Category: News

The much awaited Himalayan Travel Mart (HTM) 2018, a mega tourism event, is scheduled to be held at Kathmandu in Nepal on June 1. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal in association with Nepal Tourism Board, Pacific Asia Travel Association – Nepal Chapter and Nepal Airlines, is organising the 3-day event. PATA Nepal said that preparations have been completed to host the three-day event that aims to re-define adventure tourism in Nepal. “HTM 2018 is Nepal’s international travel trade show and a business-to-business event for the Himalayan tourism industry, which draws global buyers, Himalayan sellers, travel bloggers, ... Read more

With an aim to attract more tourists, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is all set to host a two-day Asia music festival on August 18 in southern Thai island of Koh Samui. The music festival, co-organized by TAT, Singaporean company IMC Live Group and Koh Samui Municipality, will showcase different genres and tongues of music from all across Asia over the weekend. It will also showcase Thailand’s flavorful music scene. The festival is a non-ticketed event and festival-goers will be treated to a weekend of solid music performances and enjoy food and beverage options in the festival market, the tourism ... Read more

China has the most number of outbound travellers these days. However, China is also aiming at enticing more tourists to the country too. Lot of initiatives are being taken for that and the latest to the list is the launch of Anhui tourism promotion center in New York on Monday. Organized and managed by Anhui Provincial Commission of Tourism Development, the center will offer travellers with multiple tourist routes like ‘Ancient Anhui Tour’, ‘Anhui Cultural Tour’ and ‘Mt. Huangshan Tour’. Anhui, located at eastern part of China, has an array of prime picturesque spots and has attracted large number of ... Read more

Around half a million tourists have visited the Maldives in the first quarter of this year. Chinese tourists contributed to the growth in arrivals. A total of 539,816 travelers arrived between January and April, registering a 12.7 per cent increase from last year’s 478,827 tourists who arrived during the same period. According to statistics released, a total of 87,632 Chinese travelers have visited Maldives between January and April, which is up 16 per cent, followed by Italy which saw a 9 per cent growth, both Britain and Germany with a 8 per cent growth and Russia with a 6 per ... Read more

As per the recent statistics by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), tourist arrivals for the first quarter of the current year were up by 7.1 per cent compared with the same period last year. Around 17.4 million visitors arrived last year and their spending hit $26.8 billion. “The winds are in our favour because the outbound growth potential in the Asia-Pacific is the highest in the world. In our backyard, there is going to be growth in travel from a growing Asian middle class,” said STB chief executive Lionel Yeo. “While there is a higher demand for travel in the region, there has also ... Read more

The statistics released by West Midlands Growth Company and research body Global Tourism Solutions (GTS) shows that the city of Birmingham had a boom in tourism sector recording a tourist footfall of 41.8 million in 2017. The total expenditure of the tourists amounted to £7.1 billion, registering a growth of 9 per cent in a year. The average hotel occupancy recorded 75 per cent, same as that in 2016. The RevPAR (revenue per available room) recorded £51 in value, marking the highest figure ever recorded. The growth in tourism industry has led to a rise in number of jobs from ... Read more

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced the country will “very soon” follow Rwanda’s example allowing all Africans to travel to the country without visa. The policy will open up the east African country to African visitors, and it will boost tourism. The plan was announced during a state banquet hosted by Prime Minister Abiy for Rwandan President Paul Kagame who is in Ethiopia on a three-day official visit. The Prime Minister did not give any specific details of the plan to allow visa free travel to all Africans. As part of the visit, President Kagame also visited Hawassa Industrial Park which ... Read more

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea project said it will offer visas on arrival for overseas visitors following the creation of a company to deliver the ambitious project. The project marked a milestone recently with its incorporation as a standalone closed joint-stock company, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), wholly owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The newly-incorporated company will now move forward with the creation of its Special Economic Zone, with its own regulatory framework, it said in a statement. The framework will be separate from the base economy, with a special emphasis on environmental sustainability, and will be offering ... Read more

Egypt’s tourist sector achieved humongous growth as the revenue for first quarter touched $2.2 billion, recording a rise of 83.3 per cent. The report also reveals that the Arab nation had a tourist footfall of almost 2.383 million tourists, recording an increase in visitors by 37.1 per cent. The report also suggests that tourist nights reached $23.8 million in the same period. As per the report of Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the country has received around 7,30,000 tourists in February 2018, registering a 35 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Rania al-Mashat, ... Read more

Saudi Arabia’s king has offered to pay the visa fees for first-time pilgrims to Hajj and Umrah. “The cost of first entry for pilgrims to Umrah and Haj will be covered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman,” said Minister of Haj and Umrah, Mohammed Bin Saleh Bentin. The minister announced the same during a coordination meeting with the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. “Our partnership is aimed at removing all the obstacles that may face the Hajj and Umrah pilgrims and facilitate their arrival to the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah,” he told ... Read more

According to reports of regional authorities, Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region had a tourist footfall of around 40,000 from January to April. This registers a growth by 50.5 per cent in tourist arrivals, when compared to same period last year. The regional tourism development committee confirmed that the region earned $ 26.7 million as tourism revenue during the period, recording an increase of 50.7 per cent. In the same time, Tibet has received nearly 2.7 million domestic tourists, recording a rise of 63.5 per cent when compared to last year. The winter tourism on the highland is less popular than ... Read more

The annual water carnival in Nepal was attended by almost 500 locals and foreigners. The 30th Annual Rafting Festival 2018 was organized by the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA), an umbrella organization of rafting agencies, under the theme “Let’s Protect our Rivers for Tourism and Environment.” White water rafting was organized in Benighat-Phisling section of Trishuli River, some 40 km away from the capital city. The event also aimed to raise awareness on the need of preserving and protecting the rivers for environmental conservation and tourism development. “Being enriched with water resources, Nepal has a huge prospect for water adventures. Thus, ... Read more

Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department is planning to implement a Management Information System (MIS) in order to keep an eye on the speed and real-time development of progressing works. This is an initiative by the tourism department to speed up the various ongoing projects under the Government of India and state government schemes. As per reports, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been given the task to develop a Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Software with some exclusive features. Around 50 officials in various departments of the tourism department would be given separate login id and passwords so that they can ... Read more

Etihad Cargo, the cargo division of Etihad Airways, has launched its first humanitarian freighter missions as part of the group’s extensive Year of Zayed programme, which will take place throughout 2018. The specially branded Year of Zayed Boeing 777 freighter aircraft departed Abu Dhabi – first to Almaty in Kazakhstan and then to Hyderabad in India – carrying special provisions to be distributed to those in need during the Holy Month of Ramadan. The humanitarian missions are taking place throughout the year in collaboration with the Khalifa Foundation, the Red Crescent, and His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan ... Read more

The stall set up by Southern Railway has bagged the first place among the Central government stalls at the recently concluded 44th India Tourist and Industrial Fair 2018 at Island Grounds. The Southern Railway General Manager R K Kulshrestha congratulated and sanctioned a cash award of Rs 10,000 to staff from Carriage and Wagon Works, Golden Rock Workshop, (Tiruchi), Mechanical Branch of Chennai and Salem divisions, RPF wing of Chennai division and the Public Relations department (PR) of Southern Railway for having put up the exhibits and bagging the first prize. Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer A K Kathpal and Principal ... Read more