Maldivian announced the launch of direct flights from Bangalore to Hanimaadhoo, commencing 15th May 2025. This new connection offers Indian travellers’ direct access to the pristine islands of the northern Maldives—an untouched paradise waiting to be explored. With return fares starting from just USD 337, this direct route makes it easier and more affordable than ever for Indian tourists, honeymooners, and adventure seekers to discover the Maldives beyond the traditional resorts. The northern atolls, known for their serene lagoons, local island charm, and diving hotspots, offer a more authentic and peaceful Maldivian experience. Hanimaadhoo, located in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, is home to some of the most beautiful and unspoiled islands in the country. The region is perfect for those seeking a quiet island escape, community-based tourism, and sustainable travel experiences. This direct service eliminates the need for a domestic transfer from Malé, allowing travellers to reach their destination faster and more conveniently. Whether it is a weekend getaway or a longer tropical retreat, the new route offers a convenient connection from the heart of South India to one of the Maldives’ best-kept secrets. Bookings are now open and available via Maldivian’s official website, mobile app, and travel partners across India.

According to Tourism Economics, global cruise deployment increased by 25% from 2019-2024, with a 5% expansion in 2025. The Caribbean, Europe, and Asia-Pacific lead in deployment, while the Middle East has seen a significant 125% rise in average cruise days spent in the region. This growth highlights the ongoing expansion and popularity of global cruise markets.

Samual Machado, MD, India & South Asia, Sabre Travel Solutions, has said that Sabre brings a lot of value for their customers. “Going forward, our focus will be to become a multi-source platform, which has everything available for travel consumer ecosystem like OTAs or agencies on one side and on the other side, there are enough layers of artificial intelligence which allows customers to consume the content in the most efficient manner,” he said.

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General of Tourism, said, “A unified national strategy, skilled talent, digital tools and strong state-led promotion can propel us into the top five MICE markets by 2025.” While India already has the necessary infrastructure and market demand, he pointed out that the real challenge lies in coordination. Billa emphasised the need for city-level convention promotion bureaus, a strong national MICE brand, skill development academies and a seamless digital portal.

The Abu Dhabi Stopover Programme, launched by DCT Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways, has experienced significant growth. With 25,000 bookings and 44,000 visitors between January to April 2025, bookings have surged by 47%, while visitors increased by 76% compared to the previous year. The programme continues to attract repeat travellers, with Etihad aiming for 130,000 stopover guests in 2025.

CII, EHL and ITC Hotels launched Industry–Academia Connect 2025 from New Delhi—a flagship multi-city initiative designed to spark nationwide dialogue and action toward a future-ready education ecosystem. Designed as a high-engagement, nine-city series, this initiative will bring together leading corporations and academic institutions to co-create an ecosystem of innovation and workforce readiness. The initiative is aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2025 and will cover cities including Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The Delhi leg of the series brought together a distinguished cohort of principals, career counsellors, and institutional heads from across the capital region, with over 70 leaders from industry and academia. The event saw educators from varied institutions in attendance. The educators were joined by senior representatives from industry across sectors like IT, Hospitality, Animation, Healthcare, BFSI and Gaming, building a confluence of thought leadership across the education and industry spectrum. The engagement featured high-impact panel discussions, sectoral insights, and a strong emphasis on aligning curriculum frameworks with dynamic industry demands. The opening session was headlined by Sougata Roy Choudhury, Executive Director, CII, who set the tone by highlighting the urgency of building a future-ready workforce through integrated, industry-informed learning models. He was joined on the panel by Praveen Roy, Advisor to CII; Nilesh Mitra, Vice President – Talent Management at ITC Hotels; Aman Aditya Sachdev, Non-Executive Director, EHL, Rohit Shenoy, Global Head of Talent Development at DXC Technology, Dr. Partha Bose MD, DTCD, FISD, FBPI, MBA, Senior Pulmonologist, Healthcare Skilling Specialist; and Anish Dhiman, Programme Head at CII Institute of Hospitality (CIIIH). Nilesh Mitra, Vice President, Talent Management, ITC Hotels, said, “For hospitality and service-driven sectors, skills are …

Air New Zealand marked a momentous new chapter in its 85-year journey, unveiling both a striking new uniform collection and the first of its fully redesigned 787-9 Dreamliners. These two milestones signal the airline’s continued commitment to celebrating Aotearoa while delivering world-class innovation to customers around the globe. Uniform Like No Other: A Celebration of Aotearoa Air New Zealand reveals its brand-new uniform – a bold and meaningful expression of the airline’s pride in Aotearoa and its unique cultural heritage. Designed by acclaimed New Zealand-born fashion designer Emilia Wickstead, with bespoke hand-painted prints from tā moko artist Te Rangitu Netana, the uniform marks a powerful new era of identity for Air New Zealand. “For us, this is more than just a uniform; it is a celebration of our people, our culture, and our values. Air New Zealand has never been about standing still or blending in. As an airline, we are all about being bold, celebrating what makes us unique, and celebrating our team members. This new uniform encapsulates everything we stand for – a combination of innovation, rich cultural heritage, and a sense of pride and belonging.” Worn by 6,000 Air New Zealanders globally, the new uniform will undergo in-flight and ground trials beginning May 2025, with full rollout across the airline in 2026. Introducing the Future of Flying: The All-New 787-9 Dreamliner Air New Zealand also revealed its first retrofitted 787-9 Dreamliner – ZK-NZH – setting a new benchmark in onboard experience and aircraft design. Customers can book seats starting Wednesday, 7 May, ahead of the aircraft’s debut flights from Auckland to Brisbane on Monday, 19 May, followed by its first long-haul to San Francisco. This retrofit is …

Tivoli Hospitality Group announced the launch of ‘Wedcation by Tivoli’ in Jim Corbett. This expansion marks the brand’s commitment to destination-driven hospitality, seamlessly blending the charm of nature with the elegance of bespoke weddings. “This collaboration marks a strategic initiative to expand into experiential, destination-driven hospitality,” said Akshay Gupta, Executive Director, Tivoli Hospitality Group. “These partnerships bring together local expertise, beautiful properties, and Tivoli’s legacy in luxury and events. It was a natural progression shaped by evolving consumer desires for more immersive and meaningful celebrations.” This initiative builds upon Tivoli’s successful expansion into Tier 2 markets and the NCR region, which includes flagship properties such as The Tivoli New Delhi, Chhatarpur and The Upper HSE – Sultanpur. With this latest addition to its growing portfolio, Tivoli aims to redefine destination weddings through its innovative ‘Wedcation’ concept, inspired by the increasing demand for experiential wedding celebrations. “We see weddings not just as events, but as multi-day experiences,” Gupta elaborated. “Guests can celebrate in thoughtfully designed venues by night and wake up to jungle safaris, nature walks, or yoga by the river. This unique rhythm balances the joy of celebration with the calm of nature—making each moment unforgettable.” “The property stands out through its seamless integration of wedding festivities with nature-based experiences,” he added. “Offering exclusive outdoor spaces, customised wedding setups, eco-friendly accommodations, and adventure options like wildlife safaris and nature walks, we provide an all-encompassing, unique destination for couples and nature enthusiasts alike.” “The concept of Wedcation was born out of a desire to offer couples an extraordinary wedding experience that blends the vibrancy of celebration with the peace and allure of nature,” said Gupta. He further explained the location choice, …

Federation of Associations in Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) is set to hold its National Tourism Conclave ‘Tourism 2030 – India on Mission Mode.’ Bringing together industry and government to define the roadmap for the sector to become a USD 3 trillion tourism economy by 2047, contributing 10 per cent to India’s GDP. Puneet Chhatwal, Chairman, FAITH, said “India will continue to be among the fastest growing major economies on its path to becoming the world’s third largest global economy. This coupled with limited supply addition in the country’s top ten lodging markets, foreign tourist arrivals set to exceed pre-covid levels, and the permanent shift in consumer behaviour with travel becoming a non-discretionary spend will continue the demand buoyancy in the tourism sector.” He added, “The National Tourism Conclave will focus on enabling a transformation in the policy framework and facilitate the creation of a favourable investment environment to unlock India’s tourism potential. This roadmap to 2030 will serve as the building block for USD 3 trillion tourism economy in 2047, aligned to the vision of Viksit Bharat, as envisaged by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.” The conclave will feature a series of panel discussions and interactive sessions focused on enhancing India’s global positioning by deliberating on issues such as Development of a Holistic Travel Eco-Systems, World Class Infrastructure & Connectivity, Sustainability & Inclusivity in Tourism, Preserving Culture & Heritage, Promotion of Destinations and Leveraging India’s Demographic Dividend – Building the Talent Pool. According to Ajeet Bajaj, Vice Chairman, FAITH, “The conclave will witness participation of senior leaders from both the Government and the Travel & Tourism industry.  The recommendations emerging from the conclave will be presented to the …

Travstarz Global Group, a Trip.com invested company hosted a networking evening and training for its travel agent partners at Hotel Grand Mercure, Agra on 28th April, 2025. The event saw a packed crowd with over 35 agent partners joining in for the evening from Agra and surrounding cities. Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group said, “Over the last 3 years we have been regularly conducting Training and Networking Workshops for our Agent Partners across various cities. Our core strength has always been Tier 2 & 3 Cities and this time we chose Agra for our event and we are very proud that we are the first DMC in India to have hosted such an event in the city of Taj. We received an overwhelming response from the agent partners, and I was personally amazed to see the kind of existing and potential outbound business from Agra. We showcased our entire portfolio of products and destinations specially focussing on Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Vietnam, Japan and Georgia which have been recently added to our DMC list taking our Total DMC Offices to 21 Destinations now. We already have unmatched offerings for USA and Canada both with over 600 short and long-haul itineraries for these countries alone with our Head Quarters in Los Angeles, USA and we hope to get a strong support from Agra for all our DMC locations” Vani Singh, Vice President, Travstarz Global Group added, “We have been wanting to do such an event in Agra for quite some time now since we have witnessed good volume of outbound business coming from here already. These shows and networking events are our way to reconnect with our partners …