Category: News

Kochi airport, the seventh busiest in the country, had been non-functional from August 14 to 28 owing to the devastating flood that shook the entire state between August 8 and 22. The airport authorities had first announced the shuttering of the facility till August 18, which was then extended to August 26 and further to August 29 as water levels continued to rise inundating the runway, the terminals as well as the large solar farm surrounding the airport. The engineers from government-owned consultancy Kitco have begun a survey in Nedumbassery and Kanjoor panchayat areas as a preliminary step to help ... Read more

The priority of the government after the floods is to restore and rebuild roads and bridges to the major tourist destinations in Kerala, said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism.  The minister was addressing a gathering at ‘Kaithanginoru Kooppukai’ after felicitating tourism/hospitality professionals who were involved in rescue and relief activities during the flood. The event, organised by Kerala Tourism, honoured tourism sector personnel, including tour operators, associations, life guards and boat drivers, who were engaged in the rescue and relief operations. “The major challenge faced by the tourism sector is damage suffered by roads connecting tourism destinations. The government, however, is ... Read more

Realising the potential of adventure tourism, Sri Lanka has launched a programme to assist the tourism industry to standardize and develop adventure tourism and training in the country. Sri Lanka Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga launched “The Adventure Tourism Curricula,” under the initiative, at a ceremony held on 29th August 2018 at the Temple Trees. Sujith Sanjaya Perera, member of Parliament, Officers of Policy Development Office (PDO),Officers of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM) and Industry stakeholders participated in the event. The Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs and the Policy Development Office (PDO) ... Read more

Indian Blackbucks Indian Blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) is one of the three species of antelopes found in Odisha, which are in the endangered list. In order to enhance the population of the black bucks, the authorities are planning to release some of them in the Chandaka forest on city outskirts this year. Last month the authorities have sought the help of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for the population management of the antelopes.  As per the recent census the total number of blackbucks the Bhetnoi-Balipadar landscape of Ganjam district was counted to be 4,080. “The fact that the landscape of Bhetnoi ... Read more

Pamukkale, Turkey After their recent participation in the trade exhibitions in India, Turkish tourism industry is eyeing on Indian Metro cities to develop wedding and Mice tourism in their country. The tourism department is planning to have campaigns to lure people from Chennai and other metros. Recently Indians are showing interest in conducting wedding and other important functions abroad.  They are less hesitant to spend money to make the functions as grand as possible. Turkish tourism department is trying to exploit this tendency and showcase their historical monuments and other world renowned tourism spots to the MICE and Destination Wedding ... Read more

ATOAI 12th Convention in Madhya Pradesh Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) always hold their annual conventions in adventure destinations and, this year the association has selected Araku Valley its venue for the next convention. The 14th Annual Convention of ATOAI will be held in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh from 25th to 28th October, 2018. Araku Valley, located 115 km from Vizag airport, is an amazing hill station, one of unfathomable valleys in India that lures the tourists with its breath-taking landscapes and pleasant weather. The annual convention of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India is a gathering of the ... Read more

Goa government plan to include agro-eco tourism in the school syllabus. It was suggested by the ICAR-Central Coast Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) and they are said to be in the process of writing to the state education department recommending this. An agro eco-tourism unit has already launched in the state equipped with a range of agricultural activities and display of various operations like mushroom production, bee hives etc. “When the agro eco-tourism unit has launched, lots of schools have contacted us showing their interest. We are writing to the government to include this in the school curriculum. We may also ... Read more

The Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HPTU) is giving an opportunity to do a course in adventure tourism.  The information was stated by Dr SP Bansal, Vice-Chancellor of the University. Dr Bansal informed that the central government had assured the university a grant of Rs 2.5 crore for the course. The vice chancellor also informed that the university will create its own facility to start the adventure tourism course. “A community radio, journalism and mass communication courses were also on the agenda,” he added. The university offer courses like MBA, MA (Tourism), MSc (Environment), BHM, MTech (Computer Science) and MSc (Physics). ... Read more

After the rain and floods, Neelakurinji in Rajamala started blooming. This time, flowers are bloomed in a scattered manner, than the usual extensive blooming along the valley to make it a blue-purple carpet. As per experts, if the sun would shine unceasingly in the days to come, there could be extensive blooming. The season may prolong until October. Visitors are allowed to Rajamala to view the Neelakurinji spots from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Entrance fesses are like Rs 120 for adults and Rs 90 for children. Foreign visitors have to pay Rs. 400. The only way to reach Rajamala ... Read more

With an aim to facilitate adventure tourism in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is in the process of framing guidelines for adventure activities being carried out by various agencies in the state. The guidelines envisage registration of the adventure tour operators, granting them proper permission for carrying out adventure activities, minimum requirements needed including equipment, safety norms, dos and don’ts for any agency to conduct such adventure activities in the state. “J&K has huge potential in adventure tourism and many domestic and international tourists visit the state for adventure activities, “but unlike other states we never had adventure ... Read more

Indigo is giving away 10 lakhs tickets for its passengers in their latest offer announced on 3rd September 2018 Domestic flights fares stars at Rs 999 and International flights starts at Rs 3199. The offer can be availed by making the booking between 3rd and 6th September 2018 and they may travel between 18th September and 30th March, 2019. Booking should be made at least 15 days prior to travel. Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram– Rs 999, Kochi to Chennai – Rs 1,999; Kochi to Bengaluru – Rs 1,299, Kochi to Abu Dhabi – Rs 5,999; Kochi to Dubai – Rs 4,699; ... Read more

The Government of Kerala is all set to honour the rescue workers from the tourism field including life guards, who actively participated in the rescue operations during the recent flood that hit the state. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will attend the function which is to be held at Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram at 4 pm on September 3. Boat drivers and staff members of Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) and District Tourism Promotion Councils (DTPC), and those who rushed into the rescue operations under the aegis of various organizations in the tourism/hospitality sector will also be honoured at the function. ... Read more

A short film on Jammu and Kashmir tourism, titled “Warmest Place on Earth” has won “gold” at an award ceremony organised by the India chapter of International Advertising Association (IAA). The ad film launched by the state’s Tourism Department in September 2017 has been declared the winner in the ‘Travel and Tourism Category’ at IndiAA awards held in Mumbai on Friday. The film highlights the hospitality of Kashmir. The 5-minute film was the first such big campaign launched by the Kashmir government. Conceptualised by J Walter Thompson, the film was directed by filmmaker Amit Sharma. The lyrics of the background song in the ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: NDTV Heavy rains reported in several parts of Delhi and NCR today morning. The Met department forecasted spells of rains and thundershowers during the day. There were waterlogging reported from parts of Delhi on Saturday. The rains on Wednesday had affected normal life and disrupted the traffic movement in several areas of Delhi and NCR. The Safdarjung observatory recorded 24.6 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours whereas the Palam observatory recorded 19.9 mm rainfall during the same period. Among the areas affected were the Modi Mill area, South Avenue, Bhairon Marg, Lajpat Nagar market, Kela Ghat and Kashmiri ... Read more

The government of India has decided to start six new Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Gujarat. With the new PSKs, Gujarat will have a total of 25 PSKs. The new PSKs will be coming up in Amreli, Gandinagar, Surendranagar, Patan, Bardoli and Sabarkantha. MoS external affairs M J Akbar said, “For 70 years there were only five PSKs in Gujarat. In the last four years this number has gone upto 19. And, with the opening of the 6 new centres, the number will be 25 soon.” “These new PSKs will help citizens greatly. This will definitely help the citizens going ... Read more