Tourism and Travel Trends from India:

News and views on India's Travel and Hospitality Sector

Weekly News Related to Travel Industry in India

Places in the news

1. India Gate beckons

The elderly stroll lazily, kids frolic on the lush lawns and couples snatch a private moment or two. Framed between the Rashtrapati Bhavan at one end and the India Gate at the other, the vast expanse of green space in the heart of Lutyen's Delhi is where people flock to when the weather is good. Or bad.

And in these days when rains have graced the capital bringing the mercury down dramatically, the area around the colonial gate looks like a mini carnival with large crowds congregating in the evenings.

Standing tall in the heart of Delhi, the India Gate landmark is a must-see for tourists. Saluting the 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in the Afghan wars and World War I, it is a majestic piece of architecture built in 1931 that people can't stop marvelling at.

The complex and its vast lawns almost always draws people, young and old, rich and poor - to bask in the warm winter sun, for a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day, or when the weather turns cool like now.

Delhi received nearly 104.7 mm of rainfall over the weekend, much more than the 55 mm expected in the month of June and a welcome relief from the 45 degrees Celsius people had been sweating under.

Hopping off a screeching bus near India Gate, Manohar Joshi was one of the many who decided to spend an evening outdoors. Holding his wife's hand and carrying their son in his arms, he walked towards the stately memorial bustling with people.

"We generally come here on weekends. It is like a fair with hundreds of people talking, laughing and basically having a good time. Then there are vendors selling ice cream and other food items, balloons... it's like a picnic," said Joshi.

On most holiday evenings, the stretch of Rajpath leading from Rashtrapati Bhavan, the imposing presidential palace, to India Gate is choc-a-bloc with cars and motorbikes. Families come by hordes to avoid the maddening rush at shopping malls and multiplexes.

It was so this weekend too.

June 21,2007
Source: MSN India

Travel and transportation infrastructure

Sector: Aviation

1. Air France may fly in Airbus A380 to Delhi by '10
The modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports is attracting international carriers. Air France may become the first international airline to fly the superjumbo Airbus A380 connecting Delhi and Mumbai to Paris by early 2010. The only Indian carrier which has five A380s on order, Kingfisher Airlines, will start getting delivery by 2011.

Air France has placed orders for a dozen-odd A380 aircraft, with delivery schedules starting 2009. To start with, Air France plans to connect long-haul destinations such as New York, Montreal and Sau Paulo, to Paris which will serve as its hub. Its next stop would be Asian cities in India, China and South-East Asia.

“We hope to fly the Airbus A380 to Delhi and Mumbai by 2010,” said KLM executive vice-president commercial PSM Gregorowitsch. Air France and Dutch airline KLM merged globally in 2004 and run joint operation.

In India, the Air France KLM combo have 42 weekly flights out of major metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. There are plans to add Kolkata to its network by next year and add two additional flights by year end from Hyderabad and Chennai. Until two years ago, Air France-KLM combine had less than 30 weekly flights out of India.

Delhi and Mumbai airports, which are currently getting upgraded, are expected to be A380-compatible, capable of handling scheduled flights by 2010. Airbus conducted demo A380 flights last month in Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Incidentally, greenfield airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore, which are set to become operational in 2008, would also be able to handle the double-decker A380 aircraft. In a three-class configuration, an A380 aircraft can carry 555 passengers.

Mr Gregorowitsch said the Air France-KLM combine plans to use its current interline agreements with domestic carriers such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, to tap smaller Indian cities. Air France-KLM together connect over 240 destinations worldwide, with 2,400 flights a day and a fleet size of 569 aircraft, the largest in the world.

June 23, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. Karnataka's airport network developing fast
The Government of Karnataka (GoK) had recently announced that domestic airports across the State would be developed to cater to the increasing tourist traffic in the State. Here is an audit of Karnataka's airport projects:

In the first phase of development, the State Government had identified Bijapur, Gulbarga and Shimoga for development of airports on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. GoK then invited expression of interest in April 2007 and 19 companies responded. Companies such as IDEB Shanghai Urban Construction Group, L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd, Regional Airports India (P) Ltd, UBE Industries, ETA Star Infrastructure Ltd are among some of the bidders.

At Hassan, the proposed airport will be developed by the Public Works Department and land has already been acquired for the purpose. "The second phase of request for proposals has already begun and in six months the final decision is expected to be taken. Then, the project will be handed over to the developers, who are scheduled to take around two and a half years to complete the construction work," says V P Baligar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, Government of Karnataka.

The final notification for acquisition of 660 acres of land in Shimoga was issued by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) in April 2007. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) team is expected to visit Bijapur soon. In Bidar, the Indian Air Force has agreed to allow the use of its airport for civilian purposes. "It is up to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to develop the required infrastructure. It will acquire additional land if required," informs Baligar. KIADB is acquiring about 650 acres of land in Hubli for expansion and development, as per the AAIs' master plan. At Karwar, GoK plans to acquire additional land for extension of the proposed runway and development of a civil enclave. AAI experts have expressed difficulty in expanding the existing airport at Bellary and they might have to go for a Greenfield airport. In Raichur and Kushalnagar, a techno-economic feasibility study has been commissioned.

In Mangalore, 187 acres of land have already been handed over to AAI for expansion and development. GoK will acquire additional land for extension of the runway and construction of an approach road, if required. Similarly in Mysore, 175 acres of land have been handed over to AAI for expansion. It will also acquire additional land for shifting of the National Highway. The construction work has already started. According to Baligar, "The remaining land at all these airports can be used for developing hotels and the developer will get the rights to use the land. All these airports will be very basic and functional as the main aim is to offer connectivity."

The Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) to come up at Devanahalli will be operational by April 2008, despite the problems it encountered in terms of design. "Through the concession agreement, BIAL holds the responsibility to build, own and operate the new Bangalore Airport. All suggestions, however, are also being evaluated carefully against the budget and time line available," says Albert Brunner, CEO, BIAL. One of the major problems faced by BIAL is completing the redesigned project within the original time frame of 30 months. According to BIAL, the redesigning process, along with its formal approval, took more than nine months and by the time the augmented project was approved, half of the construction was complete. But the opening date of the airport was not changed. The new airport will positively become operational as planned and it will be able to handle up to 11 million passengers. "So far, only Air Deccan has agreed to operate from the new airports. We have written to the other airlines and are waiting for their response,'' says Baligar.

June 23, 2007
Source: Travelbizmonitor

3. Biggies line up to fulfill India's aviation dream
With the civil aviation ministry identifying 35 airports for modernisation and nine sites for setting up new airports, more than half a dozen Indian companies are lining up to bid for these projects.

The potential entrants include the Essar Group, Punj Lloyd, Larsen & Toubro, real estate developer Atlanta, Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction and Delhi-based DS Constructions. The Ambani brothers are also making a pitch as are the Aditya Birla Group and the Tatas along with their partner Changi Airports. Sunil Mittal's Bharti Group is also planning a re-entry following its abortive bid for the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Besides these players, Hyderabad-based GVK Group (which manages the Mumbai international airport) and GMR Group (which manages the Delhi international airport) have decided to explore airport development opportunities in both greenfield and non-metro projects. Both these developers will have first right of refusal in the proposed airports at Greater Noida and Navi Mumbai. Currently, most of these potential bidders are searching for partners with experience in airport development.

Punj Lloyd Managing Director Atul Punj said, "At the moment we are talking to some international companies for a tie-up. We could also rope in Indian partners." A Bharti spokesperson said the company had "no firm plans at the moment," while Essar Group declined to comment specifically, saying it was continuously looking at growth opportunities.
The beeline for airport development is partly because the business offers an attractive real estate opportunity in the form of revenues from non-aeronautical heads like duty-free shops and restaurants. In many cases, the business also complements the existing businesses -- most of the potential entrants are in real estate in one form or the other.
For instance, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries finds strong synergies between its two special economic zones being developed at Navi Mumbai and Gurgaon and the Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida airports.

A KPMG report says the key growth drivers for airports would be emergence of budget carriers, cargo growth, favourable government policy, inbound business travel and tourism and outbound passenger travel. The current revenue pattern of Indian airports shows that 70 per cent of income comes from aeronautical activities and the remaining from non-aeronautical activities, the report adds.

June 21, 2007
Source: Rediff news

4. Jet Airways orders for 13 ATR 72-500 aircraft
Jet Airways on Thursday ordered for 13 new ATR 72-500 aircraft at a cost of $238 million, which will take its total ATR fleet to 21 planes.

The lease agreement in this regard was signed between officials of the airline and Irish company Aircraft International Renting (AIR) at the ongoing Paris Air Show.

The deliveries will begin in phases this year and would be completed by 2010.

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 8 ATR 72-500s.

In the near future, the growing ATR fleet will enable the airline to open new routes and increase frequencies across the Indian subcontinent, according to an ATR release here.

"From the beginning of our ATR operations in 1999, the fleet of leased ATR 72-500s has proved itself and has played an important role in the growth of our airline's regional domestic operations and the expansion of our internal routes," Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal was quoted by the release as saying.

ATR CEO Stiphane Mayer said: "We are satisfied that Jet Airways is confirming its confidence in ATR for development of the routes across the country (India)," it added.

June 21, 2007
Source: PTI via Economic Times

5. Kingfisher orders 50 Airbus planes for $7 bn
It is an Indian Summer at the Paris Air Show once more, with Kingfisher Airlines placing an order for up to 50 Airbus aircraft. A memorandum of understanding for the purchase with a sticker price of $7.3 billion (about 29,000 crore), was signed by UB group chairman Vijay Mallya and Airbus COO John Leahy at the air show on Wednesday.

At the last Paris Air Show, Kingfisher had ordered 15 Airbus aircraft including five new superjumbo A380s. Kingfisher has selected long-haul planes for its planned international flights and A320s for domestic use.

The agreement is for 15 A350-800 XWB (extra wide-body) aircraft in addition to the five converted from their original order for the A350, ten A330-200s, five A340-500s and 20 A320 family aircraft. The first of the A350 XWBs will be delivered in 2013.

“Our strategy at Kingfisher is to open new long-haul routes and expand existing ones. For example, with the A340-500 and then the A350 XWB, we will be able to offer direct routes between India and the US. The A330 will allow us to expand services to Europe and the A320s will help us meet demand in our home region,” said Mr Mallya.

Kingfisher and partner airline Air Deccan now have a commitment for a total of 176 Airbus aircraft covering the single-aisle, widebody including the A380 and the Airbus corporate jet, an Airbus release said. Airlines typically receive about 80 to 85% of the funding for aircraft from export credit agencies like US Exim or Coface, depending on whether the planes are being purchased in the US or Europe.

The balance is funded through a combination of debt and equity. The real payments begin about a year before the delivery date, as the aircraft gets built. In India, Jet Airways, Air India and Indian have recently structured financing deals for their aircraft acquisition funding.

At this show, the fight between the aircraft manufacturing duopoly has been centred around Airbus’s newest plane the A350 XWB versus Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Airbus was forced to redesign the A350 resulting in the extra-wide-body model.

June 21, 2007
Source: Economic Times

6. IndiGo to induct 10th Airbus A320
Low-cost air carrier IndiGo on Wednesday said it will induct tenth Airbus A320 to its fleet on June 24. The new aircraft would connect Nagpur to Delhi, Pune and Bangalore, IndiGo said in a statement.

"After its launch in August 2006, Indigo has carried over 1.5 million passengers and the number is increasing every day. With the induction of tenth A320, we will further consolidate our presence in India by strengthening our connectivity in cities we already serve," IndiGo President and CEO said in the statement.

After the induction of the new aircraft, IndiGo would operate 70 daily flights connecting 14 different destinations in the country

June 20, 2007
Source: PTI via Economic Times

Sector: Roadways

Sector: Hotels

1. Whitbread Aims To Fill Indian Hotel Shortage

Britain’s biggest hotel operator, Whitbread, is stepping into the room-starved Indian market with real estate developer Emaar MGF. In a 50:50 joint venture, they will invest $600 million in the next 10 years to set up 80 hotels with 12,000 rooms under Whitbread’s Premier Travel Inn brand. Initially they will target the capital New Delhi, the beach state of Goa and the southern cities of Chennai and Hyderabad, the companies said.

The rooms will be priced at between 2,400 rupees ($58.81) and 3,600 rupees ($88.22) a night.

While backpackers still have no lack of options, India is facing a severe shortage of hotels suitable for business travelers, middle-class Western tourists and the burgeoning numbers of affluent Indians. This is especially true in the big cities, where quality hotels are often booked out several months in advance.

“The pace of economic development in India is quite phenomenal; and importantly for us there is rapid growth in both business and leisure travel markets,” Whitbread CEO Alan Parker said. “Our entry into India will fill a gap in the country’s hotel market by providing high-quality branded budget hotels.”

Tech companies like Infosys (nasdaq: INFY - news - people ) and Wipro (nyse: WIT - news - people ) have resorted to setting up their own in-house hotels to deal with the shortage. Earlier this month, India’s tourism secretary was quoted as saying the country would face a shortage of 100,000 hotel rooms in the next three years.

Global hotel brands like Hilton, Starwood (nyse: HOT - news - people ) and Accor are rushing in to fill the gap between five-star hotels and lower-quality guest houses. Emaar MGF is a joint venture between Dubai-based Emaar Properties and Delhi-based MGF Developments. It has invested over $1 billion in developing properties across India.
In November, Emaar MGF inked a $300 million deal with European chain Accor to develop 100 budget hotels across the country.

Whitbread, which also runs the Costa Coffee chain, also announced Tuesday that it would change the name of its budget hotel business from Premier Travel Inn to Premier Inn, to “make it easier for consumers to remember.”

The rebranding of the 480-hotel chain will cost £13 million ($25.83 million), along with £9million ($17.88 million) of capital expenditure and will be promoted by its largest advertising campaign to date.

June 20, 2007
Source: Forbes.com

2. India Hospitality Announces US $110 Million Deal to Form a Growing Diversified India-Based Hospitality Company

India Hospitality Corp. (LSE:IHC), (IHC or India Hospitality), today announced its intention to acquire India-based Mars Restaurants Private Limited (MRPL or Mars), an emerging hotel and restaurant company, and SkyGourmet Catering Private Limited (SCPL or SkyGourmet), an airline catering company operating out of four locations in India, for approximately US $110 million to create a diversified hospitality company servicing the rapidly growing Indian travel and leisure marketplace from affiliates of Navis Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Bangkok, and certain private shareholders.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, the sellers of MRPL and SCPL will receive approximately US $110.0 million of which approximately US $91.6 million will be payable in cash with the remainder in IHC ordinary shares on completion of the transaction. Additional consideration may become payable if the businesses achieve certain performance targets.

Upon completion of the transaction, current India Hospitality shareholders will own approximately 88.9% of IHC and insiders, including Hayground Cove Asset Management and Navis Capital Partners, will hold approximately 51.1%. Affiliates of Navis Capital Partners and Mr. Sanjay Narang, the founder of both SkyGourmet and Mars, will continue to play an active role in the management of the combined businesses going forward.

Navis is retaining an option to reinvest a substantial portion of the sale proceeds into IHC. Navis and its affiliates will be granted an option to subscribe in aggregate for up to US $75.0 million in cash for new IHC ordinary shares, which, if exercised in full, would result in its ownership interest in IHC increasing to approximately 20.7% on a fully diluted basis.

Under the proposed transaction IHC has also agreed, subject to certain conditions, to purchase from Navis and its affiliates, Nirula’s, a rapidly growing quick service restaurant chain with strong brand recognition throughout India and an additional hotel, which could provide a future re-branding opportunity for the Gordon House brand.

Sanjay Narang, President of Mars, commented: “With a broad and experienced management team already in place, we view this merger with India Hospitality as a unique platform to leverage our core competencies and operating experience. IHC’s vision and the support of its board will allow us to grow the business and become a leader in the Indian lodging, leisure and travel industry. With the economic growth India is currently experiencing combined with a growing middle class, we believe we are on the cusp of a strong growth cycle and are excited to be partnering with IHC.”

Jason Ader, Chairman and CEO of India Hospitality added: “We have long felt that India holds great potential for growth in the lodging, leisure, travel and support industries in which Mars and SkyGourmet operate. The rising purchasing power of the Indian consumer combined with the rapid emergence of low-cost airline carriers is expected to drive strong airline passenger growth. This growth is driving major infrastructure investments in airports which will create substantial expansion opportunities for hotels, restaurants and airline catering services. Further infrastructure investment in shopping malls and office parks creates additional opportunities to leverage these restaurant brands in food courts. I’m confident that combining the long-established and successful operating history of these businesses with the stronger capital structure provided by this transaction will position IHC to better capitalize on these growth propects.”

Mars operates two Gordon House Hotels, a modern four-star hotel chain catering to both the Indian business and high-end leisure traveler markets. For the last several years domestic tourism has continued to rise at double digit rates. With demand for hotel rooms expected to outpace industry supply growth, the Gordon House chain is poised to participate in this expected demand for hotel rooms over the long-term. Mars also has a diversified portfolio of restaurants, with eight primary brands covering a wide range of segments, including family, casual and over-the-counter dining. Several of the popular brands include “Not Just Jazz By The Bay”, “Tendulkar’s”, “All Stir Fry” and “Just Around The Corner”.

SkyGourmet is an airline catering company in India currently operating from four locations with plans to expand to up to 12 by 2009. With the airline industry expected to expand from 47 million passengers in 2006 to over 100 million in 2010, SkyGourmet is well-positioned to participate in this travel boom with plans to increase its aggregate capacity from 25,000 meals served a day to an anticipated 72,000 meals per day by 2009.

“Among the core competencies of Mars is the ability to create successful brands across several market segments,” said Richard Foyston, founding partner and Managing Director of Navis. “SkyGourmet is a unique company able to deliver a high quality, high volume product within a demanding and time-sensitive environment. We expect the combination of these businesses will provide for significant synergies and create a meaningful competitive advantage. With the expected growth of the Gordon House Hotels, the combined company is well-positioned to leverage these businesses and offer a complete lodging and dining experience to the growing business and tourist traveler.”

The transaction is expected to be fully funded with available cash and the issuance of new ordinary shares of IHC. Upon completion of the transaction, IHC will retain its name, and expects to have approximately 24.4 million ordinary shares in issue. On a fully diluted basis, IHC expects to have approximately 58.7 million shares in issue. Cash on hand of the enlarged group immediately following the closing of the transaction is expected to be approximately US $10.2 million with total debt on the books as of May 31, 2007, of approximately US $24.2 million.

In a demonstration of its support of IHC and the acquisition, Hayground Cove Asset Management (through the funds and accounts it manages) has agreed to purchase from IHC up to the number of ordinary shares for which repurchase rights are exercised at the same price per share for which they are required to be repurchased by IHC. As the acquisition will constitute a Qualifying Business Combination under the terms of IHC’s initial public offering in July 2006, IHC ordinary shareholders voting against the acquisition will have certain rights to require IHC to repurchase their ordinary shares. Further details as to repurchase rights and Hayground’s commitment will be contained in the Admission Document to be sent to IHC's shareholders.

The acquisition of Mars and SkyGourmet is classed as a reverse acquisition under the AIM Rules for Companies and requires the approval of IHC’s shareholders. A proxy statement and admission document for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies (Admission Document) containing further information on the acquisition and related transactions and a notice convening an Extraordinary General Meeting of the shareholders of IHC to approve the acquisition and certain related matters is expected to be published and sent to shareholders shortly. Pending the publication of the Admission Document, trading in IHC’s ordinary shares and warrants on the Alternative Investment Market of London Stock Exchange plc (AIM) will be suspended in accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies.

The Extraordinary General Meeting of the shareholders of IHC to approve the acquisition of MRPL, SCPL, and certain related transactions is expected to be held in mid-July 2007 and IHC expects the acquisition to close and the shares of India Hospitality to be re-admitted to trading on AIM on the business day following the Extraordinary General Meeting.

About Mars : Mars was incorporated in 2000 by Mr. Sanjay Narang and his management team with the objective of operating and managing restaurants. Since its incorporation, Mars has diversified into bakery outlets and operating and managing food courts and hotels. For the nine months ending December 31, 2006, MRPL had audited revenues of approximately US $7.2 million. The MRPL group currently employs over 550 people.

About SkyGourmet : SkyGourmet was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Mumbai. SkyGourmet currently provides inflight catering services to a number of domestic and international airlines, including Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Air India Express, Indian Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Air France. It has operations in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Pune. For the nine months ending December 31, 2006, SCPL had audited revenues of approximately US $11.7 million. SkyGourmet currently has over 1,150 employees.

About India Hospitality Corp.:IHC is a blank-check company created to initially acquire Indian businesses or assets in the hospitality, leisure, tourism, travel and related industries, including but not limited to hotels, resorts, timeshares, serviced apartments and restaurants.

In August 2006, IHC raised US $103 million in an IPO and private placement and is listed on the AIM, a market operated by London Stock Exchange plc, under the ticker IHC. The Company was sponsored and advised by Hayground Cove Asset Management LLC, a New York-based investment management firm with approximately US $2.8 billion in gross assets under management. Jason Ader, IHC’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, is the Chief Executive Officer of Hayground Cove Asset Management. Mr. Ader has a strong background in the leisure and hospitality industries. Prior to founding Hayground Cove, he was a senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Co., Inc., supervising coverage of the lodging and hospitality industry and was a top ranked analyst by Institutional Investor Magazine’s All-American Research Team for nine consecutive years.

Banyan Tree Capital is IHC’s exclusive financial advisor in connection with the transaction. Proskauer Rose LLP, led by Jeffrey Horwitz, is overall transaction counsel for IHC.

June 19, 2007
Source: Fuerteventura Digital

Niche Tourism

Medical
Spiritual & religious
Rural
Wine
Heritage
Adventure
Education
Nature tourism
Luxury & rejuvenation ( ayurveda, spas, holistic healing, cruises, customized travel)

Others

Policy

1. Civil-aviation sector needs to tackle hurdles

Noting that Indian civil aviation sector is experiencing high levels of growth, Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel has said the industry must tackle the shortcomings of inadequate infrastructure and shortage of skilled manpower to sustain the growth.

"We need more pilot training facilities, we need more engineering facilities and we need more technical people. The real challenge is to build infrastructure in the shortest possible time. Otherwise we cannot sustain this kind of growth," he said while attending a session of the United States-India Business Council here yesterday.

The Indian aviation sector was growing at between 35 per cent to 40 per cent annually with the domestic sector accounting for 48 per cent and the international sector chipping in with 20 per cent, he said.
India must allow private players to build new merchant airports and should promote regional airlines in tier two and tier three cities with one major hub in a region if it aims to widen the sector, Patel said.

The aviation sector have to look beyond the realm of passengers to include cargo and logistics, he said adding trusts should be given to cargo facilities,i.e. more cargo airlines and hubs.

The Vision 2020 document, which would be finalised in a few months, envisions to have atleast 400 airports by that time frame, he said. The session was attended by the Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen and the President of the USIBC Ron Somers.

Patel's official schedule include a meeting with US Secretary of Transportation during which an MoU on the Aviation Cooperation Programme between the two countries is expected to be signed. He will also visit the National Command System at Dulles of the Federal Aviation Authority.

June 22,2007
Source: Economic Times

Travel and Tourism Support Industries …and much more

Service providers

1. Tourism New Zealand all set for Kiwilink India
After a successful stint with Trendz 2007, Tourism New Zealand is now gearing up for Kiwilink India, scheduled to take place in the first week of September 2007 across Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. "We'll start with Delhi on September 3, followed by Chennai on September 5 and finally, on September 7 and AND 8, 2007, Kiwilink will be in Mumbai. We are expecting 100 agents across India and 22 participants from the New Zealand tourism industry, along with the New Zealand Immigration Services and Qantas as the airline partner," says Kiran Nambiar, Manager India, Tourism New Zealand. This year, the duration of the event has also been increased by an hour. Earlier, the timings were 10 am to 6 pm; this year, the event is scheduled from 9 am to 6 pm.

Kiwilink India will witness 12 new participants this year, among the 22 overall participants. Hermitage Hotels, Tourism Auckland, Destination Northland, The Great New Zealand Touring Road, Agrodome, Shortover Jet, Skyline Gondolla Queenstown, Accor, 3D New Zealand are some of the new entrants. Kiwilink India, the trade event conducted by Tourism New Zealand, takes place once in two years in India. It is alternated with Kiwilink Asia, which will now be held once again in Shanghai in Oct-Nov 2008, with an Indian participation of around 20-25 companies.

Elaborating on Tourism New Zealand's plans for the coming months, Nambiar informs, "With 21,000 Indian tourists recorded for April 2007, we are now focusing on increasing the duration of tourist stay from 10-11 days to 13-14 days by 2007-end and finally, we plan to increase the duration to 15-16 days in the next two years." With a specific focus on the high-end market, Tourism New Zealand is now promoting experiential tours in the form of boutique accommodation, farm stays, home stays and luxury lodges. The other areas being developed are vineyards, spas, golf and skiing for beginners.

"Moving away from the regular sightseeing options, we are promoting trekking to new areas, such as White Island in the Bay of Plenty, which is an active volcano zone. There are also helicopter rides available to get an overview of the island," adds Nambiar.

June 23, 2007
Source: Travelbizmonitor

Travel ecommerce

Events

1. Tourist festival planned at Imphal

The director of tourism, Manipur BB Sharma stated that the Manipur government has implemented 80 percent of the projects sanctioned by the ministry of tourism, Government of India during the 10th Plan. He was speaking at the tourism secretaries meet yesterday at the convention Hall of the Ashok Hotel here, where all the tourism secretaries or its representatives of state/Union territory governments were present.

In the meeting presided by the Union secretary of tourism Christy Fernandez, BB Sharma drew the attention of the Union secretary of tourism for organizing the Manipur Tourism Festival in November this year on a large scale inviting tourists from Japan.

Sharma recalled that the year 2007 was declared as India-Japan Tourism Exchange Year in a joint statement of the two countries which was made during the visit of the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh in December last year in Japan.

Referring to the connection of the Japanese with the tiny state of Manipur situated at the easternmost part of the country, the director of tourism, Manipur said that about 20,000 Japanese were killed in Manipur during the World War II. As such, the descendents of those warriors living in Japan would like to pay homage to their forefathers by visiting Manipur every year, he added.

He also drew the attention of the Centre to provide funds for development of the Japanese War Memorial at Maibam Lopka Ching in Bishnupur district in Manipur.

The Union secretary of tourism, in his speech, asked the Manipur government to prepare and submit a comprehensive proposal for organizing the Manipur Tourism Festival in Manipur on a large scale to the ministry of tourism at the earliest.

The one-day meeting that had a marathon sitting from 10 am to 5 pm discussed different issues on travel trade, management of hotels, human resource development of tourism, and also tourism as an industry.

June 22, 2007
Source: Kanglaonline

Research and Market reports

1. Indian tourism on a high
According to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India, in April 2007, around 1.42 million foreign tourists had visited India in the first quarter of 2007 (Q1 2007). This marked a 14.4% growth when compared to the corresponding period in 2006. The foreign-exchange earned in Q1 2007 was Rs.910.24 million, a growth of 16.8% over the same period of the previous year. These strong growth numbers had raised the hope of another good year for the tourism industry in India. More significantly, India was attracting more upmarket tourists, which was in sync with the objectives of the 'Incredible India' campaign initiated by the MoT in 2002.

The 'Incredible India' campaign was a multifaceted campaign aimed at increasing tourist inflow in India by promoting India as an attractive destination. The campaign was a refreshing change from the earlier campaigns, which invariably revolved around the Taj Mahal. Moreover, unlike the previous campaigns, the positioning and communication was kept the same in all the countries. The campaign showcased the unique aspects of India's rich cultural heritage and history like yoga, spirituality, etc. Efforts to promote medical tourism and rural tourism were also intensified. As a part of the campaign, a national social awareness program called Atithi Devo Bhavah (Guest is God) was launched in 2005. This program was aimed at sensitizing key stakeholders about their responsibility toward foreign tourists.

The MoT had also spent heavily on marketing and publicity campaigns . For 2006-07, the MoT had spent Rs.2.35 billion for the marketing and publicity efforts. The marketing and publicity for 'Incredible India' campaign in overseas markets had cost Rs.534.9 million in 2006-07. Analysts opined that this global campaign had helped to boost the Indian tourism industry. Foreign-exchange earning from tourism had jumped from Rs.141.95 billion in 2002 to around Rs.296.0 billion in 2006. The 'Incredible India' campaign had also won various awards for advertising excellence. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Indian tourism was expected to grow annually at 8.8% till 2015, which was one of the highest growth rates in the world. Foreign-exchange earnings are expected to cross US$12 billion by the end of 2012.

However, some experts were skeptical and believed that there were still many challenges that prevented India from realizing its full potential. These included poor connectivity, high taxes, visa problems, unsanitary conditions, and shortage of affordable, good quality accommodation. According to experts, building the necessary tourism infrastructure was critical to future success . They opined that India should have developed the infrastructure prior to launching such a high-profile marketing campaign. Some even felt that the future of the industry was more dependent on solving the infrastructure problems rather than on having costly campaigns.

June 21, 2007
Source: Financial Express

Human Resources & Training

1. First aviation career fair from June 23

Bangalore will be hosting a first of its kind ‘Indian Aviation Career Fair’ between June 23-25 to provide an overview of the growing job opportunities in the aviation industry. The two-day fair, being organised by UBC Careers Aviation, a private aviation services firm, will enable all major airlines and various aviation training schools and recruiting personnel to give aviation career aspirants a glimpse of the vast opportunities in the sector.

"The fair will be another catalyst for growth and sustenance of the aviation industry. On the supply side, the event will provide the industry and training industry with candidates keen on careers in various spheres of aviation" said Capt Krishna Prashanth, CEO and Director, Careers Aviation.

Also expected at the fair are individual and corporate customers besides hobby flyers. Sharing the main objective of the fair with the press here, Prashanth said, "there exists an incredible gap between demand and supply in aviation. Of the total number of pilots and engineers flying in India, 460 pilots and 89 engineers happen to be expatriates and the number is bound to grow."

The next three years, he said, will witness a phenomenal growth for the industry. Airbus conservatively estimates that the number of aircraft on Indian soil would be about 1,100 by 2020 but a contemporary analysis places the figure at an incredible 2,000 planes.

Among the various services offered by UBC Careers Aviation are aircraft sale/lease, aircraft charters, aircraft management and aviation HR.

June 21, 2007
Source: PTI via Economic Times

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