Voyager's World January 2014

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Vol XI

Issue 3

Pages 52

January 2014

R e t u r n

Rs 60

o f

www.gujarattravelmart.com

t h e

domestic tourist

Also Read......

Hotel Marketing & Technology

From The Desk Editorial

Marketing & Circulation

Managing Editor

General Manager

Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagers world.in

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

Associate Editor

Operations Executive

Priyamvadha Balaram priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

Assistant Editor Irene Susan Eapen irene@voyagersworld.in

Selvarajramaswamy operations@voyagersworld.in

Circulation Executive Shyam Vishaak Circulation@voyagersworld.in

Chief Designer Shyam Vishnot shyam@voyagersworld.in

Graphic Designer Nanda Kumar M Nandu@voyagersworld.in

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

2014- OPPORTUNITIES AMID CHAOS

A

s the New year dawns over, the scraps of the magnitude of what 2013 offered is unleashed on! The frailty of a destina-

tion to withstand nature’s fury reinforces our being ‘mere mortal’. As Uttarakhand put to strain it’s tourism industry, bringing back tourists, will only help in getting this wonderful Himalayan destination back in action and going there as tourists is still the best way to support!

The branded hospitality industry is on an up-swing with most multi-branded hotel management companies announcing a Hundred Plus hotel projects each in the country in the next five years. With more real-estate developers getting into the ‘Creating Wealth’ mode of the business, the added inventory will sure

Web Developer Rohith Pinto info@voyagersworld.in

see some Good Ol’ fashioned Hotel operators losing more hair!

Well, on the positive side, it sure is a good time to be a hotel professional than ever before.

The Indian travel-trade associations have been in a major convention mode with events in Dubai, Bangalore and Manila. The TAAI Election was a sure highlight with more action, drama and suspense, with Iqbal Mulla finally coming up trumps for anoth-

06Industry Buzz 10Cover Story

South India Tourism

16Mice Point Examining recent trends in corporate travel, bookings, airlines and ground transport.

21Hospitality

er term. The news of the Karnataka High Court judgement on reverting to the fortnightly Weekly BSP payments, did manage to bring some cheer.

In this issue, the cover story on the steady growth of domestic tourism, with an insight into the same in South India; a synopsis of the use of technology in hotel marketing and the relevance of training travel agents in marketing destinations.

Warm Regards

ROHIT HANGAL

rohit@voyagersworld.in

News on Hotel launches, reviews, use of technology in Hotel Marketing.

34India Outbound

Tourist arrivals, Travel agents’ training programme, overseas weddings and sports tourism.

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

Industry Buzz

6>>

Jungle Lodges & Resorts revamps website

Active Holiday Company unveils unique 2014 itineraries

ungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) recently launched their revamped website www. junglelodges.com. The event was inaugurated by Honourable Minister for Higher Education and Tourism, R.V.Deshpande along with other dignitaries Krishna Rao Chief Secretary(Tourism in charge) and C.Deyavaiah, Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation at ITC Windsor, Bangalore. The new site showcases a complete makeover in terms of design, layout and dissemination of information for the visitor.

The website has also a navigational system for visitors to get information on the various JLR properties.

he Active Holiday Company launched a host of tours for 2014, consisting of adventure, wildlife and polar expeditions. These new vacations include a collection of light adventures suitable for children, challenging trips, wildlife safaris and even polar expeditions. The destination selection ranges from Sri Lanka to Cambodia and Vietnam in the East to South Africa, Kenya, several countries in Europe as well as Antarctica.

J

Metropolitan Hotel's Sakura turns five

Canada Tourism woos Chennai with new products

T T

he Metropolitan Hotel & Spa’s stand-alone Japanese restaurant in Gurgaon turned five in November 2013. It introduced a new commemorative menu crafted by celebrated Master Chef, Tetsu Akahira, who speaks the delicate language of Kaiseki with a level of fluidity most chefs can only dream of.

T

Only two of the departures are in India; there are treks in Sikkim. The tour cost (excluding airfare, on land only basis) are from US$283 per person and go on to over US$7,000 per person for polar expeditions.

Oman Air hosts exclusive get-together C

M

Y

he Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) concluded the last leg of its three city road show at the ITC Grand Chola recently, with a view to target the burgeoning middle class of Chennai.

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

CTC has returned to the city with new products to allure travellers. The brand had recently launched its Canadian Signature Experiences (CSE) collection in November 2013 in New Delhi. CTC has been promoting the brand as a premier four season destination in 2013 and had conducted training in Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

O

man Air, Cochin recently organised a flamboyant evening, which was attended by some of the top businessmen, frequent flyers and top executives in the industry. Oman Air was represented by Sunil V.A - Senior Manager Sales, Asia Pacific; Hamed Al-Harthy - Country Manager, India and Jayakrishna Bhaskaran - District Sales Manager.

Bengaluru International Airport renamed as Kempegowda International Airport

T

he Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) recently marked the renaming ceremony from Bengaluru International Airport to Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru and the inauguration of its terminal elevated in design, exteriors, facilities and infrastructure. The event was presided over by Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and Chief Guest Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh along with other dignitaries from the state.

Dr. GVK Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director GVKPIL and Co-Chairman BIAL said “With Karnataka on the growth path, there is a need to lay a strong foundation of world-class infrastructure. We look at this region’s economic growth as an opportunity to empower people, enrich their lives and to contribute to the nation’s development to keep pace with these rising demands, we need to create top-notch facilities, which will bring the world to Bangalore and take the city to the world. GVK establishes new benchmarks with the airport as a partner in this growth.

The terminal epitomizes the technological prowess of Bangalore.

Voyager’s World > January 2014

Luxurious Festive Holiday in Amazing Thailand

Industry Buzz

8>>

Dubai's Skyline of Icons Light up to Celebrate the End of a Landmark Year

O

n 31 December, the skyline of Dubai was lit up with a host of impressive fireworks displays which helped place the city as one of the world’s premier locations in which to mark the end of 2013.

The festivities were centred around the iconic landmarks of the city including Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, The Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis the Palm.

The show started with an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Fireworks Display’, a six-minute display choreographed across the whole of The Palm Jumeirah and the islands of The World. The World Record breaking attempt covered over 99.4km of seafront and featured 450,000 colourful fireworks.

Orange County wins two Eco Awards

ACTE reaches out to underprivileged students

T

he Association of Corporate Travel Executive (ACTE) recently hosted a corporate social responsibility event at the Chancery Hotel Bangalore for the first time in India. The concept behind the event was to empower underprivileged students graduating / training from Samarthanam, to help them find career opportunities in the travel industry. Samarthanam works to empower visually impaired, disabled and underprivileged people in India.

Joseph Selvan | Regional Executive , South East Asia, ACTE, said: “This is an initiative to give back to the society from the travel fraternity as we are aware that career growth and job opportunity in the society are an integral part of healthy life style. Bringing these students on this platform is to create cognizance and expertise to develop skills, knowledge and ability to integrate within the travel industry.”

Malaysia opens VoA for Indians

S Indiatourism Mumbai concludes 'Discover India' fest

I

ndiatourism, Mumbai (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India) along with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, organised ‘Discover India Fest’ in Mumbai from 20-22 December, 2013.

It showcased the best of the states and IRCTC. During the event the states offered exclusive discounts on their various package tours and accommodation.

Voyager’s World > January 2014

tarting January 1, 2014, the Government of Malaysia has introduced visa on arrival (VOA) facility for visiting Indians. This announcement is in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and the Year of Festivals 2015. The VOA is applicable for those travelling to Malaysia from a third country; namely Singapore and Thailand; holding valid visas for the respective countries and having confirmed return tickets to India.

O

range County, Kabini found itself placed in the ’25 World’s Best Ecolodges 2013’ by National Geographic Traveler (US and Canadian Editions). This year was the 125th anniversary of the National Geographic Society. Orange County, Kabini is the only resort selected from India to be part of this prestigious collection of Ecolodges. The lodge helps showcase the Kuruba heritage using interactive story¬telling sessions, cultural performances, and coracle rides. Also, this year, Lifescapes, by Orange County Resorts won the ‘Most Original Marketing Campaign’ award in the PURE AWARDS 2013.

Brand USA starts Discover America seminars in India

B

rand USA launched a series of travel agency educational programmes at major Indian metros and tier 2 cities. The first of these educational programmes, titled ‘Discover America’ was held in Bangalore and Chennai recently, with over 255 travel agents and tour operators participating in them.

The seminars included presentations by USA destinations and suppliers such as Brand USA India; NYC & Company; San Francisco Travel and San Francisco International Airport; Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau; Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau; Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Enterprise Holdings Inc; Qatar Airways and Visa Pr esentations – US Consulate.

The sessions were designed to provide in-depth information on tourism products and attractions from the US. Additionally, they will educate the travel community about the experiences available for travellers to the US. The objective was to enable agents to understand the diversity of the country and effectively market holidays.

Glacier 3000 bets on indian market The discerning Indian traveller’s interests have paved way for a host of exciting activities, say Bernhard Tschannen, CEO, Glacier 3000 and Vidhya Chettiar, Representative - India, Highlights Lake Geneva Region, Switzerland.

Tushar Sakaria, Neville Mistry, Feroze Rangwala,Bernhard Tschannen

Stephan Heuberger, Manohar Rao, Ben Shinde, Sunila Patil

Amit Pradhan, Bhanu Aravindakshan, Feroze Rangwala

Vidhya Chettiar, Lennie Furtado, Shibani Phadkar, Bernhard Tschannen, Suzanne Pereira

Glacier 3000’s latest initiatives for the Indian market Glacier 3000 has been actively promoting the product to the B2B market and covering the metro cities including Tier 2 and 3 cities. We are happy that many group operators have included Glacier 3000 in their series and the demand from the B2C market is also increasing. Today in six years we are glad to say we are the No. 3 mountain in the Indian market.

Esther Brinkmann Nievergelt, Werner Nievergelt, Stephan Heuberger, Bernhard Tschannen, Vidhya Chettiar

Rajesh Bist, Aaron Clement

Statistics and sample itineraries We have more than 15000 pax from India; one can visit Glacier 3000 from Montreux, Lausanne, Interlaken or Geneva. You can take a Goldenpass train to Gstaad and then take a bus to Col Du Pillon which is valid on the Swiss Pass and in 15 minutes, reach 3000 mts high on the mountain on a cable car taking 125 pax at a time.

USP Besides the all year snow experience at Glacier 3000, the Alpine Coaster is the USP of the mountain, it is a must do summer activity operating from May – Sep. We also have Snow bus and Dog Sled operating all round the year for groups on request, which is an interesting activity to experience. Our lip smacking Indian meal including Veg, Non Veg and Jain meals adds to the glory of the visit of the Indian client at Restaurant Botta.

Almona Bhatia, Toovey Abraham

Neil Patil, Bernhard Tschannen, Sunila Patil, Vidhya Chettiar

- An advertorial

Cover Story

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South Scope: prospects of boosting domestic tourism in south india

There are many pluses and value for money for a short holiday in the southern part of the country. A short flight to the southern metros opens the gateway to a plethora of travelling options.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

W

hen the Incredible India campaign was launched in 2002, the drive won kudos from all quarters for its high touchstones in terms of the visual appeal, the content and the reach. The growth in the number of foreign tourist arrivals as well as that of domestic tourists has been optimistic. The growth could be attributed to the rising numbers of people travelling across the country for pilgrimage, wildlife, sightseeing, photography and adventure sports holidays. Other reasons would be better economic growth of the country, rising disposable incomes, etc.

Domestic tourism has also registered a decent growth figure thanks to increased marketing and promotional activities through various me-

Voyager’s World > January 2014

dia, tour operators and agents.

Domestic tourism is where the states have better scope to display their offerings, vying for their share of the leisure segment from across the country, primarily because the VFR segment offers negligible possibility for them to lure travellers.

In an attempt to delve into what the country has, what has been already tapped and what are the hidden gems waiting to be discovered, here is an breakdown of the potential of tourism in the southern part of the country from various angles; not just the metros and the main tourist spots but also the lesser known destinations that offer tremendous opportunities

for the players in the travel industry.

This article seeks to explore what the Indian traveller can see and experience down south; this includes any traveller from across the length and breadth of the country.

Introduction The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 ranks India 65th out of 144 countries overall. The report ranks the price competitiveness of India’s tourism sector 20th out of 144 countries. It accredits our country for its reliable air connectivity (ranked 39) and reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 42). According to the World Tourism Organization, by the year 2020, it is expected that India will become the leader in the tour-

ism industry in South Asia, with about 8.9 million arrivals.

While a lot is being discussed about the fall in the Indian rupee, the emerging Indian middle class and the rising interest in international travel, a three-four day holiday or an extended weekend is now considered for an overseas trip. This extended weekend or festive season holiday is one area that travel agents and tour operators can work on to design packages, what with the increasing air travel in the country. A few hours flight from Mumbai and Delhi is what it takes to maneuver prospective travellers from the North and West part of India. Well, the North-East is not being mentioned elaborately here because the region

Cover Story

11>> is taking baby steps onto the tourism front itself. So, focusing on the core markets in the country should do at the moment.

Advantages of a brief sojourn in the southern region There are many pluses and value for money for a short holiday in the southern part of the country. Board a quick flight to any of the southern metrosBangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Trivandrum and you are at the gateway of a plethora of travelling options.

The infrastructure is quite developed in these states thanks to steady and regular development of hotels, roads, tourist spots, transport, etc. Now, South India is not merely restricted to these four metros and their states; Lakshadweep, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands do deserve a fair mention in this story as well as in your conversations with your clients. Other popular options airports are Kozhikode Airport, Cochi Airport, Trichy Airport, Mangalore Airport and Coimbatore Airport.

does not have a coastline except for Gujarat and West Bengal, tour operators can bet on the long coastlines of all the four southern states. Alternately, as mentioned earlier, Andaman & Nicobar Islands can also be marketed aggressively. However, an itinerary to that island would probably require a little more than three days in order to get the best value for the money spent.

Way of working Hence, travel agents and tour operators, especially the ones in Tier 2 and

Likewise, from Madurai one can head to Kodaikanal on road in a couple of hours’ time or deviate towards Kerala and go to Thekkady, known for its wildlife sanctuary.

As the northern part of the country

The kind of location that customer would finally book depends on their interest level, your conviction in selling them and the facilities available in

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The places in the south boast of a fairly stable climatic condition, unique to its geographical condition, barring a few places that experience extreme heat during summer. Yet, the summer is not a bad time to plan a visit. There has also been a proliferation of reliable and exhaustive road transport options inter-connecting states, districts and the smallest units of township, quite round–the-clock.

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A three-day itinerary from the capital or a principal town in a state will thus allow you to visit a minimum of eight to 10 places, with ample rest time in between. In this respect, the quintessential image that the southern region has of being a traditional region abounding with places of religious importance is what tour operators and travel agents must work on. As a matter of fact, even a three-day inter-state tour is possible in order to ‘provide the best of both worlds’ package to the discerning traveller. An overnight train to Bellary or a flight to Hubli from Bangalore throws open the roads to Hampi, the renowned historical site by road from Bellary in a few hours or a pilgrimage to Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh, again a few hours on road from Bellary. If you can spare more time, you can even stop at the Chitradurga Fort, two hours from Bellary.

Tier 3 cities in the country must come up with some kind of an inter-linked network with their counterparts in the southern region. This way, a tour operator in Kashmir or Delhi can help book a package for a customer seeking to visit Kanyakumari, without having to worry about lack of first-hand experience of the destination themselves.

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the locations to meet the interest.

First, they need to work on the best pricing strategies for supportive services of tourism in the South, based on the source of request, itinerary, budget and season. Then the agents should gauge the best promotional strategies that could be implemented to attract a demographic segment to give a new dimension to their perception of visiting the south. It will take a while to assess the benefits accumulated from tourism in these states for them, based on the spreading of awareness, the revenue generation,

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Cover Story

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A three-day itinerary from the capital or a principal town in a state will thus allow you to visit a minimum of eight to 10 places, with ample rest time in between. In this respect, the quintessential image that the southern region has of being a traditional region abounding with places of religious importance is what tour operators and travel agents must work on. As a matter of fact, even a three-day inter-state tour is possible in order to ‘provide the best of both worlds’ package to the discerning traveller. An overnight train to Bellary or a flight to Hubli from Bangalore throws open the roads to Hampi, the renowned historical site by road from Bellary in a few hours or a pilgrimage to Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh, again a few hours on road from Bellary. If you can spare more time, you can even stop at the Chitradurga Fort, two hours from Bellary. much before the break-even stage.

Medical Tourism A weighty area of tourism that the south lays claim to would be medical tourism. There are several world-class healthcare facilities here for people to consult, undergo treatment and convalesce. Kerala’s Ayurveda needs no mention.

Meetings, Incentive, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) This four-letter acronym is the new and emerging sector in the Indian tourism industry. As of now, in the south the most prominent meetings venues comprise the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), the Chennai Trade Centre and the Bangalore International Exhibitions Centre. However, the last few years have witnessed new, international hotel brands making a foray into the country. In south, Bangalore had three ho-

Voyager’s World > January 2014

tels of the Marriott brand and one Ritz Carlton opening in 2013. Gateway opened a property in Hubli, Crowne Plaza opened in Kochi, Four Points

by Sheraton in Vishakapatnam while the Westin Velachery was launched in Chennai. So, corporate travel planners in the rest of the country can recommend these options that are not only cost-effective but serve as an opportunity for them to contribute to domestic tourist inflow in the southern region. Alternatively, South India offers scope for unconventional and unusual venues for MICE too. The luxury trains of Karnataka- Golden Chariot or the houseboats of Kerala, for instance, the river cruises in Andhra Pradesh, so also the Andamans are sure to come across as alluring options for hosting meetings.

Joint efforts by the state governments, agents, and the Ministry will open the doors further in the south.

South India offers scope for unconventional and unusual venues for MICE too.

The luxury trains of Karnataka- Golden Chariot or the houseboats of Kerala, for instance, the river cruises in Andhra Pradesh, so also the Andamans are sure to come across as alluring options for hosting meetings.

Domestic tourism is where the states have better scope to display their offerings, vying for their share of the leisure segment from across the country, primarily because the VFR segment offers negligible possibility for them to lure travellers.

Cover Story

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India and the art of selling Domestic Tourism ROHIT HANGAL

Case Study of what the British Did: • The British Tourism Framework Review, commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 2007, found that VisitBritain must work harder to coordinate British tourism policy.

• The report also recommends the introduction of a dedicated standalone body to promote English tourism, VisitEngland, and places the London 2012 at the heart of future communications.

• It should also provide the strategic partners with services wherever possible, to maximise value for money, efficiency and effectiveness.

• The new positioning will begin with a £6.5m international ‘value’ campaign emphasizing special deals from the industry and free access to national museums and galleries.

•

The £3m through-the-line campaign, which ran through April and May, focused on the value UK consumers can achieve by choosing to holiday in England. However, in the case of domestic campaigns, VisitEngland will retain use of the Enjoy England brand.

•

Last month’s British Tourism Framework Review formally announced the creation of a body to specifically represent the interests of English tourism. Previously, VisitEngland had existed as an advisory committee within VisitBritain.

T

he domestic tourists are back with the vengeance. The era of fancy brochures, which sold packages and room nights, wherein the tariffs were quoted in Euros even for the hapless domestic traveller has for the time being ended. The ongoing recession in Europe and American markets and the saga of the Mumbai attacks supplemented the near doubling of hotel inventory in India to a new gloom. Though hotels here in India, now more or less have a unified single currency tariff, it is still ‘revenue management decision’ away from reverting to old dual tariff plans.

Several Countries around the world

Voyager’s World > January 2014

had their own economic compulsion to create marketing campaigns to encourage people to travel within their geographic borders, adding to the reduction in International arrivals into India. The numbers come as Tourism Boards such as ‘Tourism Australia’, which created the ‘No Leave, No Life’ campaign to encourage workers to take their annual leave and see their country.

Australians are currently stockpiling 123 million days of accrued annual leave, adding up to tens of billions of dollars in holiday pay! Checking on what other countries have planned to provide a fillip to domestic travel,

did throw some very valid facts. For E.g., Northern Ireland’s economy has received a major boost after people here opted to holiday at home this year, new figures show that a massive £100m was pumped into the province in the first eight months twice as much as in 2008. During July/August alone, £46m was spent on local tourism compared to £32m the previous year, according to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB). Howard Hastings, chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, said: “This is good news for tourism and demonstrates that there is a real appetite for unique experiences on our own doorstep. Northern Ireland residents spent an average of £23 more per night than at the same time last year.

Alan Clarke, NITB chief executive, said: “With a tightening of household budgets, more and more people are deciding to take advantage of holidays at home.” NITB will be launching a £1m marketing campaign in both Northern Ireland and the Republic next year to promote spring short breaks in Northern Ireland.

lion during period 2004-05 to 200607. It not only has the capability and capacity to take country’s economy ahead but also sustain it for the time to come. For example, its contribution to Gross Domestic Product has increased from 5.83 percent to 6.11 percent during the period 2002-03 to 2007-08”

India Tourism describes ‘domestic tourism’ as the “backbone” and shows off a figure of an estimated 561 million domestic tourist visits were reported during 2009. With the rapid economic development taking place in the country and availability of greater disposable income combined with affordable holiday packages, tourism in India is increasing steadily and acts as a catalyst for the furthering the economic growth in view of its wide ranging linkage effects and multiple impacts. India Tourism added the sector offers tremendous job opportunities and pointed out that the number of manpower employed increased from 44.7 million to 51.1 mil-

With every destination around the world, when the going gets tough, the tough goes domestic! India is probably still one of the few countries that is still obsessed at chasing falling international arrivals! In spite of probably being the world’s second biggest domestic travel market, it still receives a treatment meted out to second-class citizens. The writing is quite clearly on the wall! We are not the world biggest market for fairness Creams for nothing!

With countries going overboard with marketing plans to keep its citizens home bound, India will find it difficult to sell its wares abroad atleast for the next couple of years. We seldom have a strategy for the domestic travel market; it is always an after thought or a kind of back-up market! Though India Tourism has recently come out with a scheme where in partial reimbursement of marketing expenses for hotels, travel agents and other stake holders is possible for those working in the domestic market, it needs to do more in terms of creating a long term agenda and establish a full-time marketing body for domestic tourism, considering that has an user base of over 500 million.

Looking at what the Brits did to promote Domestic Tourism is quite an interesting proposition that could be adapted to Indian markets.

MICE Point

16>>

San Francisco Travel Association continues to grow in MICE San Francisco offers a unique global experience and with attractions and shopping that makes the centre attractive for incentive travellers from India says Helen Tsui, Director International Tourism, Asia Pacific, San Francisco Travel Association IRENE SUSAN EAPEN the place very attractive to incentive travellers from India.

Indian market MICE travel from the Indian market has grown as USA is the favourite destination with MICE traveller and San Francisco becomes the preferred choice. One of the important aspects for MICE travellers is connectivity and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the gateway to North America. San Francisco offers immense choices of unique open and outdoor areas for gala dinners and with iconic attractions and shopping that makes

Infrastructure and facilities One of the largest facilities in San Francisco is the Moscone Centre close to Union Square that hosts major International conventions, conferences and trade shows. It is the best equipped and spread over 992,000 square feet welcoming over one million visitors each year. Almost all local hotels have meeting space and offer support in terms of planning and coordination for special events.

Other than this, we also have unusual choices of venues for gala dinners on a yacht, on Alcatraz, our museums like the California Academy of Science, the new Exploratorium or the Asian Art Museum and San Francisco International Airport features a museum with lovely meeting space.

Expectations for 2014 San Francisco welcomed 16.51 million visitors and a good percentage were incentive and convention visi-

tors in 2012. We witnessed 194,000 visitors from India and growth projection is very positive in 2011.

New destinations San Francisco offers a choice of activities like sightseeing, shopping, savouring cuisine made with fresh produce, wines from the region, theatre and music. From San Francisco you can go for exciting day trips to Napa and Sonoma wine regions, across the Bay to Muir woods and Sausalito or the very popular 17-mile costal drive.

MICE trends The travellers like to explore at least two destinations with San Francisco, either with Los Angeles or with Las Vegas. We see Indian travellers looking for newer options to host conferences and gala dinners. One can experience San Francisco’s culture and cuisine which is gaining popularity along with unusual activities like taking a helicopter ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoying Segway tour of the waterfront area,

adventure sports on the Bay. MICE inflow from India We expect MICE movement to continue to grow and MICE is a very much part of our plans. We have witnessed a lot of incentive travel from India and expects increased numbers to conventions and exhibitions. We are also expanding our convention and support facilities in line with this growth.

Networking with Indian travel trade We were one of the first to set up our representative office in India in 2009 and as a result we have an ongoing outreach with the Indian travel companies. We engage in educational awareness and provide regular updates. We work closely with the travel agents / tour operators to develop San Francisco itineraries and provide information to all travel companies.

Our website is very dynamic and popularly used by travel companies we have participated in the India Missions including the Brand USA India mission last year and will do so this year too.

China Reigns Among MICE Industry’s Top Buying Markets Organisers are expecting 67% new buyers with a targeted ratio of 1.25 buyers to 1 exhibiting company at Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings (IT&CM) China 2014.

VW BUREAU

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he rapid expansion of China’s MICE market continues to draw more international companies to target the growing industry. According to a 2011 Global Meetings Procurement Agency HelmsBriscoe report, the value of China’s conference and events industry was estimated at USD150 billion, with tens of millions of conferences held every year. The Chinese MICE industry itself is burgeoning at 20% annually, reflecting endless opportunities for both international and domestic MICE suppliers alike. Meanwhile, a 2012 study

Voyager’s World > January 2014

by PhoCusWright evidenced doubling of China’s travel gross bookings over a span of 5 years, from USD 54.8 billion in 2009 to USD 105.5 billion in 2013.

Asian source market, behind Japan.

We believe it has the potential to grow even bigger, especially with the Chinese interest in our expedition product to the polar regions.”

since 2013, and with a constant growth of the Chinese economy; we expect to welcome more business travellers and MICE visitors from China.”

For many MICE industry suppliers, China’s relentless growth translates to inevitable shifts in customer geographies, where the country is already amongst their top buying markets.

Returning IT&CM China luxury cruise exhibitor, Silversea Cruise’s Regional Director – Asia, Melvyn Yap notes, “China is now our second largest

Long-time IT&CM China exhibiting destination Thailand is also experiencing the massive impact of the outbound Chinese MICE business. Concurrs Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, President of Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), “China has become the number one (top) source market of MICE travellers to Thailand

The 2014 IT&CM China event is set to welcome approximately 3,000 MICE professionals from sectors as DMCs, PCOs, corporate travel and associations. The show will feature 400 hosted delegates, over 10,000 business appointments and over 60 business, education and networking sessions planned for delegates.

MICE Point

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india is among top three global markets for mice in thailand Vichaya Soonthornsaratoon, Director, Meeting Incentive & Convention Department, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) talks about efforts to tap the meetings industry.

VW BUREAU delegates to Thailand belongs to conventions, followed by corporate meetings and incentives. The number of convention delegates for the twoyear-period stands around 300,000, while those of corporate meetings and incentive groups fall around 235,000 each.

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laborate on how the Connect Campaign will help Thailand achieve a 2014 target of 987000 MICE visitors from abroad, with revenues projected at 96.9 billion baht (US$ 3.2 billion) Under the umbrella of Meetings Industry Department where we focus on corporate meeting & incentive travel and association conference, we have invented the key 2 campaigns that we are confident will attract more corporate and association events to Thailand.

One is Connect Destination, where we will offer incentives and support for corporate meeting or incentive groups who organize their events and stay over 5 nights in more than one destination in Thailand. This campaign is not only giving them direct experiences with our diverse and potential destinations, and making them stay longer but it will also generate more revenue to Thailand.

The other is Connect People, where we will provide incentives and support for convention owners/organizers to launch marketing activities aimed at bringing in more delegates from the growing economies of Asia Pacific, or ASEAN+6 countries to Thailand. This will enable the events to connect to their target delegates; and help increase number of delegates to the convention or conference in Thailand as well.

Give us a breakup of incentive visitors, corporate meetings, and convention visitors of the last two years.

During 2012 and 2013 (as of November 4, 2013) the largest proportion of

Where do you place India among your global markets?

India has been Asia’s top three markets of Thailand for the past three years. During our fiscal year 2013 alone we welcomed almost 100,000 Indian delegates against 750,000 in 2012. It really is a dramatic increase.

That’s why we organize road shows in India every year. The targeted cities for our annual road show in 2014 are Mumbai, Delhi and Bengalore. We have also appointed a representative in India to work more closely with our prospective clients.

tion and Exhibition Center set against scenic mountain backdrop. Of all convention centers in Thailand, the one in Chiang Mai is located on the largest space and can serve events of up to 3,000 delegates with a lot of breakout rooms, and exhibition space. We believe this will enhance the profile of Chiang Mai as a MICE destination.

How do you propose to take Connect Campaign forward and promote it?

The campaign was debuted to both

Thai and foreign media and prospective buyers during IT&CMA and CTW 2013, which is Asia’s largest MICE trade show hosted in Bangkok in October 2013. In 2014, we will continue to promote the campaign during our presence at the scheduled trade shows in Europe, Asia and Australia, including our planned road shows in India, Asia and Europe. Our representatives overseas will also serve as spokesperson for the campaign. Anyhow, one can contact TCEB at meetings@tceb.or.th.

Which are the top five convention meeting centers in Thailand and what are their facilities?

In Bangkok alone, there are more than a few convention centers with prominent profiles in hosting large and international events, for example, IMPACT, Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC), Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Center at CentralWorld and Royal Paragon Hall.

All of them are connected with fast and efficient transport network with facilities capable to serve all kind of functions: grand hall, exhibition hall, breakout room, etc. They all can serve events of over 1,000 delegates, while one of them used to host event that served up to 30,000 delegates. Actually there are more venues opening up in Bangkok these days, some with thematic setting.

In Pattaya, we have PEACH or Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, which is surrounded by four-five star hotels.

The center overlooking the Gulf of Thailand has been serving both regional and global events for more than one decade. We now have a new convention center in Chiang Mai or Chiang Mai International Conven-

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MICE Point

18>>

Real Cost Savings get redefined in corporate travel Spacious seating with great legroom space and priority onground support are popular requests by corporate travellers, says Girish Nair, Chief Commercial Officer, GoAir in this interview with Voyager’s World.

Trace the demand for GoAir services in the last two years, as far as corporate travel is concerned?

GoAir has seen a huge traction in corporate travel over the past two years.

We have consistently followed business travel trends to offer services that are responsive to the market conditions and highly beneficial to this segment.

How are corporate clients perceiving GoBusiness?

GoBusiness is fast becoming the most preferred choice of a business traveler. GoBusiness makes absolute business sense for the discerning travelers because of the value for money proposition and a customer experience based on flexibility, priority and privilege. GoBusiness offers flexible bookings, in-flight experience of greater legroom and privacy with seating in the front two rows and the vacant centre seat and complimentary hot meals. Privileges of lounge access, speedy check-in and extra baggage allowance are also a part of GoBusiness.

What are the popular requests/demands (For eg: Window seats, cancellation charges, business class/ economy class, excess baggage, meals on board, etc.) proposed by your corporate clientele while mak-

ing bookings?

A corporate traveller looks for a seamless travel experience with day return connections, on-time flights and the ease of booking through their preferred travel agency at a reasonable average ticket price throughout the year. The comfort of seating with greater legroom and priority onground support are popular requests as well.

What is the degree of importance you have given to social media, internet and mobile technology to capture the market?

At GoAir, we have always invested in technology that enables seamless travel. We also recently introduced Tele check-in so that customers can just breeze through check-in by calling our Call Centre and the boarding pass is then processed even before the customer actually arrives at the airport.

This service brings our customers immense convenience and time savings. We look at the new media to be a highly effective tool in reaching out to our audience. We are constantly engaging with our customers on social media platforms.

Are there any deals that GoAir is currently offering new corporate clients which we could talk about?

GoAir understands that the “real cost savings” for today’s corporate go much beyond the average ticket price. The focus is on providing a travel experience that increases the productivity of the traveler when on a business trip.

Apart from a special corporate fare, GoAir also offers meals on board, cancellation and rescheduling flexibilities for its corporate clientele so that they can accordingly customize their itineraries.

Ground transport on full mileage!

Today’s corporate travellers seek and procure a host of ground transport both for their visiting expatriates and in-house employees for their ground transport requirements, says Rajiv Vij, CEO & MD, Carzonrent Ltd. VW BUREAU year growth of 18%. Not only the MNCs but also SMEs find it easier and convenient to associate with us for travelling and also purchasing and managing fleets on their behalf for their employees.

How do you see the demand for car rentals in the last two years, as far as corporate travel is concerned?

The last two years has witnessed a significant growth in cab rental industry. The developing economic scenario has boosted the corporate travel. We have witnessed year on

Voyager’s World > January 2014

Given the competition and fuel costs, how do you give the best value for corporates?

Most of our cars are CNG and diesel fuelled to facilitate customers’ option for cutting down travel cost. We provide a complete banquet of travelling solution to them like self-drive where they pay just the rent, as per their travelling convenience. Our pricing system is transparent and economical. For outstation and inter-city travel, customers pay as per kilometer covered.

Carzonrent services over 600 corpo-

rate clients from industries as diverse as IT/ITES, Consulting Services, Banking Institutions, FMCG, Telecom, Airlines, Hotel Chains, Travel Companies, PSU’s etc. We even provides complete operating lease & fleet management services to almost 100 corporate clients Carzonrent is the Only Car rental company to offer to its customers a Car for as little as 20 minutes to as long as four years.

We have presence in 35 cities with over 86 locations and an exclusive tie up with 9 major airports (Delhi T1, Delhi T3, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Vizag, Bhubaneshwar). We have a 24x7 customer support and offer an array of cars to choose from. Carzonrent does 15000 trips daily clocking 100000 km everyday to satisfy 6000000 customers annually. Metro markets lead in demand as of now.

Do you work on an annual contract or work on day-to-day demand basis with corporates?

We work on both models; the emphasis is on customer need, satisfaction and delight.

Comment on penetration in Tier 2 and 3 cities and upcoming plans.

Our vision is to build “Carzonrent” as the Indian car rental brand with global scale in terms of locations, fleet size and operations. We own over 6500 cars at present, aims to become a 30000 cars company within the next 3 years, expanding in various parts of the country.

Which are your main feeder markets and the sectors that give you maximum business?

Top View

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Indian Cuisine is no more pastoral

Chef Ganesh Kumar Murthy, Chef in Charge at Vivanta by Taj-Fisherman’s Cove talks about new tastes, aromas and health preferences emanating from the Indian kitchen.

VW BUREAU

Kumar Murthy

Chef in Charge at Vivanta by Taj-Fisherman’s Cove

The hospitality industry, just like the world in general is becoming highly globalized and there is a huge amount of interaction and exchange of ideas between the chefs worldwide. Chefs’ communities on the social media and associations like IFCA and WACS are allowing chefs from across the world to exchange best practices in various aspects. Indian cuisine is no more pastoral and there is a lot of emphasis on presentation of food.

What are the latest trends in the world of Indian cuisine?

Indian cuisine is a vast subject of study as there are several regions and numerous styles of cooking.

Of late, the cuisine of India is seeing a lot of transformation. There are a few aspects on which you can see this interesting trend emerging.

Firstly, there is a certain amount of sophistication that is seeping into the Indian cuisine. It’s no more pastoral and there is a lot of emphasis on the presentation of food. This trend could be attributed mainly to globalization and the international chefs who are changing the face of Indian food. Indian food is getting a European look and style to it which is amusing the customers too.

Secondly, the emphasis is slowly shifting from the rich North West Frontier cuisines or the age old lucknowi and Awadhi food with ornamental Nawabi names to more simpler and authentic regional cuisines.

Restaurants are opening with specific regional cuisines and the focus is on authenticity and taste of food.

Thirdly, a lot of emphasis is being given on health aspects. The food is no more as rich as it used to be and the floating oil on top is a departed style. Vegetarianism is a picking up trend and it is not a rare sight now to find vegan/vegetarian restaurants in star hotels as well as standalone.

Chennai as a city itself boasts a number of vegetarian restaurants.

Which country’s cuisine is luring the palates of Indians of late? It

Voyager’s World > January 2014

has been said that there is a great demand for Japan food recently.

Japanese and the Pan Asian cuisine is on a constant rise across the country which is a phenomenon attributed to only the metropolitan cities. Again globalization and the entry of Japanese companies to India is the main reason behind this trend. There is a sizeable population of Japanese people in most of the metro cities for which this trend could have emerged, which eventually has exposed the Indians to this wonderful cuisine. Japanese food is very interesting in its own ways and has a unique taste that one needs to develop to enjoy it thoroughly. Eating raw fishes in the form of sushi and sashimi might still seem challenging to a lot of Indians. The Japanese food on a whole is quite sweet and salty. Interestingly, most of these Japanese restaurants are filled up with more expatriates than Indians though the number of restaurants serving Japanese food is on a rise.

On the other hand, Chinese and Thai cuisine is more popular than Japanese cuisine. People looking for health option however would definitely appreciate the wonderful Japanese food which focusses more on seafood, vegetables and low starch rice. Teppanyaki, which is cooking on the grills, has its own flair to it with the chef doing juggling and all sorts of gimmicks which is a treat to the eye.

Have you seen a shift in the tastes and preference of Indian middleclass with regard to global cuisine?

Kindly explain.

The Indian middle class has always been very conservative and less adventurous as far as trying out new cuisines is considered. The upper middle class and the upper class Indians, who frequently travel the world however are wanting to try out new cuisines and are quite demanding in terms of authenticity and accuracy of new cuisines that the restaurants are offering. The middle class of India however has stuck to its basics. Indian regional cuisine along with Italian and Chinese were the most popular cuisines which still remain popular today.

There is an increased inclination towards regional cuisines which are finding their way to some of the prominent hotels of the country what with occasional food festivals. How do you evaluate this trend?

It’s true that the regional cuisines are gaining popularity day by day.

Punjabi, Rajasthani, South Indian (Chettinad, Andra etc), Goan and Bengali are the most popular among the lot. Several hotels who are not offering specific regional cuisines in their restaurants take advantage of food festivals to offer the same to its guests. The guests also get a change of taste and hence this trend is gaining popularity.

People generally identify Indian cuisine with excessive spiciness.

How far this is true? Is there a shift?

As mentioned earlier, Indian cuisine

is undergoing major transformations in all the aspects. More focus today is in the blend of spices and flavor, not the chili and pepper part of it that makes it spicy and hot.

Even the southern Indian food is rich in terms of the use of different spices and less on chilies and peppers except for certain regions like Andhra. People in metro cities too have developed delicate tastes for food and are disliking spicy and hot food.

What are the efforts being taken by the Indian hospitality industry to imbibe the best practices in the cuisine segment worldwide?

At a personal level, what are the resources you rely on to keep yourself updated on the latest trends?

The hospitality industry, just like the world in general is becoming highly globalized and there is a huge amount of interaction and exchange of ideas between the chefs worldwide. Chefs’ communities on the social media and associations like IFCA and WACS are allowing chefs from across the world to exchange best practices in various aspects.

I personally have benefitted a great deal in terms of getting to know new equipment, new technologies that would save manpower, energy efficient equipment, new styles of cooking and various other emerging food concepts. Apart from social media and chefs associations, I also rely on the traditional channels like magazines, books and internet for keeping myself updated on latest trends.

Hospitality

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Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa to be a wedding destination

The Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa enfolds the beauty of Gulmarg as a wedding venue and expects to grow in 2014 says Rachna Mehra, Director-Sales and Marketing, The Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa, Gulmarg.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN mense support from the Ministry of Tourism, tourism in J&K is booming and one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the world.

Since the opening of The Khyber in December 2012 has experienced an upsurge in domestic tourism in promoting high end conferences and of course FIT segment is always our priority. We also participate in international and regional trade fairs and exhibitions.

Hospitality Market In the last 5-6 years in the hospitality industry there has been a boom in domestic travel. The valleys, wild flowers, lakes, scenery, mountains and snow coupled with Kashmiri hospitality makes J&K a favoured destination. J&K is receiving im-

Expectation 2014 India has witnessed a progressive growth of 14 % on the last year inbound. 2014 looks extremely positive and as far as Gulmarg is concerned we will be expecting a growth of 20% of visitors as against last year. With the increase in disposable incomes, domestic tourists will be our biggest segment.

Promotional Plans Other than the traditional marketing activities we have on print ad campaigns and social media to build our brand. We have also tied up with Small Luxury hotels of the World (SLH) to promote and market across the world. We are promoting Gulmarg as a year round destination with special packages for various seasons as well as special interest packages based on adventure sports, honeymoon, romance and during long weekends etc.

Trends Gulmarg has always been known as a popular honeymoon destination but now we are focusing on promoting our property as a wedding destination.

Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa, Gulmarg can easily accommodate a wedding for a 150- 200 guests. We

see a great potential from Middle East, Far East and Russia for adventure sports be it skiing or trekking or special interest groups like golf.

With a luxury property like The Khyber and an operational ski lift, the highest in the world the trend is changing, we see a lot more adventure tourist coming right from trekking, mountain biking and normal biking, gondola rides, horse riding, rock climbing, trout fishing, photography safaris, and jeep excursions in spring a snowboarding in summer, sledding, skiing and horsedrawn sleigh rides in winter or even doing off road driving in the snow. For an avid golfer it is an experience of being on the top of the world while golfing at Gulmarg’s 18-hole course the highest green golf course in the world at an altitude of 9000 ft and the longest in India at 7500 yards.

Marriott Whitefield bangalore Spa: For unwinding and rejuvenating VW BUREAU

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arriott Whitefield Spa offers soothing and relaxing atmosphere for anyone who wishes to unwind and relax. The spa offers four different treatment rooms, which includes one for couples. Spa Manager Baiju said that couples treatment room has been getting good response for a while now due to various massage treatments on offer. With its wide array of menu, the hotel has been luring guests of different kinds.

There are also options for relaxation as steam bath and Jacuzzi. The Jacuzzi facility is one of the attractions here as one can have a relaxing atmosphere. The steam bath and hot bath are other attractions which can rejuvenate the body and mind as the body will be cleansed. It is always advisable to go in for Jacuzzi as well as steam bath, an ideal way to rejuvenate after a busy schedule.

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Hospitality

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Latest technology serves hotel marketing Good software makes it possible for marketing with latest technology in the hospitality industry IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Lucinda Semark

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group

Technology innovation a focal point in deepening our engagement with guests in hotels, plus new technology based services like check in choice, radisson iconcierge, meeting success- as part of iconcierge, the mobile application increases revenue in hotels and free internet access is the most important necessity of travellers.

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otel marketing plays a pivotal role in the hospitality industry especially with technology based services like the check in choice service that allows guests to check in advance using mobile devices iPad and laptops.

The other technology services like social media campaign, social media networking, E-newsletters, online booking portals and travel intermediaries offer a number of opportunities for promoting and marketing business online. Optimization of the search engine is another factor and search engine marketing help hotels to drive revenues. Nowadays travellers are in the lookout for free internet access in all hotels so the use of latest technology is inevitable for anyone.

Technology for hotel marketing According to Alok Chakravarty, Director of Sales and Marketing, Shangri La ‘s- Eros Hotel New Delhi states that in a competitive world like the hospitality industry, marketing plays a pivotal role in an organization and technology is now a means of life than just a part of life. The most important goal of a social media campaign is engagement. Engaging with different segments of customers across the globe through social media helps in product differentiation, communication and positioning.

“The Electronic direct marketing (EDM’s) plays a crucial role in promoting the packages and promotions amongst our discerning guests. With the launch of online

Voyager’s World > January 2014

booking portals and travel intermediaries, there are ample number of opportunities for promoting and marketing business online through marketing communications and channels of distribution. The search engine optimization and search engine marketing should be our key focus for driving revenues and reaching out to our target audience,” he says.

“A smart media strategy includes being actively involved on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to drive web traffic, manage issues by responding quickly to criticism or negative perceptions, and to increase the social media presence for the brand. The ENewsletters have long been a good way to promote business, communicate with customers and keep them informed of the new products and services,” he added.

In the opinion of Lucinda Semark, Executive Vice President Revenue

Generation, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Asia Pacific, technology innovation is a focal point in deepening our engagement with guests in hotels. For example, whether you are travelling for business or for leisure, we know that free internet access in one of the most important things travelers look out for.

are very excited about this as it leverages on technology to enhance guest touch points and set Radisson apart from its competition. Some of these new technology based services include Check in Choice- a service allowing guests to check in advance using mobile devices, iPad and laptops.

“We are one of the few international hotel companies to offer free internet across all our brands-Radisson Blu ,Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn

by Radisson and County Inns and Suites in all our hotels. We believe that an increase in guest engagement give guests more reasons to stay with us, which then ultimately drives more revenue to our hotels,” she says.

The Radisson iConcierge a concierge application that offers destination information to guests through their smart phone, meeting success is the mobile application also offers a comprehensive meetings and events program with enhanced F&B offerings for event planners,” she added.

“Recently we launched Radisson re-imagined program to ensure that Radisson hotels will continue to stay relevant to the needs of its guests and create guest experiences that will be distinctive to Radisson. We

Sajid Mahmood, Vice President, Marketing, Sarovar Hotels said, there are two levels at which technology is used at Sarovar hotels to increase revenue. Our Property Management Systems (PMS) are capable of tracking previous occupancies to make projections for future.

Sajid Mahmood Sarovar Hotels

Dynamic pricing is practiced on all online channels consisting of the GDS, Brand website and Online Travel Portals.

Differential pricing is used to fill up weekends and good software makes this possible.

Hospitality

23>> Alok Chakravarty

Shangri-La‘s- Eros Hotel

Marketing plays a important role in an organization and technology is now a means of life than just a part of life, implementing a smart marketing strategy increases weekend business in the hotel. Electronic direct marketing plays an important role in promotional activities.

These analytical tools are used at hotels to determine the best available rates. This is done by studying past and current booking trends on a real time basis. Based on these inputs dynamic pricing is practiced on all online channels consisting of the GDS, Brand website and Online Travel Portals. Technology has helped us in achieving last room sale situation.

Marketing Strategies Lucinda says that corporate hotels need to focus on driving weekend business, for leisure hotels, this is a core part of their business. We have introduced promotions such as our multi brand tactical promotion called Great Weekend Escapes.

It is important to implement specific marketing strategies targeted at business travelers looking to extend their trip for leisure and leisure travelers to increase business from this segment to drive weekend business.

“The guests staying at least one weekend at Carlson Rezidor hotels across Asia Pacific receive 25% off best available rates on weekend nights where the guests can choose to stay in cities such as New Delhi or resort locations such as Goa to rest and relax or simply to spend time with the family. The great weekend escapes have proven to be popular with our guests this year,” she says.

RezNext Adds New solution on ReX Platform

Reznext enables hotels to create holiday packages based on real-time room availability VW BUREAU

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ezNext, the world’s only true real-time distribution solution provider has added a significant enhancement to it channel manager solution ReX. Hoteliers can now create packages like honeymoon holidays, adventure holidays, beach holidays, pilgrimage holidays and much more based on room types and real-time availability in ReX, and can share this with all their distribution channels.

Consumers booking these packages can avoid calling the OTA or the hotel and book online directly. “Today the industry is person dependent as there is no real-time availability or booking of packages possible on the hotel website or on an OTA. The new functionality from ReX bridges this gap. Because this is real-time, there is no additional effort needed from the consumer or the hotelier to confirm a booking against a package.

The confirmation is received in the PMS which sends out the booking voucher to the guest. It is seamless, quick and saves time and effort for the consumer, the OTA and the hotel”, said Mike Kistner, Chief Executive Officer, RezNext.

This new functionality will allow hoteliers to market their hotels better and offer the consumer more choice.

Hoteliers can also choose to set the package running for a longer duration instead of restricting it to couple of days only. Once the room types for which the package is created are sold out, further bookings will not be allowed. Hotels can then choose to run the same package if need be on a different room type based on availability.

The new functionality also allows ho-

teliers to create manage and publish an itinerary against the packages and make it available on their website and on those channels they distribute these packages too.

“The next release will look at enabling hoteliers to add multiple room types in a package. Hotels will also be able to include additional services such as spa, guided tours or safari to these packages and offer the consumer a holistic experience while bringing in additional revenue for the hotel”, added Mike.

By being able to create packages in real-time, hoteliers can now be in better control of their sales and the marketing team can rely on real-time actionable data to draw intelligence, analyze and promote these packages accordingly.

“In India, MICE, business and social events significantly contribute to our weekend business both in room and F&B revenue. We have implemented various dining programs where guests can enjoy discounts at the F&B outlets in our hotels over the weekends, or alternatively use their club Carlson points to redeem room night stays over weekends,” she added.

“At Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi we offer a tailor made room package known as the Weekend Stay Package. There is a need to implement a smart marketing strategy to increase weekend business in the hotel,” concludes Alok.

Starwood wields Instagram on its websites VW BUREAU

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tarwood Hotels & Resorts announced its integration with Instagram on all its websites worldwide. Guests of Starwood’s over 1,150 hotels capture and share an average of 40,000 images per month on Instagram.

The New Guest Galleries from Instagram showcase the upsurge of social sharing through Instagram photos and videos geo-tagged by Starwood’s guests. From unique hotel amenities to eye-catching local sites, the Guest Galleries from Instagram offer a new way for travellers to explore their next Starwood destination – all from the perspective of fellow guests.

Images like a beachscape, poolside view, an SPG member’s room upgrade or special amenity, one of Starwood’s award-winning restaurants, etc. serve as a visual seal of direct approval from Starwood guests for other travellers looking for inspiration.

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Hospitality

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bANYAN TREE & ANGSANA hotels Manas Sinha, Assistant Director, Key Accounts, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Angsana Hotels & Resorts, Regional Marketing Office (New Delhi) shares his insights with Voyager’s Worldz on the branding and service offerings by both the brands amidst other things.

Angsana Ihuru Maldives

USP of Banyan Tree and Angsana.

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts owns and manages luxury resorts and spa for affluent and experienced travellers. It offers high level of personalized service allowing guests the most of intimacy and privacy for the ultimate romantic experiences. The physical set-up, uniquetouch points, therapeutic aroma and peace makes Banyan Tree Resorts the true “sanctuary for the senses”.

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts owns and manages luxury contemporary

Banyan Tree Ungasan Bali

Voyager’s World > January 2014

resorts and spa for guests young at heart. Offering a romantic experience with high degree of vibrancy and spontaneity, Angsana Resorts are also perfect fit for families with kids.

The kids clubs at the resort is the key attraction for young ones and allows parents the freedom to indulge themselves. Truly “sensing the moment” experience.

To date Banyan Tree and Angsana hotels and Spa have secured nearly 1100 International awards from elite tourism bodies and this number is

consistently growing. We take this as a strong proof of our success in imparting unique experiences at niche properties.

Do you differentiate or synchronise your marketing and branding for both Banyan and Angsana?

Banyan Tree and Angsana Resorts though under one umbrella are two distinct entities with unique sense of appearance, touch and feel. Highest level of guest service is the core philosophy but both cater to different set of mood and occasion. We mar-

Hospitality

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& resorts: ‘soulscape’

Angsana Balalcava Mauritius

ket the brands through joint activities with tour operators, travel agencies, NTOs and in cooperation with other luxury brands. Our travel partners are educated on the USPs of properties and destinations and thereby the right fit is suggested to the end consumer. For example, a couple travelling to Thailand on honeymoon and looking for more of ‘we time’ we will recommend to stay at Banyan Tree Phuket or Banyan Tree Samui resort as first preference. However, if the couple is keen to indulge in lots of activities as well, we will suggest to stay in loft style over water rooms at Angsana Laguna Phuket. Off course a combination stay is ideal. Similarly for a family with young kids, Angsana Laguna Phuket is the first choice but

Banyan Tree Samui

Banyan Tree Samui can be equally enjoyable.

Being part of one group and available together at several destinations we strive that recall of both brands are together. The decision to choose is largely dependent on guests’ preferences and purpose of visit. For several Indian Wedding groups, MICE and other group events we do use the inventory and facilities together of both Banyan Tree and Angsana Resort especially at Phuket, LangCo Vietnam, Bintan and Maldives.

How important is the Indian market for your brands?

Indian market is important for our brands. The knowledge and aware-

ness of high end Indian traveller is at-par with any country in developed economy. Guests have evolved in experience and value our brands integrity and innovation. Besides setting a regional marketing office our endeavour is to bring Banyan Tree & Angsana resorts to suitable locations in India.

We did not see much impact in bookings due to the depreciation of INR. We did witness few postponements not necessarily due to currency slide.

What are the upcoming projects?

In 2014 we intend to launch properties at Yangshuo and Huangshan in China besides other locations. In 2016 we plan to bring Banyan Tree

resort in Goa, India.

Competing in spa destinations like Phuket, Bali and the like We are famed fo innovation in treatments and finesse of highly skilled therapists. Our academy ensures continuous training and novelty to create an outstanding spa experience. Natural ingredients and tropical setting create an ethereal experience unmatched at the best places. The best of Thai, Balinese and Ayurveda forms the repertoire of our menu. Instead of competing, our spas are actually a big contributor to the spa destinations as we are present with our resorts as well. We also have standalone locations and also manage spa for number of leading hotel chains.

- An advertorial

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mussoorie needs better connectivity S. P. KOCHHAR Chairman & Managing Director, Madhuban Group of Hotels talks to Voyager’s World about the property’s strengths in a popular tourist destination as Mussoorie.

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What is the USP of your property?

Hotel Madhuban Highlands is a subtle blend of Indian hospitality and western innovation. Guest is our priority and thus, we always try to give a homely feel to our guests. The business centre at the hotel boasts a touch of flattering modernity, offering well equipped, beautifully done conference facility.

Hotel Madhuban Highlands is a tag

for quality bundled in a natural package. You can relax yourself away from the hustle bustle of the city at a pollution free environment friendly hotel in an enclave of peace and tranquillity. There is enhanced Spa facility for your health care, fully equipped Gymnasium for daily exercise, billiard room, home theatre and above all kids’ room for children.

Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh that need almost immediate attention.

The development of roads is now overdue; there is a need for enhancement of capacity in the trains coming to Dehradun. Also the scope of the air connectivity needs to expand with a view to make travel to Dehradun and Mussoorie more comfortable and fast.

Competing in a place like Mussoorie, that is filled with touristfriendly accommodation facilities?

At Madhuban Highlands we have a tradition of personalized service that we follow from the very beginning where special care is taken for the guest’s comforts and hospitality. The endeavour for the management of the hotel is to create more repeat guests.

How do you manage room occupancy during off and peak season?

Mussoorie season peaks around the beginning of May till the end of July each year and tapers down from there onwards. During the peak season, we prefer early booking from the customers; yet if any such situation occurs we have some special management team that takes care of it in the best possible way so that the customer does not face any problem.

Marketing during the off season is certainly a challenge for all the hotel operators in the hills. During the

What are the challenges that you are facing in marketing your property?

The foremost challenge is the connectivity of Mussoorie from areas like

off season we create a mix of MICE, Destination Weddings and Incentive travellers.

Which are your main feeder markets in India and the nature of your clients?

The entire North India is our main feeder market and in addition, tourists from other areas like Gujarat during autumn and West Bengal during the pooja holidays frequent visit Mussoorie.

How do you market your property?

Of late, a major portion of marketing is done on the Internet and with online vendors and on the net advertising. In addition, keeping in mind the booming importance of social media we also use the digital platform for the promotion of our property. We also maintain a close contact with our previous clients which becomes a very positive aspect for the marketing of our property.

Core Indian values offer vast scope for Voluntourism

Taj Safari the brand aims to integrate the idea of contributing to the society through the concept of Voluntourism at Pashan Garh, Panna.

VW BUREAU Explain the concept of Voluntourism The Tata Group firmly believes in the philosophy of ‘what comes from the society must be given back in reasonable measure.’ With a heritage spanning hundred years, the legacy of corporate sustainability has been inherited from the founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata. Steadfast in its commitment to the community and environment, the company views it as a voluntary long-term engagement and not an obligatory association.

The group companies consciously develop a strategy to ensure that the core of corporate social responsibility - concern for social development and environmental management - is recognized as part of the company agenda.

Voyager’s World > January 2014

How do the communities benefit from this initiative?

Operating in Madhya Pradesh for almost five years, Taj Safaris aims to provide something more than just pure luxury. We address the niche area of wildlife conservation as well as the development of the communities in which we operate. The local communities are at the focal point of our efforts and we support them through small initiatives to jointly work towards tiger conservation.

These encompass education & functional literacy, health and nutritional support, skill training & local enterprise development.

We have installed smokeless chulhas as a replacement to the traditional

smoke-generating chulhas which protects rural women from accidents and lung infections. At Banjaar Tola, the team in partnership with the Forest Department provides training to local ‘honey hunters’ to educate them about eco-friendly ways to harvest honey. The traditional methods of collecting honey result in the destruction of wild rock bee colonies; however, with the help of our naturalists, the hunters are learning to collect high quality honey without harming the bees. We impart education to the children of the neighbouring villages on conservation of the eco-system. These young children live on the brink of the national parks, yet have never been on the inside as the price of a safari drive is outside their reach.

Potential of responsible tourism in India India is poised to be a front-runner in generating voluntourists for the decades to come and it doesn’t need a great deal of extrapolation to suggest that. Our economic growth, second only to China and our inherent values and philosophies play a pivotal role to contribute to this growth. The epitome of service, we have assisted in the transference of wisdom-wealth beyond the country›s borders. Assuming point five per cent of Indians become voluntourists and spread the concept in different parts of the country, it will have a humongous impact. We need a solid foundation, and can strive to make our country the world leader in this field.

Hospitality

27>>

Chennai welcomes its first Holiday Inn Express

The 140-room property is set to be the new option for business travellers looking for a smart stay option in Chennai.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM a joint venture partnership formed between Duet India Hotels and IHG that would see a total of 19 hotels open under the brand.

T

he InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) marked its entry into Chennai with the launch of the Holiday Inn Express in Mahindra World City on 18 December, 2013. Mahindra World City opened its doors to its first hotel with 140 rooms.

The hotel was inaugurated by IHG’s Pascal Gauvin, COO India, Middle

East and Africa and Douglas Martell, Vice President Operations South West Asia alongside Saurabh Sonthalia, Country Head – Duet India Group, Naveen Jain, President, Duet India Hotels and Sangeeta Prasad, CEO – Integrated Cities & Industrial Clusters, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. Holiday Inn Express Chennai is the second hotel to open under

Standing modestly with the hotel distinctly defined by its trademark blue-green branding, the property is certain on what it offers- free Express Start breakfast, free and fast Wi-Fi and great sleeping amenities- for business travellers visiting the city’s IT and automotive groups. It also offers convenient access to key places and shopping districts in Chennai.

The rooms are equipped with electronic safe, ergonomic desk chair and efficient working station, en-suite bathrooms, LED TV, iPod docking station, coffee maker and mini fridge.

Other facilities are a fitness room and two meeting rooms. Five Spices, the multi-cuisine restaurant, offers of Asian and Continental cuisine.

“57 new hotels have been signed, of which 85% is for the Holiday Inn family. We studied what customers wanted and hence, concluded that Holiday Inn Express is the brand of the future in India,” said Pascal Gauvin.

Douglas Martell said: “Holiday Inn Express is our key growth driver in India and the brand accounts for over 85% of our growth in the country.

We are very pleased to bring Holiday Inn Express, our fastest growing and most-efficient hotel brand to Mahindra World City. I am confident that the hotel will appeal to the fuss-free and value-driven choices of today’s ‘smart’ and ‘savvy’ travellers.”

Holiday Inn Express, which has got a seven-year exclusivity in Mahindra World City, is poised to be the choice of business travellers, with a well-defined focus on its express services at a reasonable price.

oakwood RESIDENCE PRESTIGE: STATELY SERVICED LIVING in bangalore’S IT HUB PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

O

akwood Residence Prestige, a new serviced apartment opened at Whitefield, Bangalore in October 2013, thereby becoming latest entrant to the brand’s existing four properties in the country with three

more slated to open by 2016.

The 143-room property, headed by Varun Sharma, its Resident Manager, overlooks the Varthur Lake and shares its premises with the Forum

Value Mall and seeks to tap the IT market in the vicinity.

In what could be termed as a sophisticated fusion of luxury and a home setting, Oakwood Residence Prestige seeks to offer the benefits of a five-star hotel on a long stay basis.

The fully furnished suites are classified as studio, one bedroom and two bedrooms with modern kitchen, Wi-Fi, state-of-the-art home entertainment system, ample storage space, washers, dryers and the like.

The all-day dining Oakleaf Restaurant and Bar caters to the different palates of the guests, with various multicuisine dishes. As for rejuvenation and fitness, one can head to the outdoor swimming pool that offers a superb verdant view outside or simply go to the Fitness Centre. The other amenities include a private children’s play area and meeting facilities at the

Genesis Business Services.

“There is a need for high-end serviced living in Whitefield. Our rates are high and so are our clientele.

We offer more spacious rooms and guests can save money by doing their own cooking and laundry. Also, the Food Court in the adjacent mall offers home delivery for our guests,” said Varun Sharma.

The property receives mostly expatriates from Japan, China, USA, UK, Belgium, and Germany who stay for a period of 1-2 years on an average, from the middle and higher management in the companies. It seeks to tap the city’s IT and automotive market.

The well-appointed decors and amenities of Oakwood Residence Prestige will go a long way in providing the best comforts of a home away from for its guests.

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

28>>

Novotel makes entry into Pune

Accor expanded its footprints in Pune with the opening of Novotel on 11 December, 2013, the brand’s third property in Q4 this year after launching in Goa and Ahmedabad.

VW BUREAU reconfigure the meeting layout.

Guests can also experience Virtual Concierge, India’s first, unique and novel technology feature in hotels.

A touch-screen panel installed in the centre of common areas where guests can browse and find information related to the brand, the hotel and its neighborhood, including suggestions for restaurants or museums, or information regarding the weather and flight schedules. The interactive system offers other services to guests such as sending virtual postcards.

N

ovotel Pune will offer 223 guest rooms including 14 suites, meeting spaces augmented by the latest technology and interesting dining and recreation options. This is the 8th Novotel property in India.

mier rooms and 164 standard rooms.

The property features flexible banquet offerings of over 11,000 sq ft of indoor and outdoor space, with a divisible ballroom and six additional meeting rooms.

The hotel offers a variety of room types for every traveller including 14 suites, 12 superior rooms, 33 pre-

It also has brought in the concept of Eureka meeting rooms that offer uninterrupted meetings with a facility to

As for the food and beverage options, Novotel Pune will offer The Square, Novotel’s signature all-day dining restaurant; Fuzion, offering Indian and international flavours; Soak, an outdoor pool bar; Bar-Code lobby lounge; and Crust, a Patisserie & Deli for oven-fresh delights and sweet indulgences.

The recreational facilities include a

well-equipped fitness centre and an outdoor swimming pool.

Bandish Mehta, General Manager, Novotel Pune says: “We are delighted with the opening of a Novotel in Pune.

With this property, we will be able to serve the corporate, business and leisure travelers with a world class infrastructure and exceptional services.”

Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations, Accor India says: “Accor is focused on India as a core growth market and the expansion of the Novotel brand in 2013 has been positive with three significant openings during the year. With brand Novotel, Accor has set new standards in the hospitality industry and hopes to introduce new segments and new markets especially for MICE, besides leisure. Novotel in India has firmly established itself as one of the most respected hotel brands today. The properties have been commended by guests and received recognition for the exceptional services.”

indian hotels are on a tech-splurge

Siddharth Yadav, Director – Marketing and Business Development, Suryagarh says the Indian hospitality industry has a vast potential waiting to be tapped the right way.

VW BUREAU ers. The marketing scenario in the Indian hospitality industry has gone in for a tech-splurge. Hospitality is all about offering warmth to someone who looks for help at a strange or unfriendly place. In pursuit of getting closer to the guests, brands have sneaked right into guest’s bedroom, bathroom, and where not! We at Suryagarh, make sure that we offer our guests what we are capable of and much more with our service, warmth and intuitive hospitality.

Present market scenario in India In the current scenario, success ideally would go to those companies that are best matched to the current environmental imperatives. Those companies that can deliver what people want and can delight the Indian customers are the market lead-

Voyager’s World > January 2014

The Indian market, due to the increase in demand, had seen soaring room rates in the past couple of years but with the increase in supply and the factors like recession, India has seen the pace of the demand decrease which has brought the room rents into a correction mode.

Marketing and promotional campaigns in India The Indian traveller today is evolved and has access to the latest technology. The definition of the new Indian traveller can be broken into various terms, the most common ones being the Double Income and No Kids (DINKS) who now take more than one holiday a year.

The traveller today has an access to the best of bathroom amenities, linen, technology, which is available to them in their own homes. Hence, it is most important for a hotel to understand what the guest is looking for and why they are coming to visit. As a hotel, we have some activities that are exclusive and unique to the property like Dinner on Dunes, Breakfast with Peacocks, Picnics at desert oa-

sis and pastures, Temple Trail, Chudail Trails (Midnight Haunted Trail), etc.

In terms of campaign, we have an integrated marketing and promotional strategy that focuses on differentiation, consistency, customer satisfaction, delivery of brand promises.

The promotional efforts undertaken include advertising in print media, engagement through exhibitions and fairs, organising seminars, workshops, media Fams, etc.

Growth rate and future forecast The global travel market is closely linked to the state of the global economy. The travel industry is expected to slow in the next few years due to the state of the economy, rising fuel costs, political turmoil and social un-

Hospitality

29>> rest. The value of the global travel industry is forecast to reach $1 trillion. The market will be supported by a growing middle class in emerging markets as China, India and Brazil.

Overall, international trips showed 4% growth through 2012, but overnight stays only increased 2%, reflecting the continuing trend to shorter trips.

In contrast, global travel spending grew healthily by 7% to â‚Ź875 billion, resulting in a 3% increase in spending per trip and a 5% rise in average spending per night (due to shorter average trips). Looking ahead, major cities in the USA, Asia and Europe will see a moderate growth.

Indian hospitality industry has yet to go miles for recognition as a world leader of hospitality. Many take Indian hospitality not for its quality of service but for India being a cheap destination for leisure tourism. With unlimited tourism and untapped business prospects, in the coming years Indian hospitality is seeing green pastures of growth.

vistas, intricate courtyards and manicured greens, sets up a perfect backdrop for a regal wedding. With the growing concept of wedding destination, Suryagarh reveals an experience with the highest standards crafted in such a way that drifts you to the time saved in the history of Rajputana.

different aspects of the hotel to the international clientele.

The company will soon launch various outreach programmes for our travel trade partners as well.

Concentrated efforts over a period of time have led to Suryagarh being an established name amongst the travel trade fraternity. The hotel is well represented in all the major markets of Delhi and Mumbai, and the different outreach programmes have been rolled out time and again to keep the travel trade engaged.

Relationship with travel trade Indian travel trade is the most important medium for any hotel to be able to promote and forge ties with the foreign travel agents. They act as a medium as well as goodwill ambassadors for hotels, helping to promote

OTAs and room bookings The OTAs are the next level of booking travel. They are responsible for taking the hotel directly to the customers.

Through dynamic pricing, which can be changed on a daily basis, varied offerings and testimonials of differ-

ent travellers who have stayed and reviewed the hotel with the particular OTA, the OTAs will be playing a pivotal role in affecting travel trends.

Also, the OTAs provide a hotel with opaque pricing, distress sale and so on, which if used effectively can lead to more queries and sales. Currently 1/3 of the world travel sales are booked online.

The work that OTAs are doing now in the area of dynamic pricing will ripple outward to smaller chains and individual properties. New price intelligence systems will come on the market for small and independent hotels and chains, making it possible for them to compete more strongly with larger counterparts.

Our hotels are a medium to experience the local culture and cuisines.

If we were to accentuate local experiences and sell them, it would not only contribute to increased revenue per guest but also drive in more guests to the hotel. However our core focus and efforts are and always will be directed to guest experiences at the hotel. Today hospitality sector is expected to grow at the rate of 8% by 2016.

New projects for the Indian market The ideology of MRS Hospitality is to enter a new mindspace, which, is yet to be explored. The company is not just concentrating in Rajasthan whereas, other parts of the country like Madhya Pradesh that has a lot of underlying potential and great history, which is unexplored.

Feeder markets and distribution channels Due to increase in the number of Indian travellers over the past couple of years, the markets of Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat are the major feeder markets. These are followed by the traditional European and American ones, though recently the number of travellers from South America and Australia has gone up considerably.

MUMBAI-KOLKATA-CHENNAI HYDERABAD-DELHI JANUARY 2014

MUMBAI-AHMEDABAD-DELHI FEBRUARY 2014

Major customer segments At Suryagarh (Jaisalmer), the overall footfall has been of leisure clients(double income no kids).

As for the weddings segment, Suryagarh with its fort structure, open

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

www.voyagersworld.in

Events

30>>

Iitm 2013: a visual recapitulation

Here is a snapshot of the recent India Intenational Travel Mart (IITM) in Pune - 22 - 24 November 2013

A snapshot of IITM Hyderabad 29, 30 November & 1 December 2013

Voyager’s World > January 2014

Events

32>>

TAAI forms new committee, welcomes Interim Order from Court

While the new committee was formed post the recent TAAI Convention with a close tie for the President’s post, the interim order by the Karnataka High Court on the weekly payments has brought respite to the fraternity for the time being.

VW BUREAU

Iqbal Mulla

President, TAAI

As for the Interim order by the Karnataka High Court, the hearing has been postponed until further notice. From what had to come into effect from 1 January, 2014, the order has brought relief for the agents. There will be continuous follow up to make sure a favourable verdict is issued.

I

qbal Mulla was elected as the new President of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) for the term 2013-2015. The elections that were held on 16 December, 2013 post the TAAI Convention at the Vivanta by Taj, Yeshwantpur, Bangalore, resulted in a tie of sorts between Iqbal Mulla and Rajji Rai for the post of the President.

After talks on another re-election on 27 January, 2014 in Mumbai, Iqbal, after obtaining legal advice, exercised his entitlement to a second decisive vote as Chairman, besides his own vote as a member, as per the provision of Article 79 of the Articles of Association of TAAI in the event of equality of votes. This new result was officially communicated by Harmandeep Singh Anand, the new Hon. Secretary General to all TAAI members recently.

There was also a tie between Mukesh Patel and Gurmeet Singh Vij for the post of Managing Committee member in the elections for the new Managing Committee held during the elections earlier this week. Under the said Article 79, he also cast his vote as Chairman in favour of Mukesh and declared him to be elected as a Member of the Managing Committee for the term 2013-15.

Iqbal Mulla, President, TAAI said: “My vision for this tenure is to continue to take care of the members at large, who should be benefited to fraternity.

I will make sure necessary assistance is extended to them in whatever way it is possible considering the speed at which things are changing. I

Voyager’s World > January 2014

hope to help procure at least 5% from the zero commission now by working out an amicable solution with the airlines.”

All the elected members of the TAAI Managing Committee have assumed their respective offices including Mulla and Patel. The office-bearers in the are M Iqbal Mulla - President, Sunil Kumar R – Vice President, Harmandeep Singh Anand – Hon. Secretary General, Marzban Antia – Hon. Treasurer. The elected Members of the Managing Committee are Lokesh Bettaiah, Imtiaz Qureshi, Kirti Vyas, Jyoti Mayal, Jay Bhatia, Vijay Mohan Raj, Mukesh Patel.

In the meanwhile, the TAAI had filed a writ petition no. 38249 of 2013 challenging resolution 818g of IATA and

also sought for strict implementation of Circular dated 17-12-2012 issued by the office of the DGCA. On 06 January, 2014, the writ petition came up before the Hon’ble High court of Karnataka for preliminary hearing and after hearing arguments of the TAAI & TAFI legal counsel and Legal

Counsel for IATA, the Hon’ble Judge passed an interim order to the effect that the Billing and Settlement Plan should not be altered to the weekly settlement plan but shall remain as it was on 31-12-2013. The order has brought some temporary relief to the travel agents.

Harmandeep Singh Anand Hon. Secretary General, TAAI

The status quo is the payment system as was on 31/12/13, i.e; weekly reports and fortnightly payments.

This interim order is a much needed respite for the fraternity. Initially there may be a few issues to sort out as we had begun rolling over for the weekly system. IATA has to re-work on its insurance and bank guarantee.

Events

33>>

Gujarat Travel Mart 2014 to be held from 27-29 March

GTM 2014 will be bigger than before with more numbers in exhibitor and visitor profiles and diversed offerings.

VW BUREAU

G

ujarat Tourism announced the fourth and its biggest edition of ‘Gujarat Travel Mart’ (GTM), India’s biggest B2B travel event in Ahmedabad from the 27 – 29 March 2014.

Scheduled to be held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gandhi Nagar,the Inaugural edition of GTM is set on a B2B platform

with over 285 registered Buyers from over 30 countries exploring business opportunities for discerning travel and tourism products, will make the event one of the most sought after travel events in the country. More than 1000 travel agents are expected to visit the GTM that showcases 200 exhibitors from India from over 20 diverse tourism segments.

The Hosted buyers will be invited from the following countries: Netherlands, Kingdom of Bahrain, Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, UAE, UK, USA, South Africa, India etc.

The event is supported by major travel – trade and hospitality asso-

ciation in India such as ‘Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and Indian Association of Tour Operators.

The event shall be managed by ‘Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions Pvt. ltd’.

ETAA Convention: a tremendous success The Association’s first convention witnesses a profound response amidst good networking sessions.

VW BUREAU

T

he Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) organised its first international Convention in Dubai from 29 November to 02 December, 2013.

The event, whose tagline is ‘Dubai in your palm’, was held in association with the Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Jet Airways, Emirates and Lama Tours, at the Crowne Plaza Dubai.

Jagat Mehta, National General Secretary, ETAA, said: “It was our 1st but unique international convention. No business session on daily basis, no long and boring speeches on travel industries, but focus on why and how to grow your business by promoting Dubai in right way. The highlight was the Dubai expert certification session where it was full house, Carl Vaz gave in depth knowledge about Dubai and

later 400 + delegates gave exam like students. It shows our members are eager to learn about the destination.

On the last day everybody was asking when our next convention was.

We learnt a lot from this experience and from the other people we worked with. The response the convention has received has made all that hard work worthwhile. Dubai tired out to be the perfect choice for this event.

It was close enough to attract a lot of attendees. Plus it offered the perfect blend of work and relaxation. The Dubai expert, lunch sessions and evening get together served as apt opportunities for minded people to come together and learn from each other. This was in fact the goal of the convention and I am happy to report that we were able to achieve it with astounding success. I would like to thank each and every member who dedicated their valuable time to organize and attend the convention.”

www.voyagersworld.in

India Outbound

34>>

Sports tourism to be key markets in tourism segment

Sports brings people together it breaks barriers, always a force for good., this will ultimately increase the growth of sports tourism in India says Arun Raghu, Director, FansOnStands Sports.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN well as the interest in India among rights holders has created a massive interest in high quality international sport which has led to the increase in sport tourism industry.

Sports Tourism Sports tourism is evolving very well in the Indian market. The popularity of sports has been increasing exponentially over the past few years, the IPL gave a huge fillip to the popularity of sports in India. Apart from this, we have witnessed an increase in discretionary spending among the high net worth individuals and corporate, as

Trends Some of the trends in sports tourism are a huge interest among high net worth individuals and corporates in international sports hospitality packages not in normal tickets though. An increase in interest in football, tennis, F1, etc. not just cricket especially among youth, with the proliferation of new players in the industry to service demand, However many of the players are not aware of the rules and regulations in international sport and this could lead to violation of rights in the short to medium term. We have seen an increased focus by rights holders to drive interest in sports in India, the upward trend in personal

engagement in sports, adventure and fitness activities (e.g., running, adventure sports etc.)

Growth for 2013 FansOnStands sports tourism segment has been growing at 50 to100% per year, but anecdotally we are given to understand that sports have been one of the key growth drivers of the tourism industry.

Promotional plans for 2014 We continue to tie up with rights holders internationally and use marketing dollars prudently to drive interest in these sports. We create innovative digital platforms to enable ease of access to international sports across India. We continue to expand our access to high net worth individuals and large corporates to influence them to participate in sports events.

Expectations In the long run we believe that sports tourism will be10 to 15% of the overall tourism market in line with international trends. Our estimate is that the market is 1-2% of the travel industry, whether this growth will take 5 years or more, we cannot say for sure. But clearly in the next few years the industry will continue to grow rapidly based on recent historical trends.

Challenges in promoting sports tourism Sports tourism is still a nascent industry and it will take time to develop.The agencies have to be in it for the long haul to succeed and to make an impact in the industry. The popularity and support of cricket does sometimes impact the potential of other sports and again the interest in other sports will not happen overnight among the masses and will take time to create.

malaysia sees rise in overseas weddings Beate H.K. Mauder-Kakkar, Managing Director, Indiva Marketing (on behalf of The Datai) talks to Voyager’s World about working in close tandem with OTAs for the Indian market.

What are your marketing activities in this regard?

We work with travel trade partners across the county on various B2B and B2C initiatives. We also work closely with Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines and the local DMCs in Malaysia on various promotional activities. We have hosted Indian weddings at the hotel are able to tailor make requirements. Word of mouth will also assist in generating more requests.

Give us a country-wide geographical break-up of people seeking to hold weddings in your hotel.

After the Malaysian local market and neighbouring Asian countries, India is an emerging market generating numerous requests for Weddings.

How do you engage with the Indian travel trade for attracting weddings both from India and elsewhere?

Voyager’s World > January 2014

Do you provide any incentives to the travel trade as well as the end customers to attract more weddings?

We have appointed Indiva Marketing in India to look after branding and positioning of The Datai, Langkawi as well as various sales, media and marketing initiatives to establish brand presence with the travel trade and also consumers, an area which we will enhance in 2014. We also offer a special Wedding package for the Indian

market as well as an Ultimate Exotic Honeymoon package in Malaysia. We are currently also working on a booking incentive for 2014 Growth rate for the last 2-3 years and expectations in 2014.

The growth rate is single digit which we hope to change in 2014 What are your property’s main feeder markets/ customer segments and distribution channels?

The Datai’s major focus is on metros especially high end travelers in Mumbai and Delhi, however we have ensured to not miss out on tier 1 and 2 cities with potential guests.

How is your relationship with the OTAs? We work closely with the OTAs and they have access to all our offers/packages specific for the Indian market.

How do you evaluate the present market scenario in India?

Since high-end travel is on a rise with travelers looking for more exotic destinations, high - end travellers are not severely impacted by the depreciating rupee. Outbound travel to new and exotic destinations is still on a rise.

The World Travel Organization predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020.

What are the changing dynamics and latest trends in the Indian hospitality industry?

Tourists are looking to explore new destinations with unique experiences.

Since The Datai, Langkawi is located in the middle of a 5000 year old rainforest we offer guests rainforest walks, nature excursions, jungle trekking as well as water sports on our secluded beach. The hotel is also located near a 18 hole championship golf course to be re- launched in 2014.

India Outbound

35>>

India offers all-out holiday options There is so much to see within India and a host of exhaustive things to do even during a three-four day holiday, say Avani Patel and Manjari Verma, founders of Broken Compass VW BUREAU Brief about your operations in India.

We are a customised holiday planning company planning hoidays to domestic and international destinations. We also have a couple of specialised group trips a year. We work for B2B and B2B but since we are predominantly into customised holiday planning and need to directly interact with clients to understand their requirements and plan their holiday better, tie-ups and the B2B format does not work too well for us always.

Having said that, we work with relevant agents and suppliers.

Avani Patel

Growth and status We are a three and a half year old company. Growth has been consciously slow but steady. From a

Manjari Verma

turnover of 1 crore in 2011, we have already grown by 62% in 2012. We hope to almost triple that by next year when e plan to launch a wide range and category of trips.

Plans for the Indian market To help them open their minds to experiential travel and not just tick places off the list because others have been there. To see India in a new light as there is so much to see and do here as well. Soon, we plan to venture into corporate holidays.

We are also coming up with various ‘ready made’ holidays all across the country ranging from weekend getaways to 3-4 day holidays which people can just pick and go for as and when they like. We are also in the process

of launching a Luxury holiday section and super specialized honeymoon services over and above the holidays we already do, which will cater to the top segment of society. Till now, we have ben doing just 2- group trips a year. Come 2014, Broken Compass plans to launch signature group trips, both International and Domestic.

Marketing strategies We rely on word of mouth marketing.

We also have a fair bit of repeat clients now, who have had great holiday experiences through us. We are pretty active on social media and digital marketing and our PR Company ensures we have a steady media coverage. All this together works well for us, irrespective of the competition.

AN AFFORDABLE LUXURY

AFRICA

ALASKA

ASIA

AUSTRALIA

CARIBBEAN

EUROPE

SOUTH AMERICA

SOUTH PACIFIC

Contact Oceania Cruises India: at +91-22-65656050 / 51 | or mail us at sales@oceaniacruisesindia.com www.voyagersworld.in

India Outbound

36>>

Travel Agents Specialist Programme: Boosts Tourism Industry!

The travel agents specialist programme offers an in depth training course of showcasing a destination with various tourist products, an effective selling tool for any destination to increase the number of tourist.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

T

he National Tourism Organizations organize tailor made travel agents specialist programmes showcasing a destination in a year or more with a range of special interest products like skiing, cruising and hiking. The programmes are in different modules for training travel agents and tour operators with an objective of giving proper knowledge of the destination and to make a good itinerary for selling a particular destination. The online training programmes are also in different modules that can be completed in a year or more. An agent needs to complete the modules to become an expert on the destination with the up to date knowledge of any destination.

Objectives of Travel Agents Specialist Programme Salvatore Ianniello, Representative India, Italian National Tourist Board says, the main objective of a travel agents specialist programme is offering a wide range of products to the travel agents as an effective selling tool, to showcase Italy as a round the year destination by offering a varied range of products like skiing, spas,

Voyager’s World > January 2014

wine and gastronomy tours.

destination at their desk,” he added.

“By training the travel agents there is a direct relation to increase in the number of tourists and it is very important for the sales agents to understand the destination. An agent can get an online certification with just a click of a button and learn a

David Miró,India and South–East Asia Regional Director, Catalan Tourist Board said, with this programme of Catalan Tourist Board, a regional government body of Spain, is looking to train Indian travel agents and tour operators so that Catalonia will see

a large number of packages in the holiday season in 2014 - 2015.We are also sending out a message with this course that Catalonia is more than just Barcelona and football and is the perfect gateway to the rest of Europe.

Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand says that the travel

Salvatore Ianniello

Representative India, Italian National Tourist Board

The travel agents specialist programme showcases Italy as a round the year destination with a range of products like skiing, spas, wine and gastronomy tours, plus provides an insight on new experiences and to increase the number of tourist.

India Outbound

37>> per booking by the travel agency. The programme serves as a platform to educate and equip the travel agent with various tools to enhance their business,” she says.

“The 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme is one way of showing our commitment to the trade industry by assisting travel agents in growing their capability to sell New Zealand.

The objective of the programme is to help the agents acquire proper knowledge of the destinations in New Zealand, along with each region’s unique selling points and how to build an itinerary, to improve the capability to plan, promote and sell quality New Zealand holidays, to ensure that the target markets can rely on the right travel agencies for booking New Zealand holidays,” she added.

Ashit Taneja, Country Manager, Jordan Tourism Board explains: Jordan Online Specialist Program has been tailormade for the travel trade in India to increase the travel trade’s knowledge, capability and sales of Jordan as a destination. The Jordan Specialist accreditation will be awarded to individuals who successfully complete the programme and can become experts on the destination with up to date knowledge of Jordan.

agents and tour operators are a key to our success in the of growth visitor arrivals to New Zealand. Even though the online travel portals have revolutionized the industry, people still trust a travel agent or a tour operator’s opinions when it comes to making travel choices, particularly for long haul destinations.

“The main focus of a specialist programme is to train the travel agents about New Zealand as a travel destination. The agent receives proper information on New Zealand and is also introduced to various approaches customized for the Indian audience that led to increase in holiday sales for New Zealand as well as maximized revenue

Modules in a specialist programme David said :Catalan Tourist Board has just 5 modules on destination Barcelona with places of interest and accommodation, where to go / how to get there and products which can be done in just two hours and a couple of videos on Catalonia. The specialist programme is organized in a year and a half in total.

Mischa says the new programme has two core modules on how to sell New Zealand, 9 regional modules, and a

number of special interest modules like skiing, cruising, hiking etc. In order to become a 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist, travel agents need to complete 10 of the new training modules, attends a Tourism New Zealand training session and visit New Zealand.

The specialist status is granted for two years. The agents can complete any of the available modules to fulfill this criterion and then agents should work through the nine regional modules before starting any special interest modules. For further information on the programme and Tourism New Zealand’s training initiatives visit the travel trade website.

“The agent has to complete a minimum of 10 online modules to become a specialist. After two years, agents specialist status will automatically rollover provided agents have completed a further two modules and attended an additional Tourism New Zealand training session since gaining specialist status, “she added.

Salvatore explains generally the training programmes are completed in one session however the online mini university is divided in 4 modules and the online course can be completed in a span of 3 months. The training course is around 2 to 3 hours which will cover the different aspects of Italy as a tourist destination and a brief presentation of Italy as a business destination.

There are four study courses designed for the applicants to have a thorough understanding of Jordan and its offerings. The study courses are as follows to Get to know Jordan, Travelling to Jordan, Things to do in Jordan and How to sell Jordan. The travel agents specialist programme was organized in May 2013 till 30th November. The participants have to go through a set of 50 questions to successfully com-

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India Outbound

38>> Ashit Taneja

Country Manager, Jordan Tourism Board

The Jordan Specialist Programme is unique that offers many training modules on the cultural, historical, food, Biblical, adventure, leisure and wellness to increase the travel trade’s knowledge, capability, and sales of Jordan as a destination plete the program,” added Ashit.

Online training programme Salvatore said, the training academy destination Italy is a special educational tool designed with in depth knowledge of all 20 regions of Italy.

This program will enable guests with new experiences to explore in Italy.

This program has been divided into 4 Modules that will educate on all 20 regions of Italy, the modules will help to study about the connectivity, main attractions, art, culture, history, gastronomy and events offered by each region. Each module includes videos, pictures and regional maps for a better understanding of the regions and attractions.

“The first 3 modules include 6 regions each and the last module includes 2 regions. One needs a score of 80 per cent to pass in every module quiz.

Once you have submitted your quiz answers, the system will tabulate your score. For agents who are located in Mumbai, a certificate would be personally handed over at the ENIT office, Mumbai and for agents who are located outstations, the certificate would be couriered to them, “he added.

“There are four study courses designed for the applicants to have a thorough understanding of Jordan and its offerings. The study courses are as follows: get to know Jordan, travelling to Jordan, things to do in Jordan, how to sell Jordan, the participants have to go through a set of 50 questions. After successful completion of the program, the travel agent is awarded with Jordan Specialist Certification,” added Ashit.

David states that there are 5 modules to complete like discover Catalonia, Barcelona, places of interest, where to stay, how to get there and products. Once the agent completes the course and the test, an automatically-generated certificate is sent to the travel agent by e-mail, so it can be printed and displayed as a proof that the agent has qualified as a Catalonia Expert in India.

“A second certificate is also issued by

Voyager’s World > January 2014

the Catalan Tourist Board by e-mail a few days later. The online programme has been extended to June 2014, moreover the communication campaign via Travel Daily India will kick off in the coming days and are expecting more Indian operators to register for the course,”he says.

“The travel agents can learn the best and more suitable tourist products that Catalonia / Barcelona have to offer to the Indian outbound tourist market, the travel agents are capable of using this new information to suggest new itineraries / new ideas to their clients. With this online course, travel agents will be able to propose cities such as Girona, Tarragona, Sitges and also Figueres as well as the Costa Brava and the Catalan Pyrenees and will have another Spanish brand, Catalonia, to sell in the competitive market,” he added.

Mischa explains: The travel agents are required to complete 10 online training modules. These modules are specifically selected and customized for the Indian market. Out of these modules, the first key module is ‘How to sell New Zealand’ after which the agents can proceed to complete the rest of the modules that focus on various destinations in New Zealand.

Once the agents are done with these modules and the other 2 criteria (attend a Tourism New Zealand training and visit New Zealand)Tourism New Zealand certifies them as 100% Pure New Zealand Specialists and sends them their certificate to their registered postal address ,”added Mischa.

Ashit states that the online program lifts the level of organized structure within the tourism fraternity and provides added advantage to the industry colleagues who have completed the program and gives them an edge for Tourism related activities and promotions.

Different specialist programmes David says all the specialist programmes is not too different from other online training courses, it is just a course to educate Indian travel trade

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India Outbound

40>>

Mischa Mannix-Opie

Regional Manager South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand

The specialist programme trains the travel agents about New Zealand as a travel destination. The programme serves as a platform to educate and equip the travel agent with various tools to enhance their business. about a tourist destination.

Mischa states that the 100%Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme is a core part of Tourism New Zealand’s work with travel agents offshore and offers travel professionals the chance to build in depth destination knowledge, get the latest product updates and leads to the growth in New Zealand sales.

“A free online training programme for thousands of travel sellers to increase their knowledge, capability, and sales of Destination New Zealand. The programme has been running in different forms for a number of years and has evolved significantly over time,” she added. Under the newly named “100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme” the travel agents will find it easier to qualify to be a 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist. The criteria to maintain the status of a specialist will also have change to enable agents to stay in the programme once they initially qualify to encourage agents to sign up for the specialist programme, the first 50 agents who meet the

Voyager’s World > January 2014

module completion criteria will get a chance to win a place on the South and South East Asia mega familiarization trip. This mega familiarization will take place in March 2014 and will be able to visit both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, “she says.

Mischa said, The 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme is one way of Tourism New Zealand showcasing their commitment to the trade industry by assisting them in growing their capability to sell New Zealand.

TNZ has also been running an annual event called Kiwi Link India where a range of New Zealand tourism companies are brought together in India.

“Tourism New Zealand also hosts agent familiarization trips and undertakes a large number of agent trainings in India to grow their understanding of New Zealand and how better to sell the destination,” she added.

Salvatore explains: Italian National Tourist board organizes various training programme an in- depth training course that aims at educating the

travel fraternity on the various tourist products that Italy can offer. These initiatives will enable the agents to sell more elite and complex Italian products to their clientele. The in house training programme is being conducted on the premises of the tour operator, targeting their counter and sales staff. The training programmes at tourism institutes are being conducted to train students who are pursuing travel and tourism as their career.

The Mini University travel agents programme is being conducted in Mumbai and New Delhi targeting various tour operators all over India.

“We are shortly going to launch an online mini university where in we will certify agents as Italy Travel Specialist. This will be in effect on the launch of our new ENIT India website. This online course is a special educational tool designed, to give you in depth knowledge of all 20 regions of Italy.

This program will enable the agents to have an insight on new experiences and to explore in Italy,”he says.

“This program has been divided into

4 Modules that will educate on all 20 regions that Italy has to offer. These modules will help you study the connectivity, main attractions, art, culture, history, gastronomy and events offered by each region. Each module includes presentations, videos and pictures, helping you understand the regions and attractions better. The first 3 modules include 6 regions each and the last module includes 2 last regions which are the islands of Sicily and Sardinia,”he added.

“The Jordan Specialist Programme is unique as it offers many training modules on the cultural, historical, food, Biblical, adventure, leisure and wellness aspects of Jordan. This gives travel agents a well-rounded knowledge and information on Jordan which will enable them to up sell Jordan and include it in their itineraries. Our grand prize is a trip for two inclusive of airfare, accommodation on twin sharing in 5* star hotels with 6 days itinerary and breakfast inclusion for two people,” says Ashit Number of specialist programmes “The 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist programme has been designed for travel operators. It is an online training programme that enables travel sellers to increase their knowledge, capability and sales of destination New Zealand.

Once accredited, your membership will be renewed every two years,” says Mischa.

Salvatore said: These programmes are organized on a monthly basis targeting 2 to 3 operators each month. The prime focus is to train travel agents before the start of the season so as to help the agent have a deeper understanding of destination Italy which would be instrumental in selling of the

India Outbound

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gion’s visitor arrivals,” said Mischa.

David Miró

India and South–East Asia Regional Director, Catalan Tourist Board

Catalonia is the perfect gateway to the rest of Spain, France, Italy and the rest of Europe, with online course the travel agents propose cities such as Girona, Tarragona, Sitges and also Figueres as well as the Costa Brava ,the Catalan Pyrenees and Catalonia is the new brand in the competitive market. destination to the direct consumer.

The online specialist programme is designed to be a continuous one so that travel agents can at any time and from anywhere log on to the website and participate, “says Ashit .

Agents enrolled in the programme David says not more than 100 agents have enrolled because this course has not had the support of any communication campaign yet. When the campaign will be launched next year, we expect to reach at about 1000 agents.

Mischa said: Tourism New Zealand has over 40, 100% Pure New Zealand Specialists in India, with over 520

globally. Over 15,000 training modules are successfully completed globally every year.

As you are aware the Italian National Tourist Board has recommended its operations in May 2013 and we have been re -strengthening our relations with the tour operators by means of organizing these training programmes and assisting them in any activities related to dissemination of travel related information on Italy. Till date we have covered 3 of India’s leading operators and we have scheduled more programmes for the tour operators for the year 2014,” says Salvatore.

Ashit added that since May, close to

300 agents have enrolled for the programme.

Promoting a destination David says the Indian trade must be first more familiar with the tourist destination they sell in the outbound market.

“One of the objectives of the specialist programme is that the travel agents acquire the understanding of each region’s USP. The agents are also trained to plan the perfect itinerary for quality New Zealand holidays. Therefore, they can promote the right itinerary to the right audience, thereby increasing that re-

Salvatore observes that to achieve the increase in the number of tourist and to increase the number of nights, it is important to know the product in order to sell the same. In the past, the regions have tried to promote themselves and gain visibility but have not been successful due to lack of knowledge available to the tour operators on the regions.

“ENIT plays a significant role by providing in depth information about the regions through means of training programmes like in house training programmes, mini university and the online university which will be launched shortly. Thus our focus is not just at promoting the country but helping the agents gain information on the various regions and what Italy has to offer as a tourist destination, “he added.

Ashit concludes that the specialist programme provides a number of advantages to the travel trade with increased knowledge of Jordan, including each region’s unique selling points and how to build them into an itinerary. Improved capability to plan, promote and sell quality holidays. It is a certificate for display, so that customers can see instantly that you have taken time to become a specialist on Jordan holidays, with your knowledge and confidence to up-sell Jordan.

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Festival Watch

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Festivals of 20 March - 14 April, 2014

14 February - 04 March, 2014

National Cherry Blossom Festival Washington DC, USA

Carnevale Di Venezia 2014 Venice, Italy

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07 March, 2014

01 February-03 March, 2014

Chapchar Kut Mizoram

Panagbenga Festival The Philippines

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he National Cherry Blossom Festival is the nation’s greatest springtime celebration, in Washington, DC. The three-week, citywide festival celebrates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, DC by the mayor of Tokyo. It includes spectacular weekends and daily events featuring diverse programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit. The National Park Service predicts the peak bloom dates (when more than 70 percent of the blossoms are fully opened). On average, the peak bloom is on April 4, but that date changes year to year.

hapchar Kut is an annual festival of the Mizos that celebrates the arrival of spring, and is usually held on the second Friday of March.

The three-day festival includes an inauguration ceremony in which the elderly members of the society come dressed in their traditional costumes, representing the individual tribes of the region and take part in a colourful procession. This is followed by tribal dances, the most important being the Cheraw or the bamboo dance. The function ends with local singers presenting traditional songs.

Voyager’s World > January 2014

he Venice Carnival 2014 is focusing on a fairy-tale and fantasy carnival, a carnival of fantasy and nature. It is a modern carnival because fairy tales and nature are the festive expression of deep themes linked to the relationship between humankind and the environment: the woods, the valleys, the seas, the mountains, the lagoons and the mysterious animal and vegetable creatures.The East and the West, Asia and Oceania, the Americas and Europe, Africa: in this fairy-tale Carnival, masks will be inspired by traditional European fairy tales, Arabian and Middle-Eastern short stories.

he Panagbenga Festival is held in Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines. The City of Pines blossoms into a city of flowers as locals put on floral costumes and create colourful floats and close down the roads to make way for the enchanting street parade. A carpet of flowers measuring about 200 x 100 feet is at display at the Athletic Bowl and will be available for public viewing until March 3. It depicts the Panagbenga logo and is purely landscaped with fresh flowers found in Baguio City and nearby municipalities.

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Festival Watch

the World 04 - 07 February, 2014

Until 16 February 2014

Nagaur Cattle Fair Rajasthan

Festival of Light, Osaka Japan

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First weekend of March

14 February - 04 March, 2014

National Grape Harvest Festival/ Winery Car Rally, Argentina

Winter Carnival, Nice France

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agaur bustles with life during the annual cattle fair, one of the largest in the country. The Nagaur bulls are renowned for their fleet footedness and attract buyers from all over; however, livestock such as camels, goats and cows are also on display. A highlight of the fair is performances by folk dancers and musicians and exciting games such as tug of war, camel races, horse races, etc. From shearing sheep to handsome marwari horses to spices all compiled in one fair. Attractions include the ‘mirchi’ bazaar (largest red chilly market of India), wooden items, iron-crafts and camel leather accessories.

he Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia or the National Grape Harvest Festival is an important festival in Mendoza, Argentina that draws large number of tourists. Though the local celebrations start a month before the festival, there are three main days of celebrations with parades, performances, tributes to the Virgin Carrodilla (the patron saint of the vines) and the election of the Queen of the Grape Harvest. A highlight is the Winery Car Rally that sees vintage, classic and sports cars competing in a rally around the vineyards and wineries of Mendoza.

Gourmet cuisine and polo matches are other attractions of the event.

he ‘Festival of Light’ in Osaka is an event where buildings, parks, bridges, and streets will be surrounded by gorgeous illuminations.

The ‘Osaka Castle 3D Projection Mapping Super Illumination’ will be held this winter at Osaka Castle Tower. 3D images will be projected onto the five-story castle keep of Osaka Castle, using 12 projectors.

Through skillful use of high-tech projections, the castle will be enveloped in flames, and a waterfall will flow out while butterflies float about. Other programmes include cruises on an illuminated boat, a fountain in a port, and a music and light show.

he annual Nice Carnival is a colourful riot of parades, processions and events with endless fun, festivities and entertainment. The Carnival is made up of two distinct events: the carnival parades, both by day and by night and the flower parades. On the “Place Massena”, 18 allegorical or burlesque floats parade with various entertainment elements, street performers and different international musical troupes.

By night the play of lights gives the floats a magical aspect. Othe highlight includes flower parades that take place on the Promenade des Anglais, decorated with roses, carnations, snapdragons and mimosas.

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Destination

LEH LADAKH – the Promised Land The silent valleys and the rivers leave indelible impressions on the writer’s mind and heart.

SHAHEEN GAUTAM the winter. The best time to visit the valley is during summer from June to September.

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ristine valleys, snowcapped peaks, clean blue sky and vistas of barren mountains broken only by the blue meandering rivers- that’s what nirvana looks like towards the northern part of India LEH LADAKH -the enchanted land.

An attempt to pen down the magnificent beauty of this virgin land would be a sheer injustice. But, trying to relive those magical and mythical memories make it all worth an attempt.

Cupped by Tibet, Lahaul and Spiti to the south and Valley of Kashmir to its west, this ‘Land of High Passes’

mostly barren yet ethereal, has attracted the intrepid traveler since the region was opened to tourists in the 1970’s.

With a significant influence of Tibetan culture, its home to a blend of different ethnic groups; predominantly Tibetans, Monpas and Dards.

Most of the Ladakhis in Leh District and Zangskar are Tibetan Buddhist, while most of the rest of Kargil is Shia Muslims. Lying tucked away between some of the world’s highest peaks, it has a cold desert climate with harsh, long winters from October to early March, with temperatures well below freezing for most of

Dotted along the Indus, you can witness a circuit of Buddhist Monasteries; namely Hemis- the wealthiest, oldest and most important of all, Thiksey known for amazing sunsets, Shey, Stakna and Matho. From ancient Buddhas, to the largest thangka in the world, each site offers something unique. Lying towards the eastern sector of Ladakh is country’s one of the largest and most beautiful natural brackish lake – the Pangong lake. Another fascinating stop the Magnetic Hill located near Leh, is alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill.

From the 17th century Leh Palace, built in traditional Tibetan style, that offers a captivating view of town, to the 800 year old Kali Mandir housing a collection of masks, the Nubra division– the valley of orchards & flowers, every nook and corner has a divine rustic splendor to offer. Apart from the surreal side, this land of valleys also beckons those looking

for a heady cocktail of adrenaline rush. From whitewater rafting and high altitude treks to new-age fancies like bouldering, it offers all.

Besides offering a lavish buffet of ‘Food for Soul’, it provides a considerable spread to fill your bellies. It‘s a great locale to nibble local staples like, thupka, momo. Head to the German bakery on the Old Fort road for a sumptuous breakfast, yak cheese or to pick up a packed picnic lunch.

Taste the barley beer (chang) and butter tea at the Tibetan kitchen.

There are abundant lodging options from guest houses in Changsva to budget hotels near Central Library in Leh to rooms in Monasteries suiting every budget. Camps and hiker huts spring up in Nubra, Changthang and Drok- pa area during summer.

The sanctity of its untouched beauty enhanced by its breathtaking panorama coupled with the nobility & majesty of its people, surely has the miraculous power to imprint the heart of every person who visits this celestial land.

KATRA: echoing a warm demeanor PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM bends and blooming trees. The journey was punctuated every now and then for security checks at different junctions. These security checks at unexpected turns of the valley were a connotation for the sensitive nature of the territory.

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one-day visit to Katra, a small yet worthwhile town in Udhampur district in Jammu, has a lot to offer in terms of knowing the different cultures and beliefs co-existing in harmony; so close to a not-so-amicable neighbour whose name I would not ‘hint upon’ and yet so different in their way of life. We boarded the Jammu-Tawi Express, an overnight

Voyager’s World > January 2014

train from Delhi to reach Udhampur. The train journey is about eight hours and we had tall, robust army persons and Pathans for company in almost all the coaches. From Udhampur, we undertook a bus journey of about an hour and a half. The month being April, the skies were slightly clearer and we enjoyed great views of the deep valleys, hairpin

The weather was seemingly sunny at about 8 am in the morning save for the water that rebutted any thoughts of warmth. The town is dotted with several small and medium sized hotels and some large hotels. Most of them serve Chole Bature, Roti, Parathas and hot tea for breakfast, at a very nominal price. The trek from the foothills of Katra towards the upper hills were no less than 12 km but the locals made sure to mask the correct duration it normallly takes so as not to discourage us. At 12 noon, we began our trek from the base camp with much fervour as we were told we would reach the shrine of Vaish-

no Devi in a couple of hours and yes, the view did not seem very daunting either. It was 10pm when we reached the top. However, our deadbeat feet and the need to catch the train the next morning left us with no choice but to start our descent.

Friendly horse owners swooped us up onto the horses whilst quoting a reasonable fare.

We reached the foothills at about 2am, after a back-breaking pony ride, only to learn that the horses were mules and they had meticulously taken us in their sleep trot!

Even during those dusky hours, Katra appeared safe. The horse owners claimed that thefts were few and far between and that the town was secure at any time of the day.

The distinctive warmth and simplicity of the people made me wonder how protected and warm it would be on the other side of the valley!

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TRAVEL TRENDS

ATF hike is a mild spoilsport on travel plans

Hari Nair, CEO, Holidayiq.com, shares findings of a survey on the impact of the hike in ATF prices on travel plans.

VW BUREAU

How has the travel plans of individuals been affected with the recent ATF hike?

Results from the HolidayIQ.com survey show that 94% travellers were planning a holiday within the next

4-5 months before the price hike was announced. Though the increase in air fares has been a dampener, the intention to travel is still strong, with 36% planning to go ahead with their holiday plans either by increasing budgets or making changes in their budget allocations. This is good news, keeping in mind the upcoming festive season. However, 34.5 % have cancelled immediate vacation plans altogether and 23% are planning to postpone their holiday.

to their holiday plans which will allow them to still go for a holiday and incorporate the increased air fares into their holiday budget. 37.2% vacationers will choose a cheaper accommodation option, 27.3% will shorten the duration of their trip and 26.8% will holiday in destinations closer to them. Of those who would continue travelling by flight, 8.8% will increase their budgets and not make any other changes to their holiday plans.

Has ATF hike prompted travellers to shift from travelling by air?

Of those who are planning a trip, 58% have decided to travel by train or road instead of flying and 42% will still travel by flight. Interestingly travellers have devised small changes

Recent travel patterns Male travellers V/s Female travellers 64% of Female travellers who were planning a holiday with friends are now actively contemplating cancelling their holiday while only 37% of Male travellers who were planning a

holiday with friends are planning to do so. Further, 32% Male travellers planning a holiday with family intend to still go ahead with the original holiday plans increasing holiday budgets to include rising airfares whereas only 25% of female travellers intend to do the same. With more travel, comes more travel The impact of the ATF hike is seen in those travellers who go on a holiday once or less than once a year with 30% of them still planning to go ahead with their plans [with or without changes] while almost half of those who take a holiday more than once a year intend to continue with their vacation. The trends observed were consistent across metros & non-metros.Â

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Adventure

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Adventure Travel to boom in India!

Fazle Imdad, Founder and CEO, Exploita says adventure tourism is a sizable market for the passionate travelers and adventure lovers with a chance to indulge in daring sports and for holidaying.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN the adrenalin rush. Adventure tourism’s steep climb is attributed to growth in the tourism industry, a significant increase in the percentage of adventure travelers and an increase in the average amount spent per adventure travel trip.

from mountain biking to paragliding, from the thrilling cycling or a biking experience to Ladakh in the North, to the glimpse of the cultures of Nagaland in the East, to the sand boarding in the West to the deep underwaters in the South, we have it all in India.

eople prefer excitement over relaxation and the quest for the unknown over the known so adventure is the future of tourism, an experience of living the challenging times over a mundane existence and by making an experience well lived this has led to a revolution in the tourism sector.

Online adventure is a $43 Billion Dollar market as per PhoCusWright Research and declares adventure travelers as the most techno savvy.

Today even the Government of India is investing a great deal in promoting adventure travel in the country. The Ministry of Tourism in India is instrumental to brand and position adventure travel on a much larger scale.

We hope to see more adventure companies in India with techno savvy founders to connect with the masses and the outside world better.

New places for Adventure What we see picking up and exciting our target audience is living through the unique experience of Star Gazing in and around West India, witnessing and participating in the folk dance by the African origin Siddi tribe in Gujarat or even Caving in Meghalaya.

We definitely witness a boom in the adventure travel segment with more and more individuals wanting to feel

India is blessed with the mighty Himalayas and rivers where trekking to rafting, jeep safaris to scuba diving and

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I would definitely vouch in for the fact that the country has a lot more to offer than what we have explored so far. There are exciting places to experience the real adventure starting from the extreme North of the country blessed with the tall Himalayan Range, a great place for biking and mountain climbing, Rishikesh

and Sikkim is another place for white water rafting with marvelous rapids.

Marketing plans for 2014 Exploita offers their unique inventory with Online Travel Agents and other platforms for Adventure Sports and Travel to the masses .Exploita is also working to collaborate with likeminded travelers and enthusiasts to create hype in the world of adventure travel and sports making each and every holiday an experience to remember for a lifetime.

Trends in Adventure Segment The trend of going beyond a luxury travel is taken over by exploring the much remote exotic areas. It has been observed that adventure is no longer restricted to the youth only, but even older folks and families, it is interesting to note that 30% of Exploita enquiries come from people who have never been on an adventure before while 35% are women travelers.

Andamans is emerging as a luxury destination Sunil Bakshi, Founder & Director, Karina Tourism & Adventures, [The Infiniti Live-aboard in the Andaman Islands], elaborates on India’s first live-aboard yacht and their expectations in the near future.

VW BUREAU to various islands in the Andamans area for diving or other adventure.

We do work on both B2B & B2C level.

For B2B, we offer customised holidays as corporate getaways or group charters and for B2C, we offer select itineraries on which even one person can make a booking.

Brief about your operations and your USP We have launched India’s first liveaboard yacht in the Andaman Islands.

We offer unique cruising and diving packages, where we take travellers

Voyager’s World > January 2014

We are the only live-aboard yacht in the Andamans, so we offer absolutely one-of-a-kind, unique holidays that combine luxury, comfort and adventure. The yacht, INFINITI, is brand new, large and fully equipped for a luxurious onboard stay. Because we have this vessel, we are able to go to locations that nobody else is able to go to and we take our passengers to the doorstep of the best dive spots in the Andamans.

Diving tours offered We offer a range of diving tours that go from four to seven nights and to a variety of destinations in the Andamans. We offer trips that are suitable for all levels including learners and beginners that go to to Sir Hugh Rose, Neil & Havelock island. We also offer unique trips for advanced divers that include unique ‘volcanic’ diving at Barren Island, ‘frontier’ diving at the very remote Narcondam Island, diving in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine park, etc.

Growth forecast This is our first full year. The growth forecast is expected at 40% from next year. We are very optimistic on the Andaman Islands as an emerging popular new tourism destination,

especially with some major, new resorts slated to open at Havelock andLong Island. There is a possibility of a flight starting directly from Phuket to Port Blair. So, over the next couple of years, Andamans can totally explode as a tourism destination, particularly as a luxury destination and also among foreigners visiting India.

Present Indian tourism industry I think the Indian tourism industry is quickly segmenting and differentiating into distinct segments such as family holidays, pilgrimages, adventure holidays, cruises, etc. Adventure tourism is growing very fast and more and more people are looking for active, unique holidays. We will see more travellers looking for interesting things to do on their vacations.

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Incredible India

Kerala Tourism attracts tourists with new initiatives Kerala registers consistent rise in both international and domestic tourist arrivals VW BUREAU

Kerala tourism website returns with a new look

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erala Tourism’s official website was relaunched with a responsive design optimized for viewing on multiple devices. The website www. keralatourism.org has been rebuilt with HTML 5 offering a far superior browsing experience for users than before and an interface that automatically gets customized for the device accessing it, be it a laptop, desktop, a smartphone or a tablet. The website hosts 1,500 images and 3,000 videos and provides a virtual tour of destinations besides interactive tools as intelligent itinerary planner, galleries, video quizzes, webcasts, e-books and e-newsletters.

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he Kerala Tourism Board recently organized an event focusing on new initiatives for 2014 in Bangalore in the presence of G. Satyavati, Director, Karnataka Tourism and S.Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism and other delegates from the travel fraternity.

The state witnessed 7.94 lakh foreign tourist arrivals in 2012 over 7.33 lakh in 2011, compared to 93.88 lakh domestic tourists in 2011, 1.01cr domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2012. Forex earnings also rose from rs.4221.99 cr in 2011 to Rs. 4548cr in 2012. The total revenue, both direct and indirect from tourism crossed Rs. 21,125 cr in 2012 compared to Rs. 19,037cr in 2011.

New initiatives The seaplane was launched two months back, the state being the first to introduce one. The state government rolled out initiatives like the seaplane project for better connectivity by air to its destinations and the project Muziris to reinstate the historical and cultural significance of the legendary port of Muziris.

The seaplane project will have its service initially in the priority circuit, consisting of the three airports of Trivandrum, Cochin and Calicut and prime destinations- Astamudi, Punnamada,Kumarakom,Bolgatty and Bekal in the state.

The Muziris Heritage Site (MHS) stretches across from the municipality of North Paravur in Ernakulam to that of Kodungalloor in Thrissur to create awareness and understanding

of the cultural distinctiveness and diversity of Muziris, with 25 museums to showcase the Muziris Heritage.

ness collaboration with Kerala and we complement each other as we create the southern peninsula for golden triangle.”

New Events Kerala Tourism is in a festive mode starting with Utsavam an annual event held from 29 Dec till 19th Jan 2014, a festival of traditional and folk arts staged in 60 venues across all the 14 districts of Kerala for three weeks.

The Nishagandhi Festival will be held between 20-26 January, 2014 with renowned dancers performing BharatNatyam,Mohiniyattam, Kathak, Odissi, modern ballet and other folk forms. The tribal dance and mountain biking completion will be held from February 2014; Kerala Blog Express will be held from March 2014 for bloggers to write on Kerala.

Another initiative is the Spice Route Revival Project to promote the 2,000 year old spice route that links the south western coast of India up to Europe. Delegates at a three day international meet in August on Silk Road Tourism organized by the UNWTO in the Chinese city of Dunhuang appreciated a presentation on spice route.

Kerala tourism has also come up with a nature based soft adventure holidays programme Natventure to use key tourism products- wildlife, hill stations, beaches and backwaters.

Its activities include trekking, camping, rock climbing, jungle safaris, bird watching, cycling, kayaking, canoeing and paragliding.

Other initiatives are the great backwaters campaign to unveil the state’s majestic backwaters as a single destination. Ayurveda campaign was also launched to promote Ayurveda.

S.Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism said, “We will be promoting 40 new destinations in 5 years and will be launching a new campaign on Bekal Fort as a new destination in north Kerala. We are focusing on experiential tourism for lifetime experiences in Wayanand and Kollam , Kumarakom being the first place to cater for responsible tourism.”

G. Satyavati, Director, Karnataka Tourism says, “Kerala is the first state to break the golden triangle and the branding of Kerala is internationally renowned. We are always into busi-

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Happenings

48>>

Indian TAs explore Portugal

E

ight travel agents visited Portugal after their business visit to ILTM 2013 in Cannes, as part of an effort to enhance the European and Mediterranean experience for their clients.

The familiarization visit to the picturesque and historic cities of Portugal was organised by Portuguese DMC ‘Oasis Travels’ along with local hotel and resort chains. The group explored the history, culture, lifestyle and diverse Portuguese cuisine while travelling through Lisbon, Aveiro, Porto, Coimbra, Cascais, Sintra and the religious shrine at Fatima. During their eight-day visit, the agents were introduced to hotels, resorts and restored palaces in addition to excursions that would enhance the experience of Indian families during their summer break. The group also explored destinations, hotels and restored palaces that would help tap the Indian wedding as well as the honeymoon segments.

Indian TAs go on Seychelles Fam

S

eychelles Tourism Board recently organised the first familiarisation trip for tour operators from India, to help create an understanding about the destination and establish relations for the Indian trade with the private sector in Seychelles. Representatives from travel companies like Beacon Holidays, Amazing Vacations, Mercury Travels, Travel Arena and Veena World were part of the trip.

The agents explored four islands of Seychelles – Mahé, La Digue, Praslin and Moyenne. Island hopping is very easy in Seychelles with regular boat and air services between the islands. The logistics and transfers were handled by Creole Travel Services. A networking session was also organized for the trade group with the private sector of Seychelles which turned out to be a good platform to share ideas and explore business opportunities.

TAs experience Kenya Fam

A

ir Arabia and Blue Square Consultants organised a Fam trip to Kenya for Wild Treks Safaris, Kenya. The fam itinerary consisted of 1 Night in Nairobi, 2 Nights in Maasai Mara Game Reserve, 1 Night in Naivasha, 1 Night in Aberdares.

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The participants on the trip included K.Vijay Mohan - Holiday World, P,Dheeraj - D.C.Holidays, Priyanka Naidu - Hansa Holidays, Prateek Shah Praveen Tours & Travels, Monik Dharamshi - Dream Designer Holidays, Mohini Sahu - Benchmark Incentive & Leisure Travels Pvt. Ltd, Mariam Dolly K Francis - Chrysalis Holidays Pvt Ltd, Ashish Jain - Global Wings, Mohan Kk - Travel Next Tours And Travels, Hycinth D’souza - Blue Square Consultants, R.Prabhu - Air Arabia.

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Top Appointments

49>>

Louis Sailer

Harjeet Wasan

General Manager, The Leela Palace New Delhi

Vice President, Tux Hospitality

T

ux Hospitality has appointed Harjeet Wasan as the new Vice President. Having around 23 years of experience, he has worked with Imperial Hotel, New Delhi, JHM Interstate India, Carlson, Radisson White Sands Resort, Sarovar Hotels India. In his new role, Harjeet will be directng th business and operations.

T

he Leela Palace New Delhi has appointed Louis Sailer as the General Manager. He brings nearly 30 years of experience in hotels like the Fullerton Hotel and Raffles Hotel in Singapore, Raffles Canouan Island, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Ritz Carlton, etc. In his new role, he will oversee the overall operations.

Vikas Bhola

Rachna Mehra

Director of Sales & Marketing, Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

Director-Sales, Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa, Gulmarg

T

he Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa appointed Rachna Mehra as Director-Sales.

With over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing, she has worked with Shangri-La, Radisson and the Oberoi Group. In her new role, she will conceptualize and implement sales strategies to drive more business.

V

ikas Bhola has joined Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi as the Director of Sales and Marketing. He has over seven years of experience at Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and the Imperial.

In his new role, Vikas will drive the business development and marketing strategies.

Kumar Shubham

Ajay Sampige

Assistant Director of Sales, Courtyard

by Marriott Gurgaon

Hotel Manager, ibis and Novotel Bengaluru Techpark

i

bis and Novotel Bengaluru Techpark appointed Ajay Sampige as the new Hotel Manager.

He has over 15 years of hospitality experience, in hotels as InterContinental Hotel Group, Mirvac Group, Toga Hospitality, Marriott Hotels, Stella Hospitality and Accor hospitality and most recently at ibis Bengaluru Hosur Road.

C

ourtyard by Marriott Gurgaon has appointed Kumar Shubham as the new Assistant Director of Sales. He has over eight years of experience in sales and marketing and worked at Marriott International and Network18. In his new role, Shubham will be responsible for generating more business avenues.

Vivek Manoj Gangishetty

Mamta Pall

Cluster Head of Sales-South, Lalit Suri Hospitality Group

Director of Sales & Marketing India, Rotana Hotels & Resorts

M

amta Pall joins Outbound Marketing – Connect Worldwide India to head Rotana Hotels as Director of Sales & Marketing –India.

She will be in charge of driving sales and brand building in India. With 15 years of experience, she has been associated with TUI, SOTC Kuoni, British Tourist Authority & Interglobe.

T

he Lalit Suri Hospitality Group appointedVivek Manoj Gangishetty as the Cluster Head of sales-South. With over 11 years of experience, he has worked for The Park, Regenta One Hotel, Sarovar Hotels, etc. In the new profile, Vivek will be responsible for implementing sales and marketing strategies.

Farhat Jamal

Raghu Sapra

Area Manager- India & General Manager Shangri-La’s-Eros Hotel New Delhi

General Manager, DoubleTree Suites

by Hilton Bangalore

R

aghu Sapra has been appointed General Manager for DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore. Having over 17 years of experience, he has worked with Marriott Hotels, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and the Imperial, New Delhi. In his new role, Raghu will be in charge of overall operations of the property.

F

arhat Jamal is the Area Manager for India and the General Manager for Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi. With over 30 years of expertise, he has worked with Taj Hotels, Bharat Hotels and had joined Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in 2009 and took over this property in the last quarter of 2013.

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Events Calendar

50>>

networking is the key January 2014

April2014

22, 23, 24, 25, 26

3,4,5

Fitur Spain

29, 30, 31 SATTE New Delhi

Aitf Baku, Azerbaijan

23, 24, 25

World Travel Market Latin America Brazil

31 Jan 1, 2 Feb

India International Travel Mart Kochi

February2014

May2014

7,8,9

5,6,7,8

The Boston Globe Travel Show Seaport World Trade Center

19,20,21,22 Cro Tour Croatia

28 Feb 1, 2 March Holiday Expo Coimbatore

28 Feb 1, 2 March

India International Travel Mart Kolkata

Arabian Travel Market Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre

2,3

World Travel Market Africa Cape Town,South Africa

10,11,12

INDABA South Africa

27,28,29

Beijing International Tourism Expo China National Convention Center, Beijing

March2014

June2014

05, 06, 07, 08, 09

2,3,4,5

ITB, Berlin Germany

International Luxury Travel Market, Shanghai, China

21, 22, 23

10,11,12

Holiday Expo Guwahati

24, 25, 26

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

27, 28, 29

Gujarat Travel Mart Mahatma Mandir, Gandhi Nagar Gujarat

Voyager’s World > January 2014

aibtm America Orlando, USA

12,13,14,15

ITE&MICE Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

22,23,24

Routes Africa Zimbabwe