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` 50/-A DDP PUBLICATIONVol. XXIV No. 24; December 2nd fortnight issue 2012 Pages: 48 (Excluding cover)

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DECEMBER 2ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012 TRAVTALK 1

The travel industry issure to cherish theremoval of mandatory

requirements of having aminimum gap of two monthsbetween two trips of a foreignnational to India on a TouristVisa. K Chiranjeevi, Ministerof State, Tourism(Independent charge) hasalready expressed his happi-ness over the said decision ofthe Ministry of Home Affairs.

“Welcoming the deci-sion, the tourism minister

said, “The Government ofIndia has decided to lift therestriction of the two-monthgap on the re-entry of foreignnationals visiting India,except, in the case of nationals of Afghanistan,Bangladesh, China, Iran, Iraq,Pakistan, Sudan, foreigners ofPakistan and Bangladesh ori-gins and Stateless persons.”

“The tourism ministerhas said that this decision hasaddressed a long-pendingdemand of the travel industryand would facilitate touristsvisiting the country.

The Ministry of Tourismhas set a target of increasingthe share of India in worldtourist arrivals from the cur-rent 0.6 per cent to 1 per centby the end of the 12th planand a relaxation in the visaregime would contribute to alarge extent in achieving thistarget,” he added.

Meanwhile, ParvezDewan, Secretary, Ministryof Tourism also highlightedthe development as animportant factor at the inau-guration of the Italian StateTourist Board’s five-day road-

show in Delhi InternationalExpo in Noida.

“Our Minister hashailed the lifting of the two-monthrestriction on foreign tourists. India has many travel attractions. Therecent announcementrenders one morereason for tourists to visit India,” said Dewan.

Relaxing the mandatory requirement of a minimum gap of two months between two visitsof a foreign national to India on a Tourist Visa addresses a long-pending demand of the travelindustry to attract more tourists. The Ministry of Tourism welcomes the decision.

India relaxes tourist visa norms

As the industry got together to brainstorm on the same, ourinbox was inundated with responses. ‘Infrastructuredevelopment’ emerged as the biggest development that

the year 2012 witnessed, closely followed by ‘Increase in FDI’.Meanwhile, ‘Clean India Campaign’ and ‘Weekly Payment

Deferment’ bagged the 3rd spot and ‘Increase in MOT’s budget allocation’emerged as the fourth biggest milestone. Thanks to our readers.

VIVEK SETHI

K ChiranjeeviMinister of State, Tourism

12.5% 6.25%

31.25%

12.5%6.25%

25%

6.25%

Weekly paymentdeferment Formation of

outboundassociations

Infrastructure Development(budget hotels and the

yamuna Expressway etc.)

‘Clean India’campaign

Increase in MOT’s Budget

allocation

Increase in FDI

Others

Infra development tops in 2012It’s time to bid farewell to the going year by welcoming the coming year. conducted an opinion poll on ‘What hasbeen the most significant milestone for the tourism sector in 2012?’

3-star hotelsdrive onlinebookings

See full story on page 04

Fighting traveladvisories

See full story on page 06

Reeds to growIndian MICE

See full story on page 08

Hotels cash inon big fat Indianweddings

See full story on page 28

BULLETIN

Dewan opted for thefirst slot to share hisviews with the audi-

ence that had gathered toattend the PHD Chambers’ 2nd

India Heritage TourismConclave 2012 held recentlyin New Delhi. The urgent callfrom office didn’t ditherDewan from sharing a plausi-ble shift in global travel pref-erence and sharing the wayforward to hold tourists inIndia by two-three nights.

“There has been a viewpoint that tends to presumethat tourism destroys cultureas it leads to creating thesame McDonalds or Coca-colonisation, which may becorrect in some parts. Citieslike Bangkok, Hong Kong, orShaghai have closely resem-

bled many of the tourists’attractions in the westernworld and have been built accordingly for specialpurpose,” said Dewan .

“But, the new centuryhas ushered in complete rev-olution in preferences oftourists, who now want toexperience the true cultureand witness the real heritage

spread across different coun-tries. All stakeholders need tooffer a sense of local place,”he added.

Highlighting the LadakhFestival has most importantlybrought back pride in the localculture. “The locals now takepride in wearing their localdress, cuisine, customs andalso promoting them.

In fact, we can learn from the manner Britain preserves its heritage and reckonstourism as the only way to protectheritage buildings.

India also has a rich legacy of heritage buildings,havelis and palaces to name afew. It should look at convert-ing many of them into museums or allowing touriststo visit them at a nominalcharge,” said Dewan.

“Srinagar has manysuch fabulous havelis whichif promoted well, can extendthe stay of domestic andinternational tourists by 2-3

According to Parvez Dewan, Secretary, MOT, the new century has usheredin a complete revolution in preferences of tourists, who want to experienceand witness the real heritage spread across different countries.

‘Era of Heritage Tourism has begun’

VIVEK SETHI

Parvez Dewan, Secretary, Tourism and Sandip Somany, President, PHDChamber, releasing the report on Heritage Tourism

Contd. on page 7

STATISTICS

VIEWPOINT

With the festive and holiday season infull swing, the travel industry is

raking it in. It’s the best time of the year forairlines, travel agents and hotels alike.Despite increased fares and hotel roomrates, tourism is on a high. With seats allsold out on airlines and rooms in hotelsbecoming a rare commodity, the consumeris being made to pay exorbitant rates at thistime of the year. But travel patterns in Indiahave changed – bookings keep coming in.

To beat escalated prices, travellers are opting for domestic and short-haulinternational destinations. The regionaldestinations that will gain from this trendwill be regular places like Kerala, Goa,Bengaluru, Himachal and the North Easternstates, which are gaining in popularity.Kashmir is the new hot destination thatneeds to keep pace with its infrastructureto cater to increasing demand. Thailand,Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai still remainon top of the list for outbound holiday travel.Kathmandu will also jump back if securitycan be assured.

The holiday months of October-Februarysee the highest number of inbound andoutbound travellers. Even duty free shopsat airports double their stocks and step uptheir promotions at this time of the year.The trade here has a big opportunity tocapitalise on the year-end celebrations.They should roll out attractive packages,which ensure travellers stay continue to their trip well into the next year.Moreover, trade should observe all theminute details of the preferences thatinbound, and domestic travellers share so as to prepare well in advance andformulate tantalising packages for the next fiscal, which will stimulate demand for travel throughout the year.

The other major reason for inboundtourism growth would be the relaxation ofthe 2-month restriction for tourists that wasimposed in 2009, wherein there had to bea two month gap between two visits toIndia. The two MOT international marketingcampaigns in full swing abroad, ‘Find whatyou Seek’ and ‘Go Beyond’ should help inattracting more tourists – and if the Clean India campaign actually gets teeth, we’re home free!

Holidays and more

TRAVTALK is a publication of DDP Publications Private Limited. Allinformation in TRAVTALK is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regret that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this pub-lication, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressedby third parties in abstract and/or in interviews are not neces-sarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readersthat one or more recognised authorities may hold different viewsthan those reported. Material used in this publication is intendedfor information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific

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Editorial

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Deputy Genral ManagerPriyanshu Wankhade

Asst. Manager AdvertisingRishika Karra

Sales CoordinatorAdvertisement Designers

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STATISTICS

3-star hotels drive online bookings

TOP BUSINESS DESTINATIONS FOR ONLINE HOTEL BOOKINGS IN INDIA

SMEs AND INDIVIDUALS ARE THE DRIVERS OF ONLINE HOTEL BOOKINGS!

CORPORATES20%

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT IN THE HOTEL

EXTRA BED HEALTH FORCEPS KIDS AREA VEG OR NON-VEG MEAL

MORE THAN 16.75 OF LEISURE TRAVELLERS REQUEST FOR AN EXTRA BED

Online travel site Goibibo.com has released its monthly travel report derived from livebuyer data. It has been found that 3-star hotels drive 50 per cent bookings onlinewithin the tariff slab of ̀ 1,500 -3,500. The average price point and online availabilityare the key reasons for travellers opting for this category of hotels. Excerpts:

SMEs80%

LEISURE HOTELS V/s BUSINESS HOTELS BOOKED ONLINE

PhotographersSimran Kaur-Delhi

Bharat Dangiya-Mumbai

The Ministry of Tourismwitnessed major changes

towards the end of the year,which the travel tradeobserved very closely.Fortunately, the changes thatled to the swearing in cere-mony of K Chiranjeevi,Minister of State, Tourismwith independent chargeamong other key bureaucrat-ic appointments augurs wellfor the tourism sectorChiranjeevi assumed office asthe Minister of State(Independent Charge),Tourism on October 28, 2012.

The new team underthe leadership of the newTourism Minister convincedall stakeholders, observersand critics in a very shortperiod that the policy makingfocus remains intact to dou-ble the inbound and domestictourist visits during the 12th

Five Year Plan Period. It hap-pened with the announce-ment of the launch of India’snew international anddomestic campaigns at theWorld Travel Mart 2012 bythe Ministry of Tourism.

“The Incredible Indiacampaign, launched in 2002will go through a paradigmshift in its phase two, to moveaway from a product or des-tination focus to get con-

sumer specific. OurInternational campaign iscalled ‘Find What You Seek’highlighting the fact thatIndia offers a wide range of

experience like no other destination. We will alsofocus on encouraging ourdomestic travellers withanother campaign called ‘Go

Beyond’, which will helpthem explore new destina-tions in India,” Chiranjeevisaid at the launch of the newcampaigns in London.

“The shift is in line withour objective to promote ourcountry as a 365-day desti-nation in overseas marketand to deliver experiences

that the international visitorsseek. We also will ensuresmooth connectivity andworld-class infrastructure at

Undoubtedly, the change in regime in the Ministry of Tourism was the most significant in 2012, which hasalready demonstrated their intent to enhance growth momentum in the tourism industry.

Making India a 365-day destinationTT BU R E AU

MOT D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 5

Policy thrust 2012

The shift is in line with ourobjective topromote ourcountry as a 365-day destinationin overseas andto deliverexperiences thatthe internationalvisitors seek

K ChiranjeeviMinister of State, Tourism

Contd. on page 14

ASSOCIATIONS

Countries in different partsof the world will continue

to witness difficult situations.For instance, as India observed the anniversary of2008 terror attacks onMumbai in November, there

had been a news of growingunrest in Thailand and Egypt. Disastrous situations,manmade or natural, most of the times bring in bad news for the country’sinbound tourism sector, in particular, as various other countries tend to

issue travel advisories. spoke to representa-

tives of inbound as well as outbound associations inIndia, on the best ways and means to negate ills ofsuch adverse advisories.

Here are selectedexcerpts:-

The leading inbound and outbound players unanimouslyagree on the need of an emergency response team tocounter travel advisories in all possible ways.

Fighting travel advisories

VIVEK SETHI

Subhash GoyalPresident, IATO

Various countries safe-guard its travellers by issu-ing advisories against areaswhich apparently pose risksand should be avoided. Thetravellers, in such cases, ifvisit such places mentionedin the advisory, get no insur-ance cover.

Many a times, such trav-el advisories had been issuedagainst Punjab and J&K, toname a few. But, I had notseen any adverse impact ontravel. Once a person is inIndia, there are strong

chances of his continuing theplanned journey then discon-tinuing it due to the adviso-ry. Domestic tourists’ flowcontinues as advisory doesn’tcover them.

We should have anational level emergencyteam comrising representa-tives from MEA, MHA, MOTand other key decision mak-ers from the Governmentand private sectors to con-tain the damage and even-tually withdraw such traveladvisory. Flow of real timeinformation under such cir-cumstances plays a crucial

role. Hence, the PR repre-sentative in the emergencyteam should be strong andshould reach all audiencesthrough international andnational media.

Subhash GoyalPresident, IATO

Sarab Jit Singh Senior Vice President, IATO

Normally, countries issuetravel advisories in regularcourse of working. Theseadvisories, most of the times,hint at taking due caution bythe nationals of the respec-tive country, while travellingto the region mentioned in the travel advisory.

We tend to lose out onbusiness due to such advi-sories. In certain cases, wetend to face severe adverseimpact due to such advi-sories, especially whenthey had been issued with-

out any definite cause. Thebest way to fight them is tocreate a disaster manage-ment cell, where govern-ment will supply correctinformation to relevant

departments to restrictdamage.

The emergency responseteam should be armed withaccurate information on theground to readily address thesituation with relevant foreignauthorities. Moreover, in cer-tain cases, where the adversetravel advisory is issued with-out any definite grounds, wewill be able to avoid disrup-tions in tourists’ flow. Wewould like to have an IATOrepresentative on-board insuch emergency responseteam in the disaster management cell.

Sarab Jit SinghSenior Vice President, IATO

The Pacific Asia TravelAssociation (PATA)announced that PATATravel Mart 2013 will takeplace during September25-27 at Century City NewInternational Convention& Exhibition Centre,Chengdu in Sichuanprovince, China. Alongside

the mart, the PATA BoardMeeting will be held onSeptember 27-29 at theIntercontinental Hotel inChengdu. According toMartin J Craigs, CEO,PATA, Chengdu is one ofthe fastest growing desti-nations and source marketsin China.

Guldeep Singh SahniPresident, OTOAI

In emergency situation,flow of accurate informationhelps tide through the crisis.Most of the times, the distur-bances are concentrated insome specific areas, whilerest of the region suffers dueto lack of accurate updatesthat could disseminate thenegative sentiment against

travelling to that particularplace.

For instance, during theperiod of unrest in Thailand,we used to receive updatesfrom Thai TourismAuthorities twice in a day,which helped us to continuesending visitors, who appre-ciated the situation andtrusted us to travel amid theblanket travel advisory.

Guldeep Singh SahniPresident, OTOAI

Martin J CraigsCEO, PATA

PTM 2013 in Chengdu

AVIATION D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 7

Gulf Air, Bahrain’s nation-al carrier, keeping in

mind the large volume trafficbetween India and Bahrain,introduced A321 aircraft infour Indian cities, whichoffers 30 per cent more seatsin a refreshed economy classand full flatbed business classseats, informed KarimMakhlouf, Chief CommercialOfficer, Gulf Air at a pressevent in New Delhi.

“We operate about16,600 seats a week betweenthese Indian cities namelyDelhi, Mumbai, Chennai,Kochi and Bahrain, whichnow will be serviced by newA321 with full flatbed fromIndian routes. We earnapproximately 8 per cent ofour revenues from the Indianmarket. We have alsolaunched a Falcon CorporatePlus programme for tappingthe SME segment, whilerefreshing the popular FalconFlyer and Family Firstschemes,” said Makhlouf.

“We realise the impor-tance of our B2B partners inIndia. In fact, we strive for-ward to work with all big,medium and small travelpartners. We offer commis-sion starting from 5 per cent,which goes up to 15 per cent.

Agents can earn up to 20 per cent commission as part of ourendeavour to winback the businesstravellers

as part of our various promo-tional schemes,” he added.

Differentiating Gulf Airfrom other leading players,Karim dismissed any possibil-ity to invest in an Indian aircarrier. “We will consolidateour presence as a regional

player and have no plans afloatto invest in any airline in India,or otherwise. We are thelargest Middle East networkcarrier with excellent onwardconnectivity to Africa andEurope. We offer our Indiantravellers a choice of over 730

flights a week to Gulf, MiddleEast, North Africa and Europevia our efficient hub in Bahrainin less than three hours.”

“We, however, look for-ward to possibilities of

expanding our network inanother three Indian cities,namely, Pune, Amritsar andAhmedabad as part of ourmedium-term expansionplans,” he added.

Offering 30% more seats in refreshed economy class in A321, Gulf Airalso has a window to offer 5-20% commission to travel agents.

VI V E K SE T H I Karim Makhlouf, Chief Commercial Officer, Gulf Air and Mario Selvadurai, Country Manager India, Gulf Air

5-20% commission for agents

nights. Likewise, all ourstates are rich in heritage,but here all stakeholdersincluding citizens have a crucial role to play. States, byfocussing on promoting heritage-based tourism, caneasily increase the stay oftourists,” he added.

Sandip Somany,President, PHD Chamber,added, “Heritage Tourismhas recently become moreexciting. UNESCO has iden-tified 29 heritage sites inIndia as world heritage sites.India’s tourism sector isgrowing at 8.9 per cent.”

Meanwhile, BHariharan, Chairman,Tourism Committee, PHDChamber said, “Tourism inIndia has been on the rise.Moreover, Heritage Tourismworks as a great marketingtool that is a unique amalga-mation of all other forms oftourism like colonial her-itage, industrial heritage,etc. But India needs lot ofprofessional touch to keepthe Indian heritage sites inperfect condition.

Contd. from page 3

Heritage re-visited

EXHIBITIONS

Reed Travel ExhibitionsMeetings and Events

portfolio launched a dedicat-ed world-class integratedplatform for the MICE andBusiness Travel sectors inIndia named IBTM India. Itwill join 6 other events in theRTE portfolio on 5 continentsincluding AIME in MelbourneAustralia (owned byMelbourne ConventionVisitors Bureau), EIBTM inBarcelona Spain, GIBTM inAbu Dhabi, AIBTM inChicago, USA, CIBTM inBeijing China, and BusinessTravel Market, London, UK(www.ibtmevents.com).

“India holds an enor-mous potential for the MICEindustry with a projectedGDP growth of over 8 percent in the next 5 years. Theworld’s third largest econo-my is also showing anincrease in outbound busi-ness. In 2010, it was esti-mated to be worth US$ 600million for the sector, with projections of 13 per

cent increase in the comingyears. There is also a strate-gic plan of commitmentfrom the Indian Ministry ofTourism for the develop-ment of new conventioncentres and a significantnumber of global hotelchains are now focussing onnew facilities and venues tosupport the MICE industry,”said Craig Moyes, PortfolioDirector, IBTM Meetings

and Events Portfolio, ReedTravel Exhibitions.

The first IBTM India willhave 100 MICE and BusinessTravel suppliers from inter-national and Indian hotelsand venues, national/ statetourism boards, travel anddestination managementcompanies and airlines, alongwith other suppliers includ-ing technology and eventmanagement companies. Aproportionate number of toplevel decision makers will behosted. Buyers from key mar-kets around the globe, all ofwhom will be pre-qualified toensure they are planning toplace business in India aswell as buyers who place out-bound and domestic busi-ness, will also be included.Buyers will be from key asso-ciations, corporations andagencies.

Anup Nair, President,Site India Chapter said, "TheMeetings & Incentives marketis possibly the most importantsegment of the travel industrytoday. With positive growth

trends in the Indian economyand the increasing competitionin the manufacturing andservices sectors, India presentsa potentially lucrative market.This has brought many inter-national corporations to Indiaand a burgeoning work forcethat offers a huge market formotivational experiences. Theoutbound & inbound MICEsegment in India needs profes-sional education and training

to enable it to deliver qualityprogrammes. In associationwith Site Global, we, in theSite India Chapter, plan todevelop quality professionals.IBTM, coming to India andpartnering with the Site IndiaChapter, will give the rightimpetus to this drive. We wel-come this initiative by theReed Travel Exhibitions."

Barcelona Turisme alsohighlighted the importance ofthe Indian market to the City.“India is a key market for us,as we have been buildingbusiness from there over thepast six years. Since 2010,we have received almosttwice the number of incen-tive groups than previously.So we are very interested tolearn about this new devel-opment from Reed TravelExhibitions,” said MercedesGarcia, Deputy Director ofBarcelona Turisme.

The first IBTM India will take place at the Grand Hyatt inMumbai from September 12-14, 2013. It will have 100 MICEand business travel suppliers from international and Indianhotels and venues, national/state tourism boards etc.

Reeds to grow Indian MICE

TT BU R E AU

India holds an enormouspotential forthe MICEindustry with aprojected GDPgrowth of over8% in the next5 years

Craig MoyesPortfolio Director, IBTM Meetings andEvents Portfolio, Reed Travel Exhibitions

The outbound & inbound MICEsegments in India needprofessional education andtraining to enable it to deliverquality programmes

Anup Nair, President, Site India Chapter

Xmas festivity is all around!With the onset of Christmas andNew Year celebrations, The Suryaa,New Delhi hosted a Xmas cake mix-ing ceremony recently at the hotellobby. The Guests enjoyed a livedemonstration of the making ofXmas Log cake followed by Cakemixing ceremony. Lots of cherries,fruits, nuts etc were mixed withwines etc. and will be kept for fer-mentation for one month to preparethe tradition Christmas Rum cake.People from different walks of lifecame together to spread thewarmth of festive season

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha,

K Chiranjeevi, Minister ofState, Tourism – Independentcharge, informed, “TheMinistry of Tourism has takenseveral steps to further pro-mote and enhance the tourismpotential of the North Eastregion apart from releasing tel-evision campaigns on variousTV channels. The Ministry hascreated a separate section onthe North East region that hasbeen included on the promo-tional website of MOT’swww.incredibleindia.org. Eventhe India Tourism offices over-seas have been distributingpublicity material widely.”

Development and promotion of tourism includ-ing Religious Tourism are undertaken primarily byState Governments/UnionTerritory Administrations.The Ministry of Tourism,Government of India, however, extends financialassistance to StateGovernments/Union TerritoryAdministrations for tourismrelated projects identified inconsultation with them undervarious tourism schemes ofthe Ministry and subject toavailability of funds.

The Ministry of Tourismhad also sanctioned RuralTourism projects at 185 sitesto various States/UnionTerritory Administrations upto March 31, 2012. For theyear 2012-13, Rural Tourismprojects at 13 sites were iden-tified for development, basedon the meetings held by theMinistry of Tourism withState Governments/UTAdministrations.

The Ministry of Tourismis implementing the RuralTourism Scheme with themain objective of showcasingrural life, art, culture and her-itage in villages which havecore competence in art &craft, handloom, textiles, nat-ural environment etc. Underthis scheme, Central FinancialAssistance (CFA) up to ` 50lakh for infrastructure development and up to ` 20 lakh for capacity buildingis provided to StateGovernments/Union TerritoryAdministrations for eachidentified site.

While taking initiatives tofocus on the tourism potentialof the northeastern regionincluding religious spots,MOT is also implementingthe Rural Tourism Scheme on13 projects.

MOT goes ‘religious’ in the North East

TT BU R E AU

D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 9MOT

S. No. States Name of the Projects1. Arunachal Tawang/Ziro/Malinithan in Lekhanali/Rukhmininagar/Parshuram

Pradesh Kund in Lohit district2. Assam Kamakhaya Temple/Barpeta/Hajo/ Batadrawa/ Majuli /Sivsagar/

Tezpur / Kokrajhar/ Dhubri Buddhist temple at Kaliani, Lekhapani3. Manipur Kaina/Jiribam/Moreh/Thoubal/Senapati/Kakching /Ningthoukhong4. Meghalaya Matri Mandir Shillong5. Mizoram Baptist Church6. Nagaland Catholic Cathedral in Kohima, Nagaland7. Sikkim Chochen Pheri/old Rumtek in East Sikkim/Soreng in West Sikkim8. Tripura Tripural Sundari Temple

List of major Religious Tourism places in North East states

Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati

AVIATION1 0 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

With a focus of acting asan international hub,

major metro airports in Indiaare either under development

or are almost ready to throwopen their terminal buildingsand faster transit facilities. But

with the Indian skies beingpunctured extensively due tothe central and state govern-

ment taxes, the airportcharges and the increasingcompetition; major airlines(both Indian and international)are finding it difficult to oper-ate in India. With increasingmaintenance cost and CivilAviation Ministry announcingto abolish AirportDevelopment Fee from 2013,the airports are scouting forsolutions to earn additionalrevenues.

Peter Harbison,Executive Chairman, CAPAinformed that increasing air-port charges reduce theinterest of an airline to fly tothat particular airport/desti-nation. He said, “In a sce-nario where airlines in Indiaare trying to cut down toreduce cost, airport taxes(landing/ parking, etc) act asa spoilt sport. It is agreedthat airport operators needto earn their return oninvestment but the priorityof an airport is to make their

respective base destinationan easy access point withaffordable prices and con-venience facilities.”

Airports act as an econ-omy booster for a state and anation as a whole. If theprices are increased, the air-lines will reduce their opera-tions and thus, the passengertraffic at the airport willreduce, resulting in lessusage of airport facilities. So,what’s the use of buildingfuturistic airports when no

airlines are interested to landat that airport?

Let’s talk about DelhiInternational Airport (P) Ltd

Terminal 3 which is thebiggest in India and eighthlargest in the world in termsof passenger capacity. It han-dled 35.88 million passen-gers in 2011-12 and is build-ing up the capacity to man-age 100 million passengersby 2030. With KingfisherAirlines flying in troubles,

Industry service providers say India is lagging behind in terms of infrastructure. However, with the expandinginfrastructure at airports like Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi, the airport operators are finding it difficult toutilise the additional facilities and space recently added through expansion. reports.

Using airport infrastructure the right way

AN I TA JA I N

Chennai andKolkata airports’old terminals willclose as newterminal buildingsare more efficient

We are planningto convert the oldterminal into anLCC terminal but it will take some time

Pradeep PanickerCCO (Aero)DIAL

VP AgarwalChairmanAirports Authority of India (AAI)

In a scenario where airlines in India are trying to cut down oneverything to reduce cost, airporttaxes (landing/ parking, etc) act as a spoilt sport

Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, CAPA

Airlines like IndiGo andSpiceJet moved their opera-tions from Delhi’s T3 to 1D asthe extra cost at T3 was notviable for both the low-costairlines. However, not all theairports in India have theoption of moving to differentterminals to lower the cost.Even international low-costcarriers like AirAsia stoppedoperating from major Indiancities due to high airportcharges. It is not financiallyviable for low cost airlines tooperate from high-cost termi-nals. Thus, it’s time that Indiashould look at having low-cost terminals!

Do we need low-cost terminals?

Contd. on page 40

AVIATION1 2 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

After much-awaited deliv-ery of its first 787

Dreamliner in September thisyear, Air India has initiated aplan to deploy these ‘BigBirds’ on some potentiallong-haul routes. However,the most popular and obviousroute for Air India at themoment is Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne (Delhi-Sydneyand Delhi– Melbourne areamong the 11 new interna-tional routes allocated to AirIndia by the Ministry of CivilAviation in 2012). There areno direct flights on India-Australia route at themoment (one-stop flight isavailable via Singapore,Bangkok, Hong Kong, Dubai& Kuala Lumpur) and thepassenger traffic betweenboth the countries is growing tremendously. Astudy by Tourism Australiastates that there will be aneed for 3,45,000 seats onIndia-Australia route by

2020. To fill the gap, Air Indiais set to roll out its

Dreamliner on Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney-Delhi

four times a week and Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne-Delhithree times a week by June2013, informed DeepakBrara, Director –Commercial, Air India. Tomake Australia an attractivedestination, Sydney Airportis also offering incentives andspecial packages to Air India.Kerrie Mather, CEO, SydneyAirport said that Sydneyrecorded 1,20,000 passen-gers on the Delhi-Sydneyroute and 60,000 onMumbai-Sydney route in2011 and is recording a dou-ble-digit growth in trafficfrom India to Sydney. Shesaid, “The passenger trafficfrom India is enough to fillfour daily direct flights. India-Australia is a very potentialair route which is not yet

tapped by any carrier. We arewelcoming any Indian carrierwho is interested to operatefrom India to Sydney.”

An agreement betweenthe two nations was signed onMarch 6, 2006, permitting6,500 weekly seats from both

sides including access toAustralian carriers to operateto/from Mumbai, New Delhi,Kolkata, Chennai Hyderabadand Bengaluru, and access forIndian carriers to operate toSydney, Melbourne, Brisbaneand Perth.

The new long-haul routes are part of the turnaround plan for Air India. To fill the gap, Air India is set toroll out its Dreamliner on Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney-Delhi four times a week and Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne-Delhi three times a week by June 2013, reports .

Now, fly direct to Australia with Maharaja

AN I TA JA I N

India-Australiaroute has great potential,not tapped by any carrier so far

The most popularand obvious routefor Air India at themoment is Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne

Deepak BraraDirector – CommercialAir India

Kerrie MatherCEOSydney Airport

Delay in receiving the delivery of Dreamliner has furtherdelayed Air India’s plans to start New Delhi-Australia operations. Due to such delays, the airline is not just missingout on potential route but also on its revenue. SingaporeAirlines is the biggest beneficiary due to lack of direct con-nectivity between India and Australia. It occupies 31 per centof the total passenger traffic on this route, while other airlineslike Malaysia Airlines (20 per cent), Qantas (17 per cent),Thai Airways (14 per cent), Cathay Pacific (five per cent),Emirates (four per cent) and others (nine per cent) absorbthe rest of the traffic on this route.

Losing out on potential route and revenue

Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne (Delhi-Sydney and Delhi–Melbourne route is allocated to Air India (AI)It is set to roll out its Dreamliner on Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney-Delhi four timesa week and Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne-Delhi three times a week by June 2013

Gulf Air celebrates 31 years of service Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Airmarked its successful 31 years of service to New Delhi onNovember 27. On the occasion,the airline also unveiled its newA321 featuring full flatbed seats,for the first time in its class, onIndia routes. Commemoratingthe historic 31-year landmark,Gulf Air also announced a seriesof commercial initiatives tailoredto the Indian market.

AVIATION D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 1 3

With scheduled airlinesgoing through a turbu-

lent period, Air Charters area more reliable source of flying. They are convenient,always on time and customised as desired.

“Chartering is the wayto go. Time saving not onlyincludes the time that trav-ellers save by avoiding longlines and increased securitymeasures, but also theincreased productivity of theemployees flying on privateaircrafts,” says Seth.

Highlighting theimportance of time saving, he adds, “Charteredaircraft have the advantageof flying into smaller airports as compared to big airlines. Therefore, passen-gers are able to fly into airports that are more accessible and closer to theirfinal destination thereby,increasing the demand ofAir Charters.”

An increase in passen-ger side for air charters hasrecently been noticed,“There is definitely anincrease but also the competition is also growing. Since Chapman Freebornrelies on its quality service, the trend is definitely going positive forus. Tapping a specific

market is very important in this sector and tapping overseas clients are an example of some ofthe opportunities we foresee for this segment,” Seth adds.

Chapman Freeborn hasbeen in India since manyyears and has been associat-ed with quality of service andreliability. The market forbusiness aviation and otheraviation related services is

developing in India and thischarter company has manyplans for our market.

“The roadmap ahead isto continue providing quali-ty, innovate and increase our

footprints in regions whereno one has gone before. Aswith any marketing plan, theidentification of a targetmarket is required for a suc-cessful campaign. Chartercompanies need to focus on

target market, marketingpoints and method or medi-um of delivery. For Charter clients these include timesaving, safety and securityand flexibility in schedules,”says Seth.

Air charters are now considered as the more reliable mode of travel with promises of convenient, customisedand on time services. Shailendra Seth, Director, Chapman Freeborn India, discusses the benefits of Air Chartersfor passengers and highlights the growth seen in the recent past.

Definite increase in Air Charters

TT BU R E AU

The roadmapahead is tocontinueprovidingquality, innovateand increase our footprints inregions whereno one hasgone before

Shailendra SethDirectorChapman Freeborn India

all the tourist attractions. Weshall also build on our ‘CleanIndia’ campaign to offerhygienic and clean environ-ment,” he added.

Lately, he also hailed thevisa relaxation in terms of thetwo months restriction thatwas imposed in 2009, where-in a tourist had to maintain atwo-month gap betweenher/his visit to India on atourist visa. All the tradeassociations had been longpressing for removal of suchrestrictions, which towardsthe end got addressed by the Government.

Second InternationalBuddhist Conclave

In another leading ini-tiative in September, theMinistry of Tourism show-cased the Buddhist Heritageof India in the SecondInternational BuddhistConclave held at Varanasi.The Conclave was attendedby over 100 InternationalBuddhist scholars, touroperators and travel repre-sentatives. The states withBuddhist sites like AndhraPradesh, Uttar Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu& Kashmir, Sikkim,Arunachal Pradesh,Maharashtra, Odishabesides Bihar were associat-ed in the event to bringtogether international buy-ers from around the worldparticularly from the popu-lar Buddhist destinationslike Singapore, Malaysia,Japan, Korea, China etc.together, to interact, pro-mote and sell, with theobjective of increasing

tourist arrivals to India andspecifically to the Buddhistsites in different states.

In between, theMinistry released the datacompiled by the MarketResearch Division of Ministryof Tourism that showedDomestic Tourism as one ofthe strongest assets thathelped the travel and tourismsail through the difficult eco-nomic environment in 2008-09. As per the data during2011, the number of domes-tic tourist visits to the Statesand UTs touched 851 millionas compared to 748 million in2010 and 669 million in2009. In other words, thenumber of domestic touristvisits to States and UTs reg-istered an increase of 13.8per cent over 2010 as com-pared to increase of 11.8 percent in 2010 over 2009.

SAARC Tour OperatorsConclave

Similarly, in line withthe objective of doubling theinbound arrivals, the MOTcalled upon SAARC Countriesfor close co-operation at theSAARC Tour OperatorsConclave held in July. As perthe UNWTO report, the inter-national tourist arrivals toAsia and the Pacific are pro-jected to increase from 204million in 2010 to 535 millionin 2030. The share of inter-national tourism to emergingeconomies will be biggercompared to advanced ones.Most of the new arrivals willbe to the destinations in Asiain particular.

SAARC is an importantsource market for India.10,13,516 tourists fromSAARC region visited India in

2011(provisional) as com-pared to 9,98,179 in 2010.Importantly, Bangladesh andSri Lanka ranked 3rd and 4th

respectively, in terms of for-eign tourist arrivals to Indiain 2010 and for SAARC mem-ber countries; India is one ofthe major source markets.About 45 leading TourOperators from India,Maldives, Afghanistan,Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladeshand Pakistan participated inthe conclave, which focussedon various strategies to pro-mote tourist destinations and products within theSAARC region.

Skill DevelopmentProgramme

According to MOT, theprojected target of over 12per cent growth p.a. in in-bound as well as domestictourists also showcased thatthe tourism sector will gen-erate additional jobs of about2.5 crore, both direct andindirect, under the 12th FiveYear Plan. Hence, theMinistry called upon all thestakeholders together to givemore thrust on SkillDevelopment Programme, togenerate employment in thetourism sector via its capacitybuilding ‘Hunar Se RozgarTak’ initiative at a nationallevel workshop in July.

The policy maker’sintent has remained consis-tent throughout the year.Early in January itself, theMinistry signed an MoUbetween India and theASEAN region for moreaction-oriented cooperationand to encourage both partiesto cooperate in facilitatingtourist visits.

MOT

Year-end glimpses...Contd. from page 5

Fly non-stop from Kolkata to Bangkok

Air India started direct flights linkingDhaka, the capital ofBangladesh, with Delhifrom December 3, 2012.Air India will operate the

state-of-the-art Airbus 320aircraft on this sector. Tothose arriving in Delhifrom Dhaka, the conven-ient flight schedule willoffer direct onward connec-

tions from Delhi to London,Paris and Frankfurt besidesdirect flights to the USAand Gulf benefiting thepassengers intending totravel abroad.

SpiceJet will connectDelhi with Guangzhou andRiyadh. It will be operatingdirect daily flights on Delhi–Riyadh and 4 weekly flightson Delhi–Guangzhou route.

Delhi-Riyadh route will beoperational by January 4,2013 while first flight fromDelhi to Guangzhou willtake off on February 8,2013. SpiceJet is the only

Indian carrier to connectGuangzhou with India. Theairline would be deploying189-seater Boeing 737 NGaircraft on both Riyadh andGuangzhou route.

IndiGo will commencenew flights connectingKolkata with Bangkok fromDecember 21 onwards.Elaborating on the newroute expansion, Aditya

Ghosh, President, IndiGosaid, “Bangkok & Kolkatahold a lot of promise andindeed is a key market forus. Expanding operations onthis route is in line with our

growth strategy outlined forboth the regions.” IndiGo istargetting both corporateand leisure travellers and ispositioned as the fastestgrowing airline in India.

New take-offs

AI flies direct on Delhi-Dhaka route

Fly Delhi to Riyadh & Guangzhou

Associations have their say on the year 2012. A few expressed their happiness, while othersshared their grudges on higher taxes imposed in the budget. reports…

FLASHBACK 2012

Ups and downs of 2012

TAFIPraveen Chugh, Vice President, TAFIAlthough foreign tourist arrivals in India are showing slight improvement, yet tour operators and hoteliers are keeping their fingerscrossed as far as future trends are concerned in view of volatile situationof global economy. Industry experts are afraid that this uncertain trendmight spill over to the next year also. Their fears are compounded by thethought that the ensuing budget might add to the existing tax burdenadversely affecting the existing tourist flow to the country.Notwithstanding the negative factors, it is hoped that India’s inboundtourist volume will grow.

Subhash Verma, President, ADTOIThis year, the landmark achievement of the association was the AnnualConvention held in Kashmir. The revival of tourism in J&K is leading tounprecedented growth and tourist flow in the Kashmir valley, which isexpected to reach 20 million in the near future. The ADTOI Conventiongave a boost to tourism and generated interest and interaction amongstthe Government agencies and private sectors to focus on the potentialof inter-state tourism. Despite 12-13 per cent growth in domestic tourismnumbers, there has been a reduction in domestic air travel and this needsto be rectified moving forward.

IATO

WTTCIIVikram Madhok, Chairperson, WTTC, India InitiativeToday, tourism is an engine driving the economy of the whole world. Thepresence of Union Minister of Tourism, including key Government officialsand stakeholders at our event reflects the commitment of the private andthe public sector at our WTTCII Retreat in September 2012 at Bekal. But, afew crucial issues need immediate attention, for instance, cost of the AirTurbine Fuel (ATF) has increased by many folds, while the Government continues to tax it on the same rate. Similarly, on the hospitality front, tax isbeing levied on the published rate, while most of the times, rooms dependingon the demand constraints are actually sold at affordable prices.

TAAIIqbal Mulla, President, TAAIThe year 2012 was not encouraging in terms of business for any of theIndian travel industry stake holders, be it a tour operator, a hotelier, anairline or any other service provider. Taxes were all time high, share mar-ket was low. With a fluctuating economy and unstable political condition,the tourism industry was at stake in 2012. Talking about TAAI as an asso-ciation, various issues cropped up but with excellent support from ourmembers and partner associations, we successfully solved 70-80 percent of the issues. But overall, 2012 was not the year of tourism.

Subhash Goyal, President, IATO We have succeeded in promoting utmost transparency and bringing inmost of our members to contribute constructively in the functioning of ourassociation. The Annual Convention in 2012 set many new benchmarks.In fact, we are the only association that published a post convention reporthighlighting the feedback and satisfaction of our delegates based on a survey. Our ‘Hunar Se Rozgar’ Seminar in Uttarakhand was also a big drawand State of Maharashtra had accepted many of our recommendations on rationalisation of the taxes. We hope to continue and carry all stakeholders together to get more tourists to India.

ADTOI

IAAIBiji Eapen, President, IAAIThe Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is endorsing employ-ment creation and economic development in the tourism sector whilegaining recognition from key policy making institutions. The 12th FiveYear Plan has stressed the need to double Foreign Tourist Arrivals dur-ing the plan period, hence, to achieve this target, the Ministry is devis-ing policy interventions, bringing all states on-board to facilitate devel-opment of mega circles, improve facilities for tourists, rationalise taxesand promote seamless travel.

The year 2012 has been a mixed year with many challengesand opportunities. presents opportunities and challenges that had to be addressed in 2012 by DMCs.

FLASHBACK 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Cross hurdles, grow biz

LPTI and TUI IndiaArjun Sharma, Managing Director, LPTI and TUI IndiaTourism is a fast growing sector and with growth comes many challenges.So being one of the top players of the industry, we constantly face chal-lenges like multiple tax structure and inadequate infrastructure. Also,the market dynamics have changed quite dramatically with the collapseof Kingfisher. But, all these hurdles also push us to continuously innovateourself and keep abreast with upcoming trends. It’s important to maintainour standards of quality offerings and yet be price sensitive through theproducts or services that we offer.

InterGlobe Technology QuotientJB Singh, President and CEO, InterGlobe Technology QuotientConsistent product innovation has helped us retain our clientele intesting times and win new clientele, as well. We emphasised on training our manpower during 2012 to stay ahead of times and serveour travel clients even better. Travelport has been instrumental inproviding technologies that have enabled customers to promote richercontent and reduce their cost of doing business.

Zillious SolutionsB Rajan, Director, Sales, Zillious Solutions2012 has been good for the organisation with steady growth of over20 per cent (YoY). Zillious has been successful in drawing the attentionof many mid and large-sized TMCs who are keen to streamline, sustainand grow their existing normal/corporate business. Having signed upand operating with some of the large TMCs in India, Zillious is keento enter the Middle East Market followed by Singapore and Hong Kong.Zillious (Travolution) as a product has evolved to become one of theleading B2E (self booking tool) solution providers.

India & South Asia, Kuoni IndiaDipak Deva, CEO, Destination Management India & South Asia, Kuoni IndiaThe year 2012 has shown both sides of the coin to the inbound tourismsector. The main tourist circuit, the Golden Triangle got a positive directionwith the Agra Expressway opening up. Now with the Jaipur-Agra Shatabdi,it seems to have broadened the horizon. Experiential travel is fast catchingup. However, looking at the other side of the coin, there has been a slow-down in demand due to the economic recession in key source markets ofEurope. The increase in service tax also created an initial stir, while thefluctuation in the foreign exchange gave a positive outcome.

Thomas Cook India

Travel Spirit International

Surinder Singh Sodhi, Senior Vice President - Leisure Travel(Inbound), Thomas Cook India Key factors like Visa-on-Arrival, enhanced immigration facilities, culturaldiversity, exotic locations, wildlife, rich heritage for tourists and culture ofIndia have led to an increase in tourist footfall. Other factors include traveladvisory being lifted from Kashmir for some of the important and maturemarkets to India. Recently, the government has also eased restrictions ontourist visas which had mandated a two-month gap between consecutivevisits by foreign nationals.

Jatinder Taneja, Managing DirectorTravel Spirit International The key development which created hurdles was the Kingfisher Airlinesbeing grounded for the last so many months. This created scarcity ofseats and led to increase in rates in most of the domestic sectors.Overall, the business was not very good in 2012 and the situation hasnot improved much yet. India is still being considered an expensivedestination

All the leading OTAs are committed to finding the right mix that wins a formidable market share for them in a fast growing online space. Many of the leading players shared their opinion with on major developments in 2012 that either helped or threw challenges only to further enhance focus on more opportunities.

FLASHBACK 20121 8 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

OTAs strive for the right mix

Expedia IndiaVikram Malhi, Country Head, Expedia IndiaIn 2012, our focus was mainly involved in bringing out unmatchedprice points, plethora of options and great deals for domestic, inboundand outbound travellers. The volatility in the travel and aviation industry impacts the inventory and pricing and to some extent, alsothe consumer sentiment while buying a travel product. But, with a risein the penetration further to Tier-II and III cities, there will be an exponential growth in the online travel booking segment.

ForerepresentationsParikshit Sawhney, Managing Director, ForerepresentationsWe had seen a decent growth in sales and we are closing the year witha 50 per cent growth over last year. It’s the services of a particularonline player, which can help them stand apart from the crowd. Ourinitiative from day one has been focussed on service and giving a fairvalue to our customers. Of course, the quality of the online interfaceand an error-free experience do help, but ultimately it’s the back endsupport, ease of operation and hassle-free payment solutions, whichperform in the long run.

Yatra.comPratik Mazumder, Head of Marketing & Strategic AllianceYatra.comSince our inception in 2006, we have been experiencing double digitgrowth and in the last five years, we have emerged as India’s leadingcompany in the online travel space. Also, Yatra has come up with a totalof ‘Four big acquisitions’, which have broadened our horizons and offer-ings as a leading travel company. To survive the dynamics of the growingeconomy, one needs to be on their toes and make the most out of theopportunities. The recent acquisition of Travelguru is likely to transformthe offerings and will immensely contribute towards domestic holidaybookings as well as the hotel offerings.

Travel Boutique OnlineAnkush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, Chief Executive OfficerTravel Boutique OnlineIt has been a tough year for travel sector. Domestic air market hasremained stagnant as compared to the last year and international toohas not grown beyond 3-4 per cent as compared to the last year. Further,outbound international traffic has also been impacted owing to morethan 12 per cent depreciation in rupee as compared to dollar during theyear. However, the outlook changed in the second half of the year withthe opening up of FDI for foreign airlines. Rupee is also showing signsof recovery against dollar and would help in increasing internationaltravel during upcoming festive and holiday season.

FLASHBACK 2012

The year 2012 was surely not the best year for the hotelindustry in India. The year is characterised by mergers,acquisitions and turnaround in consumer behaviour, cautious optimism and increasing competition, emergenceof both the budget and the uber luxury segment.

Cautiously optimistic

Sarovar Hotels

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels

Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar HotelsReiterates Bakaya, “2012 was not a brilliant year. Occupancies wereaffected marginally and negatively due to new hotel room supply. ARRswere affected by at least 10-20 per cent in most cities with increasein competition. There is a lot of pressure on bottom lines as payroll,energy and food costs also continue to climb.” 2013 will be anotherchallenging year. A lot of new supply will come in this year as well.Rates will remain under pressure. One defining trend will be high pay-roll costs despite delivering sliding top line sales. People are limitedwith new hotels opening, he says.

S N Srivastava, Vice President, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels He feels that growth in domestic tourism is poised to be a major driverof occupancies, especially in the off-peak season. “Domestic travel, bothfrom business and leisure segments, was the primary driver of growthin 2012 and has kept us in the business. Despite the government’s effort,unfortunately inbound segment has not registered any significantgrowth,” he elaborates. The ARRs have remained where they were lastyear. “However, the Indian hotel industry requires that added boost ofthe inbound segment and that I see only possible if inbound starts reg-istering double-digit growth. Lots of businesses are rethinking their mar-keting strategy on this front,” he adds.

Jaypee Hotels Manju Sharma, Director, Jaypee Hotels The hotel industry is inextricably linked to the tourism industry. Thegrowth in the Indian tourism industry has fuelled the growth of the Indianhotel industry. Going forward, niche segments such as sports tourismcan do wonders for the industry. “Sports tourism has put India on theglobal hospitality map whilst increasing the demand of hotels and rooms.At the Jaypee hotels, for instance, the year 2012 has been good for allour properties at Agra, Mussoorie, Delhi and Greater Noida as well. Thebusiness saw recovery from the previous year. The expectations havebeen met as what the industry had forecast due to mega events happeningin NCR regions such as F1,” she points out.

Lemon Tree HotelsRahul Pandit, President & Executive Director, Lemon Tree HotelsAccording to Pandit, 2012 represented the bottom of the current cyclefor the hospitality industry. A weak macro-economic environment - withthe problems in the Eurozone, decline in exports, a depreciating rupee,feeble agricultural and manufacturing growth, rising inflation and energyprices plus the inertia in policy and governance - contributed to muteddomestic and foreign investment confidence. “This combined with adouble-digit supply increase in many markets resulted in depressed bot-tom lines this year. The silver lining has been over eight per cent growthin domestic tourism, contributing over 80 per cent of the national travel& tourism GDP. This presents a clear growth opportunity for brandsfocused on serving the domestic Indian consumer,” he says.

With an aim to enhance andinfluence bilateral tourist traf-fic movement between Indiaand Australia, the AustraliaIndia Travel and TourismCouncil (AITTC) was recentlylaunched in Australia withfounding members based outof both the countries. The new

council will focus on workingwith travel partners in theindustry to assist in growingbilateral travel and open upopportunities for hotels, inter-national and domestic airlines,tour operators, travel agentsand others directly and indi-rectly associated with the trav-

el industry of both the coun-tries. The members are keen toenhance knowledge for trav-ellers to both the countries,research travel trends, sponsorround table discussions andhost industry networking.Australia is being listed in thetop ten source markets.

AITTC launched in Australia

FLASHBACK 2012

While the world bids goodbye to 2012, speaksto a few NTOs to find out how Indian market is helping them to score more.

Big numbers, NTOs smile

Tourism SpainArturo Ortiz, Director, Tourism SpainExcept for the summer months when there was a slowdown, therest of the year has been very positive. We expect to close 2012 ataround +12%, which could have been +20% if it were not for thesummer months. In last months of 2012, which is a low season, weare seeing an increase of around +40%. Barcelona and Madrid keepas main entry hubs to Spain, with Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlinesand Emirates increasing operations in the Spanish markets.Andalusia itineraries, honeymoons, heritage cities, Ibiza island andValencia are on major demand for leisure, but there is a very strongdemand for incentive groups.

Tourism MalaysiaManoharan Periasamy, Director, Tourism Malaysia We received 65,626 Indian arrivals in the 1st quarter of 2012 andhave seen a positive growth from the Indian market. The Indiantraveller is evolving and traditional travel products no longer fasci-nate them. We have observed that one of the tourism products inMalaysia that is becoming increasingly popular is the Homestay pro-gramme, where visitors can stay in a village and enjoy the simplelife with the locals.

Tourism Authority of ThailandSethaphan Buddhani, Director Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai officeWe are very happy with the numbers; though in certain months, wedid witness a decline because Jet Airways withdrew one of its flightsto Thailand. However, we did pick up soon and have witnessed a6% growth rate from the Indian market. We aimed to reach 1 millionthis year and are close to achieving it.

Atout FranceCatherine Oden, Director, Atout France2012 was a special year as Atout France India completed 10 years of itspresence in the Indian market. The year has been a good balance of activitiesboth with the trade and the press. We were focused in our efforts to presentFrance as a destination of choice to the luxury client, families as well as thediscerning corporate and we worked very hard through the active networkof travel agents and media to reinforce this image of France. The year alsosaw the launch of our campaign, “France Celebrates India”.

Canadian Tourism CommissionTina Singh, Assistant Vice President CTC Representative in IndiaDuring the period January-December 2011, Canada welcomed139,213 Indian visitors, a rise of 9.1% over the previous year. In 2012,we connected with consumers, trade and media in different waysthrough joint marketing initiatives, travel-agent training, sales activ-ities and organised visits to experience Canada first-hand. This year,we have shown an increase of 7.75% (up till September 2012) overlast year with a total number of 121,662 visitors and we hope to closethis year at a double digit.

MGTO IndiaAnjum Sheikh, General Manager, MGTO IndiaThe Indian tourist arrivals in Macau has maintained a steady increaseover the years. From a mere 5,000 Indian visitors in 2002, Macaureceived close to 1,70,000 Indians in 2011. In 2012, various promotionaltechniques were adopted to promote Macau. This year, while we continueour concentration on Delhi and Mumbai, we shall also be seen in othermetros like: Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata etc.Apart from the above, our concentration will now also be on promotingMacau as a wedding destination.

FAMILY ALBUM2 2 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

It was ‘work meets fun’ for agents from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, who were on a familiarisation tour of the Philippines. The group visitedBoracay, Cebu and Manila and also participated at the Philippines India Travel Exchange where they got a chance to meet the local travel trade community.

It is indeed more fun in the Philippines

Movie screening by the Philippines

DELH

IM

UMBAI

The Philippines Tourism Marketing office recently hosted trade partners in Delhi with the screening of the movie, Talaash on December 1, 2012 at PVR,Select City Walk. The screening was organised to thank the travel trade for their continued support to the tourism board and Buzz Travel Marketing.

HOTELS

Sofitel Luxury Hotels haveenvisioned major expan-

sion plans across the worldin the coming years. It plansto have over 150 propertiesacross the world by 2015.This is a result of a signifi-cant re-positioning exercisethat Sofitel has undergonefrom 206 properties in 2006to over 120 properties in2012. There will be manynew Sofitel properties in theAsia-Pacific region, whichinclude two new propertiesin Mumbai. Confident aftera successful launch of SofitelBKC in Mumbai, the Groupwill soon have SofitelMumbai Mulund and SofitelSo Mumbai Mulund in Indiaby 2015. The two newSofitel hotels in Mulund willbe part of a complex whichwill also include a 1600 sqmtr convention centre andshopping mall.

“Sofitel Mumbai BKChas already made its mark inthe luxury hospitality seg-ment since its opening. Now,we plan to give our So label aboost in India. Sofitel So aredesigner boutique hotels fea-turing trendy hotels in con-temporary locations. And weplan to continue growing

Sofitel So in trendy, contem-porary locations around theworld like Mumbai,” saidMarkland Blaiklock, SeniorVice President, Sofitel AsiaPacific, Sofitel Luxury Hotels.

Commenting on thechoice of an unusual locationlike Mulund, ChristopheCaron, Vice President, SofitelSouth East Asia and India

said, “These new propertiesin Mumbai are mostly target-ed for corporates and MICEand we do hope to get someleisure travellers.”

Caron also added thatSofitel has further expansionin India and are hopeful oflaunching hotels in Delhi,Bengaluru, Chennai and Goain the future.

Sofitel Hotels announced that it will continue tostrengthen its position in Asia-Pacific and as part ofthis plan will open two new properties in Mumbai.

2 new Sofitel in Mumbai

DE N CY MAT H E W

The five-star hotel pro-moted by the KGA

Hotels and Resorts and to beoperated by Inter-Continental Hotels Group(IHG) is located on theNational Highway Bypass atKundannoor. The hotel has269 rooms of which 87 aretwins and 40 executiverooms/suites. Leisure facili-ties include two pools, healthclub, relaxation areas and anexclusive day spa.

Talking about the USP ofthe hotel, Terry Austen,General Manager, CrownePlaza Kochi says “The prop-erty has become Kochi’s newlandmark. All rooms havepanoramic views of the cityor backwaters. We are well-situated on NH 47 which alsoprovides great access to theCBD, Container Terminal,Info Park and a number of

satellite business districtsacross the city.”

Although the hotel targets all segments of travellers, it also aims atattracting corporate travellersand MICE by being strategically located oppositeKochi’s largest conventioncentre. The hotel also offersa range of high tech, versatilemeeting rooms.

Talking about competi-tion in Kerala, Austen added,“After a period of low growth,we’ve seen a number ofhotels coming up.

In Kochi, the presence of morehotels has enabled job growth and otherindustries to improvetheir performance.It’s great to be a part of it.

Austen was also opti-mistic about achieving salestargets as he said that “it maybe a little tough in the firstpart but we are confident thatwe can achieve our objectivesby being thoughtful of how we position, promote anddeliver every aspect of ourCrowne Plaza brand and the many unique sellingpoints we have.”

Kerala is all set to get its largest inventory hotel in the form of Crown Plaza Kochi which opens in late December. gives details.

Hotel with largest inventory

TT BU R E AU

The new hotelsare mostlytargetted forcorporatesand MICE

We plan to giveour So label aboost in India.Sofitel So aredesignerboutique hotels

Markland BlaiklockSenior Vice President, Sofitel AsiaPacific, Sofitel Luxury Hotels

Christophe CaronVice PresidentSofitel South East Asia and India

Terry AustenGeneral ManagerCrowne Plaza Kochi

HOTELS2 6 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Radisson Blu MBD, sched-uled to open in mid-

December in Ludhiana, willbe eyeing the leisure marketwhich will also offer a poten-tial of 30-40 per cent corpo-rate segment opportunities.Sonica Malhotra, Director,MBD Group, feels that theGroup’s latest hotel project,which will have 81 keys,would primarily address thegrowing aspirations of thepremium segment of trav-ellers coming into the city.

The target groupwill comprise NRIswithin India whoare looking for apremium productapart from tradersin the city.

The hotel is coming upwith mixed-used develop-ment including high-end

retail along with this hotel.The property will also have15,000 sq. ft. dedicated tospa and salon along withtreatment rooms. Also, 60per cent of the accommoda-tion in the hotel will have thesignature Prive collection ofrooms. Malhotra adds, “Ourroom sizes will be of 50 sq meach in comparison to 30-33sq m that is conventionallyoffered. It would offer all daydining, Indian restaurant, a

bar and night club,” saysMalhotra. She also adds, thehotel expects an average of55 per cent occupancy duringthe first year of operation andwould take it to 70 per centin the following year. Sheasserts, “We are confidentthat by the third year of oper-ation, we will be able to sta-bilise the occupancy level at75-80 per cent.” The compa-ny will keenly approach theonline travel agents to accessthe local and northern marketthat would be a large cus-tomer base for the hotel.

MICE is also very muchin the hotel’s radar. “We willhave a 24,000 sq ft of ball-room space that will address the banquetrequirement. We are alsoplanning to launch ‘PriveClub’ where HNIs, bureau-crats and other potentialmembers will be asked tojoin strictly through invita-tion,” she remarks.

Being a part of a mixed-use development with retail,the Radisson Blu MBD, Ludhiana will become the firstfive-star luxury hotel of the city.

Ludhiana gets a 5-star hotel

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Sonica MalhotraDirectorMBD Group

With an aim where manyitineraries could be

established, the newest hotelby Clarks Inn Group has beenbuilt in a 14,000 sq ft plothaving 42 keys in four differ-

ent categories with facilitieslike swimming pool, all-daydining restaurant and beingpositioned in the four starcategory. “The hotel projectcost has been ` 10-12 crorebarring the land price. It ismy first project and I amquite upbeat about theproposition,” informed Rahul

Varshney, MD, Blue SaphireClarks Inn.

Rahul Deb Banerjee,GM – Operations, Clarks InnGroup of Hotels said, “Thehotel soft opened a monthback and we are expecting to

get 70-80 per cent occupancyas we have already receivedan average of 55 per centoccupancy for the openingmonth.” Haldwani is prima-rily known for trading unitscomprising areas like SID-CUL, Rudrapur, Pantnagar,etc. which give the location ahealthy base of corporate

segment. “We expect to get alot of business from corpo-rates and will also gain fromlocal interests in our F&Bofferings. We will definitelyget the first mover advantagein giving an organised brandto this location,” he said.

SN Srivastava, VicePresident for the group added,“We want to tap interests fortravellers heading for Nainitaland Corbett National Park andbecome the epicenter as anaccommodation facility.”

As Blue Saphire Clarks Inn opens its doors to public in Haldwani on December 1, 2012, it aims to capture corporate and leisure tourist traffic.

Clarks Inn enters Haldwani

SANJEEV BHAR IN HALDWANI

SN SrivastavaVP, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels

We expect to get business fromcorporates and will also gain fromlocal interests in our F&B offerings

Rahul Deb BanerjeeGM – Operations, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels

ANALYSIS2 8 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The growth for weddings asa travel product is slowly

taking place and the scope isimmense. It gives an impactfulvisibility to a property and cre-ates new opportunities. Theobjective is to tap the ever-growing demand for hostingroyal weddings, both for thedomestic clientele as well ashigh net worth NRIs who arelooking for special experienceswith folk entertainments andthematic setups.

According to Sunil Sikka,Head-Business and MarketingDevelopment, ITC-WelcomHeritage Hotels, theconcept of destination wed-dings is booming and gainingpopularity. “For organising atheme wedding, the destina-tion plays a vital role as it setsthe mood for the entire event.Talking about the importanceof the wedding segment as arevenue churner, Sikkareveals, “Wedding market isan important source of rev-

enue generation. We generateabout 25-30 per cent of therevenue from the weddings

business.” The attention willbecome more focused on theguests and there will be efforts

towards creating a personalexperience that truly reflectsthe bride and the groom, he

predicts. Stressing on big infra-structure and amenities forlarge-scale weddings, HariharPatra, Director-Marketing,Toshali Resorts Internationalargues, “The infrastructure formarriage is a key to this busi-ness. The grandeur of thevenue and ambience of theproperty is the major attrac-tion. Toshali has been popularamong this segment due to itsunique presence in a secludedenvironment away from theclamor of the crowd near pris-tine beaches or scenic valleysof the Himalayas. Every prop-erty of Toshali Group has adedicated event manager toconceptualise, coordinate andexecute the entire operations,such as decoration, set design,entertainment, catering etc.The staff of our resorts bring intheir expertise in understand-ing and meeting the specialmarriage related requirementsof various communities andtheir customs such as ofMarwaris, Gujratis, Punjabisetc. thereby providng flawless

and comfortable services to ourclients.” The beach property ofToshali Sands in Puri, spreadover 33 acres, has several hugelawns and facilities to provideopen-air pool side banquetservices amidst lush greeneryduring the large scale weddingevent, he adds.

Destination weddings isthe way forward, feels InsafKhan, owner and MD, SamsaraDechu Jodhpur resort. Onwhether weddings focus on thedestination or just highlight avenue, Khan opines, “Theproperty comprises 30 roomsand 21 luxury tents on 25acres of land that is laid outwith water bodies, promisinga smorgasbord of experiences.By staying close to the archi-tectural beauty of the region,we have ensured Samsararemains a timeless space in thedesert. All of this means thatthe wedding segment is mportant for Samsara and contributes 20 per cent of thehotel revenue.”

ME G H A PAU L

The weddingsegment isimportant for usas it contributes20% of the hotel revenue

The grandeurof the venueand ambienceof the propertyis the majorattraction

Weddingmarket is animportantsource ofrevenuegeneration

Sunil Sikka Head-Business & Marketing Development,ITC-WelcomHeritage Hotels

Harihar PatraDirector-Marketing, Toshali Resorts International

Insaf Khanowner and MDSamsara Dechu Jodhpur

The Tamara’s maiden proj-ect, The Tamara Coorg, is

an eco-friendly plantationresort in the upmarkettourism and leisure seg-ments. The hotel is a 30-keyluxury resort and presidesover an estate of 170 acres,producing coffee, cardamom,pepper and honey. Thehotel’s target audienceincludes couples, HNIs, cor-porate groups, celebrities andtop management personnel.

“We are looking forwardto create a niche positioning forourselves as the most desirableretreat destination for couples,entrepreneurs, nature enthu-siasts and savvy internationaltravellers. In fact, childrenbelow 12 years, have no accessto the hotel, owing to the ter-rain thus creating a uniquepositioning for the resort,” saysSenthil Kumar N, Director andCEO, The Tamara.

Kumar adds that theircontinued efforts of promotingthe hotel through variousmediums of media and net-working within the travelindustry, has lead the momen-tum for occupancy which is

now beginning to develop.This positive response has ledthem to plan further projectsin the country.

“The Indian hospitalitymarket in our observationcontinues to evolve and

cater to more segment-spe-cific niches and this is a veryexciting time in the sector.We envision The TamaraCoorg to be recognised as apremier up market responsi-ble tourism operator by 2015generating fair and reason-able value for all our stake-holders enabling ourselvesto grow into India’s finestniche hospitality manage-ment company by 2020. Weare considering proposedresort project in Kodaikanal,for future business growth.Our Management envisionsexciting opportunities withtotal conviction in our eco-friendly vision andapproach to Hospitality as a sustainable businessmodel.” adds Kumar.

The Tamara, a company with key focus on hospitality businesses in South India, haslaunched The Tamara Coorg hotel.

Tamara Group eyes India

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We are lookingforward to positioning our brand as the mostdesirable retreatdestination

Senthil Kumar NDirector and CEOThe Tamara

The hotel is a 30-key luxuryresort and presides over anestate of 170 acres,producing coffee, cardamom,pepper and honey

Children below 12 years, haveno access to the hotel, owingto the terrain thus creating aunique positioning for theresort

Fact File

The wedding segment has been a revenue generator for many hotels, especially the ones in the leisure destinations.speaks to a few key hoteliers who have geared up to cater to this huge growing business.

Hotels cash in on big fat Indian weddings

STATES3 0 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Beginning December 15-January 31, 2013, Kerala

Tourism, in collaboration withtrade associations, is all setto roll out its sixth edition of

Grand Kerala ShoppingFestival (GKSF) – alreadybilled as the biggest fiesta ofthe kind in Asia. With road-shows, promotions and cam-paigns in various parts of thecountry (cities like NewDelhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad,

Indore, Mumbai, Hyderabad,Chennai, B engaluru and con-cluding in Kunnur) and a fewinternational markets, KeralaTourism intends to pitchGKSF as the newest market-ing tool to position as aninternational shopping desti-nation. The tourism depart-ment of Kerala has also ropedin houseboats, homestaysand travel operators. AP AnilKumar, Tourism Minister,Kerala said,

“Through GKSF, we are trying to pitch the state as an internationalshopping destination,broaching a new idea on the marketing front.

Shopping Tourism isgoing to be the next bigthing as we have a strongmarketing infrastructureand platform, coupled withthe global image. The aver-age tourism spending in

Kerala is currently five percent. Our target is to pushthis to 10-15 per cent bypositioning GKSF in a biggerway. The government is giv-ing 100 per cent ValueAdded Tax (VAT) refund tothe foreign travellers. It isgoing to be a win-win equation for all stakeholdersand the festival also coincides with our peaktourism season andSabarimala pilgrimage.”

When asked about theuniqueness of the sixth edi-tion of GKSF, Kumar said,“One of the highlights of

GKSF Season 6, that willcontinue till January 31,2013, is a majestic GlobalVillage. Countries likeThailand, China, UAE andMalaysia have already con-firmed the participation.Further, talks are on withmore countries. The partic-ipating nations will have thespace of their own to show-case their culture, traditionsand crafts. States like WestBengal, Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, TamilNadu and Karnataka haveconfirmed their participa-tion. We are also trying torope in more states.”

The sixth Grand Kerala Shopping Festival aims at attracting over 15000visitors from India and overseas. gives details…

Think Kerala, think shopping

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AP Anil KumarTourism MinisterKerala

Shop till you dropGKSF will offer visitors a chance to buy a plethora of

souvenirs, gold jewellery, handloom textiles, coir products,handicraft, ayurvedic products and tribal artifacts. The festival is expected to attract over 15,000 visitors fromdomestic and overseas markets and to attract more visitors,there will be mega lucky draw prizes in which gold worthone kg for one winner and half a kg for two winners eachwill be announced. Moreover, gifts worth ` 1000,000 will be given to five lucky draw winners.

SkyTeam bats for the travel trade

SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, recently organised a cricket tournament for traveltrade in New Delhi. The tournament was held at The Energy and Resources Institute(TERI) Gurgaon on November 18, 2012 and saw active participation from four teams– TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India, TAFI (Travel Agents Federation of India)and players from the SkyTeam alliance among others

NEWS

The heart of Eurasia andpart of the Great Silk

Route connecting civilisa-tions, Kazakhstan is now onits way to boost its bilateralrelations with India. The 7th

Kazakhstan-India Travel andTourism Fair was held at NewDelhi on November 10. The event was inaugurated

by Doulat Kuanyshev,Ambassador of Kazakhstan toIndia. The event was wellattended by representativesof companies from the Indianand Kazakhstan travel andtourism industry, Ministry ofTourism and Ministry ofCivial Aviation officials alongwith the memberes of theEmbassy of Kazakhstan in India.

In his opening remarks,Kuanyshev said, “There hasbeen an increasing interestamong both the countriesand this will only enhance ourbilateral relations. Today,Kazakhstan accounts foralmost 2/3rd of India’s tradewith Central Asia.” The cor-dial relationship betweenboth the countries is now,also, being reflected in thetourism numbers.

According to him, thenumber of visas issued by theKazakhstan embassy in Indiahas almost doubled since2009. About 7,000 Indiansvisited Kazakhstan and 9,000Kazakhastan travellers visitedIndia last year, he revealed.“This year we have alreadyissued 6,000 visas to Indiannationals for our country. Outof this number, 2,000 visas

are tourist visas and this is agood sign,” he felt.

Talking about the initia-tives of the national carrier ofKazakhstan, the ambassadorpointed out, “Currently, withAir Astana’s efforts, there are five flights between India and Almaty and this has been a huge development for promotingair connectivity between boththese countries.”

Parvez Dewan,Secretary, Ministry ofTourism said, “The directflight from India to Almaty isa boon as it is a hub to manyparts of Central Asia.”

According to JanarJailauova, Regional GeneralManager, Gulf Region &Indian sub continent, AirAstana, this year has been

remarkable for the company.The national carrier has alsoincreased the number offlights (from three to fiveflights per week) from Indiato Almaty. “It marked thetenth year of our operations.Air Astana started operationsin India in December 2004.Since then, it has carried over2,00,000 passengers fromIndia,” she added. Talking

about the airline’s plans inthe near future, she said thecarrier is looking at a code-share agreement with AirIndia. It will also introducenew flights from Mumbai.

Virendra Teotia, GeneralRepresentative - Air Astana,India informed there has beenan increase in leisure and business traffic, owing to these developments.

The number of visas issued by the Kazakhstan embassy inIndia has almost doubled since 2009. The 7th Kazakhstan-India Travel and Tourism Fair was held in New Delhi onNovember 10 to further boost bilateral relations.

Direct connect, a blessing

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India-Kazakhstan

About 7,000 Indians visitedKazakhstan and 9,000Kazakhastan travellers visitedIndia last year

This year the national carrier -Air Astana marks its tenth year

The airline is looking at acode-share agreement with AI

Boosting Ties

(L-R): Teotia, Dewan, Kuanyshev, Jailauova and Virendera Yadav, Director, CozyDeepika Group at the fair

Now, fly with Tiger through ViaVinay Gupta, CEO,

Via.com, Swaminathan,COO, Via.com andKaneswaran Avili,Commercial Director, Tiger Airways recentlyannounced their strategicpar tnership on December 5, 2012.

As per the agreement,Via.com entered into an exclusive strategicalliance with Tiger AirwaysSingapore. With this collaboration, Via.combecomes the strategic travel agent distributor of Tiger Airways’ tickets in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

STATES

With Delhi receivingmany foreign travelles,

the issue is to extend theirstay and contribute to thetourism industry of the capi-tal city. In a bid to increasethe average length of a trav-eller’s stay in the city, DelhiTourism has identified sevenheritage circuits. These willbe developed over a span offour years at an estimatedcost of ` 225 crore. Thisinformation was revealed by GG Saxena, ManagingDirector and CEO, DelhiTourism & TransportDevelopment Corporation(DTTDC). The circuits will bedeveloped around popularheritage monuments such asQutub Minar, Tughlakabad,Lodhi Road, Hauz KhasVillage, Shahjahanabad,Mutiny Memorial and theCentral Vista comprisingLutyen’s Delhi. The circuitdevelopment would includerestoration work of monu-ments, organising more lightand sound shows, audio tour facilities and creating last-mile connectiv-ity to these monuments, etc. “Development ofShahjahanabad Circuit andLutyen’s Delhi Circuit are onpriority and work for the for-mer will be entrusted toShahjahanabad Redevelop-ment Corporation,” he added.

Speaking about theother initiatives that DelhiTourism is taking to promotetourism, Saxena informed,“We have empowered tourists

in terms of information andtransportation. We endeavourto work towards providing all

possible facilities to thetourists. Delhi Tourism is alsoworking on developing a sin-gle Asia Pass.” In the partner-ship of nine city tourismboards in Asia – Delhi, Tokyo,Hanoi, Bangkok, Taipei,Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manilaand Seoul, Delhi is the Vice-Chairman of the Council forPromotion of Tourism in Asia,and is a signatory to the joint declaration intended to achieve developmentthrough tourism network, herevealed. “At the last conclavein Hanoi recently, it wasdecided that we will work forthe realisation of One AsiaPass. This will help travellersto get discounts in terms ofairline tickets, hotels, shop-ping, etc., while travelling tothese cities,” he revealed.

To take its initiatives tothe next level, Delhi Tourismlaunched an e-booking facil-ity in February this year.Currently, the online bookingis available for theCorporation's packages, DilliHaat tickets and Hop-on-Hopoff coach tour tickets. Goingforward, it will now look atexpanding the e-bookingplatform to incorporate andfacilitate booking of airlinetickets and hotels. DelhiTourism would soon float acompetitive bidding tender toselect a partner to drive airline bookings through its website.

Outlining strategies for the state tourism agency, GG Saxena says the circuits will be developed inassociation with the MOT at an estimated cost of ` 225 crore (US$ 41.67mn).

US$ 41.67mn plan for Delhi

ME G H A PAU L

We endeavourto work towardsproviding allpossiblefacilities totourists. DelhiTourism is alsoworking ondeveloping asingle Asia Pass

GG SaxenaManaging Director and CEO Delhi Tourism & Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC)

Raising a toast at Pullman Gurgaon

Pullman Gurgaon Central Park, the upscale new attitude international hotel brand of Accor, celebrated the traditional French wine festival – Beaujolais Nouveau 2012 under the exclusive patronage of The Embassy of France.The event was organised in collaboration with Air France and Atout France.

AGENTS

The company has appoint-ed Cox & Kings, Club 7

Holidays, Flight Shop India,Orbitz, Comfort Leisure,Master Holidays and Travel Heights.

During its first three-city roadshow in India, itannounced the release of

‘2013 collection of Europeanitineraries’, ‘InspiredHolidays’ along with 2013summer itineraries and 2013CostSaver range of holidays.

At present, Singapore,Philippines and Malaysia arethe top source markets forTrafalgar in Asia region.

Talking about the potentialof Indian market, NicholasLim, Regional Director,Trafalgar said, “The out-bound tourist traffic fromIndia is growing at tremen-dous space and we don’twant to miss out on suchpotential market. Byappointing our countrymanager in India and tyingup with leading tour opera-

tors, we intend to tap theright segment of travellersand grow our business by 25per cent in the next one yearfrom India. Through attrac-tive European packages,excellent deals for PSAs andtravel agents across India,we are confident that India

will lead our Asia market innext five years.”

Early Payment Schemeby Trafalgar

Prices in 2013 havebeen reduced up to 13 percent across the board with anexclusive 10 per cent add-onsavings. The credit for thisgoes to early paymentscheme (ending January 31,

2013) for India and Asianmarkets. With early paymentscheme, travellers can saveup to USS 1500 per coupleand past customers can savemore by pairing the earlypayment scheme with fiveper cent Travel Club or Group Discounts.

Europe-based guided tours specialist Trafalgar Toursrecently entered India with a 3-city roadshow (NewDelhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru), tying up with 7 PSAs.

Trafalgar enters India

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Showcasing Bangkok and Khao YaiTourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) organised a fam tripto Bangkok and Khao Yai for travel agents and media. KhaoYai is an upcoming destination that is two and half hoursaway from Bangkok and includes a national park, dairyfarm, adventure parks and vineyards. Khao Yai also hasseveral resor ts and themed hotels along with an Italianstyle shopping centre.

RENT-A-CAR

Graziella Zanoletti,President and CIO (Chief

Inspiration Officer), Elite Rent-a-Car, whose basic servicesinclude car rentals; drivingtours; and chauffeured servic-es, likes to describe her com-pany as one that offers peoplea kind of ‘dream’ and specialexperience by enabling themto ride in cars they don’t have at home.

While Zanoletti has hadher eyes on the Indian marketfor some ten years now, theirfirst foray was in 2010. Todaythey are totally ‘hands – on’and active here, and with thehelp of a country representa-tive, are trying to reach out tothe Indian outbound segmentthrough travel agents. Theyfeel the Indian market is ready.It is perceived as being full ofpotential, and while, currently,the company has few Indianclients in terms of actual num-bers, they are ‘high-yield’ innature. While it’s still earlydays for them and current

bookings have been fromMumbai and Delhi, they hopeto have a pan-India client basesoon. They see the market reg-istering a 25 per cent annualgrowth. Though their main

operations are in Europe,where they have offices inseven countries, Indianclients can book a car any-where in the world.

Currently, chauffeuredservices are the most popularsegment with the Indianmarket, but self-drives arebecoming more popular withyounger clients.

While their main targetin India is the end-user, andclients can book cars throughagents and also directly, theirfocus is the travel agent seg-ment. They are contacting,educating, and using travelagents as channels to facili-tate business. Zanoletti feelsIndian clients are willing tospend money on what theyconsider worth spendingupon products and services.Service is the key, they workto help their clients all theway. They offer and presentpackages that include allfacets of a visit, thus dou-bling up as tour operatorswhen required.

For high-budget Indian travellers, the concept of taxisis fading away. Today, one can arrive anywhere inEurope and have a super deluxe limousine or sportscar ready to serve the travellers. reports...

An ‘elite’ transfer

INDER RAJ AHLUWALIA

Indian clients are verydemanding but willing tospend money

Graziella ZanolettiPresident and CIO (Chief Inspiration Officer)

To strengthen and consol-idate tourism ties betweenIndia and Saint Tropez, a del-egation comprising HenriPrévost-Allard, Deputy Mayor,Saint Tropez Tourism, andClaude Maniscalco, Director,Saint Tropez Tourist Office,visited Mumbai recently. Theaim of this visit was to unveilSaint Tropez’s 2013 event cal-endar through diverse chan-

nels such as the media andthe network of travel agentsand tour operators.

According to Maniscalco,Saint Tropez only aims tocater to the niche market.“India is a growing market.We will be working with selecttour operators in India toattract affluent travellers,mainly families and weddings.The best time for Indians to

visit Saint Tropez is from Aprilto June and from Septemberto October,” he added.

2012 was dedicated asthe ‘Year of India’ in SaintTropez. The town offereditself as a platform for show-casing Indian art and cultureto its five million visitors.The delegation's visit toMumbai is part of the ‘Yearof India’ celebrations.

St. Tropez eyes India market

NYC has witnessed a 100per cent growth from Indiasince 2005. And among theseveral cities in USA, NewYork remains the most popular destination for Indiantravellers with a 29 per centshare of the total market. In2012, it is expecting approx-imately 215,000 Indian visitors to NYC.

The city has never been acheap destination. However,the city tourism authoritieshave addressed this problem.There have also been addition-al flights to NYC from Indiawhich have also contributed tothe growth. “Airline fares arestructured in a way that flightsto New York City are veryattractive in comparison to

other long-haul destinations,”says Makiko Matsuda Healy,VP, Tourism Development, NYC& Company.

The NYC India team hasalso been active in creatingawareness among the Indiantravel trade. Regular meet-ings, presentations and road-shows with travel trade con-tacts, MICE decision makersand airline partners acrossIndia are conducted. Theyalso distribute weekly mail-ings to update on news,changes and special offersand frequently participate intravel industry events. Theyalso have a NYC TravelTraining Academy. In future,it also plans to attract MICEactivities from India.

Healy says “We will con-tinue to work closely with thetravel industry and corporatepartners and liaise with air-lines to promote NYC andfurther develop businessopportunities. NYC &Company plans to organise aroadshow again in Mumbaiand New Delhi.”

Makiko Matsuda HealyVP, Tourism DevelopmentNYC & Company

NYC for 7.4 % growth from India

NTO3 8 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

It was a homecoming ofsorts for representatives of

the travel trade communityfrom Chennai, Bengaluru,Mumbai and Delhi, who wereon a familiarisation tour tothe Philippines.

The group, which hadbeen invited by AmitDasgupta, Indian Ambassadorto the Philippines for dinnerinteracted with the group. Inwhat can be called a very candid address, the ambassa-dor made no bones about the fact that people from India and the Philippines know very little about each other. Talking aboutbridging the gap, he said,“Improving air connectivitywill help, but more important-ly what helps is improving theknowledge base.”

Ambassador’s Message Dasgupta said, “The

results of this will not be vis-

ible overnight. It will comeonly if you sustain what youare trying to do; it’ll come ifyou are clear that what you dowill help you earn money. Forit to be commercially viable,you have to think out-of-the-box. One of the strong pointsof the Philippines is theEnglish language. It has the

finest beaches in the worldand the people are warm,exceedingly hospitable, veryeducated and great singers.All this put together, you havea package that you can actu-ally sell, but it’s a package thatyou need to be convincedabout and you can’t sell to a general broad-based market. You have to create aniche market.”

On BollywoodAware of the Indian

obsession for Bollywood, theAmbassador said, “There aretalks of Dhoom 3 being shothere; you need to work onthis. You need to capitalise onthis market, not necessarily

for 10 or 15 years, it can alsobe for a year or two. If youmarket intensely for a year,spin-offs will come, but cer-tain basics and fundamentalsneed to be in place.”

On Visa“The first issue is the

visa problem - how do you

handle visas? During theperiod that you are here, sitwith the DOT in terms ofworking out itineraries, talkto immigration, talk to travelorganisations, companies andmagazines here. Try to findout how you can work togeth-er,” Dasgupta adds.

Glen Agustin, Head,Team India, Chief TourismOperations Officer,Department of Tourism,Philippines added, “This famil-iarisation tour is the directresult of our four-city road-show in August held inBengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai

In a rare gesture, Amit Dasgupta, the Indian Ambassador to thePhilippines invited the Indian travel trade to India House in Manilafor dinner and shared his views on increasing tourist footfall.

Bollywood in the Philippines

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

The percentageof growth hasbeen themaximum andthe two-waytraffic hasworked well

Besides famtours, we also hope toparticipate inother traveltrade marts in India in Feb

You have tothink out-of-the-box, you haveto think ofprojects whichwill sell thePhilippines

Amit DasguptaIndian Ambassador to thePhilippines

Glen Agustin, Head, Team IndiaChief Tourism Operations OfficerDepartment of Tourism, Philippines

SanJeetDirectorPhilippines Tourism Board

The Philippines India Travel Exchange gave an opportunityto the Indian and Fillipino travel trade community to meeton a common platform and discuss business opportunities.

PHILINDEX: Inspiring business

The Philippines fam trip certainly put a completely different perspectiveof Philippines as a promising destination! PHILINDEX as a platformhas done a wonderful job of showcasing Philippines and what thecountry has to offer. It truly set a wonderful stage ( ..with a 10 mintimer!) to interact with the local travel fraternity!

T Senthil KumaranManaging Director, Embassy Travels

The tour operators, hoteliers and sightseeing operators, who wemet during PHILINDEX, sounded very positive. Besides some ofthe prominent travel operators, there were also many new faces atthe travel exchange and they were all very keen to work with us inthe Indian market.

Samina MunshiDirector, N Chirag Travels

The highlight of this fam tour was PHILINDEX 2012 where we got tomeet more than 50 travel agents, hotels and resorts people under oneroof. It was my first trip to the Philippines and it was truly worth it. Weare very confident that we will be able to promote The Philippines as anew and alternative destination to our existing clients.

Venkatesh ShenviCEO, Blue Bay World Tours

The fam to Philippines not only gave me an opportunity to explorethe country, but more importantly, gave me an opportunity to meetthe who’s who of the tourism industry at the PHILINDEX B2B session.Overall the PHILINDEX was outstanding and very professional and Ilook forward to partnering with them in the future.

Lokesh BettaiahManaging Director, Triway Travels

Indian travellers are now looking for new destinations and experiences.Philippines offers a great variety of beach, adventure, city life andshopping. It has a lot of potential and appeals to both honeymooncouples and families alike. PHILINDEX was a fantastic event and gaveus a chance to interact with the top suppliers under one roof.

Nikhil GuptaDirector, Travel Bazaar

Contd. on page 44 Contd. on page 44

FAMILY ALBUM4 0 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

MGTO (Macau Government Tourism Office) India organised training workshops for travel trade fraternity in Bengaluru at ITC Gardenia Hotel andHyderabad at ITC Kakatiya Hotel on November 23 & 30 respectively. The event was a huge success and was well attended in both the cities.

MGTO workshop in Bengaluru and Hyderabad

Beng

alur

u

Hyde

raba

d

Contd. from page 10

DIAL is in process of utilisingits aircraft landing/take offslots which were given toKFA. Pradeep Panicker, CCO(Aero), DIAL said, “We are intalks with a few new carriers(both LCC and legacy) whichwill soon receive operatinglicence from the Indian CivilAviation Ministry. We are alsolooking at converting the oldterminal into an LCC terminalbut that will take some

time and further discus-sions.” However, he declinedto name the new airlineswhich are yet to take off inIndian skies.

VP Agarwal, Chairman,Airports Authority of India(AAI) said, “Old terminals atChennai and Kolkata airportswill be closed as the new ter-minal buildings are more effi-cient and capable of handling

bigger number of passengertraffic for next 10 years. AAIis going through PPP modelfor upgradation and develop-ment of airports because thestate government doesn’thave money to do the same.But when foreign investorsand airport operators areinvesting in development ofairports, they are looking forhealthy returns and that toowithin the short span of time.

We are looking at solutionswhere airports ask for rea-sonable charges for servicesprovided to airlines and pas-sengers by looking at cappingthe pricing part. We are alsokeen to rope in investors whoare looking at reasonablereturns for a short-term andhealthy return on investmentin long-term while making air travel cheaper with better services.”

Are LCC terminals required? Accor to bring 7 more hotels in 2013

Accor recently announcedthe launch of its first propertyin Gujarat. Following the suc-cessful opening of Formule1Greater Noida early this year;Accor is set to open Formule1,its low-cost hotel brand inAhmedabad.

Commenting on the open-ing of Formule1 inAhmedabad, Philip Logan,Vice President Formule1Hotels, India says, “This is the

first Accor property inGujarat. The opening of thefirst Formule1 hotel inAhmedabad will be followedby opening of 7 hotels by theend of 2013 in India. Withgreat potential in the city,Formule1 Ahmedabad willappeal to the customers withits added benefits, making itthe perfect choice for them ata highly competitive price ofaround ` 2000 per person.”

DESTINATION4 2 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Konark Dance Festival The Konark Festival is one of the

biggest dance festivals held in Indiaand is popular with tourists. Konarkis best known for the majestic Suntemple which dominates the town.Situated 35 km away from Puri inOrissa, the Sun temple is a WorldHeritage Monument and every yearin December, it serves as a backdropto the scintillating festival. This galaevent is organised in a big way, whileshowcasing the different traditionaldance forms of India. During the fes-tival, talented dancers and theirtroupes descend on Konark to displaytheir skills and mastery over age-olddance forms ranging from the classicBharatanatyam, the graceful Odissiand Manipuri, to the expressiveKathakali and Sattriya dance stylesamongst others. Be in Konark inDecember, if you want to witness the

rich cultural heritage of India.Watching talented classical dancersin their festive mood to show theirlove and respect to the Sun TempleKonark is an experience.

International Sand Art Festival

The International Sand ArtFestival, is all set to commence onDecember 1, 2012 at theChandrabhaga Beach, will have sandartist of international repute,Sudarshan Patnaik as the BrandAmbassador. The festival, whichwould coincide with the annual Konark Dance Festival, will be a first-of-its-kind effort by the state govern-ment. The five-day event with thetheme ‘Tourism linking cultures’ isexpected to feature artists from 10 countries, including Canada and the US, apart from 20 sculptors fromacross the country.

International Puri BeachFestival

The Puri Beach Festival is held onthe beautiful Sea Beach, Swargadwaraand comes as a celebration of the beau-teous and splendid Oriya spirit. Thefestival has been a brand event ofOdisha for the past over 17 years with-out a change of date, time and venue.This beach festival attracts touristsfrom across the globe. The week-longbeach festival, which has been anannual event in Puri since 1993, willget an additional flavour with introduc-tion of certain new programmes.Important exhibitions, food stalls,beach sports, special boat race amonglocal fishermen, sand art shows, heli-um balloon rides, kite fly shows, cameland horse rides on the beach, meenabazaar and merry go-rounds andBhagawat katha discourse will be part of the festival.

comes aliveHeritage

@Odisha

Located on the east coast,Odisha is truly the soul ofIndia; the mystical landwhere the pastharmoniously blends intothe present and the ancienttemples mingle withmodern five-star amenities.Today, the state beckonstourists as the awe-inspiring monumentsbecome the backdrop ofcultural festivals.Thousands of mastercraftsmen and artists keepthe rural heritage alive withtheir annual showcases andthe stunning naturallandscapes become witnessto historic sand art festivals.

International Sand Art Festival Konark Dance Festival

International Puri Beach Festival

ANALYSIS4 4 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Tryst with Heritage TourismWith an aim of protecting and promoting heritage buildings across the country,tourism is the only way to preserve these sites. This was the motto of the tourismconclave organised by PHDCCI in Delhi at Shangri La. The event was attendedby ministry delegates, tourism stakeholders and academicia.

According to KanchanRizvi, Director–Sales &

Marketing, Radisson Blu Hotel,Paschim Vihar, New DelhiAverage Room Rate (ARR) hasdropped in comparison to lastyear with the demand gettingshared with new hotels com-ing in the city. “Christmas timeas a trend is not considered asheavy period. Corporates andtourists do not travel duringthis period. We always seegood demand until the mid ofDecember. Hotels promotespecial Christmas and NewYear packages to createdemand to sustain their occu-pancy after mid-December,”she says.

As figures for the lasttwo quarters show that thehospitality sector is still fac-ing rough weather, the latteris banking on the peak seasonto significantly cut losses.Expecting a good businessthis year as compared to thelast year, Rizvi points out,“We have seen good demand

in the season coming throughto overcome the losses suf-fered in summers and max-imise revenue. Though weare witnessing good demandin the winter season, it isavailable at a lower pricecompared to last season. Thistrend makes it evident thatoverall business has gotshared with new supply get-ting added in the city whichwas not available last year.”The occupancy percentageduring December 2011 was63 per cent while this time,the property is targetting toclose the year with 68 percent occupancy.

Regarding the spurt inF&B revenues, Rizvi reveals,“The hotel has done very wellin F&B for the last quarter,especially, in banquettingowing to the wedding season, which certainly helpthe hotels to achieve the revenue targets.”

The hotels in the vicin-ity of Delhi cash in on theweekend getaway segment

during the festive period.Informs Pankaj Giroti,Managing Director, Una

Hotels, “The weekend get-away segment provides ahuge chunk of travellers usu-

ally. During this time of year,this chunk forms the majorpart of the business at

our properties.” TheDharamshala property isalready sold out during thefestive season. Even theNainital property has a highoccupancy of 60 per cent dur-ing the period, Giroti adds.

Feels Barun Jolly,General Manager, CrownePlaza Today New DelhiOkhla, “Crowne Plaza TodayNew Delhi Okhla is a busi-ness hotel. We attract ahuge percentage of businesstravellers in the capital.However, the challenge withbusiness hotels is to sustainduring times when corpo-rate traffic is not travelling.Thus, we started tying upwith various leisure touroperators and also launchedonline packages to divert tothe leisure travellers.” Theproperty will witness anoccupancy of almost 70 percent during the period. F&Bsales is expected to spurt byalmost 20 per cent as com-pared to September-Octoberthis year, Jolly adds.

Come Christmas and the entire hospitality industry gets into party mode. With shops stocking their shelves with Christmastrees, Santa Claus and cakes, hotels are also not lagging behind. Not only is this the peak season for the industry, buthoteliers across board feel that F&B sales shoot up during this time of the year.

A ‘plum’ countdown to Christmas

ME G H A PAU L

Hotels promotespecialpackages tocreate demandto sustain theiroccupancy aftermid-December

The challengewith businesshotels is tosustain duringtimes whencorporate traffic isnot travelling

The weekendgetawaysegmentprovides a huge chunk oftravellers duringthis season

Pankaj GirotiManaging DirectorUna Hotels

Barun JollyGeneral ManagerCrowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla

Kanchan RizviDirector–Sales & Marketing, RadissonBlu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar

Visiting the Philippines gave us an opportunity to directly interact witha lot of Philippine specific tour operators at the PHILINDEX. Thishelped us to pave the way for a better understanding of tourism interms of product, pricing and people. We look forward to promotingPhilippines in the best way possible.

PHILINDEX was a very well organised event. Through our interactionswe got to know a lot about the culture, food, sightseeing facilitiesand logistics of the country. I have already started working with myclients for Philippines and am hopeful of a positive result.

Contd. from page 38

PHILINDEX 2012

and Delhi. Besides fam tours,we also hope to participate invarious travel trade marts inIndia, like the OTM inFebruary. We might also invitetravel associations from Indiato interact with the traveltrade here. If we get a goodnumber of visitors, we willorganise a travel exchange sothat business opportunitiescan be generated.”

The Philippines tops theVoA list

While applauding theambassador for his efforts toconnect with the travel tradecommunity from India,SanJeet, Director, PhilippinesTourism Board, said that thisis the first time that an Indianambassador has invited thetravel trade community to hishouse. Talking about increas-

ing footfalls to thePhilippines, he said, “Wehope to get an Indian carrierto fly into the Phillipines. VoAhas worked well for thePhillipines. Out of the 11countries that have done wellin VoA, the Phillipines is ontop. The percentage ofgrowth has been the maxi-mum and the two-way traffichas worked well for us.”

Philippines woos IndiaContd. from page 38

Virendra AgarwalDirector, Peekay Holidays

Allwyn FernandesDirector, Holiday Waves India

GUEST COLUMN D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 5

The flowchart below,dated 1982, is still as

relevant in this digital age, asit was at that time.Need for Travel: This canbe influenced by availability of

time, personal interest orstress. However, in the digitalage, the influencers are fastbecoming digital in nature.With social media networksfull of stories from ‘friends’about their recent journeys,

nightouts, weekend breaksand ‘check-ins’, the sheeravailability of the informationon wonderful places in theworld acts as a trigger for trav-ellers to explore. What travelagents need to realise is thatinstead of just ‘selling’ pack-

ages or tours on social mediaplatforms, it is more importantto sell the ‘experience’. Wrapthe packages or tours in thewords of satisfied clients in theform of first-hand accounts orblogs or even testimonials to

be the ‘trigger’ for the need to travel.Information collection:This is where the real estateof your website plays thebiggest role. A search engineoptimised travel website withdetailed itineraries, informa-

tion, sightseeing options andvalue add-ons will satisfy theprospective travellers as wellas strengthen their resolve totravel. The role played bytravel agencies is that of a‘facilitator’ at this stage as

the “trigger” has already happenedTravel Decision: Reviewwebsites today play thebiggest role when it comes to‘reaffirming’ the decision of atraveller about the choice ofdestination and accommoda-tion options. So, at this stage,not only the traveller will eval-uate the decision about thedestination/accommodation,but chances of taking a partic-ular travel agency’s servicesare also affirmed.Travel Preparations &Actual travel: This is anoth-er reason why your websiteshould have information aboutthe destination/ accommoda-tion options. ‘Travel Tips’ arenow an integral part of themost travel websites whichare customised with the itin-erary of packages/tours. Theinformation needs to be pre-cise. The actual travel willresult in constant ‘updates’

about the travel on social plat-forms in the form of tweets,posts, blogs and reviews. Youneed to track what yourclients/guests have to say afterthe journey. A real time mon-itoring of the online chatter isis also essential for any imme-diate measures to stem anyconcerns in the bud beforethey escalate.Nostalgia: Those who loveto explore, love to ‘share’ aswell. Each of yourclients/guests can be expectedto share their experience inthe form of videos, images,reviews, blogs, social men-tions and other forms ofexpressions. The collectivefeedback, if positive, strength-ens your position for the veryfirst step as mentioned in thisarticle earlier and thus finish-es the loop. If this feedback isadverse, take it as a free auditof your services rather thandefending or justifying your

products. Travel agencieswhich understand the powerof digital revolution mustsurely agree that the virtualworld is both, a challenge aswell as an opportunity. It alldepends on how clearly youhave defined your objectives,how precise is your strategyand how efficiently you execute it.

A lot is being said about the influence of social media, review sites and discussion forums’ on travellers. Whilemost travel agents would agree that these platforms play an important role, it is crucial for them to actuallytrace the digital journey of travellers to ensure they offer precisely what is required and when it is required.

Tracing a traveller’s digital Journey

TT BU R E AU

(The writer is Avijit Arya, Chief Moguls, Internet Moguls)

CRUISES4 6 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

DECEMBER 201219 Hyderabad Canadian Tourism Commission

Agents Training Programme20 Kolkata Canadian Tourism Commission

Agents Training Programme

JANUARY 20134-6 Chennai Travel & Tourism Fair8-13 Gujarat International Travel Tourism &

Hospitality Expo8-13 The Netherlands Holiday Fair9 Coimbatore Tourism Authority of Thailand’s

B2B Event9-13 The Netherlands Dutch Tourism Expo11 Mangalore Tourism Authority of Thailand’s

B2B Event11-13 Bengaluru Travel & Tourism Fair12-20 Italy Tour.it Expo14 Pune Tourism Authority of Thailand’s

B2B Event16-17 New Delhi FICCI’s Conclave on Investment

in Tourism Infrastructure 201316-18 New Delhi Tourism Malaysia’s Roadshow17-20 United Kingdom Destination The Holiday & Travel

Show - Manchester18-20 Kochi India International Travel

Mart Cochin19 Kolkata Tourism Malaysia’s Roadshow20-22 Guwahati ATOAI’s Annual Convention21 Mumbai Tourism Malaysia’s Roadshow21 Mumbai Tourism Fiji’s Roadshow22 Ahmedabad Tourism Fiji’s Roadshow23 Kolkata Tourism Fiji’s Roadshow23 Chennai Tourism Malaysia’s Roadshow24 New Delhi Tourism Fiji’s Roadshow24-27 Singapore Zak Salaam India Tourism

Expo - Singapore25-27 Switzerland Travel Expo25-27 Coimbatore Holiday Expo 25-27 Nagpur India International

Travel Exhibition25-27 Germany Leisure Travel Market30-3 Spain Fitur

1-3 Kolkata India International Travel Mart5 Mumbai Austrian National Tourist

Office’s B2B Event6 Chennai Austrian National Tourist

Office’s B2B Event7 New Delhi Austrian National Tourist

Office’s B2B Event8-10 Mumbai Oneworld Travel Mart12 Ahmedabad Tourism Philippines’ Roadshow13 Kolkata Tourism Philippines’ Roadshow14-16 New Delhi Oneworld Travel Mart22 Ahmedabad MGTO’s Trade Workshop22 Mumbai Canadian Tourism Commission

Agents Training Programme25 Delhi Canadian Tourism Commission

Agents Training Programme25-26 New Delhi ATOUT France’s Paris

Promotion26-27 Australia Asia Pacific Incentives and

Meetings Expo27-1 Mumbai ATOUT France’s Paris

Promotion27- 2 Jaipur Canadian Tourism Commission’s

Focus Canada India

FEBRUARY 2013

Star Cruises has recordedan enormous growth in

India, with the number ofIndian passengers increasing44 per cent in the last fiveyears. India is among its top5 markets worldwide.

“We have seen manysuccessful projects launchedin India. In the first quarter of2012, 1,000 Indians travelledon SuperStar Libra which willundergo refurbishment inearly 2013. However, the mostpopular vessel among Indiansremains to be SuperStar Virgowhich has witnessed 125 percent increase since its intro-duction to the Indian market.SuperStar Virgo, SuperStarAquarius and Star Pisces haveall undergone a makeover in2011 with a totalling of overUS$ 38 million,” says WilliamNg, Chief Operating Officer,Star Cruises.

After making a successmark in the Indian market,Star Cruises hopes for a 5-

10 per cent growth in Indianext year. To leverage this

growth, it will promote newcruise products in India.SuperStar Gemini, currentlyundergoing a US$ 50 mil-lion refurbishment, willcommence service in 2013.The 50,764 tonnage vesselwill have a passengercapacity of 1,532. It willcommence deployments inPenang in January, Sanya inFebruary and March and then will be home ported in Shanghai fromApril. Ng hopes that withthis new cruise, Indians willextend their stay on the cruise from three nightsto five nights.

He attributes the suc-cess of Star Cruises in Indiato the fact that the cruisecompany understands theneeds of Indians betterbecause it is an Asian com-pany. “For almost twodecades, Star Cruises hasbeen serving the cruisemarket in Asia with free-style cruising and interna-tional standard hospitality

with an Asian touch. Weunderstand the customs,traditions, tastes and habitsof Indians better and cus-tomise for them. We alsoshare a great rapport withour Indian travel agents andwill continue to strengthenthe relationship in the com-ing years. We have 12 PSA’sin India and hope to main-tain this number and builda better relationship withthem. We will conduct 14-15 fam trips with our Indian agents in a year to helpthem understand the vessel better.”

The company is alsotargeting weddings on-board as a key market in2013 as there has been a lot of demand for cruise weddings in theIndian market. With over70,000 Indians already been on-board, Star Cruises hopes to become asynonymous name withcruises in India in the coming years.

Voted as ‘Asia’s Leading Cruise Line’ at the World Travel Awards 2012, Star Cruises is one of the preferred cruise liners among Indians. The companynow plans to introduce new cruises to enhance its growth in the Indian market.

Star Cruises eyes Indian agents

TT BU R E AU

We have 12 PSAsin India and arehoping to build abetter relationshipwith them. We willconduct 14-15 famtrips with our Indian agents

William NgChief Operating OfficerStar Cruises

Visitors from India havegrown at a compound annualgrowth of 7.5 per cent since2010, aided by business net-working, consumer and tradeevents, says Paul Buggy

With 30,000 Indianleisure travellers visitingQueensland in 2011, TourismQueensland is expecting toclock a 15 per cent growth in2012 over the previous year.This was revealed by PaulBuggy, International Director– Korea, India & Middle East, Tourism Queensland.“Visitors from India havegrown at a compound annualgrowth of 7.5 per cent since

2010, aided by business net-working, consumer and tradeevents. Next year in 2013, weare targetting a 20 per centincrease in the outboundtourism pie from India,” herevealed.

According to Buggy, theoutbound segment from Indiato Australia has been growingand tourists from India havebeen big spenders. “While theaverage tourist spend for a 14-day Australia tour is aroundA$ 1,400, Indians spend a lotmore,” he added. Currently,India ranks eighth in visitationto Queensland. TourismQueensland has also wit-

nessed a slow shift from grouptours to spurt in FITs fromIndia. “Going forward, FIT andMICE will drive the tourismgrowth and thus, the provin-cial NTO will gear up to serve

the special needs of the mar-ket,” Buggy pointed out.

One of the key develop-ments that are intrinsic toboosting travel betweenIndia and Australia is the airconnectivity, he affirmed.“After Qantas stopped opera-tions to India, there are nodirect flights between thetwo countries. Travellers flying Down Under have to depend on the other Asian hubs. That is always an inconvenience. But if Air India goes ahead with a service as planned, it willboost tourist traffic fromIndia,” he said.

Indian arrivals up by 7.5% in Queensland

Paul BuggyInternational Director – Korea, India & Middle East International,Tourism Queensland

The resort is promotingitself in the Indian marketthrough marketing, salesefforts as well as PR channelsfocussing on the travel tradeand the high net-worth indi-vidual traveller. Switzerland-based Grand Resort BadRagaz, which recentlyappointed OM Tourism astheir representative in India,is targetting 5,000 roomnights by 2015 from the Indiaoutbound market.

According to KathrinBoerger, Director –

Marketing, Sales andBusiness Excellence, GrandResort Bad Ragaz, the resortcurrently witnesses 900room nights from India.Seeing a great potential inthe India market, the resortis tapping the wellness andmedical tourism segment ina big way. “Health care is thesecond largest consumerspending sector in India andtravelling for health reasonsis becoming more common.The desire for wellness,healthy food, weight loss

programmes and beauty isconstantly increasing withinIndia. This to a large extent

drives the outbound marketto our resort,” Boerger says.

The primary targetcities for the Grand ResortBad Ragaz are Delhi andMumbai and the secondarycities are Bengaluru, Kolkata,Hyderabad and Chennai.“The resort is promotingitself in the Indian marketthrough marketing, salesefforts as well as PR channelsfocussing on the travel tradeand the high net-worth indi-vidual traveller,” she adds.

Kathrin Boerger Director – Marketing, Sales andBusiness Excellence Grand Resort Bad Ragaz

Grand Resort Bad Ragaz for wellness

For more information, contact us at: talk@ddppl.com

OPPORTUNITY / CLIPBOARD D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 7

MOVEMENTS4 8 TRAVTALK D E C E M B E R 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Rajiv Malhotra, Head of Marketing, South East Asia, Hotels.com says, “I lovephotography and carry a camera with me everywhere. Other hobbies of mine are DJing. “I also love cooking as I have done my course in hotel management,” he informs.

“And, of course, I love travelling and next year, I want to visit Cambodiaas I have been dying to see the Angkor Wat temples after I have read andheard about it so much. Also I would like to visit Vietnam next year,” he further adds.

Rajiv MalhotraHead of MarketingSouth East Asia, Hotels.com

Pankaj Giroti, Managing Director, Una Hotels hails from Lucknow. Basedout of Delhi since 2007, Giroti loves to travel by road. “I have to travel veryoften. I enjoy travelling by road. Going through the bylanes of each city andsavouring the local cuisines is my way of getting acquainted with new places,”he chuckles. Giroti is a brilliant dancer and had won several accolades backin college in Lucknow. His favourite pastime now is spending quality timewith family and cooking occasionally.

Pankaj GirotiManaging DirectorUna Hotels

Sandie DaweChief Executive OfficerVisit Britain

InterGlobe Technology Quotient GurgaonSandeep Dwivedi has been appointed as the Chief CommercialOfficer of InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ). In this new role, he

will be spearheading all functions pertainingto sales and e-commerce for ITQ.Dwivedi has been with ITQ since 2009and his most recent role was as the ChiefFinancial Officer for the company. Hebrings with him over 20 years of varied

experience in multiple fields such asconsultancy, medical research,

GDS and travel space toname a few.

Kuoni Business Travel GurgaonMalvinder Singh Rikhy is designated as the new ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) of Kuoni Business Travel. He has been

associated with Kuoni Business Travel forover 4 years as Chief Operating Officer.

With over 20 years of experienceacross various industries, Rikhy isknown to have worked with someleading brands worldwide such as

American Express, TATA Group (TheIndian Hotels Company) & CarlsonWagonlit. In this new role, he would be

additionally responsible forexploring business travelin other countries.

Hyatt Place Hampi KarnatakaSumit Kumar is appointed as the new General Manager forHyatt Place Hampi in Karnataka. He has been a par t of theHyatt group for the last eight years. Hisaffiliation with Hyatt HotelsCorporation began in December2003 as an Assistant RestaurantManager at Grand Hyatt Dubai andhe was subsequently promoted toOutlet Manager. After somesuccessful stints, he was transferredand promoted to Grand Hyatt Muscat as an AssistantDirector of F&B.

Talking People is a special dedicated corner, created as a sounding board for who’s who of the Indian and International travel industry. With Talking People, it is our endeavour to bring you face-to-face with people.

Contributed by: Vivek Sethi, Dency Mathew & Megha Paul

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive Officer, Visit Britain loves toswim and do yoga that helps her rejuvenate. Speaking on her hob-bies, she says, “I used to be very active in sports sometime back.I also love spending time with my friends and family.”

Dawe loves to travel, although it’s most often work-related.Sharing her dream destination for travelling, she adds, “In India,if I have a choice, I will love to explore Tamil Nadu and spend qual-ity time at lesser-known tourist attractions in addition to goingon the Golden Triangle tour.”

Rohith K is appointed as the Director of Sales for HyattPlace Hampi. He brings with him more than 12 years of

experience in strategic planning, keyaccount management, client relationshipin both corporate and travel tradesegment in Bangalore and SouthernIndia. Rohith holds a degree fromBangalore University. He is an astute

professional and has workedwith different organisations inSouthern India. He has alsoworked with The Zuri Hotels& Resorts, Bangalore sinceMarch 2010.

Pratima Badhwar joins Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield asthe new Director of Sales and Marketing. In this current role, shewill be responsible for developing theaccount, strategising, implementing and executing brand promotionalinitiatives/plan of action. Badhwarstarted her journey with Marriott as aManagement Trainee with theRenaissance Mumbai Hotel andConvention Centre and worked invarious depar tments fromfront office to events in that hotel.

Berggruen HotelsMumbaiPradeep V is the newly appointed Chief Sales Officer ofBerggruen Hotels. He brings with him over 20 years of sales

experience across various sectors. In thisnew role, Pradeep will be responsible for

managing the revenue growth and clientacquisition for Keys Hotels. He is aGraduate in Hotel Management andholds a PG degree in Marketing andSales Management. He brings over 15years of product, services & technology

experience and 5 years inmanaging hospitalityoperations.

Vivin Kuriakose has been appointed as the new Director of Food and Beverage at Bengaluru Marriott

Hotel Whitefield. He comes with over 12 years of rich experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to this, he was the Director of Food and Beverageat JW Marriott, Chandigarh. In this new profile, his primary responsibility

will include the functioning of the hotel’sfood and beverage/culinary

operation, includingrestaurants, bars, roomservice and banquets.

Sanjay Marwah is the new Director of Finance at BengaluruMarriott Hotel Whitefield. He began his journey with Marriott inSeptember 2012 and was previouslyworking with the Chancery Pavilion,Bangalore as a Financial Controller.Marwah is a financial exper t with anextensive experience of over 15 yearsin spearheading financial, accountingand audit functions. His mainresponsibilities would be to mitigate risk,ensure compliance and maintainstatutory books of accountsapar t from providingother financial solutions.

Raheel Ahmad is appointed as the Executive Chef ofBengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, which is set to be open in

January 2013. His main responsibility willbe to lead the team, overall managementof the kitchen and to introduce newtrends in food presentation and diningconcepts. Prior to this, he was withMarriott Hotel Jaipur where he worked

as Executive Chef. Ahmadholds a diploma in Hotel Management,Catering Technologyand Nutrition fromIHM, Bhopal.

Bengaluru Marriott Hotel WhitefieldBengaluru

HIGHLIGHT

Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2012-13-14; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2012-14 for posting on 1st-2nd and 15th-16th

of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91Date of Publication:14-12-2012

Benito C Bengzon, Jr, Assistant Secretary, International Tourism Promotion, Departmentof Tourism, Philippines, says that they are planning to increase Indian footfall to thePhilippines by organising roadshows and by participating in travel marts.

India: Important market for Philippines

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

Strengthening connectivityRealising that air connectivity is a major

issue for the Archipelago, he says, “We arehighly dependent on air travel for our visitors unlike most South East Asiancountries, which enjoy border cross-ings. While Philippine Airlines doesoperate direct flights from Delhi andMumbai to Manila, we would like toenhance air connectivity. For this, weare looking at both the direct flight

and beyond destination option. We are alsolooking at the possibility of opening othergateways other than Manila and Cebu. Forthe Routes Asia 2013 in Mumbai, thePresident of Clark International AirportCorporation is also joining us. He will lookat ways to remove all obstacles and make iteasier for travellers from abroad to fly in. Ourparticipation in Routes Asia 2013 is part ofour strategy where we will be talking to network planners of major airlines.”

New opportunitiesWhile Manila airport continues to

be the main entry point for thePhilippines, other airports, like

Clark and Mactan, are alsocoming up. “Clark is a rela-tively new airport, theyopened to internationaloperations in 2003 when

the government adopted the open sky policy. When they opened, they were handling under 15,000 passengers a year.In October 2012, they handled 1 millionpassengers, what we saw is that the percentage share of Manila as an entry pointis starting to get slightly smaller, as the other airports get a bigger share,”Begzon says.

PHILINDEX event, a trailblazer

Calling the PHILINDEXevent a trailblazer of sorts, hesays, “PHILINDEX will contin-ue to be a regular event, it isa trailblazer, a pioneer, for many more such events. In 2009, when we organisedPHILINDEX, it was the firsttime that the Department of Tourism, Philippines,

organised any bilateral travel exchange, because, normally, when we do travelexchanges, it’s between thesellers in Philippines and for-eign buyers at large wheremany countries participate.Since 2009, we have hadmany such travel exchanges.We recently also had thePhilippines-Middle East Travel Exchange.”

Benito C Bengzon, Jr Assistant Secretary, International Tourism Promotion Department of Tourism, Philippines

Eyes set on India market

Talking about theirplans for the India marketfor the forthcoming year,Begzon says, “We willcontinue to organisefamiliarisation tours forthe travel trade commu-nity and the media. Wewill continue to partici-pate in various travel

fairs/ exhibitions/ road-shows. We will be partic-ipating at the OTM in India in February and at Routes Asia 2013 inMumbai in March. In thethird quarter, next year,we have roadshows inmajor Indian cities. Andwe also participated inLocations, which was heldthis year in October.”

It’s not for nothing thatthey say that ‘It’s more

fun in the Philippines’!And Bengzon says thatthis campaign is a cre-ative approach that sepa-rates the country fromthe big players who havehigher budgets fortourism promotion.

It’s more fun in the Philippines

“We launched ‘It’s more fun in thePhilippines’ campaign in January 2012. Theresponse to it has been overwhelming; this isnot just the DOT’s campaign, it’s more of apeople’s campaign and when we launched it,we purposely used social media as a tool. Wewanted Filipinos, who are known to be very

active on Twitter and Facebook, to be a partof it. And true to our expectations, many ofthe versions of the campaign have come fromthe general public and we are using it inbrochures and audio visual footage. Our strategy has to be very different from the bigplayers, with high budgets. The financial challenges that we faced has compelled us totake a more creative approach.”

Roadshows paving the way for success “The roadshows held in Chennai and

Bengaluru was the first time we had ven-tured into any travel trade promotions inIndia outside Delhi and Mumbai. In thecourse of two or three roadshows, we hadonly covered Delhi and Mumbai. If we lookat the pie chart of the Indian outbound,Bengaluru and Chennai account for a substantial share. For us, it was an opportu-

nity and we grabbed it. The best proof of the level of interest is the strong participa-tion that we have from Bengaluru andChennai in the PHILINDEX. Agents wouldnot have come here if there was no potentialoutbound market for what we have to offer. But then, of course, the Delhi andMumbai markets are relatively more established. We will continuously look intopotential source markets.”