Top Stories

Maharashtra Tourism woos tourism industry in Milan-Italy Maharashtra Tourism has created several milestones to bring Maharashtra on the world map of Travel and Tourism industry. A road show was organised at Indian Embassy Hall in Berlin for promotion of Maharashtra Tourism amongst the travel trade and media fraternity of Western Europe present in Berlin. And after the event of ITB 2014 was concluded, the delegates of Government of Maharashtra and MTDC travelled further to Milan, Italy and organised a road show in Milan on 11th March 2014 for the travel trade and media based in Milan and surrounding areas. Though Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) regularly participates in this event as a Coinciding with the ITB on 6th March a Road Show was organized with the support of Indian Embassy in Berlin. MTDC had invited about 60 Travel Agents and Tour Operators promoting India and about 70 electronic and print media. Inaugural speech was delivered by Indian Ambassador His Excellency Vijay Gokhale... Read more

Above average growth forecast for travel biz following a slow 2013 The year 2014 is expected to be a year of above-average growth for Travel & Tourism in India to counteract a weak performance for domestic travel in 2013. That is according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which has unveiled its Annual Economic Impact Data and forecasts for India. WTTC is the global authority on the economic and social impact of the Travel & Tourism Industry. WTTCs Annual Economic Impact Report 2014 for India shows Travel & Tourisms economic contribution is expected to grow by 7.3% this year, outperforming the general economy by 2.5 percentage points. Revenues gained from domestic tourism rose by 5.1% in 2013 and is expected to increase by 8.2% in 2014. The amount that International visitors spent in India rose by 6.2% in 2013 but is forecast to slow to a 2.9% growth rate in 2014... Read more

Domestic News

TripAdvisor announces 2014 Travelers Choice Awards for Beaches TripAdvisor has announced the winners of its Travelers Choice Awards for Beaches. This year the awards have recognized more than 322 beachesglobally and 25 beaches from India, including top lists for Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, the South Pacific, the US and India. India ranks 2nd after Thailand as the country with most number of winning beaches in Asia with 6 beaches having made it to the list. Thailand leads the way with 8 winning beaches... Read more

Starwood Hotels offers Book a Group & Choose Your Rewards Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the worlds largest luxury and upper-upscale hotel operator, announced its latest meetings offer Book a Group and Choose Your Rewards. Meetings and event planners can now choose their own rewards when they book a meeting at more than 200 participating hotels across the Asia-Pacific. The offer includes giving the meetings and events planners an enticing bonus of 1,000 Starpoints for every 10 room nights booked (up to a maximum of 100,000 Starpoints)... Read more

Impresa Hospitality reaffirms presence in QSR segment Impresa Hospitality that owns and controls several top-notch chains of restaurants and bars in India has announced a strategic partnership with Unilazer Ventures. Unilazer Ventures will now own an approximate 40% stake in Impressa Hospitalitys Maroosh. Maroosh, a unique concept restaurant that caters to a tantalising combination of authentic Lebanese and Indian cuisine has been touted as one of Indias fastest growing restaurant chains in the Quick Service Restaurants space and in a short span has managed to capture a substantial share of the market in India... Read more

ixigo revamps trip planner ixigo.com, Indias leading travel planning & search engine, has announced a major revamp to its trip planner product with some great content and social features. Announcing the revamp, Aloke Bajpai, CEO & Co-Founder said - Thanks to the ever-expanding content coverage on trip planner and our unbundled approach to solving specific travel use cases on mobile apps, we have registered a 2x year-on-year growth. We now have over 2.5 million active users every month and have seen almost 2.5 million app downloads across our 5 apps. We think this is just the beginning!... Read more

Keys Hotels launches Keys Hotel, Temple tree at Shirdi Keys Hotels, one of the fastest growing mid-market hotel chains in India is all set to launch its first hotel in the pilgrim destination segment. Launching in March 2014, Keys Hotel Templetree at Shirdi will be Keys Hotels 5th hotel in Maharashtra. Located in close proximity to the Sai Baba Temple complex, this 87-roomed property will offer the guests a wide range of business services including complimentary Wi-Fi, making it ideal for pilgrims and business travelers alike. Apart from offering 2 kinds of suites; Keys Hotel, Templetree is the only hotel in Shirdi which offers rooms specially designed to the needs of the differently-abled and single women. The hotel will also boost travel to other important religious destinations like Shani Shignapur, Trimbakeshwar near Nasik, Sakuri near Rahata and the hill station of Bhandardara.... Read more

Waterstones Hotel launches 'Luxuriously Hers' In every woman there is a queenWaterstones Hotel personifies this Old Norwegian phrase with its newly launched Luxurious Hers package. Designed with precision, the package has been customised to furnish every desire and need of the divas staying at this tranquil heaven called the Waterstones Hotel. Tucked away in a quiet corner of the chaotic Mumbai, Waterstones Hotel is a quiet paradise that marries the care and details of a boutique hotel with the comforts and luxuries of a 5 star to present you with the getaway you truly deserve... Read more

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Hotels & Tourism Newsletter March 17 to 21, 2014