News

Lufthansa partners with Vistara to boost India’s aviation network.

Lufthansa Airlines and Vistara Airlines, one of India’s leading airlines starts today offering its customers code-share flights. A new partnership that adds 126 weekly flights to ten key Indian cities. This will be in addition to Lufthansa’s current schedule of 56 weekly international flights to and from the major Indian hubs of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai with ultra-modern aircraft like the Airbus A350. It is planned to subsequently add more destinations of Vistara’s network under the umbrella of the codeshare agreement in 2020 and beyond. Connecting Vistara‘s strong domestic network with Lufthansa‘s global reach gives European airline customers immediate access to many more Indian cities than ever before. At the same time this partnership offers customers from ten key Indian cities like Kolkata, Goa and Pune unlimited access to the Lufthansa Group’s worldwide network, including top-tier destinations in Europe, Canada and the United States. Vistara joins Air India as the second Indian airline having a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa. Lufthansa commits to offer its Indian customers world-class international travel experiences and will enable them to use their preferred mileage program on codeshare routes. By teaming up with Vistara, they will strengthen and expand our position as the leading and most popular European airline in India – a country all set to become the third-largest aviation market in just a few years’ time.

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Indians are hopping on to luxury cruise liners, leaving slowdown blues behind

Watching the setting sun against an amber sky, sipping on a glass of wine while the sea breeze ruffles your hair. This picturesque scene from the sun deck of a cruise liner describes the newest fancy of the aspirational Indian. Even as the broader economic environment remains soft, passenger growth for cruises has grown about 50 percent over the past year, and is expected to grow at roughly the same clip next. This has prompted several global cruise line operators to look at India as a high-growth market. “Since we started business in India, the number of guests we have seen has doubled,” says Felix Chan, Vice President & General Manager, Norwegian Cruise Line, Asia. NCL, which operates 17 cruise liners across the globe, has been in business for 52 years and came to India four years back. There are several reasons why rich Indians have decided on cruises as the next destination on their travel bucket list. “Cruise packages allow people to visit multiple destinations. There is a rise in cruise tourism as people want to experience the joys of different destinations in one holiday while enjoying the breath-taking views that only cruise voyages can offer,” says Daniel D'souza, President and Country Head, Leisure, SOTC Travel. Besides, India has seen the advent of luxury liners that touch down on Indian ports. For instances, Jalesh Cruises offers a cruise service between Mumbai, Goa and Diu. The Mumbai-Goa sector also saw the launch of another cruise ship, Angriya, last year. Experts say that cruise travel within India offers significant opportunity for growth. “With a beautiful coastline, India provides an excellent opportunity for the cruise business. It is heartening that the government is taking steps to develop the same with both river-based and open sea-based cruises,” says Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder and COO, Corporate Travel & Head Industry Relations, Yatra.com. “Developing river and sea-based cruises in various parts of the country could drive both domestic travellers as well as inbound travelers from the Asia-Pacific region,” Chopra adds.

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Bhutan’s tourist policy revamp may hit travel operators in eastern India

Travel operators in eastern India are apprehending a strong impact on their business after Bhutan changed its policy on tourist entry fee. Currently, Bhutan charges every foreign visitor $250 per day, including a $65 ‘Sustainable Development Fee’ (SDF) and $40 visa charge. However, ‘regional tourists’ from India, Bangladesh and Maldives were not subjected to the SDF and visa fee. Bhutan is now going to introduce SDF and a permit processing fee for the regional tourists as well and a draft policy on the matter may be receive approval by the end of December. “Introduction of mandatory government fee for every incoming tourist, including those from India, will cut down the number of Bhutan-bound Indian tourists. As a common practice, almost all of them spend at least two nights in the eastern Himalayan region, which includes Sikkim and the West Bengal foothills,” said tourism consultant Raj Basu.

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UK and US issue travel advisory for women visiting India: Should exercise caution

This growing number of crimes against women in India has resulted in countries like UK to issue a safety advisory for its women who are travelling to the country. Recently, the UK government took to their website to publish a safety advice to be followed by travellers, especially women, in India. In the advisory titled 'India Travel Advice', the government mentioned in the Safety and security sub-head that women travellers "should exercise caution when travelling in India even if travelling in a group." The advisory suggests that women travellers in India are unsafe and at risk of getting assaulted, hence British women should exercise caution when in the country. It also asked women to respect the local dress codes and customs, to avoid isolated areas when alone at any time of day, to avoid travelling alone in a public transport and to not leave drinks unattended.

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TAT ties up with MasterCard to initiate more experiential visits for Indian tourists.

For most Indians, Thailand is the usual pick for a quick and affordable overseas beach holiday. And making it even easier is Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which has declared a free visa on arrival for tourists from India till April 2020. Thailand’s tourism authority has also tied up with MasterCard to enable digital payments for a more experiential visit for Indian tourists. As per MasterCard data, January, May, and December are the preferred travel months for Indian tourists to Thailand. Bangkok tops MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities Index 2019 as the world’s best travel destination, and this an accolade that the city has bagged for four years in a row. Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, South Asia, MasterCard said, “Over one million acceptance points for digital payments make Thailand even friendlier for tourists looking for safe, secure, and convenient cashless tourism.MasterCard is committed to work with local merchants, large and small alike, and Tourism Authority of Thailand to create more distinguished cashless experiences in Thailand and encourage tourists to visit this beautiful country." Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi form more than 88 percent of cardholder spending, MasterCard data reveals. TAT is now aiming to come up with experiential tours to take more Indians beyond the main cities to other parts of Thailand like Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, and Koh Samui. TAT is also thinking of sustainable eco-tourism to maintain the authenticity of these spots.

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Philippine Airlines announced new direct Perth-Manila service.

A new direct Perth-Manila service by Philippine Airlines has been announced that will boost the tourism numbers from numbers from Philippines to Australia. In March 2020 the non-stop service will commence with four flights each week. Perth Airport Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brown mentioned that the new service between Perth and Manila was a win for WA business, tourism and exports, and would inject an additional 70,000 seats into the market. There are more than 7,000 islands and amazing beaches on offer in Philippines and 20,000 people visited last year which is an attractive holiday destination for West Australians. On the new Airbus A321 neo Philippine Airlines, four flights will be operated in a week which has 12 business class seats and 156 economy seats departing from Manila at 12.06 am and will arrive in Perth 7.20 am. At 8.40 am the flight will then leave and land in Manila at 3.50 pm. In the year ending June 2019 as per the latest International Visitor Survey the number of Philippines visitors travelling to WA grew by 34.7 per cent.

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