Category: News

Privatisation of the maintenance of airport terminals was a plan initiated by the previous UPA government, which has faced a roadblock as the employee unions started protesting against the move. The current plan is to privatise at least eight government-owned airports — Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati. The civil aviation ministry is believed to be having discussions on designing the model on how the airports would be bid out and is likely the airports will be bid out for 30 years and the tariffs will be fixed upfront. Under the two models being examined, one is ... Read more

Relief for the Bangladesh tourists, as from May 20th they can walk-in and submit their applications at the Indian Visa Application Centers (IVACs) in Sylhet, Mymensingh and Barishal without prior appointment. The new move is to further relax, streamline and ease access for Bangladesh nationals to Indian visas as part of ongoing plans of Indian High Commission. The applications will be accepted at the centres from 8am-12pm. “These measures are aimed at easing access to the Indian visa and strengthening people-to-people contacts between India and Bangladesh,” the High Commission said. There is no change in the existing schemes for submission ... Read more

GoAir and AirAsia are offering discounted domestic flight tickets starting at Rs 1,610 and Rs 1,399 respectively on select routes. This offer is a part of GoAir’s ‘Low Fare Wednesday’ promotional campaign. GoAir’s offer is applicable on flights to destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Lucknow. All fares offered under the scheme are applicable till May 25, 2018. Under the ‘Low Fare Wednesday’ scheme, GoAir is offering flights ‘to destinations with affordable flight tickets’. AirAsia India’s ‘Mid-Summer Sale’ offer is applicable on destinations including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ranchi.  This offer on domestic flights is applicable on travel till ... Read more

As per report and expert opinions, sturdy visa regulations are hindering the growth of tourism sector in Africa. The experts also blame the lack of innovative ideas among the service providers as another reason for the sluggish and meagre performance across the continent. The data statistics from Word Travel & Tourism Council reports that out of the 1.2 billion global travellers recorded in 2017, Africa had only 62 million of that. The tourists’ arrivals had lead to 8.3 million jobs last year. The number of jobs is expected to rise by 11.6 million by 2028. Morongoe Ramphele. Deputy Director-General of ... Read more

The India Meteorological Department has predicted thunderstorms across north-west India over the next 48 to 72 hours and as a result several trains and flights are also running late. A powerful dust storm and rain hit Delhi, grounding flights, uprooting trees and bringing traffic on the city’s roads to a grinding halt, days after an alert across north India for a massive storm. The alert says that thunderstorm accompanied with squall (wind speed reaching 50-70 kmph) are very likely at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Coastal Andhra ... Read more

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering 5 nights/6 days ‘Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka Ex Delhi’ tour package at a starting price of Rs 47,600. The tour dates of the package are June 12, August 25, September 18, October 2, November 20 and December 15, 2018. According to the official website of IRCTC Tourism, the destinations covered under this package are Negombo, Kandy, Nuwara Ellya and Colombo. The trip provided by SriLankan airlines, will start from Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The flight will leave at 6:35 pm from Delhi and will reach Colombo at 10:10 pm. On ... Read more

Hyderabad has registered a 76 per cent rise in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in 2017 owing to the rise in the number of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) in the city. The city’s domestic tourist arrivals (DTAs) shot up by 16 per cent last year. According to Telangana tourism department, 2017 ended on a high note with as many as 2.47 lakh foreign tourists visiting mana sheher, against 1.63 lakh who travelled to Hyderabad in 2016. Domestic tourist arrivals rose from 2.33 crore in 2016 to 2.71 crore last year. Maximum tourist arrivals were recorded between September and December. The ... Read more

The Fern Hotels & Resorts has opened UK 27 The Fern – an Ecotel Hotel at Belagavi (Belgaum) in Karnataka. With its new hotel, the group now have a portfolio of 53 hotels. UK 27 The Fern is an upscale 90-room hotel situated in the heart of the city with different categories of rooms such as Winter Green, Winter Green Premium, Fern Club Studio, Fern Club Premium Studio, Hazel Suite, and Fern Club Suite. All the rooms are equipped with modern amenities suiting the requirements of a business traveller. The hotel offers dining and entertaining options including Mélange – the ... Read more

Traveller Made, world’s leading network dedicated to ultra-luxury travel, has announced the Luxury Travel Designers awards 2018 at the recently held The Essence of Luxury Travel show held recently at Barrière Hotel Le Normandy in Deauville. The winners were selected through a voting among a 3,000 strong community specialising in luxury comprising 700 hoteliers, 120 DMCs, 2,000 Travel Designers. The eight winners are Sanjay Arya of KFT Corporation from India; Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell, cazenove+loyd, United Kingdom; Kathy Stewart, Butterfield & Robinson, Canada; Panos Spiropoulos, Seez Travel, Greece; Maud Auvray, Peplum, France; Quentin Desurmont, President, Traveller Made; Reem Shaath, WhyWander , Saudi Arabia; Jackie ... Read more

With an aim to give boost to culinary tourism in Uttarakhand, the state government is planning to launch a scheme under which all “delicious ethnic pahari cuisines” will be popularised among tourists visiting the Himalayan state. “We have a unique gastronomy culture in the state, which reflects from a number of tasty and nutritious local dishes but hardly anybody outside the state knows about them. We will soon introduce a scheme, under which ethnic cuisines will be popularised among tourists to give boost to culinary tourism in the state,” he said. “The scheme will also give boost to the locals’ ... Read more

The government already had plans to have seven main Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Now the government plans to expand the ‘Buddhist Circuit’ to other 21 states. The states included in the plan are Kerala, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. The Ministry of Tourism has already identified stupas and viharas in these states and small intrastate Buddhist zones will be made around these. The Buddhist circuit is considered as India’s first trans-national tourist circuit. The plan is to promote tourism starting from Lumbini in Nepal, where Buddha was born, to the ... Read more

IndiGo is offering discounts for students above the age of 12 years on domestic flights. The customers can only avail the offer if the booking is made at least seven days in advance. For bookings made under the scheme, students are eligible for total baggage allowance of 25 kilograms. The discount is valid on both, one-way and round-trip bookings. Eligible student booking flight tickets under the scheme shall be required to furnish their valid school/ university ID card at the time of check-in at the airport. In case, the student fails to furnish their ID Card, the benefits will not be extended to the ... Read more

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has called for Swachh Bharat enthusiasts to join the summer internship to boost tourism. Modi has asked youngsters to join the Swachh Bharat Summer Internship 2018 launched by the central government. He also announced incentives, including credit point by UGC, for participants, saying it is an opportunity for those who want to make a change in the society. The Prime Minister has said this in his monthly Mann Ki Baat broadcast addressing the nation. He said three ministries of his government have launched an internship programme and it is an opportunity for those who want to work ... Read more

Goan Agriculture Minister Vijay Sardesai calls for an association with Maharashtra to explore the massive possibility of agro-tourism especially in the Konkan region. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the International Mango Conference held at the Regional Fruit Research Station in Vengurla organized by the Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth and Interdisciplinary Society for Advancements of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (ISasAT). He urged Maharashtra to follow Goa’s tourism model and in return they could share the particulars on the development in agriculture made by them. He believes this could be a major step in making Konkan region ... Read more

Wayanad is unique for its lush greenery and serene environment. Considered as one of the best tourist spots in Kerala and South India, it attracts a great number of tourists every year. However, the flow of visitors to the destination is less compared to the other famous spots in Kerala. So, the Tourism Department is preparing a tourist master plan which will improve the tourism sector of Wayanad and will lead to its overall expansion. The master plan is set in a way that will supply the needs of the destination till 2050. The first step of the master plan ... Read more