The visit also served an opportunity to the influencers and agents to witness normalcy in the country and how inbound tourism is flourishing across the island. The tourism industry of Sri Lanka has always been one of the largest sources of foreign revenue for the country. It has been no secret that the country is currently passing through the most difficult time in its recent history due to the ongoing economic crisis just after the COVID 19 pandemic which had previously destructed tourism in the country.

In order to inspire travellers across India which is the Airline’s single largest source market and also to reassure that Sri Lanka is welcoming and safe, the Airline took this initiative whereby inviting the tourists arriving in Sri Lanka to make the most of this much sought-after tourist paradise – with high exchange rates and great travel offers.

Ever since the easing of travel restrictions following the global pandemic, SriLankan Airlines has steered an extensive content creator campaign #NamastefromSriLanka, in order to build advocacy and familiarity to the brand SriLankan Airlines and destination Sri Lanka. Under this programme, SriLankan has welcomed over 60 elite content creators/social influencers from India so far, and the agents’ fam tour is another extension of this initiative.

SriLankan Airlines, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Richard Nuttall met the group at a fellowship and dinner where he spoke his sentiments; “We believe that Sri Lanka holds a timeless appeal to the discerning Indian traveller; whether you are travelling solo or with family; or whether you are a seasoned repeater or a first-timer. During these challenging times, I firmly believe that the India Market will be largely helpful in our bounce back efforts. I am confident that our long-standing affinity with the Indian travel trade partners will pave the way for fruitful results in the days to come.”

The Fam tour included a memorable opening day of the first test between Sri Lanka and Australia played in honour of the legend the late Shane Warne, at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, a city tour of Colombo and experiencing a range of luxury hospitality properties in Colombo and the Southern Coast of the island. The Airline also offered them a memorable flying experience inclusive of a Business Class service.

Some of the sentiments expressed by the participants of the fam tour are as follows;

Kesari Tours, Head of FIT Products, Contracting, Cruises & Trade Relations, Pradnya Naik said, “Thank you SriLankan Airlines for inviting me to your beautiful island and the on-ground situation is very safe. A lot has been said and talked about the current scenario in Sri Lanka which has been portrayed in the media with partial truth and fake news. All my worries vanished post visiting this gorgeous country. Sri Lanka is open for travel and rest assured you will be in safe hands.

Vikas Kashyap of Yatra.com said, “We felt so comfortable. Everything worked out on time and was handled perfectly. We felt very safe and were treated like royals or VIPs. We will definitely recommend SriLankan Airlines to our customers/agents and to our friends who are also planning trips out of India.

Sports blogger/ social influencer, Nashpreet Singh said, “Despite all what the country is going through, it is perfect for tourists. The people were nothing but welcoming and friendly, I am in awe of the resilience they have shown during these tough times. Sri Lanka is completely fine to visit. This was my second trip this year. It is a beautiful country with the friendliest people and the most delicious food.”

Sports blogger/ social influencer, Suhail Chandhok said, “My journey to and through Sri Lanka with SriLankan Airlines was certainly a very memorable one. At a time filled with so much uncertainty and media chatter back in India, it was amazing to experience first-hand that the spirit and warmth of Sri Lanka was still very much intact. It has been a childhood dream as a former cricketer to watch a Test Match from the top of the Galle Fort and that was just one of several incredible moments spent with the fantastic team at SriLankan Airlines. I can’t wait to head back to the country and I do hope that more Indians see it as a destination given the proximity and the absolute diversity on offer for any traveller.”

SriLankan Airlines, Head of Marketing Mr. Saminda Perera said, “Our intension has been to portray Sri Lanka as a safe and secure destination to the travellers from our closest neighbour, and to re-emphasize that the timeless charm of the destination remains intact despite what one sees or hears about the country on media which is mostly exaggerated.”

Hospitality Partners, Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Radisson Blu Resort Galle, Cinnamon Bentota Beach, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo and Malabar Hills Weligama extended their state-of-the-art hospitality to the visiting agents. Walkers Tours closely worked with the Airline to curate the itineraries, seamless ground arrangements including hotel transfers.

The post SriLankan Airlines welcomes Top Travel Agents and Elite Sports Influencers for the Sri Lanka Vs Australia Test Series appeared first on TnHGlobal.

Kutch is not all about Rann Utsav which is held every year and attracts thousands of people to witness the beauty and charisma of nature, it is something more. Undoubtedly, Kutch is a unique region of Gujarat in different ways. It is geographically diverse with rugged terrain, a long coastline, white desert and marshes. Culturally, it is a very rich place as its dance, music and embroidery and above all the food attracts people from all over the world.

‘Kutch nahi dekha toh kuch nahi dekha’, these lines always echo in our ears, especially because it was said by Amitabh Bachchan. So, when I set foot in Kutch, Gujarat’s largest district, the face of Big B emerged in front of me. I was not certain initially that what our superhero claims would be true, but during my 3 days stay there I had realized that yes in a real sense Kutch has the power to mesmerize visitors.

 Rann Utsav – a celebration of vibrancy

Obviously, when you are in Kutch, the first halt you have to visit is Dhordo village and stay in the tent city. It has all the amenities you asked for according to the tents. More than 400 Tents across 9 Clusters, spread in an area of 5,00,000 sq. mt. Organised annually by Gujarat Tourism, between November and February, the Rann Utsav in Kutch has been gaining popularity among Indian and foreign travellers since its inception. the previous few years. Though it’s surely an interesting effort by Gujarat Tourism allowing people to revisit Kutch after it was left devastated by the 2001 earthquake, by creating a travel story linking to Kutch’s geographical and cultural distinctions.

Nature plays a major role here to make Rann Utsav successful, which is one of the most eagerly-awaited tourism events of India. It is a celebration of the marvels of nature at the White Desert and the rich cultural and artistic heritage of Kutch. The concept of Rann Utsav was envisioned by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, then the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

What began as a three-day festival progressively evolved into a 100-day celebration. Since its inception, the Rann Utsav booking has multiplied exponentially, attracting over 5,00,000 visitors from 20+ countries.

Charisma of nature

Whether it is a sunrise, sunset or witness the white desert in the moonlight, the experience is so amazing that you just want to sit on the salty desert and feel the beauty and glory of nature, which reflects in every nook and corner of that vast spread desert.

When you visit in the early morning or late evening when the hot and cool air renders the journey pleasant, the white serene expanse that lies along the India-Pak border considered to be the largest salt desert in the world looks stunning. As the moonlight merges into the white desert the wonderful White Rann is a treat for the nature-lovers.

The sunrise was just as spectacular so as the sunset. After witnessing the enchanting sunset, watching a full moonlit desert gives an unmatched travel experience.

With traditional dance forms and musical moments, many thrilling activities like cultural act shows, camel safari, parasailing and dirt biking enhance different colours of the extravaganza.

Kalo Dungar

Just at a distance of 35 kilometres, Kalo Dungar, (black hills) also known as the black hill is the tallest peak in Kutch district of Gujarat. Located at 462 Mt heights, it is the best place for a panoramic view of Rann of Kutch. As you enter this place first thing you saw is a temple. Local people have great respect for the 400 years old Dattatreya temple. It is a magnetic hill; the gravity is higher than the Ladak. When I stopped the car to check, the car started going faster without using an accelerator.

Bhuj

The next destination was Bhuj, which is well connected by road, rail and air to almost all the major cities in Gujarat and India. Already I had booked a taxi for 3 days, so free from all the tension of deciding about the transportation. The city gets its name from the Bhujiyo Dungar hillock that overlooks the city about 3 km from the city centre. Fine examples of Gujarati architecture can be found in the form of houses and temples. It is heaven for tourists who love embroidered textiles. I would say it is the best place to purchase these things. The major attractions are the Aina Mahal, the bell tower in Prag Mahal, Kshtrapa inscriptions in the Kutch museum, which is believed to be the oldest museum in the region, and Hamirsar Lake.

Nirona Village -artisans hub

Famous for its ancient art form of Rogan Art, handmade copper bells and lacquer work, Nirona village is a place where everyone should go if in Kutch. Artists give live demo here. Khatri family is practising and preserving the unique art form of Rogan. From this place which is just a small village and not even has roads, has something which stops you there for a long time. I think it is the vibes that artists and art ooze out.

Chattris are not be missed

Although it was already evening and I was a bit tired also, but once I had reached the Chattri ruins, I had forger all my tiredness. The “Chhatris” complex at Chattardi was constructed sometime in the 18th century to glorify the cenotaphs of the Rao’s of Kutch. Most of them were constructed by Jadeja ruler Rao Lakhpatji. Most of the Chattris have almost disappeared into rubble piles as a result of the earthquake of 2001. Still, the remaining pieces of history were enchanting. These cenotaphs served as memorial grounds for the royal family. Inside the complex, there are many different types of Chhatris. I really loved the detailing on the tombstone. Most of the floral designs were there.

The cenotaph of Rao Lakhpatji is situated on the northern side of the Chattardi complex. The main Chhatri used to be supported by decorative pillars, a fine specimen of Kutch architecture.  I was amazed by the semi damaged beautiful sculptures of the deities and people in local costumes. It had many individual balconies. The structure used to be covered with a roof with intricate carvings but currently they lie scattered around the tombstone.

Little Rann of Kutch

The next day I had arrived to Patdi, a small, less populated village. At a distance of 10 kilometres situated most talked about Wild ass sanctuary. Also known as Little Rann of Kutch, and from my resort, I had covered this journey in Jeep Safari. It was one of its kind experience as around 6.30 in the morning; the cool breeze was soothing me even in the month of December. While sitting in the jeep, I had a feeling that I am on some adventure trip. Indeed, it was the one.

Largely unexplored, infinitely exotic and full of unique experiences the little Rann of Kutch is one of its kind habitats in the world. This remarkable landscape is a vast unbroken bare flatland encrusted with salt covering an area of 4954 square kilometres. After the monsoon, the whole place transforms into a spectacular coastal wetland. The only haven of the Asiatic Wild Ass and the favoured breeding ground of many rare bird species, the Little Rann offers innumerable sights and unforgettable experiences.

The Little Rann has one of India’s largest wildlife enclaves- the Wild Ass Sanctuary. The Wild Ass is a graceful animal that looks like a crop cross between a horse and donkey and possesses the strength of the former. The Wild Asses are known to run at an average speed of 50 km per hour for long distances. This Sanctuary also is home to blue bulls, Chinkara and the blackbuck.

It was time to go back, but I had decided that I would come again. I had reached Ahmedabad and took my flight to Delhi.

The post Kutch Diaries: Experience of the Lifetime appeared first on TnHGlobal.

Summer is over, and the Covid-19 pandemic shows no sign of fading. Vacationing without worry is still not feasible, yet we can’t stop thinking about where to go when all this over. To help us with this dilemma, here is a list of Deep Kalra’s favourite holiday destinations. Rest assured, there couldn’t be a better guide to suggest where you should go, because Kalra knows travel like the back of his hand.

Disclaimer: I am a big believer that travel helps people and families bond. Also, it is a great leveller. It opens up your mind, enriches your life and makes (almost) everyone a good storyteller! What I don’t particularly like is when some experiences or destinations tend to get priced out of the reach of the majority. In fact, MakeMyTrip was conceptualized with an idea of democratizing travel in India – take control from the agent and empower the traveller with choice and transparency. With that principle as a baseline, this list comprises not the most exotic or exclusive, but the most diverse set of experiences I could think of!

Ladakh: I love exploring mountains. A few years ago, my entire family- parents, siblings and kids went on a holiday to Ladakh. It wasn’t laid back by any standard but we all enjoyed it thoroughly! Ladakh, Shillong and Tawang are destinations in India that all nature-lovers must explore.

Maldives: I usually take one or two holidays a year that are devoted to doing fun things with the family. We enjoy getting out in the open and having an active vacation. With kids, I think the Maldives is the best destination to visit. There are so many water-sports to indulge in, like Scuba diving, surfing, snorkelling, night-fishing, water-skiing, water polo, canoeing, parasailing, and banana boat rides. Adventure aficionados just cannot miss the opportunity to experience the world’s largest deep diving passenger submarine. The not-so-adventurous folks can go whale watching and check out dolphin shows. Scrumptious Maldivian food, luxurious spas and your very own private water bungalow make a holiday to the Maldives a very pampering break! Deep blue sea, turquoise reefs, white sandy beaches, palm trees and a cocktail… the Maldives is the ideal holiday destination to unwind and relax (and my absolute favourite)!

New Zealand: While it requires some planning, a visit to New Zealand will be well worth the effort. The diversity of experiences and contrast between the two islands is remarkable. North Island is more cosmopolitan and you can enjoy its hot pools, thermal geysers and warmer climate. South Island on the other hand offers stunning scenery with ski-ranges and beautiful alpine drives. Kids will love the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Te Puia thermal reserve with boiling mud pools and roaring geysers, and the beautiful countryside. Those craving adventures can try skydiving from 12000 feet! The cruise ride in the Milford Sound fjord is also enjoyable. If one has the time, a self-drive holiday is the best way to explore the country.

Portugal: This is for those looking to go on a laid-back holiday– since most of the interesting spots in Portugal can be covered while being stationed at a single hotel in Lisbon. The country offers amazing sights and natural beauty, along with some of the most unique places in the world. A day-trip to Estoril coast, the village of Sintra (the Royal Family’s summer getaway) and the picturesque Boca do Inferno cliffs help the traveller familiarize themselves with Portugal’s culture and countryside. Cabo da Roca in the Sintra Mountain Range is the westernmost point in continental Europe. Along the coast, ahead of the Guincho beach, is the Boca do Inferno – a grotto created by the rain and sea erosion. Visit the north of Lisbon as a day trip to check out Nazare, a colourful Portuguese fishing village, and Batalha Monastery, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture that has also been declared a UNESCO heritage site.

Turkey: A unique country, which is Asian in hospitality and European in vibe. Turkey is a great mix of culture and heritage amalgamated with a cosmopolitan lifestyle. One can easily set aside a week to explore Istanbul and Bursa. Stay on the European side, a little away from Taksim square which can be noisy and chaotic. Visit the Blue Mosque, Spice Market, and take a Bosphorus river cruise in the evening. Local food is very similar to northwest frontier cuisine. The weather is nice, the sights are beautiful and there is a lot to do, including bargain hunting. Take the ferry to Bursa, visit ancient original Turkish Baths and old forts. A popular spot is the old jail that is now a great shopping-spot for clothes and jewellery and also has a nice coffee shop.
Each one of us has a wandering heart with many latent travel desires and at MakeMyTrip, we encourage people to listen to their heart. Travel, discover and keep exploring…Kyun Ki Dil Toh Roaming Hai!

About the Author
Deep Kalra is the founder of MakeMyTrip (MMT), India’s largest online travel operator. He is the pioneer of online travel in India. He founded MMT in 2000, it was amongst the earliest Indian consumer Internet companies to go public and made a $70 million debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2010. Kalra was also instrumental in acquiring MMT’s closest rival, Ibibo Group, in 2017. This move created an online travel giant that controls 60%-70% of the Indian online travel market. In addition to this, Kalra is one of the founders of the reputed Ashoka University[7] and is a part of its governing body.

The post Don’t know where to go? Here’s the ultimate insider vacation guide appeared first on TnHGlobal.

Thanks to billions of dollars of investment in refining technical performance and commercialization, AI is now accessible and poised to have an ever-increasing impact on the travel industry.

With the travel industry going through its biggest turmoil and touchless being the new norm in life, a lot of work is being done on creating Artificial intelligence (AI) for the industry. In fact, AI is the buzzword among travel technology companies and travel management companies (TMC) irrespective of their domain of business.

So, what is AI? AI is the simulation of human intelligence by machines, such as computer systems. In simpler words, AI can be defined as a process executed by a computer (or software you may say) after analysing a huge collection of data and creating subsets of outcomes and then matching those with the ones relevant to customers.

All this can be achieved during a user transaction and recommendations can be made on the fly to create a seamless user experience. The program or code gets more intelligent by reading more data and it keeps evolving forever. This is exactly what the human mind does, but the software is just much faster and more precise. An example of AI in our daily lives is Google maps. Whenever we use Google maps to show us the route from point A to point B, Google relies on real-time information from thousands of other people on the same route. It calculates speed and congestion based upon the data collected from those other people running on the same route. Traffic conditions are provided to us on a real-time basis & hence target arrival times are correct most of the time. These are all driven by highly complex algorithms working behind the scene, churning data collected by other users.

Similarly, there are countless other ways that AI can potentially be applied to change the way business travel and leisure travel is viewed, managed and experienced. It benefits both corporate and leisure travellers by creating a better guest experience by providing the relevant content based upon the customer’s liking.

For example, ‘machine learning’, a subset of AI, provides a personalized booking experience which can be further enhanced by applying relevant company policies and real-time approvals.
All those traditional functions done by a travel consultant in order to validate a quote like sending emails, policy compliance, personal preferences and managing documents for expense reporting are all gone. They are all done proactively by smart engines even before quotes are shown or any tickets are booked. Just imagine a scenario where the user looks into his outlook calendar and finds a meeting scheduled in Mumbai two days later.

By just clicking a button in his outlook, the system can provide him with a return air ticket option along with a stay option in a hotel next to the meeting location. All this is done after validating all possible considerations like corporate policies, personal preference and approval budget and yet all within
few seconds.

Additionally, AI-based analytics tools now track travel budgets for optimizing cost. Insights like budget consumption, airline options, moving business class tickets to economy class for
certain sectors of travel etc. can be found through data analysis.

In fact, most large organisation are now adopting cost-saving measures based upon learning from smart engines. Budgets are now corrected during the time of booking based upon real-time fiscal situations. For instance, business class options go off as soon as the monthly travel budget reaches a certain point or stopovers become acceptable in case the saving is more than 20% of the airfare.

Further, automated smart incentives are given to employees to save cost by booking a lower class of travel. All of these results are automated and driven by analytics and machine learning.

Voice or chatbots are also very common nowadays. They rely on an industry-standard vernacular algorithm to understand human needs and decode them into commands which could be understood by machines. The responses from the systems are then converted back to the readable language before being presented to customers. These techniques are mostly used by automated call centres, online help bots & customer relations departments for activities like post-sales changes or cancellations.

AI also streamlines a TMC’smoperations to bring efficiency in the day to day working of travel consultants. It reduces the dependency on resources and helps a TMC consolidate bookings from multiple sale channels. Bookings made offline over a phone can be combined with automated online & mobile bookings thus providing a consolidated view to a customer for all his reservations. Nowadays, automated robots & scripts help a TMC to ensure most of the post-booking functions like waitlist confirmation, service request confirmation, revalidation, schedule change, time limits and vendor remarks management are automated.

Moreover, AI is used in customer acquisition and marketing strategies. For example, one of our customers uses transactional data collected over a span of10 years along with current market trends to predict user search behaviour. Based upon these algorithms they predict what destinations the users are searching on the web (or what the users should be searching) and accordingly they automated their Google and Facebook keyword priority and adjust discounts only on the relevant destinations. As a result, we have seen about 30% more traffic on their website and at least 45% more bookings for these destinations.

To illustrate how you can upsell using AI, let’s take a case of a young 19-year-old boy travelling in business class from London to New York. Current booking engines are smart enough to understand that this customer would want a 5-star hotel in downtown Manhattan and would probably like to reserve a table at premier restaurants. Based on his profile, the system can go further and provide discount coupons for shopping at relevant places and free entry to night clubs. The agencies who are adopting these practices would definitely have an upper edge to perform effectively and efficiently in the ever-competitive world of the travel industry.

With the growth of adoption, we have also seen these technologies becoming cheaper. More tech companies are developing disruptive technologies and providing a new way to do business. Anybody who is willing to adopt these technologies should first focus on consolidating their data. You should have a very strong data management strategy, as DATA is the key to any AI platform. A simple collection of transactional data in an excel sheet can provide you with an insight on seasonal booking volumes. Something which helps you to negotiate better with the airlines and hotels.

So, just imagine what intelligent automated engines can do once this collection of data is fed into the system. Also, enquiries which are lost or quotations which never resulted in bookings are also big sources of learning. If these can be consolidated in a single database, it can highlight trends and reasons for loss of business. Consequently, a simple change in sales strategy or discounting policy can give a big upswing in revenue.

Currently, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the travel industry is seeing its worst time it has in the last century. For months, with no warning, the entire world came to a standstill. Planes were grounded, airports deserted and travellers locked in their homes. What really kept working were the backend systems, analytic scripts, refund engines & auto cancellation robots.

For airlines and agencies, decisions regarding how to pay, whom to pay and how much to pay were not easy. All these descions were based on intelligent analytics performed by systems.
As we see flights reopening and sales improving slowly, the choice of routes and the models of planes to be used are again being based upon historic data analysis.

Airlines along with IATA are pushing heavily on the adoption of NDC (New Distribution Capability) based content. NDC is a new way to connect directly to an airline’s reservation system without any need for a GDS. Everybody feels that this technology was brought in order to bypass the GDSs, but the fact is that NDC is helping airlines to be closer to their end customers. Hence, airlines can now provide personalised offers to different customers. Their internal AI engines can provide last-minute fares, time-bound quotes based upon demand, bundle fares and multiple other amenities.

Hotels and car rental companies are incorporating AI in their yield management. Tariff discounting and inventory control are all automated and no human is required to manage these changes. Most of these are not only based upon demand & supply but also on historic data, current market conditions and customer behaviour. Simple Customer Relationship Management (CRM) functions are now controlled by systems and customer requirements are understood even before they check-in. To illustrate, let me narrate my personal experience. Taj Lands End in Mumbai placed my preference of pillow in my room with a special note without my asking. Their systems were smart enough to track my profile from a booking at Taj West End in Bengaluru where I had requested for the same pillow. This is a very small use case but shows how data can really enhance the customer experience.

I would like to conclude by highlighting that AI is no longer science fiction, it’s a part of our life and we use it every day. Applying AI in the travel industry is easy and can be done very quickly. I believe we have highly skilled people in this industry who will become more efficient with the adoption of these technologies. AI will never replace the importance of human interaction but it can help us to be more productive and provide better customer experience.

About the Author

Gaurav Chiripal is the Founder & CEO of QuadLabs Technologies Private Limited. With a career spanning over two decades, Chiripal has established his name as the man to connect for end-to-end travel technology solutions. His company QuadLabs empowers B2B resellers,
tour operators and business travel intermediaries by providing them with world-class technology products and has won several awards for its work. It was recognized as the World’s Leading Travel ERP Technology Provider at the World Travel Awards for three consecutive years.

The post Demystifying AI for the Travel Business appeared first on TnHGlobal.

EaseMyTrip’s Nishant Pitti on why and how companies should protect their data in the new normal.

In the past six months, there has been a paradigm shift in the way businesses function. For most companies, either their business itself or the way their office functions has now shifted online. This digital shift has its pros and cons, but it is the need of the hour given the current scenario. In this new normal, cybersecurity has emerged as an area of utmost importance. It has become essential for organizations to use advanced data security systems to protect their sensitive data from getting attacked by hackers. Companies that do not protect their data can expose themselves to a world of data security risks- from data tampering and eavesdropping to data theft and unauthorized access to data rows.

In the travel & tourism industry, where data is critical to advertising, marketing, customer acquisition as well as product customisation, cases of data theft are increasing day by day. Our company, EaseMyTrip is a purely online platform and for that reason, data security has been an integral part of our organization since the beginning. So, here I use my accumulated knowledge to try and explain data security and share some simple steps for data protection.

So, what is data security?
Data security refers to the processes and technologies you use to protect data from unauthorized access or data corruption both intentional and unintentional. When it comes to data security the means for protection, incident detection and response has three common elements: people, processes, and technology. The actual techniques and technologies available however are numerous. Some of them are authentication, access control, data encryption, hashing and tokenization.

Why is it so important?
The data that your company creates, collects, stores and exchanges is a valuable asset. Whether your company needs to protect a brand, intellectual capital, or customer information, the need for safeguarding data from corruption and unauthorized access by internal or external people protects your company from financial loss, reputation damage, consumer confidence disintegration, and brand erosion. Therefore, with the growing threat of data breaches, data security in today’s business world is no longer a luxury but rather a necessity. Organizations around the globe are investing heavily in data security to protect their critical assets and EaseMyTrip is no different.

In fact, for us this investment is imperative. A travel portal like ours, during the process of conducting our business and serving our customers, we become the repository and custodians of the confidential data of our customers who faithfully confide their private information with us. They have faith that their data is safe and secure with us which gives us a competitive edge. Data security is the cornerstone of our customer relationship and it is vital for us to keep our customers’ trust intact. Therefore, we are committed to protecting the security, secrecy and privacy of the data of our large customer base.

What are some simple steps to ensure your data is safe?
There cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution for data security. Companies will have to customise their data security measures depending on the way their business operates, the size of their organisation, their method of storing data, their customer base, and the types of technology they use. They should keep themselves abreast of emerging trends in data threats and security and need to have a data protection strategy and plan. For effective data protection, companies need to provide training in data security to all employees. They need to build an enterprise-wide, security-first mindset, encouraging employees to use strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, regular software updates, and device backups, by teaching them the value of these actions. Besides, organisations must also employ trained IT security staff.

Further relevant data security technologies like data masking, data encryption and data erasure should be utilized. EaseMyTrip takes the issue of data security very seriously and all our customer data and interactions are maintained under the most secured environment. We follow key management practices that protect data across all applications and platforms and also keep our systems updated with the latest technology. We ensure that any data flowing out of the system is encrypted via hashing to ensure protection from any possible hack. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, encryption is a way of scrambling digital data, software, hardware and hard drives, so that only authorized parties can understand the information. In simpler terms, encryption takes readable data and alters it so that it appears random, therefore rendering it unreadable to unauthorized users and hackers. Furthermore, our website is secured through Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Basically, SSL encrypts the link between our web server and a browser which ensures that all data passed between them remains private and free from attack.

Finally, in addition to maintaining appropriate checks on our end, we also ensure and enforce that all our partners maintain the highest standards when it comes to maintaining necessary privacy and data security.

These are just a few methods for achieving data security nirvana. Protecting your organization’s data shouldn’t be overwhelming or complex. The key is to start educating yourself on the latest security tactics and tricks and use some good old common sense. Also, use services or experts that make it understandable and easy and then take simple steps to control and protect your data according to your own comfort level.
Be safe!

About the author

Nishant Pitti is the Co-founder of EaseMyTrip, one of India’s leading online travel portals. His company provides hotel bookings, air tickets, holiday packages, and black-label services to its customers and last year achieved a turnover of over Rs. 4,000 crores. A wildly successful online business, EaseMyTrip has a database of over 9 million customers and over 15 million people visit the website monthly. Nishant has won many awards for his work in the travel technology industry including the Indian Achievers Awards, the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Entrepreneur Magazine and also the prestigious TnH Award for being the Most Promising Entrepreneur in the travel industry.

The post Why data security matters appeared first on TnHGlobal.

By Rajib Roy Choudhury

The realistic workplace transformation created by the pandemic forced millions of employees to work from home. It has enormously impacted our work and family culture. Work from home, physical distancing, online classes and virtual platform meetings have become the New Normal of Life and Living.

The world is changing, and so is the global hospitality spectrum. Due to the COVID-19, new safety culture is emerging that requires the hotel work brigade to engage with guests, management and each other digitally to honour social distancing mandates and help stop virus spread.

It’s hard to think that we once had limited options for distributing and sharing information. Explaining to a millennial that before the advent of the Internet and smartphones the only way to talk to someone was either in person or by dialling a telephone. Today we have various options to share information with one another, whether it’s by Text, Zoom, Social Media post, apps or live media streaming. Needless to say, dependency on these digital stations has grown exponentially amongst users, especially in this time of quarantine and social and mental unrest.

Traditionally, the hospitality has been a conservative industry in reference to technology; a profession where face-to-face interactions amongst staff and guests have been much emphasized upon.

COVID-19, however, is changing all of that. Some of the hotels being early adopters have digitally created access tools that are enabling travellers to completely bypass human connection or touch which is also having a certain negative impact.

Pandemic and lockdown have become synonymous and this unavoidable situation has brought about certain negative vibes very distinct in one’s life, be it professionally or personally.

Whether it is curating the most difficult four-course meal, writing those few lines, exercising every day or simply just hustling at work, without a gap  – toxic productivity does little for the quality of work and your life; it is a fatal obsession with work where more matters, even if the quality is not exactly good at all. And the worst part is that it can be so overwhelming that we can only see our self-worth selfishly, little pleasure through sharing a coffee with colleagues, a small chit chat, windows of breathers, effecting the psychic health of every employee. People are losing onto the sheer sense of camaraderie which is the base of hospitality excellence.

People who have been displaced from their workplaces, isolated from their loved ones due to non-availability of transportation thus stagnated or juggling between childcare and work, struggling more with mental illness, financial worry, experiencing the passing of loved ones due to this horrific virus but unable to be present in their last rights, all these have created a tremendous negative impact on one’s mind which have far-reaching effects on their lives.

But there is a twist in the tale as well as certain report claims that employees are reluctant to give up their new way of working after lockdown. Nearly half of the workforce thinks that flexible working will increase, with a third (33%) of this group expecting to increase the amount they work from home by at least three days a week after lockdown and 81 % expecting to work at least one day a week from home. This typical thought of work culture is adverse to any industry and extremely detrimental to ours, the hospitality. Work from home is possible while being on a vacation as well. That sense of thinking is destructive by all means. Critical analysis of such a mental set-up brings the person’s mental health into question.

There are other situations as well: Work Home Interference and unreasonable refusal or failure to follow a reasonable management instruction can often lead to litigation which is also being encountered at times, refusing on the grounds of not having childcare because of schools remaining closed, and then disciplinary action would be precarious.

We human beings have always had to deal with crises. But crises have always fuelled the human story forward. In the long run, they have made us eventually stronger. A difficult period during the middle age in Europe that was marked by famine, war and plague was followed by the Renaissance. The French Revolution embedded liberty, equality, and fraternity into our realization of the soul.

In the last century alone, we have had four crises globally. They came in pair and dovetailed into each other. The First World War transformed many monarchies into electoral democracies and also helped create the first communist state in the world. This, in turn, helped erode serfdom thinking and promoted people-oriented ideals, first in Europe, and then across the world.

The Spanish Flu which covered the world with its dark adversity in 1918 led to the development of national health services in many countries. The Great Depression gave birth to the welfare state and the Second World War bought the end of empires, freeing the majority of the human population from foreign enslavement.

Coronavirus is the first crises of this century. And like the ideal 21st-century citizen, it is global and egalitarian. And because of cheap broadband, it is playing out right in front of our eyes.

In lieu of the terrible cost of this pandemic to mankind, we will move to a better place in our minds and in this planet. Generation Next will look back upon this moment as the one that made us more humane, a time when we lived up to our name — Homo sapiens, or ‘wise man’.

We have classified the aspects of the evolving future under different heads. They range from the ‘personal’ to the ‘collective’ in their nature and from ‘fastest’ to ‘slowest’ in their speed of adoption, two of the legs supporting the torso of civilization.

But I sincerely believe that the impact of this unprecedented the situation would bypass and employees would regain their mental wisdom and impact of this hollowness caused by the lockdown would be overpowered overwhelmingly and hospitality industry will be proud of their sense of the camaraderie which they so firmly believe in.

‘No matter how much falls on us, we keep ploughing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.’ – Greg Kincaid.

Rajib Roy Choudhury is the General Manager of The Aananda Imperial by Svenska, Bilaspur, Chattisgarh

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By Prem Kumar

The burning questions for 2020, for the remaining months of year, bothering everyone is: How long will COVID-19 continue to ravage our life and livelihood?
When will the economy start recovering?
When will normalcy return?
As future looks terribly uncertain, and the present depressingly tense, no one has convincing answers to these questions. Getting no answers to these questions some are getting hopeless, some others are trying to hope against hope. Countries including India have started easing lockdown, but Corona’s grip on most parts of the world including India continue to strengthen.
It looks like 2020 in all likelihood will continue to the year of Corona, catastrophy, chaos and causalities. There seems to be no light at the end of tunnel.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization, trying to cover its earlier failure, keeps us scaring with its gloomy forcast regarding the virus. No break through in developing vaccine or effective medicine means we will continue to stare at uncertain social and professional lives.
Under social and economic pressures, or because of their challenges to strike a balance economic/livelihood concerns and health concerns, as both are critical concerns, have been forced to loosen the stringent lockdown measures, but these easing of restrictions should not be misunderstood is as if the COVID- 19 is on reatrat we should let our guards down. In fact, as Governments move to unfasten the restriction, we need to be more guarded of our health and life. Its time to be more careful and more disciplined about hygiene and social distancing norms.

Continue to be alert, patient and positive. Survival, not prosperity should be your top priority at this juncture. If you survive, you will get chane to grow again. We will have sacrifice our growth for the sake of our health, for huminity. On their parts, governments are doing their bits to revive the economy or at least stem further fall. For the moments breathe easy, breathe deep, spare your heart and mind for those who are less fortunate than you.

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We have entered into a new world order brought in by COVID-19. In this new order, like many other walks of life, travel will also not remain the same. The shock of COVID-19 will limit the freedoms of travellers they had in the pre-COVID world. The existing norms of travelling will give ways to new norms. On a positive, responsible tourism will get a boost. 

Today we are living in a world that no one had imagined six months ago. COVID-19 has confined us to home. We have been forced to live indoor; lifestyles have taken an inward turn. Leave alone holidaying abroad or inside the country, we are not even able to meet our friends and relatives. If one has to venture out for some essential works, they have to tread very carefully with many precautions such as maintaining a physical distance.

Hopefully, the COVID-19 crisis will soon subside and lockdown will gradually be lifted and eased. Many governments have already started to ease restrictions imposed as measures to slow the spread of the virus. Once restrictions are eased, travelling for leisure and business are also expected to resume.

But the post-COVID-19 world will be completely different from the pre-COVID-19 world. For a much longer time, we may have to travel under the shadow of COVID-19, till the world developed its effective cure in the form of vaccines. We should be ready to face up to new reality, new world order and new normal. Besides screening for security, screening for detecting threat to public health will be standard practice. For travellers, the post COVID world will not be as kind-hearted as it was.   Domestic tourism, regional, intra-regional tourism, localisation, the restrained cross-border movement will be the order of the day. Globalisation and globetrotting will no longer be as fashionable as they used to be. The inward-looking world will discourage travelling and wanderlust of aspiring travellers will become causality.

Post COVID-19 world will see profound changes in the way travellers used to travel; the traditional concept of unrestrained travelling will no longer stay. The world will see new norms, new standards and new practices, all guided by the prevailing health considerations. Norms like social distancing will spoil the pleasure of holidaying. Travel may become just a ritual of going from one place to other, with little space for human and cultural interaction.  Mass tourism may be a passé or will take a longer time to regain its old glory. That will be good for the environment. Niche and responsible eco-tourism will get a new impetus. There would a new kind of love and relations between the globe and globetrotter.

The mighty shock of COVID-19 is also going to test resilience, patience and survival skills of travel companies. Leadership and persuasive skills of representative travel and tourism bodies and their leaders will also be tested. Such organisations are already under tremendous pressure from their members in the light of the COVID crisis and devastating impact on the sector.

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In my previous feature, I talked about the consequences of deadly corona or Covid-19  pandemic. I prefer to call it the Traveller’s Pandemic and it has forced us to look at a blank canvass out there where everything is blank, just blank, and not even black and white.

Let’s look at this as a new beginning, and paint a colourful landscape on this canvas and devise new ways of looking at the travel industry and follow certain steps to improve the way we travel. It is a time when all of us, all those in the tourism industry, have to sit down and give serious thought and time for tourists too.

For many of us, travelling is like food for our soul and it changes our perception towards life; teaches things that are not mentioned in any book, teaches us how to live. For me, a traveller since my childhood, it means visiting far off and unexplored places to earn livelihoods and learn new things. You see, it’s a way of living for me and not a recreational activity.

So what next?

This is a million-dollar question for me. And I am sure it is the same for every tourist and a tourism house.

So what should a die-hard traveller do now?

It’s time now to get ready for the changes that are going to come in the travel sector. In the world post the COVID pandemic, I am sure we will be looking at the travel industry with a different mindset. There certainly will be more de-centralisation of services, improvement in the ways organizations offer services to tourists and better products.

And this will be a new beginning.

We, the travellers, also have to come forward and save our favourite industry. We have to be more vigilant and aware of the developments and be more prepared for the changes in both B2C and B2B sectors. Not only B2C, B2B styles also need to change and follow a similar course, maybe slightly different as they have to look from a commercial angle too.

It’s the same, for us, the travellers and B2B organizations – unless we prepare now, everything we’ve worked for all our lives could be lost forever.

Travelling changes our perception towards life, and teaches things that are not mentioned in any book. For me, a traveller since my childhood, it means visiting far off and unexplored places to earn livelihoods and learn new things. You see, it’s a way of living for me and not a recreational activity.

It doesn’t matter how much I have travelled, I always find shortcomings in my journeys which I try to rectify in my following trips. And just a little travel research helps me in adding depth to my next travel experience. So that’s what I am going to suggest a list which surely can help you once travel re-starts and also help a luxury/business tourist to turn into a traveller.

The documentation part – We should aim to make a file folder which contains Photo ID cards, travel & medical insurance papers, driving license, inner line permits etc. Passports, E-visa printouts, and currency of the place you are going to travel – all these are also important- but these can be kept in a locker for the next six months, minimum.

A personal tip: Always make extra copies of necessary documents, and also keep a digital copy.

Planning the trip:

When I am planning a trip I normally have a lot of questions. I am sure you also often face questions like what will the climate be like? What kind of clothing is appropriate to wear? Will people speak Hindi/English or will I be able to express myself? What will the food be like? What is public transport like? How much will things cost? What local customs should I be aware of? How difficult will it be to meet people and make friends?

Well, the answers are all available there; we just have to do a little research at proper places.

One of the most important sources that a tourist overlooks these days is the Tourism board offices which are best to get information on attractions of interest, as well as off-beat spots along with information on local current events, places to get local food etc. The information promoted by tourist offices is researched, gathered, and published by people who live and work in the areas they represent.

The brochures provided by a B2B/commercial travel operator normally give you an idea of the locations that a normal tourist will go, touch, click a few pictures and come back. This needs to change now.

So, while you are locked-down, search online and make a collection of maps, guides, and travel brochures etc. along with other important facts like a basic idea about the place you are going to visit e.g. alcohol consumption and unique legal restraints like clothing in religious places (like in South India – every male must wear a Dhoti and not trousers etc.).

You can also keep checking the climatic patterns of the destination during the period you are travelling.

Read Local News Sources

Set your Smartphone homepage to the local newspaper of the destination and read a few headlines each week to keep a tag for what’s happening and how people are reacting.

Guide Books

Get a few guide books and consult them. Classic guide books like Lonely Planet or Rough Guides tell you a lot about every destination. These guides usually have sections on the history and culture of the place, as well as safety tips, suggestions on what to do, information about local holidays, reviews of hotels and restaurants and much more.

Talk to People

Start talking about your upcoming travel in your office, in public transport, with friends at parties, school, college, and at a friend’s get-together. There surely is a chance that someone who has been to the destination comes up to help. Whether it is your cousin, your neighbour or a friend of a friend, or your friend’s aunt, they will all be very helpful to give suggestions. Firsthand experience is quite valuable when you want to research a travel destination before you go.

Try to learn basic phrases in the local language of your destination

While at home, learn a few words that are local to the areas you are going to visit soon. It’s much easier to communicate even if you know phrases to greet locals and will help you out. Just a few things like “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Thank you!”, “Where’s the bathroom?” will go a long way to endearing yourself with the locals.

Good Quality Blogs by Travel Bloggers Providing First-Hand Info  

There are so many travel blogs today which are first-hand perspectives on the destination. And quality travel blogs are a great way to research a travel destination before you actually go. Also if you want further information, you can always contact the Bloggers on their contacts provided.

Videos on Youtube

Just like blogging, Vlogging is quite popular today and give you a better insight about the destination which is sometimes not expressed vividly via the written blogs. You can see what the landscapes look like, listen to what the accents sound like and actually see footage of the attractions that you might want to visit on your trip.

Forums

Forums are a great source of information like a blog, and you should check them out and ask questions about a travel destination. A lot of passionate travellers post their views here and also about the B2B organizations at the destination.

TripAdvisor and similar travel websites are another great way to research; it’s not the only destination, but it’s also for reviews of hotels, travel operators, restaurants, and local attractions.

TripAdvisor is a great tool for B2B operators too. A mention in TripAdvisor means your setup is recognised as you will find an honest picture of what exactly you are, written by people who have actually experienced your services.

The Staff of Your Hotel

Make this an important pointer in your travel diary. Hotel staff deals with travellers all day, every day. They know exactly where to go for authentic meals and attractions. They also tend to be locals so they know the city very well. Ask them for all sorts of information.

Look Up Hashtags

Today who is not on one or more social media platforms? They are a great source of travel information and inspiration. All posts are hash-tagged here and you can search for hashtags related to your travel destination for articles, blogs about the destination as well as local news and media, and gorgeous images that will fuel your visual travel inspiration of what to do while you are there.

Search for Less Expensive Ways to Travel

You can take the liberty right now, to plan and book your trains/flights and that too cheap. Your travel is not going to be right away, and you very well know that if you book in advance you get better options and can save a lot of money.

Plan for Using Public Transportation

I always prefer public transportation like buses, tempos, etc. when travelling. For me, it’s the best way to get a feel for the full scope of a city. Buses help me move at my speed and understand the locality.

Plan to Enjoy the Nightlife

Even if you were 17 years old some 40 years ago, whether or not you’re a night owl, there’s always different energy in the atmosphere once the sunsets. The flavours differ from place to place, the nightlife usually consists of live music in bars; huge, pulsing clubs; or candlelit cafés with plenty of wine to go around.

So, even if you are dead tired, plan to dive into whatever fun awaits, this certainly will infuse energy in you to be fresher the next morning.

Check Out for Free Walking Tours

Besides being great money-savers, these tours allow you to orient yourself in an unfamiliar city, scope out some good photography locations to return to later, learn facts about the city, and maybe make some new friends too.

I always look for and love, love, love taking these walking tours when I travel. You pass the time, and all your questions normally get answered by the guide, and you get to learn so much about where you are.

Eat Local Food

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; that’s a common proverb used in the travel industry. Yes, for me that’s a must, I love to taste a bit of everything local when I travel, even if I don’t know what it is (for me it has to be vegetarian though). You see, nothing is more tasteful than enjoying the authentic food of the location you are travelling to, so plan to eat street food from vendors and for this, you can plan to visit local markets or places with gatherings. Again eating street food is an awesome way to save money while you travel.

Plan to Get on the off Beaten Path

It’s not a touristy thing, but for a  traveller in you, it’s a must. Do some research and seek out interesting and unusual places that don’t see much tourism. I have always loved doing that and many memorable travel experiences have happened in the past. As a traveller, you don’t want to regret missing them.

For B2B – this means offering many more options to a prospective client and obviously more business.

And for the photographer, Always pack an Extra Camera Battery

Do worry, the Travellers Pandemic is going to be devastating.

But that will not the end of the world; so take a deep breath, relax, enjoy and let life unfold.

It’s a big, beautiful, exciting, and fascinating world out there but you have to be safe to explore it, BUT not just now.

STAY SAFE, do your homework and be a Traveller – a few months later.

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