Category Archives: Trade News

Etihad becomes first foreign airline to launch Hindi website

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, has made a significant move for the Indian traveller by becoming the first foreign airline to launch a Hindi-language website. This initiative underscores Etihad’s dedication to enhancing the travel experience for its Indian guests.

The new Hindi website, available at link, offers a comprehensive range of services including flight bookings, check-in procedures, and customer support, all in Hindi. This development is set to simplify travel planning for Hindi-speaking passengers and further bolster Etihad’s presence in the Indian market. The goal is to provide a seamless, user-friendly experience, allowing travellers to plan, book, and manage their flights more conveniently.

Akhil Anumolu, Senior Vice President e-Com., Digital, Marketing & Loyalty, Etihad Airways, stated, “Etihad understands its role as a global airline and is committed to culturally connecting with our valued passengers. We take pride in serving 11 Indian cities, and this initiative reflects our dedication to meeting the needs of our Indian customers. By offering our services in Hindi, we aim to create a more inclusive and accessible experience, ensuring that our customers can access all necessary information in their preferred language.
“As we approach Etihad’s 20th anniversary since launching flights to India, we look forward to announcing a number of exciting new partnerships and initiatives for the region – the second half of 2024 is set to be a big one for Etihad in India.”

Using the Hindi website travellers can easily navigate for seamless access to Etihad’s expanding network and frequent connections through Abu Dhabi’s global links. The innovation reinforces the airline’s dedication to the Indian market, with 176 weekly flights to 11 Indian cities, connecting Indian passengers to more than 70 destinations worldwide. Recently, the airline expanded its reach with the launch of three new routes to India including- Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, and the most recent Jaipur.

Air India, IndiGo cancel flights to Dhaka amid political unrest

Air India and IndiGo have cancelled their scheduled flights to and from Bangladesh capital Dhaka with immediate effect, citing the emerging situation following Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation amid unprecedented anti-government protests.
A Vistara official mentioned that the airline operated its flight from Mumbai on Monday and is closely monitoring the situation for Tuesday’s operations to Dhaka, news agency PTI reported.

Air India operates two daily flights from Delhi to Dhaka, while Vistara runs daily flights from Mumbai and three weekly services from Delhi to the Bangladesh capital. IndiGo also operates flights to Dhaka from the national capital, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. However, the number of flights operated by IndiGo could not be immediately confirmed.

Air India issued a statement on Monday informing, “In view of the emerging situation in Bangladesh, we have cancelled the scheduled operation of our flights to and from Dhaka with immediate effect. We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Dhaka with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges. Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority.”

IndiGo also released a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “In view of the ongoing situation in Dhaka, all flights scheduled for tomorrow have unfortunately been cancelled. We understand that this may cause significant inconvenience and disruption to your travel plans and we sincerely regret this development.”

Travstarz Global Group conducts multi-city roadshow across India

Travstarz Global Group, a Trip.com-invested company concluded its multi-city roadshow with its last show in Indore last month. The show started with Travstarz Egypt DMC Showcase in Delhi which was presented by Ali ElSamman, Director – Operations, Travstarz Egypt DMC who was in India.

It was followed up by Travstarz networking events in Amritsar, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ludhiana and finally concluding at Indore over the last few months of 2024. The well attended events saw over 40 to 50 agents in each city even for Lunch Events on working days.

Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group added “We restarted our operations late in 2022 post covid and as a part of our revised strategy to focus on our Core Business of DMC and Hotel Consolidations, Visas and Marketing, we took this initiative to reconnect with all our Travel Agent Partners across India who have been supporting us for the past over 15 years now to showcase our latest offerings in terms of our Destinations and services. We have discontinued selling few destinations and have added newer and more interesting destinations like Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Japan and Vietnam to our Portfolio and have a strong on ground presence in these countries. With our Partner Head Quarters in Los Angeles, USA, we now have unique and unmatched offering for USA and Canada both with over 600 short and long-haul itineraries for these countries alone. Also, as a part of our new strategy, we now have pre-purchased inventory of hotels and flights at various destinations with excellent rates and service delivery and we wanted to share the same further and network and reconnect with all our partners once again and there is no better way than to personally visit them in their city for maximum impact.”

“We have made several changes to our working pattern post reopening and our full focus in now on our DMC Operations, Visa Services and Marketing Partnerships with Hotels, Excursions and Tourism Boards. Over the past 2 years we have worked with Vana Nava Water Jungle Park, Hua Hin and Anda Manda Park, Phuket as their MARKETING Partner to name a few. Apart from Heading the Overall Operations of the Company, I now personally lead the Visa Assistance Services for USA, Canada and Europe Visa with thorough in-depth knowledge of these countries with a 100% success rate in the past over 2 years.

This is besides the E-Visa Services that we offer for various countries. Even during Pre-Covid times, We were in the Preferred Agency for Canadian High Commission also. It was very important that we personally interact with our agent partners in these shows to highlight these new developments and we received an overwhelming response in all our events with more than expected turnout in every city” added Sucheta Nagpal, Director & CEO, Travstarz Global Group.

Vani Singh, Vice President, Travstarz Global Group, added, “Our focus has always been Tier-II and III cities, and now we have all witnessed the huge volume of outbound business coming from these cities. Post Covid there had been a disconnect somewhat with our agent partners and these shows were our way to connect and revive all our old partnerships and associations. Owing to our solid past relations we were welcomed with open arms in each city and we were able to clear a lot of ambiguities with our discussions and presentations during these shows. We are already receiving good volumes of business form these cities and it continues to grow with each passing day. We plan to start another round of events now with a focus on South and East India starting September, 2024.”

 

Thailand presses for casino resorts to elevate tourism

Thailand is pressing ahead with plans to legalise casinos as it seeks to burnish the country’s appeal as a tourism hotspot and draw billions of dollars in foreign investment and taxes.

Draft rules to allow casinos with an initial license for 30 years were published for public feedback until Aug. 18 by the Council of State, the government’s legal agency. The casinos will have the option of renewing the permit for another 10 years and be housed in large entertainment complexes along with hotels, convention centers and amusement parks, among others.

Thailand joins the United Arab Emirates and Japan in competing for a pie of the global casino industry, which IBIS World estimates generated USD 263 billion in revenue last year. Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. and MGM Resorts International have been studying potential opening of casino resorts in the Southeast Asian nation as a hedge against uncertain prospects in Macau. Las Vegas Sands Corp. said last month it would be interested in expanding to Thailand if it “becomes available.”

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who took power less than a year ago, has been aggressively pushing policies to attract foreign investments to Thailand, and backed the plan to legalize casinos for better oversight and proper tax collection.

The country’s 500-member House of Representatives has already backed a study by a panel of lawmakers that favored the setting up of legalized casinos within large entertainment venues to attract high-spending tourists. The study found that Thailand can lift tourism revenue by about USD 12 billion by legalizing casinos and housing them within large entertainment complexes.

Though most types of betting is illegal in Thailand — a majority Buddhist and conservative society — any opening of casinos will be in line with its recent embrace of a more liberal landscape to revive its tourism industry from the pandemic blow. In 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis, and is on course to become the first in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriages.
The so-called large entertainment venues should be in locations designated by the government and run by companies registered in Thailand with a paid-up capital of not less than 10 billion baht (USD 283 million), according to the draft bill. It also proposes setting up a comprehensive entertainment venue policy panel led by the Prime Minister and an agency to regulate the new industry.

Thai officials have previously mentioned popular tourist destinations such as Greater Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Chonburi, home to beach resort Pattaya, as possible locations for the entertainment complexes.

Tourism is one of Thailand’s key industries accounting for about 20% of total jobs and making up roughly 12% of the nation’s $500 billion economy. Foreign arrivals this year through July have jumped about 34% to more than 20 million from the same period in 2023.

 

India advises nationals to exercise caution amid violence in Bangladesh

India on Sunday night strongly advised all its nationals presently residing in Bangladesh to exercise “extreme caution” and restrict their movements in the wake of fresh waves of violence in the neighbouring country.

In its latest advisory, India also asked its citizens not to travel to Bangladesh till further notice.

At least 90 people, including 14 policemen, were killed on Sunday in fierce clashes between security forces personnel and anti-government protesters in different parts of Bangladesh, according to reports from Dhaka.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“In view of ongoing developments, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Bangladesh till further notice,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the advisory.

“All Indian nationals presently in Bangladesh are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the High Commission of India in Dhaka,” it said.

The student protests in Bangladesh started last month against a controversial job quota scheme. The protests now have turned into an anti-government agitation.

On July 25, the MEA said around 6,700 Indian students returned from Bangladesh in view of the situation in that country. (Source: PTI)

Malaysia Airlines enhances Kuala Lumpur-Amritsar frequency

In a boost to international connectivity of Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Malaysia Airlines has increased its flight frequency between Kuala Lumpur from four weekly flights to daily services, since August 1.

Sameep Singh Gumtala, Global Convener, FlyAmritsar Initiative, and Yogesh Kamra, Convener for India, have lauded the airlines move. “The increased flights by Malaysia Airlines, along with the existing four weekly flights by Air Asia X and three weekly flights by Batik Air, have significantly boosted seat capacity between Kuala Lumpur and Amritsar. In addition to travellers from Punjab, these 28 weekly flights will also cater to passengers from neighbouring states such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Haryana,” said Gumtala.