ddppl.com travtalkindiatravtalkindia.com/pdf/2015/10-oct-2015-1.pdf2015/10/10 · vol. xxvii issue...

` 50/-Vol. XXVII Issue 19; October 1st fortnight i ssue 2015 A DDP PUBLICATION Pages : 52

ddpp

l.com

Trav

Talk

Indi

a.co

m

30-09_TT_October-1st-2015 FINAL:TT Layout 10/5/2015 2:42 PM

Trav

Talk

Indi

a.co

m

ddpp

l.com

OCTOBER 1ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2015 TRAVTALK 3

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has elected Sunil Kumar (CEO, Travel World)

as its President for the term 2015-17. Theannouncement was made during TAAI's64th Annual General Meeting andElections held at Sahara Star HotelMumbai on September 30. WhileMarzban Antia (Managing Director,Avesta Travel & Tours) will be the new VicePresident, Lokesh Bettaiah (CEO, Triway

Travels) has been chosen for the post ofSecretary General and Jay Bhatia(Director, Tulsidas Khimji Holidays) will bethe Treasurer. TAAI elections are heldevery two years. The newly electedMembers of the Managing Committee areBhagwan Ramnani (Vensimal WorldTravel Agents), Jyoti Mayal (New AirwaysTravels), Anil Kumar (Acma Travel Tours),Imtiaz Qureshi (Viceroy Travels), DevakiThiyagarajan (Avocet Tours & Travel), R. Venkatachalam (Naveen Air Travels),and Shreeram Patel (Unicorn Travels).

Sunil Kumar, new TAAI President

The Ministry of Tourism(MOT) celebrated WorldTourism Day on the

theme of ‘One Billion Tourists,One Billion Opportunities.’Speaking on the occasion inNew Delhi, Dr. MaheshSharma, Union Minister ofState for Tourism and Culture(Independent Charge), andMinister of State for CivilAviation, said that tourism isthe engine of economic growthand there is a need to increaseIndia's share in world tourism

from 0.68 to one per cent by2020 to realise the full potentialof this sector.

To promote India as atourism hub, especially in thefield of medical and wellness,

MOT launched the Medicaland Wellness TourismPromotion Board with an initial amount of `2 crore.Releasing the Tourism Vision Document 2030, Dr Sharma said that low-cost

medical facilities are India’sstrength and should be taken advantage of for promoting tourism.

“It is for this reason thatthe government took theimportant decision of setting upthe Medical and WellnessTourism Promotion Board,” hesaid, adding that AYUSH facil-ities will be promoted alongwith regular medical facilities.The Board will be chaired bythe Union Tourism Minister andconsists of members repre-senting related governmentdepartments, tourism and hos-

pitality sectors and experts inthe medical, wellness andyoga, said Sharma, who him-self is a medical doctor.

Vinod Zutshi, Secretary,Tourism, Govt of India, said

that tourism is an importantinstrument of economicgrowth. We must utilise everyopportunity to enhance tourismin India which can help inbuilding the economy and generate employment.

Medical tourism board up & runningOn the occasion of World Tourism Day, Ministry of Tourism launched the Medical andWellness Tourism Promotion Board to promote India as a medical tourism hub.

Foundation stone laid for Paryatan Bhawan MOT well utilised the occasion of World Tourism Day by

laying the foundation stone of its new office building, ‘Pt. DeenDayal Upadhayay Paryatan Bhawan.’ Finance Minister ArunJaitley laid the foundation stone at Mandir Marg in New Delhi.The stone was laid in the presence of Dr Mahesh Sharma,Union Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism and Culture(Independent Charge), and MoS for Civil Aviation, andMeenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament.

NDMC will construct the building on a 23,000 sq. metrearea at an estimated cost of ̀ 150 crore. It will be a green buildingwith all modern amenities and adequate parking facilities.

SAMAPTI DAS

HAZEL JAIN

Hear from the Office Bearers on page 35 Newly elected TAAI Office Bearers & Managing Committee members


BULLETIN

The 50th annual conventionof FHRAI was held at

Mayfair Convention andLagoon Bhubaneswar, Odisha,

from September 25-27. OdishaChief Minister NaveenPatnaik inaugurated the eventin the presence of GokulChandra Pati, ChiefSecretary, Odisha, AshokChandra Panda, MinisterTourism & Culture, Odisha;

Jual Oram, Union Minister ofTribal Affairs, Government ofIndia, Debi Prasad Mishra,Industries Minister, Odisha,

FHRAI President T S Walia, FHRAI Vice Presidents Bharat Malkani, K. Syama Raju, and LuvMalhotra, FHRAI Hony.Secretary, Vivek Nair, andFHRAI Hony. TreasurerSudesh Kumar Poddar.

Union Minister of Statefor Culture (IndependentCharge), Tourism(Independent Charge) andCivil Aviation, Dr. MaheshSharma, Tourism Secretary

Vinod Zutshi, Minister ofState for Skill Developmentand Entrepreneurship(Independent Charge) andParliamentary Affairs RajivPratap Rudy, Minister forHigher Education andTourism, Government of

Karnataka, R V Deshpande,and Dilip Ray, Chairman,Convention OrganisingCommittee, and Founder-Mayfair Hotels, were alsopresent during the event. The

three day event saw technicalsessions, Heritage Walk andcarnival commemoratingWorld Tourism Day onSeptember 27, showcasingthe folk dances and culture ofvarious parts of thecountry.

Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) held itsGolden Jubilee Convention from Sept 25-27, 2015. The event sawparticipation from MOT and tourism and hospitality industry big wigs.

1000+ attend FHRAI convention

KA N C H A N NAT H F R O M BH U B A N E S WA R


TRAVTALK is a publication of DDP Publications Private Limited. Allinformation in TRAVTALK is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regret that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this pub-lication, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressedby third parties in abstract and/or in interviews are not neces-sarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readersthat one or more recognised authorities may hold different viewsthan those reported. Material used in this publication is intendedfor information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific

advice before acting on information contained in this publicationwhich is provided for general use, and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Contents of this publication are copyright. No part of TRAVTALK or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systemor transmitted in any form without the permission of the pub-lication in writing. The same rule applies when there is a copy-right or the article is taken from another publication. An exemp-tion is hereby granted for the extracts used for the purpose offair review, provided two copies of the same publication are sentto us for our records. Publications reproducing material eitherin part or in whole, without permission could face legal action.

The publisher assumes no responsibility for returning any material solicited or unsolicited nor is he responsible for material lost or damaged.

This publication is not meant to be an endorsement of any specific product or services offered. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw, amend or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation.

All advertisements must comply with the Indian andInternational Advertisements Code. The publisher will not beliable for any damage or loss caused by delayed publication, erroror failure of an advertisement to appear.

VikramajitChairman

SanJeetEditor & Publisher

Deepa SethiEditor-in-Chief

EditorialDevika Jeet

Kanchan NathHazel Jain

Samapti Das

Ruchi J SinghDesk Editor

Shivani KaulAsst. Desk Editor

MUMBAI:504, Marine Chambers, 43, New Marine Lines, Opp. SNDT College,

Mumbai - 400 020, India, Ph.: +91-22-22070129; 22070130

MIDDLE EAST:Durga Das Publications Middle East (FZE)

Z1-02, PO Box: 9348, Saif Zone, Sharjah, UAE Ph.:+971-6-5528954, Fax: +971-6-5528956

TRAVTALK is printed, published and edited by SanJeet on behalfof Durga Das Publications Pvt. Ltd., printed at Cirrus

Graphics Pvt. Ltd., B-62/14, Phase II, Naraina IndustrialArea, New Delhi - 110 028 and published at

72, Todarmal Road, New Delhi - 110 001Ph.:+91-11-41669575, 41669576

Advertising (Mumbai)Suchita Saran

Branch ManagerHarshal Ashar

General ManagerPriyanshu WankhadeManager Advertising

Susan EapenMarketing Co-ordinator

Advertisement DesignersVikas Mandotia / Nitin Kumar

Design: Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal

Production: Anil KharbandaCirculation: Ashok Rana

AdvertisingGunjan Sabikhi

Asst. Vice PresidentAnand Dutt

Sr. General ManagerAarti Nagrath

General ManagerKarishma Khanna

Deputy General ManagerGeetika Pathak

Sr. Manager AdvertisingGaganpreet Kaur

Asst. Manager MarketingPrableen Pasricha

Asst. Manager MarketingNaveen Kumar

Executive Marketing

PhotographersSimran KaurFaisal H. Bhat

CIN: U22210DL2012PTC230432

VIEWPOINT

STATISTICS

The Indian market has shifted predominantly to low-cost and only Jet Airwaysand Air India continue to operate with a full service cost structure.

LCC demands at airports rising

Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport International Capacity (Seats) byCarrier Type, June 22-28, 2015

57.7%41.8%

0.5%

Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport InternationalCapacity (Seats) by Country, June 22-28, 2015

61.3%

38.6%

0.1%

LCC Capacity Share (%) of Total Seats in India: 2003 to 2015 Jan-June**Year to Month indicatedSource: CAPA-Centre for Aviation with Data providing by OAG

What an eventful month Septemberhas turned out to be for the

travel industry!

The month opened with Ashwani Lohanitaking charge as CMD of Air India and thetravel fraternity cheered this decision.

We then went on to get a newSecretary as Vinod Zutshi succeeded LalitPanwar in the Ministry of Tourism. Havingalready served as the Secretary, Tourism,for Rajasthan and Chairman of the Rajasthan Tourism DevelopmentCorporation, we sure hope that Zutshi willuse his experience in the industry tofurther the cause of tourism in the country.

The IATO Convention in Indore turnedthe focus on Tier II. In this manner tourismtravels to smaller cities also. FHRAIcelebrated its Golden Jubilee Conventionand conducted elections.

It is also a matter of great pride for Indiato have hosted the PATA Travel Mart.

The National Tourism Awards felicitatedthe best, giving a thumbs-up to the hardwork done in the industry.

Three different training institutes held their conclaves on HR and skilldevelopment on the same Saturday… whywould that happen?

The awaited TAAI elections took placeon the last day of the month amidst muchexpectation and curiosity.

And the eTV facility is making sure thatvisa issues don’t pose a hindrance forforeign tourists. As it extends to morecountries, it is evident that tourism occupiespride of place in the country’s priority list.The question now is, ‘Is eTV enough to wooforeign tourists? What about infrastructurefacilities? How well trained is the manpowerin the country? Do we have enoughconnectivity with other foreign destinations?Are we equipped enough to handle the influxof tourists?’ So many questions still!

What a Septemberit’s been!

LCCs' penetration into India (seat capac-ity share) recently came close to 65 per centof all seats in the domestic arena in 2014 –its highest ever level – and touched 19% oninternational routes in January 2015 to May2015, again the highest level recorded. In thecapital Delhi, a PPP since 2006 and wherethere are two terminals – T1D and T3 – T1Dis effectively the low-cost terminal. InMumbai, also a PPP since 2006, the situationhas historically been that Terminal 1 handlesdomestic passengers (both LCC and FSC)and Terminal 2 handles international ones(also both LCC and FSC).

The India Travel Awards nowheads west to Goa to hon-

our the achievers of the travel,tourism and hospitality industryfrom the region. The muchsought-after awards event isscheduled to commence atGrand Mercure Goa ShremResort on October 14, 2015.

SanJeet, Mentor, IndiaTravel Awards, says, “Theawards are a true specimen ofthe contribution of variouscompanies and individuals totake tourism to a different level.These awards recognise

extraordinary efforts of peoplewho have made the real differ-ence. A first of its kind, formalBlack Tie event, India TravelAwards will make a differenceto the industry by recognisingregional talent, thereby raising the bar.”

Amidst the flurry ofpreparations, Rohan Sable,General Manager, GrandMercure Goa Shrem Resortcomments, “The event is aprestigious one for the hospi-tality industry and the travelsector, and it prepares thegroundwork for future genera-tions to excel in this field.

On hosting the awardsfor the first time, he com-ments, “We are certain that Grand Mercure GoaShrem Resort will create

a niche for itself. We arehappy to host the event at ourhotel and we are leaving nostone unturned to make it a success.”

Grand Mercure Goa Shrem Resort is all set to host the second edition of theWest India Travel Awards on 14 October, 2015.

West India Travel Awards @ Goa

TT BUREAU

SanJeetMentorIndia Travel Awards

Rohan SableGeneral Manager, Grand MercureGoa Shrem Resort


“Tourism is an integrateddevelopment, so my

effort would be to involve all the stakeholders and all the players at all the levels,”Zutshi said.

He called on the traveltrade, hospitality, inter-ministri-al and inter-state bodies to come up with a co-ordinated approach.

“India is a hidden treas-ure as far as tourism is con-cerned, and to unfold andunveil this hidden treasure, itrequires a complete, integratedstrategy to promote all aspects of tourism.”

Zutshi was speaking at aninteractive luncheon to welcomehim as the new SecretaryTourism as well as AshwaniLohani, new Chairman &Managing Director, Air India.The occasion also bid farewellto former Tourism SecretaryLalit Panwar, AdditionalSecretary Girish Shankar andUsha Sharma, formerAdditional Director General,Ministry of Tourism.

Zutshi said that the min-istry is on the job to get more nations under the eTVumbrella and hasten the newTourism Policy.

He said that the consti-tution of the National Medical& Wellness Tourism Board is in the final stages and it is envisaged as a profes-sional body independent ofthe government.

India to attend CITMfrom Nov 13-15

Underlining the impor-tance of tapping the Chinamarket, Zutshi revealed

that a delegation led by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, UnionMinister of State (MoS) for Culture and Tourism(Independent Charge) and MoS for Civil Aviation, willrepresent India at ChinaInternational Travel Mart(CITM) to be held at Kunming DianchiInternational Convention &Exhibition Centre from Nov.13-15, 2015.

CITM, jointly organisedby the China National TourismAdministration, Civil AviationAdministration of China andYunnan Provincial People'sGovernment, will have 2,400standard shell scheme booths.

Zutshi said the ministry iswaiting to have maximum number of participants enrolledbefore they book a stall at the mart.

Message to agentsZutshi called on travel

agents to tap the motivationthat causes Indians to travel,be it religious or adventure, orany other.

"Indians are on the move.If you talk of domestic tourists,it is not like people in India areallergic to moving out of theirhomes. They are moving with motivation.

“When it comes to reli-gious motivation, they movewithout any advertisement andpublicity,” said Zutshi.

About innovations toboost tourism, he said that it is time we started highlighting lesser-knownplaces, which are onlythronged by the natives and showcase them on thenational level.

Vinod Zutshi, the newly appointed Tourism Secretary, Government of India, has called for an integrated andcoordinated strategy, involving all the stakeholders, for the development of tourism in India.

‘Integrated tourism development’RU C H I J S I N G H

O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 7MOT

India is a hiddentreasure as far astourism isconcerned, and to unfold and unveil this hiddentreasure, itrequires acomplete,integrated strategyto promote allaspects of tourism

Vinod ZutshiSecretary -TourismGovernment of India


8 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 MOT

The National Tourism Awards given out by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, recognises industry leaders andtrend-setters in tourism and hospitality sector. The awards were organised recently in New Delhi. brings to youreactions from some of the award winners.

They make India incredible…

TT BU R E AU

Best Tourist TransportOperatorEcos Mobility & HospitalityNew DelhiIt was an honour for us to receive thisaward from the honourable President ofIndia. Our unwavering client focus,obsession with quality and at all timeswanting to be one step ahead of ourcompetitors, was not easy, either as a goal or as a level to maintain.

Rajesh LoombaManaging Director, ECO Rent a Car

Best Tourist TransportOperator (Category I)Parveen Travels, Chennai We are proud of this moment as this is theninth time that we have received thisaward. It is just sheer hard work and teamwork which has placed us in this position.Today we rank number one in India for themaximum number of arrivals, both domestic and international tourists.With the able support of our Chief Minister & as per her vision, by2023 Tamil Nadu will bring in 150 lakh tourist arrivals into our state.

A. ArifManaging Director, Praveen Travels

Best Inbound TourOperator/Travel Agent(Category IV)Vasco Travel This is our sixth National Award sinceinception, but this one is really special forus as we have won it in our 25th year in thebusiness. This has been possible only

because of the commitment from my entire team and I would like tothank them personally. Not to forget all my industry friends, col-leagues and overseas partners who supported us at all times.

Vikas AbbottManaging Director, Vasco Travel

Best Heritage Hotel (Basic Category)Samode HotelsIts an honour to win the National TourismAward and for Samode Haveli it is a matterof pride for winning the award for the 7th

time. At Samode Haveli, Jaipur we haveadded a new restaurant, which gives atraveller a new option to dine. We are alsogoing to upgrade Samode Haveli rooms and possibly add 10 moreSuites next year as we see a demand for more accommodation.

Krishna Pal SinghVice President-Sales & Marketing,Samode Hotels

Best Inbound TourOperator/Travel Agent(Category II) 2nd PrizeMinar TravelsAwards are always welcome. We defi-nitely feel elated at this addition year afteryear. We are thankful to our staff and ourassociates all over India and abroad, for

the support. And above all, our Principals all over the world forreposing their trust in Minar to handle their business.

H S DuggalManaging Director, Minar Travels

Best Responsible tourismdestination: ThekkadyKerala TourismThe establishment has been consistentlystriving to position the state as a globaldestination with a focus on sustaining andpreserving the land’s nature, culture andtradition. The tourism industry collectivelyin Kerala is doing well. The tour operators

and the hoteliers are coming together to contribute to the growth oftourism in the state. The agents are helpful as they enthusiasticallyparticipate in international as well as domestic roadshows.

G Kamala Vardhana RaoTourism Secretary, Govt of Kerala


The Czech Republic hasoutsourced its visa applica-

tion process to VFS Global andhas opened two VisaApplication Centres (VAC) –one each in Mumbai and NewDelhi. This is the first time theEmbassy of the CzechRepublic in India has out-sourced its visa application

process. Services at both thelocations commenced on 9September, 2015.

Milan Hovorka,Ambassador Designate of theCzech Republic to India andBhutan, was in Mumbai toinaugurate the first VFSGlobal visa centre in India. Hesaid, “We have been record-ing a growing number ofapplications for short-termvisas from India. In 2014, wereceived 9,000 applications,which was a 20 per cent increase from 2013. Inthe first six months of 2015 alone, we processed 7,500 visas.”

The centre in New Delhiis located at International TradeTower in Nehru Place and theone in Mumbai is located inTrade Centre at Bandra Kurla Complex.

“My mission here start-ed from September 1, 2015. Iwill be more than keen to takethe bilateral relations betweenthe two countries to a wholenew level. First, we will gainpractical experience with thisnew development and afterthat we will be more thankeen to expand and open newcentres in other places inIndia. However, at the sametime we at the embassy needto have the ability to deal with

an increased capacity ofvisas,” Hovorka added.

He revealed that goingforward Czech Republic willbe part of the annual road-show that takes place in December. The roadshow isconducted by the EuropeanQuartet, comprising the coun-tries of the Visegrád Group,namely Czech Republic,

Slovak Republic, Poland and Hungary.

“Czech Republic willfocus on a few select segmentsin India such as incentives andweddings, spa and wellness,and Bollywood. We have morethan 80 golf courses and 200castles and chateaus that areperfect for MICE and wed-dings, respectively.

“Czech Republic is thefastest growing economy inEurope growing at four per centfor the second consecutivequarter,” the ambassador said.

He also voiced the destination’s long-term plansfor India by revealing that it would someday like to build airports in India and provide training.

In a first, Czech Republic has outsourced its visa processing in India andtied up with VFS Global to open two visa facilitation centres – one eachin Mumbai and New Delhi.

Czech visas get easier

HA Z E L JA I N

O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 9NTO

In 2014, wereceived 9,000applications,which was a 20per cent increasefrom 2013

Milan HovorkaAmbassador Designate Czech Republic to India and Bhutan

Direct Delhi-San Francisco on Air India from Dec 2

Air India will launch Delhi-SanFrancisco flight from Dec 2, 2015onwards which will fly thrice aweek, Union Minister of State forTourism (Independent Charge),Culture (Independent Charge),and Civil Aviation, Dr MaheshSharma announced. SanFrancisco will be the national car-rier’s fourth destination in theUnited States after New York,Newark and Chicago where itoperates daily non-stop flights.The Boeing 777-200 LR (LongRange) flight, to be operated onWednesdays, Fridays andSundays, will have a convenient

early morning departure andarrival. Sharma also announced‘Discover India’ scheme fares ofAir India. Under the scheme, atourist can discover India in oneor two weeks at a reasonabletravel cost. A tourist can buy fivecoupons for `32,500 (15 daysvalidity) or 10 coupons for `60,000 (30 days validity) forexciting Indian destinations, serv-iced by Air India & Alliance Airwithout worrying about ticket pricefluctuation. In another initiative,Air India will introduce IncredibleAir India holiday packages from Dec 1, 2015.


1 0 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 NEWS

Kerala Tourism Secretary, GKamala Vardhana Rao

received the award at the cer-emony. The top Pacific AsiaTravel Association(PATA) Award for her-itage conservation isan honour that high-lights the state's trend-setting efforts in rein-venting the millennia-old Spice Route her-itage. The internationalaward, which recognis-es excellence andinnovation in globaltourism practices, waspresented to KeralaTourism at a glitteringawards ceremony heldduring PATA TravelMart in Bengaluru.

"We are humbled by thishuge honour for our state,"said AP Anilkumar, TourismMinister, Government ofKerala. "The award is anacknowledgement of the initia-tive to bring back our tradition

and history for the sake of themodern generation andthrough it achieve the goal ofgrowth and development forour people," he said. "MuzirisHeritage Project is a mammoth

conservation undertakingnever before attempted in ourcountry in recent times interms of its size and scale,"Anilkumar added. "This is anaward for the community andstakeholders in the state who

are involved in the day-to-daywork carried out on the groundto preserve our rich heritage."

Rao added, “TheMuziris Heritage Project is a

vital element in the restora-tion of the historical Spice Route led by KeralaTourism and supported by theCentral government andinternational organisationslike UNESCO."

Kerala Tourism was awarded the PATA Gold in theHeritage and Culture category, honouring the statetourism department's leadership in carrying out theMuziris Heritage Project.

PATA Gold for Kerala Project

TT BU R E AU

Rail Europe has publishedthe results of its latest sur-

vey called ‘Train, the preferredway to travel around Europe’.As the title indicates, the aim

of the survey was to get feed-back from travellers and cus-tomers around their choice oftravel when they are visitingEurope. Data were collected in April-May 2015 with 4,949 respondents.

When they were askedwhich was the preferred way to

travel around Europe, 73 percent answered the train. Air trav-el was the second most popularmeans of transport in Europe.

The three main reasonstravellers gave to indicate

why they preferred trainswere: comfort on board, convenience, and the widerange of destinations available. View of diverselandscapes, price, timesaver, eco-friendly, and interaction with locals areamong the advantages citedby travellers.

When all factors aretaken into account (hoteltransfer, airport/station transfer, check-in time etc),trains are the fastest solutionto reach all main cities inEurope. When asked what

were the main reasons why they visit Europe, 84 percent of travellers answered it was for holidays followed by 13 per cent who said theywent to Europe to visit families. Finally the surveyshowed that more than 30 per cent of visitors are couples.

Rail Europe recently published the results of a surveyit conducted in May 2015 to find out about thetravellers’ preferable mode of travel while they are inEurope, and 73 per cent chose the train.

Train trips preferred in Europe

TT BU R E AU

Kerala Tourism Secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao receiving the PATA Gold award


1 2 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 AGENTS

TravelBoutique Onlinelaunched India’s first

online B2B portal onSeptember 9, at India HabitatCentre, which brings all traveltrade facilities on one digitalplatform. The OnlineDynamic Packages allowtravel agents to book hotels,travel services, sightseeingand other package offersonline and choose from the

vast inventory on the website.It allows travel agents to maximise exposure, increaserevenue and tap into new markets through this dig-ital platform.

Discussing the objectivefor the launch, AnkushNijhawan, ManagingDirector, Nijhawan Group,says, “Travel agents have tosearch suppliers to buy pack-

ages from and then combinethem for retail, but at TBO, weoffer a one-stop shop to availeverything quickly in a matterof minutes. I am proud toannounce that we arelaunching India’s first B2Bonline portal which is aseamless process to bookeverything online swiftly.”

According to Nijhawan,the digital B2B portals will bethe game-changers in theindustry that will help inincreasing inbound tourism.The portal will also reducethe time and effort put in bytravel agents to acquire pack-age deals from varioussources. He said, “The com-mission rates are also on thehigher end, ranging approxi-mately from 10 to 12 percentin this trade.”

Emphasising on theimportance of going digital,Nijhawan said, “There isalways a chance of losingsome customers and clients despite rigorous physical interaction.”

TravelBoutique Online launches Online DynamicPackages, first B2B online portal in India for travelagents to book trade services from a single platform.

TBO’s 1st portal for agents

AN K I TA SAX E N A

Even as Thomas Cookacquired Kuoni India in

August this year, it will continue“business as usual,” accordingto Rajeev Wagle, MD, KuoniIndia. Speaking at the previewof the Kuoni-SOTC’s The IndiaHoliday Report 2015 inMumbai, he added that thetransaction is yet to receive allregulatory approvals.

The ‘business as usual’status was also indicated by twoother launches that Kuoni Indiahas directed – its second editionof ‘Perfect Moments – LuxuryTravel Collection’ and the sec-ond edition of its corporatebooking tool SONIC 2.2. Thisimplies a keen focus on the lux-ury and corporate segments.

Speaking about prof-itability, Wagle admitted, “Lastyear wasn’t profitable for us.But 2015 might just be the bestyear in history for Kuoni India.We are at the cusp of Q4 andwe expect to hit profitability by

December 2015 on the back ofstrong growth in leisure andMICE segments.”

Vishal Suri, CEO (TourOperating), Kuoni India, addedthat the company is focusingon Mumbai, Delhi andBengaluru markets to increasein the luxury tour segment.“While leisure tours make upfor a bulk of its revenue, thecompany is growing its otherbusinesses. Even though lux-ury travel currently contributesonly two per cent of our revenue, it is an attractive segment and we expect it willgrow rapidly," he said.

The company has alsoreleased an upgraded versionof its corporate travel bookingtool called SONIC 2.2 whichintegrates airlines and portals.Manoj Chacko, CEO, KuoniBusiness Travel, said, “Werealised that travel is the third-largest spend on the PNL of acompany. At present the adop-tion of online platforms for cor-porate travel in India is low butthe trend is changing and com-panies, especially small andmedium enterprises, areadopting corporate bookingtools.” The first version of thistool was launched three years ago.

Its ‘business as usual’ for Kuoni India even as it directsits focus on the luxury and corporate travel segmentsin a bid to improve profits next year.

Focus on Luxury and MICE

TT BU R E AU

Ankush NijhawanManaging DirectorTravelBoutique Online

The commission rates are also onthe higher end, rangingapproximately from 10 to 12percent in this trade

(L-R) Vishal Suri, CEO (Tour Operating), Kuoni India, Rajeev Wagle, MD,Kuoni India, and Manoj Chacko, CEO, Kuoni Business Travel


O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 1 5NTO

The event began inAhmedabad, Mumbai and

Pune in the West; moved toKolkata, Delhi and Lucknow inthe East and North and culmi-nated with Chennai, Bengaluruand Hyderabad in the South.The day-long event at variouslocations featured a series ofmeetings between the Indian travel agents and tour operators to engage andforge business ties.

The participating UnitedKingdom tourism suppliersincluded Globus & Cosmos,Trafalgar Tours, Golden Tours,Virgin Atlantic, UK Visa andImmigration among many oth-ers. The suppliers and Indianagents discussed bookableproducts and new packagesfor making Britain the firstchoice for an Indian traveller.

“We have changed theformat of the event this year.Earlier we used to do a SalesMission in three cities but the

new format allows us the free-dom and flexibility to tap into anumber of smaller cities whichsometimes have greaterpotential to be bigger marketsfor Britain,” says Shivali Suri,

Country Manager-India,VisitBritain.

According to theInternational PassengerSurvey figures for 2014, therewere a record 390,000 visitorsto Britain from India, up by 4percent in 2013. The figures for

expenditure by Indian trav-ellers in Britain also saw a newrecord of £444 million in 2014.Discussing the future plan forUK Tourism, Suri said, “Wehave a strategy in place and atarget to deliver 500,000arrivals in Britain by 2020 andthe way we are progressing,we are well on our way toachieving the targets.”

Speaking about theimportance of Indian travelagents in promoting UKtourism, James Brevan,British High Commissioner-India says, “The Indian travelagents are a fundamental partof our team and functioning asit is these people who sellBritain to the Indian cus-tomers. Their feedback is cru-cial to our system as theiradvice helps us enhance ourfunctioning. For instance wehave simplified the visaprocess to make it easier andquicker to issue UK Visa to theIndian traveller after the feedback from our Indian travel agents.”

VisitBritain’s GREAT Tourism Week (GTW) toured nineIndian cities during August and September, engagingtravel agents with suppliers to discuss bookableproducts and new packages.

‘500,000 arrivals by 2020’

AN K I TA SAX E N A

Shivali SuriCountry Manager-IndiaVisitBritain

Philippines at PTM 2015The Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, attended the annual the PATA Travel Mart held in Bengaluru from September6-8, 2015. Gerard O. Panga, Tourism Attaché, Market Development Group and James Sy, OIC for ASEAN and the PacificDivision, led the delegation of the Philippines, comprising 6 sellers from the Philippines who participated in the PATA TravelMart 2015. This year, the delegates were Shroff International Travel Care, BC Travel and Tours Corporation, New GoldminesTours and Travel, ARK Travel Express, Select Travels and Celebrate Life TLC. Alongside attending the various PATA events,Panga interacted with the media and updated them on the latest marketing strategies for 2015 and 2016.


QIn light of recentchanges in the

tourism industry, whatare some suggestionsthat IATO is bringing for-ward to the govern-ment?

The key motive of IATO isto increase the inflow of touriststo India and we strive to attainour goals by resolving as manyissues as possible. So far, noneof the bottlenecks have beensolved completely, which is whythe results have not been exem-plary. In order to find solutionsfor these, we are mainly sug-

gesting a meeting between dif-ferent ministries to work outsuch issues and cover as manysetbacks as possible. Suchmeetings are extremely crucialin order to make a difference.

QAs far as eTV is con-cerned, what is IATO

demanding?

To be honest, eTV hasnot received as much publicityas it should have. Because of this, several people remain unaware about these developments andhence a less number of peopleapply for it. Approximately250,000 eTVs have been issued so far which is a

very small number and showsthat it has not achieved thedesired effect.

In addition, one cannotapply for eTV more than 30 days before the date of departure which givestourists less time to plan theirtickets and itineraries.

Moreover, the visa isonly valid for 30 days andoffers single entry, which is an indication as to whytourists are deciding againstvisiting India. To counteractthese, we are suggesting thevisa application time to be extended to six months,and duration of the visa to beincreased to 60 days withmultiple entries.

QWhat are yourthoughts on the

upcoming season forthe tourism industry?

We are not expecting agreat turnout this time. A lot ofmatters need to be lookedinto – transit within the country should be improved,along with better security, andmany others.

For these changes totranspire, all of us (tour oper-ators, hotels, suppliers, andstate government depart-ments) need to work in tan-dem. Each one of us is tryingto do the exact thing inde-pendently, ultimately using upmore resources when wecould all work together andachieve superior results.

That being said, thanksto Prime Minister’s active support, it feels like the right moment for the tourism industry to improveand upgrade.

The Indian tourism industry is in the midst of a transformation with the recent appointment of the newTourism Secretary and the implementation of eTV. Sarab Jit Singh, Senior Vice President, IATO andManaging Director, Travelite (India), highlights that teamwork and cooperation are the best strategiesneeded to revolutionise the travel sector.

‘eTV still has a long way to go’1 6 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 AGENTS

AH A N A GU R U N G

A lot of mattersneed to belooked into. Forthese changes totranspire, all of us(tour operators,hotels, suppliers,and stategovernments )need to work intandem

Sarab Jit SinghSenior Vice PresidentIATO and Managing Director, Travelite (India)

Marking InitiativesWork closely with civilaviations departmentand airlines to improveconnectivity

Equal focus should begiven on every city, andnot just the major ones

Reduce travel time withinthe country


O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 1 7FAMILY ALBUM

ANA showcases a new side of Japan Seamlessly connecting India and Japan, All Nippon Airlines (ANA) organised a familiarisation trip for the Indian travel fraternity to showcase Hokkaido,the second largest island of Japan. Hokkaido being the northernmost of Japan’s main islands is famous for volcanoes, natural hot springs, national parksand powder snow. With abundant natural beauty, festivity during all four seasons and good Indian food, Hokkaido is sure to impress the Indian traveller.


1 8 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 FAMILY ALBUM

French connectionAtout France – France Tourism Development Agency’sannual roadshow 'Rendez-vous en France' was recentlyheld in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. A delegationof 24 French tourism professionals visited the three citiesto meet with travel trade.



President of India Pranab Mukherjee gave away theNational Tourism Awards 2013-14 in New Delhi onSeptember 18. The President congratulated the awardwinners and said that these exceptional individuals andinstitutions who have been felicitated have distinguishedthemselves through their dedication in promoting Indiaas a tourist destination.

MOT honours industry leaders


NEWS

QWhat is the USP ofUNA Hotels? We are ready to meet the

needs of discerning travellerswith contemporary space,ultra-modern ambience, varieddining experiences, state-of-the-art technology and com-prehensive in-house facilities.We are uniquely positioned tooffer a 4-star luxury experiencein the heart of Amritsar and thehotel is an ideal venue for busi-ness & events. Our ethos is tooffer attentive yet unassumingservice with sophisticated inte-rior styling. Guest can indulgein the quality cuisine at“Metro”– the contemporarymulti-cuisine restaurant offer-ing a variety of Continental,Indian, Oriental and local cui-sine, and “One Bar” – the exot-ic bar. Our conference facilitiesinclude ‘Happenings’, (upto700 delegates), ‘Millennium’(upto 100-150 delegates) withall necessary conference aids.We also offer other facilities

like swimming pool, spa,Jacuzzi, and gym.

QHow can travel agentswork with the group to

increase business? With increasing inflow of

inventory in the city and riseof fees of online and offlineintermediaries, there is hugepressure on many hotels tobuild up their top lines andyields from rooms. For our toplines, we focus on the rightmix of segments and sources.

We also ensure that our topproducing source markets areclearly identified and we pro-tect their best interests andkeep them motivated. For theonline space, focus is alwaysset on the right prices andright offers on all GDS and

other web based platforms.For the same, we have ahighly cogent and effectivechannel distribution and management team to closely monitor any variationsin the market.

QThe trend has beenseen that occupancy

percentage is increasing inhotels but the hotels havenot cut down on the aver-

age room rates. Why doyou think this is the case?

There has been anunder-supply of rooms inAmritsar as compared to thedemand in the city. Corporateshave started cutting downdrastically on hotel expenses

which has affected the luxuryhotel segment adversely whilstat the same time given impe-tus to budget hotels. The keystrategy for 2015 is ‘customi-sation and improvisation’. Nowthat Amritsar is to become asmart city, many new hotelshave come up in and aroundthe area catering to differentsegments. The idea is tocharge the guests only for theservices they use.

UNA Hotels, as a brand, is based on discovery. Vinay Chaturvedi, GeneralManager, UNA Hotels, tells what agents can use to increase businessand sell variety of options to their clients.

A 4-star experience in Amritsar

Vinay ChaturvediGeneral ManagerUNA Hotels

We ensure that our top producingsource markets are clearlyidentified and we protect their bestinterests and keep them motivated

TT BUREAU

WTM London 2016 willtake place between

November 7 to 9 with theopening hours extended from10 am to 7 pm for all threedays, giving exhibitors and vis-itors extra time to negotiateand agree business deals,while reducing the ancillarycosts of exhibiting.

Over the past five yearsWTM London visitor numbershave grown by 20 per cent to32,528, with buyer numbersfrom the WTM Buyers’ Clubover the past three eventsincreasing by 16 per cent to9,124, meaning a three dayWTM will give exhibitors theopportunity to see more peo-ple over a shorter time span.Total participant numbers forWTM London 2014 hit arecord 51,500, with the eventgenerating a massive £2.5 bil-lion in industry business deals.

The new WTM London2016 will see more contentmoved on to the exhibitionfloor further increasing networking opportunitiesbetween exhibitors, buyers,

visitors and media.Furthermore, a new amphithe-atre seating up to 300 dele-gates will join the Global Stageon the exhibition floor, mean-ing the majority of the thoughtleadership sessions will beadjacent to the exhibitionpavilions and stands.

Last year the EventsProgramme had an atten-dance of 17,036 including8,829 unique delegates. TheUNWTO & WTM Ministers’Summit will take place onNovember 9, with the WTMWorld Responsible TourismDay – the largest day ofresponsible tourism action inthe world – taking place onNovember 8. In total more than1,436 exhibitor personnel meet

with 303 of the industry’s mostimportant buyers across thetwo speed networking ses-sions at WTM London 2015.The final day of WTM will alsohost the WTM Bloggers’ SpeedNetworking, which saw 70bloggers have meetings with236 exhibitors.

WTM London 2016’smove to a three day event fol-lows post 2014 event researchwhich for the first time showedexhibitors and visitors wouldprefer a three day World TravelMarket London. WTM London,Senior Director, Simon Presssaid: “World Travel MarketLondon’s move to a three dayevent will further cement itsplace as the leading globalevent for the travel industry

and the event where the travelindustry conducts its business.

“For the first time exhibitorand visitor opinion has request-ed that WTM London is a threeday event. Reed TravelExhibitions has listened to itsaudience and responded withan event that is exactly whatthey have asked for, ensuringit remains relevant to the indus-try’s business needs.”

“This decision has beenmade during a period of recordgrowth for the WTM London,with overall participant numbersat a record high of 51,500, visi-tor numbers peaking at morethan 32,000 and buyer numbersfrom the WTM Buyers Club atmore than 9,100. These recordnumbers sees the event facili-tate more than £2.5 billion inindustry deals. WTM Londonwill continue to offer unrivallednetworking and business oppor-tunities. From 2016 exhibitorswill be able to meet an even greater number of industryexecutives conducting evenmore business over a short space of time, whilereducing the ancillary cost of exhibiting.”

World Travel Market London 2016 will be revamped as a three-day event followingexhibitor and visitor feedback and an unprecedented period of growth.

WTM 2016 to be a 3-day event

TT BUREAU


2 4 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 EXHIBITIONS

The two-day Locations 2015exhibition conference that

was held in Mumbai recentlysaw the presence of over 25sellers that included destina-tions and hotels. They interact-

ed with more than a 1000-strong cross-section from theIndian film industry. Speakingat the event, SudhanshuHukku, Director, Locations,said, “Locations can help revolutionise tourism by helping destinations feature in

Indian films, the world's largestfilm industry.”

Locations is a B2B plat-form based on the concept offilms as a catalyst to tourism. Itwas conceptualised in 2003and was launched through

Variety at Cannes FilmFestival. In 2010, BBCdeclared it as the ‘World’s FirstFilm Tourism Event’.

Locations brings theIndian film fraternity underone roof for a face to face

with various aspects of inter-national locations and pro-duction possibilities includingsubsidies, tax rebates andother global vendor conces-sions to shoot a film on theirshores. This is achievedthrough interaction with glob-al destination vendors:tourism boards, film commis-sions, line production compa-nies, airlines, railways,resorts and travel and

tourism service providers.Locations has seen the pres-ence of the destination promot-ers from more than 50 countriesalong with some Indian states.It has helped transact a busi-ness of over $100 million. Someof the countries that have ben-efited from participating inLocations include Bulgaria,Croatia, Ireland, Hungary,Malaysia, Poland Romania and Thailand.

Locations exhibitions once again brought global locale vendors and allied service representatives under one roof tointeract with the Indian film industry.

Locations: Film filip to tourism industryTT BU R E AU Participants at Locations 2015

� Bulgaria Film Locations� French Line Production� Georgia Embassy and Consulate � Hungary Consulate and line production company � Iceland Embassy and Consulate� Jordan - Line production company� Romania - Line production company� Oman - Line production company� Khyber Indus - Line production company� Thailand - Line production company� Rajasthan Tourism


MakeMyTrip offers agentsto become partners with

them to grow and ease busi-ness. Their focus on technol-ogy and customer serviceensures a seamless and convenient travel-purchase experience. Being a partnerwith MakeMyTrip comes

with various benefits for thetravel agents.

“From being among thefirst OTA in the world to offerlow-cost inventory online,launching the first iPhone travelApp in India, to opening upnew avenues for Indian trav-ellers and travel-partners alike,we ushered many first-in-

industry offerings. Today, wehave a dominant position in theOTA market as a whole, andespecially in flights, mobile andhotel-transactions. We look for-ward to delighting Indian trav-ellers for many more decadeswith our technology and prod-uct innovations,” says DeepKalra, Chairman & GroupCEO, MakeMyTrip.

Ranjeet Oak, ChiefBusiness Officer-Holidays,MakeMyTrip explains howtechnology can be used byagents who partner with thecompany. Travel agents nolonger need to depend on local suppliers for quota-tion or availability of services.The entire range ofMakeMyTrip pre-packaged

holidays for India and acrossthe world is available at just a click. The websitereflects live inventory, currentprices and all details on theinclusions. The agents havecomplete flexibility to createthe perfect itinerary for theirguests from the vast range ofholidays available onMakeMyTrip.com

Another technologicalbenefit for partners is thatagents do not need to worryabout escalating prices on airor hotels. Once a booking isdone, MakeMyTrip freezes theprice for the guest or partners.All the prices are in INR inorder to prevent any currency-related fluctuations at the endof the payment schedules.

To make work easier foragents, MakeMytrip offers24x7 support and availability.Travel agents can now bookonline as they speak to theclient — anytime of the day ornight. There is no dependencyon people from sales teams torevert on quotes, availability,prices and thus the bookingscan be made at the conven-ience of the agents.

In the wake of rising number of young Indian travellers, it is important to associate with the right travelpartner. MakeMyTrip, India’s largest online travel company, offers agents to become partners withthem to boost business.

An online partner for agents2 8 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TECHNOLOGY

Travel agents nolonger need todepend on localsuppliers forquotation oravailability ofservices. Ourentire range of pre-packagedholidays is availableat just a click

Ranjeet OakChief Business Officer-HolidaysMakeMyTrip TT BU R E AU

Facilities OfferedWi-Fi facility at selectedhotels exclusively forMakeMyTrip guests

Special departures forwomen in destinationslike Bhutan, Ladakh andNorth East with ladyTM’s/tour guides

Free SIM card on everybooking for Bhutan andSri Lanka

Free casino chips forMMT guests in Sri Lankaand Nepal

Special initiatives forsenior citizens: Roomsat ground floor inBhutan, Ladakh andother destinations

Tie-up with local Indianrestaurants in Bhutan forJain meals; chefs at des-tinations like Kashmirand Ladakh to take careof special dietary needs


3 0 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 ASSOCIATIONS

Indian Association of TourOperators organised a

special interactive luncheon in New Delhi to welcome new Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi and Ashwani Lohani, new CMD,Air India, and bid farewell toformer Tourism Secretary Lalit Panwar, AdditionalSecretary Girish Shankarand Usha Sharma, formerAdditional Director General,Ministry of Tourism. More than 145 memberagents were present at the

event held at The Park, New Delhi.

Subhash Goyal,Chairman, IATO, started theproceedings by thanking theagents and members for a suc-cessful convention recentlyconcluded in Indore. "Wereceived 1,260 delegates and had to turn away 300 dele-gates due to a lack of accom-modation," Goyal said aboutthe houseful convention.

He also assured Lohaniof selling Air India vigourouslyin the wake of the national car-

rier's announcement of 25 kgbaggage allowance on domes-tic routes. Reminiscing theIATO Convention of 2006, hethanked Zutshi, the-then direc-tor of Rajasthan TourismDevelopment Corporation fora successful convention.

Pronab Sarkar,Secretary, IATO, put forth IATOrecommendations regardingeTV, viz., multiple-entry eTV,visa applications to be submit-ted 180 days prior, visa dura-tion to be extended to 40 days and on-arrival biometrics for all tourists.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators and its 145 members got together in New Delhi to welcome the new TourismSecretary Vinod Zutshi and Air India’s new CMD Ashwani Lohani.

IATO welcomes Zutshi and LohaniRU C H I J S I N G H

Zutshi, the newly appoint-ed Tourism Secretary, called foran integrated and coordinatedstrategy, involving all the stake-holders, for the development ofTourism in India. "Tourism is anintegrated development, so myefforts would be to involve allthe stakeholders and all theplayers at all the levels," Zutshi said.

Realising the enormity ofthe task ahead ofhim, Lohanicalled his new job"indeed a toughnut to crack."

"[It's] not a cakewalk likeMadhya Pradesh - from theserene environment of BhopalI have landed into a fryingpan," Lohani told a laudingaudience.

Lohani appeared determined to rescue thecarrier. "[There are a] lot of things which are bad, but can be set right. The airline still has its inher-ent qualities. It was a brand,which lost its sheen, but the sheen will come back, it has to come back," he stressed.

He concluded on an opti-mistic note: "I can see thegleam in Air Indians' eyeswhen I tell them we have tosoar. They all want to soar. Thechallenge is great, but thedetermination is greater. I lookforward to support fromTourism Secretary VinodZutshi and the Ministry ofTourism in my mission to dowhatever is possible for thisfledgling airline."

Sarab Jit Singh, SeniorVice President, IATO, andAmaresh Tiwari, Treasurer, IATO,were also in attendance.


QHow do you per-ceive the cruise

market from India? The cruise market from

India has been on a high thisyear and has enough potentialto grow much more. Currently,we have close to over 1,20,000passengers from India who takea cruise holiday. Indian passen-gers are now open to new expe-

riences and new products,resulting in the growth of thecruise industry by approximately10 to 12 per cent year-on-year.

Q How has the tradehelped you achieve

this?India is primarily a B2B

market for cruises and we areoverwhelmed by the supportreceived from the trade fraternitywhether it is tour operators, retail

agents or consolidators.Recently, we did a training ses-sion for IAAI members on MSCCruises at our office which wasattended by around 50 agents.We have been receiving greatfeedback for the same and planto continue doing such sessionswith members of other traveltrade associations as well.

QAre you workingwith tourism boards

of countries where youhave sailings?

MSC Cruises has sail-ings from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and have been well supported by tourismauthorities of both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to promotecruising in these regions. Weare also looking forward toworking closely with moretourism boards, which will be beneficial to promote

cruise holidays as a whole forIndia market.

QWhat new productscan the trade look

forward to sell in India? MSC Cruises will make

its first sailing to Asia with thenewly renovated MSC Liricacalling in Shanghai on May 1,2016. The 65,000 GRT ship willmake our company’s maidencall in China’s biggest mega-

lopolis after a 60-day round theworld trip via Europe, whichdeparts on March 3, 2016,from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.MSC Cruises has alsoannounced the sales for theinaugural summer 2017 cruis-es of MSC Meraviglia, its firstgeneration of ships.

With India still a maturing market for cruising, cruise companies like MSC are wholly dependant on thetravel trade to push their products to the discerning traveller.

India a B2B market for cruise HA Z E L JA I N

3 2 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 CRUISES

We areoverwhelmed bythe support fromthe trade fraternity.We did a trainingsession for IAAImembers on MSCCruises which wasattended byaround 50 agents

Kunal SampatGM (India)MSC Cruises

Vistara forays into Varanasi

Vistara has announced bookings for its 12th

destination–Varanasi. StartingOct 21, 2015, Vistara will offerdaily flight on the Delhi-Varanasi-Delhi route.

Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO,Vistara, said, “Varanasi is aweinspiring and a symbol of spiri-tualism that has attractedIndians as well as internationaltourists for years. The additionof Varanasi to our network per-fectly complements Vistara’sversatile ecosystem that nowoffers leisure, corporate, and pil-grimage options. With the pos-itive feedback of our customersVistara has established itself asa preferred brand in a shortperiod of time. We are confident that the travellers onthis route will also appreciateVistara’s seamless and person-alised service.”

Vistara has recentlyachieved the benchmark of fly-ing 500,000 customers acrossits network.

Smooth SailMSC Cruises will makeits first sailing to Asiawith the newly renovatedMSC Lirica calling inShanghai on May 1,2016

Cruise industry is growing by nearly 10 to 12 per cent year-on-year



The 38th PATA Travel Mart was held in Bengaluru fromSeptember 6-8, 2015. There were three major events- The Technology Forum, The Investment Forum andthe PATA Travel Mart in itself. Over 1200 delegatesinternational Media representing 61 countries andalmost all Indian states participated.

PATA in India’s Silicon Valley

Contd. on page 36


The TAAI Team Positive has50-plus years of cumulative

experience and represents allfour regions. Newly electedPresident Sunil Kumarsays, “I’m elated that all four ofus have been elected. I’m sograteful to the members ofTAAI for having the confidencein the TAAI Positive Team. We shall go all out to do all that we can to live up to their expectations.

“It’s a great feeling espe-cially because I always wantedto be a winning captain of awinning team. Not a winningcaptain of a losing team nor alosing captain of a winningteam,” he says.

The association holdselections every two years. “Theturnout has been fantastic. Ihave been in TAAI for so manyyears, gone through electionsfor more than 16 years but Ihave never seen this kind of anaudience. Very disciplined inthe manner in which the votingtook place, the members havebeen very co-operative, verysupportive. I have not seen thisquality of membership withabsolutely zero defection as faras the election is concernedbefore,” Kumar adds.

Kumar says their imme-diate agenda is to form com-mittees, assign responsibilitiesto various members of theManaging Committee. “Theagenda has been decided withthe collective experience of the Managing Committee. Astronger rapport with the gov-ernment is the need of thehour. Any association, like anyproduct, must keep changingto keep up with the changingtimes. We would like to evolvethis association to be relevantin today's environment. Ourpractices and approach must change with the times,” he adds.

The team led by Kumarhad listed re-introduction ofJoint Bank Guarantee in itselection campaign agenda.Some other issues pointed out

by the team during electioncampaign were improvingelection pattern to reducecosts and time taken for mem-bers to vote; focus on smalland medium travel agencies,seek government’s liaison to create a regulatory round-table, which will also begood in a way to resolve issueslike commission, service tax,fuel surcharge; bring in princi-pals to work closely with TAAI

through Preferred PartnerProgram; and work with IATAon new form of payment forsmoother implementation.

Marzban Antia, who hasbeen elected as the VicePresident, says a lot of legalwork pertaining to the associ-ation needs to be addressed."To be honest, I am quite elat-ed that our team has won. It isall the hard work that we have

put in over these two years andthe hard work prior to this elec-tion and organising it. We willdo great work this year. We gottwo years now to do good workfor our members and the fra-ternity at large. The immediateplan of action is to do a lot oflegal work that needs priority.The Constitution needs to bechanged; a lot of effort needsto be put in with regards to the airlines."

Team Positive clinched all top posts of TAAI Office Bearers. The new President Sunil Kumar has been around for 15years and is fully aware of the challenges agents face, like IATA rules, APJC matters, and Joint Bank Guarantee Scheme.

TAAI seeks rapport with governmentHA Z E L JA I N

O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 3 5COVER STORY

The agenda has beendecided with the collectiveexperience of the ManagingCommittee. A stronger rapport with the governmentis the need of the hour.

Sunil KumarPresident, TAAI

Marzban Antia Vice PresidentTAAI



Over 1200 delegates at PTM, Bengaluru Contd. from page 34


A night of fun Network Talk was an exclusive event organisedby and Park Hotels at Agni, The Park inNew Delhi. It was an interactive congregation anda fun-filled evening that provided an opportunityfor colleagues and contemporaries of the travelindustry to catch up over cocktails and trade talk.


and business together


4 2 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 INDIA TRAVEL AWARDS

Hear it from the ‘Maya’ winners

Best Emerging TravelPortalThe e-Tourist Visa (eTV) is agame changer and it is goingto help India to get its fairshare of tourists. The more wefacilitate this, the whole metalblock of tough visa processgoes and it becomes easy for

a traveller to plan a trip without bothering too muchabout visa. We have already seen a surge in numbersand enabling eTV for more nationalities and at more air-ports is a booster for the growth of inbound tourism. Itis a winner all the way.

Deepak NarulaManaging Director, GRNconnect.com

North India Travel Awards 2014

Face of the FutureI think it is great news that thegovernment is now issuing e-Tourist Visa (eTV) to 36 coun-tries and from seven more air-ports. Now life will be easier fora tourist who wants to come toIndia. This is something whichis definitely going to get better.

There might be some problems initially but over the yearsthey will overcome it. eTV is a great boon for us and thetourism industry. This will definitely boost inbound tourismin the country. Especially tourism in all the regions willsee growth with eTV being issued from airports in all corners of the country.

Ankush NijhawanManaging Director, Nijhawan Group of Companies


Face of the FutureThe act in extending eTV to 36more countries showcases thepositive intent of the govern-ment in promoting travel andtourism in India. With the inclu-sion of Ahmedabad providingthis visa type and knowing thepenchant of the western region

to attract strong business investment, I envisage greaterinbound travel for both business and leisure, maybe ashigh as 15 per cent rise to the region. I am sure that alongwith the developing infrastructure, the Indian tourismindustry will get a significant fillip.

Dev KarvatManaging Director, TrawellTag Cover-More India.

West India Travel Awards 2014

Wall of Legends The extension of e-TouristVisa (eTV) to 36 more coun-tries and addition of sevenmore airports is big news forthe tourism industry. It will def-initely give a big boost toinbound tourism. By inclusionof Gaya Airport, good footfallof foreign tourists is anticipated in the eastern region,especially in the Buddhist circuits of the states ofOdisha and Bihar. These states have flourished withBuddhist tourism and Buddhist Tours are gettingfamous among the tourists these days. Travellers arealso taking much interest in the Golden Triangle ofOdisha. As the state has a huge Buddhist Tourismpotential, a flight connection to Bhubaneswar with Varanasi and Bodhgaya would be a highly profitable one.

J K MohantyChairman & Managing Director

Swosti Group of HotelsIndia Travel Awards East 2014

Gallery of Legends This is an encouraging step byour Government. Simplificationin obtaining Indian visa willcertainly benefit inbound traveland help increase numbers,especially in the WesternRegion due to inclusion ofAhmedabad airport in the list.The Western Region is wellequipped with handling inbound tourism and has someof the most prominent tourist destinations in Maharashtra,Gujarat and Goa. With the inclusion of Ahmedabad air-port, the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa and MadhyaPradesh will get a boost to increase inbound tourists.However, it also provides a challenge for Western Regionto gear up with ‘A’ grade infrastructure and facilities,including the competence of travel professionals, carfleets, hotels, guides and international cuisine.

Om Prakash SehgalDirector, Inorbit Tours


Best TravelManagementCompanyThis is a great initiative by thegovernment. Our tourismpotential is big enough to wipeout the entire current accountdeficit that the country facesyear after year. However,there are many infrastructure and security issues thatneed attention to be able to project India as a tourismfriendly destination. The need of the hour is for theCentral and State Governments to formulate commonpolicies and strategies to push this agenda and alsogrant industry status to the tourism and hospitality sec-tor. At the same time, certain basic minimum standardsneed to be created for the entire industry to cover serv-ices like travel agencies, car rentals, hotels, restaurant,tour guide services, etc.

Pankaj NagpalManaging Director, Travstarz Global Group


Contd. on page 44

The India Travel Awards are testimony to the hard work and dedication its winners put into the industry.asks these industry leaders how e-Tourist Visas help boost inbound numbers to India and what’s

next on their wish list.

Best Visa FacilitationCompany The introduction of eTV is mostwelcome as it is vital towardsinfusing much needed demandinto the under leveragedinbound sector. The new eTVsystem will prevent line-ups infront of the visa desks at air-

ports, reduce the workload of staff working at airports,provide easier visa facilitation for foreigners and increasethe number of visitors, as well as tourism and foreigntrade revenues. Much needed reforms to its visa ruleswill provide the foundation for very strong growth in thesector during 2015-16.

Rajan DuaManaging Director, Udaan IndiaIndia Travel Awards West 2014

Entrepreneur of theYearTourists visiting Rajasthan nowneed not visit Delhi or comethrough other arrival points.Where Ahmedabad is con-cerned, it is the closest inter-national airport chosen due toits proximity to Somnath and

Gir, some of the biggest tourist destinations in Gujaratwhich is more frequented by tourists. Tourists now willhave the option of flying into these cities without havingto waste time in transits and can spend extra time in thewestern region. With the facilitation of eTV for these air-ports, the airlines will also add more seats/flights.

Jay BhatiaChairman – Tourism Council, Tulsidas Khimji Holidays

India Travel Awards West 2014

Best GlobalDistribution SystemThe WTTC predicted that visareforms would fuel 7.5 per centgrowth for the Indian travelindustry. Volumes from theregional Abacus and globalSabre channels give us reasonto be even more bullish about

the impact over time. We will communicate the eTV exten-sions and expect travel agents serving both the corporateand leisure sectors to respond. Every initiative that makes access to the India market easier ultimately boosts demand.

Jeet SawhneyManaging Director, Abacus

East India Travel Awards 2014


4 4 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 INDIA TRAVEL AWARDS

Industry leaders have their say Contd. from page 42

Best MICE OperatorAs global travel increasesworld-wide, key initiatives likee-Tourist Visa by the IndianGovernment is creating a def-inite momentum in footfallsacross the country. Since theimplementation of e-TouristVisa across 108 countries, we

have already recorded a surge of 1000 per cent in touristarrivals with maximum coming from the US. This has cre-ated a demand into the under-leverage inbound segment.The Eastern region will be exploding in near future withtourist arrivals. Already Kolkata and nearby cities arebasking in the generation of demand which has spikedthe local infrastructure and human resources in this state.

Sunaina ChatterjeeChief Executive, Incentives and Conference Planners


DDP TrailblazerAttracting international touriststo India requires work on var-ious aspects like perception ofsafety, cleanliness, ease ofarrival into the country, costs of accessing tourisminfrastructure like hotels etc. In this respect, the exten-

sion of e-Tourist Visa will go a long way to make it easierfor foreign tourists coming to India. This, coupled withother government initiatives like ‘Incredible India’ campaign, ‘Swachh Bharat’ and other campaigns willgive a big boost to tourism in all parts of India and weexpect that this will start to show results in the next couple of years.

Apurva SalarpuriaExecutive Director, The Salarpuria Group


Best Inbound TourOperatorIntroduction of e-Tourist Visasto tourists to over a 180 coun-tries will provide a much-needed boost to the inboundtourism industry. However,besides the addition of Eastto the e-Tourist Visas, there is

a requirement to increase air connectivity to the region.We have no direct connection from Europe to any air-port in East India which is a huge deterrent forEuropean tourists travelling to this region. We need towork on improving air connectivity to this region to realise the full potential of the e-Tourist Visas in the East.

Sumit PeriwalCEO, Clubside Tours & TravelsEast India Travel Awards 2014

Fastest Growing HotelBrandThe positive move from theGovernment to extend the e-Tourist Visa scheme has givena major push to inboundtourism in India and sinceinbound tourists will not haveto go through the hassle of fil-ing a visa, they will definitely increase in India leading toincrease in the eastern region as well. An added benefitof the seven new airports added to the list will increasethe number of foreign tourists by giving more optionalentry points to the neighboring countries.

Sumit MitrukaManaging Director, Summit Hotels & Resorts


Best Outbound TourOperator Easing regulations and normsrequired to procure visa willhelp in increasing the inflow oftravellers into India. Procuringa visa to India in most coun-tries was a tedious task for atraveller including businesstravellers. Business travellers are potential leisure trav-ellers and are brand ambassadors for ‘Brand India’.Markets across countries have specific interests to travelinto destinations within India such as Gaya and East Indiaand the e-Tourist Visa facility being extended from suchtourist specific airports besides our primary ‘gateway air-ports’ will further facilitate tourist inflow across India.

Sriram RajmohanCEO, Club7 Holidays


Face of the FutureI think e-Tourist Visa is goingto make a huge push inmomentum for tourism busi-ness in South India. As aleader of the business, I agreeto this and the industry wel-comes the move. It opens dif-ferent avenues for us andeases the way we do business. Chennai has a huge influxof Japanese and Chinese travellers and travellers fromthe South East Asian market, apart from the Americanand European base. The inclusion of Trichy airport isgoing to help the influx of the South East Asia becausethey have direct flights from Trichy to Singapore andIndonesia. Trichy’s inclusion on the list will add to themomentum. We will make more business if more andmore airports manage to be on the list.

Abhishek VermaGM, Holiday Inn, Chennai

India Hospitality Awards West and South 2015

The EnterprisingGeneral Manager ofthe Year With new air connectivity coming in, like the CochinInternational Airport alsoexpanding by the end of theyear, we will see more airlinescoming in. There will be decon-

gestion of airlines which are operating in Bengalurubecause of cheap parking charges and the airportcharges get optimised. This causes new connectionswhich are key to new markets opening up in South India.Kerala has three international airports and if I am notwrong then they are looking at the fourth airport comingup. There is a lot of inbound demand from Kerala becauseof the natural beauty of the state and the demand will besupplemented by the air connectivity.

Kunal ShankerGeneral Manager, Holiday Inn Cochin

India Hospitality Awards West and South 2015

Best City HotelAhmedabad’s potential as atourist destination has largelyremained under-utilised. Frombeing the home to archaeo-logical wonders reflecting theera of Mughals, to being theepicentre of freedom strugglein the pre-independence time,

Ahmedabad has a lot to offer to its tourists. The cityboasts of fast paced development on one side and hasa rich traditional and cultural heritage. With the avail-ability of e-Tourist Visa at the Ahmedabad airport, thecity will now greatly benefit in terms of an increase inthe influx of inbound tourists. It is definitely a step in theright direction.

Sandeep JohriGeneral Manager, Novotel Ahmedabad


Best Corporate HotelIssuing eTV to additional 36countries and seven more air-ports does not just make trav-elling easy to India, but alsoshows the Government’s will-ingness to work towardsincreasing the contribution oftourism sector to our GDP. The

decision to open additional airports, in Tier II & Tier IIIcities like Jaipur and Ahmedabad to name a few, not onlyhelps these cities in commerce and growth of GDP, butalso it impacts a positive growth in the states, vis-à-visthe region as well. It is extremely important for us to utilisethese benefits in true spirit to make them successful.

Vishal JamuarGeneral Manager, Radisson Blu Hotel Indore



AGENTS

For more information, contact us at: [email protected]

OCTOBER 2015NATIONAL

2-4 Pune Travel and Tourism Fair5 Mumbai Thailand Luxury Roadshow 20155 Mumbai Turkey Roadshow7 Chandigarh Tourism Authority of Thailand

Luxury Roadshow7 Delhi Turkey Roadshow9 Delhi Tourism Authority of Thailand

Luxury Roadshow9-11 Indore India International Travel Exhibition9-11 Nagpur Holiday Expo9-11 Goa Travel & Tourism Fair10-11 Gurgaon Vkonect Luxury B2B event14 Goa West India Travel Awards15 Goa India Cargo Awards West & South16-18 Lucknow India Travel Mart 16-18 Bhopal Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart26 Delhi Scandinavian Tourism Board

Media Brief26 Mumbai Spain Tourism Office

Leisure Workshop 27 Delhi Scandinavian Tourism Board Travel

Trade Seminar 27 Mumbai Spain Tourism Office MICE Workshop28 Delhi Spain Tourism Office

Leisure Workshop29 Delhi Spain Tourism Office MICE Workshop30- Nov 1 Noida India Travel Mart

NOVEMBER 2015INTERNATIONAL

2-5 London World Travel Mart

8 - 9 Brussels, Belgium UFTAA AGA + Forum

17-19 Spain, Barcelona IBTM, World

NATIONAL

6-8 Visakhapatnam Holiday Expo

20-22 Guwahati Travel & Tourism Fair

23 Delhi German National Tourist Office B2B Roadshow

24 Bengaluru German National Tourist Office B2B Roadshow

25 Ahmedabad German National Tourist Office B2B Roadshow

25 Mumbai Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Bureau B2B Roadshow

26 Mumbai German National Tourist Office Networking Event

27 Mumbai German National Tourist Office B2B Roadshow

27 Delhi Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Bureau B2B Roadshow

27-29 Pune India International Travel Mart

27-29 Ahmedabad India Travel Mart

27-29 Kolkata Travel East

DECEMBER 2015NATIONAL

1-3 Bhuj Rann Utsav

3 Delhi European Quartet B2B Workshop

4 Begaluru European Quartet B2B Workshop

4-6 Hyderabad India International Travel Mart

5 Mumbai European Quartet B2B Workshop

5-7 Jaipur India Travel Mart

11-13 Madurai India International Travel Exhibition

18-20 Siliguri Tourism Fair

With over three decades ofexperience in the indus-

try, avid travellers Amita Nairand Deepali Wagle turnedtheir passion into profession inthe form of MeanderingVacations. Starting off with twooffices in Mumbai, they gradu-ally expanded their portfolio ofoffices and opened branchesin Nagpur, Kochi, Calicut,Pune and New Delhi, with thenext city in their pipeline beingKochi.

The company holds astrong belief in keeping theircustomers content and happyand their USP lies in creatingexceptionally memorableexperiences for them. “We areaware of the expectations andrequirements of the travellers,”says Amita. “Today’s cus-tomers are knowledgeable andwe provide customised solu-tions as required by them,

however there is always ascope of guidance and con-sulting which ensuresenhanced customer satisfac-tion and it creates more valuethan expected,” she adds.

In terms of the future ofthe company and the Indiantourism industry, Deepali men-tions that the company hasstrategically moved in align-ment with India’s socio eco-nomic developments and

demographics. “Travel/tourism,which was a luxury orunknown need for the popula-tion in Tier II and III regions,have suddenly found a need totravel and see places and getout of their existing domains,”comments Deepali. “India is ayoung country of 1.28 billion,where 65 per cent populationis below 35 years with a highliteracy rate of 80 per cent. Thisage group creates the incre-mental demand for travel. We

also need to keep in mind that50 per cent of the total popula-tion is between 0-25 yearswhich means Indian tourism isfirmly placed to move at fastestpace,” she says.

With a consistently grow-ing GDP of 8 per cent, out-bound tourism has grown from3.7 million in 1997 to 9.8 mil-lion in 2007 to 14.3 million in2013. “Factors such as liber-alised economy going global,higher disposable income,people have started travellingmore than once a year, creat-ing the surge in outbound trav-el,” adds Amita. “Depreciationof rupee against dollar led toexpectations that outboundtourism may suffer, but on thecontrary the movement wasnot hampered and remainedstable. Going by the numbers,India may indeed account for50 million outbound tourists by2020, as predicted by theUNWTO,” she concludes.

Imbibed with a firm belief in customer satisfaction, Directors of MeanderingVacations, Amita Nair and Deepali Wagle give a lowdown on the future of thecompany and young India’s fascination for travel.

Providing customised solutions

TT BU R E AU

Amita NairDirectorMeandering Vacations

Deepali WagleDirectorMeandering Vacations

What is life is hard todefine. But a life lived

with dignity and accomplish-ment, bonding and care offriends and family, is a life livedwell. However, and unfortu-nately so, the dawn of the duskof life does not augur well foreveryone as family grows andchildren travel far and away intheir pursuit of better life.

Clarks Inn Group ofHotels, as part of its expand-ing Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR)Programme, recently visitedNoida-based Anand NiketanVridh Sewa Ashram, an oldage home devoted to the service of needy citizen aged over 60 and managed by Jan Kalyan Trust, in order to bring cheersin the life of its elderly residentswho gave their best years to the development of the larger society that we are part of today.

In a first such initiative,Clarks Inn organised a colourfulprogramme at Anand NiketanVridh Sewa Ashram organising

a quiz show based on the for-mat of Kaun Banega Crorepati,the famous Indian televisiongame show aired on Sony. The elderly in the audiencewere divided into four teamsand vied against each other tobe the first to answer everyquestion thrown upon themwith childlike enthusiasm with some amongst them displaying outstanding generalknowledge skill.

The game show was fol-lowed by singing competition.To everybody’s utter surprisesome of the voices heard

during the competition wereexceptionally melodious andenthralling, spellbindingeveryone present in the audience. The elderly residents were also served avariety of snacks and beverages throughout theduration of event.

Clarks Inn Co-founderand President, S NSrivastava, who took keen interest in making theevent happen and was himselfpresent throughout the duration of event was jubilant to see

the overwhelming responsethat the event attracted fromthe elderly residents ofAnandNiketan.

“For those in the dusk oftheir life, days and wait couldbe painstakingly endless.Today was a very emotionalexperience. We are glad to beable to bring cheers and joy tothe residents of the Ashram.Everyone present immenselyenjoyed this afternoon. Wewould like to come back soonand organise more suchevents at other places as well,” he said.

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, as part of its CSR Programme, visited Anand Niketan Vridh Sewa Ashram, an old age home devoted to needy senior citizens.

Fulfilling a responsibility

TT BUREAU


NEWS

QHow many HostedBuyers, Exhibitors,

and Visitors are youexpecting at the 2016exhibition?

We had 269 Exhibitors,656 Hosted Buyers and11,687 Visitors at AME 2015.For the next year we are still incontact with conventionbureaus and MICE companiesall over the world in order toincrease this number. Weexpect 330 Exhibitors, 300International Buyers and morethan 300 local Hosted Buyers

from associations and corpo-rate companies.

QWhat is the focus ofthe exhibition?Our aim is to bring togeth-

er MICE industry from Turkeyand the world. We would like toshow and introduce the MICEpotential in Turkey to internation-al market as ACE of MICEExhibition is a unique MICEevent in our country.

QTell us about theMICE market in

Turkey? There are 1,300 hotels

with meeting facilities and eventvenues, 1,130 event manage-ment companies, 1,890 serviceproviders in Turkey for now.According to Turkish MICEIndustry Survey, which wasreleased at AME 2015 inFebruary by Tourism MediaGroup, 29.3 per cent of the atten-dees from Meeting and EventManagement companies saidtheir annual MICE endorsementis between one to five millioneuros and 20 per cent of thecompanies have five million

euros endorsement. About 3.8per cent of the companies haveless than €50,000 endorsement.On the other hand, 22 per centof the attendees from hotels andvenues have MICE endorse-ment of €100,000 – €500,000and 21 per cent have endorse-ment of €10,00,000 –€30,00,000. About 7.2 per centof the companies have €10 mil-lion of endorsement. All thesenumbers show that the growingpotential of MICE industry inTurkey is still in progress.

QWhat are the latesttrends in MICE mar-

ket and which is theemerging MICE destina-tion in the world?

Mobile social event net-working, multi-event App plat-forms, technological optionsfor live events and hybrid meet-ings are so popular nowadays.In terms of sustainabiltytrends, the green meetings areso preferable. Regarding des-tinations I can mention aboutIstanbul which became anexcellent choice for events inrecent years. Istanbul offers anunique opportunity to theattendees with direct flights,congress centers, event ven-ues, hotel capacities whichmake it more attractive.

QWhat kind of stepsis the Turkish Govt

taking to encourageMICE tourism into thecountry?

Turkish government sup-ports convention bureaus inTurkey such as Istanbul,Ankara, İzmir and Antalya tomake Turkey a well-knowndestination through marketingactivities.

Growing MICE endorsements by companies in Turkey makes it an idealdestination to host the ACE of MICE Exhibition in 2016. Exhibition DirectorBeyza Aksit tells about the preparations underway to bring togetherMICE professionals of the world on a single platform from March 16-18.

Turkey’s MICE offerings

Beyza AksitExhibition Director ACE of MICE Exhibition

Istanbul Calling330 Exhibitors, 300International Buyers andmore than 300 HostedBuyers are expected atACE of MICE 2016

29.3% of the attendeesfrom MICE companies’annual endorsement isbetween one to five mil-lion euros

SHIVANI KAUL

Vinod Kothari passes awayFounder of Aero Agencies

The travel fraternity offers sincere condolenceson the passing away of veter an tourism professional,Vinod Kothari. He was 92.

Born on Dec 3, 1922, Kothari was the FounderDirector of the 66-year-old IATA agency ‘Aero AgenciesLimited’ which he formed in 1949. He served asPresident of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI)from 1987-1988 and retired as the senior most IATAtravel agent.

Kothari was Past Director of Odisha Tourism, HotelCorporation and was the only TAAI president who occu-pied each and every elected office in TAAI. He is sur-vived by his daughter and grand children.

Kothari has been a luminary of the travel tradeindustry and contributed tremendously to its progressin several ways. He continued to guide the Aero Teamwith his vast and immense knowledge and experienceand vision.

OBITUARYRezNext partners with RAVHAR RezNext has announced part-

nership with RAVHAR, a leadinghospitality company providingcentral reservations and point of sale solutions to hotelsand resorts under the brandname HOSTS. HOSTS-Wincaters to the unique require-ments of leisure stay properties,especially the resort segment.The product is currently beingused in over 500 propertiesacross North India. HOSTS-Win

and RezNext’s intelligent distri-bution platform will now be tightlyintegrated. RAVHAR is joiningthe RezNext league of leadingPMS partners globally.RezNext’s most recent PMSpartnership was with Hotelogix.

“We are happy to wel-come RAVHAR as ourstrategic PMS partner. Weare growing our customerbase aggressively and havea PMS agnostic strategy toensure hoteliers in our mar-kets are able to fully benefit

from the real-time online dis-tribution model,” said MikeKistner, CEO, RezNextGlobal Solutions. “RAVHARis a preferred PMS technolo-gy vendor for several 3-5 starhotels and resorts in NorthIndia. This partnership with uswill now allow them to offer acomplete distribution solutionsuite to their existing and newcustomer base.”

According to Amarjit

Singh, CEO, RAVHAR, “We see great synergies withRezNext in improving our penetration in the resort seg-ment. RezNext’s intelligent dis-tribution technology supportsa dynamic business modelacross, packages, pricing andreporting functionality. Thisfunctionality along with thespecialised revenue manage-ment services offered byRezNext will help us meet thegrowing needs of our clienteleand allow them to maximisethe revenue opportunity.”

Mike KistnerCEO, RezNext Global Solutions

Amarjit SinghCEO, RAVHAR


OPPORTUNITY O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 4 9


5 0 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5

Ethiopian Airlines MumbaiTadesse Tilahun has joined Ethiopian Airlines as its Area Manager– India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Tilahun joined

Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, inOctober 2000 as a Flight Control Agent in

Flight Operations. He later moved to theMarketing Division as Senior MarketingOfficer. He was appointed as Traffic andSales Manager, Northern India, until hisrecent appointment as Area Manager

Indian Subcontinent. Tilahun holds M.Sc.degree in Applied Mathematics from

Addis Ababa University.

Berggruen Hotels GoaBerggruen Hotels, which operates in India under the brand name ofKeys Hotels, has appointed Rajeev Thapa as the General Manager

of Keys Resort Ronil, Goa. Thapa joins KeysResort Ronil, Goa with over 18 years of

experience in the hospitality industry.He was previously associated withbrands such as Taj, Leela, Le Meridienand Park Hotels. Thapa holds aDiploma in Hotel Management andCatering Technology from the Institute

of Advanced Management, Kolkataand a diploma in Hospitality

Management from American Hotel& Motel Association,

Michigan.

Double Tree by Hilton Pune Sahdav Mehta has been appointed as the General Manager ofDouble Tree by Hilton hotel, Pune. Mehta has over 15 years of expe-rience in hospitality. Prior to joining DoubleTree by Hilton, Mehta was leading theF&B team at the Marriott Pune as theExecutive Chef. At Double Tree, Mehtarecently guided the transition from araw project stage to a fully operationaland vibrant hotel. In his new role, Mehtawill be responsible for budgeting andfinancial management, planning, organ-ising and directing all hotel services,including front-of-house, foodand beverage operations,and housekeeping.

Radisson Blu Plaza DelhiAditya Singh has joined Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi as its Director forSales and Marketing. He will be spearheading the Room Sales,Catering Sales, Marketing and Revenue divi-sions in addition to building and honing adynamic sales team. In his 19 years ofindustry experience, Singh has workedwith several international hotel chains.Recently, he was associated withKempenski Ambience Hotel, Delhi, asDirector of Sales & Marketing. Prior to thathe also headed sales & marketing for TheGrand, JW Marriott (Chandigarh), HyattRegency Delhi, among others.

Novotel Hyderabad Airport HyderabadRoshan Rajpal has joined Novotel Hyderabad Airport as EAM. Her lastassignment with AccorHotels was with Novotel Bangalore Techpark

where she was heading Sales & Marketingfor all five multi-brand Accor hotels in

Bengaluru. Rajpal has 24 years ofexperience in Sales & Marketingacross Accor, Carlson, IHG & inSouth India. She is also certified inRevenue Management; a graduateof Academie Accor’s InternationalHospitality Management Program

and has most recently under-gone Hotel Operations

Training at the SofitelBKC in Mumbai.

Courtyard by Marriott AhmedabadCourtyard by Marriott Ahmedabad has appointed Gaurav Apte asthe General Manager. Apte has 14 years invested in the hospitalityindustry wearing multiple hats of responsi-bility, and more to come. He conductsactivities to drive financial results, guestand associate satisfaction and garner alarger market share. Before his move toAhmedabad, Apte was the ResidentManager at Bengaluru Marriott WhitefieldHotel, from June 2014. In his earlier stint,Gaurav served as the Front Office Manager(July 2009 to September 2010) and laterDirector of Rooms (October 2010to July 2012) in Courtyard byMarriott Hinjewadi, Pune.

Radisson Hotel IndoreAnubhav Bhan has been appointed as Director of Sales & Marketingby Radisson Hotel Indore. Bhan comes with over 12 years of industry

experience. He has previously worked with brands like NovotelMumbai Juhu Beach, The OrchidMumbai, Four Points by Sheraton Pune,and Radisson Pune. He holds aBachelors degree in HotelManagement and catering technologyfrom Banarasidas Chandiwala Institute

of Hotel management.

Piccadily HotelsNew DelhiSudhir Chawla has been appointed as the Director of Sales - Leisure& MICE by Piccadily Hotels, New Delhi. Chawla has 10 years of

industry experience. Before coming toPiccadily, he was associated with FourPoints by Sheraton Jaipur, Accor, Royal Orchid Hotels, and AvalonHospitality. Chawla holds a Bachelorsfrom IHM Chandigarh and Masters in Hospitality Administration from IHM

Pusa, New Delhi.

Bird TravelsNew DelhiPraful Khosla been appointed as the Executive Vice President ofBird Travels. Khosla has held senior leadership and management

positions in various organisations in travel &aviation Industries and has worked with

multiple international airlines. He bringswith him a rich experience of 16 yearsin Strategic Planning & BusinessDevelopment. As Executive Vice

President, he would be overall responsiblefor sales, marketing & business develop-

ment of our existing business and willspearhead the growth in new

business opportunities.

Puneet Chhatwal, CEO, Steigenberger Group, says, “Inmy free time, which I could never imagine I would have, I goto the forest behind my house and take a 6-10 km walk everyweekend if I am there. I have been fortunate that the nature ofmy job has taken me all over the world so I don't really havea preference for a particular city orcountry in terms of favouritelocations. However, I like Indiaas much as South Africa,Scandinavia or even the bigcities like Paris, Milan, Londonand Rome. Every country, cityor culture has somethingdifferent to offer and for me it’salways about taking the bestfrom every place andhaving a goodtime.”

Nick J Parker, Head India and Middle East, Virgin AtlanticAirways, says, “India is just amazing, there is so much to dohere. Everywhere you go, there is so much history and so muchdiversity.” Parker, who has been in India for a year now, hasseen states of Jaipur, Punjab, and Kolkata. He mostly travelsfor work and wishes to take a tripsoon with his wife and two kids.“The food is amazing. Myfamily is loving it here too.”Parker is an ardent fan ofBollywood actress PriyankaChopra and says he likes towatch Bollywood movies once in a while.

Nalin Mandiratta, General Manager, Crowe Plaza Today,Gurgaon, says, “In my spare time which I rarely get, I liketo spend quality time with my family. Also if I can, I love toplay cricket. There are many destinations that I enjoyvisiting. When visiting international destinations, Mauritiusis one of my favourites, for its beautiful beaches. We visit Singapore, Thailand,mostly for shopping! InIndia too there are manyplaces I like going to likeGoa, etc. Also I am a bigmovie buff! Watching allbollywood and hollywoodmovies is my best bet in spare time!”

Talking People is a special dedicated corner, created as a sounding board for who’s who of the Indian and International travel industry. With Talking People, it is our endeavour to bring you face-to-face with people.Contributed by: Kanchan Nath & Shivani Kaul

MOVEMENTS


Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2015-16-17; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2015-17 for posting on 1st-2nd and 16th-17th

of the same month at New Delhi PSO, New Delhi - 110001, RNI No.: 53492/1991Date of Publication:30-09-2015

QHow has Virgin Atlantic Airways’15-year journey in India been?Parker: It’s been fantastic 15 years.

We’ve come a long way since we startedwith flying couple of times per week on a747. We now fly daily on our latest aircraft,the 787, and over that time we have devel-oped a huge following in India.

Duggal: Indian market has reallygrown in the past 15 years on the Londonand US route and we seemore and more people beingaware of what they reallywant when they are bookinga ticket or flying internation-ally. When it comes to VirginAtlantic, we see that peoplereally are looking forward tobooking with us more sobecause of our constantinnovation. So we see thereis a huge potential there,specially to the London andthe US route.

QTell us about yourrecent code-share with Jet

Airways.Parker: We have expanded our

code-share with Jet Airways, so we haveadded a second daily code-share flightfrom Mumbai across to London, connect-ing Mumbai effectively with our trans-Atlantic network. More recentlywe’ve got four new points within India withJet Airways that connect both over Delhiand Mumbai. So it really does help usexpand our reach within India, giving ourcustomers more choice to pick up ourservices and experience.

Duggal: We are very focused on ourlatest code-share expansion with JetAirways from Hyderabad, Chennai,Bangalore and Kolkata. The reason wehave Jet as a partner is that they also areequally focused on customer service likeus. We want all the customers to comeexperience Virgin Atlantic, travel with usto London or the US, or even if they haveto go over Mumbai, there is endlessopportunity. We connect over 100 desti-nations in the US with Delta, our joint ven-ture partner.

QWhat special products are you including to attract more

Indian flyers?

Duggal: We see today passengersare flying with gadgets like smartphonesand iPads that never used to happen inthe past. So we give them options to usethese gadgets that they are flying withinthe flight they can plug in to the screensand watch what they want. Besides thatwe are very focused on Indian food. Wehave dedicated Indian crew, we make surewe have the latest Bollywood or Hollywoodmovies so we are not leaving anythingunnoticed for our Indian passengers andwe continually evolve products for them.

QAny promotional packages thatyou have come out for the

agents and trade?Duggal: Trade is very important for

us. We deal very closely with them inIndia. Currently to focus more on thetrade community we are strengtheningour call centre and sale support as wesee more and more calls coming in fromthe new code-share cities that we havestarted. Besides, we have also started aVS Flying hub which is our trade-dedicat-ed website, where they can log in andfind out updates about VS. We keep com-ing out with packages for them wherethey can win cool gadgets, lifestylevouchers, movie tickets etc.

QAre there any plans to expandthe Premium Economy section

on your 787-9 Dreamliner?Parker: I think with the Premium

Economy cabin it is always about makingsure you’ve got the right number of seatsnot just for any particular route. So whenwe look at the 787, that number of seats(35) is brilliant for optimizing the cabinspace onboard and so it’s a great config-uration on the India route. The time is tomake the Indian public more and moreaware of the Premium Economy cabin,then clearly there is opportunity in the

future to look at putting more aircraft onthe route with a larger configuration.

QSo are Indians flying moredirectly to the UK or is it coming

more transit?Parker: We are doing pretty well on

the India to London sector but clearly nowwe have got our joint ventures as well withDelta across the Atlantic, that opens up ahuge amount of options for people. Wehave just started our new operations intoDetroit, flying to Atlanta, key hubs in the

US which you can connectto Tier II and III cities withinthe US as well.

QHow has e-TouristVisa changed trav-

elling to India?Parker: Anything that

strengthens ties betweenUK and India is great for theroutes. We are so excitedthat the e-Tourist Visa is nowbeing extended to the UKmarket, that’s fantastic newsnot just for the airlines but forIndia tourism. There are so

many people who would like to come in toIndia who would have been put off before.There is a huge opportunity for India nowencouraging so many people to travel.

QWhen all other airlines are cutting down on baggage,

VS is offering 3 extra baggages to students. Does that attract more people?

Duggal: It is an attraction. We seemore students and IT professionals book-ing with us, who are travelling one way tothe UK or the US. They love that allowance,they can carry lot of stuff with them, espe-cially on the premium economy. It’s hugelypopular in India. We see people travellingwith us from areas where we are not evenonline and connect with us just to get thatextra baggage allowance.

QTell us about the celebrations thatyou carry out during festivals.Duggal: We encourage our airport

team and crew to celebrate with the pas-sengers during festival time either on check-in or on board. We design special foodmenus for them, we’ve done special giveaways at the counters, we also do tilakceremonies. Last time when India went tovote we offered anyone who voted that dayan upgrade to get a lounge.

Nick J Parker, Head of India and Middle East, Virgin Atlantic Airways, andSameer Duggal, Head of Sales-India, Virgin Atlantic Airways, spoke toabout their latest code-share with Jet Airways and the Indian flying experience.

Virgin Atlantic: 15 years and counting

DEEPA SETHI & SHIVANI KAUL

Sameer Duggal and Nick J Parker


ddppl.com travtalkindiatravtalkindia.com/pdf/2015/10-oct-2015-1.pdf2015/10/10 · vol. xxvii issue...

Documents