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About India Outbound Magazine

India Outbound, a brand of Media India Group, is India’s only B2B travel media platform, that encompasses a print magazine, a website, an online TV channel and dynamic social media platforms, entirely dedicated to the promotion of foreign destinations and products in India. India Outbound is a niche platform not just for tourism destinations and products to promote themselves to the Indian travel industry, but also for decision makers to build/change their strategy in a context where the Indian outbound market is not only growing but changing with new dynamics. India Outbound brings to you the latest trends of the market with in depth analysis.

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India signs air bubble with Bangladesh

After going as far as Iraq, Nigeria, Kenya, Ukraine, even to Afghanistan, India finally managed to forge an air bubble arrangement with its closest neighbour Bangladesh, taking the number of air bubble agreements to 18. The pact with Bangladesh will be effective from October 28, 2020 and will remain valid till January 31, 2021.

Indian and Bangladeshi carriers can now operate 28 weekly flights each between the two countries. Nationals and residents of Bangladesh and foreign nationals holding valid Bangladeshi visa can travel on the flights from India. Also, any Indian national holding any type of valid Bangladeshi visa can travel. However, the airlines concerned have been asked to ensure that there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Bangladesh before they issue ticket or boarding pass to the Indian passenger. Passengers from both countries will have to undergo Covid-19 tests before flying and as the air bubble is only between the two nations, so passengers can't travel to a third country from India or Bangladesh.

Flights resume between India and Germany

India has now recommenced new flight schedule to Germany under the air bubble pact signed between the two countries in July this year. Lufthansa will operate from Delhi (4 days a week), Mumbai (3 days per week) & Bengaluru (3 days every week). Air India will operate five weekly flights from Delhi & two every week from Bengaluru to Frankfurt.

Previously Lufthansa had cancelled all flights from September 30 to October 20 due to rejection of its flight schedule by the Indian authorities. When Lufthansa announced its cancellation, DGCA had tweeted, “As against Indian carriers operating 3-4 flights a week, Lufthansa operated 20 flights a week. In spite of this disparity, we offered to clear 7 flights a week for Lufthansa which was not accepted by them. Negotiations continue.” Within two days, Air India had cancelled all 12 flights between Frankfurt and India till October 14 because Germany withdrew its permission to operate them.

South African Tourism hosts virtual speed marketing sessions

The South African Tourism is conducting a series of virtual speed marketing sessions as part of the initiative of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) which has created a platform for tourism businesses to gain local and international exposure for new and existing tourism products with the aim of building a quality visitor experience. Speed marketing is a market access platform created to provide tourism businesses an opportunity to interact and forge business relationships between products and buyers (tour operators and DMCs who are already packaging and selling the destination or have interest in doing so).

With strict restrictions on people’s movements and travel, the sector saw cancellations of an unprecedented number of accommodation bookings, conferences and big events globally. As part of its efforts to aid in the recovery of the sector, the TGCSA is trying to bring the supply and demand chains of consumers and products together.

Egypt allows 15 floating hotels to resume Nile cruise

A total of 15 floating hotels in two Egyptian governorates have received hygiene safety certificates required for reopening, Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister has informed. The certificates are issued after the hotels demonstrate that they adhere to the regulations announced by the ministry and approved by the cabinet in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The floating hotels in Luxor and Aswan are granted permission to resume Nile cruises from October 1 onwards with only 50 per cent of their workforce on board in accordance with the health regulations.

Cruise ship Amwaj set sail October 1 from Luxor to Aswan with a group of international tourists on the very first trip on the Nile since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown of the tourism sector. “For us, resuming the cruises for tourists has been like giving the kiss of life to a dying person. We do not have many guests onboard yet, but for the next weeks the numbers are increasing,” Mohamed Rabie, manager of Amwaj, told the media.

Until the outbreak of Covid-19, Nile cruises were reviving again after the long stagnation period that the sector had experienced since 2011 due to prolong civil unrest after the deposition of President Hosni Mubarak as part of ‘Arab Spring’. “Prior to [the pandemic], and throughout its tourism history, cruise ships were one of the premium products of Egypt’s tourism for the foreign market,” Magued Abousedera, undersecretary of state for international tourism at the Egyptian Tourism Authority told the media. From July 1 onwards Egypt began to resume international flights as part of its plan to gradually resume tourism in the country.

Skål International announces new team under President-Elect Bill Rheaume

During the virtual annual general meeting held on October 17, delegates of Skål International, the largest travel and tourism association in the world, voted in their Executive Board for 2021. With more than 13,531 members from 342 clubs in 102 countries, industry managers, executives and decision-makers meet at local, national, regional and international levels to do business networking.

The incumbent vice president Bill Rheaume (Canadian Rockies, Canada) is the president-elect, while director Burcin Turkkan (U.S.) was elected senior vice president and Fiona Nicholl (Australia) was elected junior vice president.

Juan Ignacio Steta (Mexico) and Marja Eela-Kaskinen (Finland) are the new directors elected and Rafael Millan Perez (Mexico) is the new auditor. Zlatan Fröhlich (Zagreb, Croatia) and William Moyer (U.S.) were bestowed the title of membre d'honneur.

Nepal Tourism Board was declared as the first Skål Destination of the Year. Following the online vote by the clubs worldwide and a jury in representation of the Executive Board, Skål Club of the Year Award 2019-2020 first prize went to Skål International Goa, India. Quebec, Canada was reconfirmed as the 2021 Congress site and Kvarner, Croatia was selected to host the 2022 World Congress.


India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group