Category: Top Stories

KTDC Samudra, Kovalam Adding to its portfolio of new products, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has unveiled Premium Life Membership and Institutional Membership cards for individuals and institutions at affordable rates, offering seven nights of free stay in a year and substantial discounts on all its premium facilities, including hotels at hill stations and beach resorts. The scheme will be formally launched by state Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac in the presence of Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, in Thiruvananthapuram on November 1. The fee for Premium Life membership has been fixed at Rs 10 lakh and for institutional membership ... Read more

Jatayu Earths Center is one of the the latest attractions of Kerala, located at Chadayamangalam in Kollam. The tourists spot includes the sculpture of the great mythical bird Jatayu mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana, cable car – fully manufactured in Switzerland, adventure park and helicopter local flying service. The sculpture at the Earth Centre is considered the largest bird sculpture in the world. This is the first time the state to have helicopter local flying service as part of a tourism project. Besides the scenic beauty and the serene atmosphere, Jatayu Earths Center is going to be a perfect ... Read more

Etihad Airways will introduce Boeing 787-9 on its daily scheduled services from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, effective 20 December this year, and to Brussels, effective 3 January 2019. The new two-class 787 Dreamliner service features Etihad Airways’ next-generation Business and Economy Class cabins, configured with 299 seats – 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. “Kuala Lumpur and Brussels are two very important destinations on the Etihad network, popular with both business and leisure customers and we are delighted to be introducing the 787-9 Dreamliner on these routes. Our customers can expect the quietest cabins and our latest ... Read more

The Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will lay the foundation for India’s largest Dry Dock at Cochin Shipyard in Kerala tomorrow. The Dry Dock will give an impetus to “Make in India” initiative under Sagarmala and raise India’s share in global shipbuilding to 2 percent. India currently occupies 0.66 per cent share in global shipbuilding market. The commercial ship building industry in India is worth Rs. 3,200 crore and focuses primarily on small-medium sized offshore vessels and cargo/bulk carriers. At present, Cochin ... Read more

After the devastating floods in the second week of August, climate experts have predicted severe summer and drought ahead. To combat this, the state government is planning to bring mini water mist fire tenders to efficiently combat forest fire during the coming summer. In 2016, the state received 165 satellite-based fire-alerts from the Forest Fire Alert System, a national database maintained by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun. During the 2009-10 period, the state lost over 5,000 hectares of pristine forest land to fire. In February 2017, a raging forest fire reduced 100 hectares of grassland and verdant forest to ashes. There ... Read more

Climbing the Chembra peak in Wayanad is every traveller’s dream. But, the district authorities have closed in January due to drought in the hills. After nine long months, the peak is now open for tourists. The tourism department had reconstructed the road from Meppadi to Chembra Peak spending Rs 1.8 crore. But, a portion of the road was washed away during the monsoon and around 50 metres had to be rebuilt, the District Tourism Promotion Council said in a press release. Though the peak is now open for tourists, the forest department, the custodian of the peak, has decided to restrict the number ... Read more

Chief Minister Pema Khandu with other guests Arunachal Pradesh’s 6th Tawang Festival, themed ‘Environment and nature’, kick started on Friday, 26th October 2018. Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated the festival. The festival began with Drekar, a monologue wishing wellbeing to the sentient beings, which was followed by Tashi Choepa, the offering of songs to the gods. The objective of the festival is to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Tawang and boost tourism in the district. Cultural groups from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to participate in the festival Cultural troupes from Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh also ... Read more

New Delhi-based Drukpa Charitable Trust has organized a 140 Km long ‘Eco Padyatra’ with an aim to promote Buddhist tourism and create awareness to protect environment. More than hundred Buddhist monks, nuns and followers of Buddhism from across the world have been participating in the padyatra The eight-day walkathon was flagged off by Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda at Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. The eco padyatra, will cover many Buddhist heritage sites in the State including Khandagiri, Udayagiri, Dhauligiri, Lalitgiri and Ratnagiri. The padyatra will conclude at Ratnagiri on October 31. “We have started the 16th eco padyatra from ... Read more

Leading designers of rugged, lightweight mobile accessories, UAG, have officially launched their global #BuiltToGoFurther Campaign film featuring seven of Instagram’s best outdoor photographers. UAG invited notable content creators, @ArtofVisuals, @Emmett_Sparling, @ItsBigBen, @shortstache, @kylevandever, @braedin, and @lostintheforrest on an epic adventure to the farthest place from home– New Zealand. Created around UAG’s core tenants of making gear that is built to take you further, the trip was designed to push the influencers skill sets, abilities, equipment, and creativity further to see what comes of it. “Sitting in our office in Southern California, we were brainstorming ideas for the year, and it ... Read more

Salalah, the gateway to Oman’s most southerly governate of Dhofar, has been one of the sought after tourist places in the Middle East during the soaring summer season from 21st June to 21st September 2018. As per the statistics revealed by The National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI), 826,376 tourists visited Salalah during this period, citing a record hike of around 28 per cent against the same period in 2017. As per the reports, around 94.4 per cent of tourists visited Salalah for recreational and entertainment purposes.  779,703 tourists visited Salalah with this purpose during this period, which were 604,774 ... Read more

Tianjin, China China Ministry tor Culture and Tourism to conduct the 10th China Tourism Industries Expo in Tianjin from 9th to 11th November 2018 As per an official from the Tianjin Tourism Bureau, the expo, which is jointly hosted by the ministry and Tianjin Municipal People’s Government, is expected to attract more than 700 companies and nearly 300,000 visitors. The expo consists of seven themed sections showcasing tourism products of different categories, most notably the ones involving countries along the Belt and Road. Several seminars on topics covering the innovative development of city tourism, and Internet and big data, will ... Read more

The distance between Kochi and Munnar (by road) is approximately 130 km. It will take approximately 4 hours to drive up to Munnar. The road from Kochi to Munnar is extremely scenic, and we recommend having your cameras at the ready for this trip. You may halt at your convenience anytime, anywhere and enjoy your short break. With Savaari’s user-friendly website, you can book taxi online in a few simple steps and avail hassle free car rental service. Hiring a cab ensures that Kochi to Munnar Distance will be covered in optimal time. With Savaari’s chauffeur driven cars, you don’t ... Read more

For the first time in India, a railway station will be built inside a tunnel at a height of 3,000 metres, on the strategic Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line close to the Sino-India border. Once completed, the Keylong station in Himachal Pradesh will be the first on the railway network to be inside a tunnel. Keylong is the administrative centre of Lahaul and Spiti district, 26 km north of Manali and 120 km from the Indo-Tibetan border. “The Keylong station, in the project, will be inside the tunnel according to the first phase of the location survey. This will be the first such railway station ... Read more

Design of Kampot International Tourism Port, Cambodia Cambodia and Thailand have inked an agreement to cooperate on marine tourism, linking the tourism ports of the two countries. The agreement has come in to being during the 4th meeting of Cambodia-Thailand Working Group on Tourism Cooperation. Thong Rathsak, Cambodia’s Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation and Arrun Boonchai ,Thai Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Tourism and Sports co-chaired the meeting. As per the agreement, both countries will cooperate on marine tourism linking Koh Samui of Surathany province, Thailand to the International Tourism Port of Kampot province. Koh Samui Port, ... Read more

Tourist arrivals in the Maldives increased by 8 per cent in the first three quarters of 2018, with over 1 million visitors visiting the island country from January to September statistics from the Maldives Tourism Ministry. According to official figures, over 100,000 tourists visited the Maldives in September, up 1.5 percent compared to the same period last year. In total, 1,080,459 tourists have arrived in the holiday islands so far this year. The Tourism Ministry said China remains the largest source market with 222,108 arrivals so far this year, representing a market share of 20.6 per cent. The other leading markets ... Read more