Category: News

Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott International’s brand that pioneered the select service category, has announced it expects to further grow its European footprint of 63 hotels by almost 50 per cent over the next two years. With nearly 30 hotels anticipated to open in Europe by the end of 2020, Courtyard will offer business travellers a continually elevated experience that meets the generational shift in how our guests work and travel today. In addition to strengthening its portfolio in the established markets of Germany, France and the UK, Courtyard is continuing its first-to-market approach with anticipated debuts in seven emerging destinations ... Read more

Second Philippine Sports Tourism Awards night will be conducted at Savoy Hotel in Manila on 5th December 2018. The objective of the event is to recognize those who are directly or indirectly take part in promoting tourism through sports. At least a dozen awards will be given to different entities, event organizers, hotels, airlines, government agencies, sports associations, destinations, corporate sponsors and charities. Founded by tourism marketing and public relations group, Selrahco, the Philippine Sports Tourism Awards (PSTA) is a result of the Sports Tourism Forum (STF) which had its inception in 2014 in Cebu City. The STF encouraged local ... Read more

Vinod CS, President of ATTOI, delivering the welcome speach Association of Tourism Trade Organizers, India (ATTOI) has organized a seminar on Sports Tourism Potential of Kerala at 10.30 am on 1st December 2018, at Kanakakunnu Palace Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram. The seminar was conducted on the occasion of the 4th Trivandurm Marathon, which is taking place on December 1, 2018. The event will be officially inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at 6 PM and the marathon will start at 12:00 midnight. Vinod CS, President of ATTOI has welcomed the speakers to the dais.  Ram Kamal, former Brand Consultant of FIFA; Senan, Managind ... Read more

Naval cooperation between India and the United Kingdom is based on the long term strategic relationship between both countries. Both Navies have, over the years, undertaken bilateral activities such as training exchanges and technical cooperation. The Bilateral KONKAN exercise provides a platform for the two Navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices. The KONKAN series of exercises commenced in 2004, and since then has grown in scale. KONKAN-2018 is conducted from 28 November to 06 December 18 off Goa with units participating from both navies. The harbour phase was ... Read more

Etihad Airways has launched its first ever scheduled flights linking Abu Dhabi and Barcelona. The inaugural flight, EY49, departed Abu Dhabi this morning carrying a special delegation including dignitaries, media representatives, influencers and senior members of Etihad Airways’ management team. The UAE national airline is celebrating the occasion in style by hosting a special event held at the historic Capella dels Angels, a sixteenth-century Gothic building which is now part of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), attended by leading figures from the local government, diplomats, media, corporate partners and travel trade. “We have been tremendously excited about the ... Read more

Kenya tourism seeks the help of hotliers for driving the marketing campaign of the country.  Najib Balala, Tourism secretary has met with hotliers to discuss the marketing programmes. Top hoteliers of the country have been appointed by the tourism secretary to help with the development of tourism by formulating marketing strategies for a sector that suffered a series of terrorism attacks, which discouraged foreign tourists to visit the country for several years. The hoteliers have to feed the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) with the new trends in Kenya’s tourism sector to help promote the country as business and leisure travel ... Read more

Minister of State of Railways and Minister of State (I/C) of Communications, Manoj Sinha has flagged off one pair of 63229/63230 Buxar-Varanasi MEMU. This train will provide additional end to end connectivity between Buxar and Varanasi. Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Member Traffic, Railway Board, Girish Pillai, Member Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agrawal with other Railway Board Members, Senior Officials of Railways and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion Manoj Sinha congratulated the people of Buxar for this new MEMU train. He said “this 16 coach MEMU train ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Kerala Tourism The High Court of Kerala has lifted the ban on women for trekking in Agasthyarkoodam. Justice Anu Shivaraman has lifted the ban observing that there should be no gender discrimination in a place where trekking is already allowed. Earlier, it was the Department of Forest, Govt. of Kerala had issued orders restricting women from trekking on Agasthyarkoodam citing potential risks while climbing the hill. Points to Ponder during Agasthyakoodam Trek

Rashmi Verma (IAS), of 1982 batch from Bihar Cadre, has retired from her service today as the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. She had joined as the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, in May 2017. “Secretary Tourism, Rashmi Verma, retired today after doing an exceptionally outstanding job in my Ministry. She has contributed greatly in getting India Tourism to 3rd rank in the WTTC report 2018,” said Alphons K J, Minister for Tourism, in twitter. Before getting appointed as the Tourism Secretary, Verma was serving as the Secretary in Ministry of Textiles. She had previously served as the Chairman ... Read more

Keeping the indomitable spirit of adventure alive, soldiers of Indian Army conducted ‘Cockerel Gunners’ White Water Rafting Expedition’ at Rishikesh on 29 November 2018. The expedition commenced on 26 November 2018 wherein a team comprising of 20 adventure enthusiasts of a Medium Regiment were flagged off at Rudraprayag. After successfully traversing 150 kilometers across River Ganges over four days, the team was flagged in at Rishikesh. As part of its challenging journey, the team successfully negotiated numerous grade III and IV Rapids. The expedition reaffirmed the Indian Army’s resolve of a strong sense of determination, grit and perseverance in face ... Read more

Ayodhya – Photo for representative purpose only After ‘Deepotsav’ and ‘Saryu Aarti’ in Ayodhya, the Utar Pradesh government plans to organize ‘Ayodhya Mahotsav’ in the temple town. The 11 day festival will be organized by the the state tourism department at the Government Inter College from 27th December. “The history of Ayodhya and its culture will be showcased in the event along with other aspects of the historic city,” said Ved Prakash Gupta, MLA of Ayodhya assembly constituency, who is the chief coordinator of the event. The state government will also provide a platform to artisans of Ayodhya and its ... Read more

In an effort to promote ‘Gotra’ (clan lineage), the Uttarakhand Government plans to to offer ‘gotra tourism’ packages to tourists. According to Hindu culture, ‘gotra’ or clan broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. The progeny of seven sages or saptarshi, Gautama and Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra and Jamadagni, Vashishtha and Kaśhyapa and Shandilya are declared to be gotras. Announcing the plan a few days ago, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that the idea is to encourage visitors to come to the Himalayan state to update their family records, ... Read more

The central ministry is planning to set up a Ganga Exhibition and a Ganga Museum to showcase the history and mythology and the importance of the sacred river in the livelihood of the people living around it. It was announced by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), as part of the Ganga Rejuvenation programme. The central museum will be set up in Delhi and there will be regional museums in different states. Expert from India and the European Union has been meeting for a two-day workshop from 29th November, 2018 on “Developing a Ganga Museum Concept: Exchanging Experiences and Ideas ... Read more

The Central government has approved the extension of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link up to Kupwara in north Kashmir, with an objective to expand connectivity in J&K. “I am glad to inform you that the railways has prioritized the extension of the rail link from Baramulla to Kupwara and has sanctioned an updated survey for it,” Anil Srivastava, Adviser (Transport) NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, said in his message to J&K Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam on Thursday, 29th November 2018. As per reports, the Baramulla-Kupwara rail link project would be taken up under umbrella work by the railways. Governor’s ... Read more

Bantony Castle With an aim to explore the untapped tourism potential of the state, Himachal Pradesh government has sought financial aid from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and got approval for projects worth of Rs 1,900 crores. It was informed by Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, during a meeting with Kenichi Yokoyama, the country director of ADB. In addition to this, projects worth Rs 650 crore had also been sanctioned by ADB for the state, which would be implemented in two phases. Brajeshwari Devi Temple “All the projects will be executed in the stipulated period. The state government ... Read more