AirAsia India said on November 10 it is offering special “premium flex fares” that will give passengers a number of services such as unlimited rescheduling of flight bookings, discounted cancellation fees and free selection of pre-booked meals. With this special fare, passengers can now make unlimited changes up to two hours prior to the scheduled flight departure without any fees, its statement said. “Guests opting for premium flex fares get a host of complimentary services, including unlimited rescheduling of flight bookings, discounted cancellation fees of only INR 500 for cancellations beyond 72 hours against the standard cancellation fees of INR…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
Hong Kong could open up to global travel in roughly six months, after officials have successfully navigated the introduction of quarantine-free borders with mainland China and boosted the local vaccination rate, a government adviser said. The Chinese territory needs to finish negotiating open borders with the mainland, while using the next few months to increase the flagging Covid-19 inoculation rate among the city’s elderly, Lam Ching-choi, a member of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s advisory Executive Council, said. “We maybe need half a year or so to develop an adequate vaccination rate, especially among the older people,” said Lam Ching-choi,…
Thomas Cook (India) Limited and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have identified a strong pent-up demand for outdoor and adventure experiences in India. Looking into the demand, the companies have hence launched portfolio of Safaris & Jungle experiences intended to target India’s millennials/young professionals, honeymooners, families; equally corporates – with exciting team-building jungle getaways. The products are attractively priced, starting from INR 4,990.00 per person for stays of 2-7 nights. With the pandemic bringing focus to health and safety, while Indians are longing to escape from the monotony/ restrictions of work-from-home, they are actively seeking holidays away from crowds. Thomas…
The national board of ETAA (Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association) has signed a LOI with IATA to promote the TIDS (Travel Industry Designer Service) Seller Identification Program to its 800 plus members on a pan India basis. According to the association it is a significant achievement in the travel & tourism Industry. A letter of recommendation from ETAA can be used in place of a letter from “Airlines, GDS or other major industry suppliers”. The program allows for the bookings of travel sellers and intermediaries to be recognized by industry suppliers from airlines, hotel & resort chains, cruise lines, car rental…
Even as the travel and tourism industry is trying hard to wriggle itself out of the Pandemic rut, Caravans are on rolling wheels to chart new path, writes Prasenjit Chakraborty. While the ongoing pandemic has brought in many changes in the travel and tourism industry it has at the same time provided momentum to the few segments that remained stagnant for years. One such segment which is registering growth in India is Caravan Tourism. It goes without saying that travelling in a caravan is a pretty safe experience as one is always in charge of their sanitisation. Besides one…
Holiday packages will offer end-to-end travel services Online travel company MakeMyTrip and IndiGo airlines have launched air charter holiday services to Phuket, Thailand. The aim of both the companies is to make travelling to the holiday island easy since Phuket continues to remain closed for direct flyers from India. MakeMyTrip said this will be an industry-first and will be available to book starting early December 2021 for selected dates. The company added that the charter holiday packages will offer end-to-end travel services, including airport transfers, Thailand Pass application assistance (a web-based system for travellers to fill in their travel, and…
According to a report in The Business Line, international travel to India is a bit slow to pick up with just a little over 15,000 free tourist visas being issued so far out of the five lakh visas that were provisioned by the centre. In June 2021, the Ministry of Finance had announced a scheme to offer free tourist visas till March 31, 2022. The scheme was applicable for the first 5 lakh visas that will be issued. A foreign tourist stays in India for 21 days on an average while spending around $34 (INR2,400) per day. According to the…
According to a TOI report, the countdown for founder Tata Group re-acquiring Air India 68 years after the Maharaja was nationalised has begun. They have to take control and start running AI, AI Express and AI-SATS (in which 50% stake is with the new owners) latest by January 23, 2022 — the “long stop date” as per the share purchase agreement signed with the government last month. Comments from the Tatas were sought on preparations being made for this transfer of ownership. They have so far not spelt out their plans for AI like whether there will be mega airline…
Dubai plans to merge the departments of economy and tourism and hopes to attract 25 million tourists by 2025, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s Crown Prince, said on Twitter. Sheikh Hamdan added that Helal Al Marri will be appointed as a general director of the new department. Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the new department’s main objectives include increasing the added value of the industrial sector by 150% over the next five years, expanding foreign export markets for local products by 50%, and increasing the number of tourists by 40%, his media…
Atatürk Cultural Center of Istanbul reopened its doors to art lovers on October 29, 2021, the 98th anniversary of Turkish Republic Day. Known as Atatürk Kültür Merkezi (or AKM) by the locals, the newly-built contemporary structure references its former, iconic design. The AKM is one of the most important investments of the Beyoğlu Culture Route, established by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as Türkiye’s one of the largest arts and culture projects to date. The Centre marks the start of the culture avenue, and its reopening launches the International Beyoğlu Culture Route Festival, also developed by the Ministry of…
