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Vikram Aditya Singh is General Manager of 2019

The ‘General Manager of the Year’ award at the 11th Hotelier India Awards 2019 in luxury to upper upscale went to Vikram Aditya Singh from The Lodhi, New Delhi. Here, is a short excerpt where we get to know a bit more about to Vikram as he shares his thoughts on Hotelier India. It means a lot to win the Hotelier India Award. This achievement is incidental to our journey of guest satisfaction and what we practice on a daily basis. We, 400+ ladies and gentlemen work tirelessly hard to put this together. When you work for an independent hotel, you serve the hospitality industry at large. For an independent hotel to be acknowledged amongst the big brands is a wonderful story of The Lodhi, New Delhi's journey of hospitality excellence, from good to great. My colleagues and I have worked tirelessly to engineer our quality of service on standards based on customer expectations. By enriching every touch point of the ‘Guest Journey Experience’, we have been successful in positioning The Lodhi on several ‘Best Hotels in India’ listings and have achieved exponential growth during the last three years. These are the key factors behind my win. I draw inspiration from P.R.S. Oberoi, Isadore Sharp, Raymond Bickson and Georg Rafael. I am a hotelier trained in European standards, dedicated to the discerning luxury segment. By creating best in class standards of hospitality and services, and developing a culture of excellence commandments, I have driven the hotel towards market leadership. In the next five years, I see myself in the hospitality space, managing a group of hotels or an iconic hotel. The hospitality industry is dynamic and ever-evolving, and there is always space for innovation.

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Coronavirus: Dubai postpones Government Games 2020

Dubai: In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, Dubai’s Government Games 2020 has been postponed until further notice. On Sunday night, Dubai Media Office took to Twitter to make the announcement as part of the UAE’s preventive measures against the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The event was scheduled to take place from March 18 to 21 on Kite Beach near Burj Al Arab. The third edition of the Government Games is organised by the Executive Council of Dubai, in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, and would have seen the addition of the ‘International City Teams’, which was to held under the theme One Team, One Spirit. Last week, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP)announced that six new cases of the new coronavirus were detected through the early reporting system. The infected persons were of different nationalities, including four Iranians, one Bahraini and one Chinese. This brings the total number of peoples diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UAE to 19 cases. The newly infected persons came from Iran before the suspension of flights from Iran. All of the new cases had come to the UAE from the Islamic Republic of Iran ahead of the travel ban enforced recently, said MoHAP in a statement. “Government Games 2020 has been postponed in line with local and international measures being taken to ensure the health and safety of the public,” said the media office. Further preventive measures also included the suspension of UAE National Sports Day, which was postponed until further notice. “The National Olympic Committee has decided to postpone the National Sports Day until further notice. The decision has been taken on the recommendation of the Executive Office of the event in coordination with all concerned parties,” said the organising committee. National Sports Day was scheduled to take place on March 5, under the theme Emirates Unite Us. The initiative paves the way for people of determination, children, and seniors to practice sports activities befitting them in a simple way that brings meaningful benefits to them, besides spreading happiness and positivity amongst community members.

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British Airways to increase Bengaluru to London Heathrow flights this spring

British Airways has recently announced its plans to increase the frequency in service on its Bengaluru Sector for the spring season schedule. There will be a considerable increase in the number of flights to British Airways’ daily schedule from Bengaluru to London Heathrow airport. The existing weekly schedule between Bengaluru and Heathrow will be increased with three additional flights from April this year. The decision has been made to provide more flexibility and convenience to passengers travelling from Bengaluru to London in the busy spring period. Moran Birger, Head of Sales, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, British Airways said in a press statement that Bengaluru is an important hub for British Airways as one of the busiest airports in India. The additional flights will provide customers with a convenient choice of 10 flights per week from Bengaluru during the spring season. These flights will allow Bengaluru to connect o British Airway’s worldwide network of over 200 destinations. He shared that British Airways is committed to providing their customers with more choice, convenient travel options and unparalleled service. He further added that they are looking forward to welcoming travellers on their new flights. British Airways also welcomed their brand new A350 from Bengaluru to London Heathrow in January 2020. In addition, British Airways has also shared plans of increasing services from Gatwick to Cape Town and St. Lucia to Cancun next winter. UK’s flag bearer airline will also launch six new European routes from Heathrow to Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro and Turkey July 2020 onwards.

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Vietnam sees $40 million tourism loss due to coronavirus outbreak

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused HCMC at least VND920.5 billion ($40 million) in tourism revenues with visitors cancelling travel plans. Almost 88,000 Vietnamese and international tourists have scrapped their plans to visit the city since the novel coronavirus outbreak, according a survey of 22 major tourism companies in the city by the HCMC Department of Tourism. The foreign tourist arrivals in the first two months fell 62 percent year-on-year to almost 335,800, Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the department. The hotels, restaurants and convention centers are all reporting plummeting revenues; some have had to let their staff go. The staff strength at Novotel Saigon Centre in District 3 has dropped 25 percent, and at the Tan Son Nhat Saigon Hotel, 20 percent. There are 24 three to five star hotels set to see their revenues drop a whopping 62.5 percent in the next two months over the same period last year, the department said. Many tour companies have canceled trips to South Korea, Japan and Italy between March and August as the novel coronavirus outbreak spreads. The epidemic could strip Vietnam of tourism revenues of between $7-15 billion this year, according to the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board. The tourism officials have assured the public at large that Vietnam is now safe to travel, with the country not recording any new COVID19 infections in the last two weeks and all 16 patients detected with the virus so far have been discharged.

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Mumbai to soon start Buckingham Palace-like drill to woo tourists

Mumbai will soon be starting the Change of Guard ceremony at the Maharashtra police headquarters in Colaba. The move will be on lines similar to that of the world-famous ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. Tourists will now be able to watch a ceremonial drill similar to the changing of the guard ceremony here in Mumbai, without even going to Buckingham. As per reports, this ceremony will be open for the public to witness every Sunday, starting from May 1, 2020. The same was recently announced by Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray. Reports state that the government is also planning to allow tourists to walk through the headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which is a well-known heritage structure dating to the colonial era. Referring to this drill, the Tourism Minister stated that the ceremony will be very colourful and the Director-General of Police’s office will have a ceremonial drill just like the one at Buckingham Palace. Currently, this activity can be seen only at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, and the Daily Retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah Border in Punjab. Talking about this ceremony, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh stated that it will be an exciting sight for the public to watch and that it will be an added attraction for the tourists who visit areas like the Gateway of India and other parts of South Mumbai. He further added that the idea was finalised in a meeting with Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, and they visited the DGP office on Tuesday to finalise the plan. The Change of Guard ceremony at the Buckingham Palace is a colourful, elaborate, and spectacular affair that lasts for nearly 45 min on certain days every week, which is also a part of the sight-seeing itinerary in London. Adding that the similar drill will now be available in Mumbai too, with a parade and police band playing to mark the Changing of Guard from one shift to another, this will be a sight to enjoy. The police headquarters is located near the Gateway of India, which is also a major tourist attraction. The Minister also stated that the government is planning to develop Mumbai as the ‘Gateway of India’, and that a policy on beach shacks will soon be rolled out as Maharashtra offers immense potential for beach tourism with 700 km long coastline.

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Coronavirus update: India temporarily suspends VOA facility for Japanese and South Korea nationals

In a move to step up precautionary measures, India has temporarily suspended visa on arrival (VOA) for Japanese and South Korean nationals. This step comes in the wake of the surge in the number of Coronavirus cases in both these countries. Till now, as many as 2000 positive cases have been reported in South Korea, which has now become the biggest cluster to have this infection outside China. The said development also comes after a day India evacuated 119 Indians and 5 foreigners, who were stuck onboard Diamond Princess, the Coronavirus-hit cruise ship that was moored off the Japanese coast. As per the latest reports, out of 3711 people on board the ship, more than 700 people tested positive for the virus. Further, referring to this development, the Indian Embassy tweeted, “In view of the recent outbreak of COVID-19, visa on arrival, which was available only for nationals of Japan and South Korea has been temporarily suspended.” It also added that regular visas will, however, be processed and may be applied for. Earlier on February 2, India suspended the e-visa facility for foreigners residing in China and Chinese travellers following the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. Also, visas of Chinese nationals that have been issued earlier has been cancelled by the government in view of containing the spread. The virus emerged in early December 2019 in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, in China. World leaders have expressed concern about the virus outbreak and its implications, and are taking necessary steps to contain the virus from spreading further.

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