Category: News

The PATA Grand and Gold Awardees were felicitated at the PATA Travel Mart 2018 held at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Malaysia on September 14. SOTC Travel won the award for Marketing Media – Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media while Yalla Kerala campaign of Kerala Tourism and the PATA Gold Award for Marketing Media – Travel Advertisement Print Media. Sudeshna Ramkumar, Assistant Director, India Tourism, Singapore, has received the PATA Gold Awards won by Kerala Tourism for Travel Advertisement Print Media and Travel Poster during the closing ceremony. PATA Gold Award 2018 for Women Empowerment Initiative was bagged by ... Read more

National Museum of Beirut, Lebanon Avedis Guidanian, Caretaker Tourism Minister of Labanon, urged the government to allocate an open budget for investment in the tourism sector in the country, as reported by local media. “Lebanon is not less attractive than Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, but their inbound tourist’s number is much more than that of Lebanon. The reason is, they are well aware of promoting their tourist attractions,” said Guidanian. “What we need in Lebanon is enough budgets to promote our tourism sector and attract more tourists to our country,” he added. He was talking in a workshop held at ... Read more

For the first time in the history of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, the state government has sanctioned projects worth Rs 72 crore for the comprehensive development of tourism in the district. “With the timely implementation of these schemes, the dream of comprehensive tourism development in the district will become a reality,” said Tourism minister Kadakampalli Surendran announcing the projects. Rs 9.98 crore was allotted for the renovation of the Chala market, one of the oldest and largest markets in Kerala. The plan is to renovate the phase of the Chala market and turn it into a heritage project with in two ... Read more

K J Alphons, Minister of State for Tourism (IC), Government of India, has inaugurated India’s first Tribal Tourism Circuit in Gangrel, Chhattisgarh on 14th September 2018. The project “Development of Tribal Circuit: Jashpur- Kunkuri- Mainpat- Kamleshpur- Maheshpur- Kurdar-Sarodadadar- Gangrel- Kondagaon- Nathiya Nawagaon- Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot- Tirthgarh in Chhattisgarh” is implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism. This project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism in February 2016 for Rs 99.21 Crores. The project covers thirteen sites in Chhattisgarh i.e. Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Kamleshpur, Maheshpur, Kurdar, Sarodadadar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Nathiya Nawagaon, Jagdalpur, Chitrakoot, Tirthgarh. Swadesh Darshan scheme is one of ... Read more

The Marriott India Business Council has donated Rs 50 lakh towards Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, opened in order to help the flood victims in the state. The funds were raised from the Marriott hotels in India for granting relief to families and individuals distressed in the recent floods. Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President- South Asia, Marriott International; Ranju Alex – Multi Property Vice President, Bengaluru & Kochi and General Manager, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield; Nasir Shaikh, Chairman of Marriott India Business Council & General Manager –The Westin Pune Koregaon Park and Lizanne Pinto, Cluster Director, Human Resources, Bengaluru & ... Read more

Kofi Annan’s Funeral Ceremony in Ghana Catherine Afeku, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture of Ghana, said that Kofi Annan will be honoured forever. She was speaking to the media persons at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC), where the seventh UN Chief has been laid-in-state. “Annan was an excellent diplomat and an honourable person who will forever remain in history,” she said. Though his demise is a great loss for the whole world, Ghana will be benefited from his demise, as it will be known as the final resting place of the world renowned diplomat. “He has made his ... Read more

ixigo has announced a partnership with Treebo Hotels for sales and distribution of the latter’s inventory. “This partnership will bring on board an additional list of over 400 budget hotels across 80 cities in India,” said a press statement. Treebo is a key player in the domestic hospitality industry and budget hotel category. With the new partnership, ixigo users are now be able to search, view and book a Treebo accommodation on its apps and website. The ixigo-Treebo partnership will enable business travellers and AC-class train passengers to find the best accommodations, not only in metro cities but also in tier ... Read more

JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity has launched its new art inspired event space – ‘The Gallery Room’. Designed to fulfill and surpass all expectations, The Gallery Room is the perfect venue to host art exhibitions and hi-end corporate events. The Gallery Room, with a capacity for 150 people, is equipped with Bose acoustics, sound system and a life-size LED screen, which makes it an ideal venue to host business meetings, screen previews and host events requiring audio-visual immersion for business/leisure gatherings. “The Gallery Room is made keeping in mind the requirements of meetings of the future and how state of ... Read more

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Malta to strengthen cooperation in tourism sector. The MoU will be signed during the visit of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to Malta. The Vice President has left for a week-long visit to Serbia, Malta and Romania on September 13. The main objectives of the MoU is to encourage the promotion of quality destinations for the tourism industry in both countries, to increase tourist arrivals in both countries from the entire world through the territories of India and Malta and to ... Read more

Kerala is ready to host one of its best fashion shows – the Wedding Fashion Week 2018 from September 14 to 16. m4marry.com, the premier matrimonial portal in Kerala and Kalyan Jewellers, along with Ambika Pillai, one of the biggest names in the bridal makeup industry, join hands to present the ‘Wedding week 2018’. The three-day fashion extravaganza is to be held at Le Meridien, Kochi. The showstopper for the event will be Kiara Advani The three fashion legends Anju Modi, Tarun Tahiliani and Gaurav Gupta will showcase their ingenuity through their trends in bridal wear. This edition of the event is ... Read more

Kochi Airport Kerala has been getting back to normal after the devastating rain and flood that has caused terrific damages to the state’s infrastructure and economy. Tourism was one among the major sectors experienced widespread damages. However, with the tireless efforts of the state tourism department and the government machinery along with the selfless support of the tourism fraternity, the state has been reinstating most of its tourism destinations to normal. To add to the joy and confidence of the tourism sector, the first chartered flight carrying 60 tourists from Australia will land at Kochi International Airport on 15th September ... Read more

Jet Airways is all set to introduce the country’s first non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester effective 05th November, 2018. Jet Airways will deploy a wide body A330-200 with 254 seating for the service, which will now operate five days a week including Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The airline’s latest service connecting India via its commercial capital, with Manchester will further strengthen Jet Airways’ connect with the United Kingdom (UK). Manchester will become the 21st international addition to the Jet Airways network and with the introduction of this new flight – the carrier’s 5th non-stop service to/from the ... Read more

Aiming at boosting inbound tourism to the country, Romanian government is planning to establish 20 overseas tourist promotion offices. The proposal was set forth by the Tourism Ministry, stating that the offices will be opened in major markets of Romanian tourism and the offices will have two employees nominated by the ministry. “The new measure intensifies the efforts to promote Romania as a major tourist destination on an international level,” said Nelu Barbu, Government Spokesman to the media. The role of foreign representations will be to enhance the flow of foreign tourists to Romania, to facilitate and create new associations ... Read more

Sango Sands Beach, Durness, Scotland. Photo Courtesy: Instagram.com/gordondohertyphotography Expedia Group, one of the world’s largest online travel companies, and Scotland’s national tourism board, VisitScotland, have joined hands to help drive travel demand by supporting the country’s hoteliers. Expedia Group and VisitScotland have come to an agreement to build awareness of its value-adding technology tools, help maximise hotels’ offering and boost travel demand, particularly during the low season. Expedia Group’s expertise on managing travel data will help VisitScotland conduct a review of the visitor experience in Scotland, with a focus on improving regional spread across the country as well as working ... Read more

Obra Dam in Sonabhadra Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, instructed his officials to make Sonbhadra a developed district within two years. He was reviewing the developmental works in a meeting at the collectorate. “The district has immense potential for tourism. There should be a focus on developing it as a tourism hub. It will create employment opportunities,” said the CM He asked the authorities to make sure all the developmental projects envisioned for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are reaching them. He further said that youths who underwent skill development training should get employment in the industrial ... Read more