Voyager's World February 2014

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Vol XI

Issue 4

Pages 52

February 2014

Rs 60

www.gujarattravelmart.com

‘meeting’ the ‘match’:

branding and the mice-destination dynamics

From The Desk Editorial

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06Industry Buzz 10Cover Story

Branding in MICE

16Inbound Travel

All IN THE NEWS: VISA ON ARRIVAL, MERGERS AND MORE

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ome Summer, while the Indian travel-trade is focusing on attracting business to the plethora of holiday packages across seas and continents; there has been much more corporate merger and acquisition news that is making headlines, some of them rather intriguing, Sterling Resorts merging with Thomas Cook India, the multi-sector multi-disciplined PSU Balmer Lawrie taking over Vacations Exotica and DLF selling back Aman Resorts to it’s former owner! This sure is an exciting time to be in the travel business.

Visa on Arrival on the cards for visitors from 180 countries, will change the Inbound travel scenario like no other!

Expect the Competition in the Asia - Pacific region to go through the roof! Looks like the Indian Government has finally realised, the volume of foreign exchange, tourism can bring in! It is great news for all the turbo-charged hotel inventory that the country has added.

Voyager’s World talks about the relevance of branding exercises in the premilinary stages of promoting a destination for MICE.

Warm Regards

ROHIT HANGAL

rohit@voyagersworld.in

When the jungle sleeps, the Phantom wakes!..an old jungle saying.

26Hospitality

Properties, cuisines, international occupancy in Indian hotels

34India Outbound

Zambia tourism board, Brand USA, Switzerland Tourism’s roadshows, Destination promotions

49Top Appointments Voyager’s World > February 2014

# 245, Amar Jyothi Layout, Domlur, Bangalore - 560 071, India Ph: +91 - 80 - 4083 4103, Fax: + 91 - 80 - 4083 4101 info@spheretravelmedia.com, www.spheretravelmedia.com

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No part of this magazine may be reproducted without the prior written permission from Voyagers’s World

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Industry Buzz

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Azamara unveils AzAmazing cruise experiences

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pmarket, discerning travellers from India can now choose from over 60 voyages of Azamara Club Cruises with its 2014 AzAmazing Evenings programme. Through this, guests can further their vacation by enjoying an exclusive, authentic and cultural evening event.

Whether enjoying a private, three-tenors performance, set in a 19th century opera house in Livorno, Italy, or joining a local Burmese festival, guests will find themselves immersed and living the culture rather than just seeing it on a brief visit. For example, in Azamara Journey’s ‘Past to Present: Normandy 70 Years Later’, guests will be treated to an AzAmazing Evenings event of a D-Day Liberation Party at Cherbourg – exactly 70 years to the day that the landings took place.

BalmerLawrie takes over Vacations Exotica

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almerLawrie& Co. Ltd., took over ‘Vacations Exotica’ along with its people and business recently. This takeover is an attempt to strengthen its foothold in the tours domain.

BalmerLawrie Tours & Travel is the oldest IATA accredited travel agency in India. With 88 touch points pan India including ISO certified branches in all major cities, it services customers round the clock through its 24x7 Call Center and an online travel portal.

Indians can save 18% on a 22-week advance buy

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he best time to book cheapest flight tickets from India is 22 weeks in advance of travel on average, as per a recent study by Skyscanner. February is the cheapest month to travel and Indian consumers can expect to save 18% on flight prices on average, while booking 22 weeks in advance would result in savings of around 15% on average.

Skyscanner’s Best Time to Book interactive infographic provides key travel data for the top five most searched destinations from India. Indians can save up to 18% on travel to UK and 25% on travel to Singapore respectively on booking 12 weeks in advance. Travel to USA can help save 33% if booked 15 weeks in advance.

UAE bookings made 12 weeks in advance can get 21% savings while those travelling to Thailand can look at booking 16 weeks in advance to help save 34%.

RezLive.com appoints new GSA in Philippines.

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ezLive.com has named Shroff International Travel Care Inc. as its exclusive General Sales Agent (GSA) for Philippines. Rezlive.com offers hotels, sightseeing and transfers under one window interface.

Shroff International Travel Care Inc. has its roots in the Philippines Travel Industry for over 18 years, offering deals to its clients in leisure, business, conference, etc.

Designer Indya, a product of Travel Designer Group, will also work with Shroff International Travel Care to offer the best services to the Philippines travel agents, whose clients want to explore India.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Drukair to start Paro-Mumbai services

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rukair is launching its Mumbai services effective 05 February, 2014; thus starting operations to its 10th international destination and its sixth in India.

The new route between Paro International Airport and Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will commence operations from 1stMay 2014. The three-hour flight will operate twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. KB 206 will depart Paro at 07:30 hrs and arrive at 10:10 hrs while KB 207 will depart Mumbai at 11:10 hrs and arrive at 14:40 hrs.The aircrafts are configured with 16 seats in business class and 102 seats in economy class.

Indian tourism gets a boost with VoA facility

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he Indian government has approved the policy both for visa-onarrival and through electronic travel confirmation for 180 countries.

Except eight countries, which include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq, tourists travelling to India from 180 countries will no longer have to queue at their local consulates to obtain visas. They will be allowed to apply online and receive the green light in five days, before picking up their visa at the airport on arrival into India.

Visitors from countries that account for the bulk of India’s tourists -- such as the USA, Britain and France will be among those to benefit from the changes to regulations.

Industry Buzz

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ITB Berlin 2014: Latest knowhow directly from experts

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his year’s ITB Berlin Convention from 5 to 8 March will be airing thought-provoking opinions. Leading speakers from research and with practical experience will lecture on the latest developments in tourism and related sectors. Admission to the convention is free of charge for trade visitors and exhibitors. On 5 March, the convention will open with an address by the Hon. Dato‘ Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia, which this year is the Convention & Culture Partner of the ITB Berlin Convention.

His address will be followed by three keynote speeches offering insights into the future of travel. On 7 March at the ITB CSR Day the discussion will be about every aspect of sustainability. This year’s event will focus on human rights in tourism.

Shraddha Sarovar Portico opens in Shirdi

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he Sarovar Hotels announced re-branding of Shraddha Inn as Shraddha Sarovar Portico, Shirdi.Shraddha Sarovar Portico offers 75 rooms and suites with other services like doctor on call, Ayurvedic therapy center and spa, meditation room, library, games room, swimming pool and travel desk makes it an ideal hotel for devotees and travelers of all ages.

IndiGo propels a sixer

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ndiGo started six daily new flights for six destinations, from February, 2014. The addition includes a new daily non-stop flight between Delhi-Bagdogra, second non-stop from KolkataBagdogra and Bangalore-Chennai, fourth non-stop between Chennai-Kolkata, ninth non-stop between Mumbai-Bangalore and one stop flight between Chennai-Bagdogra via Kolkata.

Kerala Tourism bags UNWTO award

TAAI-ETOA to solve travel barriers

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he Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) to create a positive business environment for the travel industries of Britain and India and address issues that had hindered growth in the past. TAAI will work with Visit Britain and ETOA to identify and remove barriers hampering growth of travel between the two countries and create a common voice to address visa issues in India, develop and propose preferred agents scheme to UKVI for the India market.

Discover the World represents Hurtigruten Cruises

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iscover the World has expanded its sales and marketing representation into India for Hurtigruten cruises.

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erala Tourism won the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance, for innovative initiatives in sustainable tourism; the first time India has ever won the title.

It was awarded for its ‘Responsible Tourism’ project in Kumarakom, which has successfully linked the local community with the hospitality industry and government departments, creating a model for empowerment and development of the people in the area while sustaining eco-friendly tourism.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Discover the World’s CEO Jenny Adams., said: “Increasing Hurtigruten’s profile and revenue shares in other markets, especially Australia and New Zealand, was a factor in expanding our relationship with the cruise line in India where we expect to replicate our track record.”

roomsXML.com wins Inc. India Innovative 100 award

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oomsXML Solutions Ltd was the only one from the travel industry to win the award. Prakash Bang, Managing Director of the Company received the award from Punit Modhgil & Alok Mittal at a function held in New Delhi recently.

Prakash Bang said: “To survive and thrive in the highly competitive segment that we are in, there leaves little room for compromises. We constantly have to be innovative in product development.

Majority of our resources are invested in introducing new features.”

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We will be putting an even greater focus on the increasingly important Travel Technology segment. This year, the show will provide space in Hall 5.1 for companies from this market for the first time. Thus, the world’s leading travel trade show will create an additional 700 sq. of display area for the topic of travel technology in tourism. The lectures and workshops of eTravel World cover topics which deal with new technologies, social media and mobile travel services – and new trends are presented.

“Global Code of Ethics”. Internally, we try to avoid paper waste, recycle and compensate all our business trips. … How can tourism professionals keep up with the latest travel industry developments these days?

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We are engaged in giving ecofriendly, responsible tourism the floor since more than ten years; Corporate Social Responsibility in tourism is one of our key topics. Discussions and lectures at the ITB Berlin Convention and in hall 4.1 about sustainable tourism practices give valuable insights and up-dates. ITB actively supports the UNWTO

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Cover Story

branding and mice: directing where like minds like to ‘meet’ Destinations across the planet are on a MICE developing expedition as a means to boost tourism and the overall economy; but how does the preliminary branding action open the gateway to this segment?

Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Thailand

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

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The bigger the event, the longer the scale of branding and promotional activities and when it comes to the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, this five-letter word gains importance in a snowballing effect.

Tram near Globe of Science and Innovation, Geneva

The humble peddler on the streets has his voice to sell his wares; imaginably he is the brand ambassador for his goods and relies on the name, the tangible product and its uses for marketing them. A brand, as defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA), stands for ‘name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.’

The meaning and the function of the word ‘brand’ have a cumulative nature as the price of the product increases.

Right from the word go, the MICE industry is characterized by its brand image, which as marketing author Philip Kotler outlines as a set of beliefs held about a particular brand.

While this piece, dear reader, only

Voyager’s World > February 2014

does touch upon various facets of branding in the meetings industry, it mainly seeks to find out how can the destination and the M/I/C/E mutually brand each other.

A recent and emerging example would be that of the World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America. Although WTM, by itself, is a brand, it would be right to say the event has helped further boosting the image of the destination. The Southern American region is fast catching up as the slow but steady turtle in the fresh destination market and the likes of WTM only help.

When it comes to marketing a destination, a challenge faced by travel agents and tour operators is on the choices front. They find too many different options to offer to the customers and the customers also want to know a lot of options before deciding on where they want to go. Hence, the process of decision making becomes all the more complex. This apart, destinations involve a lot of money and the higher the package cost, the longer the customer dilly-dallies over making a decision on making the booking. The advantages that

11>> branding brings with it for marketing leisure packages are more or less the same for meetings or business tourism too.

When a destination wins the bid to host a M/I/C/E, the preparation of the marketing activity entails drafting a certain branding image so as to convey the destination as a whole to the sellers, buyers and other stakeholders who have a vested interest in the event. It narrows down the options in the sense that it draws attention to the overall attractions of the country/region and whilst hosting the event, it prepares an itinerary that would showcase the best of its attractions, including sightseeing, hotels and local culture.

Cover Story The relevance of branding a destination in the context of business and meetings industry cannot be ruled out as it helps develop the economy of the destination. In India, places like Bangalore or Hyderabad, which have cosmopolitan attractions but not necessarily enough to stand alone as tourist getaways, the meetings industry has helped in revenue generation.

The Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) and the various multi-national hotel chains that have sprung in these cities have projected

them on the global MICE venues. The brand image that these cities enjoy is that of an IT-backed cosmopolitan business centre, with easy connectivity to the nearby tourist spots.

Therefore, developing a brand promotion on these lines will tell the prospective clients about what to look out for while coming there for a meeting. In fact, the leading metros of India- Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad as well as Tier 2 cities like Goa, Jaipur and

Ahmedabad have re-defined their wealth status through investments in developing the cities as business destinations resulting from the travel linked with attending the meetings, exhibitions, etc.

Tourism boards and Destination Marketing Companies (DMCs) can develop a comprehensive yet easyto-recall and appealing brand association exercise for the cities by making positive brand images related to the cities, the characteristics, the

This way, branding actually helps reduce the choice as well as proves useful in communicating the reality or physicality of the experience that the destination is capable of offering even before visiting the place. This is because the venues and packages are intangible and require a high financial investment. The entire package detailing what the meeting group or the company can look forward to while visiting the venue.

The bigger the event means the higher the purchase value, more the number of buyers. The need for the right branding exercise can be derived from the fact that business tourists spend few times more than other category of tourists; their spending on Wi-Fi, usage of the business centre at the venue and other meeting requirements are few examples. MICE means the coming together of people from different nationalities and cultures and hence, there is a need to ‘meet’ the international standards of quality.

In today’s times, national and state tourism boards do not just restrict their focus on the main sightseeing attractions as part of their branding.

They also place a lot, if not equal, importance on other aspects of the place such as shopping districts and wellness spas in the area. Of course, in the present times the destinations are being marketed as business venues alongside tourism.

pixelmediasgr@gmail.com

When an incentive event is held at a ski resort in the Swiss Alps or aboard a luxury cruise for a large group, the branding helps in breaking down the different facets of the destination.

This marketing exercise plays a key role in cutting down the risks common to the end customer satisfaction.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE

Where business is always a Pleasure!

Cheshma Shahi, Srinagar, Kashmir-190001 (India) Phone: +91 194 2501201, 2501093, 2501193 Fax: +91 194 2500778 email: info@skicc.in

www.skicc.in

www.voyagersworld.in

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Cover Story local lifestyle, the people, the celebrities who belong to that destination and geographic and other social attributes that are unique to the cities themselves, thereby procuring them a distinct international status.

Tiger economies like Thailand were intelligent enough when the nations embarked on their development activities in the early 1990s, having a futuristic vision while doing up their countries. The development of tourism-related infrastructure took place together with the rest of the expansion plans. Today, a place like Phuket is as important a leisure destination as is a business venue.

As mentioned earlier, the meetings industry brings about different needs for the business tourists by way of the size of the venue, the meeting/conference facilities, infrastructure, easy connectivity, cultural similarities, size of the destination, safety, economic progress and the overall topography.

The brand image attributes for a business tourist also includes quality of the amenities, accommodation and other functional attributes related to the event. These operative qualities are the ones that are crucial to the decision making process.

The logo of Switzerland Tourism, for instance, is very simple and crisp. It has made use of its red flag with a white cross at the top right hand corner of a rectangular box encircled by a yellow flower and the whole box is filled with red. Its tagline ‘Switzerland get natural’ says it all about what it has in store, thus avoiding unnecessary clutter. Of course, one can create a logo that has no meaning at all; sometimes a meaningless logo still helps in a quick recall in the minds of the travellers. The end objective is thus met with the immediate recollection and avoids wrong associations with another destination.

Other branding aspects are the message and image/photo association before being followed by the next series of promotional activities, which, dear reader, will follow in the next issue in an interesting branding series of M/I/C/E over the next few issues.

WTM London 2013

Exterior of Transamerica Expo Center. Sau Paulo, Brazil

Exterior of Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart Germany

Brand image attributes Even as the actual experience that a place has to offer along with the culture and other attractions in the itinerary, the preliminary communication about itself comes from the brand logo and its tagline. Kerala Tourism has been successful in establishing quick brand recall through its log with the ‘l’ in its name represented by a coconut tree that is native to the state and so has Goa Tourism with a blue colour used in the font along with a beach background.

Given that a logo represents the destination in the tourism business, it must be able to exactly depict the essence of the destination and endeavour to create brand association and expectations for the business visitors who might be coming there for the first time. Yet, the creative team must ensure the logo illustrates nothing but the reality. While creating fonts and graphics distinctive of the destination is the norm, it may be mentioned that the brand logo must try to focus on one or two biggest attractions of the destination as part of the association rather than racking one’s brains on trying to bring in many features of the place into the logo. Those can always be marketed through the USP line or the detailed packages.

But just because the logo makes the first impression it is not necessary to fill it with too many details to prove a point.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Cruise + Land Packages A new wave in travel...

3:24

For Inquiries and Bookings contact:

T: 022 - 65656050 / 65656051 | E: sales@oceaniacruisesindia.com, 504, 5th Floor, Sunshine Building T-39 CHS, Shastri Nagar, Near , Lokhandwala Circle, Andheri (W), Mumbai 400 053

All fares listed are cruise only in U.S. dollars, per person, based on double occupancy and include Cruise-related non commissionable fares. For packaged tours Govt svc tax of 3.09% is additional calculated on gross bill. All advertised fares, offers are for Category rooms mentioned only and are subject to availability or validity of the offer at time of booking. Gratuities of $15.00 per guest, per day are automatically added to their shipboard account. An additional $7.00 per guest, per day will be added for Suites where Butler Service is provided. *Shore Excursions are only Included if Unlimited Passport Collection Package is purchased. Additional Terms and conditions apply

Travel Management

Two is company!

Travel business is going through a phase of consolidation as service providers are looking keenly to add value added services which can enhance margin in their business.

VW BUREAU

Dev Karvat MD, TrawellTag Cover-More “Companies today must contend with unprecedented financial, cultural and marketplace changes.

In these times, a merger/acquisition seems to be a much better cost-effective means of growth than growing by adding one client at a time or adding a service niche to create cross-selling opportunities, which has favoured both the parties.

Ajay Lodha Partner, Singhi Advisors The advantages for the acquiring company are from two perspectives.

They are able to offer more services to their customers and they are also able to access a wider customer base. So in a sense you should get the benefit of higher sales revenue in total and also higher spend share from the customer as well.

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and pull factors for offering defining services to customers. Thomas Cook and Sterling Holidays is an interesting example here.

he travel industry has, in the past few weeks, witnessed the taking over of companies; Balmer-Lawrie took over Vacations Exotica, MakeMyTrip acquired the Netherlandbased EasyToBook.com Group while Thomas Cook bought out Sterling to create India’s largest holiday company.

While this trend seems to be catching up fast in our industry, the advantages of procurement of businesses comes with its share of advantages in today’s driven market with a perpetual rein on finances in a cautious economy.

Acquiring another company helps in widening the existing customer base and increasing the market share. The company that has been taken over brings with it its distribution channels and revenue management solutions that can now be utilized for the acquiring company. Of course, the broadening of products and services cannot be ruled out. Plus, establishments in a common sector can merge their resources so as to cut down the costs, avoid duplication of services and help in increasing the revenues.

“Travel business is going through a phase of consolidation as service providers are looking keenly to add value added serviced which can enhance margin in their business,” said

Ajay Lodha, partner at Singhi Advisors which facilitated the deal. “The reduction of credit periods in ticketing business and price wars has published margins down in air ticketing business significantly.” Balmer-Lawrie’s takeover of Vacations Exotica is expected to boost its revenues by Rs.200 crores.

Ajay said that with the internet becoming popular and the growing popularity of online platforms, the manner of delivery of travel service is changing rapidly. Business models are also undergoing a change in order to remain relevant and profitable in the market place. The acquisitions that are happening are largely a reflection of this trend. Businesses want to offer a higher range of services to their clientele so that once a client comes on

board you are able to make his/her travel experience enjoyable. The advantages for the acquiring company are from two perspectives. They are able to offer more services to their customers and they are also able to access a wider customer base. So in a sense you should get the benefit of higher sales revenue in total and also higher spend share from the customer as well. MakeMyTrip investing in hotel aggregator business is an interesting example here.

Having a strong technology platform for enabling efficient service to customers has become imperative in services business and that will gradually be a defining area for most businesses. Having exclusive rights over interesting properties will also become interesting differentiating

After acquisition, the core of the renewed marketing and promotional activities lies in re-branding its image. The acquiring company needs to clearly understand how the two brands are perceived in the market and then take a call as to how to position the two brands and whether the two brands should co-exist or not. There need not be a rebranding effort in acquisitions. There could very well be two brands which are important and that could co-exist as they cater to two different market segments. Balmer -Lawrie acquiring Vacations Exotica is a classic case where both the brands are going to coexist.

“The benefits of the acquisition that has recently happened by Balmer Lawrie of Vacations Exotica are that it would offer a much more credible and stronger financial platform to the customers, travel intermediaries and other suppliers of tour services and it is likely to be very positive for business growth in the sector. Entry of organised businesses and consolidation in the sector is always helpful for the players and participants in the industry,” says Ajay.

Cruise

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A new wave in upper premium cruise travel OCEANIA CRUISES IN INDIA ANNOUNCES NEW ULTRA CRUISE + LAND PACKAGES

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he world’s only upper premium cruise line Oceania Cruises, offering gourmet cuisine, gracious service and award winning itineraries at an exceptional value are very glad to announce our first ever tailor-made cruise packages.

Evolving and understanding that our market desire enhancements and transparency in their vacation deals.

Oceania Cruises is delighted to be the pioneers introducing these New Ultra Cruise + land packages wherein being booked with us for your cruise vacation you will now also know your detailed daily vacation plan. While in port, you may choose from a plethora of inspired shore excursions, ensuring you discover the most fascinating wonders of each destination.

Recognising the potential of the emerging cruise business in India and knowing that seasoned travellers are now in search of luxurious

cruising alternatives for vacations.

Oceania Cruises India has created Ultra cruise vacation packages which Include shore excursions and have created select cruise packages for close to 30 popular voyages. Selecting a cruise package is a voyage with new ultra-inclusive cruise pricing for a selection of tours from the broad spectrum of Oceania award-winning shore-excursion choices, a savings of up to several hundred dollars per guest. These cruise packages, even though at a packaged pricing offer a traveler numerous options to customize his vacation.

Now, in addition to spacious accommodations and an onboard experience that includes all soft drinks, finest cuisine in multiple open-seating gourmet restaurants and Oceania renowned six-star service, has now been extended to offer an immersive destination experience for which

they are known world-wide.

“We are delighted to be able to offer our valued guests even greater value with Oceania Cruises experience that now encompasses both the ship and the destination. At a time when travelers are seeking greater value and unique vacation opportunities, we offer a spectacular array of voyages that offer more value and more luxury than ever before,” stated Ian Banerjee, Director Global Anchor Cruises (Representative Oceania Cruises India) Guests will have an array of Shore Excursions that they can choose from and we Tailor make their cruises their way but at a fixed price. Also announcing we are now offering 2 for 1 Deposits, our new reduced deposits ($375pp versus the usual $750pp) through this year for all 2014 voyages attracts more bookings. In ad-

dition to the wide choice of included excursions, there will be a number of special (Oceania Choice) excursions that will require payment of a supplement, allowing guests to experience some of the finest programs ashore at an outstanding value.

With this new initiative these voyages are certain to be in great demand given their unrivaled value proposition.

View these packages on www.oceaniacruisesindia.com/packages Sample of the few included shore excursions are: Among the wide selection of Included shore excursions in the fairytale kingdoms of the Baltic and Russia are: Northern Europe • Amsterdam And Anne Frank $195.00 • The Hermitage, A Wealth Of Art And History - $195.00

SuperStar Virgo’s Hong Kong homeport deployment announces new sailings

itineraries to Taiwan, Sanya and Vietnam from April to October 2014

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tar Cruises will homeport SuperStar Virgo, the largest ship of its Asian fleet, in Hong Kong from April to October 2014. The 75,338-tonne vessel will embark on a six-month seasonal deployment, offering itineraries to Keelung (Taipei), Taichung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Sanya in Hainan and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

The relocation of SuperStar Virgo, with 13 decks and 935 cabins, is a part of Star Cruises’ on-going strategy for Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, as well as Korea and Japan markets.

From 7 April to 26 October, 2014, customers can cruise on SuperStar Virgo with any of the three exciting Hong Kong-based weekly itineraries tailor-made for them—the 4D3N cruise to Kaohsiung and Taichung, the 4D3N cruise to Sanya and Halong Bay, and the 1-night high seas cruise. Customers wishing to extend the trip and prolong the fun can go on a monthly 7D6N cruise to Keelung (Taipei), Kaohsiung, and Taichung.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

SuperStar Virgo is currently homeported in Singapore, offering itineraries to Penang, Phuket, Malacca and Port Klang. On 2 April, 2014, SuperStar Virgo will embark on her 6D5N relocation cruise from Singapore and call at Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang in Vietnam en route to Hong Kong. After completing her six-month Hong Kong deployment, on 28 October, 2014, she will set sail from Hong Kong for Sanya and Ho Chi Minh City before returning to Singapore.

The relocation of SuperStar Virgo, with 13 decks and 935 cabins, is a part of Star Cruises’ on-going strategy for Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, as well as Korea and Japan markets. Mr. William Ng, Chief Operating Officer - Cruise, Genting Hong Kong, said, “In view of the growing demand for cruise travel in Asia, we’re pleased to bring our flagship SuperStar Virgo to Hong Kong. The ship will sail to destinations popular amongst travellers in the region and serve them with our renowned Asian

style hospitality. The wide array of onboard entertainment, leisure, retail and food & beverage options will make these cruise holidays memorable for all.”

Upgrades to SuperStar Virgo In early January 2014, Star Cruises will carry out a large scale upgrade over its flagship – SuperStar Virgo.

Over the three weeks renovation period, more than 270 balcony cabins will be refurnished with a touch of simple luxury, allowing passengers to harmonize with the perfect sea view under a calming ambience every day. Other upgrades include furnishing onboard restaurants, recreational facilities, and expanding the total retail floor area to 562 square meters, which will house more choices of international brands such as Shiseido, SKII, Biotherm, Lancome and Shu Uemura. These offer a whole new level of shopping experience for all passengers to fulfill their shopping wishes, as well as to welcome the upcoming new itineraries in 2014.

The 75,338-tonnage, 13-deck SuperStar Virgo is the largest vessel of Star Cruises, housing 935 cabins with 1,870 lower berths. The full range facilities include 13 dining outlets that offer international fine delicacies prepared by awards winning chefs, meanwhile outdoor water fun pool, rock climbing wall, swimming pool, performing arts theatre and cigar lounge provide endless entertainment and bonding moments to passengers of all ages throughout the fabulous sea voyage.

SuperStar Virgo is currently homeported in Singapore, offering itineraries to Penang, Phuket, Malacca and Port Klang. Starting from 2 April, 2014, the vessel will be relocated to Hong Kong and emark on her 6-month deployment in the region, bringing passengers to travel hotspots in Taiwan Keelung, Taichung and Kaohsiung, China Sanya and Halong Bay in Vietnam. Travellers from different countries will have the opportunities to experience the grandeur of this flagship.

MICE Point

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Serviced offices go beyond boundaries With the meetings industry constantly evolving itself and its offerings, Taranviir Kaur, Country Head (India), Imperial Servcorp, unveils a serviced office solution based on a cost-effective model.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM trained support staff; consistency of delivery from every single location across the globe. Our unmatched proprietary IT and Telecommunications backbone ensures that our client’s business is never out of touch with its clients. As a point of interest, even when Hurricane Sandy paralyzed New York, Servcorp clients did not miss a single call due to our interconnect global network.

What is the USP behind your solution?

At Servcorp, a lot of investment in terms of effort, money and time, goes into making the office aesthetic, appealing and comfortable for our clients. We pride ourselves in providing a premium, unbranded experience to our clients- which is a combination of fantastic locations with five-star facilities and infrastructure; superbly

What are your target sectors and in which cities?

Our target customers are from various sectors- finance, IT, international trade, trade promotion bodies, consultancies and so on. Our target market comprises both multinational as well as local companies, who are either in an incubation stage or want to set up their office/branch office in one of the Indian cities. Our target market also includes the budding entrepreneurs who do not want to incur huge capital expenditure on the infrastructure

and support functions. Plus, we cater to professionals who work from home but want a reliable business solution without confining themselves to any geography. Our Virtual Office product has revolutionized the industry.

Though currently we are based out of the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and the Mindspace at Hyderabad, the future plan is to be present wherever there is an emerging demand.

How do you propose to market your services to your clients?

We are very actively focusing on digital and direct marketing as it expands your reach and helps you attract more customers who are genuinely interested in your products or services. In addition, we are in talks with traders, networking partners and global partners to increase our presence.

How different is your serviced business centre from a meeting space

in a hotel?

Meeting spaces in hotels do not provide a professional ambience to your business. A serviced business centre offers you a far more professional work environment and services. Besides, serviced offices do not just provide physical office space but a complete business solution.

How do you think this will be costeffective?

The serviced offices are less expensive as compared to traditional offices as they are highly flexible. One does not get tied down with long lease periods and can cut down huge infrastructure costs. For all our clients, we offer the benefit of ready-to-use office of whatever size with infrastructure and complete secretarial and administrative support services, at an easy to access and prime location. As our format is based on a ‘Resource Sharing Model’, we offer these services/ facilities on a ‘pay per use basis’.

Full charters are worth the money

P. Varadan, Managing Director, Comfort Leisure Pvt. Ltd., shares his views on the advantages of booking a cruise for holding meetings and incentive travel.

VW BUREAU and salon treatments and shore excursions. Our all-inclusive shipboard experience for incentive groups even includes any meetings or events you would like to arrange exclusively for your group. In addition, standard incentive group amenities on a Crystal cruise include one complimentary private cocktail party and $200 per person shipboard credit.

Degree of appeal for Incentive travel or Meetings on cruises The degree of appeal for incentive groups aboard Crystal ships is very high. We have recently become all-inclusive, which means that the entire cost of the shipboard experience for our incentive clients is represented solely in the cruise fare; the only services that are additional are spa

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Itineraries that Crystal Cruises offers for MICE clientele We can operate incentive groups on any of our itineraries. Although, most incentives take place on our seven day voyages, which are the shortest itineraries we operate.

Costs and room bookings for MICE We establish a net price up front, based on a forecast of the number of rooms the incentive client expects to participate in the cruise. We then hold those rooms aside for the group

and set up a timeline for deposits, as well as an attrition schedule that allows the client to reduce the number of rooms by certain dates, without incurring any cancellation penalty. Our product is all-inclusive, so the total cost of the shipboard experience is represented in the cruise fare; alcoholic beverages from a premium bar list, all dining – including our specialty restaurants, gratuities throughout the ship, shipboard entertainment and enrichment programs.

Challenges of hosting a meeting All services necessary for any event – dining, meetings, product showcases – are available onboard, typically at no additional cost. The only instance where a meeting or event would incur a reasonable additional charge would be if there were an elaborate request that required the employment of and audio visual engineer or other shipboard staff in a very involved context.

Popular sea routes for short haul MICE events.

We typically host incentive groups on our European voyages. We have obseved increasing requests for Canada/New England as well. Canada/ New England have also become increasingly popular.

Average capacity for hosting MICE We can accommodate groups as small as 20 guests an as large as 400. A group exceeding 400 guests would require a charter.

Does chartering an entire vessel for a large event hold the money’s worth?

Charters are definitely worth the money because they allow the organization hosting the charter to customize the entirety of the shipboard experience for that voyage to suit to group’s needs. A client can be as creative as they want for a charter.

HONG KONG -ASIA’S CRUISE HUB- Quiz Contest

Don’t miss out to try your luck by joining Hong Asia’s Cruise Hu Kong – b Quiz contest* by the Hong Kong Board and InterG Tourism lobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), distributor of Tr the official avelport Galileo an d Travelport Wor Just log on to ldspan. www.itq.in right now to get clo dream holiday ser to your during the fam ous Hong Kong Carnival (6 to 8 Dragon Boat June 2014) follo wed by a threeonboard SuperS night cruise tar Virgo. Besid es this Mega Bu you could also mper Prize, win six more we ekly prizes, an of premium souv ec lectic mix enirs and latest gadgets. Submit right now, the co your entry ntest ends on Tu esday, 18 March

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his summer, discover the excitement of a flycruise holiday in Hong Kong – a living fusion of East and West. Whether your customers are planning their family getaway, honeymoon or an incentive trip for their stakeholders, Hong Kong has the magic to make memories for life. Known as Asia’s World City, it offers a very vibrant and cosmopolitan lifestyle, with a unique blend of East and West with its cultural fusion and diversity. You are spoilt for choices in Hong Kong – right from its variety of shopping & dining options to a range of family fun attractions and great outdoors.

Summer is also an excellent time to experience the traditional festivals in the territory. Just a short flight away from India, Hong Kong is an ideal getaway with the expanded network of direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

And, Indian passport holders do not require a visa to visit Hong Kong for a 14-day trip.

With the launch of the world-class cruise terminal at former Kai Tak Runway, there are exciting fly-cruise options in the region. The famous Victoria Harbour is a perfect backdrop for the sparkling facility. The three-storey building has been described by the Departures magazine as “the Rolls-Royce of Cruise

Terminals”; it features light-filled passenger and service areas, efficient passenger circulation between drops-offs, waiting halls, concourse, jaw-dropping views of Victoria Harbour and an impressive slew of amenities.

The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal can accommodate two mega cruise ships with a gross tonnage of up to 220,000 tons when fully commissioned. Above the terminal, you’will find the largest rooftop garden in Hong Kong. Covering 23,000 square metres of space, it has a central lawn, water garden, fountain plaza and viewing platform offering incredible views of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula.

Star Cruises, the leading cruise line in Asia-Pacific, will homeport SuperStar Virgo, the largest ship in its Asian fleet with 13 decks and 935 cabins, located at the stunning setting of Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong from April to October 2014. The 75,338 - tonne vessel will embark on a six-month seasonal deployment, with itineraries to Keelung (Taipei), Taichung, Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Sanya in Hainan and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

From 7 April to 26 October 2014, visitors can cruise on SuperStar Virgo with any of the three exciting Hong

Kong-based weekly itineraries tailor-made for them – the three-night cruise to Kaohsiung and Taichung or Sanya and Halong Bay and the one-night high seas cruise. Those wishing to extend it and prolong the fun can opt for a monthly six-night cruise to Keelung, Kaohsiung and Taichung.

Star Cruises will raise the luxury quotient of SuperStar Virgo’s cabins and shopping area, thereby widening the selection of contemporary cabins and duty free shopping on this Asian flagship. It will receive a lavish makeover with upgraded cabins, retail, dining, and recreation facilities. More than 270 balcony cabins will be remodeled with a touch of urban luxury.

Designed to provide a leisurely shopping experience, the total retail floor area of the ship will now triple to 562 square metres. As for dining choices, you can never get homesick with a very sumptuous Indian buffet spread at the very popular “The Taj” restaurant.

By adding a Hong Kong pre/post cruise package, you can turn your customer’s Asian cruise into the trip of a lifetime. For details on ideas shore excursions and recommended sailings, please log on to: http://partnernet.hktb.com/en/cruise/index.html.

Inbound Travel

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Reach out to the ‘Inbound Travel’ Business Opportunity!

‘When the Jungle sleeps, the Phantom wakes!..Old jungle saying ROHIT HANGAL

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s the travel headlines break in with Visa on Arrival on the cards to visitors from over 180 countries, every travel company worth its name in the country will soon ignore the Inbound travel market at their own peril!

When the going gets tough, the tough start looking for a miracle! It is just another line from the past to haunt your business once again. How does one evaluate an opportunity knocking on your back door with its windows hanging outside? Amid all its madness, the Indian travel trade is still waits for business to come knocking around than taking the bull by its horns. The inbound travel provides one such opportunity. In a world where earnings of an average IATA travel agent here in India is dictated by commissions and squabbling for more commissions, lies an opportunity to create business opportunity by being an Inbound travel agent.

India has grabbed enough headlines for its hugely successful Incredible India campaign being bombarded around the world with great panache and fervour. India Tourism figures claim an inbound traffic of over six million arrivals. With consistent bad news from the country specially with regard to tourist safety, being bombarded on prime-time television

Voyager’s World > February 2014

the world over, it is time to get more media and top sellers from the world over to get a taste of first hand India!

India Tourism will score tremendously, if we could organize a mega FAM inviting over 1000 Agents and media from the world over. Am certain, budgets would be an issue on this count. The states of Gujarat, Goa and Kerala have been doing it for a while, though it will make sense to take the concept at a national level.

India for its share of travel agents has a very miniscule proportion of them in the Inbound Tourism or the ‘Export Tourism’ side of the business. The opportunity to create inbound travel entrepreneurs will the challenge in this decade, where India Tourism has to compete with rivals in the Information Technology, Automobiles, Pharmaceuticals and other sectors. The Indian travel – trade is also not far behind in its ignorance of what this sector has to offer.

One of my favourite ‘Old jungle saying’ attributed to the highly popular Phantom Comics says ‘when the Jungle sleeps, the Phantom wakes! The scenario in the Indian domestic travel industry is not far behind. The number of operators working in this specialized vertical is limited and there lies the opportunity! The Indian travel trade market can still make room for

many more. The timing has never been more right than now. Create your market now. Identify the product you’ve lined up or better still, scout what the market wants. Identify your core segment – the options may vary as catering a bunch of wild adventure addicts or catering to some homesick Non Resident Indians looking to get their kids into schools teaching classical Indian music! Make your move on the stealth and go ahead and add to the ‘Foreign Tourist Arrival’ statistic!

Clearly identify your potential markets and its varied time of travel and Geographical locations. Niche related travel is always better paying than catering to the normal ‘run of the mill’ traveller. Travel trade events around the world are a good learning experience to learn, educate yourself of the latest marketing tools used, meet with peers from around the world, learn from the plethora of tourism products and by being a good Indian, evaluate if some of them can be attuned to Indian conditions!

Speaking with you state tourism departments would be a cost – effective way of beginning your account with International marketing. Do ask for their marketing program and the Calendar of International events they are participating in for the year

ahead and see if you can be part of their marketing campaign. The state tourism departments normally have subsidized rates for travel partners wishing to spread the tourism propaganda on behalf of the state.

Do keep in mind, do not expect business by just showing up at any international trade event. It is part of the marketing game-plan to be present and cultivate relationships.

The buyer will judge by the regularity of your presence and continued communication to instil confidence in your services.

Your presence on the online sphere is an absolute must. Be prepared to invest on a world-class interactive website giving as much introductory information in simple language (keep poetry and fancy prose out). Start with English and if budgets permit do give alternative choices based on the targeted geographical market.

Create your own world of opportunities in the domain less travelled by the average travel agent. If you get into the inbound travel business, like any other business, credibility will make you win over the client. Another ‘Old Jungle Saying’.. ‘A whisper can go around the earth!’. Go forth and earn your moolah in Yens, Euros, Dollars and Pounds! But ofcourse..

Conditions apply!

Inbound Travel

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Exotic destinations see rising interests from DINKs

Arjun Sharma, MD, Le Passage to India, observes how today’s Indian traveller is opting for different travel holiday options in the midst of a demanding lifestyle.

VW BUREAU see more Indian travellers taking vacations. The aspiring lower middle class and easy availability of plastic money have increased the size of potential market thereby creating a larger Indian tourist base. Double incomes lessen the burden and independent travel is more flexible.

With surplus income, Indians are shunning group travels and turning to independent travel in search of privacy. Please comment.

The Indian traveller has certainly evolved; today vacations are more about spending quality time with the family and hence the increase in individual travel. With the middle class expanding exponentially, we certainly

Trend of multiple short holidays The trend of multiple holidays is sure to stay. In my opinion one of the key reasons for this is to compensate for the lack of quality family time spent in the daily routine through these closeknit multiple vacations. It is seen that the shorter holidays are usually domestic with 2-3 day breaks and longer holidays range from five -10 days. Most weekends coupled with a holiday always have huge bookings within the region.

Are the Indian tourists taking both short and long holidays compared

to the past especially to foreign countries like Thailand?

Yes, the trend of both short and long haul holidays is very much there. The Far East is very popular with Indian tourists as the price point of most holidays in the region is affordable and it’s within 5-6 hours of reach.

Increases in flight connectivity, especially with the advent of Low Cost Carrier and Indian carrier to the region, has added to more and more tourist visiting the region. Tourism Boards like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are very active, aggressively promoting themselves in India, realising the potential of the Indian tourist, this has also added to increased awareness thereby demand.

Trends of top executives and DINKs (Double Income No Kids) DINKS is a fast growing segment with one of the highest disposable incomes for leisure activities. Having

travelled to the run-of-mill destinations, most on their official travels, they look for difference destinations for vacations; so, most often the choice is exotic. Also, being focused more on the quality and value of the experience they look for niche and off beat destinations. The unseen places are now happening in the adventure segment and the hills to a large extent.

Other trends in this segment The Indian traveller is certainly more attuned to explaining requirements.

Many are experimenting with local cuisine. Quality instead of quantity seems to be the key word, quite literally meaning they prefer to visit fewer destinations in a single trip than cramming many cities like in the earlier times. Three to four destinations on a nine-10 day tour are today preferred, over the previous six to seven places in a 10 day tour.

Flight Talk

Asian region will account for 45% of global passengers by 2032 VW BUREAU

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sian region is expected to account for 45% of global passengers by 2032, says a study by Airbus on the comfort demands of Asian economy class passengers. ‘The Future of Comfort: Asia’ conducted by global future consultancy Future Laboratory, revealed new insights into the evolving demands of tomorrow’s increasingly influential Asian air passengers.

The research reveals two emerging typologies of Asian travellers who, due to the rise of social media and shared global online experiences, have an increased knowledge of flying and will demand an enhanced level of comfort: • New emerging affluent travellers are first time careers, aged between

Voyager’s World > February 2014

18 and 34, highly knowledgeable and wowed by services and add-ons. High income frequent travellers are more experienced flyers, in the middle of their career and focus on personal time and comfort in the strictest sense, with seat width playing a key factor in their perception of comfort.

Common factors they place importance to are: • Sleep, wellbeing and relaxation lead to higher productivity. This is of particular relevance in Asia, where emerging markets are opening up business opportunities and 70% of travellers in economy class are flying for business in Asia (highest percentage globally**). Asian passengers believe that the chance to rest on a flight unlocks higher

levels of productivity as opposed to the western view of seeing this time as a chance to catch-up on work. A productive flight is seen by the Asian flyer as one where they can relax (78%), sleep (58%) and then work (56%) – in that order. Asians would pay more for more seat space as it symbolises improved comfort and brings more relaxation. 58% of Asian consumers believe the seat itself is the top factor affecting their comfort when flying. 60% believe wider seats are the top requirement for ‘improved standards of comfort’ and 42% would pay more for increased seat width. Wider seats improve views of onboard productivity (53%) followed by more legroom (48%), adjustable seating (43%), quiet zones (42%), and increased arm room (37%).

• Service levels motivate Asian economy class passengers to book a flight with a particular airline brand.

Better cabin service is the top factor influencing future booking decisions.

The report also identified future trends demanded by Asian market: • The Always on Cabin - Wifi enabled cabins with telephone and conference calling facilities.

• 3D technology - 3D is expected to offer more immersive film and shopping experience on board.

• Energizing Cabin - Asian Flyers agree that greater in-flight wellbeing allows them to relax. Air quality, quietness, mood lighting and seat space are areas where Airbus will promote heightened passenger wellbeing.

OTR demonstr

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angalore, 11 February 2014: The Outbound Travel Roadshow (OTR) 2014, a creation of Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions, tasted tremendous success this year too, as part of its endeavours to assemble and help connect all the key players on the Indian travel front by way of a sequence of workshops organized across major metros in the country, namely Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and New Delhi from 13 – 21 January, 2014, in what may be called as India’s one-of-its-kind multi-city roadshow.

Right from its commencement 11 years ago, the growth graph of OTR has been encouraging, what with its constant success in attracting the participation of a number of countries such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Czech Republic, Austria, Russia, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Tahiti, Cyprus, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Nepal.

Some of the key participants at this year’s show comprised Flanders Tourism, Frankfurt Tourist + Congress Board, Europe Incoming, Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH, Austriantours & Austri-

an Federal Railways, Deutsche Bahn, FIT Bookings.com, Lido de Paris, Maison de Voyage Pvt. Ltd, Marveltour Tourism Inc, Global Family of Brands, Jungfraubahnen, Fraport, Amathus Travel, Saxony Tourism, Star Tours Ltd, Taj Tours- London, Tourismer (Czech Republic), Rail Europe India Pvt. Ltd, State Tourist Board South West Germany & Stuttgart Marketing, Montparnasse 56 Group, Tour Kraft and Tourist Office of Bruges.

As always in the past, the objective of OTR 2014 was to provide the paramount business networking platform for the representatives from tourism boards, tour operators, hotels and others in order for them to market their tourism products to the Indian travel trade.

The roadshows received almost 1,600 top visitors from the travel fraternity. The enduring success of OTR 2014 could well be recognised as the outcome of the detailed preparation and proficiency of the organisers in ensuring the roadshow’s efficient execution. The participants, who were collectively impressed with the system and the convenient locations of OTR 2014, have given heartening reviews, some of which have been quoted here.

ates panache this year too

Stella Giannopoulou Sales Executive, Weddings, Conferences, Incentives, Le Grand Group of Companies (Greece) “It was a great pleasure to attend OTR 2014. Our company’s goals were met in the best possible way since we got information for a market that is new to us. We have the contacts of agents working all over India and I met very interesting people. The choice of locations and the staff too were commendable.”

Mario Machado Executive Vice President, TA DMC, Portugal “The whole show reflected very good organisation and good capacity to attract buyers/agents. OTR is an event that surely helps newcomers to the market like us to be able to contact a lot of agents in a short span of time and have a better understanding of the market.”

Sony Abraham Regional Manager, India and South Asia, Jungfrau “I am very happy with the quality of agents and the whole set as it helped attract the best visitors to the table.”

Colette Richter Sales Manager Overseas, Pilatus Luzern (Switzerland) “OTR, to me, is the most efficient way to meet quality travel trade people in a short time in the key Indian cities. The organization was excellent and I experienced good value for money.”

Ralf Ostendorf Director, Market Management-Asia, Australia and Middle East, Visit Berlin “The roadshow was very professionally organized and it could be best termed as excellent value for money.”

Dylan Lall Account Manager, MICE, Europe Incoming London.

“The OTR 2014 had an excellent organization by Sphere. The roadshow fulfilled our expectations and we will definitely be exhibiting our products in the following years,”

Sham Kalaskar Vice President, Star Tours “It has been a pleasure to be a part of your roadshow OTR 2014. The roadshow has over exceeded our expectations and all services and arrangements were close to perfection. I wish you all successes for all future ventures and shows.”

Hospitality

26>>

Banyan Tree & Angsana Hotels & Resorts: Indian market bodes an optimistic 2014 Manas Sinha, Assistant Director, Key Accounts, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Angsana Hotels & Resorts, Regional Marketing Office, New Delhi, dwells at length on the brands’ growth rate, promotion and clientele particulars among other things.

Growth statistics and forecast for the coming year.

Since we launched the Regional marketing Office in India the journey has been eventful and encouraging. Our mainstay of revenue from India is through travel partners and the response has been very good. In 2012 our business from India grew by whopping 64% and in 2013 we are expecting at further growth of 25%30%. The actual figures of 2013 are yet to come. We are really excited to note requests for our newly opened Banyan Tree and Angsana Resorts at LangCo in Central Vietnam. Bookings have grown for Bali, Shanghai, Maldives and Ras-Al-Khaimah (UAE), in addition to well established destinations as Phuket, Bangkok, Samui, Bintan, Macau, Mauritius etc.

The outbound industry is starting 2014 at a cautious but optimistic note. Though average trends may indicate otherwise due to economic slowdown, growth in upscale and luxury segment is encouraging and unaffected during Christmas and New Year holidays. Yes, the travel consultants need to maintain focus and add value by their knowledge and skill to improve query to conversion ratio. We are looking at growing our revenue share by about 25% in 2014 from India market.

Comment on the repeat guest ratio and word-of-mouth publicity for your brands.

This is one segment Banyan Tree and Angsana Resorts have really excelled over the years and improving all the time. As a result the resorts have quite high repeat guest ratio. Guests

Voyager’s World > February 2014

not only repeat the same destination but also prefer to experience different group properties. Such guests are our biggest ambassadors of our brands. They not only recommend our locations to similar upscale travellers but also share their experience extensively which you may say our word-of-mouth publicity. It gains higher significance because a lot of celebrities, movie stars, business tycoons et al are frequent guests with Banyan Tree & Angsana properties.

Main feeder markets All the main metro cities of India are main feeder markets. This is natural due to more concentration of HNI and corporates in these gateway cities. But we have identified growing contribution for Tier-II and other cities which reflects the enhanced awareness and desire for experiential vacations catching up across the nation.

In FIT leisure segment the couples, honeymooners, family and friends are main visitors. A large number of such guests are well placed business executives and business owners who understand the uniqueness of Banyan Tree & Angsana resorts. In terms of groups the nature of visit ranges from meetings, incentives to Indian weddings and pre/post wedding groups.

Which are the top three most sought-after properties under both brands

This is very difficult to answer as each resort is unique by itself. Looking at the general trend from India we can say Banyan Tree Phuket, Banyan Tree Maldives and Banyan Tree Bali. For Angsana it would be Angsana Laguna Phuket, Angsana Maldives and Angsana Mauritius.

These are familiar destination for Indian clients and over time they have realized the distinction of staying at Banyan Tree & Angsana hotels. Honeymooners appreciate the ultimate of exclusivity and privacy that is extended whereas families love the thoughtful facilities that enhances the holiday experience.

What are the ways in which you promote your properties?

Educating and sharing information with our travel partners is the first step. We conduct regular workshops and closed group training and presentations to share the insight and adequate understanding of the concept behind Banyan Tree & Angsana hotels and resorts. At the same time we have established partnerships across India and always expanding the cooperation. We support the business conversions through tactical offers and value added promotions which are publicized widely. We also constantly run joint promotion activities with our partners and NTOs to tap on the potent demand and drive business for our partners.

Staff training programmes Beside the standard induction and orientation our associates at the properties have lots of training and skill development sessions. This is conducted in-house by the dedicated training Managers as well as through external faculty and industry experts.

Our Banyan Tree Management Academy takes various initiatives to develop skills for next level of responsibility. The essence of delighting the guest forms the core of all training programme and associates make a formidable team to groom the new entrants as well as deliver the exceptional experiences for our guests.

Impact of the global economic slowdown on overall footfalls.

The global economic slowdown of last couple of few years has affected the dynamics of tourism per se.

Guests count is growing more from emerging economies and thereby offsetting any negative growth of erstwhile leading economies. Our regional marketing offices and hotel sales team worked effectively to tackle this potential downturn.

Consequently, we did not experience any overall decline and managed to sustain the growth trajectory. It reflects in the occupancy and revenue of the hotels that maintained frontrunner position in their segment as well as the destination.

Hospitality

28>>

Global Street food Festival VW BUREAU

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he Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway organized a global street food festival that reveals the culture and tradition of a country where one can enjoy eating sumptuous street snack at each section ranging from the West to South East Asia.

The street food festival highlighted on a variety of dishes from differ-

ent countries ,with a variety of sushi including ebi nigiri sushi, sashmi, salmon nigiri, toro nigiri, ikura gunkan maki, California rolls, chilled soba noodles and okonomoyaki of Japan, the laksa curry, murtabak, roti canai, roti jala with beef rending of Malaysia.

The dim sum and scallion pancake is generally made of mushrooms, carrot and spring onions a favorite road side snack of China.

The Mongolian station offered Mongolian stir fry a hot plate snack with different meats like beef, lamb and chicken served with different sauces.

The Mongolian stir fry is very famous in Mongolia. Some of the other interesting snacks are the doner kebab , lahmacun or Turkish pizza, fallafel sandwich are delicious dishes from Turkey, seafood paella and escabeche of Spain, panelle siciliane and

bruschetta, panini of Italy, chicken schnitzel, apple strudel, zweibelrostbraten or braised beef with fried onions from Austria, the curry wurst, spätzle or swabian noodles linsensuppe mit würstchen or lentil soup with sausages königsberger klopse or meat dumplings in caper sauce of Germany, the taco bar, tamales, ceviche, fajita, chilli rellenos, enchilladas of Mexico.

Excess supply has to be balanced to ease pressure off profits Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd, talks about the brand’s upcoming plans, industry challenges and the present market situation.

VW BUREAU This is the segment that is doing the best. Due to high inflation the luxury and first class segments have taken a beating. On the other hand, Indians really do not rush for the cheapest option as is assumed about developing countries. Mobiles, automobile and electronic markets have proved that. The same holds true for hotels.

Hence, the economy segment has also not grown so much.

Evaluate the mid-market sector in Indian hospitality

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Feeder markets, clients We have hotels all over the country so our feeder markets are spread all over as different hotels have different

feeder markets. We have 11 sales offices in the country, tie-up with Synxis for GDS presence, group website and tie up with major online tour operators. Our clients are corporate, longstay, foreign leisure, domestic leisure, conferences and transit travellers.

Upcoming plans We are entering a few leisure destinations like Thekkady, Baikal, Agra and Jaipur. We will soon open a hotel in Solapur.

Challenges in the Indian market The massive increase in supply that

has put pressure on profits. This could lead to declining standards in non-branded and managed hotels.

The ownerships may not have the capability of handling costs without affecting the quality of experience being dispensed. Currently, the OTAs are working well with hotels as airlines no longer provide great returns to OTAs. There is a bit of straining of relationships as revenue sharing seems to have reached the end of its stretch ability. Hotels can no longer increase the commission levels. This might see a correction in the aviation sector, for instance.

Hospitality

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International occupancy to rise in Indian hotels!

The hospitality industry is witnessing a positive growth in terms of International occupancy in Indian hotels, as the occupancy is expected to rise from 40% to 63% all over India.

© Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

The Indian hoteliers are very optimistic that with the revival of the economy the international tourist inflow is expected to increase.

© lebua Hotels & Resorts

International occupancy Deepak Ohri, CEO, lebua Hotels and Resorts says: “lebua Hotels and Resorts normally experience high inbound demand from mid-October through mid-April due to the seasonal nature of our properties in Jaipur and Udaipur, during the summer months the demand is quite low among international tourists.”

“The global economic crisis has affected the growth of foreign tourist arrivals across Asia. The business environment has been difficult and unprofitable, a situation that is exacerbated by the demand-supply mismatch, particularly in Jaipur where two of our hotels are located. Thedays are gone when a hotel’s brand name was the key driver in increasing occupancy levels and rates,” he says.

“Our focus has been on strategies to differentiate, provide consistency and enhance guest satisfaction. We have introduced several offerings in the domestic market to improve occupancy levels, among them targeting the long weekends for personal holidays and stepping up our efforts to attract the MICE sector with lucrative business retreat packages, particularly during the lean months. We have managed to maintain acceptable occupancy levels with a percentage increase over 2012,” he adds.

Karan Mehta, Revenue Manager

at Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi,states that United Kingdom and United States of America remains the largest international source markets for the Indian hospitality sector contributing to 24% of the overall demand. Although these countries continue to contribute the biggest share in percentage terms, their share has declined by 14% since 2007. While we expect this trend to continue in the future, demand from the SAARC Nations and Middle Eastern countries has grown steadily.

“In addition, the hotel guests from countries such as China and Japan have shown a positive increase of 8% over last year. Most of the travellers are from Asia and Middle Eastern regions, due to better connectivity, easier visa norms, infrastructure development and strong marketing efforts. For foreign leisure travelers, the average length of stay declined from 3.4 nights last year to 3.2 nights this year,” he added.

VellaRamasawmy, General Manager, Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi, states that the hotel witnessed 40% international occupancy.

Forecast for 2014 Karan says the occupancy is expected to close at 63% all over India.

Vella said we are expecting 40% in International occupancy for 2014.

Deepak concludes that with the revival of the global economy the

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Hospitality

© Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

30>>

Deepak Ohri

lebua Hotels & Resorts

The online marketing opportunities like blogs, social networking and travel sites play an important role in conveying information to influence opinions and choices of a traveler, plus sales trips to high end markets create brand awareness and increase business.

© lebua Hotels & Resorts

international tourist inflows are expected to rise and the prospects are bright, the increase in room inventories throughout the hotel sector will keep the industry under pressure and competitive. We will continue to focus on delivering high levels of service to our guests.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Key international markets Deepak said the key markets were UK, US, France, Germany and Italy. It also had a sales trip to Japan, Hong Kong, China, Middle East this year.

“Our focus remains on the British, American and European markets, we are also planning to explore Australia and Russia this year. We are also positioning our hotels as wellness resorts with extensive spa facilities by L’Occitane at all our hotels in India.”

Karan stated that along with the Indian domestic market, they were planning to focus on USA, Great Britain,

Russia, Japan, Middle East, France and China markets.

“Middle East, Far East, Europe, North America are the markets we target for international occupancy,” said Vella.

Segments Deepak said: “Individual travelers remain our key focus for the India properties; to maintain the base occupancy levels, we will also focus on select segments of the small and mid-sized meeting and incentive market, as well as offer culinary tours since F&B is our brand strength. We will use online marketing as blogs, social network and travel sites are playing a tremendous role in conveying information that tends to influence the opinions of today’s traveler. Many interesting international portals have emerged and we are using every platform to target international guests,” he added.

Hospitality

© Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

31>>

Karan Mehta

Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel,New Delhi

The United Kingdom and the United States of America is the largest international source markets for the Indian hospitality sector due to better connectivity, easier visa norms and infrastructure development.

Vella says MICE, Corporate, Leisure are were the segments for their international clientele.

Promotional plans lebua will continue to focus on the delivery of their brand’s promise and connecting their guests emotionally with the brand. It will selectively participate in international trade shows, roadshows and sales trips to highpotential markets this year. We will also launch exclusive activities with inspiring offerings and developing a new ad creative and continuing international PR campaign to promote its properties to a wide audience.

Karan said: “The tailor-made packages are designed to lure International clientele and the brand campaigns in our source markets. We have also designed a customized room package - ‘Horizon Club and Suites’ package for our discerning guests promoting our Exclusive Horizon Club & Suite Privileges. One can also participate in brochure programmes of USA, UK, Germany, Switzerland and Europe.

These packages will be introduced for Europe, Middle East, Commonwealth of Independent states (CIS) and South African markets, promoting these packages on Trip Advisor and our website.” © lebua Hotels & Resorts

In the opinion of Karan, the prime focus was on public rates and packages by smart pricing, the wholesale offline by participating in brochure programmes is another segment they plan to promote our hotel in 2014.

Vella said that Kempinski Ambience Delhi would use direct sales calling in source markets, take part in trade fairs, PR, advertising, using the leads shared by sister hotels globally.

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Wine Sojourns

32>>

India emerges as a wine destination India is poised to grow as a wine destination with the quality of good wine says Sumedh Singh Mandla, Chief Executive Officer, Grover Zampa Vineyards.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN Growth in Wine Tourism We have witnessed a growth of 25% last year, the trend will continue in the future. Wine tourism is still in the nascent stage and there is a lot of competition. We also have good quality of wine promoted in the international market.

I

ndia is growing into a wine destination and we get lots of support from tourism boards and state departments. In terms of competition there are not many players in the Industry since we have not more than 10 to 12 states and the size of the industry is so small while the cost of distribution is so high.

Trends Wine is considered to be positive, healthy and antioxidant. The food and dining experience is uplifting, the women and youth segment are open to drinking. We have many expats and of course the corporate segment, wine has become more of a social drink. We have lots of travellers traveling abroad for wine experience. The quality of Indian wine has improved in the last 10 years and people want to have better quality of wines.

Promotional Plans Educating people of the wine is more important for us. We have activities like wine tasting, wine fairs, wine events, corporate tasting and consumer tasting. We are one company to establish wine in the country. We have participated in various international events like Hong Kong Wine & Spirit Fair and London Wine Fair.

Different Kinds of Wines We have been promoting 28 wines with a current rate of 1700 Rs, the Grover La Reserve a red wine is considered to be the best wine in India.

The Art Collection Sauvignon Blanc and Art Collection Viognier are the popular white wines and the popular sparkling wine Zampa SoirĂŠe Brut.

International Standards People have accepted our quality of wine especially in France. We can

match up the international standards. Our key international markets are Japan, France, UK, Spain, Germany, Singapore, Dubai, China, Sri Lanka, Canada, USA and Australia.

We have received eight awards like the Decanter Asia Wine Awards and the International Wine & Spirit Challenge award in Hong Kong.

Challenges The biggest challenge is that we still don’t have a single policy for wines as not more than 6 to 8 states can sell.

Policies should be made a bit more liberal to encourage small players in the industry. We need to create an international platform for wines.

Destinations We are promoting two regions that are Grover in Bangalore and Zampa in Nasik. We also offer daily wine tours in Nasik and Bangalore.

Indian wine industry is at 19% YoY growth Krishna Prasad, Owner, KRSMA Estates, shares his views on the Indian wine industry during the occasion of the launch of his wines in the market.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

What are the opportunities and challenges for the wine tourism sector in India?

Wine Tourism in India is still a European concept that has taken off in micro levels with only a few producers offering the whole experience that one savours overseas. With a growing awareness for wines, opportunities are aplenty and it is only with time will we be on par with our

Voyager’s World > February 2014

international counterparts offering a holistic experience. But with these opportunities, challenges need to be faced, be it availing necessary clearances from governing bodies, to setting up a full-fledged facility, investment and returns, have a year-round foot fall etc. But these challenges can be overcome and, in time, Indian wine tourism will see newer heights.

Review the Indian wine industry.

The wine industry in India is still in its nascent stage with a 19% increase year on year. The wine market in India has grown from 340,000 9-L cases in 2001-02 to an estimated 2.35 million 9-L cases in 2012-13. Despite this growth, the per capita consumption stands at 23 ml unlike the rest of the world. The bulk of wine sales is seen in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore

and Goa, while wine sales are seeing an increasing presence in Tier 2 cities. The revision of wine policy in Maharashtra and Karnataka saw a boom in wine production in domestic sector with a host of small players and wineries mushrooming in each state early 2000; however, the time has come for consolidation of the alcobev sector and this will benefit the small and big players. KRSMA

Wine Sojourns

33>> Estates set off with the establishment of its vineyards in 2007 and the winery in 2010. Having established a defined style, KRSMA Estates has now forayed into the market with its official launch in Bangalore on 1st February, 2014.

Where does India stand as a destination on the global wine tourism map? Which are the main destinations that hold promise for wine tourism in India?

Wine tourism in India is far behind its international counter parts. Having travelled around the world and visited several wineries and experiences wine tourism first hand, I am yet to experience the same in India.

Places where wines are made are the potential centres for wine tourism, which includes Nashik, Baramati, Sholapur in Maharashtra, Nandi Valley, Krishna Valley, Cauvery Valley in Karnataka. Although I would like to place Hampi Hills on the global wine tourism map, my cellar doors remain open only for visits by invitation for now. With core focus on vineyards and winemaking and mastering the art and science behind it, I would like to first place India in global wine map, being recognized as a premium wine producer first. Post this, I would invest in wine tourism in near future where I would like to offer the international experience to my guests when they visit my cellars. Hampi being a World Heritage Site is already flocked by tourist from across the country and globe and is a potential haven for wine tourism too.

ering such that it bears fruit January/ February and another pruning postharvest which is back-pruning. The soil in India is diverse and impeding as it is too fertile for vines to grow.

Vines grow best in deficit soil and it is challenging finding the right soil type in the preferred altitude for growing grapes to make wine. At KRSMA Estates, we have iron-rich schist type soils, the weather is dry with minimal rainfall, and the nights are cool, especially during ripening. This favours an early harvest and we complete our harvest between 01-20 January every year and put our wines to rest by the time rest of India awakens for a harvest. The market demand in India is an evolving palate, with most consumers being more wine aware

and know not just styles of wines (red/white/ rosé/ sparkling) but also grape varietals (Sauvignon Blanc/ Chardonnay/ Sangiovese/ Cabernet Sauvignon etc.) and it has increased preference for international styles of wines. We are proud of our origin and exude the same in packaging while our style of wine making is distinctively suited to the global wine palate.

What is the position of Indian wine sommeliers /connoisseurs compared to their international counterparts? How can hospitality institutions better promote wine tourism in their curriculum?

Sommeliers play an important role in promoting wine sales and are key to ensuring that the end consumer

enjoys the wine and its experience with food. With increased arrival of expatriates – both of Indian origin and international, wine consumption is seeing a steady increase in metros and they bring with them a learned experience that is making wine a social drink. It has now even found its way onto our tables for an everyday meal and is being paired with Indian food too.

A lot of Indians are now foraying into wines– wine making, sommeliers etc. and are gaining increased acceptability worldwide. The hospitality sector also encourages and promotes wine awareness through various courses offered in-house for its staff. This adds value to the end consumer.

How can the international wine making processes be customized to the Indian standards in terms of climate, soil, market demand, etc?

Wine making is a complex process and does not prescribe a said recipe.

Each region depicts a specific style that needs to be harnessed from the grapes via wine making. At KRSMA we have spared no expense in using the best quality yeast, barrels, paying key attention to temperature control, ensuring fruit is always exhibited to its maximum. The climate in India is diverse and monsoon is not a preferred season for grape harvest. Across the world, the northern hemisphere – countries such as USA, Canada and EU crush grapes between August to December. Although in India in the northern hemisphere (north of equator), we cannot harvest grapes in monsoons as it would render the grapes watery and cause the vines prone to infection.

Therefore, producers in India consciously prune twice a year – once in August/ September to facilitate flow-

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India Outbound

34>>

Gray Line to tap the Indian market!

India a potential market for Latin American destinations says Martin Allera, General Manager, Gray Line Argentina Irene Susan Eapen New Products Argentina, Peru and Brazil are the main countries for India.Buenos Aires offers city tours with prime attractions like Principal Qquare and Plaza de Mayo and tango show, Machu Picchu in Peru known for sightseeing the ruins, Rio is known for the statue of Jesus and beautiful beaches in Brazil. Other destinations are Mexico, Ecuador, Chile and Bogota.

Growth of Indian Market Our operations of Gray Line in India started a year and half before; the market has been very positive for us. We had over 100% passengers travelling from India. Latin America is an exotic destination and a highend market for Indians. Gray Line is doing extremely well here. We are expecting over 1000 passengers this year. We are expecting 100 to 150% from the Indian market.

Promotional Plans We recently organised a four-city road show in Delhi, Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Mumbai and an in house training for Gray Line in January 2014. We have introduced new packages for our destinations. Focus segments for 2014 are adventure tours, gastronomy, honeymoon, luxury, wine tours and cultural tours.

Trends of Travellers We have seen more of well travelled people looking for high end destinations, it is more of families, FIT groups

coming over from the Indian market.

Besides this, we have tailored made brochures and very good five star and four star accommodations.

Connectivity to Latin America We do not have direct flights from India, as most of the flights are from Europe

and Middle East like Lufthansa Airlines, Al Italia, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Air France and South African Airlines.

Availability of Indian Food Indian food is available in the Indian restaurants in cities like Buenos Aires, Rio, Columbia and Lima.

GrayLine Latin America organizes a 4 city roadshow

T

he Grayline Latin America recently organised a multi-city roadshow from January 27-31, 2014 in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai with over 400 product planners and frontline staff were trained in all the four cities.

The roadshow highlighted countries like Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru. Grayline Latin America will continue such training sessions and plans to organize familiarisation trips for Indian travel agents.

Pranav Kapadia, Director Global Destinations says “Our partners from the Grayline Latin America network were overwhelmed with the response by the Indian travel fraternity in all the cities. India is a very important, emerging market and Grayline will continue to invest in the market.”

Indian visitor spending in USA was nearly $5 billion in 2012 The demand generated and enhanced by Brand USA’s promotional activities have been met with effective efforts to reduce visa waiting times in key growth markets such as India.

ROHIT HANGAL versal Parks & Resorts, Visit Florida, and Walt Disney World.

Jay Gray, VP-Global Partnership Development, Nancy Powell, Ambassador, Embassy of USA,with delegation from Tours Limited

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he Brand USA delegation at SATTE 2014 comprised more than a dozen leading U.S. exhibitors from various travel industry segments. The participants include Alamo Rent A Car, Best Western Global Marketing Group, Best Western India, FRHI Hotels & Resorts,

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Nevada Commission Tourism, Caesars Entertainment, State of Nevada, Sea World Parks & Entertainment, Team America Receptive Tour Operator, Tours Limited, Uni-

Jay Gray, Vice President of Global Partnerships at Brand USA, said: “India is a key market for the U.S. Emerging markets are expected to grow their share of visitors substantially from 47 percent in 2012 to 57 percent in 2030. As of 2012, international visitor spending in the U.S. from India represented nearly $5 billion and travel and tourism represent 40 percent of all U.S. services exports to India.”

The delegation consisted of more than a dozen leading U.S. exhibitors from various travel industry segments. The participants include Alamo Rent A Car, Best Western Global Marketing Group, Best Western India,

FRHI Hotels & Resorts, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Nevada Commission Tourism, Caesars Entertainment, State of Nevada, Sea World Parks & Entertainment, Team America Receptive Tour Operator, Tours Limited, Universal Parks & Resorts, Visit Florida, and Walt Disney World.

In addition to participating in tradeshows such as SATTE, Brand USA has completed sales missions, travel agent educational seminars and partnership co-ops with key airline and travel trade partners in India. The demand generated and enhanced by Brand USA’s promotional activities have been met with effective efforts to reduce visa waiting times in key growth markets such as India.

India Outbound

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In ‘view’ of all things Swiss!

Switzerland Tourism talks about a range of ‘views’ that promise to take one’s breath away, during its recently concluded three-city roadshows in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Stephan Heuberger

Switzerland Tourism India

A tourist can enjoy the views wherever he is, from the airplane, the train, from the summits, cable cars, boats, while shopping in the cities, etc.

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witzerland Tourism declared 2014 as the year of the ‘Views’, during a press conference held in Bangalore recently. The country’s breathtaking views and picturesque beauty have been leveraged upon for this focus.

As a part of ‘Views’, Switzerland Tourism will plan various marketing activities for 2014 as consumer reach out programmes, e-marketing, advertising campaigns including TVCs on leading channels and print ads.

The tourism board hopes to achieve a target growth of 10% for India which will take the overnights to beyond the 550,000 mark, besides focusing on youth aged between 12 to 24 years for special promotions.

The Swiss Travel System launched the Swiss Peak Pass, whereby purchasing a small supplement to the regular 4 and 8 day Swiss Pass entails one to visit eight Swiss Peaks free of cost.

Other objectives include training of smaller agents, continuing promotions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, increasing its presence on social media and a bigger focus on the Indian MICE market.

Stephan Heuberger, Director, Switzerland Tourism India, said: “Switzerland offers great ‘views’ and images that one can conjure in their hearts and minds. A tourist can enjoy the ‘views’ wherever he/she is– right from the airplane when you land, from the train

windows when you traverse the country, from the summits when you go up a mountain, from the cable cars which you take to go up, from the boats that cross the many lakes, when you go shopping in the pretty cities and towns…the list is endless. Everywhere you turn you see a new “View” that you want to capture and savour forever.”

Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism India, speaking about new trends, said: “We have seen growth in the number of Indians staying in apartments. As more Indians travel to Switzerland for a longer period and also with friends and family, they prefer apartments due to convenience and practicality. From our experience, we have noticed that election

years usually have a boom in travel after the elections get over. Switzerland Tourism is attracting two distinct types of growing targets- those families who travel with children and grandparents, sometimes with extended families and friends and this group looks for the classical Swiss experiences as mountain excursions, scenic trains and sightseeing. The second group is youth who now have increased spending power to travel on their own and are looking for new experiences, like active holidays, new cuisine, destinations and new adventures. This group usually looks for accommodation in youth hostels and homestays not only for economy but also for experiencing life in the country.”

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India Outbound

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An Indian experience away from India at Fiji Rick Hamilton, CEO of Tourism Fiji, in a short interview during his visit to Bangalore.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM Air connectivity Fiji is a long-haul destination. For Indian travellers, though, we have a number of options. They can fly t through Hong Kong or Sydney. Air India’s Sydney operations have proven beneficial for us. We are also looking at alliances with Singapore Airlines.

What are the new products that Fiji Tourism has launched in India?

We are continuing to focus on the Indian trade this year and shall invest more on that front. For the first time, we have launched a TV commercial in India. We have also planned training modules for the second quarter of 2014 with incentives and opportunities to visit Fiji. The challenge is we have a limited budget. So, the level of activities will correspond to that of the budget.

Offerings for Indian travellers Fiji is a visa-free destination for Indians and we can say, we are almost a luxury destination for India, especially appealing to the honeymoon segment. There are many secluded places and reefs that are sure to fascinate Indians. There is an Indian experience away from India. The island is safe and ideal for families too.

Besides, Fiji boasts of a vivid culture and there are several options for Indian food. The people here are very friendly and there is some good nightlife to experience in the capital Suva and in Nadi. Suva is illustrative of the British colonial era.

Importance of the Indian market We welcomed more than 3,000 Indians in 2013, which was a 30% rise over the previous year. 85% of the Indians coming to the island are those who visit Australia/New Zealand. The recent connectivity of Air India to Sydney and Singapore Airlines’ services to New Zealand will be helpful. Our biggest focus this year would be utilizing social media as it is easy and cheaper than traditional media. We recently received over 50,000 likes from India post our new campaign that was launched in October 2013.

What is a sample itinerary that you would suggest for a first time traveller from India I would suggest a five to seven nights stay for someone who is visiting the island for the first time. They could explore the main islands like Suva for about three to four days where they can experience the culture and nightlife and move on to other island resorts via boat or helicopter for two or three days more. There are also a number of opportunities for diving and snorkeling with exclusive options for sting ray, coral, sharks or turtle.

F

iji Tourism recently organised its annual three-city roadshow ‘Bula Marau India 2014’ in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore on 3rd, 5th and 7th February, 2014 respectively. The participants included Ahura Resorts, Captain Cook Cruises, Fiji Airways, Lomani Island Resorts, Namale Resort & Spa, Qamea Resort & Spa, Rosie Holidays, Royal Davui Island Resort, Sonaisali/Tadrai Island Resorts, The Pearl South Pacific, Tokoriki Island Resort, Tour Managers and Yasawa Island Resort & Spa.

Zambia TouRism Board to increase Indian arrivals Zambia looks forward in doubling the number of Indian arrivals over the next three years for leisure, holiday and MICE, says Mato Shimabale, Director Marketing, Zambia Tourism Board.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN you a unique vantage view of the falls. We are also hoping that in the long run we will attract Bollywood to come and film on locations in Zambia especially the Victoria Falls.

Trends of travellers With the increase in the middle class as the Indian economy has improved significantly, the UNWTO has rated India as one that is bound to be a major outbound Nation in the coming years.

New Products Zambia is home to the natural wonders of Africa like the Victoria Falls, which is the largest curtain of falling water at 550,000 cubic metres per second. Zambia is ideal for exclusive wildlife safaris. The Devil’s pool right on the lip of the Victoria Falls giving

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Indian Market India has always been among our top 10 arrivals mainly for business and we are looking to increase the number of arrivals for leisure and holiday. Now Indian arrivals are between 15,000 and 20,000 per year. We are looking at doubling the number of arrivals over the next three years by promoting holiday and leisure as well

as the MICE. We will work closely with our India representative Blue Square Consultants to increase leisure arrivals to Zambia in the coming years.

Marketing Plans Zambia Tourism Board is coming up with a marketing campaign in India to create awareness as the main strategy focuses on educating the travel trade on what Zambia has to offer

and also seeks to educate the Indian travellers Standalone destination It is the face of the new Africa, safe and an oasis of peace with coupled with having one of the fastest growing economies in the world. We had just participated in SATTE and spot advertisements, online training, familiarization tours and roadshows.

Z

ambia Tourism Board (ZTB) enters the Indian market, with plans to tap the travel segment this year in the country. Implementing a stronger marketing campaign in India as the main focus for ZTB this year, which will involve conducting road shows, organising workshops and familiarization trips for the Indian travel trade and media.

Zambia connects with India through Kenya Airways, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Emirates.

37>>

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India Outbound

38>>

Bahrain to capitalize on tourism, invites Indian investors

The kingdom of Bahrain is keen on advancing the trade and travel affiliation with India, with new agreements on investments in food technology, business opportunities and tourism.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM with a large delegation and sign an official agreement.

Mohammed Dadabhai Chairman, Dadabhai Group Indian market While observing the growing travel interest of the Indian middle class, the VFR segment from India has shown increased movement in the last few years, given the frequent services by Jet Airways and Indian Airlines. As for tourism and travel sector, certain MoUs were signed recently when the Crown Prince of Bahrain visited Mumbai. In February this yer, we will make an official visit to Mumbai and Delhi

Hospitality prospects We are the largest operators of serviced apartments and four-star hotels in Bahrain and we are expanding in other parts of Gulf also. We are keen on joining with leading travel agents and tour operators in the country, who can tie up with their equivalents in Dubai, Saudi and Abu Dhabi. We would also like to partner with Karnataka Tourism and mutually promote both the destinations.

Sample itinerary for a first time traveller to Bahrain For someone who is visiting Bahrain for the first time, I would suggest combining Dubai and Bahrain in their itineraries. Bahrain has it all be it history, shopping or culture. We have our own travel agent in Dubai. A week stay would be ideal for a first-time visitor to a grasp of what we have to offer.

HE Kamal bin Ahmed Minister of Transportation We are planning a number of tourism initiatives with targeted growth expectations and we want to implement it faster and with quality.

K

ey delegates from the Bahrain Economic Development Board (BEDB) were in Bangalore in January 2014 for the CII Partnership Summit 2014. The representatives included Mohammed Dadabhai, Chairman, Dadabhai Group, Bahrain; Dr. Esam Abdulla Fakhro, Chairman of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation, Kingdom of Bahrain and Acting Chief Executive of BEDB; Khalid Al-Amin, Board of Director and COO of Retail Operations of Ali Rashid Al-Amin Co., BSC, Board Member of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Othman Mohamed Sharif Al Rayes, Treasurer and Board Member of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry and B.R. Shetty, CEO & MD, New Medical Centre Group, Abu Dhabi.

Bahrain was the focus country at this year’s Summit. The BEDB shared inward investment opportunities into Bahrain besides other supportive initiatives on tourism, hospitality and food.

Malaysia expects 13% growth from India Malaysia targets 7.8 lakhs Indian tourists for 2014 says Mohd Izal Bin Mahd Nor, Director, Tourism Malaysia Indian Market IRENE SUSAN EAPEN flights from Delhi to Malaysia, the new airline was launched by the end of December 2013. We are offering visa on arrival for Indians travelling to Malaysia from a third country like Thailand and Singapore. The Indian market is doing extremely well, we are expecting a growth of 13% for 2014 and we are targeting 7.8 lakhs Indian tourists for 2014.

Indian market Indians love to visit Malaysia for so many reasons like food, shopping, culture and music. Recently we have introduced the Malindo Air with daily

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Promotions We have just introduced a campaign Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and we will be organizing a sales mission in March across 5 cities in India.

Segments We have more of family, FIT’s, repeated travellers coming over to Malaysia.

Some of the new segments are young travellers looking for short weekend gateways, wedding, honeymoons, events for FIT’s, Formula 1 and mega sale promotions.

T

New Destinations Some new destinations promoted are Johor Bahru, Sarawak, Kota Bahru, Melaka and Taman Negara known for the largest national park. Malaysia is beyond KL for one to see truly Asia.

he Government of Malaysia introduced visa on arrival (VOA) for visiting Indians from 1st Jan 2014,which is applicable for those travelling to Malaysia from a third country; namely Singapore and Thailand; holding valid visas for the respective countries and having confirmed return tickets to India. Visiting Indian tourists can avail of Visa on Arrival at all major airports of Malaysia namely Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Low cost Terminal LCCT (KLIA), Penang International Airport, Sultan Ismail International Airport, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Sabah and Kuching International Airport, Sarawak, at a fee of 100 USD or 330 MYR.

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Industry Speak

40>>

Metasearch OTAs: Your customers are using them, are you?

Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of REVPAR GURU shares his view on how the right utilization of OTAs can help increase your visibility and impact bookings.

VW BUREAU aggregates all available online rates for each property in a destination.

While the metasearch channels are fantastic booking tools for consumers, it is also a game-changer for hoteliers ¬ but whether it is a positive or negative change will depend on each individual property’s revenue management strategy. Here’s why…

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etasearch OTAS enable consumers to search all the major OTAs at once through a single website simultaneously ¬ making metasearch OTAs a one-stop shop to find the best hotel for an upcoming vacation or a business trip. Currently, the most popular metasearch OTAs are Hotels combined, Kayak, Hipmunk, Trivago and TripAdvisor, but new ones are being developed every day.

The new buzzword for the hotel industry is ‘metasearch’. Although there have been metasearch channels for years already (such as Sidestep ¬ who has now been purchased by Kayak), only now are hoteliers really paying attention to this rapidly growing channel. This awareness is being driven by a change in consumer behavior, as many consumers prefer to use a metasearch engine because it

Metasearch OTAs expand your property’s compset exponentially.

Instead of the small number of hotels that would be part of your property’s traditional compset, metasearch OTAs expand your compset to every hotel listed on every OTA on the Internet. Even if a property is only listed on one OTA (i.e. Expedia - therefore not making it a part of your Booking.com compset), metasearch sites will present the Expedia listing to consumers as well, turning that property into a direct competitor.

That can drastically increase your competition, and requires that you constantly offer the most competitive rate possible, updated in real-time as the market changes. And if you thought it was hard to get a direct booking in past years, it will prove even more difficult as metasearch channels have expanded the competition for each property exponentially… and this trend will continue to grow, meaning that more channels

will launch over time. Without the sophisticated revenue management technology necessary to update pricing as the market changes, and without channel management technology to manage your rates on all of your online channels, hotels will find it almost impossible to keep up.

If done properly, metasearch OTAs can drastically increase your online visibility.

Properties that do have the necessary technology to support their revenue management efforts on the metasearch OTA channels will find that they have much greater online visibility and reach than they would normally, without signing up with new OTA channels. This is because by having a presence on the major OTAs, your rates will be pulled into the metasearch search engine results and will be visible to any consumers who are using the site to book a hotel stay.

Metasearch OTAs helpenable you to direct bookings through the channel of your choice.

Once a consumer has decided to stay at your property, they will most likely choose to book the room through the channel offering the cheapest nightly room rate. Because metasearch engines list the cheapest rate available for each property directly in the results, consumers will book via the

site/OTA that is the cheapest. This means that if your property is listed for $200/night on Expedia and $201 on Booking.com, consumers will (almost) always book through the least expensive site. It is important to be aware of this consumer habit, so that you can make it work for you. While we don’t suggest keeping your rates out of parity, if that is your revenue management strategy, make sure that you price your rooms on the OTA channel with the lowest commission rate at the lowest nightly rate (even by $1) to ensure that consumers choose to book there.

If you need further proof of the importance of the metasearch channel in consumers’ day-to-day lives, look at other aggregator-type sites that have become very popular. Reddit, which aggregates discussions and content posted by users, is the most popular social media site in which to read about the news; 62% of its monthly users are using the site in this way[i].

In another industry, an aggregator site called YIPIT aggregates all deals sites like Groupon, Living Social, BingDeals into one list by destination. As consumers become more tech-savvy and focused on being more efficient, metasearch engines will become the OTAs of the future. Make sure you adjust your revenue management strategy to get the best results from this highly profitable channel.

Mobile apps will drive future hotel bookings Jaal Shah, Group Managing Director, RezLive.com OTA-Hotel relationship globally and with regard to the Indian scenario The relationship between online travel agencies and hotels have been a turbulent tale. With no party denying that it’s a long term and ongoing relationship; it is moving towards stability. The Indian Hotels have shared comfortable relationship with Indian OTAs and the relationship is stable and moving forward positively.

Way forward for bookings, considering the increasing use of smartphones and apps by the end consumers Increased use on mobile has removed the connectivity challenge. Now user can connect, book and seek information during any time of the day and during transit as well from a button on his/her palm. The Mobile Apps and Smartphone usage is an extension of the online business. As the bandwidth and smartphone devices increase in the market, the penetration of mobile will also increase; hence it is important for all online players to have a mobile friendly website or a mobile app.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Industry Speak

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Visa-on-Arrival will open up new tourism avenues Sahil Taneja, Director, Travel Delight What are the new segments Travel Delight is getting into?

Travel delight is a young company started in 2012, the company plans to enter into high end luxury travel products for the Indian market Upcoming market trends Because of the impact of social media & the recent surge in travel channels & series, people are keen to explore newer destinations & travel experiences, making it a favourable market for outbound travel. The recent decision by the government to grant visa on arrival to tourist of over 180 countries is a great initiative. Liberal policies like these will definitely enhance the growth of Tourism Industry. Apart from introducing newer liberal policies , the government is also ensuring safe tourism especially for women travelers. As of now travel delight has no plans of going national, however it cannot be ruled out as a future option.

Hotels have better control through real-time bookings Mike Kistner, Chief Executive Officer, RezNext

How does the solution work for room types, flexibility for hoteliers to confirm a booking against a package.

With the new functionality in ReX, the distribution platform from RezNext, hotels can create a package real-time based on any room types. For examples the room types selected for the package could be Standard, Deluxe or Suite category.

Packages for this room type will run till such time this room type is available and not sold out. Hoteliers then have the flexibility of running packages on any room types maximizing on the opportunity to sell more.

How do you think they can market the hotel better through this new functionality?

Creating different packages and making it available to customers helps increase the opportunity to sell/get a booking.

When packages are created real-time, all the booking made for these packages are also done real-time. This means the booking is received in the hotel property management system directly real-time and the confirmation is also sent back to the guest real-time. Hoteliers are in better control over their packages and at any point in time are aware of how many bookings have been made and can easily honour all the bookings.

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Festival Watch

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Festivals of 11 - 20 April, 2014

26 - 28 April, 2014

Coachella Music Festival, California

29th Annual Interstate Mullet Toss, Alabama/Florida

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9 May, 2014

14 - 15 April, 2014

Thrissur Pooram Kerala

Takayama Festival Japan

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his annual music and arts festival features many genres of music as alternative rock, hip hop, electronic music as well as sculptural art. It is held at Empire Polo Club 81-800 Avenue 51, Indio and the three-day ticket is priced at $349. There are several stages/tents setup in the grounds, to play live music. About 180,000 music fans annually attend the event. It features more than 100 bands playing simultaneously on six stages, plus art, food, etc. Previous headliners included Paul McCartney, Prince, Tiesto, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.

ooram is a significant and colourful temple festival celebrated in Thrissur at Vadakkumnathan temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, usually in April or May. According to the traditions, it is believed that the deities residing in the temples in the surrounding areas convene at the temple on the auspicious occasion. The festival includes a magnificent spectacle of fireworks, an umbrella display competition and a splendid elephant procession. The best elephants of the state from the various temples in Kerala are sent here to participate.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

erdido Key’s iconic beachside restaurant, bar and live music venue, which straddles the Alabama/Florida state line, hosts the event with a weekend-long beach party. A mullet is a popular and plentiful fish indigenous to the area, said to possess mystical properties. A Mullet Toss has people throwing a mullet, from a 10-foot circle in Alabama across the state line into Florida. A contribution for each fish flung goes to Local Youth Charities, including education, prevention programme from the Community Drug & Alcohol Council, Inc.

he Takayama Festival is the collective name for the Sanno Matsuri of spring and the Hachiman Matsuri held at Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine in October. It takes place at the Hie-Jinja shrine in Shiroyama, Takayama City. Highlights include the Tokeiraku parade with people wearing hats adorned with feathers who sound bells and beat drums and the shishimai lion dance. These are followed by the parade of gorgeous floats called yatai. In the evening, 100 paper lanterns adorn these floats, producing an even more beautiful sight.

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Festival Watch

the World 19 - 11 May, 2014

13-15 April, 2014

Frühlingsfest, Stuttgart Germany

Songkran Festival Thailand

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13-20 April, 2014

2-7 May 2014

Kamakura Festival Japan

Cheung Chau Bun Festival Hong Kong

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rühlingsfest or Spring Festival is an annual fair that takes place in the German city of Stuttgart between mid-April and the start of May, on the Cannstatter Wasen, traditional fairgrounds in Stuttgart’s Bad Cannstatt district. It is slightly smaller than the festival in the autumn (and therefore occasionally also called the “small Wasen”) and offers a variety of fairground attractions such as the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster. The Frühlingsfest starts on a Saturday with the traditional opening of a beer barrel by the Stuttgart mayor.

uring the Kamakura Matsuri at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine in Yukinoshita, the entire town bustles with parades of mikoshi (portable shrines) and musical bands. Main attractions are the shizuka no mai dance on the second Sunday and Yabusame on the third Sunday. The shizuka no mai dance is performed on the ritual dance stage. Yabusame is a revival of medieval samurai skills at shooting arrows on horseback. While galloping on a riding ground about 200m long, the archer shoots an arrow at its target.

he Songkran Festival is Thailand’s traditional New Year’s Day. Wan Sangkhan Long, the first day, is the time for people to have their body, mind and home cleaned. On April 14 or Wan Nao, people offer sand to temples, build small pagodas and throw water on each other.

On April 15 or Wan Phra Ya Wan, they give food to monks and listen to sermons, give wooden poles to support the great Bo tree, bathe the Buddha images and enshrine the ashes of the ancestors, release birds and fish and pay respects to their elders.

he Cheung Chau Bun Festival is held in honour of Pak Tai, the Daoist deity and god of the north, intended to purify the community and pacify the spirits of islanders who died in the plague of 1894. The plague ended after performance of the ritual. Since then, residents on Cheung Chau have organised an annual Bun Festival to express thanks to the god. As night falls, competitors at the bottom of the bun tower opposite the Pak Tai Temple, upon signal, scramble up it and try to collect as many buns as possible.

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Incredible India

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Madhya Pradesh: A call from the expansive wilderness Madhya Pradesh has enough and more to for a comprehensive wildlife holiday by itself.

Bandhavgarh National Park,

Kanha National Park

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Pench National Park

Panna National Park

andhavgarh National park, best known for the highest tiger population in India, teems with a variety of wildlife- langurs, rhesus macaque, Asiatic jackal, sloth bear, ratel, striped hyena, jungle cat, leopard, wild pig, sambar, chausingha, nilgai, chinkara, the small Indian civet and palm squirrel, little grebe egret, lesser adjutant, sarus crane, black kite, crested serpent eagle, Egyptian Vulture, etc.

By Air-Jabalpur(190 km). From Khajuraho (237 km), Road/Rail- Jabalpur, Katna, Satna, Umaria Best Season- Mid October to June. The park is closed from 1 July to 15 October due to rains.

Your Host-White Tiger Forest Lodge ( MPT), Ph: (07627) 265406

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ench Tiger Reserve comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary. It sheltes gaur (Indian Bison), cheetal, sambhar, nilgai, tiger, leopard, chousingha, chinkara, barking deer, palm civet, small Indian civet, Malabar pied hornbill, Indian pitta, osprey, grey- headed fishing eagle, brahmini duck, pochards, bar headed geese and coots.

By Air- Nagpur (92 km) and Jabalpur airport is 200 km from Pench.

By Rail/Road- Nagpur, Jabalpur, Khawasa, Chhindwara, Seoni Best Time- Summer. Park is open from 16th Oct to 30th June.

Your Host- Kipling’s Court (07695) 232830 (MPT)

anha National Park forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve.

Animals spotted here are striped palm squirrel, common langur, jackal, chital, barasingha, black buck, Indian hare, dhole, chausingha, cattle egret, pond heron, black ibis, crested serpent, racket-tailed drongo, red wattled lapwing, woodpecker, parakeet, babbler, etc.

By Air-Jabalpur(190 km). From Khajuraho (237 km),

By Rail- Jabalpur & Bilaspur.

By Road-Buses from Jabalpur, Bilaspur, Raipur Best Season- Mid October-June. ( Park closed from 1 July- 15 Oct) Your Host-Baghira Log Huts,Kisli (07649) 277227, Tourist Hostel,Kisli (07649) 277310), Kanha Safari Lodge,Mukki (07636) 290715(MPT)

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anna National Park consists of areas from the former Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary created in 1975. Tigers roam freely here with leopard, wild dog, wolf, hyena, sloth bear, nilgai, sambar, chital, chowsingha, chinkara, nilgai, varieties of snakes, migratory birds like Bar headed goose, Honey Buzzard, King vulture, Paradise Flycatcher, Slaty Headed Scimitar Babbler.

By Air- Nearest airport is Khajuraho.

By Rail- Nearest railhead is Khajuraho(46 km)and Satna(74 km).

By Road- Khajuraho to Madla, Satna to Madla, Panna to Madla Your Host- Jungle Camp, Madla (Panna) Ph : (07732) 275275 An Advertorial

Voyager’s World > February 2014

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Destination

Port Blair - A pearl in the Indian ocean SHAHEEN GAUTAM loating on the Bay of Bengal, Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is undoubtedly a fine crafted gem of the Indian archipelago. From white sands, sea walking and marine life to picturesque scenery, indigenous tribes, parakeets, pearls and remnants of colonial establishments, the there is something of interest for tourists. It is like any other Indian city where a rendezvous of different cultures and religions is constantly taking place, but it surely stands distinct in its demeanour.

Although the hot spots aren’t many, there is more than enough to cater to those seeking tranquility or a sporty adrenaline rush or for those wanting a fun filled family time. I had visited this city last winter with a bunch of friends. This cluster of islands is gifted with a moderate temperature throughout the year making it a yearround destination.

Corbyn’s Cove Beach: Brimming with people and encircled by lush green coconut palms, the Corbyn’s Cove is one of the busier beaches and is a mere 8 km from Port Blair. It bustles with numerous entertainment options. Zip across the ocean in a jet ski or a motor scooter. Splash, swim or just sit quietly on the sand as the gentle waves tickle your toes, soaking in the ubiquitous beauty and serenity or enjoy a relaxing drink with your friends at the beach facing restaurant.

Gandhi Park: A lush green 29 km drive from the capital leads your way to one of the mostly frequented tourist spots. It was a blend of natural brilliance, artificial creations and historical monuments. This cluster of 15 uninhabited islands with the most spectacular marine life and coral reefs in the country is most evenly equipped to draw tourists from every corner of the world and of all age

Ruins of Presbyterian Church

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groups. Be it the dense, lush mangrove cover that makes for a tropical experience of a lifetime to the almost untouched beaches, the national park was a visual delight for us. Despite being a presumed aquaphobic, I tried snorkeling and the glass-bottom boat trip; mystically, the underwater world mesmerized me so much that I overcame my fears in a jiffy. Cupped

by the park are two islands- Jolly Buoy and Redskin Island. Known for the bright white sand lining the sea and the color dominate landscape Jolly Buoy is of the best place for coral spotting. And yes! We did spot plenty of them. Redskin Island is popular for its high diversity of corals, its famous reef wall and the existence of saltwater crocodile habitat.

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Destination Cellular Jail & Viper Island: Dig a little deeper and you find a history enriched by places like the Cellular Jail and Viper Island. Today, however, the jail has been transformed into an immaculately kept national monument complete with a garden that seems very much at odds with the horror of the place. Built during 1864-67, by the British to house political prisoners, the walls of Viper Island jail echo the cries of Indian freedom fighters.

The Cellular Jail National Memorial is worth visiting to understand the important space the Andaman’s occupy in India’s national memory.

Anthropological Museum This small yet informative ethnographic museum showcases the four Negrito tribes of the island and two

Mongoloid tribes of the Nicobars.

The exhibits include items reflecting their culture, photographic displays of their culture, models and other exploratory artefacts. It takes about an hour to tour the place.

Apart from these, there are numerous other spots such as the Chanthan saw mill, one of the largest wood processors in Asiawhich was set up by the British in 1836 and is one of the largest wood processors in Asia; Barren Island that is home to the only active volcano in India; the Mongluton Rubber Plantation and the Samudrika Naval Museum. Ross Island boasts of many old British building in Ruins. Beach lovers can head to North Bay for scuba diving, jet-ski, snorkeling, sea walk etc.

Get Around: Thanks to the cheap and numerous travelling options available, getting around is not a problem.

Although, we had hired a pre-paid taxi, one can choose from easy on pocket local buses and auto-rickshaws for inter and intra city travel to private cars for local sightseeing around Port Blair and South Andaman, and can travel to the Port Blair Harbour by ferry. There are ferry vessels and passenger boats to travel within the sheltered waters and narrow creeks.

Walking isn’t a bad choice either, provided you remember a landmark as the odds of you getting lost are quite high with the steep hills all looking the same!

Sleep, Eat & Buy: Due to the early morning scheduling of flights and fer-

ries from Port Blair, most hotels follow an 8am checkout policy. There is accommodation for every budget, plus abundant restaurants, cafés and small food joints. Abardeen Bazaar is the ideal place to enjoy a nibble in the hustle bustle or pick a souvenir to take back home.

Best Time May to December is the season for nature lovers as the forest is lush green and the waterfalls are at their prime. December to April is the optimal season for divers whereas birdwatchers will have a field time watching and enjoying winged beauties mostly the winter months. Other activities like boating, swimming, snorkeling, sea walking etc., are conducted throughout the year.

Travel Trends

VoA facility will fuel Indian economy Arun Hattangadi, Chief Operating Officer, Bonton Tours Pvt. Ltd, talks about the changing preferences of the Indian MICE and leisure travellers.

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he Ministry of Tourism, along with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) estimated that in the short term scenario India can get an additional 1.5 million foreign tourists and USD 4 billion and in the longer term scenario India can target up to 20 million tourists and earn around USD 36 billion from this move. This sector in 2012 got 6.5 million international tourists and USD 17 billion+ in foreign exchange.

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race your evolution graph from the time you started, in terms of the growth, new ideas and technological advancements.

In short, improved access to foreign exchange, more air connectivity, better airports, online air tickets, online documentation etc. as compared to manual issuance which has greatly helped the tourists as well as tour operators alike.

How has the Indian traveller evolved in the last two years?

The volume of travel has grown from being group to now into FITs and family without escorts. They range from places away from Far East and Eastern Europe to exotic countries like Scandinavia, Korea, Japan, South America etc.

Voyager’s World > February 2014

“We have decided to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from 180 nations,” Planning Minister Rajiv Shukla told reporters in New Delhi late Wednesday.”The facility will provide a major boost to the country’s tourism sector.”

- Press Information Bureau Which are the top five MICE travel trends that you observe in India?

What are the most popular deals that Indian corporates negotiate with you while making bookings?

The top five MICE travel trends that I observe are: i. Experimenting local food than Indian food ii. Using superior hotels than basic standard hotel iii. Gala dinner with extended entertainment and theme decors iv. Travelling to far off destinations than close by v. Increase in domestic tours.

Air fare, contents of gala dinner, assistance for getting their travel documents, extended credit terms are the most popular deals that Indian corporates negotiate with us while making bookings.

How do you anticipate the new visaon-arrival facility extended by the Indian government to impact inbound travel to India, and the effect on hotel bookings and travel?

Visa-on-arrival facilities help improve our Foreign Exchange status, however it will increase loads on our hotels, airlines, sightseeing venues which will help more properties, more

flights coming into the picture which, in turn, employ a lot of Indian youth and experienced staff. All in all helps the economy of the country.

Latest trends in group trips in domestic and international travel The latest trends seen in group trips in both domestic and international travel by Indians are: i. They choose exotic locations instead of conventional ones. ii. They take multiple trips in a year. iii. They use premium properties. iv. They are more adventurous

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Travel Trends

Budget stays are a major pull to the North-East

Neelu Singh, COO, Ezeego1.com shares her views on popular holiday trends in India in the context of the fast-approaching summer season.

VW BUREAU within a limited budget and Ezeego1. com gives its customers just that.

How equipped are the popular tourist destinations to handle the peak seasons?

According to a recent report, the number of tourists, both domestic and international, heading for the northeast has gone up dramatically in the past year. Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland have witnessed 20%-29% more foreign tourist arrivals while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are celebrating 36%-41% increase in domestic travellers.

Elaborate on the booking patterns by travellers for these places during summer.

We have definitely seen a surge in customers booking in advance, some as much as two months in advance.

We are witnessing a growing trend in online booking as well. Enquiries and booking during peak or festive seasons have also advanced, as people want to avoid last minute disappointment. Also, Ezeego1.com offers various early bird offers, which prove to be very cost effective and beneficial for customers booking in advance.

We recently launched our summer holiday packages for India’s most exotic locations, including Ladakh, Kashmir, Sikkim and Darjeeling, wherein families get the chance to avail up to 50% off on their child or free upgrades to deluxe category, in addition to other cash discounts. We have received a very good response so far and hope to sustain the momentum.

The concept of luxury travel in India is still very niche and mainly popular with seasoned travellers. These are travellers who are not looking for the usual “touristy” activities but at something more offbeat, be it the destination itself or their holiday itinerary.

As opposed to this, we have been witnessing a proliferation of budget travellers, especially amongst the burgeoning middle class, be it families, couples, single women groups or solo travellers. Indian tourists are looking at great travel experiences

Until recently, these destinations rated low on tourist preferences, primarily due to security issues, the need for permits and limited flight options. But effective initiatives by local governments, travel companies and airlines have changed all that. The government has eased the protected area permit (PAP) that was required of foreign tourists in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.

As a result, the unexplored regions within North Indian, which until recently used to be considered virgin territory as far as tourism was considered, have shown an impressive rise in the influx of travellers.

All these destinations are gradually becoming tourist savvy and have a reasonable inventory that can accommodate the influx of tourists during peak seasons. These destinations may lag behind on luxury accommodation but their offering of budget accommodation is impressive, which is a crucial pull factor for tourists.

What are the main feeder markets for North India during summer season?

The global travel and tourism industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors and one that contributes significantly to global economic growth and development. Traditionally, Europe and America have been considered to be the most popular tourism markets. However, with evolution of the new-age traveller, newer emerging markets are expected to witness high tourism growth over

the next decade. India is gradually strengthening its significant potential to become a preferred tourist destination globally. As per a report issued by a leading research firm in December 2013, the total tourist visits in India, both domestic and international, have been growing at a steady rate of about 16 per cent over the past five years.

According to the same report, tourist visits in the northern states of India witnessed a growth rate of 10.2 per cent during 2008-2012 as compared to the national average growth rate of 16.3 per cent during the same period. While USA and UK accounted

for the maximum number of foreign tourist visits in the northern states of India in 2012, a fair share of tourists were received from non-English speaking countries such as Germany, Japan and UAE. It is endearing to see how India’s diversity has something for everyone.

While Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are considered hotspots for commercial and business related purposes, states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Punjab are preferred as leisure destinations.

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are popular with religious and spiritual tourists.

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Happenings

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A snapshot of Almaty for Indian TAs

DTCM meets Tier 2 cities' agents

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otel Ritz Carlton, Almaty (Kazaghstan), with Air Arabia, organized a Fam tour for Indian travel agents in January 2014. The four-night trip showcased Almaty and covered major attractions of the city like the Palace of President, Republic Square and Monument of Independence, Astana Square, Abai Square and Palace of Republic, Central Museum, Central Mosque and Green Bazaar. The itinerary included Medeo Gorge, Chimbulak ski resort, Kok- Tobe hill where the tallest TV tower in the world is located.

ubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) organised its Tier 2 three-city B2B roadshow in India from 03–05 February 2014 in Kochi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad respectively.

DTCM along with its co-participants comprising Emirates Airlines, Dubai-based hotels and DMCs updated the trade on Dubai’s existing and new tourism product offerings. The delegation interacted with over 400 key tour operators and upmarket leisure operators. It was accompanied by Carl Vaz - Director, India Representative Office.

Stuttgart meets Mumbai' marks a decade of festivities

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APP GROUP (Germany) celebrated its 10th anniversary of the ‘Stuttgart meets Mumbai’ Wine Festival with a focus on ‘Tourism and Film’ this year. The two day fest in January in Mumbai had noted representatives as Deputy Mayor Dr Martin Schairer, Deputy Consul General Micheal Ott, Bernhard Steinrücke, Director General of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Hans Jorg Hadbawnik, Regional Director for India at Stuttgart Marketing.

Travel fraternity convenes at a gala evening

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bout 30 to 40 people from the travel trade industry came forth for a small get-together on 29 January, 2014 at Budapest World Cuisine & Bar in New Delhi. The event was organised by Pankaj Nagpal of Travstarz Holiday & Destinations Pvt. Ltd, along with Ajay Chabria from In Time Travels, Ankur Kalra from Welcome Tours, Rohit Shorey from Destinations Travel and Siddharth Jain.

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The get-together of some friends from Delhi and Mumbai was brought about based on the Whatsapp Group Chat ‘Travel Synergies’ and ‘Travel Fraternity’ to network, against the backdrop of the recently concluded SATTE in Delhi.

1 Year, 12 Issues Rs. 800 (Inclusive of Rs. 200 for postage) 2 Year, 24 Issues Rs. 1,600 (Inclusive of Rs. 400 for postage) 3 Year, 36 Issues Rs. 2,400 (Inclusive of Rs. 600 for postage) Name Designation Company Name Address City Pin State Tel. Fax E mail

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Cheque/DD to be drawn in favour of Sphere Travel Media & Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. Payment must accompany order with Enclosed herewith is my Cheque/DD Cheque/Draft No. Drawn on No 245 Amar Jyothi Layout, Domlur, Bangalore - 560071 Phone: 080- 4083 4100 circulation@voyagersworld.in www.voyagersworld.in

Top Appointments

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Faiz Alam Ansari

Biswajit Chakraborty

General Manager, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park

General Manager, Sofitel Mumbai BKC

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iswajit Chakraborty has been appointed as the General Manager of Sofitel Mumbai BKC. He has more than 25 years of experience and has worked with Yak and Yeti in Nepal, Leela Kempinski Kovalam and Mumbai and Mövenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore.

In his new role, Biswajit will oversee all the activities of the hotel.

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he Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park appointed Faiz Alam Ansari as its General Manager. He has over 20 years of experience at Raffles Hotel, Singapore, Le Meridien,Kuala Lumpur and the Westin Gurgaon. His role will be to grow and maintain customer image of the hotel through a market focused development strategy.

Kunal Chauhan

Lim Mui Khim

General Manager, Leela Palace Bangalore

International Director- South/ S.E Asia, Tourism & Events Queensland

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im Mui Khim is the International Director for South/South East Asia for Tourism & Events Queensland. With over 20 years of industry expertise, Lim has worked with the Singapore outbound industry and Abacus Distribution. In her new role, Lim will be based in Singapore and will work closely with her team in India to market the destination.

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unal Chauhan joins as the General Manager of the Leela Palace Bangalore. With a vast experience to his credit, he has worked with the Oberoi Group before joining the Leela Group at Leela Palace Ambiance Gurgaon and Leela Palace New Delhi.

In his new role, Kunal will oversee the operations of the hotel.

Meenakshi Dua

Mayank Pandey

Executive Director - Southern Region Air India

Head of Sales, Tux Hospitality

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ayank Pandey is the new Head of Sales at Tux Hospitality. With over 13 years of experience, he has worked with Jaypee Palace Hotel & Convention Centre, Park Inn, Park Plaza and Kamat Hotels India Ltd. Delhi. In his new role, Mayank will be responsible for driving the sales strategies in its key markets.

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eenakshi Dua has taken over as Executive Director - Southern Region for Air India from Capt.H.Y.Samant, who has superannuated on January 31, 2014. In the annals of Southern Region of Air India, she is the first woman to be the Executive Director, South.

She has a ove 32 years experience in HR at senior executive levels at Delhi and Mumbai.

Aditya Mata,

Gajendra Singh

VP & GM, The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa, Gulmarg

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he Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa, Gulmarg appointed Aditya Mata as its Vice President and General Manager. Bringing in more than 20 years of experience in hospitality industry, he has been associated with the Oberoi Group, Doha Sheraton, Qatar, Grand Ashok Bangalore, Amani Tiwi Beach Resort Mombasa, Kenya, etc.

General Manager, Hive Alwar

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ive Alwar has appointed Gajendra Singh as the new General Manager. Having more than 12 years of experience, Gajendra has worked with Jaypee Palace Hotel & Convention Centre, Holiday Inn Agra, Park Plaza Delhi, etc.

In his new assignment, Gajendra will play an active role in the overall management of the property.

Saurabh Bakshi

Wolfgang Will

General Manager, Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway

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heraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway has appointed Saurabh Bakshi as the new General Manager. Prior to this role, he was the hotel’s Resident Manager and has been associated with the property since its pre-opening days. Saurabh had earlier worked with Leela Kempinski and Grand Hyatt across the country.

Director India, Lufthansa

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ufthansa has appointed Wolfgang Will as its new Director India. With vast cross-functional experience at Lufthansa since 1981, he has served at the airline’s offices in Austria, Congo, Venezuela and Mexico. Based in Gurgaon, Wolfgang shall be responsible for overseeing the airline’s commercial activities in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

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Events Calendar

50>>

networking is the key February2014

May2014

7, 8, 9

5, 6, 7, 8

The Boston Globe Travel Show Seaport World Trade Center

Arabian Travel Market Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre

19, 20, 21, 22

2, 3

28 Feb 1, 2 March

10, 11, 12

Holiday Expo Coimbatore

INDABA South Africa

28 Feb 1, 2 March

27, 28, 29

Cro Tour Croatia

India International Travel Mart Kolkata

World Travel Market Africa Cape Town,South Africa

Beijing International Tourism Expo China National Convention Center, Beijing

March2014

June2014

05, 06, 07, 08, 09

2, 3, 4, 5

ITB, Berlin Germany

International Luxury Travel Market, Shanghai, China

21, 22, 23

4, 5, 6

Holiday Expo Guwahati

24, 25, 26

Gulf Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre

Thailand Travel Mart Thailand

12, 13, 14, 15

ITE&MICE Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

27, 28, 29

22, 23, 24

April2014

July 2014

2, 3

18, 19, 20 July

2, 3, 4

25, 26, 27 July

Gujarat Travel Mart Mahatma Mandir, Gandhi Nagar Gujarat

Visit Scotland Expo Glasgow

GITM Goa International Travel Mart

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

International Pow Wow 2014 Chicago

Voyager’s World > February 2014

Routes Africa Zimbabwe

India International Travel Mart Bangalore

India International Travel Mart Chennai