Category: Top Stories

The Airline Industry of India is currently seeing a dip of a 15% drop in domestic flight bookings due to the implementation of the new rules by local governments and authorities in various destinations that require travelers from certain states to carry Covid-19 negative test reports. The decision had an adverse impact on bookings in the past one week for travel one month out. Various states and local governments have made it mandatory for passengers, especially from Maharashtra and Kerala currently topping the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases, to carry negative results of RT-PCR tests conducted within 72 hours ... Read more

Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a joint venture of Tata  Group and Singapore Airlines, has inaugurated its non-stop flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, under the travel bubble agreement between India and Germany. The inaugural flight, operated by Vistara’s brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, departed Delhi at 0330 hours (IST) today and landed in Frankfurt at 0755 hours (CET). The airline will fly between the two cities twice a week – on Thursdays and Saturdays. Vistara’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Leslie Thng, said, “The launch of our services to Frankfurt is another important step ahead in our commitment towards growing our ... Read more

Kerala, globally renowned as the God’s Own Country, is celebrated for its eclectic and diverse cuisine experiences. Kerala Cuisine Contest 2020 (KCC2020), the International Online Cooking Competition conducted by Kerala Tourism, is a unique campaign aimed at inviting travellers across the globe to experience Kerala’s yummy delicacies. Some of the iconic and traditional dishes of Kerala are featured on this page. All you need to do is to cook any of these dishes at home and share the video with us. Exciting prizes await you! Of course, it’s not about the taste or the aroma but the way you celebrate ... Read more

As New York City restaurants reopened indoor dining rooms at 35% capacity on Friday, the Peter Luger Steak House and Madame Tussauds New York wax museum joined forces to welcome diners back in a fun way and to enforce social distancing guidelines. Wax figures of Audrey Hepburn, dressed as her character Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” sitting in front of a Martini, and Jon Hamm as his character Don Draper in “Mad Men” holding an Old Fashioned cocktail, greeted customers while waiters rushed by with plates of sizzling steaks. The coronavirus pandemic hit New York establishments especially hard, where, ... Read more

Wakayama Prefecture, found just south of Osaka in western Japan, has been voted the winner of the Sustainability category for Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards. There were a total of 3 categories this year: Diversity, Sustainability and Community. Wakayama is easily accessible from major cities but a world away, filled with sacred pilgrimage routes, mountain retreats and majestic cedar trees. Wakayama has cultivated a reputation throughout Japan as being a natural and spiritual heartland, and its conservation efforts and sustainable practices have undoubtedly left a lasting impression on travellers. It is no wonder that Wakayama stands ... Read more

Like those precious gems hidden away under the ocean and upon the mountains, some of the beautiful places in the state are still stashed away in deep folds of nature, and you’d have to walk a bit of ground to get to it. Conolly’s Plot is one such place a nature lover must explore someday. An exclusive place dedicated to teak and it is one of the oldest teak plantations in the world – the Conolly’s Plot. Named after H. V. Conolly, then Collector of Malabar, in 1842 initiated the action to plant teak here and that resulted in the ... Read more

Las Vegas is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with COVID-19. Some clubs and pools are planning to reopen in March. After months of closures and restrictions from state mandates due to quarantine, this is definitely exciting news. Las Vegas’s livelihood depends on the clubs and their customers, representing millions of dollars from their properties. Of course, operations won’t return to normal all at once. But in reality, this is the new normal, isn’t it? For indoor clubs, bartenders, servers, hosts, security, and other staff won’t fully return to work just yet. The best that can happen is restrictions ... Read more

As India is in Unlock phase now and the Ministry of Tourism and its field Offices are organizing and supporting different tourism promotion events under “Dekho Apna Desh” Campaign showcasing various tourism assets and products of the country with an aim to create awareness among the stakeholders and citizens. Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Kochi Office in association with Kerala Homestays and Tourism Society (HATS), recently organized a workshop for sensitizing homestay / B&B unit owners on the Ministry of Tourism’s scheme for homestays / B&B units. The workshop also imparted information on NIDHI &SAATHI certification which was specially introduced ... Read more

Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) — one of India’s biggest and prolific tourism meets has got off to a great start with governor Arif Mohammed Khan inaugurating the Mart through Video conferencing. In his speech, he drew attention to the need to highlight domestic tourism for better collaboration among different states and even greater understanding between people. The event of 11th KTM which is held on a virtual platform for the first time aims to engage around 500 international buyers and 650 domestic buyers, facilitating 15,000 meetings between these buyers and exhibitors from all over Kerala. Speaking at the inauguration he ... Read more

More than 200,000 Buddhist devotees gathered via Zoom video link on Friday to attend an annual prayer and lantern ritual held in Thailand to mark Makha Bucha Day, one of the religion’s holiest holidays. The ritual began with a prayer in Pali, the language of ancient Buddhist scriptures, from a podium inside a sacred stupa after which hundreds of saffron-robed monks lit a sea of lanterns amid chanting. Makha Bucha Day, one of the most important Buddhist festivals, usually attracts tens of thousands of believers to the Dhammakaya Temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. But this year the temple has ... Read more

Uttar Pradesh got its third international airport in the form of Kushinagar. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri informed that the Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh has got the necessary clearances from aviation regulator DGCA to operate international flights from the facility. In a tweet, Puri said that this will help boost tourism in the region. “Kushinagar to become 3rd licensed international airport of UP. Will boost tourism in the region and facilitate travel on the Buddhist circuit by providing direct aviation connectivity to the city where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana.” Here is all you need to ... Read more

India is known as the land of ancient sciences of healing that have been passed down over the centuries. Strengthening the country’s position as a global hub of spiritual and wellness tourism, Taj Wellness Retreats are curated itineraries that include relaxation therapies, wellness cuisine, yoga, and meditation. Delivered by professional practitioners trained and guided by the Jiva philosophy deep-rooted in the Indian traditions of Ayurveda and holistic wellbeing, these retreats are designed to help you find the perfect balance. You can now embark on a journey of rejuvenation in Kerala with its breath-taking coastlines and meandering backwaters, which offer the ... Read more

The Ministry of Jalshakti has selected 12 tourist places that will be transformed into ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations’ that includes Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir and Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra under Phase-IV of the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative. The list includes other famous destinations such as, Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh, Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan, Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan, Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana, Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha, Rock Garden, Chandigarh, Banke Bihari Temple, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh and Kalighat Temple, West Bengal. The initiative aims at enhancing the experience of both domestic and foreign visitors by ... Read more

UNWTO invited the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to contribute to the UNWTO Inclusive Recovery Guide, Issue 2: Cultural Tourism. This is the second set of guidelines relating to the socio-cultural impacts of COVID-19 issued by UNWTO and will continue to be revised, as the situation evolves. The publication draws on the insights and expertise of the two UN agencies to analyse the impact of the pandemic on their respective sectors. This includes how lost revenues are severely impacting communities, heritage sites, cultural events, spaces and institutions, while also weakening destinations’ competitiveness and market differentiation. The guidelines on ... Read more

A healthy pair of Bruda whales (also known as Bryde’s whales) were recently sighted by Park rangers in Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park. The pair, estimated to measure between approximately six and eight metres respectively, were seen on 20 February at 13.40 Hrs. behind the island of Ko Mae Ko in an area near the Wua Ta Lap Island channel, which is part of the Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani. The Bruda whales were observed by the Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park officials from a safe ... Read more