Author: Tourism News live

IATO Convention 2018 The 35th convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is scheduled to be held in Kolkata from September 12-15, said Rajesh Mudgill,  Secretary, IATO. Further details will be announced in due course of time, he informed. “The 35th convention will likely be organised in Kolkata. We had some deliberations regarding the dates but things are almost finalised now. We are looking make this convention much bigger and better,” said Mudgill. The upcoming monthly luncheon meeting of the association, scheduled on July 10 at The Oberoi, Delhi will be followed by the Executive committee meeting, where ... Read more

Odisha Tourism will conduct roadshows in Kochi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru etc. The recent roadshow of Odisha Tourism in Mumbai witnessed the participation of over 150 tour operators from the city, who conducted rapid B2B networking with 18 leading tour operators from Odisha. Tourism Minister of Odisha J P Panigrahi lead the delegation in the Mumbai roadshow. “Bhubaneswar, one of India’s smartest and most liveable cities, is being increasingly connected to other parts of India and the world. It is this city which received commendations from the sporting world’s who’s who for conducting arguably the best sporting events ever in ... Read more

Thailand is planning to introduce compulsory travel insurance for foreign visitors this year. Foreign travellers will be required to pay 20 baht each for the compulsory insurance at immigration offices in airports, which will be directed to Thailand’s Tourism Promotion Fund for coverage of payments in the event of claims. The compulsory travel insurance will offer up to 1 million baht of coverage in cases of death, with a maximum duration of 30 days. The insurance will have to seek approval from the Tourism and Sports Ministry before being forwarded to the cabinet later. The travel insurance coverage is intended to ... Read more

With an aim to expand its presence in Thailand, Hilton has announced its plans to launch two new properties in Bangkok by 2022. Both the hotels will be in the Thai capital of Bangkok, and will form part of Hilton’s expansion into this territory, joining seven hotels currently in the pipeline. Currently, the brand operates eleven properties across Thailand and is looking to expand beyond the country’s central areas of concentration, Phuket and Bangkok, to areas including Chiang Mai and Krabi. Hilton has recently signed a management agreement with Thailand-based real estate developer Lucky Living Properties Co., Ltd. to launch ... Read more

Pravin Kumar IAS has assumed charge as Chief Executive Officer, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA) & Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) on 24th June 2019. A 2006 batch officer, Pravin Kumar earlier served as the District Collector & District Magistrate for West Godavari District before assuming as CEO, APTA & MD APTDC. He started his career as assistant Collector Warangal, Sub- Collector Penukonda followed by Project Officer (PO) Indian Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Bhadrachalam, Joint Collected Visakhapatnam, Commissioner GVMC, Visakhapatnam, District Collector & District Magistrate, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari During his tenure, Visakhapatnam was included in the ... Read more

The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) is planning to develop budget hotels in all district headquarters on the lines of Haritha chain of hotels and resorts with an aim to boost tourism in the state. TSTDC has written a letter to District Collectors in this regard, seeking allotment of required land for the proposed budget hotels that would provide affordable accommodation to tourists visiting various destinations. These hotels are likely to come up near tourist places across the state. The tourism authorities are also planning to introduce boating facilities at all the lakes to attract more tourists. In Hyderabad, ... Read more

If you are someone who loves the chilly weather and the forest canopy, then Yercaud in Tamil Nadu is the perfect place for your next trip. From Salem, it is just 36 kilo metres to reach Yercaud. The drive up the winding roads, which has 20 hairpin bends to cross, is a very fascinating one. You can also see a good number of fruit stalls on the way up the hill. Yercaud town got its name from the Yercaud Lake located at its center. In Tamil, Yeri means lake and Kaadu means forest.  Sir Thomas Munroe, erstwhile governor of Madras ... Read more

With an aim to attract more American tourists to the country, Incredible India is conducting road shows across different cities in US. Through the road shows, Incredible India is projecting the many facets of the country, including its rich culture, heritage, scope of adventure, leisure and medical tourism. The four-day road show was organised by the government of India in association with industry stakeholders. The Indian delegation lead by Meenakshi Sharma, Director General (Tourism), visit Washington DC, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco in US and Vancouver in Canada. On an average 1.2 million American tourists visit India every year. In ... Read more

Kerala Tourism, in association with Muddy Boots and Mercury Himalayan Explorations (MHE), is planning to launch a host of adventure tourism courses on KITTS campuses in Thiruvananthapuram, Malayattoor, Thalassery and Thrissur. There will be four certificate courses and one diploma course, which is aimed to create a trained workforce to guide tourists interested in adventure tourism so that risks are minimised and responsible tourism is undertaken. The technical partner, Muddy Boots will devise the curriculum and facilitate the faculty while the industry partner, MHE will take care of internship for the students and their placement. The courses include an introduction ... Read more

IndiGo has commenced operations on six new connections including four RCS routes Kolkata-Prayagraj, Prayagraj-Kolkata, Raipur-Prayagraj and Prayagraj-Raipur. The new routes will be serviced by an ATR aircraft and the flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options. The introduction of these flights will further bolster the airline’s connectivity in the Tier II cities with fares starting from Rs 1,999. “As part of our continued focus to enhance point-to-point connectivity, we are pleased to commence operations on these six routes connecting Kolkata, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Raipur and Jabalpur. ... Read more

The summer season begins in Ibiza with one of the most exciting new properties on the island. BLESS Hotel Ibiza, the new hotel from the brand BLESS Collection Hotels of Palladium Hotel Group, opened its doors on June 13th followed by a spectacular opening party on Sunday 16th June with more than 700 attendees and many experiences. Spanish model Eugenia Silva, BLESS Collection Hotels brand ambassador, and Spanish Chef Martín Berasategui hosted the opening of the hotel, the second from the brand following BLESS Hotel Madrid. Abel Matutes Juan, President of the Palladium Hotel Group; Abel Matutes Prats, CEO of ... Read more

Singing sensation Jennifer Lopez is all set to perform in Israel for the first time at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park on August 1, 2019. The pop star and actress will visit the country during the international leg of her ‘It’s My Party’ world tour, a 25-show engagement kicking off on June 7. J. Lo’s show is expected to attract thousands of people in one of the summer’s blockbuster concerts, at the same venue that will host legendary Bon Jovi on July 25. In her two-decade career, Lopez has sold 80 million records worldwide with 16 top-10 hit songs and three ... Read more

Noting that homestays are a vital component of tourism in future, Kerala Tourism Director P Bala Kiran IAS said homestays will be given Responsible Tourism Mission (RT) partner approval, provided they strictly follow the vision and norms of the heritage-oriented hospitality initiative. “The classification will be in platinum, gold and silver categories,” Bala Kiran said while inaugurating a one-day workshop cum orientation programme for homestays and service villas of Kerala here on Tuesday. The event was organized by Trivandrum chapter of Kerala Hats, a consortium of homestay promoters, in association with the Kerala Tourism Department in Thiruvananthapuram. Bala Kiran said ... Read more

Kerala Government has decided to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the conduct of the IPL-model Champions’ Boat League (CBL) as an annual event in August-November, showcasing Kerala’s famed snake-boat race in the backwaters in six districts across the state as a world class experience. The decision was announced by state Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran at a meeting of stakeholders, jointly held with Finance Minister Dr T M Thomas Isaac. The company, primarily intended to generate revenue through telecast rights, advertisements and sponsorships for conducting the premier event, will also decide on the revenue sharing among the stakeholders. The inaugural ... Read more

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the growth of medical tourism in India is optimistic. The segment has witnessed exponential growth of 111 per cent in the last three years from 2015 to 2017. The Ministry stated that some 4.95 lakh foreign tourists visited India for medical purposes in 2017, a rise from 2.33 lakh in 2015, while in 2016, a total of 4.27 lakh foreign tourists visited the sub-continent. To boost the sector in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has also taken various steps like expanding the scope of e-visas for medical visits. The government launched e-tourist ... Read more