Category: News

Travel Tours, the leisure travel brand of FCM Travel Solutions – Indian subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group Australia, further expanded its presence by inaugurating its 10th store in Maharashtra and the 3rd store in Mumbai. The store was inaugurated by Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions – Indian subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group. The opening of the store marks Travel Tours’ reach to 39 stores across India, out of which 10 are now located in Maharashtra. Considering the ever-growing demand from travel enthusiasts and trends witnessed across the travel sector for leisure travel, the services offered include ... Read more

The role a photograph plays in destination marketing and holiday planning has changed massively. We all go to places and click photographs, with the best devices that we have, but not all of us are good photographers. Shane Dallas will be speaking at the ICTT 2019 and give you tips to become a good digital photographer. Shane Dallas is a Social Media specialist, trainer and travel photographer who has visited more than 100 countries and inspires people to take the road less travelled. Shane is a founder of #TRLT – the Road Less Travelled Twitter chat, which is one of ... Read more

Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) conducted a roadshow in the capital city of New Delhi on 22nd August to enhance commercial ties with the Indian travel trade fraternity. In an effort to retain the growth momentum of Indian arrivals to Israel, the team interacted with over 300 key travel and tour operators, MICE providers, up-market leisure operators and media personnel. The event commenced with a presentation leading to an interactive session with the IMOT team. The roadshow included interactive B2B sessions, education programmes and workshops to aid trade members in planning itineraries and responding to customer queries. The Israeli delegation ... Read more

Vietnam’s low-cost airline VietJet Air, popularly known as as ‘Bikini airline’ for having cabin crew dressed in ‘Bikini’ in some of its flight, is going to start two direct flights to India by the year end. The flights will be launched from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and capital Hanoi to New Delhi. The airline has also announced special promotional fares for both the routes. As per the offer, a ticket on the Vietjet flight on these routes will cost Rs 9 (excluding VAT, airport fees and other surcharges). The airline has said only 8000 such tickets will be given ... Read more

In 2018, the Philadelphia region saw record-breaking visitation and economic impact: The area welcomed 45 million visitors from the U.S., 88 per cent of which visited for a leisure purpose. And 2018 marks the ninth consecutive year of record visitation to Philadelphia, which means more and more travelers are making Philly their destination of choice every year — visiting attractions, staying in hotels, dining at restaurants, shopping in boutiques and so much more. In 2018, 45 million people visited Philadelphia from the U.S. — the ninth consecutive year of record visitation. All of this visitation delivers major economic impact to ... Read more

Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is deepening its foothold in the Indian market with the appointment of Seema Kadam as it’s first-ever Regional Director, India. In 2018, Los Angeles welcomed 130,000 visitors from India, an increase of 5.1% making India the third-highest year-over-year international growth market for Los Angeles. In her role, Kadam will develop and support air service for Los Angeles International Airport, spearhead strategic travel trade engagement including the implementation of a robust training program, using the L.A. Insider Program; and attend key industry trade shows in the region. “We established a travel trade presence in India ... Read more

With an experience of over 8 years in the wellness industry, Jyoti Rathore has joined Quan Spa, the award-winning Spa facility at JW Marriott Chandigarh, as its Spa Manager. Having an extensive experience in Spa Operations and Business and Customer Service Management, her primary responsibilities include managing Spa operations and budgets, enhancing Spa sales, Spa revenue management strategy, executing marketing as well as ensuring and delivering exceptional customer service. Prior to joining JW Marriott Chandigarh, Jyoti was working as the Manager – Cedar Spa by L’Occitane & Warren Tricomi Salon at JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, Mussoorie ... Read more

The Government has opened 137 mountain peaks for foreigners desirous of obtaining Mountaineering Visa (‘MX’) for mountaineering and trekking. These peaks are located in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. While the highest number of 51 peaks have been opened to foreigners in Uttarakhand, 15 peaks of Jammu and Kashmir have also been included in the list. The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), Prahlad Singh Patelhas expressed his gratitude to the Home Minister, Amit Shah for acceding to the request of Tourism Ministry to open up more peaks to foreigners. It is ... Read more

Taking a cue from the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s clarion call in his Independence Day speech to eliminate single use plastic in the country from 2nd October, 2019, Indian Railways has once again risen to the occasion to shield the environment from the menace of plastic. Ministry of Railways has directed all Railway units to enforce ban on single use plastic material, with less than 50 micron thickness from 2nd October, 2019. Emphasis is on making necessary arrangements to minimize generation of plastic waste and its eco- friendly disposal. In this regard, Ministry of Railways has issued a circular stating ... Read more

AKARYN Hotel Group, the Thailand based luxury boutique resort specialist, has appointed Demeiter Vaubell as Group Director of Sales and Marketing. A seasoned international hotelier with more than 25 years of experience, the Australian national, Demeiter, has extensive experience driving international sales, partnership marketing and managing customer relations across Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Having completed Hospitality Management & Tourism studies at both the College of Tourism & Hospitality (QLD) and Victoria University in Australia, Demeiter started her hospitality career in Hong Kong where she was part of a successful team that ... Read more

Kerala Tourism has announced rescheduled dates for Champions Boat League (CBL), the country’s first-ever boat racing patterned on the IPL format of cricket. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that the CBL would start on August 31 alongside the illustrious Nehru Trophy Boat Race and would end on November 23 on the sidelines of the President’s Trophy at Kollam. Originally slated to begin on August 10, the championship will retain its essential features, as nine teams are to vie for top honours and prize monies totalling Rs 5.9 crore. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will flag off the event at the sprawling Punnamada ... Read more

World Architecture Travel (WAT) a global network for guided architectural tours brings to you a unique tour to the multicultural and cosmopolitan city of Auckland, New Zealand. A self-driven WAT Connect intends to take participants on a quality holiday, traversing through the Glaciers of New Zealand, The Hobitton Movie set, Whakarewarewa and transcending through the mouth of River Hokitika. From soaring high above the city of Auckland on a paraglide to riding on a ferry between the North and South Island, WAT aspires to give the best experiences by encompassing the best locations in New Zealand making the trip a ... Read more

The Responsible Tourism Mission of Kerala Tourism was lauded at the Tourism Minister’s conference held in New Delhi. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister for Tourism, Govt of India has appreciated Kerala’s RT Mission at the Tourism Minister’s Conference held at Hotel Asoka in New Delhi. Kerala and Sikkim are the only states in the country which could present better tourism models. Kerala has presented the idea of Responsible Tourism project, which connects the local community with tourism. “Kerala explores the social media possibilities effectively to run tourism campaigns,” said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala. Kerala Tourism Secretary Rani ... Read more

Now, planning a holiday to Indian destinations during off season will be much cheaper as the Government of India has decided to introduce flexible e-tourist visa fee based on the tourist footfall. As per the new system, a traveller has to pay higher fees during peak months of July-March and considerably lower fee during the April-June lean season. “India will offer 30-day e-tourist visa with $10 fee during the lean period of April to June and $25 fee during peak tourism period of July to March,”said Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism. “A new five-year e-tourist visa ... Read more

Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hospitality group, has signed a hotel management agreement for two new hotels owned by Al Bandary Hotel Management LLC. The agreement represents the third and fourth Doha properties Centara will manage on behalf of Al Bandary, which also owns Centara West Bay Residences & Suites Doha, an upper upscale property that opened earlier this year and recently earned a 5-star official classification from the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC); and the previously signed Centara Grand Hotel Doha scheduled for opening in 2020. The B Premiere Hotel, a member of the Centara Boutique Collection, is ... Read more