Category: News

In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court today scrapped Section 377 of the IPC, decriminalising the 158-year-old colonial law which criminalises consensual gay sex. Five judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra delivered the verdict today. The judges have come out with a concurring judgment. Four judges, CJI Dipak Misra, Justices RF Nariman, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, have authored separate judgments while Justice Khanwilakar has chosen to concur with Misra. Upholding the rights of LGBTQ community, CJI Dipak Misra said autonomy, intimacy and identity of an individual are to be protected. Misra said that the LGBTQ community has ... Read more

The JW Marriott Hotel in Pune has announced the appointment of Manuj Ralhan as Director of Operations. With over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, Manuj in his new role will be leading business and strategic operations of the property. Primarily responsible for overseeing smooth functioning of the hotel, Manuj comes with experience that will help to implement the brand service strategy and initiatives. He has always been looked up to as a highly encouraging mentor and thrives on guiding teams to ensure that the services of the hotel are known for being the best in the city. During ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned the project “Development of Rural Circuit: Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project’ in Kerala under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for Rs 80.37 crores, said Minister of State for Tourism (I/C)  K J Alphos. The project focuses on development of water based thematic cruise experiences in and around Valapattanam and Kuppam Rivers of Kannur District. The three thematic cruises developed under the project are as follows: a) Malabari Cuisine and Culinary Cruise in Valapattanam River (Muthappan Cruise) – Cruise starts from Valapattanam to Munambu Kadavu in Valapattanam River with an effective Cruise Length of 40 km. b) ... Read more

Kenya to have discussions with economy airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet to begin flying to the East African nation famous for its beaches and safaris. Tourism is one of the country’s highest revenue earners of the nation and earned around USD 1.2 billion last year, as per statistics from the Kenya Tourism Board. “We are developing a strategy to encourage low-cost carriers from the U.K. to fly here,” said Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Kenya. Other than beaches and safaris, Kenya is also popular for its wildlife. The authorities expect, with the arrival of low-cost flights the inbound tourist ... Read more

The strongest typhoon, named Jebi, hit Japan in 25 years battered the west of the country on Tuesday, September 4 with violent winds and heavy rain. The country’s meteorological agency has said that large area of Japan should be on high alert for strong gusts, high waves and heavy downpours. At least nine people have been killed and over 150 people are injured. In Osaka Bay it swept a tanker into a bridge and in Kyoto parts of a railway station roof came down. Officials ordered more than a million people in affected areas to evacuate their homes amid warnings of high waves, flooding and ... Read more

In a stimulus to the tourism sector in Odisha, large hotel brands such as Taj Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, ITC Hotels and Crown Plaza have come forward to start their hotels in the state. Taj Hotel “Taj Hotel is coming up with a large commercial complex. Similarly, we are hopeful that ITC’s property will be ready in the next six months. All the new hotels will be coming up in Bhubaneswar,” said a senior official of the tourism department. ITC Group is putting up a 110 room five star hotel in Bhubaneswar under its Welcome Hotel brand. According to the Odisha tourism website, the state ... Read more

Haji Inayat Ali, Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Advisor to the governor,  have inaugurated the two-day Kargil Ladakh Tourism Festival-2018 at Khree Sultan Cho Sports Stadium at Biamathang Kargil. The two-day event features multi-ethnic traditional music and dance performances by folk artists of different ethnic groups of the region including Purgi, Dalti, Dardi. The event also features traditional horse polo and archery matches. Besides, it also has an exhibition of local art and craft on various stalls, which serves ethnic food. Haji Inayat Ali highlighted the scope of tourism in Kargil, and said that the topography ... Read more

Emirates and Jetstar Pacific have announced a new codeshare agreement, expanding the existing partnership between the Dubai-based carrier and Jetstar Group. The new partnership with the Ho Chi Minh City-based carrier allows Emirates’ passengers to enjoy connectivity on domestic flights within Vietnam, in addition to flights connecting Vietnam to Singapore, Thailand as well as Australia. The new codeshare services from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi connect Emirates passengers to 14 Vietnamese cities beyond Ho Chi Minh City and six cities beyond Hanoi. Emirates will also operate codeshare flights with Jetstar Pacific between the latter’s hub in Ho Chi Minh ... Read more

To celebrate Emirati Women’s Day, the Emirates Group unveiled a special video tribute to the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, who was a driving force in supporting the advancement of women in the country. Released on Emirates’ social media platforms, the one-minute video draws a parallel between Sheikh Zayed’s vision decades ago and the pivotal roles occupied by Emirati women today. The video concludes with a heartfelt declaration affirming Emirati women’s pride and determination to continue on the path of success as ‘daughters of Zayed’. “I’d like to take ... Read more

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has declared the winners of the JAPAN Best Incentive Travel Awards 2018, which recognizes outstanding Japan incentive travel. This year marks the third time these awards are being presented. The awards are organised with the aim of increasing the understanding and motivation of parties involved in the MICE industry in both Japan and overseas through the recognition of examples of the best practices for Japan incentive travel. Award Winners: Best Incentive Travel was bagged by Comfort Travel Service Co., Ltd./Colatour (Taiwan) and Best Creative Planning was pocketed by ‘Dancing snow in Tohoku and Hakodate’. Best Community Contribution was ... Read more

India is going to be ticket-less in public transport.  It was announced by Amithabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, while talking in the Future Mobility Summit-2018-India’s Move to NextGen Transport Systems, in Dehlhi. “The objective of the strategy is to plan for the citizens first, rather than focusing on vehicles alone, by providing sustainable mobility and accessibility by switching to a cleaner mode of transportation,” said Kant. “A robust transportation system is the backbone of any economy and especially for a densely populated country like India, the focus of the nation’s mobility strategy was on sustainable modes of public transport, ... Read more

Turismo de Portugal (TdP) has conducted roadshows combined with B2B sessions, in New Delhi and Mumbai. The roadshow was aimed to educate and motivate the focused invitee list of preferred travel agents, tour operators and trade partners and update their knowledge about Portugal, the products it has to offer, USP’s of the destination, exchange rate, visas and how it caters to different segments of the Indian travellers. The event was divided into 2 different sessions – one was the focused B2B sessions where the invitees held business meetings with the Portugal DMCs. The DMCs and their top management attend the Roadshow; ... Read more

To the delight of the visitors in Western Ghats, Neelakurji flowers have bloomed in Vettaikkaran hills near Kanthalloor. Almost every valleys of the area are adorn with blue blooms, though not that expensive as in the seasons. People can reach Ottamala region of Vettaikaran Kovil by jeep from Kanthaloor town. Those who cannot trek through the hills can opt for visiting the nearby areas like Pattissery, Keezhanthoor, Kolutha Malai, where also you can see blooming Neelakuriji flowers. Tourists from Tamil Nadu have already started flowing to the region to witness the blue-purple flowers, which blooms once in 12 years. As ... Read more

Qatar has become the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently updated its visa openness rankings, confirming Qatar’s recent visa facilitation improvements including allowing nationals of 88 countries to enter Qatar visa-free and free-of-charge. With an aim to improve visa facilitation, Qatar has introduced an online platform for efficient and transparent visa processing and e-visas, as well as a free 96-hour transit visa doubling the time stopover passengers can remain in the country. As a result of these measures, Qatar’s visa openness ranking ... Read more

P K Anish Kumar, President, Association of Tourism Trade Operators India (ATTOI) and C S Vinod, Vice President, receiving appreciation certificate from the Tourism Minister, Kadakampally Surendran. Tourism Department of Kerala honoured tourism professionals who took part in the rescue and relief activities during the recent floods in Kerala. Kadakampally Surendran, Kerala Tourism Minister, felicitated tourism fraternity and appreciated their selfless participation to the rescue and relief activities during the floods. The programme was held at the Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram. EM Najeeb and V Sreekumara Menon representing Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), receive certificate from the Minister “The flood ... Read more