The merging of Air India and Vistara seems ahead of schedule, according to reports in Indian media that cite Air India CEO Campbell Wilson’s comments at a town hall meeting with the employees.
25.04.2024 - 09:05 / skift.com / Cruises / Bulbul Dhawan
India recorded a cruise tourism footfall of 470,000 in the 2023-24 financial year – its highest ever. Domestic tourists accounted for nearly 80% of this, as international cruise tourism in India has yet to revive to pre-Covid levels.
In 2019-20, the international and domestic tourists were roughly equal out of the 420,000 cruise passengers.
Popularity of cruise tourism in India: While efforts are on to revive international tourism in the segment, there is an increase in popularity of cruises among domestic tourists. Compared to 2019-20, domestic tourists have increased by nearly 85%. Indian tourists are also key for the cruise industry in countries such as Singapore, while Abu Dhabi is also seeking to attract Indian tourists to its cruise offerings.
India’s efforts to boost cruise tourism: India is seeking to boost its cruise tourism. During the G20 Summit last year, secretary of tourism V Vidhyavathi had said that India is aiming to attract 4 million cruise tourists by 2041, up from around 300,000 in 2023.
For this, a draft national strategy for tourism has also been formulated with the aim of making India a preferred cruising destination across deep sea cruises, coastal cruises, river cruises, and yacht cruises.
While cruise lines such as Cordelia Cruises and Costa Cruise are currently operating domestic cruises in the Arabian Sea, the government is also looking to develop river cruise tourism with an investment of INR 450 billion ($5.4 billion).
The European Commission has introduced a new visa “cascade” regime for Indians when applying for the Schengen visas. The regime aims to offer longer, multi-entry Schengen visas to Indian tourists.
Speaking to industry players, Skift reported that while multi-year visas with longer durations were already offered to Indians, there was no standard policy in this regard. This new policy is likely to make the issuing of such visas more standardized across all Schengen states.
However, this new regime is not likely to speed up the visa processing times, which is currently posing to be a major challenge for Indians as they gear up for their summer travels.
India is set to get its first bullet train in 2026, said Indian railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The minister said that the construction work for various stations on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train route has been progressing well.
The maiden bullet train corridor in India will cover a distance of 508 km, of which work has been completed on more than 290 km. Initially slated for completion in August 2022, the project ran into delays over land surveys and acquisition.
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) announced on Wednesday that it would be bringing back its Gateway brand from “cold storage.” It will be
The merging of Air India and Vistara seems ahead of schedule, according to reports in Indian media that cite Air India CEO Campbell Wilson’s comments at a town hall meeting with the employees.
In theory, Pimalai Resort and Spa in Thailand’s Krabi province checks all the boxes for Indian tourists. But the majority of the travelers limit their visit to Bangkok and Phuket, owner Charintip Tiyaphorn told Skift.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tony Fernandes, a 60-year-old founder and CEO of UEGroup based in San Francisco, about his experience working remotely on a cruise ship. It's been edited for length and clarity.
Air India’s low-cost subsidiary Air India Express canceled 85 flights on Thursday amid mass sick leave by cabin crew. The cancellations affected almost one-quarter of its entire flying program. In a statement, the airline said that it would operate 283 flights on Thursday.
India is a key source market for the neighboring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. In February, India was the biggest source market for Nepal, accounting for more than 25% of foreign tourist arrivals in the country.
Indian airlines will account for half of the country’s international passenger traffic by the 2027-28 financial year, according to a report by credit rating agency CRISIL Ratings. That’s up from 43% this fiscal year, with India’s international passenger traffic at around 70 million.
Governor Gavin Newsom and Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta just broke the news that California still retains the largest market share of tourism in the entire United States. According to new data released today, travel spending in the Golden State reached a record high of $150.4 billion in 2023, outstripping the previous record amount of $144.9 billion seen in 2019.
India is actively promoting itself as the next big wedding destination. At the first “Wed in India” Expo ongoing in Jaipur till Wednesday, tourism ministry official Manisha Saxena said that the rapid infrastructure development across India is aiding destination weddings.
Indian hotel chain Sarovar Hotels and Resorts managing director Ajay Bakaya has a big hurdle to cross: maintaining the quality that his hotels have historically offered. Sarovar is one of the fastest-growing hotel chains in India. The company has opened seven hotels so far this year and is looking at opening another eight to 12.
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) announced the signing of a fourth hotel in Varanasi, a 101-key Ginger hotel. It currently has two Taj Hotels and a SeleQtions hotel (as part of the Tree of Life conversion) in Varanasi, a city with deep cultural and religious significance.
The Madras High Court has made it mandatory for all motor vehicles seeking to enter the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal between May 7 and June 30 to obtain electronic passes. The aim is to collect data on the number of tourists visiting and the number and types of vehicles that are entering these hill stations.
India’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its first-ever travel focused credit card. ‘SBI Card MILES’ has been launched in three variants to cater to different types of travelers, from beginners to frequent flyers.