Category: Top Stories

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced that Bangkok’s celebrity street food chef, Ms Supinya ‘Jay Fai’ Junsuta, was recently named winner of the ‘Icon Award for Asia’ in addition to her eatery receiving ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021’ honours. Ahead of the announcement of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 on 25 March 2021, the 50 Best organisation revealed the first of its pre-announced awards. Voted for by experts from across Asia, Ms Supinya ‘Jay Fai’ Junsuta was lauded with the prestigious Icon Award, while her hawker-style shophouse-based restaurant in the Thai capital was named one of ‘Asia’s 50 ... Read more

The flight tickets in India are set to rise as the civil aviation ministry on Thursday has increased the lower and upper limits on domestic airfares by 10 to 30%. The ministry extended the cap on airfare till 31 March. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the aviation ministry implemented a restriction on domestic airfare in May 2020. Domestic flights in India have a cap on fares with both an upper and lower limit. Flights between cities that are under 40 minutes have been classified under section one, while those under 40-60 minutes are under section two. Section three ... Read more

Tourists visiting Kerala will soon be able to enjoy a river cruise like never before. Kerala Tourism is launching the pioneering Malanad-Malabar River Cruise on 15 February next week, which features 11 types of boat rides that provide individual thematic experiences and attracts tourists to the state’s less-explored areas. The inaugural cruise boat will enter the waters next week as part of the innovative project that aims to brighten the waterways in the northern districts of Kannur and Kasaragod. The project is being implemented by the government’s Inland Navigation Department and state-owned KEL, with T V Madhukumar as the architect Kerala Tourism ... Read more

For the quarter ended 31st December 2020, Sinclairs Hotels Ltd. has posted a Total Income of Rs 750.46 lakh as against Rs 1391.35 lakh for the corresponding period in the previous year.  The Profit after Tax for the quarter stood at Rs 125.51 lakh as against Rs 386.93 lakh for the corresponding quarter last year. For the nine months period ended 31st December 2020, Sinclairs Hotels’ Total Income stood at Rs 1258.82 lakh (previous year: Rs 3960.75 lakh) while Profit after Tax for the period was Rs 140.42 lakh (previous year: Rs 1028.40 lakh). The 60-room property Sinclairs Gangtok commenced ... Read more

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and KrisShop, Singapore Airlines’ flagship retailer, announced a three-year partnership today to jointly market home-grown brands and grow their e-commerce reach, as well as create seamless experiences for their local and international customers. Under this partnership, the content will be co-developed to profile local brands on KrisShop.com and highlight the vibrancy of Singapore’s retail scene. In the first phase, STB and KrisShop will launch a domestic campaign to raise awareness of local brands and grow demand for their products. Both partners will develop and amplify content to showcase local design talent and elevate the perception of Singapore’s dynamic retail scene. ... Read more

Travel Turkey Izmir International Tourism Fair, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the cooperation of IZFAS(Izmir Fair Services Cultural and Art Affairs Trade Inc. and TURSAB Exhibiton Services Inc. Co. and hosted by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, It will be held only virtually with its own digital infrastructure and will take its place among the digital fairs around the world as the 14th Travel Turkey Izmir Digital Fair. 14.Travel Turkey Izmir Digital Fair will be the first virtual exhibition of the tourism industry in Turkey, the world around tourism professionals will meet in the ... Read more

“The Canadian government’s decision to suspend all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30, and impose hotel quarantines for all arriving passengers, will cause even further damage to its Travel & Tourism industry, which is already in a fight for survival due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Said Gloria Guevara, WTTC, President & CEO “Blanket flight cancellations and ineffective and costly quarantines are not the solution and will only slow down the recovery of this important sector. “These drastic measures will continue to cause untold damage to a sector that creates more than 1.6m jobs, and in 2019 contributed ... Read more

Located in the heart of London at the iconic Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, London, Taj’s prestigious Indian restaurant, Quilon, has been awarded a Michelin star for the fourteenth successive year in the Michelin Guide for restaurants in 2021. First awarded a Michelin star in 2008 and consistently retaining it ever since Quilon prides itself on South-west coastal Indian cuisine as evidenced by signature dishes such as Black Cod and Coconut with Asparagus and Snow peas or Lobster Butter Pepper. Known for its progressive interpretation of ethnic cuisine, the restaurant showcases the region’s culinary diversity and blends old traditions with modern ... Read more

Surrounded by the Vembanad Lake, Vaikom embraces travelers with its beautiful water bodies and serene village life. The emerald Murinjapuzha Backwaters and green-carpeted nature allures the traveler in you to Vaikom. Besides this, the majestic Vaikom Mahadeva Temple enhances the exquisiteness of the place. Vaikom, located in the Kottayam district allures tourists with its rich natural beauty and spiritual significance. A people’s participation tourism mission named PEPPER (PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION FOR PARTICIPATORY PLANNING AND EMPOWERMENT THROUGH RESPONSIBLE TOURISM) was first implemented in Vaikom on an experimental basis. The project is carried out in the Vaikom assembly constituency by the Tourism Mission ... Read more

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Kingdom of Morocco met to advance the organization of the 24th UNWTO General Assembly in October 2021, the first global high-level United Nations event to be held since the beginning of the pandemic. Led by the Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, a delegation from UNWTO has concluded an official visit to Morocco to discuss the programme, calendar, and facilities to be prepared for this statutory meeting that will focus on Education and Youth, Rural Development and Digital Innovation. The Minister of Tourism of Morocco, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, and her team accompanied the delegation during this three-day visit and expressed ... Read more

More than 200 people working in the tourism sector of Kerala Friday took out a protest rally on Friday at Kochi with the message to save the tourism and hospitality sector which has been badly hit by the COVID pandemic for the past one year. The rally named as ‘Save Indian Tourism’ was flagged off from Darbar Hall Ground, Ernakulam and concluded at Marine Drive Ground. Tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, homestay owners, tour guides, houseboat operators and employees working in the industry actively took part in the rally. The protest event was organised by Indian Travel Fraternity. Cultural performances ... Read more

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, the collapse in international travel represents an estimated loss of USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues – more than 11 times the loss recorded during the 2009 global economic crisis. The crisis has put between 100 and 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk, many of them in small and medium-sized enterprises.  Due to the evolving nature of the pandemic, many countries are now reintroducing stricter travel restrictions. These include mandatory testing, quarantines, and in some cases a complete closure of borders, all weighing on the resumption of international travel. At the ... Read more

Like many artists, Matthew Willey had longed to meet his muse. He had no idea she would fly in through his apartment window. The bee that buzzed into his room in late spring, 2008 so entranced the New York-based muralist that he embarked on a mission to highlight growing threats to pollinators by hand-painting 50,000 individual bees on buildings around the world. Having rendered more than 5,500 of the insects in 30 murals and installations over the past five years, Willey says the shared experience of the coronavirus pandemic has made people more receptive to the sense of interdependence he ... Read more

Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran launched the state’s first parasailing project at Hawa Beach in Kovalam on the 16th of January. “Kovalam is a famed international beach destination. The new facility will give a boost to water sport activities in Kovalam, besides complementing the efforts to develop the state as a major adventure tourism hub,” Surendran said after launching the activity. The Rs 2.5-crore project is run by Bond Adventures Pvt Ltd, which has been offering Bond safari Kovalam, scuba diving, snorkeling, and other waterbody-related adventure packages for many years. Winch parasail boats made in Goa will be used for ... Read more

A forecast published by Visit Britain shows a gradual increase in the value of inbound tourism during January to March 2021 with a step-change heading into Easter and the spring, if national restrictions are eased as expected, particularly from short-haul European markets. Overall, VisitBritain is forecasting 16.9 million inbound visits in 2021. While this is an increase of 73% this year, it is less than half of the 40.9 million visits the UK saw in 2019. Inbound visitor spending is forecast to reach £9.0 billion in 2021. Although up 59% in 2020, it is less than a third of the ... Read more