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India’s first international cruise sails from Chennai, reaches Sri Lanka

By a Correspondent India’s first international cruise was flagged off from Chennai to Sri Lanka. The MV Empress, with 750 passengers on a 5-day sea cruise, will cross three ports. “With our rich heritage & culture around our coastal region, the potential of cruise tourism in India is immense,” said Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, […]

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Latest customer service trends in the travel industry

By Staff Reporter The relevance of customer experience and customer service in the travel and hospitality sector continues to be of the utmost importance In today’s world, customer experience has become a critical aspect of every business. The travel and hospitality industry is no exception and the relevance of customer service in this sector cannot […]

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Trip.com launched in-app chatbot built on OpenAI

By News Agencies Trip.com is launching a new chatbot within its app that is built on an API from OpenAI — maker of ChatGPT. Known as TripGen, the tool offers a conversational interface similar to ChatGPT and other natural language processing chat tools.  Trip.com says users can ask complex or vague questions and instantly receive tailored […]

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MakeMyTrip looks to grow its luxury homestay segment

By Netpal Travel Bureau  Online travel company MakeMyTrip (MMT) has partnered with Mumbai-based Lohono Stays that specialises in the luxury vacation rental market in India. The objective, according to the company, is to further accelerate the growth of luxury home stay segment in the country, especially ahead of the festive season. “We have been steadily […]

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Travel abroad returns in 2023, Americans appreciate tours to Asia, Europe

By Netpal Travel Bureau According to a recent poll by tourism market research firm, Destination Analysts, around 31 percent of Americans are more interested in international than domestic travel. Households are continuing to unleash two or three years’ worth of constrained demand as Covid-19 fears decrease and the last leftovers of pandemic-era border restrictions have […]

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Booking.com, Amadeus partner to update the payment process

Amadeus travel agents can now pay for Booking.com accommodations using even more virtual payments from a wide range of participating banks. This new development reduces friction for travelers while aligning the payments process to travel agency business priorities. Typically, when a hotel is booked by a travel agent the actual payment is made by the […]

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How is technology used in tourism?

By Staff Reporter One of the most powerful and user-friendly tourism technologies is social media. One of the ways to take advantage of social networks is to create interesting content and share posts you’ve been tagged in. A user’s recommendation on their social network can act as a “digital references” and encourage many of their […]

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Visit Rwanda launches innovative technology for gorilla conservation

By Netpal Travel Bureau Visit Rwanda and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is launching a new innovative use of technology to protect and conserve gorillas and promote sustainable and responsible wildlife tourism in the country. With GorillaGram, visitors to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park will not just get to spend time with the country’s famed mountain gorillas, but they can also utilize […]

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TTF Kolkata 2022, an undeniable success

By Staff Reporter Travel and tourism from India is bouncing back with full vigour after two years of pandemic-related disruptions.  TTF Kolkata, India’s oldest travel trade show (est. 1989), staged a grand post-pandemic rebound of domestic and international travel, with over 200 participants from 3 countries and over 20 Indian States and Uts recently. After an extremely tough […]