Category: News

With an aim to increase more people to people exchanges, especially tourism from India, the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan, said it will extend electronic-Visa facility for India starting from July 2018. The country had already initiated friendly-visa regime for Indians from early this year by doing away with the mandatory ‘invitation letter’ clause for applying for visa. “The e-Visa system will further ease the processes to enhance more travel exchanges between the two countries. Uzbekistan offers a wide range of attractions for tourists starting from religious to spiritual to eco-tourism, adventure, educational, etc. With less than three hours of flying time ... Read more

If you are a family vacationing in Goa and is planning to check-in to the Park Hotel Goa Baga River, your kids may not get a room there, as it is an adults hotel. The boutique hotel is for adults-only, and guests below the age of 18 are not welcome. The hotel caters exclusively to couples and the just-married. TripAdvisor says that there is only one other hotel in the country with entry restrictions and that is ‘Ananda – In the Himalayas’, in Rishikesh. The hotel doesn’t allow children below 14 “in order to maintain its tranquillity”. The 28-room luxury hotel’s ... Read more

Emirates has launched the Emirates Vintage Collection – a selection of fine wines from its cellar in Burgundy which have been stored for up to 15 years. The four wines to be included this year are the Château Cheval Blanc 2004, Château Haut Brion 2004, Château Mouton Rothschild 2001 and Château Margaux 1998. Due to limited availability, these exclusive wines will be served in First Class on select routes for a limited period. Since 2006, Emirates has been buying wines for long term storage, many of which were purchased ‘en Primeur’ or when they were still in barrel. The Emirates ... Read more

Major aviation consultancy, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) has urged the Central government to make the process of Air India Privatization investor-friendly otherwise it might soon shut down. CAPA, through its Twitter account said that “CAPA estimates AI headed for 2-year losses of USD1.5-2.0 bn in FY19/FY20. Failure to divest could see AI close unless govt willing to spend taxpayer funds. Far less costly to make offer more attractive to investors”. According to CAPA, the three key themes emerging on Air Indian divestment are: 1) Critical that terms in EOI – particularly for labour & debt – are amended, as ... Read more

Ballarshah Station Balharshah and Chandrapur stations (Nagpur Division) of Central Railway have been awarded first prize for depicting the best art & refurbishing itself as the most beautiful station across Indian Railways. Ballarshah and Chandrapur railway stations were decorated with paintings and sculptures depicting the Tadoba forest, which was welcomed by the passengers who had a feel of the rich wildlife beauty of the Tadoba Forest in the station itself. Both the stations have been awarded Rs 10 lakhs as the prize money. In order to promote cleanliness with creativity, the Ministry of Railways had invited nominations across all Zonal ... Read more

On 5th May Indian Railways has a special reason to cheer and celebrate for the women commuters. The first ever Ladies Special train in the world was started between Churchgate and Borivali on 5th May, 1992. 5th May 2018 will go down in the annals of history as the 26th anniversary of introduction of this milestone of Indian Railways dedicating an entire train to women commuters. The First Ladies special train, flagged off on Western Railways, was initially run between Churchgate and Borivali and further extended upto Virar in the year 1993. The ladies special has been a boon for ... Read more

ATTOI (Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India), in association with Ministry of Ayush and Kerala Tourism, is organising a tour of yoga professionals from across the world to the birthplace of yoga. The 10-day educational tour, Yoga Ambassadors Tour, is organised as part of the various programmes organised by the ministry on the International Yoga Day with the support of Kerala Tourism. Yoga Tour operators, Wellness Magazine professionals, and Yoga Teachers from across the world are being invited for familiarizing the Global audience about Kerala and it’s richness. The Yoga Ambassadors were selected by a team of experts based on specific ... Read more

The Minister of State for Culture(I/c) and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurates the Exhibition ‘India and the World: A History in Nine Stories’ -an extensively collaborative effort of the British Museum, London; National Museum, New Delhi; and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai with the active support of the Culture Ministry. The Exhibition will be inaugurated at 5.00 PM, at the National Museum auditorium, New Delhi. The exhibition chronologically encapsulates the evolution of Indian civilization since antiquity and its interconnectedness with the outside world through a raft of exquisite artefacts from ... Read more

Considering the huge demand of passengers on Delhi – Gorakhpur sector, Ministry of Railways has decided to increase the frequency of Gorakhpur – AnandViharHumsafar Express from 3 days to daily. Train No 12571/12572 Gorakhpur AnandViharHumsafar Express via Barhni will now be extended from 2 days to 4 days & Train No. 12595/12596 Gorakhpur Anand Vihar Humsafar Express via Basti will now be extended from 1 day to 3 days a week. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Minister of State for Railways, along with local public representatives will flag off the special Train No. 02571 Gorakhpur- Anand ... Read more

Saudi Arabia was the only Gulf state with no public Christian places of worship. Saudi has entered into a deal with Vatican to build churches in the Gulf region. “This is the beginning of a rapprochement… It is a sign that the Saudi authorities are now ready to give a new image to the country,” President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, told the Vatican News website after returning from Riyadh. The agreement was was signed between local Wahhabi leaders and a Vatican cardinal to establish a cooperative relationship. The deal signed between Tauran and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdel ... Read more

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) has opened the new Morocco Visa Application and Information Centre in Mumbai. Mohamed Maliki, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, inaugurated the new centre at Dalamal Towers, A Wing, 4th Floor, Unit No: 410 – 412, Free Press Journal Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai.  The company is als0 planning to open a new MVAIC in Hyderabad in June 2018. CKGS has centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa Indore and Bangalore.  CKGS is set to open a new MVAICs in Hyderabad in June 2018. “The ties between Morocco and India go ... Read more

Think Strawberries, one of the leading travel representation companies, has been appointed as the Sales, Media, Marketing and PR Representative in India for Disneyland Paris, Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority, Tourismo De Portugal and Majid Al Futtaim Group (Ski Dubai, iFly Dubai and Orbi Dubai). In addition to this, Visit Orlando and Cocoon Maldives have signed with Think Strawberries for Representation in both India and UAE. “2018 has been a terrific start for us. We are thrilled with the successful acquisition of marquee accounts, which demonstrates that Think Strawberries is future ready and recognised by some of the finest, ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Jinson Abraham With an aim to combine tourism promotion, entertainment, a spirit of adventure, and an awareness of healthy living and physical activity, the Kannur district administration will kick start a unique initiative, the Month of Adventure, on May 6, 2018. Four consecutive Sundays of May, beginning on May 6, would be dedicated to the promotion of various adventure events in Kannur. Kannur district sports council and the district administration organising a cycling marathon from Kannur to the Muzhappilangad beach on May 6. Anyone who has a cycle can participate in the marathon. The next Sunday, May 13, will see ... Read more

Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will give additional loan for Himachal Pradesh to develop tourism infrastructure in the state. An ADB team led by Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama called on state Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to allocate the second trench of Rs 750 crore loan under the Infrastructure Development Investment Programme for Tourism. The team appreciated the efforts of the state Tourism Department in implementing the phase one under the programme, which will be over by 2020. Nineteen projects were sanctioned under phase one out of which 16 were completed and the remaining three would be completed by ... Read more

Goa Tourism is planning to conduct a roadshow in US to boost tourism. Tourism minister Manohar Azgaonkar and chairman Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Nilesh Cabral will head the roadshow, which will start on May 20. Chief secretary Dharmendra Sharma and deputy director tourism will also be part of the delegation to US. US tourist arrivals in Goa remain at less than 2 per cent of the state’s total tourist footfall. The tourism department’s website shows that the footfalls from the country dropped to 1 per cent in 2016 after showing a slight growth in 2015 when it received 12,227 visitors. Meanwhile, ... Read more