Category: Top Stories

UP CM, Yogi Adityanath exploring the stalls of handloom, crafts, and food on UP Diwas at Avadh Shilpgram, Lucknow. The Uttar Pradesh government is celebrating its foundation day for the first time with much pomp and glory. Lauding the Yogi Adityanath government’s flagship scheme of `One District One Product` (ODOP) on the occasion of the first ‘Uttar Pradesh Diwas’, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said it was a very important initiative not only in terms of the state’s progress but also for apprising the new generation about their rich heritage. UP CM, Yogi Adityanath exploring the stalls of handloom, crafts, ... Read more

A traditional dance of Telangana The Government  of  India is organising ‘Bharat Parv’  event  at  the   Red Fort, Delhi  from  26th to 31st  January, 2018   as  part of  the  Republic  Day  2018  celebrations.  The prime objective   of organizing the event  is  to  generate  a  patriotic  mood,  promote  the  rich  cultural  diversity  of the country and  to  ensure  wider  participation  of the  general  public. The Ministry of  Tourism  has  been  designated  as the nodal  Ministry for the  event, the highlights of  which  include Display  of  Republic Day Parade Tableaux, Performances  by  the Armed  Forces  Bands (Static as  well  as  dynamic),  a  ... Read more

Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju today said the UDAN Phase 2 will connect 43 airports and helipads in the priority sector, the North-East and the hill states. The minister was speaking at the Award of Regional Connectivity Flights after Second round of Bidding under RCS Udan in New Delhi. States with maximum number of airports and helipads seeing activation under UDAN 2 are Uttarakhand (15), Uttar Pradesh (9), Arunachal Pradesh (8) and Himachal Pradesh (6) and Assam and Manipur (5 each).  “Kargil will be connected by airport for the first time. New greenfield airport in Kannur will get flights to ... Read more

Kuwait’s major low cost airline, Jazeera Airways, which has started its operation to Kochi, is said to be seeing the possibility of a tie-up with Kerala tourism. “There is a great opportunity for Kuwait and Kerala in the field of medical and leisure tourism. There is lot of traffic especially during weekends to Kerala out of Kuwait, many of whom could be seeking medical treatment in the state,” said Andrew Ward, VP Marketing and Customer Experience, Jazeera. Jazeera has launched four weekly flights to Kochi from Kuwait. Kochi is the third route in India after Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The flights ... Read more

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has said they set a growth target of 8 per cent in tourism revenue from the international market. “Thailand’s ‘unbeatable geographic location’ is a major reason why visitor arrivals will continue to grow strongly in the years ahead,” said Tanes Petsuwan, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, during the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2018 held in northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. “Thailand has the best connections within the entire region as there are approximately 30 overland border checkpoints open for travel by international visitors with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia, as well as four Friendship ... Read more

Travel spice, an online hotel booking platform from Bangalore, has won the ‘Travel Tech’ start-up of the year 2018 award from the Government of Karnataka. Award, and a prize money of Rs 15 lakhs, was handed over by the Minister of Tourism Priyannk Kharge to the co-founders of travel spice Ankit Manglik and Prashant Mitta at Bangalore Palace. Photo Courtesy: m24news.com The company has business with over 8000-star hotels among 220 cities in India and abroad. Travel Spice provides online bookings with discounts as well as value-based services. “Travel Spice is based on the unique opaque model well suited for ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: SPTO The World Health Organisation, in partnership with the South Pacific Tourism Organisation, is planning to improve the health of both the tourism workforce and tourists to the region. “The so-called ‘Healthy Islands’ project would promote smoke-free public places, increase the opportunities for people to eat healthy local foods and get physically active,” said WHO Technical Officer, Dr Ada Moadsiri. Under the new partnership, the organizations will promote smoke-free public places and increase opportunities for people to eat healthy local foods and get physically active. The partnership also aims to support improved accessibility for persons with disabilities in the ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Kerala Tourism Ten million foreign tourists visited India in 2017. With more projects in the anvil, the country has potential to push it higher. However, the state tourism departments are looking at the budget allocations from the Central Government for the year 2018. Officials from the ministry hint that it is not going be an exciting budget for the tourism industry. The safety and infrastructure of the industry are the sections which need immediate attention. A handful of projects are waiting for the fund allocation from the ministry. Tourism ministry has received Rs 1776 crore in 2017-18. This year, ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Prakriti Shakti CGH Earth have always been innovative in coming up with new ideas and projects, which never fail to astonish us with its grandeur and wholesomeness. After having more than two decades of experience in Ayurveda healing at their hospitals in Kalari Kovilakom and Kalari Rasayana, the CGH group started this new project, Prakriti Shakti. Prakriti Shakti is situated on the pristine hills of Panchalimedu in Kerala. With 19 rooms and a well-equipped team, Prakriti Shakti practises healing through nature, the only way to heal you from within and rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit. The treatments ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Southwest Airlines Seldom do we care about abandoned canines and cats. But, here we have some pretty good news coming up from the Carribean Island Puerto Rico. America’s Southwest Airlines Chief Pilot David Newton flew all the way in his Boeing 737, just to rescue puppies and kittens that were stranded after the hurricane hit Maria in San Juan. David Newton, who has done more hundreds of rescue operations, said this was very special to him. Newton and the special rescue team called ‘lucky rescue’ flew to the city just for giving a second chance of life to the ... Read more

A record-breaking 29.6 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport last year, a 6 per cent increase considering the previous year. A significant increase in long-haul traffic and a robust performance from continental European routes were the main elements of the rise. Photo Courtesy: Dublin Airport About 27.8 million passengers started or ended their journey at Dublin last year, while 1.8 million passengers used Dublin Airport as a hub. Dublin Airport has flights to 191 destinations in 42 countries operated by 47 airlines and is now the 11th largest airport within the European Union. Short-haul traffic increased by 4 per cent ... Read more

UPDATE: (20.00 PM IST): All tsunami watches and warnings have been CANCELLED associated with the M7.9 earthquake in Alaska. A major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.2 struck 170 miles off the coast of Alaska in the wee hours of Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning along the coastline. The earthquake prompted a tsunami warning for parts of Alaska and Canada as well as a tsunami watch for the entire US west coast. The quake hit 157 miles south east of Kodiak at about 9.30 am GMT on Tuesday (12.30 am local time). According to US Geological Survey it was at a ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Ram Kumar India offers myriad options for a traveller with its beautiful hill stations, majestic waterfalls, dense forests, and the greenery altogether. But, it has something special for you this time. The Government of Gujarat is welcoming you to its novel concept, Cow Tourism, to popularise the animal. Tourists can now visit cow shelters and grazing spots to see how the animal is reared and how products are made with cow urine and dung. The Gujarat Gauseva Ayog is arranging two-day trips to some of best-kept cow shelters and grazing spots in the state. “Cow tourism is a ... Read more

Delta Air Lines said it is tightening its rules for transporting service and support animals in an effort to reduce misbehaviour by dogs and other creatures that air carriers are required by law to allow on board. Service dogs are specially trained to aid people with disabilities. Delta carries nearly 250,000 service and support animals a year. From March 2018 onward, Delta would require documentation about such animals including its health, in some instances, a promise of good conduct. The new rules make Delta’s policy among the most demanding among major carriers. The number of service and support animals, which ... Read more

Web Desk Mangalajodi Village located on the northern banks of Chilika Lake in Odisha has bagged the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) Award for Innovation in Enterprise. The 14th edition of the award was declared on January 17, the first day of the five days long Fitur 2018 held in Madrid. photo courtesy:media.unwto.org Sanjib Sarangi of Indian Grameen Service, which overlooks the Mangalajodi project and Renna from Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust attended the award event and unfurled an Indian flag while receiving the award. Mangalajodi eco tourism’s strong principles of positive contribution to ecology, environment and economic upliftment of the ... Read more