Category: Top Three Stories

Karnataka to develop coastal tourism to take on Kerala, Goa   Karnataka has great potential to develop its coastal tourism and the state should take steps to emulate the success of Kerala and Goa in this regard, speakers at the annual state conference of journalists stated in Mangalore on Monday. A session on coastal development and tourism organised as part of the final day of the two-day 35th state conference under the aegis of KUWJ said Karnataka has a beautiful 320 km long coastline, which needs to be exploited better. Speakers at the conference said the success that of Kerala ... Read more

Tourists looking at alternative travel spots With honeymoon travelers looking to either cancel their vacations or postponing them to a safer period, shares of hospitality giants like Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott have all taken a tumble globally. Almost all couples who had picked on China as their honeymoon spot, have pulled out, due to the outbreak of the deadly corona virus. Even those flying into Thailand and Cambodia have stopped in their tracks to do a rethink. The other common honeymoon destinations like Bali in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Dubai have also been affected. Countries like Iran and South Korea, ... Read more

State registers the highest growth rate since 1996 Kerala has shown yet again why it’s God’s Own Country when it comes to tourism. Despite being stung hard by the nipah virus and the incessant floods last year, the state has recorded the highest growth rate in domestic and total tourist arrivals in 24 years. Kerala attracted around 1.96 crore domestic and foreign visitors in 2019, registering a healthy growth of 17.2 per cent as compared to the figures in the previous year. The total earnings from tourism stood at Rs 45,010.69 crore, notching a robust 24.14 per cent increase. The ... Read more

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued guidelines to the hotel industry, detailing the procedure to be followed wherever persons with potential exposure to COVID-19 are housed. The hotel staff at the reception should be well versed in hand and respiratory hygiene and follow due protocol if a guest develop symptoms, the ministry has advised. All guests should be asked about their travel history and information has to be gathered if they have been to any of the affected area in the past 14 days. The hotels should provide alcohol based hand-rubs containing 70% alcohol to guests in ... Read more

Travel Planners CEO feels domestic tourism may receive a boost The global travel industry is all set to get hit by $46 billion a month due to the outbreak of the corona virus, according to the Global Business Travel Association, a Washington based trade body. While that figure may eventually turn out to be bit of a stretch, there is no denying that American and European companies have curtailed their business travel to a great extent. GTA carried out a survey on 401 companies, with 65% admitting that they have cancelled meeting or events, keeping in mind the spread of ... Read more

New Incredible India website to offer visitors a personalised digital experience In a bid to provide in-depth and nuanced information about India’s plethora of tourist destinations, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to launch a multilingual website in New Delhi on Tuesday. The website which will be launched under the Incredible India platform, will be inaugurated by the Minister of State for Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel. The website which is currently hosted in English and Hindi will now be available in Chinese, Arabic and Spanish. The event will witness participation by key stake holders of the tourism industry, ... Read more

Schools to engage only authorised tour operators The Kerala government has provided fresh directions for schools while undertaking study tours and industry visits, keeping in mind some of the undesirable practices that have crept into the system. The state education department has said that all schools including the CBSE and ICSE institutions have to ensure that only recognised tour operators are used for the purpose. In a press release, the department has said that the responsibility of such trips will be have to be met by the heads of  the respective schools. The arrangements of such visits will have to ... Read more

Tinder, the world’s most popular app for meeting new people, announces the launch of a new unique in-app user experience, Festival Mode, in India. Users can add a badge to their profile highlighting their planned festival destination. From there, they have the ability to match and chat with other users attending the same event before they arrive. Festival Mode will begin rolling out on Tinder starting November 19th and users will have access to event-specific badges. After festivals including EDC Las Vegas, Bonnaroo, British Summer Time and EDC, Orlando, Festival Mode will have its debut in India with Bacardi NH7 ... Read more

Renowned for its wildlife-driven holidays and adventure capabilities, South Africa received yet another vote of confidence as the Best Family Destination (International) from Indian readers of one of the most prominent travel magazines in the world. “Family dynamics in India are similar to those in South Africa; hence we recognize and understand the value of vacations that offer opportunities to rejuvenate while strengthening relationships. At South African Tourism, we have done away with cookie-cutter holidays, and one-size-fits-all itineraries as every family seeks unique and distinctive experiences. Utmost emphasis is placed on the quality and quantity of experiences we can offer ... Read more

Al Qana, the new social culinary and entertainment destination developed by Al Barakah International Investment (BII) in Abu Dhabi, today revealed “The Bridge Wellness Hub”, one of its seven destinations. “The Bridge” is an integrated lifestyle wellness hub that has been carefully designed to be a disruptive space within its industry. The construction of the concept has commenced already and will open its doors for the first time in Q4 2020 to coincide with the grand opening of Al Qana. The uniqueness of “The Bridge” concept comes from a combination of two ideas. One space that bridges all aspects of ... Read more

Cake mixing is a ritual practised across the world with much zest and enthusiasm just before Christmas. To soak in the festive fervour and to give a good experience to all its guests, Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan recently organised a ‘Cake Mixing Ceremony’. Armed with gloves, aprons and Chef hats, guests came together to celebrate the festivities and merriment of cake mixing. The hotel used premium quality spices and dry fruits to get the best cakes of the season. Guests were seen pouring wine and mixing the ingredients together with a lot of excitement and gaiety. The event saw ... Read more

As a sign of further commitment to the India market, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board today became the first U.S. destination to open a tourism office in India, located in Mumbai. The newly opened office will focus on driving travel aspiration and motivate Indian visitors to increase length of stay and spend in Los Angeles. Seema Kadam serves as Los Angeles Tourism’s first Regional Director for India, which was previously announced this past summer. Los Angeles Tourism President & CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. officially opened the new office alongside international delegates while in the presence of India’s tourism industry. ... Read more

Punjabi cuisine is arguably the most popular North Indian cuisine that finds equal acceptance from gastronomes all across the country. With the rich flavours and appetizing aromas from the land of five rivers, Sayaji Pune will take food lovers on a gastronomical journey to gorge on their favourite Punjabi delicacies at their Chak De Phatte – Punjabi Food Festival. Offering a wide variety of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare, there is no option but to dig in as the chef has crafted a menu that will offer a culinary experience from the royal kitchens in Punjab. The 10-day long food ... Read more

Travel Tours, the leisure travel brand of FCM Travel Solutions have announced the launch of a new outlet at Edapally in Kochi to further increase their presence in Kerala. This store will be Travel Tours’ 42nd store in India and 4th store in Kerala. The store was inaugurated by Madhavikutty M S IAS/ Asst Collector – Ernakulam. Travel Tours stores have been designed to give consumers a convenient access with an unbeatable pricing and service quality related to Foreign Exchange and Leisure Travel. The store at Edapally, Kochi offers a wide range of travel services by Travel Tours such as ... Read more

As part of Children’s Day celebrations, David Lloyd Clubs Talwalkars (DLT Clubs) had organised a special event for Tara Sofosh Dhadphale Centre, an orphanage for specially-abled children on November 14, 2019, between 4.30 PM and 6.30 PM. DLT Clubs was really excited to spend some quality time and do some fun-filled activities with these kids. The team of DLT Clubs enjoyed their time with these specially-abled children between the age group of 3 and 23 years from Tara Sofosh Dhadphale Centre in their premises and spread happiness and love. In addition, they also spent some time with 16 kids who ... Read more