About India Outbound Magazine

India Outbound 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. These trends, India Outbound analyse and predict them.

Tourism Malaysia honours Indian tourism partners with Appreciation awards

Ministry of tourism, arts and culture of Malaysia organised an Appreciation awards evening on January 7 in Delhi, to honour its tourism partners including travel agents, airlines and media. The Malaysia tourism board also talked about the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign which aims to target 30 million international tourists and a million Indian travellers.

Speaking to India Outbound, Sulaiman Bin Suip, director (New Delhi) at Tourism Malaysia said, “This event has been organised to convey our utmost appreciation to our strong supporters, agents, wedding planners, travel trade industry and media. They gave us a very successful 2019. Without their help, we would not be having this success.”

India Outbound magazine was also honoured during the Malaysia Tourism evening for its contribution in promoting destination Malaysia in the Indian market. We extend our heartiest gratitude to the tourism board and its entire team for this recognition and look forward to greater collaboration in future!

Flying time to rise as DGCA asks airlines to reroute flights to avoid ME airspace

Civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on January 8, 2020 directed Indian airlines to take appropriate precautionary measures, including rerouting of their flights away from Iranian and Iraqi airspace.

“A meeting was held with all airlines which operate flights over these airspaces. We have sensitised them to remain vigilant and take all precautions," a senior DGCA official said to an Indian media. All air operators were directed to take appropriate precautionary measures including rerouting of their flights in order to ensure complete safety of passengers.

Presently only Air India uses the Iran-Iraq airspace for operations to Europe and other destinations. Currently, no Indian airline flies directly to Iran, but Air India flies to Najaf in Iraq. On its part, Air India decided to reroute flights over Iran.

Many international airlines have also started avoiding Iranian airspace. This rerouting may lead to an increase in flying time. Precautions are also being taken after a Boeing 737-800 aircraft of Ukraine International Airlines crashed on January 8 near Tehran killing all 176 on board. While the reason behind the crash hasn’t been ascertained yet, however, given the escalated tensions between US and Iran, DGCA has asked all airlines to take precaution.

Thomas Cook India signs strategic agreement with Experience Hub

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, the integrated travel and related financial services company, has entered into a strategic long term agreement with Experience Hub, the trade and promotion arm of one of the fastest growing leisure and entertainment destinations- Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, to enhance visitation to the Island in 2020 and beyond. The agreement will enhance the India market for the destination, through the implementation of initiatives, including, product development and training-engagement.

This collaboration between Thomas Cook India and Yas Island’s Experience Hub will focus on strategic business and product development, growing training facilities including the successful Yas Expert programme designed to enhance expertise and skills of local trade partners, joint engagements/promotions with special offers to visitors aimed at catalysing and sustaining growth.

Rajeev Kale, president & country head – holidays, MICE, visa, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, said, “Our Thomas Cook 2020 India market trend analysis reveals high potential for multiple micro-nations and enriching experiences and Yas Island is hence a significant opportunity. In our focus to target this growth potential and amplify travel experiences for our customers, we are delighted to partner with Yas Island’s Experience Hub to create an exciting one-stop-entertainment-destination for our diverse range of Indian travellers.”

Liam Findlay, vice-president of marketing and sales at Experience Hub said, “We are delighted to partner with Thomas Cook India, a leader in the India market and leverage its product innovation and extensive range of consumer segments, to curate and bring to India’s consumers the best of Yas Island’s experiences.”

Booking.com reveals that 56 pc of Indian travellers book at least one hostel in their trip

As the popularity of hostels continues to grow, Booking.com, the digital travel company connecting travellers with the widest choice of unique places to stay at, shares insight into what’s trending when it comes to the shared accommodation industry, from where travellers are planning their trips, what they want to do during their stays, and how the company continues to innovate and deliver a great product to support this savvy travel segment.

Recent research from Booking.com revealed that 56 pc of Indian travellers state that they would like to include at least one hostel in their trip to add a social dimension to their stay. With over 25 pc of Booking.com hostels offering walking tours globally, and many more offering a variety of activities, such as happy hours, classes on local culture, movie nights, live music and more, Booking.com is working to ensure travellers can capitalise on a communal experience.

“From the first hostel joining our global platform in 2000 to over 33,000 hostel properties listed on our platform today, including everything from traditional youth hostels and yoga retreats to a converted Boeing 747 jumbo jet and up-scale “poshtels,” the hostel industry has expanded significantly in India and globally. We listed our first hostel in India in 2010, and we’ve witnessed this segment grow consistently; going beyond just a backpacker seeking a bunk bed, it has become increasingly diverse and expansive. We at Booking.com are constantly working to make the hostel industry even more accessible to travellers in India and globally,” said Ritu Mehrotra, country manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com.

India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group