Category: News

“India is a land that has tremendous potential when it comes to tourism. With countless destinations and experiences to choose from, India attracts millions of domestic as well as international tourists. However, the tourism industry in India is increasingly facing a lot of challenges, which include high rate and rationalization of taxes; connectivity and high air fares; service standardization and accreditation and increasing competition,” said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala while speaking at the Tourism Minister’s Conclave at The Leela Raviz Kovalam here today. The GST Council of India has imposed 28 per cent tax on hotel ... Read more

Deepika Kumari Sharma, Director, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism, discussed the Challenges and Way Forward, of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism at the Tourism Minister’s Conference held today at The Leela Raviz Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram. She pointed out that the ethnic cleansing in Kashmir, targeted abduction of foreigners, disruption of life, destruction of properties and facilities and administrative machinery supporting the sector coming to a halt are the circumstantial issues affecting J & K Tourism. Deepika Kumari also said that ignorance of audience unaddressed, corruption, general neglect and apathy are the systemic issues affecting J & K tourism. “Lack of quality infrastructure, good ... Read more

The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), in association with Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, is all set to host the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) in Kochi to address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. The third edition of ICTT will have a separate session on attracting Chinese tourists to Indian destinations, especially Kerala. Richard Matuzevich from China will speak on the topic ‘How to do social media tourism promotion to get Chinese tourists. Excerpts from an interview with Richard Matuzevich… With the volume of outbound guests, Chinese tourists are ... Read more

The Champions Boat League (CBL) saw its competitive spirit soaring today with fraction of seconds proving critical in races, even as Tropical Titans continued their winning spree by finishing first in the third consecutive round of the pioneering water race modelled on IPL cricket. The victors timed 4:12.11 in the day’s final race to remain atop the CBL rankings, inches ahead of Coast Dominators (4:12.90) and Mighty Oars (4:13.80) who emerged second and third respectively along the one-km track. Tropical Titans were declared ‘Nerolac Excel Fastest Team of the Day”, and earned five extra points with the best timing of ... Read more

Chaliyar River Paddle’ is the 6th edition of this annual event by Jellyfish Water Sports and supported by Kerala Tourism. The three-day paddling event held from September 20th to September 22nd, 2019 targets water sports enthusiasts, nature lovers, tourists, children and people from all walks of life. Promoting water sports like kayaking, SUPing, and canoeing will help build the connection, turning more and more youngsters and tourists into evangelists of clean waters. “Chaliyar River Paddle has been focused on saving our rivers from urban pollution and promote recreational kayaking for everyone. Recently Kerala State has witnessed repetitive flooding and most ... Read more

A colourful cultural pageantry will be taken out in the city on September 16, to mark the finale of Onam Celebrations that showcased the best of Kerala’s art and performing traditions in multiple venues for a week. Hon’ble Governor Arif Mohammad Khan will flag off the procession, organized by the Kerala Tourism Department, at Manveeyam Veedhi, near the Raj Bhavan at 5pm. Hon. Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran will hand over the musical instrument ‘Kombu’ that proclaims the commencement of the procession, which will wend its way through the thoroughfares of the city for the next two ... Read more

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi (TAT), in collaboration with Go Air, hosted 10 travel agents from Tier II and Tier II cities on a Trade FAM trip from 26th – 29th August 2019. The focus was on a specific customer segment- Phuket as a family destination. The purpose of this trip was to acquaint the agents with services and offerings of Go Air and experience new and existing products of Phuket as a family destination and also meet the sellers of Phuket directly through a B2B networking event. TAT Phuket welcomed all the FAM participants and 30 buyers ... Read more

Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) participated in the Global Panorama Showcase 2019 (GPS), a premier business networking event in order to reach out to tour operators beyond metro cities of India. Out of eight cities where the event took place, this year STB shortlisted Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kolkata to educate and network with the travel trade. “This year Seychelles Tourism Board conducted various workshops across India, however, participating in GPS helped widen our base of interaction with agents from tier II and tier III cities that have the potential and interest in Seychelles. While we have reached out to around 200 ... Read more

YouTube has unlimited potential for travel destinations planning to increase the tourist footfall. With visually appealing content, it is now easy to grab the attention of the target audience. Recent studies show that audiences prefer video on all social platforms. YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google and many travellers start their trip planning with search. YouTube has an important part to play in your Search Engine Optimisation and Content Marketing strategies. Here’s Jessica Dante, Youtube Marketing Expert from London, speaking at the International Conference on Tourism Technology on How to use YouTube for destination promotion on September ... Read more

Latest figures show that Jordan’s tourism saw an 8.6 per cent increase in revenue hitting $3.2 billion from around the world within 7 months of 2019 (January- July 2019). The total number of tourists to Jordan has increased by 9.8 per cent as compared to 2018 for the same period. This year Jordan will further confirm its status as one of the most attractive holiday destinations by making visa-on-arrival process easy. The Queen Alia International Airport, Amman has recently introduced 12 new visa processing, purchasing counters for non-Jordanian passengers for entry visa. “We are very pleased to see a notable ... Read more

With an aim to boost tourism in Tripura, the state government has decided to construct 51 temples, which would be replicas of the 51 Shaktipeeths and has also started a helicopter service to Devatamura and Unnakoti hills, famous for huge-rock cut sculptures. The state government has already allocated 14.22 acres of land for construction of replicas of Shaktipeeths at Fulkumari in Gomati district, about 3-km away from the Tripuresari temple, a famous temple and one of the 51 Shaktipeeths. “There are 51 Shaktipeeths. Of the 51 Shaktipeeths, 38 are in India, six in Bangladesh, three in Nepal, two in Pakistan ... Read more

We all know how powerful social media can be to transform a business. But, how to create attention-grabbing content for the social media promotions still remain a question for many. Here, at the International Conference on Tourism Technology, Heather Heuman M.A., will give you tips about creating content/blog for social media and other marketing promotions. Based in South Carolina, Heuman helps companies and business owners across the globe simplify social media marketing by creating solid strategy focused on relationships, value-driven content and processes and systems to increase business goals. Heather Heuman will be speaking on the topic on September 27, ... Read more

Livraria Lello presents a great show at the Coliseu Porto AGEAS to mark the worldwide debut of the wonderful book ‘Harry Potter Magical Places’, a special co-production edition with Insight Editions, inspired by the Harry Potter universe. A grand show of magic and music, with the famous, award-winning Portuguese illusionist Hélder Guimarães, and the Lisbon Film Orchestra, who will perform from the original scores of the film saga. In this show you will be able to see, on display to the public for the very first time, the original edition of the saga’s debut book ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s ... Read more

Summer Escapes 2019 by Cinnamon, a combination of three unique edutainment camps including West End Theatre Camp, Culinary Camp and Summer Camp was completed successfully last month! Facilitated by leading local and international experts, each camp not only helped children identify their talents but also encouraged them to take on new challenges whilst having fun, exploring their surroundings and developing important life skills. From receiving a boost of confidence to becoming more independent, each child was driven to think out of the box and work together with fellow team members during the many activities, games, excursions and lessons, that were ... Read more

Dynamic independent hotel management company Aleph Hospitality has signed a franchise agreement with global hotelier Marriott International for a new Protea Hotels by Marriott hotel in Kisumu, Kenya. On behalf of the hotel owner, Bluewater Hotels, Aleph Hospitality will operate the new-build property under the Protea Hotels by Marriott brand. “We are thrilled to work with Marriott International to bring the first internationally branded hotel to Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city. As Aleph Hospitality continues to expand across Africa and the Middle East, we are delighted to once again collaborate with Marriott International, following the signing of Four Points by Sheraton ... Read more