Category: Top Stories

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

Odisha Tourism launches special tour packages for the visitors to the state on the occasion of the Men’s Hokey World cup, which is scheduled on Wednesday, 28th November 2018 in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. The packages are titled ‘Odisha by Day Hockey by Night’. Visitors to the city will have the opportunity to roam around the capital city under these packages. Indian Hockey team in action (Photo for representative purpose only) By this offer, the tourism department aims at promoting sports tourism in the state, which includes enjoying the World Cup matches and also visiting the tourism hotspots ... Read more

The West Australian state government plans to make its first major investment in attracting Indian tourists to WA, including appointing a full time marketing representative in Mumbai. Details of the programmes will be announced by Paul Papalia, Tourism Minister of WA, during his visit to India shortly; while the focus will be on cricket. A co-operative marketing deal has been arranged with Thomas Cook, offering travel packages to Perth for the first cricket Test match at Optus Stadium in December. “Our extraordinary State has much to offer Indian travellers, whether they’re visiting for business, education or leisure,” said Papalia. “But ... Read more

Landwehr Orchestra The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will host Switzerland’s Landwehr Orchestra here on October 22 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, as part of their efforts to become a desirable destination hosting international events, Landwehr is the certified concert and marching band of the canton and city of Fribourg, and, since starting in 1804, has performed across the globe including Japan, China, Iran, USA, Argentina, Australia and Canada. This is the first time Landwehr is performing in India to celebrate 70 years of Indo-Swiss friendship. By hosting the well-known performance, MTDC aims to become an epicentre on the ... Read more

The Japanese government offers discounts to people to visit the northern island of Hokkaido, in order to reinstate tourism in the region, which was affected by a major earthquake early last month. The program named ‘Hokkaido recovery discount’ is for both Japanese and overseas visitors. Hokkadio during autumn For Japanese people, the government will bear 50 per cent of the accommodation costs for a one night stay, with a maximum subsidy of about USD 180. If the tourists stay at 2 locations, the subsidy will cover 60 per cent of the accommodation costs per night, with a total discount of ... Read more

China to open the world’s longest sea bridge for public on 23rd October 2018. The 55 km long bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao took six years of preparations and eight years for construction. Construction of the bridge began on 15 December 2009 and is expected to reduce travel time from Hong Kong to mainland China from three hours to 30 minutes. Major work on the bridge consisted of a 22.9 km long main bridge, a 6.7 km long tunnel and an artificial island off the bridge, which is considered the most technically demanding part of the whole construction. ... Read more

UAE to have major visa policy changes, which will came in to being from today, 21st October 2018. It is expected that the new visa rules will not just benefit expatriates, but boost the local economy as well. The visa policy changes include the extension of entry permits for visitors and visas for women. The Federal Authority for identity and Citizenship confirmed last week that it will begin extending the residency visa for widows and divorced women and their children for a year without a sponsor. The residency visas of students sponsored by the parents will also be renewed. The ... Read more

The country will offer endless colorful experiences to the millions of visitors expected for the celebrations of this millenary tradition as the festivities are set to begin in Mexico City on October 27 with the third edition of its spectacular Day of the Dead Parade. As Mexico prepares to celebrate the Day of the Dead, visitors from around the world are invited to experience this unique holiday. Every corner of the country, from the island of Janitzio in Michoacán, passing through the towns of Chiapas and the great Zócalo of Mexico City, will be dressed in color and tradition waiting ... Read more

Tourists thronging to the town of Habaraduwa, in Sri Lanka were welcomed by a signage which warns them not to wear improper swimwear to the beach. The signage, erected by the police, is all set t o be removed by the tourism department. Police has recently erected signs warning tourists against wearing “improper” swimwear to the beach — but the country’s tourism department is taking them down. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said that the signs, which depicted two women wearing bikinis, along with a large red ‘X’ over their photos, were placed at the popular resort destination of Habaraduwa ... Read more

Azerbaijan has its first National Tourism Summit on October 18, 2018. The event is organized by the State Agency for Tourism and the Bureau of Tourism of Azerbaijan. Representatives of government agencies, diplomatic corporations, personalities from tourism sector, local and foreign partner organizations and general public attended the summit. About 1,500 people participate in the event. While speaking on the occasion, Fuad Nagiyev, Chairman of the State Agency, reiterated the importance of developing tourism in Azerbaijan as one of the priority areas of the country’s economy. “Today is an important day for the State Agency for Tourism. As a state ... Read more

Non-stop flights between Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York will be launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on 28th October 2018. Though the inauguration of the direct flight is 10 days away, the vibe around it has warmed US travellers, who have made Kenya a sought after destination, surpassing the rival tourists locations such as Mexico, Italy and Europe. As per local media, bookings for December to Kenya were up by about 28 per cent from last year’s with one operator saying it had placed around USD 8 million worth of business to ... Read more

India is the biggest tourism markets for Dubai and it aims at doubling number of tourists in the coming years. Last year around 2.1 million Indians visited Dubai. In order to achieve the target, Dubai is planning to enhance the air connectivity with India. “Air connectivity at present is not enough; we are running at almost full capacity. With the kind of campaigns we are running, demand will increase further. We are working with Indian carriers to facilitate dialogue with the civil authorities and the airports in Dubai to make it easier for them to bring in more capacity,” said ... Read more

Thailand has witnessed a 2.13 per cent increase in tourist arrivals in September compared to the same period last year.  “The number of Chinese visitors declined for three consecutive months,” said the Tourism Ministry in a statement. There were 2.66 million foreign tourists in September, which helped generate ฿140 billion (RM17 billion), said the statement. Tourists from East Asia accounted for about 73 per cent of all arrivals. However, the number of Chinese tourists in September dropped by almost 15% from a year earlier. The number has been declining since a boat accident in July, which killed 47 Chinese visitors. ... Read more

A website, ‘Join My Wedding,’ allows foreign visitors to pay and attend grandeur wedding ceremonies in India, with a fees. Marriage ceremonies in India are usually grand multi-day celebrations with their opulent decor, meaningful traditions, and lively receptions. Foreign tourists would have attended Indian weddings to experience the charm and diversity prevailing in each region. Now with this website tourists get an opportunity to attend a wedding ceremony, which they can select from the website and be part of it. The practice is getting popularity among foreign tourists and a new tourism sector has evolved with a name ‘wedding tourism’. ... Read more