Category: News

Photo for representative purpose only Uttarakhand government is planning to introduce mobile caravans or motor homes equipped with all facilities available in a house, to attract tourists to the major tourist destinations. The state also envisages encouragement of home-stay facilities in the outskirts of trekking tracks and hill stations. “We are working on a plan to introduce fleets of mobile caravans equipped with all facilities available in homes, which will be introduced soon. The scheme aims to attract high-end tourists to a number of scenic spots dotting the mountain state,” said Satpal Maharaj, Tourism minister. Photo for representative purpose only ... Read more

The retro, classic Italian brand, Lambretta, is planning a return to India with a prototype debut at the Auto Expo 2020 (February 6-9). Lambretta will come in an electric avatar, but expect it to retain the classic design. The product is currently under development in Milan and the Italian company has tied up with the Delhi-based Lohia Auto Ltd and Bird Group to sell the products in India. The company has not disclosed the product specifications and the name of the product yet. Lambretta is collaborating with a global company to develop the electric two-wheeler. Lambretta has also announced the development of ... Read more

Revenue generated through entry fee for ticketed monuments of ASI has shown an increase over last 3 years, said Dr Mahesh Sharma,  Minister of State (independent charge) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate change. The amount spent for conservation, preservation and maintenance of centrally protected monuments/sites in the country during the last three years is as under: 2015-16 – Rs 23746.25 lakh 2016-17 – Rs 30176.22 lakh 2017-18 – Rs 41076.79 lakh There are 3691 monuments/sites declared as of National importance falls under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India of which 116 monuments are ticketed monuments. The ... Read more

The world’s first female-only trampoline park, BOUNCE Rawdah, has opened its doors in Riyadh. The indoor adrenaline-pumping venue, packed with activities is open for ladies and children (boys under the age of 10). BOUNCE Rawdah, the largest trampoline venue in Riyadh at 3,500 square meters, is a perfect place to have fun, get active, or just hang out. Located in Rawdah on the Khurais Road, the place is packed with over 80 interconnected trampolines, a dodgeball arena, slam dunk, super tramp, cliff jump and huge inflatable airbags. It also houses the high-energy X-Park Freestyle Playground, and also features a café for those looking for ... Read more

Rs 727.16 crore has been sanctioned for development of 41 religious sites under the Prasad scheme till now, said Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism K J Alphons. For development of tourism infrastructure in the country, the Ministry of Tourism launched the schemes of PRASHAD-Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive and Swadesh Darshan – Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits and in the year 2014-15. Under PRASHAD Scheme, 41 religious sites have been identified for development in the country namely Amaravati and Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Kamakhya (Assam), Parasuram Kund (Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh), Patna and Gaya (Bihar), Balmeshwari Devi Temple ... Read more

The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered to constitute an official panel to screen and identify new tourism projects in the state under the Prime Minister’s Development Package. (PMDP). The members of the committee include administrative secretary forest, environment & ecology department, administrative secretary, tourism department and tourism directors for Kashmir and Jammu divisions. As per the order issued by the general administration department (GAD), the committee shall be headed by the administrative secretary, planning, development and monitoring department. An official spokesperson said in Jammu on Tuesday that the State Administrative Council (SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal ... Read more

Gulf carrier Oman Air stated on Tuesday that it is in discussions with the Indian government for increasing the weekly seat entitlement to enable expansion of its services in the rapidly growing aviation market. The Oman’s flagship carrier, which has completed 25 years into the business, at present, operates 161 flights per week to eleven Indian cities, utilising the 27,000 seats allocated to airlines from each country. Oman is seeking an increase in seats and access to Ahmedabad and Kolkata, which will boost its Indian presence. Seat entitlements and access to destinations are negotiated between respective governments. “We are working with ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned the project “Development of Ahmedabad- Rajkot- Porbandar-Bardoli- Dandi” in Gujarat under Heritage Circuit theme of Swadesh Darshan scheme in the year 2016-17 for Rs 93.48 crore. The components sanctioned for Dandi under the above project include Tourist Facilitation Centre, Site Illumination, Development of Parking, Landscaping, Handicraft store/Khadi Exhibition Centre, Basic Tourist Amenities like public toilets, drinking water ATMs etc. “The project is under implementation stage. As per the utilization certificate received form the State Government an expenditure of Rs 2.69 crore has been incurred at Dandi,” said Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, K ... Read more

Emirates has announced plans to introduce the gigantic A380 on routes from Glasgow to Dubai, although on a temporary basis. This will be the first time the double-decker aircraft will have serviced any Scottish airport for commercial flights. A daily A380 service will replace the twice daily Boeing 777 service from April 16 to May 31, while Dubai International Airport’s southern runway is closed for upgrade works. The single runway operation during this period means airlines are required to reduce and adjust their operating schedules. Standing over 24 meters high and with a wing span of nearly 80 meters, the A380 ... Read more

Buoyed by the success of many tourism initiatives under Prime Minister’s Development Package-2015, the Government of Jammu & Kashmir has taken yet another leap by proposing to open up more tourists/trekking routes in the region of Ladakh with the aim of recapturing the glory, rich culture and beauty of the region. With the objective of giving fillip to the tourism sector and enhancing the economic activity in the “Land of High Passes” (Ladakh region) of J&K, the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the proposal of State Government of J&K to open up more tourists/trekking routes in the region. The ... Read more

There will be scores of pilgrims and tourists arriving for the Kumbh Mela 2019, and, to welcome the pilgrims and tourists, the railways said it will run 800 special trains from various stations of Allahabad district. These trains would be in addition to the regular trains run by the North Central Railway (NCR). Six special trains will come to Allahabad from different railway zones of the country for pilgrims and tourists participating in the Kumbh Mela. The railways has planned to operate four to five special trains to ferry 5,000 Pravasi Bhartiyas, who will be in Allahabad to participate in the ... Read more

Now, travellers can enjoy a toy train ride in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR). The first ever evening daily Toy train service hauled by steam engine has been introduced to increase the tourist footfall in the destination. The Railways is expecting that the introduction of the new service will provide an opportunity to tourists having short stay at Siliguri area to experience the UNESCO World Heritage DHR toy train during second half of the day. The UP Steam evening safari will leave Siliguri at 3 pm and reach Rongtong at 4.20 pm with 10 minute stoppage at Sukna for visiting the museum. The return ... Read more

Over 100 kilometres of city roads in Bengaluru will have dedicated cycle tracks soon. The first phase of the project, which covers 46 km stretch, will be ready in an year’s time. The phase 1 includes four roads in Indiranagar and a portion of the Outer Ring Road. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), have floated bids for the construction of cycle tracks at a cost of Rs 64 crore. The 12 kn ORR stretch between K R Puram and Bellandur, 7 km stretch between Marathahalli and Hoodi via Brookefield, 2 km stretch between Ulsoor lake and Swami Vivekananda Metro ... Read more

The country’s first underwater museum is all set to come up off Puducherry coast. The new addition is expected to give a fillip to the tourism sector in the Union territory. INS Cuddalore, a minesweeper decommissioned in March after it travelled 30,000 nautical miles in 30 years, will be turned into a museum. The minesweeper will be deployed in the seabed 7 km off Puducherry at a depth of 26 metres. The 60-metre long and 12-metre wide vessel will be a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkelling. The Navy has agreed to gift the vessel to promote tourism in Puducherry. ... Read more

    Ministry of Tourism, Kenya,  is to establish five regional tourism councils in January next year,  as part of the Tourism Recovery Strategy and for product diversification. “The proposed five tourism council blocs include Rift Valley, the Lake Region, the Northern Region, Nairobi and the Coast and they will partner with the Kenya Tourism Board in promotion and marketing of the country’s vast tourist attractions,” said Najib Balala, Tourism Cabinet Secretary. Drift Valley, Kenya The move is expected to facilitate product diversification and intensify marketing of Kenya as an ideal tourist destination.  Kenya’s vast tourist attractions have already put ... Read more