Monthly Archives: December 2022

Collinson promotes Saurabh Malhotra as Director Partnerships, South Asia and Indochina

Collinson, owner and operators of airport experiences programme Priority Pass, has promoted Saurabh Malhotra to Director Partnerships, South Asia and Indochina. Under the regional leadership of Suzanne Wong, Director of Commercial Partnerships for Asia Pacific, and working closely with Sumit Prakash, who’s expanded role was recently announced, Malhotra will continue to identify and strengthen new partnerships that deliver greater value to Collinson’s clients and their cardholders in key APAC markets, including India, Thailand and Vietnam.

The India market and wider South Asia region continues to be recognised for its importance by Collinson. Recent partnerships in the market include collaborations with homegrown brands including PineLabs and PoshVine; alongside winning the partnership with Visa India for the recently launched domestic travel experiences programme, Priority Pass Access India.

Commenting on the appointment, Sumit Prakash, Country Director, India and South Asia, Collinson said, “Recognising Saurabh as an extremely skilled individual who holds over 14 years of experience across strategic partnerships, business development, and product benefits management, we’re delighted to expand Saurabh’s role to enable him to further contribute to designing and implementing market and partnership-building initiatives. Following three impressive years with Collinson, most of which were during the pandemic, I have every confidence that Saurabh will continue orchestrating strategic and value-adding partnerships that provide ease of travel to our clients’ customers and additional value to our partners in this incredible region.”

Malhotra is an experienced payments professional with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services and payments industry. Skilled in business development, developing and managing strategic partnerships and customer relationships, Saurabh is a strong entrepreneurship professional with a Masters in Business Administration focused in Marketing from IBS.

“Being associated with a customer-first brand like Collinson has been a wonderful experience to date, and I feel elated to be awarded with this enhanced role. Collinson’s endeavour to better support our domestic markets – especially where travel has returned at an incredible pace – is exciting. I look forward to continuing to provide our clients with opportunities to better reward their customers each time they travel with ease and convenience through strong and inspiring partnerships”, said Malhotra.

Prior to this appointment, he was Collinson’s Partnership Director for India and South Asia for close to three years. Earlier in his career, Saurabh worked with industry giants such as PineLabs and American Express in roles encompassing business development, partnerships, and product benefits management.

ICAO denies claims of auditing SpiceJet; says no such exercise was carried in India

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Tuesday said that it did not audit any airline during its visit to India between November 9 and November 16. The agency said the visit was to verify the effectiveness of the country’s civil aviation authority’s safety oversight.

The statement followed SpiceJet’s claim regarding an ‘exhaustive audit’. The carrier on December 5 claimed that ICAO team had visited its head office for an ‘exhaustive audit’.

SpiceJet in its statement last week said, “SpiceJet operations, safety processes and systems have been found to be in order following an exhaustive audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The comprehensive audit by ICAO firmly establishes SpiceJet’s credentials.”

The ICAO in response posted a statement on Twitter by its communications officer William Raillant-Clark which read, “ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) team performed an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) to India from 9 to 16 November 2022. The objective of an ICVM is to validate progress in addressing the findings from previous USOAP activities.”

Leaving the airline’s name out of the clarification, William said the ICAO conducts industry visits to verify the effectiveness of the civil aviation authority’s safety oversight. “This will include visits to multiple operators. ICAO wishes to clarify that visits to operators are not audits or inspections at all,” he noted.

SpiceJet has not responded to the clarification as of now.

SpiceJet services were capped at half in July by India’s aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation after a string of air safety incidents were reported. The regulator also put the carrier under enhanced surveillance comprising audits and safety checks.

FHRAI Congratulates Govt. for G20 Presidency, Terms It India’s Golden Opportunity For Tourism & Hospitality

With India assuming the G20 Presidency from this month, the country’s apex hospitality Association – Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has cited the yearlong event as a golden opportunity for the tourism and hospitality industry to shine on the global stage. The Association has urged the Government to intensify promotional initiatives under Incredible India to attract as many foreign tourists as possible during the year and leave an indelible mark of India on the tourism map of the world. The G20 Summit is expected to host over 200 meetings and conferences in over 50 destinations. In anticipation of its spill over benefits, FHRAI has requested the Government to also reactivate the Champion Sector in Services Scheme (CSSS) to give a boost to the MICE tourism in the country.

“India’s G20 Presidency brings with it a great opportunity for the tourism and hospitality industry. The country will host delegates from the 20 participating countries over the duration of a year and this might also pique the interest of tourists to travel to India. After two years of absolute stalling, this has come as a golden opportunity for the tourism and hospitality industry. This is the time that the Government should go full throttle to promote tourism under the Incredible India banner. The hospitality industry is raring to showcase its world-class standards and facilities to the world while celebrating the country’s rich and varied heritage and diversity,” says Jaison Chacko, Secretary General, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).

India’s tourism sector is one of the largest service industries with 10.93 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and USD30 billion Foreign Exchange Earnings in 2019.

A total of 3,263,219 Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) were recorded till August 2022, which is 47.2 per cent of the 6,914,987 FTAs to the country in the corresponding period in 2019. With the G20 Summit taking place across the country through the year, the hospitality industry hopes to bridge the 50 per cent deficit in tourist inflow in a lesser time span.

“We congratulate the Govt. on assuming the G20 Presidency. The series of meetings and yearlong activities will give a big boost to the industry and its allied sectors and the industry is ready and excited to host the delegates of G20. India is already gaining much popularity for its medical tourism and MICE is another such niche space which can catapult India into one of the major tourism nations in the South-East Asian market. Just before the pandemic broke out, the MoT had set up a MICE fund under the CSSS to boost MICE tourism in the country by encouraging the meetings and conference operators to bring more international conferences, meetings and seminars to India. This was initiated with the objective of increasing foreign tourist arrivals, employment and foreign exchange earnings for the country. Unfortunately, the project got stalled due to the pandemic but we now request the Government to reactivate the scheme to make the most of the opportunity,” says Pradeep Shetty, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) & Executive Committee Member, FHRAI.

“As per the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) tourism generated Rs.13.2 lakh Cr (US$170 billion) or 5.8 per cent of India’s GDP and supported 32.1 million jobs in 2021. Prior to the pandemic, tourism and hospitality contributed close to 10 per cent to the country’s GDP and supported close to 90 million jobs directly and indirectly. By the end of the third wave of the pandemic, the hospitality industry had suffered a whopping Rs.1.40 lakh Cr loss and millions of people lost jobs. FHRAI strongly feels that this is the most opportune time of the industry if steps are taken in the right direction. We are certain that India’s G20 Presidency will help the cause of the industry and the industry is aligned with the Government in its mission to present India’s hospitality prowess to the world,” concludes Chacko.

 

Tourism Ministry sought MHA’s support for tourist police deployment, says G Kishan Reddy

Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy told Parliament that his ministry has sought the Home Ministry’s support to take up with state governments the matter of tourist police deployment at key tourism centres.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, he said the safety and security of tourists is essentially a state government subject.

“However, the Ministry of Tourism is well aware of the security concern of the tourists and has taken all possible measures to provide a safe and secure atmosphere for the tourists… Ministry of Tourism has been seeking support of the Ministry of Home Affairs for taking up the matter with the state governments,” he said in a written reply.

With 100 meetings set to be held in 55 cities — mostly key tourist destinations — under India’s G20 presidency next year, the safety of tourists has become one of the focal points for the government.

Reddy said in the past, the tourism ministry has taken up the matter with all the state governments and union territories and has reiterated the aspect of providing a safe and secure environment to tourists.

“In case any such untoward incident occurs against a tourist, there should be a robust system of law and order to handle the situation and provide a satisfactory solution to the affected tourists.

“With the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism, the state governments/UT administrations of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh have deployed tourist police in one form or the other,” Reddy said.

He said the Ministry of Tourism got a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, an autonomous institute under its control, to understand the requirement of tourist police and to sensitize tourist police towards the needs of the tourists.

The Ministry of Tourism forwarded a copy of this study report titled “Functioning of Tourist Police in States/UTs and Documentation of Best Practices” to all states and Union territories with a request to create a separate unit of police also to sensitize them about tourists’ needs.

Reddy also pointed out that his ministry has been working to develop a comprehensive framework and the Bureau of Police Research and Development has commissioned a study on Tourist Police Scheme. The Tourism Ministry has set up a round-the-clock tourist info-helpline on the toll-free number 1800111363 or on a short code 1363 in 12 languages, including Hindi, English and 10 international languages — German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic — to provide support service for domestic and foreign tourists and to offer them appropriate guidance while in distress. (Source The Print)

India enters Top 10 list of winners of the Agoda Gold Circle Awards

Digital Travel Platform, Agoda, has announced the winners of its coveted 14th annual Agoda Gold Circle Awards (GCA). With travel markets opening to international travel worldwide, this year’s Gold Circle Awards have been presented to more than 2000 properties in 41 markets. For the fourth consecutive year, Thailand retained its top spot with Taiwan soaring to the second spot, followed by Japan. India entered the Top 10 list for the first time while South Korea, Malaysia, United States, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam retained their spots in the top ten rankings.

In addition, China has the highest number of properties that won awards for four consecutive years, followed by Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Maldives, Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Korea.

Every year, the awards are presented to properties who have proven their place among the best, providing excellent value, pricing, service excellence and flexibility to guests. These hotels have worked proactively with Agoda to meet the constantly evolving opportunities open to partners and have not only set new benchmarks for themselves but also for the industry.

“Year on year, The Gold Circle Awards have given Agoda the chance to recognize partners who are expanding the boundaries of service and hospitality and also collectively move the industry forward in catering to evolving customer demands. In its 14th year, The Gold Circle Awards also continues the tradition of helping Agoda teams globally to evaluate changing industry dynamics, create improved products and services, and better drive our innovation practices,” said Liyana Jamil, Vice President of Partner Services, Agoda.

Winners will be featured on Agoda’s dedicated landing page (available on 1-31 December 2022) and honored with a digital Gold Circle Award badge, along with Agoda Growth Express (AGX) credits, a special credit to boost marketing on the website. In an ongoing partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Agoda has made a donation to plant 5,000 trees on behalf of all GCA winners worldwide. This is a continuation of an idea that started two years ago to replace plastic gifts and raise awareness of environmental issues.

Ranking of top 10 winning countries:

1. Thailand – 246 properties

2. Taiwan – 209 properties

3. Japan – 198 properties

4. South Korea – 186 properties

5. Malaysia – 174 properties

6. United States – 154 properties

7. Indonesia – 123 properties

8. Philippines – 107 properties

9. India – 95 properties

10. Vietnam – 90 properties

Goa expects 81 lakh tourists this season reaching pre-pandemic figure

Goa is expecting the number of tourist to reach the pre-pandemic level of 81 lakh or 8.1 million. The inauguration of the new airport in North Goa is expected to provide a boost to the tourism sector, reports Mint.

Goa is also looking to attract `digital nomads’ (remote workers who travel to different locations and use the Internet technology to work) who earn around INR 70-75 lakh per annum and contribute back 35 per cent of their earnings to the economy, Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte told reporters.

The tourist season in Goa generally starts in November and extends till February. As per the state government’s projection, the tourist numbers would reach the 2019 level, touching the 81 lakh- or 8.1 million-mark, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra at the inauguration of the new airport at Goa said, “It is true that tourism helps in boosting the soft power of a nation, while as a nation becomes stronger, the world wants to know more about that nation and is attracted towards it.” The Prime Minister further added that if one glances at India’s prosperous history, it was the centre of attraction for the entire world where scholars, travellers, businessmen, industrialists and students would come to India to know more about the land.

The Prime Minister reiterated that tourism has the biggest potential for employment and self-employment and elaborated upon the steps to improve the tourism infrastructure in Goa. “More than 10 thousand crores have been invested in highway projects in the state since 2014. The traffic problem in Goa is also being addressed. Electrification of the Konkan Railway is also benefiting the state”, he said.