Category: Top Stories

President of Chile Michelle Bachelet and Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, President and CEO of Tompkins Conservation sign decrees creating 10 million acres of new National Parks. This includes Tompkins Conservation’s two flagship parks, Patagonia and Pumalín. The one million acres and world-class infrastructure they contain have been billed as the largest donation of land from a private entity to a country. This marks the culmination of the pledge that President Michelle Bachelet and Kristine McDivitt Tompkins signed in March 2017 to create a network of five new national parks in Chile and the expansion of three others. Together, they are adding a total of more than 10 million acres of new national parklands ... Read more

Due to heavy snowfall, high winds and avalanche hazard, The Peak Express, Harmony 6 Express, Symphony Express, and Whistler T-bars in Whistler, will not be in operation. On Blackcomb, The 7th Heaven Express, Glacier Express, and Showcase T-bar will not be in operation , all The Peak 2 Peak Gondola will also be on standby to start the day due to high winds. Alpine lifts and T-bars on both Whistler and Blackcomb will be closed today due to weather conditions, informed the authorities. The Crystal Ridge Express will be closed for the day due to high avalanche risk. Whistler Blackbomb has ... Read more

In an effort that would push forward long-term sustainability measures in the Kerala tourism scenario, the state’s Responsible Tourism Mission has braced itself to help local communities in setting up as many as 1000 new home stays and 300 farm houses. With potential entrepreneurs from the tiny hamlet of Thiruvarppu in Kottayam (Kerala) having come forward evincing interest in joining hands with the project, the Responsible Tourism Mission organized a meeting with applicants from the region who are keen on setting up home stays and farm houses on January 26 at the Kanjiram Service Cooperative Bank auditorium. The Responsible Mission, ... Read more

Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan, the newly appointed ISRO chairman told that they are testing new ‘electric propulsion’ system that would replace the conventional technique of using chemicals for combustion. Photo Courtesy: isro.gov.in The new technology that comes under electric propulsion also has the ability to reduce the total payload, that would further improve the efficiency and manufacturing cost. As a policy to establish technology for the common man, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conducted various departmental meetings to utilise space technology effectively. ISRO is currently serving various governmental and non-governmental departments in 125 areas to accomplish their desired tasks productively. ISRO ... Read more

Burj Khalifa in Dubai is inviting artists to showcase their work on its brand-new LED facade, which has been the centre of attraction of the ‘Light Up 2018’ Downtown Dubai spectacle. Designers and artists can compete by presenting their proposals and have their work displayed on the new facade. Artists from any nationality can submit the work. The submissions can also be made by individuals or groups. Ten creative works by 10 artists will be selected from the entries. The selected works will be displayed on Burj Khalifa’s LED facade. The creative works will also be featured on the tower’s ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: tripzilla The Philippines stands to gain in the influx of more Chinese visitors with the first-ever direct charter flight from Xiamen (XMN), a coastal city in Fujian Province of China to Puerto Princesa City (PSS), Palawan starting next month. The Department of Tourism (DoT) paved the way for the creation of the XMN-PPS route which will be launched by February 10 by C&D Travel Service China, a charter operator based in Xiamen, with Philippine Airline (PAL) as the partner carrier. “We continue to welcome more Chinese tourists to the country as part of the improved diplomatic relationship between Manila ... Read more

Acclaimed *Ottanthulal artist Kalamandalam Geethanandan died on Sunday around 8 pm while performing at Avittathur Mahavishnu Temple at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, Kerala. The 58-year-old, who had performed on more than 5,000 stages in India and abroad, collapsed on the stage and died during a stage performance. He was given first aid and taken to a hospital, but could not be saved. Geethanandan had been a faculty member at the Kalamandalam’s Ottanthulal department for more than 25 years. Geethanandan has also acted in many movies including Kamaladalam, Manasinakkare, Thoovalkottaram and Irattakuttikalude Achan. He won Veerasringala and Thullal Kalanidhi award and was the first artist ... Read more

Sheikha Hessa bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the mother of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, has died. UAE would observe three days of mourning beginning Sunday. Sheikha Hessa was the first wife of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE when the federation of seven sheikhdoms became a country in 1971. She gave birth in 1948 to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who became president after Sheikh Zayed’s death in 2004. Sheikh Khalifa is also the ruler of oil-rich Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

The Chief Minister of Assam Sarbanand Sonwal P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi inaugurated the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Integrated Terminal Building at LGBI airport in Guwahati. “Guwahati, our jewel of pride in the North-East, is all set to emerge as an aviation hub, augmenting the much needed capacity in the region,” said Ashok Gajapathi after the foundation stone laying ceremony. The terminal consists of the departure lobby, waiting lounge, check-in counters and boarding lobby. “This new terminal building will further boost regional and South East Asian connectivity,” said Sarbanand.

Turkey announced their new year 2018 as ‘The year of Troy’, with respect to celebrating the 20th anniversary of adding the old city of Canakkale on the UNESCO world heritage. Though Turkey has adopted various other possibilities in the field of tourism such as promoting their local cuisine, they have come up with a new approach to waking the global audience through the opening of Troy museum. The movie, which was a 2004 blockbuster and has fans from all over the world, generated with its distinctive characters featuring the history of Trojan War. The Turkish government thus predicts to draw ... Read more

Zero emission vehicles are the next futuristic approach by humans. For a consistent sustainable balance it is very important to reduce the pollution, especially from the automobile industry. In terms of eco-friendly vehicles, hydrogen is the next big term talked among the millions. The main challenge faced by the scientists in hydrogen cells were the use of Platinum as catalyst for the conversion of chemical energy into electric energy. As Platinum is too pricey, scientists in universities such as Stanford and California have developed cobalt as catalyst which is far cheaper than Platinum. Photo Courtesy:ssl.toyota.co As companies are in constant ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has opened an information counter at the first platform of Tirupati railway station. The kiosk was inaugurated by APTDC Chairman V Jayarami Reddy in the presence of Tirupati Station Director K Satyanarayana. “The counter will be of immense use to pilgrims who visit Tirupati. They can get entire information about all tourism destinations in the state from the counter and plan their programmes during their pilgrimage,” Jayarami Reddy said. The display at the counter itself creates interest to the passengers in waiting to know more information. Tickets for all APTDC tours can be booked ... Read more

The ASEAN National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) have agreed on concrete initiatives to further expand tourism facilities and infrastructure by focusing on attracting investments to the regional grouping. Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the agreement reached by the NTOs was definitely the right direction for ASEAN as it is headed to the future. “With the ASEAN family now consisting of over 600 million people, we need to enhance our collaboration to achieve economic stability,” he said. In line with this collaboration, Malaysia would co-organise the first ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Investment Seminar in association with the ... Read more

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Plenary Session of ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Stressing upon common cultural links between ASEAN nations and India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed that 2019 be declared “ASEAN-India Year of Tourism”. The PM also mentioned that the Buddhist Tourism circuit could be an important part of this to attract tourists and pilgrims from the region. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi delivering his opening remarks, at the ASEAN India Commemorative Summit, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Addressing the plenary session of the ASEAN-India commemorative summit, ... Read more

Bollywood heartthrob Ranveer Singh, Switzerland’s ambassador in India, has managed to drive a 25 per cent growth rate in the overnights in the Alpine nation. “We couldn’t be luckier to have Ranveer Singh as our brand and country ambassador. He has really boosted the image of Switzerland in terms of tourism to make it younger, fresher, more exciting and more active. This is exactly how we want to position Switzerland in future to place it as the most desirable outdoor destination and he is helping us in doing just that,” said Martin Nydegger, the newly appointed CEO of Switzerland Tourism. ... Read more