Author Archives: Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai

Serko’s corporate travel platform, Zeno, launches NDC offers through Sabre

Sabre Corporation has announced that Serko has launched Sabre NDC content in Zeno, the online travel platform for the business travel market. The activation makes Sabre the first GDS to provide NDC content through Zeno.

Starting this month, Serko’s corporate travel and expense management platform, Zeno, is integrating NDC-enabled content through Sabre’s Offer and Order APIs. Zeno users will be able to shop and book NDC offers through Zeno’s intuitive interface, alongside the ability to book complimentary or prepaid seats and cancel bookings in the platform. Zeno’s integration also enables users to mix and match NDC and EDIFACT fares in a single booking, helping to ensure corporates have access to the broadest possible set of options for their travellers.

“Our vision is to deliver a connected trip experience with the Zeno platform, and this starts with the harmonization of fragmented content sources into a single, seamless interface for the travel booker” said Joydip Das, Chief Product Officer, Serko. “The integration of personalised NDC offers through Sabre continues to build on this vision, helping to ensure that our customers have access to the best offers and pricing for their corporate travel programmes.”

Business travellers are often high frequency travelers with very specific needs and are a prime target group for the flexible, personalized content enabled by NDC. Integrating Sabre’s NDC APIs into corporate online booking tools has the potential of increasing demand for airlines’ NDC offers and accelerating the shift from traditional ATPCO/EDIFACT distribution to NDC connectivity.

“With Sabre’s end-to-end capabilities from shopping to booking and servicing, we have laid the foundation to make NDC a reality across the ecosystem,” said Kathy Morgan, Vice President, Product Management – Distribution Experiences, Sabre Travel Solutions. “Now the focus is on scalability, on making NDC offers widely available, and on providing a personalized experience to as many travelers as possible. The availability of NDC content in Zeno is an important step in that journey

With target of 200,000 arrivals from India, KTO hosts leisure & MICE roadshows in Benglauru & Mumbai

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) concluded a series of roadshows in Bengaluru and Mumbai last week. These events brought together Indian travel professionals with a delegation including the Busan Tourism Organization (BTO) and 10 Korean Destination Management Companies (DMCs).

The evenings boasted a unique flair, featuring CHEF, a dynamic culinary performance team, flown in from Korea. They captivated audiences with a blend of beatboxing, B-boying, and a live cooking battle.

Adding to the events’ prestige, dignitaries from the India Tourism (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India), MTDC, IRCTC senior officers, along with the heads of leading travel associations graced the event. A high-level delegation from the KTO headquarters also actively participated in the roadshows. Their presence demonstrated the organization’s strong commitment to the Indian market.

Leading the KTO HQ delegation, was Chang Wook Jung, Executive Director, MICE, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). “We are thrilled by the enthusiastic response at our recent roadshows in Bengaluru and Mumbai,” he said. “The productive interactions between Indian travel professionals and our Korean delegation were a highlight. This direct engagement strengthens partnerships within the MICE sector and the broader Indian travel industry, laying the groundwork to achieve our ambitious target of attracting 20,000 MICE delegates from India in 2024. The engrossing cultural exchange, including the phenomenal performance by the CHEF team, resonated deeply with the audience. Building on this success, we eagerly anticipate welcoming even more Indian travellers to explore the wonders of Korea.”

Myong Kil Yun, Regional Director, India & SAARC Countries, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), said, “We are energised by the momentum in India! With a record-breaking target of welcoming 200,000 Indian travellers this year, the recent roadshows were a resounding success. We are confident that by showcasing the diverse experiences Korea offers, from fascinating cultural performances to exciting leisure and MICE opportunities, we can achieve this ambitious goal.”

‘We are committed developing the Indian market through partnerships’

Bali’s tented luxury camp Capella Ubud is keen to tap the Indian market. Brooke Hall, Director of Sales and Marketing, Capella Ubud, Bali talks to Disha Shah Ghosh about their plans for travel trade outreach.

Q. What does Capella Ubud bring to Indonesia’s hospitality landscape?
Capella Ubud, Bali elevates the adventure travel experience in Indonesia by combining ultra-luxurious tented accommodations with total jungle immersion.

Q. What is your property’s brand positioning?
Capella Ubud is an award-winning luxury tented camp. We embody excellence in the craft of hospitality by delivering personalised, unique, and memorable service superior to our competition.

Q. What is your outreach strategy in India on the b2b front?
We work with Heaven’s Portfolio as representation on behalf of Capella Hotel Group – interacting with the travel trade.

Q. What response have you received from the Indian market?
We are pleased that the Indian market has responded positively to our offerings and is witnessing steady growth in demand. We are committed to continuing to develop the Indian market through partnership programmes with key business accounts.

Q. Are you considering an online specialist programme to educate the travel trade in India about your products?
The education and familiarisation programme are essential. We provide access to our online media library, where the travel trade can easily navigate the hotel and destination information, videos, and social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook).

AlUla sets sight on leisure travellers from India’s metro cities

The Royal Commission of AlUla (RCU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is keen to tap leisure travellers from the Indian market, especially from the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Talking to the press during her recent visit to Mumbai at ITC Parel, Melanie de Souza, Executive Director, Destination Marketing, RCU, said, “The ancient city of AlUla is well positioned to tap leisure travellers for its heritage, arts, and adventure, nature and wellness offerings. Our while campaign is about the leisure market, and visiting AlUla is an experience of a lifetime.”

Sharing her views, she said, “AlUla is well-positioned to cater to the Umrah+ travellers. Saudi Arabia is sitting on the natural assets, Red Sea, its pristine corals, and the luxury hotels are worth indulging in. It is a matter of time that the world will realise that Saudi also beyond a religious destination.”

India ranks among AlUla’s top three global priority markets, and early results from the ‘ForeverRevitalising’ campaign have shown strong demand from this region. “With a firm commitment to sustainability, RCU aims to limit tourist influx to 2 million by 2035 while striving for net carbon neutrality.”

AlUla welcomed 263,000 visitors, with projections estimating 292,000 tourists for 2024 and an anticipated surge to 381,000 guests by 2025. The destination expects 1.1 million visitors by 2030, and 2 million visitors by 2035.

InterGlobe partners with Archer Aviation for starting electric air taxis in India

InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company IndiGo, and US-based Archer Aviation will launch an all-electric air taxi service in India in 2026, that will carry passengers from Connaught Place in the national capital to Gurugram in Haryana in just 7 minutes.

Archer Aviation will supply 200 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can carry four passengers besides a pilot and operate just like helicopters but with lesser noise and better safety.

Besides Delhi, the joint venture between InterGlobe and Archer Aviation will launch similar services in Mumbai and Bengaluru to start with. The cost of the seven-minute flight operated with the company’s five-seater eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft from Connaught Place to Gurugram in Haryana could be around INR 2,000 to 3,000, according to Archer Aviation executives.

Archer Aviation Founder and CEO Founder & CEO Adam Goldstein said discussions are going on with the US regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the certification process for its aircraft is at an advanced stage. The certification is expected next year and once that is in place, the process will be initiated for the certification by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In an interview with PTI in the national capital, Goldstein said the company expects to start flights in India in 2026 and aims to have 200 of its Midnight planes for the operations. Initially, Archer Aviation will be focusing on Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. With its flight, the duration will be around 7 minutes from Connaught Place in Delhi to Gurugram and the cost could be INR 2,000 to 3,000.

In a car, for the 27-kilometre distance, it would take around 90 minutes and the cost would be about INR 1,500, according to Goldstein. The five-seater Midnight aircraft will be able to accommodate the pilot and four passengers. The plane, which will have six battery packs, will get fully charged in 30-40 minutes and one minute charge broadly translates to one minute of flight, its Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel said.

Archer Aviation will be having a joint venture with InterGlobe Enterprises and the final contours are being worked out. The US company is also in discussions with various municipalities with respect to infrastructure and other aspects of the flight operations. Goel said it will use the full strength of InterGlobe, which is a conglomerate, and the joint venture might choose partners for the eVTOL operations in India. Discussions are also going on with respect to the real estate space required for vertiports or the launchpads and other infrastructure for starting the flight operations.

Archer Aviation will be opening its manufacturing facility in the US this year and initially, it will have a capacity to produce up to 650 planes and the same will be enhanced to 2,000 planes. To a query on whether the company will be looking at manufacturing the planes in India in the future, Goldstein replied in the affirmative.

 

Sunny Sodhi is the MD of FCM Travel India

‘FCM Travel India’s revenue has grown by more than 20% as compared to 2019’

FCM Travel India is bullish about prospects of business travel from Southeast Asia, Greater China and its youngest source market of Japan. Sunny Sodhi, Managing Director, FCM Travel India spoke to Disha Shah Ghosh about the MICE segments driving growth, and their focus areas.

 

Q. In terms of global pecking order as well as its position in the APAC region, where does India rank as a source market for business travel?

A. India is the 9th largest market in the world based on business travel spending. It is the 4th largest market in the Asia Pacific region, representing 5.7 per cent of business travel spend in the region.

Q. What has been the growth of the business travel segment in India during 2023, and your forecast for 2024?

A. FCM Travel India has seen an overall business growth of more than 20 per cent in 2023 compared to 2019. FCM India’s Meetings & Events revenue has also doubled. With India’s GDP estimated to grow at 6.8 per cent in 2024, we expect a robust year ahead.

Q. Which vertical of the MICE segment is driving this growth of business travel from India?

A. Meetings in 2023 had an exponential growth of more than 300 per cent. We have also seen a 30 per cent increase in requests for incentive trips which are making a comeback. Also known as employee reward programmes, incentive trips are used to boost employee engagement and productivity.

Q. For FCM Travel, besides India which are the top 5 key priority markets in Asia?

A. Southeast Asia, Greater China and Japan are priority markets for FCM Travel. Asia has continued to outperform with strong performances across Southeast Asia and the re-opening of China. Japan is our youngest market, and it is an exciting and dynamic market for business travel as it is the 4th leading business tourism market based on total travel spending.

Q. What is your strategy to drive the business travel market in India?

A. There are several strategies in place. We have heavily invested in technology and recently announced our corporate AI Centre of Excellence which has seen new features added to our suite of products already available to improve the customer experience and increase our operational productivity.

Aside from technology, we’ve also been working tirelessly towards clear and consistent strategies that have been successfully executed globally, with these strategies initially focusing on ‘Grow to Win’, but now also include productive operations.

We are also investing in FCM Meetings & Events which has just announced the launch of FCM Venue Finder, a platform that revolutionises the booking process for meetings and group hotel accommodations within the MICE industry.

Q. What has been your revenue growth in 2023?
A. FCM Travel India’s revenue has grown by more than 20 per cent as compared to 2019.