Category: Round Up

Jharsuguda Airport has received DGCA licence and said it will commence flight operations from June 14. Air Odisha, which bagged the bid, will operate flights from Jharsuguda to Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Raipur thereby meeting the long-standing demands for air-connectivity to the Western Odisha region. The airline will use a 21-seater dual-engine Beechcraft aircraft (1900D) to operate from Jharsuguda to the three destinations under the regional connectivity scheme. “We received Jharsuguda Airport’s commercial operations licence on May 4. We are taking a month’s time before starting the operations for marketing purposes,” said an Air Odisha spokesperson. Air Odisha will operate one flight each daily ... Read more

The government of Himachal Pradesh is planning to promote tourism at Haripurdhar in Sirmaur district. The state government will request the Central Government to include it under the Swadesh Darshan Programme. The Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur elaborated the governments plans at the closing ceremony of the three-day Mata Bhangayani Mela at Haripurdhar. Thakur said the area had immense tourism potential and basic facilities would be provided to devotees at the Mata Bhangayani temple complex. “With over 90 per cent of the state’s population residing in the rural areas, the government is keen to develop these,” he added. He said ... Read more

SpiceJet has launched daily direct services between Delhi and Punjab’s Adampur. The first direct flight was flagged off from Delhi airport’s Terminal 2 to Adampur by Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, and Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet. SpiceJet was awarded Adampur under the first round of the regional connectivity scheme UDAN and the city is the fifth destination for the airline under this scheme. In addition to Adampur, SpiceJet also launched daily services between Leh and Delhi. Flight SG 8731 was flagged off at 3:30 pm from Delhi and SG 8732 was given a flag ... Read more

Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah, the luxurious resort owned by Oman Tourism Development Company has won “Oman’s Leading Resort 2018” at the 25th edition of the World Travel Awards. The Middle East Gala Ceremony was recently held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. “We are proud & honoured to have been recognised again by the World Travel Awards 2018 and we are delighted that our resort is appreciated by the travel industry. This confirms that we continue to deliver excellent service and a reflection of the hotel’s exceptional team in extending true hospitality with an intuitive touch to our guests,” ... Read more

Ramu B, IAS took charge as the Director of Karnataka State Tourism Department on April 24, 2018. The 2010-batch IAS officer Ramu B, had earlier served as the District Collector in Chamarajanagar. He said “My priority in the new role would be to improve the marketing of Karnataka tourism,” said the new tourism director. “One State Many Worlds” is all about selling an experience. I need about some months to study and understand the kind of experience we are trying to market. Be it responsible tourism or adventure tourism, I would really like to market the state to different kind ... Read more

America-based online tourism and hospitality chain Airbnb has announced an association with Sydney based Australian startup Hometime. The new tie-up aimed for new marketing platforms like community meeting and increasing client listings. Hometime, on the other hand, has associations with traditional accommodation providers like boutique hotels, local youth hostels with bed and breakfast. “As we continue to see demand for this kind of travel, we’ll keep seeing the number of hosts in Australia increase. We know people have been coming to the platform and not finding what they look for, but Hometime provides that one-on-one hospitality our hosts have looked for in ... Read more

Air India said it is introducing a direct flight from Amritsar to Bangkok starting from May 14, as part of its efforts to increase and augment services on key routes. The flight from Amritsar to Bangkok would operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The service will remain in effect till May 30 and a decision on its extension will be taken based on the response it gets. “Flight AI 336 will leave Bangkok at 13.00 hrs and arrive in Amritsar at 20.05 hrs. In-return flight AI 337 will leave from Amritsar at 05.45 hrs and arrive in Bangkok at ... Read more

Oman’s first budget carrier SalamAir said it will operate three weekly direct flights to Tbilisi and two weekly flights to Baku starting from June 14. “It is the perfect time for SalamAir to fly to Tbilisi and Baku. The Eid holidays is a time for celebration and during this period there is generally a surge in travel to the Caucasia region. Our aim is to provide guests with better choice and flexibility to create their personal journey,” said Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir. “We want to bring Oman and the Middle East closer to Eastern Europe. There is great potential for ... Read more

American multinational hospitality chain Marriot International, had signed distribution cooperation agreement with a travel group in Saudi, for establishing direct connectivity for boosting tourism. The agreement has been signed, after the concluding day of the Arabian Travel Market, held in Dubai. The new move thus allows Marriott International to have direct access to the wide-reaching networks in Saudi Arabia via the Kingdom’s Al Tayyar Travel Group. “We will add by 2025 another 25 resorts across the country,” said Sohail Pedari, Director of Global sales at Marriott International in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Saudi plans to provide individual visas for the first ... Read more

As per the study conducted by ‘Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey 2018’, Vienna capital city of Austria, has been chosen as the most liveable city in the world. “The success of foreign assignments is influenced by issues such as ease of travel and communication, sanitation standards, personal safety, and access to public services,” said Slagin Parakatil, Mercer’s research. It was for the 9th year that Vienna achieved the title followed by Zurich (Switzerland), Auckland (New Zealand ) and Munich (Germany). Award criterion includes attractiveness of the city, business and investment potential, school, housing and hospital infrastructure. It even checks public ... Read more

The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) is organising the 2nd edition of the Goa Vintage Bike and Car Festival to celebrate the Goa’s rich history of automobiles. The event will display entries from Goa as well as from other parts of the country at the Inox Courtyard – an iconic heritage structure that dates back to the 1800s. The event has been curated by Ashvek Vintage World and is supported by the VCCFI (Vintage and Classic Car Federation of India). Over 50 motorcycles and over 65 cars are expected to participate in this festival. Around 20 entries are expected to drive in ... Read more

The Dubai International Airport has retained its world coveted standing on top of world airports in terms of the number of international travellers, according to the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2018. The airport has retained the award for several successive years in recognition of its premium travel services, including catering, entertainment and retail not to mention seamless travel procedures, says WAM. The awards celebrate the region’s best in business travel and hospitality and the ceremony was attended by key travel industry executives in Dubai. The award was received by Eugene Barry. EVP Commercial and Anita Mehra, Senior Vice President ... Read more

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has urged the state tourism development board to issue instructions to various tourism development authorities for implementing solid waste management system across the state. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice Tashi Rabstan directed the chief secretary to issue the instructions in this regard. The chief executive officer of Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) has informed the court that solid waste management plan will be operational in Pahalgam from April 25. Photo Courtesy: J&K Tourism The court has directed Gulmarg Development Authority, Sonamarg Development Authority, Yusmarg Development Authority, Doodpathri Development ... Read more

Singapore mourns the death of world’s first tropical polar bear, which was made to put down by wildlife authorities after a five-year battle with health difficulties stemming from old age. Inuka, the 27-year-old animal was suffering from arthritis, dental problems and ear infections. After a final check-up, vets found that Inuka’s health had not improved despite intensive treatment and decided not to revive him from anaesthesia. Inuka, or “foreboding strength” in Inuit, was born on Boxing Day in 1990 to parents Nanook and Sheba, who had arrived from Canada and Germany, respectively, in 1978. His father, Nanook, died in 1995 at 18 ... Read more

Emirates and flydubai revealed strong passenger numbers for the first six months of their partnership, illustrating tremendous positive response from customers, and the successful start of the expanded codeshare partnership which was announced in July 2017. The first code-share flights began at the end of October 2017. Between November 2017 and March 2018, over 400,000 passengers have taken advantage of the partnership and more than 250,000 passengers have already planned their trip for the year ahead. The partnership initially began with codeshare flights to 29 cities, and this has quickly expanded to meet growing demand as customers realise the benefits ... Read more