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Air India Express to operate direct flight from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram

Low-cost airline Air India Express recently announced a direct flight service on the Doha-Thiruvananthapuram sector, providing relief to air travel woes experienced by expatriates in the southern Kerala districts for a long time. The service will start on October 29. There will be services on four days a week from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram and back, and the ticket booking has already started. While the services from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, those from Thiruvananthapuram to Doha will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The new non-stop service has been announced in the winter schedule of Air India Express. The direct services of Air India Express will benefit people from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta districts, those from south-eastern parts of Alappuzha and Kottayam districts, besides those from Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, and Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu, who have been struggling with travel issues for years. Thomas Kurian Nedumthara, the general convener of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Users' Forum in Qatar (Taufiq), recently said the new announcement of Air India Express comes as a big relief to the people of southern districts who were disappointed as no action had been taken for long despite submitting representations and complaints to the Central and State Governments in this regard. The new announcement is a solution to the woes of passengers coming to the Thiruvananthapuram side. At present, Air India Express operates from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram and vice versa via Kozhikode. Although Qatar Airways operates direct flights to Thiruvananthapuram from Doha, ordinary expatriates depend on connection flights as they cannot afford the ticket prices of the Qatar Airways flight. People from the southern districts, who can reach home in four-and-ahalf hours by direct flight from Doha, take hours to reach home when they depend on connection flights. The direct services of Air India Express will come as a relief to hundreds of expatriates, especially those working in sectors like fishing and construction who are earning low incomes. They have not been able to reach home on vacation even once 14/09/2023, 02:17 Air India Express to operate direct flight from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram | Travel | Onmanorama https://www.onmanorama.com/travel/travel-news/2023/09/12/air-india-express-direct-flight-doha-trivandrum.html 3/3 © Copyright 2023 Onmanorama. All Rights Reserved. in two years so far due to the high cost of travel in connecting flights. They will be much relieved by the new announcement of the Air India Express.

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More Indians look for exclusive and premium travel ahead of festive season

Ahead of the upcoming festive season, Indians are displaying an increased appetite for exclusive and premium travel experiences, say travel companies. According to The India Holiday Report by Thomas Cook India and its group Company, SOTC Travel, Indians are becoming increasingly discerning travellers with around 78 per cent of them displaying an increased appetite for premium and experience led travel and higher spends. Thomas Cook and SOTC have launched Private Journeys that are designed to target HNIs, multigenerational families, ad-hoc groups of friends, and honeymooners/couples. “Indians are displaying an increased appetite for exclusive and premium experiences. Our Private Journey portfolio is hence aimed at addressing unique preferences of our discerning customers. These personalised tours are a hybrid between a group tour and a self-drive holiday with an expert local chauffer—making them a perfect option for an in-depth exploration. These tours are fully customisable, private holidays that empower customers to design their holiday, their way,” Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said. For travel and tourism players, including hotel chains and ticketing platforms, festive season is a critical time to leverage the growing travel appetite. “The festive season is a significant period for the industry to capitalise on the increased travel demand. At Radisson Hotel Group, we have witnessed a double-digit growth in demand compared to last year with strong trends for both leisure and city destinations,” Zubin Saxena, Managing Director & Area Senior Vice President, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group said. He adds that the demand for differentiated experiences picking up significantly, consumers are now willing to spend on premium and luxury accommodations. “We are optimistic that the upcoming festive season along with the high pent-up travel demand will propel further growth of the industry,” he said. According to MakeMyTrip, Indian travellers this year continue to focus on experiences, taking advantage of extended breaks and long weekends. “At the same time, the Indian traveller is becoming more prudent, booking much earlier than before, to ensure they are able to make the most out of a budget. The booking for bundled products (holiday packages) during the forthcoming festive season, with an advance purchase window of 3-4 months, now contributes 12% of overall bookings, doubling from 6% last year,” Saujanya Shrivastava, Chief Operating Officer of Flights, Holidays & Gulf Cooperation Council at MakeMyTrip said.

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How India seized the G20 opportunity

International summits are supposed to be about declarations and outcomes. This is true of the Delhi event as well. While the AU membership and the crossing of the Ukraine bridge were significant achievements, most of the expected outcomes—embracing technological innovation, spreading digital public infrastructure, reforming multilateral development banks or acting on climate change, or even the Black Sea grain initiative — are yet to be realised. Neither did the presence of the G7 leaders give us a clear-cut picture of how they will spur the development of the Global South nations and assist their economies to cope with climate change. A big question that roiled the summit was the uncharacteristic absence of Xi Jinping. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Xi had been one of the world’s most travelled leaders. He didn’t travel during the two years of the pandemic, and this year he has been out of China only twice.

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TravClan: Revolutionizing Travel Experiences through Technology

TravClan is a global B2B Travel Tech Platform that is reshaping the way travel agents sell and deliver exceptional travel experiences worldwide. With a strong focus on cutting-edge technology and seamless customer experiences, TravClan empowers travel agents to sell travel online while providing comprehensive end-to-end on-ground travel services. TravClan’s mission is to leverage technology to offer superior travel services at affordable prices, crafting unforgettable experiences for every traveler. It is recognized as the world’s first tech-enabled global destination management company, boasting a local on-ground presence in over 18 destinations worldwide, ensuring delightful experiences at every step of the journey. Offline travel agents sell over USD 500 billion travel every year. The platform enables these agents to build personalized websites within seconds, launching their journey to effortlessly sell flights, hotels, and holidays. Through innovative marketing tools, travel agents gain access to social media-driven demand generation, as well as integrated back-office solutions for invoicing, payment collection, and customer relationship management. TravClan serves as a comprehensive one-stop shop, allowing agents to instantly book entire holidays, including flights, hotels, activities, sightseeing, and transfers—all within the platform. Moreover, agents can distribute ancillary financial products such as insurance and forex cards to their customers, simplifying the travel planning process. Built on advanced technology, TravClan empowers travel companies to rebuild their businesses faster post-Covid-19, providing them with better livelihoods through increased demand generation and superior supply sourcing. With the platform, travel agents can effortlessly customize and book personalized itineraries for each customer, supported by in-house destination experts who assist agents in upskilling and selling more effectively. Real-time updates from search to post-booking to during travel ensure a hassle-free experience for all stakeholders, including travelers, agents, and suppliers. Established in 2018 by Arun Bagaria (Co-founder & CEO), Chirag Agarwal (Co-founder & COO), and Ashish Thapliyal (Co-founder & CTO), the co-founders brings a wealth of experience from their key leadership roles in renowned technology-driven platforms such as OYO, Travel Triangle, and Cars24. The co-founders, graduates of prestigious institutes like IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, deeply understand the challenges faced by travel agents, having operated in the industry themselves. TravClan’s vision is to empower SMBs in the travel sector globally, enabling their business growth and success. By expanding the assistance-led travel market, TravClan offers new-age travel advisors and digital travel influencers an easy, cost-effective, and digital-first platform to meet the demands of the new-age customer. With a team of over 200 dedicated professionals spread across eight offices in India, Singapore, and Dubai, TravClan has established an extensive global network of suppliers and nurtured strong relationships with airlines, hotels, and government tourism authorities. The company’s commitment to innovation and excellence has attracted notable investments, with previous funding rounds raising USD 5.5mn+ from esteemed investors like Leo Capital, TheVentures, Hashed, and leading angel investors worldwide. TravClan continues to redefine the travel industry, empowering over 15,000 travel agents, resulting in sales surpassing USD 100 million, harnessing the power of technology to deliver delightful experiences and foster sustainable growth.

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Don’t travel through unregistered app services

For the safety of the residents, the UT Administration has advised the general public to book cabs having yellow commercial number plates through Ola and Uber companies and not to book cabs through unregistered app-based aggregator companies. An official spokesperson said the Administration had granted aggregator license to two companies, namely OLA and Uber, to provide the cab services in Chandigarh and other app-based aggregator companies such as Bla Bla, Quick ride, in-drive, Redbus, Rapido, etc were not registered with the Administration. The UT also advised not to travel in cab/bike having private number (white plate) which is illegal, failing which strict legal action will be taken against passengers as well as drivers of private vehicles. The panic buttons are also installed in the commercial cabs which can be pressed in emergency.

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Thai Airways Adjusts BKK-HKT Schedule; Increases Flights to China

In anticipation of increasing visitor arrivals from overseas, especially from China and India, Thai Airways has adjusted flight capacity and schedules between Bangkok and Phuket, as well as between Bangkok and different cities in China. After a meeting with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, Thai Airways announced that the flag carrier is ready to cooperate in driving inbound tourism strategies and is prepared for the expected increase in demand that Thailand's free visa policy for Chinese citizens in the forthcoming high season is likely to generate. The airline has adjusted the departure time of TG201 and TG202 between Bangkok (BKK) and Phuket (HKT) using wide-body aircraft that accommodates a total of 292 passengers with 30 seats in Royal Silk Class and 262 seats in Economy Class. Thai Airways and Thai Smile planes at BKK. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com Click to enlarge.Thai Airways and Thai Smile planes at BKK. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com Starting from 1 October 2023 the daily flights will operate as follows: - Bangkok – Phuket: TG201 departs from Bangkok at 08:00 and arrives in Phuket at 09:25. - Phuket – Bangkok: TG202 departs from Phuket at 10:20 and arrives in Bangkok at 11:50. When combined with Thai Smile the group's Bangkok – Phuket flight operations will total 56 flights per week. Thai Smile uses Airbus A320 aircraft. Thai Airways also plans to increase flights to destinations in China from 49 to 56 per week starting 1 December 2023: - Bangkok – Beijing will operate six times per week between 29 October and 30 November 2023, increasing to daily from 1 December 2023. - Flights between Bangkok and Shanghai will be daily from 29 October 2023 to 30 March 2024. - TG's Bangkok - Guangzhou operations will operate daily between 29 October 2023 and 30 March 2024. - The airline will operate the Bangkok - Kunming route with thrice weekly flights between 20 October and 30 November 2023, increasing to daily on 1 December 2023. - Thai's flights between Bangkok and Chengdu will take off two times per week between 20 October and 30 November 2023, increasing to a daily service on 1 December 2023. Thailand is not alone in offering Chinese passport holders visa-free entry. A number of other countries, including most recently Georgia and Kazakhstan, have also launched a similar scheme.

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