Category: News

The central government is taking all measures to attract more Chinese tourists to the country. The Tourism Ministry has planned a series of roadshows, a dedicated tourist office, and is also training Mandarin-speaking guides to attract more Chinese tourists. The ministry is also planning to host Chinese media in India for the purpose. “Tourist arrivals from China will be our major focus area in the coming months. China sends out 144 million tourists in a year (as per their 2017 figures), while India gets only 2.5 lakh of those. This needs to change,” Tourism Minister K J Alphons, who is leaving ... Read more

SpiceJet today successfully operated “India’s first ever biojet fuel flight” which took off from Dehradun and landed at the airport in Delhi.   the national capital. The SpiceJet flight, a Bombardier Q400 aircraft, partially using biojet fuel, was powered with a blend of 75 per cent air turbine fuel (ATF) and 25 per cent biojet fuel, it said. “The advantage of using biojet fuel as compared to ATF is that it reduces carbon emissions and enhances fuel efficiency. Made from Jatropha crop, the fuel has been developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun,” SpiceJet said in a statement. Around 20 people, ... Read more

As summer is subsiding slowly, three of the major attractions in Dubai to hang out, eat, drink and to have some entertainment, will be resuming functioning at the end of this month. First among them is Seven Sisters, the Lebanese café, which reopens on Thursday 30th August 2018. Overlooking the Dubai Canal, in the JW Marriott Marquis, Seven Sisters is an ideal place for spending your nights with friends. There are lots to eat and drink, other than the eventful evenings. It hosts a weekly Tuesday live music session, fashionable Friday fusion concept inspired by the Orient and will dedicate ... Read more

Next time before you blow the horn in Mumbai, just think twice as flouting noise pollution norms in Mumbai’s silent zones would attract a fine of Rs 1 lakh and a jail term for five years. In wake of the upcoming festival season, the state government has urged citizens to come forward and register complaints in police stations if they come across instances of violation of noise pollution norms in silent zones. Citizens could dial the police helpline number 100 to file complaints, announced the Maharashtra government on Sunday. A total of 110 areas in Mumbai have been shortlisted as ... Read more

Kodagu, devastated by the recent floods, is visited by a lot of people and which made the Kodagu district administration ordering a crackdown on ‘disaster tourism’. The incessant rains during the second week of August resulted in landslips and floods which claimed the live at least 20 people in the district. Earlier this month, the district administration had directed all hotels, homestays and resorts in Kodagu not to accept bookings till August 31. Many curious people – both locals and outsiders – are visiting some of the disaster-hit areas in and around Madikeri. Some of the worst affected areas like Jodapala, Madenada ... Read more

As per the report published by Hotels.com in association with Ipsos, a global market research and a consulting firm; India ranks among the top ten popular destinations for Chinese tourists in Asia. The report says around 2 laksh Chinese tourists visited India during 2017. Mumbai and Delhi are the most favourite destinations for Chinese travellers with 69 and 51 per cent Chinese tourist footfalls respectively. The report was formulated during May 2018 by conducting interviews with 3,047 Chinese residents, within the age group of 18-58 years, who had travelled abroad in the past 12 months. The main sources of inspiration ... Read more

Jammu and Kashmir Department of Tourism is organizing mega Kashmir Festival in the last week of September this year to attract more travellers during Durga Puja Holidays and also spur tourist footfall in the upcoming autumn season. Secretary Tourism Rigzin Samphel chaired a review meeting in this regard, at TRC with Director Tourism Kashmir Tasaduq Jeelani and other officers of the department. During the meeting, Secretary Tourism directed the officers to make the foolproof arrangements and preparations for the successful conduct of the Festival. “The state is bestowed with natural beauty and landscape, besides diverse culture, amazing art and craft, ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: scmp.com Tourism Australia’s (TA) Business Events Australia Greater China Showcase 2018 will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 25 to 28 November 2018. The Event is designed to provide Australian industry with a platform on which to develop their relationships with incentive buyers from the China market, and to provide insights into market trends and customer behaviour. In 2018, the showcase will be held in Australia for the first time, providing incentive buyers from the China market with an opportunity to experience Australia’s offering first-hand. The 2018 showcase format will include face-to-face meetings with agents and corporate buyers. ... Read more

Khuldhara – Abandoned Village in Rajasthan Rajasthan, renowned for the presence of a large number of heritage buildings and monuments, is planning to promote the less known heritage sites of the state. Mostly tourism in Rajastan is focussed on the famous tourist spots, which are already in the world tourism map. The tourism department now has decided to bring the other unknown heritage spots to the limelight and thus attract more tourists to the state. To promote tourism at these rural and remote areas, the state government has formulated a plan which will not only provide tourists with new destinations, ... Read more

The 11th annual GoTopless Day takes place in cities across the US, Canada and worldwide today in commemoration of Women Equality Day—the passing of the 19th amendment. “As long as men are allowed to be topless in public, women should have the same constitutional right,” said Maitreya Rael, international spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, who inspired the creation of the GoTopless women’s organization back in 2007. “This would seem to be a pretty straightforward argument,” said Nadine Gary, president of GoTopless and Raelian Guide, “but in high courts, topless activists are being confronted with the judges’ claims that ‘morality’ ... Read more

Boutique Air said it will offer year-round service beginning this month from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Telluride Regional Airport (TEX), located just 10 minutes from town and the ski resort. “Boutique Air brings a proven, high-quality operation and a worldwide partner network; a great fit for both our community and our guests coming to visit throughout the year. We are excited to partner with Boutique Air and deliver commercial flights to TEX for the destination,” said Colorado Flights COO Matt Skinner. Boutique Air partners with United Airlines, which enables travelers to book and connect through the global United network. ... Read more

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) has kickstarted promotions for the first India Tourism Mart. The event will be held in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism from 16-18th September at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The tourism ministry will drive the event through FAITH with the objective of positioning the tourism destinations and products of the country in international source markets with the aim of doubling the number of foreign tourists from the current figure of 10 million to 20 million by 2020. The event will provide a common platform for buyers as well as ... Read more

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet is all set to test India’s first biofuel-powered flight on August 27 as it is planning to cut its aviation fuel bill. SpiceJet is planning to operate a turboprop Q-400 from Dehradun to Delhi using this sustainable alternative fuel. If the test passes off successfully, the aircraft — powered by a mix of conventional air turbine fuel and biofuel — will operate a flight to Delhi. The biofuel for the flight has been developed by Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun. The made-in-India alternative fuel has acquired all statutory clearances, including those from designated testing labs and the Directorate General ... Read more

An order to ban night stay at high-altitude meadows and limiting the number of tourists, by the Uttarakhand High Court will adversely affect the adventure tourism in the state, experts say. It is expected that one lakh people engaged in trekking and mountaineering expeditions will be jobless, besides the loss of revenues to the state. .”Tourism, especially adventure tourism, is the only bread earner for the hill inmates and a court order like this is indirectly asking tourists not to come to the state,” said Jayendra Singh Rana,  President of Garhwal Himalayan Trekking and Mountaineering Association. “The judgment will deprive ... Read more

A set of recommendation for the development of the Odisha tourism industry have arisen from the 3rd Odisha Tourism Conclave that commenced on Friday, 24th August 2018 in Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha. “Now people can have tourism on the mobile handsets, but the growth is like on aeroplane mode. We need to have a vibrant campaign to brand Odisha in line with New Zealand, Thailand and Dubai to promote the destinations,” said JK Mohanty, Chairman of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), while speaking in the Conclave. Social media should be used to market Tourism globally. Blog posts, podcasts, videos and ... Read more