Qantas remains fogbound

31/10/2011 0 Comments read Business and Trade, Travel

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 30.10.2011 (Business Standard): Australia’s flagship carrier, Qantas’ entire fleet remains grounded affecting 68,000 passengers worldwide with the cancellation of 447 flights costing millions of dollars to the national economy.

A marathon two rounds of hearing before Fair Work Australia, which is considering the Federal Government’s application for termination or suspension of industrial dispute between Qantas and the Australian Licenced Engineers Union (ALAEA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian and International Pilots Union (AIPA), was far away from a resolution tonight.

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Australia bets on Indians to triple tourism revenue

14/10/2011 0 Comments read Business and Trade, Travel

Gold Coast Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 14.10.2011 (Business Standard): Tourist arrivals declined by 6% in Australia after attacks on Indian students. Australia is luring high-spending Indian visitors to triple its tourism revenue from AU$820 million to AU$2.3 billion by 2020.

Australia’s image as a welcoming country suffered a setback following attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney, and subsequently tourist arrivals declined by six per cent to 17,565 in 2010. However, Tourism Australia is now determined to bring back Indian tourists to its shores.

Tourism Australia’s 2020 India Strategic Plan launched today at the annual Australian Tourism Directions Conference in Canberra aims to triple the growth of inbound Indian travellers, including students, from around 145,000 to 400,000 in the next 10 years.

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Egypt beckons tourists to explore the ingenuity of the Pharaohs’ creations

04/04/2011 0 Comments read Travel

By Neena Bhandari

Cairo, Aswan & Luxor, 04.04.2011 (The Hindustan Times): It was meant to be a leisurely exploration of the celebrated monuments of the Nile Valley, but we found ourselves enmeshed in Egypt’s tumultuous events that created political history, marking the end of Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year dictatorial reign.

“It will be a while before travellers return to Cairo”, our guide, Hesham Aref, had told me on Skype in March. International tourist arrivals saw a decline of 45 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, but tourists are gradually returning to Egypt. This augurs well for the country’s ensuing political and social stability. Tourism is one of the four main revenue earners besides the Suez Canal and oil and gas exports. As the leading foreign exchange earner and representing one in every seven jobs, tourism is a crucial factor in Egypt’s economic recovery. In 2010, tourism accounted for 11.5 per cent of the GDP. As many as 14 million international tourists visited Egypt last year, generating nearly US$13 billion in international tourism receipts.

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