Category: Top Stories

Ministry of Tourism has appointed Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) as Advisor in National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC). The ministry had nominated the association to the council for preserving heritage monuments and promoting Buddhist tourism in the country. “ABTO is a platform for all tourism service providers and others stakeholders engaged in the promotion of Buddhist pilgrimage tourism in India, Nepal and other Asian countries. Our association has been working hard to promote, protect and preserve Buddhist monuments and pilgrimage sites around the Buddhist circuit on national and international level for the last four years. We are trying to ... Read more

Kashmir Tourism is considering intensive promotion of adventure tourism in the state to go along with the current market trend. Adventure tourism or active tourism, which involves physical activity in a tourist destination, is getting more popular among tourists. Some of the most popular activities are mountaineering, trekking, white water rafting, skiing, cross country skiing and ski mountaineering, and a host of other thrilling sports. According to an International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism, as of April 2018, Germany had the highest number of skiers at 14.6 million, followed by France with 8.6 million. The share of people who ... Read more

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and Tourism Malaysia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Joint International Development Tourism Programme (JITDP). The MoU looks into possible cooperation between the two parties especially in the area of international tourism promotion. The initiatives planned include airlines collaboration, the operation of inaugural and charter flights, as well as high-yield niche tourism promotion. Tourism Malaysia highlighted that the initiative already succeeded in covering 20 main projects for short and long haul markets in 2018. MAHB said it would continue playing its role as a major airport operator to enhance route development at local airports, while continue strengthening ... Read more

Starting from this Valentine’s Day, Thailand will introduce its first e-Visa On Arrival (eVOA) for visitors from 20 countries and one business district. The system is developed jointly by Immigration Bureau of Thailand and VFS Global. The new system is expected to cut the processing time for visas on arrival at airports to as little as one minute. The fast-entry online visa system will initially be available to nationals from Andorra, Bhutan, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. They will be eligible if they ... Read more

Emirates served over 20,000 plant-based meals across all classes in January, known to Vegans worldwide as Veganuary. The worldwide movement, to encourage Veganism especially in January has seen on board requests for vegan meals increase by over 40 per cent this month. The airline caters to all its customers and has a range of dedicated menus for medical or religious meal requirements which are designed with a team of nutritionists and chefs. Vegan meals rank as the third most commonly requested special meal in Economy Class. Last month, travellers voted Emirates as the Best Airline for Vegan Meals in a ... Read more

Department of Tourism, Arunachal Pradesh has declared Ledum village in Bilat Circle of East Siang district as the ‘cleanest village’, as per the “Adopt a Village” programme in relation with the National Tourism Day. “Ledum has full potentials to be a Model Tourism Village,” said Tate Tata, District Tourism Officer, while addressing the stakeholders and resources persons and explained the aims and objectives of the programme. He then appreciated the local committee members, village authority and common public as a whole for making Ledum a plastic-free village.   He urged also to continue the ‘Swachhta Abhiyan’ programme on regular basis to keep ... Read more

Have a look at Neemans – India’s first startup to create shoes with revolutionary natural and renewable fibers like Merino Wool, Plant based Castor Bean Oil & Recycled Rubber, for all day comfort. You can wear this extremely lightweight shoes socks free. It is also odour resistant, breathable and machine washable. The shoes were conceptualised in America and designed in London.  Mostly insoles of shoes are made with petroleum-based oil, but Neeman’s has replaced this with a plant-based source, castor bean oil. Made from the finest Merino wool from Australia, the shoe promises to offer the best comfort through all seasons in India. ... Read more

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of several road projects and river development works in Bihar tomorrow. Radhamohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, will accompany him, along with other officials. Gadkari will inaugurate and lay foundation stone for two national highways projects worth Rs 505 crore in Raxaul. These include foundation stone for work of widening of 69 km section of NH-28A from Piprakothi to Motihari and Raxaul (including ICP Link road) with a cost of Rs 333.60 crore, and inauguration of the widening to 2-lane and ... Read more

The all-inclusive, adults-only luxury resort, Bungalows Key Largo, has opened on the Northernmost island of the Florida Keys. The hotel, located just 63 miles south of Miami, features 135 private bungalows dotted across the property’s 12 acres. Opening as the first-ever all-inclusive in the Keys and  the upscale, boutique, waterfront resort  Organic textures, soothing tropical hues and all-natural materials complement the bohemian expression of Key Largo’s relaxed cabana lifestyle. The resort also features two floating six-seat tiki boats, aptly named the S S Rum Runner and S S Margarita. It also features Largo Larry’s food truck for quick beach bites, and the ... Read more

Refundit, an Israeli startup, was declared the winner in the final phase of the 1st Global Tourism Startup Competition, organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Globalia. Refundit become winners out of 3000 entries from around the world. The event was held within the framework of the FITUR International Tourism Fair. Applications were open from 26 June to 3 September 2018. The projects were evaluated according to five criteria: uniqueness and viability of the solution, potential impact, business model, scalability and team profile. The Competition sought out the world’s most disruptive initiatives that are transforming the way people travel ... Read more

Gansu Province of north-central China helped 31,000 households with about 130,000 people rise out of poverty by developing rural tourism in 2018, the provincial tourism authorities said. “Rural tourism areas received up to 85.2 million visitors last year, and the income of rural tourism hit USD2.43 billion, depicting an increase of 21.1 per cent and 29.4 per cent respectively,” said Chen Weizhong, head of the provincial department of culture and tourism. Gansu has been making efforts to promote rural tourism in recent years by introducing preferential policies and improving infrastructure and public services to make rural tourism more convenient, according ... Read more

Thai Lion Air will begin direct flights between Sri Lanka and Bangkok from January 30, 2019. The flight is scheduled to depart Colombo at 9.30 am and arrive at Don Mueang Airport (Bangkok) at 2:45 pm (local time). “The airline is ready for the Sri Lanka market and is excited to bring more travelers from Sri Lanka to experience Thailand’s tourism product,” said Thai Lion Air Chairman Capt. Darsito Hendro Seputro. In addition to Bangkok, the airline offers services to other domestic destinations in Thailand such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuken and Pattaya. After Sri Lanka, Thai Lion Air is planning ... Read more

Narthaki Natraj, a renowned dancer from Tamil Nadu has become the first person from the trans community to be honoured with one of the top civilian awards in India. The 54-year-old Bharatanatyam exponent was among those bestowed with ‘Padma Shri’, the third highest civilian award this year. The award was announced on the occasion of the nation’s 70th Republic Day on 26th January 2019. Born in the temple town of Madurai, she left her home at the age of 11 due to the disrespect and rejection from family and the society. K P Kittappa Pillai, renowned dance master of Tanjaore, ... Read more

Gujarat government to relocate the Crocodiles in the ponds near the Patel statue – Statue of Unity, for enabling the implementation of a sea plane project  for the tourists. There are around 500 reptiles in two ponds on the statue premises. It is reported that the forest department has removed 15 so far. The crocodiles are likely to be released at the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam reservoir. The Airports Authority of India and the Department of Civil Aviation had prepared a feasibility report about the seaplane service in the run-up to the inauguration of the Statue of Unity. “We are ... Read more

When the nation is celebrating its 70th Republic day on Sunday, 26th January 2019, Indian Railways is all set to showcase their tableau with the theme “Mohan se Mahatma”. The tableau illustrates an evolutionary journey of Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Railways. Indian Railways Tableau depicts the “transformation of Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi”. The incident in 1893, when the young Mohan Das was thrown out of a “European only” compartment at Pietermaritzburg railway station in South Africa, acted as a catalyst for him to practice ‘Satyagrah’. He later emerged as ‘Mahatma’ for this nation. The front portion ... Read more