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` 50/-A DDP PUBLICATION Pages: 52 (Excluding cover )Vol. XXIV No. 7; April 1ST fortnight issue 2012

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APRIL 1ST FORTNIGHT ISSUE 2012 TRAVTALK 1

The Union Budget 2012-13 hasmade India a costlier destination byslapping taxes on services andexcise. The travel trade shares their views on the same...

We have a tough year ahead and in these difficult times, the Finance Minister has presenteda balancing budget which will provide stability in the years to come. Though it will be tough initially, but in the long run, it will be beneficial and contribute to the nation's growth.

‘AB’ ups Gujarattourist inflow by 400%

See full story on page 10

See full story on page 12

See full story on page 14

India needs aNational AviationPolicy

See full story on page 24

Indians demandvalue-for-moneyproducts

GTMwaiting...waiting...still waiting!

Iqbal MullaPresident, TAAI

There's is nothing to react about the Union Budget. It'sclear that the government is not listening to individualassociations who are putting forward their expectationsfor the same. All the associations should come forward toa common platform and put forward their challenges,issues and expectations in one voice. Tourism sector isimportant for any country for its growth and it’s high timethat the government realises this.

Nakul AnandPresident Hotel Association of India

The Union Budget 2012-2013 presented in Parliamentappears to have limited impact on the hospitality sector.The Hotel Industry was hopeful that it would be accordedthe status of infrastructure industry in the Budget. This,however, has not happened.On the other hand, hikes inexcise duty and service tax would make the hospitalityand travel services more expensive.

Ajay PrakashPresident, TAFI

Guldeep Singh SahniPresidentOTOAI

Increase of service tax on International tickets will add to already burdened industry. Approx 60% cost of outbound package is air fare and existing tax on air fare isany where between 50 to 65%. So 40% of cost of packageis tax only. Taxing it further will make outbound travelexpensive. Probably it is like killing the golden hen. Thegovernment should start looking at tourism industry thatcan make a huge impact on GDP.

Subodh Kant SahaiUnion Minister for Tourism

Step-fatherly treatment

The industry is completely disappointed with the Union Budget, which shows complete disregard to the demand and requests of thetravel and tourism industry. MOT and our industry had made many efforts to ensure that our industry gets the required fillip to attain the12 million inbound mark in the 12th plan period. The only silver lining that this budget has to offer is the announcement of the roadmap toGST. But, its also remains a grey area. The budget doesn’t have initiatives that will promote growth in the industry.

Arjun SharmaManaging DirectorLPTI

On one side, the government has reduced tax on aircraft leasing and on the other hand, it has increased tax on air travel. Additionally, it has increased tax on hotel stay and restaurants. The Union Budget has madeIndia a more expensive destination as compared to itscounterparts in the region. Government says that it’s aperfect budget, but there needs to be something positivein the budget for the industry.

Contd. on page 30

BULLETIN

An interesting situation isbrewing which could

have a bearing on how asso-ciations operate while com-peting with other associa-tions and dealing with theirown members. Travel AgentsFederation of India (TAFI) hadsuspended two of its mem-bers, Uniglobe Mod Travelsand FCM Travel Solutions, fordefying the diktat issued toavoid selling tickets of a par-ticular airline. Associations inthe country had togethertaken a stand to not sell tick-

ets of a couple of airlineswhich were part of a group of16 airlines that favoured for

no commission to be paid totravel agents.

Since the two memberswere suspended, they filed acase against TAFI with theCompetition Commission ofIndia (CCI). It should bepointed out that though thecase was initially filed against TAFI, the scope was laterincreased with Travel AgentsAssociation of India (TAAI)and IATA Agents Associationof India (IAAI)being hauled inthe dock. This gives rise to aserious situation which hastaken the form of an elephant

in the room with nobodybothering to ask as to how acase involving an associationwith its members has evolvedinto the complainants beingin a position to kill two birdswith one stone. It can besafely concluded that thecomplainants are punchingabove their weight and theenergy source is well oiled.

Further, CCI came outwith its order dated October4, 2011 which states thatTAFI, TAAI & IAAI have to

While TAFI, against whom its two members had originally filed a case, has laid down its weapons, IAAI and TAAI who got sucked into the saga are still putting up a fight in a case which could determine the workings of associations in particular and travel agent fraternity in general.

JU S T I N TH O M AS

TAAI and IAAI challengeCompetitition Commission

CCI has sent notices torespondents whichinclude FCM TravelSolutions and UniglobeMod Travels and thehearing is scheduled forApril 19

It is learnt from reliable industry sourcesthat TAFI has paid the fineof ‘1 lakh

CCI penalty notice

Contd. on page 28

STATISTICS

VIEWPOINT

The year has started posi-tively for travel enthusi-

asts, as Indian hotels showedonly a modest rise in roomrates in the second half of2011, compared to the corre-sponding period in the previ-ous year. According to the lat-est Hotel Price Index (HPI)Report by Hotels.com, roomrates in India have risen by just two per cent whileglobally room rates haverisen by four per cent.

The Hotels.com HPIreport is a regular survey ofhotel prices in major traveldestinations across the world.It is based on bookings made

through the Hotels.com websites and prices shown arethose actually paid by cus-tomers (rather than advertisedrates) in 2011. The latest HPIfeatures 27 countries, includ-ing UK, USA, UAE, Canada,Singapore, Greece, Italy,Japan, Australia and others.Amongst these, India is thelowest priced country with an average room rate of ‘4,226 per night.Switzerland, with its currencyremaining strong, is the mostexpensive country experienc-ing a 19 per cent rise in roomrates, with an average roomrate of ‘ 10,496 per night. UKis next with a rise of seven percent to ‘8,965.

Speaking about the HPIreport, Abhiram Chowdhry,Senior Marketing Director,Asia Pacific, Hotels.com says,“Hotel room prices in Indiahave shown only a marginalrise and Indian hotels contin-ue to be attractive for bothdomestic and internationaltravellers. The F1 race com-ing to India is an indicationthat the country has the

potential to host iconic inter-national events and will con-tinue to be one of the pre-ferred destinations for trav-ellers. It is a good time alsofor Indian travellers to ven-ture out to other internationaldestinations such asGermany, South Africa,

Canada and Japan given thesignificant fall in hotel roomrates in these markets.”

Overall, the HPI reportfound that hotel prices aroundthe world have been volatile inthe latter half of 2011, withsome countries experiencing asignificant rise. In Asia,Singapore is the most expen-sive destination at ‘ 8,684after a five per cent rise. Thedemand for hotels has

remained strong in Singaporefrom long-haul air passengerson stop-over trips and therecent addition of new luxurydevelopments has only helpedto make this already attractivedestination even more so. SriLanka also bounced back fromthe end of the civil war therewith a 34 per cent rise in hotelprices to ‘8,518. The biggestrise at 49 per cent to ‘ 8,438came in the casino resort des-tination of Macau.

In the Eurozone,Austria, Germany andBelgium saw a drop of 10 percent, seven per cent and fourper cent respectively. SouthAfrica saw the biggest dropof prices at 11 per cent, as thecountry’s hoteliers readjustedafter the high demand for thefootball World Cup in 2010.

Though Indian hotelprices grew at a marginalrate, travellers faced pricerises in nearly three quartersof the international destina-tions featured in the HPI. This is because the ‘ depreciated against manymajor currencies.

The latest survey Hotel Price Index (HPI) Report contradicts the general conceptionthat hotels in India are too costly. There has been a marginal rise in hotel room prices in India. The room rates surged by 2% in the second half of 2011 compared to the same period last year, while globally, the rates rose by 4%.

TT BUREAU

Hotels in India not costly: HPI Report

Over the past many budgets, the trendhas been to neglect the need of

attracting more tourists to destinationIndia. But, this time around, there was anew lease of optimism among thestakeholders in the travel and tourism. TheMinistry of Tourism’s target to increase thesize of inbound and domestic travel marketby 100 per cent for the 12th Plan periodgave big expectations to the travel trade.They hoped that initiatives will be takenup further that will stimulate growth. Also,the recognition of the tourism sector as adriver of employment creation and povertyamelioration had only reinforced the beliefthat the time has come when the tourismsector will get its due share keeping inmind the significant role it plays in fosteringeconomic development.

But, the contrasting stance taken by theFinance Ministry increasing service taxmeant that Budget shall continue todisappoint the tourism sector without fail.The increase in the incidence of service taxthat makes travel more expensive also meantthat the long standing demand of tourismsector to get the infrastructure status amongmany others were unheard again.

The utterly disappointed stakeholdersare now left with no expectations, butbelieve that the budget has sent a loud andclear message that the government doesnot consider tourism an important part ofthe economic growth and development.

On the relaxation of the ECB norms inthe aviation sector, one will need to waitand watch as to whether its marketdynamics are so strong that lenders willinvest in airlines facing rough weather,while the grey areas surrounding theroadmap to GST fails to enthuse, as well.

Hope the travel trade don’t becomeeternally pessimist; rather it should workout on consistent and stronger means ofcommunications, which ensures that likethe Planning Commission and the PMO, theFinance Minister is also forced to pay heedto the long pending needs of the tourismsector in larger national interest.

Disappointed!

Country-wise distribution ofaverage hotel prices in 2011compared to 2010 in ‘Destinations 2011 2010 % changeSwitzerland 10,496 8,851 19%United Kingdom 8,965 8,372 7%Italy 8,827 8,657 2%Singapore 8,684 8,237 5%Sri Lanka 8,518 6,365 34%Netherlands 8,474 8,060 5%Macau 8,438 5,651 49%Greece 8,380 7,180 17%Denmark 8,156 7,007 16%Indonesia 8,125 6,168 32%France 7,993 7,674 4%Australia 7,763 7,141 9%Spain & Canary Islands 7,424 6,185 20%Germany 7,363 7,897 -7%South Africa 7,329 8,228 -11%Turkey 7,225 6,692 8%Belgium 7,105 7,408 -4%Canada 6,818 7,052 -3%United Arab Emirates 6,798 6,719 1%United States of America 6,686 6,796 -2%Japan 6,634 6,915 -4%Austria 6,520 7,282 -10%China 6,041 6,101 -1%New Zealand 5,759 5,093 13%Malaysia 5,146 4,536 13%Thailand 4,769 4,505 6%INDIA 4,226 4,136 2%

India hotel pricesshow marginalriseRoom rates in India haverisen by just 2%, whileglobally room rates haverisen by 4%

Prices paid athome and awayIndians parted with anaverage of ‘ 6,789 on for-eign hotels but paid theleast among all the nation-alities analysed in the HPIfor domestic rooms on

‘ 4,226

‘ 6,000 a nightIndian travellers with

‘ 6,000 a night to spend ontheir hotel room could findfour-star accommodationsin Bangkok, Guangzhouand Las Vegas but wouldget only get three-starrooms in New Delhi andMumbai at the same price

Luxury for lessTravellers searching for thebest in hotel accommoda-tion were able to benefitfrom dramatic price fall in 2011

Travel habitsHPI highlights the top over-seas and top Indian desti-nations for Indian travellers

Emerging Trends

The F1 racecoming to Indiais an indicationthat the countryhas thepotential tohost iconicinternationalevents and willbe one of thepreferreddestinations

Abhiram Chowdhry Senior Marketing DirectorAsia Pacific, Hotels.com

In Asia, Singapore is the most expensivedestination at ‘ 8,684after a five per cent rise

Sri Lanka bounced backwith a 34% rise in hotelprices

Expensive Destination

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

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In a major relief to the civil aviation sector, the

government has allowed it to raise capital throughexternal borrowings worthUS$ 1 billion for a year. "To address the immediatefinancing concerns of the civil aviation sector,

I propose to permit ExternalCommercialBorrowing (ECB) for working capitalrequirement for theairline industry for aperiod of one yearsubject to a ceilingof US$ 1 billion," says Pranab Mukherjee,Union Finance Minister whilepresenting the budget. ECBis a financial instrument usedby the government to facili-tate access to foreign fundsby Indian corporations andpublic sector undertakings.

Even the EconomicSurvey for 2011-12 tabled by

Mukherjee in the Lok Sabhahad noted the woes of the air-line industries. According tothe survey, a working group,constituted to address issuesconcerning the viability of thecivil aviation sector, hadmade several recommenda-tions like rationalisation ofVAT on jet fuel by state gov-ernments, allowing foreignairlines to invest in domesticcarriers and the direct import of ATF by airlines.

In a bid to encouragethe nascent maintenance,repair and overhaul (MRO)sector, it also proposed toallow full exemption fromcustoms duty and counter-vailing duty to aircraft spares,

tyres and testing equipment.In order to augment long-term low cost funds fromabroad for the infrastructuresector, the Budget also pro-posed tax incentives for fund-ing certain infrastructure sec-

tors, including those Indiancompanies involved in aircraft operations. In a sopto Indians travelling abroad,he also proposed to raise theduty-free baggage allowance,which was last revised in

2004, from ‘ 25000 to ‘ 35000 and for children ofup to 10 years from ‘ 12000to ‘ 15000. Mukherjee alsoclarified that a proposal toallow foreign airlines to par-ticipate up to 49 per cent

equity of an airline companywas ‘under active considera-tion of the government’.

Allowing airlines to raise capital money to the tune of one billion dollars through the ECB route this financial year and encouraging the development of the MRO sector, the Union Budget2012-13 has provided some relief to the travel industry. However, much needs to be done.

TT BU R E AU

Union Budget gives wings to airlines

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

“External CommercialBorrowing for workingcapital is welcome.Interest rates and hedgingcosts will be much lessthan Indian rupee denom-inated costs. Permittingforeign airlines to investup to 49% as and whenimplemented will also bevery welcome. Directimport of fuel will greatlyreduce net fuel cost.”

Vijay MallyaMember of Parliament-IndiaChairman, The UB Group

ECB welcome

The Budget also proposed taxincentives for funding certaininfrastructure sectors,including those Indiancompanies involved inaircraft operations

More in the Kitty

MOT

The MoU was signed onMarch 21, 2012 in the

presence of Subodh KantSahai, Union Minister forTourism and Ajit Singh,

Union Minsiter for CivilAviation.

The initiative come postthe successful collaborationwith the Ministry of Information andBroadcasting, Ministry ofOverseas Indian Affairs andGem and Jewellery ExportPromotion Council to pro-mote Incredible India.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Sahai said, “Conversionwith Civil Aviation Ministry

is very important for devel-oping tourism in the countryand abroad. This will help ineffectively branding India asa major tourist destination.Echoing similar views, Singhalso expressed his happinesson the formalisation of rela-

tionship between both theMinistries through the MoU.

As per the MoU, theAirport Authority of Indiawill provide space at variousairports for ‘Incredible India’branding by Ministry ofTourism. Further, MoCA willissue instructions to foreignand Indian carriers forscreening Incredible Indiapromotional films, whileMOT will be promotingsome of the newly upgraded

airports such asAurangabad, Udaipur,Varanasi and Madurai. Boththe Ministries will partici-pate in the road shows andevents organised by eachother and share the annual calendar

of such roadshows and events.

Also, MoCA willcollaborate with MOTto take forward the‘Campaign Clean India’and take adequate stepsto ensure cleanliness inand around all airportsin the country and in areas around their office premises invarious locations of the country.

Noticeably, its part ofMOT’s initiatives to activelypromote ‘Incredible India’ asa brand, which is now recog-nised worldwide. The min-istry has successfully collab-orated with the Ministry ofInformation andBroadcasting, Ministry ofOverseas Indian Affairs andGem and Jewellery ExportPromotion Council for dove-tailing their promotionalefforts with the IncredibleIndia Campaign.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) signed an MoU to work together to further enhance Incredible India’s brand positioningand effectively promote tourism in India.

Promoting India together

TT BU R E AU

MoU being signed between MOT and MoCA

India Travel MartAhmedabad received hugeresponse in a three-dayTravel Mart held recently inAhmedabad.

The event was inaugu-rated by Vipul Mittra, IAS, Principal Secretary,(Tourism, Civil Aviation,Pilgrimage & Devasthan),Government of Gujaratalong with Ajay Gupta,

Chairman, India Travel Martin the presence ofexhibitors, delegates,media, travel trade, tourorganisers, travel agentsfrom all over Gujarat andother parts of the country.Gupta informed about theimportance of promotingtourism in the Tier-II cities.“We believe that the inflowof domestic and outbound

tourists will increase incoming months fromWestern India’s Tier-II citiesand Gujarat will play a vitalrole." He further added,“The time of ITMAhmedabad was perfect forforthcoming summer holi-days/vacations, weekendholidays, round-the-yeartravel, vacations and business plans.”

India Travel Mart gets big response

Thomas Cook India onMarch 23, 2012 announcedthe launch of five new goldcircle partner outlets expand-ing its reach across the coun-try. These franchisee outletscover a diversity of marketsincluding Mumbai andAhmednagar in Maharashtra,Gulbarga in Karnataka,Allahabad in Uttar Pradeshand Pondicherry.

Madhav Pai, ChiefOperating Officer- LeisureTravel Outbound, ThomasCook India said, “In keepingwith our vision to expand

our distribution networkacross India, we haveimplemented our expansionstrategy via opening five

new gold circle partner out-lets in the first quarter of2012. We see a large poten-tial customer base in thesecities and we want to pro-vide them with an opportu-nity to interact with our well-informed staff and assist with their travel needs.”

He further added,“While we will continue ourexpansion in the Tier I andTier II cities of India, ourfocus will be strong on theemerging Tier III markets.”

Thomas Cook expands its operations

Madhav Pai, Chief OperatingOfficer- Leisure TravelOutbound, Thomas Cook India

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

BSTDC is making relentlessefforts to ensure phase-

wise development of theRamayana circuit in the state.

Alongside Buddhist,Sikh and Jain circuits, thecorporation is now buildingSufi, Ramayana, Shakti andAstro tourism circuits in thestate. As per the Corporation’splan, the Ramayana circuit willinclude places mentioned inthe epic like Tar in Bhojpur,Ahirauli in Buxar, PretshilaHills in Gaya, Ramchura, PanthPakar and Valmiki Nagar. TheSufi circuit will includeBiharsharif, Manersharif,Munger and Phulwarisharif.

Work on both the circuits has started and theCorporation will announcepackages for the circuitssoon. It is in talks withKolkata-based NationalCouncil of Science Museumsto discuss the modalities todevelop the first-ever Astro-Tourism circuit at Taregna inPatna district. BSTDC plansto promote its traditional andnew tourist circuits in SouthEast Asian countries through

roadshows and trade fairs. Itis also developing GangaRiver Island with food plazasand camel rides for weekendpackages. Currently, theCorporation offers rivercruise packages on theKolkata – Varanasi (8 Days 7Nights) and Faraka – Patna (6Days 5 Nights) routes.

The Corporation is alsodeveloping tourism segmentslike adventure sports (with anew ropeway in Rajghir), fairs& festivals, Eco-Tourism (inGhorakatora), handicraft andcottage industry, RuralTourism (Nepura), Wildlife andAqua Tourism. To develop thisinfrastructure, the Corporationhas been allotted ‘300 crore.It is also encouraging privateplayers to invest in tourisminfrastructure projects acrossthe state with opportunities forPPP projects in hotel develop-ment projects in Patna, Rajghir and Bodhgaya. Bihar

Mahavir Mandir Trust is building a replica ofCambodia’s 12th centuryAngkor Wat (the largest HinduTemple in the world) with an investment of ‘ 100crore near Hijapur. For theyear 2011-12, ‘ 3,043.89

lakh was announced by the Central administration fordevelopment of tourism in Bihar. Providing furtherdetails, Keshri Kumar,Assistant Information Officer,Department of Tourism,Government of Bihar said,

“The State has recorded animpressive growth fromdomestic and internationaltourist arrivals in the last fewyears. To boost the image ofthe state in the domestic andoverseas markets, theCorporation has devised a

master plan for keeping the tourism business intact in the state. Through innova-tive tourism circuits andimproved infrastructure, we intend to cater to 15-20 per cent more tourists this year.”

The Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) is now building Sufi, Ramayana,Shakti and Astro tourism circuits in the State in addition to the Buddhist, Sikh and Jain circuits.

TT BU R E AU

Sufi & Ramayana tourism circuits in Bihar

Keshri KumarAssistant Information Officer, Departmentof Tourism, Government of Bihar

BSTDC is also encouragingprivate players to invest intourism infrastructureprojects across the statewith opportunities for PPP projects in hoteldevelopment projects in Patna, Rajghir and Bodhgaya

Bihar Calling

STATES8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Birbhum district andDooars in West Bengal

will soon host Eco-Tourismprojects which will offer 50-60 luxury tent accommoda-tion with average tariff vary-ing between ‘2,000 and‘5,000 per night, wheretourists can stay in a solar-powered tent. In addition,there will be limited numberof low-cost accommodationfacilities for students.

To be launched ahead ofthe Durga Puja vacation inOctober by city-based enter-tainment major PriyaEntertainments, this will bethe first of its kind Eco-Tourism project with a majorfocus on adventure in thestate. While the DooarsResort will be spread over 37acres, the Resort in Birbhumwill be spread over 30 acres.There will also be organicfarms in each resort.

“There will be a limitednumber of low-cost accom-modation facilities for stu-

dents and nature club mem-bers. The resorts will offerbarbeque-cooked food, fishingactivity and bonfire in wintrynights while the local culturalfestivities will include tribal music performances.Minimising the chance ofdamaging the environment,

all organic waste generatedfrom the project will be usedas manure and the farmlandwill supply organic food to thetourists,” says Arijit Dutta,Managing Director, PriyaEntertainment.

They are also studyingthe possibility of introducing‘gobar’ (cow dung) gas for cooking food. Further to add some thrill to thetourists’ experience, the proj-ect will buy four horses andbuild a small track inside the property for the purposeof giving a feel of adventureto the travellers.

The local tribal popu-lation has not been left out of the project, which also aims at commu-nity development. There are two small villages near the plot with a totalpopulation of around 100people. The Resort staff istraining them and willemploy them in various. The property in Birhum distirct will be the first oneto be launched.

The new project aims to portray West Bengal as an ideal destination for various tourism products.

TT BU R E AU

Eco-Tourism in West Bengal

Birbhum district andDooars in West Bengal willsoon host Eco-Tourismprojects which will offer50-60 luxury tentaccommodation withaverage tariff varyingbetween ‘2,000 and ‘5,000 per night

The Resor ts will offerbarbeque-cooked food;fishing activity and bonfirein wintry nights while thelocal cultural festivities willinclude tribal musicperformances

The project will buy fourhorses and build a smalltrack inside the property

New Projects

ITDC joins hand with District Administration of Barmer and RajasthanTourism in leveraging the opportunity for promotion of Tourism in theregion with a focus on ‘Thar festival’. It is also setting up a training centreunder the Hunar-Se-Rozgar scheme of Union Ministry of Tourism.

Colours of Thar come alive

STATES1 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ Campaign is everywhere,be it on TV, radio, magazines or newspapers. To add more

‘khushboo’ to the campaign in Delhi, the Gujarat Tourismis now branding one entire Delhi Metro Train for a periodof three months. The ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ campaign inits entirety would be branded in the outer body and insidethe train. The Train was flagged off by Vipul Mittra,Principal Secretary Tourism, Government of Gujarat onMarch 7 from the Reliance New Delhi Metro station.

At the recent launch of the‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’

campaign in the DelhiReliance Metro train, VipulMittra, Principal SecretaryTourism, Government ofGujarat revealed that theGujarat government willspend around ‘1,500 croreon the tourism sector in the12th Five Year Plan period.

He confirmed that therehas been a 400 per cent risein tourists to Kachchh(Kutch). This year, over twocrore travellers are expectedto visit Gujarat.

The state has now takenyet another lead in being thefirst in the country to brandan entire Reliance Metro trainconnecting New Delhi withTerminal 3 of the IGI Airportas part of its ‘KhushbooGujarat Ki’ campaign. TheGujarat Tourism has brandedone entire Delhi Metro Train

for a period of three monthsto promote its ‘KhushbooGujarat Ki’ campaign. Thehighlights of the campaign

are branded in both the exte-rior and the interior side ofthe metro train.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Mittra said, “By dedicat-ing an entire metro train toits tourism campaign, theTourism Corporation ofGujarat seeks better mileage

in the national Capital and ahigher number of touristinflux to Gujarat.”

Revealing informationabout strategies this year,Mittra said the Gujarat gov-ernment will spend around‘1,500 crore on the tourismsector in the 12th Five Year Planperiod. This is in addition to‘5,000 crore which the gov-ernment is planning to spendin the other allied areas, whichwould directly or indirectlycontribute to development oftourism in the state.

According to thePrincipal Secretary, the gov-ernment would come up witha ‘venture capital’ for peoplewho wanted to invest in thetourism sector in the state.

He pointed out thatGujarat Tourism is workingon a three-pronged strategy,the first being promotingGujarat as a fast emergingand most exciting tourism

destination. Secondly, to cre-ate common infrastructurelike excellent connectivity byroads and trains, securityapparatus, information cen-tres, sanitation and otherfacilities to ensure adequatesafety and comfort of thetourists. Third and mostimportantly, to focus on thePPP mode to rope in the pri-vate sector to come andinvest in Gujarat by settingup commercial ventures likehotels and resorts.

Ever since the launch of ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ campaign two and a half yearsago and roping in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador, the rate of growthof tourism in Gujarat has doubled up in comparison to the national growth rate.

ME G H A PAU L

‘AB’ ups Gujarat tourist inflow by 400%

Vipul MittraPrincipal Secretary Tourism Government of Gujarat Gujarat Tourism is trying

to create commoninfrastructure like excellentconnectivity by roads and trains, security apparatus,information centres, sanitationand other facilities It is also focussing on the PPP to rope in the privatesector to come and invest inGujarat by setting upcommercial ventures likehotels and resorts

Future Plans

‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’

Aviation is the backbone of thetourism industry and a key economic

contributor. IATA recently commissioneda study of the economic benefits that avi-ation brings to the Indian economy. Theresults showed that aviation is responsi-ble for 0.5 per cent of India’s GDP and itsupports 1.7 million jobs. “On an aver-age, people in India fly 0.1 times per yearor take one trip by air every 10 years.This shows that the Indian aviation hastremendous potential to drive economicgrowth in the sub-Continent. But torealise this, India needs a common visionfor aviation, expressed in a NationalAviation Policy strongly linked to animplementation plan. Such a policywould need to rebuild competitiveness by addressing the difficult issuesof tax, cost, investment and infrastructure,” said Tony Tyler, DirectorGeneral and CEO, IATA.

“The Indian aviation industry that I see today faces major hurdles. AirIndia, the national carrier, is being sustained on life support with the helpof state aid. The difficulties at Kingfisher are well known. And the sector asa whole is not generating the sustainable profits that one would expect fromsuch a large high-growth market,” he added. Exploring measures that couldhelp turn around the fortunes of Indian aviation, Tyler discussed an agendato build the competitiveness in Indian aviation. He highlights four pillars –taxes, infrastructure, costs and investment policies.

Aviation is a team effort which requires a common vision; and developing a National Aviation Policy will helprevamp the sector in the desired manner. Addressing these issues, Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO,International Air Transport Association (IATA) discusses critical aviation issues in India and the way forward.

India needs a National Aviation Policy

Clarks Inn Group of Hotelshas taken over the manage-ment of an upscale businesshotel, branded as Clarks InnSuites, in Delhi NCR. Withthis, the Group has unveiledits first ‘Clarks Inn Suites’branded property in India.

About the latest addition,SN Srivastava, Vice President,Clarks Inn Group of Hotels, said,“With this property, we alsobring one of the largest banquetand meeting facilities in theNCR with a capacity to accom-modate up to 7,000 guests.”

The hotel offers 151 luxu-riously appointed guestrooms

well equipped with all modern day facilities such as24-hour in-room dining, con-temporary ambience, in-roommini-bar, customised banquets,LCD flat screen TV, in-roomelectronic safe, electronic accessroom lock system, bathroomamenities, high-tech businesscentre and Wi-Fi connectivity onthe premises.

Looking at establishing aremarkable presence in theeconomy and mid-market seg-ment, Srivastava informed,“The latest addition is a big shotin the arm as the company eyesto establish a leadership posi-

tion in economy and mid-seg-ment market and a significantpresence in the upscale seg-ment with the ‘Clarks InnSuites’ brand.” The Group nowhas a network of 15 operationalhotels spread across India. It iseyeing a year of massive growthin 2012, with plans to add 25hotels to the portfolio this year,he added.

The opening of hotels inLucknow and Haldwani arescheduled later this month.The company will also addnew properties to its operat-ing portfolio in Pune, Gadagand Patna in April.

Clarks Inn Suites debuts in NCR

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

Tony TylerDirector General and CEOIATA

TT BU R E AUThe Minister ofCivil Avia tion

(MoCA) mentioned the needto make air travel moreaccessible. “One way ofachieving that is by taxing itless. Removing the burden ofthe Service Tax wouldimprove the comp etitivenessof the Indian aviation, itwould boost access to bothdomestic and internationalconnectivity and drive eco-nomic growth,” said Tyler.

An ot her damaging factor isthe tax on fuel. “The highcost of jet fuel has beenhijacking the competitivenessof the Indian air transportindustry for over a decade.Taxes, particularly statetaxes, should be removed anda National Access Re gi meshould be established for jetfuel. This will allow users,including airlines, access crit-ical fuel infrastructure at rea-sonable prices,” he added.

Some progress hasbeen made withIndia’s airports, partic-ularly those using thepublic private partner-ships (PPP) model.But, Tyler highlightedthe need for capacityexpansion in Mumbai.“Mumbai is burstingat the seams. The firstphase was meant to

open in 2014but construc-

tion has not evenstarted. Land acquisi-tion is not yet com-plete. We need a coor-dinated effort acrossall government min-istries to facilitate suc-cess without furtherdelay. A success simi-lar to that achievedduring the opening ofDelhi’s new terminal.”

Tyler urged MoCA tointervene in the discus-

sion of proposed charges increasedat the Delhi International Airport.“The new terminal and third runwayhave provided a much-needed boost.But if the 340 per cent increase incharges, over the next two years, isimplemented, it will make Delhi themost expensive airport in the worldand destroy its competitiveness.”

“Given its broad economicimplications, the governmentshould take immediate action.First, 340 per cent is unaccept-able. It would be a shock to the system. The Ministry must intervene with a broader context. This should takeinto consideration the long-termdevelopment of Indian aviation inits hubs. And if need be, the con-

cession contracts, which at Delhi channel 46 per cent of revenues to the Airports Authorityof India, need to be re-thoughtwith the aim of offsetting aero-nautical charges. The solutionsare readily available and there isno reason why the 340 per cent,or any increase of this magnitude,should be allowed to go through,”said Tyler.

Tyler discussed the positiveconsideration of MoCA pro-posals to allow up to 49 percent of the direct invest-ment by foreign carriers inthe Indian airlines. “Thiswould allow strategic tie-ups with foreign airlinessimilar to arrangementsthat have successfully

strengthened airline groupsin other parts of the world.What is the public policyimperative of denying thispossibility to the Indian car-riers?” questioned Tyler.“But allowing foreign air-lines to invest in Indian avi-ation is not a panacea.Without addressing theother three pillars—costs,

taxes and infrastructure—itmay only be a theoreticalexercise. Under current con-ditions, the odds are stackedup against any investor mak-ing a positive return oninvestment in the Indian avi-ation sector. And no one islikely to come forwardunless they see themselvesmaking a profit.”

“I would suggest that a com-mon vision, expressed in aNational Aviation Policystrongly linked to an imple-mentation plan, could be theway forward. Such a policywould need to re-build com-petitiveness by addressingthe difficult issues of tax,cost, investment and infra-

structure, building on thegroundwork already beingdone within MoCA and inconsultation with the indus-try,” said Tyler while dis-cussing the critical andurgent situation in India.Reiterating his firm belief,Tyler said, “Aviation is a teameffort. It works best when all

the parts are operating incoordination and with a com-mon vision. It is also theforce for good in the world.The connectivity that thisindustry provides, linksgoods to markets, people tobusiness, reunites families,supports tourism and facilitates journeys of discov-ery. Aviation has almost infi-nite potential.”

TAXES

COST

INFRASTRUCTURE

INVESTMENT

REMEDIAL SUGGESTIONS

ASSOCIATIONS1 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

As the Ministry of Tourismgears up for its maiden

venture in the form of theproposed Global Travel MartIndia (GTMI) event onDecember 12, 2012, theFederation of Associations ofIndian Tourism & Hospitality(FAITH) is pegged to be play-ing a pivotal role in the event.

At the recently convenedmeeting of the travel tradestakeholders in New Delhi bythe MOT for the GTMI, theMinistry revealed its plans toinvolve the newly formedbody in the functioning ofthings. However, theAssociation members areonly planning to support the

event rather than spearheadit. While the Ministry is going ahead with its ground work for the largesttravel trade event in thecountry, there are some cru-cial concerns being raised bythe FAITH members!

Commenting on the sit-uation, Ajay Prakash,President, TAFI said, “FAITH

is still in the process of get-ting itself registered. It is pre-mature to think that FAITHcan organise the event. TheMOT has now called for ten-ders and we will fully supportthe Ministry.” “We need to berealistic. All the members ofFAITH hold posts with othertravel trade organisations

where they are doing volun-tary service. We need moresystematic management anda dedicated team to host thisevent,” he pointed out.

Replying on a querywhether 12.12.12 would be areality or if it could be delayed,Prakash claimed, “Personally,I would be happier had theevent taken place in the off-

season. During the winter sea-son, hotels are fully bookedand infrastructure is alreadystretched. Most countries havetheir conventions in the off-season. This also helps to reapin benefits for the suppliers.”

The Ministry has con-veyed the need to adopt

international best practicesbeing followed globally in the field of travel exhibitions,for the proposed travel mart to the stakeholders. The targetted exhibitionspace for GTMI is 10,000sqm. This will include bothinbound and outbound com-ponent in a 50:50 ratio.

Tejbir Singh Anand,President, ATOAI, opined,“The only complication Iforesee for FAITH to hostthis event is that we are anew association. We need todo our homework beforeorganising the event. I

believe FAITH should notjust spearhead this event butall other events in Indiarelated to the travel indus-try. Right now, it is too earlyfor FAITH to organise anevent that is being peggedas the biggest in the travelindustry. In the future, wewill surely spearhead theevent, but, not for now.”

According to Anand, theevent might get deferred. “Anyevent needs time. An event ofsuch massive scale needspreparation time of at leasttwo years. This is April whichapparently means we have 8months to go. And this timespan is too less. The eventshould have been announcedfor 2013 and not 2012. Thenit would have been more fea-sible,” he added.

Iqbal Mulla, President,TAAI said, “The idea ofFAITH organising the eventwas just floated in the MOTmeeting with the travel tradestakeholders. Nothing has

been formally offered to us.Hence, we will wait for a for-mal offer. Then we candebate on this.”

Highlighting the rolethat FAITH will play in theevent, Subhash Verma,President, ADTOI revealed,“We can be a supporting armfor the event. There can bethree plausible segments tofacilitate this event. First andforemost is the Ministry ofTourism. Secondly, thereshould be an internationalevent organiser. The thirdsupporting arm of the eventcan be FAITH.”

Reinforcing the impor-tance of FAITH as a commonplatform, Kamlesh Barot,President, FHRAI said, “Weare the ‘one voice’ in thetravel industry and hence, itis obvious that we would beinvolved. However, we arestill under the process of get-ting FAITH registered. I fore-see the registration beingdone in the next threemonths. Till then, FAITH can-not interact with the MOT ona one-on-one basis.” Toassure the Ministry of theirfull support, the hotel indus-try stakeholders consisting ofFHRAI, HAI and HRAWI metRH Khwaja, Secretary, MoT,GoI in Mumbai recently,Barot revealed.

Even Barot is of theopinion that the much-covet-ed GTMI should take place inthe leaner months ratherthan December. “The MoThas plans to make this eventan annual affair for the traveltrade industry. This implies ifthe B2B event takes place on12.12.12, it will happen in2013 also in the same monthof December. If this becomesan annual affair in December,it will be a little difficult asDecember is one of thebusiest months of the year forus,” he claimed.

“I would surely moot forthe exhibition to be shifted tothe leaner months as the involvement of the industry would be much larg-er then,” he added.

The members of Federation of Associations of IndianTourism & Hospitality (FAITH) share their views onwhether the Indian Global Travel Mart (GTM) is still a distant dream or not. reports...

GTM waiting...waiting... still waiting!

Nothing has beenformallyoffered to us.Hence, wewill wait for aformal offer.Then we candebate on this

Right now, it is too early for FAITH toorganise anevent that isbeing peggedas the biggestin the travelindustry

It is prematureto think thatFAITH canorganise theevent. MOT has called for tenders andwe will fullysupport theMinistry

Ajay PrakashPresidentTAFI

Tejbir Singh AnandPresidentATOAI

Iqbal MullaPresidentTAAI

ME G H A PAU L

While the Ministry is goingahead with its groundwork the proposed GlobalTravel Mart India (GTMI)event on December 12,2012 there are somecrucial concerns beingraised by the FAITHmembers

Crucial Concerns

We are stillunder theprocess ofgetting FAITHregistered. Tillthen, FAITHcannot interactwith MOT on a one-on-one basis

There can be 3plausiblesegments tofacilitate thisevent - 1st is MOT, 2nd aninternationalevent organiser,3rd supportingarm can be FAITH

Subhash VermaPresidentADTOI

Kamlesh BarotPresidentFHRAI

ASSOCIATIONS1 6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

“Commissions are notour business,” said

Gautam Chadha, ChiefExecutive, Tirun Marketing,

“It is people that are centralto all we do. Human capital iscentral to our sustenance.”

“Hire great people anddon’t compromise; the bestand bright people are ourcompetitive advantage, sowork hard and retain yourtalent,” explained Sundar

Vasudevan, PrincipalConsultant, TRS Consulting.“Make things happen. Watchand learn from people who

are making things happenand not those who don’t know what’s happen-ing. We are going throughtough times and we need to be tougher,” said Sujit Banerjee, Secretary,WTTC, India Initiatives. The debate was about, “Where isthe money?” Raja Natesan,

COO, TUI India, declared,“20 years ago, we followed Kotler’s 4Ps formarketing, it worked and weall made money. However,the 4Ps have changed. Take advertising as anexample – earlier they highlighted what went intomaking a product, but today, advertisements talkabout how much wear andtear the product can withstand.” He said, “Earlier we worked withfixed pricing but now welook at variable pricing.”

Everyone agreed that social media plays an important role in thetravel trade. Thrice the time is spent on socialmedia than on snail mail.Natesan revealed, “Thereare 700 updates onFacebook each second. 18-29 year olds are spend-ing 13 per cent more timeon social media networks,50-64 year olds 88% moreand shockingly, 65+ arespending 100% more timeon it. Word-of-mouth drives choice!”

Kapil Kaul, CEO, SouthAsia, CAPA, advised,“Change the dynamism from‘where is the money’ to ‘howto make money’. Specialisedtravel agents are makingmoney. Learn from them! Getto know your consumer, ifyou don’t know what he

wants, you will never makeprofits. And invest and learnabout your people, your busi-ness, your core competenciesand capabilities – know your-self, your business and yourmarkets. We have very low

entry barriers because toomany people are in the samebusiness. Is this responsiblefor not making money?”

Iqbal Mulla, President,TAAI very sensibly advisedthe members to understandtheir risks before engagingwith them. He suggested a

chart of service charges becreated and everyone abideby it. Subhash Goyal,President, IATO called allassociations to come togeth-er to give a right direction totourism growth.

The TAAI Convention this year was different as the business discussions pointed towards solutions to problems rather than the problems themselves. The sessions concluded by saying that one should see all failures as opportunities.

Tough times make tougher peopleDE E PA SE T H I I N IS TA N B U L

Gautam ChadhaChief Executive, Tirun Marketing

Sujit BanerjeeSecretary WTTC, India Initiatives

Raja NatesanCOO, TUI India

Kapil KaulCEO, South Asia - CAPA

Iqbal MullaPresident, TAAI

Subhash GoyalPresident, IATO

ASSOCIATIONS

It is keenly going to focuson the employment gener-

ation issue. Vivek Nair,Chairman, ConventionOrganising Committee andHony. Secretary, FHRAIinformed, “This year theconvention has been themedkeeping in mind the criticalaspect of employment. Wehave themed it as -‘Employment Generation:Engine of Inclusive Growth’.Further, the Convention CoreCommittee has been formed.We have received supportfrom the local GoaCommittee Members andmembers from the WesternRegion of FHRAI.

The Convention isscheduled to be held in Goafrom September 6-8, 2012.The venue for the AnnualEvent will be the GrandHyatt, Goa. Sunit Kotharifrom the Hotel andRestaurant Association

(Western India) - HRAWI willco-chair the convention apartfrom spearheading the eventmanagement responsibilities.

Further, Dinesh Advani,member of HRAWI would beresponsible for the businesssessions and internationalassociations’ co-ordination.

The FHRAI Conventionhas always been one of themost anticipated and widelyattended events of our indus-try’s calendar. Each year, hun-

dreds of delegates, comprisinga veritable who’s who of thehospitality and tourism sector,congregate on this vibrantplatform for vivid and enrich-ing deliberations on the myri-ad strategic and competitivedynamics shaping the indus-try. FHRAI members areoffered an unparalleled oppor-tunity to engage with a multi-tude of stakeholders includingpolitical dignitaries, top poli-cymakers, technocrats, globalentrepreneurs, business iconsas well as representatives fromcivil society and media.

“For the first time thisyear, international and nation-al associations of eminenceshall synergise with FHRAI onthe convention. In addition tobenefiting from carefullystructured and stimulatingbusiness sessions, they alsoenjoy ample occasions to net-work and bond with their peers, in a leisurely andcongenial atmosphere,”FHRAI informed.

The theme of the 47th Annual Convention of the Federationof Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) is‘Employment Generation: Engine of Inclusive Growth’.

TT BU R E AU

‘Employment Generation’

The Outbound TourOperators Association of

India (OTOAI), a non-profitorganisation formed to lead theoutbound tour operators inIndia, announced on March 19,2012 that they have joinedhands with Zimbabwe to formthe India-Zimbabwe TravelCouncil (IZTC). The saidannouncement was made by

Arthur OG Mutambara,Deputy Prime Minister,Republic of Zimbabwe in thepresence of ZimbabweGovernment officials and stake-holders from the Indian andZimbabwe travel industries.

“IZTC’s key mandate isto promote rapport betweenoutbound tour operators inIndia and inbound tour oper-ators in Zimbabwe and is

poised to add spur in posi-tioning Zimbabwe at a van-tage point in the Indian mar-ket. This, in turn, is expectedto turn around the fortunesof Zimbabwe by increasingthe tourist influx from India,”said Mutambara.

Guldeep Singh Sahni,President, OTOAI said,“There is an immense poten-tial for Zimbabwe as a stand-

alone destination and also asa gateway to other neigh-bouring destinations. TheVictoria Falls can be aninstant hit along with manyother travel attractions onceadequate awareness is spread and crucial aspectslike visa and air connectivity is addressed.”

IZTC will consist of ninemembers that will include

three members of OTOAI,three from Zimbabwe TourismPromotion Authority and willalso include representativesfrom the Zimbabwe Embassyand respective ministries.

Further, Vineet Gopal,Joint Secretary, OTOAIinformed that a delegation oftheir core team will soon be travelling to Zimbabwe towork out the other modalities,including the location of their offices.

Commenting on theupcoming commissioningceremony, Karikoga Kaseke,Chief Executive, ZimbabweTourism Authority said, “Thisis a rare opportunity for us totap the Indian market whichis among the fastest growingeconomies in the world. Weare projecting that the IZTCwill result in an increase intourist arrivals from a meagre3,000 recorded in 2011. Withthe introduction of Emirates,we are certain that these projections will be met. TheIZCT, after being commis-sioned, will be formalisedinto an institutional framework and is set to contribute to the growth ofthe tourism industry in both countries.”

India-Zimbabwe Travel Council formed by the partnershipbetween OTOAI and Zimbabwe will be formalised into an institutional framework to help the tourism industry grow.

VI V E K SE T H I

OTOAI partners Zimbabwe

Vivek NairChairman, Convention OrganisingCommittee and Hony. Secretary, FHRAI

Delegates from India and Zimbabwe at IZTC event

AVIATION2 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

“2011 has been an inter-esting year for us in

India. On the passenger side,our revenue growth wasmore than 2010. PremiumClass business on our routesfrom India was generallyrobust throughout the yearand our overall load factor

grew by four per cent, which is encouraging,” saysTom Wright, GeneralManager, South Asia, MiddleEast & Africa, Cathay Pacific.

In 2011, the core busi-ness of the Cathay PacificGroup was affected by insta-bility and uncertainty in theworld’s major economies. Thepassenger business of Cathay

Pacific held up relatively well, mainly as a result of strong demand for premium class travel.

Discussing factors thathelped the company grow inIndia, Rakesh Raicar,Regional Sales & MarketingManager – South Asia,Middle East & Africa, CathayPacific, says, “What we did

was to run our businesssmartly and prudently. Weknow there will always beshort-term fluctuations inthis volatile industry that weare in, but we are very muchfocussed on the long-termgame. That’s why we havecontinued to invest in newaircrafts and products thatwill convince our passengersto keep flying with us.Moreover, everything we didwas a team effort.”

“We will continue tooffer a five per cent commis-sion to agents and runincentive promotions toengage them,” says Raicar.

Looking forward to 2012,he says, “It is fair to say thatthe difficult trends of 2011 arecarrying on and have certainlynot reversed themselves. Theglobal scenario remains uncer-tain and there seems noimmediate prospect of a sig-nificant reduction in fuelprices. As a result, 2012 lookseven more challenging than2011 and therefore we arebeing cautious about ourprospects for this year. We willcontinue to be vigilant in man-aging costs, but we will notcompromise in the quality ofour products and services orour long-term strategic invest-ment in the business.”

While many international airlines felt the heat of the challenging environment in 2011, Cathay Pacificshowed growth in terms of their revenue and load factorfrom India. Here are details of their business growth...

Cathay to continue with 5% commission

Tom WrightGeneral Manager, South AsiaMiddle East & Africa, Cathay Pacific

Rakesh RaicarRegional Sales & Marketing Manager –South Asia, ME & Africa, Cathay Pacific

“We faced a number ofmajor challenges in 2011 andwe are still operating in avery challenging environ-ment. However, the CathayPacific Group has a clearstrategic focus and we aremoving ahead with a numberof initiatives that will makeour Airline stronger and pro-vide a better experience forour customers. The group is

taking delivery of 19 new aircraft in 2012, we are introducing a new PremiumEconomy Class product, newlong-haul Economy Classseats and continuing with therollout of our acclaimed new business class, we areimproving our lounge facili-ties; and are building a cargoterminal in Hong Kong that is scheduled to

open in early 2013,” saysChristopher Pratt, Chairman,Cathay Pacific.

Challenges and way forward

TT B U R E AU

Tourists who take the high-speed AirportExpress Metro will nowhave easy access to infor-mation about tourist attrac-tions in the Capital with theDelhi Tourism setting upkiosks at the New Delhi andthe Shivaji Stadium Metrostations.

The kiosks would pro-vide detailed tourist infor-mation and arrange site-seeing in Delhi for AirportMetro commuters andtourists. The New Delhi andthe Shivaji Stadium stationsalready provide check-infacilities for internationaland domestic fliers.

A dedicated bus serviceorganised by Delhi Tourismwill also be made availableto facilitate travellers andtake them to tourist desti-nations and various heritagesites in Delhi. Tourists canalso book their ‘DilliDarshan’ trips at both theMetro stations. Tourists whowish to travel out of Delhi,to places like Agra, Jaipur,Chandigarh and Manali, canalso plan their tours andbook their tickets at theDelhi Tourism’s inter-statetravel service available atthe two Metro stations.

Metro Kiosks

Christopher PrattChairmanCathay Pacific

AVIATION

Why did you shut downyour services to NewDelhi and Mumbai?

Based on pure econom-ics, that is, rising fuel pricesand high airport landing taxes,we had to close our servicesto New Delhi and Mumbai.Our flights were doing a 78per cent load factor. After thisexperience, we decided toclose down our operations onthe above two routes, and flyonly to Indian destinationsthat are less than four hourslong. Our daily flights toKolkata will continue.

Why did you selectChennai?

It’s a business and cul-tural city and we have been

eyeing it for a long time.Besides, the route is notcrowded at all from Bangkok,unlike in Delhi. Some bigThai companies have invest-ed in Chennai, and we hopeit will now become an impor-tant trading spot for Indianinvestors in Thailand.

You have started a newroute to China too? Howdo you compare theIndian and Chinese markets?

Yes, not many are awarethat we’ve started a brandnew route to Chongquing, animportant exhibition town. Infact, we have seen manyIndians there, and I’m sure ournew Chennai route will makeit easier for them to go there.As for the two great countries,we want to capitalise on thefact that both their economicmarkets are growing at anexponential rate.

Your Airline seems to betotally based on onlineservices?

Well , everyone is net-savvy these days; especiallyIndians; and that should beno problem to anyone. Whileour best deals are online, wework both with the online aswell as ground travel agents.We offer hotel and tour pack-ages too, for which we workwith the top tour operators.We’ll do the same in Chennai.We are like brokers who sellto everyone who want a

share of the pie! Our GSA inIndia is the Hind-group.

Why does your ticket not include baggageallowance or seat reservation?

You need to book sepa-rately for them. You can doeverything online from book-ing your seat to your food(which is cheaper, online) toyour boarding card. If you arenot fussy about seats, you canget them as you board theflight at no extra cost.Otherwise, you need to bookonline and pay extra. For lug-gage, you pay for what youuse. That means, you pay foryour checked-in baggagefrom 15 kg - 30 kg. Anythingabove that, you pay at the air-

port, there’s free hand lug-gage of 7 kg. We recently low-ered our baggage rates, whichis good news for the Indiantourists, who shop a lot inThailand. AirAsia is 20 percent - 30 per cent cheaperthan the regular airlines.

Do you serve Indianfood?

We have served qualityIndian cuisine, ever since westarted operations to India,including vegetarian food fromthe well-known ‘Indus’ restau-rant in Bangkok. It’s alwaysbeen appreciated by our Indianpassengers. Since our parentairline is from Malaysia, wealso serve halal food .

How do you set yourselfagainst a rival low-costairline like IndiGo inIndia?

They may be strong inIndia, but we are a strongbrand in the Asian andASEAN region.

Do you target groups orthe MICE market which

is a big part of the Indianoutbound?

While our main targetgroups are FITs, we do havespecial offers for groups. Andyes, we are studying theincentive and MICE market,which seems to be a big partof the Indian outbound.

Which aircraft do youuse?

We use the A320 planeswith a seating capacity of180. We have 23 new planes,and have already placed anorder for 200 more aircraft,after five years.

What is the biggestadvantage of travellingby AirAsia?

Apart from our low rates,we also offer a wide range ofAsian routes. From Chennai,Indian tourists can fly with usto Thailand, Singapore,Malaysia, Indonesia, Macau,China, Hong Kong, Vietnam,Burma, etc. Like in Europe, theIndian tourists can do a multi-country holiday, at one time!We fly to 16 cities in Thailandalone. Since Indians lovebeaches, they can fly withAirAsia, not just to Phuket, butto Trang and Krabi, Bali inIndonesia, and Langkawi inMalaysia. I’m also consideringa direct route to Phuket fromIndia, as we have three hubsin Thailand, includingChiangmai and Phuket.

Are you considering anyother cities in India?

Yes, we are consideringmany cities that are withinthe 4-hour time frame. Afterall, we have always been thefirst to start ‘new’ routes inmany countries.

Is this the secret of yourAirlines’ success?

Absolutely, we areinnovative, passionate andaggressive about pioneering‘new’ routes. We were thefirst to start flights to smalltowns like Nakhon Phanomin Thailand, new cities like Guangzhou in China,exotic spots like KotaKinabulu in Malaysia, as also to places like Hanoi andMacau. Now, many of themhave become so well knownand popular.

With your focus on beingan ‘ASEAN’ airline, areyou excited about theformation of the ASEAN’conglomerate in 2015?

We are very excited,because we fly to all theASEAN destinations, and havea strong base everywhere. Itwould be a dream come truefor us, as we’ve worked hard to connect the ASEANdestinations.

AirAsia announces their Chennai to Bangkok service.Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO, Thai AirAsia speaks out on the airline’s interest in launching 4-hour routes to India.

4-hour routes for AirAsia

L to R: P. Murari, Advisor, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry andFormer Secretary to President of India, Chanchai Charanvatnakit, Consul-General, RoyalThai Consulate, Chennai and Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO, Thai AirAsia

LE K H A SH A N KA R I N BA N G KO K

AirAsia launches newroute to Chennai fromBangkok from March 23

AirAsia will fly to Chennaifive times a week at apromotional rate of 2390 baht

New Routes

AVIATION2 2 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

“Going back to 2009, wewithdrew our servic-

es out of Mumbai due torecession and it was a tempo-rary decision. Since then, thenumber of people who haveflown between Mumbai andHeathrow has grown by nineper cent to more than onemillion passengers, making itHeathrow’s 12th busiest long-haul route. The new dailyflight from Mumbai will notonly serve the UK but also

open up easy connectionsfrom London HeathrowAirport to cities in the UnitedStates of America. Hence, weare very optimistic and excit-ed to serve the people ofMumbai and neighbouringkey cities,” says StephenKing, General Manager,Virgin Atlantic, India.

From October 29, 2012,Virgin Atlantic has decided tolaunch new flights to Londonfrom Mumbai. Their newestA330, offering the best in theairline’s new product andservice, will be deployed on this route.

“Virgin Atlantic is proudto be flying to Mumbai again.We are passionate about pro-viding a unique service tocustomers and our newAirbus 330-300 will featureour brand new Upper Class Dream Suite. We willcontinue to offer Indianentertainment and delicacieson board served by the local Indian crew,” says

Richard Branson, President,Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Discussing their mar-keting initiatives for thetravel industry in Mumbai,King says, “Although wehave not been online in

Mumbai in recent years, wehave still got some greattravel partners there and arelooking forward to workingactively with them again. I am confident both our cus-tomers and travel partners

are in for some fun andpleasant surprise.”

The flights have beentimed to offer connections toUSA, with less than a twohour wait at Heathrow. Theflights from Mumbai willdepart everyday at 0310(local time) arrive in London Heathrow at 0755 (GMT). Flights from LondonHeathrow Airport will departeveryday at 1015 GMT arriving in Mumbai at0055+1 (local time).

US$ 2.2 billion is beingspent on Virgin Atlantic’sfleet of 10 Airbus A330 aircraft. The A330 is VirginAtlantic’s first long rangetwin engine aircraft. The newplane will use 15 per centless fuel per seat than the air-line’s A340-300 aircraft. TheA330-300 aircraft will beconfigured in the airline’sthree classes – Upper Classwith 33 seats, PremiumEconomy with 48 seats andEconomy with 185 seats.

Virgin Atlantic has decided to re-launch its services in Mumbai from October 29,2012. The Airline will fly daily and has deployed its newest A330 on this sector.

DE V I KA JE E T

Fly Mumbai-London with Virgin

Stephen KingGeneral ManagerVirgin Atlantic, India

US$ 2.2 billion is beingspent on Virgin Atlantic’sfleet of 10 Airbus A330aircraft

The A330-300 aircraft willbe configured in theairline’s three classes –Upper Class with 33 seats,Premium Economy with48 seats and Economywith 185 seats

Flight Information

Astral Travels recentlylaunched their webpage for Canada at jannat.cana-da.travel. “Being a Canadaspecialist and GSA for RockyMountaineer, from last yearonwards, we have beenactively promoting the des-tination. This year we planto expand our advertisingnetwork to states neigh-bouring Delhi”, says KapilBerera, Managing Director,Astral Travels.

Continuing to promotetheir major selling destina-tions, which include,Canada, Australia, NewZealand and RoyalCaribbean Cruise, Bereraadds, “Last year we did agood business for Canada,Caribbean Royal Cruises and

a few European countries.We hope to continue samegrowth this year”.

Honeymoon travel andFIT leisure travel have beentheir USP from last twodecades, now the agencywill also focus on weddingand anniversary planner,incentive groups, FIT luxuryand group travellers.

Kenya Airways will com-mence its flights to NewDelhi starting May 15,2012. The new route high-lights Kenya Airways ambi-tious growth plans toexpand its network as partof its 10 year growth strat-egy. “New Delhi is the sec-ond city after Mumbai thatwe will be flying to India,

we intend to open four moredestinations in the sub-con-tinent as part of our 10 yearexpansion strategy,” saidTitus Naikuni, ChiefExecutive Officer, KenyaAirways. Naikuni noted thatthe destination has greatbusiness prospects as NewDelhi is one of the largestcities in India.

Kenya flies direct to Delhi

Kapil BereraManaging DirectorAstral Travels

Astral’s Canada

With a growth of 30 per-cent last year, Eco Rent

a Car hopes for more growththis year and is now develop-ing their relations with theindustry. “While in the pastour contact with travel agentsand tour operators has beenlimited, but in the coming

financial year we are offeringpackages and products aimedat tour operators and travelagents at the right price,” saysRajesh Loomba, ManagingDirector, Eco Rent a Car.

It has increased its fleetof mid segment cars, addedluxury imported vans, mini

busses and high-end cars.“We are offering extremelyattractive terms and pricepoints. Our transparency ofdealings and protecting theinterest of our partners iswell known. We have alsotied up with a few travelagents wherein we are their

exclusive back end for sup-plying transportation to theirconsumers”, adds Loomba.Eco Rent a Car is focused onproviding quality groundtransportation services forcorporate, meetings andleisure segments on a pan-India basis. Eco Rent a

Car offers superior qualityservices across the countryand takes care of all compliances with regard tothe cars and drivers. “Wealso put in a lot of focus intothe training of our drivers,whom we call service staff,”concludes Loomba.

While in the past their interaction with the travel fraternity has been limited, Eco Rent aCar is now gearing up with products and packages aimed at B2B interactions.

TT BU R E AU

Eco Rent a Car grows by 30% in 2011

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

Rajesh LoombaManaging Director, Eco Rent a Car

Pearl InternationalTours and Travels (PITT)has launched a new tech-nological platform –sastiticket.com.

“After having doneextensive research anddevelopment, we havecustomized a travel portalto offer features and bene-fits which will not onlyhelp our agents to do bet-ter business but will alsopush our inventory ofproducts via an open plat-form for agents who see

value in our offerings. Weplan to use this tool to offercorporate customers a sin-gle window approach fortheir requirements. Unlikeothers, sastiticket.com isgoing to remain a 100 percent membership-only mo -del for our B2B partn ers.We believe in using te c hn -o logy as an enabler to enh -ance benefits for the verylarge agency market in In -dia,” says Arjun Seth, MD,Pearl Inte rna tional Toursand Travels.

Seth adds, “EveryIndian looks to buy theirproducts or services, sasta.Have a conversation withtravellers on their ticket orhotel requirements andthey’ll always want thecheapest deal. Thus it iscalled ‘Sastiticket’. Sincethis is a members-onlyportal, we offer the bestfor our travel partners toupsell their business in asafe and secure environ-ment. We have what ittakes to make the businesswork for our partners. Weoffer travel products andsolutions that sell and weremain committed.”

Sastiticket.com

Arjun SethMD, Pearl Inte rna tional Toursand Travels

NTO2 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

According to experts,India is a market which

currently has 1.2 croreIndians travelling overseas

annually and a growth rate of12-13 per cent per year pro-jected till 2015.

According to the WorldTravel & Tourism Council(WTTC) Country Report forIndia, this industry con-tributes 8.6 per cent to theGDP, which is expected toincrease to nine per cent by2020. From the very start,long-haul destinations fromEurope and US have target-ted the high-end travellersfrom India as componentslike air travel and accommo-dation make the entire pack-age a bit over the budget forthe middle class travellers.

But with increasing competi-tion in air travel, Indian andinternational carriers areoffering attractive returnfares which bring down thetotal travel budget to a cer-tain extent. And with aggres-sive promotional activities byNTOs in India, more andmore travel agents in Indiaare offering attractive pack-ages to Europe in much eco-nomical rates. However,when talking about high-endtravellers, everything isabout ‘E’ - experience, exclu-sivity, exotic, excitement,excellence, extraordinary,engaging and ease.

While exploring theexperiential holiday options,the high-end travellers lookfor diversity, it could be any-thing from camper vans inNew Zealand to river cruisesin South America, an exclu-sive single malt distillery inScotland, rail journeys acrossthe Canadian RockyMountains, drive across theAfrican continent, culturaltours of Laos, Cambodia andVietnam, a Harley Davidsonbike ride in Thailand or evena super-truck expeditionacross Iceland.

Established destinationslike Thailand, Malaysia,Singapore and short-hauldestinations like Indonesia,Dubai, Sri Lanka, Philippines,etc are now competing witheach other to get the biggestpie of high-end travellers.

According to SuraphonSvetasreni, Governor,Tourism Authority ofThailand, the high-endIndian traveller is increasing-ly looking beyond the triedand tested holidays and seek-ing out unique experiences.He said, “Thailand has estab-lished itself as a destinationof choice for many Indians,especially middle class. I

won’t be wrong in saying thatwe have made internationaltravel affordable for Indians.However, our destination stillhas the charm of being exclu-sive, exotic and exciting forhigh-end travellers who arelooking for unique experi-ences in Thailand. There arevirgin destinations whichappeal to the high-end trav-

ellers to repeatedly visitThailand and get uniqueexperiences on every visit.”

To establish itself as ahigh-end destination, OmanTourism launched the‘Opulence of Oman’ campaignin India for the first time inIndia. Haitham M Al-Ghasani, Director of Tourism,Promotion & Awareness,Sultanate of Oman said, “The

entire definition of luxury hol-idays is changing worldwideand India is no exception. Theupper-end traveller is the onewho has done that and seenthat—so now it's time tomove away from the herd andseek out unique experiences.India is increasingly becom-ing a core market for us withits booming economy and ris-

ing outbound travel.However, our focus is on highnet-worth travellers as mostof our services, offerings andactivities are apt for that seg-ment. The affluent Indianoutbound travellers prefercustom built tours. Thus weare working closely withselective travel companieswhich assist them with cus-tomised departures and give

them a freedom to explore thedestination at their own pace.Oman is a perfect destinationfor travellers seeking privacy,style, quality of service withexclusive and unique experi-ences. Through the new cam-paign, we will showcase theluxury offered to travellers inOman and increase aware-ness about our destinationand its offerings.”

In fact, TourismMalaysia has recorded overallgrowth in tourism last year asthe positive effects of its lux-ury destination brandingkicked in. Since 2010, theMinistry of Tourism hadimplemented various initia-tives to draw high net-worthtourists to Malaysia withevents like the MalaysiaInternational Shoe Festival,Malaysia Contemporary ArtTourism Festival and thepackaging of helicopter tours.Other events included privatesector collaboration on "AJourney through Time" luxu-ry watch exhibition and theCIMB Asia Pacific ClassicMalaysia golf tournamentsanctioned by PGA Tourwhich positioned Malaysia asa luxury tourism destination.“The branding of Malaysia asa luxury destination and ourefforts to attract high yieldtourists to Malaysia havebeen well-received and thishas made a difference to ourtargets, earnings and arrivalfigures,” informs ManoharanPeriasamy, Director – India,Tourism Malaysia.

With a downturn wit-nessed from USA and Europethis year, destinations likeSeychelles are turning theirfocus on India. Talking aboutthe potential of India as amarket for Amia Jovanovic-Desir, Senior MarketingExecutive, SeychellesTourism said, “We arefocussing on tourists who are

looking for quality and notquantity. As per my knowl-edge about Indian travellers,vacations are something spe-cial. The well-travelledclients are very involved rightfrom the start with the planning of their holidaystarting with putting togetherthe itinerary, the hotels they stay in and the activitieswe plan for them. Being an exotic destination, we arehere to attract premium cat-egory travellers who preferthe best of the best productson their tours.”

Furthermore, the NTOsare engaging directly withthe high-end tech-savvy trav-ellers through digital market-ing. Recently, Tourism

Victoria launched an onlinecampaign where both thetravellers and the trade part-ners can personalise theiritineraries. On the samelines, Canada Tourismlaunched ‘Jannat Canada’campaign early this year.

NTOs are luring the high-end Indian travellers through innovative offerings, product lines and are working with top tour operators to provide the best deals and packages. speaks tolong-haul, short-haul, established and new NTOs about their strategy to attract repeat travellers.

Indians demand value-for-money products

AN I TA JA I N

Our destination still has thecharm of being exclusive,exotic andexciting forhigh-endtravellers

Suraphon SvetasreniGovernorTourism Authority of Thailand

BrandingMalaysia asa luxurydestinationhas made a differenceto ourtargets,earnings andarrival figures

India isincreasinglybecoming acore marketfor us with itsboomingeconomyand risingoutboundtravel

Haitham M Al-GhasaniDirector of Tourism, Promotion &Awareness, Sultanate of Oman

Manoharan PeriasamyDirector – IndiaTourism Malaysia

We focus ontourists who arelooking forquality and notquantity.Vacations aresomethingspecial forIndian travellers

Amia Jovanovic-DesirSenior Marketing Executive SeychellesTourism

NTO2 6 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

A roadshow was organised by Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, under the brand European Quartet. Events were held in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi. Over four days, 23 suppliers and rep-resentatives met more than 300 Indian tour operators and agents.

European Quartet roadshow

The two favourite short-haul destinations for

India outbound – Thailandand Malaysia – have realisedthat coopetition and not com-petition is the way forward.

A strong example ofhow national tourism associ-ations are joining forces bilat-erally to improve tourism andcrisis management tech-niques that will build businessbenefits, Tourism Malaysiaand Tourism Authority ofThailand (TAT) are joininghands on a variety of tourismmarketing activities in 2012to connect with the traveltrade and consumers in themetros as well as in Tier-IIand Tier-III cities. Some ofthese activities include co-participation at travel showsand exhibitions around India,joint product presentationsand co-hosting of events.

Dato Hj AzizanNoordin, Acting Director

General, Tourism Malaysiasaid, “Malaysia and Thailandare neighboring countriesand rank among the mostvisited in Asia by Indiantravellers. Hence, mostmajor travel agents promotethe two countries to theirclients either as stand-alonepackages or a combination ofthe two. Both ASEAN mem-ber countries have tourismproducts and services thatideally complement oneanother and there is a grow-

ing trend for Indian trav-ellers to visit Malaysia andThailand in a single trip.” Inlight of this, TourismMalaysia and TAT are com-bining marketing efforts toenable the NTOs to reach more of their target groups, he added.

The NTO has also rolledout its advertising campaignfor the Indian market. Thecampaign, entitled Every

Tourism Malaysia and Tourism Authority of Thailand are joining hands to connect with the travel trade in the metros as well as in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

TT BU R E AU

Wooing Indians jointly

Dato Hj Azizan NoordinActing Director GeneralTourism Malaysia

Runjuan Tongrut Office Director - New DelhiTAT

Contd. on page 28

The Government has agreed to extend the Irish Shor t-stay Visa Waiver Programme for a fur ther period of four years. This scheme is an integral par t of the Government’s Jobs Initiative and is intended to promote tourism, par ticularly from emerging markets such as China, India and the Gulf Region. Under the Programme, tourists or business people who have lawfully entered the UK, including Nor thern Ireland on a valid UK visa are able to travel on to Ireland without the requirement to obtain an Irish visa.

Visa Waiver Programme extension in Ireland

pay a penalty of ‘1 lakh eachand directed to furnish anundertaking that they will notindulge in such anti-compet-itive conduct in the future.This served a blow to thethree associations as theundertaking meant that notonly will their hands be tied,but the members couldundermine the authority ofassociations as well.

Immediately after thisruling, Federation of IndianAirlines (FIA) wrote toPresidents of each associationasking them, “Not to take anyadversorial position or take anyadverse action,” against its

member airlines. In a warningof sorts, FIA added that it, “Willnot hesitate to take necessaryaction including legal recourseto protect the member airlines and/or exclude suchagency/agencies from sellingmember airlines’ tickets.” Noprizes for guessing whom theairlines are supporting. Anappeal filed by IATA AgentsAssociation of India on CCI’sOctober 4 ruling has beenaccepted by it on February 23.A similar appeal has been filedby TAAI which was confirmedby its President. “Our appealhas been registered and we aresure that it will be a victory forus,” says Iqbal Mulla,President, TAAI.

CCI has sent notices torespondents which includeFCM Travel Solutions andUniglobe Mod Travels and thehearing is scheduled for April19. It is learnt from reliableindustry sources that TAFIhas paid the fine of ‘1 lakh. On a query whether thefine has been paid or not, Ajay Prakash, President,TAFI sidestepped the questionwhile saying that ‘the case is closed’.

Since TAFI has not filedan appeal and its Presidenthas issued the above state-ment, it can be concludedthat it has abided by theOctober 4 ruling.

NTO2 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

In a bid to further enhancethe robust multi-faceted

strategic partnership withIndia, Russia is workingtowards increasing the Indiantourist inflow this yearthrough innovative market-

ing activities. The WorldWithout Borders Associationunder the aegis of Rostourismrecently participated at OTMin Mumbai along with pre-senting the highlights of thecountry through a presenta-tion for travel trade andmedia. As per the figures pro-vided by Rostourism, close to

50,000 Indians visited Russiain 2011 (growth of about 40per cent) as compared to1,20,000 Russians visitingIndia during the same period.

Now, the country isworking closely withMumbai-based Salvia Tours

and has tied up with aRussian consolidator whichwill work closely with Indianagencies for smooth transferand experience of travellers.

Talking to aboutthe latest developments,Alexandr Radykov, DeputyHead, Russian Federal Agency

for Tourism (Rostourism) said,“With twice as many Russiansvisiting India than vice-versa,tourism promotion in Indiahas become our high priority.Due to the growing GDP, andincreasing spending power ofmiddle class segment alongwith the improving flight con-nections from India to over-seas countries, India hasbecome a promising out-bound market to tap. We aretargetting families and MICEsegment. Through aggressivepromotional activities with our partners in India we intend to grow the Indian arrival figures byalmost 50 per cent. Currently,Aeroflot provides direct con-nections from India (NewDelhi) to Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg) but soon the services would beextended to other cities in both the countries(Mumbai, Bengaluru,Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg,Samara, Nizhny Novgorodand Vladivostok).”

With only 50,000 Indians visiting Russia compared to 1,20,000 Russians visiting India, Russian Tourismaims to increase Indian tourist figures by 50% this year.

TT BU R E AU

Russia eyes Indian tourists

Through aggressive promotionalactivities with our partners in Indiawe intend to grow the Indian arrivalfigures by almost 50 per cent.

Alexandr Radykov, Deputy Head, RussianFederal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism)

Dream Needs a Destinationtakes its cue from the deepseated interest of the averageIndian in Bollywood andshowcases newer and exoticdestinations for the fastmaturing market. TourismMalaysia has also initiated aB2B programme where localsuppliers from Malaysia meet

and discuss business on aone-to-one basis with travelagents from the region.

Runjuan Tongrut, OfficeDirector - New Delhi, TATrevealed, “TAT is reassessingits strategy to focus more ontravel trade and corporatepartnerships in India.” TATexpects to see an improve-ment in tourists, both ways

over the next few yearsthrough joint activities withTourism Malaysia, she added.She informed that four mar-ket segments would be tar-getted this year, namely, Eco-Tourism, golf, health & well-ness and wedding & honey-moon. The lady Director alsoexpects to focus on womentravellers. “I would like to seeto it that we can increase ourfocus on women travellers –both the single and the grouptravellers,” she opined.

Contd. from page 26

Joint promotions

‘Clash’ on ‘Commission’Contd. from page 3

COVER STORY3 0 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

Dr. Jyotsna Suri,Chairperson - Tourism Committee, FICCI

Dipak Deva, CEODestination Management,India and South Asia, Kuoni Travel India

Madhavan MenonManaging DirectorThomas Cook (India)

Zelam ChaubalDirectorKesari MICE

Kamlesh BarotPresidentFHRAI

SM ShervaniVice President FHRAI

Sarab Jit SinghPresidentITTA

Vikram MadhokChairmanWTTCII

The Union Budget announced by Finance Minister is not a growthbudget but a populist budget. The Hospitality & Tourism industry has beenonce again completely overlooked. Our industry is heavily burdened withmultiple taxes. And now there is further increase in service tax by 2% &the Excise Duty has been hiked too. This would adversely affect the growthprospects of the industry and result in higher cost to the consumer.

It’s yet another budget from which it loud and clear that the government does not consider tourism an important part of economicgrowth. Over the past few budgets, the trend has been to neglect the medium and long term need of attracting more tourists to destinationIndia. Maybe we in the industry are to blame for not having made a good case for Tourism.

The announcement of an increase in infrastructural investments isindeed welcome. We would urge the government to prioritise and investon the lines of the Greater Noida - Agra expressway. The Inbound seg-ment would be further impacted, with a drop in FTAs and a further damp-ener on the growth rate in FEE already estimated to be down to 16.7%in 2011 from 24.6% in 2010.

India needs focused and planned development for tourism sector which is growing 20% every year. Budget did not do much, no benefit neitherto travel infrastructure or actual traveller, Infact travel has become expensiveand hotels are more expensive too. What we need is infrastructure development in big way. There should be focused ministery for tourism development, and planned efforts to increase MICE in the country.

The budget has some positives, a much needed balm to the ailingaviation sector. On March 1, 2012, the Cabinet Committee onInfrastructure had approved the harmonised list of Infrastructure sub-sectors. This should be a major push for the much required hotel roomsin our country. On the other hand the increase in Service Taxes translatesinto higher Air Fares, Taxes on Hotel rooms and expensive eating outs.Considering the current scenario this is a mixed bag.

We have had detailed meetings with the Planning Commission and inone of such interactions with the PMO, it was proposed that the inbound sector should target 20 million tourists by 2015. But, the Finance Ministryhas taken a totally contrasting stance. Tourism has the highest employmentcreation potential than any other sector. But, be it the opening of skies, orcommissioning of the new airports, the tourism sector is always neglected.

The increase in service tax to 12% from 10% will negatively impact thetourism industry as the package costs will go up due to tax on all componentsof tourism. We pleaded for withdrawal of service tax but are shocked to seethat more areas have been included for service tax. How much can you taxone industry year after year which is already burdened with taxes – LuxuryTax, Service Tax, Value Added Tax… literally speaking Tax on Tax.

Despite presenting our pre-budget wish list, the budget looks quite againstthe hospitality industry. Taxes on restaurants and food have increased from3% to 5% now while the tax on rooms has increased from 5% to 7%. In fact,in many states, the duplication of taxes is hitting revenue and profit marginsof the hospitality players. We were expecting rationalisation of taxes in the hotel industry which is nowhere in the picture in the Union Budget.

Our Finance Ministry is lousy. They only imagine hospitality sector asfive star luxury hotels, which have been demanding infrastructure statusfor long. Now, India is attracting business class to come and do businesshere. We need good roads, railways and air carriers to address the risingconcerns of economy. Then, what about the stay factor of the people wholook for quality accommodations?

Raja NatesanCOOTUI India

The budget did not deliver on what I was hoping for. The tourismsector can grow by leaps and bounds given the right impetus. For India,we have a target to double the arrivals in 5 years. While the target initself is ambitious and laudable, We could look at the approach top downand not bottom up. Then we go all out to remove every obstacle thatprevents us from getting there. This is where I think we are missing out.

Subhash Goyal President IATO

The travel trade hit hard by the budget woesContd. from page 1

NTO3 4 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

With significant growthin Indian arrivals dur-

ing 2011, Munich haslaunched an online pro-gramme developed especiallyfor the Indian market and its special interests. It educated the trade aboutMunich being perfectly pre-pared for the Indian travellersand its service providers

being well trained to createtailor-made programmes forthe Indian groups.

According to AnnetteKempf, Sales Promotion -Asia, Munich Tourism Board,Munich as the capital ofBavaria is a well-knownbrand in India. But, there arestill many unknown facetssuch as the vicinity to the surrounding area

including the alps, thelakes and fairytale cas-tles. Also, Munichoffers some great pro-grams for honeymoon-ers & families.

“Many do notknow that Munich isthe most amazing cityin terms of shopping!All brands can befound in the city with-in walking distance.Munich is also called aBusiness destination,but do you know allthe outstandingIncentive possibilities?

This is what the travel tradecan explore by subscribingfor the online training,” saidKemp.

“We have launched anonline programme developedespecially for the Indian mar-ket, which will educate par-ticipants about a betterknowledge of the product ondestination Munich. The ses-sions are easy to pass fromthe desk; agents can study attheir own place. The partici-pants will also stand a chance

to win a weekly prize drawingwith some nice gifts and postall 8 sessions they have thechance to win a trip toMunich!,” she added.

After undergoing thetraining programme, partici-pants will become a realMunich expert, which is constantly developing and growing and consistentlyoffers new options for the Indian travellers.

This online training programme offers participants the opportunity to becomea real Munich expert. The destination is constantly developing and growingwhile consistently offering new options for the Indian travellers.

TT BU R E AU

Online training programme by Munich Della Tecnica Grouplaunched Della Adventure inLonavala in 2009 with over80 adventure activities withan investment of close to `250 crore. The activitiesinclude ATV Rides, four dif-ferent types of Zorbing (firsttime in India), two flying foxziplines (one being India’slongest permanent zipline –1,250 meters), telegames(first time in India) like miniflying fox, barrel crawl,tarzan jump, slippery slopeand many more. It is soongoing to introduce India’sfirst flying trapeze (beingimported from New Zealand)which allows beginners/firsttimers to use a circus tra-peze. It also plans to includeKikking (a 20 foot swing thatturns 360 degrees) in itsactivities soon. Last year, theCompany recorded a growthof 20 per cent and with newactivities and more trafficfrom MICE and FIT segment,it is targetting an additional30 per cent growth this yearwith an aim to break even byOctober 2012.

Talking about the con-cept and future plans, JimmyMistry, Chairman &Managing Director, Della

Tecnica Group said, “India isstill at a nascent stage ofadventure industry and weare going to tap the rightmarket at the right time.Adventure tourism industryin the country is around `1,500 crore and with aninvestment of ̀ 250 crore fora park with multiple facilitiesand activities, we are offer-ing something which is ofinterest for every investor.With adventure activities,accommodation, banquetand F&B under one roof, weare offering an all-in-onepackage with each facilitybeing a feeder for the other.Our strength lies in ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing andworking with corporatehouses and MICE operators.”

It is aiming to openadventure parks in JV withland owners and investors inDelhi NCR, Ahmedabad,Indore and Bengaluru with-in the next five years andBaroda, Surat, Chennai,Hyderabaad, Nagpur, etc inthe long term. According toMistry, the park is focussingon attracting the MICE seg-ment as FITs will come asdefault travellers if corpo-rate travellers are pulled in.

India’s first flying trapeze

Munich has launched anonline programme developedespecially for the Indianmarket and its specialinterests

It educated the trade aboutMunich being perfectlyprepared for the Indiantravellers

After undergoing the trainingprogramme, participants willbecome a real Munich expert

Fact Box

Annette KempSales Promotion - AsiaMunich Tourism Board

FAMILY ALBUM3 8 TRAVTALK A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2

The 46th ITB Berlin saw the participation of 1,13,006 trade visitors and 10,644 exhibitors from 187 countries. The show had 167 exhibitors from India which included six Indian states. Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism was present at this international fair supporting initiative of the Indian tourism fraternity and encouraging them to help India reach its tourism potential.

It’s raining business @ITB Berlin 2012

Contd. on page 42

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

India shining at ITB Berlin

The India evening with MOT

Contd. from page 38

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

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) recently organised its diamond jubilee (60th) Indian Travel Congress, Convention & Exhibition at Hotel Green Park, Pendik in Istanbul, Turkey. Over 1,500 delegates attended the Convention. The 60th Convention and Exhibition coincided with the 60th year of Turkish Indian Tourism Council, which created a platform for fostering bilateral trade relations among the travel trade fraternity of India and Turkey.

TAAI celebrates 60th anniversary in Istanbul

Contd. on page 46

HOTELS A P R I L 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 2 TRAVTALK 4 5

Says Pankaj Bansal,Partner, Maitri Holidays,“Maitri Holidays is one ofthe leading travel solutioncompanies in India. Ourmain target is to set up ouroffice in major cities in thecountry and offer the bestvalue for money. Theorganisation will focus onoffering the best customersupport 24/7.”

Regarding the seg-

ment where the Group seesmaximum growth, Bansalreveals, “Domestic tourismwill yield profits in times tocome.” Even inbound seg-ment has tremendouspotential, he added.According to him, theGroup is aiming to openoffices in other parts of theworld by this year-end topromote Indian destina-tions. This year, the Groupwill also unveil a new resort– Shimla Heaven.

Established in 1995,leading tour operator -Maitri Holidays have beenserving the industry for thelast 14 years with dedica-tion and mission to providethe most exciting and hassle-free travelling expe-rience. The Company’smain objective is to providethe best services to their customers and business partners.

ExploreIndia

Pankaj BansalPartnerMaitri Holiays

In a bid to capitalise a largershare of the ever increas-

ing consumer market, tourcompany Mystikal Holidayshas launched a new vertical-- Mystikal Hotels, which isits first step to diversification.The new vertical is being pro-moted by Shailesh Nair,Managing Director, MystikalHolidays, assisted by NobleJose, along with the teams ofeach partner hotel. Launchedin February 2012, MystikalHotels has now initiated pro-

motions from the secondweek of March.

Mystikal Hotels hasannounced its entry with sixhotels and resorts in six loca-tions of Kerala’s tourist cir-cuit. It consists of ‘Value forMoney’ or ‘V4M Hotels’ in

the deluxe segment. The sixhotels consist of TravancoreCourt in Kochi, HotelDevaragam in Guruvayur,Nature Zone Resort atMunnar, Greenwoods Resortat Thekkady, Citrus Resort atAlappuzha and UdaySamudra Leisure Beach

Hotel on Kovalam beach. Awebsite will provide newsupdates from these hotels.The new vertical also intendsto run special online offers.Likewise promos will runwithin the travel domainwith pan-India partners topenetrate the larger markets.

Various competitions will runon a monthly-online basis.Mystikal Hotels will bring inmore clients to these trustedpartners by opening a singlepoint access for booking mul-tiple hotels, thereby giving acomprehensive solution fordesigning customised holi-days. The vertical group aimsto consolidate its business in the organised and unor-ganised markets throughvarious campaigns.

Exploring the avenue of hospitality in Kerala, the new vertical of MystikalHolidays recently unveiled the tour company’s promotional strategies.

Mystikal Hotels comes to mystic KeralaTT BU R E AU

Shailesh NairManaging Director, Mystikal Holidays

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Networking in Turkey @TAAI Convention

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The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) organised the Focus Canada event from March 12-16, 2012 in Goa on back of the success of Showcase Canada event in 2011. The success of the show reflected largely through the confidence that over 100 Canadian sellers and Indian buyers exchanged during the event doing business. Destination Canada through the Canadian Tourism Commission had not looked back post 2009, when it re-entered in the Indian market and appointed Buzz Travel Marketing as their representation arm in India.

‘Focus Canada’ stimulates Indian market

Contd. on page 50

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Business with pleasure @Focus Canada

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

The SuryaaNew DelhiDhanajay Kumar has been appointed as the Resident Managerat The Suryaa, New Delhi. He brings with him more than 18 yearsof experience in the Hospitality industryand has worked in various capacitieswith well-known hospitality brandslike Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Regency –Dubai, The Oberoi, Hilton, Shangri-La, The Claridges and Radisson. In hispresent profile, his focus would be tooversee and stabilise the Food &Beverage department. Prior to this, hewas with Radisson Blu - City CentreChennai as a General Manager.

Mrugesh Raval is appointed as the Director of Sales forCountry Inn & Suites by Carlson, Goa Candolim. A HotelManagement Graduate from Ahmedabad, Raval has been asso-ciated with the hotel Industry for the last 8 years. He has beenmade incharge for the hotel’s pre-opening sales strategies and revenuemanagement at the unit. Prior tothis, he has been associated withbrands like Ramada, Radisson, Zuriand Clarks.

Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO, Thai AirAsia loves Indian food. And therefore he isexcited with the launching of Bangkok-Chennai route. “I’m very excited, because Ilove Indian food, everything from chicken tikka to masala tea. I’m also keen to visitmany Indian cities,” he says.

He feels pride in sharing his success formula. “My previous experience in themusic industry contributed to my present success in the airlines industry. It dealswith people. If you can handle musical artistes, you can handle anyone in the world!”he adds with confidence.

Tassapon BijleveldCEOThai AirAsia

Paul Roll, Managing Director, Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, likes cooking,is a photography buff and is interested in cities.

He admits to being very curious by nature, is interested in human beings andhates details. By his own account, he's led a very pleasant professional life and greatlyenjoys the challenge of promoting a city like Paris in India. Before coming to India, hefelt he wouldn't like the country, but his successive visits have converted him into afan and he finds India a very interesting country, thanks to its wealth of culture, religion, cuisine etc. He feels that the changing world scenario creates its own chal-lenges and opportunities in various walks of life.

Paul RollManaging Director, ParisConvention and Visitors Bureau

Lajpat RaiPresidentLotus Trans Travels

Formule 1 Greater NoidaDelhi NCRFlorian Kohli joins the Formule 1 Greater Noida as theGeneral Manager. With over 6 years of experience in various

roles in the hospitality industry, Kohli iswell aware of the challenges in man-

aging properties in varied market sit-uations. Prior to this, he was a partof the pre-opening team of ibis DelhiInternational Airpor t in September2011 as Front Office Manager.

His association with Accor started in2007 when he joined the Novotel

Hyderabad International ConventionCenter as part of the sales &

marketing team.

Sarovar Hotels & ResortsMumbaiShantanu Jha has been appointed as the new General Manager- Sales (West) for Sarovar Hotels & Resorts. He will be based at

the head office in Mumbai. A hotel man-agement graduate, Jha comes with awide exposure and expertise in hotelsales and marketing with experienceacross brands like Radisson, GrandHyatt and InterContinental. He was also associated with the company

for 2 years until 2007. In his present profile, he will oversee the Company’s

sales offices in Pune, Ahmedabad, Suratand Vadodra.

Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon Delhi NCRShuvendu Banerjee joins Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon asthe new Director of Sales & Marketing. He has over a decade ofhands-on experience and in-depthknowledge as a sales and marketingprofessional. In his new role, Banerjeewill oversee all sales & marketing initiatives for the Hotel. He has beenwith IHG hotels for more than 5 yearsand has held various managerial positions across IHG hotels & some ofthe well known brands includingRadisson, Welcome Group andJaypee Hotels.

County Inn & Suites by CarlsonGoaManveer Kapoor has been appointed as the GeneralManager at County Inn & Suites by Carlson, Goa Candolim. He comes with an experience of over adecade in the hospitality sector. He has done his Bachelors in HotelManagement from BengaluruUniversity. He is responsible for thePre-opening of Country Inn & Suites in Goa. Prior to this, Kapoor was associated with brands like HyattRegency, Taj Exotic Goa, TajBengal, Zuri White FieldBengaluru, Svenska Hotels& Labriz Silhouette.

Formule 1 Hotels New DelhiPhilip Logan is appointed as the new Vice President of Formule 1 Hotels - Accor India. Logan has over 20 years of experience across the AsiaPacific in the management, opera-tion, refurbishment and developmentof Hotels and Convention Centres.He has been with Accor since theyear 2000 when he joined theSydney Convention & ExhibitionCentre. In his present position, hewill be responsible for thelaunch of Formule 1brand in India.

Marriott IndiaDelhiSamir Avasthi has recently been appointed as the new Directorof MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) forMarriott India. He has worked in theindustry for over 8 years for brandssuch as The Grand, Inter-Continental,Taj. His responsibilities in the currentposition entail convention sales forall the Marriott hotels in India, to create unit synergies with all Marriotthotels within the country and improvenetworking opportunities.

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: Lekha Shankar and Inder Raj Ahluwalia

Lajpat Rai, President, Lotus Trans Travelsis a man of varied interests and likes to travel tonew destinations in India and around the world,discover new things and meet people. He also likesto read magazines.

Rai feels one's personal outlook in life is animportant factor that reflects on all aspects andhas a direct bearing on one's work too. It shapesthe way one functions and plays a major role inwhat one achieves. He personally feels that peoplewho come in contact with must be respected andtreated well and this principle also applies to thetourism and hospitality business. When it comesto conducting any business, the secret of successlies in being fully dedicated and sincere to it.

Club Med Services IndiaMumbaiVijay Sharma has joined as the Country Sales & MarketingManager of India for Club Med Services India. He will be basedout of Mumbai and in his new role hewill be responsible for the overall strate-gic Business Development of India.Sharma comes with an experience ofalmost 15 years of managing outbound travel and has workedextensively with some of the biggestnames of the travel trade likeThomas Cook, SaharaAirlines, Make MyTrip.com and mostrecently Kuoni Travels.

HIGHLIGHT

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

of the same month at New Delhi P.S.O., RNI No.: 53492/91Date of Publication:30-03-2012

Following the success of the‘Showcase Canada’ in

2011, the Canadian TourismCommission (CTC) at theFocus Canada event, whichwas held from March 12-16,2012 in Goa, shared theirexpectation of strong doubledigit growth in Indian arrivalsto Canada with over 100Canadian sellers and Indian buyers. In 2011,

Canada had witnessed close to1,50,000 Indian arrivals, their second most importantemerging market.

Elaborating on thestrengths of the Indian mar-ket, Stewart G Beck, HighCommissioner of Canada inIndia said, “India is a greatmarket with ample potentialthat the stakeholders inCanadian travel trade canleverage. The Indian marketreflects the same dynamics ofthe Chinese market whichtoday makes it the largestemerging source market to Canada. The CanadianTourism Commission hasidentified the potential andhas been promoting Canadain the Indian market since2009. A platform like ‘FocusCanada 2012’ is a veryimportant tool to bring to the table keen Canadiansellers and experienced

Indian buyers, who want totake destination Canada tonewer heights.”

“In fact, things havechanged for the better, asthe rejection rate of IndianVisa applications has fallenand we are taking furtherinitiatives to streamline thevisa application proceduresby trying to reduce the timetaken. Moreover, we arehopeful that there will be apossibility of direct air access

through our national air carrier and we also will encourage more Indian car-riers, including Air India, to pitch in,” he added.

Also present at the eventwas Greg Klassen, Senior VicePresident, Marketing Strategyand Communication, CTC,Derek Galpin, ManagingDirector, CTC – China & India,Siobhan Chretien, RegionalManaging Director, EmergingMarkets, CTC and SidneyFrank, Minister andImmigration ProgrammeManager, Canadian HighCommission – India, alongwith the CTC India team. Thelist of co-sponsors of Focus Canada 2012 included Travel Alberta,Tourism British Columbia,Ontario Tourism MarketingPartnership Corporation,Tourism Quebec, CalgaryStampede and WestJet.

There are expectationsthat the Indian market willleave behind the SouthKorean market in terms ofinbound arrivals to Canada in2013, which speaks volumesabout the potential of theOutbound Indian market for Canada.

Highlighting the poten-tial in the Indian market,Klassen said, “India is a dis-tinct market with great poten-tial. We have been climbing

the Indian market steadily andthrough awareness we wantto create such demands thatcan be dealt with, keeping inmind challenges like lack ofdirect air access and other relevant aspects. We expectthat the Indian market has the potential to deliver strongdouble digit growth and theshow will only get better, if all relevant aspects are taken care of. ”

“A federal policy initia-tive has brought over 20authorities who had direct orindirect fall out in the tourismsector. They will work closelyand take measures that willhelp fasten the growth of thetourism in the country. It is amajor achievement and astep in the right direction,which will augur well for thecountry’s tourism sector.”

CTC has given thecharge of fostering the

growth momentum further inthe Indian market toChretien. She had taken overthe charge of emerging mar-kets in August 2010 and willnow be responsible to usherfurther growth momentum inIndia, Brazil, Mexico, Japanand South Korea. The saidannouncement was made byKlassen at the onset of theFocus Canada event in Goa.Galpin will now focus com-pletely on the China market.

Addressing the media onthe sidelines of the event,Galpin said, “CTC has beendoing very well in emergingmarkets like China & India.Now, the time has come, whenthe Indian and Chinese mar-kets cannot be dealt jointly. So,accordingly it was decided thatI’ll take care of the China market, while Chretien willtake care of the Indian marketand other emerging marketsin her portfolio.”

Chretien, while takingcharge of the Indian market,said, “My immediate prioritieswill be to ensure that destina-tion Canada grows with thesame momentum.”

At the Focus Canada 2012 event in Goa, the Canadian TourismCommission talked about ensuring double digit growth in Indian arrivals.

VIVEK SETHI IN GOA

Canada calling Indian travellers

Stewart G BeckHigh Commissioner of Canadain India

Greg KlassenSenior Vice President, MarketingStrategy and Communication - CTC

Derek GalpinManaging DirectorCTC - China & India

Siobhan ChretienRegional Managing DirectorEmerging Markets, CTC

Canada is taking initiatives tostreamline the visa applicationprocedures by trying toreduce the time taken

Canadian Visa