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Dear Friends

Women play an important role in the society and this is an era, where they are taking the strides. Gone are the days

where women had to be empowered as they are now attaining the independent stature. They are doing immensely well even in the pre dominantly male dominated bastions. Mastering all the roles perfectly be it inside or outside the business, they are setting new benchmarks for the people to follow.

In an effort to salute the lady power, TTJ takes you through the journey of successful women in the hospitality and the travel trade industry who have made their mark by dint of their hard work, unconventional approach to establish themselves in a vertical which is ever evolving and constantly fluctuating, unstable, sensitive, intensely competitive and placed in a largely male dominated sector. Get a sneak-peek of what the men of the industry have to say about the female superheroes that they look up to as an inspiration.

Happy reading!!!

Edi

tor’s

Des

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Ravi [email protected]

Travel Trade Journal (TTJ) • Volume 9 • Issue 9 • June 2019

Team Sampan

Editorial and Marketing Office :Sampan Media Pvt. Ltd., B-7/114A, 3rd Floor, Safdarjung Enclave, Near Sukhmani Hospital, New Delhi – 110029 Ph: 9560264443, [email protected]

All information in Travel Trade Journal (TTJ) is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions / views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear.

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Editor & Publisher : Ravi Sharma

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First Bhutan-Thailand friendship drive sets off on epic journey, with TAT as co-organiser

The epic eight-day journey set off from Bangkok on Friday, June 21, and will cover 3,000 km by the time it arrives in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu

on June 28. The route follows the Myanmar-Thailand-India trilateral highway through the three countries before entering Bhutan through Phuentsholing on the Bhutan-India border on Thursday, June 27.

The ‘Bhutan-Thailand Friendship Drive – Connecting Peoples of the Two Kingdoms by Land’ is one of the flagship events commemorating the 30th anniversary in 2019 of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Bhutan. It is also in celebration of the auspicious Royal Coronation in Thailand and reflects both countries’ reverence of the monarchy institution, with Bhutan also having a king.

Eastbound launches Distinct Destinations, strengthens presence in Europe

Through the launch, Eastbound aims to tap the premium individual and group travel segment from mainland Europe, further strengthening Eastbound’s

powerful portfolio of diversified travel services products. The development also marks Eastbound’s consolidation into the luxury group-travel segment. The launch of Distinct Destinations comes off the heels of two other marque launches last year- Eastbound Discoveries and 2hub.travel - cementing the company’s commitment to developing an all-encompassing range of offerings in the travel space.

Commenting on the development, Prrithviraj Singh stated, “Eastbound is charging towards its next level of expansion. The last few years for our group have been particularly exciting with the launch of several specialist brands and Distinct Destinations further fortifies our positioning in the market.”

Two new flights between India and Portugal

Qatar Airways and Emirates recently announced their recent launch of new year round services between Portugal and India.

Qatar Airways will start its new route from its global network from Doha to the captial of Portugal- Lisbon. There will be seven times weekly services in summer 2019 and five times weekly service in winter 2019/2020 between Doha and Lisbon from June 24, 2019.

Porto will become Emirates’ second destination in Portugal after its capital, Lisbon, which the airline currently serves with two flights a day. There will be four times weekly services by Emirates between Dubai and Porto which will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from July 2, 2019.

Mumbai welcomes RwandAir with direct flights to Guangzhou thrice a week

GVK Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) welcomed WB500 RwandAir’s inaugural flight from Mumbai (BOM) – Guangzhou (CAN) –

Mumbai (BOM). The direct service from Mumbai to Guangzhou will be available to passengers thrice a week starting today.

Cox & Kings posts Q4 net profit of `1,388.84 cr

Travel firm Cox & Kings has reported a consolidated net profit of `1,388.84

crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The company had posted a net loss after taxes and share of profit/loss of associates of `53.36 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Cox & Kings said in a filing to BSE. Consolidated total income from operations of the company stood at `1,262.89 crore for the quarter under consideration. It was `1,214.04 crore for the same period year ago. “Our focus on the right segment in each business has led to profitable growth during the quarter and we plan to sharpen our focus further to improve future quality of earnings,” Cox and Kings Group CEO Peter Kerkar said.

Rove At The Park opens doors to a thrilling

lifestyle experience in Dubai Parks & Resorts

Rove Hotels, a contemporary midscale hotel brand, has opened its sixth hotel

in Dubai – Rove At The Park – in Dubai Parks and Resorts, the largest integrated theme park destination in the region. As the opening offer, guests can stay at Rove At The Park for only AED199 per night inclusive of two tickets to Dubai Parks and Resorts.

The hotel has 579 comfortably sized rooms and interconnecting family rooms, making it an ideal choice for families and groups. Guests at Dubai Parks and Resorts can access more than 100 fun and adrenaline-packed rides and attractions spread across Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai, Legoland Dubai and Legoland Water Park. This is in addition to free access to themed zones, street ambiance and numerous shops and restaurants at Riverland Dubai.

Air Seychelles elevates its in-flight entertainment viewing platform with

‘seyStream’

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles has announced that the airline will introduce its new in-flight wireless

streaming entertainment system across its A320neo and A320ceo aircraft effective August 1, 2019. The new entertainment system branded as ‘seyStream’ will be accessible via guests’ personal device including smartphones, laptops and tablets. Guest will need to use their headsets when streaming the entertainment platform.

Remco Althuis CEO of Air Seychelles said, “As part of our commitment to offer guests greater choice when travelling, we are delighted to introduce ‘seyStream’, our new wireless streaming in-flight entertainment platform across our entire fleet and network as from August 1.

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ITC Bengal announces the launch of super premium Luxury Hotel ITC Royal

ITC announced the inauguration of its new

super-premium luxury hotel in Kolkata – the ITC Royal Bengal. Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal Shreemati Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the iconic hotel. The 456 keys ITC Royal Bengal is ITC Hotel’s 14th luxury collection hotel in India and is a befitting tribute

to the timeless traditions and royal heritage of Bengal, which has been ITC’s headquarters for over 100 years. Built with an investment of nearly `1400 crore, the ITC Royal Bengal will redefine Kolkata’s hospitality landscape making it a preferred destination for global MICE tourism and other large events.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts signs new

hotel in Udaipur

Sarovar Hotels and Resorts continue to strengthen its presence in

Rajasthan with the signing of another hotel in Udaipur. Seasons Sarovar Portico, will be Sarovar’s first hotel in Udaipur and seventh in the state after marking presence in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Seasons Sarovar Portico is scheduled to welcome guests by September 2019. The hotel will offer 60 well-appointed rooms including suites, planned to open in two phases.

Commenting on the development, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said, “We are happy to expand our presence further in the state of Rajasthan. The city attracts a lot of domestic and international travellers for sight-seeing, weddings, business and we look forward to tapping the growing market.”

Serena Hotels Tanzania introduces new healing

Earth Spa Concept

Serena Hotels Tanzania announces the introduction of new Healing

Earth Spa concept offered across their entire spa offering in Tanzania. The Healing Earth Spa concept was officially introduced on June 1, 2019 exclusively customised for Tanzania properties with the/an aim of giving guests authentic holistic spa treatments with products

that are sourced from Africa’s rich natural resources.

Healing Earth developed a powerful spa concept for Serena Tanzania taking into consideration each property’s needs as well as the brand’s ethos to protect the people, environment and wildlife in which it operates. Additionally, a thoughtfully crafted transformative spa menu was developed to offer the highest level of personalisation. All the Healing Earth products are free from synthetic fragrances, colorants, petro chemicals, preservatives and parabens.

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) launches its direct flight linking Baku to New Delhi

Backed by its core philosophy to provide strong regional network

coverage, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), the flag carrier and largest airline of the country of Azerbaijan today scaled yet another new height by launching its direct flight linking Baku to New Delhi. The news comes in the wake of Azerbaijan’s robust customer-friendly strategy to offer greater connectivity from India to Baku, thereby saving time and enhancing comfort for its esteemed passengers. With the launch of this service, flight will be departing from Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It will be scheduled every Wednesday and Saturday starting from 26 June, 2019 arriving in Baku at Terminal 1 of the Heydar Aliyev International

Airport. Air tickets can be booked online through the offices of AZAL’s official agents. Importantly, tourist visa for Azerbaijan can be obtained online through evisa.gov.az/en. In India, Moxie Hospitality India Pvt. Ltd. is the appointed GSA for AZAL.

Commenting on this new milestone, Jamil Manizade, Director of Azerbaijan Airlines remarked, “India ranks very high in our list of priorities. It offers immense potential due to the high number of international travelers and their growing interest in the region. With the launch of the direct route between Baku and New Delhi, we are confident that it would boost the flow of tourists to Azerbaijan. We expect flights to the country to double by October this year.”

Flynas introduces direct flights between Riyadh and New Delhi

Flynas, a low cost Saudi national air carrier, has announced plans to launch five direct flights between Riyadh and New Delhi from July 1, 2019. These

flights are being introduced as a part of the airlines global expansion strategy, the airline said in a statement. To cater to the growing demand for direct flights from Hyderabad to Riyadh, the airlines has stepped up frequency with two additional flights to four flights per week. Flynas currently operates flights between Hyderabad and Riyadh on Friday and Sunday. In addition to these flights, the flights between the two cities are scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week starting July 1, 2019. The increase in flight frequency is aimed at meeting the growing demand for flights between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India. Airbus A320 Neo aircraft will be used for these flights.

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I have met her many a times and every time she greets with an aura of optimism and of course not to forget a smile on her face. Well, our conversation have

been very sweet and small and all about tourism, but this time it was all about her which actually got me closer to her journey. With a persistent attitude, she believes in taking challenges and delivers the best. MSc in mathematics, she after post grade applied for a job in Regional College of Education and got selected in the year 1888-89 as an adhoc professor. After a year, she joined as a part time lecturer in Maulana Azad College of Technology, Bhopal. While pursuing teaching mathematics she decided to prepare for corporative examination. While working as a lecturer, she appeared for UPSC and PCS and got through it holding the second rank in her batch. At the age of 22, she had gained enough self-assurance in public speaking and believed that working as a lecturer did boost her confidence.

Born to a police officer, her father has been her role model. Talking about how he inspired her, I could sense the emotions and the bond she shared with him. Whatever, she has learned she attributes it to her father whether it was public dealing or handling human behaviour. In the initial years during her probation period, while she got back home after the day of work, her father use to wait to hear about her daily affair. She recalls the evening spent with her father discussing the day to day matters and how he used to give her tips to handle these. Motivated and guided by her father, she attributed her success to him and says it was his advice which has got her to this designated position. Her father always said, “Do your best and be prepared for the worst”. Where she learned not to give up from her father, she learned to be tolerant from her mother. So much influenced by her father, she had inherited a lot many things

from him (she smiles while sharing about him).

She has overcome all the challenges which came her way and with an encouraging attitude. In her career, she has dealt with many situations which demanded her attention, perseverance and every time she strongly conquered the situation. With years of experience, she had series of incidents to talk about which actually reflects her persistence and confidence to deal with the situation.

With a motto to make best use of your potential and utilise it to the maximum, she believes in improving oneself and giving back to the society. With a belief, that what you are today every individual in your life have contributed to it and thus it is important to compensate the same. And being an administrator she says that we do come across many situation where we can lend a hand of help to the public.

She in her career has never felt that the industry have been pre-dominated by men, instead she feels that women should come forward and take up the challenges. She is a firm believer that men and women are equal and when we as women is taking the same privilege like men than we should not be choosy when it comes to work.

In her present role, she feels that tourism holds immense potential and in the government system there are certain restrictions and limitations. To follow the procedure and achieve the objective is a challenge in itself. Passionate about tourism, she feels that tourism is one such industry which engulfs creativity, innovations and it is a sector which is not only for relaxation and entertainment but is also meant for employment generation. At this moment, Madhya Pradesh Tourism is aggressively working to enhance rural tourism, skill development which in order will

create employment. Also, the department is working vigorously towards the development of experiential tourism in the rural areas which in return will create employment. Besides, she feels that if we are able to mobilise and strengthened the community of that area that will be an achievement for us.

Being on time is her mantra and she has always believed in living her life in a planned way. She believes in time management and says that if you are weak in that then you will leave behind many things which might be of high importance. It’s always a learning process for me whenever I meet her, I am carried away with her persona and my take away from this interview is to be tolerant.

► Most influential man in the industry - Shri Hari Ranjan Rao

► Favourite Destination - Nainital ► Favourite travel partner - My husband► Most over-rated and under-rated man

in the industry - Confused► Go to advisor\savior - Earlier it was

my father and now my husband► Your mirror image in the industry

(someone who resembles you) - Haven’t thought of

► If not here, where would you have been - I would have been a professor

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Chai & Novel

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and sedentary (Do not disturb) - Do not disturb

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Believe in indepence

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - My sister

A woman with a super power called

‘persistence’Endowed with a calm and composed personality, Smt Bhawana Walimbe, IAS, Additional Managing

Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism is a gem of a person inside out. Her zeal and enthusiasm

towards her work is quite visible from her positive attitude and her determination can be sensed from

her journey. Here’s a story of a woman who is a bureaucrat and knows how to deal with any kind of

situation effortlessly.

Sudipta Saha

► Favourite destination - Home

► Favourite travel partner - My family

► Most over-rated and under-rated man in the industry - Can I pass this

► Go to advisor\savior - Meena Bhatia

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Work wise it would be Rajan Kalra

► If not here, where would you have been - I was meant to be here always!

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Wine & Novel

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and sedentary (Do not disturb) - Bold and Beautiful

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Not all gleam

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Amitabh Bachan

► Most influential man in the industry - Kapil Bhatia

thinks about and take a stand on things.

The professional side of Vasudha does inspire a lot many young entrepreneurs but what encouraged and motivated me was her attitude to give it back to the society which is my take-away from the interaction. Calm and quiet in nature, who loves to be left alone with a lot of books and a cup of tea believes to be indulged with out-of-the-box activities.


A woman escalating her worthA woman who stands up for herself is a woman who stands up for others, the ways might be different but the purpose

will always be strong. Well, we all know her for her passion, graceful appearance someone who has created a niche for herself in the travel trade industry. Vasudha Sondhi,

Managing Director, Outbound Marketing is an inspiration to many who desire to follow their dreams and keep moving

forward with courage breaking all the barriers. Sudipta Saha

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Knowing her since I stepped into the industry did get me close to her journey and every meeting with

her has been a learning session for me. It is rightly said, ‘A woman is unstoppable when she realises she deserves better’ and the saying goes apt with Vasudha Sondi. With her out-of-the-box thinking and warrior attitude, she broke the cage and is flying high with open arms. Having done her Hotel Management from Mumbai, she joined Taj Mumbai as a Management Trainee despite being chosen for ITC Management Training Programme. Shifting from one city to another often tends to be challenging and the same was with her. Delhi was a bit tough for her to adapt and being placed in Taj Delhi.

Today, everything has changed from the way of doing business to the kinds of business. When she started in the year 1886-1887, there were only few international hotel chains. She started her career with an Indian major and moved on to an American hotel chain, but there was hardly any opportunity and even jobs were very difficult. At that time, hardly 50,000-60,000 rooms were available in the India market to sell and therefore one can guess the tourism potential which prevailed in that time. Her stature today is commendable and the success is not an easy cup of tea, she remembers how she did her sales calls. She used to visit buildings such as Himalaya House and cover from the top to the bottom floor cold calling to develop leads. The scenario has changed today lead generation is driven by technology so a plethora of change

can be witnessed.

Hospitality industry is what she has been passionate about and has been holding her for such a long period of time. She has grown up in the hotel industry and it has been fascinating her since it gave an opportunity to meet different people and opened her mind like never before. Today, the term networking is highly used but during that period of time, it was more of people to people contact.

With her professional attitude and open towards changes, she is truly dedicated towards her work and if she is empathetic or little more sensitive that’s how she is. For many years, she has been following the mantra ‘unlearn-learn’ and believes if one doesn’t follow that he or she may be out of the business very soon. Since, her initial professional career, she has always believed ‘The Customer Comes Second’, being impacted by Hal Rosenbluth and his book (The Customer Comes Second) and how one has to really focus on the team which is internal customers and then your external customers are looked after.

Inspired and influenced by Thangam Philip, her principal in college, doyen of hospitality industry who has opened many hotel management institutes against all odds and in spite of being bedridden for almost two years. Second, mentor for her was from the Taj and she had a beautiful innings there as well and third was from SITA Travels, where she claims to have learned a lot about the tourism industry and international tourism. Whichever industry she has worked in, she has always been very passionate and in love with her job. Open to learning with a motto to be busy and healthy, Vasudha believes one should continue

with passion and articulate what one

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A role model on a mission to make travel affordableAfter devoting 19 years to Kesari Tours, Veena Patil, Founder & Managing Director, ventured out to form Veena World with her husband Sudhir Patil and sister-in-law Sunila Patil. That defining moment in her life was on June 18, 2013. Presently, Founder & Director at Veena World, she still is dynamic risk taker, worldly wise and looks very marketing savvy. Emotional, yet she gives a presence of a practical strong headed business woman. Due to all these characteristics, she gets respect, admiration and affection from all. She has also got an immensely creative and innovative mind which is the reason she has been the face that has launched a multitude of travel brands in the industry.

Prashant Nayak

► Favourite Destination - Salzburg in Austria

► Favourite travel partner - My husband – Sudhir Patil

► Advisor \ saviour : My husband - Sudhir Patil

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Sunila Patil

► If not here, where would you have been - In Architecture

► Wine & Novel \ Beer & Netflix - Novel & Netflix

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and sedentary (Do not disturb) - Soft and sedentary (Do not disturb)

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas.

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - My sons

► Most influential person in the industry - My Father – Kesari Patil

Traditionally, travel used to be cash dominated industry. Probably, this was one of

the reasons why the industry was dominated by men for years together feels Veena. However, according to her in the present day scenario, things and times have changed a lot, with the industry becoming a more transparent place to work in. Therefore, it has become comparatively easier for women to manage the business along with managing all their other duties.

Veena expresses her thoughts, “It actually ought to be women dominated industry, considering the fact that a woman is intrinsically more caring, emotional and hospitable than a man. Her attributes are the most favourable and conducive for this industry. There’s nothing in this industry that only men can have their monopoly over and which the women can’t accomplish. Women have always been around, but it was just that earlier, women used to take up only supporting roles. However, these days, with a progressive open society and the ease of managing the work and life balance, many women have come to the forefront, are taking lead and managing the business in the frontline.”

For Veena, it has always been a cake walk at work, and she has always enjoyed every bit of it. Be it setting up new systems, organising and planning things or solving issues, there has been no stale moment ever for her. Everything seems so fresh, new and lively all the time. And, this dynamism and novelty in the industry always keeps ones enthusiasm levels high. In fact, it’s this very optimistic outlook towards life and work that gives some

strength and power and leaves no room for walking on a fire.

After having given so many years into the trade, Veena modestly says, “We could together set an example and could prove it that ‘Everything is Possible’, come what may. Whatever be the circumstances, if you are determined to move ahead in life with the right attitude, nothing can stop you. I must say, the industry which we are in, is nothing less than simply wonderful. In this business, the entire world becomes our home and our workplace. As we globetrot, we gather along a lot many amazing experiences. Having said this, one thing that always needs to be kept in mind is, similar to the airline industry; even travel is a very low profit making industry. An intense competition gets along a lot of challenges and pressures, be it with regard to the product, pricing, inventory, etc. The game is to make it big or else you’ll be eaten away. And while making it big, it’s also important that you sustain your growth.”

Veena also mentions, “Expense control is highly crucial, it’s also very important that you carve out a niche for yourself, so that you surpass the competition, make it irrelevant and aren’t a victim of the price wars, which proves to be fatal for everyone. Moreover, travel is a hyper-sensitive industry, which gets affected by several factors – manmade like political factors, terrorism, etc. and natural calamities.”

At Veena World, there is around 600 staff out of which almost 60 per cent are women in different roles. In fact, many girls in their office draw higher remunerations than their male counterparts. But the organisation

doesn’t differentiate between men and women because both genders can do the respective job and both gender needs support in their careers and to pursue what they cherish.

For those women who want to get in the trade, Veena makes it very clear, “Just get in! The future of the travel industry needs a lot of us, who are innovative, trustworthy; service oriented, organised, and has a passion for travel. All we need is, to begin, and then we are unstoppable.”

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A massive ‘representation’ game changer

She has created a benchmark in the representation business with a portfolio of elite clients on board. Her presence in the industry is vivid and she is courageous to take bold steps. A positive aura of her drives her towards the goal she has set for herself and the oragnisation. Priyanka Nijhawan, Director, Representations Nijhawan Group needs no introduction, followed by paparazzi; she is a highly acclaimed lady in the travel trade industry.

Sudipta Saha

► Favourite destination - London

► Favourite travel partner - My family

► Most over-rated and under-rated

person in the industry - I don’t know,

won’t make any personal comments

► Go to advisor\saviour - My husband

► Your mirror image in the industry

(someone who resembles you) -

Suzanne Pereira

► If not here, where would you have

been - A motivational speaker

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Green

tea & novel

► Getting tanned or do not disturb -

Getting tanned

► If you were a product, what would

be your tagline - Good things are

priceless

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a

lift, whom do you prefer to be with -

Hrithik Roshan

► Most influential man in the industry -

My husband Ankush Nijhawan

Determined attitude, classy persona and out-of-the-box ideas are her weapons which

make her stand out of the crowd and at a designated position which she actually deserves. With her ‘just do it’ approach, she has been spearheading the representation vertical of the Nijhawan Group and is taking it to newer heights. As the time passes by, she emerges to be a wonder woman and is changing the game of representation business in India every now and then. She is a lady who values her passion and zeal towards her work and this is what keeps her on her toes. Being a mother and a working woman it’s often difficult to balance out the role, but Priyanka, very gracefully cope up with the situation. She also feels that sometimes it is a challenge to balance work and home and there are times of guilt that one goes through where sometimes you feel that the house is getting ignored or you feel you would have probably done better if you didn’t had certain responsibility at home. Well, she believes that working is important and this is what she desires to do and keeps adding value to her life.

Belonging to a family who are known for their charismatic achievements in the travel trade industry, when she initially started, she never felt any resistance at any point of time. In fact, she had the advantage and disadvantage of bearing a certain family name. The advantage for her has been wherever she went people were familiar about them and she was welcomed wholeheartedly but

at the same she had to match up with the

stars in her family, her father-in-law and her husband. Travel industry is the industry which has been so receptive to women. She is of the opinion that if we look at pan India across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, an increase in the number of women added to the industry can be witnessed. Overall the dynamics are growing but she feels that the industry from the beginning had a lot of women as a part of it.

Whichever industry you name, the scenario is very competitive and have transformed into a target driven industry. Travel trade industry is one amongst all which intends to grow and it’s good to be part of such a growing industry. She sounded very optimistic about the market and as India being the growing market, she feels glad to be part of it. As per Priyanka, if you want to grow in life nothing is a cake walk, there are really no shortcuts to success. If you are looking at a certain position then there is always going to be expectations and work.

Every one of us has our highs and lows and so does Priyanka, but how you deal with your lows is an art. She believes in a spiritual way of living and feels that the spirituality is reflected on her overall persona. She starts her day when no one around has woken up and likes to do it with a morning prayer. During her lows, what keeps her going is indeed a belief in God and she also feels that whatever is happening is happening for a reason. She being a positive woman takes the tough times as a challenge and believes that it comes with a plan. Overall, it is her spirituality which helps her to deal with lot many things.

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Delivering string of success stories with her teamAt Blue Square Consultants, a majority of employees are women who are managing strategic roles and have been instrumental in the growth of the organisation. They have talent who manage digital and social media, media relations, strategic planning, marketing campaign, sales among many other roles. Lubaina Sheerazi, COO, Blue Square Consultants is a dynamic, prominent and known face in the Indian tourism industry. With her great team to support, she sees her organisation venturing into fresh verticals in the coming years and accomplishing milestones by being the game changers in the travel and hospitality industry.

Prashant Nayak

► Favourite destination - Ladakh

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Beer and netflix

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft & sedentary (do not disturb) - Getting tanned

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Leonardo DiCaprio

A decade ago, the travel industry was at a nascent stage with few players and a set business

model. With increasing use of internet, mobile technology and digitisation, the travel market has been growing leaps and bounds. This has increased awareness about new tourism products and travellers are now looking at unique experiences. According to Lubaina, India is one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets in the world and people are now open towards exploring solo trips, visiting offbeat destinations for local experiences, exploring homestays and even planning their weddings at exotic locales. Tapping this potential, there are new business players entering the industry to offer innovative products and services. With this growth comes opportunity to have a great career in the travel industry. Whether it is a multinational organisation, local travel agency or a start-up, there is immense scope for women to venture into and excel in this industry.

Lubaina is happy to mention, “Women in the travel and tourism industry have proven to be successful leaders possessing the power to envision, shape and strategically guide the culture of their firms. Through hard work, dedication and self confidence, several women have earned respectable positions serving as role models for the industry. I know some of them personally and each of them have made an impact and inspired me. From the very start of my career, fortunately, I have never faced gender bias. My journey throughout has been welcoming, supportive and encouraging.”

Lubaina’s passion to learn and discover led her to do a course in travel and tourism which was her stepping

stone into the travel industry. Back in 2010, with the inception of Blue Square Consultants (BSC), and from starting out with a two-member team in 2010, to becoming the Chief Operating Officer, having their own decently large office space in Mumbai and servicing various tourism boards, hospitality giants, DMC’s and airlines in the India market; her journey with BSC has been truly fulfilling.

Elaborating more on her career, Lubaina shares, “Every stage of my career has been great learning, which taught me new things and I continue this journey of learning even today. Having worked with tourism clients that represent so many different cultures, my greatest learning has been to accept diversity and see the bright side in every situation. This eventually helped to broaden my perspective and discover my strengths and potentials. There have been circumstances where I have been pushed out of my comfort zone, but outcome of those situations have been most rewarding. Saying it without a doubt, this industry has been instrumental in my personal as well as professional growth.”

Technology advancement has now given travellers overwhelming access to an array of information. Travellers are evolving faster than before, know exactly what they want and are constantly on a lookout for the best travel packages, reasonable prices, customised and unique services. With digital revolution at its peak, technology is and will continue to be the biggest game changer in the travel business in years to come. On this Lubaina adds, “I would say the greatest challenge for all of us is to keep up with the pace of digital enhancement. It is imperative to constantly be on a lookout

for what is new and how it can help to better the way we offer services to our clients. In this fast-pace world there is always fear of missing out, but deploying the right set of talent and delegating specific roles within the organisation does help to bridge that gap.”

Coming back to women, who would like to be in the travel field, Lubaina mentions, “Travel industry has evolved over the years and has opened up a wide horizon of careers for women to choose from. With top notch management institutes offering specialisation in travel and tourism to eventually handling evolved roles such as brand management, marketing, sales, PR & communications, content writing, or even becoming bloggers; one can find an enduring career in this industry. For the ones who are starting out new, I will recommend to do thorough online research, choose your area of interest, understand what role best suits your personality and then there is noting that will stop you from achieving your goals.”

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Continuing the Kesari legacy

Zelam Choubal, Director at Kesari Tours, dreamt to bring smiles and happiness to the travellers through their services and now she feels they have achieved it. Kesari Tours today is very well recognised and a trusted brand in Indian travel industry. She has been at the helm of touring business and is an inspiring leader. She is ambitious, assertive and an empowered lady who always builds a way forward to realise her vision.

Prashant Nayak

► Favourite destination - Kashmir and Paris

► Favourite travel partner - Husband and kids

► Go to advisor\saviour - Depends on the challenge

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - My son

► If not here, where would you have been - A teacher

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Novel and no alcohol

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft & sedentary (do not disturb) - Soft and sedentary

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Explore and rejuvenate

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Kids (That is the only place they cannot run)

► Most influential person in the industry - Kesari Patil (My father and mentor)

When Kesari Tours started, Zelam was one of the young siblings of four children of

Kesari Patil and was then pursuing her CA, later moving to the USA after her marriage. She then started her own company called A to Z Tours and Travels there. The five years of business in the US played a crucial role in defining Zelam’s career in the travel industry, and helped her be more confident and self reliant in this male dominant travel industry. She moved to Pune in year 2000 and later on set the Kesari Tours branch at Model Colony, Pune. In 2009, Zelam ventured out in MICE segment and today, Kesari MICE is a name to reckon within Indian MICE industry.

Zelam says, “We started about 35 years ago, when the entire industry was pretty much male dominated. Still today, it is not women dominated but many women are successful and doing better in this industry. I think barriers are in our minds otherwise if you love your work and are passionate about it; it does not matter who is behind it, a man or a woman, both will be successful. I don’t think there is any job in travel industry which women cannot do. In fact, it is very much proven now that women score better in the service industry. Whether it is airline, travel or tour leading, hospitality and event industry, many women are playing a dominating role. Previously, women acceptance was an issue in the industry but today it may not run without women.”

Zelam feels that she has never worked in the industry to establish

herself in the trade. Her entry in this

industry was because of her father which then turned into destiny. The initial days were cake walk for her as certain ingredients were already in the platter. Walking on the fire started when she started doing things on her own such as establishing MICE, student special tours, and many other special portfolios. On this she remarks, “When you do things like others do, it is easy but the challenge is when you do things differently and that is when you get established successfully. In our industry, nothing is always a cake walk or walking on fire. It is always a combination of both.”

After having given so many years into the trade, Zelam mentions, “Being in this industry is a boon to me. I feel that my life is being enriched with my profession. Very few people get to enjoy their profession and we are among those lucky people. World is our school and exploring it is often a joy of life. You learn so much from people, places, traditions, customs, food habits and many more. It is truly enriching and a satisfying experience. Life changes for better every year as it is new exploration and learning all the time. Whatever goodness I have in me came from my parents and my travel portfolio. Travel enhances you, makes you complete, makes you happy and rejuvenates you.”

In recent years, as no business is without challenges or threats, Zelam feels the complexity is to find out who your true competitors are and how to anticipate threats. “In past 10 years, this industry has gone through many outside challenges from war to terrorism, fluctuating airfares, bankruptcy of airlines and in the industry thus, surviving is not an easy task. Competition usually helps, but it should

be a healthy competition. Due to globalisation

and the internet, the world around us changes very rapidly, so keeping with the times should be our mantra. The biggest threat I feel is terrorism and the world over it disrupts travel and tourism business. One thing I would like to say strongly is that no matter what challenges the travel industry faces, but travellers will increase in the coming years and especially so in India,” explains Zelam.

On asked about tips for other women who would like to be in the travel industry now, Zelam tells, “Believe in yourself and there is nothing which you cannot do in travel industry. Be grounded, be honest, and take care of your employees and guests.”

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Exemplifying persistence and proficiency together Endowed with responsibility, clarity of direction and ability to unify the workforce to operate beyond their business apparatus, Seema Roy, Area Managing Director, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Preferred Hotels & Resorts has evidently perceived that the sense of purpose fetches the highest degree of happiness and satisfaction. Yet, for most of us, the concept is elusive. Evaluating the minute experiences throughout her journey, she is a classic inspiration with pursuit to learn, nurture and transform.

Bharti Sharma

► Favourite destination - United States

► Favourite travel partner - Family

► Most over-rated and under-rated

person in the industry - I think no one

can ever be over-rated in the business

of hospitality

► Your mirror image in the industry

(someone who resembles you) - Skip

► If not here, where would you have

been - I could have been a Life Coach

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix -

Neither

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft

& sedentary (do not disturb) - Do not

disturb

► If you were a product, what would be

your tagline - A signature of brilliance

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift,

whom do you prefer to be with - A

technician who can get me out of the

lift

► Most influential person in the industry

- The guest

There are certain common traits among the most successful ladies that include work ethics,

the passion to succeed, the willingness to adapt to change and the desire to break the mould and profound attentiveness to human condition. Seema personally believes that she has been privileged as she never worked against the flow. She expresses, “I am fortunate to have worked with companies and colleagues that believed in gender diversity and inclusion. Although no job is ever a cake walk for anyone, regardless of gender, one needs to be passionate, committed and personally invested to be professionally successful. I am in my 10th year now with Preferred Hotels & Resorts and have been recognised over the years for all of the above which has led me to my latest role of Area Managing Director for South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With this role, I oversee hotel retention and brand development efforts across the brand’s growing portfolio in the region.”

Seema personally feels that times are changing and we are noticing more women taking critical and senior leadership roles. She is proud to be a part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts where they have 40 per cent female employees in the senior executive roles

globally. Seema asserts, “There is a marked rise in the

number of

women in leadership positions in the hospitality industry. In fact, as reported by Grant Thornton’s latest Women in Business Report, 2019 marks the biggest increase in the proportion of women in executive roles in general across all industry sectors. The hospitality landscape has evolved over the years and is now a space where gender diversity is celebrated and encouraged. Women are increasingly stepping up to assume positions ranging from operations and business development to executive leadership positions.”

A sense of purpose evokes passion and commitment; it makes sense to the world and the person’s role therein. Being a part of hospitality industry that continues to evolve at a fast pace, also makes me constantly want to learn more. She delightedly shares, “Having been associated with the hospitality industry for over two decades, it has become an integral part of who I am. It teaches one life skills at so many levels. It makes me appreciate finer things in life and lay emphasis on curating memorable experiences, both at work and in personal time. It has further strengthened my faith and passion for travel, which also resonates with Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ ideology: Believe in Travel. I am forever thankful to my peers, mentors and fellow industry colleagues, for being a part of this journey and I look forward to many more years ahead.”

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21www.traveltradejournal.com JULY | 2019

Staying true to her leadership style

Neerja Bhatia, Vice President, Indian Sub-continent, Etihad Airways has dedicated most of her career to the travel and hospitality industry

and the industry has been an integral part of her career. With her 14 years of association with the airline, she has managed to climb the

corporate ladder, spearheading the airline’s commercial activities in India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. From

introducing new routes to managing the sub-continent, it has truly been an interesting and challenging journey for her.

Prashant Nayak

► Favourite destination - Switzerland

► Favourite travel partner - My husband

► Go to advisor /saviour - My husband

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - I don’t think anyone else does; I am unique

► If not here, where would you have been - Fashion

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Wine and netflix

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\Soft & sedentary (do not disturb) - Getting tanned of course

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Work and play go hand in hand - come join my team and you can see it for yourself!

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - My sister

► Most influential person in the industry - A couple of people are inspiring, but I would not like to take names

Globally, the aviation sector is a male dominated industry. Working alongside men gives one a different

perspective and experiences. Neerja opines, “Women in any male dominated industry must always see these differences as opportunities and not challenges. They should use this as pedestal to develop, nurture, empower and grow their talent.”

For Neerja, it was certainly not easy and is still a challenge as the aviation industry is very much a ‘Man’s World’. However, it is getting better as more women are taking up pivotal roles in aviation. She also thinks that Etihad played an important role in her success as the senior leadership believed in her and supported her all through the journey. Most importantly, they empowered her to take decisions and lead the team from the front.

“The biggest impact industry has created is that I am proud to be a part of bringing the world closer through our network and connecting flights. We bring people together for personal or professional reasons, the far-away places seem closer through our connectivity, we fulfil many a dreams and it’s a great feeling Today, it’s not only about how quickly you can fly to a certain destination, it’s also about the experience. You have to offer something unique in order to be remembered. With the growth of several airlines in the aviation sector, competition has always remained constant. In order to distinguish ourselves, innovation has been one of the driving forces at Etihad Airways. Our airline is committed to the cause of innovation and strives to adapt and reinvent itself with changing times,” assures Neerja.

Sharing about the airline, Neerja continues, “As a service provider in the field of transportation, I would wish to address the importance of the cause of sustainability. In the recent past, Etihad Airways has undertaken several initiatives which reinstate its commitment to the environment. The usage of sustainable fuel made from plants grown from saltwater, reduction of carbon dioxide by implementing fuel saving initiatives and the

objective of reducing single use plastic consumption by 2022 are examples of some endeavours that highlight our determination to be an environmentally responsible airline.”

On tip for other women who are and would like to be in the travel industry, Neerja shares the below pointers and elaborates them based on her extensive experience:

The importance of discipline, curiosity and ambition:

The inherent qualities of an individual determines his/her success in life. I have always laid emphasis on discipline in my team, which ensures that quality and efficiency is maintained. In addition, the yearning to be a constant learner and the motivation to work hard to reach the top are qualities that determine a person’s success in life.

Propositions that make your offerings unique:

21st century women are often thinking about professional achievements, strategies and behaviours to be exemplified as successful. It is important to switch off from work and engage in upgrading skills that can distinguish one’s skill set and improve on-the-job performance.

Be dynamic:People’s needs are changing and

luxury by itself is evolving rapidly. One must be constantly updated with the latest industry developments and apply it to the professional sphere.

The concept of ‘overnight success’ is a myth:

It takes a great deal of hard work coupled with the right attitude to be successful. Challenge yourself every day and remember that no one succeeds immediately; success is a gradual process and everyone was once a beginner.

Take out time for yourself:In addition to being determined and

working hard, it is also essential to relax, meditate and rejuvenate. How you spend your time

unwinding can have a big impact on your success in the professional world. Personally, even though work has my full attention through the week, I dedicate one to two hours every day to do something apart from it. I’ve realised that Yoga and meditation has helped me immensely. It keeps me calm, focused and energised. I am also fond of gardening as I believe that it helps me maintain an intimate connection with Nature and life. I find this activity extremely therapeutic and great for stress alleviation.

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Flying her way with Golden wings

Be bold, be beautiful and be yourself is the best way to describe Jyoti Mayal. She is a determined woman who believes to put forward her views in any platform. Jyoti Mayal, CEO, New Airways Travel and Secretary General, TAAI has been taking the lead when it comes to the betterment of the industry. Let’s have a glimpse of her journey and know more.

Sudipta Saha

Married to one of the eminent personalities from the travel trade

industry, she has always been involved with creative works and later developed an interest for travel. An urge to discover something and take you a long way and same goes with her. One day she decided to lend support to her husband which led to her foray into the travel profession. Gradually, she developed her interest in the travel and tourism industry riding her curiosity to discover something new, look at new and different architecture which actually urged her to take travel as a full-time profession.

Very open with her thoughts and vocal about issues which are not very advantageous for industry. With the years of experience as a travel agent and representing issues on various platforms and sitting on the dais on various forums has made her more critical. With 35 years of experience in the industry, she is aware of all facets and she feels that the industry is still pre-dominated by men and women are working behind the scene, typically the way India market works. This is one such industry which is not difficult for a woman to get in but the focus is more on men. The travel tourism industry is very open which believes on gender equality, it should be pushed more and more.

The hospitality industry or other tourism industry

where there is more of public intervention, you will find lot of women foraying in the field, she puts an example. It’s not that someone is stopping women to come forward it might be that they have not been able to make a den themselves.

It was a cake walk for her when she made her entrance to the industry. She through her journey went with the waves and tides so wherever her journey took her, she simply went on with the flow. The company was doing and so was she; it never came to her mind to venture out individually. Today, she does feel that if given an opportunity, she would want to do things differently and with a different approach. On the other hand, she believes that everything comes with knowledge and when you join your husband, he has more knowledge than yours. She enjoys doing new things and exploring new verticals and she is enthusiastically doing so.

Women today should understand that travel and tourism has lot of scope. There is a lot of discussion on women safety, as more women get into the business, the issue of safety will fade away. She feels that the first focus should be to encourage more and more women to get into the industry as cab drivers, bus conductors, and the government should focus on this as this will help to deal with the safety of women. This will ease the commuting of women.

► Favourite destination - Amsterdam

► Favourite travel partner - My Husband

► Most over-rated and under-rated man in the industry

- That’s a tough. Everyone has created their own

niche.

► Go to advisor\savior - I love chatting with lots of

knowledge

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who

resembles you) - I like to feel I am unique

► If not here, where would you have been - Wanted

to be a doctor but I am an interior designer by

profession

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Wine & Novel

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and

sedentary (Do not disturb)- Bold and beautiful

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline -

Grow and let everyone grow

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you

prefer to be with - My husband

► Most influential man in the industry - My husband,

he inspired me

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A woman with relentless dedication towards providing best travel experiences

With her journey in the travel industry spanning over 10 years , Heena J Akhtar, Co-Founder, tripXOXO is a first generation entrepreneur who

earlier founded TravelPort Holidays and made it amongst the top travel brand by creating innovation around travel products and distribution.

TravelPort Holidays has been around for 12 years and now, tripXOXO, a wholly owned subsidiary of TravelPort Holidays is creating new

benchmarks. In its short stint, tripXOXO under effective leadership of Heena has already picked up multiple awards.

Prashant Nayak

► Favourite destination - London

► Favourite travel partner - My girl gang

► Most over-rated and under-rated person in the industry - Industry is very fair

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Can’t think of anyone , we are all so different

► If not here, where would you have been - Am a doctor, so would be in that profession full time

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Both options work on different days

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\Soft & sedentary (do not disturb) - Do not disturb

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Good vibes only

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Iron man, he will be able to get us out

► Most influential person in the industry - So many of them

Over the years, Heena has repeatedly met people who have supported and encouraged

her and she feels happy to belong here. Travel industry is indeed very warm and welcoming, believes Heena. She mentions, “With the digitalisation, we are now better connected and its wonderful how nicely the world is more accessible. 15 years back, we would meet our partners once a year and now we connect with them with ease over a video call anytime.”

According to Heena, this industry has been very fair to the women and she thinks the opportunities are huge. From the senior most government positions, to business owners, top media, middle management, tour leaders and travel bloggers, women are seen in every field and it’s a great change. There are many who are drawn to this profession because they are passionate about travelling themselves and this industry gives them a career which also helps them explore the world. Many women are drawn to this industry due to some inbuilt amazing flexibilities such as flexible timings, work from home options and frequent free vacations that come with the job.The industry is growing and has space for women who would want to work from home, take up second careers after a break or want to work with flexible hours.

On her front Heena tells, “The initial years were a lot of hard work and efforts but that was fun actually. It’s really nice to see the company growing and the journey is still wonderful. It might look tough and painful from outside but you actually enjoy the process and it teaches you so much. Growth and sustaining the growth are both challenging and a constant process so definitely not a

cake walk but I would not call it a walk on fire either. It’s a learning process every day. You realise you have become so much stronger, smarter and faster. I have learnt a lot in my journey and evolved as a person. This career gave me the opportunity to see the world which I truly enjoy and would like to keep doing for the rest of my life. Also, it is most important to establish the brand name with good reputation because that is your legacy and that is what will be remembered.”

Heena is a passionate traveller and has explored destinations such as the USA , Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Istanbul, London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt to name a few. She learnt and got more knowledge of experiential travel from her travel in these countries which was also the inspiration for bringing up the tripXOXO platform. She strongly believes travel as the best way to spend money and make memories for life.

“I personally feel very strongly about the cause of Responsible Tourism. If all travel and tourism stakeholders such as the residents, hotels, travel and tour operators, tourism boards are mindful of the benefits of Responsible Tourism, then the attractiveness of the world’s finest tourist spots and destinations will be greatly improved for our next generations. We have to take collective action to drive awareness and make small changes which will have lasting effects. We also work closely with partners promoting Sustainable and Responsible Tourism globally. This travel sector is very fragmented and bringing this together is a challenge for everyone. We all have to find a way around it and in getting people motivated to share the same vision which will

happen soon,” shares Heena.

Leadership lessons for women:

Team is everything – empower them, train them, reward them and make them think like you.

Just because it’s not been done before doesn’t mean it’s impossible, be creative and inventive all the time.

Focus – Don’t get distracted, have a vision, work on it backwards to try and achieve it and just focus on that.

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When ambition wears a suit

A lady who is in touch with rawest human emotion, who is sensible and sensitive, humble and spirited and also, earnest and empowering! Akanksha Garg, Director & CEO (Resorts), Waxpol Hotels and Resorts always wanted to run hotels as a schoolgirl when her friends talked of being doctors, engineers, lawyers etc. Let’s have a look on her entrepreneurial career.

Bharti Sharma

Women in general have been stepping forward

across industries in recent years, balancing their roles as homemakers and seeking successful careers. Akanksha’s first step towards her ambition was working as a trainee at the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers in Mumbai. She fairly remembers, “I was exposed very early on to grueling long hours, less sleep and male dominance (at work). During that time, I learnt how to handle men and not to give in! I followed this up with an education in hotel management in Switzerland.”

She took over the management of the Sunderban Tiger Camp and highlighted it on the world travel map. The aim was to start promoting the resorts for both inbound and domestic travel. Yes, it was not easy but Akanksha took a step forward and raised the flag. She avers, “At one level, people seemed intimidated by the idea of a woman running a hotel. At another, there seemed road blocks at every stage. Being a very young woman, I was not taken seriously by the ‘men’ but this is where the hard work, perseverance and being true to yourself pays off. Recognition came in the form of membership of the managing committees

of HRAEI (2009-2011), CII Eastern India (2008 – present) and CII National Committee for Tourism (2010-2013). I was also awarded the Young Entrepreneur Award by TiE.”

“The hospitality industry is not for the faint-hearted,” explicate Akanksha. She adds, “It is highly dynamic, requiring one to be on their toes all the time, putting their best face forward. It brings challenges of its own - you learn to cope with the complexities even as sudden changes test you. But you learn to keep going - over fire and cake. And yet, I would not want to be anywhere else.”

Working in this industry has ignited a certain passion in her, opened her to innovation, enabled to be an ideal person, and taught her how to take on challenges without the spirit flagging. After having given so many years into the travel trade, Akanksha feels that a career in the travel trade is the best thing that could have happened to her. “It has been a journey (pun intended) of self discovery, of finding my place on this planet, of gaining new perspectives on what’s important in life and what’s not. And nothing can beat the friends I have made along the way - would not have encountered such wonderful people anywhere else,” concludes Akanksha.

► Favourite Destination - Sundarbans

► Favourite travel partner - My Son (because every

child should grow up to be a true earth citizen)

► Most over-rated and under-rated person in the

industry - Over-rated - all those who talk but don’t

travel, Under-rated - all those who travel but don’t

talk

► Go to advisor\saviour - Guru Chahal -Ex

Executive Director Madhya Pradesh State Tourism

Development Corporation

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who

resembles you) - I’m one of a kind ;)

► If not here, where would you have been - In outer

space!

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Whiskey and

dancing

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned) \ Soft & sedentary

(do not disturb) - Getting tanned

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline -

Only edition

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you

prefer to be with - Ratan Tata

► Most influential man in the industry - Richard

Branson

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Sailing on the seas of achievements

Diksha Batra, Assistant Vice President – Sales, Genting Cruise Lines firmly believes that the formative years of a woman’s professional life

always entails going against the flow to make your stand in the industry. Her only focus, not only during the formative years but also today is

to ensure that all the tasks on her to-do list are completed, targets are met, her co-workers are happy and above all servicing her company – Genting Cruise Lines to the expectations they have from her as an

individual and a proud employee.

Bharti Sharma

► Favourite destination - The surface of Planet Earth is around 70 per cent water and I am most happy when cruising

► Favourite travel partner - My music and my books are my constant companions

► Most over - Rated and under-rated person in the industry

► Go to advisor\saviour - My friends who understand me

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - I believe we are all different individuals. Some may have similar thought processes but our individuality is different

► If not here, where would you have been - My soul is of a vagabond, so I guess would still be related to travel somehow

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix- Wine and Novel, after an hectic day at the office - Nothing calms me down better that the sweet taste of wine and enrichment received from my novels

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned) \ Soft & sedentary (do not disturb) - Do Not Disturb. With room service

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Let’s go someplace where the sea touches the stars!

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - An Elevator repairman. And the question would be: “How fast can you fix this?”

► Most influential person in the industry - In today’s day and age, an influential person isn’t one with fancy titles or vast experience. Someone who has a vision, has dreams and does everything in order to make those dreams a reality and inspires other by his or her actions is in influencer for me

She never found it difficult to establish herself in the industry from the

beginning, especially because of the constant support and the understanding of respective teams that she has worked with. Diksha is bestowed with ample amount of love and support from the industry and at her workplace. She contentedly shares, “I have had the pleasure to be in the travel trade industry for quite sometime now. I witnessed the gradual change in the way thought processes of the whole industry has matured and welcomed women with open arms. At Genting Cruise Lines, I have the most supportive and understanding colleagues who are perfectly aligned with all the requirements that they have to meet, this makes my life a cake walk.”

For Diksha, it was never a question of a difference between then and a now, the question was ‘when’. She believes with the all the tools at a woman’s disposal – the sky is the limit in the travel industry. The years that she has spent in the industry has opened her eyes to the endless avenues that travel and tourism has to offer, especially, artificial intelligence and innovations in e-commerce business. This has made her a person who is always inquisitive to learn new things and broaden new horizons. Diksha expresses, “Another very important aspect that the industry has given me is confidence at my work. At the end of the day, I can see the impact that I am making on my company and the industry through numbers, insights and the appreciation from my

colleagues in the trade. This leaves me satisfied and boosts my confidence.”

With the rise of education, women are now at par with men to ensure that their targets and goals are met. Women are leading a battery of employees or single-handedly overlooking the activities of vast territories. Diksha is obliged to be a part of this ever evolving industry. She shares, “I am constantly travelling across the world and after every trip, I am introduced to a new culture, another magnificent country and more welcoming people. I feel like a smaller person every time I travel but seeing the warmth from people across the world – it is a truly mesmerizing feeling and helps me grows as an individual.”

Leading a company, brand or a tourism board at a PAN India level requires a lot of travel to different cities across the country and the world. Diksha feels with improved air connectivity between markets ensures that a woman can leave for work in the morning for a meeting in another city and return home for dinner. Talking about the technology advancement and better scenario, she says,”It really depends on what one considers as a differentiation between a man and a woman. Additionally, rise of the use of the mobile phone has given women a sense of well-being and security which has gradually played a very important role in ensuring a boost in their confidence and helps in fostering a sense of confidence even amongst family members.”

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She believed she could and she did itShe knows the power of her mind and thus programmed it for success. With the years of experience in the travel trade industry, she has evolved as a lady with diverse knowledge and polished skills. Today, Sucheta Nagpal holds many titles apart from being the Director & CEO, Travstarz Global Group.

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Chitra has worked resiliently to break through to become what she is today. She

aspires to push the boundaries and strives to develop the working of her company and various associations she represents. Talking about her initial days, she shares, “Teaching was supposed to be the one profession which was more women centric. The industry slowly saw emergence of women in top positions who made an impression and it was deemed that they are there to stay. The struggle was to stay afloat. It was never a cake walk. The commitment and prudence which

one exuded was acknowledged. We do see women entrepreneurs in the industry creating value and a name as well.”

Chitra has envisioned ‘women empowerment’ and it’s very close to her heart. She asserts, “I was considered a person who could give people great pricing for a great holiday. I loved introducing new destinations and was asked time and again where to go on a holiday. It was surely a good feel and I am happy that I could offer packages to people where they explored learnt and had fun. We did women only groups as well and were very happy seeing them grow into confident independent travellers that were once shy and lacking in confidence.”

She has been acclaimed with many accolades and has been welcomed with applauses in her career. A professional

interior designer by qualification, Sucheta developed a keen interest in travel tourism and she further followed her passion. When she stepped into the industry, from then to now, scenario seems different. Looking at the fact, travel industry predominately a male dominated industry never held her back. Her work has always been independent of any such thing. Today, women are more active and are pursuing their career in travel and tourism and time is changing and the entire thought process is evolving.

She feels that not only in the tourism and hospitality industry, but women have been in the forefront in almost all the industries across the spectrum. Talking particularly about the tourism and hospitality business we can see

various examples where women have led from the front in creating big brands and have shaped their entrepreneurial journey. She puts forward an example of Jyoti Mayal who has contributed immensely in her role as the Secy. General of TAAI and many others who have inspired her in her journey so far.

Well, she believes hard work and success have always gone hand in hand and her case was no different. It was indeed a tough grind. Determination, perseverance and consistency have been few keys to unlock success, concept of a b2b company was still very new to India at that time but outbound travel was increasing at a fast pace and Travstarz bridged the gap. Travstarz was founded by her and her husband Pankaj Nagpal with a clear vision of making it one of India’s most loved and respected b2b company and over the years they have worked hard towards achieving that vision.

Besides the business, Sucheta is very keen on contributing to the society in every way she can. She has been doing this in the past as well whether it was her work with blind schools or the women’s cricket fraternity and in the next 10 years she see a more devoted role for herself to such causes specially in the sphere of educating the girl child.

► Favourite destination - Thailand► Favourite travel partner - Family► Most over-rated and under-rated person in the

industry - I think its me ► Go to advisor\saviour - ► Your mirror image in the industry (someone

who resembles you) - Chandrika ► If not here, where would you have been -

Teaching ► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Wine and

novel ► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft &

sedentary (do not disturb) - Getting tanned► If you were a product, what would be your

tagline - Worth an investment► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom

do you prefer to be with - Can’t deal with a lift not working

► Most influential person in the industry - Rahul Bhatia

► Favourite destination - Many but an easy getaway and fav is Maldives

► Favourite travel partner - My daughter► Most over-rated and under-rated man

in the industry - I’m no one to judge anyone. Everyone is best in what they do

► Go to advisor\ saviour - Daddy► Your mirror image in the industry

(someone who resembles you) - Its better if you comment on this

► If not here, where would you have been -

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Beer and netflix

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and sedentary (Do not disturb) - Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Unfortunately I’m not

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - A good hands on liftman who can help me out from the lift

► Most influential man in the industry - Brad and Van Anderson

Powerhouse of efficiency and the effectiveness

Her foyer in the industry was 35 years back and the story started with a dream to work with an airline which prompted her to pursue a travel and tourism course in Chennai. That was Chitra Bhatia’s, General Secretary, OTOAI first step into this field and then there was no looking back as she started with GSA of Air France, Thai and SAS in Lucknow with Swan Travels. Since then, she has indulged herself in the work that would give a sense of channelising her energies into something meaningful.

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Inspired by challengesWith years of experience, she is quite familiar with ‘ifs and buts’ of the tourism industry. Her present job responsibilities include handling publicity on the national and international platform. Well versed with the field and love towards her profession, stands her out from the crowd. Deepika Roy Choudhury, Deputy Director, Publicity, Creative and Digital Marketing, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has been proudly representing the state on various platforms.

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An artificer of innovation and dedication This lady boss has set new standards for working women and well, whoever said that women cannot multitask, Komal Seth, Founder and Director, LINKIN Reps is a perfect example for all of them. She has earned an admiration in the travel domain and continues to thrive.

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To establish oneself in the industry is always challenging as there are many hurdles ahead of us. Nothing

can be a firework unless and until it is a family business and you have things established. Talking about her initial days in the industry, Komal reminisces, “I have started everything myself and it was really tough and still is. There are challenges which are unforeseen, commitments which are just not made and there are people who misuse your trusts but I think it makes you learn a lot. It gives a reward for all your education and hardship. I think life in itself is a big exam. Starting your company is indeed not a cake walk for any one. Someone is taking it from 1- 100 and someone is taking it from 100-1000 and someone is sustaining a million dollar empire.”

Komal is propelling new frontier of digital marketing and has been rising ahead with positivity. Komal believes that women have come a long way in defying the odds and nowadays, women leaders are a growing force. She asserts, “The other change which is significant in the industry is that women have dominated, especially when you look towards Mumbai and Southern industry. Delhi still has a long way to go but we are still better, we have improved.”

Travel industry provides the opportunity of travelling around world, meet different people, and get exposure to different cultures. It makes you more retrospective and empathetic. Travelling world is a job very few people can do, Komal, who loves to travel affirms, “I think, I could have not chosen for a better profession than this. I think the best stories are written in between the pages of my passport. Meeting South East Asians, Europeans it just gives us a huge horizon to witness things that how Delhi is just a dot in the world map and what we think and how we live our life is not position and does not matter in any part of the world.”

A Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management and Tourism, Deepika joined Madhya

Pradesh Tourism in the year 1990. Having an extensive knowledge in the marketing field, she has been a part of the most talked-about and awarded campaigns and strategies. Her journey has been extremely rewarding which has enriched her vision and thoughts. She always wanted to deal with something challenging and feel proud of but as the journey continued, her perspective about things changed. According to her, she wanted to be a part of good project and work.

Inspired by the challenges which she had faced time to time, she had learned a lot and has been implementing her learning on day to day activity. How to resolve and negotiate the challenges,

have always inspired her to the core. She firmly believes that the industry have never been dominated by men, if there is recruitment a woman should come forward. The industry has been fair to her. The variety of work keeps her motivated and being a result oriented woman, she always aims at achieving the goal and generate a positive outcome. She also feels that the desire to achieve a constructive result keeps her on toes and which is basically a driving force for her.

She sounds to be very focused with a wide perceptive and her experience adds the flavour to the projects she handle. Many a times, we have come across her in various national and international platforms aggressively promoting Madhya Pradesh. She loves to travel, enjoys everything new, fond of knowing other cultures and meeting different people and a handloom fan as well. When I meet a person, I intend to take away some quality and this time, I respect her enthusiasm to face challenges and be result-oriented which I was my take-away.

► Favourite destination - New York► Favourite travel partner - I can’t disclose► Most over-rated and under-rated person

in the industry - Over rated tier I city and underrated the visa companies (They take a lot of efforts to get visas)

► Go to advisor\saviour - Is my best friend who is not from the industry

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Vasudha Sondhi

► If not here, where would you have been - No idea

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Neither, I don’t drink, I like my books and like to sleep

► Bold & beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft & sedentary (do not disturb) - Do not disturb

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - It could be Pepsi, nothing official about it

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - With my phone with full signal and full battery or with the love my life

► Most influential man in the industry - Online is Ankush Nijhawan, Offline is Arjun Sharma

► Favourite destination - Prague

► Favourite travel partner - My friend Lata

► Most over-rated and under-rated man in the industry - (Bursting in laugh) Samanth Rao was under rated

► Go to advisor\saviour - My mother

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Can’t think of anyone

► If not here, where would you have been - Corporate

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Wine and novel

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and sedentary (Do not disturb) - Soft and sedentary

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Simple and smart

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - George Clooney

► Most influential man in the industry - Shri Hari Ranjan Rao

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Clearly focused to achieve her dreamsAnjum Lokhandwala, Founder & Director of Outbound Konnections, based in Mumbai, believes that women are multitasking, strong-willed, hardworking. They seamlessly manage crisis, are turnaround experts and of course well-organised.

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Reforming the business through consistency

One of the keys to any successful business is being able to come up with new ideas to keep services fresh. Pinki Arora, Marketing Representative, North and East India, Bangladesh and Nepal, Tourism Authority of Thailand has work ethics, the passion to succeed, the willingness to adapt to change and the desire to break the mould.

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In the era where the world is changing at rapid speed, women are no longer wishing to stay behind in any way

from others, Anjum says, “Women make up 72 per cent of travel agents, however, only 33 per cent are in the leading positions at travel organisations. The lack of women in top management roles has lagged in the travel industry. It’s an issue that many companies still don’t like to talk about, but it’s clearly on their minds.”

Anjum is specialised in identifying a destination’s potential and the travel products specific for Indian outbound market and formulating strategies to establish and enhance brand’s image. With rich experience in creating a new brand identity, marcomm

services, innovative media solutions, developing new business associations and working out growth strategies have become some of her core areas of interest.

Anjum has been known as a hard worker, resilient, purpose driven with a set of goals and with a clear distinction to be on top. “Equality in the industry is still an issue and without a doubt, it’s getting better, but there’s a lot of development that still needs to happen on this front. It is changing, but the sea of change is far too slow,” speaks Anjum.

On tip to new comers in the industry, Anjum advises, “Working in this industry has given me the confidence and made me a go getter. It has also made me a good listener. Many women feel they will not be successful in this field, which is only because they lack encouragement. However, surround yourself with people who will uplift you and believe in you, but most of all believe in yourself.”

A personality that evokes positive vibes and energy that can

motivate anyone, it’s been an amazing journey for Pinki while promoting Thailand along with some other clients in India market. Pinki reminisces, “When I ventured into the travel industry about 25 years ago, there were not many women. With the advent of time, women are now working shoulder to shoulder with men and heading travel companies, tourism board representations, travel agencies and airlines etc. In fact most of the industries now prefer women.”

Pinki believes that devotion to delivering sales, increasing revenue and market share for its tourism partners through out-of-the-box ideas and techniques has successfully given a new advanced definition to her clients. With the industry becoming tech savvy, it has become equally competitive for men and women. Being bestowed with utmost respect, love and support from the industry, it wasn’t difficult for Pinki to shine here. She asserts, “The kind of respect I have received is very fulfilling. I have been lucky enough to get that kind of healthy support from our partners.”

► Favourite destination - Kenya

► Favourite travel partner - Komal Seth

► Go to advisor\saviour - Kishan Biyani

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Yet to come across someone

► If not here, where would you have been - Globetrotting

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Beer and Netflix


► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Choice with no regrets

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Ajay Chabbria and Mehernosh Colombowalla they have a terrific sense of humor

► Most influential person in the industry - Kishan Biyani and Ankush Nijhawan.

► Favourite destination - Thailand of course, Koh Samui

► Favourite travel partner - my music

► Most over-rated and under-rated person in the industry- Skip

► Go to advisor\saviour - Advisor

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Skip

► If not here, where would you have been - Thailand



► If you were a product, what would be your tagline- Reliable and trustworthy

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, which do you prefer to be with - Richard Gere

► Most influential person in the industry - Vir Sanghvi

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Women on the pace

A powerhouse who certainly paved her path to bring out the valued outcome for the company, Munnmumm Marwah, COO, Think Strawberries has proved herself with utmost determination towards her work. After 23 years of being in this industry, she has evolved into a personality who is more well-rounded and enriched.

Bharti Sharma

Initial years to establish a career is always challenging in any industry. For women, it’s

even more difficult as they have to prove themselves at every point and to learn how to balance their personal and professional life. Munnmunn asserts, “It was difficult for me to establish during the initial years in the travel trade. Not only in the travel industry, but anywhere unfortunately women are still considered as a weak link. No matter what we do or what our journey has been, we have to constantly challenge stereotypes and build upon our strengths and keep proving our worth and capabilities.”

With over 18 years of experience in sales and marketing across India and the UAE, Munnmumm has seen the changing role of women in this industry. Over the past years, the number of women as leaders, innovators and business owners has witnessed an impeccable growth. She has travelled around the world and got exposure of different cultures which is a unique perspective of the travel industry. Sharing her views, she explicate, “I have observed a sea-change in the travel industry over the past few years. When I began my career 23 years ago, there were very few women in the industry. Now I see a number of women holding important and powerful positions in leading companies across all travel verticals.”

► Favourite destination - Nothing specific. I love to travel to offbeat places and want to see the entire world

► Favourite travel partner - My daughter

► Most over-rated and under-rated person in the industry - NA

► Go to advisor\saviour - My boss and Co-Founder of Think Strawberries, Amit Kishore

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - NA

► If not here, where would you have been - I think I would have been a fashion designer or a naturalist. I love both; and am passionate about clothes and being one with nature

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Since I don’t drink alcohol, I would say Ginger Ale and a novel


► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - NA

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - NA

► Most influential man in the industry-NA

Encouraged by the experience of lifeA woman is best described either by her father or the man of her life. Mahendra Vakharia describes her as a warm, loving, caring and a helpful person. Maitreyee Patel, Director, Pathfinder Holidays is confident of her abilities and is a lady with a fight back personality who cannot stand lies. Here’s a glimpse of her 30 years of flamboyant journey and path-breaking achievements.

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Well, I haven’t come across an opportunity to personally meet her, but as described by

Mahendra Vakharia during a conversation amazes me. She has sailed on a boat which was pre-dominantly ruled by men and to survive the roller-coaster and honour oneself with achievements and be successful is commendable in itself. In 1986, she stepped into the industry, took the challenges as an opportunity and continued with the same zeal and enthusiasm which led to the constitution of her own company in 1997.

Born in a business family in Ahmedabad, she was sent to a renowned boarding school Presentation Convent at Kodaikanal and later she completed her BA (Hons) from Sophia College Ajmer.

Being from a business background family and having the confidence of achieving her goals, she worked towards what she wanted to achieve. Her fervour to be on the toes and desire to travel the world landed her in helping her cousin in arranging and organising fashion shows in New York as part of the Independence Day celebrations. She mentions that it was very challenging in the early 90’s to manage the event, models, photographers, etc, but was altogether a great fun and a great learning experience. And the entrepreneurial bug started from this journey.

Being an avid sports person and representing her state as part of the womens cricket team till the nationals, she has learnt to be a team player and a fighter to achieve her dreams. She decide to succeed as success comes to those who dare to dream, to people who truly want to succeed. Never give up in life is her motto!

Inspired by the experience of her life, Maitreyee Patel believes and suggests that ‘Go for your dreams and be confident of your ability’.

► Favourite Destination - Udaipur► Favourite travel partner - My Music► Most over-rated and under-rated man in the

industry - NA► Go to advisor \ saviour - Advisor is my

husband Mahendra Vakharia and saviour is my son Karan Vakharia

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - I am one of a kind

► If not here, where would you have been – Maybe a doctor treating people and helping them heal

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix- Beer and netflix

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned)\ Soft and sedentary (do not disturb) - Bold and beautiful

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline – Never Give Up

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - The most handsome man in my life

► Most influential man in the industry - Hhmmmmm

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Deeply passionate about women empowerment, entrepreneurship and sustainable travel

As a Founder & CEO of F5 Escapes, Malini Gowrishankar comes with rich experience across different industries. After several years of being in different occupations, such as radio jockey and voice over artist, she founded F5 Escapes in 2013 with a purpose to open up India as a destination to women travellers from across the country and the world. She has delivered/anchored several workshops and community events on travel, women safety and other important issues such as sustainability, sexuality education, etc.

Prashant Nayak

“Having enthusiasm, excitement and passion for work will keep you persistent and optimistic”

As a Founder & Director, IRIS Reps, Alefiya Singh is aiming for phenomenal growth in the near future while they now represent some of the most esteemed hospitality and tourism brands in the country. Alefiya Singh is very determined lady in the travel fraternity who is in love with her work and has that go getter attitude.

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F5 Escapes was formed purely to get women out of their comfort zone and travel in groups along with strangers by organising fixed

departure, group tours and the other main purpose was to encourage solo travel for women by hand crafting itineraries according to their needs and hand holding them remotely during the trip.

Malini, a TedX speaker, tells, “I run my travel company F5 Escapes along with my Co-Founder Akanksha Bumb. Together, we are working towards making India a better place for women to travel. When the company started off in 2013, this space was still nascent. Women were not that keen on travelling by themselves, that too in India. Now it is 2019 and many women are willing to travel on their own. Women travel is slowly gaining acceptance in families as well as a safe way for the women in the family to venture out.”

For Malini, no business is a cake walk. There are constant issues that need attention. A lot of

their work has become regular with time and even handling contingencies has been a regular part of their job. She got into the travel trade because she loved to travel. So obviously, the impact that this profession has created in her life is manifold. It has fundamentally changed the way she views life. She feels, women do bring in that additional comfort and empathy into the equation which can be very helpful in the travel and hospitality industry.

“There are several issues plaguing the industry, out of which one that needs immediate addressing is over tourism at certain places. Destinations such as Ladakh can handle only a certain amount of tourism. Hence, being responsible in the travel industry is something that will be non negotiable in the future. Travel industry is something that is influenced by several external factors, so please be on the lookout for any changes in the country always,” advises Malini. She is also very keen and active in promoting ‘Responsible Tourism’ and thus advocates no-littering policy and works towards ‘reuse and reduce’.

Thankfully for Alefiya, the travel industry has been always kind to her. She never had to face much

challenges while establishing herself. She feels herself genuinely blessed to be surrounded and supported by her colleagues and seniors in all walks of her career. So she safely says, “it has been a cakewalk for me at work.”

The travel and hospitality trade has also taught Alefiya to be innovative and to be committed. It is the challenge and the uniqueness which this industry offers that keeps her motivated. Her ever supportive partners and trade friends keep her on her toes. She especially lauds her team which is always a backbone of any company.

On the modern travel context, Alefiya

mentions, “Travel industry is highly dynamic and one of the most profitable industries in the world. There are lots of challenges that surround the travel industry but now there are more choices than ever. One thing I would like to strongly address is that, as there is enough space for all mediums (OTAs/ agents) to co–exist, there is no need to feel threatened by each other.”

On growing numbers of woman in the travel industry, Alefiya tells, “I personally think that now the society in which we live is changing with times. Women are moving out of the safe comforts of their homes and exploring opportunities not only in travel industry but other industries too. I currently see more women entrepreneurs starting their business in the travel field. This shows that the society is more comfortable with a woman running the show and being accepted as a part of the top management. So, I am quite happy to be a part of the recent times.”

► Favourite destination - Sikkim

► Favourite travel partner - Solo!

► If not here, where would you have been - Media

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Wine and novel


► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - APJ Abdul Kalam

► Favourite destination - Fiji

► Favourite travel partner - My daughter

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - None

► If not here, where would you have been - Advertising industry or home designing

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Prefer Wine & Netflix


► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Don’t be a product, be productive

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - None I am claustrophobic

► Most influential person in the industry: Adi Katgara - My first hero in the travel industry (TCI) followed by Ratan Tata

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A true believer of dream, dare and deliver

From cherishing the dream of being an entrepreneur to becoming one, Deepika Khanna, founder and CEO, Anchor Destinations and Travel Management has made her mark in the industry. Under her leadership and guidance her company has seen overall growth.

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“Gender equality matters a lot to Marriott International”Brenda Dsouza, Director of Events, Renaissance Mumbai had very early joined this property as a hostess for one of the f&b outlets and there was no looking back. Today, in a leadership role and working for 19 years at the hotel which is Marriott India’s largest multi-dimensional lifestyle complex and India’s largest MICE venue, her vivid experiences have been a glorious and integral part of her life. With the changing times, Brenda is strongly convinced that women feel free to identify their potential and are given similar or better opportunities as their male peers.

Prashant Nayak

A Mumbaikar at heart, Deepika has spent 20 years of her life being born and brought up in

Mumbai. She learnt her early business and banking skills from her father who is a businessman. Having excelled at PG diploma in travel and tourism course from Nirmala Niketan, she got married at an age of 21 and moved to Delhi. While she was still adjusting in Delhi, she started working under the guidance of her father-in-law, Shri Krishan Kishore Khanna at TCI. She affirms, “I always had the ability and believed in myself to lead from the front. The forever dreams I had, started taking shape of a vision and it feels great to finally name my dream.”

Gaining the trust of clients, vendors, hoteliers, and sustaining good

services in the extremely competitive market with competitive pricing and providing value to the clients with products offered has been some of the challenges for her. Deepika enumerates, “While starting up a new company has been a dream, it is yet to gain the significance that I have planned for and I’m quite determined that will be achieved soon.”

The company looks out for employees with fire under the belly, soft skills and willing to learn and those who are capable of driving the organisation. Sharing some tips for budding women entrepreneurs, Deepika recommends, “Be head strong and don’t get down with challenges that will always come your way sooner or later. Don’t forget to dream with a vision. Always have a girl friend whom you can discuss the challenges openly and take action. Always seek your inspiration from the women around you in the same trade, so that you can always raise your own bar.”

While Brenda agrees there were a lot of limitations for women to join the hospitality industry as

they were bond to families and various other responsibilities, but she has always witnessed Marriott addressing gender inequality issues, which recognised them in the Forbes ‘100 best workplaces for Women’. Marriott has always given opportunities to many women who stirred for excellence and empowered themselves in a male dominating industry.

There are many traits and behavioural aspects associated with women’s management and leadership style which faces harsh criticism. “Therefore it has been very difficult for me to establish myself but my passion attracted me towards learning the business and striving

through all the challenges gracefully. In today’s time it’s up to you what you make of the situation; your attitude can either make it a walk on fire or a cake walk. I see women who are at par with men in leadership roles which bring me immense pride as well as satisfaction,” tells Brenda.

While women have made a lot of progress towards diminishing patriarchy in the workplace, significant issues surrounding women employees in the hospitality and the needs of women travellers still remains unsolved. Brenda shares more, “The beginning of my career had always been challenging, regardless of culture historical content or social circumstances, men and women viewed the world and often each other through gender specifications.”

Brenda’s only advice to the other women force in hospitality industry is to be assertive. Instead of being silent, speak up and don’t be afraid to let your

► Favourite Destination - Maldives

► Favourite travel partner - My Daughter Sunidhi

► Most over-rated and under-rated person in the industry - No comments

► Go to advisor\saviour - Friends

► Your mirror image in the industry (someone who resembles you) - Currently no one

► If not here, where would you have been - VP or a Director in some multinational company


► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned) \ Soft and sedentary (do not disturb) - Getting Tanned

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Positively transforming

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Akshay Kumar or MS Dhoni

► Most influential man in the industry - Subhash Goyal, Rahul Bhatia, Sham Nijhawan

► Favourite destination - Bali ► Favourite travel partner - My Yellow Ruck Sack ► Go to advisor/saviour - Soma Roy, my role

model ► Your mirror image in the industry (someone

who resembles you) Manasi Sabnis ► If not here, where would you have been -

I cannot think any place else besides Renaissance

► Bold and beautiful (getting tanned) \ Soft and sedentary (do not disturb) - Do not disturb

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Cajetan Dsouza my husband

► Most influential person in the industry - Neeraj Govil

voice be heard and when you get into the right mindset with your peers at work, it’s a lot easier to rise to the top.

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“If you can dream it, you can do it”

Vaishali Momaya, General Manager Operations (Gujarat), Concept Hospitality, has over 14 years of rich and diverse experience, having worked with some established hotel groups. A graduate armed with Diploma in Aviation & Hospitality Management, her hospitality skills are truly reflected as she manages the Gujarat operation of the brands that accounts for more than eight hotels.

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Giving a new horizon to women empowerment

She enjoys and loves planning itineraries while offering exotic destinations and vacation options to her clients. A meticulous, multi tasker lady who keeps her shine intact even in stressful of situations. Known to be a resilient, purpose driven with a clear distinction, Ekta Watts, CEO, Equator Tours and Chairperson, Women Empowerment and CSR wing, ADTOI speaks her mind.

Bharti Sharma

Vaishali accepts the fact that earlier there were only few women in the industry as it was considered not a safe industry for

ladies to work around the clock. Now, that has changed slowly and gradually as some safety measures were enforced. Few policies made effective by the government has given positivity to the females entering this industry, with more joining every year.

Initially, being in the industry was tough for Vaishali. “Yes! It was difficult to establish because sometimes the suggestions would go unheard in the whole crowd. Those days, the number of hours that we used to put in hotels would give misbalance to the personal life. However, with family support, today there is a complete satisfaction to see those days have helped me to get success and growth. But, still for any success there are sleepless nights

behind and you have to go through fire,” says Vaishali.

Overall for Vaishali, having good days and bad days at work has made her stronger and stronger day by day. Now she is capable enough to take decisions in any circumstances with a cool head. It has made her bold enough to fight for the right and wrong for herself including the people around her. The exposure that she has gained by meeting various people across the globe has made her understand the language of love, hope and happiness. She and her family are proud for the personality that she is today.

For those willing to take a career in the industry, Vaishali tells, “I would suggest women to take up this profession and explore as it makes you strong headed and gives you a fair chance to grow. Today, we see that in many other profession women are creating benchmarks, and same can be done here too. If you can dream it, you can do it.”

The growth of women in the workplace over the years has strengthened and the world

is seeing women taking on more prominent roles in their respective fields. Ekta mentions, “I think women have been always the back-bone of the trade. Years ago also they were supporting the trade but were mainly seen working in back office operations. Now, women are the face of the company and are working on very senior designations heading major departments. We have lots of women entrepreneurs whom we should support and initiate new ideas altogether.”

If I have to describe Ekta in two words, it’s undoubtedly- bold and beautiful, bold in her actions and

beautiful from inside. She gelled with the industry so well and made it her second home. Sharing details she tells, “I never felt my journey was against the flow. As a woman it was never difficult to merge with the industry may be because I was very clear, confident and focused since beginning. Apart from that, your product knowledge, patience and hard work also help. Once you have that it is actually like a cake walk.”

For all the achievements, goal accomplishments and recognition, Ekta expresses gratitude to the travel trade. She asserts, “Travel trade has actually made me more confident, taught me to do multitasking. It has given me a lot of new friends and made me more refined. Along with this, I have explored a lot of destinations. I really feel it’s time to give back the trade in whatever way I can.”

► Favourite destination - Leh Ladakh

► Favourite travel partner - iphone► Your mirror image in the

industry (someone who resembles you) - Geeta Jetley

► If not here, where would you have been - Maybe a hairdresser

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Beer and Netflix


► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Jiyo jee bhar ke

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - A human being

► Favourite destination - Croatia and Slovenia► Favourite travel partner - My Husband► Most over-rated and under-rated person in

the industry - Let’s not name anyone► Go to advisor\saviour - Guldeep Sahni► Your mirror image in the industry

(someone who resembles you) - Still looking for one! Advice me if you know

► If not here, where would you have been - May be in teaching or consulting

► Wine & Novel\ Beer & Netflix - Beer and Netflix


► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - I am a diamond and diamonds are forever.

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - Shawn Mendes

► Most influential man in the industry - Tourism Minister

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The invincible woman with a belief in innovation

With an experience of over 17 years, Ranjana Sharma is known in the industry for her warm personality. She followed her passion to do something constructive that led her to the formation of Trav N Tours International catering to only luxury customers and emphasising on destination weddings. Heading the company as the Managing Director, she is determined and believes that with patience she can overcome all obstacles.

Sudipta Saha

Her foyer in the industry was 17 years back and the story started just for the passion of

doing something constructive in her life that would channelise her energies in something meaningful. From then till now, she has been working and has established a name for herself in the industry with hard work and zeal to do what is unconventional. She believes that in travel and trade industry, every day brings a new challenge and if you overcome them with patience and perseverance, you are a winner. All these years, she has been able to manage all the obstacles and has encountered challenges head on with a positive spirit of ‘Today again I shall win’.

She further is of the opinion that the Indian travel and tourism industry is the

second largest growing industry in India. And she would like to give back to the trade in the form of giving her expertise to the emerging youth life to the industry. Sharing her accomplishment on one such project which she considers to be the most significant in her career, she feels that luxury market is one of the most challenging with high expectations and demands. To offer out-of-the-box travel solutions and meet those demands needs courage and she further deems that experiential travel and adventure are the emerging trends in the market.

With an experience of 17 years in the travel trade industry, she feels that there is nothing more crucial than living in the present. She sounds very optimistic and determined, and says she shall continue to take one step forward and advance each day with supreme hope and conviction. Her practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism gives her the strength to live each day with joy and hope of living her life to the fullest.

► Favourite destination - Maldives, Dubai

► Favorite travel partner - My Husband

► Go to advisor\saviour - Trade► Your mirror image in the

industry (someone who resembles you) - I am one of a kind but am looking forward to find someone like me have same vision

► If not here, where would you have been - Builder

► Wine & Novel\Beer & Netflix - Doesn’t know\doesn’t drink

► If you were a product, what would be your tagline - Luxury is exclusivity, enrichment and authenticity

► Imagine yourself being stuck in a lift, whom do you prefer to be with - My husband

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Womenbefitting

SuperheroesWith the changing waves, bygone are the days

of male dominating the society. Women are

the new superheroes. She is the mother, she is the daughter, she is the wife and above all,

she is the much needed support. Here are some of the stalwarts from the

industry sharing their views on empowering

women and their inspiration (inside and outside the industry).

Bharti Sharma & Sonali Ahuja

Subhash Goyal Hony Secretary, FAITH

Women are becoming more successful and powerful. You cannot imagine a service industry without women whether it is hospitals, aviation, travel or tourism and they have become a force to reckon with. Behind the success of every man, there is a woman and behind the failure of every man there is more than one.

My inspiration in life has been my wife and I love everything about her. Three things I like the most that keep me inspired and moving are:

• She is a rare combination of beauty and brains

• She never lets me give up any project• She works very hard with me

shoulder to shoulder

My two beautiful daughters, who are both MBAs, have taken over the company and I am blessed with the three most wonderful women in my life.

Guldeep Sahni Immediate Past President OTOAI

Women were always at par with men in the male dominated society and did remarkable work. They are willing to learn as well as bring integrity and quality in the industry. Whenever there is an opportunity to enhance knowledge, women take front seats beating men in numbers. They take lead in development and delivery. My business expanded due to women being in-charge of most departments. Our

representations in Mumbai and Lucknow are led by two powerful women, while Delhi operations are led by my wife since 2003. I personally feel it is not the right phrase ‘Empowering Women’ as it gives the power to someone else. Acknowledging women power in travel trade, I would say they are the power houses.

One, I acknowledge Jyotsna Suri, CMD Bharat Hotels for the stand she took after passing away of her husband Lalit Suri, when her son was a child. She took reins of the company in her hands and took it to a level what we know today. She takes decisions with confidence that is impressing and has full knowledge of issues, making difference to the industry as

Subhash Goyal Guldeep Sahni

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well as a contribution, heading federations and other bodies. She is calm, poised and meets everyone with a smile.

Second, I acknowledge my wife Dolly Sahni. Coming from a family background where women did not go for professional jobs or businesses independently, she joined Weldon Tours & Travels in 2003 to expand outbound tours business. One of the attributes that she has is to gain complete knowledge of the products that she sells with full confidence. Second, she deals with difficult situations being calm and in control. Third, she is always on the lookout for new products and experiences at various destinations to give value to the customers she is catering to.

PP Khanna President, ADTOI

It is a great achievement for travel trade industry that more and more women entrepreneurs are taking the stage to manage the travel trade business. They extend the much needed support and take upon all the strides that come across in the day to day business. ADTOI has recently taken the initiative to have Women Empowerment and CSR Activities Committee. We have also nominated a Lady Entrepreneur Officer (LEO) in each of our state chapter to encourage more women to come forward in the business and enroll them as our members.

The inspiration comes from my sister-in-law Veena Khanna who is a successful entrepreneur. Her faith, determination and courage in her personal life with deep believe in God are all appreciable.

Rajeev Kohli Joint Managing Director, Creative Travel

I think women in the travel are more of a norm than an expectation. Having travelled the world and interacted with clients and partners of all shapes and sizes and having worked with global association roles, I find many women in roles of power and authority. I was raised to equality of the sexes as the norm and personally see no distinction between genders in their work of capabilities.

Women play a strong supportive role as I have so many friends in our trade who have their wives supporting them in the company which in no way is subservient or any less important. I remember studying in college about Keynesian Economics and the role of housewives in the calculation of economic activity. That was deeply profound as many look at the role of women as ancillary. Their role is very primary and critical to the ecosystem. It does not matter whether to work in an office or a home. The economic contribution of both is important. I have two nieces. I in no way see them any different from my two sons. There are challenges for women in the workforce globally. SITE recently did a global study on women empowerment and it was so shocking to see how backward the West actually is in treating women with equality. It is shameful, retrograde and silly. Women and men should stand side by side equal in every aspect. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron.

I know many admirable women and work for one, my mother. She has always been the head of the family and a corner stone of our stability, personally and professionally. She has been a superwoman. So I am naturally biased towards her as an inspiration. Having said that, the one woman I have seen achieve the most with the least is my wife Deepali. Few know that she is one of the youngest recipients of a PhD from the University of California. While working through her doctoral program, she gave classes in economics and had multiple teaching awards as well as

articles published, all with limited support from her family. She returned to India, married me and worked at the most important economic think-tank in India where she faced sexism and fought back. With my brother’s wife, she started an export company that thrived solely on their own merit grew to great heights. For the past years, she has worked for Creative helping us be more strategic and more efficient in our financial affairs. She is a woman who lives with a very difficult husband, manages two grown up boys, looks after my mother plus her parents, ensures we are secure as a company and so much more. Yet she asks for very little in return. She is patient, fair, strategic and intelligent. I know I can do much better to show my appreciation to her, but at least here I want to make it known, that she is my total admiration and to me a true inspiration.

Mahendra Vakharia President, OTOAI

Empowering women in any field and not only travel trade is very important. For an overall and well balanced growth of the society, contribution from women is very critical and this can happen only if they are empowered to do so. Of course, genetically they are very good at multitasking and constantly play different roles at different stages of their life besides contributing to the growth of an individual, family and indirectly society at large.

Travel trade is an industry that

PP Khanna Rajeev Kohli

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requires lot of public relation skills, working in a time bound manner to meet deadlines, social etiquette, a pleasing personality and all of these come naturally in women. They are efficient and particular at completing the job entrusted maintaining good customer relations. Sacrifice, patience and unconditional love are the three laudable attributes of the women. Different women at different stages of the life have inspired me – my mother, my wife, Mother Teresa, Sudha Murthy.

Ravi Gossain Managing Director, Erco Travels

Tourism is very innovating and creative field and at times, we need that fine tuning for designing special itineraries where women can play an important role due to their natural instinct choices. Unfortunately, if I consider the world average of women working in tourism, India is lacking far behind. We need to give level playing field to women entrepreneurs and empower them with opportunities. I am sure this will be helpful for travel trade industry.

If I take an example of Akanksha Garg who owns Waxpol Hotel & Resorts, she excelled herself in hospitality industry in a very short span of time. I have observed her closely when she was setting up this company at a young age and I feel proud that she created a recognisable space for herself in male dominated industry. This comes purely with her dedicated hard work, persistency and clear vision. She can inspire many, especially women who plan to take up tourism as a career option.”

Sanjay Narula Vice President, TAAI

I strongly believe that it is a natural instinct of a lady to bring everyone together as they collaborate naturally and work together with others. Women are accustomed to play many roles at a time because they are the homemakers while know how to make everyone happy and this works as an advantage in an organisation. Men use their alpha-male characteristics to direct others and lead, while this might be good in one way, they still won’t be able to do team work without which a company can’t move forward. Women like to work in a team, share their views and ideas and find a solution for the problem which will be in the favour of all the team members.

Women are known to have stronger business ethics when compared to that of men. Men often consider business ethics as applicable just to business, while women do not just apply it to business but consider these ethics beyond business. Women consider the right of others in the pursuit of fairness. Most probably because even a small wrongdoing on their part leaves them guilty making them feel bad about it for a long time. Since ethical behaviour is highly valued in any organisation, women have a greater chance of being a better leader, and also more accountable for whatever they do.

Now we have many wonderful woman leaders amongst us who espouse the above and I stand humbled in comparison to all of them who have created and participated in growth of more than one credible and noticeable business. It is very difficult to pick one and will pick a few for their serious contribution to the

tourism business over the years.

Jyotsana Suri - For making The Lalit, a powerhouse brand in hospitality with such unique and beautiful properties across India

Neeraj Ghei - Former head of Sita and now Select City Mall - a destination mall for every activity, be it shop, eat, leisure and more and making it numero - uno an overachiever

Ritika Modi - Head of Uniglobe Travel Services network for her tremendous effort in keeping the franchise successful and flourishing in all adversity

Priyanka Nijhawan - Head Representation Business Nijhawan Group for making her formidable mark on the business in the shortest span of time

Ratna Chaddha - Tirun marketing for helming and managing a challenging business and making it a market leader for selling cruises in India

Toral Vithlani - For managing a large company as JTB Travels and also mentoring Ishayas - a foundation helping others to find inner peace

Sheetal Munshaw - For the great effort and brilliant job of managing Atout France operations in India

Neerja Bhatia - For helming Etihad’s growth story in India

Kuku Kumar - For running Travelmate as well as a staff training institute and among the first to start a homestay concept in India

There are so many of them and the list is endless. They all espouse so much positivity and we are all so lucky to have them amongst us.

Ravi GossainMahendra Vakharia Sanjay Narula

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Rajiv Duggal, Strategic Advisor, Zen Cruises

A subject very close to my heart, I think today global travel trade is witnessing a very strong women power presence which has most importantly driven this very fragmented industry towards a highly professional direction. An eye for detail, encoding customer requirement, ensuring that a holiday is an important event for the client, considerate while curating travel, supporting client in time of need and professionalism are some of the traits that come to women more easily than their counter parts. Women empowerment in travel has resulted in a work force that is reliable and very customer centric. sales, marketing and operations today feature a strong presence of women, and this has resulted in trend that will only grow. Small to large organisations are fast realising the potential and rightly so. What is most required is for men to not get intimidated as they always do, but for them to impart skills so that they have s stronger output from their teams. We should be proud of the fact that women in the travel trade are creating magic.

It may sound strange, what with 30 year in the travel trade and having worked with many brilliant ladies who I always respect immensely, I must mention a few that influenced me very much from Rati Gulati at SITA, Neeraj Ghei, Select CITYWALK, Neelu Singh at Ezeego1, Kiran Jyoti, Travel Art, Joyti Mayal at TAAI and Rashmi Sarda at Elior, the list can go on. Each one of them like many others are strong willed and driven by a passion for results, and have stood their place in and out of our travel trade. Closer to home at JALESH Cruises I have a young lady called Preeti Sharma, Vice President of the cruise company. I have seen this lady grow and mature into a solid professional and with a determination to succeed, today handle a complex portfolio at the first cruise company of India, a task not easy. If I had to list three attributes that I have seen in her which are mentionable then - dedication, super professionalism and most importantly the flexibility to listen and learn.

Vineet Gopal, Director, Representation World

There are a lot of smart women entrepreneurs these days that have opened travel companies and are very successful. At the same time, there are women who are actively running organisations productively. I would be happy to see women growing in all sectors and outshine their counterparts. Juggling their personal and professional life is a never-ending balancing act, and they do it so seamlessly. They have been evolved to strategically think and respond sometimes better than men. Their inherent quality of adapting to situations has made them today reach pinnacles in their own professional and trade. Blessed with abundant creativity, they bring a fresh approach to the industry with innovative ideas. We owe it to the ladies of the travel trade

for unlocking extraordinary potential and newer possibilities within the travel trade.

There are a lot of women inspiring us every day. Some of them are Jyotsna Suri, Chitra Bhatia, Samina Munshi, Dolly Sahni, Kajal Khanna, Ekta Watts, Reena Chopra, Tina Wadhwa and many more. They all have been instrumental at their work.

Vineet GopalRajiv Duggal

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Deepak Khanna, COO, TBO

NDC Process

Agent will come on our portals and will create ticket in a room. We will show them both the pricing, one is the pricing from NDC and other from GDS. There is a minimum difference of around 16 Euro and it can go up to `10,000 and `11,000 depending upon the pricing. There is a huge difference in the pricing as compared to the normal economy class fare which will cost somewhere around `55,000 to `60,000. Secondly, the lowest RBDs are available on the NDC whereas those RBDs booking class are not available on the GDS. It might be possible that the class is applicable on both the side. But in some instance, say around 20-25 per cent, the low RBDs are available on the NDC but not on the GDS. The price difference of one class versus the other class is somewhere between `3500 to `4500 in one single class difference. There is no need to learn a specific command as it is an automatic ticket changer. In the GDS, you need the expert those who have to do the re-issuance on your behalf, whereas in the NDC, you can do the re-issuance on your own. Even when the transaction was made through GDS, it had to go through BSP, the same will happen in NDC.

Price war has been prevailing in the industry for years now which is an issue of concern as well. A sense

of dissatisfaction has been noticed between the airline and travel agents, in order to overcome the same and bring the right inventory and pricing to the industry, TBO took the command to facilitate NDC for their travel agent network. The NDC standard enhances the capability of communications between airlines and travel agents. With an array of significant features, NDC intends to be a win-win situation for the airlines and travel agents.

By enabling NDC on their system, TBO plans to facilitate the travel industry to transform the way air products are retailed to corporations, leisure and business travellers by addressing the industry’s current distribution limitations. As we move forward, NDC will be the future of the airline industry by offering low fares with high margins, enabling group booking and so on. NDC seems to be the future in the airline industry, something which the airlines have been trying to build over the last so many years. With Lufthansa on board the scenario looks positive and TBO being co-founder aims at bringing more advantage to the travel fraternity. The difference in pricing is immense, for example an average fare of Lufthansa on GDS versus average fare of Lufthansa on NDC can go up

to ` 5000 depending upon the class of booking. Sharing details, Ankush Nijhawan, Co-founder, TBO says, “it gives you inventory of certain classes which is not available on GDS. It offers the direct availability of Lufthansa fares allowing the travel agents to compete more in the market increasing their margins because of the differentiation in the pricing. As a technology company, TBO by far is the first one to access this. In the last many years, TBO has taken several steps to build technology and I believe NDC will be a game changer for TBO in the airline business in the years to come.”

Today, the world is moving towards technology and people are adaptive to this change. It is open to all the TBO customers, irrespective of IATA and non-IATA members in India. A lot of IATAs will not have the NDC which will now make them buy from companies such as TBO. In terms of controlling the pricing, Ankush mentions, “Pricing will come directly from Lufthansa connectivity. In regards to pricing, we will be very transparent, accessible and make sure that agents make money, more than what they have been making on Lufthansa. TBO has been very transparent in our transactions and deals and we continue to deliver the same even of NDC. Any agent who has an access to TBO will be able to see the Lufthansa ticket fares transparently and will get the comparison between the fare coming from GDS and NDC.”

The game of doing business will completely change in the coming times. At present, Lufthansa is on board and

Singapore Airlines is expected to be on board somewhere in the mid July. Gradually, it is expected that almost every airline will come under NDC. With Lufthansa onboard, Singapore Airlines and British Airways to join further, almost 30 per cent of the market will be owned under NDC. It will probably help travel agent make more money as compared to what he is making now.

Salient features

• Lower fares

• Certain booking classes

• Parity with LH

• Group bookings

• Easy user interface

• More margin for travel agents

NDC to change the booking cycle with baby steps

Innovation and technology goes hand in hand and Travel Boutique Online believes in creating a technology which is

not only innovative but proves to be valuable too. In a recent move, TBO has enabled NDC (New Distribution Capability)

which will transform the way air products are retailed. Sonali Ahuja

Ankush Nijhawan

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TripFactory set to accommodate the

tsunami of demandsInnovation is thinking about what nobody has

thought and TripFactory has broken the barriers of innovation by introducing largest holiday online

store. Login, search, buy holidays the way you want to. Vinay Gupta, Founder & Chairman, TripFactory

shares more with TTJ.Sudipta Saha

Goal and purposeLike Uber came and solved the

bumpy ride for the consumer, we wanted to solve the bumpy holiday planning. So we’re basically creating a tech platform in between the consumer and the provider in which you as a consumer can go around hundred countries and have a consistent experience. Like you go to any Starbucks globally and have a consistent experience. And at the same point of time, we are building world-class technology rethinking the DMC business, rethinking the operator business, rethinking how today’s consumers plan their holidays, how they want the flexibility during their holiday, want to switch things, cancel things, or upgrade things etc.

We basically are trying to rethink how today’s tourism industry is evolving and not how it existed yesterday. Moreover, consistence is the keyword. At present, what people are looking for? They’re looking for consistent experiences whether it’s their stay, rides or food joints. Therefore, experience is really where the audience is as we believe the world belongs to tech platforms that can control experience and create a consumer side enabling supply side and hence that’s where the flow is.

TripFactory standout from the existing online platforms

The existing OTA model is 20 years old and was created in 1998. I think, we are 20 years out in that model

and are still flogging that model thinking it will deliver to today’s consumer. But, I think this model is finished since it’s a marketing model and the holiday industry requires

the knowledge model as well as the delivery model. There are enough people to look into marketing. So, what we’re trying to do not to make the fried pan better, but to really come up with a microwave, which is another way to heat food.

Splurging demandWe have sold 350 cr of holidays

in such a short span and in the last six months, we have gone from 0 to a 100 cr on b2b alone with just nine people in our team serving b2b. We have more than a thousand partners working with us and we didn’t do much effort because of our Via credentials, about 70-80,000 people have worked with us for over a decade and people know us. We have built a trust that if we introduce something it will not be to make money and instead to raise the bar of the industry. In this whole process, we have also set up multiple DMCs.

DMC setup is a new model, like today on our platform if you go and say, I want to go to Hong Kong and then to Melbourne, Sydney or to Cannes, Brisbane then to Bali, Thailand, Singapore, and back. If you had a crazy dream like this and you visit an operator, most of them will discourage you and say it’s very bad idea, who goes there for 20 days but our platform would take about one and a half minute and give you a complete itinerary. We think holiday is a holiday and it should be defined by the experience it is.

Strategies for the upcoming years

We think we are going to be a very large global company because unlike Via where we were selling an airline which had a large local base if are supposed to sell GoAir or SpiceJet or Indigo we couldn’t sell it in Malaysia, Philippines, Dubai as much. But here if we are selling Bali, we can sell it to 200 countries in the world. So, the beauty is that this product is far more global, it’s more relevant. Also the scale is thousand times bigger than Via. This company, if it takes its full scale it’ll be huge, it should be more than a hundred million dollar company.

For solo travellersLet’s take for example, if you look

at the world it’s about manmade geography, monuments and museums and forts and palaces and it is a God made geography. And then it’s the culture and heritage of those people who have been living there that create festivals, events, food, dining, and the social fabric. So, what is unique about our platform is we don’t sell packages, we create itinerary because an itinerary is basically how you will spend your time and what experiences you will have during your travel. A typical tour operator will say in Hong Kong you go to Ocean Park or if you going Singapore you should go to Universal Studios. We would never say that because if you’ve been to Ocean Park, why would you do Universal Studios. At a platform level it will tell you it’s redundant experience, you can do something more.

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12th CIC to incentivise MICE potential

Working pro-actively towards promoting India as a preferred MICE destination, ICPB announces its 12th

Conventions India Conclave from August 29-31, 2019 at Hotel Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty. The convention is expected to augment the learning process of the

participants. Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, ICPB talks about the apt theme, partner states,

speakers and sessions at the convention.Bharti Sharma

Idea behind the theme, ‘Mapping the sustainable MICE future of India’

The focus area during the conclave will be India aiming to be the top 10 meeting destinations in the World by 2023. ICPB along with the Ministry of Tourism is compiling a research which will reveal the size of the industry, number of international conferences India does in a year and the economic effect of holding the events. The report will be available in August with exact facts and figures. Based on the research, the deliberation will be there in during the convention. Commenting on the same Chander shares, “Till today, we don’t know the size of the MICE industry. In fact, there has been no MICE policy as such. Unless we know the size, it is very difficult for any state government to develop the MICE infrastructure. And unless, we know the social and economic effect of having MICE into any particular city or a state, the government cannot be convinced to promote this segment. Keeping these factors in mind, the idea is to do the mapping involving state and central government.”

Kochi as next stop for the convention

Kerala has not been figured prominently in the MICE tourism destinations of the country. In order to promote the country as a venue for international conferences and exhibitions, ICPB planned to support the State. He further mentions, “Kerala tourism is quite aggressive in their approach when it comes to promote leisure. With new MICE properties coming in and with better connectivity, Kerala now has some

world-class infrastructure. Grand Hyatt Kochi is the venue partner for our forthcoming 12th CIC which is one of the best and largest in India for MICE. Along with this, we are going to open our chapter in Kerala.”

International roadshow in UK and Europe and participation in World Trade shows

ICPB organised a successful MICE International Road Show in Europe. ICPB chose Paris, Brussels, Geneva and Zurich as they have a number of international association headquarters. More than 100 MICE buyers and association representatives covering all major cities of MICE market in Europe participated in the event. Chander delightedly tells, “Our preference is always where the MICE business generates. As most of the business is generated through the associations, being the hub of most of the world associations, Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt are substantial for us.”

Roadshow in Bhubaneshwar

Bhuvneshwar has come up with the world-class infrastructure and been catering to a lot national conventions. Talking about the upcoming roadshow in Bhubaneswar, Chander tells, “The concept of the roadshow is going to be different. Earlier, we only had the local conference organisers from the host city but this time ICPB will be hosting potential PCOs, buyers and associations from different cities.”

Expected buyers and sessions

Approximately 30 foreign buyers and more than 100 domestic buyers

are expected during 12th CIC. Sharing the details on the sessions, he reveals, “The speakers have been identified for the convention. As far as sessions are concerned, one panel discussion will have panelists from the state and central government and will be moderated by a senior person from overseas. It will discuss the policies and how other countries are working to promote MICE. Another session will be a debate about India aiming to be the top 10 meeting destinations in the world by 2023.”

Attaining the desired target

The target has been set! ICPB is all set to achieve the target and is already working to accomplish it. Very optimistic Chander shares, “I’m quite optimistic and believe to achieve the targets provided we work towards it unified. The tourism is a state subject. ICPB organised one day seminar in association with the Government in Goa. The initiative was taken realising the MICE potential of the state. We had stakeholders and government at one platform. It discussed the importance of MICE along with its economic effect. The idea is to explore the opportunities in potential states instead of being stationed in Delhi. Similarly, ICPB will be now going into most of the states and whether it’s a roadshow or a convention. Our aim is to promote and to sensitise people that MICE can you provide much more revenue and opportunities than regular.”

Dear, airlines - are you new distribution compatible?-Ian Heywood, Global Head, New Distribution, Travelport

In February, I was discussing NDC in a meeting in London alongside a senior IATA executive and some very experienced representatives of the

corporate travel world. In the usual back-and-forth of debate we touched on something which, on the surface, seemed like an obscure - almost theological - point on the merits of something called ‘16.1’ and ‘17.2’.

As eyes inevitably glazed over, I explained that these refer to versions of IATA’s NDC technical standard, with ‘16.1’ meaning the first version it rolled out in 2016 and ‘17.2’ the second one in 2017.

Why, I hear you ask, does all this matter? Surely these are all basically the same, aren’t they?

Well, yes and no.

Standard standards

They are all, of course, standards which enable airlines to connect directly to other organisations to sell their full range of inventory. That is the whole point of NDC.

The standards have been in place

for a few years already and

thousands of NDC-

enabled bookings have been made - many with the five airlines now deploying NDC on Travelport’s platform.

But, just as a 1920s Ford Model T car can still perform the basic function of driving on a highway on four wheels, you would not want to use it except for sentimental reasons.

It’s the same with NDC. The 16.1 standard will only get you so far. You can just about book an airline seat with it. But not much else. So it is not much use to anybody.

That is why, from March 2019, IATA will only certify NDC connections based on its 17.2 and subsequent versions. That means every connection will need to be sufficiently compatible to enable

air offer shopping and ordering as a minimum.

Next phase Also, IATA has introduced NDC

Level 4 ‘Full Offer/Order Management’ for airlines.

This can now support full servicing, including voluntary and importantly involuntary changes such as schedule changes. These are critical functions for users of the intermediary channel.

It is great news for the industry that such standards are advancing as we enter this new era. It means there will be even stronger standards of compatibility underpinning the NDC era.

The recent change has highlighted how the pace of implementation of NDC has been affected by the slow rate of adoption of the more up-to-date NDC standards by many airlines in the past two years or so.

It hampered progress towards the ‘20/20/20’ IATA goal of 20 per cent of content from 20 per cent of carriers to be distributed through NDC by 2020.

Many of the carriers - even among NDC’s strongest supporters - were slow to adapt to the new 17.2 standard. But now at last they have.

It illustrates the very complicated nature of creating a thriving NDC ecosystem. Each component has to be compatible with each other. Unlike the Model T, no two NDC connections will be the same.

NDC continues what we’ve always done at Travelport: providing choice to our customers through relevant, bookable content from whichever distribution method a supplier chooses to connect to us.

That is why we say 2019, as the year of delivery, will be a hard but rewarding time.

We are working with dozens of airlines already on plugging into their systems, many of them still under construction, and connecting them with agility to the wider world in a seamless and compatible chain.

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Your special occasions come to life at Lords Hotels

Lords Hotels and Resorts is one of the fastest growing hotel chains with 39 hotels across 10

states and two countries. The resorts and hotels have carved a niche in the hospitality industry by

offering unprecedented services. The properties are spread in major locations, be it pilgrimage, resorts or

business destinations.Team TTJ

Week-long of wellness celebration at Hyatt Pune

From weddings to corporate gatherings, Lords

Hotels have all the necessary services and an experienced team to plan them efficiently. Taste fully designed banquet halls, sprawling green lawns, modern and luxurious guest rooms and delicately chosen

menu from separate vegetarian and non vegetarian kitchen at select locations will let the guest celebrate special day with panache and style. A day of togetherness will be enhanced at wonderful locations for a large lavish event or a simple intimate gathering.

Over 400 properties around the world took up the challenge and hosted a variety of events

designed to bring their landmarks of Wellbeing – Feel, Fuel and Function – to life. At Hyatt Pune, the team hosted a series of health and wellness events leading up to the day. It was a celebration involving various health and fitness related activities emphasising the importance of wellness in every form.

The week-long awareness campaign commenced with a thought provoking panel discussion on ‘Wellness & You’ with experts from various fields such as dance therapy, holistic healing, meditative healing and Yoga while they shared their invaluable thoughts with guests and team members. Thus, exploring various strategic partnerships with wellness experts of Pune, the Hyatt Pune, hosted events such as

water dance at poolside calming and rejuvenating session on Yoga and meditation by in-house expert Dr Kedar Joshi. This was followed by a special talk organised for the women of Pune enlightening them about the importance of mental wellness and the steps that can be taken to attain well-being. The celebration concluded with Hyatt Pune Olympics, where in the hotel team actively took part in various team-building activities focussing on how to function better together as a team.

Speaking about the hotel’s efforts towards wellness, Sumit Kumar, General Manager at Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar said, “At Hyatt, we think of wellbeing as an ecosystem, if our colleagues are well, they can better care for or guests and customers leading to the ultimate realisation of our purpose. We care for people so that they can be

at their best. Through these initiatives we hope that we have made a positive impact on how people feel, fuel and function at work and their daily lives.”

Global Wellness Day is a social phenomenon celebrated worldwide on the second Saturday of June every year. The purpose of Global Wellness Day is to inspire each person to ask the question: How can I live a healthier and better life?

The day inspires both businesses and individuals alike to help raise awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This not-for-profit event offers Hyatt a unique opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to wellbeing around the world, either by engaging guests or their communities in their hotel’s existing health and wellness offerings, or by personally committing to take steps for a healthier life.

In a bid to make a promise to care for the wellbeing of our colleagues, customers and guests Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar, this year demonstrated

the brand’s global commitment to wellness and well-being. The hotel spreads the awareness of

wellness among its guests and employees through a weeklong wellness celebration during Global

Wellness Day on June 8, 2019.Team TTJ

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Tourism and hospitality are the key components and biggest contributor to India’s tourism GDP. Also, it is one of the biggest employers of the skilled and unskilled workforce. Although last year’s Union Budget was a setback to India’s promising hospitality industry, this year, the

industry is expecting much more attention, favourable policies, fund allotments and better tax reforms. Lets us know the budget expectations from few industry leaders.

Bharti Sharma

What’s in the bag for tourism and hospitality?

Nishant Pitti, Co-Founder and CEO, EaseMyTrip

Travel and tourism industry in India account for more than 9 per cent of the GDP of India and creates great opportunities for employment and foreign-exchange. So, I believe that government will definitely focus on this sector in Union Budget of 2019. There should be fund allotment for the infrastructural developments, be it the airports and railway stations, tourist places or other facilities. In fact, major initiatives should also be taken to promote our heritage destinations on global level. There must be no delay in refund of GST since the postponement in the refund blocks the working capital and creates stress for the industry. From this budget as well, I am expecting the continuation of tax immunity for startups and small enterprises. This will help them grow more.

Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions – Indian Subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group

According to the interim budget that was announced earlier this year, India is poised to become a $5 trillion economy in the next five years and is aspiring to become a $10 trillion economy in the next eight years thereafter. The interim budget had offered some promising initiatives that will definitely augur well for the Indian Travel & Tourism industry. Initiatives such as UDAAN, Eastern Peripheral Highway and several other measures will boost not just domestic travel but also augment inbound tourism. For example, increased connectivity in the North-Eastern region of India, through

rail, road and air (owing to projects such as UDAAN and Bogibeel Bridge) and further proposed allocation of ` 58,166 crore will provide much needed impetus to travel and tourism in the region.

Additionally, the fact that domestic passenger traffic has doubled during the last five years shows that there is phenomenal growth expected in the travel industry. On the whole, we expect that the Union Budget 2019-20 is promising for the travel industry, complemented by further tax rebate for the middle-income group – more savings, more travel! A review of GST is needed as GST on hotels varies according to room tariffs (18 per cent to 28 per cent). Tax on premium hotels in India is amongst the highest in the world, higher than even hotels in New York, London or Paris.

Sandeep Gupta, Executive Director, Asian Hotels West

The hospitality and tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in India and it has the potential to expand by 2.5 per cent with higher budgetary allocation. The employment opportunities are expected to rise by 2 per cent each year to 52.3 million jobs by 2028. While the hospitality sector is expecting better policies

and tax reforms, keeping in mind the primary GST rate of 28 per cent on luxury hotels. The high percentage has made the star category hotels in Indian cities the most taxed in the world. By rationalised changes, one may standardise the luxury segment and making India competition ready with an increase in demand. This would also result into India’s positioning as one of the chosen destinations, enabling foreign exchange value for the nation.

Sarbendra Sarkar- Founder and Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts

The expected budget would be pro-farmer, middle sector and lower income groups with major emphasis on infrastructural development in a formulaic manner. This will strengthen the current fiscal system and will formulate new travel destinations and avenues. Considering the rising disposable income and higher tax savings, the travel, and hospitality industry could foresee a positive domestic tourist movement.

Aditi Balbir, Founder and CEO, V Resorts

Tourism plays a vital role in the growth of the economy of our nation

Nishant Pitti Rakshit Desai Sandeep Gupta

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contributing to a large proportion of GDP, leading to job creation. Considering the increased inbound travel, it has become one of the fastest growing service industries in the country with great potentials for its further expansion. Although last year’s Union Budget was a setback to India’s promising hospitality and tourism industry, this year we are expecting more attention for this sector, favorable policies, fund allotments for startups and better tax reforms. The most crucial concerns right now are water crisis, endless traffic jams, pollution control, waste management, etc. Therefore, we also look forward to amending some policies and initiative around the same for green and sustainable tourism. The government should be approachable and willing to listen, even to the smallest of startups

and initiatives towards bridging our requirements with them. In addition, there is a need to have the advanced infrastructure to further the growth of tourism in India

Anil Kumar Prasanna, CEO, AxisRooms

Expectations are very high with the continued BJP government at the center. In the hospitality industry, we are still looking at a reduced single

rate GST, this can boost the domestic and inbound traffic to the business. Being a startup, the schemes such as CGTMSE and Mudra loans are not yet transparent, banks and financial institutions are unaware or keep asking collateral for such loans, if this can be simplified then this can boost employment reduce the stress on entrepreneurship, and would also request for bigger outlay spends on these loans.

Sarbendra Sarkar Aditi Balbir Anil Kumar Prasanna

Swiss Museum of Transport

Verkehrshaus is a place to expe-rience the history of road-, rail,water- and air-borne mobility, as well as that of space travel in a unique interactive way. Its attracti-ons are sure to win you over.

www.verkehrshaus.ch/en

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SWISS CHOCO-LATE ADVENTURE

Seeing, hearing, tasting: this multimedia ride is a discovery and appeals to all the senses. Learn about the discovery, origin, production and transport of fi nest swiss LINDT chocolate.

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Located in Lucerne, Switzerland

With traditional and even ancient structures, the grandeur of Sharjah fascinates every visitor. The emirate is all set to pitchfork itself on the global stage. HE

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority throws some light on how the destination caters to all shades of tourists

whilst promoting its heritage.Bharti Sharma

Sharjah’s tourismestablishments specifically designed to cater Indian travellers

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority are expecting high numbers in the next five years. In order to achieve

exciting numbers, Sharjah plans to promote three segments in India – these are ‘Culture and Heritage’, ‘Gastronomy’ and ‘Adventure’ which will lead to the emirate’s increase in popularity. Talking about some upcoming events and its impact on tourist numbers, HE Khalid shares, “The major event, Expo 2020 which is going to be held in UAE in October 2020, will provide a key opportunity for the tourism and hospitality industry in the country which will reflect a positive growth and give impetus to tourism in Sharjah as well. Additionally, the Emirate is going to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a series of activities and events in 2021, which will help us in achieving high numbers and reach our target of 10 million visitors by 2021.”

As indicated by the rising number of Indian tourists flocking to Sharjah’s tourism establishments, the events, festivals and

lifestyle experiences are specifically designed to cater to the Indian travellers choice. SCTDA also took Sharjah’s tourism proposition to India’s travel trade earlier this year, attended leading Indian international travel exhibitions in New Delhi. He shares, “At SATTE 2019, we highlighted our upcoming projects such as the Novotel Hotel Sharjah, which will feature 200 rooms and suites including three

restaurants, a health club, private suites, a business center, private workshops and two meeting rooms, including a 200 m² conference hall built according to the highest specifications, marking Sharjah hospitality’s expansion into the business hotel market. This project is strategically located near the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and we will be opening it in August this year. We also introduced the Pullman hotel in Sharjah that has 188 rooms and suites and large meeting rooms, these premium developments reflect Sharjah’s hospitality sectors’ commitment to cater to Indian businesses.”

A fine balance between tradition and modernity is a key differentiating factor that sets Sharjah apart from other global tourism destinations. The emirate is the cultural capital of the region, due to its continuing focus on preserving and celebrating its rich cultural heritage. Sharing further, HE Khalid mentions, “The emirate has a long-standing reputation of being a family

friendly destination as well. These achievements are further underscored by a series of recognitions the emirate has garnered, including UNESCO’s ‘Cultural Capital of the Arab World’ in 1998 and ‘World Book Capital 2019’ titles as well as the ‘Capital of Islamic Culture’ title in 2014.”

The emirate of Sharjah is well known for its role as a patron of fine arts, true cultural values and traditions. The emirate has successfully crafted a cultural identity that complements its Islamic roots, historic heritage, and the modern world. “In recent years, the increasing interest among nature-seekers prompted the sector to tap ways to further capitalise our natural sceneries and create a distinctive experience for visitors. We have also increased activities such as desert adventures, including trekking, stargazing, and camping. This aspect can be seen particularly in ‘The Heart of Sharjah’ project where a transformation of houses and buildings into art facilities, showrooms and museums or ateliers for calligraphers and artists has reworked the surroundings of the foundations of original Sharjah to find a place in the middle of the modern city,” asserts HE Khalid.

SCTDA in June and July organised roadshows along with meetings and workshops inviting leading travel and tour operators in each city that contributes to outbound travel from India-Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Lucknow. sharing further on the promotional strategies, HE Khalid says, “There have been numerous activities going on throughout the years such as organising meetings and workshops, familiarisation trips and participation in key exhibitions across India. We will continue to boost these efforts including advertisements in key markets and optimising our social media presence to increase engagement. Presentations were held on Sharjah during our roadshows and on the airline connectivity from India; new routes by Air Arabia were unveiled to educate travel partners about Sharjah and its offerings. The roadshows were followed by lucky draws offering multiple air tickets and networking dinners.”

“We have also conducted multiple media and trade fam trips. Along with this, we are also advertising in English and regional language newspapers and magazines - PAN India to attract more tourists. We have also initiated a number of social media campaigns and JMPs with prominent travel trade partners,” concludes HE Khalid.

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Soak in the best of Bhopal hospitality

It’s time to move away from the conventional destination and hit the destinations which are unconventional. Bhopal ‘residing in the heart of India’ might not be popular as a travel

destination but could be explored and experienced for its utmost offerings. The city is encouraging tourism with an extensive approach, giving the hotel brands an opportunity to

establish themselves offering an experiential stay for the travellers.Sudipta Saha

Gaurav Rege General Manager, Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, Bhopal

Compared to the previous year, this year has been little slower. The biggest issue is that people have huge myth about discounting, sadly managers think if they discount they are going to attract more business, which is going to increase overall revenues. On the contrary, it’s just the opposite. The volume of business is not growing; we as a hotel in the higher end of the spectrum, have been holding on to the rates and in fact, increasing rates. Currently our figures are absolutely stronger as compared to others. My budgeting is done on a day to day basis and the heat played a spoil spot. Locals have been travelling out of the city and nobody from outside the city travelled to Bhopal that also impacted the f&b sales. MICE has got majorly impacted and the fact that having different government at the centre and the state has also not helped the business scenario. The people in government, segment have not been spending which is a huge account for us, but this is what the quarter month was. But I am optimistic about the coming months. In the last four years, I have had a double digit growth y-o-y, where I have given a surplus of the budget to the owners. The team is positive about achieving the target, it’s just that my budget is little stiff.

Sharad JaitlyGeneral Manager,Noor-Us-Sabah Palace

We are a heritage property with 57 rooms, two big venues in terms of lawns which can accommodate 500-2000 pax. We have six indoor venues for 20-500 people and equipped with other facilities such gym, spa, swimming pool, etc. Talking about the market, Bhopal is more in to PSUs, government segments and we are dealing with them. In terms of occupancy, it goes to somewhere around 63-65 per cent. As a hotel, we work with 57 room inventory and there are challenges. Bhopal as a market has a lot of scope in terms of corporate segments. At present, we see major events happening in Indore which can be plant in Bhopal through which we can also extent ourselves. We are an f&b centric hotel with four restaurants and banqueting wedding venue. Being, one of the prime hotels in Bhopal, there are ample opportunities and we see scope in f&b. Food and beverage is one of the target segments we are looking at this year till the financial year. We have opened Chinese restaurant which is one of the exclusive restaurants which has come up in Bhopal and we are seeing appreciating footfall. We are more into the corporate segment and thus work on the corporate model.

David ClementDirector of Sales,Courtyard by Marriott

Bhopal is a growing market after the new government has taken over and the present CM being an industrialist, is encouraging a lot many industrialists to come in to Bhopal. Earlier, the focus was Indore which is somehow moving towards Bhopal. There are four flights operating ‘touching different destination’ which again is a positive sign. People are coming to Bhopal and investing and the government is also giving subsidiaries to develop the place. Earlier, we were operating with 101 rooms but now we have added up another 59 rooms because the demand is rising. With 101 rooms ‘the occupancy has been 82 per cent but now it has gone up to 87 per cent. We are in a position to give away 110-120 rooms in one go for weddings, MICE, conferences etc. This year, we have few medical conferences lined up and we already clocked in because they wanted 100 rooms and we are the only hotel to offer so. We are working with various national sales offices to push in the MICE business towards Bhopal. Earlier, we were a business hotel and now we are open to MICE business. The hospitality industry in Bhopal is booming’ apparently competition is rising, so it is very evident that business is pouring in the city.

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THANKING OUR PARTNERS

INVITINGDMC, CRUISES, HOTELS,

WHOLESELLERS, AIRLINES, TOURISM BOARDS, REPRESENTATIONS,

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY

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EXPLORING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES EXPLORING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES


PLEASE CALL FOR PARTICIPATIONS :

SUDIPTA SAHA - 9560614449, 9818965684E-MAIL: [email protected]

YORKERHOLIDAYS SERVICES

JULY 5, 2019 BENGALURU

AUGUST 9, 2019 PUNE

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THANKING OUR PARTNERS

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TO REGISTER AS BUYER KULDEEP SINGH - 9560264448

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A MoU was sgned by Dai Ming Qing, Chairman of Board of Zhangjiajie

Tourism Group and Vishal Yadav, Director Tourism Representations. The MoU puts forth that Tourism Representations will make full use of its various channels, including tourism websites, magazines and other related media, to promote the beautiful scenery of Zhangjiajie city and Zhangjiajie Tourism Group and its member companies, so as to achieve the purpose of promoting the popularity, reputation and credibility of Zhangjiajie city. Tourism representations

will be the whole sole Indian organisation to promote the destination in India for the benefit of tourism industry. “Zhangjiajie is one of the most beautiful destinations on the earth but unexplored and untouched by Indian tourists so after signing the memorandum we are confident that we will be able to generate lot of awareness for the destination,” said Vishal Yadav.

Tourism Representation started promoting the destination even before boarding the flight for Zhangjiajie. Vishal Yadav further added, “We created Facebook

and Whatsapp groups and sent the pictures and other information on daily basis which created lot of curiosity for the destination. Now after coming back we are using the power of social media and everyone is very active in promoting the destination on different social media platforms. Even we have created Facebook page www.facebook.com/OMG-Zhangjiajie for the promotion and we are getting very good response.” The campaign in the name of ‘OMG Zhangjiajie’ was also launched and in addition to this domain www.omgzhangjiajie.com have been blocked to create web page for India market. “We have also signed for three city Travel Exhibition and will be participating and promoting the destination in Bangalore, Pune and Guwahati . In the future also we are planning to participate in different big travel Exhibitions in India and will plan road shows as well in different cities,” concluded Vishal Yadav.

Tourism Representations signs MoU with Zhangjiajie Tourism Group

Tourism Representations signed a Memorandum of Establishing Strategic Partnership and Cooperation between Zhangjiajie Tourism Group Company and Tourism Representations to promote Zhangjiajie Tourism in India. It was decided that Tourism Representation will become an important

source to promote and create awareness of Zhangjiajie in India market.Team TTJ

Travel date should be 20 days later than the submission date

As per the latest update from The Royal Danish Embassy, travel date should be 20 days after submission of visa application. Visa application centre will not accept any visa application if travel date is within 20 days from the date of submission. Please make a note of the above while sending your

Denmark visa application

Bangladesh multiple entry visas

For frequent travellers to Bangladesh, Jetsave can assist in getting the multiple entry visas with following validity options:

Multiple entry for three months

Multiple entry for six months

Multiple entry for one year

Introducing escalation manager to address all your service issues

Feedback is an essential component for improving the service standards. We have always welcomed the service feedback from our clients and shall continue to do so, as it plays a vital role in filling the system

gaps and thereby raising our service standards. In an attempt to make it easier and quicker for you to share your service feedback to us, we shall like to introduce our escalation manager Ravi Segan, who can be contacted anytime as per below details

Name : Ravi Segan

Mobile Number : 9818188588

Email ID : [email protected]

Delay in Portugal visa processing due to an unforeseen technical issue

As per the latest update, please note that there will be some delay in visa processing for Portugal visas, due to an unforeseen technical problem. Hence, expect

longer processing time for Portugal visas for next couple of days until the technical issue is resolved. There is no timelines shared by the Embassy/Consulate at this stage. Advice all your applicants accordingly.

Bank letter mandatory along with bank statement for Chinese tourist visas

The Embassy of China has made it mandatory to provide the bank letter (Duly signed with bank seal) along with the original bank statement (Duly signed with bank beal) for tourist visas. Now onwards, visa application centre will not accept any tourist visa application for China without bank letter.

Visa update


OYO comes on board as a preferred hotel on the Atlas Travels platform and the

special offer is extended only to Atlas Travel Online’s network of 20,000 travel partners. The month long promotion offers 10% cash back on booking any OYO hotel on Atlas Travel Online portal. There are roadshows organized across the country to showcase the benefits of this promotion to the travel partners.

With regards to the partnership, Gaurav Ajmera, COO, India and South Asia, OYO Hotels & Homes commented, “at OYO, our single-minded focus is to make standardised and trusted quality accommodation at affordable prices accessible to travellers across the globe. We are pleased to partner with Atlas Travel Online, a renowned travel portal, to extend our offering to the portal’s customers and together provide guests across geographies memorable travel experiences. We strongly believe that this partnership will be extremely

beneficial for the modern day traveller”Speaking of the joint promotion, “We have

predominantly been known for our air deals and offers, however in the past year we have experienced great momentum in our hotel booking segment. Almost 40% of our business comes from hotel bookings and we have direct relationships with our suppliers. OYO is undoubtedly the largest and the fastest growing hotel chain and we are excited with our partnership as our travel partners have a great deal to benefit from.” says Hussain Patel, Director, Atlas Travels Online.

This joint promotion of Atlas Travel Online with its vast network of more than 20,000 agents transacting on its upgraded and advanced technology and OYO’s unbeatable offer will benefit both the companies to achieve greater heights. We at TTJ congratulate both the teams and wish all the best for the success for the monsoon campaign. A few months ago, Treebo came on board as preferred hotels on Atlas online platform offering exciting deals to the vast Atlas’s agent’s network.

It’s raining offers in Atlas Travels Online & OYO joint promotions this monsoons

Atlas Travels Online and OYO have come together to provide their travel partners an exciting offer - OYO’s Yo Deal that kick starts June 25th, 2019 for 30 days. The

announcement was made in form of a Ribbon Cutting ceremony at Atlas Online office in Mumbai with representatives of both organisations present at the event.

Team TTJ

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Treasure trove ofRajasthan’s royal past

Displaying a rich collection of archeological wealth of Bharatpur, the Government Museum is situated inside the historic Lohagarh Fort, Rajasthan. This museum exhibits a unique and large collection of coins, weapons, decorative art objects, sculptures, arms,

inscriptions, etc, housing more than 4000 antiquities.

Team TTJ

The Kachahri Kalan and Kamara Khas buildings were built during the reign of Maharaja Balwant Singh

in the first half of 19th century AD. Sculptures and other exhibits were collected from various places of the region and initially displayed in public library under the support of H H Maharaja Sawai Brijendra Singh in 1939. In 1944 AD, these were shifted to the present building of Kachahri Kalan. This museum was opened for public on Nov 11, 1944.

The building inside which the museum is located is a wonderful example of artistic beauty. Bharatpur Government Museum

also displays some of the most distinctive archaeological resources and antiquated artifacts. The Government Museum of Bharatpur is the abode of ancient souvenirs which are of rare quality. This museum was a large building known as Kachahri Kalan in the beginning. It was the section of the rulers of the district of Bharatpur. Afterwards, in 1944 AD Kachahari Kalan was converted into a government museum.

Kamra Khas or the personal block of the Bharatpur rajas became a main part of the museum. This museum truly depicts the glory and richness of the kings of Bharatpur.

Important exhibits and souvenirs of the museum are very well maintained and protected properly inside the museum. Bharatpur Museum is very lavishly decorated with many precious statues which were discovered during the archaeological excavation of old villages of Mailah, Bayana, Noh and Bareh. This museum is one of the prominent tourist attractions of Bharatpur and tourists coming from any part of the world are very much attracted by the beauty of the museum.

Exhibits of the museum

Bharatpur museum displays a wide variety of exhibits which include metallic objects, miniature paintings, stone and sculptures, terracotta, local art and crafts, weaponry section, coins, inscriptions, etc. The main section of the museum has artifacts from second century which clearly depicts the skill and art of the area. Main artifacts at the museum include sculptures, dating back from first to 19th century AD, which were found during the excavation of old villages. Other prominent exhibits of the museum are paintings, zoological specimens, manuscripts, weaponry collection etc. Art gallery of the museum displays miniature paintings, mica and old litho papers, royal paintings etc.

Location of Bharatpur Museum

The museum is situated in Bharatpur, about five km away from the Lohagarh Fort, seven km from the Bharatpur railway station and four km from Bharatpur bus stand.

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Ariyana Tourism Complex Danang eyes India marketAriyana Tourism Complex Danang, comprising of Furama Resort & Villas, Ariyana Convention Centre and Ariyana Beach Resort & Suites Danang, has recently signed with IRIS Reps India Company in a pursuit to expand its network and connect with India market. This also aims to attract more visitors from India, whose market is regarded with great potential.Team TTJ

The prestigious IRIS Reps India Company, headed by Sumit Banerji, Director collaborates to promote the

Ariyana Tourism Complex, providing administrative and sales support, professional services regarding distribution channels, marketing plans as well as acting as Ariyana Tourism Complex’s representatives in India.

Nguyen DucQuynh, Deputy General Director of Ariyana Tourism Complex opined, “We have been conducting market research and making business plans in order to approach the India market; subsequently having an official representative office in India

is inevitable and an essential step to build awareness about us in the India market. Ariyana Tourism Complex and Furama Resort Danang have also taken part in key activities to promote Vietnam and Danang tourism to India market, including our participation in the international travel and tourism trade show (SATTE 2018), hosting fam trips from India, organising Indian Cuisine Week as well as Vietnamese culinary exchanges at the Cilantron Restaurant in the luxurious Trident Hotel Gurugram, New Delhi.”

Previously in November 2018, the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and the First Lady of India had a three-

day state visit to Vietnam and hosted by the Vietnamese government at the Furama International Convention Palace. Not only was this President Kovind’s first state visit to Vietnam, but also his first trip to Asia since he took office in July 2017. President Kovind emphasised that Vietnam-India economic relations have made significant achievements and a lot more is waiting to happen. In the past eight years, bilateral trade has almost quadrupled from US$ 3.7 billion in 2010 to US$ 12.8 billion in 2017. With Vietnam and India both on a path of high growth, this trend is expected to continue.

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FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE CONTACTAddress: Air Tanzania 204, 2nd Floor-A Wing, Kanakia Wall Street, Andheri East,

Near Chakala Signal, Mumbai-400059.Helpdesk: 022 4882 5811/12/13 | E-mail: [email protected]

Starting from 18th July

COMMENCING DIRECT FLIGHTMUMBAI TO DAR ES SALAAM

FLIGHT NO. DAYS OF OPERATION ORIGIN DEPARTURE DESTINATION ARRIVAL FLIGHT LENGTH

TC 401 Mon, Thu, Sat Bom 04:45 Dar 08:35 06h 20m

TC 400 Wed, Fri, Sun Dar 18:00 Bom 02:50+1 06h 20m

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Knowledge Conclave: A TAAI initiative on executive education

The conclave was an initiative by TAAI members to educate

the travel fraternity for a fast changing tomorrow. It was a two day long event on June 25-26, 2019 in the Hotel Novotel. The delegates were members from Northern Region: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Jammu Kashmir. TAAI’s mission is to push learning to their members and the knowledge conclaves are designed to enable mind mapping. It was an outstanding opportunity to seek empowerment for the industry to grow, sustain and be visible.

The conclave was divided into five sessions featuring the travel trends and fast changing market place. The other key features included updates about technology such as NDC, NewGen ISS; stand alone versus the consortium consolidation as well as success stories from path breaker companies. The b2b networking session was concluded the gala dinner.

Sri Lanka Tourism launches special packages for Indian tourists

In an effort to ramp up Indian outbound tourists visiting Sri

Lanka, Sri Lanka Tourism in collaboration with SriLankan Airlines, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and inbound tour operators has introduced attractive packages, specifically targeting India, the number one source market, to revive the industry that had a temporary setback due to the recent incident. The package offered includes discounted airfare, accommodation, transport and more, ranging from 30 per cent to 60 per cent. This package is unique to India and can be availed across SriLankan Airlines’ network covering 12 cities in India with 123 weekly flights.

The five tour packages to Sri Lanka range from a combination of stays in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Dambulla, Sigiriya and South Coast with multiple options to suit any budget. These offers will be valid for stays from June 10, 2019 to September 30, 2019 and can be availed through the travel agents network in India.

Oman Tourism strengthens its outreach in India with three-city roadshow

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman successfully conducted roadshows

in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai on May 27, 29 and 31, 2019 respectively, to strengthen its outreach among the travel trade fraternity in India. In an effort to retain the growth momentum of Indian arrivals into Oman, the ministry along with DMCs, hotels, attraction operators and Oman Air connected with over 200 notable travel and tour companies.

Commenting on the roadshow, Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “Tourism is on the rise and inbound arrivals from India has significantly increased in the last few years. India represents a substantial and vast market for Oman, given the high percentage of travellers willing to travel abroad and experience new destinations. We have been observing a steady y-o-y increase in

tourist arrivals to Oman from India and are extremely pleased with the consistent growth. While Mumbai is one of our primary source markets, Bengaluru and Pune have shown immense potential as we see a rise in the number of outbound travellers from these cities. They are constantly on the lookout for unique destinations and Oman fits the bill perfectly.”

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ADTOI Conducts Breast Screening Camp

A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.

Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) believes that a woman’s health is of utmost importance. An outstanding initiative taken by Ekta Watts and the women wing, for the first time in history, the association organised a Breast Health Care and Screening Camp in Delhi for ADTOI Women Entrepreneurs and spouses of ADTOI members on June 8, 2019 at NAB India Centre.

ADTOI organises GST refresher seminar

ADTOI organized a GST refresher seminar combined with its monthly general house meeting. The session

was very informative and interactive and was well attended by its members. Shri Dheeraj Rastogi, GST commissioner and Joint Secretary hear the concerns and interacted with members.

Shri Ashu Dalmiya and Shri Rakesh Chitkara guided the members and Siddharth Jain, Chairman, GST Committee and entire ADTOI team brought the event together making it a huge successful. ADTOI members were given a ready reckoner booklet on GST related to our industry compiled and edited by Shri Ashu Dalmia & Shri Rajeev Jain.

App

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tsCygnett Hotels & Resorts

Cygnett Hotels & Resorts

has announced the appointment of Debasish Chandra as the Regional Director, Pre-opening & Development. Chandra will be responsible for formulating new ideas to extend Cygnett group

reach new territories along with streamlining operations in the existing units and swift pre-openings of the upcoming hotels.

Radisson Blu Dwarka

Munish Bhatia has been appointed as

the General Manager of Radisson Blu New Delhi Dwarka. A well-seasoned hotelier with in-depth operational experience and has extensive knowledge. His skills and experience will further

augment the capabilities of the hotel to provide excellent service and delightful experience to the guests.

JW Marriot Kolkata

Soumodeep Bhattacharya

is employed with JW Marriot Kolkata as the Director of Sales and Marketing. In this present role, this goal-oriented and articulate speaker is already taking giant strides in leveraging his in depth

experience to influence stakeholders and translate ideas into results.

Novotel Imagica Khopoli

Rejoe Francis has been appointed

as the new Director of Sales for Novotel Imagica Khopoli. In his role, Rejoe will be responsible for leading and further evolving all aspects of the sales, driving revenues,

promoting brand strategies and providing the best of Novotel Imagica Khopoli’s hospitality experience to the guests.

Position: Marketing Manager/Analyst Duties: Market research and analysis. Designing annual marketing plan. Identifying market opportunities for Spain. Programming and implementing events.Type of contract: Permanent staff. Full time jobAnnual salary: USA $ 42,080.82Requirements: University degree. Fluent in English (Spanish is not required but it is a bonus).Selection process: Evaluation of academic and professional background + 3 tests + 1 job interview. People interested: Need to submit the original signed application form on a maximum of ten working days starting from June 28 Tourism Office of Spain Ground Floor, Wing A, Peninsula Tower, Peninsula Corporate Park, G K Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013

(The application form cannot be submitted by email)Documents to be submitted:a. The form fully completed and signed by the applicant

(pdf or photocopy won’t be accepted) Download the form: i. https://www.tourspain.es/es-es/trabaja-con-nosotros-

en-el-exteriorii. or email to [email protected]. Clear photocopy of the Passport or Aadhaar card or

Spanish DNI c. Curriculum vitae (updated)d. Work experience certificates on company

letterhead (original or attested copy) and signed by H.R. Department, G.M. or similar authority in the company. This certificate should state the designation(s) held, roles and responsibilities (if possible) and duration.

e. Academic qualifications original or attested copies.

Ground Floor, Wing A, Peninsula Tower, Peninsula Corporate Park, G K Marg,

Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400 013.Tel: +91 22 4360 6800

For more information: [email protected]

SECRETARIA DE ESTADO DE TURISMO

INSTITUTO DE TURISMO DE ESPAÑA

CONSEJERÍA DE TURISMO EN MUMBAI (TOURISM OFFICE OF SPAIN IN INDIA-MUMBAI)

Vacancy at The National Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai


RNI No. DELENG/2010/36163Reg. No. DL-SW-1/4155/2017-19 Posting Dt. 6-7/07/2019Date of Publication 5/07/2019 Posting at N.D.P.S.O

TRAVMART Vacancy - Travel Trade JournalSampan Media Pvt. Ltd., B-7/114A, 3rd Floor, Safdarjung...

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