Voyager's World November'17

Vol XV

Issue I

Pages 48

November 2017

Rs 60

Vol XV

Issue I

Pages 48

November 2017

g n i l e e h Freew

Rs 60

. . k c a r t e h t n w do

e! t i r s e u l o bicyche new fav are t

Voyager’s World

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• SIC Hong Kong city night tour - One Way Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, Star Ferry Ride from HK to Kowloon, Old Clock Tower, and Symphony of Light Show - During the visit in the Peak, we are now providing an option for guest to explore Madame Tussauds at own expenses • Ferry tickets (Hong Kong - Macao)

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6>>

Breakaway on the bicycle!

T

ours of a self-exploratory nature such as self-drive cars and cycles are fast gaining immense popularity among Indian travellers. Clearly, there is a preferential shift from guided itineraries and chauffeur-driven vehicles to more adventurous and free modes of travel. The humble bicycle has now evolved into a glamourous vehicle going beyond its eco-friendly and easy-on-the-pocket image. It has gone on from inspiring poets, novelists and filmmakers to becoming the latest muse of travel companies.

The new age explorer is now seemingly open to seeing new places at his own pace, on his own vehicle. Hence, in this issue, we have examined the latest trends in cycle tours across the world and how Indians are lapping up the idea while exploring a place.

In addition, there are interviews with NTO representatives, hoteliers and an inquiry into boutique hotel trends in the country.

Happy Reading....

Warm Regards

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

Managing Editor

Associate Editor

Creative Head

Senior Designer

Rohit Hangal rohit@voyagersworld.in

EDIT

Assistant Editor

Anju Anna Alex Irene Susan Eapen anju.alex@voyagersworld.in irene@voyagersworld.in

Shyam Vishnot Dinesh Kotian shyam@voyagersworld.in dinesh@spheretravelmedia.com

ORIA

L

Published By

Advertising & Marketing

ADVERTISING CIRCU & LATIO N

07 12

Associate Editor

Priyamvadha Balaram priyamvadha@voyagersworld.in

Mobile +91-9844092150 advertising@voyagersworld.in

Industry Buzz Hospitality Boutique hotel trends, interviews

16

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

Incredible India Adventure travel, women in travel

19

23

India Outbound Destination, new tourism products

Cover Story Cycle tours

45

Top Appointments

fro A m Po So st ut ca h rd Af ric a

Cover Credits: Š Ottawa Tourism

SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM

Kruger_Lion Walking

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Industry Buzz

7>>

FTAs up by 18.1% in October 2017 over last year PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

T

he following are the important highlights regarding Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and FTAs on e-Tourist Visa from tourism during the month of October 2017:· The number of FTAs in October 2017 was 8.76 lakh as compared to FTAs of 7.42 lakh in October 2016 and 6.83 lakh in October 2015.

Visa in October 2017 was as follows: UK (18.2%), USA (9.7%), France (6.3%), Germany (6.0%), Australia (4.3%), Russian Federation (4.1%), Canada (3.9%), Thailand (3.7%), China (3.7%), Korea (Rep.of) (2.6%), Spain (2.3%), Oman (2.2%),

Italy (2.2%), Netherlands (1.9%) and Malaysia (1.6%). · Percentage share of top 15 airports in FTAs on e-Tourist Visa in October 2017 was as follows: New Delhi (53.0%), Mumbai(16.6%),

Bengaluru (5.5%), Chennai (5.3%), Dabolim (Goa) (4.5%), Kochi (3.5%), Kolkata (2.5%), Hyderabad (2.4%), Amritsar (2.0%), Trivandrum (1.1%), Ahmedabad (1.0%), Jaipur (0.7%), Gaya (0.6%), Calicut (0.4%) and Trichy (0.4%).

·The growth rate in FTAs in October 2017 over October 2016 has increased to 18.1%, compared to 8.6% in October, 2016 over October 2015. · FTAs during the period JanuaryOctober 2017 were 79.96 lakh with a growth of 15.8% over same period of the previous year, compared to FTAs of 69.05 lakh with a growth of 9.6% in January- October 2016 over January- October 2015. ·The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during October 2017 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (21.66%) followed by USA (11.57%), UK (10.23%), Sri Lanka (3.79%), Canada (3.36%), Germany (3.17%), Australia (3.07%), France (2.81%), Russian Fed. (2.81%), Malaysia (2.76%), Japan (2.44%), Thailand (2.10%), China (1.93%), Nepal (1.66%) and Rep. of Korea (1.48%)

A preferred network of elite, high-performance travel agents.

· Percentage share of FTAs in India in October 2017 in 15 airports was highest at Delhi (32.56%) followed

by Mumbai (14.02%), Haridaspur Land Check Post (11.29%), Chennai (6.10%), Bengaluru (5.19%), Kolkata (4.55%), Gede Rail Land Check Post (3.02%), Cochin (2.70%), Goa (2.58%), Hyderabad (2.53%), Sonauli Land Check Post (1.86%), Ahmedabad (1.77%), Ghojadanga Land Check Post (1.64%), Amritsar (1.53%) and Trivandrum (1.20%).

· Percentage share of top 15 source countries availing e- Tourist

Represented in India by: roomsXML Solutions Limited

pijoli.com 17 009/quiksel.com

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on e-Tourist Visa In October 2017, a total of 1.76 lakh foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1.05 lakh in October 2016 registering a growth of 67.3%.

www.voyagersworld.in

Industry Buzz Iceland Travel wins ‘Iceland’s leading Destination Management Company 2017’

I

8>> Fairfield by Marriot opens in Coimbatore

T

he Marriott International recently launched Fairfield by Marriott, Coimbatore with 126 guest rooms with fully equipped amenities including high speed Wi-Fi connectivity. The hotel also has banqueting and meeting room facilities and a fitness center. On the occasion of the launch, Neeraj Govil, Area Vice-President, South Asia, Marriott International Inc, added, “We believe the market is ideal for Fairfield, which is a brand that enables purpose-driven travel and delivers optimized value at a great price. As part of our expansion plans across the growing Tier 2 markets in India, we foresee this property to be the favourite with the business and leisure travellers in the city.”

celand Travel won the ‘Iceland’s leading Destination Management Company 2017’ by World Travel Awards recently.

Jakobina Gudmundsdottir, Director of Sales & Marketing, Iceland Travel, says, “Our aim is to continue providing our expertise and excellent professional service to our clients and partners.”

Kerala Tourism launches #GoKerala campaign

2nd edition of IFFAM to take place in December

T

T

he 2nd International Film Festival and Awards Macao (IFFAM) will take place from 8 -14 December to facilitate the networking of local and international industry professionals. IFFAM aims at promoting Macao as an epicentre of cultural tourism and international exchange and paving the way for future development of Macao’s film and creative industries, besides providing opportunities for young cineastes in Macao to enter the mainland market while attracting the Mainland’s rising directors to share thoughts in Macao. Hollywood star Jeremy ‘Hawkeye’ Renner is announced to be the Talent Ambassador for this year’s IFFAM.

BLS International inks pact with Embassy of Algeria

B

LS International Services Ltd. signed the contract with the Embassy of the People's Republic of Algeria in India by way of which the former will provide visa outsourcing and consular services to the latter through five visa application and attestation centres in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Trivandrum.

he Tourism Department of Kerala launched a unique marketing campaign called ‘#GoKerala’ in association with HolidayIQ, under which five lucky couples will get a chance to win a 10-day, allexpense paid trip to Kerala and visit unexplored and pristine destinations of Kerala. #GoKerala campaign is a content-led, multiple platform campaign with a dedicated microsite, integrated touch points and targeted reach. The experiential campaign is completely powered by the holiday experiences and reviews of authentic travellers across the country.

It has been live on all social platforms.

Jaagir Lodge Dudhwa opens in Uttar Pradesh

T

he Ultimate Travelling Camp (TUTC) launched a new jungle lodge safari – Jaagir Lodge Dudhwa - located in the rainforests of the Terai in Uttar Pradesh. The TUTC Jaagir Lodge is a farmstead housing seven luxury suites; it will soon open two luxury villas and four stilted villas.

Rajnish Sabharwal, COO, TUTC, said, “We are expecting to enter the untapped wilderness tourism space while we continue to acquaint travelers with new experiences and exceptional locations in India.”

Drishti Marine's ferries to start service from November

D

rishti Marine, Goa's life-guarding organisation, expanded its operations in the state with premium ferry services in Goa. Tourists and local residents can now hop onto a 40-seater luxury catamaran and take in the sights of coastal Goa while they cruise along the sea to their next destination. The ferry services will be operational in Goa in November 2017.

Drishti Ferry has acquired two luxurious 40-seater, high-speed catamarans which will ferry commuters between designated pick-up points. The passenger ferries -Drishti Two and Drishti Three- will enable passengers to hitch a ride between Panaji, Baga, Old Goa, Fort Aguada in Sinquerim and Dabolim. They will travel within the state daily.

Voyager’s World > November 2017

BECOME A JOINT MARKETING PARTNER WITH SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM

And open up a world of new opportunities Have a creative idea to market South African holidays? Write to us! South African Tourism will support you with 40% of the marketing budget What to include in your application: •

Online, print, television and WOM for consideration/ awareness part of campaign

•

Please note, all media selections will be audited by our buying agency to ensure that we are speaking to our target market

•

Rates, once checked by our agency, will not be negotiated further

•

Please note our standard JMA Terms and Conditions regarding ROI, proof and third-party invoicing will apply

•

Please stipulate what additional avenues and value adds will be available for SA Tourism to use

Tips on campaign content: •

All packages should be for nine nights or above, out of which five nights should be in places other than Cape Town and Johannesburg

•

Highlight activities/specials about a small town in South Africa e.g. Hermanus, Oudtshoorn, Nelspruit etc.

•

Itineraries should have a minimum of three activities

•

All packages to be booked with a DMC that is a member of SATSA

•

South Africa must be seen as the best adventure and wildlife destination in the world. You can develop holiday packages that are fun, memorable, engaging and easy

•

A mechanism on how to distribute generic information on South Africa – it could be about adventure, food, safari, etc.

•

A mechanism on how to depict value for money – NOT selling the destination as a cheap option

•

Packages need to be deal driven

Send your applications to alpa@southafrica.net

Visit www.southafrica.net

Industry Buzz

DoT, Philippines organises PHILINDEX 2017 across metros

10>> Rahul Lall appointed Secretary General for FHRAI

R

ahul Lall has been appointed as the new Secretary General for the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). He brings with him over 30 years of hotel experience across the renowned hotel chains in the country.

T

he Department of Tourism (DoT), The Philippines organised ‘PHILINDEX 2017’, a four-city roadshow in Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Lucknow, along with travel partners from Singapore Airlines, Philippines Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Shroff International Travel Care Inc. Raymund Glen A. Agustin, Officer-in-Charge, Office of Product and Market Development, DoT Philippines says, “India is a very important market for us especially with a growth of 20% in Indian arrivals during January-August, 2017, in comparison with the same months last year. We are looking forward to welcome 100,000 Indian tourists by 2017.”

A professional hotelier, he has worked with the Oberoi Group of Hotels for 15 years and thereafter with Sarovar Hotels. He has been in various capacities as General Manager, Area Director and Vice President Operations. He has over seen preopening and successful openings of various hotels.

Prior to joining FHRAI he held the role of the Vice President Operations for the Dangayach Group of Hotels (Marriott Jaipur, Ramada Jaipur, Chomu Palace Hotel Jaipur, Four Points by Sheraton Agra and Park Plaza, Jaipur)

IndiGo expands connections from Rajamundry, Tirupati n October, IndiGo added 63 new connections to connect Tirupati and Rajamundry on its existing network of Airbus 320s and ATRs. The airline will connect Tirupati and Rajamundry to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Dubai, Muscat, Singapore among other cities via Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mangalore. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “We are looking at providing affordable fares on these flights for 6E travellers.”

reebo Hotels recently launched ‘InstaConnect WiFi’ for its guests to automatically connect to the hotels’ WiFi network at over 50 Treebo properties and will soon expand it across its portfolio of 300 Treebo Hotels.

Khilan Haria, Head-Product, Treebo Hotels, said, “Through InstaConnect WiFi’ the guests can now access WiFi with just one time mobile number.”

Irrespective of their mode of booking- app, website or walk-in, the guests will now be able to access the hotel WiFi by simply using their mobile number.

E

thiopian Airlines launched its youngest and Africa's first modern operating fleet B787-9 Dreamliner operation to Delhi on 28 October and will soon launch it in Mumbai as well.

The Dreamliner fleet is an integration of design and technology with unique features of biggest windows in the sky, high ceiling, less noise, distinctive lighting and higher air humidity.

Israel sees 34% growth in Indian arrivals from January to October 2017

Tadesse Tilahun, Regional Director, Indian Sub-continent, said, “Once again, we are proud to celebrate yet another first with the introduction of the cutting-edge Africa’s first 787-9 into Indian Market.”

F

or the second year in a row, Israel broke its tourism record in India along with a three million tourists arrival mark this year. More than 49,000 Indians have already visited Israel until October 2017 marking a growth of 34% from January to October vis-à-vis the same period last year as per statistics released by Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT).

Voyager’s World > November 2017

T

Ethiopian to launch 787-9 operation to Mumbai

I

Hassan Madah – Director, IMOT, said, “This has been the best year of incoming tourist arrivals for Israel and India continues to be an important contributor for us. Our effort towards promoting Israel as a dynamic holiday destination as opposed to its otherwise restricted perception as a religious destination is yielding positive results and we are witnessing successful outcomes of our increased investments in the Indian market.

Tourism is an important contributor to the Israeli economy and since the beginning of the year, tourism has brought in $4.1 billion into the economy. In 2016, 45,000 Indians visited Israel and we have surpassed that number by October itself this year. We hope to have 60,000 Indian arrivals to Israel by end of 2017.”

Treebo Hotels launches ‘InstaConnect WiFi’

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board empanels India City Walks

M Accolade for Ramada sales head

S

achin KS, Director - Sales & Head Travel Trade South, Ramada Bangalore, won the 'Most Admired Sales & Marketing Professional of the Year' award at the South India's Best Hotel Awards at the Taj Vivanta, Bangalore in October 2017.

adhya Pradesh Tourism Board empanelled ‘India City Walks’ for curation and operation of heritage walks and content driven tourism in several cities of Madhya Pradesh - Khajuraho, Orchha, Mandu, and Bhopal. ‘India City Walks’ intends to showcase Madhya Pradesh’s rich heritage through storytelling and create experiential delivery of tours for showcasing living heritage, which is not just conceptual but has intangible aspects like regions language, lifestyles, ceremonies, festivities, cultures, etc. The heritage walking tours will focus on unique story, develop visitor experience, preserve the assets of the region and increase footprints.

Hospitality

12>>

Boutique Hotels gain momentum in Indian market IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Boutique hotels are fast catching up in the Indian hospitality space and the segment is poised to witness

© Pugdundee Safaris

a steady rise in the near future, say hoteliers in an interview with Voyager's World.

Kush Kapoor, Area General Manager – Roseate Hotels & Resorts The concept of boutique hotels is new in the Indian market but we see a steady rise by the end of 2018 with newer hotels added in this category. The lifestyle services in the hotel can always retain guests within the property. Guests in today’s era are well travelled and cosmopolitan always looking for a nouvelle concept rather than just a stay.

B

outique hotels in the Indian hospitality industry are still in the nascent stage and with the number of boutique hotels launching in the Indian market.

The concept of boutique hotels is growing over the years and will continue to grow in the future.

Manav Khanduja, Managing Director, Pugdundee Safaris, says, “We do think that the concept of boutique properties is growing over the years. Today’s traveller is more discerning and seeks an authentic

Voyager’s World > November 2017

experience rather than just a ‘cookie cutter’ approach. In addition, they also seek accommodation that is environmentally and socially conscious.”

Kush Kapoor, Area General Manager – Roseate Hotels & Resorts explains, “The concept of boutique hotels is still relatively a new concept in the Indian market but we foresee a slow and steady rise by the end of 2018, especially with the newer hotels in the boutique space is being added.”

Manav states that the growth patterns for boutique hotels have been good. We expect to grow to about 20% this year including all the boutique hotels in terms of Indian clients.

Marketing plans Kush says, “We have a lot of promotions like for our rooms, banquet and food and beverage outlets namely DEL – all day bistro, Roasted by Roseate – patisserie and boulangerie, Tara our roof top Japanese Lounge, ChidyaGhar

Bar and recently launched Kheer – Indian specialty restaurant par excellence. “ “We are also focusing on the main stream and digital media due to their extensive reach,” he added.

Manav observes that we mainly use digital mediums for our marketing and promotions. For us press coverage and word of mouth also works very well for us.

Segments In the opinion of Kush, “Our focus is on MICE for Roseate House

Hospitality

13>> Manav Khanduja, MD , Pugdundee Safaris

Boutique hotels are growing in terms of growth and we are expecting to grow around 20% this year for all our boutique hotels. The concept of boutique properties is growing over the years. A traveller nowadays is more discerning, seeks an authentic experience and also prefers accommodations that are environmentally and socially conscious. and weddings and leisure for The Roseate.”

“We focus on leisure and bespoke wildlife programs. As our lodges have small inventory we have more of FIT and small group focused,” Manav added.

Expansion plans Kush says ,“In India, Roseate Hotels & Resorts under Bird Hospitality has a firm pipeline of three luxury and upscale properties starting with Rishikesh followed by Jaipur and Goa. The Roseate and Roseate House both fall under boutique

lifestyle hotels. “ Manav explains,” We have plans to launch new properties as we are looking at developing more nature based properties in remote and lesser developed areas of India.”

Kind of travellers Kush explains, “Roseate House being a business hotel attracts mostly corporates from metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai and U.S, Europe and S.E Asia while The Roseate targets leisure travellers mostly from international market

like USA, Europe and Australia and in domestic market mostly Delhi NCR.” “At Roseate House, the guests stay pattern varies from an overnight stay to even a few months depending on the purpose of business visit. The Roseate being a resort on the other hand has its guests staying mostly between two to three days on an average,” he added.

Manav said, “Being a wildlife property, we usually get keen wildlifers and people looking to get away from the hustle bustle of city

life. The duration of the traveller ranges from three nights to a fortnight as many like to cover more than one destination.”

Upcoming trends Kush says, “Some of the upcoming trends we have noticed are the inclusion of lifestyle services at the hotel to retain guests within the property. The Roseate offers a range of lifestyle services ranging from segway rides, temple ceremony to a library and organic farm visits.

Roseate House offers its guests an inhouse cinema hall and a golf cart ride within Aerocity.”

Three ways to use customer referrals to amplify your marketing Courtesy: Tnooz.com

This is a viewpoint from Geoffrey Ryskamp, principal of hospitality, travel, and leisure at Medallia.

W

ord-of-mouth.

If the hospitality industry could invent a perpetual motion machine, this would be its fuel. According to Nielsen, 92 percent of customers trust referrals from friends, and people are four times more likely to buy a product when they are referred to it. Word-of-mouth keeps business moving forward, with both new referrals and past customers coming back over and over.

It’s easy to imagine why in the travel and leisure industry: Knowing the ins and outs of a new travel destination sets peoples’ minds at ease during a time they want to de-stress. So how can businesses capitalize on this high rate of return?

The key is personalization.

Businesses can’t rely on customers to happen to discuss their brand.

They must create opportunities for people to tell their friends. And when these encounters feel like

personal incentives, they are not only an effective way to drive in new business via referrals — when done well, they keep your existing customers engaged too. In a recent study conducted in collaboration with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Medallia looked at what companies can do to increase referral rates. Each option has positive results, but the personalized campaign was most effective.

Option one: refer a friend For the study, a local business— in this case an athletic club—ran an experiment with 13,000 of its customers. As a control group, customers were asked to refer friends by providing the business the names and email addresses of other potential patrons. While this basic method indeed drove results, they were modest at 0.4 percent of customers providing at least one referral.

Option two: incentivized referrals In this group, the business sent out requests for referrals, and they sweetened the deal: Referrers could get three free passes to share by providing friends’ names and email addresses. By offering the original customer a perk, referrals went up to 1.9 percent.

Option three: earned referrals In the final group, customers were offered the same incentive: three free passes to share with friends.

But the referral request was personalized; it told customers exactly how often they had visited the athletic club in the past month, and that they had earned the passes based on those visits.

Even though the resulting offer in this group was identical to group two, the results were very different.

When patrons got the personalized option, nearly 5 percent made a referral. That represents 2.5 times

the referral rate of group two and 12 times that of group one.

Perhaps more important than just uptick in referrals, this method kept current customers the most engaged as well.In this study, patrons

that

made

a

referral

used the business’ services more often the next month compared to customers that did not make a referral.

This results in a virtuous cycle, which brings in new customers and strengthens a brand’s relationship with its existing clientele.

A great referral program is much more

than

a

method

to

get

some fresh marketing and sales opportunities. By giving current customers a personalized incentive to spread the word, businesses are communicating to customers how much they mean to the company.

www.voyagersworld.in

Hospitality

14>>

Justa Hotels & Resorts keen to tap

millennial segment IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Rohit Katyal, Director- National Sales, juSTa Hotels & Resorts, reveals expansion plans of the group besides talking about latest industry trends.

Presently we have two properties to be launched shortly with a few more properties in the pipeline.

Besides our regular profile of travellers , we have also observed that the millennial and the LGBT community are exploring India.

This segment of travellers is still in the infancy stage and set to grow in quite a bit.

Indian Market We witnessed a fairly good year with some good traffic for the hospitality and travel industry in 2016. We also noticed a prelude to the growth in numbers that we got to see in the first half of 2017.

We are confident that the numbers will continue to grow in the coming year.

Some of the trends we have seen are that the spending power of the famed working class is increasing especially with the changes in relaxations in policies as well as access through technology as people are travelling more within the country and internationally.

Now that the era of off and peak season is soon diminishing and

this is a positive sign for the industry.

Marketing plans We will continue with our plans of targeted marketing plans distributed amongst the offline and online channels available to us.

Segments Some of the segments we are focusing are on Groups and Series, Weddings, Conferences and OffSites The Indian hospitality industry is growing with a number of properties coming up every year with an increase in growth year on year. Do you think the hospitality market will continue to grow over

the years?

The Indian hospitality industry has seen an exponential growth in the last decade with the existing chains expanding and new as well as international chains setting their footprints in the country. It can be said with a certain amount of certainty from available data that this growth will stabilize as the space is growing competitive with many stand-alone hotels either aligning themselves with chains or aggregators for better representation and saturation of oversupply creeping in tier 1 & 2 cities. The opportunity is still there in the smaller towns and unique destinations which are being explored and developed.

Digital travel drives distribution technology in mid-segment PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Aditya Sanghi, Co-founder & CEO, Hotelogix, talks about how the hotel distribution segment has evolved in the last 8-10 years in mid and small segments.

Evolution of hotel distribution in the last 10 years "Hotelogix was started in 2008 with the Founder Prabhash Bhatnagar.

Prabhash and I are co-founders.

Voyager’s World > November 2017

Earlier he used to give regular run-of-the-mill web suggestions to businesses and frequently to hotels. While doing that, he sensed a need in the mid-segment to small-segment, for a complete solution for hotels to manage and help them sell. Then this company was started with us putting up the concept on the website. To our pleasant surprise, we got enquiries from all over the world, saying this is what makes sense to them. Upon analysis, we realised it was because digital travel was becoming popular and the direct beneficiary of digital travel was the small mid-segment hotel. Big and established brands have a lot of resources, teams and channels in place to market

themselves and the brands have become so big that people know them. But for an unknown brand to intercept an unknown traveller, the online medium became a costeffective way. Just list yourself on Booking.com and any unknown traveller will contact. When they started to get business, they began

competing with the established brands. The evolution was that the traveller had a similar service level expectation. For instance, if I am booking a known hotel as against an unknown hotel, my expectation will be similar. To meet these, it became more important for them to automate the internal systems.

Hospitality

15>> Depending upon the geography from advanced countries to developing and under-developed countries, the need becomes that much stronger because the consumer is that much more aware and so is the hotelier."

"As this service level expectation grew, so did the competition. The mid-service segment became more competitive and relevant to the industry. 10 years back, technology service providers would not look at a 20-room hotel and not acquire them as primary customers. They would always focus on the four and five star properties. But this market became very lucrative and important. In this whole automation bid, I found a similar problem in North America, which I consider to be the most advanced country.

So we decided to come out with a solution that can be sold globally and wanted to send it to people who needed it first."

Gaps in the segment "The multiple departments were not automated within themselves.

If a hotel does not have automation in its front desk/restaurant/ housekeeping of a hotel, it can

lead to multiple issues. They don’t know if the room is checked out or if it is dirty. If a traveller books a room with a breakfast and lunch and has already paid for it, it is not captured completely as the F&B is not in sync with the front desk reservations. To give consistent guest experience, wherein the guest should not feel that he is not being served with the promises made to him on a repeated basis, automation becomes imperative.

Internal operations became a big issue as the traveller’s service level expectations have increased. 10 years ago, if I had checked into a hotel for Rs. 2000, I would say I am paying less, so I deserve less. Today, a guest pays the tariff but demands what he is being promised."

"Secondly, if these players were not present on these online sales channels like MMT, Expedia, Booking.com, they would lose out on business. So distribution became very important. We were solving that one system that helps them manage their internal operations and grow their business by connecting them to the sales and marketing

channels. That was the first level of product line that we had."

"Then the next level of product line was, because the industry continued to become mature, the review media started becoming stronger. Guest feedback in the USA is a way of life.

It is not that you will give feedback when you are really ecstatic or very depressed or disappointed. You feel obligated to give a feedback on even a normal experience. As review media became stronger, it became more difficult for people to live with and get business without fulfilling their brand promise. So, an independent hotel which might be run by people either for the love of hospitality or as a real estate business, the commitment in the two intents is very different. Those who don’t rectify it will be left behind as the review media acts a level playing field."

"Other technologies became more sophisticated and they started to target this segment. As a result, we became an automatic beneficiary as most of these technologies will become more relevant if they are

integrated with an operational tool like ours.That is to say, if a review collection tool is available, it becomes more potent and effective if it is integrated with a system like ours as our system will say that these are the people who have checked out, so go and collect reviews from them. There are a lot of services that want to sell to this segment. So, it started with in-house automation and then it evolved into being able to connect to the online sales channel which is a big issue today and supporting services are wanted for enhancing their business."

Trends "The big change that I see is the infusion of millennial traveller.

Factors as the decision making approach, lifestyles, expectations and average lengths of stay in a hotel have become different with millennials. Hotels need to understand this market to tap this segment. Hostels are also expected to evolve here and in North America; they are well evolved in Europe. They will develop to become organised businesses," he signed off.

HIREAVILLA steps up marketing strategy to increase userbase IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Saagar Panchal, CEO and Founder of Hireavilla, talks about how the concept of villa rentals is fast catching up in the country.

Each of the vacation rental destinations needs to be marketed differently depending upon various factors like the location of the rental homes and location of the people who are likely to visit the rental homes.

H

ireavilla was launched in June 2016, by the year end, we received more than 300 bookings, catering to 2000+customers. With the awareness of the people about vacation home rentals our business started to grow.

We have noticed those who are looking for rentals like school/ college trips during summers, family vacations during Diwali or summers, peak season for wedding ceremonies i.e. during year end, etc.

Some of the well known weekend getaways are in Lonavala, Alibaug, Karjat, Panchgani, North Goa, Kasauli, Mukteshwar, Coorg, Kodaikanal, Kerala.

Villa rentals as a concept is growing

in India do you think this trend is going to grow in huge number over the years mainly because people can find a home away from their home while they travel and explore new experiences.

The Villa rentals is already quite popular in young adults and it is definitely going to grow huge in numbers in the future, considering more than 50% of Indian population are young adults and the millennial are going to follow their foot-steps which will only result in increase of the number.

Our revenues in 2017 were thrice as compared to that in 2016 and we are targeting for the revenues of 2018 to be ten folds of that in 2016.

Promotional plans Our marketing strategy is to upgrade the vacation homes. We prefer the old marketing technique like Word of Mouth. We are planning to launch a mobile app in the future and expand into other sectors of vacation homes like serviced apartments and cottages .

Travellers We have had various types of travellers like families who prefer for vacation homes, Villa rentals are popular amongst young adults as they plan maximum weekend getaways. People prefer renting villas for bachelorettes and bridal showers for pre-wedding photo shoots to birthday bashes and for hosting a company offsite.

www.voyagersworld.in

Incredible India

16>>

INDIA BIKE WEEK REVS UP TO BECOME A GRAND SUCCESS! IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

The growing motorcycle phenomenon across the country has led to a surge in activities to cater to motorcycle enthusiasts, says Martin Dacosta, Festival Director of India Bike Week.

T

he concept of India Bike Week was launched in 2012 following a gradual increase in motorcycling as a serious hobby in the country in this millennium, says Martin Dacosta its Festival Director. “We find it very encouraging to see many Indians exploring the world through their motorcycles. At this point, we know at least 10 groups that are on the RTW trips averaging 18 months.

This is a recent phenomenon and we would like to say the IBW’s Big Trip stage, featuring RTW legends across the years including Horizons Unlimited, Nick Sanders, Hubert Kriegel and Ted Simon, has had an impact on this bit for Indians, along with communities like MTMMotorcycle Travellers Meet. This year saw the launch of BMW Motorrad.

Manufacturers like Triumph are registering nearly 30% growth despite the economic environment.”

India Bike Week India Bike Week offers bikers driving down to Vagator from all over India to experience more music, curated food parks and a much larger Biker Mart. India’s bike manufacturers will be there with riders from over 280 biker clubs from across the country.

The Triumph, Indian and Avantura Choppers will launch bikes there and for the first time, BMW Motorrad will be showing since their launch here. We have our share of legends - Freddie Spencer- Moto GP champ in 2 categories through the 80’s; Leslie Porterfield- Guinness Record holder as fastest woman at the Salt Flats; Melissa Pierson- American motorcycle travel author and the Big Trip lined up.

Promotional plans We mainly promote through digital media, club outreach backbone and PR. We started the season with the Iconic five Rides - weekend rides to Pondicherry, Cherrapunji, Daman and Chikhaldara earlier this year and the final ride announced for IBW Goa on November 24 & 25. We have

activities like breakfast rides and Moto GP screenings with our Bike Cafe partners like Throttle Shottle, Breakfast Cafe Pune and Garage 52.

We have the Harley-Davidson Flat Track where an experienced rider can set his timed lap and hope to win a cash prize of Rs 25,000 for being the fastest. Film festivals and contests are being curated by Shamiana Films to award the best motorcycle travel documentary.

The WinABike.in campaign by our partner motorbikesindia.in offers a chance to win a Leslie Porterfield signed Renegade motorcycle at IBW. VLoggers, Instagram and YouTube have lent a certain identity to bikers to broadcast their experiences.

People are finding out if they are adventure riders, cruisers, Moto X riders or track enthusiasts.

EAGLERIDER INDIA bets on the evolving riders market IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Samar JS Sodhi, Chief Experience Officer, EagleRider India, says India's diversity has spurred more adventure tours and bike rides among the youth.

Concept of Luxury bike rental EagleRider India has a net work which is spread worldwide. We have seen a lot foreign tourists who have booked with us. For example, if a customer wants to go on a 10day ride and visit three places.

We use touring bikes for all our trips and destination is not a limitation

Voyager’s World > September 2017

for us. We launched the concept of luxury bike rental company with the idea to provide bikes which can be rented without the hassle of owning them where you can take a ride when you like and return it once you are done. But sometimes the distances from ones home is more than 2000 km, so it is better to rent and ride. We are planning to add a few more locations. The Indian market has seen a huge surge in luxury bike rental which is a good sign for us.

We have trained up to the age of 56 years, the lady now owns a KTM 390 which she rides regularly.

Women solo travellers We have also had solo women riders who have rented our bikes and we also run something called as EagleRider Academy where we train not only beginners but also conduct advanced riding training.

Events We do participate in various events and promote safe riding, best practices. We also participate in events that are themed around adventure tourism; this actually raises your awareness and also

you gain knowledge in terms of the industry.

We have witnessed that the growth is a synonym and the trend is moving towards taking on adventure activities. There is also a huge growth of young generations that is tired of the old things and wants to explore more than just visiting the Taj Mahal and the scope is huge.

Incredible India

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Getaway Goddess adds exotic locales for women travel IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings, talks about how the concept of Getaway Goddess is sure to appeal to solo and group women travellers.

Women Travel Some of the trends we have noticed in women travel are that women have started travelling on their own. We have witnessed a growth of over 15% and expect the same to continue in the year 2017/18. Cox & Kings officially launched its women only tours Getaway Goddess in 2015. We have also introduced a Miss Getaway Goddess title in Miss India contest this year as part of the brand promotion.

We have tours like adventure trips, leisure and wellness, historic site visits to unique cultural attractions and culinary trails.

We have specially designed tours for solo and group of woman travellers. We offer diverse range of holiday experiences like gourmet food, fabulous wine and Cruise in Singapore, shopping spree in Dubai, luxury spa retreat in Thailand, tropical ambience at a beach resort in Mauritius, Bhutan cycling expeditions and beach holidays on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Some of our exclusive domestic experiences include wellness holiday in Carnoustie Ayurveda and wellness retreat, the hike and raft trip in Ladakh, Andaman Liveaboard Experience - Barren Island, Ghandruk -

Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek, Dzongri Trek, Everest base camp trek, The Rupin Pass trek, wildlife expeditions to South Africa, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Kaziranga or Ranthambore, Gujarat Rann Utsav, exploring Himalayas on cycle or relaxing cruise at the backwaters of Kerala.

This year, we have added a few exotic locales such as Sarajevo and the Balkans, Vietnam, Bali, Jorden, Cambodia, China, Greece and domestically, Nilgiril Hills, Sundarbans and Orissa. We have

also introduced spiritual journeys to places like Puri, Tirupati, Haridwar, Shirdi, Mathura, Ajmer, Rameshwaram and Ashtavinayak.

Segments Currently we are focusing on group tours, adventure and spa and wellness holidays. Most of the women travellers are of the age group 25-60 years and prefer to stay in 3 star or 4 star hotels who would like to indulge in spa, fine wine and dine experience.

Discerning Women travellers inspire new trip concepts IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Piya Bose, Founder, Girls on the Go club, talks about how the evolving woman traveller is inspiring new trip concepts for both solo and group tours.

Indian market The growth in women’s travel has been exponential in 2016 and is all set to increase in the future not only in terms of numbers but also in the categories of trips. We are going to offer a range of new trip

concepts for women. Some of the trips will offer women to stay for an extended period in a place and learn a new language or skill.

Most of the women are nowadays entrepreneurs and we hope to offer trips that will help them to connect with other entrepreneurs.

Destinations The average age group is early 20s to early 60s. When we started off in 2008 most women were from tier 1 metropolitan cities. But now we have women coming from smaller towns.

Several women from Middle Eastern countries have also joined in.

Marketing Plans Besides existing online promos, we will be partnering with unique hotels and organisers of interesting workshops, events and getaways suitable for women to organise online contests and campaigns which will also offer a chance to women to showcase their skills in blogging, writing, photography etc

Besides offering innovative, new itineraries to places like Antarctica, Nagaland, Bhutan etc we have also started accessible tours for women with disabilities and will soon be launching other segments. The popular destinations that women generally travel to are Ladakh and the North East . Some of the destinations abroad are Bhutan, Turkey, Greece,

South East Asia, Mongolia and South America.

Activities Some of the activities like Northern Lights hunting in the Arctic, expedition cruising in Antarctica, camping with local tribes, overland driving through off beat routes, attending local festivals etc are becoming increasingly popular. We have sent women trekking to the Everest base camp and to the northern edge of the world at the Arctic Circle and the Southern edge at Antarctica.

Women prefer to stay in a mixed accommodation set up like boutique hotels, homestays, estate and farm stays.

www.voyagersworld.in

Incredible India

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Stopping by the woods.. exploring Jharkhand's dense green reserves!

VW BUREAU

The mineral rich state of Jharkhand is home to a wide range of flora and fauna, making it a nature lover's paradise.

J

harkhand's topography is marked by several expanses of woods and scenic view points that make it favourable for exotic wildlife habitat and a rich vegetation.

Saranda Forest Saranda, the largest Sal forest in Asia, is located 122 km from Jamshedpur. Famous for its multifarious flora and fauna, it has also been in the limelight due to its rich mineral reserve. Saranda, meaning ‘the land of seven hundred hills’ is spread over around 900 sq. km and has mesmerised and fascinated nature-enthusiasts for decades. The spectacular sunset, here against the backdrop of tall dark silhouettes of Sal, would simply make you gaze wide eyed as the sky dons the hues of crimson, orange and grey, before the flaming ball of fire calls it off for the day.

Situated on the southern border of the state, the forest is home to endangered species of flying lizards and hundreds of elephants and is also an integral part of the migratory elephant corridor.

Sal, Mahua and Kusum are the major trees found in the forest, which is also home to the Ho tribe, and used to be a private hunting ground for the erstwhile royal family of Seraikela.

The main access point for getting into Saranda forest by road is Chaibasa, 60 km southwest of Jamshedpur. Saranda can also be reached via the towns of Chakradharpur (89 km from Jamshedpur) and Manoharpur (170 km from Jamshedpur), on the main Bombay-Howrah rail line.

Nakshtra Van Nakshatra Van is a park created by the Jharkhand Forest Department in front of the Jharkhand Raj Bhawan (Governor's Residence) in Ranchi, the state's capital. A nakshatra or

Voyager’s World > November 2017

lunar mansion is one of the 27 or 28 divisions of the sky, identified by the prominent star(s) in them, that the Moon passes through during its monthly cycle, as used in Hindu astronomy and astrology. Each Nakshatra is associated with a Zodiac, which is related to celestial bodies and their movements in sky. Hindu Astrologers believe that each constellation of the zodiac is associated with a tree. Those trees are of medicinal, social, aesthetic or economic value.

The park is centered around a circle, which is a representation of the various Nakshatras on the ground. The circle is divided in arcs precisely according to the angles, these zodiacs subtend on earth.

Tree of a particular zodiac has been planted in its corresponding arc. At the center of this circle, there is a musical fountain which has a huge pot in which the water gets collected. The park has beautiful flowers planted all along the pathway, and has sprawling lawns as well. There is a section for Medicinal Plants in the park which has some of the rare medicinal plants. At the center of this section,

a sleeping statue of Dhanvantari is placed. There are swings and other amusement toys for kids in the Children section. The architecture and greenery of the park is quite picturesque. There are various sculptures in the park, which has adequate sitting benches for its visitors. The entrance and security of the park is taken care of by the Jharkhand State Forest Development Corporation (JSFDC).

The best time for visiting the park is in early evening, preferably around 6:30 PM, when the park has a splendid look under the lights.

Nakshatra Van was established in Ranchi on 2May 2003 in an area of 7.5 Acre (approx). It was handed over to J.S.F.D.C. by the Forest Department on 26 June 2004.

Creation of the Nakshatra Van was unique in many ways. It was not just about planting trees, which is the core business of the Forest Department. It was about linking trees to popular belief.

It required a great amount of studies about celestial activities, planetary and solar movements and mythological believes, and a

very considerate implementation.

Betla National Park One of India’s earliest tiger reserves (1974), Betla features luxuriant tropical forest cover and a rich variety of fauna.

The Betla National Park, was first established as a sanctuary and later upgraded to its present status. Average elevation is about 1000 feet and though the park is open throughout the year the best time to visit is between November to March. Spread over 250 sq. km., the park is covered with good roads cris-crossing each other, to enables the motorist to have a closer view of the wild life in dense forests.

Gour, Chital, Elephant, Tiger, Panther, Sloth and Wild Bear, Sambhar, Nilgai, Kakar, Mouse Deer are permanent residents.

Langurs are present in large families.

Betla features waterfalls and natural hot springs on one hand, and historical monuments including a 16th century fort of Chero kings on the other.

India Outbound

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Adrenaline rushing activities continue to enthrall Indian travellers PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

In an interview with Voyager's World, Clinton Lerm, Owner, South African Forest Adventures, highlights the various activities that the company offers to cater to the daring Indian adventure traveller.

S

outh African (SA) Forest Adventures has a huge array of adventure activities to choose from. "The top selling activities for our Indian travellers are the Cape Adventure day tour, quad biking, zip lining in Cape Town and Hermanus, sand-boarding, river rafting, wine trails and more. With its close proximity from Cape Town, all these activities are surreal for those visiting on a tight schedule. Early next year, we will also open one of the world’s longest zip-lines in Knysna, which will be approximately 5 km," says its owner Clinton Lerm.

"Our activities are spread across Cape Town, Hermanus, Kleinmond, Grabouw and Caledon. We have river rafting campsite at the bay of River Gorges and river-tubing

sessions through Kogelberg Nature Reserve. We opened our India office last year in Mumbai to give our Indian travel partners the flexibility of checking availability and booking instantly. They can also pay in INR." Itineraries preferred by Indian groups We would suggest a four-day Cape Town itinerary with one night in Hermanus. We have our own boutique hotel with 29 rooms in Hermanus called the Misty Waves.

The hotel’s location gives easy access to various activities. It has a kitchen for the own use of large groups and we can tailor the breakfast to meet specific dietary requirements. For those keen on exploring the garden route itinerary,

we would recommend to add a night in Hermanus. There are also nice family owned vineyards around Hermanus. In 3-4 night itineraries in Cape Town, we also offer the Cape Adventure day Tour. This 8-hour tour has tree top zipline, sand board, quad biking, visit to the African (or Jackass) Penguins’ at Stony Point and Hermanus. The highlight here is the ‘Clarence Drive’, which is a 22 km long scenic drive.

Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Gujarat, Pune and Ahmedabad continue to be our focus for 2018 as well. We welcome anyone from six years and above to enjoy our activities. All our activities can be easily slotted into one’s itinerary.

Wine Sojourns

Sula Vineyards dedicates 'Kādu' to Karnataka's tigers!

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Sula Vineyards has taken up the cause of tiger conservation in Karnataka, directing the takings from Kādu, its newly launched wholly 'Made in Karnataka' wine, towards saving the wild cat.

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ula Vineyards launched 'Kādu', the company's first wholly ‘Made in Karnataka’ wine and Sula’s homage to Karnataka as one of India’s key wine regions at an event held at the Taj West End on 6 November.

The event welcomed several wine connoisseurs, guests and media personnel. Kādu, meaning 'wild' in Kannada, is the country's first 'Wine for a Cause'. The label was designed by renowned label designer Simon Frouws, depicting a tiger in all its glory in the wild jungle.

Winemaker Gorakh Gaikwad has crafted Kādu from the choicest

premium Karnataka wine grapes to produce this wine. Kādu comes in 4 different wine varietals – Kādu Chenin Blanc, Kādu Sauvignon Blanc, Kādu Shiraz Rosé and Kādu Cabernet Shiraz.

Sula took up the cause of the tiger with Kādu, ensuring that with each bottle of 'Kādu sold, the proceeds would go towards the conservation of tigers in Karnataka. To ensure the optimum end-use of the funds contributed, Sula is collaborating with Mud on Boots, the pioneering initiative by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation that is designed to empower and support grassroots conservationists across India

Kādu was launched by Rajeev Samant, Founder and CEO, Sula Vineyards Bengaluru; he presented the first Kādu cheque to Sanctuary Nature Foundation. Their Mud on Boots project leader Nagaraj will spearhead the project.

Rajeev Samant, Founder and CEO,

Sula Vineyards, stated, “The Kādu wines are the most significant launch for Sula in the past 10 years. Kādu is our first wholly ‘Made in Karnataka’ wine and we thought it was also the perfect occasion to give something back to a cause we hold very dear – that of wildlife conservation."

www.voyagersworld.in

Destination

20>>

Taking the leap of faith at Bloukrans!

PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

For someone who dreads stepping on a roller coaster, the world's highest commercial bungee bridge

© Meerlat

© Bungee jump zone @ Bloukrans

© Bloukrans-Bridge

surprisingly had me leap forward without any panic.

D

o heights scare you or do you panic when there is turbulence while on a flight? Well then I am sure you will find it easier to jump off a bridge, hang upside down and count all your blessings in 180 seconds, because that is what I did when I jumped off the Bloukrans Bridge bungee -the world's highest commercial bungee bridge, at a height of 709 feet above the Bloukrans River, while on a trip to South Africa's Garden Route. For someone who dreads stepping on a roller coaster, or any ride in an amusement park for that matter, my panic level, to my own surprise, was zilch while I was being strapped up before the leap. Perhaps, it was because of the knowledge that it was a fool-proof activity as are the rest of the various adrenaline pumping experiences in South Africa that follow the highest safety and security standards in the industry.

Voyager’s World > November 2017

South Africa's vast expanses and the mixed topography make it an interesting destination to try your hand at various adventurous activities on land, in water and up in the sky. South African Tourism organised a familiarisation tour for the travel trade and media from across India in September this year to showcase new itineraries and activities, with a view to reveal lesser known, yet equally promising attractions and activities. We experienced a number of activities such as kayaking, canoeing, zipline, bungee jumping, quad biking, tandem paragliding, crocodile cage diving and much more.

Bungee off the bridge!

The Bloukrans Bridge is located at the border between the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape in the Tsitsikamma area. Having started in 2003, this bungee has a number of world records. Upon

reaching the base of the bridge in the morning, we queued up to have our weights measured and given our harnesses accordingly before listening to the safety instructions. Although I anticipated that my heart would start racing faster as we went up the bridge to the bungee zone, I found myself looking forward to the adventure that promises great views of the mountains with a streak of the river while hanging down there. The energy and the cheery ambience of the organisers and the bungee jump team put all of us at ease as we watched them lift up the people rhythmically with the background music. The fact that the entire jump lasts about two minutes and that there were double straps as back-ups kept my fears at bay. I felt a rush of emotions while hanging down there while I can only hazily recall the moments of the jump as I didn't want to wait too long

at the edge lest I should hesitate and fear jumping. Yet, I vividly remember how my body turned upside down dramatically without any discomfort or nausea in midair. After making conscious efforts to remember the instructions, a couple of us jumped with our feet first instead of pushing the head forward and ended up laughing at our videos later on.

Each person had his and her own experience at the edge and down there; a few warned us against looking down before the jump while few advised us on how to take deep breaths at the edge. Regardless of what you have heard or seen or been advised about, the rush that you undergo is purely your own unique experience.

Although I dread thrilling rides, bungee rides and skydives have always fascinated me but

Destination

never once had I desired to try them. However, on this trip, the professionalism and the bouncy ambience of the team and the bungee staff inspired me to take the leap of faith, calmly and with poise as was evident from the video.

We bought our videos, photos and a souvenir of the bungee rope to take back as fond memories with, of course, a certificate of having accomplished the feat! Flight turbulences still scare me but I would definitely recommend this bungee to the skeptical traveller!

Meerkats Tour Did you ever think you would be up and close to the burrow of an animal waiting for it to show up from nowhere? Have you heard of or seen pictures of the meerkat?

Another interesting feature of our tour was the visit to a meerkat's habitat in Oudtshoorn in the

Š Giant Swing in Addo

Š View around Bloukrans

21>>

northern part of the Garden Route.

Most of us in the group had not heard of or seen one. The meerkat belongs to the mongoose family and is in light fawn colour. It is a carnivorous animal that lives in parts of Africa across Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The meerkat tour is an early morning activity which involves waking up early before the sun rises to go to the terrains marked by the meerkat that lives in families. The guides will go out in search of the meerkats a day before the tour and will advise the meeting point and time accordingly. We took an hour to reach the place from our hotel and were welcomed by hot cups of coffee, tea and hot chocolate with biscuits to begin the day. There were two guides who gave us foldable chairs and walked us till the zone where they were anticipated to show up that morning.

Interestingly, the meerkat families move often in search of food.

They are used to the presence of human beings in their vicinity and do not get intimidated by our chatter. But we were given clear instructions not to stand or move closer to avoid scaring them away.

After waiting for a while, one of us suddenly saw a tiny brown head pop up from underneath a burrow.

The group fell into pin drop silence as one meerkat took a good look at us before turning its head to see the sun. It went back into the hole leaving us speculating its return.

The meerkats, we were told, are smelly, without which they would be perceived as predators by their own families. No sooner had the guide explained to us about their scents and temperament, than a teammate exclaimed that she sniffed something and sure enough, we saw seven meerkats coming out of the burrow to welcome the

morning. We continued to click our cameras and phones and observe their movements as they darted from one end to another and as more young ones appeared, the more excited we got.

Known for digging and marking their territory, these wild animals are often abandoned by owners who take them as pets only to resent their bad behaviour and send them to rehabilitation centres and zoos. After we had our share of watching them so close, we left the meerkats to their privacy.

We also experienced ziplines and paragliding against the backdrop of clear skies and gentle breezes, about which, dear reader, I shall describe in the next edition. Until then, I reckon that you would now think facing the edge of a cliff is not a bad idea; only if you remember to bounce back!

www.voyagersworld.in

India Outbound

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Abu Dhabi brings new products to Bengaluru for upcoming season PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

Bejan Dinshaw, Country Manager, Promotion & Overseas Offices - India Office, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, highlighted the upcoming season's products at a roadshow in Bengaluru.

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he Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi organised a roadshow with its stakeholders, trade agents, tour operators and other delegates to discuss tourism and business to Emirate on 6 November 2017 at Taj West End, Bangalore.

Bejan Dinshaw, Country Manager, Promotion & Overseas Offices - India Office, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, highlighted new itineraries

and products for the Indian market.

"We are going to talk about are the cruises, the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and other enhancements in hotels. We are having two new properties coming up in the Saadiyat Island - one is the Jumeirah and the other is the Rotana with about 450 rooms plus. We have got MSC Cruises and Celebrity Cruises homebirthed in Abu Dhabi. There will be a sailing from India to the UAE in a 5Nights itinerary."

Hotel inventory The current inventory is about 32000 rooms every night and that is going to be enhanced. The largest inbound market for us the GCC. Last year, India was the No.1 market for us last year. This year, India has slipped to the second spot

as China has overtaken India by a few thousand passengers. India is still running very close though. The supply of rooms is more or less compatible to the demand as such and the average length of stay for an Indian passport holder in Abu Dhabi is 2.8 nights, approximately 3 nights. I observed a drop in the average length of overnight stays but I realised my numbers were going up, which meant people who were coming from another Emirate to Abu Dhabi for a day visit are now opting to stay here. One cannot do much in a day tour, you need at least two nights to explore the destination.

Falcon hospital Situated very closely to the airport, this is a facility opened by a German

lady who was a veteran avian specialist. She spoke to the King and suggested a place to look after the falcons. The falcon hospital is a full-fledged facility today with outpatient department, operation theatre and free flying facilities; it is a must-visit place for anyone coming to Abu Dhabi as it is highly educative.

MICE The largest venue in Abu Dhabi is the ADNEC. It is the largest hall facility provided in the region. It hosted the SIIMA Film Awards, the World Defence Exhibition and all the Congresses and international exhibitions, etc. In addition, all the hotels in Abu Dhabi have large banquet spaces. We are very actively promoting weddings from India.

BLS International records encouraging outbound trends PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

In a telephonic interaction, Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International Ltd., highlights how its simplified systems have encouraged the growth of the company and the Indian outbound market in general.

2016, it bagged the Spain global contract and is managing services across 124 locations in 44 countries.

B

LS International Ltd. was started in 2005 when it secured the first contract from the Embassy of Portugal. It handled 5000 applications from New Delhi and from then on, it concentrated on Indian missions. Currently, BLS International is handling about 60% of Indian missions overseas and foreign missions such as Greece, Russia, Spain, Sudan, Kuwait, Belgium, Austria among others. In

Voyager’s World > November 2017

Talking about the growth and future plans, Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director of BLS International Ltd. said, "In our industry, handling data is of utmost priority, it is the minimum benchmark. We use state-of-theart software. When biometrics was introduced for visa applications, the error rate for applications to Spain was reduced by a huge percentage.

We developed a robust software for accuracy and security."

The company entered into a contract with Embassy of Afghanistan in UAE in June 2017 for providing citizen services through registration of Afghan citizens. It has also been a

pioneer in providing citizen services to Punjab citizens on behalf of the Punjab Government, wherein they are delivering 133 citizen services, covering 22 states with 2147 citizen service centers. The e-governance model implemented in Punjab is the way forward for the other states, said Shikhar, adding that the company was offering the model perspective to other states.

"It is a one-stop site for all services in the same centre. 5000 people employed in Punjab for this, 2% of which are differently-abled people.

The Sewa Kendra receives 50,000 to 60,000 applications on a daily basis for various services such as birth certificate, arms license, GST services, in addition to travel related services.

"We are going to introduce mobile biometrics to mainly cater to

applicants who are physically challenged or are senior citizens, wherein we will send our representatives to the residence of the applicant with a biometric kit and there is a premium charge for this facility. After BLS took over, there has been more than 20% growth in the Spanish market.

Earlier people preferred to visit other countries, however, with simplified processes, the turnaround time has been reduced and there are more people visiting Spain and it being a relatively affordable destination, makes it all the more attractive. We have witnessed this trend from both metros and Tier 2 cities in South India. We also have premium lounge services with a quicker turnaround time for those clients who wish to come at their own convenience, even during peak season," he concluded.

Cover Story

23>>

Freewheeling down the track.. bicycles are the new favourite!

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

The humble bicycle has now evolved from being a favourite of poets, novelists and filmmakers to

© Aleksandar Gospić, source CNTB

becoming the latest muse of travel companies.

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he India outbound market is still niche in terms of cycling tourism with a few Indian travellers who are keen now in exploring a country through cycling tours.

Steven Dixon, Regional Manager, South and South-East Asia, Tourism New Zealand, notes that with Indians having indulged in cycling for decades, the popularity of the vehicle has shrunk today as it is not so much a practical mode of commuting as it is a way towards fitter lifestyles and eco-friendliness. Though cycling still has a high appeal among Indians, there is limited participation as a result of Indian travellers preferring self-drives while on a holiday.

“Cycling tourism is likely to grow as a segment in the industry; so, we can expect more Indian travellers to participate in a span of few years and they are likely to be ready to explore most of the unique cycling

routes of a destination in the future.”

Cycling is an excellent way to explore New Zealand, says Steven, adding that the country offers the world’s leading cycle ways with 21 Great Rides throughout New Zealand.

“Cycling is a popular tourist activity and the level of cycling participation

by International visitors has been increasing over time. We foresee the participation rates to continue to grow and cycling will be a significant attraction for future international visitors to New Zealand.”

In Canada, Ottawa Tourism has been regularly promoting cycling tours through its website with maps and information on routes, bike repair stations and the special road closures for visitors and residents to enjoy Ottawa’s most scenic roads on bikes. Catherine Callary, Senior Director, Destination Development,

Kristjan Staničić, Director, Croatian National Tourist Board

Cycling network and accessibility have improved in the last 10 years and that primarily becomes the factor in the construction of the additional cycling trails. Cycling can also be the means of transport in Europe in the next ten years. www.voyagersworld.in

Cover Story

24>> Ottawa Tourism observes a steady a growth and an increasing interest and expects it become a segment of its own.

In Europe, Croatia is really serious about bringing cycle tourism to the highest level with its recent promotional activities, says Kristjan Staničić, Director, Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB). Kristjan informs that the general cycling network and accessibility have been largely improved in the last 10 years, primarily evident from the construction of the additional cycling trails in the destination.

“Currently, we are experiencing a fast development of main and smaller cycling route networks in all parts of Croatia, particularly by revitalizing smaller roads, local pathways, river banks and derelict railways, which will all be clearly themed and marked. A fast growth of cycling, adventure and sports tourism is expected to continue. It is estimated that cycling as a method of transport will increase in Europe in the next 10 years with more than 10 percentage points also added to the segment comprising visitors for whom cycling becomes an important activity during their holiday.”

© Ottawa Tourism

Cycling Tours Travellers can explore Ottawa through cycling through self-guided cycle tour such as the signature Capital Cycle Route. Examples of this type of guided cycle tour in Ottawa are Escape Bicycle Tours and Rentals, Ottawa Cycling Tours and RentABike. These companies offer a range of customizable cycling tours that can last 2, 3, or 5 hours. Some of the bike tours offered by Escape Bicycle Tours include the Bike & Bites Tour where participants explore Ottawa by bike, enjoy samples from neighbourhood restaurants and eateries on a culinary walking tour; a Bike & Boat Tour where a tour along the Ottawa River with Capital Cruises follows the bike tour; a Tulip Bike Tour during the Canadian Tulip Festival each May and many more options for single, group or student tours. Ottawa also organises the NOKIA Sunday Bikedays, organised by the National Capital Commission.

New Zealand offers trails for a variety of cycling levels and experiences.

Some of the accessible trails are near most cities and towns in New Zealand and for international cycling tourists, on road cycling is slightly more popular than off-road mountain biking.

Indian market Catherine says, “Destination Canada notes that 2016 has marked a record year for travel by Indians to

Voyager’s World > November 2017

Canada with over 215,000 travellers choosing to explore Canada, up 13% over 2015.”

Ottawa Tourism is optimistic about the international attention and exposure gained this year during the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday that included special events, openings, legacy items, sporting events, community events and anticipates an increase in the visitation from all markets in the future.

During the first nine months of 2017, Croatia received 49,587 arrivals from India, which is a +66% compared to the same period of 2016 and 112,222 overnights, +60% compared to the same period of 2016. In 2016, it received 33,960 arrivals +72% compared to 2015 and 80,075 overnights +67% compared to year 2015.

As far as New Zealand is concerned, Steven says that India continues to be one of the priority markets. “For this year till August 2017, we witnessed 57,312 Indian arrivals, which was an increase of 17.6% year on year of Indians visiting New Zealand.”

Marketing Plans Ottawa offers an incredible network of cycling paths, lanes, and trails.

Many of the attractions such as the iconic Parliament buildings, national museums, monuments and heritage sites offer the option of cycling freely.

“Ottawa Tourism has collaborated on the development of a new signature Capital Cycling Route, which we promote on our popular tear-off countertop map used by concierges and front desks throughout the destination. We also collaborated with the City of Ottawa on 14 new cycle routes - both urban and rural.

We are working on cycling promotion with other destinations in the province of Ontario, with the goal of reaching key markets outside of Ontario,” Catherine added.

“New Zealand is a destination for cycling, whether it is to relax for a few hours or for a multi-day active cycling or mountain biking break. We have accessible riding trails and tracks near most cities and towns. During the autumn season, you could explore New Zealand Cycle Trail’s 23 Great Rides and the festivals that combine with local events like Tasman’s Great Taste Trail & Marchfest, Hauraki Rail Trail & Whangamata Beach Hop, Crankworx & The Timber Trail, Queenstown Trail & Queenstown Bike Festival, Queen Charlotte Track & Classic Fighters Airshow and Hawke’s Bay Trails & FAWC!”

Cover Story

25>> Catherine Callary, Senior Director, Destination Development, Ottawa Tourism Travellers can explore Ottawa through cycling through self-guided cycle tours. We are working on cycling promotion with other destinations in the province of Ontario, with the goal of reaching key markets outside of Ontario.

© Aleksandar Gospić, source CNTB

© Tourism New Zealand

Cycling is a popular activity and a perfect way to see the country.

The level of cycling participation by international visitors has been increasing over time and the participation rates will continue to grow.

© Aleksandar Gospić, source CNTB

Steven Dixon, Regional Manager, South and SouthEast Asia, Tourism New Zealand

www.voyagersworld.in

Flight Talk

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Jet Airways commences BengaluruAmsterdam flight service PRIYAMVADHA BALARAM

The new service is operated by the wide-body Airbus 330 aircraft and will enhance connections to the carrier's networks in Europe and USA.

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et Airways commenced its first flight from Bengaluru to Amsterdam on Saturday 28 October at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, adding to its existing Mumbai - Amsterdam and Delhi - Amsterdam route. The carrier had also launched its Chennai-Paris service earlier on the same day.

The inauguration of the flight was presided by Union Minister Ananth Kumar and Karnataka Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge and Karnataka Industries Minister R V Deshpande.

The new service is operated by the wide-body Airbus 330 aircraft. The

bookings for this route were open from April 2017.

"This is the first Indian carrier to start operations in Europe. It is a full flight right from the word go and we have a full cargo load as well. It gives us an opportunity to connect to the whole of Europe and the USA network. This is just the beginning of a lot of expansion that you will see from Jet and from Bengaluru. The new route will enable people of the IT city to travel to different parts of Europe and North America as Jet has codeshare partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Airlines," said Praveen Iyer, Vice President- India Sales, Jet Airways.

Inaugural Heli Expo India held in New Delhi The expo and the International Civil Helicopter Conclave 2017 was organised by Pawan Hans Limited in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

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he 1st Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017 was inaugurated in New Delhi on 4 November, 2017 by the Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Shri Satpal Maharaja in the presence of the Secretary, Civil Aviation Shri R.N. Choubey, CMD Pawan Hans, Dr. B. P. Sharma and other dignitaries. The first issue of Pawan Hans Magazine Aviation Today was also unveiled by the chief guests on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, the Uttarakhand Tourism Minister said that the helicopter taxi services have a huge potential for enforcing law and order, air ambulance services, to check forest fire and can provide better connectivity to religious and tourist destinations located in rough terrain of hilly areas.

Voyager’s World > November 2017

On this occasion the Secretary, Civil Aviation Shri R.N. Choubey said that India has achieved a growth rate of about 20% in domestic air travel section in the last three years, which is the highest growth rate in the world Civil Aviation Sector. He said however, that this growth rate is confined to fixed wing traffic only and the helicopter traffic is much less in India. He said that the National Civil Aviation Policy tries to address this gap. As per the new NCAP, helicopters are free to fly from point to point without prior ATC clearance in airspace below 5000 feet. Shri Choubey said the aviation agencies should start exploring the option to start helicopter taxi services between Delhi -NCR and other North Indian States.

The Expo and the Conclave this year is organised by Pawan Hans Limited, a Mini Ratna company of Ministry of Civil Aviation in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the theme of ‘Enhancing Connectivity’ at the Pawan Hans Heliport, Rohini, New Delhi. Experts from Industry and Defence Forces

and representatives from ICAO and SAARC countries attended the conclave.

An exhibition was also organised at the venue. The second day was open to the public, where one could visit the exhibition and pre-book the Delhi Darshan joy rides by helicopter.

Sports Travel

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Cashing in on India's sports fan base IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Sefi Donner, CEO, Sports Events 365, reveals trends in sports that are shaped by Indian sports fans who love travelling to see matches.

Indian market Sports tourism is a rapidly growing segment with tourists travelling for big spectator events like the World Cup, Olympics, marathons, etc.

We just operate in the secondary ticket market as we have travelers

who like to have everything planned well before the trip, while many times the tickets are released for sale at the very last minute. Usually travelers are willing to pay a little extra for the service if it is done with a higher standard, in their own language and currency. On the other hand the clubs find that we offer a steady service, and they understand they can’t fill their stadiums only with locals, and that they should expand their offering to tourists and travelers.

Sports Events 365 sourced a few hundred tickets based on orders from India, in the last 12 months.

India’s development companies

are highly involved in the travel technology industry, enabling Sports Events 365, who has a complete set of web services and to expand. Many of these travel technology companies are based in India, but market their services around the world, therefore, the traveler from India is not the only one to benefit from this activity. We have a database of around 60,000 yearly events and 2018 will belong to the World Cup in Russia.

We also see first signs of improvement that has to do with the changes in travel policies, treatment of the INR and visas, still India’s tourism is highly based on domestic travel, and

when people travel outside of India, it will be mainly to destinations around Asia. Most of our markets are found in Europe and North America. Sports Events 365 database and tickets will be featured shortly in some of India’s most notable OTAs. We hope this will increase the exposure in 2018.

India as a potential market as compared to the other markets for sports tourism India is still very focused on domestic tourism. The INR should improve in value and the economy will prosper then we will see more and more Indians traveling to new and far destinations.

TRIP 360 beckons travellers to explore unchartered courses

Adventure

IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Rohan Prakash, Business Head, Trip 360, talks about the growth of adventure tourism segment and the geographical potential in the country.

Growth in adventure tourism The global adventure tourism is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 45.99% during the period 20162020. This sector will be a potential key driver for the market growth.

The adventure tourism segment is growing in India over the years, so there is definitely immense potential for Adventure tourism in India.

India's adventure travel offering is mainly limited to Ladakh along with North East and Rajasthan to a certain extent. But with 70% of Himalayas in India, Western and Eastern Ghats and a long coastline the opportunities for adventure tourism are endless.

Some of the factors that play an important role in shaping adventure tourism in India include given that all the stakeholders work together with the same vision, India will rise to become the best adventure destination of Asia in the next 5 years.

The best factor is that the regulations on Adventure are easing down and more of interest from the governing bodies will facilitate an upward graph in the coming years.

Marketing plans For marketing purposes we are using all the social media platforms, intriguing videos, captivating images, and engaging content.

Besides digital marketing, we are also organising offline activations to engage with the adventure enthusiasts. Some of the exceptional expeditions are Mt Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Everest Base camp are becoming popular.

Main destinations In terms of destinations in adventure, India is a country that can be explored by adventure travellers from across

the world as it offers mountains, serene rivers, vast coastline and indigenous communities. We are planning to launch new routes for cycling, trekking and motorbike.

Besides that we are also planning to have adventure packages that focuses on the marine ecology of Indian seas and oceans. Some of the unique adventure getaways are North East which is still unexplored, we have the upcoming Hornbill Festival that offers riders the option to ride through Guwahati, Assam and Nagaland. We recently organized a cycling trip to Georgia and also plan to do a cycling trip to Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Some other destinations that are now being explored by Indians are France and Iceland for trekking, Alaska and Machu Picchu, Peru.

Travellers We have had a mix of travellers and different traveller's segments whom we choose based on comfort. We have some extreme adventure that caters to the professional and specialist and some medium and easy treks taken

by families. There are couples, solo travellers and enthusiastic families attending our Ladakh treks that show adventure travellers can be from any of the mentioned categories.

We also provide a wide range of holiday options under its experience categories of Diving, Biking, Cycling, Trekking and Aqua.

Adventure activities Indian travellers are evolving and there is more number of travellers joining the group who want to try their hands on some extreme Adventure like scaling mountain peaks, cycling holidays to places like Mongolia, etc.

Although trekking and rafting see big numbers, there is a considerable rise in the number of Indians wanting to indulge in experiences that cause some adrenaline rush. Some of the activities like hot air ballooning, bungee jumping, paragliding and sky diving are moving up on the list of must-dos. We have also observed a surge in city-based adventure activities like marathon runs and triathlons etc.

www.voyagersworld.in

Travel Events

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Karnataka Tourism announces inaugural edition of KITE VW BUREAU

The 'Karnataka International Travel Expo' will take place at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) from 28 February to 2 March, 2018.

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he Government of Karnataka – Department of Tourism' announces the inaugural edition of 'Karnataka International Travel Expo', India's biggest B2B travel event in Bengaluru from the 28 February – 2 March 2018.

The state of Karnataka and Bengaluru have over the years has contributed towards being a large part of the India’s ever-growing tourism arrival figures, both to within India destinations and overseas.

The Inaugural edition of 'Karnataka International Travel Expo', is set on a B2B platform with over 400 registered Buyers and Media from over 25 countries exploring business opportunities for discerning travel and tourism products, which will make the event one of the most sought-after travel events in the country and enhance the marketing

efforts of the state to promote Karnataka as a destination which is diverse, fascinating and safe!

Shri Priyank Kharge, Honourable Minister for Tourism, IT & BT, Govt. of Karnataka said "Karnataka is home to a large and exciting portfolio of globally acclaimed tourism products with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, splendid wildlife and resplendent nature, virgin beaches to adorn.

'Karnataka International Travel Expo'', being held for the first time will provide the impetus to the inbound travel and tourism industry and would enhance the marketing efforts of Karnataka Tourism to promote our destinations to the travel trade from all over the world."

EXCLUSIVE KARNATAKA PAVILION: Destination Karnataka: The exclusive pavilion of Karnataka shall

showcase the different facets of the state such as festivals of Karnataka, its beaches, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, The Coastal & Hyderabad – Karnataka Regions, Pilgrimage Destinations, Wildlife and National Parks, Medical Tourism, Destination Management Companies, Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Handicrafts, Cultural Vistas, etc.

The 2018 event will showcase both the rich cultural heritage and high-tech features of the city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka.

“Karnataka with its diverse range of products is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive states for the travel trade industry both for leisure and business travel. A globalized onestop sourcing platform is vital for stakeholders within the tourism industry to effectively reach out to

the Karnataka travel market” said the Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka Mr. TK Anil Kumar.

KITE will attract over 1,000 delegates from over 25 countries for the three-day event, facilitating over 10,000 pre-matched appointments and bringing together qualified international buyers and sellers for face-to-face meetings, educational forums and networking functions.

The key features of the event are over 400 Hosted delegates from 25 countries; over 15 different tourism segments; an Exhibition to showcase and market the varied tourism products; post event FAM trips; familiarisation trips; supporting programme for networking and renewing contacts; and an exciting edition of ‘Destination Karnataka’ Blogathon.

'Jharkhand Travel Mart’ to be held in January 2018 VW BUREAU

The three-day event will be held from 19 - 21 January, 2018 in Ranchi at the Mega Sports Complex in Khelgaon.

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he Department of Tourism, Government of Jharkhand has announced the inaugural edition of 'Jharkhand Travel Mart' from the 19 – 21 January, 2018.

Shri Rahul Sharma, IAS, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of Jharkhand said, "Jharkhand will contribute immensely to India's tourism portfolio with its diverse range of travel and tourism destinations.

We are pleased to announce the inaugural edition of the 'Jharkhand Travel Mart' in Ranchi from the 19 – 21 January, 2018. The event is an extension of our aggressive marketing approach to introduce more tourism destinations and attractions and reinforce the

Voyager’s World > November 2017

Jharkhand tourism brand among the media, buyers and stake-holders."

The event will seek support from all major national travel trade and hospitality association in India such as ‘Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), Hotel Association of Jharkhand, Travel Agents Association of Jharkhand, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Jharkhand Tourism’ Pavilion The exclusive pavilion of ‘Jharkhand Tourism’ will consist of segments such as the state’s festivals, heritage sites, tribal tourism, wildlife reserves, DMCs, religious tourism, handicrafts, cultural vistas, etc.

Over 150 Hosted Buyers and media from over 20 different markets in India are expected to take part in the exhibition. Over 500 travel agents expected to visit it and there will be more than 75 exhibitors from Jharkhand and other states from diverse tourism segments.

29>>

Incredible India

www.voyagersworld.in

30>>

WTM London 2017 concludes in a festival mood VW BUREAU

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he third and final day of WTM London 2017 featured packed halls, numerous business meetings and insightful seminars and presentations.

Responsible tourism was the key theme for the final day, with World Responsible Tourism Day – the largest day of responsible tourism in the world – taking place. As the leading global event for the travel industry, WTM London has championed the cause of responsible tourism and the annual WTM Responsible Tourism Awards celebrated the best of travel across six categories.

Chobe Game Lodge in Botswana won the best in carbon reduction category; Grootbos in South Africa was the best for accommodation; Sapa O’Chau, a female ethnic minority-owned enterprise in Vietnam scooped the best community initiative award; Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana won the

best communication award; the prize for best poverty reduction initiative went to Indian walking holidays and local accommodations provider Village Ways while South Africa’s Transfrontier Parks Destinations was name the best tour operator.

Overtourism remains a major concern in the context of sustainability and

was discussed for the headline Responsible Tourism event. Adama Bah from International Centre for Responsible Tourism West Africa suggested part of the problem is that “governments still think in terms of numbers and not in terms of benefit for communities.”

In an afternoon session which looked at accessible travel, Ade Adepitan MBE, a Paralympian and TV presenter, noted that while people with disabilities find it difficult to travel, improvements are being made, citing the example of the Colosseum in Rome which has installed a lift which lets people in wheelchairs experience the 2,000-year-old attraction.

The Digital Influencers Speed Networking session provided the chance for suppliers to talk to a stellar line-up of 120 global bloggers, Instagrammers and YouTubers. As more people take inspiration from the growing number of digital channels, the importance of influencers in the marketing mix continues to climb.

The session was sponsored by Whalar, a platform which connects brands with content creators. Its cofounder James Street said: “Travel is a big space in the influencer landscape – and it does not look like advertising. When influencers are holding a product, it looks like an advert, but if they’re sat on a beach in Mauritius, it doesn’t.”

Carole Rosenblat runs Drop Me Anywhere, which specialises in solo female and spontaneous travel, said: “It has been useful and very valuable

Voyager’s World > November 2017

today. I have met people from Tenerife, Naples, boutique hotels and other influencers – one that I met at WTM last year is now sharing an Airbnb place with me for this year’s WTM.” PR expert Debbie Hindle, managing director at Four Travel, noted in another session that the influencer/ blogging industry “has expanded massively…and while there is still a lot of professionalism to come, there is a huge amount of creativity and passion.”

Elsewhere, the Travel Tech Theatre hosted a full day of standingroom only sessions. Highlights included tnooz, Amadeus and SITA discussing blockchain, Hotelbeds and Accor looking at the future of hotel distribution technology and Julia Lo Bue-Said from Advantage Travel Centres explaining how travel agents are using tech to not only remain relevant but also to grow their business.

The Inspire theatre continued to inspire, with BBC journalist Ros Atkens presenting BBC World research into so-called “affluent millennials” and how brands can tap into this group’s propensity to travel by offering unique experiences which are “Instagrammable”.

The event concluded with WTM Festivals, allowing visitors to end their time at this year’s event experiencing the culture, hospitality and cuisine of the Caribbean, Tokyo, Indonesia, Ecuador, Bulgaria, Ghana, Senegal and Brazil.

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ITB Asia 2017 wraps up 10th anniversary with record highs VW BUREAU

The show closed with a spectacular 77% growth from its inaugural edition and a record 22,000 business appointments captured.

I

TB Asia 2017 completed its 10th anniversary event with recordbreaking numbers today at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Over three days, the event hosted about 940 exhibitors from 113 countries, an 11% increase over the previous year. ITB Asia 2017 also welcomed its strongest ever buyer participation across the Corporate, MICE and Leisure sectors. Since 2014, ITB Asia has experienced a 1:1 ratio for exhibitors and buyers.

This year, there were over 22,000 business appointments recorded during the show.

ITB Asia 2017 reported a spectacular 77% growth from its inaugural edition, featuring new exhibitors such as the Rwanda Development Board, Tourism Tunisia, Promote Iceland, Tourism & Foreign Affairs

Department of Almaty City, Republic of Kazakhstan, Jeju Convention and Vistor Bureau, among others.

Exhibitors also invested more in the quality of their booths, with Greece, Japan, Russia and Korea putting up impressive and engaging experiences.

This year’s conference programme looked at the role of technology, setting the tone for the changes that the industry is likely to see in the next 10 years. Speakers from big names IBM Asia Pacific and Google delivered insights on the potential of Artificial Intelligence, Ctrip presented its global strategy, while start-ups Hiverlab, Zebra Design and Savioke shared on the exciting realities and opportunities for augmented reality and virtual reality in hospitality and tourism.

“In view of 10 years of ITB Asia, we have taken every effort to celebrate the past as well as to provide attendees with a useful view to the future. While we are very pleased with our achievements in terms of the quality and numbers, what brings us most satisfaction is bringing together all the different stakeholders across the industry to network and inspire each other. The relationships built and strengthened

will continue to boost our efforts in making ITB Asia the region’s go-to event and a hub for unforgettable content and enriching experiences for many years to come,” said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia. ITB Asia 2018 will be held from 17-19 October 2018 at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands.

FCM Travel Solutions, KPMG reveal AI tool for biz travel VW BUREAU

It has introduced an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool for Indian business travellers to manage travel.

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CM Travel Solutions introduced the essential Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for Indian business travellers to manage their Business Travel in September.

Phoenix, the online Self-Booking Tool by FCM for their corporate clientele, is the travel industry's most comprehensive and innovative online corporate travel booking tool, delivering the broadest selection of travel content through an intuitive and easy-to-use online experience.

The tool gives users total control of their corporate travel program, by delivering travel content business travellers need while providing them with policy enforcement and robust global capabilities.

Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions, Indian

subsidiary of FCTG, Australia, said, “Digital Technology is the most underrated component of travel. While AI based travel is still at inception stage; given its potential for time & cost savings, user data analysis and “standard customisation”, SBT + AI can be a disruptive tool for corporate travel management. With the ever-growing business travel, the millennial workforce wants to take charge of not just their leisure trips but workrelated as well. With blurring lines between work and leisure, inducing Bleisure, we at FCM, want to bring in the bliss of hassle-free travel, irrespective of one travelling or at workplace.”

Jaideep Ghosh, Partner and Head, Transport, Leisure and Sports, KPMG in India commented, “While

the current adoption rate of SBT is sluggish at a mere 2% in India, it is primarily due to diverse travel management standards in India.

At the same time, consumer-type preferences are creeping into business travel segment as well.

Furthermore, the smartphone era is transitioning towards the conversation era, meaning the way consumers communicate with apps is moving to a message-based approach.”

Although, Phoenix has been launched in India and is currently catering to majority of FCM’s clientele, SAM will be launched in 2018 for both iOS and Android.

The AI based Chatbot called ‘SAM (Smart Assistant for Mobile)’ will be FCM's 24-hour travel assistant to simplify life for corporate travellers

by blending AI with the expertise of a real FCM travel consultant.

The advent of Bleisure A report on India findings of FCM’s global survey on Bleisure Travel titled ‘The Bleisure Report, India

by FCM’ reveals that an increasing number of professionals in India are now extending their business trips for leisure, increasingly blurring the lines between business and leisure travel. The key elements contributing to the rise of Bleisure not only includes growing work stress amongst employees or maintaining a work-life balance, but also a certain technological advances enabling “work from anywhere”, which creates a win-win situation for both employers and employees.

www.voyagersworld.in

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Business travel risks on the rise: International SOS VW BUREAU

How much attention are corporates paying to the safety and security of their employees who are on the move for business? International SOS presents the latest updates on security of business travellers

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rganisations have begun realizing the significance of the ‘Duty of Care’ and risk mitigation planning as it also helps them save considerable costs incurred through emergency medical interventions, insurance claims, or evacuation situations. Over the last three years, the number of travellers using medical and travel security pre-trip advisories has increased by nearly 30%. Correspondingly, the number of cases where evacuation and/or repatriation has been prevented has risen by 10%. However, there is a great scope for more organisations to review both medical and security issues when preparing their employees for travel and assignment abroad.

International SOS recently revealed the latest insights into the actions and attitudes of business decisionmakers when it comes to the health, safety and security of their global mobile workforce. The Ipsos MORI Global Business Resilience Trends Watch 2018 survey, now in its second year, reveals that the perception of risk remains elevated and, while organisations are increasingly implementing prevention and mitigation measures, there are still

Voyager’s World > November 2017

opportunities for improvement as major strategic aspects are being missed.

Global Business Resilience Trends Watch is an Ipsos Mori research study conducted among 667 business decision-makers, across all types of organisations which have had previous contact relating to business travel health and security with International SOS, across 69 countries.

Research was conducted online in the period October 2nd to October 20th 2017. Respondents were those who organise, influence or are responsible for their organisation’s travel and risk mitigation policies.

Security professionals accounted for 17% of the sample, with HSE and HR staffers comprising the next biggest segments, on 15% each.

International SOS and Control Risks launch the latest edition of its awardwinning Travel Risk Map . The digital map includes revised risk ratings and social sharing enhancements.

Risk ratings are the reason why 42% of organisations modified travel itineraries in 2017 .

The survey found that travel plans

were changed, predominantly, due to concerns over security threats (58%), followed by natural disasters (43%). This was consistent across the globe, apart from the Americas where natural disasters was first and security threats second. At a global level these are followed by country risk ratings (42%) and civil unrest (34%).

that a strategic and far-reaching view may currently be a missed opportunity by many organisations.

Only 9% of organisations updated their sustainability programme to include their travel risk policy and just 10% introduced a wellbeing policy, falling at the bottom of the risk mitigation techniques implemented in 2017.

Perception of Risk Remains at an Elevated Level 63% of business decision-makers perceive travel risks to have increased in the past year, reflecting a global softening from 72% in the previous year. However, the Americas and Australasia regions stand out with 78% and 72% respectively reporting increased risk in 2017. Risk rating changes on the latest edition of the Travel Risk Map include increase risk in some areas of the Caribbean and Puerto Rico due to the effects of the hurricanes and a decrease in risk in some European countries thanks to improved standards of medical care.

Dr Doug Quarry, Group Medical Director of Health Intelligence for International SOS, says “A staggering 91% of organisations have potentially not included their travel risk programme in their overall business sustainability programme and 90% are seemingly ignoring the impact a wellbeing policy could have on their travelling workforce. This is despite an increasing understanding of how these techniques can impact within the context of the GRI Index. ”

Striving for Business Resilience While the preventative agenda in medical and travel risk mitigation is clearly on the rise, the survey reveals

Opportunities for future business resilience through a robust travel risk mitigation programme 9% Updated sustainability programme to include travel risk programme 10% Introduced a wellbeing policy 13% Monitored the number of

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road traffic incidents 14% Updated travel risk policy to include diversity-related issues (e.g.

LGBT, female travellers, travellers with disabilities) 16% Implemented a programme for people to understand existing health issues while away on business Rob Walker, security expert at International SOS & Control Risks, comments, “Success in future global mobility programmes will be those that include consideration of the changing demographic of the mobile workforce and new marketplace dynamics, including the increase in use of shared economy services.

The immediate obvious risks, such as the recent hurricanes and unforeseeable security incidents, will see organisations scrutinised in terms of preventative measures and recovery.”

Risk Response & Challenges Organisations continue to introduce risk mitigation techniques . The most frequent step taken in response to travel health and security concerns is the introduction of pre-trip and during trip emails, with 39% of decision makers reporting to have introduced this in 2017.

However, organisations still face barriers in ensuring the health and security of travellers, with educating employees about travel risk (53%) the most common challenge in ensuring the health and security of travellers, followed by communicating with employees in a

Voyager’s World > November 2017

crisis, and ensuring they have read pre-travel information (both 44%).

Dr Quarry, continues, “As threats, such as the plague in Madagascar, can be fast moving, timely insight is critical to travellers and organisations to avoid potentially disastrous consequences.”

“It is promising to see that risk mitigation techniques are being prioritised, including annual health check up’s, which can be key to spotting any potential health issues that need managing prior to travel or assignments. As organisations continue to review and enhance their processes, it is important that new actions to promote a safe, healthy and well workforce are taken into account to help support and strengthen business resilience.”

In order to cater to the specific demands of high risk industries like oil and gas, mining, aviation, maritime, offshore and remote medical sectors, International SOS partnered with AMAS Medical Services, to provide job-specific and industry compliant health checks, preventive and emergency services to organisations.

In July this year International SOS had shared its top five safety travel tips for travellers. “Travelers typically spend more time researching restaurants and activities than investigating potential medical and security threats,” said Matthew Bradley - Regional Security Director, Americas for International SOS and

Control Risks. “The importance of advanced travel planning cannot be overstated. Travelers should be well-informed on health and safety resources prior to their departure and prepare accordingly.”

peace of mind prior to travel. Have access to good maps, learn a few phrases in the local language, and research any issues in advance.

Also, be sure to follow the local area news.

1.

Maintain a Low-Profile: Don’t draw attention to yourself while in public. Although travel is a great way to meet new people and locals, it’s not an appropriate time to share any personal information about your profession or financial stability.

Minimize exposing personal facts and you’ll limit your risk.

4. Communication is Key: Be sure you can make international calls, have a charger that will work in that particular country, and pre-program essential contact information. Make sure friends and family know where you’re going and how to stay in touch.

Leave copies of travel documents – such as a passport and itinerary – with friends or family at home.

2. Be Aware of Cultural Differences: Many countries have different cultural attitudes and standards, so take the time to research the location to which you are traveling.

By understanding local cultural practices prior to departure, you'll be able to plan ahead and act appropriately in your environment.

3. Always Have a Plan B: Vacations and business travel don’t always go as planned, and sometimes there’s a medical or security emergency.

One of the best things to do prior to a trip is to have a back-up plan for how a possible scenario could be handled. Ask yourself things like: What are my potential risks?

Will I have a local medical or diplomatic contact? Who can I rely on in-country for transportation, security assistance, medical help, or emergency funds? Make an informal checklist with these questions along with the answers to give yourself

5. Safety on The Road: The threat of terrorism and natural disasters is far exceeded by the danger of traffic accidents. In fact, vehicle crashes are the number one hazard for travellers. In many parts of the world, driving is chaotic, streets are crowded and roads are undermaintained. Do not try to drive on your own. Instead, look for a trusted driver, always wear your seatbelt and speak up if you feel unsafe.

Hence, in these times of increased political instability on the international front, global warming and frequent climatic changes, health hazards, it is imperative that companies think about risks and safety before sending their employees outdoors as a duty of care. It would enhance the value of the corporate's overall best practices and self assessment programmes for business travel.

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Face recognition will be key trend in meetings and events Courtesy: Tnooz.com

Advancements in technology are moving at a cracking pace in the Meetings & Events space. Here are some trends to watch in 2018…

A

dvancements in technology are moving at a cracking pace in the Meetings & Events space. Here are some trends to watch in 2018.

Face-recognition for friction-less registration While some traditional check-in systems can take up to a minute per person, this new technology can work with video up to 10 frames per second. It identifies attendees as they walk towards the device, calls up their information and completes the check-in process digitally. It works with any device that has a camera and enables staff to greet attendees by name as they walk through. Attendees who opt into the system simply upload their photos before the event. The platform has a “check image” feature to avoid errors.

Conversational chatbots and voice recognition assistance The chatbot – an automated program with artificial intelligence (AI) that conducts conversations via auditory or text methods – and it’s seeing exciting advancements, according to Carolyn Clark, senior vice-president marketing at the non-profit Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) in Chicago. “The latest trend is the shift in their conversational nature.

As humans, our preferred method of communication is through voice, but conveying tone, inflection, and intent through chatbots isn’t a perfect art."

In the events industry, Eventbots

by Sciensio and AtlasRTX have launched chatbots. You can ask questions, schedule meetings, get directions, and more. Polling, Q&A, feedback, alerts, announcements,

and updates are available as inapp experiences as well. Sciensio’s Concierge EventBot, developed specifically for use at noisy events, does all that by having meaningful individual conversations with thousands of concurrent users via text. The texts are written in a conversational tone to convey the “voice” of the event and can be personalised to respond to an attendee, sponsor or speaker.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Experts predict advancements in AI will drive efficiencies across Meetings & Events. For instance, Felix Undeutsch, head of MICE & Groups at Expedia, reckons that instead of relying on static daily delegate rates, AI can be used to improve predictive pricing, resulting in better revenue management, and

play a big role in fully automating RFPs (requests for proposals).

Streamlining online MICE bookings There are lots of developments in online booking systems, with many start-ups aiming to corner the market by cutting out the cumbersome RFP process. Asemblr, for instance, is offering solutions to help corporate event organisers to plan events from start to finish, both online and on mobile devices. As well as venues around the UK, it offers a database of suppliers, from AV and production to transportation and speakers.

Catching the Airbnb vibe Think Airbnb and you get the picture.

By the year-end, this startup will be booking small meetings across 10,000 venues in the US.

Welcome to Holiday Expo another exciting brand to take your business to a level of growth and establish an opportunity to create a brand new market. Medium sized Indian cities have emerged as one of the fastest growing markets or quality leisure products and 'Holiday Expo' is just the perfect Travel Exhibition reachout to this very market,thus ensuring your product profits to its optimum potential.

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Voyager’s World > November 2017

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MICE is positioned to rule the travel and hospitality market ANJU ANNA ALEX

Valmiki Hari Kishan, Managing Director, Valmiki Travel and Tourism Solutions, talks about the probable growth trajectory and future of MICE to India. managed to attract over 250,000 travellers thanks to the efforts of the Dept. of Telangana Tourism. The Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) and Ramoji Film City have also significantly contributed to increasing MICE to the state.

The 78th SKAL World Congress organized at HICC was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of Hyderabad to the world.

Hyderabad as a MICE destination India is already an established outbound market for MICE. Sustained and intensified marketing efforts will usher in an influx of inbound MICE to the country.

Hyderabad has successfully

MICE The MICE segment is positioned to rule the travel and hospitality market. The accelerated growth in the segment can be attributed to the easy availability of low cost carriers and budget accommodations.

If adequate attention is paid to improving the infrastructure, hygiene and transport facilities, increasing

room inventory etc., MICE to India will scale even greater heights.

However, it is anticipated that the meetings segment of MICE will die a slow death. Technology will soon dispel the need to travel to distant places for attending meetings. On the contrary, the Incentives segment is expected to give considerable mileage to the Indian GDP. Of all the MICE segments, the conventions component appears to be the most promising with its potential to simultaneously target large travel groups. In the events category, destination weddings are emerging popular.

Dis-intermediation trend Online technology stands to pose a compelling threat to those travel companies that have failed to

M.I.C.E SCAN Inaugural Dubai Association Conference set to provide platform for growth

T

he first-ever Dubai Association Conference is being hosted by the Dubai Association Centre (DAC), a joint initiative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). It is scheduled to take place 11-12 December, 2017 at DWTC. The line-up of speakers includes His Excellency Helal Al Marri, Director General of DTCM and His Excellency Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

manifest in the digital space. But, digital technology cannot replace the power of the human touch. Knowing that a person is at the other end of the telephone line, ready to help, puts the customer at ease.

This is to say that only an experienced travel agent can guarantee that the finer aspects of travel are taken care of, and ascertain that holistic solutions are offered. Online technology can only cater to specific segments but has limitations when it comes to crafting uber-customized experiences. There is no dearth of opportunities in the travel-hospitality industry and hence young professionals should strive to be patient, passionate and persistent to find their due success in the industry.

CALENDAR 2017 December 2017 1,2,3 Chengdu International Tourism Expo (CITE) Chengdu, China 4,5,6,7 International Luxury Travel Market, Cannes, France

Singapore Tourism marks 10th year with Messe Berlin at ITB Asia 2017

T

he Singapore Tourism Board (STB) celebrated its long-standing 10-year partnership with Messe Berlin. To mark the occasion, Singapore will be the Official Partner Country for ITB Asia 2017, Messe Berlin’s regional flagship tradeshow. STB’s new brand, Passion Made Possible, will feature prominently across the exhibition show floor, with STB hosting the Singapore Pavilion and Happy Corner from 25 to 27 October at ITB Asia 2017, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Hall.

WTM Latin America creates hotel hospitality lounge

T

he next edition of WTM Latin America will feature a hospitality lounge, created especially to promote independent ventures, inserted there hotels, inns, resorts and hostels that act individually in the national and international markets. Located in a space of 32 sq m and with capacity to receive up to eight independent projects, the lounge was created to encourage the world hotel sector that seeks opportunities and approach with Latin American buyers, to generate new business with small and medium players.

ixigo unveils voice-based travel assistant at PhocusWright conference

i

xigo launched its upcoming artificial intelligence travel assistant - TARA(Youtube Link) at the Phocuswright Innovation Platform, held in Florida recently. TARA is a voice enabled, 100% AIdriven travel assistant that helps users discover, plan, book and manage their travel. Its pioneering features include emotive voice based assistance, pre-emptive trip planning, automated frequent flyer programme management, seamless flight search & booking and automated web check-in. TARA will officially be launched in early 2018.

January 2018 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 FITUR Madrid, Spain 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 ASEAN Tourism Forum Chiang Mai, Thailand

February 2018 20, 21 Asia-Pacific Incentive Meeting Expo (AIME) Melbourne, Australia 26, 27, 28 International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Tokyo, Japan

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Online Travel

38>>

Pamper your senses through unique experiences in offbeat destinations IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Ishank Ahuja, Co-founder & Director, MyTravelPie.com, shares his views on experiential stays for the discerning Indian traveller.

We believe independently owned properties represent the best way to experience a new city, culture or country, because they are owned and operated by local small business owners who often know more than anyone about the culture, customs and ‘off the beaten path’ experiences within their hometowns.

M

yTravelPie was started in 2014 mainly to introduce the traveller to a unique hand-picked collection of experiential stays such as boutique home stays, offbeat cottages, farm stays, villas and small independent properties located in the lesser known parts of the world.

The Indian traveller is looking for more than just the popular places like Shimla or Manali and for experiences such as taking a day hike to a local village, staying with a local family or just being close to nature.

Growth We have noticed a year-on-year increase in bookings for unique

offbeat stays. Over the years we have also observed that the Indian traveller is shifting from fixed tour packages offered by small agents to a more flexible form of travel where they like to research and book as per their own needs. Based on the bookings and requests that we receive from the ‘Indian Millennial Traveller’, today about 85% prefer to stay at an experiential stay such as a homestay, cottage, villa, or a treehouse away from the maddening crowd of the city.

We believe that unique experiences can only be found off-the-beaten path. Our team recently travelled through Tirthan Valley and we met a bunch of local hosts who offer amazing experiences. For example, one of the hosts would offer a stay

along with a week long course on organic farming while another one would offer a stay at an apple orchard and offer art and yoga classes.

Some of the places like Rukhla, Kotgarh and Kothkai in the outskirts of Shimla offer amazing stays. South Goa is also one place that offers amazing beach side villas away from the crowd while Gokarna, a place located about 200 km from Goa offers some great homestays and cottages.

Some say Gokarna has the vibe that Goa used to have 15 years back.

Overall as of 2016, about 70% of the total registered homestays are located in South India while only 17% are located in the North.

End-to-end trip planning solution sees new entrant IRENE SUSAN EAPEN

Ameya Sahasrabudhe, CEO, Ithaka, explains how its services can be used to plan a hyper personalised trip in an engaging way. and fully personalized plan. We have expanded our services to Thailand, Indonesia and plan to expand in Western Europe soon.

I

thaka is the easiest way to plan a hyper personalized trip. The app is designed to help travellers to discover a destination in an engaging way, mainly to shortlist the places and activities of interest and of course, chat with our in house trip designers in crafting an optimal

Voyager’s World > November 2017

Indian market We have seen a strong growth in India from mid-2016 as our fastest growing demography is 20-35 years old that ranges from young professionals to young families. We hope to receive more than triple revenues in 2017 compared to 2016. Our main focus is to create the best travel experiences which have helped us grow largely organically for a small player like us leveraging of content and community will be our prime focus for the future.

personalized trips and have direct partnerships with all the major hubs in Thailand and Indonesia. We offer exclusive experiences like scuba dives, boat parties, pub crawls, bike tours and private romantic dinners, standard tours like safari world, museums, etc.

Kind of tours We plan

Unique destinations Some of the unique destinations are

end-to-end

fully

in Pai and Mae Hong Son in North Thailand, Koh Adang, Koh Bulon Lae and Koh Payam in the South and in Bali trekking in Kalimantan, diving in Raja Ampat and Komodo national park. You don’t have to go to an offbeat destination to have an offbeat experience but you can always go to a touristic place like Thailand and still get an offbeat experience by planning the trip differently.

OTA

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46% Indians book trips before turning in: Kayak In a survey on travel addiction, KAYAK unveils how addicted Indians are to travel.

VW BUREAU

K

AYAK recently released the results of its 'Travel Addicts' survey to find out what is driving its users to travel, by surveying 2,100 respondents across Asia Pacific*, aged between 21 to 45 years. Below are the findings A good travel partner is more important than money?

When asked about the most important factors when planning a trip, 53% Indians see money as the most important element, more so than a safe environment (46%).

Mobile Internet (29%) is regarded as equally important as a travel partner, followed by good weather (27%) and a comfortable accommodation (23%).

Can travel booking happen anywhere, anytime?

Survey results show that most people are likely to book their trips online using their phones right before bed.

India ranked highest (46%) in this regard, followed by Hong Kong (44%) and Korea (43%). Surprisingly, 45% of Indian travellers have searched or even booked their next trips when they have not even complete a trip.

inseparable from physical presence in a destination?

Online and physical presence in a destination are considered as

one. Among APAC travelers, Indian travellers have posted the most during and after a trip, averaging at 10 posts. After posting a feed, 38%

of Indian travelers have checked the performance of their social media posts every few hours or more often, to keep track on “likes� and “comments.

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Additionally, Indian travellers (12%) stand out with the highest number of respondents booking their travel when they are drunk, followed by Australia (6%) & Korea (6%).

Are Indian people the ultimate deal seekers?

To obtain a better deal for their travels, 62% of Indian travelers have checked flight & hotel prices daily; 61% have even opened more than 4 websites at the same time for comparison, versus Taiwan travelers at 53% and regional average at 30%.

Indians are also the most forgetful travelers in the APAC region with 33% travelers missing their flight or mixing up flight times. The same applies to hotels, with 32% Indian travelers claiming to mix up hotel names or going to the wrong hotel followed by Singaporean travelers (14%). 54% of Indian travellers are have created a checklist when travelling and ensure they tick off each item before they complete their vacation.

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FESTIVALS OF 16-19 November Macao Grand Prix, Macao The Macao Grand Prix is taking place from 16 – 19 November in Macao. The 64th motor racing event and also known to be the only street circuit racing event that includes both car and motorcycle races. The Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix – FIA F3 World Cup includes a six thrilling races Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix - FIA F3 World Cup, SJM Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup, Suncity Group Guia Race–FIA WTCC, Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-51st Edition.

11 November Tarawera Trail Marathon & 50K, New Zealand The Tarawera Trail Marathon &50K is taking place on 11th November at Rotorua ‘s geothermal landscape . The event is starting over at the spectacular Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley, the course traverses through the towering Whakarewarewa Forest, the shores of Green Lake, Lake Tarawera and Rotomahana, and the finishing point is right under Mt Tarawera at Hot Water Beach where one soak in the naturally heated thermal waters. The event is open for both runners and walkers. The Tikitapu Trail Run is also part of this event where you can choose between a 16 and 23km for walking and running.

11-18 November GLOW Eindhoven, Netherlands The Glow Eindhoven a light art festival that will start from 11-18 November in Eindhoven. The city of Eindhoven gets an illuminated look through various light installations by dozens of light artists.

You can get to witness the light constructions by artists from all around the world. Every year, the visitors get to experience a new theme. The light art festival of Eindhoven has also been awarded with a number of prizes for the artists, designers and architects.

Voyager’s World > November 2017

18 November Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon, Queenstown, New Zealand The Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon is happening on 18th November in Queenstown, the categories for the marathon for men and women are 18-19 years, 20-29 years, 30-39 years, 4049 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years, 70+ years. Queenstown offers a spectacular alpine backdrop.The event features a 42km, 21km, 10km and even a 3km kids’ race, the course navigates the Queenstown Lakes region including Millbrook Resort, Arrowtown, Lake Hayes, Shotover River, Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown Gardens and finally finishes in the heart of Queenstown.

THE WORLD 2 December Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K, Jamaica The Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon &10K the Jamaica’s Premier international Marathon will start on 2nd December that offers the spirit of running in the scenic paradise and you can get to enjoy the foot tapping beats of Reggae music with runners from across the world. The event is rated among the ten best Marathons in the world.

The event also gives the opportunity for participants to experience the event against the backdrop of Negril’s seven mile white sand beach.

16 Nov - 2 December Monte Carlo Jazz Festival, Monaco The 12th Monte Carlo Jazz Festival is hosted by Monaco from 16th November to 2nd December at Opera Garnier Monte- Carlo that highlights in discovering the artists in Jazz. The festival takes you through a journey of the past, present and future of Jazz. The event will include performances by internationally celebrated jazz artists like Marcus Miller, Stacey Kent, Texas and Christophe. This edition of the event will witness the musicians, contemporary jazz voices and soloists.

3-12 November Food and Wine Classic, New Zealand The Food and Wine Classic Festival is happening from 3-12 November in Hawke’s Bay. A well-known gastronomy event in New Zealand, Food and Wine Classic is held twice in a year; they have a winter series. Food and wine lovers can experience the best cuisine here besides meeting chefs, food producers and wine makers. The Hawke’s Bay region is also known for producing a range of varieties like Bordeaux-blend reds and Chardonnay.

19 November Toast Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand The Toast Martinborough is taking place on 19th November in Martinborough , the festival is celebrated with a focus on the region with food, wine and entertainment. The visitors can take a stroll or take a shuttle to the vineyards for tasting wines from both the current and past vintages. The Martinborough is also a beautiful small village that is surrounded by boutique vineyards.

www.voyagersworld.in

Happenings

Akquasun organizes Fam trip to Kandima Maldives

A

kquasun Group recently hosted a familiarization trip from 11 – 14 October, 2017, for five travel agents from Chennai in order to introduce a brand new resort Kandima Maldives. The trip was organized with travel support from Srilankan Airlines. The group explored the hotel and participated in activities like cooking classes, experienced sunset on a cruise and attended an art exhibition.

Atout France organizes maiden offsite B2B showcase in Goa

A

tout France organised its first ever offsite B2B showcase 'Experience France' in Goa this year at the Grand Hyatt from 29 October to 2 November. There were 24 representatives of French entities showcasing the limitless possibilities that France has to offer the Indian globetrotter through pre-scheduled appointments. The delegation included key representatives of regional tourism boards, local tourist offices, hospitality partners, versatile attractions and DMCs from across France, besides eight representatives from the Auvergne Rhone Alpes region.

Sheetal Munshaw, Director Atout France in India, said, “In keeping with the market trends of France being a favoured destination with travel professionals pan India, we thought it opportune to create a common platform to facilitate synergies with travel agents from all over the country opening up and further expanding opportunities to promote France to a more versatile audience.”

Voyager’s World > November 2017

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Clarks Exotica wins ‘THE BIZZ’ Award for Business Excellence

C

larks Exotica Convention Resort and Spa, Bengaluru, was awarded 'THE BIZZ' by the World Confederation of Businesses in a gala event held on 15 November at the Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai.

M Balaji, CEO, Clarks Exotica, said on the occasion, “This is the third international award for Clarks Exotica in 2017. It feels great to earn such recognition for the hard work of the Clarks Exotica team, and it acts as an inspiration to do better. Being a part of WORLDCOB also establishes Clarks Exotica as one of the leaders in the industry, and creates many more opportunities for us.”

Sharjha Sales Mission

T

he Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), Govt. of Sharjah, organised a four-city roadshow from 9 – 12 October in Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Ahmedabad respectively.

The objective of the event was to increase the visibility of the emirate as a cultural, business, leisure and educational destination among Indian travellers and to increase the engagement with education boards, the tourism sector, policy makers and the business community.

H. E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa Naiken, Chairman, SCTDA, “We want to promote Sharjah as a cultural and education destination for Indian travellers. Sharjah has a lot to offer in terms of tourism, culture and commerce and it is imperative that the scope of engagement between both countries should now be taken to the second level. India is one of the most crucial and promising tourism markets for Sharjah and the emirate every year attracts thousands of tourists and visitors from the country. It is also a safe destination for women and we want to highlight that.”

Happenings

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CII Invest North 2017

T

he 6th Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Invest North 2017 Conclave was held in Mumbai on 1 November to showcase a wide range of trade and investment opportunities in the northern states. The conclave witnessed the participation of distinguished panelists from the tourism industry in interactive state plenary sessions, B2B meetings, sectoral sessions and round table deliberations on contemporary topics of interest.

K.B. Kachru, CII Chairman - NR Committee on Tourism and Hospitality said, “Over the last six decades, tourism has been the fastest growing sector globally and has provided livelihood to over 40 million across the globe. Tourism has the potential to provide employment to over 1000 per day; if developed properly it can become one of the largest job providers.”

Apurv Kumar, Managing Director, Clarks Group of Hotels, explains, “Tourism is contributing 10% to the GDP and employment in the tourism sector has grown at 2% annually. We also have the fastest growing Tourism economy in G20 nations.” Rahul Pandit, Managing Director and CEO, Ginger Hotels, observes, “India is the youngest major economy in the world and travel and hospitality sector has the potential to drive the Indian economy.”

Grover Zampa unveils gold edition on 25th anniversary

Air Astana marks 13 years connecting India and Eurasia

Grand Finale for Paryatan Parv 2017

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A

T

There was a vertical wine tasting session where three different vintages of Grover Zampa La Rèserve were served. Kapil Grover, Chairman and Ravi Jain, Director, Grover Zampa Vineyards and Anuraag Bhatnagar, Multi-Property Vice President, Luxury, India, Marriott International played hosts for the evening.

Air Astana launched direct flights from Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to New Delhi in July 2017.

It plans to increase in the number of Astana– New Delhi flights from three to five times a week. It is also exploring the opportunity of launching flights from Kazakhstan to other cities in India.

rover Zampa Vineyards marked its 25th year of wine making with the launch of Auriga, India's first ever sparkling wine with 24 carat gold flakes, at a party held at 'The Best Address’, hosted in association with The St. Regis, Mumbai, on 1 November. This new gold edition is a gently aged wine with an extravagant dusting of gold.

ir Astana is celebrating 13 years of connecting India to Kazakhstan and Eurasia, having commenced operations between Almaty and New Delhi in 2004. Today, it operates 10 flights between Kazakhstan and India each week, including a daily service between Almaty and New Delhi and three frequencies between Astana and New Delhi.

he Three week long 'Paryatan Parv', a nation-wide celebration of tourism organised by Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with other Central Ministries, State Governments and stakeholders w as held from 5 to 25 October 2017. At the Grand Finale held at the Rajpath Lawns in Delhi, there were cultural performances from different Indian states and UTs; a food court with 50 stalls showcasing the cuisines of different states and a crafts bazaar with other interactive activities.

Rajnath Singh, Union Minister for Home Affairs inaugurated the 'Paryatan Parv-Grand Finale' and K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Tourism presided over the inaugural function.

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Travel Trends

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Discovery, Google take steps to make virtual reality mainstream Courtesy: Tnooz.com

N

o longer is virtual reality part of the lexicon that describes the future of travel. Discovery Communications and Google are ushering in a new era of popular travel media with the November 3 launch of the seven-part, 38-episode series Discovery TRVLR. Viewers equipped with a Google Daydream View headset or Google Cardboard can journey across all seven continents via YouTube, DiscoveryVR.com or on the Discovery VR app, without incurring subscription costs. (The series is also available in non-VR format on the web, Android and iOS phones.)

Writer and director of the series Addison O’Dea says, “This is definitely the harbinger of VR hitting the mainsteam. There was a time when everyone was taking an initial dive into VR to see where it would go and once that hit critical mass, it brought more investment and more development so that now networks like Discovery are giving audiences access to this type of programming.”

But shooting 360-degree content on six continents in less than seven months was not without its challenges for O’Dea and his crew.

Filming in the relatively new medium initially proved deceptive for subjects accustomed to cameras focusing on a comparatively narrow range of view.

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But to capture and record the celluloid equivalent of a panoramic

trompe l’oeil often required O’Dea to stop filming in order to re-explain to his group of subjects that everyone will simultaneously be caught on camera as will every choice they make.

He explains, “People had to learn to change their perceptions of photography with the VR camera and that was a challenge, but the camera also allowed me to remove myself as the director in order to allow audiences to be completely enveloped in these visceral environments.”

O’Dea also credits technological improvements to both VR cameras and headsets for the digital medium’s arrival in mainstream media, adding, “The camera technology is now to the point where we can nimbly function in almost any environment so networks are now interested in investing more heavily in VR programming and audiences will soon have the same familiarity with it that they do with film and broadcast television.”

Viewers also have a wider range of headset options to choose from while VR studios like Here Be Dragons, which produced O’Dea’s segments of Discovery TRVLR and in which Discovery is an investor, are also becoming more common place.

VR challenges Yet, VR camera technology has not yet advanced into the realm of hand-held devices and that gave O’Dea pause as he found himself and his crew rapelling hundreds of feet down into an underground cave network in New Zealand.

O’Dea describes the situation as “an awesome challenge to navigate on ropes and harnesses through pitch darkness a few hundred feet beneath the earth’s crust, with the only light coming from our headlamps and cameras and backpacks strapped to our backs.”

While he claims the end was well worth the means, that will likely be for audiences to judge when the

episode airs.

Although the crew doesn’t play a camera part, viewers can expect to be fully immersed in the New Zealand cave experience in much the way the director and his crew were because unlike traditional travel programming, Discovery TRVL is not an observational documentary with a ‘voice of god narration.’

Each episode follows a local with a particular expertise such as Angus, the New Zealand spelunker who took O’Dea, his crew and viewers on what is effectively a guided tour.

“The viewer is inside the cave in New Zealand and the monastery in Armenia, and the host is there the entire time while the viewer can also moving around and explore the location.”

But it isn’t just VR technology that has the potential to further evolve.

According to O’Dea, the series could also lend itself to second and third iterations.

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45>> Amit Kumar

Ruban Das

Hotel Manager, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park

General Manager, Doubletree Suites by Hilton Bangalore

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loft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park has appointed Amit Kumar as the Hotel Manager. He will be responsible for the overall hotel operations and new business opportunities. He has worked with various brands like Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield & Convention Centre, Westin Gurgaon and international brands like Hyatt Hotels and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in the Middle East.

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uban Das is the General Manager of Doubletree Suites by Hilton Bangalore.

Prior to this, he was the Director of Food & Beverages (F&B) for Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach. Earlier he had served as Director of Events for Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and as Director of Operations for Hilton Chennai.

Sharad Puri

Manish Garg

General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu

General Manager, Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks

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ilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks has appointed Manish Garg as the General Manager. He brings with him an experience of over 20 years. He started his career with Hilton in 2011 and worked in Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn properties. Prior to this, he had worked as the General Manager of Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon Baani Square.

S

harad Puri is the new General Manager of JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu. He started his career as an Assistant Manager with Oberoi Towers and The Oberoi Mumbai and worked with The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata and as the Hotel Manager at Hilton Towers, Mumbai.

Later on, he worked as the General Manager of Trident in Chennai and as the pre-opening General Manager of Trident in Hyderabad.

Ashwin Vaidya

Prateek Kalra

Resident Services Manager, Lakeside Chalet Mumbai- Marriott Executive Apartments

Director of Food & Beverage, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar

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rateek Kalra joins JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar as the new Director of Food & Beverage. He brings with him an experience of over 12 years. He has worked with various hotels like Taj Group, The Westin Hotel, Mumbai, Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Prior to this, he worked as the Director of F&B at Taj Coromandel, Chennai.

A

shwin Vaidya is the new Resident Services Manager of Lakeside Chalet MumbaiMarriott Executive Apartments. In his new role, he will be responsible for the overall services at the property. With 10 years of experience, he has worked with the Oberoi, Goa Marriott Resort, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, Pune, etc.

Chef Madhusudan Singh

Vishi Oberoi

Executive Chef Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Kariat

Food & Beverage Novotel ImagicaKhopoli

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adisson Blu Resort & Spa Kariat appoints Chef Madhusudan Singh as the Executive Chef of Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Karjat. He brings with him an experience of over 20 years . He started his career with the ITC group of hotels in Jaipur. He has also worked with hotels like Le Meridian, Sheraton and Keys Hotel.

V

ishal Oberoi is appointed as the Director of Food and Beverage of Novotel ImagicaKhopoli who will be responsible for the entire food and beverage department.

Prior to this, he has worked with hotels like Radisson Blu Hotel, Pune, Ramada Powai Hotel & Convention Centre, Mumbai and Ramada Powai Hotel & Convention Centre, Mumbai.

Shamsher Ahmed

Abhirath Sah

Chef de Cuisine Sofitel Mumbai BKC

S

hamsher Ahmed is the new Chef de Cuisine of Sofitel Mumbai BKC. He has over 20 years of experience and had worked with St. Regis Mumbai, Westin Garden City Mumbai, Le Meridien Dhaka, Marriott ICC Convention Centre Pune, Westin Pune, Grand Hyatt Mumbai, Renaissance Goa, Taj Gateway Bangalore.

Director of Sales & Marketing, the Westin Hyderabad Mindspace

A

bhirath Sah joins The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace as the Director of Sales & Marketing. He started his career with the Carlson Group of Hotels and has worked with the Trident Chennai, Hyatt Gachibowli, ISTA Hyderabad and the Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts, Hyderabad. He has a decade of experience in the hospitality industry.

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