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` 50/-A DDP PUBLICATION Pages: 48Vol. XXIV No. 11; June 1st fortnight issue 2012

Sliding ` : Industry worried

The partially convert-ible Indian rupee fellbelow the key psycho-

logical level to hit a newrecord low and is hitting alife-time low. It’s perhaps dueto risk aversion in the ongo-ing economic difficulties inthe European countries, sub-dued investor confidence inthe Indian market, fear psy-chosis, speculative forces ora complex of such issues.

The Indian tour opera-tors are worried about thesteep fall in the value of the

India rupee and its long-term repercussions. For theinbound industry, it meansincrease in tourist arrivals,but they worry the implica-tions on the macro front.The domestic tour operatorsare equally a worried lot.The outbound industry,which is facing maximumchallenges due to slide invalue of rupee, is also con-cerned about the need touplift the broader economicsentiments along with thelowering steep tax on theoutbound packages.

V I V E K SE T H I

Contd. on page 28

Usha SharmaADG, Ministry of Tourism

Guldeep Singh SahniPresident, OTOAI

Representative associations of the inbound, domestic and outbound segments are concerned aboutthe direct and indirect fall out of the steep downslide in value of Rupee. finds out more…

Usha Sharma hasrecently taken over as theAdditional Director Generalof Tourism in the Ministry ofTourism. She had previouslyserved the RajasthanGovernment for over fiveyears. Previously, she was thePrincipal Secretary, Tourism,Government of Rajasthan.She had been a leading forcebehind the Great IndianTravel Bazaar (GITB), whichhas become one of the mostcoveted marts in the SouthEast Asia region.

New ADG

Sarab Jit SinghSr. Vice President, IATO

Rajat SawhneyGeneral Secretary, ADTOI

Prospects ofoutboundsegment arechallenging

Negative impactcan lead to aneconomicslowdown

The presentsituation seemsto be verycomplex

Build biz@WTM Latin AmericaWTM Latin America will target over 1,000 exhibitors and is expecting over 7,000 visitors. The event will also run a targetted regional and international Hosted Buyer Programme.

In the ongoing uncertainglobal economic envi-ronment, Latin America

has emerged as one of theresilient regions that offer immense potential for

global stakeholders in thetourism industry. To tap the potential in this region,Reed Travel Exhibitions(RTE) have announced aglobal event to tap thetourism potential in Latin America on April

23-25, 2013 titled WTMLatin America.

As per LawrenceReinisch, Exhibition Director,World Travel Market LatinAmerica, “The LatinAmerican travel and tourism

industry has grown rapidlyand is poised to grow evenfaster over the next fewyears. Latin America attract-ed 33,127,000 tourists in2011 rising 5.2 per cent ayear to 55,191,000 in 2021.This growth sees the region

top the table of percentageincrease in tourism spendingover the coming years, rising7.5 per cent over the periodto $70.8bn in 2012, accord-ing to the World Travel&Tourism Council.”

TT BU R E AU

Contd. on page 5

BULLETIN

The PATA-India chapter isgearing up for the strate-

gic events lined forSeptember and October2012. The first of its strategicinitiatives is the PATA Travel Mart in Manila to be held from September 25-28,which will be followed up by three overseas roadshows.

“Post the successfulPATA Travel Mart 2011 inNew Delhi, our resilientPATA-India Chapter is striv-ing to register substantialnumber of repeat and newIndian buyers/sellers for thePATA Travel Mart 2012 inManila from September 25-28,” said Kabir Vasudeva,Executive Director, PATA-India Chapter.

“We hope that we willsucceed in attracting a sub-stantial number of partici-pants amid the fact that ITBAsia is also lined up aroundthe same period,” he added.

Moreover, like the pre-vious edition of successfulroadshows spread over USA,UK and Canada in 2010 and

2011 respectively, this year,PATA India Chapter is work-ing on conducting roadshowsin Australia and New Zealand.Vasudeva said,

“We are working on three roadshowscovering NewZealand and Australiain October 2012. One thing we ensure in our roadshows is thequality of attendance.In fact, in the previous edition, we had opted for services of an independent well-placed consultant.”

“This year also, we arepreparing in a manner thatour delegates get to meetquality trade partners, whichyields possibility of fruitfulbusiness association in timesto come,” he added.

With successful roadshows over USA, UK & Canada in 2010 and 2011,PATA-India will now organise roadshows in Australia & New Zealand.

PATA-India roadshows in Aus, NZ

TT BU R E AU

Vikram MadhokVice ChairmanPATA India Chapter

The first of its strategicinitiatives is the PATATravel Mart in Manila to beheld from September 25-28 which will befollowed up by threeoverseas roadshows

PATA-India Chapter isstriving to registersubstantial number ofrepeat and new Indianbuyers/sellers for the PATATravel Mart 2012

High Hopes

STATISTICS

VIEWPOINT

WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Researchshows that world Travel & Tourism

continues to grow in spite of continuingeconomic challenges.

Despite progressive downgrades to growthforecasts through 2011, the industry grew by3% over the course of the year (in terms ofTravel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP).Tourism’s direct contribution to GDP in 2011was US$2 trillion and the industry generated98 million jobs. Taking account of its direct,indirect and induced impacts, Travel &Tourism’s total contribution in 2011 wasUS$6.3 trillion in GDP, 255 million jobs,US$743 billion in investment and US$1.2trillion in exports. This contributionrepresented 9% of GDP, 1 in 12 jobs, 5% ofinvestment and 5% of exports.

Growth forecasts for 2012, although lowerthan anticipated a year ago, are still positiveat 2.8% in terms of the industry’s contributionto GDP. Longer-term prospects are even morepositive with annual growth forecast to be4.2% over the ten years to 2022.

The Indian tourism industry had a brilliantrun in the year 2007, just before the worldrealised that many of the iconic institutionsand sub-prime mortgage lending in thedeveloped world will pull the global economydown into the hands of the recessionarymonster.

Fortunately, riding on the back of strongeconomic fundamentals, the Indian economyand the Indian tourism industry came out of the unprecedented global economicmeltdown. But today, it seems the globaleconomy has not completely managed to getout of the grip of the toxic recessionarymonster, as disturbances continue to createnew threats for European economies.

When the world is going through suchuncertainties, the Indian economy is bound tohave its own set of ups and downs. The steepfall in the value of Rupee is one such instance,which had been more a result of global riskaversion than a change in the macro pictureof the Indian economy.

The visionary and brave will see many newopportunities in the present times that lookchallenging. The Indian tourism industry,which is most vulnerable to such globaluncertainties, now also needs to change, so as to emerge as a leading force.

New benchmarks

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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With myriad of problems plaguing Kingfisher Airlines and Air India, the Indian domestic market is now dominated by low fare players. However, profits still seem to be a distant dream. Excerpts from an HSBC survey:

What’s in store for private airlines?

TT BU R E AU

The significant cutback in domestic capacity by Kingfisher has brought about some capacity rationalisation in the industry and a better demand-supply balance. Kingfisher’s capacity is roughly down to 30% of its full scale operations

The Indian domestic market is now clearly dominated by low fare players whose market share reached 54 per cent in March 2012. Separately,Jet Airways (including JetKonnect) still commands the largest share of the market at 29 per cent, closely followed by IndiGo at 22 per cent.

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The survey suggests that average fares in the fourth quarter were not significantly below third quarter levels, despite the latter being the seasonallystrongest quarter. After registering a demand growth rate of 17% in 2011, the domestic passenger growth rate has slowed down to 7% in Q1 2012.

The forecasts for FY13-15 suggest a moderate growth of 13-14%over the next two years, but there are three caveats:• We assume Kingfisher maintains its current fleet size of 20

aircrafts

• We assume two-thirds of IndiGo’s fleet deliveries are used fordomestic operations and the remaining aircrafts are used forinternational operations

• This exercise excludes the fleet of National Aviation Companyof India Limited due to unavailability of data.

Although the option to acquire aircrafts on lease remains (i.e.unplanned capacity addition), suppliers may be wary of Indiancarriers’ ability to meet obligations, especially after Kingfisher’stroubles. Also, industry players would not ramp up capacity,especially as costs remain elevated and would focus on yieldsinstead. Therefore, the risk of unplanned capacity addition is low.

Reeling under a severemanpower shortage.Manpower shortage

and attrition is the single

largest problem in the hospi-tality industry. Being a serv-ice industry, where talentredeems the brand promise,employee cost on an averageis increasing and this is dent-

ing the profits of the industry.A recent survey conducted byglobal recruitment tenderingplatform MyHiringClub.comalso echoes the same senti-ments. To understand the

trend of employee’s attritionrates in Q4 of FY12 in India,the survey revealed that avi-ation and hospitality sectorwitnessed the highest attri-tion rates. On one hand, the

hospitality industry is com-plaining that it is grapplingwith attrition. On the otherhand, the hospitality educa-tion institutes see a dichoto-my here. They argue that the

problem of less students opt-ing for hospitality is self cre-ated by the hotels. Theimpression passed on to the industrial training candi-dates leave a wrong tale intheir minds and they headtowards other industries for a career. Hence, this leadsto the shortfall or lack ofdesirable candidates.

Representatives from hospitality education institutes in India argue that the trend of employee attrition in the Indian hospitality sector is self created by hotels.However students and parents too need to change their attitude towards the industry.

Lacking desirable manpower?

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

Contd. on page 30

“This growth has, andwill continue, to position it asone of the most importantregions for the travel andtourism industry, meaning theregion needs a global event topromote it to the world asboth an inbound market andincreasingly important sourceof outbound travellers,”Reinisch added.

“The Indian and LatinAmerican markets are two ofthe most important emergingtravel and tourism economiesand have great potential towork together,” said Reinisch.

“I would highly recom-mend WTM Latin America tothose in the Indian travelindustry; it will be the eventwhere they will be able tostrike deals with countriesfrom the Latin Americanregion. This will help toimprove the travel andtourism industry for bothIndia and the Latin Americanregion,” added Reinisch. Withthis, RTE has already organ-ised two leading global eventfor the region which willlaunch in the next 12 months.Before WTM Latin Americalaunches in 2013, ILTMAmericas will launch inMexico this October (1-3 inMayakoba).

WTM LatinAmerica in AprilContd. from page 1

The Indian andLatin Americanmarkets havegreat potential towork together

Lawrence ReinischExhibition DirectorWorld Travel Market Latin America

ME G H A PAU L

PASSPORTS

India has emerged as animportant source market

for the world, which has led UNWTO to forecast a sup-ply of over 50 million out-bound travellers by 2020. Animportant indicator of theincreasing willingness totravel is the increase in pass-port applications.

As per the statistics releasedby the Ministry of External Affairs,in 2011, 37 pass-port offices, head-quarters and theoffice of the chiefSecretary of Andaman andNicobar Islands,issued 58.69 lakhpassports (inclusiveof 2,840 Diplomaticpassports and28,067 Officialpassports) and rendered 4.68 lakh passports-relatedmiscellaneous services.

The 178 Indian mis-sions and posts issued 10.27lakh passports. Thus, theGovernment of India, intotal, rendered 73.65 lakhpassport services. The total revenue generated from all Passport Offices in2011 was Rs 728.99 crore,compared to the total rev-enue of Rs 679.11 crore in2010. Indian passports areissued by the Ministry ofExternal Affairs through anetwork of 37 PassportOffices, while the CPVDivision issues only diplo-matic and official passportsand the office of the ChiefSecretary of Andaman andNicobar Islands.

Moreover, this networkis being expanded consider-ably under the Passport Seva

Project. Under this transfor-mative e-Governance initia-tive, 77 Passport SevaKendras (PSK) are beingestablished all over India. ForIndians living abroad, pass-port, consular and other mis-cellaneous services are ren-dered by 178 Indian missionsand posts.

V I V E K SE T H I

The spurt in the India outbound segment is evidentlargely by the 58.69 lakh passports that showcased arise of over 127 per cent in the number of passportsissued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

127% growth in numberof passports issued in 2011

Name of RPO/ PO No. of No. of passports passports

issued issuedunderTatkal

Passports issued under General & Tatkal categoryduring January 1 – December 31, 2011

Hyderabad 443,605 77,224 Bengaluru 384,044 65,250 Delhi 335,210 58,568 Lucknow 351,097 14,684 Mumbai 321,264 26,506 Chennai 257,987 86,120 Ahmedabad 320,864 4,789 Kochi 243,718 51,554 Kolkata 256,476 12,139 Chandigarh 254,166 13,090 Kozhikode 195,356 31,992 Jaipur 199,720 21,069 Thane 202,007 9,644 Malappuram 164,065 28,328 Thiruvananthapuram 143,231 37,249 Patna 172,062 2,962 Pune 141,184 19,597 Ghaziabad 133,444 8,897 Trichy 115,626 8,873 Madurai 113,790 1,952 Jalandhar 109,782 2,176 Surat 100,359 2,425 Bhopal 99,382 14,512 Coimbatore 84,258 12,037 Nagpur 88,691 6,475 Amritsar 86,994 3,244 Vizag 76,500 8,631 Bareilly 71,883 1,438 Bhubaneswar 52,481 9,768 Guwahati 54,483 6,639 Dehradun 54,840 4,147 Ranchi 47,964 9,802 Srinagar 41,566 628 Raipur 33,054 4,422 Panaji 33,455 2,008 Shimla 25,628 2,599 Jammu 25,410 147 Port Blair 2,892 476

Total of RPOs 5,838,468 672,061 HQ CPV Division 2,840/28,067(Diplomatic/Official Passport)Passport Issued by 1,027,000178 Mission/Posts Abroad

Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs

Passports issued during January 1- December 31, 2011

No. of Passports8.51 15.58 25.80 58.69Issued (in lakhs)

Percent increase 83 66 127.48over the previous

period

1979- 1989- 1999- Jan-80 1990 2000 Dec

2011

Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs

Rising demand for Passports

AGENTS J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 7

Fairfax Financial HoldingsLimited (Fairfax), a

Canadian company, on May21, 2012 announced anagreement through itsFairbridge Capital subsidiarywith UK-based Thomas CookPlc to purchase its 77%stake in Thomas Cook India.The deal has been struck ata purchase price of ` 50 pershare for a total cost of

` 817 crore, which is subjectto Thomas Cook’s share-holders and Indian regula-tors approval.

“We are pleased toannounce this acquisition andto own such well-known andstrong Indian business. We look forward to a seam-less ownership transitionunder the continued leader-ship of Madhavan Menon,CEO, TCI and his excellentteam,” said Prem Watsa,Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer of Fairfax.

“This is the inaugural acquisition in India by HarshaRaghavan and hiscolleagues atFairbridge Capitaland we are excitedby the exceptionalopportunities weexpect we will seein Indian in thefuture,”

he added. TCI is the largestintegrated foreign exchangeand travel services company

in India. Its services aremainly focussed on foreignexchange, and also includeoutbound and inboundleisure travel, corporatetravel and insurance. It islisted on BSE and NSE andThomas Cook held 77 per

cent stake in it. This deal ispart of Thomas Cook’s previ-ously announced plans toreduce debt and strengthenits financial position. The saleof TCIL is expected to becompleted within the currentfinancial year.

The sale of Thomas Cook India is expected to be completed within the current financial year and totalcost of deal is approximately ` 817 crore.

Fairfax has 77% stake in TCIL

TT BU R E AU

Madhavan MenonCEOThomas Cook India

Go green, says QBA

The Tourism Authority ofThailand has revealed that arecord number of 917,832Indians travelled toThailand in 2011 compareto 791,185 in 2010, makingit the number one destina-tion for Indians with agrowth rate in excess of 16% in 2011.

QUICK READ

Employees of QBA walked through the entire Connaught Place picking up garbage from the ground on April 21, a daybefore World’s Earth Day. This activity will be organised regularly by the company. Rotary Club of Delhi also extendedits hands to make this event a success.

ANALYSIS8 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

As per the statistics available with the Ministry of Tourism, December has been the peak month for FTAs in India followed by November and January, while May has been the leanest month.

Can we sell Indian summers?

Vijay ThakurImmediate Past PresidentIATO

Every year, we talk of makingIncredible India a 365-day destina-tion, but fail to deliver anythingsubstantial in the said direction.India is an incredible destination,which has to offer more than anyother destination.

However, lack of marketing support and attractive cam-paigns specifically aimed at selling the summer season ensurethat we witness a lean period.

To start with, we should target some specific countriesto generate visitor arrivals in that specific period. The Visa on Arrival scheme along with the other incentives like partial or complete visa fee waiver should be extended to create demand.

Incredible India needs to work out a detailedstrategy to address the seasonality impact in

the inbound segment and ensure that no periodsare termed lean periods, as India strives tobecome a round-the-year destination.

Seasonal variations have been observedin Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India. Asper the statistics available with the Ministryof Tourism, December has been the peakmonth for FTAs in India followed byNovember and January, while May has beenthe leanest month.

In 2010, the maximum number of foreign tourists visited India duringDecember (11.8 %) and minimum during themonth of May (5.7 %), which has been the pattern in 2008 and 2009 also.Fortunately, the conventional belief that the weather conditions at different tourist

destinations are one of the important determinants of tourist arrivals has beenchanged with the emergence of destinationlike Dubai. here brings the way forward to sell India in a holistic manner during the summers, while being aggressivein approach.

TT BU R E AU

Lajpat RaiPresidentHony Joint Secretary, IATO

The biggest obstacle in myopinion is the perception among theoverseas tour operators that Indiaas a destination gets too hot duringthe summers that travelling getsvery difficult. These perceptions aremore or less reinforced due to lack of adequate marketingsupport to promote the summer season. It’s high time nowthat we change the perception and position India as a 365day destination offering the best of overall travel experience.

If other destinations can get tourist even after touching 55degree celsius, there are no reasons that Incredible India can’tbecome one of the most preferred summer option. Look at Dubai,Bangkok, and Indonesia to name a few, who have successfullymarketed summers. But, our conventional marketing campaignhas always promoted India as a winter destination.

Vishal SuriChief Operating OfficerInbound, Thomas Cook India

India’s popular tourism gate-ways are adversely impacted bythe summer temperatures. Due tothis, tourists from western coun-tries are discouraged from explor-ing India. Making India a yearround destination is not a challenge; instead if constant effortis put into changing the perception of India, inbound tourismduring summer will increase automatically.

Destinations like Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh and HimachalPradesh amongst others need to be promoted as alternativesduring this season. Further, the Foreign Tour Operators (FTO)and Foreign Agents (FA) need to be suitably briefed to pub-licize these destinations. Also, the Indian Ministry of Tourismshould promote and create awareness about India throughsuitable promotional campaigns across the world.

HOTELS1 0 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Arecent TripAdvisor survey– Summer Holiday Travel

Survey – shows the Indianwoman is ready to go solo with64 per cent female respon-dents willing to travel alone onleisure. Also, statistics reflectan ever increasing number ofwomen are now travelling forbusiness, which has spawnedthe hotel industry to sensitisetheir services as per women’sneeds, reorienting them to bein-tune with the industry’sinternational trends. Todayhotels are pampering thisniche segment and offeringspecial services to makewomen feel not only securebut also at home.

Most hotels have incor-porated free pick-up and dropservices from the airport fortheir women travellers.Rooms are offered near eleva-tors where it is well lit and aguard is present. Videophones to check the identityof any person seeking entryinto the guest room, andscreening of telephone calls,is likely to become an industrynorm. But the recent, moredynamic trend has been ofentire floors or rooms beingdedicated for the individualwoman traveller.

Says Sanjay Sharma,Complex General Manager,The Westin Gurgaon, NewDelhi and The Westin SohnaResort and Spa, “We haveseven dedicated rooms, oneon each floor, for single

woman travellers namedafter the Greek Goddess ofBreeze - Aura. Dedicated tothe chic, modern women on-the-go, these rooms are gen-erous in size and convenient-ly located close to the eleva-tors on each floor for easyaccess.” The Aura rooms areserviced by female associatesonly for elevated security ofthe single female travelers,he adds.

The Westin Gurgaon,New Delhi features 313 keys,including seven Aura rooms.Regarding the business gen-erated by these exclusivewomen rooms, Sharma states,“There is definitely a trend ofwomen, especially singlewomen travellers on leisureand business trips, using theserooms. They account for 16per cent of our hotel’s totalbusiness. Not just this, but

their per capita spend duringthe stay is 35-40 per centmore than the average spendof their male counterparts.”

Reiterates PranayVerdia, Director-Operations,Jaipur Marriott Hotel,“Women do not just seekcomfort and security in theirhotel rooms, but, they alsoexpect the finer things in life.Single women guests arenow being considered as an

important client category forour hotel.” Jaipur MarriottHotel ensures that the guestis tracked right from themoment the reservation ismade with special VIP codeto their arrival and thenthrough their stay until theydepart. “We ensure the com-plete patrolling of the floorthrough the day and night.Especially, when a single ladychecks in, the list is sharedwith the Loss Preventiondepartment (SecurityDepartment) to have thecomplete patrolling of thefloor, especially during thenight,” he reveals. Some ofthe added amenities for thewomen travellers consist ofrooms being serviced by ladyassociate from housekeeping.The reception also does notpermit any outsider into theirrooms without getting appro-priate clearance from theirend, he informs.

ITC business hotels wereone of the first hotels in thecountry to dedicate entirefloors – Eva floors -- with stan-dardised facilities for women travellers. Confirms D Kavarana, GM, ITC Maratha& Area Manager, West, “At theITC Maratha, a set of Evarooms are dedicated exclusive-ly to the single lady traveller.Conceived as a haven of relax-ation and contemporary style,the Eva rooms cater to therequirements and preferencesof our special lady guests.Whether it is providing airportassistance on arrival to ladybutlers, unpacking clothes,

guidance in terms of travellingwithin the city, aid with hiringof reliable transportation,draping a sari, announcing ofcalls after 10 pm or a videophone in room, all these arepart of the service design.However, the option of staying in an Eva room is atthe discretion of the single lady traveller.”

A significant advantagethat ITC Hotels have is the‘Women Aware’ certificationthat ITC hotels have beenaccredited with, making itthe preferred choice of singlelady travellers from acrossthe globe, he adds.

At the ITC Maurya, thereis one Eva floor with 14 rooms,which is dedicated to women-only travellers. What is inter-esting is that without the roomkey card, one cannot even stopat the Eva floor. The cardneeds to be swiped in the ele-vator to direct it to the Evafloor, allowing limited entryand optimal security. Thedefining moment of the Evafloor is the interactive doorbell, where the guest is able tosee without moving fromwhere she is seated as to whois at the door.

As more and more women prefer to travel solo on business or leisure, the hospitality industry is also goingall out to woo women travellers by offering them perks and pampering them with special services.

How hotels are pampering the ladiesME G H A PAU L

At the ITC Maratha,a set of Eva roomsarededicatedexclusively to the singlelady traveller

Single women guests arenow beingconsidered as animportantclient categoryfor our hotel

We have sevendedicatedrooms, one oneach floor, forsingle womantravellersnamed after theGreekGoddess ofBreeze - Aura

Sanjay Sharma, Complex GeneralManager, The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhiand The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa

Pranay VerdiaDirector-OperationsJaipur Marriott Hotel

D KavaranaGeneral ManagerITC Maratha & Area Manager, West

Amenities

The Bhasin Group in collaboration with a Singapore-based leisureand tourism attraction company, Andover Leisure will soon beinaugurating a public aquarium the Blue Planet at Greater Noida.Slated to open by the end of the year, this property is set over acarpet area of approximately 1,00,000 sqf.

‘Marine life’ in NoidaRadisson Blu Plaza Delhi is

India’s first Blu Plaza businesshotel located near the Delhiinternational airport. Thetransition to Radisson BluPlaza reflects the hotel’s newpersonality complete withnewly renovated and designed

rooms, new ultra-modernbanquets, a new upcomingThai restaurant Neung Roi andThe Orb, the new avant-gardebar. The new brand identity isa reflection of leading-edgestyle and comfort with indi-vidual interiors.

Radisson Blu Plaza in Delhi

The recent trend hasbeen of entire floors orrooms being dedicatedfor the individual womantravellerRooms are offered near elevators where it iswell lit

The Globus family ofbrands recently announcedthe change of its status to awholly-owned subsidiary forits office in India. The strate-gic move is in line with thefirm’s objective of strength-ening its presence in India.

“India is one of our keygrowth markets and we arevery excited about the possi-bilities that this change pres-ents,” said Gauri Jayaram,Regional Director – South Asia& Middle East, family ofbrands.

Globus strengthens presence

HOTELS1 2 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Despite the weakeningIndian rupee, the Indian

outbound traveller is stillcatching the fancy of the inter-national hotels. Joining thisbandwagon now is theConstance Hotel Experience.A luxury hotel group with addresses in Maldives,Mauritius, Seychelles andMadagascar, it is nowfocussing on key markets suchas Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru,Chennai and Kolkata this year.

Realising the growingimportance of India, DyannaPudaruth, Chief of Marketing,Constance Hotel Experiencesays, “Right now, we havealmost zero presence in India.Hence, in the first phase, ouraim is to introduce the brandand create awareness inIndia.” Last year, of the 53,395Indians who visited Mauritius,only 199 stayed at theConstance properties. Around100 Indians checked in atConstance hotels in Maldivesand 25 in Seychelles.

To increase these num-bers, the company hasentered the Indian market by

appointing Nijhawan Group asits Marketing Representativeand Blue Square Consultants

as its PR arm. According toAnkush Nijhawan, MD,Nijhawan Group, India with an estimated potential of 50 million outbound Indian travellers by 2020, is a key market to be captured by Constance Hotels. Around 75 per cent ofIndians travelling to destina-tions such as Mauritius andMaldives opt for high-end lux-ury accommodations, hencegiving Constance Hotels agreat opportunity in theIndian market.

Nijhawan says, “Forthe travel trade fraternity inIndia, there will be partner-ships with the key tourismstakeholders and collabora-tors from destinations whichhave presence in India forMauritius, Maldives andSeychelles. In order to givethe Indian travel agents a feel of Constance hospitality and firsthandexperience of our services,USPs and accommodationfacilities, we will host famtrips to all destinations.”

After Maldives, Seychelles & Madagascar, the luxury hospitality chain isnow focussing on key markets-Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai & Kolkata.

‘Constance’ eyes high-end Indians

TT BU R E AU

Near 75 per cent of Indianstravelling todestinations suchas Mauritius opt for high-endaccommodations

We have almostzero presence inIndia. Hence,our aim is tointroduce thebrand andcreateawareness

Dyanna PudaruthChief of MarketingConstance Hotel Experience

Ankush NijhawanManaging DirectorNijhawan Group, India

Kerala in Saudi Arabia

Looking to entice the cash-rich Arabs to the shores of God’s Own Country, KeralaTourism launched an aggressive campaign in Saudi Arabia with a series of roadshows to re-ignite the charm of the southern state among the traders and travellersin a big way. The roadshows were held at Jeddah on May 6, followed by Riyadhon May 7 and Dammam the next day, kick-starting the new drive to focus on SaudiArabia as one of the key future markets. Kerala Tourism Minister AP Anil Kumarled the delegation, along with the Tourism Secretary TK Manoj Kumar, to the Gulfregion that is now turning out to be a high-profile spender in the world tourism map.

Kerala registered over onecrore visitors during

2011, said A P Anil Kumar,Tourism Minister,Government of Kerala.Revenue earnings recordedby the sector during the peri-od stood at ` 19,037 crore,the Minister said. Of allinbound tourists, 7.3 lakhwere foreign and 93.7 lakh

domestic. This representeda year-on-year rise of 73,720in the number of foreigntourists and as much as 7.86lakh in domestic tourists,according to a report by TheHindu Business Line. Foreignexchange earnings havegone up from ` 3,797.37crore in 2010 to ` 4,221.99crore in 2011.

1 crore visitors in Kerala

DESTINATIONS1 4 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

From grand palaces to sky-scrapers and trendy

museums, the SouthwestGerman capital has a varietyto offer to its visitors.“Stuttgart is the city with thehighest increase inovernights from Indian visi-tors last year and we hope fora similar growth this year,”says Hans-JörgHadbawnik,Regional Director for India &Russia, Stuttgart- MarketingGmbH, Regio Stuttgart

Marketing- und TourismusGmbH. Surrounded by vine-yards and forests on thebanks of River Neckar,Stuttgart provides the perfectscenic getaway with the com-forts of a city. Home to theMercedes-Benz and PorscheMuseum, Stuttgart has alsomanifested its reputation asa center of the German auto-motive industry.

“We are very active inthe Indian market and attendmany roadshows in India. Ivisit five Indian cities, meet-

ing at least 100 travel agentsand tour operators in eachcity. We also conduct work-shops,” adds Hadbawnik.

The promotional agendaalso includes an online train-ing programme for travelagents. More than 800 Indiantravel agents have participat-ed and on passing the test,they have become South WestGermany specialists.

“First we want to informthe travel trade about our des-tination at reasonable prices.We have helped design pack-ages for one day, three daysand five days. These havebeen priced and can be bookedonline. We find these packagesalso useful for business trav-ellers,” says Hadbawnik.

Addressing some of thecommon concerns of an

Indian traveller, he adds,“Indian will not face anyproblems when it comes tofood, vegetarian food is easilyavailable in every restaurantand Stuttgart has over 20Indian restaurants.”

Stuttgart is also a member of the Germantourism initiative, India pool and supportsits promo-tional activities.

With over 100,000 Indian visitors last year, the capitalof Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, surely has a lot tooffer. Here is a look at their marketing strategy andfuture plans for India.

Fast cars and vineyards, all in Stuttgart

DEVIKA JEET FROM GERMANY

Hans-JörgHadbawnikRegional Director for India & RussiaStuttgart- Marketing GmbHRegio Stuttgart Marketing- und Tourismus GmbH

The Porsche Museum is an astonishing 35,000-tonbuilding, which seems to float on concrete pillars. It is ded-icated to connect the past, present and future of the com-pany. It hosts about 80 Porsche sports cars ranging fromhistoric to modern. The exhibits include some of the outstanding technical achievements ofProfessor Ferdinand Porsche from the early 20th century. Spanning 600 square meters, themuseum also has a conference area providing facilities for meetings, conferences and lectures.

The old administration building of Stuttgart's formerslaughterhouse is now home to the world’s biggest pigMuseum, Schweine Museum. More than 50,000 exhibitsfrom everywhere in the world, ensures an extremelyunforgettable experience. Separated on 25 thematicrooms, pigs of any kind present their story and history. The exhibitions offers you a fascinatingoverall view on the world and the figure of the pig. Don’t miss the golden pig!

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is the only one in the worldthat can document in a single continuous timeline over 120 yearsof auto industry history. On nine levels and covering 16,500 sqm, the museum presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits.The tour consists of seven Legend rooms that narrate the chronological history of the brand.The wealth of vehicles is on display in five rooms. The exhibition is rounded off by a displaywhich offers a glimpse into the day-to-day work at Mercedes-Benz.

Thrilling drive

‘Babe’ on the block

Vroom-Vroom

EVENT TALK

JUNEDate Particulars1-2 ATOAI’s First Aid and CPR Course, New Delhi

4-7 International Luxury Travel Mart Asia, Shanghai

6-8 Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2012, Bangkok

7-10 Korea World Travel Fair, Seoul

14-17 International Travel Expo, Hong Kong

15-17 Beijing International Tourism Expo, Beijing

22 & 24 Cultour Global Heritage & Cultural Travel

Exhibition, Quito, Ecuador

27 Capacity Conclave on furthering quality Capacity Building in Tourism 2012; Rejuvenating Tourism Experience, FICCI, FederationHouse, New Delhi

JULYDate Particulars10-12 HAI’s F&B Profit Maximization, The Park Hotel, New Delhi

13-15 Travel & Tourism Fair, Kolkata

20-22 Travel & Tourism Fair - Hyderabad

20-22 India International Travel Mart (IITM 2012), Chennai

23 B2B Full Day Indonesia Sales Mission, Kolkata

25 B2B Indonesia Sales Mission, Ahmedabad

26 B2B Indonesia Sales Mission, Pune

27–29 India International Travel Mart (IITM 2012), Bengaluru

AUGUST

The German event industry has concluded the year 2011 with record results: 2.72 million eventstook place and were visited by 338 million participants throughout Germany. Compared to 2010,which had already been a very positive year, the number of visitors grew by another 4.5 percent.The number of events increased by 1.2 percent, the proportion of foreign participants remainedstable at 5.9 percent (increase of 0.1 per cent). The boom of the past two years has also led toa growing range of offers.

In 2012, the country offers 6,614 conference and event sites, three percent more than in theprevious year, according to the results of the Meeting & Event Barometer 2012, the essentialannual study for Germany's event industry.

The initiators of the study are the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC), the GermanConvention Bureau (GCB), and the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). The study wasconducted by the European Institute for the Meetings Industry (EITW). The Meeting & EventBarometer is the only study that researches the entire German event market – conferences aswell as events - and gives an in-depth, meaningful analysis of the industry.

German events industry breaks its own record

Date Particulars10-12 Holiday Expo, Vadodara

13-14 Kiwi Link India B2B Event, New Delhi

16-17 Kiwi Link India B2B Event, Mumbai

21-23 HAI’s Rooms Revenue Management – Products & Pricing, WelcomHotel Sheraton, New Delhi

24-26 Travel & Tourism Fair, Ahmedabad

24 FICCI’s The Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar, The LaLit, New Delhi

25 The Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar, FICCI, New Delhi

27 MGTO’s Macau Tourist B2B Megamart, Chennai

29 MGTO’s Macau Tourist B2B Megamart, Mumbai

31 MGTO’s Macau Tourist B2B Megamart, New Delhi

31-2 Travel & Tourism Fair, Surat

31-6 Tourism Australia’s India Mega Famil & Workshop, Australia

GUEST COLUMN1 6 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The answer to the simplequestion as to who bene-

fits from this ongoing mess is a rather straightforwardone. Continuing with AirIndia as a public sector enter-prise serves the entrenchedvested interest of no morethan a hundred thousandpersons, including theemployees in a country of 1.2billion!! Its continuation as aPSE has no strategic implica-tions and not even in thewildest stretch of imaginationdoes it serve the interest ofeither the poor or the socalled aam aadmi.

There is though onepatently spurious argument insupport of its continued statusas a PSE. This is about con-necting far flung and sparselypopulated regions of our coun-try and for serving the annualair travel needs of the religiouspilgrims. This argument is asspurious as saying that villagescan be connected to the tele-com network only by BSNL

and only public sector roadtransport services can connectrural destinations.

Both these argumentshave been proved totally falsein real life experience. Andeven the slightest bit of honestthinking will reveal to all con-cerned that public serviceobjectives can be far more effi-ciently achieved by a judiciousand well-regulated operationof the public private partner-

ship, with the governmentpartly footing the bill as in viability gap funding.

All rational persons I am sure, will back aprivatisation plan for Air India. Even in private hands, it will remain an Indiancompany and if itsperformance doesimprove, as it willmost likely do underprivate ownership,we will all be proud of it as we were of the Maharaja and are of other Indian airlines which arenow competing successfully with the best in the world.

The short but criticalpoint is that Air India shouldbe privatised as soon as pos-

sible. This should be doneeven if it means having topay a strategic investor per-haps by offering them thelucrative bilateral routescurrently owned by Air India under the IATA's global oligopolistic arrange-ment, which itself is a bit ofan anachronism.

The global civil aviationindustry is a tough place withcut throat competition andowners with deep pockets andairlines with massiveeconomies of scale. They are

out to grab greater marketshare. In this viciously com-petitive environment, mademore difficult by the industry'slong cycles of troughs andpeaks, only the best can hopeto survive. Air India, as a PSE,with its senior managementbeing made up of civil servants, who are perpetuallyuncertain of both their actual authority and tenure, isbadly hamstrung to face this competition.

We are too far awayfrom that paradigm to even

contemplate getting there. Soany attempt to find a 'solu-tion' or fix the problem withinthe present framework isbound to fail as happened in a previous phase when the Air India's Board withleading lights from the cor-porate world tried to devise aplan to revive it.

There is simply noalternative to privatising AirIndia. The longer we refuseto bite the bullet, thegreater will be the damageto national pride, the publicexchequer and the Indiancivil aviation industry. For India's sake let's actdecisively now.

(The writer is a well-knowneconomist and author

of several books. He is also theSecretary General of the

Federation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (FICCI)

The Air India saga continues to unfold in its dismal. It is not the first time that this tragic farce is beingplayed out and certainly will not be the last if Air India continues as a public sector enterprise (PSE).

Strong case for privatisation of AI

Rajiv KumarSecretary GeneralFICCI

The views expressed in this column are solely of

the author’s

AVIATION

Cathay Pacific Airwaysrecently announced that itwill increase frequenciesbetween Chennai and HongKong from four flights aweek to daily, with effectfrom September 1, 2012.The latest increase high-lights the airline’s belief inthe near and long-termpotential of the Indian mar-ket and its ongoing work tostrengthen Hong Kong’sposition as one of theworld’s leading internation-al aviation hubs.

Chennai is an importantmarket for Cathay Pacific,which has been operating

flights to the city since June2008. Together with sisterairline Dragonair, a total of35 passenger flights and 35freighter flights per weekbetween Hong Kong and thefour major gateways ofMumbai, Delhi, Chennai &Bengaluru are in service.

Tom Wright, GeneralManager South Asia, MiddleEast and Africa said: “We aredelighted to announce theincrease in frequency of ourflights between Chennai andHong Kong. This will enableus to provide passengerswith greater flexibility fortravel from Chennai to Hong

Kong and onward to otherdestinations, specificallyMainland China, Asia, NorthAmerica and Australia.

“Hong Kong has longbeen an important destina-tion for both business andleisure travellers fromChennai, and the addition ofmore Cathay Pacific flightswill further enhance tiesbetween the two cities.Demand to and from Indiain general has held upremarkably well, despite thechallenges we are facing inour network as a whole. Weexpect a good response tothis increase of flights.”

CX daily on Chennai-Hong Kong route

SpiceJet recentlyannounced an offer for all itsguests buying tickets onMay 23, 2012, marking thecompletion of 7 successfulyears of operation. To cele-brate its birthday, SpiceJetoffered a special base fare ofjust ` 777 (excluding govt.taxes) for booking tickets onany of its network. On this special fare, fuel sur-charge was not charged.The bookings for these spe-cial fares were open on May23, 2012 from 7 am andlasted till 77 minutes.

Reiterating SpiceJet’smission, Chief Executive

Officer, Neil Mills said,“Our mission is to becomeIndia’s preferred low-costairline, delivering the low-est air fares with the high-est consumer value, toprice sensitive consumers.We hope to fulfill every-one’s dream of flying. Weare thankful to all flyers,who prefer SpiceJet astheir airline of choice and invite them to enjoy this special offer onour 7th birthday.”

SpiceJet began its com-mercial operations on May23, 2005, and has becomethe people’s choice of air-

line during this journey. Atpresent, the airline has over17% of market share in thedomestic market. On anaverage, over 36,000guests prefer to fly andenjoy the hospitability ofSpiceJet daily. With India'seconomic and businessgrowth, the percentage oftravelling population is bur-geoning. More and moreIndians are travelling forboth business and pleasure,and everyone needs to saveboth time and money.SpiceJet's vision is toaddress that and ensurethat flying is for everyone.

SpiceJet’s `777 anniversary offer

Mumbai-Johannesburg route

South Africa as a destina-tion is picking up in a big

way among Indian travellers.But with Kingfisher Airlinesalready wrapped up theirinternational operations, AirIndia going through turbulenttimes and Jet Airways tem-porarily suspending its SouthAfrican operations (from June12, 2012), South AfricanAirways is all ready to takeover the market. Currentlyoperating four flights a week,the airline has announced toadd one more frequency onMumbai – Johannesburgroute effective June 16,2012. Thus, it will be operat-ing additionally on Sundayalong with Friday, Saturday,Monday and Tuesday. It hasdeployed Airbus A300-200on India-South Africa routewhich has 186 economy and36 business class seats.

Providing further detailson new addition, Sajid Khan,Country Manager – India,South African Airways said,“Our performance is betterthan 2011 and the load fac-tors are much healthier.

With one more addition in our frequency, we are expecting a consistent load factor for the next few months.

However, with the suc-cess of BRIC Summit 2012,there are many businessopportunities opening upbetween India and SouthAfrica. We are very bullish about it and areworking to increase our cor-porate base along with astrong focus on MICE.”

According to Khan,close to 95 per cent of ticketsales for the carrier is donethrough its indirect channel– travel trade and thus theairline works very closelywith them. When asked if theairline is looking at expandingits route network in India,Khan said, “First, we want toconsolidate our operations inMumbai and will later expandour wings in India.”

After Jet Airways’ move to temporarily suspend itsMumbai-Johannesburg services, South African Airlineswill now have five days a week service from June 16.

SAA fills in Jet gap

Sajid KhanCountry Manager – IndiaSouth African Airways

AN I TA JA I N

NTO1 8 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

First and foremost, canyou tell us more aboutthe NTO Forum; what isit all about?

As of today, there arearound 50 NTOs carrying outactivities in India and main-taining offices in the country.Almost all of them have theprimary remit of engagingwith and through the Indiantravel fraternity and theirmain route to market here isthrough pan India roadshowsfor the travel trade.

As such, maintaining aregular calendar of events isimperative for adding andupdating events, circulatingthe same amongst all theNTOs on a weekly basis andsorting out potential clashesbetween NTOs when they

choose the same date and cityin which to hold the event.

All this has beenachieved in the last two years and we have a regular calendar which isrefreshed every week and cir-culated to all concerned.

What prompted the needto form such a forum?

Frequent date clashesbetween two or more tourismboards which end in them‘cannibalising’ each other’sevents needed to be sorted.Sharing best practices andwhere possible, updateddatabases, warning againstunsuitable trade practices,advising suitable media rela-tionships, vetoing activities ifdetrimental to an NTO’s bestinterests, suggesting suitablemarkets and cities for promo-tions, sharing event spaceand budgets and utilising thetarget audience to the bestthat we could were the basicprinciples on which the NTOForum was founded .

Having been set up withthese goals in mind, howare you working towardsfulfilling its objectives?

I personally maintainthe calendar and disseminateit weekly with new eventinformation, sort out poten-tial same-day event clashesamicably, offer varied mar-keting opportunities acrossB2B and B2C segments forconsideration, share informa-tion on databases and venuesfor roadshows across India,manage events for certainpartners, organise meetingsevery 6-8 weeks for membersto network in Delhi andMumbai, share best practicesand warnings and generallyact as the connector for allthe NTOs and other mem-bers.

How many members doyou have so far?

We have about 60-oddmembers.

What has been the reac-tion of the members so

far? Are they all happywith the way things aregoing?

The members havebeen very appreciative of the NTO Forum’s initia-tives and activities till dateand have also commendedmy efforts often.

Any problem that youhave been facing con-cerning the Forum?

Finding the time to do justice to this Forum single-handedly hasremained a huge challenge,especially since it is an honorary service.

How will the forum helptravel agents?

Travel agents can ben-efit immensely from this ifthey join the Forum as it willmake them aware of themonthly activities of the

NTOs and other outboundmarketing associations.Activities can be plannedtogether to co-promotebrands and common market-ed destinations saving ontime and budgets and target-ting similar segments forgreater effect.

Furthermore, I havealso introduced the trend oflarge agencies & tour compa-nies doing reverse fam trips, where the NTOs etc are invited to participate in a fam trip as guests insteadof playing the usualhosts...The prospective hosts contact me and I float the idea to the NTO fora and facilitate the planning of this fam event! This gives us a clearer idea of the agent’smarketplace and clients and helps us facilitate them better.

Talking about her role as the Honorary All India NTO & Events Calendar Co-ordinator, Punam Singh says the NTOForum can not just avoid date clashes between various members, but also benefit travel agents immensely.

All tourism boards get togetherPEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

Punam SinghHonorary All India NTO & Events Calendar Co-ordinator

Fiji Tourism is targetting thetwo most proven market-

ing channels in India –Bollywood and social media.The tourism government isnow offering a 47 per cent taxrebate for Indian film produc-tion houses making it a com-petitive destination shootingin overseas market. It is also logging in the social mediaspace in India to make thetravellers and travel tradeaware about the unique offer-ings of Fiji.

Fiji Tourism intends toincrease the average length

of stay from India and China;two of the top emergingsource markets for the des-tination, as its traditionalmarkets - Australia and New

Zealand’s tourism pie areshowing consistency withmarginal growth. It isfocussing on Mumbai, NewDelhi, Bengaluru,Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat,Kolkata and Hyderabad mar-kets to attract high-endIndian travellers.

“We are still in theprocess of creating destinationawareness among Indian trav-ellers,” said Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-Generaland Minister of Tourism,Justice, Anti-Corruption,Public Enterprises, Communi-cations, Civil Aviation,Industry and Trade, Fiji.

“We are workingwith individualtravel companies,offering attractiverebates on film productions andmeeting with more productionhouses as Bollywoodis one of the most viable tools for promoting Fiji in India.

Currently, the averagelength of stay by Indians isabout eight to ten days. We

intend to further add five tosix days in the itinerary. Wewill continue promoting Fijiin India through fam tripsfor travel trade, trainingprogrammes, roadshowsand off course through ourrepresentative in India.”

Speaking on MICE,Sayed-Khaiyum said, “Wehave over 10,000 rooms alongwith casinos and internationalstandard convention facilities.By September 2013, we willalso have a convention centrewith capacity of 1,500 pax.”

To establish destination awareness among Indian travellers, Fiji is now eyeing the two most important marketingtools in India – social media and Bollywood! The destination is now focussing to attract high-end travellers.

Tourism Fiji logs on to Indian social mediaTT BU R E AU

Aiyaz Sayed-KhaiyumAttorney-General and Minister of TourismCivil Aviation, Industry and Trade, Fiji

Fiji's national air carrier, Air Pacific, has announced a return to its1958 name - Fiji Airways - to better reflect its dedication totransporting travellers to and from Fiji. The official name change,complete with branding and the introduction of new aircraft, isexpected to take place by June 2013. The new brand will be rolledout across ticket offices, check-in counters, lounges, the website,and advertising over the next 18 months.

Fiji Airways back to service!

After the northern andsouthern Thai Consulate

outsourced the visa process-ing and application services,the Royal Thai ConsulateGeneral in Mumbai appointedCox & Kings Global Services(CKGS) to outsource visaapplications for western

India. Till June 8, 2012,CKGS will have Thai visaapplication services acrossfive major cities in westernIndia – Mumbai and Pune(Maharashtra), Ahmedabad(Gujarat), Panaji (Goa) andIndore (Madhya Pradesh).

Talking about the needto outsource the visa appli-cation service, TomwitJarnson, Consul General ofThailand in Mumbai, said,“We decided to outsourcethe visa application servicesdue to the high demandgenerated from westernIndia. More people are trav-elling to Thailand so it willbe convenient for both trav-ellers and us to processfaster visas through CKGSservices. In 2011, weprocessed close to 1.5 lakhvisas from this region, andoverall 910,000 visa appli-cations were processed fromacross India.

This year, we expect the number to reach1.75 lakh in western India andreach more than onemillion mark by theend of 2012.

Off the 1.5 lakh applica-tions, 50 per cent came fromGujarat, 40 per cent fromMaharashtra and 10 per centfrom Madhya Pradesh and Goa.We expect that the new servicewill enhance the service levelsand add convenience to trav-ellers and travel agents.”

According to SanjayBhaduri, CEO, CKGS, travelagents and travellers can fillout visa application formsonline on www.th.ckgs.inand also schedule appoint-

ments to submit their pass-ports. They can also tracktheir visa applicationsonline. CKGS will charge anadditional amount of ` 185per person for individuals,

` 170 for groups rangingbetween 11-25 pax and` 155 for groups consistingof more than 25 passengers,over and above visa applica-tion fee as service fee.

Presently, CKGS ren-ders services to the Embassyof India in Berlin, ConsulateGeneral of India in Munich, Embassy of India in Greece and Consulate

General of India in Hong Kong. CKGS also carries out the registrationprocess for the EmiratesIdentity Program in the UAE.

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) aims at issuing around 1.5 lakh Thaivisa from its five visa application and processing centres in western India.

Want Thai visas faster?

VISAS J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 1 9

CKGS outsourcing visa applications in western India

Serving western IndiaCKGS to have Thai visaapplication services acrossfive major cities in westernIndia:

1. Mumbai

2. Pune (Maharashtra)

3. Ahmedabad (Gujarat)

4. Panaji (Goa)

5. Indore (MP)

TT BU R E AU

L-R: Kamolwan Sriposil, Consul, Royal Thai Consulate General, Mumbai; TomwitJarnson, Consul General, The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Mumbai; SanjayBhaduri, CEO - Cox & Kings Global Services and Anuurag Arora, Business Head,Thai Visa Application Centre addressing the press conference in Mumbai.

EXHIBITIONS2 0 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

ATM: New trends and new technology

Pronab SarkarManaging DirectorSwagatam Tours

ATM 2012: This year, India Pavilion was at a new hall and also didnot get the prime location in front of the entrance gate as it used toget every year. So the first difference was that we lost priority infront of other countries. I suggest Indian Tourism should make allefforts to get the front location during ATM 2013.

TRENDS: Most of the operators were being attracted by the onlinebooking system. All hotels were available online with better price to attract direct business whichwas diluting our hotel booking business. Many ‘dot com’ companies are making a change in thepresent scenario.

RESPONSE: We all felt that this year, there were more visitors from the Gulf countries aswe were busy all 4 days. For our stand, we had approximately 25% growth of visitors forbusiness discussion compared to last year.

Vikas RustagiRegional DirectorIndia Tourism, Dubai

ATM 2012: Under the banner ‘Incredible India,’ the entire lengthof tourism potential, including business and leisure travel, was show-cased during the Arabian Travel Market 2012. We had 22 exhibitorsrepresenting the tourism diversity of Heritage, Nature, Culture andWellness Tourism from India depicting the country as a multi-facetedtourist destination.

TRENDS: India’s presence and strength during ATM clearly indicated that India is takingGulf and ME region very seriously and there is lot to be proven.

RESPONSE: According to agents, participating in ATM, is always fruitful. It is more thanan investment, if they can be able to transact with a couple of new contacts to penetrate inthe region and that’s what they want to attain from Arabian Travel Market.

Ankush NijhawanManaging DirectorTBO

ATM 2012: The ATM 2012 was more focussed and in my opinion,the quality of exhibitors were much better. The show was betterorganised and well-coordinated between the halls. It was easier forthe buyers and sellers to meet. The number of participants was lessthis time; the width was lacking but there was lot of depth in theproducts.

TRENDS: Key focus was on Technology and lot of people were looking for cutting edgetravel solutions. Mobile Applications in my opinion was newest trending topic.

RESPONSE: Travel Boutique Online, Middle East and North Africa (TBO MENA) and ourTechnology company Techmaster witnessed one of the best trade shows. We had buyers fromall GCC countries who were very curious to know about our products. About 300 customerscame to our stand and am sure this will help us in growing in the MENA

Suresh DissanayakeHead of Sales & Marketing - Indian Sector Aitken Spence

ATM 2012: This was my 5th ATM and compared to previous year,I feel fewer consumers turned up. It is losing its image since the producthas reached the maturity stage. The organisers have to re-think abouttheir strategy if not, the product will reach the decline stage soon.

TRENDS: The latest trend is to increase demand for Ayurveda hol-idays. However, they are not willing to travel for a longer time like

European clients. Their avg. stay is 2-3 days and some clients who come for weight losingprogrammes will have 5-7 days average stay.

RESPONSE: We have a strong hold in ME market for SL & Maldives. We were able to breakin few major accounts during ATM. We were also able to educate many agents about our prod-uct. This will have short-term and long-term results for all our properties. We were also ableto create the brand awareness in the market.

Sanjay Kumar JainGroup General Manager-North ZoneIRCTC

ATM 2012: ATM 2012, this time, was a fresh wave of change.This was my first time at the ATM. We showcased our product, whichis really high-end. The main purpose to participate in ATM was toincrease the brand awareness. Our product is very high-end andhence, needs proper marketing.

TRENDS: Technology will be a crucial factor. Also, it is evidentthat luxury which is a niche segment is emerging as one of the most important verticals inthe tourism industry.

RESPONSE: At ATM 2012, there were many new developments. More of participants inthe technology segment reflect the growing importance of technology.

Gaurav ChiripalCEOQuadlabs

ATM 2012: There was an appreciable response from the existingtours and travel companies who were looking for online technologiesto expand. Also, they were looking for the consolidation of theironline and offline business.

TRENDS: The companies showed great interest in learning moreabout Technology products like online booking systems, B2B, B2C

platforms, Hotel consolidation System and the Mobile Platforms.

RESPONSE: As the ATM witnessed more dignitaries and decision makers other than justthe visitors this year, our company was able to create a direct association with the companiescreating better opportunities and leads. With the new launch of Hotel Consolidator Systemand Mobile Distribution Platform, we were able to grasp better attention from the prospectcustomers through the exhibition.

The recently conducted Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2012 witnessed a rise in the number of visitors, motivatedby new B2B focus and upbeat indicator from the region’s tourism sector. spoke to a few veterans of theindustry to know about the prevalent travel trends and the responses from the exhibition.

TT BU R E AU

NTO

The withdrawal ofMalaysia’s long-haul

budget carrier AirAsia Xflights from Delhi andMumbai could have had anadverse impact on tourismin Malaysia. Yet taking it inits stride is TourismMalaysia. Beating the bluesthis summer, TourismMalaysia is eyeing a 10-15per cent rise in the Indiantourist arrivals this summer.“We had earlier expectedthat the suspension of AirAsia flights from Delhi andMumbai sectors would neg-atively impact tourist trafficto Malaysia. However, it hasbeen offset to a large extentby Malaysian Airlines, whichintroduced four additionalflights from Mumbai for thesummer rush,” Manoharansays. To cater to the increasein demand during the ongoing Indian holiday sea-son, Malaysia Airlines hashiked the frequency of its daily Mumbai-KualaLumpur service to 12 flights per week till the end of the month.

The director also feelsthe weakening of the rupee

might encourage outboundtravel from India to short-haul destinations such asMalaysia. “The sliding rupeewill obviously impact

long-haul travel. People whohad planned to go toAmerica or Europe this year could now choose destinations that are closerto India.” This summer,three-in-one Malaysia-Singapore- Thailand packages are selling like hotcakes, he adds.

Speaking on the possi-bility of starting VoA facility for Indians,Manoharan says, “Malaysiais also considering to reinstate the Visa-on-Arrival(VoA) facility for Indiannationals.” The facility was withdrawn in May 2008 amid concerns overillegal immigration. This move will help inencouraging more repeat- and experiential out-bound travellers from India.“There has been a steady increase of Indianarrivals in Sarawak. Theirnumber went up to 17,000last year, which is a signthat increasingly, IndianFITs are going off the beatentrack. These are evolvedtravellers who are more experiential and participative.”

P. Manoharan, Director for India, Tourism Malaysia , saysVisa-on-Arrival (VoA) could facilitate repeat travellers.

Malaysia: VoA for India

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Malaysia is alsoconsidering toreinstate the VoAfacility for Indiannationals tokeep up with the risingnumber ofIndians to the country

P. ManoharanDirectorTourism Malaysia

New Zealand welcomedmore than 28,500 visitors

from India in the year endingFebruary 2012 and experi-enced 4.7 per cent growth intotal arrivals to New Zealandbetween December andFebruary from the same periodlast year.

“Our holiday trav-ellers grew 2.5 percent during thesame period and we look forward toseeing this as wemove into our highseason for Indiantravellers visitingNew Zealand,” says Mischa Mannix-Opie,Regional Manager, South andSouth East Asia, Tourism New Zealand.

Along with focussing onthe leisure market, NewZealand plans to tap the busi-ness events sector. “TourismNew Zealand has developed a

Business Events Strategy lastyear and this is now beingimplemented in key marketsaround the globe. India hasbeen highlighted as a key mar-ket in this strategy. NewZealand is already an inspira-tional destination for Indianbusinesses that run incentiveprogrammes and we believethere is plenty more growth inthis segment given the excep-tional product that we offer,”adds Mannix-Opie.

Discussing their initia-tives for the Indian travelagents, Mannix-Opie high-lights, “Our relationship withthe key trade and airline part-

ners will be important ingrowing this segment to NewZealand and we look forwardto working with them.”

Some of their plansinclude joint marketing, famtrips and training pro-grammes. The Kiwi link India2012 will be held in New Delhiand Mumbai between August13-17 with two days of work-shops in each city. The eventwill provide information to theIndian travel sellers about NewZealand's regions and prod-ucts. Last year, over 120 travelcompanies attended Kiwi Link India, with over 300 participants. From July 2011,the tourism board has educat-ed and trained around a 1,000 Indian agents about the destination.

In spite of no directflights between India and NewZealand, tourism to the destination is on a rise.Emphasising on the impor-tance of the India market, shesays, “India is an importantmarket for New Zealand par-ticularly as travellers visit afterthe typical summer high-sea-son has concluded.

Tourism New Zealand is implementing its Business EventsStrategy in India to make a strong hold on Indian market.

Kiwis zoom in on MICE

DE V I KA JE E T

Mischa Mannix-OpieRegional Manager, South and South EastAsia, Tourism New Zealand

ANALYSIS2 2 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

When Hrithik Roshanand his gang of boys

were painting Spain red dur-ing the Tomatino festival,didn’t you also want to join inon the fun? When RanbirKapoor was dancing aroundthe streets of Prague, didn’tyou feel like doing the same?

Films are truly our win-dow to the world, and if theslew of movies portrayingSpain, New Zealand, Prague

or Berlin in a most pictur-esque manner is anything to go by, then we surely know that foreign countriestoo are taking note of our love for films and wooingpotential Indian travellersthrough this medium.

As Madhav Pai, COO,Leisure Travel (Outbound),Thomas Cook India Limited,rightly puts it, “If cricket isIndia’s religion, thenBollywood is clearly India’s

passion! Little wonder thenthat outbound travel hasgreatly benefitted from expo-sure via Hindi cinema. We’veseen movies playing the roleof not just an influencer, butalso a decision maker! Casein point has been Zindagi NaMilegi Dobara in bringing thespotlight to Spain. I Hate LuvStorys too worked extremelywell in showcasing NewZealand. One must not forgetthat Yash Raj’s films havealways been synonymouswith Switzerland, and till

today Switzerland featuresamong the top three sought-after destinations, especiallyfor the first-time travellers.”

During the time thatShah Rukh Khan had beenshooting in Berlin for Don 2,Burkhard Kieker, the CEO ofvisitBerlin, had remarked,“With this movie (Don 2), wewant to enthrall an audienceof millions for destinationBerlin and invite Indian visi-tors to our city. Don 2 has two

starring roles, Shah RukhKhan and Berlin.”

Besides being the idealplatform to showcase a par-ticular location, films are alsoof great aspirational value.What could be more excitingfor fans than reliving the veryexperience that has beenlived by their favourite stars!

Rajiv Duggal, theManaging Director of KuoniIndia, also points out, “Indiantourists seek to visit the filmshooting locales and take

photographs to recreate themovie magic… We have wit-nessed a substantial increasein the enquiries as well asbooked holidays for variousdestinations after they werepromoted in popular movies.For instance, Spain became apopular destination after itwas extensively featured in apopular Bollywood movie.With the popularity of Spain,we also started gettingqueries for Costa Brava,Seville, Pamplona, Barcelona

and Valencia that were fea-tured in the movie.”

Radka Neumannova,Director CzechTourism India,also acknowledges thatRockstar helped to createawareness about the country,especially of Prague amongIndian tourists. “Indeed, thisyear, the main tourist seasonwill still be driven by theimages of the Czech Republicfrom Rockstar, and we are def-initely positive on growingnumbers of Indian tourists tothe Czech Republic,” she says.

When questioned on howZNMD has helped the touristarrival scenario in Spain,Arturo Ortiz, the TourismCounselor-Mumbai, Embassyof Spain, says, “The mainresults will come in the longterm. The main purpose of themovie was to create awarenessof the destination. Probably 10to 20% of the increase over thelast months was due to themovie-effect, though we willstill be seeing travellers thisand the next year.”

And with demand pour-ing in, these destinations aremaking sure that they providean environment that’s con-ducive for shooting films,which ultimately results inincreased footfall from theIndian travellers. AsNeumannova points out, “TheCzech Republic currentlyoffers 20% rebate on Czechspend and the eligible spendis capped at 80% of the totalbudget. CzechTourism is alsocurrently developing a filmsupport programme for select-ed film projects with a strongpotential for destination mar-keting. The programme ismore focussed on bartersagainst local services for filmcrews rather than a cash-backor direct financial support.”

In Spain, however, Ortizsays that incentives varyfrom region to region. “We donot have an incentive schemeand the region’s policies vary.In general, they offer VATdeduction, free permissions,single window procedures,

as well as advice and provide excellent companiesfor the services that a shoot-ing needs.”

And of course, withdestinations wooing trav-ellers, how can travel com-panies be far behind! Havingidentified this trend, thesecompanies are making surethat they too are able to cashin on it. As Duggal adds,“Today, travellers tend toresearch on destinationsbefore planning a holiday.They contact us for packagesto unique destinations theyseek to explore after watch-ing them in movies. Forinstance, we got substantialqueries for La Tomatina fes-tival in Spain after the samewas featured in a popularBollywood movie. We intro-duced a 7-day special pack-age for this festival whichreceived a phenomenalresponse. Even in the past,we had introduced packagesfor Switzerland locales,where popular Bollywoodmovies were shot.”

Pai too acknowledgesthat they leverage the inter-est piqued by films and con-vert that into bookings, “Wehave had several instanceswhen honeymooners come inasking to go to locationsstraight out of DilwaleDulhania Le Jayenge oryoung adults request for apackage that includes adven-ture sports in Spain.”

So, the next time youdecide on a holiday destina-tion make sure you don’t missout on the places that theblockbuster was shot at inthat season!

In a bid to attract travellers, foreign countries are now opening their doors to Indian filmmakers to shoot in exoticlocales and offering them various incentives. And why not, the results they say have been most encouraging!

How India travels Bollywood stylePEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

With demand pouring in,the destinations aremaking sure that theyprovide an environmentthat’s conducive forshooting films, whichultimately results inincreased footfall fromthe Indian travellers.

Shooting Demand

We have seenincrease in theenquiries aswell as bookedholidays fordestinationsafter they werepromoted inpopular movies

If cricket isIndia’s religion,then Bollywoodis clearly itspassion! Littlewonder thatoutbound hasbenefitted fromBollywoodexposure

Madhav PaiCOO, Leisure Travel (Outbound)Thomas Cook India Limited

Rajiv Duggal Managing DirectorKuoni India

10- 20% of theincrease overthe last monthswas due to themovie-effect,though we willstill be seeingtravellers thisand the next year

With Don 2,we want toenthrall anaudience ofmillions fordestinationBerlin andinvite Indianvisitors to our city

Indeed, this year, the maintourist seasonwill still be driven by theimages of the CzechRepublic from Rockstar

Radka NeumannovaDirector CzechTourism India

Burkhard KiekerCEOVisitBerlin

Arturo OrtizTourism Counselor-MumbaiEmbassy Spain

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IRCTC) and India TourismDevelopment Corporation(ITDC) have joined hands toprovide improved hospitalityand tourism services for theircustomers by making use oftheir expertise and vast networkof facilities all over the country.

An MoU in this regard was

signed between Rakesh Tandon,MD, IRCTC and Dr. Lalit K. Pawar, CMD, ITDC at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi, onMay 18, 2012.

With this cooperation boththe organizations will worktowards development of joint tourism products, openingand managing various cateringand hospitality outlets,

budget hotels etc. utilizing their joint strength at railway andnon-railway locations.

ITDC’s HRD Division, withits expertise in running the AshokInstitute of Hospitality andTourism Management, willimpart service training to theIRCTC staff. It will also train thesecurity staff for the touristtrains. IRCTC, on the other

hand, that has an experience ofmanaging, www.irctc.co.in, thelargest e-commerce site in theAsia Pacific will render IT solu-tions to ITDC.

The corporations will alsowork together towards develop-ment of lounges/meet and greetservices for tourists; event/con-ference management services;and marketing of other parties’

products and services to theirown customers (through bothphysical outlets and websites).Speaking on the occasion, Tandonsaid that hoped that a favourableresult would come out of this association while Dr Pawar,CMD, ITDC said that it would definitely benefit both the corpo-rations and the tourism & hospitality sector at large.

IRCTC joins hands with ITDC

Rakesh TandonManaging DirectorIRCTC

Do annual conventions of key trade associations offer the right mix of intellectual content, networking and socialisingplatform to its members? finds out the details…

ASSOCIATIONS2 4 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Conventions: Business or social carnival

The month of Augustonwards, hectic parleys

of deliberations are wit-nessed at the secretariats ofall the key travel trade asso-

ciations. These deliberationsare mostly related to theirannual conventions. Lately,more than the excitementabout these conventions,there had been considerabledebate on whether they

have become an ideal platform for building busi-ness, or do they end up asmere social extravaganza.

spoke to various representatives of

trade associations, whoexplained the importance of annual conventions that balance work, market intelligence andentertainment quotient for its members.

All the representativespokespersons featured inthe story unanimouslyagreed that the annual conventions are must attend events for all themembers. It also serves

as an ideal platform to dwell on the policy changes and also give mem-bers an opportunity to interact with them duringthe question and answersession, as well.

V I V E K SE T H I

Ajay PrakashPresident, TAFI

In my opinion, the annual convention of key travel trade associa-tions are on top priority list and offers great value to all its members.Tourism is all about people and speaking about our annual conventions.It offers significant intellectual content and an unparalleled networkingplatform. Our knowledge-based sessions and globally renowned speakersalways get good attendance due to the significance.

The annual convention also gives first hand information on thedestination that holds considerable business sense. It makes our members better equipped tosell the destinations, backed by first hand in-depth knowledge. One must realise that the con-ventions offer subsidised rates and over 80 per cent of our membership consists of mediumand small companies, who tend to benefit from such initiatives. The annual convention alsoplays an important role in generating revenues for the association. Our membership fees arekept modestly priced for the benefit of our members and the annual convention plays a role inensuring that such benefits continue to reach our members. Post day-long work, all memberslook forward to evenings full of entertainment, which helps them further build on networkingin a more relaxed manner. It is a misconception that our conventions are more of a socialextravaganza than a serious platform to build business, which is spread by people who don’tattend the convention.

Iqbal MullaPresident, TAAI

The annual conventions are very important and significant forall members. It is a place where all members can come together ona single platform, meet, network and work on new business oppor-tunities. Thus, it is a ready digest of the challenges the industry hasgone through, new challenges the industry needs to be prepared forand an unparalleled opportunity to increase one’s knowledge byattending the many panel discussions featuring eminent speakers.

It is also an ideal platform to dwell on policy changes, be it the Passport Seva Kendra,Railways, Convention policy, dual taxation or sight seeing issues. At such platforms, we cancall upon the policy makers from all relevant government departments, ministries and sharewith them the best way forward to unleash the potential of tourism. In fact, when we take ourconventions to overseas destinations, we make sure that all deliberations focus on addressingbilateral tourism potential, visa aspects, and air connectivity issues to name a few. The conventionsare a great platform for showcasing the destination as well.

Further, the ITTE is also an important platform to meet interested parties and build business,where leading travel operators, NTOs and other stakeholders put up their stalls. We also getan opportunity to felicitate important stakeholders who excelled in their business or honourtheir contribution to the sector through the Hall of Fame award.

Lally MathewsHony. Secretary, IATO

The annual conventions are very important event. One needsto realise that our members are spread across the length and breadthof the country and most of them look forward to the annual conven-tion to bring all of them together. It’s the best networking event,where one gets to meet all the value chains including the statetourism boards, hotels, airlines, and excursion agents to name a few.Many of them exhibit at the travel mart that is inaugurated alongwith the annual convention.

Moreover, the business sessions and the guest speakers provide a lot of information, market intelligence and leads that our members can built on. It’s the annual convention that also brings many of the leading policy makers share the dais with our representatives and also the members get an opportunity to interact with them during the question and answer session.

Post the hectic parley of day-long events spread through out the convention, our members also get opportunity to relish the relaxed atmosphere of the evening gatherings. At the evening party, our members get to interact more freely over cocktail and dinner with our peers, guests and other invitees.

P P KhannaVice President, ADTOI

The annual conventions are very important, as it brings all themembers on to a single platform. We deal with all our members through-out the year, but it is during these times when we meet them face-to-face. It is a platform, where we get to meet both old and new faces.

We all need each other, and when we are on a common platform,we are in a better position to discuss the issues confronting our indus-try, dwell on future opportunities, trends, online and offline channelsand much more. It is an important platform to send across a clear message to policy makers and various value chains, including hotels, airlines, guides and others. The business session and various panel discussions add immense constructive value to the interactions and business possibilities.

The evenings are reserved for entertainment and further networking at ease. From myexperience, during the evening people talk more freely and dwell on business possibilities,while letting their hair down. These so-called social carnivals are also important to give a morepersonalised shape to business relationships. For instance, if we need to book an importantguest, say in a hotel in Indore, our office will get the booking and also speak to the GeneralManager. But, if we know the General Manager and have met him at such a convention, thenthe service delivery will include a reasonable degree of personal touch to the guest service.

One of the world’s leadingtravel experiences by

train, Rocky Mountaineerafter launching its dedicatedIndia sales office in October2010, is now focussing ondeveloping the knowledgequotient of the Indian traveltrade to further strengthenits relationship. The companyon May 7 unveiled a newbonus programme for thetravel agents.

Elaborating on the newprogramme that will be valid from May 7-June 30,Ashish Saran, Group GeneralManager, CanadianDestinations Marketinginforms, “The main focus of

this new bonus is for the travelagencies to start thinkingabout Canada and RockyMountaineer in Canada as aproduct the moment they havea guest with the spendingpotential for this luxury prod-uct. This offer is over andabove the commissions thatthe agency stands to make on the sales of RockyMountaineer.” Since this isspecifically directed towardsthe executive at the counterwho is in touch with the guest,this should be a great incen-tive for him to sit back andlook at how he can promoteRocky Mountaineer in India tohis guests. The other focus onthis incentive is to ensure thatagencies are made aware thatwe offer complete packageswith the rail portion on RockyMountaineer. These packagesrange from three nights/fourdays to 16 nights/17 days and

cover one or most of our routesin one itinerary, he adds.

On how this move willbenefit the travel agents,Saran feels, “The bonus is afinancial incentive for the trav-el agency to enrich their finan-cial bottom lines. More sales

mean more earnings for theagency by way of handsomecommissions and every saleincreases the knowledge of theindividual selling RockyMountaineer at the frontline.Imagine an executive bookingfour families on RockyMountaineer and walking

away with ` 4,500x4 = ` 18,000 as incentive in onemonth. The agency makestheir commission over andabove the same. It is a win-win situation for us all.”According to Saran, the com-pany is eyeing at least anincrease of 10-15 per cent over

and above the growth that ithas already witnessed in thismarket. Rocky Mountaineerhas been growing since thecompany initiated a dedicatedmarketing platform from Indiain the end of 2010. The num-bers are certainly up as com-pared to the outbound travel

statistics. “Not only are weseeing an increase in the num-bers but we are also seeing atrend of longer stays in 2012,which range from sevennights/eight days in Canadacompared to 2011, which saw an average of four-fivenights stay, not counting the cruising itineraries which fit extremely well inconjunction with RockyMountaineer journeys.”

The new offer introduced by Rocky Mountaineer is over and above the standard commissionsthat the agency stands to make on the sales of Rocky Mountaineer, says Ashish Saran.

Rocky Mountaineer win-win for agents

AGENTS J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 2 7

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The offer is overand above thecommissionsthat the agencystands to makeon the sales of RockyMountaineer

Ashish SaranGroup General ManagerCanadian Destinations Marketing

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` falls, falls & adds uncertainityContd. from page 1

The steep fall in thevalue of rupee has made theprospects of outbound seg-ment even more challenging.The government had alreadyscripted an increase of`1500-5000 per ticket asadditional burden in theUnion Budget of 2012. Thefall in value of rupee hasincreased the burden byanother 10-15 per cent.

May and June witnessaround 50-60 per cent of theoutbound business. But, dueto rise in costs, our clientsare showing interest only inshort-haul destinations likeMalaysia, Singapore andThailand. The interest inlong-haul destination likeAustralia, New Zealand, andSouth Africa to name a fewhad seen drastic fall, alongwith queries on many of FarEast destinations.

In simple words, the tax-ation cost adds up to 50 percent of costs of an outboundtour package. The steep fall invalue of rupee will mean a

further hit on the margins.The cause of such steepdepreciation is nothing morethan a fear psychosis led bydifficult economic condition inGreece and Europe.

The fundamentals of theIndian market are so strongthat it came out of the recentglobal economic downturn asone of most resilienteconomies in Asia and ouroutbound tours also increasedduring the same period.

The Government shouldnot merely watch the globalevents, but initiate suchactions that lift the marketsentiments in India. Bringingdown the taxation in lieu ofrecent fall in value of Rupeewill be a welcome step; oth-erwise the medium andsmall outbound tour compa-nies will take a major hit thatmakes up of almost 90 percent of the industry.

The ideal exchange ratevalue is between ` 47-49 toa US dollar, which now lookslike a distant dream.

Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI Sarab Jit Singh, Sr. Vice President, IATO

The steep fall in valueof Rupee is worrisome. Inthe short run, we can expectthat the appreciation in thevalue of US Dollar will be anenabler and get moreinbound tourists to ourshore. But, the nature ofcontracting these days issuch that the inbound touroperators and their foreigntour operators factor in theforeign exchange risksagainst the fluctuation. Theforeign tour operator willbenefit out of the steepincrease in the value of US

Dollar. Only, in some casesour inbound tour operatorswill temporarily benefit.

On the macro front,such a steep depreciation invalue of Rupee will make ourimport get more expensiveand oil is one major con-stituent of our imports. Italso will have a negativeimpact on the broader senti-ment and can lead to anoverall economic slowdown.The ideal range of Rupee andDollar rate is about 45-47and serves all purpose.

Rajat Sawhney, General Secretary, ADTOI

There has been a steeprise in the value of US Dollaragainst the Indian Rupee. It’sa very complex phenomenonand there are many explana-tions in the market rangingfrom Greece Debt crisis,recession in Euro Zone. But,it’s too early to have any con-clusive reasoning.

From our perspective, theindicators had been very good

on the domestic tourismfront. Due to increase in thecost of overseas travel, wehave had registered stronggrowth in domestic packagesand hope the same trend will continue in the short run (30-60 days). In my opinion the ideal Rupee-Dollar range that is widelyacceptable is between `45-48 to a US Dollar.

To reinvent the 61-year-old travel association in thisdigital era, PATA CEO MartinJ. Craigs has committed theassociation to a four-yearphase of “Next Generation”action at the recently con-cluded Pacific Asia TravelAssociation (PATA) AnnualConference in KualaLumpur. Craigs felt alignedadvocacy, mobile technolo-gy, business building eventsand crisis managementreadiness would define theassociation’s new opera-tional mindset, which wouldformally be called the PATANext Gen. “PATA Next Genis ageless, neither old noryoung,” Craigs said. “It is astate of mind, a commit-ment to speed, relevance,informality and gettingthings done on behalf of ourmembers who want to buildand defend their business inan increasingly competitivemarketplace,” he added.According to Craigs, theassociation’s new mobileplatform for integrated trav-el intelligence --PATAmPOWER is a majorproof point in PATA Next

Gen delivery. PATAmPowerpresents the latest travelindustry insights and statis-tics in a user-friendly visualformat that PATA memberscan access on their mobiledevices 24/7 as long as theyhave an Internet connection,he revealed.

Urging more industryexperts and travel profes-sionals to join the associa-tion, the CEO stated, “It isnow time to start usingPATA Next Gen effectively inthe Internet Age as Asiarises on the world stage.PATA is your industry’svoice that will help you build- and defend - your busi-ness. Use it. Join us.”

PATA has a new-foundNext Gen agenda

Martin J. Craigs CEO, PATA

ANALYSIS3 0 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

While India’s govern-ment-run and private sectorhotel management schoolsturn out a little over 10,000graduates a year, many ofthese graduates are not luredby the hospitality industry.Laments Ranjit Chaudhury,Principal, IHM, Kolkata, “Evena top job as a managementtrainee is not luring the stu-dents. They are reluctant tojoin as the entry level salarystructure is too low even now.What adds on to the woes ofthe students are the taxinglong working hours and theinter-personal relationshipamong the hierarchy of theemployees and employer.” Thehotels rather than creatingfuture workforce with leader-ship qualities often becomethe roadblock.

Most of the studentsafter industrial training donot want to join the industry,Chaudhury feels. “At IHMKolkata, students spend atleast one semester in indus-trial training at reputedhotels. The average stipendfor this training ranges froma meagre Rs 500 to Rs 5,000.

There are big hotels who paythe candidates as low as Rs500-800. At least 30-35 percent of the students returnwith bad experiences andhence, the disillusionment isobvious.” The system saysthat the four-week long train-ing should include one weekeach in housekeeping, frontoffice, F&B and food produc-tion. However, many timesstudents complain that this isnot adhered to by the hotels.This is another grey area, hestates. Urging the hotels todevelop more amicable work-ing conditions, he says, “Thehotels should not treat thestudents as regular manpow-er at such a tender age.”

This year, out of 34companies that visited theIHM Kolkata campus forrecruitment, 22 companiesconsisted of hotels and inter-national food chains. Among204 final year students,almost 150 have alreadybeen placed as managementtrainees in the hotels. Whatalso attracts these studentsis the retail and BPO sector.“IT-service, retail and BPOindustries too nibble at theavailable talent pool, leaving

only a fraction of this for thehotel industry. Mushroomingstand-alone restaurants toopoach trained hands fromhotels, leading to attrition.With their lucrative pay pack-ages and comfortable five-day work structure, thesepose a major threat to theindustry.” However, this is aninevitable phenomenon. TheBPOs and retail segment aremainly looking for studentswith brilliant soft skills andthis is where our studentsscore above the rest. Hence,the only way forward is thathotels have to mend theirways. They need to realisethat the manpower crunchcan only be avoided if theyretain skilled workforce. Andthis will only be possiblewhen amicable working con-ditions are created within theindustry, he claims.

Elaborating the reasonsfor attrition in this industry,Sarah Hussain, AssistantProfessor, BanarsidasChandiwala Institute of HotelManagement and CateringTechnology, New Delhi feels,“The reason for high attritionin hospitality industry is thehigh stress and pressure levels

as the service industry doesnot have quantifiable meas-ures to satisfy guests’ needs.It is the initial three yearswhich are the toughest as

these are the learning yearsand most of the people wholeave the industry do so in thisperiod. We at the college levelprepare the students for thereal picture but there are somany other industries whichattract them when they joinvarious hotels.”

Women find it more dif-ficult to combine and balancecareer goals and familyneeds. Success in the indus-try usually involves longhours and frequent geo-graphical moves and it is dif-ficult to meet these needsand still satisfy family needs,Hussain confesses. Callingupon for a more compassion-ate approach by the hospital-ity industry, she says, “The

hotels have to change theirpractices and become morehumane towards the freshgraduates and women

employees if they want themto keep them for good.”

KV. Simon, RegionalVP, American Hotel &Lodging EducationalInstitute (AHLEI), howeverbegs to differ. Responding tothe MyHiringClub.com sur-vey, Simon opines, “There isa non-alignment in the sur-vey. There is an aspirationactualisation gap.Increasingly, entry level jobsare being perceived as tran-sitory vocations. This callsfor some reality check andtransformation.” Regardingthe scene of attrition in theindustry, Simon feels,“Attrition is nothing newand it exists not only in thehospitality but even the the

other service sectors. We aredealing with a generationwhich has the option ofchoosing from so many dif-ferent avenues.”

Simon believes thatattrition necessarily neednot be a negative phenome-non. It has positive aspectsas well. “One will not likedrinking from a pond but ariver as that has flowingwater. Similarly, someamount of attrition is good as it helps the person-ality to grow by not lettinghim become stagnant.”Also, the hotels need tochange their approach butthe students and parentsalso need to change theirattitude and perceptionabout the industry. It is atwo-way process. Theaccountability in this caserests as much with the stu-dents as the industry.

Contd. from page 5

How to handle the talent crisis

As part of its corporate social responsibility, Ashok Kumar, Chairman, Mansingh Group of Hotels & Resorts and Seth Jai PrakashMukund Lal Institutions held its 2nd Blood Donation Utsav in Gurgaon on May 4, 2012. It will be followed by the 10th BloodDonation Utsav in Jaipur on May 21, 2012. The Chairman presided over the function and encouraged his entire team.

Mansingh Group on CSR way

Attrition is nothing new and itexists not onlyin thehospitality but even in the otherservice sectors

We at thecollege levelprepare thestudents forthe real picturebut there areotherindustrieswhich attractthem

Even a top jobas amanagementtrainee is notluring students.They arereluctant to joinas the entrylevel salarystructure is low

Ranjit ChaudhuryPrincipal, IHMKolkata

Sarah Hussain, Assistant ProfessorBanarsidas Chandiwala InstituteNew Delhi

K V Simon Regional VP, American Hotel &Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI)

There has been an expo-nential increase in for-

eign and domestic touristarrivals into the state in thelast five years. While thestate received just 94,000foreign visitors in Bihar in2006, it has now risen to 9.7lakh foreign visitors in 2011.This was revealed bySrivastava while speaking ata seminar organised by thePHD Chamber in Delhi.

According to Srivastava,Bihar contributes to 20 percent of India’s foreign touristarrivals. Every year, there arefive million FTAs in India.Out of this, around 1 millioncome to Bihar which meansthat Bihar contributes 20 percent to FTAs in India, heclaimed.

The Bihar Tourismdepartment is also in theprocess of revamping its web-site, which will be launched byJune this year. Informationabout Bihar will be madeavailable in five different lan-guages on the site. It will alsooffer a 360-degree virtual tourof about 70 important touristsites in the state, he added.

For upgrading the exist-ing facilities at the privately-operated hotels and restau-rants in the region to improvethe hospitality facilities, BiharTourism is also looking at cap-ital subsidies as well. The stategovernment will offer 50 percent capital subsidy to privatehotel operators for all types ofimprovement work which fol-low norms laid down by theBihar Tourism Department.

“Similar financialhelp will also beextended to privatehouseholds in ruralareas who wish toupgrade their facilities to accom-modate tourists,”

Srivastava said. The tourismdepartment will also start upgrading its proper-ties in the state. There are around 21 hospitalityunits under the departmentand these will be upgradedto star-category hotels asper the Ministry of Tourismnorms. The process ofappointing consultants for this job has already

started. Bihar Tourism isalso considering incentivessuch as exemption fromsales tax on jet fuel to lure private airlines to oper-ate direct flights betweenBodhgaya and Delhi, headded. “The state govern-ment has also approachedthe AAI to reduce airport charges at Gaya air-port,” he said.

STATES J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 3 1

DK Srivastava, Director and Special Secretary, Bihar Tourism talks about the current plans and ongoing developments…

Bihar’s 50% subsidy to private hotels TT BU R E AU

Bihar Tourism to unveilrevamped website by June

21 hospitality units to beupgraded to star-categoryhotels

Bihar Tourism mullsincentives like exemptionfrom sales tax on jet fuel

Slew of initiatives

Delegates at the PHD seminar

Tourism Corporation ofGujarat Limited (TCGL)plans to set up a 24x7 call centre, a mobile application and geographic informationsystem (GIS) mapping ofthe tourist destinations ofthe state. This will helptourists to get informa-tion about the destina-tions, facilities and hotelsin Gujarat, along witharranging for taxi servicesand online bookings.

QUICK READ

NTO3 2 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

South African Tourism says...

According to ThulaniNzima, Chief Executive

Officer, South AfricanTourism, INDABA, one of thetravel trade exhibitions of thecountry, had the main objec-tive to create a platformwhich brings buyers andservice providers together. Itwas well achieved as shown by the presence of

some 1,500 exhibitors and 12,000 visitors.

Nzima felt that the 8.3million arrivals in South Africain 2011, and a good growth of8 per cent in the past year,were clear signals that theywere on the right track. SouthAfrican Tourism views thetourism business as a collabo-

rative process, and they are investing in marketingactivities and relationshipswith everyone from travelagents to airlines.

In this positive scenarioof increased numbers oftourist arrivals to the country,China and India have burstonto the scene and becomeparticularly strong markets.Against this backdrop, SouthAfrican Tourism intends to

focus and continue to investin these prime markets. Theidea is to keep up their mediaengagements and other pro-motions to tap the hugepotential at hand.

Nzima felt that withIndia putting up such astrong show, and expectingto produce 100,000 visitors

in the immediate future, itwould no longer be termed asan ‘emerging market’, butrather, an important, estab-lished one. This is a signifi-cant up-gradation in terms ofmarket classification and sta-tus. This is indicated by thefact that they now have anagency dedicated to facilitat-ing visas in India.

Sharing this upbeat opin-ion of the Indian market,

Hanneli Slabber, CountryHead India, South AfricanTourism, feels India’s econom-ic upturn will ensure that itspotential as a source marketwill continue to grow. Theindications are all very posi-tive. Their promotional effortsin India are paying off, and theperception of South Africa in

the Indian market is very favourable, and there’s great enthusiasm inthe marketplace.

According to EvelynMahlaba, Regional Director,Australasia, South AfricanTourism, South Africa’s brandis successful and this hashelped boost tourism to thecountry. This successfulbranding is playing a role inmaking the country afavoured destination in theIndian market.

Stating that Indiaranks among their top tenmarkets, Rodney Wyndham,Managing Director, SabiSabi Private Game Reserve,feels the Indian market willgrow further. With familiesand honeymooners beingimportant components of

the Indian market, they feel they are well equipped to handle Indianbusiness as they offer a spe-cial family programme.

Also upbeat aboutIndia is Joss Kent, ChiefExecutive Officer, &Beyond,a wildlife and conservationcompany which besidestheir operations in Africa, is involved with four properties in India. With the Indian market growing,and Indian travellers’ interest in wildlife and conservation increasing, allfactors point to theincreased Indian business,he concludes.

Cindy Sheedy Walker,Managing Director,Extraordinary, which repre-sents Kingfisher Resorts, feels

that India which is the biggestmarket for them is poised for further growth. On theirpart, they offer a perfect package to Indian visitors,with staff trained to serviceIndians, and Indian food, including vegetarian served with all meals.

While South Africa willalways use wildlife as atourist draw, South AfricanTourism, with its latest slo-gan ‘inspiring new ways’,wants to emphasise that thecountry has lot more tooffer. They want to focus onthe baskets of experiencesavailable, from culture andheritage, to lifestyle andsports. And they want to tapto the hilt the enormouspotential seen in countrieslike India.

South African Tourism is poised to handle increasing number of tourist arrivals to the country, and adapt to the dynamics of the future of travel business.

Emerging? India’s an established marketINDER RAJ AHLUWALIA

This successfulbranding isplaying a rolein making the country a favoureddestination in India

India’seconomicupturn willensure that itspotential as asource marketwill continue to grow

It would nolonger betermed as an‘emergingmarket’, butrather, animportant,established one

Thulani NzimaChief Executive OfficerSouth African Tourism

Hanneli SlabberCountry Head IndiaSouth African Tourism

Evelyn Mahlaba, Regional Director, AustralasiaSouth African Tourism

India which is the biggestmarket for them ispoised for furthergrowth

With the Indiantravellers’interest inwildlifeincreasing, allfactors point tothe increasedIndian business

We are well equippedto handleIndianbusiness aswe offer aspecial familyprogramme

Rodney WyndhamManaging DirectorSabi Sabi Private Game Reserve

Joss KentChief Executive Officer, &Beyond, awildlife and conservation company

Cindy Sheedy WalkerManaging Director, Extraordinary

Weak balance sheets,increasing costs, regu-

latory uncertainty, a sluggishIndian economy and a diffi-cult global environment willcontinue to pile the pressureon airlines, especially thepoorer performing carriers.However, this may in turncreate market opportunitiesto exploit for those that arebetter positioned.

Expected domesticcapacity growth of 7-8%

Indian carriers areexpected to add approximate-ly 24 aircraft during the year,which includes 8 Q400s to beinducted by SpiceJet. Thiscorresponds to the equivalentof 20 narrow body aircraft ondomestic routes. CAPA esti-mates this would result incapacity growth of 7-8 percent in a best case scenario.

Domestic growth of 8-10%Domestic passenger

traffic will grow by 8-10 per

cent in this financial year andmore likely towards the lowerend of the range. Much willdepend upon the impact of oilprices and other input costson airfares.

Airlines might post aloss of US$ 1.3-1.4 bn

Air India is once againexpected to be the worst per-former in the industry and toreport a loss of INR70 billion(US$ 1.3 billion). KingfisherAirlines is projected to lose INR12-14 billion (US$220-260 million). However,the remaining four privatecarriers combined could post a modest profit of approximately INR11 billion (US$ 200 million).

Jet Airways to be theprimary beneficiary

Although the troublesfacing Air India andKingfisher Airlines have beenpositive for all other carriers,Jet Airways has been and will continue to be, the largest beneficiary.

Kingfisher’s dramatic con-traction from 66 to 16 oper-ational aircraft, of which halfare regional ATR aircraft, hasleft the domestic businessmarket open for Jet Airways.Similarly, the temporaryindustrial action on AirIndia’s long haul internation-al routes has driven NorthAmerican and UK traffic toJet Airways.

Air India could face atemporary shutdown

Air India is expected toenter a defining period. Themerger between Air Indiaand Indian Airlines isdefined by the fact that themost critical issue, namelythat of the integration ofhuman resources has beenineptly handled and almostwillfully ignored, with noonetaking responsibility.

Kingfisher’s revivaldepends on FDI

Kingfisher has deliber-ately downsized over the lastsix months to conserve cash

and has declined to becomeIndia’s smallest domestic air-line by market share.

CAPA estimates thatKingfisher has a fundingrequirement of close to USD1billion, of which US$ 500-600million is needed immediate-ly and a further US$ 300-400million in the next fiscal.

Expectations raised,dashed and then delayed

In January 2012, theMinistry of Civil Aviationgave its strongest support to

date for a proposal to permitforeign airline investment ofup to 49 per cent. Thereremains a slim chance that itmay be approved shortlyafter the close of the currentparliamentary session at theend of May 2012, but publiclyraising and then dashingexpectations of an imminentchange in regulations is apoor way to play the industry.

However, if the restric-tion is lifted, SpiceJet, GoAirand Kingfisher are the mostlikely candidates to seek for-eign airline investors withSpiceJet, arguably, the mostattractive of the three. Thelonger that approval isdelayed, the more damagingit will be for Kingfisher. CAPAexpects that the investorsmost seriously consideringopportunities in India includethe Gulf carriers such asEmirates, Etihad, QatarAirways, although otherssuch as International AirlineGroup is also believed to beactively watching the market.

Removal of the restriction onforeign airlines could in factopen up a strategic partner-ship opportunity for Air Indiashould the government wishto pursue such an approach.

Jet to order for up to 100narrow-body aircraft

Jet Airways has been themain beneficiary of the nega-tive situation at Air India andKingfisher. Despite the carri-er’s own weakness, it maydecide to take advantage of thesituation to expand bothdomestic and international asit had done in 1996 when anumber of its competitors hadclosed down. CAPA expects JetAirways could place a largenarrow body order for over100 aircraft in FY12/13 tomeet both replacement andgrowth requirements. The air-line is understood to be active-ly evaluating the A320neosand it is also likely to lease upto 10 A330s to support theexpansion of its Europeanroute network.

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Indian aviation reported an estimated record loss of just over US$ 2 billion in the last financial year. CAPA IndiaOutlook 2012/13, forecasts an outlook for the Indian aviation industry in the present financial year.

Where is the Indian aviation headed?

Kapil KaulCEO South Asia, CAPA

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HOTELS3 8 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

It is a no brainer to see thatsocial media is here to stay

for good. The hospitalityindustry cannot discount thebuzz of social marketing.How hotels decide to addressit and what technologies theywould invest time and moneyinto should be a thought out plan – much like theapproach to any good market-ing initiative to increase footfalls. Thus, the hotelindustry is now increasinglylooking at leveraging socialmedia as a way to engagewith customers and increaseaffinity and loyalty.

Hospitality business hasembraced effective socialmedia marketing techniquesto boost their customer serv-ice, enhance brand reputationand develop strong profession-al relationships.

Says Anuradha Kumar,Director Sales and Marketing,Hyatt Regency Delhi, “We are

seeing a major growth insocial media uptake in India.Hyatt has a strong marketpresence worldwide andsocial media marketingenables us to sustain and fur-ther our brand recognition inthe Indian markets.”

Social network is seenas a way to enhance the con-sumer’s experience. “Anonline concierge can do it allfor you – from generatingreservations and makingtravel plans to shop for a last-minute gift. Having aconcierge on your side is likehaving a full-time assistantready and waiting for yournext command. Although wedo not have a virtual socialconcierge facility, we do havean E-Concierge option inplace, which helps us a lotand is much appreciated byour guests,” Kumar opines.

According to her, HyattRegency Delhi is the only hotelin Delhi to offer online restau-rant reservations, which it

introduced in January 2012.The tool is available on everyrestaurant page on theHyatt.com website and therehas been a 50% monthlygrowth in online reservationsfrom this channel alone.

Online reputation man-agement has become the fron-trunner for any hotel’s PR pol-icy. It is not a question ofwhether hotels use socialmedia but how effectivelythese networks are beingutilised to improve brandrecognition, loyalty and book-ings. Apart from gaining cus-tomer loyalty, boosting conver-sations and building onlinereputation, one of the key rea-sons that hotels now maintaina consistent social media pres-ence is for online bookings.This is where social mediumand the hotel websites play apivotal role. Feels Kriti Budhia,ADOS e-commerce, AccorIndia, “Social media has comeup in a big way and althoughthere are obvious benefits onengaging through this medi-

um, there are a certain fewthings also that need to betaken care of before goingoverboard. We are looking atsocial media very seriously asa platform to engage with ourcustomers and also potentialcustomers and drive loyalty.For the same, we do a lot ofwork with TripAdvisor,Facebook, etc.” Regarding theincrease in business via thismedium, she argues, “A con-sistent social media presencehas helped Accor India see anupward trajectory when itcomes to the contribution ofonline bookings. The focus forAccor India will remain onincreasing our engagementwith the customers, in order to ensure they are cap-tivated and get the informa-tion they want from the medi-um.” The French hospitalitychain is actively involved intaking note of what is drivingonline purchase throughresearch to understand what best can be offered to thecustomer, she adds.

Social mediahas come up ina big way, anddespite itsbenefits onemust becautious beforegoing overboard

An onlineconcierge cando it all for you –from generatingreservations andmaking travelplans to shop fora last-minute gift

Anuradha KumarDirector Sales and MarketingHyatt Regency Delhi

Kriti BudhiaADOS e-commerceAccor India

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With social media playing a larger role in hospitality, speaks to various hoteliers to gain insight into how socialmedia marketing techniques are boosting footfalls in hotels and helping build better relations with guests in India…

Hotels now log on to social media

Contiki has inspired 18 -35 year olds to travel to

the world’s most fantasticdestinations for last 50 years.

“It’s a rare achievement for any brand to remainrelevant for 50years, let alone abrand that targetsthe ever-changingyouth market,” said David Hosking, GlobalManaging Director, Contikiwho has worked with theContiki brand since 1975.

“While the core of whatwe do remains the same;

offering young people thechance to see the world andcreate unforgettable memo-ries; we have kept our fingeron the pulse of what our con-sumer wants and constantlyadapted to meet their needs,”he added.

To kick off the birthdaycelebrations, the companytreated their 90 top sellingagents from around the globeto the trip of a lifetime inCalifornia.

“It’s a poignant sign ofour bond with the trade that we have chosen to cele-brate our 50th anniversarywith key performers at our‘Rock Around the World’event in Las Vegas on April29,” said Hosking.

The ‘Rock Around theWorld’ trip included agentsfrom all Contiki sellingregions, who hit up the epic3-day Coachella festival,before travelling through San Francisco, Lake Tahoe,Paso Robles, ending up in Vegas for Contiki’s birthday weekend.

Contiki will continue tocelebrate its birthday over thenext few weeks, with internalteam festivities planned torecognise the importance thecompany has always placed on supporting its passionate

and inspiring staff. In addition, it has also started a fan-based competition.

With new innovativetechnology (the companylaunches an interactiveiPhone app next month for

passengers on tour), newproduct launches and contin-ued connectivity with con-sumers and trade partners,Contiki looks forward toanother solid 50 years in theyouth travel market.

To kickstart the 50th year celebrations, the companytreated its 90 top selling agents from around the globeto the trip of a lifetime in California…

AGENTS J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 1

Contiki’s 50th birthday celebration

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Trade partners celebrating the Golden Jubilee

See, who has their eyes on India...Mauritius-based Constance Hotels Experience has recently appointed The Nijhawan Group as its marketing representative in India for the traveltrade. To introduce the brand in India, the group hosted a cocktail and dinner party for the travel trade in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.

It’s Destination India all the way for themHandling sales and marketing in India for Dubai-based The Address Hotels + Resorts and Armani Hotels (Dubai and Milan), The Nijhawan Grouprecently hosted a cocktail and dinner party for the travel trade in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. During the event, Marc Dardenna, CEO, EmaarHospitality Group expressed his interest to soon introduce The Address branded property in India.

The Address and Armani

Constance

Mum

bai

Constance

The Address and Armani

Shangri-La Hotels andResorts has unveiled arevamped website that willallow travellers to experi-ence the world’s mostenchanting destinationseven before their journeys

begin. Enhanced features,which include sharing thebest of the group’sphotogra-phy, will help travellers getcloser to their destinations.

To commemorate the new site, Shangri-La

will launch the‘LovingTheMoment’Instagram initiative toencourage everyone to sharephotos of their location.

“After 10 months in themaking, we are proud to

launch the new Shangri-La.com,which is just thebeginning of an exciting line-up of digital and social initia-tives that we will be rollingout in the coming year to cre-ate richer user experiences

for our guests,” said MichaelLeong, Director of CorporateDigital Marketing at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. “Wehope the site will make it eas-ier for our guests to exploredestinations, make and man-

age bookings, connect andshare through their socialmedia communities, andallow travellers who have notyet stayed with us to have abeautiful entry into the worldof Shangri-La.”

Shangri-La website now gets a new look

Emaar Hospitality Group is extremelybullish on India as its source market. Thegroup’s The Address Hotels + Resorts istargetting various segments in India,including the leisure traveller, especiallythe short-haul distance traveller, weekendgetaway traveller and the shopaholics.Highlighting the priority given to India,Amit Arora, Chief Sales and MarketingOfficer, The Address Hotels + Resorts said,“A lot of high-end segment that visits Dubaistays at our hotels. This makes India thethird largest source market for the groupafter the GCC and the UK.”

Cashing in on the destination of Dubai,the group also attracts a huge clientele that stops over in Dubai for a few days.“There are many flights between India andDubai and with Dubai being one of thefavourite stopover destinations, this segment is big for the group.”

Talking about the USP of the property,Arora commented, “The 5-star premiumglobal hotel brand has been well received.Aiming not to cannibalise the market, theAddress hotels have literally five addressesin Dubai currently.” The repeat clientele atthis hotel is as high as 15 per cent. “This

is because each time a traveller comes toDubai, he can check into a differentAddress hotel,” Arora boasted. Suited fortravellers with different needs, each hotelis tailor-made for a particular category ofclients. The Address, Downtown BurjDubai faces the iconic Burj Dubai, theworld’s tallest building. The Address,Dubai Marina is ideal for MICE. TheAddress Montgomerie Dubai is a golfer’sparadise. Downtown Dubai lures peoplewho are looking for a heritage experience.The group also operates the Armani Hotels& Resorts. An ultra-luxury proposition,

Armani HotelBurj Dubai inthe world’stallest building– Burj Dubai --is a world ofunderstatedelegance. Thehotel thatopened twoyears ago has this unique concept oflifestyle managers. The group has recentlyanother second Armani hotel in its portfolio– Armani Hotel Milano.

Emaar Hospitality Group bets big on India

Amit AroraChief Sales and Marketing Officer The Address Hotels + Resorts

HOTELS4 2 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2Delhi

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HOTELS

In a first-of-its kind initia-tive, Daiwik Hotels has

announced the introductionof its specialty chain of fullservice four-star hotels inprominent pilgrimage desti-nations across India. DaiwikHotels aims to create a nichesegment in the pilgrimagehospitality sector in Indiawith its brand presence infive major pilgrim locations,namely Rameswaram inTamil Nadu, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dwarkain Gujarat, which are

part of the Char Dhams and Jyotirlingams along with Tirupati in AndhraPradesh and Katra in Jammu& Kashmir.

Commenting on the new brand, DebashisGhosal, Managing Directorand CEO, Daiwik Hotels said,

“We chose to enter pilgrimagehospitality because of the huge demand and supply gap in thecountry for quality brandedproducts, which are standardised in the mid-segmentmarket.”

According to Ghosal,pilgrim tourists are thelargest travel group after ‘travel for social pur-pose’ in India. With an initial investment of ` 180 crore, these five company-owned hotels will be operational in thenext 30 months.

Commencing with itsaggressive expansion plans,Daiwik Hotels is presentlyfocussing at the southernmarket with its first pilgrimhotel undergoing soft

pilot run in Rameswaram.Tapping opportunity in this segment, the company is aiming to be theleader in the pilgrimagehospitality circuit byexpanding its capacity baseto 2000 keys in the course of next five years and plans to acquire additional landbanks in 15 other pilgrimdestinations in next two years.

Daiwik Hotels will be launching 5 four-star properties in key pilgrimage locations across Indiawith an investment of ` 180 crore in 30 months.

Full service pilgrimage hotel

Debashis GhosalManaging Director and CEODaiwik Hotels

After the recent debut ofthe Pullman brand in

Gurgaon, the French hotelcompany will establish threemore Pullman hotels toincrease the brand awarenessabout the hotel.

“A Pullman hotel is slated to come up near the DelhiInternationalAirport besides oneeach at Lavasa andGandhinagar. Theseare in various stagesof construction,”

Xavier Louyot, VicePresident, Global Marketing,Pullman Hotels & Resortssaid. Talking about theimportance of brand posi-tioning of the various hotelcategories in Accor, Louyot

believes that due to the presence of separatemarketing tools for each category to establish a clear brand distinction,there is no cannibalisationin the market.

Clearly targetting thebusiness clientele in theregion, the VP commented,“With increasing opportuni-ties for holidays, leisure and business, India isbecoming one of the leadingvenues for MICE in theregion,” he said. Speakingabout the segments the new upscale hotel would betargetting, he said, “Pullmanwill target corporates, FITs, meetings and confer-ence clients and leisuretravellers for the new property.”

Designed for therequirements of the business traveller, the Pullman Hotel will provide an extensive rangeof tailored services, access to groundbreaking technologies, and ‘Co-Meeting’, a new approach toorganising meetings, seminars and high-endincentives.

A Pullman Hotel is slated to come up near Delhi Airportbesides one each at Lavasa and Gandhinagar, says XavierLouyot, VP, Global Marketing, Pullman Hotels & Resorts…

Three more Pullman hotels

Xavier LouyotVice President, Global MarketingPullman Hotels & Resorts

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Accor unveiled three newbrands this year in India.

1. Sofitel in Mumbai2. Formule1 in Greater Noida3. Pullman in Gurgaon

3 new properties

Brand presence in 5 majorpilgrim locations, namelyVaranasi; Rameswaram,and Dwarka, which are partof the Char Dhams andJyotirlingams, along withTirupati in Andhra Pradeshand Katra in J&K

The company is aiming tobe the leader in thepilgrimage hospitalitycircuit by expanding its capacity base to 2000 keys in the course of next five years

Only for Pilgrims

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OPPORTUNITY / CLIPBOARD J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 5

MOVEMENTS4 6 TRAVTALK J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The Westin GurgaonGurgaon, Delhi NCRChia Kok Sing has been appointed the Chef de Cuisine of EEST(authentic Asian F&B venue) of The Westin Gurgaon. Hailing from

China, Sing started his career by workingwith his father who was in the culinarybusiness. He took formal training in aChinese restaurant and went on tobecome an Executive Chef at the ageof 30. Since then has worked in

Malaysia and Burma before comingto India. He is all set to create a culinary

journey, where each dish will haveits unique highlights, resulting

in an exciting diningexperience.

Bharat Aggarwal, Vice President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of NorthernIndia, and Managing Director, Inter-Continental Hotels & Resorts, loves travelling.His first preference in travelling terms is exploring travel attractions within India.He has explored most of India and is now keen on exploring most of the eastern statesin India starting from Arunachal Pradesh. Horse riding is one of his passions sincehis school days at Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. For keeping in touchwith the latest developments in the world, he prefers to go online and surf for thelatest updates. His mantra for striking balance between work and life revolves aroundensuring that office work is completed in office only and spending quality time withhis family over the weekends. Bharat Aggarwal

VP, Hotel & RestaurantAssociation of Northern India, and MD Inter-ContinentalHotels & Resorts

Mandip Singh Soin is the Founder and Managing Director of Ibex Expeditions.Established in 1979, Ibex is a specialist tourism company in India that specialises inEcotourism, Adventure, Luxury & Safari Travel. A Fellow of the Royal GeographicalSociety, UK, Soin holds a Master’s degree in History from St Stephens College, DelhiUniversity. He began his pursuit of adventure at the age of 14 while he was studyingat The Air Force School, Delhi. He lectures worldwide on responsible and ecologicallysound tourism and is deeply committed to being a good trustee of this earth. On May30, he will be delivering a lecture at University of Berkeley, prior to his expidition toPeru on May 31. His other passions, when not on expedition, are listening to Beethoven,fly fishing, indulging in puns, flipping omlettes to perfection and for relaxation he takes the occasional bungee.

Mandip Singh SoinFounder and ManagingDirector of Ibex Expeditions

Sanjay SoniHony. Treasurer, ICPB and Chief Knowledge DirectorIncredible Design

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: Vivek Sethi and Megha Paul

Sanjay Soni, Hony. Treasurer, ICPB andChief Knowledge Director, Incredible Design, is adevoted reader, who likes to read mostly non-fictionbooks. He also loves to watch movies of all genres,provided it can bring a smile on one’s face. He saysit helps him switch-off and switch-on with a firmconviction to strive ahead and crack new businessopportunities. He is blessed with a fourteen-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter and believesthat anyone claiming to have stuck a perfect work-life balance is no more than a liar. In his career thatspreads over two decades, he has seen Indianexhibition industry and exhibitors grow manifolds.

Country Inn & Suites by CarlsonAhmedabadJitesh Patta has been appointed the General Manager ofCountry Inn & Suites by Carlson in Ahmedabad. He brings with

him 15 years of experience and is an F&Bspecialist. He was awarded theYoungest Vice President OperationsHospitality by Hindustan Times inDelhi. He has also worked for brandslike Clarks, For tune, Royal Resorts,

Tivoli, Parkland and Carlson. He has theadvantage of working in the city and

resort hotels that gives him theedge. He is an IHM graduateand MBA from AmityBusiness School.

Turkish AirlinesMumbaiMehmet Akay has been appointed as the General Manager,Southern and Western India, Turkish Airlines. In his new role, Akay

will be taking charge of Turkish Airlines’strategic success in this region and will beresponsible for growth and expansion ofthe company’s market share in thecountry. He started his career with TurkishAirlines in Istanbul in 1999 as a reservation

agent. He will be responsible for guiding theAirlines’ journey towards world class growth

and achieve new heights in sales and brandbuilding. He also had a brief stint asRegional Commercial Manager inVietnam for two years.

Radisson Blu Hotel Jaipur AirportJaipurSanjeev Kumar Dass is the new General Manager of theRadisson Blu Hotel Jaipur Airport. He has brought with him 23

years of rich experience, having workedwith ITC Fortune Select Metropolitan,Jaipur, Hotel VITS in Aurangabad, ClubMahindra at Avalon Resor ts inMussoorie and with various ITDC hotels

(Ashok Group of Hotels). Under hisleadership, the hotel in Mussooriebagged the Gold Crown Award for 2003,

Resor t of International Distinction for2004, 2006 and achieved the ISO

9001:2000 certification.

The Courtyard by MarriottGurgaonGaurav Agarwal has been promoted to the post of AssociateDirector of Sales at The Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon. In his newrole, he will be responsible for generatingavenues for further business, strategic effortsand leverage the presence of global salesoffices to drive more business potentiallyclient servicing driven destinations.Previously, he was the Sales Centre Manager.His corporate experience spans six years inthe hotel industry. Gaurav is a graduate inHotel and Hospitality Administrationfrom the Institute of HotelManagement Catering Technologyand Applied Nutrition, Chennai.

The Galaxy Hotel, Shopping and SpaGurgaonPradipta Narayan Biswas has been appointed as the GeneralManager, Hotel Operations of The Galaxy Hotel, Shopping and Spain Gurgaon. He has 18 years of experience, andhas worked with companies like Orchid,Mumbai, Novotel Hyderabad, Grand HyattDelhi, Intercontinental Mumbai Sahar, ITCHotels, Park Plaza Royal Palms Mumbai andothers. He passed out from PresidencyCollege – Hotel Management,Bangalore, in 1997. In his current role,he will be responsible forpositioning the hotel as a high-end boutique hotel, withvaried mix of F&B options.

Grand Hyatt GoaGoaKenneth Coelho has been appointed as the Director of Spaand Recreation of Grand Hyatt Goa. He has an extensiveexperience of 19 years. He has workedwith the London Hilton HeathrowHotel, London Heathrow MarriottHotel, Dubai International FinancialCentre, Kensington Close HotelLondon and David Lloyd Leisure. Hewill be responsible for elevatingoperations at the Shamana Spa at theGrand Hyatt Goa, and create a peacefuland serene retreat in wellnessand relaxation.

The Leela Mumbai,MumbaiVishrut Gupta is the new F&B Manager at The Leela Mumbai.In his new role, Gupta has been tasked with the responsibility to

manage day-to-day Food & Beverageoperations. He has graduated with aBachelors degree in Hotel Managementfrom IHM, Pusa, New Delhi. He is also analumnus of Welcomegroup ManagementInstitute. His career graph is illustrious,

since he has worked with some of thebest hotels in the luxury hospitalitysector. Over the last ten years, hegained immense experience, whileholding various positions in theFood & Beverage department.

The ClaridgesDelhi NCRCajetan A. Araujo, a Portuguese national, has been appointedas the Executive Assistant Manager at The Claridges, Surajkund, a

luxury five star business resort. In his newcapacity, Araujo will be responsible for all

matters pertaining to hotel operations and willact in conjunction with the head ofdepartments as a key support member. Hebrings knowledge and experience over 18

years, and has been associated with leadingbrands such as Inter Continental Central Park

South, New York Palace, both in NewYork; Fairmont Southampton Resort inBermuda and Fairmont Dubai asDirector Food & Beverage.

HIGHLIGHT

Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th

of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91Date of Publication:30-05-2012

Evanson Mwaniki was inthe Indian capital to

launch the direct flights fromNew Delhi to Nairobi. TheIndian capital is now the air-line’s 57th destination, the lat-est since the airline launchedflights to Jeddah in SaudiArabia in October last year. Itis also the second destinationthat Kenya Airways flies to inthe Indian sub-continent, theother being Mumbai. KenyaAirways will be flying to NewDelhi four times a week onTuesday, Thursday, Saturdayand Sunday. Kenya Airwayswill deploy Boeing 767-300aircraft on the four-times-a-week New Delhi – Nairobi(DEL NBO) service.

Looking at increasingthe destinations the airlinewill fly to, the chairmansaid, “We are planning toincrease our fleet size fromthe current 34 to 68 in thenext five years and to 110 inthe next ten years. We shallstart operating to the newroutes in India as per theavailability and delivery ofthe ordered aircraft.” Notjust is it increasing its fleetsize, the airline is alsostrengthening its portfolioby adding more destina-tions. The airline is alsogoing strong on expandingits global network withplans to fly to 115 destina-tions in the next ten years.The carrier has plans toincrease its network fromthe existing 57 to 91 desti-nations in the next fiveyears. Kenya Airways is alsoseeking compensation fromthe US-based aircraft makerBoeing for delay in deliveryof the 787 Dreamliner air-craft. Discussions betweenthe two companies are tak-

ing place even as Boeing isyet to deliver the first of thenine 787s ordered byKenya’s national carrier.“We are asking for compen-sation as we have lost busi-ness due to the delay,”

Mwaniki lamented. He,however, declined to com-ment on the amount it wasseeking. The first of theBoeing 787 aircraft was tobe delivered by October2010 but it would now bedelivered between Januaryand March 2014.

According to MohanChandra, CommercialDirector, Kenya Airways,India is a big potential mar-

ket for the airline. The airlineplans to position Nairobi as astopover destination. “Apartfrom the existing market, weare targetting customerstravelling to other Africandestinations via Nairobi as

the capital is also well-con-nected to other African coun-tries. The existing marketfrom Delhi consists oftourists, wedding groups,leisure travellers and professionals,” he informed.Talking about the perform-ance of the Mumbai-Nairobiflights, he revealed, “TheMumbai-Nairobi flights aredoing well and have achieved a yearly load

factor of above eighty percent. However, the NewDelhi – Nairobi service will surpass the Mumbaiservice in terms of businessvery soon.” The airline has recently increased its frequencies in Mumbai from seven to 10 to cater to the demand between India and Africa.

Along with the airlinespursuing a network expan-sion strategy that targets tolink all African countrieswith the world, Kenya is alsobetting big on Indo-Kenyarelations. India is Kenya’ssixth largest trading partner.Recently, Kenya-India relations have improvedbuoyed by increasing bilateral trade that hit US$4.8 billion in 2010-11.Recently the airlineannounced a right issueoffer to be launched onMarch 30. The companyhopes to raise Kshs20.7 bil-lion from its shareholders.Proceeds from the rightsissue are projected to fundimplementation of the ambi-tious 10-year expansionplan dubbed ProjectMawingu; which would seethe airline increase its num-ber of destinations from thecurrent 56 to 115 destina-tions by the year 2021.

To strengthen its market in India and highlight India’s growing importance,Kenya Airways is now spreading its wings here. It mulls operations tofour more destinations in India such as Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram,Chennai and Bengaluru, says Evanson Mwaniki, Chairman, Kenya Airways.

Kenya Airways: ‘Hello Delhi’

ME G H A PAU L

The NewDelhi –Nairobiservice willsurpass theMumbaiservice interms ofbusiness very soon

We shall startoperating tothe newroutes in India as perthe availabilityand deliveryof the orderedaircraft

Evanson MwanikiChairmanKenya Airways

Mohan ChandraCommercial DirectorKenya Airways

The airline has recentlyincreased its frequenciesin Mumbai from seven to10 to cater to the demandbetween India and Africa

The Mumbai-Nairobiflights are doing well andhave achieved a yearlyload factor of above eightyper cent

Going Strong