The Indian travellers’ interest to visit Belgium has been increasing day by day as the country has rich history, architecture, gastronomy, and culture. However, the destination is lesser- known to Indians when compared with other European cities, said Frank Geerkens, Consul General the Kingdom of Belgium in Mumbai, while speaking to TravelBiz Monitor on the sidelines of the Visit Brussels event. “Belgium is a very good destination but lesser known to India unlike Paris, London. But when people visit our country they are enchanted,” said Geerkens. Talking about visas, he said that the Belgium Consulate Office in Mumbai receives 20…
Author: Prasenjit Chakraborty
Balitrip, a Destination Management Company (DMC), organised a roadshow in Mumbai yesterday to showcase the best of Bali’s hospitality industry to the travel trade. While speaking on the sidelines of the event to TravelBiz Monitor, Dheeraj Ranjan Kumarr, Founder Director, PT Balitrip Wisata, said that the aim of the sales mission is to create a bridge between the buyers and hospitality sector of Bali. “We are becoming a bridge between them,” said Kumarr. Besides Mumbai, the roadshows are slated to be held in Ahmedabad, Pune and Delhi. When asked to comment why the focus is more on the Western region…
Uganda Airlines announced the commencement of its India Operations with the launch of its new direct service, connecting Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, with effect from October 7. This flight will be operated thrice a week between the two cities and offer a direct service on its Airbus A330-800 neo aircraft. The service will offer a three- class configuration with the Business (20 seats), Premium Economy (28 seats) and Economy (210 seats). The development will be the first time in more than 50 years that India and Uganda will be connected by a…
US-based RateHawk which offers booking of hotels, air tickets, transfers and other travel-related services for professionals is on an expansion spree. Recently Victoria Vlasenko, Senior Sales Manager, Asia Pacific Region, RateHawk, visited Mumbai to study the potential of the Indian travel and tourism market. While speaking exclusively to TravelBiz Monitor, Vlasenko said that RateHawk is making rapid strides since its inception in 2016. The company has made a strong presence in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America. “When I joined the company in 2019 there were only 800 employees, today, our staff strength is 2600 across the world. We have…
Air India has launched a limited-period, #FlyAirIndiaSale, to offer attractive fares on all India-U.S. routes in Economy Class and Premium Economy Class (available on select U.S. routes). All-inclusive Economy Class fares start from INR 42,999 (one-way) and INR 52,999 (return). All-inclusive Premium Economy fares start from INR 79,999 (one-way) and INR 1,09,999 (return). Air India’s Premium Economy class is currently available on select routes- Bengaluru-San Francisco, Mumbai-San Francisco, and Mumbai-New York. Bookings under the sale are open for only five days, from 01 October to 05 October 2023, for travel between 01 October and 15 December 2023. Air India operates…
Vistara has started daily, non-stop flights between Delhi and Maldives. The inaugural flight, operated by an Airbus A320neo aircraft, departed from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi at 10:45 Hours (IST) and arrived at Velana International Airport, Maldives Airport at 14:20 Hours (MVT). With this, Vistara now offers direct daily flights connecting Maldives with two Indian airports – Delhi and Mumbai. Speaking on this, Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “In addition to the 7x weekly service between Mumbai and Male, which has been getting very good response since its launch in March 2021, we are pleased to introduce our…
As the new Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on foreign remittances is set to become applicable from October 1, TAAI has made a last-minute plea to the government, urging them to abolish the decision or defer its implementation until the next fiscal year to allow discussions on overseas tour packages. The government has raised the TCS on foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) from 5 per cent to 20 per cent. This will be applicable to international travel, sending money abroad and other remittances. Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, appealing…
Air India has entered into a codeshare agreement with AIX Connect (formerly known as Air Asia India). Air India will add its ‘AI’ designator code to over 100 flights a day operated by AIX Connect on 21 routes. More routes under the codeshare agreement will be added progressively. Bookings for the codeshare flights are being opened across points of sale, for travel starting 27 September 2023. The codeshare implementation enables Air India guests to connect seamlessly on AIX Connect’s route network to and from over 80 points across Air India’s extensive domestic and international network. The scope of the agreement…
Canada has updated travel advisory for its citizens in India asking them to “stay vigilant and exercise caution” in the context of recent developments as there are calls for protests and some “negative sentiment” towards Canada on social media. This comes after New Delhi issued a similar advisory for Indian nationals and students living in Canada and halted visa services late last week, Global News reported. Meanwhile, Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair has voiced concern over the measures taken by India including the suspension of visa services for Canadians and urged New Delhi to cooperate fully in the investigation of…
Vietjet, Vietnam’s leading new-age airline, and The International Air Transport Association (IATA) signed a training agreement appointing Vietjet Aviation Academy as IATA’s latest Regional Training Partner (RTP) in Vietnam. As an IATA RTP, Vietjet Aviation Academy will offer IATA Training courses designed by industry experts. These are internationally recognized training programs and are updated frequently to keep pace with the latest regulatory procedures, new standards, and the fast-changing demands of the aviation industry. Philip Goh, Regional Vice President for Asia – Pacific of IATA, said, “We are delighted to partner with Vietjet Aviation Academy to provide training in Vietnam. Having…
