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LOT Polish Airlines starts direct flights between Warsaw and Mumbai

Star Alliance member carrier LOT Polish Airlines increases its footprint in India and has now integrated Mumbai into its global route network. Yesterday, LOT Polish Airlines and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Mumbai jointly celebrated the launch of the new nonstop service between Mumbai and Warsaw. The Polish capital is LOT Polish Airlines’ global hub, providing seamless connectivity to many destinations throughout Europe and North America. Flight LO-076 takes off from Mumbai every Sunday at 8:45h and every Wednesday at 8:25h and arrives at 13:40h and 13:20h respectively (local times) at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport (8:25 hours flight time). On the way to India, flight LO-075 departs from Warsaw every Tuesday and Saturday at 15:40h and lands in Mumbai at 2:45h (the following morning) after 7:35 hours of flying time. Amit Ray, Director India at LOT Polish Airlines, said, “Today marks a special day for LOT Polish Airlines. After the successful launch of our Delhi to Warsaw operations in September 2019 and based on positive feedback from our customers and trade partners in India, it has always been our desire to add Mumbai to our passenger route network. We are delighted that the inaugural flight between Mumbai and Warsaw has been launched today, providing guests from India with a greater choice of travel options, not only to Poland, but also to many other popular European and North American leisure and business destinations.”

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Singapore to host big events as travel revival attracts travelers

Singapore’s Tourism Board is confident that the city-state will host a growing number of international conventions, exhibitions and other events now that borders have reopened and people are travelling freely again. “The business community is eager for opportunities to meet and network in person,” Yap Chin Siang, the board’s deputy chief executive, said in a statement Wednesday. “This desire, as well as the recent easing of our border restrictions, puts the MICE industry in good stead to recover strongly.” MICE refers to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, a sector that accounted for about 1% of Singapore’s gross domestic product before the Covid pandemic and 15% of international arrivals, according to the Tourism Board. In addition to industry conventions, MICE covers company gatherings such as off-site meetings, where staff from different locations join up for internal events. Strong Start In the first three months of 2022, Singapore hosted more than 150 local and international events attended by over 37,000 people, the Tourism Board said. They included the biennial Singapore Airshow in February, the largest of its kind in the region, and Asia Pacific Maritime in March. A full recovery for the MICE industry is expected in two to three years, according to the board. Major events planned for later this year include the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting that draws top military officials and diplomats from around the world. The Global Health Security Conference is scheduled for the end of June and the Milken Institute Asia Summit will be held in September. Singapore will also host the AIJA Annual Congress in August and Gamescom asia in October. There is still a long way to go until Singapore gets back to the bustling levels of business it was known for before the pandemic. While there’s been a strong uptick in passenger flow at Changi Airport since entry curbs were lifted for all vaccinated travelers in April, traffic is only about 50% of what it was in 2019. Terminal 2 was partially reopened earlier this week, but Terminal 4 remains closed after both were shuttered in 2020 as Covid wiped out travel.

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Ladakh: 48-hour acclimatisation now mandatory for all tourists

You will now need to be extra cautious while planning a trip to Ladakh. As per the latest development, all those traveling to Ladakh will have to undergo mandatory 48 hours of acclimatization in Leh before continuing their journey. As per the reports, this move comes in the wake of preventing acute high altitude sickness among tourists, for which the Leh (Ladakh) administration has issued an order stating that tourists arriving in Leh will now have to undergo mandatory 48 hours of acclimatization before commencing their journey in the cold desert region. A meeting was called by Tashi Gyalson, Chairman cum Chief Executive Councilor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), which included officers and stakeholders of the tourism industry, and issues related to the tourism sector in Leh were discussed. As Leh is situated at an elevation of 3500 m above sea level, the same can cause sickness among tourists arriving particularly by air; it’s worth mentioning that a number of tourists reaching Leh need to be hospitalised as they face mountain sickness. The officials also discussed several issues in the meeting, which included the requirement for upgrading health facilities to deal with medical emergencies, especially at popular tourist hotspots located at higher altitudes in the district. During the meeting, it was also discussed that all stakeholders will have to take compliance with various SOPs that will be formulated by the District Administration with regard to the management of visitors entering Leh during peak season, and monitoring their medical conditions strictly. CEC Gyalson further instructed all the concerned officials and stakeholders to initiate joint awareness camps and IEC campaigns to spread awareness among locals engaged in the tourism industry.

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Vistara adds Jeddah to its international network

Vistara has announced non-stop flights between the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah and Mumbai starting August 2, 2022, bookings for which are being progressively opened across channels. Commenting on the launch of the new international route, Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “The launch of services to Jeddah will further intensify our presence in the Middle East region. Saudi Arabia shares a strong bilateral relationship with India and is home to a significant population belonging to the Indian diaspora, thereby offering great prospects for Vistara’s growth. We are delighted to bring India’s best airline to the modern commercial hub of Saudi Arabia and hope that our customers will truly enjoy the award-winning product and services of Vistara.”

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India-Bangladesh's third passenger train ready to run from Wednesday

The railway line connecting India and Bangladesh - New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Cantonment Mitali Express- is all set to run from Wednesday. This train would be the third passenger train service, that is scheduled to be flagged off from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi on June 1 by the Railways Ministers of both the countries. The New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Cantonment train, bearing number 13132, will run two days a week, i.e., on Sunday and Wednesday and for the return journey, train no 13131, Dhaka Cantonment-New Jalpaiguri, Mitali Express will run every Monday and Thursday. The train will cover the distance of around 513km between New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Dhaka Cantonment in Bangaldesh in nine hours. As of now, the train will run with four air-conditioned cabin coaches, four air-conditioned chair cars and will be hauled by a diesel locomotive. Suvendhu Kumar Chaudhury, DRM, Katihar division of Northeast Frontier Railway said, "we are ready to start the services, the train is ready with maximum facilities. Around 15-20 passengers have already booked their tickets for the first journey." "It is a direct service, with no pantry-car facility. We have installed a number of CCTV cameras at the platform as well and our Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will be deputed in every corner. The Border Security Force (BSF) will take the train at Haldibari station and hand it over to Bangladesh at the Zero line," he added. A shopkeeper at New Jalpaiguri station, Prem Chand Prasad said, "this will boost up our business and will also create job opportunities." The tickets for this train are available at the overseas Passenger Reservation System counters at New Jalpaiguri Station and Kolkata Railway Station. The Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Jalpaiguri Dr Jayanta Roy also called it a great opportunity for the people of North Bengal that the Indian Railway is set to start its first India-Bangladesh train service from New Jalpaiguri station (NJP). "Now people can take their journey from NJP for Bangladesh's Dhaka," he said. "The new train services will improve the bilateral trade relation and socio-economic activities of India and Bangladesh. The services will further make travel easier for the passengers and will greatly benefit the tourism sector of North Bengal area along with other tourism hotspots across India," the Chief Public Relations Officer of Northeast Frontier Railway Sabyasachi De said on Friday.

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Cordelia Cruises to pump in USD1 bn by 2025 to boost India operations

India-focused Cordelia Cruises is planning to pump in excess of USD 1 billion by 2025 for acquiring at least three cruise ships as it aims to target the domestic market, which has the world's third-largest coastline of 7,500 km, a top company official said. The company’s bullish outlook is in line with the government’s projection of a 10-fold growth for this industry over the next decade “India will do extremely well in the cruise sector. I am confident that in the next 5-7 years will be one of the top five cruise destinations in the world, similar to China five years ago. We have aggressive expansion plans. We want to add at least three cruise vessels by 2025 that could cost over USD 1 billion,” Waterways Leisure Tourism CEO Jurgen Bailom told PTI in an interview. Cordelia is owned by Waterways Leisure Tourism, an arm of Dream Hotel Group, controlled by the Indian American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal. Bailom said that with the government’s focus and support, the investment from this Indian venture could rise to even USD 1.5-2 billion to meet the growing appetite for cruising by Indians over the next few years. Many foreign cruise liners have already shown interest in entering India, he said. Asked about financing the expansion, Bailom said that the Indian banking system does not have enough experience in vessel financing but there are “specialist financiers” for cruise liners. India aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 0.4 million at present to 4 million. Economic potential of Cruise tourism is expected to go up from USD 110 million to USD 5.5 billion in the years to come. “About two lakh Indian guests travel overseas for cruising every year. We expect this number to double in one year. While in the next 3 years the number of cruise guests may touch one million per annum for domestic cruising,” Bailom said. Bailom noted that though ports are good but the access for 1,500-2000 guests to board and disembark for is not a very pleasant experience which needs an urgent correction. “We have submitted a white paper suggesting some measures including a five-year tax break that will boost the industry to expand the way the destination in their East-coverage plan. Cordelia was till recently ferrying within West coasts, is now chartering into East coasts touching Visakhapatnam and Chennai. When asked, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Santanu Thakur said that the government will support the cruise industry to grow and cruise liners are welcome to touch new states. “We want a holistic experience for guests blended with the “culture” of the respective state when guests arrive at any destination,” Thakur told PTI. Kolkata Port, known as Syama Prasad Port Kolkata, Chairman, Vinit Kumar has invited cruise liners to explore Kolkata. The port has plans to develop a cruise terminal. India needs more ports as six ports are not enough to cover the country with cruise tourism, Bailom said.

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