Spreading its wings to India, Scoot launches services from Singapore to Amritsar (fares starting Rs 4700) and Singapore to Chennai (fares starting Rs 5700). Scoot’s service to Amritsar commences three times weekly and will increase frequency with an additional Monday service from July, restarting the Singapore-Amritsar route for the SIA Group. The airline takes over the Singapore-Chennai daily service from Tigerair, expanding capacity to Chennai for the SIA Group with its new and spacious Boeing 787 Dreamliner as the world’s first all-787 operator. Chief Commercial Officer for Scoot and Tigerair, Leslie Thng, said, “India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and Scoot is excited to present exceptional value, an empowering selection of customisation options including inflight connectivity and in-seat power, as well as service with Scootitude to guests flying into and out of India.” “Guests from India can now fly to amazing destinations in our Asia-Pacific network through the Singapore hub, as well as onward with Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Tigerair in the SIA Group portfolio,” he added. Scoot will also commence Singapore-Jaipur services four times weekly from October. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) , India is projected to be the world’s third largest air passenger market by 2031 with a total of 367 million passengers by 2034, an extra 266 million annual passengers compared to today.

Air India boosts regional connectivity by commencing operations to Pune via Raipur from Bhopal. Flight AI 9865 operating with a 70 seater ATR-72 will ply on the route Bhopal-Raipur-Pune. The flight will operate thrice a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Air India offers a direct air link on this route for the first time. The flight will leave Bhopal at 0845 hrs and land at Raipur at 1015 hrs, will depart from Raipur at 1045 hrs and arrive in to Pune at 1300 hrs. The return flight AI 9866 will leave Pune at 1330 hrs and reach Raipur at 1545 hrs, depart Raipur at 1615 hrs and will touch down at Bhopal at 1745 hrs. Present on the occasion to launch the flight Minister of Home and Jail, Madhya Pradesh, Babulal Gaur, said, “We congratulate Air India for starting this flight as it will save travelling time for passengers commuting to regions like Raipur and Pune from Bhopal. The 100% occupancy on the first flight is a testimony of the demand for such flights to push regional connectivity.” At Raipur the flight was received and flagged off by Minister for Agriculture, Chhattisgarh Brij Mohan Aggarwal. The passengers arriving at Pune were greeted by the Airport Director Shri Ajay Kumar who also gave the boarding card to the first passenger to check-in for the return flight to Raipur.

The Central Government has notified travel serivce providers that it has exempted service tax on religious pilgrimage for Kailash Mansarovar, Haj Yatra or pilgrimage facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, between July 1, 2012 to August 19, 2014. A notification was issued to TAAI members on September 2, 2014, specifically exempting service tax on services provided by specified organisations in respect of religious pilgrimage for Kailash Mansarovar, Haj Yatra or a religious pilgrimage facilitate by MEA, GoI, with effect from August 20, 2014. However, for the period from July 1, 2012 to August 20, 2014 service tax was applicable on the aforesaid services but due to common practice prevalent during that time, no service tax was paid on the services.

PATA India and the Ministry of Tourism’s (MOT) first leg of its five-city US roadshow begins today at San Francisco and will cover the West Coast. Imparting more details on the roadshow, Vikram Madhok, Hony. Treasurer, PATA India, said, “One of our mandates for PATA membership is to add value so we embark on roadshows across the world, primarily in the main feeder markets. Now, we are going back to the US and have more than 20 people from every segment participating. It’s going to begin from May 24 in San Francisco, May 25 in Los Angeles (Orange County), May 26 in Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), May 31 in Vancouver ending on June 1 in Seattle. Another roadshow in Europe is currently in the pipeline.”

India’s luxury market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent is higher than any of the other BRIC nations, and is the highest of the 25 countries explored in a recent Amadeus report called Shaping the Future of Luxury Travel. This report looks at luxury travel trends until 2025 to help the travel industry better target and service its fastest-growing segment. The report was commissioned by global travel technology provider, Amadeus, and developed with data from Tourism Economics and with dozens of expert interviews with global luxury travel experts across specialist travel concierge agencies, airlines, hoteliers and intermediary suppliers through Connections, a global networking event organiser for luxury travel providers. Global consumers are increasingly spending their disposable income on experiences rather than material goods. Consumers’ desire for life experiences is spurring a growth in luxury travel that is outpacing the rest of the travel industry, finds a new Amadeus report featuring data from Tourism Economics. Between 2011 and 2015, luxury travel, in terms of outbound flights on business or first class, saw a 4.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), versus 4.2% for overall travel. This trend will continue to accelerate over the next ten years, with luxury travel trips projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2015 and 2025, almost a third faster than overall travel at 4.8%. This trend is good news for the luxury travel sector. The report, Shaping the Future of Luxury Travel, reveals the fresh challenges and opportunities that the luxury travel market will face over the next decade.Some key findings from the report include: North America and Western Europe account for 64% of global outbound luxury trips, despite only making up …

Domestic airlines carried 309.35 lakh passengers during Jan-Apr 2016 as against 251.05 lakh passengers during the corresponding period of 2015 thereby registering a growth of 23.22 per cent. DGCA released the figures after analysing traffic data submitted by various domestic airlines for the month of April 2016. In terms of On-Time Performance (OTP) of scheduled domestic airlines Air Asia ruled the roost at 89.1 per cent with Indigo close behind at 88.5 per cent. In terms of Passenger Load Factor, SpiceJet remains ahead at 93.2 per cent in April.

In view of prevailing security situation in Libya, security threats and challenges to lives of Indian nationals in Libya, the Government of India has decided to impose travel ban on Indian nationals planning to travel to Libya irrespective of the purpose. All Immigration authorities have been notified in this respect. Indian nationals may please take note of the travel ban for compliance. The travel ban is effective from 3 May, 2016 till further orders.

Tourism Ireland hosted eight key Indian travel trade agents to Ireland’s largest tourism trade fair, Meitheal 2016. Organised by Tourism Ireland, the workshop brought together over 310 overseas buyers and 455 Irish tourism businesses for two days of negotiating business deals. Nearly 12,000 face to face meetings were organised between the buyers and sellers for the 2017 season. Huzan Fraser Motivala, India Representative, Tourism Ireland, said, “India is an important market for Tourism Ireland and one that we are committed to growing. Over the last five years, we have seen a year-on-year increase of over 25 per cent in Indian visitor arrival numbers to the island of Ireland.” She also informed that the Irish Visa Applications (year to date 2016) have also seen a 43 per cent increase in visa applications compared to the same period last year. Some of the factors in favour of this growth can be identified as increased air access to Ireland, particularly by Etihad Airways and Emirates via the Middle East and the British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS) which has made it easier for tourists from India who are visiting Great Britain to also visit Ireland, without the cost or hassle of applying for a separate visa.

Speaking about the importance of the India market for Chile on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Exportable products from Chile’ in Mumbai organised by the Embassy of Chile, Carolina Vasquez, Trade Commissioner, ProChile India Commercial Office, said, “India offers great potential to Chile considering that more and more Indians have started to travel abroad.” She added, “Indian visitors to Chile have shown an increase of 25 per cent in 2015 as compared to 2014, and is likely to maintain the growth rate this year. We will try and increase the number of Indian travellers traveling to Chile by participating in trade shows here so as to make Indian tour operators aware of what Chile can offer. It is important to work with them in a focused and a personalised manner to generate the awareness about our country so that later when we launch a bigger campaign, we have more travellers interested in Chile and there are sufficient people to guide and advise them.” The seminar discussed the Partial Trade Agreement (PTA) for expansion and fostering of ties between the two countries, which is under legal review.

Sarovar Hotels has announced its foray into yet another international market as it takes over the management of The Panorama hotel in the capital city of the Republic of South Sudan. Now rebranded as The Panorama Sarovar Portico, Juba, it is Sarovar Hotels’ fourth operational hotel in Africa. The group currently manages The Heron Portico in Nairobi, The New Africa Hotel in Dar-Es-Salaam – Tanzania and The Zehneria Portico in Nairobi. Commenting on the new endeavour, Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels, said, “We are very excited to be setting our footprints to another new destination in the African region. We see immense growth potential in this market with high demand and good occupancies in most hotels. This is major step in our growth and expansion strategy and we are looking to operate 10 hotels in Africa in the next five years.” Located in the midst of a major business hub of Juba, the Panaroma Sarovar Portico is ideal for both business as well as leisure travellers. The hotel with 73 well designed rooms and suites offer a perfect balance of comfortable accommodation and warm hospitality. Each room equipped with state-of-the-art features and modern amenities has a balcony offering striking views of Juba. Dining options include restaurant serving local and international cuisine, a well-stocked bar offering best cocktails, wines, variety of beers and liquors. Nearby local landmarks such as the All Saints Cathedral and Bahr El Jebel Safaris makes it an attractive destination for travellers. Additional block of suites and a large conference and banqueting facilities will soon be added to the hotel. Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. currently operates over 75 hotels in India and abroad with a key …