News

IndiGo Operates 1500 Flights Per Day.

According to a report in cnbctv18.com, the airline hit the 1,500 domestic flights per day figure earlier this month. It now has a departure approximately every one minute. In a statement, IndiGo’s chief executive officer, Ronojoy Dutta said; “We are pleased to be the first Indian airline to touch 1,500 daily departures, with one flight taking off every minute. IndiGo has only been operating for 13 years. With the demise of Jet Airways, it is now the biggest airline in India in terms of fleet size and passenger numbers. It now has 249 planes (the majority being from the A320 family) and carried over 64 million passengers in the last financial year. IndiGo flies to 60 domestic and 23 international destinations.Whilst IndiGo launched new international flights to Istanbul, Jeddah, Chengdu, Yangon, Hanoi, Riyadh, Ho Chi Minh City and Guangzhou, it was a raft of new domestic destinations that drove growth in flight numbers at the airline. Indigo commenced domestic operations to Shillong, Gaya (from both Kolkata and Varanasi), Jodphur, Belgaum, Silchar (from Kolkata), Shirdi and Mysore. Also, Indigo started a swathe of domestic flights from the new Kannur Airport to Bengaluru, Kochi, Goa, Hubli, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Read more

Nusa Penida tops list of backpacker travel destinations in 2020.

The island of Nusa Penida off Bali's east coast has beaten stiff competition from Thailand and Slovenia to be crowned Hostelworld's number one travel destination for backpackers in 2020. The Dublin-based hostel reservation platform compiled a list of the top 20 locations around the world for backpackers across the next 12 months, based on the biggest growth in bookings throughout 2019. Nusa Penida was one of three destinations from South East Asia to make it into the top ten, with Thailand's Surati Thani coming in at number two, while Siargaro Island in The Philippines was in ninth position. Hostelworld noted there was "no end of magical experiences to be had". "From attending prayer service in a sacred cave halfway up a mountain, to hiking to an abandoned treehouse turned insane lookout point and then swimming with playful giant manta rays, every moment is an adventure on Nusa Penida," it says. "Throw in those legendary Indonesian sunsets and plenty of ‘warungs’ serving delicious local food for pennies, and it’ll soon become obvious why it’s our number one backpacker hotspot for 2020." Nusa Penida is a district of Klungkung Regency that includes the neighbouring small island of Nusa Lembongan.

Read more

Malaysia Airlines partners Starbucks and Kenny Rogers for holistic travel experience.

Malaysia Airlines (MAB) has partnered with Starbucks Malaysia and Kenny Rogers Roasters Malaysia as part of the wider Fly Malaysia campaign, and aims to help promote Visit Malaysia 2020 by offering the best possible travel experience. MAB is offering passengers a 20% discount on handcrafted beverages at Starbucks and all chicken meals at Kenny Rogers Roasters, applicable 48 hours after departure date and time. MAB’s group chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May said “This will create memorable experiences with Malaysia Airlines, and with all Malaysia has to offer. We believe that Malaysian Hospitality begins when the passenger has made the decision to Fly Malaysia up until we care for them to their destination of choice, and this partnership only further deepens this philosophy we have,” Lau added that the partnership only serves to strengthen the nationwide push for Visit Malaysia 2020, and allows it to further make the case for Malaysia as the premier travel and holiday destination for the new year and decade to come. Meanwhile, group CEO of Berjaya Food and managing director of Starbucks Malaysia and Brunei, Sydney Quays, its partnership with Malaysia Airlines aims to deepen the shared moments of connection by allowing travelers to settle themselves, and enjoy a beverage or a meal from its Starbucks and Kenny Rogers Roasters stores around Malaysia. MAB is certainly doing its bid in attracting tourists ahead of Visit Malaysia 2020.

Read more

Jerusalem’s Old City gets $57 million cable cars and pylons to promote tourism.

The ramparts of ochre stone stand out against the sky, framed by hilltop buildings and olive trees — but the view of Jerusalem’s Old City could soon include cable cars and pylons. But archaeologists, architects and city planners say the scheme, if completed, will be a blight on Jerusalem’s ancient heritage. The Western Wall is directly adjacent to the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, but also located on the Temple Mount, the most sacred place in Judaism. The cable car is to start at the preserved, but no longer functioning, Ottoman-era railway station in west Jerusalem, where a two-story glass terminal will host 3,000 passengers per hour. A first stop will be on Mount Zion, a hill where Christians believe Jesus and his disciples met for the Last Supper and also revered by Jews as the burial place of biblical King David. From there, the cable cars will pass above the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, a frequent flashpoint between Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers. In Silwan, the cable cars will pass over about 60 homes, at some points just 14 meters above the rooftops, said Fakhri Abu Diab, director of the local residents’ association.Israeli tour guide Michel Seban enthuses about the cable car, which he says will ease access to the densely packed Old City with its narrow cobbled lanes. In a petition, they wrote that “a cable car is not appropriate for ancient cities with a skyline preserved for hundreds or thousands of years.” The Palestinian Authority has denounced the project as another attempt to increase Israeli presence in east Jerusalem.

Read more

Miyajima Island in Japan will now impose a tourist tax.

Now, to explore Japan’s gorgeous Miyajima Island, also known as Itsukushima, the outsiders will have to pay a tourist tax.The island is a must visit for tourists and travellers visiting the city of Hiroshima in Japan as it only a short ferry ride away from the city. It makes for a perfect excursion and is extremely popular among people visiting the region. Taro Matsumoto, addressing a press conference, said that “It is necessary to secure new financial resources in order to continuously maintain quality of the Island as a tourist spot.” Adding to his statement, he said that the tourist tax will begin by the spring of 2021. As of now, the government plans to impose ¥100 or $1 or INR 65 as a Tourist Tax or Admission Fee for Miyajima Island. The tax fee might be collected in three practical ways: 1) By charging every traveller traveling by ferry. 2) By increasing the tax for the ferry operators. 3) By charging tax on to the guests once they use facilities on the island. It’s not the first time that a destination has decided to impose a tax on tourists to combat overtourism. All over Asia, governments are trying to deal with the negative effects of overtourism. By putting extra entry fees, they are trying to stop the long-term damages incurred by travellers.

Read more

United Airlines Inaugurates Non-Stop Cape Town Service.

The Points Guy reports that flight UA1122 was the first time that any airline has operated a non-stop service from North America to the South African legislative capital. This seasonal operation currently departs Newark three days a week. It departs at 20:30 on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The journey takes 14.5 hours, arriving in Cape Town at 18:00 the next day. The return journey departs at 20:50 every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving at 05:45 the next day. This is a positive initiative for travelers in the United States looking to travel to South Africa. It had recently reconfigured its 767 aircraft on flights from London to the US to help serve customers within these growing markets.According to Heritage, South Africa’s GDP is $765.6 billion. It also is seeing a 1.3 percent growth, along with a 1.5 percent 5-year compound annual growth. Moreover, shifts in consumer habits within Africa could cause the continent’s aviation market to double in the next 20 years. Therefore, United is making sure to keep ahead of changes in the industry in the new decade.

Read more