The OTA - Hotel story

1 Voyager’s World l November 2012www.voyagersworld.in






David ScowsillPresident-CEO – World

Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)

Hospitality 24Destination 26

Cruise Lounge 44

Incredible India 45

Happenings 46

Festival Watch 42

Top Appointments 49India Outbound 34

Flight Talk 33

Hotel Loyalty 18

Dear Reader,

I ncredible India has launched a new advertising campaign at the

World Travel Market (WTM) London 2012. Launched by the new

tourism minister K Chiranjeevi, the campaign, under the tagline

‘Find What You Seek’, will have the UK as a target market.

It is a timely and apt marketing push for the Incredible India

campaign.

The new campaign creates an awareness of the destinations and

products available in India. The aim of the campaign is to increase

global visitor figures by 12% until 2016. As the name indicates, the

promotional campaign sends across a message that tourists world

over can find whatever they want to see while holidaying in India

This is a welcome development for the Indian inbound segment,

especially if we take into account the recent lifting of travel

advisory by the UK for Jammu and Kashmir. This surely is going to

give a boost to the tourism prospects of the scenic valley, better

known for its serene lakes and houseboats. Lately the valley

has seen the revival of tourism with foreign tourists flocking the

destination. The industry is earnestly wishing that no untoward

incident that will mar the tourism hopes of the state will happen.

In this issue we have on the cover an analysis on the relationship

between OTAs and hotels. It seeks to give some insights for both

the hotels and the OTAs. After all, both need each other. Also on

the menu is a feature on the loyalty programmes of hotels and

their significance.

Warm regards,

FIROZ FAZIL Editor

[email protected]

www.voyagersworld.in

From the Editor’s Desk

CONTENTS

OTA-hotels matrix 08 Filipino Fiesta 26

The US lost $600 billion (in tourism) in the last 10 years due to visa refusal.



COVERSTORY

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT EACH OTHER!

Are hotels and OTAs getting along nicely in matters like revenue-sharing? The definitive mantra guiding both the players should be based on the edifice of a marriage of convenience for mutual benefits, writes Firoz Fazil

Can hotels afford to ignore all those Online Travel Agencies

(OTAs) out there? Obviously not! It is preposterous on their part to remain OTA-agnostic in this dog-eat-dog marketplace, for, there’s no turning away from the fact that OTAs are here to stay. The percentage of room bookings through OTAs at present may not be so encouraging. But hotels, faced with the double whammy of increasing competition and the dwindling margins, are realising that they have to make the best use of all the avenues at their disposal.

And it is premature on their part to get squeamish when it comes to issues like commission sharing with the OTAs. The best bet for them is to adopt an eclectic blend of distribution channels which comprise, of course, the traditional travel agents, hotels’ own websites

and OTAs. A strained relationship?

Hardly any hotels Voyager’s World spoke to admit that their relationship with OTAs is a strained one when it comes to issues like revenue sharing. But, a few OTAs admit that it is a problem area.

According to Manish Raj, Vice President, Hotel Relationship – Via.com, the hotel-OTA relationship is a strained one ‘to a certain extent’. According to him, it is time for hotels to accept OTAs as an additional continuous source of dependable revenue, and an effective marketing tool.

“OTAs and hotels should work closely and have a better revenue sharing model, which I think should improve in times to come. With increase in room supply, OTAs can help in routing customers from undefined segments to book

online,” explained Manish. He suggests that hotels can run

various promotional programmes to make it more attractive. “And business from this source definitely improves RevPar, with most times distressed inventories getting sold at last minute or decent amount of inventory getting sold well in advance.”

Jean Francois Mourier of REVPAR GURU, an ardent advocate of ‘hotels-should-use-OTA’ theory, asserts that it will be a great mistake on the part of the hotels not to use OTAs to their advantage.

“Just like it would have been a mistake not to work with traditional travel agents in the past, today, it is a huge mistake not to use the OTAs because the Internet is your

property’s gateway to the world,” explained Jean Francois. Although the average OTA commission rate might be double previous travel agencies, the expense is worth it!

Explaining further as to why OTAs are indispensable for hotels, he said, “OTAs are working to secure bookings for your property 24/7. They provide travellers with a way to search the available properties in their destination, so if you aren’t online, you’re losing out on valuable visibility. Like with every business, it costs money to make money. Consider this: using the old business model (hard-copy brochures) hotels had to spend money on printing and distributing the brochures. Today, that expense is no longer necessary so hotels


COVERSTORY

should be taking that same money, and investing it in OTA commissions,” he further said.

In short, he points out, hotels must not fear technology. They should embrace these changes and make sure they have the best connections with OTA market managers, to ensure that the online channel is as profitable as possible.

Komal Kapoor, Asst. Revenue Manager, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport, has a different take on this. She does not consider OTAs as a crucial medium to drive

more room bookings. “OTAs are medium to generate incremental revenue and increase online visibility. It is a source which should be used by the hotels as and when needed.”

“With YoY increase in supply and demand being not increased proportionately, going forward all hotels will endeavor to secure business through low cost channels. More than focusing on occupancy or rate individually, in times to come hotels will be after GOPAR. Profitability will be the key. In such scenario, there is no

question of bookings through OTA being increased,” she added.

Abhyuday Prashad, Co-Founder of CheckInTonight agrees that there will always be a constant tussle between OTAs and hotels for revenue sharing. It is important for both sides to appreciate the benefit that the other is providing.

“Going forward, as online hotel bookings increase as a share of total hotel bookings, and it will, coupled with the increase in inventory due to new hotel constructions which will drive down occupancy levels, OTAs may have more leverage than they do now. Having said that, hotels are brands in themselves and are ultimately the service provider for the customer (OTAs are just intermediaries), so they inherently have certain advantages vis-à-vis OTAs,” he said.

“Having said that, the number of traditional agents will reduce over time as we will certainly see a greater number of hotel bookings being made online due to various reasons such as greater population having online access, etc.”

Share the revenue AxisRooms CEO Anil Kumar

Prasanna feels that the current OTA-hotel relationship is going well, except a few issues on rate parity and the fact that sold out updates are not instant.

“On the revenue front hotels will

need to share it with OTAs to get more transactions and room nights. The margins for OTAs are going to shrink with more OTAs coming up. Most of the branded hotels like Marriott, Accor are spending more money on in-house IT to reduce business on OTAs,” added Anil.

According to him, OTAs are looking at strong growth on non-air segment and the most important revenue and business growth is looked upon online hotel bookings. He says that only people who find it hard to share higher commissions are small boutique hotels, home stays, serviced apartments and also the high-end luxury hotels.

“Rooms distribution and inventory management on OTAs is a must to promote the sales of distress inventory or unsold inventory and OTAs also provide the platform for hotels to market themselves to the unknown customers.”

He said AxisRooms’ offering has just become better this year with the launch of two way channel manager, new version of online booking engine and corporate / SME tool for hotels to manage their corporate business. “We will be launching our next product which caters to the offline travel industry; they will get the same access of inventory like OTAs and at their own contracted rates with minimal technology cost. We hope this will do well in the leisure hotels segment.”


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The highest AxisRooms has seen is approx 30% of available inventory sold online and lowest being 4%. He said that online business is still at nascent stage in India. “At present on an average we can see just 10% of total sales and we expect it to grow up to 30-40% by 2015-end. There is a huge opportunity and have seen new OTAs like HotelTravel.com and Splendia showing interest in India Hotel Contracting.”

Agoda CEO Robert Rosenstein feels that both hotels and OTAs recognize the shared value in partnerships. “It takes time to develop these relationships, and much like anything else, the more effort you can put in, the more you stand to get out of it. We are committed to adding value to our hotel partners and we think this shows in the support we get from hotels.”

Pratik Mazumder, Head of Marketing & Strategic Alliance, Yatra.com, also vouches for a very healthy relationship between yatra.com and hoteliers. He feels the relationship is getting stronger with larger volumes coming from OTAs in the future.

He reveals that Yatra.com’s hotel bookings domain is booming since its acquisition of Travelguru: “We do over 1000 room nights a day.”

According to Travelchacha.com CEO Sanjay Bhasin, even though there’s a strained OTA-hotels relationship, the fact is that they can’t live without each other! As for now, it’s not possible to predict anything about the future of the relationship between the two. “We should concentrate on building a stable long-term partnership between us,” he adds.

According to him, either hoteliers or OTAs or both have to focus on building a stable long-term partnership. “These are just small crisis that come and go as soon as, the climate changes. As for now, we don’t need to worry much about them irrespective of this situation,” he concludes.

According to Rajesh Rajan, Revenue Management Consultant with Rethinkhotels, the hotel-OTA relationship is always strained as the commission percentage paid out by the hotels is ‘really high’.

Rethinkhotels is focused on educating hoteliers in revenue management, Internet marketing, reputation management and hotel technology.

The dynamics between OTAs and hotels are changing and, Rajesh adds, it has changed to some extent. “If you look at Booking.com they are growing really fast; they have a flexible commission structure and treat the hotels fairly. It will further

change due to changing consumer behaviour. Today’s consumer is buying actively on mobile phones and that platform is still open for the taking. The next wave is going to be smart TVs which will add another distribution channel.”

Rajesh affirms that hotels that find it hard to use OTAs have to have a way of filling the rooms left empty. They must have a strong base business, group business, great rate strategy and effective online presence to drive bookings. If they are strategic with their use of

OTAs they don't have to be overly concerned.

According to him, the OTA market will continue to expand in the world. They have the resource to continually invest, evolve, iterate and provide the best user experience. In the Indian market it will be the same as it is a big market and there are number of independent hotels who need distribution and exposure. The branded hotels have the resources and devote time to develop their direct booking channels. They will have to continue to invest to keep


COVERSTORY

up with OTAs, he concluded. Jean Francois complains that

too many hoteliers focus only on the commission and not the benefits of the online channel: the billboard effect (free marketing) and increase in bookings. This despite the fact that online is the most important source of revenue and this will continue to be the case going forward.

“My message to hoteliers is that 100% of $0 is still zero, so it is better to list online and make

65% of the room rate (after paying commission).”

He explains: “Almost 80% of the population in the US is using the Internet every day. Online travel and tourism continues to experience solid growth and this is just the beginning of the Internet revolution. That’s not even mentioning the consumer craze for smartphones and tablets, which make bookings

on-the-go even easier.”

The hotel speakPrasad Iyer, Cluster Ecommerce

- India, Malaysia & Maldives, Marriott Int'l Inc, says that OTAs are an integral part of Marriott’s distribution strategy. “Our main focus is to strengthen our direct channels but we also have to recognize that not all customers will think about Marriott in the first place. Marriott continues to be very selective and its OTA engagement strategy in order to protect our brand.”

Regarding the revenue from OTAs, he said: “OTA contribution varies from markets to markets but remains a very small percentage.”

According to him, OTAs will have to better explain what service they provide to hotels in order to justify the cost. Hotels are the main customers of every OTA.

For Fairmont Jaipur about 10% of its total room revenue is generated through OTAs. The hotel has tied up with MakeMyTrip, Agoda, Bookings.com, Expedia and Cleartrip.

According to Atul Lall, GM, Fairmont Jaipur, OTAs are becoming more influential in terms of driving room revenue to hotels, not just here in India, but worldwide as well.

“OTA tie ups command a higher visibility amongst consumers and

with respect to hotel, usually work with last room availability basis best available rates- a boon for hotels looking to realize maximum revenue for rooms, especially as last minute bookings,” he said.

Atul Lall believes that the hotel-OTA relationship is based on a clear understanding of what commission levels are expected and the hotel objectives for maximizing revenues. He is foreseeing an increase in commissions but it is “always balanced out in terms with additional business commitments.”

Gaurav Aggarwal – Associate Director of Sales, Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon, feels that the online segment has huge potential for a business hotel like theirs. “Marriott considers Commission as a Cost of Doing business and hence to yield high rated business and it is more profitable to the hotel.”

He informed that Marriott has contracted globally with OTAs like Expedia, Travelocity and Agoda. “They have also been our largest supporters within the online space. There is also a constant endeavour to increase the base of the OTA’s across India and across the world. Marriott has a dedicated team, based in regional offices that are gauging and contracting new accounts for a region/market.”

According to him, the OTA-Hotel relationship is growing all across


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the country. There is constant education between the two parties and both are working hand in hand to increase revenues for their business. “Marriott has always been proactive in terms of commission sharing and has found ways in using these funds for marketing.”

Shaleen Mathur - GM sales and marketing - Citrus Hotels & Resorts doesn’t think that the OTA-hotel relationship is strained at present. “All OTAs work on different model; some deduct their commissions up-front and make payments to the hotels and some prefers the hotel to process the commissions later. Both hotels and OTAs should be pro-active on the commissions front and ensure that the money is paid to each other on time.”

According to him, OTAs are a very crucial medium for bookings as they have a good base of people and a wide market.

“So by slicing the revenue by a few percentages in terms of commission is always a better choice and a win-win situation for both. We don’t work on allocation basis with any of the OTA which makes it easier for us to manage the inventory more dynamically and the risk of un-occupied rooms is nullified,” added Shaleen.

Right now, the revenue contribution through OTAs is very less for Citrus: it is close to 6%. However, the potential, added Shaleen, is huge. Citrus is with all the major players, both domestic

and international, such as Expedia, Booking.com, Yatra, Makemytrip, etc.

According to him, the hotel bookings will increase through OTAs in the times to come. “Online booking provides convenience and power to the end user to pick and choose the hotel they want and they can also review various hotels, compare photos and rates, look for some deal which a traditional travel agent might not extend them in order to increase their margin. The ultimate aim is to drive the customers who have booked you through various OTAs to your website or to other channels which saves you commission.”

He foresees a future wherein the majority of OTAs supporting ‘Direct Payment Model’ wherein the guest just makes the booking online without paying anything to the OTA and pays directly to the hotel for all the services rendered and the commissions for the same is later being processed by the hotel to the OTA.

Brian Koroll, VP of Revenue Management, Venetian Macau Limited, says: “OTAs are our partners. We don’t find it difficult to share a commission with any business that is able to drive room nights to our hotels. We negotiate hard for the commission percentages but at the same time we recognise that OTAs help drive the customer decisions to visit Macao. We try to leverage the

strength of our OTAs to grow the Macao market and therefore our share of room nights.”

While refusing to divulge the revenue on room bookings through OTAs as it is `internal’, he said that the hotel’s major OTAs vary by hotel and brands. Some of the biggest ones are Agoda, Ctrip, Makemytrip, Zuji, Elong, Orbitz, Rakuten and Expedia.

He further added: “Our company doesn’t have a strained relationship with the OTAs on revenue sharing. OTAs are our partners and they have access to large customer

bases that we can tap into and drive our destination from guests around the world. We have negotiated good term with our OTAs, so we embrace the relationship. We are in an OTA early adopt phase in our market and we work with the OTAs help them develop their business and in turn our businesses.

According to Aamod Director Gaurav Jain, the importance of OTAs is likely to increase in the future. Various offers, deals from the OTAs have made the market very lucrative for the end customers, resulting in increased room bookings. “The


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various mediums including social media interface adopted by OTAs to interact with the end customers actually helps the customers to gain more information about hotels and their deals,” he added. As of now the revenue from room bookings is not much at this point of time for Aamod, but it’s increasing as new players are entering the market.

Latest trendsJean Francois says there is a

proliferation of new OTA apps both for Apple and Android. “These new

apps heavily promote last-minute bookings (i.e. Hotel Tonight). Most of these apps are linked to existing OTAs; so it is becoming even more important to use real-time automated revenue management systems to be able to capitalize on this lucrative business. Finally, I see that there is an increase in hotels using social media sites – both for marketing and reservations purposes.”

According to him, flash sale sites (i.e. Groupon) are losing their effectiveness in the hotel market.

Hoteliers have seen that they are much less profitable than the industry originally projected.

“Because of the increased transparency of the online channel, fixed rate channels are obsolete. The main advantages offered by the OTAs are dynamic pricing, yield ability, last-minute bookings, flexibility, real-time pricing updates, allotment control, etc,” he further said.

Sanjay Bhasin says: “OTAs direct a 25% increment in the bookings. Moreover, OTAs are witnessing changes in their business model as, just being a standalone ticketing agent to a full-service travel agent offering hotels, visa assistance, surface transportation, packages, language support, corporate travel automation system, Social media marketing, channel support: B2C as well as B2B.”

Rajesh Rajan puts mobile at the centre of the latest trend as the ‘biggest disruptor’. “It is platform that will continue to change how the industry functions. Apps like Gogobot, Schemer, Trover are focused on social discovery, which is a big trend. The mobile platform allows anyone to record wherever they are and share it with anyone.”

Emphasising the connection between personalisation and social media, he said: “A hotel can leverage networks like Twitter and Instagram to understand what the guest likes, what sport they watch, who they idolize, this is very powerful information but not

everyone is leveraging it.” According to Anil Kumar

Prasanna, recently there has been a great acceptance from independent hotels to get into Channel Manager to maximise the inventory distribution and revenue management. “I can see independent hotels spending time and money to improve their websites, add online booking engine, work on corporate distribution on a platform and also manage offline tour operators business and we expect this trends to grow in coming years.”

Manish Raj feels that the world will see hotel bookings more through the OTAs in the times to come for sure. “From 2% to 3% of hotel bookings generated through online channels 10 years back, today online booking accounts to almost 25% to 30% of sales, depending on city to city, worldwide. There is no stopping in growth through this channel in future. It’s basically convenience and wide options available on one platter.”

As regards to the trend in the sector, he elaborated: “We see more interest from clientele as well as travel agents to book hotels from OTA as they get complete travel solution on one platform. More attractive packages, quality hotels, timely fulfillment and better service will ensure that this continues. Social media, like Facebook have also started diverting interested buyers to OTAs/hotels. People want to see other’s experience with their stay and would like to try post that.


Gaurav Aggarwal Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon

COVERSTORY

Trip Advisor has also become an important reason to decide a hotel as more and more people refer the rating before confirming a hotel. Important point for an OTA is to be transparent in what it sells; there cannot be hidden cost or hidden shocks.”

Tracing the history of OTAs, Pratik Mazumder explained that the concept of OTAs was introduced to the Indian travel industry in early 2000. Up till the 90’s, Indians were completely dependent on travel agents. Gradually, the online travel industry grew as OTAs gave consumers the complete autonomy of the entire booking procedure in their hands.

“With our back-to-back acquisitions of Magicrooms and Travelguru, we have emerged as the premiere aggregator and seller of domestic hotels and holidays in India. Now our customers can reach out to more number of hotels across the globe. MagicRooms offers access to a live inventory of over 3,000 hotels across India whereas Travelguru reaches out to over 6,500 hotels in India and 72,000 hotels worldwide. As a part of our special offering, we provide our customers complete holiday solutions which include tickets to the hotel bookings, making Yatra

a one-stop destination offering all the services under one roof,” added Pratik.

“Catching up with the pace of the growing economy, by 2012

approximately one-third

of the

market transactions are expected to be transacted online courtesy a well-established air segment which will continue to grow at a double digit growth rate and is estimated to contribute nearly two-third of the OTA market in 2012.”

According to him, the best is yet to come for the sector with broadband penetration just starting to take off. Online travel industry is certainly up for a radical progress in coming years. With this, India is all set to become the top three online travel markets in the world over the next decade.

“Gone are the days when it was conceptualized as an alternative to the bulky ledgers and reservation book kept with the receptionist in

a hotel. The latest trends are the mobile bookings which deploy ‘Smartphones’. The advances in mobile technology and availability of broadband have made it easier to search for a hotel and book through an online reservation system. Consumers today opt for online bookings in order to save time and avoid the hassle of unnecessary trips to travel agencies or phone calls to the hotel.”

Pratik further says: “Online bookings are far more convenient and cost-effective to compare room rates of different hotels online and then choose the best option available. All this can be easily done from the comfort of a home. Online hotel booking is beneficial not only for the customers but also for hotels, as it helps them reduce operation and infrastructure cost considerably. Online hotel reservations are also helpful for making last minute travel arrangements as hotels sometimes bring down room tariff in the event that rooms are still available. It’s been estimated that more than one third of global travel is likely to be booked online by the year 2013.”

According to Atul Lall of Fairmont Jaipur, developing trends show a leaning towards lower lead periods for bookings for both domestic and international clientele. Earlier people used to book their holidays six to eight months in advance. This is no longer the current scenario. In addition, a new segment that is essentially B2B business is a rapidly growing segment and one that has huge potential to grow in

the coming years. Shaleen Mathur says that online

bookings have eaten major chunk of business coming through traditional booking channels. “Hotels prefer selling various packages to fence their rates and prefer to sell a Value Proposition to the consumer. People prefer booking a bundled package (flight + hotel) which gives them a price advantage. Majority of hotel chains want to charge a nominal fee if booked through their Call Centre which will ultimately route the guest to book the stay online which incurs less cost to the hotel.”

Rajiv Malhotra feels that creating effective process for refund is a challenging task for most new OTAs. “Being in this business for over 20 years we have been able to streamline most of our backend processes to ensure that we provide the best customer service to users,” he added.

Robert Rosenstein feels: “With the widespread use of mobile devices, we are working hard to maintain a unified Agoda product across different platforms. Consumers are constantly evolving, and we need to stay connected, listen and change our business to suit their changing needs. With so many markets to cover, languages to speak, there’s a lot of complexity in customisation and personalisation that is needed in an e-commerce business of scale.”

Online is the way going forward, says Komal Kapoor. There will be more mobile bookings and research.

The trends vary from city-to-city and market-to-market. At Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon, we have seen growth of special corporate business from the GDS perspective. As time is of the utmost essence, corporates are preferring to tie up with TMCs and use their GDS tools to get hotel confirmations.



PRIVATE JETS

Private jet segment is the spark for stimulating tourism

India has 400 airports, but commercial airline connectivity is pathetically low. How far developing the private jet segment will benefit the tourism industry? Voyager’s World caught up with Vinit Phatak - Chairman of Invision Group and Co-founder of the Invision Air – who is vouching for the importance of the private jet in tourism development.

How do you perceive the potential of private jet segment in India? How can the segment be beneficial to the Indian tourism sector?

I perceive the potential for the private jet segment as similar to that of the mobile communications segment in 1994. There is a large latent demand which will take a few years to actualise. And when it does, it has the potential to be probably among the top five markets in the world.

The latent demand comes from poor commercial airline connectivity to Tier 2 and 3 cities. We have 400 airports in India and commercial connectivity exists to only 38 cities on a daily basis and

80 on weekly basis. Our private jets can fly to 200 Indian airports as of today. As the balance 200 airports get developed further, the number reached by business jets will increase. Commercial connectivity to these airports is still far away as these small locations are not yet developed enough to handle 70 or 130 passenger aircraft in terms of passenger loads and infrastructure; however four to 10 passenger business jets can easily handle the needs of these locations. The current needs being fulfilled are for speciality tourists (religious and wildlife) and top managements of corporates along with potential investors. For these clients the business jets are ideally suited.

When you have 200 airports now accessible compared to 80, you can clearly understand what this can do for the Indian tourism. It begins with a few very high-end resorts in remote locations where only a certain top level tourists can access and then gradually the number of resorts and tourists in these locations will start to increase. Eventually commercial connectivity will come and then the location has now sprung into a major tourist

destination. The private jet segment is the initial spark needed to start up certain areas of India for tourism and business.

Industry challengesThere is globally a direct

relationship between the GDP and

the general aviation industry and so if you look at the global figures they have been impacted by the recession. For us the impact was more in terms of availability of financing and investments than in terms of reduction in demand. The current segment in India is still fairly price inelastic, so regardless of what is going on in the economy they were still flying privately. There was a slight dip but not a significant one. We adjusted our plans due to the recession by reducing our overall fleet plan from 20 aircraft to 12 and charting out a more flexible aircraft induction schedule.

Fuel Costs: For commercial aviation the fuel costs make up 40% of the overall cost of operation, for general aviation this figure is closer to 25%. So, although the impact is not as high, it still affects overall pricing. If we can have the sales taxes, that can be up to 28%, reduced to reasonable levels this will help ‘fuel’ the industry growth.

Customs duty: Nowhere else in the world is there a custom duty on aircraft. In India the duty ranges from 25% to 2.5% which is extremely high for aircrafts that cost

millions of dollars and can have a serious impact on the purchase decision for a private individual as well as an operator. There are no local manufacturers of business jets to protect; so this duty really does not make any sense.

Parking availability: In certain

airports there are difficulties in parking aircraft for short and long term. Specifically airports like Mumbai, Goa and Chandigarh with no parking available increase the end user costs as the aircraft have to be constantly repositioned to other airports.

Any tie-up with the Indian travel trade?

We have a limited relationship with some high-end specialised travel agents, but we hope to reach out to more agencies in the travel trade. We believe that our service is a high value opportunity that the travel agents can use to differentiate their offering to their clients. It is true that in the past reliable charter partners were not available. This is primarily because most of the charter operators who actually own their aircraft have a priority for internal use. Charter is only a side revenue earner. Often when an aircraft is booked by a charter client it will get cancelled at the last minute since the owner wishes to fly. This is not the case with us, as we are a pure charter operator with our own aircraft.



Special loyalty programmes include deep-sea fishing at Fairmont Orchid in Hawaii, private lessons in

painting landscapes by reputed artists at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, one-on-one guided excursion through the art galleries near Fairmont Beijing.

Sharon Cohen Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

HOTEL LOYALTY

Your’s Loyally

How pertinent and relevant are loyalty programmes when it comes to customer retention? Irene Susan Eapen analyses various loyalty programmes of a few Indian hotels

Brand familiarity and positive word-of-mouth referrals are

invaluable tools when it comes to promoting your business and an opportunity no one wants to leave on the table. These days, it would be difficult if not impossible to name an airline, hotel brand or restaurant that has not developed some type of programme to reward and retain its most loyal clients.

Relevance of Hotel Loyalty Programmes

Sharon Cohen, Executive Director, Loyalty Marketing from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts asserts that reward programmes can be a valuable method to build and retain customer loyalty.

“At Fairmont, in addition to our Fairmont President’s Club which rewards guest loyalty through customised service levels and exclusive experiential opportunities, we also have our Famous Agents programme that acknowledges the travel agent as an important distribution channel for selling luxury

travel. We reward them with special rates and unique benefits when they book guests into our hotels and resorts. As a new benefit for travel professionals in India, points earned through the Famous Agents programme can be redeemed for Sodexo Gift Cards, for use towards thousands of products and services across India,” she said. As for business travel, Fairmont uses Resplus, a programme designed for corporate bookers, wherein members can earn points towards their own travel, gift certificates from top retailers and other exciting rewards every time they book one of their colleagues into a Fairmont property on business travel.

Seconding Sharon’s opinion, Rainer Stoll, Managing Director, Seasons Hotels, also feels that besides being an effective retention tool, loyalty points in hotels are easy to redeem. “Hotel loyalty programmes are getting easier to use and more generous, often with no blackout dates. Consumers are signing upto earn free hotel rooms,

upgrades and other perks.”According to Sajid Mahmood,

Vice President-Marketing, Sarovar hotels Private Ltd, with increasing competition, loyalty programmes are no longer a USP, they are a necessity. “In the hospitality sector, the cost of switching over is zero. If a person is unhappy with a service, all he or she has to do is to stop

that service and use another one. Hence, a bonding instrument like a loyalty programme becomes critical,” he said.

Giving an outline of the direct benefits, service level upgrades, price advantages and privileges of loyalty programmes, Kamal Deep Sharma – Head of Sales and Marketing, Hotel Ista, said, “While


Transparency and simplicity are key trends. Customers want recognition, flexibility and ease

when redeeming rewards, by phone, in person or via the internet. Strategies to protect hard-earned brand equity and revenues resulting from negative online postings will continue to be important trends.

CatherineMcNabbDusit International

In the future, loyalty programmes will get increasingly segmented to retain key market segments,

see innovative approach by providers; they will get specialized, thereby increasing outsourcing opportunities and will become stronger as brands in themselves besides representing parent branding for the customer.”

SajidMahmoodSarovar Hotels & Resorts

HOTEL LOYALTY

recognition appeals to most of us binding us in a relationship, reward acts like a positive reinforcement to repeat our action, which in this case, refers to repeat product usage. Many customers stick to evaluation based on core benefits of a product. Under such circumstances, products of similar kind appear standardised and factors like loyalty programmes act to tilt balances, thus influencing decisions.”

He also said that business travellers mostly have basic boarding and lodging expenses covered. Loyalty programme benefits, which provide additional personal comfort and convenience, during or after the product experience, become the favourites and can act very strongly to influence usage decisions.

On the other hand, while most hotels have loyalty programmes, most place very little importance on them as a driving factor to increase consumer bookings. However, according to Sunil Kumar, Director of Rooms, the Westin Mumbai Garden City, loyalty programmes

can be a very important decision-maker, especially for frequent travellers, who are often the hotels’ highest-earning customers.

Citing the initial speculation over airline loyalty programmes as a comparison, Catherine McNabb, Vice President-Sales and Marketing, Dusit International said, “There is little doubt that loyalty programmes strongly affect consumer behaviour – we only have to measure the exponential growth of Frequent Flyer programmes (which many believed was a passing trend in the 1980’s) to understand the compelling attraction and effectiveness of loyalty programmes as a key revenue driver.” The Dusit Group generates millions of dollars in revenue for accommodation and food and beverage via our loyalty programmes each year, she added.

In addition to allowing hotels to learn more about the needs of their guests, loyalty points can be especially useful to frequent travellers. “Frequent travellers, in

particular, value not only the points they earn when they stay, but also the recognition they receive as they move through the tiers of the programme,” said Kadambini Mittal, Director Commercial SWA, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

Having realised the role of loyalty programmes in customer retention, hotels are going all out to stand apart in the market and offer the best deals to their customers. The Seasons Hotels, for instance, has launched the Seasons Elite Privileged Programme for the Seasons Hotel at Tarudhan Valley and Living Room in Goa.

In the same way, the Fairmont President’s Club, Sharon says, seeks to offer its members experiences

that are less transactional and more emotional through personal recognition of their preferences, elite on-site benefits and engaging opportunities to explore their destinations.

“Programmes like Subway’s Sub Club and a stamp-based loyalty programme, which customers could earn by purchasing products and redeem for rewards, are now far more advanced and can be tailored to suit individual customer’s behaviour and preferences,” said Sunil.

Taking in to account the changing needs of members and the importance of social media platforms, the InterContinental Hotels Group has engaged in a two-way communication process to






Kamal Deep SharmaIsta Hotels

Kadambini MittalInterContinental Hotels Group

HOTEL LOYALTY

serve its guests better. “Our Priority Club Rewards (PCR), with 67 million members worldwide, allows members to earn points when they stay at hotels from the IHG family of brands. With the use of social media, we now offer targeted rates and promotions to our Priority Club members,” said Kadambini. “Every month, on an average, 600,000 people sign up to PCR and, after enrolling, we find that members shift over 40 per cent of their hotel stays to our hotel brands so that they benefit from the scheme.”

New Loyalty ProgrammesIn addition to providing

access to exclusive member-only events and amazing experiential opportunities, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has taken customisation one step further by introducing their ‘Passions Program’ this year. “The programme provides an array of additional benefits that talk to the travel-related interests and passions that members have identified to us in their profiles. From ‘Food & Drink’, ‘Arts & Entertainment’, ‘Leadership & Philanthropy’, ‘Spa & Fitness’, ‘Shopping & Style’ or ‘Sports & Adventure’, a number of special packages and opportunities have been developed to appeal to each category,” said Sharon. “We plan to continue building on this platform through the addition of more passion related benefits like Fairmont Fit, allowing our members to enhance their lifestyle passions

while they are travelling and staying at Fairmont hotels worldwide,” she added.

The Starwood, too, has incorporated some new loyalty programmes. “Starwood Privilege is now changed to Eat Drink & More and we have recently launched SPG Restaurants & Bars,” stated Sunil.

Sajid said the current loyalty base of Sarovar Hotels is about 8000 members. “Once we cross the 20,000 mark we plan create different tiers of the programme i.e., something like a Platinum membership for high users, Gold, Silver etc,” he aded.

Catherine says, “We are in the process of re-engineering all the existing loyalty programmes based

primarily on member feedback and the necessity to leverage more effectively on technology, for better and faster service to our guests and loyalty members.”

The IHG has also come up with a host of new rewarding ideas for its guests such as the Priority Club Rewards® Sweepstakes, an industry-first redemption option that enables members to instantly redeem their points for entries into a prize draw in the UK, USA, Canada, China and Japan.

“Our new Topguest service is the first hotel scheme to reward guests who use Location Based Service (LBS) technology, such as FourSquare, Twitter and Google Latitude, to check in at hotels,” said Kadambini. Members who sign up

for the service earn loyalty points every time they sign into major LBS apps at any of our 4,480 hotels. The IHG also launched an online gaming platform, when it awarded almost three million points a week during a promotional period last year to PCR members who took part in a new game, called ‘Win it in a Minute’.

TrendsLoyalty programmes are

projected to be more flexible on rewards in the coming future, said Kamal. “The future trends will be influenced as the market share increasingly comes under pressure. Loyalty programmes will carry more value to the customer and mean a higher payback by the provider and will invite technological investments to become multi-utility,” he stated.

Last year, the IHG undertook an extensive global research to better understand the attitudes and habits of its guests. The findings provided an insight into the global travel loyalty marketplace and were used to develop a new positioning for Priority Club Rewards.

It also identified that frequent travellers place a higher perceived value on hotel loyalty programme currency over frequent flier miles and business travellers value loyalty more than price. “Hotels can also add value within these programmes by making reward redemption more convenient,” Kadambini said.

“The use of online customer


While most hotels have loyalty programmes, most place little importance on loyalty programmes

as a driving factor to increase consumer bookings. However, the truth is that loyalty programmes can be a very important decision-maker, especially for frequent travellers, who are often the hotel’s highest-earning customers.

Sunil KumarThe Westin MumbaiGarden City

InterContinental Hotels Group

Dusit International

Ista Hotels

Reward Nights: For a free night at any of our hotelTravel: On airline, hotel and travel packagesMerchandise & Entertainment: On electronic items, magazines, accessoriesGift Cards: Wide selection of gift cards from leading retailersCharitable donations: Donate points to select NGOsExperience: Opportunities to enjoy vineyards, sports, food, etcOther rewards like No Blackout Dates, Points & Cash, ‘Flights Anywhere, Hotels Anywhere’, No Points Expiration

Dusit Gold Program: For repeat guests and new customersDusit Stars Program: For individuals who book accommodation and meeting facilities on behalf of their organisations. Wine and Dine Program: To drive revenue in dining outlets and increase spend in all areas of the hotel including accommodation

Ista Select: For guests using accommodationIsta Hi Life: For dinersNamaskar: For bookers who are an integral part of the buying process.

Starwood Preferred Guest: Room Loyalty Programme across all Starwood HotelsWith complimentary enrolmentEat Drink & More: F& B discount programmesWestin Retreat: Westin WorkOut Fitness Centre and Spa of The Westin Mumbai Garden City

Club: For new membersPremier: For members with five stays or 10 room nights in a calendar yearPlatinum: For members with 10 stays or 30 room nights in a calendar yearGreat Rates-Great Dates: For members with significant savings at select Fairmont properties over a range of datesFairmont Moments for President Club members: Bringing fantasy bucket list trips Complimentary BMW chauffeured shuttle service and BMW bicycles to explore places

SarovarRewards: Loyalty points for the money spentRestaurant Discount Card: These are managed by individual hotels to promote food hotels.

Westin Mumbai Garden City

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts

HOTEL LOYALTY

Hotels Loyalty Programmes

feedback sites such as TripAdvisor, can damage your brand if not managed properly, therefore if you want to maximise guest retention it is important to understand that your brand value goes hand in hand with the success of your loyalty programmes,” said Catherine.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts foresees more loyalty programmes wanting to gain the emotional loyalty of their customers by attempting to better understand their customers . “We are also seeing many smaller independent brands / hotels joining forces to create more powerful alliances through joint loyalty programmes,” Sharon said.

Rainer foresees hotels use more of rich information on buying

partners via loyalty programmes for targeted marketing. “The information on customer transactions, likes, dislikes and preferences gives brands the deep level of customer intelligence needed to deliver the most relevant, highest-quality customer experience and drive long-term loyalty,” he said.

“Customer engagement is the journey, loyalty is the destination. Loyalty is no longer just about points, discounts, miles, and rewards; it is about the way processes, technologies, ideas, and interactions engage individuals with the brand and effectively render a quality experience at all touch points at all stages of the customer life cycle,” Rainer concluded.


TOP VIEW

Hotelier insights: Knowing a guest’s true worth

Fabian Bartnick, Senior Hospitality Consultant for IDeaS, dwells at length on the importance of sensing the true value of guests for increased guest satisfaction, loyalty and profitability for Indian hotels

In today’s highly competitive Indian hotel sector, it is vital to

have a heightened understanding of a guest’s preferences and total worth. This knowledge is becoming even more vital due to the growing presence of third party wholesalers and OTAs. Local hoteliers need to gain a better understanding of their guests at a property level so they can offer a more personalised experience and maximise guest loyalty in the future.

While there have been countless advances within the Indian hotel sector in recent years, many hoteliers (in particular – smaller, locally owned hotel chains or independent properties) are still struggling to effectively target or understand their market segments. In many cases there is an overlap between channels, sources, companies, agents and segments which makes it hard for hoteliers to drive specific, targeted promotions.

For the sake of ongoing revenue optimization and to enhance customer loyalty, it is vital that local hoteliers gain a holistic view of their guests’ lifetime value, not just their room rate spend.

Data from all transaction systems needs to be integrated to provide a true picture of a guest’s preferred activities and their overall

value considering all ancillary spend, from the time they make an online reservation to the time they check-out. This should include everything from food service to the day spa usage, guest rooms to gift shop purchases and more.

In addition to making more profitable decisions about which guests’ reservation requests to accept, a deeper understanding of guest preferences leads to better decisions about promotions, service offerings, inventory levels and F&B options. Furthermore, this integrated customer behaviour data supports wiser pricing decisions, supplier choices and financial strategies. Forecasting and optimisation then provide controls to ensure revenues are optimised and costs are minimised across the entire operation.

The path to sustained profitability and growth has taken a turn for hotels across the country. Room rates still bring in the highest portion of profit, but retail, food and beverage (including restaurants used by outside customers), spas and entertainment are increasingly important sources of income.

With so many different business arms and management systems being used across hotels these days, it is difficult to get a complete view of total guest spend. A regular hotel guest may not be worth as much as a guest that stays infrequently, but who spends freely on a variety of ancillary activities within the hotel.

Importantly, by leveraging this holistic view of a customer, hoteliers can maximise their chances of not only winning, but keeping their best customers. Often Indian hoteliers use straight discounting as a promotional tool, without a clear long-term strategy for attracting new

and valuable customers. Common promotions include percentage discounts, based on the length of a guest’s stay. While this has proven to be a useful strategy for retaining existing customers, it is less effective in attracting new business, and, as well as undermining the hotel’s perceived value, it can also sabotage potential revenue.

Hoteliers should instead focus on strategies to attract specific markets, with targeted initiatives that drive new customers into their hotels and increase their share in the market. This is achieved by increasing the relevance of promotions to those customers who are most likely to have the greatest lifetime value. For example, instead of sending blanket marketing campaigns, your customer base should only receive offers they are likely to be interested in, based on their product preferences and previous purchases. Using this approach will protect hoteliers from cannibalising their products and will also attract the right customers to the right products without a ‘free for all’ scenario.

Hoteliers should also aim to achieve improved timing and targeting of campaigns, based on forecasted demand by market segment and property, so demand is generated when and where it is needed and rates are protected during peak periods. Integrating this marketing data with revenue management data means both departments have the information they need to make the right decisions about pricing and promotions placement.

Today’s intelligent hotelier is recognising that in order to stay ahead of the competition, more advanced decision support

solutions with predictive analytics and optimisation capabilities are needed.

The next generation of revenue management systems will consider not only the optimal set of prices to offer, but also who to offer those prices to, which guests are most valuable and which are most likely to develop a long term relationship with the company.

This demand-centric view of revenue management results in long term, sustainable revenue performance, but relies on centralised credible and accurate guest information, predictive analytics and strong integration between customer intelligence and revenue optimisation systems.

If the fundamentals of revenue management aren’t in place, Indian hotels face an uphill battle in first identifying and then understanding their market segments. This can be a labour intensive process and puts hoteliers at risk of throwing money at a marketing campaign that is destined to produce a negative return on investment. Revenue management must take a holistic view and be focused on driving value from targeted market segments instead of trying the ‘one size fits all approach’.

The approach should instead integrate a complete customer revenue profile, including overall ancillary spend and set hotel room control and pricing based on the enterprise profit contribution of each customer. As those in the industry are all too aware, informed decisions can lead to increased guest satisfaction, loyalty and profitability, whereas assumptions, or poorly planned decisions, can mean sending your best guests to a competitor.



HOSPITALITY

HHI forays into Bangalore

Hyatt to rebrand five Ista Hotels in India

Kolkata-based Hotel Hindusthan International (HHI) has forayed

into Karnataka with the launch of its property in Bangalore under the brand The HHI Select.

The property originally known as The Emilion was taken over by the HHI group and has been re-modeled to be a business hotel with modern amenities and affordable pricing. This is the first hotel under the HHI Select brand.

Conceptualized by the MD of the group, D.K. Jaiswal, the HHI Select Bengaluru like any other HHI hotel reveals a new world unfolding from the old. Located at J P Nagar, HHI Select Bengaluru is a 59-room property with a gym, rest-o-bar, two banquets. Stylish and boutique in design, the hotel offers a dedicated business center for the business traveller. Guests can look forward to HHI’s unique offerings in Bengaluru with this expansion in brand presence.

“We have extensively renovated the property and we are very happy to have launched our first property

in Karnataka. We have trained the staff of the hotel so that they now are at par with the other HHI

properties. We are committed to lay a strong foundation to deepen our focus in hotel development and

look forward to a good response to the Select category of brand,” said Sanjiv Banerjee, VP, Sales &

Marketing, HHI Group of Hotels. “HHI Select Bengaluru promises

leisure, impeccable service and

great food. We are thrilled to offer to the residents of Bengaluru and people travelling here this unique hospitality experience” added Nair, GM, HHI Select Bengaluru.

The rooms are well furnished with complimentary Wi-fi, LCD TVs and 24-hour in-room dining. The rooms offer web-enabled television which allows the guest to enjoy internet facilities on a bigger screen sitting in the comfort of their bed.

The single multi-cuisine restaurant Onyx serves some of the best cuisines over a select variety of classic spirits. The interiors done in lilac, white, steel grey shades of onion pink makes it warm, inviting with distinct music playing at the backdrop. Splashes of colour, trendy furnishings, and artistic food presentations set the tone.

The food offerings have been created with an eclectic touch to suit all tastes. This rest-o-bar offers a lounge environment complete with a DJ Console for the guests looking to unwind themselves in the evening.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that a Hyatt

affiliate has signed management agreements with IHHR Hospitality Private Limited (IHHR) for five Ista hotels in India to be re-branded by Hyatt.

Under the agreement, the fully operational Ista hotels will be known as Hyatt Bangalore, Hyatt Pune, Hyatt Hyderabad, Hyatt Ahmedabad and Hyatt Amritsar. The branding effort is expected to be completed by March 2013. The agreements were signed by both parties on October 29, 2012 in London.

Each of the five Ista hotels enjoys premium locations within their respective cities and reflects a contemporary and modern design that offers the business traveller a convenient and stylish place to live, dine and meet.

The re-branding will mark the entry of the fourth brand from the company’s portfolio into India. Currently, India has five Hyatt Regency hotels in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, two Grand Hyatt hotels in Mumbai and Goa, and three Park Hyatt hotels in Goa, Chennai and Hyderabad. There are currently more than 50 Hyatt-branded hotels under

development in India, which are expected to add more than 12,000 rooms. The Hyatt Place brand will be the next to enter India, with Hyatt Place Hampi opening later this year, followed by Hyatt Place Pune, Hinjewadi. The next six months will also mark the opening of three other Hyatt hotels in India – Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, Hyatt Regency Ludhiana and Hyatt Raipur.

Said Ratnesh Verma, Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Asia-Pacific: “This opportunity allows Hyatt to further consolidate its distribution in India and offer its guests a choice in

new markets such as Bangalore, Amritsar and Ahmedabad. The re-branding will also enhance our representation with a great collection of high quality hotels that are already recognised as market leaders in guest experience and performance.”

The association will, in turn, enable the five hotels to enlarge their global reach, become a part of Hyatt’s popular Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty programme and other marketing initiatives, take advantage of Hyatt’s well-established systems and processes, and participate in Hyatt’s extensive network of hotels in 45 countries.


HOSPITALITY

New business centre at Vivanta By Taj – President,

Mumbai

Vivanta by Taj -President has recently launched its

business center in new avatar. The new and well equipped business center provides top notch bespoke services to meet the needs of its global travelers.

The business center ‘Oval’ has recently been renovated that meets the international standards for smart conference facilities for global travellers. The architecture & design of the renovated business centers have been crafted keeping in mind the style and spirit idiom of Vivanta by Taj that appeal to contemporary business travellers. The business center consists of four meeting rooms – Agenda I& II and Strategy I & II.

The hotel launched the new facilities and world-class structure at the new business centre. Vivanta by Taj constantly innovates to provide smart and intellectual facilities for guests who are witnessing advanced globalization each day.

With cutting-edge interiors and soothing ambience a prerequisite for business meetings, the business center promises a unique experience to business travellers. The hotel also provides facilities like world-wide courier service, hi-speed broadband connection, access to Wi-Fi, office equipment like computers, laptops, cell phones, Dictaphones, projectors, audio-visual facilities at a request away. The business center is open 24 hours a day and provides assistance and expertise through trained secretaries for various documentation purposes.


DESTINATION

A Filipino FiestaA Filipino FiestaWhite sandy beaches, rich marine life, plenty of sea food and good conservation lessons… Firoz Fazil unravels the many facets of Philippines after a recent trip to one of the beautiful archipelagos on earth.

Though it is a common knowledge that Philippines consists of

more than 7,000 islands, it took a recent one-week media FAM trip to realise how beautiful the country is, and its rich marine diversity.

Manila is the typical third world place for you with all its pluses and minuses. The authorities, however, are trying their best to provide good infrastructure.

In Manila, the most frequent mode of public transportation is Jeepney. It shows the resourcefulness of Filipinos; it was their way of making use of the military jeeps discarded by the US soldiers post-second World

War. Take the face of a jeep, add a slightly slanted version of bus and

sprinkle a lot of decorations and interior art

works for visual taste!

You have the Filipino Jeepney

ready. It has got an old-world charm as it chugs along the roads quietly and smoothly.

The ubiquitous tricycle, an autorikshaw-like custom-made body built around a motorcycle, which are in abundance on the roads of Boracay and Palawan, just astonish you on account, again, of their sheer ingenuity and creativity of the Filipinos. Four, sometimes six, passengers can travel in tri-cycles.

In Manila, we visited Casa Manila Museum, which showcases the Spanish-era colonial lifestyle of upper class Filipinos. Here you get

to see the exquisite furnishings, kitchen utensils, and artworks during the 17th century onwards. Antique furniture, age-old music instruments, chandeliers and Chinese ceramics stand testimony to the kind of opulent life led by the upper crest.

We also visited Fort Santiago, an important historical site in Manila, which was built by Spanish colonialists. José Rizal, the Philippines ‘Gandhi’ according to our local tour guide, was jailed here before he was executed in 1896. Filipinos hold the multi-talented and vivacious Rizal in high esteem and adulation; for he provided what they called the ‘intellectual stimulation’ for the uprising against the Spanish invaders as he set about providing a non-violent background for the revolution.

At the Rizal Shrine Museum one can take a peek into the

lives and times of the great hero of Philippines. This museum will interest anyone, especially history buffs as they can see all those interesting memorabilia, such as his books the visiting cards of a bygone era (Rizal was also a medical doctor).

Palawan and Boracay The next day we landed in

Palawan, the largest strip of islands in Philippines and the country’s largest province. It is a narrow archipelago comprising of 1,780 islands. Unlike other islands, it is geographically remote with some of the islands even closer to Malaysia.

It is a one-hour flight journey from Manila. Domestic carriers like Cebu Pacific and Sea Air have frequent flights to all major islands such as Palawan. There are ferry services from Manila to various


Photos clockwise from top: El Nido, Palawan Island;

Boracay Island; Boracay beach

DESTINATION

destinations. We were told Manila-Palawan ferry takes almost a day. But it must be worth trying if you have the time, for, you can watch up close the numerous islands and other signature attractions on your way. We took the Cebu Pacific flight – a 100-seat - and every one of us preferred a window seat to get a bird’s eye view of the islands and blue waters down under!

Rain greeted us when we landed at the Puerto Princesa City airport in the morning. After checking in to the hotel, we went for the city tour. Palawan is a sleepy and laid-back place but with all the modern facilities at your disposal.

There are varying theories to how Puerto Princesa got its name. Being a Spanish word, it is obvious that it has to do with the Spanish colonials. One story goes like this: in the ancient times, a beautiful princess used to roam the bay at night and thus the name. Another theory is that the name is derived from the uniqueness of the port: it is endowed with the natural protection from stormy weather across seasons with sufficient depth to allow ships of all sizes to anchor. Puerto Princesa is Spanish means Princess of Ports.

Known as the ‘Last Ecological Frontier of the Philippines’ on account of its unique ecological treasure trove, Palawan is home to 232 endemic species and a wide variety of flora and fauna. Because of its natural wonders, Palawan has the most number of protected areas in Philippines. Dotted with almost 11,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, the province is endowed with magnificent caves, virgin forests,

towering cliffs, rivers, ponds, streams and numerous creeks.

Puerto Princessa is the cleanest and greenest local government unit. No wonder it is the first and the only recipient of the UN Global 500 award for its innovative and sustainable environmental protection, conservation and development programmes.

Amazing are the ways the people of this land care for and conserve the environment. Criss-crossing the interiors of Palawan, one can really feel the tranquility in the air; clean environs and verdant land are too tempting for someone who loves nature. The place is untouched by civilisation, a civilisation whose hallmarks are mindless concrete structures and plastic-littered pathways. Special efforts are undertaken, involving tour operators and all other stakeholders at local levels, to conserve the nature and minimize the negative impacts of tourism.

Another attraction in Palawan is the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre. The crocodile farm, where crocodiles of various sizes are reared, is worth visiting. The Palawan bearcat here provides photo-op. Though it may look scary, this creature is a harmless one.

Aquatic wonders Having been born and raised in

a coastal region, a sea shouldn’t be a tempting proposition for me. But there is something so exhilarating about the blue aquatic wonders of Philippines. The white powder sandy beaches and crystal clear blue waters are too alluring to resist; too tempting even for those fearing water. And if you are a water

sports lover, this is the place to be in! On offer is a host of water-based activities such as snorkeling, helmet diving, fish fly, banana boating, etc.

We went for island hopping in a country boat, which is such a thrilling experience as you will get to see the myriad wonders of Philippines. Small islets and reefs of various sizes dot the sea. The blue ocean gives you the rush and the picturesque surroundings with small islands and islets are a lifetime experience.

As part of the itinerary, we were supposed to go for the underground river cruise, but couldn’t because the river was overflooded.

Unlike Palawan, one can see that Boracay is receptive to too much of tourism with plenty of resorts. But this ‘too much of tourism’ does not mean pollution and other resultant consequences we are used to witnessing in India. May be our ministers and industry stakeholders can take a lesson or two from these places.

Boracay looked much exciting than Palawan. Its powdery, soft sand and blue shallow waters are fun to play with. We stayed at Boracay Regency, close to the sea.

At Boracay and Palawan, we did snorkeling and helmet diving. Floating on the water, snorkeling provides you the perfect opportunity to get a closer view of the rich marine life – corals and hundreds of lovely small fish. There is no ‘diving’ in helmet diving! You go under the sea, may be 12-15 feet, with a oxygen cylinder-connected transparent helmet with the help of two trained guides; one of them

fitted with scuba/snorkeling gear. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Here you are, inside the Nature’s own Aquarium taking a closer view of the aquatic wonders such as the wonderful corals and the fish. You cannot stay longer, even though one would wish to stay longer period, as the pressure of underwater is too heavy to stand; you need to hold on to the helmet gear, lest you should falter and fall due to the underwater pressure.

We were treated to the best of food. If you are a seafood lover, Philippines is the paradise. Prawns, lobsters, various kinds of fish etc are on offer. But a small caveat: don’t expect that your pepper-induced Indian dream will come true as you await your Filipino food! Thanks to Luisa, the tourist officer from Philippines Tourism who was our tour guide throughout the itinerary, we were doing restaurant-hopping, savouring various delicacies.

I will be doing a disservice to Philippines if I don’t mention about the people there. Uncomplicated and friendly people minus the you-have-come-to-pollute-our-country kinda gaze at you. To use the term ‘tourist-friendly’ will be trivializing the cool nature of the people. After all, where else you will find cops greeting you with a friendly smile?

One week is not enough to relish the enormous beauty of this beautiful archipelago. 7107 islands! That’s the total number of islands in Philippines. Some are remote and uninhabited. But Palawan and Boracay were a microcosm of what must be in store in those numerous pretty islands out there!


RELIGIOUS TRAVEL

Halal travel: For the pious and obedient

Crescentrating rates establishments to help consumers make smart choices when traveling. Here its CEO-founder Fazal Bahardeen speaks to Voyager’s World about the potential of Halal-friendly travel market.

What do you mean by Halal-friendly travel? What prompted you to enter into the segment?

We are the pioneer and the world leader in ‘Halal-friendly travel’. For Muslim travellers ‘Halal-friendly travel’ means that they can explore the world with peace of mind by choosing those travel services and destinations that cater to their basic unique needs. For travel service providers it means to have services and facilities that take into account the needs of their Muslim guest.

We most definitely are the pioneers in this segment. We are not a form of Halal-certifying body though, as people sometimes confuse us to be.

Crescentrating rates establishments so that Muslim consumers can make smart choices when travelling. We don't convert establishments to be Halal-compliant or certify that they are Halal-compliant. We identify what features they have that will appeal to Muslim travellers and rate them on that basis and highlight those to our customers.

We ,of course, provide consultancy to the establishments on how to adopt their services and facilities to make it more ‘Halal-friendly’ without impacting the services they provide for other travel segments.

What was the inspiration?It began with an idea when my

previous work required that I travel comprehensively, and I found it difficult to cope with my basic needs as a Muslim traveller (Halal foods, prayers times, Qiblah direction, etc.). In 2006, I outlined a proposal with the goal of increasing awareness of the unique market segment to the industry with a Halal-friendly rating system.

By December 2008, I incorporated Crescentrating as a Singapore company with shareholders from Singapore and Dubai. It's been a gradual process but we have had immense success. In this short period we were also awarded the Halal Journal award for travel and hospitality in 2010.

Crescentrating is a rating system, which can be applied to businesses internationally, that allows establishments to be rated based on the services and facilities they provide to cater to the needs of Halal-conscious travelers.

Through Crescentrating, the service provider can choose the level of Halal-friendly services they are able to accommodate – from markings of the Qiblah direction in rooms to providing separate prayer rooms for males and females.

The establishment is then promoted on our website and other portals; this allows Muslim travellers to browse through various hotels, airports and restaurants and choose one based on the level of Halal-friendly facilities they are comfortable with.

Crescentrating benefits both the service provider and the Muslim traveler – we promote businesses to Halal-conscious travellers worldwide through our website, social media networks and various other forms of marketing, while giving travellers the option of making

educated choices when it comes to places to stay, eat or enjoy.

Our website, www.crescentrating.com, is a specialised portal focused on catering to the needs of Muslim travellers worldwide. Hotels, tours, mosques and restaurants are just a few of the topics you will find. For those looking for a nearby masjid, our website offers lists of mosque locations along with information on the language of the sermon as well as the map to help you get there.

How has been the growth and forecasts for the future?

We forecast the expenditure of the Muslim travellers to grow from the current 10 percent to around 14 percent by 2020. This will mean that they will be spending around 200 billion a year by then. Crescentrating has big plans for expansion in the near future. During the coming months, Crescentrating will launch rating services for theme parks, hospitals, restaurants, etc. and will eventually cover all facilities related to travel and hospitality.

What is your USP?Our USP is our rating system.

There's nothing else that compares – establishments in the travel and tourism industry are rated on how useful they would be to a Muslim consumer.

The Crescentrating System for hotels is based on a scale of one to seven, with seven being the highest rating given. Businesses with a rating of one to three are establishments with some Halal-friendly services and may provide information as to nearby mosques, restaurants, etc. Ratings of four to five are given to businesses that offer some level of Halal food services.

Establishments rated six or seven

are specialised establishments that serve only Halal food, no alcohol and have various family-friendly and Halal-friendly services available.

How do you market your offerings?

Our most important channel is our partners. We also use our website www.crescentrating.com. We also utilise various social media platforms.

How has been the response from the market?

There has been an overwhelmingly positive response from our core market and it is based on this that we have decided to expand into other rating systems.

Are Indians eager for your services?

Muslims who have the means and ability to travel, whether it be for leisure or business, and regardless of age, make use of our services. A majority of our current country statistics of consumers who refer to www.crescentrating.com hail from the Middle East – we have begun branching out to consumers in the UK and the US. Last year we partnered with Halal India and this has increased our popularity in India dramatically – there are many Indian Muslims using www.crescentrating.com to plan their halal-friendly travel itineraries.

Do you see high potential in your offerings in India?

Of course. India has many services and facilities that cater to Muslim inbound travellers. What is needed is to highlight them to the right market segment. Indian Muslims are also beginning to travel abroad for many reasons and our services will be a great help for them.


EVENTS / WTM

WTM 2012 visitors up 4% for first three days

The first three days of World Travel Market (WTM) 2012

experienced an impressive visitor increase of 4%.

Monday 5 to Wednesday 7 November saw 38,735 visitors walk through the doors of ExCeL – London to attend WTM 2012, reveals unaudited figures. This compares to 37,331 across the first three days of WTM 2011.

Wednesday November 7 witnessed a phenomenal 9% visitor increase, compared to the equivalent day last year, taking the total visitor number 13,638.

On Tuesday 6 November more than 17,000 (17,105) visitors came to WTM, a 1% increase on the second day of last year’s event. Tuesday is the busiest day of WTM

as it is the first day the event is open to the whole industry following on from the exhibitor-invite only policy on the Monday.

The first day of WTM 2012 was a resounding success with exhibitor invitation visitors up 5% on last year’s event to almost 8,000 (7,992). The Monday of WTM is an exhibitor Invite-only day with the aim of allowing exhibitors to hold discussions and negotiations with those buyers that they want to conduct business with.

Reed Travel Exhibitions Director World Travel Market Simon Press said: “I am delighted with the visitor attendance of WTM 2012 across the first three days. These figures demonstrate the power and importance of WTM to the industry

and the role it plays in facilitating business for sector.

“WTM 2011 generated £1,653

million in industry deals, with this year’s event poised to facilitate even more business for our exhibitors.”


AWARDS / CONFEDERACY

TAAI Travel Awards recognize best in the industry

OTOAI members meet held

The association appeals to the industry to focus on overall growth at the third edition of ITTE

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) felicitated the

winners of the fourth edition of the TAAI Travel Awards, held on October 22, 2012 in Mumbai. The awards were held alongside the Indian Travel Trade Expo (ITTE) 2012. The chief guest for the function was Subodh Kant Sahai, ex-Tourism Minister who felicitated the winners.

TAAI President Iqbal Mulla said: “These awards are in order to show our appreciation to the travel industry and encourage them to continue providing best-in-class services and products for the end consumer.”

A few of the important awards that were given out include Best Indian State Tourism Board awarded to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Best Heritage Hotel awarded to Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur and Best Leisure

Resort & Spa (Individual Property) awarded to The Oberoi, Vanyavilas, Ranthambore.

A special TAAI Appreciation Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Travel Trade in India was

given to Air India.ITTE 2012, inaugurated by

Maharashtra Tourism Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, also saw industry experts sharing their knowledge in four insightful and interactive business sessions conducted over

two days. The sessions on ‘Inside India,’ ‘Maximizing your Revenue’ and ‘Future Trends of Travel Trade in India’ were paneled by prominent personalities like Ashish Kumar Singh, Secretary to Chief Minister of

Maharashtra; Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary - Tourism, Civil Aviation & Pilgrimage, Govt of Gujarat; Dr. Adel El Masry, Director-India, Egyptian Tourism Office; Jasdev Singh, Director – Indian Subcontinent, Expedia; Rajeev Wagle, MD, Kuoni

India.A key business session on ‘The

United Voice’ - President’s Round Table, held on the second day of the expo, was specially arranged by TAAI where all the key travel and hospitality associations of India like Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA), and Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACCAI) were represented along with TAAI. This session brought together all the key associations from the travel and hospitality sectors and proved to be a great platform for the association leaders to voice their issues and problems.

ITTE 2012 hosted over 30 stalls and recorded around 850 visitors this year.

Second members’ meet of Outbound Tour Operators

Association of India (OTOAI) was held on October 26 in New Delhi.

Special invitee Stefan Ionkov, Head of Commercial & Economic Section and Tsveteline Getcheva, Visa Consullar from the Embassy of Bulgaria, gave insights about tourist destinations in Bulgaria.

President Guldeep Singh Sahni spoke about OTOAI’s achievements during the last three months with special focus on IT&CM Supporting Association Agreement for IT&CM-ASIA, IT&CM-CHINA and IT&CM-INDIA with compelling benefits for OTOAI members.

He informed that OTOAI has signed a MoU with the organizers of IT&CM, TTG Asia as supporting association to all IT&CM shows

(Thailand, china & India). 50% of hosted buyer quota for India will be allotted to OTOAI Active Members.

He said that more than 25

OTOAI members took part at PATA Travel Mart 2012 in Philippines. He informed that Macau Tourism Board, Philippines Tourism Marketing Office, Canadian Tourism Commission and Thailand Tourism Authority have joined OTOAI.

He also highlighted the service tax issue.

Stefan Ionkov assured to organize FAM trips for Indian outbound tour operators – to visit Bulgarian golf, spa and summer resorts; which will lead to the development of India’s tourism relations and as a result shall bring tourist groups from India to Bulgaria.


TRAVEL TRENDS

The India holidayer is maturing

Adventure is top reason for leisure travel

Indians are increasingly becoming open to exploring lesser known destinations, says Sunil Hasija, Executive Director, TUI India

How do you evaluate the Indian travel market at present?

The Indian travel market has been undergoing some rough time lately. The two key contributing factors are the increasing dollar rate and the increase in taxation in the airline industry. That is a double hit for the leisure traveller. Not only is the holiday getting more expensive,

the air tickets are too.

Top trends in the destination/holiday preferences in 2012

The compounded situation mentioned above has definitely led to a slight shift in the holiday preferences this year. Due to the rising dollar rate and airlines issues there has been a change in demand for destinations. We have seen a dip in travel to Europe and the Americas. Due to the rising exchange rates consumers are looking at options that are closer to home. Customers who would normally undertake 2-3 holidays a year are now opting for lesser number of holidays and/or looking at domestic destinations as well.

Top new outbound destinations to be visited by

Indians There is definitely an interest and

demand for newer destinations from the consumers. The India holiday maker is maturing in their choice and preference of destinations and hence, is increasingly becoming open to exploring the so-called lesser popular destinations. We are witnessing interest in destinations in East Europe like Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland etc. But at the same time are also exploring options to countries like South Africa, where the currency has been more stable.

TUI’s future plans Our focus will remain on

exclusive and differentiated products or experiences that you can only get from us. In India we intend to create a range of specific products

targeted at different customer segments, tailored to meet the tastes of the Indian consumer; at the same time as bringing some of our existing tried and tested unique brands from within our Specialist and Activity Division to the Indian market for the first time.

Challenges in the Indian travel market

A dollar which was dropping like a parachute and was at Rs 45 a year ago, is now at Rs.56-57. This is nearly a 20% increase. Everything bought abroad is now 20% more expensive. Hotels, food, transport, shopping. In a family of four, if a package gets more expensive by Rs 10,000/- one ends up paying an extra 40,000/- Clearly this has hit the travel industry especially the outbound leisure travel.

This year, adventure has been the most popular reason for

both domestic and international leisure travel with one in every four users searching for such an experience, reveals a survey by JourneyMart.com.

While destinations such as Auckland and Bali were among the favourites for international holidays in this segment, some of the most commonly researched domestic adventure destinations were Lansdowne, Auli, Aizawl and Naukuchiatal. There are various adventure options offered at these destinations including Trekking, Kayaking, Skiing and other

mountain activities. A family holiday was the second

most important reason for leisure travel with 17.5% users searching for the ideal family destination. While a large number of domestic travellers favoured the hills, those seeking international family holidays preferred destinations offering spa and wellness opportunities, followed closely by luxury experiences. Destinations such as Bhimtal and Lavasa, interestingly ranked amongst the top few domestic family holiday spots while internationally the favourites were Bangkok, Hong Kong, Langkawi and Barcelona.

Beach holidays emerged as the

third most preferred reason to travel. Most popular beach destinations are Bali, Phuket, Cape Town and Bora Bora. Among those looking at domestic travel options, only 9.7% opted for beach vacations, whilst 10.3% chose ‘Honeymoon’, making

it the third most common reason for leisure travel within the country. Kodaikanal, Kasauli, Shimla and Srinagar emerged as the hottest honeymoon destinations in India while Goa, Kovalam and Alibag are the favourite beach spots.


ANCESTRAL TRAVEL

HAVE YOU TRACED YOUR ROOTS YET?The desire to reconnect with one’s roots will emerge as a strong travel trend. Tom Nocera, Managing Director of Clearwater – Florida-based Ancestral Travel Network, speaks to Voyager’s World about ancestral travel and its potential, especially in emerging markets like India.

Ancestral travel and its potential

Ancestral travel is about planning visits for the purpose of finding out about the places where one’s family made their home during a particular period in time. It is about seeing the sights they would have been familiar seeing – both natural and man-made landmarks that do not change much over the centuries. It includes visits to the places where birth, death and marriage records are kept. It covers visits to family cemeteries to pay respects and learn more about one’s distant ancestors.

It also can involve working with skilled genealogists who can speak and read the language – especially the older variations of the languages spoken in a region which the ancestral traveler may not know, or not know fluently. It can involve looking up and building new relationships with one’s own cousins, and other relatives who are often still living in the area. It can involve scrapbooking the experience, photography, sampling the foods and beverages that are customary to the area, even purchasing clothing, antiques or other souvenirs to serve as family heirlooms.

Britain and Scotland figured out the vastness of its potential first

over a decade ago. Other countries realised the potential to market many international destinations. Genealogy or collecting information about one’s distant ancestors really took off with the advent of Internet.

Brief about the company Ancestral Travel Network

was set up to serve as a central gateway for ancestral travellers. A key to successful ancestral travel experiences is working with experienced tour guides and finding suitable lodging.

Other aspects include translation services and ideas for cultural side excursions. We set up a ‘Partners’ page, where those connections take place every day.

There has been a very serious economic downturn in the US. However, there is a pent-up demand. It’s on millions of people’s ‘bucket lists’ – the things they want to do, and places they want to go before they die (or ‘kick the bucket’ as the expression goes).

What is your USP?We can uniquely introduce

ancestral travellers to more deep information about their family homelands (note that is plural – we’ve all migrated over the centuries usually in search of greater opportunities, but sometimes as slaves, or prisoners of war, etc.) We introduce people to the Family Forest® Project, a 16-year effort to precisely digitally connect the family trees of humanity.

It can serve as the world’s leading resource for approximately two billion of earth’s current inhabitants. It is headquartered on the Big Island of Hawaii and expands its reach every day. Learn more about

the many ebooks as well as other resources currently being provided by its parent company, Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc at www.familyforest.com.

Have you tied up with the Indian travel trade?

So far we don’t have a connection in India. Expanding there is one of our priorities, and the same is true with other Asian nations. It is natural to start the development of Asia with India.

How do you see India as a market?

There are millions of people from India now living in the US and Canada. Many are now

second, third even fourth generation Americans who share Indian descent. They are definitely high value candidates for identifying, establishing partnerships with,

and of course, linking to via our Partners page.

We are receptive to connecting new ancestral travel destinations, Indian tourism sites, tour operators, lodging facilities, and genealogy professionals. We would be delighted if this coverage in Voyager’s World helps us identify and begin digitally linking to ancestral travel-related resources throughout India. Ancestral travel tie-ins can bring new visitors and help lengthen the visits of people coming to India from North America.

Marketing activitiesWe use Search Engine

Optimisation (SEO), word-of-mouth and social media. We have also designed a videogame, WAYBACK 2, with genealogy and travel components.

Major source marketsBritain, Scotland, Ireland are

considered the current frontrunners, mainly because we are based in the US and many of our early immigrants came from ports located in those nations. France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal follow. Sweden and Norway lead the Scandinavian countries followed by Finland. Hungary, Russia, Poland and Romania are now on the increase. We are seeing interest for Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Japan is very much a significant player. China is new to the concept. Those in Japan hold their ancestors in such high esteem and show their respect by visiting familial temples which are shrines to their ancestors.

Latest trends

Trends include digitally documenting ancestral travels via digital photography, Facebook and Instagram and of course video programmes being created overnight and YouTubed. Trends include more sharing of information with other family members via the Internet. I am also seeing the power of renewed family relationships in bringing families closer together and instilling a greater appreciation of cultural traditions.

ChallengesFor many, the challenge can be

summed up as uncertainty. There seems to be a reluctance to spend one's savings on overseas travel due to uncertainty about the future. In the US, there has been a focus on shorter vacations or what is called ‘staycations’ where people stay home and take day trips to nearby places. It is about conserving money for unforeseen future needs. This is the worst period for the US economy in my lifetime, the worst since the Great Depression.

Tom NoceraM D, Clearwater


FLIGHT TALK

Virgin Atlantic launches Mumbai-London with links to US cities

Virgin Atlantic has stated that its product investment programme

for India would reach more than £300m as it starts its flights from London Heathrow to Mumbai offering connections to New York, Boston, Washington, Miami and Chicago.

The two new A330 aircrafts with the latest Upper Class product to both Mumbai and Delhi represent a record product investment in the region for the airline. The Mumbai

launch also signifies the airline’s biggest connectivity offering and commitment to India. The move will also create 140 new jobs across India and the UK.

The restarting of the Mumbai route will double capacity to India for the airline with daily services to both key markets and strong connectivity to the US along with the UK. One million people fly between Mumbai and the UK each year, with the market increasing by 10% in the last two years alone. With India’s economy remaining one of the fastest growing in the world Virgin Atlantic expects passenger numbers to continue to rise.

The President of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson, said, “The importance of strengthening the connections between the economies of India, the UK and USA cannot be emphasised enough – our new daily connecting service from Mumbai all the way to USA will

be a winner for businesses across all three continents.

“Given the importance of both of our Indian markets, we are introducing our newest aircraft on flights from India which represents hundreds of millions of pounds of investment. Our arrival will offer the people of Mumbai more choice and a better service. It goes without saying that we will be bringing to Mumbai our unique product and services but with local relevance. With Indian food, Indian entertainment and warm Indian crew, I am confident Mumbaikars will choose to fly with Virgin Atlantic.”

The key market for the airline will be business travellers, passengers visiting friends and family and leisure travellers which represent 80% of the 300,000 plus passengers that the British airline will initially carry each year to and from India.

With its Mumbai route launch, Virgin Atlantic is seeking to build on

record demand for travel between Delhi, London and New York. Last year there was a 13% increase in the airline’s passenger numbers between Delhi and London. The airline attributes much of the increase to more passengers connecting via London.

The airline expects to develop this trend further with the introduction this weekend of a new service to New York. The latest addition to Virgin’s schedule mean passengers can connect seamlessly to New York along with the existing connection to Newark from Delhi also. This sixth daily service to New York will depart at night from Heathrow which returns early the next day from JFK airport.

Mumbai, along with London, will also have daily two way connections to New York, Boston and Washington along with four weekly connections to Miami and summer connectivity to Chicago.

Etihad Airways flies to Ahmedabad

Etihad Airways’ inaugural passenger flight to Ahmedabad

touched down at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on November 6. The new daily is the airline’s ninth service to India and connecting key strategic cities with its home base of Abu Dhabi.

In the lead up to the flight, Etihad Airways invited trade partners and agents on a ride on the Ahmedabad Eye Balloon Safari, before going to the airport to witness the arrival of the inaugural flight EY216 as it was welcomed with a traditional Indian lamp lighting ceremony.

The Ahmedabad Eye balloon has been prominently branded with the Etihad Airways logo for the past week to announce the new service which will offer nearly 1,000 seats a week into the Gujarati city.

Etihad Airways’ President and CEO James Hogan said, “Etihad Airways is committed to serving the Indian market and people, whether in India or the diaspora. We are

confident that the addition of the Ahmedabad service will further strengthen commercial and cultural ties between India and the UAE and will lead to continued strong growth

in traffic flows between India, Abu Dhabi and beyond.”

With the addition of Ahmedabad, Etihad Airways now flies to nine Indian destinations.

Neerja Bhatia and agents from Gujarat cutting the inaugural cake

Richard Branson


INDIA OUTBOUND

Oman to project as a qualityleisure destination

Oman’s target for 2013 will be to increase leisure travellers from India and enhance Oman’s positioning as a high end quality leisure destination, says Lubaina Sheerazi, Ministry of Tourism, Sultanate of Oman- India Representative

How has 2012 been for you? Where do you put India among all your source markets globally?

The year started with some power-packed action from Oman. We opened the year with roadshows in four cities- Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai and engaged with 800 plus agents across the country. We also released a coffee table book and the much

talked about campaign- ‘Opulent Oman’. We also participated in many trade shows and were able to take Oman to newer cities.

India is one of the most important markets today for all countries looking at boosting tourism. Indians love to travel and the industry has just opened up now.

With the number of Indians taking to travelling abroad it’s a huge opportunity for Oman to tap the young traveller’s minds. The destination has a lot to offer and the most important being its close proximity to India.

How do you think 2013 will be for the Indian outbound industry and your country?

India is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world. International tourism departures from India have grown from 3.7 million in 1997 to 11.5 million in 2011 and international

tourism expenditures have increased from US$ 1.3 billion in 1997 to US$ 8.2 billion in 2008 and over 12 million in 2010 and expected to reach over 20 million by 2015. With more than 1.3 billion inhabitants and GDP increasing by more than 6.9% every year, the country offers enormous potential for future growth in outbound travel. The UNWTO predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020 and that the total outbound spending will cross the US$ 28 billion mark in 2020.

Oman is one destination which has carved its niche in the tourism world. People know about the destination and the thrills it offers. Through this year’s focused approach we are confident that Oman will see a fruitful 2013.

Will the rupee slide have an adverse impact on the outbound travel?

It is the frequency of outbound travel that may take a dip; however, I don’t think it would really weaken or, as one says, have an adverse effect. Indian outbound travel looks promising for next year and I hope it remains so.

Do you expect a surge in tourist inflow from India in 2013?

We definitely are expecting an increase in the number of tourist footfalls to Oman in 2013. There has been a remarkable increase in the last two years and we hope to only up the destination through our efforts.

Connecting with the Indian travel trade

We will continue to build awareness in the trade, media and consumer community. Our primary objective for 2013 will be to increase leisure travellers from India and enhance Oman’s positioning as a high end quality leisure destination. We will also continue our focus on the established markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai and further strengthen the travel trade network in the cities of Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, which were tapped in the year 2012.

Road shows, participation in trade fairs, joint tactical promotions, familiarisation trips, trainings and incentive programmes are being chalked out for the trade. We are also working towards increasing visibility for Oman through Indian films.


INDIA OUTBOUND

France to launch ''Be There! Do That!'' campaign for 2013

France is all set to launch its campaign, ''Be There! Do That!'' for next year, which focuses on unique experiences in France, encouraging experiential travel, says Catherin Oden of Atout France.

How has 2012 been for you with regard to the Indian market? Where do you put India among all your source markets globally?

2012 has been fairly average yet promising for us. A lot of outbound travel this year has been affected by the economic scenario. In 2011, we welcomed 300,000 Indian tourists from the 80 million international visitors that come to France. We have witnessed a growth in Indian tourist arrivals over the last few years and this is extremely encouraging for us. We are cognizant of India's potential as a developing market and are hopeful of an increase in Indian visitors to our destination in the coming years.

How do you think 2013 will be for the Indian outbound industry and your country per se?

It will all depend on the prevailing economic situation. If the current scenario continues, people might take shorter holidays and perhaps to destinations closer to home. We are motivated to work around this economic challenge and will do our best to present France as an affordable destination. Depending on consumer trends and preferences, we will create communication strategies adapted to the needs and requirements of

our Indian guests.

Will the weakening rupee have an adverse impact on the outbound travel in 2013? Do you foresee a reversal?

The weakening of the rupee is inherently linked to global economies and eventually to travel. It would indeed be great news for all of us to expect a reversal. We can only hope that this phase gives way to a healthier economy ahead and that the rupee finds a strong footing vis a vis its global counterparts.


Over the last three years, France has witnessed a growth of 5% on this market. For 2013, we are hopeful of retaining this growth. We may not have huge numbers but we do hope to have an increase in FIT visitors.

Marketing strategies and budget plans for India in 2013

We are very pleased to launch our campaign, ''Be There! Do That!'' for next year. Today's keyword is ''experiences'' with visitors wanting to include novelties while on holiday. This campaign focuses on unique experiences in France, encouraging experiential travel. We want to present France in a

different light - we would like our guests to explore our regions, to go off the beaten track and discover the French way of life.

Our existing campaign, France Celebrates India will also continue in 2013. Aimed at presenting France as a warm and welcoming destination, France Celebrates India is an exciting collection of 70 odd travel offers designed and conceptualised for the Indian traveller.

Launched in 2011 with the support of our French and Indian travel partners, we put forth a collection of complimentary or discounted travel offers on a range of services spanning accommodation, travel, sightseeing , entertainment and other services. We will shortly present renewed offers for the

coming year.

Connecting with the Indian travel trade in 2013?

We are hopeful that our two campaigns find favour amongst Indian clients and we have more of Indian visitors to our shores. We work very closely with travel agents and tour operators on communication campaigns promoting France through various media platforms.

We are always ready to provide them with assistance for tailor making itineraries. In an attempt to encourage the agents to learn more about the destination, we have an online certified training system, divided into several modules. In collaboration with our partners, we also conduct trainings in various cities pan India.


INDIA OUTBOUND

Malaysia aims to promote high-end tourism

In 2013, Malaysia wishes to promote itself as a choice holiday and business tourism destination for travellers from India, in addition to promoting wedding tourism, says Manoharan Periasamy, Director, Tourism Malaysia

How has 2012 been for you with regard to the Indian market? Where do you put India among all your source markets globally?

Malaysia welcomed 11,632,478 tourist arrivals for the first six months of 2012, registering a growth of 2.4% compared to 11,362,862 arrivals for the same period last year.

Correspondingly, total tourist receipts from January to June 2012 rose by 4.0%, generating RM26.8 billion for the country’s revenue compared to RM25.7 billion in 2011.

The ASEAN region continued to be the largest contributor of tourist arrivals. The Philippines recorded the highest growth of 45.3% year-on-year followed by China (34.2%), Japan (32.5%), Indonesia (20.0%), India (6.9%) and the United Kingdom (5.9%).

Other long-haul markets that had posted remarkable growth were Oman (33.2%), Russia (28.2%), France (20.6%), USA (18.9%), South Korea (18.0%), Kuwait (17.4%) and Denmark (15.7%).

How do you think 2013 will unfold for the Indian outbound industry in general and your

country in particular? The Indian outbound travel

market is expected to increase at a compounded growth rate of over 25% over the period 2010 to 2015. With a population of more than 1.1 billion and GDP growth of more than eight percent per annum, the country offers enormous potential for future growth in outbound travel. It reveals clear opportunities for market segmentation and niches, and the market has already shown signs of maturing in the past year alone.

In addition, for 2013, we wish to promote Malaysia as a choice holiday and business tourism destination for travellers from this country. Malaysia offers many exciting events and fascinating attractions to Indian visitors.

Will the weakening rupee have an adverse impact on the outbound travel in 2013? Do you foresee a reversal?

ASEAN saw a 1% decrease in arrivals due to the change in recording arrivals based on the nationality instead of the country of residence; thus expatriates working/living in ASEAN countries were not regarded as ASEAN travelers. This reflected in the decreased arrivals from Singapore (-4.8%), Thailand (-11.5%), Brunei (-1.2%) and

Cambodia (-4.2%).This change has also affected

Australia arrivals which declined by 10.4% since many Australian permanent residents were nationals of other countries such as New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, India and China.

Despite the economic slowdown in India, its number of outbound

tourists is rising year on year.


Certainly, in the year ahead, Tourism Malaysia aims to promote high-end tourism like spas, eco-tourism, golf, exotic destinations, etc. We aim to tap new markets too, and reach a wider audience by going beyond Tier 1 markets, to Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. To achieve this, we will ensure that travel agents in the top 30 towns in India are equipped with all the relevant information they need to market Malaysia to their customers. We will

also conduct special events in order to attract Indian tourists.

What will be your marketing strategies and budget plans for the Indian market in 2013?

A segment that has grown exceedingly well in Malaysia is the wedding segment. Many discerning

Indian families now prefer to host their weddings in more exclusive surroundings and Malaysia has plenty of those. In 2011, over 30 Indian weddings were held in Malaysia.

More than a dozen of India’s leading wedding planners have been taken on hosted tours to Malaysia, to discover the best that is on offer. Many wedding

networking dinners are also being organised.

We have drafted several affordable travel packages and tie-ups with Malaysia Airlines and other 5-star properties. These packages are very attractive and we are getting a tremendous positive response for the same.

Honeymoon packages are our premium products. Couples hire lonely islands to be together, away from the hustle and bustle of life.

What will be your programmes to lure Indian tourists?

Malaysia has always been a favourite honeymoon destination for


INDIA OUTBOUND

Indians. This is so because of the relatively close proximity, the widest possible range of accommodation options and locations spread from pristine beaches to exotic tea estates and luxury city hotels. A wealth of shopping options and spa and wellness facilities are other attractions that keep the honeymooners occupied. There are Indian honeymooners who are already moving beyond Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi to islands such as Tioman and the states of Sabah and Sarawak to experience that exotic touch.

We do promote Malaysia as a wedding destination in Indian fairs, our sales missions and presentations. Besides this, we

have conducted many FAM tours for Indian wedding planners to experience first-hand the services and facilities available, as well as possible venues for different budgets. This will be a continuous process in the years to come, because this segment from India is growing.

The favourite destinations are Langkawi, Pangkor, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia also offers exotic destinations like Sabah and Sarawak for Indians who are seeking locations closer to nature. We expect many more Indian weddings in Malaysia in 2012.

We are planning to schedule our Sales Mission 2013 / Roadshow in January 2013.

Tourism Flanders to use Brussels as a gateway

Senior-level Flemish delegation meets leading players in the

Indian travel industry Tourism Flanders (Belgium) is

further strengthening its marketing initiatives in the Indian market in view of the encouraging outbound travel trends to Western Europe. A senior delegation headed by Geert Bourgeois, Vice Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, was on a week-long visit to New Delhi and Mumbai recently.

The delegation interacted with the key players of the Indian government, tourism industry, media, airline and trade partners. “Flanders has a lot to offer to Indian tourists: historic art cities, Flemish

cuisine, art and culture, shopping, diamonds as well as fashion. We want to channel all our activities in introducing these segments to the Indian market. An important event in Flanders in the coming years will be the commemoration of World War I, which will start in 2014. World War I witnessed a significant participation by the Indian soldiers as part of the Commonwealth Forces”, commented Bourgeois.

The visit includes a meeting with the Minister’s counterpart in the Government of India and senior officials of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Indian Diamond Council & Export Zone in Mumbai.

Besides pure visitor arrivals, Tourism Flanders is also targeting to enhance the visitor experiences by encouraging tour operators to use Brussels as a gateway for their European itineraries, by leveraging on its connectivity to other popular destinations in EU.

Peter De Wilde, Administrator-General, Tourism Flanders adds: “In 2011, Indian arrivals grew up by 14% despite the challenges of the contracting global economic

situation; we expect to sustain the positive growth in 2012 as well. We are mainly targeting Delhi National Capital Region and Greater Mumbai. Besides these primary source markets, we have now also expanded our reach to key secondary Indian cities.”

Earlier this year, Tourism Flanders conducted a nationwide survey to study the diverse yet understudied Indian outbound travel market. The study targeted to 765 consumers and 417 travel trade professionals included trade preparedness in addressing emerging outbound travel trends,

destination perceptions, travel motivators and channels influencing travel planning process. The key findings reveal that most of the participants associate destination Flanders with its popular Belgian chocolates. The fact that Belgium produces 170,000 tonnes of chocolates every year in over 2,000 chocolate shops was rated as the top most tempting element about the Fabulous Flanders.

Other major destination elements like theme parks, Belgian beer brands, diamonds and gourmet cuisine also add to its appeal in the Indian market.

Bruges-Bridge and Canal

Genting Skyway

Geert Bourgeois


INDIA OUTBOUND

Tourism New Zealand hinges on ‘Indian Active Considerers’Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager- South and South East Asia New Zealand, talks about the potential of the Indian market in the country’s tourism landscape. Excerpts from an interview she gave to Voyager’s World:

Where do you put India among all your source markets across the globe?

India is New Zealand’s 12th largest inbound market and visitor numbers continues to grow. In the period year ending July 2012, 29,552 Indians visited New Zealand (+1.7%). In the same period, there were 14,096 holiday arrivals from India (+4%).

TNZ believes that there is potential for significant growth from the Indian market. India is an important market for New Zealand with visitors usually travelling through the shoulder season, a

time where visitor numbers to New Zealand are lower.

Do you expect a surge in tourist inflow from India in 2013? • New Zealand’s total visitor

arrivals during the 2010 to 2012 period were as follows:

2009: 25,336; 2010: 29,486; 2011: 28,310 (all calendar year

figures)• Our holiday arrivals during the

2011 to 2012 period were: 12.841 (year ending February

2010), 14,636 (year ending February

2011), 13,106 (year ending February

2012).

Our target market in India are what is referred to as the ‘Active Considerers’, generally aged over 18 who are seriously considering New Zealand as one of their next preferred holiday destinations. Based on Tourism New Zealand’s research, it is estimated there are over 21 million Indian Active

Considerers.We continue to invest in growing

the Indian market, and as for the year 2013 it is expected that the Indian inbound arrivals will continue to rise.

Connecting with the Indian travel trade

We have just concluded our major travel trade event in India, called Kiwi Link India. This was

held during August, with over 30 New Zealand tourism operators participating in the event in New Delhi and Mumbai. The event saw Tourism New Zealand and their operators train over 280 travel agents during the programme.

TNZ will be taking part in SATTE with some New Zealand Operators in January 2013.

TNZ will be running the Kiwi Link South & South East Asia in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2013 and a number of Indian product managers will be invited to attend.

Outlook for 2013 with regard to the Indian market

We are confident about the steady growth of the Indian market in 2013, and the organisation will continue to work with partners on

the ground to make New Zealand a top of mind destination in India.

Efforts to boost tourist inflow from India

We will continue its marketing efforts in India, focusing on the honeymoons, families and business events sectors. These activities will be integrated across a range

Tunnel beach walk, Dunedin


INDIA OUTBOUND

of marketing channels including advertising, promotional, public relations and travel trade and airline partnership work.

New destinations being promoted in 2013 among Indians Over The Top

Join specialised mountain guides on an expedition of discovery to a beautiful and endangered New Zealand glacier location. Departing from Queenstown, The West Coast Glacier Explorer Scientific Expeditions is a new product where your itinerary is limited only by your imagination. Don Crampons for a traverse over an ice blue glacier, enjoy a high altitude luncheon and learn about the rate of recession and effect of the warming of the globe on this frozen frontier.

Millbrook gets teppanyakiMillbrook Resort is about to

open the Queenstown region’s first Japanese teppanyaki grill restaurant. Kobe Cuisine is opening

that the 5-star resort in early September and will offer lunch and dinner 7 days a week, with seating for up to 18 people at one time.

Southern Lakes SightseeingSouthern Lakes Sightseeing

are pleased to present the newest addition to our world renowned tours, a tour especially for those interested in seeing Middle-earth from Paradise.

This tour is recommended for those who want a tour through some of the most famous scenery in the Queenstown-Southern Lakes area, with a distinct Lord of the Rings focus and flavour throughout the day.

The tour includes some specific locations from the making of the Lord of the Rings, as well as a snapshot of Glenorchy itself, delicious cafe-style lunch at a local Glenorchy favourite, and a chance to explore the Paradise Valley in all its scenic glory. Where the Trails of Middle Earth tour immerses travellers more in the production of the Lord of the

Rings, the Glenorchy tour takes you on a journey into the real-life 'Lord of the Rings country'. Tours include café lunch and pick up/drop off from central Queenstown.

Welcome Aboard - Punting on the Avon

Welcome Aboard is pleased to be back in their city Worcester Street Bridge landing site from Saturday August 18th. Entry to the site is from the Gloucester Street & Oxford Terrace corner. This 30 minute punt trip will take visitors on the Avon River through the central city.

Punting is still operating from the Antigua Boat Sheds for a punt ride through Hagley Park alongside the Botanic Gardens.

Tourism Holdings Limited (THL) - Black Odyssey

THL and The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company have recently announced their new dry caving experience, Black Odyssey. This four hour caving adventure

takes the ‘high’ way through the Ruakuri Cave as visitors traverse across black chasms, edge across bridges elevated above roaring streams, spider-walk through ancient rift passages and challenge themselves with high rope work, abseiling and flying foxes. Black Odyssey tours will be available from December 2012.

Skyline Star Gazing Skyline Star Gazing will take visitors to a specially constructed area high above the main complex, where there is no trespassing light, allowing for a clear view of the night sky. Top-of-the line telescopes will give stargazers the chance to view the Southern Cross,nebula, planets, the Milky Way and other galaxies.

The star gazing tours will be headed up by experienced astronomer and Skyline Star Gazing Co-Ordinator Matt Hall. Hall has joined Skyline Star Gazing from the Mt John Observatory at Lake Tekapo and brings with him over four years’ experience as an astronomy guide.


INDIA OUTBOUND

Korea as a preferred destination for MICE

Jae-Sang, Lee, Director of Korea Tourism Organization, talks about the potential of Korea as a major MICE market.

How has Korea been performing in the MICE market?

Since the turn of the century, Korea has achieved an enormous growth in meetings and convention industry by ranking 8th in the number of meetings and conventions by Union of International Associations in 2011. Especially, international meetings held at Seoul in 2010 increased 33 percent compared to the previous years, recording 201 meetings. Seoul was ranked ahead of famous cities like Tokyo, Geneva and Barcelona and recorded number five in the world as a global convention city. With milestone events like the 2010 G20 Summit, Korea’s awareness as a meeting destination has heightened.

In order to boost the country as one of the top five convention destinations in the world, the Korean government has declared this year as the 2012 Korea Convention Year to overlap with the final year of the Visit Korea Year 2010-2012 campaign to boost the number of inbound tourists to Korea.

In addition, the 2012 Korea Convention Year joined forces with the Korea MICE Alliance, which is a union of regional convention bureaus, destination management companies and professional congress organizers, so that each city’s unique incentive plans are maximized for participants in any of the nine convention destinations all

across Korea. On a national level, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) will increase financial subsidies to the organizers of MICE events.

Some of the well known MICE Venues are COEX, Songdo Convensia, Kintex, EXCO and ICC Jeju to name a few.

We expect almost 10% increase in the grow rate for 2012.

Please share numbersResult of 2011 MICE in Korea:

We expect almost 10% increase in the grow rate for 2012

Has recession affected the MICE business from India?

Definitely not because many Indians travelling to Korea are business travelers especially from the MICE sector. Korea is a MICE planner’s preferred choice with a world-class infrastructure and Korea is far advanced in technology. Whatever the size and requirement of MICE, Korea fits the bills so Indians should come to Korea for the quality and value pricing.

The high disposable incomes and easy accessibility to overseas destinations has made Indian travellers quite experimental in their approach. Though the prevalent scenario of high air fares and economic slowdown is proving to be rather challenging for the tourism industry, it poses no real threat to the Indian traveller. The Indian traveller is always evolving and will not be deterred by the ongoing problems.

Marketing initiatives to lure

more MICE inflow from IndiaThe Korean government has

declared the year of 2012 as Korea Convention Year. This will strategically overlap with the final year of the Visit Korea Year 2010–2012 campaign.

Various programmes by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the KTO in cooperation with seven MICE Alliances in regional convention destinations have been planned to provide better services

and support to MICE participants and organisers as well. During the 2012 Korea Convention Year, special support and incentives for events in Korea will be provided for qualified meetings, conventions and incentive tours. Convention centers and hotels will offer discounts on meeting venues up to 10 percents.

Incentives like traditional performances tickets, souvenirs, tour programmes and more may also be provided for qualified events. To qualify for the Korea Convention Year’s incentive programme, conventions should meet the Union of International Associations (UIA) meeting criteria while incentive tours and corporate meetings should have more than 100 foreign participants.

The event, which may take place between 2012 and 2015, is required to confirm that Korea will be its host country during the year 2012. Events with more than 500 participants from the Asian region only or those with more than 1,000 international participants may qualify for airline discounts.

How do you add value to the discerning corporate travelers from India?

Korea is taking its place in the world tourism stage by warmly welcoming visitors from around the world through the Visit Korea Year Campaign, held from 2010 through to the end of 2012.

Korea and India share an inseparable link which is reflected in their traditions, culture, heritage, economic, trade and tourism ties. The year 2012 has a unique mix of arts, film, sports, cultural and environmental events that highlights the campaign and positions Korea as a must visit destination for the Indian market.

The Visit Korea Year Campaign aims to make all the delightful elements of Korea even more accessible and exciting. An extensive variety of special events and promotions have been put in place to ensure that vacationing in Korea exceeds your expectations. Highlights include a 3+1/4+1 sale on select hotel rooms called the One More Night Promotion, and a free shuttle service to destinations as Busan, Gyeongju, and Jeonju. There will also be fun filled events throughout the Visit Korea Year period. A discount coupon for up to 30% off for using KTX (Korea Train Express) is issued to foreigners.

Korea boasts of at least 300 Indian restaurants, of which around 50 are in the capital city alone, so the Indian corporate traveller can feel at home.

MICE planners are focusing on Korea’s unique culture. The most requested visits are historical sites and cultural programmes throughout the peninsula. Special cultural programmes as Taekwondo training courses and Temple Stays, for instance, enrich the participant’s experience as it is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


INDIA OUTBOUND

Malaysia is showcasing i-City as the latest tourist spot in Shah

Alam, Selangor. Dubbed the City of Digital Lights, it is reputed to be the first lightscape tourist destination in Malaysia.

Showcasing state-of-the-art LED technology, i-City is an exciting and fascinating place to visit, especially during festive seasons such as the Chinese New Year. The combination of the LED lights technology and traditional element presents a strong selling point for i-City.

As visitors stroll around the colourful forest that resembles a four-season park, they get to see dozens of wonderful sculptures. Besides that, many beautiful red and yellow lanterns can also be seen. The sculptures and themes, as well as the lighting decoration in i-City are changed periodically. Hence, there will always be something new for visitors to see and enjoy.

With beautiful scenery and unique display of dazzling digital lights, it is not a surprise that i-City is a haven for shutterbugs. It also provides a beautiful setting for wedding photography.

With numerous bulbs lighting up i-City nightly, some people might be concerned about their effect on the environment. i-City is quick to assure that the digital lights with total power consumption equivalent to about four shop lots, are environment-friendly.

i-City has hosted various large-scale events and programmes, such as Malaysia’s Independence Day Celebration on 31 August and the Mid-Autumn Festival. During

Malaysia showcases i-Citythe 2010 World Cup, i-City also screened the matches live from Johannesburg on its 6.5m x 8.5m video wall, the largest video screen in Southeast Asia.

i-City is open 24 hours a day

as it has been approved as a technopreneur campus, where cosmopolitan lifestyle outlets can operate on a 24-hour basis. Under this concept, i-City will be a ‘gated but open’ zone where security, traffic

management, landscaping, rubbish management and township services will be i-City’s responsibility.

This is in recognition of i-City as a night tourist destination and a knowledge hub.


Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival, Bruges23 November 2012-6 January 2013

Cologne Carnival, GermanyNovember 11, 2012

International Balloon Festival, Thailand23-25 November, 2012

Rann Utsav, Gujarat, India15 December 2012 -31 January, 2013

The annual Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival in Bruges is a unique winter experience, with international artists creating a fantasy world with ice

and snow. This year being the 10th edition, the event will take place at the railway station square in Bruges, featuring Disneyland Paris in ice. In a special thermal and cooled tent, the sculptures are created with about 300 tons of clear ice and 400 tons of fresh snow, at a temperature of minus 5o Celsius. The blocks are up to two metres high. A single block weighs easily two tons and takes up to four weeks to complete. Working with ice in an enclosed space is a dangerous business. The artists need to be mindful of sliding and falling chunks.

The Cologne street carnival begins at 11.11am on Women’s Day, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. Offices and businesses close, with

hordes of people streaming into the old quarter and Südstadt from the early morning onwards. All day long, it is customary for ‘mad’ women to cut off men’s ties. The Carnival Saturday is the day of the first processions through Cologne’s districts. The evening then brings the ghost parade and lavish costume balls and ceremonies in the city’s halls. The official highpoint of Cologne carnival is the Rose Monday procession – the excitement overflows and even the most straight-laced of locals get caught up in the spirit.

The balloon festival in Thailand is a major activity in which everyone in the family joins and enjoys. There are demonstrations of balloon lifting

into the air in which visitors have the opportunity to travel in a balloon, buy local agricultural products, demonstrations of viticulture by Thai and foreign producers in which visitors can taste wine as well as have barbecue. There are dance performances, arts and crafts exhibits, food and beverage, souvenir shops and various games and contests. Each balloon’s height is equal to a seven-storey building with various decorative designs. The spectacular event comes with a colourful display of light and sound with fireworks and music that one should not miss.

Rann Utsav is a colourful carnival organised by Gujarat Tourism on the white salt desert expanses in Kutch every year in the month of

December. During the moonlit nights, the salt flats of the Rann are bathed in silvery light and the desert comes to life with folk songs, dance and other festivities. Guests are housed in tents with all modern facilities and treated to traditional Kutchi food whilst enjoying performances. The carnival showcases vernacular art and craft as well as architecture and is the best way to get closer to the varied and colourful life of the people living there. There are tours arranged to nearby sightseeing places like the beach and villages.

FESTIVAL WATCH

www.visitflanders.com

The German National Tourist Board

www.tourismthailand.org

www.gujarattourism.com


Christmas and New Year in SpainDecember 22 –January 6

The Spanish Christmas usually kicks off on December 22 with the world’s biggest lottery draw called the El Gordo (The Fat One). This takes place

over many hours throughout the day. The prize fund for the lottery totals to 2.1 billion Euros. One may even find whole towns and villages clubbing together to buy tickets. On Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve), the locals gather at the city’s main squares and eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. The big day of giving presents, called the Dia de los Reyes Magos or the Three Kings Day, falls on January 6, the day of the Epiphany. The Three Kings and their helpers ride on horses or floats and distribute thousands of sweets and goodies to the people lining the street.

Rostock Christmas Market, Germany22 November-22 December

T he Christmas market at Rostock is the largest and one of the most gorgeous X’mas markets in North Germany. Father Christmas traditionally

arrives in the town harbour by boat, along with the fairy godmother and a retinue of fairies, to open the market. Some of the attractions include a stage of the fairytale castle, archery tournaments, carrousels, fairytale tent and story tellers. Tall and well-lit X’mas trees, old town hall, stalls selling traditional crafts and food take one back to the Middle Ages. At dawn and in the evenings, fire bowls and flaming torches spread a warm festive spirit. Candied apples, deep-fried bananas, doughnuts, burnt almonds, Swedish biscuits, wine and smoked sausages are some of the treats sold here.

Hogaita-Ichi Fair, Tokyo17-19 December, 2012

T The Hagoita-Ichi (Battledore Fair) is an annual fair held in the premises of the Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. About 50 open-air stalls sell

hagoita (battledores), shuttlecocks, kites and other New Year decorations. This fair dates back to the Edo Period, but it became popular after World War II. A hagoita is a rectangular board with a handle used for playing a New Year game called Hanetsuki. It involves hitting badminton shuttlecocks with large ping-pong rackets. These battledore are not for practical use; they are used as lucky charms and for decoration. The front of the hagoita is designed with images of popular celebrities, athletes and anime characters. The sellers and buyers to clap their hands in harmony whenever a battledore is sold.

Chichibu Yomatsuri takes place in the ancient Chichibu Shrine in Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture. It is one of Japan’s three greatest float festivals,

along with the Gion Matsuri and the Takayama Matsuri. Two large parasol-like objects called ‘kasabok’ are decorated with spears and artificial flowers and four yatai floats shaped like small houses and paraded through the streets. In the afternoon, the floats are changed into stages by pulling out the wings to perform Kabuki plays. The highlight unfolds on the evening of 3 December when the floats, weighing 10-20 tons each and lit up with countless lanterns, climb up a steep slope with a mikoshi (a portable shrine) accompanied by the sound of drums, flutes, fireworks and shouts of ‘Ho-ryai’.

FESTIVAL WATCH

Japan National Tourism Organization

Tourism Office of Spain

The German National Tourist Board

Japan National Tourism Organization

Chichibu Yomatsuri, Japan2-3 December, 2012


Riviera Cruise debuts in Miami in November

Crystal Cruises opens bookings for 2014, 2015

Riviera, Oceania Cruises’ newest ship in the upper-

premium cruise segment, arrives at her homeport of Miami on November 29, 2012 for her inaugural winter season. Riviera will sail five Caribbean voyages over 12 departure dates featuring ports of calls from the exotic Eastern to the deep Southern Caribbean.

Guests can enjoy the sun-drenched beaches, natural

wonders and the diverse cultures of the Caribbean while foodies can experience the line’s new Culinary Discovery Tours exploring the local food offerings of the islands side-by-side with an expert chef.

Riviera comes to the U.S. fresh from her inaugural European season, which kicked off in May after a gala christening ceremony in Barcelona.

Kunal S. Kamlani, President,

Oceania Cruises, said, “With Miami as Riviera’s home port this winter, our guests will have the opportunity to enjoy this truly outstanding ship while experiencing all that the Caribbean has to offer.”

The 1,250-guest Riviera is purpose-built for epicureans with six open-seating, gourmet restaurants – including a French bistro by Master Chef Jacques Pépin. Interior design highlights include a Lalique-designed grand staircase, elegant public rooms, spacious accommodations and Owner’s Suites furnished exclusively in Ralph Lauren Home.

Travellers can choose from five different itineraries over 12 departure dates such as Idyllic Isles, an 11-day roundtrip from Miami to Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Antigua, Gustavia, Puerto Rica and Barbados; Mayan Mystique, a 10-day roundtrip to George Town, Mexico, Belize, Santo

Tomas, Honduras and Florida; Island Holiday, a 14-day roundtrip to Virgin Gorda, Philipsburg, San Juan, St. Vincent, Bridgetown and British Virgin Islands and Caribbean Hideaways, a 10-day roundtrip to Curacao, Grenado, Aruba, Willemstad, Kingstown and St. Barts.

Food lovers can partake in Oceania Cruises’ popular Culinary Discovery Tours and explore the gastronomic landscape of several Caribbean ports. These tours take culinary enrichment to a new level combining hands-on classroom learning in the Bon Appétit Culinary Center with visits to local food markets alongside the ship’s chefs. In Tortola, for example, the Culinary Discovery Tour includes a visit to Good Moon Farm, an organic oasis of plants and crops where the planting is orchestrated around the lunar cycle.

In a luxury industry-first, Crystal Cruises recently opened for

booking, its full year of ultra-luxe, worldwide voyages for 2014, plus itineraries up to mid-April 2015. New seven- to 89-day cruises in 2014 are among the 61 sailings aboard Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, with 16 maiden calls, 194 total ports and 68 countries, including a glamorous World Cruise. Early 2015’s global calendar offers 15 exotic cruises and a 20th World Cruise, as well as nine maiden calls and a return to ports Crystal has not visited in more than a decade.

Under the 2014 itineraries, UNESCO World Heritage Sites are featured on 54 of 61 cruises, visiting 135+ historical destinations

such as Istanbul, Dubrovnik, Tallin, Casablanca and Takoradi.

The new ports include Galway, Ireland; Luanda, Angola; Lombok, Indonesia; Ibiza, Spain; Oban, Scotland; Skagen, Denmark; and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. The return trips to places less-frequented by Crystal include the Andaman Islands; Brunei; Ghana; Helsingborg, Sweden; Ko Samui, Thailand; Zihuatanejo, Mexico; Tokyo, Japan; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Korcula, Croatia.

The highlights of 2015 include Crystal’s 25th anniversary year of ultra-luxury cruising with brand new itineraries from January to mid-April. New ports include Ambodifototra and Tôlanaro, Madagascar;

Richards Bay, South Africa; Sanya, China; and Albany, Australia. There will be returns to locales less-frequented include Alter do Chão, Brazil; Yantai, China; and Maputo, Mozambique.

“we are constantly pushing ourselves to find new ways to show the world to savvy travelers,” says Jack Anderson, Senior Vice

President-Marketing & Sales, Crystal.

“Our 2014 to early 2015 calendar is especially exciting, with dozens of new routes and places to see, via one of the most pampering ways one can travel- a Six-Star Crystal cruise.” Crystal Cruise is represented in Inida by Comfort Leisure Pvt LTD.

Owners Suite Bedroom

Crystal Symphony at sea


INCREDIBLE INDIA

Madhya Pradesh: Something for everyone’s taste!

KANHA NATIONAL PARKThe Kanha National Park in

Madhya Pradesh is alive with sal trees, bamboo forests, rolling grasslands and winding brooks over a sprawling 940 sq km. The area is the mainstay of the Kanha Tiger Reserve founded in 1974 under Project Tiger. The Kanha National Park is the sole habitat of the rare hard-ground Barasingha or swamp deer.

The Forest Department guides accompany visitors around the park to see a cross-section of Kanha’s wildlife. The best areas are the meadows around Kanha where blackbuck, Chital and Barasingha can be seen throughout the day. The Bamni Dadar, also known as Sunset Point is one of the most beautiful areas of the park, to spot sambar, barking deer, Gaur or Indian bison and the four-horned antelope. There are around 22 species of mammals in Kanha.

Less commonly seen species are the Tiger, Indian hare, dhole or Indian wild dog, barking deer and Indian bison or gaur. Visitors can sometimes get lucky with spotting elusive animals like the jungle cat, sloth bear, nilgai, ratel, porcupine, mouse deer, leopard, striped hyena and Indian fox. Wolves, Indian pangolin, India otter and civet can be seen outside the park’s northern boundary.

The park has some 200 species of birds like cattle egret, pond

heron, black ibis, common peafowl, crested serpent, racket-tailed drongo, hawk eagle and red wattled lapwing, flycatcher, woodpecker, pigeon, dove, parakeet, babbler and mynah, Indian roller and grey hornbill.

Tourists can opt for government jeeps that are available on hire to tour the park or go on elephants for tiger tracking.

Best Season: The best time to visit is from February to June, although the cool season is more comfortable. The park is closed from July to mid-October due to monsoons.

For a first –time visitor, a mimimum of three nights is recommended to stay and spot various animals. How to reach:

Khatia (3 km from Kisli) and Mukki are the two main entry points to the Kanha National Park. From Jabalpur, Kisli is 165 km via Chiraidongri and Mukki is 203 km via Motinala and Garhi.

By Air: Nearest airports are at Jabalpur (160 km), Raipur (240 km) and Nagpur (335 km).

By Rail: Jabalpur and BilaspurBy Road: There are daily bus

services from Jabalpur to Kisli and Mukki.

Taxis are available for hire from Jabalpur, Bilaspur and Raipur. It is advisable to reach Kisli before sunset as vehicles are not permitted within the park after dark.

JABALPURFrom being the seat of the Gond

kings and the Kalchuri dynasty several centuries ago, to being ruled by the Marathas and later the British, Jabalpur has a number of heritage and natural attractions, the most famous being the Marble Rocks at Bhedaghat, Dhuandhar Falls and Bargi Dam.

Jabalpur is the most convenient point of access to Kanha (165 km) and Bandhavagarh (190) National Parks. The Dumna Nature Reserve is an eco-tourism reserve that shelters spotted deer, jackal, porcupine, wild boar and many speicies of birds.

Bargi Dam: Located at about 40 km from southwest Jabalpur city near Bijora village, the Bargi Dam over River Narmada is one of the major dams in Madhya Pradesh. There are local cruises at the Bargi Boat Club and also a cruise ride to Mandla, which is a five-six hour journey. Tourists can alight at Mandla for onward journey to Kanha by road, which is 100 km or stay overnight at Mandla and return to Bargi the following day.

The scenic Temar falls is a popular attraction near the dam site.

MARBLE ROCKSThe Marble Rocks at Bhedaghat

are perpendicular magnesium limestone rocks flanking River Narmada on either side, rising to a

height of 100 feet. Boating facilities are available between November and May. These charming marble white tops transform the whole river into a silver stretch on a moonlit night, making the experience enchanting.

Dhuandhar Falls: River Narmada twists her way through the Marble Rocks and tapers down to plunge in a waterfall called as the Dhuandhar or a cascade of smoke. The plunge narrow, making its way through the Marble Rocks, narrows down and then plunges in a waterfall known as Dhuandhar or smoke cascade.

Chaunsath Yogini Temple: Not very far from here is the Chaunsath Yogini Temple. This 10th century temple has exquisitely carved figures of deities belonging to the Kalchuri period.

Nearby attractions: The 12th century Madan Mahal Fort; Rani Durgavati Memorial and Museum, exhibiting a fine collection of sculptures, inscriptions and prehistoric relics; the Tilwara Ghat and the Narmada Club.

How to ReachBy Air: Jabalpur By Rail: Jabalpur, on the

Mumbai-Howrah via Allahabad main line, is the main railhead. All mail, express and passenger trains halt here.

By Road: frequent buses, taxis, tempos from Jabalpur

Best Season: Oct and May.


HAPPENINGS

Kerala Tourism holds roadshows in Australia

Etihad campaign for travel agents

La Classic Bengaluru on an expansion spree

Malaysian Food Fest at Sheraton Pune

Kerala Tourism recently organised three road shows in

Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Led by Kerala’s Tourism Minister

A P Anil Kumar, the multimedia tourism campaign for tour operators in the three cities highlighted the opportunities for promoting the state’s tourist destinations.

A number of leading tour operators from Kerala took part in the events to explore business tie ups with their counterparts in Australia.

In Brisbane, 30 representatives of tour operators attended the road show. Those who participated in the Melbourne numbered 66 while the final road show in Perth received more than 30 buyers. Australia is the fifth largest market for Kerala Tourism.

Kerala participants included the Abad Group of Hotels, Ayurveda Mana, Kumarakom Lake Resort, Pepper Tours Private Limited, Pioneer Personalized Holidays.

Tourism Malaysia and Malaysian Airlines partnered with the Four

Points by Sheraton Pune to present the Malaysian Food Festival from 24 October to 4 November, 2012 at the hotel.

Starting October 30 this year, the number of weekly day B737-800 flights between Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur was increased to four from the erstwhile three. Along with the daily B777-200 daily night departures, a total of 11 weekly

flights were introduced from the city.

Guests could indulge their taste buds on an exotic treat at Panash with assorted flavours of Malaysian cuisine and culture. The array of food, prepared by renowned Chefs Irwan Bin Sutan Chairul and Hafizal Bin Ishak from Hotel Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, included Murtabak, soft Roti Canai and tangy Sambal with signature Nonya style shrimp noodles and Nasi Lemak.

Etihad Airways has announced the winner of its ‘Live Free’

campaign, which was launched in February 2012 to reward Indian travel agents for their support to the airline. The winner, Sidheeque Maliyekkal, an agent working with Akbar Travels, was honoured in the presence of Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways’ GM in India, and KV Abdul Nazar, CMD of Akbar Travels, at the Etihad Airways office in Mumbai.

Maliyekkal received Rs 15 lakhs. Mini prizes including iPads and iPhones were presented to the runners up.

To qualify for the campaign,

travel agents were asked to register on the Etihad Airways website, and then enter details of Etihad Airways flight bookings made during the entry period. Different points were awarded for each booking made.

Neerja Bhatia said: “Sidheeque Maliyekkal has relentlessly worked towards promoting our airline and achieving the highest sales target in the past five months. Our trade partners have constantly supported us since we entered the Indian market and through this initiative we aimed to show them our gratitude and maintain our strong ties with the Indian travel community.”

Raj Hospitality, which manages La Classic, has also added

another property for marketing- Gardeenia Comfortes & Suites, which shall be re-branded as Semanta.

This sprawling property is situated in the industrial belt of Bommasandra in Electronic City with 140 keys and a resort with two conference halls, two food and beverage outlets, a Club house with a pool and a state-of-the-art gym and indoor sports facilities like

shuttle, badminton and table tennis. The La Classic Bengaluru won the World Luxury Boutique Hotel Award 2012 at a gala ceremony in Malaysia in October 2012. Its Executive Director, Raja Gopaal Iyer won the Arch of Excellence in the hospitality sector awarded by the All India Achievers Conference.

Raj Hospitality will later take over Semanta’s operations. It shall also acquire and develop another boutique hotel in Hosur and another brand called Kaluva in Kerala.


Opportunities

NEWS SCAN

Chinese VAS Center opens in Kolkata

Emirates adopts Abacus Groups suite

Turkish Road Show in five Indian cities

The Consulate General of the People's Republic of

China in Kolkata has introduced a new facility for collection of visa applications and delivery service with the appointment of VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for diplomatic missions and governments worldwide. VFS Global will operate the new Chinese Visa Application Service Center at Salt Lake in Kolkata.

VFS Global already offers visa application services for the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, in New Delhi and the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Mumbai. Applicants seeking visa for China can now also avail of similar services offered at VFS Global operated Chinese Visa Application Service Center at Kolkata.

VFS Global will be responsible only for accepting applications

The Turkish Tourism Board in association with the Turkish

Hoteliers Federation will be holding a five-city road show over five days between 19 and 23 November 2012, during which they will meet travel agents in all five cities.

The cities covered will include Mumbai (19 November), Bangalore (20 November), Chennai (21 November), Hyderabad (22 November) and Delhi (23 November), with the focus on Turkey’s Wedding, Golf and Honeymoon destinations.

Ozgur Ayturk, Culture and Tourism Counsellor, Turkey, said: “Turkey today offers numerous leisure-and-pleasure options for modern tourists.

Apart from locales for golf enthusiasts, the present road

for Chinese visas from applicants residing in Kolkata and neighbouring areas. All applications will continue to be assessed and processed by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Kolkata.

The key features of these centres will be longer operating hours, dedicated website for easy access, visa information including visa types, applicable fees and professional and responsive staff dedicated to handle visa queries, dedicated call centre unit and email support.

Murali Raghavan, COO - South Asia and CIS, VFS Global, said: “We invite applicants wishing to travel to China to visit our new state-of-the-art and well equipped Chinese VAS Center and benefit from the renewed and additional services offered by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Kolkata, and VFS Global.”

show will highlight matrimonial and honeymoon destinations for people seeking to enjoy their early days of marital bliss.”

More than a dozen Turkish hotels will participate in the 5-city road show, according to Mr Osman Ayik, president, Turkish Hoteliers Federation, who said: “Apart from its art, history and food, it is time tourists are acquainted with the other finer aspects of Turkish culture, which has moved along with modern times.”

The Mumbai event will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel, beginning at 7:00 pm. The events at Bangalore (Taj West End Hotel), Chennai (Taj Club House), Hyderabad (Marriot Hotel) and Delhi (The Lalit Hotel) will begin at 10:30 am and conclude with lunch.

Abacus International has announced that Emirates has

implemented the Abacus Groups suite of solutions. Abacus Group is the first Group Management Solution adopted by Emirates in Asia. Emirates joins a host of airlines across the region as well those specifically in the Middle East looking to drive higher efficiency in group booking management and greater sales revenue by leveraging the Abacus Group solution in South Korea and Malaysia initially.

Abacus Groups is designed to help airlines enhance the administration of day-to-day group booking activities and maintain control over the booking process. It provides an important productivity and sales generation tool. Through Abacus’ proprietary solution, airlines can leave much of the group servicing and ticketing to Abacus agents; thus freeing up valuable time for the airline sales team to drive new business. The agents,

who are given the empowerment to manage airline Group bookings, are also more committed to push sales for those airlines; thus, leveraging Abacus Group can be a source of competitive advantage.

“Asia still has a high propensity to travel in Groups due to the non-homogeneous markets and local languages. Abacus has invested significant resources to create a Group Management product that is customised for Asian work-flows and we are very pleased that Emirates has joined our long list of airline customers who recognized the value of our product. Abacus is all about helping airlines to reduce distribution costs, drive higher revenue and increase productivity,” said Ho Hoong Mau, Division Head of Airline Distribution, Abacus International.

The signing between Emirates and Abacus is the latest in a number of Abacus Groups implementations in the Middle East.


South African Tourism has announced the dates for its

2013 roadshow in India. The annual four-city roadshow will kick off from Mumbai on 28th January 2013 and culminate at New Delhi on 02nd February 2013.

Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager, South African Tourism India said: “The success of our annual roadshows has underlined the fact that we are moving on the right track. The roadshow provides an ideal platform and opportunity for trade partners from India and South

African suppliers to interact with each other and identify mutually beneficial areas of collaboration. The registration procedure will begin shortly and we look forward to receiving an encouraging response from our South African suppliers and the Indian travel trade.”

As per the latest total arrivals figures for the period Jan-June 2012, 53,291 Indians visited South Africa as against the 43,979 visitors during the same period in 2011, recording a significant increase of 21.2%.

Tourism Flanders is announced as Premier Partner at WTM

Oman’s visa bonanza for Indians

South Africa roadshow for 2013

Flanders has been confirmed as the Premier Partner at World

Travel Market (WTM) in London for 2013 and 2014. This will ensure that Flanders will feature as a “guest region” at WTM for the next two years, at one of the most important tourism exhibitions in Europe.

Flemish Minister for Tourism, Geert Bourgeois said: “I am delighted with the exclusive co-operation agreement which has just been signed by Tourism Flanders and the organisers of WTM, Reed Exhibitions.

This provides an ideal position to present “2014-2018 the Great War Centenary” to the attention of the travel industry. With this agreement we will also look forward to promoting a greater awareness of Flanders and Brussels as a tourism destination.”

More than 48,000 international tourism professionals visit WTM

annually. WTM 2011 facilitated a massive £1,653 million in business deals for travel and tourism exhibitors over the four days. Furthermore, WTM is the most important trade fair in the world for English speaking markets and Commonwealth countries.

Each year, WTM focuses on one specific country or region to promote its “Premier Partnership”. Last year, Abu Dhabi had this opportunity.

“We are very proud to become the new Premier Partner at WTM for the next two editions.

As Britain and the Commonwealth are the most important foreign target groups for the remembrance of The Great War Centenary, it is strategically very beneficial for Tourism Flanders to be able to deploy such a large promotional tool via this partnership, over the next couple of years at WTM,”

Bourgeonis added.Tourism Flanders will use its

position as the Premier Partner primarily to bring “2014-2018, The Great War Centenary” to attention in its association with the international travel industry. There will be a particular focus on the English speaking markets and the Commonwealth countries to promote this project.

The new partnership also provides a unique opportunity for Tourism Flanders to strategically

brand itself at Excel during WTM in 2013 and 2014.

Opportunities include the decoration and branding of several spaces at the Excel hall in line with its international marketing branding strategy. A clear emphasis on “2014-2018 the Great War Centenary” will be visible throughout. Examples include a “poppy pathway”, created using the image of 51 square metres of imaged tiles from the main entrance hall to the main Flanders stand.

NEWS SCAN

Oman’s Tourism Ministry has reaffirmed that recently

introduced tourist visa fee reductions apply to Indian travellers.

In early 2012, Oman introduced heavily discounted and more flexible tourist visas. Single entry visas for up to 10 days cost OMR 5, and single entry stays of 10 days to a month are OMR 20.

Maitha Al Mahrouqi, the Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, said: “We want to reaffirm to India’s travel trade and consumers that Oman’s heavily discounted and more flexible Tourist Visas work for India’s holiday and business travellers. The changes

make Oman a more competitive destination and a unique stopover” she said.

IATA data shows India is a fast growing source market for tourists to Oman. For the Year Ending July 2012, total arrivals from India to Muscat and Salalah increased to 751,997, 6% up on 2010. In addition there were 197,448 transit passengers from India to other destinations with 4% being First or Business class travellers mostly destined for the United Arab Emirates.

Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative Ministry of Tourism, said: “Oman and India are well connected by air services, with Oman Air operating from 10 points in India. We want to build on this by making travel easy for all, and our discounted Tourist Visa arrangements and a value-based stopover campaign with Oman Air go a long way to achieving this” she said.


TOP APPOINTMENTS

U Tropicana Alibaug

Citadines RichmondConcept Hospitality

Le Meridien, Bangalore

Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

ITC Windsor, Bangalore

Eastin Easy Citizen Ahmedabad

Concept Hospitality

Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

Kuoni India

Hrishikesh Madhukar Joshi, General Manager

Sue Ponnudurai, General ManagerMrunalini Willis, General Manager, Sales & Marketing

Rajesh K. Madan, Vice President- Operations

Manish Nambiar, Hotel Manager

Virender Razdan,General Manager

Mandar Vasant Kumta, General Manager

Sarosh Khatib, Senior Vice-President-Sales & Marketing

Aditya Singh, Director-Sales & Marketing

Vishal Suri, Deputy COO, Tour Operating

Absolute Hotel Services India has appointed Hrishikesh Madhukar Joshi as the General

Manager of U Tropicana Alibaug. He has more than 14 years of experience in many international

hotel chains including Le Royal Meridien, Taj, Holiday Inn and Ramada. Prior to joining U Tropicana Alibaug, he was working with Keys Hotel Cama. In his new position, Hrishikesh will be in charge of the running of the hotel.

Virender Razdan has been appointed as the General Manager at ITC Windsor,

Bangalore. He has a vast experience in the hospitality industry, particularly in Food and

Beverages. He has worked with brands like Hyatt Regency Delhi, Sheraton Park, Hilton and Oberoi.

In his new role, Virender will be responsible for running the core management of the hotel.

Kuoni India has appointed Vishal Suri as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Tour

Operating.He has over 22 years of experience in consumer-centric industries like telecom and

travel, office automation and Internet. Prior to joining Tour Operating, he worked with Thomas Cook.

In his new position, Vishal will be responsible for research and promotional activities for sub-brands and developing and innovating products.

The Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi has announced the appointment of Manish

Nambiar as the Hotel Manager. With over 16 years of hospitality experience, Manish has

worked with Kempinski properties in Egypt, Serengeti, Zanzibar, Bahrain, Tanzania and Djibouti. In his new role, he will be in charge of directing finance, marketing and guest services, conceptualizing restaurant themes and Operating Supplies and Equipment identification and procurement.

Aditya Singh has joined Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi as the Director of

Sales & Marketing. With more than 17 years of experience in the Indian hospitality sector,

Aditya was earlier associated with JW Marriott Chandigarh, Hyatt Regency New Delhi, The Best Western Hotels and The Suryaa, New Delhi.

In the new role, he will spearhead room sales, catering sales, marketing and revenue divisions besides building the sales team.

Le Meridien, Bangalore has announced the appointment of Rajesh K. Madan as the

Vice President- Operations. He has more than 25 years of management experience in the

hospitality industry in Africa, Middle East, USA and India. In his most recent role, he served as the General Manager of Le Meridien Kochi.

In his new role, Rajesh will offer his expertise in the area of operations.

Sarosh Khatib has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing

at Concept Hospitality (CHPL). Previously, he was the General Manager, Corporate Sales at

The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts. He brings with him over 22 years of experience in the hospitality industry at senior positions with brands as Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai and Grand Hyatt, Mumbai as Director of Marketing.

Mrunalini Wills has joined Concept Hospitality (CHPL) as General Manager, Sales &

Marketing. In her most recent assignment, she served as the Associate Director, Sales for the

Royal Orchid Hotels, Mumbai. Her career in the hospitality industry spans 12 years in brands such as Sarovar Hotels & Resorts and Royal Orchid. In her new role, Mrunalini will be responsible for driving group sales from Mumbai.

Absolute Hotel Services India has appointed Mandar Vasant Kumta as the General

Manager of Eastin Easy Citizen Ahmedabad. Kumta has over 16 years of hospitality

experience in the Middle East and India in Astoria & Ambassador Group of Hotels, Hotel Marine Plaza and Jebel Ali Hotel & Golf Resort.In his new role, he will lead the team to the pre-opening and the opening of the property.

The Ascott Limited has appointed Sue Ponnudurai as the General Manager at its

apart’hotel Citadines Richmond in Bangalore. She has more than 25 years of experience in

the hospitality industry and has already worked with Ascott for six years. She has also held leadership positions in international hotel chains like Sofitel, Hyatt and Hilton. In her new role, Sue will be responsible for managing the operations of the property.


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