Vol XIV
Issue IX
Pages 48
July 2017
Rs 60
CHENNAI 15, 16, 17 JULY 2017
BANGALORE 21, 22, 23 JULY 2017
DELHI 15, 16, 17 SEPTEMBER 2017
MUMBAI 21, 22, 23 SEPTEMBER 2017
PUNE 24, 25, 26 NOVEMBER 2017
HYDERABAD 01, 02, 03 DECEMBER 2017
KOCHI 18, 19, 20 JANUARY 2018
KOLKATA 23, 24, 25 FEBRUARY 2018
the personalization paradox! indian hospitality rediscovers...
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RSVP: Mr. Trushant Phone: 022 4083 6790 Email: learnsouthafrica@southafrica.net
4>> Turbulent touchdown!
F
ollowing several years of struggle and speculations over how to retrieve Air India from the depths of financial distress, on 28 June, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs finally approved the fourth tranche recommendations of NITI Aayog on strategic disinvestment of CPSE (strategic disinvestment of Air India and five of its subsidiaries) based on the recommendations of Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD). Even as stakeholders are working out possible means to divest the national carrier of its assets, debts and merger and acquisition options, the theft of Air India's prized paintings indicates the sheer valuation that its assets are estimated to hold. The treatment of the carrier's real estate assets and landing slots in international airports are sure to become a case study as interested parties rack their minds for the best buy. While this is an unpleasant time for the ailing airline, it remains to be seen if this move would prove beneficial or go wrong just as the precedents of miscalculated decisions on purchasing aircraft and other policies. In this issue, we have featured personalized services in the hospitality industry as the cover story, in addition to special stories on local food and wine and honeymoon getaways and interviews with industry players. As the industry gears up for a host of events in this busy season, we would be publishing different roundups of travel exhibitions and roadshows in the forthcoming editions. Happy Reading.. Warm Regards
PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
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Surinder Hakhu sanjay@voyagersworld.in & Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagersworld.in
Niche Travel Honeymoon destinations and romantic getaways
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Mice Point
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Industry Buzz
6>>
Ginger Hotels launches new hotel in Gurugram
Indians can file online visa applications to Aus from 1 July
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ll Indian nationals can file online visa applications for Australia from 1 July, 2017, as announced by the Australian High Commission and Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Eligible Indians can apply online for a visitor visa through the Department’s ImmiAccount portal. Online lodgement offers benefits such as 24/7 accessibility, electronic payment of the visa application charge and the ability to check the status of applications lodged online. With the applicant’s permission, the online form can be completed by a third party such as a family member here or in Australia, a travel agent or VFS.
inger Hotels launched its 7th hotel in Delhi NCR in Gurugram. Located in the heart of the city, Ginger Hotel Gurugram (Gurgaon) has 77 smartly designed comfortable rooms. The hotel provides convenient access to MDI, Medanta – The Medicity, Signature Tower, Unitech Business Park, Universal Business Park, Global Business Park and Kingdom of Dreams and is close to the international and domestic airports and the HUDA Metro Station offering great connectivity to Delhi and NCR. It offers high speed, free WiFi, a multi-cuisine 24/7 restaurant, gym and efficient meeting facilities.
Anchor Destinations, Travel Management to represent Spain and Portugal DMCS
CSIA fortifies Mumbai’s international connectivity
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VK MIAL’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) commenced
direct flight operations by Air Canada starting 2 July. The new Mumbai-Toronto route will be serviced by Air Canada all year long, deploying a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a capacity of 298 passengers and two-class configuration of business class and economy. For the Mumbai-Singapore route, Singapore Airlines will now use the an extra wide body Airbus A350-900 XWB with a capacity of 253 passengers and a standard three class configuration, starting 1 July.
Greece to host SSLHLA 2017
T
he 2017 Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyle Awards, known as the 'Oscars of Luxury' throughout the industry, are set to ignite the world of Hospitality and Lifestyle with their 5th Anniversary Gala ceremony, which will take place at the most exclusive private members country club in Greece, the Ecali Club, on 23 September. The CEOs, Presidents, Managing Directors, owners and GMs of the most exclusive properties from around the world will be in attendance to collect the most exclusive award from the Hospitality and Lifestyle sectors; the SIGNUM VIRTUTIS, the seal of excellence.
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nchor Destinations and Travel Management was recently appointed as India Representative for the Spain based DM C Portugal Tours and Space Travel and Top Atlantico DMC for Portugal . Anchor now shall be responsible for all sales, marketing and branding activities of both the DMCs. Deepika Khanna , Founder & CEO, said, “This is definitely a milestone and we look forward to newer and strategic collaborations. Spain and Portugal are both destinations that are much in demand by Indian travellers, be it holiday, MICE or luxury. Our Partner DMCs are very much aware of the Indian clients and their specific needs and are very much flexible and adaptable to the ever growing demands."
Israel Tourism to conduct multi-city roadshow in India in August
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srael Tourism will be organizing a multi city roadshow on 21 August in Mumbai followed by other cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and concludes on 30 August in Chennai. Hassan Madah, Director – Israel Ministry of Tourism, said, “We have recorded 33% increase in tourist arrivals in the period of January to May 2017 over the same period in 2016. Our aim is to receive 60,000 Indian tourists by end of 2017. " Israel noticed an increase of 13% in 2016 over the previous year with a record of 44,672 Indian tourists visiting the destination.
MATTA, Tourism Malaysia organise roadshow
T
he MATTA (Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents) and Tourism Malaysia organised a roadshow in Radisson hotel, Kathmandu to interact with the travel fraternity in Nepal and encourage them to promote Malaysia. Many Indian travel agents were part of the roadshow. The objective of this roadshow was to create good connection between tour operators from both countries and increase the number of arrivals from India to Malaysia.
Voyager’s World > July 2017
Industry Buzz
7>>
Goa Tourism enhances complaint registration system
Registrations for TAAI Convention 2017 to open on 5 July
T
he Directorate of Transport, Govt. of Goa launched a Complaint Registration mobile app for tourists to register their complaints against vehicle owners or operators for violation of the Motor Vehicle rules.
T
he Annual Convention of TAAI for 2017, the Indian Travel Congress, will be held in China in Kunming in the province of Yunnan from 18 - 20 August. This year being the 64th Convention & Exhibition of TAAI, the event will be with Discovery as an important option. Hosted by the Yunnan Government, People's Republic of China, the event is being coordinated by MFITS MAO FA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICES, a unit of SERVICE BUREAU of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China. The InterContinental Kunming is where the exhibition as well as the inaugural dinner will take place. The registration shall open by 5 July and will close by 20 July.
Shandong appoints Blue Square Consultants as India representative
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handong, located in the eastern part of People’s Republic of China, will be represented by Blue Square Consultants (BSC) in India as its sales and marketing representative with immediate effect. The destination offers product categories and activities for family segments, business travellers and adventure lovers.
The app aims at expediting complaint redressal processes and enables tourists to not only log in their complaints, but also get updates on action taken by the Dept. of Transport. This solution overrides the existing process which required a complainant to either visit the transport department and enter the complaint on a book or post a complaint, SMS or e-mail, etc.
Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2017 resounds success
Delhi-NCR to get second international airport
he Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2017 (TTM+), held from 14-16 June 2017 at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre (CMECC) hailed great success in promoting tourism and the tourism service business sector in Thailand as well as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). After successful two-year run in the Northern capital of Chiang Mai, the event will move to the resort city of Pattaya in 2018. Hundreds of buyers and sellers representing hotels, attractions, events venues, tour groups, car rental and more, attended the event from all over the world. The theme was 'Delivering Unique Experiences'.
T
T
he Government granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at
Jewar in Greater Noida. Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi last month, the Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that the air traffic in the NCR region is growing very fast. Delhi will require a second airport in the next seven-10 years. The Noida International Airport will be located 72 km from IGI Airport and 65 km from
Surya Palace rebranded as Grand Mercure
Hindon Air Force station Ghaziabad. Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) is the implementing authority of the project.
J&K Tourism focuses on Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2017
T
S
urya Palace in Vadodara was rebranded to Grand Mercure Vadodara Surya Palace
last month. The hotel is the first Grand Mercure to launch Gujarat. It has 146 well-appointed guest rooms including five suites, Azure an all-day dining restaurant, Vanilla a delicatessen, an outdoor pool, a fitness and wellness centre, Wi-Fi, event space spanning over 19,000 sq ft with six meeting rooms ideal for conferences, weddings and social gatherings. It is very close to the railway station and the airport as well as local attractions.
he Chairman, Tourism Federation of Jammu, Rajesh Gupta, along with prominent members of tourism trade of Jammu & Kashmir including S. Amrik Singh, Nazir A Mir, Karan Watal, B.B.Kotwal had interactions with prominent tourism stakeholders, travel trade associations members in Delhi and Mumbai in June. In view of the forthcoming Shri Amarnathji Yatra, the State Administration and Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board informed that there are adequate placements of security forces as per required plan and the Union Government is giving all assistance to state for this purpose. They have established helplines for the pilgrims.
'Sab Uden, Sab Juden' hosted in New Delhi
T
he first edition of WINGS 2017 'Sab Uden, Sab Juden'- Expanding Regional
Connectivity was hosted in New Delhi recently by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Plenary session was chaired by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, P. Ashok Gajapathi Rajun. 338 delegates from Government and Civil Aviation sector participated in it. This event brought together airlines, airport operators, 28 states and union territories, tourism departments and tour operators and had presentations emphasizing the incentives or special packages to the airlines other than the support offered by Government of India under RCS- UDAN.
www.voyagersworld.in
Cover Story
8>>
the personalization paradox! indian hospitality rediscovers... ANJU ANNA ALEX
While it is still quite early to foretell the implications of India’s tryst with GST, there is an all pervasive air of concern in the hospitality industry regarding the same. At this very crucial juncture we will cautiously analyse how the hospitality industry aspires to take personalization to the next level.
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ersonalized suggestions with the aid of technology have become an integral part of modern life. Yet, the hospitality industry is still grappling to comprehend the kind of radical insurgence that technological advancements have made in the recent years. While a large horde of hotels live by the onesize-fits-all mantra, an increasing number of hotels, especially the more famous hotel groups, still find themselves increasingly drawn to the affair of collating customer data, through various means, to cater to diverse customer preferences in their bigger pursuit for heightened customer satisfaction, better profit margins and rapid expansion plans. Information regarding the preference of room type, favourite food and beverages, amenities required during stay, type of car, any allergies to certain types of food, etc are invaluable for hoteliers. Subhankar Bose, Resident Manager, JW Marriott Bengaluru, says, “Knowledge
about our guests is of paramount importance to us and hence we spend a lot of time in knowing about them, their preferences, likes and dislikes. We focus immensely on interacting with guests to personalise their experience. In this process we gather information and details about preferences which are updated in our property management system for future use and improve guest loyalty.” For many years, then notion of delivering differentiated services seemed like a distant dream for hoteliers. But now with the umpteen number of customer interaction technologies at play, it is possible to get a clear insight about your customer choices to a great extent. From providing personalized checkin options to customized pricing models or even their preferred mode of communication (texts, emails, social media, phone calls etc.) will take customer experience to greater
Ashish Vohra, CEO & Founder, Justa Hotels and Resorts
“It is extremely important to customise our services for each guest. Our teams are trained on ways to gather information regarding guest preferences during their interactions with them. This is recorded in the guest profile and history which is stored in a centralised database. If and when the guest returns to the hotel or visits another hotel of ours, this information is already available to our teams to offer better and enhanced guest experiences.” Voyager’s World > July 2017
heights. Such unprecedented technological advancements have made it possible to do the guesswork from large amounts of data which will in turn help us understand the key variables for huge segments of customer data. Keeping the pace with this modern transformation is now quintessential for retaining customer base in the competitive world. On the contrary, customers are realistically cynical about the irresponsible use and possible abuse of their personal data. Ashish Vohra, CEO & Founder, Justa Hotels and Resorts says that technology has now become an integral tool in helping hotels and their employees seamlessly share information about guests, their preferences and whereabouts in the premises of the hotel. However, technology will still remain a tool as the hospitality industry is still going to be dependent on human interaction to provide the sensitivity demanded while dealing with
guests. According to him, “The captured information in the central databases is more valuable to chain hotels in cases where the guest is also a visitor to the other hotels in the chain. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, tools are now available to target guests to market and cross-sell our other hotels and thereby increasing customer loyalty and repeat customers.” Guests today expect an increasingly personalized hotel stay, which justifies the expenditure. According to Raviraj Guruju, Executive Chef, Novotel Imagica Khopoli, “We all know the impact of personalized service from our own experiences. Who doesn’t enjoy being treated special! Apart from attracting new guests, hotels must focus on retaining the existing ones. Hotel staff should be trained on how to handle crisis, resolve issues professionally, and most importantly
Vikram Rao, CEO, Crayon Data
“Personalisation is of paramount importance to service based industries like hospitality. Every hotel is a gateway to a city. The experience of a city is intrinsically linked to the experience a guest has at the hotel they choose. Being in the services industry, it is imperative that hotels understand their customers' preferences.”
Cover Story
9>> not just satisfy but delight the guests.” Crayon Data, one of Asia’s fastest growing big data companies works directly with several leading organizations to help them understand customer preferences better. Their flagship product MayaTM, is a personalization engine that facilitates choice delivery for the banking, hotel, and digital media verticals. Companies like Crayon Data, provide hotels with the ability to provide highly personalised, curated experiences and services to their customers. According to Vikram Rao, CEO, Crayon Data, “Personalization is the future of customer engagement”; it being one of the most discussed topics within the hospitality industry. Vikram elaborates, “Crayon's Maya enables data-led personalization, right across a guest's journey, from the time of check-in to post check-out, Maya captures preferences and suggests value based services based on guest profiles. Maya also combines internal and external data sets and has the ability to personalise experiences using behaviour not identity. All while meeting stringent data privacy standards.” Hoteliers are constantly on the lookout for ways to enhance the customer perception of their brands and one of the ways to augment customer experience is by offering unique, personalized, memorable experiences to your clients. In the opinion of Ashish, personalization starts right from the time when the guest books with the hotel. He explains, “Our teams reach out to the guest to ensure that the arrival to the hotel is smooth and easy as well as a dedicated person ensures a smooth check in and escorting to the room explaining information that is relevant to the guest. During these interactions, the team member makes an effort to engage the guest in a conversation where some relevant information like mentioned in the above points are noted and shared with the relevant departments. This engagement is attempted at every available opportunity without invading the privacy of the guest. The objective is to be able to proactively anticipate and meet the guest’s expectation without him or her having to ask for it.” The sustained need for standardization of processes and the need to offer varied, unique experiences that live up to or even exceed customer expectations, is often conflicting. Nevertheless, understanding client preferences might be a key factor that sets apart one hotel from the other and
has therefore become imperative for hoteliers to identify customer preferences to retain customer loyalty and increase brand recall value. Commenting about why personalization is paramount in the hospitality industry Ashish says,“In our hotels, we train and encourage our teams to treat every single guest as an individual and not another ‘room number’. Each guest has a unique identity and personal preferences, which we acknowledge. We try and align our services to these preferences of the guest within the framework of our processes. Guests like this personalized attention they get as it introduces an intangible value and experience to their stay with us.” Kailash Gundupalli, Executive Chef, Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach talks about personalization in terms of food preferences, being an important aspect of enhancing the customer’s overall experience during the stay. According to him, “As a chef, for me personalization in the hospitality industry means anticipating the guest’s needs in terms of food preference. With more and more guests being conscious of their diet, they prefer the healthier choices in the menu. When it comes to personalization of food, it is a challenging task as each guest is different with a distinct palate preference. It is my responsibility to understand my guest’s appetite and accordingly curate an experience for them. At Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, the kitchen department makes a guest preference list for their own reference and follow it austerely. To escalate the personalization experience for our patrons, I have specially designated separate chefs to different guests in order to enhance their dining experience with us.” However in many circumstances, many hoteliers, despite the genuine inclination to rise above their customer expectations by providing personalized services; have to wilfully succumb to the need for reducing costs. Ashish is of the opinion that their well defined and time tested standard operating procedures to which all employees have to adhere to as well as the fact that Justa operates limited inventory hotels, enable them to seamlessly and efficiently achieve their set objectives thereby providing better services than their competitors. At the same time, this unique MO also keeps their services exclusive. He elaborates the point by saying, “Our feedback management system, both internal
www.voyagersworld.in
Cover Story
10>>
and online is quite robust and critical to our business. Information gathered from these processes, forms the basis of our trainings to our teams across the chain in identifying opportunities and enhancing our service levels. Uniformity of services is maintained across the company. Guest satisfaction scores forms a major part of every employees’ KRA and this is periodically measured.” Again, what puts hoteliers in quandary is that in many instances despite their best efforts, consumers may not see any difference between their offerings and that of others or their message might get distorted in the cacophony of digital noises. Also it is pertinent to note that a convenience to one customer will be an inconvenience to another customer. Hoteliers have to constantly re-evaluate their standards of services to ensure that all clients are satisfied. Ashish remarks, “Just like the proverb, all fingers are not the same, likewise, every guest has a unique
personality and expectation. There is no fool-proof mechanism or process to ensure 100% guest satisfaction. There is bound to be some challenges in being able to achieve this. However, with the focus being on the right approach to understand each guest as per their own expectations and then aligning our efforts to meet them, definitely goes a long way in ensuring controlled services within the ambit of the framework and not overstepping the line. Communication and engaging with sensitivity is also the basis of ensuring that we do not trigger any undesired experience to our guests. Our management considers guest experiences as pivotal to our existence and as such has a very extensive approach to managing this part of the business.” Despite the nagging fear of wasted efforts, lesser profits margins; gaining better understanding about customer preferences will in turn translate into services meant to
Suraj Kumar Jha, General Manager, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport "Standardization is critical to strike a balance between keeping a control on wastage and cutting the cost. At Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport, we empower our teams so that they are able to meet and exceed guest’s expectations. Hotels needs to step beyond the ordinary and provide hospitality and services that allows guests to feel at home." Voyager’s World > July 2017
delight and please consumers. Nonetheless Raviraj confidently says, “ Loyalty to hotels is facing a period of dramatic change, driven by travelers and explorers that want to venture in the quest of a better experience. Personalization in hospitality means wallowing them to ensure that they revisit the experience and portray themselves as ambassadors of the hotel. At Novotel Imagica Khopoli, we leave no stones unturned in taking this ahead to ensure that the guest is allured and amazed. Room amenities to personal preferences we create customized engagements to offer a comfortable stay to our patrons. There would always be infinite requests of varied nature coming up. Interaction is the key to the success of creating memorable moments and ensures that at the finale we have a very satisfied, happy and charmed but most importantly loyal clientele” The effective usage of technology will enable hoteliers to transcend the
divide between general assumptions and authentic information so that they can reach more coherent conclusions and therefore enable them to take informed decision. The hospitality industry anticipates more personalization options in future. For instance, apart from the preferred communication mode, the standard check-in procedures will also become more advanced with guests gaining the access to information about the available room size, bed styles, price rates and also the technologies, present inside hotel room. Many guests also have a predilection towards a home-like environment in their accommodation. In the case of corporate tourists with hectic schedules, their preference remains on a comfortable stay with good bedding to enjoy a relaxing sleep at night rather than heavily adorned interiors or furniture. Another way of improving the guest experience is by integrating more customised in-room entertainment units and
Kailash Gundupalli, Executive Chef, Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach
“At Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, we ardently believe that personalized guest experiences play a crucial role in the image building of the hotel to its guests. If the guest feels well-tended to they will want to come back to the hotel for the hospitality.”
Cover Story
11>> facilities. After performing several activities, the guests like to unwind while staying inside their room. Access to different TV channels, based on customer preferences and availability of many mobile apps that offer seamless hotel bookings or even personalized dining options are some of the ways that hoteliers seek to personalize hospitality services. Suraj Kumar Jha, General Manager, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport, talks about how technological advancements have contributed to the rise in revenues. He says, “In a broad sense, it has empowered our guests by giving them tools to make informed dining decisions, sensitize themselves about global cuisines, share their most memorable stay experiences with their close ones, and most significantly for us, provide multiple mediums of communication to reach us and share their thoughts, queries and feedback.” “Social media has helped foster a new generation of travelers who are just as passionate
about connecting their networks to their favorite holiday destinations, as they are about experiencing new, adventurous experiences. Platforms like Instagram and blogs have developed a string of bloggers who have become authorities and influencers, ‘social media celebs’, in their own right, with a respectable follower count. Hotels across the world leverage these networks and influencers to reach out to their target audiences, while communicating in a more personalized, human tone, using simple forms of media”, he adds. Though many hoteliers consider the process of identifying customer data as problematic, it can be effectively accomplished through the usage of technology. Because a majority of users actively engage with digital media, technology can help decode and decipher the personalities and preferences of users. From his many years of expertise Subhankar observes, “Technology helps us
Subhankar Bose, Resident Manager, JW Marriott Bengaluru
“Not all personalization needs additional cost. There are many ways of personalizing a guest’s experience. Small gestures and touch points during a guest experience can do wonders. We train our team to anticipate and understand guests and look for opportunities to personalize and give special touches to their experiences.”
in providing the infrastructure to store information systematically and again easily retrieving them as and when required. It also helps in providing reminders, alerts and pop ups and assists us in executing a great guest experience.” Vikram explains, “In the pursuit of personalisation, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data technologies like machine learning are being adopted across industries. If hotels equip themselves with the right technology/analytics partners, they can unearth patterns and insights from how and what choices travelers make. And use that data, to customize experiences and offers of relevance for their guests. Crayon uses an algorithmic approach that allows automated analysis, at scale.” When quizzed about how personalization can be taken to the next level using technology, Vikram says, “Crayon’s 2 patents are instrumental in making the
shift from personalization to ultrapersonalization. Our TasteGraphTM is a unique map of the world’s tastes, with billions of data points on consumer lifestyles. And our ChoiceAI, is an algorithm that mixes internal enterprise behavior data with external internet taste and social influence data sets. These power MayaTM, and result in highly relevant conversations between hotels and their guests. It is no secret that customer satisfaction scores high when conversations are relevant and personalised. Maya is the world’s only taste-driven choice engine, delivering digital personal experiences, centred around each customer’s taste. This allows hoteliers to offer highly relevant and customised services to customers, at an individual level. Maya uses machine learning which, along with satisfaction, records dissatisfaction of customers as well. Learning algorithms, take into consideration likes as well as dislikes. This enables hotels to tailor personalised offerings for each guest.”
Raviraj Guruju, Executive Chef, Novotel Imagica Khopoli
“Guest Interaction, personalized amenities, engagements through a customized approach, surprise elements are few of the acts of taking the personalization to the next level; and always keeping the guest wanting for more and curious about what is upcoming. The ultimatum remains the glee factor for the guest which works out the magic.” www.voyagersworld.in
Hospitality
12>>
Southern Star to focus on steady brand building ANJU ANNA ALEX
Voyager’s World in an exclusive interview with Balram Hirehal Jairaj, Director, HRB Group, talks about how the Southern Star brand with its perfect blend of history and modernity strives to redefine customer satisfaction in terms of quality, amenities and service. needs of the contemporary traveller. The property is strategically located in the heart of Bengaluru on Lavelle Road- one of the commercial hubs, near UB City and is the ideal choice for both corporate and leisure travellers.
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he minute you step into Southern Star Bengaluru, you will be astonished by the chic, posh and modern ambience. The property exudes the old charm of Bangalore and at the same time has remarkably embraced all the facets of a modern hotel catering to the
About the Southern Star Brand As of today we have 3 propertiesBangalore, Hassan and Mysore. We are also very excited about our new property in Davangere, Karnataka. We have just taken up this property which is a hotel and convention center for up to 2000 people. The Southern Star brand is one of the business concerns of the parent company- the HRB
group, which is a diversified business. Southern Star brand was first incepted in the 1980’s and Southern Star Bengaluru was the first hotel property. In a short span of 10 years, when we were actively involved in the hotel business, at its peak Southern Star grew to over 9 properties in the south. Our focus was always on second tier industrial cities as we witnessed a huge influx of multinationals to such cities. Since it wasn’t the group’s primary business, adequate focus was not given to the brand. But at that time, Southern Star was one of the first and most recognized south Indian brands to venture into the business. We also had other investments in hospitality. We were also one of the first people in Bengaluru to start a service apartment chain in the early 2000s by the name of Orchard Suites which worked really well for us until there was an oversupply of serviced apartments. We still have two of our serviced apartments in Bangalore. We have a chain of restaurants also called ‘The Grill House’ and a Goan restaurant called ‘Carnival de Goa’ Rebranding After I took up the business, we decided to rebrand it as Southern Star itself. This was because in Mysore, Southern Star has such a strong brand recall because customers from their childhood till now, have patronized the brand and have strong associations with the brand. I was particular that Southern
Star should live up to any of the new brands out there and should possess all the modern amenities at par with international standards. We do not limit ourselves to any particular segment with respect to target audience and want to be flexible enough to equip ourselves to deliver the expectations of all types of guests after analyzing their needs. In Bangalore, most of our customers are corporates but on the weekends we have a lot of people coming from different cities. In Mysore it's very seasonal and during the peak season there are a lot of inbounds. We aim to give the customer value in terms of amenities, facilities and service. We benefitted from having old properties, the reason being our properties are much larger, the room sizes are much larger and our locations are the best. Our brand resonates old world values in a sense that we are full serviced hotels. More than keeping the organization lean for cutting costs, we are keen on delivering 150% to the guests in terms of comfort. We look at bringing back loyal customers and clients and give them a great experience where service comes above everything else. Less than a year we took on products, we are trying to unleash all products by bringing more business by improving the brand visibility, awareness, rating and most of all customer satisfaction. We prefer steady brand building.
Hospitality
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CLARKS EXOTICA CONVENTION RESORT & SPA TO capitalize ON ITS STRENGTHS ANJU ANNA ALEX
M Balaji, CEO, Clarks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa, Bengaluru, explains why it is an ideal property for weddings and conventions as it enters the 10th year of its operations. on a property spread over 70 acres. The resort, which has 151 rooms - including villas, has over 2 lakh square feet of banquet space, sport activities for age groups and a luxurious spa, Seventh Heaven. The resort also has fine-dining spaces, coffee shops and cafes, offering varied cuisines.
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larks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa is a premier luxury resort began operations in 2007, established by Mr. Ronald Colaco, an Indian Businessman based in Dubai, UAE. Located 15 minutes away from the Kempegowda International Airport, it is situated
USP Clarks Exotica is one of the few places offering resort, spa and events amenities. Seventh Heaven, the spa is one of the most extensive in the country with 14 treatment rooms offering Ayurveda, Western, Thai and Hydrotherapies. The resort houses one of Bengaluru’s largest pillar-less event spaces - OCEAN Convention Centre attached to the resort. With a floor plate of 50,000 sq. ft, an impressive ceiling height
Where search results are helping predict hotel occupancy
of 25ft. Current inventory at Clarks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa is 123 rooms with 70% occupancy throughout the year. Clarks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa as a MICE destination Clarks Exotica Convention Resort & Spa makes an attractive MICE destination owing to location and facilities. The resort has 11 banquet halls, spread over 2 lakh square feet. This includes high-tech board rooms, which can accommodate corporate events, board meetings, large and small format events and weddings. OCEAN Convention Centre, spread over 50,000 sq ft, is one of Bengaluru’s largest, ‘pillarless’ event spaces, attached to a resort. We are stepping into our 10th year and would focus on marketing the same towards end of the year.
Emerging trends Technology and modernized has massive impact in the industry. With the current digital revolution, some of the key emerging trends in this sector are customers demanding for seamless and innovative technology, social network integration, real-time issue resolve and increased demand for health and wellness trends. With millennials representing over 30% already makes up over one third of the world’s hotel guests, with predictions that they will reach over 50 per cent by 2020. As the travel and hospitality industry gears up for the biggest disruption in decades, key attributes like design, experience, mobile and perceived value are imperative for attracting the millennial traveller.
HOTEL FOR LONG LEASE/RENT (3* Category)
Tnooz.com
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report prepared by benchmark analytics technology company STR and Google shows that tracking hotel search results can be a reliable gauge of hotel bookings. The report compares Google search, STR demand and bookings trends for hotels in New York and London from 2014 through 2016, and evaluates weekly and monthly hotel performance against Google’s search metrics. “Based on the data analyzed, we found a positive correlation as well as a statistically significant relationship between Google search data and hotel demand measured by STR for both London and New York. With a confidence interval of 95%, we are able to conclude that higher Google search volumes can be associated with higher STR demand levels.” While socio-economic factors such as shock events, public policy and currency fluctuations have affected the performance of the two markets involved in the study, and seasonal
cycles still play a role in anticipating demand, the report suggests that Google search results can yield beneficial insights to both long and short-term planning and help predict consumer intent. “By using Google search and STR demand data, hotels can assess interest in a particular destination and see how booking patterns evolve. We see this as a continuous process of monitoring and analyzing search and demand data. “Combining performance benchmarking data provided by STR with search intelligence from Google offers detailed insights, enabling accommodation providers to make smart, data-driven decisions based on trends of consumer need and interest.” Google therefore argues that it can help hotels make the most of “micro moments” in the travel booking process.
Hotel Golden Gates
South End Circle Metro Station, R. V. Road, Jayanagar, 2nd Block, Bangalore
Location High Traffic/South End Metro Station, Sourrounded by software and IT Technology companies, Large Hospitals, Wedding Halls, Near to Shopping Centres and Jayanagar Shopping Centre. Available Facilities Number of Rooms: 50 Plant and Machinery: Lift, Lift Rooms/One more passengers lift provision/Back Up Generator/R.M.U/ H.T Transformer 100 KV/Machine Room/Bore Well/Sub Mersiblemotors, Motors/Diesel Injected Boilers/Sump/Over head tank on terrace/Laundry section on terrace Total Build up area: 2nd and 3rd Floor, Reception, Party halls 2 numbers, Restaurant 1 number with Kitchen, Coffee Shop, Basement Car Parking, Terrace open totally built up 28,000 Sq. Ft.
Contact Managing Partner, Lakshmi Builders Mob: 98450 95386, www.hotelgoldengatesbangalore.in
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Incredible India
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Raining monsoon offers leave travelLers asking for more ANJU ANNA ALEX
The Indian travellers have welcomed the idea of monsoon travel with open arms. Here’s a look at how the travel industry is gearing up for this monsoon season as well as some quick info about the most popular destinations this season.
Chhavi Chadha, Founder, Bespoke
“Monsoon travel is growing as monsoon brings with it a desire to enjoy this symphony of nature and can satiate the soul with this experience. "
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isual media’s long-drawn, highly romanticized affair with the monsoons season is as strong as ever. Thanks to clever marketing strategies and prowess of the seductive visuals, there is more than subtle insistence of the notion that the monsoon is the perfect time for travelers to rediscover passions. However in the travel industry, the monsoon season is the lesser known sibling of the summer vacation time, the latter being renowned as the peak-season for travel. In order to leverage the sales during the off-season, tour operators are seeking new ways to attract customers and inundating potential customers with discounts is just one way. Commenting about the monsoon travel segment, K.M. Chengappa, General Manager, The
Voyager’s World > July 2017
Leela Palace Chennai, says, “There is an improvement in monsoon travel in India as infrastructure has improved. Also, due to better marketing of Monsoon season there is an uptick in domestic and inbound travel.” The heavy showers offer a unique charm to tourists who are enticed by the glistening Indian landscape between the months of July to September. A quick getaway during the monsoon season offers the much needed relief from the sweltering city heat. With each passing year, more and more city dwellers are finding monsoons the right time for travel. Consequently, this year has witnessed an increase in monsoon travel anywhere between 20- 30% as compared to previous years. The
K.M. Chengappa, General Manager, The Leela Palace Chennai “There is an improvement in monsoon travel in India as infrastructure has improved. Also, due to better marketing of Monsoon season there is an uptick in domestic and inbound travel.”
registered increase in domestic travel during this season can be attributed to the romanticized notion of monsoon travel propagated through movies coupled with exciting discounts aimed at boosting the segment during this lull period. According to Chhavi Chadha, Founder, Bespoke, “Monsoon travel is growing as monsoon brings with it a desire to enjoy this symphony of nature and can satiate the soul with this experience. Indian cinema's monsoon visuals, the chai pakora tradition make taking a holiday in monsoons very inviting and fortunately the independence weekend falls in the monsoon weekend which makes it easier to do so.” Describing the pros and cons of travelling during the monsoons, Chengappa says, “During monsoon,
you experience freshness everywhere after the harsh summer and the sight of wells and tanks filling up, offers a great visual treat. The flip side could be that you could get under the weather.” “Kerala and Goa are top destinations to travel in India during the monsoon season”, he adds. Consumers are often flooded by information about discount offers and discounted packages through mobile applications and online travel portals, owing to the intense competition among tour operators, hoteliers and airlines. The major domestic airlines such as Indigo, SpiceJet, Vistara and AirAsia have announced monsoon special fares for the season. AirIndia too joined this low-fare Monsoonspecial bandwagon with their
Incredible India
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‘Saavan Special 2017 Sale’, valid on selected routes. Short haul weekend getaways and road trips are also equally increasing in demand. With rates slashed by 15-25%, monsoon travel seems like too good of an opportunity to miss especially for the budget conscious Indian traveler. Chhavi says “It’s a great time to get deals from hotels as it is a low season and hotels 'rain' offers to get their numbers. It may not be a great time to do such seeing trips. Driving with water logging can also be challenging at times.” “Goa, Kerala and Lonavala are the top destinations to travel in India during monsoon”, she adds.
most popular monsoon getaway for Indian travelers for the year 2017. Though many people think that Goa is best explored during sunny days, it has now become a myth. Eyecatching waterfalls, drenched calm beaches, pristine natural scenes and affordable rates are the main reasons for tourists heading to Goa during monsoon. The travelers can easily afford not only the luxurious hotels but can also engage in various activities such as jet skiing, parasailing, wind surfing etc. The plethora of cultural festivals will convince travel enthusiasts to travel to Goa during the monsoon season.
Goa-In a recent survey conducted by Hotels.com, Goa was selected as the
Wayanad-With the vast lush paddy fields this district has become a
spectacular spot for both foreign and Indian tourists with the incessant rainfall ushering in a quaint charm to the valley. While rain washes the high valley, Wayanad turns out to be as beautiful as paradise. Capitalizing on this opportunity, in a joint venture by Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala & the Wayanad Tourism Organisation; the 8th edition of Splash- Wayand Monsoon Carnival was organized from July 1 to 9 , which seemed to augur exceptionally well with the monsoons and was aimed at promoting Wayanad as a leading monsoon destination. Among the major attractions in Wayanad, the Edakkal Caves, Chembra Peak, Soochipara Falls, Pakshipathalam etc. are very popular among tourists.
Lonavala-With verdant greenery surrounded by picturesque mountain ranges, Lonavala has allured several tourists. Travelers from Mumbai find themselves rejuvenated in mind and body upon their visit to Lonavala. Moreover, whether the tourists arrive at this hill station by train or other transportation mode, they also get an opportunity to view some breath-taking waterfalls. In addition, the massive forts, beautiful caves and famous dams (like Bhushi Dam) have also become tourist attractions. In conclusion, enticing visuals, great discounts and clever marketing strategies have made the monsoon travel very popular among Indians.
Ski India anticipates big numbers for amusement parks in India IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Prasuk Jain, MD, Chiliard Procons, Ski India, reveals expansion plans of the adventure resort following the growing number of visitors.
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ki India, Asia’s largest indoor Sci-Fi based Snow Park, opened in DLF Place Mall, Noida in March 2016, with a view to offer a replica of a snowy ski resort with a lot of adventure activities. Highlighting India's huge potential in the amusement park segment, Prasuk Jain, Ski India's Managing Director, says, "India has a lot of
potential but lacks in terms of amusement and adventure parks. We have different concepts getting executed in various parts of India and the company is working towards achieving the uniqueness in indoor entertainment and amusement industry. We believe that India still has time to boom in the tourism sector. The major reason is high investments and no easy returns and at the same time, we lack in infrastructure, and so far behind any other international countries. We have noticed better numbers for 2017 as compared to the previous year.” Indoor parks are an integral part of the global leisure industry. Ski India saw a steady growth in numbers in 2016. During summer, it got good numbers of visitors while winter was affected by demonetization.
Marketing and promotional plans "We are into a different kind of Family Entertainment Centre (FEC) module and our advertisements vary from other amusement parks. Although we follow the same pattern of marketing like OOH, radio, theaters, digital, social events and promotions, cross branding, installations, etc., we are planning to promote the property through our character parades, snow dispensers, funny snowman pranks, flash mob, installations related to our theme etc. in the near future." "Presently, skiing only takes place mostly in northern states of India and even so, the ski resorts are largely confined to the western half of the Himalayas like Auli, Manali and Srinagar. There is a generation which is inclined and admires
such sports and adventures. Some beginners had their first-hand experience with us. Besides giving a feel of Switzerland in India, visitors also explore snowfall, ice skating, sledging and more activities." Visitor segments "We have seen travellers not only from the cities we have but also from the neighbouring cities. We also have a few visitors from other states of India and abroad visiting us. We believe that this list will grow with the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur tourism booming." Ski India has signed up for expanding in Gurgaon as the third location of Snow Park after Mumbai and Noida and will be open to public by first quarter of 2018. It would be the second largest snow park and ski resort in India after Ski India Noida ."
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Travel Trends
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Proof of the place... is in the pudding! Local cuisines give NTOs food for thought as gastronomy trails and wine tours gain more significance in destination marketing and promotions. IRENE SUSAN EAPEN “Gastronomic tourism market is slated to grow further in the coming times with destinations promoting it as a new tourism product."
Local food and wine experiences play a great role in unfolding special culinary trails in little towns known for their food and wine. This concept has led to the launch of local apps and platforms with local chefs to learn to cook a local dish or share a meal with the locals. On the other hand, wine tours entail learning about the process of wine making and trying one's hand at making some. Hanneli Slabber, India Country Head – South African Tourism, says,
One can also relish the Falafal or Khubz, which is the Arabian-style flat bread. The Omani coffee ‘Kahwa’, mixed with cardamom powder, is served with dates and the classic Omani dessert ‘halwa’. 'Shuwaa' is also a popular dish in Oman eaten only on festive occasions, while 'Machboos' is a rice dish flavoured with saffron and cooked over spicy meat. 'Sakhana' is a thick soup made with dates, wheat and milk and typically eaten during Ramadan.
© Tourism Australia
Local food and wine is now gaining a bigger space in the promotional activities of tourist destinations, spurred by a rising interest among Indian travellers to try the gastronomical specialities in a destination to perceive the local culture better. National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) note that more and more Indian travellers - families, couples, solo travellers -are interested in getting to know a destination through its local food and wine.
Voyager’s World > July 2017
Lubaina, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman, says, “Oman’s culinary tradition offers an interesting blend of Arabian and Indian influences. The classic mezze platter includes Baba Ghanoush, Tabouleh the vegetarian salad, Fatoush pita bread salad served with hummus and Pita bread.”
Closer to Oman, Israel was one of the first wine making regions in the world and its wines were popular even 2000 years ago. Israel now has over 300 wineries, which includes around 35 commercial wineries while the remaining are medium and boutique wineries. "The Golan Heights region is popular for producing some award-winning wines and the Negev Region is known for its desserts and wineries. We also have a strong beer culture with local breweries offering a wide variety of locally brewed IPAs (IndiaPale Ales), ciders and stouts, or the more conventional lagers and malts," says Hassan Madah, Director – Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines. Highlighting global influences on Israel's culinary variety, he says that 'falafel' sandwiches, 'shawarma' and 'shakshuka' are quite popular among the tourists. People often visit Nazareth to experience 'Knafeh', an authentic Biblical meal,
which is a cheese pastry soaked in a sugar-based syrup. South African has a wide choice of meats to choose from, not just beef, mutton and pork but also ostrich, kudu, crocodile and springbok. The Springbok Samosa which comes from the South Africa’s cuisine is an amalgamation of Malaysian, Indian, Dutch and Indonesian flavors. The traditional African food is generally cooked over an open fire or in a three-legged pot, so the meat tends to be served in either stewed or grilled form. Typical South African favourites include 'morogo', a type of wild spinach, 'chakalakaa', a spicy relish served alongside a main course and the ubiquitous 'boerewors roll', a variety of spicy sausage. South Africa also offers a range of appetizing vegetarian food options such as vegetarian bobotie, the national dish of South Africa; it is a delicious mixture of curried
Travel Trends
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"South Africa is also one of the world’s most famous wine destinations. We have Pinotage – a red wine grape, often considered a symbol of the country's distinctive winemaking tradition. South Africa's winelands stretch from the Cape Overberg in the south-western Cape, through the Little Karoo and the West Coast into the adjacent province of the Northern Cape. The Cape Winelands are the well-known, and include the Route 62 wine route that includes red and white wines, to sparkling, dessert and rose varieties,” Hanneli added.
Hassan Madah, Director – Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines Travellers are always looking for new experiences and allows you to be integrated into the local culture. Food is an extension of culture of any society and plays an important role. You get to cook a local dish adding value to your travel experience.
closer to the local culture and offers them a chance to experience the local ways of life.” “It is a good sign that the market growing and there is a global merger happening world over of culture and traditions through food. It is good to offer tourists a global spread of culinary treats along with different flavours and food, especially in a country like Israel which has absorbed a significant immigrant population bringing prized family recipes from all over the world,” Hassan added.
Noor Azman Samsudin, Director South India & Sri Lanka, Tourism Malaysia, says,” Malaysia offers unique cuisine and delicious food which are recognised worldwide like the 'Ipoh Chicken Rice', 'Laksa Johor' or 'Laksa Sarawak', 'Penang Nasi Kandar' and 'Char Koay Teow', 'Roti Canai', 'Satay Kajang' and the 'Nasi Lemak' and 'teh tarik' drink.”
Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia explains, “This is definitely a good sign and explains the growing trend of travellers focusing on experiences over destination. Australia is celebrated for hosting the World’s 50 Best Restaurants award ceremony in Melbourne, the continent’s dining scene has also welcomed several significant new restaurants early this month. We have focused our approach to further develop and highlight premium gastronomic experiences to Indian travellers.”
Local food and tourism Lubaina says,“Food forms an integral part of exploring and discovering a destination. Authentic local food brings the travellers
Stating that local food and wine indicate market maturity, Hanneli observes various levels of interest in food-related experiences depending on the maturity of the segment.
Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman Food is an important part of discovering a destination. The Omani cuisine offers a blend of Arabian and Indian influences and lip smacking and appealing to everyone’s tastes bud. Hanneli Slabber, India Country Head – South African Tourism Indians are traveling for food and wine this is one way you can immerse and experience a destination in the last 4to 5 years.Food andwine tours take travelers on a journey mainly to explore a destination uniquely.
© Ministry of Tourism, Oman
vegetables, spices, fruits and nuts with a creamy golden topping. The pap tart, also known as mieliepap, is the Afrikaans word for porridge, typically prepared with corn-maize.
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Travel Trends
© Tourism Australia
© South African Tourism
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The local flavors and authentic preparation styles help the traveler truly understand a country’s tradition and culture – which is one of the reasons tourists are inclined to indulge in culinary experiences. Wine has become an important part of the South African experience. Most high end Indian travellers – FITs or small family groups include at least one vineyard, if not more on their itinerary and always include a wine pairing meal as part of their South African winelands experience. We are also seeing Indian travellers opting to devote a whole day to a single vineyard so as to also learn to brew wines. Some are even open to spending a little extra to brew their own wine and name it after themselves."
– be it back home or globally, and also in South Africa,” Hanneli says. "You must experience wine tasting at Stellenbosch and Franschhoek on a South African Safari. For travellers who love seafood and the outdoors, the Knysna Oyster Festival is a perfect spot for food. The Bierfest is another festival which tours four cities around the country – Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Durban and CapeTown. The 3-city Good Food and Wine Show Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban is Africa’s largest culinary event that offers an exciting range of fresh foodie experiences.The Cherry Festival in Ficksburgis the longestrunning festival in South Africa from October to December that attracts up to 30,000 people."
Local food and wine tours The Israeli Wine Industry is on an up-swing with boutique wineries opening on a frequent basis. Israel produces approximately 35 million bottles annually. There are award winning local wineries which can be visited on full day and half day wine tours led by expert guides.
Australia offers world-class wines sourced from more than 60 wine regions across the country. Some of its iconic vineyards include Barossa Valley in South Australia, Yarra Valley in Victoria and Hunter Valley in New South Wales, among many others. Clare Valley is known for its Australian Riesling wine, whereas Margaret River is one of Western Australia’s well known food and wine regions. Adelaide has
"India’s well-travelled are opting for chef-driven restaurants everywhere
Voyager’s World > July 2017
become a ‘Great Wine Capital of the World’. There are several food and wine-centric gastronomic tours and Tourism Australia works closely with its key distribution partners and Aussie Specialist Agents to promote some of the finest experiences across Australia. Some of the food and wine experiences popular among Indians include a private picnic on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, Hot air balloon experience with a champagne in one of the vineyards, barbeque meal on a private yacht against the backdrop of the spectacular Sydney harbour, a chocolate tour in the hidden lane ways of Melbourne, breakfast with the kangaroos or koalas, etc.
covers five areas within the city centre, namely Brickfields, Jalan Alor, Kampung Baru, Old Kuala Lumpur and Pudu. Each trail has been made to include the signature delicacies that reflect the cultural representation of the area.
In Malaysia, the KL Big Kitchen Festival 2016 is a 3-day event where food lovers can enjoy a wide variety of street food, fine dining, food trucks and desserts at the Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur. There will also be cultural performances, exciting competitions, cooking workshops and demonstrations and gastronomic talks. KL Food Trail 2016 is a new tourism initiative that aims to position Kuala Lumpur as a culinary haven and Asia’s Foodie Capital. It is a self-guided trails that
In South Africa, travellers also desire to dine like the locals, be it treating themselves to sundowners in South African cities or enjoying coffee at street cafes in Cape Town or on the Durban waterfront. Repeat travellers to South Africa might actually go the extra mile and reserve a couple of days to have an entirely food-driven or wine-driven itinerary as part of their South African experience.
Apps and culinary sessions Hassan says that learning to cook a local dish or sharing a meal with locals adds value to one's travel experience and makes one truly a part of the culture of a new country. For instance, there are local families that host a Shabbat (Sabbath) dinner on Friday evenings and welcome tourists to their homes to participate in the experience.
Oman Tourism has done a series with Chef Vikas Khanna for Twist of
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Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia
© Tourism Malaysia
The travel industry is witnessing travelers becoming skewed towards indulging into varied experiences to make destination travel more meaningful and unique, the food and wine as a category is taking dominance in travelers’ wish list and the people travelling from India and from other markets is growing exponentially.
Noor Azman Bin Samsudin , Director South India & Sri Lanka, Tourism Malaysia
© Isreal Ministry of Tourism
The culinary melting pot of Malaysia offers unique cuisine and delicious food across worldwide that includes the spices, colourful flavours and curry powder originated from Malaysian’s cuisines have uniquely evolved over hundreds of years due to the melting pot that Malaysia created. Taste wherein the chef had explored Oman in the quest for the perfect local cuisine. Recently celebrity Chef Shipra Khanna visited Oman for a food trail to discover local Omani flavours and cuisine. Israel too has had its fair share of famous people visiting at the invitation of the Israeli government or the Indian Embassy in Israel. Though the majority of travellers visiting Israel are Holy Land tourists,the leisure segment in travel is growing. Commenting on the growing appetite for local food, Nishant notes an increase in the bandwidth of the existing local food industry in Australia. The local food apps and concepts like dining with the locals, help them reach out to the audience in a great way. "This is where we feel digital integration of our campaigns that are focussed on promoting Australia’s unique culinary experiences, play a critical role. Today, Indian tourists are willing to stay longer, experience more and spend more. Also, as per the findings of its Consumer Demand Project, since the launch of the Restaurant Australia campaign, the spend
on food and wine in Australia by Indians has grown to A$127 million, an exponential increase of 51.2%. Research suggests Australia’s fresh produce, fresh seafood, high grade meat, and unique outdoor dining most heartily tempt the taste buds of travelers. Amongst those Indians who have visited Australia, the destination maintained its top rank as the world’s best food and wine destination. Marketing and promotions “We promote local Omani food and other cuisines through the restaurants and eatery joints as they all offer unique experiences to the travelers. Indian travellers are looking for unique food experiences offered in a delightful ambience like the Cave, in Muscat which offers multi-cuisine experience to visitors; the Jungle restaurant offers the finest delicacies of Asia, Europe, Middle East and America in a tropical rainforest themed décor or one can choose to have a meal at Dunes by Al Nahda, a luxury boutique desert resort," Lubaina says. In Israel, a number of food and wine festivals have been organised and
promoted throughout the country all year round to attract tourists. It also has large scale festivals with over 60 events hosted at various venues across a city offering guests an insider’s view into the best kitchens with hands-on cooking workshops, food talk series and chef-guided tours of their favourite open-air markets, museums and neighborhoods. It also brings local and international chefs together to create one-off menus infusing their own cultures and techniques. Some of the popular food festivals are the Open Restaurants Festival, Jerusalem Beer Festival that showcases local craft and micro brews, Jerusalem Wine Festival is an event of Israeli wines and the EAT Food Festival. South African Tourism recently hosted an 11-day ‘South African Safari’ food festival at Sofitel BKC to give travellers and food enthusiasts a taste of South African culture and authentic food. It flew in Chefs Russel Moodley, Mavis Netshituka and David AobakwePhagane from Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg to take guests on an exciting culinary journey through the land of wildlife and adventure.
Tourism Australia launched a campaign titled ‘Restaurant Australia’, to showcase and position the destination as the culinary capital, highlighting its unique food and wine offerings. One of its key strategies, over the years, has been working with some of the leading Chefs and food critics from the Indian culinary industry. It has successfully sustained the campaign by hosting leading Indian chefs - Sanjeev Kapoor, Kunal Kapur, Ranveer Brar and Vicky Ratnani along with eminent food critics such as Vir Sanghvi, Rashmi Uday Singh and Marryam Reshii to Australia. It has hosted these key influences for major events such as ‘Invite The World to Dinner’ in 2014, ‘NOMA’ in 2016 and ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ awards in 2017. As the Indian outbound market is only anticipated to stay bullish for a while, NTOs can be expected to add in more gastronomical tours and campaigns in their destination promotions in order to cater to the evolving palates of Indian travellers, food and wine aficionados in particular.
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Travel Events
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Japan considers boosting NRI numbers to draw Indian tourists PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
The delegation comprising representatives from JNTO, JETRO and the Consulate General of Japan in Bangalore contemplated over the prevalent tourist traffic from India to Japan while opening up opportunities to invest in Japan.
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he Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC), along with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), organised a seminar on INVEST JAPAN Opportunities in travel and tourism sector on 23 June at Hotel Taj West End. The objective of the seminar was to provide a sector specific session on tourism and allied sector. In view of the 2020 Olympics slated to be held at Tokyo, the Japanese government has rolled out several initiatives and packages in tourism to attract foreign companies to set up base in Japan. Junya Tashiro, Director General, JETRO Bangalore gave the welcome address, followed by an address by Thyagu Valliappa, President, BCIC. The Guest of Honour was Takayuki Kitagawa, ConsulGeneral, Consulate General of Japan in Bangalore. The keynote speech was delivered by Kazuya Nakajo, Chief Director General, JETRO New Delhi while there were presentations made by Japan National Tourism Organisation's Director General Kenichi Takano, as well as Jet Airways, Sonangi Travels and JETRO Bangalore. The Consul General drew attention the shared culture between India and Japan, highlighting the reach of Buddhism, traditions, customs and linguistic legacy that was lent to Japan.
Voyager’s World > July 2017
The visa regime has been simplified for Indian nationals applying to go to Japan. The validity of business visas has been extended from five to 10 years and the requirement to furnish bank statement by Indian students has been waived off. The Consulate of Japan has a window in VFS. In 2014, the multiple visa scheme for short term visitors from India was open for maximum 15 days, with a validity of three years. In January 2015, this duration was extended to 30 days with five years validity. Kenichi Takano said, "The JNTO was established in 1964 when the Tokyo Olympics were held, in order to help give information to tourists coming to Japan. From then on, JNTO has been focused on expanding Japan's inbound tourism. Presently JNTO has 21 offices in 19 countries. JNTO in Delhi opened in March this year. This is the Year of IndiaJapan Friendly Exchanges. India is a very important market for us. The number of tourists visiting Japan has dramatically grown in 2012 and 20 million and 24 million tourists visited Japan in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Hence, JNTO's budget has also increased accordingly. The increasing interest in Japan could be attributed to seeing the Cherry Blossom Festival, savour Japan cuisine, governmental initiatives such as relaxation for visa requirements and expansion of
tax free programmes as well as the increase in middle income groups in especially Asian countries. The main source markets are China, Korea and Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. 83% of the total tourists coming to Japan are from Asia. Unfortunately, Japan is receiving only 123,000 tourists from India. We need to increase tourists from India, USA and Europe." JNTO has set a goal of driving 40 million inbound tourists by 2020 and 60 million by 2030, besides 80 billion USD in spending by overseas visitors by 2020. Its tourism policy emphasises the efficient use of tourism resources and developing the industry's infrastructure. Why invest in Japan? Japan's local regions offer enormous and attractive markets and even one region in the country has a national level GDP. Japanese products and fashion are appealing to global interests. Many foreign companies find business opportunities in Japanese people's sophisticated tastes and choose Japan as the first market to enter in East Asia. High business cost in Japan is showing improvement. There is great value for money in the products such as household appliances, audio-video devices, passenger cars, luxury brands, cosmetics, sports goods and these products also have excellent quality
and safety standards. There has been a significant increase in the landing slots at the Narita and Haneda airports. The delegation also informed that Jungle Lodges & Resorts may be able to set up a Japanese office in Bangalore. Kazuya Nakajo said, "Japan comes in Tier 3 level of preferred outbound destinations as compared to USA and Europe. There has to be a reason as to why Indians are travelling to far off countries like USA, Australia and the UK. The number of Non Resident Indians (NRIs) living overseas is more than the number of tourists from India. Also, the number of Indian tourists is proportional to the number of NRIs. America receives about 10 lakh tourists and NRIs are over 40 lakhs. Japan has lesser number of NRIs but they receive more tourists. NRIs are just 280,000 in Japan. In order to increase the number of tourists to Japan, I think we have to increase the number of NRIs in Japan. NRIs can greatly influence tourism. " "Three factors that can increase NRIs to Japan include attracting foreign students, Indian companies to set up in Japan and open many Indian restaurants in Japan. I request you all to invest in Japan," Kazuya concluded.
Travel Events
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DUBAI’S SUCCESSFUL 2016/2017 CRUISE SEASON WEIGHS ANCHOR VW BUREAU
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Fantasia among the eight other maiden ship calls.
to Dubai by 2020/ 21 cruise season.”
This marked the end of a successful season for Dubai Cruise Tourism, which saw over 625,000 cruise tourists visit the city via a total of 157 ship calls, reflecting an increase of 15 per cent and 18 per cent respectively when compared to the 2015/2016 season. The season also saw Thomson Cruises, the first UK-based cruise line home porting in the region, in addition to inaugural visits from TUI’s Mein Schiff 1 Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star and MSC’s MSC
Commenting on the success of the 2016/2017 season, Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, Director of Dubai Cruise Tourism said: “We are very pleased with the success of our 2016/2017 cruising season, and with the city’s sustained popularity as a winter cruise destination. We are grateful to DP World, Dubai Airports, Dubai Immigration, Dubai Customs, Emirates Airlines and our other key public and private sector stakeholders for their continued cooperation which has led to an ever-increasing number of cruise operators looking to anchor in the emirate. Bolstered by our recent success and our upcoming partnerships over the coming seasons, we are confident we will achieve our strategic goal of welcoming 1 million cruise tourists
The C.S. Sea Princess, an 857 feetlong ship from Princess Cruises, made her way to Dubai from Colombo, bringing almost 3,000 cruise tourists to the city. Her stop in Dubai was in close succession to one made earlier by her sister ship from Princess Cruises; the C.S. Majestic Princess a brand-new vessel, built in Italy earlier this year, making its maiden call to Dubai carrying over 3,500 passengers and over 1,300 crew.
he 2016/2017 Dubai Cruise season officially concluded with the departure of the season’s final ship, the C.S. Sea Princess, from Port Rashid recently. After a stopover in Dubai, the luxury ship’s only port of call in the GCC, the C.S. Sea Princess continued her voyage to Aqaba as part of a 104-nights round trip around the world.
The Dubai Cruise 2017/2018 season is set to commence on 25th October, with the arrival of cruise ship Seabourn Encore. More recently, DubaiCruise also announced that P&O Cruises would be home porting in Dubai for the first time during the 2018/2019 season.
With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world’s leading tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai Tourism’s mission is to increase the awareness of Dubai among global audiences and to attract tourists and inward investment into the emirate. Dubai Tourism is the principal authority for the planning, supervision, development and marketing of Dubai’s tourism sector. It markets and promotes the Emirate’s commerce sector, and is responsible for the licensing and classification of all tourism services including hotels, tour operators and travel agents. Brands and departments within the Dubai Tourism portfolio include Dubai Business Events, Dubai Calendar and Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.
Tourism Minister chairs medical & wellness tourism meet PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
The Ministry of Tourism is undertaking many initiatives to mark the 3rd International Day of Yoga by way of campaigns, TV commercials, radio spots and much more.
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he third meeting of the National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board was held last month under the chairmanship of Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism and Culture in New Delhi on 19 June. The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Rashmi Verma, other senior government officials and members of the Board comprising stakeholders in the travel and hospitality industry and experts in the field of Medical and Wellness Tourism as well as other systems of Indian Medicine. In the second meeting of the Board held on 28 March 2017, it was announced that comprehensive framework and roadmap on Medical and Wellness Tourism would be prepared and presented
before the nation in time for the International Yoga Day on 21 June 2017. Following this decision of the Board, a Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Dr H R Nagendra, President Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bengaluru to formulate a comprehensive framework and roadmap on Medical and Wellness Tourism. The Committee presented its report for adoption by the Board in which a standard framework for assessment and accreditation of all AYUSH facilities that cater to Tourism has been created. The institutions can apply online for self-assessment which would then be reviewed for accreditation. All organisations that are already accredited and/or qualified and/or certified by NAAC, NABH, ISO-9004, Indian Yoga Association (IYA), Center
of Excellence (CoE), Organisations affiliated by Universities, Approved Integrative Hospitals and government AYUSH Institutions and Green Leaf / Olive Leaf organisationsapproved by Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala would be listed on the Ministry of Tourism website by 21 June 2017. The Indiatourism offices overseas are organising and playing a prominent role in the organising of
International Day of Yoga celebrations in the countries under their jurisdictions. Indiatourism offices in India, Institutes of the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) and Indian Institutes of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) will also be organising International Day of Yoga events.
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Niche Travel
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-New trends in the The honeymoon travel & romantic getaways niche is discussing the evolution of honeymoon travel and the ANJU ANNA ALEX
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© Vishal Hanmattekar, The Blueberry Trails
fter tying the knot with their loved one, couples yearn to have a romantic trip with their partners to celebrate their union. Though there are lots of breathtaking sites in this world, India still remains one of the most preferred destinations to the honeymooners. Weddings have always been huge and more so an exorbitant affair for Indians. Young Indian couples leave no stone unturned when it comes to planning their honeymoons. Since weddings take place all year round, honeymoon travel is considered a perennial source of income for the travel and hospitality industry and therefore is seen as a highly lucrative business. From the serene backwaters of Kerala to the quaint, princely land of Udaipur or the immensely popular Goa; India has plenty to offer for honeymooners. Vishal Hanmattekar, Co-founder & CEO, The Blueberry Trails says, “Couples nowadays are exploring various unique experiences around India - Snorkelling in the magical islands of Andamans, romantic hideaways in the beautiful mountain
Voyager’s World > July 2017
clad Sikkim, experiencing moonlit camel safaris in the deserts of Rajasthan or backwater stays and getting Ayurvedic massages in Kerala are some of the popular Indian honeymoon getaways today.” Recently, Munnar was adjudged the ‘Best Destination for Romance’ by the magazine Lonely Planet Indian Travel Awards 2017; the enchanting hill station undisputedly being the perfect backdrop to kindle romance. Because honeymoons are generally once-in-lifetime experiences, travellers tend to be reasonably accommodating when it comes to paying a premium for honeymoon travel. This is to say that most travellers are ready to splurge a little extra to indulge in luxuries during their trip. There was a time when newlyweds dreamt of travelling to iconic destinations that offered them plenty of sightseeing opportunities like Agra or Singapore or Paris. A photo by the side of the magnificent Taj Mahal or the breathtaking Eiffel Tower was a dream for many newlyweds belonging to the 80’s, 90’s era. In the recent years, couples
Niche Travel
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honeymoon travel segment witnessing rapid growth. Industry experts leave no stone unturned while latest trends that have successfully captured the imagination of newlyweds. have begun to fancy beautiful locales in remote sites that offer them utmost privacy. Candle light dinners, private beaches in exotic destinations, rooms with spectacular views or cosy villas with pools or hot Jacuzzis etc. have captivated the minds of newlyweds. It is also interesting to note that the travel decisions of newlywed millennial honeymooners are increasingly influenced by social media trends and images. Celebrities take to social media platforms like Instagram to share drool worthy images of their life style, the picturesque destinations to which they have travelled or the delicately arranged exotic dishes that they have savoured during their vacation. Millenials are also motivated to travel to particular locations or
engage in specific activities to take photos so that they can garner the “likes” of their friends or followers. They in turn prompt others to do the same and in a way become social media influencers. Many destinations and their marketing agencies are eyeing the potential and actively utilize social media and social media influencers to promote their destinations. Bollywood movies are also excellent marketing tools for the destination promotion and branding. With easy access to information, the new age honeymoon travellers are able to judiciously identify relevant information or even make connections with people and places previously unheard of. Better airline connectivity coupled with ease in procuring visitor visa is enabling honeymooners to travel to lesser known, far-flung locations.
Sudhir Patel, Director, Veena World
“Ooty, Kodai, Mahabaleshwar, Shimla, Manali, Sri Nagar etc. are very popular honeymoon getaways in India. Overseas destinations like Singapore, Krabi, Switzerland, London, Paris, Thailand, Austria, Budapest, Spain, Prague, Tuscany etc. have been witnessing an influx of honeymoon travellers especially from India.”
The increase in appetite for travel, spurred by social media has also fuelled the idea of travelling to multiple destinations in one single trip allowing couples to make the best out of the opportunity. Newlyweds also do not shy away from adventurous activities like sky diving, rafting or even bungee jumping. Shopping also finds its place in the itinerary of newlyweds, be it from a bustling flea market or a luxury departmental store. Though the general trend in the travel industry is towards disintermediation, wherein the middleman is removed; the recent years has witnessed an increasing number of newlyweds reckon the services of experienced, trust worthy travel consultants. This being said, honeymooners are very particular about their choices and
go to great lengths to ensure that travel itineraries are planned out to the smallest of details. Expert travel consultants empower tourists to make well informed decisions with credible information on factors such as weather, accommodation type, culinary facts, natural background, activities and budget. Sudhir Patel, Director, Veena World, comments that “The honeymoon market is always a good market. There are FITs as well as those who opt for group travel packages. The mass segment tends to look at budget friendly options and is willing to consider group travel, though the majority of travellers favour peaceful areas as compared to crowded cities. Elite travellers too tend to choose idyllic destinations but search for destinations that offer unique experiences.”
Abhijit Gupta, Managing Director, Travel Bazaar
“The honeymoon market in India is a burgeoning segment. A lot of our clients prefer overseas destinations. The demand to travel to some lesser known, untouched destination is ever increasing among honeymooners. Young couples these days are very adventurous and they want to try new things. They like to mix it up in terms of activities”
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Niche Travel
© Vishal Hanmattekar, The Blueberry Trails
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This entails that many honeymooners like to enjoy the calm atmosphere in some lesser explored destinations away from the maddening crowd. Vishal describes the honeymoon market in India as a rapidly growing segment with YoY growths of 25-30%, especially the outbound destinations. He says, “ In the emerging Indian economy with growing income and capital power & growing demand for destination weddings, people don’t mind spending on an unique and experience filled honeymoon since it’s a once in a life time experience”. Abhijit Gupta, Managing Director, Travel Bazaar, observes that the honeymoon market in India is a burgeoning segment. He notes that, “A lot of our clients prefer overseas destinations. The demand to travel to some lesser known, untouched destination is ever increasing among honeymooners.” Though the period between May and October is the peak wedding season, there are many couples willing to postpone their honeymoons to the off-season, mostly during the winter. The average number of days for which the couples spend their
Voyager’s World > July 2017
honeymoon is around 8 to 12 days, this being much more than that of regular travellers. While beachdestinations are still a hot favourite for destination weddings as well as honeymoon travellers, Indians still love to escape to hill stations for their honeymoon. Destination weddings are also a blooming segment in the romantic travel niche. But unlike the popular notion that they are in favour only among the affluent is a misconception. In fact, Sudhir affirms that destination weddings are a budget friendly option considering that only a selected few invitees make it to the guest list. Simply put he describes them as, “attractive and economical.” Besides, bachelor parties and bachelorette or hen parties are in vogue among millennials. Wine tasting, cruising, food tours or even engaging in various adventurous activities are novel experiences that young honeymoon travellers are enthusiastically gearing up for. According to Abhijit, “Young couples these days are very adventurous and they want to try new things. They like to mix
it up in terms of activities.” More importantly, they want to explore authentic cultural experiences. The need for experiential travel has insinuated this segment as well and is on the rise. Another emerging trend among the honeymooners is that they want to travel multiple destinations and opt for packages that allow them to visit more than one place. Honeymoon packages to European countries or MalaysiaSingapore-Thailand packages are still much sought-after. Talking about the most sought after Indian and overseas destinations Sudhir says,“ Ooty, Kodai, Mahabaleshwar, Shimla, Manali, Sri Nagar etc. are very popular honeymoon getaways in India. Overseas destinations like Singapore, Krabi, Switzerland, London, Paris, Thailand, Austria, Budapest, Spain, Prague, Tuscany etc. have been witnessing an influx of honeymoon travellers especially from India. Honeymoon travellers always request for special arrangements such as candle light dinners, special cakes, beautifully decorated rooms, expensive wine etc. ” Experts like Sudhir and Abhijit
are positive that the average-spend on honeymoon holidays remains relative to the customer. Commenting about the preferred overseas locations for honeymoon travellers Abhijit says, “South Africa, Austria, New Zealand, Bora Bora are exciting destinations for honeymoon travellers. Maldives, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines and Bhutan have been witnessing an influx of honeymooners. We have always found Europe as well as Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Spain, France are hot favourites among especially for the mid to high segment of travellers. Switzerland continues to remain the dream destination for newlyweds”. Commenting about the popular honeymoon packages, Vishal, says, “The best selling honeymoon packages are mostly for Europe, couples usually want to explore their romance through the city of light - Paris or soak up in the southern flavours of Spain and Portugal, or the Dalmatian coastline of Croatia etc. On an average couples spend at least 10-15 days on their honeymoon here and couples spend around
© Sudeepta Sanyal, The Blueberry Trails
© Sudeepta Sanyal, The Blueberry Trails
Niche Travel
Rs. 2-4 lakhs per person. Romantic dinner on the Eiffel Tower, Thermal baths at Budapest, Sky dinner at Brussels, Private Hot Air Balloon rides with Champagne, Helicopter hilltop picnics etc are some of the unique sought after experiences.” With adventure tourism and activities, steadily gaining recognition, the increase in demand for offbeat destinations has become very evident. Abhijit opines that offbeat destinations like Taiwan, Philippines, Bhutan, Reunion Island, Greenland, Iceland etc. are growing in popularity with each passing day. Sudhir observes how Croatia is leaving its imprint on the global tourist map as an emerging yet offbeat destination for travel. As people are becoming more adventurous with an increasing appetite for new experiences and culture, offbeat destinations are gaining favour among honeymooners.” “Indians are unfazed by the terror attacks in many parts of Europe and continue to make travel plans to Europe”, he adds. Abhijit on the other hand mentions that “Indians relish the refined, polished culture
that many European countries have to offer.” Vishal further explains that, “Some of the sought after offbeat honeymoon destinations are: Zykanthos in Greece for people who prefer a serene and romantic backdrop to celebrate their love by the clear water beaches, Gazing at the spectacular Northern Lights in Iceland, Strolling in Dubrovnik, Croatia to experience some Mediterranean romance.” Honeymoon packages that offer cruising in their itinerary are becoming mainstream. Cruises are usually a part of the honeymoon package than the honeymoon as a whole. According to Vishal, “Ideally couples like to spend 3-4 days of their honeymoon on a romantic cruise. Caribbean or Norweigan cruises which offer many romantic getaways & Mediterranean cruises are some of the most popular ones.” When quizzed about Thailand reigning the list of go-to destinations for Indian honeymoon travellers both Sudhir and Abhijit agree that Thailand is easy-onthe-pocket and offers incredible sightseeing opportunities with its enticing blend of gorgeous beaches
Vishal Hanmattekar, Co-founder & CEO, The Blueberry Trails
“Couples nowadays are exploring various unique experiences around India - Snorkelling in the magical islands of Andamans, romantic hideaways in the beautiful mountain clad Sikkim, experiencing moonlit camel safaris in the deserts of Rajasthan or backwater stays and getting Ayurvedic massages in Kerala are some of the popular Indian honeymoon getaways today.” and interesting culture. Indians can also avail the visa-on-arrival facility which is a major contributing factor to the upswing in Indian travellers to travel. Like other parts of the world, Thailand also has some best kept secrets in the form of lesser known pristine sun-kissed beachfronts for the laid back and romantic experience as well as fantastic shopping opportunities for the shopaholic. It is also essential to note the rising trend today is a romantic trip together without the
kids or a second honeymoon. Vishal says, “Many couples use the time to reconnect with each other outside the walls of their home. This along with other niche travel trends like babymoons or post-retirement travel are growing rapidly.” Abhijit throws in a word of caution to suggest that travellers, especially honeymooners, should exercise diligence in separating the chaff from the grain when it comes to choosing a good travel consultant.
India Outbound
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CURRY IN BALI- CRAFTING INDIAN CULINARY MARVELS IN BALI ANJU ANNA ALEX
A paradise-like Indonesian island, Bali is really a heaven for foodies. George Thomas Panjikunnel, Managing Director, Curry in Bali, talks about the authentic Indian restaurant that everyone is raving about.
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eing famous for dishing out mouth-watering food, the restaurants in Bali attract several tourists every year. However, the most notable fact is that there are some popular Indian restaurants in Bali giving Indian tourists a chance to satiate their cravings for homely Indian food and others an opportunity to savour Indian delicacies.
Why do Indians love Bali? “Indians are bored of going to all the locations in the South East Asia. Once they come to Bali, they find the place and the culture very similar to that of India. With 90% Hindus and Hinduism being practised the traditional way, is an added advantage. Of late, the people who visit Bali encourage others to travel to Bali through word of mouth. There is almost zero crime here. It’s a peaceful Island and goes by the name – ‘The Islands of the Gods’! Curry in Bali Curry in Bali is already ranked number 1 out of 37 restaurants in Ungasan and 207 of the 5000 plus restaurants in Bali and is getting appreciation and recognition from all spheres. There is perhaps no
Indian food that is not available in this restaurant. The traditional Indian dishes offer a memorable experience to the customers. Curry in Bali has deliberately included the delicacies from various Indian regions in its menu. The experienced chefs of the restaurant are skilled at producing the desired taste in every dish while retaining its authenticity. The main reason behind the popularity of this Indian restaurant is because we only use the freshest of ingredients and aromatic spices. We never compromise on quality and taste. Our chefs are known to create magic through the clever use of flavors by incorporating different elements like cashews, saffron, ginger, mango powder, cumin, curry leaves and many more. The
restaurant has association with the most reliable producers to avail the best quality constituents for the culinary purpose. The delicious food menu comprises of popular dishes like Tandoori chicken, tikka, Keralastyle parotta, fried chicken with pepper and many more. USP Quality food coupled with friendly service is our trump card. The customer service of Curry in Bali is incredible. We do our best to ensure that all the tourists have an unforgettable experience of dining at this restaurant and our food takes them on a culinary journey through India. We have grown this far and this fast, owing to word of mouth alone. We have repeat customers from different nationalities.
Indian cruise segment sees demand for longer itineraries IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Samit Ajgaonkar, Managing Director, Cruisemeout, stresses on the products that the platform offers for the rising cruise clientele in the Indian market.
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ruisemeout aims to be a one-stop shop for all Indian cruise travellers who wish to have multiple vacations in the midst of entertainment, shopping, food, games and relaxation for all age groups. Its cruiseliners include Costa, MSC, NCL, Royal Caribbean and Star Cruise, along with their respective sub-cruiseliners.
Voyager’s World > July 2017
Samit Ajgaonkar, Managing Director of Cruisemeout, observes a growth of 35% to 40% year on year in the India market at present. "Currently, India contributes to a minimal percentage as far as world cruise travellers are concerned; however, the India looks very promising in the coming years."
their offsite and incentive events aboard a ship. "Weddings are another segment in which we see cruises being taken for pre-wedding and post wedding gatherings. We are catering to all segments like families, couples, corporate, individual travellers."
Promotional plans "We are focused on a 360 degree holistic approach targeted through both traditional and digital marketing initiatives.
Travellers "Currently 95% of our bookings have been done by Indians. North India is more active geographically for us. We plan to expand in few more countries in the coming months and should see spreading across geographies."
Main segments Some of the main segments for Cruisemeout include individual family vacationers, small and medium groups of vacationers. It sees great opportunity in cruise for corporates who want to host
"Initially a survey conducted by us revealed that our customers are most comfortable for maximum of four days on a cruise. However,
this trend is gradually increasing to six nights and above with travellers wanting to explore Europe and Mediterranean regions. While Singapore and Bangkok remain the most favourable destinations, we have seen an increase in Greece and Croatia the top destinations searched on the portal." "The cruise industry is definitely on a rising graph in India especially with the tourism ministry reducing port taxes and developing these ports for cruise tourism. We should see more than 100 international cruise liners docking in India in the next two years.The number of Indians taking international holidays every year has increased threefold and it is shifting towards cruise tourism on faster scale," he sums up.
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Incredible India
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TIME 2017: TCEB's 'Mantra' casts spell on Indian travel trade! PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
This year's edition focused on showcasing the uniqueness of Thailand's meeting and incentive products to the rapidly growing Indian MICE market.
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he Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) organised the second edition of the Thailand Incentive and Meeting Exchange (TIME) 2017 from 29 June to 3 July for the Indian travel trade. Themed 'Mantra of the Golden Land' this year, TIME 2017 was held across Bangkok and Chiang Mai, taking the delegates through knowledge sessions, team building activities, networking opportunities and city tours during the course of the event. 40 exclusive travel agents from across India experienced this business exchange that sought to present unique venues and incentive itineraries for the Indian MICE segment. TIME was conceptualized as an endeavour to gain detailed knowledge about the requirements and concerns of source markets and also disseminate information to the buyers from the source markets about new meeting venues, hotels, team building programmes,
Voyager’s World > July 2017
corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and innovative itineraries. The delegation was hosted at the Marriott Marquis Bangkok Queen's Park on the first two days. This is one of the latest MICE facilities in Bangkok with the lobby being a much-talked about feature. Situated in close proximity to the city's bustling shopping and entertainment hubs, the hotel has 1360 rooms and suites and 15 rooms for hosting meetings. The largest ballroom in the hotel covers 12000 sq ft in area. The programmes during the first two days of the exchange consisted of knowledge sessions, panel discussions, interviews and table top networking with the Indian buyers and the Thai sellers. The panelists comprised veteran speakers from the travel trade and the corporate industry in India, along with TCEB representatives. Sushil Shamlal Wadhwa, Founder & CMD, Platinum World Grroup; Neena Kaul, Associate Director - Sales Operations & CIS, GoodYear India; Manpreet Bindra,
Vice President & Head - MICE, FCM Travel Solutions; Ajay Seth, Senior VP – MICE, Cox & Kings and KD Singh, Founder & President, TravelBullz participated in the discussions. Nitin Sachdeva, India Representative, TCEB, moderated the session on gauging the requirements of the Indian MICE client, while El Kwang, Chief Editorial Officer of BizEvents Asia.com moderated the session on bridging the communication gaps between the service providers and the clients. Highlighting the impact of the tax reforms that India is undergoing on the travel industry, Sushil said, "India's is the fastest outbound travel market in the world with a 12%-15% growth year on year and among all the segments, MICE is the fastest growing segment at 20%-22% annually. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is going to have a major impact on the MICE and travel industry especially. This single tax regime will ease the way businesses
are done in the long run. The tax rate for the MICE or events industry, which is 15% service tax, will become 18% GST and as an agency, we try to charge between 10% and 15% as our management fees but rarely succeed. Negotiations may get tougher in the months to come. The travel industry will see a reduction in the service tax to 5% GST. For 18% GST, one gets the Input Tax Credit but with the 5% GST one does not get the credit. This may increase the cost for many heads, though the tax liability may be lesser. Airline tickets will go down from the present 5%6% to 1.5% because of the sheer volumes. Overall, we still believe that the market condition will still be bullish. Thailand is the number one MICE destination for India. India is the 10th largest business market in the world with almost 1.5 million Indians travelling only for MICE purposes." Neena Kaul spoke about the factors that make Thailand a viable MICE
6-8 Nov 2017
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destination by way of its proximity to India, flight connections, etc. while also cautioning against certain visa limitations. The delegates were flown to Chiang Mai on the third day to experience what the relatively lesser known city has to offer MICE groups. A one-hour flight away from Bangkok, Chiang Mai's regal and historical appeal is sure to go well with incentive and meeting groups. Surrounded by mountains and abundant green cover, Chiang Mai boasts of worldclass infrastructure and facilities for tourists and business travellers alike. While being a self-contained city in itself, it is still stashed away from the usual buzz of a city. It is home to several remarkable resorts, hotels and convention centres. An innovative city tour was organised upon landing by sending the delegates in groups to explore the city with the help of maps in 'Songthaews' or the local shared taxis. The city abounds with historic monuments, temples and museums
Voyager’s World > July 2017
that illustrate the region's past. The groups visited the Lan Na Folklife museum, Three Kings Monument, Wat Chedi Luang Varavihara monument and the Wat Phra Singh temple, while savouring local desserts to beat the heat. Some of the top hotels and resorts in Chiang Mai are the Shangri-la, Four Seasons, Anantara, Le Meridien, Horizon Village & Resort, Rati Lanna and Dhara Dhevi. The delegates stayed in Shangri-La, which also has the largest function room in the city as well as in the Anantara. The delegates participated in a table top session at the Khum Kham International Convention Centre where they interacted with the local suppliers whose services and products ranged from hotels, resorts and spas located in exotic places to nature safaris, elephant parks, jungle canopy stays and zip line adventure activities, in addition to a showcase of the native art and craft at the venue. Chiang Mai is known for its tribal and native artwork with
a variety of hand-crafted lamps, baskets, artistic clothes, souvenirs and other handmade artifacts. There was a team building activity organised at the Horizon Village & Resort, an idyllic location for groups who would want to have a green venue with the backdrop of landscaped gardens, flora and fauna. This property is communitybacked in terms of employing the locals and running the property sustainably. The resort has 209 rooms spread across a 115-acre botanical garden and is away from the city. A number of social functions and team building activities take place here regularly. MICE groups that want to experience a grand and luminous event, can choose to host a dinner or a gala event at the Royal Botanical Garden – Royal Park Rajapruck. Located against the settings of mountains and lush greenery, the venue houses the Ho Kham Luang Royal Pavilion, featuring Lanna architecture. The TCEB had organised a spectacular
dinner interspersed with colourful cultural performances at this venue, before taking the delegates on the Chiang Mai Night Safari later in the night. Chiang Mai's eco-friendly way of life has proven advantageous for corporates who want to include CSR programmes in their itineraries. From planting orchids and soft treks and zip line adventures to taking a tour of the Royal Projects initiated by the king 60 years ago, there are ample activities to choose from. Subsidies and tax schemes TCEB has designed several financial subsidies to woo MICE groups. Drawing attention to subsidies and tax saving schemes, Nitin explained, "For the new fiscal year starting this October, we have run successful campaigns like 'Meet Double Cities' and 'Meet Sustainable Ways'. For the latter, not only do we promote CSR activities available in the country, but one can either choose one CSR activity or use the Thailand MICE Venue Standard (TMVS)
31>> certified venue for getting financial subsidies." "In 'Meet Double Cities', as a country bureau, we try to introduce other destinations within the country not just Bangkok. There are other key cities that are more than ready for the delegates to organise their meetings and incentive events. We encourage them by providing financial subsidies if the event is organised in two cities; it can be any pair of cities - Chiang Mai-Phuket; Bangkok-Pattaya or Bangkok-Hua Hin, for example," said Nooch Homrossukhon, Director- Meetings Industry, TCEB. Nitin said, "We pay a reimbursement based on the number of people, for which there is a minimum cap of 200 people to qualify and if they have booked for a minimum of three nights with either a CSR activity or a green venue, they are eligible for a refund of 100,000 Thai Baht and the subsidy increases in proportion to the number of people. There is a similar subsidy for 200-pax groups in the 'Meet Double Cities' campaign for a minimum of four nights in two different cities and some extra different criteria." Mega groups from India "We always welcome any sort of business, but we have to consider the accessibility factor - the flight capacity. We have grown in terms of numbers per group. Earlier we had one or two groups of over 1,000 pax. Last year we saw many such big groups from India, about 10 groups of over 500 pax and three to four groups over 1000 pax. Now, we expect this trend to continue next year also, considering the changing taxation system and the demonetization move, which have worked towards the Asia market. With the cost going up in the long haul market, Asia is the real winner. It has given us more responsibility for us to actually get more experiences in the market," Nooch said. New developments Nooch said, "Over 70% of leisure and MICE travellers are repeat visitors to our country. We are introducing new destinations in our country. For example, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai are very new markets. Through our CSR activities, we are trying to encourage more engagement with the locals by facilitating the groups to interact with them." TCEB believes that Thailand is still ahead of the game compared to its key competitors in the ASEAN
region, especially with the Indian MICE segment. It bets on the sheer variety of products for MICE business. "We are Indian-friendly and understand your culture and behaviour preference better than other countries. The experience that we offer is very unique. You cannot find our unique experiences in other countries. Today, Indian visitors are not just talking about Thailand as a whole but talk about specific cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Pattaya. "From the world market perspective, we see a growing trend but we see big growth from the Asian market. Hence,
it is largely a regional movement that accounts for about 75% of all the MICE visitors to Thailand from Asia. As far as meetings and incentives are concerned, we are going to launch a marketing and promotional campaign next year, which would be more customer-centric but I cannot reveal any more information at this point in time," she said. Alluding to the shared cultural connect between India and Thailand, Nooch said that the influence of Indian culture has been blended well into their programme so that guests perceive the exceptionality of Thai culture
whilst sensing familiarity with their home culture. "The Thai culture factor is going very well with our Indian clients. We have unique CSR activities that many corporate clients have included in their programmes." True to her words, the hospitality extended by the service providers and the organisers of TIME 2017 echoed with warmth and outstanding competence as they paid utmost attention to the details while executing the itinerary professionally.
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Travel Tech Show to highlight Payment Solutions at WTM London 2017 VW BUREAU
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he Travel Tech Show at WTM London 2017 will focus on payments solution with a dedicated lounge, reflecting not only the importance of payments across the global travel ecosystem but also a desire from last year's attendees for more insight into this sector. Payment solutions are relevant across all verticals and in all markets. As the distribution landscape in travel continues to evolve, payment solutions providers are forming a vital role in ensuring that flow of monies between the various stakeholders in the travel process is efficient, reliable and secure. Any consumer-facing travel business needs to have a payments solution in place which makes it easy for travellers to buy, especially with the shift to online and mobile transactions. However, there is also a growing market for specific business-tobusiness solutions which facilitate the way that suppliers pay each other, how intermediaries pay suppliers, or how suppliers and intermediaries pay commission to agents or affiliates. More than 2,000 attendees at last year's WTM London expressed an interest in payment solutions, with accommodation providers the most responsive, followed by retail and online agents with a large proportion also coming from tour operators. The interest is coming from senior executives, with payments capturing
Voyager’s World > July 2017
the attention of more than 300 CEO and managing director level attendees. As an indication of the scale of the payments business, Priceline Group, the world's largest travel company by market capitalization, handled 173 million room night bookings in the first three months of 2017 across its brands. This has resonance in the context of how it handles and accounts for tens of millions of consumer payments but also in terms of how it - or indeed any third party retailers - redirect the payment back to the property owner. As consumers are transacting more online, patterns are emerging which highlight significant difference between markets. Worldpay, a FTSE-100 listed payment services business, has carried out research into how and why travellers in six key markets pay for their vacations. It found that that while credit and debit cards are still prevalent , socalled alternative payment methods - such as Paypal - are gaining traction in mature markets as well as emerging ones. One important finding of the Worldpay study is the need for international brands to allow Chinese tourists to pay using Chinese methods such as Alipay. With 100 million outbound travellers, China is the world's largest outbound market and will continue to grow, reinforcing the need for the industry to consider they will take payments from this segment.
The complexity and scale of the consumer landscape is matched in the business-to-business world. eNett, part of Travelport, specialises in B2B payments for the travel industry and estimates this segment of the market is worth $780 billion a year. eNett has pioneered virtual account numbers or VANS, which are automatically-generated 16-digit MasterCard account number, unique to each booking or transaction which makes it easier to track the payment by connecting to backoffice systems. WTM London Senior Director Simon Press said: "Effective payment mechanisms are needed for consumers to buy their trip and for suppliers and intermediaries to pay each other. The Payments Solutions lounge at The Travel Tech Show at WTM will give the payments industry the profile it deserves at the leading global event for the travel industry." WTM London 2017 is also introducing an extra Speed Networking session on the Tuesday of the event – meaning each day will kick off with a speed networking event before the exhibition floor opens. The first day of the event 6 November will start with the traditional regional speed networking event, with more than 200 buyers taking tables split by the exhibition floor geographies they purchase. In 2016 around 1,000 exhibitor personal attended the Monday morning speed networking session. 7 November sees the introduction of the new
sector-specific speed networking event, with niches including responsible tourism, food tourism, adventure tourism and wedding and honeymoons covered. Buyers will be seated based on the sectors they purchase. The final day of WTM London sees the highly successful and re-named WTM Digital Influencers’ Speed Networking (formerly WTM Bloggers’ Speed Networking) return for its fourth year. The event will see 100 leading digital influencers discuss how they can help promote exhibitors’ destinations and products to their legions of loyal followers. All three events will take place before the exhibition floor opens at 9am at the Networking Area AS900, giving exhibitors an extra hour to discuss and conclude business deals.WTM London facilitates almost £2.8 billion in industry deals. Simon said: “Speed Networking has proved incredibly popular since we first launched it at WTM London back in 2010 that we have continued to add extra sessions to the programme. WTM London now offers three speed networking events before the exhibition floor opens on each day, expanding the opportunities for exhibitors to negotiate and conclude business deals at the event. WTM London generated almost £2.8 billion in industry deals. With the extra speed networking session this year we expect WTM 2017’s to facilitate a record value of business for the travel and tourism industry.”
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TCEB capitalizes on knowledge interface for Indian market PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
Education is key for our service providers in order to cater better to the Indian meetings and incentive groups, says Nooch Homrossukhon, Director- Meetings Industry, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
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gainst the backdrop of the Thailand Incentive & Meeting Exchange (TIME) 2017 held from 29 June to 3 July in Bangkok and Chiang Mai for Indian delegates, Nooch Homrossukhon, DirectorMeetings Industry, TCEB, highlighted the present business trends from the Indian MICE market to Thailand.
Citing education as the rationale behind TIME, Nooch said, "The concept of TIME was initiated last year with China, our top source market. We saw the importance of educating service providers and industry partners here to get to know that particular source market better; they can learn more about the decision making factors, rules and regulations that we have to comply with if we are to offer certain products to that market. We wanted to ensure that our service providers are well-equipped with all the necessary information before they tapped into that market." Stressing on business exchange as one of the highlights of TIME, she stated that the idea sought to provide an opportunity for the buyers to meet sellers and exchange information on
requirements and new trends and issues. "It is a very short and casual meet. We encourage the sellers to follow up with emails and sales calls. The other aspect of TIME is the experience exchange. This year, we are bringing TIME 2017 to Chiang Mai to experience its MICE offerings. Chiang Mai, as compared to other Thai cities, is lesser known. In Chiang Mai, we have invited the local service providers to be part of the table top sessions." "India is only second after China for us. The Chinese usually come here for mega events while we receive small scale incentive movements from India. In MICE business, meetings and incentives usually take 80% of all Indian MICE visitors to our country and I believe the trend will continue even next year. From 2015-2016, we have
seen 15% growth in MICE visitors globally. Being a mushroom market, India registered a one-digit growth during the period." "The competition is fierce globally and in Asia. We are not competing in terms of giving financial subsidies but we try to offer quality products and services of great value, more than what you pay. Education is the key. We want to impart more knowledge to our Indian clients on how to do MICE more differently. We train our existing Tier 1 customers in India on new products and those in Tier 2 market to develop the next level of customers because they don't know the MICE segment. We also impart knowledge through seminars in Tier 2 markets and roadshows in metros like Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore."
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ITB Asia 2017 sees successful buyer programme partnerships VW BUREAU
90% of recommended buyers targeted to attend ITB Asia’s milestone event this year. Buyers programme evolved to be larger scale this year following success of programme in 2016.
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TB Asia, “Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show”, has seen successful buyer programme partnerships for 2017 following the increased involvement of exhibitors this year, with 90% of recommended buyers targeted to attend the event. This year there has been an increase in the number of hotel groups participating in the buyer’s programme, including Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Best Western Hotel Group, Meliá Hotels International, Resorts World Sentosa, WorldHotels and Pan Pacific Hotels Group.
looking to keep one step ahead of the evolving needs of this sector. We want to continue this momentum by working with our partners to bring a fresh pool of influential buyers from across the region,” said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia. “Working closely with our exhibitors this year, has allowed us to increase the number of buyer programme partnerships and deep dive into each local market to identify key areas of growth and demand.”
The event has also seen closer collaboration with key associations, including Malaysian Association for Tour & Travel Agents, Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India and National Association of Independent Travel Agents, helping to bring a fresh pool of buyers to the event. “As the leader in the travel space, it’s essential that ITB Asia is always
Sharon Lee, Senior Director of Sales at Meliá Hotels International commented, “Meliá Hotels International is proud to partner with ITB Asia to raise the benchmark of its trade events. The need to consistently innovate is a trait that both Meliá and ITB share. In today’s business climate, delivering strong returns for exhibitors is key and, on this front, ITB Asia is ahead of the curve.”
Voyager’s World > July 2017
Olivier Berrivin, Managing Director of Best Western’s International Operations, Asia said, “Best Western is delighted to be returning to ITB Asia in 2017. Our company has participated in every edition of ITB Asia since the event first launched in 2008, and we had no hesitation in confirming our presence for this year’s tenth anniversary show. We return to this event each year as it consistently provides us with high quality business leads for our Asian hotels and resorts. With prearranged face-to-face appointments, industry insights and excellent networking opportunities, this is an unmissable event.” Whilst Mr Chow Keng Hai, Senior Vice President, Resort Sales and Marketing, Resorts World Sentosa commented, “ITB Asia is a prestigious one-stop platform for Resorts World Sentosa to showcase our award-winning combination of state-of-the-art meeting facilities, luxurious accommodation,
entertainment, fine dining and deep expertise in events management. As Asia’s premium lifestyle destination resort that offers a myriad of formal and unconventional venues, Resorts World Sentosa has both the software and hardware available for travel and event organisers to effectively blend business and leisure within the same location. Visitors and delegates can also be assured of an outstanding culinary experience at our celebrity chef restaurants which boast the most number of Michelin stars in a single gastronomic destination.” Following the overall success of ITB Asia in 2016, 895 buyers attended the show, leading to a 1:1 ratio between exhibitors and buyers whilst over 50% of buyers signed deals with exhibitor’s post event. 43% of attending buyers had purchasing power of USD 500K – USD 1m whilst 85.7% of attending buyers were direct decision makers.
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Grand Dragon Ladakh beckons groups wanting adventure with business PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
Danish Din, Director, The Grand Dragon, Ladakh, says the property is suited for MICE groups looking to mix adventurous activities with their business sessions.
Grand Dragon and MICE We have been specifically catering to the MICE requirements of the corporates for the past few years. Out of the whole business percentage, we have almost done 30% of the business via MICE facilities in the past five years. Leh Ladakh is not really a place for MICE events, but there are quite a few companies and corporates who like to do MICE-cum-adventure
here. Multinational, national, government and state organizations and companies host their events in our hotel and the average length of stay is two nights. Leh Ladakh, being a tough destination in itself, we suggest that they stay for a minimum of three days; the first day is for acclimatizing, followed by easy going functions that are not tiring and then a Ladakhi cultural event along with dinner before they turn in. We customise packages and offer activities like yoga sessions, cycling and soft treks. They can start the trek early in the morning through the Leh Old Village, cross the mountain, have breakfast by the river, experience river rafting or ride on a Royal Enfield. The peak season for the corporate events and MICE groups are August and September; October is a lean season but not a hard and fast
one. A lot of government organisations and national corporates come in April and May. Occupancy levels In order to balance the occupancy levels during the peak seasons, we have classified the rooms into different groups - out of 100 rooms, we have allotted 20 for online business, 50 for our travel agents, 10 for the government sector or state officials, celebrities and high profile dignitaries, to keep them in line and we have reserved the remaining 20 for our own directors that include walk-ins, previous recommendations and repeat clients. Meetings It is a tedious task to transport raw materials and all supplies from Delhi
M.I.C.E SCAN
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Registration open for Annual Travel South USA International Showcase
August 16, 17 Hospitality Investment Conference Indian Ocean (HICIO) Maldives 31 August, 1 September International Conference on Tourism and Business Lucerne, Switzerland
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ravel South USA is pleased to announce that registration for its 6th Annual Travel South USA International Showcase in Charleston, South Carolina is open. Early-bird registration offers discounted rates and is open until 1 September 1, 2017, at which time full registration rates will resume. The event brings together qualified international tour operators, U.S. Receptive Tour Operators, and Southern tourism entities for three days of appointments, networking, terrific food, and entertainment.
International business events deliver over $300 million to NZ
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he events that were secured by Tourism New Zealand and industry over the last four years will bring nearly 100,000 people to the country, as announced at MEETINGS, New Zealand’s largest business tourism trade exhibition on 1 June, 2017. In Budget 2013 the government invested $34 million with Tourism New Zealand for the purpose of attracting meetings, incentives and conferences. International Conference / convention arrivals are growing – 66,000 up 4% (MBIE IVA - YE March 17)
Media registrations open for PTM 2017
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edia registrations for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart 2017 (PTM 2017) is now open. The event will take place in Macao SAR from 13-15 September at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel. Hosted by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), this 40th edition will also have a Digital Hub exhibition this year, offering digital companies an opportunity to boost brand awareness while contracting directly with relevant businesses and organisations in the tourism and travel industry.
We have hosted international conferences as well as small functions, meetings and conferences. Ladakh is a cultural destination, but not a wedding destination. It is challenging to conduct weddings here.
CALENDAR 2017
DTCM unveils hospitality and food services expo
aunching during Dubai International Hospitality Week, an initiative endorsed by Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM), GulfHost 2017, a hospitality and food services expo, organised by Dubai World Trade Centre, will take place from 18-20 September. Also taking place during GulfHost, in partnership with the International Centre for Culinary Arts (ICCA) Dubai, is the Middle East Food Forum – a three day conference for professionals from the F&B industry on opportunities, challenges and innovations of their trade.
or Srinagar to Leh Ladakh at this high altitude of 11,300 ft above sea level. It is very difficult to manage the logistics and also keep the property on par with luxurious properties in the world, under such geographical and climatic conditions when the temperature goes down to -30 degrees. Prior to booking, we educate our clients on the climate conditions. The biggest group we have hosted had 200-250 pax. Groups generally demand a quiet place with the luxury of a five-star hotel, besides adventure activities.
September 13, 14, 15 PATA Travel Mart Macao 26, 27, 28 IT&CM Asia Bangkok
October 12, 13, 14 TTG Incontri (International B2B Tourism Fair) Rimini, Italy London, U.K 23, 24 Event Organisers Summit
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Online Travel
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SafeTravels foresees India as an important market IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Chris Reed, Founder & CEO, SafeTravels, highlights the salient features of the platform that seeks to ease booking for travel companies. Started three and half years ago, the app has evolved quiet significantly over the time, says Chris Reed, its Founder & CEO, while going on talk about its presence. "We have companies in many of the major travel markets using our platform. Our users are found in over 120 countries."
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afeTravels is a mobile app platform for travel agents and activity providers, mainly for communication and up-selling to their customers. The app is available on both Android and iOS phones for travel companies in all countries. It is multi-language compatible and available in seven languages. The travel Companies also have advantage of adding their trip content in multiple languages.
He highlights the main features of the app which include the ability for travel companies to provide all of their detailed trip itinerary and documents to their customers, to communicate with their customers by sending group messages or communicate directly with an individual customer, and up-selling to the customer. "We also have a number of features that benefit the customer such as destination guides and point-to-point map navigation. We are trying to make this an easier
platform for travel companies, with the ability to schedule personalized alerts, messages and product offers, which they can create in our web dashboard. These will be sent automatically to the customer when the defined triggers are met. We are always working on new features and these are driven by the feedback from our clients. One of the exciting areas we are working on the moment is the use of machine learning that will automatically select and send the best matched product offer to a customer based on a number of data sources. 99% of engagements by travel companies happen before the customers’ trips commence or 99% of the customers’ experiences happen while they are travelling." Once the travel agents sell the core products to their customer through flights and hotels, the engagement
drops off. According to SkyScanner, customers are booking their flights up to 100 days before they leave on a trip, while 53% of all travel activities - transfers, day tours, adventure activities, etc.- are made within seven days of the activity taking place. Promotional Plans "We released a new version of our mobile app platform in the market in May 2017." Indian Market "We see India as an important market, especially given the growth in both domestic and international travel by Indian travellers. We have also set up our development team in Delhi and foresee India as an important region due to the large number of travel technology companies based there."
Stamp Travel finds userbase in over 131 countries IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Connecting with like-minded travellers and following recommendations become more interesting with 'stamps' says Tom Cenar, Co-founder, Stamp Travel. minded travellers. Users of Stamp Travel post their recommendations (e.g. ‘Stamps’) of cool insight that they discover in their travels along with a photo. It could be a favorite dish at a local hidden gem restaurant, an awesome view of the skyline, or perhaps a cheap way to circumvent tourist traps and get a better experience.
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ravellers can connect with friends and like-minded travellers through Stamp Travel, an app that helps one discover locations based on insight. Users can search locations that they are visiting or plan to visit and see recommendations from people that mean something to them – friends, family and other like-
Voyager’s World > July 2017
"Stamps are really anything you would want your friends to know if they were in that location. We are available on both Android and iOS phones," says its Co-Founder Tom Cenar. "We decided to launch this app with a group of friends so that one can easily access recommendations. The app makes it easier to share travel tips; the
content is digitalized and accessible for anyone who is on the app." This app benefits the tourism industry because it also serves as a reminder to its users that a world exists for them to discover. Growth The growth of the app has been good over the past year, although it was started with a group of friends, which has now turned out to be a community. Its user base of the community has over 10000 + travellers across 131 countries. Traveller’s Trends We have noticed a trend of travellers who like to experience cities like a local during their travel especially
with companies like AirBnB, where the travellers are already away from the traditional type of travelling and want a local experience. Indian users Stamp Travel has had users from across India like Stamp’d by user Farahpavri from Himachal Pradesh who recommended TSomoriri, Ladakh, Stamp’d by user @ indiaxplorers: Rani Kivav Patan from Gujarat who shares on the UNESCO World Heritage site Patan, Stamp’d by user @designindia on the Bengaluru- Coorg road trip. "We look forward to seeing more Stamps in India and hopefully our team can visit India onsite in the future and experience the beauty ourselves."
Online Travel
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THEVIBE- DOCUMENTING THE SPIRIT OF CONTEMPORARY TIMES ANJU ANNA ALEX
TheVibe is currently an online video community for seekers and finders of contemporary lifestyle in India with an engagement rate of 7%. It is evolving, young, urban, and is shifting the narrative to authentic experiential story telling. story telling via these people whom we like to call TheVibe Tribe. They are our set of lifestyle pioneers giving hope to an entire aspirational millennial audience and making the whole lifestyle itself accessible rather than alienating. And we do that in our video content in the form of vibe endorsed experiences which young urban Indians who are discerning want more than just regular travel today. TheVibe At TheVibe we don't work with actors in our content, we work with true blue lifestyle pioneers who endorse what their passions are about, be it scuba diving, snowboarding, surfing, kite surfing, slack lining, being an artist or some other taste maker. If you have a certain vibe about you which can inspire a whole dialogue, we capture it. We tend to do our
Sailing as a culture We are reinventing the wheel with all activities and giving them a contemporary twist. Many people in the country don't know what it is to be in sail boat or would have had an opportunity to sail in Luxury yacht. We at Thevibe want to make this accessible and let millennials know that in today's world if something is their vibe, nothing
stops them from reaching out and creating opportunities to follow their passions. Be it sailing, scuba diving, surfing, wakeboarding or any other ocean related activity in fact we have identified a whole category which we like to call ocean culture which captures a conscious and evolved tone of understanding and enjoying the ocean. Millennial trends Millennials today want anything that is new and different. If it's packaged right in an authentic and credible manner they want it. It has to be both aspirational and accessible. Then there is FOMO - fear of missing out is something that has caught on really fast in recent times among millennials. They are on the quest to try new experiences every time they travel and in particular do something. To break this down you
go to an island, and you are bound to go scuba diving / snorkelling or you try some water sports. Once you get hooked to something like diving then, you make that your base community and start taking dive trips to best dive spots in the world. It's similar for people who like trekking trails, cycling, camping, glamping, star gazing, paragliding, motorcycling, or any other lifestyle which binds them to a certain core community. This has become the base trend for millennial travel. Marketing and promotional plans We at TheVibe do our marketing via the amazing video content we make and the company culture we have. We are constantly travelling to different parts of the world and taking the contemporary Indian perspective on global curiosities with lifestyle pioneers.
Mileslife anticipates its global launch soon IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Troy Liu, Founder and CEO, Mileslife, introduces an effective way to use flyer miles and points for those who travel frequently. merchants in China and overseas. Airlines, retailers and brands can use the app to engage the middle class with high spending power and acquire insights by leveraging big data analytics.
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ileslife is a lifestyle and travel mile-earning platform that offers travellers and locals the opportunity to earn airline miles and points directly via daily spending and travel products at select merchants. Mileslife has already built a large network by partnering with 10 frequent flyer programmes worldwide and over 1,500
Launching Mileslife Troy Liu, Founder and CEO, Mileslife, began collecting points and miles when he was in college 16 years ago in the USA, before becoming very aggressive and obsessed about it. “I am a member of almost all programmes around the globe, and will eventually became lifetime elite of airlines and hotel chains. Then I became one of earliest full time points blogger and travelled over 100 countries burning miles. As a blogger, I have always been
asked how to collect points faster. As a traveller myself, I always need to change to different apps when travelling to different countries to eat, drink and play. As an airlines loyalty consultant, I have noted that airlines always want to increase their member engagement rate. Eventually, the whole idea is to allow consumers to earn their preferred airline miles via local lifestyle spending. So, travel consumers pay or make purchases via Mileslife and earn airlines miles directly, regardless of whether they are at home or in a destination.� Countries using Mileslife "Currently, we are only operating in China, but we plan to open in Singapore in a few weeks. We are
in transition to make it available worldwide. Sooner or later, we would like to launch the product in India. India is a huge market in term of the travel industry, with 40 billion USD expected in 2020." Trends The biggest change that Troy observes among travellers is that they are on their mobile phones always. "Smartphones provide a lot of convenience to travellers. In addition, with many airlines opening up new route and adding frequencies, there will be more travellers flying irrespective of whether it is for a holiday or business. For countries like China and India, this behaviour is just the beginning."
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Online Travel
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Kayak ventures into India's OTA space with one-stop data PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM
Abhijit Mishra, Country Head, KAYAK India, dwells at length over the relevance of metasearch tools in today's space where travellers are spoilt for choices for booking decisions. etc. If a user searches for a flight from Bangalore to Singapore, he can get results from all these OTAs and from the airline websites and make an informed decision," says Abhijit Mishra, Country Head of KAYAK India.
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We are a travel meta-search engine, we are not a store and more of a tool and hence different from the OTAs. We help you search through flights, cars and hotels. We tie up with a lot of OTAs, airlines and online travel aggregators, hotels and try to be as comprehensive as possible. In India, we have partnered with OTAs like Cleartrip, MakeMyTrip, Yatra,
Consumers love comparing sites; for example, they would open five different sites to check the fares for a Delhi-Bangalore even if the difference is negligible. "As the market matures and there are more providers in the market, it makes sense for a meta-search engine to come and aggregate all together." Kayak aims to be in every phase of one's travel, right from planning where to go within a certain budget on a certain date. The 'Explore' feature gives options of destinations based on these requirements. When
one does a complicated search in China from Shanghai to Guangzhou, one would not get the best results on the Indian OTA sites as they may not have tied up with the Chinese OTAs; however, Kayak has tie-ups with the OTAs in that country as well. We have tied up with multiple partners globally, thus giving the option of booking through airline, Indian or the international OTAs. Kayak has a feature called 'Trips' through which a user can sync his hotel and flight details in his Gmail account and it automatically puts everything together in a single page. This helps one especially for long haul and multiple bookings. It also sends out alerts on flight details and the carousel number to collect the baggage.
Price Forecasts Kayak has extensive data on searches and so we can forecast on prices with some accuracy. We alert users if there is a sudden price drop or urge them to book immediately if the prices are likely to go up shortly. "Asia is poised to become the largest online travel market, courtesy China, India and Korea markets. We are noting a lot of searches from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Post demonetization, we have seen many Tier 2 city users. Now is the time to enter India as there are multiple players and it makes it the ideal time for a meta search tool to help give the best results in one place," he concluded.
Follow the footsteps of a local with the Favroute App IRENE SUSAN EAPEN
Travel guides can get first-hand information on routes and maps from locals through Favoroute, says Frederieke Wolter, the CEO of the app. detailed routes on how to structure the day and the best experiences during the trip. It is also equipped with an interactive map with offline functions, description of the location and main points of attractions and also insider tips.
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avoroute is an online app for travel guides, written by local writers from all over the world. The guides feature different routes through countries, regions, or cities for those who want to experience a destination in the footsteps of a local. With over 100+ travel guides available, the guides show the travellers the best hotspots recommended by its local experts,
Voyager’s World > July 2017
"We hope to be able to gain access in India by launching more destinations that are interesting for Indian travellers, such as Singapore, Bangkok, UAE and London. We have many guides based in USA and many Asian cities, so we hope to provide some more detailed guides in the future for the Indian market," said its CEO Frederieke Wolter. The Favoroute travel guides are beneficial for both travellers and local experts. "On the one hand, travellers receive a trusted and up-todate guide that was carefully vetted
by our team. For the local experts, it gives them another avenue to share their knowledge on a destination and also an additional income as they receive a fixed percentage per guide sold. We are always looking to work with new local experts who want to write their own guides and share their knowledge about their hometown." "I wanted to be able to route my travels based on the advice from others. I believe there is only so much a traditional guidebook can do and technology nowadays can improve the experience of routing travellers on location. These guides show the travellers the best routes, hotspots and recommendations through a city or even between cities via our app.� The app focuses on selecting
local experts that are passionate in sharing their destination with others, through different travel themes. Local experts understand how travellers feel during a trip; they want to experience the best places in a limited amount of time. With an offline map filled with local tips, travellers can take the app with them to explore the city. "We have several themes, ranging from traveling with kids, budget travel, surfing travel, luxury travel, city trips and much more, so the traveller can choose a guide that suits their personal style." Marketing plans We work closely with airlines, travel insurances and tourism conferences to distribute our guides to a greater audience. Our app is free to be downloaded and available for Android and iOS.
Exclusively Outbound!
THE ONLY TRADE SHOW FOCUSSED ON OUTBOUND TRAVEL A trade-only event connecting buyers & suppliers of outbound travel industry from across the globe, offering unparalleled networking and contracting opportunities · The Middle East edition of OTR – 2016 witnessed a footfall of 500 eminent buyers across Dubai – Doha – Kuwait · Over 1600 buyers attended the India – edition 1 of OTR in January, 2017 across Mumbai – Ahmedabad – Chennai – Kolakata – Delhi · India Edition 2 of OTR held across Bangalore – Delhi – Mumbai witnessed an overwhelming presence of over 1200 buyers An invitation only event
INDIA EDITION 1
MIDDLE EAST EDITION
INDIA EDITION 2
8th - 16th JANUARY, 2018
11th- 15th FEBRUARY, 2018
19th - 22nd MARCH, 2018
MUMBAI - CHENNAI BANGALORE - DELHI
UAE - KUWAIT QATAR - OMAN
MUMBAI – AHMEDABAD DELHI
# 245, Amar Jyothi Layout, Domlur, Bangalore - 560 071, India. Tel: +91-80-4083 4100 | Fax: +91-80-4083 4101 | otrindia@otrindia.com www.outboundtravelroadshow.com
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FESTIVALS OF 25 August -10 September Audi Quattro Winter Games New Zealand The 5th biennial Audi Quattro Winter Games is taking place from 25 August to 10 September in New Zealand. This is one of the world’s top five winter sports competitions and the only event in the Southern hemisphere. The Winter Olympic, Paralympic and X Games stars will also be heading to New Zealand’s Southern Alps once again for the first major championships of the season. One can get to watch them compete in freestyle skiing, snowboarding, alpine skiing and crosscountry skiing.
28 August- 4 September Burning Man Nevada, USA The Burning Man will be taking place from 28 August to 4 September where an annual gathering of 65,000 in the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada mainly to create art and exchange ideas. The festival started with small groups of people gathering at a small beach in San Francisco in its early days, now the community includes a million people. This year, the participants will create interactive rites, ritual processions, elaborate images, shrines, icons, temples and visions.
August - September Jerusalem Beer Festival Jerusalem, Israel 5 August Canoe Festival Spain The Canoe Festival of music and colour is taking place on 5 August in Parres Asturias in Spain. Canoeists from across the world come over to take part in the Sella River race. More than one thousand canoes battle it out to be first home over the 20-kilometre course on the Sella River, which runs from the village of Arriondas to the finish line in Ribadesella. The event is witnessed by thousands of spectators shouting and encouraging the participants.
Voyager’s World > July 2017
The Jerusalem Beer Festival is happening from August to September with live performances and exhibitions of all types of beers, right from Israel to abroad. The local breweries and international brands will also be serving beers. This is one of the largest beer festivals and will include 120 different types of beers. Visitors can taste a variety of beers with different flavours along with performances by local and national artists.
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THE WORLD 11-27 August Visa Wellington on a plate Wellington, New Zealand The Visa Wellington on a plate is a food festival taking place from 11 to 27 August in Wellington. The festival returns for the sixth season with a menu of food themed events by the most renowned chefs. The event highlights the concept Dine Wellington that includes 110 regional eateries. You can enjoy some of the grilled dishes and 123 burgers to choose, along with a special cocktail and matching tapas offer from 41 restaurants and bars.
11-17 September Kentucky Bourbon Festival Bardstown, Kentucky The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is happening from 11-17 September in Kentucky town. The six day festival will include distillery tours, tasting galas, live music along with food and entertainment. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail includes nine historic distilleries spread out between Louisville and Lexington. The festival is meant for all ages and interests. You can get to celebrate the history and spirit of Kentucky.
21-23 July Tomorrowland Belgium Belgium The Tomorrowland Belgium is the largest electronic dance music festival that takes place from 21 to 23 July in Schommelei 2850 Boom. The event will witness well known DJs like TiĂŤsto, Eric Prydz, Steve Aoki, Marshmello, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, David Guetta, Afrojack, Axwell Ingrosso , Paul Van Dyk, Cosmic Gate etc and electronic producers. People from across the world come over to enjoy the music
30 August La Tomatina Festival Spain
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he La Tomatina Festival is happening on the 30th August in BuĂąol, Valencia. The fiesta brings together people from across the world every year just to have a great time of laughter, fun and hurling tomatoes at each other. The participants get to enjoy the most by throwing tomatoes at anything that moves. The trucks loaded with tomatoes arrive one after another followed by washing the participants with hoses.
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Happenings
Cinnamon, SriLankan Airlines target new Indian cities
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innamon Hotels & Resorts tied up with SriLankan Airlines on a promotional collaboration for two roadshows in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, on 23 and 25 June to mark the inauguration of direct flights from these two destinations to Colombo with SriLankan Airlines. Held at the Four Points by Sheraton, Visakhapatnam and the Radisson Plaza Hotel, Hyderabad respectively, the events were attended by exclusive invitees such as top bureaucrats, business leaders, elite members of the film industry and esteemed entrepreneurs. At the roadshows, the Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts team highlighted how Colombo and the rest of the island offer a broad range of experiences that are well-suited for the varied preferences of travellers – from shopping, dining and entertainment, to nature-based getaways in the island’s top national parks and other adventure activities.
TAAI signs MoU with Tourism Malaysia
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ourism Malaysia Mumbai signed a MoU with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) at the former's Mumbai office in BKC on 22 June for a product workshop training called 'Malaysia –Beyond KL'. Nor Shazly Azmi, Deputy Director - Tourism Malaysia Mumbai, said, "The MoU signed will focus on training and educating around 300 front-liners and product teams from the travel industry. The training will start from the end of this June and will go on till September. It will take place in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Goa, Chhattisgarh, etc. and and later will focus on panIndia depending on its success. It will contain subjects that will help the travel agents to understand the scope related to tourism through classroom session."
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France wins 'Best International Destination for Indulgence' award
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rance was voted as the Best Destination for Indulgence (International) at the recently held Lonely Planet Travel Awards in Mumbai on 25 May. The award was presented to Sheetal Munshaw, Director Atout France India in the presence of Yves Perrin Consul General of France in Mumbai. Atout France’s new global strategy lays emphasis on highlighting signature tourism brands in France or 'Marques Mondiales'. These include regions such as Alsace, Alpes-Mont Blanc, Biarritz Pays Basques, Burgundy, Brittany, Bordeaux, Côte d'Azur, Corsica, Champagne, Languedoc-Mediterranean, Lyon, Normandy, Provence, Paris, Toulouse-Pyrénées and the Loire Valley.
Via.com honoured at DMA Asia Awards 2016
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ia.com won the Best Marketing Award for ‘Biggest Online Travel Sale (BOTS) 2016’ in the travel and hospitality segment. The award was presented in Singapore by DMA Asia ECHO Awards, which honours the creative par excellence in marketing and advertising campaigns, that have raised the bar of originality, response strategy, interactivity and marketing impact. The five-day long second edition of VIA’s Biggest Online Travel Sale (BOTS 2.0) in November 2016 focused on travel bookings for the then upcoming Winter Holiday season and beyond. BOTS 2.0 provided attractive jaw-dropping offers and big discounts across flights, hotels and holiday packages. This was available on its website, mobile site, app and at over 75,000 VIA agents’ outlets and at over 5000 corporate partners.
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Maldives triumphs at World Travel Awards Indian Ocean
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aldives was recognised as Indian Ocean's Leading Destination, Indian Ocean's Leading Beach Destination and Indian Ocean's Leading Dive Destination at World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2017.Hosted by the Sun Aqua Vilu Reef, the event was attended by hospitality leaders from across the region. Also celebrating was Seychelles — hailed the Indian Ocean's Leading Cruise Destination and the Indian Ocean's Leading Cruise Port. Mauritius Tourism scooped the title of Indian Ocean's Leading Honeymoon Destination. Air Seychelles was voted Indian Ocean's Leading Airline and Indian Ocean's Leading Airline Business Class, while Air Mauritius won the Indian Ocean's Leading Airline Economy Class award. The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort won the award for Indian Ocean's Leading Island Resort and Sun Siyam Iru Sushi was named Indian Ocean's Leading Family Resort. Jumeirah Vittaveli took the title of Indian Ocean's Leading Luxury Hotel Villa while Baros Maldives was recognised as Indian Ocean's Most Romantic Resort. Royal Caribbean International was hailed the Indian Ocean's Leading Cruise Line for the second year. Sri Lanka, the guest nation, was awarded Asia's Leading Destination and Asia's Leading Adventure Tourism Destination.
ETAA conducts knowledge session on GST
Karnataka Tourism organises monthly photography contest
ITDC organises workshop on GST
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TAA organised a session on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) last month in Mumbai. The event was attended by 75 plus travel agents. Yash Parmar, renowned CA with Gabhawala & Company conducted a session to clarify how GST is an effective tool and an inevitable truth for all industries. He highlighted the GST implications on the travel trade.
he Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, along with Youth Photographic Society, conducted themed Monthly Photography Contest. The theme for January 2017 was 'Karnataka Wildlife' depicting the diversity of wildlife in the state. The theme for February 2017 was 'Karnataka Beaches'. The theme for March 2017 was 'Temples of Karnataka' depicting the rich heritage planted by south Indian kingdoms like Hoysala, Chalukya, Vijayanagara, Dravidian, etc. in the State. The contest winner’s picture (Picture of the Month) will be displayed by Karnataka Tourism in large hoardings in prominent places, with due credit to the photographer.
he India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) conducted a workshop for the benefit of the trade and industry, officers and other stakeholders by sensitizing them about proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST): Model Law and procedures at The Ashok, Flagship property of ITDC. The workshop was broadcast live to all the subsidiary companies/ vendors outside Delhi. The video and queries regarding GST would be uploaded on ITDC website to ease the interaction and resolve queries. The GST regime which is on the verge of its implementation will mark a paradigm shift in the manner of levy and collection of indirect taxes in the country and is a watershed moment in the annals of tax reform.
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Travel Trends
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Google, BCG: India’s travel market to be US$48 billion by 2020 VW BUREAU
Fueled by domestic demand, hospitality will be $13 billion, with online hotels becoming a $4 billion market
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oston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google India today released a comprehensive report on the growth opportunities in the Indian hospitality market over the next four years. The report titled, ‘Demystifying the Indian Online Traveler’ charts the decision making journey of the Indian traveler and provides insights on the potential growth opportunities for travel businesses till 2020.
There are several actionable insights for domestic online travel players including the role of mobile and the level of curation and personalization that Indian travelers are looking for.”
Speaking about the key findings of the report, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said; “India’s domestic travel market is on an acceleration path. One of the key findings of the report is that by 2020, one in three hotel rooms will be booked online - a clear indicator of the growing importance of digital in travel research, planning and booking.
Talking about the opportunities for the online travel players, Abheek Singhi, Senior Partner and Asia Pacific Head of Consumer Practice, BCG said, “Travel is a high investment – both monetary and emotional category. Technology has led to democratization of travel through better information and price discovery – and shall lead to 11-11.5 % growth in years ahead.
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As per the report, Indian passenger travel market is projected to grow at 11-11.5% to $48 Bn by 2020 with the biggest contributor, air travel expected to grow at 15% to $30 Bn. Hotels will grow at 13% to $13 Bn by 2020 while railways will remain $5 Bn. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration increases and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that India’s online hotel market will grow to US$4 billion with 31% penetration at a CAGR of 25%.
Demystifying the travel planning journey of the typical Indian consumer, the report shows that for many Indian consumers, a vacation is an event planned in advance as opposed to being an impulsive purchase. Consumers typically spend 46 days on average planning their trip. They spend 49 minutes online on their travel research and visit as many as 17 touch points during their booking journey. However, it is interesting to note that the length of each online session is less than 3 minutes, due to the ubiquity of mobile. Through their journey, Indian travelers tend to move back and forth across different online channels, checking availability, comparing prices and assessing connectivity.
The question is “how to address the 17 different touchpoints of 3 mins each over 49 days! “.The imperative for players is to use technology and advanced analytics capability to understand individual micro journeys and offer personalized and curated travel solutions.” The report finds that there are several touch points in the consumer journey, including OTA (64% reach), search engines (33% reach) and Maps (26% reach). Advocacy and word of mouth form an important input into the travel booking journey with 76% of people gaining inspiration to travel from family and friends. Further, reviews and ratings from other users is the single most important criteria to select a certain booking channel. Finally, the research finds that consumers use a mix of online and offline sources of information during their booking journeys. Within online channels, mobile apps are the preferred destination as 49% consumers prefer to use them for research and 44% for booking. 57% of the consumers believe that online channels give them better deals while 41% find it more convenient for them to book online. As consumers move seamlessly across channels and devices, the role of digital in hotel bookings is
significant, not just as a channel for purchase, but also as an influence in decision making. According to Rohit Ramesh, Partner and Director, BCG “Mass marketing will increasingly be less sufficient. Advocacy, especially, plays an important role in decision making. Personalized advocacy is curated from customers’ personal networks, for example, from social media friends’ list. Predictive advocacy is based on customer “lookalikes”, for example, using “people like you” narratives and tries to imagine what consumer preferences might be. Given increased online ubiquity, players will need to leverage the digital medium across channels and touchpoints to effectively connect with consumers.” GfK recruited consumers who were planning to book an accommodation for a domestic trip. An integrated methodology was used to capture both online and offline search behavior. Online behavior captured via Passive meter tracking app (GfK Leotrace (TM)) installed in the smartphones of 18-45 year olds who were travelling for domestic leisure/ business travel in a two month period. These respondents were Android users spread across three cities - Delhi, Hyderabad & Ahmedabad and were regular internet users who had booked at least one flight past one year, online.
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Voyager’s World > July 2017
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Top Appointments
45>> Capt. A. S. Khuman
Vishal Sinha
Executive Chairman, Board of Directors, ATPI India
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he ATPI Group appointed Capt. A.S. Khuman as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of ATPI India. Capt. A.S. Khuman previously held a role at Griffin International where he was the Managing Director of Griffin Global Holdco Limited for India. Capt. Khuman will also be the member of the Global Advisory Executive Board set up to formulate Global Strategy for Marine.
CEO- India, Carlson Wagonlit Travel
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arlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) appointed Vishal Sinha as Chief Executive Officer of CWT India. He will be based in CWT India’s head office in Gurgaon. Reporting to Kai Chan, CWT’s President for Asia Pacific, Sinha will be a member of CWT’s Asia Pacific leadership team. He takes over from Geeta Jain, who has moved into a new global role at CWT as Strategic Program Vice President, responsible for driving innovation and business transformation.
Babita Kanwar
Nick Pringle
General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport
Chief Operating Officer, Sula Vineyards
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he Sula Vineyards appointed Nick Pringle as the Chief Operating Officer. He brings with him an experience of over 20 years in the wine industry. Prior to this, he has worked with AB InBev, Constellation and Accolade Wines, where he was responsible for regions in Africa, the Middle East, South and Central America, Asia Sub-Continent and Southern Europe.
abita Kanwar was appointed as the General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport. She has an experience of 22 years in sales and marketing and has also worked with Marriott for over 15 years. She started her career with JW Marriott Juhu Mumbai in Food and Beverage. She has also worked as the Director of Sales and Marketing of Goa Marriott Resort and Spa and Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel.
Shibil Malik
Tushar Garg
General Manager, Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel
Director of Sales and Marketing, Grand Mercure Mysuru
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hibil Malik is the new General Manager of Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel. He brings with him an experience over 17 years in the hospitality industry. He started his career at the Oberoi Group and had handled various projects in Mumbai and Delhi as Regional Sales Manager - North. He has also worked with IHHR Hospitality and the Westin Hyderabad Mindspace as the Director of Sales & Marketing.
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rand Mercure Mysuru appointed Tushar Garg as the Director of Sales and Marketing. He has been in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years. Prior to this, he was with Hyatt Raipur as the Associate Director of Sales and Marketing Communications. He started his career with Preferred Hotels & Resorts in USA and also worked at various positions across some of the leading hotel chains in India and abroad.
Vijay Jaiswal
Nikita Gonsalves
Sr.VP-Sales and Marketing, Sarovar Hotels
Director of Sales and Marketing, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar
arovar Hotels appointed Vijay Jaiswal as the Sr.Vice President- Sales and Marketing. He will be responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of sales, marketing and product development programmes for each brands targeted toward existing and new markets. Having 29 years experience in the hospitality industry, he had worked at Fortune Hotels as well as ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad and Rajputana Sheraton, Jaipur.
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ikita is the new Director of Sales and Marketing of JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar. She has worked with various brands like Marriott International Inc., Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and Hilton Hotels & Resorts. She has to her credit 10 years experience in the hospitality industry. She brings on board an expertise in developing strategies for driving revenue through weddings and catering, MICE, groups and transient business segments.
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NetworKiNg isthe the netWorKing is Ke Key y July 2017
August 2017
September 2017
October 2017
November 2017
July 2017 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 GBTA Convention 2017 Boston, USA
15, 16, 17 India International Travel Mart 2017 Chennai
21, 22, 23 IITM Bangalore 2017 Bangalore
August 2017 6 Discover the Americas Travel Expo Brisbane,Australia
11, 12, 13 Mitm Travel Fair Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
September 2017 13, 14, 15 PATA Travel Mart Macau 14, 15, 16 Beijing International Travel Mart Beijing,China 15, 16, 17 India International Travel Mart Delhi
18, 19, 20 Holiday Expo Vadodara
21, 22, 23 India International Travel Mart Mumbai
23, 23, 24 Ibtm China Beijing, China
October 2017
November 2017
6, 7, 8 Holiday Expo Nagpur
3, 4, 5 Holiday Expo Vizag
10, 11, 12 IMEX America 2017 Las Vegas - NV, United States
6, 7, 8 World Travel Market London
12, 13, 14 TTG Incontri (Int'l B2B Tourism Fair) Rimini – Italy
23, 24, 25, 26 Philoxenia Greece
25, 26, 27 ITB Asia Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
24, 25, 26 India International Travel Mart Pune