Kapil Bhatia, Executive Chairman, InterGlobe Enterprises, has been conferred with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hotel Investment Conference-South Asia (HICSA) 2024. The awards ceremony took place in Bengaluru in the presence of prominent figures from the global and Indian hospitality industry. HICSA Awards are a prestigious recognition within the hospitality industry, celebrating the most remarkable hotel developments in the South Asian region. It recognises pioneers and distinguished visionaries who have significantly shaped the landscape of travel and hospitality in South Asia, acknowledging their exceptional contributions, lifelong commitment, and enduring impact. The HICSA Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates Mr. Kapil Bhatia’s exceptional career, and this recognition is a testament to his vision and unwavering commitment to excellence which has left a lasting impact on the travel and hospitality industry. Mr. Bhatia, a true pioneer, successfully established a strong foothold in the travel industry at an early stage, and with the launch of InterGlobe Hotels in 2004, the Group made a foray into the Indian hospitality sector. Over the years, his foresight, strategic thinking, and his strong commitment to quality and customer focus have played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of the company. It has been Mr. Bhatia’s firm belief in India’s growth potential, and the strong desire in people to travel that has been the driving force behind the remarkable growth of InterGlobe, fuelling the company’s transformation from a single entity to a thriving conglomerate, encompassing a diverse portfolio of businesses such as aviation (IndiGo), logistics, travel commerce among others. InterGlobe Enterprises, with its partners in India, currently has a portfolio of 30 hotels across 14 cities. Internationally, InterGlobe has a collection of hotels in key cities across …

Underlining the potential of smaller cities in India, Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Jagsons Travels, says that tier II and III cities have been on a growth trajectory since COVID and the travel demand from them is now 10 times more than what it was pre-COVID, leading to surge in outbound travel.

As per Future Market Insights, the market for international outbound meetings and incentives from India to Europe is predicted to surpass US$7.17 billion by 2032, leading to a compound annual growth rate of 5 per cent between 2022 and 2032. FMI has recently forecasted that India’s outbound tourism market will reach US$18817.72 million in 2024.

In the FY 2023-24 so far, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has achieved a capital expenditure of ₹4,778 Crores, leading India’s civil aviation industry towards progress. AAI is earmarked to undertake a capital expenditure of Rs 25,000 crore for the period between 2019-20 to 2024-25.

Rail Europe invites the Indian outbound travel trade to attend an exclusive webinar on train travel in Europe on today at 3pm. It has successfully trained more than 5,000 agents last year together with its NTO partners and GSAs. Participate in the quiz and win exciting prizes! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI has said that their upcoming convention is poised to achieve big goals in tourism, “Our convention in Goa aims to drive growth in a sustainable manner, aligning with India’s vision of achieving 100 mn tourists by 2047 and a $3 tn hospitality tourism economy.” he added.

Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, said, “By 2035, India is projected to provide 30 per cent of the world’s skilled manpower, a number of our experts in various sectors like hospitality will emerge from India. It is not just about producing manpower; it is about producing the best talent.” He was speaking at WTTCII event.

FCM Meetings & Events has revealed that events, event travel and meetings are leading the business travel to bounce back globally. It states that M!CE market size, in terms of revenue, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent from 2022 to 2030 to reach USD1563.3 billion by 2030.

Kanneganti Sameer, Manager Northern & Eastern India, Singapore Airlines, said, “We operate to 8 different cities, and we will operate to 5 more cities, making Singapore Airlines in 13 cities across India. We offer unparallel connectivity across India to meet the requirements of a lot of corporate partners.”

After launching its maiden overseas services to Doha this month, Akasa Air, CEO, Vinay Dube plans to start flights to Kuwait, Riyadh and Jeddah by the end of October this year. Stressing that Akasa Air is “financially solid,” Dube said the airline aims to be among the world’s top 30 by 2030. In the summer schedule that spans from March 31 to October 26 this year, the airline will increase its weekly domestic departures by 14.30 per cent to 903.