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– Amrita Ghosh
India can be ranked among the first three markets for travel abroad in the coming years, according to Omri MorgensternCEO of online travel platform Agoda he said while speaking to the media in India during his recent visit to the country. Indian travelers are becoming increasingly important to many countries and will become second only to China in terms of spending in Asia, he said. An earlier Skift article had reported how the time has come for India — which already ticks most of the boxes as a viable candidate to take over from China as the largest travel sourcing market — to enter the travel space. the dragon. In India, online travel booking is growing at a faster pace post-pandemic compared to other global markets, outpacing the Asia Pacific market, Morgenshtern said. Total transaction value in travel has almost reached pre-Covid levels in 2022. “Since 2019, the ranking of importance of Indian tourists to Thailand for example has increased from 10th to 6th. I expect it to become more important in the coming years, not only for Thailand, but for many countries in APAC,” he added. Morgenshtern also sees a lot of potential for inbound tourism in India. While India’s arrivals are growing more slowly than outbound travel, he believes there will be rapid growth in the coming years.
Smaller Indian the cities AND the cities have witnessed one increase in travel demand before the festival of colors Holiaccording to data from the hospitality and travel technology company linked to the IPO Oyo. “This time, people are going back to their roots for Holi and looking for the most authentic experiences. Prayagraj saw the highest growth (127 percent) in bookings in 2023, closely followed Patna (126 percent) and Lucknow (125 percent). Delhi and Hyderabad also witnessed significant growth compared to the same period last year,” said an Oyo spokesperson. People are choosing to explore exotic destinations and some are planning to return to their hometowns for the Holi celebrations, according to Oyo. The platform witnessed an average stay of around six days, which is higher compared to the previous year’s data. “With the growing demand for travel around Holi, we at Oyo aim to provide a smooth and hassle-free experience hassles. Further, we strive to offer travelers greater flexibility, the ability to make travel decisions according to their own conditions, convenience and personalization,” the spokesperson said.
Vistaraa joint venture between The Tata Group AND Singapore Airlinesinaugurated it daily direct service between Mumbai AND Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The airline will deploy A320 neo aircraft for this route. Describing Dammam as a major administrative center in Saudi Arabia and home to a large Indian diaspora, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan said the addition of Dammam to the airline’s growing international network is in line with its aim to further strengthen its presence in the Middle East. “Dammam will be Vistara’s fifth destination in the region after Dubai, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Muscat,” he said. “A component of the Saudi Vision 2030, Dammam is a key administrative destination that is home to the largest port in the Gulf and some of the main business headquarters,” Kannan had said earlier while announcing the launch of the flight.
Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has appointed Myong-kil Yun as its new director INDIA office. With plans to focus on luxury travel and niche interest groups like K-pop AND K-Drama fans and students visiting Korea for educational tours, Korea aims to welcome 150,000 Indian travelers in 2023 and 500,000 by 2026. Yun will be based in Gurgaon, leading the promotion and marketing activities in India and neighboring countries for the next three years. Yun has been with Korea Tourism Organization since 2004. This will be his second time working in the India market, with his first appointment during 2013-16, when he served as deputy office director. “I am thrilled to be back in India and look forward to working closely with trade and media partners in the region to further position South Korea as a premium overseas destination for Indian travelers. This year also marks 50 years of Korea-India diplomatic relations, so this feels like a particularly good time to give back,” he said.
Assam Tourism held a road show in Mumbai to promote northeastern state of Assam as a film tourism and the shooting destination, projecting the spiritual, wildlife, riverine and adventure potentials of the state. or memorandum of understanding was signed between Assam Tourism Development Corporation and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation for cross-promotion of tourism in both the states. With sustainability as one of the guiding principles, the government of Assam launched a new tourism policy in November 2022. A new comprehensive website for Assam Tourism was also launched where tourists will be able to avail various services under one roof. “We are making a lot of efforts to promote film tourism in the state and make it the most film tourism friendly state by facilitating single window shooting permits for film projects and providing necessary support to attract filmmakers, ” said Jayanta Malla Baruah. , the tourism minister of Assam.
British Airways (BA) has confirmed that it will do more InveStment in it call center in India as the airline looks to improve customer service from the facility that employs more than 1,400 people. CallBA, the airline’s call center located in the technology hub of India’s northern state – Gurugram, provides support to customers from the US and UK to South Asia and the South West Pacific. The carrier said the call center will also operate from a new office with a modernized phone system later this year. The investment in the customer care team at CallBA is part of the vision to continually improve and enhance customer service, said Calum Laming, the airline’s chief customer officer. “The investment in our people and a new office in Gurugram provides growth and a significant improvement in our tools,” he added. BA opened its first call center in India in 2006. Currently, the airline operates 56 weekly flights connecting five Indian cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Buoyed by the strong recovery in domestic passenger trafficlower interest costs and removal of tariff limits, of India airlines the industry is set to return to profitability next fiscal year after a nearly three-year decline fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ratings agency Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) projected growth in domestic passenger traffic to 8-13 percent in FY2024, post 55-60 percent expansion in the financial year 2023, to achieve 145-150 million, which is well above pre-Covid levels. ICRA has assessed international passenger traffic for Indian carriers to witness year-on-year growth 10-15 percent in the financial year 2024, post 125-130 percent expansion in financial year 2023. International passenger traffic for Indian carriers is likely to surpass pre-Covid levels in financial year 2023 itself surpassing the peak of financial year 2019 in financial year 2024. In the medium term, growth in the Indian airline The sector will be driven by airport infrastructure improvement, in addition to the government’s concerted efforts to promote regional tourism.
Capital of Indian technology Bengaluru has appeared as revenue per available room growth leader IN the fourth quarter of 2022 (October-December), according to JLLThe last Hotel Momentum India (HMI) for the fourth quarter of 2022, a quarterly monitor of the hospitality sector. The city recorded 111 percent growth, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. After Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi witnessed the highest growth in revenue per available room at 105 percent and 94 percent respectively. Driven mainly by corporate travel, weddings, winter vacations and celebrations, the hospitality sector continued to witness strong year-on-year performance growth in the fourth quarter of 2022, the report said.
Expanding its footprint in India, Hilton has announced the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Nagpurscheduled to open in early 2026. The 135-room the hotel will also have large wedding and social event spaces. “This is our first Hilton property in Nagpur and we are excited to introduce the DoubleTree by Hilton brand to Maharashtra’s third largest city,” said Navjit Ahluwalia, senior vice president and country head, India, Hilton. Hilton’s presence in India currently comprises 24 hotels in operation. Another 17 hotels are in the pipeline, including properties in Nepal and Bangladesh.
from queue management solutions for museums in one artificial intelligence– based one-stop initiative for the best travel experience, Goa Tourism Accelerator program claimed to make startups rethink the sector with a series of innovations. A total of 13 startups working in the areas of waste management, customer experience, new payment solutions, mobility and sustainability participated in the program. Initiated jointly by the Goa Tourism Forum and the Startup Incubator for Incubation Innovation Research and Entrepreneurship (FiiRE), the 12-week accelerator program is designed for startup founders developing solutions for future-proofing the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Some of the innovations presented were predictive analytics and process automation for global hospitality to allow hotels to automate front desk operations to allow guests to have a frictionless check-in and stay experience, creating a blogging platform AI-powered social that empowers people to share and grow their knowledge with ease and helping businesses improve their customer engagement and manage queues.
Photo: India could rank among the top three markets for outbound travel in the coming years, according to Agoda’s CEO.
