Category Archives: Trade News

The Fern Hotels & Resorts opens E-Square The Fern-An Ecotel Hotel, Pune

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain announced the opening of E-Square The Fern – An Ecotel Hotel in Pune. This is the 19th operational property in the state of Maharashtra. Overall it takes the tally to 84 hotels managed by the company in India, Nepal and Seychelles.

Expressing his pleasure on the new development, Suhail Kannampilly, CEO of The Fern Hotels & Resorts said, “the city of Pune has embraced the Fern brand very well. This is the third hotel we will be managing in Pune. We have already been successfully operating Amanora The Fern as well as The Fern Residency, MIDC. Moreover, it further strengthens our position as the largest hospitality player in the state.”

E-Square The Fern, Pune is a 55 room upscale hotel offering a multi cuisine restaurant, a pan Asian restaurant, a rooftop swimming pool, gym, spa and state-of-the-art banquet facilities. The hotel is conveniently located with easy access to major sightseeing attractions.

Guests can appreciate various in-room facilities such as high-speed Wi-Fi internet, LED television, complimentary bottled drinking water, tea & coffee facility, digital in-room safe, eco-friendly room lighting & bathroom amenities. The guest can also relax at the rooftop swimming pool and spa and can work-out at the well-equipped gym.

Other facilities in the hotel include non-smoking rooms, access for specially abled, complimentary buffet breakfast, multi cuisine restaurant, speciality restaurant, spacious banquet and meeting rooms and business centre facilities.

UK bans flights from South Africa after detection of new Covid-19 variant

South Africa said on November 26 a British ban on flights from South Africa because of the detection of a new Covid-19 variant “seems to have been rushed” as even the World Health Organization (WHO) was yet to advise on the next steps.

Scientists have so far only detected the B.1.1.529 variant in relatively small numbers in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, but they are concerned by its high number of mutations which could help it evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible.

Britain on November 25 temporarily banned flights from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia from midday on November 26 after its detection was announced.

“Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in a statement.

South Africa will engage with British authorities to try to get them to reconsider their decision, the statement added.

South Africa has requested an urgent sitting of a WHO working group on virus evolution to discuss the new variant.

The country had been experiencing a lull in Covid-19 cases after a third wave of infections, until last week when new infections started to pick up. (Source HT)

Visit.Brussels in association with the Embassy of Belgium in India organise a networking lunch to reconnect with travel trade

Visit.Brussels together with the Embassy of Belgium in India organized a networking lunch for 35 trade partners at the residence of H.E. François Delhaye, Ambassador of Belgium to India.

The event witnessed warm interactions between the trade partners and representatives from the cultural, economic and visa sections of the Belgian Embassy. In fact, representing Visit.Brussels HQ was its Business Development Leisure – Pieter Callebaut, who was seen enthusiastically interacting with the travel fraternity, while reassuring them about the importance of the Indian market for Brussels’ tourism industry.

A key highlight of the event was “Belgian gastronomy”, wherein participants were offered a spread of Belgian delights from waffles to beers and fries to Belgian beats.

H.E.François Delhaye, while addressing the trade fraternity, said, “During these last two years we have been missing our Indian friends, but now Belgium is open for tourism again and we see the number of visa applications going up. Another good news is that we’ll probably see an increase in the number of flights between India and Europe in the coming weeks. The vaccination level in Belgium is very high and our hope is that this latest wave of Covid will not last long. To our Indian friends I say, now is the time to start planning your next spring or summer trip to Europe” and there is no better place to start than Brussels, the capital and heart of Europe, a city rich in history and famous for its gastronomy and quality of life”.

In 2022, Visit Brussels is planning on continuing to grow awareness and visibility of the European Capital through workshops, sales visits, travel agent destination trainings, consumer programs and much more. Training programmes are in the pipeline for agents from various key cities of India next year.

India to resume scheduled international flights from December 15: Govt

India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international flights from 15 December, 2021, an official statement from Civil Aviation Ministry said today.

In an order, the Civil Aviation Ministry stated, “The matter of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India has been examined in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and it has been decided that scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India may be resumed from December 15, 2021.”

The order further stated that based on the countries recognised as “at-risk” by MoHFW, the countries have been categorised into 3 categories with separate capacity restrictions.

Furthermore, the full resumption of international flights will take place barring 14 countries, but existing air-bubble flight arrangements with these 14 countries, however, will continue, reported news agency ANI citing sources.

India has formed air-bubble pacts with around 28 countries, including the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air-bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories with specific restrictions.

Scheduled international passenger flights to and from India remain suspended since March last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, the suspension on scheduled international flights is till November 30.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Secretary had said that the country may resume scheduled international flight operations “very soon” and is expected by end of this year. (Source BusinessToday.in)

Karnal emerging as Haryana’s most desirable tourism destination hub: says Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar

In a recently concluded gala industry meet at Noormahal Palace Hotel in Karnal, Delhi-NCR the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Manohar Lal Khattar addressed industry leaders, exporters, and representatives of various associations including Hospitality & Medical Tourism and shared his vision of taking the growth of Karnal to the next level. With Karnal becoming the Tourism and Medical hub of the State along with the huge potential for growth of various rising industries, he highlighted the significant role of Smart Karnal City in promoting Haryana on the domestic as well as international tourism growth map. As the COVID pandemic is nearly faded in India, it is time to work towards a glorious future for the country. With this purpose in mind, the Chief Minister of Haryana has laid down a roadmap for promoting Karnal with Krishna Circuit and developing the Smart City as a Popular Tourism hub.

Addressing various association members and industry leaders in one-its-kind industry meets in Karnal, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Manohar Lal Khattar said, “Karnal and Kurukshetra are a rich pool of Indian culture and heritage with a lot of potential. Continuous work is being done to safeguard these two cities and transform them to international standards. The Karnal Smart city project will help in tapping the huge potential to become the inspiring tourism hub on the international tourism map. The development work is accelerated so that everything is completed quickly. We want the people of Karnal to prosper and want to generate more opportunities for them. The dream is to transform Karnal into role model making them sustainable and Tourism friendly.”

Numerous path-breaking initiatives are being undertaken to aid the development, progress, and growth of the Karnal city and transform it into the aspiring city of the future.

Shri Nishant Kumar Yadav, CEO of Karnal Smart City Limited and Karnal Deputy Commissioner said, “Under the Smart Cities Project, we have undertaken the holistic-accelerated development of the city to enable growth at a massive scale. We have integrated technological, economic, architectural, digital, environmental as well as social innovation solutions to transform Karnal into a futuristic smart city. The success of a few of our recent projects is an encouragement to work harder to fulfill our role and our commitment as a Role Model City. These projects will create a lot of business and employment opportunities to boost socio-economic wellbeing.”

“Smart Tourism destinations are going to be the next big thing in tourism as the travelers and tourists of the new informed world are increasingly demanding for more tech-savvy, sustainable and safe tourist destinations. We are committed to developing Karnal as the most preferred smart tourism destination for domestic as well as foreign tourists.”, he further added.

Thomas Cook India witnesses strong recovery in India’s MICE business

The pandemic brought the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions) sector to a standstill for most of 2020. To stay connected with its key MICE stakeholders, Thomas Cook (India) Limited – India’s leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company, transformed its business into a digital model – delivering over 100 virtual events for over 3 lakh attendees based in India, USA, Canada, Germany and Ireland. The Company also launched Gourmet Genie – specially curated corporate hampers that helped corporates stay in touch with their top performers and stakeholders with delivery of approx. 18,000 hampers till date.

To build corporate confidence in MICE travel, Thomas Cook launched its “Assured” Safe Travel Program – developed in association with Apollo Clinics that ensures best in class travel safety protocols covering every distribution, delivery and partner touch point in the travel ecosystem. This was followed by “TravShield” an upgraded safety commitment of only vaccinated staff and co-passengers among many other precautions, that ensures traveller safety in the pandemic era.

Despite the restrictions of the pandemic, Thomas Cook’s sustained corporate engagement towards driving MICE demand has resulted in delivery of over 200 physical groups of between 20-200 delegates per group in 2021. Top destinations included key metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad, top conference locations of Goa and Jaipur; also leisure favourites like Udaipur, Puri, Mahabalipuram, etc. With the reopening of international borders, several international MICE groups have been conducted to Dubai, Maldives, France and Germany with group sizes ranging between 20-200 guests. With growing appetite for exclusive experiences and increased spends, Thomas Cook has successfully managed premium groups with delegates comprising global business heads; stays at uber luxury hotels like Waldorf Astoria and The Ritz Carlton and exclusive experiences including dining at a Michelin star restaurant.

Sporting events were maximised by Thomas Cook towards delivery of 3 mid-sized MICE groups (between 30-100 delegates) during the T20 World Cup in the UAE. In addition, Expo 2020 Dubai continues to see growing interest from corporate R&D teams and trade associations.

Thomas Cook India has also organised weddings and related events ranging between 30-400 guests at Goa, Jaipur and Udaipur.

Mr. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our focussed initiatives that included health and safety, have increased corporate confidence in MICE Travel. And this has resulted in our delivery of over 200 physical MICE groups (both domestic and international) since January this year. With increased demand for physical groups/events our pipeline for 2022 looks robust and our teams are all geared up to delivering truly exceptional programs to delight our MICE clients.”