Category: News

The H Resort Beau Vallon Beach has been awarded the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label certificate for integrating sustainability practices in its business operations. In his address at the award ceremony last week, Didier Dogley, the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, said he was pleased with the increasing number of hotels displaying their commitment towards the sustainable tourism initiative. “We live in a period where people have become very conscious about the environment. Travellers are looking for sustainable service providers,” he said. The H Resort Beau Vallon Beach in the north of the main island Mahe has 55 ... Read more

The first batch of 14 youngsters of Punjab origin from the United Kingdom will visit the State from August 7 to 16 as part of the scheme ‘Connect with Your Roots (CYR)’. The group consists of eight boys and six girls, aged between 16 and 22 years. The programme CYR was launched by Caption Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab on 13th September 2017. The programme targets the foreign-born youth who are into second, third and fourth generations of Punjabis and have never travelled to Punjab. The government will make arrangement to bring them to Punjab and showcase its culture, ... Read more

Emirates is celebrating 15 years of successful operations to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. Since its inaugural flight in 2003, Emirates has carried over two million passengers to and from Auckland, connecting New Zealand to the world, with 21 flights a week to Dubai, Bali and beyond. Emirates began its services to Auckland with daily flights via Sydney and Melbourne and, later, Brisbane. In 2009, the award-winning airline introduced its iconic A380 aircraft to the route, providing a revolutionary double-decker aircraft to transport passengers between Auckland, Sydney and Emirates’ cosmopolitan hub, Dubai. The operations were further enhanced few years later ... Read more

Air India said it will now offer boxes with packed items such as cookies or peanuts instead of samosas and sandwiches that were served on flights of less than an hour’s duration. The national carrier is reported to have got multiple complaints of the samosas and sandwiches being spoilt and the new move to offer packed dry fruits will stop such episodes. The official suggested that the boxes will be kept near the entrance of the aircraft and passengers would have to pick their pack as they enter. “They can eat it on the flight or take with them. We ... Read more

As part of revitalizing the handicrafts industry of the state, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority is conducting state wide workshops for the artisans. While talking to the media in the first such workshop on Sunday, 5th August 2018, Mukesh Kumar Meena,  Secretary, Department of Tourism, Language and Culture, said traditional artisans producing enchanting range of handicrafts and weavers creating brilliant line of handloom apparel were integral part of the tourism sector. “We want to create a well-organized platform for the craftsmen to market their products easily and ensuring deserved prices,” he said. AP tourism department is planning to take care ... Read more

Shwe Oo Min Cave, Pagoda U Henry Van Thio, Second Vice President of Myanmar, has reiterated the need for development of community-based tourism industry in Danu Self-Administered Zone in eastern Shan state, as reported by Myanmar News Agency. The Second Vice President, who is also the chairman of the Central Committee for the Development of the National Tourism Industry, stressed the need for necessary preparation for providing better tourism services in view of the recent decision of the government to relax visa rules for Asian travellers starting from October. In view of increasing inbound tourists, the government has decided to ... Read more

The Kannur International Airport in northern Kerala, which is scheduled to be opened in September 2018, is expected to be beneficial for the Karnataka tourism industry. Top tourism destinations of Karnataka, like Mysuru and Kodagu (Coorg) are likely to be benefited by the new airport as they are within easy reach from Kannur. The new airport is just 58 km from Virajpet, about 90 km from Madikeri and 158 km from Mysuru. The airport will serve as a channel for tourism development since Kodagu is closer to Kannur and thus improve connectivity between the two cities. Tour operators of Kodagu ... Read more

Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which runs 165 hotels across the Taj, Vivanta and Ginger brands, is the latest hospitality major which is coming out to join the protest against the use of plastic straws. The hotel has made a commitment to stop using plastic straws at its properties as part of a sustainability push aimed at reducing plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. Earlier this year, the company announced that Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Andamans in the Indian Ocean would become its first ‘Zero Single Use Plastic Hotel ‘. “We at IHCL have taken a pledge to phase ... Read more

Tourism industry of Hawaii islands has been gloomy, due to the recent eruption of Kilauea volcano. The cumulative expenditure loss to the tourism of Hawaii’s Big Island inflicted by the eruption may turn out to be as high as approximately 200 million U.S. dollars, a study found. According to the latest study, the Big Island may have already lost 38,000 potential visitors and around 50 million dollars in potential tourism expenditure in May and June. The Big Island of Hawaii may have lost 17,000 potential visitors and 22.7 million dollars in potential tourism expenditure in May and 21,000 potential visitors ... Read more

Mini-Europe is hosting a sound and light show for three Saturdays from Aug. 4 to 18 to mark the 2018 China-European Union Tourism Year campaign. It was as per the decision taken jointly in the China-EU Summit in July 2016 to observe 2018 as China-EU Tourism Year. The night sky in Brussels was lit up with dazzling colours, as Chinese themed fireworks shot up from its landmark Mini-Europe park as part of the celebrations. The park has been adorned with Chinese lanterns bearing images from Sichuan Opera, a traditional opera that originated in China’s southwestern Sichuan Province, famous for its ... Read more

A pair of giant hands lifts the ribbon-like Golden Bridge up in the air above Vietnam’s Trường Sơn Mountains. The Cau Vang (Golden Bridge) was opened to the public in early June 2018; since then it has been very inviting to visitors from both home and abroad. The glistening structure emerges from the trees of Thien Thai garden in Ba Na Hills. Set more than 1,400 meters above sea level, the bridge incorporates eight spans and extends 150 meters long. Antique effect finishing is given to the hands and it seems they’ve been there for centuries. “The bridge is designed to evoke the ... Read more

  Tourism has been one of the major revenue earners of Uttarakhand, the northern state of India. The state government is optimistic about the future of the state through development in the tourism sector. “The tourism sector has the potential to create jobs. The existing tourism hot-spots like Nainital and Mussoorie, which were established centuries ago are at a saturation point and no more development are possible there. So, we are now focused on developing 13 new destinations. Around 12 big banner films have come to the state during my tenure. We are trying to increase the revenue of the ... Read more

Cleartrip has entered into a deal with Haryana Tourism, which makes it an exclusive online booking partner for tours and activities in the state. As an exclusive online ticketing partner, Cleartrip will now enable its users to easily discover and book a variety of experiences, including visits to museums, amusement parks and kids gaming zones, recreational activities like boating trips, day outings to Haryana Tourism’s resorts, and visits to the renowned Yadavindra Gardens (formerly Pinjore Gardens), a historic 17th century garden in Mughal architectural style. “As an experiences-focussed travel platform, we are always on the lookout for strategic partnerships that ... Read more

Encore Maleka is the new 360 degree theater in Melaka, Malaysia.  It is the largest permanent theater in Malaysia designed by chief architect Wang Ge from the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, just to tell the story of Maleka. In an approximately 70-min show, audience would go through the 6 centuries of history literally crossing through time and space. What you would bring back is not merely the story of a rich historical place but an intellectual reflection of the true essence of Melaka – a good model of multicultural coexistence. Encore Melaka, is curated and directed by Wang Chaoge (the ... Read more

Barcelo Resorts (Photo Courtesy: Bookings.com) Spanish hotels are cutting prices on summer holiday packages as tourists return to destinations like Turkey and resorts in North Africa, while visitor numbers to Spain continue to be increasing for the past four years. Tourism is one of major revenue earner of Spain, accounting for around 11 per cent of Spain’s total revenue. Last year around 82 million tourists visited Spain, making it the world’s second most visited country after France. Spain’s hotels have exploited the country’s popularity as a sought after tourist destination and increased prices on average by 21.4 per cent over ... Read more