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With the inbound season just around the corner, manyfrom the travel trade remain sceptical about how the sea-son will turn out this year. Yet others feel that dwindlingvalue of the rupree might just lure more foreign tourists tovisit India. They seem to be basing there hope on the slighteconomic recovery being witnessed in the U.S.A.

The travel trade will be looking at different means ofaugmenting business and networking at the 29th AnnualConvention that is being held from 8th -11th September,2013 at Le Meridien, Kochi (Kerala). The theme of theconvention this year is “Tourism – Innovations & Part-nerships”.

This year’s World Tourism Day (WTD) theme focuseson tourism’s significant role and contribution to world-wide water conservation efforts. The theme is in line withthe UN General Assembly’s declaration of 2013 as theUnited Nations International Year of Water Cooperation,providing the opportunity to further highlight the sharedresponsibility of the tourism sector to the wider sustain-ability objectives. Clean, accessible water is vital totourism, running most of the sector´s businesses, from ho-tels and restaurants to leisure facilities and transportation.More importantly, wetland tourism is growing, with manyof the world’s coastlines, lakes and other wetlands amongthe most popular tourism destinations.

In conversation Ajay Bakaya Pg 6, 7

Sustainable usage of water as a resource Pg8,9

Scenario for the coming Inbound season Pg10, 12, 14

Mobile app are ideal for personalised brand-ing and advertising: Nikhil Sama Pg 16, 17

Kerala, God’s own country Pg 18, 19

29th Annual IATO Convention in Kochi Pg 20,21

Interview with Arun Anand, Convention Chair-man, IATO Pg 22

Understanding MICE and knitting opportuni-ties around it Pg 24, 25

Bengal tourists on high wanderlust Pg 26

Bengal puja travel reeling under weak rupeePg 27

Report by MakeMyTrip Pg 29, 30

Mumbai Airport’s T2 might face delays Pg 33

Mauritius is a perfect beach destination:Ranna Gill Pg 46, 47

PHD organises Conference on MedicalTourism Pg 28

Ministry of Tourism takes measures for safety oftourists Pg 43

Gujarat Tourism getting new policy Pg 43

The Oberoi Group opens the Trident Hyder-abad Pg 50

Courtyard by Marriott Pune, Chakan opens Pg44, 45

Singapore to drive cruise tourism from India Pg62

Nepal Tourism focuses on West India Pg 64

‘Realizing your shortcomingsand working hard to overcome

them are key to success’Through his sheer handwork and passion to learn, Bakaya has been successful

throughout his long career in hospitality industry. In conversation with ,Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels, talks about his professional

life and more.

In his long career spanning 35

years, Bakaya has successfully

handled many challenging as-

signments through his sheer hard-

work and passion to learn. He

firmly believes that there is no

substitute of hardwork and one

can overcome any challenges by

realizing his shortcomings and

overcoming them through hard

work and learning.

Average day of life

A mountaineer and

marathon runner,

Bakaya fol-

lows a dis-

c i p l i n e d

a p -

proach towards

his life and

works. On a typi-

cal working day, he

gets up at 5am. A fitness

freak, Bakaya practices yoga or

does workouts in Gym or goes

for a long-running, for an

hour. He does these activities

six days a week. “Fitness is

not an option and it is neces-

sity. We all are going to live

80-90 years, so if you are not

healthy there is no point in

living such a long life,”

said Bakaya.

He leaves home by

8am for his office and starts his work

8: 45am. Bakaya finishes his office

work by 5: 30pm and returnes home at

6: 30pm. He goes to bed by about

10pm.

Bakaya strongly believes in early to

bed and early to rise. “It has become

my habit to get up early in the morn-

ing and start my day early. I structure

and plan my days in advance. I make

schedule in advance and follow it as

closely as possible,” said Bakaya. Most

of the time he has his meetings in his

office, but some time he has to attend

meetings in Sarovar Hotels

of Delhi NCR. After re-

turning home,

Bakaya does relax-

ation, watches tel-

evision and has a

glass of wine and

dinner. He goes

to bed at 10pm.

Foray into Hospitality

Industry

A 1980 graduate of the Oberoi School

and post graduate of Cornell-Essec,

France, Bakaya had dreamed to go into

either defense services or police, but

the destiny had something else in store

for him and he ventured into hospital-

ity profession. “My foray into the hos-

pitality profession was an accident. I

had never planned or dreamed to be

hotelier. I wanted to join armed forces

or police, but just by chance I became

a hotelier. The moment I saw the ad-

Car: BMW SUV

Destination:

France

Hotel: The Gleneagles

Hotel, Scotland

Cuisine: Indian

4FAV

�Prem Kumar

6

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

in conversation

ajay K. Bakaya, Executive director,

Sarovar Hotels

mission notice of the Oberoi Training manage-

ment programme, I decided to apply for it with-

out much deliberation and got admission into the

programme. That is how I started my career in

this profession and since then there is no looking

back. Now I am in this profession for 35 years,”

said Bakaya. He did two -year hotel management

training in the Oberoi School and his first assign-

ment in the hotel industry was as a banqueting

manager at The Oberoi Tower in Mumbai, which

is now Trident Tower.”

After his first assignment with The Oberoi in

Mumbai, Bakaya went to France to do two-year

post graduate programme of Cornell-Essec on UN

scholarship. He reminisces, “That time in France

I worked in a kitchen for good six month for full

time. Then after some time I came back to India

and went to Mumbai and worked there as assis-

tant F&B manager for one year.

Bakaya worked for a year in Liberia in Africa

as GM of hotel at young age of 28 years. “I

worked three years in Africa. Then I came back to

The Oberoi Mumbai as number two. That time its

whole complex has thousand rooms.”

High points

Bakaya termed his working in Liberia and his as-

signment in Hyderabad as young GM of a large

hotel as the high points of his professional life.

“While working in Liberia I was very young and

I was not prepared to handle a hotel in an alien

land. And my assignment in Hyderabad as

young GM of a large hotel was also very exciting

as well as challenging.”

When asked if he ever regrets for not joining

police or defense services, Bakaya emphatically

said, “Not at all. I do not look back. Once I de-

cided to get into hospitality profession, I got into

it with all my heart and soul. I left the past behind

and moved on.”

As regards the challenges in his long career,

Bakaya said, “There were so many challenges.

There were competitions and I also had to work

in new environments in alien lands. In 1991, I left

a very prestigious and comfortable position as

GM of The Krishna Oberoi in Hyderabad and

went to Australia. Later on the hotel has been

rechristened as Taj Krishna Hyderabad. I went to

Australia, a new place for me, without a job in

hand. I decided to settle down in Australia and

make that country my home.” He further said,

“Then I found a job as operation head of the 650-

room Four Point by Sheraton, Sydney. The 650-

room Four Point by Sheraton that time was the

largest hotel in Australia. But I soon realized that

I was not very good at my job. There were many

mistakes and I was completely lost. So that was a

big challenge to overcome those shortcomings. If

you are not doing your job properly, it is embar-

rassing to hear from your subordinate that you

are not good enough in your job. They comment

that you are boss but you can’t do this or that job.

Being an Indian and heading an Australian hotel

was also a big challenge.”

But Bakaya does not believe in giving up. He

just worked hard and mastered over his weakness

and came through as a winner. “In such a chal-

lenging situation, you need to realize your short-

comings, work harder and learn new things. The

idea is to never give up, understand your limita-

tions and work on them to overcome,” said

Bakaya, who also worked as an Assistant General

Manager of the Sheraton Park, Sydney in Aus-

tralia.

Hobbies

Speaking about his hobbies, Bakaya said that he

takes at least one holiday in a year. His most fa-

vorite hobby is mountain climbing. Bakaya said,

“I like the kind of holidays that take me to the

lap of nature and get me away from things like

mobile, internet and television.” He added, “I go

back to the nature whenever I can, to rejuvenate

my soul and body. I have been doing this for 15-

20 year. When we are at work, our job is very

stressful, so when I break away from my routine

life, I break away completely.”

Sarovar’s expansion

Sarovar Hotels has opened 10 hotels in 2012 and

this year also the hotel company expects to open

the same number of hotels. “We have already

opened 4-5 hotels this year. Our target is open

at least 10 hotels this year as well. We are putting

lot of efforts to expand in African continent as

we think there is huge potential there. At the mo-

ment there are not many people who are ventur-

ing into Africa because it is tough territory. We

have already opened in Nairobi and are close to

signing another one there. We are discussing and

negotiating plenty of opportunities in Africa and

as things move on we will have big and strong

footprint in Africa. We will go anywhere where

there is good opportunity but east Africa is nat-

ural choice because of travel distance,” said

Bakaya.

Although currently things are not good in the

country for travel and tourism and Hotel indus-

try because of different reasons, but Bakaya is

optimistic about future.

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

When you realize yourshortcomings, youwork hard and learn to

overcome those shortcomings.The idea is to never give up, un-derstand your limitations andwork on them to overcome.

“

7in conversation

8

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

World Tourism Day

got in touch with a

few hotels to find out what

efforts they are making to

conserve this precious re-

source.

For all hotels, this

agenda has a greater

meaning today. It’s the New

Normal! Water conserva-

tion has historically been

viewed as a standby or

temporary source of supply

that is typically invoked

only during times of

drought or other emer-

gency water shortage. This

limited view of conserva-

tion’s role is both outdated

and rapidly changing. The

Courtyard by Marriott

Pune Chakan is committed

to the cause of water con-

servation. Ritu Chawla –

General Manager, Court-

yard by Marriott Pune

Chakan, said, “By invest-

ing in practical, “no

cost/low-cost” water con-

servation strategies, a

small hotel like us can

achieve significant cost

savings with quick pay-

backs, while simultane-

ously protecting the

environment and improv-

ing guest comforts. Water

conservation improves the

performance of wastewater

treatment systems and in-

creases the quality of

treated effluent. I also be-

lieve, that this in our little

contribution to reduce the

strain on local water re-

sources, and reduces un-

necessary government

spending on additional

water supply and treat-

ment infrastructure.”

Towards this end goal

in mind that the Courtyard

Pune Chakan is one of the

few Green build projects

that is compliant to a

LEED Gold certification;

an international certifica-

tion that recognizes steps

towards energy conserva-

tion as a whole. She added,

“We are also proud that we

have guests happy to join

hands with us and partici-

pate in our conservation

initiatives, by joining the

Marriott’s Terry and Linen

Re use program. An aver-

age-size hotel, comprising

150 rooms, can save about

$30K/year if 65 per cent of

its guests participate in its

linen-reuse program. As a

responsible and growing

company, with one of our

core values being ‘Serve

Our World’, we recognize

the importance of an inte-

grated conservation pro-

gram to both our bottom

line and the Tourism in-

dustry, at large. Because of

high volumes of consump-

tion, hotels have the poten-

tial to be leaders in the

water conservation move-

ment.”

Aradhana Lal, Vice

President Corporate Com-

munications & Sustainabil-

ity Initiatives, The Lemon

Tree Hotel Company, said,

“Our business model is

built around the concept of

the ‘Triple Bottomline’ i.e.

People, Planet and Profit.

Where, ‘People’ means fair

and beneficial business

practices towards employ-

ees and the community.

‘Planet’ means running the

business based on sustain-

able environmental prac-

tices. ‘Profit’ involves the

organization creating eco-

nomic value after deduct-

ing all costs.

Under the head of

‘Planet’ they have done

leading edge work in envi-

ronmental practices, en-

ergy conservation, use of

green fuels and green ma-

terials and in water con-

servation as well.

Specifically for water con-

servation, they have

Sewage Treatment Plant

(STP): recycles water used

across the hotel. Approxi-

mately 30 per cent of this

recycled water is used in

the garden and flush sys-

tems. Aerators/Flow

Restrictors including Duel

Flush System: maintains

water force and yet re-

duces outflow, hence sav-

ing water. Rain Water

Harvesting: protects and

replenishes the ground

water table. Auto Flush

for Public Urinals: mini-

mizes water wastage.

Guest engagement pro-

gram – water saving poster

placed in all rooms that

quantifies the saving of

water each guest can do by

not getting their linen

changed daily – encour-

ages them to do their small

bit to save precious water

when they are travelling.

Vishvapreet Cheema,

General Manager, Radis-

son Blu Plaza Delhi said,

“Hotel maintains effective

rain water harvesting

structures and a network

of storm water drains. The

Sustainable usage of watershould be the ‘New Normal’ inhotel practicesWorld Tourism Day 2013 will be celebrated on September 27th, this year’stheme is ‘Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future’. Clean,accessible water is vital to tourism, running most of the sector´s businesses,from hotels and restaurants to leisure facilities and transportation.

Ritu ChawlaGeneral Manager, Courtyard by MarriottPune Chakan

Aradhana LalVice President Corporate Communications& Sustainability Initiatives, The Lemon TreeHotel Company

Vishvapreet CheemaGeneral ManagerRadisson Blu Plaza Delhi

Vinay NairGM Park Plaza Gurgaon

�Kanchan Nath

network of Storm Water

Drains have been so laid

that the entire water from

Hotel premises is led to the

Rain Water Harvesting

Structures. We also have

installed a drip irrigation

system to further reduce

the consumption of water

that is already recycled.

We also have several wa-

terless urinals”

Vinay Nair, GM Park

Plaza Gurgaon, said, “Our

hotel has incorporated sev-

eral methods by which we

play our role in water con-

servation. Firstly we have

installed waterless urinals

in our staff areas and have

two water harvesting sys-

tems in place.We use SCP

water for gardening and

have censor taps and uri-

nals in public area wash-

rooms. "

Anirban Sarkar, EAM,

Radisson Blu Suites, Gur-

gaon, said, “We have al-

ways actively participated

in environment friendly

measures including water

conservation. For this we

have been following rain-

water harvesting for opti-

mum use of water with

minimum wastage. Also we

use recycled water for irri-

gation of green areas. We

also ensure building

awareness amidst employ-

ees and guests, towards

water conservation.”

In general conservation

of water is possible in fol-

lowing areas of a hotel:

Cooling towers, Laundry,

Kitchens & Restaurants,

Guest rooms (Toilets,

Showers, Sinks and laun-

dry needs), Swimming pool

& Spa, Landscaping and

Building exterior. For the

same it is essential to build

staff awareness and get

staff involvement: Seek

their suggestions. Install

suggestion boxes in service

areas, Conduct contests

among staff for best water

conservation ideas, for

best slogans and for best

posters etc., Install signs

in staff rest rooms encour-

aging water conservation,

Install water meters at as

many locations as possible,

Read them on weekly basis

to monitor success of

water conservation efforts,

Use budgeted quantities of

water when undertaking

cleaning operations, As-

sign an employee the job of

monitoring water use and

water wastage. He / she

should give his / her obser-

vations in the morning

meeting once a week, say

on every Wednesday.

Anirban SarkarEAM, Radisson Blu Suites, Gurgaon

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

10 World Tourism Day

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Indian tourism industry iscautiously waiting for the

forthcoming inbound tourism

season in the country. This

year so far has not been very

encouraging for the tourism in-

dustry. Numbers of Foreign

tourist arrivals (FTAs) has

been almost flat. The reasons

have been the economic reces-

sion prevailing worldwide and

some untoward incidents in-

volving the safely and security

of tourist in the country that

gave bad publicity to the coun-

try. Things have been not im-

proved much except that there

is sign of sustainable recovery

in the United States, Europe

and Japan, which have tradi-

tional sources markets for the

inbound tourism in the country,

and also that devaluation of Ru-

pees, which are bad for the In-

dian economy as a whole but

could be good for India Inbound

tourism as the devaluation of

Rupees has reduced the cost of

travelling to India quite signifi-

cantly. Now it is up to stake-

holders of the tourism industry

and the government how they

can capitalize on the prevailing

situation.

Speaking about his expect-

ing from the forthcoming sea-

son, Ajay K. Bakaya,

Executive Director, Sarovar Ho-

tels said, “I expect that the up-

coming inbound season to be

much better than last year. The

decline of the rupees, though

not good for the nation, has

made India a less expensive

destination. Also, as foreign

travel has become dearer a cer-

tain section of Indians who

were planning a foreign holiday

may look for domestic alterna-

tives.” Arup Sen, Director,

special projects, Cox & Kings

also sounds optimistic about

the forthcoming season. “We

expect the inbound season to

be steady in the first half of the

season. The depreciating rupee

will have a positive impact in

the second half of the season as

customers who book during

August-September will take ad-

vantage of the depreciating cur-

rency,” said Sen. He added,

“India is not a late booking

market, so customers who have

made up their mind to visit

India have already done so. As

a result there is no impact.”

Pronab Sarkar, MD, Swa-

gatam Tours also feels the up-

coming season shall be better

than the last year inbound sea-

son. Explaining the basis of his

positive outlook, Sarkar said,

“The world economy is return-

ing back on positive note which

is the most important factor for

the growth of tourism in any

country. India shall get its share

with stabilized economic sce-

nario. Secondly, measures

taken by our Government to

give visa on arrival for some

countries and opening up for

more in the future shall attract

more inbound tourist to our

country. Thirdly, drop in rupee

value against dollar making our

packages attractive may give

some edge to buy our packages,

but some reduction in tourism

taxes can help boost more

tourism in India. The Govern-

ment should take some encour-

aging steps to boost tourism by

rationalization the taxes.”

Tony Marwah, CEO, Indian

Travel Promotion Company

said, “I expect the coming sea-

son to be marginally better than

the previous one. I don’t think

any of the untoward incidents

should have any major bearing

on travel to India. The falling

rupee against major currencies

to some extent may make India

affordable. Economic and polit-

ical stability are other factors.”

However, everyone is not

the same page. Rajeev Kohli,

Joint Managing Director, Cre-

ative Travel said, “The coming

season will most certainly be

challenging. Even though the

economies in the US and Eu-

rope are somewhat improving

and stabilizing, travel patterns

have still changed with people

traveling closer and perhaps

cheaper. It will take a while for

the confidence to spend the big

bucks to come back. India is an

aspirational destination and

not on the top of the list in a

tight budgetary environment.

Our industry will still see the

stress for the next 12 - 18

months before we see resur-

gence in interest for India.”

It may take a year and half

for Indian Tourism Industry to

get benefited from the recovery

in the US and European coun-

tries, because although there is

sign of sustainable recovery in

these countries, as of now rate

of growth is very low. In case of

Euro Zone, growth is led

mainly by France and Ger-

many, whose economies are

doing better. Kohli said, “Un-

A section of Indian tourism industry thinks that that forthcoming inboundtourism would be better than the last season, while others are scepticalabout the season.

I expect that the upcoming in-bound season to be much betterthan last year. The decline of the

rupees, though not good for the nation,has made India a less expensive destina-tion.“ajay K. Bakaya

Executive director,

Sarovar Hotels

Arup SenDirector, Special projects, Cox & Kings

We expect the inbound season tobe steady in the first half of theseason. The depreciating rupee

will have a positive impact in the secondhalf of the season as customers who bookduring August-September will take advan-tage of the depreciating currency.

“

Some optimistic, others scepticalabout the coming inbound season

�Prem Kumar

11trade talk

less our key source markets

see a dramatic improvement in

their economies, we will be at

the receiving end of a smaller

pipeline of travelers. Our indus-

try is extremely susceptible to

chain reactions and externali-

ties. We therefore need to be

smarter in the way we attract

travelers from a shrinking

pool.”

In his candid remarks, Atul

Rai, Managing Director,

Ananya Tours said, “Though

having the desire to begin on a

positive note, but circum-

stances and conditions prevail-

ing prevent me to present a

smiling face as regards the

prospects of Inbound Tourism!

The Inbound Tourism scenario

in the coming season does not

look to be bright and cheerful.

It is a struggle to attract

tourists to India due Limited

Seats availability with high In-

ternational Air Fares, poor

global economics and high tax-

ation! The high-end or the lux-

ury market has taken the

biggest hit. Big spenders are

missing in numbers! It is not

that people world over have

stopped travelling. They are

still travelling but, either opting

for short hauls or moving to-

wards cost effective destina-

tions! India having become a

high Cost destination, poor per-

ception about security and

safety of tourists here as well

as high and sometimes irrele-

vant taxation on tourism prod-

ucts is some of the major

impediments which negatively

affect the uniform growth of In-

bound Tourism in India.”

Bakaya believes that any

untoward incidents will not im-

pact inbound traffic much as

people in the source market

have begun to understand ac-

tual deterrents versus media

hype. Sarkar rues that the inci-

dents happen everywhere in

the world; they do not come on

light as they are not highlighted

in the media. “In India due to

weak law and order situation -

Government is not taking any

strong action against the cul-

prits, therefore, our media

highlight the incident in a big

way to attract the attention of

our Government, resulting such

incidents become International

which is harming incoming

tourism,” said Sarkar.

In a recent decision that

would be assuring to tourists

who are planning to visit India,

Ministry of Tourism (MoT), gov-

ernment of India, has written

letter to all state governments

and Union Territories adminis-

trations to set tourist police sta-

tions. But past experience

shows that except few states

not many have been proactive

in setting up tourist police.

MoT must follow up on this let-

ter to insure that all state gov-

ernment set tourist police and

tourist police stations. This

would send message across that

the world that India really care

for tourists and that India is a

safe destination to visit. At the

same time MoT on its own and

through Ministry of Foreign Af-

fairs (MFA) should also counter

effectively if any travel advisory

is issued by foreign govern-

ments.

Commenting on the initia-

tive by the Government to start

Collective Landing Permit for

foreign travellers, Bakaya said

that these initiatives will not

have an immediate effect. “First

of all they were not publicized

properly. Secondly, foreign

agents are not very sure as to

how will it work. Maybe next

year when foreign travel agents

have experienced it and are con-

vinced that it will work will it

have a positive effect in attract-

ing increased number of foreign

tourists,” Bakaya added. Sen

said, “Initiatives are always wel-

come. However, implementation

of many of these plans is of vital

importance.” Kohli said, “Any

easing up in the visa regime is a

great step forward. After all, the

lobbying and efforts put in by

IATO over the past year has

been in this direction and this

new policy is a result of that

work and the efforts of the Min-

istry of Tourism. It has taken

many people a lot of time and ef-

fort to get the MHA to change its

policies.” He added, “The Visa

on Arrival facility has also now

been extended to 5 new airports,

again a result of the effort put in

by the stakeholders. The work is

on to increase the list of coun-

tries that can avail this service,

but it’s going in the right direc-

tion. The two systems are dif-

ferent. A Visa on Arrival is self

explanatory. But the group land-

ing permit helps ease up on the

paperwork and procedures re-

quired by individuals travelling

together. The exact modalities

have yet to been given to the in-

dustry, but this will most cer-

tainly go a long way in

encouraging some people to

travel to India. The industry

needs to appreciate the fact that

visas are a sensitive issue and it

make take baby steps to achieve

the larger goal. We are succeed-

ing though. I think all new ef-

Pronab Sarkar, MDSwagatam Tours

The world economy is returningback on positive note which isthe most important factor for

the growth of tourism in any country.India shall get its share with stabilizedeconomic scenario.“

Rajeev KohliJoint Managing DirectorCreative Travel

The coming season will mostcertainly be challenging. Eventhough the economies in the US

and Europe are somewhat improving andstabilizing, travel patterns have stillchanged with people traveling closer andperhaps cheaper.

“

12

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Trade Talk

The tourism industry keeps theirfingers crossed

14

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Trade Talk

forts in making the visa regime

easier are every positive. Sarkar

said, “A collective landing per-

mits (CLP) for groups may help

increase the arrival of foreign

tourists but procedures need to

be very well defined by the per-

mit issuing offices in all Interna-

tional Airports/ FRRO offices

and Tour operators involved. I

would suggest the government

to introduce E-visa from origi-

nating countries well in advance

and easy visa application forms

without visiting Indian Embassy

or Consulate. For tourism pur-

poses when a tourist is availing

the services of a recognized tour

operator then the same tour op-

erator should sponsor the

tourist for the entire visit and

make sure the tourist is return-

ing back on due date. This pro-

cedure is already in practice in

Gulf countries like Oman, UAE,

Bahrain and Qatar etc.”

Rai said that though, collec-

tive landing permit was in exis-

tence for quite some time, recent

push to analyse it are welcome,

but it needs lot of changes and

user friendly amendments in

consultation with stake holders.

At the moment the conditions

are slightly restrictive and

hence, it is being selectively

used by a certain set of tourists

only.” Rai added that the VISA

on Arrival (VoA) is a very bold

and welcome initiative which

Ministry of Tourism has taken in

close co-operation with Ministry

of Home and External Affairs,

but, the scope and reach of VoA

needs to be broad based cover-

ing more countries which are

safe and

which are friendly to India,

as a destination. But, to my

mind, VoA would gain further if

it is incentivized by offering a

discounted price!

Since, the administrative

cost which our Embassy / High

Commission incur while issuing

Visa in advance are not involved

and/or are less than providing

VoA. So if that cost saving is an-

laysed and is passed on to VoA

seekers, then it shall become

more popular and would ease

the burden on our foreign offices

abroad.

More so, the policy of reci-

procity on Visa Fees needs a re-

look. As it is India’s need to

attract more and more tourists!

But Marwah does not think

that Collective Landing Permit is

going to help the forthcoming in-

bound season as “CLP is still

complicated and there are quite

a few shortcomings that need to

be addressed. Fortunately, IATO

is working on it with MHA so

that all members can take ad-

vantage of it,” said Marwah.

As regards the measures

the government should under-

take to increase FTAs to India,

Bakaya believes that there are

no quick remedies that will

work. According to him the

steps that need to be taken are:

first, improvement of public in-

frastructure like roads (the

Delhi Jaipur highway is in a

mess), approaches to places of

interest and good quality wash-

room facilities, second, rational-

ization of excise policies

because consumption of liquor

in most countries is a way of life

and not a bad habit, and third,

the biggest problem is improper

co-ordination among the vari-

ous stake holders like Govern-

ment Agencies, Travel

Agencies, Hotels, and Local Au-

thorities etc, so there should be

coordination among these

stakeholders.

Kohli is of the view that the

government and industry need

to do three things to make a

quick dent and increase our

market share: first, make get-

ting our visas simpler and

friendlier, second, pass on the

benefits of the weakening rupee

to the end travellers, and third,

provide some tax relief to fur-

ther lower the overall product

price. “Today, travel is a game

of price and deals. We need to up

our ante as a destination to

bring in more numbers and

theer great foreign exchange

which India most certainty

needs at the moment,” Kohli

added.

Sarkar strongly suggested

that Government should declare

tourism as an Industry and all

such encouraging benefits of an

exporter earning foreign ex-

change for the country should

be extended. He also calls for

abolition of multiple taxes on

tourism products automatically

reduces the cost of our package

tours. Easy visa application

forms and granting tourist visa

upon arrival for most of the

countries by introducing E-visa.

Sarkar said that priority should

be given t the Tourism Industry,

adding that proper Law and

order in the country should be

visible. Rai feels that in order to

boost to Inbound tourism in

India, a collective effort is need

from all stakeholders of the

Tourism Industry such as ho-

tels, transporters and tour oper-

ators. “We collectively need to

analyse and arrive at feasible

costs which destination India

deserves. Knee jerk reactions

during down swing or profit

making during up-swing needs

to be avoided. If India needs to

reach its deserved status

amongst in-bound destinations,

Government of India must ac-

cord it the required priority,”

said Rai. He advised that

tourism should not be seen as

an elitist activity. It should be re-

garded the best source to gener-

ate revenue and looked upon as

an Engine of overall growth and

employment generator. Accord-

ing to Rai, rationalization of

taxes and more user friendly

policies are the need of the hour

for India to achieve its deserved

position. “First and foremost

that comes to mind is a more

simplified visa regime. They

should also increase the number

of countries to the VOA list, es-

pecially from the US and UK

and Europe,” said Marwah.

Atul RaiMD, Ananya Tours

The Inbound Tourism scenarioin the coming season does notlook to be bright and cheerful. It

is a struggle to attract tourists to India dueLimited Seats availability with high Inter-national Air Fares, poor global economicsand high taxation!

“

Tony MarwahCEO, Indian Travel Promotion Company

I don’t think any of the unto-ward incidents should have anymajor bearing on travel to India.

The falling rupee against major currenciesto some extent may make India affordable.Economic and political stability are otherfactors.

“

16

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

technology

Today about 65 million

Indians, have either

an android or an iphone. This

is basically the first comput-

ing device that has ever hit

human kind that is with con-

sumers 24 hours a day. People

sleep with there phones today.

Telling us more about mo-

bile applications, Nikhil Sama,

Founder and Managing Direc-

tor, SnapLion, said, “The main

reason that people who are in

travel and hospitality space

would want an app is firstly

for branding. This is a device

with the consumers 24 hours

in a day, so just to get a little

logo over there on the phone

of your most loyal customers

makes all the difference. It’s

probably worth more than

putting a billboard up from

the pure branding and adver-

tising perspective. The second

is that once they get these

apps on, they are able to send

their customers push notifica-

tions. These are just like a

messasge that pops up on top.

For example the smoking Joes

apps can anytime send a mes-

sage that they want, for in-

stance the message could be

40 per cent off brunch today.”

Telling us about down-

loading too many apps, he

said, “If you do not want the

screens of your mobile phones

crowded, limit the number of

apps you download, to down-

load only apps of brands that

you love. Certainly there will

come a point where everybody

has got an app. As a con-

sumer I am becoming more

and more selective about

which apps I want to keep on

my phone. However in India,

today is not that case very few

people have apps.”

He added, “Take for exam-

ple take the Buddha Bar app,

it has its own music. You go to

Bbar, you experience the

lunch or the dinner and you

download there app there.

Then you can check it out at

leisure anytime on your

phone. You can view there

menus, place orders for deliv-

eries, make reservations for

deliveries. They would send

you cues on upcoming events.

If they have special menu item

they add it to the events calen-

der. They keep updating there

images as they have parties.

Mobile apps maintainers have

a backend office system from

where they log in and update

pics. They will update it with

videos.”

Debating on relevance of

mobile apps and websites, he

said, “Data and research

clearely shows the trend that

more people access the inter-

net more on their mobile

phones rather than the desk-

top. More that four times as

many people access the inter-

net through there mobile

phones that a desktop. Under

such circumstances, it be-

comes much more important

to have a mobile app rather

than a website. The experi-

ence of accessing the website

on a phone is very different

from accessing a mobile app.

In case of a mobile app, you

have to hit just one button and

you are there. In case of a

website, you have to first go

and search for the website ad-

dress. “

Telling us about the price

range of his apps, he said,

“We are very economically

priced, we charge ` 5000/- per

month for our software sub-

scribtion service. Most people

cannot believe the price we

offer. When they say that

someone is going to build a

custom app for them, they

think the price quote is going

to be 5 to 10 lakh.”

Giving us inputs on trends

in the industry, he said, “It’s a

very connected world today,

communication transcends

geographies, borders, time, lo-

cation. If I have a good or a

bad experience anywhere, it

is very easy for me to post it

on twitter and somebody sit-

ting in New York can hear

about it. People who I have not

talked to for years will hear

about it. It becomes very im-

portant for every business to

keep every customer happy.

That person’s happiness or

dissatisfaction now magnifies

Mobile app are ideal for personalised brandingand advertising: Nikhil SamaIn the last two years, mobile usage has really picked up. In conversationwith Nikhil Sama, Founder and Managing Director, SnapLion, The instantapp builder, finds out more.

Nikhil SamaFounder and Managing Director, SnapLion

�Kanchan Nath

17technology / trade talk

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

ten fold. Compared to earlier

when you could get away

with not investing so much

in customer care.”

Telling us about how mo-

bile apps provide more visi-

bility, he said, “It is actually

more of an engagement plat-

form. It’s not about discov-

ery. The first time somebody

walks through, if you can get

them to download your app.

Then it becomes much more

likely that they will become

loyal and repeat customers

because your brand is very

engaged with them. So this

is much more of a consumer

engagement play.” Telling

us more, he added, “When

we started out and raised

our money, most of the in-

vestors thought that most of

the market for this would be

outside India, we actually

market a lot outside India.

Almost 40 percent of our

apps are in the USA and UK

and Canada. However it has

been heartening to see that

in the last four or five

months that a lot of indian

businesses are coming on

board. We signed up over a

hundred in the last three

months. These include pizza

chains like Smokin Joes

pizza, luxury restaurants

like BIBA to hotels like

Radisson. It’s been hearten-

ing and suprising to see

them jump onto the band-

wagon.”

Association of Domes-

tic Tour Operators of

India (ADTOI) has recently in-

augurated their fifth chapter –

Maharashtra Chapter in

Mumbai. Launched with a

member base of 15, the asso-

ciation is positive to increase

its membership slowly with

keeping quality in mind,

adding operators who are

dedicated to improve domes-

tic tourism in the state and

country. Abhijeet Patil, Direc-

tor, Raja Rani Tours & Travels

is the Chapter head working

towards making it the most

active chapter in ADTOI and

enhancing relationship be-

tween various travel trade as-

sociations as well. Talking at

the launch, Patil said, “We are

currently consolidating our

membership base and would

drive our growth through

quality member registration.

Also, with our industry facing

certain challenges, it is impor-

tant for us to unite and fight

against them to survive. Thus,

ADTOI Maharashtra Chapter

would work towards unity of

travel trade association.”

The goal of uniting the

travel trade associations was

partially achieved as repre-

sentatives from TAAI and

ETAA were present along

with representatives from

ADTOI Managing Committee

team, state tourism boards,

airlines, hotels and travel

companies. The Chapter was

unveiled by Parvez Dewan,

Tourism Secretary, Ministry of

Tourism. At the inauguration,

Dewan said, “With domestic

tourism acting as a backbone

of Indian tourism industry.

The industry service

providers are chasing dollars

and focusing on inbound

tourists and it’s ultimately the

rupee which rescues us mean-

ing the domestic tourism.” He

was confident enough that the

new chapter under the leader-

ship of Patil would bring in

better initiatives to enhance

domestic tourism in the state.

According to Subhash

Verma, President, ADTOI; Ma-

harashtra Chapter took over a

year to materialize as the

focus was more on quality

membership. Talking about

domestic tourism on the side-

lines of Maharashtra Chapter

launch, Verma said, “Domes-

tic tourism is growing every

year undeterred by the fluctu-

ating currency. It’s an excel-

lent tool for employement

generation and national inte-

gration.

ADTOI launches Maharashtra ChapterUnity among travel trade association to be the key focus of this chapter.

�Anand Shah

Abhijeet PatilChairman, Maharashtra Chapter, ADTOItalking at the launch of the new chapter

L-R Ravi Luthra, General Secretary, ADTOI Subhash Verma, President, ADTOI Parvez Dewan, Tourism Secretary, Ministry of Tourism,Government of India and P P Khanna, Vice President, ADTOI

S N A P S H O T

USPs of Snaplion Apps

awesome design

affordable Price

Quick and Easy

18

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

destination inbound

KeralaGod’s own countryWith tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, hos-pitable houseboats, lush hill stations, enriching culture,enchanting festivals and rejuvinating ayurveda, this des-tination is a must visit.

With the Arabian Sea in the west, theWestern Ghats towering 500-2700m in the east and networked by 44

rivers, Kerala enjoys unique geographicalfeatures that have made it one of the mostsought after tourist destinations in Asia. Itoffers an equable climate, a long shorelinewith tranquil stretches of emerald backwa-ters. Peaceful and pristine, Kerala is India'scleanest state. The state has 14 administra-tive divisions. The major cities are Thiru-vananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissurand Kozhikode. There are three airports inthe state which provide international anddomestic connections. Its capital is atThiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)Seasons: Bestowed with a pleasant andequable climate throughout the year, Keralais a tropical land with the coast runningdown its entire length and the WesternGhats forming a protective barrier against

the dry winds from up north. The monsoons(June-September & October-November) andsummer (February-May) are the seasonsmarkedly experienced here, while winter isonly a slight drop in temperature from thenormal range of 28-320C.Kerala's history is closely linked with its

commerce, which until recent times re-volved around its spice trade. Celebrated asthe Spice Coast of India, ancient Keralaplayed host to travellers and traders fromacross the world including the Greeks, Ro-mans, Arabs, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch,French and the British. Almost all of themhave left their imprint on this land in someform or the other - architecture, cuisine, lit-erature.Quality of Life: "Kerala is a bizarre anomalyamong developing nations, a place that of-fers real hope for the future of the ThirdWorld... Though mostly a land of paddy-cov-ered plains, statistically Kerala stands out

19destination inbound

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

as the Mount Everest of social develop-ment..." Bill Mckibben, National Geo-graphic Traveler in October 1999.

Kerala is one of India's most progressivestates in terms of social welfare and qual-ity of life. In contrast to the rest of Indiaand most other low-income countries, Ker-alites enjoy education and health at levelsthat are on par with the West. The Stateboasts of one of India's highest literacyrates, highest life expectancy and lowestchild mortality rates.

The people of Kerala, at all levels of so-ciety, have greater access to services andopportunities - as well as a greater say intheir governance. The State has top ur-banization rates and is rated India's bestin law and order.

Kerala Home of AyurvedaOf all the places on earth there is just one

that is literally shaped by a tradition ofAyurveda which goes back to thousands ofyears. In this secret preserve surroundedby the Indian Ocean, some of the world'smost experienced practitioners open upthe healing secrets of Ayurveda every day.Here, the sunshine and the very air workas a healing balm, while a unique way oflife celebrates this ancient tradition. Wel-come to the home of Ayurveda. Welcome toKerala. Here, this 5000 year old system ofhealing continued to thrive over the cen-turies - thanks to the land's geographicalisolation - even as its fortunes declinedacross India and elsewhere in the world.For centuries, Ayurveda was sought-afterby the people as a prime option for healingalmost every ailment. The Vaidyas (tradi-tional practitioners) – especially the leg-endary Ashtavaidyas renowned for theirmagical healing touch -played a key rolein strengthening the tradition of Ayurveda

in the State.Acclaimed as one of the fifty must-see

destinations of a lifetime, Kerala lets youblend wellness with leisure. Thanks to theease and affordability of internationaltravel as well as the improved standardsof care, every year thousands of travellersfrom across the world arrive here to sur-render themselves to the healing power ofAyurveda. In this land hailed as the 'Meccaof Ayurveda', they refresh and rejuvenatethemselves, with Kerala's lush greeneryand pleasant climate acting as a balm totheir weary minds and bodies.

The close proximity of theme destina-

tions further enables visitors to move fromone to another in a matter of hours - toenjoy a holiday by the backwaters, beach,hill station or forests. With Ayurvedic in-stitutions, resorts and spas located insome of the most scenic locations of theState, your healing holiday will never befar away.

Ancient texts prescribe the monsoonseason (June-August) as the ideal time forAyurveda. It is during this season that theatmosphere remains cool and dust-free -letting the pores of the body open to amaximum, making the skin most receptiveto therapy. by TNH DESK

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

20 trade talk

Subhash Goyal, Presi-

dent, IATO is excited about

this year convention of the as-

sociation, which is taking

place at a very challenging

time. He has urged members of

IATO to attend the convention

in large number to make most

of the opportunity that the con-

vention provides to its mem-

bers. He said, “Advantage of

our annual convention is that

it provides all our members a

unique opportunity to get to-

gether annually and interact

and network with each other

and discuss the issues of com-

mon interest.”

IATO has come a long a

way since its inception. It was

founded in 1982 and Ram Kohli

was the founder president of

IATO. Goyal, who had been the

president of IATO for two con-

secutive terms in the past, said

that IATO is real voice of In-

dian tourism industry and has

been playing a great role in the

development tourism in the

country since its inception.

“When IATO was formed in

182, international tourist ar-

rivals in India was merely one

million, but today, because of

consistent efforts of IATO,

India receives more than six

million tourists and the coun-

try has an open sky policy. The

country has also made

progress on visa front. The

government started visa-on-

arrival (VOA) for many coun-

try,” said Goyal. But he added

that the industry still has to go

a long way to tap its full poten-

tial and we need to do many

more things such as simplifica-

tion of visa process, introduc-

tion of e-visa, increasing the

number of countries for VOA

facilities and infrastructure

improvement. Goyal informed

that IATO has organized many

skill development programme

in the last couple of years to

cater to the needs of growing

demand of the tourism indus-

try. He informed that at the

forthcoming convention, apart

from deliberating upon issues

of various segments of the

tourism industry such as civil

aviation, hotels etc, IATO will

discuss achievements of the

last year convention that was

held in Mumbai and actions

taken on the resolutions of the

last year convention.

Speaking about his expec-

tation from this year IATO con-

vention, E M Najeeb,

Chairman & MD, Airtravel En-

terprises India Limited, who is

the co-Convention Chairman of

IATO said, “The 29th IATO An-

nual Convention taking place

in Kochi will be a noticeable

event for the tourism industry.

The theme of the convention it-

self is ‘Tourism: Innovations &

Partnerships’. Tourism is a

service industry, which is de-

veloped through relationships,

networking and out of the box

thinking and innovations.

Tourism will be successful if it

is experiential and qualitative.

The visitor delight should be

the highest objective.” He

added, “For delivering cus-

tomer satisfaction, we have to

produce and deliver innovative

services. Technology innova-

tions also are changing the na-

ture of the industry so much.

In fact, the convention would

proclaim excellent thoughts

and ideas on networking and

innovation for the tour opera-

tor community and for the fu-

ture of the industry. We are

awaiting for the vibrant inter-

actions among the cream of

the IATO members in Kochi

during the convention.” Najeeb

feels that the convention

should discuss the limitations

in infrastructure, double taxa-

tion, interstate transportation

taxes disparity, etc, and it

should also focus on innova-

tiveness in products and serv-

ices. “We should discuss in

detail the impact of technology

in the industry, and making

use of it productively for the

benefit of the tourism indus-

try,” added Najeeb.

Looking forward to an ex-

citing convention, Ravi Go-

sain, MD, ERCO Travels and

Executive Committee Member

of IATO said, “We are expect-

ing another exciting conven-

tion in Kochi and we hope our

members and partners will be

benefitted with information

and good networking.”

Through partnerships and

innovations, the theme of the

convention, the idea is to aug-

ment the capacity of the

tourism industry, provide inno-

vative services to customers

and make the country more

competitive and tourist

friendly. On the theme of this

year IATO convention, Najeeb

said: “The theme of the upcom-

ing 29th IATO Annual Conven-

tion is “Tourism Innovations &

Partnerships”. Various themes

were discussed by IATO, and

arrived at this because

Tourism is a hospitality indus-

try that is based on relation-

ships, partnerships, and

innovations in technology,

product development, and cre-

ating customer delight and vis-

itor experiences.” He added,

“The theme of the convention

is much in consonance with

the Indian tourism scenario.

IATO all set for 29th ConventionIndian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is all set for 29th convention,which is being held in Kochi, Kerala. Considering the need of the hour andthe challenges the Indian Inbound tourism is facing in the country, IATO hasappropriately selected the theme of this year’s convention, which isinnovations and partnerships.

Subhash GoyalPresident, IATO

Advantage of our annual conven-tion is that it provides all ourmembers a unique opportunity

to get together annually and interact andnetwork with each other and discuss theissues of common interest.“

E M Najeeb Chairman & MDAirtravel Enterprises India Limited

For delivering customer satisfac-tion, we have to produce and de-liver innovative services. The

convention would proclaim excellentthoughts and ideas, on networking and in-novation, for the tour operator’s commu-nity and for the future.

“

�Prem Kumar

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

21trade talk

The nature of tourism is evolv-

ing and changing around the

world considerably. Tourism

gets affected by global events

and developments in a most

sensitive manner.” He added

that the economic slowdown in

the source markets, political

unrest, environmental and cli-

matic changes, and also the

use of technology influences

the course of tourism to new

directions. India is aiming at

doubling the tourism inflow to

India and looking at the indus-

try seriously. “According to the

global trends, tourism in India

should be innovative and

trendy, presenting the right

products and services for more

and more discerning tourists

around the world. The tourism

industry has to make the

tourism experience of the visi-

tors extremely meaningful, as

their investment of their re-

sources like time is precious.

Any tourism destination failing

in offering the excitement and

satisfaction would not survive

longer,” Najeeb said and

added, “For this, we have to

know the pulse of the tourism

demand. That is possible only

by proper global networking,

partnerships and innovations.

Hence the theme of the con-

vention ‘Tourism: Innovations

and Partnerships’ is highly ap-

propriate for the tourism in

India.”

Justifying the choice of this

year convention, Amaresh Ti-

wari, MD, A.T. Seasons & Va-

cations Travel, and executive

Committee Member of IATO

said, “Tourism Industry is fac-

ing lots of challenges currently,

especially Inbound Business.

Despite various efforts put by

MoT, the tourist traffic is not

increasing. The reasons are

numerous such as increased

tax burdens, safety issues es-

pecially towards women,

crises in the aviation sector

and slowdown in economy.

This year IATO Convention

theme is ‘Innovations & Part-

nerships". He added, “The

time has come when Industry

needs to work together as sin-

gle unit and all the stakehold-

ers work towards increasing

the inflow of tourist traffic.

This is possible through new

Innovations and partnership

among all stakeholders. We all

need to come together on a

common platform and fight for

the cause. I am expecting we

will be able to debate on Indus-

try issues and come out with

new vision for Tourism Indus-

try.” Tiwari further said that

in today’s world standing out

to look different and be noticed

is becoming more and more

difficult; therefore, “This Con-

vention will discuss some of

the success stories from the In-

dustry colleagues, who have

done the business with Innova-

tions.”

Supporting the choice of

convention, Gosain said, “We

have carefully selected our

theme this year ‘Innovations

and Partnership’ because this

is the requirement of time. All

stakeholders of tourism must

come forward and to be more

innovative to increase tourism

to India in present difficult

times. Partnership among all

related people in tourism is

more important in order to

bring unique and cost effective

products as well increase bet-

ter synergy and quality.”

Speaking about the challenges

of the industry, Gosain said, “I

think present state of tourism

industry in India is under

shadow of economic prob-

lems, safety issues, lack of

professionalism and unfair

business practices, which re-

quires overhauling and better

understanding among our

partners like hotels, trans-

porters, guides, airlines etc.

There are few situation gen-

erated challenges which oc-

curs due to slowdown in

economy and this year con-

vention will focus on such is-

sues and try to fill gap

between various stakeholders

in order to protect tourism in-

dustry in India. " According to

Tiwari, the theme of the con-

vention is very much in conso-

nance with current state of

tourism in the country, He

added, “Time has arrived

when we need to Innovate

new areas to grow interna-

tional tourist traffic in India

and this is possible through

partnership among tourism

stakeholders.”

View

‘incredible india’ is going through a challenging time, and the challenges before

the Tourism industry are multiple. iaTo has rightly selected innovations and part-

nerships as theme of its 29th convention. it would be very appropriate and timely

if this year’s convention of iaTo can come out with some innovative ideas as to

how to face the prevailing and emerging challenging of the industry. The conven-

tion should also throw up some innovative ideas to promote innovation and part-

nership in the tourism industry. The convention should not only deliberate on

these issues in a structural and constructive way, but also prioritize areas which

require immediate attention as far as innovations and partnership in the industry

is concerned. one of the important areas where iaTo should focus on immedi-

ately and promote partnership with government and other stakeholders is skill

development for the travel and tourism industry because with the expansion and

growth of the tourism industry the demand for skilled and trained manpower is

growing. in future, with government increasing focus on tourism, the industry

would need more and more skilled people. other important areas where partner-

ship should be prompted are marketing of incredible india as destination.

Ravi GosainMD, ERCO Travels and EC member of IATO

We are expecting another excit-ing convention in Kochi and wehope our members and partners

will be benefitted with information andgood networking.“

Amaresh TiwariMD, A.T.Seasons & Vacations Travel andexecutive member, IATO

Tourism Industry is facing lotsof challenges especially InboundBusiness, despite various efforts

put my MoT, the tourist traffic is not in-creasing.“

22

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

TRADE TALK

Private Partnerships are increasingly

becoming important in tourism Public

infrastructure development opportuni-

ties, says Arun Anand, Convention

Chairman, IATO.a

s the theme of this

convention is ‘in-

dian Tourism – in-

novations &

Partnerships’,

“issue of private partner-

ships in tourism public in-

frastructure development

will be explored in course

of the business sessions

at the convention and in-

puts from the experts

who have been invited

from india and abroad

will be taken,” said

anand.

Elaborating on the

theme of this year iaTo

Convention: innovation

and partnership, anand

said, “This year’s theme

of the Convention is very

appropriate and timely.”

He further said, “This

partnership is also visible

in research partnership,

investigating tourism as

a social-ecological sys-

tem, civic governance

and tourism in the face of

uncertainties created by

global warming and peak

oil pricings etc.” anand

believes that while inno-

vation can be defined in

a multiple ways; new

products, process, new

material, new forms of

organizations carrying

capacity, use of technol-

ogy creating centers of

excellence that treat and

disseminate new opera-

tional research based

knowledge, and focus on

incremental raise of

quality and staff includ-

ing niche innovations

and revolutionary inno-

vations that can really

impact positively for

tourism and its sustain-

ability.

This year convention

is happening at a time

when the environment is

very challenging for

tourism in the country.

anand said that the chal-

lenges are really too

many. Enumerating

some of the challenges,

anand said that first

challenge is Visa facilita-

tion which is the most im-

portant bottleneck in

tourism scene. Second

challenge, anand said, is

lack of sufficient accom-

modation at reasonable

price all over in 2-tier and

3-tier cities which have

become popular with low

cost airlines air-connec-

tivity. Safety standards

and specially safety for

women tourists are also

major concerns of the

tourism industry.

according to anand,

other challenges that

tourism in india are fac-

ing are lack of proper

cleanliness in india in

general and especially at

all tourist places fre-

quented by tourists, lack

of highway facilities en

route to many tourist

places.

due to automobile rev-

olution and Highways

coming up (new delhi

and Mumbai corridor and

other all over india) sur-

face tourism is depend-

ent on en route facilities.

Then there is issue of

well trained language

speaking guides to meet

the need of tourists com-

ing from new markets

like China, South Korea,

arab countries and Rus-

sia etc. Tourism industry

in india is also facing

complicated and multiple

tax structure. according

to anand, tax rationaliza-

tion in all respects re-

lated to tourism is

necessary. “Till now

Tourism Sector is over-

loaded with taxes like

Public Private Partnershipis important in tourismdevelopment: Arun Anand

“Issue of private Partnerships in tourism

Public infrastructure development will be

explored in course of the business ses-

sions at the convention and inputs from

the experts who have been invited from

India and abroad will be taken.”

arun anand

Convention Chairman

iaTo

�Prem Kumar

23TRADE TALK

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Service Tax, Luxury Tax, VaT,

Sales Tax on aTF by all states,

excise duty on alcoholic drinks,

Toll Tax, entertainment tax, tax on

tax, etc. Taxes are being levied

everywhere as if tourists were

here to help india grow with their

tax payments,” said anand. He

added that no priority is being ac-

corded to the Tourism Sector by

governments. There is no proper

budget for tourism (neither by the

Central government nor States).

There is also lack of trained man-

power in all segments of tourism.

Railway stations, which look like

shelters for poor and not a centre

for tourist activities, are sur-

rounded by touts. anand said that

airports (expect in some Metro

cities) need upgrading urgently

because operations of flights

have already increased from

those airports). There is lack of

entertainment facilities in the

evening at metro cities/other

tourist places. Even there is lack

of tourist literature in foreign lan-

guages (including city maps).

State governments are not mak-

ing any land bank for putting up

infrastructure that means land

cost is becoming cost prohibitive.

anand said that aSi Monu-

ments need proper upkeep and

maintenance, landscaping and

beautification, which is lacking at

present. Even basic facilities are

not available. Road Tax needs to

be rationalized. it now varies

from state to state and lot of in-

convenience tourists has to face.

There is lack of proper coordina-

tion among government min-

istries and each ministry puts its

own terms neglecting the cause

of tourism. anand said that

tourism is linked with Ministries

like Civil aviation, Railways, En-

vironment MEa and MHa, and

they try to ignore tourism interest.

“incentives to tour operators (in

india and overseas) are bare

minimum. So there is lack of mo-

mentum for overseas tour opera-

tors to promote india in a big way.

More incentives are needed, but

except lip services nothing is

coming forth,” said anand said.

He added that negative image of

india prevails in the global mar-

kets with national calamities, cor-

ruption, Political events, Socio

economic uprisings etc. But the

government has no crises man-

agement policy and tourists prefer

to avoid india with advisories is-

sued by overseas countries.

“These are the ones which are

major challenges and keep our

tourism figure stagnated at six mil-

lion plus since last three years.

There are many more such bottle-

neck areas where we need to take

action on top priority like cheating,

fraud, Rupee slide, quality control

and touts at tourist places etc,” said

anand, adding that all these will be

taken up in course of deliberation

in business sessions at the con-

vention.

as regards the response he is

expecting from iaTo members to

this year convention, he said, “We

are receiving good response as we

are expecting over 1100 to 1200

participants. We expect more par-

ticipants from the Southern Region

where the enthusiasm to be pres-

ent in iaTo Convention is more.

This will mean the delegate num-

bers will cross our expectations.”

This year the convention is hap-

pening in Kochi. on being asked

as to why iaTo opted for Kochi in

Kerala as Venue for its convention,

anand said that this place has

been selected after lot of discus-

sions and deliberations as the

place holds lot of potential for fu-

ture growth of tourism in india.

“The generally it has been seen as

also acknowledged by the states

concerned that whenever iaTo

has organized its Convention at a

destination, there is a greater

awareness and greater movement

of tourists. also Kerala government

is pro-active and the trade is very

professional. The state has over 93

per cent education, eco-friendly

environment (which is in demand

from overseas tourists) rich culture,

beaches, wildlife and better air-

connectivity with 3 international air-

ports, quality and budget hotels. it

is a destination in itself,” said

anand. He added, “We will boost

Kerala with our sincere efforts and

that will in turn bring tourists in

numbers to Kerala destinations.

We are confident that iaTo will

make its mark in enhanced

tourist’s arrivals to Kerala after the

Convention and the efforts the

members will be putting with new

experience gained by being in

Kochi.”

The government of Kerala and

MoT, goi is supporting iaTo for the

convention.

“We are receiving good response as we are expecting

over 1100 to 1200 participants. We expect more par-

ticipants from the Southern Region where the enthu-

siasm to be present in IATO Convention is more. This

will mean the delegate numbers will cross our expec-

tations.”

24

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

analysis

With an aim to

underline the

growing impor-

tance of indian business

and event tourism,

dubai based Qna inter-

national recently organ-

ised a two-day MiCE

and Luxury india Travel

Congress in Mumbai. at-

tended by major travel

houses, corporate buy-

ers, film production

houses, destination

management compa-

nies, airlines, tourism

boards, hotels, wedding

planners, etc who to-

gether control annual

meetins and events

budgets of more than

uSd 100 million; the

event provided an excel-

lent slew of ideas for tap-

ping the growing MiCE

sector in the right way.

Best practices

The event underlined

the growth of MiCE india

outbound market and

the factors that attracts

indians corporate

houses to host their

meetings at different lo-

cations. according to

Karthik Ramamurthy,

Head aiM (africa, india

& Middle East), iPSoS

Business Consulting; in-

dian films has strong in-

fluence on promoting

destinations among indi-

ans and play a major

role in persuading the

decision making

process. He said, “With

more and more indians

experimenting with

newer and unexplored

destinations for their hol-

idays, indian corporate

travellers are also get-

ting the flavour of this

trend. one of the major

influences is Bollywood

which is showcasing

destinations for various

type of travellers and ac-

tivities to indulge in. The

travel houses catering to

MiCE travellers should

understand the drivers

and catalysts which mo-

tivate the indian busi-

ness travellers’ mindset

while opting for a desti-

nation. ” ipsos Business

Consulting estimates the

current MiCE outbound

market at around uSd

700 million which is

growing at 15 per cent

annually. The impor-

tance of MiCE and its

impact on Motivating, in-

forming, Communicating

or Educating the internal

as well as external

stakeholders has be-

come a very imperative

part of the entire corpo-

rate business cycle. He

informed that travel op-

erators play a crucial

role as middleman be-

tween destination and

corporate houses.

adding to this, Srithar

gB, area director –

South asia, Singapore

Tourism Board said,

“Corporate travellers are

looking for travel compa-

nies who would under-

stand their requirements

and at the same time

manage those require-

ments in specific budget

limits. Partnership is the

key model which is

adopted by Singapore

Tourism Board and sev-

eral major tourism

boards. under this, we

Understanding MICEand knittingopportunitiesaround itAccording to PATA, 40 per cent of all outbound tripsby Indians are for business purposes; an average In-dian MICE traveller spends USD 3242 per day. Thepotential is huge but do you have the right strategy totap this growing segment.

Srithar gB

area director – South

asia, Singapore Tourism

Board

Rajeev Kohli

Joint Managing director

Creative Travel

Karthik Ramamurthy,

Head aiM (africa, india &

Middle East), iPSoS Busi-

ness Consulting

�Anand Shah

25analysis

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

educate the MiCE operators about

the products on board for MiCE

travellers and they in turn offer

these products to their corporate

travellers. This way, the partner-

ship proves to be beneficial for all

the stake holders. Today, Singa-

pore has successfully established

itself as one of the leading MiCE

destination among indian trav-

ellers.”

not just asia, but the world is

looking at india and is keen to at-

tract the MiCE travellers. Mischa

Mannix-opie, Regional Manager

South and South East asia,

Tourism new Zealand said, “We

have tripled our budgets for indian

market considering the growth and

potential it holds as a source mar-

ket for new Zealand. The MiCE

segment is our key focus espe-

cially the incentive segment in

india. as per a market research

done by the tourism board, new

Zealand is a popular destination

among indian MiCE segment but

the corporate travellers are clue-

less about MiCE facilities and the

activities which they can indulge in

there. We got to know that indian

trade cannot make the travellers

understand a different between

European and new Zealand MiCE

event experience. Thus, our focus

will be on training and educating

trade as they are really important

to us and we need their support to

bring up new Zealand in indian

MiCE travellers wish-list.”

Luxury travel

during this panel discussion, the

panelist underlined the importance

of prestige and exclusivity as a key

for catering the booming luxury

travel segment and brought out

some key points to meet the stan-

dards and demands of big

spenders. according to Rajeev

Kohli, Joint Managing director,

Creative Travel; luxury is a subjec-

tive term. He said, “Luxury has

nothing to do with the physical part

of the travel like staying in a five

star property, etc. it is hard to de-

fine the term luxury in india as our

country is a continent in itself with

endless luxury experiences.” ac-

cording to him, indian travel com-

panies still don’t know how to sell

luxury travel in india. adding fur-

ther, he said, “indians are ready to

spend while travelling. They are

highest spenders in few parts of

the world. infact, business trav-

ellers spend a lot on shopping

while travelling. However, there is

a need for lot of investment in ed-

ucating the travel trade about lux-

ury travel offering and also

educating the client about the va-

riety of luxury products which

he/she can opt for as per the

needs.”

The whole luxury travel market is

moving to FiT, thus service

providers should know the strategy

to cater to smaller groups as well.

Taking numbers

Top destination

according to a report released by nielsen india at the event, business travellers

opt for shopping dominant destinations. The top three destinations visited and as-

pired are all modern shopping capitals – Singapore, dubai and Malaysia. infact,

20-30 per cent of the total trip expenses are related to shopping. The top MiCE

destinations opted by indian corporate travellers in 2011-12 were: Singapore,

Malaysia, uSa, China, australia, uK, nepal, Thailand, uaE, Japan & germany.

off all the destinations, 52 per cent of indian MiCE travellers happen to travel

within asia for their business needs and 16 per cent of the travellers visit more

than one destination in a single trip.

Time of travel

The report also revealed that 70 per cent of the overseas MiCE travel by indian

travellers happens between February and June months. off the total MiCE travel

reasons, 74 per cent travel is for meetings, 48 per cent for conference, 30 per cent

for exhibition and mere four per cent for corporate incentive.

Preparing for MICE travel

interestingly, more than a third of travellers select a particular destination for rea-

sons like: Facilities to hold large conferences/conventions/off-sight meetings; busi-

ness environment in terms of government regulations and safety and presence of

companies in that particular destination registered for the event. if travel compa-

nies think that corporate houses don’t know much about the destinations than re-

think. according to the report, 56 per cent of MiCE travellers, themselves search

for information on place, tickets and staying option for a trip through internet search

engines, online travel portals and travel agencies and tour operators. also, if you

think that indian MiCE segment also books at the last minute than the report will

prove you wrong. The average lead time for a typical outbound MiCE trip is 72

days which is still very shirt as compared to international standards which is ap-

proximately eight months to more than one year. about 56 per cent of indian MiCE

travellers start their journey taking off from either delhi or Mumbai airport says the

report.

Preferred facilities and activities

Talking about preferred facilities and activities, the most common hotel facilities

preferred and used while on the trip are: Meeting rooms (66 per cent), business

centres (47 per cent) and in-room internet (39 per cent). on the other hand, 11

per cent of indian MiCE travellers like to spend some time in leisure activities like

visiting historical sites, socializing with business associates or visiting nearby nat-

ural tourism sites apart from shopping.

Expenditure and shopping

For expenditure and shopping, MiCE traveller spend about 23 per cent on shop-

ping, 17 per cent on accommodation, 11 per cent on communication, 22 per cent

on travel tickets, 14 per cent on leisure & food and 13 per cent on business related

expenses.

26

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

trade talk

This is the season of

dwindling rupee and

inflating dollars and with the

rupee hovering around 62 to a

dollar, it’s a boom time for

travel groups devising domes-

tic tours for Bengal travellers

during puja season. The out-

bound tourists from Bengal

too have put domestic desti-

nations on their travel itiner-

aries. After all a trip with

family and friends breathes

new life into mundane exis-

tence and replenishes the

soul.

spoke to some popu-

lar travel companies in

Kolkata to know the favourite

holiday options in vogue for

puja departures. Informs San-

jay Mittal, Executive Direc-

tor, Trident Travel Private

Limited, “We are devising cus-

tomized tours for free individ-

ual travellers and most

tourists are picking holiday

destinations like Mumbai with

Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan and

Andaman Islands this time.

The conventional hill resorts

of Shimla, Kulu, Manali and

Gangtok have a lot of takers.

Bengal tourists are taking a

short break for a period of

eight days. For tourists prefer-

ring luxurious holidays,

Thekkady and the hill resort

of Munnar with lush tea gar-

dens is the most-in-demand

destination. Thekkady with

spice plantations is a six-hour

drive from Cochin.”

A bulk of domestic tourists

would travel with their kids

since puja holidays are a time

to enjoy with the entire family.

Says Sanjay Mittal, “Around

95 per cent tourists are trav-

elling with their kids and

those visiting popular tourist

destinations are opting for

three or four-star haunts

while tourists travelling away

from the hustle and bustle of

city life are selecting resorts.

There is a mad rush of Bengal

tourists going to domestic

destinations and the period

would mark 15 per cent rise in

domestic travel during puja.”

Safety is the topmost pri-

ority for leisure tourists while

selecting tourist destinations

without any political distur-

bances. Explains Sudipta

Kumar Mukherjee, Manag-

ing Director, Citi Safari Tours

Private Limited, “There is po-

litical unrest in Bodoland and

Darjeeling Hills and the Hi-

malayan tragedy occurred in

Uttarakhand. We are receiv-

ing enquiries for Darjeeling

Hills. Most leisure tourists are

looking at popular hotspots

like Vishakhapatnam, Araku

Valley, Kodaikanal, Ooty and

the fascinating destinations

like Somnath, Diu and Juna-

garh in Saurashtra. The dis-

cerning travellers are

planning out to visit Jwala-

mukhi, Kangra and Palampur

in Himachal Pradesh. Puja

tourists go for advance book-

ing of tickets or air fare and

then book the hotels.”

Mukherjee avers that the puja

travel season is gradually

gaining momentum.

The travel group is boost-

ing unexplored locations like

Jhandi- a Dooars’ destination

is a mere half-an-hour drive

from Garumara National

Park. Adds Sudipta Kumar

Mukherjee, “Jhandi is the

only hill resort in Dooars and

is replete with tea gardens

with enchanting views of sun-

rise and sunset at Mt.

Kanchenjunga. There is a

spurt of 8 per cent in domes-

tic travel during puja season.

Leisure tourists intend to put

up in deluxe hotels and re-

sorts.”

For those who have pas-

sions for exploration are ap-

proaching Bugial

Destinations that specializes

in adventure travel. Barun

Bhattacharya, Proprietor of

the group, said “Owing to the

ongoing agitation in Darjee-

ling Hills, tourists are making

a beeline for Kashmir Valley.

A number of tourists have

booked their tours to Darjee-

ling and are waiting for the

agitation to end. Bitten by

travel bug, the leisure

tourists from middle-income

bracket pack their bags dur-

ing puja vacation.”

The travel group has both

fixed departures and tailor-

made packages that are cost

economic. “We are showing

Patni Top to Kashmir-bound

tourists. Another unexplored

location- Palchen around 14

km from Manali in Himachal

Pradesh is on our tour pack-

age. We are embarking on

mountain expedition with a

group to Mt. Sritidhar in Hi-

machal Himalayas. In Darjee-

ling Hills, Enchay forest,

Sillary Gaon and Sandakphu,

the highest point in Bengal

are the hot destinations. The

heritage car safari in San-

dakphu that offers a joy ride

for 100 km is quite in rage.

Home stay accommodation is

going down well with tourists

going to the hill resorts. The

puja travel season would ex-

perience 10 per cent higher

footfall to domestic destina-

tions.”

Bengal tourists on highwanderlustPuja travel from Bengal is all set to mark a highfootfall of leisure tourists travelling to popularand offbeat domestic destinations this year.

Swaati Chaudhury

Favourite itineraries of puja tourists:

Trident Travel has eight-day Kerala tour for ̀ 42,000

for an adult and a six-day tour of Mumbai and goa

for ̀ 35,000 for an individual that includes four-star

accommodation, food, transportation and visit ex-

cluding air fare.

Citi Safari Tours has designed 10-day break to

Saurashtra for a pocket pinch of ̀ 30,000 per head

and an extensive 10-day tour of Kashmir Valley

with an exciting trip to Ladakh for ` 35,000 per per-

son including food, deluxe accommodation and

visit.

Bugial destinations is offering 15-day package of

Kashmir valley with Vaishno devi for ` 15,000 and

seven-day vacation to darjeeling Hills at ` 10,000

including food, accommodation and sightseeing

only.

Sanjay MittalExecutive Director, Trident Travel PrivateLimited

Barun BhattacharyaProprietor Bugial Destinations

27trade talk

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

With the setting of

the outbound sea-

son for Bengal tourists during

Durga puja, a retreat with

family is a great way to have

new experiences. India is bat-

tling to defend the rupee and

Bengal travel-freaks planning

for global getaways have a

tough choice to make. The

falling rupee has hit the global

travel groups badly. A number

of tourists are opting for elab-

orate domestic tours while

some are holding on to their

global dreams.

interacted with re-

puted travel houses of

Kolkata to find out the current

trends dominating for out-

bound Bengal tourists. Ac-

cording to Alka Rathi,

Managing Director, Aviana

Travels Private Limited, “The

movement of Bengal tourists

to global destinations is lower

this time owing to sliding of

rupee against dollar and euro

zone. It takes a lot for a family

of four to travel offshore.

There is a decent demand and

travel-crazy Kolkatans love to

travel but the sky-high air

fares and shooting prices are

deterring them from taking

the plunge.” But there is hope

yet and Alka Rathi feels that

it is with time that tourists

would get used to the fall in

rupee and start travelling

once again.

Europe has emerged as

the most celebrated tourist

destination for Bengal

tourists. Adds Alka Rathi, “We

have fixed global departures

for leisure travellers to Eu-

rope, Iceland and Lapland,

China, South Africa and

Kenya Safari during Septem-

ber and October. Around 10

per cent tourists, mostly ur-

banites are going on holidays

with their kids preferring

three-star haunts. There has

been 25 per cent decline in

outbound travel from Bengal

to offshore. Once the rupee

stabilizes, the demand would

rise.”

Consider AR-ES Travels

that is concentrating on

South-East Asia that are

cheaper than Western coun-

tries. Says Anil Punjabi, Di-

rector, AR-ES Travels Private

Limited, “The puja season is

the only time when working

parents and their children get

holidays and they plan to

travel for at least seven days.

There has been 12 per cent

drop in outbound travel from

Bengal in the current period

but we are receiving outbound

travellers from the North-East

India interested to take-off to

the Far East. The leisure trav-

ellers go for three-star com-

fort while budget holidayers

stay in resorts. Tourists do

not mind planning three

months in advance rather

than shelling out 25 per cent

more on global travel. Many

Bengal tourists are waiting

for the lean season after the

pujas.”

The travel organization

has come up with new-age op-

tions for puja tourists. Adds

Anil Punjabi, “We are roping

in more number of tourists to

a particular global hotspot

and we are in parleys with

hospitality groups in those

destinations to offer optimum

benefits to tourists. Destina-

tions like Hong Kong, Macau

and Kunming are doing well

and we are trying to boost off-

beat places like Malaysia’s

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and

Sarawak and Thailand’s Hua

Hin, Krabi, Chiang Mai and

Chiang Rai.”

The travel group is entic-

ing global tourists to Bengal

during pujas in order to tide

over the inflation period.

Shares Anil Punjabi, “We are

trying to lure global tourists

from Europe, Canada, United

States, Thailand and Malaysia

to experience the best of

Durga pujas in Kolkata, cruise

on Ganga, visit Tagore House

and the Sundarbans. With

falling rupee, global tourists

can make best use of the op-

portunity to travel across

India. We are expecting the

flow of global tourists would

go up by 12 per cent than last

year.”

Another popular travel

group designing fixed global

tours for years is Alps Tourist

Services Private Limited that

is offering discounts on group

packages. Says Abhijeet

Dhar, Director of the group,

“Since tourists are sticking to

conventional destinations and

keeping their budget low, we

are providing 6 per cent flat

discounts on Europe package.

We are thinking to offer 5 per

cent discount for a group of

two and 8 per cent slash for a

group of four to Australia and

New Zealand. The focus is on

London, Paris, Switzerland,

Australia and New Zealand.

Outbound travel in Bengal has

dropped by 25 per cent and

not responded the way as ex-

pected.” by TNH DESK

Bengal puja travel reelingunder weak rupeeWith the rupee slumping to the weakest level,the puja travel season has proved to be aspoilsport for Bengal tourists looking for globaldepartures but this has not dampened theirwanderlust spirit.

Popular fixed departures for pujatouristsaviana Travels has 10-night and 14-day tour

of Europe including nine European countries.

alps Tourist Services Private Limited has

six-day tour of Exotic Thailand for ` 34,500per head, eight-day tour to Sri Lanka with

beaches and shrines for ` 58,000 per person

and 15-day tour to Europe for ` 1,92,00 foran individual inclusive of all costs.

Abhijeet DharDirector, Alps Tourist Services

Alka RathiManaging DirectorAviana Travels

Anil PunjabiDirector, AR-ES Travels Private

28

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Medical Tourism

Everyone agrees that

India has huge poten-

tial in the medical tourism be-

cause of the development and

expansion of super- Speciality

medical facilities in the coun-

try, largely due to private sec-

tor initiative, and the cost

advantage that the country of-

fers in this segment. But for

different reasons the country

has not been able to tap its po-

tential in the medical tourism

completely. Many people from

travel trade and some inde-

pendent observers believe

that there is lack of synergy

between travel trade and

medical service providers,

and they said that in order to

fully exploit the potential of

the medial tourism in the

country, all stakeholders must

work in cohesion and coordi-

nate with each-other in their

mutual interest and for the

promotion of medical tourism

in the country.

Speaking at the confer-

ence, Rajiv K Vij, Co-Chair-

man, Tourism Committee,

PHD Chamber in his theme

presentation pointed out that

India receives only two per-

cent of the world’s medical

tourists. This, he said, should

be seen as an opportunity and

efforts should be made to in-

crease the inflow of tourists

looking for medical and well-

ness solutions. Although num-

ber of medical tourists visiting

India has grown over the

years, considering its poten-

tial, the country has a long

way to go to become an attrac-

tive destination of medial

tourism.

There is also a regional

disparity in the country as far

as promotion of the medial

tourism in the country is con-

cerned. Medical facilities are

largely concentred in a few

cities. Parvez Dewan, Secre-

tary, Ministry of Tourism, Gov-

ernment of India in his

address pointed out that we

tend to make the mistake of

assuming that medical

tourism is international but in

reality, medical tourism is

often also from one part of the

country/state to another. He

went on to say that interna-

tional tourists often raise the

standards of the medical and

wellness treatments on offer

through their patronage. But,

presently, most Medical

Tourism in the country ends

up concentrated in a few

cities and, thus, we should try

to spread it across India and

decentralize this phenome-

non. He suggested that a few

beds in each hospital should

be reserved only for Medical

and Wellness tourists. Khur-

shid Ahmed Ganai, Addi-

tional Secretary (Foreigners),

Ministry of Home Affairs, Gov-

ernment of India in his ad-

dress said that India is

famous as a destination for

medical and wellness facilities

due to its efficient medical in-

frastructure. He shared in de-

tail the recent visa regulations

put in place, especially for

medical and wellness tourists

and mentioned further work

in the area can be undertaken

to increase India’s global out-

reach.

On the occasion Tushar

Pandey, Senior President, Yes

Bank released a knowledge

report on ‘Medical and Well-

ness Tourism in India’ and in

his speech summarized the

findings of the report. He fo-

cused on how India is an ideal

destination for super special-

ity treatments at very low

costs. He also listed the vari-

ous impediments that inhibit

the growth of the sector.

High commissioners of

Nigeria and Mauritius were

also present on the occasion.

Both countries are key mar-

kets of the Indian medical

tourism. Ndubuisi Vitus

Amaku, High Commissioner

of Nigeria to India spoke

about his own experience in

India and highlighted that

Nigeria is a major patron of

the Indian medical and well-

ness sector. Almost half the

tourists from Nigeria visited

India in 2012 for medical pur-

poses. However, he was disap-

pointed about his experience

of hospitals getting commer-

cialized and indulging in mal-

practices. Dr. Arye Kumar

Jagessur, High Commissioner

of Mauritius to India said that

though the world considers

India to have good medical fa-

cilities, but medical charges

are very high. Patients travel

to India for super specialized

treatments that already costs a

lot and in such situations, med-

ical and wellness tourism be-

comes unviable. .

At the inaugural session,

Suman Jyoti Khaitan, Presi-

dent, PHD Chamber com-

mented about India being an

ancient civilization and natu-

rally endowed with a rich cul-

tural heritage and a reputation

for age old-medicines and ther-

apies. by TNH DESK

PHD organises Conference onMedical TourismPHD Chamber recently organised in New Delhi a national conference onmedical tourism and wellness in India, which discussed issues ofpartnership and synergy between various stakeholders of the medicaltourism and the challenges that this segment of the tourism industry isfacing in India.

Presently, most Medical Tourismin the country ends up concen-trated in a few cities and, thus,

we should try to spread it across India anddecentralize this phenomenon.”

Parvez Dewan, Secretary, MoT, GoI“

Conference on Medical & Wellness Tourism in India in progress at PHD House

29trade talk

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Contrary to popular

perception, Indian

travellers are all set to take

the next step in their travel

buying experience. The sur-

vey conducted by MMT has

found that 97 per cent of In-

dian travellers prefer online

hotel reservation over tradi-

tional booking methods, while

77 per cent have already

booked a hotel online through

an OTA. What is even more in-

teresting is that 40 percent In-

dian travellers have booked

last minute hotels for same

day check-ins while 14 per-

cent Indians have used a mo-

bile app to book hotels. These

are some of the interesting

findings from a recent survey

undertaken by MakeMyTrip,

India’s leading online travel

company. The survey aims at

understanding the behavior

pattern and preferences of In-

dians for booking hotels for

their domestic and overseas

travel.

Elaborating on the survey

results Rajesh Magow, Co-

Founder & Chief Financial &

Operating Officer, Make-

MyTrip said, “We launched

this survey to better under-

stand the hotel-reservation

behaviour of Indian travellers,

and the triggers and concerns

that shape their decision-

making process. The results

are quite insightful and we

will utilize these to build com-

pelling hotel offerings to fur-

ther enhance customer

confidence in our Hotel prod-

ucts. The survey has some en-

couraging findings for OTAs

such as the increasing prefer-

ence and propensity for In-

dian travellers to research

and book Hotels online. How-

ever, the results also reveal

that payment/ data security

continue to be the Number 1

concern-area for a majority of

Indian travellers when book-

ing a hotel online. Make-

MyTrip offers secure payment

options to make the travel-

buying experience convenient

and safe, but as the survey

shows, more needs to be done

to educate the traveller on

how to determine that their

online transaction is being

conducted in a safe and se-

cure ecosystem.”

The survey showcases the

emergence of the daring In-

dian traveller, one who is in-

fluenced by a hotel property

when deciding on his holiday

97% Indian travellers preferonline hotel reservation

A recent MakeMyTrip survey has found a remarkable change in the hotel-preferences and booking behavior of Indian travelers for the domestic andoverseas holidays.

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

30 trade talk

destination (40 percent) and

is tech-savvy and confident

enough to use a mobile app to

book hotels (14 percent).

Hard to believe but when

it comes to hotel booking, In-

dians are the least brand

conscious with only 14 per-

cent Indians preferring

brand name while price, lo-

cation and service top their

preference list. Price is the

key decision making factor

for Indians booking a hotel in

India (49 percent) or over-

seas (60 percent) while

amenities are the least im-

portant factor when booking

a hotel. Indians prefer hotel

location (49 percent) over

customer service (44 per-

cent) when booking an over-

seas hotel while service (49

percent) triumphs over loca-

tion (46 percent) when book-

ing in India.

Elaborating on the key

concern areas highlighted by

the survey, Magow said, “Ac-

commodation is a key compo-

nent of a traveller’s itinerary.

We understand and acknowl-

edge it, and over the last few

years we have made efforts to

allay common customer-con-

cerns. From offering 100 per

cent Money-back guarantee if

the hotel property did not

meet expectations built, or

claims listed while booking

from our website, to offering a

Pay-at-Hotel solution, we have

worked with our extensive

network of Hotel partners to

provide a security-blanket for

travellers wary of online hotel

booking. Earlier this year, bol-

stered by our success and

customer-confidence in our

Hotel-offerings, we extended

the MMT brand-promise to

‘Hotels Unlimited’. We are

continuously striving to raise

the bar of customer-experi-

ence while booking a Hotel

through MMT. This survey

helps identify other areas we

can look at delivering a dis-

tinctly superior experience,

such as the lack of flexibility

in terms of meal plans and

special inclusions that have

been cited by respondents.”

Another interesting finding

is that Indians favor 3- and 4-

star hotels over luxury proper-

ties both in terms of

preference and for actual

booking in India and overseas.

More Indians prefer a luxury

property when booking over-

seas (23 percent) than in India

(20 percent). by TNH DESK

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

31trade talk

With this, Air India

becomes the only

airline in India to offer dy-

namic, online holiday pack-

ages, to customers. This

partnership between two

leading players in the air

travel and leisure space offers

customers access to an un-

matched holiday product –

with the unique value proposi-

tion enabled by Air India’s

vast network spanning the

length and breadth of the

country and beyond, and

MMT’s expertise in online

sales and management of

travel products.

Speaking on the occasion

Rohit Nandan, Chairman &

MD, Air India said, “Air India

Holidays offers customers a

unique, value-added product,

leveraging the strength of our

network and the credibility of

the Air India brand. It enables

Air India to tap into the fast-

growing leisure market, even

as we play our role in tourism

development as India’s na-

tional carrier. We are particu-

larly happy to partner with

MakeMyTrip, who bring to the

initiative their expertise and

domain knowledge of the on-

line travel and leisure mar-

ket.”

About 150 packages to 73

domestic and 2 international

destinations are currently

available, in standard and

deluxe variations, covering

select 3 to 5 star properties.

More packages and destina-

tions are being added to cover

all destinations served by Air

India’s flight network. Cus-

tomers booking these pack-

ages receive the unique

benefit of real-time seat avail-

ability and price, and online

booking and confirmation, as

MakeMyTrip harnesses the on-

line platform to offer the twin

benefits of convenience and

choice.

Keyur Joshi, Co-Founder &

Chief Commercial Officer,

MakeMyTrip.com while ad-

dressing the media said, “We

are very pleased to have been

selected to offer online Holiday

solutions to Air India’s cus-

tomers. Being the pioneering

and leading travel portal in

India, we leverage our customer

insights, market knowledge and

supplier-relationships to provide

travelers the best, value-based

holidays. We are committed to

delivering these offerings to Air

India customers and look for-

ward to a long and fruitful asso-

ciation.” by TNH DESK

Air India launches online holidaypackages with MakeMyTripAir India recently launched its popular Holiday Package product in a unique,online B2C format, in partnership with MakeMyTrip.

Rohit NandanChairman & MD, Air India

Keyur JoshiCo-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer,MakeMyTrip.com

Northern Region of

Travel Agents Asso-

ciations of India (TAAI) re-

cently held elections for its

office bearers. In the newly

elected team of Northern Re-

gion, TAAI, Rajan Sehgal,

has been elected as the chair-

man. Sehgal is the Director of

Arrivals Air Services. He is

also the president of India

Golf Tourism Association

(IGTA). Neeraj Malhotra has

been elected as Hon. Secre-

tary of the Northern region.

He is the promoter and Chief

Executive of Ganpati Travels.

He is the Hon. Treasurer in

the outgoing office bearer

team. Gaurav Dogra,

Founder of Plan Your Holiday

has been elected as new Hon.

Treasurer of Northern Region.

The new office bear Team of

Northern Region, TAAI will

take over the charge once na-

tional elections of TAAI is con-

cluded. by TNH DESK

TAAI, NR elects newoffice bearers

Rajan SehgalchairmanNorthern Region, TAAI

Neeraj MalhotraHon. SecretaryNorthern region, TAAI

Gaurav DograHon. TreasurerNorthern region, TAAI

New office bears Team of NR, TAAI

Chairman, northern Region, Taai: Rajan Sehgal

Hon. Secretary, northern region, Taai: neeraj

Malhotra

Hon. Treasurer, northern region, Taai: gaurav

dogra

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

32 Hospitality Update

Currently operating 14

properties (mix of

owned and managed proper-

ties) across India with 1,161

keys under ‘Keys Hotels’ and

‘Keys Resorts’ brands;

Berggruen Hotels recently an-

nounced the introduction of a

new brand – Keys Klub. The

new upscale hotel brand would

come under four and five star

category aiming to attract af-

fluent business travellers and

high end leisure travellers.

The group is planning to

own/manage close to six prop-

erties under ‘Keys Klub’ by

2016. Each property under the

new brand would include over

100 rooms in about 275 sq ft

and development cost of ` 45

lakh per key. For the same, the

company is short-listing few

properties in Mumbai, New

Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad,

Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur,

Kochi and Bangalore. Sanjay

Sethi, MD & CEO, Berggruen

Hotels informed that they will

soon announce their flagship

hotel (either management con-

tract or franchise) under ‘Keys

Klub’ brand in Mumbai which

will have over 200 rooms and

build-up cost of ` 90 crore.

Divulging further details,

Sethi said, “We launched Keys

Hotels when the global hotel

brands were developing luxury

properties. Today, the market

is developing budget hotels

and we already have our Keys

Hotels brand established and

performing well. Today, we

launched our Keys Klub focus-

ing on the upscale segment

and in next three to four

years, we will have about four

to five properties operational

under this specific brand. For

the same, we are targeting

cities like Pune, NCR, Mum-

bai, Ahmedabad, Chennai,

Jaipur, Hyderabad and

Kolkata. By 2016, we intend to

have 75 hotels with room in-

ventory of 6600 rooms and

combined revenue of ` 410

crore from the owned and

managed hotels.”

Vision 2016

In next three years, the group

intends to have 75 properties

under all the three brands

(Keys Hotels, Keys Resorts,

Keys Klub) with a total room

inventory of 6600 and com-

bined revenue of the group to

reach Rs 410 crore. Currently,

the group has 21 hotels under

various stages of develop-

ment. It will be opening six

new hotels (two owned) in this

fiscal which means launching

a property in every five weeks

till March 2013. The new ho-

tels which are opening in

2013-14 fiscal calendar are lo-

cated in Kochi, Vizag, Shirdi,

Amritsar, Mumbai and Pune.

Berggruen launches ‘Keys Klub’The new upscale brand will have 100 and above rooms property locatedin city centres and high end business districts across India.

Preferred Hotel

Group today

launched a new iPrefer, the

first points-based consumer

loyalty programme of its

kind for a global collection

of independent hotels. The

programme rewards travel-

ers with points on qualify-

ing hotel stays that can be

exchanged for Reward Cer-

tificates redeemable like

cash toward expenditures

at hundreds of participating

properties across the Pre-

ferred Hotel Group family of

brands. In addition, iPrefer

extends members-only ben-

efits such as complimentary

Internet during every hotel

experience.

“The new structure of

iPrefer extends the undeni-

able value of frequent stay

programmes to independent

hotels worldwide, allowing

them to better compete with

hard brands by incentiviz-

ing travelers with points,

status, and a flexible re-

demption process,” said

Lindsey Ueberroth, Presi-

dent of Preferred Hotel

Group. “iPrefer is a game

changer. For the first time,

one-of-a-kind hotels can

maintain their independ-

ence and reap the benefits

of a points-fueled global loy-

alty programme.”

Effective immediately,

iPrefer members will re-

ceive one point for every

US$1 dollar spent on net

room reservations at partic-

ipating hotels booked

through eligible channels,

which include iPrefer.com,

Preferred Hotel Group dis-

tribution channels, GDS,

and hotel direct. Upon

check-in, participating ho-

tels will also extend a vari-

ety of complimentary

benefits to iPrefer members

based on their tier status,

which is determined by

points earned during a 12-

month period.

Silver (0-4,999 points):

Points for eligible bookings,

complimentary Internet,

priority early check-in and

late check-out

Gold (5,000-14,999 points):

All benefits of Silver mem-

bership plus a welcome

amenity and an upgrade

based on availability

Platinum (15,000+

points): All benefits of Gold

membership plus 10 percent

bonus points earnings

iPrefer members will ex-

change their points for Re-

ward Certificates in USD,

EUR, or GBP currencies.

Participating hotels will ac-

cept the Reward Certifi-

cates as currency for room

reservations and can elect

to permit them as payment

toward other on-property

expenditures such as food

and beverage and spa. Re-

ward certificates never ex-

pire and are transferable.

The new iPrefer pro-

gram will have a 24/7 Help

Desk to support participat-

ing hotels and guests.by TNH DESK

Preferred Hotel GroupLaunches a New iPreferGuest loyalty programme debuts with a “pointsequals rewards” promise for hotels and travelers

Sanjay SethiMD & CEO, Berggruen Hotels

�Anand Shah

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

According to Rajeev

Jain, CEO, Mumbai

International Airport Ltd

(MIAL), the airport is all set

to accommodate 40 million

passengers by the year end

through the new Terminal 2

(T2). Jain elaborates, “Built

at an estimated cost of `

12,380 crore and spread

across 439,203 sq m, the new

integrated terminal will be

able to handle more flights

and provide ease to the pas-

sengers with respect to

check-in, security hold and

baggage delivery.” At present,

Mumbai airport handles close

to 30 million passengers an-

nually, that is more than the

capacity of current interna-

tional terminal, and has

caused issues like airside

congestion and inadequate

night-parking bays. Though

these problems that have

dogged the growth of the

Mumbai airport will not

change overnight, the open-

ing of the new terminal will

enable the airport to handle

more flights and offer much

better passenger conven-

ience in terms of check-in, se-

curity hold and baggage

delivery — the areas for all of

those will be substantially

bigger than now.

Authority reassures on-

time performance

Apparently, the GVK run

Mumbai airport has also un-

dertaken the work of con-

structing two new taxiways

resulting in the shut down of

the main runway for eight

hours a day, six days a week

from October 2013 – May

2014. Thus, operations will be

shifted to secondary runway

which is smaller than the

main runway and has lesser

taxiways. Confirming the lat-

est developments, Jain said,

“The two new taxiways

would help smaller aircrafts

to reduce their turn-around

time after landing, thus free-

ing the runway much faster

for better air traffic move-

ments. So, in the long run,

this will improve the overall

productivity and efficiency of

the airport. However, the con-

struction won’t impact the

day-to-day operations of the

airport as we have the sec-

ondary runway (14/32) facil-

ity.”

However, this might ham-

per the launch of new termi-

nal as with the launch the

capacity to handle the pas-

senger would increase but at

the same time, due to air traf-

fic congestion, flights might

get delayed and airlines

might look at other options

(like diverting to Pune or re-

ducing the number of serv-

ices) for seven to eight

months. Also, since the sec-

ondary runway is smaller

and shorter than the main

runway, the airlines has to

operate smaller aircrafts or

reduce the weight in cargo

area of the aircraft to give

easier and faster lift to the

aircraft while takeoff and

landing.

World-class T2

According to Sanjay Reddy,

Managing Director, GVK Air-

ports; Mumbai airport devel-

opment is considered as the

most challenging airport ex-

pansion project in the world.

He said, “We started in 2006

and today have become an in-

tegrated airport development

company. Today, we are de-

veloping and managing Mum-

bai, Bangalore and an

Indonesian airport. Talking

about the Mumbai airport, it

will be a game changer for

the state’s aviation sector

and once operational, it will

become the largest airport in

the country with world-class

facilities. For instance, the

Art Programme at the new T2

would showcase the entire In-

dian culture covering every

state and region. Infact, we

would also have an applica-

tion wherein passengers can

know more about art pieces

and their relevance. By end of

2014, the integrated terminal

will handle both domestic and

international passengers

while the existing interna-

tional terminals will be de-

molished to make way for the

southeast tier of the new ter-

minal. By this, the airport

would be able to host 45 mil-

lion passengers from the cur-

rent 30 million passengers.”

Silent features of T2

To house retail space of over

21,000 sq meters

Over 5000 sq meters of land-

scape areas

188 check-in counters

60 departure immigration

counters

76 arrival immigration coun-

ters

104 security check-positions

18 arrival carousels, 22

carousels in departure area

Fully automated baggage

system

25 fixed link bridges

52 passenger boarding

bridges

41 travelators

A six lane elevated express

way leading to the terminal

Cost matters!

Airlines and airports are be-

hind their ‘Revenue experts’ to

get the best operational strat-

egy to earn profits and have

healthy business growth. How-

ever, with Mumbai airport in-

creasing the operational costs

by 154 per cent from February

this year, major airlines (both

domestic and international)

are considering options to

avoid Mumbai airport. For in-

stance, soon-to-be-launched

AirAsia India would initially

operate in South Indian cities

and in later stage might think

of operating to Mumbai and

New Delhi.

Mumbai Airport’s T2 might face delaysConstruction of two new taxiways from October – May might hamper thesoon-to-be-launched Terminal 2

�Anand Shah

Sanjay ReddyManaging Director, GVK Airports

33take off

34

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

take off

The service will com-

mence from 10th Feb-

ruary 2014, initially with six

non-stop flights per week to

Taipei’s Taoyuan Interna-

tional Airport.

The route will be operated

by a three class Boeing 777-

300ER equipped with eight

luxurious private suites in

First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in

Business Class, and generous

space for 304 passengers in

Economy Class, along with

gourmet cuisine in all classes

- served by Emirates’ multina-

tional cabin crew. The aircraft

also features ice, Emirates'

award-winning inflight enter-

tainment system which offers

over 1,400 channels showing

the latest blockbusters, subti-

tled Hollywood films, music,

TV and games.

Taipei, home to nearly

seven million people, is an

economic and cultural centre

with renowned sights, attrac-

tions and a myriad of shop-

ping options. The destination

is famous for producing and

exporting electronics, textiles,

plastics and rubber, optical

and photographic instruments

and chemicals.

“Emirates SkyCargo has

operated a dedicated freighter

service to Taipei since 2003.

Given its status as a global

trading hub and the demand,

it is a natural progression for

Emirates to launch passenger

services to Taipei,” said Barry

Brown, Emirates’ Divisional

Senior Vice President Com-

mercial Operations East.

“Emirates’ home, Dubai is

another world-class trading

centre and this launch is a

strong example of not only

linking two great commercial

destinations, but also promot-

ing international travel and

trade. Through Dubai, Emi-

rates offers its international

passengers a one-stop con-

nection from Taipei to 70

countries in the Middle East,

Africa and Europe.

“We are confident that this

new route will open up new

trade opportunities across the

Emirates network as well as

support business and tourism

travel to Taipei,” concluded

Brown. by TNH DESK

Emirates AnnouncesPassenger Servicesto TaipeiEmirates, one of the world’s fastest growingairlines, today announced the launch of non-stop passenger services to Taipei, its 16thdestination in the Far East.

day

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

Wednesday

Saturday

Sunday

Flightnumber

EK 366EK 367

EK 366EK 367

EK 366EK 367

EK 366EK 367

departureairport

dXBTPE

dXBTPE

dXBTPE

dXBTPE

departureTime

04252315

02252315

00202315

03402315

arrival air-port

TPEdXB

TPEdXB

TPEdXB

TPEdXB

arrivalTime

16150510 +1

14300510 +1

12050510 +1

15250510 +1

Taipei Flight Schedule - from 10th February 2014

35Foreign initiative / take off

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

The group will focus on

designing sales and

marketing strategies to keep po-

sitioning Dubai Dolphinarium as

the leading family entertainment

destination in the Middle East.

Sales and marketing activi-

ties will include travel trade fo-

cused initiatives to ensure

achievement of revenue goals by

tapping into relevant market

segments and appointing key

distribution partners, as well as

travel trade show management,

road shows, media relations and

promotions. Nijhawan Group

will have direct access to issue

dolphinarium tickets which will

provide the Indian travel trade

with immediate benefits and ad-

ditional revenue streams.

Steven Preston, General

Manager, Dubai Dolphinarium

said, “India is one of the

strongest feeder markets for

Dubai’s travel and tourism sec-

tor and the highest market to

Dubai Dolphinarium. As the re-

gion’s only dolphin and seal fam-

ily entertainment centre, we are

showcasing the different experi-

ences we offer and the advan-

tages the travel trade enjoy by

including the dolphinarium in

their itineraries. We chose Ni-

jhawan Group due to their ability

to take products to the Indian

market and generate robust

sales and distribution relation-

ships.”

Ankush Nijhawan, MD, Ni-

jhawan Group said, “India with

an estimated potential of 50 mil-

lion outbound Indian travellers

by 2020 makes it a key market to

be captured by Dubai Dolphinar-

ium. Dubai Dolphinarium is an

amazing place, where the conflu-

ence of nature and science

makes it an exciting journey in

Edutainment Marine Adven-

ture.” He added, “It will offer In-

dians with a unique high value

family entertainment and educa-

tional classes that provide edu-

cational facts regarding the

Dolphins, Seals and other sea

life. We take pride in our rela-

tionships with our travel trade

partners and together we will

ensure to fulfill our Sales and

Marketing activities resulting in

increased Indian footfalls to the

Dubai Dolphinarium.”

Nijhawan Group to represent DubaiDolphinarium in IndiaDubai Dolphinarium, the region’s only dolphin and seal show, hasappointed Nijhawan Group as its sales and marketing representative inIndia.

Both corporate and

leisure passengers

travelling to and from Ranchi

and even to Jamshedpur will

now have the opportunity to ex-

perience the hassle-free and on-

time performance that IndiGo is

synonymous with. These new

flights will further consolidate

IndiGo’s position as the fastest

growing airline in India, with 69

brand new Airbus A320s - 6E

operates 434 daily flights, con-

necting 34 destinations.

Speaking on the launch of

new flights, Aditya Ghosh, Pres-

ident, IndiGo said, “We are very

excited about adding Ranchi as

our 34th destination of opera-

tions as it is a landmark mo-

ment for us. Ranchi is going to

be an important part of our des-

tination network because it

holds good prospect for com-

mercial business apart from

being the capital city of Jhark-

hand. We are committed to pro-

viding maximum connectivity

from Ranchi on our network by

catering to various segments

and we are confident that these

additional services will prove

immensely popular with our

passengers. We are planning to

increase the connectivity to and

from Ranchi and expand our

operations with flights to Banga-

lore, Mumbai in near future. It is

our constant endeavour to pro-

vide more flexibility of choice for

our customers as IndiGo contin-

ues to offer them on time, hassle

free and always affordable fly-

ing experience.” by TNH DESK

IndiGo adds Ranchi asits 34th destinationIndiGo, has announced the introduction of newdaily flights to Ranchi from Delhi & Patna.Celebrating its seventh year of operations, theairline will launch its new daily non-stop flightsbetween the cities from 18th August onwards.

Flight no.

6E 493

6E 494

6E 494

6E 493

6E 493

6E 494

6E 493

6E 494

origin

delhi

delhi

Ranchi

Ranchi

delhi

Patna

Ranchi

Patna

destination

Ranchi

Ranchi

delhi

delhi

Patna

delhi

Patna

Ranchi

departure

4:20 PM

6:50 aM

10:10 aM

6:40 PM

4:20 PM

8:55 aM

6:40 PM

8:55 aM

arrival

6:10 PM

9:40 aM

11:55 aM

9:40 PM

7:30 PM

11:55 aM

7:30 PM

9:40 aM

Frequency

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

Via

Patna

Patna

Ranchi

Ranchi

Fare*

4011

4011

3848

3848

3066

2903

1679

1679

Effective

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

18-aug-13

New flight schedules are:

Steven PrestonGeneral Manager, Dubai Dolphinarium

Ankush NijhawanMD, Nijhawan Group

36

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

destination outbound

drenalineRush inMauritiusThis exoticbeach paradisehas much tooffer to all theadrenalinjunkies outthere….

A

37destination outbound

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Popularly known as “the Pearl of IndianOcean,” the beautiful destination of Mau-ritius is surrounded with colorful coral

reefs, awesome sceneries, white pristinebeaches and eye-catching landscapes. Mauri-tius is one year around destination directly con-nected by Air Mauritius from Mumbai, Delhi,Bengaluru and Chennai. For the Indians whowant to actively indulge their adventerous side,Mauritius, has much to offer:

Quad Biking: Offered at both L’Etoile and Do-maine du Chausseur, quad biking is a great way

for the whole family to explore the lush country-side and spot the doe-eyed deer and wild boarthat were brought to the island over a centuryago. There are some spectacular view points atL'Etoile and Domaine du Chasseur. Both placeshave restaurants serving traditional Mauritianfood. Quad biking is great fun, even in the rain.Both L'Etoile and Domaine du Chasseur provideraincoats to keep you dry as you go slipping,sliding and splattering mud up and down thehills.

Zip Line Rides: A perfect concept of mixing ad-venture with experience. The Zip-line ride is avery initial form of air-trekking not involvingrain forest canopy and a greater challenge canbe experienced at Les Cerfs Volants (DomaineDe St Felix). It’s a unique activity in which peo-ple are allowed to fly over a river, trees androcks, through a network of zip-line cables,which are spread over the Rivière des Galets. Itis an interesting way to discover the waterfalls,forest and landscapes of Mauritius. All the zip-lines are different in lengths and offers differentsensations depending on their positioning. Youjust can’t stop yourself from swimming underthe waterfall and dive from the top of rocks in anatural pond.

Water Skiing: Water skiing in Mauritius is apopular pastime with the natives. Water skiingis a sport where an individual on water is

tugged by a motor boat. Mauritius is shelteredby colorful coral reefs, natural crystal clear la-goons and the weather is warm and tropicalround the year. The best water skiing is avail-able in Grand Baie, Pereybere; West Coast, Flicen Flac, and East Coast, Blue Bay, and Mahe-bourg, just to mention a few.

Para Sailing: Para-sailing is the ideal excursionfor those looking for a special sea-air activity.The sheer thrill and excitement of being air-borne has made this a popular family sport. Itis a wonderful experience as you are pulled by

a speed boat until you attain maximum height.You would be several feet high and get an excel-lent view of your surroundings.

Scuba Diving: Mauritius maintained a goodreputation and impeccable safety record foryears and this comes with the professional div-ing centers present on all the coastlines with in-ternally certified instructors. The island hasProfessional Association of Diving Instructors(PADI) centers with beginners and advancedcourses and the Mauritian Scuba Diving Asso-ciation is quite active. Some of the most populardiving sites are Trou Aux Biches, Grand Baie,Flat Island, Belle Mare, Flic en Flac etc. Mauri-tius has an option of night diving which is called‘Honeymoon’ diving to add more romance anda little bit thrills to your Romantic Honeymoon.

Snorkeling: For those who aren't qualifiedscuba divers or just don't feel like lugging lotsof equipment around, snorkeling is a great al-ternative. People of all ages and abilities can ex-plore the colorful reefs and lagoons with nomore than flippers and a mask and snorkel. Un-

like scuba-diving, most Mauritius hotels don'tcharge for the use their snorkeling equipment.However, if snorkeling is something you enjoyits worthwhile bringing your own equipment, orbuying some at the local shops. Most of the largehotels have a dive center and the best divingsites are around Flic en Flac & Ile aux Cerfs forsnorkeling.

Deep sea fishing: For the thrill of a lifetime,you must try deep-sea fishing! The deep watersof Mauritius offer the ideal spot for big gamefishing. Expect to catch big Tuna Fish, Bar-

racuda, Bonito and of course Blue Marlin. Tryout exploring the unexplored in Mauritius,which is angler's paradise and offers ideal con-ditions for deep-sea fishing. Just a Kilometeraway from the barrier reef, the ocean bed dropsdown to 70 meters deep. Fully equipped fishingboats can be hired from most of the hotels.

Sub scooter: Explore the crystal-clear under-water world of Mauritius in the world's first un-derwater scooters. Enclosed in acandy-coloured bubble with an engine attached,you breathe freely in the air pocket as you steeryourself around 3m under the surface of thewater. Kayaking: Sea kayaking is another one of thebest ways of enjoying the fascinating beaches ofMauritius. For first timers, Péreybère is recom-mended for sea kayaking. Paddle in the depths atTamarin, on the west coast of Mauritius, whereyou have the opportunity to see spinner dolphinsor for more challenging sea kayaking, head to-wards North coast. Ilot Chats, Ile aux Aigrettes,Ilot Singes, Gunners’ Coin, Ilot Benitier are alsofew other good kayaking locales. by TNH DESK

AUGUST 2013 ,

Demands for hotel rooms toimprove steadily from Q3 ofFY ‘13-14

YEAR

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

OCCUPANCY (%)

65.0%

71.4%

73.8%

73.0%

71.7%

62.5%

61.6%

60.9%

59.9%

na

AVERAGE HOTEL OCCUPANCY IN

INDIA - FIVE STAR DELUXE CATE-

GORY

YEAR

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

AVERAGE RATE

4,686

5,606

7,168

9,778

11,200

11,096

9,277

9,350

9,192

na

AVERAGE ROOM RATES IN INDIA

- FIVE STAR DELUXE CATEGORY

YEAR

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

OCCUPANCY (%)

64.8%

69.0%

71.5%

71.4%

68.8%

59.5%

59.5%

60.6%

59.1%

58.3%

AVERAGE HOTEL OCCUPANCY

IN INDIA

YEAR

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

AVERAGE RATE (`)

3,569

4,299

5,444

7,071

7,989

7,722

6,489

6,513

6,257

6,214

AVERAGE ROOM RATES IN INDIA

In recent years, on ac-

count of the global fi-

nancial turmoil and a

sluggish domestic

economy coupled with signifi-

cant addition to the existing

hotel room inventory across

the country, hotel occupancy

and average rates have been

under pressure. Going for-

ward, with the economic re-

covery gaining momentum

and aided by policy initiatives

by the Central and State Gov-

ernments for tourism promo-

tion, FHRAI expects that in

the coming quarters there will

be a steady improvement in

the demand scenario from

third quarter of Fiscal Year

2013-14 onward. But given the

strong supply pipeline, occu-

pancy and average rates will

first stabilize and thereafter re-

bound, only with a lag. At pres-

ent, the proposed pipeline for

branded hotel rooms (2012-13

to 2016-17) is estimated to be

93,355 rooms, of which 14.5

per cent are in the luxury seg-

ment and 29.2 per cent in the

upscale category.

The Ministry of Tourism has set

a target to double the foreign

tourist arrivals in India from the

present 6 million to 12 million

within the 12th Five-Year Plan

Period (2012-17) and expand

our global market share in

tourism from 0.64 per cent to at

least 1 per cent. by TNH DESK

FHRAI

source: FHRai

38 Hospitality Update

source: FHRai

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

40 Hospitality Update

This was a joint ini-

tiative by Ni-

jhawan Group,

Constance Hotels & Resorts

and Business Today Group to

have the International leg at

the Constance Belle Mare

Plage for the winners of the na-

tional round. The aim was to

increase Golf Tourism to their

properties in Mauritius en-

abling them to experience their

courses as well as their resort.

Constance Hotels and Re-

sorts is a group of 7 luxury ho-

tels and resorts, each situated

on four breathtaking islands in

the Indian Ocean - the Mal-

dives, Seychelles, Mauritius

and Madagascar. Each resort

has a unique character that

blends harmoniously with the

natural environment surround-

ing it.

Constance Belle Mare

Plage is part of the Unique

range of Constance Hotels &

Resorts which fosters your de-

sire for freedom, for getting

away and to living rare mo-

ments.The International Leg of

the Business Today Pro-Am of

Champions 2013, held in The

Legend Golf Course of Con-

stance Belle Mare Plage Mau-

ritius from June 22-25th, was a

fine mix of business with pleas-

ure. The first of its kind in this

exclusive island, The Legend

Golf Course at Constance Belle

Mare Plage places Mauritius

on the world map as a golf des-

tination since its opening with

the launch of the Mauritius Golf

Open the same year. The Leg-

end course has superb fair-

ways, and each of the holes has

distinctive characteristics. Set

in the heart of an indigenous

forest originally used to breed

deers, the course embraces the

natural beauty of its surround-

ings. The 17th hole (par 3) is

set in a stunning location and

can prove a test for the nerves,

looking across the water and

the trees to the 18th.

From the moment the

golfers arrived at the luxurious

resort of Constance Belle Mare

Plage and had lunch at the sce-

nic Deer Hunter restaurant in

the clubhouse of The Legends

course, there were requests for

a round of golf after lunch.

While the Golfers spent their

time on the 18-hole Legends

Golf Course, the wives had a

nice time soaking in the sights

of the beautiful waters of ocean

& white sandy beaches at the

resort. A practice round was

played on 23rd morning at the

Links Golf Course. The course

was a golfer’s delight with

beautiful undulating fairways

and large manicured greens.

The rest of the day was spent

lazing at one of the 4 pools

within the resort or indulging

in water sports and activities

like snorkeling, Undersea walk

etc. The weather played tricky

at times, with the occasional

drizzle but according to the

golfers it was the perfect

weather.

In all, 16 CEO’s teed off for

the final at the Legends Golf

Course on 24th June, some of

whom were Tarandeep Singh,

Director, Aon Hewitt; Alok Mal-

hotra, Senior Vice President, Li

& Fung (Ex MD Tommy Hil-

figher); Akshay Kilachand, Di-

rector, Indian Commercial Co.

Ltd.; Prashant Purker, Execu-

tive Director, ICICI Ventures;

TV Commentator & Ex-Crick-

eter, Nikhil Chopra; Rohit

Jhawar, Director, Usha Martin

Ltd.

The Legend, a tight course

with narrow fairways and

water bodies on almost every

hole is a regular venue of the

European Senior Tour event,

requires a calm approach and

precision golf. With strong

gusting winds and the occa-

sional shower the course be-

came really demanding and

most of the golfers shot high

numbers.Rohit Jhawar, the

eventual winner in the 0-14

handicap category, had bo-

geyed the 5th hole and just

double bogeyed the 6th when

he decided it was time for a

beer (at10 am). A pint of local

‘Phoenix’ beer really soothed

his nerves and he played the

rest of the 11 holes 1 over with

3 birdies for a score 42 stable-

ford points. Manish Aggarwal,

the winner in 15-24 handicap

category, had a similar experi-

ence. “No one in my four ball

could imagine that after

scratching out the first 2 holes

I will manage to win and this

was the biggest learning I had

in the tournament.”

The Gala Dinner on the

same night was held at Deer

Hunter, which has a view of

both the 9th and the 18th

green.Guests were welcomed

by the dancers shaking to their

cultural folk dance called Mau-

ritian Sega (Sega Mauricien). A

live band played while the

group enjoyed their four course

dinner. The Sega dancers later

joined in making the celebra-

tions really boisterous to make

the evening a truly memorable

experience for the golfers and

their families.

The winners were awarded

with a Trophy and a Victorinox

Bag each, during the Gala Din-

ner. by TNH DESK

Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritiushosts the International Leg of the BusinessToday Pro-Am of Champions 2013Constance Hotels & Resorts represented by Nijhawan Group in India cohosted the Business Today Pro Am of Champions 2013 as theInternational destination partner.

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

42 Progressive India

When it comes to

mountain des-

tinations in

India, there can be nothing

more charming than the idyllic

hill resort of Darjeeling that en-

joys its reputation as the

“Champagne of the East.” In a

move to give an impetus to the

rural economy, Gorkhaland

Territorial Administration

(GTA) has initiated a slew of

projects on eco-tourism, home

stay facilities and tea resorts in

Darjeeling Hills.

Formulated in 2010, GTA is

going great guns with eco-

tourism in order to sustain the

ecological balance of the hills.

States Dipak Kumar Lohar, As-

sistant Director, Darjeeling

Tourism, GTA, “We have made

an attempt to promote home

stay facilities in Darjeeling,

Kalimpong and Kurseong that

form the three sub-divisions of

Darjeeling Hills. There are 300

home stay options in

Kalimpong and Dalgaon in

Darjeeling. Adventure-lovers

can stay at nature-based

camps in Reshi Khola and Sil-

lary Gaon, also known as New

Darjeeling. There are scores of

adventure tourist destinations

like Echey Gaon, Ramdhura

and Munsong that provide fa-

cilities for horse riding, moun-

tain biking, fishing,

paragliding, butterfly and bird

watching at Sillary Gaon.”

GTA is mulling proposal to

establish tea resorts in Darjee-

ling Hills. Says Dipak Kumar

Lohar, “Nearly 22 tea gardens

fall in GTA and the reputed tea

estates like Makaibari, Okaiti

Tea Estate and Thurbo Tea Es-

tate have sent a proposal to set

up tea resorts. The tourism de-

partment has drawn up an am-

bitious project of `2 crore to

give a makeover to the colonial

bungalows in Cinchona and

Parijat areas of Darjeeling Hills.

We are also in the process of re-

pairing the roads and renovat-

ing the tourist lodges including

Dalim Guest House in Goru-

bathan and Delo Tourist Lodge

in Kalimpong.” The tourism

department has made a single-

handed endeavour to set up

Mughal Garden and Water Park

at Jamuni Hill Resort, lying 22

km from Darjeeling.

Darjeeling Tourism is fo-

cusing on the major tourist

markets of New Delhi, Mumbai

and Gujarat. “A large chunk of

tourists come from Kolkata to

Darjeeling and there were

around 4,50,000 domestic

tourists last year,” adds Lohar.

Darjeeling Tourism to go for tea resortsWith an unlimited tourism potential, Darjeeling proves to be a traveller’sbliss.

Dipak Kumar LoharAssistant Director, Darjeeling Tourism

�Swaati Chaudhury

For those travel

junkies who

would prefer to

get immersed in some exotic

experiences for your next hol-

iday, Goa is the right choice.

Goa Tourism Development

Corporation (GTDC) is setting

for a big boost to hinterland

tourism in the state and

would roll out nine-seater

seaplanes to connect beach

destinations with hinterland

for tourists sometime this Oc-

tober.

Goa as a tourist hotspot

enjoys a brand of its own.

Says Nilesh Cabral, Chair-

man, GTDC, “We are thinking

of launching helitourism

since we have five helipads

that are not in use. We have

floated tenders around six

months ago in which Pawan

Hans Helicopter and five

other helicopter service oper-

ators are the bidders. The

seaplanes would offer joy ride

for anything between `2,000 –

`3,000 for an adult.”

The land has around 40

splendid beaches spread

along 105 km coastline. Ac-

cording to Nilesh Cabral, “We

have the rocky and hassle-

free beaches that pride in

having the best life guard

services in the country. We

are spending around `6 crore

for life guard services on the

beaches. All beaches have life

guard towers for the safety of

tourists. Our beaches have

shacks, restaurants and An-

juna beach is well-known for

its flea market held on

Wednesdays.” Cabral avers

that plans are ripe to begin

hot-air ballooning during the

peak tourist season.

The land has a series of

festivals round the year with

a blend of Portuguese culture.

Nilesh Cabral said, “MICE

tourism has begun in five-star

haunts around four years

ago. We plan to build a 5,000-

seater convention centre at

Santa Cruz, nearly 4 km from

Panaji next year. Our tourism

budget is around `200 crore

for sprucing up infrastructure

and tourism contributes

around 10 per cent of the

state revenue.”

The state has the biggest

waterfalls in Asia- Dudhsagar

and there is Pomburpa water-

fall. “It is the smallest Indian

state with the maximum num-

ber of wildlife. We have the

best bird sanctuary- Salim Ali

Bird sanctuary with 800 resi-

dent birds and 1,000 migra-

tory avian species,” added

Nilesh Cabral,

MagicalGoa

The land of feni, food andfiesta has plenty of marvelsranging from world-famousbeaches, biggest waterfallsand renowned birdsanctuary to offer to thedelight of tourists.

�Swaati Chaudhury

Nilesh CabralChairman, GTDC

S N A P S H O T

Goa Tourism’s initiatives:

To kick-off helitourism.

Seaplanes to link beach re-

sorts with hinterland.

To set up a major conven-

tion centre at Santa Cruz.

S N A P S H O T

Darjeeling Tourism’s up-

coming projects:

Building tea resorts.

Renovating old bungalows

and tourist lodges.

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

43progressive india

‘Public Order’

and ‘Police’ are

State subjects

as per the Seventh Schedule

of the Constitution of India.

As such, the prevention of

crime, including crimes

against tourists, is the pri-

mary responsibility of State

Governments/Union Territo-

ries. The State Govern-

ments/Union Territory

Administrations of Andhra

Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Hi-

machal Pradesh, Jammu and

Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala,

Maharashtra, Madhya

Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Ra-

jasthan, and Uttar Pradesh

have deployed Tourist Police,

in one form or the other.

The other measures taken

by the Ministry of Tourism to-

wards safety and security of

domestic and foreign tourists

including women travelers

are:

i) Issuance of guidelines

for formation of Tourist Facil-

itation and Security Organi-

sation (TFSO) comprising of

ex-servicemen in consultation

with Ministry of Defence,

Home and Directorate Gen-

eral of Re-settlement.

ii) Grant of Central Finan-

cial Assistance to Govern-

ment of Rajasthan, Uttar

Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh

for setting up of TFSO on a

pilot basis.

iii) Adoption of code of

conduct for Safe and Honor-

able Tourism which contains

a set of guidelines to encour-

age tourism activities to be

undertaken with respect to

basic rights like dignity,

safety and freedom from ex-

ploitation of both tourists and

local residents, in particular

women and children.

iv) Letters have been writ-

ten to all the Chief Ministers of

the State Governments and

Administrators of Union Ter-

ritory Administrations to take

immediate effective steps for

ensuring conducive and

friendly environment for all

tourists and also request them

to publicize the steps being

taken/proposed to be taken to

increase the sense of security

amongst the present/ prospec-

tive visitors and also to

counter the negative publicity.

v) In the wake of some un-

fortunate incidents involving

foreign tourists, Ministry of

Tourism has posted an advi-

sory on its website www.in-

credibleindia.orgby TNH DESK

Ministry of Tourism takes measures forsafety of touristsIn order to ensure safety and security of tourists, including foreigntourists, Ministry of Tourism has advised all the State Governments/UnionTerritory Administrations to deploy Tourist Police in the States/UnionTerritories.

Dr. K.ChiranjeeviUnion Minister of Tourism

Being known as the

‘Vibrant’ side of

‘Incredible India’,

Gujarat has gained momen-

tum in its tourism sector over

recent years, especially

through its ‘Khushboo Gujarat

Ki’ campaign staring Amitabh

Bachchan, the Bollywood

actor. The state is now further

intensifying its promotional

activities by organising road-

shows in Maharashtra, Kar-

nataka, Delhi, West Bengal,

Goa, etc. Alongside, to cater

the growing number of

tourists in the state, the state

government has sanctioned

an amount of `500 crore for

FY13 and FY14 to develop in-

frastructure and improve pro-

motional activities. Kamlesh

Patel, Chairman, Tourism

Corporation of Gujarat

(TCGL) said, “Off the total

`500 crore sanctioned, we

have already deployed `200

crore in infrastructure wherein

more than 37 projects are

under development. The re-

maining `300 crore would be

spent in this fiscal promoting

the state in domestic and

global markets, developing in-

frastructure and building more

tourist facilities.” He also in-

formed that the state is work-

ing on a new policy for

investment in tourism sector to

further boost the tourism infra-

structure and facilities.

According to the figures

provided by TCGL, the state re-

ceived close to 2.54 crore

tourists in Gujarat from Janu-

ary – June 2013, recording an

increase of 13.62 per cent dur-

ing the same period in 2012.

The gross tourist flow during

the year 2012-13 was 254.09

lakh which is 13 per cent

higher than the flow in 2011-12.

“While the overall tourism sec-

tor in India grew at 6.5 per cent

in 2012, Gujarat recorded a

growth of 13.62 per cent,” in-

formed Patel. Adding further,

he said, “We expect the num-

bers to grow by 20 per cent in

2013-14 considering the in-

creasing awareness of Gujarat

in India and overseas, im-

proved air connectivity to the

state, more number of hotel

rooms and better infrastruc-

ture.”

Gujarat to spend ̀ 500 crore oninfra and promotions

Gujarat will soonlaunch a newpolicy to bring ininvestment in thetourism sector ofthe state

�Anand Shah

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

44 hospitality update

Arenowned automo-

bile and manufactur-

ing hub in Pune, Chakan now,

has its first International

business hotel with the launch

of Courtyard by Marriott Pune

Chakan. The hotel will mark

the opening of the 10th Court-

yard by Marriott property in

India, and the 4th Marriott

property in Pune city. This

premium, business hotel

brand of Marriott Interna-

tional Inc. has been designed

to suit the needs of today’s

business traveler and is

poised to serve guests looking

for a unique and contempo-

rary hospitality experience.

The 175 subtly stylish and

spacious rooms include

twelve residence suites, come

thoughtfully designed to pro-

vide the optimum balance be-

tween work, relaxation,

comfort and sleep. Strategi-

cally located in the Northwest

corridor of Pune, Courtyard

by Marriott Pune Chakan cov-

ers a total area of 11725 sq. ft.

of indoor and outdoor meeting

space. Positioned as a pre-

mier business hotel, the

Courtyard offers the comfort

of large meeting rooms, cater-

ing to groups of various sizes,

that come with state of the art

audio-visual support and ban-

queting services. Features

such as High-Speed Internet

Access, is further leveraged

by technology, with additions

like In-Building Solutions

(IBS) for enhanced mobile

connectivity.

At the launch Rajeev

Menon, Area Vice President,

South- Asia, Marriott Interna-

tional Inc. stated, “Chakan,

Pune is an established indus-

trial hub and has seen

tremendous urbanization in

the recent years. Pune itself is

an IT hub and neighbour to

the business capital of the

country. Our two existing

Courtyard’s in Pune city are

doing exceptionally well,

hence it was only a matter of

time, that we establish our

presence in Chakan as well.

Our aim as always would be to

provide a holistic hospitality

experience, with state-of-the-

art amenities for the new age

business traveler.”

Speaking on the occasion,

Shakeel Ladak, Owner –

Courtyard by Marriott Pune

Chakan said, “The launch of

Courtyard by Marriott Pune

Chakan is indeed an impor-

tant milestone for us, as it

marks the beginning of a very

Courtyard by MarriottPune, Chakan opensMarriott International Inc. introduces the firstInternational Business Hotel Courtyard byMarriott Pune - in Chakan, Pune’s IndustrialHub this is Marriott’s 10th Courtyard in India.

Rajeev MenonArea Vice PresidentSouth Asia, Marriott International Inc

rewarding and successful re-

lationship with the Marriott

Group. We wish to establish

this striking property as the

preferred destination for

today’s business traveler.

With an increasing number of

industries coming up in the

Chakan industrial belt, we felt

this was the ideal opportunity

to create a niche for this

unique offering. The Court-

yard boasts of amenities that

are certain to exceed the ex-

pectations of our clients as

well as cater to the growing

number of business travelers

to this part of the city.”

The hotel is equipped to

satisfy the culinary demands

of its customers with an eclec-

tic mix of international and

regional fare. The all-day din-

ing restaurant, MoMo Café of-

fers a contemporary buffet

and an a la carte menu with

an interesting mix of Interna-

tional, Indian and local spe-

cialties. MoMo 2 Go is a

culinary representation of

taste and style, with an allur-

ing selection of gourmet deli-

catessen items like cheese,

salads, sandwiches, cakes

and breads along with hot and

cold beverages that you can

tuck into, while on the go! The

property also offers a state of

the art Fitness Centre and an

inviting Swimming Pool, to re-

fresh and rejuvenate after a

long day’s work.

Speaking on the launch,

Ritu Chawla, General Man-

ager, Courtyard by Marriott

Pune Chakan said, “This is a

definite step forward for us

and we are really excited with

the launch of our property in

Chakan. Chakan being the au-

tomobile and manufacturing

hub, a space needed to be

filled for the luxury business

traveler. The Courtyard is our

answer for the same. More-

over, Pune has become a hub

for MICE travel and Court-

yard by Marriott Pune

Chakan is suitably modeled to

suit all business require-

ments.”

This year Courtyard

brand is celebrating its 30th

anniversary, having begun op-

erations in 1983. The launch

of Courtyard by Marriott Pune

Chakan will definitely prove

to be a refreshing welcome for

those traveling to the Chakan

industrial area. The hotel

promises to provide memo-

rable experiences for its clien-

tele, and aims to carve a niche

for itself within the business

hotels domain.

Business facilities

Business centre facilities

include four meeting rooms

with a total meeting space of

11725 sq. ft. that can comfort-

ably accommodate from 6-400

people. by TNH DESK

Ritu ChawlaGeneral Manager, Courtyard by MarriottPune Chakan

guest Room Features

•37-inch LEd TV

•Tea / Coffee maker

•iPod docking station

•Laptop compliant electronic safe

•Mini Bar

•iron & ironing board

•Wired and wireless internet connectivity

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

45hospitality update

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

46 Foreign initiative

GETTINGFASHIONABLE

WITH MAURITIUS

Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority ropedin Ranna Gill to showcase the country’s vibrantart and culture through her latest and exclusiveready-to-wear collection at Lakme Fashion WeekWinter/Festive 2013.It is the first time thatMauritius Tourism Promotion Authority partici-pated in a fashion show and tied up with a fash-ion designer.

The spirit of resort came alive at theRanna Gill show at the Grand Hyatt,Santa Cruz in Mumbai.It was a star-

studded evening with fashion and Mumbai’smost noted filling up the front rows. Not a seatin the house can say they weren’t transportedto the beautiful island of Mauritius. The show kicked off with a minute-long AV ex-plaining why Mauritius is must-visit location

this holiday season. After that, one gorgeousmodel behind another glided down the run-way in beautifully designed clothes represent-ing the electrifying spirit of the nation.Thegorgeous swimsuits, kaftans, maxi-dresses,short shift dresses and gowns, in awe-inspiringshades of blue and tropical prints,had us wish-ing we were packing our bags to sail away intothe blue waters of Mauritius. It was sartorial

�Akshita SekhriDesigner Ranna Gill & Show Stopper Actress Yami Gautam walking the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

47Foreign initiative

satisfaction at its best. As if we weren’t enthralled enough, a stunning

Yami Gautam sashayed down the ramp dripping ina breathtaking white and silver studded finale gownputting the shutterbugs into a frenzy. She stood outwhite and pristine during the lineup with a whirl ofcolours and colour-blocked looks. Ranna then gra-ciously received her standing ovation with the wholeauditorium not only applauding her amazing cre-ations but also dreaming about the beautiful land of

Mauritius. Mauritius in recent years has become a favorite

destination among Indian travellers, particularlyamong Indian honeymooners and leisure travellers,and its popularity as holiday destination is growingconstantly among Indians. A small island, Mauritiusis located in the Indian Ocean and its geographicaland cultural proximately to India makes it a favoritedestination among Indian travelers.

In India and across the Goble both fashion andtravel are about aspiration. The association betweenGill and Tourism Promotion Authority of Mauritiustherefore seems fitting. It will go a long way in posi-tioning Mauritius as a fashionable destination forthe luxury Indian traveller.

"One gorgeous model behind another glideddown the runway in beautifully designed clothesrepresenting the electrifying spirit of the nation. Itwas sartorial satisfaction at its best."

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

48 Foreign initiative

RANNA GILL’s MAURITIUS The celebrated designer loves the small island nation’s natural beauty

What do you like about Mauri-

tius?

The pristine beaches of Mauritius

are a perfect location to relax and

rejuvenate. The local food is deli-

cious. There are a lot of fun activities

which makes it great for family holi-

days. at the same time the country

offers you everything you need to

pamper your body and mind so it is

wonderful to go there and unwind by

yourself as well. So, i guess what i

like the most about Mauritius is that

it is naturally beautiful and it has

something to offer for everyone that

visits.

What has inspired your Mauritius

collection?

Mauritius is very close to my heart. i

have been in love with the island na-

tion ever since i honeymooned

there. The color of the pristine

beaches , the sun and the sand are

an inspiration for me. i am very ex-

cited to come together with Mauri-

tius Tourism Promotion authority. i

have to confess i was approached

by other product brands to represent

them at Lakme

Fashion Week but found the idea

of representing Mauritius much

more appealing.

Which colors of Mauritius have

you chosen in your collection?

The turquoise and blues in the crys-

tal waters of the island , the bright

pinks and oranges inspired by the

sunset and tropical prints have all

made their way into my collection. i

have used lightweight fabrics and

light layering.

When are you planning your next

holiday in Mauritius?

Well, Fashion Week was a lot of

hard work and Mauritius is my fa-

vorite leisure destination. Plus, it is

very close to india so it is very con-

venient. So hopefully very soon!

�Srishti Rai

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

49Foreign initiative

Mauritius TourismStrengthening its position in India

Targeting 1,00,000 Indians till 2015, working closelywith travel trade to attract high-end travellers andhoneymooners.

With an aim to enhance its business

proposition in the indian market, Mau-

ritius Tourism Promotion authority

(MTPa) is undertaking a variety of activities in

the metros and mini metros. The country intends

to further boost its position among the indian

travellers. MTPa’s target market is high-end

travellers, premium MiCE groups, luxury honey-

mooners and also the ‘Big Fat indian weddings’.

For the same, it has recently announced plans

to provide financial assistance to the travel trade

in select indian cities. it will short-list and select

the top business and leisure campaign propos-

als submitted by the indian travel firms and pro-

vide them financial support of 75 per cent for

business campaigns and 50 per cent for leisure

campaigns of the total cost of the promotional

campaign. Furthermore, it will also unveil spe-

cial incentive offer for the MiCE segment in the

coming months to tap the growing business

travel from india.

The first step to achieve awareness among

high-end indians, MPTa got associated with

Lakme Fashion Week in india. divulging the

plans of MPTa for this market, Michael Sik

Yuen, Minister of Tourism, Republic of Mauritius

said, “india is one of the important tourist source markets for

Mauritius and we have a strong belief in the growth of this

market. it was proved during the first seven months of 2013

when we registered a seven per cent growth (over the same

period of 2012) with 36,630 indian arrivals. We intend to at-

tract more and more indians to Mauritius round the year for

families, honeymoon and incentive groups who can indulge

in adventure, leisure, wellness, heritage trails, and many more

activities. We also intend to attract the indian weddings as

Mauritius provides an excellent backdrop and facilities for

tying knot with your beloved.

The tourism board has participated in various travel trade

shows this year. VijayeHaulder, deputy director, MPTa said,

“Mauritius is increasingly becoming a popular destination

among indians especially with the convenient visa-on-arrival

regime offered to indians. Factors like luxury product offering,

themed holidays, variety of activities to indulge in, proximity to

the destination, direct air connectivity and Voa facility makes

Mauritius a good choice. also, with Mauritius being a year

round destination adds to the popularity of the destination and

attracts indian tourists. With a growing consumer base of high-

spending indian tourist seeking unique activity based indul-

gences; we are committed to a greater destination visibility by

enhancing the awareness quotient of the destination and po-

sitioning Mauritius as a lifestyle statement. By working closely

with indian travel trade, we intend to improve the destination

positioning and enhance the quality of travellers. ”

Fashionable MauritiusMPTa got associated with the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week held in

Mumbai to position itself as a high-end luxury destination. The tourism board

brought the country under spotlight through designer collection focusing the fash-

ion industry and young travellers. Further, MPTa aspires to expand the diverse

product offering of the destination through a gamut of integrated destination mar-

keting initiatives. The board regularly channelizes its resources in marketing and

promotion of Mauritius not just only sun, sand and sea destination but also a ho-

listic destination which offers leisure, rejuvenation and entertainment.

Michael Sik Yuen, Minister of Tourism, Republic of Mauritius

�Anand Shah

50

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

hospitality update

Trident, Hyder-

abad with its el-

egant and

contemporary design is lo-

cated in the heart of the IT

hub. Exclusive amenities,

and latest technology is

complemented by warm,

caring and personalised

service. Its close proximity

to the Special Economic

Zone, and entertainment

and recreation centres

make it the ideal destination

for both the business and

leisure traveller.

Trident, Hyderabad of-

fers 323 tastefully appointed

guest rooms, including 30

suites. Trident Club, the Ex-

ecutive floor, is a private

sanctuary and offers exclu-

sive facilities and services

to discerning guests. The

hotel also boasts one of the

largest rooms in the city.

Dining at the hotel in-

cludes three restaurants.

Amara, the all-day dining

restaurant with an open

kitchen serves the best of

world cuisine, with an em-

phasis on Mediterranean

and Asian food. Tuscany,

the Italian restaurant fea-

tures a wine tasting room

and serves classic Italian

dishes. Kanak, the Indian

specialty restaurant with

the option of private dining

rooms and a tea bar pres-

ents guests with a complete

dining experience. The bar

lounge, Ninety Six, offers a

fine selection of spirits,

blended cocktails and bar

snacks. The Cigar Lounge,

the first in Hyderabad, has

a wide selection of the best

hand crafted Cuban Cigars

in town.

Trident Meetings fea-

tures state of the art facili-

ties with a 24 hour business

centre and 8 meeting rooms

that can accommodate upto

14 guests. The extensive

conference and banqueting

facilities are spread over

13,000 sq. ft. with a pre-

function area of 2600 sq. ft.

and are supported by the

latest in technology.

Recreational facilities at

Trident, Hyderabad include

the Trident Spa, a Yoga

room and a fully equipped

fitness centre. A reflective

swimming pool with an in-

finity edge located on the

tenth floor, offers guests a

calm respite.

Located 30 minutes from

the airport and with easy

access to the entertainment,

shopping and recreation

centres; Trident, Hyderabad

stands out as the obvious

choice for travellers visiting

the city.

Trident Meetings

Located on the Upper

Lobby of Trident, Hyder-

abad, Trident Meetings com-

prises of eight meeting

rooms, four web-enabled

computer workstations, be-

sides a library with a collec-

tion of reference and coffee

table books. The meeting

rooms can seat up to 12

guests. The rooms are well-

equipped to support the

most technologically de-

manding presentations, with

advanced audio visual capa-

bilities and telecommunica-

tions. Experienced Trident

staff is at hand to respond to

every need.

The rooms are charac-

terised by an extraordinary

attention to detail and are

designed to provide comfort

and convenience. Minimally

furnished, the 24-hour Busi-

ness Centre offers utilitar-

ian yet intimate spaces, with

a focus on comfort and con-

venience. The large floor-to-

ceiling windows lend a sense

of space and allow for an

abundance of natural light.

Conference and Ban-

queting Facilities

At Trident, Hyderabad,

advanced capabilities and

latest technology combine

with elegant interiors and

dependable service to offer a

premier venue for corporate

meetings, business events,

conferences, social gather-

ings and private receptions.

Located at the Lower

Lobby level with a separate

banquet entrance and drop

off, the 13,000 square feet

(1200 square metres) of

multi-purpose conference

and banqueting facilities

can accommodate up to

1,000 guests. by TNH DESK

The Oberoi Group opens the TridentHyderabadThis new Mice address in the city will cater to the needs of all businesstravellers with panache.

What is the USP of this prop-

erty?

With key differentiators

such as the 100 per cent

Guest Satisfaction Guar-

antee and the Yes I Can!

Spirit of service and a location

close to the booming corporate

hub of Gurgaon and the New

Delhi Airport, and convenient

connection to many of the city

landmarks, Radisson Blu Plaza

Delhi is ideal for business trav-

elers wanting to maximize the

value of their time in the city

and for tourists eager to experi-

ence India in the city and be-

yond.

Our rates represent excel-

lent value. Our expansive and

luxurious R the Spa, accredited

by National Accreditation Bu-

reau for Health, a hallmark of

quality within the healthcare

business, has been very well re-

ceived by guests. Hotel also of-

fers superlative dining

experiences that include The

Great Kabab Factory, a must do

Delhi experience, while the

Neung Roi, showcases unex-

plored Thai cuisine from the

Isan, Lanna & Yabi regions and

is a must try for lovers of au-

thentic Thai food.

What are your rack rates

during season and off- sea-

son?

The hotel offers preferential

tariffs to corporate accounts,

travel agents and tour opera-

tors who patronize the hotel on

a regular and long term basis.

Additionally, the hotel also of-

fers a Best Available Rate guar-

antee on its own website, where

other guests can view rates and

make reservations directly. The

rates represent excellent value,

since they are inclusive of full

breakfast, airport transfers as

well as complimentary wi-fi ac-

cess for all rooms in the hotel.

Additionally, Business Class

rooms also provide exclusive

access to the Plaza Lounge of-

fering complimentary office

spaces, complimentary cocktail

hour daily and complimentary

valet service.

What is the average occu-

pancy of your hotel?

Our hotel has been running be-

tween 70-80 per cent occupancy

for the past 2 quarters. This is

at the same level as it was last

year – we believe that our

guests are appreciating the in-

vestments we have made in ren-

ovating the hotel and in creating

new values and amenities for

them, which had lead to large

number of repeat clientele.

What are the sustainable

practices that your hotel is

following?

We have always been commit-

ted to ensuring that our opera-

tions do not cause any harm to

environment. The hotel employ-

ees are constantly sensitized on

environmental concerns with

regular training inputs. We also

try to involve our guests and

suppliers in green initiatives.

Moreover, we have made

significant investments in en-

ergy efficient technologies. We

have replaced all our Diesel

Generators with more fuel effi-

cient CRDI technology based

ones. They use VFDs (variable-

frequency drive) to conserve

electricity. The entire roof of the

hotel building is treated for

solar heat gain. The hotel also

uses cold cathodes, CFLS, LEDs

and T5 tube lights in a big way.

Hotel guestrooms have double

glazed double windows reduc-

ing load on air-conditioning.

What incentives do you offer

to travel agents and tour op-

erators?

We offer one of the best incen-

tives in the industry to our part-

ners and all our incentives have

been designed to create a long-

term and profitable business

both for our partners and us.

We constantly take feedback

from our partners and work on

them.

Do you think the hotels open-

ing up in Aerocity will offer

you tough competition?What

trends are you witnessing in

the hospitality industry in

NCR?

We believe that competition is

always good for any business –

one it motivates you to achieve

higher level of excellence and

two, it also helps expand the

business. Therefore, we think

that with new hotels, we will

have new customers and we ex-

pect the new hotels would in-

crease the amount of transit

arrivals in the city.

With new hotels coming, we

will see some pressure on tar-

iffs. However, this will be a short

term impact, in the long term

the tariff will stabilize and im-

prove due to more flights com-

ing into the city and increase in

business as well as leisure trav-

elers.

Our hotel has beenrunning between 70-80% occupancy for thepast 2 quarters: CheemaIn an interview with , Vishvapreet Cheema,General Manager, Radisson BluPlaza Delhi tellsus more.

Vishvapreet CheemaGeneral Manager, Radisson BluPlaza Delhi

�Kanchan Nath

51Hospitality Update

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Telling us about the

spa, Gunjan Sethi,

SPA Manager, ITC

Rajputana-A Luxury Collection

Hotel, Palace road, Jaipur said,

In keeping with our Indian rich

history, the Spa brand is de-

signed around our Indian Cul-

tural Rituals and Indigenous

surrounding of this Land. We

strive to offer a high standard of

Hospitality that one can only find

in India with the warmth and tra-

ditions of our local people and a

welcome you will cherish.”

Elaborating on the kinds of

therapies available, she said,

“The Kaya Kalp has 5 treatment

suites, where the best-known

therapies in the world are of-

fered in beautiful surroundings.

These include the famous Thai

massages and other internation-

ally acclaimed therapies of the

world. Ayurveda and indigenous

therapies of India, also find their

place here - eastern healing

trends through gem stones and

precious metals find an echo in

myriad tones of natural pearls,

the sheen of silver and the vi-

brancy of red rubies.”

She adds, “The USP of Kaya

Kalp SPA at ITC Rajputana is the

perfect blend of trained thera-

Rejuvenate and Reinvent self at Kaya KalpITC Rajputana-A Luxury Collection Hotel, Palace road, Jaipurhas just been renovated and one of its strong assets is its spa,offering a total wellness package which concentrates onpurifying and detoxing mind, body and soul.

�Kanchan Nath

Gunjan SethiSPA Manager, ITC Rajputana-A Luxury CollectionHotel, Palace road, Jaipur

52

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Spa update

Rejuvenate and Reinvent self at Kaya Kalp pists performing both eastern and western therapies in ex-

clusive relaxing and soothing ambience. Our signature mas-

sages, Ayurvedic rituals and signature beauty elixirs. These

treatments are chosen to meet individual needs according to

specific 'Doshas'.”

There Signature Spa Treatment is the Kaya Kalp massage,

it is designed to relax the entire body, focussed on relieving mus-

cular tension while combining wonderful soothing strokes for

the ultimate massage.This powerful aroma-therapeutic massage

incorporates dynamic blends of essential oils personalised ac-

cording to your specific needs: choose from 1) Stress soother:

soothe & relax with a "de-stress" calming blend of Mysore San-

dalwood. 2) Healing-Uplift, detoxify & renew your Zest for life

with a blend of lime and ginger. 3) Muscle Ease: Ease away tired

& aching muscles with a muscle easing blend of warming Euca-

lyptus & Black Pepper. There Spa Therapies start from INR 2500

to INR 8800 (plus taxes).

For the discerning corporate traveller they have a special

head and shoulder massage which is for 30 mins. Gunjan Sethi

said, “We have Tension Reliever massage for the corporate em-

ployees: it relaxes them in a span of 30 minutes and the rates

are only `2500.00.” In a couple package they offer them a pack-

age of Spa journey-it includes Kaya kalp Signature massage,

head and foot massage and body scrub customized to guest's

preferences and skin.”

Talking about trends in the industry, she said, “The SPA in-

dustry is growing at a very rapid pace in our country. More peo-

ple are now open to the idea of using SPA services. At this day

and age of highly stressful work cultures, a visit to a SPA to pam-

per yourself is a true gift that you could give yourself.”

The USP of Kaya Kalp SPA atITC Rajputana is the perfect blendof trained therapists performing

both eastern and western therapies in ex-clusive relaxing and soothing ambience. “

53spa update

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

54

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Hospitality update

The restoration of

the hotel to its

original glory

marks the return of gra-

cious living, a tradition ex-

emplified by The Oberoi

Cecil since the days of the

British Raj. A haven of lux-

ury and comfort, each guest

room at The Oberoi Cecil is

a reflection of the hotel's

Colonial heritage.

Telling us about activi-

ties introduced for children,

Arpit Pant, General Man-

ager, The Oberoi Cecil,

Shimla, said, “English teas,

fine dining, a heated indoor

swimming pool, impeccable

and personalised service

and panoramic views of the

Himalayan mountain range,

are some highlights of the

hotel. The activity center

has been part of the hotel

since 2007. Shimla as a des-

tination caters to families

as its prime market. The

hotel has worked hard to-

wards being friendly for

guests coming with chil-

dren. Keeping this focus and

our motto “we are for fami-

lies”, we have upgraded and

enhanced our product to

cater to our young friends.

The activity centre at the

hotel has recently enhanced

some special activities for

families travelling with chil-

dren. The activity center is

looked after by hotel team

members and this also al-

lows parents a lot of free

time on their hands.”

There are various fun

filled activities organised

for children like quiz compe-

titions, Junior Chef Pro-

gramme - where kids get to

learn to bake some delicious

cookies from our chefs. Jun-

ior Bartenders are provided

with lessons to make a se-

lection of mocktails. At the

end each kid receives cer-

tificates of participation and

prizes for winners.

At the activity centre

children are also free to try

their hand at drawing and

sketching; splashing pages

with paint, reading books of

different genres, playing

video games, movie screen-

ing and brainstorming over

chess. For the younger ones

we have a dollhouse, a

swing and stuffed toys. Also,

while kids amuse them-

selves in all the entertain-

ment, parents can indulge

themselves in a game of

Pool or Football. Children of

various ages come together

and spend a day of fun and

frolic. The hotel has an in-

door heated swimming pool,

a billiards room, table ten-

nis and a library thus offer-

ing something for all age

groups.

Himalayan Vacations

The hotel is offering a

special ‘Himalayan Vaca-

tions’ offer which is valid till

September 30, 2013. The

offer, priced at `10,250 per

night*, this includes: Ac-

commodation in a Deluxe

Room for two guests, Daily

breakfast, - 15 per cent

savings on spa therapies,

Two way transfers from

Shimla railway station and

Complimentary additional

room for two children, up to

12 years of age. Validity:

19th August to 30th Septem-

ber, 2013. * A minimum 2

night’s stay is required to

avail the offer. Over and

above this taxes are appli-

cable. Special rates for sin-

gle occupancy are also

available.

Incentives for travel

agents

Packages sold by travel

agents are commissionable

to them by 10 per cent.

Location

The Oberoi Cecil is at a

distance of 21 kilometres

from Jubbar Hatti Airport,

taking about 45 minutes to

reach the hotel. Shimla Rail-

way Station is at a distance

of 1 kilometre taking about

10 minutes to reach.

‘The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla’ gears up tocater to familiesNestled in the foothills of the majestic Himalayas at 2,200 metres abovesea level, The Oberoi Cecil is a charming heritage hotel located at thequiet end of Shimla’s famous Mall.

Arpit PantGeneral ManagerThe Oberoi Cecil, Shimla

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

56 Hospitality update

Luxury travelling has

become a tradition in

India and one of the latest

five-star haunts in Kolkata-

Swissotel is the only Euro-

pean five-star chain that

claims to provide the best of

European hospitality in the

city. Standing at a strategic lo-

cation in New Town, the lux-

ury haunt is the venture of

Swiss hospitality provider-

Fairmont Russels Hotels In-

ternational (FRHI) and prides

in being at a proximal dis-

tance from Netaji Subhas

Chandra Bose International

Airport and the business hub

of Sector V at Salt Lake.

Set up with an initiative to

stride with a “Passion for Per-

fection”, Swissotel brings the

best of European hospitality

in Kolkata. According to

Marco Saxer, General Man-

ager, Swissotel Kolkata Neotia

Vista, “Our three-year-old

hotel is the only five-star prop-

erty in the city that boasts of

Jacuzzi rooms. It is replete

with a mall and the largest

banquet hall without pillars

that makes us provide special-

ized entertainment options for

our guests and this has been

an advantage for our hotel.

We have 78 sales offices

across the world and also in

New Delhi and Mumbai. We

have received sound reviews

on websites like trip advisor

which has invited a healthy

positive guest feedback.”

The five-star player has

made an effort to offer a slew

of promotions and packages

for puja travellers. Says

Marco Saxer, “We have spe-

cial room packages for NRIs

visiting Kolkata during festive

season. There are special

rooms for city residents look-

ing to enjoy the pujas with

their family and friends. We

intend to make our guests

enjoy the festive spirit with a

difference and gain marvel-

lous experience.” Saxer avers

that plans are on for FRHI to

expand its hospitality busi-

ness in New Delhi, Mumbai,

Chennai and Bengaluru in the

next three years.

The hotel has more num-

ber of business travellers than

leisure tourists. Quips Marco

Saxer, “We have good amount

of leisure guests but the busi-

ness sector generates more

revenue for our hotel. We have

clocked 20 per cent growth

last year and we are on our

way to achieve 10 to15 per

cent growth in the current

year.”

Riding high on European hospitalityProviding vintage luxury and comfort on European hospitality is thesignature experience of Swissotel Kolkata.

Marco SaxerGeneral ManagerSwissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista

�Swaati Chaudhury

For all those travellers

galloping to good life,

here’s a newest hospitality re-

sort set up in Coorg. Snuggled

in the tropical evergreen forests

of the Western Ghats is the lux-

ury destination of The Tamara

Coorg that is in sync with the

changing times for its quest to-

wards a clean and green envi-

ronment. The resort in the

midst of green coffee and spice

plantations has thrown open its

gates in 2012.

The hospitality player has

taken up a plethora of seminal

green initiatives to preserve the

nature at its best. Explains

Senthil Kumar, Director and

Chief Executive Officer, The

Tamara Coorg, “Our hospitality

group is the one-of-a-kind re-

sort in India to achieve 0.5 per

cent of carbon footprint. We

have been striving for a pollu-

tion-free environment ranging

from effective waste manage-

ment system called Manthan to

organic farming in our planta-

tion site to yield kitchen prod-

ucts and providing job avenues

to area locals. Manthan in-

volves recycling of waste prod-

ucts discharged from the resort

to reusable end-products.”

Shares Senthil Kumar,

“There is an east-facing moun-

tain ridge, stilted cottages that

would have no impact on the

ground, breathtaking vistas

and a number of streams and

waterfalls make the biodiver-

sity of the surrounding of the

resort. Moreover, the architec-

ture of our resort is quite

unique in itself. Our service,

products and policies reflect

our responsibility towards the

society and environment.”

Adds Senthil Kumar, “Our

resort has positioned well for

leisure travellers and occa-

sional corporate guests who

drop in to take a break in the

sylvan environs and recharge

their batteries. Being a new

player in the hospitality busi-

ness, we find ourselves looking

to gain from the rich and collec-

tive pool of industrial expertise.

Our remote location and

rugged topography inspire

those with high wanderlust be-

yond description.”

A cut above the restThe luxury green destination where man-madeluxury and natural bounty blends in harmony tocreate a fascination holiday experience is TheTamara Coorg.

Senthil KumarDirector and CEOThe Tamara Coorg

�Swaati Chaudhury

S N A P S H O T

USP of Swissotel Kolkata:

The only five-star Euro-

pean chain to offer Euro-

pean hospitality in Kolkata.

Only hotel with a mall and

Jacuzzi rooms.

Offers the largest banquet

facilities.

S N A P S H O T

The Tamara Coorg has a

cutting edge over others:

Offers wonderful glimpses

of coffee and spice planta-

tions.

Achieved 0.5 per cent of

carbon footprint.

57Foreign initiative

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

“In Indian market wehave been focusing

on young travellers, Free Indi-

vidual Travellers (FIT), MICE

and Group travellers, and our

all efforts are directed towards

attracting more and more

tourists from these segments

of Indian market to Germany,”

said Romit Theophilus, Di-

rector, Sales & Marketing, The

German National Tourist Of-

fice, India, He added, “I am

happy that we have got certain

amount of success towards

this end and we will gradually

keep improving our perform-

ance in these segments. We

have been growing constantly

in this market. Last year ar-

rivals from India to Germany

grew by 6 per cent as com-

pared to 2011.”

Germany continues to

enjoy its strong image as an

ideal leisure and MICE desti-

nation amongst the Indian

travelers and has retained its

position as the top visited Eu-

ropean destination by Indians

second only to the UK. For the

period January-May, 2013,

Germany has witnessed

2,31,927 visitor overnights.

Theophilus further said,

“This year, from January to

April, numbers of tourist ar-

rivals from India to Germany

grew by 0.8 per cent as com-

pared to the corresponding pe-

riod of the last year. This rate

of growth is less than our

growth in the last year, but we

are still in positive growth de-

spite difficult economic envi-

ronment in the country that is

good thing for us.”

Theophilus said that

months of May, June and July

would be better in terms of ar-

rivals. Data for these months

are expected to be available

soon. “These months are ex-

pected to be better for us be-

cause these are months of

outbound travel season in

India. Mainly FIT or Group

travellers travel in these

months. MICE movements

start from the end of June,”

said Theophilus.

GNTO is focussing on

many good things of Germany

as a favoured tourist destina-

tion across the world. “In In-

dian market we are

emphasizing on two important

things; first, in spite of being a

favoured luxury destination,

Germany offers affordable

hospitality as compared to

many European countries, and

second is value for money,”

said Theophilus. A key propo-

sition of Germany as tourist

destination is its ability to offer

value for money to travellers

that Indian travellers always

look for when they plan their

travel. “One of the key USPs of

Germany as tourist destina-

tion is that we offer higher

value for money in the luxury

travel segment as compared to

other European countries like

France, the UK, etc, and we

also score higher in terms of

offering experiences as com-

pared to these countries. Our

hotels are cost effective,” said

Theophilus. “We are promot-

ing luxury but we would like to

grow further in this segment

as this is crisis-resistant seg-

ments. We are doing fine in

this segment. We are not wor-

ried about luxury segment in

India. But to grow further we

are creating awareness with

consumers on that front.”

In another initiative for In-

dian market, GNTO is trying to

introduce fairy tale routes in

schools in India. “That is

something new we are doing in

India. We are doing presenta-

tion in collages in India, etc

about tourism in Germany. We

did a big movement with

Kendriya Vidyalayas in which

we were part of an initiative

started by Max Muller Bhavan

where Germany was intro-

duced as tourist destination,”

said Theophilus.

This year GNTO co-spon-

sored Berlin sojourn for

Kendriya Vidyalaya students

which was a huge success. The

entire class of 30 Kendriya

Vidyalaya students who won

the ‘Germany on my mind’

competition had an additional

bonus – an opportunity to meet

both the German Chancellor

and the Indian Prime Minister

in Berlin.

GNTO is also focusing on

its relationship with travel

agencies and tour operators,

consolidating its partnership

with them. Theophilus said

that many tie-ups are going on

with Indian tour operators.

GNTO recently organized a

Fam Trip to Germany for

travel agents of Delhi, Mumbai,

Ahmadabad and Pune.

As regards the challenges,

Theophilus said that economic

recession and devaluation of

Rupees are making holidays

expensive. There is uncer-

tainty over the economy

growth in the country that is

becoming detrimental to In-

dian outbound travel. High

rate of exchange has made

travel 20 to 40 per cent expan-

sive whether it is MICE, leisure

or business travel.

GNTO India Pool show-

cases Destination Germany

The Germany India Pool road-

show was showcased recently

in New Delhi. The workshop

received an excellent response

from the travel trade in the

city, further aiding in interac-

tions with the trade on the

Best Selling Practices for Des-

tination Germany.

The roadshows aims at fa-

cilitating interactions on latest

updates, highlights and attrac-

tions for the Indian travelers

between India Pool members

and the Travel trade.

GNTO focuses on FIT, MICE and YoungTravellers

Germany Tourism is gradually strengthening itspresence in the Indian market with its focus oncertain key segments of the Indian outboundtravel market.

Romit TheophilusDirector Sales & MarketingGerman National Tourist Office, India

In Indian market we have beenfocusing on young travellers,FIT, MICE and Group trav-

ellers, and our all efforts are directed to-wards attracting more and more touristsfrom these segments of Indian market toGermany.

“

�Prem Kumar

58

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

Foreign initiative

During the recent four-

day visit to India, Joe

Biden, Vice President, US was

focused on improving the trade

partnership between India and

US. According to Biden, the

trip was an important opportu-

nity to strengthen partnership

between both the countries and

reaffirmed their commitment

to re-balancing US foreign pol-

icy towards the Asia-Pacific re-

gion. In Mumbai, Biden met top

business community members

including Ratan Tata and dis-

cussed ways to improve bilat-

eral trade and solutions to the

challenges faced by the trade.

Speaking at the Bombay

Stock Exchange in Mumbai

while meeting the business

community, Biden said, “We

have an incredibly full agenda,

but nothing gives me more

hope for the prospects of that

agenda, as we approach it,

nothing gives me more hope

that we can accomplish it to-

gether than our people 720,000

visas per year that are issued

here in India to go to the United

States, the 100,000 talented In-

dian students studying at

American Universities -– with

the aim at doubling that num-

ber by 2020, and tripling the

number of Americans studying

in India. But the foundation of

my hope and expectations is

built upon the certain knowl-

edge that our people share a

common set of values and

peaceful vision for the world.”

Furthermore, Biden said,

“In the United States, we wel-

come Indian businesses in-

vesting in the United States.

We’ve already benefit from

the investment of human cap-

ital. Indians receive more

skilled-worker visas to the

United States than any other

country in the world. And the

legislation our Congress is

considering increases the

number of temporary visas

and Green Cards availability

for highly skilled Indians to

come work in the United

States.”

Tagging India as "a rising

power", Biden informed that

the trade between India and

the US has grown five times

to touch USD 100 billion in

the past 13 years. He said,

“We see tremendous opportu-

nity and there is no reason

that if our countries make the

right choices, the trade can-

not grow five-fold or more.”

He also praised the relax-

ation of Foreign Direct Invest-

ment (FDI) norms in few

sectors. According to him,

there is a lot more work to be

done to eliminate trade barri-

ers. He said, “We have to do a

lot of work on a wide range of

issues like limits in FDI, in-

consistent tax system, market

access barriers, civil nuclear

cooperation, bilateral invest-

ment treaty and policies pro-

tecting innovations.”

US-India: 21st century partnershipUS positive to have mutually beneficial tourism relationship with India incoming years

Joe BidenVice PresidentUS

�Anand Shah

Oman tourism re-

cently cele-

brated the

launch of ‘Once Upon a Time

in Mumbai Dobaara’ movie in

Mumbai. The tourism board

has successfully showcased

Oman and has received ex-

tensive awareness among

the Indian movie watchers

through this movie. Cur-

rently, it is in talks with few

more production houses to

have their movies shot in dif-

ferent regions of Oman. Ac-

cording to Lubiana Sheerazi,

Country Manager – India,

Ministry of Tourism, Sul-

tanate of Oman; Bollywood

acts as a perfect marketing

tool for promoting a destina-

tion in India. She said, “Bol-

lywood has acted as a

catalyst in popularizing un-

known and exotic destina-

tions. After building our

relations with travel trade,

our next step was get into

B2C marketing and what can

be better than Bollywood. We

are happy to collaborate with

Once Upon a time in Mumbai

Dobaara movie and would

like to welcome more produc-

tions houses in Oman.”

Apart from movies, the

tourism board is further in-

tensifying its presence on

B2B space. It will be soon re-

launching Discover Oman of-

fline training programme

and will start focusing on

mini metros apart from the

five metros. The country re-

ceived 2,21,623 visitors from

India in 2012 which was a

35.6 per cent increase over

2011. India is currently the

largest inbound market for

Oman comprising of labour

and tourist traffic. Talking

about this year’s focus and

targets, Sheerazi said, “We

are positive to record excel-

lent growth post the launch

of this movie and also

through our activities. We

are organising a three city

roadshow in India in the

month of September covering

Pune, Ahmedabad and Hy-

derabad. We will position

Oman not only as high end

leisure destination but also

as wedding destination and a

perfect business gateway for

MICE activities. We are not

chasing numbers in India, we

are targeting high spenders

who are looking for authentic

experiences and believing in

sustainable tourism con-

cept.”

Get to know the filmy OmanTo focus on weddings, MICE, high end luxurytravellers, organise a tri-city roadshow in Indiain September.

Hamad M Al HarthyCountry Manager – India, Oman Air

�Anand Shah

Connecting Omanoman air, oman’s flag carrier currently flies to ten destinations across

india and operating close to 2100 seats through 14 flights a week. The

airline is already flying on full capacity of its permitted bilateral air serv-

ice agreement signed between india and oman. However, according

to Hamad M al Harthy, Country Manager – india, oman air; if both the

governments revises the bilateral agreement; it will benefit both the

countries and boost trade and tourism opportunities. it operates daily

flights to Lucknow, Jaipur, Calicut (Kozhikode), Thiruvananthapuram,

Kochi and Bengaluru

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

60 where’s the party

Sanjay Datta, Rajan Sehgal, Neeraj Malhotra, Praveen Chugh

Runeep Sangha, Ashok Fenn, Greesh Bindra

Rajinder Rai, Sanjeet, Ashok Bhatnagar

Randhir Brar, Panjaj Giroti Vijay Chadda, Suresh Nair, Aditya Malla, Tapan Nanda

Vijay wanchooSkal Delhi Members enjoying Lunch

Major Rehman, Brij Bhardwaj, Dr. Yogesh Gondal Praveen Chugh, Jagdeep S. Rikhy, Homa Mistry

SKAL New Delhi MeetAs always SKAL New Delhi was a congregation of the industry vet-erans who were seen discussing issues of mutual concern oversumptuous food and drinks. It took place on Wednesday, 21st Au-gust 2013 at The Suryaa Hotel, New Friends Colony, New Delhi

?

Picture credit : Mukesh Naugain

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

61where’s the party

Rajan Sehgal, Sanjay Datta, S.D. Khanna, Neeraj Malhotra, Rajinder Rai, Dr. Devaki Saran, Homa Mistry

Avijit Arya, Meenal Jain, Akanksha Babbal S.D.Khanna, Randhir Brar, Ajeet Bajaj

J.A.Sidhwa, Rajinder Rai, Homa Mistry Brij Bhardwaj, APS Aurora, Major Rehman, Rajinder Rai

Ramesh Marwah, S.D.Khanna, Rajinder Nath Cdr. C.P.Sharma, Y.P.Sharma

SKALNew DelhiMeet

?

Picture credit : Mukesh Naugain

Sonam Singh, Ashwani Dhawan, Shivali Sharma, Vilas Pawar, Sanjay Datta

62 Foreign initiative

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

The Singapore

Tourism Board (STB)

has partnered with the Asia

Cruise Association (ACA) to

develop training for travel

agents within the region. STB

and ACI, for the first time, co-

hosted training sessions for

the Indian market recently in

Mumbai and New Delhi. These

sessions aim to foster cruise

tourism stakeholders’ interac-

tion and networking, facilitate

and broaden cruise members’

outreach into new Asian mar-

kets, and enhance cruise

product knowledge and stan-

dards within its distribution

network through training and

accreditation programmes

among other things. As an

ecosystem, the cruise indus-

try in Singapore offers wide-

ranging business

opportunities on many fronts,

besides catering to an in-

creasing demand amongst

Asian travelers for alternative

holiday options.

Speaking at the training

event, Chang Chee Pey, Ex-

ecutive Director, South Asia,

Middle East and Africa, STB,

said “India is one of our top

five source markets for cruise.

However, awareness of cruis-

ing and what cruising offers is

still very low amongst Indian

consumers. Given the great

potential that the cruise in-

dustry has for Asia and Singa-

pore, it is timely that we are

partnering with the Asia

Cruise Association to start the

education journey with travel

agents. This collaboration will

help develop the in-market

trade’s competencies, result-

ing in well-developed distribu-

tion channels, and through

this, we are confident that In-

dian consumers will get to

know more about the plethora

of entertainment, retail, and

dining options that a single

cruise holiday brings”.

Carnival Corporation, the

biggest cruise company and

one of the largest vacation

companies in the world, has

estimated that even with mod-

erate penetration assump-

tions, total potential cruise

guests could reach 3.7 million

in 2017 and over 7 million by

2020, such that by 2020, Asia

could represent over 20 per

cent of the global cruise mar-

ket. Cruise lines have recog-

nized this potential and have

placed greater emphasis on

Asia.

Given Singapore’s close

proximity to all major cities in

India, it is the ideal destina-

tion to embark on a cruise hol-

iday. STB, in association with

ACA, is looking to be more ro-

bust in Asia by engaging with

the travel agencies in provid-

ing education, training, certifi-

cation and working with them

to promote cruising to con-

sumers through various activ-

ities. In the western countries,

around 76 per cent of all

cruises are booked through

travel consultants. To promote

this trend in India, the STB

and ACA are jointly conduct-

ing certification programmes

for the trade partners across

the region. Key programmes

that ACA are organizing are:

Training and accreditation

programme for travel agents,

networking events at cruise

trade events and alliances and

partnerships with interna-

tional and regional cruise as-

sociations

Kevin Leong, GM, Asia

Cruise Association/CLIA Asia

said, “Our metrics show that

travel agencies certified by the

Cruise Lines International As-

sociation (CLIA) has higher

cruise sales. We are looking at

how we may evolve that with

cruise lines having ships and

offices based here such as

Star Cruises, Costa Cruises,

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines,

and recently the Carnival Cor-

poration Asia Office having

this footprint in Asia.You will

see and hear more from us in

terms of how we can further

engage travel agencies.”

STB has undertaken sev-

eral initiatives in India in the

past year to promote cruising

among Indian travellers. Its ef-

forts have been focused on

promoting cruising as another

attractive holiday option that

travellers could consider and

the convenience and various

options of cruising out of Sin-

gapore. STB is keen to expose

the evolved Indian traveller to

the range of cruise destina-

tions and cruise products

available to them and influenc-

ing them to explore the cruis-

ing horizons.

The latest promotional ini-

tiative is its collaboration with

the Cruise Club. The Club has

launched “Embark”, a com-

prehensive guide that simpli-

fies the cruise vacation

discovery process and gives a

complete lowdown on the

world of cruising, including

where to cruise, when to go,

and on which cruise ship.

From destination features to

proposed itineraries to excit-

ing ship launches, “Embark”

offers all the help a traveller

needs to plan the dream

cruise. It is distributed prima-

rily in Mumbai, Pune and Ban-

galore and the Club has plans

to make it available in other

cities like New Delhi. STB col-

laborated with the Cruise Club

to develop a special destina-

tion feature that showcases

Singapore’s wide range of

Cruise offerings as well as al-

lied leisure offerings that

make Singapore a destination

of choice for the Indian cruise

travellers. by TNH DESK

Singapore to drive cruisetourism from IndiaIn partnership with Asia Cruise Association(ACA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) willpromote and provide certification courses for thetravel trade fraternity.

Kevin LeongGMAsia Cruise Association/CLIA Asia

Chang Chee PeyExecutive Director, South Asia, Middle Eastand Africa, STB

India is one of our top fivesource markets for cruise.However, awareness of cruising

and what cruising offers is still very lowamongst Indian consumers.Chang Chee Pey, Executive Director, South Asia, MiddleEast and Africa, STB

“

Lying on the shores of Bay

of Bengal and surrounded by

backwater stands Aveda

Chariot Resort & Spa- the

21st century five-star haunt

in Puri defines authentic lux-

ury and environment-friendly

lifestyle in the hospitality

scene of Odisha. Aimed to

provide complete manage-

ment and operating solutions,

Aveda Hotel is the luxury

brand from the house of VCI

that took shape in 2010.

At Aveda Chariot, there is

an exciting blend of nature,

dream destination and luxury

for all segments of travellers.

Sprawling over 3.5 acres of

land, the luxury resort boasts

of green landscaping and 144

elegant rooms. The hotel is

committed to provide a high

quality service culture to its

guests.

Explains Sanjit Paul, Gen-

eral Manager, Aveda Chariot

Resort & Spa, “It is the pre-

mier sea shore lagoon resort

in Odisha with a private

beach and offers the most ex-

pansive sea viewing in Puri.

We believe in providing unlim-

ited lifestyle experiences that

are not confined to elegant

surroundings and a wide

spread of sumptuous meals.

Our service culture is bent

upon to enable our travellers

make most of their time spent

with greater enjoyment that

yields higher productivity.

Our hotel is high on aesthetic

value that not only promises

to provide a unique surreal

experience but ultimate lux-

ury, a high degree of care and

comfort. Our group aspires to

emerge as a leading hospital-

ity player across all spec-

trums by 2017.”

The hospitality group has

drawn up measures for the

safety of women travellers.

Says Sanjit Paul, “We have in-

stalled close circuit camera in

every corner and our security

personnel take a strong hold

on the security system. There

were around 88 per cent do-

mestic tourists and 12 per

cent global tourists last year.”

For puja tourists, the hos-

pitality group is arranging

transfers from Puri railway

station, tour of Jagannath

temple and Sun temple at

Konark. Adds Sanjit Paul,

“Our culinary delights would

comprise recipes from the

eastern and western regions

of India. There are cultural

events for travellers at night

like participating with our

singers and “Aveda Chariot

Idol”.

by TNH DESK

Luxury hospitality in trueformThe taste of good life with luxury is the callingcard at Puri’s Aveda Chariot that has the bestservice culture for its guests.

S N A P S H O T

USP of Aveda Chariot:

First sea shore lagoon re-

sort in Odisha.

Focuses on high degree of

service culture.

63Hospitality Update

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

64 Foreign initiative

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

The Nepal Tourism

Board (NTB) together

with Nepal Association of

Tour & Travel Agents

(NATTA) Regional Associa-

tion, Pokhara recently organ-

ized NATTA Promotional

Tour- 2013 in Mumbai and Goa

with the aim of increasing

awareness and educating the

West Indian travellers on

Nepal’s tourism products and

offerings. The Promotional

Program featured B2B Inter-

action between Nepalese and

Indian Travel Trade dele-

gates, Press Meet and Desti-

nation Presentation of Nepal.

The Nepalese travel trade

delegation in the Road Show

comprised of a contingent of

about 35 hoteliers and tour

operators from the city of

Pokhara to woo the West In-

dian travellers to visit

Pokhara in the upcoming

tourist holiday season.

After successful tourism

promotional campaign of

Nepal Tourism Year 2011 and

Visit Lumbini Year 2012, The

Year 2013 has been marked

with Mt. Everest Diamond Ju-

bilee Celebrations. The spe-

cial programs took place from

26- 29 May 2013. On the occa-

sion, there was the gathering

of renowned Everest Summi-

teers, opening up new peaks

for summit, felicitation to all

8000 meter peaks summiteers,

Everest Marathon in

Solukhumbu, award cere-

monies, Familiarization trips

of high level national and in-

ternational dignitaries to

Everest Region, symposiums

on Climate Change in Everest

Region, Cleaning Campaigns

in the Everest Region etc.

Nepal has always been

popular with Indians as a

recreational, shopping and

pilgrimage destination. Nepal

is a prominent destination

amongst Hindus across the

world. Earlier known as the

only Hindu Kingdom of the

world, Nepal is thronged with

thousands of Shiva-devotees

especially during Mahashiv-

aratri to pay homage to

Pashupatinath.

Nandini Lahe-Thapa, Sr.

Director, Tourism Marketing &

Promotion, Nepal Tourism

Board said, “India is the most

significant market for the

Nepalese tourism industry

with approximately 1/3rdtotal

market share. The Indian

market is important for both

in terms of value and volume.”

In 2012, Nepal received

164,680 tourists from India by

air which is 13.3% increase as

compared to 2011.

For many, Nepal symbol-

izes as an ultimate adventure

destination that is rarely

found anywhere else in the

world. And, for others, Nepal

appears to be a Shangri la- the

Lost Horizon that has been far

from reality clustered with

deities and demons waiting

for offerings. However, Nepal,

in fact, is a country with a di-

verse arrays of tourism prod-

ucts- a rare combination of

mystic, mystery, mountain and

merriment.

Pilgrimage, Leisure, MICE

& Soft Adventure Activities

are the primary segments

Nepal is focusing on in Indian

market currently.

No visa requirement, good

air connectivity with almost

flights 76 flights per week to

India, easy access by road,

year round pleasant weather,

favourable exchange rate for

Indian currency are some of

the major factors that con-

tribute to Nepal's popularity

as a favourite holiday destina-

tion amongst Indians.

NTB plans to promote des-

tinations including Kath-

mandu, Pokhara, Chitwan,

Lumbini, Manakamana &

Muktinath; Hill Stations in-

cluding Nagarkot, Dhulikhel,

Daman, Bandipur, Tansen cur-

rently for Indian market. Soft

adventure activities such as

white-water rafting, biking,

fishing, rock climbing,

paragliding, ultra light air-

craft and bungee jumping will

be endorsed.

For the arduous and keen

adventure seekers / trekkers,

the Great Himalayan Trail

across east / west mountain-

ous belt of Nepal has been in-

troduced. New home stay

facilities around Kathmandu

valley and outside Kathmandu

valley with ethnic flavour will

also be promoted.

The campaign will also in-

clude exclusive and luxury

tourism products in terms of

Casinos, Golf, Dining,

Nightlife, Shopping of Indige-

nous Handicrafts, Wood-

works, Pashmina, Carpets,

Clothing, Souvenirs, Jewelery

& Electronics. Weekend

Breaks, Spiritual Weekends,

Family Weekends & Adventure

Weekends will be focussed on

as well. by TNH DESK

Nepal Tourism focuseson West IndiaNepal tourism organised roadshow in Goa andMumbai to increase awareness about Nepal asTourist destination in West India.

Pilgrimage, Leisure, MICE &Soft Adventure Activities arethe primary segments Nepal is

focusing on in Indian market currently. “

NATTA spreading the word about Nepal Tourism

Radisson Blu Greater Noidagets new GM

Ji t e n d r a

Kumar has

joined Radisson

Blu Hotel

Greater Noida as

the General Man-

ager. In his previ-

ous assignments, he has worked

with Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces

as an Executive Chef for 19 years in

all three SBU’s - Luxury, Business

& Leisure. His last stint was with

BJN Hotels where he worked as Di-

rector-Food Production & Opera-

tions taking care of both front and

back of the house operations for

close to 5 years. He has won a lot

of laurels, which include.

Jitendra has proven track

record of over two decades in man-

agement of Luxury Hotels and an

attitude for continuous improve-

ment.

Marriott Internationalpromotes Bart Buiring toSenior VP

Marriott In-

t e r n a -

tional, Asia

Pacific has pro-

moted Bart Buir-

ing to the

position of Sen-

ior Vice President Lodging Services

and Operations, Marriott Interna-

tional in Asia Pacific. Having previ-

ously served as the Regional Vice

President of Operations and Conti-

nent lodging services for Marriott

International in Asia, Buiring’s new

position sees him providing leader-

ship to all operations disciplines in-

cluding rooms, food and beverage,

engineering, procurement and

guest technology. In this new capac-

ity he will also oversee hotel opera-

tions design development for all

Marriott International’s new hotels

in Asia.

Raghu Sapra named GM ofDoubleTree Suites by HiltonBangalore

DoubleTree

Suites by

Hilton Bangalore

has appointed

Raghu Sapra as

its General Man-

ager. He joined

the hotel as a pre-opening member of

the first DoubleTree Suites in Asia

Pacific. Raghu brings to the hotel 17

years of industry expertise having

had associations with established

hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt and

Imperial New Delhi, amongst others.

Earlier, Raghu served as Director of

Operations with Hilton Bangalore

Residencies. His other experiences

also include Director of Rooms with

the Renaissance Mumbai Convention

Centre & Marriott Executive Apart-

ments in Mumbai and various rooms’

related roles with Hyatt Regency in

Mumbai and Delhi.

66

SEPTEMBER 2013 ,

New Innings

KTO appoints Myong Kil Yunas Deputy Director

Myong Kil

Yun has

joined Korea

Tourism Organi-

zation, New

Delhi branch as

the Deputy Di-

rector. Myong has more than 13

years of experience in the field of

marketing.

Prior to joining the New Delhi

branch of Korea Tourism Organi-

zation, he has worked in the out-

bound tourism centre of Korea

Tourism Organization in South

Korea and with LG. In his new po-

sition, Myong will focus on

strengthening the position of

South Korea as a tourist destina-

tion among Indian travellers.

South Korea is increasingly be-

coming popular as a tourist des-

tination in India.

MA appoints Saisi as GM of TN& Kerala

Mala y s i a

A i r l i nes

a n n o u n c e d

Mohd Zuraidi

Mohd Saisi as

General Man-

ager for Tamil

Nadu and Kerala region. His new

role would require Zuraidi to man-

age the entire commercial opera-

tions, reservations and ticketing to

drive sales in the region. His past

tenure includes posting at Phuket,

Ho Chi Minh City, Dubai and Chennai

being the most recent. He is a dedi-

cated and result oriented person

with past exposure within MAS cov-

ering Internal Audit Department,

Service Quality Unit,

Commercial/Sales Division and In-

Flight Operations Department.

Zuraidi has an outgoing personality

with strong interpersonal skill.

Hicham Lahkim Bennaniappointed Director Commercial,India

Air France-

KLM an-

nounced the

appointment of

Hicham Lahkim

Bennani as its

new Director

Commercial, India Subcontinent. Ben-

nani will be responsible for all commer-

cial related activities for passenger

Business on the Indian Sub-continent.

Prior to taking his role as Director Com-

mercial of India Subcontinent, Hicham

was District Manager in Abuja, Nigeria,

where he introduced a new daily Air

France Flight between Paris and

Abuja. Hicham brings with him over 7

years of Aviation experience. He began

his career with Air France-KLM as a

Trainee in the pricing department in

Paris.

After which he held several positions in

the revenue management department.

Ganpathy appointed as theHead of Engineering for AirAsiaIndia

Ga n p a t h y

S a m p a t h

has over 30 years

of Aviation expe-

rience having

served at HAL,

Jet Airways, Hon-

eywell Aerospace and Go Airlines,

where his career progressed from

engineer to General Manager. He is

an engineering graduate with a BE

in Electronics & Communication

from UVCE, Bangalore and M.Tech

(Aero) from IIT-Madras. He also has

a DGCA license and worked on vari-

ous types of commercial, business,

general aviation, helicopters and mil-

itary aircraft. Over the years working

on Airbus, Boeing, ATR Embraer air-

craft, he has gone through the

process of aircraft-induction, mainte-

nance-line, base, shop and quality, en-

gineering technical services.

Amit appointed Director of FlightOperations for AirAsia India

AirAsia has

appointed

Amit Singh as

the Director of

Flight Opera-

tions for AirAsia

India. Amit has

20 years of Airline Experience, with

the last seven years dedicated to de-

veloping and managing budget air-

lines. He has more than 11,000 flying

hours on the Boeing B777 and Airbus

A320 and has flown with Air India, In-

diGo and Scoot. Some of his key

achievements have been in the field of

Flight Operations, Training and Flight

Safety. Amit was actively involved in

the launch of IndiGo in 2006 and ele-

vated to the position of Chief Pilot

Training soon after. Amit has earned

a Fellowship from the Royal Aeronau-

tical Society of the UK for outstanding

contributions in aeronautics.