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` 50/-Vol. XXVIII Issue 10; May 1st fortnight i ssue 2016 A DDP PUBLICATION Pages :44+16 Pages Supplement-India Travel Awards

29042016TTMay1st 2016_FINAL:TT Layout 4/29/2016 1:15 PM

GITB was much better before thisyear and the year before. Thisyear we had a team of 11 peoplefrom IHG. Inbound tourism is def-initely growing and the numbersare getting better. I believe weneed more hotels and the infra-structure needs improvement. Weneed to get more competitive withsmaller countries as they aredoing much better than us. I think

that with the effort from the government as well as hotelsand tour operators, we will get there sooner than later.

Greesh BindraArea GeneralManager, North &West India, IHG

Despite being realistic about inbound flatlining in the year gone by, industry bigwigs who attended the Great IndianTravel Bazaar give a thumbs-up to the trade fair and appreciate the grand stage it offers to showcase their products.

A level-playing field for tradeTT BU R E AU

We have been a part of GITB forthe last five years and have seenpeople come back and talk aboutour property even after the show.There is a good response andthe show allows us to build repu-tation as well as garner business.We have seen a lot of Frenchtourists coming to our propertiesand Rajasthan as a whole. Weare also working with the UK

market and targeting the Russia market.

Anshul BhargavaCorporate GeneralManager, The AnantaUdaipur

GITB has been very good for us,considering the fact that we havethe largest stall here and thus thenumber of appointments we haveis also big — over 400 oddappointments for 12 hotel part-

ners. This year the agents atGITB have been really good,not only in terms of quality butalso in terms of diversity. We’ve

always been looking at the UK, France and Germanymarkets. I think it’s time to move out and concentrate onAustralia and the US, which have been growing for us.You can’t put your eggs in one basket anymore.

Sowmya VijaymohanPartnerRARE India

This is the second year we areparticipating in GITB. We had afair amount of queries last year.Both our days at GITB were fullof appointments this year. And wehope to do good business aswell. The trend here and other-wise shows that inbound tourism is growing year by yearand it sure will translate into bigger opportunities and employment generation.

Nikhil VahiSenior Vice President,Hospitality Operations& Development, D. S.Group Hospitality

In the last seven years, nothinghas changed at GITB. It’s thesame. While the event is not bad,in the last two year, the inboundindustry has been going down.After the incident on December

16, 2014, things have changed.We don’t give any comforts toour incoming guests, but givethem more stress. There’ssomething wrong in the market-

ing and handling people coming into our country. Singlewoman travellers have stopped coming to India. We hopethings will get better in the coming years.

Sunil SikkaHead - Marketing &Business Development,WelcomHeritage

We have been associated withGITB from the day it started. Thisyear particularly, the quality ofclients is very good. We are veryhappy. This fair particularly is verygood for inbound tourism. Firstly,because it is professionally man-aged and secondly there are nooutsiders and we have greatmeetings coming. So in a short time you get the opportunityto meet many good quality tour operators.

Homa MistryCEOTrail Blazer ToursIndia

GITB was good and even busi-ness-wise it was profitable. Wemet a few clients from big com-panies and a lot of people fromBrazil, despite the country notdoing quite well currently. At themoment the inbound market isnot that good. We are only hop-ing it is going to be good.Summer looks pretty good.Spain is going to be picking upthis summer, which has been

pretty slow in the last couple of years.

Rita ShahChief OperatingOfficer, Hans Hotels,New Delhi

GITB and such exhibitions arevery essential. In a very con-trolled environment one can meetthe right kind of people for theright kind of product. It makesselling and understanding theclient and the overall relationshipmuch better. We have been get-ting the most support from theUS and the European market.Other than that there’s a lot ofinterest coming from Singapore

and the Far East market as well.

RajnishSabharwalChief OperatingOfficer, TUTC

We cater to a number of inboundmarkets like Germany, France,Israel and we are working on theScandinavian market as well. Theinbound market has been gener-ally low in the last few years, andwe’ve been concentrating moreon the domestic market becausetravel is much higher there. Onceyou pitch yourself in the domesticmarket, even the payments are

higher. ADRs are much higher compared to what youearn from the inbound market.

Zacharia GeorgeGeneral ManagerRamada, Alleppey

Contd. on page 8

We are partnerairline for GITBalong withEtihad Airways. Ithink any corpo-rate activity,which is done bya state to pro-mote, attract buy-ers and bringthem to actuallysee the productand services that

the state has to offer, is a fantastic ini-tiative. A huge number of meetings areplanned, and even if a small percentageof buyers translate into actual business,it’s going to be good for inbound tourism.

Ragini ChopraVice President,Corporate Affairs &Public Relations, Jet Airways

The platform atGITB gives usan excellentopportunity tomeet FTOs.We havereceived a verygood responsefrom all thebuyers andhope that it will

be a good show. We are majorly focus-ing on medical tourism as we are inclose proximity to the hospitals. We arealso targeting the corporate and MICEclients for our hotel.

Dhananjay KumarGeneral Manager,The Suryaa

We have beenparticipating inGITB for thepast sevenyears, and haveseen the showevolving over aperiod of time.A lot of newplayers arecoming into themarket. Thus,

somewhere, it’s all about creating visi-bility of the brand. We, specifically as anorganisation, have reasonable numberscoming in from Germany, France, andSpanish markets.

Rohit KatyalHead of Sales –Delhi/NCR, JüstaHotels & Resorts

This is oureighth year atGITB and I thinkthis is a goodplatform tocome andshowcase theproduct andinteract withtravel agentsand know the

international travel agents who visit theexhibition. Such meetings are very rel-evant in the market, although the instantpicture is not clear. The results are notimmediate, but it helps in the long run.

Jitendra Singh RathoreChairman, IndianHistorical Hospitality


Pronab Sarkar won theIATO elections for thepost of the president at

the biennial elections held atThe Park, New Delhi, on April 23, 2016.

Most of the members ofhis team also won at variousother positions, includingRajeev Kohli as the Senior Vice President, RajivMehra as Vice President andAmaresh Tiwari as theHonorary Treasurer. However,a surprising win was the elec-tion of Lally Matthews as theHonorary Secretary. SandeepJain also had a close win asHonorary Joint Secretary

with a one-vote victory. AkshayKumar, the Returning Officer,declared the results after a long counting process in the evening.

Elated after the resultswere announced, Sarkarrevealed the three point agen-da of his team, “We will takeIATO to new heights with thenew team. Our new pro-gramme will follow the govern-ment’s motto —‘Sabka Sath,Sabka Vikas’. We want every-body, whether an EC memberor not, to contribute towardsthe welfare of the associationand be an integral part inmaking it stronger so that wecan face the challenges wehave in our way. We also

want participation of womenmembers to work along with the Executive Committee.The third agenda is to makeIATO an all India association,so that all the regions can get the benefits and the

contribution of the associationshould be spread all over. We want our regional chapters to be stronger, and we will initiate a number of activities in all the regions.”

Supporting the electionresults, Subhash Goyal,Immediate Past President,IATO, said, “I am happy that I amhanding over the baton to anable candidate. Pronab Sarkarhas been my right hand man

during my term as President. Iwould also like to congratulateLally Matthews on his inclusionin the team. He is an experienced person and I am sure it will be beneficial to theentire industry.”

NI S H A VE R M A

According to Travel andTourism EconomicImpact 2016, report by

World Travel and TourismCouncil (WTTC), India isexpected to become one of thetop 10 tourism economies in theworld by 2026. "This can onlyhappen if the government andmany stakeholders of the traveland hospitality industry worktogether," comments Raje.

The newly launched pro-motional campaign shows var-ious facets of Rajasthan. Rajesays, "Tourism has beenbefore but is now again, ourbest face to the world. Thecampaign aims not only toincrease room inventory but isa multi-modal and multi-lingual

campaign for both domesticand international tourists. It willadd value to our products andis meant to shock and awe."

In an appeal to thetourism industry, Raje points outthat the air connectivity inRajasthan is a drawback. Shesays, "Rajasthan with an abun-dance of tourism products onlylacks air connectivity not onlywithin the state but also to otherdestinations. Cities like Jaipur,Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer,Kota, etc., have to be connectedfor easy and quick travel. Thecivil enclaves in Bikaner andJaisalmer airports are readyand it would be a shame to seethis investment go waste."

Infrastructure in terms ofconnectivity is vital for the

tourism industry, and Rajeasserts that the government isworking to improve the same."We are improving the roadtransport to enable faster andsafer travel to lesser knowndestinations which we plan topush to the forefront,” she says.The chief minister also identi-fies the various initiatives takenby the tourism department likeimproving tourist amenities at

pilgrim sites and temples; pro-viding a platform for the state'scraft and art; the expansion ofevent lists to cater to tastes ofdifferent age groups.

Raje informs that thetourism policy 2015, to createnew tourism units has been received well and in part-nership with ResurgentRajasthan, as many as 220

Memorandum of Under-stand-ing (MoU) were signed fortourism. These units rangefrom luxury to budget travellers and is expected to generate employment for40,000 citizens. Raje stressed on the fact thatthough the state has offeredproducts of the variety ofpalaces, forts, heritage and cultural tourism which

have been very strong pillars of support for the state,but there is a lot more toexplore in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Tourism is aggressively working towards creating a cleaner, safer, and conducive environment fortourism in the state. Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister, Government of Rajasthan, points out that air connectivityin the state is a major drawback and needs to be addressed at the earliest.

Rajasthan demands better air connectivity

AN K I TA SAX E N A Cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Kota, etc., have to be connected for easy and quicktravel. The civil enclaves in Bikaner and Jaisalmer

airports are ready and it would be a shame to seethis investment go waste.

Vasundhara RajeChief Minister, Government of Rajasthan

Biennial elections at the Indian Association of Tour Operatorssaw some expected bigwigs return to the helm while some new faces also took charge.

New IATO team

EC MEMBERSACTIVE 1. P.S. Duggal2. Raj Bajaj3. Rajnish Kaistha4. Ramesh Wattal5. Viney Tyagi

ALLIED 1. N.S. Rathor3. Sunil Gupta4. Zia Siddiqui

29-04-2016TT-May-1st 2016_FINAL:TT Layout 5/4/2016 2:07 PM

BULLETIN

The 9th edition of GITB, heldfrom April 17-19 in Jaipur,

saw 270 foreign buyers fromover 53 countries and 280

Indian sellers, from thetourism and hospitality indus-try, interacting in 10,500 pre-fixed B2B meetings over twodays. Rajasthan ChiefMinister Vasundhara Rajewas the Chief Guest. VinodZutshi, Secretary-Tourism,Government of India, said,

“GITB has so far successfullytravelled a long way since its inception in 2008 and has established itself as anevent of international brand.Though started on the lines

of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM)which is held every two years, GITB has emerged asan annual show and we aredelighted to support and participate in this mega mart.” Zutshi also appealed toall tourism stakeholders toadapt to the digital world

which has become the needof the hour.

Jyotsna Suri,Chairperson, Committee onTourism, FICCI, noted, “Over

the last editions of GITB, wehosted 75,000 B2B meetings,2800 buyers. Foreign touristarrivals last year grew by 4.4per cent and foreign exchangeearnings grew by 2.3 per centindicating that India is fastmoving towards becoming aleading inbound destination.”

S.K. Agarwal, PrincipalSecretary-Tourism, Rajasthan,revealed that the state govern-ment will be organising adomestic travel mart on thelines of GITB, which will hostthe domestic travel agents andtour operators. "Apart from for-eign tourists, domestic touristsalso bring lot of business intothe state and thus the platformwill provide space to thedomestic tourism and hospital-ity stakeholders. The show willbe held in July/August, tenta-tively,” he said.

A FICCI–MRSSKnowledge Paper on InboundTourism, was released by Dr Raj Sharma, Chairman,MRSS, Dipak Deva, Co-Chairman, TourismCommittee, FICCI, and otherdignitaries present at the inau-guration ceremony. The paperdetails the potential of tourismin Rajasthan and is intendedto aid the players of the tourismand hospitality industry.

GITB yet again proved to be an engaging platform for the tourism andhospitality industry to showcase their products and forge new relationships.

GITB charts inbound growth story

TT BU R E AU

(L-R) Dipak Deva, Dr. Raj Sharma, Jyotsna Suri, Vasundhara Raje, S. K. Agarwal and Vinod Zutshi at the GITB inauguration


VIEWPOINT

COMMENT

Hoteliers seek lesser licensingHoteliers put forth the challenges of working in the Indian business environmentand also list their top five demands from the government to ease business.

Top five challenges faced by hotel owners in India

Some respondents highlighted rising operating costs, particularly high electricity tariffs, and unavailability of long-termfunding to be challenges

Inability toincrease roomrates owing to

marketcondition

Scarcity of qualitymanpoweraffecting the

overall quality ofoperationsadversely

Alignment ofowner andoperator

expectations

High cost of capital

Cumbersomeregulatory

compliance andhigh taxes

Top five demands from the Indian Government:

Moreover, they have requested for greater governmental focus on promoting tourism and brand “India” abroad togenerate higher inbound travel

Reducing thenumber of licenses

and having asingle-windowclearance todevelop andoperate hotels

Infrastructurestatus for thehotel industry

Better tourisminfrastructure

including airports,roads and utilities

Improvedease of

setting upand doingbusiness

Investment friendlytaxation policies,

with manyhighlighting theneed for a singletax- Goods andService Tax

Demands

New

New

Source: HVS Stakeholder Sentiment Survey 2016

The technique to attract internationalarrivals is not only through simplified visa

process and documentation, but also entailsseamless connectivity and an overallexperience a country offers. As part of thetravel industry, we need to ask ourselves:How welcoming is our country to tourists andto what extent do tourists recommend Indiato others and return themselves?

Key factors support this question. Howgood are the hotels and how well-maintainedare our tourist attractions? How easy is it totravel within India? Are we hospitable enoughand do we offer a good experience to visitors?

India manages to tick off some points,but not all. We seek to attract tourists butharassment by beggars, haranguing touts,rip-off merchants; corrupt law enforcementofficials and hostile incidents have in thepast turned a pleasant experience into ahellish one for many foreign travellers. Ofcourse, some factors remain in the handsof the government and how strong thepolitical will to improve tourism is. But thetourism industry as a unit should be ableand willing to collaborate to ensure that thevisitors’ tourism experience matches thepromises we make and the message that DMCs in India send out to their target markets.

Is India welcoming?

Then & Now

Highlights of the annual IATO conference in Agra in 1991:The meet was attended by Madhav Rao Scindia, the then Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister; Yogesh Chandra and Faarookh AbdullahScindia announced a flat rate of $5 for a 30-day tourist visa He chided the members for making it difficult for new entrants to come in travel businessThe presence of Nagendra Prasad, the then President of TAAI was seen as a step in the directionof unity among trade associations

Then Now

From the archives R.C. Gupta was the General Manager of Ashok Hotel, New Delhi in 1991 and retired as Senior VP at ITDCin 2008. Today he is the Executive Director of INLEAD, Gurugram.

R.C. GuptaGeneral Manager, Ashok Hotel New Delhi (ITDC)

R.C. GuptaExecutive DirectorINLEAD, Gurugram

brings to you the events that made headlines 25 years ago and arerelevant to the travel & tourism industry even now.

Letter to the EditorDear TravTalk,

Shoba and I wanted to send a heartfelt congratulations toyou and your team on the fantastic work that you have been doingover the past few years. It’s commendable on what you haveachieved. For RARE, DDPPL and its magazines are by far themost recommended and go-to magazines for any travel centricnews and any advertising recommendations. Your magazinesare by far one of the few, if not the most, balanced in terms ofnews in the travel trade, alongside being very sensitive to pickingup new trends too.

Your active presence in fairs and events, alongside beingup to date with everything that’s happening contributes big timein the final outcome of the magazines and more importantly tothe tremendous brand presence and trust that DDPPL hasachieved in the travel trade.

You and team also deserve a big Thank You from RAREfor the constant support and belief that you have extended to us.

All the very best.Warm Regards,Sowmya R Vijaymohan and Shoba Mohan

Challenges

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QHow has Tamil Nadufared in terms of

tourism last year?In 2014, 46.45 lakh for-

eign tourists and 32.5 croredomestic tourists visited TamilNadu. This year the number isincreasing. According to ourcalculations, we had a growthof 1.8 per cent despite heavyfloods in Chennai when somany bookings were can-celled. We hope to continue togrow at a better rate this year.Chennai got affected becausethe airport had closed down.

And there was a dilemma onwhen it will open and if flightswill be rescheduled. EvenTTDC got a huge setback. Butwe picked up and are doingvery well now, and so are ourhospitality partners in the pri-vate sector.

QWhat are your plans inthe coming months?We want to focus on

rural tourism, especiallyKumbakonam, Thanjavur,Madurai, Thiruvarur,Nagapattinam, which are lessvisited areas as compared toother parts of the state.Hopefully, we will be coming upwith adventure tourism prod-ucts like helicopter services.Right now we are planningthese services betweenMadurai-Rameshwaram,Madurai-Kanyakumari and Madurai-Kodaikanal.

The plan is already in thepipeline and once a few issuesare cleared, we will launch it.We are also using socialmedia, including Facebook and Twitter in a big way. Our website is also very rich in content.

QWhat makes TamilNadu different from its

neighbouring states fortourism?

We are a destination for all kinds of tourists. Wehave sufficient infrastructureto meet the needs of every kind of tourist. We pro-vide good facilities, whetherit’s under private or publicsector. Also, Tamil Nadu is very safe.

QWhat does the newtourism policy of Tamil

Nadu entail?

We haven’t left anyaspect untouched in thetourism policy. Some of thehighlights include the develop-ment of beach tourism. Wewant to develop a stretch fromChennai to Rameshwaram. Anentertainment company calledWonderla, which has adven-ture parks in Hyderabad andBengaluru, is creating aFunworld worth `500 crorenear Mahabalipuram.

Secondly, at the guideacademy in Nellore we will betraining guides with the MOT,offering short, medium andlong courses. We want everyguide to know at least three tofour languages so that theycan tackle every kind of tourist.

QHow was GITB foryou?It has been good for us

and our stakeholders are very

happy. We participate in every tourism mart in and outside the country. Werecently participated in theVibrant Gujarat InternationalTravel Mart and last year weparticipated in Jammu andKashmir Travel Mart. It was also our first time atFITUR. TTDC is a profit mak-ing organisation and ourturnover is around ̀ 125 croreper year.

Har Sahay Meena, Commissioner of Tourism & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation(TTDC), says that though the state had a rough year, it is resurging fast and holds promise for its partners.

Helicopter tours in Tamil Nadu

NI S H A VE R M A

We will be comingup with adventuretourism productslike helicopterservices. Right nowwe are planningthese servicesbetween Madurai-Rameshwaram,Madurai-Kanyakumari and Madurai-Kodaikanal

Har Sahay MeenaCommissioner of Tourism & ManagingDirector, Tamil Nadu TourismDevelopment Corporation (TTDC)

STATES M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 7


8 TRAVTALK M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 QUICKBYTES

Bringing inbound to the fore

We have been participating inGITB since its inception andhave been partners for long.We had a nice discussion withall the FTOs. We introducedour properties, as well as thenew hotel in Varanasi, calledBrijrama Palace. Speaking onIndia inbound I must say thatthere has been a growth ofone per cent last year, andeven here at GITB, the numberof meetings has seen anincrease. The enthusiasmshowed by the FTOs itselfshows that there will be anincrease in the inboundtourism in India.

Asif Hafeez KhanDeputy GeneralManager Sales, HotelClarks Amer, Jaipur

GITB is a very impor-tant fair. Not only dowe get a chance tomeet overseas oper-ators who come tolearn about India, butalso we can discoversmaller, more bou-tique outfits inRajasthan. However,the inbound travel inIndia, from the past

few years especially, has moved away from brochure group travel to FIT tailor-madetravel. I think that is one of the growing trends for India.

Kiran JotiJoint ManagingDirector, Le PassageTo India

GITB is a good,global platformwhich brings togeth-er key players in theindustry and alsoprovides a wide vari-ety of products tothe buyers. A lot ofclients come fromLatin America,which is a big mar-

ket for us. Other markets include Canada,South America, and even Italy though we have seen a dip in the market from Italy recently.

Vikas AbbottManaging Director,Vasco Travel

GITB is an importantplatform as we meetall key players of theindustry under oneroof. We are introduc-ing yoga, meditationand wellness pro-grammes in nationalparks. Major sourcemarkets for inboundbusiness have beenEurope and America

but China and Australia are upcoming mar-kets for us. Inbound has been slow last yearbut it is changing and 2016 looks positive.

Navneet MaheshwariOwner Entrepreneur,Kanha Village EcoResorts

This year there werea lot of new buyerswho have come toGITB which is a hugebenefit to us. We arecoming up with newpackages for the cor-porate clients. Ourbiggest source mar-kets are the US, UK,Germany, Italy andFrance though we

are also looking at China & Latin America.

Davinder JujHotel ManagerEros Hotel, NewDelhi, Nehru Place

If one does a costbenefit analysis, thenGITB is actually avery good show. Thisyear GITB has invitednew buyers and notrepeated the oneswho attended lastyear. This gives us anopportunity to connectwith new people.

Based on the buyer's profile, I can see thereare some who are not selling India activelybut want to and that is a good ground toincrease business.

Kapil GoswamyManaging Director,Trans India Holidays

Travel marts and exhi-bitions are veryimportant tools in thetravel and tourismindustry for brandpositioning and visibil-ity of the products. Wework majorly in thebespoke luxury seg-ment for the French-speaking and otherEuropean markets.

We are focusing this year on the incentivemarket as well which I feel is still in the devel-oping stages and has huge potential.

Chetan KapoorAssistant GM, Sales& Marketing-Inbound,Wish Bone India

Contd. from page 2


TECHNOLOGY

It is no doubt that the mobile era has taken over the wholeindustry and the world by storm. spoke to sometravel technology professionals who elucidate the extentto which the new wave is changing the face of the sector.

Mobile technologythriving in travel

AH A N A GU R U N G

With an increasingnumber of travellersgetting younger andyounger, technologymakes it possible forall kinds of buyersand suppliers to con-nect. Going mobilehas made this eveneasier. Just like theweb created waves

about 15 years ago, a similar effect has hap-pened with Apps. The mobile wave hasbecome an important part of travel technol-ogy and if you want to serve your customersand move forward, go the mobile way.

Philip WolfFounderPhocuswright

I think that sharedeconomy is becom-ing really big in Indiaand APAC. It is grow-ing quite rapidly andis key for travel.Wearable technologyis also gainingmomentum andalthough it is difficultto predict the magni-tude of its effect, I

think it could be one of the biggest things inthe travel technology world.

Simon AkeroydVice President (AsiaPacific) - CorporateStrategy, Amadeus

The biggest trend byfar the industry is see-ing is mobile. Weadopted this strategyabout four years agowhen we didn't reallyhave a mobile pres-ence. We decided wecouldn't ignoremobile anymoresince it is the future. It

had a huge impact on our business perform-ance and now, whatever we do, it has beenmobile first.

Lee McCabeGlobal Head of TravelFacebook

Radical shifts in technology have made the travel technology sectoradvanced and smart. We have moved from age of manual ticket pur-chase to computer search. And now the travel world has found a waythrough mobile devices. Surfing, buying and selling through mobile Appshave become an on-the-go job. And just when we thought this cannotget any better a new idea of the Internet of Things (IoT) has come in.This innovation networks physical objects like vehicles, devices etc. thathave network connectivity, software or sensors and helps them collectand exchange data automatically, without any human intervention. Itsintroduction in the travel world is sure to make the sector even 'smarter'in the coming years.

Anil ParasharPresident & CEOInterGlobeTechnology Quotient

To a great extent, it’s moving towards an open and collaborative mar-ketplace platform. Traditionally, we've had players who are focused onselling their own inventory but now it's more about creating those hooksso that others can connect on and vice-versa. The open API structurewhich is being built out is one big change that is coming through. Today it is happening to a greater extent on flights, holidays, and willhappen gradually over hotels also. India has also predominantly becomea mobile Internet market and is definitely taking the lead in mobile tech-nology front.

Dhruv ShringiCo-founder and CEOYatra.com

The mobile tsunamihas changed every-thing. For us, the hotelbusiness was takinga long time to pick upbut has now movedso fast thanks tomobile and aggres-sive pricing. Today, 70per cent of ourdomestic hotel busi-

ness happens over mobile. It definitely is oneof the more prominent trends in the industrythat is changing the whole game.

Deep KalraFounder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip


1 0 TRAVTALK M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 FAMILY ALBUM

The 2016 edition of the Starwood Expo commenced in Bengaluru and travelled to Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi-NCR. Over the four days, closeto 2000 customers attended the roadshow. This roadshow was followed by cocktails and dinner as a part of networking in each city.

Starwood Expo goes city-hopping


The inaugural edition ofPhocuswright India kicked

off in full swing in New Delhiwith guests swarming in andquickly filling up the seats bythe hour. Over the two days,the conference welcomedrenowned industry profes-sionals from all over the worldwho addressed the crowd onvarious topics and trends, and also gave an opportunity to discover more innovative travel technologyproducts through the partner workshops.

Phocuswright'sManaging Director TonyD'Astolfo says that theresponse to the summit wasphenomenal. "We were hope-ful about the outcome of theinaugural edition and by thelooks of it, it has exceeded ourexpectations. About 345guests registered for this,which has also crossed ourtarget, among which around40 people registered on thelast day. The hall was com-pletely occupied during everysession with people evenstanding in the hallway fromthe start to finish. That tells usthat the content was good andthe audience was receptive toit," he enthuses.

He additionally explainsthat after careful study andresearch over the past coupleof years, the time was right toenter the Indian market."We've been fairly active inthis market from a researchperspective and have hadpeople work here for a whilenow," Astolfo says. "We'vealways had a base of interestin India. It has such a hugeand vibrant industry and withso much technology drivingthe investments, it's an excit-ing time for the industry.There's always risk associat-ed when you're doing any-thing new or for the first timebut our team of experts werecertain that the event wouldbe received well which turnedout to be the case."

Owing to the fact thatthis was Phocuswright's veryfirst conference in India,Astolfo reveals that there wereindeed a few challenges, butnot enough to dampen thespirit. He shares, "The venueitself was very new to uswhich was a big challengesince we are extremely metic-ulous with our work. Theseare things that would be of aconcern to anyone startingsomething new, the unfamil-iarity. When you are especially

doing something in a newmarket, one tends to learn on the fly. Now that we'veidentified the snag areas,things will obviously be muchsmoother next year."

So what can we expectin the upcoming edition? "Weintend to stick to a formulathat we have been followingfor a few years. But in terms of

content, we will have newspeakers with fresher contentas well as companies and theleaders that are driving theAPAC region," Astolfo shares."There's huge potential forstart-ups in India and it beingan emerging market is a huge upside that all combineto make it an exciting place where we will absolutely be."

The two-day event held from April 21-22, 2016, witnessed around 345 guests and hosted speakers from major companieswith the likes of Amadeus, MakeMyTrip, Facebook, Cox & Kings, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, to name a few.

Phocuswright India opens to full houseTECHNOLOGY M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 1 1

AH A N A GU R U N G About 345 guests registered for this, whichhas also crossed our target, among whicharound 40 people registered on the last day.The hall was completely occupied during everysession with people even standing in the hallwayfrom the start to the finish.

Tony D'Astolfo Managing Director, Phocuswright


1 2 TRAVTALK M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 QUICKBYTES

As part of the Rendez-vous en France trade fair, 46 learning tours were organised for the trade to discover variousFrance offerings. catches up with a few participants on what sells from France and what’s new for tourists.

RDVF 2016: France in a new light

HA R S H A L AS H A R F R O M FRA N C E

France is one ofthe top destina-tions for foreigntourist arrivals andthis is an indica-tion of the popular-ity of the destina-tion. Indians travel-ling to Francealso travel toplaces such asNice, Chamonix

and Lyon among others. France as a desti-nation caters to all segments of travel. Be ita group holiday or an FIT. The more evolvedtraveller now opts for culinary vacations andself drive holidays. Spa vacations are alsocatching up with the Indian traveller.Workshops such as RDVF 2016, providestour operators the platform to interact withexisting partners and help understand trendsin the French market. It also opens the doorto new suppliers and attractions, which arevery vital as the Indian market matures.

Karan AnandHead, RelationshipsCox & Kings Ltd.

We are currently doing around 100 paxFITs; mostly honeymoon couple travel toFrance. This year we aim to increase it to300 pax quality FITs with new product inclu-sions post RDVF 2016. France has alwaysbeen a perfect honeymoon destination foryears now with Paris as its “City of Love.” Ibelieve after personally exploring regionslike Rhone Alps and Normandy that Indiancouples would love more romantic experi-ences in France and stay longer.Honeymoon Havens is excited to work with

France Tourism and offer awesome experiences to couples.

Chetan YallapurkarCEOHoneymoon Havens

We've been doing high-end MICEprojects in France since close to 10years now and have used all the icon-ic & historical venues right from host-ing events at Level 1 of the EiffelTower to museums, superyacht onthe River Seine, Moulin Rouge & Lidoto Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in the

French Riviera. RDVF helped melearn about new destinations notexposed but suitable for the Indianluxury MICE market like Picardy &

Deauville, which are also easy to access from CDG Paris. NowI have new destinations to promote in France, thanks to RDVF!

Sushil Shamlal WadhwaFounder & CMD, PlatinumWorld Group

The tourism potential of France isimmense because of the culture anddiverse options available, the infrastruc-ture has been well updated and thereforehas contributed tremendously to thesame. We do send a total number of 500visitors to France annually, but this numbercould definitely be upped if ‘thematicoptions’ are available for families as wellas individual FIT travellers.Ravi Subramanyam

Director SalesLittle International

Attending RDVF16 is perhaps the bestway to explore the different regions ofFrance, which otherwise you would noteven have heard of, including some ofthe amazing outdoor experiences inthe Midi Pyrenees. I am now curatingdifferent itineraries which I am going topropose to my clients for the upcomingholiday season; specially to those whoare looking for something new.Numbers to France, across all branch-es, as of now stand at 200-250 pax.

Alifiya CalcuttawalaRegional DirectorThe Wanderers

Contd. on page 15


M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 1 5HOTELS

The Starwood India Expo isan annual roadshow which

brings together the company’sB2B customers from all seg-ments of the industry. It pro-

vides an opportunity forStarwood associates to updatetheir customers across all mar-ket segments on the compa-ny’s developments worldwide,strengthen existing relation-ships. Speaking about theimportance of the roadshow,Nichlas Maratos, Vice

President – Sales, Asia Pacific,Starwood Hotels & Resortssays, “It’s our 10th year of con-ducting this roadshow. This isa great opportunity for ourhotels across India and abroadto meet with our customers.”

Dhananjay Saliankar,Regional Director - Sales &Marketing and Starwood SalesOrganisation, South Asia atStarwood Hotels & Resorts,stating the importance of theroadshow, says, “This road-show is a platform to bring ourcustomers and hotels together.

The agenda is to talk about ournew openings, new marketsetc. across the globe.”

Barun Gupta, AccountDirector (Global Sales) -Starwood Sales Organisation,

Starwood Hotels & Resorts,says, “This is the 10th anniver-sary for Starwood expo andthere is more participation fromIndia and abroad. India marketis growing worldwide, these kindof roadshows help us educateour customers and grow ourbusiness year on year.”

About upcoming hotels,Maratos says, “Across Asia-Pacific we have 320 hotels. Weopen a hotel every 10 daysand sign a deal roughly everyseven days. In India, we have54 hotels, another 47 areunder constructions. We will belaunching W in the middle ofthe year and we have a newhotel opening in Pushkar too.”

About the new initiativesSaliankar says, “One of the biginitiatives that we would like tocontinue with is to grow ourMICE and group businessglobally. Today’s traveller islooking for multiple destina-tions and newer destinationsto travel and Starwood isequipped with it. With 1,300hotels across all prime loca-tions, we want to leverage thatand bring it to the next level.We also want to focus on ourSPG Pro which is a loyalty pro-gramme for customers. Thethird focus is the growth in theregions like India, Maldives,Srilanka, Bhutan andBangladesh. So we are gettingproperties everywhere.”

Starwood Hotels and Resorts hosted the 10th edition of the Starwood India Expo,2016 across four key cities in the country. Over the four days, close to 2000 customersattended the roadshow.

Starwood Expo: Focus on MICE

AN U P R I YA BI S H N O I

Nichlas MaratosVice President – SalesAsia PacificStarwood Hotels & Resorts

Dhananjay SaliankarRegional Director - S&M and StarwoodSales Organisation, South AsiaStarwood Hotels & Resorts

Barun GuptaAccount Director (Global Sales) -Starwood Sales OrganisationStarwood Hotels & Resorts

Rendezvous en France pro-vides a great platform to inter-act, develop and strengthencommercial relations withnew and existing French part-ners. It also provides anopportunity to learn andexplore eclectic experiencesfor today's discerning traveller.We specialise in handcraftingbespoke experiences fortoday's discerning traveller.

On an average we send 200-250 FITs and if we aredoing a wedding/event it could go up to 600 pax a year.

Bhakti TaunkDirectorEastern Travels

The tourism potential ofFrance would be immense asAtout France is doing a lot forthe agents by includingFrance in its entirety especial-ly with newer experiences.Presenting the conventionaldestinations with newer activ-ities and opening up horizonsfor newer destinations likewalking tours, 2CV tours andbiking tours are sure to gar-

ner tremendous interest. RDVF 2016 was a good andbeneficial experience.

Ruchi BhatnagarFounderDiskoverMore

Facets of France at RDVF 2016

Contd. from page 12


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

The Maharashtra TourOrganisers’ Association

(MTOA), which focuses onsmall tour operators based inMaharashtra, has been work-

ing very closely with theMaharashtra Government andone of its suggestions on thestate’s new tourism policy hasbeen accepted by the state.Sudhir Patil, President,MTOA, says, “We had submit-ted some suggestions toMTDC for the tourism policyeight months ago. We had

requested them to make smallregion-wise tourism boards likethey do in foreign countriesbecause Maharashtra is sovast and we have so many dif-ferent cultures. Different zoneswill help the government as

well as the travel trade to focuson each particular area andwork along with private part-ners.” The new policy mentionsthe state being divided into five divisions.

MTOA has also beenworking closely with theMaharashtra Tourist

Development Corporation(MTDC) for the tourist guidesscheme it has recently intro-duced. Explaining the scheme,Valsa Nair Singh, PrincipalSecretary Tourism & CulturalAffair, Government ofMaharashtra, says, “We havebeen introducing a lot of prod-ucts for the domestic tourists.They are our mainstay with almost 80 per cent oftourists visiting Maharashtra.We are working on our own certification for city tourist guides ‘Certified Guides’ that will be certified byMTDC. After that we will introduce it in five other citiesin the state like Aurangabad,Nagpur and Nashik. There is ahuge scarcity of trained guides,specially German andJapanese speaking ones. The IITM Gwalior which is the authorized agency to make the syllabus and curricu-lum has developed this course.We have also roped in IHM Dadar to help us withsome logistical issues. We willbe able to start this by April 2016.”

Maharashtra has included a suggestion from the MaharashtraTour Organisers’ Association in its new tourism policy ofdividing the state into zones for better administration.

Zones to boost tourism

HA Z E L JA I N

Sudhir PatilPresident MTOA

Valsa Nair SinghPrincipal Secretary Tourism & CulturalAffair, Government of Maharashtra

From No. 24 in 2000 to the10th ranked market in the

world in 2013, the business travel industry in India hasworked its way up the rankingsof major global business travelmarkets according to the GlobalBusiness Travel Association(GBTA) Foundation's first GBTA BTI Outlook-India report.What's more, WTTC WorldEconomic Report India 2016predicts that business travelspending will likely see a growth of 8.7 per cent in 2016 to`1,302.9 billion, and rise by 7.2 per cent per annum to`2,610.3 billion in 2026.

To make the most of thegradual but steady growth,GBTA has once again re-established its presence inIndia, in partnership with busi-ness travel management consultancy ProKonsul.Commenting on the decisionto re-enter the Indian market,Gaurav Sundaram, RegionalDirector India, GBTA states,“India is the 10th largest global

business travel market world-wide and is also the fastestgrowing market. Despite itssize and growth, the countrystill did not have an industryforum which looks at the issuesand challenges of businesstravel in India which is whyGBTA felt the market was rightfor a re-entry. In the course ofthe next 12 months, we expectto establish a very sound Indiachapter and anticipate morethan 500 GBTA membersbased out of India,” he shares.

Sundaram informs thatGBTA has a focused plan for thenext few months which includesestablishing a strong member

base, developing quality educa-tional content and events, andreinstating the leadership thatGBTA had earlier. He sheds lighton some major events in thepipeline and says, “We will beconducting at least two eventsthis year - one is India EducationDay in August where we areinviting several speakers with150-200 buyers who will talkabout the best practices in busi-ness travel. For the first time, wewill also have a trade show floorduring the India Education Daytargeting business travel buyersand suppliers in the industry.Following this, we will be organ-ising an education day inSingapore on the sidelines ofITB Asia in October. It will involveboth Indian hosted buyers aswell as local buyers fromSingapore and the rest of Asia."

Use of technology,approach of travel managersand implementation of the bestpractices are some of the ways in which the business travel community can leverageand improve their efficiency,adds Sundaram.

The Global Business Travel Association has re-launchedits India chapter as a part of the organisation's worldwideexpansion plans.

GBTA re-enters India

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Gaurav SundaramRegional Director IndiaGBTA


NTO1 8 TRAVTALK M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6

A19-member delegationfrom Thailand’s province of

Surat Thani visited Mumbairecently as part of its maidenIndia mission to showcase itstourism products to the traveltrade in Mumbai, including apresentation by the Chief ofKoh Samui TourismCoordination Centre. Leadingthe Thai delegation wasWongsiri Promchana,Governor, Surat Thani, whosaid, “Surat Thani and Surathave the same history and wewant to bring travellers fromSurat to our province to showthem our destination.”

The roadshow was partof a larger mission by theSurat Thani Trade & TourismAssociation that involved visiting Surat in Gujarat after an MoU was signedbetween the two cities lastyear. It is aimed at enhancingcooperation between the two cities in the spheres oftourism, and exchange ofinformation on tourism

and culture, apart from trade and business.

Speaking about theThailand Travel Mart that willtake place from June 8-10 inChiang Mai, SorayaHomchuen, Director, TourismAuthority of Thailand - Mumbai,said, “We have received agood number of registrationsfrom Indian travel agents thisyear. We also have 20 hostedagents from India coming forthe travel mart. This year, weare moving from Bangkok toChiang Mai. Also since this isthe first year of the ASEAN

Economic Community (AEC)we will use Thailand as thegateway to the other neighbor-ing countries. After TTM, theagents will get to visit neighbor-ing countries like Myanmar,Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.”

The Surat Thani provinceboasts a host of attractions butis best known for its idyllicislands of Koh Samui, KohPhangan and Koh Tao. Theseislands are also in the processof adding hotel rooms. KohSamui alone will add 1,385keys over the next three yearsacross categories.

Thailand’s Surat Thani province made its India debut withits maiden mission to Mumbai and making a quick stop atits namesake Surat in Gujarat.

Surat Thani’s 1st mission

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Wongsiri PromchanaGovernorSurat Thani

Soraya HomchuenDirector, Tourism Authority ofThailand Mumbai

Vietnam received 65,606Indian tourists in 2015 and

registered a growth of 27.27per cent over 2014, sharedH.E. Ton Sinh Thanh,Ambassador of Vietnam toIndia, Nepal & Bhutan, at thecountry's tourism promotionroadshow held in New Delhi.

"We are hoping for asimilar increase, if not more,for this year," he said."Vietnam has all kinds of serv-ices to satisfy the needs oftourists, whether for holidays,shopping, leisure, cuisine,wedding, honeymoon, orMICE. The only area we cur-rently lack is direct connectiv-ity from India, but once that issorted, we expect a largeinflux of Indian tourists."

Of late, Vietnam haspicked up on promotional activ-ities especially in India andhave conducted roadshows in various cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Hyderabad etc. The

Ambassador also highlightedthat spreading awarenessabout Vietnam in India is amajor priority to attract more visitors.

Also present on theoccasion was Le Tuan Anhm,Deputy Director General -International CooperationDepartment, VietnamNational Administration ofTourism (VNAT), who said,"We have received positivefeedback from Indian travelagents and the media. Overthe past five years, we haveseen an exponential growth inIndian tourist arrivals which is why we are conductingroadshows and participatingin trade fairs to impart first-hand information aboutthe country."

The roadshow also wit-nessed the presence of repre-sentatives from ICS TravelGroup, Ben Thanh Tourists,Victoria Tours, Melia HotelsInternational and VietnamAirlines who spoke about thevarious products on offer.

After receiving an encouraging growth over the past fiveyears, Vietnam is making its presence felt in the Indiantourism industry by conducting roadshows all over India.

27% growth in arrivals

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Vietnam has allkinds of servicesto satisfy theneeds of tourists, whetherfor holidays,shopping,leisure, cuisine,wedding,honeymoon, or MICE

H.E. Ton Sinh ThanhAmbassador of Vietnam to IndiaNepal & Bhutan


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

In a bid to make travelling toMalaysia more convenient

for Indians, the Malaysiangovernment has recentlylaunched the Electronic Travel Authorisation Visa (e-visa) for short trips to thecountry. Currently the e-visa is available to Indianresidents and is valid for a single journey stay of 30 daysin Malaysia.

Commenting on the newdevelopment, Mohd Hafiz,Director, Tourism Malaysia,Mumbai, said, “We are alwaystrying to make travel toMalaysia as convenient as itcan get and the introduction ofe-visa is a major step in thatdirection. We are confident thatwith this ease in visa processmore and more Indians willnow consider Malaysia as adestination of choice for theirnext holiday.”

The Malaysia e-visa canbe obtained within 24-48hours with a validity of three

months and a fee of around `2710.

This year, one millionIndian tourists are expected tovisit Malaysia. India is animportant contributor to theMalaysian tourism economyand as many as 722,141tourists from India were regis-tered making it the sixth largesttourism source market forMalaysia. In 2014, the Indiantourist spent an average ofRM436.2 per day.

While niche products likeself-drive, luxury travel, eco-tourism, sports tourism, business travel etc. will be promoted to reach out to spe-cial interest segments of theIndian traveller, Malaysia isalso targeting the ardent shop-per with a host of yearly saleevents. The 1Malaysia SuperSale was held from March 1-31, while the 1Malaysia MegaSale Carnival will be held from June 15-August 31, and the 1Malaysia Year End Sale from November 1-December 31.

Reiterating India's importance as the sixth largest contributorfor tourists, Malaysia has recently launched e-visa facilitiesfor Indians travelling to the country for tourism purposes.

Malaysia e-visa in 24-48 hrs

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We are confidentthat with thisease in visaprocess moreand moreIndians will nowconsiderMalaysia as adestination ofchoice for theirnext holiday

Mohd HafizDirectorTourism Malaysia, Mumbai

RezLive.com organisesThailand Fam

RezLive.com recently organised a familiarisation trip to Thailand in partnership with Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts and IndiGofrom April 1-4, 2016. The trip was organised in partnership with Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, wherein the group stayed inMövenpick Hotel Sukhumvit 15, Bangkok and got a chance to explore the property and city in a much luxurious manner.Furthermore, the group also visited another property of the hotel chain in Pattaya i.e. Mövenpick Siam Hotel, Pattaya.

Greece debuts with roadshow in Mumbai

A four-member delegation comprising the Greece travel trade, including two members of HATTA (Hellenic Association of Travel& Tourist Agencies) visited Mumbai to meet local partners and make presentations to them at the Emirates office.


NTO

Q How has been theIndian participation at

RDVF 2016? How will thisworkshop help promotebusiness?

A 23-member delegationattended RDVF this year whichincluded travel agents/touroperators from Bengaluru,Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi.There was an enhanced con-tingent from Bengaluru givenour focus on this region as asource market. This key B2Bplatform brings in a large diver-sity of the French tourism offer-ings with almost 700 exhibitorsunder one roof, thus showcas-ing the tremendous tourismpotential of France. This gavethe Hosted Buyers an oppor-tunity to gain in-depth andcomprehensive knowledge,

meet with the right profile ofexhibitors, and to help thembetter understand France’stourism offerings which in turnwould equip them to bettershowcase the same in theiritineraries thereby optimisingtheir efforts in promotingFrance and enhancingFrance’s market share. Thisplatform also provides anopportunity for agents to expe-rience a variety of regions inFrance through thematic edu-cational tours and gain first-hand knowledge and prowessof the eclectic tourism experi-ences that could cater to theneeds of the discerning Indian traveller.

QElaborate on your mar-keting initiatives for

this year?A new development on

the digital front is the globalacquisition of the domainname, France.fr. We believethat this powerful domainname will help us enhance thenumber of footfalls to our digi-tal platforms with an eventualincrease in visibility for France

as a premier tourist destina-tion. The global perspective of marketing includes highlighting signature brandsin France known as the‘Marques Mondiales.’

For India in particular wehave enhanced our platformsfor the agents; to travel toFrance on different thematicbuyer-seller meets like GrandSki which is our winter tourismshowcase, RDVF 2016 — ourlargest B2B convention, thefirst tourism and spiritualitysummit taking place this year,Destination Vignobles which isa wine tourism showcase andFrance Meeting Hub - a MICEBuyer-Seller meet. We arekeen to tap into different nicheslike women travellers, sports

tourism, and to get moreaggressive on enhancing visi-bility of France to the con-sumers and generate moreawareness through smallbespoke events to engage withthe clients.

The annual roadshowwill see Kolkata being addedon as a host city this year forthe first time. The roadshowswere earlier held at Mumbaiand Delhi and Bengaluru wasadded last year.

QGive details on thetotal overnights from

India?We have been receiving

approximately 3,65,000arrivals annually.

QHow do you plan toencourage MICE

tourism from India toFrance?

A global showcase‘France Meeting Hub’ focusingon France as a MICE destina-tion will take place towards thelatter half of the year. This plat-form will bring together travel

agencies from all over theworld and French tourism sup-pliers focusing in the MICEdomain under one roof. A del-egation from India will also bepart of this showcase.Following this event, AtoutFrance India will also beorganising a panel discussionin Paris which will include keytravel experts from India andeminent representatives fromthe Paris Tourist Office, AirFrance and our head office todiscuss initiatives and strate-gies conducive to the Indianmarket with an eventual focuson driving more business fromthis segment to France.

QWhat are your expecta-tions from the India

market in the long-term? The Indian traveller today

is ready to embark on authen-

tic experiences, experimentwith local gastronomy and isinterested in thematic holidayexperiences such as culinarytours, wine trails, active holidays and self-driveescapades. France's variedarray of activities is perfectlyattuned to match the needsand requirements of today'saspiring Indian visitor. Othercontributing factors such as aseamless visa deliveranceprocess in place, enhancedcapacity and frequency of thenational carrier Air Francethrough alliances and compet-itive pricing, and a promisingIndian economy, make it anopportune time to envisagegrowth from India.

RDVF 2016, held in Montpellier, France, from April5-6, 2016, gave visitors an insight into the newofferings from French destinations. caught upwith Sheetal Munshaw, Director-India, Atout France,on the sidelines of the event.

Atout France roadshowin Kolkata this year

RDVF 2016 brings in a large diversity of theFrench tourism offerings with almost 700exhibitors under one roof. This gave theHosted Buyers an opportunity to gain comprehensive knowledge and meet with theright profile of exhibitors.

Sheetal MunshawDirector-India, Atout France

HA R S H A L AS H A R F R O M FRA N C E

There are some Europeancountries without an air-port.These countries areMonaco, San Marino,Andorra, Liechtensteinand Vatican City.

Airport-less


FAMILY ALBUM2 4 TRAVTALK M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA) conducted its second travel trade roadshow in India in New Delhi. One-on-one meetings were held to familiarise the travel trade community with Ras Al Khaimah and build a strong communication process between the emirate and travel trade partners from India.

Ras Al Khaimah engages Delhi trade


Chhattisgarh is looking todevelop its tribal areas to

promote ethno tourism. DrSanjay Singh, GeneralManager, ChhattisgarhTourism Board, elaborates,"Chhattisgarh has 50 per centforest cover and we are pro-moting the remotest areas inthe state where tourists canstay amidst the wilderness andtribals, the ethnic communitiesof the region." He also adds,"We have one of the bestwaterfalls in the country likeChitrakote Falls andTirathgarh; the Bastar regionholds the stalagmite and sta-

lactite rocks; the scenic land-scape and abundant wildlife."

The state is also workingon introducing various adven-ture activities and water sportsin the state. "We have somelarge dam sites like HasdeoBango, Gangrel, and are work-ing on the activities based onthe model of Aamby Valley andLavasa," adds Singh.

In terms of source mar-kets that the state is targeting,Singh says, "We are looking attourists from the Middle East,South East Asia, the Europeanmarkets, but our maximumemphasis is on the domestictourists both within the stateand from across the country."

Singh points out that the SouthEast Asia market has beengaining popularity due to goodconnectivity between theregion and India. He also saysthat there has been a boom in the domestic travel marketas now the youth agedbetween 18-35 years havehigher spending capacity and are ready to explore newer destinations.

The state is promotingits products through socialmedia, individual interactionswith youth and travel andtrade shows across the coun-try. Sigh elaborates, "The ideato be present at exhibitionsand travel shows is to be in the limelight and estab-lish the presence and exis-tence of the state. We participate in 30-35 shows

both in the national and international markets."

The hospitality sector inChhattisgarh has improved sig-nificantly, claims Singh. Heexplains that the state is upgrad-ing its properties and at presentthere are 55 properties availableout of which 15 are state runand the rest are outsourced tothe private sector.

Chhattisgarh Tourism Board is focusing on the booming domestic marketalong with the market in South East Asia, to grow the number of touristarrivals in the state.

Chhattisgarh eyes SE Asia

AN K I TA SAX E N A

M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 2 5STATES

The idea to bepresent atexhibitions andtravel shows is to bein the limelight andestablish thepresence andexistence of thestate. We participatein 30-35 shows bothin the national andinternational markets

Dr Sanjay SinghGeneral ManagerChhattisgarh Tourism Board

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts’aggressive growth plan contin-ues with the hotel groupannouncing the signing of twonew hotels in North India. Withover 72 operating hotels in itsportfolio, the group has nowsigned an 81-room SarovarPortico at Kapashera New Delhiand a 43-room Sarovar Porticoat Palampur in Kangra Valley,Himachal Pradesh. Both thehotels are expected to be oper-ational by July 2016.

These developmentsrepresent the group’s focus onboth the business and leisure

segments. Focusing onexpanding to newer marketsthis year, further openings areexpected in Dehradun,Amritsar, Raipur, Jaisalmer,Ajmer, Bhavnagar, Jalandhar,Greater Noida and Bekal.

Owned by Palm LandHotels & Resorts LLP, thehotel in Kapashera will benamed The Muse SarovarPortico, New Delhi Kapashera.The resort in Palampur, RSSarovar Portico, owned by RSBelvedere, offers excitingviews of the Dhauladharmountain range.

Sarovar signs 2 new hotels in Delhi & Himachal Pradesh


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Meghauli Serai JungleLodge located in Chitwan

National Park, Nepal, aUNESCO World Heritage Siteis Taj Safaris' first lodge out of

India which opened its doorsto the public very recently. The luxury wildlife lodge offers 13 well-appointedrooms and 16 independent vil-las and infuses luxury withlocal traditions.

Commenting on themove, Rohit Khosla, Sr. VicePresident – Operations, Taj

Hotels Resorts and Palaces,said, “We are delighted toextend the legendary Taj hos-pitality to guests in Nepal. TheTaj group has a pioneering rep-utation for creating destinationsand we are very proud to pres-

ent the latest Taj Safaris’Meghauli Serai Jungle Lodgeat Chitwan National Park. We are committed to addingvalue to the community and the region.”

The lodge incorporatessustainability in their ethoswhich manifests in the Newariand Tharu-inspired front

doors and the use of naturalearthy tones that reflect thelandscape. They also believein using locally-sourced ingre-dients for a truly ethnic expe-rience in a relaxed setting. Interms of activities, guests candiscover and enjoy the naturalbeauty of Nepal throughsafaris on elephant-back, jeeprides and jungle walks for awhole new experience. Naturewalks through local Tharu vil-lages and canoeing on the Rapti River are also other ways to explore thestunning region.

Mridula Tangirala,Director of Operations, TajSafaris, thinks that the bestwildlife experience is interpre-tive and rooted in the localwildlife and communitythrough a proven sustainableeco-tourism model. She says,"With this exciting opening inNepal, we are looking forwardto welcoming guests forimmersive wildlife experiencesin the ‘heart of the jungle’ atour newest destination,Meghauli Serai.”

Meghauli Serai Jungle Lodge offers guests a truly luxuriousand sustainable experience in the midst of Nepal’s ChitwanNational Park, home to several species of birds and animals.

1st Taj Safari lodge abroad

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Ayear after the earthquakeshook Nepal, the country

has been robustly trying torestore normalcy. NepalTourism Board's (NTB) effortsin campaigning and promotingNepal's tourism potential haveso far been fruitful as the indus-try is picking up on the homefront as well as from neigh-bouring and overseas markets,informs NTB's CEO, DeepakRaj Joshi.

Their latest tourism re-establishment move comes inthe form of 'Travel Year' or'Ghumphir Barsha 2073' whichwas launched on the eve ofNepali New Year. Elaboratingon the promotional campaign,Joshi says, "The campaign isfocused on encouragingdomestic tourists to travel inthe country and is also expect-ed to create an impact oninbound market by creatingcontinuous online presenceand visibility and statusupdates about importanttourism sites."

The board has reported-ly allocated a certain budget

for the promotional activitiesto ensure success of the cam-paign. NTB will also encour-age the private sector to cre-ate special packages forNepali tourists. "The privatesector must come up with newand innovative packages tar-geting specific markets. Wemust venture out of the normalitineraries and include morelocal and authentic experi-ences and people-peoplereach with innovation. Fromanother perspective, I wouldsay, it would be important tokeep excellence and qualityas the hallmark of all tourismactivities. Research andexploring new markets for fur-ther prospects are equallyimportant," he adds.

Come monsoon, and theofficial festival season beginswith Bhoto Jatra, Gaijatra fes-tival, Janai Purnima, IndraJatra, Teej, Dashain,Deepawali and Chhatt, herald-ing a way back to the hale andhearty state of celebration, anessence of the joyful Nepaliculture, conveys Joshi.

The promotional campaign is aimed at enhancingdomestic tourism in Nepal and encourages Nepalitravellers to discover the restored nation.

Nepal marks Travel Year

AH A N A GU R U N G

The campaign isfocused onencouragingdomestic touriststo travel in thecountry and isalso expected tocreate an impacton inboundmarket

Deepak Raj JoshiCEONepal Tourism Board



Nearly 900 tour operators and journalists from 73 countries took part in the 11th edition of the Rendez-vous en France trade fair that was held from April 5-6, 2016,in Montpellier, in the Languedoc Roussillon Midi Pyrénées region. Over the two days, the B2B trade fair for tourism in France provided an opportunity to meet the740 French companies exhibiting there. Twenty-minute business meetings between exhibitors and international buyers were scheduled at the Montpellier ExhibitionCentre (22,746 appointments are pre-arranged).

Indian trade’s French connection


Etihad Airways is all set to bring its state-of-the-art Airbus A380 aircraft to India,which will land in Mumbai on May 1, 2016.

M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 2 9AVIATION

Upbeat about the big development, Neerja Bhatia, VicePresident India and Indian Sub-continent, Etihad Airways,

said, “We are bringing the A380 to Mumbai on May 1 and I thinkit’s a fantastic product, and it is going to change how high-endtravel is perceived. It also has The Residence, which is a 3-bed-room apartment that one can have in the sky.”

Speaking at the inaugura-tion of GITB, she said, “We,along with Jet Airways, are veryproud of being the official part-ner of GITB. It’s a huge oppor-tunity to bring in guests fromaround the world into Jaipur andI think it’s the right time to showthem what Rajasthan and Indiaat large has to offer. We havebuyers from the US, Europe, theMiddle East, as well as Gulf. It’sa great place to network, make

contacts, meet friends, get morebusiness and promote EtihadAirways along with Jet Airways.We are the only premium airline,which is flying into Jaipur andA380 will be the perfect productfor this market as well since it’snot too far from Mumbai as well.”

Speaking about the USsecurity clearance in Abu Dhabi,she said, “The time that youspend in transit, you are actuallyusing it to do your immigrationclearance and when you arrive atany point in the US that we fly to,you arrive as a domestic passen-ger. I think it’s a fantastic propo-sition and we have a greatresponse, whether it’s VFR traffic,corporate, businessmen, leisuretravellers and students. We actu-ally focus on bringing value to ourcustomers in terms of product,connectivity

Etihad A380 inMumbai on May 1

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We are the onlypremium airlineflying intoJaipur andA380 will be theperfect productfor this market

Neerja BhatiaVice President India and Indian Sub-continent, Etihad Airways

Jetstar Group has taken thisstep to expand its presence

in India, and offer further con-nections from Southeast Asiancountries to multiple points inAustralia and New Zealand.Jetstar group consists of JetstarAirways in Australia and NewZealand, wholly owned byQantas Group; Jetstar AsiaAirways based in Singapore;Jetstar Pacific Airlines based in

Vietnam and Jetstar Japan.Leslie Ng, Sr. Sales &Marketing Manager – India,said, “We know that airline part-ners and travel agents havebeen selling our products out ofIndia for a long time. They havebeen interested and I think wehave realised that this market isimportant and we need toengage with the trade partnershere who have been selling forus. Thus, we appointedInterGlobe Air Transport as our

GSA to make sure that wereach our trade partners andthat they have the infrastructurein place and have a point of con-tact for selling our products.”

Talking about the Indianmarket further, he said, “We donot operate from India, but whentravellers from the country fly toanywhere in Southeast Asia onany other airline, we can providefurther connections to Bali,Australia and New Zealand.”

Jetstar Group has appointed InterGlobe Air Transport Group as its GSA inIndia to offer further connections in Southeast Asia and Australasia.

Jetstar appoints GSA in India

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Leslie NgSr. Sales & Marketing Manager, IndiaJetstar

Going vegan with FlamingoLaunched in 1996 from a small set up of three, all-women team members, FlamingoTransworld has emerged as a company of 225 team members with 32 network offices at the threshold of 20 years. The company takes pride in arranging fun-filledholidays with reliable services.

Adve

rtor

ial

“We believe in the philosophythat travelling brings knowl-

edge. Knowledge opens doors toopportunities galore and thus leadsto prosperity. We have been doingthis for over 20 years and our mottoto provide an experience to our cus-tomers has made us who we aretoday," says Meeta Shah, Director,Flamingo Transworld.

Meeta Shah, along withSanjay Shah, Managing Director,Flamigo Transworld, ventured intothe tourism and hospitality industrywith a concept close to their heartsand a clear vision. Years of relentlessservice has earned them the title ofGujarati international tour operator.

"Since most of our clients pre-fer a vegetarian meal wherever theygo, we specialise in providing themwith vegetarian and Jain mealswhen travelling. We understand theneeds of our customers and makesure to cater to them in the best waypossible. Our client base is mainlyGujarat, Maharashtra and now grad-ually travellers from Bengaluru are

also joining us for an unforgettableholiday,” says Meeta.

"When travelling abroad, wehave tie-ups with hotels and airlinesto provide vegetarian food of thechoice of the customers. Our customers are our brand ambassa-dors and the word of mouth has got prospective clients talking about our services and hospitality,"adds Sanjay.

Flamingo as a brand is recog-nised for reliability and transparen-cy. The employees are completely

determined towards customer satisfaction and the clients are the Flamingo's backbone andbiggest advertisers. Flamingo oper-ates a range of group and individ-ual tours to destinations all over the world.

"With the love and trust that thecustomers have shown for the company, Flamingo has emerged asa leading family travel consultant for tours within India and internation-al holidays," says Meeta.

Flamingo operates a range ofinternational holidays to destinationslike South East Asia, Australia, NewZealand, South Africa, Europe, theUS, China, Japan and is soon toventure into the South Americanmarket. "Since the inception of thecompany, we have seen a year-on-year growth of nearly 35-40 per centand have successfully done holidaysfor more than 1,25,000 customers.

We have a cent per cent repeat cus-tomer ratio and we aspire to becomethe biggest vegetarian meal touroperator in the world, offering valuefor money holiday to the patronsseeing the world, " Meeta adds.

The company offers all inclusivepackages which include airfare,accommodation, visas, food, localsightseeing and transfers. Flamingoworks on a franchise model; the com-pany has five offices in India viz., inAhmedabad, Maisana, Gandhidham,Mumbai and Udaipur. Flamingo offersinternational and domestic ticketingservices, customised and group tourpackages for international tours, visafacilitation and is also a player inorganising tours within India fordomestic segment of tourists.

For becoming a Flamingo partner, please email: [email protected] or contact on 079-40001600.

20 and counting...

Staying true to their company’s philosophy, Meeta and Sanjay Shahcelebrated Flamingo's 20th anniversary by offering a chance to travel tothe section of society that otherwise was deprived of this privilege. Thecompany organised a day trip for 500 senior citizens living in old agehomes in Ahmedabad. The group was taken to places in and around thecity, with arrangements for food and activities for the senior citizens. Itgave them a chance to experience the fun of travelling.

We specialise in providing our customers with vegetarian and Jainmeals when travelling. We understandthe needs of our customers andmake sure to cater to them in thebest way possible.

Meeta ShahDirector, Flamingo

Transworld

Sanjay ShahManaging DirectorFlamigo Transworld



Trade raises, in collaboration with ITC Hotels, hosted a networking dinner called

'Network Talk' in Jaipur during GITB 2016. The event at ITC Rajputana inJaipur was attended by over 450 delegates.


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a toast in Jaipur



The 9th edition of GITB, held from April 17-19 in Jaipur, saw 270 foreign buyers from over 53 countries and 280 Indian sellers fromthe tourism and hospitality industry interacting in 10,500 pre-fixed B2B meetings over the two days.

GITB: Inbound showcase in Jaipur

Contd. on page 34


QWhat prompted VFS tooffer this service?HNIs and larger traveller

groups like the MICE seg-ment have long been request-ing us to create a flexibleservice where the entire visaapplication process could becompleted at a preferredlocation. This service is usefulfor corporate employees, filmproduction crews and studentgroups as well. In the shorttime since we have launched,we are already seeing a lot ofinterest in this service.

Q Is VFS looking to signagreement with any

new countries for visaservices?

We recently completedan important milestone of sign-ing our 50th client government.Our partnership with theGovernment of the Republic of

Turkey makes us their exclu-sive authorised visa serviceprovider in India, Nepal andMaldives. As far as the ‘ondemand’ service goes, otherSchengen countries likeHungary, Denmark, Portugaland Slovenia are also planningto begin offering this servicethrough us.

Q Do you observe anytrends in visa applica-

tions in India? The US and the UK

continue to be the most visited countries from India. We are also seeing sig-nificant outbound travel toother countries in Asia, whilefrom a larger regional perspective the Schengencountries continue to remainquite popular.

QWould mobile technology be the key

focus as far the invest-ments into your businessis concerned?

Absolutely! It is importantfor any organisation to adaptto the digitisation phase in the

travel industry to ensure con-venience to users. To a great extent, technology-basedmodels are making traditionalbusiness models redundant,forcing organisations to realign strategies. We seemore opportunities by

investing in technology todevelop mobile or online interfaces that focus on customer convenience, while staying within the operating norms and securityguidelines prescribed by our clients.

VFS Global’s ‘On Demand Mobile Visa’ service allows travellers to apply for UK visa at alocation of their choice. Paul John Maliekkal,Deputy CEO (Visa Services), VFS Global, sharesmore details.

Mobile biometrics for UK visa M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 3 3VISA

Paul John MaliekkalDeputy CEO (Visa Services)VFS Global

Home to Home services In another exclusive service for UK visa applicants, VFS Global has launched Home to Home (H2H)– a personalised service that provides chauffeur services and end-to-end assistance with form-fillingand submission. This is specifically aimed at out-of-town applicants. The service is available inAhmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

� Pick-up and drop-off: This is available anywhere in the city of application, including from airport/trainstation for out-of-town travellers.

� Premium Lounge: After express check-in at the VAC, the applicant is guided to the PremiumLounge. Photocopy, photo booth, and SMS services are free of cost. Free courier service alsoincluded for return of document.

� Personalised VFS assistance: Customers can use the ‘Digital Assist’ service (personalised form-filling assistance) or the ‘Get It Right’ service (document scrutiny, with an opportunity to send anymissing documents to the Embassy within a time-frame) free of charge.

� Longer working hours: Appointments are available outside of regular work hours from Monday toFriday until 7pm.

HA Z E L JA I N



270 foreign buyers throng GITB

Contd. on page 36



Record meetings at GITB this year

Contd. on page 38



Pink City hosts travel trade

Contd. on page 39


M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 TRAVTALK 3 9ATTRACTIONS

New avenues for business

ITQ sharpening young skills

The third edition of Student of the Year organised by InterGlobe Technology Quotient was held in New Delhi on April19. Aimed at honing talent and encouraging students to achieve high standards of excellence in the field of traveland tourism, five finalists went through a series of grilling stages after which one ultimately claimed the title of'Student of the Year'.

Ramoji Film City is morethan just a venue for films

and production houses. RajeevJalnapurkar, CEO, Ramoji

Film City, says that it alsoattracts hordes of tourists fromall over the world every year."This year, we have seen a riseof 15 per cent in tourist footfallsso far. Tourists from the Northand North Eastern region haveincreased incredibly. Overall,the reception looks veryencouraging," he shares.

The property has addednew and unique features in a

bid to attract more visitors. TheBird Park houses a large vari-ety of birds to appeal to thenature lover, while adventurelovers can have their fill ofactivities like ATV rides,

bungee ejection etc, at Sahas- the Adventure Land.

Jalnapurkar informs thattheir latest initiative is theGrand Funtazia Carnival,which commenced from April22 and will conclude on June5, 2016. “The magical carnivalincludes performances bymagician P.C. Sorcar, as wellas glorious floats and nightparades to entertain the

guests. This wholesome family experience will surelyappeal to more visitors and weare hoping for a good turn out," he says.

Apart from leisure activi-ties, Ramoji is also a popularvenue for MICE events, sharesJalnapurkar. "Our MICE ven-ues have become the preferredchoice for numerous corporateevents and show robust occu-pancy. We have hosted several conferences, annualmeets/days, sales meets, toname a few, and also providecustomised tours for the cor-porate’s families,” he adds.

Commenting on thepotential of film tourism in thecountry, Jalnapurkar says, “Itis a very good sign that ourgovernment is aggressivelypromoting India as a potentialfilm tourism destination anddevelop a synergy betweentourism and the film industryto provide a platform for enabling partnershipsbetween the Indian and globalfilm industry.”

The ongoing Grand Funtazia Carnival at Ramoji Film City,which takes place till June 5, 2016, will showcase guestperformances as well as night parades.

15% rise in footfalls

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The Grand Funtazia Carnival

Agents on Fam to South Korea

Korean Air in partnership with Korean Tourism Organisation organised a luxury Fam trip for their top business partnersto Seoul & Jeju Island from April 14-18, 2016. The group visited Seoul – the capital and largest city of South Koreaand Jeju Island – the only visa free island which is ranked amongst the Seven New Natural Wonders of the World.


For more information and free listing, contact us at: [email protected]

Digital Travel Summit Las Vegas May 2-4

INDABA Durban May 7-9

Peru Travel Mart Lima May 13-16

WTM Connect Asia Penang May 18-20

PATA Annual Summit Guam May 18-21

UNWTO World Conference Beijing May 18-21 on Tourism for Development

Bangladesh International Dhaka May 19-21Tourism Fair

World Travel Fair Shanghai May 19-22

BITE Beijing May 20-22

WTM Connect China Hainan Island May 23-25

PATA & MOT roadshow San Francisco May 24

PATA & MOT roadshow Los Angeles May 25

PATA & MOT roadshow Seattle May 26

ILTM Asia Shanghai May 30-2

PATA & MOT roadshow Vancouver May 31

JUNE 2016Digital Travel Summit London Jun 7-8

Thailand Travel Mart Plus Chiang Mai Jun 8-10

KOFTA 2016 Seoul Jun 11-14

ITE & MICE Hong Kong Jun 16-19

Connections Luxury Thailand Phuket Jun 19-22

UNWTO Conference on Kiev Jun 20-21 Branding in Tourism

CITE Cebu Jun 30-Jul 2

JULY 2016Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) Kolkata July 8 -10

Travel Wedding Show Gurgaon July 9-10

India Travel Awards East Kolkata July 15

Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) Hyderabad July 15-17

Tourism Investors Meet New Delhi July 28-29

PATA – WWF Bagh Mittra Awards New Dehli July 29

India International Travel Mart Chennai July 29-31

MAY 2016

AUGUST 2016Hospitality Expo New Delhi Aug 4-6

India Travel Awards West Pune Aug 5

India International Travel Mart Bengaluru Aug 5-7

HOTELS

Tejinder Singh, GeneralManager, ITC Rajputana

Jaipur, claims that the propertyis offering heritage and respon-sible luxury at the same time.“ITC Rajputana is a 25-year-oldhotel, but has been maintainedvery well. Built in a very classicalstyle of a haveli with a beautifulcourtyard, it has one of the mostoutstanding pools in the busi-ness. The rooms are luxurious;the lobby looks stunning; therestaurants are renovated. ITCRajputana stands for classicalheritage with modern ameni-ties, and that’s what peoplewant now—good experiencesat value pricing,” he claims.

Speaking at GITB, inJaipur, he said, “It’s a placewhere all the FTOs, and travel agents come. It’s a showcase where we can dis-play our product and offer ourservices first hand. The one toone interactions here offerwhat no brochure or websiteprovides you.”

In fact, what is moreimportant for him is to haveconstant engagements withthe travel agents. He said,“For us engagement with thetravel agents is not just a din-ner activity. We engage withthem throughout the year, andthere have been many rela-tionships that we have carriedfor a long time. We havealways been a very proudlyIndian company with respon-sible luxury at the heart of it.All this has created such anaura for us in the industry thatwe get business by sheer

goodwill of the company. Wehave dedicated sales forcethat only deals with the travelagent community. It address-es their need to make surethat the end customer, whichis common to both of us, islooked after well. It’s a mutu-ally symbiotic relationship,and is built over years andnurtured throughout.”

Singh also had positivewords to say about inboundtourism. “Inbound has alwaysbeen a very competitive mar-ket. There are a lot of new

players and price point mat-ters a lot. But serious playerslike us, want to expose ourproduct and get the value forit. Hence we spend a lot oftime in engaging with our trav-el agents and the customersquite well. Also, over theyears, domestic travel has grown quite a lot. But the relevance of inboundtourism has not dropped,even in smaller cities likeJaipur. Thus, it’s a marketwhich continues to grow forquality players and we are rid-ing that wave.”

ITC Rajputana Jaipur, which promises classical heritage with responsibleluxury, is aiming to offer its patrons good experiences at value pricing.

Constant engagement with trade

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For us engagement with the travel agents is not just a dinner activity. We engage with them throughout the year, and there have been many relationships that we have carried for a long time.

Tejinder SinghGeneral Manager, ITC Rajputana Jaipur

Just five years old in the hos-pitality industry, SAMHI

Hotels is seeking the rightopportunities to grow. “We

don’t chase numbers. Themandate from our investors’point of view is primarilygrowth,” says Gupta.

Even as major hotelbrands are shifting focus toTier-II and III markets, Gupta says they will concen-trate on key growth cities. “We are present in Tier-II market too. Wherever we will

get the right opportunity thatpromises growth with the rightinfrastructure, we will take it.From time to time, we evaluatethe growth corridors. We havea hotel coming up in Nasik,

Navi Mumbai under ourFormule1 brand.”

Gupta feels the govern-ment’s vision on ‘Make in India’ will be of great help.“These are things which willbring depth in the market andonce these depths and theinventory balance happens,these kind of fluctuations willsubside and the right kind of

pricing with stability willemerge,” he adds.

SAMHI Hotels boasts ofstrong MICE facilities at someof its hotels. Gupta says, “We

have large MICE facilities inSheraton and Hyatt Regency.Other than that, our economyhotels have no meeting spacesat all, which is Formule1, whichis pure Bed & Breakfast at keylocations. We have mid-scalehotels which have smaller conferences and meetingspaces, not qualifying as theexhibition and MICE, butspaces for small meetings.”

Vinay Gupta, VP, SAMHI Hotels, says the companywill keep exploring opportunities in all Indian cities,be it Tier I or III, and also shares its expansion plans.

Presence in growth corridors

AN U P R I YA BI S H N O I

We are present in Tier-II market too. Wherever wewill get the right opportunity that promises growthwith the right infrastructure, we will take it. From timeto time, we evaluate the growth corridors. We havea hotel coming up in Nasik, Navi Mumbai under ourFormule1 brand.

Vinay GuptaVice President, SAMHI Hotels

3 new Oberoihotels in 2016

The Oberoi Al Zorah is all setto open in 2016 as one of threenew luxury properties for TheOberoi Group this year. Theother two properties includeThe Oberoi Marrakech,Morocco and The OberoiSukhvilas, Chandigarh. The Oberoi Al Zorah is a luxuryeco-destination resort, only 30 minutes from DubaiInternational Airport.

The property is nestledamidst the natural surroundingsof Al Zorah which boasts abeautiful long beachfront, azurelagoons, lush mangroves and247 acres of natural forest withexceptional biodiversity. Allthree of The Oberoi Group’sluxury hotel openings this yearwill be located in stunning nat-ural environments and offer theimpeccable standards of luxuryand service associated with thegroup’s worldwide portfolio.

At the Al Zorah, each ofthe 113 villas, suites and pent-house are elegant and mod-ern with an abundance of nat-ural light and breathtaking seaviews. The spacious and luxu-riously appointed rooms andsuites all have private bal-conies, while the villas offerterraces and temperature-con-trolled private pools. Earlier this year, the Groupannounced two new proper-ties in Qatar – a 250 key luxuryhotel in the West Bay area ofDoha, and a 148 key luxuryserviced apartment located inLusail, Doha.

29-04-2016TT-May-1st 2016_FINAL:TT Layout 5/3/2016 2:06 PM

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4 2 TRAVTALK M A Y 1 S T F O R T N I G H T I S S U E 2 0 1 6 MOVEMENTS

Le Meridien Gurgaon GurgaonLe Meridien Gurgaon has appointed Kunal Dewan as the new Directorof Sales & Marketing for its 285-room year old property at MG Road,Delhi-Gurgaon border. He has been associatedwith Starwood Hotels & Resorts sinceDecember 2011 and has over 10 years ofexperience with leading hospitality brandssuch as Le Parker Meridien Hotel, New York,US, The Oberoi Group of Hotels & Resorts.He has established his position in the indus-try with his knowledge, international expo-sure and passion to drive sales activities &promotions. Prior to being appointed theDirector of Sales at Aloft BengaluruCessna Park, Dewan was aManager at Starwood SalesOrganisation.

Hometel ChandigarhChandigarhSarovar Hotels & Resorts has appointed Sanjay Grover as theGeneral Manager of Hometel Chandigarh. Grover brings with him

an international experience of over 26 yearsworking with various hotels and food &beverage oriented industries acrossIndia, UAE and Oman. Some of his pre-vious assignments include stints withThe Oberoi Grand Kolkata, The OberoiTowers Mumbai, The Kwality Inn, Dubai

and the Ajman Kempenski, Ajman BeachHotel and the Ajman Marina in Ajman.

Preferred Hotels & ResortsNew DelhiBringing 15 years of experience to benefit his new role as the RegionalDirector of South Asia & Middle East at Preferred Hotels & Resorts,Arpit Pant will be responsible for driving key devel-opment and expansion of the brand’s portfolioin the region. Based in New Delhi, he will alsomanage a portfolio of more than 45 hotelsand resorts across the United Arab Emirates,Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, the Maldives and India.Prior to joining Preferred Hotels & Resorts inJanuary 2015, Pant served as general managerof The Oberoi Cecil and Suryagarh, a memberof the Preferred Hotels & Resorts LifestyleCollection.

JW MarriottChandigarhRubal Chaudhry has joined as the new General Manager for JWMarriott Chandigarh. With a career in the hospitality industry spanningwell over 17 years, Chaudhry has worked withvarious brands. In his last assignment,Chaudhry successfully established HiltonNew Delhi/Janakpuri as a leading hotel inWest Delhi. After doing his Bachelors’ inEconomics from DAV College PunjabUniversity, Chaudhry went on to attain hispost graduate diploma from InternationalManagement Institute, Switzerland fol-lowed by his MBA in HospitalityAdministration from Johnson& Wales University,Providence, RhodeIsland USA.

Hyatt Regency DelhiDelhi With over 15 years of experience, Sumit Gogia joins Hyatt RegencyDelhi as Director of Events. He started his career in the year 2000as a Food & Beverage Attendant at the GrandHyatt Delhi followed by Imperial, New Delhias Assistant Manager- Food & Beverageand The Grand, New Delhi as ConventionSales Manager. In 2006, Gogia joinedShangri-La, New Delhi as ManagerEvents and subsequently got promotedto Assistant Director – Events in July 2007, post that in the April of 2008 he was promoted as Director of Events.

Passion inspires Sam Morrah, Director of Sales &Marketing (Asia), Contiki Holiday. “I get inspired when Isee others dedicate time and effort towards something

they care so much about. That’s alsothe reason why my motto in life is

‘nihil bone sine labore’ whichmeans ‘no good without effort’in Latin. It was actually myschool motto,” he says. Aholiday that is still fresh

in mind is his recent visit to Ireland where he stayed at Ashford Castle. He recalls,

“It was absolutelybreathtaking.”

Amruda Nair, JMD and CEO, Aiana Hotels & Resorts, hasstudied German as a second language and has lived by aphrase by Nietzsche: Was mich nicht umbringt, mach mich

stärker. “That which does not kill me makes me stronger,” she says. Her

grandfather Captain Nair has alwaysbeen a source of inspiration to her.Nair’s favourite holiday memory isa family holiday to Kenya for a safariin the Masai Mara. “I was alsofortunate to travel with my

grandparents and I will neverforget the trip to Paris and

the magnificent flowerdisplay in the lobby ofthe George Sanc Hotel.My current favourite isthe breathtaking island of Malta which has

incredibly well-preservedhistoric sites, stunning vistasand rich cuisine,” Nairreminiscences.

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

Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Jagsons Travels, stronglybelieves in educating and empowering the less fortunate. Hesays, “Charity work takes a lot of my time. I do this through

various ways – helping individuals, working withNGOs and even helping small villages in

Nagpur.” His inspiration in life remainshis grandfather and his father. He is ahuge Jungle Book fan and therecently-released movie has him all

excited. The first Indian polymerengineer from the UK, Anand

enjoys holidaying in the UK with his family.

RezLive.com - Travel Designer Group India Anand Desai has been appointed as Group CIO for Rezlive.com(Travel Designer Group) - online B2B portal. He comes with morethan 18 years of experience in IT industry. In his pre-vious assignments he has played key leader-ship roles in esteemed organisations likeReuters and Credit Suisse. Desai comeswith a rich experience in enterprise appli-cation development and has managed largeteams of IT professionals. With his profi-ciency in technology, management andoperations he aims to take Rezlive.com plat-form to the next level by scaling upoperations and expanding itstechnological capabilities.

Atmantan Wellness Resort PunePuneAtmantan, a luxury wellness resort in Mulshi (Pune), scheduled forlaunch in April 2016, has announced the appointment of

Athena Salim as General Manager. Salimbrings a treasure of experience to the posi-

tion along with operational excellence hav-ing served many roles across Front Office,F&B as well as Training & Development.She is a post graduate from The OberoiCentre of Learning & Development anda graduate from the American Hotel &Lodging Educational Institute in India. She

is also a Certified Hospitality Educatorfrom the same institute, postwhich she spent close to adecade with the Oberoi Hotels.

Rajeev D. Kale has taken over as President & Country Head -Leisure Travel, MICE, at Thomas Cook (India). Kale began hiscareer as a management trainee at The Taj President Hotel in1991 and later moved to Cox & Kings in 1993. His 14-year stintwitnessed rapid growth, from Jr. Executive to Senior General

Manager. Kale joined Thomas Cook (India)Ltd. in 2007 as Head of MICE. He hasover 22 years of experience in creditcontrol, accounts, costing, contracting,product management, operations, salesand MICE. Kale completed his gradu-ation in Commerce from MVLU College(Mumbai University).

Thomas Cook India MumbaiMahesh Iyer has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officerby Thomas Cook (India). Prior to his elevation as COO, Iyer wasresponsible for the overall strategy for thecompany, in addition to its ForeignExchange business. With over 21 yearsof experience, Iyer would oversee dayto day business management ofThomas Cook India in addition to man-aging visa and foreign exchange busi-ness in India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka. Heholds a Masters degree in MarketingManagement from JBIMS and hassuccessfully completed aBusiness Managementdegree from IIM-Calcutta.


Postal Reg. No.: DL(ND)-11/6044/2015-16-17; WPP No.: U(C)-178/2015-17 for posting on 1st-2nd and 16th-17th

of the same month at New Delhi PSO, New Delhi - 110001, RNI No.: 53492/1991Date of Publication:30-04-2016

QWhat is agenda of Jammu andKashmir Tourism in 2016?We are focusing on metropolitans

and big cities in India to promote the stateas the best destination in the country. Weare pursuing to change the mind-set andperception of intending tourists aboutJ&K, particularly in the aftermath ofSeptember 2014 floods. The domesticmarket is thriving. While a large numberof foreign tourists are visiting India, twicethose numbers of domestic tourists aregoing out and we are focusing on this seg-

ment. We have recovered well from thecalamity and 2015 was a good season forus. 2016 has also started with a goodnumber. At present there are 34 flightscoming to Srinagar and we are in theprocess of adding more flights by the firstweek of May. Air Asia will start flights frommajor metros to Srinagar making it a totalof 40 flights.

QHow many tourists did the statereceive in 2015?The state received more than one

crore tourists both foreign and domesticin 2015 out of which 9.5 lakh tourists vis-ited the Kashmir valley. 2016 looks more

promising as we have already received 2,16,252 tourists as of January 1-March 18,2016, against 82,376 in the correspondingperiod of 2015. Out of this total number oftourists, 5,524 were foreigners against4,494 in the corresponding period of 2015.The Tulip Garden, which opened recently,also saw nearly 1.5 lakh visitors this year.

QHow is the state going to use thefunds allotted by the Ministry of

Tourism in developing tourism inJammu & Kashmir?

The funds provided by the Ministryof Tourism are primarily being utilised for

creation of tourism assets at different loca-tions which have tourism potential andalso for the development of upcomingtourist destinations.

QWhat were the developmentsmade with regards to tourism in

2015? During 2015, the state government

formulated the Tourism Advisory Board.A mega event —Kashmir Travel Mart —was organised at Sher-i-KashmirInternational Convention Centre (SKICC),Srinagar. Comprehensive tourismpromotional campaignsin the shape of

roadshows in different parts of the countrywere organised and advertisement cam-paigns were launched through print andelectronic media.

QWhat are the latest tourism prod-ucts on offer?We are focusing on namely

Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg,Kokernag, Verinag, Yusmarg,Doodhpathri, Aharbal Water Fall, Lolab-Bangus-Drangyari, Jamia Masjid, WorldHeritage Sites like Martand Sun Temple,Awantipora and Burzahama. We are alsoconducting various activities like cable carrides, golf tourism, rafting, skiing, trekking,paragliding, and shikara rides that thetourists can enjoy.

QWhat are your marketing andpromotional plans?We are marketing and promoting the

state aggressively. We have gone all outin print and electronic media, held seriesof roadshows across the country and willcontinue with much more vigour to show-case J&K as the best destination in theworld. The travel trade shows and exhibi-tions are also instrumental in garneringnew clientele and fostering long-term relationships with foreign buyers toincrease footfalls in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir received 2,16,252 tourists from January 1- March 18,2016, against 82,376 in the corresponding period of 2015. Out of the totaltourists, 5,524 were foreigners against 4,494 in the corresponding period of2015, reveals Mahmood Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism, Kashmir.

2 lakh+ tourists in J&K this year

We have gone all out in print and electronic media, held series ofroadshows across the country and willcontinue with much more vigour toshowcase J&K as the best destination in the world.

Mahmood Ahmad ShahDirector Tourism, Kashmir

AN K I TA SAX E N A

Road AheadJ&K received 75,000 tourists in January 2016. In 2015, 7.8 milliontourists visited Katra, 3.5 lakh touristsvisited Amarnath, 9.5 lakh tourists visited Kashmir and 2 lakh tourists visited Ladakh

A revised plan of ̀ 198.65 crore for up-gradation of roads leading to touristdestinations has been formulated

A golf course is coming up at Sonmargwhich will boost Golf Tourism

Introducing water transport at Manasbalwhich is favourable for adventuretourism

Developing Mantalai in Udhampur district as an International Yoga Centre

Several areas like Abdullian andChamliyal to be developed under BorderTourism on the pattern of Suchetgarh


Travel awardsA DDP PUBLICATIONIndia

Publisher’s Note

Vikramajit Chairman

SanJeet Editor & PublishEr

EvEnt Co-ordinators Gunjan Sabikhi Amit Bhasin Seema Datt Arit Gandhi

Editorial Devika Jeet Kanchan Nath Ruchi J Singh Shivani Kaul Ankita Saxena

dEsignErs Nityanand Misra Vikas Mandotia Nitin Kumar

ProduCtion Anil Kharbanda

CirCulation Ashok Rana

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south India is undoubtedly a perfect blend of traditional elegance and modern, preserving its rich culture and heritage besides encouraging contemporary infrastructure development. The region is fast moving towards becoming a tourism

puller and we would like to support these efforts!

As a tribute, DDP Group decided to hold India Travel Awards to recognise the achievers of the travel and tourism industry, who have worked steadfastly towards enhancing the environment to allow the growth of this business. These stalwarts need to be acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged in every region, and we have started the journey this year from South India.

Our top-most honour, the Gold Maya, is awarded to those stalwarts who have shaped the industry the way it is today and created innovative ways and products to take the industry a notch higher.

The awards ceremony is brought to life by a charismatic anchor and singer, thrilling the audience. At the black-tie, silver service event, various performers enthral and amuse the audience. This year invitees were mesmerised by a spell-binding, globe balancing act by an artist, as she flipped fire-lit bottles in a tricky juggling act. In all, the 3rd edition of South India Travel Awards was the beginning of a new journey of long term associations.

India Travel Awards will be travelling to various other southern cities in its subsequent editions. Thus we take upon ourselves, in our own small way, to revive and enhance tourism in the southern states of India.

SanJeet

4 TravTalk MaY 1 ST ForTnighT iSSue 2016 SOUTH INDIA TRAVEL AWARDS

Maya eMbraces Hyderabad at the 3rd south India Travel awards The third edition of the South India Travel Awards celebrated the accomplishments of the travel and tourism industry of South India at Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel on April 12. The awards commemorated achievers from different segments of the industry, such as GDS, Hotels and Resorts, Travel Agents, Tour Operators and Technology.

Gracing the occasion with their presence were Guests of Honour — Neerabh Kumar Prasad, IAS, Principal Secretary

(Tourism & Culture), Government of Andhra Pradesh; B. Venkatesham, IAS, Secretary Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture, Government of Telangana; and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Khajuria, IFS, Commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, as well as other dignitaries from the travel and tourism industry in South India.

Rajen Habib Khwaja, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, New Delhi, was declared The Legend in Public Service. Khwaja joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1976. C. Nagendra Prasad, Chairman, Travel Express, joined the Gallery of Legends. Steve Borgia, Chairman and Managing Director, INDeco Leisure Hotels, was declared DDP Game Changer. He is acknowledged for pioneering the concept of rural tourism. Vinay Gupta received the DDP Trailblazer award on the behalf of SAMHI Hotels.

Reiterating the importance of travel industry, Prasad said, “Extensive opportunities exist in the tour and travel industry in each and every nook of the country. This is one sector which can lead to the growth of

employment on a large scale, and I think we have all got to work together on this. Andhra Pradesh has grown by 30 per cent in tourist arrivals this year. Already our hotels go with 90 per cent plus occupancy in Visakhapatnam, in Vijaywada and the opportunities are many. I invite you to come and invest in Andhra Pradesh. India grew at 7.6 per cent this year; Andhra Pradesh topped at 10.98 per cent. I congratulate all the winners of this evening, I am sure they will be able to bring laurels in their respective areas of operation, lead to the growth of tourism in the whole country.”

The dignitaries also appreciated DDP Publications for this initiative. “I think DDP has done a great job by going regional. This way they can incentivise a lot of people, who otherwise at the national level may not come out. This is a great concept in itself,” added Khajuria.

SanJeet, Mentor, India Travel Awards, said, “These awards signify the growth of the industry which has developed immensely in the last few years. Nominations were received in 81 categories; in fact six new categories were created by the industry themselves. When the voting finally opened, over 2,16,000 votes were received from all over the world. India Travel Awards is a platform which recognises and applauds the true leaders of the fraternity, to acknowledge the emerging

leaders. We are proud to have been instrumental in helping it flourish, and will continue with our endeavors.”

Khwaja took the opportunity to stress on the importance of sustainable tourism. He said, “Tourism is not all about figures and footfalls, it’s about what we are and how we would like others to perceive us to be. The key to tourism is what was started a few years ago, safe, honourable and sustainable tourism. If we work in that direction, we will be able to really do a lot.”

Borgia called upon the trade to curate new venues of tourism within the country. “When PM Modi took office he spoke about niche tourism, we all know if something will change the economy of this country, it will be niche tourism, eco tourism, rural tourism and heritage tourism. That is where our wealth lies. Rural tourism has proved that rural per capita income has gone up by six times through it. I urge stakeholders to participate in niche tourism, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the area,” he added.

Gupta said, “I am very fortunate to be a part of SAMHI Hotels. Today SAMHI has 16 operating hotels across India. 80 per cent of our business hotels are located in South India. Our hotels are there in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and many more to come.”

The winners of South India Travel Awards 2016 with their trophies at Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel

Kanchan nath

MaY 1 ST ForTnighT iSSue 2016 TravTalk 5

Legend In PubLIc ServIcerajen Habib Khwaja, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, New Delhi, joins the ‘Legend in Public Service’. He is felicitated by dr. Tanushree Pandey, Mrs India 2015, and SanJeet, Director, DDP Group

ddP game cHangerSteve borgia, CMD, INDeco Leisure Hotels joins the ‘ddP game changer’. He is felicitated by neerabh K. Prasad, IAS, Principal Secretary-Tourism & Culture, Andhra Pradesh Government, dr. Tanushree Pandey, Mrs India 2015, b. venkatesham, IAS, Secretary Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture, Government of Telangana, dr. rajendra Prasad Khajuria, IFS, Commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and SanJeet, Director, DDP Group

gaLLery of LegendSc. nagendra Prasad, Chairman, Travel Express joins the ‘gallery of Legends’. He is felicitated by neerabh K. Prasad, IAS, Principal Secretary-Tourism & Culture, Andhra Pradesh Government, dr. Tanushree Pandey, Mrs India 2015, b. venkatesham, IAS, Secretary Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture, Government of Telangana, dr. rajendra Prasad Khajuria, IFS, Commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and SanJeet, Director, DDP Group

ddP TraILbLazervinay gupta, received the ‘ddP Trailblazer’ award on the behalf of SamHI Hotels. He is felicitated by neerabh K. Prasad, IAS, Principal Secretary-Tourism & Culture, Andhra Pradesh Government, dr. Tanushree Pandey, Mrs India 2015, b. venkatesham, IAS, Secretary Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture, Government of Telangana, dr. rajendra Prasad Khajuria, IFS, Commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and SanJeet, Director, DDP Group


Chief Guest neerabh K Prasad, IAS, Principal Secretary-Tourism & Culture, Andhra Pradesh Government, being honoured with Pearl Trophy ‘Maya’

Chief Guest dr. rajendra Prasad Khajuria, IFS, Commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad being honoured with Pearl Trophy ‘Maya’

Chief Guest, b. venkatesham, IAS, Secretary Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture, Government of Telangana being honoured with Pearl Trophy ‘Maya’

dr. Tanushree Pandey, Mrs India 2015, being honoured with Pearl Trophy ‘Maya’ for her support to India Travel Awards


beST generaL manager - femaLe The award was given to monica Suri, Le meridien Kochi

beST gLobaL dISTrIbuTIon SySTem (gdS)The award was given to Travelport galileo and received by its Chief Commercial Officer, Sandeep dwivedi and Associate Vice President - South India, K.S. ganesh

beST aIrPorT The award was given to Kempegowda International airport bengaluru and received by its Vice President, Business Development – Marketing & Strategy, Bangalore International Airport, raj andrade

moST PromISIng aIrLIneThe award was given to air costa and received by its Vice President – Marketing, Kavi chaurasia and Manager-Sales, K Srinivas rao and Swapna arvind

beST convenTIon cenTreThe award was given to Hyderabad International convention centre and received by its GM, neil Paterson and Director of Convention, vikas Sood

beST deSTInaTIon managemenT comPanyThe award was given to Spiceland Holidays, Kerala and received by its Managing Director, riyaz uc

beST debuT cITy HoTeL The award was given to Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel and received by its General Manager, Shibil malik

beST deSTInaTIon managemenT comPany InTernaTIonaLThe award was given to STHI Holidays India and received by its Director - Sales & Operations, gagan Kumar and Director, monika arora


beST InTernaTIonaL aIrLIneThe award was given to oman air and received by its Country Manager, bhanu Kaila

beST b2b TraveL PorTaLThe award was given to Travel boutique online and received by its Vice President – Sales (India), aarish Khan

beST Luxury WeddIng & mIce reSorT The award was given to ramoji film city and received by its General Manager – Sales & Marketing, T.r.L. rao and General Manager - Sales & Marketing, Parag date

beST Lcc InTernaTIonaLThe award was given to Tigerair and received by its Manager – Marketing, Surya Kuchibotla

beST Turnaround HoTeLThe award was given to radisson blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad banjara Hills and received by its Director of Sales & Marketing, rohan cholkar & General Manager, rajneesh malhotra

beST Tour oPeraTor InboundThe award was given to cholan Tours and received by its Director, Pandian

beST domeSTIc aIrLIneThe award was given to SpiceJet and received by its General Manager, West & South India, S. ramakrishna reddy and Station Manager – Hyderabad, b. raghunath Singh

beST eco-frIendLy HoTeLThe award was given to novotel Hyderabad airport and received by its Assistant Marketing Manager, mukarram mohiuddin and Director of Sales & Marketing, Javed Parvez


beST regIonaL aIrLIneThe award was given to Silkair and received by its General Manager, Jagdish ram bhojwan and Manager Hyderabad, caleb Sim

beST LeISure HoTeLThe award was given to Hyatt Place Hampi

beST TraveL TecHnoLogy ProvIderThe award was given to iWeen Software Solutions and received by its Co-founder, rangaprasad badasheshi and Co-founder & Director, Sudheer reddy

beST green reSorT The award was given to ramee guestline bangalore and received by its Director Operations & Business Development, nihit Srivastava

beST meTroPoLITan HoTeLThe award was given to Howard Johnson bengaluru Hebbal and received by its General Manager, rishi neoge and Associate Head of Sales, anshul goswami

beST SPa & WeLLneSS reSorT The award was given to neeleshwar Hermitage and received by its Managing Director, altaf chapri

beST buSIneSS HoTeLThe award was given to Aloft Bengaluru Whitefield and received by its General Manager, Pankaj gupta

beST WeddIng and LeISure HoTeL The award was given to radisson blu Plaza Hotel, mysore and received by its General Manager, Harikumar b


exceLLence In cuSTomer ServIceThe award was given to Quality Hotel d v manor vijayawada and received by General Manager, vinod m, Clarion Hotel

beST conTemPorary HoTeLThe award was given to aloft bengaluru cessna business Park and received by its Complex Director - Sales & Marketing, Westin Hyderabad Mindspace and Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel, nitin marriya

beST aIrPorT avIaTIon marKeTIng TeamThe award was given to bangalore International airport and received by its Vice President, Business Development – Marketing & Strategy, Bangalore International Airport, raj andrade and AGM - Airline Marketing, Passenger Services, Shikhin Pawar

beST corPoraTe HoTeLThe award was given to ramada chennai egmore and received by its General Manager, animesh Kumar

beST Luxury SuITe HoTeLThe award was given to Park Hyatt chennai and received by Assistant Manager Public Relation, aakansha Saxena, Park Hyatt Hyderabad

beST cITy HoTeLThe award was given to Holiday Inn cochin and received by its Director Sales, Soma mathew

beST economy HoTeLThe award was given to ibis bengaluru city centre and received by its Hotel Manager, firoz Jangaria

beST bacKWaTer LeISure HoTeLThe award was given to ramada alleppey and received by its General Manager, zacharia george and Owner & Chairman, reji cherian

MaY 1 ST ForTnighT iSSue 2016 TravTalk 1 1

beST deSIgned HoTeLThe award was given to clarion Hotel chennai and received by its General Manager, vinod m

beST TourIST aTTracTIonThe award was given to ramoji film city and received by its General Manager - Sales & Marketing, Parag date and General Manager – Sales & Marketing, T.r.L. rao

beST Luxury HoTeLThe award was given to Le meridien Kochi and received by its General Manager, monica Suri

beST mId marKeT buSIneSS HoTeLThe award was given to Holiday Inn express gachibowli and received by its General Manager, ranganath budumooru

beST gLobaL conSoLIdaTIon ServIceSThe award was given to Mystifly Consulting

HoSPITaLITy ParTnerThe award was given to Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel and received by its General Manager, Shibil malik

beverage ParTnerThe award was given to aspri Spirits and received by its State Head, geetanjali rajput and Key Account Manager, Shiv nag


Red carpet roll-out for

MaY 1 ST ForTnighT iSSue 2016 TravTalk 1 3

travel stars of south India

ddppl.com travtalkindiatravtalkindia.com/pdf/2016/05-may-2016-1.pdfhoma mistry ceo trail blazer...

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