A strong contingent of top Bollywood Production Houses such as A strong contingent of top Bollywood Production Houses such as, Raju Hirani Films , Red Chillies , Lyca ,Reliance Entertainment and CEO of Producers Guild of India  amongst others, were recently hosted in Turkiye for a familiarisation tour. The trip spanning 2nd to 7th December witnessed the crème de la crème of Bollywood. Turkiye and Bollywood have had a long-standing strong relationship, and their collaborations have always been fruitful. Prior to the pandemic, major blockbusters such as Race 2, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Ek Tha Tiger were shot in Turkiye, showcasing the country’s picturesque beauty and enthralling magnificence. After the pandemic, once the travel restrictions were uplifted, Indian superstars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif visited Turkiye to finish filming on their upcoming movie in 2023, Tiger 3. The title track of the film was shot in the breathtaking sceneries of Istanbul and Cappadocia, with even Turkish actors being a part of the film for an action sequence. Despite the pandemic, Indian Production Companies have consistently shown significant interest in filming movies in Turkiye. This familiarisation tour allowed Production Houses to explore Turkiye’s renowned and famous cities. During their five-day trip, representatives of these production houses explored Antalya and Istanbul from a film location perspective. The visitors were given a chance to interact and conduct one-on-one meetings with the local line producers to get better clarity on the filmmaking process in Turkiye. A key highlight of this FAM was the discussion of these Bollywood representatives with the Turkish General Directorate of Cinema about the incentives available to the Production Companies, in case they plan to shoot their upcoming projects in Turkiye. …

Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline, today inaugurated its maiden flight from Visakhapatnam, its tenth city, marking the airline’s foray into the state of Andhra Pradesh. Akasa Air will offer double daily flights on the Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru route; the second frequency with the added benefit of an early morning option will start from December 12, 2022. This launch to Visakhapatnam, a city playing a key role in India’s aviation growth story, further reiterates Akasa Air’s commitment towards enhancing regional connectivity and strengthening important transportation links in our country. The airline’s operations from Visakhapatnam will cater to the increased demand for travel from the city while offering its signature warm and reliable service to passengers on the most affordable fares. Earlier in December, Akasa Air announced the addition of Lucknow as the eleventh destination on its network, with flights connecting the city with Bengaluru and Mumbai, scheduled to commence from December 25, 2022. Since its launch in August this year, Akasa Air has been progressively scaling up its operations and by December end expects to cross over 500 weekly f lights on a total of sixteen routes across 11 cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Pune, Visakhapatnam and Lucknow. It will continue to grow its network to establish a strong pan-India presence focusing on the metro to tier 2 & 3 route connectivity, using a fleet expansion plan that adds one new aircraft every 15 days. Akasa Air’s fleet size will be 18 aircraft by the end of March 2023 and over the next four years, the airline will add 54 additional aircraft, taking its total fleet size to 72 aircraft. Bookings for flights on Akasa Air are available …

Business travel has made a strong comeback in India after two years post pandemic. OYO has recorded an 83% year-on-year uptick in bookings in business cities, between April and November this year. According to the company’s Business Travel Trends Report 2022, Delhi emerged as the most-booked business city. 

A unique integrated limited validity tourist pass has been introduced by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal in Association with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to facilitate easy and convenient access initially to 21 places of tourist interest across Kolkata for both domestic and international tourists visiting the city of joy. This project has been initiated by the Department of Tourism as part of the FAITH policy recommendations and will soon be made available online or obtained through recognized tour operators or at any other authorized POS. The access and the validity of the pass will be managed digitally through a specially designed QR-based application. The visitor can pick and choose the places of interest and obtain the same through an online payment. Truly an effective and meaningful initiative and I am super delighted to be part of this project.

The Kerala government is planning to create a woman-friendly tourism network with over one lakh women travellers and entrepreneurs as members, said state tourism minister P A Mohammed Riyas. More than 1000 women have already registered in the programme. 

This popular excursion to Mt Titlis transports visitors to a world of ice and snow. The iconic revolving cable car, Rotair, takes visitors 3062m above sea level to the summit where panoramic views await them. This webinar will highlight the Titlis excursion along with its various offerings. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2023. For more information, write tojaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

India’s largest airport service aggregator, DreamFolks is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with one of the foremost & leading golf privileges providers Vidsur Golf. This first-of-its-kind association will enable DreamFolks to expand its already diverse service offering by enabling customers access to Golf courses across India & Asia Pacific. Together both the brands envision enhancing customer experiences by making lifestyle products and services more accessible. DreamFolks’ association with Vidsur Golf will give customers access to golf games and lessons at 40 plus Vidsur golf clubs throughout India and 250 plus golf clubs & resorts in the Asia Pacific region simultaneously allowing Vidsur to tap into the widespread customer base of DreamFolks. In addition to airport services including lounge access, food, and beverage, spa services, nap room access, luggage transfer, meet & assist and more, this unique offering will enable our client partners to augment their CVPs for their growing consumer base. The association layers the DreamFolks proprietary tech platform on the global inventory of Vidsur Golf thus seamlessly blending into the existing customer value propositions of our esteemed clients. Speaking about the partnership, Ms. Liberatha Kallat, Chairperson & MD, DreamFolks Services Ltd. commented, “We are excited to onboard Vidsur Golf as a trusted partner. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to provide travelers with premium experiences. Not only do we want our customers to have an enhanced travel experience, but we’re also looking at how we can provide additional value-added benefits beyond our comfort zone. By giving travelers access to Vidsur’s premium golf courses we are allowing our customers to experience services par excellence during & after their travel.” Additionally, Sammerjit Raikhy, Founder and Director, Vidsur Golf Pvt …

New research by edyn reveals generational shifts in consumer habits that are set to transform the sector. According to the research, 34% of generation Z and millennials plan to take longer trips than they did before the pandemic, compared to 15% of older generations.    

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has informed that the venue of the inauguration of IATO convention has been shifted from Indira Gandhi Pratishthan to Centrum Hotel in Lucknow. The date and time will remain the same, 1.e. 16 December at 5pm, and it will be inaugurated by the CM. The inauguration of the IATO Travel Mart will also happen on 16 December at 7pm, instead of 17 December 10 pm.   

DCT Abu Dhabi is organising an exclusive webinar to educate the travel trade about luxury hotels and experiences at the destination, which will be held on 8 December 2022 at 3pm. To register contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com , +91 9650196532.