Travelmail

travelmail — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:30:25 +0000

Developing coastal cities as cruise hub of the region

SATTE

travelmail — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:07:39 +0000

SATTE
India’s Biggest B2B Exhibition in Travel & Tourism
28-30 January 2010
Pragati Maidan, New Delhi (India)
www.satte.org

Night Safari welcomes three Asian Lion Cubs

travelmail — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:53:39 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in
It is a joyous occasion for Night Safari, the world’s first wildlife park for nocturnal animals is an eight-time winner of the Best Visitor Attraction Experience, as its initial attempt at breeding Asian lions became a reality with the successful births of three cubs, two males and a female —the sire and dam, Khapat and Amba, arrived from India in March this year as part of an animal exchange programme. The cubs are currently housed with their mother in an off-exhibit area. Visitors will be able to see them along the tram route early next year. The Asian lion is listed as endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
“We are pleased that the Asian lions have adapted well at the Night Safari. This resounding success with our first attempt at breeding the endangered Asian lion brings great joy especially as the lions have only been at the park since last March. The births are in line with the zoo’s objective to boost the population of endangered species,” said Kumar Pillai, Assistant Director, Zoology, Night Safari. Asian lions once prowled a range that spanned from the Middle East to India. Now, only 300 or so of these magnificent animals survive in the wild, mainly in India’s Gir Forest. Once royal hunting grounds, it has since been converted into a reserve where the endangered Asian lions are heavily protected. An additional 200 Asian lions live in zoos. Currently, Night Safari has three male African and six Asian lions, which are kept separately.

French Connection 2009 showcased tourism products

travelmail — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:48:21 +0000

Catherine Oden, Director, Atout France in India and Nicolas Barret, Deputy Director, Paris Ile-de-France, Regional Tourist Board along with French delegates.

breakingtravelnews.in
Atout France, The France Tourism Development Agency (FTDA) celebrated its 7th Annual and most awaited event, French Connection 2009 and reinforced its strategic commitment to India. The 5 days road show was held between 23rd to 27th November in Mumbai and New Delhi.
The road show showcased a multitude of French tourism products through its 23 exhibitors. Of these, 8 exhibitors represented the region of Paris, spearheaded by Paris Ile-de-France, Regional Tourist Board (RTB), while the other 14 exhibitors represented various other regions of France. The exhibitors portrayed an eclectic mix of what France has to offer in terms of tourism opportunities, including high end destinations and products, ski and sea side resorts, transportation and hospitality partners.
Paris Ile-de-France, RTB was the Guest of Honour for French Connection 2009. The spotlight this year was on Paris and its surrounds and the myriad attractions of this world tourism capital.
Atout France aimed at highlighting the capital city of Paris and its surrounds as well as the country’s various unexplored regions as options for Indian travellers to France. While bolstering its ties with key tourism partners and business associates across India, this road show aimed to strengthen France’s position as a leading lifestyle destination for the affluent traveller.
Speaking on the occasion, Catherine Oden, the new Director for Atout France in India said, “I am delighted to come back to India after a gap of four years and witness the evolution in the already burgeoning outbound market over this period of time. This has been an important year in the history of ‘French Tourism’. Erstwhile Maison de la France has been re-christened Atout France, but the new entity entails much more than a name change. We have now under our fold, a slew of strategic aspects such as development of infrastructural and tourism projects lending French expertise in international markets”.
Ms Catherine added, “India has been identified as a key growth area and the market trends seem to confirm the same. Apart from the consistent 10 % to 15 % growth in the influx of Indian tourists in France year on year, there is also a clear progression in the profile of the Indian traveller. The average spends, number of nights, regions visited have all developed very favourably for France. It is our endeavour to continue to facilitate this growth towards which our annual showcase French Connection plays an instrumental role”.
Nicolas Barret, Deputy Director, Paris Ile-de-France, RTB said, “Paris Ile-de-France is the world capital of “Art de Vivre” and culture. Famous for the magic of its lights and monuments, it’s also a city which is constantly evolving and where there’s always something new going on”.
Paris Ile-de-France is the world’s most visited tourist destination (14.4 million arrivals in 2008. Source: INSEE – DGCIS – CRT). A fabulous destination that is widely admired for the diversity of its natural and cultural richness and its historical heritage, Paris Ile-de-France boasts a calendar of cultural and festive events of the very highest order, which bear witness to its vitality and creativity.
The highlight of this year’s French Connection was the scintillating Parisian soiree ‘An Evening in Paris’, in Mumbai. The Paris Ile-de-France RTB along with KUONI, Air France and Atout France hosted this gala evening. An evening to remember, bringing alive the spirit of the Nouveau Paris through the unveiling of the new film of Paris Ile-de-France on a 12 feet gigantic screen that left the guests mesmerized as they witnessed the myriad attractions of the world tourism capital – Paris and its surrounds. This coupled with a six course French sit down dinner designed by Chef Hemant Oberoi was a true sampling of Parisian eloquence.
The evening was heightened by an electrifying performance by the famous cabaret Paradis Latin considers itself to be the most Parisian of the French cabarets. The performance was a concoction of a cosmopolitan dance troupe, shimmering costumes, a symphony of colours with its striking ballets and surprising attractions.
Rashmi Uday Singh, celebrated gastronome was bestowed the prestigious ‘Atout France Media Personality of the Year Award’ at this occasion in Mumbai. “I have had a lifelong love affair with Paris and France, so being recognized and awarded, gives me the heady fulfilled happy ‘forever after’ feeling”, said Rashmi.
It was at this prestigious event ‘An evening in Paris’ that the 1st announcement of her upcoming book ‘Food and Fashion in Paris’ co-authored with international fashion designer Ritu Beri was made. Ms Rashmi said, “This original and first of its kind book will not only trace the connection between food and fashion on different levels, but also give useful and usable information about Paris which will make this book an invaluable guide to food and fashion in Paris”.

Oberoi Group to open Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai on Dec 17

travelmail — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:16:49 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in
The Oberoi Group will open the ‘Trident’ hotel in Bandra Kurla, Mumbai on December 17, 2009. The hotel is located in the heart of the new financial and commercial district of North Mumbai and 20 minutes from the airport. In close proximity to leading financial institutions as well as pharmaceutical and information technology companies, it is the only hotel within the Bandra Kurla Complex.
Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai has contemporary and elegant interiors. The hotel is equipped with the latest technology and offers a wide range of restaurants and extensive business and recreational facilities. This will be supported by gracious, personalized and dependable service.
The hotel offers 436 well-appointed guestrooms and suites, three restaurants, a live sushi bar and a wine tasting room. The extensive meeting and conference facilities at the hotel can accommodate up to 500 persons. The recreational options include a swimming pool, a spa and a fitness centre.

SpiceJet wins top International travel award

travelmail — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:18:24 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in
SpiceJet has secured the prestigious World Travel Market Global Award in recognition of its recent growth and multi-channel approach to distribution. Mayor of London Boris Johnson and World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery presented the award to SpiceJet’s CEO Sanjay Aggarwal yesterday at the WTM 30th Anniversary VIP Opening and Reception Ceremony in London, UK.
SpiceJet, despite the global economic slowdown, has shown growth in recent months. It increased its daily departures from 94 in September 2008 to 127 in September 2009, connecting 18 destinations in India. SpiceJet’s market share has increased from 7.9% in September 2008 to 13.2% in September 2009, making it the fastest growing airline in India during this period. During the first seven months of the current year, SpiceJet’s passenger traffic grew 14% compared to a 5% decline in the overall Indian domestic traffic.
Unlike many other low-fare airlines, Spicejet has a multi-channel approach to sales – 25% of bookings come directly from through its website and another 30% consumers use online travel agents. Traditional travel agencies remain the biggest channel. SpiceJet differs from other low-cost carriers by having a cargo business covering 13 cities. It has carried more than 19,000 tones of cargo since May 2008. The cargo business currently contributes more than 3% of its total revenue.
Fiona Jeffery, Chairman, WTM said, “It is refreshing to come across an airline which is using the web, call centres and travel agents to grow the business. The growth in the Indian domestic market is a positive indicator for travel as a whole.”
Sanjay Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, SpiceJet said, “We are delighted that our efforts towards providing safe, reliable, efficient travel for our passengers have been recognized on the world stage. One out of every 8 fliers in India chooses us for the high value service that we offer at a low fare. We thank our customers, trade partners for all their support and our 2,600 employees who have worked tirelessly to take us to this height this award is for them.”

Air France and KLM to adopt new generation inventory solution from Amadeus

travelmail — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:14:45 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in
Amadeus today announced that Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have signed a ten-year agreement for the implementation and operation of Amadeus Altéa Inventory by 2010. The airlines’ new inventory management solution will be fully integrated with their sales platform, Altéa Reservation.
Both airlines will replace their legacy inventory systems with a single solution that will manage their 74.5 million passengers and more than 900,000 flights per year.
Ankur Bhatia, Managing Director, Amadeus India said, “We are delighted to partner with Air France and KLM on their strategic consolidation project. With the migration to the Altéa Inventory system in a few months, the two carriers will be able to optimize their revenues as one. It has been a very enriching process to define the best solution to match their complex needs and Amadeus is proud to work with such demanding clients who push us to stay at the forefront of innovation.”
Amadeus Altéa Inventory is a critical component of the Altéa Suite and has been selected by more than 70 airlines globally. Designed from the ground up using Service Oriented Architecture and the latest technology, it enables airlines to automate schedules management and re-accommodation, control availability using the most advanced revenue management techniques and offer customer centric services such as intelligent group seating – taking into consideration a customer value parameter for differentiated services.
Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, CEO, Air France-KLM Group said, “The transition to a combined inventory system on the industry’s leading platform is strategic for the Air France – KLM Group.” He said, “Not only will we be achieving operational synergies, but also thanks to the close integration of the Amadeus Altéa suite, Air France and KLM will benefit from full data synchronization at group level. The adoption of Altéa Inventory will dramatically improve the servicing of Air France and KLM customers travelling across our unique co-branded network.”
Altéa Inventory will support Air France and KLM in their key objective of maximizing revenue from a single business operating two carrier codes. The two airlines will use this opportunity to align and optimize their critical schedule management and revenue management processes, leveraging best practices from both sides.
Peter Hartman KLM President & CEO said, “In these turbulent times, every single improvement on the top line matters. Amadeus Altéa Inventory will bring us the dynamic inventory controls we need to exploit every opportunity to maximize revenue.”

Qatar Airways celebrates new route to Amritsar

travelmail — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:19:26 +0000

Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways addressing the media in Jalandhar to mark the launch of their flights to Amritsar. On his left is Naveen Chawla, Regional Manager, India and on his right is Fathi Al Shehab, Senior Vice President, Qatar and Indian Subcontinent.

breakingtravelnews.in
Qatar Airways today reaffirmed its commitment to India praising local authorities for helping it strengthen air links between the State of Qatar and cities across India with two new routes launched over the past few weeks. Qatar Airways celebrates the Amritsar flights with an outdoor gala dinner held in Jalandhar later this evening.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways said India remained and will continue to be, a key market for Qatar Airways as part of the airline’s long-term commitment to one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Qatar Airways’ maiden flight to the northern Indian state of Punjab landed in the holy city of Amritsar on October 12. Two weeks later, the airline launched scheduled flights to Goa, heralding the arrival of Qatar Airways as the only full-service scheduled global carrier to both destinations.
With Amritsar and Goa both served four-times-a-week from the airline’s Doha hub, Qatar Airways has increased capacity to 64 flights a week spread across 10 cities. These include daily non-stop flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Cochin and Kozhikode.
While addressing the media in Jalandhar, Mr Al Baker said, “India was the largest single market served by the airline. With 10 cities now served across India, Qatar Airways has built up a formidable network in this wonderful country.”
He said, “Qatar and India share a very special relationship and friendship and we applaud the local authorities for developing air links to this country over the years and help spread our award-winning Five Star service to more points. This has helped Qatar Airways facilitate trade and business between the two countries and beyond, as well as providing a vital air bridge connecting friends and family between India and rest of the world.”
Mr Al Baker said, “Our new Amritsar flights will greatly help commerce and industry in the city and the neighbouring business capitals of Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh for the export of textiles, sports goods and food, manufactured and produced in Punjab to the Middle East and beyond.”
Mr Al Baker explained that the Amritsar route would cater for the well travelled Punjabi community worldwide. Punjabis have firmly established their home and work in cities across the world, yet have had very limited air access to Punjab for many years with the main option being to fly into Delhi and travel by road or train for the long journey to this part of north India.” “We are delighted to offer this new flight and make it more convenient and accessible for the travelling public,” he added.
Qatar Airways’ passengers flying from North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East to Doha have excellent onward late evening connections to Amritsar with the return flight being early morning departures. The airline is operating the route four-times-a-week non-stop from Qatar’s capital city using a two-class Airbus A320, with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class.

Amari Emerald Cove hosts TAFI delegates

travelmail — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:52:57 +0000

(L/R) Renuka Baveja, Vinta Shorey, Martin Kunzmann, Executive Assistant Manager, Amari Emerald Cove, Koh Chang, Mahender Khanna, Rajinder Shorey, Narender Baveja, Vinod Mahajan and Veena Khanna.

breakingtravelnews.in
Amari Emerald Cove hosted a group of 30 TAFI delegates from New Delhi, as part of post familiarization trip to Koh Chang. TAFI delegates got an opportunity to have a first hand experience of impeccable Amari hospitality and explore the myriad treasures of Koh Chang. Nestled in the Gulf of Thailand Koh Chang is one of Thailand’s best islands for the perfect beach holiday and is one of the emerging destinations in the country.
Martin Kunzmann, Executive Assistant Manager, Amari Emerald Cove further provided a full guided property tour to the group and simultaneously highlighted interesting attractions and things to do in Koh Chang. From exclusive spa session at signature Sivara Spa to sampling the best of authentic cuisines at restaurants or just unwinding at the poolside, Emerald Cove staff completely looked after the comfort of TAFI group.

Jet Airways Konnect enhances connectivity from Delhi to Raipur/Patna/Chennai

travelmail — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:35:10 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in
Jet Airways’ Jet Airways Konnect, all-economy no frills service will introduce new services on the Delhi-Chennai/Patna sectors and on the Delhi-Raipur sector. There will be a capacity enhancement on the Mumbai – Coimbatore sector.
Effective November 7, 2009, Flight 9W 2213 will depart Delhi at 0540 hrs, arriving in Raipur at 0725 hrs. Flight 9W 2214 will then depart Raipur at 0800 hrs, arriving in Delhi at 0950 hrs.
Flight 9W 2263 will depart Delhi at 1605 hrs, arriving in Chennai at 1840 hrs. Flight 9W 2264 will then depart Chennai at 1920 hrs, arriving in Delhi at 2200 hrs.
Flight 9W 2287 will depart Delhi at 1145 hrs, arriving in Patna at 1315 hrs. Flight 9W 2288 will then depart Patna at 1350 hrs, arriving in Delhi at 1525 hrs.
Effective November 11, 2009, demand during the high season will be met with the addition of Jet Airways Konnect Flight 9W 2109, which will leave Mumbai at 0710 hrs and arrive in Coimbatore at 0900 hrs. Flight 9W 2110 on the return will depart from Coimbatore at 0940 hrs and will arrive at Mumbai at 1130 hrs.
Sudheer Raghavan, CCO, Jet Airways said, “There has been strong demand for quality, all-economy services from Delhi to Raipur, Patna and Chennai and between Mumbai and Coimbatore. With the introduction of our popular Jet Airways Konnect services on these routes, travellers are assured of a quality flying experience at reasonable fares.”