Category: Top Three Stories

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has announced that the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah has been selected as the latest flight destination by, a reputed European tour operator. From October 24, 2018, LuxairTours will fly every Wednesday directly to Ras Al Khaimah airport from Luxembourg, offering tourists from European markets a direct, more accessible and hassle-free journey to one of the fastest growing holiday destinations in the region. “As we are on track to exceed our projection of 1 million visitors by the end of the year, we’re very pleased to see an ongoing growth of strategic partnerships ... Read more

Apple has launched three iPhones – two premium phone such as the iPhone Xs and the iPhone Xs Max, and a more affordable iPhone called the iPhone Xr. The iPhone Xs starts at Rs 99,900, the larger iPhone Xs Max begins at Rs 1,09,900 and the affordable iPhone Xr starts at Rs 76,900. The iPhone Xs and the Xs Max will start shipping on 21 September, while preorders will begin as soon as 14 September. The iPhone Xr, meanwhile, will begin shipping a little later on 26 October. Perhaps the biggest update to the iPhones is that the phones all ... Read more

After the Buddhist Conclave in Ahmedabad, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is working to create new avenues in the state for Buddhist tourism by reinforcing the ties with the Buddhist nations around the world. The government also have plans to give away the state’s land to Buddhist countries to develop Buddhist theme parks and monasteries near Ajantha caves. MTDC is planning tie up with KJ Somaiya Center for Buddhist Studies to introduce new tour packages to promote Buddhist tourism in the state. The ministry of tourism has selected its UENSCO heritage sites, Ajantha and Ellora, under their Iconic Destination Project, ... Read more

Vallabh Government Degree College at Mandi Himachal Pradesh is seeking approval for a 50 crore tourism development fund from Asian Development Bank. It was informed by Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, while addressing a public meeting at Vallabh Government Degree College at Mandi. Under the project, a lake and other basic tourism infrastructure would be developed to take Mandi town on the world tourist map. “A helipad would also be constructed at Kangnidhar in order to provide heli-taxi facility to the region,” he added. The state have plan to construct a Medical University at New Chowk to ... Read more

IIE Officials at the press meeting at Guwahati (Picture Courtesy: Manash Das) Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) is organizing ‘North East Adventure Tourism Festival’ at Bogamati in Baksa district of Assam, from 13th to 16th September 2018. This is the first time an adventure tourism festival is being held in the region. “The festival is being organised with support from the North East Council, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Assam Tourism Development Corporation, Bodoland Tourism, state directorate of sports and youth welfare and India Tourism,” stated the IIE festival Organising Committee at a press conference on Tuesday, 11th September 2018. Various ... Read more

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has launched a scheme, ‘Viability Gap Scheme’ for exploiting and encouraging private investment in Tourism Sector on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. It was informed by the Secretary, Tourism Department, Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday . “Private companies intending to make investment under PPP mode can contact the office of Directorate of Tourism Jammu/Kashmir and Chief Executives Officer of various Development Authorities of Tourism Department,” said the Tourism Secretary. The scheme would involve investment in infrastructure used by tourists and earning revenue through levy of fee or user charges on the visitors. Revenue generating tourism ... Read more

The big floods have had a blow on the tourism in Kerala, especially the hilly destination Munnar. Hardly a couple of weeks after the floods, Munnar is coming back as the Neelakurinji started blooming in many parts. In a bid to revive the tourism sector in the flood-hit Munnar, the associations of Hotels, Resorts, Tour Operators, Merchant’s Associations, and Activity organisers are coming together to conduct a car and bike rally. The rally, conducted in association with The Department of Tourism, will start from Kochi and reach Munnar, covering major town in Kochi and Idukki districts. The rally will begin from ... Read more

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering you insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh for financial protection against train accidents and other untoward incidents, including robbery, at a near-zero premium of 68 paise. IRCTC have been providing travellers free and mandatory travel insurance each time you book a ticket through its website or mobile app. Effective September 1, the service provider charge you 68 paise for the insurance coverage. While booking tickets on the IRCTC website, you can find an option on “Travel Insurance” where you can choose whether you want travel insurance or not. The ... Read more

Vancouver East The Canadian government has revised its travel advisory for Pakistan and removed Islamabad from the list of “avoid non-essential travel” cities. “It has been observed that there is a decrease in risk level for Canadians to travel to Islamabad,” said a release from Global Affairs Department. The Pakistani high commissioner had impressed upon the Canadian authorities to revise the advisory for Pakistan as the security situation in the country had improved significantly. In the first step towards that direction, the Canadian government informed about excluding Islamabad from the “avoid non-essential travel” category and said that further steps will ... Read more

Tremors were felt in Delhi and the National Capital Region today morning after mild earthquake in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale struck 6 km from Kharkhauda in Meerut, at 6.28 am, it said. No loss of life or damage to property have been reported so far. Another medium intensity quake hit Haryana’s Jhajjar district and the tremors were also felt in Delhi. The earthquake occurred at 6.28 am today at a depth of 10 km and had a magnitude of 3.7. On Sunday morning, an earthquake of 3.8 magnitude ... Read more

Etihad Airways has launched a new hand baggage only ‘Deal Fare’ across selected destinations, allowing travellers to purchase lower fares in Economy Class if no checked baggage is required. The ‘Deal Fare’ includes a complimentary carry-on baggage allowance of 7kg and is available on flights between Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Azerbaijan. “After a successful trial of the ‘Deal Fare’ late last year, purchasing behaviour demonstrated guests appreciate having more choice and like to be able to select the travel option that best meets their needs. We are enhancing our product offering to align with ... Read more

Vaishno Devi Temple, Kashmir Tourism officials and private stakeholders have urged the Gujarati counterparts to visit Kashmir to alleviate the negative impressions about visiting Kashmir.  They were participating in the three-day Travel and Tourism Fair at Ahmedabad, as part of the country wide Kashmir tourism promotional campaign, which was started last week. The team was headed by Tasaduq Jeelani, Director, Tourism, Kashmir. They met tour operators and media persons and invited them to participate in the upcoming ‘Kashmir Paryatan Utsav’ scheduled from September 29 to October 1. “We highlighted the need for the media to play a constructive and positive ... Read more

Emirates celebrated a double win this week at the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards, after being named ‘Best Business Airline’ and ‘Best Airline – Long-Haul Holiday’. The airline won the prestigious accolades based on votes from Condé Nast Traveller readers’ for the best travel experiences in the world. The Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards 2018 questionnaire ran online from 4th March 2018 to 3rd May 2018. “We are honoured to have been recognised by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller as one of the world’s best airlines. We are committed to delivering the best possible experience both in ... Read more

The 3-day Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) has kick started on September 7, 2018 at the Exhibition Halls at Gujarat University. “India is a rare country where there is 28 per cent tax in tourism sector. This hurts India’s competitiveness as an attractive tourist destination. Countries like the USA, Singapore, Thailand – have tax in single digits. Very few have in double digits. But no where the tax is as high as 28 per cent. Tourists will prefer destination like Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka. There is also a provision of refund of GST on goods purchased, which is not ... Read more

Cox & Kings Ltd., has roped in Bollywood star Anushka Sharma as the company’s brand ambassador. The actress will be seen promoting the company’s unique travel offerings in a new TV campaign to be released soon. Talking about roping in Anushka Sharma, Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings said, “Anushka is known for her versatility, experimentation and unusual personality. She perfectly represents a generation that is energetic, unapologetic and fun loving which makes her the right fit to showcase Cox & Kings’ innovative holiday offerings.” Speaking about her experience, Anushka said, “I am glad to be associated with the ... Read more