travt

alki

ndia

.com

ddpp

l.com

` 50/-A DDP PUBLICATION Pages: 52 (Excluding cover )Vol. XXIV No. 8; April 2nd fortnight issue 2012

travt

alki

ndia

.com

ddpp

l.com

APRIL 2ND FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012 TRAVTALK 1

In a recent interview with , Khwaja, whileanswering a query on

giving an industry status to

Tourism, said, “Tourism is nota manufacturing sector. Anindustry by definition is a manufacturing process.Tourism is a service sector, itis not an industry.”

He further clarified that, “When the travel tradesays you declare Tourism anindustry what they mean is togive us more concessions.That is an unending process.”

We had put up theSecretary’s statement tomajor associations in theCountry and their repliesranged from disappointmentto despair. Most of them

pointed out that Tourismgenerates maximum employ-ment in the country while thetax generated from the sectoris also one of the biggest inthe Country. After the jewels

industry, it is the TourismIndustry which gets the high-est foreign exchange earn-ings in India.

JUST IN THOMAS

contacted Tourism Secretary to inform him that the trade was unhappy with his recentcomments. Khwaja said, “Everybody has a right to showcase their opinion. Nobody has spoken to me (regarding industry status) and if they do, I can certainly discuss. If I think that I have made a statement that is factually incorrect, I will correct it myself.”

Contd. on page 12 u

In a very short period oftime, the ‘Great IndianTravel Bazaar’ (GITB)

has become one of the mostcoveted marts in South EastAsia region, says UshaSharma, Principal Secretary,Tourism, Government ofRajasthan on basis of thefeedback she keeps receivingfrom stakeholders of thetourism industry.

“The success of any ofthe leading travel mart large-ly rests on the number of B2Bmeetings. With over 8,050B2B meetings confirmed

much prior to the Show, isevidence in itself about our surety that we will breakthe record set in the previousedition, while the numberscan go much higher on theback of excitement beingshown by the foreign touroperators and large Indiansellers,” said Sharma.

GITB will be held in itsfifth edition and is all set tobreak the record of the B2B

The success of any of the leading travel marts largely rests on the number ofB2B meetings. GITB will surely break the record set in the previous edition.

VIVEK SETH I

GITB 2012 getting bigger and better

Bina Kak, Minister for Woman & ChildDevelopment, Tourism, Art & CultureArcheology, Printing & Stationery

Industry status for Tourism

Talking loud and clear

RH Khwaja, Secretary, MOT, GoI

Usha SharmaPrincipal Secretary TourismGovernment of Rajasthan

Jyotsna SuriChairpersonFICCI Tourism CommitteeContd. on page 12 u

BULLETIN

The Great Indian TravelBazaar (GITB) has been a

strong platform for the indus-try. The fifth edition of GITB in2012 has become even morebigger having left behind thebenchmarks it had created inthe previous edition.

“There has been anincrease of 700 pre-fixed B2Bmeetings at the event that hadset a new record of 7,350 B2Bmeetings in 2011. As per thecurrent statistics, the partici-pants at the GITB will witnessover 8,050 such B2B meet-ings,” said Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI) in its responseto queries shared by .

“In this edition, therewill be 261 Foreign Tour

Operators coming down from55 countries. There will be252 stalls spread across sixhalls and leading state

tourism boards includingGujarat, Andhra Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Orissa,Uttarakhand, Jharkhand,

Tamil Nadu, Delhi Tourismand Chhattisgarh,” the state-ment adds.

For the uninitiated, theobjective of GITB event is toportray India as a world-classtourist destination. It is organ-ised by the Department ofTourism, Government ofRajasthan, Ministry ofTourism, Government of Indiaand Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI). The fifth edi-tion is being organised fromApril 15-17, 2012 at B M BirlaConvention Centre, Jaipur,Rajasthan.

FICCI’s The Great IndianTravel Bazaar has been a hugesuccess & is looked forward toby the fraternity, which ithopes will reflect in terms ofthe industry participation in a

similar Industry event it wantsto hold for the domestic seg-ment called ‘Great DomesticTourism Bazaar’. Post the event there will be fam tours of Rajasthan.Rajasthan Association of TourOperators (RATO) will beorganising 4-day and 3-nightpost-mart tours for foreignbuyers covering major destinations in Rajasthan.

There has been an increase of 700 pre-fixed B2B meetings this year atthe Event that had surpassed the record of 7,350 B2B meetings in 2011.

TT BUREAU

8,050 prefixed B2B meets at GITB

Rahul ChakrabortyAdditional Director, FICCI

There’s been an increase of700 pre-fixed B2B meets atthe event that had set a newrecord of 7,350 B2Bmeetings in 2011.

As per the currentstatistics, the participantsat GITB will witness over8,050 such B2B meetings

Growing Numbers

STATISTICS

VIEWPOINT

Gone are the days when India wasknown as a land of snake charmers.

Modern India, today, is a vibrant youngcountry that has invested heavily increating the right infrastructure. Theinternational airport in Delhi, Delhi Metro and state-of-the-art HyderabadInternational Convention Centre are someof the flag bearer projects that arefunctional and reflect that India is not ready to settle for anything less than global best practices.

It’s of great significance for thestakeholders in the tourism industry torealise the strengths India has acquiredover the past few decades. Presently, thereis a clear disconnect between the way Indiais portrayed in comparison to the rest of the world at various international travel trade events.

India is today one of the fastest growingeconomies in Asia, which certainly has a lot more to offer than a conventionalgolden triangle tour, which has been themainstay of tour operators for years and marketed in literally speaking the most repetitive manner.

Once the Indian and internationalstakeholders realise the changethemselves, then only will they think ofmarketing destination India in the mostbefitting manner, which means sellingtravel attractions spread across its length and breadth.

MOT needs to play a pivotal role here,which is perfectly in line with its ambitioustarget set for doubling numbers in theinbound and domestic sectors. In fact, therepresentative associations of the traveland hospitality industry must take the leadin this direction and tie up with theiroverseas counterparts.

MOT here should extend the benefitsof the MDA scheme for building such partnerships and also commitnecessary hand-holding support forunleashing a holistic B2B force topromote destination India.

MarketingIndian Magic

TRAVTALK is a publication of Durga Das Publications Private Limited. All information 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 publica-tion, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressed by thirdparties in abstract and/or in interviews are not necessarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readers that one or more recognised authorities may hold different views than those reported. Material used in this publication is intended for information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific

advice before acting on information contained in this publicationwhich is provided for general use, and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Contents of this publication are copyright. No part of TRAVTALK or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system ortransmitted in any form without the permission of the publicationin writing. The same rule applies when there is a copyright or thearticle is taken from another publication. An exemption is herebygranted for the extracts used for the purpose of fair review, provided two copies of the same publication are sent to us for ourrecords. Publications reproducing material either in part or inwhole, without permission could face legal action.

The publisher assumes no responsibility for returning any material solicited or unsolicited nor is he responsible for material lost or damaged.

This publication is not meant to be an endorsement of any specific product or services offered. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw, amend or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation.

All advertisements must comply with the Indian and InternationalAdvertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by delayed publication, error or failure of an advertisement to appear.

VikramajitChairman

SanJeetPublisher

Rupali NarasimhanEditorial Director

Deepa SethiEditor

Editorial

Ratan Kr PaulMegha PaulAnita Jain

Justin ThomasVivek Sethi

Desk-EditorArchana Sharma

Sub-EditorRaina MandalPhotographerSimran Kaur

MUMBAI:504, Marine Chambers, 43, New Marine Lines, Opp. SNDT College,

Mumbai - 400 020, India, Ph.: +91-22-22070129; 22070130SOUTH INDIA:

17, Mummy’s Colony, Kowdiar, P.O., Trivandrum-695003, Kerala Mob.: +91 9747511144MIDDLE EAST:

Durga Das Publications Middle East (FZE)P.O. Box 9348, Saif Zone, Sharjah, UAE, Ph.: +971-6-5573508

TRAVTALK is printed and published by SanJeet on behalf ofDurga Das Publications Private Limited

72, Todarmal Road, New Delhi-110 001Ph.: +91-11-23710793, 23716318, E-mail: sanjeet@ddppl.com

Printed at Cirrus Graphics Pvt. Ltd. B-62/14, Phase-II, Naraina Industrial Area, New Delhi - 110 028

(Mumbai)Rishika Karra

Sales CoordinatorAdvertising (South India)

Vinu V NairRegional Head-South IndiaAdvertisement Designers

Vikas MandotiaNitin Kumar

Renuka MahichDesign: Nityanand Misra

Sudhir MudgalProduction: Anil KharbandaCirculation: Ashok Rana

AdvertisingGunjan SabikhiGeneral ManagerKarishma Khanna

Sr. Manager MarketingMegha Puri

Manager MarketingAmit Sarkar

Sr. Marketing Co-ordinatorAdvertising (Mumbai)

Suchita SaranBranch ManagerHarshal Ashar

Deputy General Manager

N ikhil Ganju, CountryManager, TripAdvisor

India, says, “It seems like abustling summer for trav-ellers this year. It is interest-ing to note that more Indian

travellers are willing toexplore newer destin ationsand seek more adventure on their vacations.” Talkingabout the annual ‘SummerHoliday Travel Survey’,Ganju says, “The surveyunveiled interesting insights

on women travellers.Women were mostly travel-ling with family or spouse,but our survey results showthat the Indian woman isready to go solo with 64 percent female respondentswilling to travel alone on

leisure. Adventure travel toois gathering steam; the per-centage of travellers optingfor adventure activities suchas outdoor camping/ rafting/hiking and a safari/wildlifesanctuary trip has seen a fillip from last year.”

The summer of 2012 will witness more leisure breaks and less IPL, moreadventure and less email, reveals the annual ‘Summer Holiday TravelSurvey’ of TripAdvisor®. Conducted over 1,500 respondents, the Surveyhighlights that 35 per cent Indian travellers are ready to head out. Excerpts...

TT BUREAU

Travel tops leisure activity list

20% of those travelling within India are going to visitat least one of the three destinations – Goa, Kerala andRajasthanAmong international holiday spots, South East Asiandestinations such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysiaemerge as favourites followed by Australia, UK and USAetcDestinations like Kashmir, Port Blair, Spain, Greece,Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia and Vietnam also emerge asnew vacation choices for a few, indicating a trend to gooff the beaten trackPromotional campaigns seem to have influenced choiceof destination, 30% travellers shared that they madethe decision to holiday in some destinations after seeingthe promotional campaigns. The top 3 destinations peo-ple decided on visiting after watching promotional cam-paigns were Gujarat, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.Travellers are also showing an increasing interest inexploring J&K and the North East

Places travellers are heading to!

Chennai has the highest percentageof travellers across 6 major metrosin planning a holiday this summer(94%) Among the 6 key metros, Kolkatahas the highest percentage (17%)of travellers looking to travel onlyto international destinationsKolkata has the highest social quo-tient with the highest percentageof respondents looking to post reg-ular social updates while on holiday,followed by DelhiAmong those travelling interna-

tionally this summer, Chennai &Hyderabad have the highest percentage of travellers goingabroad for the first timeHyderabad, followed by Chennaiand Kolkata, are the top 3 citieswith travellers planning to ventureto offbeat destinations on holidaythis summerBengaluru leads the adventure trailwith highest respondents acrosscities planning to take asafari/wildlife sanctuary or camp-ing/hiking/rafting holiday

69% Mumbai respondents are set to spend between ` 50,000-2,00,000, the highest across sixmetrosChennai followed by Hyderabadand Kolkata are least likely to planshort breaks over upcoming longweekend holidaysMumbai followed by Bengaluru andDelhi are least excited about theupcoming IPL seasonChennai could do with some helpfrom Cupid, as the city shows thelowest percentage of respondentsgoing on a romantic or honeymoonholiday this summer

How the big six metros fare in the travel chart

Setting a new trend, Indian women are ready to headout by themselves on a holiday with 64% willing to trav-el alone on leisureHowever, a disheartening trend to note is that only 11% women are comfortable with travelling alone onlywithin India; as opposed to 18% women who are actu-ally more comfortable travelling only internationally.An indication probably of how safe women feel in thecountry which is their own, even when compared tounknown international destinations49 % women are planning to splurge between ̀ 50,000– `2,00,000 on their summer vacation this yearThough only 40% women are open to the idea of mystery travel, 67% are happy heading for offbeat destinations Largest percentage of women who would not considertravelling alone are from Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi

Women break away solo

Indian travellers seem to be opening up to new andunique holidays with 48% respondents willing to exper-iment with mystery trips50% men in India are willing to experiment with mys-tery holidays this summer compared to 40% womenThe big surprise is that 65% of travellers in the agegroup of 65+ were game for a mystery holiday Kolkata strides ahead as the city most willing to go onmystery trips among the six major metros

Destination unknown

Nikhil GanjuCountry ManagerTripAdvisor India

89% respondents confirmplanning a holiday thissummer

74% travellers looking totake 2 or more leisure trips in the next 6 months

48% travellers open tomystery holiday and 35per cent plan to tread offthe beaten track

Travel on their mind

The Ministry of CivilAviation has decided to

open 11 new internationalsectors under the bilateral airservices agreements (ASAs)to Indian scheduled carriers.These sectors include Delhi-Macau, Mumbai-Dar-es-Salaam, Delhi-Guangzhou,Delhi-Yangon, Delhi-Tashkent, Delhi-Ho-Chi-Minh City, Delhi-Hanoi,Delhi-Almaty, Delhi-AddisAbaba, Delhi-Melbourne andDelhi-Sydney.

Ajit Singh, UnionMinister for Civil Aviation,had earlier reviewed theutilisation of traffic rightsunder the bilateral aviationagreements and has decidedto allow the Indian sched-uled carriers to utilise thebilaterals till such time they reach the maximumpermissible limit under air service agreements.However, Air India's opera-tional plan would receivepriority while consideringallocation of traffic rightsand entitlements.

With this, the Servicesof Air India and Air IndiaExpress will increase from430 services per week dur-ing winter 2011 to 471 serv-ices per week in summer2012. These services willinclude increase of servicesfrom 94 to 109 on the Dubaisector, from 39 to 47 in AbuDhabi sector, from 33 to 49

services in Sharjah sector,from 12 to 21 services inDoha sector and from 42 to48 services in Saudi Arabiasector. The services of Air India and Air IndiaExpress will further increasefrom 471 services per

week in summer 2012 to577 in winter 2012.

Similarly, the otherIndian scheduled airlineshave been allocated seatsunder the bilateral agree-ment to fly on various inter-

national routes in summerand winter 2012. SpiceJetwill run 98 services perweek in summer and additional 90 services perweek in winter hence a total of 188 services perweek in winter 2012.

Similarly Jet Airwayshas been allocated 102 serv-ices per week in summer andadditional 98 services perweek in winter, hence a totalof 200 services per week inwinter 2012. IndiGo has got84 services per week in sum-

mer and 41 services per week in winter totaling to125 services per week in winter 2012. The private carriers have thus been now allocated a total of 513services in addition to theirexisting allocation.

Preferential treatment for the State Carrier is still expected, but the earlier monopoly has been removed.

TT BUREAU

11 new international sectors up for grabs

AVIATION A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 5

Air India loses monopoly

n Bahrain Air couldresume its flights toThiruvananthapuramsoon after a disputeforced the airline toground flights last week.The reason for groundingof these services was thatthe Civil Aviation author-ities had still notapproved of the continu-ation of flights toThiruvananthapuram forthe summer season. TheAirline is still waiting forwritten approval fromCivil Aviation AffairsMinistry to resume serv-ices on the newly-launched route toThiruvananthapuram. Adelegation from the air-line and Bahrain CivilAviation Affairs earlierflew to India in a bid toresolve the issue.

Bahrain Airwaiting...

GITB

Domestic market forAdventure Tourism is

clearly on the rise as touristsare mixing adventure activi-ties with regular activities.“Earlier only hardcore adven-

turers were seen in this sector.But now, common tourists arealso asking for it along withthe regular sightseeing trip,”says Vinayak Koul, Director,Snowlion Expeditions. On the

other side, there is a declinein international tourists in the sector.

“Perception of Indiabeing a difficult destinationdue to formalities has notchanged, despite governmentmaking concentrated effort to

lessen the redtape,” remarksCapt Swadesh Kumar, Owner,Shikhar Travels. Lack of promotion overseas by government to change thismindset is one of the main reasons for decline.

Although the last coupleof years have been challeng-ing for the entire tourismindustry, adventure travel bythe virtue of its own charac-ter, remains relatively unaf-fected. The fact that thesetravels are fuelled by passionof the travellers, it is almostseen as recession proof.

“I welcome the entiretourism industry to encouragethe retail segments of the mar-ket to re-sell adventure travelproducts sourced from thebranded renowned companiesand join the bandwagon reap-ing profits and goodwill whileat the same time learning theropes of Responsible Tourism,”says Tejbir Singh Anand,President, Adventure TourOperators Association of India.

“Industry is makingencouraging effort in follow-ing international standards,”says Kumar. This can be seenin improved quality of exist-ing products. “There is anew trend in the adventuretravel segment such as fam-

ily adventure vacations, softadventure vacations, multi-activity trips and womengetaways,” informs Anand.The corporate world has alsoshown great interest inoffering adventure activitiesas part of their training pro-grammes as well as incen-tive getaways for their per-sonnel. There has been atremendous change in theoutlook of the peopletowards adventure sportsand tourism.

Anand points out thatin the next 5 years, the mar-ket size is set to grow by 100per cent specially with keeninterest from the corporatesector and the growingawareness in the domesticmarket. There is a cleartrend of growth of agents insource markets like Ladakhwhere tourists directly gettheir bookings done. Evenwith the growth, industryleaders are in consensusthat there is a huge scopefor improvement.

There is a marked improvement in products offered by Indian agents in this sector, but the perception of India being a red-tape country has not changed.

TT BUREAU

Adventure Tourism growsin the domestic market

Earlier only hardcoreadventurers were seen in the Adventure Tourism sector. But now, commontourists are also asking forit along with the regularsightseeing trip

Although the last couple of years have beenchallenging for the entiretourism industry,adventure travel by the vir tue of its owncharacter, remainsrelatively unaffected

The corporate world hasalso shown great interestin offering adventureactivities as par t of theirtraining programmes

Growing n Growing

There is a new trend in this sector suchas familyadventurevacations, softadventurevacations, multi-activity trips andwomengetaways

Perception ofIndia being adifficultdestination dueto formalities hasnot changed,despite the govt. makingconcentratedeffort to lessenthe redtape

Earlier onlyhardcoreadventurerswere seen inthis sector. Butnow, commontourists arealso asking forit along with the regularsightseeing trip

Vinayak KoulDirectorSnowlion Expeditions

Capt Swadesh KumarOwner Shikhar Travels

Tejbir Singh AnandPresidentATOAI

“There is a definiteincrease in tourists

who are asking for this seg-ment of tourism,” saysMandip Singh Soin,President, Ecotourism Societyof India (ESOI). “Industryshould start looking inwardand sort out the details asimplementation needs to bepro-active,” observes SuhailGupta, CEO, & Beyond India.

“Travel should be forpreservation of ecology and

community encouragement,”says Jose Dominic, ManagingDirector and CEO, CGH EarthHotels. Though there is aconsensus that it is a smallsector and education andawareness is the key forfuture growth. Dominic com-pares Goa with Kerala and

points out the difference inapproach for SustainableTourism. Big properties aresprucing up in Goa whilethere is more concentratedeffort in socially integratingthe society coupled withindigenous growth in Kerala.

ESOI had taken the leadin organising workshops in 10

locations across the country.“We discussed issues such asgovernment policies and howto extend the scope of Eco-Tourism,” informs Soin. TheAssociation is planning to con-duct an Eco Tourism Mart &Conference in April, 2013 andis being supported by the

Union Ministry of Tourism and Madhya PradeshGovernment. The Mart will highlight Eco-Tourism projects, sites and products.

Passion is the key forany operator to work in thissector. “Building rooms in

tourist spots does not implySustainable Tourism. Thereare other factors which definethis sector,” affirms Gupta.“It requires to be more thanjust the customer’s needs toaddress this issue and if thereis no sustainability, there isno luxury,” says Dominic.

It is clear that commu-nity involvement is the key todevelop this sector. This isreflected in employing thelocals, lodges innovating to implement eco-friendlyaspects like solar usage, etc.Homestays have also becomean integral part of Eco-

Tourism with local communi-ties enjoying the benefits. ForIndia, this sector is advanta-geous because of its diverseculture and region.

There is more awareness on Responsible and Sustainable Tourism in the country than everbefore with the market paying attention on how to spread Eco-Tourism in all facets of business.

JUST IN THOMAS

Eco-Tourism in India on the rise

GITB A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 7

Mandip Singh SoinPresidentEcotourism Society of India

Jose DominicManaging Director and CEOCGH Earth Hotels

The Association isplanning to conduct anEco Tourism Mart &Conference in April, 2013and is being supported bythe Union Ministry ofTourism and MadhyaPradesh Government

Taking Lead

Industry should startlooking inward and sortout the details

Suhail Gupta,CEO, & Beyond India

AVIATION8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

In 2011, Turkish Airlinesopened its own office in New

Delhi and have seen unprece-dented growth ever since. Theairline is keen to enhance itsnetwork in India and will setup second flights from NewDelhi and Mumbai once theyget an approval from DGCA.At present, they are using alltheir traffic rights and talks areunderway between the twogovernments to enhance thebilateral agreement.

“Last year, our businessgrew by 10 - 15 per cent andnow we have similar expecta-tions this year. We expect bet-ter results as we now offer animproved product and new air-craft. Our new A330-300shave been deployed on theIndia routes and we are con-centrating on passenger sales,”says Adnan Aykac, GeneralManager, Northern andEastern India, Turkish Airlines.

As part of the airline’svision to offer a good productat an applicable fare, TurkishAirlines offers one of the bestproducts in India. They havealso improved their cateringservice, “Our change in foodand better catering is also astep to improve the productand services. We bring thefood from Turkey and ourfood is now relished by pas-sengers,” adds Aykac.

The load factor ofTurkish Airlines is an averageof 75 per cent and has beenaround 90 per cent for thefirst three months of thisyear. “85 per cent are transitpassengers. Our geographicallocation offers great conven-ience for passengers flying onto Europe or the US, as theairline is not only well-con-nected but also offers out-standing benefits to itsfliers,” he states.

Discussing this issue,Aykac says, “There is a hugepotential to promote travelbetween Indian and Turkey.Last year, 75,000 Indians vis-ited Turkey but only 10,000Turkish people came to India.Promoting tourism to Indiaand vice versa was also one onthe reasons that we supportedthe TAAI event to such anextent. We are very happy aswe could show our products toover 500 people from the

tourism fraternity and offerour hospitality. We are 100 percent satisfied with the TAAIevent and feel it was a greatopportunity for us”.

To further enhance theirconnectivity in India, the air-line has improved their code-share agreement with AirIndia, from block-space to afree-sale agreement, nowTurkish Airlines can selldomestic flight tickets for AirIndia on flights to Kolkata,Amritsar, Hyderabad,Bengaluru and Chennaiamong others. “As a market-ing strategy, Turkish Airlinesis also working closely withthe Indian tourist officesoverseas to increase tourismto India, and in India we arecarrying out direct promo-tions at shopping malls to letpeople know more aboutTurkey,” he stated.

Discussing B2B market-ing initiatives, he says, “We areconcentrating on making our

relationships transparen wherewe should be easily approach-able for our business partnersand must be able to addresstheir queries at the earliest.Incentives, promotional faresand familiarisation trips arepart of our marketing initia-tives. This year, we hope toorganise at least two familiari-sation trips for the industry.”

Understanding the psy-che of the Indian traveller,Turkish Airlines offers promo-tional fares, especially duringthe busy summer season (Mayto July). They are offering goodfood and 10 kg extra baggageallowance. It has many specialoffers - especially for corporatetravellers and students.

After their impressive showcase at TAAI in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines is ready to capture the Indian market and satisfy its demands. They have introduced promotionalfares, new aircraft, good food, improved connectivity and extra baggage allowance.

DEEPA SETH I & DEV IKA JEET

100% satisfaction with the TAAI event

Adnan AykacGeneral Manager - Northern and EasternIndia, Turkish Airlines

Their recently launchedBusiness Class offerspassengers the comfort offully-flat beds

New Features

n Hyatt Hotels announcedrecently the opening of ParkHyatt Hyderabad, the firstcity Park Hyatt hotel inIndia. It is also the first cityhotel in Hyderabad to offer42 fully serviced luxuryapartments, The Residence,with five-star facilities andamenities. Centrally locat-ed, the hotel is just fifteenminutes from the technol-ogy hub of Hi-Tech City and the business district,and 45 minutes fromHyderabad’s internationalairport.

“Park Hyatt hotels arepremium luxury hotelsdesigned to cater to the dis-cerning individual seekingthe privacy, personalizedservice and luxurious ele-gance of a contemporaryhotel,” said Sven Hoffmeyer,General Manager, Park HyattHyderabad. "This new hotel will maintain thebrand’s emphasis on art andculinary excellence withlocally inspired artwork inthe public areas and a signa-ture restaurant headed byexperienced chefs.”

Hyderabadgets its firstcity Park Hyatt

AVIATION1 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The European Union (EU) Emissions Trading

Scheme (ETS) legislation hasput Europe in conflict with anumber of developed anddeveloping countries. USA,China, India, Russia and others have all stood upagainst this decision.

“Indian carriers havebeen asked not to take part inthe EU ETS and this includesnot sharing the emissions dataor buying carbon credits. Thisissue is between the Indiangovernment and EU andAirlines are currently out of it.Indian government along with China, Russia and other countries are taking aunified stance to deal with EU. This issue can lead into a full-fledged trade warbetween EU and the rest of the

world,” says Kapil Kaul, CEO,South Asia, CAPA.

IATA has warned the EUthat the ETS dispute couldtrigger a trade war. IATA recommends that, EU shouldembrace a global approach toairline emissions and thusallow the International CivilAviation Organisation (ICAO),to set a solution.

The India governmentbarred its Airlines from com-plying with EU’s controversialcarbon taxation scheme. AllIndian carriers were told notto share emissions data with the EU. “Clearly theGovernment of India has takena very strong view on the issueof carbon tax. They are unitedwith other nations and wesupport them. This is a veryimportant industry and onlyone part of the world is

focussing on carbon tax whileothers understand that the air-lines industry needs help.Adding another tax will onlyincrease their burden and willbe duly passed to the con-sumers,” says Dinesh Keskar,President, Boeing India.

EU ETS is expected tocost the industry € 2.5 bil-

lion in 2012 and about € 20billion by 2020. Indian car-riers will get impacted aswell as other internationalcarriers. CAPA expectsIndian government to takevery strong measuresagainst EU carriers if forcedto act. “Eventually, affectedairlines need to devise inno-vative strategies based on

technology, operations,infrastructure and economicmeasures to maintain com-petitiveness under EU ETS.New business models mayemerge,” adds Kaul.

Discussing possiblesolutions for carriers toaddress this issue, Kaul says,“We see that the industry isalready making continualefforts in fleet management,route and air traffic optimi-sation, fuel conservation andthe development of sustain-able aviation fuel. At aninternational level, it isencouraging to see theadded value and enormouspotential of programmes,such as, SESAR in the EU and NextGen in the USA to improve ATM andthus reducing CO2 emis-sions globally.”

The Indian aviation industry cannot stay away from European Union’s decision to include aviation under its Emissions Trading Scheme. While the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)has voiced its opinion against carbon tax, passengers might be burdened with another tariff.

Air ticket prices to go up by 4 to 24 EurosImplementing carbon tax

The carbon tax imposedon airlines by the EUcame into effect onJanuary 1, but carrierswill begin receiving billsonly in 2013

EU says that the tax willhelp it achieve a goal ofcutting carbon emissionsby 20% by 2020

Denmark currently holdsthe EU's rotatingpresidency

EU argues that the cost for airlines ismanageable, estimatingthat the scheme couldprompt carriers to addbetween 4 and 24 eurosto the price of a round-trip long-haul flight

China has blockedpurchases of Airbusplanes by Chinesecompanies in reaction tothe disputed tax

Expert Talk

DEV IKA JEET

Kapil KaulCEO, South Asia, CAPA

Dinesh KeskarPresident, Boeing India

COVER STORY1 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Says Iqbal Mulla,President, Travel AgentsAssociation of India, “We arefine if the Government saysthat since Travel & Tourismis not a manufacturing sector,we can’t get an industry sta-tus. But, with the forexexchange and employmentgeneration share, we, atleast, need to get the status of an export/import-oriented industry with morebenefits, tax subsidiaries andrelief from service tax to certain extent.”

Subhash Verma,President, Association of

Domestic Tour Operators ofIndia on the issue of defini-tion of an industry raised byKhwaja responds, “Industrydoes not necessarily need tobe a manufacturing unit.

Definition of industry shouldevolve with time.”

Ajay Prakash,President, Travel AgentsFederation of India, highlight-ing MOT’s indifferent atti-tude towards the sector,points towards the recentbudget presented where theblanket of service tax hasincreased while impactingthe business margins of the

tourism industry. “If we geta status, the funding for theinfrastructure will get betterinterest rates which willreduce the cost and taxationto a certain extent.”

The Associations areon the overdrive convincingthe Government to collect taxes from the source (service providerslike airlines) and not fromthe facilitator (travel agents)as the double taxation isincreasing the overall cost of the industry for theend-consumers. Associationspoint out the indifference

seen in the half hearted sopsgiven to the sector.

Tejbir Singh Anand,President, Adventure TourOperators Association of

India, remarks, “Ski can beimported but ski boots arebarred in that list. Similarly,the most imported equip-ment in Adventure Tourismis camping gear. This is alsonot on the list.” He counters

the Secretary’s point on,“Tourism not being a manu-facturing industry,” byremarking that, “Areexporters called an industry?Yes they are and they get subsidies.”

SM Shervani, VicePresident, Federation ofHotel & RestaurantAssociations of India doesn’thold back when he says,“They only imagine hospital-ity sector as five-star luxuryhotels. India is attractingbusiness class to come anddo business here. Then, what about the stay factor of the people who look forquality accommodations? Bygiving infrastructure status,interest on loans will become

tax free and this will addressthe concerns of room short-age in the country.”

It is to be noted that 70 per cent of the hotelrooms in India belong

to 1, 2, 3 star categories. Inthis context, smaller chainsneed far more support fromthe government to grow further in this industry.

Sarab Jit Singh,President, Indian TouristTransporters Associationsums up the collective stateof mind of the trade, when hesays, “We have not seen anyof our demands being met bythe Government of India inthe past ten years. We have no other option other than to take what iscoming our way.”

Meanwhile, DeveshChaturvedi, AdditionalDirector General, Ministryof Tourism informed,

“We had an interaction with the travel trade a few days back, though they were unhappy with the budget. They didn’t say anything against the Ministry.”

Tourism: Service sector or an industry?Contd. from page 1 u

meetings which it had reg-istered in the previous edi-tion. It is targetted towardsthe potential consumers fortourism products fromacross the globe and India,which is organised by theDepartment of Tourism,Government of Rajasthan,Ministry of Tourism,Government of India andFederation of IndianChambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on anannual basis.

Further, on being askedabout the possibility of shift-ing the venue of the showwithin Rajasthan, an exuber-ant Sharma replies, “Themanner in which the venueof other successful travelshows like ITB or WTM is not changed, similarly, we also see no merit in thinking about changing thevenue for GITB.”

“There is a certaindegree of comfort andfavourable atmosphere interms of organising logistics

around the BM BirlaConvention Centre, Jaipur,Rajasthan, which has servedas the venue on the previousoccasions as well,” she said.

“From the RajasthanTourism perspective, it hasbeen our endeavour to promote our state in such amanner that even the lesser known destinations gethighlighted at importanttrade platforms and helpmake Rajasthan, a travel-friendly inbound destina-tion,” she added.

There is a strong degreeof cohesion behind the visionand efforts of RajasthanTourism that the PrincipalSecretary attributes to theconsistency in the team thathas been spearheadingtourism in the State.

“It’s my fifth year in thetourism department and amdelighted by the unparalledco-ordination between our team that is being led by Bina Kak, Minister for Woman & ChildDevelopment, Tourism, Art &

Culture, Archeology, Printing& Stationery, Rajasthan. Dueto the mutual trust, there isa great degree of comfort thatresults in seamless planningand execution of our initia-tives to promote Rajasthan,”concluded Sharma.

“GITB has been a greatplatform for the industry andthe journey has been unwa-vering. This would be thefifth edition of GITB, and isgrowing by leaps and boundsevery year. One of the USPs of the show has been new record set in termsof structured and pre-fixedB2B meetings between the registered Indian sellersand foreign buyers, spreadover 2 days,” says JyotsnaSuri, Chairperson, FICCITourism Committee.

GITB redefines grandeurContd. from page 1 u

The ‘Great Indian TravelBazaar’ (GITB) hasbecome one of the mostcoveted marts in SouthEast Asia region

Growing Numbers

Devesh ChaturvediAdditional Director GeneralMOT, GoI

Iqbal MullaPresidentTAAI

Ajay PrakashPresidentTAFI

Subhash VermaPresidentADTOI

Sarab Jit SinghPresidentITTA

Tejbir Singh AnandPresidentATOAI

SM ShervaniVice PresidentFHRAI

HOTELS1 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Targetting completely twodifferent segments, April

marks the debut ofFormule1, Accor’s economyhotel and Pullman, itsupscale hotel brand.

Speaking about thedebut of Formule1 in thecountry, Philip Logan, VicePresident, Formule 1 Hotels,India said, “This hotel will bea game changer in the budgethotel sector. Formule 1 willappeal to domestic corporateclients and frequent travellersfor work and leisure who arelooking for outstanding valuecombined with quality andservice standards.” The hotelwill offer limited services. Thefood and beverage facility inthese hotels will be out-sourced to third-party firmsand will promote the conceptof standard rooms with a sin-

gle price for up to three peo-ple. “Formule1 will be the firsttrue international budgethotel brand in the country fill-ing the void for standardised

comfort at a highly competi-tive price of around ` 2,000per person,” Logan added.The other innovative meas-ures at this property includecomplimentary Wi-Fi facilities,

Formule1 buffet breakfast, aCafé and a 24x7 Snack Kiosk.Speaking about client seg-ments, Logan said the hotel isbullish on the Greater Noida

location. “Formule1 will targetcorporate travellers, institu-tions, small and mediumenterprises in Greater Noida

Accor launches its two brands. Formule1 as the inno-vative budget hotel brand that will promote the conceptof standard rooms with a single price for up to threepeople while Pullman will redefine the MICE segment.

New age hotels in NCR

Philip LoganVice PresidentFormule1 Hotels, India

Scott DaviesGeneral Manager Delegate, AccorHotel Operations - Delhi and NCR

Incredible India is the bestAt the recently concluded ITB inBerlin, Incredible India Stand wasthe winner of the Best ExhibitorAward (BEA) adjudged by theCologne Business School in theASIA, AUSTRALIA and OCEANIAregion. Future tourism managersfrom this university visit around11,000 booths to choose a win-ner. The booths are judged on var-ious criteria like design, informa-tion content, service quality,friendliness and special effects. Itnotched third position in the event.The India pavilion was a balanceof the traditional and the modernIndia. The key elements for thepavilion were derived from tradi-tional Indian architecture. Thepainted fresco archways fromRajasthan formed the maintheme. The central focus was arecreated Indian market featuringhandicrafts paintings and jew-ellery. An interactive photo displaywith different headgears and aunique wall showcasing myriadfaces was also exhibited

TT BUREAU

Contd. on page 17 u

The Visit USA Committee(VUSACOM) was formally

inaugurated in Mumbai byJohn Bryson, US Secretary ofCommerce in the presence ofall committee members andmembers of US CommercialService and Consulate. Themain objective of the commit-tee is to increase the touristarrivals from India to the USand ease the visa process forthe same. To encourage theobjective of the committee,US government has waivedthe personal interviewrequirement for visa renewalin the B1/B2 business/tourism, C transit and D crewmember categories. The eas-ing of rules for full-validityvisas applies to applicationsunder the same category asthe previous visa and thosedone before the expiry of thevisa or within 48 months of it.

Talking about the newinitiative, Bryson said, “TheUS Consulate in Indiaprocessed more than 6,60,000non-immigrant visa applica-tions in 2011 and with thelaunch of VUSACOM, we

expect this number to growfurther. India is currently hold-ing 12th position in visitorarrivals and 13th in visitorspend and through this newcommittee, we intend to bringthe number to single digitwithin next few years. We areworking closely with the traveldepartment in USA to increasetravel for countries like India.”

According to AshwiniKakkar, President,VUSACOM India, the com-mittee is holding regularseminars and training pro-grammes on new products,destination to promote, activ-ities, visa, etc. on USA inmetro cities and mini metro

cities like Coimbatore,Bengaluru, Chennai, Hydera-bad, etc. It is also in theprocess of introducing a cer-tified online destination spe-cialist programme for theIndian travel trade in thecoming months. Talkingabout the new visa waiverscheme, Kakkar said, “Thenew scheme is launched as apilot project to encouragetravel from India to USA. Theprocess of getting a visa islikely to be much faster foralmost all applicants as thereare 40 windows at MumbaiConsulate compared to merethree windows in the past.Those who will be covered bythe personal interview waivershould, however, be carefulwhen submitting their docu-ments, since in the absenceof an interview, the paper-work will carry more weight.The fact that the US gives B1and B2 - tourist and businesstravel - visas together helpsin tapping the segment ofbusiness travellers who wantto combine their trip withtourism and the meetings,incentives, conference andexhibitions segment.”

US exempts the interview clause for business and transit visa renewal which will further help the committee to promote its objectives.

ANITA JA IN

VUSACOM India Chaptertraining travel agents

Ashwini KakkarPresidentVUSACOM India

CII Tourism Retreat at Neemrana

As part of its initiative to promote Tourism in the country, CII National Committee on Tourism held a Tourism Retreatfor its committee members at Neemrana For t and Palace on 23-24 March. The workshop held under the chairmanship of Arun Nanda, Co-chair CII National committee on Tourism and Chairman Mahindra Holidays deliberated on key topics underlying “Strategic Convergence” as a theme and to identity tangible suggestions.Issues discussed included – enhancing the centre-state working mechanism on tourism in India,common legislated vision, destination development guidelines enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian Tourism and streamlined approval mechanisms among others. The suggestions from this retreat will be brought out as a white paper and will be presented to the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

n Despite the slowdownand recessionary trends inthe economies of Europeand America, foreign touristarrivals (FTAs) in India dur-ing 2011 were 6.29 millionwith a growth of 8.9 percent over 2010 and foreignexchange earnings (FEEs) in 2011 were ` 77,591 crore with a growth of 19.6 per cent.

In the case of outboundtourism, the number of

Indian nationals departuresfrom India during 2010 was12.99 million with a growthof 17.4 per cent for the year.Domestic Tourism has alsoemerged as an importantcontributor to the sectorproviding much neededresilience. Domestic touristvisits during 2010 are esti-mated at 740.2 million, witha growth of 10.7 per cent.

Hotels and restaurantsis an important component

of the tourism sector. As on31 December 2011, therewere 2,895 classified hotelhaving a capacity of1,29,606 rooms in the coun-try. The survey notes thatimposition of luxury tax byStates ranging from five percent to 12.5 percent is ananomoly. In some cases, theluxury tax is applicable onprinted room rates whereasactual hotel rates offered toguests are much lower.

Robust Tourism sector: Economic Survey

NEWS

HOTELS1 6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Starwood shines bright at Expo 2012On a starry night, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific organised an evening dinner to celebrate its sixth successful Starwood showcase inIndia - Starwood India Expo 2012. Held in The Westin Gurgaon, the event saw the who's who of the travel trade industry.

Launched in 2011,Xtraordinary Travel

Consultants (XTC) UniversityProgramme by Banyan TreeHotels and Resorts is offeringbenefits and opportunities forits business trade partners

across the globe. With over200 members in India (and3,000 agents worldwide), theGroup is encouraging moreand more travel trade partnersto participate, register andcomplete the course. It isdesigned to recognise, incen-

tivise and engage top-produc-ing travel agents and is avail-able to consultants via a qual-ifying selection process or byinvitation only. All travelagents and IATA licensed trav-el advisors who complete thecourse before May 31, 2012and successfully pass the finalexam are eligible for a chanceto win a two-night stay in aSpa Pool Villa at Banyan TreeSpa Sanctuary in Phuket.

Manas Sinha, AssistantDirector – Key Accounts,Banyan Tree Hotels & Resortssaid, “XTC is a programmededicated to our loyal businesspartners who promises andperforms well in generatingbusiness for our propertiesacross the world. We under-stand the importance of ourpartners and unlike otherglobal hotel brands, we haveloyalty programme for ourbusiness partners and notguests. Through attractiveXTC Rewards, we intend toincrease our member base inIndia and sustain the num-bers, as a member has to passthe XTC programme everyyear depending on the per-formance and business gener-ated for our group properties.”

XTC University consistsof course modules in accom-modation, amenities and foodand beverage presented in aconcise and clear manner.Developed as an exclusiverecognition programme for theGroup’s top-performing travelagents, XTC members areawarded one point for everyroom night they secure.Bookings made for specialtyinventory will be recognisedwith higher points.

After setting up its Gurgaon office, Banyan Tree Hotels& Resorts’ first regional office in India, the Group is promoting loyalty programme for its business partners.

TT BUREAU

XTC’s rewards for India

Manas SinhaAssistant Director – Key AccountsBanyan Tree Hotels & Resorts

• XTC Classic – valid with atleast one booking, membersare treated to 50% off bestavailable room rates, diningexpenses and spa treatmentsat all Banyan Tree andAngsana Hotels and Resorts

XTC Deluxe – valid for thosewho achieve between 250and 450 XTC points,members will receive 75%off best available room ratesand 50% off dining and spaservices at all Banyan Treeand Angsana properties

XTC Premier – valid for thosewho earn over 450 XTCpoints where a top-performing agent can enjoyan all-expenses-paid one-week getaway for two at aBanyan Tree or Angsanaproperty, inclusive of diningand spa treatments

XTC Rewards

RAILWAY A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 1 7

India as a religious destina-tion is a no-brainer.

However, connectivity andother infrastructure issueshave lagged behind. IndianRailway Catering and TourismCorporation (IRCTC) seems tohave noticed it and is repeat-ing popular ‘Bharat Darshan’trains to religious destina-tions as they have been run-ning on full capacity whenev-er a special train is run.

Among the most popu-lar are the packages toShirdi. Over the past year,special packages have been offered twice by IRCTC forShirdi. The first train wasrun in August last year.

Seeing the response, anotherpackage was launched andpassengers embarked ontheir journey in December.

To encash on this popu-larity, two ‘Bharat Darshan’trains have been proposed inMay to Somnath and Shirdi-

Shani Shignapur as well as toTirupati and Ujjain. Prior tothis, a special train to theseven Jyotirlingas has beenproposed for April. The train,which will commence its jour-ney on April 18, will take pas-sengers on an 11-day journeyto the seven Jyotirlingas. The

package will cost ` 6,156 perpassenger, including tickets,accommodation and meals.

“The response to reli-gious tourism packages has been encouraging. That is why packages have been offered repeated-

ly to some places likeShirdi,” says RK Sondh,Chief Regional Manager,IRCTC. He adds, “In fact,there was a long waiting list for the previous twotrips and this is why the package is being offered again.”

The ‘Bharat Darshan’packages cost ` 500 per day per passenger, apart from taxes. Passengers availing the special packagesare given a tour of the templesapart from other places of tourist attraction at the place.

With multiple trains on offer, IRCTC is cashing in on the popularity of religious trains. Two ‘Bharat Darshan’trains have been proposed in May to Somnath and Shirdi-Shani Shignapur as well as to Tirupati and Ujjain.

TT BUREAU

‘Bharat Darshan’ trains by IRCTC

and event organisers in theNCR to develop business.”

Accor’s upscale hotelbrand Pullman is designedfor the requirements of the business traveller.Throwing more light on the MICE-centric hotel,Scott Davies, GeneralManager Delegate, AccorHotel Operations - Delhiand NCR stated, “ThePullman brand offers a unique ‘Co-Meeting’ concept for MICE businesswhich revolves around thefundamentals of providingthe guest with our commit-ment towards service deliv-ery, efficient connectivitysolutions, ergonomic andambient comfort and cohe-sion of all services packedas a one-stop shop toensure a successful event.”

Going forward, headded, “At Pullman GurgaonCentral Park Hotel, alongwith the dedicated Events Concierge team, theEvents Manager and ITSolutions Manager wedeliver this one-stop shopservice attitude by assistingwith planning and execut-ing events to the last detailwith our Meeting Matrixevent planner solution.”

Formule1 &Pullman debutContd. from page 14 u

To encash on this popularity, two‘Bharat Darshan’ trains have beenproposed in May toSomnath and Shirdi-Shani Shignapur as wellas to Tirupati and Ujjain

Bharat Darshan

NTO1 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Showcasing Macau Macau Government Tourist Office took leading travel agents from Delhi for a fam to Macau from Mach 25-29. The purpose of the fam was to showcase the new developments in Macau to the travel agents.

The Bollywood movie Don-2 has done a world of

good to destination Berlin, ifnot the box office in India!Burkhard Kieker, CEO, BerlinTourismus & Kongress feelsthat Bollywood is one of thebest means to create aware-ness among the Indians, thatcan help the travel agents toeasily convert into meaning-ful travel decisions.

“We loved the aware-ness that Don-2 had createdamong the Indian mass aboutdestination Berlin. In fact, allthe leading cinema hallsplayed a brief promotionalfilm on destination Berlin,while screening the movie.The clip will also be a part ofthe DVDs,” said Kieker on hisvisit to India in New Delhi.

“Bollywood is a goodmedium to connect with the

Indians, especially in the non-metro cities. As part of ourmarketing efforts, we lookforward to handholding moreBollywood projects in termsof choice of locations andavailing best packages fromthe private sector. Don-2made use of attractions likePaul Lobe House(Government Quarter), DZBank at Pariser Platz andBrandenburg Gate, BerlinCathedral, Alexanderplatz,

French Cathedral and ConcertHall at Gendarmenmarktamong others, which the travel agents can now use to send Indian FITs, GIT MICE tourists to experi-ence,” he added.

Kiekar also boasts of thefact that unlike other majorattractions in Italy or Spain,destination Berlin offersmany attractions at a value--for-money cost.

“Berlin is attractive yetaffordable. It’s for the value-for-money factor that amidmajor downfall in tourists’arrivals across leadingEuropean destinations,Berlin has continued to reg-ister growth. Europeanswant to travel and due tothe economic stress, theyhave now started gettingmore conscious on thevalue-for-money aspect,which helped attract many

of them to our destination,”said Kieker.

“On the Indian arrivalfront, we have registeredover 39 per cent growth with 36,514 arrivals, year-on-year basis betweenJanuary and December2011,” he added.

Berlin as a destination registered over 39 per cent growth with 36,514 arrivals, on a yearly basis between January and December 2011. It’s the value-for-money factor that helped Berlin continue to register growth, despite major downfall in tourist arrivals.

TT BUREAU

Berlin’s USP: Attractive and affordable

Burkhard Kieker, CEO, Berlin Tourismus & Kongress

ASSOCIATIONS

With no passport, no visa,no forex, it is obvious

that Domestic Tourism is theway forward. And, in order toincrease Domestic Tourism inthe country, the Association ofDomestic Tour Operators ofIndia (ADTOI) recently

announced the commence-ment of the ADTOI WestBengal and North East chapter.This is the Association’s fourthchapter in the country afterJammu & Kashmir, Kerala andGujarat besides a CentralSecretariat in New Delhi.

The Chapter was inau-gurated by Pritha Sarkar(Ray), Director, West BengalTourism & ManagingDirector, West BengalTourism DevelopmentCorporation (WBTDC) andRaghavendra Singh,Principle Secretary, WestBengal Tourism. The eventwas well-attended by mem-bers of the ADTOI governing

body, including SubhashVerma, President, ADTOI;PP Khanna, Vice President,ADTOI and Rajat Sawhney,General Secretary, ADTOI,apart from the EC membersand those from the traveltrade industry in the region.

Debjit Dutta, Director &CEO, Impression TourismServices was nominated byADTOI members as theChapter Chairman of WestBengal and North East.

Regarding the initia-tives taken by the WestBengal government, Sarkarremarked, “WBTDC is keento promote innovative toursbut they lack in marketing.Going forward, we would laymore emphasis in this areafor the promotion of thestate.” Also, if tour opera-tors from other states come to WBTDC, it will help give a boost to thestate, she added.

Post this new chapter,more emphasis will be laid onaggressively promotingSunderbans, Darjeeling,Dooars, Murshidabad andother lesser-known destina-tions, Singh informed. “As the new budget allocation has gone up by 100%, we are focussing on developing

the infrastructure in order to have built-up roadmaps,”he revealed.

Speaking on the reasonfor choosing West Bengaland North East, Verma said,“The Association hasalready covered Jammu &Kashmir (North), Kerala(South) and Gujarat (West).Hence, in order to mark apan-India presence andreach out to all four cornersof the country, West Bengaland North East were obvi-ously the preferred choice.”In the 12th Five Year Plan, abudget of `25,000 crore hasbeen reco\mmended by

To further promote Domestic Tourism in the Country,ADTOI has rolled out its newest chapter in WB & NE.

MEGHA PAUL IN KOLKATA

ADTOI debuts in the East

Atwo-day seminar on thetheme of ‘Hunar Se

Rozgar Through Adventure

& Rural Tourism’ will beheld by IATO from April 21-22 in Mussoorie. The semi-nar in line with the Ministry

of Tourism’s effort to createmore employment locallyand promote Rural Tourismon a larger scale.

Subhash Goyal, Pres -ident, IATO, speaking on theobjective of the theme of theseminar, said “The Adv en tureTourism segment in India hasevolved over the years froma nascent stage. It is nowestimated to cross ̀ 400 croreby the end of the 11th FiveYear Plan and will continue togrow at the rate of 15 percent on a yearly basis.

“We expect over 300 del-egates for the seminar (includ-ing invitees, media and spous-es). There is a growing interestin Experiential Tourism andthe state of Uttarakhand holdsa lot of potential. This is also

in line with Ministry’s effortsto create more employmentlocally and promote RuralTourism to give a unique experience to the tourists.Thus, the theme has beenfocussed on ‘Hunar Se RozgarThrough Adventure & RuralTourism’,” he added.

IATO has also plannedvarious post-seminar famtours like river rafting; Skiingat Auli by UTDC; rural expe-rience to ‘Purda Sankir’ &water sports to Assan Bar -rage; Rural & Panoramic exp -erience of Bhimtal, Pitho -ragarh, Chawkori and Joges -hwar, which Goyal believeswill give IATO members anexcellent opportunity to mar-ket Uttarakhand in a big wayamongst international as wellas domestic tourists.

IATO will be conducting a 2-day seminar onAdventure and Rural Tourism from April 21-22, 2012at Japyee Residency Manor, Mussoorie.

TT BUREAU

Employment via tourism

(L-R): Dutta, Sawhney, Khanna, Verma, Singh and Sarkar

Subhash GoyalPresidentIATO

Contd. on page 30 u

ANALYSIS2 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

On the hospitality front,Delhi and NCR were

two different geographicalterritories earlier. However,with hoteliers making a bee-

line to the NCR to set upshop, the demarcationbetween Delhi and NCR isgetting blurred in the recenttimes. Noida, Greater NoidaExpressway, Gurgaon,Ghaziabad and Faridabad,are slowly acquiring theglamour tag. Backed by theinfrastructure developmenton the back of theCommonwealth Games & F1and a coinciding revival inthe overall economic condi-tion, the NCR has been wit-nessing a growth in interestacross all segments, frominvestors to multi-nationalcorporations and touristsalike. With tourism promo-tion, IT/ITES bouncing back,

companies rolling out plansfor expansion, availability ofmedical facilities, gateway tothe rest of world through its world-class airport, upgradedroad and metro rail infra-structure, the NCR is expect-

ed to attract foreign anddomestic footfalls.

Commenting on theburgeoning hospitality seg-ment in the NCR, AkshayKulkarni, Regional Director– Hospitality, South &Southeast Asia, Cushman &Wakefield says, “There is noquestion that in the last 5-7

years most of the new inven-tory has emerged in the NCR outside of the NDMC area.The only exception is thelaunch of the hospitality dis-trict by DIAL and some verysmall, unorganised assetsthat came on track duringthe Commonwealth Games

along NH8.” The reasons forthe shift to NCR include lackof space available to builthotels in NDMC area, cost ofthe NDMC/DDA land parcelsauctioned, business districtsemerging in Gurgaon and

now in Noida. However, thisdoes not mean that Delhi hasbeen sidelined. The costliesthotel in India opened recent-ly in the heart of Delhi likeThe Leela Palace inChanakyapuri.

“It would be unfair tocompare the performance ofDelhi hotels and the NCR

markets. The way the city hasgrown, it has clearly identi-fied micro markets, whichhave different price pointexpectations, different pro-files and also different objec-tives. Moving forward, whenthe entire inventory comesonline, there will be further

demarcation of which mar-kets are catered by whichhotels and then the compar-ison should be done withthose hotels in a particularmicro market and not tothose spread over a largearea,” Kulkarni added.

Apart from Gurgaonand Noida, Greater Noida iswitnessing a huge invest-ment in the hospitality sec-tor. According to ManjuSharma, Director, JaypeeHotels, with the launch ofthe 18-hole Greg NormanGolf Course, Jaypee Greenshas witnessed immensegrowth. Even the non-golfers community is expe-riencing golf during theirstay at Jaypee Greens Golf &Spa Resort. “Another USP isthe location. Just down theroad is the entrance to theall-new Yamuna expresswaywhich will be opening soon.This means that a trip from Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort to Agra and TajMahal will be a pleasant 90-minute drive,” she said.Jaypee Greens Golf and SpaResort recorded a healthyresponse followed by robustinflow of foreign tourists,especially during India’smaiden Grand Prix.

Realising the potentialof the NCR, Royal OrchidHotels has launched RegentaHotel & Convention Centreat Rajokri in NCR. Thenewest offering from theBengaluru-based chain hasbeen positioned in theupscale category and will betargetted towards the grow-ing needs of conventions,conferences and weddings in the NCR city spaces.According to Chander Baljee, CMD, Royal OrchidHotels, the market for wed-ding and events is growing in the NCR as there is a voidfor good event venues. “Asdemand for events is grow-ing, our first Regenta proper-

ty in Rajokri will address thespace concern,” he added.

With 7 existing proper-ties in NCR, Sarovar Hotel &Resorts is betting big on theNCR as well. Ajay K Bakaya,Executive Director, SarovarHotel & Resorts informed,“Opportunities in the NCRhave spiralled now. The newarea to be explored for thismarket is Sahibabad andGhaziabad, which are stillunsaturated. The averageoccupancy in our NCR prop-

erties has been increasing ascompared to our Delhihotels. This reflects the ris-ing importance of theregion.” The hotel occupan-cies in the NCR are witness-ing occupancy of 75-80%while for Delhi properties,the occupancy ranges from70-75%, Bakaya revealed.

French hospitality major Accor has unveiled a new brand in the NCR, Formule 1 in GreaterNoida. Cashing in on the location of GreaterNoida for Formule 1, PhilipLogan, Vice President,Formule 1 Hotels, India said,“For Formule 1 this regionwas our preferred choice. We will target corporate travellers, institutions, small and medium enterpris-es in Greater Nodia and event organisers in NCR for this hotel.”

Sohna is also theemerging hub for hospitality.Sanjay Sharma, ComplexGeneral Manager, The WestinGurgaon, New Delhi and TheWestin Sohna Resort and Spafelt, “The aspect of being anideal weekend getaway isintegral to The Westin SohnaResort and Spa because it ismerely a 40-minute driveaway from Delhi/NCR. Duringthe week, it is a great site forextended corporate leisurestays and over the weekenda perfect spot for recreational

family weekends.” What fur-ther enhances the appeal ofthe Resort is the fact that itoffers state-of-the-art facility,global dining venues andworld-class recreational facil-ity and since the distance isnot a limitation, the funds that would be other-wise spent on travelling canbe utilised in enhancing thepersonal experience ofguests, he added.

About how successfulthe Aamod Manesar property,– Golden Turtle Farm has beenin attracting clientele awayfrom the Delhi market, GauravJain, Managing Director,Aamod said, “It has just been three months till now but people who once visit the property, do plan to visit the property again.”The property in Manesar is targetting both families aswell as corporates.

The NCR is no longer limited only to Gurgaon. The NCR region has been witnessing a rapid transformation in the recent times in the change of hotel landscapes. find outs more on the changing scenario.

MEGHA PAUL

NCR the new hospitality hotspot

Philip LoganVice PresidentFormule 1 Hotels, India

Ajay K BakayaExecutive DirectorSarovar Hotel & Resorts

Manju SharmaDirectorJaypee Hotels

Akshay KulkarniRegional Director – Hospitality, South &Southeast Asia, Cushman & Wakefield

Gaurav JainManaging DirectorAamod

Sanjay SharmaComplex GM, The Westin Gurgaon, NewDelhi & The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa

Chander BaljeeCMDRoyal Orchid Hotels

NCR has been witnessinga growth in interest acrossall segments, frominvestors to multi-nationalcorporations and touristsalikeWith hoteliers making abeeline to the NCR to setup shop, the demarcationbetween Delhi and NCR isgetting blurred in therecent times

Reasons

NTO2 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

London has created historyand is the only destina-

tion, which has got theopportunity to host theOlympics thrice. London’sOlympic legacy is an eyeopener and bound to createlots of excitement about thedestination. But, in the Indiancontext, there are plenty ofnew opportunities to sell des-

tination London which stillremains unexplored.

“The Indian travel tradeis largely selling Londonaround a one-day, Hop OnHop Off (HOHO) tour despitethe plethora of up sellingoptions available for the des-tination. In an effort toencourage my trade col-leagues, I have personally puttogether suggested itiner-aries for 7-8 days along withMICE & student itinerariestoo,” said Punam Singh,

Country Representative –India, Visit London.

“My challenge to themis to sell the Destination asI’m confident of offeringLondon itineraries for 30 dayswhere no two days wouldhave a repeat experience.Such is the potential of thisvibrant city! All they have todo is to make the cost them-selves or get their DMCs andground operators to do thesame. These product offer-ings have been introducedover e-mails and on trainingand roadshow platforms,”she added.

On the likely presenceof the India visitors at the Games, Singh says that India traditionally hadbeen a late booking market.In view of the above, predicting outbound numbersout of India for 2012 is aguessing game at best.

Moreover, on the pre-paredness on the accommo-dation front, London has to

offer twice as much therequirement of numbersexpected during such a megasport event.

“London will have1,20,000 rooms availableduring the Games, double therequired amount for anOlympic Event. What peopleneed to understand veryclearly however, is that roomsat that time will definitely notbe available at the same ratesas they would usually. And,that is true for any destina-tion worldwide which hoststhe Olympics. The more youdelay in bookings, the costlierone will find in accommoda-tion options,” said Singh

The Indian travel trade can opt for many new itineraries and plenty of opportunities to sell destination London which still remains unexplored.

TT BUREAU

There’s more to destination London

Punam SinghCountry Representative – IndiaVisit London

I’m confident of offeringLondonitineraries for 30 days whereno two dayswould have a repeatexperience

The Indian travel trade is largely selling London around aone-day

London will have 1,20,000rooms available during theGames, double the requiredamount for an Olympic Event

Unexplored London

n PATA releasedPATAmPOWER, a real-timetravel data platform thattravel industry professionalscan use on their mobiledevices. The latest informa-tion such as aviation passen-ger flows, flight capacity andfrequency, hotel occupancy,social data and consumertrends is now availablethrough PATAmPOWER.

“Speed is a competitiveadvantage,” said MartinCraigs, CEO, PATA. “No oneelse in the travel industry inAsia Pacific offers such amobile yet fully integratedplatform of updated travelinformation. mPOWER exem-plifies our commitment toPATA Next Gen services.”

“We’ve called it‘mPower’ as the service

empowers travel industryprofessionals 24 hours a day, wherever they are,”said Stu Lloyd, SeniorDirector of Marketing &Membership Services, PATA. PATAmPower willofficially launch on April 20 at the 2012 PATA Annual Conference inKuala Lumpur.

PATA launches MobileTravel Data Platform

Martin CraigsCEOPATA

india experienced the second strongest growth among themajor domestic markets at 12.3%. This lagged behind the16.3% increase in capacity over previous-year levels.Nonetheless, india’s carriers filled 75.4% of seats. The strongtraffic growth masks financial weakness resulting from highoperating costs and taxation.

quick read

NEWS

Yatra.com to cement itsbrand’s recall value in

Tier-II and Tier-III towns haslaunched a new marketingcampaign and has roped inBollywood celebrity SalmanKhan. He will be the face ofYatra.com’s new marketingcampaign in India and the USstarting from April 2012.Khan now has also come on-board as a shareholder in the Company.

Commenting on theassociation, Dhruv Shringi,CEO & Co-founder, Yatra.comsaid, “We are excited aboutour association with Khan,who will now be seen in anew avatar as Mr Yatra. Thepartnership is part of ouroverall strategy to reach out

to newer mass markets andassociating with SalmanKhan would enable us to dothe same.”

Talking about his part-nership with Yatra.com,Khan said, “I am really excit-ed about my relationshipwith Yatra.com. This is amulti tiered association,where I am the brand

ambassador and a share-holder. Additionally, BeingHuman, an NGO being runby Khan, will be supportedthrough the Yatra.com web-site in various ways. I haveimmense confidence in thebrand and am hopeful thatthe association will helpYatra.com and also help society courtesy the tie-upwith Being Human.

The move is aimed at increasing its brand’s recall valueby using the celebrity as the Brand Ambassador, whonow also happens to be a shareholder in the company.

TT BUREAU

Salman Khan is Mr Yatra now

Shringi and Khan launching the new brand campaign of Yatra.com

n Starting as one of SouthIndia’s first package touroperator Travel Tours hasgrown to a network of 15offices in seven cities acrossIndia. With plans to expandtheir network, Travel Tourswill soon unveil their 16th

office in a new region.Established in 1977, the

Company has grown to anetwork of 7 cities acrossIndia and is all geared up tosoon be present in otherregions. “We are keen toestablish our business in anew region of India and togrow and consolidate ourposition in the cities that wecurrently operate from. Ourgoal clearly is to become aformidable player in the out-bound tours business. To

achieve the same, we areinvesting sufficient energy,time and money to createnew products and technolo-gy that will enable us toreach out to multiple customer segments. Thiswill aid in taking our service standards and expe-rience to the next level,”says Ashwin Narayanan,

COO, Travel Tours Group.Further discussing devel-

oping tourism products,Narayanan says, “Emergingtourism markets from a FITperspective, include, SouthAmerica, Brazil andArgentina, Peru, Ecuador. InEastern European countriessuch as Croatia, Slovakia,Slovenia and Russia are verypopular. In the East, we see agrowing interest in Japan. Wehave also noticed a strongincrease in experiential travelamongst FIT customers. From a MICE perspective,Thailand continues to amassbig numbers but we haveseen a growing share of ourclients opting for Hong Kong,Macau, South Africa andCzech Republic.”

n Mars Enterprises recentlyre-branded its Mumbai-based,The Gordon House Suites toWaterstones Hotel, a newtheme-based 5-star boutiqueproperty as a part of its inte-grated project consisting of aClub House, Hotel and serv-iced apartments.

The Group has alreadyopened doors for the ClubHouse and the property isinvesting close to a US$ 25million. An additional US$100 million will be investedin the serviced apartmentsand offices which will beintroduced in the next 24-30 months. The 95-roomproperty (10 suites and 85rooms) has six floors, five of

which have customised nat-ural theme (Glacier,Rainforest, Fire, Mountainand Marine) with dedicatedroom temperatures, colours,feel, touch and atmosphereof that specific theme.

Talking about the uniquefeatures and offerings of theproperty, Sanjay Narang,President, Mars Enterprisessaid, “In a bustling metro likeMumbai, Waterstones willprovide our guests a peace ofmind with lifestyle brandshaving a seamless combina-tion of signature products andservices. Despite the numberof hotels coming up inMumbai, the demand is stillhigh with more hotels in the

pipeline. We will price ourproduct very competitively inthe market to achieve higheroccupancies and better rate of repeat guests.Furthermore, we will alsointroduce loyalty programmeto boost brand loyalty amongour guests. We are not lookingfor any expansion at themoment as we would first liketo focus and concentrate onthe success of this project.”

Mumbai gets theme-based5-star Waterstones Hotel

Strengthening presence in Indian subcontinent

Ashwin NarayananCOO, Travel Tours Group

Sanjay NarangPresident, Mars Enterprises

ASSOCIATIONS2 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Five years since, theDepartment of Tourism,

Government of Rajasthan,Ministry of Tourism,Government of India andFederation of Indian Chambers

of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) got together to launchan international tourism eventtitled ‘The Great Indian TravelBazaar’. The show has risen tomeet the growing expectations

of the foreign buyers fromacross 55 countries and over500 key tourism product sell-ers from India.

“This would be thefifth edition of the GITBwhich is growing by leapsand bounds every year. Theevent has made it conven-

ient for foreign buyers tointeract with the local sup-pliers/markets. And on theother side, for the localbusinessmen, it allowsthem to exhibit theirtourism products for theirinternational clients. In thisedition, there will be more

business opportunities forthe sellers as 80 per cent ofthe industry people areattending the show withnew buyers and sellers,”said Jyotsna Suri,Chairperson, FICCI TourismCommittee and CMD, TheLalit Suri Hospitality Group.

“We have foreign touroperators from across 55 countries under one roof. It acts as a platform for everyone to exhibit and showcase variedtourism products of Indiaand has over 500 keytourism product sellers from

the country. Also, with thelast year’s huge success, one extra hall has been added which wouldincorporate 52 new stalls,”she added.

Going forward, FICCIalso has high hopes from a similar event it haslined up to spur momentumin the domestic tourism segment. Like GITB, it will also bring on a common platform leadingpublic and private sectorstakeholders.

“FICCI has played apioneering role in launchingan inbound exhibition,GITB, five years ago andGDTB will be another suc-cess story in itself. GDTBwill be a platform for StateTourism Boards, industrystakeholders and customersto come together and share best practices and spur growth in thedomestic tourism segment,”concluded Suri.

‘Great Domestic Tourism Bazaar’ (GDTB) will be a platform for the State Tourism Boards, industry stakeholdersand customers to come together and share best practices and spur growth in the Domestic Tourism segment.

Another success story in the offing

Jyotsna SuriChairperson, FICCI Tourism Committeeand CMD, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group

VIVEK SETH I

GITB is purely thenumero uno inbound show inthe country. Over the pastfive years, we have effective-ly demonstrated significanceof this platform to market andbuild business for stakehold-ers. Our emphasis had alwaysbeen on the quality. Theenhanced filtration processesimplanted this year to invitebuyers with the help of keyindustry leaders that will addmore quality to the show, likein the previous editions. Thesource markets for GDTB aredifferent. But, on the basis of

the resounding success of thefirst ever Domestic TourismConclave held in 2012, we are hopeful that GDTBwill create a similar successstory in the domestic tourism space.

Dipak Deva, Co-ChairpersonFICCI Tourism Committee

GITB is the strongestshow in the region. Sincerity,hard work and right directionhas paid off here. Today, it’sperhaps the ‘ONLY’ qualityinbound travel show left in

the South Asian market.India is a complex market. Itsuniqueness and diversitymakes it imperative to haveGITB to grow business forthe stakeholders.

On the query of build-ing GDTB on the GITB lega-cy, I believe that inbound anddomestic are two separatesegments, which shall not becompared. However, the success of GITB is a clearindication of the success thatshall follow for GDTB.

The Suryaa, New Delhi hosted a panel discussion for the launch of News Room Mafia written by AuthorOswald Pareira. The panel discussion had eminent personalities like UB Rao, Rajedeep Sardesai, ManiShankar Aiyar and Pareira discussing the corruption in the media and the politics in the newsroom. Theevent was attended by various eminent personalities from the media and authors.

Book launch at The Suryaa, New Delhi

n The Chhatrapati ShivajiInternational Airport(CSIA), Mumbai, is the firstIndian airport to be accred-ited the prestigious ISO14064-1:2006 certificationfor its Carbon EmissionsAccounting by BureauVeritas, a global leader incarbon certification worldwide. IncidentallyCSIA is also the second airport in Asia to receivethis certification.

This achievement comes

at a crucial time when bothcorporates and governmentsare taking measures to tackleclimate change globally. TheEuropean Union (EU) hasbrought the aviation sectorunder its Emission TradingScheme (ETS). In an attemptto get the aviation industry to‘introspect’ and assess theirown carbon emission foot-print, the Director General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) hadbrought out guidelines to help airports prepare a strat-

egy in order to comply withrelevant regulations and policies without adverselyaffecting their growth.

CSIA is also the first air-port in India to voluntarily ini-tiate its carbon footprint map-ping process even before thecircular issued by DGCA inJanuary this year. Thus, it wasagain the first airport to sub-mit all data pertaining to ener-gy consumption by facilitiesand offices located at CSIA.

Green CSIA Mumbai

SanJeet, Co-ChairpersonFICCI Tourism Committee

STATES2 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

idukki arch dam is the world's second and asia'sfirst arch dam, constructed across the kuravan andkurathi hills in idukki. 550 ft. high and 650 ft.wide, the dam lies close to the cheruthoni barrage.

Presenting the state budg-et for the year 2012-13,

the State Government plansto sell ‘Maharashtra tourism’as a brand by executing sev-eral tourism projects costing` 228 crore this year. The keyprojects to be taken up in thisfiscal include development ofLonar Lake (world famoussalt water lake), Buldhanadistrict (formed 60,000 yearsago by a meteor impact),Khas Plateau (known asMaharashtra’s Valley ofFlowers) and setting up aworld-class Sea World andTheme Park in Sindhudurgdistrict. In addition, an outlayof ̀ 176 crore under the StatePlan scheme; `50 croreunder Tribal Sub-Plan and` 10 crore under SpecialComponent Plan for forestdevelopment and Eco-Tourism has been announced.To provide quick accessibilityto the interiors of the State,

the Government has pro-posed ̀ 438 crore for civil avi-ation projects for this year. This amount will be utilisedfor acquiring land to develop airports at Shirdi,Rajgurunagar, Amravati,Kolhapur, Karad and develop-ment of runways and otherworks under the ongoingMIHAN project in Nagpur.

To further boost ‘BrandMaharashtra’, MaharashtraTourism Development

Corporation (MTDC) is invitingPublic Private Partnership(PPP) projects in tourism andhospitality sector. Talkingabout the PPP project oppor-tunities, Dilip Shinde, JointMD, MTDC said, “There areacres of land around varioustourist destinations across theState which belongs to MTDC.

These lands are hotspots fortourist amenities like hotels,theme parks, amphitheatres,etc. However, we are lookingfor private investors as wecannot pump in big amountsfor developing one single proj-

ect. We are also encouraginginvestors to consider MTDCresorts at various locationswhich we are ready to handover on management contract.MTDC will provide all possible,handholding support to privateplayers who are willing to par-ticipate in developing tourismactivities in Maharashtra and

support in getting NA permis-sions, raising funds from different institutions, acquisi-tion of land, single windowclearances system & also ingetting approvals fromGovernment agencies.”

After allocating `228 crore for tourism this year, the State is also takingsome critical steps to lure domestic and international tourists, includingsetting up a world-class sea world and theme park in Sindhudurg.

TT BUREAU

Selling ‘Brand Maharashtra’

Dilip ShindeJoint MDMTDC

Work-in-progressMTDC has prepared a five-year action plan to

boost the tourism industry in and around the State such as development of infrastructure at various tourist destinations, Accessibility to tourism destinations & amenities, identification of destinations and monuments for PPP and development of control regulation at different tourist destinations.

Chhattisgarh Tourism Board organised a 3-day cultural fiesta ‘LokPrasang’, a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Board to promote the State’sthousand year old heritage by bringing together the different communitiesand regions of the State at one place. The Festival was held in PurkhotiMuktangan, Raipur, from March 23-25. The Event was inaugurated byChief Miniter, Raman Singh. He was accompanied by Tourism Ministerof the State, Brij Mohan Agarwal.

CTB celebrates ‘Lok Prasang’

quick read

STATES3 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

“We are developing thedestination in a very

systematic manner and areworking towards strengthen-ing our brand. Infrastructureis being upgraded throughoutthe state as we want to facili-tate both domestic and inter-national tourists alike. OurState is known all over theworld because of Tirupati andwe have made concertedefforts to facilitate all visitors,”said Sultania.

Andhra PradeshTourism DevelopmentCorporation (APTDC) hasdeveloped integrated pack-ages which take visitors toother destinations within thestate, in addition to Tirupati.“We have tied up with vari-ous domestic carriers and areproviding online bookingfacility,” he added.

The Minister of Tourismis convinced that AP has thepotential to become the des-tination of the future. “Thereis much more to AndhraPradesh than just Hyderabad.There is a part of Andhra thatis unknown but equallybreathtaking,” added Kumar.

While the world recog-nises AP because of Tirupati,what is not known is that the State boasts of Buddhistpilgrimage sites also.

Along with leisure, APhas already been established

as India’s convention andmedical hub. The StateGovernment is working inconjunction with the privatesector and has createdautonomous bodies vizHyderabad Convention andVisitors Bureau as well asHyderabad Medical TourismBureau. “Hyderabad hasbecome the convention cap-ital of the country and thishas been a concerted effortby the State Tourism organi-sation. HCVB is an initiativetaken by all the stakeholdersof the industry with the pur-pose of promoting Hyderabad

as an affordable yet an attrac-tive venue for event,” saidSandeep Kumar Sultania.

The growth in the con-vention business is manifest-ing in a number of ways. Theincrease in hotel rooms is themost obvious one. “By theend of 2013, the City willoffer 5,000 additional 5-starrooms. All those hotelsaround the HICC are the best

brands from across theworld,” he stated.

Sultania further addedthat the State is laying specialemphasis on developing newproducts and adding newexperiences to existing circuitsand destinations. Developingcruises is one such option.“River Cruise is a leisure activ-ity that has a potential and isbeing treated as infrastructuredevelopment. Vizag forinstance has a cruise terminaland this will be upgraded to international standards,”said Kumar.

Talking about the State’smarketing initiatives, Sultaniainformed, “APTDC is very keenon promoting the State in theinternational market. We aretherefore undertaking road-shows, participating in inter-national exhibitions, in short,going out with a newrevamped campaign.”

Andhra Pradesh receives 3.2 million tourists every year, which is the highest for any statein India, majority of these are domestic visitors visiting Tirupati. In international arrivals,the state is 7th in the Country. Vatti Vasant Kumar, Minister for Tourism & Culture, Govt ofAndhra Pradesh and Sandeep Kumar Sultania, VC & MD, APTDC talk exclusively to .

RUPALI NARASIMHAN

AP gears up to upgrade tourism facilitiesPrime Minister of India,Manmohan Singh and thePlanning Commission ofthe Tourism Ministry forpoverty alleviationthrough employment gen-eration, he confirmed.Khanna stated that theState is also coming upwith good policies andinfrastructure. It is timethat tour operators fromthe East and North Eastnetworked with tour oper-ators from other states, heurged. Sawhney spokeabout the spirit of thetravellers in the East andNorth East and stressedon the need for state spe-cialist programmes.

Commenting on theimportance of the NorthEast, the newly-nominatedChapter Chairman, stated,“I would be focussing oninnovation in an effort tomark a shift from the con-ventional destinations ofWest Bengal & North Easttowards the unknown cir-cuits. Apart from few desti-nations for the masses, ourtarget is also to promote itas an unexplored region fordifferent classes.”

Rolling out new chaptersContd. from page 19 u

Sandeep Kumar SultaniaVice Chairman & Managing DirectorAPTDC

We are working towards strengtheningour brand. Infrastructure is beingupgraded throughout the state

Vatti Vasant KumarMinister for Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh

STATES3 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Being a partner state forthe Great Indian Travel

Bazaar (GITB) this year,Madhya Pradesh Tourism willuse this platform to showcasethe relentless efforts made bythe State towards growth oftourism. “Being a partnerstate gives us a better chance to promote our statewith greater visibility andprominence. We can interactwith foreign travel agents athome and create awarenessabout our brand – MadhyaPradesh Tourism (MPT),” saysPankaj Rag, ManagingDirector, Madhya PradeshTourism DevelopmentCorporation (MPTDC).

Enthusiastic aboutinteracting with foreigntravel agents on a domesticplatform, Rag adds, “Thiswill help draw the agentstowards the State. There hasbeen a steady growth ininbound and outbound

tourist arrivals over theyears and we are targettingtowards achieving more foreign tourist arrivals in our state.”

The State TourismDepartment has been devel-oping its tourism products andoffers new attractions everytime. Now, focussed on devel-oping water bodies, Rag adds,“After Caravan we introducedair taxi and became the firststate in the country to provideintra-state air connectivity. Weare looking forward forinvestors to invest in waterbodies and develop them as a

tourism option through publicprivate partnership (PPP).Islands within the Narmadaare open for investment, thatinclude, Sailani island, 78kms

from Indore and Mala Shreeisland in Gandhi Sagar. Wehave a number of heritageproperties that can be convert-ed into hotels. Private invest-ment is also open for Waysideamenities. The Cruisebetween Tawa and Madhai isalready popular. We believe innovelty. We are investing a lotin tourism development in theState and are now looking for-ward to reap the benefits.”

MPT’s promotionalagenda does include partic-ipation in internationalshows, such as, ITB andWTM, but they feel a senseof encouragement to meetinternational agents on thehome turf. “It is encouragingto know that organisationssuch as FICCI are holdingsuch events that helps bringtogether key players of thetourism market includinginternational and domestictravel agents,” says Rag.

All geared up to exhibit their tourism products during the Great IndianTravel Bazaar 2012, to be held from April 15-17, Madhya Pradesh looksforward to reap the benefits of their investments in tourism development.

DEV IKA JEET

Branding Madhya Pradesh

Being a partner state gives us a better chance to promote our statewith greater visibility and prominence

Pankaj Rag, Managing Director, MPTDC

MPT is the par tner statefor GITB 2012Madhya Pradesh Tourismwill use this platform toshowcase the relentlessefforts made by the Statetowards growth of tourismThe State TourismDepar tment has beendeveloping its tourismproducts and offers newattractions every time

MPT Efforts

n Having witnessed asteady increase in touristtraffic over the last couple ofmonths, Assam is geared upto target more footfalls thisyear. The State is now eye-

ing a traffic growth of 12-15per cent this year.

A pilot project ‘Youthto the Edge’ has beenflagged of by Developmentof North Eastern Region(DoNER). The State isexpecting to benefitimmensely from the newproject. The TourismDepartment, Governmentof Sikkim organised amonth-long youth adven-ture festival in March atChemchey. The Festivalaimed at sensitising theyouth and the local com-munity on various featuresof tourism and take up

adventure sports as aviable career option. A five-day spring tourism carnivalwould be held from May 11in Sikkim with eventsspread across the State.

Rural Tourismalso augurs well forthe tourism industryin Sikkim where theState is evolving apolicy to penetratein the interiors ofSikkim and villagesto spread economicbenefits by introduc-ing Village Tourismand Homestay

Tourism. The areas identi-fied by the TourismDepartment for develop-ment of Village Tourisminclude Tingchim in North,Gari Budang in East, Jaobariin South and Darap in West.According to the TourismDepartment of Gangtok, thiswill, help make Sikkim anall-year round, Eco-Tourismdestination. The AsianDevelopment Bank is alsoworking with Sikkim’sTourism Department to link up the Buddhist Circuit starting fromLumbini in Nepal connectingBodhgaya in Bihar.

Sikkim high on adventure

NEWS3 6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Amitabh Bachchan can sellanything. After honey,

chocolates, cars, clothes andjewellery, the superstar hasnow tagged his name to astate. And, Gujarat has pre-dictably become a hit amongthe tourists. The way the starhas been promoting theState’s pristine white sands,forests and ancient ruins, ithas finally got an imagemakeover that was long due.

There are, of course,figures to prove the windfallthat has come the State’sway. The Gujarat tourismindustry has registered a 400 per cent increase intourist inflow to Kutch postthe launch of the ad cam-paign. This year, they arehoping to get more than twocrore visitors to the State.Ambitious, for sure, but notimpossible, given that theyhave none other than Big Bdoing the beckoning.

As Vipul Mittra,Principal Secretary, GujaratTourism, puts it, “Thecelebrity you choose toendorse your state has to beiconic in nature. Not everycelebrity makes a differenceand Gujarat proves just that.We all know that Bachchan isan icon and since he is popu-lar across all age groups andincome brackets, he was anobvious choice.” TheCampaign though, has to beeffective enough to comple-

ment the star persona. Mittraadds, “Celebrities certainlyhelp, but more than that it isthe way in which the cam-paign is created.”

With Bachchan leadingthe way, can the other starsbe far behind? When Bengalneeded a Brand Ambassadorto boost its image, MamataBanerjee, Chief Minister,West Bengal settled for noth-ing but the best. So, instepped Shah Rukh Khan!

About choosing SRK asthe Brand Ambassador,Rachhpal Singh, TourismMinister, West Bengal, hadsaid that the star would helpbuild ‘Brand Bengal’ and helpbring up foreign touristarrivals in the State.

There are also talks ofMadhya Pradesh approachingAbhishek Bachchan to don the role of the State’s Brand Ambassador.Shuttler Saina Nehwal has

already been signed up as the brand ambassador ofAndhra Pradesh.

Subhash Verma,President, Association ofDomestic Tour Operators ofIndia (ADTOI), is happy thatstates are finally focussing ontheir tourism, but he exercis-es a word of caution, “It’sgood news that states arewaking up to their tourismpotential and increasing thetourism budget. However,one must remember thatcelebrities just form the sup-port system to help bring intourists but cannot serve asreplacements to road andinfrastructure. Infrastructureis a must and so is aggressivemarketing. Gujarat may haveroped in Bachchan, but theState has also done a lot toimprove its overall infrastruc-ture. This has contributed tothe State’s success story.”

Travel portals have takentheir lessons from Gujarat.

With Yatra roping in SalmanKhan as brand ambassador,Pratik Mazumder, Head -Marketing & Strategic Alliance,Yatra.com, says, “Khan is one celebrity who connectswith the masses as well as theclasses. Our association withhim is part of a well thought-out strategy to strengthenYatra’s connect with the masses and increase thebrand’s recall value in Tier-2and Tier-3 towns.”

Explaining the trend,Mazumder says, “India is astar-struck nation. Having aknown face as a BrandAmbassador is a great way toincrease brand recall.”

States are now roping in celebrities as Brand Ambassadors to connect to a larger audience. However, industry veterans warn that without proper infrastructure development, the campaigns cannot be a success.

PEDEN DOMA BHUTIA

Tourism now books big-ticket stars

Vipul MittraPrincipal SecretaryGujarat Tourism

Subhash VermaPresident, Association of DomesticTour Operators of India

Pratik MazumderHead - Marketing & StrategicAlliance, Yatra.com

Amitabh BachchanGujaratShah Rukh Khan West BengalSaina Nehwal Andhra Pradesh

Brand Ambassadors

How important is thetourism industry for theBhutanese Government?

Tourism is the top prior-ity of the Government andthe Prime Minister is himselfheading the Tourism depart-ment. The Minister ofEconomic Affairs, whoattended the Mart, is also theVice Chairman of our TourismCouncil. The TourismMinistry was formerly part ofthe Government but has nowbeen privatised, although thepolicy making is with theGovernment. We are await-ing the passing of a TourismBill that includes someimportant legislation. We alsohave the ABSD (AcceleratingBhutan’s Socio-EconomicDevelopment) project, whichclosely monitors our pro-grammes, so that both the

environment and employ-ment are benefitted equally.

Are there any new policies orstrategies?

Yes, there are. Ourtourism is seasonal and dur-ing the low season, we getvery little business. ThroughABSD’s diagnostics, we wantto spread tourism throughoutthe year with product diver-sification. We want to diver-sify in 3 areas; nature(trekking, rafting, bird-watching), culture (variousfestivals) and wellness(stone-baths, herbal treatments).

How important was thePATA Travel Mart?

It was a historical, sem-inal conference for us, as it’sfor the first time that we haveorganised such an interna-tional travel conference. The timing was good as it came soon after weattained democracy andreported an unprecedenteddouble digit growth in thetourism figures.

How good is your air-connec-tivity?

Druk Air will acquirenew planes and will alsolease new aircraft. A new

private airline, Bhutan Airhas also just started. Weopened two airports atYonphula in Eastern Bhutan and Bumthang in Central Bhutan, so that tourism can spreadthere. Tourists can take

domestic flights to theseregions from Paro, where wehave the only internationalairport. We can also travelby road as well. We will alsoimprove the road-system.We want tourists to visitother parts of Bhutan,

instead of the standard‘Golden Triangle’ -Thimphu, Paro, Punakha.

What about room capacity?We had 40,000 rooms in

2010 and now, we have50,000 rooms. These include

eight 5-star, seven 4-star anda number of three-starhotels. We have receivedenquiries from many bigchains and are furtherinvolved in business discus-sions with them. In fact, theGovernment is trying to add

incentives for infrastructuredevelopment and welcomesforeign direct investments. Itis offering 100 per cent profitsharing incentive for 5-starhotels, 75 per cent for 4-starhotels and so on. But, they all

Kesang Wangdi, Director General, Bhutan Tourism Council, speaks on his country’s effort of taking significantsteps to improve tourism in the region to ensure that it makes a mark in the global tourism platform. Excerpts:

LEKHA SHANKAR

Embracing the high-end Indian market

Kesang WangdiDirector General - Tourism CouncilBhutan

NTO A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 3 9

Contd. on page 42 u

ANALYSIS4 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Tourism is now beingrecognised as one of the

key drivers of growth andemployment generation inIndia. Subodh Kant Sahai,Union Minister of Tourism,with help of the stakeholders,wants to put the sector on anaccelerated developmentmode. In fact, MOT has set the target of doubling itsshare in the inbound market in line with thePlanning Commission withthe projected growth rate of12 per cent for tourism sectorduring 12th Plan.

An increase of at least1 per cent in the country’sshare in international touristarrival by the end of 12th Planwill require an annual growthof 12.38 per cent during the12th Plan. The number of for-eign tourists’ arrival and for-eign tourists visit by the endof 12th Plan is estimated to be

11.24 million and 35.96 million respectively. TheMinister has similar target for growing the DomesticTourists Visits to 1451.46million by the end of 12th Plan.

Subhash Goyal,President, IATO believesthat there is a need to lay apractical foundation to attainsuch a target. “There is astrong case for extending theVisa-on-Arrival facility to thetop 10-15 markets that gen-erate huge business in addi-tion to the ones offered at

present. Moreover, therestriction on multipleentries within a stipulatedperiod of 30 days on tourists’visa should be done awaywith immediately. Tourists,who earlier used India as thecentral point to visit ourneighbouring countries, arenow shifting their long staysto the other destination dueto such restrictions,” high-lighted Goyal.

Echoing similar views,Arun Anand, Hony Treasurer,IATO, said, “One needs tolook at the target holisticallyand address the need ofreducing and streamliningthe tax that’s imposed on the sector, along with aroadmap to develop the nec-essary air connectivity andaccommodation across vari-ous categories.”

Arjun Sharma,Managing Director, LPTI isof the opinion that there aresome key issues that needstreamlining. “One of the

most crucial aspects is thevisa application process forforeign travellers. The sys-tem needs to become user-friendly, which in realisticterms, would mean a simpli-fied application form thatcan possibly be submittedonline and could also beavailable in local languagesaround the world. Anotherkey aspect of tourism growthin 2012 would be the ratio-nalisation of taxes and theintroduction GST pan India.Lastly, but certainly veryimportantly, the Incredible

India brand needs a refresh-ing new look, probably somerejuvenation where theIncredible Experiences of Destination India are the brand focus, alongsidean extensive marketingreach into new source mar-kets and product innova-tion,” said Sharma.

Arup Sen, Director,Special Projects, Cox & Kingalso emphasised that thegovernment should imple-ment tourist-friendly policiesand encourage the privatesector to create the infrastructure in terms of hotels, convention centres,exhibition spaces etc. “TheTourism Ministry shouldwork closely with the privatesector and provide them withincentives to achieve thisobjective,” he added.

The growth prospectsare good for both the inboundand the domestic tourism dueto rise in the disposableincome in the country.

As per Deep Kalra, CEO & Founder,MakeMyTrip.com, India isone of the fastest growingmarkets for travel in theworld. “With travel costsincreasing due to hike in theservice tax rates and thedeemed value of services forpurposes of taxation, the costwill be higher and same willbe passed on to the con-sumer. On the flip side,Indians will have higher dis-posable incomes with theincrease in income slabsfrom last year. So we are fair-

ly bullish about achieving ourinternal targets,” said Kalra.

“Industry associationsand partnerships help formconsensus on the criticalissues impacting the sectoras a whole. In turn, this helpsbuild momentum and advo-cacy with key stakeholders.We feel any platform thataddresses these issues in anon-partisan manner andconstructively provides visi-bility and focus on the indus-try is a step in the right direc-tion,” he added.

Stakeholders argue for addressing the need of streamlining the visa process, tax structures imposed on the sector along with a roadmap to develop the necessary air connectivity and accommodationacross various categories and other amenities…

VIVEK SETH I

12.38% annual growth in 12th 5-Year Plan?

Indians willhave higherdisposableincomes withthe increase inincome slabsfrom last year.So we arefairly bullish

Governmentshouldimplementtourist-friendlypolicies andencourage theprivate sector tocreate theinfrastructure

The IncredibleIndia brandneeds a newlook, where theIncredibleExperiences ofDestinationIndia are thebrand focus

Arjun SharmaManaging DirectorLPTI

Arup SenDirectorSpecial Projects, Cox & King

Deep KalraCEO & FounderMakeMyTrip.com

One needs tolook at thetargetholistically andaddress theneed ofreducing andstreamlining the tax

There is astrong casefor extendingthe VoA facility to the top 10-15 marketsthat generatehuge business

Subhash GoyalPresidentIATO

Arun AnandHony TreasurerIATO

An increase of at least 1% inthe country’s share ininternational tourist arrival bythe end of 12th Plan willrequire an annual growth of12.38% during the 12th Plan

The number of FTAs andforeign tourists visit by theend of 12th Plan is estimatedto be 11.24 m and 35.96 mrespectively

Rising Figures

NTO

have to follow our strictguidelines of low-rise con-structions, limited number ofrooms, local design, mini-mum carbon prints, etc.Constructions of manyresorts and lodges have alsostarted which will help thelocal community.

Which are your importantsource markets?

The no. 1 market is USAfollowed by Japan. China andKorea have become big mar-kets too. We also haveBuddhist pilgrims from coun-tries like Malaysia andSingapore. We have not beenable to regulate the Indianmarket, as many travellersopt for self-drive into thecountry from the North-Eastand make their own travelarrangements.

How important is the Indianmarket?

Indian market is veryimportant for many reasons.

It is one of the three neigh-bouring countries (the othersare Bangladesh andMaldives), who don’t have topay the daily tariff of $ 250.The bilateral relationbetween the two countries isvery good. The rupee curren-cy can be used in Bhutan andthe Indian language (Hindi)and food are also commonhere. Most important is theconnectivity, as there aredirect flights from 4 points -Kolkata, Guwahati, Bagdograand Mumbai. That’s why weattend all the big travel martsin India and also organisemany roadshows. We werequiet invisible to the high-end Indian market, but wewant to embrace them now.

What about the MICE mar-ket?

It’s a growing marketand we are working toimprove it. We’ve had manyimportant conferences likethe SAARC Summit, various

UN Conferences, privatecompanies, etc. You might beinterested to know that TCIwanted to have their annualconference here but we didnot have enough rooms forthem in Thi\mpu.

We have no Conventionand Exhibition Centre as yetbut the Government is consid-ering building one in Thimphu.Most of the hotels and resorts,however, both in Thimphu andParo have meeting rooms ofvarious capacities.

What are your personal con-nections with India, sinceyou studied and workedthere?

I believe our entire cultural ethos and spiritual-ity come from India and I am deeply influenced by it. I speak Hindi, I loveghazals and the oldBollywood films. I love‘makki ki roti’ and ‘sarson kasaag’. We have so much ofIndia, in Bhutan!

‘Indian market is important’Contd. from page 39 u

After spreading the wordof ‘It’s possible’ in every

nook and corner of India,South African Tourism is nowraising a bar to further impro-vise the efforts to increasevisitor traffic from India.

Recently, Tokozile Xasa,Deputy Minister of Tourism,South Africa visited India tolaunch the travel diary onSouth Africa by Jonty Rhodes,former South African cricketplayer. During the visit, Xasaexpressed her desire toenhance the trade and polit-ical ties with India to furtherboost the tourism betweenboth the countries. TheTourism Board has identified

few key source marketsincluding India, which itintends to grow in futurethrough unique strategies,marketing activities and pro-motions. Apart from enhanc-ing the air connectivitythrough attaining more bilat-

eral rights, the TourismDepartment is also in talkswith Department of HomeAffairs to either ease the visaregulations or deploy visa-on-arrival facility for Indian pass-port holders.

Talking to aboutthe plans for India, Xasainformed that she will be lead-ing a delegation of 10-15members from South Africa toIndia in September to meetdifferent ministries in Indiahandling tourism, aviation,

immigration, trade, invest-ments, etc. She said,“Currently we share a soundrelationship with India butthere’s still lot to explore asthere are many opportunitieswith both the countries. Weare keen to strengthen ourrelationship with India notonly in terms of trade butpolitical as well.” When askedabout the tourism opportuni-ties, she said, “Post IPL, SouthAfrica recorded growth of 27per cent in Indian arrival fig-ures. We are known for bestwildlife experience in theworld but now we are adopt-ing strategies to divert ourfocus on other tourism offer-ings like sports tourism, cul-tural tourism, cruise tourism,bird tourism, etc. We intend tomake South Africa the topmost destination of choice forIndians. Since India is one ofour key source markets, we areundertaking various efforts toincrease the visitor arrivalsand marketing niche tourismproducts. With growing popu-larity, more and more Indiansare keen to explore SouthAfrica and the consulate officesin India are battling to clearthe growing number of visaapplications. Thus, we intend to ease the visa application procedure by putting in simpler regulationsbut all depends on theDepartment of Home Affairsin South Africa.”

South African government is strengthening trade and political ties with India to enhance air connectivity, trade and tourism, ease visa regulationsand create investment opportunities.

South Africa: It’s possible

Tokozile Xasa Deputy Minister of TourismSouth Africa

ANITA JA IN

To position tourism asa service driven industry,Xasa, recently launched theNational Tourism ServiceExcellence Requirements.She also introduced aNational Service Excellencecampaign under the themeExcellent Service Starts

with Me. The Campaign isaimed at creating aware-ness and educating con-sumers and tourism product owners about the requirements. It will be rolled out in the nine provinces as from July 2012.

Better positioning

New-Delhi based hotelmarketing group KSM

Hotel Connections Indiaextends best of marketingsolutions to the franchiseesacross the country.

Talking about the USPof the Company, KBMahanta, Director, KSMHotel Connections Indiasays, “Keeping the philoso-phy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ in

mind, our entire team hasnow reached a stage wherewe have achieved a remark-able growth in the numberof lodging franchisers.”

Discussing the existingportfolio of KSM HotelConnections India, Mahantainforms, “At present, we havea total inventory of 800rooms to sell in the marketper day. We cater to 20 hotelsin 14 destinations broadlycategorised in three groups.

In the first sector, we havechosen prime locations ofroyal Rajasthan, includingJaipur, Bikaner and Udaipur.In the second category, thereare the business hubs like Kochi, Chandigarh,Kolkata, Bengaluru andMumbai. The last category is

for leisure sectors such asRishikesh, Amritsar, Corbettand Shimla.”

Talking about the new developments, theDirector reveals, “We haveadded a 198-room five-stardeluxe hotel in Bengaluru

called Matthan. Soon we are going to add anotherfour-star deluxe 50-roomproperty in Jaipur.”

While throwing light onthe future plans, he says,“We plan to increase ouremphasis on both the corporate and domestic market. Also, we have gotgood response from our cor-porate for the internationalsector. Currently, we are also

promoting Thailand, HongKong and Macau.”

Presently, KSM has twoassociate offices inAhmedabad and Kolkata. “Iam happy to inform that asthe Company is receivinghuge influx of corporate andleisure clients from theregion, we are going to haveour owned set up inAhmedabad in the next threemonths,” he adds.

The Hotel marketing group currently has a total inventory of 800 roomsto sell in the market per day and caters to 20 hotels in 14 destinations.

TT BUREAU

KSM Hotel Connections boosts hotel biz

KB MahantaDirectorKSM Hotel Connections India

n A&K is now seekingfurther B2B alliances withinterested & qualifyingtrade partners on pan-India basis to promote &sell its global portfolio ofproducts and services.

Vikram Madhok,Managing Director, A&KIndia says that the compa-ny is on a look-out for tradepartners. He explains, “Weare seeking like-mindedtrade partners who areeither already selling luxu-ry or are keen and willingto build an extensive port-folio of experience basedluxury products for high-end clients. A&K Indiaprovides full support andworks as a single point ofcontact giving access to its global network of A&K DMC offices for customizing privatejourneys and booking end-user products.

Never before the trav-el agents and/or tour oper-ators in India have hadsuch a wide choice of luxury products & desti-nation management serv-ices from a single globalbrand like A&K whichcompletes 50 years ofoffering inspiring journeysto world’s most discerningand influential travellers.

On a look-out

HOTELS A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 3

FAMILY ALBUM4 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

ADTOI goes East on Vivada CruisesOn March 23, in a colourful ceremony at the banks of the Ganges, ADTOI unveiled its fourth national chapter --East and North East in the Vivada Cruiseson Ganges, Kolkata. The event was attended by the ADTOI officials, West Bengal Tourism officials and the local travel trade community.

Celebrating roadshow in DelhiTo discover the ultimate charm of its properties, The Address Hotels + Resorts Group (Dubai) and the Armani Hotel, Dubai & Milan hosted a cocktail dinner during its roadshow in Delhi.

MUMBAI

DELHI

BENGALURU

NTO4 6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Destination Canada, through theCanadian Tourism Commission,had not looked back post 2009, when it re-entered the Indian mar-ket and appointed Buzz TravelMarketing as its representationarm in India. interacted withdelegates representing differentregions. Excerpts...

TT BUREAU

Canada woos Indian travellersOntario Tourismis keen to open itsrepresentativeoffice in India inthe new fiscal.This region getsabout 80,000Indian arrivals,which is the single largestchunk of the total Indianarrivals to Canada. OntarioTourism uses the CTC’srepresentative office inChina. The Buzz TravelMarketing takes care of the

CTC’s representa-tion office in India.The move is seento foster, Ontario’sappeal in India,which is the sec-ond fastest grow-ing emerging

market for India afterChina. “We are keen toopen a representative officein India to project Canada and Ontario as around-the-year destina-tion,” Hamazaki added.

I am very happy tobe back in India.During the FocusCanada 2012 event,my priority is tocheck with myfriends in India,many of whom Ihad met during theShowcase Canada 2011event. They all look veryexcited about promotingCanada and I would like toreview their itineraries fea-

turing Quebec.Post renewing theirpackages, I’ll like toguide them aboutnew itinerariesthat they can pro-mote to theirIndian clients.

Ours is a round-the-year tourist destination.Summers present the perfect season for cruising, while winters see anaverage of 10 ft of snowfall.

India is a verystrategic marketfor us. We hadregistered over19 per centgrowth in Indianarrivals in 2010,while 2011remained flat with close to43,000 Indian arrivals.Most of our Indian arrivalsare seen in the monthsfrom April-September,which coincides with the

Alaska Cruise sea-son. Our Indiantravel partners caneasily convince thetravellers toexplore fruit-ladenorchards in the Thompson

Okanagan, the ranch landsof the Cariboo ChilcotinCoast, laid-back lifestyles ofVancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and manymore destinations.

We are very keen on attractinghigh yield Indiantravellers throughour partners inthe Indian traveltrade, many ofwhom I had metat the Focus Canada 2012 event. I think India as a country has immense potential and is a great opportunity,which can create

many meaningfulopportunities forthe stakeholdersin Canadian and Indiantourism business.The stakeholdersof the Indian

travel trade can easilymake itineraries keeping Ottawa as an easy access point for Ontario, Quebec orMontreal.

Monica Leeck, Market Development Manager,North America, Tourism British Columbia

Glen Duncan, Vice President of Sales,Tourism Ottawa

Helene Fortier, Market AdvisorTourism Quebec

Harvey Hamazaki, Trade Consultant,Asia, Ontario Tourism

Alberta –undoubtedly is oneof the most beau-tiful places. We arelocated in theheart of westernCanada. In sum-mers, hiking, golfand spa experiences are themost attractive options thatwe have on offer for ourIndian partners. We’d alsolike our Indian travel tradepartners to create specialski packages in winter to

promote the skipackages on thebest powdersnow in theworld. Moreover,we would like ourtrade partners in India to

tap educational tours mar-ket. The young studentswill love to take a day trip into the CanadianBadlands and go back millions of years to the ageof the dinosaurs.

Wade Harper, Executive DirectorInternational Marketing, Travel Alberta

ANALYSIS4 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The tourism industry ofany country is adversely

hit during a disaster situation– be it due to political turmoilor a natural calamity in theregion. However, countriesare pulling out all stops toaggressively promote and revive the tourism pie.

Despite the recent polit-ical upheaval in the Maldives,it is business as usual for thisisland nation. Months after

the change of Presidentthrew the island nation inturmoil, Mohamed MaleehJamal, Deputy Minister ofTourism, Arts, & Culture,Maldives reveals that theyare planning a promotionaloffice in India to promoteMaldives as an outboundtourism destination in a moretargetted manner in India.The organisation sees Indiaas a growing market.According to Jamal, India isthe third largest market fromthe Asia region. At the end of2011, Maldives attracted30,978 Indian tourists, whichwas a 20.3 per cent growthcompared to the figure at theend of 2010.

Up until end of March2012, the Maldives tourismhas achieved a positivegrowth figure of 3.3 per cent compared to the same

period of 2011. This is a big accomplishment despitethe challenges faced by the destination due to the recent incidents.

The destination hasnow geared up to achieve the important milestone of 1 millionth tourist by the end of 2012.

To underline thetourism stability in Maldives,the country also participatedin ITB 2012. “In the ITB fair,

Maldives representation wasquite an achievement thisyear. It will always remain anideal platform and provide anopportunity for exhibitors totake their message to thosefrom the travel trade industryand visitors. Apart from theMaldives Tourism industryparticipants, the Maldivesdelegation also included amusic band, a boduberugroup & a cultural dancegroup,” he informs.

Post the protests atTahrir Square, last year,Egypt is eyeing India as animportant source market.According to Adel El Masry,Director, Egypt TourismOffice India, an experimentalmarketing approach will beadopted where tours will beorganised for travel partnersto witness Egypt in the after-math of the political unrest so

that they can see that thedestination is as safe andsecure for tourists as it hasbeen in the past. The Tourismoffice is planning to wootourists from Mumbai byorganising an Egyptian foodfestival. “We will also havespecial performances byartistes to showcase a new Egypt. We would like to organise roadshows in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad,Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai

and Jaipur. We are not justfocussing on big cities butalso the Tier-II cities.”

“Also we are launchinga new campaign, ‘We’reEgypt’ which is straight from the heart of theEgyptian people, where we will be inviting touristsfrom all over the world tovisit and experience the newEgypt,” he adds.

In the recently-conclud-ed TAAI Convention, freevisas were given to the mem-bers for a FAM trip to encour-age them to see Egypt. Themain reason was to put theIndian tour operators indirect contact with the localEgyptian tour operators andthereby, build a strong rela-tionship amongst them, heinforms. The Egypt tourismoffice is targetting at least a25-30 per cent increase of

Indian travellers as comparedto last year.

Regarding the earth-quake that struck Turkeylast October, Ozgur Ayturk,Culture and TourismCounsellor, Turkish Embassyin India feels, “The earth-quake hit the east area inVan, which is very far fromour main tourist destina-tions in West and South.Hence, the number ofincoming tourists to Turkeyremains undisturbed.” Yetunfortunately, the Turkishministry was promoting Vanas the new upcoming desti-nation. Regarding the meas-ures that need to be taken tomitigate the effects of thedestruction caused by theearthquake, it is currently

extremely cold in thatregion. And hence, notmuch can be done. Recoverywould start only after thewinter subsides this year.“We are hoping that by theend of this year, Van will bein a position to attracttourists after the buildingsare restored and recon-structed,” he comments.

Thai tourism industryreached a milestone in2011, when the Countryregistered the highest ever,number of foreign touristwith a 19.8 per centincrease over 2010 figures.

Inbound traffic to Thailandfared better than manycountries in Asia with 19.09million visitors recorded in2011. Talking about theimportance of the Indianmarket, Runjuan Tongrut,Director, New Delhi Office,Tourism Authority ofThailand (TAT) states,“Arrivals from India sur-passed nine lakh for the firsttime, totalling 9,16,787 vis-itors, a robust increase of20.57 per cent over 2010.Indian tourists ranked num-ber six of all countries intoThailand, followingMalaysia, China, Japan,Russia and South Korea.”The record year wasachieved despite massiveflooding in many parts of

Thailand in the second halfof the year. Though largeareas in northern and cen-tral Thailand were inundat-ed, most major tourist spotswere spared. “Main touristmarkets of Thailandbounced back quickly, witharrivals in January 2012,returning as normal. India,in particular, still showed agrowth even at the height ofthe floods. Cities likeBangkok and Pattayaremained hugely popularwith Indians and there wasa noticeable rise in demandsfor the regional destinationsof Phuket, Ko Samui, Chiang

Mai, Hua Hin, and Krabi,”the TAT Director informed.The most favourite activityfor Indians in Thailand con-tinued to be shopping andsightseeing but there wasalso a significant increase inthe number of Indian wed-dings in the country withover 100 large-scale wed-dings of over 200 guestseach, as well as more golftours, student travel andEco-Tourism.

Last year’s deadly earth-quake and tsunami and thesubsequent disaster atFukushima nuclear powerplant took a toll on Japan’stourism industry. However, ayear later, the country’s travellandscape is rebounding. Inorder to promote Indianinbound into Japan, theCountry’s tourism will targethigh-end leisure and incen-tive travel. According toAkitaka Saiki, Ambassador ofJapan to India, Indian touristsshould go beyond ASEAN.“We want them to know thatbeyond ASEAN there isJapan. Japan is 100 per centready to host more and moreIndian tourists. In Japan, wehave several Indian restau-rants to cater to the demandsof Indian tourists.” To show-case its rich F&B heritage toits Indian clientele, TheJapanese Embassy in Delhirecently organised a Japanesestyle spring festival – Matsuri.The festival showcased six types of Sake, the Japanese rice wine andtwo kinds of Shochu, aJapanese spirit made fromsweet potatoes, along withJapanese cuisine.

After being hit by political disturbances and natural calamities, countries are pulling out all stops and leaving no stone unturned in aggressively promoting and reviving the tourism pie. gets the details.

MEGHA PAUL

After calamities, the road to recovery

Mohamed Maleeh JamalDeputy Minister of TourismArts, & Culture, Maldives

Adel El MasryDirectorEgypt Tourism Office India

Ozgur AyturkCulture and Tourism CounsellorTurkish Embassy in India

Runjuan TongrutDirector, New Delhi OfficeTourism Authority of Thailand

Akitaka SaikiAmbassadorJapan to India

Promotions Galore

Aggressive advertising

Rep offices gear up

Combating Calamities

FAMILY ALBUM A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 9

Swiss Night celebrations in MumbaiTo highlight the young and trendy aspect of Switzerland, Swiss Tourism launched a new commercial for the Indian market during ‘Switzerland Night’organised by Swiss Tourism and SWISS International Airlines in Mumbai. The red and white event was endorsed by Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh.

AGENTS

Says Robin Yap, ManagingDirector, The Travel

Corporation, Singapore, “Wesee India as an importantemerging outbound marketfor scheduled coach tours.Hence, we have appointedDarshan Maheshwari,Country Manager, The TravelCorporation, based inMumbai to support the local trade and to identifyopportunities.”

Highlighting the impor-tance of the scheduled coachtours, he feels, “We believeyesterday’s tailor-madecoach touring customers willbe tomorrow’s scheduledcoach touring customers

because it gives an interna-tional flavour and tour expe-rience like a united nation ontour. With over 300 millionmiddle class, growing inIndia, we see India as animportant market for our

coach touring brands andriver cruising in Europe.”According to the MD, theCompany will focus on grow-ing its Indian outbound tour-ing market on the scheduledcoach touring products.

Regarding the newCountry Manager in India, he informs, “Maheshwaricame on-board two months ago and he has been providing the support needed by the GSAsin terms of the trade promotional direction andmore specifically, training theconsultants on promoting the scheduled coach tours and luxury river cruises.” The Company iskeen to work with moreGSAs. “In the comingmonths, the Company will befocussing on helping theGSAs to understand the different products they are representing and roll out more training pro-grammes,” he adds.

International travel group with over 25 award-winning brands, The TravelCorporation has stepped up operations to woo the Indian outbound market.

TT BUREAU

Coach tours for Indian outbound

Robin Yap Managing DirectorThe Travel Corporation, Singapore

Darshan MaheshwariCountry ManagerThe Travel Corporation

Realising the growingdemand from tourists

and corporate houses fordedicated air charter serv-ice, Minar Travels has decid-ed to open a new field ofoperation, Air Charters.They have been granted aNon Scheduled OperatorsPermit (NSOP) by Ministry of Civil Aviation and are in the process of finalisingsuitable aircraft.

Spreading the wings,Minar Travels has been aleader in bringing Iraniantourists to India besidesentering European marketssuch as Spain, Portugal andGermany. They are alsoexpanding their business as a DMC with offices inAlmaty, Kyiv, London,Madrid, Moscow, Porto andTehran. The company hasdiversified into aviation and

is the GSA to nine interna-tional airlines.

With a team of over 200professionals, HS Duggal,Managing Director, MinarTravels, says, “We give our customers value formoney. All programmes are tried and tested before being offered. Our product developmentteam is always on the look out for different programmes.”

Diversifying into new business ventures,Minar Travels decided to provide non-scheduled air transport serviceswithin India with Minar Air Charters.

TT BUREAU

Air charter services

Recently in the news for winning National

Tourism Award for promotingthe state of Jammu &

Kashmir, Southern Travelsrepeated the feat for the second year running. It has previously won threeawards as Best DomesticOperator under the Rest ofIndia category.

They have alsoentered the field of hospi-

tality with a propertyalready functional in Delhiunder the name SouthernHotels with 110 rooms. InMay, the second propertywith 38 rooms will be ready

to be launched inVijayawada and the thirdwith 50 rooms will come upin Jaipur by the end of thisyear. With more than fourdecades of experience,Southern Travels has been extending excellentservices in the sphere oftravel & hospitality.

Southern Travels has been in the forefront of tourism sector and has been recognised regularlyby the MOT for its contribution.

TT BUREAU

Cheers: Awards galore

HS DuggalManaging Director, Minar Travels

A Venkateswara Rao, Chairman, Southern Travels and AV Praveen Kumar, Joint Managing Director, Southern Travels receiving National Tourism Award for promoting the state of Jammu & Kashmir by Pratibha Patil, Presidentof India and SK Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism, Government of India

National IntegrationTour by MaxxfunMaxxfun Holidays recently organised ‘Motivationaland National Intergration’ Tour for the children ofBaramulla in J&K to Delhi, Jaipur and Ajmer with the2nd batallion of the Rajputana Rifles from March 9-22.The Indian Army had shor tlisted 30 students. Surpal Singh Deora, Director, Maxxfun Holidaysoffered his professional consultation on the historicaland cultural aspects along with monuments visitedat these places. The President of India, PratibhaDevisingh Patil met students from Baramulla Districtof Jammu and Kashmir at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 19 that participated in this tour organisedunder Operation Sadbhavana.

OPPORTUNITY / CLIPBOARD A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 5 1

5 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 2 N D F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 MOVEMENTS

Novotel Hyderabad AirportHyderabadRajesh Gopalakrishnan is the new Resident Manager ofNovotel Hyderabad Airpor t. With over 19years of experience in various roles, hestarted his career as a Chef working invarious capacities and environment.He first joined Accor India in 2005and brings with him a wealth ofexperience in the hospitality busi-ness. Before assuming his currentrole, Gopalakrishnan was the HotelManager of the MercureHyderabad Abids inpre-opening since2009.

Pradeep Bohra is the General Manager of the prestigious, award winningPalace on Wheels and thus the public face and image of Rajasthan Tourism and theRailways. Ever smiling Bohra has been associated with Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpurfor several years, when he headed the RTDC.

A science graduate from Rajasthan University, Pradeep has also done tourismcourses and acquired good knowledge of French and German. When not travelling,Pradeep loves to do gardening and read history books.

Pradeep BohraGeneral Manager Palace on Wheels

Alison Taylor is Vice President – Sales, Starwood Hotels and Resorts for AsiaPacific. After 240 days of travelling for work in a year, Taylor says she likes to spendthe rest of the time with her family. "I love going to the Maldives," she says. She saysthat she enjoys her work that gives her an opportunity to explore the world. Talkingabout her travel experience in India, The lady says that she loves Coimbatore. On hervisit to the region recently, she ended up buying a lot of Indian fabric. Taylor whoearlier used to be a polo player has now shifted allegiance to horse riding. Every Friday,she rides for the disabled. Skiing is another sport that the VP loves. "I go for skiing with my family very often. I am not too good at skiing. My son is way better andovertakes me all the time. But still I enjoy the experience," she laughs.

Alison Taylor Vice President – SalesStarwood Hotels and Resortsfor Asia Pacific

Manas Kumar ChatterjeeVeteran Travel Industry

The Westin Mumbai Garden CityMumbaiAditya Shamsher Malla has recently been appointed as theExecutive Assistant Manager – Sales & Marketing at The WestinMumbai Garden City. With over 18 years ofoperations and sales experience in thehospitality industry, his key expertiselies in planning and executing hotelsales and marketing strategies in vary-ing market conditions. Prior to joiningthis, Malla was associated with TheWestin Hyderabad Mindspace as Directorof Sales & Marketing.

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: Anil Mathur & Megha Paul

Manas Kumar Chatterjee, popularlyknown as Mike, has spent 50 years in the industry,and rose to the top slot in SITA before embarkingon his own TIME – Tourism India ManagementEnterprise, with his colleagues. Now, he wants tospend time in social work. He wants to give backto the society by teaching & training the under priviledged children and helping in eye treatmentfor many of those who cannot afford it.

He is fond of travelling and meeting people,knowing cultures and places and this opportunityhe has got in plenty in his 50 years career. He sayshe learnt a lot from Ghulam Naqshband at SITA.

JW Marriott MumbaiMumbaiLeena Sengupta is the new Rooms Division Manager at JWMarriott Mumbai. She will head the opera-tions for the Rooms Division, looking afterthe Front Office, Housekeeping and Spafunctions of the hotel. She has spentnearly 16 years within the hospitalityindustry having worked with presti-gious hotels like the Oberoi Group,The Grand, New Delhi and The TajPalace. Sengupta first joined the JWMarriott Mumbai as ExecutiveHousekeeper in 2005 andreturned in 2008 as theDirector of Services.

Courtyard by MarriottMumbaiGautam Bhandari is the newly appointed General Manager atCour tyard by Marriott, Mumbai InternationalAirport. He is responsible for managing thepersonnel, financial operations, stream-lining the objectives of food and bever-age and the marketing activities of thehotel. With a career spanning over 14years in the hospitality industry, Bhandarihas worked with leading internationalbrands like Marriott and InterContinentalHotels Group. Prior to this, he wasworking with the RenaissanceMumbai Convention Centre andHotel as the Hotel Manager.

CleartripGurgaonSamyukth Sridharan joins Cleartrip as the President and ChiefOperating Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for providing

leadership across the businesses.Sridharan has a vast amount of expe-rience in scaling businesses in a waythat brings considerable value to thecustomer. Prior to this, he was at thehelm of Sales and Marketing for over18 years across a diverse range of

industries spanning FMCG, Insurance,Advertising and Aviation. Most recently, he

served as Chief CommercialOfficer at Spicejet.

Switzerland Tourism MumbaiStephan Heuberger has been appointed as the Director forIndia of Switzerland Tourism. Hueberger possesses great expe-rience and high expertise in marketing and alsoa profound knowledge of the productSwitzerland. He star ted in 1976 atSwitzerland Tourism and held various senior positions in Frankfur t, London,Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Brussels andZurich since 2001. Most recently, he was responsible as a senior account manager in the strategic partnershipsat head quar ters. He will com-mence his duties in May and will belocated in Mumbai.

Ananda in the HimalayasTehri-GarhwalLuis Guillermo Molina Guisado joins Ananda as the new SpaManager with more than 14 years of experience within the spaindustry and was formerly the SpaManager at The Sanctuary Spa atMount Wolseley Hotel in Ireland.Guisado brings with him a vast knowledge and experience from thehospitality industry, across countries.He will be instrumental in continuing to develop the proper ty’s holistic philosophy and excellence in marrying the knowledge of ancientIndian sciences and modernwestern treatments.

JW Marriott Hotel Aero CityNew DelhiBalan Paravantavida joins JW Marriott Hotel Aero City, NewDelhi as the General Manager. With over 28years of experience in handling pre-open-ings, conversions and takeovers ofhotels in six countries, covering threecontinents, Balan brings with him amultitude of assets - strong operationalbackground, cost control, conceptdevelopment, multi property experience,MVCI property management and expe-rience in business, convention and megaluxury resorts properties.

Courtyard by Marriott Pune CityCentrePuneCaroline Alexander is appointedas the new Director of Sales at theCourtyard by Marriott Pune CityCentre. Alexander has been a partof the hospitality industry for over9 years now and has been a partof some of the most prominenthospitality brands. She will beresponsible of the overall strategic planning of the sales function atthe hotel.

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.: 53492/91

Date of Publication:14-04-2012

Boeing’s outlook for Indiain the coming years is

encouraging, and DineshKeskar, President, BoeingIndia, comments further,“Boeing’s performance hasbeen good and we feel that the relationship with our customers has builtstrongly and closely.”

Recently, the Companywas in news as Air Indiareportedly asked for compen-sation over delay in deliveryover 787s or popularly knownas Dreamliner.

“Air India has demand-ed one billion US dollars butBoeing has agreed to pay only$500 million. But we arepushing Boeing to pay more,”said Prashant Sukul, JointSecretary, Union CivilAviation on the sidelines of the recently concluded

Indian Aviation 2012. “Peoplehave their prerogative andwe cannot comment on thatsince it is a component of the price,” says Keskar.

He points out that thesituation is akin to when ahouse is bought and theowner doesn’t like it, he willdiscuss the issue with thebuilder, rather than going topapers. Though he admitsthat delay was faced aroundthe world and wasn’t good for

either Boeing or the Airlines.Keskar informs that the firstdelivery of Dreamliner inIndia is expected in May and

Air India would be the firstIndian airline to operate it.

Boeing order bookpoints out that it has around100 aircraft to be delivered in

India. Despite delays, he said,“None of our orders in theIndian market has got can-celled.” As far as Boeing’sMRO facility in Nagpur is con-cerned, work is in full swingat the site in Nagpur. About1,700 people have beenemployed. It consists of twohangars and each can take a777 or 747. It is spread overa 25 acre plot. The construc-tion is expected to completeby the end of this year. The2nd quarter of 2013 should

see the first aircraft enteringthe facility. Air India will addother components facility inthe complex. The State

Carrier will be the majorityuser and if they allow otherairlines, it is possible.

On the current scenarioof the aviation sector in India,“Sixty million people flew ondomestic routes last year, yetairlines are not makingmoney. Fuel prices are goingup, while the fares don’t goup. Exchange rate is fluctuat-ing. Rentals, spares, expatpilot salaries are fixed in dol-lars,” says Keskar. The issueof exchange rate fluctuationmakes the cost go up byalmost 10 per cent withoutbreaking a sweat.

He further adds, “Fromour perspective, we obviouslywant an airline that is able topay for the aircraft andundertake the delivery. Ifthey lose money, how willthey grow and if they don’tgrow they will not be able tobuy. And, when demandincreases, we will have a situation where only 2-3 airlines will exist and thefares will be so high that airtravel would be unviable forthe consumer.”

The point raised byKeskar is that the idea is tomanage the losses to a levelwhich is somewhat accept-able to the investors. Thiswill at least allow achievinga raise in capital. Currently,the Airlines are looking forcapital but they haven’t beenable to firm up. ExternalCommercial Borrowings wereopened up but the questionis that ‘who is going to investwhen there are attractiveoptions around the world’.

“Currently we are predicting a growth of 15 per cent. With a hike in airfares, it will still be in doubledigits. Lower growth will bethere but it will give anopportunity to wipe out loss-es. We are striving forbreakeven or much reducedlosses. The Airlines shouldhave the fares in a mannerwhere they can pay leases,airport charges and salaries,”elaborates Keskar.

Despite hiccups, Boeing reports that it has not got a single cancellationfor Indian air carriers. In an interview with , Dinesh Keskar,President, Boeing India explains its growth and how the sector is faring.

JUST IN THOMAS

Comfortable Indian sojourn: Boeing

From our perspective, we obviously want an airline that is able to pay for the aircraftand undertake the delivery. If they lose money, how will they grow and if they don’t grow they will not be able to buy

Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India

The first delivery ofDreamliner in India isexpected in May and AirIndia would be the firstIndian airline to operate it

Boeing order book pointsout that it has around 100aircraft to be delivered inIndia

Work on Boeing’s MROfacility in Nagpur is in fullswing

It consists of two hangarsand each can take a 777or 747. It is spread over a 25 acre plot. Theconstruction is expectedto complete by the end ofthis year. The 2nd quarterof 2013 should see thefirst aircraft entering thefacility

Boeing in India