Category: News

WOW Air has announced flights to Vancouver from New Delhi that will operate thrice-a-week (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) commencing from June 2019. The ultra low cost airline from Iceland will operate flights with basic fares starting from Rs 21,999 and WOW premium starting from Rs 63,160. The offer will be valid on select flights only when booked on a round trip. The airline will also be offering convenient connecting flights to and from Vancouver for passengers travelling between New Delhi and Iceland. Also, the flight from Vancouver will have the lay-over in Iceland for 3 hrs 20 minutes and flight to ... Read more

As part of its efforts to reduce pollution in the area, China has announced its plan to ban polluting tourist vehicles at the Mount Everest base camp in Tibet from next year onwards. Eco-unfriendly tourist transport vehicles will be banned from base camp and permit electric golf-style buggies to raise the income of the locals, China-Tibet Online reported. Locals, who live below the poverty line, will be employed as tour guides and drivers of new electric golf-style buggies to and from the camp. “It will help reduce pollution in the area and raise the income of locals,” the state-run Global Times ... Read more

Design of Kampot International Tourism Port, Cambodia Cambodia and Thailand have inked an agreement to cooperate on marine tourism, linking the tourism ports of the two countries. The agreement has come in to being during the 4th meeting of Cambodia-Thailand Working Group on Tourism Cooperation. Thong Rathsak, Cambodia’s Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation and Arrun Boonchai ,Thai Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Tourism and Sports co-chaired the meeting. As per the agreement, both countries will cooperate on marine tourism linking Koh Samui of Surathany province, Thailand to the International Tourism Port of Kampot province. Koh Samui Port, ... Read more

Tourist arrivals in the Maldives increased by 8 per cent in the first three quarters of 2018, with over 1 million visitors visiting the island country from January to September statistics from the Maldives Tourism Ministry. According to official figures, over 100,000 tourists visited the Maldives in September, up 1.5 percent compared to the same period last year. In total, 1,080,459 tourists have arrived in the holiday islands so far this year. The Tourism Ministry said China remains the largest source market with 222,108 arrivals so far this year, representing a market share of 20.6 per cent. The other leading markets ... Read more

Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya says growth in the Indonesian tourist industry may excel that of Thailand within the next five years. “We can beat ‘Amazing Thailand’ and ‘Malaysia Truly Asia within about five years’,” said Arief in a discussion at the State Secretariat in Jakarta. “In 2014, Indonesia ranked 70th in the world tourist Industry, but leaped to the 20th spot in 2017,” he added. Indonesia has hosted around 14 million foreign tourists in 2017, adding to the state revenue around USD 15.2 billion; while Thailand had 35 million foreign tourists in the same year with total revenue of ... Read more

Sikharchandi, located near Chandaka Industrial Estate in Odisha, is all set to get a makeover. The state government is planning to develop the region into a tourist hub. The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the Department of Tourism have joined together to develop the place into a tourist hub, making it more vibrant with recreational activities. “We have forwarded a proposal to the development authority to develop a plan for Sikharchandi in consultation with them,” said an official of the tourism department. At present, Sikharchandi is more of a picnic spot than a tourist site. Sikharchandi is the presiding deity of the ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Star of Mysore Air India’s Alliance Air has initiated a special flight services “Akasha Ambari” between Bengaluru and Mysuru  during Dasara holidays. S R Mahesh, Tourism Minister, has taken part in the maiden flight from Mysuru to Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The flight service has been envisaged to facilitate travel of national and international tourists for the Dasara festivities. The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) and the State Tourism Department are collaborating with Air India for this initiative. As per Tourism Department, the lowest fare is Rs. 999 (plus taxes). Depending on demand, flight tickets are ... Read more

Odisha Tourism launches special tour packages for the visitors to the state on the occasion of the Men’s Hokey World cup, which is scheduled on Wednesday, 28th November 2018 in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. The packages are titled ‘Odisha by Day Hockey by Night’. Visitors to the city will have the opportunity to roam around the capital city under these packages. Indian Hockey team in action (Photo for representative purpose only) By this offer, the tourism department aims at promoting sports tourism in the state, which includes enjoying the World Cup matches and also visiting the tourism hotspots ... Read more

The special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong experience the highest international visitor spending, according to highlights of a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual City Travel & Tourism Impact Report on Monday. The report noted that Macau has the highest foreign tourists spending making up 97.3 per cent of tourism gross domestic product (GDP) at USD 35.6 billion. Tourists from the China mainland are also considered as foreign tourists in this report. In 2017, a total USD 14.3 billion of tourism GDP was generated in Macau, placing it among the top 20 in terms ... Read more

AirAsia is all set to launch direct flight between Manila and Shenzhen starting December 1. The carrier had earlier started its Cebu-Shenzhen flights last April. “China is an important market for us and we are looking to expand our network further and connect Filipino travelers to new and exciting business and leisure cities,” said AirAsia Philippines CEO Dexter Comendador. The carrier will fly direct to Shenzhen every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Direct flights from Cebu to Shenzhen are also on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The West Australian state government plans to make its first major investment in attracting Indian tourists to WA, including appointing a full time marketing representative in Mumbai. Details of the programmes will be announced by Paul Papalia, Tourism Minister of WA, during his visit to India shortly; while the focus will be on cricket. A co-operative marketing deal has been arranged with Thomas Cook, offering travel packages to Perth for the first cricket Test match at Optus Stadium in December. “Our extraordinary State has much to offer Indian travellers, whether they’re visiting for business, education or leisure,” said Papalia. “But ... Read more

Petrol pumps in Delhi shut today over state government’s refusal to cut value added tax. All petrol pumps along with linked Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) dispensing units are shut on today in protest. The protest started from 6 am today and will remain till 5 am on Tuesday. Delhi has a higher VAT than neighboring states. In comparison to Delhi, fuel rates in bordering states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are cheaper, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) said in a statement. On October 4, the Central government announced a cut of Rs 2.50 a litre each for petrol and diesel ... Read more

Zimbabwe launches its first tourism application, Accoleisure, with an aim to bring the country’s sought after destinations to the digital age. “Through the app, tech savvy domestic and international tourists have been offered a platform to search for accommodation, interact with tourism operators and service providers as well,” said Elisha Chitate, product development manager at Accoleisure. “This is a first of its kind in Zimbabwe because Accoleisure does not require data and connects all key stakeholders in the tourism industry at a single platform. Essentially the App is a step in the right direction in promoting our tourism destinations in the digital arena. Accoleisure is ... Read more

Landwehr Orchestra The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will host Switzerland’s Landwehr Orchestra here on October 22 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, as part of their efforts to become a desirable destination hosting international events, Landwehr is the certified concert and marching band of the canton and city of Fribourg, and, since starting in 1804, has performed across the globe including Japan, China, Iran, USA, Argentina, Australia and Canada. This is the first time Landwehr is performing in India to celebrate 70 years of Indo-Swiss friendship. By hosting the well-known performance, MTDC aims to become an epicentre on the ... Read more

Uday Samudra Resorts in Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, has celebrated World Food Day at their hotel by organising a painting competition on October 16. The objective of the competition was to promote awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all. “World Food Day is a chance to show our commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to achieve #ZeroHunger by 2030,” said Raja Gopaal Iyer CEO, UDS Group. Adv. M Vincent inaugurated the painting competition by cutting the ribbon and painting the logo of the World Food Day. Around 40 students ... Read more