Category: News

The Uttarakhand government is all set to launch a special bus services in 13 districts for tourists to enjoy vibrant Pahari folk arts and traditions and places of cultural attractions including castles, temples and archaeological sites dotting the picturesque Himalayan landscape. Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said, “The local youth, who will be trained as guides, will explain the tourists about the locations as well the folklore associated with them. Moreover, the tourists will have a chance to experience the local culinary traditions and enjoy ‘Garhwali cuisines’, popular for their unique tastes”. The minister is optimistic that the tales associated to ... Read more

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s announcement of imposing fines for those who drink in public and littering public places is welcomed by the Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar. He further urged tourists to abstain from misbehaving with women under the influence of alcohol. It was on Monday, Parrikar had announced that from August 15 those who drink alcohol in public would be fined Rs 2,500. People found littering would also face sheer fines. A notification in this regard would be issued shortly, he said. Ajgaonkar rejected the possible shortfall in the inflow of tourists to Goa due to the fine. Instead, ... Read more

Kenya plans to set up a network of marine museums across the country to enhance tourism. Caesar Bita, Head of Underwater Archaeology at the National Museums of Kenya, told the media that the museums will be located offshore along the Indian Ocean coastline, major lakes and rivers. Kenya’s underwater cultural heritage will be collected, preserved and displayed in the museums in order to boost the tourism sector,” Bita said on the sidelines of the Fifth World Congress of Geoversal Civilization, which runs from July 16 to 21, aims to promote cooperation among world civilizations. The marine museums will also provide ... Read more

The political leaders of Maldives, who are close to the President, may get travel bans and asset freeze, as per the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union. In a statement the EU said those who are responsible for undermining the rule of law or obstructing and inclusive political solution in the Maldives as well as persons and entities responsible for human rights violations will get the sanctions. Earlier India has urged for restoration of democracy in Maldives. It was feared, if the Abdulla Yameen government go like this, in the forthcoming election, he would be the sole candidate for ... Read more

The state tourism board of Madhya Pradesh is organizing a three day adventure tourism event in Bhopal in collaboration with Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOPA) and international partner Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) from 3rd to 5th December. While addressing the gathering at the curtain raiser programme of the event in Bhopal on Monday, Tourism Minister Surendra Patwa said it is the responsibility of the government to conduct the event successfully. “The event named ‘Adventure Next’ is considered to be a recognition for the state, as ATTA has selected it to organize its first event,” said Hariranjan Rao, ... Read more

Tourists to Oman can now obtain a visa for just five riyals, which equals to almost Rs 900 as per today’s exchange rate. Tourists were earlier required to pay 20 riyals whether they stayed back for five days or a month. The new decree aims to boost the tourism sector. Indians who hold valid visa to USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Japan and Schengen states can avail the Oman visa through an e-visa process by simply logging into https://evisa.rop.gov.om/. “Those who doesn’t have visas to the said countries, can get a sponsored visa by paying 5 Riyal plus processing fee through their tour operators,” ... Read more

The controversial logo The Visit Malaysia 2020 logo that was highly criticised by many when it was first introduced back in January by then Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, is all set to get a replacement. The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is planning a contest to find its replacement. The logo, modelled after a postage stamp, features the Petronas Twin Towers, and an orang utan hugging a proboscis monkey and turtle on a beach donning sunglasses and bears the tagline: Travel. Enjoy. Respect. The tourism minister described the logo saying that it should look fun and colourful and the various symbols ... Read more

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has recently launched a digital TV channel on Instagram’s view-platform IGTV, with an aim to attract tourists to Egypt through online marketing. The channel, “Experience Egypt”, launched on Instagram’s view-platform IGTV, will be broadcast through the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Promotion’s official page, and has been dubbed as the first of its kind in the Middle East. “The Ministry of Tourism is currently looking into launching more promotional campaigns across the most influential and focused platforms to spread its scope across wider populace,” said the ministry in a statement. “The ministry is focusing on important social ... Read more

Malshej Ghat Expecting a heavy tourist inflow during the monsoon season, the Maharashtra Tourism Department has issued strict advisories to district collectors to identify a list of “vulnerable” spots and take precautionary measures to avoid unfortunate incidents. Joint Managing Director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), Ashutosh Rathod,  told the media that state Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal had instructed district collectors to enhance security measures after identifying the spots at risk. Matheran Waterfalls Bookings are almost full at several destinations including Malshej, Bhandardhara, Matheran, Karla and other MTDC resorts and most of the tourists are interested in wildlife sanctuaries or climbing ... Read more

Chinese online payment form Alipay and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), have launched a series of joint marketing initiatives aimed at raising destination awareness of Singapore and driving tourist spending among Chinese visitors. Alipay and STB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in September 2017 to enhance Chinese tourists’ overall experience in Singapore. Under the MoU, both parties agreed, among other things, to explore co-investing in joint-marketing initiatives to encourage Chinese tourists to spend with Alipay while in Singapore. Since signing the MOU, Alipay has experienced double-digit growth in user spending. China has also become Singapore’s top market in 2017 for ... Read more

Italy's capital, Rome, is well known for its rich cultural and historical sites, including the Colosseum and the Pantheon. It boasts top restaurants specializing in the world's most popular cuisines. It has a vibrant nightlife, and picturesque piazzas. However, Rome has got just 16th rank in the world’s most visited city as per the Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index. According to the report, Rome attracts 7.1 million tourists every year, less than other 15 countries. Bangkok is the top-ranked destination with 21.5 million tourists, which is three times more than the tourists who travel to Rome every year. Dubai, in ... Read more

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday held wide-ranging talks with her Bahrain counterpart Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed al Khalifa during which they discussed ways to expand cooperation in a number of fields including tourism, oil and gas, petrochemicals, security, defense and intelligence training. In a joint statement after the meeting they said that “The wide-ranging discussions were held in a friendly and forward-looking atmosphere, with useful exchanges of views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest,” The two sides discussed in detail various aspects of bilateral relations. Expansion of cooperation of in the fields of tourism,  education, ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: IG/nuchienuchiee The UAE has announced a change in visa rules for tourists and free transit visas to all passengers flying through Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The Emirate has introduced a new two-month exemption for dependents of tourists travelling to the country on holidays. Now, tourists can also obtain a fee-free visa for children under the age of 18 years during the summer period from 15th July to 15th September of each year. The UAE government has also announced that it will be setting up several express counters at the passport control halls at airports across the Emirates to allow ... Read more

“Improved road and air connectivity is necessary for the state to connect with other states and thus attract more tourists,” says Kerala Governer P Sathasivam. He was inaugurating the Nishagandhi Monsoon Music Fest at the Nishagandhi Auditorium at Kanakkunnu, Thiruvananthapuram. He also recommended the state government to utilise the Centre’s ‘UDAN’ (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme aimed at improving rural airports and connectivity. He also offered his willingness to follow up the actions, if the state makes any requests to the Union Government in this regard. Citing the example of Puthuchery, he said despite its small size, they have ... Read more

The two companies, leading the quest of space tourism revealed that they are just months away from their first space travel, carrying tourists; the date is yet to be confirmed. Virgin Galactic Spacecraft Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, and Blue Origin, by Amazon creator Jeff Bezos – are striving to be the first to finish their tests. However, both the companies are using fundamentally different technology. Space tourism by both the companies does not mean to carry the passengers along the orbit of earth. Their weightless experience will last just minutes. The experience will be different from ... Read more