Category: News

It was a surprise when Uber announced that it has plans to launch flight demonstrations of uberAIR in Dallas-Fort Worth/Frisco Texas and Los Angeles. But now, with important partnerships with key manufacturers and technology companies, the cab aggregator  is all set to make further inroads into the aviation sector. Uber plans to launch the flight demonstrations in 2020 and commercial trips by the year 2023. Uber launched its Elevate programme in October 2016. Since then, it has entered into partnerships with experienced aircraft manufacturers who are developing electric VTOL vehicles including: Embraer, Bell, Aurora Flight Sciences (now a subsidiary of Boeing), ... Read more

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has asked the Finance Ministry to allot funds and special packages for the development of tourism in North Eastern states. The proposal for funds and package was confirmed by Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)  Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday after a meeting with Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannamthanam. As per reports, the ministers discussed about recognizing new projects stressing the development of tourism in Northeastern states. The meetings are part of the regular Inter-Ministerial discussions regarding the development of the region. Minister Jitendra Singh said that the DoNER ... Read more

As part of its expansion plans to reach out to European countries, Air India is planning to start a direct flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt from June. The airline is likely to operate thrice a week from Mumbai and depart for Frankfurt in the morning hours. Air India currently operates a regular flight on the Delhi-Frankfurt route. Air India flies directly to destinations such as Stockholm, Madrid, Vienna, Paris, London, Rome, Birmingham and Milan in Europe. The state-run airline had recently announced that they would increase the frequency between Delhi-Copenhagen to four days a week as part of its efforts to ... Read more

‘AR Rahman’ is a name that is loved all over India. The ‘Mozart of Madras’ AR Rahman will be weaving his magic on Kerala as he arrived for performing at Kochi on Saturday. The concert hosted by Flowers TV will be held at Medical Trust Institute Ground, Tripunithura, with the gates opened at 4pm. The musical feast beginning at 6.30pm is sure to thrill the audience. This is the for the first time he is performing in Kochi and the second time in Kerala, the first being ‘Jai Ho’ concert in 2009 at Kozhikode. It’s expected that Kochi will be ... Read more

Kenya is all set to benefit from a new visa regime by South Africa that is aimed at increasing intra-Africa travel. South Africa has announced it will start issuing visas on arrival for travellers from selected countries, including Kenya. The two countries have been involved in critical dialogues that developed into a diplomatic row. Kenya even threatened to introduce a new travel rule requiring South African passport holders to apply for a visa prior to traveling or transiting through the country after the latter refused to reciprocate. South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom has, however, said his country is in ... Read more

So, Macau tourism gets a cute face-lift. Mak Mak, the black-faced spoonbill with shades of red, yellow and blue, has been officially declared mascot of Macao Tourism after winning a contest which had more than 110 entries. Mak Mak will now be the face of Macau and will be responsible to promote Macau globally, tempting tourists to discover and know the city made of Chinese and European cultures and traditions. The aim of the contest was to find a mascot that uniquely represents Macau. Mak Mak was designed by Tou Chon Wai whose design was inspired by city’s historic whitewashed Guia ... Read more

Greece was awarded as the leading tourism destination in the Mediterranean and southeastern Europe for 2018 by SACEN International during a special ceremony recently held in Belgrade, Serbia. Hailed as the “Oscars of Tourism”, during the last 17 years the awards are given to countries and enterprises active in the field of tourism in the Mediterranean and southeastern Europe. The winners are selected in seven categories: Tourism destination; business tourism; cultural tourism; tour operator; gastronomy tourism; best enterprise in the catering sector; tourism personality of the year in the Mediterranean and southeastern Europe. Greece’s award was received by the head ... Read more

Marking a new record of visits, San Diego County had 7.6 million visitors for the first three months of 2018. The recent statistics by San Diego Tourism Authority confirms that the number of tourists visiting the county has increased considerably and so is the spending spree. The hotel bookings, museum visits, theme parks business have also gone higher and there were tourists who even visited the county just for a day. The rise in number of tourists went up by 8.4 percent during the first quarter and their spending amounted to a total of $2.5 billion, which records a 5 ... Read more

Mongolia has declared 2018 as tourism year when it will promote green-eco tourism, informed the Ministry of Environment. The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Mongolian Tourism Association and Mongolian Culinary Federation to standardize services in the tourism sector. The ministry will also promote green-eco tourism and also has plans to improve the service in restaurants and tourist camps. Specific rules and regulations will be developed for nature travellers. 70,500 tourists visited Mongolia in the first quarter of this year reporting a 11 per cent year-on-year growth. The biggest number of tourists arrived from Russia (36 per cent) and China ... Read more

Spanish Hotel Group, Palladium Hotel Group has appointed Mumbai-based Blue Square Consultants (BSC) as its representative in India. As the hotel group’s representative in India, Blue Square Consultants will conceptualise, implement, and promote PR and sales strategies for three of their Spanish properties in India – Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife, and Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel in Spain. “India is turning into a strong outbound market in the world and is ranked among our top 20. Ibiza is among the popular places visited by Indians which is also known for its vibrant music scene and eagerly-awaited concerts ... Read more

Planning to vacation outside this planet? We’ve been hearing about space tourism for long and reports suggest that it could soon turn out be a reality, perhaps this year itself. Virgin Galactic headed by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are the two companies which could take us beyond this planet. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two had a successful first powered test flight in April. To add to the excitement, Blue Origin had another successful test launch of its New Shepard rocket on April 29th. This is why 2018 is rumoured to be the year of space trips. The Virgin ... Read more

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering an 8-day trip on Maharaja Express. The trip, named ‘The Indian Splendour’, is offered at a starting price of USD 5,980. Passengers availing this trip will be visiting nine Indian cities. Indian and foreigners tourists can avail this package. The trip, which will start from October 2018 to April 2019, will take you to  Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Balasinor, and Mumbai. With an aim to attract more passengers, the Railways have decided to slash the tariff of its luxury trains. Haulage charges for royal trains such as ... Read more

Airbnb is planning new ways to get back Puerto Rico on tourist map after hurricanes shattered the island and its tourism. The plan was revealed by Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky in an event on Wednesday. Airbnb will be introducing 50 new ‘experiences’ and activities hosted by people of Puerto Rico where the travellers can book these through app and participate. Brian Chesky said that Airbnb has used its platform previously in relief efforts, like providing housing for those in need during 100 disasters around the world. For the next three months, Airbnb will be also donating the entire booking fees ... Read more

In the wake of the recent death of Latvian tourist in the state, Kerala Tourism Department has decided to strengthen the tourism police force in the state, and is also planning to recruit more women to the force. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, has informed informed this after a meeting held with senior tourism and police officials. The Tourism Department and the Home Department have held joint consultations and arrived at plans to effectively ensure safety and security of tourists at various destinations in the state. “The recruitment of more women to the tourism police force is among the many ... Read more

It is reported that the aviation sector in India, currently growing at nearly 28 per cent, will see an investment of close to Rs 1 lakh cr in the next five years for capacity augmentation and development of new greenfield airports, according to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. The Aviation ministry is planning to achieve 1 billion passenger trips per annum within the next 15-20 years. “The capacity addition will come with other amenities such as use of digital technology for passenger verification and bringing about a paradigm shift in airport designs,” said the minister. The Airport ... Read more