Category: News

Mount Nebo, Jordan The Jordan tourism revenues have surpassed the $5-billion mark in 2018, marking an 8 per cent increase from last year’s $4.6 billion, according to data released by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ). The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the sector is continuing to achieve more gains marked by a continuous rise in performance indicators, and that the ministry is moving forward within the Royal directives and the government’s support towards scaling up tourism in the Kingdom, in terms of achieving its developmental goals and ... Read more

Chamundesswary Temple The union ministry has sanctioned development project worth Rs 100 crore in Chamundi Hills of Karnataka, under the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme. The project will be implemented without affecting the surrounding ecosystem of the iconic Chamundesswary temple. The ministry has approved the project in principle and it is said to be the only temple from Karnataka to have developmental works as per the PRASAD scheme. The scheme was launched in 2014-15 by the Union Ministry of Tourism. It aims at integrated development of pilgrimage destinations in planned, prioritized and sustainable manner to provide ... Read more

  World’s largest cricket stadium, with seating capacity of over 1 lakh is coming up at Motera in Ahmedabad. Gujarat Cricket Association vice-president Parimal Nathwani on Sunday tweeted out pictures of the stadium under construction, stating that the dream project of the state cricket board will become a symbol of pride for the nation. “World’s Largest Cricket Stadium, larger than Melbourne, is under construction at Motera in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Once completed the dream project of GujaratCricketAssociation will become pride of entire India. Sharing glimpses of construction work under way,” tweeted Parimal Nthwayi. The stadium is said to be built across ... Read more

The All India Professionals’ Congress, a department of the Indian National Congress, is conducting Travel Tourism Contest and Conclave, under the Explore Idukki project. “The event is a combination of entertainment, travel and competition. We are planning to promote tourism in Idukki through social media promotions, as part of the competition,” said Mathew Kuzhalnadan, President, AIPC. Photo, selfie, tik tok contests are the categories planned as part of the event. The event, under the theme ‘The Unseen Idukki”, will be conducted from January 20 to February 20, 2019. Those who wish to participate has to upload photographs, selfies or tik ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh Tourism department plans to promote the concept of homestays in areas where commercial accommodation providers are less in the Krishna, Guntur and West Godavari districts. This is as part of the state’s second phase of rural tourism development plans. Relevant places from these districts will be selected and included in the tour packages. The authorities envisage identifying three villages in every district for developing rural tourism. 37 villages with scope of rural tourism in all 13 districts of the State have already been identified and out of them, 17 have been finalized and five clusters were formed. In ... Read more

Japan has introduces a ‘departure tax’ for those travel abroad via flight or ship. The tax came into being from Monday, 7th January 2018. Infants under 2 years of age and travellers who transit within 24 hours are exempted from the tax. 1000 yen (around USD 9) is the tax per individual. The purpose of the tax is to create new revenue, which will be utilized for improving the travel services and to provide travellers with better facilities, especially in rural areas. Legislation has passed in this regard in April 2018. As per government officials, the move is to increase ... Read more

Kashmir has reportedly witnessed the lowest ever tourist footfall in the last seven years, recording only 8.5 lakh domestic and foreign tourists visiting the valley in total in 2018. The record shows a decline of about 23 per cent from 2017, which saw around 11 lakh tourists visitors to Kashmir. The recent parliamentary panel report has blamed the GST implementation for ‘negative impact’ on tourism sector in Kashmir. “The decline in the number of tourists to Kashmir is because of the uncertainty projected by electronic media around the country. The smallest of incidents in the remotest part of the state is being highlighted ... Read more

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has joined hands with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to promote Kumbh Mela 2019. More than 12 crore pilgrims are expected to visit the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 starting January 15 at Prayagraj (Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh, including 10 lakh foreign tourists. “This event is organised at four places in the country. The event held at Prayagraj itself is a subject of attraction and curiosity for the country and the world. Following the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UNESCO has included Kumbh in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” said Suresh Kumar Khanna, ... Read more

Emirates has launched special fares for travellers from India to select destinations from the airline’s global network, providing opportunities for travellers to explore over 159 destinations. The limited-time only fares can be booked between January 8 and 15, for a travel period from January 15 till November 30. “With return fares starting from Rs 19,473 to Dubai, there is more reason to embark upon new adventures,” Emirates said in a statement. The passengers who have booked on an Economy Class roundtrip ticket to Dubai can also enjoy additional baggage allowance on their return journey during the Dubai Shopping Festival 2019. ... Read more

The three-day annual National Budding Chef Competition (NBCC 2019), is all set to be conducted from January 20-22, 2019 at the School of Hospitality, AURO University, Surat, Gujarat. Organized by the School of Hospitality Management, Surat, the event will showcase the Culinary Skills and Hospitality Knowledge of students from Hotel Management Colleges across India and the Sub-Continent. More than 20 teams across India from over eight states are expected to share the stage and display their talent in front of dazzling ensemble of judges at NBCC 2019. Some of the interesting competitions of NBCC on day one include Kitchens of India, which is ... Read more

With an aim to enhance tourism in the area, Oman has unveiled plans to build the country’s longest zip-line in Al Hamra. The zip line will be operated in the Misfat Al Abriyeen village. The operation of the project will be shared between Al Masfah Company as the owner and Oman Refreshments Company as the funder. The ministry of Tourism will be the technical advisor and supervisor of the project. Al Hamra, a 400-year-old town in northeastern Oman, is located at the foot of the Hajar Mountains. Some of the oldest preserved houses in Oman, mudbrick houses built in the Yemeni style, can be found ... Read more

The Nilgiri Mountains, one of the popular tourist destinations in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, witnessed drop in number of visitors in 2018. There is around 10 per cent decline in the number of tourists, when compared to the previous year. The main reason of the drop is said to be the factors affected the neighbouring states – Kerala and Karnataka in 2018. As per the information provided by the officials of the Horticulture Department around 31 lakh people had visited the Government Botanical Garden in 2017-2018, the numbers fell to 28.69 lakh during 2018-2019. The Tourism Department estimates ... Read more

The Indian hospitality chain, Oyo, is all set to enter the Saudi Arabian market.  Other than its regular offerings such as hotel rooms, homestays and townhouses, Oyo is launching a new category for the Saudi market. The new category of offer is expected to tap the huge number of religious tourists visiting the country. OYO Hotels & Home has also set a target of reaching 12,000 rooms by 2020 in the Middle East market, which is a 10-fold jump from 1300 rooms on its platform in the UAE market. In September 2018, the company has raised some AED3.68 billion (US$1 billion) funding ... Read more

Ajman Municipality plan to create a central square in the emirate to attract more tourists. The project is expected to be launched in early 2019.The Ajman Square project will include a number of cafes and restaurants, an open-air seating area and a walking track to encourage people to gather in one place. “The project highlights Ajman’s unique identity and aims to improve its living environment, by raising the emirate’s quality of life,” noted Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Director-General of the Ajman Municipality and Planning Department. “The square will enable visitors to practice sports on a walking track and the open-air ... Read more

Kazakhstan is not usually the first destination that comes to a conventional traveller when they plan their trips. But, here’s some good news to make it in your bucket list. Kazakhstan has introduced a single-entry electronic visa for citizens of 117 countries. An electronic business or tourist visa or one for medical treatment will be issued to travellers from all these countries including India. However, to obtain the visa, you need to produce a valid invitation from a person or agency. The passport provided by the visa recipient should not cause doubts in authenticity and belonging to its owner or ... Read more