Category: India

Gujarat to relocate crocodiles from Statue of Unity premises

Gujarat government to relocate the Crocodiles in the ponds near the Patel statue – Statue of Unity, for enabling the implementation of a sea plane project  for the tourists. There are around 500 reptiles in two ponds on the statue premises. It is reported that the forest department has removed 15 so far. The crocodiles are likely to be released at the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam reservoir. The Airports Authority of India and the Department of Civil Aviation had prepared a feasibility report about the seaplane service in the run-up to the inauguration of the Statue of Unity. “We are ... Read more

29 tourism activities to get industry status in Uttarakhand

With the aim of increasing tourism activities in the state, Uttarakhand tourism department has given industry status to 29 new activities. Issuing the notification, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has issued orders to provide financial incentives and other facilities under the policy. Satpal Maharaj, Tourism & Culture Minister of Uttarakhand, said that now the businessmen of the tourism sector will be able to avail status of industry for the tourism activities. A notification has been issued regarding new activities of tourism. Floating Resorts in Tehri Lake “This will motivate the local youth for self-employment and get benefit ... Read more

Tourism contributes 10 per cent of India’s GDP

Tourism has been playing a vital role in the economic development of India; the contribution of the tourism sector to the GDP is around 10 per cent in 2018 as per recent reports of ‘Statista’. As per the report tourism accounted for over USD 250 billion in 2018 covering around 10 per cent of India’s economy of USD 2.5 trillion. According to a Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2018 India report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts), ... Read more

Indian Railways to showcase tableau themed ‘Mohan se Mahatma’ on Republic Day

When the nation is celebrating its 70th Republic day on Sunday, 26th January 2019, Indian Railways is all set to showcase their tableau with the theme “Mohan se Mahatma”. The tableau illustrates an evolutionary journey of Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Railways. Indian Railways Tableau depicts the “transformation of Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi”. The incident in 1893, when the young Mohan Das was thrown out of a “European only” compartment at Pietermaritzburg railway station in South Africa, acted as a catalyst for him to practice ‘Satyagrah’. He later emerged as ‘Mahatma’ for this nation. The front portion ... Read more

New cable stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa to be inaugurated on Sunday

Mandovi Bridge Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways will inaugurate the newly built, 5.1 km long, four-lane, cable stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa on Sunday, 27th January 2019. The bridge will support and sustain burgeoning traffic in Panjim. It will facilitate routing of Mumbai bound traffic coming in from Bangalore via Ponda route and Old Goa towards NH-17, bypassing the main Panjim City. It will also help overcome the bottlenecks caused at Panaji KTC Circle, and Panaji Entrance as the same route is currently being used by local traffic as well as NH-17 Highway bound ... Read more

Amaravati to be world’s most iconic riverine tourism destination

A workshop on ‘Andhra Pradesh: Building a Global Tourism Destination’ was organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi by Centre for Strategy and Leadership (CSL) in association with Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA), Government of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is aimed to become a world class capital and a tourism hub as envisaged by the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The Amaravati Tourism City is planned in proximity to the historic Undavalli caves along the river Krishna water front with the objective of boosting leisure, business, eco, health as well as religious tourism. APCRDA is the nodal agency which is developing ... Read more

Drinking liquor on Goan beaches will attract fine and imprisonment

Goa, the state known for its beach tourism, is planning to ban drinking liquor in public places and beaches.  Goa Cabinet has approved the amendment to the provision of strict disciplinary measures to ban food and cooking food besides drinking alcohol. As per the new law, the offenders will be imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 or three months imprisonment. Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said the amendment was aimed at preventing liquor bottles in the beaches, discouraging alcohol and cooking food. “Nobody can drink alcohol on our beaches and tourist places any more. Bottles cannot be carried there. Food ... Read more

Indian Railways extends 22 pairs of train services

Indian railway extends 22 pairs of train services running on Indian Railways system. It was announced by Piyush Goyal, Minister or Railways and Coal, in Rail Bhavan on Wednesday. These extensions will provide additional connectivity between various places in the country. Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman, Railway Board; Girish Pillai, Member Traffic, Railway Board and other senior officers were present on the occasion. Speaking of the occasion, the minister said, the extension of train services will reduce additional lie-over time of the trains across various Zones of Indian Railways. “The first successful experiment of extension was introduced on Gatimaan Express, which ... Read more

Visakhapatnam to receive 7 star cruise liner

Giving stimulus to the tourism industry, Visakhapatnam port to receive a cruise liner from Trincomalee (Sri Lanka) carrying around 100 foreign tourists. The seven starred cruiser – Silver Discoverer- will reach the port on Thursday morning for a dawn-to-dusk halt. “It will be a special day to remember for all of us. The arrival of such a big cruise liner will also give impetus to our plan to construct a world-class cruise terminal between the Visakha Container Terminal Private Ltd and Channel Berth,” said P L Haranadh, Visakhapatnam Port Deputy Chairman. The proposed cruise terminal will be built with cost ... Read more

Park Hotels unveils plan for 4,000 rooms in 5 years

The Apeejay Surrendra Group, which owns The Park Hotels, is planning to double its inventory to 4,000 keys over the next five years. It is also planning to add niche offerings that include management of heritage properties and making them commercially viable. The Park and The Park Collection will target the luxury and super-luxury segments, while the Zone by The Park will cater to the upscale category. The company currently has an inventory of 1,770 keys, through 19 properties. Nearly 65 per cent of the rooms are located across own properties. According to Vijay Dewan, Managing Director, Apeejay Surrendra Park ... Read more

IRCTC plans affordable pod hotels for station stopovers

The Indian Railway Catering Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) is all set to open pod hotels near the Mumbai Central Railway station, for which they have already sent a proposal to the Western Railways, and approval is awaited. Pod hotels/capsule hotels were first developed in Japan and had attracted the world’s attention with their compact accommodation system which includes top-of-the-class amenities that one would find in any hotel room. India’s first such hotel opened in Andheri (Mumbai) in 2017. With these pod hotels,which is set to be spread over 4000 square feet, IRCTC is planning to provide a stopover option that is ... Read more

Wish to experience the life in Igloo – visit Hamta Pass in Kullu-Manali

Forget about going to Antarctica to experience the life in an Igloo. Two youngsters, Vikas Kumar and Tashi Dorje, have built snow huts near the Hamta Pass at Sainthen village in Kullu district to attract tourists in the region. The concept of igloo tourism (stay in snow houses) was conceived by the youth in 2017 to give fillip to winter tourism in Kullu-Manali. The igloo tourism is gaining momentum. They had built one igloo on a trial basis. When the response was encouraging, they decided to move forward in an organised way. This year they have developed three igloos, especially ... Read more

Jammu Kashmir to promote Seri-tourism

Jammu and Kashmir’s Sericulture and Tourism departments are planning to introduce ‘Seri-Tourism’ as a joint venture to promote both the sectors for enhancing the livelihood opportunities, a senior government official has said. Under the first phase, model mulberry gardens of highly improved Japanese mulberry plants would be established at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course (JTGC), Sidhra and the Royal Springs Golf Course (RSGC) in Srinagar during this season, said Secretary, Tourism, Rigzin Samphael at a meeting here on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Director Sericulture Gulzar Ahmad Shabnum, Secretary of the JTGC, Sidhra Hitesh Gupta and other senior officers ... Read more

Film Industry has a great role in promoting tourism – PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that film industry has an enormous role in promoting tourism, which has the added benefit of employment generation. He was inaugurating the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai on Saturday, 19th January 2019. The PM took a tour of the Museum, after which he addressed a gathering of the film fraternity. Speaking on the occasion, he congratulated everyone for the inauguration of NMIC, which he said showcases the entire history of Indian cinema in one place. He also congratulated the film fraternity, under whose guidance Indian cinema has been continuously making new strides. Talking about ... Read more

Tourism Minister to be guardian of two Royal Bengal tigers

Aman and Dia in a playful fight(Photo Courtesy: Hindustan Times) Navjot Singh Sidhu , Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister of Punjab, decided to adopt two Royal Bengal tigers at Chhatbir zoo on Thurday. The Six-year-old Aman and his five-year-old companion Dia will be now the responsibility of the cricketer-turned-politician. Dia is a white Royal Bengal tiger, born in the zoo in 2013, while Aman, born in 2012 at a Kanpur zoo, was brought here in 2015. Dia’s brother Love, was given to the Kanpur zoo in exchange for Aman by the Chhatbir zoo authorities. Sidhu has to spent Rs 4,12,800 ... Read more