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Thomas Cook India Opens Franchise Store In Karnal

Thomas Cook (India) inaugurated a new Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlet in Karnal, Haryana. The new outlet will serve as a hub for nearby areas of Ambala, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Yamuna Nagar, Jind, and Kaithal as well. This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in Haryana to 4 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets across Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panchkula & Karnal. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, “Karnal/Haryana have been key markets for us at Thomas Cook India, and we continue to see a strong travel desire from the region. We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Gold Circle Partner franchise outlet at Karnal’s commercial cum residential area. We intend to accelerate demand while supporting our customers across segments like families, couples, group of friends/young professionals and retired personnel.”

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Snowfall in Himachal: Tourists not allowed beyond Atal Tunnel in Lahaul

A number of tourists flooded Himachal’s Kullu-Manali recently after the place received fresh snowfall. There was a sudden tourist influx in Manali which made hoteliers happy. However, given the fresh spell of snowfall at Atal Tunnel on the Manali-Leh highway, the administration of Lahaul and Spiti stopped tourist vehicles from moving beyond Atal Tunnel in Lahaul. The hoteliers say that after receiving fresh snowfall yesterday, the number of tourists in the region has gone up. The number is expected to go up in Kullu-Manali in the coming days. The fresh snow has proved to be a boon to the tourism industry in Himachal as the room occupancy in hotels has seen a hike up to 70 percent. Himachal’s Solang Valley, Atal Tunnel and Gulaba are prime tourist attractions and now that these places are covered in ample snow, the number of tourists footfall is set to increase. Besides snowfall, the Atal Tunnel will remain closed for vehicles twice a week from 7 AM to 9.30 AM for regular maintenance works and no vehicle will be allowed in the tunnel on Mondays and Thursdays starting December 20. The Rohtang Tunnel or the Atal Tunnel, named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is built at a height of 3000 m above sea level between Himachal Pradesh’s Manali and Leh in Ladakh. This 9.02 km-long tunnel is also the world’s longest highway single-tube tunnel!

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Rajiv Mehra nominated to Parliament's Standing Committee on Tourism as domain expert

Rajiv Mehra, Director, Uday Tours & Travel has been nominated to the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture as the domain expert. Mehra is currently the President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and the Hony Secretary of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH). The information was shared by IATO during its recently concluded Annual Convention in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Confirming the news, Mehra said he feels elated with his nomination and said it is an honour to represent the travel trade community among the Parliamentarians and shares views of the industry among the Committe members, which comprises 31 members from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It is headed by TG Venkatesh, who is the Chairman of the Committee and also the BJP MP in Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. Parliament deliberates on matters that are complex and therefore need technical expertise to understand such matters better. Committees help with this by providing a forum where members can engage with domain experts and government officials during the course of their studies. The Transport, Tourism and Culture Standing Committee of Parliament comprising people's representatives advise the Ministry of Tourism in policy formulation. It also discusses and takes up issues related to the tourism and aviation industry apart from giving expert advice on subject matters and presenting reports on matters concerning the development of the sector to Parliament. In the past, it has made suggestions and important highlights in the field of tourism, culture, and aviation.

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Ministry of Tourism to soon roll out its much-awaited digital media campaign

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Government of Tourism is working out a plan to launch its much-awaited digital media promotional campaign to market and promote brand India and sensitise travellers on how safe the country is for tourists. The Ministry said that re-building confidence among travellers is important, for which the government is taking various steps and efforts. Sharing details on the campaign and roadmap of the ministry in attracting foreign tourists to the country, Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism said they anticipated that situation with respect to Covid19 will become better in the country and hence they started planning a campaign. “Our aim is to promote brand India with the campaign. We have worked on a communication strategy, and we have our content ready, where vaccination will be a key focus apart from theme-based content. We want to project and showcase that India is a safe tourist destination to travel to. We will show that our hotels are ready, airports are ready, transportation ecosystem is ready, stakeholders are ready to welcome tourists again with open arms,” mentioned Brar during a business session at the recently concluded IATO Convention in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Hinting about the possible launch of the campaign in the first week of January 2022, if everything goes well according to the plan, the ADG said they are yet to finalise a concrete date and waiting for the ‘rightest day’ to launch the campaign, especially looking the spread of Omicron Covid-19 variant in the country and how the situation evolves going forward. During her address, Brar also echoed her views on the need of having a large B2B event or travel mart in the country. She also said the initial focus of the proposed campaign will be on social media promotions and later on they plan to organise roadshows, starting from the first quarter of 2022, in the key foreign markets, where the Covid-19 situation is conducive, and dialogue can be started with the industry stakeholders. Explaining how the new campaign will be different from earlier campaigns of the MOT, Brar said they will look at promoting offbeat destinations of the country, where they can show open India, greener India, focus on wellness, yoga, and medical tourism. “For the business part of it, we need to go back to travel trade event for better communication. I want to encourage all the tourism industry stakeholders to come and work with us to promote India,” she said. Commenting on the decision of resuming scheduled international commercial flights, Brar said that MOT has already started communication on the matter with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) as they are also working to get the validity of the first 5 lakh free visa extended. “The government will be reviewing the decision on international flights soon. I want to say that all of us, industry stakeholders, need to come out of our comfort zones and not just focus on selling. MOT has been doing a lot to improve infrastructure. What's good for you is good for us too,” she further mentioned.

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Outbound Optimism

Globally, destinations have opened up borders and are now set to welcome travellers from across the globe, with minimal protocols. The approval of Indian vaccines including Covishield and Covaxin has been a gamechanger for the Indian outbound. 2022 is seen as the turnaround year for outbound tourism and NTOs across the globe are banking about the burgeoning Indian outbound market. According to the latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 58 per cent in July-September 2021 compared to the same period of 2020. However, they remained 64 per cent below 2019 levels. Speaking about the present scenario of international tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General, UNWTO, said, “There is clearly a strong demand for international tourism, and many destinations have started welcoming visitors back safely and responsibly. However, the true restart of tourism and the benefits it brings, remain on hold as inconsistent rules and regulations and uneven vaccination rates continue to affect confidence in travel.” As per Research and Markets report, India's outbound tourism market is set to surpass US$ 40 billion by 2026 with an impressive double-digit growth rate during the forecast period 2021 - 2026. Indian outbound dominance Destinations within close proximity still see India as the top source market. Berthold Trenkel, Chief Operating Officer, Qatar Tourism, stated, “India was and will continue to be one of our top source markets for Qatar – and in the medium term will rise to #1 position. India is a key market for us both in terms of repeat travel as well as first-time visitors. Pre-pandemic, we have witnessed a significant rise in arrivals from India and look forward to accelerate our efforts in sustaining the momentum and fully unlocking the potential of leisure travellers.” India has been one of the fastest growing markets for Indonesia with Bali being the most visited destination. Sigit Witjaksono, Director of Tourism Marketing for Asia Pacific, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia, added, “India has always been focussed market for Indonesia since 2016. Before the pandemic, visitors from India continued to increase every year. In 2019, total visitors from India reached 657.300 and then reached 104.765 visitors in the first three months of 2020 before Covid-19 outbreaks. With this good trend, it is certain that Indian tourists will be our attention.” With increasing connectivity and awareness, Indian travellers are also looking at Latin American experiences. Speaking about the importance of Indian market, Luis Cabello, Trade & Tourism Counsellor of Peru in India, said, “India has always been a market of much interest for Peru. Its economic growth will ensure that a certain section of the Indian travellers continue to choose Peru as a destination rich in nature, gastronomy, culture and history. Between the time we started operations in India and the end of 2019, the number of Indian passengers traveling to Peru increased 130 per cent. We would like to believe that it is a result of our hard work and presence in the Indian market. There is much more to be done and more to be achieved, and we will continue to work hard so that many more Indians keep adding many more Peruvian destinations to their bucket list.” Recently Mauritius opened its borders to fully vaccinated travellers. The destination has been a hit amongst Indian honeymooners and FIT market. Arvind Bundhun, Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, said, “People are getting upset for not being able to travel for the last two years and are eager to travel. The rapid inoculation drive in Mauritius and India, majority of the population are vaccinated and protected against Covid-19. On the other-hand while, discussing with all our trade partners in India, we found out that a significant section of Indians are eager to travel to Mauritius. Hence, we are quite optimistic of revival of substantial tourist footfalls in Mauritius and will remain amongst our top priority list.” Novel marketing mix The pandemic has compelled NTOs to relook at their marketing strategies. NTOs are now looking at hybrid marketing platforms and are hyper-personalising their strategies. GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “It is of immense importance that we stay engaged and connected with our consumers as well as trade, especially in such times. We have been doing a lot of interesting and innovative hybrid/virtual events over the last 1.5 years to keep our consumers engaged and entertained in the Indian market. For 2022, we aim to enhance our reach to key secondary cities and continue collaborating with in-market brands to increase cross-cultural affinity amongst Indian travelers. And on trade front, we seek to work closely with our partner-friends to promote and continue positioning as one of the most preferred destinations for Indian travellers.” Both India offices of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have also embarked on an active networking and marketing campaign in India. TAT New Delhi offices recently organized networking event in Delhi, Kolkata, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Raipur and Kolkata amongst others. The objective was to update on the gradual re-opening of Thailand for tourism from India. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, TAT- New Delhi talked about the re-opening of Thailand. He also highlighted TAT’s new marketing campaign “Visit Thailand Year 2022” that will emphasize Thailand’s strength in biological diversity and cultural richness under the Amazing New Chapter’s concept. Qatar is gearing up to welcome the globe during the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The destination has created new infrastructure and facilities for this mega event. Trenkel, stated, “We are working towards establishing Qatar as a world-class destination and welcoming more than six million visitors a year by 2030. We have a host of exciting new initiatives to announce in the coming year which will include our biggest promotional marketing campaign “Experience a World Beyond” released in October 2021 in key markets across the globe and will see its introduction in India by the first quarter of 2022. Qatar currently has over 100 hotels and hotel apartments in the construction pipeline as we gear up to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Our role at Qatar Tourism is to continue to evolve our experiences by promoting new hotels and hotel developments, theme parks, restaurants, shops, and major leisure projects in the lead up, at and beyond the FIFA World Cup 2022. We are working to lay the foundation for guests to have a safe, exciting, and unforgettable experience while in Qatar.” Focus Segments South Africa is now looking to promote destinations beyond the popular cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism, said, “In India, our target segments currently are experience-seeking millennials who wish to travel solo or in small groups, HNIs, family-oriented middle-class segments and MICE, as these are anticipated to be the driving forces behind travel recovery. We anticipate that the demand for open spaces or rural holidays and outdoor activities will rise as travellers actively seek out socially distanced holidays. Reflecting this demand for offbeat, non touristy experiences, we are packaging and selling itineraries that include the new regions of South Africa. These include the stunning and relatively unexplored Port Elizabeth, Robertson, West Coast, Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal, Panorama Route (in Mpumalanga) and Garden Route.” Peru is known for its natural attractions; the destination is targeting millennial and luxury segment from India market. Cabello, said, “Peru is the richest country in the world which offers culture, nature, gastronomy and experiential living and one and all. Sustainable tourism is no wonder in a country like Peru which is naturally endowed with open spaces and vivid topography. We will continue to promote everything that the country has to offer. Those in search of something new need only look at luxury river cruises in Loreto, Cloud fortress Kuelap and Gocta waterfall in Amazonas and Moche route for the history aficionados. We welcome the young and the young at heart, women exploring the world, as well as families, honeymooners and trekkers.” Travellers are now looking at hidden destinations which are naturally less crowded in nature. Speaking about the newer destinations in Japan, Yusuke Yamamoto, Executive Director, JNTO Delhi office, said, “For India market, we focus on attracting families, Incentive tours, FIT and GIT. We are keen to invite Indian families to Japan and enjoy Japanese Culture, Nature, Art, Mega Cities, Tradition, etc Indian travellers can enjoy authentic Japanese Cuisine and of course, they can enjoy Indian Cuisine at Indian restaurants in Japan. You will be surprised to know that there are over 2100 Indian restaurants in Japan. Indian travel agents already know and promote Golden route [Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima] and Alpine route. Currently and in future, we are interested to introduce newer destinations to Indian travellers like Hokkaido, Tohoku, Wakayama and Okinawa thru travel agents.” MICE recovery MICE has been predicted to be one of the last segments to recover. Bundhun, explained, “Historically, it has been noticed that MICE and business travels are more unpredictable and slower to recover than leisure travel after any disruptions to travel patterns. However, we have been receiving many enquiries for MICE groups including destination weddings, film shoots, golfers etc. since we have opened the border which makes us more optimistic and expect the MICE market to bounce back very soon.” Indian MICE is extremely critical for many destinations including Singapore. The destination is expecting the segment to recover in the long term. Srithar, said, “According to Global Data, Indian visitors would be among the most coveted travelers due to the country's developing economy, young population, and rising middle class. According to the analytics firm, the government expects to attain record levels of 29 million outbound journeys by 2025 — a good picture given the stresses of Covid-19. With the recent announcement of Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) arrangements between Singapore and India, travel resumption between the two countries is underway. It will take some time for tourism to come back to pre-pandemic levels. However, Singapore is well-positioned to emerge from this pandemic. We remain confident in the long-term prospects of Singapore's tourism sectors – both for leisure and MICE & business travel – as the fundamentals that make Singapore an attractive place for unique, high-quality travel and MICE experiences remain unchanged.” Speaking about the trends in MICE Nkani, added, “We expect MICE travel to recover in H1 2022 albeit with smaller group sizes and hybrid models. However, pan-Africa MICE travel and corporate travel can be expected to bounce back sooner. With the effect the pandemic has on the global economy, MICE and corporate travellers are seeking good value for money propositions now more than ever. We have been repackaging accordingly, with the intent to offer them excellent deals and discounts. Safety measures are transparent and well communicated, and have been factored into overall packages, so that there is no surprise or extra cost to travellers.” Trade Engagements Majority of the destinations connected virtually with the travek trade in 2020. With destinations opening up, NTOs are back to their traditional physical campaigns. Yamamoto, said, “In 2021, we aligned our marketing efforts with respect to changing set of situations due to novel Coronavirus 2019. We focussed our marketing campaigns on the taglines Cleanliness, Hygiene, Safety, Discipline, etc. We built campaign by featuring Yoshinori Tashiro in our official videos [He is familiar face for Indian audience] and received mind-blowing response on our Youtube channel. We are thankful to Indian travellers for their love and support for Japan. Similarly, for 2022 campaign, marketing team will act and react accordingly to the changing situation.” Thailand is now focusing on the Indian weddings segment. The destination will host series of roadshow to tap this segment. Cholada Siddhivarn, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai office, said, “We have initiated the session called Amazing Thailand: The Wedding Series. Connected Thai Hotels who are into Indian Wedding to meet with the wedding planners in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai with the support from Neferrtiti, the Great Indian Wedding and Event and in Ahmedabad with support from Absolute Events. We have invited 10-15 wedding planners each city and 10 new hotels in Thailand to introduce their properties and services. Also, with suitable incentives, we hope we can help our partners more. We will also do the trade meet in Chiang Mai and Phuket next year.” Indonesia is all set to promote their destination during SATTE 2022. Witjaksono, said, “We are pleased to participate at South Asia's Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) as "Partner Country" to showcase Indonesian destinations and new experiences at Indonesian Pavilion at SATTE 2022. In our participation in SATTE 2022, We would like to show the world that Indonesia is ready to welcome back international tourists and keep improving the destination experiences with #IndonesiaCare. And we are sure that Indian tourists are looking forward to visiting the land of the Gods, Bali, which is their favourite destination. Be prepared, because #itstimeforBali.”

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KSRTC to start pilgrimage service to Thiruvairanikkulam temple from today

After the success of budget tours to tourist centres, the Kerala State Road Transportation Corporation (KSRTC) is launching pilgrimage bus services from December 20. . The KSRTC buses of Alappuzha depot will start ferrying pilgrims to Thiruvairanikkulam temple near Kalady in Ernakulam district after its tourist services to Munnar and Malakkapara were well-received by the travellers. The corporation will start running the services from Alappuzha to coincide with the ‘nadathurappu’ festival of the temple. It may be noted that the ‘nadathurappu’ festival marks the opening of the sanctum sanctorum of goddess Parvathy, which is opened only for 12 days in a year. The 50-seater bus will start service at 6am and have stopovers at Vaikom and Chottanikara temples and will return to Alappuzha at 3pm. The passenger fare is Rs 350. Plans are anvil to start more services to pilgrimage centers as per the demand. KSRTC’s new initiatives elicited good response from the public in almost districts and the corporation is chalking out plans to start trips to other tourist destinations, said the authorities concerned.

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