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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LOT Polish Airlines launches flights between New Delhi and Warsaw
Poland is becoming a trending destination amongst Indians. LOT Polish Airlines launched a direct flight from Delhi to Warsaw on September 12 in Delhi.
Adding to the comfort of Indian travellers, the airlines will have Hindi speaking cabin crew, a collection of Indian films besides Indian and continental cuisines. LOT Polish Airlines has also completed 90 successful years of operations this year. In India it has partnered with Air India.
“Poland believes that a guest at home is like god at home, and this is what we want with our airline. We want the customers to feel at home. For us hospitality is the priority,” Rafal Milczarski, CEO of LOT Polish airlines told India Outbound magazine.
“Today we have started the new non-stop route between New Delhi and Warsaw. LOT Polish will be having five weekly non-stop services between these two cities operated by Boeing 787 dreamliner. Generally, when an airline starts a new route, they start with three weekly frequencies but as you can see, we already have five flights from Delhi to begin with, so this shows the confidence we have in the Indian market,” Amit Ray, regional director of LOT Polish Airlines in India told India Outbound magazine.
The airline also offers connectivity to destinations like Krakow, Paris, London and Prague besides being the flag carrier of Hungary. The minimum fare starts from INR 40,000.
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Seoul in six hours from Delhi!
Korea Tourism Organisation India and Air India organised an event in Delhi for the launch of a non-stop flight from Delhi to Seoul which will commence from September 19, 2019.
The launch was open to a select gathering of personnel from Air India, Korea Tourism, the tourism and hospitality industry and media, including Jong-ho Choi, minister of the Republic of Korea, Euydon Park, president of the Korean Association in India and Parth Sharma, secretary general of India-Korea Friendship Society.
"15,000 Koreans visited India in 2018. With this new connectivity between Delhi and Seoul we hope to have more exchange between the two countries and increase our bilateral engagements," Jong-ho Choi told India Outbound magazine.
"I went to Korea and I was amazed to see the development of the country especially from a digital point of view. In terms of cargo as well, there is a huge potential, especially with Make in India and Digital India. There are not enough Indians visiting South Korea as compared to other Asian countries. We are happy to be the promoter of increased connectivity between the two countries,” said Meenakshi Malik, executive director-sales & marketing, Air India to India Outbound magazine.
The dreamliner will also serve Korean food on-board besides the Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
The minimum fare starts from INR 41,000. While Indians require a visa to visit South Korea mainland, the visa is free for Indians directly entering Jeju Island (via Hong Kong for example).
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British Airways cancels flights due to pilot strikes
After months of failed negotiations between the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) and British Airways, the airline was forced to cancel virtually almost all of its 1,700 flights for September 9 and 10, after its pilots went on strike for the first time in the airline's history.
“BALPA has consistently offered up chances for the company to negotiate a way forward. British Airways must now put the needs of its staff and passengers first and accept that its pilots will not be bullied,” said BALPA general secretary Brian Strutton. “British Airways needs to wake up and realize its pilots are determined to be heard. This strike will have cost the company considerably more than the investment needed to settle this dispute,” he added.
Nearly 200,000 passengers, who were due to travel on September 9 and 10, had to alter their travel arrangements, according to British Airways. But it may not end there. British Airways customers are set to face further disruption after the airline confirmed it would cancel the vast majority of flights on September 27 because of another planned pilots strike.
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15th edition of ITE HCMC positions itself as largest travel event in the Mekong region
Over 350 exhibitors and 300 international and Vietnamese buyers networked and discussed partnerships at ITE HCMC 2019 that will shape international travel patterns in the Mekong sub-region for the coming years. The International Travel Expo, Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC) - the largest and most established travel event in Vietnam and the Mekong sub-region is the only specialised event in Vietnam that focuses on both the domestic and foreign tourism markets, and also the only event that is endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism of five countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam organised by Informa Markets.
In this year’s edition, themed Travel Gateway to Asia, there were more than 350 participating companies and brands, coming from 62 countries and regions, 300 international and local buyers and 40 international media from 40 countries. The organisers had some 9,000 meetings held between buyers and sellers both parties using ITE HCMC’s complimentary Online Matching System before the event to find the best business matches and to schedule B2B meetings in advance. About 35,000 trade and public visitors were expected to walk through its doors. Exhibiting for the first time are several new National Tourism Organisations (NTO) and Tourism Promotion Organisations (TPO): Gangwon Province, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and Seoul Tourism Organisation.
The organisers introduced the show’s official mobile application available on the App Store and Google Play. The platform allowed visitors to quickly and easily access the floor plan, exhibitor profiles and the latest information about the show. Visitors also were able to share interesting photos taken at the exhibition and participate in a series of games to win prizes. The show went environment-friendly this year, using a no-paper model for all conferences, seminars, and forums.
As part of ITE HCMC’s longstanding Hosted Buyers Programme, 250 international buyers who are outbound travel agents from international markets such as America, Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia including India, New Zealand, Northeast Asia, and Western Europe, were invited to the show. The buyers came from companies in the leisure, corporate, MICE, luxury, and special interest travel sectors and were carefully chosen and approved by an Advisory Committee comprising of travel industry professionals from independent parties in the region. The organisers also hosted 40 international media including print, online and bloggers from China, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and India.
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Jumeirah Vittaveli launches floating luxury villa
No longer confined to land-based or stationary accommodation options, you can now live your Robinson Crusoe fantasy and explore the hidden treasures of the Maldives with a luxury twist at Jumeirah Vittaveli. It’s the first resort in the Maldives where you can start your holiday planning by choosing between a selection of villas and a brand new superyacht called “MY Vittaveli” with 85 feet of private space.
MY Vittaveli is an Azimut superyacht that accommodates up to eight guests for overnight stays, or up to 20 guests for leisurely day-time cruises. Beautifully crafted wood joinery, cherry wood panels and Italian marble inlays decorate the superyacht’s two master cabins and two twin cabins.
“It has long been my dream to add a superyacht to our prime resort villa accommodations,” said Amit Majumder, regional vice-president, Boutique Resorts, at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts. “Our guests love the resort and its surrounding house reef, as well as close-by snorkel and dive spots, but the explorer in me has always envisioned that the best way to fully experience the Maldives would be with a combination of an island stay and a journey across the atolls. It’s irresistible to set sail and explore the stunning variety of over- and under-water wonders the Maldives offers, and I am proud my team has made it possible to offer such a special experience for our guests.”
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SOTC Travel introduces ‘Durga Puja special’ holidays
SOTC announced its Durga Puja Holidays for its customers. It features personalised tour packages, accompanied with Bengali-speaking tour managers and regional cuisine. The Durga Puja Holidays are designed to meet all requirements of holiday makers, which will add to the vibrancy of this festival.
Durga Puja is special to all Bengalis and this period presents a good time for holiday makers to take the much-needed break. Commenting on the tailor-made offerings, Daniel D’Souza, president & country head, Leisure, SOTC Travel, said, “The memorable festival of Durga Puja offers the perfect holiday opportunity for travellers across the country, especially the city of Kolkata to opt for short-haul vacations. We have observed a significant growth in demand amongst diverse travellers, especially millennials and families taking the time out to explore new domestic and international destinations around this festive season.”
He added, “To channel this holiday demand, we have announced Durga Puja special packages, suitably curated to offer the ideal experience. As a community, Bengalis are passionate about art, history, culture and heritage of destinations that they visit. To further enhance their holiday, and satiate their appetite for unique and immersive experiences, our range of Durga Puja Special Holidays which, apart from offering attractive discounts also provide comfort, convenience, and the assurance of a hassle free travel experience.”
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Skal International Kolkata lifts up the spirit of city kids with CSR activities
Skal International Kolkata, the city chapter of leading international association of travel fraternity individuals took a unique initiative to support an orphanage near Kolkata called Aashiyana Happy Home, the abode of 182 children. Festive time is in the air with Durga Puja and Diwali knocking on the doors and to spread the same happiness, Skal Kolkata members spent hours with the kids bringing them food, educational materials, utensils, hygienic need products and other necessary things along with an entertaining dinner night together.
The association wishes to continue taking the responsibility of supporting them with more funds etc with member's contribution and other fundraising activities. The members pledged support from their own pocket as per their own will. The home is run by a young determined man named David and his wife who came from Hyderabad 16 years back. How they came to take charge of these kids one by one and how they get funds is another interesting story.
Sanjeev Mehra, the president of Skal International Kolkata said, "It is the first time we ever visited such a place where they need our help. What we did this time was just the beginning and I am sure more members will come forward to join our efforts and strengthen our offerings to them. We hope to continue our support in a bigger and better way."
The Aashiyana Happy Home founder and father of all these kids commented, "I am thankful to God and all of the donors who keep supporting us and make our kids' life liveable. I am trying to fight a battle which seemed impossible at one point but with so much support coming in from all corners, now I feel, everything is doable."
Sreemoyee Mitra, a young Skal member said, "The kids are in need and together we have enough to give them. So more than our one day's presence it is our long term support that will matter the most."
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