Category: Top Stories

Fazilka is a small city near the Indo-Pak border. Though not ranked among the best tourist spots in the country, the city is now aiming to make a mark on the tourism map. The plan is to make the city into a tourist area by encouraging border area tourism. The venture is planned with the support of civil society, hospitality industry and district administration. They had conducted a conference named ‘Fazilka Rising’, in order to discuss on utilizing city’s tourism potential. The delegates from Punjab Tourism Department also attended the conference along with other major dignitaries from the hospitality industry. ... Read more

Time for Madhya Pradesh to be proud again as Indore has been ranked as the cleanest city for the second time in a row by the Union Urban Affairs Ministry. However, the glory doesn’t limit to it as the state capital Bhopal flowed Indore as the second best cleanest city in the country. Chandigarh was picked as the third cleanest city. Indore to Madhya Pradesh is compared to what Mumbai is to India. The district has a prominent part in the growth of the state as it contributes around 35 per cent of the state’s GDP. Aided by a lot ... Read more

Two projects worth Rs 48 crore was approved by the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) in a plan to encourage tourism in Tripura, said State Tourism Minister Pranajit Singha Roy. The allotted funds will be used for repairing and developing two roads that connect Chabimura and Tirthamuk, two tourism spots at Amarpur sub-division in Gomati district. The projects were approved last week in New Delhi at a meeting of the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme, an inter-ministerial body. Chabimura, on the hills on the bank of river Gomati is famous for its rock carvings dating ... Read more

The 53 member countries of the Antarctic Treaty at their annual meeting held in Buenos Aires warned that tourism should be regulated in Antarctica urgently owing to the environmental threats it possesses. According to French authorities, 44,000 tourists visited Antarctica during the austral summer of 2016-17 when compared with just 9,000 tourists in 1995-96. Segolene Royal, French ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic poles, said that with the lack of rules and regulations, travel agencies offer trips to Antarctica on boats equipped with helicopters or submarines occasionally. “These activities create considerable disturbance. We are witnessing a race toward large-scale tourism ... Read more

The Uttarakhand cabinet followed a unique way to promote its tourism, as they met for the first time in a floating restaurant on the charming Tehri Lake. The ministers headed by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat met inside ‘Floating Marina’, the boat which served as the restaurant in the middle of the lake. The cabinet approved 12 decisions during the meeting which will enhance the state’s tourism and aid better use of natural resources. The main decision in the meeting was to develop 13 new tourists in the state. The 13 destinations will be developed with one each in all ... Read more

The first Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) run by an all-woman team has started operations in Phagwara, Punjab. The seva kendra was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Sampla in the local head Post Office. Though the new Seva Kendra was 192nd POPSK in the country, it was the first one to be operated by an all-woman team. “It was part of the Centre’s initiative for women empowerment,” Sampla said. The Phagwara Kendra will be headed by department’s Verification Officer Madhuri Bhavi. The other two women staff members — Postal Assistants — will be from the Post Office Department. The printing and issuing ... Read more

BLS International has opened their new Spain Visa Application Centre (VACs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company operates 124 visa application centres in 49 countries for Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación). The new Spain VAC was formally inaugurated in the presence of the Ambassador of Spain in Saudi Arabia along with senior officials from BLS International Services Ltd. “This new and revamped Visa Application Center is the result of our effort to adapt our service to visitors coming from Saudi Arabia and in particular to the 73,000 Saudi tourists that arrive to ... Read more

With an aim to address the safety and efficiency concerns that lack air navigational infrastructure in India, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed a Rs 945 crore deal  with Harris Corporation. The 15-year-contract was signed by A K Banerjee, ED (CNS-OM) and Rick Simonian, VP, Harris Corporation at the 6th US-India Aviation Summit, held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai. As part of the deal, Harris Corporation will serve as the prime contractor and systems integrator for the programme, which is to be implemented over a period of two years. “India’s exponential air traffic growth is creating demand for ... Read more

For the first time, an International Rail Coach Expo (IRCE) to focus on Rail Coaches and train sets, is being held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, from 17th to 19th May, 2018. Many reputed rail car and equipment builders will be showcasing their technology and products to be held at the ICF RPF Parade Grounds, Chennai. It will be a unique platform to bring different suppliers under one roof and create synergy for “Make in India”. The expo is being hosted by Integral Coach Factory, popularly known as ICF, under the Ministry of Railways, in coordination with CII (Confederation of Indian ... Read more

Didier Dogley takes charge as the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Seychelles. Formerly, the minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, he was assigned the new portfolio in a Cabinet reshuffle announced by President Danny Faure. Dogley has already moved into his new office at Botanical House. Didier Dogley was first appointed Minister in February 2015, and assigned the Environment, Energy and Climate Change portfolio. He had previously held high level positions in that same ministry including the post of Director General, Principal Secretary and Special Advisor. “In a world where unspoiled natural landscapes and seascapes are ... Read more

Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has recently organised a destination showcase for Maldives in Mumbai, India, branded as Maldivian Night. More than 200 travel professionals from the two countries attended this exclusive event, hosted at the Four Seasons, Mumbai. Maldivian Night was conducted as a business networking event, where Maldivian hoteliers and Travel agents had the opportunity to meet with more than 150 prominent travel agents and tour operators from India. Around eight Maldivian companies took part in the business networking event. The event was concluded with an entertainment evening, to promote and feature Maldives Travel Awards. ... Read more

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, and Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, announced that they have renewed and expanded their partnership until the end of 2022. Emirates has been an F1 Global Partner since 2013, and the renewed agreement will see the airline enjoy an expanded branding and consumer activation presence at over 15 races on the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar across Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America. The renewed agreement, which came into effect at the start of the current 2018 season in March with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, also includes Emirates ... Read more

Emirates, the largest international airline in the world, announced it will start a daily service between Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, and Dubai, from 1 October 2018. Edinburgh will become Emirates’ second destination in Scotland after Glasgow and its 8th in the United Kingdom after the airline starts its daily service to London Stansted in June. The new service will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three class cabin configuration, with 8 private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. The Scottish capital, with its Old Town ... Read more

Privatisation of the maintenance of airport terminals was a plan initiated by the previous UPA government, which has faced a roadblock as the employee unions started protesting against the move. The current plan is to privatise at least eight government-owned airports — Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati. The civil aviation ministry is believed to be having discussions on designing the model on how the airports would be bid out and is likely the airports will be bid out for 30 years and the tariffs will be fixed upfront. Under the two models being examined, one is ... Read more

Relief for the Bangladesh tourists, as from May 20th they can walk-in and submit their applications at the Indian Visa Application Centers (IVACs) in Sylhet, Mymensingh and Barishal without prior appointment. The new move is to further relax, streamline and ease access for Bangladesh nationals to Indian visas as part of ongoing plans of Indian High Commission. The applications will be accepted at the centres from 8am-12pm. “These measures are aimed at easing access to the Indian visa and strengthening people-to-people contacts between India and Bangladesh,” the High Commission said. There is no change in the existing schemes for submission ... Read more