As the new Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on foreign remittances is set to become applicable from October 1, travel agents' body TAAI has made a last-minute plea to the government, urging them to abolish the decision or defer its implementation until the next fiscal year to allow discussions on overseas tour packages. The government has raised the TCS on foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) from 5 per cent to 20 per cent. This will be applicable to international travel, sending money abroad and other remittances.
Travel agents in India on Monday demanded of 16 airlines that they reinstate commission following a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) order to restore the system of paying travel agents a commission, a senior industry official said.
Major travel agents have threatened to stop selling domestic and international air tickets until airlines agreed to restore commissions that they had said they would scrap starting October 1, citing higher costs and slower growth.
As many as 3,000 travel agents owing allegiance to TAAI have voluntarily decided to keep shutters down to protest airlines' certain unethical business practices.
No-frills carrier Go First filing for insolvency proceedings and cancelling flights is bad for the airline industry as the move will reduce capacity and could push airfares in certain routes, travel agents' grouping TAAI said on Wednesday.
The fee ranges between Rs 350 and Rs 10,000.
On every Air India ticket booked by agents, the airline pays 3 per cent of the ticket cost as commission. The airlines earns around Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) a year from ticket bookings.
Want last year's bonus? Sell our tickets: Jet Airways tells travel agents.
In a meeting, attended by several airline unions in New Delhi, the travel agents have also demanded the Parliament to pass a law for commission, so that 'it could not be changed by the air carriers for their monetary benefits'. The associations submitted a mass petition in this regard to the Petition Committees of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
'The culture of mankind has been spread by the travel gene which pushes one in five people to have the curiosity to move to unknown destinations.'
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
The strike is to protest against the airline companies' decision to stop paying commission to agencies in return for travel bookings from November 1.
Spring Travels chairman assures 'every thing will be fine next week'.
Two of the largest airlines, Jet Airways and Air India, have decided to stop absorbing the surcharge on payments by agents made through credit cards.
Highlighting India as the company's most important growth market, Fabricio Bloisi, group chief executive officer (CEO) of the Dutch technology investor Prosus signaled a sharp acceleration in artificial-intelligence investments across its portfolio in the country.
Taking a serious note of the situation, the civil aviation ministry said it has invoked regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
It's the age of the DIY travellers.
BCB distances itself from director's remarks questioning players' commitment
Frequent flight cancellations and the Airports Authority of India's decision to put SpiceJet on a cash-and-carry mode have made online travel agencies nervous.
BCB removes its director Najmul Islam from key post after players revolt
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
Gujarat police arrest a woman allegedly involved in trafficking job aspirants to Myanmar and Thailand for cyber slavery. The accused lured people with promises of high-paying jobs and forced them to work for international cyber crime syndicates.
Gujarat Police arrested an Indian national accused of running an international cyber slavery network operated by Chinese gangs from Myanmar and Cambodia. The accused allegedly supplied Indian workers to scam compounds where they were forced to commit cybercrimes.
Many travellers are now opting for domestic destinations like Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Lakshadweep, Himachal Pradesh, and the North East.
Zende along with a group of traders met joint commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma and apprised him about the calls.
Move aimed at forcing airlines to revoke decision to withdraw 5 per cent commission.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has sought the restoration of Notification in the Finance Bill 2005-06
If you are a frequent traveller and use the services of a travel agent, your bill is likely to see a rise this summer, provided travel agents have their way.
Close on the heels of Air-India's decision to slash commission of travel agents from the existing seven per cent to five per cent, the agents have decided to suspend sale of tickets of the national carrier from Friday.
'Countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines have a 50 per cent increase in bookings.'
The advisory was issued by the Indian embassy in Ankara on Tuesday against the backdrop of strained India-Turkey relations and Turkey's offensive against Kurdish rebels in Syria.
'We in Kashmir will ensure that this kind of incident does not happen again.'
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.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Maharashta Governor Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan as their candidate for Vice-President of India. The announcement was made by BJP President J P Nadda, highlighting Radhakrishnan's extensive public service and cross-party respect.
Jasbir Singh, a resident of Village Mahlan in Rupnagar district, who operates a YouTube channel 'Jaan Mahal', was found to be associated with a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO), Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.
India's largest online travel agency, MakeMyTrip said that it is premature to assess the impact of Omicron variant on overseas tour bookings. Others in the travel sector however are worried about cancellations in the coming days as countries tighten travel restrictions. "It is too early to assess the impact of the new Covid-19 variant on outbound travel. "Additional protocols are already set in any case from several countries which will help contain the variant coming to India.
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