Episode Notes

Companies delivering walking tours of Manhattan often deliver stereotypical tours with no originality. So Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy writes about an initiative in New York that helps entrepreneurs develop compelling and original walking tour experiences.  

Brophy reports the Alliance for Downtown New York is in the final stages of its Walking Tour Incubator Grant Program. Five walking tour businesses have been chosen to receive grants of up to $12,500. Brophy adds the money for creating more diverse walking tours of Lower Manhattan is set to launch in the summer of 2024. 

Nikki Padilla, one of the program’s mentors, said diversity in product is important, noting that many tours are mirror images of each other. Padilla added that travelers want to be immersed in different facets of communities, acknowledging the tour guide is often the only meaningful interaction a visitor might have with a destination’s history or culture. Meanwhile, Stephen Oddo, another of the program’s mentors, said the challenge for the entrepreneurs is to find unique ways to reach prospective customers about different facets of New York’s attractions. 

Next, India’s aviation sector is poised for a major boom. But Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia reports it needs an entirely new policy in order to fulfill its enormous potential.  

As India’s aviation sector is among the fastest growing in the world, aviation consultancy and research firm CAPA India projects the country might need the infrastructure to be able to welcome 1 billion passengers annually within two decades. The firm has outlined a plan for a new civil aviation policy. India is expected to be the world’s third-largest aviation market by 2025, according to the International Air Transport Association. CAPA India also predicted the aviation industry could inject $1 trillion yearly into the Indian economy by 2043. 

Finally, Colombia’s flag airline Avianca has unveiled a subscription program just for business travelers, reports Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons.

Avianca has partnered with Caravelo, a company that creates subscription platforms for airlines. Parsons notes the new program, Avianca Access, provides corporate travelers opportunities for potentially cheaper trips without their employers having to commit to an annual quota. Caravelo CEO Inaki Uriz said the program is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises. The program is operational, but Parsons noted it’s expected to be officially launched later this year.