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About India Outbound Magazine

India Outbound, a bi-monthly print magazine with dynamic web and social media presence focused on outbound travel from India, is published by Media India Group. Distributed all over India, and in all the top tourism events across the world, India Outbound caters mainly to the tourism professionals and is looking to develop new and innovative circuits and promote new destinations to the high-end travellers.

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Tourism Turkey focuses on Indian MICE & weddings, organises corporate and media FAM trips

The ministry of tourism, government of Turkey in cooperation with Turkish Airlines and Accor Hotels recently hosted a MICE FAM for the representatives of leading corporate and media houses from India. In November, Turkey hosted two groups comprising of representatives from six companies and B2B publications who travelled to Antalya & Istanbul to experience the cultural & cosmopolitan aspects of Turkey.

Representatives from companies like Maxlife Insurance, Silverskills private ltd, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Bajaj Allianz, Akumentis Healthcare attended these well-curated FAMs. The itinerary helped showcase the best of Turkish culture, MICE & hospitality infrastructure to the delegation.

The first destination for both the groups was Istanbul where the groups had several potential hotel inspections like Swiss Hotel Bosphorous, Fairmont Hotel, Novotel Bosphorus, Hilton Bosphorous and Conrad Istanbul Bosphorous etc. On the second day, the groups experienced regional cuisine and local culture very closely.

After Istanbul the groups headed to Antalya and stayed in some of the best hotels in Belek region and indulged in sightseeing. Experiencing the Rixos Premium Belek Facilities the groups moved towards the Land of Legends theme park and further had fun at the shopping avenue, boat parade evening and the show of Franco Dragon. The tour ended with the cultural visit to Aspendos antique theatre, Duden waterfall and the old town.

Atout France organises Ambassador’s Travel Awards in Mumbai

Atout France, France Tourism Development Agency organised the Ambassador’s Travel Awards in Mumbai on November 21. These awards were instated in 2015 under the patronage of the Ambassador of France to India and powered by VFS Global for all its subsequent editions. This year for the first time, the awards received an added impetus with the collaboration of the Reunion Island Tourism Board. The objective behind the awards is to recognise and reward a selection of travel agents across India for their exemplary efforts in showcasing France as a travel destination.

Sheetal Munshaw, director, Atout France said, “The Ambassadors Awards have grown from strength to strength in the last few years and have assumed a pan-India dimension which gives our efforts at showcasing France an added boost. Our source markets have now diversified to include many more cities across the country which indicates a lot of potential for France.”

“This year, in addition to the continued support we’ve been receiving from VFS Global since the inception of the awards in2015, we are also extremely pleased to have on-board Reunion Island Tourism Board as our partner. Our alliance since October 2018 at showcasing the island and its multi-faceted touristic offering has been a mutually successful one and we are confident that next year will reap in great results for La Réunion,” she added.

ITB Asia signs MoU with Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE)

ITB Asia, a global travel trade fair and a global corporate travel leader, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate as strategic partners. The partnership will take place from 2020 till 2022 and will see both of them work in close partnership on knowledge-sharing activities for the corporate travel community.

Under the MoU, ACTE, with its wide international representation from over 100 countries, will play a leading role in promoting ITB Asia and its group of events to quality buyers and corporate travel managers.

Katrina Leung, managing director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia said, “We are excited to work in close partnership with ACTE Global to engage with more corporate buyers and delegates at ITB Asia’s group of events. In particular, we aim to provide industry delegates with valuable breadth and depth of industry knowledge, stimulating a higher level of discourse on the corporate travel sector.”

Leigh Bochicchio, the executive director of ACTE commented, “We are delighted to have concluded the agreement for ITB India 2020, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to continue partnership with ITB Asia from 2020 to 2022.”

“The expanded partnership in India and extended cooperation between ITB Asia and ACTE will undoubtedly foster another unprecedented horizon in our vision for global education in the corporate travel and MICE sectors,” Bochicchio added.

Air India starts flight services on Mumbai-Nairobi route

Air India resumed its direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi on November 27 after a two-month delay, as it was supposed to begin on September 27 but was delayed to this month due to technical issues.

“The planning for flights usually takes time and that is why there were operational delays. But all is now set for the flights this month with air tickets currently being sold...The maiden flight is scheduled to depart Mumbai for Nairobi at 6.25 am (IST),” said Indian High Commission in Kenya in a statement.

It is scheduled to fly four times a week between Nairobi and Mumbai and will cut travel time from between 10 and 11 hours to six hours. This will save travellers’ hours spent on flights that usually involve long layovers in Dubai. The commission notes that the flights are expected to shore up trade between India and Kenya as well as other East African countries. Air India is the only Indian domestic carrier to fly to Kenya from India. This year, the airline has introduced flights on Delhi-Doha, Amritsar-Stansted, Delhi-Toronto and Delhi-Seoul routes.

Seychelles Tourism highlights its three main islands to Indian tour operators

Seychelles Tourism Board conducted a FAM trip for the Indian tour operators to showcase the beauty of its three main islands- Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. The week-long educational trip gave the tour operators an opportunity to experience the paradise islands partake in various activities and get inspired by the local culture and cuisine.

While Seychelles is popular for honeymoon travel, the idea of the trip was to focus on other segments like family holidays, adventure travel and celebrations. The FAM trip aimed to showcase various aspects that cater to the requirements of these segments. Senior management from Madhura Travel Service, Flamingo Transworld, Travel Triangle, FCM Travel Solutions, Ambition Travels and Orion Holidays were a part of this educational trip and the entire experience helped to enhance their knowledge to better promote and sell the destination.

During their visit, these Indian travel agents received a warm Seychellois welcome from various three-star, four-star and five-star hotel partners. They also experienced services of the main destination management companies along with Air Seychelles who came on board as an airline partner. The group also got a chance to interact with Seychelles Tourism Board team to learn about the changing trends and positioning of Seychelles in the India market.

Vistara starts new Mumbai-Colombo flight with a premium economy choice

Vistara has inaugurated its service to Colombo, Sri Lanka on November 25. The airline will now fly daily (except Wednesdays) between Mumbai and Colombo, making it the first to offer the choice of premium economy class for travel between India and Sri Lanka, in addition to the economy and business classes.

“We are very happy to step into another new geography with flights to Sri Lanka, a nation with enormous potential for tourism as well as trade. To Sri Lanka, we introduce India’s only five-star airline that’s committed to making a mark across the globe with a world-class product and impeccable service delivery. We are confident that travellers will enjoy the unmatched hospitality when flying the ‘new feeling’ with Vistara,” Vinod Kannan, the chief strategy officer, Vistara, said.

Passengers on Vistara’s inaugural flight from Mumbai were welcomed in Colombo with grand gestures. On this occasion the chief guests were Sushil Kumar, first secretary – economic & commerce, high commission of India in Sri Lanka; Rayhan Wanniappa, director - air transport and economic regulation, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and Ruwan Waidyaratne, executive director, Hayleys. Vistara has appointed North South Lines, a subsidiary of the Sri Lankan conglomerate, Hayleys PLC, as its representation company in Sri Lanka.

Indigo suspends Chandigarh-Dubai flight for the winter period

Indigo has temporally suspended its Chandigarh-Dubai-Chandigarh flight from Chandigarh International Airport at Mohali for two months from December 14-February 15, 2020 taking into account the frequent disruptions caused due to bad weather during winters. With this, the lone Sharjah flight of Air India Express remains the only international flight operational from Chandigarh International Airport. In September last year also, Indigo had discontinued the Dubai flight.

The spokesperson at the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHAIL) Prince Dildar said, “The Indigo Airlines has discontinued their Dubai flight from December 14 till February 15. We are not aware of the reason, but we are providing them with all the facilities now. Moreover, there should be no problem for the airport as Air India’s Sharjah flight is operational.”

According to an official of Indigo, the decision to discontinue the flight in the winters was taken on November 13. Due to bad weather, the flight is mostly either delayed or diverted to Delhi which leads to huge losses to the carrier. So the decision of temporary suspension was taken.

The Chandigarh Airport handles nearly 32 commercial flights daily, and is now left with only single international connectivity.

Virgin Atlantic to start another flight on Delhi-London route

British airline Virgin Atlantic has announced that in addition to the existing flight, it will start a second daily flight on the London-Delhi route from March 29 next year. The tickets for the new flights to Delhi will go on sale on November 23, 2019."Virgin Atlantic will introduce a second daily service between Heathrow (at London) and New Delhi, offering 1,08,000 additional seats for summer 2020," the airline's statement said.

At present, the airline has two daily flights to India from its London Heathrow airport - one to New Delhi and another to Mumbai, which was launched in October this year. The second flight to New Delhi which will start next year is said to depart from Heathrow in the morning, complementing the airline's current evening departure.

"The airline will also be re-timing its Mumbai flight to an evening departure from Heathrow, offering a more convenient choice for business customers," it said.

“Next year will mark 20 years since Virgin Atlantic started flying to New Delhi, and the service continues to grow in popularity for both business and leisure travel. The second daily service from Heathrow is an excellent opportunity to meet the customer demand on this route and, coupled with our new service to Mumbai, we’re able to offer even more choices and unrivalled Virgin Atlantic service to customers travelling between the UK and India,” said Juha Jarvinen, EVP commercial at Virgin Atlantic.

Visit Finland to reveal its Christmas calendar with a countdown

Visit Finland will reveal this year’s Christmas calendar on December 1. The calendar will count down the days to Christmas Eve when Santa Claus delivers presents to all good children around the world.

Visit Finland will once again launch its online Christmas calendar whereby opening a window and correctly answering a question about Finland, one can enter a lottery to win a special present each day and the two grand prizes of a Finn Air flight voucher to Finland worth EUR 1,000. The calendar’s window can be opened from December 1-24, when Santa delivers presents to the world’s children.

According to Finnish tradition, Santa Claus visits children at home on Christmas Eve and this year he will leave his home in Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland at 7 pm EET on December 23 on his sledge full of gifts, drawn by his trusty reindeer, which will be live-streamed on Facebook.

This time of the year, one can get into the Christmas spirit, taste delicious foods and buy handicraft pretty much anywhere in Finland at the numerous Christmas Markets. One of the largest ones, the Helsinki Christmas Market opens on December 6. On the western coast, the Turku Old Great Square Christmas Market date back to the middle ages and runs four weekends before Christmas, starting November23-24. In the Lakeland region, Tampere’s Christmas Market is open from November 30–December 22.

SpiceJet and Emirates sign a code-share deal

SpiceJet has signed a codeshare and interline agreement with Emirates to allow passengers of the Dubai-based airline to book tickets on the Indian budget carrier using Emirates' ticketing system from early 2020.

While passengers of Emirates travelling to India can take advantage of many more flight options on routes common to both the airlines from early 2020, SpiceJet passengers travelling from India to Dubai can take the benefit of Emirates' expansive network later, opening up multiple international connections for them.

The code-share agreement means travellers from across the globe can book a single ticket with attractive fares to any of Emirates’ nine points across India and connect onwards to 172 domestic routes that are part of SpiceJet’s network.

Ajay Singh, the chairman and managing director, SpiceJet said, “We are very pleased to partner with Emirates with this new code-share agreement, which will offer a seamless travel experience and the widest possible travel options to our passengers travelling to and from Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East. This code-share will further strengthen our position in the region and complement our international expansion strategy.”


India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group