Voyager's World November 2013 by Editor

Vol XI

Issue I

Pages 52

November 2013

Rs 60

Editorial

Marketing & Circulation

Editor

General Manager

Firoz Fazil firoz@voyagersworld.in

Kaustuv Das Mobile +90-9916129116 Kaustuv@voyagersworld.in

Managing Editor

Operations Executive

Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagers world.in

Associate Editor Priyamvadha Balaram priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

Assistant Editor Irene Susan Eapen irene@voyagersworld.in

Chief Designer Shyam Vishnot shyam@voyagersworld.in

Selvarajramaswamy operations@voyagersworld.in

Circulation Executive Shyam Vishaak Circulation@voyagersworld.in

Published By Surinder Hakhu sanjay@voyagersworld.in & Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagersworld.in

Graphic Designer Nanda Kumar M Nandu@voyagersworld.in

Web Developer Rohith Pinto info@voyagersworld.in

s 4>> ’ r o t i Ed ote N incredible india under focus India has become a hot and sought-after destination of late, what with a lot of National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) evincing interest in this market. Despite a sluggish economy and poor investor sentiments, travel and tourism has been growing at an encouraging pace. India has come out as the globe’s leading outbound market and the country is second only to China. As per some figures, the number of outbound Indian travellers will only increase from around 15 million today to 50 million by 2020. This means a huge growth in spending abroad. As per a survey released by Amadeus-Frost & Sullivan, Indians travelling to AsiaPacific alone will increase reach $91 billion by 2030, making Indians the second to none other than China, when it comes to outbound travel. And all NTOs are taking note of the Indian market, as they go on conducting trade workshops and such other programmes for the Indian travel trade. And they are betting big on the potential of Indian market as well. For instance, Tourism Australia hopes to get 300,000 Indian tourists by 2020. Similarly South Africa Tourism Board too says India has turned out to be one of the key tourism-generating nations for them. The introduction of direct flights between India and major tourism destinations is an indication of growing outbound travel from India. Many foreign as well as Indian airlines are launching direct filights to major tourism destinations from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

06Industry Buzz

In this issue, we have featured backpacking as an emerging tourism segment, analysed the entry of major hotel brands in Tier 2 and 3 cities in India, as well as the trends in corporate travel with reference to aviation, hospitality and ground transportation.

10Cover Story

We also bring you glimpses of Bulgaria and Apulia, two picturesque destinations that our team members visited recently.

Corporate Travel Insights

22Destinations

Warm Regards

Glimpses of short holidays to Bulgaria and Apulia, a small town in Italy

28Brands in Tier 2 & 3 cities

editor@voyagersworld.in

There has been a proliferation of major hotel brands in Tier 2 and 3 cities of India. Do they serve the purpose?

34Backpacking

While group travel and FIT travellers are popular in their own right, backpackers are a segment not to be ignored...

49Top Appointments Voyager’s World > November 2013

# 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

Industry Buzz

6>>

First OTOAI Convention to be held in Manila

Ritz Carlton launches in Bangalore, says Namaste to India

he Outbound Travel Operations Association of India (OTOAI) is set to organise its first Convention from 01-04 December, 2013 in Manila, Philippines, along with the support of Philippines Tourism.

he Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., officially opened the doors of its first hotel in India in Bangalore. Located on Residency Road in the heart of the city, the 277-room hotel blends tradition with the Jaali (lattice screen) design from the Mughal era and many architectural features, including pointed archways and ample white marble reminiscent of the Taj Mahal.

The theme for the convention has been aptly selected as – The Changing Face of Indian Outbound. Under the guidance of Guldeep Sahni, President, OTOAI, the convention is scheduled to take place at the Solaire Resort & Casino and will address some serious issues of the travel agents’ community. Riaz Munshi, Vice President, OTOAI has been appointed as the Convention Chairman while Vineet Gopal, Joint Secretary, OTOAI, would be the Co-Convention Chairman.

Taiwan Tourism makes its mark in East India!

KSRTC-UAE Exchange tie-up for ticket booking

aiwan Tourism Bureau entred East India market with a recent travel mart and B2B workshop at Taj Bengal, Kolkata,in the presence of Arthur Hsieh, Director - Singapore Office, Taiwan along with some delegates from, Cathay Pacific and Good Times Vacation. “Taiwan is blessed with natural beauty, scenic areas, great food, astonishing history and culture and the towering Taipei 101, this makes it a great destination for the Indian traveler. ,”added Arthur .

“We are redefining the international standard for luxury hospitality in India with a truly unique property in Bangalore,” said Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

he KSRTC has joined hands with UAE Exchange to issue tickets through select branches in the six states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and Goa. The tie-up will benefit customers opting to travel through the KSRTC buses, especially the IT professionals who use the corridor regularly.

Use Rail Europe's mobile app as a travel guide

ail Europe has launched a new mobile app loaded with interesting features to make rail journeys across Europe on their network a glitch-free and memorable experience. The Executive Director of Rail Europe India Kunal Kothari said: “This mobile app has been in the making for some time now. It has a lot of interesting features and is meant mainly for those who book through our website. Passengers can also keep track of train timings. So when you land into Europe, this app becomes like your travel guide if you’re travelling by Rail.”

V George Antony, MD and Country Head, UAE Exchange India, said: “UAE Exchange has always been mindful of customer delight and customer preference. This facility with KSRTC is to improve customer experience and make travel services easily accessible to them.”

The app is available on Android and iOS platforms. Other feature are ‘Station Guide’’, a map that’s linked to Google Maps or Apple Plan, and a section for FAQs and help.

Mauritius launches online training for Indian TAs

auritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) launched Mauritius Grand Master, an Online Training programme for the Indian travel trade, for the first time in the country. The programme will engage the travel trade through seven online learning modules. MTPA expects to reach out to frontline, sales and travel trade across nation in the first phase of launching the Mauritius Grand Master (MGM). Travel agents can sign up at http://ott.travel/homemauritiusindia.aspx?# for the training programme. The training programme will have seven modules and participants will have to score a minimum of 80% in each module to proceed to the next level. Participants will get three attempts to clear each module.

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Industry Buzz

8>>

IHG opens Crowne Plaza Greater Noida

TAAI Convention 2013 will be held in Bangalore

ravel Agents Association of India (TAAI) will host the 2013 convention from 13-16 December, 2013 at the Vivanta by Taj- Yeshwantpur, Bangalore. The theme for this year’s event will be ‘Connect, Co-operate, Collaborate’. The convention will be held along with India Travel Trade Expo (ITTE) and TAAI Travel Awards.

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau to 'CONNECT' with MICE

he Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) released ‘Thailand CONNECT’, a global marketing campaign to sell Thailand as a premier MICE destination. It will focus on Thai destinations, business opportunities, and the high quality of MICE professionals. It will have many promotional packages to extend financial support to MICE events and delegates, depending on their country of origin and duration.

nterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) launched the Crowne Plaza Greater Noida in Delhi (NCR), making it the sixth Crowne Plaza hotel in the country. The 398-room hotel is categorized into 332 rooms, 49 service apartments and 17 suites. Its versatile indoor and outdoor venues, of more than 1000 sq me, are ideal for conferences, meetings and special occasions for up to 1500 guests.

Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, TCEB’s President, said: “The ‘CONNECT’ campaign was designed to help Thailand achieve a 2014 target of 987,000 MICE visitors from abroad, with revenues projected at 96.9 billion baht (US$3.2 billion), up respective 5% and 10% over the figures projected for 2013. It will help TCEB enhance the global visibility of the Thailand brand as part of Five-Year Master Plan (20122016) and its three key strategies - WIN, PROMOTE and DEVELOP.”

Mosaic, the all-day dining; Chao Bella, an Italian and Chinese specialty restaurant; Spice Art, a contemporary North-Western frontier cuisine restaurant and ConneXions, a bar with a wine cellar and rare malt collection and Belgian Beer Café, a specialty beer bar are the dining options at the property. Other amenities include Sohum Spa, gym and an outdoor pool complete with individual whirlpools.

Ginger makes entry into Jaipur

naugurated by Princess Diya Kumari, the hotel, that marks entry of the brand into Rajasthan, will cater to the industrial and commercial sectors.

Reverse auction hotel booking site Findmystay.com launched

Ginger Jaipur is priced at INR 1999 for single occupancy and INR 2499 double occupancy, is perfect for both leisure and business travellers, young Indian travellers and backpackers.

indmystay.com – an out-the-box and a user-friendly hotel booking site – has been launched in India. The website enables the customer to choose the price they wish to pay for their stay through online bidding (reverse auction) to avail the best deal on hotel bookings. It is likely to be India’s first hyper-localised marketplace to search the most frugal hotel deals. It offers the best hotel deals at your preferred location at the prices that you desire.

Pioneering in line for the first time, Ginger Hotels has introduced special services for the Single Lady Traveller. The rooms are nonintrusive and designed keeping in mind the new age needs of the young traveller.

Dubai to host ETAA's first International Convention

nterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) will organise its first international Convention in Dubai from 29 November to 02 December, 2013.

The event, whose tagline is 'Dubai in your palm', is being held in association with the Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Jet Airways, Emirates and Lama Tours, at the Crowne Plaza Dubai. The last date for registration was 19th October, 2013. The association is offering its members a package of INR 29,900 and a non-working spouse at INR 33,900. It will include return economy airfare, visa fee, three-night stay in five-star hotel and all meals, city tour, conference, desert safari and dhow cruise. A maximum of two travel professionals are allowed per agency.

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Cover Story

10>>

rising costs, lcc, obt & the corporate travel dynamics

Corporate travel witnesses ups and downs, the trips being limited or paused, the total trip costs being directly proportionate to fluctuations in air fare, hotel rates, ground transport and so on. PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

he constantly on-the-move corporate traveller hops on and off flights and checks in and out of hotels in a frequently evolving industry, struggling to keep pace with technology and other trends that strive to make business and travel easier for him.

The sliding rupee, rising fuel costs, soaring ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) prices, user development fee at airports, excess baggage, hotel loyalty programmes, flying miles and other ancillary costs, The forecast for travel prices for 2014

shows that India is expected to hit a growth rate of 6.0% while China will be the leader in terms of growth at 8.0% projections. Citing projections during the ACTE India Executive Forum in Bangalore recently, Suresh Makhija, Director,

Program Management and Sales, India, Carlson Wagonlit Travel said that as far as the APAC region was concerned, business growth would be driven by China and India and more code sharing and LCCs dominating aviation. “Some more Asian carriers are likely to join traditional alliances

Enhanced deals will increase corporate bookings

he Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) recently organised its Executive Forum in Bangalore at the Novotel Bengaluru Techpark in September 2013, shortly after its Mumbai edition. The forum sought to bring together leading experts from the business travel industry to delve deep into the corporate travel market, whilst offering the opportunity to network with colleagues and discussing future trends in the industry. The planning committee consisted of Geetha Arekal - Officer, Regional Travel Head (APAC) – Corporate Services Group -Travel, Northern Trust; Subhrajit Basu - Regional Manager , South Asia, Diners Club International; Nitin Bharadwaj - Regional Sales Manager, South – Spicejet; Ashish Kishore - Country Head - Dnata HRG and Ashok Renukuntala - Lead Business Analyst, Travel Operations Manager - India – Oracle. The session was moderated by Benson Tang, Regional Director, Asia, ACTE Global. Key issues discussed during the forum centred on aviation, corporate bookings, hotel rates, importance of data, online booking tool, feasibility of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) for corporate travellers, ground transportation and so on. Subhrajit Basu said: “Today data is

Voyager’s World > November 2013

graphics

not about quantity; quality is the key.

are having data, but do they have

the second best year in this century

The volume of data has gone on to

MIS? Hence, India presents a very

after 2010.

Tera Bytes. What counts is variety of

large opportunity,” he added.

data- structured, unstructured, text,

Nitin said: “The LCC was conceptual-

media; velocity- speed of analyzing

Predicting the air projections for the

ized mainly for the leisure travellers

and veracity- Reliability, predictability

forthcoming year, Suresh Makhija,

and to pull the rail traffic on board.

of the information.”

Director, Program Management &

LCCs have to keep operating costs

Sales, India, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

low, given the ancillary costs.”

“If the information before a trip can

remarked: “Airlines in China and

tell you the number of people travel-

Singapore will command the larg-

Other trends observed were pertain-

ling and one drop out can make an

est price increases and Australia will

ing to more codesharing agreements

impact, then that will help the com-

continue to keep a lid on its prices.

between airlines, additional room

pany. Most companies have Expens-

Singapore Airlines is expected to

inventory in key metros of India such

es Management System but do they

have the largest price increase.” He

as Bangalore and Delhi , new airports

have a card payment platform? They

added that IATA expected 2014 to be

underway and so on.

11>> and long haul low cost carriers will also be emerging trends.” As for the hospitality industry, he said “Asia Pacific cities have the highest occupancy rates in the world for the upcoming year. The law of supply and demand will create interesting dynamics in India and China. In India, the excess construction of global chains has created too much supply, exceeding the demand, thereby creating opportunities for buyers for negotiations.”

Cover Story 73% of corporate clients have increased their preference to use low cost carriers. Other parameters in the policy include the flight time, booking channel, trip changes, etc. 73% of corporate travel companies have implemented a corporate booking tool (CBT). 64% of respondents agreed that a good number of travellers wants to deal with travel management companies and agencies, with 55% perceiving business travel itineraries to be too complex a task to undertake themselves.

Over 83% of travel management companies and agencies felt that smartphones would have a moderate to significant impact on business. Only 33% had implemented any mobile web or native applications for smartphones, leading with a simple mobile itinerary tool. Though the adoption rates of smartphones and tablets are high in Asia Pacific region, only four in ten enable flight and hotel bookings on mobile. 33% of corporate travel companies have created a mobile web or native mobile app for smartphones for corporate bookings.

Keeping aside the trends and expectations, let us take a look at the challenges that corporate travel is burdened with. Rising costs of travel and accommodation seem to be the biggest concern presently. In the last few years, airfares have gone sky-high, so also the room rates, thereby adversely affecting travel budgets. Going beyond complaining, the need to travel is still there. Employees demand access to first class travel and hotel arrangements; hence companies have to design their travel

China will continue to experience a surplus of new supply from global chains and emerging brands for Chinese travellers but demand is expected to keep pace. Meetings and Events Projections The strongest overall growth will take place in Asia Pacific, with both group sizes and daily attendees sizes anticipated to increase. The demand will remain strong though supply vs. demand will vary according to the country. Ground transportation projections for 2014 Carlson Wagonlit Travel studies and found that car rental prices will increase modestly though options are limited by local restrictions in some locations that prevent foreign visitors from driving without a local driver’s license.

If you are a vegetarian, why would you need chicken tandoori?

In those countries, such as China, car rental is typically chauffeured by local drivers. China’s continually developing high speed rail infrastructure will garner strong interest from travel buyers in 2014, who are increasingly interested in using this option instead of air travel where applicable.

47% of travellers are also now encouraged to opt for lower-star accommodation. 43% of respondents felt that their role had recently shifted more in favour of corporate procurement.

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Challenges According to a recent survey by Abacus, it identified some key trends that are anticipated to have an effect on corporate travel in the next few years. 97% of respondents have received instructions to further tighten corporate travel policies. There is no relaxation of the rules in sight, despite the more favourable economic outlook acknowledged by all. 73% reported corporate clients implementing policies to decrease the number of business trips. Six in ten clients are extending economy class thresholds to reduce business class travel.

As a travel agent you do have access to many accommodation suppliers. By adding one more is not going to be of much help unless it improves your existing inventory.

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Cover Story budgets in a way as to keep costs at a certain level. The issue was highlighted during the executive forum in Bangalore by the key speaker Sanjay Pai – Head, Travel & Aviation, Larsen & Toubro Limited and panelists Amarnath Lal Das – General Manager, Corporate Travel Accenture India; Elizabeth Mani– Regional Head, South, HRG India and Nitin Bharadwaj – Regional Manager, Spice Jet. They pointed out to trends in volumes, passenger traffic, increase in routes, kilometres consumed, fleet expansion, suppliers and aircraft orders placed with Airbus and Boeings. Sanjay said: “If you go by the statistic only 13 million Indian flew in 2002. That was 0.5% of our population. Based on the feasibility, no aviation industry can fail; that means the saying was right- The sky is the limit.”

While people talk about technology pervading all levels of travel on the one hand, a lot of people still find it difficult to book a LCC flight. There are several issues pertaining to booking the seat, hand luggage, meals onboard, window seats and making reservations in the first 10 rows, for instance. With varying demands on part of the employees and rising

12>> airfare and different airline policies, it is quite a challenge for companies to draw up a cost-effective, value for money travel and accommodation plan. Hence, it is not surprising that corporates these days are resorting to a single-window booking system to take care of all the booking aspects. Some of them also engage a separate travel concierge desk in their organizations. This kind of a set up not only eases the process, but also brings about a lot of deals and discounts in hotels and flights for the employees. Besides this, companies can also formulate a meticulous travel policy in order to keep a lid on costs. These policies can be about fixing a ceiling on the accommodation category like star hotels, guest houses or serviced apartments and also go on to limiting budget on first class travel and opting for economy class. Through this, companies will be able to effect a substantial cut in their travel spending. As for those who face disagreement on such conditions, the best alternative would be to re-look at their supplier-vendor contracts. Corporate travel planners can reach a deal with long-standing suppliers and bring about contracts that reward loyalty while ensuring a win-win situation for both the parties.

They can negotiate with the airlines and the hotels for a certain number of seats and rooms during a certain period and reach an amicable policy while drafting their request for proposals. Other problems encompass increase in the number of new airlines entering the skies, growing passenger numbers, route expansion, need for trained manpower and infrastructure, all required to grow at the same pace. As for price sensitivity, airlines have become cost conscience more than just Passenger Revenue by changing the business models constantly. For instance, carriers generate revenue on sale and lease back (wet lease). Indigo 89 % planes are on lease. Jet Airways is 90%, SpiceJet is 69% and GoAir is 93%. It is expected that the near future capacity will increase in the domestic market. As of today, the entire industry in India is 62 million passengers annually; but the market will add 40 million passengers over the next four years. LCCs have paved for a new trend with the industry going for adding capacity in short haul segments that are usually more profitable. On an average, a Mumbai-Delhi flight is sold at INR 8 /Air Mile and in comparison Mum-

bai-Ahmedabad is sold at INR 12/Air Mile. Airlines in India are following models like Air Asia and Southwest Airlines by charging extra for specific seats like by the window or the aisle seat, reducing baggage allowance and increasing cancellation of ticket and no show charges. Indigo is expected to add nearly 10 aircrafts a year over the next decade or so mostly to operate domestic segments. In so far as fares are concerned, Zero Frill Carriers are found to offer a reasonable alternative to the premier carriers. A successful LCC in India is very clear about what it promises to deliver. If the airline charges a fare without any frills, whilst promising a certain standard of service, with ‘Arriving on Time’ being their USP, then it stands to win hands down in terms of running full or almost full. Meals, water and other such add-ons have to be borne by the passenger. This kind of a policy is better than running a LCC and supplying a newspaper, a sandwich and a water bottle. Tiny supplementary costs can go a long way in adding to its overall cost. Corporate travel managers have implemented compound strategies in order to make sure the lowest reasonable fare is offered to the employ-

GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Courtesy: Findings by Carlson Wagonlit Travel for 2014

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Cover Story ee at the time of booking. Here is where policies such as a 7-Advance Purchase, corporate fare vs. retail fare, day trips and round trip fares are executed. With so many promotions happening every few months, these strategies ensure that the corporate does not lose out to the retail purchaser when it comes to negotiating bulk deals. Nitin Bharadwaj, Regional Manager, Spice Jet said: “In a study done on bookings for the month of February 2013, booking seven days ahead of departure saved 33% on a LCC while one saved 15% on a Full Service Carrier (FSC) while booking three days ahead of departure.” Another hindrance faced by corporates while dealing with travel plans for their executives would be demanding and insistent travelers. With increasing international travel and exposure to world class travel and accommodation standards, today travellers seek the best arrangements. Irrespective of the nature of the travel, work or the company policy, employees anticipate and desire a four or a five star hotel accommodation. Budget accommodation options remain at a secondary level. A corporate booking tool or an OTA

14>> usually facilitates the work. However, an inefficient and unproductive booking tool will not serve the process. One requires the complete booking options to find out the best and most ideal travel and hotel choices, that would not only fit in their budget but also be of a certain standard. India still has a very adoption rate for business travel technology in comparison to western markets. An exhaustive travel solution is the need of the hour to ensure the most effective delivery of travel services, be it a simple individual package or complex group itineraries, domestic or international. With online booking tools offering user friendly booking ideas, people still tend to check with their travel concierge or a travel agent over the phone, simply with a need to understand technology by personal communication. While it was mentioned earlier that a single window booking system could alleviate booking hassles, what organizations look for are a comprehensive technology solution that covers all aspects of bookings. A solution that would be a one-stop site listing all the types of travel and hotel choices quickly, including ground transportation, is likely to be adopted by a corporate. Having said that, today the prolifera-

Beyond Rates

tion of smartphones in our personal and professional lives, have necessitated us, employees to be able to have more access to information. More so, when it comes to dissemination of travel information. While one may have travelled on a particular international airline once, with the booking done by a corporate, the regular emails and mailers on the flying miles that one accumulates is sent to the end-user by the airline; again a resultant benefit of access to data. When he uses the same flight the next time, he can utilize these regular miles information to seek upgrades. Again the use of smartphones varies from person to person. Not all employees use a smarphone to communicate booking information. Some would much rather prefer the nitty-gritty of travel to be taken care of completely by the company and only the necessary information be communicated to them. Plus, there is the concern of international roaming charges when one is on foreign shores. In such cases, organizations must look out for those solutions that offer customized or personalized itineraries, like an exclusive app for travel to a particular country. This can help the concierge and the management to effectively be in touch with the ex-

ecutive who is travelling, in real time on their smartphones. For this, they require a cost-efficient, low-cost and secure mobile access platform. The downside of this is that these complications can lead to the organization deciding to go for video-conferencing or tele-conferencing in order to cut down travel. This would mean fewer trips. Alternatively, they can review their expenditure and budgeting. Issues surrounding last minute cancellation, refund, meals, combining more meetings in one trip for maximum value for money, and per diem can all be re-worked to amend the total trip cost. One can look at serviced apartments for a change instead of star accommodation. These apartments offer a lot of convenience like more space, fully furnished kitchen and though they may be on par with a luxury hotel, they give a homely ambience during one’s stay. In order for the company to identify the most optimum OBT, it must know what it requires, outline all the deliverables in terms of solution and savings, identify the right OBT, measure the performance and either adapt or re-measure.

Courtesy: Findings by Carlson Wagonlit Travel for 2014

Voyager’s World > November 2013

OTA

16>>

Musafir.com targets 75% YOY growth in the Indian market Albert Dias, Co-founder, Marketing and Technology Director, Musafir.com, looks at the rapid adoption of online travel booking as an opportune time to strike gold in the Indian market. VW BUREAU

Venture into India We are embarking on a regional expansion plan, which has been in the works for several years now, and India was the first country outside the UAE that came to mind. We see strong opportunities for growth with the country’s increasing internet penetration and rapid adoption of online travel booking.

Expectations from Indian market We are looking to achieve 75-100% YOY growth in our initial years and hope to exceed those expectations. The market is perceived to be saturated, but the sheer number of new customers coming online to purchase travel gives room for new OTAs to grow. As a service provider, we do not fly the planes that people travel in or build the hotels that people stay in, which is why we are committed to making the quality of our service our USP – and not just any level of service, but exceptional service. Google’s impending flight search We expect Google’s upcoming launch of Flight Search in India to have a short-term impact on OTA traffic sources, but we do not expect it to have a long-term impact on OTA sales quality – especially for those that invest in their brand and product in-

novation to retain customers organically, just as we currently do. With reference to the Indian OTA ecosystem, we expect Google’s new product to change customer acquisition strategies. Several OTAs have already diversified their customer acquisition strategies away from flights and we too have a mid-term strategy in place to do this. Present OTA-hotel relationship We have excellent relationships with our hotels and consolidators at this time and do not see a strain when it comes to revenue sharing. We expect some downward pressure to be there on hotel commissions as competition grows, but it is unlikely to be motivated by direct sales, given the challenges involved and the role that OTAs play in representing the vast majority of lesser known hotels.

OTAs vs.traditional channels Freedom of choice is by far the biggest advantage that OTAs offer customers for hotel bookings. OTAs will never entirely do away with traditional agents because there will always be a need for assisted travel – especially in niche sectors. The future will be increasingly challenging for traditional agents whose revenues are dominated by travel products which can be self-served. Future trends (in business model, etc.) in the hotel booking segment from an OTA point of view? We expect to see OTAs focus far more actively on hotel and holiday sales growth in the near future, instead of relying on organic growth. It is too early for us to comment on how the underlying business model is likely to change, as most of our sales are driven through consolidators at this time.

60% of travel will be online by 2020

Jaal Shah, Group Managing Director, RezLive.com, talks about the company’s strengths, USP, trends in OTAs, relationship with the trade among other things in this interview with Voyager’s World.

Brief about major clients in India RezLive.com works with around 2000+ active travel partners in India and hence, it will be unfair to name few here. In 2013, we had clients from more than 100 unique cities of India who did one or more transaction with us.

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Products for the Indian travel trade RezLive.com was one of the first B2B Non-Air portal to offer hotels, sightseeing and transfers under one single window. Introduction of Apartment in early 2013 has been a key highlight of our product offering. We have set standards in offering large availability pool to our clients, right from the same day of service to make reservation up to one year in advance. We have been dynamically connected with leading hotel chains which gives us seamless connection to their global CRS. Our association with Movenpick is one of the best example for the same. USP and position in India Client retention and business analysis form our core DNA at Rezlive.com. Introduction of VIP Desk which supports as virtual concierge service of

high value and preferred clients of our agents has been highly appreciated at our ends. We have been successful in handling countries’ top leaders, film and art celebrities and bureaucrats by offering these value added services to our clients. This makes us one of the only B2B System in India to have this as an offer for our customers without any additional fees being applicable on their reservation.

Upcoming projects We are in the middle of launching a dedicated support system for our clients to communicate with our support team via Webform and mobile friendly applications. We are also working on the integration of the Air Contain as a complete B2B System offering Air, Hotel and Ground Services. The beta version of Air has been launched internally and will be available to agents in first quarter of 2014.

Growth rate and forecast At RezLive.com our benchmark growth has been 50% year on year and since last five years, our growth has been over 50%. 2013 has been a challenging year due to various factors such as Indian currency devaluation, but despite such roadblocks we were able to successfully achieve our target.

Marketing activities With the help of six offices and a sales force of more than 18 spearheads in India; human connect has been the key driving force for RezLive.com Sales. We also run extensive campaigns via mailers, and micro-sites, in association with leading Foreign Tourism Boards, are our online media to reach our travel partners.

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More happiness than you can imagine!

eace and calm or thrills and spills, fun and frolic with your family or discovering the world with your friends, whatever your idea of happiness is, you will find it at Club Med. Club Méditerranée, popularly referred to as Club Med, is a French holiday resort company, which has a chain of 80 unique resorts located at prime, exotic destinations across the globe, designed to bring a sense of tranquility to the body, mind and soul. This is exactly what you need to get away from your daily grind, vacation in style and have an exclusive travel experience. Our premium all-inclusive holidays includes everything you can possibly think of to make the most of your holiday -gorgeous location, choice of accommodation, all meals, unlimited beverages, host of sports activities, specialized kids club, daily entertainment shows and so much more. The all-inclusive formula is elegant, generous and à la carte, where you can savor every

moment with absolutely no danger of going over budget. Indulge in international gourmet fare and a choice of more than four or five different cuisines besides local specialties served in a large buffet spread offering a range of delicacies to suit every taste. Enjoy the choicest of unlimited beverages, alcoholic and nonalcoholic, served along with light bites all day long. Our chefs ensure everyoneleaves feeling delighted and pampered with their gastronomical experiences. Being worlds biggest sports clubs offer an amazing range of activities from snorkeling, sailing to skiing to flying trapeze to windsurfing. The list of activities is endless where you can take your pick from a wide range of sports/ activities on land, water and air. Try a sport that fires your imagination, in total safety & expert tuition, and discover a whole new world of thrill! Leave your child at the Children’s Club with facilities designed to

The core value of this chain is ‘happiness’, hence, you may find a touch of heartwarming service at every corner of the property, in every meal and with the Guest Organisers or GOs.

care for your child’s end-to-end needs. Our certified GOs (Guest Organizers) engage and care for your child while you are away at the spa or at a romantic meal with your partner. The core value of this chain is ‘happiness’, hence, you may find a touch of heart warming service at every corner of the property, in every meal and with the Guest Organisers or GOs. Our enthusiastic and friendly GOs heartily welcome guests into a truly global and multicultural environment. Your clients would thank you for offering such an unique product where they can discover the fine art of holidaying and find what ‘heaven on earth’ really feels like. The most popular resorts amongst Indian clientele are Kani, Maldives, Bintan & Bali, Indonesia and Phuket beach resort. The other options in Asia are our nature resort in Cherating, Malaysia or luxurious La Plantation D’Albion, Mauritius. Whether your customer is looking for a romantic getaway to celebrate a special occasion, or simply planning a family vacation, there is no place else you’d rather be. For sales enquiries, call our India team at +91 22 2605 7828/32 or visit www.clubmed.co.in to check out the exotic Club Med properties all around the world.

OTA

18>>

Indian youth triggers OTA market Findmystay.com Co-Founder Simran Sial talks about his company’s plans for the Indian market while dwelling on the future of the OTA market in India. VW BUREAU have merely begun and so, it will take

Expectations from Indian market We are an Indian business and we completely understand what ‘value for money’ means for the Indian customer. We wanted to set up a business model that delivers true value for every rupee spent - so what better market than India. Yes, there are many OTAs and the market is crowded. Having said that, it is early to say that ecommerce and technology have reached a saturation level in India. We

OTA-hotel relationship

and ‘ease of booking’. A travel agent

people some more time to completely

Hotels have a limited reach and aware-

will be biased and customers are de-

adopt the online selling model, and

ness amongst customers, especially

pendent on what ‘he thinks’ of the

with our understanding and unique of-

the two-four star category and they

hotel. An OTA shows actual photos, re-

fering Find My Stay @ My Price, we are

are the ones that sell the most. Plus,

views and allows you to compare mul-

poised to be the best in the business.

marketing is expensive and aware-

tiple options. With Find my Stay @ My

ness comes with time. OTAs definitely

Price we have taken this a step further

Google’s flight search

provide much needed awareness for

by allowing customers to choose how

Google’s entry into this is a testimony

hotels, and the rate at which budget

much they wish to pay for their stay.

of the potential OTAs have for growth.

hotels in India are growing, goes to

In the next few months, we will launch

Also, Google’s model for hotels is that

show the value that OTAs have deliv-

more products that would deliver not

of a metasearch engine; I do not see

ered. Likewise for OTAs, these are the

only convenience but value too.

them going and working with 1000s

main pillars of growth and driving fac-

of hotels individually, but on the flight

tor for existence and growth.

side there will be some serious com-

Evaluate future trends in this regard India is still a few years away from be-

petition. With hotels, what Google has

OTAs have national reach without the

ing a mature internet market. Smaller

is search abilities. We have an under-

physical presence in terms of real es-

economies like Thailand, Malaysia

standing of Indian customers, rela-

tate, personal relationship and mar-

and Indonesia are more mature. In In-

tionships with hotels and resources

keting bandwidth, unlike traditional

dia, a lot of research happens online

to provide deals at great prices. I see

channels. You can see every detail of

and purchase offline, mainly due to

Google partnering with OTAs rather

the hotel before booking. A traditional

factors as inhibitions on internet trans-

than challenging them as far as hotels

agent needs to operate offices in dif-

action, etc. Five years down the lane,

are concerned. I think Google’s entry

ferent areas for business. OTAs save

the skew will shift heavily towards OTA.

will only help the industry in terms re-

this cost and can invest it back in the

India is a youth economy and that will

searching the best flight/hotel online.

business for technology, marketing

be the driving force towards this shift.

How to face the ota challenge? VW BUREAU

Anil Kumar Prasanna CEO, Axis Rooms

he traditional OTA business has changed, same-day booking and

channel distribution has become the norms of the industry. Instead of developing its own platform to drive business, hotels are still looking at addressing age-old issues to control rate parity. There has been a rise in new channels for distribution, an

Voyager’s World > November 2013

important one being the TripAdvisor

to garner new business acquisition.

Today small hotels are competing

(Pay Per Click) model, which gives

GoIbibo is still the latest entrant in

with the big hotels, as technology is

the opportunity for hotels to drive the

OTA business releasing supplier API

available and at affordable cost. We

guests from TripAdvisor site directly

much ahead of their predecessors.

have a unique hotel client, who drives

to API-integrated Hotel Booking En-

There is also equal amount of busi-

almost 90% of his business through

gine. And this is sure the change the

ness consolidation happening on

online.

way of doing business and may be

the OTA space like Travelocity exiting

Hotels need to think different and

one of the counter measures to chal-

Asian market and now will use Expe-

think again on their marketing ap-

lenge Google Hotel Finder.

dia hotel content; TravelGuru merging

proach. Social Media spend is still a

with Yatra and have recently released

fraction in the Indian hotel industry. A

One more change we found to drive

their API; HotelTravel acquired by

recent promotion done by 1888 Ho-

more bookings are pay at the hotel

Makemytrip and Hotel.de acquired by

tel, Sydney was very unique in that it

and free same-day cancellation, a

HRS, etc.

few of our hotel partners who opted

offered a free stay for users of Instagram with 10000 followers.

for the same on are driving 80% more

These will keep happening but like

A similar marketing campaign was

direct bookings compared to earlier

other developed markets India has

used by Groupon; when onion prices

method of full payment transactions.

still a larger market and still the av-

skyrocketed, it just sold onions at

Hotels cannot gain on its own the ex-

erage online bookings in India has

cheaper price, however, the billboard

posure the OTAs offer them like geo-

not crossed 12 to 14% as when com-

effect it received is almost 400% in

graphical presence, marketing and to

pared to developed market where

the form of new traffic on its website

get new unknown customer. Adding

online business is pegged around 45

and approximately 27000 new con-

new channels will become avenues

- 65% of total hotel revenue.

sumers registered.

Destination

20>>

Go Beautiful, Go Bulgaria! History, heritage, great civilization, tempting wine and more… Bulgaria offers an eclectic blend for a discerning traveller as discovered by Rohit Hangal during his recent visit to the country

Burgas

Souvenir Stand in Plovdiv

ow does one describe Bulgaria? Way beyond the traditional Indian holiday first choices! Well, to put it mildly, it is 110,994 square kilometres of pure delight! Located a mere one hour flight from Istanbul, and just three countries away from India, it is strategically located in the Southeast of Europe, bordering Romania to the north; Serbia and Macedonia to the West; and Greece and Turkey to the south and the serene Black Sea to the east.

Varna Voyager’s World > November 2013

Bulgaria surely has an eye to surprise with its range of destinations. With probably the oldest continuous living establishment in Europe, it boasts of an incredible mix of civilizations, right from the Thracians, Romans, Byzantines and now the Bulgarians, who have all left their mark on creating memorable tourism experiences. Bulgaria receives about seven million foreign tourists annually. Though it receives only about 3000 tourist from India, holidaying in ‘Beautiful Bulgaria’

will give you premier bragging rights for sure! As we leave on an hour-long flight from Sofia to the city of Varna on the Black Sea coast, our Bulgarian safari opens to a nice, mildly chilly nip-in-the-air! Varna is Bulgaria’s third largest city after Sofia and Plovdiv. A small town with a population of about half a million has to its claim, the world oldest gold (dated 5th millennium BC), being excavated near the city. It is displayed in the Varna Archaeological Museum in all its skeletal glory and more; it makes for a nice exhibit and an excellent conversation piece in this gold-crazy country of ours. The museum also manages two open-air archaeological sites, the large Roman baths in the city centre and the medieval grotto of Aladzha Monastery at Golden Sands Nature Park. The monastery is the most famous medieval rock Monastery on the Black Sea Coast, originally inhabited by monks and hermits between the

12th and 14th centuries. It is part of a comprehensive rock complex, carved and arranged on two levels in limestone to a height of over 40 feet. An AV performance- ‘Legends of Aladza monastery’- relives its history. As we move south, about 130 km from Varna lies the resort town of Burgas on the Black Sea. It is the cultural centre of the region with attractions as the Burgas Opera and other theatre activities. There are multiple galleries in the city. Many cultural events are also conducted in the renovated Marine Casino. The Marine Park is a suitable place for a walk. The summer theatre of the city is also situated here, a venue for diverse performances. The Burgas climate is conducive for excellent beach activities, popular with the European beach aficionados. The city offers some amazing beach vistas from overlooking hills and are a photographer’s delight. The best time to visit would be between April - Septem-

Destination

21>> ber during summer, when the weather is just right! First heard in Bulgaria, Balconing in Burgas: What is balconing? It is jumping to a pool or to the sea directly from a hotel room balcony. My first thoughts were “This is funny and an interesting adventure activity!”, But in hindsight, it is dangerous and insane, absolutely nuts! Reports of tourists jumping off hotel balconies and killing themselves or injuring themselves grievously is not unheard of in this part of the world. Close to Burgas, is the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983; it houses amazing well-kept murals from the 3rd Century BC. The original tomb is sealed to preserve its unique murals, but an exact copy was built near it, open to tourists. The city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second biggest city, located about 150km from the capital, is a cultural fiesta. With a history span of over 6,000 years and influences from Thracian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Bulgarian realms, Plovdiv reveals in its different layers an amazing confluence of visual experiences. It is the oldest, continually inhabited city in Europe with a continuous presence of civilization since 8,000 years. Plovdiv is a great walkabout city. With most sites just around the corner, it is an experience to latch on as you unveil another interesting architectural marvel after you just passed one! The Ancient Roman Theatre, discovered as late as the 1970s, was built in 2nd Century BC and is now a prominent event venue for the city. Surrounding it is the Renaissance Town of Old Plovdiv, built during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Delightful buildings with aesthetically construed cafes, pubs, museums and galleries, workshops and souvenir shops dot this area. This part of Plovdiv is declared as an Architectural museum reserve with over 150 monuments of culture - houses from the National revival period. The cobble-stone pathways add to the character of the place as you uncover hidden gems from different eras.

St. George Rotunda, Sofia

As we return to Sofia, Bulgaria’s grand capital, it is another opportunity to relive its enormous history and heritage. Sofia is located at the foot of Mount Vitosha. With a history of over 2400 years, Sofia has a many ancient Roman, Byzantine and medieval Bulgarian buildings, all well preserved for posterity. These include the 4th century Rotunda of St. George, the walls of the Serdica fortress and the partially preserved Amphitheatre of Serdica.

The city architecture varies from the Stalinist Gothic public buildings from the Communist era in a distinct artdeco style to modern European styles. Among its highlights is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the neo modern symbols of Bulgaria, built in the 19th century and can hold 10,000 people. Also drop by the Boyana Church, a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts. The east wing of the two-storey church was originally built in the late 10th or early 11th century; the central wing was added in the 13th century with the whole building being finished with a further expansion to the west in the middle of the 19th century. The church owes its world fame mainly to its frescoes from 1259. They form a second layer over the paintings from earlier centuries and represent one of the most complete and well-preserved monuments of Eastern European medieval art. The Church is now as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Art and Entertainment: Sofia has been a very popular destination for theatre and performing arts, with an entire street for performing arts, interesting venues and century old institutions. Museums essay Bulgaria’s growing art interest with a plethora of them in city centre galleries. Food & wine: Bulgaria has more vegetarian options for the Indian traveller with an amazing range of fresh vegetables and salads. Bulgarian cuisine includes huge helping of salads and cheese like no other. It invariably forms a meal in itself! Fish and chicken are popular, though pork still tops the charts here. For those inclined to go Indian in Bulgaria, there is the Kohinoor (www.kohinoor.bg), Saffron (www.saffron-bg.com) and of course Tajmahal (www.tajmahal.bg). Bulgarian Wines are popular throughout the world and here, it is an able accompaniment with your food or just to enjoy the moment! Also, do try the National drink ‘Rakia’, which normally has an alcohol content of 40 - 50%, distilled from a concoction of locally grown fruits. What to Buy: Bulgaria produces 70% of the world’s Rose Oil and rose water and ‘very Bulgarian’ take-homes. Bulgaria is probably the best place to buy top brands that are still much cheaper than most parts of Europe. How to get there from India: Via Turkish Air or Qatar Airways. It is an hour’s flight from Istanbul and three hours from Doha. Turkish links ex-Mumbai and New Delhi, while Qatar flies from most cities in India.

www.voyagersworld.in

Destination

22>>

Apulia: Region of olive trees &

Apulia means olive trees, blue sea, rocky seashores and trulli houses. All of these would add to one’s surprise in South Italy, says Irene Susan Eapen Adriatic Coast

he ENIT (Italian State Tourist Board) with Turkish Airlines had recently organized an educational tour for five days to visit the beautiful region of Puglia, Italy. Turkish airlines was indeed a haven with the reclined seat that gave me a good sleep till I reached Istanbul Airport, plus the Turkish delight locum and the Turkish cuisine served on board .I was overjoyed in listening to some of best Traditional Turkish folk songs besides my favorite Pop songs, and the entertainment services offered a number of films and music albums. One should not miss experiencing the CIP lounge at the Istanbul Airport, an excellent venue for one to relax and

Wines of Apulia

Voyager’s World > November 2013

munch on Turkish kebabs and the library to while away your time. Puglia region is also known as Apulia, located at the southern tip of Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea. The olive groves and blue sea is an excitement for one to take a stroll in the region of Puglia. Can you imagine the region of Puglia has 6 million olive trees, I would describe Puglia as an area of baroque churches, whitewashed houses plus basilicas and cathedrals designed by different artisans not to be missed at all.Although Puglia is a lesser known destination these days people have started exploring Apulia through the white conical trulli

houses, blue sea, olive groves and of course the excellent cuisine rich in flavor. One should take time and make sure to spend more time at Puglia. Puglia is divided into six provinces like Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto and Barletta-Andria-Trani. We started our journey to Salento Peninsula by road close to Lecce, land of architecture and the baroque style churches. It took around five hrs to reach the hotel Leone DimessapiaHotel & Conference, Lecce a beautiful hotel, with 108 guest rooms that included 16 junior suites and four Executive lofts of 55 square metres

and 1000 square meters to organize small or large meetings. For dinner we had gone to Bella ‘mbriana restaurant introduced us to orecchiette con cime di rapa, the ear shaped pasta with turnip tops. We also got to taste the special bread in Lecce, also known as pizza bianco in Puglia. Taralli is another Italian snack crackerthat I liked which can be sweet orsalty. I must say the yummy panna cotta desert was delicious. The next day our first expedition started with Lecce a beautiful city with a unique baroque style that depicts the architecture, also known as Barocco Leccese. We were first introduced to the monument of 1820’s at the entry of Lecce that had leaves on the top part of the monument symbolizing mythology,the monumental gate directing to Naples,while the last part had a dolphin eating the half moon that directed to the area of Salento and the land of Otranto. There is also an inscription on the monument to thank the king. The Baroque style church is the stone of Lecce and the main sights of Lecce style are the Piazza del Duomo which was earlier a fortress and the 70 metres high bell tower. In Lecce the sides of the palaces and churches were allof baroque period. We had got into a paper mache shop called La Carta pesta Di Claudio Riso were the main owner and his brother explained to us of using old papers to make figures that represented the lives of ordinary people in Puglia. Everybody in Lecce had a souvenir of paper mache in their

Destination

23>>

blue waters

Trulli, Alberobello houses. The Basilica Santa Croce is the master piece of Lecee and the decorations were in three orders with the inscription on the entrance and three gates. The rose window is one of the speciality of Basilica Santa Croce, the other decorations on the façade are with animals, grotesque figures and vegetables. The column of Saint Oranzo depicts the significance of curing plague in those days. The Roman Amphitheatre remains with its ruins in the main square Piazza S. Oronzo with a capacity of more than 25,000 people, organizing balley, opera every year plus Christmas activities.Lecce is also known as the Florence of South that has been completely decorated. After that we had headed for lunch at Restaurant ArcuTePratu - Piazzettaar-

co di prato where we got introduced to beef balls, fave cicoria,orecchiette with an Italian tomato sauce, Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and slices of chicken, cheese with beef shreds. The other local dishes included pasta with chickpeas and the pasticciotto, a sweet with lemon custard. We were all excited to go for the wine tasting ceremony at ValleDell’Asso of Gino Vallone. The Valle Dell’Asso has 80 acres of organic wine making and 40 acres of olive groves. The underground storage system is 3 metres deep to adjust the temperature of the particular wine. Red wines are made with the skin of the grapes especially for the texture of the wine. During summer some wines are stored to ferment for 5 to 6 months.For each wine the fermentation period can change from 5 to 8 days or 4 to 15 days. The

main grape like Negramaro is produced in Salento .Fiano the white wine of Salento , a flowery and fruity smell. Negramaro the red wine an Apulian wine of 2010 gives a tobacco smell and leather smelling sensation. Primitivo wine the red wine of 2010 of Salento is sweeter due to high alcohol content. Negramaro and Primitivo are generally had with food. Piromáfo is the only red winemade in wooden barrels, this wine is matured for a longer period.We were introduced to different wines with Mozzarella, Provolone, Fontina, Parmesan Reggiano and Italian salumi. The harvest period is generally during the month of August.Good wines are found in vineyards especially Puglia wines are the best wines and are cheaper in prize compared to Tuscany wines.

Our trip was getting interesting after the wine tasting, to explore Galatina a small city in the province of Lecce, that has the most famous Basilica of S. Caterinad’Alessandria known for beautiful frescos. The Basilica has three doors with a Greek inscription on the third door. The frescos inside the church were divided into 4parts like 1st part had Apostles, 2nd part had Genesis, 3rd part had New Testament and the 4th part had of a saint. The church is in the Romanesque Pugliese style with 12 columns and a mosaic floor. In earlier days, women bitten by tarantulas were healed by the saint. The Chiesa Di San Pietro is another Greek church with frescos inside. It was a great feeling for me to walk through the street of Salento, le Petra and the frescos in the church was indeed marvelous one must take time to understand the frescos. Galatina is also known for the making of pasticciotto the Salento pastry so delicious if you have a sweet tooth then you should taste pasticciotto. Our voyage to Otranto on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy was breathtaking for me where thewater is crystal clear and thepanoramic vista of the blue waters, the rocky seashores. Otranto port was one of the famous ports in Puglia. It is also the bridge that connects Italy and the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Our next trip was to Santa Maria Di Leuca the southern tip of Puglia where the coasts connect the Atriatic

www.voyagersworld.in

Destination

24>>

Santa Maria Di Leuca Sea and Ionic Sea. The Santa Maria Di Leuca, known for the light house and the Basilica, De Finibus Terrae meaning end of the land built in remembrance of St. Peter. This region has also coined its name from Saint Mary as Santa Maria di Leuca. We had headed then to Hotel Montecallini werethey served us different salads likeoctopus salad in chili, mussels salads and clutters salads, I enjoyed tasting the different salads especially the octopus salad in chili. Sea food salads are served all across Italy I believe it is a lighter meal and the southern part of Italy is known for sea food salads. The Montecallini Hotel is a superb hotel with luxurious interiors, the rooms are categorized as superior suite with private spa, four superior suites, 35 junior suites, three deluxe rooms and two single rooms. The interiors of each category had an elegant look on the whole so it is worthwhile for a pleasant stay facing the blue sea. The next day our journey, started in the masseria at the Itria Valley a typical farmhouse with organic farming like mandarin , Christ orange, orange, grapes, tomatoes, almonds, olive leaves , 22herbs used for kitchen. The masseria is a farmhouse converted into a boutique hotel with a main entrance and a chapel as well. The masseria at the Itria Valley has 15 kinds of olives grown, while the black olive is ripened, the green olive is too spicy and the red olives are oily, out of which only 5 olives are good for the table. The extra virgin olive oil is tasted by using a blue glass and a slice of

Voyager’s World > November 2013

bread and a slice of apple to cleanse the taste of olive oil. The Pendici olive oil is an extra virgin oil used for white fish which is not to spicy. The Deglidci is the oil of the god’s without the fruit in terms of taste. The Techina is young olive oil fantastic green oil and is too spicy. The collone is the strongest olive oil especially used with lamb meat. The flowering happens between April /May with white petals and yellow petals.The harvest period is between Oct/Dec as each olive tree flowers 1000 oliveflowers. Food is great at the masseria, I still cannot forget the taste of the brown cake which was tasty. It was a fascinating drive to Alberobello a picturesque city with trulli houses that borders the Itria Valley. The cone shaped house is made of layers of stone with a room, a sit out with narrow lanes. The first district of Aia Piccola has almost 500 trullis while the other district called Rionemonti is the other district that has 1500 trullis. The houses are constructed with one stone overlapping theother and a tank to collect rain water at each house.The trulli houses of Alberobello are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The people in this area made their living by taking care of animals andsewing. The temperature at this place is generally cold and during summer it is quite warm. My stroll in Alberobello was nice especially to get to see the local people selling stuffs outside their trulli shops and the trullo church, the Chiesa di Sant’Antonio.A place for shopping stuffs like trulli snowstorms the souvenir of Alberobello. If you could stay at the trulli

then you could experience the whole of Alberobello. It was a great experience savouring the local delicacies at Ristorante L’Aratro - Via Monte S. Michele, we were served dishes like Cavatellucci pasta, mussels and beans and some local Murgian cheese, burrata cheese, Caciocavallo hard local cheese and mozzarella cheese. We then headed to Ostuni a whitewashed city on the coast of the Murgia. Ostuni is also known as the olive city with a number of olive trees. In Ostuni, the famous cathedral of gothic style with a large rose window is beautiful. Ostuni gives marvellous scenery of the white house and the narrow lanes with lots of gelatos and panetteria shops. I got to taste the Gelato ice cream at Ostuni which was yummy I hope to have more gelato ice creams back in Puglia the next time. We stayed at Albergo La Terra Group an old palace converted into hotel a different experience for me. We had our dinner at Osteria La Candina de Seppe tise decorated in a style of old cellars where one could taste the typical ostuni dishes. We had a long drive to Bari, the capital of Puglia.Bari is also known as the port city on the Adriatic coast. The market square is the merchant’s area in the ancient times. In Bari, the Norman Aragonese castle or castle armello is a boat shaped castle built in 11 century, used as a prison in 90’s. The castle is now maintained as a seat for the ministers plus a museum. I noticed women who were cutting the pasta dough indifferent

shapes like the orecchiette and cavatelli pasta, made with durum wheat flour and without eggs and is usually kneaded early in the morning, to give enough time to dry.It is a like a small business for some of the ladies in Puglia as they used to make pastas earlier for their families, now they sell them at shops.The Basilica di San Nicola, the church of Saint Nicolas, an ancient palace converted into a church where the remains of Saint Nicolas are treasured, you can also see a statue of Saint Nicolas inside the church .The Festa Di Saint Nicholas is celebrated every year around 7,8,9,May with the boats lighted in the sea. The Pizza del Ferrarese is an ancient square of Bari fora great nightlife. We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Oriente offered 75 well furnished rooms and suites, 2 conference rooms and a ballroom Beethoven to organize meetings and events, plus a roof garden on the 6th floor that gave us a panoramic view of Bari.The hotel is right next to the famous Petruzzelli Theatre. If you are a shopaholic then Bari is the best place to shop with all the brands around for shoes, jackets, perfumes, jewellery and salamis. Food and Music Puglia is a paradise for gastronomy and wines.Puglia cuisine is based on pasta, vegetables, meat, fish and olive oil. Orecchiette is the signature dish of Apulia. The cuisine in Lecce is more of meat vegetables and pasta, the focaccia leccese are made with potatoes and ham .In Bari, they have the culture of eating raw seafood like shrimps, calamari and sea urchins, the focaccia barese, made with cherry tomatoes and olive oil, the tiellais made with rice, potatoes and mussels a typical dish of Bari area. This region has the best wines and gourmand cuisine that one should experience while visiting Puglia. One must taste the local red wine of Apulia. One of my favorite appetizers is mozzarella, tomato, and onion salad. The Pizzica music is more of fast beats with violin, guitar and small drums, generally a single dance form that originated from Salento area. One could dance throughout the night with the Pizzica music. The PizzicaTarantata dance started with a small Italian tarantula spider biting a woman an uncontrolled dance or hypnotic dancing where women get healed by crying loud according the mood of the venom. Apulia leaves me with so many memories of each place as I have mentioned here, my journey to Puglia is still on for the next visit to explore the whole of Puglia. So get set to explore the region of Puglia.

Travel Trends

25>>

Riya Travel mulls over B2C market GMJ Thampy, Chairman and Managing Director, Riya Travel, talks to Voyager's World about the organisation's growth, new initiatives and expectations from the Indian market. year, the Riya institute of Hospitality was formed, which is based on the principle of ‘immense collaboration’, bringing together like minded individuals to focus their intellect on achieving higher goals. In order to cater B2B segment, Riya Connect, India’s first online B2B portal was launched in 2007.

Brief about your operations in India Riya travels and tours (I) Pvt. Ltd was launched in 1992. The travel portal www.riya.travel aims to help holiday makers plan hassle-free travel. Then in 2007, Riya group ventured into Riya Holidays with best travel deals, tour packages, customised tours around the world. Later the same

and the depreciating rupee have hurt the sentiments of Indian travellers. Few customers have cancelled their travel plans, few have postponed it and few others are now opting for budget destinations. Overall, surviving has become the main focus in this tough period, but I am very confident about industry gaining momentum very soon.

In 2010, Riya Education Pvt Ltd was set up to meet all the documentation formalities as exam counseling, meeting university delegates, visa and documentation assistance, travel assistance, accommodation, pre-departure to post–landing assistance.

Evolving tourism trends in India Unlike previous days when travelling meant visiting its tourist spots, eating local cuisine and shopping, travelling has completely changed its definition and transformed into a more experiential aspiration.

Present Indian travel industry The Indian travel and tourism industry is now going through a tough period. Slowdown in the Indian economy

Travellers are willing to experiment by taking a path that is less travelled and to discover new places. They pine for an enriched experience and

knowledge. Plans for the Indian market Our aim is to be innovative in packaging products, move beyond traditional packages and provide our clients with the best prices in the market. We frequently come up with special offers like discounts, cash back, and gift vouchers on our portal and target experiential and inspirational travellers. Also weekend getaways are most preferred by travellers. So, our travel and tour experts design such packages. We currently operate from 50 locations in India. We are now gradually foraying into B2C segment. Furthermore, we recently opened office in Toronto, North America and will shortly open in Dubai for Gulf ventures.

Online imagery shapes travel choice Kesavan Kanchi Kandadai, CEO, Tangerine Digital, talks about the travel industry going digital and the impact of social media in planning travel, in this interview with Voyager’s World. travelling to the destination, 40-50% people search online to see what to do in the local destination

How critical is social media for the travel and tourism industry? Social media plays an intrinsic role in every aspect of the travel and tourism industry. Today, most of the consumers research online before going on a holiday. Consumers believe the feedback shared by other travelers rather than the information that is updated on the website. In the travel industry, about 60% of the people make a decision after doing the research online. Even after

How do you see Tangerine bringing a change in this sector? Tangerine is amongst the country’s leading digital content creation and management awgencies serving brands across sectors. Tangerine Digital will offer travel companies in India a range of services across the content marketing spectrum right from content creation, content management, user-generated content management and content aggregation. As far as travel is concerned, good content, imagery and user recommendation play a huge part in users making a choice. With the launch of a customised bouquet of services, Tangerine proposes to provide the right content (imagery, videos) and empower brands in the travel industry with travelogues, destination guides and videos, advanced photo shoots,

user generated content, expert reviews and ratings, celebrity feeds, travel blogs, itineraries, traveller reviews and hotel description. In the travel domain we have worked for a few companies like TUI India, Getit and created content for them. We have done blogs, destination sites, articles, ratings and reviews, videos from images for these brands. Challenges in the travel industry The biggest challenge lies to get subject matter experts in this vertical. We make sure that individuals working on travel projects are just not well read but are well travelled too. It is extremely important for us to deliver the highest quality of work to our clients that drive their ROI, which are their online sales. The content delivered has to be engaging and appealing to drive profitable actions. Upcoming trends Below are some of the upcoming trends in the digital space for the

travel sector: -Image sharing communities drive conversions for the travel companies on social media. 32% of online buyers in North America made a purchase after seeing an image on a social image-sharing site like Pinterest -User reviews play a very critical role in helping users make important decisions. Today, there is no one who does not research online or read reports on social media when it comes to taking a decision related to travel. 45% of personal travelers and 54% of business travelers have made travel plans based on reviews and experience of others. -Traditionally in India, digital media has always been driven by mobile app market. There has been a lot of refinement and high quality content coming through with smartphones and travel companies taking out to these platforms. There are apps for ticketing, things to do, store travel memories, tour guides for easy travel.

www.voyagersworld.in

India Outbound

26>>

KTO hopes to tap medical tourism Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) expects over 30% of increase in terms of visitor numbers. It is also looking forward to developing the medical tourism market since Korea is considered to be a top international medical destination, says KTO Director Jae Sang Lee. VW BUREAU

New products We are looking forward to developing the medical tourism market since Korea is considered to be a top international medical destination. So, we have come out with a brochure titled ‘Medical Korean Wave’ where we are highlighting eight top medical areas for which Korea is well known as cancer, thyroid, infertility etc. Another

product that we are showcasing is

end of September 2013 is around

the Korean Temple Stay that has an

96,418. We have witnessed a dra-

ancient tradition of over 1,300 years

matic increase of Indians to Korea for

Promotions

old, where one can experience real

the first nine months of 2013. This

We are currently doing a lot of cam-

Korean vegetarian cuisine and Bud-

year, we expect over 30% of increase

paigns like the one with Kuoni India,

dhists lives.

in terms of visitor numbers to Korea.

which was a two-month campaign

tional Airport via Hong Kong.

In terms of Indians in the recent

titled Korea Delight to your eyes from

Trends

past, we have witnessed more leisure

June to September 2012. In this cam-

The average stay of Indian travellers

travelers to Korea due to marketing

paign, we targeted students, young

in Korea is 13.4 days in 2011 as per

activities, roadshows, trade exhibi-

professionals, entrepreneurs who are

the data collected by KTO during their

tions, FAM trips and joint trade pro-

well educated, well travelled people.

last survey. The survey is done once

motional activities.

This was planned on an all-India basis,

in every two years. Indians tend to

through Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn,

spend most on accommodation fol-

Air connectivity

etc. The other activity we planned was

lowed by shopping and food. Indians

The Korean Air operates three flights

with Cox and Kings, a brochure cam-

were mostly found to be leisure trav-

per week from Mumbai to Seoul/

paign to promote leisure holidays to

ellers; 22.0% Leisure, 27.0% busi-

Incheon International Airport and

Korea. We targeted Tier-1 cities like

ness and 51.0% are from rest of the

the Asiana Airline operates three

Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai. The cam-

categories.

flights per week from Delhi to Seoul/

paign ran in print, online and across

Incheon International Airport, while

local stores of the company and was

Figures of arrivals

Air India flies four times per week

successful in terms of the numbers

The figure between January and the

from Delhi to Seoul/Incheon Interna-

achieved and brand value created.

Singapore woos indians with its parks Lee Meng Tat, Chief Executive Officer, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, reveals the efforts to recreate the Indian Ganges river habitat in Singapore and the importance of the Indian market. VW BUREAU tors that our parks offer them the Ultimate Wildlife Experience and memories they can take home.

Lee Meng Tat

Wild Reserves Singapore

India remains a key target market for Singapore – of the 14.4 million visitors that visited Singapore in 2012, about 700,000 were from India. Recreating Ganges river habitat The Ganges river basin not only contains high biodiversity, but is also a centre of social and religious tradition. One of the most iconic landscapes along the river is the Varanasi temple, which is a key inspiration behind the design of River Safari’s Ganges-themed exhibit. We have in-

Voyager’s World > November 2013

cluded a temple façade with numerous ‘ghats’ or steps that leads to the river waters. In addition to this, we have also added soundscapes to bring out the energy of this river and colourful saris to adorn the shores of the Ganges-themed exhibit. We see River Safari, our latest park,

being the main draw for them especially with the Indian Ganges river habitat, as they are able to relate to the exhibit while at the same time can learn even more about its ecosystem. We work closely with our partners in India to continually convey to our visi-

What are your upcoming plans of expansion? Ensuring the four parks stay among Singapore’s top attractions is a key priority. We have a 10-year master plan to refresh and rejuvenate our parks. At this stage, the timeline and framework have just been agreed on and we are entering the implementation phase. The plan includes reviewing our animal and exhibit collection and ensuring we create an immersive experience for visitors. This masterplan has a 10-year cycle that looks at introducing things in phases so we continue to provide a refreshing experience, to keep visitors wanting to come back for more.

India Outbound

27>>

Travel ancillary market is still nascent in India Dev Karvat, Managing Director, TrawellTag India, talks to Voyagerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World about travel ancillary services and present trends in the Indian travel industry. value. We would like to grow the mar-

The focus of the programme is to en-

ity. This leads to better comprehen-

ket by helping travel agents improve

hance cross selling skills of agents

sion of travel assistance services as

conversions, which is below 20% to-

and educate them on travel ancillary

lost luggage tracking, medical and

day. To enable them to do this we are

services. It helps create a platform

travel insurance, family protection

having Travel Agentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Engagement

for agent dialogue to increase sales

and global SIM that are available for

Programmes in about 20 cities in the

penetration and boost travel volumes

easy travel but have low penetration

next 4-5 months.

considering the current travel volatil-

due to lack of awareness.

Brief about your operations TrawellTag India is the market leader in travel ancillary services like global, medical and concierge assistance,

luggage

tracking,

travel insurance, and global SIM. It is a part of the Karvat Group which was founded in 1952 by N. B. Karvat. Currently we have 60 offices across 33 cities in India and is working roughly with 5000 tour operators and travel agents across the country. Growth forecast Travel ancillary products as medical and concierge assistance, luggage tracking and travel insurance are relatively new concepts in India and so have a huge potential. The penetration level is under

MUMBAI-KOLKATA-CHENNAI HYDERABAD-DELHI JANUARY 2014

20%, so we have seen a good growth in the last two years (much above the market growth) and are confident it will grow well in future. Expansion plans India as a market has extremely high potential and we look towards playing our part in growing our

MUMBAI-AHMEDABAD-DELHI FEBRUARY 2014

business here. We will continue to introduce innovative products which will appeal to the travellers and support travel agents. Marketing We believe in best practice, low cost and compelling customer

# 245, Amar Jyothi Layout, Domlur, Bangalore - 560 071, India Ph: +91 - 80 - 4083 4100, Fax: + 91 - 80 - 4083 4101, info@otrindia.com, www.otrindia.com Ahmedabad - Delhi - Hyderabad - Mumbai - Pune

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

28>>

top hotel brands foray into unchartered territories Tier 2 and 3 cities in India, seemingly thriving on industries, business and manufacturing, are the new, promising destinations for leading hospitality brands to set foot in. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Jaipur velopment in Mumbai in Mulund and we are targeting to have Sofitel hotels in Bangalore, Delhi, Goa and Rajasthan in the next few years,” he added.

Deepak Ohri

lebua Hotels and Resorts

The Indian travellers look forward to exotic destinations and the Indian luxury hospitality consumers are more price-conscious and seek optimum value. Our mission is to promote a luxury hospitality experience as unique.

he luxury brands are expanding in Tier 2 & 3 cities as the market has witnessed a phenomenal growth. These cities are key markets for any brand especially with the infrastructure and the facilities offered to luxury travellers. Luxury travellers are more price-conscious and want to explore exotic destinations for quality living. Expansion in Tier 2 and 3 cities Markland Blaiklock, Head & Senior VP, Sofitel Asia Pacific explains: “Sofitel Mumbai BKC is the only property in India. We intend to expand to other cities of the country in the future. We are extremely bullish on India as a

Voyager’s World > November 2013

great tourist destination which opens up the hospitality sector to a large extent.” “With a rising middle class, growing disposable income, an affinity for luxury brands and huge pent up demand for foreign travel, India is emblematic of the growth of most international luxury brands are seeing in this region. Our experience with our flagship Sofitel in Mumbai indicates that there is room for us to open more Sofitel hotels in the country,” he said. In the opinion of Markland, the recent trends indicate that as the Tier 1 cit-

ies start to get saturated and affected with over population, the growth over there offer large untapped potential, as they already possess the basic amenities required in establishing businesses. The ample availability of resources like land, skilled labour with the provision of connectivity helps set up shop for service providers. “A 2009 study on these emerging Tier 2 cities of India by the UK Trade & Investment Board gives a summary of why developing partnership with companies in these cities would be beneficial in the long run. At present, Sofitel has two other hotels under de-

Avsar Koc, Regional Director of Sales, India, Middle East & Africa Kempinski Ambience Hotel, Delhi said: “Kempinski opened its first hotel in Delhi at the end of last year and we are looking to expand in India as it is a growing market for luxury hotels and we have already enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Leela Hotels for many years so it is a great time to grow our brand.” “It is important for our brand to be present in primary cities, but in some locations having properties in the secondary cities, enables us to offer a full destination experience to our guests, like in Jordan where we have hotels in the capital city Amman, at the Dead Sea and in the small city of Aqaba, which allows travelers to experience the top sites of Jordan without compromising on service quality,” he stated. Raj Rana, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group states: “It is part of our strategy to further expand Carlson Rezidor brands presence in India. We have gained first mover advantage by ven-

Hospitality

29>> Rakesh Mitra

Lalit Suri Hospitality Group

People travelling to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities look for quality living and the new airports, roads play a great role in showcasing cities of the future, the availability of properties at affordable prices is attracting investors. Competition is healthy as it keeps hoteliers on their toes to provide the best services.

turing into tier II & III cities. We have various brand offerings to accomplish ROI expectations according to the size and profile of cities. “Our hotels are spread across different segments, starting from midscale, such as Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Park Plaza and the Park Inn by Radisson, going to upscale brands, Radisson & Radisson Blu.In Tier 2 and 3 cities, land is inexpensive as compared to the gateway cities in tier 1. This factor brings the cost of the project to be lower than the usual investment figures when it comes to developing world class hotels,” he added. Deepak Ohri, CEO, lebua Hotels and Resorts observed that leisure travelling had seen an upsurge in the last few years and was likely to form the back-bone of future travel. “And we have assumed the management of three properties in Rajasthan and rebranded into Devi Garh by lebua, Udaipur, lebua Resort, Jaipur and lebua Lodge at Amer, Jaipur. The cities in tier 2 and tier 3 are niche market in tourism which have witnessed phenomenal growth in last few months. The discerning Indian travelers are resorting to exotic destinations that boast unconventional services.” Rakesh Mitra,GM - Sales, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group said that tourism in India had registered significant growth over the years. India is rich in history, cultural heritage, beauty and the diversity of religion fascinates budget and luxury travellers. This has been led by growth in both leisure and business tourism. Observing the same, the group ventured into the Mid-Segment category under the brand - The Lalit Traveller. It offers all the necessary facilities and comforts for frequent travellers. Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities growth The Indian hospitality sector has grown most rapidly, along with the tourism boom. The hospitality sector

is described as one of the pillars of travel and tourism in India, every major international hotel chain has entered the Indian market to enjoy the spoils of a burgeoning domestic market as well as an international footfall that is slowly but surely increasing in numbers. Sofitel believes in the opportunities that lie in Tier 2 markets and in micro markets within large metros as cities evolve and grow. “With Tier I cities getting expensive for hotel development and the rapid growth in demand in Tier 2 cities due to the development of micro markets and SEZs, this provides tremendous encouragement to hotel developers to invest in hotel projects in these cities. The additional supply in Tier 2 cities has provided options to travellers and early returns to developers as well in most of the locations,” Markland added.

Radisson Blu, Nagpur

Avsar said that it was important for the Kempinski brand to be present in primary cities. However, in some locations having properties in the secondary cities enables them to offer a full destination experience to their guests, like in Jordan where they have hotels in the capital city Amman, at the Dead Sea and in the small city of Aqaba, which allows travellers to experience the top sites of Jordan without compromising on service quality. Raj stated that the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group had identified over 60 such smaller cities to fit into such markets. Infrastructural improvements, better connectivity and increasing commerce and domestic travel, all make these cities attractive and hotel entrepreneurs. Currently, the group has 21 hotels operational and another 25 under construction in such smaller cities. “Another point to note would be that smaller towns are often the gateway to pilgrimage centres and industrial

Radisson Blu, Amritsar www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

30>>

lebua Hotels & Resorts

Markland Blaiklock Sofitel Asia Pacific

The Indian hospitality is growing rapidlywith the tourism boom as one of the pillars of travel and tourism in India, the luxury brands focus on the Indian market, with a rising middle class and growing disposable income. lebua Hotels & Resorts belts. We recognise this and therefore Carlson Rezidor hotels have made inroads in places such as Katra, Varanasi, and Amritsar which support religious tourism; Radisson Rudrapur and Radisson Nagpur are examples of hotels catering to industrial belts in the vicinity,” Raj added. Deepak feels that the Indian luxury hospitality consumers are more price-conscious and seek optimum value. The rise of middle affluent class is now seen as a powerful phenomenon that is capable of bringing a paradigm shift in the purchase behaviour. The niche market in leisure travel are growing at a remarkable pace clearly indicating an increase in spend towards aspirational lifestyle. “Such trends entail an incredible business opportunity for us and we are excited to create an exceptional luxury hospitality experience for the Indian market.” Rakesh says that there are immense opportunities beyond the metropolitans. The availability of properties at affordable prices is attracting investors to smaller cities where returns

Voyager’s World > November 2013

are high. He said that the creations of Special Economic Zones, new airports, roads, etc. have played a key role in showcasing smaller towns into the cities of the future. People travel to these cities and look for quality living. Expected growth for 2013-2014 Sofitel Luxury Hotels plans to expand its presence in Asia with 15 new properties in the pipeline scheduled to be opened by 2015. It completed a repositioning exercise to assert itself as a luxury brand in 2011. As part of the repositioning, the group has shifted its focus on specific destinations. With 10 new hotels to open before 2015 will be in China, adding to the 18 existing Sofitel properties in the country, they are seeing a high demand in China for the type of Frenchinspired ‘art de vivre’ luxury that the Sofitel is known for. Later this year, Sofitel will open a 515-room flagship hotel in the Jing’an district of Shanghai, located close to the convention centre. It will also open its first hotel in Singapore and in the popular island destination of Bali. Sofitel So Singapore will have

the renowned fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld design the hotel’s emblem while Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua will sit on the prime stretch of beach in Nusa Dua area. The two hotels are scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2013. The group also has plans of opening two new hotels in India by 2016 – Sofitel Mulund and Sofitel So Mumbai Mulund. Mulund is an upcoming suburb of Mumbai situated in the North East of the city and nestled in the foothills of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park with easy access to the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai through the Mulund Airoli Bridge. Globally, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is on pace to grow its portfolio to 1,500 hotels in operation by 2015. In India, it has over 100 hotels in operation and pipeline and today it is the largest international hotel operator by number of hotels. It recently signed a strategic partnership with Bestech Hospitalities Pvt. Ltd and is joining forces to address the very promising mid-scale hotel market in

India by re-launching the Park Inn by Radisson brand, with the goal to develop 49 Park Inn by Radisson hotels by 2024 in north and central India. Lebua Hotels and Resorts has three properties operational in Rajasthan with a total room inventory of 140. It is exploring projects in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and New Delhi. “In India, we are asset light and will adhere to a management model,” said Deepak. The Lalit Suri Group plans to expand the brand with over 25 more hotels in the next five years across Amritsar, Pune, Dehradoon, Ludhiana and more such cities. Competition with Local Competitors Markland says Sofitel’s strength lies in its French heritage amalgamated with the local culture which helps us build our own brand differentiation and identity. Sofitel Luxury Hotels is the only international, luxury French hospitality brand in the world. It draws on the unique French art of hospitality and blends it with the very best of the local cultures where

Hospitality

31>> the brand operates its hotels to offer unique experiences to our guests and clients. “We are constantly redefining each element of the brand to offer guests a tailor made service, which represents service from the heart, enriched with our passion for excellence.” Raj opines that India is not a new market and that they have been enjoying business from India for years in their hotels across the globe, besides having worked in partnership with the Leela brand for many years already. “So, we are confident that we will be able to build on our experience and ensure that we have the best people in the business working for our hotels in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.” The Carlson Rezidor Group relies on various industry data sources and their own internal metrics to understand the markets and competitive landscape before venturing. They have also formed an owner’s council to facilitate a collaborative effort amongst Indian owners who come together and pool their views and

experiences. These forums and initiatives lead them to have a better understanding of what sells in the local market and help align their offerings to customer needs, capturing at times niche opportunities.

116 years and has remained a market leader in the luxury segment by hiring the best people in the industry, staying true to its belief that luxury is limited and not growing to big too fast and by focusing on operating luxury hotels.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel group in India offers a one stop shop with their services covering not just management of hotels but also helping owners from early stages of construction to ramped up operations.

Raj says: “First and foremost is ensuring we win the revenue battle by providing facilities and services that make guests chose us over the competition. Nothing is more important in an oversupply situation that making sure you have happy guests that choose to return and are your advocates to others. Oversupply can cause strain to owners, we help by ensuring market share is protected and operations deliver profitability. To drive top line, we currently have 10 regional sales offices in India that are geographically spanned and are able to reach out to the customers while managing relationships. In addition, we have global call centres including in India to service our hotels,” he says.

Lebua Hotels seeks to promote an unseen and unparalleled luxury hospitality experience in the Indian market. It aims to bring this alive by focusing on the quality of services offered at its hotels. Rakesh believes that competition is always healthy as it keeps hoteliers on their toes to provide the best of services. Dynamics in a competitive market There is rarely oversupply at the high end of the luxury market, where Kempinski is positioned. The group has been in the hospitality business for

The strength of their distribution system makes Carlson Rezidor a strong preferred choice for owners while considering international brands.

“We have invested significantly in the last few years in revenue generation capabilities, especially in the areas of the web and are sure that our industry leading loyalty program Club Carlson, combined with our bookers program in India called as ResAwards, will not only provide a shield in the demand supply gap but also help grow top line despite oversupply challenges,” added Raj. Deepak states: “Destination dining has been our primary business focus at lebua. Our mission is to promote a luxury hospitality experience that is unique and inimitable. By focusing on the quality of services offered at our hotels, we present our customers with a unique F&B experience. We aim to accomplish this every time they visit by. lebua is committed to continuously innovating and providing guests dining experiences that are rich in quality, luxury and exclusivity.” Rakesh concluded that market penetration and retaining the customers is the key strategy.

Raj Rana

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

The infrastructural improvements, better connectivity make cities attractive for luxury brands to expand in Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities. The smaller towns are the gateway to pilgrimage centers and industrial belts.

Radisson Blu, Indore

Radisson Blu Hotel Jaipur Airport www.voyagersworld.in

Wine Sojourns

32>>

Bangalore promises to be a great wine tourism market Ajay Shetty, MD, Myra Vineyards, talks to Voyager’s World about Myra Vineyards’ upcoming plans and the potential of India, in general, and Bangalore, in particular, as a great wine tourism market. VW BUREAU Target market

into anything that involves a fun quo-

Bangalore being a wine tourism mar-

We are looking forward to have a lot

tient. Myra is always more than will-

ket would, in turn, make Bangalore

of vineyard visits in the near future

ing to partner in activities that have

as a travel destination.

where enthusiasts and the general

a connect with the brand and share

public can experience the vineyard.

similar interests which is experimen-

Reluctant wineries in Bangalore to

As for travel agents, we want to pro-

tal and uncomplicated.

promote wine tourism

mote wine tourism in Karnataka by

What are your expansion plans?

It is an individual call. Most people

giving a real memorable experience

What is the potential of Bangalore

were not open to the concept of gas-

of vineyards which would, in turn,

as a wine tourism market?

tronomy. But with changing times and

promote Bangalore as a wine desti-

Bangalore as a wine tourism mar-

lifestyle, people are now more open

nation. The city is well connected and

ket has a great potential for several

to wine culture and the option of ex-

enjoys beautiful weather.

reasons. The first being its beautiful

perimenting with wines. It will happen

weather and Karnataka being one of

over the time gradually.

We are planning to introduce our wines at the entry level and the re-

Marketing and promotion activities

the leading states to produce some of

served level. We are currently pre-

At the moment, we are into surrogate

India’s world-class wines. Undoubt-

Role of industry and government

sent in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

advertising through CSR activities

edly the region is a perfect getaway

Wine industry needs some levy from

We aim to explore other markets in

across Mumbai and Bangalore. Myra

for the wine buffs. The Vineyards visit

the government. It has to be done the

the country too. By end of this year,

Vineyards also sponsors corporate as

would let you unwind in this tranquil

way it is promoted internationally to

we would be entering Goa and New

well as regular parties, stand up com-

natural setting and help you experi-

ensure more international travellers

Delhi. We also would be looking at

edy shows, fashion events and sports

ence Karnataka’s finest wines paired

visit India, thereby promoting India as

restaurant tie-ups, wine bars, etc.

tournaments, etc. Basically we are

with great warmth and hospitality.

a wine destination.

STUTTGART: a glass full of wine! PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

y first tryst with a winery and

huge, quiet fermentation vessels. We

red varieties- Lemberger, Spätburgunder and Trollinger.

vineyards was during a visit to

were lucky enough to climb onto the

Stuttgart in Germany. We started our

railings on top to have an overhead

wine tour with a halt at Rilling, a spar-

look. Meticulous efforts go into keep-

Our next halt was at Weinbaumuseum

kling wine winery situated in Stuttgart-

ing the winery clean, said the guide;

Stuttgart or the Museum of Vinicul-

Bad Cannstatt along the banks of Riv-

for even an intrusion as tiny as an in-

ture at the foot of the Württemberg;

er Neckar. It is a traditional family-run

sect can adversely affect the resultant

an unassuming building that can be

winery known for shaping sparkling

taste of the wines. He said that spar-

mistaken for a café. Established in

wine production in Germany with tech-

kling wine takes six months to ripen

1979, it throws light on 2000 years of

nical innovations.

on yeast. The winery also has a small

the history of wine-growing with equip-

café in the premises. We were treated

ment, maps and other historic docu-

When we entered inside, we became

to their signature white and red wines

ments. We sampled some wines from

aware of a swing in the temperature;

along with pretzels.

this region at the museum’s vinothek.

obviously because the grapes need

Voyager’s World > November 2013

A vinothek means a wine shop in Ger-

to be pressed in cool conditions.

A short drive uphill towards a burial

The grapes that go into the making

chapel on Württemberg hill, provided

of these wines and champagne are

verdant and visually soothing views of

Some more pretzels and Trollinger, a

sourced from various vineyards in the

vineyards along the Neckar valley. The

fruity, light red wine, chilled just to my

Württemberg region. Unfortunately,

vineyards were planted by Roman em-

liking, completed my first winery tour.

the factory was not functioning during

perors in the region in the 3rd century

The wineries sell wine glasses and

our visit, as it was off-season. Hence,

AD. The chief wine varieties grown in

small wine bottles that can be safely

we had to make do with gazing at

the Stuttgart Region presently are the

taken home as souvenirs.

man.

Hospitality

33>>

Solapur bets on corporate traffic Berzin Master, General Manager, Balaji Sarovar Premiere, Solapur, shares with Voyager’s World the expectations and plans with the new venture in Solapur. come every corporate guest to patronize our quintessential hospitality. Also, for the city residents, our USP is banqueting and the response, so far, is very positive. The residents of the city are well travelled and know the essence of five-star hospitality. Solapur has good future prospects as an upcoming city of Maharashtra in the coming years. The re-introduction of the domestic flight services in future shall give a fillip to the city. What is your expectation from Solapur, this being the group’s first venture there? Solapur is a well-diversified growing corporate market. The movement of corporate guests to Solapur from Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and other cities is well laid out. International corporate movement is also increasing marginally. At Balaji Sarovar Premiere, we wel-

What are your efforts to promote this here? Adding value to our product is the key for promotion. Professional and friendly service from the staff is required foremost. Regular training plays a very important part to achieve this. Penetration in the corporate market offering five-star service is the next

step for long term business association. Prithvi - our pillar-less banquet venue measuring 8,000 sq. ft. will attract wedding banquets and large conferencing. What is the expected room occupancy and bookings for the next one year We expect to achieve moderate occupancy around 50% for the first year. Target markets and distribution channels Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad are our target markets. Sarovar enjoys good market coverage and penetration with a vast network of sales and marketing set ups across the country. OTAs too shall play an important role in promoting nearby religious tourism. What do you think are the challenges that you are likely to face to

penetrate in this market On the travel front, lack of domestic airport operation restricts the influx into the city. Being a non-metro city, attracting skilled staff to settle here is also a challenge. We are dependent on Pune and Mumbai markets for many operational raw materials. Promoting the restaurants among the locals Courtyard - our all-day dining multicuisine restaurant has been well received. Shortly, our authentic Schezwan restaurant - The Oriental Blossom will be operational. This will be the first such specialty restaurant here. The city has a spicy palette and Schezwan dishes shall add to the spiciness. Periodic promotions and food festivals shall be an attraction for the resident guests to relish and experience different cuisines.

halloween feast: of ‘spooky’ airs and surprising flavours PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

raditional Halloween jack-o’-lanterns carved from pumpkins and oranges, spooky masks and haunting menus illustrated the Halloween Feast at the La Brasserie coffee shop at the Le Meridien Bangalore. The starters consisted of Haunted pond soup (vegetable roasted pumpkin soup), Graveyard goulash (lamb); Vampire fingers with devils blood dip (fish fingers with tartar sauce); Crunchy bones (crispy fried chicken wings) and Charred horror mushrooms (stuffed grilled mushrooms). The salads, too, had chilling titles such as the Devils eye with red vine vinaigrette (stuffed eggs ); Evil dagger with munchy mummy dip (crudités with dip); Fungus Among Us Salad; Crunchy bean salad and Ghostly greens. The garnishes of the dishes, especially the main course, lent a spooky look to the items, in the form of ghostly faces and brown and red sauces as

accompaniments. The non-vegetarian dishes consisted of Hell roasted witch in sealed pot (dum ka murgh); Brain food(lamb brain with spices); Zombie fingers tossed with peppers; Bloody eye balls(fish cakes with chunky tomato sauce); Ghostly eyeball in hot witch cider (Lamb dumplings in B B Sauce); Ghostly biriyani (dum gosht biriyani). The vegetarian section also added to the eerie elements, with the menu comprising Calcannon(mash potatos with cabbage); Evil spirit lasagna; Pan tossed worms (pan tossed vegetable noodles) and Thai style pumpkin curry. The lasagna with curried pumpkin and peas curry brought out the best flavours of the cheeses and the mild sweetness of the curried pumpkin. The Dead fly and worm rice, raisin and fried noodles, with Bat eye lentils (lobia masala) was soft on the palate, contrary to its scary appearance. Other dishes included Witch fingers (ladies finger tossed with salt

and pepper); Zombie special l(slice carrot ,zucchini, mushroom ,grilled and tossed in teriyaki sauce); White squash with black bean and chilli; Halloween stuffed peppers; Leech kofta in pickled phantom sauce (subzi achari kofta); Banshee earth vegetable mix (mix veg methi dry); Witch cheese immersed in blood sauce (paneer makhan). On the desserts side, the Grave yard gateaux, Halloween cupcakes simply melted in the mouth. Other sweets included Black eye macrons, Glass of blood (raspberry soup), red velvet

cake, Wraith of chocolate, pumpkin cheese cake and soul cake. Worth mentioning is the ‘kala jamoon’ covered with a web of caramel on top and aptly titled as Spider web and devils night. The hotel’s Sous Chef Ajith Cheruvattath said: “Keeping in mind the preferences of the guests, many being foreigners, we created the menu using mild spices to cater to their palates. We used various spices of different cuisines to impart rich, dark colours to the items, to give an international savor.”

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Backpacking

34>>

Backpacking: go explore!

Backpacking culture in India is very niche, yet it is a major segment that can be promoted to the youth segment IRENE SUSAN EAPEN ackpacker tourism is a fast growing segment, as observed by National tourism organizations (NTOs). A backpacker gets to spend more and stay longer exploring the country with different activities. Most of them belong to the age group of 18-35 years, with a love for travel and are adventurous by nature. Tourism sector promoting backpackers Some of the countries that are popular among backpackers include New Zealand, Turkey, Spain and Germany. The vast landscapes, breathtaking vistas and fascinating cultures solicit explorers. Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager - South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand said: “New Zealand is an amazing country and a dream-come-true for youth travellers. There are no rules when it comes to backpacking around New Zealand. The largest groups of youth travellers aged between 18- 29 years are holiday and sightseeing tourists (42.9%).”

“Backpacker accommodation forms 35.3% of total youth travellers. The youth sector represents significant

Voyager’s World > November 2013

growth opportunities to the New Zealand tourism industry. Accounting for nearly 25% of annual arrivals, the youth traveller typically stays here longer, travels widely and gets involved in a range of activities. Backpackers often return to their favourite backpacking countries in years to come, bringing their partner and/or family with them,” she said. Ozgur Ayturk, Culture and Tourism Counselor, Turkish Embassy, India said that the backpacking culture in India is relatively recent but an extremely fast growing sector. “Backpackers spend more, travel further and stay longer than other travellers. They are undemanding, partake in a number of activities and often have unique experiences and stories to tell and therefore, are an important target for us. With more and more youngsters being bitten by the travelling bug, the growing adventurous nature and disposable income, backpacks are an important segment to promote tourism in India.” Arturo Ortiz Arduán, Tourism Counselor & Director, Tourism Office of Spain says: “The backpacker segment travelers of Spain are the ones who choose to do the Way of Saint

Mountain Biking, Turkey

Backpacking Mischa Mannix-Opie Tourism New Zealand

New Zealand an amazing country and dream come true for youth travelers and there are no rules for backpacking around New Zealand. Indian travellers enjoy adrenaline activities such as jet-boating, skydiving and scenic activities like scenic flights and cruises. James or Camino de Santiago on foot, by bike, on horseback. A few of the World Heritage Sites to be noted on this route are Monasteries of Yuso and Suso, Burgos Cathedral, Atapuerca archaeological site, Vizcaya suspension bridge, The Palaeolithic cave art of the Cantabrian Coas, Roman walls in Lugo and the Old town of Santiago de Compostela.” He further explained that El Camino de Santiago was a star product for all ages, nationalities, cultures, and the Green Spain was for nature lovers, so also the rugged Picos de Europa in Asturias and Cantabria, the Cares River, or the majestic valleys of the Pyrenees in Catalonia, Navarra and Aragon. The hiking surrounded by the beautiful vineyards of La Rioja or the Basque Country is another option. The Spanish core also offers a variety of landscapes, both in Castilla y Leon

with the collosal peaks of their mountain ranges or their river canyons, and Madrid whose routes will take you to monuments like the Monastery of El Escorial, Extremadura through which passes the famous route called Way of Silver, with its well-known artistic heritage and Castilla-La Mancha whose plains allow the visitor to see the entire horizon and routes that cross the lands of the famous Don Quijote. The entire Mediterranean coast is also a wonderful choice for hiking. One can also consider exploring interior routes like the Sierra Nevada near the beach, Murcia with its typical vegetable garden landscapes and the Autonomous Region of Valencia with its multiple wetlands and large seaside lagoons. The Augusta Way is ideal for those interested in the traces of the Roman Empire in Spain. The Iberian Peninsula covers 1,500 km of

Green Ways. The Canary Islands on foot or the Balearic Islands are other routes. Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales & Marketing, German National Tourist Office (GNTO), says: “There has been a great increase in the number of backpackers travelling internationally. Having high disposable income, youngsters are free, independent and adventurous. Despite the reputation of backpackers as tourists on tight budgets, they spend more, travel further and stay longer than other travellers. The typical backpacker is young, of the age group of 18-35 years, educated and price-conscious. Most backpackers use the wide variety of hostels as they prefer to spend as little as possible for accommodation; they also want value for money and may not always choose the cheapest available.”

He notes that most of the travel finances of backpackers are spent on other activities. Budget travellers usually seek accommodation in the hub of a town/city or in close proximity to sites and attractions. Backpackers may also be attracted by the opportunity to stay in remote and picturesque locations that offer an alternative tourist experience, but unless there is availability of public transport and good promotion, they are unlikely to find their way in sufficient numbers to such spots. Geographical break-up of backpackers TURKEY: • In Turkey, Istanbul is packed with ancient sites and great backpacker experiences. • In Cappadocia, the sun rises over this mystical landscape while hot-air balloons hover overhead. You can look at incredible rock formations and stay in them. • Pamukkale is a natural site containing hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. • Butterfly Valley is a stunning little bay, at the bottom of a steep gorge, between two towering cliffs. It stretches out in a V-shape, ending in a sweep of pristine beach. • Gallipoli Battlefields includes Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair Memorials, ANZAC Cove, Johnston’s Jolly, original trenches and tunnels and the Nek. • Ephesus is one of the most important regions of Izmir, the most famous Greek city of the ancient times and home to the largest temple of Artemis.

35>>

www.voyagersworld.in

Backpacking

36>>

Arturo Ortiz Arduán Tourism Office of Spain.

Backpacking in Spain can be done on foot, by bike and on horseback and a paradise for hikers searching for landscape diversity and the old railroad resorted for cyclists and hikers.

AUSTRALIA: Paramjit Bawa, Country Manager - India, Destination New South Wales, says: “The destinations visited in Australia by the Indian Youth Market are Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Brisbane. In Sydney, the Indian youth market likes to visit Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi, Chinatown and the Sydney Aquarium.” Marketing strategies and promotions Tourism New Zealand has significantly increased its presence within the sector since 2010 in the youth market. A specialist youth focused team has been established to market tourism to the youth market. Campaigns are localized to ensure messaging for targeting audience. The global youth markets’ predisposition to share information through social and digital media is believed to ensure that all activity resonates on a global scale, irrespective of geographical constraints. On the other hand, Turkey has

Voyager’s World > November 2013

launched a pan-India advertising campaign called ‘Million Reasons’ to reach out to Indian tourists by showcasing the enchanting and rich experiential offerings of Turkey. The campaign includes a 30-second TV advertisement supported by online, print and outdoor elements. It is visually appealing and showcases the rich cultural and travel experience. Turkey also looks forward to launching online campaigns in a big way. A website designed specifically for Indian travellers will be launched very soon along with a number of contests online and on social media. Tourism Office of Spain promotes products such as luxury hostels like Su U Hostel in Madrid with rooms of high quality at low prices, starting at 17 Euros, on sharing basis, as well as the hostel box in Barcelona. It is also promoting Airbnb, an online platform that allows a traveller to search accommodation at a destination at affordable prices, offering both hotel

and apartment/house accommodations. Backpackers Spain - http:// www.backpackerspain.com offers you a whole list of hostel accommodation in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia and Zaragoza. Besides accommodation, they provide all the information that you would require as a backpacker to be able to get around the city for an unforgettable experience in Spain. Germany has set the theme of 2013 as ‘Germany for Young people’, with a whole lot of promotional activities around this theme. For backpackers, a superb Mobile App is available free from Google Play, detailing more than 1300 youth hotspots in Germany. There is also a youth microsite, www. germany.travel/youth, with information on cafes and restaurants, music, entertainment and events. GNTO is also promoting the Fairytale Route that follows the Brothers Grimm trail and is being very well

received by youngsters. 2013 also happens to be the 200th anniversary of the legendary composer Richard Wagner. Hence, a host of musical events are happening all over Germany that would be of great interest to music aficionados. Self-drive holiday is also another focus for backpackers, given the excellent road network, scenic routes and charming wayside large and small towns in Germany. Offers for backpackers New Zealand offers backpackers and campers the option of camping in holiday parks or in Department of Conservation, a concept that is similar to the India National Park Service camping grounds and other designated areas which are spread throughout the country. Hostels and accommodation options are Base Backpacker Hostels, Nomads Hostels, YHA Hostels. New Zealand has a range of motels and hotels across the whole country. Motels are attractive as they provide cooking facilities within the visitor’s own unit that can be searched from online travel sites like Wotif, Orbitz.com and Expedia. com. The camping holiday parks provide areas for camper vans to park and connect with electricity and communal kitchens and bathrooms. For backpacking in Turkey, the evisa procedure is convenient and smooth which was started a couple of months back. With this system, they can get their visa online within a couple of minutes without going to the Embassy in New Delhi or the Consulate in Mumbai by logging on to the link www.evisa.gov.tr. Arturo says the luxury hostels attract

Backpacking

37>> Ozgur Ayturk Turkish Embassy

Backpacking culture is a fast growing sector with unique experiences and stories to tell others. Backpackers spend more, travel further and stay longer than other travelers. Turkey offers breathtaking natural beauty, unique historical and archaeologi© Tourism Office of Spain

cal places. Indians are looking at newer destinations to visit and Turkey is a good destination.

backpackers. Germany is known for affordable hospitality. The choice of accommodation is geared to the needs of backpackers. It has many youth hostels that offer entertainment, activity and outdoor pursuits. The A&O hostels provide budget accommodation in city-centre locations.

One can explore the area with a welcome card. Another offer comes with Hochschwarzwald Card, with access to over 60 fantastic visitor attractions in the region free of charge, such as a Ski pass for the Feldberg Ski Resort, entry to the Spa and Water Paradise, the Steinwasen Adventure Park, a boat cruise on the lakes Titisee and Schluchsee and golf, all offering free travel, free entrance.

tination for the Indian youth market, attracting half (50%) of all Indian youth visitors to Australia. It attracts 32% of all Indian youth market nights in Australia (vs. Victoria 41%). The Indian youth market contributes 40% of all Indian nights in NSW, due to the long average length of stay of those coming to NSW for visiting friends and relatives (VFR), education and employment. “The most popular reasons for the youth market to visit NSW were for a holiday (39%), VFR (24%), followed by business (15%), employment (14%) and education (11%). Unlike young people from other countries such as the UK, Germany, USA, France and Korea who are NSW’s largest backpacker markets, there is not any substantial number of backpackers to Australia from India as yet,” he added.

Expectations for 2013-2014 Mischa states: “The total arrivals from India to New Zealand for the year ended August 2013 were 29,872 +0.5%, compared to 29,712 in 2012 and 28,568 in 2011. TNZ is quadrupling its investment in India over the next three years and increasing its programme across the full range of the marketing mix. Tourism New Zealand is seeking significant growth for the next three years.”

However, NSW expects to see an increase in visitors from India with the Air India arriving in Sydney in August for the first time in more than 20 years. The new Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne route begins as Australia’s only direct air link to India but many Indian visitors travel to Sydney with Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines and on the Jet Airways/ Qantas service through Singapore.

Paramjit said: “In this year till June 2013, there were 75,000 Indian visitors to New South Wales up 6.5% from the previous year, of whom 30% were youth visitors aged 15-29 years. There were an estimated 22,600 Indian youth visitors to NSW this year, who spent 1.4 million nights in the state with an expenditure estimated at $74 million.” NSW is the top Australian State des-

Tourism New Zealand will launch brand only communications in India this year plus advertising campaign and trade partnerships to develop the leisure segment and the business events (MICE) sector. The India cricket tour to New Zealand in January and February 2014 plus the Cricket World Cup that New Zealand and Australia will host in 2015 also offer media opportunities to build New

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Backpacking

38>>

Cross Country Skiing

Romit Theophilus

German National Tourist Office

Backpackers are attracted by the opportunity to stay in remote and picturesque locations that offer an alternative tourist experience. . A typical backpacker is Segway Tour in Berlin Zealand profile in India. Turkey has witnessed an annual 20%+ growth rate from India. This year, too, it is expecting a similar growth rate and a better one in 2014. Spain set a record this July with 34 million tourist arrivals in Spain, an increase of 3.9% on last year. 7.9 million people visited in July, up 2.9% from July 2012. All segments of tourists are increasing with the growth in terms of tourist arrivals in Spain.

airfares. However, New Zealand does have a working holiday visa scheme which is open to a range of countries. One can check http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/ workingholiday/

Germany had a growth of 13.6 % in the last two years. Keeping the current economic situation in mind, a growth of 7% is expected in 2014. GNTO is targeting a 10% overall growth this year.

The visa procedures are valid equally for all the travellers to Turkey. Depending upon the purpose of the visit like study, work, business, leisure etc, all the travellers have to submit the required documents. The only exception, to a certain extent, is for the ones who have a valid US, UK, Schengen or any OECD country’s visa on their passports, who can get their visa online or on arrival. Having a residence permit from these countries is also accepted for online and on arrival visa to Turkey.

Benefits in terms of visa policies and air fares For backpack travel to New Zealand, there are no special visa policies and

Backpackers come to NSW on a Working Holiday Maker Visa. However, India is not one of the countries with which Australia has a reciprocal

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Working Holiday Maker Visa arrangement as yet. Fall in Indian rupee In the opinion of Mischa, TNZ is closely monitoring this change currently. “Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily affect the market of visitors, but it might have an impact on how long travellers stay in NZ, or how much money they spend for the visit. Some travel agents have stated that they are finding New Zealand more appealing as the New Zealand dollar is more stable compared with other currencies.” Ozgur sees that younger travellers and backpackers have continued to travel even during the economic downturn, thus showing the strength of the sector. Backpackers usually plan their trips way in advance, but are open to change of plan or itinerary. Also, the value of the Indian Rupee vis-à-vis Turkish Lira has remained almost the same through the

last few months. Hence, the Indian traveler has not lost out through fluctuating rates. The traveller, in fact, receives a greater value for money by spending it in Turkey. Arturo informs that the fall in Indian rupee has not affected this segment to a large extent since price is never an issue when in Spain. Spain offers luxurious accommodation at competitive prices. Hence, not only backpackers but the tourist segments also are not bound to get affected by the fall in the rupee. Romit notes that the fall in the Indian rupee, as well as the increase in air fare, has impacted all segments of the outbound travel market and the agents are reporting decreased business. “However, it is hoped that with the corrective economic measures being taken by the Indian government, all the markets will become steady in the near future. Outbound

young, educated and price conscious.

Backpacking

39>>

ing a clean and unpolluted environment, and feeling relaxed and rejuvenated,” says Mischa.

Backpackers in Santiago de Compostela should be able to fully recover as the Indian economy continues to grow regardless of these temporary hurdles.” “Tourism New Zealand’s visitor satisfaction surveys show a high satisfaction rate for youth/backpacker visitors

(around 9/10). New Zealand has a plethora of accommodation options like hotels / hostels which suit the needs of backpackers like Base in Queenstown where the tariff is around INR 1226 per person per night. Indian travellers enjoy participating in a range

of tourism experiences whilst they are in New Zealand including adrenaline activities such as jet-boating and skydiving, or more scenic activities such as scenic flights and cruises. Indians mostly associate New Zealand with a place to get in touch with nature, hav-

Ozgur said: “Turkey has breathtaking natural beauty, unique historical and archaeological places, some of the best hotel and touristic infrastructure and a tradition of hospitality and competitive prices. Backpackers have numerous opportunities to gather memories and experience something uniquely Turkish. From culture and heritage to skiing, adventure and shopping, Turkey has something for everyone. Backpackers want to indulge in a deluge of activities and experiences and Turkey offers them that complete package. Moreover, airlines, especially Turkish Airlines, have direct flights which provide Indian travellers easy connectivity to Turkey. Many other airlines, too, now have convenient flights that enable passengers from India to reach most destinations in Turkey within the same day, thus saving them precious time. With direct and easily accessible flights to Istanbul, Antalya, Ankara, Agri, Adiyaman, Adana there has been a boost in the segment.

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Festival Watch

40>>

Festivals of

Hagoita-Ichi (Battledore Fair) Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo

17-19 December, 2013

Shichi-Go-San All over Japan

The Black-necked Crane Festival 11 November, 2013 Phobjikha valley, Bhutan

Loi Krathong Thailand

enso-ji Temple in Asakusa is one of the most famous sightseeing spots in Tokyo. The Hagoita-Ichi (Battledore Fair) is an annual fair held in its precincts at the end of the year. Near the Hondo or main hall of Senso-ji Temple, some 50 open-air stalls selling hagoita (battledores), shuttlecocks, kites and other New Year decorations stand huddled together, and numerous people gather here from all over the country. A hagoita is a rectangular board with a handle used for playing a New Year game called hanetsuki. It is a kind of game hitting badminton shuttlecocks with large ping-pong rackets.

he Annual Black-necked Crane festival is celebrated in the courtyard of Gangtey Gonpa, in Phobjikha valley to celebrate the arrival of this endangered bird during the winter months. It is organized to generate awareness to conserve the endangered bird; provide an avenue for the local community to renew their commitment to conservation, and showcase their cultural heritage and skills. The festival includes cultural programmes as folk songs and dances and mask dances, crane dances and environmental conservationthemed dramas and songs by the school children.

Voyager’s World > November 2013

15 November, 2013

hichi-Go-San is also known as Children’s Shrine Visiting Day and is celebrated throughout Japan on the 15th of November. This is a ceremonial visit paid by parents and children to their tutelary shrines to offer gratitude for the healthy growth of the children. Celebrations are carried out on November 15th for boys who reach the age of 3 or 5, or for girls who turn 3 or 7 years old. The custom is for the children to dress in their best clothes, and to carry Chitose-ame which are long thin candy sticks colored in red and white, believed to bring good luck.

17 November, 2013

oi Krathong, is a festival of light, that takes place on the full moon night that occurs between the 11th and 12th months of the Thai Lunar Calendar – a day when rivers see their highest tide and the moon is in its brightest avatar. One lights the candles and the joss sticks, makes wishes and sends them floating along. Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River is among the key sites for the festival with a boat procession and illuminated historic structures on either side of the river. The biggest Loy Krathong celebration will take place at Sukhothai Historical Park in the Sukhothai province with a light and sound presentation.

41>>

the World Northern Lights Festival November 15- January 4, 2014 Ontario, Canada

San Diego Beer Week USA

n award winning display of Christamas lights in Ontario, the Northern Lights festival is all about being surrounded by the magic of over70,000 sparkling hills illuminating the night skies over the Owen sound.

Festival Watch

01 -10 November, 2013

Tourists and local will be able to enjoy 25 kilometres of lights from the harbour through downtown continuing into Harrison Park-join visitors from far and wide who come every year to celebrate the holiday season in the heart of Grey and Bruce Counties.

an Diego Beer Week promotes San Diego’s thriving craft beer culture by sponsoring a 10-day countywide festival that attracts beer tourism, fosters knowledge of our regional brewing heritage, and serves as a showcase for San Diego’s breweries, restaurants, pubs, and other businesses with ties to the craft beer community. San Diego Beer Week in its mere four years has played a pivotal role in spreading the word about the festival, which have drawn increased crowds and participation and associated with craft beer. Hundreds of beer-centric events take place throughout the county.

Subios- Festival of the Sea Seychelles

Christmas Day Parade Walt Disney World Resort

22-24 November, 2013

eychelles’ Festival of the Sea is a celebration of Seychelles’ extraordinary marine heritage and the many ways that locals and visitors interact with the ocean around them. The new SUBIOS motto ‘People and the Ocean: Striving for a sustainable partnership’, focuses on the importance of maintaining a healthy symbiotic relationship between man and the ocean. This year many activities are planned related to the sea world besides the famous underwater photography and videography competition and presentations by reputed visiting speakers. Water sports and fishing will also feature on the SUBIOS agenda.

08 Nov 2013 to 05, 2014

alt Disney World Resort offers some of the most elaborate of seasonal festivities, with more than 1,300 decorated trees and 8.5 million lights strung throughout the property. For several weeks around the holidays, guests celebrate the season with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom Park, Holidays Around the World at Epcot, and the dazzling Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests can also ring in the New Year with a variety of entertainment, including the Electrical Parade and special dining events across Disney.

www.voyagersworld.in

Private Jets

42>>

Indian sky opens up to private jets Private jets are slowly making an entry into India’s tourism landscape VW BUREAU

rivate aviation in India is taking off gradually, combating rising fuel costs and competition the same way as its commercial counterpart. Niche markets including High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and Ultra HNWI, business travellers as well as emerging markets from Tier 1 and 2 cities, provide ample runway for the sector.

With India undertaking so many infrastructure projects and looking at becoming a manufacturing base, Shailendra expects a lucrative future for the sector. This, along with the rate of growth of the Indian middle class and the entrepreneurial nature of Indian business, would make it difficult to argue with the industry prediction.

Trends and demands in India Shailendra Seth, Director-India, Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Pvt Ltd observes that after the 2009-’10 slump, the private jet market had made a gradual recovery as the HNWI and big corporates start considering their travel plans that were put on hold due to the global recession. “The demand for private jets has increased from unconventional Tier 1 and 2 cities which are not dominated by lifestyle needs and these cities are expanding in terms of wealth. The demand for private jet is largely driven by the economic growth of the region; and one of the main reasons is the property boom in India. It is definitely beneficial to Indian tourism as it boosts the connectivity to remote locations and can be taken at odd hours also. Also many tourists demand privacy, which only a private jet can offer.”

Rising fuel costs and competition While business analysts envisage a good prospect for private aviation, this sector is not spared either from the challenges of rising fuel costs and competition. Rajeev Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Baron Aviation (Division of Baron Luxury and Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd) says: “Rising fuel cost is not just the only factor but there are other challengers as well in the general aviation space and those are more of business issues .In the last 18 months, the cost of flying and operations have gone up by 14% but the hourly charter price has hardly been increased due to poor customer demand. Competition in charter space is in largely from un-organised sector.”

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Shailendra tells us that while on the one hand, Indian aviation is marred by overcapacity with many corporates

buying jets, other factors like high airport charges and foreign carriers, too, add to its woes. He advocates that the government needs to proactive in promoting aviation, especially private jet aviation.” There is a strong need for government to pitch in and protect/ promote especially private aviation and promoting the number of airports especially in regards to private aviation that are under-utilized.”

Baron is working hard to organise this market in India by consolidating the aircraft inventory, aggregating customers and making the approach professional for the quality of services to match with the global standards. Frequented destinations Chapman Freeborn reveals that the USA, intra-Europe and Africa are its most requested sectors. It also serves

Shailendra Seth

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Pvt Ltd

The government must pitch in and promote private aviation and the number of private airports that are under-utilized.

Private Jets

43>> Rajiv Wadhwa Baron Aviation

In the last 18 months, the hourly charter price has hardly been increased on account of poor customer demand. flights within India for select clientele. Baron Aviation flies to many Virgin Islands and says that most of the business travel destinations are in the outskirts of the city. Services for leisure segments “The experience of an exclusive flight extends to the cuisine offered onboard. All the catering options can be discussed and selected in advance with the clients before the departure dates. Menus can be tailor made to suit the individual taste of the group. This includes champagne in the case of international flights. We can also provide onboard flight managers. Also the aircrafts can be used for special

events like corporate promotions, product launches, joy rides as incentives, etc,” said Shailendra. Baron Aviation designs leisure packages with short haul as well as long haul destinations based on the customer’s requirement. Most of its leisure segment offerings are with private jet and helicopters and cater only to the Ultra HNWI segments. Of late South Africa has seen rising demand and so have resorts in Philippines for short haul holidays and the Caribbean islands. However, Rajeev says that this does not take away the focused luxury professional shopping in Italy, Paris and lazy stay away in Switzerland.

Promotional efforts in India Baron has invested significantly into marketing and sales of charter market in India and has been promoting its business aggressively with online and offline tools and applications to reach out to its customers. “We do cover the market with significant amount of investments in our customer’s interactions and create innovative travel products that involve private flying like ultimate anniversary short haul or women related programmes like kitty party in air.” In the same way, Chapman Freeborn is currently trying to capture more of the passenger side. It is trying to build awareness in the market and do lot of

media coverage in travel magazines, besides being active online and engaging in social media. Partnerships are another medium from which it is trying to penetrate in untouched market. Presently based in Delhi, Chapman Freeborn is looking at expanding its operations in Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai by next year, in the wake of competition. This apart, it recently tied up with Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines so as to make Bhutan more accessible to international private jet travellers. - See more at: http://www.voyagersworld.in/article/indian-sky-opensprivate-jets#sthash.itXogaAd.dpuf

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WTM

44>>

WTM 2013: huge visitor turn-out compared to last year VW BUREAU

he first three days of World Travel

2013 across the first three days.

Market 2013 experienced an im-

These figures demonstrate the power

pressive overall delegate increase of

and importance of WTM to the indus-

5%, covering increases in all major

try and the role it plays in facilitating

delegate categories.

business for sector.

The first day (Monday 4 November)

“World Travel Market 2013 will facili-

of WTM 2013 was a resounding suc-

tate more than £2 billion in industry

cess with invite-only visitor attend-

deals and is poised to the best-ever

ance up 12% on last year’s event to

attended.”

almost 9,000 (8,916). Day four saw another packed Speed The Monday of WTM is an exhibitor

Networking Session with hundreds of

invite-only day with the aim of allow-

buyers and sellers keen to meet and

ing exhibitors to hold discussions and

discuss business deals. Many had at-

negotiations with those buyers that

tended previous networking sessions

they want to conduct business with.

at WTM and were keen to repeat the

On Tuesday 5 November, 18,292

experience as it offered the chance to

sions first thing while tips and tools

just judge it on numbers. You have to

visitors came to WTM, a massive 7%

make valuable, targeted contacts in a

for bloggers and using bloggers took

be dynamic and show that you are al-

increase on the second day of last

concentrated period, which enabled

care of the second part of the day (7

ways listening.”

year’s event. Tuesday is the busiest

them to chase lucrative leads later at

November).

day of WTM as it is the first day the

the show.

event is open to the whole industry

A session on video and mobile also A session on Social Media Success-

drew a large crowd with panellists

following on from the exhibitor-invite

Vikas Khanduri, Chief Executive, Holi-

es, organised by Travel Perspective,

addressing how travel companies

only policy on the Monday.

day Merchants, commented: “Last

threw the spotlight on the many dif-

can stop consumers, constantly bom-

year was very, very good - the best

ferent ways travel companies can

barded with information, from skip-

Wednesday 6 November experienced

part of WTM. There are good, tar-

take advantage of social networks.

ping through marketing messages.

a 5% increase in visitors to 14,324,

geted suppliers to meet and we get

Sarah Rathbone, Client Services Di-

Experts threw out numbers on how

compared to the same day at WTM

deals from the most serious people -

rector of public relations firm Siren

consumers are increasingly engag-

2012.

they are to the point.”

Communications, urged companies

ing with media using a number of de-

to use the medium for anything from

vices simultaneously – 80% of people

Reed Travel Exhibitions, Senior Direc-

The final day of the Travel Tech Show

reaching new audiences and increas-

with tablets use them while watching

tor, World Travel Market, Simon Press

at WTM was a game of two halves -

ing engagement to driving loyalty

television and 78% of smartphone

said: “I am absolutely delighted with

creative content which engages con-

and changing perceptions. “Success

owners view content while watching

the delegate attendance of WTM

sumers and drives loyalty led discus-

comes in many different forms, don’t

television.

Voyager’s World > November 2013

Miscellany

45>>

Pine Krafts: Providing end-to-end design solutions Ramit Naahar, Director, Pine Krafts India Pvt Ltd Gurgaon, speaks about the company’s various offerings and the great potential offered by the market VW BUREAU Hence, it is a lot of ‘Concept Sell-

ries and marketing modules. We are

important to be in tune with the times

ing’, as it is important to create a

ourselves working on various mod-

and the best calibrator is the custom-

market awareness of the products

ules for marketing like Shop in shop;

er, his satisfaction is our goal.

and services we are offering. The

Web-based marketplace; Direct to

old world furniture and construction

customer vide retail through compa-

Growth rate and forecast

techniques will not vanish but the

ny-owned outlet; B2B for our projects

We are very unique on 3 counts a)

new way forward is stylish, modular,

in the tourism industry; creating cus-

our creative support and design ap-

lighter furniture and time effective

tomer knowledge base and increas-

proach, and b) our product deliv-

construction solutions.

ing our visibility vide exhibitions.

erables, and c) our post-fabrication

The market is on the tipping point.

To make people familiarize with this

The only way forward is change. With

international décor statement an

our range of Pinewood Furniture and

exhibition was launched in Gurgaon.

Major customer segments

pre-fabricated Pinewood Cottages we

The inaugural autumn collection Se-

For our B2B, we would like to focus in

are geared at providing a complete

ries 1 that opened on 15th Septem-

a major way towards the tourism in-

end-to-end designed solution.

ber 2013 at Epicenter in Gurgaon

dustry. The tourism Industry respects

was about COLOURS.

Green Products, Solutions and Initia-

maintenance services in the case of

Present market in India For the business that we are into – Pinewood Cottages and Furniture manufacturing- we are the only ones in the country. The idea of white wood furniture is very new in our country, though it has been existing abroad for a very long time.

Marketing campaigns

pinewood cottages.

tives. Here, we are using wood which

It is a very dynamic market in our

Further, we exhibited for three suc-

is from a renewable forest resource

country and we are witnessing the

cessive weekends at Galleria, DLF IV

and hence the products are com-

evolution of new business bounda-

Gurgaon for our festive launch. It is

pletely green in nature.

www.voyagersworld.in

Incredible India

46>>

ANS App: Savour India’s historical gems Voyager’s World speaks to Peter Bolesza, Vice President of NNG about the utility of Historical Monuments and Local Guide databases in the ANS Navigation App. India and its thriving tourism industry VW BUREAU

India and its thriving tourism industry India is known to be a melting pot of different cultures, languages and religions. Its rich history, cultural and geographical diversity make the country’s international tourism appeal large and diverse. As per statistics, over six million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2011, an increase of almost 9% from 2010. iGO Navigation software solutions help these growing numbers of tourists to connect and explore the diverse and rich geography that India is characterised by. Reason for Historical Monuments and Local Guide databases in ANS Navigation App The Historical Monuments database with more than 3,700 entries not only unfolds the vast cultural heritage of India at your fingertips, but also allows you to visualise and understand the significance of the monuments by means of richer content such as descriptions, pictures and visiting times. And with over 1,300 Points of Interest (POI), the India Local Guide helps you to not only navigate easily on the Indian roads and across multiple lanes, but to also access POI information (POI name, category, address and phone number) of your destinations. It tells you about all the interesting places relating to entertainment, leisure, dining, hospital services, etc. in 35 Indian cities. Facilitating tourism in India The Historical Monuments and Local Guide databases support the tourist’s

Voyager’s World > November 2013

urge to discover the country through reliable navigation instructions and helpful background information. Seeing a picture of the destination within the navigation app, knowing its visiting hours, enjoying access to historical facts, all add up to a pleasant India experience without negative surprises. Not going in circles trying to find the destination means tourists can use their valuable travel time to admire India’s treasures and enjoy its beauty. Updating the database Yes, definitely. Updating a database is a process that never comes to a halt; the ANS Navigator App for iPhone with NNG’s iGO Navigation Engine is updated regularly, this includes free map and content updates. As with all iPhone apps iTunes will let you know when an update is available for download. Other devices in the pipeline for the travel space Next in the pipeline is a new range of Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) by ANS and NNG to be available on the Indian market by September 2013. The devices come equipped with NNG’s iGO primo navigation software and its latest features for India such as the new Intelligent Quick Search which allows users to search for destinations across all databases on the device, such as Favorites, POIs, History etc. This will notably speed up the address programming process and enable drivers to depart without long minutes of programming the GPS device. Competing with brands like Map My

India and Garmin We are facing competition from brands from all over the world. This is what makes us improve and innovate even faster. It does not matter who arrived first to the market; it matters who offers the best user experience. NNG’s iGO primo comes with an attractive and easy-to-use software interface, yet includes a whole range of advanced features; many of them working in the background to make the navigation experience more intuitive. This guarantees that iGO primo is suitable for navigation beginners as well as tech-savvy users. In addition, NNG delivers the optimal India driving experience by combining a number of localized features such as Live Traffic, Lane Guidance and Point Addressing. Regular map and content updates guarantee reliable driving directions. iPhone users receive their updates through iTunes.

Users of all other devices with an iGO Navigation software receive their updates through NNG’s update portalwww.naviextras.com. We have worked hard to introduce fully localized and relevant navigation software to India and have successfully entered business cooperations with many leading hardware brands. NNG has a reputation for developing fast software, local features and navigation that can handle challenging, rapidly growing road systems. Expansion plans in India With our office in Gurgaon, we have established a permanent presence in India. Not only can we better support our partners with quality localized software, but our day-to-day experience with the Indian traffic, end-users and their surrounding helps us understand what is crucial for successful navigation software.

Flight Talk

47>>

Turkish Airlines to launch new destinations in India Turkish Airlines continues to be on an expansion spree in the Indian market. Mehmet Akay, General Manager Western & Southern India, Turkish Airlines, speaks to Irene Susan Eapen about the airline’s India plans. VW BUREAU addition to this, Turkish Airlines had

ing Chef service for Business Class

How has the market been for

recently launched local social me-

passengers on its long haul flights.

2013?

dia platforms like Facebook, Twitter, What are the challenges that you

nessing highest growth in air pas-

planning to organise several Fam

are facing in the Indian market

senger traffic. India is

trips for the travel trade and media. We will be working closely with Tourism Boards to promote our extensive network. Network of Turkish Airlines in India We currently operate 14 weekly Performance for Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines has gained its popularity after introducing daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai in 2009. Our load factor is around 85% and we expect to have more than 350,000 passengers in 2013. We are looking forward to launch new destinations in India and also by increasing our flight frequency in the near future depending on the bilateral agreements provision. We hope to have better figures in 2014 since our network keeps growing

flights-seven from Delhi and seven from Mumbai to Istanbul, our operational hub. This year we are

We recently launched Buenos Aires, Houston, Marseille, Malta, Luxembourg and Edinburgh flights. Currently, we are operating to more than 240 airports (4th biggest network in the world) around the world and we will continue to expand our

mand. The fluctuations in the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar are another challenge. Considering the tough competition in India, airlines have little room to increase their fares.

2020, India is likely to become the 3rdlargest aviation market. Today, more than 85 international airlines operate to India and 5 Indian carriers connect over 40 countries.India holds tremendous growth opportunities for business and leisure travel for Turkish Airlines.

flights are operated by A330-300 (289 seats) and Mumbai flights are operated by B777-300ER (312 seats). The new Business Class with fully reclining flatbed seats and inflight entertainment system offers

The Travel Agency Accounting Software

outstanding journey to our guests.

fected directly by the rupee’s free-

number to 104 in September 2013.

to accommodate the increasing de-

studies suggest that by the year

craft type on the India flights; Delhi

New destinations for Turkish Air-

more countries and have raised this

bilateral, it is becoming very difficult

Recently we have upgraded our air-

Fall in Indian rupee

Turkish Airlines has been flying into

With the current limitations on the

currently

the 9thlargest aviation market and

celebrating our 10th year in India.

steadily.

lines

India is among the countries wit-

Pinterest and YouTube. We are also

Airline companies are the most affall. An airline’s major expense is imported jet fuel. On the contrary, our revenues are in rupees. The falling Indian rupee has become a ma-

Switch Your Manual Accounting to

Travel Soft Faster I Easier I Accurate

jor challenge for individual Indian travellers and corporate planning a trip to Europe or USA. Thanks to our diverse passenger profile we hope to achieve our financial targets for 2013.

operations and increase our num-

Accolades

ber of destinations in 2014.

Turkish Airlines scored a resounding

Enquiry and Feedback Reminder System Invoicing and Package Tour Vouchers Cash and Bank Entries Service Tax and TDS Calculations Credit Notes for Cancellations Exhaustive MIS Reports

success at the 2013 Skytrax World Marketing plans and promotional

Airline Awards, with air travellers

activities for 2013-2014

voting the airline as the Best Airline

We will be promoting Turkish Air-

in Europe, the third year running.

lines in B2B and B2C markets in

We have also been named as the

India. We have introduced an India-

winner in the category Best Busi-

specific website for passengers. In

ness Class Catering by adding Fly-

For Free Demo and Purchase Call: Pushkar - 09371021669 E mail: enquiry@travelsoft.in

www.voyagersworld.in

Happenings

48>>

Brand USA concludes second India travel mission (September 23) and New Delhi (September 25) that provided an opportunity for US delegates to develop and strengthen co-operation with their Indian counterparts. The invitees included major stakeholders from the Indian travel trade, airline representatives, hospitality representatives and tour operators. Additionally, a dedicated media day was organised in New Delhi on September 26 with leading travel trade and consumer media.

In the last couple of years there has been a steady increase in numbers of Indian arrivals to the USA. As per the latest figures released by the U.S Department of Commerce, India ranked 12th among top 20 tourist generating countries for the US with 724,433 arrivals, an increase of 9.2% over the previous year. In 2012 Indian visitors also ranked 10th in the world in terms of money spent, with a total spend of $4.9 billion - an increase of 11% over the previous year.

The travel mission included two interactive business sessions in Mumbai

Sheema Vohra, Managing Director of Sartha Global, the recently appointed marketing representative office for Brand USA, added: “The travel mission is the most appropriate and productive platform for U.S. suppliers to provide travel partners with vital destination information, that inspires and makes it easier for them to conclude mutually beneficial business deals.”

rand USA, the USA’s first-ever nationally coordinated tourism-marketing organization, has concluded its second India Travel Mission. Organized between September 22 to September 26, 2013 in New Delhi and Mumbai, the mission witnessed the participation of 47 delegates, representing 31 organizations from various U.S. destinations, attractions, hotels and destination management companies.

Sarovar Hotels bags WTM award

arovar Hotels has been awarded ‘Global Award’ at the WTM 2013 – London in

recognition of its development of mid-market hotels in India over the past 12 months. With this award, the Global Media Network (GMN)

Air France-KLM-Delta hold agents' event A

ir France KLM with its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines organised a small and medium agents event in New Delhi and Bangalore, to promote the KLM flat beds and reiterate the services and facilities of Air France- KLMDelta. The sales team shared the insights of the new products and developments with their travel and trade partners.

comprising of 12 international media, put together by Reed Travel Exhibitions, recognize successful industry leaders who have changed the face of travel and tourism within their markets and on a global scale. The award was presented to Sarovar Hotels at an event on November 4, 2013. Anil Madhok, (In picture), Managing Director, says: ‘We thank WTM and the jury members who recognized our efforts and contribution to the tourism industry and the Indian hospitality scene. I also thank our hotel owners, professional associates and the entire Sarovar

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Voyager’s World > November 2013

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Top Appointments

49>> Ashish Gawari General Manager, The Lalit Chandigarh Ashish Gawari is the new General Manager of the Lalit Chandigarh, moving from his previous role as GM of the The Lalit Srinagar. He has close to 16 years of experience in Bristol, Sarovar Hotels, Taj and Mansingh Group of Hotels. In his new role, Ashish will be responsible for the management of this business property.

Angel Gallego President, Amadeus- Asia Pacific

ngel Gallego joins as President, AmadeusAsia Pacific. He previously managed the growth of Amadeus in Western Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In his new role, Angel will direct the company’s strategy for Asia Pacific, with a focus on distribution and new business opportunities in the region.

Vikas Sharma General Manager, Hive Panipat

Vikas Sharma has been appointed as the General Manager of Hive Panipat, managed by Tux Hospitality. With over 14 years of experience in hospitality, he has worked with Amalgam Management Solution, Grand Pearl Hotel and Hotel JBL. In his new post, Vikas will be in charge of the overall management of the property.

Saeed M Shervani President, FHRAI

Saeed M Shervani has been appointed as the President of FHRAI for 2013-2014. With over 25 years of experience, he was previously President of the Hotel & Restaurant Association of North India, Vice President of FHRAI and Honorary Treasurer of FHRAI and also owns and operates the Rodeo food chain.

Suresh Badlaney Vice President- Operations, Le Meridien, Bangalore Suresh Badlaney is the new Vice President-Operations of Le Meridien, Bangalore. With over 40 years of experience in hospitality, he has worked with ITC Hotels, Holiday Inn, Bangalore and joined Le Meridien in 1996. He was also in charge of opening Aloft brand in India in Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore.

Alexandra Blum Vice President- Public Relations FRHI Hotels & Resorts FRHI Hotels & Resorts appointed Alexandra Blum as Vice President, Public Relations. She has over 20 years of media and sales experience in Thomson Reuters, WHERE Magazines International, etc., before joining Fairmont Hotels in 2004. her new role, Alexandra will be responsible for the company’s global PR.

Girish Nair Chief Commercial Officer, GoAir

Go Airlines (India) Ltd. has appointed Girish Nair as Chief Commercial Officer. He has 18 years experience in media, IT and for the past 13 years in aviation with focus on brand management and marketing. His last assignment as Assistant Vice President, Head of Marketing and Aviation Contracts with BIAL.

Neha Bola Country Manager- India, Tourism New Zealand Neha joins Tourism New Zealand as Country Manager- India. With over 12 years of experience in the travel and tourism space in Business Development, Product Development, Sales, Operations and CRM. She was previously associated with Kuoni India TUI, Cox & Kings and SOTC.

Ashish Bhandari Business Development Manager- India, Gold Coast Tourism Board Gold Coast Tourism appointed Ashish Bhandari as Business Development Manager India. More recently he served as Associate Director of Hotel Sales for Outbound Marketing India, working across the trade industry for the past five years. In the new role, Ashish will direct the marketing efforts of Gold Coast Tourism.

Raymond Bickson Presdent, Hotel Association of India

Raymond N. Bickson, MD, the Indian Hotels Company Ltd, is the new President, Hotel Association of India, for 2013-2015. He has over 30 years experience and joined the Taj Hotels in 2003 and served as the MD and CEO of The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), with responsibility for all Taj Hotels’ operations.

www.voyagersworld.in

Events Calendar

50>>

networking is the key November2013

February2014

22, 23, 24

7,8,9

India International Travel Mart Pune

The Boston Globe Travel Show Seaport World Trade Center

29, 30 Nov & 01 Dec

19,20,21,22

India International Travel Mart Hyderabad

December2013

Cro Tour Croatia

28 Feb 1, 2 March Holiday Expo Coimbatore

01, 02, 03, 04

March2014

02, 03, 04, 05

05, 06, 07, 08, 09

1st OTAI Convention Manila, Philippines

International Luxury Travel Market Cannes, France

05, 06, 07, 08

Travel Turkey Izmer Tourism Fair & Conference, Izmer, Turkey

06, 07, 08

Chengdu International Travel Fair Chengdu, China

ITB, Berlin Germany

19, 20, 21, 22 MITT Moscow

26, 27, 28 UITT Ukraine

11, 12

Brussels Travel Expo Brussels,Belgium

January 2014

April2014 3,4,5 Aitf Baku, Azerbaijan

16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 ASEAN Tourism Forum Malaysia

22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Fitur Spain

23, 24, 25 World Travel Market Latin America Brazil

17, 18, 19

May2014

24, 25, 26

5,6,7,8

India International Travel Mart Kochi

India International Travel Mart Kolkata

Voyagerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World > November 2013

Arabian Travel Market Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre