Tourism industry growing despite global economic slowdown
INT41 International/Tourism/Business Tourism industry growing despite global economic slowdown Manila, Oct 22 Xinhua Tourism is continuing to grow globally, at a slower pace though, amid the global economic slowdown, media report said Wednesday. Francesco Frangialli, secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organization UNWTO, attributed the growth to people's lifestyle, Philippine newspaper Businessworld reported. "The access to holidays and leisure of the middle class and families of young entrepreneurs from the emerging countries of Asia and the high propensity to travel of the retired baby boomers people born immediately after World War II of Europe and North America, are the two powerful engines that are today impelling world tourism," Frangialli told a conference of travel agents from all over the world. "With regular inputs from these two sources, increases in arrivals of some four percent a year should become the norm," he added. "In the developed world, consumers consider going on a holiday a vital part of their lives. They want to preserve this although they might be looking for cheaper airfares or accommodation. They might even postpone it, but when there's a window, they'll do it," he said. International tourist arrivals grew by an average of seven percent a year in the last four years. Last year, arrivals increased by 6.6 percent to 903 million and international tourism receipts grew 5.6 percent to $856 billion, according to the report. As of August this year, arrivals were up by 3.8 percent, Frangialli said. This is less than the growth last year, "but still the current figure is not bad. Growth should not be negative this year," said the tourism expert. The UNWTO, in its World Tourism Barometer, said international tourism was expected to grow by three to four percent this year. "On the whole, while consumer confidence indices show an increasing degree of uncertainty, international tourism has proven to be resilient in similar circumstances in the past and able to cope with various types of shocks including security threats, geopolitical tensions or natural and man-made crises," according to the World Tourism Barometer. Globally, France remained the top tourist destination last year, followed by Spain and the United States. But Frangialli said Asian countries led by China could move faster this year. Asia was the second most-visited region in 2004 and accounted for 27 percent of global tourism in terms of arrivals and receipts. He said that intra-Asian travel, especially in the eastern part of the continent, had remained strong and that the region was not affected as much as the West by the global financial crisis. Last year, 40 million Chinese, 70 million Japanese, and 6 million Koreans travelled across Asia, which is "a major phenomenon", he said. China, which alternates with Italy as the fourth and fifth top tourist destination globally, has moved up to the fifth place in terms of tourism spending as of last year. The United States, Spain, France and Germany held the top four spots. --Xinhua dkg/dg 536 Words 22101434
2008-10-22 05:05:06Travel industry gets flexible to calm clients' money fears
As the stock market decimates Americans' retirement accounts, travel agents are noticing more willingness from travel companies ...
2008-10-18 14:29:17India's leading travel search engine goes mobile
New Delhi, Oct 17 ANI/Business Wire India: iXiGO.com www.ixigo.com, India's award-winning online travel search engine, today announced the launch of its travel search engine for mobile phones on http://m.ixigo.com, bringing its consumer-friendly search technology from web browsers to mobile phones. iXiGO aims to expand its reach beyond the internet-savvy early-adopters to mobile-savvy travelers by tapping India's 60 million GPRS enabled phones out of the 300 million Indian mobile subscribers."The potential for iXiGO Mobile is immense", said Aloke Bajpai, Founder-CEO of iXiGO, "Our mobile users wanted the ability to search across airline sites without having to call up a travel portal, since portals charge additional booking fees. Specially for hotel bookings, this is a great feature-rich product for last-minute booking decisions while you are on the way to your destination - easy to use while you are in a train or an airport lounge, " Aloke added. iXiGO Mobile searches across flights and hotels in India and features a click-to-call booking mechanism enabling people to speak directly with the call centres of respective airlines and hotel booking providers, saving them time, effort and money. Commenting on future plans, Bajpai said, "Next, we will be actively signing up distribution partners for this service - operators, mobile VAS providers and mobile media companies. They will benefit from a great mobile travel product and quality content, and we will expand our pan-India reach". Stressing on the unique features of the product, Rajnish Kumar, co-Founder and CTO, added, "iXiGO Mobile is compatible with all major handsets with a GPRS-enabled subscription. It adapts well to the phone form factors while retaining richness of features found in our Internet version, including photos, maps, and filters. We have also optimized the pages for slower GPRS connections."In an environment where airlines are reducing dependance on travel agencies nullifying commissions, iXiGO's direct-booking model by-passes online travel agents and allows users to save booking fees charged by them. It also provides a more comprehensive and unbiased display of travel options. ANI
2008-10-17 05:05:18No trace of missing Indian pilgrims in New Zealand
Wellington, Oct.3 ANI: The New Zealand Labour Department has admitted to losing track of 33 members of a group of Indian pilgrims who arrived in the country in July en route to the attend the Pope's Youth Day rally in Sydney.Of the original group of 40, seven have been deported.The group told media they had paid for visas that would allow them to stay in New Zealand "forever", but had been ripped off by a conman in India.In fact members of the group were only issued one-month visitor's visas.After the one-month deadline expired, 36 members of the group still remained in the country.A departmental spokesman told the New Zealand Press Association that 12 had applied for students' permits, but all had been turned down.In August the department said it knew where 20 of the group were and was looking for the remaining 16.But today a spokesman said the number of missing pilgrims had risen to 33."We're keeping an eye out for them. When we locate them, we will remove them," the spokesman said.Members of the group were believed to have paid 17,000 dollars to an agent in India who organised their travel visas and told them they could stay in New Zealand "forever".The department spokesman said that officials were continuing to gather information about alleged fraud and would eventually decide whether to pass it on to Indian authorities. ANI
2008-10-03 23:00:00CBI raids residence of passport officials at Kochi
NAT24National/CrimeCBI raids residence of passport officials at KochiKochi, Oct 3 IANS Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI raided the homes of two officials attached to the passport office here. Speaking to IANS Friday, G. Raveendran, regional passport officer at Kochi confirmed that the residences of the officials had been raided earlier this week. "Today Friday I spoke to the two officials, an assistant and an upper division clerk, whose homes were raided. The CBI is yet to get in touch with me and I do not know the reason behind the CBI action," said Raveendran. According to media reports, CBI went ahead with the investigation after they discovered a racket in Kochi which included passport officials and travel agents who provided passport to those with unverified backgrounds.There have been allegations against the officials and the travel agents that they have given a second passport to people whose first passport was endorsed with certain crimes. On paying bribe, such people managed to obtain a second passport after claiming that their first passport was lost.Raveendran, however, said that the passport office operates on prescribed laws. He pointed out that according to present rules, a passport is issued under the tatkal scheme without a police verification report. "There have been instances when we have impounded the passports issued under this scheme after it was found out from the police report that the concerned person does not have a clean track record," Raveendran said. "The CBI is an independent agency and they are doing their job," said Raveendran when asked about the raid. Kerala is the only state in the country that has four passport offices and this is because more than two million Keralites work abroad. On an average, every day more than 1500 passports are issued from the four passport offices in the state. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the CBI is going ahead with the investigation and would soon arrive at the other three passport offices in the state also.--Indo Asian News Service sg/ak/dg367 Words03101541
2008-10-03 06:05:12SINGAPORE
INT5International/Diaspora/Tourism/EconomySingapore woos Indian tourists as desis turn globetrottersBy Nirmala GeorgeSingapore, Oct 3 IANS The Indian tourists are coming. It's a rallying cry that has hotel managers, restaurant and shop owners in Singapore sitting up and taking notice!Despite rising air travel costs, Indians have retained their spot among the top five nationalities to visit Singapore and, thanks to their growing disposable incomes, are acquiring a reputation of being big spenders as well.Although the global economic slowdown has in recent months somewhat dampened the overall number of tourists visiting Singapore, Indian families are holidaying abroad as never before and Singapore has emerged as their destination of choice.And it's not just affluent families from the big metros but also those from the smaller cities who are going abroad - a detail that Singapore tourism officials have factored into their marketing strategy."With its burgeoning economy and growing outbound tourism, India continues to remain a key market for Singapore," says Kang Siew Kheng, regional director for South Asia at the Singapore Tourism Board STB. The board is pitching to get Indians to opt for Singapore not just for holidays but for meetings, company retreats, honeymoon getaways, school trips and family outings."Indians now seem to be looking beyond just vacations and are travelling for a plethora of reasons," said Kang. So far Indians viewed Singapore largely as a leisure travel destination, but in a shift, the city state is "fast gaining ground as a destination with multiple business options," she said.Newly-affluent Indians, many of them on their first trip abroad, have no qualms about spending a packet on eating out and shopping, say travel agents and retail trade watchers. In statistics released earlier this year, the STB found that Indian tourists were the highest spenders, surpassing even travellers from China and Japan."In our experience, the average Indian tourist spends between 300 and 400 Singapore dollars a day on shopping alone during a visit," Balaji Narayanan of Millennium Travels, a Singapore-based travel agency, told IANS.This weekend Singapore's first Grand Prix Formula One race saw an influx of visitors, many of them from India. While the race was a night event, tourists spent their days seeking bargains in shopping malls and giant department stores, all offering enticing discounts and mega-deals as part of the festive atmosphere surrounding the racing spectacle.Although many of the big brand names are now available in Indian malls, especially in the metro cities, Singapore offers more choice in style, cuts and colours for clothes, said Gini Sharma, a 23-year-old hotel management graduate, holidaying here with her parents who hail from Lucknow."And the prices here are comparable especially when the big sales are on," she said.From the latest i-Phones and cameras to natty Armani suits and ties, golfing equipment to decorative oriental-style 'antiques' to do up their homes, Indian tourists have been spending with abandon.It's not difficult to see why Indian tourists travelling abroad for the first time feel comfortable in the city state. "Indians are most comfortable when they can understand the language and here almost all the staff in hotels and most shop assistants speak English," said Narayanan.He also lists Singapore's reputation as a safe city, its ethnic mix and the easy availability of vegetarian food among other factors contributing to the comfort level.Many Indian tourists also use Singapore as a hub to travel to nearby Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, combining a visit to the city state with visits to Kuala Lumpur, Bali or Bangkok."Indians travel in family groups and they find that local travel is very affordable," Pankaj Tandon, who runs two Indian-themed lounge bars and a restaurant in Singapore, told IANS.The STB has plunged in with a spate of road shows in Indian cities, including in the tier II cities, especially geared at the upwardly mobile professional. Kang said a 'weekend' campaign "invites young professionals to take a short weekend break in Singapore to dine, party and chill".With the Dussehra and Diwali holiday season approaching, another tide of holiday makers from India is expected. The ups and downs of the global economy and soaring airfares notwithstanding, Singapore is still hoping to come close to the 'one million Indian tourists' target it has set for this year.-Indo-Asian News Serviceng/pg773 Words**03100849
2008-10-03 00:00:00Get ready to pay 5% more for flying
With airlines like Jet, Kingfisher and Air India going in for zero commission from Nov 1 for travel agents, the latter are pressing for a transaction fee in air tickets.
2008-09-29 15:39:09Travel agents on warpath
Airlines say that travel agents should provide service to passengers and get a fee for that, which is a widely accepted practice globally.
2008-09-29 15:44:09When some shop assistants, hotel staff go extra mile to please customers
INT47International/Society/BusinessWhen some shop assistants, hotel staff go extra mile to please customersSydney, Sep 29 IANS Some shop assistant or the hotel staff in the service sectors may go the extra mile in pleasing customers, even if it involves erring on the side of conscientiousness. So far so good. But when these employees use their organisation's resources or break its rules, do they benefit or damage the organisation Research by Queensland University of Technology QUT business student Cheryl Leo is shedding light on the types and motivation of employees who go out of their way to oblige their customers. Based on detailed interviews with 22 frontline service employees regarding their customer interaction, Leo discerned three types of what she described as "pro-customer defiance." "I found some employees will change the service delivery to benefit a customer, such as the travel agent who, when a client hadn't paid on time and had lost his booking, phoned around other agencies to find him a seat on the same flight at the original price," Leo said. "A second category is related to information-giving, for instance, an employee might tell a customer they could buy the same item cheaper down the road.""One participant in my study even hinted to a customer that his organisation wasn't acting fairly and approaching the ombudsman might be the best way out." Leo said employees sometimes used more organisational resources than authorised to satisfy customers, according to a QUT press release."An example of this was the hotel employees who took the car of a guest down to the garage and detailed it themselves using the hotel's equipment because they knew the guest was going to propose to his girlfriend in the car that day and no other car valet service was available." Leo said employees appeared to step outside the norm for customers when they felt empathy for them or if they disagreed with the organisation's policies and procedures. "Some participants expressed a feeling of righteousness in their actions. They saw it as a moral action," she said. "Some study participants said they did it because it was 'always right to help others' or 'if it was me, I would want to be treated this way'." Leo said her study grew out of the rising trend of customer advocacy where large organisations such as banks used an 'internal ombudsman' to champion the cause of customers: "I am looking at what is an informal sort of customer advocacy." Organisations needed to understand this phenomenon because while going the extra mile could increase customer loyalty, it could form loyalty to the employee rather than the service organisation and if the employee leaves, the customer may go with them, she said. "Employees could also risk bringing their organisations into disrepute or create service inconsistencies which unnecessarily raise customers' expectations to an impossible level. It may also be costly or unprofitable for the organisation." --Indo-Asian News Servicest/dg521 Words29091639
2008-09-29 07:03:18Puja tourism feels the pinch of liquidity crunch
BUS5Business/Tourism/Economy/CulturePuja tourism feels the pinch of liquidity crunchBy Aparajita GuptaKolkata, Sep 26 IANS The global economic crisis and liquidity crunch in the country are taking a toll on tourism in West Bengal, with private operators and hoteliers complaining of a sharp drop in bookings for the coming festive season in the state."Foreigners are not booking in bulk. Local bookings are also not up to the mark. The liquidity crunch is taking its toll on the tourism industry," said Anil Punjabi, east zone chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India."People go on tours when they have extra money. But this year the economic scenario is not at all that congenial for tourism," Punjabi told IANS."Last year, the inflow of domestic tourists during the Durga Puja season was more than 100,000. But this year, the footfall will drop at least 10-12 percent."West Bengal becomes a tourist hub during October and November when foreigners and people from other parts of the country throng the state to soak in the spirit of the autumnal festive season that includes the star attraction: the four-day Durga Puja festival.With all schools and colleges closed, people in the state go on short tours, adding to the coffers of those in the tourism business.The usual hotspots within the state are the hill towns of Darjeeling, often referred to as the Queen of the Hills, Kalimpong and Kurseong, apart from forests in Jaldapara, Dooars and Gorumara.The mangrove forests of the Sunderbans, another major tourist destination in the state with people taking winding boat rides, do not hold any attraction at this time of the year."Not many tourists are attracted towards coastal Sunderbans during this time as the festival season begins just after the monsoons and the water levels in the rivers rise," Sunderbans Development Minister Kanti Ganguly told IANS.Tourism in Darjeeling, which accounts for substantial revenues for the state government, has also received a jolt following the political unrest in the recent past. But local businessmen are trying hard to gain back the confidence of tourists."The reality is that there is absolute peace and calm in Darjeeling," Darjeeling Gorkha Hotel Owners' Association vice-president Pradeep Singh Arora said."We are suspending all our agitations in Darjeeling during the Puja," said Gorkha Janamukti Morcha GJM general secretary Roshan Giri. The outfit spearheaded the recent political movement demanding a separate Gorkhaland.Arora said that despite repeated assurances to tourists by hotel associations and travel associations, bookings this time are lower than last year."We are expecting around 70,000 Indian tourists. As far as foreign tourists are concerned, we are expecting around 10,000. Last year, the figure was over 90,000," he said.According to him, Darjeeling hoteliers expect revenues of about Rs.80 million from room rent as against to Rs.150 million last year.Darjeeling, which has approximately have 3,500 hotel rooms, is however gearing up for the festive season.Residents have been asked to wear their traditional dresses from Oct 7 to Nov 7 to add to the ethnic atmosphere and spice up the festive mood.Besides this, there are plans to have daily cultural programmes during the Puja season. "We have been asked to illuminate all the hotels to send out the message to the tourists that we welcome them to this beautiful hill station," Arora said.During the month-long festive season, Darjeeling hoteliers expect 15 days of full occupancy and 15 days of partial occupancy.Other than the hotels, tourism industry in Darjeeling fetches revenues for other industries like tea, travel and handicrafts.Though the private players are talking about liquidity crunch and slump in the tourism sector, the state government's tourism arm, the West Bengal Tourism Development Corp WBTDC, has a different opinion."We have a sales target of Rs.2 million this year during the festive season," WBTDC general manager Chinmoy Chakraborty told IANS.Asked whether the state department is also observing any slump in tourism, he said: "Almost all the government resorts are booked. We don't see any such slump."--Indo-Asian News Serviceag/ssp/ank733 Words**26091034
2008-09-26 01:01:06
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