

A visit to Siem Reap, Seoul, Bhutan and Brazil in 2015 is a must on the

bucket list for travellers who have an urge to visit unexplored destinations.

Luxury adventure opportunities and the flora and fauna of Bhutan’s jungle-covered central region is making it one of the world’s hot travel destinations in 2015, which is clearly visible in the 40% jump in searches.

For the eco-travellers, a new set of environmental destinations are opening up in Brazil. Favela hill-side tours in Rio or trekking deep into the Pantanal area of wetlands in the south are appearing on traveller radars. With a string of luxury hotel openings, airport expansion and a far-sighted plan to safeguard the world famous 12th century Angkor Wat temple, Siam Reap will emerge as one of the hottest tourist tickets on the planet in 2015 as 2014 it-

self saw a 48% increase in searches from India. Seoul has recorded an increase of 44% from Indian travellers.

Its Lotte Duty Free, the fourth largest duty free in the world, will be hit for shopaholics.

All set to host the 2018 Commonwealth games, Gold Coast is also popping up on the travel radar of global travellers with a rise of 77% in flight searches from India.

Featuring some of the world’s most active volcanoes and geo-thermal springs in Interstellar movie and the Game of Thrones series, Iceland is expected to rise in 2015. A major increase in solar activity which will make the Aurora Borealis resulted in 31% rise in flight searches from India.

Fiji launches global Matai Specialist programme for travel agents VW BUREAU

The aim of the new programme and site is to educate and promote that Fiji is where happiness finds you and that this happiness can be transferred to holidaymakers who chose to visit our idyllic island nation.

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ourism Fiji launched the Fiji Matai Specialist Programme, its new online travel agent specialist training programme. The website is the mustjoin destination training programme for tourism partners selling Fiji as it went live globally in November 2014.

‘Matai’ in Fijian means to be knowledgeable or an expert in something and Matai Agents and Matai Specialists can truly become ‘Happiness Specialists’ by joining this innovative programme. The new site is easy to navigate and includes extensive educational content on Fiji. Members will also receive exclusive incentives, monthly e-newsletters featuring updates on Fiji and its tourism industry, eligibility for exciting familiarisation trips, online training updates and

Voyager’s World > December 2014

the chance to receive excellent programme rewards.

The Director of Global Marketing and Acting CEO of Tourism Fiji, Ken Freer said: “We are thrilled with the new Matai programme, bringing our travel agent engagement into a new and exciting phase. The aim of the program and site is to educate and promote that Fiji is where happiness finds you and that this happiness can be transferred to holidaymakers who chose to visit our idyllic island nation.”

Existing Matai Specialists and Matai Agents will automatically transfer to the new three-tier programme, but will be required to complete one refresher module within 12 months to maintain their status. Training mod-

ules include both experiential themes and regional destination content. The programme is open to anyone in tourism sector who has an interest in Fiji, with three tiers of membership: Matai Agent membership: - This is available to all trade and non-trade partners wishing to receive a monthly email newsletter update on what’s new within the Fijian tourism industry and events in your local region and no entitlements for this level.

access to specialist content modules and status recognition upon completion (Phase II – March ‘15); access to Matai Specialist logos and branding for use on business cards and marketing collateral; Tourism Fiji Matai famil invitations; access to exclusive Matai Agent Deals for your own personal travel (Phase II – Mar15) and to maintain status Matai Specialists must complete a refresher online training module each year.

Matai Specialist membership: - It is available to all trade partners across the tourism sector upon completion of the initial four modules. They will receive a global or regional monthly email newsletter update on Fijian tourism industry and also events within your local region. They also get

Matai Specialist Frontliner All of the above plus the opportunity to create a personal profile which, upon verification by your local Tourism Fiji office, will be published on the Tourism Fiji consumer site so one may receive referrals directly from consumers visiting the site.

www.voyagersworld.in

14-16 April 2015 | 2015年4月14-16日

Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing 上海跨国采购会展中心

The Leading International MICE Event in China 中国首屈一指的专业会议、奖励旅游、 会议和展览的商业和交流平台 www.itcmchina.com

IT&CM China 2014 Event Highlights 中国（上海）国际会奖旅游博览会展会亮点 86% of exhibitors expect orders

86%的展商预期

over the next 6 to 12 months after the show

在展会落幕后6-12个月内获得订单

Business generation of approximately USD 1 million and above 特定展商期望订单业务量能够达到100万美金或以上 for selected exhibitors

83% of buyers gave top scores to the quality of exhibitors 86% of buyers gave top scores for quality of appointments

83%的买家 对于展商的质量表示非常满意

86%的买家 对于约谈的质量表示非常满意

95% of buyers rated IT&CM China as a 95%的买家认为中国(上海)国际会奖旅游博览会 是一项不可错过的行业盛事 Must-Attend Event

“There was a good mix of buyers attending the show, so that definitely helped us in achieving our business objectives.”

Achini Dandunnage Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, Sri Lanka

“通过在IT&CM China与参展商们的交流，我 对在东南亚目的地举办会议有了更加深入的 了解。这些信息对于我们来说非常有用，因 为我们希望在这区域举办一些会议。其次教 育主题论坛也非常专业。” Li Jianmin China Conference Business Alliance (CCBA), 中国

“IT&CM China is a show I will definitely want to attend again as this show raises awareness of our publication, and opens us up to new industry markets.”

Zhou Hang EMICE.net, China

*Based on 2014 Post-Event Feedback 根据2014展后反馈

Contact 联络方式:

For International Delegates 国际展商 Email: itcmchina@ttgasia.com Tel: (65) 6395 7575

For Chinese Delegates 国内展商 Email: itcmchina@citsmice.com.cn Tel: (86-10) 8522 7997

Exhibitors 展商 | Buyers 买家 | Media 媒体 Scan this QR Code 扫描此二维码

To Learn More About Participating 获取招待计划的更多信息 Hosting Programme For Buyers and Media Available. 为买家和媒体特设的招待计划现在开始申请。

Supported By 支持单位:

Media Affiliates 支持媒体:

Official Media 官方媒体:

IT&CM China 2015 is proud to be part of the Shanghai Business Events Week.

2015中国(上海)国际奖励旅游及大会博览会很荣幸的能作为上海商务活动周的一部分举行

Where The MICE Industry Comes Together In Shanghai. An Exciting Week of Business, Education And Networking Events. 国际奖励旅游和大会博览会行业的各个成员企业齐聚上海，在令人兴奋的一周时间里，共同参与这次教育以及商业交流的活动。

Business Travel

45>>

CWT SOLUTIONS: advance booking impacts probability of bad trips VW BUREAU

The findings of the study, which was done to investigate the primary purpose for travel, revealed that the length of the stay and planning time were crucial for the success of the business.

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WT Solutions Group, the consulting arm of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, recently revealed its latest research into the return on investment (ROI) of business travel.

The lead author of the report, Catalin Ciobanu, director, Innovation & Big Data Analytics, CWT Solutions Group, said, “This study enhances our knowledge and understanding of the keys to business travel success.

We’re looking forward to working with our clients to reduce the number of unsuccessful trips and increase the value delivered by their travel program. While these results are promising, more remains to be done: looking to the future, we believe that quantifying and tracking the impact of every business trip will help companies to better manage travel as a strategic activity supporting corporate goals.”

CWT investigated the primary purpose for travel. Its findings show that most employees travel to meet clients or suppliers (38% combined), followed by team-related meetings (21%). As for individual business meeting. In essence, the return of a given business trip is the sum of the returns of all meetings that take place during that trip.

Travellers were asked what makes business meetings valuable and what causes meetings to fail. Top meeting outcomes indicated that value was created along three directions, not mutually exclusive: • Externally with business partners • Internally with colleagues • Individually for the traveller The travellers’ perspective used a survey of 10,000 traveler respondents to determine how travellers view the ROI of a trip, and to offer guidance on reducing the number of unsatisfactory business trips. Travellers were asked to measure the success of their last trip, with 88% of all trips scoring successful. Meanwhile, 9.5% of trips were seen as average, with no significant benefit compared to cost, and 2.5% of trips were deemed unsatisfactory.

Those who scored a trip as most unsatisfactory were asked if they had anticipated this, with 68% agreeing they had. The answers show that low success is, in most cases, anticipated prior to the trip.

When low-success trips are investigated, common patterns do emerge.

Some of the main factors related to trip failure are: The number of meetings taking place during the trip; the total time spent in meetings; and advance booking. To mitigate the risk of an unsuccessful trip, the report suggests the following tactics: • Arrange more meetings per trip – a trip with only one meeting produces an unsuccessful result 19% of the time. As a rule of thumb, each additional meeting reduces the likelihood of an unsuccessful trip by about 10%.

• Allow plenty of time for meetings – when cumulative meeting time per trip is less than one hour, the probability of an unsuccessful trip is 28%.

This is reduced to 8% when meetings take up two or more days.

• Plan and book early– the longer in advance a trip is planned, the less likely it is to fail. Early planning allows travelers enough time to book their trips and arrange their meetings.

CWT’s research shows a trip booked less than three days in advance runs a 21% risk of being unsuccessful, while those trips booked over two weeks in advance have 11% chance of being deemed unsatisfactory.

Positive outcomes such as increased collaboration, strategic alignment or innovation may present both external and internal benefits.

The usefulness of the trip was rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 corresponding to the best rating. The breakdown of the 10,000 trips by reported rating demonstrates that business travel is a worthy investment: A 88% of trips are perceived as successful (scores of 4 and 5).

A 9.5% of trips have an average outcome (score of 3).

A 2.5% of trips are seen as not useful (scores of 1 and 2), indicating that the return is outweighed by the

total cost of the trip (including travel stress).

There are two factors which make the length of stay relevant for business success. The first one is that during a longer trip a traveller is able to fit more meetings and thus derive more value. The second factor is advanced booking: longer trips tend to be booked earlier, and so more time is available to travellers for meeting planning and preparation.

Advance booking has a strong impact on the probability of a bad trip. The longer the trip is booked in advance, the less likely it is to fail. The date of

planning the trip is also important.

Early planning allows travellers sufficient time to book their trips and arrange their meetings.

The highest rates of unsuccessful trips (15-16%) were observed for employees at the administrative or associate levels. The probability decreases to 11% and 7% for the manager-level and director-level employees, respectively. The trend reverses at the level of vice-president and above (11%); this is related to the higher demand for frequent travel on corporate executives, which ultimately reduces the advance booking and meeting preparation time.

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Happenings

Bird Group conducts workshop on aviation

B

ird Group, along with Aviation expert and German educationist Dr. Klause Jackel, conducted a workshop on the aviation industry for the Bird Group workforce and Bird Academy students in November in New Delhi. The workshop aimed to help share the best practices to identify and develop an understanding of the relevant and crucial determinants of the aviation industry as business models of Gulf carriers and their impacts on the Indian markets.

46>>

Modi signs MoU on Tourism with Nepal PM

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ourism was one of the agreements that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed with his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala in his visit to the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Kathmandu. The MoU necessitated even cooperation between stakeholders in both nations to exchange information, market destinations, which may be complementary. Emphasis was laid on developing special spiritual circuits like Lumbini - Bodh Gaya - Sarnath - Kushinagar, besides mutually promoting adventure and leisure tourism. Also, twin-city pacts were signed for Kathmandu - Varanasi, Janakpur - Ayodhya and Lumbini - Bodh Gaya.

Dr. Jackel also discussed the relevance of distance, diversity and culture models to describe different cultures as well as extensive studies of the Japanese and Chinese societies.

Louis Cruises launches Celestyal Cruises

Coorg named India's Favourite Emerging Destination

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ouis Cruises launched Celestyal Cruises, its new brand and its new website, www.celestyalcruises.com.

As Louis Cruises continues to build the new brand, it will continue, as Louis Cruises, to operate in the chartering and ship management segments of the cruise industry.

In 2015, Celestyal Cruises will add 12 new Ionian, Adriatic and Dalmatian Coast ports of call to our 2015 itineraries, including Bari, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Igoumenitsa, Kalamata, Katakolon, Kefalonia, Kotor and Saranda, Albania.

Two of its beautiful ships, the Cristal and the Olympia have been rechristened the Celestyal Cristal and the Celestyal Olympia. Louis Aura will retain her name and will continue her scheduled itineraries in France and Cyprus.

Voyager’s World > November 2014

oorg won India’s Favourite Emerging Destination award by Conde Nast Traveller Magazine at the Reader’s Travel Awards in New Delhi in November 2014.

Karnataka’s Minister for Higher Education & Tourism R V Deshpande said: “Coorg has been receiving a growing number of travellers consistently over the years and has been one of the sought after South Indian hill station. On the one hand, this has encouraged some of the best brands to set up accommodation facilities and has upped the overall destination experience quotient. On the other hand, the locals have made the experience even more interesting with excellent cultural, culinary and nature-engaging experiences that beckon repeat travellers. Home-stays in this region have been a unique experience to travellers.

47>>

E-visa takes form, opens to 43 nations

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he much-awaited E-visa enabled by Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) was launched on 27 November, 2014 in New Delhi. 43 countries have been extended the E-Visa facility in the first phase, including the 12 countries that were earlier provided with VoA facility in India. More countries will also be added in phases over a period of two-three years. They are Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vanuatu and Vietnam. All arrangements as the software for the processing are completed and the facility will be available initially at nine airports -New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Kochi, Thiruvanthapuram, Hyderabad and Goa. Tourists have to apply through the respective website as per requirments and pay the visa fee. The electronic version will be sent in 72 hours. They have to visit India within 30 days from date of approval of ETA and the visa is valid for 30 days from the date of arrival in India. E-visa will be issued to those for holiday, medical, business, VFRs and not any other purpose.

Ludhiana agents undergo Abu Dhabi destination training

Cleartrip app enables changes in flight bookings

Business visa for 3-5 years for SAARC members

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ravstarz Holiday & Destinations, along with Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and Hotel Viceroy, YAS Island, Abu Dhabi, recently conducted a roadshow and networking dinner for travel agents in Ludhiana with over 40 travel agents from Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Chandigarh and other parts of Punjab. Travstarz recently signed a wholesale contract with YAS Viceroy.

The show involved destination training by Bejan Dinshaw from Abu Dhabi Tourism, Hotel Presentation by Vani Singh, Representative for YAS Viceroy and Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director Travstarz about their products and services.

leartrip app introduced in-app changes for domestic flights, to facilitate passengers in making changes to flight bookings. Whether it is rescheduling part of the trip or whole of it, for a single passenger or all, the feature helps in easy changes enables easy changes. The feature requires one to tap the ‘reschedule’ option next to the domestic trip that has to be changed and choose the alternate travel dates and passenger details along with a list of flights. The app will then indicate the difference in fares resulting from the rescheduling fee and fares on the new dates. Any negative difference will be refunded.

ndia would give business visa for three to five years for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 18th SAARC Summit. He also called for simplifying the procedures and improving the facilities. “Let’s all make our procedures simple, our facilities better, our standards common and our paper work less burdensome.”

“India will now give business visa for three-five years for SAARC countries,” Modi said. Observing the huge trade surplus that our nation had with SAARC nations, he stated that that was neither right nor sustainable.

www.voyagersworld.in

Destination

48>>

TADA falls: trek your way to this charming cascade

Tada Falls, located in North Sricity near Chittur district, Andhra Pradesh, is a trekker’s paradise with pristine falls and breathtaking scenery in the midst of a challenging climb.

INDUMATHI CHITRAMBALAM

“

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds”-Edward Abbey, American Author.

Tada falls, located in North Sricity, also bears another name, Ubbalamadugu Falls. It falls under the Chittur district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Tada remains in its pristine state as it is not known to many people.

This place is well suited for trekking, camping and swimming. The scenic view of the waterfalls just takes your breath away and the soft breeze caresses your face. The moment you lay your eyes on Tada, you feel tempted to explore it.

The Actual Adventure From Tada, it takes approximately 20km to reach the base camp. At Base Camp 2, beware of monkeys; they are notorious for snatching food packs. From the base camp starts a long rugged trekking adventure, for first time trekkers it is advised to hire a guide.

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Be careful with each step forward as it tends to get slippery and the roads are muddy and filled with small rocks.

The whole distance can be rounded up to around 10km. Streams which appear here and there look so pure that one is tempted to touch it. The

mere movement of the water will be music to your ears and If you like being tickled, meet the fishes in the water that nibble at your feet, of course, they don’t hurt!

After about half an hour, you will reach a Shiva temple which happens to be an ancient clan pilgrimage site.

Near the temple you will see a stream that is about four to five feet deep. It is better to ask for directions near the temple. From thereon, the trekking gets challenging and tougher.

Try staying with the group, as getting lost in the woods is not a fantasy you would enjoy.

The trek gets interesting as you listen to the gurgling of water that guides you along the right path. While huge rocks and formations can seem threatening and discouraging, one has to jump from one rock to another while crossing the paths. Soon, you will find yourself facing a majestic water falls that will make you want to immerse yourself in it. After this, it gets quite difficult to follow up the right path as mostly the paths are covered with stones and are muddy.

The trek ends after climbing downhill at an angle of 60 degrees for another kilometre. So, the total trek takes about an hour and a half and if you wish to pause and rest now and then, the journey could stretch

to a couple of hours.

Wear sturdy shoes and carry a backpack filled with enough sustainable equipment like ropes, food and water bottles and of course, do not forget your camera. The roads are generally empty early in the morning which is quite an advantage for bikers. During weekends, you can expect a lot of visitors. There is parking space available at the base camp.

Adventure activities tend to test our patience, but they bring out of the

best in us. Tada is perhaps the best trekking experience I have ever had, a place that gets you all excited. The stillness in the ambience stays in my mind while the green scenery and the clear waterfalls stand in my memory afresh. If you are looking for a weekend getaway, then take a trip to Tada Falls to be enlightened.

Situated 80kms from Chennai, Tada can be reached by local trains or buses. The best period to visit the place would be during winter though the ideal period is January-March.

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Voyager’s World > December 2014

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Top Appointments

49>> David Goldstein

Firoz Jangaria

President & CEO, Canadian Tourism Commission

Hotel Manager, ibis Bengaluru City Centre

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axime Bernier, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism) (Agriculture), announced the appointment of David Goldstein has become the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), effective December 1, 2014. David was previously the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). In this capacity, David was one of the key architects of the Federal Tourism Strategy with Industry Canada.

F

iroz Jangaria has joined as the Hotel Manager of the ibis Bengaluru City Centre. With more than a decade of industry experience, he was most recently the Director for Sales at Ibis Gurgaon. In his new role, he is entrusted with spearheading and managing the 173room property. Firoz has been with Accor for a long time having worked in markets as the UK, Dubai and India across core hospitality functions in a variety of brands and properties.

Shashi Razdan

Shubham Chandra

Area Director of Sales & Marketing, Golden Tulip Hotels

Area Director–Sales/Mktg, Hyatt-B’lore, Chennai, Hampi, Kathmandu, Kolkata

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olden Tulip Hotels appointed Shashi Razdan as the Area Director of Sales & Marketing, South Asia. He has over 23 years of experience from previous stints at the Oberoi, the Imperial, Hampshire and Uppal’s Orchid.

Prior to joining Louvre Hotels, he was the Director of Sales & Marketing with Crowne Plaza, Delhi. In his new role, Shashi will oversee and directing all aspects of sales and marketing activities of the group for South Asia.

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hubham Chandra is the new Area DirectorSales & Marketing for Hyatt Hotels in Bangalore, Chennai, Hampi, Kathmandu and Kolkata.

With over 16 years experience, he has been with Hyatt properties in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyatt Regency Chennai. In his new role, Shubham will provide strategic oversight to Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place and Hyatt brands in Bangalore, Chennai, Hampi, Kathmadu and Kolkata and will also continue as Director of Sales & Marketing at Hyatt Regency Chennai.

Rakhi Purohit

Srijan Vadhera

Regional Director- Sales, Mktg, Revenue and Distribution, Absolute Hotel Services India

Resident Manager, Shangri-La Hotel, Bangalore

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hangri-La Hotel, Bangalore has appointed Srijan Vadhera as its resident manager.

Bringing in 16 years of experience, he has worked with Starwood Hotels, Zuri Hotels and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts earlier. In his new role, Srijan will work closely with the general manager of the hotel to oversee the rooms and F&B divisions as well as other operational departments as spa and recreation.

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R

akhi Purohit has become the Regional Director of Sales, Marketing, Revenue and Distribution for Absolute Hotel Services India.

With 17 years of experience, her role is to lead the team by working closely with Corporate Sales, Marketing & Revenue team to drive revenue and marketing activities as well as develop each hotel sales and marketing strategies, rates structure and expand distribution channels based on competitive environment.

Ritesh Kumar Choudhary

Ahsan Shervani

Director, Food and Beverage, JW Marriott Mumbai

Vice-President, Shervani Hospitalities Ltd.

W Marriott Mumbai has appointed Ritesh Kumar Choudhary as the Director of Food and Beverage. He has 10 years of experience in delivering and sustaining revenue targets in the hotel industry and was earlier associated with hotels like the Taj Group and the Leela Group. and is adept at planning, supervising and managing food and beverage operations.

He has a record of planning and implementing effective control measures to reduce operating costs of the unit.

S

hervani Hospitalities Ltd. has appointed Ahsan Shervani as the new Vice-President.

He was working as a strategic consultant for the Beau Rivage Palace hotel, Lausanne before returning to India. Ahsan had been assisting the management at Shervani Hospitalities before leaving for Switzerland to pursue his MBA. He had also worked with Bharti Airtel Limited, Gurgaon and in Lemon Tree Hotels, New Delhi as an Assistant Sales and Marketing Manager in September 2011.

www.voyagersworld.in

NETWORKING ISthe THE networking is keyKEY December

January

February

March

December2014 14, 15, 16

International Travel & Hospitality Show Oman International Exhibition Centre Muscat,Oman

19, 20, 21

Holiday Expo Vishakapatanam

January 2015 16, 17, 18

India International Travel Mart Kochi

23, 24, 25 Holiday Expo Coimbatore

March 2015 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ITB Berlin Berlin, Germany

18, 19, 20, 21

12 - 20

Outbound Travel Roadshow Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata Ahmedabad & Delhi

29, 30, 31

MITT Moscow, Russia

26, 27, 28, 21 TUR, Gothenburg Sweden

SATTE New Delhi, India

February 2015

April 2015 April 13, 14, 15

Jan 28, 29 Feb 1 FITUR Madrid, Spain

IBTM Africa Cape Town, South Africa

22, 23, 24

26, 27, 28

World Travel Market Latin America Sao Paulo,Brazil

Maharashtra International Travel Mart, Mumbai

22-24

20, 21, 22

India International Travel Mart Kolkata

Kitf Almaty, Kazakhstan

23, 24 World Tourism Forum Lucerne Swirzerland

www.voyagersworld.in

April