Category: News

Photo Courtesy: Wake’N’Bite Happy news for the ‘Biryani’ lovers of Thiruvananthapuram. Celebrate the friendship day with stomach full of biryani in a festive mood packed with lots of fun. Uday Saumdra Beach Hotel, Kovalam is providing the opportunity to foodies to eat as much as biryani they can, by competing in the ‘Clash of Foodies’ to be held on 5th August 2018, the World Friendship Day. The competition will be arranged at the ‘Courtyard’ restaurant in the hotel. Six pre-registered teams of six members each can take part in the event. The team has the choice of selecting veg or ... Read more

Adorned by brightly coloured banners and national flags of the participating nations of the on-going 10th BRICS summit, Johannesburg beckons foreign visitors to stroll on its bustling streets. The 2018 BRICS summit has been giving the capital city a new life during the generally tranquil weather of July. The streets witness people taking selfies with the colorful signs that are hoisted on the sides of streets around the Sandton International Convention Centre, where the event is being hosted on July 25-27. Foreign delegates are delighted to ride on Johannesburg’s electric tram and visiting the elegant shopping malls where aristocratic restaurants ... Read more

Representative Photo Installation of solar lights at the tourism hot-spots proved to be a great success, as stated by an official from the District Tourism Promotion Council. The pilot project at Kovalam was carried out in association with Kerala State Industrial Enterprises, where 48 solar lights have been installed. The project cost was 31 lakhs. Another 37 lamps were installed at Veli Tourist Village at a cost of 28.5 lakhs. Solar lights are cost effective than electric lights. The lamps installed are with one year warranty and with five years maintenance contract. It also avoids the risk of power failure ... Read more

India, being one of the best source markets for Egypt, has contributed to the Egyptian tourism with over 30 per cent growth in the tourist arrivals in 2017. Realising the potential of its source market and draw more tourists to the country, Egypt Tourism is conducting roadshows in Indian cities to promote its cultural, Christian pilgrimage and MICE offering. Christian pilgrimage is one of the important focus areas of Egypt Tourism and they are focussing mainly on Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kochi for promoting this. The tourism department is organising roadshows in Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.  Egypt Tourism has conducted four-city ... Read more

ixigo has plans to roll out ‘Tara’, a voice-enabled travel assistant, for its customers by the year end. “Among the 500 million user base which will come online in the next three years, we expect 100 million across India to be interacting using voice as a medium in the same duration. And this is one of the reasons we are planning to enter the segment,” said Aloke Bajpai, CEO and Co-founder, ixigo. Tara will be initially available in English and Hindi, and in regional languages later on. On getting the accent 100 per cent correct, the company is working on ... Read more

“Tourists who do not respect the culture of Goa and create nuisance by littering on the beaches or taking narcotic drugs are not welcome in the state”, said Manohar Ajgaonkar, Tourism Minister of Goa. He was talking in the Legislative Assembly on 26th July 2018.The minister also said that existing laws were not strong enough to confront the nuisance created by hawkers on the beaches in the state According to Ajgoankar there is a difference between a drunk Goan and a tourist who is drunk. “Goans will walk straight on the road while tourists walk shaking their body,” said the minister. Speaking on other issues at the beach like stray animals, ... Read more

‘Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart’ (RDTM) held in Jaipur from July 20 to 22 was considered a landmark event and the organizers claim it was a huge success. The event was organized by the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR) with the support of different stakeholders. Though Rajasthan has been a major attraction for both domestic and international tourists, recently states like Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have been getting more attention, and the organizers of the event hope to reverse this situation. Lalit Panwar, Vice Chancellor of the state Skill Development University, noted that human resource development was a ... Read more

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has been selected for the Champion of Earth Prize -2018, the highest environmental honour instituted by United Nations. CIAL has been selected for this accolade for their revolutionary idea of using solar energy for the airport, which made Cochin Airport the first airport to function fully with solar energy. Erik Solheim, United Nation’s Global chief of Environment and Executive Director, UNEP, stated in an announcement sent to V.J.Kurian, Managing Director, CIAL, that ‘This is the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade and reflects your leadership in the use of sustainable energy” The communiqué further adds “Previous Champion ... Read more

Photo Credits: gotnewswire India has been becoming a favourite destination for medical tourism in recent years. Advanced medical facilities, highly skilled doctors and comparatively low cost of treatment make India an ideal place for medical tourism.  The total number of visitors during the year 2017 was 4.95 lakh, as stated by KJ Alphons, Minister of State for Tourism. He was replying to queries in the Lok Sabha. People visited India for medical purposes during 2015 and 2016 were 2.34 lakh and 4.27 lakh respectively. Bangladesh and Afghanistan are at top places in the number of foreign tourist arrivals for medical ... Read more

Anup Kumar Nayak, The Project Tiger’s Additional Director General, has sent an advisory to the states to stop tourism in tiger reserves during the monsoon season. The advisory was the second reminder for the one issued in 2015, directing the closure of tiger reserve during monsoon (July-September). “This directive and a subsequent reminder on July 12, 2017 have not yielded any response from most states, I am to reiterate that the 2015 directive should be followed in letter and spirit in the interest of tiger conservation,” Nayak’s advisory reads. Nayak is also Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority ... Read more

IAS officer of 2009 batch, Suhas Diwase has been appointed as the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director. He is also bearing the office of Maharashtra State Warehousing Corporation, as Chairman and Managing Director. Master’s degree holder in Horticulture, Diwase has done  his Public Administration from The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore.

Malaysian tourism sector is in a revival mode after the slow pace in inbound tourists during the first four months of the year. The fortifying factor was the increased number of Chinese tourists during the last two months of the first half of the year. The information was revealed in the report of Maybank Investment Bank Research. The report says drop in the total visitor arrivals for the first four months was due to shortfall in the main sources of tourists, Singapore and Indonesia.  This deficit was offset by the vigorous growth in Chinese visitors’ arrivals, which is expected to ... Read more

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Városház Utca Projekt Ingatlanforgalmazó Kft. for the first Hyatt Regency hotel in Budapest, Hungary. The 231-room property is expected to open in early 2020. Hyatt Regency Budapest will be located in the landmark building Postapalota, the former postal office on Petőfi Sándor Street. Situated near the vibrant Váci Street and a five-minute walk to the Danube river, this upscale hotel will provide the perfect setting for business and leisure travelers to connect with the city. “The development of Hyatt Regency Budapest demonstrates Hyatt’s commitment ... Read more

As tourism is becoming a major revenue earner in most of the countries, a degree in travel and tourism would be one of the most attractive courses in days to come. Vishwakarma University, Pune is offering a Bachelor’s Degree in Travel and Tourism – Bachelor of Arts in Travel and Tourism. The three-year full-time degree programme is for students who passed XII in any stream. The University also offers Master Degree in Tourism, which can be availed by students with a bachelor degree in any streams. Travel and Tourism post-graduates may go for a Doctorate, if they could score 55 ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha have deployed tourist police. “Fourteen states have deployed tourist police in one form or the other,” informed Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons. Listing out the measures taken by his ministry to ensure the safety of tourists, Alphons said it had launched a 24×7 Multi-Lingual Tourist Info-Helpline (toll-free number 1800111363, short code 1363) in 12 languages (Hindi, English and 10 international languages) in February, 2016. The helpline was launched to provide support to the tourists in terms of information relating ... Read more