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Lead Story
TripAdvisor
forays into Indian market
Just a month after Expedia confirmed its India presence, its
operating company TripAdvisor, has made its foray into the
Asian market.
Kanti
Singh to monitor state progress
The newly-appointed additional minister for state for tourism
and culture, Kanti Singh, has been assigned to monitor development
of state tourism.
Anchor Story
TravelOrg
launches 24X7 walk-in travel shop
Travel service provider, TravelOrg, that specialises in sports,
medical, spiritual and adventure tourism and with an arm in
the serviced apartment category, has announced the launch
of its 24x7 walk-in travel shop.
30 minute interview
'We
plan to set up representative office in Chennai'
With landmark bilateral agreements being signed between India
and Hong Kong on the aviation front, Hong Kong Tourism Board
is now looking to secure a bigger share of India's outbound
traffic. So reveals Anthony Lau, its executive director. By
Andrea Lopez
'Mexico
Tourism Board plans to come to India'
India's state visit to Mexico is a clear indication of the
growing relationship between the countries. Gerardo Sanchez-Maleno,
minister, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Mexico in India,
speaks about the country's plans regarding tourism promotion
in India. By Anupama Sushil
Macroview
IATO
Convention to focus on North East
Following close on the heels of TAAI, Indian Association of
Tour Operators (IATO) has also confirmed its convention dates.
Keeping its tradition of regional focus, the convention 2008
will be held from August 7th to 10th in Orrisa.
IATO
enters education domain
The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is set to
open its own travel and hospitality institute in the city
within a couple of years.
Relaxed
LTC by Centre to increase staff inflow to NE
In a landmark development, the Union Government has relaxed
its LTC (Leave Travel Concession) rules for central government
employees to travel to the north eastern states of the country.
Outbound
Egypt's
Mahmoud to leave India soon
Samy Mahmoud, tourism counsellor, Egyptian Consulate Tourism
Office is en route to Cairo as his tenure in India nears conclusion.
Egypt
to sign tourism agreement with India
India and Egypt have had an amicable relationship from the
time it first made its foray into India and over the past
years, numerous efforts have been made to promote Egypt, furthered
by the increasing interest of Indian tourists in Egypt.
ENIT
launches MICE catalogue with Kuoni
After the launch of a coffee table book in association with
Kuoni Holidays in 2007, the Italian state Tourist Board (ENIT)
has now launched a 24-page MICE catalogue along with it that
will showcase the potential of Italy for corporate travellers.
Seven
Star Aviation to promote Romania to India market
In a bid to promote offbeat destinations that have a potential
in India, inbound and outbound tour operator Seven Star Aviation
Services has announced that it will promote Romania and its
products in the India market.
'Cyprus
expects not less than 15,000 Indian visitors in the initial
stage'
Prasad Shirke, sales & marketing manager, Cyprus Tourism
Organisation (Middle East & Arabian Gulf Office) says
that Cyprus is yet to actively promote itself in the India
market. By Andrea Lopez
Cuba
invites investment from India for tourism projects
The Cuban officials for tourism are now looking at concentrating
on India owing to its huge potential.
Tourism
Houston eyeing Asia, Middle East
Aiming to target both the leisure and business markets, Houston
is eyeing Asia and the Middle East for better participation
from these regions on the tourism front, and is hopeful that
Emirates Airlines' non-stop service from Dubai to Houston
will help in this regard.
LVCVA
to announce representative office partner
Realising the potential of the Indian market, the Las Vegas
Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will soon announce
a representative office partner.
Pakistan
Tourism keen on India
With the political setup in India and Pakistan stable at the
moment, the tourism initiatives are back on course.
San
Francisco regards India as an emerging market
With Bengaluru and San Francisco being sister cities, the
San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has regarded
India as one of its emerging markets and a 'powerhouse of
growth', besides China and Korea.
Korea
Tourism makes a comeback with newer strategies
Korea Tourism has made a comeback reinforcing its presence
in the Indian market with a newer focus, having earlier made
their presence felt in 2004.
Inbound
Jharkhand
plans aggressive strategy to overhaul tourism
In order to promote itself as a strong destination for tourism,
the state of Jharkhand is planning an aggressive strategy
to overhaul its entire set-up.
Tourism
in Ladakh grows
Tourism in Ladakh has been growing rapidly in the last few
years. While previously foreign nationals formed the majority
of tourist numbers, today those numbers have been complemented
by 50 per cent domestic traffic.
Snippets
Uplink
Ex
employees caught for ticket fraud
Two ex- employees of Via, a Bangalore-based travel services
portal have recently been caught in a case of online ticket
booking fraud. The ex-employees had been hacking into the
IDs of various travel agencies and issuing tickets.
Bhutan
Tourism looks at better connectivity
Sharing peaceful bilateral relations with India, Bhutan is
now looking at newer ways to woo Indian tourists into the
country for tourism purposes.
Cleartrip
to launch intl booking engine by July
Mumbai-based OTA Cleartrip.com is set to roll out its much-awaited
international booking engine come July when it will complete
two years of operations, reveal market sources.
Siemens
serves Indian airports
Siemens, the software technology giant, is now also into the
creation of the aviation- related software that promises to
ease operations at airport terminals and thereby help in smoothening
the process, making it easier for passengers.
Thomas
Cook to strengthen domestic ops through site
Thomas Cook, which launched its web portal this May, is looking
to build its domestic portfolio through it.
ANMsoft
keen on providing OnTra solutions to trade
Travel technology company ANMsoft Technologies is set to market
its OnTra solutions to the travel trade on a big scale.
travelChaCha.com
to start online car rental platform
In order to strengthen its travel portfolio, TravelChaCha.com
is all set to unveil its car rental facility later this month.
Galileo
to promote Pegasus Hotel Commission Process
Galileo, with the aim of developing the non-air content on
its GDS has initiated a marketing tie-up with the Indian representative
(Aman Travels) of Pegasus Commissioning Process (PCP), to
help streamline the hotel commissioning for the Indian travel
agents.
QuadLabs
launches Farepool.com
QuadLabs has launched an online service Farepool.com that
will help agents access the best deals from multiple suppliers
at one place.
Viewpoint
An
incentive to travel
Over the years, companies across the world have realised the
potential of travel incentive schemes as corporate houses
provide incentives to employees, distributors, associates,
etc to recognise and award their performance
Trade Bytes
Creative
Travels focuses on newer areas
The MICE segment in India is today being regarded as very
serious business and this has opened newer avenues for the
Indian tourism market.
SKÅL-India
to join SKÅL Asia Area Committee
After mulling over the decision as to whether to join the
SKÅL Asia Area body or not, SKÅL-India has finally
decided to join hands with the Asia Area body
Forvol
to sell North Pole, Antarctica, musical cruises
Shapoorji Pallonji Group-owned (S P Group) Forvol International
Services is soon launching its outbound brochure featuring
premium holidays for select destinations
Travelguru
rolls out 6 retail outlets
Following in the foot steps of competitive online travel agent
(OTA) companies, Travelguru.com has entered the offline space
by setting up six retail outlets across the country.
Forex
business will continue to grow: Wechsel
As Indians continue to reap th e benefits of a strong economy,
Jay S Mehta, director, Wechsel has strong faith in the foreign
exchange market
Sixt
launches 'Delhi by Night'
Following the launch of new product, 'Delhi by Night', Jayajit
Dey, manager - Marketing and Alliance of car rental company,
Sixt India in a conversation with Express TravelWorld said,
"We were looking at diversifying our car rentals product
and decided to work on several packages to sell experiences
Sachinam
Holidays to promote Sri Lanka
Inbound and outbound tour operator Sachinam Holidays is looking
at bringing Sri Lanka closer to Indian travellers with its
cost-effective packages for the summer season
Globus
& Cosmos introduces 'I know Americas' certification programme
Following the success of India's first complete Europe certification
'I Know Europe' (IKE) the Globus brand family has launched
India's first 'I Know Americas' (IKA) certification programme
Hotel Talk
Taj
Safaris to set up 4 new safari lodges in India
Taj Safaris, the joint venture company of Taj Hotels &
Resorts and CC Africa (Conservation Corporation Africa), is
planning to set up four new safari lodges in India - one in
Kaziranga (Assam), two others in the south and one in Gir
(Gujarat)
Kingfisher
Resorts plans two new properties in South Africa
The UB group-owned Kingfisher Resorts (formerly UB Resorts)
will be setting up two new properties in South Africa - one
in Johannesburg and the other in a game reserve near the city
IHCL
plans to open property in Andamans
The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) is all set to chart its growth
in the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with
a five star property
ITC
Grand Central leaves a mark
Three years ago when the ITC group decided to build a hotel
in the old mill lands of Mumbai, it was considered a risk.
Today, all skeptics have taken a backseat considering the
success the hotel has seen, so much so that quite a few other
international hotel brands are following the success story
of ITC hotel The Grand Central to set up hotels in the new
central district of Mumbai
Channel Chat
Sub-agents
need to explore other avenues to survive
Dipping commissions and diminishing margins remain the main
issues faced by sub-agents today. In order to tackle them
and ensure that the business survives, most sub-agents have
realised that ticketing alone will fetch them no profits
Aviation
China
Southern now flies daily to Guangzhou
China Southern Airlines now operates daily flights to Guangzhou,
operating from its base at Guangzhou's new Baiyun International
Airport.
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