Tourism and Travel Trends from India:
News and views on India's Travel and Hospitality Sector

Weekly News Related to Travel Industry in India

Top Travel Destinations
Places in the news
Travel and transportation infrastructure
Medical Tourism
Religious Tourism
Holistic Healing Service Providers
Travel characteristics of Indians
Investment related
Travel and Tourism Support Industries …and much more

Top Travel Destinations

Places in the news

1. Himachal Tourism in India Offers Adventure & Sports For Tourists

Himachal Pradesh is, for sheer geographical diversity, not only a land of placid mountains draped with snow & green, deep-gorged rivers & thick forests, but also a peaceful state of India. It is always an attraction for the tourists from both within India and from foreign countries. Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation is a pioneer Govt. Agency to develop & promote tourism in the State.

Himachal Pradesh is surrounded by low rolling hills, just a couple of hundred meters above sea level. Here lie peaks that are several thousand meters high and never lose their perennial snows. Alpine pastures all form a part of this immense spectrum. These varied environments of the state open big possibilities for a wide range of outdoor activities. Among the adventure sports, day-hikes by the thousand-while trek routes follow trails that can last a coupler of days and extend to few weeks. In Winter Sports in the Pradesh, skiing, heli-skiing, ice-skiing and tobogganing are very popular. Para-Gliding, mountain-cycling are the test of stamina. One can go for Camping which includes fishing, playing of golf or taking of safari by car. Mountaineering, rappelling & rock-climbing sports are unique in itself. Water –sports, which includes boating, kayaking, swimming and river-rafting. The Visitors to Himachal Pradesh can enjoy any of sports without special trainings.

Golf
Golf, an International Sports, takes place at Naldehra Golf Course, 23Kms from Shimla, Lord Curzon. British Viceroy Of India who fell love with the spot, initiated it to be existed as a Golf Course since twentieth century. Designed over a long sloping glade, Naldehra Course is one of the most challenging spot in the country. This is a par 68 course with nine holes. The yardage of first round is 2149 and repeat nine, there are four additional greens and different tees, which increases the yardage of the second round to 2370. The normal calendar of events at Naldehra Golf Course begins from April, lasts up to October. Pradesh has Golf Course at Annandale, Shimla, another at the exquisite glade of Khijjar near Dalhousie.

Day Hikes
Day Hikes, just about every destination in Himachal Pradesh offers Day-Hikes, where a tourist can go in the morning and return in the evening.. Shorter walks with comfortable pair of shoes or on longer treks are advisable. Monsoon speaks of an umbrella or raincoat in day-hike.

Trekking
In Himachal Pradesh, Trekking areas are the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal Ranges between the Shimla region and Kullu valley, apart from this in the Trans Himalayan regions of Kinnaur , Lahaul Spiti, where areas for Trekking. are between 1500 to 6000 meters. The Pradesh is full of forest wealth like woods of oak, Himalayan Cedar “Deodar” & Spruce, where trekking is really enjoyable & healthy. Trekking Packages are regularly offered by number of agencies. Training facilities are availble at Manali Mountaineering Institute & its regional centers at Dharamsala and Bharmaur. Guides, equipment, posters, pack animals and maps are available at the starting point around Kula and Manila. Himachal Government has provided lot of guest houses, fashionable dak bunglows and rest houses.

Trekking Equipment
For successful trekking, a visitor needs a Comfortable Walking Shoes with a good grip on the ankles, waterproof warm jacket, woolen/ tennis socks and stockings, sunglasses, headgear, rucksack and bags, which should be arranged by the visitors along with porter and ponies. Water Bottle. Swiss Army Knife. Sleeping Bag. And foam ground sheet. Gloves. Umbrella. Rope. Medical and .first aid equipment. Photographic Equipment, Torch and Batteries. Tent. Compass. Binoculars. Cooking Equipment. Food & Ration.

Camping
Camping is one of the important way to enjoy the wonders of nature available in Himachal Pradesh, where the hospitality is the culture of the Himachalis. Pitching of camping in any of part of this hilly state inspire the domestic and foreign tourists to engage themselves in hikes, fishing, nature tours, rock climbing and river rafting. Organized camping facilities are available with Youth Hotel Associations, Private Agencies and Himachal Tourism.

Heli-Skiing
Himachal State is the top in world where, sheer high mountains thrills, nothing can surpass the magic of hill-skiing. The flying of helicopter over this snow-bound Pradesh gives a thrilling experience, while it is zooming down on hilly snow-bound slopes. Such spots are available in the areas of Hanuman Tibba, Rohtang Pass, Deo Tibba and Chanderkhani Pass near Manali. Popular Heli-Skiing is experienced by the adventurous Travel-Lovers at the top of a 14000 foot high slope.

Skiing
Skiing is the most comprehensive adventure in this hilly state. Places like snow-bound Kufri is the pioneer in Skiing in India Such facilities exist at the slopes of Narkanda, which is only 64 K.M away from Shimla. Himachal Tourism Skiing courses with instructions, boarding and lodging and equipment at famous skiing point Narkanda. Around Manali , the snowy spots attract tourists for skiing. This town is the home to Directorate Of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, which conduct series of such courses at the picturesque Solang Valley, which is considered most beautiful spots of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla Ice Skiing Rink, the oldest is now well past a venerable platinum jubilee, remains what may well be largest open air-rink in this art of the world. Two sessions morning and evening at this skiing rink every day, gives a musical picture of huge crowds of youngsters, which leads to very successful yearly Ice Skating Carnivals and different functions, organized by the Skiing Club.

Para-Gliding
Para-gliding in which one is flying like bird in the air The bald of billing, above the Buddhist Monastery of Bir in Kagra, has been considered among the best sites in the world in para-gliding. Not only this, it was the venue for national and international rallies and also Pre-World Cup Rallies in year 2003 & 04. This full of thrill site had been provided with all infrastructural and support facilities. The Tourism Deptt. of Himachal Pradesh Govt. has been sponsoring training amenities and other events through the year.

Dharamsala, a prominent tourist destination is having a sports hostel, while Bundla near Bilaspur, select spots in Kullu valley and at Intakali in Prabbar valley near Rohru attract the adventure sport lovers.

Angling
Himachal Pradesh is the paradise of adventure sports like Trouts, Catfish, Mahaseer as well as other cold fish. Both brown and rainbow trout are found in abundance in Himachal Streams. In Pabbar Valley of Rohru up Stream, no of good spots for fishing are available. Chirgaon has the trout hatchery. In 5 to 25 Kms of Rohru Range sites like Seema, Mandil, Sandasu, Tikri and Dhamvari are existing, but accommodation including Himachal Tourism’s Hotel Chanshai is available at Rohru. In Kinnaur, the river Basapa in the Sangla Valley, trout and this is the first trout farm in the state since year 1920. Trout fish in the Uhl river near Barot near Jogindernagar is available. The waters of Gobind Sagar near Bilaspur and Maharana Partap Sagar in Kangra also have variety of fish.

Good spots on the beat are Luhandi, the Puran hatchery, Tikkar and Kamand. Streams like the Sarvari, Parabati, Sainj, Hurla and Tirthan especially the areas around Aut, Pathlikuhal, Kartain, Raison and Larji are excellent for the sport near Pandoh.

The picturesque Kangra valley has several spots that offer ‘mahaseer’, river carp. Here many anglers consider to be a finer sport fish than Trout. The Maharana Pratap Sagar has good spots right up to the town of Dehra. The area around Nadaun along with river Beas, Chamba Pattan near Garli, Harsi Pattan and Lambagraon are some good beats. In Himachal Pradesh, fees for fishing are nominal.

Still –Water Sports
Year long activities like swimming, water-skiing, Surfing, kayaking, Rowing Canoeing and Sailing with the collaboration with Himachal Tourism and Director Of Mountaineering and Allied Sports are offered to the visiting tourists. Facilities like Cafeteria, accommodation and other support services at the Maha Rana Partap Sagar are offered to the sports lovers. Similar activities on the waters of Gobind Sagar near Bilaspur. Chemra near Dalhousie and Pandoh Lake are available, while boating can be done in Renuka Lake.

River-Rafting
Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a major focus for river-rafting or white water rafting. The State hosted the India Rafting Cup in 2004 & 2005. This sports is available on the river Beas near Kullu, the river Ravi near Chamba and river Chandra near Lahaul. For enjoying the River Rafting, one needs pants, socks, bathing suit, trunks, outdoor/sports shoes, cap/hat, sun-glasses, rubber-slippers, cameras, warm-clothing's and prescription Medicines. Himachal Tourism sponsors courses in River Rafting.

Mountain Cycling
The lower regions of the state, Kangra, Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur offer Mountain-Cycling. Same interesting excursions can be done out of any holiday destination. Mashobra and Shimla are famous for such Cycling.

Vehicle Safari
Cars, Jeeps and Motor Cycles are the popular ways of Vehicle Safaris. Along one of The highest high ways in the world, you can drive out of Manali, cross the Rohtang Pass (3980m) and move through arid lahaul and Ladhak. From Shimla to picturesque Kinnaur, drive can be taken through the haunting landscapes of Spiti and over the Kunzam Pass ( 4551m). Here it is worth mentioning that Himachal has an extensive network of roads and tracks. and every year oil & tire companies in India sponsor vehicle safari competitions for destinations in Himachal Pradesh.

Mountaineering and Rock-Climbing
Since majority of the parts of Himachal Praesh are situated on hilly heights, the mountaineering activities are quite popular sports in the Pradesh. The areas around Manali presently forms the core of mountaineering activities in Himachal. The Beas kund region and the lower reaches of the Hanuman Tibba ( 5930 m ), the Manali and Shitidhar peaks around the source of the river Beas and the Deo Tibba ( 6001m ) area are suggested for non-professional climbers with some experience in the sport. The Chandra Bagga ranges, the Pir Panjal and the Dhauladhar ranges are also an existing focus. The institute of Mountaineering and allied Sports at Manali and its branch at Dharamsala offer courses for theses activities.

Eco-Tourism
It is an interaction with Eco-System and our surrounding environments. Correspondent of ‘ travelvideo.tv “, Mr. Khanna visited Vibha’s Eco-Tourism project at Shimla, where Mr. Khanna was told by Ms Vibha that her Eco-Tourism Project was 5 K.M away from Shimla, situated on the altitude 0f 2050 mtrs & although spread in 100 hectres of prime Western Himalayan Forest, yet she had arranged all type of necessities/ amenities for the visiting tourists i.e beautiful cottages, with sleeping beds, other furniture, Ultra-modern bathrooms and toilets etc. Vibha explained that the visiting guests enjoyed the nature in such a spectacular experience that Forestry, Hills, Rocks, Streams, Birds, Wild –Animals all enchanted them, not only this, but they enjoy Rock-climbing, Dry-River Crossing, walking, painting, bird-watching, flora & fauna identification, air gun shooting, indoor games like carom, chess, scrabble, out-door games like cricket, basket-ball,throwball, volleyball & badminton and also involve themselves in evening cultural activities/events. Vibha told that lage number of meetings and conferences had been arranged at the camp. MS Vibha also told that at her famous project “Potters Hill”, only those stay, who wished to forget remaining world and enjoy with the life-partners. Hence at this camp, the idea to enjoy a combination of Eco- Tourism, Adventure Tourism and leisure camping lured the visiting guests. When asked her about the rates, being charged for stay and food etc. Vibha replied that at her camp 11 cottages and 8 deluxe tents with all modern facilities had been always waiting for nature-loving visitors. She had been charging for double cottages (Huts) Rs.2500/ to 3100/ per day & For deluxe tent Rs.1400/ to Rs. 2200/ Ms Vibha also told that seasonally where 20 to 22 honey-mooner visited stayed at Potters-Hill and started their married-life there. MS Vibha showed a very normal rated menu-card for different type of food being provided to the staying guests, which had caused to attract many other adventurous guests other than the Honey- Mooners. The visitor’s Book concerning the Potters-Hill was full of positive comments prestigious organizations like Sawraj Mazda, Pepsi, Coca-cola, Samsung Electronics, Maruti quahog, Volvo Group and Ambuja. Vibha pleaded that staying by tourists at Potters Hill, had not costed any other expences to them other than what had been charged by them. On concluding her interview, she invited the travel-lovers from India and abroad and in case of any quarries, she might be contacted on mobile 094180-65001, 2, 4, 5, 6. The present and prospective customers might send their bookings on Fax No 0177-254774 or on e-mail: vibha@pottershill.com The visiting guests might consult Camp’s web-site www.pottershill.com for detailed descriptions of the camp.
For the guidance of Adventure-Loving visitors, the following data of distances of these adventurous places from main well-known places is being given :
------------------------------------------------------------------

Pathankot to Dalhousie 80 kms
Shimla to kullu 220 kms
Kullu to Sangla 9 Kms.
Shimla to Rohru 131 Kms.
Shimla to Dharamsala 235 kms.
Kullu to Manali 40 kms.
Sangla to Kalpa 38 Kms.
Kangra (gaggal ) Air Port to Dharamsala 17 Kms
Pathankot to Dharamsala 85 kms.
Palampur to Billing 41 kms
Nadaun To Dharamsala 69 Kms.
Mandi To Barot 75 Kms

Useful Addresses & Web-Sites
Skiing, Golf and Accomodation:
Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Coroporation, The Mall, Shimla 171001
Tele. 0177-2652561/2658302 Fax: 0177-2652557
E-Mail : hpdtc@sancharnet.in
Web-Site : www.himachal.com

Heli-Skiing
Himachal Helicopter Skiing,
Web-Site: www.himachal.com

Sking and Water Sports
Directorate Of Mountaineering and Allied Sports
Alei, Manali 175131 or Indian Institute Of Skiing and Mountaineering, C-1 Hutments,
Dalhousie Road, New Delhi 110011
Angling
Chief warden, Fisheries, Bilaspur Web-Site: www.himachal.nic.in/fisheries

Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Source: travelvideo.tv

2. Queen Mary 2 comes calling at Kochi port
Queen Mary 2, billed as the grandest and most magnificent ocean liner ever built, came calling at the port here, Wednesday noon, on its first voyage to this port city.

The liner arrived from Malaysia and is on its way to Dubai and would leave Kochi port Thursday morning.

On board are 2,650 passengers and close to 1,300 staff members, including 70 Indians.

On reaching Kochi, the tourists were taken to various places of interest in 70 buses and 56 cars.

The liner has 13 decks and boasts of the most modern luxuries and amenities. These include 10 luxury hotels, a planetarium  and an ayurveda massage parlour.

Of late, Kochi has become a stop for many leading luxury liners. Later this month, the port will dock Queen Elizabeth 2, which holds the title of the most famous ship in the world.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Source: MSN News

3. Hurley-burly: What price for marriage tourism?

Marriage tourism may be touted as the next big thing for India - with minister Ambika Soni promoting it in her speech at the inaugural ceremony of the largest tourism fair in the world - but ground realities prove we may not be ready for the band-baaja yet.

"With the Liz Hurley-Arun Nayar wedding happening in India, we are hoping to promote marriage tourism,"Soni had said. And while the minister was giving this fine speech in Berlin, mediapersons, including female reporters, were being groped, pushed and slapped at the now-famous Liz-Nayar wedding.

"If this is the way we, the media, are being treated, I shudder to think what the girl on the street has to go through,"said Jane Smith (name changed), a TV producer who bore the brunt of Rajasthan police's manhandling.

On day 1, Smith was groped and felt up by police at Jodhpur airport but only told her team about the incident late at night.

On day 2 at Nagaur Fort, the incident was repeated and the girl lashed out at the cop, who sneered and walked away. On
Friday, the same producer was targeted by a member of Walsons, a private security firm deployed for the Nayar wedding.

"Am I being picked on because I'm a foreigner or does this happen to all girls who come here,"she wondered. And this, in a state where the CM and the governor are both women.

Another female journalist was slapped by private security guards as she tried to run towards the Nayar's Bentley, as it headed into Meherangarh Fort on Friday.

Stunned, she stood rooted to the spot. "How can there be no female security guards at such a huge event?"she asked.

"We didn't know there would be female reporters in India,"replied a member of Hurley's British security team. The reporter was not amused.

Police and mediapersons got into brawls thrice in the three days of the 'fairytale wedding'. For those not on the guest list, the Jodhpur experience has been a nightmare.

The problems started with the Umaid Bhawan Palace being cordoned off by British security without prior information.

"We were told the wedding was on the 9th. Nobody told us that the palace museum would be out of bounds from 7th onwards. We wasted so much time trying to get here,"said Rajat Singh, who had come visiting with relatives from Delhi.

Then, at the airport, travel agency personnel organising transport roughed up the media for trying to take pictures of Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia.

On Thursday, while the celebs enjoyed a traditional sangeet ceremony at Nagaur Fort, outside the media battled it out with locals with overactive libidos and cops who couldn't care less. Of course, the scuffle at Meherangarh Fort after the Indian wedding on Friday is the stuff of breaking news...

Simply put, the wedding was Jodhpur's five minutes of fame. With locals never having heard of either the bride or groom, exclusive rights of publishing the inside story bought by a British tabloid for an astronomical figure and the inconvenience caused, it was hard to avoid feeling that all concerned would have been better off watching a shaadi video

Saturday, 10 March, 2007
Source: Times of India

Travel and transportation infrastructure

Sector: Railways

1. CR rakes in over Rs 28 cr from ticketless travel

The Central Railways (CR) has booked 9.74 lakh cases of ticketless or unauthorised travel between April 2006 and February 2007 as against 8.68 lakh cases detected during the same period in 2006. The revenues, by way of fines and penalty collected by the railways, has increased by almost 26%, informed a senior railway official.

In February alone, railway officials booked 91,000 cases as against 77,000 cases in February 2006. The CR had collected Rs 28.08 crore till end of February 2007 as against Rs 23.23 crore in 2006. The official noted that in February alone, the officials collected Rs 2.69 crore as against Rs 2.14 crore collected during the corresponding period in February 2006.

The official noted that Central Railways has been regularly undertaking massive ticket checking drives to arrest the issue of ticketless travel. He said that Union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also declared at an all-India meet that the reduction in the Indian Railways’ revenues were exclusively due to its drive against ticketless and unauthorised travel, which has gone up by 14% during 2005-06.

He noted that more revenue could definitely be generated if the menace was brought under control. Railway officials have also detected 521 cases of the illegal transfer of reserved tickets in February and an amount of Rs 2.44 lakh was realised, besides the confiscation of tickets worth Rs 95,000.

Friday, March 09, 2007
Source: Financial Express

Sector: Aviation

1. Air Deccan, Travelguru in tie-up for online hotel bookings
Air Deccan, India's second largest domestic carrier, has announced a strategic tie-up with Travelguru, an online travel portal that will allow its passengers to make budget hotel bookings and holiday packages. The tie-up will provide Air Deccan passengers the convenience of selecting and making reservations in 2,500 hotels, including over 1,500 budget/ economy hotels, through its website www.airdeccan.net.

Air Deccan said that the hotels are located in 160 cities across India, including all destinations that Air Deccan flies to. The hotels will offer a wide range of facilities such as free airport transfer, breakfast and other value additions such as best available hotel rates, along with instant confirmation of the booking. Passengers will also have online access to both Air Deccan and Travelguru contact centres for speedy and accurate response to their queries.

Capt. G.R Gopinath, managing director, Air Deccan said, "The Air Deccan-Travelguru tie up will serve as the one-stop window for affordable travel solutions for the discerning traveler. It is our constant endeavor to bring down the cost of travel by driving up ancillary revenue. Partnership with a leading travel portal like Travelguru will bolster Air Deccan's ancillary revenue creation, which has always been a focus area of our operations."

Ashwin Damera, CEO and co founder of Travelguru, said, “The synergy from the tie-up, both in terms of expertise and resources, will create a unique product for the ever increasing league of travelers in India. We believe the prices and range of hotels we have to offer is going to spark a revolution in the hotel segment."

March 1-15, 2007
Source: Express Hospitality

2. Indian to introduce flights to Patna, Lakshadweep
Domestic carrier Indian on Friday said it will start daily flights on the Delhi-Patna and Kochi-Agatti routes soon.

While the flights to Patna would start from Saturday and operate on all days barring Sunday, the Kochi-Agatti service would be launched in July and would operate on a daily-basis with a 48-seater ATR aircraft.

The flights to Agatti in Lakshadweep islands would be operated by Indian's wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air, the company spokesperson said.

The service, which has been in demand for a long time, would also allow air cargo shipment by traders, especially of perishable items.

The state-owned carrier has also received this year's prestigious Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (Patwa) award for being India’s 'most trusted airline'.

Patwa also awarded the airline's Director General (Commercial) Anita Khurana as the 'best marketing person in aviation', the spokesperson said.

Saturday, March 10, 2007
Source : PTI via Economic Times

Sector: Hotels and Restaurants

1. Royal Orchid launches 4-star deluxe hotel
Bangalore based Royal Orchid Hotels has launched its first four star deluxe hotel under the brand Royal Orchid Central in Jaipur.

This 70 room property has been taken on lease for around 20 years. Royal Orchid Central in Jaipur is part of the company's expansion plans to set up 40 hotels across India including 15 five star and four star properties by early 2010.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. Ministry seeks tax waiver for small hotels

The tourism ministry has asked the finance ministry to extend the five-year income tax waiver for small and budget hotels in the NCR to the rest of the country.

The tax waiver, announced in the Budget on February 28, was for Delhi and the NCR region, including Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.

Speaking to The Times of India in Berlin, tourism minister Ambika Soni said, "I have written to the finance minister asking that the five-year tax holiday be extended to the entire country. After all, we are selling the entire country as a destination and accommodation is required in almost all cities."

The tax waiver for Delhi and surrounding areas has been done keeping in mind the Commonwealth Games 2010. "A little loss to the exchequer will reap massive benefits in the long term," the minister said.

India received 4.4 million tourists in 2005, a jump of 13% from 2004 and is targetting a growth of upto 10 million tourists a year by 2010. But a major deterrent for inbound traffic is the lack of rooms.

According to estimates, there is a shortage of 1.4 lakh rooms in Delhi alone, a problem that needs to be addressed before the Games in 2010.

But tourism officials point out that while Delhi must be a thrust area, other cities of tourist interest like Agra, Khajuraho or metros like Bangalore and Chennai should not be ignored.

The high room rents are a huge deterrent for tourists and travel agencies are very often forced to redirect tourists interested in India to cheaper south east Asian destinations like Malaysia and Singapore.
Thursday, 8 March, 2007
Source: The Times of India

Medical Tourism

1. Medical tourism soaring in Kerala

With Kerala expecting at least 100,000 medical tourists in the next three years, the therapeutic tourism industry is in the pink of its health.

Foreigners are arriving in Kerala's top hospitals for plastic and cosmetic surgery, facial surgery, dental treatments, cosmetology, hip and knee replacement, ophthalmology, voice therapy and obesity treatment.

The second Kerala Health Tourism (KTH)-2007 fair, to be held in Kochi from March 23 to 26, is jointly organised by the tourism department along with the Confederation of Indian Industry.

"We are expecting 1,000 participants from within the country and abroad. There will be people from insurance companies, tour operators from health and tourism sectors, medical tourism planners and third-party administrators," KTH chairman Phillip Augustine told reporters here Thursday.

The fair expects more than 100 exhibitors, including leading hospitals, private clinics, medical bodies, private clinics and spas, to take part. Special pavilions for ayurveda and dental treatment will be put up.

"Over the last few years, the number of foreign medical tourists has gone up. According to reports, 15,000 visitors sought healing at various hospitals of the state last year," said Augustine.

Jancy Joseph, who runs a private dental clinic here, said tooth treatment for foreigners was a hit on account of the huge cost difference.

"The biggest advantage that Kerala has on this front is the large number of non-resident Keralites settled in the US, Europe and Middle East. This movement began when they talked about the low-cost dental treatments in Kerala to their friends abroad," Jancy told .

"In another two to three years, dentists in Kerala will do good business, with a large number of foreigners arriving at dental clinics here," she added.

The government has entrusted the Investment Consulting Research Agency (ICRA) the task of preparing a report on Kerala's potential in medical tourism, the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and other factors. The report is expected to be ready soon.
E.M. Najeeb, executive director of KIMS Hospital here, said the need of the hour was for a society similar to that of the Kerala Travel Mart Society - which takes care of the tourism industry - to take medical tourism to greater heights.

"Accreditation and certifications are a must for medical tourism because international insurance companies require this certification to pay their clients after they undergo treatments," he said.

Friday, March 09, 2007
Source: IANS via MSN

2. Ayurvedic therapists set to make global strides

After being the single largest source of supply of nursing staff to the country and probably to the world at large, the health sector in the state is ready to export trained manpower from another health vertical – ayurveda. The demand for nurses, masseurs or therapists and other support staff in ayurveda therapy is fast growing from various cities in the country and even from many European and Asian countries where ayurveda has made inroads.

Taking into account this growing demand, institutes offering training courses in ayurveda therapy with guaranteed employment are mushrooming in the state. Some of the advertisements announcing such courses even offer jobs in European countries with salaries starting from Rs 40,000 per month.

According to experts here, the ayurvedic therapists and other support staff could soon turn out to be the next area of excellence that Kerala can cash in. With the traditional healing and therapeutic practices gaining a new respectability, ayurvedic treatment centres are coming up within the country and in international markets. This has led to huge requirement of trained therapists.

Says T Unnikrishnan, deputy general manager of the Trissur-based Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, “in the treatment centres that we are helping to set up the requirement is at least 100 people a month an year”. According to him, the Bahrain-based East West Group has set up 5 ayurvedic centres in Bahrain for which several trained staff are needed.

According to Anoop, Partner of Dhanwanthari Vaidyasala, Thodupuzha, “the demand is mainly from South East countries, Middle East and many European countries like UK, Germany etc”.

Both Anoop and Unnikrishnan points out that the requirement is similar to the demand experienced by those with degree in BSc nursing in the past few decades. Within the country also the growing network of ayurvedic treatment centres has also led to the increase in demand for ayurvedic doctors, therapists and other staff.

Says Sanilkumar, managing director of the Hyderabad-based Ayurcare, “we need around 250 to 300 trained therapists this year”. The company, which has 15 treatment centres in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Chennai and at Bangalore at present, is starting 25 more in different parts of the country this year.

However, the absence of a government approved syllabus and training course is an area of concern. “The government has to urgent steps to standardise these courses and make its formal approval mandatory for institutes”, said Dr Satish, partner, Dhanwanthari Vaidyasala.

Friday, March 09, 2007
Source: Economic Times

3. Health woes in the West are big bucks for Kerala

After Kerala’s beaches, hillocks and houseboats, it now seems to be the turn of specialised hospitals and clinics to rope in international travellers. Those nursing a malfunctioning hip in north America, or suffering from a tooth that needs root canal treatment in Europe are now queuing up at hospitals in Kerala, mixing medicine with pleasure. Not surprising, considering that the waitlist for an outpatient treatment at a London hospital can be more than three weeks and the fees can be several times what it will cost in India.

When Mike Brian (name changed) from Canada had to undergo a hip replacement surgery, he flew into the Kerala capital, checked into a Taj property on the Kovalam beach and got his surgery done at the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), all for $6,000, against what would have cost him $50,000 back home.

“The cost advantage is compelling, but that is not all. Medical value travel (MVT) business in Kerala is offering cutting-edge technology and world-class service along with the promise of quality medical procedures, and this is what is attracting the international MVT clientele to the state”, M I Sahadulla, chairman and MD of KIMS, told ET.

Industry sources say that the cost advantage is indeed a big attraction, but the increasing number of western MVTs point to an increased faith in medical services provided in a developing country like India.KIMS, which had 12,000 MVTs in 2005, attracted as many as 19,000 international MVTs in 2006 and is expecting close to 30,000 this year.

While bigger establishments like KIMS are offering multi-speciality medical services to MVTs, others like the clinic of Kochi-based Dr Raj Krishnan are making a mark with specialised dental treatment. Other elective surgical treatments that are on the priority list of MVTs include cosmetic surgery and voice therapy, doctors here say.

Dr Sahadulla says these numbers are still minuscule compared to what the state is capable of, considering its varied tourism offerings that can be packaged along with state-of-the-art medical facilities that come at a fraction of the price abroad. According to him, the industry looks capable of touching the $2-billion revenues from MVT that the country is projected to earn in 2012.

Friday, March 09, 2007
Source: Economic Times

4. Special treatments a hit with tourists

His friends and relatives thought he had gone dotty when 63-year-old American national William Darling, announced plans to go to India for medical treatment. Doctors in the US had diagnosed Mr Darling as suffering from severe arthritis, a disease that causes pain and loss of movement of the joints. He was advised to undergo hip resurfacing — an alternative to total hip replacement — a high-end procedure, approved only two years back by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US.

“Doctors in the US have little experience with the procedure, while Indian doctors have been performing hip resurfacing for years,” explained Mr Darling. “The quality of treatment I could receive in India would in fact be much higher than the US, and this too, at a fraction of the price that I would have to pay in the US.”

Hip resurfacing costs as much as Rs 24.4 lakh in the US, as opposed to Rs 4 lakh in India. Like Mr Darling, an increasing number of foreign patients are coming to India for high-end treatment like cardiac procedures, oncology or neuro surgeries. This represents a major turning point, since until now, overseas patients came to India for simple or low-risk procedures, such as dental surgeries, discouraged at home by hospitals’ endless waiting lists.

“In 2006, 70% of the 1,400 foreign patients who came to Wockhardt, underwent advanced procedures such as joint replacement, heart or spine surgeries,” Wockhardt Hospitals CEO Vishal Bali said. An ageing population, social security systems’ crisis, and soaring healthcare costs in the West, partly explain this new trend. “However, while today around 80% of our patients come from the West, the demand initially came from patients from developing countries who could not get access to quality speciality care,” said Mr Bali.

After he broke his back bone in 2004, Hasan Changezi underwent four unsuccessful operations in Karachi. He was then referred by his doctor to a spinal surgeon in the UK. “Doctors in the UK were, however, charging close to Rs 13 lakh for a new surgery,” explains Mr. Changezi. “I found out about Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore while surfing on the net. The hospital offered non-invasive procedure, a technology not offered in Pakistan, and had spinal surgeons, which would be able to offer me the speciality care I required.”

A significant number of patients from developed countries still come to India for advanced procedures. “We receive around 3,000 patients every year from Tanzania, Kenya, Middle East, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and the UK, who come for cardiac procedures, obesity or neuro surgeries,” said Bangalore-based Manipal Hospital’s CEO R Basil.

Hospitals is smaller cities are also seeing increasing demand from overseas patients for speciality care. “We treated 4601 foreign patients in 2006, mostly from Bangladesh and Nepal. They came for cardiac, renal, bone marrow transplants and cancer care” said Dr Sunil Chandy, deputy medical superintendent, Christian Medical College, Vellore. “We have received close to 20 queries from abroad every day for super speciality treatment over the last three months,” said Mr Bali. “And patients from developed countries are likely to represent an increasing share of these patients.”

Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Source: Economic Times

5. Kerala sees medical tourism soaring

With Kerala expecting at least 100,000 medical tourists in the next three years, the therapeutic tourism industry is in the pink of its health.

Foreigners are arriving in Kerala's top hospitals for plastic and cosmetic surgery, facial surgery, dental treatments, cosmetology, hip and knee replacement, ophthalmology, voice therapy and obesity treatment.

The second Kerala Health Tourism (KTH)-2007 fair, to be held in Kochi from March 23 to 26, is jointly organised by the tourism department along with the Confederation of Indian Industry.

'We are expecting 1,000 participants from within the country and abroad. There will be people from insurance companies, tour operators from health and tourism sectors, medical tourism planners and third-party administrators,' KTH chairman Phillip Augustine told reporters here Thursday.

The fair expects more than 100 exhibitors, including leading hospitals, private clinics, medical bodies, private clinics and spas, to take part. Special pavilions for ayurveda and dental treatment will be put up.

'Over the last few years, the number of foreign medical tourists has gone up. According to reports, 15,000 visitors sought healing at various hospitals of the state last year,' said Augustine.

Jancy Joseph, who runs a private dental clinic here, said tooth treatment for foreigners was a hit on account of the huge cost difference.

'The biggest advantage that Kerala has on this front is the large number of non-resident Keralites settled in the US, Europe and Middle East. This movement began when they talked about the low-cost dental treatments in Kerala to their friends abroad,' Jancy told IANS.

'In another two to three years, dentists in Kerala will do good business, with a large number of foreigners arriving at dental clinics here,' she added.

The government has entrusted the Investment Consulting Research Agency (ICRA) the task of preparing a report on Kerala's potential in medical tourism, the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and other factors. The report is expected to be ready soon.

E.M. Najeeb, executive director of KIMS Hospital here, said the need of the hour was for a society similar to that of the Kerala Travel Mart Society - which takes care of the tourism industry - to take medical tourism to greater heights.

'Accreditation and certifications are a must for medical tourism because international insurance companies require this certification to pay their clients after they undergo treatments,' he said.
Thursday March 8, 2007
Source: IANS via Yahoo

Religious Tourism

Holistic Healing Service Providers

Travel characteristics of Indians

1. Bitten by the travel bug
The Indian traveller is maturing. Open skies, more spending power and easy accessibility, the travel bug seems to have finally got under the skin of this once known to be fussy traveller. Not only are Indians seemingly keen on visiting new places, they are now clear about what they want to do on their holiday.

A report by the Pacific Asia Travel Association and Visa International states that international outbound trips by resident Indians peaked at around 8.3 million in 2006. Close to 3 million of these travelled to Asia Pacific destinations, making India the region’s fourth largest source market behind China, Japan and Korea.

International tourism boards which read India as a country which travelled only during summer vacations are now reworking their strategies. Indians today travel all round the year. In 2006, Malaysia and Sri Lanka recorded tremendous growth from India even during the traditional shoulder months of August and September.

Sri Lanka saw an increase of 13 per cent from India, Malaysia saw a growth of 24 per cent while 26 per cent more Indians travelled to Mauritius. In Singapore, there were record 6,59,000 visitors from India.

The best part, says Rajeev Nangia, associate director (operations), Trac Representations, is that Indians have started looking beyond traditional tourist destinations and are exploring lesser crowded places like Galle and Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka. In Malaysia, rich Indians are hiring villas and bungalows on small exclusive islands like Ritang and Tiomen Island.

Short haul destinations such as Macau, Kathmandu, Sri Lanka and Malaysia are being looked upon as gambling destinations by many, informs Ankush Nijhawan, managing director, Nijhawan Group. “Some people also go to Dubai, Malaysia, Kathmandu and Phuket to play golf,” he says.

Christine Mukharji, director, Austrian National Tourist Office in Delhi, is very upbeat about the 50 per cent increase in Indian arrivals to Vienna in 2006.

For the last couple of years, Innsbruck was a favourite with Indians. This growth in Vienna is a pleasant surprise,” says Mukharji. Overall, Austria has seen a 29 per cent increase in overnights from India. Mukharji also has an interesting observation to share. “The demand for Indian food, surprisingly, has decreased. Not many people now ask for a list of Indian restaurants as soon as they land,” she laughs.

Cox & Kings saw a growth of 30-35 per cent in their outbound business in 2006. According to Karan Anand of Cox & Kings, Egypt and Turkey were a favourite with their clients last year. “People are also beginning to show interest in Scandinavian destinations like the Fjords in Norway,” he says.

Within Europe, UK and Switzerland have also seen impressive growth from India. Indians to Switzerland were up 22 per cent in 2006.

More than 50 per cent of these were FITs, which is a big change for us,” says Ritu Sharma, country manager (India), Switzerland Tourism. The country also witnessed a trend in renting serviced apartments by the week among Indian families.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Source: Business Standard Via MSN

Investment related

Travel and Tourism Support Industries …and much more

Policy Related

1. Task force to tackle hotel room scarcity in Delhi, NCR

The government, concerned with the slow pace of rolling out Commonwealth Games 2010 infrastructure in the Capital, has gone into combat mode on the hotel accommodation front. Government sources have revealed that a task force has been formed under the chairmanship of a joint secretary - tourism and additional director general - tourism for monitoring the creation of additional accommodation in Delhi and NCR region.

According to the tourism ministry officials: “We have prepared a status note stating that we are in touch with all land owning agencies for creating additional hotel rooms in the NCR region and the status note has been sent to sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.”

The status note estimates that a minimum 30,000 to 35,000 hotel rooms would be required in NCR by 2010, out of which a minimum of 20,000 additional hotel rooms will be required in Delhi itself. Some of the important issues raised by the tourism ministry are the creation of land banks, giving land on long lease, grant of additional FAR, greater commercial utilization and change of land use for hotels.

The task force after meetings with land owning agencies has asked them to identify more hotel sites, adopt a single window clearance approach and to focus on the budget category hotels by giving land on long lease.

Says Rajji Rai vice president Travel Agent Association of India (TAAI):“In Delhi, 70% of the commercial land comes under the DDA, which has now started releasing it. The industry is willing to pay the prevailing market price but we are looking at places where a hotel would be a viable option.”

Agrees Kamal Taneja MD, TDI Group:” The government can attract investment by offering long term leases on their land for new projects and tax holiday incentives. We are happy that the budget proposal give a five-year tax holiday to two, three and four-star hotels in the national capital territory of Delhi, ahead of the

Commonwealth Games as we are looking into the possibility of coming up with such hotels in NCR region. ” For instance, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has indicated that 26 hotel sites would be provided for the Commonwealth Games and an additional 10 more hotel sites would be identified for budget hotels. Similarly, tourism minister Ambika Soni met Railway minister for identifying railway land for hotel purposes. The railways has identified three sites namely Anand Vihar, New Delhi Railway station and Nizamuddin.

Also, it should ensure that new projects add special value to a city — incentives should be offered only if a new project adds to the city’s infrastructure. The infrastructure still remains a major stumbling block for this sector’s future growth. To get down to basics, 1.3 lakh hotel rooms are needed to cater to the projected six million tourists this year, while the country today has only 92,000 operational rooms. And the tourism industry is obviously worried.

KB Kachru country head, Carlson Group:“The industry, in close association with the government, should take innovative measures to fill in the gap.The supply-demand gap will take a long time to bridge with conventional methods. In the old system, good times meant a rush to drawing boards and a flurry of new construction. But new supply will take time to add —instead, we should soon take some innovative measures like providing special incentives like interest and tax subsidies, for completion of hotel projects in record time to speed up the supply.”

Monday, March 05, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. India eyes tourist spotlight at Berlin travel fair

India plans to present itself as Asia’s boom nation at the world’s biggest travel fair opening in Berlin next week, a senior tourism official has said. Leena Nandan urged Europe to take advantage of India’s potential, a country which has chalked up annual growth rates of more than 15% in tourism sector over the past three years.

“India is a young nation and is getting younger. It is home to 20% of the world’s population under the age of 24,” said Nandan, director of the Indian Ministry of Tourism.

India is the partner country at this year’s ITB international tourism fair where a record 11,000 companies from 184 countries will be displaying their attractions from which runs from Wednesday to Sunday this week.

One complete hall has been set aside for India to showcase its booming tourism industry and to host a range of cultural and gastronomic activities, organisers said.
On the eve of the opening, the country will be showing off its rich cultural diversity at a gala attended by German Economics Minister Michael Glos and Indian Tourism Minister Ambika Soni.

The following day there is an India Forum at which well-known personalities from the travel and tourism industry will be discussing India’s potential over the coming years.

Two sectors that appear to have enormous growth potential are religious and medical tourism, according to tour operators.
For Germans, who spent 60.5bn euros ($79bn) on travel last year, India lags well behind leader Thailand as a popular tourist destination in Asia. South Africa is another popular overseas destination, but Italy, Spain, Portugal and Morocco remained the favourite vacation spots, according to Klaus Laepple, president of the German Tourism Federation.

This year’s fair comes against the backdrop of signs of the impact of global warming on the international travel business. With ski resorts struggling with a lack of snow and islands threatened by rising sea levels, organisers have asked experts to visit the ITB to talk about the future of travel.

The ITB’s growing importance to travel operators means that trade representatives will be given more time to make their way across the vast 150,000sq m allocated to the fair’s exhibitors.

Among the large number of ministers and officials expected in Berlin are South African Minister for Environment and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who will be visiting the fair as part of his nation’s build-up to hosting the football World Cup in 2010. Likewise, the hosts of the 2008 European football championships – Austria and Switzerland – are also expecting to attract a stream of visitors.

Monday, 5 March, 2007
Source: Gulf Times Newspaper Via Google

3. Govt to promote tea-tasting tourism
If Europe has wine-tasting tourism, India's answer to that is a tea testing tourist circuit. That, along with holding international conferences, is the new area India plans to focus on as it seeks to boost in-bound tourism in the coming years, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni has said here.

There are plans to develop tea-tasting circuits similar to the wine-tasting tours offered in Europe, she said at a press conference here. Convention tourism is another area which the government is keen to develop as it holds great potential in India, Soni, who was here to launch "India Incredible" campaign at the International Tourism Exchange, said.

At present, India's share is only about eight per cent of the annual global business of US dollars 280 million generated by convention tourism. Outlining the measures taken by the government and the industry to promote tourism sector, Soni said hotel capacity will be significantly improved with the addition of 100,000 new beds planned for the current year.

Liberalisation of aviation sector and 100 per cent foreign investments allowed in tourism sector are expected to attract more foreign investments into the country, she said. Current efforts to diversify tourist attractions by offering new products such as adventure tourism, wellness tourism, medical tourism and golf tourism will have a positive effect on foreign tourist arrivals as well as on domestic tourism, she added.

India's tourism promotion campaign as the "Partner Nation" at the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin has helped to generate a strong interest in the country's tourism offers among the trade visitors from around the world as well as among the German public.

India's ITB promotion is significant not only because it comes as the country marks the 60th anniversary of its independence but it also recognises India's increasing prominence on the world tourism stage. Even though tourism growth in India has not been staggering and the 4.5 million tourist arrivals recorded in 2006 was only a tiny proportion of the 842 million arrivals world-wide, the outlook is very positive for achieving higher growth in the coming years, Soni said.

The importance of tourism for Indian economy is evident from the fact that it contributed to 5.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and provided employment to 41.8 million people. The year 2006 was not only a record year for India's inbound tourism but was the fourth year showing a double-digit increase in arrivals.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Source: PTI via Economic Times

4. Village panchayats to promote tourism

The state government has now roped in village panchayats to raise awareness about tourism. Minister for Technical Education Chakradhar Maikap said the government had urged the village panchayats to beautify their place and it is willing to spend Rs 50 lakh to promote tourism in the interiors of the state.

Speaking at Khudiram Anusilan Kendra, the venue for the ongoing Summer Tourism fair, the minister said vocational courses pertaining to travel and tourism had also been introduced to make people aware of the benefits of tourism industry. Maikap said their target was to ensure overseas visitors flock to various places of the country. "The former Five Year Plan, which set a target to increase inflow of foreign currency from Rs 7,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore in tourism sector, has to be analysed further and we have to take the target higher," he added.

Arup Chandra, general secretary of Beliaghata Education Aid Centre, said: "It is important to promote tourism and such fairs provide the right kind of platform to have a better understanding of the place." The minister explained that these kind of fairs are of immense importance as they help explore the unknown terrains of various places. This fair, which will continue for two more days, has tour operators from all across the nation to promote tourism of their respective places. "Over 50 stalls are here from all across the nation to make people aware of their respective place and we thus expect a decent footfall," said the organisers. Another Summer Tourism fair will take place in Siliguri later in the month.
Saturday March 10, 2007
Source: Indian Express via Yahoo News

5. India to showcase tourism potential at Oman exhibit

India will showcase its rich cultural heritage and promote tourist destinations at an international travel and tourism exhibition in Oman.

India Tourism Dubai, the tourism promotion office of Indian government here, is participating at Oman Travel Market to be held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre from May 8-10.

The tourism body will disseminate information and create awareness about tourist destinations and tourism products of India.

"Oman is an important market for us. Owing to worldwide Incredible India campaign, India Tourism Dubai is making all promotional efforts to strengthen historical and cultural relations between Oman and India," a senior official said.

Factors such as proximity of Oman to Indian cities, connectivity and introduction of new budget airlines, ensure that there is a big potential to further promote tourist traffic from Oman to India, the India Tourism Dubai official said.

"Our participation in OTM would provide us an opportunity to showcase India's vast and varied tourist destinations and tourism products to the discerning visitors," the official added.

Oman Travel Market is organised by the Ministry of Tourism and is planned to promote inbound tourism, intra-regional and outbound tourism, investment in real estate and health tourism.

The event will have four pavilions-- Discover Oman Pavilion, International Pavilion, Tourism Investment Pavilion and Medical Tourism Pavilion.

Wednesday, 7 March, 2007
Source: PTI via newKerala

Service Providers

1. American Airlines has shifted its Asia Pacific call center operations to India, from Australia. 
The airline has appointed Bird Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. (BIS), a technology provider of automated aviation and travel-related software solutions, to provide call centre services for travel related queries of its customers in India and the Asia Pacific region.

This agreement follows an earlier City Ticket Office (CTO) agreement, which American Airlines had signed with the Bird Group last year.

BIS will provide American Airlines the call centre services 24 X 7, 365 days a year to handle all customer requests relating to travel bookings, reservation, fares, ticketing (including e-Tickets) and other general information related to the airline.

Ankur Bhatia, executive director, Bird Group said, “This partnership is yet another step towards strengthening our commitment to the travel and aviation industry as we facilitate easy information accessibility for travellers choosing to travel with American Airlines.

This is particularly relevant in the context of the changing market dynamics today with increasing competition, lowering margins and booming operational costs, all of which can be managed better by successfully outsourcing non core processes to an expert in travel vertical like the Bird Group.”

Friday, March 9, 2007

Source: EyeforTravel via Google News India

2. ASA launches B'lore operations
The US-based pilot training institute American School of Aviation (ASA) has launched recruitment and consultancy operations in Bangalore. Currently, it has a similar facility in Gurgaon. ASA has also appointed Avomats, an aviation consultancy firm, as its business associate for facilitating recruitment process in Bangalore.

Priced at around Rs 25 lakh, the 12-14 months Indian Special Flight Training Program (ISFTP) course is open for all aged above 17. This course will include preliminary training at ASA’s Gurgaon centre, followed by academic and flight training at Atwater, the California facility of ASA in the US.

Reny Kozman, V-P of ASA (US), said: “Bangalore is and will continue to be the national centre for aviation activities, with major brands of the private sector in the process of making Bangalore their main hub of activities. Hence, we chose to come to Bangalore which is the Aviation Capital of India.”

With India needing more than 5,000 pilots in the next five-seven years, many international pilot training institutes are cashing in on the moment. According to industry estimates, India has just 900-1,000 pilots who fly more than 250 aircraft. The scheduled airline sector alone needs more than 400 pilots a year but gets only 100 new pilots.

Meanwhile, ASA has tied up with Kingfisher Airlines for offering 8-10 months Kingfisher Airlines Programme (KFA) in the US. ASA India does the psychometric testing for the aspiring candidates and successful candidates are then referred to Kingfisher Airlines for an interview. The selected candidates also get a provisional letter of appointment from the Kingfisher Airlines.

Saturday, March 10, 2007
Source: Economic Times