Category: Top Stories

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma at the roll out of the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) Programme. Rashmi Verma , The Union Tourism Secretary rolled out the  Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) Programme in New Delhi on 15th November 2018. The programme was launched in Septet by the Union Tourism Minister, K J Alphons on the occasion of National Tourism Awards function & World Tourism Day. The participants will now be able to register for this programme through an online digital platform.  IITFC will enable Indian citizens to develop and enhance the skills associated with tourism, and where one ... Read more

Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India, in association with Tourism News Live is planning to conduct a one-day seminar on Modern Trends in Tourism Marketing on November 27, 2018. The seminar, scheduled to be held at the KITTS Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram, will be inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The inaugural session of the seminar will be conducted by Rajeev Devaraj, Editor, News18 Kerala. Rajeev will give Digital Marketing Tips to the travel trade associates attending the seminar. Anish Kumar P K, Past President of ATTOI and Managing Director of Travel Planners will take a session on ‘Need of Instagram ... Read more

The India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2018, celebrating the unique autumn flowering of Himalayan Cherry Blossoms kick started in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, with several cultural events. Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya inaugurated the event at Polo 5th Ground (Dalang Open Stage) on Wednesday. Speaking at the opening ceremony, the CM said Cherry Blossom festival is one of the greatest aspects to promote tourism in Meghalaya and the festival will attract explorers to the State. “The trees have blossomed three weeks earlier. We can witness 70 per cent of the Cherry Blossom. It will be a great opportunity for the scientists and other ... Read more

Photo for representative purpose only India Travel Mart, Jammu, is all set to begin on 16th November 2018. The three day event is organized in association with the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department. The event is taking place at Hotel Ramada, Jammu City Centre, Gulab Singh Marg, Near Exhibition Ground, Jammu. Several state tourism boards, travel operators, agents, travel portals, hotels and resorts will participate in the event. The Travel Mart will cater the needs of tourists in terms of vacations, weekend getaways, family holidays, honeymoon, business trips, adventure, wildlife, desert safari and pilgrimage tourism. The exhibition timings are between ... Read more

Photo courtesy: Travel to Blank Colombian tourism sector is in a coming back after the peace agreement signed by Juan Manal Santos, the President in 2016 to end five decades of violent civil war, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos receives 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. Though the country is still struggling to carry out the agreement amid a new government, Colombia is seeing massive growth in its tourism sector. As per reports from the trade ministry more than 3 million people visited Colombia in 2017, marking a 200 per cent hike since 2006, as ... Read more

The state government of Tamil Nadu has banned trekking between February 15 and April 15 every year in the aftermath of the Kurangini forest fire, which killed almost twenty tourists earlier in March this year. The rules have been notified based on an expert committee report on the Kurangini fire. According to ‘Spatial and temporal analysis of decadal forest fire data (2006-2015)’ released by the Tamil Nadu Forest department, forest fires start in January, increase in February and reach its highest point during March. Nearly 48 per cent of forest fires in Tamil Nadu were reported during March and February, which ... Read more

Radisson Collection has opened the Nofa Resort Riyadh, a Radisson Collection Hotel in Saudi Arabia. Built in African style, the resort has 57 bungalows and villas overlooking Nofa Wildlife Park. Nofa Resort Riyadh features three on-site restaurants – the Tswalu restaurant, Butcher’s Den and Al Fresco restaurant. Tswalu restaurant features African-style interiors, serves international cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner whereas the Butcher’s Den features grilled specialties, outdoor terrace seating and lake views. Al Fresco serves Italian classics including stone-fired pizzas. The hotel also features a tailored private dining service for special occasions or business events. Guests can also enjoy the Hookah Lounge, a tea ... Read more

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation offers special discounts to students on the occasion of Children’s Day on 14th November 2018. As per sources, children can have 15 per cent discount on food items in all its hotels and restaurants in the state. The discount offer is applicable for all students of colleges, universities and other educational institutions, provided they should present their ID cards at the counter. HPTDC also arranges demonstration of cooking skills at home for visually or hearing impaired children and offer them with complementary foods. As per Kamad Singh, Managing Director of HPTDC, the initiative has been ... Read more

Bangkok is awarded “Best City – International Category” by Travel + Leisure India’s Best Awards 2018. Travel + Leisure India & South Asia announced the results of its seventh edition of the India’s Best Awards at the ITC Maurya, New Delhi on 12th November, 2018. Bangkok has won top honour as Best City – International category at the ceremony. In 2017 Thailand has received the Best Honeymoon Destination (International) and 2011,2014, 2015 and 2016 Thailand has received the best wedding destination and 2011 and 2015 as the best country awards from Travel + Leisure. The polling was conducted as a ... Read more

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said it is delighted to welcome the government’s decision to grant a visa-on-arrival fee waiver for tourists from 20 countries. From 15 November, 2018, to 13 January, 2018, citizens of Andora, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China including Taiwan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan will be exempted from the 2,000 Baht visa-on-arrival fee for the purpose of touring in Thailand not more than 15 days. “This is good news for Thailand’s tourism industry as we’re preparing a range of year-end activities ... Read more

A weekend of celebration has kicked off on November 7 at the Sheraton Cairo Hotel & Casino as it brought together guests, customers and locals to unveil its extensive transformation. Having been ingrained in the city for over four decades, Sheraton Cairo was not only an iconic venue but also one that has deep roots into the local community, which made it a natural host for Sheraton’s “Heart for the City” experiential tour’s third stop. The immersive experience captures Cairo’s heritage and brings to life legendary monuments that make Cairo magical. The Sheraton Cairo Hotel & Casino has stood as a ... Read more

The fifth edition of International Mountain Cycling Contest to be held at the hilly district of Wayanad in Kerala on December 8. MTB Kerala-2018 will be held at the Priyadarshini Tea Estate in Mananthavady. The logo of the event was released by Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran by handing it over to E M Najeeb, Senior Vice-President of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO). Tourism Additional Director Raghudasan, Cycling Federation of India Treasurer Jayaprakash, Magazine editor of Tourism India, Ravi Shankar and KATPS CEO Manesh Bhaskar were also present at the event. The event organized by Kerala Tourism, in association with Kerala ... Read more

Statue of Unity in Narmada district of Gujarat has attracted more than 1.28 lakh tourists so far, as per an official statement from the tourism department. Massive inflow of visitors were recorded during the weekend, with over 50,000 people visiting the world’s tallest statue at Kevadiya village on Saturday and Sunday alone (November 10- 11). “Since November 1, when the statue opened for the public, we have received around 1.28 lakh tourists (till Sunday),”said R G Kanungo, Superintending Engineer of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL). Sunday witnessed the largest number of visitors- 27,000  and over 24,000 tourists visited the ... Read more

Jenny Graham, a 38-year-old Scottish adventurer now holds the record of the fastest woman to cycle around the world. Jenny cycled 18,000 miles across four continents, travelling through 16 countries. Jenny started her journey from Berlin on June 16 and has returned to Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on October 18 after some 125 days, pocketing the world record. Jenny passed through Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Mongolia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US, Portugal, Spain and France. She took four flights and one boat during the journey. She also carried everything she needed with her. Jenny broke the record of Paola Gianotti ... Read more

India’s, cruise tourism industry is expected to expand in the coming years as the projected number of Indians to travel on international cruise is around 3 lakhs by 2020. Referring to a recent report of UNWTO, a senior official of the Indian representative of the Royal Caribbean Cruises, Tirun, said outbound travel from the country will hit 50 million by 2020, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing outbound markets. “We are looking at almost 3 lakh Indians to take an international cruise vacation by 2020,” said Varun Chadha, CEO of Tirun He further said like China, India has huge ... Read more