mot-pata roadshows in canada, us - travtalk indiatravtalkindia.com/pdf/2015/06-jun-2015-1.pdf ·...

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Vol. XXVII Issue 11; June1st fortnight i ssue 2015 A DDP PUBLICATION Pages : 52

QHow is work on theNational Tourism

Policy coming up?We had put the draft

online to gather opinion from thepublic and we have received agood number of suggestionsand feedback and now we arein the process of going for inter-ministerial consultations. Afterwe discuss it with the variousministries we will then take it tothe Cabinet. We expect to go toCabinet by June, as we have togive at least three weeks toevery ministry to respond.

QChina has now madeit to the eTV list, how

do you see that impact-ing Indian inboundtourism?

China being included inthe eTV list will go a long wayin getting a lot of Chinese outbound travellers to India.We are happy that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hasannounced this facility forChinese travellers. We hopethat with this announcementthe Buddhist circuit will catchup and will be the greatestbeneficiary, apart from theDelhi-Jaipur-Agra circuit.

QWhich is the nextcountry on the

wish list of the MoT for eTV?

We are now requestingthe Home Ministry to includethe UK in the eTV list as theUK is a major source marketfor us and now with 77 coun-tries making it to the eTV list,the UK is the only major coun-try that we are missing.

QMoT is working ondeveloping various

circuits, are there anynew circuits that you willbe promoting?

Under SwadeshDarshan, which is a theme-based circuit development,the North East and Krishnacircuits are of high prioritypresently. Eventually we'lltake up development of thedesert circuit, tribal circuit,wildlife and Ganga circuits.

QHow is work on the Indian Culinary

Institute coming up?National Building and

Construction Corporation(NBCC) has been given the taskand tenders have been floated.Work will start next month and

they will be completing both thebuildings in 18 months.

QWhat are theMinistry’s focus

areas this year?Presently we are concen-

trating on the Tourism Policy butafter that we are going for a veryaggressive global media cam-paign as well as a domesticmarketing campaign. Thesecampaigns will begin before theonset of the next season. Inassociation with PATA we will beholding roadshows in Canadaand the US from the secondweek of June.

With China becoming the 77th country to be included in the eTV list recently, Lalit Panwar, Secretary, Ministry ofTourism, Govt of India, says UK is now on their wish list. He says the ministry in association with PATA will be holdingroadshows in Canada and the US from the second week of June.

MoT-PATA roadshows in Canada, US

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

Lalit PanwarSecretary, Ministry of Tourism Govt of India

Service taxincreases from 12.36%to 14% from

June1,2015 Among the oldest and the

biggest travel trade asso-ciations in India, the

Travel Agents Association ofIndia (TAAI) has been in the

news for all the right reasons. Itseems to have been breakingthe traditional mould of an asso-ciation and actively branchingout to undertake newer, moreinnovative activities. This hasnot only been beneficial to its

members but as a happy sideeffect is also helping its treasury.Marzban Antia, Treasurer,TAAI, talks about the currentstate of the association's treas-ury. “Being a non-profit organi-sation, we have built the

reserves to a decent levelthrough the support of sponsorsfor our events, roadshows, conventions, ITTE, etc. The daily expenses of running thesecretariat office as well as the

Legal fee tops TAAI expensesTAAI has been trying to curtail unnecessary expenses under this head so that the money can beused judiciously. It also tries to keep the balance credit-heavy through its events and conventions.

HA Z E L JA I N

Marzban AntiaTreasurer, TAAIContd. on page 46

` 50/-

TT_JUNE-1ST-2015_FINAL:TT Layout 6/3/2015 9:58 AM

BULLETIN

Prime Minister NarendraModi is expected to attend

the PATA Travel Mart.Addressing a press confer-ence in Delhi, RVDeshpande, Minister forHigher Education andTourism, Government ofKarnataka, said the travelmart will help boost tourismnot just for India but also forthe entire country. He invitedall stakeholders to participateenthusiastically in it. Givingout details of the mart, he saidthat 134 buyers from 43 countries and 114 sellersfrom 66 organisations havealready confirmed their par-ticipation and it is for the first time that an Investors’Meet is being organised dur-ing the event. The press con-ference to announce the PATATravel Mart 2015 was organ-ised by the Union Ministry of

Tourism and KarnatakaGovernment.

Tourism Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma said thatthe government is making allpossible efforts to take theshare of India in global tourismto one percent from the current0.64 per cent. It is to this endthat the scheme of e-TouristVisa was launched. He saidthat the efforts of the govern-ment to give tourism a place ofpride are beginning to yieldresults, and India has jumpedup 13 ranks in the WEF Traveland Tourism CompetitivenessIndex, 2015.

Referring to the impor-tance of events like the PATATravel Mart, Sharma said thatpartnership with all stake hold-ers, including private organisa-tions and state governments,is essential to achieve the goalof one percent share in world

tourism. He said that the newNational Tourism Policy wouldbe interactive.

Deshpande said thatKarnataka Government isbringing out Tourism and TradeFacilitation Act and will soonset up Tourist Friendly Police or‘Tourist Mitra’. The State hasalso come out with a novel ini-tiative of Adoption of Touristdestinations by Corporate for

their maintenance and provid-ing facilities there, he added.

Jatinder Singh Taneja,Treasurer, PATA India Chapter,informed that small and mediumenterprises will get an opportu-nity to showcase their businessduring the event. The Traveltechnology pavilion is also beingset up to promote the use oftechnology in Tourism sector. DrLalit Panwar, Secretary,Tourism, and senior officials ofthe MoT, and Government ofKarnataka were also present atthe event.

PM likely to unveil PATA Mart134 buyers from 43 countries and 114 sellers from 66 organisationshave already confirmed their participation at the PATA Travel Martwhich will be held from September 6-8 in Bengaluru this year.

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

Tentative dates for PATA-MoT roadshow

Montreal - June 10

Toronto - June 11

Chicago - June 16

Houston - June 18

Jatinder Singh TanejaTreasurerPATA India Chapter


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STATISTICS

VIEWPOINT

India is surely playing on a new pitch withMinistry of Tourism taking the spotlight

as it thinks, talks and also walks the talkon tourism. Cashing in on the touristwanderlust to increase the country's sharein world tourist arrivals from the present0.68 per cent to one per cent by 2020, theModi government has come out with aNational Tourism Policy draft. As the draftis presented to the Cabinet this June, thetravel and tourism industry is waiting withbated breath. However, what makes thenew policy different from the last onealready is the hike in tourism productsbeing offered, and the concrete roadmapto achieve that. It calls for putting tourism— currently a state subject — into theConcurrent List to help the Centre play asignificant role instead of being a mereaccountant disbursing funds.

Another interesting development is the38th PATA Travel Mart 2015, which will takeplace in September in Bengaluru. It is thethird Travel Mart that is being organisedin India after Hyderabad and New Delhi.And for the first time PTM will feature aTourism Investment Forum, to boost thetourism potential of the state.

Our country has also climbed thecharts in the rankings by ICCA annualstatistics for the year 2014. India holds the35th position in the rankings globally andachieved ninth position in the Asia Pacificregion, seeing 116 global business eventsin 2014. The major cities which hosted theevents were Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai,Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa,Chandigarh, Jaipur and Cochin.Hyderabad has emerged as one of theleading metros in India for MICEdestinations, ranking only behind Delhi,and is on the fast track to becoming India’sConvention Capital.

For a sector which was mostlyconsidered as an afterthought, these newdevelopments will hopefully go a long wayto get tourism into the limelight.

From afterthoughtinto the limelight

Hyderabad 6,73,886 6,16,314 30,254 6,46,568 Lucknow 6,00,127 5,52,457 22,980 5,75,437 Bangalore 5,07,350 4,53,747 58,477 5,12,224 Delhi 4,46,961 3,64,661 64,536 4,29,197 Ahmedabad 4,05,717 3,96,359 4,938 4,01,297 Kolkata 4,31,629 3,68,665 25,665 3,94,330 Chandigarh 3,67,126 3,60,680 13,696 3,74,376

Statement showing the total number of passport applications received and passports issued, total miscellaneous applications

received and services rendered; No. of passports issued as well as revenue under tatkaal scheme; and total revenue and expenditure

of passport offices during January 01 to December 2014

Total No.of Passportapplication

received(Normal+

Tatkal)

RPO No. ofNormal

Passportissued

No. ofTatkal

Passportissued

Total No.of Passports

issued(Normal+Tatkal)

A global survey from leading online accommodation booking website, Hotels.com,reveals what’s on the Indian traveller’s mind. The survey, conducted with 4,700respondents, outlines their favourite amenities and the things they would do away with.

Indians are honest travellers

Free Wi-Fi is Still King

The End of Minibars

Leisure Travellers

Free Wi-Fi 33%

Free Breakfast 33%

Free Parking 11%

Business Travellers

Free Wi-Fi 33%

Comfortable work 22%

chair and desk

Free Parking 11%

Indian business travellers appear to be more reliant on the free hotel Wi-Fi as it stood first on their prioritylist with (33%), while for leisure traveller’s free breakfast and free Wi-Fi both top the amenities list (33%).

Apparently minibar (25%), DVDplayer (25%), trouser press(25%) and bathroom phones(12%) no longer appeal to theIndian travellers as they arenever used. Indian travellerswould do away with bath robesand use of pool, bathtub tolower the hotel rates (71%).

Sticky FingersIndia stood 20th in global ranking with 57% of Indians bragging about not taking anything from hotelrooms while 29% of them have admitted to pocketing stationary. Meanwhile, Argentina (27%),Singapore (29%) and Spain (30%) lead the sticky fingers list. In contrast, 69% of Colombians and67% of Norwegians indicated they have never stolen from a hotel.

Global Results20%Stationery

12%Slippers

10%Room key


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

QWhat are your expectationsfrom the Travel Mart?It is definitely going according to

the expectations of the trade and wehave got tremendous response. Wewere expecting only 150 domesticbuyers but much more than thatturned out. Also foreign buyers havea good presence. So we hope that thismart will boost tourism in thestate in a big way.

QPlease tell us somemore about the night

landing facility?This is under considera-

tion. The airport authority andthe people looking after thesecurity issues are discussingthe matter. It will be implement-

ed with the orders of the ChiefMinister and will be in the inter-est of tourism and business. Ifa businessman goes to Delhi inthe morning he can easilyreturn in the evening.

QThe Chief Minister alsotalked about connect-

ing Srinagar with other keydestinations by helicopterfacilities. Which are thosedestinations?

Our Chief Minister has apassion for tourism so he is keenon promoting the lesser-knownplaces in Kashmir. People knowGulmarg, Sonmarg andPehelgam but there are placeswhich have not been promotedyet but are amazing tourist attrac-tions. Like some places inAnantnag district and Kupwaradistrict. We are in the process ofstarting heli services and I amhopeful that in the next fewmonths the whole infrastructurewill be in place.

QWhat do you have to sayabout Bollywood coming

back to Kashmir? Bollywood has a deep relation

with Kashmir. People need not go toEurope or Switzerland to shoot theirfilms. We have started the single windowclearance. If any producer or directorapplies for shooting permit in Kashmir,he can apply through this and he will getthe permission within seven days.

QHow are you working withthe travel agents in order to

promote the state?Kashmir is the best destination

which can attract foreign exchange. We have a skiing resort in Gulmarg which is at par with any European resort. Every tour operator who promotes inboundtourism should promote Kashmir in a big way.

QWhich place has been decided to set up the

International Yoga Centre?We have identified Mantalai

at Patni Top in Jammu to develop the International Yoga Centre. We are waiting for the Ministry ofTourism to consider the proposal andare hopeful to be able to do what wehave decided. We keep conductingfam tours to invite tour operators.

QWhat do you think about the ‘Kashmir Calling’

project?We believe that Kashmir is the

crown of Incredible India and we don’thave any parallel in the country. TheChief Minister has asked to provide40 per cent discount on accommoda-tion after July 15. We are also involvinghandicrafts people so that we can pro-mote the off season.

With a tremendous response from the recently held Travel Mart, Farooq A Shah, Managing Director, JKTDC andDirector, Tourism Kashmir, Govt of Jammu & Kashmir, shares some more tourism projects in the pipeline whichincludes night landing facility and International Yoga Centre.

Over 150 buyers at 1st J&K Travel Mart

TT BU R E AU

Kashmir is the bestdestination whichcan attract foreignexchange. We havea skiing resort inGulmarg which is atpar with anyEuropean resort

Farooq A ShahMD, JKTDC and Director, Kashmir Tourism


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 5 NTO

QWhat is GNTO con-centrating on in

India this year?Keeping in view the rich-

ness of Germany’s traditionsand customs, the GermanNational Tourist Office hasintroduced Traditions andCustoms as its new campaigntheme for 2015. The focus ofthis year’s campaign isstrengthening Germany’simage as a traditional and cul-tural travel destination, high-lighting the culinary delights, liv-ing traditions and arts andcrafts. The campaign willencourage foreign visitors tosample Germany's many localspecialties, experience tradi-tional festivals and customs inGerman regions and cities,such as the Munich BeerFestival and the CologneCarnival, and to discoverGerman cultural events andfestivals, arts, crafts and music.

QWhat are you concen-trating on in India?The Germany India Pool

is something we stopped last

year but we are now targetingthe smart luxury traveller. Wehave a new micro site calledsmart luxury, where we aretalking about Michelin-starredrestaurants, promoting beauti-ful castle stays etc. We haveseen that people going toEurope are more evolved trav-ellers and are also willing tospend more. Therefore, werealised that we need to havesome niche products to caterto these people. Staying in cas-tles, travelling in private jets,yachts and luxury cars add to

what Germany has to offer. Weare also targeting the youthand FITs as well with ourFacebook page and by runningvarious campaigns on socialnetworking sites.

QHow was theGermany Travel Mart

this year in the Thuringiaregion?

GTM was great. We hadover 11 tour operators with uswho had the opportunity to meet more than 400 suppli-ers from all across Germany,

be it hotels, tour operators andtransports services — everyindustry related to tourism was there.

QHow has India beenfaring as a market

for Germany?India has been growing

consistently — anywhere from5 per cent to 6 per cent overthe last few years. India isviewed as one of the majormarkets for the future. We are

targeting 2 million overnightsfrom India by 2030. If you lookat average spends in Germany,

India ranks in the top 5 in theoverseas market.

QWhich are yoursource markets from

India?We have been doing this

for the last six years and con-centrating on many markets —Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru,Mumbai, Ahmedabad,Lucknow, Jalandhar and manyother small places and we'llcontinue to do that. In

November, we are doing aroadshow in four Indian cities— Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

and Bengaluru. Apart fromthat, our office is making con-stant efforts to be present insmaller cities. We were inNagpur earlier this year as welland we've been constantlygoing to Pune and Hyderabad.

QHow important arethe Tier II and Tier III

cities for you and whatare you doing to edu-cate the travel agents inthese cities?

The smallercities act as feed-er markets for thebig cities likeDelhi or Mumbaiand from ourresearch we seethat we need toeducate the traveltrade a little morein the smallercities. We do a lotof seminars, wego to their officesand teach theirfrontline staff, weshowcase what

Germany has to offer to themand we put them in touch with suppliers.

Romit Theophilus, Director, Sales and Marketing, GNTO India, says smaller Indian cities act as feeder markets forbig cities like Delhi or Mumbai and that they need to educate the travel trade a little more in the smaller cities.

German red carpet out for luxury travellersPEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

We have a new micro site called smart luxury,where we are talking about Michelin-starred restaurants, promotingbeautiful castle stays etc. Wehave seen that people going toEurope are more evolved trav-ellers and are also willingto spend more.

Romit TheophilusDirector, Sales and Marketing,GNTO India


J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 7TECHNOLOGY

Abacus is currently ownedby a consortium of 11

Asian airlines along withSabre, which has a 35 per centstake in the company. Sabrewill purchase the remainingportion of Abacus for net cashconsideration of nearly ̀ 2,630crore ($411 million).

“The Asia-Pacific travelmarket is the largest andfastest growing in the world,”says Tom Klein, President andCEO, Sabre. “AcquiringAbacus immediately combinesthe global capabilities of Sabrewith the deep local marketexpertise of the leading Asia-

Pacific GDS. This powerfulcombination will give cus-tomers even more innovationand service options, whileallowing Sabre to accelerategrowth globally in a very capitalefficient way — and to gainregional synergies in all threeof our businesses serving trav-el agents, airlines and hospi-tality companies.”

Abacus serves more than100,000 travel agents acrossthe Asia-Pacific region’s 59 mar-kets and has both global anduniquely local relationships withairlines and hotels, including theleading portfolio of low-cost content and Chinese airline content. Separately, the acqui-sition includes new long-termdistribution agreementsbetween Sabre and the 11 airline owners of Abacus.

“We look forward to con-tinuing our long-term businessrelationships with our former

partners in Abacus, and ournew agreements will providebenefits and confidence to travelagents throughout the Asia-Pacific region for manyyears to come,” says Greg Webb, President, SabreTravel Network.

“Abacus currently pro-vides a broad set of servicesto its customers using a baseof Sabre technology for the

large majority of core func-tions to market, distribute, selland service travel in the Asia-Pacific region,” Webb adds.Abacus will operate as aregion of Sabre TravelNetwork, and Sabre expectsits expanded Asia-Pacificdirect presence will benefitSabre Airline Solutions andSabre Hospitality Solutions,which already provide mis-sion-critical support to 78 air-

lines and thousands of hotelsthroughout the Asia-Pacificregion. Sabre also will contin-ue its partnership to providetechnology services to INFINI,a local Japanese GDS.

“Sabre and Abacus haveestablished the gold standardfor service and content in theAsia-Pacific region, and thatonly gets better,” Klein says.Subject to regulatory approvals

and other closing conditions,the transaction is expected toclose in the third quarter of2015. The acquisition, includ-ing associated working capitaladjustments and cashacquired, is expected to befinanced through approximate-ly $250 million in cash onhand, augmented by incre-mental net debt of approxi-mately $160 million. Pro formafor the transaction, Sabre esti-

mates its March 31, 2015 net debt to trailing twelvemonths Adjusted EBITDA ratio would be 3.3x, comparedto 3.0x as reported. In 2016,Sabre expects the transactionto increase revenue by more than $300 million, toincrease Adjusted EBITDA byapproximately $50 million andto be accretive to AdjustedEPS by approximately$0.05.

Sabre Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abacus International, the leading globaldistribution system (GDS) in the Asia-Pacific region.

Sabre acquires Abacus for `2,600 crore

TT BU R E AU

Acquiring Abacusimmediatelycombines the globalcapabilities of Sabrewith the deep localmarket expertise ofthe leading Asia-Pacific GDS

Tom KleinPresident and CEOSabre


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 5 ASSOCIATIONSOTOAI's new ExecutiveCommittee takes charge

The new team of OTOAIhas come on board. At thehelm of affairs is GuldeepSingh Sahni (WeldonTravels) as the President.Riaz Munshi (N ChiragTravels) is the Vice Presidentand Shravan Bhalla (HiFlyers) is the Secretary whileGurdeep Gujral (Gujral

Travels) now holds the postof the Joint Secretary. Thenew treasurer is KapilBerera (Astral Travels). Theother members of the com-mittee include Rohit Shorey(Destination Travels),Ankush Nijhawan (TBO),Amod Thatte (KUONI),Himanshu Patil (KesariTours), Sujit Nair (Aquasun)and Chitra Bhatia(Aashman Travels).

The new chapter chair-persons include MahendraVakharia (Pathfinders

Holidays) for Western India,Sajan Gupta (VayusevaTravels) for Eastern India,Manish Kriplani (BaywatchTravels) for Southern Indiaand Vineet Gopal (EngeeHolidays) for Northern India.

Rajeev Sabharwal(Gaurav Travels) will headthe Finance with Events

Committee. SiddharthKhanna (Travel Engineers)will head the IT Committee.Ranjana Sharma (Trav &Tours International) will headthe Education Committee.Ankush Nijhawan will headthe Chapters Committee.Chitra Bhatia will head the Ladies Wing. TheGovernment & NTO's teamis headed by Riaz Munshi.Ashwani Gupta (DoveTravels) has been chosen tohead the EnvironmentCommittee.

Soon after its formation, theFederation of Hospitality

and Tourism of Rajasthan(FHTR) is gearing up for newinitiatives to oversee tourism

promotion. “The federation willorganise roadshows in about13 cities including metros, TierII and III cities,” says BhimSingh, President, FHTR.

Realising the potential ofthe tourism for the state, theState Department of Tourism,has increased the budget allo-

cation for tourism by 120 percent as compared to the previ-ous year. “The focus on tourismsector has increased manifoldand the government is alsoactive in addressing seriousconcerns,” Randhir Singh,

Senior Vice President, FHTRpoints out.

Giving more details aboutthe newly formed group, SunilGupta, Vice President, FHTRand General Manager, ITCRajputana, Jaipur says, “Toincrease our brand presence,the association will soon

launch its website. Going for-ward, we will also look atexpanding our membershipbase.” FHTR comprises theprominent stakeholders fromthe tourism industry ofRajasthan and currently

includes 35 members. The federation also has the backing and support of other associations, hotels and touroperators.

Talking about the greatresponse FHTR has receivedtill date, Gupta says, “Since theinception of the association,

the Department of Tourism,Government of Rajasthan haswitnessed a positive response.We have had three to fourmeetings in this short span oftime with the Minister andSecretary of RajasthanTourism along with routine dis-cussions once in every 15 daysto review the ongoing promo-tions. As we move forward,more and more activities wouldbe included to benefit themembers and the industry on the whole.”

The newly formed Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR) willorganise roadshows in about 13 cities including metros, Tier II and III cities. Thefederation is also coming up with a new portal to boost tourism in Rajasthan.

ME G H A PAU L

Bhim SinghPresidentFHTR

Randhir SinghSenior Vice PresidentFHTR

Sunil GuptaVice President, FHTR and GeneralManager, ITC Rajputana, Jaipur

Desert DiplomacyState Department of Tourism hasincreased the budgetallocation for tourism by 120% as compared to 2014

The association willsoon launch its website and expand itsmembership

Rajasthan roadshow in 13 cities


1 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 5 STATES

Looking beyond Russianstourists and beach tourism

segment, Goa is developing itsinfrastructure to introduce newservices for tourists. In thisfinancial year, Goa has signif-icantly increased the outlay forthe tourism department. For2015-16, the tourism depart-

ment has been allotted` 260.09 crore as against ` 140.94 crore in 2014-15.Thus, it is now developing athree-pronged strategy to

boost arrivals in the state, saysAmeya Abhyankar, Director,Goa Tourism.

Elaborating on the three-pronged strategy, he adds, “Weare launching three initiativesin the next eight months. Firstly,we are looking at replacing theTourism Act of 1982. This willbe a forward looking act that

will focus on facilitating busi-ness and offer single windowfor most clearances in tourismprojects. The new act willencourage tourism entrepre-

neurs to pass on the benefitsthey receive to the tourists.”

The government, heinforms, is also working on sim-plifying the licensing regimeassociated with organisingsuch events, and for which, anew law will be tabled in thecoming financial year. “We arecoming up with an EventManagement Act.”

This will help create ade-regulated and hassle-free

licensing system to carry outevents in Goa such as musicand art festivals. It has beenproposed to create an eventcalendar along with citybranding, which will incorpo-rate existing festivals and addmany new ones. In this budg-et, ` 5 crore have been putaside for year-long festival cal-endar as well. Abhyankaradds, “Goa Tourism is alsoworking on an integratedbeach management system.This has not crystallised

yet but within four years, weare eyeing ISO certification forat least four beaches andwhite flag for at least onebeach in Goa.”

Going forward, the government is also exploringthe possibility of constructionof a cable-stayed ropewaysystem to connect NorthGoa’s beaches for travel andsightseeing. In order toenhance beach security, Goa government is also creating a territorial tourismforce on the lines of a territo-rial army that is a part of theMinistry of Defence.

For 2015-16, the Goa Tourism department has been allotted ` 260.09 crore as against `140.94 crore in 2014-15. Thus, it is now developing a three-pronged strategy to boost arrivals in the state.

Explore Goa beyond sun, sea and sand ME G H A PAU L

Goa Tourism is working on an integratedbeach management system. This has not

crystallised yet but within fouryears, we are eyeing ISO certi-fication for at least four beach-

es and white flag for at leastone beach in Goa.

Ameya AbhyankarDirector, Goa Tourism

Seaplane facility in Goa from AugustIntroduction of facilities like seaplanes, heli-tourism and amphibious buses would boost tourist inflow

into the state by over 14 per cent, Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said on the sidelines of the first evertrial landing of a seaplane in the Mandovi river off Panaji. "It is a novel concept in India, which combines con-venience of travel with excitement of water takeoffs and landings. There is no investment by the state gov-ernment for this service; it will be owned and operated by MEHAIR (a private aviation company). We areonly providing them support to facilitate smooth operations," Parulekar said.

Goa is the second state after Maharashtra to allow seaplanes for tourism. The seaplane routes startfrom Goa's Dabolim airport to the picturesque Mandovi and Chapora rivers and the popular Coco beach, abeautiful bay some distance from Panaji. "The seaplanes will offer joy rides at affordable prices. A seaplaneoperation anywhere always creates excitement and attracts tourists by tapping into their curiosity and thrillseeking instincts," he said, adding that fares under the public-private partnership (PPP) project would beworked out in consultation with the company before its formal launch. The 9-seater amphibious seaplanewill pick up passengers at Dabolim airport and fly them to the destination, for instance Coco beach, in justseven minutes. The seaplane will land in the water close to a floating jetty, onto which the passengers willalight. Smaller boats will then ferry them to shore from where they can drive away.

Fort Aguada, Goa


Transferred from theMaharashtra Maritime

Board just four months ago,Paraag Jaiin Nainutiia,Managing Director,Maharashtra TourismDevelopment Corporation(MTDC), is already a busyman. His focus for this year isclear and with that he hasdefined the area within whichhe wants MTDC to perform –public private partnerships(PPP). He says, “We can do somuch within this frameworkand I will make some policiesto achieve this.”

On top priority is themonetisation of all MTDCproperties. Nainutiia adds, “Wewill switch to the PPP mode ina big way. This includes mon-etisation of all our propertieswhich we own. We are alsofocusing on upgradation of ourexisting resorts at differentspots in Maharashtra. Weshould see something con-crete by end of this year.Government money will beutilised for this upgradation.”

MTDC has about 85existing resorts, of which about20 are run by MTDC while therest are leased to private com-panies. Once upgraded, hesays, MTDC will put out adver-

tisements promoting thosefacilities and destinations.

“Simultaneously, we arealso trying to find a formulawhere we can monetise ourhuge land banks with the helpof private players. We havefinalised the booklet that will becirculated to potential investors.We will have a meeting withthem by June 2015 to explainand go over things,” the MD

says. The land bank is estimat-ed to include around 100 plotsscattered all over the state.

“We are looking at well-ness and spas as well for thisand it will be done through EoI.When a private player comes inthe picture, the government isobligated to ensure that it makesa profit that is due — at leastsomething that is more than thebank interest rate that the com-

pany will be paying to raise thecapital, but not windfall profit,”Nainutiia says. He indicated thatmajor hospitality companies willbe brought in for the manage-ment of these new properties.

The MD also added thatthe new tourism policy will be ready by this year-end andwill be “one of the best inIndia”. We will just have to waitand watch.

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation is looking to monetise all its properties and land banksscattered across the state with the help of private players. There’s only one caveat for them: no windfall profits!

MTDC to monetise its properties via PPP

HA Z E L JA I N We will switch to the PPP mode in a bigway. This includes monetisation ofall our properties which we own.We are also focusing on upgra-dation of our existing resorts atdifferent spots in Maharashtra.

Paraag Jaiin NainutiiaManaging Director, MTDC

Speaking about theinvestment that MTDC will bemaking to make the first edition of ‘MaharashtraInternational Travel Mart’(MITM) a success, Nainutiiasays, “Money will not be aconstraint. I am more con-cerned about the value that itwill bring us for that money.”Supposedly, MTDC hasinvested close to ` 3.5 croreinto it. It will be held inSeptember 27-29 in Mumbai.

MTDC also has an elab-orate hosted buyers programfor domestic and internationalbuyers. “We will choosearound 200 internationalhosted buyers for this but Idon’t want to pay for their pri-vate holiday so I will be verycareful in choosing them. Wewill also conduct a familiari-sation trip for the internationaland Indian hosted buyers onour Deccan Odyssey. It will bea complete B2B event withparticipation of all statetourism boards as well asmajor hotel players and airlines. We already have ourDiamond Partner in place,” he reveals.

MITM update

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


1 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 5 EXHIBITIONS

QWhat is the strengthof the Indian buyers

at MEETINGS this year? New Zealand’s premier

business events trade exhibi-tion, CINZ MEETINGS 2015,returns for its 19th year in June,promising bigger businessopportunities and an expand-ed programme. CINZ MEET-INGS 2015 will showcase upto 180 exhibitors fromthroughout New Zealandincluding venues, themingcompanies, hotels, AV compa-nies, Regional Bureaux,attractions and activities.Hosted in Auckland it show-cases the best of facilitiesavailable in New Zealand forthe MICE travel segment.Additionally, the event hostskey media from NewZealand’s emerging businesstourism markets.

The sellers at the eventoffer unique products for a

variety of requirements ofMICE travellers. Tourism NewZealand is working extensive-ly to grow the Business Eventssector by promoting NewZealand’s unique meeting,conference and incentive trav-el offerings. Over 180exhibitors, including 20 newexhibitors will be on show in2015. They will hold more than6,000 meetings during the twodays of pre-scheduledappointments and social net-working events.

From India, there arenine agents — Zenith LeisureHolidays, Thomas Cook India,Cox & Kings, Trail BlazersTours India, Centrum Direct,Harvey India Tours & Travels,FCm Travel Solutions India,Kuoni Travel India and NeptuneTravco who will be present atMEETINGS. SingaporeAirlines is the supporting part-ner with Tourism New Zealandto fly these buyers down toNew Zealand.

QHow helpful was theIndian presence at

MEETINGS 2014? Tourism New Zealand

hosted a group of five Indiantravel industry professionals,Thomas Cook (India), KuoniTravel India, Cox & Kings,Corporate Flyers and TUIIndia at MEETINGS 2014.The two-day trade exhibitionaimed to promote the coun-try's business tourism andevents industry. After theevent, Tourism New Zealand

hosted the delegates on afun, adventurous and luxuri-ous journey coveringQueenstown, Wanaka,Terrace Downs andChristchurch. MEETINGSprovided a platform for theIndian agents to meet theNew Zealand industry profes-sionals who specialise inMICE. Attending and engag-ing with the New Zealandindustry has helped the Indianbusiness events buyers buildon their product knowledgethus translating into businessfor FY16.

Q What are TourismNew Zealand’s

expectations fromIndia's presence thisyear at MEETINGS?

The MICE sector is akey focus in our Three-YearMarketing plan in India. Wecurrently host many Indianincentive groups annually withgroup sizes usually rangingfrom 50-150 passengers.

However, it is not uncommonfor larger groups of up to 400passengers to travel to NewZealand from India. As webuild our profile in the sectorwe look forward to hostingmore Indian incentive groupsin New Zealand.

New Zealand is alreadydelivering quality incentiveexperiences for Indian corpo-rates and Tourism NewZealand is seeking to grow thenumber of incentive groups ithosts annually.

FY14 – We supported atotal of 13 bids with a 60 percent conversion rate

FY15 – While we are inthe 4th quarter, we have alreadysupported 17 bids with an 82per cent conversion rate.

Q How is the Indianmarket developing

for Tourism NewZealand?

We have seen some sig-nificant results in the incentivebusiness to New Zealand fromIndia and will continue toincrease the focus on theincentive market by showcas-ing our offering at corporateevents to encourage moreMICE travel to New Zealand.We will continue to foster ourrelationship with the traveltrade through regular productupdates and training to betterequip the agents to sell NewZealand as the Ideal BusinessEvents destination.

New Zealand not onlyprovides the ideal backdrop,but also has state-of-the-artfacilities for business eventsacross both the North andSouth Islands. With Indiancompanies increasingly look-ing at overseas incentive andteam-building destinations, thecountry offers an array of activ-ities and experiences that canbe customised to fit every trav-el checklist.

Eighteen regions of New Zealand will talk business when the three-day CINZ MEETINGS 2015 opens in Auckland on June10. Talking about the Indian participation at the mart, Steven Dixon, Regional Manager - South and South East Asia, TourismNew Zealand, says the MICE sector is a key focus in their Three-Year Marketing plan in India.

NZ looks for MICE boost from India

PE D E N DO M A BH U T I A

MEETINGS 2015

Steven DixonRegional Manager - South and SouthEast Asia, Tourism New Zealand


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

Touted as the largest tourismmarketing event in Africa

and one of the top three tourismevents on the global calendar,Indaba seemed to be quieterthis year even as it celebratedits 35th anniversary. Held inDurban from May 9-11, 2015,INDABA recorded a slight dropin attendance with DemocraticRepublic of Congo, for one, boy-cotting the event in the wake ofthe anti-foreigner violence.

However, it did showcasea wide variety of South Africa’stourism products and buyersfrom India were happy with

what was on display. This wasvital for South Africa sinceIndia is its second-largesttourism source market in Asia after China and seventh globally.

Quality over numbersA quieter INDABA 2015 could also be attributed to thefact that there were at leastthree travel trade shows preceding INDABA all held inSouth Africa: WTM Africa, We Are Africa, Meetings Africa. Thulani Nzima, CEO, South African Tourism(SAT), said that he was happywith the number of meetingsthat took place between

the 2,000-odd hosted buyersand 1,200 exhibitors.Referring to WTM Africa as acompetitor to INDABA, hesaid, “Our drop this year isjust under 10 per cent so we aren’t too stressed. Our

focus is not on numbers buton quality.”

Partner for INDABAAs a precursor to INDABA

2016, Nzima announced thatSAT will be bringing in a partnerfor its show next year. “While wehave run ‘INDABA’ and‘Meetings Africa’ very well, thatis not our core business. Wethought it was time we bring ina third party who can help usimprove the show whether it isin terms of technology, man-agement or costs,” he said, with-out revealing any names.

Nzima added that bring-ing in an international thirdparty to conduct INDABA will

also give SAT an opportunity tomarket it at other shows andtake it to the next level.

Increased budgetsAppointed just a year

ago, Tourism Minister DerekHanekom experienced his firstINDABA this year. He said thatfrom a total budget of 1.6 bil-lion, he will allocate a largechunk to SAT. This increase inbudget for tourism is attributedto the fact that the SouthAfrican government is lookingat tourism to resolve some ofits problems, including that ofunemployment.

“The last two decades hasoutstripped growth in tourism.Year 2014 showed a growth of6.6 per cent in total tourism

numbers to South Africa andtoday contributes about 10 percent to the total GDP – directlyand indirectly. We want to focuson how all the African countriescan work together to promotethe entire continent, improveintra-African tourist flow, easingvisa requirements and find anappropriate balance betweenpromoting tourism and safetyand security,” Hanekom said.

That said, while theAfrican continent is undergoingan upheaval of sorts – somenatural, some manmade – it istrying to put up a brave andunited front. This was evidentat this “proudly African tradeshow” with most countries ini-tiating dialogue to ease intra-regional travel.

Even as tourism in South Africa suffers amidst xenophobic attacks and Ebola fears, almost all African countries came togetherto put up a united front at the recently concluded Indaba 2015 held in Durban. It’s business as usual in sunny South Africa!

Africa unites at INDABA 2015HAZEL JAIN FROM DURBAN

Thulani NzimaCEOSouth African Tourism (SAT)

Derek Hanekom Tourism MinisterSouth Africa

South Africa has now introduced two new legislations for Indians. First is the in-person biometric visaapplication that will make it difficult for tourists in remote parts of India to get one. The other is the unabridgedbirth certificate with those traveling with children under 18. This will greatly deter families that form a big chunkof tourists traveling to South Africa. Nzima said, “Sometimes, the tourism board and the Home Affairs are noton the same page. Home Affairs is concerned about the security of the state and protection of children. Ourjob is to market South Africa as a leisure and business destination. So these two specifications became aproblem for us. The president has asked for a review of these regulations. It’s not a legislation that we welcome.In fact, one of the things our tourism minister will question is whether there is a need between South Africaand India to have visas at all, or perhaps visa on arrival.” He agreed that there might be a temporary dip inarrivals because of this.

Visa update

The pan-African show will be held in Durban again next year withthe city extending its contract for another year. INDABA has been hostedin Durban for more than two decades now. The current contract endedthis year. However, the contract has been extended only for one yearsince SAT is in the process of choosing a strategic partner to organiseINDABA. She added that the next INDABA contract would be for morethan four years, possibly a 10-year contract, to assure the new partner.

Durban wins INDABA 2016 bid


1 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 5 NEWS

Bengaluru-based low-fareairline Air Pegasus’ maiden

flight took off from Bengaluru toHubli in April, flying in the faceof concerns about the viabilityof standalone regional airlines.Air Pegasus, the third airline to be launched in India in thepast year, after AirAsia India and Vistara, aims to focus on South India for now. Itsintroductory flights connect Bengaluru,Thiruvananthapuram and Hubli.

Talking about betting bigon South India and recognisingthe underlining potential in theunder-served region, AshwinThomas, Director, Air Pegasus,remarks, “Positioning of region-al airline is not by chance, it isby choice.”

Following the launch, AirPegasus will now look at even-tually operating flights toKozhikode, Kochi andPuducherry. “Kadapa in AndhraPradesh will be our third desti-nation from Bengaluru as it hasno air connectivity. We will also

launch a daily service betweenChennai and Tuticorin andTuticorin-Coimbatore in TamilNadu when we get the addition-

al three ATRs,” Thomas pointsout. With a fleet of three ATR72-500s, Air Pegasus wants toposition itself as “a right-costairline” and plans to offer all-inclusive fares, with no hidden costs, even providingfood on board, unlike other low-cost airlines.

Union Civil AviationMinister Ashok GajapathiRaju flagged off the ATR-72turboprop service at the

Bengaluru InternationalAirport. Giving details aboutthe flights, Thomas says, “Wewill operate a daily flightbetween Bengaluru and Hubliin the morning. The timingswill be convenient to take con-necting flights to other metrosand cities from here.”

The airline has permit tolaunch service to and fromany of the 22 airports acrosssouthern India, connectingTier II and Tier III cities withmetros like Bengaluru,Chennai and Hyderabad.

New LCC in southern skiesWith introductory flights connecting Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuramand Hubli, Air Pegasus plans to operate daily service to other citiesand towns in South India over the next two years.

ME G H A PAU L

Flight PlanWith a fleet of three ATR72-500s, Air Pegasuswants to position itself as“a right-cost airline”

Air Pegasus will nowlook at eventually operat-ing flights to Kozhikode,Kochi and Puducherryfrom Bengaluru

Ashwin ThomasDirectorAir Pegasus

After seeing a satisfactoryreturn on investment it has

made in India, Oman continuesits efforts in promoting thecountry to the Indian traveltrade. It recently conducted afour-city roadshow startingfrom May 25 in Chennai andgoing on to Bengaluru on May27, New Delhi on May 29 andfinally touching Mumbai onJune 1, 2015.

About 12 suppliers werepart of the Oman delegation,which was a mix of officialsfrom the Ministry of Tourism ofOman, DMCs, airline andhotels. This included represen-tatives from Al Bustan Palace– A Ritz Carlton Hotel,Shangri-La's Barr Al JissahResort & Spa, Al NahdaResort & Spa, Oman Sail,Atana Hotels, MillenniumResort, Six Senses Zighy Bay,Bahwan Tours, Tour Oman,Zahara Tours and Oman Air.

Giving more details,Lubaina Sheerazi, IndiaRepresentative of Ministry of

Tourism, Sultanate of Oman,says, “This year we introduceda new format in which we invit-ed travel agents from the fourcities for prefixed meetings withthe delegates from Oman. The

roadshow focused on varioustourism products in Oman andthe upcoming developments inthe destination. We wanted toeducate the Indian travel tradeabout all that Oman has to offerin terms of hotels and resorts,activities, places of interest andthe visa procedure.” The num-ber of Indian arrivals to Omanin 2014 was 2,56,210 and wit-nessed a year-on-yearincrease in the arrivals. Omanhas become aggressive in itsmarketing efforts in the countrywith Indians looking to holidayin newer and unique destina-tions. Its proximity to India alsomakes it an attractive short-haul destination.

Oman’s 4-city roadshow About 12 suppliers from Oman visited India this May to meet travelagents from four cities starting from Chennai and going onwards toBengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.

HA Z E L JA I N

We wanted toeducate the Indiantravel trade aboutall that Oman hasto offer in terms ofhotels and resorts,activities, places ofinterest and thevisa procedure

Lubaina SheeraziIndia Representative of Ministry of Tourism

Sultanate of Oman

Image RevampOman has becomeaggressive in its marketing efforts

The number of Indianarrivals to Oman in 2014was 2,56,210


Following a two-year devel-opment programme and

an investment of about $80million, the PremiumEconomy Class (PEC) seatswere displayed for the first

time on May 21, 2015 at amedia launch in Marina BaySands, Singapore. ThePremium Economy Class willbe introduced on 19 AirbusA380, 19 Boeing 777-300ERsand the first 20 Airbus A350s.It will enter commercial serv-ice on August 9, 2015 to

Sydney, before being intro-duced to other cities such asBeijing, Delhi, Hong Kong,Frankfurt, London, Mumbai,New York, Shanghai, Tokyoand Zurich.

This new segment will pro-vide an extensive range of foodand beverage offerings, whichinclude the Premium EconomyBook the Cook service, enablingadvance ordering of a selectionof main courses. Priority check-in and baggage handling, with agenerous baggage allowance of

35 kgs, will be offered to cus-tomers. Members of theKrisFlyer frequent-flyer pro-gramme will also receive 10 percent more miles when they fly inPremium Economy Class. SIA’sPremium Economy Class seatand cabin have 38” pitch, 18.5-19.5” seat width and 8” recline.The seat have been manufac-tured by ZIM Flugsitz GmbH (forthe A380 and 777-300ER) andZodiac Seats US (for the A350),and designed by JPA Design.

On the timing of comingup with this segment, MakSwee Wah, Executive VicePresident Commercial,Singapore Airlines, says, “Anyseat or class depends on a lotof factors. We have to look at themarket, flight profile and time ofthe year. So the price will be ata level where customers findvalue in the product.” He saysPEC has been around for manyyears and in the last few yearsbecause of changing consumertrends, industry and productlandscape show that a gap hasbeen created between the tra-

ditional Business Class, whichhas become more luxurious,and Economy Class. “In the tra-ditional corporate segments,there are different kinds ofBusiness Class travellers. Evenin the leisure segment, noteverybody travels economy;there are those who seek morecomfort. So I think the time isright now for us to enter thisclass, which is a mainstreamoffering by many airlines,” Wah adds.

He informs that PremiumEconomy class will be offeredon all Singapore Airlines offer-ing, all A380s, and SQ’s fleetof Boeing 777-300 are beingretrofitted. In future, the firstbatch of A350 at least will beearmarked for long-haul flights,first of which will come in early2016 will also have PEC.

On how SingaporeAirlines will address passengersin this segment by offeringsomething new, Wah says,“Clearly there is market seg-ment for PEC. What we areoffering is the SIA PremiumEconomy, which is a productthat meets the expectations ofthose who want to have theentire experience of the seat,the food, and the excellent serv-ice that we are very proud of.”

Wah is confident that SIA hasfound the right balancebetween its seats in Economyand Premium economy. “Weoffer four classes on the A380.On 777 we have four classes.We have sized the cabinaccording to the demand. Wewill also allow for flexibility incase there will be an upsurgein demand in future,” he says.

The airline is targeting toretrofit all A380s by the end ofthis financial year.

The flight will start thisclass in Delhi on October 13and Mumbai on October 21.

Wah says since the product ison A380, that’s why it is comingto Delhi and Mumbai. “Thereare no plans to fit it on smallerplanes. So the roll-out dependson the planes and the triplength,” he adds.

On SIA’s investment inVistara, Wah adds, “We areworking closely on Vistara. Thatwill continue to expand as we goalong and build up their network.Vistara has Premium Economy,that’s in relation to narrow bodydomestic product. It is the firstairline to India to have PEC.What we are offering today isPEC for long haul.”

1 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 5 AVIATION

With wider seats, ‘Book the Cook’ meal service and a generous baggage allowance of 35 kgs, travellers on theSingapore Airlines’ Premium Economy Class can expect business class service at economic pricing. Mak Swee Wah,Executive Vice President Commercial, Singapore Airlines, tells what flyers can expect from the new offering.

Premium Economy seats for SQ flyers

SHIVANI KAUL FROM SINGAPORE

Q How profitable doyou think Premium

Economy is going to beon the India route?

Delhi has a very strongpremium market. Even on ashort flight of four hours fromIndia to Singapore, BusinessClass and First Class are gen-erally quite strong, even theSuites in A380. So for this par-ticular market we want to targetthe SMEs, and smaller compa-nies, hopefully a lot more leisure travellers, who see valuein upgrading to PremiumEconomy. We also do very wellin the Economy segment inIndia.

Q Do you think thatBusiness Class trav-

el will be hit as peoplewould opt for PEC?

The Business Classappears to be fairly stable. It willcontinue to grow. Affluent trav-ellers will continue to be therein developing countries.

QWhat are SQ’s plansfor ME and

Australian markets?Our policy is not to target

anyone. We will have to seewhere the key markets are.

Geographically we are in SouthAsia, so obviously our strength iswithin Southeast Asian andnorth, west Asian network. On amuch longer haul, subject to theprice of fuel, connectivity, there issome sort of relative disadvan-tage. At the end of the day overallprofitability is important. We area hub and spoke airline. At theend of the day the strategy hasto be clear and you got to stick towhat you know, focus on differ-entiation and customer experi-ence. Our customers are willingto pay more as they see value inour product. Those who are verytight on pockets they might takeSilkAir and Tigerair.

QDo you think keep-ing travel agents out

of the picture has affect-ed business?

I don’t think so. I think wewere certainly not the marketleader in changing the industrycommission. I think it was prob-ably the right time. Everythingis now electronic; there is agreater resurgence of selfserve. This is the GenY phe-nomenon. But we maintaingood relations with agents. Ithink it is still very much collab-orative; the whole ecosystem

has got to click. Different mar-kets have different stages ofmaturity. So we do work withagents where the markets arevery traditional. Also where thegeography is more wide-spread, the only way to reachconsumers is through mobileand the Internet.

QAny further plans toenhance Vistara

operations in India?Vistara is growing. We

just started out and India isdoing quite alright. But we gotto give them more time. The partnership people willcontinue to grow the code-share and connectivity goingforward. We have time to focus on that.

‘We need agents in traditional markets’

Tan Pee TeckSenior Vice President Product &Services, Singapore Airlines

This product is on A380 sothat’s why it is coming to

Delhi and Mumbai. The roll-out depends on the planes and the trip length.

Mak Swee Wah Executive VP Commercial

Singapore Airlines


J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 1 9STATES

As Madhya Pradeshobserves 2015 as the

“Year of Tourism”, ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan is inviting private

investors to come to the stateand look at investment oppor-tunities in the tourism sector. Ata recently held event organisedby Madhya Pradesh Tourismfor the travel trade stakeholders

and hospitality industry,Chouhan also launched a ded-icated investor portal fortourism in the state.

Talking to the agents’ fra-ternity, he says, “MP is a year-

round tourist destination thatoffers experiences for all kindsof tourists. Popularly known as the ‘Tiger State of India’, MP boasts of three WorldHeritage Sites, namely Sanchi,

Bhimbetka, and Khajuraho.The vision of the governmentis to elevate MP as the No.1state for tourism in the country.”

Regarding the next KumbhMela at Ujjain in 2016,Chouhan said the state isexpected to welcome about

five crore devotees and wouldorganise campaigns to pro-mote the spiritual spectacle inoverseas markets as well.

To promote Madhya Pradesh as a year-round destination and lure more investments in tourism, the statewill float RFP in the next two months. The investment policy will guarantee certain general incentives forinvestors across industries, as well as few sector specific incentives as well.

MP’s first investor portal for tourism

ME G H A PAU L

Popularly known as the ‘Tiger State ofIndia’, MP boasts of three World Heritage Sites, namely Sanchi,Bhimbetka, and Khajuraho.The vision of the government isto elevate MP as the No.1 statefor tourism in the country.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Chief Minister

Madhya Pradesh

According to Anthony DeSa, Chief Secretary, Madhya Pradesh, MP is one of the most investor-friendly states and has been able to raise $30 billion worth of investments through Global InvestorsSummits. Regarding new strategies being adopted by the state to lure fresh investments, DeSa reveals,“MP has identified land banks at key destinations, including the famous Indira Sagar Lake for developingtourism products like hotels and resorts, with private participation. Request for Proposal [RFP] is beingfinalised and will be floated in the next two months. The investment policy guarantees certain generalincentives for investors across industries, as well as few sector specific incentives as well.” Land will begiven on lease of 30 years for investors who approach with viable propositions. The lease period canbe extended to 50 years in case of special circumstances, the Chief Secretary adds. Regarding air con-nectivity which was earlier a huge roadblock in boosting tourism in the state, DeSa informs, “There hasbeen a marked improvement in number of flights coming into key cities like Bhopal, Indore, etc.

We are hoping for further improvement with AirAsia starting operations in a couple of months. The state has also finalised an agreement with a private operator, Supreme Aviation, to start internaloperations recently. Agreement has beenfinalised and operations are expected tostart in a month.

The state will offer subsidy to the operator on the basis offlight hours.”

MP raised $30 bn in investment: DeSa

Munich Airportopens 3rd recreationarea in T2

A third recreation areahas been added to theMunich Airport's Terminal 2.With the new recreationarea now open close togates G 43/44, Schengenpassengers have access totwo of these exclusive andspacious waiting areas with28 comfortable places to sitor stretch out and 16 busi-ness stations equipped withtheir own power outlets forlaptops, phones or tablets.They also have access toan exclusive reading area,supplied with 600 bookscourtesy of the Weltbildbookshops in which theyare welcome to browse asthey wait for their flights.Apart from the two recre-ation areas on theSchengen level, a similarfacility has been availableon Departure Level H (non-Schengen) for the past yearand a half. All three can beused free of charge. Thespecial waiting areas weredeveloped by T2BG – theTerminal 2 operating com-pany, held jointly by MunichAirport (60%) andLufthansa (40%) – in coop-eration with the furnituremaker Vitra and the Munichdesign offices "studio PS"and "ZTR".


2 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 5 NEWS

QWhat do you thinkabout the Indian out-

bound to Israel? Israel is a modern country

with an ancient tradition and avisit to Israel for Indians is theholiday experience of a lifetime.When Indians come to Israel,

they get a sense of Israel’s diver-sity. At every turn there is some-thing amazing to see from holysites to high tech buildings andinfrastructures. As Indians drivethrough Israel they see howIsrael has made the desertbloom. Indians enjoy Israel’s

breathtaking scenery as theywalk through the footsteps ofhistory. There is something inIsrael for everyone, from a spir-itual pilgrimage to enjoying a‘sea and sun’ holiday.

QWhat are the newplans that you are

planning to implementthis year?

We are very excitedabout the next couple of years.

We have beeninvesting indesigning ‘tailor-made’ programmes thatmeet the goals ofIndian groups.

We are also developingnew programmes and expand-ing our services to give person-al service and maintaining aquality product.

QWhat is your busi-ness forecast?

Triple “T” Travel’s forecastfor next year is for 20 per centgrowth. This is a very exciting

time for India, and as the Indianeconomy continues to develop,modernise and grow, our aimis to grow alongside the chang-ing Indian economy.

QHow has the traveltrends changed

since you’ve got intobusiness?

There are advances intechnology today, but our busi-ness is still based on a qualityproduct and excellent personalservice. However, one of thebiggest trends that we see todayis that the Indian tourists havebecome more sophisticated.

What kind of competi-tion are you facing?

The market today hasbecome very competitive dueto the fact that many compa-nies view India as an emergingeconomic power. However,much of the competition doesnot know or understand theIndian market, and under-standing the needs of Indiansis Triple “T” Travel’s advantage.We have decades of experi-ence working with India, andwe speak your language.

Having years old relation of working with India, RT&T Triple 'S' Travel& Tours expects to receive more Indians into Israel. Benny Binyamin,Owner, RT&T Triple 'S' Travel & Tours, shares the company’s plans.

Tailor-made for Indians

Benny BinyaminOwnerRT&T Triple 'S' Travel & Tours

TT BU R E AU

Nepal attracts nearly 1 mil-lion foreigners every year

who travel to the country’sWorld Heritage sites,UNESCO monuments,Buddhist and Hindu temples,and its majestic mountains,

including the Everest. TheHimalayan nation’s tourismindustry suffered a major blowafter a 7.8-magnitude earth-quake hit the region on April25, devastating the country’sinfrastructure and killing thousands of people.Seventeen mountaineerswere also killed after the

earthquake triggered an ava-lanche on the Everest.

According to a local studyconducted by Nepal Airlines,major destinations are still fac-ing landslides, after the quakeand its aftershocks have leftmountains unstable. Most

hotels at Nagarkot have beenshut down in absence of staffand shortage of food supplies.Road to and fro in the area arefine but much damage hasbeen caused to local housesdue to the earthquake.

Life in Lumbini is normalas the earthquake has not

caused much damage in thatarea. All hotels and transportsystems are operating asusual.

In Dhulikhel, Mirabel andHimalayan Horizon have shutdown due to lack of staff andfood supplies. It is anticipated

that Himalayan Horizonwould open up in next twodays' time. Staff at Dwarika’sResort and DhulikhelMountain Resort (DMR) saidthat they are open with verylimited inventory and in-house services. Road trafficis operating as normal there.

Meanwhile, life hasreturned to normal inPokhara, where hotels andtransport systems are oper-ating as usual. At Chitwan,

situation seems normal as thenatural calamity did not causemuch damage in the area andhotels and transport systemsare operating as regular.

Guests in Valley are safeand majority of them are lend-ing a helping hand for voluntaryrelief work.

Employees of Nepal Airlines have collected some updates on thecurrent situation in Nepal. The Himalayan nation is on the road torecovery from two major earthquakes and several aftershocks.

Tourism in quake-hit Nepal

TT BU R E AU


MOT

The agenda of the meetingbetween the two leaders

was to promote tourismbetween India and Guangxi,China. The visit coincided with

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s visit to China and thesigning of a bilateral agree-ment on tourism between Indiaand China.

Also, this year is beingobserved as a Visit India Yearin China. The various develop-ments in tourism will also helpencourage the people fromChina to visit India, the Ministersaid. India will be happy to hostthe tour and travel operators ofChina to India during the VisitIndia Year in 2016, who canvisit here and explore thepotential of India as a tourist destination as well aspromote the tourist destina-tions of China, he added.

The other members ofChinese delegation includedMo Gongming, Secretary-General of the People’sGovernment of GuangxiZhang Autonomous Regionand Yao Jing, MinisterCounselor, Embassy of Chinaand senior officials of Tourismof Guangxi among others.

The Minister said thatthere is a huge gap betweenthe inbound and outboundtourist flow between India and

China. Last year 6,76,000Indians have visited China,while only 1,74,000 Chinesehad visited India in the sameyear, which shows a huge gapbetween inbound and out-bound tourist flow between

the two countries. Sharmaalso mentioned that India is in the process of developingvarious circuits out of which Buddhist Circuit andHimalayan Circuit can be of great interest to theChinese tourists.

Chen Wu said that theywill make efforts to promote theChinese tourist flow to India. Hesaid that Guangxi is a beautifulregion with a unique natural

beauty and an interestingcoastline. He requestedSharma to work towards pro-moting tourism to Guangxi. Healso mentioned that TheTourism Expo on May 29, thisyear in Guilin, which can pro-

vide India a platform to promotetourism. Dr Sharma said thatthe government will surely putGuangxi on the tourist map andhelp promote tourism to theregion. The Minister said Indiavalues its relations with Chinasince both countries share along history of tradition in theworld. China is also a goodexample of preservation of itsnatural resources and beautyand can act as a role model forIndia, he added.

India-China ink tourism dealA delegation headed by Chen Wu, Governor of GuangxiAutonomous Region of China, met Tourism Minister Dr MaheshSharma in New Delhi, where both parties agreed to promotetravel between the two nations.

TT BUREAU

PM Modi in ChinaThe Union Cabinet,

chaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi entered intoan agreement between Indiaand China for strengtheningcooperation in the field oftourism. The agreement willhelp both countries in creatingan institutional mechanism forenhancing cooperation in thetourism sector. The mainobjectives of this agreement,amongst other things, are:

� To expand bilateral coop-eration in the tourismsector.

� To exchange informationand data related

to tourism.

� To encourage cooperationbetween tourism stake-holders including hotelsand tour operators.

� To establish exchangeprogrammes for cooper-ation in Human ResourceDevelopment.

� To invest in the tourismand hospitality sectors.

� To participate in travelfairs / exhibitions in eachother’s country.

� To promote safe, honourable and sustain-able tourism.

Dragonair adds sixth flight on Kolkata-Hong Kong route

Dragonair hasadded an addi-tional flightservice fromKolkata to HongKong bringingthe total num-bers of flightsbetween thetwo cities fromfive to six flightsper week.


Every year, Vietnamreceives nearly eight mil-

lion international tourists butonly 27,000 of this are fromIndia. Compare this with thetotal outbound figures fromIndia of 16 million Indiansevery year and it looks minis-cule. But it also showsimmense opportunity and thatis what Vu Son Thuy, ConsulGeneral of Vietnam, Mumbai,and a lifetime ambassador,wants to focus on.

Discussing various rea-sons for the lack of interest

in Vietnam, he says, “Themain reason is the lack ofconvenient air connectivity.The second reason is thelack of Indian and vegetarianfood available there. Almost 98 per cent ofVietnamese are non-vege-tarian. Moreover, the TourismAuthority of Vietnam doesnot have an office in Indiayet. It’s a question that needsto be asked.”

In a first, though theVietnam Consulate organised

its first tourism promotionworkshop in Mumbai jointlywith the Travel AgentsAssociation of India (TAAI) onVietnam tourism on June 5,2015 for its members. “So farwe have done this only in NewDelhi. We had planned a road-show along with the workshopbut it has now been postponedto September when we willalso celebrate our NationalDay,” Thuy says.

Vietnam will also besigning a long-term agree-ment with TAAI. Thuy reveals,“This will include agent famil-iarisation trips to Vietnam thisyear, bringing a Vietnamesedelegation of tour operatorsand agents to India for aroadshow. We want toincrease Indian arrivals to atleast five per cent of eightmillion which is 4,00,000.”Currently, China is its top

source markets followed byJapan, the US and Korea.

Vietnam is also looking toinvite trade and investmentfrom India. “Indian touristsdon’t know Vietnam at all. We need to tackle this first,” the CG said.

Currently, there are 40flights per week from India(Mumbai and New Delhi) to

Vietnam via Thailand. Whilethey are direct, they have astop in Bangkok and so ittakes almost a day to travel.A non-stop, direct flight willbring the travel time down toonly six hours.

“We are looking at gettinga non-stop direct flight from India to Vietnam and aretalking to two airlines inVietnam — VietJet Air and

Vietnam Airlines. VietJet Airhas agreed to start charterflights as long as we have good numbers.

They are looking at aminimum of 150 pax per charter flight, per week on their 180-seat aircraft andthen increase the frequency —make it daily maybe,” Thuy concludes on a positive note.

With current Indian arrivals hobbling at just 27,000 per year, Vietnam has stepped on the promotion acceleratorand will soon sign a long-term agreement with TAAI. It is also talking to two airlines to improve air connectivity.

Vietnam to sign 5-yr agreement with TAAI

HA Z E L JA I N

J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 2 3NTO

We want toincrease Indianarrivals to at leastfive per cent ofeight million whichis 4,00,000...Indiantourists don’t knowVietnam at all. Weneed to tackle this first

Vu Son ThuyConsul General of VietnamMumbai

Vietnam has two ofthe world’s UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites:Ha Long Bay andHang Son Doongcave


2 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 5 AGENTS

The hosted buyers from India returned enlightened from Tourism INDABA that showcased not just South Africa, butmost of the African continent. They share their feedback about the event and their experiences:

INDABA sends good vibes to IndiaHA Z E L JA I N F R O M DU R B A N

Africa has lot to offer and thiswas apparent at this INDABA.Whether it is adventure, self-drive tours, or wine tours,South Africa has a lot to offerto the Indian market. It was apleasure connecting with sell-ers from Botswana, Zambia,Zimbabwe, etc. INDABA is awell-organised event and we

look forward to be a part of it next year also.

Rohini Christie

AGM (Product Development), TBi

This year’s INDABA thoughsmaller than the previous years(I have been attending for fiveyears now) was of better qualityas it was quieter and had fewer people. This gave us a chanceto complete appointments uninterrupted and stay com-pletely focused. I preferred thisINDABA to the previous ones. I think a day more wouldhelp as it used to be earlier.

Shantanu ChandCEO, GoBeyond

This year’s INDABA was goodbut slightly disappointing as theevent used to be way bigger inthe past. Many sellers havemoved to either WTM orWeAreAfrica which also hap-pens more or less at the sametime. We as a buyer expect allof them to be present under oneroof as it is impossible for us to attend all these trade events.

Sanchit AhujaDirector, Aerospace Holidays

This was my first INDABA and itwas a great learning experience.I loved the vibe of the entire fair.I was happy to meet luxurybrands and discuss ideas withthem. I appreciate the fact thatthey were very open to feed-back. South Africa is one of thehottest selling honeymoon destinations and I would love to attend again to gain moreknowledge on premium products that it has to offer.

Aayushi KothariHoneymoon Crafter, A Travel Duet

I was very impressed with theINDABA set-up. Even though Ihave been in the industry for thepast 30 years, I have been pro-moting South Africa only sincethe last two years and I think ithas huge potential. The onlyproblem was that some boothshad multiple smaller booths –sometimes going up to 20 –

and it was very difficult to search for them as their numbersweren’t clearly visible.

Neerja AroraDirector, Flag holidays

INDABA 2014 was our firsttime here and we loved inter-acting with our African part-ners. This year, we came herewith more experience, andalthough we were not hosted,we were certainly treated asold and valued friends! We didclose some business deals.

And yes, we found some good products. But most impor-tantly, we were able to solidify our personal relationshipswith our African partners.

Smita SrivastavaDirector, Chalo Africa Tours


2 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 5 EXHIBITIONS

ME G H A PAU L F R O M DU B A I

The Middle East’s $72 billion travel market is set to grow further.We are predicting online travel bookings will represent 36 percent of all bookings in the region by 2017, as opposed to 25per cent currently. Revenue for the sector is expected to reach$35 billion. As for offline sales, revenue will increase from $54billion to $63 billion within the next two years. The Middle Easttravel industry is buoyant and poised for growth.

Rabih Saab

President & Managing Director-Africa

Middle East and South Asia, Travelport

The Indian market is important for us. Thus, we are focussing oncertain markets in India. We have realised it is important to havenot just distribution channels but face-to-face interactions in India.So we established an office in Delhi, Mumbai and now inBengaluru. We are also looking at coming up in Chennai. Each ofthese regions has different booking patterns. Recently, we havealso developed a toll-free line out of India. Post this development,Indian market has seen a rise of 74 per cent in business.

Russel Sharpe

COO- Hotel Division, Citymax Hotels

This is the second time we are exhibiting at ATM. We had beenestablishing a trend line for ATM for nine years. The responsethis year has been fantastic. This market has grown in relevanceas a key feeder market to multiple destinations where we haveour member hotels, especially Western Europe and UnitedStates - East and West Coasts. We are happy with the responsewe are receiving.

Saurabh Rai

Area Managing Director-South Asia and Middle East, Preferred

Hotels & Resorts

ATM is getting bigger and bigger as the years go by. This isbecause of the growing economy of the developing and emerg-ing markets such as India, China, the GCC and Middle East.From the transaction point of view, it’s becoming heavier thanthe other travel shows of the world. We have been really busyat this year’s ATM and all days have been very good.

Ankush Nijhawan

Managing Director, Nijhawan Group of Companies

The Middle East region has delivered an outstanding perform-ance due to demand for this market for inbound and outboundtravel. Our successful expansion plans in the MEAPAC regionis supported by a strong focus on localisation and customisation,which has allowed the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Islandsto remain as the fastest-growing region with over 40% growth.UAE, UK, Thailand, Malaysia, Paris, Turkey and Singapore werethe most visited countries by our agents.

Jaal Shah

Group Managing Director, RezLive.com

This is the 2nd year we are exhibiting at ATM. Among the coun-tries in the region, the UAE reported the most rooms under con-struction with 21,893 rooms in 76 hotels. We are currently rep-resenting 150 properties across three collections — hotels,boutique and residences — and offer reservations, marketingand promotions for independent hotels enabling them to reacha global audience in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Rahul Arora

Managing Director, Luxury Hotels Group (LHG)

ATM is one of the best places to be at. It has been giving us agreat response for the last six years. This year has been bigger,and I have seen more people coming in from the region. It hasbeen a great opportunity for us to interact with potential cus-tomers. We saw more GCC and Arab buyers. There were alsoquite a lot of Indian buyers this year. The meetings have beenvery productive. We have been very happy with the responsethat we have got. It has given us a good start to the season.

Gaurav Chiripal

CEO, Quadlabs

ATM has been very productive for our company. Going forward,we are looking at having a booth next year in ATM. Currently, wewant to promote ourselves as one stop travel shop in the MiddleEast. We have been in the business for about three years nowand mainly focus on inbound travel to the Middle East region.India is one of our key source markets. Now we are looking at thehigh-end clientele and getting more premium travel products.

Sabir Shaikh

Managing Director, Clover Travel & Tourism

One of the biggest travel industry showcases in the Middle East, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2015, witnessed over400 exhibitors and over 23,000 visitors. speaks to some participants of the show, that has grown by seven percent since last year.

Agents buoyant as ATM goes grander


J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 2 7TECHNOLOGY

With an online inventory ofover 125,000+ hotel and

apartment rooms worldwide,45,000+sightseeing items andover 500 tours in 500 citiesand 5,000+ transfer options inover 900 airport and city loca-tions, the company plans toreach above $102 millionsales (Total Transaction Value)in this fiscal year surpassingtheir previous year figures.The company additionallyexpects to deliver double-digitgrowth across all its regions in 2015.

The Middle East regiondelivered an outstanding per-formance due to demand forthis market for inbound andoutbound travel. These currenttrends were presented by thecompany at Arabian TravelMarket (ATM). RezLive.compresented 6th year in a row atATM, which is considered oneof the biggest industry event inthe region in order to increaseits footprint in the MENA regionand connect with local clientsand suppliers. The trade show

was held in Dubai from May 4-7, 2015.

The company has beenstrengthening its proposition inthe Middle East with a new andbigger office in Dubai (JLT) andwith a large team of dedicatedmultilingual professionals toensure that it delivers a cus-

tomised service to the Middle East market clients.RezLive.com’s successfulexpansion plans in the MEA-PAC region is supported by astrong focus on localisationand customisation, which hasallowed the Middle East, Asia,and the Pacific Islands toremain as the fastest-growing

region with over 40 per centgrowth. UAE, UK, Thailand,Malaysia, Paris, Turkey andSingapore were the most visit-ed /preferred countries by theagents of Rezlive.com duringthe year 2014 and the trendcontinues to be the same forthe year 2015.

Group ManagingDirector, RezLive.com, JaalShah commented, “These fig-ures clearly showcase that ourefforts towards innovation anddiversified inventory, are allow-ing us to maintain solid growthin all our regions and penetrateemerging markets. Our aim isto continue to consolidate ourexpansion into internationalmarkets, especially in Africaand Europe, while maintaininggrowth in our home markets ofMiddle East and Asia. We willalso continue working to giveour valued partners extra ordi-nary support service and diver-sified inventory.”

The event became morememorable when the wonder-fully crafted Designer IndyaBrochure was launched in

front of the travel trade duringATM by Manas RanjanPattanaik, Director – IndiaTourism (Ministry of TourismGovt. Of India) and IRV Rao,Assistant Director – IndiaTourism. Both the dignitarieswere full of praise after lookingat the brochure and applaud-ed the team on the conceptand the way whole India wascovered in the Designer Indyabrochure through differentItineraries.

Shah further highlighted,“The key importance of productlike Designer Indya in UAEmarket and how the local travelagents can utilise the servicesoffered and make the experi-ence of their clients morememorable with their travel toIndia and neighboring coun-tries. At Designer Indya, wepromote Luxury InboundIndian Holidays to the interna-tional markets. With a dedicat-ed team, Designer Indya iscatering to the needs of travelpartners all across the globeand also empowersRezLive.com with 1600 +Indian hotel allocations and

extends the facility to bookIndian hotels online. Ourdetailed itineraries and package module allowsInternational travel partners tosend their booking requestsonline and customise theirpackages and inclusionsthrough ‘book your own tour’.With innovation of technology,Designer Indya has hugeonline presence, attractinglarge traffic of B2B as well asretail consumers, looking forcustomised Indian holidayexperience.”

RezLive.com, the global B2B travel wholesaler, has anticipated growth in excess of 40 per cent on its Global Salesfor the fiscal year 2015. RezLive participated for the 6th year in a row at ATM this year.

Africa & Europe on RezLive’s radarTT BU R E AU

HighlightDesigner Indya Brochurewas launched in front of the travel tradeduring ATM by ManasRanjan Pattanaik,Director – India Tourism(Ministry of TourismGovt. of India) and IRVRao, Assistant Director –India Tourism.

(From L-R) Manas Ranjan Pattanaik, Director – India Tourism (Ministry ofTourism Govt. of India) with Jaal Shah, Group MD, RezLive.com, and IRVRao, Assistant Director – India Tourism, Dubai


2 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 5 HOTELS

Ever since it initiated itsPreferred Partner program

last year, Club Med India hasseen promising results. It nowworks with 11 trade partnerslocated in key markets pan-India and will be conductingjoint training workshops with them as soon as this season gets over.

Manoj KumarUpadhyay, Head of Sales forIndia, Club Med, gives moredetails. “We will be conductingorientations and training work-shops for the travel trade alongwith our preferred partnerspan-India starting mid-July. Wewill be introducing our product

to them and highlighting ourUSPs. We have realised thatawareness about Club Medand our unique all-inclusiveproposition is lacking. We arelooking at metros as well asTier II cities, as recommendedby our partners,” he says.

Upadhyay adds thatthese training sessions willgive confidence to the travelagents. “It will show them thatwe want to work with them.The problem in India is thateverything is sold as per a settrend. There are so many

products that need to be soldthe right way. We want to tellthe agents that Club Med is anall-inclusive product on landand is set as per the Indianconsumers’ mindset. It’s not a regular assembled prod-uct with zero hidden costs,” he adds.

Another important pointon the agenda for the road-show is to dispel myths thatagents have about Club Med.Upadhyay says, “A lot ofagents think that we are abouttimeshares, memberships,even about medical tourism!They are not aware about ourbrand. So we want to positionour brand correctly through theworkshops and roadshow.”

He claims that the com-pany has seen double digitgrowth in India this year overthe last financial year. “Wehave not yet covered the entiremarket so there is a lot ofscope and opportunity. Until wecover all corners of India, I cansafely say that we will see con-tinued growth over the nextthree to four years. Our aim isto reach out to all the top travelagents in India,” he says.

Club Med is happy withits current business model ofworking only with its set of pre-ferred partners that look intosales, bookings and opera-tions. “Our partners in turn arehappy as they get happyclients as well as referrals.

What more does an agentwant?” Upadhyay says. Headds that while Club Med is notactively looking at expandingits current portfolio of preferredpartners, they are open toreceiving interests from agentsthat understand the Club Medphilosophy.

A pioneer of the all-inclusive concept globally, Club Med will go into a branding overdrive with a roadshow across India in orderto educate the agents about its proposition that is an exact match to the Indian holiday-maker’s mindset.

Club Med on a branding overdriveTT BU R E AU

According to Katyal, thecompany is in the process

of expanding its footprints in

the leisure destinations. “Ourfocus in Rajasthan continues.We are also looking to moveinto Himachal Pradesh andUttarakhand. Tier II towns also

offer value and opportunity, so,we are actively pursuing thesemarkets, especially in Indore, Lucknow, Nagpur,Ahmedabad, etc.”

One of the best hotels inits portfolio is Lake NahargarhPalace, Chittorgarh - jüSTaHotels and Resorts. Throwingmore light on the property that

was acquired by the groupabout two years ago, Katyalinforms, “Set in the middle of aprivate lake and surrounded byeighty acres of land and abun-dant wildlife, Lake NahargarhPalace in Chittorgarh is sur-rounded by Aravalli Hills. It is asmall luxury hotel in the middleof the lake as replica of theLake Palace close toChittorgarh. It is a seven-yearold resort with 40 spaciousrooms overlooking the lakewith five suites.”

Talking about the keyclients that the property is tar-geting, Katyal adds, “The keyattraction of the resort is that itis situated in the middle of aman-made lake and is about 20kms from the famous living fortof Chittorgarh. It is one of thebest destinations for leisure trav-

ellers travelling via Boondi, Kotaor Ranthambhore. On the otherside, people travelling fromDelhi/ Jaipur to Udaipur are alsoin for a treat. There are two trains

from Delhi – Mevar Express andChetak Express. And with Delhijust 500 kms away, we are tar-geting travellers from the city ina big way. In the international

market a reasonable number ofclients from Germany, France,Italy travel to Chittorgarh and these form our source markets as well.”

Betting big on the concept of boutique luxury hotels, jüSTa Hotels & Resorts is expanding across the country. The group iseyeing leisure locations to drive business this year, says Rohit Katyal, Head of Sales & Marketing – NCR, jüSTa Hotels & Resorts.

Tranquility amidst the lake

TT BU R E AU

Club MembersClub Med works with 11trade partners in keymarkets

It will continue to workwith its set of preferredpartners

The key attraction of the resortis that it is situated in the mid-dle of a man-made lake and isabout 20 kms from the famousliving fort of Chittorgarh.

Rohit KatyalHead of Sales & Marketing –NCR, jüSTa Hotels & Resorts

We will be conducting orienta-tions and training workshopsfor the travel trade along withour preferred partners pan-India starting mid-July.

Manoj Kumar UpadhyayHead of Sales for India

Club Med


J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 2 9FAMILY ALBUM

Destination Travel Services in collaboration with Banyan Tree Resort, Sainte Anne Resort, Constance Lemuria & Masons Travel, organised a Seychelles familiarisationtrip with key agents to promote the destination. The fam was hosted keeping in mind the objective to showcase the breathtaking destination, luxurious hotels andthe warmth of the country. Seychelles is considered only as a honeymoon destination. This showcase, changed the mindset of the agents about Seychelles.

Seychelles on agents’ minds


Every walk designed byIndia City Walks (ICW) will

offer the best of a locale andembrace the city’s daily life.The Memorandum ofUnderstanding was signed bySantosh Mishra, ManagingDirector, CTB, and SachinBansal, Chief Explorer, ICW.The five-year MoU will see theorganisations formalise their

activity to enhance destinationactivities and increase visitornumbers to Chhattisgarh fromregional and internationalmarkets.

ICW will offer walkingtours and trails acrossChhattisgarh clubbed with theoutstanding experientialopportunities like eco, spiritual, outdoors, amongother things.

According to Bansal,‘Walks’ is ICW’s core product.“We offer walking tours rangingfrom one hour to four hoursand full day experiencesacross cities. The Chhattisgarhoffering will includes themessuch as art, architecture, spir-ituality, nature, eco-tourism,heritage, food, bazaars andmore. Our extension is intodeveloping the interest drivenconcepts as well as enhancing

the awareness and quality ofvisitor experience opportuni-ties,” says Bansal.

“The Memorandum ofUnderstanding will supportCTB efforts for the growth andfuture sustainability ofChhattisgarh tourism,” he adds.Chhattisgarh Tourism Board isresponsible for infrastructuraland institutional development,investment in facilities & hotels,

wayside amenities and aboveall aggressive marketing & promotion for the comprehen-sive development. It offersimmense opportunities forEco-Ethno, Adventure andCultural tourism.

India City Walks (ICW) isa flagship brand of YEXPLOREand is into experiential travelofferings. ICW is a pioneer ofwalking tours in India and offerengaging interactions withlocal cultures. ICW focuses itsefforts strictly on organisingwalking tours and interest-dri-ven experiences of Indiancities thereby reaching a clearand targeted market.

Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) has signed an MoU with India City Walks (ICW) which through its innovative walkingtours will offer options to explore Chhattisgarh environs like never before.

Walking Tours in ChhattisgarhTT BU R E AU

3 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 5 STATES

The Chhattisgarhoffering willincludes themessuch as art,architecture,spirituality,nature, eco-tourism, heritage,food, bazaarsand more

Santosh MishraManaging DirectorCTB

Biometric datafor German visa soon

Michael Siebert, ConsulGeneral of the FederalRepublic of Germany inMumbai, has announcedthat Germany will soonrequire visa applicants whowant to travel to Germanyto provide biometric data. "Ithas been mandatory for allSchengen countries to doso now and we will begintaking biometric data fromtravellers by the end of2015 at all our VFS centres.This will be in time for the2016 season. It will be validfor 59 months," he said.

On FootICW offers walking toursranging from 1hour to 4hours and full day experi-ences across cities

Walking tours will beclubbed with experientialopportunities


3 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 5 HOTELS

The three-day Tourism INDABA 2015 organised by South African Tourism in Durban from May 9-11 brought together more African exhibitors than any othershow worldwide despite the fear of Ebola and xenophobia threatening to play spoilsport.

This time for Africa!

QKindly tell us aboutEmaar Hospitality? Emaar Hospitality has

different brands, we have gotthe Address Hotels andResorts, under which we havefive hotels including thePalace Downtown Dubai. Weare also looking at expandingin various other markets whichwill come as we go along.Meanwhile in March of nextyear we plan to open theAddress Boulevard which ispart of the collection of hotelsin the downtown area.

The first hotel of theRove Brand opens inDecember of 2015. We are toopen 10 of these hotels beforethe World Expo 2020. Wehave identified seven areasalready. The Rove brand isgoing to be very excitingbecause it’s going to be abrand affordable for every-body. Since it has the Emaarname behind it, it will be theperfect blend of what we lookfor in an affordable hotel. Thegood thing about Dubai is that

we all work as a team, eventhough there is competition.

QWhat are yourexpansion plans?At the moment we are

going to be in Istanbul, Turkey.In Istanbul we are building aminiature downtown area.There is going to be a shop-ping complex and hotels, there

is going to be a lifestyle ele-ment attached to it. There aretalks on in Saudi, there is Cairowhere Emaar is already pres-ent but we have yet to open a

hotel. We are very interested togo to India, to the US and theUK but as you know abouthotels, it’s finding the rightplace at the right time in theright location. We are hoping todo that; as such expansion is ahuge part of our growth.

So just as DTCM is gear-ing up for Expo 2020, all of us

our doing our bit. If you noticethere is a lot of room inventorythat’s come in the market. By2020, we will have three moreAddress hotels open. These

are The Address Boulevard,The Address Fountain View,and The Address Sky Viewwhich will be in the downtownarea. We would have alsoopened 10 Rove hotels. Vidahotels are also going to develop their residences.

QWhat sets you apartfrom other hotel

brands? I think the biggest thing

that sets us apart is that we area lifestyle brand and we are notstandalone hotels, so to speak.All our hotels are mixed-usehotels, which is a trend fastcatching up across the world.Our hotels have a residentcomponent to it. The Addressbecomes a place where youlive, where you work, whereyou party, where you eat; notjust a place to stay when youare in Dubai, it’s a full experi-ence. One of the main thingsfor Address hotels is that it isvery location specific. Locationis one of our big brand attrib-utes. It’s about the downtownarea, shopping, F&B, you’vegot the tallest tower, you’ve got

the fountain, it’s the same thingas when you go to Istanbul.

QHow much businessdo you hope to get

from ATM, Dubai? I feel many years back

most exhibitions were focusedon signing contracts and get-ting some business done thenand there. A lot of this used tohappen because there wereno emails. You could not do itover the telephone, so you seeITB used to be all about con-tracting for the next season.Now ITB is about talking aboutthe rates for the next seasonand business contracts go outon email. The same thing hap-pens with ATM. ATM is a timeto renew contracts, build newpartnerships, ATM is also atime to discuss what more wewould like to do with our part-ners. The follow-ups happenthrough emails later on. It’salso a great time for findingnew markets, every singleyear, there are people comingin from Mexico, Brazil,Australia is a big market now,so it’s also about making thesenew connections.

Emaar Hospitality is coming up with a new brand Rove, got in touch with Seema Pande,Corporate Director of Sales & Partnerships, Emaar Hospitality Group, to find out more.

Emaar Hospitality launches Rove

KA N C H A N NAT H

The Rove brand is going to be veryexciting because it’s going to be abrand affordable for everybody.Since it has the Emaar namebehind it, it will be the perfectblend of what we look for in anaffordable hotel.

Seema PandeCorporate Director of Sales &

Partnerships, Emaar Hospitality Group

New lounge forCathay Pacific atManila Airport

Cathay Pacific Airwayshas opened a new loungefor passengers travellingout of Manila Ninoy AquinoInternational Airport (NAIA)Terminal 3. Located at Level4 near Gate 114 in ManilaNAIA Terminal 3, the loungeadopts the new Studioilsedesign template first usedin the airline’s lounge atHaneda Airport in Tokyo.The Manila lounge meas-ures 650 square metreswhich is almost twice aslarge as the previouslounge at Manila AirportTerminal 1, and can seatapproximately 135 people.The brand-new loungeoffers a comfortable envi-ronment and understatedluxury for First andBusiness Class passengersto relax before their flight.With a greater focus onfood and beverage servic-es, the dining area featuresCathay Pacific’s signatureNoodle Bar, a popular facil-ity at the airline’s world-renowned lounges at HongKong International Airport,which offers a selection ofAsian noodles includingdandan mien and wontonnoodle soup, freshly pre-pared by a chef.


3 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 5 FAMILY ALBUM

Towards targeting potential consumers of tourism products from across the globe and India, the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Ministryof Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organised the seventh edition of The Great IndianTravel Bazaar at JECC Sitapura, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Inbound focus at GITB 2015


J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 3 5NTO

Tourist arrivals from India toEcuador — located on the

western coast of SouthAmerica — haven’t been veryhigh. But its India office — ProEcuador — that opened threeyears ago has been trying hardto pump up the numbers. Sowhile it has been promoting thedestination for tourism, it is nowlooking to approach the man-date from a different angle:through investments from theIndian travel trade.

Jorge Diaz, TradeOfficer, Institute for Export &Investment Promotion, ProEcuador, explains, “We areidentifying Indian companies inthe tourism industry who maywant to start something new inEcuador, either by way of joint

ventures or direct investments.We are also in talks with a lotof hotel companies for this.”

He adds that to encouragethis, the ministry of tourism ofEcuador is offering Indian com-panies huge incentives fordirectly investing in their country.“For medium-sized companies,we are offering 100 per centdeduction on expenses incurredby the company for technicaltraining, research and innova-tion, and setting up high-qualityinfrastructure on ground for onewhole year,” Diaz says.

The tourism ministry willalso facilitate 100 per cent taxrefund paid in the first year ofoperations to Indian compa-nies who have set up office inEcuador. This is not all. Diazadds, “We know our market iscompetitive. That is why theEcuadorian tourism ministry

will also help in promoting theIndian company once it is setup. We have public channels ofmarketing at our disposal inEcuador which will be offered100 per cent free for oneyear.This will help it establishitself in the market.”

These incentives are notextended to companies thatget into a joint venture with alocal travel company because

they will have the support ofthat company.

To extend the avenues ofbilateral trade and investment,the President of Ecuador willbe visiting Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inNew Delhi this November.Currently, Indians do notrequire any visa to enterEcuador and every visit isvalid for three months that can

be extended. It will host threeof the biggest travel compa-nies in Ecuador next year toIndia to participate in a tradeshow in Mumbai and meetIndian companies as well.While figures of 2014 are notyet out, in 2012, Ecuadorrecorded 3,770 Indian arrivalswhich went down a little in2013 at 3,364. Pro Ecuadorhas received interests fromabout five to six companies

including Mumbai-based LatinAventuras and Benchmark. Ithas also received interestsfrom hotels such as the TajGroup and Ramada Hotels.

Atul Parekh, owner offive-year old Latin Aventurasthat sells bespoke packages toSouth America only, says, “ProEcuador is a very pro-activegovernment body. They con-nect relevant industry partners

and organize meetings andvisits to Ecuador. The spotlightin the coming decade will beon Latin America. To effectivelypenetrate the South Americanmarkets it would be wise tohave a base in one of themand Ecuador is positioned per-fectly for this. It is eager to growswiftly and hence do not com-plicate procedures.” Parekh ispreparing to make a visit toEcuador this year.

Underlining tourism as a priority, Ecuador is looking at to bring in investments from India. Pro Ecuador isoffering huge incentives to the travel trade who might be interested in setting up in the Latin American country.

Ecuador’s tax sops for travel agents

HA Z E L JA I N

We are identifyingIndian companiesin the tourismindustry who maywant to startsomething new inEcuador

Jorge DiazTrade Officer, Institute for Export & InvestmentPromotion, Pro Ecuador



The 2015 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) marked the 22nd edition of the annual industry showcase and once again boasted a packed programme that exploredthe broad spectrum of regional and international travel. This year’s event included 400 exhibitors and over 23,000 trade visitors.

ATM takes centrestage

Contd. on page 38



It's all about business @ATM 2015

Contd. on page 40



Meetings galore at ATM 2015


NEWS

roomsXML.com introducedyet another feature that's

first in the online accommoda-tion segment at the recently concluded ATM 2015 in Dubai. The companyhas invested thousands of dol-lars and man-hours in buildingthis feature that displays theroom types exactly as per thehotel's very own room names.

Each hotel has their ownnomenclature to name a room.But hotel booking systemshardly retain the original name.So instead of calling a‘Rainbow Tower Ocean FrontCorner Room’, other systemsfind it safe in showing the roomsimply as a ‘Corner Room’.

Over 400 travel agentsvisited the roomsXML.combooth during the show in Dubai and learned about thisnew feature. Prakash Bang,MD, roomsXML.com, says,“Each one of them was fasci-nated with the demo because

when the travel agents ortheir customers call up thehotel to double check theirbooking — a mismatch in theroom type cause heartburns.From a travel agent's per-spective this feature not only removes the guess work whilst booking a room,but also keeps their cus-tomers happy!”

roomsXML.com is anaccommodation wholesalercatering exclusively to thetravel trade. It was estab-lished in 2007 and since thenhas gradually entered various global markets successfully. The companyranks amongst Dun &Bradstreet's Leading 100SMEs of India. Bang adds,

“Innovation is the key differen-tiator. That's what keeps usleading the pack. Till date, wehave introduced 10 specificfeatures that are the industry'sfirst – and many of them areyet to be emulated by othersin the line!”

With the belief that innovation is the key differentiator for any company,roomsXML.com has launched an interesting feature that promises to preventheartburns for travel agents’ customers.

roomsXML’s new booking feature

TT BU R E AU

Prakash BangManaging DirectorroomsXML.com

What’s NewOver 400 travel agentsvisited theroomsXML.com boothduring ATM

roomsXML.com has introduced 10 specificfeatures that are theindustry's first

Foreign destinations havenot only attracted business-

men with a plethora of opportunities, but havebecome a major attractionamong leisure and MICE market. An exponentialincrease in international trav-ellers has opened avenues forthe travel and hospitality sectorto serve more number of trav-ellers, every year.

With immense opportuni-ties available, the travel com-panies are looking at bundlingtheir products with value-addservices such as insurance,forex etc. which help them earnancillary revenue streams fortheir business and offer a bou-quet of services under one roofto delight their customers’ trav-elling experience.

From both personal andprofessional perspective, weall want — we all need — tobe connected to our respec-tive networks nearly 24 hoursa day. Hence, international

mobility solutions such asvoice and data SIM cards arealso at a huge demand, whileplanning for overseas travel.

How bundling is beneficialfor customers• Make All Travel

Arrangements In One Go• International SIM

Cards Allow You to Stay Connected DuringTravel

• Buy Bundled Products atCost Effective Rates

• Enjoy AdditionalDiscounts when BuyingMultiple Products

Entering into StrategicPartnerships

The companies offervalue to the customers at aprice they can afford. Manylarge companies are also

partnering with telecom serv-ice providers to bundle a variety of services so that necessary arrangementscan be made before theytravel abroad.

How Technology HelpsOver investment in

infrastructure and compre-hensive CRM software isenabling international SIMcompanies to provide opti-mum solutions with completetransparency to ensure con-venience, clarity and credibil-ity for travellers.

They are even enteringinto agreements with other travel and forex compa-nies. In the last decade there have been major technological innovationsadapted by telecom and trav-el domain to improve travelling experience. Thecompanies enable travellersto buy and pay online from anywhere and anytime by using differentpayment modes such as

NEFT/RTGS, Credit/Debitcards etc.

The mobile technologyhas made everything possible on our fingertips. The advent of mobile apps has become a one-stop-solution for travellers to book tickets; make payments; check in online;make hotel reservations andso on. Similarly, the telecomcompanies enable customersto select, buy and rechargetheir SIM with the click of a mouse.

While everything is pos-sible on smartphones nowadays, both the sectors are working together to offer a travel package which is powered by a telecom solution to enableround-the-clock connectivity for travellers going to distant destinations.

Travel & Telecom synergize to enrich customer experience, offer value for moneyexperience and extend multi-travel solutions under one roof to international travellers.

One-stop shop for travellers

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

JUNE 2015INTERNATIONAL9-11 Chicago IBTM

21-25 Melbourne Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE)

NATIONAL1 Mumbai B2B Roadshow, Oman Tourist Office10 Kolkata Why Spain? – Presentation &

Networking Dinner for Travel Trade11 Ahmedabad Why Spain? – Presentation &

Networking Dinner for Travel Trade11-13 Pune India Hospitality Expo 12 Pune Why Spain? – Presentation &

Networking Dinner for Travel Trade

25 Kolkata East India Travel Awards

JULY 2015NATIONAL10 Delhi VKonect MICE : B2C 10 -12 Bengaluru India International Travel Mart11 Delhi VKonect MICE: B2B 13-14 Mumbai Kiwi Link India workshop,

Tourism New Zealand13 Goa Learn South Africa14-15 Ahmedabad Learn South Africa15 Mumbai Tourism New Zealand Frontline Training16 Delhi Tourism New Zealand Frontline Training16 Jaipur Learn South Africa17-19 Chennai India International Travel Mart17 -19 Kolkata Tourism Expo India 20 Jalandhar Learn South Africa20 Kolkata Thailand Road Show22 Lucknow Learn South Africa22 Delhi Thailand Road Show23 Kolkata Learn South Africa 24 Mumbai Thailand Road Show24 Mumbai Learn South Africa 24-26 Hyderabad Travel & Tourism Fair25 Pune Learn South Africa 27 Hyderabad Learn South Africa 29 Trichy Learn South Africa 31 Bengaluru Learn South Africa 31–Aug 2 Kolkata Travel & Tourism Fair

AUGUST 2015INTERNATIONAL5-7 Beijing CIBTM

NATIONAL1 Cochin Learn South Africa 3 Mumbai Learn South Africa 4 Nagpur Learn South Africa4 Kolkata Tourism Authority of Thailand B2B

Roadshow4 Bengaluru Mauritius Tourism Promotion

Authority B2B Roadshow5 Delhi Mauritius Tourism Promotion

Authority B2B Roadshow6 Mumbai Mauritius Tourism Promotion

Authority B2B Roadshow6 Lucknow Tourism Authority of Thailand B2B

Roadshow7-9 Vadodara Holiday Expo14 -16 Aurangabad India International Travel Exhibition 17 Jaipur VKonect & Let's Network17 Ahmedabad VisitBritain’s 'Great Tourism Week'

Roadshow18-20 Delhi Incentive Travel & Conventions

Meetings India18-20 Surat Travel & Tourism Fair 19 Lucknow VKonect & Let's Network19 Mumbai VisitBritain’s 'Great Tourism Week'

Roadshow20 Coimbatore VKonect & Let's Network21 Hyderabad VKonect & Let's Network21 Pune VisitBritain 'Great Tourism Week'

Roadshow26 Kolkata VKonect & Let's Network28 Chandigarh VKonect & Let's Network28-30 Mumbai India International Travel Mart31 Kolkata VisitBritain’s ‘Great Tourism Week’

Roadshow

Benefits ofbundling

Make all travel arrange-ments in one go

International SIM cards allow you to stay connected during travel

Buy bundled productsat cost effective rates

Enjoy additional dis-counts when buyingmultiple products

Gaurav DhawanExecutive DirectorClay Telecom

While everything is possible onsmartphones nowadays, both thesectors are working together to offer a travel package which ispowered by a telecom solution to enable round-the-clockconnectivity for travellers going to distant destinations


NEWS

This year kicked off on agood note for Outbound

Konnections. The addition ofChimelong InternationalOcean Resort in Zhuhai(China), TUI – Life TimeExperience Products andSelect Travels from Philippinesto its portfolio has added thatmuch more variety and broad-ened its service offerings.

Anjum Lokhandwala,Founder and CEO, OutboundKonnections, says, “Of course,we will be making further addi-tions to the current list as theyear goes on. Alongside this,we would also be working onsome path-breaking and out-of-the-box strategies for ourclients so that they will have asymbiotic growth with us.”

Lokhandwala adds thatthe next step for OutboundKonnections is to make surethat the travel trade is regularlyupdated on its service offeringsand client services throughinformation via mailers, road-shows, online sessions, train-ing and the likes. “At the sametime, we are devoting consid-erable effort into diversifyingour services, focus more oncapturing the pace of the new-age Indian, tap the unexploredareas, etc. Besides major hubtowns, we are expecting good

movements from Tier II Indianmarkets enabling deeper pen-etration,” she says.

Speaking about thepotential of luxury travel in

India, Lokhandwala, says thatIndia is warming up luxuryproducts. “India is now amature luxury market and thenumber of high net-worth trav-ellers are growing at a fastpace. Family holidays and hon-eymooners are the trend andthey are seeking luxury.Indians are now morefocussed in terms of choosingthe destination they want totravel to, and from the destina-tion the right products theywant to experience. TUI – LifeTime Experience Productsbeing an out-an-out luxuryproduct has huge potential in

this changing Indian market,”she adds.

Sharing her perspectiveon the current scenario of theIndian travel industry,

Lokhandwala says, “In this ageof globalization, India hasemerged as a major tourismrevenue generating destina-tion. We can see that the Indianoutbound market is growingrapidly. Even today, there iscontinuous growth in thetourism traffic coming in as wellas going out of India, thus giv-ing a reason for us to go onwith more determination.”

She feels that as always,more and more new destina-tions are entering India toreach out to the outboundIndian traveller. Whether the

tourist is experiential, adven-ture-seeking or a first-timer,there is always something newto experience.

“The country is setting apath for a better per capitaincome, so disposable incomein middle-class families andupwards is increasing too. Thesize of the Indian middle classcurrently stands at approxi-mately more than 350 million,with India ranked as one of thetop five countries for potentialoutbound travel. Add to this,the number of Indians travellingoverseas which is set to risefrom nearly 17 million at pres-ent to 50 million by 2020.Together with wanderlust, this makes India an attractiveoutbound destination,”Lokhandwala adds.

Starting off 2015 on a busy note, Outbound Konnections is ecstatic. It has addedthree more products to its portfolio, which means more choice to the travel trade.

Connecting outbound industry

TT BU R E AU

We can see that the Indian outbound marketis growing rapidly. Even today, there is continu-

ous growth in the tourism trafficcoming in as well as going outof India, thus giving a reasonfor us to go on with moredetermination.

Anjum LokhandwalaFounder and CEO, Outbound

Konnections

India’s Potential

Curtailing legal costsassociation are well-monitoredand budgeted every year by theManaging Committee alongwith the support of our Chapteroffice bearers,” he says.

Outlining the mainsources from where TAAI fills itstreasury, he reveals, “The mem-bership fees are a bare mini-mum and do not even help inmeeting our fixed costs.Sponsorships for all our eventsand the Convention/ITTE heldduring the year assist in buildingour treasury. Unfortunately, it isthe legal expenses which forma major part of the expenditure,followed by the TAAI secretariatexpenses and meeting expens-es of the Managing Committeeand so on.”

To keep a healthy balance,TAAI has tried to curtail unnec-essary expenses of legal fees,which is a major account head,and has been brought undercontrol. “An initiative by this com-mittee is to have more road-shows and workshops to edu-

cate the members and the tradeas a whole are on the cards andwe have received fantastic sup-port from a lot of tourism bodiesas well as hospitality partners,”states the Treasurer. The treas-urer is happy that the associa-tion has admitted several newmembers under its active and/orallied categories. “By the effortsof this committee, we areendeavouring to gain more sup-port of the trade to join TAAI soas to obtain continuous educa-tion, benefits and knowledgethrough regular updates of allthat is happening in the industry.TAAI also has once againthrough APJC got the JointBank Guarantee for the IATA

agents back into force as a formof a financial guarantee to IATA.This is one of the first and onlyglobal schemes of its kind whichis tried and tested in the past andhas been a huge success for ourmembers,” he says.

Contd. from page 1

Unfortunately, it is the legal expenses which form a major part of the expenditure,followed by the TAAI secretariat expenses and meeting expenses of the Managing Committee and so on

Marzban AntiaTreasurer, TAAI

India ninth bestMICE Destinationin APACregion:ICCA

International Congress andConvention Association’s(ICCA) annual statistics for2014 on the number of rotat-ing international associationmeetings hosted by countriesand cities were releasedrecently indicating overall sta-bility in the MICE business.Paris, France retained its topcity ranking alongside the USwinning the top country rank-ing in the latest ICCA annualratings. In the city rankings,Vienna swapped places withMadrid, moving up from threeto two, and Berlin andBarcelona swapped placesfrom four and five respective-ly. India holds the 35th positionin the rankings worldwide andachieved ninth position in theAsia Pacific region, seeing116 global business events in2014. The major cities whichhosted the events were Delhi,Hyderabad, Mumbai,Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata,Goa, Chandigarh, Jaipur andCochin.

Cutting LossesTo keep a healthy bal-ance, TAAI has tried tocurtail unnecessaryexpenses of legal fees,which is a majoraccount head, and hasbeen brought undercontrol

India ranked as one of the top five countries for potential outbound travel

The number of Indianstravelling overseaswhich is set to risefrom nearly 17 millionat present to 50 millionby 2020


J U N E 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 4 7OPPORTUNITY


4 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 5 MOVEMENTSTaj KrishnaHyderabadK Mohanchandran has been appointed as the Area Director –Hyderabad and General Manager at Taj’s iconic hotel Taj Krishna. In

his new role Mohanchandran will be responsiblefor overseeing operations and business of allTaj Hotels across Hyderabad. With over 25years of experience in the hospitality indus-try, Mohanchandran’s strength lies in histhorough knowledge of the industry. Prior tobeing appointed in his current role, he was

the General Manager at the Taj Lake Palace inUdaipur, Taj Wellington Mews in Mumbai,

Blue - A Taj Hotel in Sydney, and mostrecently Taj Bengal Kolkata.

Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield BengaluruVimal Bhat has been appointed as Associate Director of Salesof Bengaluru Marriott Whitefield. He comes with nine years of

experience in the hospitality industry. Bhat com-menced his journey with the Marriott familysix years ago and was one of the pioneersthat Marriott had in the Bengaluru as a partof NSO team. After a very successful stintin the NSO, he moved to Marriott Whitefieldin 2012 as the Sales Manager and played a

critical role in the successful opening andpositioning of the hotel.

Myra VineyardsMumbaiMyra Vineyards announced the elevation of Sachin Bhamri toHead of Sales and Marketing, Maharashtra and Goa (except

Mumbai). Bhamri was previously responsiblefor the sales and marketing of Myra, in Goa.

Bhamri, who joined Myra Vineyardstowards the end of last year, has beeninstrumental in accentuating Myra’s brandpresence across all relevant platforms andoutlets in Goa. Key highlights over the past

few months includes presence at theSunburn Festival, VH1 Supersonic After Party

dovetailed with key tie-ups with over 30+restaurants, 200+ supermar-

kets, and presence acrossleading five star hotels.

Shakun Jaipur JaipurShakun Jaipur has appointed Anand Soni as its new GeneralManager. He brings with him an experience of over 13 years inhospitality sector. Soni began his career withMoevenpick Hotels in Geneva. A graduatefrom Marriott Management Programme, hehas worked with leading hotel brands likeThe Oberoi hotels, Taj hotels, Hilton andMarriott in Europe, USA and India. He holdsan MBA in Marketing & Human Resourcesand diploma in Hotel Management from LesRoches Hotel School, Switzerland.

Grand Mercure Goa Shrem ResortGoaAccor has announced the appointment of Rohan Sable as theGeneral Manager, Grand Mercure Goa Shrem Resort. Sable bringswith him over 16 years of experience in the hos-pitality industry. He joined Accor in February2013 and was the General Manager of IBISMumbai in his earlier role. In his new roleSable will be responsible for the overall man-agement, strategic direction and lead thehotel to continually delight guests withthe Grand Mercure hospitality.Sable has numerous yearsof experience in the varioushospitality disciplines,from F&B to Operationsto Sales and Marketing.

Park Inn by Radisson Gurgaon BilaspurGurgaonArvind Shenoy has been appointed as General Manager of thePark Inn By Radisson Gurgaon Bilaspur. Shenoy comes with over20 years of experience in the hospitality indus-try. He works with new and existing prop-erties, combining cost controls with tran-sitional and long-term team building tomaximise advantages. Shenoy is a 1994graduate from The WelcomgroupGraduate School of Hotel Administration,Manipal. He has served in various oper-ating capacities, for franchises includingTulip, Carlson Rezidor hotels and variousother single unit hotel companies.

Yatra.com New DelhiHimanshu Verma has been appointed as Chief Technology Officerby Yatra.com. He comes with two decades of diverse experience in

the technology industry and the last tenyears have seen him in key leadership

roles with some of the biggest namesin the e-commerce and Internetindustries. In his new role, Vermawill lead technology developmentfor all businesses and products ofYatra. In this role, Verma will beengaged in growing the mobile busi-ness, which is now touted as the

future of the travel industry.

Hilton Chennai ChennaiHilton Chennai recently announced appointment of AchalAgarwal as Executive Chef. With more than 15 years of expe-

rience in the hospitality industry, Agarwal hasworked with chains like Taj Hotels,

Resor ts and Palaces, The LeelaPalaces, Hotels and Resor ts andHyatt Hotels Corporation. He wasassociated with award winningJapanese restaurants like Sakura,Wasabi and Megu. Most recentlyhe was in charge of the kitchen

team at Hyatt Regency, New Delhi.

The ClaridgesNew DelhiThe Claridges, New Delhi has announced the appointment of SahilSabhlok as the Executive Chef. He comes to The Claridges, NewDelhi with over a decade of experience in the hospitality and

restaurant industry with an aim to make thehotel an epicurean hub with his experi-

ence across diverse cuisines. He will beinstrumental in planning, implementingand overseeing the diverse and uniquemenus across all our restaurants.Sabhlok will lead a team of talented

young chefs, allowing each specialty restaurant to

retain its core premiumfocus, leading them intoa new era.

Saurabh Rai, Area Managing Director, South Asia andMiddle East, Preferred Hotels & Resorts Rai travelsextensively due to his work portfolio. Father of a two-

year-old daughter, luxury for him,is time with his family – and asa team they enjoy unwinding bythe ocean resorts in Thailand.Road trips within India, up tothe hills or into the interiors ofRajasthan are a big hit. “Theconnotation of travel hasaltered since the arrival of mydaughter. We recently went

snorkelling in Maldives andthat’s been added to my list

of favourite things todo,” he says.

Avijit Chaturvedi, General Manager, Fortune Select Dasve,Lavasa, likes writing Hindi and Urdu poetry in his free time.He is also a photography enthusiast. Chaturvedi has beenassociated with an amateur theatre group for more than

10 years. “I enjoy listening to semi-classical and classical Hindustani

music." he says. His preferredtravel destinations areNgorongoro National ParkTanzania & Masai Mara,Kenya and Kaziranga National Park, Assam, andAndaman & Nicobar Islands.

Surya Bhan Singh, Chairman, Galaxy Tourism, is one ofthe youngest chairman in the Tourism Industry. Singh wasgrounded and practical and worked his way up the success

ladder with perseverance, devotionand commitment, all of which

reaped a beneficial result inthe form of Galaxy Tourism.He did not for once give intothe naysayers or the peoplewho said that this cannothappen. He had faith in his abilities and he focusedon his strengths, he tookfailure and defeat in his

stride and tastedtrue success.

Talking People is a special dedicated corner, created as a sounding board for who’s who of the Indian and international travel industry. Talking People is our endeavour to bring you face-to-face with professionals. Contributed by: Hazel Jain, Peden Doma Bhutia & Megha Paul


INTERVIEW

QWhat would you callUttar Pradesh’s USP

in terms of tourism?We have an abundance

of heritage and that’s our USP.We may not have oceans andmountains but the statemakes up for it in terms of reli-gious and heritage sites of thehighest repute. We have theworld’s oldest city, Kashi, andLord Rama’s birthplace,Ayodhya, which see massivedomestic tourism. We are No.2 in India when it comes todomestic numbers, and No. 4for foreign tourists. The TajMahal alone saw up to60,72,263 visitors fromJanuary 2014 to December2014, out of which 6,94,467were foreigners and53,77,796 Indians.

QHow has e-ticketingfor the Taj Mahal

fared?The response has been

hugely positive. We have had4,04,133 visitors in total whobooked through e-ticketingfrom December 2014 to April 2015. Out of these2,77,126 were foreigners and1,27,007 Indians. Taking it forward, we want to make itsystematic — something onthe lines of Berlin Tower. Theticketing system is impecca-ble at this landmark in

Berlin and is mighty impres-sive. We want to implementthis at other popular sites as well.

QWill UP Travel Martbe an annual event?

If yes, please share thedates for 2016 edition?

Yes, seeing the responsein Lucknow, we plan to hold thetravel mart every year. It’llcome back to Lucknow fromFebruary 22-24, 2016. We alsoagreed on a five-year agree-ment with FICCI which is agreat achievement.

QCongratulations onreceiving the aid

from the World Bank.What are the investmentprojections?

We are thrilled to havesecured ̀ 1,600 crore from theWorld Bank. Out of this, ̀ 441crore will be allotted toMathura, Ayodhya and KashiBuddha circuit.

QHow has the con-cept of Tourism

Police materialised?We have recruited ex-

military men to serve astourism police in the state.

These people are duty-drivenand disciplined which makestheir job very easy and ofhighest quality. They are cur-rently deployed at Mathura,Lucknow and Varanasi. I amproud to say that we haven’thad any incidents that couldtarnish UP’s image as atourist destination since itsformation. As of now we haveonly one woman officer inTourist police unit under SSP Agra, but we are lookingto add more.

QWhat’s up and com-ing on the UP

Tourism front?UP Tourism grew at 12 per

cent in the past year. Ourrenewed focus on heritage-based tourism has revived many

small areas/monuments/eventswhich were regionally renownedbut lacked national exposure.Some such events are theMangla Aarti, Dev Diwali andBharat Milap in Varanasi,Ramnagar Fort, Shahi Taalab inLucknow. We organise light andsound show in Jhansi andSarnath, Varanasi, and a musi-cal show for the aficionadoscalled Subah-e-Banaras. UPTourism seeks the support of allmedia associated with the traveltrade to highlight the wonders ofthis state and to dispel the neg-ative coverage in the main-stream media.

UP Travel Mart from Feb 22 next year

RU C H I J S I N G H

After a five-year agreement with FICCI at the travel mart in Lucknow, Uttar Pradeshhas now secured `1,600 cr from the World Bank to develop its tourism circuits. Om Prakash Singh, Tourism Minister, Uttar Pradesh, talks to .

Up and coming2000 tourists in total from October 2014 to April 2015took the Chambal Safari through the infamous ruins ofChambal once called home by numerous dacoits

Sound and light show at Sarnath and Ramnagar Fort

Chunar Fort being refurbished

`640 cr assigned to cleaning and beautification of River Gomti in Lucknow

31 canals flowing into Gomti being restored

A museum in Ghazipur district on Mughal history

A gallery based on the events of 1857 mutiny

Taj remains UP’s crown jewelOm Prakash Singh, Tourism Minister, Uttar Pradesh

60,72,263 visited the Taj Mahal from January-December 2014

4,04,133 booked their visit to the Taj Mahal through e-Ticketing fromDecember 2014 to April 2015

Agra leads the state with 44.1% hotel occupancy


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

of the same month at New Delhi PSO, New Delhi - 110001, RNI No.: 53492/1991Date of Publication:30-05-2015


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