Category: News

Dubai is all ready to host a massive yoga festival at the Dubai Internet City Amphitheatre from November 15-17, 2018. The event comes with a jam-packed schedule of free-to-attend yoga sessions, meditation circles and yoga-related activities for fans of all ages. The festival begins on Thursday evening in the meditation tent, and continues with two full days of sessions led by some of Dubai’s best-known yoga and meditation practitioners along with visiting guest teachers. Healthy food and exciting retail spaces round out this holistic weekend festival. “Yogafest is about connecting you to nature, to yourself and to like minded people in ... Read more

Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), the largest shopping and entertainment extravaganza, is starting on 26th Dec 2018 and will last for one month long. Last day of the festival is 26th Jan 2019 There will be retail sales, deals and discounts from top global brands, and there will be mega prizes up for grabs, from luxury cars, gold and cash. Aside from opportunities to save money and win prizes, DSF organizers have also lined up activities to up the stake in entertainment during the month-long festival, further reiterating the event as a global attraction. Details of the exclusive offers will be ... Read more

Kerala Tourism department is inviting application for tour guide training programmes at state and regional levels. There are 50 seats available for the state level course and 200 seats for the regional level. Training centers will be in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Thalassery. Last date to submit the application is 22nd October 2018. Duration for the state level course is 9 weeks and 4 weeks for the regional level. Course fees is Rs 25,000 for the state level and 9,000 for the regional level; 50 per cent of the fess will be borne by the tourism department. Selection will be ... Read more

Gurudongmar Lake, Sikkim The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a new T&T Power and Performance Report, ahead of the annual World Tourism Day celebrations. China, the USA and India take the top three spots in the new Power Ranking which combines growth over the past seven years in tourism’s contribution to GDP, international visitor spend, domestic tourism spend and capital investment. “World Travel & Tourism Council ranks Incredible India at No 3 after China & USA as countries powering travel & tourism growth in the world.Will have a huge multiplier impact on jobs! Gr8 achievement!,” tweeted Amitabh ... Read more

Shanghai Tourism Festival 2018, which concluded on Saturday 7th October 2018, saw a record 12.75 million visitors from China and abroad, which is more than five percent from the previous year, as informed by the organizers. The festival witnessed performances by more than 1,300 performers came from 25 countries and regions in the parade held at the opening ceremony of the festival on September 15, 2018. This year the European Union has made its debut float in the parade and received a reward for its special effects. “We hope the float can help attract more Chinese to visit European destinations,” ... Read more

S R Mahesh, Tourism and Sericulture Minister of Karnataka said that the state would take all the measures to develop the State as the second best tourist hub of the country. He was speaking after inaugurating Travel log’18, a two-day National Seminar on ‘Tourism and the Digital Transformation,’ organized by the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Pooja Bhagavath Memorial Mahajana Education Center at Metagalli in Mysore. As per records, the State has been attracting around 22 lakhs visitors – both foreign and domestic- every year. “Karnataka State Government has been making all efforts to give boost to tourism. ... Read more

Etihad Airways has decided to increase frequency to London for the festive season. Effective 15 December 2018 – 13 January 2019, Etihad Airways will increase its flights from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow, from three to four daily services, to meet peak demand this festive season. The flights will be operated by a two-class Boeing 787-9, featuring 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. “We are thrilled to announce more flights to London over the festive period. This is a busy time for local guests travelling between both capitals and the extra service will allow more choice and flexibility in ... Read more

Emirates has won the Aviation 100 ‘Middle East & Africa Airline of the Year’, awarded by Airline Economics magazine. The Aviation 100 awards recognise aviation’s most outstanding performers, as well as the most innovative and successful finance and leasing deals closed in the last 12 months. The awards were held during the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Dubai 2018 conference gala dinner. Emirates and its financing partners also won ‘Deal of the Year for Innovation’, which resulted from a leasing transaction of five Airbus A380s. Nirmal Govindadas, Senior Vice President Corporate Treasury received both awards on behalf of Emirates earlier this ... Read more

Magical Kenya Tourism Expo 2018 Kenya’s tourism marketers have formulated plans to consider Africa as a key regional market to grow its tourism business, a senior official said. “We are actively engaging with travel agents and tour operators in Nigeria to expose them to the diverse tourist offering in Kenya and the rest of East Africa that would be of interest to travellers from Nigeria and the rest of West Africa,” said Betty Radier, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO. She was talking to the media at the ‘Magical Kenya Travel Expo’ in Nairobi. Radier said bilateral discussions were going on ... Read more

The official closing ceremony of the Greece-Russia Year of Tourism 2017-2018 will be held in Athens on November 23. “The developments relating to the “Greece-Russia Year of Tourism” initiative were discussed in a recent meeting in Moscow between vice president of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), Angeliki Chondromatidou and Russia’s new Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Olga Yarilova,” said the Tourism Ministry in a statement. The Greece-Russia Year of Tourism 2017-2018 is an initiative of the tourism ministries of Greece and Russia that was inaugurated in 2017. The GNTO’s vice president is Greece’s head of the initiative. During ... Read more

Sree Narayana Guru The union ministry of tourism has approved in principle the Sree Narayana Guru Spiritual Tourism Circuit proposed by Kerala Tourism. The project will link all the places related to Sree Narayana Guru, the social reformer of Kerala. The Tourism Ministry has also sanctioned Rs 70 crore for the project by including it under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. However, Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the state government have asked for Rs 118 crore for the project. Sree Narayana Guru was born in 1856 C.E. in the village of Chempazhanthi in Thiruvananthapuram. He is considered among the greatest ... Read more

Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the three-day Odisha Travel Bazaar on October 5. Organized by the state tourism department, in association with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the event will conclude on October 7, 2018. Around 60 foreign tour operators from 23 different countries and several domestic tour operators from across the country, is taking part in the event. This edition of Odisha Travel Bazaar is expected to take Odisha Tourism to international level. “Odisha is all set to host the Hockey World Cup in this November-December with 16 participating teams. This will ... Read more

Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council Ruler of Sharjah, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) recently announced the launch of the development and redesigning project of Khorfakkan Beach. The project aligns with Shurooq’s strategy to integrate tourism and family destinations across the emirate of Sharjah. The project includes the establishment of service facilities and world-class hospitality amenities to host recreational activities. This adds to the tourism appeal of Khorfakkan city and the east coast in general, which enjoys a list of natural landscapes, mountains and climate. Due ... Read more

Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi with Sergey Cheremin, Minister of Moscow Delhi government has signed a twin city agreement with Moscow, Russia, on 5th October 2018, for cooperation tourism, transport, education, culture, healthcare, e-governance and environment. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and Sergey Cheremin, Minister of Moscow and Head of the Moscow City Department of External Economic and International Relations, has signed the agreements on behalf of the two cities. The agreement is for three years. “The agreement will further strengthen the relationship between the two cities,” said Sisodia while speaking to the media after signing ... Read more

The Idukki district administration in Kerala has lifted the ban on Munnar, and Thekkady, including other tourist destinations. Effective from October 9 (Tuesday), travellers can access any of the tourist destinations including the Neelakurinji gardens. Earlier, the district administration has banned tourism and late night travel in the district starting October 5, in view of the heavy to very heavy rain forecast in Kerala and Lakshadweep in the next two-three days. A red alert has also been issued in three districts of Idukki, Thrissur and Palakkad on Thursday following an IMD forecast of heavy to very heavy rains in the ... Read more