There are about 25,000 “worthy monuments” in Karnataka that the state has not been able to protect and a plan will be drawn up to develop tourism with private partnership, Tourism Minister HK Patil said on Tuesday. Patil was responding to questions by MLAs during Question Hour in the assembly.
“There are about 25,000 worthy monuments in the state, we have not been able to protect those; so we want to attract the private sector and reap the benefit out of it by creating basic infrastructure facilities, among others,” Patil said.
Noting that the tourism department has been and is taking active steps to attract private investment and promote ease of doing business, he said efforts are underway for attracting private investment in 26 areas.
The minister also highlighted the programmes to promote tourism in the areas of adventure, agriculture, recreation, caravan, culture, cultural village, eco, heritage, homestay, hotel, houseboat, museum and gallery.
At the 2nd edition of Economic Times Travel & Tourism Conclave & Awards, the discussion on building smart destinations, the experts shared the multifaceted approach required to steer tourism towards sustainability as well as economic prosperity. They also upheld stakeholder involvement as an indispensable tool needed to create and manage smart destinations.
He said a plan to adopt memorials is underway, along with providing basic facilities at tourist spots. Coastal districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada have a lot of scope for adventure tourism and there is interest in it, he added.
Responding to a question from Malavalli MLA PM Narendraswamy, Patil clarified that inspection work is being done to start cable cars at Yellammanagudda, Madhugiri, Anjanadri, Nandi betta and Gaganachukki, along with technical and financial viability, and the work may begin once the report comes.
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Air France-KLM Group and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have announced a fresh collaboration between their loyalty programs following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two airline groups in September 2023.
As a result of this collaboration, customers of Air France-KLM and Etihad Airways would gain access to over 60 new routes spanning global destinations, allowing them to earn and redeem miles across this extended network.
This partnership officially started on November 27, 2023, building upon Air France‘s commencement of operations from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Abu Dhabi International Airport last October.
Further, this partnership enables members of Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM, and members of Etihad Guest, the loyalty program for Etihad Airways, to now earn and use Miles in either loyalty program while traveling on Air France, KLM, or Etihad flights. Additional reciprocal benefits for elite members will be disclosed shortly, the airline shared.
“This 11-year collaboration is now expanding even further, as we aim to explore opportunities in loyalty, in addition to enhancing our route network for the benefit of our customers from all around the world. The attractiveness of Abu Dhabi as a destination and a hub, powered by Etihad’s large footprint spanning South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, brings significant richness to this partnership,” said Angus Clarke, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Air France-KLM.
Currently, Air India already operates a robust network of 26 flights to Bangkok per week, including daily non-stop flights from Delhi and Mumbai, along with six weekly flights from Kolkata. Additionally, passengers flying with Air India can avail connections via Bangkok to and from 10 prominent destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, leveraging the interline partnership with Bangkok Airways.
Flying Blue Miles offer a spectrum of benefits, including redeemable options for flights, global hotel accommodations, car rentals, and products available at the Flying Blue Store. Similarly, Etihad Guest Miles can be utilised for flights, global hotel stays, vacation packages, and products featured in the Etihad Guest Reward Shop.“Our 9 million Etihad Guest Members will now have access to earn and redeem Etihad Guest Miles when flying with Air France-KLM giving even greater opportunities to enjoy the benefits of the programme. We look forward to welcoming Flying Blue members on to the expanding Etihad network to earn Flying Blue Miles as they choose to fly with Etihad,” said Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer at Etihad.
“This moment marks our shared commitment to providing seamless, premium, customer-centric travel experiences to our shared global customer base and our 20 million loyal Flying Blue members,” added Clarke.
Presently, Air France operates daily flights connecting Paris – Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi International Airport, while Etihad offers daily flights to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol from Abu Dhabi International Airport.
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Tech provider, Travelport and Air India have extended and expanded their multi-year distribution agreement to include New Distribution Capability (NDC) content and servicing.
The agreement further expands the collaboration between Travelport and Air India, confirming the future delivery of a complete NDC solution which will provide Travelport’s global network of travel agencies the ability to easily search, shop and service Air India’s product offerings, shared the company.
This renewed agreement between Travelport and Air India ensures that Travelport subscribers continue to have simplified access to Air India’s extensive network of destinations.
Vinod Viswanathan appointed Regional Head of Corporate for SAMEA, while Talha Shaikh takes on the role of Regional Head of Trade for India & Sri Lanka. With this strengthened leadership team, Cathay aims to enhance its offerings, elevate the customer travel experience, and reaffirm the importance of South Asia, Middle East, and Africa to its business.
“Our valued partnership with Travelport is an important part of our growth and technology strategy as we prepare to deliver a complete solution that makes it easy for agents to access and service Air India’s content and offers,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer at Air India. “Travelport+ will elevate our technology investment and the future roll out of NDC-sourced content, so that together, we can ensure agents and travelers have a seamless, modern retailing experience,” he added. “Our expanded agreement with Air India positions Travelport and our operator partner ITQ to continue driving modern travel retailing as the leading travel technology partner of choice for travel agencies in India,” said Damian Hickey, Global Head of Airline Partners at Travelport.
“As part of Air India’s future technology strategy, our collaboration on NDC will be complemented by the superior retailing and merchandising solutions available in Travelport+, which ultimately make it easier for agents to operate as modern retailers and deliver exceptional service experiences for travelers flying Air India,” he added.
Added Mark Meehan – GVP and Managing Director (Global Operators) at Travelport: “This has been an important step in further growing Travelport in India – additionally, it will strengthen our association and build trust in our services and technology offerings to our customers with a comprehensive and broad value proposition in the Indian market.”
Travelport is a global technology company that powers bookings for travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers and sellers of travel are connected by the company’s next generation marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, upgrades how travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing.
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