Category: Top Three Stories

China International Travel Mart (CITM) 2018 has kick-started at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, with 2,245 booths from 107 countries and regions participating in the event. The mart will be open to public on November 18, 2018, on the concluding day, via online reservations. A series of business forums, trainings, promotions, releases of new tourism routes as well as cultural activities are expected to be held during the event. Tourism organizations from the European Union, the US, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia have a strong presence at the event. With the development of China’s tourism industry, CITM has grown ... Read more

As part of the beatification programmes of the capital city on the occasion of the Men’s Hockey World cup, a team of four international artists were assigned by the authorities for painting 3D murals on five walls Bhubaneswar. Tracy Lee Stum from Southern California and her team members Julio, G Dler and Ana Ronen painted murals in five different areas of the city. The artists have arrived to the city 16 days back to carry out the beatification process.  They were assigned one design each in different areas. Tracy painted a 3D mural of children playing swings and slides in ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Emirates24/7 Operations at Kuwait International Airport have come to a halt as weather conditions remain unstable and heavy downpour continues. “All flights departing from Kuwait international airport are suspended ‘Precautionary’, and arriving flights will be redirected to Dubai international airport, Bahrain international airport and Dammam airport” the Kuwaiti civil aviation said in a statement by state news agency KUNA. Photo Courtesy: Emirates 24/7 Flights were redirected to Saudi Arabia’s Dammam and Riyadh airports, and to Bahrain’s airport as well. The volatility in weather conditions is expected to continue until Friday, the report said. Kuwait is currently witnessing unstable weather ... Read more

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, are set to explore deeper cooperation following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Bahrain International Airshow. MOU scope includes provision for joint codeshare operations as preferred partners between and beyond hubs; development of commercial agreements to enhance guest experience; coordinated Engineering and Cargo services in Abu Dhabi and Manama; plans to offer reciprocal ‘earn and burn’ on frequent flyer programmes. The wide-ranging MOU covers scope to introduce joint codeshare operations between Abu Dhabi and Manama, ... Read more

Tourists visit in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) has declined to more than half after the high court order banning night stay at the forest rest houses and restricted movement of vehicles in the reserve area. It was in August 10, a division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court had said, “We are of the view that no tourist should be permitted to stay overnight in national parks, protected forests and reserve forests in order to protect wildlife.” In an earlier order the same bench of the court had restricted the number of vehicles entering different zones in the reserve ... Read more

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has inaugurated the 5th North East Connectivity Summit at Tawang, organised  by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The theme for this year’s summit is ‘Tourism Connectivity’. “North East has unique and distinctive culture.The people are known for great hospitality.The Ministry of tourism wants to advertise it globally and put everything related to North East on the Global Map. Let #NorthConnectivitySummit be a good start #SustainableTourism,” tweeted Alphons K J, Union Minister for Tourism. The two-day summit is being attended by representatives and delegations from neighboring countries such as Bhutan and Bangladesh, ... Read more

Indian passport holders, who are eligible for Turkish e-visa, will have to obtain their visas before their departure to Turkey as the e-visa kiosks are not operational at airports in Istanbul. The Embassy of Republic of Turkey had recently scrapped its policy of visa-on-arrival for a number of nationalities, including India. Indian citizens are eligible for e-visa if they have a valid US, UK, Ireland and Schengen visa. Those who don’t have any of these valid visas, will have to apply for a Turkish via through its embassy. The Turkish embassy in New Delhi posted a message on its website saying that, ... Read more

Flash floods caused by heavy rain across Jordan have killed eleven people and forced hundreds of tourists to seek higher ground in the kingdom’s ancient city of Petra, as per the government spokesperson. About two dozen people were injured and dozens more evacuated from their homes in several locations in the kingdom, as floodwaters rose rapidly. In Petra, floodwaters in some areas rose up to 4 meter as reported by the  state TV. Amateur video posted on social media showed a powerful torrent rushing through a steep, narrow canyon in Petra, as several hundred visitors crowded on a patch of ... Read more

As a part of the beautification programmes, Akkulam Tourist Village to have a Kiran Aircraft of the Indian Air force. Kerala Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran dedicated the aircraft to the public on 13th November 2018. “Having this aircraft at the tourist village to be considered an appreciation from the Indian Air force, to the various developmental activities carried out by Kerala Tourism in the tourist spot,” said the minister. Since 1968, Kiran MK1 has been the training aircraft for the Hyderabad Air force Academy. “We hope the aircraft will attract everyone coming to the tourist village,” said B Suresh, Air ... Read more

In yet another positive initiative, a team of volunteers from All Ladakh Tour Operators Association (ALTOA) with support of Stakmo villagers set off on a trekking recce from Sabu to Egoo village on November 12, 2018. This trek can be further extended to Sachukul near Pangong Lake. Post flash flood the trek route needs restoration at few places. The main idea is to sustain the trekking culture in Ladakh and to promote inbound business. Next summer ALTOA has a few more plans to explore virgin trek routes and peaks since Ladakh is the hub of adventure tourism in India. ALTOA believes that by ... Read more

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, marked 15 years since its inaugural commercial flight to Beirut on 12 November 2003. In a fitting tribute to the first flight, guests travelling on flight EY535 to the Lebanese capital enjoyed a cake-cutting ceremony at the departure gate this morning. The airline also presented each guest with a limited-edition cabin crew scarf and tie set, designed by iconic fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, while younger flyers were gifted Etihad teddy bears by cabin crew wearing the airline’s first ever uniform from 2003, in addition to its current style. More than 400 employees ... Read more

As the busiest days of the travel calendar approach, travellers can ‘fly better’ with Emirates as well as enjoy a stress-free experience even before boarding their flight during the festive period with Home Check-in. With convenience in mind, customers in Dubai booking their travel across any class with Emirates can now take advantage of Home Check-in for just AED 250 for up to seven pieces of luggage. The rate of AED 25 will be charged for every additional piece of luggage. Customers can book the service on emirates.com 12-48 hours before departure. Home Check-in agents will come to a customer’s ... Read more

CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates the event Odisha government’s flagship biennial business event ‘Make In Odisha Conclave’ 2018 was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar on 11th November 2018. The event will continue till November 15 aims at bringing more investments to the State. On the first day of the 5-day conclave, CM Naveen asked industry leaders to explore the enormous opportunities that the state has to offer as it takes rapid strides to emerge as the manufacturing hub of the east. The conclave was inaugurated in the presence of a host of dignitaries including Japanese ... Read more

Travellers in any of the areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry, please stay safe as the authorities have issued a cyclone alert in the regions. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a cyclone red alert for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh. Cyclone Titli had earlier made landfall on October 11 and left 62 people dead in Odisha. The IMD said the cyclone Gaja was approaching coastal Tamil Nadu (east-northeast of Chennai) and east-southeast of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It said the cyclonic storm has moved westwards with a speed of 12 kmph. The cyclone was centered about ... Read more

Assam government envisages 24×7 power supply to seven tourist spots in the State and sanctioned a sum of Rs 30 crore for the project. However, due to non-release of funds the scheme is yet to be started. Sualkuchi Weaver Village Entrance Under the project the State Power Department was to ensure incessant power supply to tourist hotspots, such as Kaziranga, Kamakhya, Sualkuchi, Tezpur, Manash, Pobitora and Majuli. The scheme aims at building good infrastructure, including uninterrupted power supply to the tourist spots. The objective of the scheme is proposed to be achieved by selective investment to improve and augment the ... Read more