Kuoni to get new MD
Posted by admin in General on 03 7th, 2011MUMBAI: India’s biggest travel services firm Kuoni is set to witness a change at the top as it seeks to grow in the country. Rajiv Duggal, 45, a veteran travel and hospitality professional, will take over from Zubin Karkaria as MD of Kuoni India in the next two months.
Duggal joins Kuoni from rival TUI India, where he is currently its COO. Karkaria, who has been at the helm for the last six years, will become the chairman. Besides, Karkaria will be the MD of the Swiss multinational’s visa services company, VFS Global, which handles visa applications for US, UK, Canada and Australia. The recast is being undertaken to sharpen its focus on the growing tourism and outsourcing consular business.Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Cox Kings and other tour operators are rushing to expand their presence in the country, where a growing economy, increasing disposable income and a large number of domestic and international tourists are driving demand for travel services. Nearly six million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2010, a growth of 9.3% over the previous year.
Zurich-based Kuoni entered the Indian market in 1996 by acquiring SOTC, then a foremost outbound tour operator and since then it has grown to be country’s largest travel services firm with revenues of nearly Rs 2,400 crore.
Kuoni has built its business to a large extent inorganically, snapping up Sita World Travel, Tour Club and Distant Frontiers. Over the years it realigned its portfolio and sold its foreign exchange money-changing unit to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital. It was also looking to sell corporate travel arm, Hogg Robinson Sita or HRG Sita in 2008 but because of valuation issues it dropped the plan.
At one point, Kuoni India was looking to list on the bourses and its parent had also approved the share-sale proposal to dilute 25% of its equity. But unfavourable market conditions in the early 2000s forced the company to put its plan in cold storage. Its rivals, Cox Kings and Thomas Cook (India) are listed on the stock exchanges. The former tapped the market in 2009, while Thomas Cook made its first public issue in February 1983.
read comments (0)India Tours & Travel: Topmost India Travel Summer Destinations,…
Posted by admin in General on 03 7th, 2011
Summers are knocking on the doors of India. However, in terms of travel, there are some states, which have been chosen as the topmost tourist destinations. (Courtesy: Outlook Traveler, February 2011 edition).
India is a land where diversity reigns supreme at every step. Be it any type of travel, Indian vicinities are richer than imagined. In fact, that is what makes it travel friendly; however opting for the right tour packages is direly required.
For the purpose, there are some destinations, which travelers must know in order to strike the best travel deal in India. We are here presenting some states that have been decided by the readers of Outlook Traveler Magazine, one of the best travel textual guides in the hands of the travelers.
As we go by the statistics, we find that Himachal Pradesh has been preferred by 23% of people thus making it the topmost summer destination. In fact, there are many opportunities where you can beat the summer heat in the vicinities of Himachal Pradesh. Being one of the topmost hilly areas, it gives an access to involve in fun laden activities and do a lot more than imagined.
Next is the Kashmir. Bagging 17% votes of the readers, it is simply one of the most beautiful places in India. Without a tad of doubt, it is the best place to be in; however it is advisable to glance through the travel advice before venturing into this magnificent piece of land. This is primarily due to terrorism that crept in its society. Darjeeling got 14%, Ladakh 12%, Munnar 10%, Coorg 9%, Nilgiris 8%, Sikkim 6%, an Uttarakhand 4% of votes thus making it the most preferred summer destinations of 2011 respectively.
For more Information Visit www.visittnt.com
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation,
or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.
No comments yet.
<!–
RSS feed for comments on this post.
TrackBack URI
–>
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: a href="" title="" abbr title="" acronym title="" b blockquote cite="" cite code del datetime="" em i q cite="" strike strong
Official: Tour agencies should pay deposits
Posted by admin in General on 03 7th, 2011A leader in the Hong Kong tourism industry has proposed that travel agencies pay deposit fees that will be set aside to compensate tourists harmed by abuses such as forced shopping, which subjects travelers to high-pressure sales techniques.
Lo Sui-on, executive director with China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Ltd, said recent disputes between Hong Kong tour guides and mainland travelers have roused concerns over the growth of the tourism industry.
“It is definitely a blow to Hong Kong’s tourism brand, but we think the scandal also has a good side, since we need ways to deal with these cheap tours,” said Lo, who is in Beijing for the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC).
Last month, a Hong Kong tour guide fought with tourists in Hong Kong, four of whom suffered injuries bad enough that they were sent to a hospital. That followed a July 2010 case, in which a Hong Kong tour guide was caught on video berating a busload of mainland tourists.
Both altercations came about for the same reason: The travelers had declined to spend money at Hong Kong jewelry shops.
Before 2001, only four travel agencies in the mainland were permitted to arrange trips to Hong Kong for mainlanders, Lo said. But as the mainlanders grow wealthier, an increasing number of businesses have appeared to cater to their wanderlust.
Lo estimated that there are now more than 100 travel agencies in the same business. He said the resulting competition has led to lower prices for trips to Hong Kong. The current offerings include free-of-charge tours or even negative-charge tours.
“As a result, these businesses cannot make a profit on these low-charge tours unless some shopping occurs,” Lo said. “Some agencies have even built their own shopping malls in Hong Kong. The commission rates can reach up to 60 percent for tour guides.”
He said the proposed deposit fees, which would be charged to travel agencies, would act as a restraint on both the behavior of trip organizers and tour guides.
Hong Kong welcomed a record 36 million visitors in 2010, 21.8 percent more than in the previous year. Nearly 26 million of the travelers hailed from the mainland, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced in January.
But only 2 million of those mainland visitors were taken on their trips by representatives of travel agencies, according to Lo. He noted that the Individual Visit Scheme , which allows mainland travelers to visit Hong Kong on their own, was introduced in 2003. Since then, travel agencies have become less important to the Hong Kong tourism industry.
“In the long run, it is Hong Kong’s business reputation, shopping environment and service quality that will keep the city’s travel industry vigorous,” said Lo.
Source: China Daily
Halong from on high
Posted by admin in General on 03 6th, 2011
Halong Bay is the jewel in Vietnam’s tourism crown, a stunning geological formation that captivates even the most travel weary and jaded of visitors. Most people usually take a cruise around the bay. You can choose one or two night trips to enjoy the mesmerising scenery and discover wonderful coves and islets or simply enjoy the views from the top deck of your boat. As a repeat visitor I wouldn’t say I’m tired of Halong, but I was certainly eager to discover another side of the UNESCO World Heritage Site when a friend told me about the Luxury Travel Company’s helicopter tour.
This would be a great opportunity to fly over the bay and enjoy a bird’s eye view of the limestone karst islets which, according to legend are the shards of diamond and jade, that were spat out by a family of dragons sent from heaven to help protect Vietnam from foreign invaders. I was so excited at the prospect of climbing into a helicopter, I could hardly sleep the night before. But as the morning drew closer I started to get increasingly nervous. What if, I am scared of heights? Having never scaled any cliff faces, or jumped out of an airplane, how would I know? Morning departure I begin to suffer vertigo even before I arrive at Gia Lam Airport, 5km from downtown Hanoi, where I am to meet my tour guide and the helicopter crew. The flight departs at 8.30am. Still slightly anxious, I reassure myself that by flying to Halong Bay I’m at least avoiding the long, rather dangerous road from Hanoi to Haiphong. Halong is normally more than a three-hour drive but via helicopter we expect to arrive in 45 minutes. Our guide informs us that the Russian MI-17 helicopter seats 24 people and will reach an altitude of 300m. We are also in luck; the sky is clear and blue, a perfect day for flying. We set off and everyone is immediately glued to the windows and we see vast, beautiful rice fields pass below us. The Red River looks like a long snake winding its way through a terracotta garden. Tran Van Huong, the captain, informs us that because a helicopter flies slower and lower than a jet, there is less chance that people will feel sick while taking off or landing. The helicopter is quite large and comfortable, but being a military chopper, there is no air- conditioning, just fans. We are told we can visit the cockpit and talk with the four-member crew or, rather, shout at the crew –it is hard to make yourself heard above the throbbing engines! The whole package The Northern Serviced Flight Company, who operate the helicopter, also offer trips to Sapa in Lao Cai province and Dien Bien Phu, but tourists currently seem to prefer Halong Bay. The whole tour with Luxury Travel includes a cruise on a junk as well as a helicopter tour over the bay, plus transfer from Hanoi and back by chopper. Halong Bay is certainly spectacular from the helicopter – it’s as perfect as a painting: the white sandy coves, the thick green forest, the rugged mountains and the jagged karsts jutting out of the emerald water.
I snap as many pictures as I can before the chopper lands at a heliport on General Giap Hill (named after General Vo Nguyen Giap as you might guess) Who knows when I will be 200m above Halong Bay again? The chopper lands smoothly and we are back down on earth. Everyone is buzzing after the trip and I almost feel sad it’s over. We are driven from the heliport to Bai Chay harbour, where boats and junks have gathered to meet the hundreds of tourists arriving from Hanoi. I can’t help but swagger a little smugly past the tired looking tourists clambering out of the buses and mini-vans thinking, I came by helicopter and I feel great! Coming by chopper I got to sleep in longer and had plenty of room on board.
For once, I am actually refreshed and energised as we set off to explore the caves and beaches around Halong. Later on we grab kayaks and paddle around, visiting floating aquaculture farms and beaches. On previous trips I was often slumped in a chair, too tired and stiff to do anything else, but today I am up for everything. We enjoy a lavish seafood lunch on board and everyone is still in high spirits, reflecting on the amazing trip. It’s a little clichéd to say “this was unforgettable” but that’s how we felt! After lunch the junk returns to port before we again climb on board the helicopter and set off for the capital where we arrive at 2.30pm. It’s hard to believe we still have the whole afternoon ahead of us!
Firm offers trip to ‘New Egypt’
Posted by admin in General on 03 6th, 2011— While most travel companies are scrambling to cancel or postpone tours to the Middle East, a Seattle tour operator is organizing a late-March trip to what she calls the “New Egypt.” Stops will include protest sites in Cairo and Alexandria and meetings with people who were at Tahrir Square during the days leading up to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
Rita Zawaideh, owner of Caravan-Serai Tours, a company specializing in Mideast travel, is organizing the trip, March 26-April 5.
The trip will include visits to the usual tourist sites and a Nile cruise.
Jordanian-born Zawaideh founded the Arab-American Community Coalition of Seattle after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and often is recognized for her relief and humanitarian work with Middle Easterners living in the United States.
Caravan-Serai leads small-group tours to countries in the Middle East, including Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
A U.S. State Department travel warning is still in place advising U.S. citizens to avoid all nonessential travel in Egypt. British officials lifted their advisory recently, saying it’s now safe to travel to Cairo, Alexandria and other parts of Egypt.
Caravan-Serai’s tour will be led by Maha Sarhan, an Egyptian who has lived in the U.S. since the 1990s.
Meetings are planned with Amal Winter, an Egyptian-American psychologist spending the academic year in Cairo as a visiting professor at the American University. The group also will meet with Jere Bacharach, professor emeritus in the University of Washington’s history department, who is an expert on Middle Eastern affairs.
Cost of the land portion of the tour is $975 per person for two people sharing and $1,505 for single occupancy, plus airfare. More details at caravan-serai.com.
