|
Main Story
BTI
Sita poised for new brand identity by year end
Following the announcement of the discontinuation of BTI (Business
Travel International) globally in January this year, Kuoni India
has decided to rebrand its wholly owned business travel division
BTI Sita.
Newstrack
TIDS
membership, now from India
IATA India aims to vault its current TIDS (Travel Industry Designator
Service) membership from 40 to 400 non-IATA agents within a year
now that it has been empowered to offer the membership out of
India, April onwards.
Raj
National Express, Kingfisher Airlines to ink Interline agreement
In a unique interface between surface and air transport, luxury
bus service operator Raj National Express (RNE) and Kingfisher
Airlines will ink an interline agreement with domestic carriers
to transport their passengers to satellite cities directly from
international and domestic terminals.
Lakshadweep
opens three more islands for development
The union territory of Lakshadweep has opened three uninhabited
islands - Thinnakara, Suheli Valiyakara and Cheriyam for tourism
development and will be inviting global bids for development of
resorts on these islands.
Goa
plans convention center and world class golf course
In a conscious move to establish itself as a year-round tourist
destination, Goa Tourism has zeroed in on locations to set up
a state-of-the-art convention center and a world-class golf course.
Sahara
ventures into travel, launches Sahara Global
Sahara India Parivar recently announced the launch of Sahara Global,
its integrated travel company with a reach of 665 offices across
165 cities.
Aviation
Emirates
to keep agency commissions at seven per cent
Emirates Airlines is unequivocal about keeping agency commissions
at seven per cent in recognition of the importance of the travel
agents to their distribution.
Aeroflot
plans monthly inbound charters to Kerala in 2006
Aeroflot, Russian Airlines is looking at introducing monthly inbound
charters into Kerala, which it sees as the next leading charter
destination to compete with Goa.
Austrian
raises a toast to its success in 2005
Austrian Airlines applauded its top productive agents for their
outstanding contribution recently at Le Meridien, New Delhi.
Jet
to run Air Sahara as subsidiary
Jet Airways according to chairman, Naresh Goyal has reached an
agreement with Air Sahara to extend the validity of Share Purchase
Agreement (SPA) by 90 days and during this period the two airlines
will continue to operate as separate entities.
Australian
PM advocates JV in aviation sector
The Australian trade delegation led by the Australian Prime Minister,
John Howard, has evinced keen interest in joint ventures in the
aviation sector between India and Australia, during the business
forum held in Chennai last month.
Snippets
30 minute interview
‘Airlines
cannot sideline the travel agent’
James Barrington, director marketing and sales, Cathay Pacific,
is not resting on his laurels on winning the best airline (awarded
by Air Transport World), but is keen to enhance his airline's
relationship with the travel agent community and feels cost rationalisation
on the GDS front is overdue.
“The
private sector will be a crucial player”
Rajeev Talwar, additional director general, ministry of tourism,
Government of India, speaks to Neeti Mehra about the ministry's
efforts in taking brand India to another level, both internationally
and domestically.
Outbound
South
African dedicated visa websites on anvil
Citing a strain on mission staff and the rising number of visa
applications, South Africa Tourism and the South African Consulate
are set to launch a dedicated visa information website exclusively
for the Indian market.
VisitBritain
to focus on satellite cities in India
The Indian outbound segment is booming and the National Tourist
Offices (NTOs) are working overtime to get their share of the
tourism pie. VisitBritain after garnering business from the standard
metro destinations is all set to penetrate the satellite towns
and mini metros.
Kenya
more than just a safari
Jyoti Koul quizzes Dr Ongong'a Achieng, Managing Director, Kenya
Tourism Board on the strategies and targets for the Indian market.
Mauritius
steps up focus on India
In a bid to expand its business opportunities, Mauritius tourism,
recently announced that it has charted out a strategic course
for next three years as an initiative to focus on the Indian market.
Ireland
Film Board woos Bollywood
Following close on the heels of International Tourism Boards such
as Korea and Italy, Tourism Ireland along with the Irish Film
Board were recently in India to push their country as a destination
for Bollywood filmmakers.
KTB
to float `Kenya Specialist India Agents' Programme
Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) like most other National Tourist Offices
(NTOs) is focusing on strengthening its presence in India and
is planning to introduce a specialist programme in India.
Channel Chat
IATA
to offer TIDS to sub-agents from India
Travel Industry Designator Service (TIDS) will henceforth be offered
from India. What is paramount to non-IATA accredited travel agents
is to be properly identified in the electronic reservation systems
with a standard and unique numeric code. Sources from the IATA
Mumbai office said that TIDS is the only identification number
used by non-IATA travel agents.
BITE 2006
BITE
2006 promises to be bigger, better
The second Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE) 2006 will
be held under the auspices of His Highness, Shaikh Salman Bin
Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain
Defence Force, Kingdom of Bahrain.
BITE
2006: Focussed forum
BITE 2006 is expected to receive around 18,000 serious holiday
seekers from Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi and other neighboring countries.
Tradebytes
Kuoni
Holidays targets golf destinations
Celebrating its centenary year in the travel industry, Kuoni Holidays
is entering the segment of golf destinations by organising Kuoni
Holidays Golf Challenge, a golf tournament for amateurs.
Events
Calendar
of Travel Trade Shows in 2006
Uplink
Cendant
TDS launches Galileo Leisure
In a bid to increase agent emphasis on non-air transactions, Cendant
TDS (Travel Distribution Services) recently launched its Galileo
Leisure website in India.
Star
Cruises to be available on Amadeus Cruise system
Star Cruises has signed up for a distribution agreement via Amadeus
Cruise, which is a powerful desktop application for travel agents,
giving them the ability to sell simply and quickly through an
intuitive browser-based graphical user interface.
TABEE 2006
MICE
business, Aussie-style
The eighth edition of Team Australia Business Events Educational
(TABEE) 2006 held in Bangkok, revealed that Asia is easily Tourism
Australia's topmost priority sector and within it, India sits
aside China as the most promising market. Hazel Jain reports.
FHA2006
More
international participation at FHA2006
One of the region's largest food and hospitality events in Asia,
FHA2006 (Food & HotelAsia2006), has garnered an enthusiastic
response from international exhibitors this year.
International
chefs to cook up a storm
More than 600 chefs from 21 countries will compete in a series
of culinary competitions at Food &HotelAsia2006 (FHA2006.
The Culinary Challenge is held in conjunction with the biennial
FHA2006, Asia's largest international food and hospitality event.
FHA2006
has first halal food pavilion
The production of halal food, its export, and consultancy in halal
products and services, take greater prominence at the Food&HotelAsia2006
(FHA2006) exhibition in Singapore this month.
| 
