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Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati, File) One of the world’s leading bicycle manufacturers, Trek Bicycle launched 34 bicycle models in premium and super premium category. The products will be available across its dealers in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Indore. The bikes in India will be priced between Rs 26,000 and Rs 3.60 lakhs. “Trek Bicycle India will also double the network of retail outlets to 26 from the existing 13 outlets by the end of December 2018,” said Navneet Banka, country manager Trek Bicycle India. The company does not have exclusive retail outlets in the ... Read more

Ministry of Tourism said it has sanctioned four projects under the Tribal Circuit theme, one of the fifteen thematic circuits identified for development under Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Under the scheme, government has sanctioned the amount for two circuits being developed in Nagaland, one in Chhattisgarh and fourth one in Telangana. Rs 97.36 crore and Rs 99.67 crore have been sanctioned for the development of Peren- Kohima- Wokha and Mokokchung-Tuensang-Mon Tribal Circuits in Nagaland respectively. For the development of Jashpur-Kunkuri-Mainpat- Ambikapur-Maheshpur-Ratanpur-Kurdar-SarodadadarGangrel- Kondagaon-Nathyanawagaon-Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot-Tirthgarh circuit in Chhattisgarh, the government has sanctioned Rs 99.94 crore. Telangana’s integrated development of Tribal Circuit – Mulugu-Laknavaram-Medavaram-Tadvai- Damaravi- Mallur-Bogatha Waterfalls received ... Read more

The Indonesian government is planning to further enhance its tourism service sector by developing nomadic tourism, which would be coupled with digital tourism. The decision was taken in the recently held annual national workshop meeting of Indonesian tourism stakeholders in Bali. To address this Indonesia needs to provide simpler and quicker transport vehicles to ensure foreign travelers to reach the destinations quickly without hassle. “Foreign wanderers do not want complicated procedures to travel from one to another point in an archipelago country like Indonesia. They like simple access. There has to be more addition of simple vehicles like seaplanes, helicopters and ... Read more

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to exploit the rich cultural heritage of Brijbhumi to promote tourism among international tourists. The move is expected to generate local employment in and around Mathura. “The government has decided to rope in various travel agencies to encourage the Taj Mahal-bound international tourists to visit Mathura as well to explore its various religious and cultural marvels, including the local temples and the museum,” said state Minister for Culture and Minorities Welfare Laxmi Narain Chaudhary. The state cultural secretary has been instructed to initiate talks with travel agencies to discuss this project and encourage them ... Read more

Commuting from the international and domestic terminals to the Metro station in Chennai has always been a difficult task for the people. Bringing huge relief to air passengers, the Airport Authority of India has set up 602-metre-long walkalators at the airport. The passengers will  have self-check-in counters at the airport Metro station from April 14 onwards. The walkalators were inaugurated by Chief Secretary Girija Vaidhyanathan in the presence of Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey. “The 12 walklators of 30 metres each have been provided in a stretch of 602 metres. The project cost for phase II works is approximately Rs 40 ... Read more

The future of Kerala Tourism depends on how successfully it can penetrate into the emerging source markets in North East Asia including China, Japan and Korea, said United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) Asia/Pacific regional director Xu Jing. Though Kerala Tourism has a strong presence in the Middle East and European markets, little is known about this piece of land in  Asian countries. “The major challenge is to diversify your source markets, and when you do that it’s not just about making a policy shift but also a product shift,” said Jing. He also said that its unbelievable why Kerala is ... Read more

The Ministry of Economy has issued a recall for 2013 to 2017 Mitsubishi Pajeros due to air bag defects. The V90W/V80W models made between January 2013 and December 2017 needs to be repaired. “We regret to inform that due to usage condition, the changes of temperature and longtime humidity, the propellant (ammonium nitrate) in the inflator for passenger side frontal airbag may be deteriorated and, as a result, the inflator body may rupture at the time of airbag deployment. Therefore the frontal airbag inflator for passenger side has to be changed,” said Al Habtoor Motors in a statement. Al Habtoor Motors said ... Read more

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), in association with Western Coalfields Limited, is planning to introduce mine tourism at Wani in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. With the new initiative, tourists on their part, would be allowed to visit coal mines in Bhandewada and Ukrani, which further make a better understanding of the complexities in mines. The itinerary includes a trip to Wani-Yavatmal mine followed by a visit to Bhandewanda mine, an excursion to open cast mine. Experienced tour guides will be provided to briefly educate the tourists. “Mine tourism is a niche segment, and we are expanding it further by ... Read more

The Royal Thai Embassy in Muscat launched SMART Visa aimed at entrepreneurs investing in new businesses, highly skilled professionals and executives. The SMART Visa will be issued from April 1, 2018. “The SMART Visa is offered to foreign executives and entrepreneurs who wish to invest in Thailand’s targeted industries such as medical and wellness tourism, smart electrics, agriculture, etc,” a spokesperson from the Royal Thai Embassy said. Applications for the Thai SMART Visa will only apply to the “S-Curve” targeted industries, including next-generation automotive, smart electronics, medical and wellness tourism, “food for the future”, and agriculture and biotechnology, as well as ... Read more

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) had recently launched new electronic visa system to facilitate the passengers’ journey and to prevent unnecessary queues at the visa on arrival desk at the airport’s counter. But, at present, a temporary counter has opened at the New Muscat International Airport terminal for tourists flying to Oman to get visas on arrival. Visa on arrival counters have been set-up in case of emergencies for eligible tourists who are not aware of the new electronic visa system that was officially launched on March 21. “We are still keeping the visa on arrival option for a short span of time ... Read more

In a presidential memorandum, US President Donald Trump has banned some transgender service members from serving in the US military, saying transgender individuals “with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria” are unable to serve except under limited circumstances. “Among other things, the policies set forth by the Secretary of Defense state that transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances,” said a White House release. Trump tweeted last July that he ... Read more

ATTOI (Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India), in association with Ministry of Ayush is organising a tour of yoga professionals from across the world to Kerala, known as the “Yoga’s birth place”. 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 (IDY) with the support of Kerala Tourism. “Applications have been invited from established and practicing yoga professionals from around the world to have a first-hand experience of Kerala, the southern state of India, the country proud to be known as the birth place of ... Read more

Australia has terminated its employer-sponsored 457 visa programme, which is highly used by Indians. The authorities further replaced it with a new stringent programme that requires higher English-language proficiency and job skills. The visa programme 457 allowed companies to hire foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs in which there was a shortage of Australian workers. Most of the category visa holders come from India, with about a quarter of the hiring, followed by the United Kingdom and China respectively to 19.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent. It was replaced on March 18 by a new Temporary Skills ... Read more

Amager Bakke, popularly known as ‘Copenhill’ is a hybrid waste to energy plant located at Amager in Denmark. Officially opening for tourists in October 2018, the architectural marvel is built with a cost of $670 million. The main attraction of Copenhill is its ski slope, which is a 278 ft artificial climbing wall dedicated to adventure loving tourists. By the year 2025, the city aims to achieve the status of the first carbon-neutral city, through Amager Bakke. As part of ensuring sustainable policies, a ban on diesel vehicle is the next main agenda of the authorities, that is expected to further decrease ... Read more

As part of promoting South Asian cuisine and culture, a first-ever National Samosa Week is about to be held in Britain’s Leicester city. Coordinated by Leicester Curry Awards (an annual gala dinner celebration), the five-day event is about to start on 9th April. “There’s a national food event for everything, from burgers to beer, so why not samosas? The savoury dish has grown in popularity and for many people in the South Asian community, eating one is like the equivalent of having tea and cake,” said Romail Gulzar, founder of Leicester Curry Awards. The organisers, as part of the celebrations, ... Read more