Thomas Cook India, and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have launched the India Holiday Festival packed with special offers and discounts up to 50%. The India Holiday Festival extends from July 28 – August 6, 2021, with bookings open across the companies’ omni-channel network of retail outlets, websites, virtual holiday stores and apps. Thomas Cook India & SOTC’s Third Holiday Readiness Report (June 2021) reveals that over 69% of Indians are keen to resume travel in 2021 — with a sizeable 52% preferring domestic holidays. Thomas Cook India & SOTC’s India Holiday Festival has hence been conceptualised to accelerate domestic…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is planning on having 70 aircraft within four years for a new airline he wants to set up in India on optimism more people will travel by air. Jhunjhunwala, who is considering investing $35 million and would own 40% of the carrier, expects to get a no-objection certificate from India’s aviation ministry in the next 15 days, he said in a Television interview. The ultra-low cost airline will be called Akasa Air and the team, which which includes a former senior executive of Delta Air Lines Inc., is looking at planes that can carry 180 passengers,…
FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) is organising the second virtual Edition of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality E Conclave- The Road to Resilience & Recovery on August 5 -6, 2021. The Travel, Tourism & Hospitality E Conclave, will offer an interactive virtual knowledge forum for brainstorming, knowledge sharing & meaningful dialogues between policy makers, industry leaders from the government & the private sector on how to plan the road to recovery and shape the future of the Industry. From hard lessons to hopeful horizons, this conclave will be an important platform for leaders to reconnect, reaffirm and rebuild the…
The Civil Aviation Ministry has formed three advisory groups comprising airlines, airport operators, cargo carriers, ground handling companies, flying training organisations and maintenance, repair and overhaul companies to deliberate and resolve challenges faced by the sector, according to an official statement on Wednesday. The aviation sector was badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic’s second wave that swept the nation in April and May. Many aviation stakeholders are not in a good financial shape currently. The Ministry said on Twitter: “Under the chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has formed three…
The ongoing pandemic has made everyone think differently and look beyond what is available currently. Taking due cognizance, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has carefully selected some new experiences and destinations to entice Indian travellers. With rapid vaccination drives across India and the Indian travellers’ sheer penchant for travelling, I am hopeful that the coming year will bring in new opportunities for all of us, says Y G Choi, Director, KTO, New Delhi Office, in an interaction with Prasenjit Chakraborty Q. KTO jointly embarked on a project in India with TravelBiz Monitor called Korea Premium Travel Consultant (KPTC). Could you tell…
The much awaited national election of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) will finally be held on July 24, 2021 through e-voting. Elections will be held for the nine posts of President, Vice-President, National General Secretary, Treasurer and the five Managing Committee members. It is learnt that Ajay Prakash (CEO, Nomad Travels and former President of TAFI)-led team is confident of winning the elections, with their motto ‘Time to wake up and rejuvenate TAFI’. The team comprises Lalith Jain, My Travel Agent; Rani Bachani, Vice Regal Travels & Resorts; Anil Kalsi, Ambe World Travels; Kamal Jadhwani, Tulip Travel Services;…
Experience Hub has implemented a variety of precautionary measures to ensure that guests and employees feel safe at all Yas Theme Parks, attractions and hotels, and in the process become the first destination in Abu Dhabi to receive the coveted WTTC ‘Safe Travels’ stamp in recognition of its advanced safety efforts, says Marijana Mihajlovic, Director of Business Development, Experience Hub, in an interaction with Prasenjit Chakraborty. Q.The pandemic has significantly changed the market dynamic. In this backdrop which are key source markets for Yas Island in 2021? Throughout the pandemic period,Experience Hub, the trade and promotion arm of Yas…
By releasing three draft strategies with roadmaps to promote India as a rural and medical tourism destination and to position it as a place for conferences, meetings and exhibitions, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has made its intent very clear. But a lot depends on adoption of a pragmatic approach to make these segments truly vibrant. Also, there is need for the government to address the perennial problems and listen carefully to suggestions from the industry players and implement them. By and large the industry stakeholders have hailed the move. However, the proposal to set up the National MICE Bureau…
Our focus will always be the Indian market and we are quite hopeful of the situation in India improving by July, says Shannon Creado, Regional Director of Business Development-Global Indian Markets, Minor Hotels, in an exclusive interview with Prasenjit Chakraborty. Q. What is your view about the Indian market against the backdrop of the rapid surge of coronavirus? A. It is indeed a setback for Indian tourists who were certainly raring to go with revenge travel. We are living in strange times and the future of travel is still rather uncertain amidst this pandemic. Sri Lanka was one of the…
According to a FE report, in a recent announcement made by air passenger carrier Vistara, the company has been vaccinating its pilots, crew members. On Wednesday, Vistara operated a special flight from Delhi to Mumbai where all the cabin crew as well as the pilot on board were vaccinated with both the doses of the novel Coronavirus vaccine. This was the first time the crew members of the airlines were completely vaccinated and they will also be operating the return flight. According to a press note released by Vistara, there will be more flights in operation where the staff on…