Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

In a bid to strengthen the ties between India and the US, the Indian government plans to issue visa-on-arrival for tourists from the US soon. Indian Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> had made several announcements regarding the consular and visa issues at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the US. Now it’s time when we can expect some action to materialize the plans that were shared. 
		“Systems are in place to introduce visa on arrival for US tourists in October itself,” said the Prime Minister Office in a statement. 
	
		 Industry experts feel that the move will give a tremendous boost tourism industry in the country. “Extension of the Visa-on-Arrival facility to is an excellent step taken forward by India, and will certainly give a big fillip to inbound tourism, which is languishing far below its potential considering the diversity of experiences that India offers,” said <keyword id="332366" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharat-Dhall">Sharat Dhall</keyword>, president of <keyword id="143718" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yatra-com">Yatra.com</keyword>, an online travel portal, sometime back. 
		He had added that visa on arrival will allow travellers from the US to do impulse travelling to India and open up the country to tourists who decide at the last minute. “In addition, the proposal to allow travellers to apply for visas online and receive the electronic visa within 5 days, eases up the entire process of travelling to India. Arising out of this welcome step, we expect this to significantly boost demand for hotels, flights and land transport within India and act as a catalyst to economic growth as well,” noted Dhall. 
	
		 
		Interestingly, tourists from the US have accounted for a major portion of the inbound tourism in the country. According to the statistics by the tourism ministry, the foreign tourist arrival (FTA) from USA was over 10 lakh in 2013 registering a growth of 15.58% over 2012. 
	
		 Apart from issuing visa on arrival, the government will also issue lifelong <keyword id="49485" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="PIO">PIO</keyword> (Person of Indian Origin) cards to Indian NRIs living in the US. 
		“All PIO cards are now valid for the lifetime of the cardholder, instead of 15 years. This effectively fulfils the Prime Minister's announcement that PIO cardholders would enjoy a lifelong visa to India,” stated the PM’s office. The PIO cardholders wouldn’t be required to visit a police station even when their India visit exceeds 180 days.

Visa On Arrival Plan For US Tourists To
Materialize By October End

With the onset of the winters, seems everyone India is in a mood of vacations—they have packed their bags and are ready to go. 
	 A recent study done by online travel portal <keyword id="143718" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yatra-com">Yatra.com</keyword> testifies the same. “Vacationing this winter seems to be the accepted norm amongst most Indians. We at Yatra.com, have seen a significant increase in holiday bookings, both domestic and international, on a year on year basis. Clearly, Indians love to travel and are happy to spend on their vacation breaks. What is very interesting is the fact that travellers would rather stay at hotels, rather than stay over with relatives or friends we picked this insight in our latest advertising campaign”, said <keyword id="332366" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharat-Dhall">Sharat Dhall</keyword>, president of Yatra.com. 
	 
	“The survey showcased that Indians have started taking frequent holidays through the year, albeit for shorter durations. 81.2% respondents prefer to take holidays of up to 7 days, while only 5.4% opt for holidays for more than 15 days. And a whopping 72.8% people take four or more holidays a year.” 
	 
	The study further adds that close to 35% of Indian travellers are willing to spend anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 on their vacations while over 25% are ready to spend more than Rs 50,000 on their holidays. 
	 
	Nature seems to be a favourite destination for most of the Indians. “While most Indians (48.1%) prefer a retreat in the lap of nature, the lazy beach holidays are also popular with 15% Indians. Hobby-centric holidays are also on the rise – 13% admitting to being adventure junkies, 12% admitted to travelling to satiate the foodie within them, 7.1% admitted to wandering in search of the historical monuments, and shopaholics accounted for 4.8%,” stated the survey. 
	 
	However, the study disclosed a not-so good fact for travel agents, and that is: Indian travellers prefer mobile bookings over travel agents. “With the smart phone revolution, there has been a sizable increase in mobile bookings for Holidays. Nearly 20% Indians have started to use various mobile apps for their travel bookings, and now only 7.5% of the people prefer travel agents, while the remaining book their holidays on their desktops,” said the study. 
	 
	Interestingly, the study also revealed that Indians are workaholics. A whopping 54% people like to check their phones at least once a day while holidaying in order to stay connected with their work. This is followed by 28% travellers totally switching off from work while 18.2% were glued to their phones even when they were holidaying. 
	 
	The common international destinations that topped the list include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai while domestic holiday destinations included Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan. 
	 
	Image: Indiatimes.com

Indians Pack Their Bags To Hit The Road This
Winter Season

The price war started by the airlines has resulted in a sudden surge in air travel bookings, which have gone up by nearly 300% in the first week of September itself. Carriers such as <keyword id="6358200" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jet-Airways">Jet Airways</keyword>, <keyword id="6354706" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indigo">Indigo</keyword>, and <keyword id="6358032" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpiceJet">Spicejet</keyword> have slashed their fares substantially in order to woo the travellers for a period of 90 days and above in advance. And the strategy seems to be doing wonders to the airlines’ business. 
 

	Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com, an online travel portal, confirmed this while talking to BI India. He said “We have seen flight bookings going up by nearly three times of what it generally is during this period. We have witnessed an increase in the number of bookings on numerous sectors”. According to him leisure travellers are the ones, who are making the most of these flash sales. “We saw an exponential increase in the bookings for leisure destinations such as Kerala, Goa, Srinagar, Ladhak and Leh as well as for metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata among others,” Dhall stated. 
	 

	The ‘Air Fare’ War 
	 

	Spicejet, at the beginning of this month, offered tickets for Rs 499 (1 September3 September) for the travel period January-October 2015. Jet followed the suit and sold tickets for Rs 500 to people planning their travels for the next year. Indigo too came up with a similar offer and sold its tickets for Rs 999 for bookings done three months in advance. 
	 

	Who Won The Jackpot? 
	 

	The ‘air far’ certainly helped give every carrier the much-needed boost, but according to industry experts Spicejet emerged as the winner. The LCC had sold over 1 lakh tickets on the first day of its offer. 
	 

	Flash Sales: The Way Forward? 
	 

	Analysts warn that the move could be hazardous in the long run. They fear that the airlines through discounted tickets are bringing their current revenue by mortgaging their future. “It is tantamount to the airlines eating their young just to survive, which is disastrous”, said Devesh Agarwal. 
	 

	However, Amber Dubey, Head and Partner, KPMG India is positive about it. He said, “Flash sales of air tickets are a good way to stimulate buying, bring in non-flyers and sell unsold seats, which are anyways likely to remain unsold in non-peak hour flights. The cost structure of airlines is mostly of a fixed nature–fuel wages, airport charges, aircraft lease and maintenance among others. The incremental cash that flash sales generate helps defray part of the fixed cost. Flying an empty seat is the biggest pain-point for an airline”. 
	 

	Amber seems to have a valid point. Flash sales in India have proven to be a great marketing strategy for the airlines. On an average, the passenger load factor (PLF) for any carrier is 70% while the remaining 30% seats fly empty. Flash sale, which generally last for a few days, only helps an airline to sell off these empty seats and marginally recover the cost per seat.

Flash Sale Boost Air Travel Bookings in September

<ul><li><keyword id="696009" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="policybazaar" source="Orion">Policybazaar</keyword> has unveiled its latest campaign - Mr Policybazaar, <keyword id="35450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance" source="Orion">Insurance</keyword> Ka Superhero - featuring its brand ambassador and actor <keyword id="2823" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="akshay-kumar" source="Orion">Akshay Kumar</keyword>.</li><li>The new campaign emphasizes the significance of quick and effective assistance with insurance claims in the hour of need. </li><li>Drawing attention to the brand’s larger message of providing social and financial security to all, the campaign also stresses the importance of purchasing health insurance.</li></ul>Insurance aggregator and <keyword id="2461546" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fintech" source="Orion">fintech</keyword> platform Policybazaar has unveiled its latest campaign - Mr Policybazaar, Insurance Ka Superhero - featuring its brand ambassador and actor Akshay Kumar. <div type="Youtube" id="mIyEqGucNCs" title="1 Crore Health Insurance | Policybazaar Ad" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mIyEqGucNCs/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The new campaign emphasizes the significance of quick and effective assistance with insurance claims in the hour of need. Claim settlement is considered a moment of truth and often, the process becomes a pain point for policyholders during a time of distress. Rooted in this thought, Policybazaar’s customer-centric approach aims to address this gap and the campaign focuses on spreading awareness regarding the brand’s 30-minute claim assistance promise. Synonymous with the brand’s principle of assisting people at every step of their insurance journey, the ad film shows Mr Policybazaar assuring a wife anxious over admitting her husband to the hospital, saying, “Insurance claim ke time pe aapki help ke liye sirf 30 minute mein tayyar, main hoon Mr Policybazaar.” <keyword id="332366" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sharat-dhall" source="Orion">Sharat Dhall</keyword>, the Chief Operating Officer at Policybazaar, said, “Policybazaar has been focussed on providing end-to-end assistance to our customers when it comes to the entire insurance journey - right from comparing policies, getting the best prices, to buying online and to claims support. We are excited to take this commitment to the next level with our new 30-minute claim assistance promise. The goal is to establish trust with consumers and to help people through seamless claim assistance. With this campaign, we look forward to driving a strong consumer connection by building trust that Policybazaar will be there for you at the time you need it most.” Talking about the campaign launch, Policybazaar’s VP and Head of brand marketing, <keyword id="8084346" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="samir-sethi" source="Orion">Samir Sethi</keyword> said, “The fundamental objective of the campaign is to assure consumers that Policybazaar will always be there to help them with their insurance claims. Mr Policybazaar is the superhero manifestation of that promise. At a time when you or your family are battling the anxiety of a health issue, the last thing you need is to get tangled up in protocols and paperwork. This is where Policybazaar takes the load off the consumers’ shoulder and steps in to support them. We are elated to have Akshay Kumar as Mr Policybazaar, as he is the perfect fit to take our message to the masses.” Drawing attention to the brand’s larger message of providing social and financial security to all, the campaign also stresses the importance of purchasing health insurance. At a time when the deadly pandemic is gaining momentum yet again, health issues are soaring at an alarmingly high rate. Following some tough lessons and seeing medical inflation translating to skyrocketing bills, insurance is the only safety shield against it. Policybazaar advocates the prudent decision of buying health insurance at a reasonable cost today in order to safeguard your tomorrow.

Policybazaar's latest campaign presents Akshay Kumar in a superhero avatar

<ul><li><keyword id="6357787" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="shimla">Shimla</keyword>, Mussoorie, Darjeeling facing traffic jams and <keyword id="68552" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="water-scarcity">water scarcity</keyword>.</li><li>Hotel occupancy levels growing by 9%-10%, higher than the average. </li></ul>The summer of 2019 is scorching up the country as heatwaves continue to prevail across the country. It hence comes as no surprise that Indians are heading towards hills for some respite. And, there is little to be found even there. On Sunday, tourists were stuck in a four kilometer long traffic jam on the Manali-Leh highway. Similar instances were witnessed at other vacations hotspots like Shimla, <keyword id="76016" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nainital">Nainital</keyword>, Darjeeling, Mussoorie, Ooty and <keyword id="64488" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahabaleshwar">Mahabaleshwar</keyword>. And, traffic is not the only problem. As hill stations are overcrowded, they are facing water scarcity amongst other issues. This is an emerging new trend which <a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/overtourism-india-s-top-vacation-spots-are-getting-choked-as-tourists-won-t-stop-showing-up-369021.html">experts</a> call overtourism. “It is not surprising to witness traffic jams and overcrowding at these destinations. This has led to other issues like water scarcity, in most of these destinations as this year, the summer is extremely hot,” said Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox and Kings, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/overtourism-plagues-indian-vacation-spots-this-summer/articleshow/69829919.cms">told Times of India</a>. India and India only This summer, the <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> airfares have been extremely <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/overtourism-plagues-indian-vacation-spots-this-summer/articleshow/69829919.cms">high</a> too. This has increased the number of tourists heading to Indian locales. Priyanka Kothmire, co-founder, Frotels.com told TOI that hotels are also seeing a steep increase in occupancy levels, growing at 9%-10%. The average occupancy grows by 5% each year. Online travel portals are also buzzing with bookings. Ixigo saw a 25% jump in last minute bookings to Ladakh, Shimla, Coorg and Darjeeling. Yatra.com’s booking grew by 20%, as per Sharat Dhall, COO of B2C, Yatra.com. Price increases are following suit too. Authorities at Taj Mahal hiked entry fees five fold from ₹50 to ₹250 for Indian nationals, and ₹1,300 for foreigners. They are also cutting down on visiting hours to deal with the overcrowding.

Indians escaping the heat wave in the plains are running into traffic jams and water shortage in serene hill stations

It seems <keyword id="25903" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indians">Indians</keyword> have found nirvana in travelling! Travel portal such as <keyword id="143718" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yatra-com">Yatra.com</keyword> has seen at least 30% rise in the travel budgets of an Indian traveller over 25% increase in 2014 during the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dont-end-2015-sitting-at-home-SpiceJet-announces-flight-starting-from-Rs-700-onwards/articleshow/50351784.cms">winter holidays</a>. 
 
“The propensity of Indians to spend on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Passengers-get-more-optionsto-travel-as-IndiGo-GoAir-and-Spicejet-add-flights-across-the-country/articleshow/50534514.cms">travel</a> has clearly increased with more than 30% people willing to spend above Rs 50,000 as against 25% last year,” said Sharat Dhall, president of Yatra.com. 
 
Additionally, people are increasingly opting for international destinations over domestic ones for short travels. If market players are to be believed then south east asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have been the international hotspots and saw the same demand as for Goa this holiday season. 
 
Apart from the traditional Goa and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Planning-a-trip-to-Kerala-You-may-have-to-spend-a-few-grand-toget-happy-high-/articleshow/50367400.cms">Kerala,</a> hill station such as Kashmir was the favourite holiday destination amongst <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/SlurpAir-India-to-serve-hot-vegetarian-meals-soon-/articleshow/50334093.cms">domestic travellers</a>. 
 
“Vacationing in winters has become an accepted norm similar to summer travel. We have seen a number of takers opting for not only domestic but also international destinations for their winter vacations. Indians are holidaying more frequently and that’s a trend that has been on an increase over the past few years. Mobile bookings and budget accommodation are two areas where we made tremendous progress in the winter season,” he added. 
 It also seems that globetrotting Indians have taken a cue from their foreign counterpart when it comes to accommodation. With the likes of <keyword id="2550719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO-Rooms">OYO Rooms</keyword> and <keyword id="2937565" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wudstay">WudStay</keyword> finding foot in the hospitality sector, budget travel seems to be the most obvious choice. At least 60% of travellers are spending less than Rs 4,000 on accommodation while remaining seem to enjoy the luxuries of star properties or the warmth of home-stays. 
 
The study also revealed Indians prefer to travel with families over spouses, friends or solo. True to the famous saying—Heart is where home is!

You Searched For "sharat dhall" and got 6 results

Visa On Arrival Plan For US Tourists To Materialize By October End

Purba Das

Indians Pack Their Bags To Hit The Road This Winter Season

Purba Das

Flash Sale Boost Air Travel Bookings in September

Purba Das

Policybazaar's latest campaign presents Akshay Kumar in a superhero avatar

BI India Partner

Indians escaping the heat wave in the plains are running into traffic jams and water shortage in serene hill stations

BI India Bureau

Here’s what Indians did in their winter holidays!

Purba Das

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides