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Sri Lanka has launched a luxury train service connecting the country’s Tamil-dominated Jaffna district to the capital city Colombo with the help of a Line of Credit offered by India, in another significant landmark in bilateral ties. The intercity rail service with all facilities was launched on Sunday for passengers travelling from Colombo’s Mount Lavinia suburb to Jaffna’s Kankesanthurai port suburb in the north, covering a distance of approximately 386 kms. India’s High Commission here termed it another significant landmark in India-Sri Lanka ties . Powering the railway infrastructure forward!! The train service launched today to the Northern Province highlights ... Read more

Gulmarg tourist resort in north Kashmir continued to reel under extreme cold as the minimum temperature stayed below the freezing point at most places in the valley, officials said on Monday. The resort recorded a low of minus 10 degrees Celsius for the second consecutive night, MET officials said. They said Pahalgam in south Kashmir Anantnag district, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, was the one of the two places to record minimum temperature above freezing point as the ... Read more

Union Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri G. Kishan Reddy along with Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath and Minister of State for Tourism and Defence Shri Ajay Bhatt inaugurated various components developed at the Govardhan Bus Stand under the project “Development of Govardhan, Mathura” under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism on Saturday virtually. The Union Minister Sri G. Kishan Reddy said that under the leadership of Prime minister India has achieved the historic feat of administering 150 crore vaccinations. The Minister also reminded the stakeholders that Covid has not ... Read more

Shimla city received its first snowfall of the year on Saturday even as most places in Himachal Pradesh are reeling under severe a cold wave, the meteorological department said. Some upper parts of Shimla city, including Jakhoo, The Ridge, Benmore and Sanjauli experienced light snowfall on Saturday morning. Welcoming the first snowfall of 2022, Benmore councilor Dr Kimi Sood posted a live video on her Facebook page. However, several parts of Shimla city, including Chhota Shimla, Khalini and Dhalli, did not receive any snowfall. Most places in the hill state continued to reel under severe cold as the upper reaches ... Read more

Leading tour operators of the country gathered in Kovalam on Friday to prepare useful packages to promote major tourism destinations in the state and to strengthen cooperation with tourism partners. The three-day campaign is jointly organized by the South Kerala Hoteliers Forum (SKHF) and the Kochi-based Tourism Professionals Club (TPC) with the support of Kerala Tourism. This includes Destination Promotion, B2B Meet, and visits to major tourist attractions in Kovalam, Poovar, and Varkala. The B2B Meet of Kerala Tour Operators with Industrial Partners was held on January 7 at 4 pm at the KTDC Samudra Resort, Kovalam. More than 120 ... Read more

India on Friday made seven-day home quarantine mandatory for all international arrivals and an RT-PCR test on the eighth day, as it issued revised guidelines for international passengers. The guidelines released on Friday come into force from January 11 and will remain effective till further government orders. As per the existing rules, which have been retained in the revised guidelines, travellers coming from countries specified as “at risk” have to submit sample for Covid testing post-arrival and they required to wait for the results at the airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight. If tested negative, they need to ... Read more

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday virtually flagged off the upgraded Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express, fitted with Rajdhani-like coaches, from Bhubaneswar station. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also graced the occasion over a video conference from New Delhi. Vaishnaw said the railways decided to replace conventional coaches of the Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express with modern Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) rakes, more like the Rajdhani Express ones, to ensure a comfortable journey for the passengers. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and Congress MLA Suresh Routray were also present at the event. Legislators and parliamentarians of the ruling BJD, however, skipped the function. Vaishnaw gave assurance that ... Read more

In the wake of the covid expansion, the online booking for Agasthyakoodam season trekking, which was scheduled to start at 11 am on today, has been postponed. The revised date and time will be announced later, the Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Warden said. Agasthyakoodam is one of the important trekking destinations in Kerala. The trekking was scheduled for January 14 to February 26. For more information – Call :0471-2360762.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and UKinbound have welcomed the government’s decision to remove pre-departure tests for travellers and replace damaging Day 2 PCR testing with antigen tests Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The removal of pre-departure tests and replacing Day 2 PCRs with more affordable antigen testing will significantly boost the UK Travel & Tourism sector and help both it and the whole UK economy recover much faster than expected. “The testing measures being removed never actually stopped infections coming in and were a blunt policy which only damaged the travel and tourism sector.” Joss ... Read more

Tourist circuit trains will be introduced in the northeast, covering all prominent locations of the region, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. According to a release issued by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Vaishnaw, who visited Guwahati on Tuesday, also said that a study to increase rail connectivity in the northeastern states was underway. Promoting the rich heritage of northeast and showcasing its beautiful culture to the entire world has been an endeavour of the Railways, Vaishnaw said. He pointed out that five Vistadome services have already been introduced towards the goal of giving tourism a boost in the region. ... Read more

Agasthyarkoodam in Thiruvananthapuram is one of the most difficult trekking routes in Kerala. The Western Ghats, believed to be the abode of Sage Agastya, is rich in natural beauty and biodiversity. It is a restricted area for visitors as it is home to rare flora and fauna. However, it is open to the public once a year for one month, with strict restrictions. It will be open to the public from mid-January to mid-February. A maximum of 100 people are allowed to travel in a day. It is a 27 km trek through dense forest where wildlife and amphibians roam. ... Read more

Meenpidipara is located at Kottarakkara Pulamon Junction on Kollam Shenkottai Road, half a kilometer east, behind St. Gregorius College. Meenpidipara Tourism Center is run by the District Tourism Promotion Council. The water of Meenpidippupaara is believed to have healing properties. Many people from other districts and locals visit here regularly. As a testimony, some old persons say Meenpidi Para water is very good for herbal bathing. Their substantiating fact is that water reaches the falls after flowing through areas of medicinal herbs from Chengamanad Kizhakketheruvu. Beautiful parks, small waterfalls, a large fish statue, suspension bridge, bathing facility in pulamon stream, ... Read more

What about seeing a lot of beautiful places at a low cost? The quietest trips in January are the best way to escape the bustling travel of December. While some prefer beaches and rainforests, other tourists prefer quieter cities and historical sites. Anyway, January is the best month for cheap travel. Let’s take a look at why international travel is recommended in January. You can go anywhere If you ask, what makes the January trip the happiest, the answer is that you can go anywhere. January is the perfect time for any kind of trip, whether it’s a beach, trekking, ... Read more

Vinod Kannan took over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vistara airline on Saturday, a statement said. Kannan replaced Leslie Thng who was the CEO from July 16, 2017, to December 31, 2021. In its statement, Vistara said Deepak Rajawat has been elevated to take up the role of Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer from Saturday onwards. “Kannan started his stint with Vistara as the Chief Strategy Officer in June 2019 and took over as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2020 with responsibility for developing, executing, and sustaining Vistara’s corporate strategy and ensuring the airline’s commercial success,” it mentioned. Kannan ... Read more

As 2021 plagued by COVID-19 comes to a close, the domestic tourism sector in the state is seeing a boom after hitting the nadir during the last nearly two years owing to the pandemic but the increase in the incidence of Omicron has forced tour operators to keep their fingers crossed on international travel, leading tour operators here said. In the city, tourism has got a filip after its famed Durga Puja was included in UNESCO’s list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ and is expected to attract more foreign and domestic tourists, they said. The village tourism sector operating ... Read more