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.

Turkey announces single entry two-year visa for Indian travellers

In an attempt to boost arrival of Indian tourists to Turkey, the country’s embassy in India says it will offer long validity visas to the Indian applicants. Now, Indian tourists can get single entry visas with two-year validity.

In addition to this, Turkey will issue a new sticker visa free of charge for the applicants who already have a sticker or an e-visa but were not able to use it because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The new visa thus issued will also have two-year validity.

Turkey opened its borders for tourism in June with well-planned Covid-19 regulations in place due to which the country has emerged as one of the major tourist destinations. Due to this, nearly one million international visitors arrived in Turkey in the month of July. As one of the first countries to launch Safe Tourism Certification Programme, Turkey received thousands of applications from hotels, restaurants and transportation companies to get the safe stamp and the number of certified facilities is now over 2,000.

Singapore looks to revive MICE events of 250 persons

To gradually resume economic activities, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will start accepting applications for organising MICE events on pilot basis from October 1, 2020. STB and other government departments will review all MICE event proposals, and event organisers may proceed only upon obtaining the approval. Organisers applying for pilot events must demonstrate their ability to implement safe management measures to meet a set of health and safety outcomes.

According to a MICE Economic Impact Assessment commissioned by STB in 2019, the industry supported more than 34,000 jobs with an economic value-add of USD 3.8 billion, or nearly one per cent of Singapore’s GDP. Business travellers also spend almost double that of leisure travellers, making them high-yield visitors. The gradual resumption of business events is aimed to help maintain Singapore’s position as a leading MICE hub and retain critical capabilities, while safeguarding jobs and livelihoods in the international tourism industry and other related sectors.

“The safe and gradual resumption of MICE events will safeguard jobs and core capabilities. It will also help those in related sectors such as hospitality and aviation. Public health and safety remain our utmost priority, and we have worked closely with the industry to create strict protocols and develop new ways of organising events,’’ says Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board.

Emirates refunds USD 1.4 billion to customers

Emirates Airlines says it has returned over AED 5 billion (USD 1.4 billion) in Covid19 related travel refunds to date, on its commitment to customers to complete pending refunds. More than 1.4 million refunds requests have been completed since March, representing 90 pc of the airline’s backlog. This includes all requests received from customers around the world up until the end of June, save for a few cases which require further manual review.

Since the pandemic hit, Emirates has invested additional resources to ramp up its processing capability. The airline also continues to work with industry partners to facilitate refunds for those who have booked their Emirates flights through travel agents, this includes enabling direct refunds processing via global booking systems.

“We understand that from our customers’ standpoint, each pending refund request is one too many. We are committed to honouring refunds and are trying our utmost to clear the massive and unprecedented backlog that was caused by the pandemic,’’ says Tim Clark, president of Emirates.

As global travel markets slowly re-open, Emirates has gradually restarted its passenger operations around the world, ensuring that it provides customers with a safe and smooth travel experience. The airline currently offers flights to over 80 cities. Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors.

German carrier Eurowings introduces 'temperature discount'

The largest German vacation airline Eurowings, a low cost airline that is part of the Lufthansa group, is offering a novel discount, linking it to the average monthly temperature, or temperature discount in destination country. The amount of the discount will be calculated according to the monthly average temperature in the respective country.

First station for the new offering is Italy. Guests who book a direct flight to Italy will receive a flight discount corresponding to the average temperature which is 23.1 degree. All destinations in Italy that the airline flies to are included in the campaign. The next country with the new ‘temperature discount’ has already been selected and will be publicised shortly. The campaign is titled 'temperature up, prices down. With the Eurowings flexibility guarantee, customers can change flights free of charge up to seven days before departure. Flights can also be flexibly rebooked at any time, for example, if travel plans change.

Latest report says 115 global destinations are slowly easing travel restrictions

A majority of destinations around the world (53 pc) have now started easing travel restrictions under health protocols introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, says the seventh edition of Travel Restrictions: A Global Review for Tourism” report published by UNWTO confirming the ongoing trend towards the gradual restart of tourism.

Analysing restrictions up to September 1, the research carried out by the United Nations specialised agency for tourism found that a total of 115 destinations (53 pc of all destinations worldwide) have eased travel restrictions, an increase of 28 since July 19. Of these, two have lifted all restrictions, while the remaining 113 continue to have certain restrictive measures in place.

For the first time, this report included key data on the health and hygiene infrastructure in place at destinations, while also analysing rate of notifications of new Covid-19 cases. This allows UNWTO to determine the factors that are influencing destinations’ decisions to ease restrictions.

Destinations which have eased travel restrictions generally have high or very high levels of health and hygiene infrastructure. They also tend to have comparatively low Covid-19 infection rates. Within advanced economies, 79 pc of tourism destinations have already eased restrictions. In emerging economies, just 47 pc of destinations have done so. 64 pc of those destinations which have eased have a high or medium dependence on air as a mode of transport for international tourism arrivals.

At the same time, the report shows that many destinations around the world are extremely cautious about easing travel restrictions they introduced in response to the pandemic and some have passed severe measures in an attempt to keep their citizens safe. A total of 93 destinations (43 pc of all worldwide destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed to tourism, of which 27 have had their borders completely closed for at least 30 weeks.

More than half of all destinations with borders completely closed to tourism are classified as being among the world’s most vulnerable countries. They include ten SIDS (Small Island Developing States), one Least Developed Country (LDC) and three Land-Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs). More than half of destinations with full restrictions still in place are also highly dependent on aviation, with at least 70 pc of their tourist arrivals coming by air, causing significant connectivity impacts for their citizens and economies. UNWTO has also observed a rise in travel advisories being issued by governments for their own citizens, alongside more and varied restrictions and other measures directed at passengers arriving from specific countries or regions.

Time to prepare for Covid-19 vaccine transport is now: IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to begin careful planning with industry stakeholders to ensure full preparedness when vaccines for Covid-19 are approved and available for distribution. The association also warned of potentially severe capacity constraints in transporting vaccines by air.

Air cargo plays a key role in the distribution of vaccines in normal times through well-established global time and temperature sensitive distribution systems. This capability will be crucial to the quick and efficient transport and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines when they are available, and it will not happen without careful planning, led by governments and supported by industry stakeholders.

“Safely delivering COVID-19 vaccines will be the mission of the century for the global air cargo industry. But it won’t happen without careful advance planning. And the time for that is now. We urge governments to take the lead in facilitating cooperation across the logistics chain so that the facilities, security arrangements and border processes are ready for the mammoth and complex task ahead,” says IATA’s director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.

Vaccines must be handled and transported in line with international regulatory requirements, at controlled temperatures and without delay to ensure the quality of the product. While there are still many unknowns such as number of doses, temperature sensitivities, manufacturing locations, it is clear that the scale of activity will be vast, that cold chain facilities will be required and that delivery to every corner of the planet will be needed.

Priorities for preparing facilities for this distribution include availability of temperature-controlled facilities and equipment, maximising the use or re-purposing of existing infrastructure and minimising temporary builds; availability of staff trained to handle time and temperature-sensitive vaccines; and robust monitoring capabilities to ensure the integrity of the vaccines is maintained.

“The whole world is eagerly awaiting a safe Covid-19 vaccine. It is incumbent on all of us to make sure that all countries have safe, fast and equitable access to the initial doses when they are available. As the lead agency for the procurement and supply of the Covid-19 vaccine on behalf of the COVAX facility, UNICEF will be leading what could possibly be the world’s largest and fastest operation ever. The role of airlines and international transport companies will be critical to this endeavour,” says executive director of UNICEF Henrietta Fore.

The potential size of the delivery is enormous. Just providing a single dose to 7.8 billion people would fill 8,000 747 cargo aircraft. Land transport will help, especially in developed economies with local manufacturing capacity. But vaccines cannot be delivered globally without the significant use air cargo.

“Even if we assume that half the needed vaccines can be transported by land, the air cargo industry will still face its largest single transport challenge ever. In planning their vaccine programs, particularly in the developing world, governments must take very careful consideration of the limited air cargo capacity that is available at the moment. If borders remain closed, travel curtailed, fleets grounded and employees furloughed, the capacity to deliver life-saving vaccines will be very much compromised,” says de Juniac.

Singapore Airlines going for biggest job cut in its history

Singapore Airlines has said that it would cut 4,300 positions, or around 20 pc of its staff, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic making it the largest job losses in its history. The airline said after taking into account a recruitment freeze, natural attrition and voluntary departure schemes, the potential number of staff affected would be reduced to around 2,400 in Singapore and overseas. The cuts will be made at Singapore Airlines and its SilkAir and Scoot units, the carrier said in a statement on Sept 10.

“Having to let go of our valuable and dedicated people is the hardest and most agonising decision that I have had to make in my 30 years with SIA," chief executive officer Choon Phong Goh said in the statement. “The next few weeks will be some of the toughest in the history of the SIA Group."

The decision shows that even the world’s top carriers cannot evade the biggest financial crisis in the industry’s history after the pandemic halted international air travel. IATA doesn’t expect passenger traffic to recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Singapore Airlines is particularly vulnerable because it has no domestic market to fall back on.

Few in the aviation industry have been spared by the coronavirus, with the likes of British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Emirates and Qantas Airways announcing thousands of dismissals and unpaid leave programmes. Many more are expected in the U.S. after a moratorium on job cuts, one condition of a USD 50 billion government bailout is lifted at the end of September.

Indian travel trade is expected to best utilise ReCONNECT

As the travel and tourism industry gears up to restart operations globally, Fairfest Media, organisers of India’s leading travel tradeshows TTF, OTM & BLTM, have launched ReCONNECT 2020, a virtual B2B travel trade exhibition that will take place on the September 18. As a much awaited opportunity for the global travel community to rekindle relations with the Indian travel trade and buyers at a larger platform, and reboot their businesses, the virtual event is expected to bring together over 3,000+ travel industry professionals in a cutting-edge digital platform for networking in the post-pandemic world.

Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority and Kenya Tourism Board have joined the event as Premium Partner Countries. Singapore Tourism Board has come onboard as the Feature Country. Frankfurt Tourism, Visit Brussels and Zagreb Tourist Board will also be present as Feature Destinations for the first time. Spain Tourism is the Official Partner of ReCONNECT. India Outbound is the Official Media Partner of the show.

International destinations like Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Ethiopia, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand, Zimbabwe and many others will be represented at the event. Fairfest says that ReCONNECT’s virtual platform will allow ease of doing business where destinations can e-meet with their buyers and media to rebuild confidence and re-energise travel. Using the AI-powered smart matchmaking tool, sellers can connect with the most relevant buyers for digital networking. Over 2,000 buyers have registered for the virtual event.

SATTE launches virtual meet on September 23

SATTE, South Asia’s largest travel and tourism exhibition, is all set to make its virtual debut with SATTE GenX on September 23, 2020.

So far exhibitors such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Maldives, Bangladesh and Dubai have confirmed their participation as the Platinum Partners. Fiji and Utah is the Gold Partner for SATTE GenX. Moreover, Mauritius, Germany and Somatheeram amongst others are participating as Silver Partners. SATTE GenX is also in discussion with more exhibitors for the participation. India Outbound is the official media partner of the event.

Services Export Promotional Council (SEPC), an advisory body of ministry of commerce & industry, has joined hands with SATTE GenX with an exclusive pavilion to initiate the revival of the India’s inbound tourism. The organisers say that the virtual expo will have an exciting line-up of conferences and will host a series of sessions, discussion and presentations. The conference will see thought leaders sharing their views covering topics such as ‘Outbound Travel: Reinventing Strategy’, ‘Cruise Tourism: Is India ready to ride the wave?’, and ‘Rebranding India: The Big Picture’ to name a few.

New route for British student visa from October 5

British High Commission in New Delhi says that a new visa route for international students will open on 5 October, delivering on the UK government’s commitment to introduce a new points-based immigration system. The new ‘student route’ will replace the previous ‘tier 4 visa route’, making the process more streamlined for students and their sponsoring institutions, it said in a press release on Friday.

Under the new system, students will require a total of 70 points to be granted a visa. They will achieve the required points if they can demonstrate that they have an offer from an approved educational institution, speak English and are able to support themselves during their studies in the UK. Students will also now be able to make a visa application up to 6 months before their course starts (up from 3 months under Tier 4), and they will not be required to resubmit proof of academic qualifications with their visa application. The new route treats students equally, with all international students using the same, simplified route when it opens for applications no matter where they come from.

“India accounts for one of the UK’s largest group of international students and our world-leading education system has always been a key part of our bilateral relationship. Last financial year, nearly 50,000 Indian nationals were granted a study visa – they are the ambassadors of the Living Bridge that connects our countries. Now that we have left the EU, we can introduce this streamlined visa route and the Graduate Route in summer 2021, to ensure the brightest and the best students continue to pick the UK,” says Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India.

The UK recognises that, as a result of Covid-19, some overseas students are choosing to defer their entry onto courses in the UK until the spring semester of 2021. Introducing the new route now means that these students will be able to benefit from the new process whilst still giving sponsoring institutions time to adapt after their Autumn intake. The High Commission says that students who were issued an offer for study under the Tier 4 system and make an application before October 5 will be considered against the current rules for that route. Those applying from that date will be considered against the new, simplified rules, adding that there will continue to be no limit on the number of international students who can come to the UK.

India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group