Category: India

Abu Dhabi welcomed over 3, 50,000 Indian visitors last year. With new additions like Louvre Museum, Abu Dhabi is expecting more millennial visitors from India. Keeping this in mind, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT) has entered into a partnership with GoFro, India’s foremost online holiday marketplace. DCT partnered with GoFro, to leverage company’s unique travel marketplace model with packages and customised travel option from all leading travel companies of the country. The partnership will enable travellers to get travel advice from local travel experts from Abu Dhabi and help them to customize travel. “Travellers are now ... Read more

From March 2018, it would not be possible to spot a hookah parlour in Maharashtra as the state government is planning to ban the same. Following the recent fire at two restaurants in Kamala Mills area that claimed 14 lives, the state government has moved a proposal to ban hookah parlours by initiating an amendment in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). It wanted a provision of imprisonment of three years and a fine of Rs 50,000. Though the government was trying to regulate the law and make it a bit more stringent looking at the revenues these ... Read more

Jammu and Kashmir, Minister for Tourism Tassaduq Hussain Mufti said the state government has adopted a multipronged strategy to harness the tourism potential and position J&K as the leading global destination. He also said that the idea is to make tourism sector as the principal engine of the State’s economic growth. Tassaduq said the government’s endeavour would be to frame a tourism policy for not just creating jobs but to ensure better livelihood for the people. “We should not ignore the environmental consequences while creating infrastructure and exploring new destinations. The emerging situation around Pyangong Lake, Ladakh and Sonamarg in Kashmir ... Read more

Lulu Group, promoted by Yusuffali MA, has signed three MoUs with the Telangana government, to develop retail and food processing industry in the state. The agreement was signed during the UAE visit of Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao to Lulu group Head Office in Abu Dhabi. Under the MoUs, Lulu will invest an amount of USD 400 million (Rs 2,500 crore) to construct 1.8 million sq ft area of mega shopping mall, set up food processing plant and a logistics and export processing unit for fruit and vegetables.  The foundation stone of the shopping mall will be laid within ... Read more

Helped by the initiatives taken by the government for the sector, the Foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) from tourism reported 20.8 per cent growth to USD 27.7 billion in 2017. The introduction of  e- visa facility under three categories of tourist, medical and business for the citizens of 163 countries was one of the major innovative decisions made by the government, the survey noted. The launch of global media campaign for 2017-18 on various channels, launch of ‘The Heritage Trail’ to promote the world heritage sites in India, launch of international media campaign on various international TV channels,’Paryatan Parv’ celebrations across ... Read more

The Economic Survey of India for financial year 2017-18 was tabled in Parliament today. The survey pegged India’s GDP growth at 7-7.5 per cent in the 2018 fiscal. GST data reveals 50 per cent increase in number of Indirect Taxpayers. The survey also states that Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana account for 70 per cent of India’s exports. India’s internal trade in goods and services is 60 per cent of GDP. Real GDP growth to clock this fiscal is 6.75 per cent. Employment, education and agriculture to be the focus areas in medium term, Says Survey. The survey is ... Read more

The 4th International Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) 2018, supported by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, organised by International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), kick starts on Sunday at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium in Delhi. The season 4 of the world’s biggest culinary Olympiad will be concluded on February 2 with different rounds being held at Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and the grand finale will be held in Kolkata. YCO 2018 assures to be a much greater event in scale and grandeur. With over 50 countries participating at the culinary extravaganza, YCO 2018 will definitely attract eyeballs. Kenyan student Vivian Asiyo Aketch and her Lecturer Chef David Kariuki at the ... Read more

The Chief Minister of Assam Sarbanand Sonwal P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi inaugurated the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Integrated Terminal Building at LGBI airport in Guwahati. “Guwahati, our jewel of pride in the North-East, is all set to emerge as an aviation hub, augmenting the much needed capacity in the region,” said Ashok Gajapathi after the foundation stone laying ceremony. The terminal consists of the departure lobby, waiting lounge, check-in counters and boarding lobby. “This new terminal building will further boost regional and South East Asian connectivity,” said Sarbanand.

The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has decided to fund a new feature film ‘Unread Pages’ directed by Jahnu Barua. The first film under the state tourism policy will be produced jointly by Hollywood-based Ivanhoe Pictures and Mumbai-based Easterly Entertainment. The film’s main aim is to give exposure to the scenic beauty of Assam on an international platform. It will also be an official announcement of an India-US co-production of a story from Assam for an international audience. It will also be Barua’s first international film. The film, which will be both in Assamese and English, is said to be ... Read more

Telangana government is planning to set up amphitheatre, tribal museum, food court and cottages at Medaram and develop it as a permanent tourist destination. The State government had already brought up Haritha tourism hotel for Rs 7.5 crore and tribal museum for Rs 2 crore. “The tourists are coming to Medaram all along the year hence it has been decided to develop Medaram as permanent tourist attraction. We will bring up amphitheatre, tribal museum, food court, cottages for VIPs etc,” said Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari. Photo Courtesy: Telanganatoday The Museum would showcase the story of Sammakka and Sarlamma. About ... Read more

Yamunotri. Photo Courtesy: wiki The ancient route to Char Dham in Uttarakhand, which is said to have been used by the Pandavas of the Mahabharata some 3,000 years ago, is to be revived. The Char Dham are four places (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram) which is considered to be the places which will help them attain nirvana. The ancient pilgrim sites in Uttarakhand such as Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath are considered chota Char Dham. The government plans to revive the ancient trekking trail that is said to have been used 3,000 years ago by the Pandavas, the five protagonist brothers ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has opened an information counter at the first platform of Tirupati railway station. The kiosk was inaugurated by APTDC Chairman V Jayarami Reddy in the presence of Tirupati Station Director K Satyanarayana. “The counter will be of immense use to pilgrims who visit Tirupati. They can get entire information about all tourism destinations in the state from the counter and plan their programmes during their pilgrimage,” Jayarami Reddy said. The display at the counter itself creates interest to the passengers in waiting to know more information. Tickets for all APTDC tours can be booked ... Read more

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Plenary Session of ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Stressing upon common cultural links between ASEAN nations and India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed that 2019 be declared “ASEAN-India Year of Tourism”. The PM also mentioned that the Buddhist Tourism circuit could be an important part of this to attract tourists and pilgrims from the region. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi delivering his opening remarks, at the ASEAN India Commemorative Summit, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Addressing the plenary session of the ASEAN-India commemorative summit, ... Read more

Bollywood heartthrob Ranveer Singh, Switzerland’s ambassador in India, has managed to drive a 25 per cent growth rate in the overnights in the Alpine nation. “We couldn’t be luckier to have Ranveer Singh as our brand and country ambassador. He has really boosted the image of Switzerland in terms of tourism to make it younger, fresher, more exciting and more active. This is exactly how we want to position Switzerland in future to place it as the most desirable outdoor destination and he is helping us in doing just that,” said Martin Nydegger, the newly appointed CEO of Switzerland Tourism. ... Read more

All of us have wondered how’s life in jails would be. Take your imaginations away! You don’t need to a criminal or the visitor of a criminal to enter the jail gates anymore. Just like the much famed Alcatraz in San Francisco and the cellular jails in Andaman, the gates of Maharashtra jails are also open to public from now on. The state prison administration is all set to send a proposal to the government to allow tourists to rent a real prison cell, where they can live for a stipulated period. If the proposal is approved, Maharashtra will be the ... Read more