October 22

Dear Readers,

The month of September and October has seen a lot of developments especially among the travel-trade associations. Be it Annual Conventions or election of new team of leaders, there have been a lot of activities. While ATOAI, TAAI and ADTOI have elected their teams of Managing Commettee members, IATO has announced its forthcoming Annual Convention in Uttar Pradesh in the month of December.

Apart from that you will have a chance to read about the international activities as well. Look forward for your kind suggestions and feed back.

Happy reading.

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Rajesh Tiwari

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Kerala gets ‘Hall of Fame’ at National Tourism Awards

News Desk

Keralawas accorded the prestigious ‘Hall of Fame’ status for being the Best State in the category of ‘Comprehensive Development of Tourism’ for the fourth consecutive year at the National Tourism Awards 2018-19.

Kozhikode’s District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) was adjudged the best in the category.

The awards were presented by VicePresident Jagdeep Dhankar at an impressive function at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi. Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy presided over the function.

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) Managing Director, V Vigneshwari received the awards on behalf of Kerala Tourism. The Hall of Fame status is given to a state/UT or an organisation, which has won the National Tourism Award in a particular category for the last three consecutive years and also wins it for the fourth time in the same category. However, the winner of this status is not eligible to apply for the same category for the next three years.

PM dedicates first phase of Mahakal Lok project to nation

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated First Phase of the Mahakal Lok project to the nation at Shri Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh on October 11th. Phase I of the Mahakal Lok project will help in enriching the experience of pilgrims visiting the temple by providing them with world-class modern amenities.

The project aims to decongest the entire area and also put special emphasis on the conservation and restoration of heritage structures. Under the project, the temple precinct will be expanded nearly seven times. The total cost of the entire project is around Rs 850 crores.

The existing footfall of the temple, which is currently around 1.5 crore per annum, is expected to be doubled. The development of the project has been planned under two phases.

The Mahakal Path contains 108 stambhs (pillars) which depict Anand Tandav Swaroop (Dance form) of Lord Shiva. Many religious sculptures depicting the life of Lord Shiva are installed along the Mahakal Path. The mural wall along the path is based on stories about the act

of creation, the birth of Ganesha, story of Sati and Daksha among others from Shiva Purana. The area of plaza is spread over 2.5 hectares and is surrounded by a lotus pond which contains the statue of Shiva along with water fountains.

The entire premise will be monitored 24x7 by Integrated Command and Control Centre with the help of artificial intelligence and surveillance cameras.

Luxury train ‘Palace on Wheels’ resumes operation

News Desk

The most renowned Luxury Tourist Train of Rajasthan Tourism ‘Palace on Wheels’ has resumed its operation almost after two years which was suspended in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot flagged off the ‘Palace on Wheels’ at Gandhinagar Railway Station in Jaipur on October 08, 2022.

Prior to its departure, the Chief Minister took stock of the facilities inside the train. He wished the passengers a happy journey and said it was a matter of pride for the government to re-operationalise the service.

While speaking on the occasion, Ashok Gehlot said, “Royal train service has been enthralling tourists for the last 40 years and this is an example for the world. Its resumption indicates that tourism sector in the state is going to emerge stronger.”

While elaborating on the initiative taken by the Gehlot Government to

boost tourism sector the Chief Minister informed that his Government has accorded the ‘Industry’ status to the hospitality sector and that a sum of Rs 1,000 crore has been set aside in the 2022-23 budget.

Under the joint aegis of the Railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), modern furnishings and additional amenities have been included in the train.

News Desk

TAAI’s National Office Bearers & Managing Committee returns unopposed

The elections were scheduled for 29th of September in Mumbai where the team has once again taken over their positions

For the first time in the history of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), ‘National Office Bearers’ and the proposed ‘Managing Committee’ members have been chosen unopposed for the term 2022 – 2024 as there were no nominations filed to contest elections, challenging the current Office Bearers or nominations of MC members.

Earlier, the Association had invited nominations from its members for National Office Bearers & MC Members for the term 2022-2024. The last date to file the nominations was the 15th of September and withdrawal of nominations was 23rd of September.

Sharing her views on the re-appointment as the TAAI President, Jyoti Mayal, said, “We have done our best for the fraternity. We left no stone unturned and represented the travel trade on every front. Our hard work won us many accolades because TAAI’s relentless support to the travel trade and tourism industry has been appreciated at both national and international levels.”

“Our presence at UFTAA, with Global

Tourism Boards, with FAITH and state tourism boards as well as IATA shall certainly be more aggressive and interactive,” she added.

Adding to that, Jay Bhatia, who once again continues as the Vice President said that the team worked day and night despite of challenges faced due to the unprecedented event like Covid, which halted our industry. However, we ensured that our voice be heard by the highest echelons and that adequate support must be extended to our trade.”

“I am thankful to all who have been there with us during the tough times, encouraging and supporting us. This term of 2022-2024 shall definitely see more endeavours from this committee especially with more interactions with the government and the airlines along

ATOAI elects New Team

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on September 21st has elected the new team of ‘Office Bearers & Executive Committee Members’ for the term 2022-2024.

Padmashri Awardee Ajeet Bajaj, Managing Director of Snow Leopard Adventures has been elected as the President of ATOAI along with Tejbir Singh Anand – Managing Director of Holiday Moods Adventures as Sr. Vice President, Vaibhav Kala – Managing Director of Aquaterra Adventures India as Vice President, Ronny Gulati –Managing Director of Youreka Campouts Services as Hon. Secretary and Nirat Bhatt – Managing Director of Nidus Enterprises as Hon. Treasurer.

While addressing the members, the newly elected President said that the

new team of ATOAI will continue to work diligently for the sustainable growth of adventure travel in India by taking forward the association’s aims and shaping government policy for this sector.

“With the formation of the National Board for Adventure Tourism by the Ministry of Tourism and ATOAI as one of the core members of the board, we have spelled out all of our concerns, areas of focus, attention to our international rankings, and bringing global standards with a strong emphasis on safety, risk mitigation, sustainability and improving India’s reputation in the global adventure travel market,” he added.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Vishwas Makhija, Managing Director – India Insight Tours, Immediate Past President

with other stakeholder partners which shall benefit our members,” he added.

Bettaiah Lokesh, who too is continuing as the Hon. Secretary-General said, “Against all challenges, we worked for the benefit of the members. Members were paying their annual subscriptions and our responsibility was to ensure that all statutory and regulatory compliances must be adhered to as per the law and meetings are conducted. Indeed, it was tough but we burnt the midnight oil and made the association strong and faced all such challenges & delivered our best.”

Shreeram Patel, who is continuing as the Hon. Treasurer said, “The secretariat, both at Mumbai and Delhi offices, kept the channel of communication open with members with limited resources. The efforts put in

Pradeep Murthy, Partner – Muddy Boots Vacations India LLP

Tundup Dorjay, Director – Overland Escape

Ravi Kumar, Program Manager –National Outdoor Leadership School

Rahul Sharma, Managing Director –R Ventures Holidays

Amit Perival, Chief Executive Officer –Clubside Tours and Travels

Sanjay Basu, Managing Director –Far Horizon Tours

Uttar Pradesh to host 37th IATO Convention

IndianAssociation of Tour Operators (IATO) – the nodal body of ‘Inbound Tour Operators’ has announced that the 37th IATO Annual Convention will be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh from December 16-19, 2022.

The Centrum will be the venue hotel and all other activities including registration for the convention, business sessions and evening programmes.

new hotels have come up in Lucknow and other cities which will give insight of the facilities and development of infrastructure to the tour operators promoting the state amongst foreign and domestic travellers. Also the added attraction would be the Ram Temple at Ayodhya which in due course of time our members would be aggressively promoting globally,” he added.

While elaborating on the expected number of delegates to attend the Convention, Mehra, further informed, “We expect about 1000 delegates from all over the country to participate which will include senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism and States, including industry leaders, tourism and hospitality professionals and travel trade media. Added attraction for this year Convention would be Post Convention tours to Ayodhya and Varanasi.”

According to Mehra, as every state is keen to re-instate inbound tourism to their respective state, around 18-20 State Governments are expected to be present to interact with the conglomerate of the most prominent industry stakeholders.

Elaborating more on this, IATO’s President, Rajiv Mehra said, “We are coming back to Lucknow after a gap of 26 years and it will be an excellent opportunity for our members to see the improved and developed infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh.”

“The last IATO Convention in Lucknow was held in 1996 and there are so many

“This year focus in the Convention would be to deliberate about the revival of inbound tourism to India therefore, the theme of the Convention and subjects for the business sessions would be suitably decided by the committee,” added IATO’s President.

Themostprominentandmuch awaitedInboundTourOperators’ meet – the 37th IATO Annual Conventionwillbegracedbythe auspiciouspresenceoftheChief MinisterofUttarPradeshYogi Adityanath.

InaugurationoftheConvention will be held on 16th December at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Gomti Nagar,Lucknow.“ChiefMinisterof UttarPradesh,YogiAdityanathhas givenhiskindconsenttograce theoccasionwithhispresence andinauguratetheconvention,” informedRajivMehra,President, Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Can’t wait to welcome my fellow members; Prateek Hira

News

While sharing his thoughts on the forthcoming 37th Annual Convention of IATO, Prateek Hira, IATO Chairman-Uttar Pradesh said that hosting IATO Convention in Uttar Pradesh is not only a privilege of the state but our membership is extremely delighted and feels privileged to be once again coming back to the state and seeing it in an all new avatar.

“I am elated that IATO’s 37th Convention returns to Uttar Pradesh after a long gap of 16 years and to Lucknow after a gap of 26 years. Since the last convention held in UP, Uttar Pradesh has changed and changed for betterment, especially in the last 10 years. Development in UP is commendable and beyond imagination.

‘Transformation’ is the right word and that too, an ongoing one,” he added.

While visiting after a gap of 26 years the Inbound tour operators will have a

chence to see the new developments through their eyes. “The kind of development that Varanasi and Ayodhya is seeing and the hype they have created is exemplary and is sure to take the state of UP to the next level in spiritual tourism.”

“Similarly, the government’s focus on other thrust areas such as eco-tourism, rural tourism, adventure tourism etc is no less appreciable and is a step towards realising our Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s dream of making Uttar Pradesh a One Trillion Dollar Economy,” he further informed.

“I, as the IATO’s Chapter Chairman of Uttar Pradesh, can’t wait to welcome my fellow members from all across Uttar Pradesh this December at IATO’s 37th Convention,” he concluded.

Jammu & Kashmir receives 1.62 crore tourist from Jan to Sep 2022

The Department of Tourism, Government of Jammu & Kashmir has revealed that the territory has received the highest number of tourists in an annual year since independence. From January to September 2022, 1.62 crore tourists have visited the region which is a remarkable achievement especially after the pandemic.

A press communiqué released by the Department of Tourism suggests that tourism and hospitality sector which is the biggest source of employment in the territory, has generated maximum number of employment in various regions of Jammu and Kashmir including Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir Valley.

Since a record number of tourists have visited the state in just nine months, which happened almost after a decades, is seems like the return of the golden era of Kashmir tourism. However, it was not an easy task to attract such a huge number especially post pandemic

Covid-19. The record number of tourists, who visited the region this year, testify to the overall development and change that has taken place in the Union Territory.

Despite setbacks faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UT administration has taken sufficient steps for the revival of tourism in the region, and providing employment to individuals associated with the sector.

A number of policy interventions have been made to provide financial support to various stakeholders associated with the tourism sector.

A comprehensive Film Policy was launched to attract filmmakers for shooting after decades and within a year of notification of this policy, as many as 140 shooting permissions for films and web series have been issued. Soon, a film studio will be launched with state-of-art facilities.

Apart from that, various other models and schemes are also being launched to promote tourism and hospitality

across the region. Not only that, almost 75 offbeat tourist destinations are also being developed in Jammu and Kashmir as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.

The recent development in aviation sector - launch of a direct flight from Srinagar to Sharjah, is another milestone which people were demanding for the last 70 years. The flight operation is expected to bring in a large number of international tourists as well.

SEPC organises conclave to sketch out framework for tourism industry’s growth

Thecore objective of the event was to organise deliberations amongst shareholders and energise the businesses in all aspects of travel, tourism and hospitality to chalk out an action plan as envisaged in the Draft Tourism Policy (DTP).

While addressing the delegates at the ‘Hospitality & Tourism Conclave’ organised by Services and Export Promotion Council (SEPC), Chief Guest at the event, Arvind Singh, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said, “Travel & tourism is one of the leading sectors of the country. The tourism policy has been drafted in consultation with the center ministry, state ministries, stake holders etc to draft a proposition that will help in strengthening tourism and the development of sub-sectors as well.”

“Infrastructure development, connectivity, brand building and taxation and visa policies will also be looked into to increase engagement and reach the 1 trillion-dollar economy goal,” Singh added.

Sharing his insight, Sunil H Talati,

Chairman, SEPC said, “The conclave was the coming together of various experts and stakeholders from the industry to add gravitas to the proposed events like ATITHI and strengthen the Travel and Tourism sector in India. It touched upon points for the growth prospects and challenges and the need for a framework to put India on the Global Travel Map.”

“The hospitality sector is a sunrise industry with immense potential for growth,” said Karan Rathore, Vice Chairman, SEPC. “It accounts for approximately 50 million jobs in the country and direct foreign investments. Hospitality has been the essence of India. The need of the hour is to position India as a holistic travel and wellness destination and help the tourist traffic reach the projected 13.34 million in 2024,” he added.

“Amongst all the sector under SEPC, Travel and Tourism is one of the largest and key sectors. Today, India is the 12th largest country in the world when it comes to international tourism,” informed Dr Abhay Sinha, DG, SEPC.

While elaborating further, Dr Abhay said that the mission is to understand what it would take from the council, the stakeholders, and the ministry to go

beyond the growth trajectory of the last decade.

“The strategy should be about charting the course for this sector for the next 25 years when India will complete 100 years of independence. With perceptual change positioning India as a year around destination, favorable travel policies and aids, infrastructure development, there needs to be a blueprint in place,” he added.

SEPC under the Ministry of Commerce is working around the clock to propound innovative ideas to augment inbound tourism and accelerate engagement with the travel and tourism trade industry.

The Hospitality and Tourism Conclave was an effort in this similar vein.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu stands top two states for FTA’s in 2021

citing COVID-19 related restrictions.

The Union Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has released the ‘India Tourism Statistics 2022’. The ITS 2022 was released by the Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar on the occasion of World Tourism Day celebration at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

ITS 2022 reveals that the State of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have registered the most number of foreign tourist visits in the year 2021 with 1.26 million and 1.23 million respectively. India ranked 54th in the global Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) in 2021.

In the report, Tamil Nadu’s Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram was the most popular centrally protected ticketed monument for domestic visitors in the last one year. Agra’s Taj Mahal also featured among the top ten on the list.

The report also stated the number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million – a nearly 44 per cent decline compared to 2020 –

According to the report, due to restrictions related to COVID-19, the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million as compared to 2.74 million in 2020, registering a negative growth of 44.5 per cent.

The report ‘India Tourism Statistics 2022’ also said that arrivals of non-resident Indians (NRI) increased by 52.6 per cent from 2020 to 2021. The United States, Bangladesh, the UK, Canada, Nepal were among the top sources for FTAs which accounted for approximately 80.9 per cent of total foreign tourist arrivals, as per the report.

In the domestic tourism graph, 677.63 million tourist visits were registered in 2021 with Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh being the top two destinations. With a contribution of about 5 percent to GDP, the sector created about 79.86 million (direct and indirect) jobs in the country, the report added.

The Vice President in his address spoke about the challenges for the tourism industry that emerged due to COVID-19

and said the last two years were ‘very tough’. However, in retrospect, one can say that India knows the way, and the country is ‘out of the difficult period’, he said.

During the event, Vice President presented the National Tourism Awards 2018-19. The annual ceremony had been put on hold on account of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Southern Travels unveils new brand identity at 50th anniversary celebration

While celebrating the remarkable journey of five decades, Southern Travels - one of the prominent companies in tourism & hospitality sector, got its new ‘Brand Logo’ and the ‘Golden Jublee’ celebration unveiled by the Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, G Kishan Reddy in the august presence of the prominent industry stakeholders at The Lalit in New Delhi.

While addressing the industry stakeholders the Minister of Tourism said, “Today, I am delighted to manifest and comprehend the contribution of Sothern Travels to travel and tourism in South India. Indeed, both have a golden history, a history based on commitments made with people, culture, and time.”

“50 years of excellent services, recipient of National Award eight times in a row, and the privilege of representing the country at WTM, ITB Berlin, ICCA, ATM, TANA and other events of international repute is the outcome of company’s

staunch leadership, guided by ethical values embedded in Indian culture, has made this possible,” added G Kishan Reddy.

Elaborating on the future plans of the company, Managing Director of Southern Travels, A Krishna Mohan said. “The company is poised to embark on overseas destinations with ambitious plans and viable strategies to exhibit India’s global vision – from South India to South East Asia by 2024 and gradually into other continents. Presently, the company owns 11 offices across India with a fleet of its own vehicles and caters to over 1.5 Lakhs tourists every year.”

On this occasion, in his presence, Southern Travels announced that it is the first company to have been awarded 18 rooms and 36 dormitory beds facility at the Kashi Vishwanath temple premises.

“This achievement makes Southern Travels a distinguished player in India’s tourism industry. This will certainly boost the traffic and allow senior citizens and NRIs to experience the Darshan from very closer quarters and comfortably,”

added A Krishna Mohan.

Briefing the journey of Southern Travels

Jatinder Paul Singh, CEO of Southern Travels said, “The leadership and acumen of Shri Alapati Venkateswara Rao ji have been a source of inspiration to many budding entrepreneurs in this field. The journey is not yet over; of course, we have passed a milestone, but we will continue our journey to spread our wings all over the globe.”

Bahrain tourism conducts multi-city roadshow to strengthen ties with stakeholders

Inorder to strengthen its presence and ties with the industry stakeholders, and achieving a notable number of visitors from varied segments, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) begins its promotional activities with the first four-city roadshow in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi recently.

The four-city roadshow witnessed the participation from hospitality, travel, and tourism companies from Bahrain in order to reconnect and build new connections with the Indian travel agents.

The event was attended by 400 plus agents across the four cities, which aimed to connect Indian travel agents with destination management companies, hotels, and attractions in Bahrain.

While interacting with the members of Indian travel-trade fraternity, Maryam Toorani, Director of Marketing and Promotion at BTEA said that the purpose of the roadshow is to strengthen travel trade relationships in order to increase visitor arrivals from India to our beautiful Kingdom of Bahrain.

“India is one of the most important source markets for Bahrain and as such the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority is confident that this initiative will further enable and enhance an expansion in the Indian Market,” added Toorani.

The event began with the trade having one on one B2B meetings with the stakeholders. Following that the travel trade community was educated through a presentation on Bahrain as a destination for Indian travellers.

The roadshow gave a chance to highlight that Bahrain is the perfect holiday destination for Indian travellers with the convenient e-Visa process and the multiple direct flights which take you to Bahrain in less than 4 hours.

Bahrain as a destination has a variety of offerings for its travellers from beautiful beaches, adventure activities, luxurious accommodation options, pearl diving, heritage, culture, and food. The destination is also home to the worldfamous Formula one race.

At this event, the #friendsofBahrain concept was introduced to the audience

present. The concept behind this hashtag is that anyone who is associated with the destination, promotes it is a friend of Bahrain or as the Bahrain’s brand evangelists.

The #friendsofBahrain hashtag will be used by the tourism board in all future communications, encouraging travellers, trade and influencers to use it to promote Bahrain.

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority was established in 2015 under the Royal Decree number (76) for the year 2015 issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain.

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA)’s scope of work includes all sectors related to national tourism affairs in the Kingdom: organize conventions and trade exhibitions in the Kingdom of Bahrain; attract

Ajman showcases region’s tourism potential to Indian travel agents Ajman

Department of Tourism Development executed its first ever trade activation through a three-city workshop that was held in Ahmedabad, Delhi and Bangalore recently. The event witnessed a constructive and educative session of select 30-35 agents in each city who are keen on promoting the multiple facets of destination Ajman.

The workshop was designed to expose the Indian private sector to Ajman’s seamless connectivity from Dubai and Sharjah, emerging tourism products and the plethora of leisure hotels that guests and travellers can experience in the smallest emirate of UAE.

It also highlighted the region’s potential

for being an aspirational destination for couples planning a wedding outside the country owing to its stellar beach side properties and cultural benevolence. The workshop’s key purpose was to establish Ajman as a destination which can serve as a gateway to experience the different side of UAE.

Speaking on this initiative, Khadija Turki, Director of Tourism Development & Marketing of Ajman Department of Tourism Development said, “The outbound travel market in India has been showing positive signs of recovery, and we recognise its potential to outperform in the upcoming months.”

According to her, capitalizing on these developments, ADTD is excited to introduce its products and experiences to the Indian private sector and entice more

Indian travellers to visit Ajman.

“Through the workshops across the three key cities in India, we aim to spread more awareness amongst travel agents and enable them to position Ajman as an extended city for travellers visiting UAE and seeking unique experiences. We are certain that the participants of the workshop will act as catalysts and ensure increase in Indian footfalls in Ajman,” she added.

Sri Lanka ready to receive travellers in a real good atmosphere

While eyeing one million travellers from India, Harin Fernando says that the country has massive shows planned for December 31st to spread the message across the world that Sri Lanka is back on its feet.

Leaving all the recent unrest and uncertainty (which attracted a lot of attention from world across) behind, the latest updates given by none other than the Minister of Tourism and Lands, Government of Sri Lanka, Harin Fernando, suggest that Sri Lanka is back to normalcy as the things have started picking up and the country is ready to receive international travellers in a real good atmosphere.

In order to spread the message across the Indian travel fraternity that tourists are welcomed without any obstacle, and to engage in new tie-ups with airlines and tourism service providers while promoting tourism, the minister along with a delegation is on a visit to New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

While interacting with the media in New Delhi, Harin Fernando informed, “Earlier there was a lot of negative news that people in Sri Lanka don’t have food, fuel and electricity, which is absolutely not true at present.”

“In fact the country is recovering fast and aiming to achieve a remarkable growth in the tourism sector in the year 2023 which will be a dream year for the country. India is the top source market for tourism and Sri Lanka has a target of attracting one million tourists by December this year,” added Fernando.

The Minister informed that the Government is considering measures such as tying up with Indian airline companies such as Air India and Indigo Airlines to market special tourism packages for the destination Sri Lanka, besides incentives such as offering insurance for incoming Indian travellers. Well renowned travel company –MakeMyTrip, and Mastercard have already agreed to market Sri Lanka tourism

While sharing the latest figures of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka Fernando said, “For the period January to August 2022, around 80,000 tourists came from India followed by the UK with 65,000 tourist arrivals for the same period.

Country’s tourism revenue has been close to USD 900 million which is expected to reach USD 2 billion for the year.” 2018 has been the best year when around 23 lakhs tourists visited the country with revenue of USD 5 billion.

While elaborating on the preparedness of attracting a huge number of travellers

from India and world across he further informed, “We have massive shows planned for December 31st and we will show the world that Sri Lanka is back on its feet. We are speaking to iconic Indian stars and musicians and inviting them to visit our country. Visitors will be amazed to a very different Sri Lanka in December this year.”

In order to reposition Sri Lanka strongly in international tourism markets the country has big plans to participate in leading global tourism fairs such as WTM and ITB. Apart from that Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is planning to launch a marketing campaign to showcase to the world that the island nation is ready to welcome tourists again in a secure environment.

Over 50 local travel agencies and hotels participated at the event with the delegation being led by the Harin Fernando, Minister of Tourism accompanied by Chalaka Gajabahu, Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Thisum Jayasuriya, Chairman Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau. Many industry stakeholders have supported this endeavour including SriLankan Airlines and Mastercard.

Rajesh Tiwari

South African witnesses 147% growth in tourist arrivals

indicating that South Africa’s domestic tourism sector has also experienced a revenge travel trend.”

The

South African tourism sector is poised for a tremendous bounce back and positive growth after the first half of the year (2022) figures show a staggering 147% in arrivals reaching an impressive 2,285,746,” said Minister of Tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu, while speaking in Johannesburg during a media briefing where she presented the domestic and international tourism performance for January to June 2022.

“We are particularly pleased that the arrivals from the Americas increased by 331% and represented 128,991 arrivals,” she added.

According to the Minister, Europe remains South Africa’s key overseas market and despite external shocks such as the war in Ukraine, it still had the most considerable percentage increase in arrivals of 563.

However, she maintains that the African land market is our bread and butter, and it also showed impressive growth, dwarfing the Europe and Americas

arrivals numbers. She added: “The African air market brought in 1,634,244 arrivals.”

Tourism’s upward trajectory is overwhelming on the domestic front; where between January and June 2022, 15.2 million domestic trips were taken. The Minister described this as “A major win for the tourism sector as this is higher than pre-pandemic levels,

Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau embarks on a promotional drive

Whileaiming to revive the tourism and business events industry, the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) has embarked on a promotional trip to India to reconnect with the industry stakeholders through press conferences and networking night.

APP, making Penang once again the trendsetter in Malaysia’s tourism environment. With your support, we can restore travellers’ confidence to visit Penang and ensure that it remains a top destination for people from all over the world,” said Yeoh Soon Hin, State Executive Councillor for Tourism & Creative Economy.

“PCEB’s dedication has not wavered, and our team is dedicated to fostering mutually beneficial relationships and working closely with the Indian community. The establishment of a direct flight between India and Penang is one of the primary topics of conversation at the moment,” said Ashwin Gunasekaran, Chief Executive Officer of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau.

Sisulu said the most heart-warming aspect of the numbers was that the share of holiday trips has increased by 23.8% compared with the same period in 2021, and the average spend has skyrocketed to 28.6.” As a rule of thumb, you must have “A buoyant domestic market because it is a silver bullet that turns locals into storytellers and ambassadors of their country,” the Minister said.

The performance report shows that South Africans spend R 2,850 on their domestic trips. “The biggest driver of domestic travel in the first six months of 2022 was the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions,” the Minister insisted.

On global airlift, the numbers are also picking up quite nicely. “There is a steady increase in global seat capacity –Air capacity is just 61% of the 2019 levels, with Airlink as the largest airline, which has seen fares up by 7%,” she said.

Royal Thai Embassy & Consulates renews panIndia Visa processing with VFS Global

The promotional trip is essential for demonstrating the market readiness in India. India, the largest country in South Asia has been one of the top five visitors to Malaysia for a decade and shows no sign of hitting the brakes. With the Indian market being a key focus area for PCEB, the bureau is gearing up for its annual roadshow to the country in the early months of 2023.

“Penang is the first state in Malaysia to launch a well-designed SOS safety

“As Malaysia’s national airline, we are constantly working towards making Malaysia a preferred destination and are committed to help enhance Malaysia’s market share for the MICE industry. With the collective goal to strengthen connections and reinvigorate the Penang economy, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PCEB,” said Amit Mehta Country Manager- South Asia, Malaysia Airlines.

Thailand

Government has renewed its pan-India visa processing mandate with VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide.

VFS Global will cater to travellers from India across visa categories through visa application centres and drop off centres as per the jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Embassy in Delhi and the Royal Thai Consulate Generals in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

VFS Global’s relationship with the Government of Thailand dates to nearly two decades. The company has processed more than two million Thai Visa applications since 2005.

“The renewed win testifies VFS Global’s excellence in business delivery, focus on evolving customers experience and the unwavering trust shown in us by the sovereign governments we work with,’’ said Prabuddha Sen, COO - South Asia, VFS Global.

Think Strawberries to represent ‘The Red Sea’ & ‘Amaala’

and are fully geared to create an impactful reception,” she added.

As part of its strategic expansion plan to build destination awareness, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) has joined hands with Think Strawberries, as its in-market representative to develop the country’s burgeoning outbound luxury travel market.

TRSDC is developing two of the world’s most ambitious tourist destinations on the west coast of Saudi Arabia — The Red Sea and AMAALA. The first phase of The Red Sea will see the opening up of its exclusive international airport alongside a cast of world-class resorts in 2023, while Amaala is welcoming first guest in 2024.

While addressing the collaboration with Think Strawberries, Loredana Pettinati, Senior Travel Trade Director, TRSDC and Amaala, stated, “As The Red Sea is gearing up to welcome its first guests in 2023, TRSDC is pleased to partner with India’s specialist destination consulting and representation company as part of our go-to market plan.”

“We unswervingly entrust Think Strawberries for its expertise in curating and implementing a cross-channel sales, marketing and PR strategy and are

confident our destinations are sure to be rightly positioned and developed within the market,” added Pettinati.

Munnmunn Marwah, COO, Think Strawberries, said, “India is witnessing a paradigm shift in the luxury travel market and is on its path to securing a considerable share in the global luxury space. The Red Sea and AMAALA are unique destinations setting new standards in this segment and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce the brands and strengthen its equity in the India market.”

“We are working closely with TRSDC for the upcoming launch of the destinations

Being developed over 28,000 sq. km on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, The Red Sea is designed as a luxury tourism destination that will set new standards for sustainable development. Phase one is on track to debut next year and will offer a stellar lineup of 16 resorts. By 2030, the destination will comprise 50 resorts with an inventory of over 8000 hotel rooms across 22 islands and 6 inland sites.

AMAALA is another exquisite destination in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 tourism roadmap. The first phase of the destination is set for completion by end of 2024 and will consist of 8 hotels and upwards of 1,300 hotel keys.

Visit Iceland conducts ‘Destination Awareness’ campaigns

After two years of pandemic Covid-19, Visit Iceland is back in India with huge promotional activities, and aiming to receive an impressive number of outbound travellers from one of the most potential markets in Asia.

Officials of the Visit Iceland are endeavouring to enhance the number of travellers which came down drastically in the last two years due to the pandemic. Taking a step forward in this direction a delegation from Iceland interacted with media and trade fraternity in Delhi and Mumbai recently.

While interacting with media, H.E. Gudni Bragason, Ambassador to New Delhi says, “As India is the first major Asian market to open after Covid, it is most important for us to tap its potential. Travel had almost stopped during the pandemic, but now we are hoping for a swift revival.”

Elaborating upon the offerings of Iceland Gudni said that Iceland has a lot to offer for Indians as the nature is strikingly different from anything one can experience in India. There are breath-taking Glaciers, Northern Lights, Clean Air and Geothermal heated pools. Besides, Icelandic food is known for its freshness and can easily be adapted to Indian palette.

“Through this Roadshow and interactions, our aim is to further promote our destination and interact with

the travel agencies in India and present them with opportunities of selling Iceland while understanding the obstacles they face in doing so,” added Bragason.

“In 2019, 19,852 Indians visited Iceland, which was a steady increase from 10,944 in 2017. However, these numbers came down drastically in the last two years due to the pandemic and now Iceland is back in India to work on these numbers as believe India a potential source market for its tourism,” informed Johnson.

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ALULA

Experience Incredible Natural Rock & Geographical Formations

From Elephant to Fish, Face Rock, Volcanoes and Lava Flows, the deserts of Alula keep astonishing visitors with several eye catching rock and geographical formations.

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Arabic language. Standing at a height of 52 meters, the giant rock climbs three stories into the Arabian sky.

Alula,

the city that lies in the northwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a place of exceptional natural beauty and deep history, a home to a wide range of flora fauna and human communities for thousands of years. Centered around its famed oasis and framed by sandstone mountains, Alula’s geography, environment and climate have enabled human communities to flourish here.

The desert of Alula is famous for its several geological rock formations, formed over millions of years by the hands of the best sculptors, the wind and the water, to form natural shapes untouched by human hands, and to become exceptional natural shapes that are unseen except in this vast natural desert.

With the contrasts of these colours and the lush green oasis running through the middle, it makes Alula like no other place on earth. Here are the nine most incredible natural rock formations in Alula.

Elephant Rock

The Elephant Rock is one of the world’s most popular rocks and the highlight of the region of Alula. Looking at it from afar, this rock seems like an elephant with a ground-bound trunk. The Elephant Rock is also known as Jabal-AlFil in the

This mammoth stands out among the other hand-carved, ornate structures of nearby Hegra’s Nabataean tombs as it was shaped by natural forces. The trunk and body of this red sandstone beast were shaped through water and wind erosion that was caused over millions of years.

The huge elephant stands in a landscape of golden sands, surrounded by other rocky formations which are equally impressive in size. Regardless, the Elephant Rock still overshadows all that falls in its sight and acts as a reminder of the sands of time. The beauty of this mighty elephant increases at nightfall where it becomes more lifelike in the warm lights that have been installed at the site. Visiting the rock at night is advantageous to avoid the hot weather during the summer day.

Mushroom Rock

You can find several Mushroom-shaped rocks in the deserts of Alula. The most famous is located in Sharaan Nature Reserve. Mushroom Rocks are a wonderful natural phenomenon usually formed as a result of the erosion of sedimentary layers over millions of years. The remaining part of these layers is exposed again to wind, resulting in the lower parts of the layer breaking down more quickly.

The Sharaan Nature Reserve itself consists of 1,500 square kms of soaring red-rock canyons, sprawling desert and valleys carpeted in delicate wildflowers offer a treasure trove of natural wonders. The mission of Sharaan Nature Reserve

is to restore, protect and conserve the sensitive ecosystem native to Alula. Efforts are currently underway to restore the area, allowing for its natural inhabitants to reclaim the land.

Fish Rock

This Desert Fish was recently gone viral on social media through a photo taken by the photographer Khaled Al Enazi, as he spotted a rock in the form of a fish in the desert sands and transformed through millions of years ago into one of the most important ancient archaeological inscriptions and strange rock formations that marks the lands of Alula.

Face Rock

Amongst the monumental tombs of Hegra, next to Jabal-Al-Ahmar you will notice a formation that resembles the profile of a human head gazing out over the desert landscape. As with all of Alula’s rock formations, sunrise and sunset are prime times to visit, when the light plays on the sandstone, seeming to illuminate the rocks from within — a magical sight for observers and photographers alike.

Arch Rock

One of Alula’s most recognisable rock formations, The Arch (also known as Rainbow Rock) is well worth the 90-minute drive from the centre of the city. Its bridge-shaped structure, which resembles a rainbow flanked by two clouds, is a rare sight indeed. Enthrall by this sprawling display of sandstone, don’t miss spotting semi-precious desert diamonds on-site. You can eye these multi-coloured pieces of quartz embedded in the rock itself and scattered on the surrounding ground.

The Arch Rock hosted Symphony Under the Stars back in March 2022 as part of Alula Skies Festival events, which was dedicated to the spectacular starry night of the desert of Alula. Under the backlit Arch Rock, Italian pianist Dardust led a magnificent Symphony Under the Stars in a show like no other. This modern take on classical music had the audience on their feet for a spectacular performance.

Dancing Rocks

The Dancing Rocks are so-called because these formations are sculpted by nature to appear as if they are swaying in unison. Located in the Raggasat Valley, the rocks seem to dance together, slightly removed from the surrounding rock formations. This place is famous for hiking activities and dune buggies experience. Reach Dancing Rocks in 45 minutes from the city centre, while hiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle with an experienced driver is recommended.

Gharameel Desert

About an hour outside of the city centre, discover dark, thin pillars of stone stretching up to the sky. This is Gharameel. You’ll need to go off-road to reach the site, so we recommend hiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle with an experienced driver. Your reward is a view unlike any other, made even more dramatic at night when AlUla’s dark skies showcase a brilliant display of stars above the rocks. Stargazing packages welcome you to gaze at Gharameel’s stone pillars and follow their spires upward toward the twinkling stars.

Volcanoes

At the remote desert areas of Alula, find stark, black volcanic rock and inactive volcanoes which stand atop sandstone and are surrounded by seas of golden sand to make for truly dramatic, otherworldly sights. Some of those areas are visitor friendly with guides to experience the hiking around the top of a volcano.

Khaybar, the neighbouring Oasis in the south of Alula is well known for its two famous; The White Volcano and the Black Volcano.

Lava Domes and Flows

The earliest human activity is evidenced in Alula in Harrat-U-wayrid and elsewhere in northwestern Saudi Arabia in Harrat Khaybar. These important volcanic areas comprise two of the largest in Saudi Arabia. Harrat Khaybar includes a spectacular 100-kilometre long vent system containing lava domes, tuff

rings, basaltic cones and the JabalQidr stratovolcano. The dramatic lava flows of volcanic events can be seen across the region. HarratKhaybar has at least seven post-Neolithic (less than 4,500 years old) and eight historical (less than 1,500 years old) lava flows. The last eruption in the HarratUwayrid is believed to have occurred around 640 CE. According to Bedouin legends, the explosion erupted fire and stones, killing herdsmen and their animals. The best way to see these formations is by taking a helicopter tour to see the incredible formation from a panoramic sky view.

The day (September 17, 2022)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight Chittahs brought from Nigerea, Kuno National Park (KNP) of Madhya Pradesh took the centre stage among wildlife attractions over the night. It would not be exaggerated to say that KNP has become the dream destination for wildlife lover and tops their bucket list of soon to visit destinations.

Since, there is so much curiosity about Kuno National Park among the travellers, especially the wildlife lovers, so we thought to visit the destination and bring some latest information for our readers. Kuno is one the most unique destination for all wildlife lovers and enthusiasts.

KNP predominantly consists of grasslands and sparse forests that are home to an abundance of mammals, reptiles, birds and butterflies. As soon as one ventures inside this park they experience the exclusive forest of Kardhai, Khair and Salai and one can see wildlife by the dozens foraging across vast meadows. Some grassland here is bigger than most at Kanha or Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

KNP is situated almost in the centre of Kuno Wildlife Division of Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh and it is a part of the Central Indian Vindhyan Hills.

Home for Cheetahs

Experts from Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun visited Kuno forest along with other five locations in India for Cheetah re-introduction and found Kuno National Park as most suitable for Cheetah adaptability. Here density of Cheetah’s primary prey Black Buck & Chinkara is healthy which is a good sign.

At a recent development, eight Cheetahs — five of which are female were flown from Namibia to Gwalior followed by a helicopter ride to the grasslands of Kuno Palpur. The Cheetahs were released in a specially designed enclosure where they will live for a month and begin a lifetime of acclimatization to Indian prey and forest conditions. About 10-12 Cheetahs are expected to be brought into India every year as around 35 are believed to be necessary to create a sustainable population.

Apart from that the Park is expected to have at least 13 tigers by 2022. According to the Wildlife Institute of India, the leopard population density at KNP is nine individuals per 100 sq km.

Since the project of reintroduction of Asiatic Lions has been on going for a while and one of the preconditions as raised by concerned authorities about the status of this protected area as Sanctuary

not being worthy of hosting the lions, was upgraded to National Park while adding another about 400 sq kms to it and it is now 748 sq km of pristine forest area. The park lies within the larger Kuno Wildlife Division which has a total area of 1235 sq. km.

Point Of Interest

With its rich political history dating back to Kings of the area and conservation history as old as its political one, apart from the Cheetahs, KNP boasts of various places of tourist interests.

The Forts: After Independence of India slowly the Kings of different princely state chose to become the part of republic of India, and most of their land holdings specially the Forest areas were handed over to Government. However most of the magnificent fortresses they had built were also left behind which have been slowly reclaimed by the jungles.

Palpur Fort or Garhi: Keeping five hundred years of secrets within its walls, Palpur Garhi, located on the banks of

Kuno river once served as sanctuary to Chandravanshi Raja Bal Bahadur Singh, who assumed the throne in 1666. Looking at this imposing structure from across the flowing river at sunset is a sight to behold.

Amet Fort: Even though now almost completely engulfed in shrubs, this was also a part of Chandravanshi Raja Bal Bahadur Singh’s kingdom.

Maitoni Fort: The first fortress when the royal family came here from Karauli. With its massive arches and rickety

walls, Maitoni is a sight to behold.

Kair-Khoh & Gravity Pipeline: The River Kuno is the main source of water in the forest and it would be fair to call it a life-line of the forest. But most of the other streams are not perennial and do not retain water in the summers. Thus the upper reaches on both sides of the Kuno River suffer from water scarcity during the summer.

At Kair Khoh, water from a natural spring which could not be taken into any productive use, is now carried to various water holes with the help of a pipeline, using just gravity. In an area replete with possibilities, this maintenancefree technique has ensured water to all wildlife throughout the year. The pipeline goes more than 18 kilometers to fill up several saucers and ponds.

Biodiversity

Kuno National Park which is mainly dominated by Kardhai, Salai, Khair trees among the mixed forests, supports a vide variety of both floral and faunal species. It has a rich biodiversity having a total of 123 species of trees, 71 species of shrubs, 32 species of climbers and exotic species, 34 species of bamboos and grasses, 33 species of mammals, 206 species of birds, 14 species of fishes, 33 species of reptiles and 10 species of amphibians. Such a high number of both floral and faunal species make it one of the most biodiverse areas of Central Indian Landscape.

Apart from the Cheetahs for which Kuno has got popularity over the nights, the main Faunal Species of general tourist interest which are found in Kuno National

Park are Spotted Deer or Chital, Sambar, Leopard, Striped Hyaena, Indian Wolf, Jackal, Wild Boar, Sloth Bear, Indian Fox, Jungle Cat, Desert Cat, Common Palm Civet, Small Indian Civet, Grey Mongoose, Small Indian Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Indian Hare, Indian Porcupine, Indian Gerbil, Indian Tree Shrew, Hanuman Langur/Common Langur, Rhesus Monkey etc.

Weather

Kuno National Park comes under the tropical regions and so does its climate. The mean temperature and precipitation of this park is 24.7 °C and 764 mm respectively. This park is situated at 180 meters at its lowest and 500 meters

above mean sea level at its highest point.

Mid June to September are considered as the Monsoon season when almost 90% of its total rainfall occurs. August is the wettest month which receives 30.4 cm of rainfall on an average.

October to mid March is considered as the winter season. December and January months are specifically chilly with average minimum temperature of 7.27 & 6.3 °C respectively.

Mid November to Mid March is the best time to vist the park.

ITC signs five boutique properties under ‘Storii’ brand

Popular leisure destinations Goa, Dharamshala, Solan, Sirmour and Kufri are the frontliner destinations

With the Storii brand, ITC Hotels brings bespoke experiences at immersive locations through atypical hotels and resorts that are unique by character, design or heritage and strive to co-exist with the environment and the community.

Every hotel under this brand will tell its own unique ‘story’ which could stem from its architecture, location, heritage, theme or even its facilities and offerings. This parameter is key for a property to qualify under the Storii by ITC Hotels brand even as there may be a lot more flexibility offered in terms of design approach, property size and a few other parameters.

Elaborating more on this, Anil Chadha, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Hotels said, “Leisure travel in India has grown in the last two years. Post-pandemic, the domestic traveller has not only explored destinations in India but also realised how much more there is to see and do in India.”

“At ITC Hotels, we analysed the changing trends and recognised the demand for a boutique, experiential offering. Storii by ITC Hotels caters to this segment in a

way that attracts the discerning traveller who is looking for unique accommodation and comfort without having to worry about consistency and quality of service. We are grateful to our Owners for their faith in ITC Hotels and our decades strong operational excellence in hospitality,” he added.

The recently opened Storii by ITC Hotels, Goa is a boutique hotel that holds myriad stories within its century old walls, representing a confluence of Portuguese and Indian culture. Originally built in 1897 and called ‘Casa de Morada’ or home of happiness, this charming

property was lovingly restored, and is now eagerly waiting to tell its Storii.

The Storii by ITC Hotels, Dharamshala tells the story of a contemporary retreat offering plush and stylish rooms with mesmerizing views, an all-day dining restaurant and other food and beverage outlets. This experiential property will also offer a well-being zone along with recreational activities.

With the addition of three more boutique properties in Sirmour, Solan and Kufri under the new Storii by ITC Hotels, the brand will further strengthen its footprints in Himachal Pradesh.

Seventy three keys ‘Pride Hotel Bhopal’ ready to receive guests

popular destinations across the country.”

Located

in the heart of the city, ‘Pride Hotel Bhopal’ is easily accessible to prominent tourist and leisure destinations and marketplaces. The hotel encompasses 73 well-appointed rooms that perfectly fit the needs of the discerning traveller.

Atul Upadhyay, Senior Vice President, Pride Group of Hotels said, “We are extremely thrilled to launch our new property in Bhopal which offers the signature Pride hospitality experience to our esteemed guests in the city.”

“This full-service upscale hotel with all the contemporary amenities, banqueting, and F&B facilities will complement the needs of leisure and corporate travellers. With this launch, we now move a step further to establish our presence across

The facilities at the hotel include 24-hours room service, a travel desk, a multi-cuisine restaurant, and 3 banquet halls. The hotel also boasts of a swimming pool and spa which will be operational later this year.

Guests can enjoy a magnificent culinary journey that spans diverse gastronomic experiences and sumptuous cuisines at Café Pride. The 3 stateof-the-art banquets with a capacity to accommodate guests ranging from 50 to 400 are designed to host private parties, small gatherings, and social events.

The banquets are well-equipped with all audio-visual facilities to conduct corporate meetings, special alliances, and training and development programs.

All rooms are fully air-conditioned and equipped with tea/ coffee makers,

Wardrobes, ergonomic work tables, Wi-Fi connectivity, LED TVs, and safety lockers. Well-connected through rail, road, and air to all major cities, the hotel gives you the best of the city of Bhopal.

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KATA Group focuses on strengthening presence, aggressive marketing

We have been successful with couples, honeymooners as well as small families in the market; but with the increase in connectivity we believe that there is more that we can do in the market (in India), says Sassitt Thavornvongwongse, Assistant Vice President of Kata Group Hotels and Resorts.

Rajesh Tiwari

KataGroup Resorts has been a prominent player in the hospitality industry in Thailand since 1980, making it one of the kingdom’s longest established hotel operators. The company owns a collection of properties in highly desirable beachfront locations with seven unique beach resorts in Southern Thailand.

In a recent development, the company has decided to strenghten its presence in one of the biggest world source markets - India. Taking a step forward in this deirection, it has appointed RepsUnlimited to drive marketing strategies and awarness campaigns among the Indian travel agents, tour operators as well as the end users.

In order to know more about KATA Group’s expansion plans and short term goals, Whereabouts has interacted with the Board Member and Assistant Vice President of Kata Group Hotels and Resorts, Sassitt Thavornvongwongse. Here are the excerpts.

Q. To start with, kindly elaborate on your presence and clientele in the Indian market?

A. Kata Group and Beyond Resorts has been around for close to 40 years, however, we haven’t been active in the Indian market. We have been successful with couples, honeymooners as well as small families in the market; but with the increase in connectivity we believe that there is more that we can do in the market.

Q. Since you have appointed a representation company in India, what are your short term plans & goals?

A. In general we want to focus on three pieces of business for the India market; corporate groups, honeymooners and

families. Our resorts are well suited for the segments. In order to do that, with the help of RepsUnlimited, we are looking for presence though media and marketing as well as a couple strong travel partners who can really support us and our 2500+ rooms.

Q. Kindly through some lights on the latest developments, trade engagements and other promotional activities?

A. Kata Group and Beyond Resorts in partnership with RepsUnlimited was recently at TTF and OTM and we will continue to work these trade shows to gain traction in the market. Additionally, we are planning our attendance for SATTE and will join a Phuket Tourist Association initiated roadshow post-SATTE.

In terms of our hotels and resorts, we are working hard at keeping our properties fresh and up to date. To this end 2023 will see Beyond Resort Kata be completely renovated as well as Beyond Resort Krabi be touched up and have new room categories and types come online. Exciting things await.

Q. What segment of travellers are you looking to attract?

A. As mentioned we position ourselves as a great value option for 5 start locations + facilities + service. So we are really looking forward to welcoming the travel savvy couples, the corporate groups and events, as well as the families looking to explore and go beyond.

Sarovar launches 100th hotel ‘Lagoon Sarovar Premiere’

Sarovar

Hotels has announced the historic milestone of opening its 100th hotel in India with the opening of Lagoon Sarovar Premiere, Pondicherry. A pioneer in mid- market segment with more than 27 years in operation, Sarovar Hotels is a leading hospitality chain in the country with presence in more than 67 destinations across India and Africa from Business to Leisure; Hills to Backwaters; Pilgrim to Heritage and Mountains to Beaches.

While commenting on this remarkable achievement, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels said, “2022 is a milestone year for us as we open our 100th hotel. This hotel holds a special place in our portfolio of hotels. Our vision 27 years ago was to make hospitality accessible in every part of the country. Our future vision is to strengthen our strong presence in tier two and tier three cities.”

Lagoon Sarovar Premiere Resort is spread across 33-acres of land nestled on the banks of Chunnambar Backwaters.

Pondicherry’s beautiful French colonial architecture is reflected through our resort’s rooms. Each has a private sitout area overlooking an infinity pool and tranquil backwaters. Paradise Island, a unique icon of Pondicherry is adjacent to Lagoon Sarovar Premiere Resort.

Lagoon Sarovar Premiere Resort is conveniently located 20 minutes away from Pondicherry airport, three hours drive from Chennai International Airport. It’s well connected with Pondicherry’s train and bus stations.

CHATT sets up new Secretariat, appoints Anwar Shirpurwala as Secretary General

News Desk News Desk

TheConfederation of Hospitality Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT) has taken a major step forward by setting up a new secretariat to grow the organisation, meet the aspirations of the sector and promote the interests of micro entrepreneurs as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

CHATT was formed in June 2021 by top tech-based platforms in hospitality, tourism and leading online travel aggregators (OTAs) with the support of Union

Ministry of Tourism as the only dedicated platform for small businesses, startups and new-age technology entities in this space.

With a view to promote digital transformation of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and support the businesses in this ecosystem to adopt and adapt to digitally-enhanced business models, CHATT has appointed Anwar Shirpurwala, an influential tech-

industry leader with over 25 years of rich experience in the technology sector as its Secretary General.

Anwar brings with him an extensive set of functional skills that will help strengthen the efforts of CHATT to bring together all the key stakeholders including government, industry, media, sector experts, think-tanks as well as tourists thereby harnessing the power of collective impact.

Talking about his appointment and key priorities for CHATT, Anwar said, “This has been a chance that my appointment as Secretary General of CHATT coincides with my experience as a travel enthusiast and a technology industry professional.”

He added, “The businesses across the hospitality, tourism and travel sector, most importantly the micro entrepreneurs and SMEs continue to face many challenges and need to come together to recover fully and rapidly from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. I look forward to working with the government, our members, industry leaders, sector experts and other relevant stakeholders to reshape and to rejuvenate the sector.”

SIHRA announces ‘Annual Convention’ from Nov 18th - 20th South

India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) has announced the dates for its forthcoming Annual Convention from 18th to 20th November 2022 at Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Adding to the announcement, SIHRA’s President, K Syama Raju said, “With the Indian hospitality world opening up post pandemic, it has brought in the challenges especially in the area

of optimising human resources and sustaining the growth story at the same time.”

“The three day annual convention will bring in over 600 delegates from the southern states serving as a platform to meet and discuss new trends, optimising human resource potentials and opportunities in the hospitality sector,” he added.

Elaborating on the focal point of the Convention, Chairman, K Ravi said, “The Convention will focus on emerging hospitality technologies, human resource management, Food & Beverage trends and will be a vital networking platform for hoteliers and restaurateurs in the Southern Region.”

South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) was incorporated in 1951 as a Company under Companies Act without having a share capital.

SIHRA constitutes the Southern Region of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), the Apex Trade Association for the Hospitality industry in India.

SIHRA’s Membership comprises the smallest Restaurants to the Five Star deluxe Hotels in the Southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma ingurates Vivanta Meghalaya

Vivanta Meghalaya, Shillong along with the upcoming hotel Courtyard by Marriott will give a huge boost to high-value tourism in the State, said the Chief Minister.

News Desk

Ina remarkable and historic development, Meghalaya’s first ever five-star hotel Vivanta Meghalaya Shillong was inaugurated by State’s Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma It is owned by Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and has been leased out for a period of 33 years on a (Public Private Partnership) PPP mode to be operated by the IHCL.

While speaking on the ocassion, the Chief Minister highlighted that the work for the hotel had been going on since 1986 and could be completed only after a strong push was given by the current government. He congratulated and thanked all the stakeholders for completing the project despite the COVID-induced disruptions. The Chief Minister called this a truly momentous occasion in the history of Meghalaya.

The Chief Minister also said that the Vivanta Meghalaya, Shillong along with the upcoming hotel Courtyard by Marriott will give a huge boost to highvalue tourism in the State. This model will be further replicated going forward to transform Meghalaya into the most preferred destination for ecotourism. Today we have handed over the hotel to IHCL and the hotel will soon be open for guests.

The State faces a shortage of highquality rooms and the presence of fivestar hotels in Shillong would allow the government to attract high-value tourists, host national and international music and sports events, and other seminars and conferences. The Chief Minister said that

the Vivanta Meghalaya, Shillong would herald an era of luxury tourism in the State and will go a long way in fulfilling the aspirations of the residents of the State.

With a built-up area of about 8,800 sq. m., the hotel has 101 rooms and other facilities including a speciality restaurant, coffee shops, bar, retail shops, and a banquet hall.

The event was attended by cabinet Ministers, Member of Rajya Sabha from Meghalaya, Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Chairperson MTDC, Senior Government Officials, delegates from the media and members of the civil society.

Haritha Villas + Spa reconnects with Indian stakeholders

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Inan effort to build strong relationships with the Indian travel community and promote Haritha Villas + Spa as an upmarket luxury boutique Resort , Thanuja Weerasinghe, Sales & Marketing Manager, Haritha Villas + Spa interacted with Indian agents at Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The company is poised to cater the affluent traveller and simultaneously to attract more Indian inbound visitors to Sri Lanka.

While elaborating on the offerings, Weerasinghe said that Haritha Villas + Spa offers an experience like nowhere else. “Our three pillars of strength include unscripted dining experience, farm-to-table concept and Ayurveda. A special mention for our Villa-masters who help in creating a holistic experience for our guests. All front-line staff have a minimum of 10 years experiences in brands such as One & Only, Aman, Jumeirah, Four Season, Ritz Carlton, Six Senses, Anantara and more. We would like to welcome you all to Haritha Villas + Spa on your next trip to your beautiful neighbour-next-door,” he added.

“The fact that Haritha Villas + Spa is a niche product with only nine villas, makes it ideally suited to the most discerning and up-market traveller offering highly personalized exclusive service to each guest. This has been well received by niche operators and distinguishes Haritha Villas + Spa from its competitors. Furthermore, our exclusivity and size make us ideal for buyouts” mentioned Dietmar Koegerl, Consultant.

The villa’s most recent addition is the ELANOR app, where technology and user experience come together. It is a guest’s very own private companion that provides access to soft check-in, wining & dining alternatives, general resort information and experiences to pre-book before arrival.

What makes Haritha Villas + Spa truly unique is personalized Villa Master service. The villa masters are not only with the guest within the resort, but also accompany guests outside and act as tour guides during excursions within 100 kms of the resort. Another unique feature is unscripted dinning; our chefs discuss with each and every guest their meal

plan according to their preferences and curates dishes to cater to every palate.

Farm to table concept complements a guest’s culinary journey where most of the ingredients offered are coming from our own garden or locally sourced.

The resort’s Jungle Spa offers the very best wellness therapies using celebrity products such as Elemis and Margaret Dabbs for facial treatments and manicure and pedicure. In the Ayurveda Centre, we offer holistic treatment such as singing bowl, acupuncture, acupressure and cupping treatment.

Qantas launches direct flight between Bengaluru and Sydeny

Australia’s national airline Qantas has launched a new route from Bengaluru to Sydney (BLR-SYD), providing the first direct connection between Southern India and Australia by any airline. QF68 will cut nearly three hours off the current fastest travel time between the two cities and significantly boost connectivity between India and New South Wales.

boost tourism and economic relations and opportunities between Australia and India. “The addition of Bengaluru to our route map deepens ourties with India and follows the launch of direct services from Australia to Delhi last year which has also proven popular. Qantas is now the only airline offering direct flights between Australia’s two largest cities and the north and south of India,” said David.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Satyaki Raghunath said the start of the new Qantas Bengaluru – Sydney route was a historic moment for BLR Airport.

LOT Polish Airlines signs interline agreement with Jetblue Airways

The new services will provide new tourism opportunities for Bengaluru and India, with a direct gateway for Australian tourists to experience all that India has to offer. For people living in Bengaluru and Southern India, it’s a convenient non-stop flight to Sydney for a dream holiday or to visit friends and family.

Qantas Domestic and International CEO, Andrew David said the flights will

“The flights will reduce travel time over existing options and will make access to Australia and points beyond, including New Zealand and the Pacific Islands easy, particularly for leisure travellers, corporates, sports enthusiasts and students who go there for higher studies.”

“This connection is even more special because it is the eighth oneworld carrier to begin operations from BLR Airport. The addition of this flight also puts the focus back on BLR Airport’s commitment to introducing new routes and opportunities for tourism and trade between South India and Australia.”

Azerbaijan Airlines to operate direct flights from Mumbai to Baku

ZealGlobal Group- the exclusive partner of the airline in India has confirmed this expansion of Azerbaijan Airlines from November onwards. The airline has started ticket sales for twice-a-week flights between Mumbai and Baku.

The airline has already been operating flights from Delhi to Baku twice-a-week since August and is now delighted to start direct flights from Mumbai too. Mumbai travellers can now reach Baku in just four hours to witness the picturesque beauty of Azerbaijan.

Flight tickets for these flights can be booked on the official website of the Airline, as well as at the air carrier’s accredited agencies. The ticket price includes free baggage allowance (up to 23 kg in economy class and up to 32 kg in business class), as well as a full range of cold and hot meals.

Passengers who meet the indicated conditions of carriage and who are allowed to fly under the current epidemiological restrictions will be accepted for transportation on these flights.

Azerbaijan is a beautiful country, which is also known as the land of fire and Baku, the capital, is a city of winds, being one of the best stops on a trip to Europe. With a beautiful 20 km (65,616 ft) long coastline, this unique city has so much to offer to travelers; from beaches and volcanoes to a cityscape where the ancient meets the new.

LOT

Polish Airlines has signed an interline agreement with US carrier JetBlue Airways. Passengers travelling with LOT Polish Airlines from Warsaw to the United States can now fly on to more than 100 destinations from the JetBlue Airways network.

“We are excited about this new interline agreement with JetBlue Airways as it allows us to offer our passengers much more flight options in North America,” says Michal Fijol, Chief Commercial Officer at LOT Polish Airlines. “They can book through-fares to their final destination; they also only need one ticket, and they can check through their baggage to their final destination.”

From its global hub at the Polish capital Warsaw, LOT Polish Airlines currently flies up to 35 times a week to big US cities such as New York (Newark and JFK airports), Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. The airline also plans to resume its US flights from Budapest by summer 2023.

Thru JetBlue Airways, LOT passengers can now seamlessly reach many other popular destinations in the US such as Boston, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as in Latin America, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Elaborating more on this, Fijol said, “We have been flying from Warsaw to the United States for 50 years and see a continuously high demand from Poland as well as from numerous other European countries and now even from India for these services.

In addition to tourists, many business travellers book our flights to the US, as well as a large number of people who want to visit their families or friends on the other side of the Atlantic.”

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News

Experience the inimitable Malaysian hospitality & seamless connections; Amit Mehta

We are continuously reviewing the opportunities in the Indian market and will gradually add new routes, increase frequencies, says Amit Mehta, Country Manager- South Asia Malaysia Airlines India

Rajesh Tiwari

To start with, would you like to elaborate on the latest development or initiatives of Malaysia Airlines?

Malaysia Airlines was recently named Asia’s Leading Airline for Business Class at the 29th World Travel Awards. The award is a testament to our successful efforts to maintain the highest service level and safety assurance through our #FlyConfidently commitment.

We also introduced MHPay, an alternative payment method for consumers to seamlessly purchase air tickets, ancillary products, and services via malaysiaairlines.com. MHPay, developed in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) through IATApay and powered by 2C2P, the full-suite payments platform, is intended to complement the airline’s entire range of digitalised payment methods by facilitating greater access to all payment options through a single integration point.

What are your plans for customer, marketing activities of Malaysia Airlines?

Malaysia Airlines offers something for everyone. We continuously enhance and devise our products and offerings to ensure a seamless, end-to-end travel experience for our customers – be it for leisure or business travel. As travellers look for more flexibility in their itinerary, we have also introduced various fare families and products that offer highly flexible and convenient perks, including free flight changes.

Our Horizontal Fare Family (HFF) offers customers a flexible fare based on their travel needs, preferences, priorities and purchasing capabilities consisting of Lite, Basic and Flex where each fare family has different benefits such as baggage allowance, seat selections, priority services.

We also introduced the MHflypass

ASEAN travel pass which provides convenience and flexibility, allowing for three return trips within 12 cities at a fixed rate within a one-year period.

Passengers can also make the most out of their itinerary with our ‘Bonus Side Trip’ programme by adding an extra leg to their journey to explore the cultural gems Malaysia has to offer at minimal costs.

Travellers can also plan their getaway fuss-free through the airline’s tour operating arm, MHholidays, which provides a single platform for customers to choose and tailor-make their holidays according to their destination, budget and length of stay–this includes flights, accommodation, ground transfer services, as well as holiday packages.

With business travel steadily picking up, our MHbiz Pro and MHbiz Plus programmes are designed for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates that wish to self-manage their corporate travel. We have also introduced MHbiz Events, a customised travel solution for events such as corporate incentive trips to large-scale events, be it domestic or international, with a wide range of services and connections across our expansive networks. Both organisers and delegates can get exclusive benefits, such as flight discounts, complimentary tickets and more.

How many destinations/cities are being covered by Malaysia Airlines across India? Kindly elaborate on the load factor/flight occupancy to/from India especially after the pandemic effect?

We are continuously reviewing the opportunities in the Indian market and will gradually add new routes, increase frequencies or upgrade aircraft wherever needed to meet these demands especially during peak travel periods.

Malaysia Airlines has reinstated its scheduled commercial services from India with 31 weekly flights from five (5) major cities, namely New Delhi (DEL), Bangalore (BLR), Mumbai (BOM), Chennai (MAA), and Hyderabad (HYD). Current load factor for the market has been encouraging with up to 70% load factor on these flights and forecasted forward load factor of up to 80% by the end of 2022.

Beginning December 2022, we will ramp up frequencies on the existing routes and also reinstate weekly flights from Kochi (COK), increasing the overall weekly flights to 52 which will provide greater convenience and flexibility for travel between the two countries.

Any comment on travel-trade engagement and future traffic?

We sincerely appreciate the great efforts made by our travel agents, who play a crucial role in aiding the sector’s recovery, especially given the rising demand for travel. We have an excellent relationship with our trade partners, and I firmly believe that their support has enabled us to successfully compete in this industry.

As travel restrictions continue to ease, we remain bullish that the demand for travel will continue to improve. This is not without its challenges, of course, with the pressure on fuel prices which we continue to pro-actively monitor in managing our capacity to mitigate unprofitable routes. We invite travellers to experience the inimitable Malaysian Hospitality and seamless connections with Malaysia Airlines, together with its sister airlines under the Malaysia Aviation Group.

Akasa Air partners with RateGain

Akasa

Air, the newest airline of India has selected RateGain’s AirGain product to make air travel affordable for its customers by leveraging accurate and real-time airfare data.

AirGain’s AI-powered platform empowers airline revenue and pricing teams with the most accurate and reliable market insights to build a competitive pricing strategy.

Through an easy-to-use UI that allows faster decision making, AirGain allows the airlines to get notified whenever there is a change in the market. Additionally, the intelligence provides the user with real-time competitor insights across channels to reduce disparity and revenue losses.

Elaborating on this partnership, Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air, said, “At Akasa Air we are developing techenabled strategies and building a data-driven organization that will aid us in providing our customers the most affordable fares along with a customer centric flying experience.”

“AirGain’s nimble solution delivering real-time air travel information across channels will help us achieve a dynamic allocation of fares furthering our mission to make air travelaccessible to everyone in India,” he added.

Speaking on the same lines, Bhanu Chopra, Chairman and Managing Director, RateGain said, “A new airline like Akasa Air, comes to the market with the mindset to adopt the latest technology, and we are delighted that the team decided to choose AirGain to power their growth journey.”

“As Akasa grows, our product AirGain will help in maximizing revenues by providing accurate and real-time competitive intelligence. AirGain was selected based on data accuracy and delivery, easy-to-use UI, and the extensive support available to Akasa through our dedicated teams -and we are committed to deliver on this promise,” he further informed.

Srilankan Holidays inks deal with Linkin Reps

Jazeera Airways launches new routes to Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru

With the launch of two new routes to the cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru, Jazeera Airways now operates from total eight destinations across India. Both of the cities are well potential destinations as Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, whereas Bengaluru is the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state and is the centre of India’s high-tech industry.

At

a time when Sri Lanka’s tourism officials, conscious of the dire need to shore up their country’s economy also plan to woo a greater number of Indian tourists this partnership will be a remarkable step in the growth of tourism in Sri Lanka.

This new development will assist Srilankan Holidays in strengthening its presence and outreach to potential customers in the Indian market and will feed into Srilankan Airlines flights from nine states in India i.e., Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli.

Ravindran, Regional Manager (India & Bangladesh), Srilankan Airlines, said, “Srilankan Holidays continues to strive for excellence in all areas of the business and we seek partners that share similar aspirations. We believe we have found such a partner in Linkin Reps, a leading representative company to help us expand our footprint in India.”

“We are pleased that Srilankan Holidays has partnered with Linkin Reps to assist them in these markets and hope this will lead to further success for this new partnership,” said Komal Seth, Founder & Director, Linkin Reps. “Linkin has the experience, industry knowledge and personnel to generate strong growth for this carrier,” she added.

The partnership between Srilankan Holidays and Linkin reps includes providing complete tour packages with set itineraries through marketing, and overall sales support services to agencies.

Speaking of the new flights, Jazeera Chief Executive Officer, Rohit Ramachandran, said, “We are pleased to be extending our reach into India by the addition of these two new services, catering to the high demand from the expat and business communities in Kuwait and from other connecting GCC countries for flights.”

Starting from October 30th, Kuwait –Thiruvananthapuram route will be served on Tuesdays and Sundays, with return flights from Trivandrum leaving in the early morning of the next days. Flights scheduled from November 3rd, the Kuwait-Bengaluru route will be served on Thursdays and Sundays, with return flights from Bengaluru leaving in the early morning of the next day.

Jazeera Airways operates commercial and cargo flights out of its Jazeera Terminal T5 at Kuwait International Airport. The airline flies to 50 popular destinations across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa and Europe comprising high-demand business, leisure and weekend destinations.

News Desk

News Desk

Praveen Iyer

VFS Global rolls out first-ever Indonesia fast-track Visa on Arrival

VFS Global has entered into an exclusive agreement with TLP, the Immigration Department for Republic of Indonesia and Bank Mandiri, to provide online pre-payment of fees, fasttrack access and concierge services to international passengers upon arrival in Jakarta.

Travellers to Indonesia eligible for Visa on Arrival can now enjoy a quicker, smoother visa application journey by completing the process online, predeparture, through VFS Global.

Nationals of the 75 eligible countries can apply for their Indonesia Visa on Arrival through VFS Global by submitting their documents and paying the fees online at www.indonesiavoa.vfsevisa.id prior to their travel.

A confirmation will be sent to their registered email ID and the visa processed in advance to be stamped upon arrival. With the payment having been made online, the on-arrival process reduces to just the stamping of the visa,

which can be done at the designated fasttrack Visa on Arrival immigration lanes.

Jiten Vyas, Chief Commercial Officer, VFS Global said, “Indonesia is a popular destination for travellers across the globe, and we are excited to unveil a service that will make their visa application journey quicker and simpler. With tech-led Do It Yourself solutions becoming increasingly popular, this firstever fast-track Visa on Arrival service is

sure to offer applicants a more relaxed on-arrival experience.”

Indonesia received over 15 million foreign tourists in 2019 before the pandemic. Between January and July 2022, the destination has welcomed around 1 million international travellers. From India alone, over 657,000 tourists arrived in Indonesia in 2019, before the pandemic.

Cordelia Cruises aims to acquire three cruise ships after completing one year in India

News Desk

14th September 2022, Mumbai: After having successfully completed 100+ sailings along both the east and the west coast of India, covering 7 ports in total, doing 300 plus shows and serving more than 100,000 guests in the last 12 months of operation, Cordelia Cruises has positioned itself as one of the most preferred cruises in the country.

Bullish on the potential of cruising in India, Cordelia Cruises aims to acquire at least three cruise ships by 2025 and thus encourage the cruising economy in India.

Jurgen Bailom, President & CEO, Cordelia Cruises says, “Our goal with the Indian market was to create change and make cruising a top priority on every traveler’s wishlist and looking at the numbers, we can certainly confirm that we have been successful. We are overjoyed and humbled in equal measure with the response we have received since our launch.”

“Families come in large numbers, weddings and important events are being hosted on board and guests are making

memories of a lifetime through the stellar food, entertainment and destination experiences being offered by Cordelia Cruises. We’re onto a great journey in the Indian market and we will continue to working towards curating top notch experiences for our guests,” he added.

In the midst of the pandemic, Cordelia Cruises dared to venture in India as the first ever and exclusive domestic cruising experience. Today the cruise sails across the western coast covering Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, and Lakshadweep along with the eastern coast covering Chennai and Visakhapatnam.

Aiming to meet their customer’s expectation of a perfect cruise, Cordelia Cruises provide them with an experience that is all about comfort, exclusivity and novelty.

From dishes that are curated by the top chefs of India to providing entertainment facilities that beautifully incorporate the Indian culture such as classic Indian melodies along with the Bollywood Bash onboard that makes the overall experience the best of both worlds, Cordelia Cruises unlocks a whole new experience for travel and hospitality.

CRUISE

GUEST COLUMN

Time to go beyond much obvious, explore the unexplored

By Harjinder Singh Saluja Managing Director Cosmo Cottages

Whenyou think about the vacation at a ‘Hill Station’ the first thing that comes in your mind is tranquility in nature followed by snow capped mountains, deep valleys, walking through clouds and a cup of coffee etc. away from the bustling of the cities.

Do we really get all or even most of that?

Not really, what exactly happens when you reach there (hill stations near Delhi NCR), especially around the weekends, its just opposite. You find crowded hotels, restaurants, massive traffic, noise pollution etc and all your excitement takes a back seat and you start thinking, what the hell am I doing here?

Since weekends attracts a huge chunk of travellers from nearby destinations, and when it comes to Delhi and NCR only a couple of widely known hill stations tops the list. Since everyone reaches at the same time, they face heavy crowd, no parking space, unavailability of hotel rooms etc. Consequently, you spend most of your time on the roads, fighting in traffic jam and finding hotels, etc.

So what should we do? What could be the potential solution to this problem?

Have you ever thought, its not the destination spoiling your vacation, but your unawareness which is limited to a couple of popular but much obvious hill stations.

To avoid such circumstances, you must explore new destinations. And it will not be exaggerated if I say that you will find a number of unknown beautiful destinations only in the vicinity of these popular hill stations, which has not been explored yet and has the ability to offer all that you desire.

Such destinations may not have a chain of branded hotels, fancy markets; but definitely a peaceful environment, cool breeze,

valleys and all of that required to make your vacation the perfect one.

While travelling to little remote areas, you will get more personalised hospitality, better oxygen, fresh air, more vegetarian food, fresh fruits and most importantly peace of mind.

So, instead of following the crowd, be the first one to discover new places, bring them in public domain and facilitate an opportunity to the future travellers to see the unseen and experience the latest one.

Now the choice is yours!

Encalm Hospitality launches Spa at Delhi Airport

Enclam

Hospitality - well known for its airport meet and assist services, has launched Spa at the Delhi Airport. According to the company, the Spa is manned by highly trained therapists who are experts at various forms of massage treatments. They use time-honored techniques and use only the finest natural ingredients, known for their calming and healing properties, such as lavender and cedarwood among others. While speaking at the launch, Vikas Sharma, CEO, Encalm Hospitality said, “At Encalm Spa, we have thoughtfully conceptualised a bespoke menu of treatments that provide premium, relaxing experience to travellers who are hustling between destinations. We have devised special treatments keeping in mind the requirements of weary travellers.”

Talking about the facilities at the Spa, he further informed that there is the Signature Encalm Massage with special kneading and effleurage techniques and there is also an equally effective Synchronised Massage where two therapists work in tandem. Not to forget the Jet Lag Therapy or Traveller’s Massage. “There are traditional massages like Thai Massage, Foot

Massage, Head Massage and a lot more. So, one can experience our spa services while in transit and make your journey memorable with Encalm,” he added.

Founded in 2021, Encalm Hospitality focuses on creating and delivering exceptional airport meet and greet experiences. It offers a range of non-aviation-related services, such as lounges, buggy services, porter help, and many more. Encalm aims to be a progressive, adaptable organization, leading change.

A Whereabouts’ Initiative of Promoting Tourism, Living Root Bridge of Meghalaya