Category: News

SpiceJet has announced a daily direct flight on the Kolkata-Lilabari route under the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. Reiterating its focus on regional connectivity, the airline also announced a new direct flight connecting Kolkata with Jabalpur and an additional frequency on Hyderabad-Jabalpur route. All new flights and frequencies are scheduled to commence from January 15. “SpiceJet is celebrating the launch by announcing an introductory promotional fare starting at Rs 3,700 on Kolkata-Lilabari and Lilabari-Kolkata routes, Rs 3,969 on Kolkata-Jabalpur and Rs 3,949 on Jabalpur-Kolkata, routes,” according to a statement released by SpiceJet. “Lilabari is our first destination in Assam under the ... Read more

In a bid to offer aesthetic beauty, comfortable stay and entertainment to the visitors, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) said it will celebrate first of its kind festival, Purnima Mahotsav. MTDC will organise cultural programmes and literature festival at 23 of its resorts. Every month on ‘purnima’ or full moon day, visitors can enjoy the cultural programme and literature festival at MTDC resorts. This initiative will not only provide a platform to the artists but will also help in conserving the rich heritage and culture. Tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal inaugurated the Purnima Mahotsav at Tadoba resort.

Gua Damai Xtream Park Selangor, the state on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, has enlisted the top destinations of the state those would attract travellers in 2019. The venues range from a water theme park to a fruit farm and an outlet mall. According to the state’s tourism agency, these places and experiences have all emerged as coveted tourism destinations only recently. The Royal Klang Heritage Walk, Sky Mirror, Gua Damai Extreme Park, Bangi Wonderland, Tanjung Sepat, Selangor Fruits Valley and Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA are among the favourite list. The tourism department also envisages making the state’s ecotourism ... Read more

Kasargod, the northern district of Kerala, bordering Karnataka, is known to be the land of seven languages and several cultures. The district has famous tourist centers, including the international fame Bekal Fort and beach. Kasaragod is known for its forts, rivers, beautiful hills and pristine sandy beaches. Apart for high class accommodations for tourists, Kasargod is blessed with lots home-stays and farm houses, who host visitors in the traditional indigenous manner. Those who wish to be away from the hassles of city life can escape to one of the farm houses to have a peaceful and enjoyable home-stay. A farm ... Read more

Ghanaian radio and TV presenter, Abeiku Aggrey Santana, who in 2016 was announced as a Tourism Ambassador for Ghana, suggest promoting sex as a tourism booster in the country. Santana says most tourists come to Ghana not only for the tourist sites, rich culture and history but to also to experience Ghana’s men and women. “Sex tourism is not a promotion of promiscuity, what we are saying is, let’s have interracial marriage or relationships. When foreigners come let them like you as a man or woman and when that happens they will tend to continue the relationship with you,” said ... Read more

With an aim to boost eco-tourism in the state, the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) is taking a slew of measures for the development of eco-tourism. It is also planning to incorporate as many as 15 eco-tourism centres spread across the state in its booking portal by January 2019. “We have chalked out an elaborate plan to promote ecotourism and also giving a major overhaul to infrastructure development in areas where we have our eco-resorts,” said Ravinder Pall Saini, managing director, WBFDC. WBFDC currently runs eco-tourism resorts in 19 locations of which 13 are located in North Bengal and ... Read more

The Tourism ministry of Oman reopens Al Khaboura Fort in the Governorate of North Batinah, announced the Ministry of Tourism. The fort, according to officials, was earlier closed due to maintenance work. In a statement online, the Ministry of Tourism said, “The Ministry of Tourism reopened the Al Khaboura Fort in North Batinah Governorate to visitors after completion of the maintenance work [that was being] carried out by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture.” The fort will be open to visitors from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. The Ministry added, “[We] wish that visitors [get to] a spend good and useful ... Read more

The venue of Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Narmada district is becoming a favoured tourist destination of the state, within two months after it’s unveiling by PM Narendra Modi. In order keep the statute and the surrounding area in the limelight, the authorities are planning to have a series of national and state-level government events on the premises in Kevadia Colony. A conference of state election commissioners to review the preparedness for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be hosted in the premises in February 2019. The meet is likely to be in the second week of February, though the ... Read more

from the film Munguru Male Karnataka government is planning to provide incentive for filmmakers who showcase the state’s tourist spots in their films. A ‘Film Tourism Policy’ will be framed in this regard. Recently Kannada film Mungaru Male, which captured the beauty of the Fog falls, has induced tourists to visit the falls in large groups. Authorities say the inflow of tourists to the waterfall has increased dramatically after the release of the film Jogg Falls “The main intention is to encourage filmmakers to shoot in Karnataka’s famous tourism destinations so that those destinations get publicity in different parts of ... Read more

After the extravagant Dussehra, Mysuru is all set to woo tourists with its winter festival. With aim to attract the year-end crowd, the state tourism department has inaugurated the winter festival on December 22. The festival is organised by the Mysuru District Administration, Karnataka Tourism Department and the Mysore Palace Board, in association with the city-based hotel, tourist taxi associations. The district tourism administration is expecting a footfall of more than 3 lakh during this big holiday season. The winter festival or Maaghi Utsav is a 10-day event, with the majestic flower show held at the iconic Mysore Palace premises ... Read more

Doha Festival City (DHFC), participating in Shop Qatar 2018, is preparing to host the closing ceremony raffle draw for the third consecutive year, it was announced yesterday. Shop Qatar organised by the Qatar National Tourism Council is an annual event that brings shoppers in Qatar massive discounts across various retailers and the opportunity to win extravagant prizes. This year, DHFC has been chosen to host the closing ceremony raffle to conclude the Shop Qatar festivities on January 20, 2019. according to a statement. “We are honoured to be chosen to host the Shop Qatar closing ceremony for the third year ... Read more

The upcoming huge Shiva Panchayan Mandir near Chewa Bhanjyang along the Indo-Nepal border in Sikkim, is expected to boost religious tourism in Sikkim. The construction of the temple is in the final stages and is hoped to attract tens of thousands of devotees from both India and Nepal. The temple is expected to be an important religious center for devotees and boost the tourism prospect in the state. The construction of this temple at Sopakha under Maneybong-Dentam in West Sikkim has been going on in war-footing pace. The temple is situated at the height of 8,500 feet at Sopakha just below ... Read more

An aerial view of the heritage site Gobekli Tepe, Turkey Gobekli Tepe, the world’s oldest temple and considered the birthplace of early civilizations, will be the highlight of the Turkish tourism policy next year. As part of the tourism promotion drive of the government, the government has declared 2019 as the ‘Year of Gobekli Tepe,’ one of the most ancient archaeological sites of the world. It was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his speech at the Justice and Development Party’s parliamentary group meeting yesterday. Highlighting the tourism performance in 2018, Erdogan said the government is preparing more initiatives ... Read more

Travel Leaders Corporate, an award-winning leader in business travel, has released an analysis of its clients’ aggregate business travel bookings from the third quarter of 2018. Data shows that the cost of business trips are continuing to rise, however, Travel Leaders Corporate clients show no slowdown in travel. Domestically, the total cost of a business trip is at a record high of $1,073, a four per cent increase from Q2 and an eight per cent increase from Q3 2017. Looking at trip components, the data shows that rising hotel costs are driving this increase. Quarter over quarter, there is a ... Read more

Adventure seekers of Jharkhand and the neighbouring states are going to have fun and adventure filled trips in various parts of the state next month. The state tourism department is all set to conduct adventure tourism events in various districts of Jharkhand from January 11 to 20. Ranchi, Betla, Netarhat and Chandil Dam are the locations identified for the events,; where over 20 types of adventure activities will be organized. Various events which people can enjoy includes cycling, bullock cart ride, trekking, stargazing, paragliding, paddle boating, rock climbing, kayaking, rope course, fishing, bungee jumping, cliff jumping, banana boat ride, barefoot ... Read more