Category: Top Stories

The three-day Cherry Blossom Festival was on Thursday inaugurated by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Ambassador of Japan to India Satoshi Suzuki at the scenic Wards Lake here. The festival coincides with the blooming of pink cherry blossom flowers that dot the state capital here and across the state at this time of the year. The popular event was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic last year. The first edition of the Shillong Literary Festival was also inaugurated on the occasion. In his address, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma expressed happiness to host the Cherry Blossom Festival again ... Read more

The UNWTO Regional Conference on the Empowerment of Women in Tourism in Asia and the Pacific – the first event on the topic organized by UNWTO jointly with Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture – brought together more than 500 key virtual participants in addition to around 100 local in-person stakeholders. Alongside UNWTO experts, government policymakers, UN Women representatives, high-level representatives of women’s associations and NGOs, joined leading academics to address some of the key challenges and opportunities for women in tourism in the region. In Asia and the Pacific, women make up 53% of the tourism workforce. However, ... Read more

New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals the recovery of the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism sector has soared ahead of many regions in the world with a year on year growth of more than 36%. Before the pandemic struck, Asia Pacific’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented more than US$ 3 trillion (9.9% of the region’s economy). After the pandemic brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, in 2020, Asia Pacific saw a hit of almost 54%, halving the contribution of the Travel & Tourism sector to the region’s economy. However, according ... Read more

The two-day Bundi Utsav is set to kick-off with the worship of Lord Ganesh at the famed Taragarh gates in Bundi city on Monday, after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. Organised jointly by the state tourism department and the district administration with a view of attracting foreign tourists and boosting local tourism, the Bundi Utsav will witness a chain of events. Ironically, this year’s event will see minimal foreign tourists due to the pandemic-induced restrictions on travel. In view of compliance of the COVID-19 protocols, the festivities that were earlier organised at the sub-division headquarters, will be confined to ... Read more

With the arrival of international travelers to Kerala, the Ayurveda sector will benefit. The sector has also benefited from the fact that many people choose Ayurveda for post-covid treatment. Domestic tourists have already arrived in Kerala for Ayurvedic treatment. The number of domestic tourists seeking Ayurvedic treatment has increased by 15 percent over the previous year. Special packages are included for travelers. Of these, post-covid treatment packages are the most attractive. Packages ranging from seven days to one month are available for travelers. Of these, most opt ​​for one-week packages. In addition to treatment, visiting other tourist destinations is expected ... Read more

The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union included tourism on its programme of work, recognizing the sector’s heightened relevance and importance for inclusive, post-pandemic recovery. Addressing the Ministers, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili commended European leaders for protecting tourism jobs and businesses, and for playing a leading role in restoring confidence in international travel through harmonized rules and protocols and the introduction of the EU Digital COVID Certificate. At the same time, the Secretary-General also provided the EU Ministers with an overview of UNWTO’s own work leading the sector’s response to the crisis, as well as more recent ... Read more

For the first time in the country, responsible tourism classification of hotels and resorts is being implemented in Kerala. Minister Mohammad Riyaz inaugurated the project and released the software and video. The Minister also inaugurated an online portal for services including accreditation for homestays, service villas, ayurvedic centers, adventure travel service providers, amusement parks, and homesteads. Hotels and resorts are classified into RT Diamond, RT Gold, and RTC Silver. Green Certificates will be awarded to those who achieve 80% score on the basis of performance with emphasis on environmental protection and sustainable development. Among the top 20 tourist destinations in ... Read more

Uttarakhand Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat on Wednesday inaugurated a bird- watching facility at the Pakhro range of the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Speaking on the occasion Rawat said bird watching has been added to tourism in Uttarakhand for the first time. “There are around 500 bird species in Corbett. The addition of a new feature like nature trail bird watching will attract more and more bird lovers to Corbett besides giving a boost to homestay facilities in adjoining villages,” he said. Four gates have been built in Kotdwar area through which tourists can now enter Corbett, he said, adding it ... Read more

Union Minister for Commerce, Industry, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal on Monday virtually launched India’s first Food Museum here and said measures were on to make the country go up the ladder from currently being the fifth largest agricultural exporter in the world. Highlighting the importance of focussing on quality and productivity in taking the farmers’ produce to the world to become a global supplier, the Minister said “we are already the 5th largest agricultural exporter in the world and we are aspiring for more.” “By adopting global best practices, we will improve our processes, bring about system changes, ... Read more

The 10th edition of Kerala’s largest annual entrepreneurship conference ‘TiEcon Kerala 2021’ will be held here from November 25 to 27 to figure out the opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs in the post-pandemic scenario. Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve would inaugurate the three-day ‘phygital conclave’ on November 25, TiEcon said. “Around 200 participants are expected to attend the physical event while over 1,500 delegates will join the programme virtually making it a phygital’ event. TiEcon Kerala 2021 will feature more than 30 speakers from across the globe,” it said in a press release. The conference is organised by Indus Entrepreneurs ... Read more

Live Fusion Yoga performance by practitioners from Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, free medical consultation by experts of various Ayush streams and display of various food items that promote nutrition and good health were the major attractions at the pavilion of the Ministry of Ayush on the first day of the India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan on Sunday. The activities at the pavilion revolved around the theme of ‘Holistic health, Nutritious Diet’, which the Ministry of Ayush propagates through various Indian traditional medicine systems. Various institutes and research bodies of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and ... Read more

The Dudhwa National Park is set to open for tourists from November 15, a senior official said Sunday. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) Field Director Sanjay Kumar Pathak said tourists wishing to visit the rhino area in south Sunaripur range will have to wait for a few days more as the rhino area is still swampy and not fit for elephant movements. “As per government directives, the Dudhwa National Park would now be opened for tourists from November 15. However, due to heavy water-logging still prevailing in Sathiyana, the area would not be allowed for tourist activities till further instructions, he ... Read more

Within the framework of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change COP26, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Government of Panama and the business group NOAH agreed to work together for the implementation of the United Nations Fund for Climate Neutrality of Tourism. The Fund represents an innovative financing instrument promoted by UNWTO to respond to threats posed by the climate emergency. In recognition of the existential threat posed by the climate emergency, UNWTO, the government of Panama and NOAH (Network of Ocean Ambassadors Headquarters) will support the creation of a Capital Fund that will make possible the UN Fund ... Read more

Over the course of one year, from November 2021 – November 2022, the project will support the tourism sector in placing women’s empowerment and gender equality at the heart of recovery plans following the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will be piloted in four participating Member States in collaboration with the National Tourism Administrations of Jordan (MOTA), Costa Rica (ICT), the Dominican Republic (MITUR) and Mexico (SECTUR). The impact of COVID-19 on women in tourism Women make up more than half of the tourism workforce at a global level (54%), according to the Global Report on Women in Tourism, Second Edition. ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism in association with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting organized a Symposium on Film Tourism at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, on November 8, 2021. The symposium was jointly chaired by Secretary Tourism, Shri Arvind Singh and Secretary, Information & Broadcasting , Shri Apurva Chandra.  The symposium aimed to promote Film Tourism by exploring opportunities available in the states for conducting film shootings. What is Film Tourism? ‘Film Tourism’ is when a viewer gets induced to visit a particular location after seeing it in a movie. It refers to the growing interest among general public for the places ... Read more