Category: News

With an aim to woo more Arabian tourists to the state, Kerala Tourism will participate in the prestigious Arabian Travel Market, scheduled to be held from April 22 to 25, in Dubai. The Kerala delegation for the Arabian Travel Market will be led by Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms. “Kerala Tourism’s presence at the Arabian Travel Mart augurs well for the tourism industry in the state, considering the potential it has to offer to travelers looking to include Kerala in their annual tour itineraries. Further, the B2B meets that will be organized in various places in the ... Read more

Noting that forest fires normally occur in April every year causing huge damage to the environment, the National Green Tribunal has directed the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to finalise the National Policy on Forest Fire within two weeks. The ministry told the green panel that all the states have complied with the direction of the tribunal and submitted their response to the Draft National Policy on Forest Fire. After receiving suggestion from all the states, the ministry was re-examining the draft policy and had fixed a workshop schedule to enable all stakeholders to participate in the effective ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: arabnews After 35 long years of prohibition citing religious reasons, Saudi Arabia has opened the first movie theatre in Riyadh. The first screening was by invitation only with both men and women in attendance. The cinema will be open to public on Friday and will be screening Marvel superhero film Black Panther. Saudi Culture and Information Minister Awwad Alawwad, celebrities and guest filmmakers are also planning to attend the first screening for public tomorrow. Photo Courtesy: SkyNews It was in December 2017 that the Ministry of Culture and Information announced a landmark decision to allow commercial cinemas to operate ... Read more

American based online tourism and hospitality chain Airbnb has announced the launch “Office of Healthy Tourism”, an initiative that drives local, sustainable and authentic tourism in cities across the world. A new Tourism Advisory Board is on the agenda, in which travel industry leaders from around the world are welcomed. Expansion of efforts to empower poor communities, supporting eco-friendly travel habits are the prime objectives of the new project. “With travel and tourism growing faster than most of the rest of economy, it is critical that as many people as possible are benefiting.  To democratize the benefits of travel, Airbnb ... Read more

Germany welcomed 8, 52,224 visitor overnights in 2017 registering a 13.8 per cent growth over 2016. Owing to this steady growth, the German National Tourist Office (GNTO) in India forecasts a 5-8 per cent growth in tourist arrivals this year. With experiential travel becoming the most sought after genre in leisure travel, GNTO is promoting ”Culinary Germany-More to explore” as its core global marketing theme this year. ”Food forms an integral part of any traveler’s itinerary. ‘Experiencing the local flavors helps enhance the flavor of any holiday and makes for everlasting impressions. With over 5,000 beers from 1,300 breweries, 300 types of bread, ... Read more

With summer vacations fast approaching, most Indians are planning to head to long-haul international destinations with booking going up by 25 per cent compared to last year, said a report published by online travel company MakeMyTrip. About 50 per cent of the bookings are made by travellers in the 25-35 age group, says the report. “Long-haul destinations have registered higher growth this year compared to short-haul ones, with a significant 25 percent growth in the number of trips year-on-year,” said Mohit Gupta, chief operating officer, MakeMyTrip. There has also been a significant increase in the number of people travelling this summer with ... Read more

China becomes an integral part of Turkish tourism, as around 2,50,000 Chinese tourists came to Turkey back in 2017. “China will become one of the most important tourism partners of Turkey in the very near future,” said Numan Kurtulmus, Culture and Tourism Minister at 14th China International Tourism and Travel Fair held in Beijing. Various tourism promotional activities are planned among the Asian countries namely China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia, added the minister. About 38 million active international tourist arrivals are expected by the authorities in 2018. Meanwhile, a bilateral talk between Chinese Culture Minister Luo Shugang and Numan Kurtulmus ... Read more

It was a revolution in the SUV segment when Mahindra launched its first SUV 500 back in 2012. The car was recognized with its stylish aggressive design inspired by a wild cheetah, with affordable pricing and quality output, the car within no time was able to attract a huge fan base among car lovers. The new XUV 500 facelift comes with a newly refined four-cylinder (electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharged) 2.2-litre, (mHawk155) diesel engine that creates 155 Bhp, while the petrol engine remains same with 153 Bhp output. The new model also comes with 6-speed manual, as well as, automatic unit. The ... Read more

Western Cape, located on the south-west coast of South Africa, is attracting a large number of wine tourists from across the globe. According to annual Business of Wine and Food Tourism convenor Margi Biggs, the wine tourism in the region are on a hike, that includes guided tours and tailor-made itineraries for the special interest groups. “Wesgro research shows a year-on-year growth in wine tourism of 16 per cent in 2017, thanks to the rising reputation of the Western Cape’s wines, the region’s increasingly innovative offerings, as well as its varied and exciting customised cellar door experiences,” added Margi Biggs. ... Read more

In the wake of recent accidents and safety concerns it has raised, the authorities have issued a set of fresh guidelines for houseboats in Alappuzha. The new guidelines, issued to prevent accidents, directs the houseboat owners to increase the height of railings at the lobby and rear-end of boats with seating facilities. The houseboat owners are directed to increase the height of the railings in 60 days. Safety instructions should also be displayed in multiple languages on the houseboats. Apart from the written materials, the crew of the boat, are instructed to give safety instructions and do’s and don’ts to the ... Read more

Chennai beaches including Marina and Elliot’s are all ready for a makeover with the financial aid extended by the Central government to promote beach tourism in the state. The development activities are expected to be completed by September 2018. Marina and Besant Nagar beaches would be getting retrofitting parks. The works for the same will start this month. The Central government has allocated Rs 12.5 crore for Marina and Rs 8.5 crore for the Besant Nagar beach. Access to Chennai and Elliot’s beaches will improve once the makeover is complete. The authorities are planning to develop beach approach facility for ... Read more

The 33rd IATO convention held in Odisha The four-day 34th annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will be held at Hotel Novotel in Visakhapatnam from September 6 to 9. Tourism Minister KJ Alphons would inaugurate the convention on September 6.  The association will also organize  ‘IATO Run for Responsible Tourism’ on September 7 at 6 AM, starting from Beach Road, followed by panel discussions regarding tourism promotion in the State and domestic markets. “IATO meet was being organised for the first time in the State. About 1,100 tour operators would take part in the convention wherein latest developments ... Read more

We have heard of all kinds of tourism by now. And, this time its not just a fancy affair, tourism for some of the most brilliant minds across the world. Kozhikode is all set to tap the potential of becoming a quiz tourism centre as it is about to host one of the biggest quiz festivals in the world in June. The eight-day festival organised by Quiz Kerala, the first registered quiz society in Kerala, as part of the 16th edition of the annual World Quizzing Championship organised by the London-based International Quizzing Association (IQA) would commence on June 2. ... Read more

US Embassy has informed that Indians planning to visit United States should apply early for the visa. The statement has been put forward, as part of a heavy rush in applicants with summer ahead. The applicants have to wait around 30 days for the visa interview. Also, the applicants are advised to be aware of black-market or other channels in applying for a US visa. “Mission India’s non-immigrant visa workload is one of the largest in the world, processing over a million visas a year. In the last five years, the demand for visas to travel to the United States ... Read more

Kerala has unseen marvels hidden in the light of popular destinations which could be developed as tourism hotspots, said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala, while inaugurating the Munnar Tourism Partnership Meet 2018 at the Le Maritime Hotel in Kochi. He has also urged the tourism stakeholders to take good care to prevent environmental degradation  and preserve Kerala’s rich biodiversity. The minister also pointed out that it is not concrete jungles that a tourist would look for when they come to Kerala. “Local residents too must benefit from the sector, thereby furthering the cause of responsible tourism. Village tourism packages could help ... Read more