The first commercial flight of India’s newest airline, Fly91, took off on Monday. The Goa-based airline’s maiden flight was on the Goa-Bengaluru route. Its next flight is scheduled for Tuesday between Goa and Hyderabad.
28.02.2024 - 04:15 / skift.com / Bulbul Dhawan
The pan-India premium hotel occupancy is estimated to reach decade highs of 70-72% in the coming fiscal year (2025), according to credit rating agency ICRA. The agency has also estimated that the Indian hotel industry will report revenue growth of 7-9% in 2024-2025. For the financial year ending on March 31, 2024, ICRA is expecting the industry revenue to grow 14-16%.
Factors driving demand: ICRA said that sustained domestic leisure travel, meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE), weddings and business travel are the factors that would drive demand in the next financial year. Spiritual tourism and tier 2 cities will also contribute to the industry. The primary driver is expected to be domestic tourism, as seen in fiscal 2024.
Demand outlook: In the medium term, ICRA has maintained that the demand outlook remains healthy. This is supported by improved infrastructure and air connectivity as well as favorable demographics.
Kazakh Tourism National Company has opened its first international office in India and has appointed a representative for the organization in the India market. The move aims to increase the country’s international promotion efforts.
Kairat Sadvakassov, chairman of Kazakh Tourism, called India one of the most promising outbound tourism markets in the world. The company is planning to target more markets in India. Kazakhstan offers visa-free travel to Indian passport holders.
The Northeast state of Sikkim is getting its first railway station in Rangpo. Sikkim was the only state in India without railway access. The project is set to be implemented in three phases, the first of which will connect West Bengal’s Sevoke to Rangpo with a 45 km railway line.
The railway line will then extend from Rangpo to Sikkim’s capital city of Gangtok in the second phase. In the third phase, the line would extend from Gangtok to Nathula on the Indo-China border.
Tourism is the main industry for the state and it is witnessing a steady increase in the number of visitors. Between January and June last year, the state recorded a footfall of more than 858,000 tourists, up more than 22,000 compared to the same period in 2022. Consequently, the hospitality industry is ramping up its operations in the state, with brands such as IHCL and Wyndham establishing their presence.
Qatar Airways has announced it will be moving operations to the new Manohar International Airport (GOX) in North Goa. The change will take place from June 20. With this, the airline’s operations at the Dabolim Airport in South Goa will cease. The schedule of direct daily flights between Goa and Doha, will remain the same, the airline said.
Several airlines, including Indigo and Oman Air, are choosing to move their
The first commercial flight of India’s newest airline, Fly91, took off on Monday. The Goa-based airline’s maiden flight was on the Goa-Bengaluru route. Its next flight is scheduled for Tuesday between Goa and Hyderabad.
Frontline Performance Group, a firm specializing in hospitality workforce solutions,announced its entry into the Indian market last month.
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to play a key role in the travel industry’s growth this year. Skift Research projected the region would see travel revenue jump 20% in 2024 from the previous year as outbound travel from China is expected to increase substantially.
Investment banker JP Morgan has extended a credit facility of INR 2 billion ($24 million) to hospitality chain Oyo, the Economic Times has reported. The funding aims to fuel Oyo’s accelerator program.
Delta Air Lines has a stacked schedule to make it easier for travelers to get to Italy, with several new routes to Venice ahead of the summer.
The annual passenger capacity at Indian airports is set to increase by 60 million. This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated new terminal buildings at 12 airports across the country.
The Adani Group is set to invest INR 600 billion in its airport business over the next five to 10 years. This investment will be used to expand seven of the existing airports in its portfolio and will be split evenly between ‘airside’ expansion and ‘cityside’ development, the conglomerate said.
The hospitality industry in India is undergoing a rapid expansion. According to data from real estate services firm JLL, a total of 131 hotels opened in the country between January and September 2023, with another 182 properties signed. That’s over 8,200 keys, with more than 16,000 in the pipeline.
India is set to get multiple tourism projects worth INR 14 billion ($169 million). Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating these projects on Thursday during his visit to Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The projects aim to boost the domestic tourism industry in the country with the help of Swadesh Darshan and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) schemes.
The Kenya Tourism Board has launched a marketing campaign in India. Under the campaign, the tourism board will provide travel agents with incentives to promote Kenya as a tourism destination to the Indian travelers.
Hotel developer Chalet Hotels has announced that it is in the process of acquiring Courtyard by Marriott Aravali Resort. The 158-key resort, located near Delhi, is under the ownership of Ayushi and Poonam estates. It has been operational since June 2022.
India’s business travel spending is set to reach $38 billion this year, with a projected full recovery to pre-2019 spending levels by 2025, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).