Category: News

Goodricke Group Ltd is coming up with an innovative idea of ‘Tea Tourism’, by making one of its tea estates to a tourism hot spot. “Thurbo Tea Estate of Mirik in Darjeeling district will be the tourism spot,” said Atul Asthana, Managing Director, GGL. An unused bungalow in the estate, which is built in 1872 will be refurbished for the purpose. Thurbo estate is located near Nepal and is surrounded by orange and orchid farms. With its tittering streams and rivulets flowing along and scenic beauty of the Nepal Mountains at a distance, Turbo estate becomes an ideal tourism spot. ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Ram Kumar Varkala beach in Kerala is all set to be an international model for waste management, as the state government is planning for a beach beautification project of Rs 10 crore under the Zero Waste Beacon Varkala. After the successful completion of the Beacon Varkala project, the state government has kick-started the new activities under the new scheme ‘Old is My Gold’. The Minister for Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran, inaugurated the new project, which is implemented with the active participation of students from all the schools which falls under the municipality division. As part of the ‘Old is My ... Read more

The government of Maharashtra has issued fresh guidelines for adventure tourism in the state. As per the new guidelines, it is mandatory for all organizations dealing in adventure activities and tourism in the state to register with the sports department in their respective district of operation. The state school education and sports department has issued a government resolution in this regard on July 26. The resolution details the procedures to be followed during the conduct of all types of adventure activities with set guidelines on equipment, certifications and training, risk mitigation and safety procedures. A nine-member state-level committee will also be ... Read more

Tourism Minister KJ Alphons has said that the tourism ministry is very keen to attract more Chinese travellers and is hopeful of boosting their arrivals to 14.4 million in five years. The ministry has introduced a slew of measures which includes promotional events and Mandarin-speaking guides. The minister also informed that the ministry would be setting up its first office at Beijing soon. It also has plans to organize roadshows in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou from August 28 to September 1. “We should aim for 10 per cent of the 144 million Chinese tourists. This can be achieved in five ... Read more

International Tiger Day, also known as Global Tiger Day, is celebrated annually on July 29 to raise awareness for tiger conservation. It was formed in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia with the goal to bring worldwide attention to the dwindling numbers of tigers and their plight. This is the eighth annual International Tiger Day. The primary goal behind International Tiger Day is to promote a global environment to protect the natural habitats of tigers and support for issues pertaining to conservation of tigers. India has a leading role to play in tiger conservation as the nation ... Read more

There is a secret behind the tasty food of Malabar Café in Grand Hyatt Hotel in Kochi Bolgatty. Here, food is prepared and supervised by ladies only. All chefs in the kitchen are women. Latha is the Chief chef and Manager of the Kitchen and has four chefs to work with her. Aswini, Rehmath, Kavitha and Antish are the assistants to Latha. Photo Courtesy: Mathrubhumi “It is a dream come true job for me; I always dream to have a kitchen only for women. Here I could implement what I have been longed for. I should thank God and the ... Read more

A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Lombok today, which killed at least  10 people and injured 40 plus in the tourist island.  The quake struck at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) at 6:47 am local time (2247 GMT Saturday), the United States Geological Survey said. The quake struck 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Lombok’s main city Mataram, the USGS said, far from the main tourist spots on the south and west of the island. Lombok in southeastern Indonesia is a popular tourist destination, and lies around 100 km east of the resort island of Bali. Island ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: IG/nuchienuchiee Experts in the field estimate that by 2020 Dubai will welcome a whopping 20 million international tourists. With a host of tourist-friendly activities and developments, the Emirate is all set to welcome the globetrotters and has even exempted tourists from value-added tax recently. Dubai recorded 15.8 million overnight visitors in 2017 – a 6.2 per cent increase from 2016, which was an all-time high number. Around 4.7 million international overnight visitors were recorded in the first quarter of 2018, registering a 2 per cent increase from the same period last year. The UAE hospitality market is expected to ... Read more

Travellers with Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France. “I’m pleased to announce that, with effect from July 23, 2018, holders of Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa (ATV) while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France,” tweeted Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India. An airport transit visa is applicable for those who are just transiting the Schengen territory and who will not leave the transit area of the airport. However, hotel accommodations are only available outside the ... Read more

  Association of Tourism Trade Organization of India (ATTOI) has been pursuing its relief activities in the flood affected Kuttanad. Recently ATTOI has distributed drinking water to the relief camps in Kuttanad. As a follow-up action, ATTOI team have visited the flooded areas and the relief camps for the second time. This time Kainakari and the other innermost areas of Kuttanad have been visited. Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS), Taj Group, Confederation of Accredited Tour Operators (CATO) and Association of Tourism Professionals (ATP) have also take part in the relief operations of ATTOI. PK Aneesh Kumar, President, ... Read more

After ‘Shoot the Rain’ and ‘Madhu Memorial Cricket Tournament’, tourism fraternity in Kerala is coming up with another sports event. Munnar Destination Makers (MDM) is organising a badminton tournament, in memorial of Sudheesh, who was the Manager of Munnar Cook Maker Resort and Executive member of MDM. The event will be held at the Ace Badminton Academy near East Farm, Adimali on 4th and 5th August 2018. The title sponsor of the badminton tournament is Blanket Hotel, Munnar whereas Uniqloth and Spice Country are sponsoring a cash award of Rs 20,000 and an ever rolling trophy for the winners. Sudheesh was a vibrant ... Read more

Myanmar will grant free visa allowances to Chinese, South Korean and Japanese nationals from August 1 onward in a bid to promote eco-tourism, according to U Ohn Maung, Minister of Hotel and Tourism, during an economic seminar organised last week by the Thai embassy in Yangon and the Thai Business Association in Myanmar. The initiative has taken considering the decline in visitors from the West, who have cut short travel to Myanmar in view of the refugee crisis in Rakhine. The ministry of tourism hopes the free visa to Asian countries could compensate the downfall in tourists from the western ... Read more

European countries are experiencing a surge in inbound tourists from China during the first half of the year. The main reasons for this trend is said to be the changing tastes of Chinese tourists – from shopping to art and culture. Moreover, the cold reception from Trump’s America also considered a factor for Chinese tourists to opt for European countries. Recent surveys states, Chinese tourists are avoiding package tours to Europe to strike out on their own trips to unexplored locations, than the popular names in the tourism map. Bookings for the month of July and August in Europe are ... Read more

The Maldives state-owned Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) stated in a press release that it is seeking interested international public relations corporations to boost tourism in the Maldives. MMPRC said that the prospective PR corporations are from Macao and Taiwan. The selected companies would be hired on a one-year contract. Currently, the Maldives government is implementing a mega campaign to promote tourism in the island through its foreign offices and embassies across the globe. MMPRC stated that they are utilizing the digital marketing techniques for propagating Maldives on various platforms. According to statistics from the Tourism Ministry, a total ... Read more

Foreign tourists’ spent in Brazil has been showing an increasing tendency in recent years. During the first half of the year 2018, the income earned from foreign tourists has increased by 5.94 per cent when compared to the previous year, as stated by an official of the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism. Around 3.15 million foreigners visited Brazil during this time, which is 8 per cent more than that of last year. The total spent for the period is USD 3.24 billion, according to the ministry. Tourism is one of the major revenue earners of Brazil, whose total contribution to GDP ... Read more