Nearly 84% Indians feel that recovery from new <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> epidemic will take 6 months to one year time, a new survey said on Tuesday. Out of 94% respondents who are aware about the COVID-19 disease, 75% are extremely concerned about the disease while only 52% are aware of the virus type spreading the disease, said the survey from market research and analysis firm Velocity MR. The survey involving 2,100 people was conducted in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. While 70% respondents feel older people and also people with pre-existing conditions are more vulnerable to be infected by the virus. However, 63% said this can be tackled with if proper hygiene and necessary precautions are taken. "The survey shows that as a precautionary measure, 81% people have started washing their hands more frequently than before and 78% have started avoiding crowded places as and when possible," said Jasal Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Velocity MR. Another important highlight is that 72% of those surveyed said they will be more cautious and responsible while travelling abroad in future. The survey also found that many could not make changes in their day-to-day activities even if they wanted to. While 58% mentioned that they could not buy groceries and daily essentials during non-peak hours, 46% could not avoid travelling for work-related purposes and 25% were not given the provision to work from home by their organisations. The respondents rely on television, social media, online websites and newspaper (in order) to get information about COVID-19. The general opinion among the respondents was that the travel and tourism sector has been hit the most with 51% of the respondents having to cancel their trips in the last one month.

A majority of Indians believe economic recovery can take one year

<ul><li>EaseMyTrip recently appointed <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword> and <keyword id="337442" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="varun-sharma" source="Orion">Varun Sharma</keyword> as its first-ever brand ambassadors to expand its reach across the country.</li><li>As the travel platform launches its campaign with new ambassadors and rolls out its marketing blitzkrieg, we speak to <keyword id="6106039" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nishant-pitti" source="Orion">Nishant Pitti</keyword>, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip about the idea behind choosing Vijay and Varun, platform’s game plan to deal with COVID and macro-economic changes that might come in our way and larger vision.</li></ul>Six days into 2022 and brands and organisations are planning to completely return to work-from-home model and prepare for the impending wave of COVID-19 and macro-economic challenges that it might bring along. The economic impact of the third wave might not be as devastating as the second wave, but it might take a toll on the hospitality industry yet again. If the government strengthens lockdown restrictions across the country in the coming days, the hospitality sector might face a recap of 2020. However, home-grown hospitality and travel brand EaseMyTrip witnessed a six-fold growth in revenue during the peak of the second wave and on the back of its ‘flexible and lean business model,’it is optimistic about maintaining its financial health in 2022 as well. With its first-ever brand ambassadors in Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma and a slew of customer-centric initiatives such as zero-convenience fee, full refund on medical grounds, discounted air tickets for train waitlisted customers, EaseMyTrip has entered this year all guns blazing! So, to discuss what lies ahead, Advertising and Media caught up with Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip. He told us about his game plan for the platform in 2022, larger vision, marketing strategy and a lot more. Q. Can you tell us how 2021 was for EaseMyTrip and the travel industry? In FY20-21, we almost doubled our profits and this was despite halving of Gross Booking Revenue in a pandemic struck year. In Q4 of FY21, we witnessed a V-shaped recovery, registering almost 89% of the gross booking revenue of the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal. Additionally, Q1FY22 was one of the worst periods for the travel industry due to the second wave, however, we grew our profits six-fold to more than Rs 15 crore in Q1FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 2.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. This makes us one of the few companies to be profitable in the industry that has been the worst impacted in the country in the quarter of April- June’21. We have been able to maintain our profitability through the pandemic as we have been flexible and maintained a lean business model, which has been the key driver in maintaining financial health. For the travel industry, the year started well as there was a strong demand. However, the second wave struck soon after, which led to a fall in travel demand. The second wave had impacted the entire tourism industry. However, the strong vaccination drive helped in lowering active cases and the industry was seeing a recovery again. The festive season further pushed travel demand as people were comfortable travelling and had adapted to the travel norms. The rise in travel bookings during this festive period was a clear sign of the underlying pent up travel demand and the growing sentiment among travellers to venture out for leisure travel. We believe that the sector has been able to weather the storm as a lull period was followed by strong growth in demand. We also witnessed a rise in travellers from smaller cities and towns which eventually led to a rise in passenger traffic and demand. Q. You have recently onboarded your first-ever brand ambassadors. Firstly, why did you think this was a good time to bring on the actors and what was the thought behind choosing Varun and Vijay? We have been witnessing strong growth, even during the pandemic, and we have been constantly innovating and providing value to the consumer. As a result, we believe that now is the right time for branding and to get more people to know about EaseMyTrip. EaseMyTrip has always believed in leveraging relevant and meaningful avenues for brand connect and this association is in-line with the same brand philosophy. We believe that Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz are unique actors who have superb comic timing and have created a niche in the market based on their unique performances. They have a unique mass appeal that cuts across all audiences and geographies. We have consciously chosen two unique actors from two different generations as we believe that an association with both of them will help us reach our overall target audience efficiently. The association with Varun and Vijay are in sync with the brand as just like these ace actors, EaseMyTrip too has established itself and gained market share purely based on performance to date. Q. After onboarding your first-ever brand ambassadors, what are you eyeing to achieve from this partnership? The country is witnessing a growing air traffic demand, even from smaller cities now. A significant chunk of these people are digital savvy and prefer doing online bookings. Through this unique marketing campaign, we are trying to reach out to those customers and with the explosion of the internet and online booking, we believe that it is the right time to do so. Additionally, the company has aggressive plans to grow its business with a slew of customer-centric initiatives including the zero-convenience fee, full refund on medical grounds, discounted air tickets for train waitlisted customers, and many more. We believe that this initiative provides us with an opportunity to make more travellers aware of these unique initiatives and grow our customer base. Q. What is your larger marketing strategy? How will your messaging change, if at all, now that you have new brand ambassadors onboard? We aim to cater to the pent-up demand via cross-selling to the huge customer base by promoting the same aggressively across all marketing platforms. We are confident that this pent-up demand will continue to grow. We also aim to continue with our record growth across businesses and grow our market share. We emphasize high ROI marketing spending and instead of opting for very high marketing budgets, we try to source relevant platforms that can gain the maximum interest of our customers. We will continue to move in that direction in 2022 as well. While we have onboarded brand ambassadors, we do not expect our messaging to change. We have always maintained a strong messaging and unique proposition of customer centricity and consistent performance, and our brand ambassadors will continue to take that proposition ahead. Q. Which advertising medium will get your lion's share this year? With people resuming travel, we are expecting a lot more marketing efforts and initiatives in the coming year. The industry is slowly recovering, and we believe that this is the right time for us to strengthen marketing efforts and customer outreach. Seeing a recovery of the industry, in the past year, we have used big-ticket events such as IPL as well as full-page advertisements across national newspapers for marketing initiatives and will continue to explore interesting initiatives this year as well. This year, we plan to release innovative and exciting marketing efforts across digital, print and outdoor media. With the growth in passenger traffic, we will also continue to actively use in-flight branding space, as well as boarding passes as essential touchpoints for travellers. Q. What are some of the trends that you are expecting to see in the travel industry this year? In 2022, we expect a few prominent trends to surface, which are set to be at the forefront of the travel industry. 2022 is set to witness a rise in travel spending by people as they are now, more than ever, ready to take those once-in-a-lifetime trips that they always wanted to embark on. In 2022, we are also expecting more travellers to prefer locations that are adopting sustainable tourism practices as many travellers have woken up to the benefits and the need of sustainable tourism in a post-covid scenario. Technology is also being implemented in a big way in the tourism industry and travellers are showing a higher preference for places that incorporate smart technology. In 2022, the travel industry is expected to move further into a digital shift and adopt newer platforms and technologies that enable travellers to travel seamlessly. Due to the safety concerns, we are expecting a rise in demand for unique, unexplored destinations, short weekend getaways and road trips to nearby tourist destinations. Reunion travel is set to be a major trend next year as people look to reconnect with family by taking a quick getaway trip. As an aftermath of the pandemic, there will also be a rise in the number of people that are opting for short getaways that offer wellness and self-care activities. In 2022, travellers are set to showcase an increased preference for locations that have a focus on wellness activities that help them rejuvenate, take a break away from the monotony of their daily lives and lead healthier lives. Q. How did the consumer sentiment change in December and what's it usually like in January? Travel this month is majorly focused on safety. There has been a significant shift in the mindset of travellers towards health and hygiene, and the services provided by travel companies regarding this, make a significant impact on the decision making. While there are safety concerns right now, the travel sentiment of customers is still strong. There is an underlying pent-up travel demand, which is expected to lead to a growth in revenge travel. We are also ensuring safety and hygiene for our customers with the help of our airlines and hotel partners. Q. We're at that time of the year when people are normally in the mood to travel. What are some of the tourist hotspots in India this year? Have consumers shown any interest in traveling to places they wouldn’t have thought of visiting earlier? The tourist destinations that have been in demand and that we expect to be tourist hotspots this year as well include Kashmir, Goa, Jaipur, Leh and Srinagar. With safety concerns, the demand for unique, unexplored domestic destinations has also shot up in the past few months, and a lot more unheard domestic destinations will come to the fore in the coming months. Q. In India, we love saving a little extra on hotels while traveling to a different city -- a lot of people in India prefer staying at a relative's place. Has that trend changed after COVID? Yes, we believe that this trend has changed as people have witnessed the high levels of sanitisations and safety protocols undertaken by hotels since the pandemic. Since the pandemic there has been an increased emphasis on safety and sanitization within the travel industry and enhanced health screenings have become the new normal across all travel segments. As a leading travel portal, we also provide all the sanitization protocols that each hotel follows, to ensure that the travellers are aware of the practices followed. This provides them with a sense of relief during this period as safety and hygiene has become a top priority in the current period, which is not guaranteed at a relative’s place. In fact, during the pandemic, there has been an increase in 4 and 5-star hotel bookings as compared to the pre-pandemic period as people would want a better level of sanitization at this time. The average duration of the stay has also gone up from 3.2 days to 4.7 days. While hotels and apartments have performed well, we have also seen an increased demand for private villas and homestays as customers find them more secure and safe during these unprecedented times. Q. Can you tell us what would be some of your focus areas in 2022? The company plans to focus heavily on its hotel and holiday package businesses and expand in the existing markets. We are working proactively to cater to the increased demand that we foresee. We will look at enhancing the revenues and profitability going forward by leveraging our existing base of customers for cross-selling. We also plan on leveraging our vast agent network and utilizing it for the holiday bookings which shall complement the company’s hotel and holiday businesses. Apart from the Indian market, we are present across UAE, Singapore, UK, Philippines, Thailand, and the USA. We want to establish our air ticketing business in these countries as we have forayed into these new countries anticipating a huge pent-up travel demand. In the coming year, we plan to launch a localized travel search engine in each global subsidiary to strengthen our offerings within each country. We may also look to expand to more viable countries if we see a strong performance and value addition from our existing global subsidiaries. Q. What is your larger vision for the platform? We aim to continue with the record growth with increased revenue margins and market share. We have been extremely bullish in the air segment and expect to become the number one player in the air segment in the next three to four years. While air travel bookings constitute around 95% of our revenues, we are also growing our non-air travel businesses including hotels, buses, trains and holidays in double digits. We are also looking to expand our services across Tier 2 and 3 cities as we have been witnessing a rise in air ticket bookings in these cities. All in all, we are aiming to be the preferred booking partner for all travellers across the country.

Our association with Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma will help us reach our overall target audience more efficiently: Nishant Pitti of EaseMyTrip

<ul><li>With COVID-19 impacting the hospitality industry, bringing revenues down to almost zero, to now the steady recovery of the industry, there’s a lot that has happened through the course of the year. </li><li>Hospitality was one of the worst affected industries worldwide, however, with cities unlocking and global restrictions easing gradually, India topped the charts for OYO as the most booked country.</li><li>As OYO launches its annual Travelopedia, Rohit Kapoor, CEO, <keyword id="7036155" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO-Hotels-Homes">OYO Hotels &amp; Homes</keyword>, India &amp; South Asia tells us about India's favourite tourist hotspots, COVID-19 impact on OYO, <keyword id="10519936" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="travel-sentiment">travel sentiment</keyword> this year and some trends he expects to see in 2021. </li></ul>2020 has been a unique year that pushed every brand and industry to transform itself. While it started on a good note for the hospitality industry, with January 2020 (pre-covid) being the most travelled month, April 2020 witnessed most cancellations across the country owing to the government’s precautionary lockdown. Hospitality was one of the worst affected industries worldwide. The grinding halt on travel and tourism impacted home-grown hospitality brand OYO by bringing its revenue down to zero levels during the lockdown. However, with cities unlocking and global restrictions easing gradually, India topped the charts for OYO as the most booked country while Delhi clocked in the most bookings across the world in 2020. Consumer confidence was at its highest during December 2020 as OYO saw the highest number of bookings since India unlocked. Today, Ritesh Agarwal’s OYO has reached ~45% of pre-COVID occupancy levels and its used room nights have grown steadily 40% m-o-m since bottoming out in May. Some of the brands are performing much better with <keyword id="4100346" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Oyo-Townhouse">OYO Townhouse</keyword> operating at 85% of pre-COVID occupancy levels. An OYO Hotel in Shahjahanpur and another in Chennai witnessed an average occupancy of 100% since lockdown. Over 8.5 million new user bookings were made on the OYO app and website in 2020. We caught up with Rohit Kapoor, CEO, OYO - India &amp; South Asia to discuss some of the key trends that came out in its third annual report - OYO Travelopedia 2020. <div type="Video" msid="80040904" hostid="261" title="Rohit Kapoor of OYO hotels and homes on India’s favourite travel hotspots and trends to be expected in 2021" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=80040904"></div> Lockdown’s impact A month down into the nation-wide lockdown, OYO realised that the macro factors cannot be controlled. As the hospitality industry came to a complete halt till the end of June, OYO decided to focus on improving its consumers and stakeholders’ pain points. It also wanted to use its space smartly by giving back to the society. It offered a helping hand to various hospitals and their doctors across the country. “After a few consumers started showing interest in travel, we launched an extensive campaign across the country to get in touch with our partners and stay in very close touch with our consumers. We tried to identify what consumers were thinking, some problems they were facing and what we could do to solve them. We worked with 24+ state ministries, 50+ government and private hospitals and hosted about a 250,000+ hospital staff and asymptomatic patients during the lockdown. 200+ sailors were safely quarantined at OYOs across India. 1,50,000 litres of disinfectant and 70,000 litres of sanitisers were used since April to welcome our guests,” shared Kapoor. OYO also on-boarded Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador, who emerged as a knight in shining armour and has been applauded for his humanitarian work to send thousands of stranded migrants back home during the lockdown. It launched a nation-wide campaign with Sood to woo its consumers. <div type="Youtube" id="ijSg92O1d30" title="OYO Sanitised Before Your Eyes" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ijSg92O1d30/mqdefault.jpg"></div> When Vande Bharat started, approximately 73,000 repatriated Indians completed their institutional quarantine at OYOs across India. Amongst these, most bookings were made by guests travelling from the Middle East, primarily UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Insights from OYO’s Travelopedia According to Kapoor’s predictions based on travelopedia’s insights, leisure travel is making a steady comeback - with tourist hotspots of Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Tirupati, Goa, Mussoorie recovering faster than other destinations. The data also revealed that Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad ranked as the most popular cities among business travellers while Jaipur, Goa, Kochi were travellers’ favourite domestic leisure hotspots. <div type="image" title="Oyo travelopedia" msid="80040415" hostid="261"></div> Speaking on one of the most important trends this year for OYO, Kapoor said, “One of the most humbling things we found out that has stayed with me is that a guest has stayed with us 128 times this year, something that tells us that we are on the right path and that our customers have immense faith in us even in tough times. While 2021 will be a new learning in itself, we’re hopeful that the changes we have brought in 2020 will set new precedents in the travel and hospitality sector and we are completely motivated to work towards providing safe stays to all our customers.” We're at that time of the year when people normally are in the mood to travel. Across India, without any surprise, the tourist hotspot of Goa emerged as the most booked beach destination, followed by Kochi, Vizag and Pondicherry. To target these beach-lovers, OYO also launched a campaign earlier this month titled ‘Chalo Beach Chalein.’ <div type="Youtube" id="6W_9U2C7G30" title="OYO | Chal Beach Chalein" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6W_9U2C7G30/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Interestingly, OYO has also seen a resurgence in religious tourism. Puri emerged as India’s top pilgrimage destination, followed by Vrindavan, Tirupati, Shirdi, and Varanasi. In December 2020, over 17 lakh people checked-in over the weekends. December 12, 2020 saw the most number of bookings (so far). The next estimated date is December 31, 2020 (bookings still coming in) Telling us how December turned out for OYO, Kapoor said, “This month, people are traveling to places they wouldn’t have thought of visiting earlier. For example, many of our users have shown interest in Mukteshwar, Ramgad or Bhimtal. Plus, one big change for everyone is that during this part of the year, people travel to international locations -- that’s not happening this year. That demand is getting funnelled to domestic markets and that is a trend I foresee continuing for at least 12 more months.” Kapoor has been traveling himself to locations he wouldn’t have been to otherwise. He has been to Jaipur and Udaipur with his family, then he went to Ramgad and worked from there for 15 days. He has also been on a road trip to Lucknow, Allahabad and Kolkata. From his many road trips to different parts of our country and from OYO’s in-depth research study, Kapoor noticed how people aren’t staying with their relatives anymore. They preferred living in a hotel, which is a cultural shift in our country. Walking us through Travelpedian further, Kapoor said, “If you look at the patterns emerge, the first unlock started with the big cities and we wondered what is it that these big cities offered: one type of cohort was those who wanted to just leave their homes and work from somewhere else. Secondly, people were worried about going and staying in someone else’s home, which is pretty common in India. I was in Allahabad in September and was trying to book an OYO, it was fully sold out. It was because of an exam which was going on and it was booked by parents whose kids were appearing for that exam. Third thing we saw is seasonality disappearing because work from home is allowed. The classic pattern of people travelling during peak seasons and vacations is phasing out. People are going away for staycations, working for 8-10 hours and using the rest of time for leisure. Lastly, they are also up for impromptu plans because they want to be reasonably sure that they are ready to travel.” OYO’s goals for 2021 The focus areas in 2021 would be more or less the same at OYO. Kapoor said that one thing that COVID-19 has taught us is that the future is unpredictable and the team is prepared for uncertain 2-3 quarters. “We have learnt the power of building product-led solutions for partners and that we will continue to invest in that. We want to open OYO-products and solutions to a much wider set of customers. We have all kinds of customers today but I think we have the opportunity to present OYO as the best option for anybody who is seeking good-quality experience. OYO has been recognised as the best start-up to work with and my focus would be to continue being the best place to work with for our target not just in India, but globally as well.”

Over 8.5 million new user bookings were made on the OYO app and website in 2020: Rohit Kapoor

<ul><li>India recorded its seventh death due to coronavirus in Gujarat (March 22) </li><li>A third Covid-19 case was reported from West Bengal on Saturday (March 21). </li><li>A Janta curfew has been imposed on March 22, from 7 am to 9 pm. </li><li>Seven people suspected of Coronavirus have been admitted to the isolation ward of Kolkata hospital. </li><li>As many as ten new Coronavirus suspects were admitted to the district civil hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra. </li></ul>The number of Coronavirus infected people in India crossed 300 mark today (March 22) heralding the onset of the third and critical phase of the pandemic. The Union Health Ministry data said that India now has 341 infected people; out of which 23 recovered and seven died. Seventh death from Surat India's seventh death was reported from Surat, Gujarat, where a 67-year-old man died due to the deadly virus. Telangana reports a new case Five more people in Telangana tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the number of cases to 22. On Friday, an 18-year-old female who recently arrived from London was tested positive. According to the health department, the woman, a resident of Hyderabad, was referred from a private hospital and was admitted to Chest Hospital. Her condition is stated to be stable. Italian tourist died in Jaipur India recorded its fifth death due to coronavirus after Italian tourist died in Jaipur on Friday (March 20). According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/coronavirus-death-toll-rajasthan-italian-national-dies-599858" class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink">reports</a>, the infected patient was identified as Andrews. He was admitted to Fortis Hospital in Jaipur after developing symptoms of coronavirus and died while he was under treatment for the ailment at the hospital. Andhra reports new Covid-19 positive case A third Covid-19 case was reported from Andhra Pradesh on Friday (March 20) with a person who recently returned from Saudi Arabia testing positive. According to officials, the man who hails from Visakhapatnam returned on March 12. With this, the state reported a positive case for a second consecutive day. A man, who had returned from London on March 15, tested positive in Ongole town of Prakasam district on Thursday. The first Covid-19 positive case was reported from Nellore district last week - a youth who returned from Italy. ‘Janta curfew’ initiative by PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged the people of the country to opt for a ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday from 7 am to 9 pm. In a special address to the nation, Modi said, “Today I am requesting the people of the country for a Janta curfew, on March 22, this Sunday, from between 7 am to 9 pm. This is public curfew. Janata curfew means for the public, curfew imposed on the public by themselves.” He urged people to follow this ‘curfew’, not go out on the streets or even gather in their societies and stay inside their homes. FM will lead a COVID-19 economic response taskforce: PM The Centre has formed a COVID-19 economic response taskforce, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. The taskforce will be led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The taskforce would assess the requirements of various sectors and oversee the implementation of the measures proposed. Many sectors like aviation, hospitality and tourism are stressed with ripple effects across the economy. Seven admitted to an isolation ward in Kolkata Seven people, some of whom had recently arrived from abroad, were admitted to the isolation ward of Beliaghata ID hospital on Thursday with Coronavirus-like symptoms, a senior official of the health department said. Two of them had travelled to Italy and reportedly came in touch with a coronavirus patient, the official said, adding that the third person is Liberian national. The swabs of all seven people have been collected but till late Thursday night. Ten new suspected cases of Coronavirus in Nashik As many as ten new coronavirus suspects were admitted to the district civil hospital in Maharashtra on Thursday (March 19), hospital sources said. All of them are Nashik citizens who had gone abroad and were admitted to the hospital after complaining of throat pain, cough or breathlessness, sources said. Meanwhile, Nashik Saraf Association has decided to keep all jewellery shops in the city closed on March 20 and 21. The famous Lord Kalaram temple in the city has also been closed for devotees. Bijnor forest bans humans to stop Corona spread The entry of human beings has been banned in the Bijnor forest area. The Bijnor forest division said that this has been done to “mitigate the possibility of infection among animals from humans as novel coronavirus is a zoonotic (spreading from non-humans to humans) disease”. The state government has already declared COVID-19 a pandemic and all departments have been put on high alert. Forest authorities have sealed forest areas, including tiger and elephant reserve areas, and banned the entry of public. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed flourish-bar-chart-race" data-src="visualisation/1597236"></div>
]]></cdata></div>













































 SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/data-of-coronavirus-patients-state-wise-in-india/articleshow/74669748.cms">Check Coronavirus cases in India state wise</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coronavirus-myths-and-facts-here-are-some-rumours-about-covid-19-that-arent-true/articleshow/74487962.cms">Here are Coronavirus myths and facts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coronavirus-dos-and-donts-for-protection-against-convid-19/articleshow/74475858.cms">Do’s and Don’ts for protection against COVID-19</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">Coronavirus News and Updates</a>

Coronavirus in India: 390 people infected; 359 active cases, 24 cured and 7 dead

<ul><li><keyword id="6355455" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-railways">Indian Railways</keyword> launched a biometric identification system to ensure ‘guaranteed seats’ in unreserved trains. </li><li>The passengers travelling in unreserved coaches will scan their fingerprints at the biometric system to get the token. </li><li>The Railways acquired four biometric machines as of now for two stations — <keyword id="653763" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mumbai-Central-railway-station">Mumbai Central railway station</keyword> and Bandra Terminus.</li></ul>In a good news to train travellers, Indian Railways launched a biometric identification system. It will ensure ‘guaranteed seats’ to general passengers travelling in unreserved train coaches. The initiative <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/get-seats-easily-in-unreserved-coaches-indian-railways-introduces-new-biometric-system-for-general-passengers/1656964/">launched</a> by Western Railway division’s Mumbai Central railway station and Bandra Terminus aims to create a hassle-free experience for passengers and avoid mayhem at platforms at the time of boarding. <keyword id="102890" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="biometrics">Biometrics</keyword> have been tested first, on Pushpak Express between Mumbai and Lucknow. The Railways has been practicing biometrics for Amravati Express, Jaipur Superfast Express, Karnavati Express , Gujarat Mail, Golden Temple Mail, Paschim Express, <keyword id="1340079" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amaravati-Express">Amaravati Express</keyword>, Avadh Express, <keyword id="1301826" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharashtra-Sampark-Kranti-Express">Maharashtra Sampark Kranti Express</keyword>. It plans on using the machines for long-distance trains as well. From now on, the passengers travelling in unreserved coaches will scan their fingerprints at the biometric system to get the token. The token-system will ensure that the number of passengers does not surpass the number of available seats. These tokens will be verified by the official staff (<keyword id="54832" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Railway-Protection-Force">Railway Protection Force</keyword>) on the platforms. Currently, people board trains in a disorderly manner, increasing the scope of accidents. “This machine also captures images of passengers, eliminating the need for video recording of passengers boarding general class coaches,” Financial Express <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/get-seats-easily-in-unreserved-coaches-indian-railways-introduces-new-biometric-system-for-general-passengers/1656964/">reported</a> citing Ravinder Bhakar, CPRO of <keyword id="66416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Western-Railways">Western Railways</keyword>. The move will cut down on the malpractices for the sake of seat reservations. The authorities will also be able to identify thieves by tracking their fingerprints. The Railways acquired four biometric machines as of now. It is in the process of securing eight more for Ahmedabad and Mumbai divisions. “Passengers are happy with the system as it is transparent. It also deters thieves who purchase unreserved tickets as it did not require them to give their personal details,” S R Gandhi, senior divisional security commissioner, Western Railways <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/western-railway-gets-biometric-token-system/article28703241.ece">told </a>The Hindu. Indian Railways has been pushing for a more passenger-friendly experience. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) introduced a ‘Vikalp Scheme’ for the passengers who have been on the waiting list to get their tickets confirmed. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-railways-vikalp-scheme-allows-passengers-to-board-an-alternate-train-and-avoid-the-waiting-list/articleshow/70379177.cms">Indian Railway’s vikalp scheme allows passengers to board an alternate train — and avoid the waiting list</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-railways-is-hiring-nearly-300000-candidates/articleshow/70189926.cms">Indian Railways is on an aggressive recruitment drive to hire 300,000</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-railways-introduce-buzzing-bees-to-keep-elephants-away-from-train-tracks/articleshow/70169025.cms">Indian Railways introduce ‘buzzing bees’ to keep elephants away from train tracks</a>

Indian Railways is using biometrics to reduce and track unreserved passengers

In a bid to expand its connectivity, the Airport Authority of India (<keyword id="47439" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aai">AAI</keyword>) will be marketing 29 airports in the country to international airlines participating in <keyword id="2530577" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Route-Development-Forum">World Route Development Forum</keyword> that is being held in Chicago between 20th and 23rd September. 
	 
	The airports that AAI plans to develop, in order to market among the international airlines, include both domestic and international airports. These airports include Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Leh, Srinagar, Varanasi (Banaras), Bhubaneswar, Gaya, Kolkata, Port Blair, Ranchi, Raipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Indore, Goa, Pune, Surat, Chennai, Coimbatore, Calicut, Madurai, Mangalore, Trivandrum, Trichy and Visakhapatnam. 
	 
	The apex body of airports has held one-on-one meetings with the carriers and has an exclusive stand at the forum. “The airport-specific brochures brought out by AAI on the occasion included salient features of the airports, catchment areas they belong to, aerodrome reference code, tourist attractions and aviation and tourism potential,” said the ministry in a statement. 
	 
	The ministry added that AAI plans to come up with no-frills airports to enhance air connectivity as well as facilitate availability of infrastructure in the sector, which will ensure smooth air operations across airports in the country. 
	 
	“Government of India is focusing and pushing for development of airport infrastructure in tier-III cities. AAI will have to play a key role in implementation and execution of no-frill airports in the country. As per the estimates, about 50 such airports are on the anvil. The five airports included in Phase-I are Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, Jharsuguda in Odisha, Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka and Kishangarh in Rajasthan,” added the ministry. 
	 
	The apex body has been participating World Route Development Forum for the past six years. AAI has 125 airports which consist of 21 international airports domestic airports, 7 customs airports (4 civil enclaves) and 19 other civil enclaves. Among the international airports, AAI has 3 civil enclaves and 3 joint ventures. 
	 
	Currently, Indian airports, on the domestic front, handle nearly 122 million passengers while 47 million international passengers. The airports expected to handle 217 million domestic and 76 million international passengers by 2020.

AAI
to display 29 airports at World Route Development Forum

<ul><li>Hoping for a bumper Christmas harvest after a slowdown, Cleartrip has lined up a marketing campaign, various discounts, and special products to make the most of this month. </li><li>Having a multi-market strategy across a few international geographies has helped Cleartrip set a strong foothold in India, despite the economic slowdown. </li><li>We spoke to Indroneel Dutt, CFO, Cleartrip to understand how hopeful over-the-air market is for Christmas, what lies ahead for the industry, investment plans for marketing, and the company’s vision.</li></ul>Travel zeal and market sentiment during Christmas and New Years is at its peak and Cleartrip is all set to make the most of it. With the economic slowdown, the travel industry also took a hit. It only picked up in the latter half of the year -- during the festive season starting from September. Cleartrip, however, had an edge in the market for 50% of its business is based out of India. It is present in eight markets and India, UAE and KSA are its strongest. It has captured about 18-20% market share in India. This year, Cleartrip booked 15 million flight tickets, hotel room nights, and in-destination experiences through its platforms and grew at a rate of 20%. Cleartrip is in full swing to leverage the opportunity that Christmas brings. It has launched initiatives like ‘Cleartrip for Work,’ which makes corporate fares available to individual travellers and partnership with PayBack India to offer affordability. It will also continue to market how it solves customer problems in its B2C communications. We spoke to Indroneel Dutt, CFO, Cleartrip to understand how hopeful over-the-air market is for Christmas, what lies ahead for the industry, investment plans for marketing, and the company’s vision. Excerpts: December is a month when a lot of people plan their travels. So what are your expectations? How are you Creating a pull-factor for Cleartrip? The travel sentiment picked up in the latter part as we approached the festive season and we saw an increased buying behaviour closer to the festive season. Additionally, being the largest OTA in the Middle East, Cleartrip enjoys a significant share of the India – ME corridor which is a busy route during Diwali. The aviation market in the country is witnessing a broad slowdown for various reasons. As an OTA, this is not the first time we are seeing such cycles and believe this slowdown is just a blip. India being the fastest-growing <keyword id="878873" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="travel-market">travel market</keyword>, the overall outlook continues to be promising. What gives Cleartrip a fair amount of edge is also the fact that we have over 50% of our business outside of India. Those markets are not showing the same signs of stress that we are seeing in India. Dominated mainly by group and family bookings, we see that India is all set to spend some quality time travelling with near and dear ones this winter. Winter travel has grown big for the metro as well as non-metro-based travellers this year. Overall, we are seeing an 8% increase in fares over last year for the upcoming Christmas-New Year period. We expect the prices to increase further as the holidays approach. We are cautiously optimistic about the travel zeal being high this winter. Recently, we have made some very interesting announcements like the launch of Cleartrip for Work which makes corporate fares available to individual travellers and partnership with PAYBACK India for our customers to make the most of their travel budget and will continue to keep our focus on going deep into solving customer problems. Which was the most buzzing place? How many flight tickets were sold and hotel rooms were booked this year? With over 15 million flight tickets, hotel room nights and in-destination experiences and activities sold annually through its platforms, Cleartrip today occupies a leading market position in the Air, Accommodation and Experiences categories. The festive seasons mark one of the peak periods of sales during the year. This year North East was a big attraction for the travellers. With the rains subsided and the winters yet to come, Guwahati and Bagdogra were among the top leisure destinations. Kochi, Jaipur were popular as well. Goa continued to be the choicest place for those looking to take a break during the festive time. On the international front, we saw the trajectory of festive travel move to towards SEA with Bangkok, Singapore, Phuket and Colombo being among the popular destinations that travellers headed to. When you say Cleartrip has introduced several groundbreaking new features and services and has numerous firsts in the online travel industry to its name, can you tell us what were the initiatives that make you ground-breaking? We are a digital-first company, and digital is pretty much at the core of what we do, how we were born, and who we are. While we are today credited for our pioneering approach and introducing many industry-firsts in the travel space, the key driving factor has always been to provide a superlative user experience for our customers. I am glad to talk about some of these. In April 2012, Cleartrip became the first company to launch a split-screen search feature to facilitate round-trip search results. Till then you could see only one-way details in one screen. In our knowledge, this was a global-first. While the online payments ecosystem was still in its nascent stage, Cleartrip in March 2012, launched Expressway India’s first stored card solution on mobile. In 2015, Cleartrip became the first Indian OTA to featured on the Apple watch. Cleartrip continued the streak with the introduction of multi-city-bookings and then the first app globally to allow in-app amendments. Later it became the first Indian OTA to launch the most comprehensive set of experiences under the brand name of Cleartrip Activities ( formerly called Cleartrip Local). Designed to save travellers who need to change their travel schedule from the hefty charges associated with amending a flight booking, Flexifly is first such offering by an OTA introduced by Cleartrip in 2019. Our latest offering Cleartrip for Work, democratises corporate travel and makes the benefits of corporate travel available to individuals travellers. This means that travellers across the board can get all that a corporate fares has to offer (free amendments, free meals, reduced cancellation fee) in the slick Cleartrip experience that our customers love us for, and not be bogged down by archaic corporate travel environment. Can you walk us through your larger marketing strategy? Simply put, our marketing strategy is an extension of our product-first strategy. Our consumers have choices and we are extremely conscious that they come back to us repeatedly because of our absolute commitment to understanding our customer problems and requirements and solving for them. Our Marketing stack follows the same pattern by always being at the side of the consumer but not on their face. We pride ourselves in being a distinct brand which is always there, always trustworthy yet doesn’t create unwarranted intrusions in an already cluttered social habitat. We leverage machine-learning driven customisation, to offer hyper-personalised suggestions to our customers to help them plan their trip and activities in an optimal manner. What are your revenue expectations for the year? We are on the path of clocking a total revenue in excess of $100 M in FY20. Globally, as a business, we clock close to $1.8 billion worth of gross booking value (GBV). What would be the main factors driving your growth this year -- helping you reach your set targets? Our multi-market strategy across key international emerging geographies has played an important role in establishing Cleartrip amongst the industry frontrunners in the global travel technology domain. The markets that we are present in are at various points of the maturity curve. We have been growing at an aggregate rate of over 30% globally in the last four years. India growth is around 20%, which is higher than the market growth rate. The markets outside of India are growing at a rate of 40%+. Some of the key trends you have lately observed in the industry and amongst consumers? The new age traveller is evolving from the emulative approach to creating a bespoke experience where they make a hyper customised itinerary for one self-based on personal preferences. The theme here revolves around making travel truly experiential. Through experiential trips, travelers immerse themselves in the native culture and history of their chosen destination. Travel inspired by culinary experiences is gaining popularity. Such trips let you unwind from your daily routine in a culinary experience that makes your travel truly experiential. This particularly clicks with International customers and lately domestic millennials as well. Food tours, adventure travel, and music tourism are other emerging trends in this space. Which are some of your strongest markets, where are your expansion plans? Today we are the 2nd largest OTA in India. With over 60% of the total market share, we are the largest online travel portal, as well as one of the top consumer businesses in the Middle-East region. We have also been rapidly expanding our presence in the SAMENA region (South Asia, Middle East and North Africa) and more than 50% of our business comes from outside India. Cleartrip continues to expand into additional markets in the Middle East and North Africa as we reinforce our position to be the emerging market OTA. Additionally, we have several pilot tests running in a number of countries including Jordan and Lebanon. Newer markets are being continuously added into the pilot test as we look to expand our overall network and product base. Some of the key innovation and technologies that you have invested in lately or planning to do in the near future? The driving vision for Cleartrip, since its inception, has been to leverage technology to simplify travel for our customers. Machine learning (ML) and data science are two of the most prominent technologies that we use to solve major user issues. We use data analytics and ML to streamline discovery and provide a smooth booking process. We also use data science models for cashback optimisation, offering more personalised deals to users. Cleartrip is investing in next-generation technologies to create better end-user solutions and build greater efficiencies. We have deployed Robotics Process Automation (RPA) to remove process redundancies across key functions such as finance and customer experience. Using RPA, we have diminished the scale of operational task time from weeks to hours. Voice is another technology that we have invested in. Reflecting back, how has your journey been? What is your focus area today at Cleartrip? Coming from a travel industry yourself, how often do you travel? As Cleartrip turns a teenager, this is a good time to reflect on the journey that started 13 years ago. What has changed most significantly are some of the opportunity statements that we were trying to solve then vs. what we are trying to solve now. We started with the idea of ‘making travel simple’. At that point in time, making travel simple meant the ability to run a transaction without having it fail halfway through, optimizing and compressing the packet sizes of data so that it can be done in a lower volume bandwidth connection, or finding content which was not readily available and making it available online. I had once put by mistake Seat 13 C as my residential address and that should tell you how often I travel. Some of the best stories of my life are found on the pages of my passport.

Cleartrip expects to clock a total revenue of $100 million in FY20

“I remember when we would boss around the people working in our fields. And look at me now. All these Punjabi ladies bossing me around, complaining about the rotis I make!” Kaushaliya Devi, a local of Mau Kasbah in <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword>’s Chitrakoot district, is ranting about her new life – new only for the last 20 years. But there is something transient about migrating to a new place, a big city, from your village and kheti deep inside the innards of a country as vast as India – such that it makes people like Kaushaliya feel like she doesn’t completely belong. She is not alone. India, according to a report derived from a study by the International Organization for Migration, has the second highest number of adults in the midst of the migration cycle – that’s 3.5 million planning and 1.3 million preparing. Zoom in on Uttar Pradesh, home to the largest population in the country, and the numbers are mind-boggling. The 2011 Indian Census pegged U.P. as the state with the most out-migration (26.9 lakh) followed, not so closely, by <keyword id="30033" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bihar">Bihar</keyword> at 17.2 lakh. In <keyword id="6368366" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bundelkhand">Bundelkhand</keyword>, arguably among the most regressive swathes of land in U.P., migration is the norm with generations <keyword id="41744" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="UP">up</keyword>on generations of families opting for it in order to survive. “Peedhiyon se palayan” is a common, oft-heard phrase around these parts, especially in the post-Diwali season, with the winters in the offing when hordes of men and women make their way to the Manikpur railway station to catch trains to Delhi. The families of Bakta Bujurg village in the district of Chitrakoot for instance, often speak of “palayan” and “pardes”. Alpana Devi tells us that her husband Ramdeen left ten years ago, while Ramdeen who is visiting, speaks of the reasons, "Our options are to work on land owner's fields, for which we get Rs 150 a day. We can either eat or send our children to school; there is no way we can afford both." Ramdeen’s father too had migrated, “for the same reasons”. And decades later, he says, it’s still the same, “I don’t see any other or new options that have come up since the time my father worked to bring us up.” What about his children, we ask. "What about them?" Alpana responds, even as Ramdeen sums it up, "Yeh toh ab rivaaz hi ban gaya hai. (Migration has now become a tradition)," watching his 10-year-old son play. 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="Youtube" id="RtHbtc1fTEQ" title="पलायननामा: अपनों को तलाशती ये पथराई आंखे" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RtHbtc1fTEQ/mqdefault.jpg"></div>










 Migration as a socio-cultural-economic phenomenon in U.P. has been a steadily intensifying one. Between 2001 and 2011, over 5.8 million people between the ages of 20 and 29 migrated from the state in search of jobs, but the tragedy in this mass exodus lies not as much in the process of migration itself as in the outcome. The search for jobs and better opportunities pushes these migrants into the informal sector in cities like Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh, sometimes Mumbai, where, due to low educational attainment, they are often forced to make-do with low-paying jobs. As a result of which, they are often relegated to settlements and clusters on the peripheries of the cities they’re in – entire families crammed in one room, sharing the common toilet with other families in neighbouring shanties. We visited Rajapur in Delhi, one such popular settlement for scores of migrating Bundelkhand families, primarily from Mau, in Chitrakoot – where men work as drivers and car cleaners, women as cooks and maids, and the children dream of reality shows as they head out to the local government school. Arjun had dreamt of working in the wholesale business, but didn’t make the cut for “any company”. He currently cleans cars for a living and is aiming to be a driver, next. Kaushaliya Devi who cooks for a family in south Delhi lists "gas chalana” as one of her biggest challenges initially, “I couldn’t figure out the knobs! Now I’m super-fast!” nagging women of the house continue to be the bane of her existence even though she adds, “I make tasty food. You know, these city people don’t really know to cook!” Chunki recalls her early days and relives the pangs of loss she felt in the moment she left Mau for Delhi. “Oh! I cried and I cried. I couldn’t understand this Delhi, and why I was here.” And Kumkum misses the buzz of festivals back home – “It’s just not the same here,” she smiles, wistfully. But Kumkum hides other darker tragedies in her personal story of migration – one that reflects on an entire state and its defunct rural health system. According to an Indiaspend study, U.P. spends Rs 452 per capita on health, which is, on an average, 70% less than the others. And there’re more dismal figures here. There are 84% fewer specialists than needed, 50% fewer nursing staff, and the lowest share of health workers (19.9%) in India, as per an analysis conducted by the Observer Research Foundation in February 2017. The fact that T.B. continues to be a silent killer in Bundelkhand – as is clear in our reporting in Gopra, Banda – is just one illustration of the abysmal state the system is in. And this too is one of the big reasons for migration – the underbelly of a peculiar kind of medical tourism. “My husband had T.B.”, says Kumkum, “His condition was not improving. So we came to Delhi for his treatment.” As the treatment began, Kumkum, her husband, and their four kids took up accommodation in Rajapur. The children got enrolled in sarkari schools and since “school admission is such a problem now”, the family decided to stay on in Delhi. Kumkum’s husband eventually got better and regained his strength, but Kumkum still dreams of her special Purnima puja back home when "all the ladies would get together" and bond over a ritual – one that morphed into a ritual of exodus. The greatest driver of the migration story of course remains and continues to be linked with livelihoods – the basic need to earn, eat, feed, fend for your loved ones – in short, survival. The celebrated MGNREGA policy, put into place by the UPA government, has not been the very picture of a success story. A recent Indiaspend study revealed the shocking fact on how wage payments under the MGNREGA scheme have been frozen at the Centre across 19 states, as of October 31, 2017. In U.P., these payments have been released and are pending since 11 September 2017, but that’s only official data. Add the Aadhaar card requirements and bank account linkages, and couple those with job cards-hoarding village headmen at the rural level, and there is a clearer picture of the sheer dystopia that a “poor-friendly” policy has become. In the meanwhile, the migration story is deeply linked with the story of the overall deterioration of the country's most populous state – something is more than rotten in U.P., and specifically Bundelkhand. The proportion of households able to get 100 days of work, for instance, makes for another mind-boggling statistic, having decreased from 6% in 2013-14 to 2.13% in 2016-17. Figures it would do the current Yogi <keyword id="6360744" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adityanath">Adityanath</keyword> government good to do some stock-taking on. The “sabka saath sabka vikaas” mantra is failing deeply in a place like Kabrai, for instance – a stone-mining haven in Mahoba where machines have replaced manual labour, which has, in turn, resulted in an acute employment crisis. Rajpal, who tried his luck with contracting in Kabrai, is now heading to Jaipur, to become part of the brick-laying unskilled labour force needed to construct, more malls, possibly. We asked his wife Sunita about the big move and her response is tempered with something close to rage, “What else can we do? There is nothing here that gives us money. Pet paalna hai, toh jaana hi hai.” And unfortunately, that is exactly what the palayan narrative of Bundelkhand boils down to. Author: Pooja Pande is Senior Editorial Manager at <a href="http://khabarlahariya.org/" target="_blank">Khabar Lahariya</a>. Khabar Lahariya is a rural, video-first digital news organisation with an all-women network of reporters in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh. <a href="http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-ZE468_1007MI_M_20131007001332.jpg" data-type="tilCustomLink">Image Source</a>

"The ghost town of Lalitpur: Uttar Pradesh witnesses a spike in the number of people migrating to cities"

<div class="image-container" style="width:590px"><div class="image"></div><keyword id="68053" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="AFP">AFP</keyword></div>
A British woman who jumped from a hotel balcony in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> fearing a sexual assault said on Sunday she shouted for help for more than an hour before she fled.
Jessica Davies, 31, from London, said she had barricaded the door of her hotel room in Agra with furniture to stop two men from entering.
"I held my key in the lock and I could feel them turning it from the other side," she told the BBC.
Davies, a dental hygienist, injured both legs in the jump but said her ordeal could have been a lot worse.
The manager of the hotel and another member of staff appeared in court on Wednesday accused of harassing Davies, with their lawyer saying they denied the charges.
Davies said she wanted to talk about her experience "because the shame of sexual assault makes many people too scared to speak out".
She also said it was "disgusting" that her fellow hotel residents had failed to help.
The incident came just days after a Swiss cyclist was allegedly gang-raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh by a group of villagers, while on a cycling trip with her husband that was meant to include a stopover in Agra.
Davies, who is now back in Britain, told the BBC her ordeal began when she was "surprised" by a knock at her door at 3:45 a.m.
She denied claims by the hotel manager's lawyer that she had asked for a wake-up call, saying she had set her phone alarm for 4.30 a.m. to catch a taxi for a train to Jaipur.
She said she was still wearing pajamas when she opened the door to find the hotel manager asking if she wanted to take a shower and offering a massage. "He was showing me this oil he had," she said.
When he refused to go away, she barricaded herself inside her room. For the next hour and a quarter "I was kicking the door and screaming hoping someone would help", she said.
"By hook or by crook this person — or persons — were going to get into my room. I'm 100 percent certain. And there was only one way out, to jump two floors."
Davies said that when she hit the ground she heard a shout but "I didn't look back and just ran", hardly noticing her injuries as adrenaline took over.
She said a passing rickshaw driver took her to a police station where he stayed with her for hours and acted as translator.
"He was amazing," she said, but added: "I don't know his name and I don't know how to thank him."
She also praised the police in Agra.
Davies insisted she had been "exercising a lot of caution and wearing appropriate clothes" after hearing about recent cases.
She said she had not been put off from returning to India, but was "never going to travel alone again".
Prakash Narayan Sharma, lawyer for the hotel manager Sachin Chauhan, told AFP his client was being framed and claimed Davies had invented the story.
He also claimed it was a conspiracy concocted by tourism authorities in New Delhi to tarnish the image of Agra, which is home to the Taj Mahal, a major tourist attraction.
<div class="nc_footer">
Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.
</div>

British Tourist Describes 'Rape' Ordeal That Led Her To Jump Out Hotel Window

With India scoring 10th place in the <keyword id="52765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="business-travel">business travel</keyword> market over the last few years, there is a lot going on for this niche in the travel sector. 
 
Increasing growth India scored 24th rank in terms of size of the business travel market. In 2012 and 2013, it stood as the tenth largest business travel market in the world at travel spends of $22.1 billion and $24.4 billion, respectively. And as predicted by the <keyword id="1793400" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Global-Business-Travel-Association">Global Business Travel Association</keyword> (GBTA) outlook report, the business travel market of the country is expected to zoom to $28.8 billion by 2015. 
 
However, if we compare it to the usual suspects, China and US, we are just minnows. US heads the list with $275 billion in total business travel spend in 2013 and China comes next as it has leapfrogged and is now breathing down Uncle Sam’s neck at $225 billion. But there’s bright light at the end of the tunnel. 
 
Increasing business centres 
One of the biggest growth drivers of business travel is the increase in the number of business centres throughout India, which is driven by the expansion of the middle class. This increase in new business centres in the country has pushed the domestic business travel spending and no wonder that the domestic segment dominates the business travel niche in India with about 90% spending. 
 
Young executive push 
India has the largest percentage of young population in the world. China, on the other hand due to its one-child policy, is slowly moving towards the advanced age bracket. In India, the age group of 25-35 finds the maximum number of business travellers and will continue to do so for around the next three decades. More than 50% of corporate travellers in hotels these days belong to this bracket which contributes to well over 80% of their revenues. And this is largely due to changing lifestyles. 
 
As against older travellers, who prefer to stay in their rooms, young travellers often want to hit the gym or go for the business centres in hotels even during late hours. Their spending on foods and beverages is 20% more than that of the business travellers aged 40 years or older. 
 
The number of business class air travellers has increased with the advent of a rising private sector airline industry. Similarly, a new phenomenon is emerging in India - chartered air travel. 
 
Challenges ahead 
However, it’s not that all is hunky dory for India’s business travel industry. The travel directly depends on the amount of money or investment that both the government and the private sector are putting in new commercial, trade and business deals. And since in India, unlike Europe and US, most business spending is still indirectly dependent on government policy and government spending, the slow economic growth rate has stifled business travel growth in the last three years. 
 
India’s business travel market grew just 5.8% and 10% in 2012 and 2013, respectively, and is expected to grow just 2.2% in 2014. China’s business travel market has grown more than 13% every year in the last 5 years. 
 
Coming to demand supply dynamics of hotel rooms, there is a paradox here. Hotel developers invested heavily and signed deals throughout mid 2000s till early 2009 thinking the period of high economic growth for Indian economy which had been going on since 2003 will continue. But, this expansion was restricted to the 7-8 major economic centres of India. And, just then, in the winter of 2008-09, the global economic recession hit. So, by the time the hotels expanded and new rooms were added till the financial year 2012-13, the demand had slumped due to lower economic growth in the last 5 years. 
 
Now, a fast pace of economic growth is expected in next 5 years with a stable and strong majority government in the centre. But this next phase of growth will equally come from cities like Jaipur, Nagpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow etc. Thus, hoteliers will have to quickly create and expand capacity in these tier one and tier two cities, which lag far behind in terms of three-star and above classified hotel rooms. 
 
Technology: the game changer And then there is the underlying element of technology. An overwhelming majority, over 80 percent of the business travellers get their travel itineraries planned and bookings done through their laptops and mobiles with the latter growing fast in the last two years with mobile payment and banking becoming reliable and safe in India. And this is where Indian <keyword id="114406" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="travel-management">travel management</keyword> companies (TMCs) need to invest heavily in integrated business travel solutions. 
 
Such solutions will present options like air charter, business class special offers, group as well as individual hotel bookings listing facilities like high quality business centres and conference rooms along with fitness centres and restaurants/bars that the hotels provide for the young travellers. Thus there will be a one stop shop which will cater especially to the business traveler separate from general travel and tourism. 
Also, the interface of such IT solutions will be directly linked to the corporate clients, the hotels and the banks which will facilitate the payments. This will help both hotels and clients to maintain a database of business travellers in terms of numbers, costs, per room rates and expenses thereby estimating and managing future demand in a much better way. 
 
Hence, there’s no doubt, that a healthy dosage of sound business and economic policies on the first place, rapid infrastructure development in all major cities and an aggressive adoption of technology are the key to India becoming one of the top five business travel markets in the world by the end of this decade.

You Searched For "Jaipur tourism" and got 10 results

A majority of Indians believe economic recovery can take one year

IANS

Our association with Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma will help us reach our overall target audience more efficiently: Nishant Pitti of EaseMyTrip

Karuna Sharma

Over 8.5 million new user bookings were made on the OYO app and website in 2020: Rohit Kapoor

Karuna Sharma

Coronavirus in India: 390 people infected; 359 active cases, 24 cured and 7 dead

Navdeep Yadav

Indian Railways is using biometrics to reduce and track unreserved passengers

Prerna Sindwani

AAI to display 29 airports at World Route Development Forum

Purba Das

Cleartrip expects to clock a total revenue of $100 million in FY20

Karuna Sharma

"The ghost town of Lalitpur: Uttar Pradesh witnesses a spike in the number of people migrating to cities"

Guest Author

British Tourist Describes 'Rape' Ordeal That Led Her To Jump Out Hotel Window

Agence France Presse

Business Travel: Drivers And Speadbreakers

Pallavi Srivastava