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Photo Courtesy: Getty Images The President of Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte has always been in the limelight for the wrong words or usages. This time it has gone to an extent where he called tourists to his country saying virgins are waiting for them. He was referring to the purported Islamic State recruitment method of promising Islamist militants scores of virgins in the afterlife. Duterte, who is in India as part of the 2018 India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, was speaking at the Philippines-India Business Forum in New Delhi on the eve of the Indian Republic Day celebrations. Telling delegates about his Muslim ... Read more

Zero emission vehicles are the next futuristic approach by humans. For a consistent sustainable balance it is very important to reduce the pollution, especially from the automobile industry. In terms of eco-friendly vehicles, hydrogen is the next big term talked among the millions. The main challenge faced by the scientists in hydrogen cells were the use of Platinum as catalyst for the conversion of chemical energy into electric energy. As Platinum is too pricey, scientists in universities such as Stanford and California have developed cobalt as catalyst which is far cheaper than Platinum. Photo Courtesy:ssl.toyota.co As companies are in constant ... Read more

Actress Parineeti Chopra, the first Indian woman ambassador of the ‘Friend of Australia’ (FOA) advocacy panel by Tourism Australia, has released a series of videos that narrate her holiday experiences in the Australian states. The actress shared her experience in the country in the form of a song. Parineeti released the videos on January 26, the day where India’s Republic Day and Australia Day are celebrated. Adding a personal touch to the video, the actress has sung the background score with lyrics that summarise the vibe of the places she visited. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Australia and the ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has opened an information counter at the first platform of Tirupati railway station. The kiosk was inaugurated by APTDC Chairman V Jayarami Reddy in the presence of Tirupati Station Director K Satyanarayana. “The counter will be of immense use to pilgrims who visit Tirupati. They can get entire information about all tourism destinations in the state from the counter and plan their programmes during their pilgrimage,” Jayarami Reddy said. The display at the counter itself creates interest to the passengers in waiting to know more information. Tickets for all APTDC tours can be booked ... Read more

A new €1.8 million initiative specially designed to boost tourist numbers from Britain to the Wild Atlantic Way has been launched. The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin,  Niall Gibbons of Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland’s Paul Keeley launched the new campaign. A €1.35 million marketing campaign in Britain will be complemented by Fáilte Ireland’s €500,000 programme to support businesses along the Wild Atlantic Way to position themselves to benefit from the campaign, as well as to boost its own marketing campaigns in Northern Ireland. The ‘campaign will be rolled out by Tourism Ireland in Britain in ... Read more

The ASEAN National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) have agreed on concrete initiatives to further expand tourism facilities and infrastructure by focusing on attracting investments to the regional grouping. Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the agreement reached by the NTOs was definitely the right direction for ASEAN as it is headed to the future. “With the ASEAN family now consisting of over 600 million people, we need to enhance our collaboration to achieve economic stability,” he said. In line with this collaboration, Malaysia would co-organise the first ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Investment Seminar in association with the ... Read more

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Plenary Session of ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Stressing upon common cultural links between ASEAN nations and India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed that 2019 be declared “ASEAN-India Year of Tourism”. The PM also mentioned that the Buddhist Tourism circuit could be an important part of this to attract tourists and pilgrims from the region. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi delivering his opening remarks, at the ASEAN India Commemorative Summit, in New Delhi on January 25, 2018. Addressing the plenary session of the ASEAN-India commemorative summit, ... Read more

    After the very successful phase I workshop on underwater photography held at Thiruvananthapuram earlier in January, Bond Safari Kovalam is coming to Ernakulam with their second workshop. Here is your unique chance to meet and interact with the experts. The second workshop on underwater photography conducted by Bond Safari will be an eye opener for you. The workshop will be held on February 22 at Hotel Ibis, Ernakulam. The workshop organized for photographers and enthusiasts will be your first step towards shooting that perfect picture underwater. The speakers include Anup J Kattukaran, Dr. Capt Shanthanu, Subin J Kalarikkal, Shibin Sebastian ... Read more

Orchid Island Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau launches ‘2018 Year of Bay Tourism’ to promote tourism on 10 offshore islands. The 10 offshore islands are: Turtle Island, Green Island, Orchid Island, Xiaoliuqiu, Qimei Island, Yuwongdao (Xiyu), Jibei Island, Lieyu Island, Beigan Island and Dongju Island. Turtle Island “Taiwan is an island country, but never before has the country systematically promoted tourism on its offshore islands with government involvement at the national level until now. Under the “Year of Bay Tourism” campaign, the central and local governments have collaborated with local industry operators, such as travel agencies and hotels, and worked out activities ... Read more

Bollywood heartthrob Ranveer Singh, Switzerland’s ambassador in India, has managed to drive a 25 per cent growth rate in the overnights in the Alpine nation. “We couldn’t be luckier to have Ranveer Singh as our brand and country ambassador. He has really boosted the image of Switzerland in terms of tourism to make it younger, fresher, more exciting and more active. This is exactly how we want to position Switzerland in future to place it as the most desirable outdoor destination and he is helping us in doing just that,” said Martin Nydegger, the newly appointed CEO of Switzerland Tourism. ... Read more

All of us have wondered how’s life in jails would be. Take your imaginations away! You don’t need to a criminal or the visitor of a criminal to enter the jail gates anymore. Just like the much famed Alcatraz in San Francisco and the cellular jails in Andaman, the gates of Maharashtra jails are also open to public from now on. The state prison administration is all set to send a proposal to the government to allow tourists to rent a real prison cell, where they can live for a stipulated period. If the proposal is approved, Maharashtra will be the ... Read more

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili has appointed Shanzhong Zhu as Executive Director of UNWTO. Zhu, a Chinese national, began his two-year term on 1 January 2018. Zhu joined UNWTO in 2014 as Executive Director. Prior to his appointment, he was Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).  

Swiss National Park Swiss Tourism board is looking at the strong potential in medical tourism, and is eying UAE as a source market for medical tourism to Switzerland. “At the moment, it’s (medical tourism) less than 10 per cent of total visits to Switzerland. That’s why we see so much potential and opportunity to grow. We’re looking at the UAE because we already have substantial clientele who come to visit Switzerland,” said Martin Nydeggar, chief executive officer of Switzerland Tourism. Switzerland welcomes around 70 million visitors a year. However, these numbers are not in the country for medical tourism. “We ... Read more

Picture Courtesy: Youtube Dubai received the highest accolade of the day at the ceremony, the CIFFT Grand Prix Award, for the World Best Tourism Film in 2017. This was awarded to the #BeMyGuest film starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the eleventh time that the campaign video has been recognised at an international award ceremony this year. In March, the film won the Gold Award in the ‘City’ category of ITB Berlin’s “Golden City Gate” awards; followed by two top awards in May at the International Tourism Film Festival, “Tourfilm Riga” – the Grand Prix, as well as first prize ... Read more

Camel Race India will be the “guest of honour” at Saudi Arabia’s National Festival for Heritage and Culture, popularly known as the Janadriyah festival.  The 18-day cultural festival will be held under the patronage of King Salman at Janadriyah, 42 km northeast of Riyadh, will be inaugurated on February 7. A high-level ministerial delegation will visit Riyadh for the inaugural ceremony. A diverse spread of India’s culture and science will be on display at Janadriyah festival, from Bollywood to traditional culture and from classical dance to technological prowess. The Indian pavilion will be embellished with cutting-edge technology displaying the march of India ... Read more