COVER STORY New Indian airports on track to match global standards Most new international airports are modern, with world-class infrastructure; more along the lines of an aerotropolis. People want airports in India to be on par with modern facilities outside the country ...read more>>    ON RECORD Asia Pacific Region: Latest traffic reports for March 2008 International passenger load factors are under increasing pressure in the Asia Pacific region, according to latest traffic reports for Mar-08 ...read more>>    IN CONVERSATION Cyrus Guzder, Honorary Consul General of Ireland speaks about Ireland as an upcoming tourist destination and its offerings for Indians ...read more>>    DESTINATION INSIGHT Pulsating Pattaya: Beach Destination & More Pattaya is one of those destinations in Thailand, which fails to fade from a visitor’s memory and also beckons one who hasn’t been here. Pattaya has transformed from a rustic fishing village into a beach destination with a wide spectrum of offerings for all categories of tourists ...read more>>    GUEST COLUMN The new potential segment in India By Om Prakash Sahgal, Director, Inorbit Tours ...read more>>    FOCAL POINT S-T-O-P Trash Tourism How do we rate in international tourist arrivals? Pathetic. We claim an inflow of four million last year against China’s 49.1 million ...read more>> www.travelbizmonitor.com This Week's Top Headlines Kuoni’s Marhaba Services in China and Russia by early 2009   Marhaba Services, part of Kuoni Travel Group is planning to start their operations in China and Russia by early next year. Currently offered in Dubai as Dubai Marhaba Services, the company provides visa services, meet at greet services  ...read more>>   NE to be connected through a dedicated air operator   Tenders for a dedicated air operator to service the North East Region are expected to be issued in a month or two. The air operator will connect all major cities in the region and will set up a hub preferably in Guwahati    ...read more>>   Dubai-based Lama Desert Tours & Cruises plans foray in Indian hospitality sector   Among the host of major international hotel players entering the Indian market, is Dubai based-travel company Lama Desert Tours & Cruises (L.L.C), which is planning to start its first property in India by 2010  ...read more>>   Visa on Arrival on the anvil for 18 countries   The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is working at obtaining Visa on Arrival for 18 countries and is currently in deliberations with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the same. This is a first-time initiative by the MoT to relax the visa process with the main objective of  ...read more>>   TAAI to launch Nagpur Chapter by November 2008   The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has recently introduced the Nagpur City Committee. With about 16 IATA and associate agents along with four live agents, the Committee at present comprises of 20 members. With the inclusion of 10 more members by June 2008...read more>>   Kesari Tours introduces Forex division   Kesari Tours Pvt. Ltd. introduced its Forex arm named ‘Kesari Forex’ in Mumbai recently. Focusing on the Mumbai sector, the company will be introducing its services in Pune by early May 2008. “For Kesari, Pune is the second potential market after  ...read more>>   Trail Blazer Tours India goes global   Trail Blazer Tours (I) Pvt Ltd, a Delhi based tour operator recently opened offices overseas in locations like Korea, Australia, Canada, America and Paris to promote inbound traffic to India. The company already has a strong base in inbound tourism with good business coming from  ...read more>>   ITB Asia to focus on MICE and business travel   Messe Berlin, in its debut exhibition in Asia, will focus on MICE and business travel. The exhibition is scheduled for October 22 to 24, 2008 at Singapore. Talking exclusively to TravelBiz Monitor, Martin Buck, Vice President, Travel and Logistics, Messe Berlin said that  ...read more>>     AP plans road shows to promote state as venue for PATA Travel Mart 2008   Andhra Pradesh tourism is all set to cash in on the lucrative Medical Tourism sector and lure inbound, as well as domestic tourists to the state. Though the state tourism board (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, APTDC) is actively promoting   ...read more>>     Delhi Airport sets up Airport Operations & Command Centre   Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) set up a state-of-the-art Airport Operation Command Centre (AOCC) in the old ATC tower at the domestic terminal recently. The AOCC has been set up to streamline airport operations and maximise efficiency of available resources  ...read more>>     This e-newsletter has been sent since you are part of Travel Biz Monitor Magazine's subscriber list. If you wish to unsubscribe, please send UNSUBSCRIBE as a reply to this e-mail.