After the successful sale of Air India, the Centre is now looking to complete a divestment of its 51% stake in loss-making helicopter operator Pawan Hans. The central government has received multiple bids for Pawan Hans, which will be opened by the transaction advisor in the coming days, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the government department overseeing the helicopter operator’s divestment, said in an interview. “(For) Pawan Hans, the bids have come; we will open it soon. Government has 51% stake which will be sold, while ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas…
Author: Disha Ghosh
The number of Indian tourists to Singapore has reduced to a record low of 54,000 in 2021 from 1.42 million in 2019, prior to the outbreak of Covid-19. India ranked among the top three visitor source markets for Singapore. However, the latest numbers display a drastic fall in tourism in the city-state. According to India’s tourism statistics, Singapore was among the top 10 destination country for Indian Nationals’ Departures (IND) during 2020. Furthermore, a total of 2,89,287 Indians visited Singapore in 2020 which was 3.97 pc of the total departures in the year. Even though China, India, and Indonesia were…
A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that the tax regime applicable to the travel & tourism sector be reviewed in order to increase India’s share in the global tourism market from the present 1.24 per cent to five per cent. The Committee on “Promotion of Indian Tourism in Overseas Markets – Role of Overseas Tourist Offices and Indian Embassies”, headed by MP T G Venkatesh, said the Ministry should conduct surveys periodically in important source markets for India to assess the impact of the publicity campaigns on the decision of foreign tourists to visit India, the perception of the foreign…
The Union Budget 2022 is a complete lacklustre one for the travel and tourism industry. Except the extension of ECLGS for MSMEs until 2023, the Budget is virtually silent for the travel & tourism industry. The Economic Survey which was released just one day before the Budget admitted that the travel, tourism and hospitality sector still had a long road to recovery. Naturally, the players of the industry hoped that there will be some tangible direct relief in the Budget. But that hasn’t happen and the Government remains ambivalent. Hence, the stakeholders of the industry reacted sharply. Ajay Prakash, President,…
The cruise industry globally, and specifically in Asia has been dealt with a body blow with the winding up of Genting Hong Kong that owns the Star Cruises, Dream Cruises and Crystal Cruises brands. The company failed to secure funding to pay its debts after the insolvency of its shipbuilding subsidiary, MV Werften in Germany. Separately, Dream Cruises has also filed a winding-up application with the Bermuda Courts. TravelBiz Monitor contacted India representatives and officials of Genting Cruise Lines, however, they refused to comment. Cruising in Asia, with sailings out of Singapore was dominated by Genting Hong Kong. In fact,…
Qatar is the latest country to impose two-day quarantine upon arrival for fully-vaccinated travellers from India and five countries part of its ‘exceptional travel red list’. Moreover, a complete travel ban has been issued for unvaccinated travellers from these nations. Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health made the announcement, and the change is effective since January 30. As per this list, fully vaccinated people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, and Egypt, with pre-approved and visa-on-arrival, will have to undergo two days of quarantine in a hotel upon arrival. Travellers will also have to take an RT-PCR test after arriving…
In a major shock to the cruise segment in India, Dream Cruises, which was launched with much fanfare some years ago has filed application for winding up operations. This is a result of its parent company Genting Hong Kong filing for winding up operations two weeks ago after having failed to secure funding to stay afloat following the insolvency of its German shipbuilding subsidiary. Dream Cruises is one of the operators running cruises to nowhere in Singapore. It had temporarily suspended new bookings, and this was slated to end on Friday (February 4), reports Adeline Tan for The Straits Times.…
A research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that as the global Travel & Tourism sector begins to recover from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, its contribution to the global economy could reach USD 8.6 trillion this year. In 2019, before the pandemic struck, the Travel & Tourism sector generated nearly USD 9.2 trillion to the global economy. However, in 2020, the pandemic brought the sector to an almost complete halt, causing a massive 49.1% drop, representing a severe loss of nearly USD 4.5 trillion. Latest research from WTTC shows that as the world finally…
Gainwell Sports, part of Kolkata-based Gainwell Travel, has been appointed as the hospitality agent for ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Australia 2022 with access to premium VIP match tickets for all matches, including India vs Pakistan on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. As official hospitality agent, Gainwell Sports will offer food-and-drink-inclusive match ticket packages at face value with commissions to travel agents. Gainwell Sports is a growing sports travel company with official match ticket, inclusive of packages for the world’s biggest sports events, promoted by Gainwell Travel.
InterGlobe Air Transport (IGAT) has entered into a partnership with Bedsonline for the distribution of its products in India. With this tie-up, IGAT becomes the new General Sales Agent (GSA) for Bedsonline in the country. “Through this alliance, we will be venturing into a new category of hotel bookings, diversifying our business while expanding our touchpoints across consumers’ travel journeys, with services including air travel, car rental and now hotel bookings,” said Sunil Talreja, Vice President – India Operations at InterGlobe Air Transport. He added, “We are delighted to partner with Bedsonline to support them in expanding their presence in…