Category: News

Singapore mourns the death of world’s first tropical polar bear, which was made to put down by wildlife authorities after a five-year battle with health difficulties stemming from old age. Inuka, the 27-year-old animal was suffering from arthritis, dental problems and ear infections. After a final check-up, vets found that Inuka’s health had not improved despite intensive treatment and decided not to revive him from anaesthesia. Inuka, or “foreboding strength” in Inuit, was born on Boxing Day in 1990 to parents Nanook and Sheba, who had arrived from Canada and Germany, respectively, in 1978. His father, Nanook, died in 1995 at 18 ... Read more

India’s flag carrier Jet Airways is about to offer free international flight tickets exclusively through an online contest. According to official reports, contestants have to answer a set of 10 multiple choice questions based on King’s day celebration in Netherland. The competition is held in association with KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) Royal Dutch Airlines- flag carrier of Netherlands, that offers two couple tickets from New Delhi to Amsterdam, on the occasion of Nertherland King Willem-Alexander’s birthday named King’s Day celebrated on 27th April. Participants have to use their Facebook profile for signups, that allows the Dutch embassy to connect with the ... Read more

Thomas Cook (India) has been selected as a preferred partner for the Tourism Industry Partnership (TIP) Programme between Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and Immigration New Zealand (INZ). The TIP programme between Tourism New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand will focus on streamlining the visa process for Indian visitors to New Zealand. Through this partnership, Indian leisure travellers will benefit from a more streamlined visa service with a faster processing time of three days compared to the previous online application processing time of 15 days. “We are honoured to have been selected as a preferred agent for this partnership. This programme ... Read more

According to the new fare structure, all trips will now be subjected to a fluctuation in base fares at all times, depending on the time of day or if it is a public holiday. “These changes will result in higher fares on some trips, while fares will be lower on other trips. The fare breakdown can be seen in the upfront pricing displayed prior to booking a ride,” said Uber. Currently, the static base fare is Dh8, but with the new system, users will be subject to a new dynamic static base fare of Dh5.4, Dh6.7 or Dh10.6 (varying on the ... Read more

How big can be a mosquito? The answer would be somewhat like as big as a fly, right? But, here in China, an insect expert has caught a mosquito, that has a wingspan of over 11.15 cm at the Qingcheng Mountain in South-West China. The mosquito is 10 times larger than that of a conventional mosquito, as per Zhao Li, who is a Chinese entomologist. The insect belongs to a species called the Holorusia Mikado, largest mosquito species in the entire world, commonly found in Japan. According to Zhao, mosquitoes belong to the insect group called Nematocera, which includes crane ... Read more

Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Africa and Sherin Francis, Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board. Emirates has announced its renewed support to Mauritius and the Seychelles by extending its global marketing agreement with the respective Tourism Boards of the two countries. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the 2018 Arabian Travel Market, by Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Africa and Sherin Francis, Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board and Devi Seewooruthun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, in the presence of the Minister of Tourism of ... Read more

The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) is stepping up efforts to consolidate the emirate’s position as an ideal global tourist destination with the recent launch of its new website, VisitSharjah.com. The new website will allow local, regional and international tourists to learn more about what Sharjah has to offer, from essential destinations to exciting activities catering to all types of travellers. “The new website will help increase awareness about the emirate’s tourism infrastructure and services, which will reinforce its reputation as a highly preferred destination. We are proud to announce the launch of the VisitSharjah.com website, consolidating Sharjah’s ... Read more

MGallery has signed two agreements with Khamas Group of Investments to open MGallery Dubai Business Bay and  MGallery Bur Dubai in Dubai. The 144-room MGallery Dubai Business Bay is scheduled to open in 2021. The hotel will be situated adjacent to the upcoming Marasi Business Bay development. The hotel will feature four F&B options including a rooftop bar and restaurant, rooftop pool bar, all-day dining restaurant and executive lounge. “We are delighted and proud with this partnership for two hotels with MGallery, a brand within the luxury and upper upscale portfolio of AccorHotels,” said Bader Mohamed Yousuf Bukhamas, chairman of Khamas ... Read more

Russia is facing a huge drop in tourist arrivals to the US and Britain. The tour operators are pointing this drop is as part of the political bias that exists between the two countries. Moreover, with the reverse in US visa policy, a lot of travellers are facing lag in acquiring visa from the authorities. “A decrease in the flow of Russian tourists to the US is expected precisely because of difficulties with obtaining visas,” said Maya Lomidze, Russian Tour Operators Association acting director. In the case of Britan, the country is also facing a huge drop on the occasion ... Read more

According to a recent survey by professional online travel search engine ‘Yatra.com’, around 75 per cent of Indian respondents are agreeing to spend nearly Rs 25,000 for a seasonal trip. As per the company, Indians prefer to travel during summer to avoid the wrath of summer heat. Over 75 per cent prefer to travel by air, followed by 90 per cent to rely on Indian Railways. People to a large extent also try to rely on budget hotels, rather than preferring star properties. Also, there is a huge rise in homestay bookings that gives better ambience to the traveller. Destinations ... Read more

In order to ensure quality of services, Kerala Tourism is bringing out a classification system for enterprises practicing Responsible Tourism by May 2018. The pilot project was launched in Kovalam, Kumarakom, Thekkady, and Wayanad in 2008, and is now getting ready to implement in all the 14 districts in Kerala. Responsible Tourism Mission has worked out a criteria for the classification system in line with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC). The norms have been customised for Kerala in view of the experiences of RT initiatives in the last 10 years. The classification system, a voluntary procedure that assesses, audits, and monitors, is an ... Read more

Macao Government Tourism Office has started its yearly tourism campaign, ‘Macao Street’, in South Korea. The tourism promotion project to a large extent focuses on exhibiting Macao’s heritage, local cuisine and cultural events, that magnets Korean tourists. The programme is co-ordinated by Chairman of the Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA)- Yang Moo Seung. MGTO representative in Korea- Lew Chi Young, General Manager of Air Macau Seoul Office – Kim Hee Cheol. “This year, our efforts to display the very best and the newest highlights of our city in a promotion tailor-made to the Korean audience has brought us to ... Read more

Uttarakhand and Bali has entered into a deal to boost tourism, culture, e-governance, human resource, capacity building, environment and health. A five-point Letter of Intent to this effect was signed by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Governor of Bali I Made Mangku Pastika today. “With cooperation in field of tourism, culture, environment and health, Uttarakhand and the Indonesian province of Bali will come closer to each other. Bali is an important tourist destination and with this agreement, the flow of tourists in both India and Indonesia will increase. I hope more Indonesian tourists will now visit Uttarakhand,” said Rawat ... Read more

Emirates and flydubai revealed strong passenger numbers for the first six months of their partnership, illustrating tremendous positive response from customers, and the successful start of the expanded codeshare partnership which was announced in July 2017. The first code-share flights began at the end of October 2017. Between November 2017 and March 2018, over 400,000 passengers have taken advantage of the partnership and more than 250,000 passengers have already planned their trip for the year ahead. The partnership initially began with codeshare flights to 29 cities, and this has quickly expanded to meet growing demand as customers realise the benefits ... Read more

Dubai Cruise Tourism, a department of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), hosted a ceremony at the Dubai stand at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) officially launching the Dubai Cruise Committee. This ceremony confirms the implementation of a collaborative framework designed to consolidate the city’s position as ‘cruise hub of the region’. The Dubai Cruise Committee is a strategic network of leading industry partners; Dubai Tourism, DP World UAE Region FZE, Emirates Airline, The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai, and Dubai Customs. This newly-signed MoU ... Read more