Voyager's World March 2016

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Stay in touch...In transit and en-route!

T

he latest survey by Expedia on passenger preferences revealed that 97% Indians were most likely to pay for added comfort on long haul flights. We ranked the lowest when it comes to sleeping on a flight - a mere 32% and I am able to relate to it. Just when you are about to shut off completely, it is either turbulence or time to put the seats upright for landing. But what are our top priorities while waiting at the airport? While it is not advisable to catch forty winks lest one should miss the flight, what makes it easier for passengers to stay awake and connected is Wi-Fi. 32% passengers surf the Internet when Wi-Fi is available. Wi-Fi being one of the top three priorities at the airport, in this issue, we have inquired into Wi-Fi services at the airport, in addition to observing the trend of travel start-ups and the impact of music festivals on tourism in India. We have also featured Lepakshi Utsavalu 2016 and the recently concluded ATOAI Convention 2016.

Happy Reading...

Warm Regards

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

Managing Editor

Associate Editor

Chief Designer

Web Developer

Advertising & Marketing

Operations Executive

Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagersworld.in

EDIT

ORIA

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Priyamvadha Balaram priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

Shyam Vishnot shyam@voyagersworld.in

06 08

Industry Buzz

14

Irene Susan Eapen irene@voyagersworld.in

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Published By

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Hospitality

30 45

Cover Story

Industry professionals talk about growth prospects in 2016

Travel trends Trends and developments in in-flight Wi-Fi services

16

Music Tourism

Travel Startups - Trends and opportunities

Top Appointments

Relevance of music festivals in boosting tourism in India

Erratum: We regret the error caused in publishing the story in the 2015 December issue of Voyagers World titled ‘Asian destinations dominate Indian travellers’ bucket list on Page 38- featuring an infographic with Jammu & Kashmir truncated in the map.

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Industry Buzz MTDC rolls out budget holiday packages

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aharashtra Tourism Development Commission (MTDC) formulated Budget Holiday Packages, a novel initiative to encourage travellers to explore the beauty and culture of the state. The discounts range between 10% - 25%, varying for travellers from outside Maharashtra, MTDC officials, NRIs, senior citizens, students, etc.

The packages have been made for places including Ganpatipule, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran, Ajanta, Panshed, Nagpur, Shirdi, Lonavala, Tuljapur, etc.

6>> MP Tourism to launch three new travel experiences this year

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adhya Pradesh (MP) Tourism will soon be promoting three new experiences to domestic and inbound travellers. “Going forward, the State Tourism Department is planning to open up Trekking at Tamia hill station near Pachmarhi, Cruise Safari at Satpura Tiger Reserve and an Aqua-Ski Resort at Sailani Island, 60km from Hanuwantiya,” said Hari Ranjan Rao, MD, MP Tourism. He further added, “By May, we aim to unveil a 6.5 km trek in a 500m deep gorge at Tamia, 78 km from Pachmarhi. Travellers can camp overnight near the waterfall and trek up the next day. In the month of June, we will be starting off with Cruise Safari at Satpura Tiger Reserve for wildlife sightings. September would witness the launch of Aqua-Ski Resort at Sailani Island, 60 km from Hanuwantiya.”

Kerala Travel Mart 2016 to begin on 28 September

Travellers are required to carry valid proof of ID for availing these discounted packages.

T Ethiopian to start twice daily services to Delhi

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thiopian Airlines will start twice daily flights to New Delhi from 26 March, 2016.

ET 0686 will leave Addis Ababa (ADD) at 23:15 hrs daily and arrive in Delhi (DEL) at 8:40 hrs. It will leave DEL at 9:30 hrs daily and arrive at ADD at 14:00 hrs. ET 0688 will leave ADD daily at 16:00 hrs and arrive in DEL at 1:25 hrs. It will depart from DEL at 2:40 hrs daily and arrive at ADD at 7:10 hrs.

Goa Tourism launches heli-tours

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oa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) introduced helicopter joy rides from Park Hyatt in South Goa on 14 February, in a joint venture with Pawan Hans.

The Chairman of GTDC, Nilesh Cabral said, “We now have helicopter rides and hot air balloons which will serve as a huge attraction for tourists to Goa. There is a lot more to come in the months ahead. We and we are optimistic that all these new initiatives will go a long way in putting Goa on the map for world class adventure and leisure tourism.”

he ninth edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will be held from 28 - 30 September this year. The theme of KTM this year will be ‘Responsible tourism’ and ‘Muziris and Spice Route’. The event will be held at the Samudrika and Sagara Convention Centre, Willingdon Island and is expected to attract around 1,500 buyers from around the country and abroad. As many as 265 stalls of different sizes for the exhibitors within Kerala will be featured at the venue as part of the event. The buyers’ registration is open till 29 July.

ATTOI launches Navaratana Experiessential Holidays

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he Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI) launched sell 500 packages for visitors to Kerala. The highlight of the packages, called Navaratana Experiessential Holidays, is a nine ‘gem-like’ days of essential experiences in Kerala, including an insight into village life, community interactions like eatin with a Syrian Christian family, making coir, climbing coconut trees, etc.

The first phase of packages, aimed at foreign visitors, was launched by Kerala Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar last month and is uploaded on the consortium’s website. It will be followed by another phase of packages for domestic tourists.

16th IAAPI Amusement Expo to kick off on 3 March

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he Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) will unveil the 16th IAAPI Amusement Expo from 3 - 5 March at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The expo is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (Incredible India) and Chhattisgarh as ‘Partner State’ promoting the state capital Naya Raipur as an amusement and entertainment hub. It will witness over 100 exhibitors from India and 19 countries across 8000 sq m exhibition floor area showcasing latest innovative rides and equipment for amusement park, theme park, adventure sports, etc.

Voyager’s World > March 2016

Industry Buzz

8>> Railway Minister proposes tiger tourism packages

C&K offers saver programme for trips

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C

ox & Kings partnered with RBL Bank Ltd to launch the ‘Save Now Travel Later’ programme to suit every budget.

This programme fulfills one’s dream of an overseas holiday and at today’s price.

In the ‘Save Now Travel Later’ offer, travellers can meticulously plan their finance by opening a recurring deposit account with RBL Bank to make their dream holiday a reality. The programme has been designed keeping in mind that the traveller gets an opportunity to plan a holiday one year in advance.

Korean Air increases services in India with Jet

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orean Air’s codeshare agreement with Jet Airways began from 1 March, 2016 for passengers travelling from India to Incheon, Seoul through gateway airports as Singapore and Bangkok. This will enable passengers to benefit from connections onto Jet’s daily service to Delhi.

Korean Air will place its ‘KE’ code on Jet Airways’ seven to 14 weekly flights from Mumbai and Delhi, to Bangkok and Mumbai-Singapore.

SEGITTUR and Spanish Chamber of Commerce launch tourist app guide

A

tourist apps guide with 224 userfriendly apps was jointly launched by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, through the State Society for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR) and Chamber of Commerce. It is divided into transportation, accommodation, entertainment and dining, adventure, destination and utilities and applications ‘smartwatch’.

Airports Council International rates Mumbai's CSIA as the world's best airport

South Australia records 17% rise in Indian arrivals

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M

umbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) was rated the Best Airport in

the world, in the 25-40 million passengers per year category, by Airports Council International (ACI) in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey for 2015.

This is the fifth consecutive year that CSIA has been rated among the top five airports worldwide in the aforesaid category. The 2015 survey has also ranked CSIA in second place in the Best Airport category for airports in the Asia-Pacific region.

Voyager’s World > March 2016

ndia is now among the top 10 markets for South Australia in terms of international tourist arrivals for the year ended December 2015. The number of Indian visitors jumped 17% compared to last year, owing to the continuous efforts by the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) to promote the state among Indian tourists. SATC will promote three key destinations in the State, which include the wildlife sanctuary of Kangaroo Island, famous wine region the Barossa, and capital city Adelaide. The focus will be on attracting group travellers, honeymooners and families.

he Railway Budget for 201617 presented by Union Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu today in the Parliament haven’t pronounced anything substantial for promoting Rail Tourism in the country. The only relief for Rail Tourism came towards the end of the Budget speech, when he proposed promotion of complete packages through rail connecting wildlife circuit Kanha, Pench and Bandhavgarh in order to generate awareness “about the national animal”, tiger. Another proposal that came from the Railway Minister was intention to commence tourist circuit trains in partnership with the states.

Ministry of Culture recommends special force to protect monuments

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committee of Ministry of Culture recommended a Special Force along with the help of tools and electronic gadgets for protection of Monuments and Art Installations as part of a comprehensive security policy. No time frame has been indicated at this stage as it is still under consideration of the Government. At present there is no such proposal to outsource the operational maintenance with monuments of World Heritage tag under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). However, ASI has undertaken conservation and development of Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi in collaboration with Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

Shirdi airport to be operational soon

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hirdi airport will be operational in four months with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) giving its green signal recently, when the first flight from Mumbai landed at the airport.

The six-seater chartered plane of Bombay Flying Club took off from Juhu in Mumbai at 8.30am and landed at Shirdi airport in 45 minutes. The airport is located in Kakdi village, about 100 km from Shirdi on a 1,100acre plot. The AAI inspected the landing and the airport facilities. The state government is also trying to start air services to Dubai and Singapore from Shirdi in the first phase, informed the airport development company.

Incredible India

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252.3% rise in E-Tv in january 2016 T

his high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 113 countries as against the

earlier coverage of 43 countries.

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

A

total of 88,162 tourists arrived in January 2016 on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 25,023 during the month of January, 2015 registering a growth of 252.3%.

month of January 2015 and US$ 1.880 billion in January 2014.

• The growth rate in FEEs in US$ terms in January 2016 over January 2015 was 4.5% compared to a

Commencing from 27 November 2014, e-Tourist Visa facility is presently available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 Airports in India. The following are the important highlights of e-Tourist Visa during January, 2016: (i) During the month of January, 2016 a total of 88,162 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 25,023 during the month of January, 2015 registering a growth of 252.3%. (ii) This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 113 countries as against the earlier coverage of 43 countries. (iii) The percentage shares of top 10 source countries availing e-Tourist Visa facilities during January, 2016 were as follows: UK (25.37%), USA (15.17%), Russian Fed. (9.58%), France (6.00%), Australia (5.25%), Germany (4.23%), Canada (4.10%), China (3.96%), Republic of Korea (3.72%) and Ukraine (2.86%).

positive growth of 3.5% in January 2015 over January 2014.

Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis

Travel agent toils the land.

Travel agent sows the seed.

Travel agent nurtures the plant.

But who plucks the fruit?

The percentage shares of top 10 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during January, 2016 were as follows: New Delhi Airport (33.18%), Mumbai Airport (20.81%), Goa Airport (19.10%), Chennai Airport (6.95%), Bengaluru Airport (5.35%), Kochi Airport (4.17%), Kolkata Airport (2.99%), Trivandrum Airport (2.29%), Hyderabad Airport (2.13%) and Ahmadabad Airport (1.75%).

Really speaking, it’s not the travel agent but their Affiliate Programme Owners (let's call them OTAs) that profit the most. Affiliates don’t realise that their shortterm view damage their long-term gains.

By working on fixed commissions, you lose the ability to charge as per market dynamics. Worst, you expose your customers to OTAs. Moving forward, what would stop the big boys to gobble up your pie?

Simply put, travel agents should use their expertise to build their own brand. Not somebody else’s.

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Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) FEEs during the month of January 2016 were Rs. 13,669 crore as compared to Rs. 12,100 crore in January 2015 and Rs. 11,664 crore in January 2014.

• The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms during January 2016 over January 2015 was 13.0% as compared to a positive growth of 3.7% in January 2015 over January 2014.

• FEEs in US$ terms during the month of January 2016 were US$ 2.032 billion as compared to FEEs of US$ 1.945 billion during the

of Nationality-wise, Port-wise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI) and FEEs from tourism on the basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India.

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Travel Trends

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quest for new experiences defines travel trends in 2016 VW BUREAU

There has been a rising preference among travellers to explore new places and niche segments based on word-of-mouth and social media reviews.

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he latest survey of the Hotel Price Index by Hotels.com reported that short-haul destinations in Asia were preferred by Indian travellers in 2015. ‘Amazing Thailand’ was the most chosen destination amongst Indian travellers in 2015 with three places finding a prominent spot in the top 10. As opposed to 2014, the year 2015 had as many as 13 long weekends that influenced Indian traveller’s choices to opt for shorthaul holiday destinations. Bangkok replaces ‘the Desert City’ Dubai by taking the top position as the most preferred international destination

by Indian travellers in 2015. London remains the perennial favourite for Indians occupying 4th position and Singapore Malian continues to charm Indian travellers taking an enviable 3rd spot. The new entrant in the list includes Bali taking the 10th position making way for Phuket, Paris, Hong Kong and

New York which occupied 9th, 8th, 7th and 6th position respectively.

Kuala Lumpur which was ranked at 8th position in the 2014 slipped downwards thereby exiting the top 10 destinations for Indian travellers list altogether in 2015.

Meanwhile Delhi and Mumbai, continued to occupy the top two spots, Hyderabad known as Hi-tech city switched places with Jaipur thereby bagging the 6th position as compared to last year. Destinations such as Goa, Bangalore and Chennai retained their 3rd, 4th and 5th positions respectively. A highly industrialised city known for its textile industries, Ahmedabad also called ‘Manchester of the East’ replaced Agra known as the ‘Land of palaces’ making its way to the list ranking 10th on the list of most preferred domestic destinations for Indian travellers.

Every summer vacations or Christmas holidays, the Indian traveller is spoilt for choice with countless holiday options at his disposal. This, understandably places the travel agents and tour operators under a lot of pressure to face competiion while trying to cope with the last minute booking queries, rising ticket fares, negotiations with customers, new packages, late booking queries and yet try to offer something for every customer. In the past one year or so, the perception of a holiday has taken a new dimension.

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

within India itself, niche segments like chartered services, cruises, adventure sports and home stays are some of the trends that are here to stay.

In general, Delhi and Mumbai have been long favoured as leading domestic destinations for travel and of course, Goa is a top favourite for first time and repeat travellers.

Group travel with friends and family to go on pilgrimage tours, casual getaways, reunions, girlfriend getaways, golf tours, bachelor parties, senior citizen groups, etc. is another growing trend. There has also been a lot of focus given to lesser known destinations like Tunisia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, so also the Fiji Islands, Mauritius and on the other hand, already established popular destinations like Dubai and Singapore are on their toes to come

Travel Trends

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up with new products and services to sustain existing arrivals as well as draw new tourists.

Amadeus reports the trends in travel industry that have shaped 2015 and what 2016 may bring about, mainly focusing on technology. Amadeus is a provider of IT solutions to the Indian aviation, hospitality and travel and tourism industry.

Amadeus predicts that by 2020, two out of every five travellers are expected to be Asian and will account for nearly half of the global tourism expenditure.

Amadeus says that the sharing economy is increasingly becoming a consideration for corporate travellers, in 2015. As the lines between business and leisure travel blur, employees have started to expect the same type of experience for business travel as they do for leisure.

According to Amadeus, Asian airports have invested in serving Low Cost Carriers (LCC) because of the growing share of airline seats on LCCs. Airports in Singapore and Malaysia have been trying to encourage LCCs not only by building terminals but even airports dedicated to LCCs. Airports are also trying to keep airport fees down to enable LCCs to continue offering

low-cost tickets for passengers.

Amadeus gives an account on how brands are now focusing on offering unique experiences to customers that money can’t buy. By offering these experiences, brands hope to create a connection to customers that is more meaningful than just a hotel room or collection of award points. Amadeus tells that 2015 has all been about building real loyalty, not just transactional loyalty but treating guests like family rather than customers.

Amadeus states that the new technology in the form of virtual reality (VR) now allows the travellers to experience their potential destination before deciding if they want to go. This enables them to ‘try before buying’ the tourism product.

Amadeus describes 2015 as an era of collaborative travel both in terms of how people travel, as well as how travel providers work together to meet travellers’ needs with the help of technology.

Amadeus predicts that 2016 will see more high speed rail projects through the corridors of Asia thus increasing connectivity between Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India and China. High speed rail is commonly viewed as

delivering economic, environmental and social benefits.

Amadeus foretells that as the demand for air travel keeps increasing, airports might become destinations, not just stopovers anymore and the airports have already started building their own hotel complexes in an effort to transform themselves from travel hubs into standalone destinations.

Amadeus says that airlines have already started talking about the plan to demise seat-back entertainment and instead stream to travellers’ devices and passengers may end up with a better entertainment experience and a lower cost to the airline.

Amadeus remarks that robots may take over traditional service roles in 2016, bringing about new levels of automation with the use of artificial intelligence while allowing real people to deliver a personalised service.

Amadeus also predicts that managed travel will make strides in 2016, wherein technology supports a more connected experience within the boundaries of corporate policy.

On the domestic front, there have also been rising preferences for

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

Booking patterns The ICICI Lombard Travel Trends 2015 survey conducted last year focused on revealing the difference in behaviour among travellers when it comes to international versus domestic travel. The survey covered 1063 respondents across a mix of metros and smaller cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh who have travelled to international as well as domestic locations. The survey showed that Indians are travelling more frequently for leisure across international and domestic circuits. While 25% respondents had increased the frequency of their foreign trips in the past three to five years, almost 30% have done so in case of domestic circuits.

Indians still rely on travel agents for ticket purchase for their overseas (85%) and domestic (78%) leisure trips, while only 4% of international

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Travel Trends

travellers booked their overseas travel through online travel portal, as much as 20% of domestic travellers used online travel portals for bookings.

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

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

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

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

Today, we have come to heavily rely on Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and social media, not to forget the growing presence of mobile technology as a

Voyager’s World > March 2016

12>>

mode of access. Word-of-mouth still carries on its significance, just that the form and medium have changed; vacationers are looking out for word-of-mouth information through reviewing and blogging websites.

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

more customizations being offered and personalized services. OTAs are now exclusively aiming on customer choices and preferences for destinations, comfort and budget.

Today nobody makes plans or travels without checks. Where to go, what to do, destinations, prices, restaurants anything and everything is tested online and through friends and reviews.

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

ravel guides have also come into the scene to fill the gap with comprehensive details about places, activities, hotels. Lonely Planet India had partnered with Skyscanner last year to launch ‘India Unexplored’, a digital consumer campaign to draw travel enthusiasts to share their discovery of lesser known destinations in the country. The campaign encouraged travellers to tell, share offbeat travel experiences and win prizes like sponsored holidays to offbeat destinations and interesting travel merchandise.

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

In the past few years, electronic media, movies and social media have contributed significantly towards impacting outbound travel from India, mainly in prodding people to try and opt for more exotic locations.

At the same time, the conventional holiday planning services of travel agents are also flourishing with

Key destinations likely to be visited

by Indians this summer As mentioned earlier, there has been a rising appeal towards international travel in the Indian market. What was a luxury reserved only for the elite in the past, has now figured in the top of the bucket-list of the new-age Indian. This fascination for foreign shores can be credited to increased

purchase power, aspirations to discover new places as well as to get a high among peers by way of a status. Likewise, far-reaching hoardings and TV commercials as well as online contests, airline offers and simpler visa regimes have also had a say in this trend.

A trip to short haul destinations like Dubai, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Macau, Bali or Oman bears the advantage of just a few hours on flight, affordability and assorted sightseeing and entertainment activities be it amusement, shopping, heritage, food or adventure.

Offbeat destinations like the Philippines, Taiwan, Langkawi in Malaysia and Seoul have also seen rising interest in the recent months.

The Philippines had declared 2015 as the Visit Philippines year.

Domestically Coorg, Puducherry, Munnar have been popular.

Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are leaving no stone unturned to come up with new products and destinations for tourism. Himachal Pradesh is promoting its winter attractions extensively. On the international front, new players like Turkey, Croatia, Portugal, Armenia, Sharjah and Lithuania are likely to strengthen their presence in India this year.

Association

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atoai taps untouched adventure locale with convention 2016 ROHIT HANGAL

The Convention, which had packed business sessions into its agenda, also organised fun-filled adventure activities at the venue, which was also the backdrop for Jal Mahotsav 2016.

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he 12th Annual Convention of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) 2016 was held at the pristine and untouched place called ‘Hanumantiya’, which is at the banks of Indira Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh, from 12 - 14 February. As is customary, the venue was chosen by the organising team of the convention for its adventure element. The Convention was attended by about 120 domestic and 10 international delegates.

It concluded at the venue of the inaugural edition of the Jal Mahotsav at Hanumantiya Island.

The agenda of the convention comprised both business sessions as well as adventure activities for the delegates. Besides putting up luxurious tented accommodation for the delegates, there were a number of activities organised such as hot air ballooning, wind surfing, parasailing, jet skiing, banana ride, water zorbing, bird watching, trekking, night camping and more. During the convention, the ATOAI and Madhya

Pradesh Tourism also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as per which the former would conduct a one-year skill development and capacity building certification course, especially for the rural population of Madhya Pradesh. Basic training would be provided to conduct adventure sports in concerned areas. “Final details of the commencement of the course are in the pipeline,” said Tejbir Singh Anand, Chairman, ATOAI Convention 2016.

Inaugurating the 12th ATOAI Convention and Jal Mahotsav at Hanumantiya, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, MP, said, “We aim to develop Hanuwantiya, near River Narmada on a publicprivate-partnership (PPP) model and promote adventure sports in the vicinity to add overnights to the destination. Connectivity is a major issue which will soon be addressed by the MP government by developing an airstrip near the destination. This will shorten the travel duration and

increase footfalls to the mesmerising destination of Hanuwantiya. I call for private players to establish resorts and other tourism-related activities at this place.”

The 2016 award winners of the ATOAI Convention were 1. Best Adventure Travel Website Adventure Nation, Gurgaon 2. Best Popular Adventure Camp / Resort – Atali Ganga, Rishikesh (Award received by Manoj Biswas) 3. Innovation in Adventure Activity a. Air Adventure - Flyboy Aviation Pvt. Ltd. b.

Land AdventureJumpin Adventures Pvt. Ltd., MohanChatti at Rishikesh c. Water Adventure- MV Mahabaahu | by Far Horizon Tours Pvt. Ltd. (Faridabad Delhi) 4. New Innovative Product (Eco Lodge in Remote location) - Binsar Forest Retreat, Binsar (Award received by Rajesh Ojha) 5. Excellence in Community & Adventure based Tourism Pugmarks Eco Tours Pvt. Ltd. Pune

(Award received by Anirudh Chaoji) 6. Innovation in “Adventure Travel”based on Innovation, Strategy, Use of Technology, Safety Standards, SOPs & sustainability - LifeStraw / A&S Creations - Awards of Excellence - Lifetime Achievement Award - Vasant Limaye( CEO High places management Pvt. Ltd.) 7. Hall of Fame – Mohan Tickoo, Managing Director KVT (Kash Venture Travels Pvt. Ltd.) - President’s Award 8. Game Changer in the Adventure Travel Industry - Decathlon Sports India – Alpesh Patel - Best Indian State in Adventure Tourism 9. Innovation in Creating Adventure Destination | Madhya Pradesh Tourism 10. Promotion for Adventure Travel | Jammu & Kashmir Tourism 11. Sustainability in Adventure Travel | Sikkim Tourism 12. Upcoming State Promoting Adventure Travel | Maharashtra Tourism

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Hospitality

14>>

Treebo Hotels keen to expand in India IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Treebo Hotels witnessed a steady occupancy rate in the last eight months and will expand to 18-20 cities in India, says Sidharth Gupta, its Co-Founder. what other players achieve. We are currently on annualised sales run rate of $15 M whichwill grow to $7580 M by the end of this year.

Expansion plans for 2016 We are currently in 11 cities with a network of 65 hotels and 1800 rooms. By the end of this year we will expand to 18-20 cities and will grow our network to 250-300 hotels.

Occupancy rate We get a mix of travelers that include small businessmen, corporate employees, families on holiday, couples, etc. The occupancy rate has been steady over the last 8 months as our target customers are now well aware of the Treebo brand and the quality benefits that come with it. In the initial days we used to struggle with 40-50% occupancy, now we consistently do 70-75% occupancy, which is roughly 2x of

Marketing plans We use new-age marketing tactics that leverage digital channels and engaging content to connect with our audience. We keep sharing interesting multimedia content around our brand with our audience, for example, “11 quirky gifts for Valentine’s Day”, “9 types of friends you always have during a road-trip”, video from an initiative we run to promote travel based learning among underprivileged kids, etc.

Initiatives We have launched an initiative the crowd sourced audit program called Friends of Treebo, under this initiative people sign up to be our mystery auditors, stay at our

properties, and provide us candid feedback. We already have ~1000 members who have signed up as part of this program these include students, travel bloggers and professionals.

aiana hotels optimistic about double digit growth in india IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Amruda Nair, Joint Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aiana Hotels & Resorts, is optimistic of the Indian market and will continue to expand the brand in key leisure destinations and cities in India.

Personalizing new properties The Aiana Hotels and Resorts is an independently owned, Indiainspired hospitality brand. Calling it ‘Hospitality 2.0’, Amruda Nair, the group’s Joint Managing Director and CEO says, “Our USP

Voyager’s World > March 2016

will be our Indian service ethos, commitment to the environment and community, signature restaurant and spa concepts. The Aiana Hotels & Resorts blends contemporary aesthetics with local touches, making each hotel distinct according to its destination. For all the resorts we have announced to date in Karnataka and Kerala, we are offering the fractional ownership model which is a first in the country and a strong differentiator.” The main objective behind Aiana Hotels & Resorts is to offer authentic service and design to exceed the expectations of a new generation of savvy travellers and explorers.

Expansion plans for 2016 Aiana Hotels & Resorts currently has three hotels under development

and will be launched in 2016. The first hotel will be a 600-key property in Makkah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; it will be ready by June 2016.

“We also have our flagship property in Doha and our first resort in Munnar, Kerala which is scheduled to open by the end of 2016. Our current focus is on the Middle East and India and we will continue to work on extending our presence across the Indian Sub-Continent and South East Asia,” says Amruda.

Expectations on the Indian market Being optimistic about India, she says the group will continue to follow its development strategy and expand the brand in key leisure destinations and gateway cities in India. Amruda feels that the Indian domestic market is yet to be explored and serviced

to its potential. “This segment is, therefore, growing at a double-digit Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and will continue to grow for the next decade steadily. As a brand, our focus remains on this growing segment in India and our hotels are planned to serve the market.”

Main Segments “Our brand is all about experiences, whether in a leisure setting or urban environment. The emphasis we lay on local relevance, intuitive service and authenticity matches the leisure mindset of the traveller. Our primary focus shall be leisure travel. Even in city locations, Aiana endeavours to create urban retreats that offer guests a break in monotony and a relaxed atmosphere to unwind,” Amruda concludes.

Hospitality

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Ayana Hospitality to promote high end nature centric tourism IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Akhil Behl, Chief Executive Officer, Ayana Hospitality, expects to achieve an occupancy ranging between 45 and 65% after the launch of the two properties in India.

Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, will be more in sync with Indian vernacular architecture and is a wildlife centric product. Both the properties are scheduled to open on 1 May, 2016.

A

yana Hospitality, a joint venture between ICS Group India and Mantis International South Africa, is slated to launch two properties in the country soon. One is a project in Fort Kochi in Kerala with 16 rooms.

The art décor themed hotel, housed within a 200-year old heritage structure, will strongly focus on art and culture. The property in the

Ayana is unique in its offering of world-class all-encompassing services that take a project from conceptualisation and feasibility to planning, design, construction and eventual management and marketing of the hotel. It is the first of its kind in India.

“The Pench property is a luxury boutique wildlife resort with 14 guest units. Ayana’s property in Fort Kochi in Kerala is located in proximity to the Biennale Art Exhibition. The 200-year old Fort Kochi has been redeveloped into a 16 room boutique

luxury property with a rooftop café and pool. The property will celebrate the local heritage and culture of Fort Kochi which has, over the centuries, been influenced by the various trader communities that used Fort Kochi as their getaway to India and also a centre of trade,” says Akhil Behl, the CEO of Ayana Hospitality.

Expectations on the Indian market in terms of occupancy and growth Akhil believes that there is going to be a double digit growth in the Indian hospitality market in the near future. Ayana Hospitality is focused on achieving occupancy in the range of 45% to 65% given the seasonality associated with leisure properties.

Currently, it has only two properties in the pre-launch stages.

Marketing and promotional plans

Currently, Ayana Hospitality is focused on the inbound market and has an exclusive sales and marketing team in India, which is supported by its partners (Mantis Group) who have a sales and marketing platform in Europe and South Africa.

Presently targeting to promote the high-end nature centric tourism, Akhil informs that the group will begin its promotion campaign closer to the opening of the two properties.

By developing these projects, Ayana intends to establish a successful model for ecotourism by providing a meaningful and unique experience to its guests, while ensuring the future protection of India’s spectacular wildlife and natural heritage. By offering complete solutions, Ayana provides end-to-end services for a hospitality project.

price sensitivity is key determinant in customer profile PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Anshu Sarin, CEO, Berggruen Hotels, during a recent visit to Bangalore, talks about the pricing strategy for hotels, occupancy trends and ARRs among other things.

What brings you to Bangalore now?

We have 222 rooms here in Bangalore and the hotels here are one of the best in our portfolio. Both our hotels have performed their best from inception. So, this is more of a celebration.

Branding When we started Keys, our objective was to cater to the mid-market segment as well as the four-star range. It is imperative that we have clear products for different markets. We did not focus just on our logo. We recently differentiated our products like Keys Lite and Keys Prime. Keys Lite is aimed at alternate accommodation segment which includes serviced apartments and guest houses. Today, we have a certain genre of people that consist of trainees, new joinees, etc. who have to be trained on our standards of services. We train our staff in serviced apartments and guest houses to put up our products and ensure that our corporate clients get a single point of contact. The other part of Keys Lite is that it aims

at the basic category Occupancy During the recent, unfortunate Chennai floods, we did witness a surge in occupancy especially in our properties in Pimpri in Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore as employees were diverted to work from those cities. We get a mix of clients; there is a lot of it for corporates. It is also about price sensitivity. People who are undertaking training programmes usually opt for staying through the weekend. We get alternate business that comes through our packages for weekends, small leisure groups, pool-side events which are all adhoc business and price sensitive.

Earlier, we were not as strong in the Indian market, but now we have

expanded our distribution channels and have seen a surge in our business. The minute you strengthen your distribution channel, different market segments such as emerge; through Visiting Friends & Relatives (VFR), agents, etc.

ARRs vs. F&B Rooms are the bread and butter for any hotel. They account for higher profits. Our brands are structured accordingly. F&B gives visibility and allows a larger audience. Keys Hotel has a limited banqueting facility, just enough to cater to management meets and training programmes.

“We are not designed for and not aim for large conferences. You cannot be a basket for everything; then you cannot offer the guest or yourself any value,” she signs off.

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Music Tourism

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Music Festivals strike a resounding chord in tourist arrivals!

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Music festivals are increasingly becoming a popular platform to promote tourism while being a major

Ambience at a Kasauli Rhythm and Blues event

pull for music lovers and tourists in the country.

Prema Sagar, Founder Trustee, Genesis Foundation

Music is a great unifier and music festivals offer a synergy of entertainment as they bring together a varied range of individuals, helping to make the destination a landmark for fun. The Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival has become a great attraction for tourists and music lovers.

T

he number of music festivals that are organised in India has been increasing in the recent years as they come together with a twin benefit of enthralling music lovers and drawing tourists to the destination. India has witnessed a considerable growth in this segment through the growing demand for live shows by the voracious lot who have an insatiable appetite for music and are in the lookout for new experiences.

There are a large number of music festivals held around the world every year to draw both the domestic as well as international tourists. The Summerfest, for example, is a 11day event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which has an annual attendance of nearly 1,000,000 people.

There are also a number of annual carnivals, events whose programme lineup is largely based on music.

The well-known ones are the Rio Carnival in Brazil, which attracts 500,000 foreign visitors annually,

Voyager’s World > March 2016

and the week-long Salvador de Bahia carnival, which is the largest street party. This attracts crowds of up to two million people annually.

There are hundreds of annual jazz festivals around the world, with the largest, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, seeing 2.5 million attendees every year, one third of whom are tourists.

Overall, an estimated 10 million people travel internationally each year for the main purpose of watching or participating in a music or cultural festival.

There are also some cities and areas that serve as year-round destinations for music-related travel, such as New Orleans for Dixieland, zydeco and other music, some cities in Italy (including La Scala in Milan) for opera and classical music, and Britain for rock music.

Jamaica’s Ocho Rios Jazz Festival is filled with great music and

entertainment.

The festival showcases International as well as Jamaican and Caribbean Jazz musicians and artists. Jamaica has a long and productive Jazz tradition.

Jamaica is said to be the main supplier of top jazz talent in the Caribbean.

the genus of Hindustani, Carnatic and Odissi classical Indian Music with extraordinary performances of various famous vocalists and an instrumentalist from different parts of the country. The festival attracts a large number of locals as well as tourists.

India, too, has its fair share of hosting music festivals. Interestingly, a number of state tourism boards are encouraging such events to boost tourism. Rajarani music festival is one of the famous festivals of Orissa which is organized annually by the State Tourism Department in collaboration with other organizations like Bhubaneswar Music Circle, Orissa Sangeet Natak Academy, NALCO and the Union Ministry of Tourism. The aim of the festival is to showcase the glorious tradition of Indian classical music. Rajarani music festival is an evening musical concert held for 2 days in the backdrop of the 11th century Rajarani Temple complex.

Main highlights of the festival are

It is one such occasion to celebrate the richness and originality of Indian classical music. The festival was started in 2003 with the help of the Bhubaneswar Music Circle (BMC).

Another example would be the Wajid Ali Shah Festival in Uttar Pradesh.

Organised by the Rumi Foundation and supported by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department, last year, the second season of the Wajid Ali Shah festival program was held in February 2015 in Lucknow with a tribute to one of the most passionate and radical poet-philosopher of the 13th century, Jelaluddin Rumi. Apart from other programmes, the festival also had a musical ballet directed by Muzaffar Ali.

Music Tourism

The ‘Iron Heart’ thumps to life with awesome dance music only at Vh1 Supersonic 2015

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Jaideep Singh, Senior Vice President and Business Head, LIVE Viacom18

There is a huge potential for growth when it comes to experiential marketing. There is an ever-growing demand for the genre; one just needs to keep introducing original formats without saturating the audience.

Some top festivals organised in India include the one in Naukuchiatal, Rajasthan International Folk Festival, World Sufi Spirit Festival, Hornbill Festival in Nagaland, Ziro Festival in Arunachal Pradesh, Sunburn in Goa, etc.

The Madras Music Season is an event hosted every December– January in Chennai for nearly six weeks. The season witnesses several small and large Carnatic music concerts performed by highly talented singers and musicians. The Madras Music Season was started so as to encourage music buffs and aficionados of Carnatic music to appreciate performances by renowned artists as well as provide a platform for budding musicians and young singers to display their vocal talent. This festival draws audiences and artistes from across India as well as from the international Indian diaspora and internationally those who have been exposed to and appreciate Classical Indian Music. It is believed to be the largest

music festival in the world with a total of around 1500 individual performances by various renowned and amateur artists across the span of one and a half months.

Music festivals are promoted in different forms in India such as the Supersonic and Sunburn festivals in Goa. Besides these, music concerts, too, attract a lot of International DJs to India each year to spur crowds and tourism. These festivals play a significant role in promoting tourism in a country and international event organisers foresee India as their next emerging destination for organizing music festivals. 2016 looks promising in terms of music festivals in India.

Music festivals promoting tourism in India With each passing year, the number of visitors to music festivals has only increased; this goes on to show that such festivals have great potential to promote one’s culture

and beliefs. Prema Sagar, Founder Trustee, Genesis Foundation says, “The first edition of Goa Rhythm & Blues Festival in 2015, witnessedan attractive line-up of 10 music bands and hosted over 350 enthusiasts from across the country. Over the last few years, our festivals have seen tremendous support from people across the country.”

She feels that music is a great unifier and music festivals offer a synergy of entertainment as they bring together a varied range of individuals, helping to make the destination a landmark for fun. The Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival has become a great attraction for tourists and music lovers over the years.

“In the last edition of the Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival, we had attracted more than 650 people, 10 bands, iconic brands as sponsors along with coverage across the traditional and social media. The festival was so popular that it

trended at number 3 pan-India on Twitter. The Baikunth Resorts that hosted the Festival gets sold out on the last day of the Festival with bookings for the next year’s edition.

Similarly, every hotel, home stay and inn in Kasauli was full during the course of the festival,” she added.

Sudhama Bhatia, Founder, Muzenly. com, says, “Music festivals are huge these days. They support tourism and festivals like Supersonic and Sunburn bring in huge amount of revenues to Goa attracting close to 100,000 people over a span of few days.”

On the other hand, Jaideep Singh, Senior Vice President and Business Head, LIVE Viacom18 explains, “India’s entertainment industry is currently going through an exciting phase. We have witnessed an overall surge in the number of music festivals in the country and consumers are keen on exploring newer musical genres and experiences. This gives us the opportunity to develop

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Music Tourism

Audience at a Kasauli Rhythm and Blues event

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innovative concepts to promote music and personify the experience by showcasing them at newer locations.”

“In the recent years, we have witnessed a growing demand for live entertainment within the country starting from music festivals, short format music shows to stand-up comedy and new sports events. This has led to an exponential growth of the live entertainment sector across not only the top cities in the country, but also within Tier II and III cities in India,” he said.

Jaideep states that destination festivals have also proven to boost tourism within the states and cities that host them. To cite an example, LIVE Viacom18 hosts an electronic dance music festival, Vh1 Supersonic, in Goa every December highlighting the city of Goa. Similarly, every other destination where major festivals are held on such a large scale also undergoes a package programming to boost tourism.

Zeus Unwalla, Festival Organizer and Director Operations of Magnanimous Group says, “Music festivals have been promoting tourism in different forms especially with the sheer influx of people that come for the festival. We like to find places to hold festivals where people have not necessarily explored which has to be out of the city and needs to be outdoors, with more nature.

Sometimes these places are outside remote villages, we involve the local people to put up food stalls, sell their local handicrafts which also

Voyager’s World > March 2016

increased the people booking hotels nearby.”

Sudhama observes that India has been witnessing new concepts; for example, a new festival called Fest Da Diu in mid-February was deemed as Asia’s longest beach festival as it was held for two and half months. The festival was a huge event in terms of promoting tourism for Diu. “The Udaipur World Music Festival, that concluded recently, made entry to the festival free and attracted large crowds including foreigners. The festival brought in artists from various countries to get people to experience all kinds of music, not just electronic, the festival was supported by the local tourism board,” he added.

Facts and figures The Indian tourism industry has grown measurably in the past year.

India has moved up 13 positions to 52nd rank from 65th in Tourism & Travel Competitive Index. As per a recent report by IBEF, the Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India. The third-largest sub-segment of the services sector comprising trade, repair services, hotels and restaurants contributed nearly US$ 187.9 billion or 12.5% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014-15, while growing the fastest at 11.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the period 2011-12 to 2014-15.

Prema explains, “Looking at this index qualitatively, some

of the music festivals like NH7 Weekenders, Sunburn, Ziro, Hornbill Festival, Ladakh Festival are all festivals that bring together people from various parts of India and the entire world.”

Sudhama traces the explosion of these music festivals to the year 2013. “We had about 35 music festivals last year attracting people from various cities. There are lots of small festivals organized and we think the growth in terms of each festival attracting more people is around 10%-15% and in terms of increase in the number of events, it is in the range of 15 - 20 %. It is not just music festivals that will spur tourism but also music concerts. We have a lot of international DJs who have been coming each year. I think India will also become a hotbed for several artistes who have been hesitating to enter the country for some time now.”

He goes on reveal that international festivals were looking at Asia, and particularly India as the next frontier.

“Sensation, a huge brand globally, came to India for the first time.

There will be many more big names looking to cash in on India’s massive youth story. We can see changing global as well as local trends. 2013 saw the inflection point of sudden growth in terms of music festivals that gave a lot of promoters and event companies the confidence to come up with their own music festival and in different formats.

Jaideep says that currently the size of the category is around Rs 300-

400 crores and is expected to grow at 25%-30% CAGR. There is a huge potential for growth when it comes to experiential marketing. There is an ever-growing demand for the genre; one just needs to keep introducing original formats without saturating the audience.

“Over the years festival/ event footfalls have increased exponentially. Many people these days are opting for offbeat travel and aspire to attend large music festivals across the world. Since there are so many people that travel the distance to attend these festivals, local governments come out and show their support for such initiatives,” Jaideep said.

“We are producing the first multi genre music festival adventure, nature and camping festival ‘ Bliss’ in Shillong in October 2016. The Bhavishyavani Future Soundz and Magnanimous will organize the second edition of Eden the music and arts festival for 2016.The growth of festivals has been enormous in the last decade. From a couple of festivals in the early 2000’s to more than 50 spanning all genres are available to festival goers,” Zeus said.

Promotions through social media and word of mouth Prema explains that since we all live in a mobile world and social media promotions matters a lot in this era, although, traditional promotions are also extremely necessary. According to her, social media is the quickest mode for promoting such fests

Music Tourism

primarily targeted on music lovers and the youth. For an audience which is on social media and apps, festivals employ apps, microsites, and various social media platforms to spread the word effectively.

There is also a range of influencers that cover travel, tourism, live events and similar leisure activities on various platforms- social media, blogs, digital media portals etc.

Engaging these influencers and getting them to talk about the festival, the destination and the experience is also a rising trend.

Jaideep says, “India primarily consumes entertainment via TV; hence for events, it is critical to devise smart campaigns which have digital and social media at the center but are also supported by TV and other platforms aggressively.”

LIVE Viacom18 initiated an aggressive year round campaign to aide conversation and engagement across various media platforms - TV, Radio and Social media platforms being key. The campaign objective was to create content that will be used for consumer engagement which aims at provoking thought, which, in turn, initiates conversations that eventually reach thousands of newer music lovers who could be our potential audience.

“A new festival can be discovered from an online ad campaign perspective andFacebook. For a well-known festival like Sunburn,,for instance, Google ad words along with Facebook are a good

combination. In addition, people use twitter for announcements and contests mainly. Other than that, radio and hoardings are typically used from an offline perspective.

Word-of-mouth promotion has proven more helpful in the past years but offline promoters do use WhatsApp to spread the word, especially when they are selling tickets. TV commercials are not used as much, unless you are a big name like Viacom18, which has Vh1 as part of it,” Sudhama says.

added.

Zeus, too, believes that social media is a key platform nowadays for promoting festivals and events, while not ruling out the relevance of radio, television and print.

Scenario over the next five years “With the amount of music festivals being organized in the country today, it is evident that we will have events which will not only promote one’s culture but also bring new energy and praise for the country,”Prema says. “These events, if mixed with a cause, bring out the best not only for the country but for the humanity as well, right from EDM to Sufi to Blues, Indians have developed a taste for a real mix bag of music,” she added.

Expected growth for 2016 Jaideep feels that the year 2016 looks promising for the live entertainment category, especially the ones that will be promoted as destination gigs/ experiences.

The live entertainment space has been growing year on year and is rapidly moving and progressing with an increasing number of people wanting to be a part of it.

“We have grown from 12-14 shows in the first year to 200+ in the second and now are aiming to cross the mark of 300+ this year catering to the audience with a wide variety of international music, but also to an audience that deeply loves their Bollywood hits. This category is growing at min 50% + and will continue in this space for at least 5 years before it matures up,” he

Sudhama expects a steady increase in the number of events with at least one or two major international music festival brands making an entry into India in this year.

Zeus too believes that 2016 would see a lot more festivals popping up around the country, with new states and governments opening up to encourage music festival in their states to promote more tourism.

Sudhama anticipates the next five years to be filled with activity.

“India has more than 600 million people below the age of 25 and about 700 million people below the age of 30 which are insanely huge numbers. People are looking for new experiences and music binds all of us. Festivals are part of the culture in Europe and USA and those nations have a great variety of festivals, offering a combination of music, arts, culture, etc. We started with a lot of EDM and Electronic festivals, but we are now seeing new events which offer more than just

rejoicing the music at Vh1 Supersonic 2015

A festival visitor basking under the sun and

Brand activations at Vh1 Supersonic 2015- Pic coutesy-Abdullah.G

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electronic. It will take a little more time but a lot of festivals are offering camping and Indians are getting comfortable with camping out for multiple days.”

Jaideep says, “It is going to be a different landscape in the next five years considering the way things have changed in the last few years.

The youth in India are well aware of the developments in the global music scenario as they travel and are voracious consumers of quality content. Youth are constantly seeking newer experiences and are ready to travel to great lengths to experience the same.”

“With the range of talent thriving in the country in the form of independent musicians, artists, film makers growing, India is currently at a juncture where everyone is making the most of what is presented, and also trying to go beyond usual standards and looking out for new experiences,” he added.

With new festivals mushrooming every six months, Jaideep opines that there is a whole new variety of evolved content being disseminated to cater to the ever-expanding audience base. The market has certainly grown due to this constant challenge of being better than the rest and reaching out to as many people as possible. “Within the next five years, the music festival scenario in the country is bound to expand to being a mature media and entertainment business category on back of sheer potential of numbers which India has, in terms of target audience,” he concluded.

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India Outbound

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‘Remarkable Rwanda’ invites investments in tourism A delegation from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) met business investors and the travel trade in Mumbai and Bangalore to talk about investment opportunities in Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

T

he High Commission of Rwanda in India, in cooperation with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), met the Indian travel trade recently to promote Rwanda as a new destination for tourism and investment opportunities through a two-city road show in Mumbai and Bangalore on 19 and 20 February respectively.

outbound travel market in the world.

In 2014-15, India was the second largest source market to Rwanda after America.” He stressed on the developmental activities undertaken by the government over the years to make it one of the safest nations in Africa and also drew attention to the Rwanda Government’s zero tolerance to corruption.

This is the first major initiative undertaken by an African country following the successful India – Africa summit hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015.

Highlighting the various initiatives undertaken by the Rwanda Tourism Board to tap the Indian market, Anny Batamuriza, Vice Chairperson of Tourism Chamber Rwanda Private Sector Federation, said, “We look to India as the future for various tourism opportunities in Rwanda.”

The High Commissioner of Rwanda, His Excellency Ernest Rwamucyo, said, “We are happy to be here in Mumbai and showcase Remarkable Rwanda to the second largest

Linda Mutesi, Division Manager, Tourism Marketing, RDB, gave a detailed presentation on ‘Destination

Rwanda’ highlighting the investment opportunities available in the tourism and hospitality sector and assured maximum support from the Rwandan authorities. The presentation showcased the various attractions in Rwanda, also known as the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’, such as Congo Nile Trail, gorilla tracking, gorilla naming ceremony, helicopter tours, exploring volcanoes, national parks, night life, cultural experiences, etc.

Commerce and Industry of Karnataka.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Mumbai by Anny in the presence of the High Commissioner and the President of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Zakkir Ahmed.During their visit to Bangalore, the Rwandan delegation interacted with members of the Federation of Chamber of

The seminars held in Mumbai and Bangalore were a huge success with an attendance of over 200 participants at each city, including eminent leaders from the travel trade and the corporate world.

The event concluded with a colourful Rwandan dance performance by Rwandan students in India.

At the Bangalore roadshow, Arvind Jadav, Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, addressed the gathering and extended the support of the state government to Rwanda in its endeavours. A large section of business investors from Karnataka expressed their interest in the various investment opportunities in Rwanda.

Incentive tours in Scotland most favoured by Indians PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Vineet Gopal, International Marketing Manager, Long Haul & Emerging Markets, VisitScotland talked about plans for the Indian market, during his visit to India as part of a Business Development Mission.

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isitScotland representatives met with key travel agents and tour operators and other travel trade industry stakeholders at a roundtable event in Mumbai in February. The forum was organised

by VisitScotland as part of its five-day India Business Development Mission

Voyager’s World > March 2016

along with Etihad Airways, taking in Mumbai, Chandigarh and New Delhi. Against the backdrop of the mission, Vineet Gopal, International Marketing Manager, Long Haul & Emerging Markets, VisitScotland talked about plans for the Indian market. “The primary reason for coming to India at this time of the year is we wanted to get an idea of the buyers, demands, opportunities in the market, etc. We have around seven industry suppliers with us who have products in Scotland to present to Indian buyers. Plus, we are launching our new creative platform called the Scotland, ‘Spirit of its Own’ to showcase the core of our country. Also, our global marketing campaign and our

website is being re-launched.”

Spirit of Scotland The ‘Spirit of Scotland’ campaign aims to capture the essence of what people tell us about our country - the drama that unfolds and the magic that you experience when you come to Scotland, the warm welcome one gets from the Scots, the connection to our traditions, all of which form the ‘Spirit of Scotland’.

Top Venues for M.I.C.E in Scotland We have many exciting venues to host meetings and events. Most of them are in the major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh. On the M.I.C.E front, there have been great new developments. We also have

interesting offbeat venues such as castles. The M.I.C.E. market from India is still developing.

India is particularly focused on incentives when it comes to Scotland. Our Scotch Whiskey Tours are very popular for incentives. These tours are one of the key drivers for inbound tourism from India. We have a number of whiskey distilleries that delegates can tour and experience.

There are distilleries in the cities like Edinburgh as well as in the Scottish Highlands. For instance, the Island of Isla is a very interesting destination for the number of malt distilleries there. We also have many golf courses, again a major pull for incentive groups.

India Outbound

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Tourism Malaysia leads sales mission to India, Sri Lanka The delegation stressed on being intent on attracting Indian tourists to Malaysia after it had witnessed a drop in the number of arrivals last year.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

A

s part of its efforts to raise awareness on Malaysia as a destination of choice, Tourism Malaysia embarked on a Sales Mission to India and Sri Lanka from 25 February to 3 March. The nineday sales mission covered the Indian cities of Chandigarh, Lucknow, Bangalore and Kochi and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Leading the Malaysian delegation was Dato’ Daljit Singh, who is the Indian Community Relations Advisor to the Minister of Tourism & Culture Malaysia and a member of Tourism Malaysia Board of Directors.

He was accompanied by senior officials from the Tourism board.

The delegation also comprised of 57 representatives from 16 travel agents/tour operators, 10 hotels/ resorts, six tourism products/

attractions, two state tourism authorities, and four airlines. Some of the notable delegates included Genting Malaysia Bhd, Legoland Malaysia Resort, Sunway Lagoon, Tourism Johor, Tourism Selangor, Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, and AirAsia.

The sales mission serves as an excellent platform to engage with the local media and update them on the latest tourism developments and products, as well as to network with the local tour operators, product owners, and airlines. It is expected to increase tourist arrivals and receipts from the South Asian market during the peak travelling season from May to July.

The South Asian market is important to Malaysia, contributing 1.3 million

tourists in 2014. India remained its top 10 arrivals in the same year, ranking sixth with a total of 770,108 tourists, while Sri Lanka recorded 61,670 tourists. In 2015, Malaysia welcomed 722,141 Indians and 51,337 Sri Lankans to the country.

During the Sales Mission, Tourism Malaysia also organized travel marts for the travel trade players to meet and network. This is a platform to showcase Malaysia’s diverse tourism offerings and highlight the scope for collaboration between travel agents in Malaysia and India.

Oman records 17% increase in Indian arrivals in 2015 VW BUREAU

O

man received 299,022 Indian arrivals last year recording 17 per cent growth in 2015 over 2014.

Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) released the arrival figures which highlight an increase in inbound numbers from India. The statistics also reflect a growth of 60 per cent in Indian arrivals to Oman in the last five years.

Surat and NRI’s, several Indians are now visiting Oman for the purpose of destination weddings. This has contributed significantly to our arrival numbers. MICE tourism in Oman has also seen an increase and to attract more MICE activities this year, our efforts are aimed at increasing interactions with tour operators and corporates.”

Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman, said, “The increase is very encouraging and reflects all the hard work we have put in promoting and marketing the destination in India. Since 2014, we started promoting Oman as an ideal wedding destination for Indians as Muscat is close to India. Our efforts were rewarded as we witnessed several large-scale weddings take place in the last two years. From Sonam Kapoor to diamond merchants in

As a country surrounded by mighty mountains, valleys, deserts and beaches, Oman is an excellent short-haul destination from India.

“To attract more tourists from India, we are looking at promoting various activities. We have observed over the years that Indian travellers don’t travel just for sight-seeing and shopping anymore. More young people are now travelling who prefer active holidays and Oman has a lot to offer to these travellers. From canyoning to deep sea diving, from

sailing to golfing, Oman is a treat to anyone seeking an outdoor holiday.”

Sheerazi added.

Oman has seen several major developments in the country over the years and some properties in the pipeline to be opened in 2016 include the Anantara Jabal Al Akhdar Resort, a rare jewel in the rocky contours of the vast Saiq Plateau on Oman’s fabled Green Mountain, magnificently perched almost 3,000 metres above sea level on the curving rim of a

great canyon; the Anantara Salalah Resort, situated between a beach and natural lagoon on the south coast of Dhofar in Salalah, Oman; The Kempinski Hotel and Residences at Muscat’s Al Mouj resort. Muscat has seen recent growth in the MICE market and this is anticipated to grow even faster with the opening of the new Oman Convention and Exhibition centre. The 22,000m facility will be complemented with four hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms and a business park.

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Incredible India

22>>

Jal Mahotsav 2016 sees a splashing success at hanumantiya!

The 10 day long festival provided ample opportunities for tourists to explore the traditions of Madhya Pradesh while experiencing adventure activities on land, sea and air.

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adhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) in order to boost tourism in Madhya Pradesh (MP) organized the first ever water festival in the country Jal Maotsav.

The 10 day long Jal Mahotsav began on 12 February at Hanuwantiya Island (or Hanumantiya), in Khandwa district. Hanuwantiya is a small village on the banks of Indira Sagar Dam. The celebrations provided opportunities to travellers to explore and experience the colourful customs and rich traditions of Madhya Pradesh that were portrayed through art, craft, folk music, dance and cuisines.

To mark the beginning, first three days witnessed the national convention of adventure sports by the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI). They organized adventure water sports activities along with other adventure sports like trekking, mountain cycling etc. Island activities included bird watching, treasure hunt, night camps, cultural activities, volley ball, tug of war, paragliding, hot air balloon, para motor, kite flying etc.

However, for the tourists, special cottages were constructed at the island and instead of cabs and other transport, bullock carts were available for roaming around nearby villages and tourist destinations. At least 100 camping tents were also available for adventurous visitors,

Voyager’s World > March 2016

apart from cottages. Handicrafts fair and exhibition about esteemed and historical water bodies of Madhya Pradesh were on display for tourists.

The Hanuwantiya Tourist Complex consists of five cottages, each consisting of two double bed rooms, providing a grand view of the endless Indira Sagar. The tourist complex also consists of a large open space and a boat house, acting as a hub of water sports activity. During the Jal Mahotsav, the area adjoining the Hunuwantiya Tourist Complex and next to the Indira Sagar was turned into a tented city.

Apart from tented accommodation the complex also contained conference tent and dinning tents along with highly decorative reception tent. The entire area was eco friendly and the golf carts and cycles were the only from of transport within the tented city.

The main focus of the Jal Mahotsav was to promote adventure tourism.

Several adventure activities were brought under the same roof during the 10-day long Jal Mahotsav. Since the Hanuwantiya Tourist Complex was situated next to a large water body, the primary importance was on water adventure activity.

Speed Boat rides took passengers deep inside the Indira Sagar Lake and those seeking for adrenaline rush can opt for the Water Scooter.

Water Zorbing, consisting of an inflatable cylinder, also attracted

a large number of adventure seekers. Banana Boat consists of unpowered inflatable boat consisting of two banana shaped tube. It can accommodate about 8 – 10 people and is towed by a speed boat. The ultimate water adventure activity was parasailing which provided an amazing aerial view of the Indira Sagar Lake. Jal Mahotsav also provided an opportunity of Island Camping trips that came in with Trekking and Bird Watching Excursions.

Addressing the media at the inaugural function, Tanvi Sundriyal, IAS-Additional Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) had said, “It is a first-of-its-kind event going to be organised in Madhya Pradesh. The aim is to encourage more tourists to this destination.

The mega event will be inaugurated

by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.”

According to the officials, the main objective of this event was to showcase the cultural heritage of Madhya Pradesh and spark festivities that can become a tradition across generations in the future. “MP tourism has taken this initiative to raise awareness about the importance of water through Jal Mahotsav, which is an enthralling mix of cultural performances and adventure activities taking place against the beautiful background of the Indira Sagar Dam”, said

Om Vijay Choudhary, Executive Director, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC).

The adventure activities of the water festival were not restricted to water adventure only. There were land adventure also and included adventure activities like Climbing Walls. A Zip – Line connects the artificial rock to the banks of the lake providing a thrilling ride for adventure seekers. The adventures were restricted to adults only and the tented area consisted of an adventure zone exclusively for the kids. The zone consisted of Burma Bridge (a specially designed rope bridge), Net Walk and Tyre Swing.

The area also provided entertainment opportunities for non – adventurous adult and included activities like Tug of War and Volleyball. Land Parasaling, where the person is towed by a jeep, was also a highlight of Jal Mahotsav in Hanuwantiya. The most sought after adventure activities of the Jal Mahotsav in Hanuwantiya were in air. The Hot Air Ballooning and Para Motoring attracted a large number of adventure seekers.

Activities went late into the evening with cultural programs from various districts from Madhya Pradesh.The first edition of Jal Mahotsav came to an end on 21 February 2016.

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Incredible India

23>>

‘karnataka habba’ visits key metros to showcase tourism heritage

The Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, hosted a three-day format in Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai to celebrate the art, culture, cuisine and tradition of the state.

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

T

he Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka hosted a three-day extravaganza festival called ‘Karnataka Habba’ at Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat from 26 - to 28 February 2016. The threeday fest was an initiative by the Tourism Department of Karnataka to showcase the state in all its glory to the people of Bangalore.

Karnataka Habba was inaugurated

by Sri R.V. Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Tourism, in the presence of many other dignitaries and officers.

Karnataka Habba-Kolkata had recently been concluded during 1214 Feb and the event was a huge hit among the Kolkata crowd. The Karnataka Habba-Mumbai was held between 4-6 March. Karnataka, which is well known for silk, milk, coffee, honey and many more is being showcased in a magnificent manner.

Over 100 stalls displaying the best of tourism, handicrafts, cuisines, art, craft, culture, handlooms, etc. from various departments of the state Government as well as the other states were put up during the occasion. Famed Mysuru silk, Dharwad kasuthi, rosewood inlay, and sandalwood articles, ganjifa paintings, mirror embroidery, Spices, Bidriware, terracotta items, honey, wine etc. were on display and also handy for visitors to purchase.

Central Cottage Industries, Rajasthan Emporium, Kairali emporium, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board were the few departments from other states participating in the Karnataka Habba.

The Habba was also held in Kolkata and Mumbai at the City Centre Mall and the Phoenix Mall (Kurla) respectively.

VADODARA NAGPUR VIZAG AMRITSAR COIMBATORE

: : : : :

19, 20, 21 August 2016 14, 15, 16 October 2016 4, 5, 6 November 2016 16, 17, 18 December 2016 20, 21, 22 January 2017

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Travel Events

24>>

lepakshi utsavalu 2016 receives Various cultural performances were organized to showcase the rich legacy of Lepakshi PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

T

he Government of Andhra Pradesh organised this year’s edition of ‘Lepakshi Utsavalu’, on 27 and 28 February at the MJPBCR School Grounds, Lepakshi, Ananthapuramu District. A roadshow and press conference were convened at the JW Marriott Bangalore on 20 February to announce the same.

The main spokespersons were Shri.

Kona Sasidhar, IAS, Collector and District Magistrate, Ananthapuramu District, along with leading Tollywood cinestar and TDP MLA – Hindupur Shri. Nandamuri Balakrishna, Dr. Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Hon’ble Minister for I & PR, IT & C, Telugu Language & Culture, Govt. of

Voyager’s World > March 2016

A.P and Smt. Paritala Sunitha, Hon’ble Minister for Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Govt. of A.P. A short documentary was shown during the roadshow. The three main tourist spots in Lepakshi that were highlighted during the roadshow were the monolithic Nandi statue, the Veerabadhra Swamy Temple and Jatayu’s site.

The district had got a sanction of Rs. 9 crores from the government to improve the infrastructure. Lepakshi Utsavalu 2016 was planned as a two-day festival that will cater to both pilgrims and tourists through its programmes.

The two-day event focused on boosting the tourism appeal of the Heritage Village Lepakshi and the surrounding region. Shri Kona Sasidhar, along with Shri. Nandamuri Balakrishna, spearheaded the arrangements towards the event, which was attended by ministers, senior government officials, dignitaries from various fields and popular film celebrities. Noted drummer Sivamani and danseusecum-actor Shobana enthralled the audience with their performances.

The preparations were made for the event to be celebrated along the lines of a grand festival, on a much bigger scale compared to the

previous years. Lepakshi Utsavalu 2016 featured a whole range of cultural and sports activities that involved the participation of the local people in events such as Music, Dance, Rangoli, Flower Show, Traditional Mela, Food Festival, Sports, etc.

Extensive promotional activities were undertaken through invitations, advertisements in print media, television, radio, hoardings, signages, posters, mobile advertising, social media including Facebook and YouTube and also roadshows in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. A cycle

25>>

overwhelming response! rally, Hindupur Run, Heritage Run and Vaibhava Sobhaa Yatraa were organised few days prior to the event, with a view to invite participation from the local residents.

The Food Festival at the venue showcased delicacies from the various districts of Andhra Pradesh as well as other states. Traditional art and craft including the Dharmavaram Silk, Lepakshi crafts and other regional handicrafts were also displayed at the event. Nearly 600 artistes from in and around the region performed folk dance, music and other art forms during the two days.

Apart from this, many leading

Tollywood movie stars and popular playback singers and musicians captivated the audiences with live performances. There was a spectacular show of fireworks on both evenings. A special highlight in this year’s programme was the ‘Grama Kridalu’ or the rural sports events that encouraged participants from the nearby areas on both days.

been a lot of developmental activities taking place. The Government has identified tourism as one of the key contributors to the economy. It has identified few festivals to promote tourism and the Lepakshi Utsavalu is one of them. Infrastructure and connectivity will be developed suitably to accommodate the growth of tourism in the state.

Stating that Ananthapuramu is a thriving district which is larger than a few north eastern states, the Collector said, “There is a lot of close connection between Ananthapuramu and Karnataka, especially Bangalore. Post the bifurcation of the state into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, there has

On the first day of Lepakshi Utsavalu, i.e; the 27 February, the event will began with a ‘Gramotsavam’ which involved taking the temple deities on a short tour of the vicinity. In the evening, there was a ‘Sahasra Deepalankaram’ or the lighting of several hundred lamps in the temple. Special poojas were

performed during the two days. 606 Kuchipudi dancers performed at the Nandi Statue, while 600 artistes were part of the ‘Vaibhava Sobhaa Yatraa’ on the first day. There was a Nandi Statue with illumination installed on the highway for tourists to identify the route easily. Several high profile guests including ministers attended the Lepakshi Utsavalu, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri. Chandrababu Naidu, who inaugurated the festival, along with Union Minister of Civil Aviation Shri. Ashok Gajapathi Raju as well as popular artistes from the Telugu film industry. The festival drew 200,000 footfalls during the two days, for which special buses by APSRTC plied from Bangalore.

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Travel Events

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glimpses of iitm KOCHI 2016 This year’s edition of India International Travel Mart (IITM) Kochi was held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium from 14 - 16 January.

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recapitulation of iitm KOLKATA 2016

This year’s edition of India International Travel Mart (IITM) Kolkata was held at the Milan Mela Trade Centre from 4 - 6 March, 2016.

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Voyager’s World > March 2016

asia pacific expected to see surge in m.i.c.e industry The strongest overall growth in M.I.C.E will take place in Asia Pacific, with both group sizes and daily attendees sizes anticipated to increase.

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midst the noise in the market, East & Partners Asia’s (E&P Asia) ‘Asia Corporate T&E Index’ shows that travel and entertainment expenditure of the Top 1000 corporates from 10 Asian markets has gone up from US$1.52 billion to US$1.69 billion, a 11 percent growth versus 2015.

China and India will continue leading the market with their strong forecast growth during 2016. Eight in ten Chinese corporates will increase their T&E expenditure this year and Indian corporates will increase their budget by an average of 8.6%.

Quick Facts - We expect China and India to remain the strongest T&E growth markets into 2016 - Eight out of ten Chinese corporates are expecting their T&E spend to climb by an average of 8.6 percent - 77.9 percent of Indian corporates are forecasting an increase of 8.6 percent - Intra-Asian travel continues to increase, with the MICE segment continuing to represent the largest sector of spend - Event Planners are the preferred route for corporates travel

arrangements - Mind share of the top three airlines continues to increase at the expense of smaller players The T&E report is the result of interviews with CFOs and Corporate Treasurers at Asia’s Top 1000 corporates by revenue in 10 markets (ex Japan), analysed and reported to clients by East every quarter.

Jonathan Chng, Senior Analyst with East & Partners Asia, said,”Besides the core questions asked, this round includes additional special questions which are more in depth in exploring how much weight individual factors have in the decision making process and how it affects the personal travel plans of these C-level executives.”

Asia Pacific cities have the highest occupancy rates in the world for the upcoming year. The law of supply and demand will create interesting dynamics in India and China. In India, the excess construction of global chains has created too much supply, exceeding the demand, thereby creating opportunities for buyers for negotiations.

Meetings and Events Projections The strongest overall growth will take place in Asia Pacific, with both group sizes and daily attendees sizes anticipated to increase. The demand will remain strong though supply vs. demand will vary according to the country. Carlson Wagonlit Travel studies and found that car rental prices will increase modestly though options are limited by local restrictions in some locations that prevent foreign visitors from driving without a local driver’s license.

In those countries, such as China, car rental is typically chauffeured by local drivers. China’s continually developing high speed rail infrastructure garnered a lot of interest from travel buyers in the past two years; they were increasingly interested in using this option instead of air travel where applicable.

CWT Meetings & Events meetings and events agency, has released its 2016 Meetings and Events Forecast (“Forecast”). It predicts positive growth for the industry in the coming 12 months.While the news of overall growth is positive, the report also sounds a note of caution. As

attrition and cancellation terms are becoming stricter, supplier negotiations will be more important than ever to meeting planners.

The fourth annual edition of Forecast provides event planners with comprehensive regional data, including average attendee cost per day and average group size, so they can plan and budget for the coming year.

David Moran, executive vice president, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, said: “Our Forecast is about providing clients with valuable insight for the coming year, so they armed with the most relevant information for their upcoming budgeting and negotiations. Whether they are focused on meetings, events or the widespread global adoption of Strategic Meetings Management, it’s a vital tool in preparing for the year ahead.”

Key findings from different regions around the world include: - The unpredictable economy in Asia Pacific could cause challenges in the region, although stronger demand from China and India could drive up group size and prices.

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- High demand for meetings and events venues in North America is exceeding supply, resulting in a sellers’ market. Careful planning is therefore very important; - Meanwhile, in Europe, buyers are gaining greater negotiating power as the region sees slow but steady growth; - Pockets of high demand will be created around the Rio 2016 Olympics; and Paralympic Games next summer, resulting in a potential shortage of meeting space.

Challenges Abacus, in one of its surveys in the year 2014, had identified some key trends that are anticipated to have an effect on business travel in the next few years. According to the stury, 97% of respondents had received instructions to further tighten business travel policies.

There is no relaxation of the rules in sight, despite the more favourable economic outlook acknowledged by all. 73% had reported business clients implementing policies to decrease the number of business trips. Six in ten clients are extending economy class thresholds to reduce business class travel.

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

73% of business clients have increased their preference to use low cost carriers. Other parameters in the policy include the flight time, booking channel, trip changes, etc.

73% of business travel companies have implemented a business booking

Voyager’s World > March 2016

tool (CBT). 64% of respondents agreed that a good number of travellers want to deal with travel management companies and agencies, with 55% perceiving business travel itineraries to be too complex a task to undertake themselves.

Over 83% of travel management companies and agencies felt that smartphones would have a moderate to significant impact on business.

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

Keeping aside the trends and expectations, let us take a look at the challenges that business travel is burdened with. Rising costs of travel and accommodation seem to be the biggest concern presently.

In the last few years, airfares have gone sky-high, so also the room rates, thereby adversely affecting travel budgets. Going beyond complaining, the need to travel is still there. Employees demand access to first class travel and hotel arrangements; hence companies have to design their travel budgets in a way as to keep costs at a certain level.

While people talk about technology pervading all levels of travel on the one hand, a lot of people still find it difficult to book a LCC flight.

There are several issues pertaining to booking the seat, hand luggage, meals onboard, window seats and making reservations in the first 10 rows, for instance. With varying demands on part of the employees and rising airfare and different airline policies, it is quite a challenge for companies to draw up a costeffective, value for money travel and accommodation plan.

Hence, it is not surprising that businesss these days are resorting to a single-window booking system to take care of all the booking aspects. Some of them also engage a separate travel concierge desk in their organizations. This kind of a set up not only eases the process, but also brings about a lot of deals and discounts in hotels and flights for the employees.

Besides this, companies can also formulate a meticulous travel policy in order to keep a lid on costs. These policies can be about fixing a ceiling on the accommodation category like star hotels, guest houses or serviced apartments and also go on to limiting budget on first class travel and opting for economy class.

Through this, companies will be able to effect a substantial cut in their travel spending. As for those who face disagreement on such conditions, the best alternative would be to re-look at their suppliervendor contracts. Business travel planners can reach a deal with longstanding suppliers and bring about contracts that reward loyalty while ensuring a win-win situation for both the parties.

They can negotiate with the airlines and the hotels for a certain number

of seats and rooms during a certain period and reach an amicable policy while drafting their request for proposals.

Other problems encompass increase in the number of new airlines entering the skies, growing passenger numbers, route expansion, need for trained manpower and infrastructure, all required to grow at the same pace.

As for price sensitivity, airlines have become cost conscience more than just Passenger Revenue by changing the business models constantly. For instance, carriers generate revenue on sale and lease back (wet lease).

Indigo 89 % planes are on lease. Jet Airways is 90%, SpiceJet is 69% and GoAir is 93%.

In order to counter such challenges, this year’s CWT report also offers a range of practical tips for those planning meetings and events in 2016. Tips include: - Plan ahead – be aware that some hotels in high-demand markets no longer hold space when responding to availability requests. Make internal decision makers aware, and decide if you can be flexible on dates.

- Fuel your budget as well as your attendees - F&B continues to be a significant driver of per-attendee costs. Adjust F&B patterns to manage budgets while promoting the healthy alternatives that remain very popular with attendees.

- Tick tock - lead time for registration and venue contracts continues to shrink. However, by increasing the lead time for larger events, event and meeting planners can increase their negotiation power.

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Travel startups...on the upswing!

Each startup needs to be innovative with their products and come up with new products to compete with the big players in the industry and to stay up on the graph.

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Praveen CEO & Co Founder, Triphobo

The Indian travel market accounts to USD 140 Billion annually and a very big market as there are a number of startups looking into various categories like hotel booking, Hotel Meta search, flight booking, activity booking and Trip Planning etc. The expected growth rate is set to be ahead of the current Travel Industry’s growth of about 8% year on year.

I

n a release by Financial Express in December 2015, it was mentioned that Indian startups had strongly cemented their position to capture the attention of stakeholders. Last year had placed India at the third position in the global startup ecosystem with approximately 4200 companies mushrooming. The funding was estimated to have grown by 125% from $2.2 billion in 2014 to $4.9 billion last year, stated a report by Nasscom.

While the startup segment has really proliferated across the country, the travel industry is not lagging behind either. From hotel bookings and last minute itinerary planners to flight booking and foreign exchange, various startups have been formed to cater to the needs of travellers.

Voyager’s World > March 2016

The travel startups sector is a huge market in India with a number of startups in various categories like hotel booking, Hotel Meta search, flight booking, activity booking and Trip Planning. They are now emerging in India every year through the online platform to boost tourism in India. Most of the travel startups are also focusing on more customized and descriptive travel content.

In the earlier days, the scenario in the expansion of travel startups was different; now there has been a drastic change as all the travel startups are expanding on the online platform. In fact, the upcoming startups are also focusing only on online travel.

Some of the challenges faced by this sector have been the size of the market, the scope of the industry and the changing trend of

customers from offline booking to online booking.

Each startup needs to be innovative with its products and must come up with new products and services so as to be able to compete with the big players in the industry. These startups are growing in numbers in India; they are determined to be big players in the industry. The growth of startups is expected to be much higher than that of the travel industry in 2016.

Late last year, PhocusWright had announced a partnership with 33entrepreneurs to seed 10 startups into the Travel Innovation Summit Battleground that took place in November 2015.

Leading up to the Battleground, 33entrepreneurs held a 10-city pitch tour to award early stage startups with the direction and

funding they need to find success in wine and spirit, travel verticals and gastronomy.

Some of the travel startups talk about their businesses, trends and growth opportunities.

Travel startups promoting the tourism industry Bikram S. Sohal, CEO & CoFounder, SavvyMob explains, “ The current travel start-ups are developing disruptive solutions helping different segments of the tourism industry, to name a few innovative ones like SavvyMob is developing a mobile marketplace for selling unsold hotel rooms. Oyo is standardizing the unorganized budget hotel segment. iTraveller lets you discover, plan and book trips. Zoomcars is providing selfdriven cars for people to travel out of town. There are many other

Cover Story

31>> Bikram S. Sohal, CEO & Co-Founder, SavvyMob

The year of 2016 has already seen some big investments in travel.

The digital hotel booking market is expected to grow to $1.8B in 2016 from $800M in 2014 and is the focus area for many of the travel start-ups.

startups who are striving hard to create solutions to promote both domestic and inbound travel.”

Vishal Hanmattekar,Co-Founder, the Blueberry trails says, “Travel startups use social media and content as their key marketing tools. Thus, they put up blogs and information about locations, which ends up inspiring and educating the holiday-er about new destinations and things to do in the destination.”

In the opinion of Aloke Bajpai, CEO, ixigo, “ixigo plays its part in each of these stages--inspiring travellers through its highly curated content, helping users research and compare 100+ travel sites and 60,000+ hotels, allowing users to book a flight or hotel with onetap through its new feature called ixibook and suggesting a lot of indestination things to do, places to visit and eat through a highly curated set of content. There are many new travel startups operating in each of these niche segments, but there is a huge room for all of them to grow and help boost the tourism industry.”

Initiatives through campaigns and promotions Bikram said, “We are working on targeted marketing and promotion campaigns to build awareness of our product with

SMEs and independent travellers.

The marketing activities will be primarily digital advertising and event sponsorships.”

Aloke explains, “Our recent launch

of PNR prediction feature, for which we mined data from over 10 million PNRs over the last two years, helps us to give a real-time prediction of waitlisted train tickets to users and its accuracy is over

A B2B Roadshow for International Travel Suppliers with India’s Top Buyers

Praveen CEO & Co Founder, Triphobo explains, “There has been a drastic difference between the ways travel startups were 10 years ago. Today about 65 percent of people who are planning trips is doing their research online and this has changed the way companies look at their target market.”

“Though there are successful companies like Make my trip in India, the need for more researched and descriptive travel content is growing. These travel portals have become a “Window to the world” for anybody that wants to travel,” he added.

Sameer Shisodia, CEO & Founder, Linger Leisure, says, “Linger is showcasing the idea of local, responsible travel to the mainstream traveller. Travel as an industry can be a game changer, but people have to travel for the right reasons, in the right way.”

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Vishal Hanmattekar, Co-Founder, the Blueberry trails

Travel as an industry is growing by 7% but online travel is growing at 35%. The holiday packages are a $10BN industry in India and personalised holidays is $1BN market. The travel startups are growing at 40% YOY.

90%. As smartphones become ubiquitous and apps become part of our personas, we foresee two more megatrends that strong analytics and machine learning will be fuelling.”

“The emails are to be personalized, contextual emails and notifications by applying knowledge of the search and buying history of travelers. By applying predictive analytics to the big data sets of customer data, apps will start showing more relevant content and customized user experiences for individual app users. We should also start seeing more localized content with Indic languages as well as nuances that solve for local tastes. We will see intelligent virtual assistants emerge in the travel and hospitality sectors, with concierge services becoming more automated and apps solving a lot of issues without speaking to anyone on the phone,” he added.

In the opinion of Vishal, “We are seeing new exciting destinations like Croatia, Slovenia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Myanmar and new

Voyager’s World > March 2016

exciting experiences like Bolivian Salt pans, Wine Trails in Burgundy in France, Black River rafting in New Zealand in a cave with glowworms for company while also focusing on few segments such as honeymoons and babymoons. The campaigns around culinary trails include farmers markets, cooking classes, right from sourcing the food, learning a new cuisine and enjoying the meal.”

“We are striving in making trips more practical by adding important data like transportation, restaurants, activities and hotels.

We are attempting to create a one stop shop for everyone who is planning a trip,” Praveen added.

Market of travel startups Bikram observes that the investment in travel start-ups had picked up only in 2015 with companies like SavvyMob, Stayzilla, Oyo, TripFactory, etc. raising money. The year of 2016 has already seen some big investments in travel with MakeMyTrip and Goibibo raising large rounds from

international players signaling growth in the travel space. The digital hotel booking market is expected to grow to $1.8B in 2016 from $800M in 2014 and is the focus area for many of the travel start-ups.

In the opinion of Aloke,” The travel startup ecosystem in India is getting to act together in terms of all stages of businesses getting the required mentorship, support and capital, right from incubators and accelerators, through angels, seed investors, VC funds, PE funds and Hedge funds.”

“Travel as an industry is growing by 7% but online travel is growing at 35%. The holiday packages are a $10BN industry in India and personalised holidays is $1BN market. The travel startups are growing at 40% YOY.” Vishal says.

According to Sameer, experiential travel is growing across other parts of the country as people seek experiences. He notes that Bangalore is a leader in terms of startups as they explore and

experience a lot, and are looking to go off the beaten track.

In the opinion of Praveen, “The Indian travel market accounts to USD 140 Billion annually and a very big market as there are a number of startups looking into various categories like hotel booking, Hotel Meta search, flight booking, activity booking and Trip Planning etc.

Today, the travel startups are going online and the Indian customer is waking up to the horizons of online travel. The expected growth rate is set to be ahead of the current Travel Industry’s growth of about 8% year on year.”

“We have been selected as an Innovator start-up at Phocuswright Conference India in April 2016,” Bikram says.

“We are part of The Good Travel Initiative where a bunch of small brands coming together to collaborate and reach out to travellers directly. We are also doing events around interesting aspects of travel across cities in

Cover Story

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amadeus launches next startup initiative

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madeus had recently launched its Amadeus Next start-up initiative at the Echelon Thailand 2015 conference last year, the gateway to Asia’s burgeoning tech start-up community.

Amadeus Next leverages Amadeus’ technology, expertise, reach and funding, to evolve new and original ideas in travel, empowering travel startups in Asia Pacific to shape the future of travel. It also serves as a driving force to build an ecosystem of likeminded partners and organisations that are excited about travel technology, and looking to challenge the status quo.

To date, there are six travel technology start-ups on board, including Klook, Orahi and Triposo and TopDocs, a platform for medical tourists to book a seamless medical travel experience. Additionally, JungleVentures, CyberAgent Ventures Techsauce and Hubba, Thailand’s start-up leader in terms of co-working spaces, technology events, technology media and

startup education, have joined Amadeus Next.

Amadeus Next offers start-ups: Technology: Start-ups gain access to Amadeus’ technology and solutions to build and validate the Minimum Viable Product, as well as leverage decades of experience in travel technology.

- Expertise: Start-ups can work with Amadeus experts to incubate and validate new ideas and businesses. They will also receive mentoring and guidance to navigate their way to success - Reach: Start-ups will be able to connect to the right network with Amadeus’ support to test, validate and pilot new business models with Amadeus customers and industry players.

- Funding: Amadeus will help start-ups to connect to investors and venture capital around the world. Globally, Amadeus also has a dedicated Amadeus Venture Fund which offers early stage minority investments in start-ups.

Aloke Bajpai, CEO, ixigo

As smartphones become ubiquitous and apps become part of our personas, we foresee two more megatrends that strong analytics and machine learning will be fuelling. We will see intelligent virtual assistants emerge in the travel and hospitality sectors, with concierge services becoming more automated and apps solving a lot of issues without speaking to anyone on the phone.

Sameer Shisodia, CEO & Founder, Linger Leisure

Experiential travel is growing across other parts of the country as people seek experiences. Bangalore is a leader in terms of startups as they explore and experience a lot, and are looking to go off the beaten track.

India. We hope to grow this into an alternative travel movement soon,” Sameer added.

Travel startups to be big players in the industry Bikram explains, “Every start-up has to go through a growth journey before being a big player. The process is the same as you have to be innovative, move fast and build a superior product, there are no short cuts.”

“The travel startups are focusing on building a great product for their users and have started to keep an eye on monetization too.

As per the data shared by RoC, travel startups have had one of the best profit margins among various e-commerce industries. The rule of thumb is that revenues and cash flows build sustainable businesses and the only companies who have historically managed to scale without revenue is ones that had hundreds of millions of users every month and hence attracted large enough capital to survive,” Aloke says.

Vishal states that the only way that startups can compete with the bigger players is by innovating, coming up with new products and newer ways to find scale while they are at it.

“We are not necessarily trying to “be big” per se, but grow the experiential travel space across the country. Once the number of travellers seeking this different experience reaches a certain size, it will take off in a big way, like it has in Bangalore. For now it is a question of creating a local ecosystem everywhere stories and places that are interesting,” Sameer added.

Challenges Praveen said, “The biggest challenge is the size of the industry and also the scope of the industry.

There are multiple aspects like hotel booking, flight booking, trip planning is also considered travelling.”

“Experiential travel is still a niche

segment outside Bangalore.

The big-name travel outfits are overfunded and focused on grabbing market share through unsustainable pricing, not on travel experiences which is affecting the industry and forcing the traveller to think more about the spend, rather than the experience they are investing their precious time. But people will be tired of this trend and this trend will change in the future,” Sameer says.

In the opinion of Bikram, “The challenge is acquiring the Indian consumer and making them loyal customers. The Indian customer has gone used to the discounting culture because of the eCommerce players. Now they only look for a one-time discount, buy at a cheap rate and then start looking for the next player offering a discount.

So building a loyal and repeated customer base is a challenge.”

Aloke explains, “In the hospitality sector there is a lot of accommodations in India still remaining offline and not bookable in real time plus we also tend to

call up hotels to get booking as a preferred channel while the budget hotel aggregator such as Oyo is a solving part of the problem, we are also playing our role in generating calls, leads and bookings to such small and mid-sized hospitality businesses, tour operators and activity providers. In the cabs business, while Uber and Ola are helping ease the challenges for intra-city travel, there is still a huge opportunity and challenge in the outstation travel bit. We are aggressively working towards aggregating high quality vendors and easing the process to book inter-city travel for users through the ixigo cabs app.”

“Historically, the aviation industry has lagged in terms of overall demand and supply growth and only in the last one year, we see it bouncing back strongly. With the tourism friendly policies of the new government, we hope to see more airports and better connectivity of smaller towns leading to even faster growth in the flights business,” he concluded.

www.voyagersworld.in

Travel Technology

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Five ways to improve your vacation rental technology

Spa at Sinclairs Retreat Dooars - Photo for representational purpose only

Courtesy: Tnooz

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s vacation rentals secure their rightful position as part of the accommodation mainstream, property owners and distributors have an increasing number of technology partners to work with.

Here are five things you should think about before signing on the dotted line.

Ease of access and use Whether you own a single property or a portfolio, one of the most important aspects is how easy the property and channel managements system is to get to. The last thing a property manager needs is a complicated access procedure to get into a system which is too complicated to understand.

If you’re selling vacation rental properties, choice is key. If you have a global reach then a global inventory would make sense. But if you’re business is focused on a specific source market with defined destination preferences, or within a specific vertical, the ability to pick and choose the inventory you list is vital.

It’s about getting the balance right between giving customers enough options for them to make an informed decision without overwhelming them.

Voyager’s World > March 2016

A range of partners covering a range of source markets Having said all that, in order to offer targeted properties for specific markets, the inventory on the system needs to be as broad as possible in terms of property types and size, location, facilities and more.

Channel managers have an important role to play in making sure that your property is made available to the widest possible audience.

You might have very specific reasons for relying on a single site for distribution, but that might be a short-sighted approach. When both the supply of properties coming onto the market and the demand from customers is increasing, a wider reach is needed.

Syncing Instant confirmations of bookings are vital for a number of reasons. The most obvious one is that this avoids double bookings – an increasingly common problem for owners. If your property is double-booked, there is a customer service issue to attend to on the ground, and this can take time and specific skills, both of which might be in limited supply.

And of course double bookings tends to happen on your best properties during peak periods, compounding

the customer service issues. In an increasingly competitive and crowded market how likely is it that a client will give you a second chance if you mess up the first time?

Similarly, if you sell the same property twice, will the owner still give you access to their inventory?

As previously discussed, property owners are spoilt for choice when it comes to potential partners.

Business back-up At the moment, functions such as calendar availability, guest profiling and email marketing are commonplace. But in time disciplines such as yield management, revenue management and dynamic pricing will come to the fore. A technology provider needs to be scalable and built in such a way that these new functions can be integrated without disturbing the current business processes.

In the airline sector, the low-cost carriers brought yield and revenue management to the top table, showing how clever pricing policies can help the bottom line. Vacation rental suppliers with access to market insights and demand patterns need a system which can deliver non-linear pricing models to the relevant point of sales, in a

consistent and reliable manner.

Marketing insights As the vacation rental sector expands and matures, you will need a technology provider who understands not only the market but also marketing. For owners, marketing knowhow is vital, either via your channel manager or standalone. However great your location or facilities, your occupancy will be disappointing if no-one knows about you.

From a dedicated code in a press or TV ad to a tracking pixel for banner ads, the efficacy of any marketing campaign can only be determined by how well it is measured. In time, all tech providers will need to have marketing functionality built into the core of their system.

As vacation rental becomes mainstream, the technology infrastructure behind it also comes to the fore. With a wider choice of partners in the market – from established players in other accommodation verticals adapting their systems for vacation rental to start-ups and new entrants specifically developed for the sector – that decision is more complicated and critical than ever.

This is a viewpoint by Erik Engel, founder and CEO of NextPax.

Travel Technology

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Robots poised TO Take Over Travel by 2020: travelzoo Courtesy: International Meetings Review

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new survey from Travelzoo and a new partnership between Hilton and IBM could mean that robots will be an increasingly important part of the travel experience in the future.

Hilton Worldwide and IBM are collaborating on “Connie,” the first Watson-enabled robot concierge in the hotel industry. Powered by cognitive computing technology platform Watson and WayBlazer, It aims to help guests with special requests and trip planning. How does it work? The Watson platform allows Connie to use a variety of functions, including Dialog, Speech to Text, Text to Speech and a Natural Language Classifier, to greet guests upon arrival and to answer questions about hotel amenities, services and hours of operation.

Connie can also pull information from WayBlazer on local attractions outside the hotel which, combined with Watson’s natural language features, allows the robot to make recommendations to guests.

some are more cautious than others. Travellers from Germany and France were the most robot-shy, while those from China and Brazil were quite positive -- 92% of Chinese respondents were comfortable with the idea. Travellers surveyed cited general efficiency, data retention

and recall as the main advantages to using robots in travel. At the same time, those from Spain worried about losing jobs to robot workers.

Last summer, a hotel in Nagasaki, Japan, also made waves when it opened billing itself as the “world’s first hotel staffed by robots,” the

Associated Press reported at the time. 90% of the staff at the Henn-na hotel in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki, is robotic, with robots handling luggage, acting as porters, explaining breakfast times and locations and calling taxis for guests.

Launching the biggest B2B platform in the

Middle East for outbound travel Where global sellers will meet premium buyers on a one-of-its-kind platform....

Right now Connie is stationed near the reception area at the Hilton McLean in Virginia. Because it uses Watson’s cognitive computing technology, the more guests interact with Connie, the more it can learn, adapt and improve its recommendations. Hilton also said it plans to keep a log of guest questions, as well as Connie’s answers, to help the company improve the guest experience.

Travelzoo Survey: Travellers Expect Robots on Their Vacation by 2020 Hilton’s bid to make a robot concierge comes as a recent survey

by Travelzoo points to increasing acceptance of robot help among travellers. According to the study, which surveyed more than 6,000 travellers in Asia, Europe, North America and South America, nearly 80 percent of respondents expect robots to play a big part in their lives by 2020. Three quarters of respondents said that robots will make their lives significantly better, and almost two thirds of respondents would be comfortable with robots being used in the travel industry. International travellers are largely comfortable with interacting with robots on vacation, although

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FESTIVALS OF 21- 23 April 2016

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he 10th Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival starts from 21 to 23 April, Philippines. This festival incorporates the dragon boat spirit of sportsmanship with a programme that includes a parade, opening ceremony for the teams and exciting races, the awards dinner and farewell party for all participants.The dragon boat race competitions are participated by several dragon boat teams.

The Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival is one of the unique festivals of Philippines.

10th Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival, Boracay, Philippines

24-28 March 2016

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he Byron Bay Bluesfest will be held from 24-28 March, Australia, a contemporary Blues and Roots music festival that showcases music annually from around the world across 120 hectares at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, north of Byron Bay, NSW. This festival is a celebration of music with delicious food and drinks. The Bluesfest has over 200 performances with up to 7 stages, camping for up to 6,000 people, 5 licensed bars and over 100 food and market stalls.

Byron Bay Bluesfest

7-9 April 2016

20-27 March,2016 The Eilat Birds Festival a seven day festival starts from 20-27 March,Israel. The festival is a weeklong event that includes day and night birding tours to all the best sites in southern Israel and bird related activities. The festival is organized by the Israel Ornithological Center of the SPNI and has become one of the international events in the WP birding scene. This event attracts the birding professionals of the highest level to amateur birders.

Eilat Birds Festival Voyager’s World > March 2016

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he Madrid Fusion Manila will be held from 7 to 9 April 2016, Manila, this festival will bring together the chefs from across the globe.

The theme of Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 will be ‘The Manila Galleon: East Meets West’, expanding the gastronomic conversation not only between two countries but between two very different parts of the world.The international Gastronomy Congress will include cooking demonstrations and food tasting, while the Trade Exhibition will feature gourmet products .

Madrid Fusion Manila, Philippines

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THE WORLD 4-13 March,2016

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elbourne Food and Wine Festival is held from 4 to 13 March, Melbourne highlights on the people, produce and places with a strong connection to the local community. The festival is mostly for travel enthusiasts and food lovers. Each year the Food and wine lovers attend more than 200 events that fill Melbourne’s labyrinthine network of restaurants, laneways, lights-turned-down basements and rooftop bars to hidden cellars. The festival programme runs for 17 days throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

22-24 April, 2016

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he Sixth Carnaval International de Victoria will be held from 22to 24 April, Seychelles a festival of three days in Victoria uniting people of different cultures and people from different parts of the world. The National Unity will be the theme of Carnival 2016.

The festival showcases the carnival attractions through the arts, culture, history and heritage of Seychelles. The Carnaval is used to tell the story of Seychelles and its people through arts, design and performances.

Carnaval International de Victoria

22nd Feb- 6th March, 2016 14-20 March, 2016

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he St.Patrick’s Festival starts from 14 to 20 March, Dublin, an annual multi-disciplinary arts and cultural festival. The event includes the St Patrick’s Day Parade, the leading street theatre companies will also showcase stunning performances and comedy shows .The ’I Love My City’ culture programme offers cultural happenings staged in the historic venues, followed by the Festival Céilí, the largest outdoor celebration of traditional Irish dancing. The Festival Treasure Hunt a trail through the Dublin landmark buildings.

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he Taiwan Lantern Festival starts from 22nd Feb to 6th March, Taiwan, one of the most celebrated festivals in different cities of Taiwan every year a gigantic lantern installation is placed in the middle of the plaza of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This event also celebrates the Year of the Monkey under the theme Golden Monkey Offering Peaches. The festival is usually run from the end of February to first two weeks of March with firecrackers and lanterns.

Taiwan Lantern Festival St.Patrick's Festival, Dublin www.voyagersworld.in

WTM Latin America 2016 sees 30% increase in Visitor and Buyer Interest WTM Latin America, which takes place between 29 – 31 March alongside the 45th Braztoa Business Event, has seen phenomenal visitor and buyer interest with pre-registered figures almost 30% up on 2015. This increase in interest will result in WTM Latin America 2016 becoming the best event yet, taking place for a second year running at the Expo Centre Norte, which is conveniently located in the vibrant city centre of Sao Paulo. The event which is expecting 7,000 unique visitors will also exceed the US$363 million in business

deals and contracts that were signed both during the event last year and in the months that followed. The increase in visitor and buyer interest can be accredited to the number of significant initiatives which have

been improved and perfected over the last four years of the event. Among them is the Business Tourism area hosted by ALAGEV (Latin American Association of Event Managers and Corporate Travel). The area was

WTM Latin America 2016 and the 45th Braztoa Business Event 29 - 31 de March | Expo Center Norte - SĂŁo Paulo

We are very pleased to see this huge increase of visitor and buyer interest already. We are certain that the fair this year will bring even more opportunities for participants to source new products, learn more about the industry and close even more business deals, which is the main focus for many delegates that attend.�

Lawrence Reinisch Exhibition Director WTM Latin America

added to the exhibition floor last year to host global travel management companies (TMCs), airlines, hotels and technology suppliers. 100 Brazilian business travel buyers will once again be hosted to conclude deals with the business travel exhibitors. A variety of networking events are available for delegates to take advantage of, including the WTM Buyers’ Club Speed Networking and WTM Hosted Buyers’ Speed Networking sessions, where exhibitors have the chance to meet with the top quality travel buyers from the industry. On top of this there is a dedicated session solely for Exhibitors to meet with leading Latin American media outlets and Bloggers. The vast seminar and

conference programme, which is free to attend, is also key to this huge increase in registrations for the show. Delegates are given the help and guidance to keep up-to-date with all the latest industry trends, forecasts and breaking news.

Flight Talk

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Wi-Fi goes strong at airports!

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Natraj Akella Vice President - Wi-Fi at Tata Teleservices Limited, shares his views on the growing expectation and demand for Wi-Fi in public spots including the airports. mobile devices.

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irport Wi-Fi represents as a top three priority according to SITA’s Report ninth annual global survey Passenger IT Trends Survey. Public Wi-Fi hotspots are slowly emerging as one of the most preferred services for data access on-the-go for customers via their small screen

Tata Docomo has been providing public Wi-Fi services at heavyfootfall areas such as airports, retail chains and malls across India.

It has services in almost all the airports except the Mumbai airport.

In addition to infrastructure, Tata Docomo delivers support services, security and a range of revenue models and value-added services to support these Wi-Fi zones e.g. retailers at airports and location based services.

“We are catering to most of the large airports in the country such as the ones in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. We offer a free usage from 15-30 minutes and also have

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Voyager’s World > March 2016

multiple attractive plans that a user can avail of as a pay-and-use model,” says Natraj Vice President - Wi-Fi at Tata Teleservices Limited.

“We have different business models, but in the case of services to airports, it is broadly a partnership model.

Wi-Fi is a very intensive product.

Some things have to be provided by the location such as electricity, space, equipment, etc.” Their Wi-Fi services have proven very popular in the airports of Tier-2 cities like Pune, Jaipur, Goa and Lucknow as well.

SITA’s Report ninth annual global survey Passenger IT Trends Survey has also given rise to the phenomenon of ‘Magic Hour’.

Airport Wi-Fi-users have created their own version of the ‘magic hour’, when travelling, as they use this time to check mails, access flight information, browse the web and send messages prior to boarding their flight. Although the vast majority (78%) of passengers are generally happy with their travel experience, half of all passengers see room for improvement while 22% report major levels of dissatisfaction.

Passengers have clear views on where they think technology can make a big difference to the travel experience. Top of the wish list is making it easier to compare air fares, with 54% of passengers globally suggesting it should be a priority investment. While some travel markets, such as Europe and the United States, are well served by flight comparison websites, passengers in others find airline by airline comparisons a time consuming process.

In particular, 67% of passengers surveyed in the Middle East and Africa region stated a definite need for investment in this area. Realtime information and in-flight Wi-Fi take up the remaining two places in the top three priority wish list each with 52% of passengers wanting further investment in these areas.

Our journey Most of the time, airports approach us for our services. Our idea is to have a joint proposition. An airport is judged on Wi-Fi services these days.

From a passenger’s convenience point of view, Wi-Fi is one of the top three demands in an airport.

Today, we do not exist without WiFi. Essentially, customers demand Wi-Fi facilities in airports. We select airports which have larger footfalls and also see our ability to serve customers by trying to understand customer behaviour, what they want, what airports want from us, etc.

Cyber-security measures With cybercrime being rampant in today’s inescapable virtual world, security measures are absolutely imperative. “As part of our mobile data network survey, we have found that there is a difference between the Wi-Fi services that we provide and what is expected by corporates. We comply with all network security requirements and also act in accordance with the 2009 Circular by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT); it provides the security guidelines for Wi-Fi service providers. We have network controllers and servers that comply with regulations. That our services are certified by the DoT is sacrosanct and a key value proposition to our clients,” Natraj informs, while adding that the DoT was pretty stringent regardless of the location.

Usage patterns Natraj says that the consumption of Wi-Fi in the airports differs according to the size of the airport. The airport in New Delhi is very big and one can find a lot of international passengers coming in at night. Hence, the usage of Wi-Fi is higher at night time. In the past one year, the number of users and the amount of data has been on the upswing.

Expansion plans Wi-Fi in airports being a regular business for Tata Teleservices, Natraj feels that being de facto leaders in the airport segment has given them an edge to consider opportunities to serve the tourism industry also.

The company also provides Wi-Fi to a lot of government agencies. Being a part of the Wireless Broadband Association, he infers that the Digital India revolution is the best thing that has happened to the Wi-Fi business.

Cruise

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monarch cruise: offering a royal sail with cricket and bollywood!

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Somesh Jagga, CEO, Monarch Cruise, says that with the luxury cruise market growing, India is a promising market having a steady growth rate of over 15% of people cruising every day.

Concept of Monarch Cruise Talking about the launch, Somesh Jagga, CEO of Monarch Cruise, says the product is the first one to be based on Indian cricket and Bollywood, catering to the two of the biggest interests of the Indian audience. “Monarch Cruise offers passengers the experience of a cruise alongside the best of Bollywood and cricket. You could also spend a few days sailing with your

favourite cricket icons and stars. We are constantly adding celebrities for 2017 and recently signed up Brian Lara as one of our cricket icons.

We are also exploring associations with top luxury brands and will have big announcements soon. We have special early bird booking discounts running till 30 April 2016 and also special discounted rates for groups of 10 passengers or more,” he said.

Special features The unique feature of this cruise is the experience of sailing with celebrities from both cricket and Bollywood on a luxury liner. Besides this, it will offer passengers a host of culinary experiences created by illustrious chefs like Sanjeev Kapoor and Vineet Bhatia. We have comedians Vir Das and Papa CJ; world class DJs like NYK and Khushi and Bollywood artistes like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Badshah and Neha Kakkar to entertain the passengers.

Its itinerary will feature some of the destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Penang, Colombo and Kochi. The passengers will have the opportunity to play a little bit of cricket with their favourite cricketers and indulge in a plethora of cuisines.

The cruise offers various cabins like the Executive Suite, Star Suite, Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with window, Oceanview Stateroom with Porthole, Inside Stateroom, Junior Suite, Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony, Ocean Stateroom with window and Deluxe inside stateroom.

Some of the onboard activities are the cooking master class, the mixology master class, the casino gives you a chance to play a game of blackjack and the wine tasting session, the kid’s entertainment section with activities like video games and board games. You can

enjoy a game of Housie and an evening of Karaoke and shopping souvenirs and duty free items.

Main locations The main locations of the cruise travel will be Mumbai, Colombo and Singapore. The other ports of call are Kochi, Phuket, Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

Growth and marketing in India “India is a very promising market with a steady growth rate of over 15% in terms of people who cruise every day. It is expected that a total of 10 million Indians will cruise annually by 2022. The potential in the luxury cruise space is enormous,” he says while adding that they were working with their preferred sales agents across India to do more focused and localized campaigns, with a major emphasis on digital communication for creating awareness.

Launch Pad Samsonite launches Richmond Richmond, the new collection from Samsonite Black Label, answers the call for modern, luxurious luggage through its elegant design, refined materials and rich detailing.

Richmond boasts of many interesting features and are available at leading Samsonite Black Label and Samsonite Exclusive outlets across India. They are made out of scratch resistant Makrolon polycarbonate with genuine leather trimmings; has rich and functional interiors with accessories - shoe bag, shirt; pouch/ garment suiter for cabin and check in luggage; rich leather detailing with brushed light gold components; double wheels with integrated TSA lock for worry free travel and reinforced corners to assure maximum protection.

Swiss Military Backpacks Swiss Military backpacks officially launched to the public in March 2016.

Choko la and Flemingo bring sweetness to Mumbai International Choko la partnered with Flemingo. Choko la chocolates will now be available at Flemingo’s Express stores at Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai to the International & Domestic travelers. Following their success in Delhi & Bangalore airports, Mumbai will be the third airport where Choko la will offer a series of India inspired chocolates in exotic flavors such as Chilli Surprise, Tropical Coconut, Dark Mocha and Fennel Fusion.

www.voyagersworld.in

Happenings

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Cinnamon Lakeside & SriLankan Airlines launch package

Telangana Tourism launches yacht rides at Hussain Sagar

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Khajuraho to host ADTOI 2016 Convention

Odisha Tourism organises roadshow in Mumbai

olombo based five- star resort hotel Cinnamon partnered with SriLankan Airlines to introduce a unique travel package ‘See Shop Party Colombo’ to tap the Indian market. The two nights-three days Colombo package is priced at a mere INR 19,999/- (inclusive of airfare, transfers and full board accommodation). Travellers can avail of this package from Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Trivandrum, Madurai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. The offer has been introduced as a first of many promotional strategies aimed at increasing the number of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka.

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he Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) organised a curtain raiser ‘Pre-Convention Press Meet’ on 2 March in Delhi to announce the forthcoming 7th ADTOI Annual Convention 2016 to be held from 8 -11 April in Khajuraho. The theme for the convention will be ‘Domestic Tourism: Billion+ Opportunities’. Supported by Madhya Pradesh State Tourism, the state’s Chief Minister and the Minister of Tourism are expected to grace the occasion.

Sanjay Aggarwal, Vice President is the Convention Chairman, duly supported by two Co-Chairman Dalip Gupta, Executive Council Member and Subhash Verma, Immediate Past President. The Convention will be held at Hotel Ramada in Khajuraho. Jyoti Kapur, President ADTOI, said, “ADTOI is in the process of rebuilding, reinventing and creating visibility in the trade on pan-India basis. This is the age of cultivating the culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and communication and we should adapt the change in order to take forward our businesses to the next level.”

he Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) launched two new catamaran yachts for the Hussain Sagar Lake at Lumbini Park in Hyderabad. The yachts were inaugurated by tennis star Sania Mirza who is also the brand ambassador for Telangana State.

The new catamaran boats have been procured from the USA and became available to ferry the public from yesterday at the Hussain Sagar Lake. The boats can accommodate 12-15 members per trip.

TSTDC has also introduced the luxury ride package with these two new boats, which will be priced at Rs. 100 per person.

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he Department of Tourism (DoT), Government of Odisha, organised a roadshow in Mumbai yesterday, 22 February, to attract domestic tourists from the commercial capital of the country which is also an important source state for tourism. The objective of the event was to promote the state and its variety of tourism products in the western part of India.

The roadshow gave an educative and cultural insight into one of the oldest civilizations of the world while providing details on Odisha Tourism to tour lovers, tour operators, travel agents, travel writers, journalists, decision makers, etc.

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President inaugurates Muziris project

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he Kerala Tourism’s ambitious Muziris Heritage Project was inaugurated by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 27 February at Kodungallur in Kerala.

The project is a mammoth conservation undertaking based on archaeological findings on the ancient Spice Route linking India’s maritime contacts with contemporary ancient civilizations.The President also released a coffee table book on the Spice Route, which is a first-ever by a tourism board; it is also available on Kindle. The project is an effort to conserve and showcase a culture that existed for over 3000 years when Kerala had established itself as a major centre of spice trade with the ancient port of Muziris as its hub. The port was the centre of trade between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean regions.

Realizing the cultural significance of this ancient maritime trade route, Kerala Tourism launched the ‘Spice Route’ tourism initiative linking 41 countries in Asia and Europe with India, particularly Kerala. Delivering the Presidential address, the Governor of Kerala, Justice P Sathasivam said, “Through the Spice Route project, Kerala Tourism is opening new opportunities to researchers and students in reinventing the rich cultural history of Kerala as a major hub of spice trade in the world.”

MoT launches 'Swachh Paryatan' app

Tourism Council of Bhutan taps Gujarat market

Karnataka wins twin PATWA awards at ITB Berlin

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he ‘Swachh Paryatan Mobile App’ was launched by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture and Minister of State for Civil Aviation in New Delhi on 23 February. This project, which is implemented by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Govt. of India through DeGS and NIC, is available on Google Search Engine as ‘Swachh Paryatan’. It is initially available on Android and will soon be available on Apple and Microsoft too. It enables a citizen to take photos of garbage piled at the monument and send an SMS to the concerned Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Nodal Officer to clear the garbage.

s part of its India agenda, the Tourism Council of Bhutan has focused on Gujarat as one of the key source markets to enhance its presence here this year, through a road show targeted at key travel agents in Ahmedabad. This would be the first of the many initiatives planned to tap the Gujarat market. Indian visitors do not require a visa to visit Bhutan. The Tourism Council of Bhutan will soon launch an online permit system for the Indian traveller, wherein if they come through a Bhutanese tour operator or hoteliers, they can process the permits online in advance. A recent introduction of helicopter services will enable visitors to a panoramic tour of Bhutan’s verdant landscape.

he Department of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka, was conferred with two Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) awards at ITB Berlin 2016. G. Sathyavathi, Director, Karnataka Tourism received the ‘Best Heritage Tourism’ award and the ‘Best Innovative Tourism Minister’ award on behalf of R.V. Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Tourism, Government of Karnataka.

Karnataka Tourism participated in the ITB Berlin to promote the state as the most favourable tourist destination. A large number of tour operators and travel agents visited its stall and have had fruitful interactions with Karnataka Tourism delegates.

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Online Travel

44>>

affimity: aligning interest-specific travel influencers on one platform IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

More than 41% of its user base is in the travel segment, says Affimity’s Co-Founder Parveen Mittal. several hundred thousands of app downloads within six months of launch. More than 90% of users join and engage through Apps. 50% of our user base is from India and the USA, with the rest from all corners of the globe. More importantly, we are seeing a steep increase in user interaction - posts, comments and friends requests.”

I

t is a social network, re-imagined as a collection of interest-specific social channels. Travel is the second largest community on Affimity, after food-lovers as travellers love to share their experiences and pictures of their earlier trips and are keen to discuss their next one.

More than 41% of its user base is on the travel channel. “We already have hundreds of travel influencers, bloggers and organisations on Affimity sharing their experiences,” says its Co-Founder Parveen Mittal.

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Affimity offers an innovative community concept and simple options for travelers to share experiences of their trips. It provides one the option to pick a social hang out or a channel based on one’s interest. “We have a number of common and not so common interests covered and will continue to create additional channels based on user demand,” says Parveen while adding, “We have

The simplified content sharing options among users and bloggers is done by creating a social blogging space for both types of users. Its tailored user base is a perfect fit for bloggers of any genre. The users can feature in the channel leaderboard by being consistently active. Some of the benefits include upgrade of user profile to ‘Featured user’ and they are prominently portrayed in the ‘Buzz’ section.

Campaigns Affimity has done many campaigns to bring interest based communities onboard. The most interesting campaigns were to attract the fitness conscious lot and backpackers on their site.

Promotion Strategies “We use a combination of traditional and innovative marketing techniques. We reach out to influencers who believe in our ideas and spread word among potential users. We also use other mediums like social, blogs and video sharing websites to promote our website.

However, word-of-mouth has been the most effective mean for us,” says Parveen.

Marketing plans Affimity plans to be the platform of choice for anyone looking to share his interests with others. “We are continuously adding channels as well as customizing each of them to suit the requirement of that particular community. Our focus is mostly on the urban young between 18-40 years within India, besides which we are also looking at USA, Brazil, Korea and Europe. We are targeting both print and online media to reach users. We continuously engage with our users and tune the Affimity platform to what they are saying.”

Benefits Affimity foresees as the leader in

Interest-based social networks.

It positions itself as an alternate social media platform for those who prefer to focus on their passion and specific interests and not on mundane conversations. Affimity aims to help its users engage in interesting, provoking, fun content maintaining relevance at all times.

Advantage to travel and tourism industry Affimity helps the travel and tourism industry by bringing the people passionate about travel together on a single channel where they share their experiences and compare their notes on locations, hotels, trips etc. “Affimity helps bring in real time interaction between targeted customer base and travel service providers,” concludes Parveen.

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Top Appointments

45>> Nitin Kapoor

Ajay Anand

General Manager Optus Hometel Bhiwadi

Director of Culinary Pullman Novotel New Delhi

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he Optus Hometel Bhiwadi part of Sarovar Hotels & Resorts appoints Nitin Kapoor as the General Manager. He has more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

Prior to this, he has worked with Optus Sarovar Premiere Gurgaon as the Executive Assistant Manager.

C

hef Ajay Anand joins Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity as the Director of Culinary. He has worked with the Taj Group of Hotels. He has an experience of more than 15 years in the hospitality industry. He has been also associated with Luxury Class Carnival Ships.

Daisy Basumatari

Vinay Singh

Manager-Public Relations Sarovar Hotels & Resorts

Director of Sales & Marketing The St. Regis Mumbai

D

aisy Basumatari joins Sarovar Hotels & Resorts as Manager - Public Relations.

She brings with her an experience of over 7 years working with PR agencies like percept profile, perfect relations where she worked on hospitality brands like The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts, lebua Hotels & Resorts.

T

he St.Regis Mumbai appoints Vinay Singh as the Director of Sales & Marketing, he has an experience of over 13 years across international and domestic hotel companies and standalone properties. In his previous role, he worked as Director of Sales & Director of Sales & Marketing, Westin Mumbai.

Gaurav Singh

Ritesh Choudhary

General Manager Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield

by Marriott, Bangalore

Director Food & Beverage The Taj Mahal Palace

R

itesh Choudhary has been appointed as the Director, Food and Beverage of The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, he will be responsible to handle all aspects of food and beverage.

He is associated with the Taj Group for over a decade and also worked with the Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts.

G

aurav Singh has been appointed as the General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru. He has worked with the ITC Hotels Delhi, Oberoi Amarvilas Agra, Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur, Leela Kempinski Mumbai.Prior to this, he worked as the General Manager of Courtyard

by Marriott, Ahmedabad.

Ujjawal Wal

Sonia Chaturvedi

Director of Sales & Marketing Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield

by Marriott, Bangalore

Director of Operations Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield

by Marriott, Bangalore

T

he Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield

by Marriott, Bengaluru appoints Sonika Chaturvedi as the Director of Operations.

Prior to this, she has worked as the Director of Human Resources for Marriott International, Whitefield. She also has worked for brands like Hutchison, Aircel, Hilton Golden Palms and Taj West End.

U

jjwal Wal has been appointed as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru. He has worked with various brands like Intercontinental Hotels,Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah. Prior to this, he has worked as the Director of Sales at Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad.

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NETWORKING ISThe THE neTwOrkInG Is ke KEY y March 2016

Arpil 2016

May 2016

June 2016

March2016 17, 18, 19, 20 Int’l Tourism and Travel Trade Fair Sweden

17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Outbound Travel Roadshow Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai

29, 30, 31 World Travel Market Latin America Sao Paulo, Brazil

April 2016

May 2016

March 30, 31 April 1 Ukraine International Travel & Tourism Ukraine

30 April 1, 2, 3 May Outbound Travel Roadshow Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai

6, 7, 8

24, 25, 26, 27

World Travel Market Africa Cape Town, South Africa

Next Travel Trade Exchange Mexico

18, 19, 20

22, 23, 24 Himachal Travel Mart Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

T R A V E L

M A R T

WTM Connect Asia Penang, Malaysia

23, 24, 25

25, 26, 27, 28

WTM Connect China Hainan Island, China

Arabian Travel Market Dubai

June 2016 3, 4, 5 Kilifair Moshi,Tanzania

15, 16, 17 ibtm america Nashville, USA

16, 17, 18, 19

July 2016 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 GBTA Convention 2016 Denver, USA

21, 22 Global Panorama Showcase Kolkata

28, 29

ITE Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Global Panorama Showcase Chandigarh

9, 10, 11, 12

29, 30, 31

Korea World Travel Fair (KOTFA) COEX, Seoul, South Korea

India International Travel Mart Chennai

July 2016