INDIA: Goa Airport Is One Of The Worst Maintained Airports In India

Tourists were left flabbergasted to see the state of affairs prevailing at an airport in the Indian state of Goa, thronged by thousands of tourists from across the world.

A large number of tourists from all over the world come to Goa, India via Dabolim International Airport, but some might be coming for the wrong reasons.

People took to social media to express their shock and dismay after snapshots of travellers sleeping on the floor or enjoying a nap near the airport’s departure zone, went viral online.

A section of the netizens felt the sight was reminiscent of a railway station, with footwear scattered all around the airport and luggage piled up in heaps.

The outrage prompted the airport authorities to issue instructions and promise this would not happen again.

A journalist Tweeted to share the embarrassment and said, it’s time to take tourism more seriously in the coastal State of Goa, the favourite Indian getaway for westerners.

I have already raised my concern. Goa airport is one of the worst maintained Airport in India.

“We share your concern. This is a one of a kind incident and was noted with due concern. The instructions to the concerned departments have been issued; to be more watchful and we ensure it will not reoccur,” said Gagan Malik, Goa airport director.

Others came to the support of the people sleeping on the floor, saying it was an issue of poor infrastructure and lack of public transport in the state.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Hyatt Hotels Corp To Expand In India With 14 More Properties

Hyatt Hotels Corp will accelerate expansion in India over the next two years, opening at least 14 new properties.

It plans to add more than 2,100 guestrooms with new hotels in major and second tier cities across the country.

It will enter eight new markets giving it a presence in a total of 27 cities within the next two years.

It began with the brand launch of Hyatt Centric in Goa and the Hyatt Regency brand will launch new hotels in Kochi, as well as the Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort, its first in the Himalayan region, and Hyatt Regency Thrissur.

Grand Hyatt Gurgaon will also open in the final quarter of 2019.

For Hyatt, India has a high growth potential and remains a market where we can expand our brand representation. Being focused on intentional growth gives us a unique edge, said Sunjae Sharma, vice president of India operations.

For 2020, new openings include Hyatt Place properties in Jaipur and Vadodara plus Hyatt Regency brand hotels in Dehradun, Udaipur and Trivandrum.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced its plans to open more than 14 new properties in India over the next 24 months. The new properties will include hotels and resorts in Bengaluru, Dehradun, Udaipur, Gurgaon, Jaipur, and Trivandrum.

The Chicago-headquartered Hyatt Hotels said 2019 would mark record growth for Hyatt in India. “Expansion plans foresee the addition of over 2,100 guest rooms through the opening of more than 14 new properties over the next 24 months,” a press release from the hotel major said.

Aside from growth in the larger capital cities, the emphasis will be on leisure and cultural destinations, with a focus on emerging cities within India.

This expansion includes hotels in eight new markets in the country which will establish Hyatt brand presence across 27 cities in India.

“As a result of an increasingly favourable business climate and heightened tourism spend, encouraged by relaxed visa rules and a growing upper middle class, there is a general demand for growth in the hospitality industry in India,” said the statement.

This year’s expansion began with the introduction of the Hyatt Centric brand through the opening of Hyatt Centric Candolim Goa.

New to the Hyatt portfolio as part of the Two Roads Hospitality acquisition in November 2018, the Alila brand also added two new properties in India, located in Diwa Goa and Fort Bishangarh.

Later in 2019, Hyatt plans to expand its brand footprint in Kerala with the opening of Hyatt Regency Kochi Malayattoor, a resort property on the banks of the Periyar river, and Hyatt Regency Thrissur, providing travellers with the first premium hotel in Thrissur.

Hyatt also plans to add its first resort in the foothills of the Himalayas with the anticipated opening of Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort in the second half of 2019. Gurgaon will also be in focus later in 2019, with the scheduled opening of Grand Hyatt Gurgaon.

“These hotels will add over 1,000 guest rooms to Hyatt’s existing offering in India and will establish its brand presence in four new markets,” it said.

In the next year, Hyatt Place Bangalore Urbana, Hyatt Regency Jaipur Mansarovar, Hyatt Regency Dehradun, Hyatt Place Vadodara, Hyatt Regency Trivandrum, Hyatt Place Jaipur Malviya Nagar and Hyatt Regency Udaipur will be opened.

“Hyatt is one of the longest-running international hotel management brands in India, the first Hyatt hotels in India opened over 30 years ago. Our heritage and experience in this complex market, paired with the strong relationships we hold with local developers and owners has helped make India one of the top-three growth markets for Hyatt globally, said Dhruva Rathore, vice-president development (India), Hyatt.

“India has high growth potential and remains a market where Hyatt can expand its brand representation. Being focused on intentional growth gives us a unique edge as Hyatt can differentiate by having the right assets in its portfolio,” said Sunjae Sharma, vice-president operations (India), Hyatt.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: IndiGo Starts Flights To Lucknow,Goa And Pune

Marking a milestone of being the first airline to launch Lucknow-Goa and Lucknow-Pune sectors to its network, IndiGo has announced the introduction of its maiden flights effective July 2018.

IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Lucknow-Goa-Lucknow and Lucknow-Pune-Lucknow respectively. Continuing the low-cost carrier’s expansion in the domestic skies, IndiGo’s average daily departures will now be 25 flights out of Lucknow to 13 destinations.

The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travelers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, IndiGo’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:

We are pleased to announce the launch of these two sectors from Lucknow, which will further provide more flexibility of choice to our customers.

Lucknow continues to hold immense potential for IndiGo and we are indeed happy to be the first airline to operate maiden flights between Lucknow-Goa-Lucknow and Lucknow-Pune-Lucknow.

We are providing affordable fares on these new routes for our travelers.

It is our constant endeavor to provide the best travel experience to our customers, as IndiGo continues to offer them on-time, courteous and hassle-free service and an affordable flying experience always.

IndiGo is further enhancing its customer experience with the launch of Jorhat and Dhaka as its new destinations.

Under the UDAN scheme, Jorhat will be the 54th destination on IndiGo’s network. Furthermore, Dhaka will be the 55th destination. Both new services start on August 01, 2018.

To provide more enhanced connectivity across India, IndiGo has announced the addition of 16 new flights to its network.

Effective August 2018, the Indian airline will operate its first daily flight between Bengaluru and Raipur.

Additionally, the airline will operate a second daily flight between Kolkata-Nagpur, a third daily flight between Bengaluru and Nagpur, and fourth daily flight between Bengaluru and Jaipur, and Bengaluru and Vizag respectively.

IndiGo will also operate its fourth daily flight between Kolkata and Patna.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said:

It gives us immense pleasure to add Dhaka, Bangladesh to our ever-expanding route network, and we are equally pleased to announce Jorhat as our new UDAN destination after Tiruchirappalli and Tuticorin.

With the addition of sixteen new flights connecting various cities within India, we will now be able to extend our on-time, courteous and hassle-free service, and low fares to everyone, that IndiGo is synonymous with.

IndiGo will continue to expand its network to meet the requirements of both business and leisure travelers wherever they demand it.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: 3 Tourists Arrested For Gang-raping 20-year-old Local Girl In Goa

Goa Police on Saturday arrested three persons in connection with a gang-rape at the popular Colva beach late on Friday night, even as a Goa Minister has bemoaned the quality of tourists visiting the coastal state.

The three accused-tourists from Indore have been charged with robbing and gang-raping a 20-year-old girl late on Friday, while she was visiting Colva beach along with her 22-year-old boyfriend.

The victim, who hails from a nearby village, had also claimed that the sexual assault was filmed by the alleged rapists and she was warned by them against informing the police.

All three accused have been arrested.

Two accused Sanjiv Dhananjay Pal, 23, and Ram Santosh Bhariya, 19, both from Indore were arrested early on Saturday morning.

The third accused Vishwas Makrana, 24, also from Indore was picked up from a railway station in South Goa later today, Superintendent of Police (South Goa) Arvind Gawas said

The victim, who hails from a nearby village, had also claimed that the sexual assault was filmed by the alleged rapists and she was warned by them again informing the police.

Police have said that medical examination of the victim has confirmed rape.

An FIR was filed late on Friday at Colva police station under sections 376 (rape) and 394 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Following the arrest of the third accused, Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai in a tweet complimented police for the swift investigation, while also bemoaning the quality of tourists coming to Goa.

A case of blackmail, rape and robbery by tourists I have always stressed that quality of tourists should be our focus. Only then can #Goa be safe and forward, Sardesai said.

Some months ago, Sardesai had courted controversy after he said that a majority of the domestic tourists coming to Goa were scum of the earth.

Goa, a top beach and lifestyle tourism designation in the country, attracts more than seven million tourists every year, out of which half a million are foreigners.​


Tourism Observer

INDIA: No Frills Carrier GoAir Offering Zero Fee Cancellation

Indian budget carrier GoAir has announced a limited time 'zero fee cancellation' offer for new bookings.

The offer is good for bookings made up to February 16 and any fees will be waived if tickets are cancelled at least 30 days before departure.

Free cancellation covers tickets booked for travel between June 1 and December 15, 2016, and can be cancelled only through the GoAir call centre.

Cancellations made less than 30 days before travel will be subject to the usual fees, the Mumbai based carrier said in a release.

The fee waiver is available on all the carrier's routes which includes Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Goa and Bengaluru.

INDIA: Passenger Dissappears From Indigo Flight At Patna Airport

There was chaos at Patna airport 17th December after a passenger who travelling from Goa to Lucknow in an Indigo flight 633 disappeared from the plane.

Mudit Sharma was travelling to Lucknow with his wife and four more members of his family when the plane landed in Patna.

Sharma told his wife that he was going to the bathroom, and never returned. His absence was noticed only when the plane readied to fly to Lucknow.

The flight was delayed for more than 20 minutes when the airport authorities could not find him. Sharma, reportedly was annoyed by one of his family members and deplaned in Patna itself.

Neither Indigo, nor the ground officials were able to detect his exit. Airport Authority has taken up the matter with the two.

In his last phone message to his wife, Sharma said that he was in the toilet.

The trouble began when he could not be reached on the phone and the toilet was found empty.

The plane was grounded in Patna till the chaos subsided.

It left for Lucknow with rest of the family members. Flight 633 was to fly from Goa to Lucknow, via Kolkata and Patna.

INDIA: 3-day International Tourism Expo From Dec 11 At Madurai

3-day international tourism expo from Dec 11 at Madurai


A three-day International Tourism exhibition will be held here for three days from December 11, according to Executive Director and project manager of the exhibition, Anurag Gupta.

In a release, he said 32 stalls, including stalls from Mauritius, Malaysia, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Karnataka would find a place in the exhibition.

The stalls at the exhibition would give details about tourist spots and the expenses to visit them. Besides reservation would be done for conducted tours.

He said special concessions would be given for those who book for tours.

INDIA: Maharashtra Most Preferred Tourist Destination

State attracted 4.5 million tourists from foreign countries and over 8.4 million domestic tourists in 2014

Maharashtra has been rated on top in terms of tourism potential by a recent survey compiled by World Travel and Tourism Council. The ranking has been done by assessing the relative competitiveness of over 30 states in India. Maharashtra has moved up one position from the previous edition of the survey done last in 2013.

In comparison, national capital Delhi — which topped last time's rating — stood second on the list. Similarly, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu won the third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

According to the Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the total number of International Tourist Arrivals (ITA) worldwide was 1,133 million in 2014, India attracted 0.67% of the world's international tourist arrivals out of which Maharashtra attracted 4.5 million tourists from foreign countries and over 8.4 million domestic tourists, which is largest than any other state in the country.

Commenting on the development Valsa Nair Singh, secretary state tourism and cultural affairs, GoM, said: "This recognition is prestigious, as Travel and Tourism is an integral part of our economy and we are happy that we stand as No.1 in attracting tourists. This is a team effort, through innovative promotional campaigns, marketing strategies, planned, focused and aggressive ideas we have reached such milestones. We are motivated to do better every day. Our recent thumping success of MITM attracted global buyers and sellers and we are confident to grow over the magic numbers in coming years, making Maharashtra number one destination on the world map."

According to tourism industry experts, the ranking was highly dependent on a strong economy, good infrastructure, presence of a sizeable quantum of branded hotel rooms and a variety of demand generators to occupy these rooms. "In line with these factors, Maharashtra has recorded perfect scores in four parameters – tourist visits, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign and aircraft movement. The state has performed well across all other parameters with the exception of its expenditure on tourism," said an official from state tourism department.

India's travel and tourism economy is poised to grow 7.5% in 2015 over last year, exceeding the 6.9% growth that the global forum has predicted for the South Asian region. By the end of 2015, the travel and tourism sector will contribute Rs8.22 trillion or 7% of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and 37.4 million jobs — almost 9% of total employment, the report said. In comparison during the year 2014, the industry contributed Rs7.64 trillion and 36.7 million jobs to the Indian economy.