Category: Top Stories

Konark Temple The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Maheshwar Sharma today reiterated that there is absolutely ‘no threat’ to the structural stability of the Sun Temple at Konark which is one of the prominent world heritage sites. After attending a high-level meeting with senior officials of Odisha government, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other stakeholders held at Bhubaneswar today, Sharma informed that as per the report of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, there is no threat to the Konark Sun Temple. “Several technical aspects were discussed at the meeting and it was ascertained that ... Read more

Lobby View – Main Entrance Moving into The Greens, Zabeel House by Jumeirah is the third hotel to open as part of Jumeirah Group’s upscale casual brand. Opening in the Onyx Towers, the hotel is high on design synonymous with other hotels within the Zabeel House by Jumeirah collection; but inspired by New York loft living, with contemporary art and design throughout. The Onyx is a stylish integrated community with three towers of residential, commercial and hospitality buildings, as well as a podium of 32 retail and F&B outlets located in the heart of Dubai. A hotel to appeal to ... Read more

The Honduras Institute of Tourism (IHT) has launched its newest tourism campaign that showcases the broad diversity of the country and all it offers international tourists to discover. Featuring a two-minute video that takes travellers on a journey to Honduras’ most beautiful treasures, the digital campaign intends to elevate brand awareness and educate potential travelers of the many curated experiences they can discover in the country. The campaign’s most notable asset, a video ideated and edited by the agency Saatchi & Saatchi, follows a young man named Henry who originally visits Honduras to dive in the country’s famous Bay Islands. ... Read more

The 26th edition of SATTE will be held from 16th January to 18th of January 2019 at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida – Delhi NCR. Being South Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, SATTE will be held as a three-day B2B trade show designed to bring together the key travel industry leaders in the region. It convenes Indian & International exhibitors and buyers to forge new partnership and strengthen business. At the new venue, the SATTE will be spread over 25,000 square meter of business area. This will enable participants to do seamless business without wasting much time at the entry ... Read more

Iranian-American chef Ariana Bundy is set to open her first restaurant at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences in Dubai in late 2019. Ariana’s Persian Kitchen will showcase the award-winning TV chef and cookbook author’s take on Persian food, with a twist in terms of textures, ingredients, and presentation. Guests will be able to sample Ariana’s Caspian-stype filet kabob, rose-scented sea bass, a colourful array of new mazzeh dishes, and her take on Persian ice cream with saffron, pistachios, and rose water “The stunning design of the resort convinced me that this was the ideal time and place to open ... Read more

Airbnb has collected USD 1 billion in hotel and tourism tax (TOT) globally to date. The home-sharing company has established partnerships with more than 400 governments around the world to collect and remit taxes. It was announced through a press release. “At Airbnb, we’ve made the commitment to treat every city personally and help ensure our community pays its fair share of hotel and tourist taxes (TOT),” the statement said. “Home sharing democratizes revenue by providing an increasingly valuable source of funding for governments around the world. When Airbnb collects and remits hotel and similar taxes on behalf of our ... Read more

The seventh edition of Bhairabkunda festival will be held with a five-day spectacular event from January 8, 2019 at Bhairabkunda, a picturesque tri-junction located in the Himalayan foothills of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. It is also known for the Shiva temple, where thousands of pilgrims visit for prayers and poojas. The picturesque location is also renowned among photography enthusiasts and honeymooners. The objective of the event is to exploit the unexplored tourism potential of Bhairabkunda and to register its unmatched natural beauty on the tourism map of the country. The decision to conduct the event has taken in a ... Read more

Fodor’s Travel, the leading name in travel recommendations for over 80 years, has revived Fodor’s Finest: The 100 Most Incredible Hotels in the World, its definitive list of the best hotels in the world. And, the Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, the only Indian hotel in the list, finds its place in the Fodor’s finest lists’ Best in Asia category. “The Oberoi Udaivilas is heartbreakingly beautiful and truly one of the most stunning properties in the world. The magic begins before you even arrive, as you drive up to a dock on stunning Lake Pichola in Rajasthan. There, guests abandon their ... Read more

Historical villages in Portugal are made of granite and schist that preserve memories of ancient conquests and traditions and are remarkable for their landscapes, their heritage and for the friendliness of the people who live there. Perched on the top of mountains, these villages can be spotted from afar by the tall towers of their medieval castles. That is why they were strategically aligned along the border. The kings and lords of the land knew this would mean they could sleep more restfully. But they were sometimes mistaken. Moors and Christians, Spaniards and Portuguese, all tried to take them for ... Read more

Somatheeram Ayurveda Group has won National Award for the “Best Ayurveda Centre of the Year 2018” instituted by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). Sarah Baby Mathew, Director of Somatheeram Ayurveda Group has received the prestigious award and certificate from Hon: Secretary General of Indian Medical Association, Dr. R N Tandon and Hon: Director General of India Tourism, Satyajeet Rajan. Somatheeram, the world’s first Ayurveda hospital set in a resort ambiance to provide Ayurveda treatments / programmes for persons/patients from all over the world, is located at Chowara ... Read more

Harish in Jaisalmer Harish Bali is a techie turned traveller from Delhi, who is in search of the different tastes of India.  A blogger and Youtuber with thousands of fan base, Harish has an interesting life story like in films. After working in sales in consumer durable, FMCG, telecom and internet marketing, he has started his own start up in Feb 2014 in digital marketing. Harish started his journey with blogs through www.technofare.com, which was a tech guide. Harish  started two YouTube channels – ‘Digital Spot’ and ‘visa2explore’ – in November 2016, where he shares his experience as a techie ... Read more

After more than four years of limitless passion and hard work on the part of thousands of engineers, architects, artisans, designers and crew, Celebrity Cruises sets sail into a new era Tuesday. Celebrity Edge joined the fleet after a moving ceremony where the ship’s godmother, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, was joined by all on board to “bless this ship and all those who sail upon her.” The naming event brought together more than 3,000 guests, employees, crew members and students to commemorate the debut of Celebrity’s first new ship in six years and first new ship series in ... Read more

Yatra Online, Inc., one of India’s leading online travel companies, has entered into a strategic partnership with Agoda, a part of Booking Holdings, to offer its Indian hotel rooms to Agoda’s global travellers. Under this agreement, Agoda, one of the world’s fastest growing online travel agents (OTA), will now have access to Yatra.com’s inventory of more than 100,000 accommodation options in over 1300+ Indian cities and towns. The addition of Yatra’s inventory with real-time pricing on Agoda.com and the Agoda app will provide international travellers access to a larger selection of ideal and relevant accommodation, to suit their travel needs. ... Read more

Agoda and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah sign MoU to achieve vision 2030 goal of 30 million pilgrims Agoda, one of the world’s fastest growing online travel agents (OTA), and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) supporting the Kingdom’s vision of 2030 goal to increase its capacity to over 30 million pilgrims by utilizing Agoda’s technology and travel expertise, marketing platform capabilities, intelligence tools and resources. The agreement was signed on Monday 3 December, 2018 by H E Dr Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, the Saudi minister of Hajj and ... Read more

Narok County Government in South West Kenya has partnered with Reuters Plus, the branded content studio of a multimedia news provider, to launch ‘Moments of Wonder’, a global campaign documenting the evolving world of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies. The programme showcases the benefits tourism brings to the region. These include new opportunities for the Maasai people, female empowerment and the creation of local guardians who are protecting the remarkable wildlife for future generations. The ‘Moments of Wonder’ campaign comprises a digital interactive experience, including five videos and six first-person articles exploring the lives of the Maasai, ... Read more