Category: News

Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka posts a 7 per cent growth in February 2019, with over 250,000 tourists arriving in the destination. The top five international tourist-generating markets are India, Britain, China, France and Germany. Russia and the United States also recorded a significant growth in the last month. About 28,039 out of 252,033 tourists arrivals were from China in February, informed the Tourism ministry of Sri Lanka. In the first two months of 2019, Sri Lanka welcomed over 490,000 tourists. the ministry aims to attract at least 300,000 Chinese tourists this year, with ongoing publicity campaigns in several cities across China. “It is ... Read more

Czech Republic is slowly becoming an emerging destination among Indian travellers, with Indian tourist arrivals saw a 12.5 per cent growth in 2018. Czech Republic welcomed 96,325 Indian visitors through the year and recorded a total number of 2, 36,145 nights spent by Indians last year, with the average length of stay being 3 .5 nights per visit. While Prague and its attractions remain popular among travellers, an increased interest has been recorded in newer experiences such as beer spa, glass–blowing and wine tasting, bringing Indian footfall to the newer parts, including the South Moravian region. “The theme of the ... Read more

Akaryn Hotel Group, the innovative hospitality company with a portfolio of boutique luxury hotels and resorts in Thailand, is sharing the love with a series of unique wedding and proposal experiences for couples at its properties in Thailand. The Group’s creative operations team has come up with a selection of magical moments that are all about popping the ultimate question in a dynamic and decidedly different style, including an underwater gesture of love, a floating proposal, a request unveiled from a fisherman’s net in the sea. Lovers ready to take the plunge can head to the stylish rooftop swimming pool ... Read more

Emirates has announced the launch of a second daily flight from Dubai (DXB) to London Stansted (STN) starting 1st July, 2019. The additional flight means that Emirates customers will now have 11 daily flight options to and from three London airports. As with the first, the second daily flight to Stansted will also be operated by Emirates’ ‘game changing’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration with 6 private suites in First Class, 42 fully-flat beds in Business Class and 306 seats in Economy Class. The aircraft offers customers an enriched travel experience across all cabins with newly designed seats ... Read more

Niraamaya Retreats has launched its third retreat in Kerala on the banks of Vembanad lake in Kumarakom. The all new Niraamaya Retreats Backwaters & Beyond is now open for bookings. Niraamaya boasts 27 luxurious villas designed to maximize the glorious views of the lake, which also features a large 25m pool and a performance deck apart from two restaurants. “I am very excited to unveil the Niraamaya Retreats Backwaters and Beyond. This is our third property in Kerala and we intend to open two more resorts in Fort Kochi and Munnar to have a well-defined wellness circuit in Kerala. We at ... Read more

Bakel Fort, Kasargod Do you know story telling? Are you an expert cook? Can you win hearts with your smile? If the answers are YES, Kerala Tourism’s BRDC (Bekal Resorts Development Corporation) invites you to become entrepreneurs in the tourism sector under its SMiLE (Small & Medium Industries Leveraging Experiential Tourism) project. Indigenous culinary and tastes have become an integral part of experiential tourism today. Story telling about the destinations has also become a popular devise to attract more tourists to those destinations. BRDC plans to utilize the indigenous tastes of Malabar to lure tourists to the region by providing ... Read more

West Bengal Tourism has joined hands with the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India (TATA Steel PGTI), the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India, and Tollygunge Club to come up with a new golfing event- the Bengal Open Golf Championship 2019. The idea behind this association is to leverage the golf tournament in promoting the state as top tourism destination. The Pro-Am event will carry a prize purse of Rs 30 lakh. The top Indian professionals who will be in the fray include SSP Chawrasia, four-time European Tour winner, Rahil Gangjee, a winner on the Japan Golf ... Read more

Marriott International has launched Courtyard by Marriott Siliguri. Comprising 130 rooms, meeting and conference facilities, and a mix of dining options, the Courtyard by Marriott Siliguri’s banquet hall has 4000 sqft of indoor and outdoor space. “The opening of the first Courtyard by Marriott in the East of India marks a great milestone for Marriott International. It was a matter of time before the Marriott Brand came to Siliguri, the Gateway to the North East of India. Marriott is globally renowned for its intuitive service and commitment to providing guests with truly enriching experiences. We believe this property will create ... Read more

Turkish Airlines said it is all set to operate from the new Istanbul Airport from April 5, 2019. The first flight from Istanbul Airport will begin on April 5 at 03:00. Turkish Airlines will end all scheduled flights at Ataturk Airport as of April 6 at 2.00 am and will resume all flight operations planned for Ataturk Airport from its new hub at Istanbul New Airport. As the greatest airport project of the world, the first stage of the move towards Istanbul Airport was back on October 29th, 2018. Unique in the global aviation history, the moving operation will take 45 ... Read more

Thomas Cook India has curated its exclusive Ladies First, women-only group tours, to popular domestic and international destinations. Recognizing safety as one of the top concerns of women travellers, a key element is the inclusion of a dedicated Thomas Cook woman Tour Manager. The tours celebrate and cater to India’s women with a range of local experiences, out-door/adventure, shopping, spa-wellness, etc. was launched on International Women’s Day (March 8). The women-only tours curated by Thomas Cook India, allow women to enjoy a sense of freedom and comfort in the company of women co-travellers while exploring a range of destinations on ... Read more

Boracay Island of Philippines has still been favourite among Chinese and Korean tourists, despite the challenges posed by its closure and rehabilitation in recent months. As per the statistics of the Department of Tourism in Boracay, the two leading tourist market sources accounted for 80 per cent of 216,766 foreigners visiting the island for the first two months of 2019. Overall, the domestic tourism market drew 110,406 arrivals, 13,147 of whom were overseas Filipino workers. Total tourist arrivals for the first two months totalled 340,309 compared to 375,993 last year. The drop in tourist numbers was due to Boracay’s closure ... Read more

The long-awaited Bareilly airport building was inaugurated by state civil aviation minister Nand Gopal Nandi and Union minister Santosh Gangwar. Flight operations at the airport are expected to start soon. Bareilly will be connected to Lucknow and Delhi soon under government UDAN scheme. The new terminal can handle 75 passengers during peak hour. The Bareilly and associated regions are expected to experience a boost across various sectors through the air connectivity. The first flight from Bareilly to Delhi or Bareilly to Lucknow is expected to start on April 15, 2019. According to reports in TOI, a 72-seater flight from Lucknow ... Read more

Vistara has announced Dibrugarh as its twenty fourth destination in a press release. The carrier will operate its daily direct flights between Dibrugarh and Bagdogra, effective from April 3, 2019 at a starting all-inclusive fare of Rs 2,399. SpiceJet has also announced new flights to various domestic destinations at a starting price of Rs 2,293. The carrier has announced ten new flights at a starting all-inclusive price of Rs 2,293. Eight of SpiceJet’s newly announced flights will connect Gwalior to different cities and two will fly on the Bhopal-Udaipur route. The airline also announced the introduction of new flights on ... Read more

ITB Berlin concludes leaving a positive outlook to the participants about future of the travel and tourism industry. Despite a slowdown in the world economy, demand within the world’s travel industry remains extremely stable. The main highlight of ITB Berlin was the rise in the number of participants to 113,500, a three per cent increase compared with last year, underlining the fact that even in times of widespread uncertainty due to geopolitical and economic events such as Brexit and trade conflicts, ITB Berlin has retained its position as the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show. ”ITB Berlin is of great importance, ... Read more

Japan Airlines (JAL) said it will launch a new non-stop daily service between Tokyo (Narita) and Bengaluru from 2020. With this service, JAL is introducing the first direct flights to Tokyo from  a South Indian city. JAL, which now has direct flights to Tokyo from New Delhi, is planning to operate flights on the Bengaluru-Tokyo route daily. The Tokyo-Bengaluru flight will leave Tokyo at 6:25 pm and reach Bengaluru at 12:05 am (next day). In return, the flight will leave at 2:45 am from Bengaluru and reach Tokyo at 2:55 pm. “The IT industry is thriving in Bangalore and is ... Read more