About India Outbound Magazine
India Outbound, a bi-monthly print magazine with dynamic web and social media presence focused on outbound travel from India, is published by Media India Group. Distributed all over India, and in all the top tourism events across the world, India Outbound caters mainly to the tourism professionals and is looking to develop new and innovative circuits and promote new destinations to the high-end travellers.
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Thailand extends visa-on-arrival fee waiver until April 2020
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has reported that the Royal Thai Government has once again approved an extension of the visa-on-arrival fee waiver for citizens of 20 nations for another six months, from November 1, 2019 until April 30, 2020.
Thailand has extended the visa fee waiver scheme for tourists from 20 nations. Citizens of Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China including Taiwan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are all exempted from the THB 2,000 visa-on-arrival fee for single-entry leisure travel in Thailand for not more than 15 days.
The decision was announced in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on October 31, 2019. The government first approved the visa-on-arrival fee waiver from November 15, 2018 to January 14, 2019, then extended the measure to April 30, 2019, and then extended it again to October 31, 2019. The move is meant to stimulate and promote tourism arrivals while enhancing the Kingdom’s ease-of-entry among foreign visitors.
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Singapore Airlines partners with Brisbane Airport for new campaign
Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), in partnership with Singapore Airlines and Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), has launched its first ever direct-to-consumer marketing campaign promoting the city of Brisbane to the Indian market.
Featuring former Australian cricketer and fast bowler Brett Lee, the campaign showcases destination Brisbane as a perfect spot for a holiday, capturing Tangalooma, the Story Bridge, Kangaroo Point Cliffs, Brisbane River and the CBD.
The campaign will air across television, digital and social channels till March 2020, with a competition element giving five Indian travellers the chance to fly to Brisbane on an all-expenses paid holiday to Tangalooma Island Resort.
India is one of the world’s fastest growing outbound travel market with more than 300,000 Indians visiting Australia last year and more than 30,000 of those visiting Brisbane in FY19.
Jim Parashos, executive general manager, aviation development and partnerships, BAC said it is an exciting campaign that provides a unique opportunity to strengthen tourism and establish Brisbane as a must-see destination for Indians visiting Australia.
David Lim, general manager India, Singapore Airlines said, “We are excited to promote Brisbane in partnership with Brisbane Airport and TEQ through Brett Lee, who is one of the most recognised and celebrated Australian personalities in India. In the coming months, we hope to interest more Indians to travel to Brisbane by educating them on its diverse offerings.”
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Airbnb is now accessible in twice as many languages
Airbnb, the world’s largest online marketplace for unique and authentic places to stay and things to do, offers over seven million accommodations and 40,000 handcrafted activities, all powered by local hosts. Approximately six guests check into an Airbnb listing every second. And these check-ins are happening around the world - In 2011, there were 12 cities with more than 1,000 Airbnb listings; today, nearly 1,000 cities have more than 1,000 Airbnb listings. Similarly, in 2011 only one city welcomed over 100,000 guest arrivals in Airbnb listings, but in the past year, more than 300 cities have welcomed over 100,000 guest arrivals.
While Airbnb is already used in more than 191 countries and regions around the world, they are constantly working to make the platform accessible to more people. From Albanian to Zulu, they want everyone to feel welcome on Airbnb, no matter what language they speak.
So they are doubling the number of languages in which hosts and guests can use Airbnb. Now supporting 62 languages around the world, the Airbnb platform is accessible to more than four billion native speakers. With these new languages, they’re working to bring economic opportunity to even more hosts, and making it easier for more guests to experience travel that is local, authentic and unique. Hindi, one of the official languages of India, is among the 31 new languages now available on Airbnb.
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Scoot launches two new routes in India
To offer greater value and travel opportunities in the Indian market, Scoot, the low-cost arm of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group, has commenced operations on new Visakhapatnam-Singapore and Coimbatore-Singapore routes. Scoot offers five-times weekly return flights from Visakhapatnam and daily return flights from Coimbatore. The new routes bring the number of Indian cities served by the airline to seven and are operated by Scoot’s fleet of narrow-body Airbus A320-family aircraft, and the routes were transferred from the sister airline, SilkAir, with increased frequencies on Scoot. This aims to enhance the connectivity of Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore with Singapore and the world, and allows customers the flexibility of more convenient options for international travel at for-value fares.
Calvin Chan, chief commercial officer, Scoot, said, “It has been an exciting year for Scoot in India. Having launched in Trivandrum earlier in May, we are pleased to round off this year by bringing our offerings to customers in two new cities – Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore. At Scoot, we work very hard to drive our vision of customer-centricity, and we are deeply focused on providing our customers greater value and travel opportunities, and the flexibility to pay only for what they need with add-ons customised to their needs. The two route launches strengthen our India network, and allow us to offer an escape from the ordinary to even more Indian travellers, at attractive prices.”
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Clymb Abu Dhabi set to open new experiences on Yas Island
Clymb Abu Dhabi is all set to open its doors as an ultimate indoor adventure venue on November 29, 2019 on Yas Island after much anticipation. A fully indoor facility, its geometrically-designed building houses the world’s biggest indoor skydiving flight chamber and world’s tallest indoor climbing wall under one roof. Clymb will be the latest attraction at Yas Island, joining the likes of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi and many more.
When it opens, Clymb will be home to the world’s biggest flight chamber, spanning 32 feet wide and 82 feet high. Clymb will also offer unique climbing experiences to its guests of all competency levels. Beginners can enjoy various wall options to suit their preference and climbing level, while more advanced climbers can push their limits at The Summyt, the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall, towering 141 feet high.
Gearing up for the inauguration, John Rogers, general manager of Clymb Abu Dhabi, said, “We can’t wait to reveal this exciting project. Clymb Abu Dhabi offers an unforgettable adventurous experience for residents as well as visitors to the capital from all over the world. It is a great place for children and adults alike, from beginners to professionals, to challenge themselves in a fun and safe environment with the option to take flight in the world’s widest indoor flight chamber or scale the world’s highest wall.”
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