Tuesday, April 29, 2025
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India keeps a watchful eye on airfares

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TTR WEEKLY
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DELHI, 1 April 2022: India’s aviation authorities reminded domestic airlines this week that they continue to monitor airfares on a monthly basis to prevent sudden price surges and also to promote transparency.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation emphasised earlier this week that airlines should display on their websites the tariff sheet route-wise across their network in various fare categories and in the same manner it is offered in the market.

In addition, the DGCA noted its Tariff Monitoring Unit continues to monitor airfares on specific routes on a monthly basis to ensure that the airlines do not charge airfares outside a range declared by them.

Even though the government does not regulate airfares under normal circumstances, the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted businesses’ revenue streams, including the aviation sector. In response, the government introduced fare bands with upper and lower limits as a special measure to serve the dual purpose of protecting both travellers and airlines.

Presently, fare capping is applicable on a rolling basis on a 15-day cycle. Decisions regarding the domestic scheduled operations and the possible relaxation in fare capping are subject to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the status of airline operations and passenger demand for air travel.

Fare check Delhi-Mumbai route

During April, a fare check on the popular Delhi-Mumbai route showed variations from a low of USD76 to a high of USD97 for one-way economy travel.

According to a Google flight search, Spicejet filed the lowest fare at USD76, but for those who worry about carbon emissions, the flight flagged 13% more kgCO2 when compared with the route’s average of 134 kgCO2.

Vistara and Indigo, both quoting USD97 fares, operated at the average carbon emission level flying the route. AirAsia quoting a USD96 fare, scored a minus 29% carbon emission level when compared with the route average, well below all rivals.

Air India quoted a fare of USD94, but the carbon emission level was the highest of all airlines serving the domestic route at 29% over the average. AirAsia at -29% is the winner when the topic is carbon emission levels and not just a cheap fare.

Qatar first Middle East airline to fly to Bali

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TTR WEEKLY
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DENPASAR, Bali, 31 March 2022: Qatar Airways resumed flights from its Doha home base to Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport earlier this week, ending a two-year absence on the popular leisure travel route.

Bali Sun online news reported the Qatar Airways flight landed last Sunday evening with 222 passengers onboard, marking the first flight by a Middle East airline to Bali since Covid-19 locked down Indonesia in 2020.

Using a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft, the service will deliver Bali-bound to travellers originating from Europe, Africa, Eastern Europe, Europe and the Middle East through the airline’s Doha hub.

Bali Discovery confirmed the airline would operate four flights each week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday returning to Doha on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

According to the airport officials, there are flights from six overseas cities to Bali; Narita (Tokyo), Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, and Doha.”

This week, nine airlines serve the airport: Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines, Jetstar Asia, Scoot, KLM, Malaysia Airlines, Jetstar Airways, Qatar, and AirAsia.

(Source: Bali Discovery)

Thailand tops Agoda searches

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 31 March 2022: Agoda’s latest search data places Thailand top of the global charts as the number one most searched destination for travel in the next six months.

Since last year, the country has seen a steady increase in international visitor traffic, with Agoda search data reflecting a 500% spike in interest in the first quarter of the new year to date. 

Travellers from Japan represent the top source market and the keenest return to Thailand, followed by the US (second) and Singapore (third).

European markets follow closely behind with the UK (4), France (5) and Switzerland (6), while other departure cities in South Korea (7), the Maldives (8), the Philippines (9) and Indonesia (10), round up the top 10.

“While the Thai government has made great efforts to help streamline the booking experience for travellers gearing to get back out there, with Test & Go, Sandbox and Thailand Pass, it can be daunting and time-consuming for international travellers to keep track of these requirements, and the processes needed. That’s why Agoda has worked on integrating its booking data seamlessly to the Thailand Pass platform in order to help travellers upload booking details automatically, reducing the room for human error,” said Agoda Chief Commercial Officer Damien Pfirsch.

Agoda is offered as a check box option on the Thailand Pass application page. Once a user enters their booking ID, the system immediately pulls all data needed and will autofill the application form. Customers will receive instant booking validation and clear instructions on the next steps – helping to speed up the review process.

For more information, visit https://www.agoda.com/thailandreopens.

Agoda Top 10 inbound searches 2022 (1 March – 30 September)

1.     Japan

2.     The United States

3.     Singapore

4.     United Kingdom

5.     France

6.     Switzerland

7.     South Korea

8.     Maldives

9.     Philippines

10.   Indonesia

Top 10 nationalities that travelled to TH since reopening (2021)

1.     USA

2.     Germany

3.     UK

4.     Russia

5.     France

6.     Sweden

7.     Israel

8.     South Korea

9.     Australia

10.   Switzerland

*Data extracted from TH Pass platform

Arabian Travel Market launches 2022 exhibitor awards

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI, 31 March 2022: Arabian Travel Market 2022 exhibitors will pull out all the stops to showcase their business flair as they vie for ATM’s Best Stand Awards 2022.

The awards will recognise the creative design, people skills and the business-friendly appeal of exhibiting companies’ stands at the annual showcase, which will be taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 9 to 12 May 2022.

Arabian Travel Market, Exhibition Director ME Danielle Curtis said: “Arabian Travel Market would not be the huge success it is without the incredible amount of effort and investment that goes into creating and manning the exhibitor stands at the show.

“Since its inception, the award programme has not only recognised exhibitor’s efforts but has also encouraged exciting, fresh and creative stands.”

This year, the five categories will be – Best Stand Design, Best Stand for Doing Business, Best Stand Feature, Best New Stand, Best Stand at ATM Travel Tech, and the People’s Choice Award.

Judging will take place on day two of the show (Tuesday 10 May), with the winners announced on day three (Wednesday 11 May), with the panel comprising journalists and industry speakers, such as Paul Clifford, ITP Hospitality Group Editor and Philip Wooller, Area Director MEA at global hospitality research company STR.

“With more than 2,000 exhibiting companies spread across 10 exhibition halls, the judging panel will have a lot of ground to cover,” added Curtis.

Now in its 29th year and working in collaboration with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) – formerly the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) – ATM show highlights in 2022 will include, among others, a destination summit focused on the key source market of India, as well as Saudi Arabia.

Previously called Travel Forward, the revamped and rebranded ATM Travel Tech event will take place on the ATM Travel Tech Stage, hosting seminars, debates and presentations, as well as the inaugural ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition.

The dedicated ARIVALDubai@ATM forum, meanwhile, will cover current and future trends for tour operators and attractions, focusing on growing business through marketing, technology, distribution, thought leadership and executive-level connections.

ATM will once again play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week, a festival of events dedicated to enabling travel professionals from all over the world to collaborate and shape the recovery of the Middle East travel industry through exhibitions, conferences, breakfast briefings, awards, product launches and networking events.

Dubai’s Sevens Stadium goes greener

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI, UAE, 31 March 2022: Community sports, world-class tournaments, and international teams hosted at The Sevens Stadium are now even more planet-friendly, with the opening of the region’s first and largest solar carport at a sporting facility, owned and managed by the Emirates Group.

Officially launched by Emirates Group Chairman HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the solar carport provides shaded car parking for over 550 vehicles, including four charging lots for electric cars. It will also generate sufficient clean energy to power all of the Stadium’s operations throughout the year, except during the week of the Emirates Dubai 7s when supplementary power will be required for the city’s biggest sporting and lifestyle event.

The new solar carport at the Sevens Stadium is the latest commitment to reducing carbon footprint, in line with Dubai’s vision to transform into a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

The Sevens Stadium’s other environmental initiatives include modern watering systems that utilise non-potable water, a waste reduction which saw 52% of waste generated at the 2021 Emirates Dubai 7s diverted from landfill through recycling, and the use of biodiesel to power events. At the 2021 Emirates Dubai Sevens, nearly 30,000 litres of biodiesel was used to power activity and amenities, including the World Rugby Broadcast, registration and referee tents, changing rooms, the HSBC lounges and ATMs in the village, and the lights and x-ray machines at the main entrance.

The Sevens Stadium hosts an active calendar of community sports which sees over 10,000 people per week during the winter months alone enjoying cricket, football, rugby, netball, and other sports at its various courts, fields and pitches. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, as sport struggled worldwide, The Sevens Stadium safely and successfully hosted international teams and events such as Olympic preparation training and matches, two editions of the Emirates Dubai 7s tournaments in 2021, and most recently, the Rugby World Cup Qualification Tournament. When the UAE recently hosted the IPL and T20 Cricket World Cup, The Sevens Stadium also played host to a number of the leading cricket teams and countries. www.thesevensstadium.com

For more information visit: www.emirates.com

(Your Stories: Emirates)

UNWTO seeks out best tourism villages

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TTR WEEKLY
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MADRID, 31 March 2022: The Best Tourism Villages awards by the UNWTO  will return for a second year as it seeks to establish itself as the world’s leading network focused on tourism for rural development.

Launched in 2021, Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO promotes the role of tourism in safeguarding rural villages, along with their landscapes, natural and cultural diversity, knowledge systems, and local values and activities, including gastronomy. At the same time, the initiative also promotes transformative approaches to developing tourism in rural destinations that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“All member states are invited to present candidates that are examples of villages working to realize tourism’s unique potential to foster sustainability and create opportunities for all,” said the UNWTO media statement.

The pilot project in 2021 featured 40 villages from more than 30 countries (170 applications) gained recognition as Best Tourism Villages. A further 20 villages were selected to participate in the Upgrade Programme.

UNWTO members states are invited once again to present candidacies through their National Tourism Administrations. Applications will be open until 28 June 2022, and the chosen villages will be announced at the end of the year.

Philippines strengthens tourist security

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TTR WEEKLY
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QUEZON CITY, the Philippines, 31 March 2022: As Philippine tourism gears up for recovery, the Department of Tourism (DOT) joins hands with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to beef up security in tourist destinations.

Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat commented: “We welcome this latest collaboration with our country’s police force and drug enforcement agency to provide greater protection against the illicit trafficking of dangerous drugs in tourist destinations.”

Branded as Tourism Operation Protection Against Illegal Drugs or the TOP-AID, the latest partnership between the DOT, PDEA and PNP is a follow-through to the TOPCOP programme, the tourism security force assisting in maintaining peace and order in areas that attract high tourism traffic. TOPCOP was established in 2011 and has trained 5,457 tourist police and put up 365 Tourist Police Assistance Centers (TPAC) in strategic locations across the country.

Under the new TOP-AID MOA, between the DOT, PDEA and PNP, the parties agree to cooperate and assist in ensuring the safety and security of tourists in DOT identified tourist destinations.

On the part of PDEA, they have agreed to deploy an appropriate workforce to TOP-AID centres in DOT identified tourist destinations.

Tourist assistance and complaint desks will focus on drug-related concerns. They will also lead an information drive on the “Drug-Free Workplace Programme” while assisting in drug clearing operations, including apprehending anyone engaged in illegal drug activities in coordination with the PNP and concerned local government units.

(Source: DOT Philippines)

Amadeus and Microsoft redefine corporate travel

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 31 March 2022: Amadeus, in partnership with Microsoft, is taking the first step to redefining corporate travel through a new online booking and expense management tool; Cytric Travel & Expense.

The Amadeus online booking and expense management tool is now embedded in Microsoft 365 – introducing Cytric Easy. Users can plan trips and share travel details with colleagues without ever leaving their day-to-day applications such as Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Teams. Booking business travel will be faster and easier than ever before:

Travellers can use one app to search, compare or book a hotel, flight, or car rental – without ever leaving Microsoft Teams.

Also in the pipeline, Outlook Calendar Invites will populate relevant data before starting the search process, such as preferred departure location, destination based on meeting location and dates. Flight search results will show recommended options based on flight convenience, price, and users’ preferences (for example, stopover airports to avoid). The shortest, cheapest, and greenest options will be highlighted.

Teams will send users prompts to visualize unassigned receipts, complete their expense reports, and file them on time. All of this will be done using Microsoft’s Single Sign-On service across your workplace ecosystem to access all travel and expense needs.

” With Cytric now embedded into Microsoft 365, toggling between applications will become a thing of the past, leading to improved productivity and easier compliance with travel and expense programmes. Most importantly, this collaboration with Microsoft simplifies decades-old processes that impact departments across finance, procurement, and travel. This is just the first step in our joint vision to transform the travel and expense experience,” says Amadeus Cytric Solutions executive vice resident Rudy Daniello.

Singapore Sevens is back

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 30 March 2022: Following a two-year hiatus, the international rugby Singapore Sevens is happening on 9 and 10 April 2022, marking the spirited revival of the country’s events sector.

Founded in 1976, the original Sevens in Hong Kong hasn’t faired so well. Branded the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, it rescheduled to 4 to 6 November 2022 due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. It had earlier scheduled the Sevens for the first week of April 2022.

In Singapore, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, the official hotel partner for the HSBC Rugby Sevens 2022 confirmed Pan Pacific Singapore would be hosting 16 teams that will compete at the country’s National Stadium.

To celebrate the occasion, the hotel group rolled out a line-up of promotions and savings for all Singapore Sevens ticket-holders at participating properties and dining outlets.

Ticket-holders can stay close to the action at Pan Pacific Singapore, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay and Parkroyal Collection Pickering.

Open for bookings from now to 10 April 2022, Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens 2022 offer includes:

● Up to 28% off the best available room rate;
● Complimentary daily breakfast for one adult, additional breakfast available at a preferential rate;
● 20% savings on total restaurant bill (excluding alcoholic beverages) at participating hotel-operated outlets;
● Access to the hotel’s gym, swimming pool and other recreational facilities;
● Complimentary Internet access;
● Late check-out until 1400, subject to availability.

Emirates takes a look back

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TTR WEEKLY
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DUBAI, UAE, 30 March 2022: In 1992, Emirates decided to install TV screens in all seats across all cabin classes throughout its fleet, a revolutionary move that shaped traveller expectations and the inflight entertainment industry in the UAE for decades to come.

Take a trip down memory lane and watch Emirates’ ad when the airline introduced personal in-seat video systems in all seats back in 1992.

Emirates has not looked back since, constantly introducing new innovations that drove advancements in entertainment and connectivity at 40,000 feet. Large, ultra-high-definition 4k screens with faster and improved Wi-Fi connectivity are among the exciting developments Emirates has planned for its new generation IFE systems that will be delivered with its future fleet on order as the airline continues to improve its inflight offering. Not only that, Emirates is constantly updating its extensive library of content on ice, with over 100 movies and 200 episodes of TV being added each month.

Track the highlights of Emirates’ journey to provide the best inflight entertainment and connectivity experience through this timeline.

Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Retail, IFE & Connectivity, said: “When Emirates introduced personal screens on every seatback in 1992, it was considered a massive industry innovation. Other airlines questioned the sense of this huge investment, estimated at about US$15,000 per seat at that time.

“But we quickly realised that our customers loved being entertained throughout the flight. It made their journeys feel shorter and fostered customer satisfaction and loyalty. Within a year, we were working on expanding the content choice to 20 channels on Emirates’ Boeing 777s, which were to join our fleet in 1995.

“We’ve never stopped improving our product. Emirates is constantly adding the best content from over 40 world regions to ice, our IFE system, and making sure that amazing content is experienced on the largest personal screens in the industry and through quality headphones and audio systems. Emirates has led in the inflight connectivity space, too, from the introduction of satellite phones in 1993 to becoming the first to install systems that enabled mobile phones to be used on aircraft. Today every Emirates aircraft has connectivity – and we have already placed orders for the next generation of connectivity.”

Emirates’ award-winning ice inflight entertainment system, originally launched in 2003 with 500 channels, today offers every passenger over 5,000 channels of on-demand movies, music, TV shows, box sets and documentaries in over 40 languages. The total accumulated hours of entertainment includes over 3,900 hours of movies and TV and over 3,300 hours of music and podcasts. An Emirates passenger would have to fly over 500 times from Dubai to Sydney in order to consume the entire library.

The success of Emirates’ IFE investments and strategy is demonstrated by the loyalty and positive feedback from its customers across all cabin classes, as well as through the numerous industry awards, including ‘Best Inflight Entertainment at the 2022 APEX Passenger Choice Awards, and ‘Skytrax World’s Best Inflight Entertainment’ every year since 2005.

In addition to entertainment, Emirates ice offers a range of other practical features, such as the ability to check the status of your flight while en route; a real-time view of the sky during take-off and landing from cameras that are fixed on the aircraft’s nose, tail and underbelly; a helpful travel guide about Emirates’ hub Dubai; EmiratesRED; the world’s first inflight TV shopping channel; and a range of personal development content including LinkedIn Learning.

Emirates customers can browse the extensive range of content available on ice, create their very own playlist in The Emirates Mobile App, then sync it on board for a more personalised travel experience.

For more information, visit Emirates/inflight-entertainment

(Your Stories: Emirates)

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