Category: Top Stories

The official closing ceremony of the Greece-Russia Year of Tourism 2017-2018 will be held in Athens on November 23. “The developments relating to the “Greece-Russia Year of Tourism” initiative were discussed in a recent meeting in Moscow between vice president of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), Angeliki Chondromatidou and Russia’s new Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Olga Yarilova,” said the Tourism Ministry in a statement. The Greece-Russia Year of Tourism 2017-2018 is an initiative of the tourism ministries of Greece and Russia that was inaugurated in 2017. The GNTO’s vice president is Greece’s head of the initiative. During ... Read more

Sree Narayana Guru The union ministry of tourism has approved in principle the Sree Narayana Guru Spiritual Tourism Circuit proposed by Kerala Tourism. The project will link all the places related to Sree Narayana Guru, the social reformer of Kerala. The Tourism Ministry has also sanctioned Rs 70 crore for the project by including it under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. However, Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the state government have asked for Rs 118 crore for the project. Sree Narayana Guru was born in 1856 C.E. in the village of Chempazhanthi in Thiruvananthapuram. He is considered among the greatest ... Read more

Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council Ruler of Sharjah, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) recently announced the launch of the development and redesigning project of Khorfakkan Beach. The project aligns with Shurooq’s strategy to integrate tourism and family destinations across the emirate of Sharjah. The project includes the establishment of service facilities and world-class hospitality amenities to host recreational activities. This adds to the tourism appeal of Khorfakkan city and the east coast in general, which enjoys a list of natural landscapes, mountains and climate. Due ... Read more

Fiji is aiming at enhancing its infrastructure to improve tourism in the country. It also plans to increase export to Australia. As per Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, Fijian minister for Industry, Trade, Tourism, Lands and Mineral Resources, Fiji is expanding infrastructure to boost tourism. It was disclosed by the minister while in a meeting with Mark Coulto, Australian assistant minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in Momi Bay, at the Australia-Fiji Business Forum. “We are expanding our ports and making them more efficient. We are enhancing our national infrastructure to a new standard of climate resilience and we are extending essential ... Read more

Renounced tourist destination of Philippines – Boracay island – will reopen on October 26th 2018, but with restrictions to the number of tourists. The island was closed for six months as a rehabilitation effort of the environment. Boracay, located off the northern tip of the central island of Panay, is popular for its sugary white sands, greenish blue waters, lively nightlife and the availability of varied water sports, which attracted nearly 2 million domestic and foreign visitors last year. During last April, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure of the island, calling it a ‘cesspool’, as sewage and wastes were ... Read more

Photos courtesy: Fotolia It comes as no surprise that the “workaholic” mindset of many Americans can affect people’s willingness to take vacation days for traveling. However, work isn’t the only culprit hindering American’s travel. A study by Project: Time Off found the three top reasons why people don’t use their vacation days to travel are cost, children and pets. Despite citing pets as a barrier to travel, 60 per cent of pet owners surveyed said they would like to break the working routine and explore. “Traveling can be stressful for people and pets,” said Jessa Paschke, behavior and training specialist at ... Read more

Maya Beach – crowded with tourists and speed boats Maya Bay, on Phi Phi Leh island in the Andaman Sea of Thailand, which was the set for the Hollywood film ‘The Beach’, has closed indefinitely to give its ecosystem to recover. The beach has become famous after the shooting of the film acted by Leonardo DiCaprio. It is estimated that around 6,000 tourists visited the beach every day, traversing in speedboat from the nearby resort islands of PhiPhi and Phuket and Krabi on the mainland. It is said to have affected the eco-system, especially the marine life like coral reefs ... Read more

With longer working hours, constant digital contact and increasing obligations, it’s no wonder more people are treating themselves to solo trips to (temporarily) get away from it all! According to a survey by Agoda, one of the world’s fastest-growing online travel agents (OTA), travellers are choosing to go solo to take respite from the stresses of modern living. Agoda’s ‘Solo Travel Trends 2018’ survey, conducted by YouGov, found that relaxation and time to unwind is the number one motivator for solo leisure travel globally (61 per cent), which compares to 48 per cent when traveling with friends. Solo travellers surveyed also ... Read more

Almost 25 per cent of travellers say that they are not at all concerned about security when using WiFi in an airport or on a plane, according to a recent survey by the GO Group, LLC, an international ground transportation provider. However, 48 per cent said they were somewhat concerned. Only 19 per cent of the 293 respondents were very concerned while nine per cent said they never thought about their security while online at airports on planes. “Travelers need to be aware that it is not overly difficult for criminals to steal personal information when people use WiFi networks ... Read more

Proposed stage of the event Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui autonomous region of China to host the final of Miss Tourism of the Globe contest 2018, which is taking place from 7th to 14th October, 2018. This is the first time, China is hosting the event. The city is going to host the event for forthcoming five years. With this event, the government of Zhongwei aims to promote the city internationally and expects the event to give the local tourism industry and the economy a strong boost. Forty contestants from 70 different countries and regions will take part in this year’s event, ... Read more

IndiGo is planning to launch non-stop flights between Kuala Lumpur-Bangalore and Kuala Lumpur-Delhi. The new flight routes will come into effect from November 15 onwards. The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers from these cities. “We are pleased to announce Kuala Lumpur as our 12th international destination effective November 2018. Malaysia provides a complete package for business travellers, holiday makers, the meeting and conference segment. We see great potential on the India- Malaysia route due to the extensive cultural, business and tourism links between the two countries,” said William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo. “IndiGo will ... Read more

Marriott International reveals Robust expansion plans across Africa. The hospitality major said it is also expecting to increase portfolio by 50 per cent with over 200 hotels and 38,000 rooms by 2023. From the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in Nairobi, Kenya, Marriott International today announced rapid expansion plans across Africa. Strong demand for select-service brands and conversion opportunities are driving the momentum of growth for the company, amplified by five new hotel signings. The new signings will further consolidate Marriott International’s presence in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa and mark the company’s entry into Mozambique. The signings put ... Read more

Backwaters of Alappuzha are in the process of revival after the chaos of the rain and floods. In order to convey the message that Alappuzha is ready to receive tourists to its backwaters, the Alappzuha District Tourism Promotion Council is organizing a campaign with the tag line ‘Back to Backwaters’. The authorities are planning to have boat rally from the finishing point of the Nehru trophy boat race.The event will start on 5th October at 8:00 Am, with a bike rally of women, which will start from Alappuzha beach and conclude at the boat race finishing point. A photo exhibition ... Read more

Tocklai Tea Research Institute Foundation stone for a Tea Tourism Center has laid by Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam at Tocklai Tea Research Institute in Jorhat on 30th September 2018. The Tea Tourism Center to be built under the signature project of the state, ‘Uttaran Scheme’. Speaking on the occasion, Sonoval said that the tea industry of Assam has been facing tough competition in the world tea market, especially due to entry of new countries in the tea production sector. “In order to put up with the challenging situation, the state tea industry have to upgrade the quality of ... Read more

The hill state of Sikkim has got its first airport only recently and it is expected to be fully operational by October first week. The state and the residents are expecting that the new airport will bring fortune for the state in the form of tourism and agricultural development. The airport at Pakyong was inaugurated on September 24 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Spread over 990 acres, the airport is located 35 km south of Gangtok. At 4,500 feet above sea level, it is among the five highest airports in the country. “This new airport has created a sensation among ... Read more