Category: News

China’s biggest outbound travel service platform, Qyer, and ITB China, the largest exclusive B2B marketplace for the Chinese travel industry, have announced the renewal of their strategic partnership. For the first time ITB China, set to take place from 15 to 17 May 2019 in Shanghai, will be fully devoting a travel experience hub for China’s travel KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) to be hosted by Qyer. David Axiotis, General Manager ITB China, believes that KOLs have a strong influence on Chinese tourists. “Less young Chinese continue to travel with a group and more will travel independently. So, KOLs might provide ... Read more

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain, has opened two hotels- The Fern Residency, Manali (Himachal Pradesh) and The Fern Sattva Resort, Polo Forest (Gujarat), thereby taking the tally to 58 hotels managed by the company. “The people visiting Manali and Polo Forest can now enjoy our eco friendly hospitality. Manali hotel is the second hotel which we are managing in HP. In Gujarat we are now at 15 locations,” said Suhail Kannampilly, COO of the hotel. The Fern Residency, Manali is a 37 room property situated in the picturesque hill state of Himachal Pradesh. Nestled ... Read more

Marriott International has announced it expects to add 19 new properties and more than 3,000 rooms to its Middle East and Africa portfolio in 2019. Underpinning a strong demand for its diverse brands, the new additions are in line with the company’s expansion plans to add more than 100 new properties and nearly 26,000 rooms across the region by the end of 2023. Marriott estimates its development pipeline through 2023 represents up to $8 billion of investment from property owners and is expected to generate over 20,000 new jobs across the region. “Our growth across the Middle East and Africa ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals are up 4.7 per cent in March 2019 compared to the same period last year, according to the data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). Around 244,328 tourists arrived in the country in March 2019 compared to the 233,382 arrivals in March 2018. India, United Kingdom, China, Germany and France were Sri Lanka’s top five international tourist generating markets in March this year. India was the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 14 per cent of the total traffic received in March 2019. UK accounted for 12 per cent of the ... Read more

An augmented reality-based mobile application has been launched in Korean language to offer visual travel assistance to tourists from South Korea. The Korean version of the tourist application is available for exploring six UNESCO heritage sites — Qutub Minar, Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi; and Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, according to the Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI). “In future the application will incorporate other cultural heritage sites in India. “The application includes Korean language description and guide for Korean tourists visiting India. India has been one of the popular destinations for young Koreans, ... Read more

“Kerala is absolutely amazing. It’s a land where nature, culture and people harmonise so well to make the visiting an unforgettable experience. It is simply unmissable.” This was the general refrain of the members of a group of 26 bloggers from 21 countries who just concluded a fortnight-long tour of the state. Facilitated by Kerala’s Tourism Department in partnership with the trade, the sixth edition of the Kerala Blog Express (KBE), which set out from Kochi on March 21, wound up at the internationally renowned Kovalam beach resort, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday evening. As top travel bloggers and social influencers ... Read more

Lemon Tree Hotels has bagged the prestigious Investing in People Award at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Awards 2019. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced the 2019 leaders in sustainable tourism at the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards ceremony. The awards, now in their 15th year, took place at a special ceremony during the WTTC Global Summit in Seville, Spain, to celebrate inspirational, world-changing tourism initiatives from around the globe. Lemon Tree Hotels is an equal opportunity employer and actively invites job applications from people with disabilities. “The company ethos is that persons with disabilities must be provided the ... Read more

Italy-based Costa Cruises is all set to tap growing South Indian market, mainly Kochi. The ship is now docked at Kerala’s Cochin port and has luxurious facilities to fulfill all the requirements of the tourists. “Cruise line is coming to Indian ports and especially to Cochin which has the port infrastructure which allows the big ships to come in. I think Keralites are actually, natural cruisers. They are living all over the world so even in Maldives we had a very good response. Costa brings ships to Indian ports, it shows their commitment and from my side, I always tell the ... Read more

IndiGo has announced six new routes, out of which four will be serving Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) RCS scheme, starting June 22, 2019. The UDAN routes include Kolkata-Allahabad, Allahabad-Kolkata, Raipur-Allahabad, Allahabad-Raipur. On the other hand, the airline launched new flights between Kolkata, Allahabad, Raipur and Jabalpur, while developing regional hubs at Allahabad and Kolkata. The new routes will be serviced by an ATR aircraft. The new flights will boost IndiGo’s connectivity in the Tier II cities with fares starting from Rs 1,999. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to be able to fly on these RCS routes ... Read more

Medical tourism in India by international travellers is expected to grow to USD13.3 billion by 2022, according to a report jointly published by KPMG India and Google. About 1.5 million medical tourists are expected to visit the country in 2022. The medical tourism market in India has grown rapidly over the past decade with India becoming one of the largest global medical tourism hubs. Growth has been driven by a rise in international awareness of India’s affordable healthcare, qualified healthcare professional base, coupled with investment into healthcare infrastructure and privately funded healthcare. Foreign tourist arrivals on medical visas are increasing at ... Read more

Radisson Hotel Group signed 15 hotels in India in 2018 and it has already signed four more properties in 2019: Park Plaza Amritsar, Radisson Greater Noida, Radisson Gurugram Sohna Road City Center, and Park Inn by Radisson Kashipur. Seven new hotels were opened in India in 2018, and the group is on track to reach the landmark of opening its 100th hotel in India this year. Leveraging its first-mover advantage in the country, Radisson Hotel Group intends to introduce international hospitality to a series of fast-growing Tier II and III cities, as well as emerging areas such as North East ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: sabyaofficial An exotic and pristine destination, Seychelles offers mesmerizing backdrops for photo-shoots and makes for an ideal location for larger than life celebrations. Charmed by its beauty, Seychelles was recently chosen by the prestigious magazine Condé Nast Traveller, India for their April issue cover photo shoot with Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar. Photo Courtesy: sabyaofficial Adding to the glamour of the association was the reveal of the destination wedding collection designed by India’s eminent Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the jewel of Indian fashion and wedding industry. The destination provided a perfect backdrop to showcase an enchanting white wedding setup with Manushi, ... Read more

Marriott is expected to reach more than 30,000 rooms in India by the end of 2023. Right now the brand has an inventory of 25,000 rooms. Given India’s robust economy and rising middle class, the country continues to present exciting growth opportunities, leveraging strong demand for Marriott’s select-service brands and growing demand for its upper upscale and luxury portfolios. The company expects to debut the Tribute Portfolio brand in India, with the opening of Port Muziris, Kochi, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel slated for the second quarter of 2019. “As important as our size is our commitment to deliver seamless and ... Read more

Looking at the spike in demand for air travel in the upcoming peak summer season, Vistara has announced an addition of 14 flights, for the period April 16 – July 15, 2019. Three new routes have been added for the specified duration— Mumbai – Bengaluru, Mumbai – Hyderabad, and Mumbai – Kolkata. In addition, the airline will be flying the Pune – Hyderabad route for the period April 7 – April 30, 2019. Vistara also recently added Raipur (with double daily flights to/from Delhi) and Dibrugarh (with daily flights to/from Delhi via Bagdogra) to its steadily expanding network. Effective from April ... Read more

Destination DC, the official destination marketing organisation for Washington DC, has organised a three-city sales mission in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi. Connecting with over 300 travel partners in the three cities, the organisation shared plans to promote the new tourism developments and unique offerings of the District. “With a 32 per cent increase in visitation, India has proven to be one of our most successful growth markets, ranking fourth globally. We see immense potential among Indian travellers. Through this roadshow, we aim to establish strong partnerships and continue to market not only the key attractions in the city, but also ... Read more