|
Main Story
Expedia
planning operations in India
International online travel behemoth Expedia is actively scouting
for a managing director to front its Indian operations which,
while the company declined to comment on, may be launched
shortly.
Newstrack
FlightRaja
involves agents in unprecedented e-commerce venture
FlightRaja will involve travel agents in its unprecedented
mobile commerce venture which it recently launched, that enables
cell phone users to check availability and pricing for flights
and even book them.
Star
Cruises inks promotion alliance with India Tourism
Star Cruises flagged off the second season for Superstar Libra
with the prospect of an international itinerary within three
years. The company has also entered into a promotion alliance
with India Tourism to increase as well as convert India's
inbound tourists to cruisers, particularly the European charter
tourists who vacation in Goa from November to April.
Chennai
to have its first hop-on, hop-off service
Chennai-based Parveen Travels and Hi Tours, a destination
marketing and conference management company, have joined hands
to venture into the innovative hop-on hop-off service in Chennai,
in association with the state department of tourism, to cater
to the domestic and international tourists visiting the city.
Arzoo
to use PLB to offer low fares
The Sabeer Bhatia-promoted portal Arzoo, which he re-launched
purely as a travel portal, will use performance-linked bonuses
(PLB) that it receives from some of the international airlines
to offer low fares to its consumers - something its peers
may also do but haven't been candid about.
CGH
Earth to synergise eco-tourism with animal conservation in
TN
CGH Earth has come up with a novel concept and is planning
to set up an elephant retirement home and a hotel in the foothills
of southern Tamil Nadu.
Tiger
Paw to launch SpaAshram
Tiger Paw will soon launch SpaAshram to cater to the new emerging
soft adventure tourist market and stressed young executives.
30 minute interview
'Travel
industry is in a state of flux'
Having successfully launched Mobissimo's India site in May
this year, Beatrice Tarka, its co-founder and CEO, is trying
to establish the Mobissimo brand name as the No.1 travel search
engine in India. In an exclusive with Jyoti Koul, Tarka shares
her business plans.
Aviation
BA
to have online payment gateway
British Airways is set to have an online fulfillment facility
for its Indian clients by year-end which is expected to both
increase direct passenger sales as well as boost its BA Holidays
brand in India which has so far been sold through select tour
operators.
Inbound
Sikkim
focuses on festivals to promote the state
The exotic locations, the rich cultural heritage, the warm
and hospitable people and above all a concerted effort by
the state government to promote it as an eco-tourism destination
has put Sikkim on the global tourism map.
WBFDC’s
eco-tourism initiatives in West Bengal
Realising the importance of eco-tourism globally (according
to World Tourism Organisation statistics it is growing at
the rate of 5 per cent), the Government of West Bengal recently
took some important initiatives to create eco-tourism circuits
and promote the same.
Outbound
Berlin
Tourism along with Bird Group makes its India impact
Berlin Tourism, along with Berlin Airport recently conducted
a three-city road show covering New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Singapore
Tourism targets exponential business growth
In an effort to grow its relatively promising business travel
and conventions traffic from India, Singapore Tourism highlighted
its current and upcoming facilities for this segment.
Online
visa facility for Preferred Aussie Specialists
India is Tourism's Australia's (TA) worldwide candidate for
yet another new initiative towards booting overall inbound
growth. It is planning to launch an online facility for visa
application for its Preferred Aussie Specialist (PAS) clique
in India.
Hotel Talk
Holistic
wellness focus of Vedic Village
Vedic Village, the international spa resort located on the
outskirts of Kolkata has emerged as the perfect holistic wellness
destination.
New
online hotel booking site
Griffon Hotel Reservation Worldwide have launched an online
hotel booking site www.ForeignHotel.com
Events
Industry’s
biggest Award nite on November 24, 2006 in New Delhi
The success of an award function can be judged by its increasing
strength and popularity and going by this very yardstick,
the Galileo Express TravelWorld Awards now in its fourth edition
is only getting bigger and better with each passing year.
After moving to Mumbai last year, the fourth edition of the
Galileo Express TravelWorld Awards will stage a comeback to
New Delhi this year on the November 24, 2006 at ITC Maurya
Sheraton.
CAPA Round Up
CAPA's
LCA symposium decrees over-regulation
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's (CAPA) annual LCA Symposium
held from September 29 through 30, 2006 at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai
decreed over-regulation of India's thriving aviation sector
in light of the aviation ministry's decision to block new
start-ups in the immediate term.
Uniglobe Regional Conference Round-Up
‘Growing
Together’ the Uniglobe way
Express TravelWorld presents a roundup of the second edition
of the Uniglobe regional conference organised recently by
Uniglobe Travel (South Asia) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tradebytes
Griffon
Aviation is sole India GSA for Fiji's Air Pacific Airline
Griffon Aviation has been appointed as sole GSA for India
for Air Pacific Airline, the official airline of Fiji. This
development has brought forth a new segment and destination
for the Indian travellers to explore and will encourage easy
access to information and travel between the countries.
Rail
Europe’s web interface for agents outside GSA ambit
Rail Europe is set to introduce a web interface for agents
outside its current GSA ambit. This will perhaps be only the
second market outside the US where Rail Europe will offer
online captive inventory to agents outside its local GSA network
in a bid to increase its reach.
Channel Chat
TAFI
creates allied member category
In an effort to streamline and bring sub-agents at par with
the rest of the service providers or IATA-approved agents,
Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) is creating an allied
membership category for them.
Macroview
TAFI
moots creation of joint working group with TAAI in western
region
In its first western region meeting convened since it's recent
committee elections, TAFI mooted the proposal of a joint TAAI-TAFI
working group.
UFTAA
plans to set up a private limited company
The 40th UFTAA World Congress held in New Delhi in September
has proved to be quite historic. As a fall out of the deliberations
at the Congress, UFTAA is planning to set up a private limited
company.
Uplink
WTAAA
to take tough stance on GDS segment fee
World Travel Agents Associations Alliance's (WTAAA) annual
meet in Orlando saw the heads of apex agent associations across
leading countries take a tough stance on recent moves by international
airlines to bill travel agents booking on certain GDSs (in
case of the US, Amadeus) for a segment fee.
Abacus
seeks to recognise agent proficiency
Abacus is seeking to recognise agent proficiency at an industry
level in a bid to raise the bar in operational excellence.
Dotcom
Technologies launches new versions of HRS
Dotcom Technologies, a leading Indian software company catering
to the hospitality industry, recently launched new versions
of its Hotel Reservation Software.
Misc
Snippets
| 
