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Testing facilities to be expanded at all airports: MoCA

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India has asked all airports in the country to gear up the passenger-facing facilities to avoid inconvenience to travellers at the airports because of the new safety situation in the country. The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scinda, chaired a high level meeting of the department to take stock of the preparedness at the airports in the country. After the meeting, the Minister had tweeted that the meeting has prepared an “action plan with eight compliances” to enhance health, safety and at the same time reduce inconvenience for travellers at the airport. The Minister said that the government will consider expanding the services of the RT-PCR service providers at all airports in the country so that testing can be seamless and smooth at airports without inconveniencing travellers. He said that the airport operators have been asked to ramp up help desks as well as forex counters as well at airports. As per the Health Ministry directive, all passengers arriving in India from “at risk” countries have to undergo PCR testing at airports compulsorily along with the 5 per cent of random travellers arriving from other destinations. This has been implemented to ward off Omicron virus threat in the country.

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Rajasthan bags title of best state, best wedding destination

Rajasthan emerged as the 'Best State' and 'Best Wedding Destination' at the recently declared travel and leisure 'India's Best Awards 2021', said a press release by Rajasthan's Tourism Department. In the 10th edition of 'India's Best Award' the winners were decided upon the ratings extended by readers in various categories. Rajasthan while standing simply the best among wedding destinations, its excellence in other categories resulted in the award of 'Best State', added the press release. "Along with Rajasthan's traditional advantage as a tourist destination, the awards under present circumstances also reflect upon the confidence that the state tourism department and hospitality service providers have inspired among aspiring travellers. Rajasthan continues to be a preferred tourist destination among domestic as well as international tourists," said Nishant Jain IAS, Director Rajasthan Tourism, as per the statement. Rajasthan is a land of rich and colourful heritage that for centuries has charmed travellers. The recent developments in infrastructure and modern hospitality have further contributed to making it one of the world's most preferred tourist destinations, according to the statement.

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Fareportal India to focus on high value-added travel products, unbundle IPs for the B2B industry

Expanded its activities in the Indian market in view of developing diverse and more integrated strategies, travel technology firm, Fareportal India, sees huge potential in the Indian market as they set ambitious goals on developing high value-added travel products, unbundle Intellectual Properties (IPs) for the B2B travel and tourism industry. Revealing its focus areas in line with the company’s vision and strategies, Fareportal also announced that it will leverage technological innovations and human resource development for sustained growth over the next five years. During a virtual presentation and interaction session, Fareportal India informed that it has now expanded its activities in India. They presented their plans covering employment programmes, hiring and branding, talent development, and overall work experience in the course of their human resource development. Sharing details, Rajat Bhatia, Vice President & Head – People & Culture, Fareportal India mentioned, “Human resource will be the key to achieving our future growth strategy, focused significantly on enhancing and growing our technology teams and adding new digital capabilities.” Rajat Bhatia also offered insights into the company’s vision and potential strategies in the Indian market. The company’s 86 per cent headcount operates from India. The company said that it has started planning for hiring in 2022, where it sees significant growth in technology, data, and IT hirings and continues to drive the growth strategy. Fareportal India aims to integrate their ideas on leadership and technology that employ machine learning, natural language processing, chatbots, robotic process automation, new payment methods like Buy now, Pay later, NDC integrations, and more. Vikas Banga, Vice President and Head of Product, Fareportal comments, “With the help of homegrown customer service innovations like Chatbot, customers can search for flights, request help with their existing booking, and make changes to – or even cancel – their existing bookings quickly and easily”. He also envisions the company to operate and expand as a booming seat of innovative and technological conveniences for travellers in the days to come. With its India operations based out of Gurgaon and Pune, the company is developing innovative operational systems based on technology and employee development. However, it said they are yet to formally launch the brand in India although its services are available for Indian customers to use for both domestic and international travel. On this Bhatia mentioned, “Fareportal services are available in India for domestic flights, but we have not formally made a launch. We are currently working to make the brand visible, so we are yet to officially launch in India as a brand.” Banga said that the launch in India is on the roadmap ahead as he talked about the current transition phase. The duo further informed that they are also working on a bunch of new and exciting products. “We are working on initiating new B2B products, we have created IPs for the travel industry, which we are slowly unbundling. Other than this, a SaaS product, a new loyalty program, and a stress-free booking to help the customers are on the cards. You will see at least five to six new products in the next six months,” they said while estimating the travel market to grow at least 30-40 per cent in the next two years. Fareportal is the third-largest flight OTA in North America. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, it enables consumers to book their travel online. The company earned USD 4.5 Billion in 2019 from annual ticket sales.

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Vietnam: Regular international flights suggested to resume from December 15

Vietnam's Ministry of Transport (MoT) has proposed the pilot resumption of regular international flights carrying international passengers to Vietnam from December 15. In a recent report submitted to Vietnam's Prime Minister, the MoT proposed the resumption be carried out in two phases. The first phase will last for two weeks, starting on December 15, during which regular flights between Vietnam and the destinations with high safety will be conducted, namely Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (the Republic of Korea), Taipei (Taiwan, China), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore, Vientiane (Laos), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and San Francisco or Los Angeles (the US). The flights in this phase will connect with the international airports of Noi Bai in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City. There will be four flights per week on every way for each side. About 14,000 passengers are expected to come to Vietnam every week. Meanwhile, the second phase will last for one month after the first one concludes, starting in January 2022. Apart from the nine above mentioned destinations, the MoT proposed flights linking with Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong (China), Paris (France), Frankfurt (Germany), Sydney (Australia), and Moscow (Russia). The international airports of Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, and Van Don are also proposed to host those flights in the second phase, aside from Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat. The frequency will be raised to seven flights per week on every way for each side. The weekly number of passengers entering Vietnam is estimated at some 40,000. The MoT said to ensure the plan's feasibility, it is necessary to gradually lift quarantine rules on passengers who have been fully vaccinated against Covid19, recovered from the disease, and have a negative result of rapid antigen or RT-PCR tests within 72 hours prior to their flights. In addition, the resumption of international flights can only be carried out basing the reciprocity principle and mutual recognition of the Vaccine Passport. The Ministry said Vietnam has not issued any regulations on halting or restricting regular international flights to and from the country. However, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, people boarding flights to Vietnam have had to meet pandemic control rules.

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Mizoram to take responsible tourism initiatives to more places in the state

The Northeastern state of Mizoram will consider taking the responsible tourism initiatives to more places in the state after evaluating the success of the pilot initiatives in three locations. After launching the Responsible Tourism Policy for the state last year, the state tourism department has announced three destinations as pilot responsible tourism projects. These destinations include Khamrang Village in Kolasib district, Ailawng Village in Mamit district, and Thenzawl in Serchhip district. “We have plans to expand the responsible tourism initiatives so that the benefits of tourism reach everyone and drive inclusive growth. The responsible tourism policy of the state is quite comprehensive in nature,” said Vantawl Lalengmawia, Director of Tourism, Mizoram. Lalengmawia said that the pilot projects are implemented with the complete participation of the local communities and tourism stakeholders of the area. He said that the idea is to position Mizoram as a destination for eco and adventure tourism. "There are unparalleled opportunities for nature-based tourism and adventure tourism in the state," he said. Thenzawl, he said, has become a destination in itself in the North East after the state tourism has developed a golf course and wellness spa with the financial support under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Central Tourism Ministry. Around 30 eco-log huts and a well-appointed spa have been set up in Thenzawl. “It’s a one of its kind golf course in the whole of North East,” Lalengmawia informed. Mizoram has one of the best air quality in the country and is top in terms of Happiness index ranking, he said. He said that the state had submitted eight different infrastructure projects under the PRASAD scheme of the Central Tourism Ministry that is awaiting final approval.

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India’s outbound MICE tourism market expected to reach USD 9 Billion by 2025: Jyoti Mayal at Sri Lanka virtual MICE Expo 2021

Sri Lanka MICE Expo 2021 organised a virtual business forum for incentive organisers, where, Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) was invited as the eminent speaker to discuss about 'Indian Incentive Industry Trends & Forecasts'. Speaking on the occasion, she elaborated about TAAI’s membership, which has more than 2,500 members and what they offer the travel and tourism fraternity as a whole. TAAI has been an active member of Airline Passenger joint council and created history chairing this joint council, Mayal added. The TAAI President started with talking about the MICE market, which is estimated to be of a size of USD 300 billion, which globally includes around 400,000 conferences and exhibitions. "The Asian MICE market has been one of the biggest growth stories with a rate of 38 per cent rise since 2006 which accounts for USD 60 billion. Therefore, MICE tourism will continue to be one of the key revenue spinners of travel and tourism economy in modern times; and India’s outbound MICE tourism market is expected to reach USD 9 Billion by 2025," Mayal informed. “As the President of TAAI and being in this stream of business, I feel, we need to identify conference opportunities, secure a local host, prepare business cases and liaise with government and industry leaders to move forward. MICE tourism can be used as an appropriate tool to make India an attractive destination so that the foreign travellers may keep on coming back to India repeatedly," she stated during her presentation. She further threw light upon digital and hybrid meetings and events that often create networking opportunities for sponsors to engage with participants. For increasing the outreach and enhancing the experience, she added that hybrid events, generation clean- the new generation of hotel guests, less and local travel, food and beverage change, sustainability etc could be the key source of revenue in the future. "Understanding the visitor profile, market development and projecting competitive advantages, encouraging and motivating local associations are some of the key points to keep in mind as crisis can always kicks in," Mayal suggested. Mayal concluded her address by mentioning the benefits of MICE over leisure tourism like spending two-three times over, high yield, extended length of stay and increased tax revenue and signed off by quoting “if you are not willing to learn no one can help you, if you are determined to learn no one can stop you”.

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