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 COVERSTORY

Paving the Way into 2009 - Global Trends
The New Year has been ushered in. TravelBiz Monitor with the help of WTM Global Trends Report 2008, in association with Euromonitor International, identifies the next generation of trends in the travel and tourism industry which offer a diverse range of opportunities worldwide
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 IN CONVERSATION
‘Despite challenges Indian tourism is constantly expanding’
Analysing the Indian tourism market which saw challenges like worldwide economic crisis and terror attacks in 2008, Leena Nandan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India, tells Khushboo Sahrawat about the new marketing strategies and initiatives in store to boost the ever-resilient Indian tourism figures.
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 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder, Yatra.com
“If I become a millionaire, I would buy a micro brewery and a super bike,” confesses Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder, Yatra.com, one of India’s popular online portal. Anita Jain gets this lover of chocolate to share few interesting facts of his professional and personal life
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 MARKETING STRATEGY

Kesari: Doing it differently
Innovation in tours, packages and segments has helped Kesari Tours Pvt. Ltd. break new ground. TravelBiz Monitor examines the tactics behind the success story
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 ON RECORD
Country Brand Index 2008
The Country Brand Index produced for 2008 by FutureBrand is a global study that ranks countries as brands and assesses opportunities, insights and findings related to nation branding. Destination and city branding have become more widespread as well; even regions have started looking for ways to harness the power of their brands, which is more critical in this time of global economic crisis.
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This Week's Top Headlines
Singapore Airlines woos travel trade with incentives to withdraw boycott decision
  Singapore Airlines (SQ), which has been hit by the withdrawal of support by the travel trade, is now offering incentive packages to select travel agents, to woo them to sell its tickets and withdraw their ...read more>>
   
Tourism Authority of Thailand unveils new website
  Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently launched its website amazingthailand.co.in at a function in the capital. According to Anurag Bhagat, Business Director, Indigo Systems & Technology Consulting ...read more>>
   
India sees six to eight per cent increase in foreign tourist arrivals in 2008
  According to initial figures prepared by Ministry of Tourism (MoT) there has been six to eight per cent increase in foreign tourist arrivals in 2008 compared to 2007. As reported in today’s Economic Times (ET), last year ...read more>>
   
Air India launches ‘free travel for spouse’ scheme on select domestic routes
  According to a Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) report, Air India last month (December 31, 2008) introduced a new scheme called ‘free travel for spouse’ on domestic sectors on an Executive-class ticket ....read more>>
Fare cut unlikely on international routes: Jet Airways
  Jet Airways which cut domestic fares up to 40 per cent last month said that it has no plans to slash fares on international routes. “We don’t have any proposal right now to cut fares on our international routes,” said A.K. Sivanandan, General Manager- Public Relations, Jet Airways ....read more>>
   
Govt of Punjab hires international consultants from UNWTO to develop tourism in the state
  To develop tourism in the state, the Government of Punjab has hired services of international consultants from UNWTO who are currently in the state conducting their research work. At the end of their study ...read more>>
   
Brahma Resorts to come up with five-star property in Almora
  Brahma Resorts Pvt Ltd will open a five-star resort hotel in Almora area of Uttarakhand soon. This will be the first five-star property in the area. According to Lalit K Joshi, Chairman, Brahma Resorts, the ...read more>>
   
ATOAI convention aims to promote Uttarakhand as Adventure Tourism state
  The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) will be organising its convention between 16-18th of this month at Pacific Hotel Dehradun in Uttarakhand. B C Khanduri, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand ...read more>>
   
Haryana Tourism Corporation to promote Ecotourism in a big way
  Haryana Tourism Corporation is set to promote Ecotourism in the state in a big way. For the same, the Corporation has initiated a special drive to improve infrastructure at Sultanpur Lake, famous for migratory birds ...read more>>
   
World's first aeroplane hotel ready for take-off at Stockholm Airport
  An abandoned jumbo jet at Sweden's biggest airport will open this month as the world's first aeroplane hotel. According to report in The Independent (UK) by Stina Backer, the "Jumbo Hostel" – a disused Boeing 747 at ...read more>>
   
Kingfisher Airlines slashes air fares between 21 to 65 per cent effective January 1, 2009
  According to a PTI report, Kingfisher Airlines announced yesterday in Bangalore that it has slashed its air fares between 21 per cent and 65 per cent on various routes across its network effective January 1, 2009 ....read more>>
   
The Atria Hotel in Bangalore to be upgraded as a five-star property
  The Atria Hotel at the Palace Road in Bangalore is in the process of upgrading its facilities from four-star category to five-star. The property will be fully functional this year, post the partial renovation and ...read more>>
   
Dubai transfers ownership of Emirates, Dnata to IDC
  The government of Dubai has transferred ownership of Emirates Airline and air travel services firm Dnata to state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), according a recent release from Emirates Airline ...read more>>
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