Rajya Sabha Member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has said that he is making efforts to bring seaplane services to the cruise terminal, to be constructed at Visakhapatnam Port. He said while visiting the identified for construction of the Cruise Terminal at Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh. Speaking on the occasion, Rao said that the construction of the terminal would be completed by April 2023. The terminal would mainly serve the needs of cruise liners coming from India and abroad as part of tourism-promotion plan, reports The Hindu. He said that he had written to the Centre to consider operation of seaplane…
Author: Disha Ghosh
Kenya-based Sarova Hotels & Resorts considers India as a strategic source market for its properties, and is keen on welcoming travellers from the MICE segment, especially conferences. The hotel company will be participating in MICE conferences in India in the coming months, and is already working with agents in the category. Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Mita Vohra, Director, Sarova Hotels & Resorts, said, “India is a significant for us and a growing market. There is a real open mindedness about travelling to Africa, especially Kenya and South Africa. We are seeing a growing desire to come and explore Kenya. India…
In order to help trade partners in India to better understand the country, Visit Portugal has introduced the comprehensive new e-learning course “Portugal Expert E-learning program.” This course will help agents to understand the country in detail. The training is split into multiple modules to offer in-depth knowledge on everything a travel agent would need to market the destination. The modules cover all aspects of the destination, from its culture to its seven distinct regions, along with the specialised modules such as shopping, gastronomy and accommodation. In addition, the training covers the specifics and advantages of MICE and weddings in…
After two long years of halt in tourism and having reopened its borders recently, Fiji Tourism is hoping for a smooth uptick in travel from India, and strategically reaching pre-pandemic (2019) levels of tourist traffic by 2024. In 2019, Fiji welcomed 6,000-7,000 tourists from India. Sharing views with TravelBiz Monitor during her recent visit to Mumbai, Kathy Koyamaibole, Regional Director Asia & Pacific, Tourism Fiji, said, “Since borders have opened up, we are seeing a relief from travellers wanting to explore new destinations. While it is too soon to forecast the travel demand, we are hoping to reach pre-pandemic numbers…
Australia will drop its remaining Covid border restrictions meaning travellers will no longer have to declare their vaccination status for entry, reports Evening Standard. In a boost to tourism, holiday-makers will be able to visit the country with no vaccination rules for the first time since the border was opened to tourists in February. International travellers will no longer need to declare their vaccination status on a Digital Passenger Declaration form. It will come into effect at 3pm British Summer Time on Tuesday. Clare O’Neil, Minister for Home Affairs, Australia, said, “As more and more of us travel internationally and…
Thailand’s hotels, businesses, and private hospitals should refrain from offering big discounts to lure tourists and focus instead on raising the country’s value as a premium travel destination, government ministers said on Monday, reports Reuters. Thailand has received about 2 million foreign visitors in the first six months of this year, a steady revival after its tourism industry almost collapsed due to the pandemic and more than 18 months of complex and costly entry requirements. “We cannot let people come to Thailand and say because it’s cheap,” Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul said at an event at Bangkok’s main international airport…
The Taliban government has said that it will request India to grant visas to Afghan students enrolled in Indian educational institutions, but who haven’t still been able to return to resume their courses after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, reports The Wire. This was announced by Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in a meeting with Afghan students at the Foreign Ministry in Kabul on Monday, according to his Deputy Spokesperson, Hafiz Zia Ahmad. In a series of tweets, Ahmad said that the students called on Muttaqi to assist them in “resuming their suspended classes and issuing visas and travelling to…
For over a decade of enjoying its position in the Indian market as a popular tourist destination for family travel, Dubai Tourism has now set its focus on Luxury travellers and HNIs. In this direction, the destination will be undertaking in-market activation to drive traffic from India. Talking about this, Bader Ali Habib, Head of Region – South Asia, International Operations, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said, “India is our number one source market. We now see a growing demand from HNI and Ultra HNIs with different means of staying in Dubai. Therefore, we are starting to focus on…
The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) has achieved a significant milestone by crossing the 250-million passenger mark since the launch of its operations or Airport Opening Day (AOD), during the last weekend of June 2022. An additional 50 million passengers travelled from BLR Airport in a span of nearly three years despite the pandemic and consequential slowdown. Furthermore, BLR Airport also achieved the milestone of 2 million Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) since AOD, making it the fastest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) airport in South India to achieve this milestone. The addition of new carriers in conjunction with the introduction of…
Jet Airways has complained to India’s aviation regulator about the use of its livery on SpiceJet aircraft, saying the practice could “mislead the public” and is a safety hazard, reports Aneesh Phadnis for Business Standard. Jet collapsed in 2019 and lessors repossessed its Boeing 737s. Some of these aircraft were leased to SpiceJet, which operates them without changing the livery. Jet, which is now being revived by the Kalrock Jalan consortium and aims to restart operations in September, has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ask SpiceJet to stop using its livery. Jet Airways aircraft sported blue…
