SriLankan Airlines today announced a special “buy one and get one free” offer for Indian travellers to visit Sri Lanka in the months to come. The offer is valid for all the seating categories and is applicable to the bookings made for flights between India & Colombo for leisure travel. This offer will be valid on bookings made until 31st October 2021. TravelBiz Monitor reported on this on August 25. This special offer has been timed with the recent announcement by the Government of Sri Lanka to reopen the island nation in promoting tourism sector under bio- bubble stay and…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
Pilgrims and tourists will soon get the opportunity to sail on the Saryu river in Ayodhya on a state-of-the-art luxury cruise ship. Known as the Ramayana Cruise Service, it is all set to start in Ayodhya before Deepotsav, scheduled in the first week of November. Operators of Alaknanda Cruiseline, which launched the Alaknanda cruise service in Varanasi three years ago, will operate the Ramayan Cruise Service as well with the support of the state tourism department, said a senior official familiar with the matter. Over 50% of the preparations have been completed to launch the service that will enable tourists…
Leading online travel firm MakeMyTrip said it has been able to disburse Rs 642 crore in refunds for the travel bookings between March 25 and May 24, 2020, due to enormous efforts put by its teams. “We have disbursed Rs 642 crore in refunds for travel bookings between 25th March to 24th May 2020. Over the past eighteen months, our teams have spent considerable number of hours to ensure that our customers remain duly informed about the progress of their refund requests,” a MakeMyTrip spokesperson said in a statement. Besides this, MakeMyTrip has worked closely with its partner airlines to…
With a focus to leverage the growth market of Jharkhand and Eastern India, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, inaugurated a new Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlet in Ranchi. The outlet was inaugurated by Hafizul Hassan Ansari, Minister of Minority Welfare & Tourism, Arts & Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs Department, Government of Jharkhand. Thomas Cook India’s Third Holiday Readiness Report reveals strong travel demand, 69% respondents are keen to resume travel in 2021. A significant 77% need the guidance of a holiday expert and hence to support its Ranchi based customers, the company has set up a Gold Circle Partner outlet…
India has extended the Covid-induced suspension on scheduled international passenger flights till September 30, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Sunday said. The aviation regulator added that international scheduled flights on selected routes might be allowed on a case-to-case basis by the competent authority. India suspended scheduled international flights on March 23, 2020, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country at the start of the pandemic. However, India has been operating special international flights under its Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020. India has also agreed bilateral ‘air bubble’ arrangements with several countries since July 2020, allowing…
As per OYO’s August 2021 booking data for 27th – 30th August 2021, the global travel technology company has witnessed a 34% surge in leisure travel across the country. OYO’s booking trends reveal that Jaipur, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Udaipur topped India’s most popular leisure destinations among travellers this long weekend. Majority of the demand stemmed from travellers based in the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Among business destinations, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Mumbai emerged as the most booked cities. On the occasion of Janmashtami, OYO has also observed a surge in booking enquiries for…
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced reopening of the state’s tourism sector from September 1 with relaxations of Covid protocols for travellers. Tourists, who have been fully inoculated, will be allowed to visit Meghalaya, while negative Covid test reports, conducted 72 hours before arrival in the state, will be mandatory for those who received the first dose of vaccines, he said. Taking to Twitter, the chief minister said, “Meghalaya will restart its tourism (sector) from 1st September 2021 with the following protocols: Fully vaccinated tourists will be allowed to visit the state for tourism-related purposes from 1st September, 2021.”…
Delhi Airport has seen a gradual growth in passenger numbers in line with the recovery in air travel demand, as around 90,000 passengers travelled per day through the facility during the first 10 days of this month, according to a White Paper by GMR. This is five times more than the mid-May passenger volumes when Delhi Airport handled around 18,000 travellers per day. The number by the end of June 2021 increased to about 62,000 passengers per day, the White Paper released on August 27 said. According to GMR, with the improvement in COVID situation and the high level of…
Think Strawberries has been appointed by Saudi Tourism Authority as its India market representative. The representative agency will be responsible for implementing a robust cross-channel marketing strategy within the India market to help contribute towards this target. Think Strawberries has been awarded the India mandate following a multi agency pitch that focused on creatively showcasing Saudi Arabia’s attractions including its magnificent historical sites, ancient ruins, sandy beaches, delectable cuisines, world-class shopping malls, theme parks and the luxurious Red Sea project among plenty other offerings. Commenting on this, Munnmunn Marwah, COO, Think Strawberries said, “In an ever evolving tourism landscape, Saudi…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Lindiwe Sisulu as minister of tourism following a cabinet reshuffle. Sisulu takes over from Mmamoloko Kubayi, who is now the Human Settlements minister. Sisulu brings with her diverse skillset and strategic prowess to the role, even as South Africa firms up plans for international tourism recovery. Having served as member of parliament since 1994, Sisulu was also the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation from 30 May 2019 to 5 August 2021. Prior to that, she helmed the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation portfolio from 27 February 2018 to 25 May 2019. She…
