Category: India

ITC Hotels has launched Lavanderia, a contact-light laundry service, now available to customers in various metros across India. The initiative offers strict monitoring of safety and hygiene norms at each step. The service allows customers to hand over the items at a designated point at the hotel. The laundry would be ready for pick up by the customer within 24 hours, where the customer would be intimated via a message which would include a payment link to enable contactless payment. The entire process remains contact-light with safe distancing at every point. Anil Chadha, COO, ITC Hotels said, “We endeavour to ... Read more

Passengers are upset about Air India’s ticket prices, even as they scramble to find some seats on the airline. A Twitter user shared a snapshot of a ticket booked by a passenger through the Air India website. The passenger booked a ticket from Delhi to San Francisco and the departure date is June 19. Out of the total travel expenses of Rs 1,06,379, a fuel surcharge of Rs 26,341 was levied on the passenger. Twitter erupted as a result as passengers were quick to highlight the exorbitant fuel surcharge fees. However, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, “The rate ... Read more

The Odisha government has decided to operate day cruise services at five destinations, in association with the private sector. The tourism department has invited proposals from prospective applicants for organising day cruises at Chilika Lake, Mahanadi, Bhitarkanika, Satkosia George and Hirakud reservoir in Odisha. The last date for proposal submission in response to the expression of interest (EoI) is July 10, news agency IANS said. Odisha has a long coast line measuring approximately 482 km, five major rivers, reservoirs and water bodies, including Chilika, the largest brackish water lake of Asia. All these water bodies possess tremendous tourism potential, as ... Read more

Air India has said that it would offer more seats for passengers in the third phase of India government’s Vande Bharat Mission, due to an “overwhelming” response. The announcement came a day after the national carrier opened bookings for 300 flights from select destinations, including the US and the UK, between June 10 and July 1. Between 5 pm Friday and 8 am Saturday, the airline company experienced “6-7 times more activity” on its website, and over 22,000 seats were sold. “Demand for seats from India on flights planned under Mission Vande Bharat-3 is overwhelming. Sectors/flights are being opened in ... Read more

The Rann of Kutch, the doorway to western India, can look surreal at times. On a full moon night, these white sands of Kutch light up with its austere beauty, contrasted colourfully by the people. ‘Breathe in a bit of Kutch, come breath in a bit of Gujarat’ – is what its tourism campaign says and there is plenty to breathe in and assimilate. The Rann of Kutch is a salt march in the Thar desert in the Kutch district of Gujarat, which is one of the largest salt deserts in the world. It is designated as a World Heritage ... Read more

Rajasthan’s state tourism minister Vishvendra Singh has initiated a safa (turban) challenge on Twitter, generating interest from politicians across India. State’s deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and other leaders have responded to the challenge. The minister said the challenge on Twitter is intended to promote Rajasthan’s culture and heritage, on the global stage. “#SafaWithTwitter to promote Rajasthan globally. Upload your photo wearing a Safa,” the tweet said. As a response Sachin Pilot posted a recent video of his wrapping a long turban from his Rajasthan diaspora summit in London. “We are committed to promoting tourism in Rajasthan and why not ... Read more

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged the Union minister of state for tourism, Prahlad Patel, to grant approval to the state’s plan to develop a circuit alongside the places Lord Ram visited during his exile, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Bhupesh Baghel wrote to Patel stating that Chhattisgarh’s tourism department has selected nine such sites and prepared a concept plan at a cost of Rs 137.45 crore for developing the circuit. Baghel said that under the Centre’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme there is a provision to develop world-class infrastructure for the convenience of tourists in selected projects. He said the ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh will restart its tourism operations from June 8. Hotels and restaurants will also reopen on the same date. Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, the state’s minister for tourism and culture said, “All Covid-19 regulation norms will be taken care of in all hotels and restaurants.” While interacting with hotel industry representatives in Vijayawada, along with Endowments Minister Vellam Palli Srinivasa Rao, he said measures will be taken to open hotels and restaurants in towns with famous temples. As per the Unlock 1 guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), all the religious places and places of worship are ... Read more

Amritsar’s tourism industry is looking down the barrel. There are around 700 hotels and guest houses in Amritsar which attract international as well as domestic tourists. But all of them are running empty, and fearing closure. Amritsar has plenty of tourist attractions like the Golden Temple, Partition Museum, Town Hall, Sadda Pind, War Memorial, Jallianwala Bagh, Attari-Wagah border, Durgiana Temple, Heritage Street, Ram Tirath Complex, Gobind fort and Pul Kanjari. But there are no tourists in sight, and hardly an help has come from the government to improve the situation. Its gourmet tradition, found in roadside eateries dishing out delicacies ... Read more

All tourist locations in the union territory of Puducherry have been permitted to open with immediate effect. District collector T Arun has said that Beach Road, Botanical Garden, Paradise Beach and Chunambar boat club can open as per the new guidelines. Shops are now permitted upto 8 pm, while take away from restaurants can be done up to 9 pm. Retail liquor shops have been permitted up to 7 pm, while bars are not allowed to open. He said while the Puducherry beach has been opened, no events would be allowed to be conducted. Tamil Nadu buses plying from Cuddalore ... Read more

The Health Ministry has come up with a new set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ease the nation into what is being called ‘Unlock 1.0’. The SOPs for restaurants, workplaces, shopping malls, religious places and hotels have been rolled out to restrict any further transmission of the coronavirus. According to the SOPs for restaurants, takeaways should be encouraged, instead of dine-in. Food delivery personnel should leave the packet at the customer’s door. Direct handover of the food packet to the customer will not be allowed. Hotels should advise guests to use room service, for dining purposes. “The staff for ... Read more

Medical tourism will revive faster in India than that in many other countries, a senior India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) official has said. “Indian medical tourism industry is likely to revive faster than even some developed nations in Europe, and probably USA too. India has shown comparatively better handling of the pandemic situation as compared to these nations,” said Piyush Tiwari, director (commercial and marketing), ITDC. “Medical tourists will look at countries which seem relatively safer. They will look at a country that has better health protocols. Countries like India that have had a lower number of Covid-19 deaths, are ... Read more

Nearly three months after it suspended visas granted to foreigners, India has finally allowed arrival of foreigners for purposes of business, healthcare, engineering and technical works. It has said they would be allowed to fly into India on non-scheduled chartered flights. In an order issued on Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “Foreign businessmen coming to India on a business visa (other than on B-3 visa for sports) in non-scheduled commercial/ chartered flights would be permitted.” The ministry said certain other category of foreigners who could avail of this relaxation included “foreign healthcare professionals, health researchers, engineers and ... Read more

Jalesh Cruises, India’s first premium cruise liner, has launched an industry-first application programme interface (API) with leading travel companies like Akbar Travels, Riya Travels, and Jagsons Travel Pvt Ltd. Through this partnership, Jalesh Cruises will integrate with the travel agencies’ existing systems by providing them with a convenient and seamless experience and update on a real-time basis. This will be done by connecting the data streams and allowing travel partners to access products, services on their portal, by corresponding the data flow across the connected supply chain. Through the API integration, the travel agents can avail of the benefits of ... Read more

Assam’s travel and tourism sector had to initially grapple with curfew and violence during the anti-CAA protests in December. And now the coronavirus pandemic has given it another body blow. Tourism in Assam has been battered so much this season (October to April) that those depending on it now fear massive jobs losses in the sector, without urgent financial assistance from the government. It is estimated that 80% of people will lose jobs this season, with hardly any income coming into the travel and tourism sector. Most of the tourism businesses in Assam are run by first generation entrepreneurs/start-ups with ... Read more