Category: Travel

Indians flock to Switzerland’s Engelberg-Titlis multi-activity mountain trail

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It’s home to the world’s first revolving cable car, a glacier cave, a Cliff Walk over Europe’s highest suspension bridge, a multi-seater open-to-the-sky Ice Flyer chair lift and a glacier park – to name just a few of its attractions.

Thus, it’s little wonder that over two lakh Indians contribute to the annual 1.2 million footfalls at the Mount Titlis activity trail that stretches 3,000 metres upwards from this village resort, some 150 km from Swiss capital Bern. What has also contributed is that the area is also the darling of the Indian film industry.

“The Indian film industry is fond of Titlis. Bollywood and southern cinema come here to shoot. One of the biggest Bollywood hits, ‘Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge’ was shot all over Switzerland including Titlis. We have preserved the cutouts of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol at Mount Titlis to celebrate the success of the movie. People from India feel very happy and proud after seeing these cutouts and strike an immediate liking for the place,” Tobias Matter, Sales Director of TITLIS Engelberg a 400-employee company that manages various activities in the area, told this visiting IANS correspondent.

The ever-increasing penchant among Indians to spend more on holidays has caught the attention of the tourism industry the world over and Switzerland is no exception. Which explains why Swiss Tourism has roped in many Bollywood biggies to aid in its marketing.

“Bollywood heartthrob Ranveer Singh is the brand ambassador of Swiss Tourism. Ranveer recently visited Titlis for shooting a promotional video. Apart from Ranveer superstars like Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Sushant Singh and many more visited Titlis in recent times. Every time a star visits Titlis, my job becomes easier because this is the age of social media and with the help of different platforms, Tilis gets a lot of promotion,” said Mumbai-based Rayomand Choksi, who represents TITLIS Engelberg in India, the Middle East, Japan and Australia.

“India is very important for us. Almost 10 percent of our business comes from India. Indians are fond of Switzerland and especially Engelberg for its scenic beauty and great hospitality. Unlike people from another part of world, Indians come here to enjoy snowfall and we feel privileged to host them in different ways,” Matter, whose company owns the 180-bed Terrace hotel and three restaurants in the area, said.

Apart from skiing, which is highly popular, which is also catching the fancy of visitors by the day is the Cliff Walk. “The Titlis Cliff Walk holds the record for being the highest suspension bridge in Europe. It is just one meter wide and over 100 metres long. The views of the abyss below are breathtaking! Everyone enjoys this adventure,” Matter noted.

Frederic Fussenich, Director of Engelberg-Titlis Tourism, also believes that Indians are very important for the region.

“I firmly believe that Mount Titlis should be on the bucket list of every Indian. They should come here at least once in their lifetime. With the growing awareness about this region and wish to experience the snow, the glacier caves, go over the high suspension bridge and get the whole feeling of being on the mountain of love as it is called, it’s very important to give Mount Titlis place in your travel plans.” Fussenich told IANS.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sheraton Hotels’ new concepts will make you work at the hotel lobby itself

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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I’ve spent about one third my life in hotel rooms for the past few years, and while they all look the same, there are nuanced differences in each and every brand I’ve stayed at. For instance, at a Four Points, I expect to get a room, but at a St. Regis, I expect to get a room with a butler, and at a Doubletree by Hilton, I always expect to receive a cookie at check-in. However, one of the most well-known brands in the business, Sheraton, somehow, started to become a generic name not to be identified with anything but their brown carpets. With 450 hotels around the globe, that is a lot of brown carpets.

A few years ago, however, about the time of the merger of their parent company Starwood, with Marriott International in 2016, there was a new plan coming up to rejuvenate the brand. Sheraton intended to move away from their staid looking hotel and lobbies, to catch all the latest trends and adopt to the newest way of working and travel.

So, they zeroed down on the millennial business traveller, and formed a new look and feel for the hotel, one, where the hotel would be at the centre of the community it exists with. First steps, a new logo was unveiled, with arrows pointing inwards to show the intent I just wrote about.

But how do they do this in reality? Business has been conducted in the hotel lobbies and lounges for a long time, deals have been made and so on. And Marriott concluded that the lobby was the place to reinvent to make the Sheraton brand connect with the future. The new Sheraton concept takes a lot of inspiration from co-working and cafeterias, as it wants to appeal to the millennial workforce to live and work with them.

The redesign will focus on public spaces, and will have collaborative venues, a technology-enabled design, personalised. A host will be around to help deliver the experience. The critical aspects of the new design include:

• Productivity Table: The community table comes through, as the productivity table with functionality such as plugs, charging stations, wireless mobile charging, and so on, but it also will have lockable drawers. You can work, or eat/drink at these tables all by yourself, or with other people.

• Studio Spaces: Smaller open team workspaces, furnished with technology and tools to allow for small meetings and collaboration.

• Coffee Bar Bar: Coffee Bar Bar may sound like a Hindi name, but no, it’s English. The new Sheraton coffee shop, as the name reveals, intends to be a coffee bar serving breakfast in the morning, and transforms into a cocktail bar in the evening. You should be able to do a grab-and-go or get them to serve it up to you at the bar, or your table. You should also be able to order via mobile.

• Community Manager: The community managers will have a tablet that will allow guests to have service and information provided to them at their fingertips. These community managers will roam the lobby to assist with reservations for public spaces and food and beverage and other requests.

There will also be a lounge area, which is a smaller, flexible space for one-on-ones and so on. There will be private booths, soundproof spaces that allow their occupants to make audio/video calls in privacy. Sheraton guests should be able to book these public spaces and order food and drink through an app at each property.

In India, Sheraton is already moving forward with bringing these changes to the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield hotel, and we should be able to live and work in the same hotel in the coming months. Over the years, you will see this concept rolled out to Sheraton hotels across the world.

But Marriott is not the only hotel chain to have caught on to the trend. Accor Hotels is making big moves as well, not by integrating the hotel and the co-working spaces together, but by creating separate co-working spaces under a new brand.

Co-working is here to stay, and I’m glad that at least someone is putting their money where their mouth is, which means, soon, you will have the coffee shops being back to coffee shops and business travellers can just step down to the lobby to get work done.

Ajay Awtaney is a business travel and aviation journalist based in Mumbai, and the founder of the Indian frequent-traveller website Live From A Lounge (www.livefromalounge.com.) Ajay flies over 200,000 miles every year, and tweets about The Business of Travel at @LiveFromALounge.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Off the beaten path: How millennials are powering India’s experiential travel boom

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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For Indian millennials today, the itineraries aren’t etched in stone; the destinations are exotic and offbeat, the resting places are more B&Bs than luxury hotels, and often the journey is more important than the destination. The travellers are becoming more experiential and often looking to explore regions rather than simple sightseeing tours.

The travel industry has witnessed a paradigm shift over the years with more and more Indian millennials taking to experiential travel where they can sink in as much as they can the local culture, customs, food, festivities, and a lot more. The trend has become more about engaging in enriching experiences that satiate the soul. Experiential categories like cooking classes, food tours and historical experiences have skyrocketed, with year-on-year growth figures ranging between 50-125 percent. This trend of experience-driven travel is set to continue, and online travel companies are gearing up to offer unique experiences.

To keep up with this fast-pace change, the travel companies are constantly reworking their strategies, innovating new technologies to understand the trend and meet their requirements. Travel loans have become prevalent overthe years. Travellers are increasingly opting for their dream trips because loans are easily available.

A study conducted by Thrillophilia on 10,000 travellers and 1,800 travel partners, revealed that demand for activities and local experiences has grown by 178 percent over the past three years. Based on the data collected, adventure tourism and activity travel market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.4 percent from 2017 to 2023 in India. The experiential travel section is growing rapidly, with more and more people taking to offbeat experiences.

Several notable discoveries were made on the state of experiential and activity travel. Regarding the kind of activities people prefer in their tours, it was found that a good 42 percent favour day tours in the city with in-city activities. On the other hand, 38 percent like to go for wildlife and birding tours and 18 percent are in for adventure tours, out of which majority are into water sports.

Another interesting finding according to the study was that there has been a huge rise in the luxury activities such as yacht tours, wine tours, glamping and luxury train journeys. With the rise of several online travel platforms, the number of families looking for activities in their tour has jumped up by around 60 percent. While planning a tour, a good 46 percent of people give importance to destinations with kid-friendly activities. Corporate outings are another entrant in the travel sector. Corporate outings have gone up more than 300 percent with a potential focus on team building activities.

Also, Indian millennials are increasingly choosing offbeat travel destinations based on ‘Instagrammability’. As many as 36 percent respondents agreed to plan their travel based on how beautiful or unique the photos will look on social media platforms. While 30 percent respondents are concerned about their budget, only 11 percent think about cultural activities and sightseeing options.

Boasting the world’s second-largest population and the fastest-growing major economy, Indians are earning more disposable income to spend on travel. The growth in the Indian travel and tourism industry is also driven by a combination of rising individual income levels and changing lifestyles, development of diverse tourism offerings, and policy and regulatory support by the government authorities.

The millennials today demand more than just a regular tour package. Availability of low-cost carrier airlines, inexpensive accommodations, on-demand car rentals and improvements in transport have helped in elevating the travel experiences. With the profound range of options available and experiential travel filling the gap, this sector is set to grow more in the coming years.

Abhishek Daga is Co-founder and CMO of Thrillophilia

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Air India operations to normalise by Saturday night

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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National carrier Air India expects operations to normalise by Saturday night after its flights were delayed due to a software glitch which hindered essential services like check-in, baggage handling and boarding.

Briefing the media in New Delhi, Air India Chairman Ashwani Lohani said that 85 flights were delayed till 10 am on Saturday.

According to Lohani, the ripple effect of the initial cancellations will continue throughout the day on the domestic network, while the international flights will mostly operate on time.

The airline operates 470 flights per day while the Air India Group provides 674 flight services.

Lohani said the system has been restored and passengers are being informed well in advance about the status of their flights.

He added that some flights have also been rescheduled.

Early Saturday morning, flight operations were hit for over five hours after the glitch was reported in the SITA server.

SITA is the IT provider for the air transport industry.

At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, ranked among the busiest airports in the world, thousands of passengers were stranded and many flights were affected since 3.30 a.m.

“Due to a breakdown in our server system some of our flights are getting affected all over the world. Work is on in full swing to restore the system,” the airline said in a statement earlier.

In response, SITA said that it experienced a complex system issue during server maintenance, which resulted in the operational disruptions.

“We have now fully restored services at all airports where Air India was affected. Our priority remains, as always, to ensure a stable system where customers can conduct business efficiently and effectively, and we are undertaking a full investigation to understand the root cause and prevent a recurrence.

“We deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused to the airline and their esteemed customers owing to this disruption,” it added.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Chinese major Ctrip now owns 49% of MakeMyTrip with Naspers exit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In a significant move in the travel space, South African media group Naspers will exit MakeMyTrip by selling its stake to China’s largest online travel agency Ctrip.

With this strategic move, the Chinese company will own 49 percent stake in MakeMyTrip and will get 4 percent of the total voting rights. The current market capitalisation of MakeMyTrip is $2.7 billion.

This will be a share swap with Naspers exchanging entire shareholding in MakeMyTrip for newly issued shares of Ctrip. Following the transaction, Naspers will own 5.6 percent of Ctrip’s outstanding ordinary shares.

Naspers had invested in MakeMyTrip around two years ago. Later, Naspers’ portfolio company Ibibo was acquired by MakeMyTrip in January 2017.

The share exchange transaction allows Ctrip to get larger exposure to the India travel market, where MakeMyTrip has a large market share, while the latter will benefit from the Chinese company’s global scale.

Deep Kalra, chairman and group chief executive officer of MakeMyTrip, said, “We are grateful for the unstinting support Naspers has provided us over the last couple of years. We have worked with Ctrip in the past years and are excited to take this partnership to the next level. We will leverage this investment to benefit from the tremendous growth potential in travel and tourism between our two countries.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Inside the Four Seasons’ Rs 1.02-crore-a-seat ultra luxurious private jet

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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You will never, ever take another flight like this. The Four Seasons private jet has long been a top item on almost every globetrotter’s bucket list, and there will soon be a new one to take up the mantle.

The “Four Seasons Jet 2.0,” as the bird is internally nicknamed, will take flight in early 2021. A new A321LR aircraft, part of the new Airbus NEO family, is being fully customised by Four Seasons and tailored to fit in with the brand’s Private Jet experience.

On the “Extraordinary Adventures” itinerary, guests will travel through eight countries in 25 days. Excursions and food are all included as well as the price of hotel and airfare.

But it’ll cost you… a fortune!

Booking for 2021 will open in the middle of this year and pricing on the current jet starts at $147,000 per person (about Rs 1.02 crore).

The state-of-the-art plane has room for 48 passengers (versus the standard 233 on board a commercial flight) — with a layout design that ensures guests can socialize easily while in their seats.

The Jet 2.0 has been designed to ensure that “passengers enjoy the journey as much as the destination”, according to Four Seasons.

The new Four Seasons Private Jet also boasts an onboard Four Seasons Executive Chef who’ll prepare meals “inspired by the journey itself,” while interactive workshops hosted by mixology, culinary and wellness experts are to be held in the lounge area.

Here is what’s new:

Welcome Kit

Upon boarding the jet, each traveller receives a welcome gift that includes Four Seasons slippers, a custom leather-and-fabric tote bag, and an amenity kit featuring Bulgari products.

Fine Dining

The Four Seasons Jet is equipped with a state-of-the-art steam oven and a custom refrigeration system, so all in-flight meals are prepared on board by a Four Seasons Executive Chef.

The Lounge

The new Jet comes with a lounge area to meet and learn from chefs, wellness experts and other Four Seasons masters through intimate workshops, educational demonstrations and culinary surprises in an unparalleled showcase of imagination and artistry in the air.

Take a Seat (or Two)

The 48 handcrafted seats are constructed with soft Italian leather and custom designed by Four Seasons. Each chair offers 6.5 feet (2 metres) of personal space, extends to lie fully flat and is paired with a plush ottoman, providing extended legroom or, when conversation strikes, a comfortable companion seat.

‘More Room’

The new Jet extends the comfort and style of our hotels up into the sky like never before. With the widest and tallest cabin in its class, there’s more room to socialize, dine and relax at your leisure.

The Lavatory

The bathrooms offer signature luxury amenities and even fresh flowers to “reflect a more residential style,” according to the Four Seasons.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow