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` 50/-A DDP PUBLICATIONVol. XXVI No. 6; March 2nd fortnight issue 2014 Pages:34 (Excluding covers)+ 16 Pages Supplement

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MARCH 2ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2014 TRAVTALK 1

Shanker clarifies, “TheVisa-on-Arrival (VoA) tobe introduced by India

is not just for 180 countries. It’sfor all the countries in theworld, except the 8 countriesthat have been mentionedbefore. We have a total of 180missions and that must havebeen the reason for the confu-sion with the number. In these180 missions, many missionscover more than one country,”he says. Calling the VoA move

important, Shankar says, “TheVoA will have a great impetusas IATO says the growth rateof tourist inflow will not be lessthan 25 per cent per year. The

implementation of the VoA isin its process, so we can't commit on the date of imple-mentation. Once it is decided,we will make a formal

announcement, but we'll try tostart this year itself.”

Shankar was speakingon the sidelines of the ‘Feel India – A CulturalExtravaganza’ initiative.

An initiative of IncredibleIndia, Ministry of Tourism and the India TourismDevelopment Corporation(ITDC), Feel India is an event toshowcase the myriad shades of

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIAWe have a total of 180 missions and that must have been the reason for the confusion with thenumber. Most of these missionscover more than one country

From a small, niche mar-ket, adventure tourismhas now become a size-

able market with the potentialfor significant economic growthopportunities. With the theme‘Connect, Create, Catalyseand Conserve’, the focus of the

event is to draw attention to therapidly changing environmentand chalk out a plan for itspreservation, incorporation ofsustainable tourism practices

and dissemination of the sameamong industry stakeholdersand sensitise travellers.

ME G H A PAU L

The upcoming 11th Annual Convention of Adventure Tour OperatorsAssociation of India (ATOAI) in Shivpuri, Uttarakhand, from March 25-27this year is expected to witness over 40 international buyers along with agood number of domestic buyers from Pune, Mumbai and Gujarat.

ATOAI reviving Uttarakhand tourism

‘VoA is not just for 180 countries’

Contd. on page 5

Contd. on page 6

Akshay KumarPresident, ATOAI

Girish ShankarAdditional SecretaryMinistry of Tourism

Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, says that India’s Visa-on-Arrival schemefor the rest of the world (except 8 countries) will give a positive impetus to tourism, adding that the growth rate will not be less than 25% per annum. reports...

NewsBulletinSeason for airlineflash sales

See full story on page 4

Face of the future:Zaheer Ellias Najeeb


VoA a ‘Game Changer’ for Hospitality


Canada aiming for 15% growth in 2014


13-103-2014-FINAL_TT_MARCH-2nd.qxp:TT Layout 3/19/2014 11:18 AM Page 1

NEWS

Inaugurated by ParvezDewan, Secretary, Ministry of

Tourism, GoI, as the ChiefGuest, the conclave witnesseda large number of Union andState Government officials fromthe Himalayan region, industrypractitioners and experts.

Addressing the gathering,Dewan emphasised on mutualresponsibilities of the govern-ment, industry and commonpeople to preserve and developheritage. Highlighting someindustry initiatives to showcaseIndia’s heritage, he maintainedthat ‘manufacturing heritage’ iswelcome, however, thereshould also be serious effortsto involve local community todisplay their culture to create aniche in this segment. He alsoemphasised on the fact thatHimalayas provide an opportu-nity for round-the-year tourismbecause of their attractions.

The Ministry of Tourismhas recognised the potential ofHimalayas as a very importantregion in the country to attractinternational as well as young

domestic tourists especially foradventure tourism. Accordingly,the ministry launched a newcampaign, ‘777 days of TheIndian Himalayas’ to promote

this tourist product internation-ally. Dewan, however, main-tained that, to reap benefits fromthe rich heritage sites in thecountry, a good managementshould be the prerequisite.

The conclave was alsoaddressed by Sharad Jaipuria,President, PHD Chamber;Vijay Mehta, Chairman,Tourism Committee, PHD

Chamber; SM Khan, DG,Ministry of I&B; Inder Sharma,CMD, Select Holidays Resorts;Subhash Goyal, President,IATO; Mandip Singh Soin,

Founder & MD, IbexExpeditions; Ashwani Lohani,Chief Mechanical Engineer,Northern Railway, M Sajnani,Director, Amity Institute of Travel& Tourism and other dignitaries.

At this Conclave, PHDChamber, in association withRoots Research, released aKnowledge Paper on‘Himalayan Tourism’.

The Conclave started withhomage to Francis Wacziarg,co-chairman and founder,Neemrana Hotels, who passedaway on February 19 for his

contribution to the tourismindustry in India.

In a bid to boost heritage tourism in all the Himalayan states in India, PHDChamber of Commerce and Industry organised its 3rd Heritage TourismConclave in New Delhi on February 21.

Making heritage tourism inclusive

RATA N K R PAU L

� Every year, more than30 million tourists comefor pilgrimage, trekkingand sight-seeing

� The Himalayas cover16% of total India’s area

Key Facts

Parvez Dewan lighting the lamp at the conclave


ANALYSIS

VIEWPOINT

There was a time cruises were meant for the rich and the famous. It portrayed

pure opulence and was too expensive toafford for mere mortals! Today, it is thefastest growing segment in the globaltourism sector. The cruise market in Indiahas to its credit more than 1,15,000passengers sailing annually. So, it hasclearly gone beyond aspirational factors.

A cruise has gone from being the perfectform of passage to a complete tour in itself.It takes you places in luxury, days filled withactivity or with total relaxation, or both – it’syour choice. It’s hassle free, all-inclusivetransporting you from one place to another,with the best chefs onboard and no needto pack and unpack at every new place,regardless of how many countries you visit.

Family travel is catching on… familiestravelling with children and grandchildren,aging parents, or groups of friends travellingtogether to celebrate birthdays andanniversaries is fast catching on. Cruisetravel is becoming a growing source ofexperiential travel – see the world with adifferent perspective!

There was a question about cruisecompanies taking away the sustainabilityfactor from tourism. The industry hasrealised its responsibility and is taking stepsto ensure they sell land travel with thoughtand control the volume of visitors, ensuringenvironment protection by taking intoaccount the well-being of people who live there. Docking of ships at destinationsprovides large employment, enhancedinfrastructure and income for people of the region.

The good news for our industry is thattour operators and cruise agents make agood commission (as much as 20-30 percent) on their sales, which has become arare commodity these days. However, there is a lack of trained staff. Travel & tourism institutes need to incorporatecruises as a chapter in their syllabus, toensure best benefits to both operators andcruise companies.

Cruise Ahoy!

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

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On February 24, SpiceJetannounced a ‘Super

Summer Sale’ for customerswho book within the nextthree days till February 26, fortravel between April 1 andJune 30, 2014. Post the suc-cess of the offers launched bythe airline earlier this year, thethird flash sale, offering 75 percent off base fare plus fuelsurcharge relative to last-minute fares, was part of theairline’s strategy to makeseats that would otherwise flyempty available to passen-gers at highly-discountedadvance purchase rates.

“We received over-whelming positive feedbackfrom customers who bookedthe earlier ‘Super Sales’. Bytaking the lead in making airtravel more affordable, trav-ellers can now book morespontaneously and moreoften by air, and we alsoattracted many first-time airtravellers who would other-wise endure long train jour-neys or not travel at all,” saidSanjiv Kapoor, COO,

SpiceJet. According toKapoor, “These are not farewars as commonly reported,for here there are no losers.

This is just basic customersegmentation and inventoryand revenue management.”

In a bid to compete withSpiceJet, other carriers suchas IndiGo, GoAir, Jet Airwaysand even Air India again

jumped onto the flash salebandwagon.

Rajan Sehgal, Chairman,TAAI Northern Chapter,believes the reason behindsuch short intervals in the flashsales is because airlines needinstant cash flow. “By announc-ing such offers, airlines want toboost their targets before theend of this financial year, sincemost of them are facing hugelosses. A part of this is also asales gimmick, as on the popu-lar routes, almost 80 per centwill be sold out. So when youcheck the site to book your tick-ets, you end up buying ticketsto less popular destinations likeAhmedabad or Pune, justbecause the rates are less.”

With drastic drop inprices offered, airlines areexpected to witness a surge of15 – 20 per cent in passengertraffic, Sehgal added.

"Airline operators are look-ing to fill their seats that are cur-rently running below optimumcapacity. But additionally, withAir Asia soon entering thescene, current operators arepreparing for the tight competi-tion in prices that will bring. Bycoupling with distribution chan-nels, airlines can reach out to

intended audiences who arelooking to avail these discounts,"said Jackson Fernandez, MD,Wego.com. By allowing trav-ellers to book within the travel period from April to June, the carriers ensure thattheir peak summer season willbe booked.

Online travel agentsreaped the maximum rewardsfrom the flash sale. SharatDhall, President, Yatra.com,said, “We have witnessed anoverwhelming response on thefirst day of the sale havingrecorded an overall growth of253 per cent within 24 hours.The phenomenal growth in cer-tain sectors has surpassed allexpectations, and we are cer-tain that this will bring muchneeded respite to travellers fromthe prevailing high fares, as theyplan their summer breaks.” Headded that the Delhi-Mumbairoute witnessed a 320 per centgrowth in bookings, while theDelhi-Bengaluru witnessed thehighest jump of 476 per cent.

Manu Monga, VicePresident and Head, Marketing,Musafir.com, echoed a similarresponse. “We have seen asurge of 20 per cent in bookings within hours of thesale being announced.”

With the immense popularity and buzz garnered by the flash sales, airlinescontinue the trend to better their bottom line.

3rd airline flash sale in 2 months

RAMYA JS D’ROZARIO

By taking thelead in makingair travel moreaffordable,travellers cannow bookmorespontaneously

By announcingsuch offers,airlines want to boost their targetsbefore the end of thisfinancial year

Rajan SehgalChairmanTAAI - Northern Chapter

Sanjiv KapoorCOOSpiceJet

We have seen a surge of 20 per centin bookingswithin hours of the sale beingannounced

Manu MongaVice President and Head -Marketing, Musafir.com

Airlineoperators arelooking to filltheir seats thatare currentlyrunning belowoptimumcapacity

The Delhi-Mumbai routewitnessed a320 per centgrowth inbookingsduring the sale

Sharat DhallPresidentYatra.com

Jackson FernandezMD Wego.com


According to AkshayKumar, President, ATOAI, theconvention aims to revive thetourism industry that was hitby the flash floods last June.“By hosting the convention inUttarakhand, ATOAI wants tosend out the message thatUttarakhand is a safe touristdestination and the impact ofthe flash floods that struck thestate last June is temporary.Over 85 per cent of the stateis unaffected by the delugeand it is safe to travel,” heinforms. Most of the adventuretour operators have somestake in Uttarakhand, andover the years they have been

utilising tourism resources ofthe state. In the light of therecent natural disaster, this isthe time to give back to thestate, he adds.

Rajesh Ojha, ExecutiveCommittee Member, ATOAI, isthe Convention Chairmanwhile Vinayak Koul, ExecutiveCommittee Member, ATOAIand David K Singh, Treasurer,ATOAI, are the Co-Chairmenfor the convention.

Besides including vari-ous adventure activities, theconvention programme isbeing designed to give amplenetworking opportunities,

unique learning experiencesand an advanced platform tounderstand the emergingchallenges of the adventuretourism business. “To restorethe state, we are doing a ‘freegarbage area’ drive betweenthe Rishikesh-Kaudiyala forthe next three years,” Ojhareveals. The convention isexpected to witness over 440delegates, 40 internationalbuyers along with good num-

ber of domestic buyers fromPune, Mumbai and Gujarat.The response from EasternIndia is also remarkable, he

adds. Apart from an open ses-sion with all the stakeholdersand informative post-conven-tion tours, the convention

team is all set to surprise del-egates by creating a luxurytent colony for one night onthe bank of the Ganga to net-work and interact.

Taking the partnershipwith Uttarakhand Tourismbeyond the convention period,ATOAI, in collaboration with some nodal agencies,has also conducted seminarsfor stakeholders and work-

shop on adventure safety for the promotion of safe, hon-ourable and sustainabletourism. The first day-longconference titled ‘Tourism in Uttarakhand: StartingAfresh’ was conducted onDecember 13, 2013, inDehradun followed byAdventure First Responderand Safety Workshop in Uttarkashi from January 13-14, 2014.

M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 5ASSOCIATIONS

ATOAI takes convention to Uttarakhand

To restore thestate, we aredoing a ‘freegarbage area’drive betweenRishikesh-Kaudiyala for thenext three years

Rajesh OjhaExecutive Committee

MemberATOAI

The convention aims to revive thetourism industry that was hit by flash floods last June

Akshay Kumar, President, ATOAI

Contd. from page 1

� Besides includingvarious adventureactivities, theconvention pro-gramme is beingdesigned to giveample networkingopportunities, uniquelearning experiencesand an advancedplatform tounderstand theemerging challengesof the adventuretourism business.

In Store


NTO6 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

Focus Canada – India 2014was held from February 26

to March 1, 2014, whereCanadian sellers and Indianbuyers got an opportunity tointeract and plan for the year

ahead. “We’ve had a wonderful‘Focus’ this year. We had 29companies from Canada and39 representatives and approx-imately 60 buyers. And every-one was really excited andlooking forward to sellingCanada this year,” saysSiobhan Chretien, RegionalManaging Director – EmergingMarket, CTC – India.

In 2013, India wasbogged down by a slowGDP growth, which affectedthe outbound numbers toCanada. “In the last quarter,

we experienced increaseswhich were significant, howev-er we were flat for the totalyear,” she added. “And, I think it was predominantlybecause of the decline in the economy in India, and thedevaluation of the Indianrupee. But all in all, Canadastayed very strong.” She added that they were up onlyhalf a per cent at the end of theyear, but compared to otherinternational and long hauldestinations, it was afavourable number, i.e.,147,000 visitors.

The Indian market gener-ated 10,942 tourists to Canadain December 2013, an increaseof 9.2 per cent over the samemonth in 2012. This year, thetourism body is projecting anincrease. With Canada nowoffering multiple-entry visa, thechange may help the numbers.“Obviously, any change thathelps in loosen any restrictionswill be met with great excite-ment. So we probably expectaround 150,000 visitors. Also, inthe months ahead, the consulwill be introducing somechanges, and we shall supportand communicate that to thetravel trade.”

Regarding growth ofMICE movement to Canada,Chretien said that this sectorhas not yet established fully.“Once air connectivityimproves, the numbers arebound to rise.”

With CTC having its pres-ence in 10 countries, India is

8th on the list measuring vol-ume of tourists, with SouthKorea and Mexico following.With VFR being a large per-centage of the visitor share, thecurrent spend is CAD 1,100and the average night stay is25 days. With the middle classgrowing, aggressive socialmarketing and increasingaccess to different technolo-gies, the competition is grow-ing. Even though maximumIndian travellers are from Delhi and Mumbai, CTC India is expanding to the citiesof Chennai, Ahmedabad,Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

Canada witnessed 147,000 visitors from India in 2013, with a 9.2% increase in internationalarrivals from India in December 2013. And in 2014, the spirit of optimism runs high as CTC-India aims for a much higher target of 15% growth.

Canada aiming for 15% growth in 2014

We’ve had a wonderful ‘Focus’ this year. We had 29 companies from

Canada and 39 representativesand approximately 60 buyers

Siobhan ChretienRegional Managing Director - Emerging Market

CTC – India

� The Indian marketgenerated 10,942 touriststo Canada in December2013, an increase of 9.2%over the same month in2012

Flash Fact

RAMYA JS D’ROZARIO

Pushing forward to get more Inboundin the country

culture to tourists visiting India.The cultural programmes wereorganised at the Amphitheatre, The Ashok, every Thursday,Friday and Saturday from 6.30pm to 7.30 pm.

Talking about Feel India,Shankar says, “There was aneed felt for tourists who hadnothing to do in Delhi in theevenings. We thought we'll fillthis gap by hosting these cul-tural evenings, and we'll alsobe able to showcase variouscultures to the tourists, differ-ent types of Indian culturalforms, contemporary folkfusion and classical forms ofdances and music.”

Talking about buildingthe brand of Feel India, hesays, “All stalwarts fromtourism industry have beenpresent at the inauguration ofthe event. We too have beenworking with tour operatorsand stakeholders to raiseawareness about the eventand we want tours operatorsto build the Feel India pro-gramme in their itinerary.”

Contd. from page 1


Aiming to project Kerala asan ideal destination for

weddings, honeymoons andconferences, the three- dayKerala Travel Mart (KTM) willget underway in Kochi fromSeptember 18. According toAP Anil Kumar, TourismMinister, Kerala, the mart aimsto highlight innovative tourismproducts such as village lifeexperience and culture tours.“This time, the mart will reachout to buyers from new mar-kets like Australia, Brazil, Chile,Czech Republic, Denmark,Finland, Japan, South Africa,Sweden and USA. Theseemerging segments are beingviewed seriously by tourist des-tinations and KTM intends toincrease Kerala’s market shareto an additional ` 5,000 crore.Only 10 per cent of the nationalinbound tourist traffic reachesthe state and the KTM has seta target of 15 per cent arrivalsfrom new and emerging mar-kets,” he pointed out.

Tour operators, hotels,resorts, home stays, house-boats, Ayurveda resorts, cul-tural art centres and manyothers will be showcasing theirproducts at the Mart. Over thepast 13 years, since the firstMart, KTM has attracted over1,000 international buyerswho have established busi-ness partners among the var-ious sections in the tourismindustry of Kerala.

The Minister said that theglobal slowdown had notimpacted international arrivalsto the state. Lamenting thesluggish growth last year, heinformed, “Both domestic andforeign tourist arrivals haveincreased in 2013. However,the state did not get the expect-ed growth. Kerala Tourism isplanning to conduct a surveyof hotels, home stays and touroperators in the state and it isexpected to be ready in amonth’s time.”

Going forward, theResponsible Tourism (RT)model in Kumarakom, whichwon accolades for Kerala gov-ernment from the UnitedNations World TourismOrganisation (UNWTO) inFebruary, will also be extended to 112 Panchayatsin the first phase. “RT has

been devised for the benefitof the common man. The benefits of the tourism sector should not be limited to a select few industrialistsand hoteliers. The local peo-ple should get the benefit of the growth of the tourismsector in the state. We willtake forward the successful

implementation of RT modelacross the state through pub-lic participation,” he said. The minister also said thegovernment had organised a technical workshop for all Panchayat presidents inthe state to highlight the ben-efits of the RT model andimplement it.

M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 7EXHIBITIONS

The Kerala Government’s Tourism Department is partnering with the Kerala Travel Mart Society to host the 8th

edition of KTM which brings together the business entrepreneurs and services of Kerala.

Kerala Travel Mart in Kochi from Sept 18ME G H A PAU L Only 10% of the national

inbound tourist traffic reachesthe state and the KTM has set atarget of 15% arrivals from newand emerging markets

AP Anil KumarTourism Minister , Kerala

� KTM intends to increaseKerala’s market share toan additional ` 5,000crore.

� Only 10 per cent of thenational inbound touristtraffic reaches the stateand the KTM has set atarget of 15 per centarrivals from new andemerging markets

Raising The Bar


AVIATION

Jet Airways offered womentravellers a special 10

per cent discount on basefares for international travelon the airline’s network. Theyeven received an additional10 per cent discount on basefare and fuel surcharge(excluding applicable taxes)on domestic services operat-ed by Jet Airways andJetKonnect. These bookingswere made available on theirwebsite and both domesticand international tickets canbe booked for the periodbetween March 8 and May 8, 2014, with travel validity of 11 months.

The airline also support-ed three Non-GovernmentalOrganisations (NGOs) workingon various women’s issues byconducting an in-flight fundrais-ing drive from March 8 to 22,on all its domestic flights.

Gaurang Shetty, SeniorVP – Commercial, Jet Airways,said, “Through our in-flight fundcollection drive, we believe inmaking a contribution to soci-

ety, especially towards the wel-fare and betterment of margin-alised women.”

AirFrance KLM tooindulged their women passen-gers, with a surprise for themduring the check-in of Air Franceand KLM flights on March 8 atDelhi, Mumbai and Bengaluruairports. The surprise that await-

ed Air France and KLM’s femalepassengers: Indian handicraftgift items.

Anaita Elaiva,Associate VP - Product

Development, VacationsExotica, said, “The number ofwomen travellers are increasing day-by-day,whether on their own or in groups. I think these schemes and promo-tions will be a big boost, since women largely influencefamily decisions, includingholiday plans.”

GoAir announced a spe-cial scheme for women trav-ellers, wherein they upgradedwomen travellers to priorityservice, GoBusiness, for just ` 999. The upgrade, which is ata 60 per cent discount on theusual price, was applicableacross 21 destinations that theairline operates in.

“We are very excitedthat GoAir can bring womentravellers to choose a servicethat is sensitive to their needsof comfort, privacy and con-venience at a highly afford-able value,” said Girish Nair,Chief Commercial Officer,GoAir.

Chitra Bhatia, MD,Aashman Travel said thatsuch schemes are good ges-tures on the part of the air-lines, however, there can bemore to it. “On special occa-sions, airlines do offer dis-counts and various promo-tions, and InternationalWomen’s Day has becomejust another day to offer suchdiscounts. The effort needs togo much deeper than this.”

With International Women’s Day on March 8, airlines came together to offer women passengers severaldiscounts and promotional schemes.

Airlines’ gift to the ladies

TT BU R E AU

The number ofwomentravellers areincreasing day-by-day, whetheron their own orin groups

We believe incontribution to society,especiallytowardsmarginalisedwomen

Gaurang ShettySenior Vice President –Commercial, Jet Airways

Anaita ElaivaAssociate Vice President - ProductDevelopment, Vacations Exotica

Such schemesare goodgestures onthe part ofairlines, butthere can bemore to it

We are veryexcited thatGoAir can givewomen travellersa service that issensitive to their needs

Girish NairChief Commercial OfficerGoAir

Chitra BhatiaMDAashman Travel

� Jet Airways supportedthree Non-GovernmentalOrganisations (NGOs)working on variouswomen’s issues byconducting an in-flightfundraising drive fromMarch 8 to 22, on all itsdomestic flights

For A Fair Change


The Department ofTourism, Philippines

(DOT), has announced that ithas registered 52,206 touristarrivals from India in 2013, asagainst 46,395 in 2012.Amongst Philippines’ key

tourist markets in South Asia,India registered the highestannual growth of 12.53 percent in visitor arrivals. The

DOT has welcomed a total of4,681,307 foreign visitors in 2013, surpassing the4,272,811 arrivals recorded in2012 by 9.56 per cent.

“Our key source marketsperformed well duringDecember, proof that interna-tional confidence has beenregained. The Philippines isprofoundly grateful for the out-pouring of support, aid, andgoodwill from all over theworld. They were all instrumen-

tal in our road to recovery,"Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.,Tourism Secretary, said.

"We foresee better oppor-tunities for growth this year aswe continue to roll out pro-grammes under the NationalTourism Development Plan

(NTDP),” the tourism chief said.Philippines will play host to anumber of international confer-ences and events this year. Thecountry is currently preparingfor ‘Visit the Philippines Year(VPY) 2015’, which will featurea calendar of events and aneclectic mix of activities.

SanJeet, TourismAttaché, Philippines TourismMarketing Office, India, said,“The double-digit growthaffirms our consistent effort in promoting the desti-nation. We owe this achievement to our team whohave worked relentlessly

towards increasing awareness about thePhilippines in the country. It is also quite encouraging to note that we have performed well despite the unfortunate natural calamity that occurred lastyear.”

Philippines surpasses other South Asian countries in visitors as travel figures from India reaches the highestannual growth of 12.53% with 52,206 tourist arrivals. reports...

India’s favourite country? Philippines!TT BU R E AU

NTO M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 9

We foreseebetter growththis year as we continue to roll outprogrammesunder the NTDP

Ramon R. Jimenez Jr., Tourism SecretaryDepartment of Tourism, Philippines

The double-digitgrowth affirmsour consistenteffort inpromoting thedestination

SanJeetTourism Attaché, Philippines TourismMarketing Office, India


TECHNOLOGY

Supported by theArchaeological Survey of

India (ASI), Google released thefirst 360° online imagery of 30iconic Indian heritage sites,including the Taj Mahal,Humayun's Tomb, Red Fort andAgra Fort on Google Maps andthe Google Cultural Institute. ASI

and Google are unveilingpanoramic imagery of these 30sites as part of their joint initiativeto help make 100 of India’s mostimportant heritage sites moreaccessible for the world to expe-rience. The Indian monuments,now live on Google Maps andCultural Institute, are all over 100years old, and by allowing peo-

ple to virtually explore themonline, Google aims to helpshare more of Indian culture andheritage with people at homeand abroad.

“Today, this partnershipwith Google makes it possiblefor billions of people across theworld to see and explore our

magnificent heritage, to take awalk at the Rock Cut JainTemple, to marvel at theNagarjuna Konda BuddhistStupas and to relive the historyin Fatehpur Sikri. With therelease of these new panoram-ic images, we aim to create adynamic, immersive onlineexperience by which peoplewithin India and around theworld can understand andengage more of India’s diversecultural heritage,” saidChandresh Kumari Katoch,Union Minister of Culture.

“Google is deeply commit-ted to helping preserve andshowcase cultural heritageacross the world. India is uniquein terms of the sheer wealth ofheritage and iconic historical

monuments, and it has been ourprivilege to work with the ASI incollecting new 360° photos of 30Indian heritage sites. We hopethe imagery will help makeIndia’s heritage and culturemore accessible to people athome and abroad,” said Rajan Anandan, Vice President

and Managing Director, Google India.

“The images comingonline through Google Mapsand the Google CulturalInstitute provide a new way forpeople around the world toview, interact with, and learnabout some of the mostimportant heritage monu-ments in India. We hope this new way of exploringnational treasures such as theTaj Mahal, Agra Fort andQutub Minar will help sharemore of India’s diverse culture with new audiences,and help preserve this part of India’s identity for generations to come,” saidPravin Srivastava, DirectorGeneral, ASI.

Recently, the Ministry of Culture, the Archaeological Surveyof India and Google unveiled a new 360° online imageryof the Taj Mahal and 29 other iconic Indian heritage sites.

Visit the Taj Mahal online

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� The Indian monuments,live on Google Mapsand Cultural Institute,are all over 100 yearsold, and Google aims toshare more of Indianheritage with people athome and abroad.

Online Presence

Google and Government officials at the launch

Portugal attracts Indian travel trade

The tourism authority of the Government of Portugal (Turismo de Portugal) led a 20 member delegation on a three-city workshop session in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. Through this marketing initiative, the Government ofPortugal along with several destination management companies, Portuguese hoteliers and resort owners interactedwith 500 Indian private sector organisations comprising travel companies, tour operators, wedding planners/organisersand even film producers and location managers across the three cities.


The Maharashtra TourismDevelopment Corporation

(MTDC) and Maritime EnergyHeli Air Services (MEHAIR)launched the first seaplaneservice of Maharashtra inMumbai recently. The compa-ny’s amphibian planes willeventually connect Mumbaiwith state tourist destinationsadjacent to suitable water bod-ies even though there are norunways at these destinations.

The service waslaunched by ChhaganBhujbal, Minister of Tourismand Public Works,Maharashtra Govt. The func-tion was presided over byRanjit Kamble, Minister ofState Tourism & Public Works,Maharashtra Govt, in the pres-

ence of Sumit Mullick,Additional Chief Secy & ChiefProtocol Officer, Governmentof Maharashtra; Jagdish Patil,MD, MTDC; Satish Soni,Director (Tourism), SiddharthVerma, Director & Co-Founder, MEHAIR and VivekKumar, Executive DirectorWorker, Sahara India Pariwarand CEO, Aamby Valley Cityand Hotel Sahara Star.

Talking about the facility,Bhujbal stated, “TheGovernment of Maharashtra ispleased to announce thelaunch of seaplane services forcommuters in Maharashtra.The service will provide easeto the tourist and locals whotravel to various tourist desti-nations of Maharashtra.MEHAIR has come-up with this novel concept and weare happy that Maharashtra is the first state to have such a service in the mainland of India.”

The seaplane service isbeing launched inMaharashtra with a Cessna206 Amphibian and another

Cessna 208 Amphibian air-craft will be inducted by April14. Both these two models canaccommodate 4 to 9 passen-gers, respectively. "This newand exciting mode of transportwill provide the last mile con-nectivity to those popular

tourist destinations wherethere is no airport. A seaplaneis a quick, convenient andexciting mode of travel whichwill lend impetus to the tourisminitiative of the Govt ofMaharashtra. This venture wasonly possible with the tremen-

dous support from the MTDC,”Verma said.

Calling the services aboost to tourism, Patil said,"Seaplanes will turn vacationdestinations into weekend des-tinations.”

The first seaplane service of Maharashtra will eventually connect Mumbai withstate tourist destinations adjacent to suitable water bodies even though thereare no runways at these destinations.

Now, Maharashtra tourism gets wings

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STATES M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 1

Seaplanes willturn vacationdestinationsinto weekenddestinations

Jagdish PatilManaging Director,

MTDC


NTO

After receiving honey-mooners, students,

leisure and VFR traffic fromIndia, the Victoria region ofAustralia is now observinggrowth from ‘Special InterestGroups’ like Bollywood,sports, etc. Tourism Victoria isaiming to boost this segmentand bring in more Indians tothe region. For the same, thegovernment recently rolledout its campaign – ‘ComeAlive in Melbourne’ which hasbeen developed to leveragesocial media platforms inIndia and create furtherawareness of Melbourne andVictoria as a travel destina-tion. Additionally, it has alsoannounced plans to developtravel packages to Melbourneas part of the ICC CricketWorld Cup 2015 to be heldacross Australia and NewZealand in February nextyear. The region receivedclose to 73,000 Indians in2013 which is a nine per centincrease from 2012.

Giving out more details,Leigh Harry, CEO, TourismVictoria, said, “India is an

exciting market for us and weintend to further intensify ourdestination awareness.Through the social mediacampaign, we aim at enhanc-ing our brand awarenesswhile on the other hand wewill consistently educate ourtrade partners about the latestproduct developments and

offerings.” He informed thatwith the launch of air connec-tivity by Air India last year, the numbers from Indian mar-ket have improved. He adds,“We are sure that Air India isrecording excellent loads onIndia – Australia route andwish the airline will soon startdaily direct operations

between India andMelbourne. Meanwhile, ourother airline partners likeSingapore Airlines, Emirates,etc., are offering excellentrates to fly to our region from India.”

Talking about the ICCWorld Cup, Harry said, “We

know Indians love cricket andthus, we are developing tourpackages with a few nationaltour operators in India. Thesepackages will cover best travelsites of Victoria and at the same time ensure that thetravellers have an amazingexperience of watching thecricket match.”

Tourism Victoria has recorded 9% growth from India in 2013, and is aiming at furthereducating the audience about its attractions. It has also announced plans to developtravel packages to Melbourne as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

For special interest groups

We aredeveloping tour packageswith a fewnational touroperators in India

Leigh HarryCEOTourism Victoria

AN I TA JA I N

Tourism Victoria has designed special packages for ICC WorldCup 2015 in association with few travel agents - Fanatic Sports,Cutting Edge, Sports Konnect and TUI Meetings & Incentives(Le Passage to India Tours & Travels). Packages will feature arange of options from three to ten night stays in Victoria and willinclude all the major sights and attractions of Melbourne.

Packages for ICC World Cup 2015

India may not be the primarymarket for Austria in terms of

numbers, but it is one of the pri-mary markets in terms of mar-keting initiatives. This wasrevealed by ChristineMukharji, Market Manager-India, Austrian National TouristOffice (ANTO). “In 2013,Austria recorded 88,000 Indianvisitor arrivals, which was vir-tually no growth over the pre-vious year. But it was a toughyear for all European destina-tions. In 2014, we look forwardto receive more outbound trav-ellers from India. This year willbe good for Europe asexchange rate is becomingstable. I am looking at about 10per cent growth from the Indianmarket,” Mukharji said.

Beyond showcasing andpromoting Austria as a leisureand MICE destination in India,ANTO is looking at tappingthe Indian student segment. Ithas designed special one-week packages for school

groups covering areas inSalzburg and Innsbruck. “We

are looking at tie-ups with touroperators for promoting thesepackages, which ANTO willintroduce in Mumbai in Aprilthis year. The package com-prises four days of skiing andtwo days of cultural pro-grammes,” Mukharji informed.

ANTO recently conduct-ed workshops in Mumbai,Chennai and Delhi. The work-shops witnessed participationof 13 stakeholders fromAustria comprising delegatesfrom local tourist boards,inbound tour operators andDMCs, attractions, hotels andresorts and railways and wereattended by nearly 400 Indiantravel trade members. Goingforward, ANTO will conductworkshops in November thisyear in Delhi, Mumbai andAhmedabad and the focus willbe on promoting the Tyrolregion. Five suppliers will par-ticipate in these workshops,she stated.

Talking about the newtrends in outbound travel, she

commented, “The metro citiesin India, especially Mumbaiand Delhi, are still the mainsource markets for ANTO butthere is a new interest fromTier-II cities. Thus, the focusthis year will be on Tier-IIcities in Gujarat and SouthIndia. Also, we are witnessinginterest for Austria as a wed-ding destination from thismarket. Salzburg, which isalready popular as a honey-moon destination; hosted anIndian wedding of 400 guests last year. We will target this segment along with MICE, especially conferencesand incentives.”

The Austrian National Tourist Office is looking at tie-ups with tour operators for itsspecial one-week packages for school groups covering Salzburg and Innsbruck.

Special packages for students

ME G H A PAU L

We are lookingat tie-ups withtour operatorsfor promotingthese packages,which ANTO willintroduce inMumbai in April this year

Christine MukharjiMarket Manager-IndiaAustrian National Tourist Office

� ANTO recentlyconducted workshopsin Mumbai, Chennai andDelhi.

� It witnessedpar ticipation of 13stakeholders fromAustria

Efforts Made


TECHNOLOGY

Parashar underlined the factthat Internet penetration

and omnipresence of socialmedia tools has created amajor impact on travel andtourism industry. With peoplespending maximum time onthe Internet nowadays, tech-nology has made a differenceto the way consumers viewtravel and book tickets. “Ascompared to earlier, when trav-elling was considered a luxury,it has now become a lifestyle

choice. It is no longer limited toa single annual holiday with thefamily; instead consumersstarted travelling for adventuresports, photography, wildlife,heritage, buildings and more,”he pointed out. Parashar alsohighlighted that there are morebackpackers who avail a widerange of tourist packages. Thespending capacity of young-sters has increased with earn-ings at a young age. In addi-tion, women travelling on theirown have changed the way thetravel sector operates. Thequest for unexplored destina-tions and tourism associatedwith adventure, music and fes-tivals are also on the rise.

“At InterGlobeTechnology Quotient, we aregearing up to make the most ofthe upcoming opportunities.Over the past couple of years,we have invested large

resources in our services andsupport teams to ensure that we are well-equipped to respond to customer needs,” Parashar emphasised.ITQ’s latest product offering‘Travelport Rooms and More’, launched in the middleof last year, is in the samedirection. “Rooms and Morewill revolutionise the way hotelbookings are made by the travel agents. It also enables seamless commission remittance for the travelagents,” he asserted.

In the days to come, ITQis looking at some new prod-ucts like Smartpoint in theIndian market. Smartpoint willreduce key strokes by 15 percent to complete bookings. Itwill also eliminate the trainingrequirement for agencies com-pletely, as staff with any GDSknowledge will be able to workon the same. “Travelport’sAirline Merchandising solutionis also a unique proposition forairlines, as it allows them tounbundle their product offer-ings,” Parashar added.

In the Asia-Pacific region,Travelport has alreadylaunched some innovativeproducts such as Smartpoint,Travelport mobile app,Universal API and TravelportMerchandising Solutions.“These products not only bringin efficiency for the travelagents, but also create alter-

nate revenue streams forthem,” Parashar maintained.

Questioned on the offer-ings of need-based and cost-effective solutions to the travel& tourism industry in India,Parashar said that ITQ, alongwith Travelport, is focussed onproviding cutting-edge traveltechnology solutions withunmatched inventory optionsto its customers, helping themincrease their productivity andbusiness efficiency.

Travelport has been veryupbeat about the acceptanceof its new product offerings inthe global market. Parasharwas of the view that the travelpartners must actively focus onembracing new technologyand servicing their customersas these two would be themain areas of success infuture. “New technology willensure ease of transactionalconvenience, and service andsupport will ensure a happycustomer,” he said.

Commenting on presentmarket scenario, he main-tained that the rupee devalua-tion will result in more con-sumers travelling domesticallyor to cheaper destination coun-tries. Parashar, however,believes that the number ofIndians travelling overseas isset to rise from around 15 mil-lion today to 50 million by 2020.

Speaking to , Anil Parashar, President & CEO,InterGlobe Technology Quotient, elaborated on thepresent trends and the company’s strategies to copewith the market dynamics.

ITQ to unveil new solutions

RATA N KR PAU L

These products not only bring efficiency for the travel agents, but also

create alternate revenuestreams for them

Anil ParasharPresident & CEO,

InterGlobe Technology Quotient

� Smartpoint will reducekey strokes by 15 percent to completebookings.

� Additionally, it will alsoeliminate trainingrequirement foragencies

Of Simplifying

Global passenger traffic up by 8%The International Air Transport

Association (IATA) announced global pas-senger trafficresults for Januaryshowing a strongincrease indemand. Totalrevenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose8.0% compared to January 2013, animprovement over the December 2013growth of 6.8% and the full year 2013growth of 5.2%.

Asia-Pacific carriers’ traffic rose 8.0%compared to the year-ago period.

Comparisons withDecember traffic

suggest a continuationof the slower growth seen toward

the end of 2013, likely in line withsigns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy.Capacity climbed 7.5% year-over-year and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 78.2%.


This event will have presenceof a diverse cross-section of

the region, including attendeesfrom Australia, China, India,Japan, Korea, Malaysia, NewZealand, Pakistan and Vietnam.Approximately, 500 of the indus-try's travel leaders are expectedto experience the future of cor-porate travel in Asia.

Commenting on Hong Kong as conventionvenue, Greeley Koch,Executive Director, ACTE,said, “Our decision to move thisyear's Asia conference to Hong

Kong reflects the scope of theconference—a powerful agen-da, global networking, and theemergence of new productsand new brands, which are the perfect complement toHong Kong’s backdrop of international business.”

He also informed that theconference content will empha-sise four key educational pillarsidentified by the ACTE commu-nity as the industry issues,which are data access & analyt-ics, industry innovations, talentdevelopment for travel profes-sionals and traveller centricity.

“The association’s lega-cy of excellence, value, andbreakthrough presentationswill continue in Hong Kong,”added Benson Tang, AsiaRegional Director, ACTE. Healso maintained that ACTE’s13th Annual Asia CorporateTravel Conference honoursthe fastest growing segmentof the global business travelcommunity with the mostadvanced travel managementtechniques to be introduced

in this decade. “The associa-tion’s proprietary approach totravel trend analysis, knownas the ‘Four Pillars’ has been

specially designed to suit the diverse interests of this conference’s partici-pants,” he underlined.

NEWS

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has announcedthat it will hold its 13th Asia Corporate Travel Conference on August 6-7 inHong Kong with a focus on travel management techniques and emergenceof new products and brands.

ACTC to host convention in August

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Our decision tomove this year'sAsia conferenceto Hong Kongreflects thescope of theconference

Greeley KochExecutive DirectorACTE

Benson TangAsia Regional DirectorACTE

� The conference contentwill emphasise four key educational pillarswhich are data access & analytics,industry innovations,talent development for travel professionalsand traveller centricity

Fact Fact

Australia launches India specific campaignWith a predicted 50

million outbound travellersby 2020, India is one of the world’s fastest growingtravel markets and the target of an innovative new digital marketing cam-

paign by Destination NewSouth Wales (NSW) thatshowcases the best ofSydney and NSW to Indianvisitors. The campaign,called ‘Jhappi Time’ or ‘hugtime’, is the first campaign

developed and executed byany Australian tourismbody, to specifically targetthe visiting friends and rel-atives market, in India.Destination NSW CEO,Sandra Chipchase,

described the campaign asa creative and industry first that will ensure Indiantravellers will have NSW front of mind whenthey plan their Australianholiday.

Theassociation’slegacy ofexcellence, andbreakthroughpresentationswill continue inHong Kong

Switzerland is planning varied marketing activities

for 2014 ranging from con-sumer outreach programmes,e-marketing, advertising campaigns including TVCs onleading channels and print adsto training programmes for travel agents.

Stephan Heuberger,Director, Switzerland Tourism,

talked about a joint alliancewith France to reach out furtherto tourists. This would be a firststep in attracting the youth whonow have increased spendingpower to travel on their ownand are looking for new expe-riences which include activeholidays, trying new cuisines,new destinations and newadventures. Also, SwitzerlandTourism is moving aggressivelyto the Tier-II and Tier-III cities

as they see more group movement from this section.They will continue to focus on MICE, and its specialisedMICE division SCIB(Switzerland Convention andIncentive Bureau) has nowstarted a 100% position inIndia to look after this growingsegment. There will be a set up of travel training schools in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities with half-day

intensive coaching for travelagents. They intend to target 20 cities with coachingrelated to Indian restaurants,food and how to move within Switzerland.

Switzerland Tourism has seen an encouraging growth inthe number of visiting Indian tourists and now, they arelooking forward to a further growth of 10% for 2014.

Swiss Tourism focus on youth

NE H A OB E R O I

Stephan HeubergerDirectorSwitzerland Tourism


NTO

Offering the perfect B2Bplatform for the travel

industry, the event saw a del-egation of 30 Canadian sellersled by Siobhan Chretien,Regional Managing Director –Emerging Markets, CanadianTourism Commission (CTC),and over 60 Indian buyers.The event kicked off with anintroduction by SanJeet,Representative, CTC – India.The day witnessed a presen-

tation by Nagsri Sashidhar,Head – Outbound Holidays,Mercury Travels on ‘DoingBusiness with the Indian TravelIndustry’ and another presen-tation on ‘Ram Badrinath:Potential of India’. This was fol-lowed by a visa briefing bySarah Hayward, Manager,Temporary Resident Unit, HighCommission of Canada, inwhich she apprised the travelagents on the recentlyannounced multiple-entry visapolicy. Tina Singh, Account

Director, Canadian TourismCommission, gave an updateon CTC India. The second daykicked off with the marketplaceappointments for sellers with South and West India buyers. The lunch on thisday was sponsored by BanffLake Louise Tourism, whiledinner was sponsored byFairmont Hotels and Resortsand Air Canada. The third day,the sellers had appointmentswith the East and North India buyers.

The Focus Canada- India 2014 was held at Crowne Plaza Kochifrom February 26–March 1. The travel industry is positive thateven though growth may be slow, it will be steady.

Canada’s Focus on India

TT BUREAU

2013 has been a good year, particularly for British Columbia. Despite some challenges, we managed to increase our business from India to Canada by 7 per cent. Overall, 2014 is looking positive andwe look forward to future growth. With the new multiple-entry visa policybeing announced, most of the travel agents at the show are positive regarding selling

Monica LeeckMarket Development Manager, Asia

Destination British Columbia

Canada as a country is drawing a lot of attention. Focus Canada hasbeen an interesting event because we always go back with some newproducts. It’s always an enlightening and enriching experience. Whenit comes to growth, it is not just the numbers, but the kind of packageswe put together and sell.

Nagsri SashidharHead - Outbound Holidays

Mercury Travels

I can see significant changes from the first year. Earlier, a lot of operatorsdid not know much about Canada, but now four years later, everyone isselling Canada as a separate destination. For the first time, since I’vebeen coming here, CTC arranged workshops with agents in Tier-II citiesand Ahmedabad and Chennai. We have a very strong VFR market andleisure to Vancouver is growing as well. MICE is also picking up.

Dayna MillerDirector of Sales, Travel TradeTourism Vancouver

With the segregation of the Western and Southern buyers andEastern and North buyers, the event was more focussed now. Thisis the best way to talk sellers on a one–to–one basis. Tour operatorswho are not selling Canada should also be brought in, so that theycan gain value and start selling Canada. The air fare is the onlyobstacle I face while selling the destination.

Guldeep Singh SahniPresident

OTOAI

Snippets from the show:

In 2013, we had double-digit growth in terms of business going toCanada. This year, we have met with some new agents. India, as amarket, is price sensitive, and the agents are putting in one or twoFairmont hotels in an itinerary of 8 or 10 days. Regarding 2014, wewould like to grow 10 to 12 per cent, but the indications are that it willbe a slow year.

Tekla MairaDirector, Global Sales – India

FRHI


YOUTH TALK1 8 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

If I become the TourismMinisterFor tourism to leapfrog in our countryfrom less than one per cent of theglobal share, we need things beyondinfrastructure and marketing. I want tocreate a better and structured tourisminformation system and nurture activ-ity-oriented Tourism centres for creat-ing interest in historical sites. Also, Iwould push for more interactivemuseums, theme parks, useof technology in existingattractions to make theminteractive and interest-ing. Creating awarenessabout how the tourismindustry contributesmore than five timesthat of the automobileindustry to GDP andemployment (fromWTTC figures) will alsobe in my priority list.

Three things I look for-ward to in a vacation Of late, the favourite thing abouta holiday is watching my little girlhave the time of her life. I havepicked up photography in the lastfew years. I believe I am gettinggood at it. But the one thing I havealways treasured while on a holidayis meeting local people and gettingtheir insights on the place. More thanjust doing what the guides and books

say, I prefer to see, taste and feel thedestination through a local perspec-

tive. Ihaveno par-ticular

favouriteas a des-

tination. I

have enjoyed almost every place Ihave been to, as I have found some-

thing unique about each one. Onething I always look forward to is a lit-tle snow.

Film tourism is a potentialsegment to increase inbound Our country is unique in almost everyaspect. A story is compelling when itis relatable and believable. MakingIndia more relevant in the world wouldbe the best way to create a potentialfor film tourism.

My contribution to our com-pany and the travel industryOur company has, through greatvision, effort and innovation been inthe forefront for more than 30 years. Iam a techie, not just by profession, butby passion. Through the infusion oftechnology, I have brought in a newervision and hope to sustain the sameleadership for the next 30 years. Intoday’s travel industry, the only way tosurvive and remain profitable is toembrace technology. Our companyhas taken many new initiatives in thissegment. We hope to reap the bene-fits in the next few years. Great India

TourismPlanners & Consultants(GITPAC) International,one of our companies,has been the implement-ing agency forResponsible Tourism ini-tiatives at four destina-tions in Kerala. This initia-tive has received interna-tional recognition and aUNWTO award. ResponsibleTourism has great potential inthis country and we continueto be innovative in this field.

New trends in the travelindustryMICE Tourism has been sproutingacross the country with world-classfacilities. Also, in last few years,domestic tourism has overshadowedinbound. With better connectivity andcost-effectiveness, we are likely to seethis trend continue and improve. Stategovernments, realising the importanceof tourism to the growth of their states,are giving more attention to tourism.This is evident from the fact that the

bud-geted fund alloca-

tion has increased onaverage from 30 percent to 40 per cent. Anattention to online mar-

keting has come aboutand tourism players are

increasing their presenceand reach online.

Practices that shouldbe done away withThe travel customer haschanged tremendously in thepast few years. Today, thecustomer comes mostly at

the last stage of his purchasedecision. In such a scenario, it is nec-essary to be present in all stages ofthe process of influence. It is essentialto move away from just traditional andexpensive advertising and to keep arounded approach for influencingpotential customers and keeping theexperience consistent.

Changes I want to see in theindustryThough the quality of manpower has substantially increased, there isstill potential for world-class traininginstitutions to bring about a servicestandard and quality that would beinternationally envied. Though we seemore tourism products coming up reg-ularly, it requires an understandingand an orientation towards the customer to create a better product.The importance of tourism consultantsin bringing great products to market is yet to be realised and is onmy wish-list.

The never-say-die attitude is what defines India’s young guns of the travel industry. Putting the spotlight on bright ideasand entrepreneurs, takes a peek at India’s young turks who are changing the rules of the very game itself.

Face of the future: Zaheer Ellias Najeeb

In A NutshellAge: 31

Birthday: December 07

Education background: Schooling till 10th wasin Trivandrum; 11th & 12th in St. John’sInternational Residential School, Chennai; B. Tech in Information Technology from CrescentEngineering College, Chennai; MBA in Marketing& Operations from Symbiosis Institute of

Management Studies, and ExecutiveEducation in Leadership from HarvardBusiness School.

Favourite Sports:Tennis and golf, butall-time favourite activity is swimming

Favourite Bollywood Movie: ThreeIdiots

Favourite Book: Sherlock Holmes bySir Arthur Conan Doyle

Favourite TV Shows: Big BangTheory, Castles, Arrow

Favourite Music: Pink, Bruno Mars,Maroon 5

Hobbies: Photography, songwriting

The importance oftourism consultantsin bringing greatproducts to market isyet to be realised andis on my wish-list.

ME G H A PAU L

No Romanian visa required for Indians with valid Schengen visaIndian passport holders

having valid uniform shortstay visas (with two ormultiple entries), long stayvisas or permits of resi-dence issued by Schengencountries do not needRomania Visa to enter thecountry. In a note releasedby the Embassy of

Romania in India, it statedthat for the mentioned cat-egory of citizens, the newprovisions will come inforce from February, 2014.It will be applied under thefollowing conditions: Thenumber of entries and theauthorised staying dura-tion stipulated on their

Schengen visas or permitsof residence issued by aSchengen state should notbe exceeded. The men-tioned category of non –EU citizens targeted by thenew EGO may enter on theterritory of Romania for anuninterrupted stay or formore stays whose duration

do not exceed 90 daysof stay within the180 day periodcalculated fromthe date of thefirst entry. Forthose to whom thenumber of entriesand/or the duration ofstay stipulated on their

validSchengenvisas wereexhausted areallowed toenter theRomanian ter-ritory only for

transitpurposes (5 days only).

The number of entries anddays spent in Romania onthe account of theSchengen visas will not becounted in the total num-ber of entries and durationof stay permitted in theSchengen countries, underrespective valid uniformSchengen visas.


HOTELS M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 9

With India’s hospitality sector struggling with an excess of rooms and declining tariffs, Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) to 180 countries might be a game-changer for the industry by bringingin more tourists and facilitating recovery in the country’s hospitality sector.

VoA a ‘game changer’ for hospitality

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The Government has indicatedthat it will take five-six months forthe respective departments to putin place the requisite infrastructure,in terms of technology and trainedpersonnel. Therefore, we are veryhopeful that the scheme will beoperationalised, well in time beforethe onset of peak tourist season inOctober this year. This modernvisa regime acts not as an artificialbarrier to entry, but rather servesas a convenient and welcoming gateway for foreign tourists.Leveraging technology to simplify and streamline the touristvisa issuance process offers multiple advantages of speed,efficiency and flexibility, while minimising security related risks.Through forward-looking, decisive and timely regulatoryreform, Indian tourism must aim to capitalise on this unprece-dented opportunity and leapfrog to a higher growth trajectory.This would, in turn, drive an expansion of economic output,large-scale job creation and increased foreign exchange earn-ings for our country.

Vivek NairHonorary Secretary

FHRAI

With Visa-on-Arrival scheme for all, now the country can be comparedto more mature markets such as Singapore or Malaysia. A lot morepeople will travel in a much easier way. The number of people travellingto India may go up by 5-10 per cent in the first year itself, but how thatwill be translated into profit we will come to know only after October.Though the demand for rooms has been largely driven by Indianstravelling within the country, we still expect around five per cent risein occupancies.

Ajay BakayaExecutive Director Sarovar Hotels

The hotel sector expects the move to improve occupancy levels. Wehave a lot of supply of hotel rooms coming into the market in the nextcouple of years. This will help fill up the demand-supply gap. Also,easing the relaxed visa regime will boost investment in developinginfrastructure. People will invest in hospitality more once the touristinflow gains momentum.

Akshay KulkarniRegional Director, Cushman & Wakefield

Hospitality-South and South East Asia

GarudaIndonesiajoins SkyTeam

Garuda Indonesia hasjoined SkyTeam, the globalairline alliance, as its 20thmember. It is the secondairline from Southeast Asiaand it adds Jakarta as analternative gateway to andfrom South East Asia, aswell as 40 new destinationsto SkyTeam's global net-work served uniquely bythe alliance. This alliancewill provide Garuda anaccess to SkyTeam's 1,064destinations, covering over90% of the most relevanttraffic flows in the world.Garuda flies to 64 destina-tions in 12 countries,including 40 domestic des-tinations. SkyTeam cus-tomers from every conti-nent will benefit from eas-ier access to Indonesia's keybusiness and tourism des-tinations, facilitated byGaruda's partnerships withalliance members.

The airline boostsSkyTeam's presence inAustralia with service toBrisbane, Melbourne, Perthand Sydney; and in Tokyowith flights to both Naritaand Haneda airports.


FAMILY ALBUM2 0 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

Preserve the Himalayan HeritageThe Heritage Tourism Conclave, which was hosted by PHD Chamber of Commerce on February 21 in New Delhi with special focus on Himalayan States in India, emphasised on both government and stakeholder’s responsibilities regarding preservation and marketing of the unique heritage products.The event was very interactive in the presence of Parvez Dewan, Secretary Tourism, Government of India and key industry players.


AVIATION M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 2 1

Emirates recently offered aDubai stopover package,

whereby the First Class andBusiness Class passengerscould avail a complimentarynight’s stay at a five star hoteland receive a 36-hour UAEvisa. The airline now offers easein visa-processing services forIndian passport holders from 10gateway cities, along with Visasof the World.

“I do not think we areaffected at all by this develop-ment,” said Rajesh Sethi, MD,Carnation Travel Services. “Asis it, we are experiencing cut-throat competition and areworking on meagre profit mar-gins not knowing as to whowould be our competitor in thespecific query. In order to capture maximum marketshare, we never take chancesof making extra profits byquoting high and rather losethe booking.”

Regarding the compli-mentary hotel-stays, he commented, “Only the cost ofthe stay is accounted for inthe airfare. Otherwise, it wouldbe much less if taken withoutaccommodation.”

Guldeep Singh Sahni,President, OTOAI, added,“While it is a step forward, it willbe in the interest of airlines tohave agents involved in visafacilitation, as they come indirect contact with customers.It will keep a check onunscrupulous elements.”

Regarding hotel and otherservices, Sahni believes that itwould be appropriate if airlinesmanage their own part of busi-ness. “They better leave the tourpart to be handled by a tour-operator. But in case, the con-nections are not good, providinga hotel to facilitate a passengermay add value. We have exam-ples where airlines havestepped into tour operators’

shoes, resulting in operators los-ing interest in the destination. Onthe other hand, some airlines do

have their holiday product whichis in luxury segment, but in thatcase agents still remain compet-

itive as airlines also offer thesame rate which agents offer tothe customer. In such cases, air-

lines generally own the hotels,”Sahni said.

Offering complimentary hotel stays and visa processing services, airlines spread their wings into ancillary services.speaks to veterans of the travel industry to get an insight on this development.

When airlines go beyond ticketing...RAMYA JS D’ROZARIO

Travel agentsand touroperators aid in thepackaging ofdestinations

I do not thinkairlines areadequatelyequipped tomatch the kind of service we provide

Rajesh SethiManaging DirectorCarnation Travel Services

Jatinder TanejaManaging DirectorTravel Spirit International

In point-to-pointtravel the airlinewill benefit, but in a multipledestination travel, the agentswill benefit

It will be in the interest of airlinesto have agentsinvolved in visafacilitation

Guldeep Singh SahniPresidentOTOAI

Jyoti Mayal Chairperson, Airline Council and Co-Chairperson, Allied Services Council, TAAI

Contd. on page 22


AVIATION2 2 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

According to theConcession Agreement,

about the Regulated Chargesincluding User DevelopmentFee, it is mentioned thatHyderabad InternationalAirport Limited (HIAL) wouldbe allowed to levy UDF w.e.fthe airport opening date, dulyincreased in the subsequentyears with inflation index fromembarking domestic and inter-national passengers. The UDFis for the provision of passen-ger amenities, services andfacilities and it would be usedfor the development, manage-ment, maintenance, operationand expansion of the facilitiesat the Airport.

The Authority decidedthat the first control period fordetermination of tariffs for air-port operators will be the fiveyear period from 1.4.2011 to31.3.2016, i.e. the period 2011-12 to 2015-16. However, in

view of the fact that HIAL isestimated to make an over-recovery of ` 31.79 crore onNPV basis as on April 1, 2014and at the end of the currentcontrol period (1.4.2011 to31.3.2016) of ̀ 38.47 crore, theAirports Economic RegulatoryAuthority (AERA) has instruct-ed the airport to abolish UDFfor the remaining two years (FY2014-15 and FY 2015-16) of

the control period. It is foundthat if the existing rates oflanding, parking and housingcharges are continued for theremaining years of the currentControl Period namely FY2014-15 and FY 2015-16,there will be no requirement ofUDF from April 1, 2014. Thedecision was taken after get-ting inputs and observationsfrom HIAL and industry stake-

holders through a con-sultation process.

AERA made thecalculations on the‘single till’ model. Inthis model, both aero-nautical and non-

aeronauticalcharges

are included toarrive at charges to be calcu-lated at airports. Presently, theUDF for the entire ControlPeriod (1.4.2011 to 31.3.2016)works out to approximately` 283 per embarking domestic passenger and

` 1,120 per embarking interna-tional passenger.

The AERA sources alsomaintained that the UDF aswell as calculations for otheraeronautical charges for thenext Control Period commenc-ing 1.4.2016 would dependupon the various buildingblocks considered by theAuthority while determiningaeronautical tariff for the nextControl Period including therequired true-ups.

It is pertinent to mentionthat all major airports includingDelhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,Chennai and Bangalore,among others, charge this fee,which remains to be a bone ofcontention for the users (bothairlines and passengers) of theairports. The AERA sourcessaid the consultation processfor Delhi and Mumbai airportswhere first control period forthem ends on March 31, 2014,will begin soon.

In its recent notification, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has imposed a bar on levyingUser Development Fee (UDF) by Hyderabad International Airport effective April 1, 2014. Theregulatory body is also scrutinising the amount of UDF being collected by other airports in India.

AERA restricts Hyderabad Airport on UDF

RATAN KR PAUL

HighlightsAERA has instructed the airport to

abolish UDF for the remaining two years

2014-16

The consultation process for Delhi

and Mumbai airports will begin soon

All major airports charge this fee

which is a bone of contention for users

Jyoti Mayal, Chairperson,Airline Council and Co-Chairperson, Allied ServicesCouncil, TAAI, said, “This is atactic to sell their destination,and with this, airlines have gottheir leverage. After a stage, tick-eting is not everything. The realtussle is between agents andairlines. In point-to-point travel,the airline will benefit, but in amultiple destination travel, theagents will benefit.”

Jatinder Taneja, MD,Travel Spirit International said,“Airlines want to reach cus-tomers directly. However, travelagents must be present inbetween customers and air-lines. Agents and operators aidin packaging the destinations,and often provide one stopsolution to all.”

Sahni added that the onlyway to handle this would be toremain competitive and offerother products where we arecompetitive. “Provide person-alised services to clients, andbe informed enough to givemaximum information to theclient,” he added.

Workingtogether

Contd. from page 21



Kochi sets stage for Focus Canada 2014Held from February 26 – March 1, Focus Canada- India 2014 witnessed 30 Canadian sellers andover 60 Indian buyers. The event offered the perfect platform for the travel trade to exchange ideasand feedback on promoting Canada in the Indian market.

Contd. on page 26


AGENTS

What are the specialpackages Travstarz isoffering this year?Pankaj - Travstarz’s primaryfocus has been Far EastCountries, the UAE and beachdestinations like Maldives &Mauritius, but in the last twoyears, we have expanded ouroperations to newer destina-tions like Europe, Australia,New Zealand, USA andCanada. We handled close to500 passengers for Europe in

2013. Our focus for the comingyears will be on destinationslike Spain, Portugal, Bulgariaand Eastern European destina-tions like Poland, CzechRepublic, etc., and theScandinavian Region.

Sucheta - We wish to exten-sively promote USA andCanada and are working close-ly with the local hotels/DMCsand shall soon be launching setItineraries and fixed departuresfor these destinations for thecoming season soon. We willannounce our series depar-tures for Thailand, Hong Kong,Singapore and Malaysia for the coming season. Meanwhile,we have announced specialpackages to Leh & Ladakhregions, Himachal, Goa, Keralaand Gujarat.

What are the major issues that travelagents are facing currently?Sucheta - The depreciatingIndian `, high service tax andextremely high levels of com-petition coming from newentrants are some majorissues. The negative publicityof India in the world, owing tocertain untoward incidents, hasalso dented the inbound segment. There is an urgentneed to have well-laid tourismpolicies and strong infrastruc-

ture to make India a tourism-friendly destination.

Do you think travelindustry is sufferingwith increasing numberof travel agents fraudcases?Pankaj - It is indeed veryunfortunate that certain casesof frauds have surfaced recentlyin India. This has tarnished thereputation of the entire travelfraternity and the country in theoutside world especially intoday’s well connected scenariowhere everything is shared and highlighted on social net-working platforms. Sucheta- The trade associa-tions and the governmentshould take a very strong view of these situations and it is imperative that the guilty are brought to book toset an example.

What measures can betaken to avoid them?Pankaj - We need to havestrong entry barriers, well-laidbenchmarks and an efficientcomplaint redressal system tobring such incidents down.The trade associations toohave a strong role to play inthis by following strong KYC norms before approvingmembers and must contributetheir bit to take the trade to a higher level.

Could you share yourfuture plans with us.Pankaj - We are working onour own B2B travel portal whichshall be a one-stop shop for alltravel services and shall caterexclusively to the travel tradeand corporate companies. Sucheta - We are soon open-ing offices at Mumbai andBangalore too. Further, wehave started our new ventureunder the name of SASARepresentations and the corebusiness is travel representa-tions in India.

speaks to Pankaj Nagpal (Managing Director)and Sucheta Nagpal (Director & CEO) of TravstarzHoliday & Destinations, regarding their current focus,challenges faced by travel agents and the various issuesworrying the travel trade today...

Exploring new destinations

TT BU R E AU

� New offices in Mumbai andBengaluru planned

� Travel representationventure under the name ofSASA Representations

On The Way

Germany opens visa application centre in GoaGermany has launched a visa

application centre in Goa andannounced that such a facilitywould also be opened soon inChennai and Kolkata. TheKolkata and Chennai centreswould be opened by this finan-cial year end, taking the numberof visa application centres to 16covering pan-India, Consul of

German Republic in MumbaiAlexander Thielitz said. Around1, 20,000 Indians had procuredGerman visa during the lastyear, of which the westernregion accounts for almost42,000 visas, the diplomat said.The maximum number of peo-ple travelling to Germany isfrom Maharashtra, he informed,

adding that 70 per cent of thepeople want visa to travel forbusiness purposes. The roughestimates show that around30,000-40,000 Indian touristsvisit Germany annually on adirect visa, while several more thousands unaccountedpeople go there through multiple entry facility.



Focussing on business with pleasure Contd. from page 24


MOT

PATA and MOT workshop The PATA India Chapter and Ministry ofTourism recently hosted Crisis Prevention & Risk Management Workshop for the travelagents and other related stakeholders. The workshop was conducted by Bert van Walbeek, Chairman, PATA Rapid Recovery Task Force (PRRT), Bangkok at Le Meridien, New Delhi.

India Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC)’s travel

arm, Ashok Travels and Tours(ATT) has launched an inte-grated travel website to offerreal-time, travel-related servic-es, including tour packages toB2B, Business to Enterprise(B2E), and B2C segments. Thenew portal has been devel-oped by Hermes (I) Tickets, anIT solutions provider for travel,aviation and hospitality sectors.The portal –www.itdctravels.com--includes air ticketing compli-ance with government policiesand procedures, special groupticketing services to book andhandle large passengergroups, specialised LeaveTravel Concession (LTC) book-ing service for governmentemployees, secured paymentoptions, and online credit facil-ity for government/businessenterprises. The portal will pro-vide airline options, aiming tobe at par with the best onlineportals in India, hotel options

across the world, sightseeingpackages, car rental services,and self-booking tool with an

option to initiate last-minutecancellations or rescheduling.

According to GirishShankar, Additional Secretary,Tourism, GoI and ManagingDirector, ITDC, the portal hasbeen developed by ‘leveragingthe best available technology’in the country. The portal, willoffer best rates 24x7, with nohidden charges. He added thatwith the new platform, ATT willbe able to serve not only gov-ernment customers, but alsogeneral customers.

Ramu Annamalai,Managing Director, Hermes (I)Tickets, said that they will soonset up a call centre (1800 1081700), which will assist peopleto book tickets and packages.

The portal has been developed by Hermes (I) Tickets, an ITsolutions provider for travel, aviation and hospitality sectors.

ITDC launches web portal

TT BU R E AU

The portal hasbeen developedby ‘leveragingthe bestavailabletechnology’ inthe country

Girish ShankarAdditional SecretaryTourism, GoI and Managing Director, ITDC

� The portal will offer best rates 24x7, with nohidden charges

Highlight


STATES

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

3 Delhi Tourism Poland’s Roadshow

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

4 Mumbai MICE Travel Mart + Luxury & LeisureTravel Mart,

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

8-9 Delhi Incredible India Travel Bazar

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

INTERNATIONAL3-5 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan International Tourism

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

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

Latin America

23-25 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair (KITF)

28-30 Cape Town IBTM Africa

MARCHNATIONAL14-15 Raipur Indian International Travel Exhibition

(IITE)14-16 Chennai India International Tours & Travels Fair18 Mumbai Tourism Malaysia’s Sales Mission20 Delhi Tourism Malaysia’s Sales Mission21-23 Guwahati Holiday Expo25 Mumbai Tourism Ireland’s Travel Trade Workshop26 Delhi Tourism Ireland’s Travel Trade Workshop27 Hyderabad South India Travel Awards27-29 Ahmedabad Gujarat Tourism Mart31 Ahmedabad Destination New South Wales &

Tourism Queensland’s Best of Australia Workshop

INTERNATIONAL17-19 Tokyo International Luxury Travel Market 19-22 Moscow Moscow International Travel and

Tourism Exhibition (MITT)24-26 Abu Dhabi GIBTM

26-28 Kiev UITT27-April 2 France Atout France’s Rendez-Vous en

France

Fairs and festivals of a stateare an embodiment of its

culture. Himachal Pradeshoffers many such fairs. Differentdistricts of Himachal have dif-ferent fairs across the year cel-ebrating harvests, religious fes-tivals and old traditions.

Minjar: It is the most pop-ular fair of Chamba, attendedby a large number of peoplefrom every nook and corner ofthe district. This mela is held onthe second Sunday of theShravana month (between lastweek of July to first week ofAugust). The week longInternational fair begins whenthe Minjar flag is hoisted in his-torical Chowgan.

Lossar: This festival iscelebrated in the entire tribal beltof Himachal Pradesh and in theTibetan colonies at Manali,Shimla, Dharamshala, Solanand Baijnath. This festivalmeans a beginning of a newyear and is held in the last weekof February. One can witness aChham dance, various maskdances and dramas reminiscentof the post Buddhist culture withtraditional orchestra.

Sair: Celebrated in themonth of September, this fes-

tival is considered as a Bara-Din (Big day) of the hillmen.

Lavi Fair: Every year theLavi fair is organised betweenNovember 11 to 14, atRampur, 130 km from Shimla.This is an International festivalof trade of dry fruits, handi-crafts and handlooms.

Renuka Fair: It’s a reli-gious fair and cultural pro-grammes are organised duringthe evenings. This annual fairis scheduled to be organisedin October/November, 2014 atRenuka Ji (Sirmaur).

Hamir Utsav: The HamirUtsav is celebrated in the mem-ory of existence of Hamirpur

Distt with cultural programmesshowcasing the folk music anddances of Himachal Pradeshand other states.

Kullu Dussehra: It is aweek -long international fairheld every year duringOctober. The major attractionof the fair is the assembly ofhundreds of local deities withthe main deity Raghunath ji.Other activities include culturalprogrammes, exhibitions, etc.

Ashwin Navratra Mela:During the Chaitra Navratra inMarch/April and AshwinNavratra's inSeptember/October, large num-ber of pilgrims visit the templesof Shaktipeeths – Sri Naina

Devi, Chintpurni Devi, JwalaDevi, Bajreshwari Devi andChamunda Devi to seek theblessings of the GoddessDurga.

Phulaich Fair: The fair iscelebrated in Kinnaur districtin the month of Septemberevery year. A famous flowerwas brought by the local peo-ple from the top of the peak for the Devta Pooja and they perform the dance in aseries of sequences.

Tribal Fair: It is organ-ised in the last week of Octoberto first week of November atReckong Peo (Kinnaur) withvariety of cultural programmesorganised during the fair.

Himachal Pradesh provides unforgettable memories of the land revered as‘Dev Bhumi’ or ‘Abode of the Gods’. Essence of experiential travel can beseen in its tribal and rural tourism treasures. provides more info.

Festivals from ‘Dev Bhumi’ Himachal

TT BU R E AU

Almaty as a MICE & Leisure destinationHotel Ritz Carlton in association with Air Arabia conducted a fam to promote Almaty as a MICE and Leisure destination for the Indian travel trade. The four nights’ famcovered most of the major attractions of thecity besides the vibrant night life.

MAYINTERNATIONAL2-3 Cape Town World Travel Market

Africa

5-8 Dubai Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

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

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

Commission’s Rendezvous Canada

29-Jun 1 Seoul Korea World Travel Fair

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


OPPORTUNITY NEWS

Gearing up for the holidayseason in India, the

Globus Family of Brands(GFOB) is offering a wideselection of vacations toEurope, South America andNorth America. The brandportfolio of COSMOS, Globus,Avalon Waterways andMonograms, offers over 400vacations ranging from city-breaks, to escorted coachvacations, river cruises andeven self-drive options. In2013, to provide a firsthandexperience of the products,the company organised a famtour for 12 Indian travel agentson the Cosmos ‘WesternCanada & RockyMountaineer’ itinerary. The famtrip was offered as an appre-ciation to all loyal travel part-ners who were instrumental indriving up sales during 2013.

According to VareshChopra, Regional Director,GFOB- South Asia & MiddleEast, the objective of the fam

was to reward the partners andto introduce them to thesuperlative experience of aCosmos tour while showcasingthe wonders of the destination.He said, “Other than the fam to

Canada, in 2013, GFOB sentmore than 20 agents fromacross India & Middle East onvarious other best-selling vaca-tions of Globus & Cosmos. Theyear 2014 promises to be evenmore exciting for the best sell-ers with the incentive being anall-inclusive vacation to SouthAmerica for nine days! Not justthat, GFOB has alsoannounced a nine days fully-paid fam to Norway for the sec-ond batch of agents.”

The company also plansto offer liberal promotionsthroughout the year. Cosmos& Globus offers escorted vaca-

tions; with Cosmos offeringvacations from just US$ 75 aday and Globus providing aricher vacation experience with4-star hotels including sight-seeing.

Monograms offers independent vacations allow-ing travellers to personalisetheir vacation experience with-out the hassles faced whiletravelling without a group.Avalon Waterways offersniche river cruising in Europe,Asia & the Galapagos Islandsfor travellers looking for amore intimate destinationexperience.

The Globus Family of Brands has a special focus on Canada, Norway andSouth America. The company also plans to offer liberal promotionsthroughout the year.

Cashing in on exotic destinations

TT BU R E AU

The objective of the fam was to introduce the agents to the superlative experience of a Cosmos tour

Varesh ChopraRegional Director, GFOB- South Asia & Middle East

Expansion plans in the India marketBonton Tours is a 360°

travel management com-pany that offers end-to-end travel services. Thegroup set up four branchesin India across the countryin a span of three years,taking their count to 11.

“In the last three years,Bonton has made significantimpact on both B2B and B2Ctravel communities,” said

Avanish Sharma, ManagingDirector, Bonton Delhi. Withgrowing demand, the need-of-the-hour pushed thegroup to expand their net-work from seven offices inIndia to 11. The new officesopened in Kolkata,Bengaluru, Kochi and Rajkot.

This year, they addedMICE and more leisure FITpackages, moving forward

from the limited offering ofDubai and Far East destina-tions, Sharma added.

“MICE and leisure busi-ness both in outbound anddomestic require better net-work. And we are also hope-ful of adding inbound toursinto our portfolio, given ournetwork offices within Indiaand the UAE.”

According to Sharma,

“The destinations that aremost likely to be popularthis year are Greece,Bulgaria, Abu Dhabi,Canada and the USA. HongKong is also a strong con-tender with Star Cruiserepositioning the much pop-ular Star Virgo here, thusthe rush from Singapore willmove towards Hong Kong as no visa is required andthat acts as an additionalbooster.”

The company offers avariety of services rangingfrom air ticketing, visa serv-ices, MICE operations, travelinsurance, cruises, andmuch more. The company’sperformance in 2013 wasgrowth oriented and it wasa great year in terms of newverticals of travel business,concluded Sharma.

MICE and leisure business both inoutbound and domesticrequire better network

Avanish SharmaManaging Director Bonton Delhi

� The new officesopened in Kolkata,Bengaluru, Kochi andRajkot

� MICE and moreleisure FIT packageshave been added

Expansion Process


OPPORTUNITY3 2 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4


CLIPBOARD M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 3 3


MOVEMENTS3 4 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

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

Jim Burba, President, Burba Hotel Network, says, “People inIndia are fantastic and welcoming. One can train the hotel staff

to do certain things; however youcannot train natural kindness. Outof all the places we work, in andaround the world, India spoils us.Here everything which gets done,gets done well, and with a smile.This itself is a very cool thing tohave in one’s DNA as a

destination.” He feelsIndia offers unlimitedpermanent potential, butwhat it has to offer as‘people’ is fantastic.

Suresh Kumar, CEO, Fortune Park Hotels, says, “I generally take roadtrips to destinations and areas where I see opportunity in my

business.” He feels that in the last 10 years,Indian roads have become much friendlier.It is no longer essential to pack everythingand travel. Many places have developed en-route for breaks and stopovers. He lovesGoa, which he feels is almost an

international destination; Rajasthan,Jaipur and Udaipur. As far

as hill stations areconcerned, he lovesvisiting Mussoorie.

6. Name and address of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding more than one percent of the totalcapital : Durga Das Publications Pvt. Ltd. Shareholders: 1.Vikramajit,2 B, Friends Colony, West, ND-65. 2.SanJeet, 72, Todarmal Road, New Delhi-1. 3.Sumati Jeet, 72, Todarmal Road, ND-1. 4.UrmilaVikramajit, 2 B, Friend Colony, West, ND-65

I, SanJeet, hereby declare that the particulars given above aretrue to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date : 01/03/2014 Sd/-SanJeet

Signature of the Publisher

Form - IV

Statement about ownership and other particulars about

newspaper TravTalk to be published in the first issue every

year after the last day of February

1. Place of publication : 72 Todarmal Road, New Delhi - 110001

2. Periodicity of its publication : Fortnightly

3. Printer's Name : SanJeet Nationality : Indian Address : 72, Todarmal Road,

New Delhi - 110001

4. Publisher's Name : SanJeet Nationality : Indian Address : 72, Todarmal Road,

New Delhi - 110001

5. Editor's Name : SanJeet Nationality : Indian Address : 72, Todarmal Road,

New Delhi - 110001

The Grand New DelhiNew DelhiSanjeev Pathania has been appointed as the Director of ConventionSales for The Grand New Delhi hotel. Pathania has been associatedwith The Grand New Delhi since 2013. He hasbeen in the leadership role for over 7 yearsand has been responsible for effectiveimplementation of marketing strategiesand revenue growth during all periods. His career has spanned over 15years in hospitality industry where he haswork with Kempinski AmbienceHotel, InterContinentalHotels, The Grand,New Delhi, on his pre-vious assignments.

Indrajit Saha has been appointed asthe Executive Chef of Sofitel LuxuryHotels’ flagship property in India,Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Responsible inoverseeing the gastronomic verticalof the hotel, Chef Saha joins SofitelMumbai BKC with over 16 years ofexperience in the hospitality sector.Saha has worked with internationalhospitality brands in Maldives,

Thailand, Djibouti, and Seychelles.

Pooja Vaswaney has been appointed as the Public RelationsManager of Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Vaswaney joins Sofitel Mumbai

BKC after a successful tenure spanningover 8 years of experience in the hospi-tality business and significant interna-tional exposure. Starting her career atthe Four Seasons Hotel London, Poojamoved to the Four Seasons Hotel,Mumbai to lend her international knowl-

edge to the brand. She then served as a partof The Westin Mumbai Garden City market-

ing team as the E-CommerceManager before moving to hernew role at Sofitel.

India City WalksNew DelhiNidhi Bansal is the Co-Founder of India City Walks. Holding a diplomafrom the Taj School of Hotel Management & Degree fromHuddersfield UK, she started her career asa pre-opening team member of MarriottHotels in India. Bansal then went onto opening the Trident in Gurgaon.She worked with the Oberoi Groupfor 5 years, post which she enteredthe corporate world to stay onwith Genpact for 7 years as anAsst. Vice President. Shegave it up for a more chal-lenging career of taking thetask of becoming the co-founder at India City Walks.

Sanket Chugh has taken over the sales portfolio in the capacityof Director of Sales at Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel, New Delhi. Withover 14 years of experience in the hos-pitality industry, predominantly in therevenue segment, account manage-ment and Operations; Chugh bringswith him knowledge and skills indiverse areas of both corporate andleisure business. Prior to this assign-ment, he has worked with the OberoiHotels and Resorts and the Taj Group,holding leadership positions in theirproperties across the country.

Preferred Hotel GroupSingaporeAnthony Ross has been appointed as the Executive Vice Presidentfor Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) for the Preferred

Hotel Group. In his new capacity, Ross willdrive the company’s existing develop-ment efforts in key cities throughout theregion, working closely with a team ofRegional Directors. Ross brings morethan 25 years of international hospitalityexperience to his new responsibilitieswith Preferred Hotel Group. Most recent-ly, Ross served as vice president of oper-

ations for Marco Polo Hotels, wherehe was helping to develop anew luxury hotel brand.

Shangri-La's – Eros HotelNew DelhiFarhat Jamal is the Area Manager for India and the GeneralManager for Shangri-La's – Eros Hotel, New Delhi. Jamal started

his career at Taj Hotels Resorts andPalaces where he spent about 30years. In his last position with the hotelgroup, he was the Vice President andGeneral Manager of the iconic TajMahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai as wellas overseeing the operations of the other

Taj hotels in Mumbai, Maldives,Mauritius and Dubai. Jamalserved briefly as thePresident and ChiefOperating Officer forBharat Hotels Ltd.

Starwood New DelhiSudeep Jain has been recently appointed as Vice President,Acquisitions & Development of the South Asia region for Starwood

Hotels and Resorts. Jain brings with himover 13 years of rich and varied expe-rience in the hospitality industryacross diverse roles in several coun-tries. Prior to his new role withStarwood, Jain was the ManagingDirector at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotelsand Hospitality Group for India sinceits inception in 2008.

Guideline Travels Nagpur Ninad Sahasrabudde has been appointed as the Sales Manager ofGuideline Travels for Central India. He shall be based in Nagpur and

shall cater to the upcoming marketsof Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh andMaharashtra. He shall be in chargeof handling all cruise and any pack-age related enquiries from the citiesin these areas. He joins GuidelineTravels from his previous assignmentat JTB Travels in their Nagpur officeas the Asst Manager for B2B opera-tions. With a diploma from IATA, Ninadcome with a rich experience of 11

years in the travel industry.

Sofitel Mumbai BKCMumbai

HIGHLIGHT

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

of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91Date of Publication:15-03-2014

After Latin America andAfrica, are you looking atIndia for expansion?

Simon: We are lookingat opportunities throughout theglobe at the moment forexpansion. We started with theWorld Travel Market (WTM) inLondon, we then launched theArabian Travel Mart (ATM) forMiddle East and UAE. A cou-ple of years ago, we alsolaunched WTM Latin Americaand this year we are pleasedto announce WTM Africa. Weare also looking at opportuni-ties specifically in Asia and SEAsia. The India market is veryimportant for us from the WTMpoint of view, both from visi-tors/buyers perspective as wellas participation from Indian-based products looking forinternational buyers.

What are the major objec-tives that you look forwardto every year at WTM?

Simon: Across leisurebrands, we look for innovation,so we are constantly looking toinnovate on the core offering.We are looking at brokering arelationship between the visitorand the buyer, culminating in alive event, through a digitalplatform. So, in WTM in partic-ular, we have launched threeTV channels. Through liveevents, participants at WTM orATM get an opportunity for PRand marketing facilitiesthroughout the year.

How important is socialmedia for the travel sector?

Simon: In WTM, wehave embraced social mediaand digital opportunities in abig way. We have a dedicatedsocial media team within thecore WTM team. We actively

support across all channels,including Google, Facebook,YouTube, so we look to spe-cialise on every single plat-form. We also won an awardtwo years ago for our interac-tion with social media from theassociation of exhibitionsbased in the UK.

The travel sector isembracing digital and mobile

technology. From an exhibitionperspective and also from atravel perspective, we canlearn the way in which othersectors like retail, utilise digitaland mobile technology.

What buyer programmesdo you have for yourexhibitors, especially forthe leisure portfolio?

Simon: In WTM, wehave a specific buyers’ clubwhereby we look to see howmuch people spend. Theyhave to meet a set criterion tobe a part of that club thatworks through speed-net-working at the live events aswell. So, we have a speed-networking event before theshow starts on the first day.Then on the final day, wehave a second such element

as well. It is all about one-to-one brokering of relationshipsbetween travel buyers andtravel sellers.

Over the years, your eventshave seen an increase inthe number of Indian buy-ers. How has the responsefrom India been last year?

Shane: The responsefrom India as always is terrif-

ic. If you look at the globalmeetings industry, India is ahuge part of what’s going on.We see a massive rise in thenumbers of incoming and out-going business in the meet-ings market, the fact that wenow have our own portfolio ofevents and a particular eventin India is testament to thefact that this is a seriousmeetings market. India is anupcoming market, the globalMICE market is definitelycoming to India, and we haveseen a rise in suppliers sup-porting our global events.

How was the response toIBTM India?

Shane: IBTM India wasa great launch market with ahuge potential. It operated intable-top format, which is

slightly different from theother events we run. Thestrategic positioning of that event was basically alongthe lines of creating a footstepinto the market, giving peoplean opportunity to see what the Indian market canoffer, giving a low-cost oppor-tunity to enter a new market.The success was overwhelm-ing and going forward it has given us a great founda-tion to build on. This year, we move to Chennai to show that India’s potential isnot solely restricted toMumbai. We want to open upthe entire opportunity within the meetings industryin the whole of the Indian region.

Are there any areas thatneed to be worked on?

Shane: The importantthing is to remain focussed onthe 3 pillars of the globalmeetings industry - educa-tional perspective, networkingpotential and general worth ofthe global meetings industry.From the perspective of thesuppliers, we need to focuson educating the market. Theability to network is some-thing that needs to be devel-oped as there’s always scopefor improvement.

How would you predict thegrowth of the tourismindustry?

Shane: Now, people arebecoming much more mobile.They look for convenience andnew experiences. They have astandard in place in terms ofaccommodation quality, airliftservices and, on top of that,the desire to find somethingdifferent. That can be a culturalexperience, or a gastronomicexperience, connection tosports, etc.

Simon Press, Reed Travel Exhibitions Director, WTM, and Shane Hannam,Key Account Manager, Reed Travel Exhibitions, who were recently in India,talk about their plans and how they are committed to the India market.

India is a serious meetings market

Simon PressReed Travel Exhibitions DirectorWorld Travel Market

Shane HannamKey Account ManagerReed Travel Exhibitions

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


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With cruise holiday as analternative to a land-

based vacation, it was expect-ed to take off in a big way par-ticularly because of its all-inclu-sive appeal. However, thepotential of cruise tourism in India still remains untapped.In competitive times where air-line commissions are dwin-dling, a new alliance betweencruise professionals, travelagents and tour operators isthe way forward.

The cruise market inIndia had to its credit morethan 1,15,000 passengerssetting sail annually, ShibaniPhadkar, Senior VicePresident, Leisure Travel(Outbound), Thomas Cook(India) reveals. Given that thecompany predicted viablepotential for cruises, ThomasCook India was the first travelcompany to set up an exclu-sive cruise division, as earlyas 2007. “Despite the gloompredicted by the pundits, atThomas Cook India, we’veseen an impressive growth of23 per cent and upward,including FIT, GIT and MICE segments for 2013. Our cruise team has seenvery interesting uptake fromtwo strongly emerging seg-ments - the youth and thewoman-traveller. Cruises area top draw for our ad-hocgroups too - we’ve had ‘kittyparty’ groups, ‘bachelor- andbachelorette-party’ groups,anniversary celebrations andalso groups of friends,” sheaffirms. Leisure travel tops thecompany’s cruise portfolio,contributing 90 per cent of the

revenue, followed by VFR(about seven per cent) andfinally business travellers(three per cent).

As Phadkar explains, thecruise industry sells ‘itineraries’and not destinations as theship itself is the ‘destination’. “Astrong advantage is that onevisits a myriad of destinationsin a short span of time sans thetension of having topack/unpack, flights or othertravel. Plus, the pricing is allinclusive; which means every-thing from travel, accommoda-tion and meals to entertain-ment is taken care of. All these

factors ensure that cruise hol-idays’ share of the pie keepsincreasing by leaps andbounds,” she states.

Throwing light on newtrends in the industry, NareshRawal, Vice-President, Sales,South Asia, Russia, MiddleEast and South Africa, StarCruises, confirms, “Whilebusiness travel, holiday andVFR trips still dominate out-bound volumes, people areopting for niche products suchas sports tourism, luxury trav-els, honeymoon packagesand cruises. It reveals clearopportunities for market seg-

mentation and niches. MoreIndians are now going forinternational cruises but mostof them prefer short cruises,rather than the long voyagesthat Americans andEuropeans seek. First-timersopt for short cruises toSingapore, Thailand andMalaysia, as a package tothese countries is cheaper.April-June is the peak seasonfor outbound cruise tourism inIndia.” Cruising is cheaperthan a land-based holiday asthe cruise package takes careof the stay and a maximum ofthree meals and entertain-ment on board, he adds.

Cruise stakeholdersshould provide world-classproducts to their clients suchas cuisines, entertainment,and international experi-ences to attract Indiantourists, opines RatnaChadha, Chief Executive,TIRUN Travel Marketing andIndia Representative, RoyalCaribbean Cruises. “Theindustry stakeholders, alongwith the government, shouldmake way for international

cruise operators to invest inIndia. A complex tax regime,along with tedious immigra-tion processes, is costing theIndian government preciousforeign exchange. To bringan international cruise expe-rience to the Indian backwa-ters, government has tomodulate cruise policies,”she says. Talking about thebenefits of cruise vacationsfor outbound travel agents,she informs, “Agents, whoearlier handled 60 per centof travel bookings in India,have been forced by fallingairline commission revenuesto focus on value-addedservices and the leisure mar-ket. Cruise segment, thoughniche is rapidly getting popular, especially interna-tional cruises and has notyet been totally tapped bythe travel trade.”

According to NishithSaxena, Director, Cruise

Professionals, conventionalholiday packages are becom-ing monotonous and pre-dictable and travel agentsneed to look at products thatwill give their customers newexperiences. “I feel agents inIndia will start engaging morewith cruise liners, as it will notonly help them stay innova-tive, but also assist in increas-ing their income,” he adds.There is a huge dearth oftrained staff in the cruise sec-

tor. The staff, in majority ofagencies, is trained only inthe airline aspect of the busi-ness of issuing tickets. Suchstaff needs exposure to learnand understand about inter-national destinations to beable to suggest, promote andsell with confidence to the dis-cerning outbound traveller,Saxena laments.

As per Sidhartha Roy,Senior Vice President, ITPL &TRN Marketing, this is a goodopportunity for travel agentsand tour operators, as com-mission from cruises is signif-icantly higher. “For our company, travel agents canrake in commissions as highas 30 per cent. Also, there are big incentives for the B2B fraternity beyond thecommission. Thus, stakehold-ers should continue educatingand updating the travel trade about cruise products,”he adds.

As tour operators and travel agents see margins being eroded with high taxation and increasing competitionbetween online travel portals, the industry is looking forward to a new alliance between cruise professionals, travelagents and tour operators.

Cruise and agents’ alliance a must

ME G H A PAU L

Cruising ischeaper than aland-basedholiday as ittakes care ofthe stay and amaximum ofthree meals andentertainment

Thomas CookIndia hasregistered animpressivegrowth of 23per cent and upward in cruise for2013

Shibani PhadkarSenior Vice President, Leisure Travel(Outbound), Thomas Cook (India)

Naresh Rawal Vice-President, Sales, South Asia,Russia, Middle East and SouthAfrica, Star Cruises

Commissionfrom cruises issignificantlyhigher. For ourcompany, travelagents can rakein commissionsas high as 30per cent

There is adearth oftrained staff inthe cruisesector. The staffis trained onlyin the airlineaspect ofissuing tickets

Nishith SaxenaDirectorCruise Professionals

Sidhartha RoySenior Vice PresidentITPL & TRN Marketing

To bring aninternationalcruiseexperience,thegovernmenthas tomodulatecruise policies

Ratna ChadhaChief Executive, TIRUN TravelMarketing and India Representative,Royal Caribbean Cruises

Towards Newer Shores

� First-timers opt for short cruises to Singapore,Thailand and Malaysia, as a package to thesecountries is cheaper

� Cruising is cheaper than a land-based holiday as thecruise package takes care of the stay and a maximumof three meals and entertainment on board


Although the rest of the trav-el industry, especially trav-

el to Europe, has received asetback in 2013 due to marketconditions, the cruise industry

has seen a slow rise by 10 percent to 15 per cent on an aver-age. A number of cruises,including Uniworld BoutiqueRiver Cruises, have enteredthe Indian market in recentyears. This is of utmost impor-tance as once the market has experienced ocean cruis-ing, it will mature to the rivercruising segment.

Maison De Voyages hasintroduced ‘All-Inclusive’Boutique River Cruises inEurope. The cost includes gra-tuities and unlimited beveragesin addition to other inclusions.At the end of 2013, Uniworld’snew ‘Six-Star Experience’ wasannounced. This represents

their core value: delivering thehighest standards of excellencein the six most importantaspects of luxury river cruising.Each star represents Expertise,Service, Unique, Culinary,Choice, UncompromisingLuxury and Remarkable Value.Moreover, they’ve brought in

two new itineraries in 2014,‘Bordeaux, Vineyard &Chateaux’ and ‘A Portrait ofMajestic France’. The first sail-ing for these itineraries will beon March 30, 2014.

Talking about the futureplans, Beatrice Dolder,

Director, BusinessDevelopment, says, “We willalso be launching our new cruise liners ‘S.S.Catherine’ this year and ‘S.S.Maria Theresa’ next yearadding to our collection ofboutique ships. Also in 2015,we will be introducing six

new itineraries, ‘Holland &Belgium at Tulip Time’,‘Delightful Danube &Prague’, ‘Grand EuropeanExplorer’, ‘Eastern EuropeExplorer’, ‘Ultimate France’and ‘Jewels of Spain,Portugal & the DouroRiver’.

India is an emerging market for travellers; and now that Indians travel extensively and many are done with the usual ‘mustdo’ destinations, they are ready to try out cruising with a difference.

Offering a six-star experience onboard

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We will also belaunching ournew cruiseliners ‘SSCatherine’ thisyear and ‘SSMaria Theresa’next yearadding to ourcollection ofboutique ships

Beatrice DolderDirector, Business DevelopmentMaison De Voyages

CRUISE TALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 3

� Delivering the higheststandards of excellencein the six mostimportant aspects ofluxury river cruising

� Each star representsExper tise, Service,Unique, Culinary,Choice, Uncom-promising Luxury andRemarkable Value

� Two new itineraries in 2014 include‘Bordeaux, Vineyard &Chateaux’ and ‘APortrait of MajesticFrance’

� Six new itineraries willbe introduced in 2015

6-Star Experience



How are ships differentfrom each other?

Different ships have theirown unique atmosphere andstyle of service, based on theproduct offering – casual, up-market, premium or luxury. Inaddition to this, based on thesize of the ships the size ofcabins and facilities offeredmay differ. Therefore, it isimportant to look at the shipsize and facilities beingoffered which matter to theclient. For example: a rock-climbing wall on a ship maynot be of importance to seniorcitizens going on a cruise, but may matter to young families. Similarly, choice ofpaid specialty restaurants onboard a ship may be ofinterest to an up-market pas-senger, but may not be of anyuse to a budget traveller.

How much luggage iscould be carried on acruise?

On most cruises, there isno restriction of baggage.Passengers can bring in asmany bags as they could fitinto their cabin. But passen-gers must remember that allinternational and domesticflights have baggageallowance restrictions, whichmay vary from economy tobusiness class. Therefore,passengers need to be familiar with baggageallowances/restrictions of air-lines they are using before,and after the cruise, to ensurethat they do not face incon-venience at the airports.

How to decide whichcabin to book?

The choice of cabinpurely depends on the kind ofperson you are. Club-crawlersmay find the cabins close totheatres and bars most con-venient. But if passengerswould like to go to bed early,then they should choose the

cabin away from noise. Late-sleepers would be betteraway from the gym and chil-dren’s club, which are usuallylively in the morning. If youhave difficulty walking longdistances, then cabins closeto elevators would be sensibleto choose.

What about tips on acruise?

It is needless to say thatgenuine, attentive and excellentservice is a hallmark of mostpremium cruise lines. Tipping issimilar to Service Charges(which range from 10 to 12%)which is levied in most Indianand overseas fine dining restau-rants and hotels. Good servicecannot be taken for granted;therefore, good service must be rewarded handsomely.Tipping should not be viewedas an additional expense. Onmost cruises, the gratuity/ser-vice charge is automaticallyadded (as a predeterminedamount) to passenger’s ship-board account, so as to avoidany confusion by trying to dothis manually, but, this could always be altered based on passengers prefer-ence. Generally, this amountvarious from US$ 8-12 per per-son per day. Some cruise lineshave a No Gratuity Policy also,therefore, one must evaluateoptions carefully.

What happens in case of amedical emergency?

In most premium cruiselines, each ship has a medicalcentre onboard, supported byfully-qualified doctors. This isaccessible to all passengersfor minor ailments and consul-tations. While we all hope thatnone of the passengersbecome ill, it is important tonote that medical treatmentand repatriation expenses inmost countries could be sub-stantial, therefore, it is highlyrecommended for passengersto obtain a medical insuranceto cover such costs includingtheir entire travel duration cov-ering air and cruise durationsas appropriate. If a passengeris taken ill while on the cruiseand his condition is so seriousthat he needs to be broughtashore, then the standardoperating procedure for mostcruise lines is to place thepassenger in care of the portagent till he is declared fit to

travel by the attending doc-tors. All expenses incurred insuch cases are charged for,therefore, an overseas med-ical insurance is a must for allpassengers.

What about dining choicesonboard the ship?

Most cruise lines have asubstantial variety of diningoptions available for the dura-tion of the cruise, inclusive inthe cost. The quality, taste andpresentation would vary onthe rating of the cruise andthe market segment thecruise-line is catering to. Anup-market, premium cruiseline would surely have moredining options than a mass-market cruise line. Since dining forms an integral part of any cruise vacation, it would always recommend-ed to spend more and sail on a premium cruise lines to get the most in terms ofdining options.

While cruising is one of the most upcoming and preferred holiday options amongst passengers, not many travel agenciespromote cruising aggressively due to lack of knowledge. Nishith Saxena, Director, Cruise Professionals talks to travelagents about the important things that need to be kept in mind when selling a cruise.

The right way to sell cruise holidays

Nishith SaxenaDirectorCruise Professionals


With an aim to tap the max-imum market awareness

during the forthcoming holidayseason for this year, TIRUNTravel Marketing, representingRoyal Caribbean International,has come up with unique offer-ings for the Indian travellers.

Known to offer an unparalleledvacation experience, there issomething for the entire family,including the kids, to enjoyonboard, informed RatnaChadha, Chief Executive,TIRUN Travel Marketing, Indiarepresentative for RoyalCaribbean International. TheBarbie Premium Experience,available only on RoyalCaribbean's entire global fleetof 22 ships, brings aboard thefab-tastic style of the world'smost famous fashion doll.Adding to the glam show arethe perky DreamWorks anima-

tion's popular feature-film char-acters Po of Kung Fu Panda;Shrek, Fiona and Puss InBoots of Shrek; and Alex theLion, Gloria the Hippo, and thePenguins from Madagascar,on select ships, adds Chadha.

Apart from showcasingthe scenic destinations

around the world, the cruiseline features Broadway-styleshows and programmes forfamilies and adventure lovers.Chadha informed, "Onboard,adults and kids alike will beenthralled by the exclusiveevents and parades, diningroom interactions and photo-ops with the DreamWorks

characters. The younger lotcan participate in complimen-tary award-winning AdventureOcean children's programmein a new line-up of activities,games and adventures rootedin the popular DreamWorksAnimation movies.” The RoyalCaribbean's Barbie PremiumExperience offers a world of

fun for girls between 4-11years. In addition to this, girlscan also splurge in the Barbiestateroom decorated in theiconic doll's signature style,craft lifelong memories withthe Tiaras and Teacup parties,mermaid dance class, fashiondesigner workshop and afashion show where your girls

can unveil their original Barbiefashion.

Chadha adds, “Innovativeships, impeccable service andexotic destinations unique toan ocean voyage all make upa package of unbeatable value.To top it all, Royal Caribbeanreceives a very .”

The company underlines the 'Royal' experience onboard among the Indian holidaymakers. The high level of guestsatisfaction is a very encouraging element for travel agents to promote and sell Royal Caribbean cruise vacations.

Families & leisure the next big ticketTT BU R E AU


Innovative ships,impeccableservice and exoticdestinationsunique to anocean voyage all make up apackage ofunbeatable value

Ratna ChadhaChief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing, & Indiarepresentative, Royal Caribbean International

� The company haspartnered with PremiumBrands like Dreamworldand Barbie

� It features Broadway-style shows andprogrammes forfamilies and adventurelovers

� The Royal Caribbean'sBarbie PremiumExperience offers aworld of fun for girlsbetween 4-11 years

Premium Offerings



Founded in 2004, Aquasailoffers a variety of world–

class boating experiences inIndia. The company offers pro-fessional training lessons,

charter services, sales solu-tions to buy boats, organiseregattas and networkingagents for corporate and otherMICE events.

“The industry is in anearly stage in the market, andhence it is necessary to getpeople into the sporting fold,”said Shakeel Kudrolli,Founder and Director,Aquasail. “Since sailing a boat

needs to be introduced inIndia as an active lifestyle, ouraim was to start at the grass-roots and work our way up.”As sailing holidays havebecome a worldwide trend,

Kudrolli is trying to introducethe same concept here, just as many travel agentsoffer sailing holidays inGreece, Thailand, Seychelles,among others.

Their initial market strat-egy was through word-of-mouth and sampling. Theyfocussed on individuals in thefirst 1–2 years, when theytested their product, workedon customer feedback andspent quality time in trainingtheir team. Gradually, theytrained their focus on corpo-rate entities by organisingregattas that double perfectlyas networking sessions. “Weoffer corporate engagementprogrammes, team-buildingand communication sessionswhere employees can workon trust building activities, etc.It’s a great way to rewardemployees with such incen-tive packages. And with this,we started to make our pres-ence felt,” he added.

Considering how themarket was last year, thedemand is not an issue for the firm. “We are notfocussed on only one aspect inthe market. We cater to corporate groups, individualsand families.”

With an aim to focus onFITs and corporates, the cen-tre awaits a few permissions,and is slated to open in the

near future. “Being early inthis business, we are boundto face such delays.Registration of boats, policychecks, engagement withinter–state ministers will needtime. And, it is also necessaryto sensitise the ministry, vari-ous federations and even thecommunity.” As the market inGoa is much mature than inMumbai, Kudrolli roped intravel agents to reach a wider

market. “As travel agentsare better positioned tosell the product, we haveprovided them withbrochures and videos.We have even offeredtraining sessions foragents such as Cox &Kings and Thomas Cookso they get to know theproduct better.

He further added,“In future, we want toprovide outbound holi-day options to our cus-tomers, by providing sail-

ing holidays in Sri Lanka,Andaman and NicobarIslands, where families and groups can not only learn the basics of sailing, butinteract with others in thegroup as well.”

Aquasail also offers a special scheme to schooland college students, whereinthey can avail special rates andprivileges.

With unique itineraries and a new centre in Goa waiting in the wings, Aquasail is all set to aggressively capturethe active leisure market in the country.

Sailing ahead of the market trends

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Shakeel KudrolliFounder and Director

Aquasail

We want to provideoutbound holiday optionsto our customers, byproviding sailing holidaysin Sri Lanka, Andaman

and Nicobar Islands


Star Cruises was incorpo-rated in September 1993,

representing a bold initiativeto tap into Asia-Pacific’spotential to develop a cruiseindustry. In the year 1999, StarCruises entered the Indianmarket and currently it epito-mises the fulfillment of region-al aspirations to establish thecruise industry in the Asia-

Pacific region, bringingincreased tourism traffic intovarious countries aroundAsia-Pacific.

Talking about the poten-tial of the India outbound mar-ket, Naresh Rawal, VicePresident, Sales, South Asia,Russia, Middle East andSouth Africa, Star Cruises,says, “India is recognisedglobally as one of the fastestgrowing outbound markets.The appetite for travellingabroad is increasing amongthe upwardly mobile audiencegiven the changing lifestylesand relatively stable economy.Indian travellers are now spoiltby the abundance of choiceson how to spend their holi-days. Cruising is one of thepopular avenues that manyIndian travellers are now opt-ing for. The popular choicesamongst Indian travellershave evolved from a two-nightitinerary and to three-night,five-night and seven-night itin-eraries. There has been a shift

in the preferred cabin catego-ry as well. Earlier they wouldprefer Inside Staterooms butnow the company is witness-ing a higher demand forBalcony cabins. The con-sumers now understand theadvantage of a cruise holidayover a land holiday,” he adds.

Indian travellers haveevolved over the years and arebooking much earlier.

Talking about the newpackages for its Indian clien-tele, Rawal elaborates, “Wehave the Star Saver 90 days,60 days and 45 days schemes

available so that passengerscan enjoy the benefit of dis-counted fares when they bookearly with us. Compared toland holidays, cruise holidaysare preferred for being moreeconomical since everything isunder one roof.” In addition, hesaid, “Our warm Asian hos-

pitable staff caters to ourguests’ needs and our freestylecruising concept gives trav-ellers the freedom to enjoytheir holidays at their ownterms without any restrictions,and hence, a cruise holidayworks very well amongst travelagents as well.”

Entering the Indian market as early as in 1999, Star Cruises has seen a huge jump in its revenues from the India outboundmarket. Indian travellers have evolved over the years and are booking much earlier.

Holidaying on... and beyond the ocean

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Compared toland holidays,cruise holidaysare preferredfor being moreeconomicalsinceeverything isunder one roof

Naresh RawalVice President, Sales, South Asia, Russia,Middle East and South Africa, Star Cruises

� Indian travellers haveevolved from a two-night itinerary to three-night, five-night andseven-night itineraries.

Popular Shift


Tapping India’s growingmarket for luxury boats and

yachts is In Rhythm, a 360-degree strategic communica-tions firm that specialises inmarketing communicationsand business support servicesto travel, hospitality, luxury andentertainment brands. As Indiarepresentative to SeaDreamYacht Club, the company’s roleis to strategically build the lux-ury yachting brand with theIndian luxury segment.

According to GitanjaliBalani, Director-In Rhythm &SeaDream IndiaRepresentative, yachting as acategory is a growing segmentwith discerning travellers whoare looking for unique luxurytravel holiday options. “We dis-covered a gap in this segmentthat was unexplored, vacantand different from the regularmass cruising that was avail-able in India. SeaDream YachtClub was the perfect fit to

bridge that gap and introducean option for the Indian elitethat was different from big shipcruising,” she said while talkingabout the potential of yachtingin the country.

Regarding the growth inIndia outbound for the cruisingsegment, she revealed,“Though at a nascent stagecurrently, the cruising industryin India is growing by leaps andbounds. The annual year-on-year growth is at an average of

15-18 per cent per annum withalmost 70,000 individuals tak-ing a cruise vacation annually.”India has shown remarkableacceptance to cruise vaca-tions. The concept is beingappreciated as the journey onboard a cruise liner is not onlypleasurable, studded withstate-of-the-art facilities, lavishcuisine and recreational facili-ties but is also comparativelyfree from sea travel health haz-ards, she added.

Throwing light on thechallenges the company seesin promoting cruising in India,Balani pointed out, “More thana challenge, we see this as anopportunity to create aware-ness and educate the correcttarget audience aboutSeaDream Yacht Club and howwe are different from the othersea travel/ holiday options thatare available to the Indian con-sumer. The expression ‘YachtClub’ is not only about size, itis a statement about lifestyleaboard the small, ultra-deluxe

mega-yachts. The same has tobe conveyed to the consumerin order to assist them to makean informed decision in choos-ing SeaDream as their ultimateluxury travel experience.”

Currently, the company’smarketing effort is focussed onmedia support through strate-

gic media relations and co-branding opportunities withright partners. SeaDream’salliance with The American

Express & co-promotion withHyderabad’s premium realestate developer Botanika hasfurthered business growth forSeaDream.

The year 2014 is anexciting year as SeaDreamtravels to new geographies,exploring some of the most

intimate and exclusive ports.Prompted by the demand fromits Indian travel fraternity andClub members, SeaDream

made its debut with a seriesof voyages in Asia andNorthern Australia in late2013. SeaDream II will sail across Asia and shallreturn to Mumbai via Kochi and Goa in the end of April 2014.

SeaDream’s NorthernEurope voyages offer a dra-matic mix of mountains, seas,forests and fjords, quaint vil-lages, graceful castles andcelebrated Old Town centers.These luxury voyages will beoffered from late May throughAugust 2014 and will sail from the historic British Isles through the scenicScandinavia. Yachting in theMediterranean and its neighbouring Black Sea isbest in May 2014 throughOctober 2014 and has alwaysbeen a favourite amongst thetravellers. The Black Sea voyages covering Greece and Turkey in particular have been very popular,Balani informed.

In Rhythm plays an instrumental role in building the brand SeaDream and educating the Indian travel trade aboutultra luxury yachting voyages through a strategic sales and marketing approach.

Yacht market sees gains from India

Gitanjali Balani Director-In Rhythm & SeaDream IndiaRepresentative

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CRUISE TALK1 0 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

Norway's HurtigrutenCruise, represented by

Discover the World India inthe Indian market, is one ofthe very few exotic cruise liners offering flexible cruisingexperiences round the year. Hurtigruten offers departures every day of theyear with a choice of 6, 7, 11or 12 day voyages. "Apartfrom longer cruising experi-ences, it also offers a range of short excursionsoption. Whether it's dog-sled-ding in Tromso, bird watching in Honningsvag, a visit to the famous snowhotel in Kirkenes or a histori-cal tour in Bergen, each touris operated by one ofHurtigruten's knowledgeablemultilingual guides. And itdoesn't matter what fitnesslevel or age the passengerare. With such a broad rangeof activities, there truly issomething for everyone",

informed Vrushali Dalvi,Business DevelopmentManager, Cruises - India,Discover the World.

Hurtigruten takes pas-sengers into some of the mostremote and untouched desti-

nations on the planet, allowingthem to witness sights andexperience cultures that few have had the chance to encounter.

According to Dalvi, themost well-known journey isthe famous NorwegianCoastal Voyage, which is often

described as the ‘world's mostbeautiful voyage’, provides acruise for people who want tosee more than just the sea.She said, "The ship travels upand down the magnificentcoastline of Norway fromBergen in the south to

Kirkenes in the north calling at34 ports along the way, most of them never visited by the large cruise liners.There is no dress for dinnerand no fighting for theCaptain's table - this journeyis about immersing yourself inthe heart of the destinationand its culture".

Hurtigruten takes passengers into some of the mostremote and untouched destinations on the planet, allowingthem to witness rare sights and cultures.

Flexi cruising experience

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Apart from longer cruisingexperiences, we also offer a rangeof short excursions option

Vrushali DalviBusiness Development Manager, Cruises – India,

Discover the World

Griffon, a cruise specialistin India, has witnessed a

substantially good growth overthe last three years in this sec-tor. With presence in the traveltrade for over 15 years, Griffonhas offices in Mumbai andPune in India. A fully family-owned company, they handlesales & marketing activities inIndia for various internationalcruise companies.

“Since we focus onIndian families, we ensure thatthe cruiselines are child-friend-ly. Children up to the age of 16years can travel for free,” said

Vivek Jain, MD, Griffon. “ForMICE, we have different pack-ages, and organise team-build-ing activities and conferences.Though, we cater to both FIT

and MICE segment, the leisuresegment brings in more rev-enue.”

Jain further added, “Themain cruising trends that arepopular among Indians areWest Mediterranean, Balkansand the Greek Islands.”

According to Jain, thecruise industry in India is still inits nascent stage. “India holdsimmense potential in thisindustry. However, despite thissegment having been opera-tional for more than a decade,the progress is slow.”

New products and itiner-aries are always introduceddepending on the season, andon one particular cruiseline,the company is offering 60 percent off for companions thisupcoming holiday season.Even for festivals such asDiwali, various schemes andpromotional offers arelaunched.

Clocking around 25-30 per cent rise in growth every year, Griffon Cruises is optimistic about the year ahead, and with good reason.

Charting a steady growth

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Since we focus on Indian families, we ensure that thecruiselines are child-friendly.Children up to the age of 16 yearscan travel for free

Vivek JainManaging DirectorGriffon

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The mission of the com-pany is to provide only the mostunique itineraries aboard the

highest-quality ships at the bestsavings possible. From the farnorth above the Arctic Circle tothe southernmost ice shelf -Antarctica and 400 exciting des-tinations around the world, theluxury expeditions combineunsurpassed luxury with someof the world’s most fascinatingdestinations. Cruise Norway’s

partnership with SilverseaCruises allows the company tobring the most all-inclusive prod-uct afloat. Fares include allonboard gratuities, butler serv-ice in all accommodations, com-plimentary in-suite bar and

refrigerator stocked with eachguest’s preferred beverageselections, complimentary bev-erages served throughout theship – including fine wines, spir-its and champagnes, and com-plimentary 24-hour room serv-ice includes dinner servedcourse-by-course.

“The well travelled, dis-cerning Indian traveller is alwayslooking for that delightful extra,

whether it’s a package holidayor a luxury cruise vacation.Silversea’s All-Inclusive cruiseitineraries fit the bill by providingthat ultimate vacation experi-ence. We have found anincreasing interest in Silversea’sMediterranean and NorthernEurope & Baltic cruises over the past years”, saysShanthini Manohar, GeneralManager (Marketing), CruiseNorway India.

Today Silversea isrecognised worldwide as thedefining experience in luxurycruising. The family-ownedcompany operates a fleet ofsix ultra-luxury ships from 132to 540 guests — small bytoday’s mega-ship standards.And the Italian style and pas-sion for embracing la dolcevita is evident everywhere,from Relais & Châteaux cui-sine and all-suite accommo-

dations with butler service toitineraries that include over400 ports on seven conti-nents. This combination of anall-inclusive lifestyle andworldwide destinationsattracts an international mix oftravellers, which is yet anotherSilversea distinction. The con-vivial, cosmopolitan ambienceoffers the perfect opportunityfor making lifelong friends.

Choice is also aSilversea signature. The com-pany offers more itinerariesthan any other luxury cruise line. There are smallgroup tours that venturebehind the scenes, privatearrangements with a car anddriver, and even bespokeadventures handcrafted by aconcierge who can tailor vir-tually every detail of a journey.Even those in search ofadventure cruising will findtheir calling — a journey tosome of the world’s leastexplored places.

From above the Arctic Circle to the southernmost ice shelf - Antarctica and 400 exciting destinations around theworld, the luxury expeditions combine unsurpassed luxury with some of the world’s most fascinating destinations.

Polar expeditions with a difference

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Silversea’s All-Inclusive cruiseitineraries fit the bill by providingthat ultimate vacation experience.

Shanthini ManoharGeneral Manager (Marketing)

Cruise Norway India

CRUISE TALK1 2 TRAVTALK M A R C H 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 4

Luxury river cruise lineAmaWaterways made its

foray into the Indian market byappointing TRN Marketing, adivision of Indian TravelPromotion Company (ITPL), astheir marketing and sales rep-resentative in India. Since thenit has been a journey of ‘tradeeducation’ and, hence tradeadoption. The cruising aficiona-do or customer in India is still

a small community, and withinthat, river cruising is still nas-cent. The enquiries though aresteadily on the increase, indi-cating the gradual ‘inquisitive-

ness’. The momentum isexpected to pick in 2014, saysSidhartha Roy, Senior Vice-President, ITPL & TRNMarketing.

Talking about the recenttrends in the industry, he says,“We are seeing an increase inboth group – including MICE

– and individual vacationenquiries. This has got to dowith the good connectivity andmore acceptable price pointsthat we are able to generate.The good news is that wehave been able to unfold thehitherto untouched East Coastof Sri Lanka such as

Pasikudah and Trincomaleebesides emphasising on justthe safaris, tea plantationsand whale and dolphin watch-

ing options. The company istargetting the early ‘explorers’and the somewhat choosyand selective holiday buyerswhom I would refer to as the‘escapers’. In this effort, thetrade seems to be waking upto the possible varied incomestreams. Having added

President Cruises on theYangtze River in China to our portfolio, I expect our river cruise offerings to

make its mark in India in a sig-nificant way.”

The most important out-bound vacationing and cruisingsource markets for the compa-ny are Delhi, Mumbai andBengaluru. Amongst the port-folio of holiday offerings, the dif-

ference is that river cruising isabout ‘holidaying with a bit ofstyle and panache’. The com-pany is aiming to tap high-end

vacationers and avid travellersin the leisure segment. Thegroup is also betting big on theIndian corporates for incentivetours in China and Sri Lanka.President Cruises offers three-night itineraries and that canbe a major draw for corporateincentive tours.

Ama Waterways is witnessing a major upsurge in enquiries for Sri Lanka and Maldives through the strategic representation partner in Colombo. The company is also seeing an increase in both group – includingMICE – and individual vacation enquiries.

River cruising picks up speed

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The cruising aficionado or customerin India is still a small community,and within that, river cruising is stillnascent. The enquiries are steadilyon the increase, indicating thegradual ‘inquisitiveness’ of travellers

Sidhartha RoySenior Vice PresidentITPL & TRN Marketing


CRUISE TALK

ARiver Cruise offers a wayto see a country up close

and in depth. Talking about theUSP of the segment, DebajitBorah, Director, BrahmaputraCruise, explains, “ParticularlyIndian River Cruises are smallin size and are quite intimate interms of the travel experience.River cruising is active, fromwalking tours that are offeredat differing activity levels to inti-mate wine tastings, tea tastingor unique cultural explorations.Therefore, river cruisingattracts an active, informed,educated passenger who iscurious about the world. That’snot to say that ocean cruisingdoesn’t, but due to the dis-tances and costs involved withriver cruising, everyone onboard is a willing participant.”

A river cruise is closer toa luxury cruise than a main-stream cruise, meals are open-seating, dress codes arerelaxed, and service – due tothe manageable numbers ofguests onboard – tends to be

more personable and genuine.On a river cruise, you are afamily, the co-passengers, thecrew, all know each other whileon an ocean cruise, you areanybody among the thousandscruising together, he adds.

Talking about the newtrends in the Indian cruise mar-ket, he says, “Indian RiverCruising is experiencing achange over the last few years.Earlier, it was only the rich and knowledgeable foreigninbound tourists with specialinterests in wildlife, birding andculture that would opt for such

cruises. But now the Indiandomestic market is also open-ing up with the growing popu-larity of Indian river cruises.There is a new interest innortheast India and every sec-ond enthusiast Indian travelleris incorporating cruising on themighty Brahmaputra in his itin-

erary.” Considering this andwith an urge to keep prices atan affordable range, cruisecum land packages arebecoming very popular among today’s knowledgeableIndian as well foreign inbound travellers.

Considering the presentscenario of the economy andscope and status of river cruis-ing on the Brahmaputra inAssam, the company has not

increased the prices of theirproducts. It is trying to developand design newer and betterproducts targetted at a widerrange of tourists. “Other thanthe regular long distance cruis-es, involving four to 10 nights,we are trying to explore rivertourism more than river cruis-

ing. We have a bouquet ofoffers such as Regular EveningCruises, Theme CruiseParties, Overnight Cruises,Island Cruise Parties, DayLong Cruises, BreakfastCruises, Dinner Cruises,Conference Cruises,Destination Conferences,Houseboat Cruises, AdventureCruises, etc., for all those who want to add an experience of the river to theiritinerary,” he elaborates.

A river cruise is closer to a luxury cruise than a mainstream cruise, meals are open-seating, dress codes are relaxed, and service – due to the manageable numbers of guests onboard – tends to be more personable and genuine.

New itineraries for river tourism

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Other than the regular long distancecruises, involving four to 10 nights,we are trying to explore rivertourism more than river cruising

Debajit BorahDirectorBrahmaputra Cruise

MSC Cruises started oper-ating in India in 2008, and

since then their growth hasbeen steady. Amit Mathur,Country Head – India, MSCCruises, said, “We ended 2013on a positive note, and in spiteof tough conditions, the busi-ness grew for us.”

Today, MSC Cruises isone of the fastest growingcruise-liners in the world,added Mathur. “India is still anascent cruise market, hencethe number of travellers toEurope, Caribbean and SouthAmerica are less. Price isanother crucial factor for Indiantravellers, though our pricingstrategy is flexible enough.”

What has worked for thefirm in India is that theyresponded quickly to the needsof the Indian consumer, suchas serving Indian meals on

board. “Indians still prefer 2 – 3night sailings, but that is chang-ing, and more people want toexperience 7-8 night cruiseholidays.”

He added, “India has avast coastal boundary, and ona wishful note we require sail-ings from India. I am sure inmid- to long-term, a lot of focuswill shift to India for all majorcruise liners.”

In 2014, they addedCaribbean itineraries to theirportfolio with MSC Divina,which will sail from Miami year-round. This is in addition totheir existing popular sailingsin Mediterranean and NorthEurope, and they also haveseasonal sailings in the UAE, South Africa and South America.

Talking about the MICEsector, Mathur said, “It’s heart-ening that corporates have

opened up to the idea of 7night cruises. Entertainment,Indian meals are all taken care

of on the ship, besides thestate-of-the-art conferencingfacility available with us.” At thispoint, leisure generates morerevenue for the company, andMICE sector generates vol-umes, but groups are generallyprice sensitive.

He further added that thegovernment needs to focusmore on this sector, as infra-structure for cruise ships islacking. “Once this issue isaddressed, I am sure a lot ofcruise liners would like to callon Indian ports.”

Working closely withtravel agents forms a keyaspect of their operations inIndia. Since they largely workon the B2B model, a signifi-cant portion of their revenuecomes from them. At regularintervals, educational ses-sions are organised withagents, besides regular sales interactions.

As India is a growing market in the cruise sector, the growth has been slowbut steady. However, MSC Cruises is positive that the pace of growth willgain momentum in future.

Cruising gains traction in India

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It’s hearteningthat corporateshave opened up to the idea of 7 nightcruises

Amit MathurCountry Head – IndiaMSC Cruises


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travtalk march 2nd 14

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