News

OTOAI Postpones Election For 1 Year

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) hosted an ‘Extraordinary General Meeting’ to postpone the election of Executive Committee by one year. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI, addressed the gathering by highlighting the crucial matter for postponement of elections of the Association for Executive Committee for One Year keeping in view the Rules and Regulations of OTOAI and Societies Act. The decision was taken due to the Covid 19 Pandemic which has lasted for the last 18 months, the term of the present Executive Committee needs an extension to complete the objects for which they were elected. The decision was sanctioned by all the members present over there without any obligation due to the present unavoidable circumstances. Shravan Bhalla, General Secretary, OTOAI said that the Association wanted to a Convention in Turkey in March 2020, but it got postponed due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. The Present EC is still in talks with the Turkish Tourism to hold the Convention in the year 2022. “The convention will most probably be held in March 2022 in Turkey only if things go well. And if that didn’t have to be happening then things are seriously not going well in the Industry,” Munshi opined.

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TAFI Holds Meeting Of National Joint Council

Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) held a year-end meeting of its National Joint Council to review the year gone by and to formulate strategy for the year ahead. The National MC and all the Chapter Chairmen participated in the meeting. Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, said that an association derives its strength not from its leaders but its members and exhorted the Chairs of the various committees to continue the good work and to engage regularly with the membership. He praised the efforts of the membership committee which has significantly increased the TAFI membership by almost 100 in the last few months. Prakash also briefed the Joint Council on the meetings he, along with other office bearers, has had recently with the Civil Aviation Minister, the Tourism Secretary, the Additional Secretary and the Addl. DG Tourism. TAFI has urged the Tourism Ministry to liberalise the rules for Ministry of Tourism (MoT) recognition as that would bring more members under the umbrella and make them eligible for assistance under the schemes of the government. This would also give the government a more accurate picture of the scope and scale of the trade since, at present, a scant 1000 travel agents/tour operators are registered with the MoT. The pernicious issue of “Ticket Capping” by airlines has been strongly taken up at the APJC and a series of meetings have been held with VFS to streamline the visa process once airline operations resume normalcy. Similarly, the issue of acceptance of agency credit cards by airlines remains a pain point for members which are being addressed with individual airlines. TAFI is also working on an insurance scheme to protect passengers and agents alike in case of Airline Bankruptcy. These will be thrust areas in 2022 according to Prakash.

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IndiGo to sign codeshare agreement with Air France-KLM

India’s largest airline in terms of market share and fleet size, IndiGo has announced that they will sign a codeshare agreement with Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM, which is a leading airline group in terms of international traffic on departure from Europe. With this new partnership, Air France and KLM will offer their customers access to 25 new Indian destinations through IndiGo. However, the agreement is currently subject to government approval and is likely to start by February 2022, according to the information received from the budget carrier. Air France and KLM already serve four destinations in India, namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru for their hubs in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, and French capital, Paris. “On departure from the Indian provinces, Air France and KLM will open up their global network of over 250 destinations to IndiGo customers, with more than 120 destinations in Europe and about 50 in the Americas,” the statement from IndiGo read. With its fleet of over 275+ aircraft, the Gurgaon-based airline is operating over 1,500 daily flights and connecting 71 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations. A global player with a strong European base, the Air France-KLM Group’s main areas of business are passenger transport, cargo transport, and aeronautical maintenance. Together with its partners Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM operates the largest transatlantic joint venture, with more than 340 daily flights.

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MTDC resorts almost booked for New Year

esorts of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) have been recording occupancy of around 95 per c and all of them are completely booked for the New Year’s Eve and the New Year, despite the fear over the Omicron variant. “Our bookings have not been affected by the threat of the Omicron variant. Some guests do talk about it and want to make sure that there is proper cleanliness and sanitisation. We are ensuring the same. At present, our resorts in Pune are almost fully booked until Christmas and for the New Year, all rooms in the resorts are booked. It is a good sign for the tourism sector and it shows that people now really want to travel,” Deepak Harane, the Regional Manager (Pune) of the MTDC, said. In the Pune region, the MTDC has seven resorts in Mahabaleshwar, Lonavla, Matheran, Panshet, Malsej Ghat, Bhimashankar and Koyna Nagar. Two new resorts in Sinhagad and Akalkot would be operational within a month. “Sanitising the rooms repeatedly and also in front of the guests when they are about to check-in and ensuring strict Covid protocols are among the few steps being taken to ensure safety. We have assured guests that in case the infection spreads and there is a lockdown-like situation, they will get full refund without any hassle. All our staffers in the resorts are fully vaccinated and until now there hasn’t been even one case of infection in any of our resorts here,” the official added. In a bid to entertain the guests during the New Year, a plan has been formulated under which local artists will be roped in. “There will be several kinds of entertainment shows for children and adults. Local artists, through this, will get a source of income too,” the official said

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12 bicycle riders cover 1,200 km across Kerala in 10 days to boost tourism

Kozhikode: A dozen bicycle riders took out a tour across Kerala covering the major tourism destinations in all the 14 districts in 10 days recently. The aim of ‘Kerala Cycle Tour’ was to provide a thrust to the travel sector in the state, which is gradually returning to its old glory after the global pandemic. The tour, flagged off Kerala’s Tourism Minister P A Muhammad Riyas at Thiruvananthapuram on December 3, concluded at Bekal in Kasaragod district. During the ride, the cyclists covered a distance of 1,200 km. Videos and photos of the ride have been shot all along the route and would be exhibited at various places, including Dubai and other centres abroad. Organised by Grand Cycle Challenge, a Kozhikode-based organization and DXB Riders of Dubai, the ride covered Thiruvananthapuram, Ponmudi, Thenmala, Alappuzha, Kumarakom, Fort Kochi, Kothamangalam, Munnar, Athirappilly, Kuthiran, Kodungallur, Ponnani, Beypore, Kappad, Thusharagiri, Chembra Peak, Mananthavady, Muzhappilangad, Madayipara and Bekal. Led by Kozhikode bicycle mayor Sahir Abdul Jabbar, the team comprised only professional riders. Among them, Salim Valiyaparambu, Faizal Kodanad, Salah Anappadikkal, Abdul Salam, Anwar Ali, Noufal Muhammed and Noufal Charan flew down from Dubai to take part in the adventure. The other riders were Shahul Bosque, Naseef Ali, Riyas Konkath and Shanith. “We received good support from people all along the trip, most of whom were total strangers. Many of them offered food and water. Some even invited us home,” said team leader Jabbar. However, there were some unpleasant experiences too. “While climbing the Wayanad ghat roads, you can see a board inviting tourists to the district. Right in front of it, the police were conducting a check and forcing even families to get out of cars. Such incidents could be avoided,” said Jabbar. “We will prepare a report describing all these experiences and present it to the Tourism Minister. The deficiencies in various tourism centres will also be mentioned,” he added. In future, the organisers are planning to arrange a bigger event involving foreign riders also.

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NCL Signs Agreement With Panama Tourism Authority To Offer 12 Homeport Voyages

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) continues its legacy of “firsts” by announcing that it will become the first cruise line to homeport in Panama City, Panama, offering roundtrip Panama Canal voyages beginning 20 March 2022 with Norwegian Jewel. NCL’s parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings signed a multi-year agreement with the Panama Tourism Authority, which allows the Company to seasonally homeport at the Colon Cruise Terminal as well as at Fuerte Amador Cruise Terminal located on the Pacific Ocean side the country and adjacent to Panama City. In 2022 and 2023, the company will offer 12 homeport voyages starting with Norwegian Jewel on 20 March 2022 where she will sail a nine-day itinerary traversing the Panama Canal and visiting incredible destinations including Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Oranjestad Aruba; Willemstad, Curaçao; Kralendijk, Bonaire and Cartagena Colombia before arriving to the Caribbean side of Panama in the city of Colon. “Part of our Company’s mission is to create unforgettable experiences in some of the most special places around the world,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. “This new agreement enables nearly 24,000 guests to experience the beauty of Panama each year.” Starting 14 January 2023, Norwegian Gem will feature select Panama Canal voyages including an 11-day journey visiting seven ports of call, including Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curaçao; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands before ending in New York City. On 6 December 2023, Norwegian Joy will offer a 10-day voyage sailing from Panama City (Fuerte Amador), Panama and visiting notable destinations including Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Roatán, Bay Islands; Harvest Caye, NCL’s private resort destination in Belize; Cozumel, Mexico and Great Stirrup Cay, the company's private island in the Bahamas before ending her journey in Miami.

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