Category: Round Up

There are plans to double the yearly passenger handling capacity of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. It has been decided that the capacity will be enhanced to 20 million and has announced the plans to increase the final capacity by 50 per cent to 90 million. The initial plan was an enhancement of 10 million in the first phase and another 10 million in the second phase. At present, it is expected that the companies managing the airport will be able to complete the phases together. Currently, the annual capacity is pegged at 60 million passengers, however, we are looking ... Read more

The H Resort Beau Vallon Beach has been awarded the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label certificate for integrating sustainability practices in its business operations. In his address at the award ceremony last week, Didier Dogley, the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, said he was pleased with the increasing number of hotels displaying their commitment towards the sustainable tourism initiative. “We live in a period where people have become very conscious about the environment. Travellers are looking for sustainable service providers,” he said. The H Resort Beau Vallon Beach in the north of the main island Mahe has 55 ... Read more

Goibibo has launched a new WhatsApp integrated solution, which allows its users to sign-in to Goibibo on mobile web via WhatsApp. This first-of-its-kind WhatsApp login authentication will help mobile web users to log-in without needing to remember password, keying in OTP or Mobile Number – rendering a convenient, seamless experience. “We are a mobile-first company and we want to leverage the mobile ecosystem to its fullest to make online travel booking experience even more convenient. Given the ubiquitous usage of Whatsapp among Indians, it was a natural choice for us to build this feature to help people access the platform ... Read more

Dal Lake Officers from the tourism sector have conducted a meeting on 31st July 2018, which was chaired by Rigzin Sampheal, Tourism Secretary. The agenda of the meeting was to plan the tourism festival to be conducted in the Jammu and Kashmir. Director Tourism Kashmir Tasaduq Jeelani, Director Finance Lateef Poswal, Director Planning Tourism Parvez Sajad Kakroo, Additional Secretary Tourism Gulzar Ahmed, Joint Director Tourism Jammu Showkat Mehmood and other concerned officers of the department attended the meeting. Tasaduq Jeelani briefed the Tourism Secretary about the preparations to be done to facilitate a hassle-free Kashmir festival. Jeelani has suggested that ... Read more

Kavita Singh, 2004 batch IAS officer has been appointed the Director of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in Punjab. The appointment was as part of a big reshuffle in the government’s administrative set up. Kavita was working as the Director for Social Security and Development of Women and Children. Earlier in 2014, she was appointed as Managing Director of Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (CITCO). Kavita Singh, originally hailing from Maharashtra, had also served as Additional Deputy Commissioner in Roop Nagar and Hoshiarpur and as Deputy Commissioner in Kapurthala, all in Punjab. In 2011-12, she was the MD of ... Read more

The government of Maharashtra has issued fresh guidelines for adventure tourism in the state. As per the new guidelines, it is mandatory for all organizations dealing in adventure activities and tourism in the state to register with the sports department in their respective district of operation. The state school education and sports department has issued a government resolution in this regard on July 26. The resolution details the procedures to be followed during the conduct of all types of adventure activities with set guidelines on equipment, certifications and training, risk mitigation and safety procedures. A nine-member state-level committee will also be ... Read more

Myanmar will grant free visa allowances to Chinese, South Korean and Japanese nationals from August 1 onward in a bid to promote eco-tourism, according to U Ohn Maung, Minister of Hotel and Tourism, during an economic seminar organised last week by the Thai embassy in Yangon and the Thai Business Association in Myanmar. The initiative has taken considering the decline in visitors from the West, who have cut short travel to Myanmar in view of the refugee crisis in Rakhine. The ministry of tourism hopes the free visa to Asian countries could compensate the downfall in tourists from the western ... Read more

European countries are experiencing a surge in inbound tourists from China during the first half of the year. The main reasons for this trend is said to be the changing tastes of Chinese tourists – from shopping to art and culture. Moreover, the cold reception from Trump’s America also considered a factor for Chinese tourists to opt for European countries. Recent surveys states, Chinese tourists are avoiding package tours to Europe to strike out on their own trips to unexplored locations, than the popular names in the tourism map. Bookings for the month of July and August in Europe are ... Read more

The Maldives state-owned Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) stated in a press release that it is seeking interested international public relations corporations to boost tourism in the Maldives. MMPRC said that the prospective PR corporations are from Macao and Taiwan. The selected companies would be hired on a one-year contract. Currently, the Maldives government is implementing a mega campaign to promote tourism in the island through its foreign offices and embassies across the globe. MMPRC stated that they are utilizing the digital marketing techniques for propagating Maldives on various platforms. According to statistics from the Tourism Ministry, a total ... Read more

IndiGo will start direct flight from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata from August 1. Flight (A320) will depart from Kolkata and reach Bhubaneswar at 12.20 am on a daily basis and will depart from Bhubaneswar at 5.25 am. “We will also start direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad within few days. We have also written to IndiGo and Air Asia for starting operations between Bhubaneswar and Pune,” said Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) Director Suresh Chandra Hota. BPIA announced that it will start another direct flight from Bhubaneswar to Ahmedabad. Since there are no slots available at Pune airport, they have requested the two ... Read more

Volcano eruptions are always been the center of attraction for tourists in the Hawaii Islands. However the recent eruption of the Kilauea volcano has caused slowdown in the tourist inflow in the region. This is followed by the mandatory evacuation and strict advisory of the authorities at the volcano eruption site. The risk of going to the volcano eruption site has come in to attention of the authorities this week when lava flowing into the ocean caused an explosion that sent a hot rock crashing through a touring boat’s roof. Though there were no causalities, tourists had minor injuries and ... Read more

Singapore has received 6.1 lakh visitors from India between January to May 2018, reporting a 17 per cent year-on-year increase from 2017. In 2017 visitor arrivals from India had crossed 1 million mark for the third time in a row, showcasing the highest growth rate at 16 per cent in comparison with all markets. Also, India continues to be the top source market for visitor arrivals in the cruise segment for Singapore. Last year, 127,000 cruise passengers from India sailed out of Singapore’s shores, showing a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent from 2016. In 2017, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) ... Read more

Tourism Minister of Israel Yariv Levin, said Lufthansa AG will begin operating four weekly flights to southern Israeli beach town Eilat. He was speaking at a conference on tourism and technology held by Calcalist in Tel Aviv. Lufthansa later confirmed the service, saying it will begin operating October 28. Levin celebrated the rising popularity of the southernmost Israeli city, which is located at the northern tip of the Red Sea. International tourism to once-popular Israeli vacation town is booming again, thanks to a 2012 reform that removed restrictions on foreign carriers offering service to Israel and a marketing campaign centered ... Read more

Flipkart has announced the addition of two new tabs to its mobile application: Recharges and Travel – Flights. The online retailer has partnered with payments platform, PhonePe to enable customers to recharge their phones through its website, while for air ticket booking, it has partnered MakeMyTrip. Flipkart is offering a 25 per cent instant discount on phone recharges subject to a maximum discount of Rs 50 as an introductory offer. Customers can also avail a discount of up to Rs 1,500 on flight tickets booked using select debit/credit cards and via net banking. The offer on flights is applicable until July ... Read more

  Munnar has always been one of the favourite destinations for tourists who visit Kerala. Splendid picturesque of tea plantations, zigzag roads, wintry weather even in summer – all make Munnar a delightful tourist place to visit and stay. ‘Showcase Munnar’ is a group formed to obliterate the misapprehensions of some people about Munnar and to attract more tourists. Showcase Munnar was formed by the hoteliers in and around Munnar, two years before. As per Adv. Babu Gerorge, the President of Showcase Munnar, the main objective behind the organization was to promote tourism in Munnar. Some of the hotels in ... Read more