Saudi Arabia kicks off its participation in the world’s premier travel expo, ITB Berlin, with a significant event to commemorate its monumental success of attracting over 100 million visitors in 2023, achieving this goal a remarkable seven years ahead of its projected timeline. For the second consecutive year, Saudi Arabia has made a return to ITB, this time with a contingent exceeding 55 partners, spearheaded by His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), alongside prominent figures and entities from Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector, including destination management companies, hotel chains, and airlines. Building…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
The Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) recently unveiled its new Taiwan Tourism Information Centre (TTIC) in Mumbai, an event that saw attendance from notable personalities from the travel industry. Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor on the sidelines of the event, Trust H. J. Lin, the Deputy Director General of TTA, expressed his admiration for India, describing it as a country of immense beauty and potential for Taiwan’s inbound tourism sector. “I’ve had the opportunity to visit India 12 times, and each visit unveils something new about this vibrant market. Post-pandemic, we’ve noticed an increasing desire among Indians to explore international destinations for…
Religious tourism has surged in the country, particularly post-Covid. Experts anticipate that the inauguration of the Ram Temple will accelerate this growth, as an increasing number of travellers seek to include religious destinations in their holiday plans, writes Prasenjit Chakraborty. Whether referred to as Spiritual Tourism, Religious Tourism, or a Sacred Journey, this sector of tourism in India has gained significant momentum following the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya last month. While it may seem that this development will primarily boost domestic tourism, its impact is not limited to that; it is expected to influence the inbound tourism…
In 2024, SOTC Travel envisions transformative trends in spiritual tourism, hidden gems exploration, sports and event tourism, luxury, and sustainable travel, embodying resilience, growth, and a customer-centric vision as we celebrate our 75-year milestone, shaping the future of travel, says Vishal Suri, Managing Director, SOTC Travel, in an interaction with Prasenjit Chakraborty. Q. How has SOTC Travel evolved over its 75-year journey, adapting to the changing landscape of the travel and tourism industry? What key milestones and achievements does SOTC Travel attribute to its successful 75-year legacy in the omnichannel travel sector? We have a deep understanding of the Indian…
Including new global contract with the Government of UK for services across 142 countries, and global contracts with Governments of Australia, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Iceland and Austria VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions, significantly added to its business footprint in 2023. Building on its trusted partnership, the company won seven global contracts from the governments of the UK, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Iceland and Austria. Among the most significant wins of 2023 was being awarded a global contract for UK visas and citizenship services. In 2024, VFS Global will deploy 240…
Rhaetian Railway is a Swiss transport company and is promoting two of its panoramic trains the Bernina Express & Glacier Express in the Indian market. Patric Miescher,Market Manager Asia-Pacific,Rhaetian Railway Inc, while talking to TravelBiz Monitor during his recent visit to India, said, “I met travel agents here in India to promote these two trains and the response is very good.The Glacier Express is well known in the Indian market when compared with the Bernina Express.” Now, the company stepped up its efforts to promote the Bernina Express in this market. The Bernina Express connects the north with the south…
The Indian market contributes 20% of the total revenue for the SriLankan Airlines said its Head of Worldwide Sales & Distribution Dimuthu Tennakoon, while exclusively speaking to TravelBiz Monitor. The airline has recently introduced double daily flights between Colombo and Mumbai. “Mumbai has emerged as the second destination after Chennai in terms of number of passengers and frequencies. Last year, despite a few challenges, our Indian operation was successful,” he said. Tennakoon added, “The Indian market has been incredibly important to SriLankan Airlines since the get-go, and with India fast becoming one of the world’s largest outbound travel markets, we…
ATTA (Africa Travel and Tourism Association) is set to attract more Indian tourists to Africa and strengthen its presence in the Indian market by engaging with industry leaders at two flagship travel trade events in Mumbai and Delhi this February. As part of its mission to facilitate the growth of tourism in Africa, ATTA will be exhibiting at the Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) in Mumbai, where they will be actively listening to and meeting with buyers and media to understand their needs and preferences. Following this, a similar exercise will be undertaken at the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange…
Also receives ‘ch-aviation Asia’s 2nd Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2024’ Vistara, the full-service carrier in India and a collaborative venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has achieved two prestigious awards at the ‘ch-aviation Youngest Aircraft Fleet Awards 2024.’ These awards include the “ch-aviation World’s 4th Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2024” and the “ch-aviation Asia’s 2nd Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2024.” It is noteworthy that Vistara has consistently earned recognition for possessing the third youngest aircraft fleet in Asia over the past two years. The awards are determined by ch-aviation, a Switzerland-based airline intelligence provider and research company, renowned…
Buoyed by the launch of direct flights by Uganda Airlines from India, Kenya-based Safari Trails, a boutique DMC for East Africa has initiated promoting Uganda in the Indian market. “There are hardly 14-15 gorilla families which are spread over in Rwanda, Uganda. These two countries are the only places in the world where one can see gorillas,” said Rajay Thethy, CEO, Safari Trails, during his recent visit to India. His main purpose of the visit was to introduce and market Uganda in the Indian market as he said, “Uganda as a destination is not known in this market.” Safari Trails…
