Amrita Ghosh travel tips

Indian carriers now have the second-largest order book for new planes, with over a 6 percent share of the industry backlog, behind only the U.S., according to a recent Barclays report. Budget carrier IndiGo’s aircraft order for 500 Airbus A320neofamily planes – likely worth $50 billion – has eclipsed Air India’s 470 aircraft order made in February. When added to IndiGo’s substantial backlog totaling 480 jets, questions will arise whether the Indian market can accommodate this number of aircraft, noted IBA, an aviation market intelligence company and consultancy.  

India-based budget hotel operator and aggregator Oyo said it will add over 1,000 hotels to support over 100 first-generation hoteliers’ growthby December this year as part of its accelerator program. The company launched the program in March with a target of supporting 50 first-generation hoteliers. Hotel owners with more than five running hotels are eligible to be a part of the program. 

Antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) is scrutinizing Tata Group-owned Air India’s planned merger with Vistara over concerns about competition in the aviation sector. The watchdog has issued a show-cause notice to Air India to explain its position and asked the company for clarification on why the merger should not be investigated.

In a race to bring pilots onboard, India’s newest airline Akasa Air has reportedly raised pilots’ salary by up to 40% amid Tata-owned Air India and budget carrier IndiGo’s massive expansion plans with orders for hundreds of new aircraft.

A recent study by travel fintech start-up SanKash has revealed that there has been a whopping 250% surge in solo travel at the start of this year. Travelers are inclined to explore not only themselves but the world at their own pace and preference, without feeling swayed by the whims of fellow travelers, the report said. 

Having revised the salary structure for flying staff in April, Tata Group-owned Air India has now initiated a revamp of employment contracts and compensation for its non-flying workforce in India.

Federal policy think tank Niti Aayog has recommended a slew of measures to revive the Indian tourism industry from the financial woes arising out of the pandemic. Some of these include:

Online travel company Ixigo has introduced “Plan by Ixigo,” an artificial intelligence trip planner that uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help plan itineraries and accommodation options. The tool also delivers real-time destination information and automatically maps and generates a detailed itinerary, along with weather and air quality index updates.

As part of its revival process, crisis-hit airline Go First‘s resolution professional has invited expressions of interestfrom potential bidders to restart operations. It has set August 9 as the last date for submission. The carrier stopped flying on May 3 as more than half of its fleet was grounded due to a lack of Pratt & Whitney engines.

India wants to bet big on cruises. Consider these ambitious plans from Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy:

The civil aviation ministry has created an additional 1,222 new jobs in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India and Airports Economic Regulatory Authority. Some 796 positions have been created to beat the shortage of air traffic control officers. In addition, the aviation safety regulator and tariff regulator are looking to fill a total of 416 and 10 new positions.

Indian tourists to France will be able to pay for tickets to the Eiffel Tower and other attractions in rupees after both the countries agreed to use the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

While there is no information yet on the availability of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tickets, fans have in large numbers already booked their accommodation in host cities. Hotel room rates in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad have already skyrocketed more than 10-fold during the match days, especially for October 15 ahead of the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan match.

Just a day after budget hotel operator Oyo forayed into the premium resorts category with the launch of its new brand Palette, credit ratings agency ICRA estimates premium hotel occupancy in India to reach a decade-high of 70-72% with average room rates expected around $74-$76 in the financial year 2024.

Budget hotel operator and aggregator Oyo has forayed into the premium resorts and hotels category with the launch of its new brand, Palette. Oyo plans to have a total of 50 properties by the second quarter of 2024.

India’s outbound tourism is expected to reach $44.7 billion by 2032, according to a report titled ‘Unlock the Potential: A Look into Outbound Tourism’ by Nangia Andersen, in association with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The report also highlighted the recommendations for growing the future of outbound tourism, which include tax rebates, collaboration with destinations and airlines, streamlining visa processes, among other ideas.

India’s Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has inaugurated UDAN 5.2, a new phase of the regional connectivity scheme “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik” to improve last-mile connectivity in remote and underserved regions with small aircraft, specifically those with 1A (less than nine seats) and Category 1 (less than 20 seats). 

More Indians are taking personal loans to meet vacation-related expenses, according to the findings of a survey titled ‘How India travels using holiday loans’, conducted by online loan platform Paisabazaar.

Indian consumers are willing to use their payment cards for travel expenses and everyday costs when travel-related rewards are offered – 83% of consumers, according to a Collinson research report titled “The New Rules of Engagement: Customer Expectations Revealed.”

In the past two weeks alone, half a dozen hotel companies, including Tata Group-owned Indian Hotels Company and InterContinental Hotels Group, have announced new development plans and a flurry of brand launches to capitalize on the soaring demand for premium hotel accommodations.

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to implement its Water Tourism and Adventure Sports Policy-2023 to boost tourism in the state.