Category: Round Up

With an aim to attract nature lovers to state, Odisha has laid focus on development of eco-tourism and sustainable practices in nature-based tourism. At a time when the state has introduced an eco-tourism policy, Forest Department has been declared as the nodal agency for development of eco-tourism in the State. “An eco-tourism scheme has been approved with the financial implication of Rs 56 crore for five years for its sustainable development and promotions,” said Tourism Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev. He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Sustainable Eco-tourism’ jointly organised by Department of Tourism and Forest and Environment in collaboration with Ecotourism Society ... Read more

Kafue National Park, Zambia The Zambian government is planning to restock five of its national parks this year with animals in an effort to enhance the country’s tourism. Howard Sikwela, permanent secretary in Zambian Ministry of Tourism and Arts, said, “The national parks will be restocked with 1,361 wildlife species such as white rhinos, black rhinos, impalas, buffaloes, zebras and hartebeest”. “Though restocking of animals is an expensive activity, we will do it to increase the animal population in our national parks, which will in turn boost tourism in the nation,” Sikwela said. Some of the wildlife species in some ... Read more

Infinix, the Hong Kong-based smartphone company, has launched Infinix Hot 6 Pro, a new smartphone in India. Infinix Hot 6 Pro carries a price tag of Rs 7,999, and will be available starting exclusively via Flipkart. The Hot Pro 6 comes in Sandstone Black, Magic Gold, City Blue, and Bordeaux Red colour options. The device features a 5.99-inch HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display, is powered by Snapdragon 425 with 3GB of RAM, runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with XOS 3.2 on top, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for portrait shots. It has a ... Read more

Smartron’s Tronx Motors has announced the launch of Tronx One, an electric cycle with an approximate on-battery run-in range of 45-50 km per charge. The e-cycle is priced at Rs 49,999 and would be available in magma red and pacific blue colour option. Tronx is currently undertaking pre-orders, which would start to ship the first batch of consumers from July 16 onwards. A crossover of a bicycle and an electric bike, Tronx One is capable of reaching a speed of up to 25 km/hr and comes with multiple ride modes. The e-bike also has features such as virtual gears, coupled with three ... Read more

Representative picture only With an aim to promote religious tourism, IRCTC is all set to launch a special tourist train linking key site in Ramayana. The train, called Sri Ramayana Express, will start operations from November 14. The tour by train will link all the important places that linked to the epic ‘Ramayana”. It will set off from Delhi through Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama as per the epic, to Colombo, Sri Lanka were he fought Ravana to salvage Sita Devi. The train will have 800 seats and the total cost for the tours is expected to be ... Read more

The iconic Burj Khalifa by global developer Emaar Properties in Dubai, which has the world’s tallest LED panel installed on its façade, is now the world’s highest Football Live Scoreboard. With the finals drawing close, visitors and residents can keep up to date with the scorecards of the matches at the world’s most popular football championship that are now relayed on to the LED screen of Burj Khalifa. Featuring the flag of the goal-scoring nation as well, the scoreboard is updated in real-time for football lovers to catch up with the action set against the backdrop of The Dubai Fountain, ... Read more

Thailand Tourism is all set to expand through next year, with at least 10 per cent growth in the revenue from this year, fetching some 3.4 trillion baht. “Strong growth is anticipated from both the international and domestic markets. Next year, the international market should generate income of B2.28 trillion, while the domestic market should contribute B1.12 trillion,” said Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn. The TAT also predicted international arrivals would increase from a predicted 37.5 million this year to 40 million next year, with domestic tourists making 169 million trips for 2019, up from 160 million this year. Revenue from ... Read more

Macau Tourism has a new mascot, ‘Mak Mak’, which will guide travellers to explore Macau. The new mascot was designed by Tou Chon Wai, winner of ‘Design Contest’ conducted by Macau Government Tourism Office  (MGTO). ‘Mak Mak’ encourages travellers to explore Macao, a city of Chinese and European cultures woven together in harmony, while searching for its own meaning on the journey and bringing back all valuable experiences to its most beloved home – Macau. MGTO Director Senna Fernandes presenting a trophy to Tou Chon Wai  Inspired by the Guia Lighthouse, Mak Mak is a black-faced spoonbill with hues of red, yellow ... Read more

It’s shopping time in Dubai. And, Dubai World Trade Centre, is calling you for a mega brand sale, offering international brands at a discounted price of up to 75 per cent. The mega brand sale, started on July 4, will conclude on July 8, Sunday. The brands include Guess, Diesel, Boss, Calvin Klein, Police, Paris Hilton, Still 19, Ted Baker etc. So, what are you waiting for? Head to Zabeel hall number 2 at the Dubai World Trade Centre between 10 am and 10 pm to grab the best deal. Meanwhile, Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), Dubai’s annual citywide summer shopping celebration which is ... Read more

The Hashers, a cross border community association in Kabale-Uganda, has launched a new campaign aimed at promoting tourism and trade between Uganda and Rwanda. About 50 members of Kabale hashers group, together with 52 members from Rwanda-Kigaly walkers group, launched the joint group to promote community tourism and healthy living on Sunday, 1st July 2018 Mount Muhavura, on the border between Rwanda and Uganda. Jean Nyamuninga, the president of Rwanda-Kigali walkers group, along with the leader of Ugandan group Richard Shyaka, said that the group shall help in enhancing cross border trade in the spirit of the East African Community. ... Read more

After the rain havoc halting the Amarnath Yathra for the past two days, it restarted again with the sixth batch of 3,489 pilgrims leaving from Jammu today. The pilgrims, including 774 women and 237 sadhus, are headed to the 3,888-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, amid tight security. The pilgrims left for the cave shrine in 114 vehicles from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 2:30 am. So far, 36,366 pilgrims have visited the shrine by taking the 36-km Pahalgam track in Anantnag and 12-km Baltal route in Ganderbal since the commencement of the annual 60-day pilgrimage on June 28. ... Read more

Image for representative purpose only Airports in Kerala to have ‘Fly Buses’, to carry passengers from the airports to nearby cities. The 42-seater air conditioned bus service by Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will operate from Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin and Karipur International airports to the nearest cities. The Minister for Transport, A K Saseendran will inaugurate the service at Thiruvananthapuram Airport today by 4.30 pm. The Fly Bus will operate every 45 minutes round the clock from the premier airport of the State in the capital to East Fort and Thampanoor, every 30 minutes from Cochin international airport in Nedumbaserry ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Seban Thomas Malayalis (people of Kerala) love monsoons, the pitter patter of the downpour, the smell of the rain-fed land, everything associated with rains, is accepted with great fervour and love in this part of India. The Kerala Tourism Department is all set to explore the beauty of monsoon with the Nishagandhi Monsoon Music Festival. The department will organize Nishagandhi Monsoon Music Festival in the city in July at Kanakakkunnu Palace Grounds in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. Nishagandhi will host renowned musicians from across the country this July. The tourism department has earmarked a sum of Rs 1 ... Read more

The Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) is planning to launch an exclusive initiative to collate data on skilled artisans, dancers and other artists by the end of June, under the Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission project. The project is aimed at promoting experimental tourism. The online directory will have details regarding artists, including their name, coordinators, bio-data and details of stage performances. The initiative is expected to help people from across the globe to access the state’s traditional art forms, handicraft products and artisans. The online directory will provide an opportunity for academics, travellers and event organizers to reach the ... Read more

With an aim to enable the state to build suitable infrastructure across the state, the Union ministry has sanctioned Rs 90 crores to Tripura. As Part of the ‘Prasad’ scheme, which aims at developing the religious sites, another Rs 10 crores has also been allotted. The funds will be utilized for the development of temples, mosques and monasteries. The tourism industry in Tripura has been remaining unexplored or underutilized until the new government came into reign. Chief Minister Bibplab Kumar Deb has taken initiative to develop and promote tourism sector and persuaded the union ministry to provide adequate funds for ... Read more