The Kenya Tourism Board has launched a advertising and marketing marketing campaign in India. Under the marketing campaign, the tourism board will present journey brokers with incentives to advertise Kenya as a tourism vacation spot to the Indian vacationers. 

The marketing campaign highlights the significance of India for Kenya’s tourism. John Chirchir, Ag CEO, Kenya Tourism Board, stated that India stands as a pivotal marketplace for Kenya when it comes to journey and tourism. “We believe that this initiative will significantly contribute to strengthening our foothold in this dynamic landscape,” he added. 

Visa-free entry in Kenya: In January 2024, Kenya became a visa-free country for international tourists, including for Indian passport holders. The transfer aimed to spice up the nation’s tourism sector, whereas additionally streamlining the entry course of within the nation with a brand new digital portal. Travelers to Kenya solely want to use and pay for an digital journey authorization in an effort to enter the nation. 

In 2022, Kenya acquired greater than 81,000 vacationers from India, a rise of greater than 93% over the 2021 determine. India was additionally the fifth largest supply marketplace for the nation in 2022. During the first eight months of 2023, Kenya attracted most Indian visitors among all African nations.

New Stretch of Agra Metro Connecting Taj Mahal to be Launched 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to inaugurate the brand new stretch of the Agra Metro on Wednesday. The new stretch will hook up with fashionable vacationer locations together with Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The fast transit community in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra will function trains on the brand new route between 6 am and 10 pm day-after-day. 

The new stretch has been named ‘priority corridor’, and can join Taj East Gate with Mankameshwar Temple. According to Ministry of Tourism information, Taj Mahal was essentially the most visited ASI monument in the course of the 2022-23 fiscal yr. The monument acquired a home footfall of 4.5 million throughout this era. 

21.8 Million Domestic Tourists Visited Kerala in 2023

The coastal state of Kerala recorded 21.8 million home vacationers in 2023, setting a brand new report for its home vacationer arrivals. This determine was almost 16% up from the 2022 ranges, which stood at almost 18.9 million vacationers. 

Notably, 2023 additionally marked a rise of about 19% over the 2019 pre-Covid ranges, Kerala tourism minister P A Mohamed Riyas stated. Ernakulam district, the place Kochi is positioned, noticed the very best inflow of vacationers in 2023, adopted by Idukki district, during which Munnar is located. State capital’s district Thiruvananthapuram was the third most visited district in Kerala. 

EaseMyTrip Launches Co-Branded Credit Card with Punjab National Bank

Online journey company EaseMyTrip has collaborated with Punjab National Bank to launch the PNB EMT co-branded bank card. The card will present holders with rewards and advantages to vacationers on flights, inns, and vacation packages bookings. The card additionally permits holders to entry home and worldwide airport lounges. 

Co-branded bank cards are rising in popularity within the hospitality and journey trade in India. Last yr, Marriott International’s loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy partnered HDFC Bank to launch a co-branded credit card. Full-service airline Vistara has additionally partnered with a number of banks together with SBI and Axis Bank to launch a variety of bank cards. IndiGo additionally has a co-branded bank card with HDFC Bank. 

Yatra Online Appoints Gaurav Luthra as Chief Business Officer

Gaurav Luthra has been appointed because the Chief Business Officer — New Business Development for Yatra Online. He will drive the company journey proposition of the corporate, whereas specializing in mid-market and SME clients. Luthra can even develop new merchandise together with visa facilitation and automobile leases for enterprise vacationers.

Yatra Online is seeking to additional develop its enterprise. In the third quarter of 2023-24 fiscal yr, the corporate reported a year-on-year income development of 23%.

Etihad Airways to Expand Operations to Jaipur

Etihad Airways has introduced its plans to increase its operations to Jaipur, Rajasthan. The nationwide airline of the United Arab Emirates will start 4 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Jaipur beginning June 16.

The airline can be rising its frequency to Thiruvananthapuram from June 15. With three further flights, the airline will function a complete of 10 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and the state capital of Kerala.

Agoda Launches AI-Driven Personalized Advertisement Campaign

Online journey platform Agoda has launched a customized promoting marketing campaign pushed by Artificial Intelligence. The marketing campaign, which is tailor-made to the Indian viewers, options actor Ayushmann Khurrana. With the assistance of the know-how, the platform has created greater than 250 custom-made movies for varied vacationer locations in India and overseas. 

The marketing campaign has used a single video of the actor and transformed it into greater than 250 adverts with the assistance of generative AI. The know-how aids in adapting the advert to the person based on their vacation spot of curiosity in an effort to make it related to every viewer.

Photo Credit: Kenya has made entry visa free for all worldwide vacationers in a bid to extend tourism.