Category: News

Yoga Ambassadors Tour would enhance the growth of tourism in Kerala, said Tourism Minister Kadakampalli Surender in the Kerala Legislative Assembly today.  While answering the queries of MLAs – Prathibha Hari, A N Shamsheer, C K Hareendran, and U R Pradeep- the minister stated that the Tourism ministry has taken all the necessary steps to facilitate the Yoga Ambassador Tour Programme, which is to be conducted on June 14 2018. The tourism ministry targets 50 per cent increase in the number of domestic tourists and 100 per cent increase in foreign tourists by the end of 2021. Propaganda are already ... Read more

It will be easy for the passengers to select their food on their next travel in Indian Railway, without fear of overcharging. A new App – ‘Menu on Rails’ – was launched by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways & Coal, developed by IRCTC for creating awareness to the Railway Passengers for the items served to them on their Rail Journey. This Mobile App will be available on Android and iOS platforms. Website version is also available for users. Main features of the Mobile APP: Displays menu served on all type of trains For Mail/Exp trains, food items are covered in ... Read more

Yoga Ambassador’s Tour is all set to begin on June 14th with an aim to propagate Kerala as a global destination. Around 60-plus Yoga professionals from across the world will be a part of the tour. ATTOI (Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India), in association with Ministry of Ayush and Kerala Tourism, is organising the tour, which is first-of-its-kind in the world. Kerala is believed to be the birthplace of yoga and the ‘Muniyara dolmens’ are believed to be the evidence for this. The dolmens which are 4000-5000 years old are considered as the remains of the Neolithic Age. The ... Read more

  There has been speculations about the safety of travellers to Kerala due to the recent Nipah outbreak. Though the state government has assured many times that it is safe to travel anywhere in Kerala except the four northern districts in the state where Nipah has hit, many has raised concerns about travelling. Today, eliminating all the confusions, the Health and Family Welfare Department, Ministry of Kerala has issued a notification regarding withdrawal of the advisory to the travelers to abstain from travelling to Kerala. The said advisory was issued on 22nd and 25th May on the outbreak of Nipah ... Read more

സംസ്ഥാനത്ത് ജൂലായ് നാല് മുതല്‍ ഓട്ടോ ടാക്‌സി പണിമുടക്ക്. സംയുക്ത മോട്ടോര്‍ തൊഴിലാളി യൂണിയനാണ് സമരം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചത്. ഓട്ടോ ടാക്‌സി നിരക്കുകള്‍ പുനര്‍നിര്‍ണയിക്കണം എന്നീ ആവശ്യങ്ങള്‍ ഉന്നയിച്ചാണ് പണിമുടക്ക്. പണിമുടക്കില്‍ ബി എം എസ് ഒഴികെയുള്ള എല്ലാ സംഘടനകളും പങ്കെടുക്കും.

The Kerala Tourism Department is all set to give a new face to the much-famed boatraces in Kerala. From this season onwards, the boatraces would be held in the IPL model,  which will include Nehru Trophy boat race at Punnamadakkayal in Alappuzha to the Presidents Trophy boat race in Kollam. Christened as Kerala Boat Race League, the race will be conducted from 11 August 2018 to 1 November 2018. The decision was taken in a meeting convened by tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran. The Nehru Trophy boat race will be considered as the qualifier and the league competitions will continue on its ... Read more

According to Hotels.com’s India’s 2018 monsoon travel hotlist, popular beach destination Goa emerged most popular destination for monsoon travel. The hotlist is prepared by analyzing the hotel searches made by its Indian consumer base for the period of July 2018 to August 2018. The list calls out the top 10 international and domestic destinations on the Indian travellers’ monsoon bucket-list. Top 10 Most Searched International Destinations for Indian Travelers during the Monsoon Season (July 2018 – August 2018) Top International Destinations Bali London Paris Singapore Pattaya New York Dubai Bangkok Santorini Amsterdam Top Growing International Destinations YoY (2018 vs 2017) 1. ... Read more

In a first of its kind, tab-operated automatic vending machines (AVMs) have been installed by IRCTC in Coimbatore – Bengaluru Uday Express which was flagged off on June 8, from Coimbatore Junction by Minister of State for Railways – Rajen Gohain. The AVM’s current inventory includes tea/coffee, aerated drinks, canned juices, and chips packets. According to the release, the functioning of the AVM includes choosing an item from the list, which is then added to the cart and once the payment is done it automatically drops off the dispenser. Hot beverages like tea/coffee pour out of the spout of the ... Read more

Foreign tourists may soon be able to claim Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds at airports at the time of exit. It is said that the Revenue Department is working on a mechanism to refund taxes paid by them on local purchases. Initially, only purchases made by tourists from big retailers would be eligible for GST refund at airports when the tourist is leaving the country, an official told PTI. In several countries VAT or GST is refunded to the tourists for purchases made beyond a prescribed threshold. The Department is working out a mechanism which will ensure refund of GST ... Read more

More than 58 per cent of respondents remain unaffected by the dip in the rupee and continue to pursue their holiday plans, according to a survey by Yatra.com.  Looking beyond the US Dollar exchange rate, the stable Euro is attracting Indian travellers. Europe (42 per cent) has emerged as a destination of choice, closely followed by South East Asian countries, including, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia (30 per cent). The strengthening of the US dollar against Indian rupee has also adversely impacted America as a choice of destination for vacation. However, 51.5 per cent respondents are optimistic for the rupee to rise to ... Read more

The Madhogarh-Mahendragarh- Narnaul-Rewari heritage circuit in south Haryana would soon be developed as a global tourism destination under the central government’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme, said Haryana Tourism Minister Ram Bilas Sharma. The minister also said that a sum of Rs 100 crore would be spent on developing the circuit. The state tourism minister had discussed the matter with Union Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons in Delhi recently. He is also planning to meet officials of the tourism department today at Madhogarh Fort to discuss the roadmap for the project. The fort is located on top of Madhogarh Hill in ... Read more

Tourism Ireland is planning to increase the number of the Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland to 175,000 by 2025. This will represent a 150 per cent increase over 2017 in the next eight years. Around 70,000 Chinese visitors visited Ireland in 2017, which include the Republic of Ireland and Britain’s Northern Ireland. “China is the largest outbound travel market in the world and one that Tourism Ireland is committed to growing over the coming years,” said James Kenny, Tourism Ireland’s Manager China. “The introduction of the new direct flight from Beijing (to Dublin) next week is a major game-changer and ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said only six per cent of foreign tourists in India are from the SCO countries, which could easily be “doubled” as he underlined the need to boost tourism among members of the grouping. He was speaking at the restricted session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. Modi opined that increasing awareness of the shared cultures can help boost the number of tourists. “India’s foreign tourism from the SCO countries just constitute for 6 per cent, which could easily be doubled. Increasing awareness of our shared cultures can help boost this number. We will organise a SCO ... Read more

To promote adventure tourism in the hills, the tourism department of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is planning to develop Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. Necessary steps will be taken to make these places more than just a tourist destination. Travellers to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong will now have a host of adventurous activities at these destinations. GTA is now working to develop infrastructure in the hills and will soon be offering tourists with facilities like hill biking, paragliding, rafting and cycling. Besides promoting adventure tourism, major steps will be taken to make travellers aware of homestay facilities in these regions. The authorities ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: GoingBeyond The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and Airbnb is planning to create 1,500 tourism entrepreneurs in the state. The Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme aims to attract a larger global audience and boost tourism in Maharashtra. “After signing an agreement for Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme with Airbnb last year we already have 500 hosts enrolled on the community-driven hospitality company’s platform generating regular income. We are targeting to create 1,500 entrepreneurs in villages through the programme this year,” said Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal told reporters here. The programme aims to make every home under this programme a micro-information centre, ... Read more