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` 50/-A DDP PUBLICATIONVol. XXVI No. 7; April 1st fortnight issue 2014 Pages: 40 (Excluding covers)

27-03-2014_FINAL_TRAV TALK APRIL_1st:TT Layout 4/1/2014 11:32 AM

27-03-2014_FINAL_TRAV TALK APRIL_1st:TT Layout 4/1/2014 11:32 AM

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APRIL 1ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2014 TRAVTALK 1

Two months before,Parvez Dewan,Secretary, Ministry of

Tourism, Govt of India, had hint-ed at a possible tie-up with aworld-renowned hotel manage-ment institute to support a 360-degree upgrade in the curricu-lum of government-run hoteland tourism management institutes. The move wasexpected to bring an enhancedskill-set to service visitors toIndia and upgrade not just the

curriculum, but also improveteaching methods.

Confirming this, Dewansaid, “There are no more ‘ifs’

and ‘buts’ left, Lausanne is part-nering with IHM. All formalitieshave been fulfilled, we have gotthe permission and we havealready sent the first install-

ment of fees to the EcoleHoteliere de Lausanne. Thefirst batch from Lausanne isarriving in Mumbai later thismonth.” He went on to mentionthat they had been in contactwith 6 of the top hotel institutesin the world, out of which twoof them had agreed to partner.

Talking about what thepartnership entails, he said, “All IHMs and probably private sector institutes affiliated to

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIAAll formalities have been fulfilled, we have got the permission and we have already sent the first installment of fees to the EcoleHoteliere de Lausanne

The world’s best for IHM students

Contd. on page 6Parvez DewanSecretaryMinistry of Tourism, Govt of India

The IHMs’ tie-up with Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne will see the first batch from Lausannearriving in Mumbai later this month. The Indian Culinary Institute has also been formallyapproved and will open with 4 branches in Kolkata, Pinjore, Noida and Tirupati.

NewsBulletinClearing the skies for UAE carriers

See full story on page 4

Election Tourismfor int’l tourists


Saying ‘YES’ to growth in Indian tourism


OTOAI’s 1st

chapter meet inChennai


What heritage trains arecurrently running inIndia?

There are lots of heritagetrains running in the country,

some are in the luxury seg-ment. The Palace on Wheelswas initially a heritage train asit had many saloons of theMaharajas. Later on, thosesaloons were discarded andthey came out with new trains.

All the luxury trains which are there right now are actually new trains.

The only heritage train inIndia is the Fairy Queen thatwas started in the year 1997.

It’s hauled by the oldest running steam engine in theworld and it runs twice a monthduring October to Marchbetween Delhi and Alwar.

Ashwani Lohani, Chief Administrative Officer, Indian Railways Organisationfor Alternate Fuels (IROAF), says that for inbound tourism to grow in Indiathe number of flights to the country has to be increased.

Railways chugs along heritage tourism

Ashwani LohaniChief Administrative OfficerIROAF

TT BU R E AU

Contd. on page 4

27-03-2014_FINAL_TRAV TALK APRIL_1st:TT Layout 4/1/2014 11:32 AM Page 1

NEWS

The IATO elections are to beheld on April 26, 2014 at

The Park Hotel, ParliamentStreet, New Delhi. Electionswill be held as per the Article11 of the Memorandum ofAssociation for the offices ofPresident, Senior Vice-

President, Vice-President,Honorary Secretary, HonoraryJoint Secretary, HonoraryTreasurer, five ExecutiveCommittee Members (Active) and Three ExecutiveMembers (Allied) to be elected by the Active Membersof the Association.

Praveen Chugh, MD &CEO, TSI Yatra, has beenappointed as the Returning

Officer for the elections. Thelast date for the ReturningOfficer to receive the nomina-

tion form was March 21 andthe last date for withdrawal ofnomination was 3 pm onMarch 26.

Before going to presswhen we got in touch withSubhash Goyal, President,IATO, he said, “I have filed mynomination for president.Since I have been travellingand haven’t seen the list, Idon’t really know much aboutwho all have filed their nomi-nations. However, we can geta clear picture only afterMarch 27 as March 26 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations.”

Lally Matthews,Honorary Secretary, IATO, too said that things willbecome clear only afterMarch 26, “Many people have filed their nominationsand right now, people havefilled their names for 2-3posts, but we can get a better idea only after March26. One thing is for sure thatthere will be no consensusand that there will be an election. I have also filed my nomination.”

Its members have filed their respective nominations for the posts in the association, and Praveen Chugh has been appointed as the Returning Officer for the elections.

IATO gets ready for elections in April

TT BUREAU

Praveen ChughReturning OfficerIATO Elections

People havefilled theirnames for 2-3 posts,but we canget a betteridea only afterMarch 26

Since I havebeen travellingand haven’tseen the list, Idon’t reallyknow muchabout who allhave filed theirnominations

Subhash GoyalPresidentIATO

Lally MatthewsHonorary SecretaryIATO


NEWS

VIEWPOINT

Every year, after the exams are over inschools and before the beginning of

the new academic year, families head outfor holidays together. It can be to themountains in the North, or the seaside inthe South. It’s fun time… for them, and forthe travel fraternity that normally pulls in alot of business at this time of the year.

2014, however, is going to be a leantime both for travel and tour operators andhotels in April/May, because of theElections starting from the second weekof April and ending in the third week of May.People are very enthusiastic about theirvoting rights, especially first-time youngvoters. Bookings domestically have takena beating… even international travel is atan all-time low.

With the entire country going to thepolls, most people feel it would be sensibleto ‘stay put’ at home this summer. They arestill wary of travelling to Thailand, and nowMalaysia will not be the first-on-minddestination, at least for a few months.Singapore will, nevertheless, continue tobe popular as a three-to-four day trip.

The industry is hoping that there will bea jump in travel as soon as elections areover, while summer holidays are still on.There is also talk about the Rupee gainingground against the Dollar. This wouldtranslate to international airfares becominga little more affordable, which would help parents travelling to their childrenstudying abroad.

Thinking out-of-the-box, ‘ElectionTourism’ is the new sales concept. Takinggroups on guided tours of active electionareas with a feeling of safety and in acontrolled environment is a novel idea,especially for people who want to see how elections take place in the world’slargest democracy.

Holiday travel amidst Elections

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

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Emirates Airlines currentlyoperates to 10 Indian

cities, while flyDubai operatesto three, with Ahmedabad andHyderabad common to bothcarriers’ networks. The addi-tional 11,000 weekly seatswould allow Emirates to intro-duce A-380s on the majority ofits five daily services toMumbai and four daily servicesto Delhi, currently operated byA330/A340/777 aircraft. Someof the entitlements may also beallocated to flyDubai to openadditional points of call in India.The current 55,000 weeklyseat entitlements for each sideby approximately 20 per centon a staged basis over the next13 months.

The first tranche of 5,500additional seats available fromthe upcoming summer 2014schedule would allow Emiratesto ramp up to four daily depar-tures from Delhi and/orMumbai. Permission to operatethe A-380 on Indian routes istimely for Emirates, which willface temporary slot constraintsat Dubai Airport between May-2014 and July-2014 dueto runway upgrades.

India has separate bilat-erals with different emirates of

the UAE. As a result of theexpanded bilateral agreementsthat India has signed withDubai and Abu Dhabi over thepast 12 months, weekly entitle-ments for UAE carriers willincrease to over 135,000 seatsby 2015/16.

Including the points ofcall available to Indian carriersfrom which Jet Airways will beable to operate to Abu Dhabi,hubs in the UAE can be fedfrom 26 points in India. Thisrepresents a massive increasefrom the 10,400 seats availableto six cities in 2003/04. And itdwarfs the access offered toany single other country; it isalmost as much as all

European countries combined,which have just over 160,000seats available to them.

In addition, the majorityof the Indian bilateral entitle-ments to Abu Dhabi areexpected to be utilised by JetAirways operating a coordinat-ed network and schedule withEtihad. As a result the numberof weekly seats feeding hubsin the UAE is likely to be closerto 170,000-175,000.

Indian LCCs are currentlyaveraging load factors in therange of 70-75 per cent onroutes to Dubai and are notfaced with an urgent need tofurther expand capacity. And

indeed the viability of servicesfrom Delhi and Mumbai maycome under further pressureas a result of competition fromEmirates A380s on theseroutes.

However, SpiceJetreportedly submitted a planseeking an additional 12,000weekly seats to Dubai, 10,000seats to Abu Dhabi and22,000-24,000 seats to Doha- although it has yet not fullyutilised the seats to Dubai allo-cated to it previously. The pro-posed growth in operations tothese three points alone isalmost three times the size ofSpiceJet’s total internationalseat capacity at present.

In February, India and Dubai agreed to liberalise their bilateral air servicesagreement, increasing weekly seat entitlements for each side by 20%. Thismakes the UAE the largest market for India, far above the UK, Germany,Singapore and Thailand, according to a recent CAPA report.

Clearing the skies for UAE carriers

RAMYA JS D’ROZARIO

Increasing Capacity

� The current 55,000 weekly seatentitlements for each side byapproximately 20 per cent on astaged basis over the next 13 months

� This increase is almost as much asall European countries combined,which have just over 160,000 seatsavailable to them.

Where the train is the destinationWhat do you make ofinbound tourism inIndia? Do you think2014 will be better than2013?

The number of touristswho can come to India fromoutside India is directlydependent on the air-seatsthat we have got. Till date, wehave not come to a stagewhere our flights are goingempty, our flights are fairly fulland the load factor is fairlyhigh. We should look atincreasing the number offlights as we now have largeairports. Around 10 years

back, Delhi and Mumbai hadsmaller airports, now the sce-nario has changed. We have toget more flights and build morebig airports at different places.

What about the new visa rules that the government is planning to introducefor foreigners?

The new visa rules willhelp to ease inbound tourismand also ease the hassles ofinbound tourists, but how farthe numbers will increase thatwill depend on the number ofair seats between India andthe rest of the world.

How is rail tourism faring so far in India?

We are promoting heritage tourism. We have created a heritage site at Rewari and we runthese heritage trains and luxury trains. IRCTC is doinga lot to promote rail tourism.But rail tourism has twomeanings, one is rail tourism per se where you travel on a train and the trainitself is the destination, andthe second is that the traintakes you to various touristdestinations, and in bothaspects the railways is playinga major part.

Contd. from page 1

� To emerge as a worldclass organisation insetting standards indevelopment, researchand execution in fuel andenergy efficient and eco-friendly technologies

� IROAF will enable IndianRailways become aresponsible eco-friendlyorganisation throughintroduction of AlternateEnergy, Fuel-Efficient andEmission ControlTechnologies

IROAF Vision


The Maharashtra’s luxurytrain – Deccan Odyssey is

in the process of finalising prod-ucts for the coming season,starting October 2014.Considering the need for flexi-bility by international anddomestic tourists, theMaharashtra TourismDevelopment Corporation(MTDC) is going to introduce‘short-break’ itineraries. Withthis, tourists can opt for itiner-aries ranging from two nights toeight nights. Moreover, the cor-

poration is also consideringadding more itineraries by seg-menting the tourism products –wildlife, beaches, heritage, cul-ture, etc. To bring in the besttourism products on the track, itwill extend the trips to neigh-bouring states – MadhyaPradesh, Goa, Gujarat andKarnataka. Thus, DeccanOdyssey will be offeringfocussed itineraries with flexiblenumber of stays, startingOctober 2014. Currently, the lux-ury train offers only two itiner-aries, each of seven nights andeight days.

Jagdish Patil, ManagingDirector, MTDC, said, “DeccanOdyssey, as a tourism product,is performing well. However,there was a need to make itmore accessible and flexible forinternational and Indian trav-ellers, especially travellers trav-

elling on tight schedule. Throughthe new products, we are posi-tive to receive excellentresponse for the luxury train inthe coming season.” Apart frompromoting the luxury train in

domestic and international mar-kets, the corporation is also busypromoting and engaging trav-ellers in fairs and festivals of thestate. After promoting multiplefruit festivals (Chiku, Mangoes

and Strawberries), MTDCrecently concluded the 25th edi-tion of Elephanta Festival.Organised in Mumbai, the festi-val witnessed participation ofnational and international per-

formers paying tribute to theisland of art and heritage –Elephanta. This festival was

aimed at attractingand involving not only touristsfrom Maharashtra, but also fromacross and outside India.

Going strong on fairs and festivals segment, Deccan Odyssey will be offeringfocussed itineraries with flexible number of stays, starting October 2014. Currently,the luxury train offers only two itineraries, each of seven nights and eight days.

AN I TA JA I N

A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 5STATES

There was a needto make it moreaccessible andflexible forinternational andIndian travellers,especially travellerstravelling on tight schedule

Jagdish PatilManaging DirectorMTDC

For the travellers who are keen to explore the popular Ralegan Siddhi village of the

activist Anna Hazare, MTDC has brought the village on tourism map. Under the new ‘social

circuit tourism’ sector, the corporation is offering tours to the popular destinations connected

to social reforms. Apart from Ralegan Siddhi, ashrams set up by some well-known reformers

like Vinoba Bhave and Baba Amte; an orphanage centre in Pune run by Sindhutai Sabkar;

Hiware Bazaar village in Ahmednagar (known for its water-conservation projects introduced

by Popatrao Pawar); Vigyan Ashram educational project (by Dr SS Kalbag), etc., are among

the other centres which have been chosen for the ‘social circuit tourism’.

More choices aboard Deccan OdysseyGoing the ‘Anna Hazare’ route


The Outbound TourOperators Association of

India (OTOAI) recently hostedits first chapter meet inChennai. The idea was toappreciate efforts of its mem-bers and acknowledge supportof stakeholders, includingDMCs, regulators, governmentagencies and tour operators,along with facilitating member-ship from the region.

According to GurdeepGujral, Head-Chapters,OTOAI, the event was a hugesuccess. “Although we havemembers in this region, wewant to widen our reach inChennai, Thiruvananthapuram,Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Wehad confirmation from 120 touroperators, but 145 peopleturned up at the event. Thechapter meet is expected toboost our numbers in theSouth. Currently, there are over30 members in the region, and

by July we expect another 70members,” he informed.

Talking about initiatives inthe near future, he added, “The

association will appoint citycoordinators to work withregional chapter heads in orderto expand and strengthen ourregional presence. We are

looking at city coordinators inBengaluru and Hyderabad.OTOAI currently has threechapters – Western, Southernand Eastern.” The first chaptermeet was organised inMumbai in December 2012.“The objective is to host ourchapter meets in all regions toprovide our members trainingin collaboration with variousNTOs to help them to sell des-tinations effectively. The nextchapter meet will be held inKolkata in August,” he revealed.

BA Rahim, Chairman,Chapter-South, OTOAI, point-ed out, “South India has alwaysgenerated a lot of outboundtravel for South-East Asia andMEA. However, we are seeingnew emerging markets inSouth Africa, New Zealand andholidays to Bora Bora andSouth America. However, thechallenge is the lack of education for outbound travelagents and that needs to betackled.”

The association is gearing up to increase its membership in the Southernregion. The first chapter meet was aimed at providing members training incollaboration with NTOs to help them sell destinations effectively.

OTOAI’s 1st chapter meet in Chennai

ME G H A PAU L

We are seeingnew markets inSouth Africa, New Zealand,Bora Bora andSouth America

To start with, we are looking at citycoordinators inBengaluru andHyderabad

Gurdeep GujralHead-ChaptersOTOAI

BA RahimChairman, Chapter-SouthOTOAI

ASSOCIATIONS6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

IHMs, will have a curriculum ofthe same standard asLausannne in 2-3 years time.Our teachers will be trained bypeople from Lausanne and thenthey, in turn, will train the stu-dents. Our laboratories andequipment will be of the samestandard as Lausanne.”

But that was not the onlygood news that Dewanannounced. He also talkedabout the Indian CulinaryInstitute being formallyapproved. He further elaborat-ed that the ICI will be a repos-itory of every single recipe inIndia. The ICI will have fourbranches from its inception -in Kolkata, Pinjore, Noida and its headquarters will be in Tirupati.

Dewan informed that theKolkata centre might be the firstto kick off as they already havetwo floors in Salt Lake City inKolkata. He said the Kolkatacampus may take a year or ayear-and-a-half, to begin oper-ations.

He said, “The opening ofthe ICI concerns everyone in thetourism industry. Right now, peo-ple have to be retrained on foodbecause the IHMs’ training onfood is a minor part of the cur-riculum. The students will betrained in all the cuisines popularin India, be it Thai, Vietnameseor Chinese, but the primaryresponsibility is towards Indiancuisine. The course includes notjust training, but also research;and students will also be trainedon molecular gastronomy.”

Also, a culinary institute Contd. from page 1

India’s VoA increases 1.7% in Feb 2014India has registered a growth of 1.7 in Visa-on-Arrival scheme. Atotal of 1,980 VoAs were issued in February 2014, as compared to1,947 VoAs during the month of February 2013. VoAs issued underthis scheme during February 2014 were mainly for 11 countries:Japan (539), New Zealand (389), Indonesia (299), the Philippines(283), Singapore (258), Finland (127), Myanmar (30), Vietnam(24), Luxembourg (18), Cambodia (10) and Laos (3).

DID YOU KNOW?


According to Luis Sousa,Managing Director,

Mr. Travel Portugal, the Indianmarket has a great potentialand Indians are evolving intoexperiential travellers on thelookout for unique and high-

end destinations and experi-ences. “While the Indian mar-ket has not notched as muchgrowth as the company would

like, it is slowly picking up.Tapping a market the size ofIndia is a challenge. Almost 60per cent of our business isMICE and luxury FITs. From

India, we mostly see clientswho have an international con-vention to attend in Lisbon. Wehope to see more from theIncentives market now,” hesaid. Also, Portugal is lessexpensive than otherEuropean destinations. Thus,this can be a big factor for

drawing MICE travellers toPortugal, he added.

The luxury DMC, Mr. Travel Portugal, has formeda consortium of high-end sup-pliers called ‘The PrivateCollection of Portugal’ to tap theIndian market, especially the

leisure and MICE segments.The DMC, one of the biggest inPortugal also appointed AvantGarde Consulting as IndiaRepresentative. “As a DMC, wehave been targetting the Indianmarket since 2010 and startedcoming to India for roadshowsfrom 2011,” Sousa pointed out.

Regarding the promo-tional strategy for the Indianmarket, Sheetal Munshaw ofAvant Garde Consultancyelaborated, “We are planningto organise customised FAMtrips, sales missions and tacti-cal promotions and events toincrease awareness in the

Indian market for Portugal as aluxury tourism destination. Weare focussing on highlighting‘travel with taste’, promotingtheir personalised services,including off the beaten trackexperiences, insightful jour-neys to uncommon places anddiscovering local flavours.”

The luxury DMC, Mr. Travel Portugal, has formed a consortium of high-end suppliers called ‘The Private Collection of Portugal’to tap the Indian market, especially the leisure and MICE segments.

Affordable Portugal a big draw for MICETT BU R E AU

A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 7NTO

From India, wemostly see clientswho have aninternationalconvention toattend in Lisbon.We hope to tapincentives market

Luis SousaManaging DirectorMr. Travel Portugal

We are focussingon ‘travel withtaste’, including offthe beaten trackexperiences andinsightful journeysto uncommonplaces

Sheetal Munshaw Avant Garde Consultancy


ASSOCIATIONS

Adventure tour operators notjust offer travellers a journey

off the beaten track, but theyalso do things differently. Adventure Tour OperatorsAssociation of India (ATOAI) hasdone just this by hosting theirconvention this year at Shivpuriin Uttarakhand.

Talking about the choiceof Shivpuri as a destination,Ojha informs, “When the ‘777days of Indian Himalayas’ waslaunched in Sept 2013, thetourism representatives fromUttarakahand made an appealthat we should think of comingto Uttarakhand for the conven-tion. That got us thinking, eventhough we had already initiatedthe process with Himachal. InNovember, we finally decidedto have it in Uttarakhand. Wehad the convention inDehradun 4-5 years ago, so wethought that we had to dosomething new. Also, since it isa convention of adventure touroperators, we thought it shouldbe slightly different from thegeneral tourism conventions.”

Ojha says Shivpuri as adestination for the conventionwas pushed by the fact that

they wanted to give back to thestate that had given them somuch. He says, “People wereskeptical about visitingUttarakhand after last year’snatural disaster, and manythought that the state might beclosed for 2-3 years. However,

Uttarakhand is back in busi-ness, and we thought it wouldbe a great experience for anew format.”

Uttarakhand ChiefMinister Harish Rawat willinaugurate the convention,which will be from March 25-27. The attendees includeAnand Kumar, JointSecretary, MoT; AmritaRawat, Uttarakhand Ministerfor Tourism, and SatpalMaharaj, MP. Commenting onthe theme of ‘Create, Connect,Catalyse and Conserve’, Ojhasays, “From a product/market-ing move, adventure tourismmoves around these 4 pillarsof ‘Create, Connect, Catalyseand Conserve’.”

Unlike the regular con-ventions, the ATOAI meet willnot be done in the presentationformat. “We want the seniorofficials from the forest, tourismand other relevant depart-ments to form a panel, headedby the joint secretary, AnandKumar. We have 4 moderators- Ajit Bajaj, Mandeep SinghSoin, Salil Paul and TejbirAnand - who are creating aquestion bank of relevant

Rajesh Ojha, ATOAI Convention Chairman, says choosingShivpuri as the venue for the ATOAI Convention this year istheir way of giving back to the state of Uttarakhand.

Giving back to Uttarakhand

TTBU R E AU

Uttarakhand isback inbusiness, andwe thought that this would be agreatexperience for a new format

Rajesh OjhaATOAI Convention Chairman

Contd. on page 11

The campaign, called ‘JhappiTime’ or hug time, is the first

campaign developed and exe-cuted by any Australian tourismbody, to specifically target the

visiting friends and relativesmarket, in India. More than onethird of Indian visitors come toNew South Wales to spend time

with their loved ones, and anoth-er third come for a holiday. Thus,by combining both segments,‘Jhappi Time’ will tap into theenormous potential of thesesegments.

“With a predicted 50 mil-lion outbound travellers by 2020,India is one of the world’s fastestgrowing travel markets, and thetarget of an innovative new dig-ital marketing campaign byDestination NSW that showcases the best of Sydneyand NSW to Indian visitors,” saidSandra Chipchase, CEO,Destination NSW. The cam-

paign was launched last monthin Sydney by the Premier ofNew South Wales, BarryO'Farrell.

Speaking about the partnership, Neelu Singh,COO, Ezeego1.com, said,"Ezeego1.com is the primarytravel partner and all packagesand deals for ‘Jhappi Time’have been designed to providefurther impetus to the growingVFR market from India. We willbe using a mix of digital mediaand innovative ideas, along-side PR to garner further eye-balls for this campaign."

As India is one of the important emerging markets toSydney and New South Wales (NSW) in Australia,Destination NSW launches a new marketing campaign.

NSW for hugs and VFR

TT BU R E AU

Sandra ChipchaseChief Executive OfficerDestination NSW


TECHNOLOGY

Wego has recentlylaunched the ‘Wego

Affiliate Network’ (WAN.travel)which supports travel business-es by providing the sameadvanced technology used byWego, adapting it to suit theirown site. “This powerful newplatform and set of tools enabletravel and tourism companies(through their respective web-sites) to add flight and hotelsearch features and generate asignificant new revenue streamfrom resulting activity. This fea-ture has been used by major air-ports, national tourism boardsand large travel portals that havecustomised and re-branded theWego experience and offered itas a feature for their own users,”Fernandez pointed out.

WAN.travel provides affil-iates with a variety of cus-tomised search boxes alongwith a white-labelled version ofWego’s meta-search product.“Simple point-and-click inter-faces allow affiliates to theme,brand and localise the widgetsand search result pages to suit their sites,” Fernandez maintained.

He also asserted that theWego platform is a consolida-tion of years of data trails left byWego users, and the companyhas extended this database toits travel industry partners. “Thevalue for travel businesses isunderstanding and targettingcustomers who are more likelyto be interested in their prod-ucts, rather than investing inmessaging of no relevance to

the user. The recent partnershipbetween Wego and Lotame isan extension of our solution. Wehave vast knowledge when itcomes to the travel purchasingfunnel, and can make a signifi-cant difference by sharing ourknowledge with other onlinetravel service providers,”Fernandez added.

According to him, Wego’sairline, hotel and OTA inventory

is growing rapidly both locallyand internationally. “Wego con-tinues to welcome new part-ners throughout all our estab-lished markets, growing eachregion exponentially,” hestressed. Wego is incorporat-ing new travel partnerships intosite inventory, which translatesinto a more comprehensiveshopping experience for usersand better commercial termsfor affiliates using theWAN.travel programme.

“Online travel serviceproviders who join the WegoAffiliate Network enjoy the

benefits of a dedicated account manager,” Fernandezunderlined.

Services apart, askedabout the present markettrends visible from their site heshared that Indians todayseek out travel experiencesbeyond the traditional destina-tions of the past. Especially,long weekends see a spike insearch activity as Indians are

more frequently making themost of their free time enjoy-ing quick getaways with familyor friends.

“Travellers today lookbeyond price and opt more tovalue for money. Mobile too,has boosted this spontaneitysupported by social mediawhich adds an informative andinspirational motivation to plantrips. For both business andpleasure, mobile connectivitygoes hand in hand with theconvenience of using meta-search making travel planningsimple and fast,” he felt.

Wego, a travel meta-search site, is offering a businessopportunity to travel agents to book tickets/rooms with airlines,hotels and OTAs. In conversation with , JacksonFernandez, MD, Wego.com, elaborates on this aspect.

Search support for agents

RATA N KR PAU L

Simple point-and-click interfacesallow affiliates totheme, brand andlocalise the widgetsand search resultpages to suit their sites

Jackson FernandezMD, Wego.com

8 new domestic flights from IndiGoIndiGo recently

announced eight new flightsconnecting seven destina-tions, Delhi, Hyderabad,Lucknow, Srinagar,Bhubaneshwar, Guwahatiand Dibrugarh.

Effective March 15, 2014,the airline will operate dailynon-stop flights betweenDelhi to Dibrugarh andreturn via Guwahati –Kolkata and Lucknow toSrinagar via Delhi. The air-line also announced thethird non-stop flight fromDelhi to Bhubaneshwar andGuwahati, fifth non-stopflight from Delhi to Lucknowand Srinagar and sixth non-

stop flight between Delhiand Hyderabad. Elaboratingon the new flights, AdityaGhosh, President andExecutive Director, IndiGosaid, “Dibrugarh is going tobe an important part of ourdestination network because

it holds good prospect fortravellers and studentsbelonging to the region inthe metropolitan cities. Weare committed to providingmaximum connectivity onour network by catering tovarious segments, and areconfident that these addi-tional flights will proveimmensely convenient forour passengers.” IndiGo isIndia's largest airline with amarket share of 28.2 percent as of December 2013.The airline currently operates internationalflights to 5 destinations,namely, Bangkok, Dubai,Kathmandu, Muscat andSingapore.

Aditya GhoshPresident and ExecutiveDirector, IndiGo


NEWS A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 1

As part of the understand-ing, the two Parties have

mutually agreed to club theirexpertise and work on grass-root development projects intourism. Also, they will under-take cutting edge research inthe sector, with major focus onleveraging the potential ofCollaborative CommunityStructures as an agent forsocial transformation.

Speaking at the launch,Manjula Chaudhary, Director,IITTM, said, “The tourism sec-tor has immense potential toinduce sustainable growth inIndia with knowledge andskilled manpower as biggest drivers.

IITTM is committedto develop knowledge andcapacity building intourism since itsinception and hasalways believed indiscovering newmodels of learning.

Industry academia part-nerships are great initiatives towork towards a holistic devel-opment model and this MoUwill help in bridging the knowl-edge gap in tourism. This stepis the starting point for moresuch partnerships to come.”

Commenting on this ini-tiative, Tushar Pandey, SeniorPresident & Country Head,Public & Social PoliciesManagement (PSPM), YesBank, said, “With its backwardand forward linkages and localconnect, tourism becomes an

important driver of equitablegrowth and prosperity offeringan alternative source of liveli-hood, development and growthin remote locations, preserva-tion of local skills, enterprise

development at the micro leveland sustainable environmentmanagement. We, at Yes Bank,firmly believe that tourism hasthe potential to trigger growthin many other sectors, and is a

powerful tool to achieve socialas well as financial inclusion.We are confident that suchpartnerships are well-poised tocreate real value for all stakeholders.”

Yes Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IndianInstitute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), the apex tourism & traveleducation institute of South Asia, to jointly work towards promoting andestablishing ourism as an important tool for socio-economic growth.

Saying ‘YES’ to growth in Indian tourism

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ATOAI settingthe theme topics, in terms of policy andinfrastructure. They will then beasking these questions to thepanel to get answers. The aimis always to come together ona single platform, network well,and transfer knowledge interms of new products andnew ways of connecting. Wewant to have a technology ini-tiative and we are trying to seeinteresting ways to connect,perception management andhow to connect the interestingproducts that we have.”

Contd. from page 8


ANALYSIS1 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

What is the concept ofElection Tourism?

Election Tourism is a firstof its kind in this industry. Here,international tourists exploreand understand our electoralsystems, experience healthyand peaceful elections, differ-

ent types of campaigning onvarious circuits and tour itiner-aries of India. We allow themto visit seminars organised by

political leaders for electionsand meeting them, dependingon the permission. Tourists canalso be a part of the debate ofnational parties during elec-tions. It is an ideal opportunityfor international students to doresearch on. It helps themunderstand and differentiateelection between rural andurban areas. The colour, noise,controversies and drama dur-ing the opinion polls would takeforeigners by storm. We look atit as a ‘festival’ without interfer-ing in the election process.

How was the responsefrom foreigners to thepoll tourism conceptthat was introduced inITB Berlin?

The concept ElectionTourism India was launched onMarch 5, 2014 at ITB Berlin.We got excellent feedbackfrom exhibitors, trade visitorsand local visitors of more than 100 countries. The maxi-mum interest for these

tours have been shown bycountries like Germany,France, Poland and London.We are also getting inquiriesfrom United Arab Emirates,Zimbabwe, Latvia, Lesotho,Kenya, Egypt and Ukraine.More than 95 universities andtop research institutes of theworld – who had participatedat ITB Berlin have shown inter-est in the concept and wish toproject election tourism in Indiaas a research course at theuniversities.

What is the cost of thepackage and what alldoes it include?

The tour cost will bestarting from US$1,200-1,600per person for 7 days, includingall transfers in luxury AC vehi-cles, accommodation in 3-5star hotels, all meals, English-speaking tour guide, all sight-seeing, exclusive visits to thedifferent areas for campaigningin rural and urban areas likerally, open public assembly,meeting with political leaders

like MLAs, MPs & local coun-cillors, subject to availability.

Will you be helped bythe political parties inthis initiative?

We have contacted polit-ical parties and they haveagreed to support us. Theysaid they will try their best tospare some time to meettourists. We are sure that the tourism universities willinclude Election Tourism as anew subject.

Manish Sharma, Managing Director, Akshar Travels, explains the concept of Election Tourism and says that itallows foreign tourists to understand and explore the election process of the largest democracy in the world.

Travellers can now take an election tourPE D E N DO M A BH U T I A

Important Circuits:Triangle Tour (Delhi-Jaipur-

Agra-Delhi)

Rajasthan – The Heritage Hub

(Delhi-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-

Udaipur-Delhi)

Vibrant Gujarat (Ahmedabad-Junagadh-Sasan

Gir-Somnath-Porbandar-Dwarka-

Jamnagar-Ahmedabad)

(Ahmedabad-Bhuj-Mandvi-Anjar-

Dasada (Little Rann of Kutch)-

Ahmedabad)

Banaras Special (Delhi-Lucknow-

Banaras-Delhi)

Himachal Pradesh (Delhi-Manali-

Chandigarh-Delhi)

Madhya Pradesh (Delhi-Khajuraho-

Panna-Bandhavgarh-Kanha-

Jabalpur-Varanasi-Delhi)

Uttarkhand & Kumaon (Delhi-

Mathura-Agra-Haridwar-Rishikesh-

Delhi)

Kerala Political tour (Cochin-

Munnar-Thekkady-Houseboat-

Cochin)

Karnataka / Tamil Nadu / Kerala

(Bangalore-Mysore-Ooty-

Kodaikanal-Coimbatore)

Goa (Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai)

Manish SharmaManaging DirectorAkshar Travels


HOTELS

The third generation of theClarks Group of Hotels and

a member of the ClarksCollection, 1589 Hotels is ven-turing to make its mark in thehospitality industry. Currentlyoperating nine hotels inUdaipur, Vadodara,Bhavnagar, Jaipur,Kishangarh, Hyderabad,Haldwani, Rudhrapur andPokhra (Nepal), the companyhas also signed five upcoming

hotels in Manipal,Naukuchiatal, Varanasi, Hi-Tech City, Hyderabad andJodhpur. The upcoming hotelsare in different stages of theircompletion, half of whichshould be operational beforethe end of this calendar year.The company aims to have atleast 27 hotels before 2016.

Talking about the evolu-tion of the company, Udit

Kumar, Joint ManagingDirector, 1589 Hotels, says,“The company was establishedin 2007 just to reserve the pro-moters who were interested inthe hospitality industry. Theactual operations of the organ-isation began in 2011 with themanagement of two hotels (withan inventory of approximately35 keys each). We slowly grewand developed our model dur-ing the first two seeding yearsand finalised a launching con-cept post. This we expanded

across the nation in staggered,but fast-paced acquisitions.”

Anant Kumar, JointManaging Director, 1589 Hotels,reveals, “We are engaging ourcustomers over social medianetworks by offering variouspromotions and deals. We havecreated a communication plat-form that gives everyone accessto everybody else. This hasacted as an enormous catalystin increasing sales, maintainingcustomer relations, clearing bot-tlenecks, organisational growth,etc., in a prompt manner.”

The company prefersgetting into management con-tracts. However, the companywill not neglect ownership as amodel. “While consideringownership, our organisation

prefers pursuing green-fieldprojects as it allows us to inte-grate our service with the archi-tecture and interiors of thehotel. Since we have devel-oped a viable asset (i.e. ourbrand and its SOPs), we wantto promote the franchisemodel. It will allow us to handover our brand along with ourmanagement standards to var-ious hotel-owners, and allowfor exponential growth. Thismodel has been under our lensfor over one and a half years.

Plus, this is being refinedbecause we need to ensurethat the franchisee does notcompromise on our management standards,”they add.

“We are also workingon concierge service toshow our appreciation ofour most favoured cus-tomers through which wewill facilitate any require-ment of theirs within ourmeans in any part of theworld at actual cost. These

services will be made availableeven if our guests are not cur-rently occupying any rooms inany of our locations,” Uditpoints out.

Elaborating on the impor-tance of travel agents, Anantopines, “Travel agencies arethe nodal point for us. We getapproximately 83 per cent ofour bookings from the trade asopposed to our own website.The credit for this goes to tradeagents. We are planning a fewroadshows and FAM tours inthe country to increase ourbase of trade agents. We areplanning to become handlersof small agents located in Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India, and other start-up agents located in various partsof the world.”

With nine operational hotels, 1589 Hotels is looking atbecoming handlers of small agents located in Tier-II and -III cities in India and start-up agents all over the world.

1589 Hotels banks on B2B

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� The upcoming hotels arein different stages ofcompletion, half of whichshould be operationalbefore 2014. It aims tohave at least 27 hotelsbefore 2016

Greener Pastures

Fern goes green with agents

The Fern Residency, Gurgaon, organised a party on February 12, 2014, to extend thanks to its partners forhelping the brand to become a leading environmentally sensitive hotel.

(L-R): Anant Kumar and Udit Kumar


With the Golden Templebeing branded as

amongst the 10 most beautifuland valuable sites in the world,Amritsar is seeing unbridledtourist growth, emerging as amajor national pilgrim andtourist hub.

Gunbir Singh, CMD,Divine Destination, feelsAmritsar’s tourist growth meritsspecial attention. Whereas fiveyears ago, the city was gettingaround 40,000 daily arrivals,today the daily arrivals figurehas gone up to a whopping onelakh. The numbers comprise pil-grims and tourists, some five percent of them being international.Interestingly, this is four timesthe numbers of tourists reachingTaj Mahal.

A healthy trend for thecity is the fact that while mostinternational tourists visit dur-ing the October–March peri-od, domestic tourists and pil-

grims visit throughout theyear, providing both travelagents and hoteliers withyear-round business.

Singh feels that travelagents play a crucial role in theAmritsar’s tourism story. Whileonline domestic airline ticketing

is growing 15 percent annually,there’s no substitute to agents when it comes to ‘hand-held’ tourism.

Agents should promotethematic journeys. This holds the key to continuing suc-cess, and Amritsar provides anexcellent business opportunityin this regard.

Rama Mehra, CEO,Ranjit Svaasa, feels Amritsar’sspecial religious value andcharm is instrumental in mak-ing visitors genuinely appreci-ate their experience, and rateit higher even than Agra. Withpilgrims and tourists pouring in,the city’s true potential is nowbeing realised, and the travelindustry is reaping rewards.

While agents provideguests comfort levels by over-seeing everything, they alsostand to lose ground if theydon’t consider the overall inter-est of hotels, especially individ-ual, stand-alone properties.They must factor this into theirstrategy for maximum long-term business gains. Amritsarprovides a superb platform for such synergy, which if

achieved, will further boost thecity’s booming tourist industry.

Shiv Raj Singh, CEOAtithi Voyages, feels Amritsar isa classic case of a destinationthat has made agents think outof the box and innovate. WhileAmritsar of the past was essen-tially a destination for businessvisitors and a few tourists head-ed for Dharamshala, Manali andLadakh; travel agents latelyhave captured everyone’s imag-ination by modifying itinerariesin ways which has made theiroverseas partners aware ofother interesting possibilities inIndia. From that point of view,Amritsar has become a hub foragents using the new route toestablish old destinations. Thegrowing popularity of the GoldenTemple among the expat com-munity seeking weekend getaways has also boosted traffic to the city. The 4- and 5-star hotels mushrooming inAmritsar is a sign of this recentdevelopment, which will propeltourism growth.

ANALYSIS1 6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

A healthy trend for the city is the fact that while most international tourists visit during the October–March period, domestictourists and pilgrims visit throughout the year, providing both travel agents and hoteliers with year-round business.

Amritsar makes a big leap of faith

Popularity ofthe GoldenTemple hasalso boostedtourist trafficto the city

Today, thedaily arrivals toAmritsar hasgone up to a whoppingone lakh

Gunbir SinghCMDDivine Destination

Rama MehraCEORanjit Svaasa

Shiv Raj SinghCEOAtithi Voyages

IN D E R RA J AH LU WA L I A

Amritsar canbe a platformfor synergy,which canboost thecity’s tourism


NTO

With what expectationshave you come to India?

We have a small basecoming from India to Fiji. Lastyear, it grew by 40% so we have significant growthopportunities. We are alsoplanning to increase connec-tivity and we are very positiveabout the forward projectionsfor tourism to Fiji.

What are the Indian markets that you arelooking at? Are you tar-getting only the primarymarkets?

We are travelling to Delhi,Mumbai and Bengaluru withour roadshow.

For us it’s justabout developingthe niche markets,the high-end fivestar products for now. We are primarily lookingat the Indian luxury sector.

The product that we haveis mainly for honeymooners, so

that’s the market that we aregoing for. As we develop that,there’ll be other possibilitiestoo. Generally, when you aretravelling to somewhere as faras Fiji, the proposition needsto be something different. Wehave a good representationhere. From a tourism perspec-tive, we have repositioned ourbranding. We are trying to cre-ate global consistency throughour rebranding.

What about the MICEsegment?

The MICE segment is adeveloping market for us, weneed to gain more of afoothold. With MICE, first weneed to create a demand. We

need to make people aware ofFiji as a destination; once thathappens and people understand about the destina-tion of Fiji, then there will begreat opportunities for theMICE market.

What is your commit-ment towards the Indiantravel trade?

The Indian agents havebeen very keen on Fiji. It is anopportunity for them to sellmore products, they realisethere is a potential opportunityhere as well. We are very committed to the trade; we arerolling out a multi-programmetravel agent portal and training system this year thatwill allow the agents to under-stand the different aspects ofFiji market. Besides that, wewill also be offering incentives and FAMs for theIndian market. The travel trade is vital for us, especially for a country like Fiji,which is geographically isolated. It is a difficult sell, customers have a lot of questions and they will go to atravel agent, so we areabsolutely committed to support the travel trade.

Rick Hamilton, CEO, Tourism Fiji, talks about targetting theIndian luxury sector and how agents are essential topromote a geographically isolated country like Fiji.

Luxury market big for Fiji

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Rick Hamilton CEO Tourism Fiji

Well-deserved victory

Ravi Gosain of Erco Travels celebrated the winning of the National Tourism Award for 2012-13 by his company, along with its 15th anniversary. There were many of the trade fraternity who showedup to share in his success.


The Eleventh AnnualGeneral Meeting of IAAI

has put serious emphasis onincreasing its membership tointensify the ongoing fight for 5 per cent commission.According to Eapen, therequirement of including com-mission as IAAI’s agenda isdriven by the fact that it is anintegral part of tariff as per thedefinition of Tariff (Rule 3 (54A)of the Aircraft Rules; IATAResolution 824.9; DGCA Orderdated March 5, 2010 and thefresh advisory based on it onDecember 17, 2012. It shouldalso be pertinent to refer to theSupreme Court Order ofJanuary 23, 2013, termingTransaction Fee as illegal;Public Circular from DGCA onFebruary 13, warning againstadditional payment over andabove the ticket fare; and theMoCA Order of September 16,

2013. “It has been clarified thatwords ‘commission’, ‘transac-tion fee’ or ‘service charges’ forlevying of fees as remunerationto intermediaries for the serv-ices rendered by them for issu-ing tickets to passengers onbehalf of the airlines are per-missible under the existingrules, provided these areshown as part of tariff withinthe definition of tariff. Noamount will be collected fromthe consumers over and abovethis,” Eapen explained.

Eapen also pointed outthat as per the MoCA Orderdated September 16, 2013,Rule 135(1) requires airlines todetermine tariff which by defi-nition includes commission.Rule 135 (2) requires airlinesto display a 'single consolidat-ed fare' and give its break-upalso for consumer's benefit. “Itis clear that the statutory posi-tion under Rule 135 clearly

requires airlines to determinetariff in accordance with law,including commission payableto agents,” he underlined.

“Facts that justify ourdemand for 5 per cent commis-sion are: As on October 31,2008, the commission pre-vailed was 5 per cent. Agent’scommission is remunerationper piece of work, which shouldbe remunerated as ‘cut andpay’ and not to be reimbursed

on monthly or yearly basis,”said Eapen.

Questioned on the pres-ent membership strength ofIAAI and its impact on all poli-cy-makers, Eapen clarified,“We have membershipstrength of 1,083 as of March2014. The tragedy is that exclu-sivity in any association is lessthan 40 per cent. Many agentshave memberships in all threeassociations, and many in two.

It is overlapping within thethree associations (TAAI, TAFIand IAAI).” He also assertedthat IAAI is the only trade asso-ciation fighting relentlessly forcommission and against week-ly payment. Eapen appearedto be disappointed about theunity move among varioustravel agents’ associations. “Onmany occasions, we tried foralliance amongst all the threeassociations. Now it seemspractically impossible. We

believe that criticism can makean association healthy,” hestressed.

He also admitted thatbesides the members of theagents’ associations, there areseveral agents across the country who keenly follow theefforts of IAAI. However, manyof these agents, who wantIAAI to get back their rights,are delaying to take decisionof joining the association.However, IAAI will intensify itsmembership drive in the daysto come.

“We will take the overallmembership to cross 2,000before December 31, 2014. Weare planning to focus on virginstates like Punjab, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh, HimachalPradesh and Bihar”, supple-mented Aveek Ghosh, NC -Membership Development,IAAI.

ASSOCIATIONS1 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

In its recently concluded AGM in Chennai, the IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) has decided to increase itsmembership strength to 2,000 by this year. In an interview with , Biji Eapen, President, IAAI, elaborates on theoutcome of the Annual General Meeting and their forthcoming plans.

IAAI to hike members to 2,000 by 2014

RATA N KR PAU L

The 245-room hotel claimsto be one of the preferred

hotels by business travellers inMumbai due to its proximitywith both international anddomestic airports. The hotelhas carried out a systematicapproach towards sales andmarketing which has resultedin admirable occupancies fromthe very beginning, informsSuraj Kumar Jha, GeneralManager, HolidayInn MumbaiInternational Airport.

He said, “StrategicMarketing is all about retainingprofitable guests by providingthem with a uniquely positiveand superior experience relat-ed to our brand. Each andevery guest contact opportuni-ty must include a reinforcementof the superior value that weoffer to our guests, building thebelief for its guests that you aretruly their supplier of choiceand preference. Besides usingthe conventional tools of mar-keting such as print and out-door medium, we are laying alot of emphasis on web-based

marketing and social network-ing sites. The idea is to do 360degree marketing so that allthe aspects are taken care of.”

“The strategic elements ofmarketing are critical to sustain-ing business success and prof-itability. After identifying the cus-tomer value segments, youmust set about identifying whatelements of your offering candeliver that value and how youcan differentiate your offeringfrom those of your competition,”adds Jha.

However, it is tough tomaintain profit margins and

room occupancy levels on con-sistent rate. Jha said, “The chal-lenge faced by top brands ingenerating business is deliver-ing good quality and consistentservice time and again to theguest. Holiday Inn Mumbai notonly goes all out to target thebusiness traveller with a tech-nological edge but is a new agehotel that has ecologically-con-scious heart as well. Hotelshave changed dramatically inrecent years. Brands try to keepahead of the competition byintroducing newer concepts instay experience to attract tech-nologically advanced and wellinformed travellers.

In just four years in operation, HolidayInn MumbaiInternational Airport has tapped the right amount of businesstravellers and is using unique marketing strategies.

Deploying unique strategies

TT BU R E AUStrategic Marketing is all about

retaining profitable guestsby providing them with a

uniquely positive andsuperior experiencerelated to our brand

Suraj Kumar JhaGeneral Manager

HolidayInn Mumbai International Airport


AVIATION2 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

In a unique step, the airline isinviting Indian travellers to fly

to the most popular destinationsshowcased in Bollywoodmovies. In addition, the airlineis also offering a discount to

travellers with famous ‘filmy’names. Thus, passengers withnames such as Simran orKaran, Arjun or Kiran can nowbook with Virgin Atlantic andclaim up to 10 per cent discountfor travel till July 31, 2014.

The campaign reflects thelarger than life service of VirginAtlantic that brings on-screenexperiences showcased byBollywood alive. It focusses onthe many amenities available;from the collection of latestBollywood/Hollywood block-busters on its in-flight entertain-ment to its cabins and servicesthat are designed to cater to theneeds of the Indian travellers.

“From the beginning,Virgin Atlantic brought backstyle and fun to air travel,” saidStephen King, GeneralManager, Virgin Atlantic - India.“We believe the journey shouldbe as enjoyable as the destina-tion. ‘Feel like a Star’ campaignhighlights the unique experi-ence of flying Virgin and willsurely connect to all Bollywoodlovers. Last year, we flew over1,000 passengers with theseshortlisted filmy names and arelooking forward to welcomingmany more Rahuls, Priyas andRohits on-board this summer.”

Twelve names have beenshortlisted by the airline, andthose who bear them will beable to avail a 5 per cent dis-count on Economy booking and

a 10 per cent discount onPremium Economy booking.The booking period starts fromMarch 18 to April 17, 2014, andthe travel period is till July 31.

With India’s ever growing importance in the aviation industry, Virgin Atlanticlaunched its latest Bollywood-inspired multi media marketing campaign,‘Feel like a Star’. It offers a discount to travellers with ‘filmy’ names.

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Stephen KingGeneral ManagerVirgin Atlantic - India

Bollywood rules Virgin Atlantic skiesAman Travels signs MoUwith Egypt Tourism

With an objective tomake travel agents andtour operators in India‘Egypt Experts’, AmanTravels has signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withEgypt Tourism to launch aspecialised website to getinformation about Egypt.The agreement wassigned by Adel El Masry,

Director, Egypt TourismOffice in India, andDeepak Narula, ManagingDirector, Aman Travels.The MoU aims to launchan online educational pro-gramme for travel agentsand tour operators, so thatthey can sell tourismproducts in Egypt. On this

website, a travel agentcan register, read aboutEgypt and become a cer-tified destination special-ist. Among other benefits,agents and operators canparticipate in fam trips,acquire Egypt Expertsclub membership, etc.“Iam happy to co-sponsorthis new online education-al programme for travelagents and tour operators.I invite all the agents toparticipate in this pro-gramme in large num-bers,” said Masry.

“We have a plan to enrollmore than 100 agents in thefirst month itself and gradu-ally increase the numbers,”added Narula.

Adel El MasryDirectorEgyptian Tourism Office

Deepak NarulaManaging DirectorAman Travels


NTO A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 2 3

When the world is still puz-zled about the missing

Malaysian Airlines aircraftMH370; Tourism Malaysia isfocussing on attracting Indiansto the country. According toMirza Mohammad Taiyab,Director General, TourismMalaysia; it’s a tragic incident,but this won’t impact travelbetween India and Malaysia.During the ‘Visit Malaysia 2014’showcase in Mumbai, Taiyabsaid, “Accidents happen. Thesearch is still on. Nobody cansay exactly where the plane is. It does not mean that every-thing shouldcome to a

standstill. The show must go on. Business must go on.Airlines need to continue tooperate flights.”

Kick-started in Kochi, thepromotional campaign movedto Bengaluru, Mumbai andconcluded in New Delhi.Alongside the promotions, atrade show was also organ-ised for the Indian travel tradeshowcasing over 40 suppliersfrom Malaysia. Taiyab said,“Travel agents are our topmostpriority and we continue tokeep them abreast with latesttourism offerings of Malaysia.We intend to welcome everysegment of traveller with anytype of budget. India hasgrown from a ‘price-conscious’market to ‘value-conscious’market. With growing numberof outbound travel, we aim totap the best market opportu-nities and are positive toreceive three times moretourist arrivals from India thanthe current numbers by 2020.”

Taiyab also informed that despite the incident, thearrival figures from India lookstable. Malaysia welcomed6,50,989 Indian arrivals in 2013and through the ‘Visit Malaysia2014’ celebration year, it is

expecting to welcome close to7,80,000 to eight lakh tourists.During the year-round celebra-tions, Malaysia has organisedmore than 250 events, festivalsand fairs to engage globaltourists with Malaysia. Tourism

revenue for Malaysia showed8.1 per cent rise in 2013 atRM65.44 billion. The total touristarrivals rose by 2.7 percent to25 million. The country is expect-ing 28 million tourists this yearand 36 million by 2020.

Tourism Malaysia organised multi-city roadshows tocelebrate ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2014’, and has set targetsto triple the tourist growth by 2020 from India.

‘The show must go on’, says Malaysia

AN I TA JA I N

Visa way!Visa fees to Malaysia have

increased from December 2013. The

processing fee has gone up from

`1,000 to ` 3,000 due to the new

system of functioning. “We are trying

to discuss the same with the authori-

ties and the government soon and

hope to bring this down to a feasible

amount. Interestingly, despite the

increase in charges, we have

recorded growth in visa applications

in January 2014. This shows the

interest and confidence of Indian

tourists in Malaysia,” adds Taiyab.

(L-R): Manoharan Periasamy, Hatimi Abas, Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Datuk Tee Slew Kiong, YBM Asojan Muniyandy,Azizan Noordin


AVIATION2 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

Earlier, Cathay Pacific offeredone direct Delhi – Hong

Kong flight, and the other viaBangkok. In the recent schedulechange effective March 31,2014, they dropped the Delhi -Bangkok sector and turned thatinto a non-stop to Hong Kong.

“We’re essentially doingthis because we would like toprovide enhanced connectivityand service to our Hong Konghub, rather than going viaBangkok. We’re a Hong Kongcarrier and would like to servethat market comprehensively,”said Charlie Stewart-Cox,General Manager – SouthAsia, Middle East and Africa,

Cathay Pacific. He furtheradded, “We think the new flightwill give our customers conven-ient departure times. The firstflight will land in Hong Kong at7 am, good for connecting intoNortheast Asia, China, espe-cially for business travel. Thesecond flight gets in around9.25 am, allowing better con-nectivity into North America.”

Abhijit Abhyankar, AreaSales Manager – NorthernIndia, Cathay Pacific, said,“Our customers like us. Withthe Delhi - Hong Kong route,we have a 32 per cent marketshare with just one direct flight.With two direct flights, we hopeto touch almost 50 to 51 percent of the market.” Both thenon-stop services will be oper-ated by A330, with three classconfiguration.

The airline maintainedan 80 per cent load factor onall the Indian flights last year,and with 47 flights a week con-necting India to Hong Kong,

the airline has placed 93 air-crafts on order. RakeshRaicar, Regional Sales &Marketing Manager – SouthAsia, Cathay Pacific, added,

“We closed the year at 25 percent plus in terms of growth,and the first two months of thisyear has also been good.Keeping in mind the political

and economic scenario, weare cautiously optimistic on ourprojections for 2014.” Indiafeatures among the top 10markets for the airline, and this

makes it an important marketfor the Cathay Pacific group.“We’ve been growing signifi-cantly in the last four to fiveyears, and we’re very pleasedwith our business and opera-tions here,” Stewart–Coxopined. “The Indian market isgrowing well providing goodsupport to business travel. Theleisure market provides a verystrong opportunity, as Indiansare looking towards more andmore destinations to travel to.”

Challenges are aboundin every market, and in Indiafuel costs add much pressure,as it accounts for 39 per centof their total operating cost in2013. A significant issue, risingfuel costs create a difficult envi-ronment for airlines. “We havereduced our operations of lowfuel efficient aircrafts andincreased the operations ofhigher fuel efficient aircraft. Itwas a important factor in the pickup of our business inthe second half of last year,” he added.

Closing the year with an increase of 25 per cent in terms of growth, Cathay Pacific holds a positive outlook in the India market.The airline recently announced the change in schedule of its Delhi-Hong Kong route, by offering double daily non-stop flights.

Cathay: Cautiously optimistic for 2014

With twodirect flights,we hope totouch almost50-51% ofthe market

We closed the year at more than 25per cent interms ofgrowth

We are a Hong Kongcarrier and wouldlike to serve thatmarketcomprehensively

Charlie Stewart–CoxGeneral Manager – South Asia, MiddleEast and Africa, Cathay Pacific

Rakesh RaicarRegional Sales & Marketing Manager– South Asia, Cathay Pacific

Abhijit AbhyankarArea Sales Manager – NorthernIndia, Cathay Pacific

RA M YA JS D ’RO Z A R I O

� In India, fuel costsaccounts for 39 percent of their totaloperating cost in 2013

Challenge


Vedavalli highlighted severalinitiatives taken by the

Reserve Bank of India, for facil-itation of authorised money-changing business across thecountry and especially in theTier-II and Tier-III towns.

RBI, on an application,may authorise any personknown as Authorised Person(AP) to deal in Foreign

Exchange under Section 10 (1)of FEMA 1999. However, theauthorisation shall be subjectto conditions (Section 10(2)),as specified by the RBI. APswill have to adhere to the direc-tions issued by RBI underSection 10(4) and Section11(1) of the FEMA, 1999. Non-compliance shall attractrevocation of licence and penalprovisions of Section 10(3) (b)and 11(3) of the Act.

The applicant has to be acompany registered under theCompanies Act, 1956. Theminimum Net Owned Funds(NOF) required for considera-tion as FFMC are ` 25 lakh for single branch FFMCand ` 50 lakh for multiple branch FFMC.

“The eligibility criteria pri-marily depend on strong finan-cials, good governance, regu-

latory/prudential comfort andadequate internal controlmechanism. The criteria forupgradation of existing FFMCsto AD-Category II include min-imum net owned funds of Rs.10 crore, satisfactory function-

ing as FFMC for at least twoyears and satisfactory creditreport from their bankers,”Vedavalli pointed out.

Vedavalli highlighted thatfresh licences will be issued on

a selective basis to those whocomply with all the licencingrequirements, facilitate anincrease in outreach, havelocational advantage like beingsituated in border areas andtourist centres.

After obtaining licences,authorised money-changersshould have a copy of the reg-istration under Shops & EsttAct or any other documentaryevidence such as rent receiptand copy of lease agreement

to be submitted to the regionaloffice before commencementof business. Commencementof operations should be withina period of six months from thedate of issuance of licence.

In the second of its series of workshops on Money-Changing Business, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)recently unveiled the present rules & regulations and opportunities for travel agents to enter this field. The workshop wasconducted by M Vedavalli, former GM, Reserve Bank of India.

Money-changing: A new alternative

TT BU R E AU

NEWS A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 2 5

The ReserveBank may alsorevoke any ofthe existingconditions of amoneychanger’slicence orimpose newconditions

M Vedavalli Former GMReserve Bank of India

Contd. on page 36


Located amidst five acres ofbeautifully-landscaped area

in this historical city, NovotelHyderabad Airport is locatedjust five minutes from RajivGandhi International Airport.

According to JavedParvez, Director of Sales,Novotel Hyderabad Airport, thehotel is well-positioned to tar-get all sets of travellers, includ-ing business, leisure andweekend getaway traffic. “Thissecluded retreat, where archi-tecture echoes beauty, is alsoperfect for those who want toget away on weekends fromthe hustle-bustle of the city andhave a good time with theirpartners or with the family. Thehotel is also a value propositionto midscale hospitality experi-ence, be it a leisure or busi-ness traveller,” he says.

With Hyderabad emerg-ing as one of the best MICEdestination coupled withimproved air connectivity, themood is upbeat in the hotelindustry and many are on anexpansion spree, adding to theexisting inventory or construct-ing new properties in view ofseveral national and interna-tional events lined up. India’shospitality sector has been wit-nessing interest from a varietyof segments ranging fromMICE, Wellness Tourism,Spiritual and PilgrimageTourism, apart from the tradi-tional business or leisure travel.

“The demand has been strongfrom both foreign as well asdomestic tourists. Given therather diverse nature ofdemand, the hotel is also look-ing at creating adequate prod-ucts to service the varied

tourist requirements,” Parvezreveals. Regarding the newaverage rates in the city, headds, “Hyderabad is currentlywitnessing RevPar of around` 2,650. However, NovotelHyderabad Airport is above the

market and clocking a RevPar upwards of ` 2,700.”Operational for over five yearsnow, the hotel currently enjoysoccupancy of 55 per cent andis forecasting the same for2014 year as well, he adds.

Operational for over five years now, Novotel Hyderabad Airport is lookingat creating adequate products to service the varied tourist requirementsranging from MICE, wellness, leisure, etc.

Targetting business in the Pearl City

TT BU R E AU

HOTELS A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 2 7

The demandhas beenstrong fromboth foreign as well asdomestictourists

Javed ParvezDirector of SalesNovotel Hyderabad Airport


FAMILY ALBUM2 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

India’s glorious ‘Taj’ at ITB 2014The whole world meets at ITB Berlin, and this year, the exhibition sent out very positive signals for the international travel industry. ITB saw a four per centrise in trade visitors and India was shining with all its glory. The Taj Mahal at India pavilion stole the show and was awarded for its stand design.

Contd. on page 30


FAMILY ALBUM3 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

Greater participation from B2B at ITB Contd. from page 28


Both events in these citiessaw a turnout of over 100

people attending and engagingthemselves in the pit stop chal-lenge. The event was basedaround the Sahara Force Indiacar. Senior corporate executivestried their hand at the pit-stopchallenge. Every team had tochange all four tyres of the carand make it race ready in theleast possible time. In Mumbai,the winning team clocked 45.6seconds and in Bengaluru, thewinning team comprised fourwomen who clocked 39 sec-onds to change the tyres.

Manoharan Periasamy,Director, Tourism Malaysia,said, "The Formula OnePetronas Grand Prix Race isone of the key events under‘Visit Malaysia Year 2014’,scheduled from March 28 -30. The Visit Malaysia Year2014 has a wide array of fes-tivities and experiences fortravellers. There is also theGP Mega Sale Carnival and other promotions in the country."

Dato Razlan Razali,CEO, Sepang InternationalCircuit, presented the circuitas a destination not only formotor sports, but also forworld-class internationalevents, from business to commercial programmes. Heinformed, “We will promotethis circuit as a stand-alonevenue for events like wed-dings, family days, confer-ences, annual dinners andteam-building programmes.”

He also highlighted thepost-event parties during therace that will add on to the vis-itor experience.At the event, a

special Formula 1 Package‘Alive@Sepang’ was launchedwith travel partner Cox &Kings. The highlights of thepackage include garage tours,pit lane walks and the possibil-ity to meet and greet SaharaForce India drivers.

NTO A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 3 1

The Sepang International Circuit and Tourism Malaysia jointlypromoted Formula One, Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix as anideal MICE venue in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Revving up Malaysia’s MICE business

� The Visit Malaysia Year2014 has a wide array of festivities andexperiences for travellers

HighlightTT BU R E AU

India plans for200 low-costairports

India is planning to set uparound 200 low-cost airportsacross the country in nexttwo decades. The ideabehind this initiative is toexpand the air connectivityof tier-II and tier-III cities.Also, these airports wouldhelp to manage the growingpassenger rush. Presently,the non-metro airportsaccount for only about 30per cent of the total air traf-fic, which is expected to riseto 45 per cent in the nextfew years.


NEWS

Kannan is heading the con-sultation procedure to give

a final shape of the Civil AviationOmbudsman. Ministry of CivilAviation (MoCA) has decided toconsult stakeholders regardingsetting up of an Ombudsman forCivil Aviation Sector in India as an alternative dispute settle-ment machinery. The wordOmbudsman means an officeror spokesperson or representa-tive of the people.

“It has been noticed thatthe disputes between serviceproviders and users areincreasing at the pace of thegrowth of the aviation sector.Ideally, the grievances shouldbe resolved instantly at the ini-tial stage through the serviceproviders’ grievance redressalmechanism. However, thereare plenty of disputes thatremain unresolved for a longtime. As a result, MoCA has decided to take this crucial initiative, i.e., fast settlement of disputes throughOmbudsman for CivilAviation,” Kannan said.

Despite the presence ofsome other institutions likeDGCA, AERA, CCI andConsumer Courts that too takecare of users’ interests, Kannanmaintained that each and everyorganisation has their corefunctions and limitations. On theother hand, redressal of dis-putes pertaining to civil aviationshould be done by a specificand nodal body, which wouldcover all the stakeholders and

allied organisations for fast set-tlement of any disputes.

Significantly, the draft con-sultation paper which is now inthe public domain for discussionhas given adequate emphasison the disputes between theindustry stakeholders. Thoughthe consultation paper has notmentioned the nitty-gritty on thescope of the Ombudsman inrespect of dispute settlement forthe users from within the indus-try, it is expected that some longpending issues between travelagents and airlines or

airlines/terminal operators andairports will be covered by the Ombudsman. However,Kannan clarified, “Since theOmbudsman is still in consulta-tion process and we have invitedall the users, both common peo-ple and industry representa-tives, it would be too early tocomment on any specificissues. It should be remem-bered that the dimension of thedisputes between an end-user

and airlines or airports andbetween one industry stake-holder vs another industrystakeholder is different. Thisaspect is desired to be dis-cussed by the industry peoplethemselves while participatingin the consultation process.” Healso underlined that who allshould be covered under theambit of Ombudsman from theservice provision perspective isan important issue that needsto be discussed. The stakehold-ers are requested to give theircomments on the subject byApril 15, 2014.

Kannan also made it clear that Ombudsman wouldbe the final stage for any disputesettlement based on the existing laws and rules & regulations.The Aviation Ombudsman willalso have an Appellate Body incase of dissatisfaction with thedecision of the Ombudsman.“People should come before theOmbudsman if the grievancesare not addressed by the serv-ice providers,” he said.

The proposed Aviation Ombudsman is including industrystakeholders to resolve their grievances against serviceproviders and operators. Speaking to , M Kannan,Economic Adviser, Ministry of Civil Aviation, elaborates on theimportance of this new initiative.

Ombudsman for Aviation

There are plenty of disputes that remain unresolved for a long

time. As a result, MoCA hasdecided to take this crucialinitiative, i.e., fast settlementof disputes throughOmbudsman for Civil Aviation

M KannanEconomic Adviser

Ministry of Civil Aviation

RATA N KR PAU L

Tourism’s contribution hikes by 7.3%According to the World

Travel and Tourism Council‘sannual economic impactreport 2014 for India, traveland tourism's economic con-tribution is expected to growby 7.3 per cent this year, out-performing the generaleconomy by 2.5 per centpoints. Revenues gainedfrom domestic tourism roseby 5.1 per cent in 2013 andis expected to increase by 8.2per cent in 2014. Theamount that internationalvisitors spent in India rose by6.2 per cent in 2013 but isforecast to slow to a 2.9 percent growth rate in 2014.

“Inbound tourism is continuing to grow both interms of international touristarrivals and internationaltourism receipts. But it is thedomestic market which willsee particularly strong growth

in 2014 with more investmentand more Indians travelling,”David Scowsill, President andChief Executive Officer,WTTC, said. The Governmentof India has announced that itproposes to extend Visa-on-Arrival and electronic travelauthorisation for tourists from180 countries and to speed upthe application process forthose still requiring a paper visa. It plans to issuevisa in three days in suchcases. During 2013, traveland tourism industry con-tributed ̀ 63,160 crore to theeconomy and generated 35million jobs.

David ScowsillPresident and CEOWTTC


NTO3 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

AUNESCO World HeritageSite, and one of the New 7

Wonders of Nature, theSubterranean River (orUnderground River) is correctlycalled Puerto Princesa’s pride.The 8.2-kilometre river, said tobe the longest navigableunderground river in the world,winds its way underneath amountain range, through theSt. Paul Underground RiverCave, and then goes out intothe South China Sea. The jour-ney through the cave systemalone is 24 kilometres long.

The entire area where theUnderground River is located is

a national park and a model ofbiodiversity. More than 800plant species, including almost300 trees, 195 bird species, 30mammals, 19 reptiles and eightbat species call this area home.Island-hopping is one of thebiggest draws of PuertoPrincesa. At Honda Bay, boatstake tourists to nearby islandsfor lunch picnics, snorkelling

and non-stop swimming. Thecalm water and sandy bottomsbeat any hotel pool.

Puerto Princesa is alsohome to more secluded andless commercial beaches. The beaches of Nagtabon,Napsan, and Marufinas areknown for fine beaches and awesome sunsets away

from the crowds. In the munic-ipality of Narra, Arena Island,a turtle sanctuary, and RasaIsland, a bird sanctuary, both have island-hoppingopportunities.

A three-hour ride alsoleads to Port Barton in themunicipality of San Vicente,which has been described as

a backpacker’s dream. Theonly problem you might have isdeciding whether to swim, dive,snorkel or just swing to sleepon a hammock.

Puerto Princesa’s her-itage in the Batak CulturalVillage is a model of the com-munities where the Batakmountain people — one ofPalawan’s oldest and thesmallest of three major indige-nous groups — live. The TabonCave Complex in the munici-pality of Quezon is an impor-tant archaeological site.

Although the 100-hectare com-plex is supposed to have some200 caves, only seven can beviewed. Of these, the TabonCave itself was the site wherethe remains of the oldest homosapiens in Southeast Asiawere found, dating to 47,000years ago.

For the brave, exotic foodchoices await. The ever popularKinabuchs Grill and Bar servestamilok (shipworm) and croco-dile meat. The less adventurouscan head for Ka Lui for their cre-ative seafood dishes.

Puerto Princesa city’s attractions have much to do with its natural wonders and commitment to the environment. Known forits cleanliness and greenery, this city has been internationally recognised for environmental excellence.

Puerto Princesa: A city in a forestTT BU R E AU

� More than 800 plantspecies, including almost300 trees, 195 birdspecies, 30 mammals, 19reptiles and eight batspecies call this area home

Highlight

OTOAI hosted its chapter meeting in Chennai recently in order to recruit new members. The event witnessed who's who of the travel industry, includingtravel agents, tour operators, hotel representative bodies, who came on the same platform to discuss about outbound issues.

OTOAI looks South for new members


FAMILY ALBUM

Moreover, a copy of thelatest audited accounts, a cer-tificate from the StatutoryAuditors regarding the netowned fund (NOF) as on thedate of application, a declara-tion to the effect that no pro-ceedings have been initiated byany law enforcing authoritiesagainst the applicant companyand its directors and a copy ofthe KYC/AML/CFT policyframework existing in the com-pany have to be submittedbefore RBI. However, theReserve Bank reserves the

right to revoke the licence grant-ed to an AMC at any time if it issatisfied that it is in public inter-est to do so. The licences canalso be cancelled if the AMChas failed to comply with anycondition of authorisation or hascontravened any of the provi-sions of the FEMA or any rule,regulation, notification, directionor order made there under.

The Reserve Bank alsoreserves the right to revoke theauthorisation of any of theoffices for infringement of anystatutory or regulatory provi-sion. The Reserve Bank may

also revoke any of the existing conditions of a moneychanger’s licence or imposenew conditions.

She also said that under-taking money-changing busi-ness or advertising about car-

rying on money-changingbusiness without a validlicence from RBI shall be incontravention to the provisionsof the Act and the peopleinvolved are liable to be penalised.

Dos and Don’ts for agents from RBI

� To revoke the licence granted to an AMC at any time

� To revoke the authorisation of any of the offices forinfringement of any statutory or regulatory provision

� To revoke any of the existing conditions of a moneychanger’s licence or impose new conditions

RBI Rights

Contd. from page 25

Mumbai gets the WOW effectThe World of Wonders (WOW) recently opened their mega flagship company in Khar, Mumbai. Thestore was inaugurated by Gurudas Kamat, Member of Parliament & General Secretary – All IndiaCongress Committee. Several Bollywood personalities including Rakesh Roshan, Jeetendra and PremChopra attended the launch event.

APRILNATIONAL1 Mumbai Tourism Poland’s Roadshow 2 Bengaluru Tourism Poland’s Roadshow

3 Delhi Tourism Poland’s Roadshow

3 Kochi Destination New South Wales & Tourism Queensland’s Best of Australia Workshop

4 Mumbai MICE Travel Mart + Luxury & LeisureTravel Mart,

8 Ludhiana Destination New South Wales & Tourism Queensland’s Best of Australia Workshop

8-9 Delhi Incredible India Travel Bazaar

10 Guwahati Destination New South Wales & Tourism Queensland’s Best of Australia Workshop

INTERNATIONAL3-5 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan International Tourism

Fair (AITF)5-6 Ottawa The Travel and Vacation Show6-8 Marseille Routes Europe8-11 Singapore Hotel Asia9-11 Beijing China Outbound Travel Tourism

Mart (COTTM)10-12 Siberia SITT (TOURSIB)15-17 Shanghai IT&CM China15-20 The Hague International Travel & Tourism Market23-25 Sao Paulo World Travel Market

Latin America

23-25 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair (KITF)

28-30 Cape Town IBTM Africa

MAYINTERNATIONAL2-3 Cape Town World Travel Market

Africa

5-8 Dubai Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

9-11 Shanghai World Travel Fair10-12 Durban Indaba Expo11-13 Bremen German Travel Mart

18-21 New Zealand Trenz20-22 Frankfurt IMEX 201427-30 Vancouver Canadian Tourism

Commission’s Rendezvous Canada

29-Jun 1 Seoul Korea World Travel Fair

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

JUNENATIONAL27-29 Guwahati TTF Guwahati

INTERNATIONAL2-5 Shanghai Asia International Luxury Travel

Market (ILTM Asia 2014)

4-6 Bangkok Thailand Travel Mart Plus

10-12 Orlando America Incentives Business Travel& Meetings Expo (AIBTM 2014)

15-17 Sydney Outdoor Retailer Australia

19-21 Dhaka Bangladesh International TourismFair

19-22 Singapore Zak Salaam India Tourism Expo

22-24 Zimbabwe Routes Africa 2014

27-29 Beijing Beijing International Tourism Expo2014

29-July 2 Barcelona 4th International Conference onTourism between China-Spain

Holiday Inn New Delhi Int’l Airport launchedThe InterContinental

Hotels Group (IHG) hasannounced its entry into thenewly-built development ofAerocity with the openingof Holiday Inn New DelhiInternational Airport. It isthe second Holiday Innhotel in the capital andninth in the country. The265-room hotel is located inclose proximity to Delhi’sdomestic and internationalairports. With Gurgaon andSouth Delhi located a fewkilometres away, the hotelis well connected via anational highway and the

Airport Metro, besides pro-viding convenient and quickaccess to Connaught Place

and other important com-mercial, business and res-idential areas of New Delhi.

The hotel offersguests large, com-fortable rooms with37-inch LED TVs,iPod docking sta-tions, media hubsand complimentaryor all guests stay-ing at the hotel.There is 8000square feet of func-tion space avail-able, including fourmeeting rooms and the Grand

Ballroom, which also canbe divided into three small-er function rooms.


OPPORTUNITY


CLIPBOARD A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 3 9


MOVEMENTS4 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

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: Megha Paul

Adnan Aykac, General Manager-North & East India, TurkishAirlines, loves India. “I have had beautiful experiences in this

country. I have had few Diwalicelebrations during my three years in

India, and I love this festival oflights. I like to attend Indianweddings and visit the Taj Mahal.”During the weekends, he takesquick trips to Chandigarh, Jaipurand Agra.

Lakshmanan Ramanathan, Resident Manager, JW Marriott,Bengaluru, begins his day with a great cup of cappuccino. Sharing

his big secret, he chuckles, “People think I ama workaholic, but I am actually extremelyattached to my family and very emotional.My biggest inspiration is my father. I alsosecretly hope that I can beat Usain Boltin a race one day.” When Ramanathan isnot working, you can find him running,which is his biggest stress-buster. He

loves holidaying in Egypt and Switzerland.

Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager-India, South African Tourismsays, “I am a city holiday person. I like the countryside, but only

from a distance. But my last holiday toCoffee Bay on the Wild Coast of the

Eastern Cape in South Africachanged all that,” she reveals. “Irealised that you are never too oldto surf. I learnt even when you arepetrified of heights, you can stilldo the gorgeous coastal walksand survive them. Journeys do

make you learn so many newthings,” she says.

The Westin Mumbai Garden CityMumbaiVinay Singh has taken over as Director of Sales for The WestinMumbai Garden City. He has been with the hotel since January 2013as its Account Director. His journey with Starwood Hotels started

in the year 2008 – 2010 as an AssistantDirector of Sales in Le Royal Meridien,Mumbai. During his tenure with TWMGC,Singh has supported the organisationin acquiring new horizons, creating guest loyalty, as a leader, amentor to his team and has achieved

overall success in his endeavours.

Holiday Inn Mumbai InternationalAirportMumbaiMK Khan has joined as the Food and Beverage Manager at HolidayInn Mumbai International Airport. In his last stint,he was associated with The Gateway Hotel,Bangalore in the same capacity. Khan car-ries an experience of 14 years and hasworked with some of the best hospitalitybrands. He started his career with CrownPlaza Surya New Delhi and later joinedThe Imperial New Delhi. He has alsoworked in JW Marriott and The LeelaMumbai as well.

Kohinoor ContinentalMumbaiKiran G Wagle has been appointed as the Sales and MarketingConsultant for Kohinoor Continental. He has a total work experienceof 39 years in varied industries. Of this, 28 years have been in hos-pitality sales & marketing in India and UAE.Wagle started as a sales executive in July1982, and retired in 2012 as VP Sales &Marketing, having worked in differenthospitality companies like Taj Group ofHotels & Concept Hospitality. Post retire-ment, he has taken up full-time consul-tancy with Aitken Spence Hotels in India& now with Kohinoor Group - HotelDivision based in Mumbai.

Hilton Bangalore ResidencesBengaluruVikas Sharma has been appointed as the General Manager of HiltonBangalore Residences. He brings with him more than two decadesof experience in the hospitality industry. Sharma also has the distinction of being awarded the ‘The BestHotelier’ in 2010 by the National TourismAwards. In his former role at StarwoodHotels & Resorts Worldwide, Sharmawas the general manager for Aloft,Bangalore. Prior to joining Starwood, hewas the general manager for The Chancery Pavilion, Bangalore.

Courtyard by MarriottPune City CentrePuneGagan Deep Singh has been appointed as the General Managerof Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre.After a stint as the Director ofOperations at JW Marriott Mumbai,he will now take on the reigns ofCourtyard by Marriott Pune CityCentre. He comes with about 15years of experience in the hospitalityindustry. Over the years, he worked invarious F&B roles in JW Marriott HotelMumbai, Renaissance Mumbai Hoteland Convention Centre and LakeSide Chalet, Marriott ExecutiveApartments, Mumbai.

Hilton Chennai ChennaiParag Sawhney has been taken on as the General Manager of HiltonChennai. Sawhney brings with him 14 years of diverse experiencein hotel operations, including F&B manage-ment, front-office management and guestrelations among others. After stints atGrand Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai andRenaissance Hotel in Dubai, he joinedHilton Worldwide in 2006 on being appoint-ed Front Office Leader at Hilton St. Anne’sManor, United Kingdom. Sawhney proceed-ed to take charge as Front of House Managerat the hotel, before moving on to Hilton LondonGreen Park as Deputy Hotel Manager. Herelocated to India in May 2013 and hasbeen with Hilton Chennai since.

TravelportSingaporeMark Meehan has been appointed by Travelport as its ManagingDirector for Asia Pacific. Currently, the Managing Director for

Travelport Africa, Meehan brings a wealth of cus-tomer-focussed experience to the role, having

held a number of high profile positions atTravelport during his 15 year tenure in thebusiness. Meehan has held responsibility forthe organisation’s global commercial opera-tions. He was charged with driving excellencein customer service and change across the

global business, including the introduction ofimportant new customer initiatives, train-

ing programmes and enhanced helpdesk services.

Howard Johnson Bengaluru HebbalBengaluruSaibal Sen has been appointed as the General Manager of US-based Howard Johnson’s first property in India at Bangalore -

Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal. Sen comeswith a rich experience of 19 years and has

worked with various organisations. In thepast, Sen has been associated with groupslike The Taj, Four Point Sheraton and TheLalit. His last assignment was with theSarovar Group Hotels & Resorts. Sen is

an alumni of the prestigious Institute ofHotel Management & Catering Technology,Mumbai.

Unique Global Hotels AllianceBengaluruJagmohan Misra has been appointed as the Country Head ofUnique Global Hotels Alliance. Misra has over 33 years of combined

experience in the development, projectmanegement, operations and launch ofsome of the leading hotels brands inIndia. He started his career with theOberoi Hotels in 1978 and achieved the

distinction of being appointed as theyoungest General Manager in the group.During his stint with Radisson Hotels in

Malaysia, he was responsible forthe opening and successfully

setting up operations of the four prime properties ownedby the brand.


HIGHLIGHT

Postal Reg. No.:DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 16th-17th

of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91Date of Publication:30-03-2014

The advance bookings inhotels, resorts and other

accommodations have beenfar below the previous years.Tour operators have pointedout that advance bookingshave dipped 15-20 per centthis year, Umakant Panwar,Tourism Secretary,Uttarakhand, has revealed.Thus, the state has nowgeared up to monitor the CharDham yatra to revive thetourism industry in the region.“The number of pilgrims willincrease as the yatra startsand we are optimistic that over50 lakh devotees visit the statethis season,” he said.

The travel agents need toplan the Kedarnath yatra for alonger time now. According toPanwar, the yatra might takeone and a half, to two days, asthe trek has become slightlylonger now. “There is no limitto the number of people whowill be coming to visitKerdarnath. However, the flowbeyond Guptkashi will be reg-ulated as the shrine canaccommodate not more than500 people during the night.”

Going forward, theUttarakhand Government hasdecided to keep a track of devo-tees visiting the state for theChar Dham yatra, by issuingbiometric cards and registeringtheir mobile numbers to providetimely weather forecasts. A totalof 25 points have been identi-fied, most of them in theGarhwal region, where biomet-ric cards would be issued to pil-grims, reveals Panwar. “The pil-grims will have to swipe their

biometric card en route,which will also help to keep atrack of their location. With thehelp of Met department andthe Telecom department, wewill provide weather updatesto pilgrims, so that they canplan their yatra,” he added. Adedicated control room for theChar Dham yatra will also beopened. Pilgrims and their rel-atives will be provided all theinformation and updates relatedto the yatra from the controlroom, which will be set up in thestate capital. “A separate tele-phone line has already beenallotted for the control room,”Panwar added. A mobile medical team will also be stationed at every 10-15 kmalong the route. Health campswill be set up in Guptkashi,Sonprayag and Gaurikund.

Special committeeshave been formed to monitorthe yatra. Though there is norestriction on the number ofpilgrims visiting Uttarakhand,the state government hasgranted permission to officialsgiven charge for theKedarnath yatra, to limit the

numbers in emergency situa-tions, he pointed out. Teamsfrom the Uttarakhand tourismdepartment have visited offi-cials and informed them aboutthe efforts made by the stategovernment to ensure pil-grims’ safety.

“The work for repairingthe route leading to the Dhamshas been started and we areconfident that it will be com-pleted by April 30,” he stated.A taskforce has been consti-tuted for construction of a newtrekking path from Bheembalito Kedarnath.

To keep a track of Char Dham Yatra devotees, the government of Uttarakhandhas decided to issue biometric cards and also register the mobile numbersof pilgrims to provide timely weather forecasts.

Religious tourism gets biometric touch

ME G H A PAU L

The number ofpilgrims will increaseas the yatra startsand we are optimisticthat over 50 lakhdevotees visitthe state thisseason

En route to salvation

SMS alerts in case of an

emergency

Timely weather forecast on

registered mobile numbers

25 points have been identified,

most of them in Garhwal region,

where biometric cards would be

issued to pilgrims

Dedicated control room for the

Char Dham yatra to be opened

Mobile medical team to be

stationed at every 10-15km along

the route

Umakant PanwarTourism Secretary

Uttarakhand


travtalk april 1st 2014

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