Category: News

Etihad Airways will increase its flights from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow, from three to up to four daily services, to meet peak demand during the month of April. Commencing 5 April 2019, the flights will be operated by a two-class Boeing 787-9, featuring Etihad Airways’ next-generation Business and Economy cabins, configured with 299 seats – 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. “We are thrilled to announce more flights to London during April, in response to increased demand in the lead up to and post the Easter holidays. This is a busy travel time for families looking to ... Read more

The iconic Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram is celebrating its centenary this year, with five star status. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) is planning a comprehensive renovation/restoration project for the hotel with an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore. It was announced by M Vijayakumar, KTDC Chairman, on a press meeting held on 22nd February 2019. R Rahul, Managing Director of KTDC was also present on the occasion. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala will inaugurate the renovation works on February 27, at 10 am, at Mascot Hotel. Minister for Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran will be present at the inaugural function. “Mascot ... Read more

Emirates will launch a four times weekly service between Portugal’s second largest city, Porto, and Dubai, from 2 July 2019. Porto will become Emirates’ second destination in Portugal after its capital, Lisbon, which the airline currently serves with two flights a day. The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three class cabin configuration, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. Emirates’ new service will provide travellers in northern Portugal, a major urban area, as well as those in the north-west of Spain ... Read more

The Uday Samudra Hotel in Kovalam is all set to conduct the first International Waitress Race on the occasion of International Women’s Week. The International Waitress Race will be held on March 13, 2019. “Women empowerment and women rights are burning issues in today’s world and many women are deprived of their talents and self worth. The event will be held every year,” said Raja Gopaal Iyer, CEO, UDS Group. The race is expected to encourage women and help them in understanding their worth and that they also stand a place among men in this society. The waitresses will race from Vellar junction to UDS Hotel, ... Read more

Kerala Tourism’s ambitious project ‘Spice Route’ is getting close to implementation. As per recent reports the 2000 year old trade route will be revived with the help of other nations, who were part of the ancient trade route. The countries would be sharing information, knowledge and discussing ways to conserve this shared heritage. Artistic presentation of ancient port in Muzris Historical records reveal that 31 countries in Europe, Asia and Far East had spice trade with ancient Kerala, including Afghanistan, Burma, China, Denmark, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mozambique, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal and Spain. A journey along the Spice Route is ... Read more

The Shanghumukham beach is all set to celebrate beach carnival from today. The carnival organized by the Shanghumukham Art Museum under the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, will also be supported by Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan and the District Tourism Promotion Council. The main attraction of the beach carnival is the synchronized lighting that strikes the shores of Shankhumukham across the shore. Every evening, there will be various sports competitions followed by entertainment programmes at night. This is the first time such an event is organized in the capital city. Culture Minister AK Balan will inaugurate the beach carnival today at 6 pm. Mayor ... Read more

The Tourism sector of India has created nearly 14 million jobs in the country, employing all sections of the society, in the last four years, said KJ Alphons, Union Tourism Minister. He was addressing the 2nd Meeting of National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) at Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat.   “India has climbed from 7th rank in 2017 to 3rd rank in 2018 in World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Power and Performance index which has an impact on our Civil Aviation sector,” said Alphons, while narrating the excellent performance of the country globally in recent years. The Minister ... Read more

Kochi has immense potential to be developed as a destination for experiential tourism, considering the heritage value of the scenic seaside town known for its vintage looks and multi-ethnic population. It was opined by Kochi MLA K J Maxy during a workshop organized by the Responsible Tourism Mission. Kochi MLA K J Maxy inaugurates the workshop Fort Kochi has already come under the state’s Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission, which is the nodal agency for introducing and implementing sustainable tourism models for the state. “With its distinct demography and socio-historical status, Kochi merits more prominence on the tourism map,” said the ... Read more

The Government of Canada has issued travel advisory warning its citizens not to travel to India. “Exercise a high degree of caution in India due to a continuing threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country at all times,” it said. The advisory also tells to avoid non-essential travel to parts of north eastern India, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, due to conflict. It also advises to avoid all travel to Western border with Bangladesh and Jammu and Kashmi, due to sporadic terrorist activity and violent demonstrations. This advisory excludes travelling to Ladakh via Manali, and air travel to Leh, it said. ... Read more

Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) and the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka will organise Multi City Road-shows in the months of March & April, 2019 to promote Karnataka Tourism and Travel Industry. Various tourist places, hotels, resorts, home-stays, Tour operators and other service providers from Karnataka will take part in the promotion campaigns. Mumbai, Goa, New Delhi & Lucknow are few selected cities for hosting road-shows on the following dates. This exclusive B2B Road-show will have over 20 travel agents from Karnataka interacting with more than 100 travel agents and tour operators of the respective cities. The main ... Read more

Barbie is now partnering with National Geographic on a travel-themed line of dolls, accessories and media. The new line of dolls will focus not only on exploring the world, but also on science, conservation and research. “The new line will feature career dolls and playsets that highlight occupations that are typically underrepresented by women,” said National Geographic. This new career dolls are expected to create an interest in children with the new role models. “Through our partnership with National Geographic, girls can now imagine themselves as an Astrophysicist, Polar Marine Biologist and more,” said Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and General ... Read more

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for NH and Development works Namami Gange project at Haridwar in Uttarakhand today 21st February 2019. The Minister will lay the foundation stone for seven NH projects worth Rs 5,555 Crore. These include  the balance work under package one on 14.948 km long road from Haridwar to Laltappar on Haridwar-Dehradun section of NH-58 and 72, to be built at a cost of Rs 350 crore, the balance work under package two on 22.2 km long road from Laltappar to Mahkampur on Haridwar-Dehradun section of ... Read more

India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) is coming up in Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor. The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal, which include construction of RRTS, covering a distance of 82.15 km (68.03 km elevated and 14.12 km underground) at a total completion cost of Rs 30,274 crores Photo for representative purpose only Cabinet also approved Central financial assistance of Rs 5,634 crore in the form of grant and sub-ordinate debt. Decision on institutional arrangement and legal framework for the project and conditions of sanction of the project also has been taken. The RRTS is a first-of-its-kind, rail-based, high-speed regional transit ... Read more

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved proposal for the implementation of Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II, The Phase-II of the project comprises of two corridors of total length 28.254km i.e. Corridor 1 from Motera Stadium to Mahatma mandir for a length of 22.838 km and Corridor 2 from GNLU to GIFT City for a length of 5.416 km at a total completion cost of Rs 5,384.17 crore. The cabinet also approved the institutional arrangement and legal framework for the project and conditions of sanction of the project. Implementation of the project is expected to provide the ... Read more

National Tourism Advisory Council  will meet on 21st – 22nd February 2019 at the site of the newly made Statue of Unity, Kevadiya in Gujarat. The objective of the brainstorming would be how to achieve a target of 5 million visitors to the Statue of Unity by next year. The world’s tallest statue of the iconic leader Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel is 182 meter tall. K J Alphons, Union Tourism Minister, will chair the meeting. Apart from regular members of the NTAC, experts from the hospitality, travel and tour industry have been invited to attend the meeting.  The National Tourism Advisory ... Read more