Category: India

Telengana government plans to ban tobacco in all the tourism destinations of the state. As part of implementing ban on tobacco in public places, Sunita M Bhagwat, the Commissioner, Department of Tourism, has sought declaration of all the tourist and heritage precincts managed by the department in the State as ‘Tobacco Free’. She wrote letters to the Managing Director, Telengana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), Director, Heritage Telangana, and also the Commissioners of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in this regard. In the letter she suggested to make all the tourism departments of the ... Read more

The 3rd edition of the Guwahati International Music Festival will be held at Pragjyoti ITA Center for Arts, Machkhowa on February 8. From the 2nd edition of the festival Conceptualized in 2010 by North-east based writer and cultural activist Aiyushman Dutta, to fill the need for a premier music festival in the country, Guwahati International Music Festival had been, showcasing the best of regional, national and international talents in the music field to the people of the region. Besides serving as a platform for interaction among musicians, music professionals, music lovers, music trade firms and music institutes, the festival was ... Read more

The wedding of Australians Tim Robertson and Kate Hamilton took place on Thursday at St Mary’s church in Gulmarg. It was the first in over three decades wedding bells ring at Kashmir’s oldest Protestant Church. The couple were adorned in traditional Indian attire; dozens of foreign skiers wearing Kashmiri Pherans were guests, local priests and snow all around. Tim Robertson and Kate Hamilton described their wedding as ‘nothing less than a fairy tale’, after the pictures shot at the snow-bound 100-year-old St. Mary’s Church were widely shared by local residents. Engaged for a year and fond of snowboarding, it took ... Read more

The curtains go up on the acclaimed annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela from 2nd February onward in Haryana, a celebration of Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage. The event will conclude on 17th February. The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. At least 20 countries and all the states of India will be participating in the Mela. Occupying a place of pride on the international tourist calendar, more than a million visitors throng the Mela during the fortnight including thousands of foreign tourists. ... Read more

The ambitious tourism project of Odisha – Shamuka beach tourism project– which will come up in 3000 acres of land at Sipasarubali Mauza, 10 km south of Puri town, is at stake, as the members of the coastal land and forest security samiti are protesting against it. Shamuka Beach, Puri The members of the outfit took out a rally against the project and staged demonstration in front of district Collectorate on Friday, 1st February 2019. As per reports, the State Government had started acquisition of land for Shamuka project at Sipasarubali Mauza by ignoring the interest of the poor and ... Read more

Infosys Foundation, the humanitarian wing of Infosys, plans to take up the conservation and restoration of the Panchakalyani, the largest ancient lake in Melukote, in the Mandya district of Karnataka. The Foundation will restore the lake by cleaning the tank, removing silt and waste deposit, ensuring structural and chemical conservation of the Panchakalyani and a nearby tank called the Ganeshan Honda, reconnecting the existing canals and building a compound wall. Panchakalyani Lake The Infosys Foundation has been working in the preservation of ancient cultural heritage of India for several years. The Panchakalyani lake is among the most visited monuments in ... Read more

30th National Road Safety Week, will be launched  in New Delhi on Monday, 4th February 2019. The event will take place at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan, Rajghat, New Delhi. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways Mansukh L Mandaviya will inaugurate the event. A host of school children, NGOs, and stakeholders in road safety from Government and industry will attend the function. From previous year’s programme Various programmes will be held during the Road Safety Week, including ... Read more

There will not be any proposal for new casinos in Goa, as per the new tourism master plan, said Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar in the legislative assembly “All stakeholders involved in the tourism industry would be consulted, before finalizing the master plan, which incidentally has been criticized by stakeholders as well as Opposition members,” said the tourism minister in a written reply on a question regarding new casinos. “The tourism master plan was prepared after various consultative sessions with several concerned stakeholders, obtaining views and comments from the elected representatives, local authorities as well as the general public,” added the ... Read more

Kashmir Tourism is considering intensive promotion of adventure tourism in the state to go along with the current market trend. Adventure tourism or active tourism, which involves physical activity in a tourist destination, is getting more popular among tourists. Some of the most popular activities are mountaineering, trekking, white water rafting, skiing, cross country skiing and ski mountaineering, and a host of other thrilling sports. According to an International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism, as of April 2018, Germany had the highest number of skiers at 14.6 million, followed by France with 8.6 million. The share of people who ... Read more

K J Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the project ‘Development of North East Circuit: Rangpo– Rorathang- Aritar- Phadamchen- Nathang-Sherathang- Tsongmo- Gangtok-Phodong- Mangan- Lachung-Yumthang- Lachen- Thangu-Gurudongmer- Mangan- Gangtok-Tuminlingee- Singtam’ implemented under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, on 30th January 2019. Ugen T Gyatso, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Sikkim in Zero Point, Gangtok was also present on the occasion. The development of Tourism in North Eastern Region being prime area of focus for the Ministry of Tourism, several initiatives for growth of domestic and international tourism in the region has been taken by the ... Read more

Rajasthan’s newly elected Congress government reverts its old tourism slogan ‘Padharo Mhare Desh’ (Welcome to our land), which was changed by the previous BJP government to ‘Jaane Kya Dikh Jaye’ (You never know what you might see) in 2016. The Congress government has rolled back the previous government’s decision with an order issued on 25th January 2019. The state Tourism Department has also added ‘Rajasthan – The incredible state of India’ in the department logo, along with ‘Padharo Mhare Desh.’ “Padharo Mhare Desh is Rajasthan tourism’s traditional logo and connects with the state’s tradition and culture. Changing it to ‘Jaane ... Read more

India received the Award of Excellence for ‘Best in Show’ at the recently concluded New York Times Travel Show 2019, the largest travel show in North America, held from 25th – 27th January in New York, USA. Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism receives the Award of Excellence The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India participated as the ‘ Presenting Partner’ in the New York Times Travel Show (NYTTS 2019) organized at Jacob K Javits Centre, New York with a view to scale up its tourism promotional efforts in the US, enhance India’s visibility and to increase its share of US ... Read more

Department of Tourism, Arunachal Pradesh has declared Ledum village in Bilat Circle of East Siang district as the ‘cleanest village’, as per the “Adopt a Village” programme in relation with the National Tourism Day. “Ledum has full potentials to be a Model Tourism Village,” said Tate Tata, District Tourism Officer, while addressing the stakeholders and resources persons and explained the aims and objectives of the programme. He then appreciated the local committee members, village authority and common public as a whole for making Ledum a plastic-free village.   He urged also to continue the ‘Swachhta Abhiyan’ programme on regular basis to keep ... Read more

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of several road projects and river development works in Bihar tomorrow. Radhamohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, will accompany him, along with other officials. Gadkari will inaugurate and lay foundation stone for two national highways projects worth Rs 505 crore in Raxaul. These include foundation stone for work of widening of 69 km section of NH-28A from Piprakothi to Motihari and Raxaul (including ICP Link road) with a cost of Rs 333.60 crore, and inauguration of the widening to 2-lane and ... Read more

Narthaki Natraj, a renowned dancer from Tamil Nadu has become the first person from the trans community to be honoured with one of the top civilian awards in India. The 54-year-old Bharatanatyam exponent was among those bestowed with ‘Padma Shri’, the third highest civilian award this year. The award was announced on the occasion of the nation’s 70th Republic Day on 26th January 2019. Born in the temple town of Madurai, she left her home at the age of 11 due to the disrespect and rejection from family and the society. K P Kittappa Pillai, renowned dance master of Tanjaore, ... Read more