Thomas Cook India's internal data had highlighted Lucknow region as a high potential source market for holiday business.
After a two-year lull, the deal pipeline in India's hospitality sector, which has witnessed a strong revival since the second wave of the pandemic receded, is running full. Family offices, high net-worth individuals (HNIs) and institutional investors are looking at the sector with renewed interest, according to investment and transaction advisory firms working on multiple deals. Most of them declined to divulge details of the deals for reasons of confidentiality. The cumulative debt of the tourism, hotels and restaurant sector rose 8.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 64,408 crore as of March 25, 2022 against Rs 59,519 crore on March 26, 2021, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
People have said they would be inclined to travel for leisure during the festival and year-end season.
For Indians, Sri Lanka is one of the favourite venues for destination weddings. But last month, when a family from Delhi chartered a Vistara Airbus A320 to Colombo, it packed much more than the standard paraphernalia of clothes, gifts and jewellery. The family ferried meals from Delhi for all the guests and to cover their entire stay in Colombo due to the food and fuel shortages in the island nation.
Concerns over health and safety were reasons cited by 3,400 business and leisure travellers surveyed from 14 countries across the globe for their preference of nations other than India.
Chinese foreign policy will acquire a more ideological and less pragmatic character. It will be conducted with more nationalist overtones, predicts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
This deferred or reduced spending is now extending across most major consumption sectors such as discretionary food and groceries, clothing and home textiles, consumer durables and home appliances, jewellery, furniture and furnishings, leisure travel, and entertainment. Oddly, the response of many manufacturers, marketers and retailers has been counter-intuitive.
Giving a new impetus to Marine leisure activity, India's first World class Marina, built at a cost of Rs 8.21 crore, was today commissioned by Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday.
"World over the cruising industry has grown consistently. Its compounded annual growth rate is 6.5-7 per cent. In India, cruising is growing 8-10 per cent year-on-year (albeit on a much smaller base) for the three-four years. It can improve with better infrastructure," said Royal Caribbean Cruise India representative Gautam Chadha.
Travel restrictions are in place only for a limited number of countries but people are cancelling or postponing travel to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
From free salons to discounted room rates, hotels are offering it all.
The primary and immediate impact of a depreciating rupee is on the importers who will have to shell out more for the same quantity and price. However, it is a boon for the exporters as they receive more rupees in exchange for dollars. The rupee depreciation has wiped away some of the gains that would have accrued to India from international oil and fuel prices dropping to pre-Ukraine war levels.
The chairman of the Essel Group says he has settled 91.2 per cent of the estimated Rs 11,000 crore debt on the group's books.
The reason for the directive, the first of its kind by the airline, is that Air India does not want its own staff to occupy seats that can be sold to fare-paying passengers.
Sources at Mumbai airport said seat occupancy has declined from around 70-72 per cent to 60-64 per cent in last three-four days as passengers are postponing or cancelling trips.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates- promoted luxury hotel group Four Seasons on Monday said it will have four new properties in India within the next five years
These measures are part of initiatives by these nations to attract Indian tourists, says Aneesh Phadnis.
'The second half of 2022 definitely looks stronger for Bollywood.'
Nearly 52,000 new hotel rooms are expected to be added in India over the next five years on rising demand from travellers as global economic conditions improve.
The key risks against a fast recovery would include long delays in business travel resumption, delays in commissioning, etc.
BestMed Tourism, a joint venture between Kochi-based Focuz Group and Canadian leisure travel company, Unbelievable India Tours, kickstarted its Indian operations recently.
'Top lines will grow, volume growth will be there, but margins might also be impacted.'
At the end of the day, Stalin expressing solidarity with an arrested colleague is one thing, especially if he too felt that the minister had been wronged, but for him to retain the person in office sets a bad precedent, which would not go unnoticed by voters, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Personal accident cover should be purchased by everyone, irrespective of age, occupation or health condition, as one does not know when an accident could occur, causing hardship to the family.
'I have worked every day of my life for the last 62 years and suddenly there is a cap on doctors over 55, who are not allowed to practice.' Dr Dolly Gurbaxani shares her lockdown experience.
The domestic aviation industry is expected to report a net loss of Rs 25,000-26,000 crore this fiscal with elevated jet fuel prices and fare caps continuing to pose a major challenge for the airlines' profitability, domestic rating agency ICRA Ltd said on Thursday. The domestic airlines, however, are likely to post a reduced net loss of Rs 14,000-16,000 crore in the next financial year on the back of a "notable recovery" in air passenger traffic and lower level of debt, ICRA said. The ratings agency also estimates that the industry will require an additional funding in the range of Rs 20,000-22,000 crore during FY22-FY24.
An interview with Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India.
Indian and global airlines such as SpiceJet, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic among others too are marketing Covid-19 insurance products to attract passengers.
Jagdish Khattar, Maruti Suzuki's managing director, talks about the need for small cars, global players expanding in India, and why his company will prosper.
India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, which has a high population of expatriates driven by the information technology sector, is getting more reasonable on cost of living
Indian coffee shops market over the next four-five years will grow between 6 and 18 per cent CAGR, all due to the growing coffee culture among the youth, increasing urbanisation, rising disposable income levels and changing eating and drinking preferences, says Atanu Biswas.
Travel companies Cox & Kings and Thomas Cook explore initiatives aimed at tapping the niche market of travel packages for kids and the disabled.
The average load factor for November stands at 75 per cent, as leisure travel records a rise at this time.
The global recall of millions of vehicles has put the focus on quality.
The company is confident that more hotel owners will be keen to associate themselves with the Hilton brand, the second-biggest hotel chain globally after Marriott.
'China has gone too long as a rogue power, trashing international norms, agreements, and treaties as if they were not the paper they were written on.' 'The ill-advised attack on Ladakh may be the beginning of the end of that nonsense,' advocates Rajeev Srinivasan.
