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CONTENTS Editor Rajesh Tiwari rajesh@whereabouts.in +91 9818525672
Consulting Editor Shayan Mallick
Correspondents Jai Kishan Kaparwan Nisha Awasthi whereabouts.in@gmail.com
12 GOVERNMENT 24 NTO 28 HOSPITALITY 31 AVIATION 32 TECHNOLOGY 38 APPOINTMENT
Art Director Mithlesh Gupta
Advertising Commercial Director Dheeraj Anand +91 9560444678 dheeraj@whereabouts.in Advertising Manager (North-West) Solomon Saxeana +91 9999810390 solomon@whereabouts.in Advertising Manager (South-East) Santosh K Mishra +91 8447786636 marketing@whereabouts.in Marketing & Events Manager Lakshman Vashisth +91 9911907050
IN FOCUS Naidu-IATO love affair continues as Andhra readies for the 34th IATO Convention
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Principal Advisor Anil Prakash
Legal Advisor Advocate Brijesh Tiwari
Production & Distribution Production Manager Subhash Solanki Distribution Executive Anoop Singh
Accounts CA Rishabh Rana
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Technical & Web Support Amit Agrahari All information in Whereabouts is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate and up to date information. All contents of this publication are reserved worldwide. Reproduction in any manner without prior written permission is prohibited. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of component courts and forums in Delhi only. Whereabouts is own, printed & published by Rajesh Tiwari. Whereabouts is printed at Pritika Printers, A-21/27, Naraina Industrial Area, PhaseII, New Delhi 110028 and published from E-8/401, Nehru Vihar, Delhi 110094. Editor Rajesh Tiwari
Despite the rains and floods, Kerala will hopefully be ready to receive tourists during the approaching season
GUSET COLUMN
When Price is the Weapon of Choice
09
EDITOR’S NOTE
IN CONVERSATION
We strive to become first of the top states, says A. P. Tourism Minister
20 Dear Reader, This issue of Whereabouts brings so much content to read from Andhra Pradesh – the host destination of 34th Annual Convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators. You will have a chance to read about the continued love affair (with IATO) of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who will be inaugurating the IATO Convention for the third time, probably the only Chief Minister in the country doing so. Also, in an exclusive conversation, Tourism Minister of the State Ms Bhuma Akhila Priya speaks about the achievements of the past four years and her vision for tourism. One thing that I must share with you that during my interaction with her, I got to know how dedicated she is. Despite her very busy schedule (preparing for her wedding on Aug 29) she never missed a chance to speak about her vision for Tourism Andhra Pradesh.
DESTINATION
TIME TO KNOW ANDHRA PRADESH
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Also, as we all are aware that tourism fraternity in Kerala is facing a lot of challenges due to heavy rains and floods that have devastated the state. In an attempt to update our readers we have engaged with the stakeholders based in Kerala to know the ground reality to keep you updated. We wish the situation will normalize and the stakeholders of tourism and hospitality industry will get back to business very soon.
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IN FOCUS
Naidu-IATO love affair continues as Andhra readies for the 34th IATO Convention This is the third time that the dynamic Andhra Chief Minister hosts IATO Convention, a first for any Chief Minister in India Shayan Mallick
I
n all likeliness, N. Chandrababu Naidu is probably the only Chief Minister who has hosted the IATO Convention three times in his state, twice in Hyderabad, capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh until its bifurcation in 2014. The forthcoming 34th IATO Convention in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh next week is the third time that he will host the prestigious event. And as he has already confirmed his attendance at the inaugural function, he also becomes the only Indian Chief Minister in IATO’s 37 year old history and 34 Conventions to inaugurate the Annual IATO Convention for a third time. This speaks volume about the state’s recognition of tourism’s
massive socio-economic impact as well as their interest in growing tourism in order to harness the sector’s potential to boost state’s economy and job market, and therefore CM Naidu’s continued love affair with IATO Conventions over the last two decades as he readies to welcome IATO members from across the country for their 34th Convention. Not only has the Chief Minister been in the forefront in inviting IATO to organise its convention in the new state post its bifurcation in 2014, but as IATO President Pronab Sarkar, Vice President Rajiv Mehra and Hony. Secretary Rajesh Mudgill vouch, has also attended to industry concerns and issues when brought to his notice, like issuance of entry ticket to Tirupati Balaji Temple by tour operators that was made possible because of Naidu’s intervention in the matter. IATO’s first convention in undivided Andhra Pradesh was in 1997 in Hyderabad. Leading the state with a vision to turn it into one of the Asian Tigers
Memories Down The Lane
6 September 2018
Naidu addressing delegates at 13th IATO Convention in Hyderabad in 1997
AP Tourism officials at IATO’s monthly meeting in Delhi last month
IN FOCUS The state is once again rewriting its plan for tourism’s future in the state, led by a Chief Minister who, going by his repeated thrust for the development of tourism in the state, definitely believes in tourism’s massive socioeconomic impact and some very dynamic and forceful officers in AP Tourism, led by a dynamic young AP Minister of Tourism Bhuma Akhila Priya, who are leaving no stone unturned to improve Andhra’s tourism profile, both for the domestic as well as the inbound market. Naidu inaugurating 19th IATO Convention in Hyderabad in 2003
in the first term as the Andhra Chief Minister, Naidu was the Chief Guest on the occasion and had officially inaugurated the convention. The second convention came to Andhra six years later in 2003, in Hyderabad, and once again because of Naidu’s personal interest in the event where he reportedly himself made a power-point presentation for IATO delegates during one of the meetings. It was the 19th IATO Convention and the post convention whitepaper in 2003 that the association submitted that many in the IATO believe led to Hyderabad transforming into India’s foremost events, congresses and convention hub
that it is today with the opening of the world-class Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). Today more than 10 years after the facility has opened door there is yet to be another such venue in scale, class, planning and architecture in any other state in India. Andhra is a new state today and without its former capital that’s gone to the newly carved state of Telangana as its capital. The new Andhra is hosting its first IATO Convention. Once again Naidu as the CM of the state has personally been involved in inviting IATO to organise its 34th Annual Convention at the coastal city of Vishakhapatnam, new Andhra’s financial capital.
Acknowledging that Andhra lag far behind in foreign tourist arrivals despite being 3rd in domestic arrivals in the country, AP Tourism & Culture Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena, while inviting IATO members for the forthcoming convention at a recent IATO meeting in Delhi, said, “For the growth of tourism, you (IATO) are very important to us. That’s why we have taken this initiative of inviting you to Vizag for your annual convention. You are the people who would bring inbound tourism to Andhra Pradesh. We will do everything to project before you, promote before you and convince you that Andhra is a promising state in terms of tourism potential.” AP Tourism CEO Himanshu Shukla while inviting all the
“1500 members” of IATO has also expressed his department’s readiness to host as many as 1200 members for post tours and also to different locations within the state and not just Vishakhapatnam and surrounding. Speaking at the recent IATO meeting earlier this month, its President particularly lauded the interest that the CM had shown during his meeting with the IATO delegates about a year ago in once again bringing the IATO Convention to Vishakhapatnam. “Natural beauty, beaches, hills, caves, temples, wildlife, festivals and handicrafts, Andhra Pradesh is a destination one can easily spend 15 to 20 days,” Sarkar has said. Sarkar also lavished praise on Andhra CM and AP Tourism for supporting various IATO initiatives at every stage of the convention planning, right from IATO Run to cultural programme to post convention tours. “This gives us confidence that we can give best to our members at the convention. This will be one of the best attended IATO conventions. The Chief Minister has already confirmed his attendance at the Convention. The Minister of Tourism (Andhra Pradesh) has also confirmed her presence,” he reminded members at meet.
September 2018 7
IN-CONVERSATION
Kerala will hopefully be ready to receive tourists during the approaching season: Najeeb Rajesh Tiwari
Q. As we all are aware that the tourism industry of Kerala is going through a difficult phase due to heavy rains and floods that have devastated the state; what could be the estimated loss and how much time the state will take to get back on track? A. The recent heavy rains and floods in Kerala were very unfortunate that it affected the life in the state so much. Fortunately this did not last too long and the rains have almost stopped. The Government machinery got into action to help the people stranded by water. The difficult phase of the heavy rains and the flood are being managed by Kerala. Though there were heavy losses, it would be gradually normalized in a short while.
Q. How tourism stakeholders can join the government in reviving tourism in the state? A. Despite the rains and floods, Kerala will hopefully be ready to receive tourists during the approaching season. The tourism industry is working hand in hand with the Government to alleviate the impact of the calamity on the state. The leaders of this industry are using all their contacts and influence to get support from all corners including the Government of India for the rescue and rehabilitation in Kerala. With all that done, we will all be ready for the tourism season, and all the stakeholders and industry partners of Kerala Tourism will converge at the Kerala Travel Mart. We hope to have good interaction with our partners from overseas coming down to participate in KTM.
Q. How do you look at the upcoming Kerala Travel Mart; do you think it will impact the Mart? A. I am very hopeful of a fruitful Kerala Travel Mart. It is true that the present situations will have an impact in the back of our minds but, in effect we all would be back to doing effective business. Unless there are some last minute cancellations the participations would be full and normal.
Q. How do you look at the importance of the conventions and travel marts?
8 September 2018
Up to what extent such events have conveyed their messages successfully? A. Conventions and Travel Marts are very vital events that strengthen and develop the tourism industry. The purpose of Conventions is different from that of Travel Marts. Conventions bring together people of a trade or a discipline. It is an opportunity to meet with people of the same industry and interact with them for a synergized networking and relationships. It is a time to be together, focusing on matters of common interest, away from the routine responsibilities. At the same time, Travel Marts serve a still different purpose of creating a market platform for selling and buying and ensuring progress in business. Such events are conducted at very ideal locations in most cases, where more B2B buyers could converge in the case of ‘Destination Travel Marts’ where a destination itself is focused on.
Q. How would you rate the government policies in terms of growth of tourism and hospitality sector in near future? Is there any major challenge in front of industry stakeholders? A. The Ministry of Tourism as a whole under the leadership of the Minister of Tourism is taking a number of steps to develop and promote tourism, and also to support the industry. Now the Government has put up a target of 20 million incoming Foreign Tourists in 3 years. The private sector and the stakeholders have geared-up towards this objective and are joining hands with the Government. There are challenges on the path. The industry feels that the GST of 28% for the high-end segment of hotel rooms should be reduced to a lower percentage as most of the foreign tourists avail the facilities in this segment. The industry also feels that the Government should take effective measures to ensure that incidents creating negative publicity about India in the international market should be contained.
Q. What are your plans or idea to be implemented for the betterment of association as well as its members?
EM Najeeb Sr. Vice President IATO
With all that done, we will all be ready for the tourism season, and all the stakeholders and industry partners of Kerala Tourism will converge at the Kerala Travel Mart. A. IATO is trying to make the organization more inclusive and democratic in nature. All are taking up key responsibilities and moving forward. A set of sub-committees are in place to look into different responsibilities, and fullfledged activities are mobilized. IATO strives for promoting national integration, welfare, and goodwill, while it encourages the tour operators and travel agents in their activities for their common good and benefits. It also tries to protect the interests of the members from undesirable practices that they face. IATO as usual will be initiating various activities to create value for the members, strengthen relationship with stakeholders in tourism, and also to systematically engage in promotional measures such as road shows and events marketing the destination.
GUEST COLUMN
When Price is the Weapon of Choice Rajeev Kohli
T
here is no question that business in India is under stress. It doesn’t matter which segment of the economy you operate in, everyone is facing some level of disruption that is causing us to react in various ways. The Indian tourism industry is no different. There has set in a very strong sense of the “Chicken Little Syndrome’, a sense of despair or passivity which blocks the audience from actions. (Google it, its comes from an early 19th century folk tale). What makes me say this? You do. Because it’s the only thing I read on Facebook and WhatsApp everyday. Complaints, moaning, despair. The level of pessimism in our industry seems to be high. The reaction has also been pretty consistent. Fight on price alone. We have taken the culture of Athithi Devo Bhava a bit too far. When the customer says jump, we say how high. When the client says drop prices, we say by how much. This is NOT a discussion of big agent versus small. Because I see this behavior more from the smaller and medium companies where the desire to get business at any cost has overtaken the sense of business sustainability.
with their margins. The recovery never came. We know of so many great European accounts where business was taken at a loss. No one has ever been able to make real money of those since. Price – the only weapon that seems to be left. A weapon that erodes brand value, that erodes all the hard work one puts in to building their business. Cutting prices is the Nuclear Option. Once executed, there is no going back. You have to live with what you did for the rest of your lives. Why are so many behaving this way? Well, there are two key reasons. First, dropping prices can be done quickly and doesn’t require much thinking. Changing product or introducing innovation takes more time and effort. The Second reason is that dropping prices look like a cheap option. In the marketing mix of the ‘Four Ps’ – Product, Place, Promotion and Price. The price is the only one that does not cost money. Many think price reductions are reversible. Has anyone in our segment ever been able to increase prices after a drop? Is the foreign agent sitting with a kind heart to help us be profitable? Or he is sitting playing one tour operator against another? Keep in mind, when you drop price, your competitor’s response is to do the same and the loop starts. There is rarely reversal. I have never seen it. So, what can companies do instead of cutting their prices? There are several things, all of them connected with adding value to the consumer or the client.
Competing on product, competing on innovation, competing on creativity are all tough. It takes investment of time and money. Competing on price, is easy. I can see how in a tough market one can see reducing prices as an easy and a reversible action. This may give short term gains. But it also leads to a price war and long-term consequences. I remember when in the early 2000’s the Hyatt in Delhi dropped its rates for a particular operator to $52 cpai. The reaction was severe with every other hotel matching or going lower to survive. Tour operators did the same
The first thing is to rethink your value proposition by offering more for the same price. These can be things that cost relatively little but have a meaningful impact for the customer. Would it not be smarter to give the customer more value for what they are spending? Offer more options and choices? A second option is to have brand differentiation and sell different things to different segment. Like hotels do with luxury brands and budget brands in the same portfolio. We know of companies doing this. Third is to be better at the way you communicate your value proposition to the customer. My business philosophy has
Rajeev Kohli Joint MD Creative Travel
Many think price reductions are reversible. Has anyone in our segment ever been able to increase prices after a drop? always been that when business is down, you need to increase your marketing and communication. That’s when you need to express your fresh ideas the most. Unfortunately, the conventional action is to do the opposite. Finally; as one looks at price, one also needs to look at costs. How can you reduce your costs? Realign your expenses. Firing employees is not the only solution. Find other areas where you can squeeze out a few dollars. Every little bit counts. When all of this has been done is when you should look at price reductions as a tool to compete. It should be your last option as it is by far the riskiest of all action you can take.
September 2018 9
TRADE
ATOAI takes its 14th Convention to Araku Valley in Andhra Vaibhav Kala appointed Convention Chairman. Shayan Mallick
A
dventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) will organise its 2018 Annual Convention from October 25 to 28 at the scenic Araku Valley in Vishakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. Located on the Andhra-Odisha
border, Araku Valley is rich in flora and fauna and would be awash with greenery and nature after the monsoon spell when the ATOAI members arrive for their annual convention at the end of October next month. The valley is at an elevation of 800-1300 metres above the sea level. “This will be our 14th Annual Convention and is going to be one of the most exciting conventions in ATOAI’s history. We have constituted a very young and dynamic team of core committee members, headed
Convention Organising Committee Chairman:
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Vaibhav Kala
Co-chairman
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Shekhar Babu
Core Committee members
Capt Swadesh Kumar President ATOAI
Gurmeet Kalra
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Travel Inn
Arshdeep Anand
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Holiday Moods
Dilshad Kumar
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Mercury Himalayan
Shirly Bajaj
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Snow Leopard
Deepika Chaudhary -
Executive Director, ATOAI
by ATOAI Secretary Vaibhav Kala as the Convention Chairman, to plan and execute the forthcoming convention. It’s a new team but very enterprising, they know their job well and are actively involved in their businesses,” Kala will be assisted by Andhra Pradesh based Shekhar Babu as Co-chairman of the Convention as well as an all-women five member team of Gurmeet Kalra of Travel Inn, Arshdeep Anand of Holiday Moods, Dilshad Kumar of Mercury Himalayan, Shirly Bajaj of Snow Leopard and Deepika Chaudhary, Executive Director, ATOAI.
Increased Visa fee will jeopardise country’s 20 million inbound target, Sarkar MoT has set an ambitious three-year target to double India’s foreign tourist arrival from just over 10 million in 2017 to 20 million in 2020 Shayan Mallick
A
t a time when many countries in the world are attracting Indian tourists with easy visa facilitation services like visa-on-arrival or visa-free entry and that too without a visa fee by some, Indian government’s decision to increase the visa fee has not gone down very well with the country’s inbound tourism stakeholders who view the development as a countermeasure to government’s target of attracting 20 million tourists by 2020.
10 September 2018
According to IATO President Pronab Sarkar, the visa fee increase can jeopardise government’s plan to reach an ambitious 20 million tourist target in just three years from the 10 million last year. He said, “On the one hand you are talking about 20 million tourist by 2020 and on the other hand you are not welcoming tourist by giving any rebate on visa fee.” “If one million extra tourists come, there will be around 15 million direct and indirect jobs. Whereas the enhancement of the visa fee is only going to get 5,200 crore which is not a very big amount,” said Sarkar implying that the loss of tourist and its impact on job creation and other socio-economic benefit for the
industry and the country would far outweigh any gains. He stressed the need “to be seen as a destination that is welcoming to tourists.” “Recently Sri Lanka has announced visa free entry for the Indian tourists, GST there is at 13 per cent. So our neighbouring countries very well understand that this is an opportunity and are keen to get maximum tourist from India. So jobs are being exported to them and not happening in India. This is a serious thing.” IATO has taken up the matter with the concerned authorities and the matter, according to Sarkar, has now reached the ministerial level. A tourist visa now costs US$ 153
Pronab Sarkar President IATO
instead of US$ 100 earlier. For the UK nationals, one of India’s key tourism source markets, the fee has been revised to US$ 248 from US$ 168 earlier. The UK is India’s third largest tourism source market with a 10.70 per cent market share and close to a million arrivals a year.
September 2018 11
GOVENMENT
Andhra eyeing 32 five star hotels by 2020, 100,000 rooms by 2025 195 tourism projects proposals worth Rs. 15,120 crores received in the last three investor summits to be all executed by 2020. 74 of these already grounded Shayan Mallick
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ndhra’s bifurcation in 2014 left it with fewer star category hotels and only six five star hotels but that is changing fast as the state is expected to have 15,000 hotel rooms by 2020. Besides, the Andhra CM has given his tourism executives a target of 100,000 hotel rooms by 2025. The turnaround in the state’s hospitality fortune is being planned with a view to grow state’s tourism attractiveness and make it an equally appealing destination for foreign tourists as it is in the domestic sector. According to AP Tourism & Culture Secretary Mukesh
Kumar Meena, “While Andhra Pradesh ranks 3rd in the country in domestic tourist arrivals, it lags far behind when in comes to foreign tourist arrivals, the reason being that there are gaps in tourism infrastructure, like fewer hotels and other tourism related products. However, in the last three-four years we have tried to fill these gaps by facilitating a very good and proactive tourism policy for the investors to come in.” Meena was speaking at IATO’s monthly meeting last month in Delhi. “When the state was bifurcated we had six five star hotel properties in Andhra Pradesh. Today another seven are under construction. For another 10 hotels the land has been allocated and for another seven properties we are in the process of finalising land allocation. So in the next three years from six five star hotels today we will have 32 five star hotels,” he informed.
Andhra only had about 6900 rooms three years back. Today it’s hotel room inventory has reached 10,000 rooms. “By 2020 our Chief Minister wants us to reach the target of 15,000 hotel rooms, and I am talking about quality and star category rooms. And as we all know that the CM thinks big, he says by 2025 you should have 100,000 good quality rooms in Andhra Pradesh. That is the target which we are looking forward to and that is the way we are coming forward,” Meena said. In the last three investor summits Andhra has received some 195 proposals from private investors for setting up tourism projects in Andhra Pradesh. Meena says that 74 of these projects have already been grounded and the target is that by 2020 they will ground all 195 projects worth 15,120 crores.
Mukesh Kumar Meena Tourism & Culture Secretary Govt of Andhara Pradesh
by utilising the existing potential and create new product in the tourism sector for the growth of state, growth of employment in the state and growth of tourism in the state. We have a very good leadership with us. We have very good officers who always welcome new initiatives. We have good policy. Andhra Pradesh is a state that should be moving very fast in the coming future,” said a confident Meena.
“We are pro-active. We want to make the state a happening state
MP Tourism appoints DJUBO to drive online bookings and manage operations P Tourism and DJUBO have launched a whole new product called DJUBO AgentConnekt WH Desk
M
adhya Pradesh Tourism is one of the most active state tourism boards in India which is making huge investments in tourism and technology to increase tourism in Madhya Pradesh. In line with its stated objectives of driving higher online revenues and tech adoption in its 68 properties, Madhya Pradesh Tourism has appointed DJUBO as its all in one hotel technology ERP partner providing them an all in one offering including cloud
12 September 2018
based Property Management System, Online Channel Management, Direct Booking Engine, Point of Sale and Accounting Back End integrations. MP Tourism and DJUBO have also worked together to launch a whole new product called DJUBO AgentConnekt which will connect hundreds of MP Tourism travel agents across the country to the Centralized Reservation System offered by DJUBO. DJUBO is already one of the largest and fastest growing hotel tech companies in India and South East Asia and has presence across 28 countries. Elaborating on the partnership, with DJUBO, Vijay Kumar, Chief
Corporate Marketing Executive, Madhya Pradesh Tourism said: “DJUBO offers state of the art capabilities coupled with new age integrations and an extremely user friendly interface to ensure quick and widespread adoption across all our hotel staff members.” According to him, DJUBO will help Madhya Pradesh Tourism increase its revenues through online platforms both domestic and international through its channel management capabilities. “At the same time we will be using DJUBO’s Property Management and Point of Sale capabilities to manage their front office, restaurant and travel desk. Being a cloud based
solution, MPTDC will be able to implement is across all its 68 properties without any offline hardware or server installations and our central office will be able to manage all our properties remotely from a single central office in Bhopal,’ he added. Sankalp Goel, Co-Founder, DJUBO stated that it is an honour that DJUBO has been chosen by MP Tourism after a thorough examination of various national and international technology product companies. It is a great testament to the all-in-one hotel technology solution that DJUBO has been building for 3 years and gaining rapid traction for.
GOVENMENT
Open to host 1200 IATO members for post tours, AP Tourism CEO Invites all IATO members to Vizag Convention, says location beyond Vizag can also be considered for post-convention familiarisation tours Shayan Mallick
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part from taking up industry issues and concerns and debating tourism ideas and that can put India on global tourism map, the annual IATO Conventions have also sought to put the host destinations in the tourism spotlight. And towards this end, post-convention tours have been an integral part for the IATO Conventions over the years. These tours not only brings India’s inbound trade, most of whom are IATO members, face to face with the destinations’ tourism offerings but also give them a chance to assess the destinations’ tourism
preparedness in terms of infrastructure, accommodation, connectivity and services etc. related to tourism. And not to forget that there are important inputs and learning that can be derived from tour operators who visit and explore various places and attractions across the host state.
has decided to organise its convention in Vizag. We wanted to do it in the year 2017 but because of prior commitments it could not happen then. But they accepted our request and are coming to Vizag in 2018 for their convention. We are very much looking forward to host you in the city of Vizag.”
Not to miss the opportunity the AP Tourism officials including AP’s Tourism & Culture Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena and CEO of AP Tourism, Himanshu Shukla, attended the IATO Monthly Meeting in New Delhi in order to once again invite the IATO members to participate in the convention in full strength next month in Vizag that they are hosting.
While pointing that as such AP is a new state, the AP Tourism CEO said, “We have everything except Hyderabad. This is a new state with so many new and exciting destinations and we have already hosted three fam trips and many of you already know about us. But we want all the 1500 members of IATO to come to Vizag. Please come! Have a wonderful stay at Vizag. We would like to extend all kind of hospitality to you.”
Expressing his delight on hosting the forthcoming IATO Convention, Shukla said, “We are really honoured that IATO
Furthermore, he added, “We are organising fam trip post the convention. I have received
Himanshu Shukla CEO AP Tourism
the request of 200 people, but I am open to 500, even 1200 also. They will all be looked after. As such what has been discussed are destinations in and around Vizag. But we are open to new locations also. Kindly come to our new capital. It’s a history in the making where the land acquisition has been done without paying even one rupee. And when you are in Andhra Pradesh, don’t miss lord Balaji, and then only your journey will be completed.”
Odisha gears up to get advantage of Men’s Hockey World Cup
The campaign – ‘Tourism by Morning Sports by Evening’ will encourage hockey players and fans to roam around the state as a tourist. Rajesh Tiwari
I
n an attempt to get the maximum advantage of Men’s Hockey World Cup scheduled to be oragnised from November 28 to December 16, 2018 in Bhubaneshwar, the department of tourism, Government of Odisha is gearing up to launch an exclusive campaign ‘Tourism by Morning Sports by Evening’ to encourage hockey players and fans to experience the state’s rich heritage and hospitality. Odisha Tourism has arranged luxury busses and skilled guides to take players and delegates to tourist destinations in and around Bhubaneshwar.
“There are a lot of opportunities in sports events which drives tourism as well. The focus is not only on Bhubaneshwar but other regional areas like Sambalpur, Raurkela, Jaypore and Berhampur are also coming up with international sporting facilities to attract more national and international events,” said Vishal Dev, Tourism and Sports Secretary, Government of Odisha.
“The upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup is an opportunity for us to showcase our tourism and hospitality to the visitors coming to attend this sporting event. The department of tourism in association with department of sports has a lot of plans as far as the promotion of tourism is concerned,” informed Dr Nitin Bhanudas Jawale, Director, Odisha Tourism.
“Under the campaign of ‘Tourism by Morning Sports by Evening’ we will encourage visitors to take a look around the state as a tourist in the morning and then come back and enjoy the hockey match in the evening,” informed Jawale. The department has initially planned to float a package for at least 500 persons. The one day package includes a match ticket, sightseeing facilities and refreshment. Price of the package and locations of the sightseeing will be finalized soon. Accommodation is not included in the package. The cost of the package is yet to be decided. Keeping the tourist flow in mind, the city is also planning to host a festival during the time of the World Cup where live music and
Dr Nitin Bhanudas Jawale Director Odisha Tourism
dance events will take place. Also, street food and folk art from 16 participating countries will be showcased during the event. To make it easier for tourist who will be going on their own, special bus routes are being planned that will connect the major hotels and tourist spots.
September 2018 13
TRADE
Industry hails the announcement of four new airports in Uttar Pradesh Apart from the airports in Jewar and Kushinagar, the new identified locations are Bareilly, Moradabad, Aligarh and Azamgarh Rajesh Tiwari
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he announcement of developing four new airports in Uttar Pradesh at Bareilly, Moradabad, Aligarh and Azamgarh is a big boost to the growth of tourism and hospitality sector of the state. Apart from new airports, the process of developing international airports at Jewar in Delhi NCR and Kushinagar has already been initiated. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has made this announcement while inaugurating the fourth edition of Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart organised in association with UP Tourism and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Speaking more about tourism, the Chief Minister said: “Uttar Pradesh was pioneer in spiritual and heritage tourism. Hence the state is committed to provide safe travel and other facilities to tourist and pilgrims and expose them to the rapid development strides take by the state.” He stated that safety and security of the tourist is the highest priority of the state. Labelling the new announcement by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh a tremendous shot in the arm for UP’s burgeoning travel and tourism sector, S N Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of hotels said that new airport development in these cities will also have domino effect on investments in new businesses, industries as well as a slew of investment in hotels around airports in these cities. “Moradabad that’s been known as the ‘Brass city’ has not been able to develop the brass industry the way it should have. The coming of an airport in the city and the resultant connectivity have the potential to completely change the current business landscape and pave way for the brass industry in the city to develop in scale and size of international standard which in turn will create new demands for a lot of hotel accommodations, housing, shopping and entertainment centres and more in the city,” he adds. Furthermore, it can give boost to export as well as travel and tourism. This can
14 September 2018
S N Srivastava President & Co-founder Clarks Inn Group of hotels
Subhash Goyal Secretary FAITH
create millions of new direct and indirect employment in the city and surrounding. Similar thing can happen in other cities too. Complimenting the UP government on the initiatives to develop new airports in theses very important secondary cities Subhash Goyal, Secretary FAITH said that development of aviation through new airport development and establishing air connectivity has a multiplier effects. It results in the development of the whole region because when airlines start flying they bring tourists who in turn need hotels to stay. He further explains, “So more hotels come up and when hotels come up they need bellboys, they need people on reception, they need people in operation, technicians and engineers, and hence the multiplier effect on employment generation and economy in the cities where new airports come up. India is the fastest growing aviation market in the world and the development of new airport
Pronab Sarkar President IATO
needs to keep pace with the development in infrastructure.” Lauding the announcement, IATO President Pronab Sarkar pointed that airport development in Jewar in Delhi NCR and Kushinagar, are definitely good news for the tourism industry especially for destinations like Agra and Delhi, whereas new announcement of airport development at Bareilly, Moradabad, Aligarh and Azamgarh is more of a good news for locals living in these cities in terms of enhanced connectivity to travel with little impact on travel and tourism in these cities as they are no tourism activities in these places. The IATO President pointed that there is need to offer better connectivity to the Buddhist circuit in the state. “There is already an existing demand and traffic for connectivity between Lucknow, Varanasi and Kushinagar and these destinations need to be connected from each other. It will be very for the tourism sector in the state,” he said.
TRADE
Abu Dhabi to host TAFI Convention 2018 Iconic Emirates Palace Hotel to host the event from September 25-28
hosting the TAFI Convention. The idea is to expose the destination to all the TAFI members who come. We are looking at about 650 TAFI delegates to visit Abu Dhabi for the convention.”
Shayan Mallick
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he annual TAFI (Travel Agents Federation of India) Convention this year is headed to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, also the capital of the ‘Emirate of Abu Dhabi’, the largest of the UAE’s seven Emirates. The event is scheduled from September 25 to 28. The iconic Emirates Palace Hotels is the convention venue.
Praveen Chugh President TAFI
Bejan Dinshaw Country Manager – India Abu Dhabi
Speaking of the forthcoming convention, 12th in the series, TAFI President Praveen Chugh, said, “We have informed the members to block the dates starting from 25th of September for three to five nights’ programme, three nights for convention and two nights
for post tours.” Furthermore, he said, “We are coming out with a package which includes five night accommodation with all the meals, transfers, sightseeing, Visa, air tickets and no additional cost, all for Rs. 33,333/- and Rs. 43,333/- on single occupancy.”
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism Country Manager – India, Bejan Dinshaw, said, “We have always been interested in promoting the destination in the travel fraternity and that’s been one of the main reasons we are
Commenting on the choice of the venue, Chugh said that TAFI always comes out with a destination where the members have the opportunity to explore a new destination and promote it to their clients. “This convention will showcase a new Abu Dhabi. And we are not just talking about the Abu Dhabi city but also talking about destinations within the region. We are also showcasing newer places and attractions which have come up recently like Warnor Bros. World, Louvre and Ferrari World and so on,” he said.
Technology is an enabler, Lohani Cannot replace human experience WH Desk
Ashwani Lohani Chairman Indian Railways Board
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shwani Lohani, Chairman of Indian Railways Board, said that technology was being put to good use by the Indian Railways to bring sweeping changes in the quality of passenger comfort and interface, but he, in the same measure, also stressed that tourism heavily depended on people-to-people exchange. He noted that technology could never replace the experience of a people-to-people interface, therefore it was merely an “enabler”. Lohani was speaking at the ICONIC Forum 2018. Making a mention of the allpervasiveness of technology, he shared that in his recent visit to the Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple, a Madhya Pradesh tourism’s counter meant for outreach among devotees had vanished which was a far cry
from the days when he oversaw the state’s department of tourism and drove its outreach through such mechanisms. He was told that such measures had become obsolete as the outreach was now being spearheaded through social media and digital platforms. He, however, believed that technology was only a tool and could never substitute human contact. “We still have the requirement of tourism counters at railway stations and airports. Tourism offices in the country and abroad have a major role to play because technology is very impersonal but cannot substitute the experience of visiting a tourist counter,” he argued. He shared that, in a first, numerous measures, such as touch-screen kiosks to inform passengers at airports were
installed by the ministry of tourism, way back in 1998. Reminiscing, he stressed that “those were different times when touts roamed even the Delhi airport.” “We used technology to hoodwink touts and beat them in their own game,” he said. He further noted that MoT had come up with Virtual Reality Recreation Technology (VRRT) at the Qutub Minar where one could get a sweeping view of Delhi’s skyline from a telescope placed at the top of the monument, indicating that government had been keen in assimilating technology to improve overall visitor experience since a long time ago. He maintained that technology was needed to assist in doing things and not necessarily replace the physical aspect of an interface.
September 2018 15
TRADE
274 buyers from 60 countries confirmed for inaugural edition of ITM More buyers expected as some 50 odd buyer applications yet to be screened Shayan Mallick
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ccording to Subhash Goyal, Chairman of the Organising Committee of ITM and Secretary of FAITH, 274 international buyers from
Subhash Goyal Secretary FAITH
60 countries have already confirmed their participation at the inaugural edition of India Tourism Mart (ITM) next month. This number is expected to further grow as there are around 50 more applications that need to be screened, he informed. The final tally of international buyers is expected to be in the region of 300. Goyal also informed that a total of around 550 foreign buyer applications were received of which around 500 applications have already been screened and 274 buyers have been confirmed. This number does not include the media and bloggers which the Ministry of Tourism is inviting on their own. More than 20 states are participating at the inaugural edition of the event as exhibitors. The event will feature about 150 booths. IATO is involved in organising eight to nine
post tours, spread across the country, for the foreign buyers to showcase various part of the country and their tourism attractiveness. “This is the first time that the whole of industry has come together to put up a show like this. This is an industry initiative and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (MoT, GoI), is supporting the initiative fully,” Goyal said. The three-day event will take place at Vigyan Bhawan from September 16-18. The event is scheduled for the afternoon inauguration at about 2 pm at Vigyan Bhawan Auditorium. ITM is being organised by Mot, GoI, in association with Federation of Associations of India Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), an umbrella body of 10 leading industry associations of India representing travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers and event organisers.
SOTC Travel introduces Holiday Essentials WH Desk
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ith the Indian traveller becoming open to newer experiences, SOTC has witnessed a rapid change in how a tourist now wants to experience his vacations. To make these experiences easy to enjoy for the customer, SOTC has launched Holiday Essentials keeping in mind the type of vacation and destination requirement. The ‘Holiday Essentials’ range is an integral part of SOTC’s services and have been designed to make every vacation worry free by understanding the customer’s minute necessities. SOTC Travel has witnessed the change in travel experiences over the years and has observed a growth in queries for the inclusion of various kinds of experiences which is about 30% to 35% as compared to the last year.
Sangeeta Manocha appointed ETAA North India Chairperson New positions of ‘Alliance’ and ‘Events’ to make chapter more efficient Shayan Mallick
Sangeeta Manocha Chairperson ETAA
16 September 2018
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nterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) North India chapter has recently elected a new team led by Prime Connections CEO Sangeeta Manocha. She is also a Director on the National Board of ETAA. Manocha will head a new team of office bearers along with members on two new strategic positions created to forge improved industry relations, namely Head – Alliances and Head – Events. Associated with ETAA since 2013, Manocha has been ETAA North India’s Joint Secretary and most recently, it’s General Secretary.
Treasurer respectively. Manuj Rajput of Promark Travel Services and Saurabh Tuteja of Ujjwal Creations are the two new Joint Secretaries. Blue Skies Travels & Tours Arush Mittal and Travways Tours’ Gaurav Arora are Head-Alliances and Head-Events respectively.
Treasurer
: Kanwarjit Singh Sawhney
Tour Passion’s Naveen Manchanda and Bakshi Transport Service’s Kanwarjit Singh Sawhney have been appointed as the General Secretary and
Joint Secretary
: Manuj Rajput
Joint Secretary
: SaurabhTuteja
Head – Alliances
: Arush Mittal
Head – Events
: Gaurav Arora
Commenting on the appointment, Manocha said that with the introduction of two
honorary posts of Events and Alliances, ETAA North India will have more knowledge sessions, more educational programmes and familiarisation tours only in India, but also to foreign destinations, which will benefit ETAA North India members to sell their products. She also said that the chapter will focus on increasing its membership base in the tier 2 & 3 cities.
ETAA North India Team Chairperson
: Sangeeta Manocha
General Secretary : Naveen Manchanda
September 2018 17
Glimpses of 13th IATO Convention in Hyderabad in December 1997
18 September 2018
Glimpses of 19th IATO Convention in Hyderabad in April 2003
September 2018 19
AVIATION GOVERNMENT
We strive to become first of the top states, says
A. P. Tourism Minister Rajesh Tiwari
Q. What is the tourism potential of the state of Andhra Pradesh?
WH Desk
A. As you know it’s a new state and after creation of Telangana a lot more have changed in Andhra Pradesh. We can say that we are starting from the scratch, so there is a lot of scope to develop tourism and other industries at its best. Before making of Telangana, tourism in Andhra Pradesh was only restricted to Hyderabad and Charminar, and other beautiful sites of the states were not explored. However, apart from Hyderabad and Charminar which has gone to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has so much to offer to all kind of travellers. I would say one visit is not enough to experience Andhra Pradesh you need to come again and again. Our Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu has his own vision to develop tourism in all thirteen districts of the state.
They say ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ and this perfectly defines Ms Bhuma Akhila Priya – the youngest and dynamic minister in the cabinet of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, who is striving to position ‘Andhra Tourism’ at the top. During my interaction with her, I got to know how dedicated she is. Despite her very busy schedule (preparing for her wedding on Aug 29) she never missed a chance to speak about her vision for Tourism Andhra Pradesh. As she says ‘You can define tourism in many ways; but for us, tourism is a way of creating infrastructure, generating employment and enhancing the living standard of our people.’ She also revealed that in last four years tourism in Andhra Pradesh has grown by leaps and bounds, and gearing up to achieve a significant progress in the field sooner or later. Since it’s a new state, host of projects are under development which will be grounded in a year or so. Well, I need to elaborate on her profile as well which is quite impressive. Currently holding the profile of Tourism Minister, she has been included in the cabinet on 2nd April 2017. A Bachelor of Business Management Ms Priya represents Allagadda Assembly Constituency in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. She joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) along with her father late Mr Bhuma Nagireddy on 22 February 2016. 20 September 2018
I feel proud to share with you that each district of our state has unique tourism spots, actually in terms of tourism Andhra Pradesh is a combination of so many things. In Visakhapatnam we have beaches, Araku Valley is a very popular hill station of our state, Lambasingi is a place where temperature goes to minus degree and we call it Andhra’s Kashmir. Another district Kurnool – from where I belong, boasts prestigious temples like Ahobilam, Mahanandi, Yaganti and Srisaila Devasthanam. Similarliy in Chittoor district you have Balaji Temple and Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. So when we talk about tourism, each district of our state has unique places to explore. Apart from visiting destinations, we have so many things to do like shopping; we have handmade toys, Kupwara sarree and sculpture. I am proud to share with you that the Geographical Identity (G.I.) status has given to Allagadda Sculpture – which is in my constituency. Even such things are being promoted very aggressively.
Q. Being a tourism minister what is your vision? What do you think about tourism? A. Our vision for tourism is very high; we wish to showcase the world what actually Andhra Pradesh stands for. You can define tourism in many ways; but for us, tourism is a way of creating infrastructure, generating employment and enhancing the living standard of our people. All the travellers who come to our state must go back with good experience and lifelong memories. To create that kind of atmosphere whatever is required from our side, we are at the service. The vision of Andhra Pradesh tourism is to serve as a guiding force that offers a clear vision and direction for optimizing the tourism potential of this state in a sustainable manner. Our Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu is very ambitious about the growth of tourism. Earlier tourism used to be part of CM’s profile, but just to expedite the growth
IN CONVERSATION of this sector, he appointed a minister to look after the progress, and encourage more investment to the state. So, the way he has made Hyderabad known to the world, his vision is to develop Visakhapatnam as the IT and tourism hub of the state. Another district Anantapur (officially Anantapuramu) – very well known for Lepakshi, will be developed for various activities like Racing Track etc. Cities will have their own identity and atmosphere which will be no less than Hyderabad and Charminar. We have a vision to bring each district of our state of our state on global map of tourism. For us tourism and hospitality is very important as this is the sector which can attract huge investment to the state. If there is investment we can generate employment.
“You can define tourism in many ways; but for us, tourism is a way of creating infrastructure, generating employment and enhancing the living standard of our people.” Q. Some of the Indian states are well established in tourism sector, they have their USP’s, for example Rajasthan have forts and palaces, Kerala known for backwaters, Goa for beaches etc. so what would be your USP? Which are the brands, Andhra Pradesh would be known for? A. When you talk about other states like Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra etc. they are already developed and established, whereas ours a newly born state; just four year old. Though in past four years we have achieved lot many things but when you compare with other states, definitely we have a long way to go. The answer to your question about the USP of our state, Andhra Pradesh is a combination of so many things – beaches, wildlife, hill stations, divine destinations, heritage spots, tribal tourism and health tourism, you name it we have it. And the icing on the cake is our climate – which is very pleasant. Visakhapatnam and Anantapur will be developed as a world city to facilitate tourism and related business. Amravati – the capital in making is a very prestigious place for us. This is the place where Buddhism was
born, and unfortunately people are not aware of this. So this is one of the segments we are going to promote in a bigger way. We have more than hundred of places that belong to Buddhism. Just to promote this segment, we had organised a festival in Amravati where more than 2000 monks came from various countries. So we are expecting, after seeing these beautiful sites of our state the delegates will spread good words and would be like our brand ambassador in promoting Buddhism in their respective countries. Our target markets would be Sri Lanka, Mayanmar, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore and Japan etc. Second thing is Tirumala (known for Venkateswara Temple), as you know that Tirumala is the highest visited tourism place in our country. People come in the morning for Darshnam and go back in the evening. So we are coming up with proper infrastructure where people can stay at least for one night and explore the nearby places which will be a huge advantage for us. We have already spoken to our Chief Minister and convinced him to set up some five stars and budget accommodations along with amusement parks etc to make it more attractive and engaging. Near Tirupati we are creating infrastructure where people can come and stay for a couple of days. This is the kind of planning we are doing. Within a year you will see a lot of developments in Andhra Pradesh these are just two examples. Apart from this we are concentrating on Medical Tourism. While discussing with the Health Department they suggested that Araku’s climate is the best for anyone to get treated. According to them, people who get operated in Delhi or Mumbai can spend a couple of weeks in Araku, Visakhapatnam and Horsley Hills for fast recovery. So we are targeting such promotions as well. We are promoting home stays for Tribal Tourism. Visitors will be encouraged to visit Tribal area where they will be welcomed by the villagers and stay with them to have a unique experience. This is very interesting project we are working at the moment.
So would you like to throw some light on your future plans to create awareness among domestic and foreign travellers? A. Last year we had organised many festivals –Araku Baloon Festival, Sounds on Sands, Social Media Award Summit etc. to make our people get involved with us, as to create tourism friendly atmosphere participation of local people is vital.
Araku Coffee Many people are not aware that apart from being the fascinating hill station of Andhra, Araku produces a kind of coffee as good as any other brand of the world. “The project – Araku Coffee is very close to my heart, and we are aggressively working to make it a brand as popular as the Darjiling Tea. I myself don’t drink coffee at all but having tested the Araku Coffee I really fell in love. And I am happy to share with you that our CM Chandrababu Naidu Garu has adopted the Araku Area,” she says. About 90 per cent of the total Araku Coffee production is exported to countries like Sweden, Switzerland, Dubai and Italy. So going ahead and promoting Araku through its coffee, Andhara Tourism has ventured with SpiceJet to create awareness about Araku Coffee. All the passengers entering in Andhra Pradesh through SpiceJet will be served Araku Coffee for free along with a scratch card. The winners will be given a holiday to Visakhapatnam or Araku. We are organising events (B2B) not only in Andhra but in other states – like Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala etc. as well. I believe this will attract people’s attention and create awareness about our tourism and culture among the large number of domestic travellers. I wish our country must know what Andhra Pradesh has to offer. Domestic tourist from Odhisa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka, Kerala etc must consider our state for their holiday and vacations. Once the footfalls from domestic segment go up, we will go to promote ourselves in foreign countries very aggressively.
Q. Well it seems that the Government of Andhra Pradesh is very proactive, but what about the Public Private Partnership (PPP)? How are you going ahead with this model? A. Public Private Partnership is being focused by our Chief Minister very aggressively. We are looking for investment, and to facilitate
September 2018 21
GOVENMENT our investors we are ready to go an extra mile. Quite impressive numbers of investors have shown their interest to invest in Andhra Pradesh. We have interacted and invited them to come and experience our administration. As we know inventors’ only concern is the policy and the governance we are ready to make it a good experience for them. Also, having Chandrababu Naidu Garu on our side sends a positive message of good governance, which makes investor confident to set up their projects. I would like to share with you that there was a small issue with the policy which I have brought in the knowledge of my chief minister which he agreed to amend with the immediate impact. We don’t want the investors have any issue with the policy or administration in our state. As I told you, AP is no one in ease-of-doing business. I myself sit with the investors and clear all the doubts they have. This is the kind of interest we are taking in putting our projects forward.
Q. Where do you see Andhra Pradesh in next two years? A. As our visionary Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu says we don’t take any number than number one. We should strive to become first of the top states in terms of tourist footfalls and facilities. Frankly speaking, we are on the verge of achieving so many things in a very short span of time. In ease-of-doing-business we are number one, which will make our way to be top in other segments as well. In last four years tourism in Andhra Pradesh has grown by leaps and bounds and gearing up to achieve significant progress in the field due to a many encouraging factors. Like I said, we are a newly born state and there are a number of projects under development pipeline which will be grounded in a year or so. Andhra Pradesh has vast geographical area combined with great historical and cultural heritage, which are excellent conditions for more growth in this sector.
Q. How do you look at travel trade events IATO Convention? A. As I already mentioned each district of the state has its own beauty and destinations to offer to the world. However, people still think that AP means Hyderabad; we have to change that perception by creating awareness about our destinations which are not explored yet. So promoting these destinations would be a huge task for us and we believe that such events can create huge awareness among industry stakeholders.
22 September 2018
President of India launches dedicated website for Buddhist sites WH Desk
P
resident of India H. E. Ram Nath Kovind launched the website www. indiathelandofbuddha.in and a new film showcasing the important Buddhist sites in the country while inaugurating the International Buddhist Conclave 2018 on August 23rd 2018. Speaking on the importance of Buddhism, His Excellency said: “The voyage of Buddhism from India to Asia and the transcontinental links that were created carried more than just spiritualism. They carried a rich cargo of knowledge and learning. They carried arts and crafts. They carried meditation techniques and even martial arts.” K.J. Alphons Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism said that India has a rich ancient Buddhist Heritage with several important sites associated with the life of Lord Buddha. The Indian Buddhist Heritage is of great interest to the followers of Buddhism the world over. “The aim of the Conclave is to showcase and project the Buddhist Heritage in India and boost tourism to the Buddhist sites in the country and cultivate friendly ties with countries and communities interested in Buddhism,” he added.
The 4 days long Conclave has been organised by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the State Governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from 23rd – 26th August, 2018 at New Delhi and Ajanta (Maharashtra), followed by site visits to Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh). The Ministerial level delegation from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are participating in the conclave. The delegates from 29 countries participated in the International Buddhist Conclave
Tourism Ministry holds ‘Preparatory Meeting’ with States/on Paryatan Parv WH Desk
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he Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in collaboration with other Central Ministries, State Governments and Stakeholders is organizing a ‘Paryatan Parv’ across the country from the 16th to 27th September 2018. The Ministry under the chairpersonship of Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism convened a ‘Preparatory Meeting’ with representatives from Central Ministries, States/UTs and other stakeholders to plan and formulate the Paryatan Parv in New Delhi. The Parv is being organized with the objective of drawing focus on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of ‘Tourism for All’. While addressing the meeting, she informed that the Paryatan Parv will have three main components as like last year, viz. Dekho
Apna Desh, Tourism for All and Tourism & Governance. While stressing that this year also Paryatan Parv shall focus on domestic tourists especially to sensitize youth, the secretary said that India has a huge variety of destinations many of which are yet to be promoted. The Paryatan Parv will start with the India Tourism Mart 2018 (16th – 18th September 2018), which will further ensure wide participation from outside the country. The Paryatan Parv shall conclude with the World Tourism Day celebrations on 27th September 2018. Partners in the events include the State Governments who will organize cultural and other tourism related events, workshops and seminars at the identified sites as well at other destinations and locations in their States. The States will also provide their broad activities plan for the Parv to the Ministry of Tourism by 30th August.
September 2018 23
NTO
Abu Dhabi records 18% growth in Indian arrivals for Jan-June 2018 period New attractions like Louvre Abu Dhabi and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi attracting increasing Indian travellers to the Emirate Shayan Mallick
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bu Dhabi witnessed a strong surge in Indian arrivals in 2017 with as much as 18 per cent growth over the previous year. Its hotel rooms-nights from Indian arrivals surged past one million stays, likely the first time. The momentum has continued in 2018 too with about 18 per cent growth in the January-June period over the same period the previous year amidst a number of new developments in the destination that is making Abu Dhabi increasingly attractive too Indian travellers.
The average stay of these visitors was three nights. This year Abu Dhabi has continued the momentum with close to 18 per cent growth for the JanuaryJune period over the same period the previous year.” Attributing the strong growth to a number of new developments in the Emirate, Dinshaw informed that there are host of exciting new development taking place on Abu Dhabi’s tourism landscape like the Louvre Abu Dhabi that
TAT organizes The Lady Golf Challenge 2018 Shayan Mallick
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ourism Authority of Thailand organised The Lady Golfer Challenge to woo the women travellers from this part of the world. The tournament was organized at Alpine Golf and Sports Club, Pathum Thani Bangkok on 3rd August 2018. TAT Lady Golf Ambassador Vani Kapoor travelled to Thailand to play golf alongside other Indian golfers at The Lady Golf Challenge 2018. The tournament was a part of the Lady Golf Challenge project, a joint effort between TAT’s overseas offices and local agencies to promote the ongoing ladies special month in Thailand that will be celebrated throughout August 2018, as the month for the Women’s Journey Thailand campaign, a way of commemorating Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s birthday on 12 August. This very special initiative is also to mark the Royal benevolence of H. M. the Queen of Thailand, especially in her promotion of the well-being for the Thai people and the foundation of arts and crafts. Thailand is fast becoming the most popular and a favorite destination for golf enthusiasts with beautiful golf courses in Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phuket, Khao Yai and Samui. Destination diversities and vast choices of golf courses along with modern facilities and an excellent infrastructure has helped golfing trips increase significantly in Thailand. There are golf courses to suit every preference. All are located in highly accessible areas with fast and convenient door-todoor transfers possible within several hours’ travel time.
24 September 2018
park based on the DC Comics character of Superman, Batman, Tom & Jerry, Flintstones, Jetsons etc. It has been a runaway success and it is going full every day,” he informed.
According to Bejan Dinshaw, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism Country Manager – India, “Abu Dhabi recorded 18 per cent growth in Indian arrivals last year as we welcomed over 360,000 Indians into Abu Dhabi who stayed in Abu Dhabi hotels. This does not include VFR or transit visitors.
Bejan Dinshaw Country Manager Abu Dhabi Tourism
opened late last year and the latest being the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi that opened in July, just over a month ago. “The latest addition is Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. This is an indoor air-conditioned theme
Furthermore, Dinshaw said, “Everything is looking good. The Indian market has accepted the destination very well. There is ethnic connection too. Also the two governments are very close and there are a lot happening at that level as well. So it is all working out very well.” Drawing attention on the ease of travel Dinshaw pointed that the Jet-Etihad combine offers over 260 flights a week between 12 destinations in Indian and Abu Dhabi
Israel opens new welcome desk at the Ben-Gurion International Airport WH Desk
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he Israel Ministry of Tourism is expanding its activities at BenGurion International Airport with the set up of a new welcome desk for incoming tourists in the arrivals hall of the airport. The idea is to offer a service to travellers seeking information regarding public transportation, accommodation, attractions, maps and more. The new welcome desk inaugurated on 2nd August, 2018 is in addition to the permanent welcome desk, positioned in the baggage hall. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who inaugurated the welcome desk, said: “This year we are set to reach about 4 million incoming tourists and this welcome desk will provide them with an immediate response, so that their visit to Israel will be as successful as possible.”
NTO
Indonesia bullish, more ambitious, on Indian market Four city road show by the NTO, matched by another four-city road show by Badung, all in August. And more to come before the year ends Shayan Mallick
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n impressive destination showcase at South Asia’s biggest travel show SATTE in January; a four-city road show by the NTO that is ongoing and culminates on 29th later this month in Hyderabad, matched by another four-city road show by Badung region, all in August; and more to come before the year ends; Indonesia is not merely more bullish on India but is also backing that up with aggressive promotion and PR campaigns, trade engagement that goes beyond sales missions and exhibitions and some strategic tie-ups aimed at generating increasing numbers for the country. After recording a stellar growth of 29 per cent in arrivals and replacing South Korea as the sixth largest tourism source market last year,
India has only become an even greater priority for the Indonesia Tourism as the NTO looks to better the growth it’s registered in Indian arrivals last year. The NTO is targeting 40 per cent growth and 700,000 Indian arrivals this year as against an impressive 29 per cent growth and about 500,000 Indian arrivals in 2017. The Indonesian Deputy Minister of Tourism Marketing, Nia Niscaya, says, “We are not satisfied by merely good organic growth, we need to challenge ourselves and raise the bar. For 2018, the Minister has set 700,000 visits as the target for the Indian market and that’s a huge 40 per cent target increase from 2017.” In order to deliver on the ambitious target that Indonesia has set for the Indian market, the Ministry of Tourism of Republic of Indonesia (MoTRI) has embarked on a fourcity road show in India this month that is travelling to Mumbai (August 14), Delhi (August 17), Bengaluru (August 27) and Hyderabad (August 29). The road show is aimed at further enhancing B2B engagement in these cities and showcase the diversity of
Aviation & Tourism two important component of globalised world economy WH Desk
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CONIC 2018 forum, held recently in New Delhi, has put the spotlight on the aviation and tourism as two important components of the increasingly globalized world economy. While the travel and tourism sector accounted for around 9.6 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2016, India is also expected to become the 3rd largest aviation market in the world by 2020. The platform seeks to act as the melting pot of ideas, deliberating on the myriad operational,
technology integration, and governancerelated challenges for the tourism and aviation sectors of India. The forum is hosted and curated by Red Hot Communications, that brings together experts from aviation and tourism sectors
Indonesia sales mission delegates at the road show in Delhi
Indonesian tourism products to the Indian trade buyers in these cities. Besides, Badung, a region with maximum tourism activities in Bali, in association with MoTRI, is also holding road shows in Chandigarh (August 20), Jaipur (August 22), Lucknow (August 23) and Kolkata (August 24) this month. Sigit Witjaksono, Director of Promotion for South & Central Asia, ME and Africa, MoTRI, says, “These activities are meant to convey the importance we place on the Indian market.”
EVENT
to discuss and debate on various issues and concerns and the way forwards for the concerned sectors. The event had two panel discussions on “Technology and Tourism: Boon or Bane” and “Aviation: Challenges for Growth or Decline”. Jyoti Mayal, Organizer of ICONIC Forum and Honorary Secretary General, TAAI, said, “We at TAAI, as an industry association wish to work closely with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other stakeholders to draft the guidelines for better policies and governance for the future. In terms of GST implementation, we want a proper document draft to set the right processes in place. We also request the government to give us a deemed export industry status for foreign exchange earnings from travel trade, and demand exemption of GST for outbound tour and travels services from India.” Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Indian Railway Board, who was present as the Guest of Honour, mentioned that the Indian Railways is investing hugely in “technology for passenger security and convenience” by introducing new-age automatic door closers, fire sensors, entertainment systems inside trains, smart card ticketing, etc.
Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India said, “in India, there is probably no other sector that is getting as much impacted as the tourism sector due to proliferation of technology. It is important for government stakeholders to adapt and become sensitive towards these changes.” Speakers at the forum included, Aloke Bajpai, Founder, IXIGO; Kapil Kaul, Director South Asia & Middle East, CAPA Centre For Aviation; Ashish Kumar, Managining Director, Agnitia Consulting; Dipak Deva, Managing Director, Travel Corporation India; Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions India; Sandeep Dwivedi, COO, ITQ, Gilbert George, VP-Sales, Jet Airways; Wolfgang Will, Director- South Asia, Lufthansa German Airlines; Suresh Nair, General ManagerIndia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sanjay Kumar, Former Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo.
September 2018 25
NTO
Would more Indian travel to Russia in the aftermath of FIFA World Cup? The 64 FIFA World Cup matches attracted over 254 million viewers in India. The event, and by default its host Russia, attracted unprecedented media attention in India. An estimated 10,000 Indians travelled for the sporting extravaganza too. There is definitely a renewed interest in Russia amongst Indian travellers that can be leveraged to grow Russia’s share of Indian outbound travellers.
Saru Chaudhary Managing Director Salvia Travels
Shayan Mallick
E
veryone that I spoke to who travelled to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup were full of praise for the country, its hospitality and the endless surprises in terms of its breathtaking landscape, beautiful city and surrounding, cleanliness, nightlife, shopping, its historical places like palaces, cathedrals and museums, infrastructure, the list is long. The country earned rave reviews from the teams, fans and delegation from any and everywhere who travelled to the world’s largest country to witness the Football carnival earlier this year.
26 September 2018
The fear of hooliganism or racial rants during the month long event, spread across 11 cities of Russia, were all unfounded as Russia put a dazzling display of its organising skills, its advance preparation for the event, its crowd management skills by creating a skilful mechanism that encompassed taxi drivers and police personnel to eateries, bars, hotels and a huge army of volunteers who were always spot on in offering assistance. The Fan ID that Russia issued in the run up to the FIFA World Cup offered Football lovers visa free entry into Russia. Russia has further increased its validity offering Fan ID holders visa free multipleentry into Russia until December 2018. An estimated 10,000 Indians travelled to Russia to watch the games that included individuals, groups, corporate as well as business and celebrity world bigwigs like Mukesh Ambani and Amitabh Bachchan. According to Broadcast Audience Research Council of India the total viewership of the tournament across channels, live streaming, websites, among others, crossed a staggering 254 million views in India. “The event has given Russia a lot of very good publicity and has shown Russia as Russia is and Russian as Russians are, warm, friendly, polite, hospitable and fun loving. Even the ordinary people here in India have suddenly woken up to cities like Sochi, Kazan, Volgograd, Samara, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, and to the facts that how beautiful, attractive, lively and tourist friendly cities they are. We have clearly noticed a huge surge of interest in Russia,” says Saru Chaudhary, Managing Director of Salvia Travels, the largest Indian DMC that exclusively promotes Russia in the Indian market and has facilitated the travel of more than
half a million Indians to Russia in the last 15 years. Indians have known Moscow for as long as they have known Russia. More recently, increasing familiarity with St. Petersburg as the cultural capital of Russia has helped in growing Indian arrivals in a limited way. Historically both the countries have shared warm and friendly relationship since India’s independence. However, with the growth of travel and tourism and India’s emergence as one of the fastest growing tourism source markets in the world, it hasn’t brought the same dividend that it should have for Russia. Russia’s share of India’s outbound travellers is nowhere close to what the UK, Germany or France get and pales in comparison to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, or smaller countries and city-states like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. In 2017, Abu Dhabi, despite attracting the least number of Indian visitors amongst the mentioned destination, managed to get 360,000 Indian visitors staying in its hotel for an average of three nights and in turn garnering more than a million rooms nights from Indian tourist alone. Whereas, Russia’s share of Indian visitors is estimated in the region of 120,000-130,000.
Chaudhary says that the FIFA World Cup was a great showcase of Russia and Indians have definitely woken up to the destination with much greater interest than before. “The event offered Russians the opportunity to showcase their country, its beauty and attractions, its culture and heritage, which they accomplished brilliantly. The event has generated a lot of buzz about Russia as a tourist destination in India too. The sheer variety of experiences and landscape makes cities like Sochi unbeatable by their rival destination in any part of the world. St. Petersburg, with its history and heritage, its architecture, museum, cathedrals, nightlife and shopping, etc. can compete with any other cities in the world. So is Moscow, which is not only one of premier global capital today but is unrivalled in beauty, architecture and experiences. With the FIFA World Cup 2018, the world knows Russia better. Indian travellers know Russia better,” she said emphasising that this can be leveraged to boost Russia’s tourism profile in India too as is happening in the rest of the world.
REPORT
A common goal of Kerala Rescue, Rehabilitate & Rebuild places which were cut off from rest of the world. The volunteers from rest of India also did their best in rescue. It is said that there would be no Keralite who directly or indirectly would not have been involved in the rescue mission.
Sejoe Jose
T
he state of Kerala saw its biggest floods in 1924 but the floods of 2008 was even more disastrous than compared to the one seen in Kerala’s history. Seven districts in Kerala were affected and red alert was given to the citizen. Over 10 thousand people lost their homes and over 300 people died in this disaster. Kochi airport was closed for 10 days depicts how badly Kerala was affected. The water reached 8 feet high in most parts of residential areas in Kerala and land slide added to the disaster.
It is estimated that Kerala would have a loss of worth 20,000 thousand crores whereas the tourism and hospitality industry’s estimated loss would be 1000 cr. The positive side during this disaster was the people of Kerala came together to work on a common goal of:
Sejoe Jose IATO Chapter Chairman Kerala
1) Rescue 2) Rehabilitate 3) Rebuild The fishermen of Kerala became our hero as they came with their fishing boats which they use in the sea at their own expense to rescue people from where no one could reach. The forces (Navy & Army) were like angels who came from above and picked up those who were stranded in
The rain has slowed down and the waters have receded and people have started moving back to their houses. We have over 3000 volunteers at Munnar helping clean up Munnar, 15000 volunteers at Allepy and Kumarakom cleaning up the area. We had over 1000 people working at the airport to open by 29th Aug at 1400 hours. I have mentioned these numbers just to update that Kerala is moving fast so we get back to normal business. It is said that by first week of September people of Kerala will be ready to receive tourist. The tourism fraternity joined together to form Kerala Tourism action force which mobilised funds by all organisations to
Shayan Mallick
T
ravel Agents Federation of India, North India Chapter, (TAFI NI) has re-elected Ashwani Sharma as the Chapter Chairman. Sheraton Travels’ Sharma will head the TAFI NI Chapter for another two-year term 2018-2020. Previous Office Bearers MM Travels’ Mukul Agarwal and Federal Travels’ Khushvinder Sarna have also retained their respective positions of Secretary and Treasurer from the previous term.
New faces in the team include Pranita Bavija of Global Business Travels and Niti Batra of Joy Travels, both of whom are Committee Members in TAFI NI Chapter and have come in place of YTS Travel Service’s Vivek Kumar Harjai and Blue Skies Travels & Tours’ Arush Mittal. The new team has been elected unopposed. Commenting on his reappointment, Sharma, said, “This is a great responsibility and faith that our TAFI North India members have reposed in me and my team of Office Bearers. North India is one of the biggest chapters in TAFI with more than 400 members. We will make sure
Kerala Travel Mart is starting on 27th Sep as per schedule. This is the message Kerala wants to give to the world stating Kerala is ready and we are back with more energy. Through this Kerala Mart we will show case to the world that everything is in order and each buyer attending Kerala Travel Mart will get firsthand experience on the situation of Kerala. With this we hope positive message is then told to the world. The biggest support Kerala needs is by sending tourist or visiting Kerala and help in improving the economy of Kerala.
TRADE
Ashwani Sharma reappointed TAFI North India Chairperson New faces in the team include Global Business Travels’ Pranita Bavija and Joy Travels’ Niti Batra
donate one days salary and one days turnover of the company . In addition collection centres were created in Kochi and Trivandrum to collect items received from different parts of the country. There was another team ready to go and distribute the collected items to the needy. The Tourism fraternity also joined to help clean up area which has been affected by the floods.
L to R Mukul Agarwal, Niti Batra, Teddy M Thomas, Praveen Chugh, Ashwani Sharma, Pranita Bavija and Khushvinder Sarna that we are able to bring greater benefits to our members across the region, especially those in Punjab, Rajasthan, UP and other regions in the North India chapter. Training, education and knowledge sessions for members in the chapter region in order to equip them for challenges ahead is going to be one of our greater focus and priority.”
Furthermore, Sharma said, “We have got around 70 members from North India who are covered under TAFI joint bank guarantee system. I would like to see that number increase and more and more TAFI members from North India take advantage of it and grow their business. We can also look at creating new chapters to bring in more efficiency in our functioning.”
September 2018 27
HOSPITALITY
HRAO seeks better infrastructure; emphasis on digital marketing to promote Odisha Tourism The trade body recommends that the tourism budget spending on technology, social media, and interactive website development should be at least 20 percent, and the main thrust for tourism marketing Rajesh Tiwari
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hile speaking at the outset of 3rd Odisha Tourism Conclave organised in Bhubaneswar Chairman of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) – an apex body of hoteliers in the state, J K Mohanty made several recommendations to the state government to expedite the sluggish growth of tourism and hospitality sector in the state. Odisha’s Governor H. E. Ganeshi Lal inaugurated the Conclave and said any tourist would be impressed by the rich tourism potential of Odisha. After deep deliberations, a host of ideas and suggestions came forward which will be compiled in a document and handover to the government. Some of the key recommendations are development adequate tourism infrastructure, improvement of air connectivity, vibrant marketing and promotional campaigns through road shows and social media platforms. He pointed out that the subsidies declared in the tourism policy is valid up to 2020 but the new guidelines to implement the subsidies have made the policy un-implementable and the policy expires in 2020and not a single hotel will get any subsidy. “We strongly recommend the Government to extend the policy for another five years to allow hotels to come up in the state. We need to add at least 5000 more hotel rooms in important tourist locations of the state to be able to attract good quality tourist to help our state economy.”
28 September 2018
Elaborating on the importance of technology HRAO’s Chairman said that most of the millennial travellers spend more than 50 percent of their time online, looking at the content on their mobile phones. Social media platforms like facebook, twitter, linkedin, instagram and youtube etc. are powerful tool in the tourism sector. “The state tourism budget spending on technology, social media, and interactive website development should be the main thrust for tourism marketing. Tour operators and independent hoteliers cannot spend so much on technology as the government can.” According to him, the department of tourism should focus on research to appropriately promoting the tourist destinations. Before making any video film an extensive research is required to find out the USP of the place. Also, while making such promotional materials the travel trade should be considered for their suggestions. He emphasized that the flight which used to be operated between Bhubaneshwar Bangkok must be resumed as there is a huge demand and nonavailability of flight is a huge loss the state economy. State Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, State Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev and State Home Secretary Asit Tripathy attended the conclave. Key Recommendations Made by HRAO To spend at least 20 percent of tourism budget on digital marketing, technology and social media to promote brand Odisha To appoint a separate digital marketing team to sell and promote Odisha Tourism State needs to have promotional materials on MICE and Medical Tourism
HRAO Chairman J K Mohanty presenting the memento to the Hon’ble Governor of Odisha H. E. Ganeshi Lal at the 3rd Odisha Tourism Conclave Ownership of the beaches must be decided because the cleanliness at Puri, Chandipur and Gopalpur is lacking Shamuka Beach project which is pending for last 20 years must come fast Frequent change of officers at the secretary and director level is another hindrance in the growth. This is hampering the continued growth in the tourism sector of the state.
The logo of Odisha tourism should be replaced which matched to the temples, beaches and culture of the state. There should be more classified hotels in the state. Single window clearance for hotel projects is required. Develop innovative and unique tourism products other than the traditional
Hilton India strengthens senior leadership team WH Desk
H
ilton India announced the appointment of Mallika Rao Bedi, as Regional Director, Human Resources Hilton India and Neelanjona Gupta as Regional Director of Sales, Hilton India. Mallika Rao Bedi brings with her a vast experience of over 22 years in area of hotel operations. Prior to joining Hilton, she was with the Oberoi and Trident in Gurgaon. She has been extensively involved in hotel operations and garnered experience in recruiting, selection, talent management, employee on boarding,
training and development, employee relations and process improvement in line with business requirements resulting in minimum attrition rate. Neelanjona joined Hilton from Hyatt where she was most recently Director India Sales Organization, prior to this Neelanjona held roles at the Oberoi group and Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts. She has also held a position of Director Sales – The Oberoi Group, managing both Trident Nariman Point and The Oberoi Mumbai, in addition to being briefly associated with The LeelaKempinskiGurgaon Hotel & Residences.
September 2018 29
HOSPITALITY
Shahpura Hotels to add four more properties Rajesh Tiwari
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ne of the well known brands of Rajasthan in luxury hotel segment – Shapura Hotels is expanding its presence in three cities of the state Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaiselmer and Capital City of the country – New Delhi. These hotels are under development and expected to be operational by October 2018. Elaborating more on the upcoming properties Digraj Singh Shekhawat, Director, Shahpura Hotels says: “Heritage being our USP, we have opted historical houses that will be converted into the hotels. Since we are known to run boutique and luxury hotels, all upcoming properties will have 50 keys to cater the luxury inbound and domestic travellers.” Shahpura Hotels caters to the
luxury inbound and domestic segment. Forty percent of its total arrival is coming from domestic segment i.e. Kerala, Gujarat, Mumbai and New Delhi which are important source markets, whereas the UK, Europe and Australia for inbound travellers. Shahpura Hotels recorded an increase of 15 percent in the year 2017. “We are expecting to generate more business in the year 2018 as we have got new markets like New Zealand and Russia, apart from our conventional markets.” “We are quite sure that the upcoming hotels will have the advantage of our brand awareness which will be catalyst in attracting guest to our new hotels. We are planning to concentrate on UK and Europe markets to get more guests from this part of the world. Apart from inbound travellers, the
domestic travellers will be a key segment for us to make it a profitable venture in a shortest period. As these properties will have banqueting facilities, the wedding segment will be promoted at its best,” added Shekhawat. While elaborating on the branding Shekhawat further informed that apart from participating in luxury travel marts – like ILTM, WTM London and ITB Berlin the company has decided to go for digital promotions through big online players. Shahpura Hotels started its hospitality debut with Shahpura House, located in Jaipur, in 1991. All of the 65 rooms at Shahpura House are unique; luxurious and beautiful, yet equipped with the most modern facilities to make a guest feel utterly at home.
Digraj Singh Shekhawat Director Shahpura Hotels
Exclusive and discreet, Shahpura Haveli has been host to celebrities, royalty, artists, and the discerning traveller. The 5 suites of Shahpura Haveli redefine the word comfort. Each room, with its own unique personality, is elegantly and luxuriously furnished. Each royal suite is Luxury with its own private courtyard looking out to the mountains and the Shahpura fort.
Divine Clarks Inn Suite Kurukshetra opens door Brings world-class hospitality experience to the holy town of Kurukshetra in Haryana WH Desk
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larks Inn Group of Hotels, one of the fastest growing hotel companies in India, announces the opening of Divine Clarks Inn Suites in the holy city of Kurukshetra renowned for its religious significance in Hinduism as the site of the epic war of Mahabharata and the land where Holy Gita was revealed. With the latest addition Clarks Inn now boasts of a portfolio of four hotels in the state of Haryana located at Gurugram, Ambala, Punchkula and now Kurukshetra. And with this addition Clarks Inn’s national footprint spans a total of 87 hotel properties, including 50 in operation, spread across
30 September 2018
19 states in India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. Divine Clarks Inn Suite is strategically located in the city centre in close proximity to city’s landmark holy sites, businesses and entertainment and shopping centres. Speaking on the latest addition, Rahul Deb Banerjee, Associate Vice President – Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to announce the opening of Divine Clarks Inn Suites in Kurukshetra. The latest addition underlines Clarks Inn’s growing commitment to the growth and development of new and upcoming destinations and firmly establish them on the hospitality map of India and overseas.” Furthermore, Banerjee said, “Divine Clarks Inn Suites is a wonderful hotel property not only
in the city of Kurukshetra but also in the region with tastefully furnished rooms, local and international culinary offerings, the finest and well-equipped business and corporate meeting venues as well as banquette offering for various social events like marriages etc. supported by a team of highly professional staff.” The hotel features 44 aesthetically designed guestrooms well equipped with all the modern guest amenities. It has two restaurants, including Clarks Inn’s signature multicuisine restaurant brand ‘The Bridge’ that will delight guests with its multi cuisine offering and a specialty restaurant ‘Café Clarks’. Besides, the hotel also offers comprehensive meeting and banqueting options for
Rahul Deb Banerjee, Associate VP – Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels
businesses, corporate and social events. ‘Emerald hall’ is a large 7500 square feet venue that can accommodate over 500 guests for various business or social events. For smaller event ‘Sapphire Hall’ is a 4100 square feet offering that can be further divided into two separate venues of 2100 square feet and 2000 square feet for smaller gettogether and meetings.
AVIATION
Anand Stanley to lead Airbus India from Oct 1, 2018 WH Desk
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irbus has appointed Anand E. Stanley, a veteran leader in the global aerospace and defence industry, to succeed Pierre de Bausset as President and Managing Director of Airbus India. Pierre and Anand will work through a transition before the new appointment takes effect on October 1, 2018. Anand, 41, brings a wealth of international experience in Sales, P&L management, M&A, Aftermarket and Manufacturing. His knowledge of the Indian market will deepen Airbus’ commitment to the local aerospace and defence industries, and will drive its
indigenisation to boost India’s economic growth. Anand will pursue the consolidation of Airbus businesses in India with a view to further reinforcing the position of the group for long-term success and growth in India. “I am delighted to see Anand taking Airbus India’s leadership, building on the solid legacy left by Pierre de Bausset,relying on a robust team to drive the company on its next phase of growth,” said Patrick de Castelbajac, Airbus Executive Vice President Strategy & International. “Anand will successfully leverage the large fleet of our products flying in India, our support and services capability, the quality of our engineering team and the
deep links that have been forged with local aerospace and defence industrial partners. “I thank Pierre for his contribution over the past three years in implementing a new, better coordinated organizational structure in India, and meaningful engagement with the local stakeholders. His efforts have positioned Airbus as a robust partner in India’s industrial journey.” A polyglot who has lived and worked in eight countries, Anand served as Global Executive Vice President, Strategy, at The Linde Group prior to joining Airbus. Anand started his aerospace career at Pratt & Whitney before holding multiple leadership roles within UTC and Lockheed Martin,
Anand E. Stanley Managing Director Airbus India
including Head of Sikorsky’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region.Anand holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering, an MBA from the University of VirginiaDarden. He is married and has three children.
IndiGo announces Lufthansa rolls out exciting fare and Abu Dhabi options to Europe and North America Kuwait as new destinations WH Desk
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ufthansa German Airlines announces special fares in the Economy and Premium Economy Class. Applicable to select destinations in Europe and North America, bookings have to be made by September 16, for travel until December 31, 2018. Passengers can enjoy Lufthansa’s extra special Economy Class fares to Europe and North America starting at INR 35,000 and INR 56,500 respectively. Flyers opting for the Premium Economy Class can enjoy fares to Europe and North America starting from INR 74,500 and INR 99,500 respectively. Premium Economy
Class passengers can avail double baggage allowance, wider seats and additional legroom. Aiming to inspire Indian travellers to explore the world and embrace new experiences, these special fares will be applicable for travel from the airline’s four gateway cities in the country - New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. Lufthansa offers passengers state-of-the-art products and best-in-class services such as in-flight entertainment and enhanced FlyNet allowing in-flight, high-speed internet to help stay connected with business partners or family on ground. Lufthansa recently introduced a brand-new in-flight menu offering passengers an array of delectable and healthy meal options. Guests with special meal requests such as diabetic, Jain, Kosher and those with food allergies have scrumptious options to choose from. Passengers can also relish special Chaayos Masala Tea, crafted exclusively for the airline and featuring a special blend of high quality natural ingredients. For further information, guests may log on to www.lufthansa.com or contact their nearest travel agent. Terms & conditions apply.
WH Desk
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ndiGo is further enhancing its customer experience with the launch of Kuwait and Abu Dhabi as its new destinations. As part of the international expansion, Kuwait will be the 57th and Abu Dhabi will be the 58th destination on its network. Both new services will commence from October 2018. To provide more enhanced connectivity across India, IndiGo has added 24 new flights to its network. IndiGo will become the first domestic airline to introduce services connecting Port Blair with Hyderabad and Vadodara. These flights will commence from September 2018. In addition, 6E will operate its first daily return flight between Surat and Chennai, daily non-stop return service between Delhi and Imphal, direct flights to Vijayawada from Delhi. The airline will also add two international new routes connecting Doha with Ahmedabad and Trivandrum. These new services will be effective October, 2018. The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers from these cities, who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options.
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TECHNOLOGY
Automation driving easy operations, transcending traditional barriers Sandeep Dwivedi
T
ravel businesses in India have been mostly established in the frontoffice, middle-office, back-office model, each department with its own set of work. Traditionally, the model split included clientfacing, work from supporting functions and transactional data-heavy tasks. While the original separations were logical and sensible when they were first established, they also took advantage of the only currency of work output: Employees. Given the evolution of process transformation and agile process technologies, processes that have not adapted have become discontinuous with handovers becoming clunky, illogical and definitely not customer centric. The model, whilst making sense twenty years ago, is outdated and limiting today.
In the age of automation, the concept of better customer facing responsibilities has grown, supported by strong technology in the backend. It allows us to remove tedious and repetitive work from employees, help leverage those same employees to focus on problem solving, customer-facing and high-value skills to manage difficult or unusual issues and support the customer directly. This is of much greater benefit to the business, its customers and just as importantly the employee base. As a result of this gradual evolution, travel technology companies have designed softwares that automate and deliver intelligent solutions in each step of their businesses. There are smart booking tools from Global Distribution Systems which has helped the customer facing executive to altogether skip the tedious learning process of cryptic commands
and directly start booking travel for their customers through point and click features. There are advanced software solutions which offer customizations, big data’s that deliver intelligent choices and finally smart tools that helps review the chosen product. Today’s travel agents have smart solutions in response to almost all of their travel business related hurdles with latest technology offerings. From efficient booking processes to Void, reissue, refund and revalidations, extraction of business intelligence reports, tracking missed revenues and error free accounting processes and much more, they can deliver better in shorter time. Even for online players, smart online templates are readily available for making changes and starting their businesses. It’s just time and motivations for individuals that matters today. With the help of technology any student can become an
Sandeep Dwivedi Chief Operating Officer ITQ
entrepreneur, and our ever flourishing travel industry has numerous successful examples of the same pedagogy. The technology has enabled each one of us, especially in the travel industry to remove the barriers of manual processes and achieve our goals seamlessly through advanced travel solutions.
Amadeus to showcase finest travel products & solutions at a road show in Delhi The second leg of the road show will be held in Mumbai on October 4, 2018. WH Desk
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madeus is ready to bring to India its finest range of travel products and solutions through a road show in Delhi on September 12, 2018. The company had a successful
32 September 2018
round of launches internationally in Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan recently. The company, over the past 30 years has been a leader in aggregating the reservations systems of airlines and bringing selling capabilities to the desktop of travel professionals. The road show will create an opportunity to introduce offerings designed to save time, money, improve performance and efficiency. During the road show, Rakesh Bansal, CEO Amadeus India will elaborate on the USPs of the new range of products and their importance for the Indian market. He will also be explaining the new technology and innovation implied in the
new range of products. The future growth plans of Amadeus will be shared by him as well. As per a recognized global report, travel technology industry is expected to grow at 8% CAGR by 2021. As the travel industry grows, integrated web-based solutions are playing a vital role in the travel industry. The increasing need to automate travel management systems will drive the growth prospects for the global travel technologies market in the coming years. India is at the centre of these innovations. With a vast presence in the Indian market, Amadeus dominates almost 50% market share in the Indian Sub-
Rakesh Bansal CEO Amadeus
Continent providing complete IT enabled services for the travel and tourism industry.
September 2018 33
DESTINATION
Andhra Pradesh is aparadise for visitors, who want to learn about the glorious history of the region, explore the architectural marvels of temples, mosques and stupas and revel in the limitless natural beauty. The rich cultural heritage and the natural wonders of the state are the reasons the major attractions.
TIME TO KNOW ANDHRA PRADESH WH Desk
Vizag Unforgettable Experience Visakhapatnam, which is popularly referred to as Vizag, is named after God Vaishaka. The city is a port city, located along the shores of Bay of Bengal and is headquarters to the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. Although considered to be an industrial city, Vizag has a rich and vibrant culture and heritage. The city was part of the ancient Kalinga Empire and was ruled by renowned kings, such as Ashoka and Krishnadeva Raya. During the 18th century, the city was a Dutch colony. Today, Vizag embraces its past and present seamlessly, making it an interesting and attractive city to spend holidays. Vizag is blessed with natural beauty, with hill ranges, pristine beaches along its coastline and lush, natural valleys. The city is surrounded by three hills, Sri Venkateswara Konda, Ross Hill and Dargah Konda. Each hill is home to a shrine, dedicated to three different religions. The Venkateswara Konda is home to the Vekateswara Temple, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva; Ross Hill houses the Church of Virgin Mary; and the Dargah Konda is home to the tomb of a Muslim saint called Baba Ishaq Madina Dargah.
34 September 2018
Araku Valley Located at a height of 3,200 feet in the midst of the hills of Anantagiri, Araku Valley is a beautiful and enchanting hill station. The salubrious climate, musically gurgling streams, the rainbow-creating waterfalls and lush green landscape can offer a memorable escape from the city life. The valley is located about 112kms from Visakhapatnam. Araku Valley is home to 19 indigenous tribes and offers a wonderful opportunity to get insights into the lifestyle of these tribes and their culture and traditions. Dhimsa dance, a kind of folk dance, is a major attraction for its rhythmic beats and colourful costumes. Itika Pongal is a popular festival that is celebrated in the region and is worth experiencing.
Borra Caves These caves are located 1,400metres above sea level in Visakhapatnam’s Anantagiri area. The caves are famous for their beautiful stalagmite and stalactite formations. Borra Caves have both religious and historical significance. The locals flock to the caves to worship a Shivalinga and an idol of Kamadenu, the divine bovine goddess of Hindu mythology. This idol is located deep inside caves. The rock formations inside the caves look like udders of a cow and hence, these caves
also are called Gosthani William King George belonging to the Geological Survey of India was instrumental in discovering Paleolithic implements in 1807. It is believed that these implements were about 1 million years old.
Submarine Museum The city of Vizag offers so many creative and unique attractions that visitors will often be overwhelmed by them. One of the innovative attractions of the city is the submarine museum. Located on the Ram Krishna Beach, this museum is housed inside a real submarine. INS Kurusura is a Soviet-built
DESTINATION submarine which was decommissioned on February 28, 2001 after serving the nation for 21 glorious years. The submarine with all its weaponry and fittings was hauled on to the beach and placed on a concrete foundation at the Gajapathi Raju Marg on the beachfront.
Dolphin’s Nose & the Port Dolphin’s Nose is a huge rocky headland, around 174metres in height. It is located in the southern part of Vizag. The rock gets its name because of its resemblance to a dolphin’s nose and is located 358metres above sea level. It projects majestically out into the Bay of Bengal and is a natural formation that attracts many visitors. On top of rock formation is a huge lighthouse, which is renowned for its powerful beam. The light beam can be seen far out in the sea, about 64kms from land. This is the oldest lighthouse in the city and offers stunning and panoramic view of the Bay and the city.
Cultural Capital and Born CityRajahmundry Rajahmundry has the distinction of being the cultural capital of Andhra Pradesh. It is claimed that the Telugu language originated in Rajahmundry. The poet, Nannaya, was responsible for coming up with the Telugu script, which transformed it into a language. Located west of Godavari River, Rajahmundry is about 400kms from Hyderabad. The earliest rulers of the region were the Chalukyas. Rajaraja Narendra ruled over Rajahmundry in the 12th century. However, new archaeological findings suggest that the history of this region may go back even further.
Dindi The tranquil and panoramic village of Dindi is about 80kms from Rajahmundry. This village
is renowned for its virgin backwaters that ooze of charm and splendour. The serene palmfringed canals, lakes, lagoons and rivulets offer the perfect place to enjoy a soothing houseboat cruise. The quaint villages nestled amidst coconut groves have pristine beauty that can leave one mesmerised. Dindi is the place where visitors can count the twinkling stars in the ink-blue sky at night, while the moon rays shimmer enchantingly over the surface of the water bodies. The oasis of Dindi and its unspoilt beauty can rejuvenate visitors and offer a memorable getaway from the concrete jungle of the city.
Markandeya Temple The Markandeya Temple is located in the town of Rajahmundry. Initially, it was believed that the ruins at the site of the temple were those of a mosque. However, archaeological surveys discovered that the ruins were that of a Shiva temple. So, in 1818, Gundu Sobhanadriswara Rao reconstructed the temple and it can be accessed from the Gunduvari Street, the same street where Gundu Sobhanadriswara Rao resided.
Tirupati Spiritual Divinity Located in the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati is a temple town that is revered by Hindus. Each year millions of devotees and believers come to the town to pay homage at the Sri Venkateswara Temple, which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This amazing temple is located on top of the Tirumala Hill, while the town of Tirupati is situated at the foot of the hill. Tirupati is a fascinating town for people, who want to find out more about Hinduism, or those, who want to exercise their religious
beliefs. The numerous temples in the town and its vicinity give a tranquil and serene ambience to Tirupati. Waking up to the temple bells and hearing the chanting of the temple priests and devotees can be a rejuvenating experience that can soothe the mind and soul. The town is also famous for its wooden toys, which are made from a type of red wood.
Goddess Alamelumanga Temple This temple is about 5kms from the town of Tirupati. Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple is dedicated to Goddess Padmavathi, who was the consort of Lord Venketswara. The temple was constructed during the reign of King Thondaman Chakravarthy. It is claimed that worshippers used to first visit this temple and pay homage to Goddess Padmavathi before going to the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati.
Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy Temple The king of all temples lies in Tirupati. The town is located at the foothills of Tirumala Hills, which is home to one of the most ancient and holy temples of India. This temple attracts millions of devotees each year and is called Sri Venkateswara Temple. It is claimed that the temple get more pilgrims than Mecca and Jerusalem. Tirupati is about 525kms from Hyderabad and is surrounded by seven panoramic hills, which are home to perennial waterfalls, lush valleys and verdant forests. Besides the Sri Venkateswara Temple, other shrines located in the region include the Sri Govindrajaswamy Temple, Sri Kondandaramaswami Temple,
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Ashoka. It had gateway at each cardinal point. While these structures are no longer there, one of the gateways was meticulously reconstructed.
Undavalli Caves
Sri Kapileswaraswami Temple and the Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami Temple.
Kanipakam The village of Kanipakam is located in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, on the banks of Bahuda River. This village is famous for its Lord Ganesha temple, which is known as Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple. According to archaeological and historical evidence, the temple was built in the early part of the 11th century CE by King Kulothunga Chola I and was expanded subsequently by the kings of the Vijayanagar Dynasty. Local legend claims that the idol of Lord Ganesha housed in the temple grows continuously.
Mother of the Corporate Education Vijayawada The moment you mention Vijaywada to locals, they will talk about beautiful springs, mouthwatering sweets and juicy mangoes. Also, known as Bezawada, this city is located on the banks of Krishna River and overlooks the Bay of Bengal. The Indrakeeladri Hill forms a spectacular backdrop to the city on the west. The name of the city translates to ‘place of victory’ and it holds and important position in South India because it is home to the region’s largest railway junction. The city name has mythological connections, as it is claimed that Arjuna was blessed by Lord Shiva at the top of the Indrakeeladri Hill and after that Arjuna created Vijayawada. According to another myth, Goddess Durga rested here after killed a demon and that is why the place got its name. Nonetheless, Vijayawada is a veritable paradise for people to learn more about the region’s history and culture. The city is renowned for some beautiful temples, Buddhist shrines and of course, the famous Prakasam Barrage.
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Kanaka Durga Temple The temple of Kanaka Durga is located in Vijayawada and leaves visitors spellbound. The beautiful and picturesque temple lies on top of Indrrakiladri Hills and enshrines Goddess Kanaka Durga. The hill offers some amazing vistas of the city. There are two routes to the temple. One can take the stairs leading to the temple which can be difficult and arduous. The one route is driving up the Ghat road. Along both routes there are ancient inscriptions that reveal the stories from the ancient times. Local legend claims that Arjuna, the mighty warrior from the Mahabharatha, received his divine weapon, the Pasupatha, at this site and after getting the weapon, he constructed the temple to honor Goddess Durga.
Amaravati Amaravati is a small town located on the banks of Krishna River. It is about 33kms from Vijayawada and has historical importance. It used to be the site of an ancient Buddhist settlement, which was known as Chintapalli. The stupa at this site was said to be bigger than the one at Sachi. This stupa was built in the 3rd century BC during the reign of King
The Undavalli Caves date back to the 7th century BC and are prime example of rock-cut architecture. The caves are about 8kms from Vijayawada and offer a unique perspective into ancient religious practices. The caves are carved out of sandstone on the side of a hill. While there are many caves, the largest is the one that is most popular for its huge monolith of Lord Vishnu in the reclining posture. This monolith is made from a single granite block and is located on the second storey of the temple, which has a total of four stories. It is believed that the caves were originally used by Jain monks because of its Udayagiri and Khandgiri architectural styles. The main cave is a prime example of Gupta architecture style, which concentrated on primitive rockcut monastery cells.
Buddhism and Jainism of Kurnool The District of Kurnool is located in the western central part of Andhra Pradesh and its capital is the town of Kurnool. The town although laidback is home to many ancient monuments, palaces and temples. This is the perfect town for people, who enjoy exploring ancient architecture and historical monuments. Kurnool has plenty of them! There are ruins of a mediaeval fort that was constructed during the reign of Vijayanagar Empire. These ruins have inscriptions in Arabic and Persian. The other places of interest are the mausoleum of Abdul Wahab, the remains of the palace belonging to the last Hindu king of the region and the Kondareddy Buruz. The flood wall that was constructed to protect the city from the rising river waters is considered to be an engineering feet.
DESTINATION
Belum Caves
Yaganti
Lepakshi
Belum Caves, running a length of 3,229 metres, are the second longest caves in India and are popular for their stalactite and stalagmite formations. The caves have long passages, fresh water galleries, siphons and spacious chambers. These caves have been formed naturally due to constant flow of underground water. At their deepest point, the caves descend to 150 feet from the entrance level and this point is referred to as Pataalaganga.
Located in Kurnool District, Yaganti is about 100kms from the city of Kurnool. It is home to a famous temple, Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple that is dedicated to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Nandi Bull, Lord Shiva’s trustworthy steed. The distinctive feature of the temple is the presence of Pushkarini, which is a small pond in the premises of a temple.
The village of Lepakshi is located in the district of Anantapur, about 13kms from Hindupur. The village is famous for its three shrines, which are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Veerabhadra. The Veerabhadra Temple was constructed by two brothers, Viranna and Virupanna. The temple is built in the Vijayanagar architectural style and has beautiful sculptures adorning the walls.
Mahanandi The picturesque village of Mahanandi is located east of Nallamala Hills, near Nandyal, in Kurnool District. The village is enveloped by dense verdant forest. About 15kms from the village are nine shrines to Nandi. Mahanandi is one of the nine shrines. The other eight are Shivanandi, Vinayakanandi, Somanandi, Prathamanandi, Garudanandi, Suryanandi, Krishnanandi (also known as Vishnunandi) and Naganandi The Mahanandiswara Swamy Temple is about 1,500 years old and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The shivalinga in the temple is considered to be unique because it is formed by a rough, uncut rock containing two cavities. Devotees are allowed to touch the shivalinga. There is a huge Nandi located in front of the main shrine. The tower above the shivalinga is what makes this temple unique. It is constructed in the North Indian style of architecture.
Ahobilam Ahobilam is located in the Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh and is considered to be one of the 108 Vaishnava Divyadesams in the country. The region is famous for its two beautiful temples located in lower Ahobilam and upper Ahobilam. According to local legend, this was the spot where Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, blessed Prahlada and Hiranyakshipu. The region gets its name from the local language and is based on a famous shloka.
The water flows into the pond from the mouth of Nandi Bull and comes from the surrounding hills. While it is not known how the water makes its way into the pond, it is full throughout the year. Besides the marvellous pond, the temple architecture is also worth checking it. It showcases the skills of Viswakarma Sthapathis.
Anantapur District with Second Lowest Rain Fall in India Anantapur lies at the westernmost part of Andhra Pradesh, about 356kms from Hyderabad. It is located along the National Highway 7. The town of Anantapur has embraced modernity, but has not forgotten its historical past. The town is home to many ancient temples, monuments and forts that give a glimpse into the rich historical past of the region. At every corner of Anantapur and its surroundings, there is something to stop and admire. Some of the major attractions in Anantapur and its surroundings are the beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Lepakshi, the birthplace of Sri Satya Sai Baba in Puttaparthi, the ancient and massive banyan tree at Gutibayalu, Chintala Venkataramana Temple at Tadipatri and the popular Lakshmi Narasimha Temple in Kadri. The region is also well-known for its booming silk and cotton weaving industry. The ancient religious legacies left behind are visible in Penna Ahobilam, Gugudu and Alurkona.
There is a huge Nandi bull made from a single granite stone. Lepakshi has many murals from the Vijayanagar era and the famous sculpture of the snake on the Nagalinga. Local legend claims that the naga was carved from a single block of stone while the sculptors were waiting for their mother to cook lunch for them.
Dharmavaram Dharmavaram is well-known for its silk and cotton weaving industry. It is about 47kms from Anantapur and is world famous for its intricate and exquisite silk sarees. The place is also renowned for making puppets out of leather. The beauty of the silk sarees from Dharmavaram is renowned. They have broad borders that are adorned by gold brocade designs. The sarees are heavy and do not follow any colour contrast. Each creation is a masterpiece and people will never find two of a kind.
Weather Andhra Pradesh experiences three seasons – summer, rainy season (more commonly referred to as the monsoon season) and winter. In general, the weather in Andhra Pradesh is suitable for travelling and sightseeing. The daytime can be hot and humid, but the temperatures are not unbearable.
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APPOINTMENT
Jaideep Jugran General Manager The Ambrosia Sarovar Portico, Haridwar
Chef Chhotu Khatik Indian specialty chef Swiss Alps – Kempinski Grand Hotel
Chef Chandra Mohan Arunasalam Executive Chef Banyan Tree Phuket
Jaideep, a passionate hotelier with having experience of more than 18 years into the industry brings with him a hands-on experience in Food and beverage. Prior to joining the Sarovar Hotels, he has worked with The Oberoi, Taj Hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt & Pride Hotels. His last assignment was with Radisson, Gurugram in the role of Director Food and Beverage.
Khatik was born and raised in Jaipur where he found his inspiration for the art of cooking through his mother and started to cook for his family when he was 16 years old.
The Malaysian-born chef has prepared dishes for several 2-star and 3-star Michelin restaurants worldwide, where his remarkable gift for food presentation earned him the World Golden Chef award.
He then developed his skills in different luxury hotels in India, the Maldives and Riyadh.
Throughout his career, Chef Chandra has demonstrated superb ability of bringing his own fresh perspective to traditional dishes and re-imagining them. Guests at TRE and other quality restaurants at the resort can experience Chef Chandra’s culinary touch through a selection of signature steaks and seafood; each prepared to perfection and topped with the finest garnish.
Jaideep is a Diploma holder in Hotel Management from Trade Wings Institute of Management followed by MBA in Tourism and Hospitality from United Business Institute Belgium, Europe.
Over the past years he not only mastered the Indian cuisine but also fell in love with Italian food and started to experiment on a fusion of the two culinary worlds.
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