TravTalk India Online Magazine
Griffon Aviation, part of Griffon Group, is bringing a new destination closer to the Indian travellers by promoting Cyprus Airways. It flies Dubai to Larnaca – the capital of Cyprus – which makes it an easy one-stop destination from India. Griffon will be selling tickets out of India from November onwards for Diwali holidays.
Hazel Jain
Vivek Jain, Managing Director, Griffon Travels, Griffon Holidays and Griffon Cruises, is excited to announce a new collaboration that will offer Indian travellers a novel international destination – Cyprus.
“We have signed up with Cyprus Airways, the national airline of Cyprus, which flies from Dubai to Larnaca and from Larnaca to all key ports of Europe. We will be selling tickets out of India with interline agreements with other airlines into Dubai. So, Cyprus will be the new destination because we will have easy access to it from India,” Jain says.
Griffon sells B2B holidays, as well as cruises, particularly European cruise lines. It also represents airlines in the Indian market. Jain adds, “We will start bookings from November onwards just in time for Diwali holidays. It is a year-round destination and perfect for M!CE and honeymooners. We also work with Louis Hotels, part of the Louis Group, which is one of the biggest hotel chains in Cyprus. So, we will promote all-inclusive packages to the travel trade.”
European cruising picking up
Cruising suffered a setback after the pandemic. But since then, there has been a total change, says Jain.
“People now have a renewed confidence in cruising. It has picked up this season, and 2024 also looks encouraging. We specialise in cruising in Europe – the Baltics, the Mediterranean, Aegean Sea and the Red Sea. We see good bookings for popular itineraries, including the West Med and the Greek islands; they sell round the year,” he adds.
Griffon has now introduced fantastic sailings out of Southampton on Cunard, going up to the Northern Lights and on to West Med, Lisbon, and Canary Islands and down to Barcelona. “In India, generally short programmes sell more which is 3-4 nights. Major demand is from major cities in India, but even smaller metros and tertiary cities are beginning to show interest now. Having said that, we also sell seven and 9-night itineraries, which passengers opt for their individual holidays. We also have 14 and 20-day itineraries, but at the moment they are not popular in India,” Jain says.
Griffon Group now also promotes sailings which do round-the-world cruises that have a calling on Mumbai port, and Jain is trying to promote those for 2024-25.
