Category: News

  On the formation of Telengana state, Indian Railways was required to examine establishing a new railway zone in the successor State of Andhra Pradesh. The matter has been examined in detail in consultation with stake holders and it has been decided to go ahead with creation of a new zone with headquarter at Visakhapatnam. The new zone named ‘South Coast Railway (SCoR)’, will comprise of existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions.  It was announced by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways. Accordingly, Waltair division shall be split into two parts. One part of Waltair division will be incorporated in ... Read more

ENTER2019, the leading eTourism conference organised annually by the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT), was held this year in sunny Nicosia, Cyprus on 29 January – 1 February. One of the key themes at this year’s ENTER were artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Renowned for its topical debates, inspiring keynotes, and highly practical workshops, ENTER has brought together leading academics and industry professionals in travel and technology since 1994. Over the years the conference has firmly established its place as a platform showcasing cutting-edge research in eTourism and shedding light on current developments as well as future ... Read more

Nepal Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari has been killed in a helicopter  crash near Pathibhara in Taplejung district. All seven on board including the tourism minister in the helicopter AS350 are reported killed as confirmed by an Air Dynasty official. The crash took place in Sisne Khola area, 6 nm (nautical miles) from Taplejung in the afternoon. Travelling with Minister Adhikari were the pilot of the helicopter Captain Prabhakar KC, tourism entrepreneur Ang Tshiring Sherpa, security personnel Arjun Ghimire, Under-Secretary at the Prime Minister’s office Yubaraj Dahal, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Birendra Shrestha, and CAAN Engineer ... Read more

  Kerala’s Malabar region will have a prominent place in the tourism map of the Kerala with the operation of the Kannur Airport, said Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. He was addressing the Partnership Meet conducted in Chennai. “With the inauguration of the Kannur International Airport, the world can now wake up to the wonders of Malabar. Kerala Tourism will leverage upon established destinations in North Kerala like Bekal and Wayanad, whilst giving thrust to lesser known micro destinations in Kannur and Kasaragode districts, like Valiyaparamba Backwaters, Kuppam and Ranipuram,” said the minister. “Kerala has always promised to be an ... Read more

Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Praphu address the conclave The Ministry of Civil Aviation, in association with Airports Authority of India, AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited and Confederation of Indian Industry has organized the Aviation Conclave 2019 with an overarching theme of ‘Flying for All’ in New Delhi today, 27th February 2019. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, stated that realizing Government’s vision of making ‘Flying for All’ a reality underpins the government’s commitment to bring about a veritable revolution in the Indian aviation sector. He further reiterated that the ball was set rolling during the ... Read more

The Oman Embassy in Delhi has issued an advisory for its citizens who plan to travel to India in the coming days due to the developments unfolding in Jammu and Kashmir. The embassy has asked citizens to avoid not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir until the situation in the region stabilizes and until further notice. “Due to the events taking place in the State of Jammu and Kashmir in the friendly Republic of India, the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in New Delhi calls upon the dear citizens not to travel to those areas at the present time until ... Read more

Ministry of AYUSH and WHO has been jointly organizing a three days Working Group Meeting for reviewing the WHO document ‘Benchmarks for Training in Yoga, from 26-28 February, 2019 at New Delhi. The meeting is coordinated by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). WHO is developing Benchmarks Document for Training in Yoga as part of its global strategy to strengthen the quality, safety and effectiveness of Traditional and Complementary Medicine.  Development of this benchmarks document is included in the Project Collaboration Agreement signed between World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of AYUSH on Cooperation in the field of Traditional ... Read more

Palladium Hotel Group has opened two new resorts, TRS Coral Hotel and Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa, located in Costa Mujeres, north of Cancun, Mexico. The resorts house a one-of-a-kind ‘Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre’ that was officially inaugurated by the legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal himself alongside Abel Matutes, CEO of Palladium Hotel Group. “This is the first tennis complex that we opened outside the “Rafa Nadal Academy” in Mallorca and I am very excited to be able to do so in a compound as incredible as this. The Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre will be the ideal place ... Read more

The government is taking the necessary steps to implement a Tourism Policy for the state for promotion and development of tourism, said  Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh. He was replying to a question in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. The chief minister also informed of that infrastructure development projects funded by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) and NEC (North Eastern Council) is under process as well. The chief minister informed the House that a total of Rs 4171.14 lakh has been allocated in the Revised Estimate of 2018-19, of which Rs. 3703.14 ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Unique Travels The Kerala Tourism Department, in association with Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS), will launch a programme to train tourism guides in the state. The programme aims to create a pool of trained tourist guides with a firm understanding of the job and excellent proficiency in languages. As part of the programme, 150 regional guides and 50 state level guides will get proper training. The programme will be inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran on February 27 at the International Training Centre of KIITS at 10 am. Dr Shashi Tharoor, MP, will deliver the key-note address at ... Read more

Kerala has registered a 35 per cent increase in Chinese tourist inflow to the state, informed Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The minister also said that trade relationship between the two neighbouring countries is good for the all round development of the nations. “With more co-operation and people to people interactions there will be a steady increase in the flow of tourists to the state,” said the minister while addressing the gathering at “The need to strengthen India China Bilateral relations and co-operation for Peace and Development” seminar at Press Club. “The trade between India and China has touched $84 billion and this ... Read more

The Kappil beach in Thiruvananthapuram, which is a confluence of the sea, river and the backwater, has got a facelift with the new projects coming in shape. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has inaugurated the Kappil Beach beautification project, which is aimed to promote water sport activities in the area. The pristine Kappil Beach and backwaters, located just 7 km away from Varkala, is a peaceful area with ample chances to simply relax or take a comforting boat ride. The Kodi Hills nearby offers a breath-taking view that is sure the capture the hearts of all those who make the trek ... Read more

India’s budget carrier IndiGo is planning services to China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Myanmar among other countries as part of its efforts to expand its international network. The carrier also has plans to start services to Turkey and Commonwealth of Independent States countries. IndiGo also plans to add frequencies in existing routes. IndiGo has also announced plans to fly from Pune to Male in Maldives soon, which is expected to start the service by the end of March. IndiGo currently operates international flights to 12 countries including Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and ... Read more

The Sultanate of Oman has recorded a 12.37 per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals with 357,147 travellers visiting the country from January to December 2018 vis-à-vis 317,844 in 2017 making India the second highest source market for Oman. This marks a remarkable growth of 39.4 per cent over the last five years, as per the statistics released by Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). The country received 1,484,063 international travelers in 2018 vis-à-vis 1,369,199 in 2017, which is significantly higher, showcasing a growth of over 8.39 per cent. The numbers do not include regional travelers from other ... Read more

Privatization of the Thiruvanathapuram airport is widely welcomed by the stakeholders. It is said that privatization will improve the infrastructure facilities and quality of service. SN Raghuchandran Nair, President of Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of Airport Users Consultative Committee, said that the move will be beneficial to the tourism industry in long run. “We consider it as a positive move for the airport, which has been losing its galore in recent years. Privatization will encourage competition and the airlines have to reduce ticket rates to attract more passengers. If the infrastructure and other conditions improve, more international airlines ... Read more