Category: India

The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India on medical visa during 2016 and 2017 were estimated at 4, 27, 014 and 4, 95, 056 respectively, registering a positive growth of 15.9 per cent. “Medical Tourism holds immense potential for India. The Indian systems of medicines, viz. Ayurveda, Yoga, Panchakarma, Rejuvenation Therapy, etc., are among the most ancient systems of medical treatment in the world. India can provide medical and health care of international standards at low costs. India excels in the state of the art medical facilities, reputed health care professionals, quality nursing facilities and traditional healthcare therapies,” said K J ... Read more

The water department of Maharashtra is all set to lease out 146 of its guest houses, with some 2,000 rooms near dams. The state government will float tenders in about a week regarding the same. It is proposing to lease out the guest houses for 10 years, with an annual hike of 10 per cent in rent. The guest houses were so far available only to senior government officials and political leaders. The most sought after dam and reservoir locations are Panshet near Pune, Pench near Nagpur, Bhatsa on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, Bhandardara near Nashik, Ujani in Solapur, Jaikwadi in ... Read more

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has flagged of the `JK Tyre Orange 4X4 Fury’, as part of the Orange Festival of Adventure and Music, on 15th December 2018. The event is organised at Dambuk by Arunachal Tourism. The Chief Minister expressed hope that as connectivity improves in the North East, the states will compete with each other to attract tourists. Tourism festivals in the state such as Ziro Festival of Music, Mechuka Adventure Festival and Orange Festival have been attracting thousands of tourists to the state, said the minister. The chief minister said the Orange Festival (OFAM) initially met with skepticism, ... Read more

Mumbai’s iconic promenade at Marine Drive now has a plush toilet to go with its surrounding art deco architecture. The toilet, made at an estimated cost of Rs 90 lakh, has earned the reputation of being the city’s most expensive toilet. It was opened for public use on December 11. Constructed under a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by the Jindal Group and Samatech, the swanky toilet has been handed over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for maintenance. The civic body will keep the facility free for use for the next two months after which it may levy a ... Read more

The West Bengal government is considering the prospects of tea tourism in the state. The government has allocated over Rs 1,000 crore for the welfare of tea garden workers in the state since 2011, said the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee, in a Twitter post on International Tea Day, said her government has also been providing 35 kg of rice at Rs 2 per kg to the tea garden workers. “Today is International Tea Day. In #Bangla, we have allocated more than Rs 1,000 crore for the welfare of tea garden workers since 2011. We give 35 kg rice at ... Read more

A Global Food Policy Advocacy Initiative, ‘Tasting India’ has commenced  in Delhi from 14th and will conclude on 16th December 2018 in Delhi. ‘Eat Right’ is the the theme of this years’ programme. The event is supported by NITI Aayog, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Incredible India, The Nordics (Nordic Council of Ministers), Nordic Food Policy Lab, SDG2 Advocacy Hub, India International Center, Sweden Foodtech and Basque Culinary Center. For the first time in the country, one platform will bring together experts from around the world to discuss ways to actualize the United Nations Sustainability Goals using the ... Read more

The Indian Hotels Company is planning to spend Rs 180-200 crore to revamp budget brand Ginger Hotels. The estimated cost, as per ET reports, is Rs 8-10 lakh per key. The company is planning to renovate hotels located in key markets over the next two years and is evaluating monetising its assets to fund the proposed renovation. Six assets are being considered for the sale and lease-back arrangements, said the report. Ginger has recently launched its first prototype hotel with a new brand identity at Panjim, Goa. Ginger is present across 32 cities through 45 hotels with another 11 under ... Read more

The St Mary’s Island is all set to be developed as a national hub for cliff diving. In view of this the Udupi district administration, in association with Malpe Development Committee and Mantra Tourism Development Company, has recently conducted a one-day cliff jump training session at the island on December 13. Plans are afoot to introduce training sessions for the next three months. The authorities are also planning to host a cliff jumping fest in April 2019. The day-long training session concluded yesterday had four instructors and 10 participants. The Mantra Tourism Development Company is expecting to train atleast 20 ... Read more

  Enable Travel, an accessible holiday specialist to introduce ‘wheel chair taxi’ in Goa to enable physically challenged tourists to move around without any accessibility issues. The programme will be implemented in association with Ezy Mov, India’s fisrt point-to-point wheel chair taxi service. In the first phase, five such vehicles will be introduced in January 2019. “Goa is one of the most popular travel destinations in India for both domestic and international tourists. However, due to lack of such facilities, people with mobility issues are unable to experience it. We have partnered with Ezy Mov, who are experienced to address ... Read more

Winter is the best time to visit Nilagiri, in the Balasore district of Odisha. Every year during the winter seasons thousands of tourists flock to enjoy the climate and natural scenic beauty of Nilagiri. Panchalingeswara temple which is situated on the hilltop of the Eastern Ghats in the area will be crowded with tourists from all around the state. The famous shrine is a serene place for darshan of Lord Shiva. Surrounded by natural landscapes, the place offers tourists great experience of pilgrim, picnic and sightseeing. A stream running down the hill makes the place even more attractive, where tourists ... Read more

Photo for representation purpose only The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for construction of Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge over river Brahmaputra has been finalized.  The proposal is in the process of being evaluated by the Public Investment Board (PIB) This information was given by Mansukh L Mandaviya Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 13th December 2018. As it is a 20 Km long bridge project with navigational span of 12.625 Km, a detailed investigation of soil and hydrology of the area was required to be carried out before finalization of ... Read more

Tourism Malaysia has launched the “Malaysia Fantastic Deals” package to promote more value-for-money holiday packages to Malaysia for tourists from India. The campaign was officiated by Tuan Syed Yahya Syed Othman, Director of Package Development Division, Tourism Malaysia, and and Manoj Mehta, Country Manager of Malindo Air. The initiative sees Tourism Malaysia in partnership with Malindo Air and several popular hotels and a restaurant in Malaysia to offer a total of five packages catered specifically to the India market. The packages can be purchased through selected Indian travel agents based in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta. Bookings are open only ... Read more

Dharmendra Singh Gangwar, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Culture, Government of India has inaugurated the third exhibition of ethnic ornaments of Himachal Pradesh on 11th December 2018 at National Museum, New Delhi. The event is titled ‘Uncrowned Glory’ – An exhibition of Ethnic Ornaments of Himachal Pradesh. “This Exhibition brings out the jewellery tradition which not only conveys the mosaic of socio-cultural heritage and belief patterns of the indigenous people but signifies the artistic inclination of the communities involved in such craftsmanship,” said Gangwar. Photo for representation purpose only The exhibition aims to showcase an exquisite collection of ... Read more

Konark Temple The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Maheshwar Sharma today reiterated that there is absolutely ‘no threat’ to the structural stability of the Sun Temple at Konark which is one of the prominent world heritage sites. After attending a high-level meeting with senior officials of Odisha government, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other stakeholders held at Bhubaneswar today, Sharma informed that as per the report of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, there is no threat to the Konark Sun Temple. “Several technical aspects were discussed at the meeting and it was ascertained that ... Read more

Tamil Nadu will get a loan of USD 31 million from The Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop tourism and to enhance employment opportunities in the state. It was revealed by a finance ministry statement issued on December 11. This loan is a part of Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism (IDIPT). “The project (IDIPT) will support the conservation and restoration of 8 heritage monuments, 1 museum, 3 temples and a pond,” states the press release. “It will build various facilities at the tourism sites, including tourist information center, rest centers and toilet blocks, with facilities served by solar-powered lighting ... Read more