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| Trail Blazer Tours India Private Limited |
July 2010 |
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 TBi welcomes Dawn Princess at Cochin & Mumbai
Dawn Princess with 1600 passengers on board called at the ports of Cochin on 8th June and Mumbai on 10th June 2010. TBi provided regular city excursions to the visitors. 134 passengers enjoyed an overland tour Cochin / Delhi / Agra / Delhi / Mumbai from 8th to 10th June
It is not very often that cruise ships visit Cochin & Mumbai ports in the month of June which is Monsoon season in India. There were a few challenges with the logistics but we are pleased to report that all arrangements were to the shore excursion team’s expectations and they gave us high ratings for our services.
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| Airlines |
 A380 set to arrive in India
To celebrate the launch of the new Terminal 3 at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport – New Delhi, Emirates has commissioned a special commercial service of the 517-seat A380 offering passengers flying from Delhi to Dubai a one-off opportunity to experience the aircraft’s grandeur, not to mention its luxurious onboard amenities. Emirates will be the first international carrier in Indian Civil Aviation history to bring the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 at the newly opened terminal at the IGI Airport in New Delhi
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Kingfisher Airlines to join Oneworld
 India’s Kingfisher Airlines has become a member elect of Oneworld after completing a formal membership agreement with the airline alliance. A key condition for Oneworld inviting Kingfisher Airlines to join has already been met – with India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation granting approval for the carrier to become part of the alliance.
A team of experts from British Airways, Kingfisher Airlines’ Oneworld sponsor, mentoring and supporting it through its joining programme and the central Oneworld team has already set the process in motion and Kingfisher Airlines has passed Oneworld’s safety audit.
The next step in building links takes place shortly, with the opening of the new international passenger terminal at New Delhi, when all the alliance’s six carriers serving the Indian capital will share Kingfisher Airlines’ new premium passenger lounge there.
Individual members of Oneworld have started developing bilateral co-operation with Kingfisher Airlines. British Airways has reached an agreement to code share with its new Indian partner.
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Finnair to fly daily on Delhi-Helsinki route later this year
 Finnair will increase its services on the Delhi-Helsinki route from six flights per week at present to daily flights beginning later this year. The airline recently deployed an all-new fleet on this sector, after it recorded a growth in the load factor. The new aircraft is barely six-month-old. In addition, the airline is also looking at resuming services to Mumbai and expanding its network to new destinations like Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
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Air India to fly on Delhi-Seoul route from August 1, 2010
Air India will add South Korea’s capital city Seoul to its routes this summer. The airline will deploy a wide-body B-777 aircraft to fly passengers four times a week between the two cities, via Hong Kong from August 1, 2010. In addition, the airlines, has announced the launch of its direct daily flights from Melbourne to Delhi from late October/early November this year. The service also marks the recommencement of Air India’s services to Australia after nearly a decade.
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| Hotels |
Carlson completes acquisition of key Indian partner
 Carlson, the privately-owned, global hospitality and travel company, has completed the acquisition of a majority interest in RHW Hotel Management Services Ltd (RHW). Carlson now owns 87% of RHW which is a leading hotel management and consultancy services company in India that has successfully managed Carlson-branded hotels in the country since 1998.
This acquisition follows Carlson’s recent announcement that it has signed agreements to open 75 Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM, Park Inn and Park Plaza hotels in Asia Pacific by 2013. Over 50 of these hotels under development are in India. This year, of the 18 hotels that Carlson plans to open across Asia Pacific, 15 of the hotels will be in India.
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| What's New |
 Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurates world-class terminal at IGI Airport New Delhi
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the swanky, world-class Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the National Capital, saying it signaled the arrival of new India, committed to join the ranks of modern, industrialized nations of the world.
Dr. Singh said T3, built in just 37 months at a cost of about Rs. 100 billion has established new global benchmarks and that it “proves the success of the Public-Private Partnership model in execution of large infrastructure projects.
Sprawling over an area of 5.4 million square feet, the new terminal building is said to be the world’s sixth largest. While international operations from T3 will begin from July 14, domestic operations will start from July 31.
Describing the aviation sector as vital to India’s sustained economic growth, he said that it plays a major role in generating tourist flow, accelerating industrial development, creating new jobs and integrating the country.
“In a span of a few years, India has become the 9th largest aviation market in the world,” the Prime Minister said.
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 Kerala Travel Mart 2010 from September 23 to 26, 2010
The 2010 edition of the biennial Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2010 will be held from September 23rd to 26th at the Bolgatty Palace Convention Centre in Kochi. KTM will have 240 stalls, 110 tables and mooring facility for 16 houseboats. Unlike the previous edition, the event this time would have more flamboyance and the total area for the travel mart would increase by 20 percent.
Kerala Travel Mart is the premier travel mart of Kerala and its 2010 edition expects about 400 international buyers from countries like Poland, Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, U.K., Germany, France and those from countries in South Asia.
KTM is primarily a buyer-seller meet where buyers fall in the categories of tour operators, travel agents, airline, event managers, travel writers, media personnel or anyone who has the potential to buy services that the tourism industry of Kerala has to offer.
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Code of Conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism unveiled by Tourism Minister
 Code of Conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism was unveiled by Ms. Kumari Selja, India’s Tourism Minister in New Delhi: “To leverage the burgeoning global travel and trade and in keeping with the Indian tourism industry’s objective of positioning India as a global tourism brand, the Ministry of Tourism has strategically outlined in its policy the central principle of, ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (Guest is God). The commitment of Indian tourism is to ensure that every tourist in India is physically invigorated, mentally rejuvenated, culturally enriched and spiritually elevated.
Indian tourism will follow international standards of safe tourism practices, applicable for both tourists and local people and communities who may be impacted by tourism in some way.
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MOT mulls strategic plan for next 5-years
The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is all set to finalize a strategic policy for the next five years, after elaborate brain storming sessions with all the stakeholders in the travel trade. The agenda was to leverage Incredible India brand by undertaking a market and product specific approach in the next five years. The new strategy will facilitate destination India’s transition to becoming a destination for 365 days in a year for long, medium and short haul vacations.
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US President Barack Obama wants “Obama Platter” at ITC’s Bukhara Restaurant
Bilateral deals and international issues apart, US President Barack Obama will have an important culinary agenda when he travels to India in November this year. He is not only eager to savour the ‘Hillary Platter’ — the dish Bukhara restaurant at ITC’s Maurya hotel in New Delhi created for the Secretary of State — he also wants an ‘Obama Platter’ named after him.
As Obama greeted the gathered guests with Namaste he wondered if the Hillary platter had “chapatti”, amidst laughter at a reception hosted by Clinton in honour of External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna. Someone from the audience suggested to Obama that he must try it when he visits India. “I will try that plate,” Obama responded. “... and I intend to create an Obama Platter.”
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