The message is loud and clear... the business traveller will travel. No amount of technology and innovations is likely to affect his travel plans in the short-term. Numerous travel conferences and MICE seminars have debated and deliberated on this issue, analysing the effect that the World Trade Centre attacks would have on travel, with business travel receiving special mention. Though most of these discussions have proved inconclusive, the travel graph has continued to show a steady rise in business travel over the last six months. The PATA conference - the largest travel conference in the Asia-Pacific, in New Delhi last month - also dwelt on the current uncertainty in global travel. However, the point to note was that business travel was largely unaffected and was expected to keep growing at a steady pace after a slight hiccup in the October-November 2001 phase. The genuine business traveller - like you and me - has exhibited a resilience and a willingness to travel even when times are rough. As though to reward this tenacity, most of the major airlines - including British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa, SWISS, Air France, Emirates and others - have upgraded their offerings in the first and executive class to make business travel even more comfortable, besides, a whole lot of new tie-ups and innovations to make their frequent flyer programmes far more attractive. What is really encouraging though, is that most airlines have introduced their new offerings on their flights to India, which only reiterates the fact that the Indian business traveller is gaining in stature every day. Airlines are also connecting to more Indian cities, which are attracting a large chunk of business travel today, and one such emerging super power within the country is Bangalore. In this issue,

Express Business Traveller showcases the Bangalore hospitality product and explores the varied accommodation options that this Garden City has to offer in our hotel survey. Chennai, the other South Indian business travel hub, is our destination focus, while the French Riviera provides the exotic break. Of course, our hot deals and best bargains continue to flow...

Sheldon Santwan



ehc@vsnl.com