Upendra Kumar from International Travels in Patna, has been using Tripjack’s website for his agency bookings since the last two years. Sharing his experience, Kumar says, “Before that, I would use other B2B portals for my bookings. But the service provided by Tripjack is very good and I have never looked back since using them. Their website is very user-friendly and their flight and hotel fares are very competitive. I keep referring them to all my travel agent friends. Even their recent Fantasy League contest that I have participated in, lets you play as well as earn Tripjack coins at the same time. I won the first prize of 15,000 Tripjack coins for the match played between Mumbai v/s Rajasthan.” Top winners get air tickets sponsored by AirAsia and hotels stays every week. Visit tripjack.com now!

In its latest move, the Tourism Committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (PHDCCI) has been reconstituted for the year 2020-21 with Anil Parashar, President & CEO, Interglobe Technology Quotient (ITQ) as the Chairman and Rajan Sehgal, Kishore Kaya & Ankush Nijhawan getting elected as the Co-Chairman. Vinod Zutshi, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, GOI, continues to be the Hony. Member and Mentor for the Tourism Committee. The tenure of the newly constituted committee will be 1 year but it can be reconstituted before as well. The committee is dedicated towards the betterment of tourism in India, one that is sustainable and develops India’s heritage tourism.

Seema Kadam, Regional Director (India), Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, reveals, “We have created a new ‘Travel Trade Facebook’ page for all English-speaking markets. We have a consumer website but realised the importance of having a dedicated B2B page to provide regular updates, showcase new products and answer questions from the global travel trade community on all things LA. We will have information on hotels, special days, LAX Airport updates, COVID protocols, info on LA’s outdoor activities, e-learning Programme i.e L.A, itinerary suggestions, etc. At a later stage, we will built the content to have data on LA/California suppliers.”

Randhir Singh Vaghela, IATO Chairman (Gujarat Chapter), says, “The Statue of Unity is becoming a great destination for tourism. And the latest development of seaplanes being launched on October 31 has added another feather to its cap. Believe me, there are so many activities added at the Statue of Unity that it is now a minimum two-night destination and we are hoping that it will soon become one of the global destinations that every tourist would like to visit.”

Ministry of Tourism has sought inputs from IATO on the promotion and marketing of Incredible India. The Ministry desires to plan in advance for these promotions and marketing so that as soon as e-Visa, tourist visa and international flights are announced or resume, it can begin with the promotions and marketing effort in a bid to revive tourism from international market.

IATA has enhanced its Travel Industry Designator Service (TIDS) and will also no longer charge travel agencies to use the service. TIDS is an IATA programme which provides a unique identification code for travel agents and sales intermediaries who are not IATA-Accredited agents and are located outside of the USA.

FHRAI has welcomed FSSAI’s enforcement rules making registration mandatory for home-cooked food sellers, whether operating from home or from dark kitchens. “FSSAI has responded to our plea and is taking to task any such unregulated and illegal dark kitchens. Quite a few of these are actually funded and run by the Food Service Aggregators (FSAs) to escape responsibilities attached to operating restaurants legally,” says Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, VP, FHRAI.

Alliance Air, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, has appointed Harpreet Singh as Chief Executive Officer. Among her many feats, Singh was appointed as the first woman commercial pilot of Indian Airlines in 1988. With the new appointment she has become the first woman to head an Indian carrier.

Cruise ship Karnika, operated by Jalesh Cruises, has been sold at an auction in India for $11.65 million. Having debuted in 1990, Karnika has operated for numerous cruise lines throughout her history. It was in April 2019 that a cruise ship Pacific Jewel was renamed Karnika at a ceremony held at the Princess Dock of the Mumbai Port Trust. Jalesh Cruises has suspended operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit Utah will conduct its first-ever presentation for the Indian travel trade on October 21, 2020 at 11 am. Rachel Bremer, its Tourism Global Markets Director, will highlight the state’s must-visit spots and its appeal to the Indian clientele. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.