Category: Top Stories

It is recently found that a coffin at the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum, which was thought to be empty all these years had a 2,500-year-old Egyptian mummy inside it. The coffin was originally bought from an antiquity market in Egypt back in 1858, by Sir Charles Nicholson, one of the first chancellors at the University of Sydney. “We expected a few bandages or maybe a couple of bones, but when we took the lid off we were just astonished by what we had found. The coffin was made for a lady called Mer-neith-ites and we know that she lived in Egypt ... Read more

China has the most number of outbound travellers these days. However, China is also aiming at enticing more tourists to the country too. Lot of initiatives are being taken for that and the latest to the list is the launch of Anhui tourism promotion center in New York on Monday. Organized and managed by Anhui Provincial Commission of Tourism Development, the center will offer travellers with multiple tourist routes like ‘Ancient Anhui Tour’, ‘Anhui Cultural Tour’ and ‘Mt. Huangshan Tour’. Anhui, located at eastern part of China, has an array of prime picturesque spots and has attracted large number of ... Read more

Around half a million tourists have visited the Maldives in the first quarter of this year. Chinese tourists contributed to the growth in arrivals. A total of 539,816 travelers arrived between January and April, registering a 12.7 per cent increase from last year’s 478,827 tourists who arrived during the same period. According to statistics released, a total of 87,632 Chinese travelers have visited Maldives between January and April, which is up 16 per cent, followed by Italy which saw a 9 per cent growth, both Britain and Germany with a 8 per cent growth and Russia with a 6 per ... Read more

The statistics released by West Midlands Growth Company and research body Global Tourism Solutions (GTS) shows that the city of Birmingham had a boom in tourism sector recording a tourist footfall of 41.8 million in 2017. The total expenditure of the tourists amounted to £7.1 billion, registering a growth of 9 per cent in a year. The average hotel occupancy recorded 75 per cent, same as that in 2016. The RevPAR (revenue per available room) recorded £51 in value, marking the highest figure ever recorded. The growth in tourism industry has led to a rise in number of jobs from ... Read more

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced the country will “very soon” follow Rwanda’s example allowing all Africans to travel to the country without visa. The policy will open up the east African country to African visitors, and it will boost tourism. The plan was announced during a state banquet hosted by Prime Minister Abiy for Rwandan President Paul Kagame who is in Ethiopia on a three-day official visit. The Prime Minister did not give any specific details of the plan to allow visa free travel to all Africans. As part of the visit, President Kagame also visited Hawassa Industrial Park which ... Read more

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea project said it will offer visas on arrival for overseas visitors following the creation of a company to deliver the ambitious project. The project marked a milestone recently with its incorporation as a standalone closed joint-stock company, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), wholly owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The newly-incorporated company will now move forward with the creation of its Special Economic Zone, with its own regulatory framework, it said in a statement. The framework will be separate from the base economy, with a special emphasis on environmental sustainability, and will be offering ... Read more

Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department is planning to implement a Management Information System (MIS) in order to keep an eye on the speed and real-time development of progressing works. This is an initiative by the tourism department to speed up the various ongoing projects under the Government of India and state government schemes. As per reports, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been given the task to develop a Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Software with some exclusive features. Around 50 officials in various departments of the tourism department would be given separate login id and passwords so that they can ... Read more

Aruba Airlines has launched what can be called one of the shortest flights in the world. The airlines has introduced a flight connecting Venezuela and Aruba, which can be reached in 10 minutes. Just 50 miles (80 km) separate the two airports in Aruba (AUA) and Punto Fijo (LSP) in northern Venezuela. The two countries, however, are separated by only 15 miles (24 km). The flight, which was inaugurated late last week, will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays, with connections to Curacao, Bonaire and Miami. Prices for the short journey starts at $215. In January, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro had ... Read more

As a way to bring in major growth in tourism sector, Indonesia is eyeing France, a major force in European tourist market by associating with French travel organizers. Deputy Tourism Minister Nia Niscava, who also oversees the marketing growth in Europe, said the association with local French travel agents and organizers will definitely result in the increase of French tourists to the country. The ongoing talk with the French travel agencies and organizers have already resulted in surveying places and accommodations in Bali from July to August by them to bring in considerable number of French tourists to the much ... Read more

Delta Air Lines has announced it will resume nonstop flights next year between United States and India’s financial capital, Mumbai. The airline is crediting recent U S agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over alleged subsidies to three big Arabian Gulf carriers that also fly to India. Delta said it will announce the schedule details later this year. It also has plans to sell other flights within India on partner Jet Airways. Atlanta-based Delta stopped their services to India in 2015, leaving United Airlines as the only US carrier flying to Mumbai and Delhi. Trump administration deals with Qatar ... Read more

In a move to promote Las Vegas as tourist destination, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will spend $101.5 million from the operation budget for advertising in the next fiscal year. The authority’s board of directors approved $359.8 million as operating budget on Thursday and decided to spend more than a quarter of this amount to advertise the destination. The authority mainly aims at filling around 1,50,000 rooms daily by advertising, special events and through domestic and international public relations. The plan comes on a time when Las Vegas has experienced a decline in the number of tourists ... Read more

After the tourism sector boomed greatly last year, the city has decided to rise the funding to $2.5 million for major events as the city likes to keep the tourism boom intact. The city officials believe that the new municipal accommodation tax which was implemented from January this year will guarantee investments that will endorse and develop Ottawa’s tourism industry and further boost the tourism industry’s boom in 2017. The city expects $5,00,000 of the planned tax revenue will go to the convention development fund, which will be used to draw more international and corporate conventions to Ottawa by Ottawa ... Read more

Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) has launched a new digital campaign on www.axiagiaolous.gr, which will highlight the value of the country’s tourism in accordance with employment, revenue, growth and social cohesion. The campaign is marketed under the slogan ‘Tourism: Value for All’. The campaign driven by social media aims at spreading the impact of tourism across all regions and every aspect of society. The campaign under the tag #kiomos , which means ‘yes, indeed’ in Greek, will bring in 12 real-life professionals who are involved directly or indirectly in tourism sector, which includes a chef, a mechanic, a theater clerk, a salesperson, a ... Read more

Tourism Kelowna will be the first organization in the Thompson-Okanagan region to initiate a new industry sustainability project. The project made by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), the Biosphere Certification Adhesion Program will be launched in Kelowna first, followed by Kamloops and other places across the region. Based on TOTA’s ‘Drive for Sustainability’ plan, the project will bring together community stakeholders to work together and execute long-term stewardship of local tourism while offering visitors an ‘authentic, remarkable experience’. Five years ago, TOTA had decided to expand the tourism business window from traditionally 45 days in the summer to 200 ... Read more

As a step to improve the tourism sector of Malaysia, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has strengthened calls for abolishing Tourism Tax (TTx). The tax was implemented on September last year for foreigners at a flat rate of 10 Malaysian Ringgit (RM10) per room for a night at hotels and other private lodgings. However, MATTA believes that the tourism tax had a reverse impact on tourism industry, especially in the case of price sensitive tourists as well as long-haul travellers who like long holidays in the country. The tourist industry in ASEAN countries had recorded good ... Read more