Travel & Hospitality - April 2014

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SPRING 2014

Inbound business travelslows down08 Cover Story

Lubaina Sheerazi: ‘Consis-tently delivering qualityservices to our clients’Page no.

36Page no.

64Page no.

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Editor’s Note Quotes of the Month

Chart of the Month

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Yet to be part of political discourseThe country is in the process of electing newgovernment at the Centre, and we will a newgovernment after May 16, 2014 the day onwhich the results of the General Elections 2014would be out. The election campaign is prima-rily dominated by economic and developmentissue. But tourism is rarely mentioned by po-litical parties while outlining their economicpolicy and programmes.

The election manifesto of Indian NationalCongress for general elections 2014 does nothave word on tourism. The manifesto of theCongress for 2009 general election had also ig-nored tourism. Prime Ministerial Candidate ofPrincipal Opposition Party Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) Narendra Modi has often talkedabout importance of tourism in economic de-velopment of the country. As the Chief Ministerof Gujarat, he has aggressively promotedtourism in the state. On more than one occa-sion, he has said that while “terrorism divides,tourism unites’. However, it is yet to be seenwhether the main opposition party really un-derstand the importance of tourism for socialand economic , and serious about promotingtourism in the country if it comes into powerafter the elections. BJP is yet come out with itsmanifesto, so we don’t know its position ontourism. Unless political parties understand theimportance of tourism in economic develop-ment of the country and bring it at the centrestage, tourism will remain neglected. Source: DGCA traffic statistics, 2013

Market share of key domestic airlines (October-2013)

Amritsar is one of the most charming cities in India.It has a huge ability to attract people. Tourism will alwaysremain a mainstay economic activity in the city. I visualizean Amritsar that is connected on all sides by large high-ways - a city where the internal infrastructure needs to behugely improved and basic amenities need to be providedto every section.

“

Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposing in Rajya Sabha, and BJPcandidate for Amritsar Lok Sabha Constituency

Airlines are doing all they can to prevent and manageunruly passenger incidents, but this needs to be backed upwith effective law enforcement. Reports of unruly behaviorare on the rise. The Tokyo Convention was not originallydesigned to address unruly behavior. Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO

“

““

inside the issueAPrIl 2014 | Volume V | Issue 7

India to introduce electronic visa facilitythis year: Tourism Secretary Tunis and Cape Town offer best value roomservice for Indians abroad

Q&A: Arvind Jadhav, Additional Chief Secre-tary, Tourism, Karnataka

Visit England to enjoy fascinating Spring2014

Women only rooms/floors at hotels forwomen safety

Rejuvenate at Niraamaya Retreats inThekaddy, Kovalam

Rotana opens its 2nd 5-star hotel in Al Ain

Courtyard by Marriott opens in Bilaspur,Chattisgarh

Tourism Malaysia promotes Visit MalaysiaYear 2014 in South Asia

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52

Cover Story

In Conversation

Spazzo offers blended personalized treat-ment54

38

44 14

36

64

32

54

In Conversation: ‘Consistently delivering qualityservices to our clients in sync with their plans’64

Kerala Tourism wins tourism ‘Oscar’ for'Great Backwaters' campaign32

lubaina sheerazi

Business head of Blue square

Consultants

APR IL 2014| TNH (TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY)

Trade News8

Business travel to

India has been one of

casualties of political

uncertainty in the country

and economic slowdown. On

account of political uncer-

tainly and policy inertia pre-

vailing in the country, India is

not a favourite destination for

international business travel-

ers at present. As the coun-

try is the process of electing

new government by the next

month, foreign investors and

MNCs are awaiting the for-

mation of next government

and its economic policy. This

has slowed down business

travel to the country. Will

business travel to India im-

prove after the general elec-

tions? As the travel and

tourism industry of the coun-

try is largely dependent on in-

bound business travel to the

country; can the industry

hope better days after the

elections once the new

regime takes charge at the

Centre? These are some of

the questions that TnH asked

people who matter in the in-

dustry and understand the

pulse of the industry.

“Inbound travel to India

has been lukewarm. We have

not seen the kind of growth

we all were expecting,” said

Pradeep Kalra, Sr. Vice

President, Sales and Market-

ing, Sarovar Hotels. Accord-

ing to Kalra, the factors

affecting the inbound busi-

ness travel to India at present

are mainly, political and eco-

nomic problems globally, in-

clement weather in the US

and Europe. Bad publicity

arising out a few freak cases

of molestation and rape is

also contributing to lower in-

bound travel. Kalra is very

optimistic that after the elec-

tions, things would change

positively for business trav-

ellers. He said, “We are very

hopeful that post elections we

will see a spurt in business

travel if the mandate is clear

and in favour of one party.”

Speaking to this maga-

zine, Pronab Sarkar, Manag-

ing Director, Swagatam

Tours, said that current sea-

son is doing better business

for his company as compared

to last two years. “The eco-

nomic revival in USA and Eu-

rope is the factor for the

improvement in business. We

hope to do better business in

2014-15 under the present

circumstances.” Responding

to our questions on business

travel, Jitendra Kumar, Gen-

eral Manager, Radisson Blu

Hotel Greater Noida, said

that the current season so far

has been quite decent due to

the falling rupee. Though the

economy has dwindled tem-

porarily but at the same time

it has helped the tourism in-

dustry as far as inflow of for-

eign traffic is concerned. And

this trend is going to continue

in the coming months too. He

added, “We are seeing for-

eigners extending their stay

in India as they get to buy a

lot more at a cheaper rate

now. Also, with India opening

up the floodgates of visa on

arrival to 40 countries, it will

definitely be a shot in the arm

for tourism even further.”

According to Kumar, the

factors that is affecting the

inbound tourism to India are:

dwindling economy/reces-

sion, general elections in the

country, the falling value of

rupee which has elevated

India into a very affordable

destination for inbound traf-

fic, which wasn’t the case

earlier, Visa policy, inbound

tourism demand is most re-

sponsive to changes in in-

come, security scenario in the

country and weather condi-

tions.

As regards the expecta-

tion that business travel to

India will improve after the

general elections, Kumar

said, “It actually should but it

all depends who comes to

power after the elections.

India is innovating, restruc-

turing itself, constantly rein-

venting, consolidating all the

time. You’re talking about a

not so hunky dory a situation

with regards to our economy,

and we’re only just emerging

and headed the right direc-

tion, though I feel that 2014

elections will arcade India’s

GDP growth.”

Giving his insights on in-

bound business travel to

India, Vishal Singh, General

Manager of Hyatt Pune, said,

“First quarter we have seen

that the inbound business

travel is buoyant. Second

quarter forecast is a bit slow.

Majority of this travel is from

US, Europe and Middle East

markets.” Regarding the fac-

tors affecting the inbound

business travel to India, he

said, “They are limited num-

ber of direct international

flights and connectivity to

class II metros and tier-II

cities from the main gateway

cities. The tie-ups of Tata-

SIA, Tata-Air Asia and Eti-

had- Jet Airways are ex-

pected to have a positive

impact on the landscape of

Indian travel and tourism in-

dustry.” He expressed hope

that business travel will im-

prove and incentive travel

will gain momentum. With in-

frastructure status being

given to convention centers, it

will give a boost to India as a

MICE destination. Also, ex-

tending Visa on arrival to 40

countries, will liberalize the

visa regime for people attend-

Inbound business travelslows downWith the country in the grip of election fever,business travel to India has slowed down owningto the political uncertainty.

Inbound Travel to Indiahas been lukewarm. Wehave not seen the kind ofgrowth we all were ex-pecting. The factors af-fecting the inbound

business travel to India atpresent are mainly, politi-cal and economic prob-lems globally, inclementweather in the US and Eu-

rope.

“

“Pradeep KalraSr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Sarovar Hotels

Current season is doingbetter business for ourcompany as comparedto last two years. The eco-nomic revival in the U.S.and Europe is the factorfor the improvement inbusiness. We hope to dobetter business in 2014-15under the present circum-

stances.

“

“

Pronab SarkarManaging Director, Swagatam Tours

�Prem Kumar

ing conferences. “We expect

increase in movements in the

third and fourth quarters if

political and economic stabil-

ity is sustained in the country

post-elections. Alternatively,

demand for domestic MICE is

expected to increase due to

rupee fluctuation, and com-

panies are looking forward to

exploring domestic destina-

tions to make the most of

their constrained budgets,”

added Vishal Singh.

Many people are hoping

for better days ahead for in-

bound tourism after general

elections, particularly if there

is a stable government. After

the elections the economic

and business activities are

expected to increase, which

is slow currently for many

reason including the political

ones. According to Sarkar, for

the past one year or more, the

economic policy of our gov-

ernment is unable to attract

foreign investments to the

country, resulting less busi-

ness traffic to our country.

“The investors abroad are

waiting for the next election

in our country and watching

for the results for the next

government and looking for-

ward for some open invest-

ment policies to come in

effect to lure fresh investment

to the country. We have to

wait and watch the next gov-

ernment's investment poli-

cies to attract new investors

to the country, which will def-

initely improve the business

travel once again.”

Sharing his insights on

business travel, Rakshit Tal-

war, Director of Sales and

Marketing, Novotel Goa

Shrem Resort, said, “Peak

season for tourism, especially

international tourism is be-

tween mid October and

March. This season has been

good especially since we are

a new hotel and we launched

in October 2013. We have

been well accepted in the

market and the response has

been overwhelming with good

score in customer satisfac-

tion.” Good flight connectivity

and the increase in the fre-

quency of International Char-

ters help boost the inbound

business travel to India, said

Talwar, also adding that the

new government policies of

group visa and visa on arrival

help in increasing the air traf-

fic. Online travel booking is

another factor that greatly af-

fects inbound business travel.

It is more convenient and

easy for people who are living

high pressure lifestyles to

make their bookings. “India

boasts a rich culture and her-

itage which attracts interna-

tional as well as domestic

tourists. The concepts of Yoga

and Ayurveda (means of re-

laxation and rejuvenation)

have gained popularity

across the world which is why

people want to learn more

about it and a lot of them do

come to India to explore it.

The food and wildlife also at-

tracts foreigners,” said Tal-

war. He added, “With the new

visa rules the travel will cer-

tainly increase. At the end of

the day, irrespective of which

government comes into

power, it has to be remem-

bered that the easier we

make it for the travellers to

visit our country, the more ef-

fective it would be for busi-

ness especially in the

Tourism Industry which con-

tributes to the country’s rev-

enue to a great extent.”

While many pepole from

the industry agree on slug-

gishness in business travel to

India, they are also optimist

about future. Gagan Deep

Singh, General Manager of

Courtyard by Marriott Pune

City Centre said, “We are see-

ing a healthy growth in in-

bound business travel as far

as the financial and pharma-

ceutical sector is concerned.

And as we get into the elec-

tion season, a slowdown is

expected. The auto sector

however is going through a

tough phase. The government

is doing a lot to improve our

infrastructure and that will

further increase business

tourism in India.” According

to Singh, India’s growth fore-

cast stands between 4.5% -

5% and it is Asia’s third

largest economy. Our country

is favorable for setting up

businesses. However, project

movements are expected to

be deferred till elections are

APR IL 2014|TNH (TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY)

9Trade News

The current season sofar has been quite de-cent due to the fallingrupee though the econ-omy has dwindled tem-porarily but at the sametime has helped the

tourism industry as far asinflow of foreign traffic is

concerned.

“

“

Jitendra KumarGeneral Manager, Radisson Blu Hotel Greater Noida

Irrespective of which gov-ernment comes intopower, it has to be re-membered that the eas-ier we make it for the

travellers to visit our coun-try, the more effective itwould be for businessesespecially in the Tourism

Industry.

“

“

Rakshit TalwarDirector, Sales & Marketing, Novotel Goa Shrem Resort

We are seeing a healthygrowth in inbound busi-ness travel as far as the fi-

nancial andpharmaceutical sector isconcerned. And as weget into the election sea-son, a slowdown is ex-

pected.

“

“Gagan Deep SinghGM, Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre

Industry hopes better days for businesstravel after the elections

Trade News10


over.

Agreeing that business

travel to India will improve

after the general elections,

Singh said that the elections

in the first half of 2014 can be

a deterrent for inbound busi-

ness travel. “Recovery is ex-

pected after the polls once the

political system is more sta-

ble and there is more clarity

in policy decisions. The new

government will hopefully in-

crease infrastructure spends

to attract more inbound busi-

ness travellers,” said Singh.

According to Hemant

Tenneti, Hotel Manager,

Courtyard by Marriott Pune

Chakan, said that first quar-

ter of 2014 has been robust in

terms of business travel, es-

pecially for IT and ITES re-

lated travel. Manufacturing

sector, especially Auto, is wit-

nessing its softest phase. Oc-

cupancies in markets driven

by IT, Finance, Banking have

seen growth. International

MICE travel however has

seen a decline. The number of

international events booked

for first quarter 2014 was sig-

nificantly lower than previous

years. Since lead time for

such events is 12-24 months,

the economic slowdown over

the past 24 months could be a

possible reason for the same.

First quarter 2014, however

is appearing stronger and

comparable to a strong year.

The leisure market also per-

formed very well in the first

three months with destina-

tions like Jaipur, Goa and

Cochin witnessing growth for

Marriott properties.”

Tenneti said that contin-

ued growth of IT and ITES/

leisure tourism in India dur-

ing winter months has posi-

tive impact on business travel

while slowdown in infra sec-

tor and auto sector, and pre-

election atmosphere has

negatively affected the busi-

ness travel.

Tenneti also agreed that

after the elections business

travel is expected to surge be-

cause, “generally the first

100-150 days post general

elections always has seen a

surge.”

The Year 2013 was also

not so good as far as business

travelers to India are con-

cerned. Lovesh Sharma, Di-

rector of Sales and

Marketing, Jaipur Marriott

Hotel, said, “The year that

went by didn’t see very at-

tractive growth in the in-


India due to factors such as

sluggish economic climate in

the source markets. However,

this season we hope to see

some improvement due to

factors such as depreciation

of rupee by over 10% and

plans of easing out the visa

regime by the government.”

As for factors affecting the in-


India at present, Sharma

said, “Issues related to con-

nectivity, safety, security, visa

and economic conditions in

source markets and the up-

coming elections are impact-

ing the decision making for

inbound business travelers to

India.”

Business travel to India is

expected to improve after the

general elections once new

government came into power

and political uncertainly

comes to end. “Due to up-

coming elections in May India

is experiencing a bagful of po-

litical and economic uncer-

tainty just when the source

markets like US and Europe

are emerging from their eco-

nomic downturn. Therefore

there are a smaller number of

businessmen and executives

travelling to India, causing

big concern for the country's

hotels and tourism sectors.

Once the winning party

comes into action surely the

travel and hospitality indus-

try will see revival of busi-

ness,” said Sharma.

The national economy is

also showing signs of modest

recovery. As the fundamen-

tals of the economy are better

as compared to a few months

ago, a stable government at

the centre would definitely

give a fillip to the economy.

Rohit Katyal, Head of

Sales and Marketing North

India, Justa Hotels & Resorts

said that there has been slow

down in inbound business in

the past years. “Year over

year footfall to India is going

down drastically. We have

seen 30% drops in overall in-

bound business in terms of

occupancy and revenue,” said

Katyal. As per Katyal, some

of the key issues that are af-

fecting the inbound business

travel to India are political in-

stability, negative publicity by

media and inadequate steps

taken by governing authori-

ties to maintain safety secu-

rity of women and inability of

travel/ hospitality industry

and Department of tourism to

do roadshows at various plat-

forms. “Unfortunately all of

us as travel partners are

working in isolation and

under cutting each other,”

said Katyal, who does not see

much improvement in busi-

ness travel to India in near

future. He said that looking at

present scenario at least for

next year and half probability

Continued growth of ITand ITES/ Leisure tourismin India during wintermonths has positive im-pact on business travelwhile slowdown in infrasector and auto sector,and pre-election atmos-phere has negatively af-fected the business

travel.

“

“

Hemant TennetiHotel Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan

The Year 2013 didn’t seevery attractive growth inthe inbound businesstravel to India due tofactors such as sluggisheconomic climate in thesource markets. How-ever this season wehope to see some im-

provement.

“

“

Lovesh SharmaDirector of Sales and Marketing, Jaipur Marriott Hotel

There has been slowdown in in-bound busi-ness for the past yearyears. Year over yearfootfall to India is goingdown drastically. Wehave seen 30% drops inoverall inbound businessin terms of occupancy

and revenue.

““

Rohit KatyalHead, Sales & MarketingNorth IndiaJusta Hotels & Resorts


11Trade News

Inbound travel into Indiain general has recordedgrowth during first quar-ter this year. Overall, wecan expect more from2014 as it is promising tobe a buoyant year forinbound business travel

in India.

“

“

Prashant Sharma, GeneralManager, Mövenpick Hoteland Spa Bangalore

is bleak until and unless “we

are able to work together at

global level in terms of show-

casing infrastructural im-

provement, safety, security

and hygiene and specially

taxation on tourism.”

Prashant Sharma, Gen-

eral Manager, Mövenpick

Hotel and Spa Bangalore,

said that his hotel has

recorded a healthy business

performance and growth this

quarter. “Inbound travel into

India in general has recorded

growth during first quarter

this year. Overall, we can ex-

pect more from 2014 as it is

promising to be a buoyant

year for inbound business

travel in India,” said Sharma.

In Sharma’s opinion,

there are several factors that

affect inbound business

travel to India. The macro

ones being: The risk of reces-

sion still exists as recession

continues to prevail in high

debt ridden nations such as

in Europe, and economic per-

formance of feeder/source

markets. He also hopes that

business travel to India will

improve after the general

elections. “The Business

community is waiting for the

elections to come to a conclu-

sion and we expect demand

to be high despite it being

summer, as projects and

planning in general would get

activated immediately post the

elections,” said Sharma.

Pronab Sarkar feels that

the inbound business travel to

India could do better if India’s

visa regulations were eased

and there is smooth operation

of outsource visa companies

engaged by the various Indian

Embassy's abroad. “The

biggest complaint we receive

from our foreign agents that

group visa is the most difficult

task to obtain and it takes sev-

eral weeks to get Indian visa.

Even hard rules by the Indian

visa regulation for filling up a

long application form available

only in English is also a big

hurdle for language speaking

countries,” said Sarkar. Ac-

cording to Sarkar, the out-

source company appointed by

Indian Embassy in the U.S. is

“one of the most unprofes-

sional company as stated by

most of our foreign operators.

In several occasions we had to

request the India Tourism of-

fice New York to help our for-

eign operators with

intervention of the Indian Em-

bassy in USA, which helped us

getting the Indian Visa for our

groups.” Sarkar said that

many individual tourists were

denied or given visa only after

the travel date, which resulted

cancellation of the tour pack-

ages. He added that there is a

need to change the outsource

company in USA responsible

for Indian visa.

However, on a positive

note, Sarkar said that recent

announcement of the visa on

arrival by the government, for

180 countries starting Octo-

ber 2014, will definitely in-

crease the volume of foreign

tourist traffic to India. He

added, “We are hopeful to have

a big growth in coming tourist

business 2014/15 and beyond.

We hope that no one misuses

the advantage and the system

works for tourism growth in

our Country for a long time.

This growth will bring us not

only most valuable foreign ex-

change to our country but also

improve our infrastructure and

increase the job opportunities

many folds.”

There are some opera-

tional issues that hinder in-

bound traffic to India.

According to Sarkar, the

change in rule by all the air-

lines for purchase or deposit of

money at the time of booking

the air seats is putting hard-

ship to the serious operators.

Due to this factor group move-

ment is reducing day by day or

only last minute group book-

ings are happening.

Thomas Cook India has

announced an agree-

ment with Corporation

Bank to distribute its unique

multi currency Borderless Pre-

paid Card via the Bank’s for-

eign exchange branches across

its impressive 2009 strong

branch network, pan India. In a

first mover advantage, this pio-

neering initiative will see a card

issued by a non-banking entity

being distributed by a bank.

Launched in November

2012, Thomas Cook India’s Bor-

derless Prepaid Card in collab-

oration with MasterCard

Worldwide has witnessed im-

pressive uptake- with over

60,000 of cards sold; a loaded

value of US$ 205 Mn. and a

market share of more than

12%, merely a year from launch

– making it the largest non

bank player in the space.

UNWTO research has high-

lighted the powerful potential of

India’s outbound travel sector-

estimated to account for 50mn

outbound tourists by 2020.

This, coupled with the strong

consumer demand for its Bor-

derless Prepaid Card, propelled

Thomas Cook India to seek a

strong distribution partner to

fulfill its aggressive expansion

strategy, and in Corporation

Bank it found an ideal match.

Corporation Bank’s unerring

focus on both technology and

its consumer saw resonance

with Thomas Cook India’s pio-

neering innovation and con-

sumer empowering product

development.

The association, extends

the reach of Thomas Cook

India’s Borderless Prepaid

Card via Corporation Bank’s

impressive network, across

India’s metros, mini metros and

the emerging Tier II & III Re-

gional markets; also rural

India.

The Borderless Prepaid

Card empowers travellers with

the option of loading eight cur-

rencies on a single card (US

Dollars, British Pounds, Euro,

Australian Dollars, Canadian

Dollars, Swiss Francs, Singa-

pore Dollars & Japanese Yen)

enabling the cardholder to use

the appropriate currency, basis

the country being visited - effec-

tively saving money and time.

by TNH DESK

Thomas Cook India partnerswith Corporation BankThomas Cook India has partnered withCorporation Bank to expand its distributionnetwork for its multi-currency Borderless PrepaidCard.

First quarter we haveseen that the inboundbusiness travel is buoy-ant. Second quarter

forecast is a bit slow. Ma-jority of this travel is fromUS, Europe and Middle

East markets.

““

Vishal SinghGeneral Manager of Hyatt Pune

Trade News12


The FAM was con-

ducted on an invita-

tion by Hotel Ritz

Carlton and Air Arabia was

the Airline Partner. The idea

behind the FAM was to pro-

mote Almaty as a MICE and

leisure destination to the In-

dian travel trade. The FAM

started off on a very good note

on board the Air Arabia flight

with its new aircraft and the

most spacious economy cabin

that the visiting group has

ever witnessed on any airline

and a very warm in-flight

crew. They got a very warm

reception upon the arrival at

the hotel where most of the

senior management was per-

sonally present to receive

them. The brand new Ritz

Carlton Hotel that has just

opened in November, 2013

was very impressive with its

spacious rooms, a very helpful

and courteous team, the Fa-

mous LT Restaurant and of

course the Sky Lounge

Rooftop Bar. The 4 Nights

FAM showcased Almaty very

well and covered most of the

major attractions of the city

besides the vibrant night life.

The trip started with a formal

sit-in welcome dinner organ-

ized by the senior manage-

ment of Ritz Carlton on the

first evening. The next day

tour started with sightseeing

in the central part of Almaty

covering more about history

and development of the south-

ern capital of Kazakhstan and

its major attractions like the

Palace of President, Republic

Square and Monument of In-

dependence, and Astana

Square, Abai Square and

Palace of Republic, Central

Museum, Central Mosque,

Green Bazaar where they ex-

perienced an atmosphere of

the real Central Asian mar-

ket, its colors, smells and

crowds. Then the tour contin-

ued to one of the oldest Al-

maty park – Panfilov Park

with the unique wooden build-

ing in the world – Zenkov

Cathedral and also visit the

Memorial of Glory and Eternal

Flame, dedicated to the mem-

ory of the fighters who died

for freedom and independ-

ence of the country.

The next day the group

moved to see the beautiful

mountain surroundings of Al-

maty city. The first stop was in

the Medeo Gorge, where in the

wonderful mountains of

Trans-Ili Alatau the largest

high mountain skating rink in

the world is located as well as

the huge dam, protecting the

city from destructive mud-

flows formed on the tops of

the western Tien Shan. Next

was Chimbulak ski resort, lo-

cated at an altitude of 2230

meters above sea level and is

very popular for its mild cli-

mate, large quantity of sunny

days and snow through the

winter and remarkable

scenery of mountain ranges.

Next was the Kok- Tobe hill

where the tallest TV tower in

the world is located and the

picturesque winding moun-

tain road giving a magnifi-

cent panorama of the city

from the special observation

deck and "The Beatles" (the

only one in CIS countries).

The next day they visited

the biggest shopping malls of

the city, including the oldest

one - Zangar (Central De-

partment Store), which is the

best and the most convenient

place for handicrafts and an-

tique Kazakh jewelry. The top

floor of this department store

is a treasury of small stores

selling different souvenirs,

like felt slippers, toys, bags,

dolls, mini yurts and so on. If

you want to buy some sou-

venirs – this is the place to

go. You can also have a walk

along Zhibek Zholy Street -

the pedestrian street in the

heart of the city, so-called “Al-

maty Arbat”, with comfort-

able benches and fountains,

shops and cafes.

The nights were left to

the group to explore the vi-

brant night life of Almaty

with its famous night clubs.

Overall the trip was ex-

tremely educational, memo-

rable and ended with happy

memories. by TNH DESK

Air Arabia holds FAM for leading touroperators from India Air Arabia holds a high-end exclusive FAM for Almaty for a few selectedand leading tour operators from Delhi and Mumbai.

Destination: ALMATY

Kazaghstan

Dates: Jan 24 – 28, 2014

Organized by: Hotel Ritz

Carlton, Almaty

Airline Partner: Air Arabia

Participants from Delhi:

Pankaj Nagpal, Travstarz

Holiday & Destinations

Rohit Shorey, Destinations

Travel

Ankur Kalra, Wellcome

Tours

Sachin Sharma, Odysseus

India

Sandeep Khetarpal, Cen-

tral Asia Guided Tours

Gopal Kapoor, Dook Travels

Ashish Sehgal, Hora

Tourism

Participants from Mum-

bai:

Sapneal Rao, SSR Holidays

Ajay Chabria, In Time Trav-

els

Aneel Gupta, Anjali Travels

Deepak Rupani, Om Holi-

days, Ahmedabad

From Air Arabia:

Praveen Kumar, Manager

North India – Air Arabia,

New Delhi

Trade News14


“Avery historic de-

cision has been

taken in which

the Ministry of External Af-

fairs (MEA), the National Se-

curity Advisor (NSA) and all

the related agencies have

unanimously supported in-

troduction of Electronic

Travel Authorisation

(ETAs),” informed, Parvez

Dewan, Union Tourism Sec-

retary, while inaugurating a

seminar titled ‘Think

Tourism-Think India:

Thought Leadership Meet,’

organised by The Associated

Chambers of Commerce and

Industry of India (AS-

SOCHAM).

“Though the decision has

been taken, the orders have

not been issued as the imple-

mentation does take time

and while the software for

the system is in place, there

is a need to train the man-

power,” said Dewan. “India

will have one of the friendliest

visa regimes once the elec-

tronic visa facility is intro-

duced.”

He further informed that

the Tourism Ministry has tied

up with world’s top hotel

school École Hôtelière Avi-

gnon.

The Tourism Secretary

also informed that setting up

of the Indian Culinary Insti-

tute (ICI) aimed at imparting

training top-notch training in

food has been formally ap-

proved the Ministry. “Cur-

rently, the training in food in

hotel management institutes

is a minor part of the curricu-

lum while the ICI will be a

repository of every single

recipe in India including even

the smallest community and

that would include research

and training the people in all

cuisines popular across

India.”

The ICI building will prob-

ably come in two years, while

it will be having a campus

each in Kolkata, Pinjore,

Noida and the headquarters

will be in Tirupati, he added.

Talking about domestic

tourism scenario, Dewan in-

formed that out of the popula-

tion of about 120 crore, India

has about 105 crore domestic

tourists as per 2012 figures

which is expected to slightly

improve when figures for 2013

are ascertained.

“Though India ranks at

39th spot in terms of foreign

tourist arrival and 16th in

terms of foreign exchange re-

ceipts but India has the high-

est per-capita spend of a

tourist in any country in the

world,” further informed the

Tourism Secretary. “We need

to go on about visa liberalisa-

tion.”Speaking about the sec-

tor, the chamber’s President,

Rana Kapoor said, “The

Travel and Tourism sector

has emerged as one of the key

sunrise sectors and a poten-

tial game changer for India by

driving equitable growth

through large scale employ-

ment for specialized as well

as unskilled workforce, devel-

oping remote locations, en-

couraging entrepreneurial

ventures at the micro level

and promoting environment

management.”

“India has signed 48

agreements with other coun-

tries and international organ-

isations to widen links of

friendship and mutual promo-

tion of tourism. Due to this,

total tourist visits in India

have grown at a steady rate of

about 16 per cent in the last

five years with a forecasted

growth rate of 12 per cent in

the next decade. The sector’s

direct contribution to GDP is

estimated at INR 2,222 billion

in 2013 and generated 25 mil-

lion direct employments in

2012, forecasted to increase

at a growth rate of 2.1 per

cent by 2023,” said Kapoor.

“Tourism in India is insu-

lated against economic fluctu-

ations and it is important to

leverage its potential through

a sustainable policy frame-

work, encouraging commu-

nity participation and

collaborative community

models, offering a holistic

platform to promote inclusive

growth and strengthening the

backward linkages of the in-

dustry,” further added the AS-

SOCHAM chief.

Amid others who spoke

during the ASSOCHAM semi-

nar included - Radu Octavian

Dobre, Charge D’Affaires,

Embassy of Romania, Nakul

Anand, Executive Director,

ITC Limited, Tushar Pandey,

Sr. President & Country Head

(PSPM), YES Bank, Dipak

Haksar, Chairman, National

Council for Tourism & Hospi-

tality, ASSOCHAM and COO,

ITC Hotels, Dr Ramesh

Kapur, Co-chairman, National

Council for Tourism & Hospi-

tality, ASSOCHAM and CMD,

A.B. Hotels Limited, Rakesh

Singh, Immediate Past Presi-

dent, ICAI, Li Qianguo, Dy, Di-

rector, China National

Tourism and D.S. Rawat, Sec-

retary General, ASSOCHAM .

India to introduce electronic visafacility by this year: Tourism SecretaryWith a view to liberalise the visa regime, officials in the Tourism Ministryare busy finalising introduction of the electronic visa facility within this yearas that would enable India to figure amid top four countries in globaltourism, Union Tourism Secretary said at an ASSOCHAM event held in NewDelhi recently.

�Prem Kumar

Trade News16


India’s leading integrated

travel and travel related

financial services com-

pany has introduced an inno-

vative product line, Fusion

Holidays, to target a new

emerging Indian consumer

segment.

Thomas Cook India’s in-

ternal research and trend re-

ports had highlighted the

emergence of a new market

segment- an increasingly

value conscious consumer but

an individual in his own right;

hence looking for value saver

travel packages without los-

ing out on personalization.

Thomas Cook’s strength in its

group travel business gives it

powerful economies of scale,

which when coupled with its

Personalised Holidays (FIT

business) offers unique flexi-

bility and freedom. Thus was

conceived a delightful amal-

gamation- ‘Fusion Holidays’-

which allows for the price ad-

vantages of group rates (fixed

departures) and the freedom

to customize one’s itineraries

at the destination.

And for the Indian trav-

eler of today, Fusion Holidays’

colloquial tag line captures

this duality delightfully-

“Saath bhi, Akele bhi”!

From weekend getaways

like Dubai and Sri Lanka or

the favourites of Singapore,

Thailand, Malaysia and Hong

Kong; the scenic splendor of

Switzerland; a smorgasbord

of culture and cuisine in Italy

and Spain; wildlife safaris

and adventure in South Africa

to idyllic island bliss in the

Maldives; Thomas Cook’s Fu-

sion Holidays offers an allur-

ing array of dream vacations!.

Thomas Cook India’s Fu-

sion Holidays are air-inclu-

sive packages: a combination

of airfare (with taxes), accom-

modation in 3 star hotels and

essential sightseeing. While

the departure dates and

hence air travel is fixed, cus-

tomers can personalize all

other components- be it an

upgraded hotel stay, add on

sightseeing tours, extended

stays, etc.

Shibani Phadkar, Senior

Vice President & Head -

Leisure Travel Outbound,

Products, Contracting, Oper-

ations & Tour Management,

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

said: “As pioneers in the holi-

day business we not only

carefully track evolving con-

sumer segments and trends,

but equally keep our product

innovation in top gear to en-

sure customer delight. Our

Fusion Holidays brings a

unique two pronged benefit to

a new Indian market seg-

ment- great value to cater to

increasing price sensitivity

while respecting his individu-

ality with the flexibility and

freedom of personalized op-

tions.”

Phadkar elaborated, “The

itinerary of each Fusion Holi-

day has been carefully de-

signed, to cover the must-do

sightseeing attractions while

leaving our customers suffi-

cient time to indulge in their

special interests via add on

tours. And with the Summer

holiday season just around

the corner, Fusion Holidays

assures our customers of a

truly unforgettable experi-

ence.” by TNH DESK

Thomas Cook Indialaunches ‘Fusion Holidays’The Company has created a new customersegment by combining the price advantage ofgroup tours, with the freedom to customizepersonal holiday itineraries.

The new store is located

at G-124, Sushant

Shopping Arcade,

Sushant Lok – 1 Gurgaon,

Haryana – 122009. Mr. Rao

Dharmpal, MLA of Haryana at-

tended the launch as Guest of

Honour. Ezeego1.com already

has an offline presence in Sri-

nagar, New Delhi, Noida,

Meerut and Ludhiana, amongst

other Indian markets.

The store will provide

travel services such as flight

tickets, hotel booking, car

rentals, holiday packages, rail,

cruise, bus, sightseeing, visa

and insurance, which are of-

fered on the website. With the

new launch, Ezeego1.com will

have a combined strength of 18

franchisees in India. They re-

cently opened a new offline

stores in Gujarat and Meerut.

Speaking on the launch,

Neelu Singh, COO,

Ezeego1.com said, “This is our

sixth store launch in North

India, which makes it one of

our most important markets.

With this launch, we aim to

reach out to a wider mass of

audience who prefers the con-

ventional method of travel

booking.”

As with all other stores,

Ezeego1.com will provide the

franchisee with an active mar-

keting, technical and store de-

velopment support. The mar-

keting activity will include print

and radio advertising, attrac-

tive and preferential commer-

cials. Store development

support will include store de-

signing to reinforce the brand’s

look and feel. Training and

technical support will be pro-

vided to all franchise staff to ef-

fectively address the changing

technology and enhance cus-

tomer interface.

Ezeego1.com is a compre-

hensive online portal that pro-

vides end-to-end travel related

services, including flight book-

ings, online hotel reservations,

holidays & package tours, car

rentals, train ticket booking,

bus tickets, cruises and more.

Founded in 2006, Ezeego1.com

helps you find the best deals on

air bookings on all Indian & In-

ternational Airlines flight

deals. Ezeego1.com is designed

on a three-pronged model to

cater effectively to the B2B seg-

ment that includes travel

agents, franchises and B2C, to

cater to the end consumer.

by TNH DESK

Ezeego1.com launches newfranchise store in GurgaonEzeego1.com, the online travel search haslaunched a new franchise store at Gurgaon,Haryana.

Neelu SinghCOO, Ezeego1.com

Trade News18


Dr. Adel ElMasry, Di-

rector, Egyptian

Tourism Office in

India and Deepak Narula,

Managing Director, Aman

Travels Limited inked a Mem-

orandum of Understanding

(MOU). The MOU aims to

launch an online educational

program for Travel Agents &

Tour Operators. The Agents

can reap the benefits of this

program by becoming experts

in selling Egypt.

To make it possible a joint

initiative named as Egypt Ex-

perts have been launched,

where a travel agent can reg-

ister, read the content about

Egypt to enhance his/her

knowledge and can become a

certified destination specialist

by answering few questions.

This website will be bene-

ficial for travel agents and to

ETO. Other add on benefits an

Egypt Expert can receive are-

FAM trips, Egypt Experts club

membership,invitations to at-

tend exclusive events, addi-

tional training modules by

Egypt Tourism Office, leads

for more businesses, pre-

ferred agent status from

Egypt Tourism Office.

“It gives me immense

pleasure and joy to co-partici-

pate with Aman Travels on

the launch of Egypt Experts. I

am happy to co-sponsor this

new online educational pro-

gram for Travel Agents and

Tour Operators. I invite all the

agents to participate in this

program in large numbers.

For amazing value we urge

you to take this wonderful

journey & familiarize yourself

with this wonderful product

about Egypt incorporated

within all its varied and diver-

sified modules. I congratulate

Aman Travels for their initia-

tive and my best wishes on the

happy launching of this pro-

grammme, said Dr. Adel El

Masry.

“With the launch of this

initiative of online training

program Egypt Experts, we

wish to create more aware-

ness about Egypt as destina-

tion which is recovering fast

to achieve another peak in the

inbound tourist arrivals. This

online educational tool will

help an agency to understand

Egypt better and they will be

in a position to sell more. We

wish to enroll more than 100

agents in the first month itself

and gradually increase the

numbers,” remarked Deepak

Narula.

by TNH DESK

Collaboration of Egyptian Tourism Officeand Aman Travels Limited, IndiaAman Travels Limited and Egypt Tourism Office (ETO) together havelaunched an online website to become an Egypt Expert.

Ixigo.com, India’s leading

travel planning & search en-

gine, has announced a major

revamp to its trip planner

product with some great con-

tent and social features. An-

nouncing the revamp,

AlokeBajpai, CEO & Co-

Founder said - “Thanks to

the ever-expanding content

coverage on trip planner and

our unbundled approach to

solving specific travel use

cases on mobile apps, we

have registered a 2x year-on-

year growth. We now have

over 2.5 million active users

every month and have seen

almost 2.5 million app down-

loads across our 5 apps. We

think this is just the begin-

ning!”

New Features

Street view of monuments

– ixigo has become the first

travel site to integrate the

Google street view feature to

offer 360-degree views of his-

torical monuments. ixigoers

will now be able to get

panoramic views of key mon-

uments and historical sites

in India, providing a real vir-

tual tourist experience of

what the place actually looks

like. This will help travellers

in planning their trips better

by knowing in advance what

to expect at these historical

sites.

Expanded content cov-

erage - ixigo now covers

tourist information over 5000

cities, towns and hill-stations

in India. It provides detailed

information including names,

addresses, locations, photos,

opening timings, prices, de-

tailed tourist guides etc. for

over 63000 places to visit,

17000 activities and things to

do, 16000 hotels, 5000 nature

and wildlife spots and over

5,000 tips from travellers.

This makes it more compre-

hensive than any other travel

site in India.

Finding restaurants

across the country – ixigo

now features over 65,000

restaurants across India on

its website and apps. ixigo

also offers the useful ‘Near

Me’ location-based mobile

feature in its app that helps

people explore great local

places to eat at, stay or ex-

plore in whichever city they

are.

Ability to add new

places and pictures - Trav-

ellers can now add interest-

ing places to visit, hotels,

restaurants and even photos

making the website more

comprehensive, and in turn

more informative for fellow

travellers.

User Generated Ratings

& Reviews - ixigoers can

now easily rate and review a

place they visited on the web-

site or on the ixigo apps for

android and iOS. ixigo al-

ready offers over 175,000 re-

views and over 23,000

ratings of places. These rat-

ings and reviews are used to

rank places better in ixigo’s

search results.

Review of trains and

train stations – The ixigo

trains app now provides

users with the ability to rate

and review trains, platforms

and facilities while on the go.

“Travellers have become

more independent than ever;

a recent survey we con-

ducted among frequent trav-

ellers revealed that 67% like

to plan their trip themselves.

With our relentless focus on

mobile, semantic search,

depth of content and user-

generated photos, ratings

and reviews, we are well po-

sitioned to become the brand

of choice for Indian travellers

looking for smarter travel re-

search & planning tools and

trustworthy travel informa-

tion.” said Rajnish Kumar,

CTO & Co-Founder,

ixigo.com.

Ixigo revamps trip planner,bets big on content & appsImproved content coverage and mobile appscontribute to 2x YoY growth.

Tunis offers the best

value for Indian trav-

ellers this year when

it comes to the common inci-

dental costs while staying in a

hotel, according to a cost com-

parison report released today

by TripAdvisor, the world’s

largest travel site.

The results are taken from

the second annual TripAdvi-

sor TripIndex Room Service

report, which compares the

cost of room service items in

48 popular destinations

around the world. The study

takes into account the cost of

a club sandwich ordered

through room service, the dry

cleaning of one shirt and from

the mini bar: a bottle of water,

peanuts, amini bottle of vodka

and a can of cola.

The combined cost of

these room service items will

set you back by `1138 in

Tunis – almost five timesless

thanat the costliest destina-

tion, Helsinki, where the price

totals INR 5498. South

Africa’s Cape Town follows

closely as the second best

value destination for room

service at `1419, while an-

other Scandinavian city, Oslo,

is revealed as the second most

expensive at Rs.5415.

The room rate alone does-

n’t give an accurate picture of

what the full cost of staying at

a hotel can be, especially

when you see the wide range

of prices for everyday room

service items between desti-

nations around the

world.TripIndex Room Serv-

ice gives travellers a useful

snapshot of where their

money will stretch the fur-

thest when it comes to the

cost of these items.

Our very own Mumbai

ranks number 14 among the

least expensive cities with the

combined cost of the room

service items being `1916.76.

However, when you consider

the cost of room service and

room rate combined the cost

comes to `9787.71.

Shell out in Scandinavia,

see savings in Africa

This year’s results show that

you are likely to pay a lot

more as four Scandinavian

cities make it into theworld’s

top ten most expensive desti-

nations.

Europe as a whole domi-

nates the most expensive list

laying claim to six of the top

ten. Helsinki in Finland and

Oslo in Norway take first and

second place respectively

while Zurich, Stockholm and

Paris are placed fourth, fifth

and sixth. Seoul is the only

non-European city to be

named in the top five most ex-

pensive destinations.

Travellers looking to bag a

bargain should head south

toAfrica where three of the

continent’s destinations fea-

ture in the top five places of-

fering the best value – Tunis

in Tunisia, Cape Townin

South Africa and Marrakechin

Morocco.In Europe, the least

expensive city destination for

room service is Budapest,

where a full set of basket

items will cost over a third of

the price of the equivalent

items’ cost in Helsinki.

London not as pricey as

once perceived

London is often considered

one of the world’s most expen-

sive destinations, but when it

comes to the common costs in-

curred once checked-in to a

Tunis and Cape Town offer best valueroom service for Indians abroad TripAdvisorTripIndex Room Service compares the price of hotel amenitiesin 48 popular destinations around the world.

TripIndex Room Service at a glanceFrom the least expensive to the most expensive (green and orange indicate least and most expensive destinations for each item respectively):


19Report

Report20


hotel, the capital actually

provides better value

than many rival Euro-

pean cities. This year, the

capital city is ranked 13th

place in the priciest list –

making it a cheaper op-

tion than New York and

Paris.

Jakarta best value for

room service and room

rates combined

While Tunis is re-

vealed as the number one

destination for best value

room service, when you

consider the cost of room

service and room rate

combined, Jakarta at INR

7335.17 replaces Tunis as

number one destination

for value overall.

In the most expensive

list, it seems that pricey

room service and pricey

hotel room rates go hand-

in-hand as eight of the

costliest destinations re-

main in the top 10. This

time however, New York

City replaces Helsinki as

the most expensive with a

total cost of Rs

26679.76compared with

Helsinki’s Rs 17891.39.

IATO’s special luncheon

meeting held today at The

Park Hotel, Parliament Street

New Delhi added glamour and

glitz with the presence of An-

geli Dione Gomez, Miss

Tourism International

2013/14.

The event was to honour

her for winning the title of

Miss Tourism International

2013/14 and being Brand Am-

bassador of International

Tourism.

“She will also help us to

boost tourism between India

and Philippines and of course

with other countries being the

Miss Tourism International”

Said Subhash Goyal, Presi-

dent, Indian Association of

Tour Operators (IATO).

In her address Miss

Gomez talked about India’s

Natural Beauty, Art, Culture,

Warmth of People and Hospi-

tality of India.

Pravez Dewan, Secretary

Tourism, Government, of

India was the Chief Guest and

profusely talked about the ini-

tiatives taken by the Govern-

ment of India to boost

International tourist arrivals

to our country particular E-

visa and Visa-on-Arrival.

On this occasion Sanjay

Razdan, MD, Razdan Holi-

days was also honoured for

his winning the “Desert Storm

Car Rally” in Rajasthan.

IATO paid homage to Ram

Kohli founder President, In-

dian Association of Tour Op-

erators and Chairman of

Creative Travel and also to

Francis Wacziarg, Co-chair-

man and founder, Neemrana

Hotels. by TNH DESK

IATO honours Miss AngeliDione Gomez, MissTourism International

Cox & Kings Ltd and

Ezeego1.com have

come together to put a

spin on adventure tourism in

India. They have formed an al-

liance with G Adventures, the

largest small-group adventure

travel company in the world

that offers socially and envi-

ronmentally sensitive travel.

Adventure tourism is a rel-

atively nascent concept in

India, which is why it is largely

unexplored. With this revolu-

tion, Cox & Kings,

Ezeego1.com and G Adven-

tures together are combining

the pleasures of travel with a

sense of responsibility. This is

a wish come true for millions

of young Indians, who wish to

leave behind their inhibitions

and explore the world, while

doing something good for the

environment and future gener-

ations. The objective is to pre-

serve destinations that

travellers love and enjoy, for

future. The priority is bringing

about a positive social change

through travel. In fact, it is this

common conviction of giving

back to society that has

brought together these stal-

warts in the travel space. This

synergy has resulted in the

birth of a safe and reliable ad-

venture travel product, which

will transform the mindset of

Indian travellers towards ad-

venture and sustainable

tourism. These holidays will

be powered by G Adventures.

There is abundant choice

for all kinds of travellers to sa-

tiate their passion for travel.

Travel styles range from

YOLO Tours (You Only Live

Once, so live fast, live free!);

Local Living Tours (Don’t just

visit; move right in!); Classic

Tours (Authentic and down-to-

earth!); Active Tours (If your

genes were made for walking);

Marine Tours (Sail the seas,

conquer the river, ride the

ocean); Expedition Cruises

(Find your cruise); Family

Tours (You, the kids and na-

ture in all her glory!); Comfort

Tours (Adventures with extra

frills); Private Group Tours (2

is company, 3 is a crowd, 8 is a

group).

Speaking on the associa-

tion, Bruce Poon Tip,

Founder of G Adventures,

“India is an exciting and dy-

namic market with huge po-

tential for G Adventures. It’s

experiencing rapid growth in

terms of outbound tourism

and with global demand for

adventure travel also continu-

ing to grow, now is the perfect

time to introduce it as a new

way to see the world. Cox and

Kings is such a well respected

company and it’s an honour to

partner with them. We’re look-

ing forward to welcoming In-

dian travellers on our small

group trips around the world.”

According to Karan

Anand, Head-Relationships,

Cox & Kings Ltd. said, “We do

not just sell holidays. We sell

experiences that reinforce

your love for travel. We saw an

opportunity to whet India’s ap-

petite for adventure and make

them feel as passionately

about travel and sustainability

as we do. We could not have

found a better partner than G

Adventures to bring this revo-

lution to India. They have done

some spectacular work in the

area of sustainable travel,

which will only inspire us fur-

ther.”

As stated by Neelu Singh,

COO, Ezeego1.com, “Innova-

tion has become the buzzword

today. We are at the helm of a

digital euphoria wherein trav-

ellers are adventurous, re-

sponsible and tech savvy. This

is a proud moment for us as

we partner with G Adventures

who has revolutionized the

travel space while maintaining

their vision for a sustainable

future. We are excited to start

a revolutionary travel experi-

ence for all our customers

with all our combined

strengths.”

To kick-start this venture,

G Adventure, Cox & Kings and

Ezeego1.com have come to-

gether and launched the ‘Grab

Your Dream’ contest, which

will give aspiring travellers a

chance to win an adventure of

a lifetime. The contest will be

spread over four seasons with

each season having 12 lucky

winners and they will get a

chance to explore destinations

across the world, on an all-ex-

pense paid trip. It is an once-

in-a-lifetime break to Grab

Your Dream. The entrant just

needs to convince us why they

deserve to be the face of our

Adventure products. All one

needs to do is register on

www.grabyourdream.com and

choose a platform to showcase

the adventurer in you. It could

be through videos, photographs

or blogs.

Each participant can sub-

mit five entries in all. Invite

your friends, family and col-

leagues to vote for you. The ap-

plications are then reviewed by

the Jury based on quality and

creativity of submitted content.

The Jury’s decision is final.

The final round entails a face-

to-face interview that gives you

a chance to prove that you are

the best person to qualify for

the final 12 positions.

The winners will visit one

or more destinations, which

will be allocated at our discre-

tion. by TNH DESK

Cox & Kings, Ezeego1.com with GAdventures to promoteadventure tourism Cox & Kings and Ezeego1.com have formed alliance with G Adventures topromote adventure tourism. Launched ‘Grab Your Dream’, chance for 50adventurers to travel free.


21Trade News

Heritage/Trade News22


Famed as the largest mu-

seum in India and one

of the best museums in

Asia, the Indian Museum in

Kolkata displays rare artefacts.

It is the only destination in con-

temporary India to flaunt relics

of Lord Buddha dating back to

2,700 years old. In a unique ini-

tiative, the Bengal Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (BCCI)

has taken up an interesting proj-

ect- Buddhist Tourist Circuit

that aims to make Kolkata the

most significant Buddhist pil-

grim destination of India in the

coming period and bring a surge

in Buddhist tourist footfalls from

South-East Asia.

It is believed that Lord Bud-

dha’s body was partially cre-

mated and buried in Kusinagar

in Bihar after his demise. Manab

Pal, Chairman-Tourism, BCCI

explained, “The Archaeological

Survey of India (ASI) had car-

ried out excavations in Kusina-

gar way back in 1994 and

discovered the bones of Lord

Buddha that were displayed at

National Museum in New Delhi.

A part of Lord Buddha’s bones

were brought to Indian Museum

in Kolkata but only around 9 per

cent of the bones were exhib-

ited. The museum remained

closed for six months and was

reopened in February, this year.

Tourists can take a peek at Bud-

dha’s relics including two bones

that are treasured at the Terra-

cotta Gallery on the ground floor

of Indian Museum. Apart from

India, there is Buddha temple in

Kandy in Sri Lanka that flaunts

a single tooth of Lord Buddha

and is a revered destination for

Buddhist pilgrims.”

Dr. Manmohan Singh, the

Prime Minister of India had said

during the reopening of Indian

Museum that museum portrays

culture and history of the coun-

try and relics are to be dis-

played for tourists visiting the

museum. Manab Pal informed,

“We have approached the In-

dian Museum authorities to

form a separate enclosure for

the display of Buddha’s relics

and build a separate entrance

for global Buddhist pilgrims to

wash their hands and feet for

paying their obeisance to Lord

Buddha.”

Indian Museum preservesrare Buddha relicsBCCI has proposed the Indian Museum to have aseparate enclosure for rarest of Buddha’s relics ina bid to woo global Buddhist pilgrims to Kolkata.

The aims of BCCI’sBuddhist Tourist

Circuit project are:•Has proposed theIndian Museum to

come up with a sepa-rate enclosure forBuddha’s relics.

•Set up a separateentrance in IndianMuseum for globalBuddhist pilgrims.

•Transform Kolkatainto a prominent Bud-dhist pilgrim hub of

India.•To hike the numberof global flights fromSouth-East Asia to

Kolkata. •To surge the flow ofBuddhist pilgrimsfrom Pacific RIM

countries to Kolkata.

SnapShot

�Swaati Chaudhury

RezNext, the world’s

only true real-time

distribution com-

pany has announced that it

has signed up 300+ hotels

across 35 cities in India be-

tween January and February

2014.These customers join

the 400+ customers who

signed up for RezNext prod-

ucts in 2013.

“This large adoption rate

is testimony to the fact that

hotels in India are looking at

the real-time distribution

model that RezNext offers to

address the existing chal-

lenges in the hotel distribu-

tion business.We advocate

an integrated distribution

model where hoteliers have

access to revenue manage-

ment intelligence that helps

them clearly define their dis-

tribution goals and focus on

channel management from a

yield perspective,” said Mike

Kistner, Chief Executive of-

ficer, RezNext Global Solu-

tions Pvt. Ltd. “I am very

pleased with the growing ad-

dition to our customer base

and look forward to an excit-

ing year ahead for RezNext.”

RezNext has partnered

with best of breed global in-

dustry solution providers to

offer an

end-to-end solution suite

that caters to the entire dis-

tribution ecosystem.Core to

the offering is the real-time

two-way interfaced propri-

etary technology that allows

hoteliers to distribute their

inventory real-time on elec-

tronic distribution channels.

According to Mike Kistner,

“At RezNext we are guided

by the philosophy of helping

our customers improves

their revenues while au-

tomating key processes. Our

real-time two-way connect

with leading online travel

agents like Goibibo helps

hoteliers publish their rates

and inventory real-time. Our

technology automates the

booking process including

modifications and cancella-

tions allowing hotels to focus

on theprimary function of

providing great service to

their guests. Hoteliers have

adopted this model and can

clearly see the benefits this

brings their business.”

Among the signups for

RezNext products, the

largest traction is seen with

RezE, the web booking en-

gine solution. “RezNext has

been actively propagating

the importance of converting

the hotel’s website into a

strong distribution channel.

In global countries while

major brands drive about

33% of their bookings from

their website, in India this is

only at 7.7%. With RezE, ho-

tels can power their websites

and display real-time inven-

tory for sale. In addition to

this,hotels can also promote

specific real-time packages

on their website thus improv-

ing the opportunity to drive

more bookings through this

channel, said Mike Kistner.

by TNH DESK

RezNext sees strongmomentum in sales growthOnboards 300+ customers between January-February 2014 increasing its customer base to700+ hotels in a span of 6 months.


23Government News

People of Kerala will

hereafter get a chance

to learn the rich by-

gone era of a ‘lost city’ which

played a crucial role in mold-

ing the socio-politico culture of

the state, with the government

on Sunday opening four muse-

ums under the Muziris Her-

itage Project.

The museums available for

visitors are the Kerala History

Museum, housed in the Paliam

Kovilakam, Kerala Lifestyle

Museum in Paliam Nalukettu,

Kerala Jews Historical Mu-

seum housed in Paravur Syna-

gogue and Kerala Jews

Lifestyle Museum in Chen-

damangalam Synagogue. All

museums are equipped with

video screens, touch screens

and information panels to help

the visitors understand the

rich history of the region.

Kerala Tourism Director S

Harikishore, who visited and

opened the museums for pub-

lic on Sunday, said that the

mega heritage project would

be inaugurated after the com-

pletion of visitors centre, activ-

ity centre, convention and

research centre and hop on-

hop off boat service. “We de-

cided to open the museums for

public because we completed

the conservation projects on

time and deployed staff and

guides in the museums. In ad-

dition to the four museums, the

people can also visit heritage

sites like Pattanam, Paravur

Market, Kottappuram Fort,

Kottapuram Market, Chera-

man Juma Masjid, Gothuruthu

Performance Centre and Pal-

lipuram Fort,” he said.

Harikishore said that the

museums would remain open

from 10 am to 5 pm on all days

except Monday.

“The Muziris Heritage

Project is one of the biggest

conservation projects in the

modern history of India. It is

because of this magnitude that

both the Central and state gov-

ernments have come together

to conserve and showcase a

culture of more than three

millennia,” Hon’ble Minister

for Tourism A P Anil Kumar

said.

He said “the project gives

the people an opportunity to

walk the same road once trav-

elled by explorers and traders

in ancient Muziris.”

Paliam Kovilakam was the

residence of Paliath Achans,

who were prime ministers to

the erstwhile maharajas of

Kochi in the 16th century. An

architectural wonder, with its

carved stairways and

balustrades, the Paliam Kovi-

lakam is situated in Chen-

damangalam. The 18th

century Paliam Nalukettu was

where the female members

and minor boys of the Paliam

family lived.

The project site is spread

across North Paravur munici-

pality in Ernakulam district

and Kodungallur municipality

in Thrissur district with 12

panchayats-Chendaman-

galam, Chittatukara,

Vadakkekara, Pallipuram,

Eriyad, Mala, Mathilakam,

Poyya, Puthenvelikkara,

Sree Narayana Puram, Vel-

langalore and Edavilangu.

“The Muziris Heritage

Project focuses on sustain-

ability and involvement of

local communities. The proj-

ect follows international

guidelines such as the UN-

ESCO Charters on heritage

conservation,” said Kerala

Tourism Secretary Suman

Billa.

The museums will provide

the people an insight into

multi-layered history of the

ancient port city, which myste-

riously disappeared sometime

after the first century A.D.

The state government’s

decision to revive the Muziris

Heritage Project has been

widely praised by countries

across the world, including

China, South Korea, Japan,

Singapore, Russia and

Bangladesh. The UNESCO

and the United Nations World

Tourism Organization

(UNWTO) have also backed

the state government’s con-

servation efforts. by TNH DESK

Museums on Muzirisheritage opened to publicThe museums would remain open from 10 am to5 pm on all days except Monday.

Hospitality/Government News24


The West Bengal govern-

ment is rolling out plans

to boost rural tourism

beyond the beach resort of Digha

in the district of Midnapore with

an aim to woo both domestic and

foreign tourists. A detailed proj-

ect report (DPR) is being pre-

pared for rural tourism project

in and around Digha.

The project worth Rs 25

crore intends to offer some

novel experiences to tourists

like authentic rural culture,

watching local craftsmen and

women crafting conch shells,

wall hangings, lampshades and

bangles from sea shells and

stroll in tamarisk forests and

beaches of Digha and

Shankarpur. It aims to make

tourists familiar beyond Digha

like Tajpur beach.

The department of tourism,

West Bengal plans to establish

eco-friendly rural tourism clus-

ters in coastal hamlets of Ram-

nagar I Block surrounding Digha

on public-private partnership

(PPP) model. The area is in the

coastal regulatory zone that does

not allow concrete construction.

A road stretching 7 km will be

build from Digha to Shankarpur

with mud huts on either side of

the road. by TNH DESK

Digha to receive eco-tourismfacelift

Concerned with the

fear of being delisted

from UNESCO, the

132-year-old Darjeeling Hi-

malayan Railway (DHR) has

resumed its service on the

Kurseong-Darjeeling and

Siliguri-Rang Tong stretches.

The move will help to neutral-

ize the chance of the coun-

try’s oldest mountain railway

system losing its heritage tag.

The toy train was de-

clared as a World Heritage

Site by UNESCO in 1999 and

is the world’s second narrow

gauge railway next to Sem-

mering in Austria. The Hi-

malayan railway was hit by

severe landslides and UN-

ESCO had expressed con-

cerns on the status of DHR.

All UNESCO listed World Her-

itage Sites are looked after by

a comprehensive conserva-

tion and management.

Ghoom is the second

highest railway station in the

world to be connected by

steam locomotive. The

Kurseong-Siliguri section of

the toy train has stopped its

service since 2010 after being

affected by landslide. DHR

has been running truncated

service between Darjeeling

and Kurseong in the hills and

Siliguri and Rang Tong in the

foothills. The Indian Railways

is facing an acute shortage of

funds and UNESCO has sanc-

tioned Rs 42.5 crore to the In-

dian Railways to relay the

tracks. Only 13 km of the

stretch need to be bridged to

run the full service.

by TNH DESK

Darjeeling HimalayanRailway resumes service

After receiving several

coveted accolades in

the recent past, The

Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

(a.k.a. THE MET) continues

its award-winning streak by

winning the “Outstanding

Hotel Partner Award” for

achieving the Highest Rev-

enue in the Independent Hotel

category by one of the most

reputed travel portals, Book-

ing.com. This award is solely

based on for providing un-

matched hospitality services,

comfort and luxury to guests

coming from across the globe.

Expressing his happiness

at this prestigious moment,

Vipul Gupta, Executive Direc-

tor, The Metropolitan Hotel &

Spa, says, “We are delighted

to be conferred with this

honor and express our grati-

tude towards Booking.com for

recognizing our efforts. The

Met has always tried to give

the best of the services to its

customers and will always

keep trying to exceed their ex-

pectations.”

Booking.com awards are

one of the most valuable &

renowned awards, which are

given to the selective hotels

basis their excellent perform-

ance. Booking.com is inform-

ative, user-friendly web portal

that guarantees the best

available prices. Its goal is to

provide business and leisure

travelers with the most acces-

sible and cost-effective way of

discovering and booking the

broadest selection of accom-

modation, in every corner of

the world.

The Metropolitan Hotel &

Spa, New Delhi is a Five Star

Deluxe full service hotel lo-

cated in the heart of the busi-

ness and commercial hub of

New Delhi, and provides easy

access to most of the corpo-

rate and financial centres,

ministries, embassies and the

International Trade Fair

grounds. Now nicknamed as

“THE MET” – the smart and

swanky hotel is a member of

Great Hotels of the World,

Luxury Collection and pro-

vides a peek into the future of

hospitality. The Met, a fine

blend of style and substance,

welcomes guests to a fresh at-

mosphere with vivid, minimal-

ist, urban, stylish designs,

and let them slip into

smoothest place with warm

and thoughtful service. Liber-

ally sprinkled with both busi-

ness essentials and travel

comforts, The Met is the per-

fect destination for finest liv-

ing for an international

business and upscale leisure

traveler. Come, LIVE MET

SMART at this prestigious

property in New Delhi, India.

by TNH DESK

The Metropolitan Hotel &Spa bags ‘OutstandingHotel Partner’ titleThe Metropolitan Hotel & Spa bags title of‘Outstanding Hotel Partner’ by renownedBOOKING.COM

(L-R) Kakoli Bannerjee, Head, Sales & Sanzeev Bhatia, Gen-eral Manager, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

We are delighted to beconferred with this honourand express our gratitudetowards Booking.com for

recognizing our efforts. TheMet has always tried to givethe best of the services to

its customers.

“

“


25Government News

Here’s a piece of ex-

citing news for Sen-

ior citizens of India

looking forward to travel to

the coral paradise of Lak-

shadweep. In the latest move

to pull tourists to experience

unlimited sea adventure, the

department of tourism under

the aegis of administration of

Union Territory of Lakshad-

weep is offering around 10

per cent flat discount on

package tours for Senior citi-

zens of India from this year

onwards.

Set up way back in 1956,

Lakshadweep has a group of

36 islands and is around 440

km away from Cochin to-

wards the west coast of Ker-

ala. The islands of Minicoy,

Kadmat, Kavaratti, Kalpeni

and Agatti are open for

tourists and there are basic

tourism infrastructure in the

uninhabited islands of Thin-

nakkara and Bangaram. The

islands of Kavaratti, Kadmat

and Minicoy are equipped

with beach resorts. The de-

partment of tourism is trying

to boost the islands as water

sports destination with a

plethora of water sports ac-

tivities like kayaking, scuba

diving, snorkeling, wind surf-

ing, water skiing, rafting,

parasailing, jet skiing and

deep sea fishing.

There is Lakshadweep

Diving Academy that came up

in 2012 to make the island

into Asia’s best diving hub

and is known as India’s pre-

mier diving academy. There

are a number of diving cen-

tres in islands including

Kavaratti, Kadmat, Ban-

garam, Agatti and Minicoy

that are into providing certi-

fied scuba diving courses.

The residents of the islands

have been imparted training

to serve as diving instructors.

The water sports equipments

like kayaks, paddle boats,

skiing boats, sailing yachts

and glass-bottomed boats are

on offer in the islands. Of

late, the union territory has

emerged as a unique adven-

ture sport-nature tourism

destination for adventure

buffs.

The department of

tourism has devised six kinds

of tour packages including

Lakshadweep Samudhram-

cruising to Kavaratti, Kalpeni

and Minicoy, coral reef tour of

Kavaratti, Kalpeni and Mini-

coy, marine wealth aware-

ness at Kadmat, Taratashi

tour of Kavaratti, swaying

palm tour – an island tour of

Minicoy and scuba diving

tour at Kavaratti.

According to A M Hus-

sain, Assistant Director, De-

partment of Tourism

Development, Administration

of Union Territory of Lak-

shadweep, “We have ambi-

tious plans to commission

two passenger ships in the

current year to develop the

connectivity to the islands.

The presence of virgin

beaches forms the main USP

of our destination. The best

time to visit the islands is

from October to May. Bengal

tourists record the highest

footfall in Lakshadweep

while European travellers

mostly visit Bangaram Is-

land. Mumbai, Pune and

Kolkata form our key tourist

markets.” Hussain was

speaking at Lakshadweep

Tourism Meet in Kolkata on

March 3.

The nearest take-off

point for Lakshadweep is

Cochin both by air and ship.

“Tourists can stay for a pe-

riod of six days in the is-

lands. There were around

5,500 domestic visitors to

Lakshadweep and about 10

per cent global visitors last

year. We expect at least 20

per cent rise in tourist ar-

rivals this year,” added Hus-

sain.

High value eco-tourism inIndia’s marine wonderlandLakshadweep is blessed by nature’s gloriouslargesse and is best known as high value eco-tourism destination of India.

�Swaati ChaudhuryPackage tours ofLakshadweep

Tourism:•Lakshadweep

Samudhram-a five-day ship-based tour.•Coral Reef package.

•Marine wealthawareness pro-

gramme.•Taratashi package-

an island tour ofKavaratti.

•Swaying palm pack-age.

•Scuba diving pack-age.

SnapShot

Bishnupur, the pre-

colonial temple

town in West Ben-

gal famed for terracotta

temples, paintings and Gha-

rana of Hindustani classi-

cal music is vying to receive

UNESCO’s World Heritage

tag with the support of Ar-

chaeological Survey of

India (ASI). The temple

town flourished during 17th

century and was under the

reign of Malla dynasty.

Once the temple town is

accorded the World Her-

itage site status, there

would be a master plan for

the renovation of the entire

heritage precinct and the

flow of tourism would re-

ceive a boost generating

business prospects. All il-

legal structures in and

around the reputed Jor Bag

temple would be demol-

ished. Besides, local crafts

and culture would be in

focus and get global recog-

nition. There is an array of

temples in the town lying in

ruins. With the heritage

tag, all the dilapidated tem-

ples would receive conser-

vation and retain their lost

glory. by TNH DESK

Bishnupur eyeing WorldHeritage tag

We have ambitiousplans to commissiontwo passenger ships inthe current year to de-velop the connectivityto the islands. Thepresence of virginbeaches forms the

main USP of our desti-nation.

““

A M Hussain, AssistantDirector, Tourism, Lak-shadweep

Government News26


In a unique initiative to cap-

tivate a major chunk of do-

mestic tourists, Goa

Tourism Development Corpora-

tion Limited (GTDC) is offering

a boost to festival tourism in the

state. Some of the major and

most popular festivals of Goa

are Christmas, New Year’s, and

Heritage Festival, Carnival,

Shigmo, Cashew and Coconut

festival.

Experiencing the Goan cul-

ture can be incredibly exciting

experience for tourists during

their trips to the state. GTDC is

all set to host Cashew and Co-

conut festival in May that would

exhibit cashew and coconut

delicacies and its allied prod-

ucts.

Shigmo festival is held from

March 16 to 30. Nilesh Cabral,

Chairman, GTDC explained,

“Culture forms a significant as-

pect of Goa and festival tourism

is going great guns in the state.

A large number of tourists vis-

iting Goa are planning their

itineraries during festive sea-

son. The biggest spring festival

in the state is Shigmo that

forms a spectacular 14-day

show of Goan mythology and

ethnicity at the annual Shigmo

parade that takes centre stage

across the state. A number of

groups comprising men and

women in traditional attire put

up vibrant performances and

they are interspersed with

small groups that move with

traditional Goan drums.”

The visa-on-arrival initia-

tive taken up by Central gov-

ernment will be extended to

global tourists arriving from

180 countries to India. Cabral

informed, “Global tourists will

no longer have to visit the local

consulates to get their visas

and can avail of visa-on-arrival

facility at international airports

in India. We are quite optimistic

about this facility since it will

enhance the flow of global

tourists into the state. We are

stressing on to boost family

tourism that will enable par-

ents and children to visit to-

gether and enjoy the fun

activities like heritage walks,

camps, water sports, eco tours

and wildlife activities.”

Goa Tourism is also looking

ahead to take-off new projects

that include sea plane, hot air

balloon, family theme parks,

golf course and marinas that

would surge the flow of family

tourists into the state. It has

categorized 34 infrastructural

projects to be completed within

a span of three years. Goa

Tourism is looking at a possibil-

ity of tie-up with private hospi-

tality groups to transform its

properties into world-class

standards.

Goa’s beaches are highly

popular for both domestic and

global travellers and ensuring

safety of tourist is high on the

agenda of GTDC. Cabral added,

“We have launched develop-

ment and cleanliness drive on

beaches. The state will soon

boast in having one of the

cleanest beaches in South-East

Asia. We have deployed life

guard system and adequate

cops at the beaches who will be

posted till midnight. CCTV cam-

eras will be installed in areas

that have high tourist footfall.”

Goa Tourism is concentrating

on domestic tourist markets of

West Bengal, Karnataka, Ma-

harashtra, Gujarat, New Delhi,

Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra

Pradesh and Kerala. The po-

tential global tourist markets

are Russia, the United King-

dom, Germany, Italy, France,

Central and Eastern Europe

and the Baltics. “It is for the

first time that the state has

crossed three million tourist ar-

rival mark. The arrival of do-

mestic tourists has surged by

12.47 per cent while the hike in

global tourists has been 9.27

per cent last year,” further

added Cabral.

In an effort to offer a boost

to MICE tourism in the state,

plans are on the anvil to set up

a convention centre with a seat-

ing capacity of 5,000 people. It is

a great destination for blending

work with leisure. “The state

has vintage hotels and has been

involved in MICE and wedding

tourism since a number of

years. The state figures high in

corporate initiatives in the

country,” summed up Cabral.

Goa beckons with festivaltourismThe all-time favourite tourist hotspot of Goa isbetting big on festival tourism.

�Swaati Chaudhury

Latest initiatives ofGoa Tourism:

•To promote festivaland family tourism.•Cashew and Co-

conut Festival in May,2014.

•Cleanliness and de-velopment drive on

beaches.•Deployed life guardsand cops on beaches. •Would install CCTVcameras on beaches.

SnapShot

Nilesh CabralChairman, GTDC

In an effort to explore the

riverine routes of Bengal

and Bihar, the West Ben-

gal government has launched

its open-waterway policy with

the exciting river cruise from

Kolkata to Patna sometime in

mid-February. For years, wa-

terway in the Gangetic Plains

has remained unutilized. The

state government has signed

MoU with Assam Bengal Nav-

igation that forms one of the

most premier luxury river

cruise operators in the east-

ern region of India.

The luxury cruise is all set

to touch the significant her-

itage destinations of Bengal.

The cruise is pegged at Rs

11,500 per person for a single

night and includes all luxury

facilities. It will make

stopovers at Barrackpore,

Chandarnagore, Kalna,

Nabadwip, Mayapur, Plassey,

Murshidabad, Farakka, Bha-

galpur, Monghyr and eventu-

ally reach Patna. It would take

seven days to reach Farakka

and another eight days to

make it to Patna. The vessel is

well-equipped with restau-

rants, bar, salon and spa. The

state government is acting as

a facilitator in the luxury

cruise and would extend all

support in receiving statutory

clearances within shortest

time. It has also signed MoU

with another luxury cruise,

Heritage River Cruise.

by TNH DESK

Luxury Ganga Cruise fromKolkata to Patna


27Government News

In a bid to tap the tourist

market from the eastern

region and North-eastern

region of India, Maharashtra

Tourism Development Corpo-

ration (MTDC) for the first

time hosted an interactive

road show with the prominent

travel groups in Kolkata some-

time on February 17.

For tourists seeking to lux-

uriate in the lap of nature or to

take a sneak peek into the

treasured past or stroll on the

white sands of picture-perfect

beaches, Maharashtra has un-

limited weekend getaways. En-

dowed with 720 km of long

coastline, 40 national parks

and 100 beaches with ameni-

ties and safety, the state has a

plethora of surprises for do-

mestic and global travellers.

Maharashtra has infinite

tourism potential and was

once not dependent on tourism

owing to its robust economy.

According to Dr. Jagdish

Patil, Managing Director,

MTDC, “We get the highest

number of global travellers

around 25 per cent in India

and we are reaching out to 10

Indian cities like New Delhi,

Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Ben-

galuru, Panjim, Hyderabad

and Agra with our road shows

this year. We would step in

Chennai and Lucknow. We are

interested to woo sizeable

chunk of tourists from the

eastern and North-east region

that has a population of 14

crore. Our state has recorded

the highest growth rate of tiger

population in the country and

has the fourth largest popula-

tion of big cats. Nearly 80 per

cent of India’s caves are in Ma-

harashtra and the oldest,

world-renowned caves of

Ajanta dating back to 2200-

year-old flaunt vegetative

fresco paintings. The state has

four World Heritage Sites like

Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves-

the world’s largest monolithic

cave temple, Chhatrapati Shiv-

aji Terminus and Elephanta

Caves. The unique metro of

Mumbai forms the highpoint of

our tourism.”

Maharashtra occupies the

fourth slot in receiving domes-

tic tourists in the country. The

state stands tall with three

kinds of forts in the country in-

cluding under water, ground

and marine. Patil said, “Our

State has the best connectivity

in terms of airports and it has

the largest number of airports

in India. There are five jyotir-

lingams, eight Ganesh Temple

or Ashta Vinayaka and three

Shaktipeeths honouring God-

dess Bhavani with high foot-

falls. The pilgrim citadel of

Shirdi received 13 lakh pil-

grims in December, 2013. The

Sahyadri Mountains offers

sound opportunities for

trekking and rock climbing. We

have set up water sailing activ-

ity in Nagpur. Indian Institute

of Scuba Diving will open its

doors at Tarkarli in Konkan

region in March. It will be the

first-of-a-kind in Asia.” Lon-

avala provides facilities for

hot-air ballooning.

MTDC has taken big

strides to roll out Bollywood

tourism packages in associa-

tion with private partners. The

guided tour takes off from

Goregaon and shows off out-

door studios. There are three

kinds of packages tagged at Rs

500, Rs 1,299 and Rs 3,200 for

six hours. Patil informed, “We

would unveil sea world in Sind-

hudurg with water parks and

under water activities. We

have around 2,000 bed and

breakfast lodges and home

stay facilities across the state.

We can boast of our luxury

train- Deccan Odyssey recog-

nized as the best luxury train

in Asia last year. It has been

rated as the top ten luxury

trains in the world. We have

prioritized 25 Buddhist sites

from Mumbai to Nagpur and a

detailed survey has been taken

up on the amenities required.

We have the oldest Buddhist

caves at Karla and Bhaja on

Mumbai-Pune National High-

way. Our potential global mar-

kets are the United States and

the United Kingdom. We are

trying to launch direct flights

from Aurangabad to Thailand

in order to bring Buddhist

tourists from South-East Asia.

We have signed MoU with

Japan to augment mutual eco-

nomic relations in areas of

tourism and investment.”

MTDC is looking forward to

open its office in Lucknow.

MTDC has built Ajanta

Visitor Centre at Ajanta

caves, the largest in the world

that has museums, restau-

rants and information centre

under one-roof. There is El-

lora Visitor Centre sprawling

over 1,50,000 sq. ft of area.

MTDC has prepared Eco-

Tourism Development Plan

for Mahabaleshwar, Panch-

gani and Matheran. Patil

added, “We are converting

five resorts into non-conven-

tional energy resources.

Three more resorts made of

bamboos are coming up in

April, this year. We would

have seven properties in

Konkan Coast, of which three

are new and four are being

upgraded.”

The state has about 10,000

hectares of land covered with

mangrove forests and is the

leading producer of 10 variety

of fruits. “We are into rural and

agro-tourism and we would

host Chickoo festival in

Thane,” further added Patil.

Incredible Maharashtra offersmemorable experienceMaharashtra Tourism is taking giant steps tomake the state a preferred tourist getaway for oneand all.

�Swaati Chaudhury

MTDC’s currentsteps include:

•To open office inLucknow.

•Started BollywoodTourism packages.•To open Indian In-stitute of Scuba Div-

ing at Tarkarli.•Attract touristsfrom Eastern and

North-eastern states.•Start direct flightsfrom Aurangabad to

Thailand.•Signed MoU with

Japan.•Chosen 25 Buddhistsites from Mumbai to

Nagpur.•Charted out Eco-De-velopment Plan forthree destinations.

•Convert five resortsinto non-conventional

energy resources.•Begin Chickoo Festi-

val in Thane.•Ganesh Chathurthiin Trafalgar Square

in 2014.

SnapShot

Dr. Jagdish PatilManaging Director, MTDC

Aviation News28


Asurvey conducted by

Airports Council Inter-

national (ACI) has

awarded the newly launched in-

tegrated terminal of Kolkata

Airport the Best Improved Air-

port in the Asia-Pacific region.

Some of the other airports that

have been adjudged in this cat-

egory are East London in

Africa, Gothenburg in Europe,

Amman in Middle East, San An-

tonio in North America and

Nassau in Latin America-

Caribbean region.

ACI is regarded as the most

comprehensive customer serv-

ice benchmarking tool in the

global aviation sector and col-

lects the immediate appraisal of

fliers’ from check-in counters

through departure across 285

airports across the world. The

award reflects the views of the

fliers in the field of 34 key serv-

ice indicators and serves as an

objective indicator of best per-

forming airports in the globe.

Fliers travelling through

Kolkata Airport have witnessed

a considerable change within a

span of a year. The change is

quite visible since there is a

huge difference between the old

terminal and new terminal com-

prising sprawling steel and

glass structures that are highly

efficient and have aesthetic

value. The new facility in

Kolkata Airport has a number

of improvement areas like short

X-ray, multiple gates for entry,

multiple check-in counters,

queues at registered baggage,

security check stations that

help in fast movement of pas-

sengers and several aero-

bridges enable a direct entry

into the aircraft. Passengers ar-

riving into the city no longer get

into the chaotic traffic at the ter-

minal. by TNH DESK

Kolkata Airport selected in “Best” categoryairport in Asia

Auckland Airport has

signed a Memoran-

dum of Understand-

ing with Mumbai Airport that

will see the two airports form

a ‘sister airport’ relationship.

The airport sistership has

been established with objec-

tives that include increasing

international air links and

tourism between and beyond

both airports’ respective

countries.

Glenn Wedlock, Auckland

Airport’s general manager

aeronautical commercial,

says that the sistership is im-

portant as India is a key mar-

ket for New Zealand and is a

key focus for Tourism New

Zealand over the next three

years.

“With over 31,250 Indian

visitor arrivals to New

Zealand in the last 12 months,

and over 80 per cent of these

visitors entering through

Auckland Airport, we con-

sider India to be a very impor-

tant market for us,” says Mr

Wedlock.

“The Indian travel market

also represents a huge growth

opportunity for New Zealand

tourism,” says Wedlock. “Our

Ambition 2020 strategy tar-

gets 69,000 Indian arrivals by

2020 which is equivalent to 14

per cent growth per annum

over the next six years.”

“Recently we have seen

some impressive growth from

the Indian market,” continues

Wedlock. “January 2014 saw

Indian visitors to Auckland in-

crease by 16 per cent when

compared to the same period

last year.”

“Within India, Mumbai is a

key market for New Zealand

and we believe this sister air-

port relationship with Mumbai

International Airport will fa-

cilitate further traffic growth

between the two key hubs

through joint ventures,” says

Wedlock. “We will also be

working closely together to

stimulate more Indian visitor

arrivals to New Zealand in the

peak Indian travel times of

May and December, thus in-

creasing growth in New

Zealand’s shoulder tourism

season.”

Naveen Chawla, Vice Pres-

ident Aero Marketing from

GVK Mumbai International

Airport says, “In the dynamic

aviation scenario, airports

worldwide are seeing the ben-

efits of closer ties through ‘sis-

ter’ agreements. Mumbai and

Auckland are both leading

gateways and the agreement

would promote co-operation

between the two airports in

developing the traffic flow be-

tween the two countries. The

sister airport partnership be-

tween these two major gate-

ways will also bring in best

practices to improve services

offered to passengers, airlines

and all other stakeholders.”

“This association between

both our airports is very

timely. The new integrated

Terminal 2 at Mumbai with en-

hanced airport infrastructure

is capable of handling the ex-

pected growth in the passen-

ger traffic and can also

accommodate all types of air-

craft with adequate parking

bays. The whole airport expe-

rience is enhanced with cus-

tomised retail, food and

beverage, branded duty free

and overall passenger experi-

ence,” continues Chawla.

“Mumbai is the Financial

and Commercial capital of

India. The city is strategically

located and connects to 29 In-

dian cities within two and a

half hours of flying time. It is

also considered as the city of

dreams and is home to India’s

biggest entertainment industry,

“Bollywood”. Mumbai is also

strongly positioned as a major

aviation market in the Asia Pa-

cific region.” by TNH DESK

Auckland Airport signs MoUwith Mumbai AirportAuckland Airport has signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with Mumbai Airport that will seethe two airports form a ‘sister airport’relationship.


29Aviation News

For the Himalayan state

of Sikkim, power and

tourism are the two

main sources of revenue gen-

eration that serve as the indi-

cators of economic and social

growth. The two major sectors

generate employment options

and uplift the social standard

of the Himalayan populace.

The landlocked state is a

treasure-trove of fabulous

Buddhist monasteries and

shrines that draw a steady

stream of tourists from South-

East Asian countries. Accord-

ing to Bineeta Rai, Chief

Executive Officer, Sikkim

Tourism Development Corpo-

ration (STDC), "In an effort to

make the state a 365-day

tourist destination, we would

like to set up as many as 100

tourist getaways with special

emphasis on sustainable

tourism. We intend to make

tourists to have a first-hand ex-

perience of the rural life in the

Himalayan land that has three

ethnic communities including

Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali

with distinct culture, tradition

and cuisine. We are bent upon

to develop rural tourism and

home stay facilities in all the

four districts of the state. A

new airport will start rolling at

Pakyong this year that will

have a tremendous impact on

the flow of tourists. " There has

been a 10 per cent surge in the

frequency of chopper services

from Bagdogra to Gangtok in

2012.

The land has a plenty of

opportunities for adventure

tourism and nature lovers can

experience stunning sights of

the Himalayan valley. Rai in-

formed, "The newly opened

Silk Route that forms the old

India-Tibet trade route has

been thrown open for domestic

tourists in East Sikkim and

with the efforts of our state

government to set up more

home stay facilities along this

route, it would make a memo-

rable and nostalgic experience

for tourists. A new trekking

trail has come up in West

Sikkim and Chongrang has

been identified as the base

campen route Labdang, Zongri

and Goechala. The trekking

route is traversed by the Holy

Lamas in search of paradise."

Chaar Dham and Buddha

Park in South Sikkim have

emerged as pilgrim centres for

domestic and global tourists.

Buddha Park at Ravangla is in-

cluded in Buddhist circuit and

is a favourite for travellers

from Thailand, Malaysia, Sin-

gapore, Nepal and Bhutan.

"Our potential tourist markets

are West Bengal, Gujarat, Ma-

harashtra and South India. We

are eyeing the global tourists

from South-East Asia and Eu-

ropean destinations. Since the

state shares international bor-

ders, there are certain restric-

tions imposed on movement of

global tourists. There has been

around 30 per cent hike in the

outflow of domestic tourists

and 10 per cent in global

tourists into the state last year.

We are expecting to receive

around 10 lakh visitors in

2014," added Rai.

Sikkim to get new airportWith the support of Pawan Chamling government,Sikkim Tourism has drawn up a host of forward-looking initiatives to make the state into a 365-daytourist getaway.

Plans of SikkimTourism:

•Create 100 touristdestinations.

•Develop ruraltourism and home

stay options.•Get a feel of ethnicrural lifestyle in the

state.•Opened new

trekking trail in WestSikkim.

SnapShot

�Swaati Chaudhury

On 26 March 2014, gov-

ernments gathered

for a diplomatic con-

ference at the International

Civil Aviation Organization

(ICAO) in Montreal to discuss

revisions to the Tokyo Conven-

tion. The revisions would en-

hance the ability of law

enforcement and other author-

ities to prosecute the small mi-

nority of passengers who are

violent, disruptive, abusive, or

acting in a manner which

might endanger safety.

The Tokyo Convention was

negotiated in 1963 and it gives

jurisdiction over offenses com-

mitted onboard aircraft to the

state of registration of the air-

craft. With modern leasing

arrangements, the state of air-

craft registry is often neither

the state in which the aircraft

lands nor the state of the oper-

ator. This limits the practical-

ity of enforcement and

consequently the options

available to mitigate disrup-

tive behaviors. For this rea-

son, the airline industry

supports proposals for juris-

diction to be extended to both

the state in which the aircraft

lands and the state in which

the operator is located.

"Airlines are doing all they

can to prevent and manage

unruly passenger incidents,

but this needs to be backed up

with effective law enforce-

ment. Reports of unruly be-

havior are on the rise. The

Tokyo Convention was not

originally designed to address

unruly behavior and there is a

great deal of uncertainty

amongst carriers as to what

actions crew can take to man-

age incidents in the air. And if

the aircraft lands in a state

other than where the aircraft

was registered, local authori-

ties are not always able to

prosecute," said Tony Tyler,

IATA’s Director General and

CEO.

"At the moment there are

too many examples of people

getting away with serious

breaches of social norms that

jeopardize the safety of flights

because local law enforcement

authorities do not have the

power to take action," said

Tyler. by TNH DESK

IATA for closing legal loopholes onunruly passengersThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments toclose legal loopholes that allow unruly passengers to escape lawenforcement for serious offences committed on board aircraft.

Tony TylerIATA’s Director General and CEO

InterContinental Hotels

Group (IHG) and IL&FS

Skills, one of India’s

largest skills development

organisations, have

launched the 15th IHG Acad-

emy programme in India,

joining over 300 IHG Acad-

emy programmes globally.

The partnership will see

IL&FSInstitute of Skills (IIS)

providingIHG approved voca-

tional hospitality training

across the country as part of

the programme. Following

the three-month course,par-

ticipants are able to apply

for roles at IHG hotels in

India and across the globe.

The IHG Academy is a pi-

oneering global collabora-

tion between IHG and local

education and community

providers. The programme

aims to provide peoplewith

skills development and em-

ployment opportunities and

create a sustainable talent

pipeline for IHG. The part-

nershipwith IIS is IHG’s first

vocational programme in the

country. It was officially in-

augurated by IHG’s Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer (CEO),

Richard Solomons; who

joined DilipChenoy, MD &

CEO, National Skill Develop-

ment Corporation, and

ArunkumarPillai, Chief Op-

erating Officer, IL&FS Skills,

to tour IIS, Delhi and ad-

dress the first class of stu-

dents yesterday.

On his visit to IL&FS In-

stitute of Skills, Delhi,

Richard Solomons, Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer, IHG com-

mented, “We pride ourselves

on the great experience we

offer guests in India and

around the world. The only

way we can achieve this is to

have well-qualified, passion-

ate teams. In India, we have

the task of recruiting 10,000

new employees over the next

three to five years as we

open the 45 hotels in our de-

velopment pipeline. One of

the most effective ways for

us to achieve this is to train

for the required skills

through structured skill de-

velopment programs like this

one. It is our privilege to

work in conjunction with the

Indian government to share

our knowledge and enhance

the skills of young people

who want to build their ca-

reer in hospitality. This part-

nership with IL&FS Skills

will make a big difference to

these students and enables

us to actively contribute to

our local communities in a

meaningful and lasting way.”

Arunkumar Pillai, Chief

Operating Officer, IL&FS

Skills Development Corpora-

tion Ltd added, “More and

more businesses are ac-

knowledging that the skills

gap is affecting their ability

to meet customer expecta-

tions. So it’s heartening to

see prestigious companies

such as IHG coming forward

and owning the issue of skill

development and making it

one of their business pillars.

We are extremely pleased to

partner with them to ensure

a continuous stream of

skilled workers who will not

only add value to IHG but

also to the entire hospitality

sector in India.”

The programme supple-

ments IHG’s on-going sup-

port of the Indian

Government’s Hunar Se

Rozgaar initiative, launched

to create employable skills

for young adults aged 18 to

28 years old who do not have

access to specialised educa-

tion.

IL&FS Skills’ students

will be trained to IHG’srigor-

ous and world-class stan-

dards whilst also gaining

thorough knowledge and un-

derstanding of the Indian

hospitality sector. Thetrain-

ing programme is divided in

two sessions of 45 days

each, mixing theory and

practical classes. In their

first session, students will

be trained by IL&FS Skills

on the English language, and

soft skillsusing the latest

technology. During the sec-

ond part of the programme,

IHG will provide on-the-job

training to give the young

students an opportunity to

put into practice what they

have learnt. A special em-

phasis will be placed onre-

cruiting women into the

programme, with the aim of

mobilising the female work-

force.

In order to ensure con-

sistency and compliance

with National Skills Develop-

ment Corporation (NSDC)

requirements, a candidate

selection process is held to

recruit the right partici-

pants. As with all IHG Acad-

emy programmes worldwide,

a passion for delivering

great service to guests is a

prerequisite for those who

have an interest in entering

the programme.Upon com-

pletion of the three-month

training, candidates will bene-

fit from being more employ-

able and will also have the

opportunity of employment in

an IHG hotel including Inter-

Continental Hotels & Resorts,

Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn

and Holiday Inn Express.

With its vocational train-

ing methods, IL&FS Skills has

changed the lives of over

300,000 young individuals

through placement-linked

training and technology driven

customised curriculum.

by TNH DESK

IHG, IL&FS Skills Partnerto Develop VocationalHospitality Talent in IndiaThe 15th IHG Academy programme in Indialaunched with one of India's largest vocationaltraining organisations.

Richard Solomons, Chief Executive Officer, IHG officially launched the 15th IHG Acad-emy programme in India yesterday.

Hospitality News30



31Government News

After signing Memo-

randum of Under-

standing (MoU) with

Quebec (Canada) and

Wakayama (Japan), Maha-

rashtra Tourism Development

Corporation (MTDC) recently

signed an MoU with Ger-

many’s Baden-Wurttemberg

state. According to Jagdish

Patil, MD, MTDC, the MoUs

will not only help in enhancing

and strengthening the ties be-

tween two states and coun-

tries overall but also develop

tourism and trade co-opera-

tion. Moreover, Maharashtra

as a state gets global exposure

and awareness among global

travellers. More states from

countries like Australia and

Korea are in talks with MTDC

for similar co-operations and

are under considerations at

the moment.

Elaborating further on the

international focus, Patil said,

“Maharashtra is currently the

top state in India in terms of

international arrivals. How-

ever, many of them are transit

passengers with hardly a

night stay in the state. We just

don’t need numbers but also

tourist spent and overnights.

To improve our brand visibil-

ity and bring in more

overnight tourists, we thought

of signing MoUs with states

(with similar tourism motto)

of the countries which are po-

tential for our tourism

growth.” MTDC will be soon

opening its tourist informa-

tion office in Wakayama while

the Japanese state has re-

cently opened their office in

Mumbai. The South West Ger-

many tourism board office

based in Mumbai will be

working closely with MTDC to

improve tourism sector be-

tween both the regions.

“Korea tourism has ap-

proached us for similar co-op-

eration while we are in talks

with Australian state as well.

Through such MoUs, we in-

tend to go global and improve

our local tourism sector,” ex-

plains Patil. Not just interna-

tional, the state is also in

process of signing similar

MoUs with Indian states. It

has signed up MoU with Goa,

Gujarat, Karnataka and Mad-

hya Pradesh while it is consid-

ering to states like Delhi,

Andra Pradesh and Bihar.

MTDC focusing oninternational tiesSigns MoU with South West Germany, aims atmutual tourism co-operation strategy

Luxury with short-breaksTo bring local MoUs in action, MTDC is in

the process of rolling out inter-state itineraryfor its luxury train – Deccan Odyssey. More-over, it will also introduce ‘short-breaks’ itin-erary on the train offering passengersflexibility in number of overnights. Currently,it offers just two itinierary, each of sevennights eight days. From the coming season(October 2014, it will offer six different itin-erary and multiple short breaks itineraries.

�Anand Shah

Some important high-

lights regarding FTAs

and FEEs from

tourism during the month of

February, 2014 are as follows:

Foreign Tourist Arrivals

(FTAs):

FTAs during the Month of

February 2014 was 7.38 lakh

as compared to FTAs of 6.88

lakh during the month of Feb-

ruary 2013 and 6.81 lakh in

February 2012. There has

been a growth of 7.2% in Feb-

ruary 2014 over February

2013 as compared to a

growth of 1.0% registered in

February 2013 over February

2012. FTAs during the period

January-February 2014 were

14.58 lakh with a growth of

5.1% , as compared to the

FTAs of 13.87 lakh with a

growth of 1.8% during Janu-

ary-February 2013 over the

corresponding period of 2012.

Foreign Exchange Earnings

(FEEs) from Tourism in

rupee terms and US$ terms

FEEs during the month of

February 2014 were `11,355

crore as compared to `10,252

crore in February 2013 and

`8,502 crore in February

2012. The growth rate in

FEEs in rupee terms in Feb-

ruary 2014 over February

2013 was 10.8% as compared

to 20.6% in February 2013

over February 2012.

FEE from tourism in

rupee terms during January-

February 2014 were

Rs.22,552 crore with a

growth of 8.9%, as compared

to the FEE of Rs.20,717 crore

with a growth of 21.0% dur-

ing January-February 2013

over the corresponding pe-

riod of 2012.

FEEs in US$ terms dur-

ing the month of February

2014 were US$ 1.824 billion

as compared to FEEs of US$

1.905 billion during the

month of February 2013 and

US$ 1.729 billion in February

2012. The growth rate in

FEEs in US$ terms in Febru-

ary 2014 over February 2013

was negative growth of 4.3%

as compared to the growth of

10.2% in February 2013 over

February 2012.

FEE from tourism in

terms of US$ during Janu-

ary-February 2014 were US$

3.629 billion with a negative

growth of 5.2%, as compared

to US$ 3.830 billion with a

growth of 12.3% during Jan-

uary-February 2013 over the

corresponding period of

2012. by TNH DESK

Foreign Tourist Arrivals grows7.2% in Feb 2014 over Feb 2013 Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in February, 2014was 7.38 lakh which was 6.88 lakh inFebruary, 2013 with a growth of 7.2%. ForeignExchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism inRupees terms in February, 2014 wereRs.11,355 crore in comparison to Rs.10,252crore in February, 2013.

Maharashtra is currentlythe top state in India interms of international ar-rivals. However, many ofthem are transit passen-gers with hardly a nightstay in the state. We justdon’t need numbers butalso tourist spent and

overnights.

“

“Jagdish PatilMD, MTDC

Government News32


This is the second

major international

award for Kerala

Tourism in the last two

months.

Kerala Tourism won the

Golden City Gate top award,

the gold prize, of the ITB-

Berlin for its print campaign

on the backwaters, beating

tough competition from major

national tourism boards in the

world.

Presented every year at

the prestigious ITB-Berlin fair,

the Das Golden Stattdor or the

Golden City Gate Awards are

considered the ultimate recog-

nition in global tourism com-

munication. The awards are

held under the patronage of

the German Federal Associa-

tion of Film and Audio-Visual

Producers. This year’s ITB-

Berlin began on March 5 in the

German capital city. It is the

first time that Kerala Tourism

has won the gold in the print

category. Malaysia Tourism

had won the gold in the print

category last year.

Kerala Tourism's print

campaign this year on the

backwaters presents the

state’s famous water bodies as

a fascinating water world, in

the big league of the Great Wall

of China and the Great Barrier

Reef of Australia.

This is the third honour in

as many months for Kerala

Tourism at the international

and national level. In January,

Kerala Tourism had won the

United Nations World Trade

Organization (UNWTO)

Ulysses Prize, the first for

India, for excellence and inno-

vation in tourism. Last month,

it had dominated the National

Tourism Awards for 2012-13,

winning four top prizes.

"We are truly honoured by

this remarkable recognition

from the world's biggest travel

trade show," said A P Anilku-

mar, Kerala Tourism Minister.

"The top award at Berlin

demonstrates the significant

place of Kerala's beautiful

backwaters among the most

important destinations in the

world," Anilkumar said. "This

is a recognition for the Kerala

brand," he added.

The print campaign of

Kerala Tourism, titled 'The

Great Backwaters', was

launched late last year. The

campaign presented the back-

waters of Kerala, stretching

from one end of the state to the

other, as a single destination

and a once-in-lifetime experi-

ence for the traveller. The Na-

tional Geographic Traveler

rated Kerala's backwaters

60th among 133 great destina-

tions around the globe.

"It is a huge achievement

for Kerala and a major boost to

the state's reputation as one of

the top tourism destinations in

the world," said Kerala

Tourism Secretary Suman

Billa, who received the award

at the ITB-Berlin awards cere-

mony, held on March 6. "The

award shows the important

place of our backwaters on the

global tourism map," he added.

Kerala Tourism Director S

Harikishore hailed the award

as an endorsement of the con-

tinuing efforts of the tourism

department in showcasing the

vast tourism potential of the

state. "It is our objective to

present our distinguished visi-

tors with the best in the world

in terms of variety, originality

and creativity," he added.

Started in 1966, ITB-Berlin

is the world's leading travel

trade show, with the Who's

Who of the tourism and travel

industry present at the event.

With 180 countries participat-

ing in the event, ITB-Berlin is

expected to attract a mindbog-

gling 180,000 visitors, includ-

ing 113,000 trade visitors, in

this year's edition, which runs

up to March 9.

The Golden City Gate

awards are presented in the

print, film and media cate-

gories and assessed by an in-

ternational jury.

The Kerala Tourism stall

at the ITB-Berlin this year,

which was also based on the

Great backwaters campaign

theme. The Kerala stand fea-

tured installations of narrow

canal with water, country

boats, walking bridge etc

which attracted thousands of

visitors. The Kerala Tourism

delegation, led by Shri Suman

Billa, comprised 19 co-ex-

hibitors, namely Abad Hotels,

Coconut Bay, Dune Eco Group,

Kumarakom Lake Resort, Eas-

tend Hotels and Resorts, Nee-

leshwar Hermitage, Nikki’s

Nest, Poovar Island Resort,

Thomas Hotels and Resorts,

Uday Samudra Leisure Beach

Hotel and Spa, Dravidian

Trails, Jayasree Travels and

Tours, Intersight Tours and

Travels, Spiceland Holidays,

The Travel Planners,

Carnoustie Ayurveda and Well-

ness Resort, Kairali Ayurvedic

Health Resort, Nattika Beach

Ayurveda Resort and Vaidya

Sutras.

by TNH DESK

Kerala Tourism winstourism ‘Oscar’ for 'GreatBackwaters' campaignKerala Tourism has taken the top prize at theworld’s largest tourism trade show held inGermany, winning the ITB-Berlin’s Golden CityGate gold award, dubbed the ‘Oscar of TourismCommunications’.

Government News34


In order to ensure a safe

and enjoyable journey for

all the pilgrims doing

chardham yatra and

Hemkund Sahib Yatra this

year, the government of Ut-

tarakhand has announced

various measures to be imple-

mented. On 4th March govern-

ment of Uttarakhand issued

various directions regarding

the forthcoming yatras.

To facilitate the pilgrims

and tourists a special control

room has been set up at the

Uttarakhand Tourism Head-

Quarter at Dehradun. A Nodal

Officer will manage the cen-

tre. Telefax number of the

control room: 0135-2559898.

Email Id is

[email protected]. This

service shall be available from

7 am to 9 pm every day.

All district magistrates in

Garhwal besides the depart-

ments of health sanitation,

water, electricity etc have

been assigned responsibilities

for maintaining efficient and

smooth chardham yatra oper-

ations.

Instructions have been is-

sued to ensure that work on

roads and infrastructure is

completed by April 30, 2014.

A special task force compris-

ing of police and Nehru Insti-

tute Mountaineering,

Uttarkashi has been set up for

the Kedarnath route from

Bhimbali. This shall function

under the district magistrate

Rudraprayag.

Mobile towers and PCO

booths have been erected

every 15 km of the route and

mobile hospitals and medical

camps have been established

for the benefit of the pilgrims.

All wireless networks have

been made operational and

also a new police post at Kedar

Valley shall become opera-

tional in April 2014.

Services of private helicop-

ter operators will be engaged

to take passengers to Kedar-

nath. Government is taking all

efforts to ensure safety of pil-

grims by making biometrics

registration for all pilgrims vis-

iting chardham yatra. Biomet-

ric registration counters will

be setup at entry points of

state and also in yatra routes.

Dr. Umakant Panwar,

Secretary, Government of Ut-

tarakhand emphasized that

the government of Uttarak-

hand is committed to meet all

the above stated objectives for

ensuring a safe, secure and

comfortable coming chard-

ham and Hemkund Sahib

yatra. by TNH DESK

Uttarakhand promises safe Chardhamand Hemkund Yatra 2014 The opening date for the Holy Dhams is May 2, 2014 for Yamnotri andGangotri. Kedarnath will open on May 4, Badrinath on May 5 and HemkundSahib on May 25.

The Chief Minister re-

viewed preparations

for the yatra and or-

dered officials to complete

road repair work along the

pilgrimage route by April 30

and asked them to deploy in

full strength the newly consti-

tuted State Disaster Response

Force personnel in the danger

zones.

This year the state admin-

istration is taking all neces-

sary precautions to deal with

any emergency during the

yatra season. The last year

the state saw the large-scale

loss of lives and property in

the calamity including bio-

metric registration of devo-

tees before they embark on

the pilgrimage and introduc-

tion of the facility of weather

alerts on their mobile phones.

Almost a year after the

Kedarnath disaster, Uttarak-

hand government has decided

to deploy SDRF personnel in

danger zones on yatra routes.

This measure comes at a time

when apprehensions were

raised over the safety of pil-

grims on chardham yatra

scheduled to begin in the first

week of May. Chief Minister

Harish Rawat gave this direc-

tion while reviewing the

preparations of the Chardham

yatra. Chief Minister has

asked the officials to complete

all the road repair works on

Chardham yatra route by

April 30 deadline. The portals

of disaster hit Kedarnath

shrine will open for devotees

on May 5.

Adjoining areas of the holy

portals of Kedarnath were

heavily affected by the

tragedy of the last year. The

state Government created

SDRF on the patterns of

NDRF a few months earlier

with personnel trained in dis-

aster management from the

police force.

The state government's

preparedness to handle the

crisis during the last year’s

natural calamity was sever-

ally criticized. Learning les-

sons from the last year’s

tragedy, the state government

formed SDRF. by TNH DESK

Uttarakhand to deploy DisasterResponse Force for Chardham Yatra In a bid to put a fool-proof security system into place before the Chardhamyatra that begins in May, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat hasordered deployment of large number of State Disaster Response Forcepersonnel in danger zones prone to natural disasters en route to the famousHimalayan shrines located in the state.


35Government News

First, we would like

you to tell us a little

bit about Karnataka. What

does the State have to offer

for its tourists?

Well, as you may have seen

in our logo, Karnataka is a

State with many worlds. And

it really is. The State wel-

comes a great number of

tourists every year from

across India and around the

globe to its many magical

historical sites, hill stations,

beach towns and a large for-

est tract with diverse flora

and fauna. There is also a

huge scope for adventure

and outdoor activities as

Karnataka is blessed with

every kind of terrain apart

from snowcapped moun-

tains. All in all, Karnataka

with its many worlds is a

State for everyone!

Sounds fantastic!

How is the Tourism

Department promoting

Karnataka? What meas-

ures has it undertaken on

national and international

levels?

Karnataka Tourism has

been quite successful in pro-

moting the destination

through a good mix of media

- advertising, social media

activation, trade fairs and

exclusive marketing meets

with the trade are part of our

promotional activities.

Different markets are ap-

proached differently. While

in Germany and France we

target the culture lover, in

UK we aim at reaching out to

the history lover and wildlife

enthusiast. We try to provide

exciting stories for the

media to write about and as

a result, we have generated

nearly 200 pages of interna-

tional PR in some of the best

titles in the world. You

wouldn’t find a national level

media publication that has

not carried a firm recom-

mendation of Karnataka to

travellers.

Speaking of Ger-

many, understand-

ably Karnataka Tourism is

trying to project a rather

unknown destination at

ITB Berlin?

Yes, absolutely! At ITB, the

world’s leading travel trade

show, we get an excellent op-

portunity to present new

destinations and experi-

ences. We’ve been part of

ITB for the past 13 years,

and each year we have tried

to portray something differ-

ent.

Last year, we presented

Karnataka’s exquisite hand-

icrafts in our pavilion. This

year, we will showcase the

Historic City of Bidar, which

has very recently entered

the Watch List of the World

Monuments Fund. Now,

that’s quite an important in-

dication of the potential of

the area. It’s the capital of

the famed Bahamani dy-

nasty. Located almost at the

centre of the Deccan, it’s one

of those unexpected places

to find in India, especially in

the South.

Why have you cho-

sen Bidar this year?

Well, Bidar is a relatively un-

explored city compared to

the neighbouring heritage

sites like Hampi, Pattadakal

and Mysore, which have

been celebrated worldwide.

Bidar was ruled by many dy-

nasties since the 10th cen-

tury, which has resulted in

an abundance of magnificent

monuments for visitors to

see.

What Bidar does is, with

its proximity to Hyderabad,

it also opens a perfect door-

way for us to promote the en-

tire North Karnataka circuit

in a way that hasn’t been

done before. Up till now, we

have been promoting this re-

gion where we advise people

to travel from Bangalore and

reach Bidar via Hampi and

Pattadkal.

But now, we are offering

an entire circuit that crosses

the Deccan all the way to

Goa (after touching Gul-

barga, Bijapur, Hampi and

the like) as an exit point.

Both Hyderabad and Goa

have international airports,

and quick connections via

some of the Middle East air-

ports could possibly attract

travellers.

What is the highlight

of Bidar?

I think it’s the sheer scale

and size of the monuments.

Some are in ruins, but they

add to the splendour and

mystique of the architecture,

designs and colour. They are

larger than life and give a

glimpse into the styles of

artistry of that era.

There are plenty of

places to visit. History lovers

will be in for a real treat. The

Bidar Fort, Takhat Mahal,

Rangeen Mahal, the Ba-

hamani Tombs, Chaubara

and mthe Papanaash Temple

are among the important

monuments. Since Bidar was

under many kingdoms at dif-

ferent times, you will find a

very interesting blend of the

Hindu, Turkish and Persian

styles of architecture. A true

‘Historic City’.

So, is Bidar exclu-

sively a heritage

destination?

No, definitely not. Bidar also

has a forest area of over

40,000 hectares, which pro-

tects the endangered Black-

buck. There is a property

called The Blackbuck Resort

in the Honnikeri Reserve

Forest, which is managed by

one of India’s largest resort

chains promoting wildlife

and ecotourism, the Jungle

Lodges and Resorts. So

there’s something for those

who seek adventure as well.

What does all this

mean for Karnataka

Tourism?

Well, the more places we have

to showcase, the closer we are

to our slogan of ‘One State.

Many Worlds.’ We are trying to

live up to that line and ensure

that we have enough for anyone

who wants to have an interest-

ing tryst with nature, heritage

and culture. This means there

is the opportunity to attract

more people than we currently

do. It also means there are more

challenges to surmount, like

quality of accommodation and

other facilities. But we are get-

ting there. by TNH DESK

Q&A: Arvind Jadhav, Additional ChiefSecretary, Tourism, KarnatakaIn this interview, Arvind Jadhav shares his views on the progress ofKarnataka as a fast blooming tourism destination, and gives us a peek intowhat more awaits the travellers to the State.

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

Destination36


English Gardens

Perhaps the most ‘typically

English’ gardens are Capabil-

ity Brown’s creations – with

their expansive lawns, isolated

coppices and ubiquitous water

features – and a great place to

check out his handiwork is

Chatsworth House, where vis-

itors have been strolling on the

five-and-a-half-acre Salisbury

Lawn for centuries (along with

the odd resident deer). “Eng-

land’s Greatest Gardener” had

a hand in designing the land-

scape of Audley End House,

too, but it’s the Organic

Kitchen Garden that many vis-

itors come here to see. You’ll

find several varieties of pears,

plums, peaches and nectarines

grown here (albeit with some

help from greenhouses), too,

which are guaranteed to get

your mouth watering. There is

perhaps nothing more quintes-

sentially English than Hidcote,

one of Britain’s most popular

gardens, located in the

Cotswolds, and notable for its

miles of sculptured hedges, as

well as its formal outdoor

“rooms”. Created in the early

20th century by the American

Lawrence Johnston, it is in an

area full of great gardens – in-

cluding one just across the

road, Kiftsgate.

For a garden with a more

contemporary feel, head up

north to The Alnwick Garden.

Even on a warm day, it’s worth

taking a raincoat here; one of

the main attractions is the

Grand Cascade – a tumbling

mass of waterfalls that shoots

out jets every half hour.

In addition, this May

marks the 10th anniversary of

Trentham Estate, in Stafford-

shire. Trentham, has always

been an iconic garden, the first

significant, and greatest, Ital-

ian-style garden in Britain.

Transformed from a medieval

monastery to a grand country

estate, the formal gardens

were laid out in the 1840s by

Houses of Parliament architect

Sir Charles Barry and the

parkland and lake designed by

none other than Capability

Brown.

New cycling holidays: Cycle

Shakespeare’s Way

On the 450th anniversary of

his birth, celebrate England’s

most famous playwright by cy-

cling Shakespeare’s Way, from

his hometown in Stratford

Upon Avon, to the Capital

where his name became im-

mortalized. Visit the beautiful

and quintessentially English

towns of The Cotswolds and

The Chilterns, towards Shake-

speare’s Globe and the newly

opened Sam Wanamaker The-

atre on London’s Southbank.

Visitors will be able to re-

create the Bard’s journey by

booking a gentle package or an

intense cycling package.

Ale & Amble in the Lake Dis-

trict, 5 April 2014

A seven- night holiday which

combines the stunning beauty

of the Lakes with essential re-

fueling stops at some of the re-

gion’s most enticing, historic

inns en route.

Exotic flowers in full bloom at the ChelseaFlower Show, dapper gentlemen in bowtiesquaffing champagne along the banks of Hen-ley, and ladies crowned with lavish hatscheering on their favourite horses; a lot ofold and new attractions await you in Englandin Spring 2014.

Visit England toenjoy fascinatingSpring 2014


37Destination

Highlights include the

Bridge and Fish at Buttermere;

characterful inns at Borrow-

dale, Langstrath and Scarfell

and an opportunity to savour

some of the finest local real ales

produced by Jennings, Conis-

ton, Keswick and Hesket New-

market breweries; some of the

best walking in Britain comple-

mented with the perfect pint!

New Rambler’s Women’s

only Week, 19 April 2014

A 7 night holiday based at Ram-

blers Countrywide Holidays

own property Hassness House

at Buttermere in the glorious

Lake District. Activities in-

clude, hill walking; yoga and pi-

lates; morning jogging; Nordic

walking; aerobics and circuit

training with optional rejuve-

nating dips in the lake !

South Downs Spa Walking,

May 2014

A 5 night holiday exploring the

South Downs combining the

luxury of Champney’s Forest

Mere Hotel. Apart from total

pampering, highlights include,

the stunning parkland of

Haslmere; Thursley and the

Devil’s Punchbowl; Frensham

Ponds built 500 years ago as

fish farms for the Bishop of

Winchester.

Hare Farm Hideaways, Sus-

sex

Just a stone’s throw away from

The Shepard’s Hut are a thou-

sand ewes all due for lambing

season this spring. A stay in

one of these huts during this

special time gives a first-hand

insight into how a farm gears

up for such a busy time. You

will see the sheep and lambs all

over the fields, and what an ex-

perience to see them play right

up to your hut!

This year, visitors can assist

the lambing team and take part

in the farm’s lambing courses.

From learning tupping to wean-

ing and moving onto sheepcare,

be prepared to get mucky and

be fully immersed into a

herder’s life for a day. You’ll

watch the team help birth the

lambs and might even help bot-

tle feed an orphaned lamb.

The Pig near Bath 10

March: Tucked in the folds of

the Mendip Hills, a new pig

restaurant near Bath will be de-

signed in the same shabby chic

style that has become signature

to the chain and will feature a

restaurant, walled kitchen gar-

den, 30 bedrooms in the house

and garden and spa treatment

rooms.

Pig on the Beach, Dorset:

May 2014

The creation of Robin Hutson,

the nation’s most inspired hote-

lier, together with co-Director

David Elton and co investor Jim

Ratcliffe, The Pig-on the Beach

will be located above Studland

Bay, Dorset, one of the most

stunning beaches in England.

The beautiful 18th century

Manor House, which is a Na-

tional Trust property, is cur-

rently owned by Andrew and

Karen Purkis and they will con-

tinue to operate the hotel until

the end of November 2012.

Hospitality News38


The Cardamom ClubThekaddyIn God’s own country, amongst

mist-kissed mountains of the

Silent Valley, lies Niraamya

Retreats, Cardamom Club,

Thekkady. This is a place

where the only jams are

caused by elephants leisurely

crossing the roads. Catch a

rare glimpse of a tiger, pranc-

ing around in the evening sun.

The scent of spices lies redo-

lent in the air and the peace of

the jungle pervades across

The villas are perched

among acres of cardamom

plantations, surrounded by

the lush green jungles. The

winding paths lead across

sunlit cottages, done up plan-

tation style, with a cheerful

and bright ambience. The cot-

tages blend traditional charm

with modernity. The resort of-

fers a chance to indulge in

some of the state of the art

wellness therapies from the

Niraamaya Spa as well as a

chance to explore nearby

sanctuaries, jungles or enjoy a

dash of adventure.

The resort experiences in-

cludes a chance to take up the

Periyar Tiger Route, which is

part of the Thekaddy Reserve,

which is also home to other

flora and fauna. The Border

trekking programme takes

you on treks which range

across heights of 1000 to 1200

metres above sea level, offer-

ing not just a dose of adven-

ture, but also a chance to see

the varied jungle life. Café

Samsara, the all day dining

destination, not only offers

global cuisines, but a chance

to savour some of the choicest

local spices and flavours as

well.

The globally acclaimed

spa at Niraamaya Cardamom

Club, Resort offers therapeu-

tic traditions from across the

world. Our therapists have

mastered Ayurveda, the an-

cient Indian healing system,

Thai and Western relaxation

techniques, and traditional

Asian therapies like reflexol-

ogy.

Treat yourself to a com-

plete wellness package and re-

turn home completely

rejuvenated - body, mind, and

soul. The Cardamom Club,

Thekaddy will entertain, en-

liven and rejuvenate you with

a gamut of activities. While

wellness and adventure can

overtake your days, enjoy the

Bonfire Nights and Bespoke

Destination Dining in the

evening. Or opt for authentic

cooking classes by the chefs,

which are comprehensive,

hands-on cooking classes so

that you master not only the

flavor, but all the nuances of

authentic Keralite cooking.

Also on the menu is the

Cardamom Club Trek, which

is a journey of an invigorating

4 kilometers through the fra-

grant cardamom plantations.

The pristine silence is dis-

turbed only by the squawks of

numerous native birds.

Suryaa Samudra- Ko-valamNiraamaya Retreats offer the

most breath-taking properties

in South India, in varied lo-

cales. The award-winning

Surya Samudra at Kovalam is

a heritage property, known not

just for its fabulous location,

but also for the state of the art

spa, which has global acclaim.

The Surya Samudra is sur-

rounded by lush greenery on

one side and the Arabian Sea

on the other.

The property has 31 her-

itage cottages, which are built

like traditional Keralite

homes. The rooms are a blend

of weathered wood and con-

temporary luxury, offering a

perfect balance between old

world charm and modern com-

fort. The entire resort exudes

luxury, comfort and relax-

ation. The ambience lends it-

self to a wellness retreat, as

well as a holiday in one of

South India’s most pristine lo-

cations. The rooms offer open

air bathrooms, awe inspiring

views of the sea as well as all

modern amenities.

The resort has a variety of

fine dining options, from

Madira, the bar overlooking

the beach, Café Samsara, the

open air verandah style all day

dining venue, which offers

global cuisine and spectacular

views of the ocean, as well as

Essence, which offers Far

Eastern cuisine and is

perched on a cliff. Indulge in

long walks around the beach,

or take a dip in the infinity

pool, which is literally carved

out of a rock.

The globally acclaimed spa

is infused with timeless thera-

peutic traditions from across

the world. The therapists have

mastered Ayurveda, the an-

cient Indian healing system,

and are trained in Yoga, au-

thentic Thai and Western re-

laxation techniques and

traditional Asian therapies

like reflexology.

Combine your vacation

with a wellness package or an

intensive detox and treatment

program. And return rejuve-

nated - body, mind and soul.

The Niraamaya Retreats

offer bespoke and customized

holidays, that allow you to not

only avail of the world famous

wellness therapies, but also to

plan an adventure, or a trek to

explore the dense jungles. If

efforts culinary are your de-

sire, then the cooking classes

at the resort will surely invei-

gle you to try out some of the

flavourful local cuisine, often

cooked with the fresh catch of

the day. by TNH DESK

Rejuvenate at Niraamaya Retreats inThekaddy, KovalamThe Cardamom Club, Thekaddy and Suryaa Samudra, Kovalam, both areproperties of Niraamaya Retreats and perfect places for rejuvenation in thelap of the nature.


39Hospitality News

Hilton Worldwide and

Hilton Hotels & Re-

sorts recently an-

nounced the opening of

Hilton Bangalore Residences.

The trendy upscale, full-ser-

vice hotel is strategically lo-

cated within the Embassy

Golf Links Business Park, the

hub of several Fortune 500

companies. Overlooking the

expanse of the Karnataka

Golf Course, the hotel is sited

at the intersection of Kora-

mangala and Indiranagar,

and within a 25-minute drive

of M.G. Road and Sarjapur

Outer Ring Road, the com-

mercial nerve centres of the

city, offering easy access to

the best in shopping, enter-

tainment and dining. Hilton

Worldwide forayed into Ban-

galore, earlier this year, with

the launch of DoubleTree

Suites by Hilton Bangalore.

"As our fourth Hilton

brand hotel to open in the

country, Hilton Bangalore

Residences will deepens our

presence in an important

market in India, among our

key strategic regions,” said

Rob Palleschi, Global Head,

Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

“With an exceptional loca-

tion, distinctive, modern

guest accommodations and a

complete range of facilities

and services for business and

recreation, we are confident

Hilton Bangalore Residences

will become the first choice of

travellers visiting this capital

city.”

Owned by Umbel Proper-

ties Pvt. Ltd. and managed by

Hilton Worldwide, the hotel

features 247 studios and one

and two bedroom suites that

range from a spacious 495

square feet to 1,335 square

feet and are among the

largest in the city. Each gue-

stroom is purpose-built to

meet every guest’s needs,

from transient business trav-

ellers to long-stay guests, of-

fering dedicated living, dining

and work areas and a fully-

equipped kitchenette. The

kitchenettes are furnished

with appliances like mi-

crowaves, induction plates

and refrigerators, providing

guests the option of self-

catering. The suites addi-

tionally feature separate liv-

ing rooms, washers/dryers

and dishwashers. Other

highlights include the signa-

ture and luxurious Hilton

Serenity Bed and an unclut-

tered work desk with an er-

gonomic chair.

“We are very excited to

extend our portfolio in Ban-

galore with the opening of

our second hotel in the city,”

said Daniel Welk, Vice Pres-

ident, Operations – India,

Hilton Worldwide. “India is a

key strategic growth market

for Hilton Worldwide.

Presently, we operate hotels

and resorts in Delhi, Gur-

gaon, Mumbai, Chennai, Ban-

galore, Trivandrum,

Vadodara, Pune, Goa and

Shillim. Recently we also

signed agreements for hotels

in Agra, Jaipur and Luc-

know.”

Hilton Bangalore Resi-

dences offers four stylish din-

ing venues. Ministry of Food

is the all-day global cuisine

restaurant. The Salt Grill

poolside al-fresco bar and

grill is an ideal venue to relax

with a drink as the sun goes

down. KLINX is the chic

lobby bar and recess the cof-

fee lounge.

Business travellers will be

able to access round-the-

clock business services as

well as web-enabled com-

puter workstations. The con-

ference and events space at

the hotel comprises two

boardrooms, ideally suited

for mid-sized and exclusive

business meetings and social

gatherings, and four meeting

rooms that can accommodate

up to 90 people in a range of

settings. Recreational op-

tions include an outdoor tem-

p e r a t u r e - c o n t r o l l e d

swimming pool, a 24-hour

fully-equipped Fitness Centre

by Precor™, a spa and an in-

door Kids Play Area.

Hilton Bangalore Resi-

dences will participate in

Hilton HHonors, the only

guest rewards programme

that allows members to earn

Points & Miles for the same

stay and redeem points for

free nights with No Blackout

Dates at over 4,000 hotels

worldwide. Hilton Bangalore

Residences is located on Em-

bassy Golf Links Road, Busi-

ness Park, Bangalore,

Karnataka. by TNH DESK

Hilton expands itspresence in BangaloreOpened Hilton Bangalore Residences

Hospitality News40


Partha Chatterjee, Ad-

visor, Berggruen Hotels

said, “We have roughly 10%

of our inventory as secure

women's rooms in Keys ho-

tels because we understood

the need for creating these

for the individual women

traveler of today.” Besides

Berggruen Hotels sensitizes

their staff to be receptive to

single women traveler

needs in restaurants and

public places and give them

a comfortable environment

to live in.

Last year the govern-

ment has come up with a

proposal requiring hotels to

reserve certain number of

room for women only to pro-

vide safe stay to woman

guests. Although the gov-

ernment did not pursue the

matter further, and so far

no final decision has been

taken on this, the proposal

divided the industry some

favoring the proposal while

other opposing it.

Chatterjee said that his

company agrees to the gov-

ernment’s proposal and it

would be a good initiative

for single woman traveller.

As regards the implication

of such decision on eco-

nomic viability of the hotels,

particularly on budget and

mid-market hotels, Chatter-

jee said that currently the

market is at 10% of the total

population of hotel rooms so

it is economically viable.

Most hotels can increase

their inventory as the de-

mand increases.

Disagreeing with the

government’s proposal,

Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive

Director, Sarovar Hotels

Private Limited, said that

providing specific rooms for

women on the platform of

safety has a reverse impli-

cation that hotels are not

safe for women. “Our serv-

ice design strives to make

the entire hotel safe for

women. One of the key serv-

ices that a good hotel pro-

vides to its guests is safety

besides comfort,” added

Bakaya.

However, he doesn’t

think reserving certain

rooms for women at hotels

will impact economic viabil-

ity of the hotels, particu-

larly on budget and

mid-market hotels. “It won’t

impact the economic viabil-

ity of the hotels. We at

Sarovar will keep improvis-

ing our safety systems to

look after all our guests,”

said Bakaya.

According to Bakaya, for

the safety of woman guests,

hotels should continuously

review their safety and se-

curity systems. “The hotel

should be a secure place for

all who come there – men,

women, children, aged,

physically challenged etc.”

Elaborating on what his

company is doing for the

safety of woman guests,

Chatterjee said that With an

ever-increasing number of

female business travelers

addressing the needs of this

market segment has become

increasingly critical for

hotel companies. Keys Ho-

tels, which has been at the

forefront in addressing spe-

cial needs of female travel-

ers, has taken a holistic

approach. He added that a

focus on combinations of

services, amenities, and fa-

cilities to accommodate

women travelers contribute

to feel safe, comfortable,

empowered, and pampered.

“The women secure rooms

are either in a separate

wing or the rooms are as-

signed near an elevator.

These rooms have a video

phone to identify person at

the door, they also have

extra CCTV surveillance for

the corridors.” Chatterjee

said that safety is para-

mount to the female trav-

eler. “At Keys Hotels we

believe in providing an ex-

perience that makes them

feel safe and secure. Our

dining room and bar staff is

specially trained to be sen-

sitive to any discomfort felt

by women when she is din-

ing alone or is having a

drink alone. They have been

trained to intervene subtly

and ensure that a woman

does not have to face any

unwelcome advances in our

premises. We would like to

move beyond safety and

make our women guests feel

at home and enjoy our

amenities and have a pleas-

urable stay.”

Commenting on the gov-

ernment’s proposal requir-

ing hotels to reserve certain

number of room for women

only, Ashish Vohra,

Founder & CEO, JüSTA Ho-

tels & Resorts, said that

This is a well intentioned

proposal but it needs to be

thought through rather than

blanket application of the

same, all reputed hotels fol-

low a strict regimen for the

safety of their lady guests.

“We do the same and it has

been outlined in detail later.

We do not feel that a

mandatory ruling on sepa-

rate floors or particular

rooms for lady guests is

warranted. Especially no of-

ficial inspection required

for the same. We are mind-

ful of the same and carry

out our responsibility dili-

gently,” he added.

As for the implication of

the proposal on economic

viability of budget and mid-

Women only rooms/floorsat hotels for womensafety With some criminal incidents evolving safety ofwomen guests, the Indian hotel industry hasbeen taking steps to insure safety of singlewoman guests at hotels.

Hotels should continu-ously review their safetyand security systems forthe sake of their guests.Hotels should be a secureplace for all who comethere – men, women, chil-dren, aged, physicallychallenged etc.

““

Ajay K. BakayaExecutive Director, Sarovar Hotels Private Limited

We have roughly 10% ofour inventory as securewomen's rooms in Keyshotels because we un-derstood the need forcreating these for the in-dividual women traveler

of today.

“

“

Partha ChatterjeeAdvisor, Berggruen Hotels

�Prem Kumar


41Hospitality News

market hotels, Vohra said

that if the same is impli-

cated in its current form it

shall lead to a lot of

wastage. “Hotels with lim-

ited inventories will be se-

verely hampered in their

operational efficiencies and

will lead to losses as there

will be vacant rooms, be-

cause of the rule which we

will not be able to sell to our

gentlemen guest in busy pe-

riods. Logistically, this will

be a nightmare for the hotels

as well as cause immense in-

convenience to guests at

large.”

Talking about what his

company is doing for the

safety of woman guests,

Vohra said, “We take are re-

sponsibility towards our

guest most seriously. The

Manager on duty is fully re-

sponsible for the well being

of all guests especially lady

guest. In spite of that, we

have certain key procedures

that are strictly followed by

our staff. They have been

specially trained to do so.”

According to Vohra, cer-

tain key procedures that are

strictly followed by the staff

at his hotels are: (1) Single

Lady Guest is always allot-

ted rooms either on the

Lobby Level or the First

Floor; There is always the

visibility factor, (2) all calls

for the Lady Guests are al-

ways screened and never

transferred directly to the

room, (3)Room numbers are

never disclosed (4) Choice of

rooms is offered to the Lady

Guest, (5) Only Lady room

attendants service the room,

(6) all service times are mon-

itored by the Front Office

Manager/In charge, and (7)

round the clock security and

CCTV coverage of all corri-

dors and public areas main-

tained.

This is a well intentionedproposal but it needs tobe thought through

rather than blanket appli-cation of the same, all re-puted hotels follow astrict regimen for the

safety of their lady guests.

“

“

Ashish VohraFounder & CEOJüSTA Hotels & Resorts

Keys Hotels, one of the

fastest growing mid-

market hotel chains

in India is all set to launch its

first hotel in the pilgrim desti-

nation segment. Launching in

March 2014, Keys Hotel Tem-

pletree at Shirdi will be Keys

Hotels’ 5th hotel in Maharash-

tra.

Located in close proximity

to the Sai Baba Temple com-

plex, this 87-roomed property

will offer the guests a wide

range of business services in-

cluding complimentary Wi-Fi,

making it ideal for pilgrims

and business travelers alike.

Apart from offering 2 kinds of

suites; Keys Hotel, Templetree

is the only hotel in Shirdi

which offers rooms specially

designed to the needs of the

differently-abled and single

women. The hotel will also

boost travel to other impor-

tant religious destinations like

Shani Shignapur, Trim-

bakeshwar near Nasik, Sakuri

near Rahata and the hill sta-

tion of Bhandardara.

The hotel facilities include

Keys Café, a multi-cuisine

restaurant that serves 100%

vegetarian multi cuisine and

traditional ‘upvaas’ (religious

fasting) dishes. Other features

include an open air lawn to

host functions for upto 120

people, entertainment zone of-

fering mocktails and light

snacks, gaming facilities, chil-

dren’s play area and swim-

ming pool with a separate

children pool.

To make the stay more

soothing for the guests, the

hotel has also built-in a small

temple in the premises, made

arrangements for a compli-

mentary pick up and drop to

Sai Baba Temple and a sou-

venir shop for the devotees.

The hotel is also well

equipped with a travel desk to

arrange the guests’ visit to Sai

Baba Temple.

On account of entering in

a management contract with

Keys Hotels for Keys Hotel,

Templetree, Sangram Desh-

mukh, CMD, Shraddha Re-

sorts said, “Shirdi is an

important religious travel des-

tination in this state. With the

regular influx of national and

international tourists to the

city, there is always a need for

quality accommodation. We

have build a great hotel and

partnership with Keys will

bring the required profes-

sional management to the

property.”

Sanjay Sethi, MD and

CEO, Berggruen Hotels added,

“Shirdi sees a constant inflow

of international and national

devotees throughout the year.

This traffic demands presence

of branded accommodation in

the city. With Keys Hotel, Tem-

pletree, we wish to tap this

massive potential and ensure

that the guests’ stay in the city

is a pious and satisfying expe-

rience.”

Currently, Keys has 14 ho-

tels in operation while 21

properties are in various

stages of development, slated

to open in due course of time.

Apart from expanding at reli-

gious destinations like Vrin-

davan, Amritsar and Harid-

war; Keys Hotels is expanding

its various brand offerings at

Mumbai, Vishakhapattanam,

Kochi, Gurgaon, Noida, Al-

ibaug, Vadodara, Lucknow,

Goa, Kovalam and Raipur. By

the end of the current year

Keys Hotels expects to have a

minimum of 20 operational

hotels. Recently, Keys Hotels

launched its first palace prop-

erty with The Pratap Palace –

A Keys Resort at Pushkar -

Ajmer.

Keys Hotels, a brand of

Berggruen Hotels Pvt. Ltd.

rolled out its first owned hotel

at Trivandrum in September

2009. Berggruen Hotels is a

young hotel company founded

in 2006 by Sanjay Sethi and

his team of hotel profession-

als. The business is com-

pletely funded by Berggruen

Holdings out of New York.

The company has set up a

leading chain of mid market

hotels, resorts and service

apartments across India

under its brand of Keys Ho-

tels, Resorts and Apartments

and an upscale brand of busi-

ness hotels under the brand

name Keys Klub. by TNH DESK

Keys Hotels LaunchesKeys Hotel, Templetree atShirdiKeys Hotels ventures into pilgrim destinationswith this launch at Shirdi. The new hotel offerswide range of services for business and pilgrimtravellers including specially designed rooms fordifferently-abled and single woman travellers.The company also plans hotels at other pilgrimdestinations like Vrindavan, Amritsar andHaridwar.

Hospitality News42


This hotel is the first

property launched by

Radiance Residency

& Resorts. With its 68 Rooms,

Nidhivan Hotels & Resorts is

the first hotel to provide real

ambience, comfort and facili-

ties in Vrindavan that, till now,

were found only in metropoli-

tan cities. The Hotel is emerg-

ing as a new destination close

to New Delhi/NCR (Only 2 Hour

distance).

Located at Gopalgarh

Tehra Road, Vrindavan,

Mathura, Nidhivan Hotels &

Resort boasts of a host of facil-

ities ranging from ‘On-line

reservation, rooms, besides

other set of facilities for the re-

ligious & corporate travellers

visiting the holy city of Vrinda-

van.

With less than 2 km from

the main city centre and about

12 km from the famous Kr-

ishna Janambhoomi Temple,

in Mathura, it is in the heart of

Braj which is full of areas of re-

ligious and historic relevance.

Speaking about his choice

of Vrindavan as location of the

first hotel of his company,

Saurav Goel, Managing Direc-

tor, Radiance Residency & Re-

sorts, said, “The city of

Vrindavan plays home to about

4,000 temples, each unique in

its relevance and beauty, in-

cluding major temples like

Bankey Bihari temple, ISKCON

Temple, Rangaji temple,

Govind Dev Temple and many

others. One should also visit

the the temples around Vrinda-

van in the Braj area. A large

number of people have been

coming to the city with no stan-

dardized Hotels in the region.

We wanted to fill this gap.”

Nidhivan Hotels & Resorts,

the first Hospitality venture of

Radiance Residency & Re-

sorts, is a four-star equivalent

Hotel in the holy town of Vrin-

davan, Uttar Pradesh.

“In all my trips to Vrinda-

van I had felt the need for a

quality stay and arrangement.

With “Nidhivan” we have man-

aged to create a new pious and

luxurious destination, espe-

cially for Pilgrims to Vrind-

van/Mathura and followers of

Lord Krishna along those com-

ing here and looking for a

weekend stay,” said Goel.

The city of Vrindavan

plays home to about 4,000 tem-

ples, each unique in its rele-

vance and beauty, including

major temples like Bankey Bi-

hari temple, ISKCON Temple,

Rangaji temple, Govind Dev

Temple and many others. One

should also visit the the tem-

ples around Vrindavan in the

Braj area.

Speaking about USP of his

hotel, Goel said, “We are the

largest Hotel in the Mathura

/Vrindavan belt. We have be-

come pioneer in adding luxury

in Vrindavan. With 68 rooms,

Nidhivan is the first hotel to

provide real ambience, comfort

and facilities in Vrindavan

that, till now, were found only

in metropolitan cities.”

The Hotel aims to be a one

of a kind destination in Vrinda-

van providing its guests with

not just comfort but also bring

them close to Braj and its

legacy.

As regards the markets

the hotel is targeting, Goel

said, “The Hotel plans to offer

itself as a new destination

close to New Delhi/NCR and

will be offering special 2

nights and 3 night weekend

getaway packages for visitors

coming from Delhi/NCR, Agra

and Jaipur.”

Nidhivan Hotels &Resorts: the largestluxury hotel at VrindavanNidhivan Hotels & Resorts, a four- star equivalentproperty in the holy town of Vrindavan, UttarPradesh opened last year in August.

We are the largest Hotelin the Mathura /Vrinda-van belt. We have be-come pioneer in addingluxury in Vrindavan. With68 Rooms, Nidhivan is thefirst hotel to provide realambience, comfort andfacilities in Vrindavan

that, till now, were foundonly in metropolitan cities.

““

Saurav GoelMD, Radiance Residency &Resorts

�Prem Kumar


43Hospitality News

Hilton Worldwide re-

cently announced

the signing of a man-

agement agreement with

Fruitful Buildcon Private Lim-

ited for a Hilton brand hotel in

Jaipur. The launch of Hilton

Jaipur later this year will

mark Hilton Worldwide’s

entry into the city, one of the

most popular tourist destina-

tions in India.

Located in the heart of the

city, Hilton Jaipur will offer

the ideal base for leisure as

well as business travellers. In

addition to being minutes

from popular tourist attrac-

tions that include Hawa

Mahal, City Palace and Albert

Hall Museum, the hotel will be

in close proximity to shopping

and entertainment hubs in-

cluding Johari and Bapu

Bazaar. The hotel’s location

near government establish-

ments in Civil Lines, and busi-

ness and commercial districts

in Gopalpura Industrial Area

and M.I. Road will also make

it well-suited for business

travellers.

“Hilton prides itself in

providing guests with high

quality accommodations and

services, and the addition of

our Hilton Jaipur property

will be no exception. With a

prime location in the heart of

the city, spacious guest ac-

commodations fully equipped

with signature Hilton touches

and a full range of upscale fa-

cilities and services for

leisure and business, we are

confident our new location

will become the hotel of

choice for travellers visiting

the city,” said Rob Palleschi,

Global Head, Hilton Hotels &

Resorts. “We are thrilled

Hilton Jaipur will be our fifth

Hilton brand hotel in India,

which is one of our most im-

portant growth markets.”

Owned by Fruitful Build-

con Private Limited and man-

aged by Hilton Worldwide,

Hilton Jaipur will feature 179

rooms and suites that range in

size from 360 square feet to

650 square feet. Each equipped

with the complete range of fa-

cilities and services, hotel

guests will enjoy signature

Hilton Serenity Beds, er-

gonomic workstations and

four-fixture baths. The hotel

will also feature four trendy

and exciting dining outlets, a

round-the-clock business cen-

tre, outdoor swimming pool

and 24-hour fitness centre.

With 10,000 square feet of

state-of-the-art conference and

event space that includes an

open-air patio and a 3,300

square foot ballroom with a 21-

foot high ceiling, the hotel will

also present the ideal setting

for exclusive mid-sized and in-

timate business meetings and

social gatherings.

“We are very excited with

this opportunity to extend our

hotel network to include

Jaipur. Recently, Hilton World-

wide also signed an agreement

for a hotel in Agra. With the

opening of these fine hotels, we

will be able to offer our guests

the great option of experienc-

ing the famous Golden Trian-

gle with us,” said Martin

Rinck, President, Asia Pa-

cific, Hilton Worldwide. “Over

the last two months, we en-

tered Trivandrum and Banga-

lore with the opening of Hilton

Garden Inn Trivandrum and

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton

Bangalore. With this exciting

growth, we currently manage

and franchise hotels and re-

sorts in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mum-

bai, Bangalore, Chennai,

Trivandrum, Vadodara, Pune,

Goa and Shillim.”

"We are delighted to enter

into an agreement with Hilton

Worldwide, a leading global

hospitality company, for our

foray into the hospitality in-

dustry,” said Ritesh Dere-

wala, Managing Director,

Fruitful Buildcon Private Lim-

ited. “We are also very ex-

cited with the opportunity to

bring Hilton, the most recog-

nized hotel brand in the

world, to our home town.”

Hilton Worldwide cur-

rently operates the following

hotels and resorts in India -

New Delhi: Hilton Garden Inn

New Delhi/Saket; Gurgaon:

Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon

Baani Square and Double-

Tree by Hilton Gurgaon-New

Delhi NCR; Mumbai: Hilton

Mumbai International Air-

port; Bangalore: DoubleTree

Suites by Hilton Bangalore

and Hilton Bangalore Resi-

dences; Chennai: Hilton Chen-

nai; Trivandrum: Hilton

Garden Inn Trivandrum;

Vadodara: Hampton by Hilton

Vadodara-Alkapuri; Pune:

DoubleTree by Hilton Pune-

Chinchwad; Goa: DoubleTree

by Hilton Goa-Arpora-Baga

and Shillim: Hilton Shillim

Estate Retreat & Spa.

by TNH DESK

Hilton to enter Jaipurunder Hilton Hotels &Resorts BrandHilton Worldwide has signed agreement withFruitful Buildcon Private Limited to enter Jaipurwith a hotel under its flagship Hilton Hotels &Resorts brand.

We are very excited withthis opportunity to extendour hotel network to in-clude Jaipur. Recently,Hilton Worldwide also

signed an agreement fora hotel in Agra. With theopening of these fine ho-tels, we will be able tooffer our guests the greatoption of experiencingthe famous Golden Trian-

gle with us.

“

“

Martin Rinckpresident, Asia Pacific, Hilton

With a prime location inthe heart of the city, spa-cious guest accommoda-tions fully equipped withsignature Hilton touchesand a full range of up-scale facilities and serv-ices for leisure and

business, we are confi-dent our new location willbecome the hotel ofchoice for travellers visit-

ing the city.

“

“Rob PalleschiGlobal Head, Hilton Hotels &Resorts

Hospitality News44


red Fox hotel east delhi wins national Tourism Award 2012-13

Rotana, one of the re-

gion’s leading names

in luxury hotel man-

agement, has opened its second

5-star hotel in Al Ain. The new

254-room Hili Rayhaan by

Rotana has been specially devel-

oped to complement the ambi-

ence of the UAE’s picturesque

Garden City, with its design,

décor and amenities aimed at

promoting the most relaxing of

stays.

Strategically positioned in

Hili District, a thriving tourist

area and bustling suburb in the

north of Al Ain, Hili Rayhaan by

Rotana is just 20 minutes’ drive

from Al Ain International Air-

port, 60 minutes from Dubai and

75 minutes from Abu Dhabi. It is

located close to the heritage and

archaeological sites of Al Ain

city and is expected to be a first-

choice for guests wanting to

combine modernity with tradi-

tion.

“Al Ain has grown rapidly in

stature as a tourist and business

destination, with the result that

there is a burgeoning need for

upscale accommodation in the

city,” said Greg Allan, Rotana’s

Area Vice President for Abu

Dhabi and Al Ain. “The exten-

sive market research we con-

ducted over the past couple of

years showed that there is a

strong demand for a 5-star facil-

ity that is alcohol-free, so we

have incorporated this as an in-

tegral aspect of our new offer-

ing,” he added.

Hili Rayhaan by Rotana is

connected to the new Wahat Hili

Mall, which was launched in

September last year. The pre-

mium boutique retail and leisure

facility is a one-stop destination

for visitors to Al Ain, uniting dis-

cerning shoppers with leading

brands. The mall rises three sto-

ries high and encompasses 160

outlets, combining all the ele-

ments expected for a modern-

day shopping experience.

“Wahat Hili Mall is one of the

reasons why Al Ain is becoming

an increasingly popular destina-

tion for travellers. We have re-

ceived fantastic feedback from

visitors to the mall since we

opened, with many appreciating

the presence of big name retail-

ers such as Géant, Fitness first,

E-max and My Play Zone for the

first time in Al Ain,” said Saeed

Al Dhaheri, Chairman and CEO

of Wahat Hili Mall. “Rotana has

become synonymous with un-

compromising world-class stan-

dards in hospitality and this

reflects the vision we have for

Wahat Hili project - ensuring ex-

cellence, convenience and supe-

rior quality in every detail. We

are delighted to have one of the

leading hotel operators in the re-

gion as an integral component to

that ambition,” he added.

Hili Rayhaan by Rotana of-

fers rooms and suites that are

spacious, comfortable and ap-

pointed with a high level of supe-

rior amenities. These include

high-speed internet connections,

in-room entertainment with

multi-channel satellite televi-

sions, complimentary coffee and

tea facilities and IDD telephones

with voice mail.

Guests booking into the Hili

Rayhaan by Rotana can enjoy a

number of dining options during

their stay. ‘Elements’ is an all-

day dining restaurant offering

international buffet for break-

fast, lunch and dinner, with the

‘Hili Majlis’ lobby lounge an

ideal venue for an informal get

together over a cup of coffee.

Sun lovers will appreciate Sun-

deck, a pool cafe offering a wide

selection of juices, beverages

and light snacks by the pool.

There is also a 24-hour in-room

dining service.

by TNH DESK

Rotana opens its 2nd 5-star hotel in Al Ain 254-room Hili Rayhaan by Rotana is the firstproperty to open in Al Ain under the alcohol-freebrand, Rayhaan Hotels & Resorts by Rotana.Hotel is designed to accommodate business andleisure travellers.

For luxury travellers in-

tending to visit Kolkata

and other destinations

of Bengal, here’s some refresh-

ing news from the hospitality

sector that will cheer them up.

For the first time, Inter Conti-

nental Hotels Group (IHG) of

the United States will make its

entry with its global, luxury hos-

pitality brand- Holiday Inn in

Kolkata, Durgapur and Siliguri.

Being a renowned hospitality

group across the globe, IHG has

partnered with Kolkata’s Jain

Group to foray in the eastern

belt of India. Jain Group is a

well known real estate and fi-

nancial organization in the east.

Holiday Inn Kolkata will be

built over 1 lakh sq. ft area in

New Town and would open its

doors in the year-end. It would

gear up with 150 rooms, ban-

quet facilities, speciality restau-

rants, gym and roof-top spa.

Holiday Inn in Siliguri will be a

premier luxury hotel with global

standards in North Bengal and

open its gates in next two years.

Spread over 1 lakh sq. ft area,

the luxury will be equipped with

100 rooms, three banquet halls,

24-hour coffee shop, three spe-

ciality restaurants, health club,

salon and a swimming pool.

According to Douglas Mar-

tin, Vice President, Operations,

South West Asia, “We have re-

ceived the first opportunity to

establish our global hospitality

brand in Kolkata and in eastern

India as well and we have a

management agreement with

Jain Group. Our hospitality

brand would cater to the needs

of travellers high on global hos-

pitality standards. It will satisfy

the needs of both business and

leisure travellers. The state of

West Bengal holds a plethora of

potential in hospitality busi-

ness.” As of now, IHG has a ro-

bust presence in New Delhi,

Mumbai, Pune and Goa and

has eight Holiday Inn hotels

across the country. The re-

puted global hospitality player

has nine hotel brands in its

portfolio and plans are in the

pipeline to make an entry in

North-eastern region in the

next two years.

The hotel in Durgapur will

be built on National Highway

Number 2 sprawling over

80,000 sq. ft area with 130 lux-

ury rooms, three banquet halls,

three fine-dining restaurants,

swimming pool and other facil-

ities. All the three properties of

IHG will have strategic loca-

tions in Bengal.

This is incidentally the first

venture of Jain Group in the

hospitality business. Shrayans

Jain, Vice Chairman, Jain

Group, explained, “Holiday Inn

Kolkata promises to bring true-

blue international five-star ex-

perience in the city that would

change the face of the city hos-

pitality scene. We have in-

vested around Rs 300 crores to

build up the hotel properties in

Bengal.” by TNH DESK

IHG to set foot in Bengal citiesIHG is partnering with Kolkata’s Jain Group toestablish Holiday Inn global hospitality brand inBengal.

IHG partneringwith Jain group to:•Set up Holiday Innhotels in Kolkata,Siliguri and Durga-pur.•Set foot in easternIndia.•Establish globalhospitality brand inDurgapur and Silig-uri.•Bring the concept ofluxury hospitality ofglobal standards inNorth Bengal.

Snapshot


45Hospitality News

In a bid to lure summer

tourists from Bengal to en-

chanting destinations

across India, Sphere Travelme-

dia and Exhibitions hosted India

International Travel Mart (IITM)

in Kolkata from February 28 to

March 3. The partner state was

West Bengal Tourism and the

travel fair had around 86 partic-

ipants with leading state

tourism departments making

their presence this time. IITM

has its presence in cities like

Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyder-

abad, Mumbai, Cochin, Pune

and Gurgaon.

The travel exhibition

formed a platform for business-

to-business and business-to-

consumer interactions. Com-

menting on the fair, Surinder

Hakhu, Director, Sphere Travel-

media said, “Bengal is one of the

largest tourism markets in the

eastern belt of India and today

has emerged as one of the major

outbound markets in the country

next to Maharashtra and Gu-

jarat. We are organizing tourism

road shows in Gulf countries and

we are planning to take IITM to

Oman next year. We are hoping

to hold food fest along with IITM

from next year onwards. The

food fest will have delectable

spreads from all regions of India

that would pull a large number of

foodies and tourists as well.”

by TNH DESK

IITM to flaunt food festin futureIITM plans to exhibit popular cuisines from allIndian states at its pavilion from 2014.

IITM’s future plans:

•To host food fest along

with travel marts in India

next year.

•To step in oman in 2014.

Hospitality News46


Unique Mercantile

India recently an-

nounced its partner-

ship with Whydham Worldwide

to bring its famous American

hotel brand Howard Johnson,

popularly known as HoJo, to

India. HoJo hotels in India will

be positioned as a mid-market

hotel chain, following the

brand’s philosophy “Smart

Choice for the Smart Trav-

eller”. The brand will make its

entry into India through an

agreement between Unique

Mercantile India and Wynd-

ham Worldwide. Under the

agreement, Unique India will

develop 35 HoJo properties by

2020 across different parts of

India, with the first property

opening shortly in Bengaluru.

Talking about the partner-

ship with Wyndham Worldwide

Raj Kumar Rai, Chairman

and Managing Director,

Unique India, said, “We are ex-

tremely happy to announce

our partnership in the hospi-

tality sector with the presti-

gious Wyndham Worldwide

Group. Unique Mercantile

India Pvt. Ltd. will invest INR

2000 crore on various business

models for growing brand

HoJo in India. We chose Ben-

galuru as the destination to

open the first property, as this

city has warmly accepted all

global brands. The first prop-

erty will house 117 rooms and

suites.”

HoJo will offer unmatched

amenities, comfort and

friendly service for an every-

day traveller at an affordable

price. Announcing the launch

of Howard Johnson in India,

Rahul Rai, Director, Unique

India said, “Following an ex-

clusive business model in the

hospitality sector, we aim to in-

vest in both incomplete and ex-

isting hotels which are not

performing at a below average

level. We aim to convert such

hotels into HoJo properties

and provide them with top

notch services with interna-

tional standards. Wyndham

has the expertise in managing

and marketing of hotels and

with our partnership we hope

to strengthen HoJo’s presence

in India, a brand that is recog-

nized around the world.”

The property in Bengaluru

will open in Hebbal, close to

many large corporate houses.

The self-sufficient hotel will

have high speed WiFi connec-

tivity in all rooms and public

areas, along with well ap-

pointed amenities like digitally

secured laptop complaint

safes, personal mini bar and

refrigerator, tea and coffee

maker, working table with er-

gonomic chair and many more.

To add to this, guests can enjoy

an outdoor swimming pool on

the 5th floor that gives a

panoramic view of the city, a

spa and a high-tech fitness

centre. For high powered meet-

ings and business visits, the

property hosts a 3,500 square

feet conference and event

space and it also offers a range

of scrumptious gourmet that

makes its guest’s stay more

enjoyable and self-sufficient.

Set to strengthen its pres-

ence in India, the Wyndham

Worldwide Group presently

has hotels in places like Agra,

Alleppey and Ghaziabad. The

partnership with Unique India,

will witness a phased expan-

sion plan, across the country

in states like Andhra Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,

Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab,

Delhi NCR region, Madhya

Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra,

West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gu-

jarat and Goa.

Speaking about the

Group’s expansion Eric A

Danziger, President and CEO,

Wyndham Hotel Group said,

“In the Asia Pacific region,

China and India are the major

markets for the hospitality in-

dustry. Considering India’s

growth economically, it an ob-

vious choice for us to enter the

Indian market with this brand.

Howard Johnson is a brand

with 60 years of rich tradition,

and 500 hotels around the

world. It is a great product for

an everyday traveller who

looks for quality and afford-

able accommodation. We are

excited with the tie-up with

Unique India and look forward

to expanding the HoJo brand

in India, with their expertise.”

Unique Group with its

mass portfolio in Mediclaim,

insurance and time share also

diversified into real estate in-

vestment. The company re-

cently created a new vertical

for real estate which is called

Swayam Life Spaces. Today

the company is the largest real

estate development firm in

Ahmedabad with its various

projects coming up in cities

like Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Early this year, the com-

pany combined its visionaries

with the strength of the largest

hotel Group in the globe, Wyn-

tham Worldwide.

by TNH DESK

Unique India partnerswith Whydham GroupUnique India has partnered with Whydham tolaunch Howard Johnson hotel brand in India.Unique India plans to open 35 hotels underHoward Johnson brand in India, in the next sixyears.


47Hospitality News

Marriott International

strengthens its pres-

ence in Central

India with the introduction of

its Courtyard by Marriott

brand - a premium business

hotel strategically located in

the commercial district of Bi-

laspur, which will cater to dis-

cerning business visitors and

locals alike.

The Courtyard by Marriott,

Bilaspur officially opened its

doors in the presence of Dr.

Raman Singh, Honorable Chief

Minister of Chattisgarh making

it the 11th Courtyard in India.

The brand is already present in

Mumbai, Chennai, three in

Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad,

Gurgaon, Kochi and Bhopal.

Speaking on the occasion,

Rajeev Menon, Area Vice

President, South- Asia, Mar-

riott International Inc, said, “In

recognition of the growing pop-

ularity and potential of certain

key markets in Central India,

we decided to enter Bhopal

with the Courtyard brand. Our

entry now into Bilaspur is a

continuation of that specific

growth strategy. Central India

has been growing and attract-

ing business visitors in a big

way and Bilaspur being the

country’s largest power gener-

ating hub is a city that is rap-

idly growing and offering

numerous business opportuni-

ties. It is our endeavor to offer

Bilaspur’s visitors – a hotel

that offers the best in hospital-

ity like only Marriott can,

thereby giving them an experi-

ence that makes their stay

comfortable and memorable.”

Courtyard understands

business travelers and through

continuous research, the brand

constantly evolves to meet

guests’ changing needs. Com-

bining innovative technology

with style and comfort, the

adaptable lobby space offers

options so guests can make the

most of their time on the road.

On behalf of the owners of

the Courtyard By Marriott Bi-

laspur Sanjay Gupta, Director

of City Mall 36 said, “Marriott®

is an international lodging

leader, with more than 3,900

properties and the broadest

portfolio of brands in the indus-

try. We are delighted to partner

with this renowned hospitality

major to bring the first interna-

tional business hotel to our city.

Bilaspur is home to people and

business visitors who recog-

nize great value and service

and hence, we are positive this

hotel is sure to meet their every

requirement.”

Speaking on the occasion

of the launch, Amit Midha,

General Manager, Courtyard

by Marriott, Bilaspur, said,

“Marriott’s entry into this dy-

namic and growing city is our

attempt to offer visitors and

guests a business hotel that of-

fers smart and innovative hos-

pitality, ensuring the right mix

of services that would help

guests maintain a good work

balance and thrive during their

stay.”

Courtyard by Marriott, Bi-

laspur offers a choice of 106 (in-

cluding 70 deluxe rooms, 30

superior rooms, 2 junior suites

and 4 courtyard suites) well lit

spacious rooms with natural

lighting and contemporary

décor. All the rooms are

amongst the most spacious one

will find in the city and are thor-

oughly equipped with state-of-

the-art modern amenities.

Guests will be captivated

with a wide and exciting array

of international and regional

cuisines at the hotel. It offers

an incredible gourmet experi-

ence with its trademark

restaurant, MoMo Café. In ad-

dition, the property has MoMo

2 Go for those on the move;

MoMo 2 You for a dining expe-

rience in the comfort of one’s

own room and Bar Thirty Six

to relax and unwind over re-

freshing drinks.

The Courtyard by Marriott,

Bilaspur features the only ban-

quet space in the city with a

pre-function area and largest

indoor halls that comfortably

accommodate over 1000 people

thereby making it the pre-

ferred choice for a professional

business activity or a personal

celebration for friends and

family. by TNH DESK

Courtyard by Marriottopens in Bilaspur,Chattisgarh Marriott International expands its Courtyardfootprint in Central India with opening of businesshotel in Bilaspur in Chattisgarh

International News48


AFIFA inspection team

spent 10-days travel-

ling the North and

South Islands of New Zealand,

assessing training venues and

hotels in each of the seven

host cities in preparation for

when the highly-anticipated

tournament comes to town on

30 May 2015.

Marion Mayer-Vorfelder,

head of the FIFA U-20 World

Cup, said she was pleased

with New Zealand’s prepara-

tions after local and interna-

tional FIFA-U20 World Cup

officials visited Whangerei,

Auckland, Hamilton, New Ply-

mouth, Wellington,

Christchurch and Dunedin.

The praise from Mayer-

Vorfelder holds New Zealand

in good stead considering this

is the fifth edition of the FIFA

U-20 Football World Cup that

she will oversee. She also

claimed this tournament will

put New Zealand on a ‘plat-

form’ for the world to see.

"New Zealand is a great

country ... we toured seven

venues North to South and

overall we are very impressed.

Facilities are good, enthusi-

asm is great. We are positive

it will be an excellent tourna-

ment from all perspectives,"

Mayer-Vorfelder said at a

press conference held in

Auckland.

Most played sportAlthough New Zealand is

known as a predominantly

rugby-mad nation, thanks to

the heroics of the world-beat-

ing All Blacks, the FIFA U-20

Football World Cup will be the

third FIFA tournament to be

hosted in New Zealand.

Despite rugby's popularity,

football is the most partici-

pated in sport in New Zealand

and the impending festival of

football is expected to fill sta-

diums across the country with

colour and a carnival atmos-

phere as a host of rising stars

of the global game take to the

field.

"New Zealanders will be

overwhelmed by the standard

and quality of football played

in this tournament, it really is

the launch pad of our next in-

ternational footballing super-

stars and we would urge all

sports fans not to miss out on

seeing these players in ac-

tion."

"I was fortunate enough to

see Lionel Messi play at this

tournament only in 2005, and

it is this calibre of player

which fans in New Zealand

will get to see live in 2015. Al-

ready I can feel the anticipa-

tion building across the

country," Mayer-Vorfelder

added.

The FIFA U-20 Trophy

was also on display in Auck-

land - the first time it has been

allowed to tour a country so

far in advance of the tourna-

ment. The finely-crafted tro-

phy will embark on a

whirlwind tour of New

Zealand, stopping at over 40

towns, from May 5 – 30, 2014,

concluding exactly one year

before the tournament kicks

off.

The press conference also

highlighted ticket pricing for

the tournament, with prices

expected to be on the lower

end of the spectrum in order

to attract as many fans as

possible to watch the beautiful

game in one of the world’s

most beautiful countries.

FIFA U-20 World Cupofficials give New Zealand thumbs upFIFA U-20 World Cup officials have given New Zealand their seal ofapproval as the country gears up to host one of the biggest sporting eventson the planet.


49International News

Background: FIFA U-20World Cup 2015The FIFA U-20 World Cup

New Zealand 2015 starts on

May 30, 2015 and concludes

on June 20, 2015. Matches

will be played in seven host

cities - Auckland,

Christchurch, Dunedin,

Hamilton, New Plymouth,

Wellington and Whangarei.

Broadcast to more than

1000 countries, with a global

reach of around 170 million

people, the FIFA U-20 World

Cup will also help promote

New Zealand to the world.

Around 10,000 international

football fans are expected to

travel to the New Zealand in

support of their team.

The match schedule will

see four pool games played in

two of the seven host cities

daily - with plenty of double-

header football action to whet

the sporting appetite. New

Zealand will also host the ICC

Cricket World Cup in 2015

adding to the list of major

sporting tournaments held in

the country in recent years.

by TNH DESK

To celebrate the launch

of its new India cam-

paign – ‘Jhappi Time’,

Destination NSW recently

hosted twenty of India’s top

travel agents in Sydney and

New South Wales.

The first two partners to

come on board with DNSW

around this campaign are

Ezeego1 and Yatra.com. This

landmark campaign, called

‘Jhappi Time’ or ‘hug time’, is

the first campaign developed

and executed by any Aus-

tralian tourism body to specifi-

cally target the visiting friends

and relatives (VFR) market, in

India.

Both partnerships involve

cooperative campaigns with

Destination NSW, aimed at con-

necting with the VFR market.

Four themed ‘Jhappi Time’

videos have been specially shot

by Destination NSW and will be

used to engage consumers,

with campaign elements in-

cluding strategic broadcast,

print, digital, social and trade

communication.

The agents also attended

the launch of the campaign in

February, took part in a prod-

uct workshop, and experienced

the regional destinations of the

Blue Mountains, South Coast

and Port Stephens/ Hunter Val-

ley. Agents also visited the Syd-

ney Cricket Ground with a

guided tour and practice in the

cricket nets. by TNH DESK

Indian travel agents focus onSydney and New South WalesDestination New South Wales partners withEzeego1 and Yatra.com to reach out to theIndian travel market .



The archipelago nation

of the Philippines with

7,107 colourful scenic

islands is a great holiday desti-

nation in South-East Asia and

has a plethora of exciting

places to explore for travellers.

In a move to entice Indian

tourists from new growth mar-

kets and to maximize the pres-

ence of leading travel agents in

Kolkata, Philippines Tourism

hosted Kolkata Business Mis-

sion sometime on February 11.

This marked the second visit of

Philippines Tourism in Kolkata.

Raymund Glen Agustin,

Chief Tourism Operations Offi-

cer, Department of Tourism,

Philippines informed, “We are

quite eager to emphasize on

cities other than New Delhi and

Mumbai in India and Kolkata

forms the metro on the eastern-

most part of India that is nearer

to South-East Asian country of

Myanmar. It is a city that has a

large chunk of outbound poten-

tial travellers. Other metros like

Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyder-

abad and Ahmedabad form our

key focus. We are concentrating

on tier-II cities of India to in-

crease the flow of tourist traffic

to the Philippines.” However,

hosting tourism roadshows is

something quite new for Philip-

pines Tourism.

Glen Agustin said, “We are

levelling up our co-operative

advertisements. We have a ro-

bust presence in North- East

Asian countries including

Korea, China, Russia and

Japan. China is our fourth

largest outbound tourist mar-

ket. India has been identified as

one of the BRIC countries and

ranks as the 14th largest out-

bound market in terms of

tourist arrival to the Philip-

pines. We feel that India will

emerge as our 12th source mar-

ket in the future years.” Glen

Agustin pointed out nearly one

lakh Indian tourists would

touch down the Philippines by

2016.

The island country has In-

ternational Convention Centres

at Manila, Cebu and Boracay.

Well-known as the Entertain-

ment City of South-East Asia,

Manila has been hosting a se-

ries of global events since 2012.

At the same time, the depart-

ment of tourism is quite hopeful

to receive around 10 million

global tourists by 2016. For In-

dian travellers, the destinations

of choice are Manila, Cebu-

well-known as the Queen City

and Boracay. Indian dishes are

on offer in all leading cities of

the Philippines barring

Palawan.

The tourism group has

roped in eight travel agents

from Kolkata. Glen Agustin

added “We are looking to ex-

pand our presence in the city.

We would launch online special-

ized training programme for In-

dian travel partners this year.

Around 100 MICE groups from

India would fly down to the

Philippines this year and we

are looking at a surge in the

MICE tourist arrivals from

Kolkata this time.”

Undoubtedly, the most num-

ber of Indian visitors to the

Philippines are from New Delhi

and Mumbai. “Kolkata is in the

seventh position in the out-

bound tourist market of India.

It also happens to be the 10th

city where largest number of

passports has been issued in

2012. Nearly 56% Indian trav-

ellers flying to the Philippines

are business visitors. We had

around 52,000 Indian visitors

last year and we are hopeful to

receive at least 66,000 Indian

tourists this year,” further

added Glen Agustin.

Looking at new Indiangrowth marketsHigh on fun quotient, the Philippines archipelagois a mix of adventure, shopping, MICE andhoneymoon destinations for travellers.

Raymund Glen AgustinChief Tourism Operations OfficerDepartment of Tourism, Philippines

�Swaati Chaudhury

PhilippinesTourism’s focus:

•Indian metros likeKolkata, Chennai,Bengaluru, Hyder-abad and Ahmed-

abad.•Tier-II cities of

India.•Take-off specializedtraining programme

for Indian travelagents.

•Would receivearound 100 Indian

MICE groups in 2014.

SnapShot

The event had an atten-

dances of Health & well-

ness Administrators,

Salons & slimming centers,

Health & wellness professionals,

Nutritionist, General Public,

Dealers, Importers, Retailers.

Tourism Authority of Thai-

land was seen promoting a range

of high standard wellness and

spa services , beauty services,

Detox & slimming, Medical

Beauty treatment, Health related

services, nail art and many more

as the country is known for its

hospitality, service, cleanliness

and authenticity of the treat-

ments.

Commenting on the associa-

tion, Runjuan Tongrut, Director,

TAT New Delhi, said, TAT is al-

ways excited to be part of such

events. The event also enabled

us to showcase the Luxurious

Pleasures of Thailand to the right

audience and enlighten them on

the relatively newer destinations.

We look forward to welcome you

to Amazing Thailand Stall and

experience “Thai Massage

“which will be offered you dur-

ing the event”. by TNH DESK

RUNJUAN TONGRUT, DIRECTOR, TAT NEW DELHI

TAT is always excited to be part of suchevents. The event also enabled us to show-case the Luxurious Pleasures of Thailand tothe right audience and enlighten them on

the relatively newer destinations.“Amazing Thailand showcase beauty andwellness tourism at Kosmetika 2014At the recently concluded Kosmetika 2014 “A Beauty & Wellness Show”Tourism Authority of Thailand was the partner to create awareness aboutWellness industry in Thailand, Held on March 25-30, 2014 at PragatiMaidan, New Delhi.

According to P

Manoharan, Director

India, Tourism

Malaysia, the key growth fac-

tor for Thailand tourism from

India is the direct air connec-

tivity. There are close to 144

flights between India and

Malaysia while Thailand is far

ahead of the game. Thailand

received over one million In-

dian arrivals in 2013 while

Malaysia is at over 6,80,000.

But it is only the direct air-con-

nectivity which is impacting

the arrival numbers from India

to Malaysia? Popular destina-

tions like Maldives, Seychelles,

Fiji, New Zealand, Philippines

or even Macau are facing the

problem of either low or no di-

rect flight connections from

India.

Take an example of our do-

mestic market. Due to low or

no direct air connectivity be-

tween Kashmir and many In-

dian states, the ‘heaven on

earth’ misses out on tourism to

other well connected destina-

tions like Rajasthan, Kerala

and Goa. Direct air connectiv-

ity is the most crucial element

and if a destination misses on

that, a major chunk of tourism

business flies off. Direct Air

connectivity = Improved

tourism. However, this formula

is not valid for long-haul desti-

nations like US, Canada, South

America or even Ireland to

some extent.

The role that airlines and

airports have played in open-

ing up new destinations has

been massive in the recent

times.

South Africa: Stealing seats

from other airlines

One of the top performing des-

tinations from India – South

Africa is also facing troubles

due to low direct air connectiv-

ity. At present, only South

African Airways provides di-

rect connections between India

and South Africa. Hanneli

Slabber, Country Manager –

India, South African Tourism

Board said, “Air connectivity is

our biggest challenge. We don’t

really have good number of In-

dians travelling to South Africa

because of non-availability of

direct flights (except Mumbai

to South Africa). Since the

numbers are low, the airline is

not convinced that they will

make profit if flying from other

Indian cities.”

South Africa received

1,30,000 Indians visitors in

2013 and this year it is expect-

ing 10% growth. The tourism

board is now working closely

with other airlines like Emi-

rates, Etihad and Kenya Air-

ways to bring in passengers

from multiple Indian cities they

fly to. Hanneli said, “Travellers

can combine Dubai, Abu Dhabi

and Kenya with South Africa

by extending two to three days

in either of these destinations.

Also, the one-stop flight prices

offered by these airlines are al-

most similar to what passen-

gers would be paying to reach

to Mumbai and take a direct

flight to South Africa.”

Australia: Growing stronger

with direct flights

Australia has now become a

well-known destination among

families, honeymooners and

even high-end travellers. The

tourism figures to Australia

from India have grown over the

years. However, with the intro-

duction of direct air connectiv-

ity via Air India in August last

year, the country is registering

growth in arrivals from India.

Nishant Kashikar, Country

Manager – India, Tourism Aus-

tralia said, “The introduction

of direct flights on the India -

Australia route by Air India

has not only helped in improv-

ing air connectivity, but also in-

creasing arrival numbers.

Australia has witnessed a solid

increase in visitor arrivals

from India which is currently

its 10th largest inbound

tourism market. Kashikar

added, “Building aviation ca-

pacity is critical to achieving

the India 2020 potential. It is

estimated that an extra

345,000 seats will be required

by 2020 to meet the expected

demand from India.” Appar-

ently, Air India flies to Sydney

– Melbourne and back to New

Delhi. Tourism Victoria is now

keen to have direct connec-

tions with India and have

Mumbai – Melbourne direct

flights soon operated by Air

India.

Not just direct flights!

Both the case studies men-

tioned above reveal the impor-

tance of direct air connectivity

for a destination. However, it’s

not just the only component to

attract tourists. There is much

more for a destination to do

than just focus on having di-

rect air connectivity from de-

sired/potential tourism

market. Manoharan says, “We

need more direct flights from

India. But that’s just not the

only thing. We also need to de-

velop our nightlife products

and better public transport to

bring in a range of tourism ac-

tivities for Indian travellers.”

Mischa Mannix-Opie, Re-

gional Manager – SSEA,

Tourism New Zealand said,

“The formation of alliances

with local and regional au-

thorities is required so that

all partners are engaged in

‘selling’ a destination. The

first task is to make sure

that the destination is on the

‘must visit’ list’.”

Slabber said that a des-

tination can’t solely rely on

an airline to bring them

tourists.

Is direct air-connectivitythe solution?It is indeed important for a destination to havedirect air connections to grow tourism. But is itthe only deterrent for low tourism figures? Tnhfinds out.



P ManoharanDirector India, Tourism Malaysia

Hanneli SlabberCountry Manager, IndiaSouth African Tourism Board

Nishant KashikarCountry Manager, IndiaTourism Australia

�Anand Shah

Mischa Mannix-OpieRegional Manager, SSEATourism New Zealand



With the Proboscis

Monkey as the

mascot for VMY

2014, this will be the biggest

and grandest ever tourism cel-

ebration with hundreds of

events and festivals all lined

up to welcome the world. As

part of its efforts to raise

awareness on the celebration

of Visit Malaysia Year (VMY)

2014 globally, Tourism

Malaysia had embarked on a

Sales Mission to Sri Lanka

and India from 10 March to 20

March.

Tourism Malaysia’s Direc-

tor General, Yg Bhg. Dato’

Mirza Mohammad Taiyab lead

the delegation to Mumbai and

Delhi while Dato’ Azizan No-

ordin, Deputy Director Gen-

eral lead the delegation in

Colombo, Kochi and Banga-

lore. They were accompanied

by officials from the Ministry

of Tourism and Culture, State

representatives and members

of the Malaysia travel trade

fraternity. While the primary

objective of the Sales Mission is

to strengthen Malaysia’s stand-

ing as a dream travel destina-

tion and increase tourist

arrivals from India and Sri

Lanka, Tourism Malaysia is

also looking forward to driving

strong support from both the

Indian media, travel trade and

airlines fraternity for the ongo-

ing Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

“India has always been an

important market for us. In

2013, a total of 650,989 Indian

travellers visited Malaysia,

maintaining its position as the

sixth top tourist generating

market to the country. And this

year we are expecting close to

7,80000 to 8 lakh tourists from

here,” said Dato’ Mirza. “Be-

sides the famous attractions in

Kuala Lumpur, we have a

plethora of offerings planned to

welcome our Indian guests.

From being the world’s

favourite shopping destination

and to having the world’s best

beaches, from the most relax-

ing spa vacations to golfing hol-

idays, from weddings and

honeymoon locales and heli-

copter tours, you can be as-

sured of perfect custom made

holiday,” added Dato Mirza.

Tourist arrivals from Sri

Lanka were 64,051 in 2013,

which was an increase of 2.0%

against 62,821 tourists in 2012.

And with new products and

destinations being promoted

specifically for the Sri Lankan

market, the number is ex-

pected to increase to 70,000

this year.

During the Sales Mission,

Tourism Malaysia also organ-

ized travel marts for the travel

trade players to meet and net-

work. This is a platform to

showcase Malaysia’s diverse

tourism offerings and highlight

the scope for collaboration be-

tween travel agents in

Malaysia and India.

Members of Istana Budaya

from Malaysia also performed

at the Cultural evenings of the

Sales Mission bringing the

essence of Malaysia to South

Asia. Malaysia’s tourism sector

continued to be a significant

contributor to the country’s

economy in 2013. Tourist re-

ceipts were RM65.44 billion, an

8.1% increase from RM60.56

billion in 2012. Tourist arrivals

grew by 2.7% to 25.7 million

compared to 25 million in

2012.VMY 2014 is expected to

see around 28 million tourists

visiting the country and gener-

ating receipts up to RM76 bil-

lion.

This year if there is a place

to be, it’s Malaysia. More than

200 events await tourists in

Malaysia. For instance, thou-

sands of international auto rac-

ing fans will flock to Malaysia

end of this month for the

15thF1 Petronas Malaysia

Grand Prix. Other events that

will interest sports fans include

the Malaysian Motorcycle

Grand Prix, Sime Darby LPGA

Malaysia, and CIMB Golfing

Challenge.

If those who like culture,

there is Colours of 1Malaysia

and Borneo Cultural Festival.

Foodies should come for the

three-month Fabulous Food

1Malaysia. For music lovers,

Malaysia has the Rainforest

World Music Festival in

Sarawak, Sunset Music Festi-

valin Sabah, and Penang World

Music Festival, just to name a

few. by TNH DESK

Tourism Malaysiapromotes Visit MalaysiaYear 2014 in South Asia VMY 2014 in 5 South Asian Cities Malaysia iscelebrating its fourth Visit Malaysia Year (VMY2014) with the theme “Celebrating 1MalaysiaTruly Asia” to reflect the diversity in unity of allMalaysians.

L to R - Manoharan Periasamy, Hatimi Abas, Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Datuk Tee Slew Kiong, Y B M Asojan Muniyandy, Dato Azizan Noordin

Major recognitions/Accolades:No. 10 in Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014The only Asian country to have made the list.Penang has been named the No.1 culinary spotin the world for 2014.CNN’s World’s 100 best beaches (2013)– Perhent-ian Kecil island, Terengganu (No.13), Juara Beachin Tioman Island, Pahang (No.21), and TanjungRhu in Langkawi, Kedah (No.49) – compiled fromvarious sources (travellers, colleagues, readers,on-site visits and research).Kuala Lumpur – 4th – Best Shopping City in theWorldby CNN survey in 20122nd Best Shopping Destination in Asia Pacific byGlobe Shopper Index 2012



Britain received record

Indian visitors in

2013. As per Joss

Croft, Marketing Director, Vis-

itBritain, the country received

more than 3,72,000 Indians in

2013, a 10% growth over 2012.

This year, Britain hopes a 5%

growth from India by induct-

ing various marketing initia-

tives and business strategy.

VisitBritain recently

launched a Bollywood App –

Bollywood In Britain (BIB)

through which it is promoting

Bollywood theme holidays for

Indian travellers. This App

has been created to engage

the digitally savvy consumer

with a passion for films and

travel and explore the Great

Britain in a fun and uncon-

ventional manner. On the

sidelines of the BIB launch in

Mumbai, Croft said, “Bolly-

wood is one of the most in-

strumental marketing tool for

attracting tourists from

India. We observed that over

40% of Indian travellers as-

piring to visit Britain are

keen to visit locations fea-

tured in any Bollywood

movie.”

Also, the ‘GREAT’ cam-

paign by VisitBritain across

the world has gained popular-

ity and has established the

brand among aspiring trav-

ellers. Croft informed that in

India the ‘GREAT’ campaign

is focused more on heritage,

education, countryside and

sports. He said, “GREAT

campaign is not just about

tourism, it promotes every

segment of our trade indus-

try. In India, we specifically

are promoting GREAT Her-

itage, GREAT Sports, GREAT

Education, GREAT Country-

side, GREAT Culture, etc. We

observed that the top three

activities desired by an In-

dian traveller in Britain are

related to heritage and thus,

the focus on GREAT Her-

itage. We will continue with

this campaign in India and

are positive that the brand

will enhance the destination

awareness among Indian

travellers.”

VisitBritain witnessedrecord growth from IndiaAims a 5% growth in 2014; Launches Bollywoodapp.

India currently stands at15th position in terms oftop tourist markets forBritain. However, it leadsin the BRIC markets andconsidering its potentialfor future, we are strongly

focusing on India.

“

“

Joss Croft, Marketing Director, VisitBritain

�Anand Shah

India is becoming a sophis-

ticated tourism market as

more and more travellers

are opting for out-of-the-box

travel itineraries and pack-

ages, said Leigh Harry, CEO,

Tourism Victoria. To tap the

growing Indian outbound

travel, Tourism Victoria has

come up with a multi-pro-

longed strategy. The board has

recently unveiled new cam-

paign ‘Come Alive in Mel-

bourne’ – to leverage social

media platform in India and

strengthen brand of Mel-

bourne and Victoria among In-

dian travellers. It has also de-

ployed the marketing tool of

television by shooting few

episodes of an Indian tele-se-

ries in Victoria. Through this,

it aimed to reach the booming

middle class and upper middle

class and strengthen its desti-

nation brand. Moreover, it is

also in process of developing

ICC World Cup 2015 packages

with select travel trade part-

ners in India to ensure maxi-

mum number of Indian cricket

lovers can explore Victoria.

The region received over

73000 Indian visitors in 2013,

an increase of 9% growth over

2012.

The board recently organ-

ised third edition of its Sales

Mission in Mumbai, New Delhi

and Bengaluru to showcase the

latest tourism products to the

Indian travel trade partners.

On the sidelines of unveiling

the ‘Come Alive in Melbourne’

campaign in Mumbai, Harry

said, “Predominantly, India

was a leisure and VFR market

for Victoria. But since few

years, we are observing that

more and more Indians are

opting for niche products like

food & wine tourism, adven-

ture, sports and nature based

tourism, etc. It’s a strong sign

that Indian market is becoming

more sophisticated and is look-

ing for more experiential

tourism products.”

Tourism Victoria’s Multi-prolonged strategy for IndiaImproving itineraries for special interest groups,promoting ICC World Cup 2015

Tourism Victoria Super Trade Mission 2014 in Mumbai(L-R-Ayaz Memon, Disha Parmar, Nakuul Mehta, Brett Lee and Minister Louise Asher)

�Anand Shah

Spa News54


Spazzo at the Crowne

Plaza Today New

Delhi Okhla is a 1300

square metre destination,

providing a serene setting for

relaxation and rejuvenation.

Each therapy room comes

with its inbuilt steam room

with Pevonia products. The

spa menu has been created

to reflect elements of Indian

culture and healing tradi-

tions. “At Spazzo, we’ve

blended personalized treat-

ment offerings, colour water

bed therapy (hydro therapy)

– the only one in the capital

city, uniquely synchronized

music styling, diet, and the

antioxidant blessings of the

world’s finest teas into an

artful indoor oasis,” in-

formed Pallavi Singh, mar-

keting & Communications

Manager, Crowne Plaza

Today new Delhi Okhla.

Therapies available

Spazzo offers a wide range of

treatments to its guests, and

fulfills their personal wishes

- be it to relax, rejuvenate,

energize, hydrate or detoxify.

“We offer spa services like

massage, body treatments

and facials (also called spa

treatments),” said Singh.

Massage

Massage makes you feel good

and has lots of health bene-

fits. This is one of the rea-

sons it's the most popular

service at the spa. But there

are many different styles of

massage: Swedish massage,

Deep Tissue massage, Aro-

matherapy massage, Couples

massage and Sports mas-

sage.

Specialty Massage

Specialty massage can range

from hot stone massage,

Thai massage to Abyhanga

and Balinese Massage.

Facials

There's no denying that

every woman loves a pam-

pering day. There's no better

way to pamper yourself and

get some much-needed relax-

ation than a facial. A facial

has benefits which are aes-

thetic as well as psychologi-

cal. Not only does it improve

the look of the skin, it also

takes that back-breaking

stress off your shoulders.

The spa offers a large variety

of facials to suit all skin

types.

Body Treatments

Body treatments deal with

your body's skin. The most

common types of body treat-

ments are body polishes and

body wraps. A body treat-

ment is not the same as mas-

sage, but it can be a good

complement.

Signature therapy at

Spazzo

Spazzo’s signature spa ther-

apies have been devised to

address guests’ increasing

desire for simple, effective

and authentic spa experi-

ences. Weather you wish to

feel calm, rejuvenated or en-

ergized our soothing treat-

ments will restore a sense of

harmony to your body, mind

and soul.

Gentle breeze: Swedish

massage technique helps you

destress, unwind and

achieve a deep state of relax-

ation. Your bodies circulation

Spazzo offers blended personalized treatmentSpazzo at the Crowne Plaza Today Okhla provides serene setting for relaxation and rejuvenation.

�Prem Kumar


55Spa News

is boosted as sore joints are

quickly alleviated.

Awaken the Spirit:

Soothing and relaxing pure

aromatic essential oils are

precisely blended for this

Aromatherapy massage, in-

spiring your body to redis-

cover its harmonious

balance.

Crowne Therapy: A

calming yet energizing scalp

massage focusing upon vital

energy points distresses

back and neck.

Foot Pamper: Reflexol-

ogy combined with a foot

scrub pampers your feet. An

ancient oriental method of

massage, it restores a natu-

ral flow of energy in the

body.

Rejuvenating Bali: A

combination of gentle

stretches, acupressure and

aromatherapy oils stimulate

the flow of blood, oxygen and

"qi" (energy) around the

body.

Sunset Romance: Com-

plete journeys with tropical

body wrap & gentle breeze in

a romantic ambiance, to

renew the senses as you

enjoy this treatment with

your partner.

Luminous renewal:

This in-spa treatment fea-

tures a potent blend of stabi-

lized vitamin "C" combined

with the latest high-tech for-

mulation of freeze-dried sea-

weed. It includes an

Aromatic silky scrub fol-

lowed by an aromatherapy

massage.

Ultimate rejuvenation:

Sit back, relax and enjoy,

this rejuvenating experience

includes optimal facial to

boost your skin's radiance

with rejuvenating “C” Com-

plex. Aromatic moor wrap

rich in natural vitamins,

minerals and enzymes is

generously applied to your

entire body. Sore muscles,

aches and pains are allevi-

ated as your body's circula-

tion is stimulated and stress

vanishes, followed up with

finishing touches.

Ayurvedic traditional

massage: A traditional In-

dian massage done through

a soothing and symmetrical

long stroke to regulate the

circulatory and nervous sys-

tems of the body. The warm

herbal medicinal oil chosen

according to your body type

balances the doshas and

leaves you feeling refreshed

and rejuvenated. A steam

bath is recommended follow-

ing this massage.

USP of Spazzo

“The key USP of our spa is

hot water colour bed and it

is its own kind that you

won’t find anywhere in the

city. We use colours for the

therapy and it is a truly ho-

listic, non-invasive and pow-

erful therapy which dates

back thousands of years,”

said Singh. Colour is simply

light of varying wavelengths

and, as such, is a form of en-

ergy that is used in this

colour therapy bed. Colour

therapy aims to balance and

enhance our body's energy

centers/chakras by using

the colours of the light spec-

trum, which can help to

stimulate our body's own

healing process. Colour

therapy bed is used for

calming, relaxing, healing,

balancing, energizing and as

well as an overall relaxation

therapy with different

colour schemes.

Guests’ profile at the Spa

Crowne Plaza Today New

Delhi Okhla primarily caters

to business travelers - trav-

elling for success! Combin-

ing work stress with the

hassel of traveling can make

business trips particularly

taxing and potentially anxi-

ety inducing. Therapies at

Spazzo have thoughtfully

been put together to ensure

that its guests feel rejuve-

nated at all times.

Aviation Report56


India has the potential to

become the third largest

aviation market by 2020

and the largest by 2030.

There is large untapped po-

tential for growth due to the

fact that access to aviation is

still a dream for nearly 99.5

per cent of its population, in-

dicates the FICCI-KPMG

'India Aviation 2014-Enhanc-

ing Air Connectivity' report

launched today at the most

prestigious civil aviation ex-

position in Hyderabad.

According to the report,

the Indian civil aviation in-

dustry is on a high growth

trajectory, albeit with minor

hiccups. The industry has

ushered in a new wave of ex-

pansion driven by Low Cost

Carriers (LCC), modern air-

ports, Foreign Direct Invest-

ments (FDI) in domestic

airlines, cutting edge Infor-

mation Technology (IT) inter-

ventions and a growing

emphasis on No-Frills Air-

ports (NFA) and regional

connectivity.

The Indian civil aviation

industry is amongst the top

10 in the world with a size of

around USD 16 billion. This

is a fraction of what it can ac-

tually achieve.

"In view of the enormous

growth prospects of air traf-

fic and substantial invest-

ment projections, Indian

aviation market offers signif-

icant long term opportunities

for global aviation players.

Indian Government and in-

dustry are already working

together closely. I am confi-

dent, this partnership will be

further strengthened and

play a critical role in improv-

ing regional connectivity and

promoting sustainable devel-

opment of the civil aviation

sector in the country," said

Sidharth Birla, President of

FICCI.

The report notes that the

next generation of aviation

growth in India will be trig-

gered by regional airports. At

present, there are around

450 used/un-used/abandoned

airports and airstrips spread

all over the country. Many In-

dian states, especially in

Eastern India, have started

taking pro-active measures

to promote air connectivity.

These initiatives include re-

duction in Sales Tax on ATF,

development of no-frills air-

‘Indian aviation haspotential to be numberone globally by 2030’According to the Indian Aviation report by FICCI-KPMG, Indian aviation sector has the potentialto be number one globally by 2030.


57Aviation Report

In view of the enormousgrowth prospects of airtraffic and substantialinvestment projections,Indian aviation marketoffers significant longterm opportunities forglobal aviation players.Indian Government andindustry are alreadyworking together

closely." Sidharth Birla,President, FICCI.

“

“

ports, promotion of aviation

academies and supportive

policies for airlines and

tourism. West Bengal de-

serves a special mention as it

is the first large state in the

country to declare zero per

cent Sales Tax on ATF at its

regional airports and 15 per

cent Sales Tax on ATF used

by additional flights started

at its metro airport in

Kolkata.

A lot more needs to be

done, as several Tier 2/3

cities are still unconnected

or underserved. These in-

volve relaxation on regula-

tions, revising the security

requirements, allowing do-

mestic code sharing, provid-

ing free or discounted

utilities and connecting in-

frastructure. The proposed

Essential Air Services Fund

(EASF) by Ministry of Civil

Aviation (MoCA) needs to be

set up immediately. All this

will have a multiplier effect

in terms of higher growth of

local economic activities,

tourism and employment.

"India is blessed with a

great geographic location, a

large upwardly mobile mid-

dle class and immense

tourism opportunities. We

have just touched the tip of

the aviation iceberg. The

beauty is that our challenges

are primarily related to poli-

cies, procedures, regulations

and taxes. These are all man-

made problems and hence

surmountable. The central

government and the eastern

states have brought in many

reforms in the aviation policy,

procedures and taxation. We

hope this trend continues",

said Amber Dubey, Partner

and India Head of Aerospace

and Defense at global consul-

tancy KPMG.

The report highlights the

significant growth in the In-

dian aviation sector over the

last decade. As per data from

the Airports Authority of

India (AAI), passenger

throughput grew to 159 mil-

lion (FY 13) and cargo

throughput to 2.19 million

MT (FY 13), registering an

impressive growth of 13 per

cent and 10 per cent CAGR

respectively over the period

FY 2003-2013.

On the global front, air-

crafts transported around 3.1

billion passengers and over

51.6 million tonnes of freight

in 2013. The growth in pas-

senger traffic has been led by

the strong progress made by

Middle East countries and

supported by other emerging

economies of Latin America,

Africa and Asia-Pacific. How-

ever, developed economies of

North America and Europe

lagged behind in terms of

growth in passenger traffic.

The Asia Pacific region

promises to emerge as the

largest aviation market by

2032.

The most significant de-

velopment in the Indian do-

mestic market is the growing

dominance of the low-cost

carrier model, which in FY

2013 accounted for almost 70

percent of the domestic ca-

pacity. LCCs have driven the

growth in aviation and

tourism through low fares,

introduction of regional

routes and periodic discount

offers. Full service carriers

plan to shift more seats to

their low cost offerings in

line with market trends. In-

dian carriers plan to double

their fleet size by 2020 to

around 800 aircraft.

The FICCI-KPMG 'India

Aviation 2014' report points

India is blessed with agreat geographic location,a large upwardly mobile

middle class and immensetourism opportunities. Wehave just touched the tipof the aviation iceberg.

Our challenges are prima-rily related to policies,procedures, regulationsand taxes. These are allman-made problems and

hence surmountable.

“

“

Sidharth Birla

President, FICCI

Amber Dubey

India Head, Aerospace &

Defense, KPMG

Aviation Report58


out that development of air

transportation services and

socio-economic development

are highly correlated. Ac-

cording to the International

Civil Aviation Organisation

(ICAO), an additional dollar

invested in air transport

leads to a benefit of around

three dollars to the local

economy. Moreover, every ad-

ditional job created in the air

transport results in creation

of over six new jobs.

The growth in Indian avi-

ation has created significant

employment opportunities.

With passengers and aircraft

fleet likely to double by 2020,

the need to strengthen the

human resource develop-

ment infrastructure is imme-

diate. As per KPMG

estimates, the total man-

power requirement of air-

lines is estimated to rise

from 62,000 in FY-2011 to

117,000 by FY-2017. It is es-

timated that the sector, over-

all, will need about 350,000

new employees to facilitate

growth in the next decade.

Shortfalls in skilled labour

could create safety issues

and may see staff salaries

rise, hurting India's cost

competitiveness.

It is a well known fact that

the Indian aviation industry is

overtaxed and this is being re-

flected in the industry's lack of

competitiveness at the global

level. It is important for India

to acknowledge the devastat-

ing impact of high taxes. Some

of the avoidable taxes/charges

that need immediate attention

are central and state taxes on

ATF and MRO, Service Tax on

air tickets, high airport

charges etc.

India's current MRO mar-

ket size is estimated to be

around USD 700 million. By

2020, the total Indian fleet

would double in number, mak-

ing it critical to have a strong

domestic MRO industry. Ac-

cording to industry sources,

merely 5-10% of the MRO

work for domestic scheduled

carriers is carried out in

India, while most of the main-

tenance activities are out-

sourced to third-party service

providers outside the country.

This is a classic case of scor-

ing self-goals. An inter-minis-

terial task force on MRO

needs to be formed immedi-

ately by the government to

check the outflow of MRO rev-

enue, foreign exchange and

jobs.

Overall, in order to be-

come a top aviation market,

all round improvements are

required – in airports, air nav-

igation, cargo, MRO, general

aviation and human resource

development. India would

need to broaden the base of

domestic flyers. No-frills air-

ports in Tier 2/3 cities need to

be developed and the pro-

posed EASF needs to be acti-

vated to address financing

challenges. Government poli-

cies, procedures and regula-

tory framework need to be

futuristic, pro-active and

aligned to stakeholder expec-

tations.

The FICCI-KPMG 'India

Aviation 2014- Enhancing Air

Connectivity' report concludes

that Indian aviation has a

huge untapped potential – we

need to recognise it and go for

it. by TNH DESK

•The Asia Pacific regionis expected to emerge asthe largest aviation mar-ket by 2032•Indian carriers plan todouble their fleet size by2020 to around 800 air-crafts•Indian civil aviation in-dustry is amongst the top10 globally with a size ofUSD 16 billion•India's current MROmarket size is estimatedto be around USD 700 mil-lion•Total manpower require-ment of airlines to risefrom 62,000 in FY 2011 to117,000 by FY 2017

British Airways’ 85

years of rich legacy

in India witnessed

the grand arrival of its first

Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Hy-

derabad today through its as-

sociation with one of India’s

most revered actors, Amitabh

Bachchan. British Airways

celebrated the arrival of the

new aircraft at the incredibly

exquisite, Taj Falaknuma

Palace, with The Opulent

British Ball that witnessed

presence of crème de la crème

of prominent personalities

such as, Mr Amitabh

Bachchan, Mrs Jaya

Bachchan and British Deputy

High Commissioner in Hyder-

abad, Mr Andrew McAllister.

Dazzling fireworks, delectable

cuisine, the perfect company

and drinks sponsored by Dia-

geo, left the guests completely

awe-struck and something to

cherish forever!

British Airways’ Boeing

787 Dreamliner aircraft

touched down at Rajiv Gandhi

International Airport, Hyder-

abad at 04:45 hours yesterday

(Monday, 31 March 2014). The

brand new aircraft adorned

with a plaque commemorating

and honouring the megastar

Amitabh Bachchan, an indi-

vidual truly known for his in-

comparable contribution to

the Indian cinema over

decades. This collaboration

signifies rich legacy, commit-

ment and success in the In-

dian market for both British

Airways and Mr Bachchan.

Customers travelling to

Hyderabad will now get the

opportunity to travel in the all

new luxurious and ultra-mod-

ern Dreamliner 787, whilst ex-

periencing British Airways’

award winning hospitality.

British Airways started the

Boeing 787 Dreamliner serv-

ice in Hyderabad commencing

from 31 March 2014.

Commenting on the occa-

sion Christopher Fordyce- Re-

gional Commercial Manager,

British Airways, South Asia

said “We are delighted to an-

nounce yet another milestone

in British Airways’ history in

Hyderabad. Our very first

Dreamliner 787 has made its

landing here yesterday morn-

ing and what better way to

mark this momentous occa-

sion than to honour the iconic

Mr Bachchan to commemo-

rate this successful launch.

“Our customers from Hy-

derabad can now take advan-

tage of new levels of comfort

and reduced jet-lag thanks to

improvements in air quality,

mood lighting, and quieter

cabins, all features of the new

787. We welcome you all and

do hope you enjoy the experi-

ence.”

Amitabh Bachchan said,

“I am delighted to be associ-

ated with the launch of British

Airways’ 787 Dreamliner in

India. London is one of my

favourite destinations and

there is no better way to travel

to the city than with British

Airways. The service, food

and flat beds on the long haul

flights are second to none and

I always arrive feeling well

rested.

“My family and I have

been flying with British Air-

ways for years. The airline

holds a strong legacy in India

and I hope they continue to

serve us with the same zeal

and fervour, forever.”

The new Dreamliners will

feature the elegant cabin de-

signs fitted on British Air-

ways’ new Boeing 777-300 ER

aircraft, which have proved

very popular with customers.

All 787s will feature a new

Club World 2:3:2 layout, the

latest generation World Trav-

eller and World Traveller Plus

seats.

British Airways is contin-

uing to improve services for

customers and will roll out

more new aircraft across its

worldwide network as deliver-

ies continue over the next

three years. The new aircraft

forms the centerpiece of the

airline’s £5 billion investment

programme to benefit cus-

tomers. The airline has or-

dered 12 A380s and 24 Boeing

787s. Eight of these aircraft

have already joined the fleet,

and a further eight will join

the fleet later this year. The

remaining aircraft rest over

the next two years.

British Airways brings its1st 787 Dreamliner toHyderabadBritish Airways also honoured superstar AmitabhBachchan.


59Aviation News

Aviation News60


Plaza Premium Lounge,

the world’s leading

Airport Lounge

provider announced the

launch of its Airport Premium

Services at Kempegowda In-

ternational Airport, Ben-

galuru. The Company

introduces two state-of-the-art

pay-in lounges open to all

travellers at the International

and Domestic Departures ter-

minals of the airport.

The two new airport

lounges have been built with a

vision to extend its world

class airport service to Kem-

pegowda International Air-

port, providing comfort,

convenience and value to trav-

ellers going through Kempe-

gowda. At an entrance fee

starting from INR 1000 plus

tax guests can enjoy compli-

mentary delectable food and

beverage selection, comfort-

able seating, power showers

to freshen up, business centre

facilities and the airport’s best

spa and massage service for

guests to relax and unwind.

Comfort, innovation and

interactivity are at the coreof

the Plaza Premium Lounge

concept. Echoing Bengaluru’s

lauded reputation as ‘The

Garden City’, the new

lounges, which are designed

by celebrated Australian ar-

chitect Mitchel Squires of

Mitchel Squires & Associates,

feature lush green unique

garden design, delivering a

flawless enhanced airport ex-

perience that is second to

none.

“As a leader in the Airport

Premium Services, we are de-

lighted to introduce Plaza

Premium Lounge in Ben-

galuru and launch our

lounges together with the

newly upgraded terminals at

Kempegowda International

Airport in addition to our

well-established network of

New Delhi and Hyderabad.

Our primary goal is to provide

afive-star comfort and con-

venience for all international

travellers with our services

and facilities while at Air-

ports,” said Song Hoi See,

Founder and CEO of Plaza

Premium Lounge Manage-

ment Limited.

Being the first pay-in

lounge in the world, the com-

pany contributed to the whole

travel experience by of-

feringeveryone an effortless

travel. With its expansion

plans, the company hope to

reach and touch the lives of

every traveller in all parts of

the world.

Plaza Premium Lounge

Management Limited is the

management company and

shared service provider for

Plaza Premium Lounge Net-

work worldwide. With more

than 15 years of experience, a

results-oriented track record

and proprietary knowledge

operating and managing the

airport lounges, the network

is directing expansion plans

through multi-location opera-

tions in major international

airports in the world. Its

lounge is the world's first

commercial VIP lounge open

to airport users irrespective

of airline or class of travel.

Headquartered in Hong Kong,

we now operate more than

110 locations in 29 interna-

tional airports. by TNH DESK

Plaza Premium LoungeArrives in BengaluruIntroduces five-star guest comfort at the airport

Bollywood fever has hit

Virgin Atlantic, as the

airline pays homage

to Iconic Indian Cinema in its

latest multi-media marketing

campaign: ‘Feel like a Star’.

The campaign reflects the

larger than life service of Vir-

gin Atlantic that brings

on-screen experiences show-

cased by Bollywood alive. The

airline is inviting Indian trav-

ellers to make the most of

their love for Indian cinema

by flying to the most popular

destinations showcased in

Bollywood movies. In a fur-

ther twist on the Bollywood

theme, Virgin Atlantic is of-

fering a discount to travellers

lucky enough to have been

sprinkled with movie stardust

and own some of the most fa-

mous filmy names. Passen-

gers with names such as

Simran or Karan, Arjun or

Kiran can now book with Vir-

gin Atlantic and claim up to

10% discount on the basis of

their name itself for travel till

July 31st, 2014.

The ‘Feel like a Star’ cam-

paign subverts the ‘What’s in

a name’ theory and inspires

people to experience luxury

by flying Virgin Atlantic. The

campaign uses the look and

feel of a typical movie poster

to showcase the astounding

destinations it flies to and to

frame its cheeky reminders of

the unique offerings available

on-board, reiterating that fly-

ing isn’t a chore but a pleas-

ure. The campaign focuses on

the great amenities available;

from the fabulous collection

of latest Bollywood/ Holly-

wood blockbusters on its in-

flight entertainment to its

awe-inspiring cabins and

services that are designed to

cater the needs of the Indian

travellers.

“From the beginning, Vir-

gin Atlantic brought back

style and fun to air travel,”

says Stephen King, General

Manager, Virgin Atlantic -

India. “We believe the journey

should be as enjoyable as the

destination. ‘Feel like a Star’

campaign highlights the

unique experience of flying

Virgin and will surely connect

to all Bollywood lovers. Last

year, we flew over one thou-

sand passengers with these

shortlisted filmy names and

are looking forward to wel-

coming many more Rahuls,

Priyas and Rohits on-board

this summer.”

The multi-layered and

image-driven campaign

launches today with radio,

online video banners, out of

home (OOH) and print adver-

tising. The ‘Feel like a Star’

campaign provides a glimpse

of how Virgin Atlantic has

made flying glamorous for its

passengers with the movie

poster and ‘reviews’ acting as

the central element in many

of the ads tying the campaign

together. by TNH DESK

‘Feel like a Star’ thissummer with the Bollywoodairline, Virgin AtlanticIn a unique offer, the airline invites fans to claimfabulous discounts purely on their Bollywoodinspired names

The World Tourism

O r g a n i z a t i o n

(UNWTO) will be

holding its Silk Road Task

Force meeting during this

year’s Routes Silk Road

event which will take place in

Tbilisi, Georgia on July 6-8.

This announcement

comes soon after an agree-

ment was reached at ITB in

Berlin between Routes (part

of UBM live) and UNWTO to

work together in advancing

matters related to air con-

nectivity and travel facilita-

tion.

“UNWTO’s joint research

with WTTC clearly demon-

strates the impact that visa

facilitation can have on eco-

nomic growth and job cre-

ation. Routes Silk Road 2014

is an excellent initiative that

will surely help address the

travel facilitation challenges

along this tourism route and

we are thus very happy to

hold the UNWTO Silk Road

Task Force meeting along-

side Routes. Moreover, with

its forward-thinking ap-

proach to visas and its open

skies policy, Georgia is an

ideal destination to host such

an event, and I must congrat-

ulate Georgia for winning the

bid. UNWTO looks forward to

working together with

Routes and Georgia to make

this edition the best yet”,

said Taleb Rifai, UNWTO

Secretary-General.

“Following the announce-

ment of our partnership we

are thrilled that UNWTO has

decided to hold its Silk Road

Task Force meeting at our

event in July,” said Katie

Bland, Director Routes, UBM

Live continuing: “Routes Silk

Road will be held in Georgia

which is a gateway connect-

ing several important eco-

nomic regions including Eu-

rope, the New Independent

States (NIS) and Central

Asia and as such it is the

ideal location for Routes Silk

Road and the UNWTO Silk

Road Task Force. Holding

this important meeting

alongside our own event will

further strengthen our part-

nership and we are excited

about the opportunities this

provides Routes.”

The UNWTO Silk Road

Task Force meeting brings

together key representatives

from Silk Road destinations,

United Nations agencies, the

private sector and associa-

tions to discuss and plan pri-

orities for tourism

development along this an-

cient route. The meeting

aims to raise the profile of

tourism along the Silk Road

and drive sustainable and re-

sponsible tourism develop-

ment by enhancing

cooperation between the

countries along the Silk

Road.

Routes Silk Road, which

will be hosted by United Air-

ports of Georgia (UAG) under

the auspices of the Ministry

of Economy and Sustainable

Development, is the route de-

velopment forum that con-

nects CIS, Central and

Eastern Europe, Middle East

and Asia.

Routes organises world-

renowned airline and airport

networking events through

its regional and global Route

Development Forums. Each

year, there is one global

event and one regional event

in Asia, Africa, Europe, the

Americas and CIS respec-

tively. by TNH DESK

UNWTO Silk Road TaskForce to meet at RoutesSilk Road Routes and UNWTO will strengthen itspartnership in Georgia

TALEB RIFAI, UNWTO SECRETARY-GENERAL

UNWTO’s joint research with WTTC clearlydemonstrates the impact that visa facilita-tion can have on economic growth and jobcreation. Routes Silk Road 2014 is an excel-

lent initiative that will surely help address the travel facili-tation challenges along this tourism route and we arethus very happy to hold the UNWTO Silk Road Task Forcemeeting alongside Routes.

“

KATIE BLAND, DIRECTOR ROUTES, UBM LIVE CONTINUING

Following the announcement of our part-nership we are thrilled that UNWTO has de-cided to hold its Silk Road Task Forcemeeting at our event in July. Holding this im-

portant meeting alongside our own event will furtherstrengthen our partnership and we are excited about theopportunities this provides Routes.“



This unique service

starts as soon as you

land at Dubai airport,

where a chauffeur-driven car

awaits you. An exclusive

check-in to an Avari Business

Class (ABC) room or a suite;

early (9am) check-in & late

(6pm) check-out facilities;

complimentary newspaper;

and all the safety and in-room

amenities expected from an

international, deluxe hotel

add to the comfort.

The “ABC” service also en-

titles the business person ac-

cess to the Club Lounge,

enjoying a formal environ-

ment for private meetings

through the day, compli-

mented with complimentary

beverages, snacks & tea/cof-

fee facilities. The use of the

well-equipped business cen-

tre, with complimentary pho-

tocopy services, assists the

traveller in all his/her busi-

ness needs.

Avari Dubai Hotel has its

own ways of making the busi-

ness travellers feel more spe-

cial by offering a choice of a

lavish buffet breakfast at the

Olive Tree restaurant or a-la-

carte in the Club Lounge; and

a customized, dietary consul-

tation with the Head Chef,

who will take care of all health

and religious needs.

Other unique offerings of

the ABC Service are - comple-

mentary daily ironing of a

business suit or laundry of a

shirt/blouse; a well-deserved

massage (at a discount) at the

Avari roof top Spa; compli-

mentary use of the health club

and swimming pool; unlimited

free local landline calls and

faxes; complimentary in-

room, smart interactive TV &

media center with wireless

keyboard; complimentary

[wired & WIFI] highspeed in-

ternet access in rooms & pub-

lic areas; 20%-50% discounts

on a host of facilities; and dis-

counts on selected external

excursions.

Dubai has emerged as a

top tourist destination for

travelers across the globe.

With one of the most supreme

location in Dubai, Avari Dubai

Hotel redefines the leisure

and business hotel category

and proves to be a lifestyle

destination beyond compari-

son. The seven storey, atrium

building with 178 newly reno-

vated rooms and suites is a

unique and prestigious desti-

nation which has been de-

signed to cater for every

possible need a business or

leisure traveller may have. All

rooms at the Avari were re-

cently renovated to an inter-

national, 5-star standard,

packaged in a 4-star deluxe

hotel! It enables a leisure and

business traveler to enjoy

everything that he or she

wishes and work at the same

time. by TNH DESK

Avari Dubai Hotelintroduces unique servicefor global biz travellersAvari Dubai Hotel, a four star Deluxe, atriumhotel situated at Al Rigga (Deira), introducesAvari Business Class Service - a uniquecombination of convenience and comfort.



The Hotels.com Hotel

Price Index (HPI) is

a regular report on

hotel prices in major destina-

tions across the world. As

per the latest report, trav-

ellers from Hong Kong paid

the most for hotel accommo-

dation in India in 2013, part-

ing with `8,061 a night. This

was a 6% increase when

compared to what they paid

in 2012. Visitors from the

Middle East were in second

place paying `7,909 a night

followed by South Africans

who paid `7,594. Travellers

from both, Middle East and

South Africa saw increases

of 3% and 4% respectively.

Many of the highest in-

creases were paid by visitors

from Europe. Belgium was

up 25% to `6,363, Finland

added 22% to `6,187 and

Italy had the same percent-

age increase, taking its aver-

age to `6,098. Thailand and

China were the fastest risers

in Asia with the former up

23% to `6,903 at and the lat-

ter up 17% to `7,115.

Of the few countries with

declining rates paid, the

Brazilians saw the hardest

fall, parting with 10% less

during 2013 to `6,645, fol-

lowed by Japan with its own

devalued currency deterring

foreign travel, down 6% to Rs

7,154.

Other falls were seen at

the bottom of the table as the

Malaysians parted with the

least on `5,315, registering a

drop of 1%, followed by the

Russians down 2% to `5,510

and the Taiwanese down 5%

to `5,517.

The Hotel Price Index

(HPI) report also revealed

the top destinations for over-

seas visitors coming to India.

While Delhi, Mumbai, Goa,

Bengaluru, Chennai and

Jaipur continued to reserve

the top six spots, the Indian

city known to attract Inter-

national tourists the most,

Agra, the land of Taj Mahal

has dropped two spots. Agra

has moved from 7th to 9th

position, giving way to Hy-

derabad and Thiruvanantha-

puram in 2013. by TNH DESK

Visitors from Hong Kong,Middle East & South Africaare top 3 spenders onhotel rooms in IndiaIndian metros dominate the list of top 10domestic destinations for international travellers.

King’s Park Street re-

cently introduced

India’s first ever ‘Exhi-

bition of Food, Adventure and

Culture Fair 2014’ at the King’s

Park Street, under DTTDC fly-

over of Raja Garden. Touted as

New Delhi’s most awaited place,

King’s Park Street is one of its

own kinds of project to develop

underutilized land in Delhi.

On the occasion, Ricky

Chawla, Director, King’s Park

Street, said, “I am very de-

lighted to announce the opening

of King’s Park Street as it is not

only the first of its own kind but

also first project of utilizing un-

derdeveloped land of the city.

There are various recreational

options available in other parts

of Delhi except West Delhi. So

the entire West Delhi was ea-

gerly waiting for this project

since its announcement. With

King’s Park Street, a new av-

enue of entertainment has

opened its door and very soon,

this place would be known a

new cultural landmark of Delhi.

At the King’s Park Street, we

strive to build a repertoire of the

best of India and make it a year

around destination for the com-

plete family.”

Sanjay Soni, Director, Con-

cepts and Strategy, King’s Park

Street, shared his views, “I am

delighted to be associated with

King’s Park Street, which is

Delhi Tourism’s unique project,

inspired by the contemporary

examples internationally

wherein spaces under the fly-

overs and train stations are

used for public gatherings and

thus creating landmarks and

destinations. Similarly, King’s

Park Street has been conceptu-

alized as a unique transforma-

tion of urban spaces under

flyover and other public areas in

New Delhi. King’s Park Street,

which is West Delhi’s first ever

culture hub, will be an innova-

tive platform to showcase the

true Indian culture as well as

promote activities for modern

generation. This kind of land

utilization has never been done

in India before”.

Speaking on the occasion,

Amit Sukhija, Project Director,

King’s Park Street said, “With

Exhibition of Food, Adventure &

Culture Fair 2014, we are taking

the first step in the development

of utilizing underdeveloped

land in Delhi as well as creating

a benchmark for bringing expe-

riential tourism product in the

country. This trend is well-ac-

cepted in foreign nation and is

very popular. In India, it is first

venture and we hope it will be a

trendsetter in the area of enter-

tainment shopping in the coun-

try.”

The fair which concludes on

April 6 is attracting visitors

from across the city. Nearly 200

vendors from across the coun-

try are exhibiting their products

and as many as crafts persons,

weavers, artisans, folk musi-

cians and dancers are showcas-

ing their talent at the exhibition.

It has complete exposure of

everything India has to offer, be

it stalls selling traditional hand-

icraft or demo display and sale,

traditional and modern Indian

fashion and accessories, au-

thentic regional cuisines from

all parts of India, performing

arts from all parts of the coun-

try, theater and music perform-

ances.

Built in 2001, Raja Garden

Flyover is an important flyover

as it links Ring Road to Najaf-

garh Road. The Flyover which is

1.3 km long is one of the areas

which are underutilized and has

been selected for the develop-

ment plans of Delhi Tourism.

The area is an entertainment

zone, which is spread across

15000 square metres and has

amphitheatre-cum-mini theatre,

exhibition space, food court, art

& culture shows, street food fes-

tivals, adventure sports and a

lot more interesting activities.

The centre is very close to Ra-

jouri Garden metro station and

has closer proximity to all the

shopping malls and main mar-

kets.

Various vendors from

across the country are exhibit-

ing at the venue and promoting

Indian art and culture, regional

cuisines and street foods at a

common platform along with

adventure sports and folk per-

formances. Entry to the fair

was free for first 7 days i.e till

28th March 2014. by TNH DESK

India’s 1st Exhibition ofFood, Adventure &Culture Fair 2014King’s Park Street launched India’s first ever‘Exhibition of Food, Adventure & Culture Fair2014’ in New Delhi.

(L to R) Amit Sukhija, Ricky Chawla and Sanjay Soni


63Culture News


Blue Square Consultants

has been in operation for over

four years and is consistently

growing. The company has

grown from being a represen-

tation company to a service

solution provider. “We have

established ourselves as the

trusted service provider in the

tourism industry as we con-

sistently deliver quality to all

our clients in sync with their

plans for the Indian market.

We started off with providing

professional services to

tourism boards seeking to

enter the Indian market.

From working with one

tourism board in our first

year, today we have a portfo-

lio which consists of several

tourism boards, DMC’s and

hospitality brands,” said

Sheerazi.

Throwing lights on core

areas of activities of Blue

Square, Sheerazi said that

Blue Square Consultants is a

leading niche destination rep-

resentation and marketing

communication management

firm in India. “Our aim is to

promote and develop the busi-

ness of international travel

products in India. Anchored

in Mumbai, we provide 360º

services customized to clients'

needs which include working

on need-based assignments.”

With access to over

10,000 travel agents across

the country and a combined

database of over 450 media

houses, Blue Square delivers

plans with verifiable results

and enhanced profitability in

a cost effective manner. Mak-

ing all this possible is a young,

talented and professional

team that provides holistic

and innovative solutions in

the travel and tourism sector.

Enumerating the services

of Blue Square, Sheerazi

said, “In a nutshell, our serv-

ices consist of providing con-

sultancy services, conducting

market research, initiating

consumer promotions, con-

ceptualizing marketing com-

munications, managing public

relations, conducting product

training, exhibitions and

trade shows and achieving

sales targets.”

Vision and objectivesAt Blue Square, people are

driven by “the power of

three”. This power of three is

“a fascinating combination of

innovation, creativity and

freshness.” Explaining Vision

and objectives of Blue Square

Sheerazi said, “Our vision is

to be the pioneer in our indus-

try. We are a tourism solution

provider with expertise in

destination marketing, trade

sales and public relations.

Our objective is to help our

clients understand and en-

gage effectively with the rap-

idly increasing and dynamic

outbound market called

India.”

Future of travel repre-sentation biz in India

With the increase in the mid-

dle class as the Indian econ-

omy has improved

significantly, the UNWTO has

rated the Indian market as

one that is bound to be a

major outbound nation in the

coming years,” noted Sheer-

azi. “Therefore, any country

that is serious about promot-

ing tourism cannot afford to

ignore India. It is for this rea-

son that several destinations

are keen to start marketing

activities in India. However,

making foray into a market as

diverse as India can be quite

daunting. Hence, it is always

more helpful to use the serv-

ices of a well-established rep-

resentation company. The

market knowledge, network

and hands-on expertise of a

representation company go a

long way in pushing a brand

in the market.”

Future of Indian outbound

travel

According to Sheerazi,

Tourism is one of the fastest

growing industries in the

world at present, and India

has emerged as a major out-

bound market over the past

decade as a result of its large

population, expanding econ-

omy, emerging middle class

and liberalizing travel and

aviation environment. The in-

crease in disposable income

has energized the sector to

grow further and accordingly

the outbound tourism is on its

positive growth, said Sheer-

azi. She noted that the size of

the Indian middle class cur-

rently stands at approxi-

mately more than 350 million,

roughly the size of the popu-

lation of the US and growing

at an estimated 40-50 million

annually. “With 17% of the

world’s population, India is

ranked as one of the top five

countries for potential out-

bound travel. The number of

Indians travelling overseas is

set to rise from nearly 15 mil-

lion at present to 50 million by

2020. According to a recently

released Amadeus-Frost &

Sullivan tourism industry re-

port, Indians travelling to

Asia-Pacific alone spent

$13.3 billion in 2011. This fig-

ure is set to zoom to $91 bil-

lion by 2030, making Indians

the second-biggest

spenders, after China, in the

world on overseas travel,”

said Sheerazi.

‘Consistently delivering qualityservices to our clients in syncwith their plans’In Conversation with TnH, Lubaina Sheerazi, Business Head of BlueSquare Consultants, speaks about vision and objectives of her company,and how it has grown as an established player in a short span of time.

In Conversation64

Our vision is to be the pioneer in ourindustry. We want to provide 360ºservices customized to a clients'needs which include working onneed-based assignments.“ “

lubaina sheerazi

Business head of Blue square Consultants

�Prem Kumar

Premier Inn, the UK’s largest

budget hotel chain and part of

Whitbread Plc, has appointed

V.V. Giri as Regional Director, Op-

erations (South Asia). With in-

dustry experience of nearly 30

years, Giri brings on board deep

understanding of Operations, client/owner rela-

tionships, team and talent management and train-

ing and development initiatives. He has extensive

experience in leading large teams with hands on

exposure and has been successful in building

strong operational functions.

As Regional Director, Operations for South Asia,

Giri will be responsible for providing direction to

further enhance Premier Inn’s presence in the

country. He will manage a wide portfolio of verti-

cals related to the operations of the hotel, includ-

ing sales and marketing, branding and

communication, information systems, finance

management, legal, human resources, training

and guest quality insight.

V.V. GiriRegional Director, Operations(South Asia) Premier Inn

InterContinental Hotels Group has

appointed Jayne O’Brien to the po-

sition of Senior Vice President of

Global Brands. She will be respon-

sible for overseeing brand vision

and strategy across IHG’s global

portfolio of nine brands.

O’Brien has a rich background in the travel industry.

During her 18-year career at British Airways, she

served in a number of senior brand marketing and

commercial roles. O’Brien was responsible for helping

to develop many of British Airways’ most successful

brand and product initiatives, including the first flat

bed in Business Class (Club World), the One World Al-

liance Brand and initiatives such as the first Arrivals

Lounge concept at London Heathrow Airport.

Prior to joining IHG, O’Brien served as Chief Mar-

keting Officer for Dubai Properties Group, a leading

master developer of destinations and districts across

Dubai. There she was responsible for all group mar-

keting across the group, including brand manage-

ment, public relations and customer relations.

Jayne O’brien Sr. VP of Global Brands InterContinental Hotels Group

Unique Global Hotels Alliance Pvt.

Ltd. has appointed Jagmohan

Misra as the Country Head. Misra

has over 33 years of combined ex-

perience in the development, proj-

ect manegement, operations and

launch of some of the leading hotels

brands in India.

Misra started his career with the Oberoi Hotels in

1978 and achieved the distinction of being appointed

as the youngest General Manager in the group. Dur-

ing his stint with Radisson Hotels in Malaysia he was

responsible for the opening and successfully setting-

up operations of the four prime properties owned by

the brand.

He was one of the pioneer members in the Hotel

Leela Venture and played a crucial role in the sign-

ing-up of a MoU with the Four Seasons. Subsequently,

he joined the Grand Group to launch the prestigious

Goa Intercontinental Resort. He also took-up the role

of vice president and senior vice president for The

Grand Hotels in Goa, Bangalore and Delhi.

Jagmohan Misra Country HeadUnique Global Hotels Alliance

Hilton Bangalore Residences has

appointed Vikas Sharma as Gen-

eral Manager. Scheduled to open

in the first quarter of 2014, Hilton

Bangalore Residences is located in

the Embassy Golf Links Business

Park, the hub of several Fortune 500

companies, at the intersection of Indiranagar and

Koramangala, and within a 25-minute drive of M.G.

Road and Sarjapur Outer Ring Road.

Sharma, appointed as pre-opening general man-

ager for Hilton Bangalore Residences in December

2012, brings more than two decades of experience

in the hospitality industry. In his former role at Star-

wood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Sharma

was the general manager for Aloft, Bangalore.

Prior to joining Starwood Hotels & Resorts World-

wide, Inc., he was the general manager for The

Chancery Pavilion, Bangalore. Previously, Sharma

held several positions in F&B operations with Taj

Hotels Resorts & Palaces in Mumbai and Bentota,

Sri Lanka.

Vikas Sharma General Manager Hilton Bangalore Residences

Courtyard by Marriott Pune City

Centre has appointed Gagan

Deep Singh as General Manager,

Courtyard by Marriott Pune City

Centre. With a career spanning

over 15 years in the field of hospi-

tality and having worked as the Di-

rector of Operations at JW Marriott Mumbai, Gagan

Deep Singh undertakes the reign of Courtyard by

Marriott Pune City Centre as the General Manager.

As the General Manager of Courtyard by Marriott

Pune City Centre, Singh will be responsible for the

smooth functioning of the property. Centrally located,

the hotel enjoys close proximity to areas like Kore-

gaon Park, the airport, railway station and IT parks,

thus making it the most sought after hospitality des-

tination by business and leisure travelers.

With a repute of having successfully worked in dif-

ferent roles at various Marriott properties around the

country, Singh was one of the main protagonists who

successfully executed the launch of Pune Marriott

Convention Centre Hotel (now JW Marriott Pune).

Gagan Deep SinghGM, Courtyard by Marriott PuneCity Centre

Appointment News66


Howard Johnson, America’s fa-

mous hotel brand and a part of the

Wyndham Worldwide Group has

appointed Saibal Sen as the Gen-

eral Manager of its first property in

India at Bangalore – Howard John-

son Bengaluru Hebbal.

Sen comes with a rich experience of 19 years worked

with various organisations. In past he was associated

with groups like The Taj, Four Point Sheraton and The

Lalit. His last assignment was with the Sarovar Group

Hotels & resorts.

Sen is an alumni of the prestigious Institute of Hotel

Management & Catering Technology, Mumbai. He likes

travelling, exploring new destinations, enjoys the thrill

of exposure to new cultures, cuisine and meeting with

people. His hobbies also include reading non-fiction

and music and travelling. Howard Johnson is a chain

of hotels, motels and restaurants located primarily

throughout the United States and Canada. Founded by

Howard Deering Johnson, it was the largest hotel and

restaurant chain in the US in 1960s-70s.

Saibal SenGeneral Manager Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal

Travel & Hospitality - April 2014

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Transcript of Travel & Hospitality - April 2014