Category: India

Arrivals in India through e-tourist visa increased at a CAGR of 180 per cent during 2014-18, according a report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). In 2018, 23,69,941 tourists have arrived in India through e-tourist visa.  Tourist arrivals increased at a CAGR of 251.59 per cent during 2014-17 to reach 1,697,000 tourists in 2017. The government has recently made a series of amendments in the e-visa regime to make it more tourist-friendly. The duration of stay in India of e-tourist and e-business visas is maximum up to one year with multiple entry subject to the stay stipulations. Also, the existing restriction of ... Read more

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced its plans to open more than 14 new properties in India over the next 24 months. The new properties will include hotels and resorts in Bengaluru, Dehradun, Udaipur, Gurgaon, Jaipur, and Trivandrum. The Chicago-headquartered Hyatt Hotels said 2019 would mark record growth for Hyatt in India. “Expansion plans foresee the addition of over 2,100 guest rooms through the opening of more than 14 new properties over the next 24 months,” a press release from the hotel major said. Aside from growth in the larger capital cities, the emphasis will be on leisure and cultural destinations, with a focus ... Read more

The first ever Skydiving jump for Battle Casualty Veteran (leg amputee) in India was conducted by instructors and training staff of Indian Army (Army Adventure Wing) on 28 Mar 2019 at Nasik, Maharashtra by service aircraft from 9000 ft AGL. Maj DP Singh, a Kargil War veteran widely known as “Indian Blade Runner” was trained by Indian Army to perform a first ever successful Skydive endorsing the “Spirit of Adventure” for all disabled soldiers who suffered physical/war injuries in peace and war time. Gen Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC, COAS approved the activity for the officer ... Read more

The Indian Hotels Company has opened its Taj brand in Rishikesh, Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa, Uttarakhand. This will be the company’s third hotel in the state. “We are honoured to partner with Mehra for Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa, an exciting new addition to IHCL’s expanding resort portfolio. With its idyllic setting and unrestricted views of the Himalayas, the resort is well positioned to tap into the growing potential of the wellness and spiritual tourism market. This is consistent with our commitment to offer global travellers’ new and unique experiences in hospitality,” said Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive ... Read more

Thanks to the liberalisation of the visa policy, India has managed to jump to the 66th rank on the list from 77th in 2015.  and the improvement has been due to liberalisation  and several other measures. India’s passport power has improved by 11 ranks in the last four years whereas United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become number one in the ranking, replacing Singapore. China, on the other hand, ranks just nine levels above India, with 57th rank. The ranking by Arton Capital Passport Index (APCI), an online tool which collects and displays the ranks of passports of the world, to various passports is given ... Read more

Accor is all set to introduce its day use service in India where the guests can stay for 12 hours anytime in the day and will pay 60 per cent less of the actual room price. “Today, if you want to use a hotel room from 8 am to 8 pm, its very difficult to book. To solve this, Accor will soon enable its guests to book the room maximum for 12 hours any time in the day that suits them. It will up to the hotel if they want to release their 6 am to 6 pm slot of ... Read more

West Bengal Tourism has joined hands with the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India (TATA Steel PGTI), the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India, and Tollygunge Club to come up with a new golfing event- the Bengal Open Golf Championship 2019. The idea behind this association is to leverage the golf tournament in promoting the state as top tourism destination. The Pro-Am event will carry a prize purse of Rs 30 lakh. The top Indian professionals who will be in the fray include SSP Chawrasia, four-time European Tour winner, Rahil Gangjee, a winner on the Japan Golf ... Read more

Tourism players of Kashmir valley made a request to extend the UDAN (ude desh ka aam nagrik) scheme of the central government to Kashmir region to tackle the skyrocketing air fairs, which hampers the flow of tourists to the state. UDAN (ude desh ka aam nagrik) scheme was launched by the union ministry to make air travel affordable for people through subsidized ticket prices and to provide air connectivity to smaller towns. The aim of the scheme is to connect major cities with tier-II and tier-III cities at a price of Rs 2,500 per one-hour flight. It is expected by ... Read more

Tathagata Roy, Meghalaya Governer, said that various government initiatives and the hospitality of locals have attracted more tourists to the state from other parts of India and abroad. He was delivering his speech in the state Assembly on the first day of budget. “Meghalaya Tourism has witnessed a massive inflow of both international and domestic tourists in the last ten years. The tourists’ inflow in Meghalaya has increased by 80 per cent in the last ten years,” said the Governor The government envisages tourism promotion for the state according to the State Tourism Policy. It plans to bring about developments ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has won first prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the prestigious international Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019. Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism has received the award on March 8, 2019 at ITB, Berlin. The promotional films/television commercials such as Yogi of the Racetrack, The Reincarnation of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Sanctuary in Paris, Maharani of Manhattan and The Masala Master Chef, produced by the Ministry as part of its Incredible India 2.0 Campaign received the awards. The Golden City Gate Tourism Multi-media Awards are given annually in various categories related to the tourism and hospitality ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Noida City Centre-Noida Electronic City section of the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line on Saturday. The services will be available at 4 PM, stated a senior DMRC official. This 6.6 km elevated section consists of six stations namely Sector 34, Sector 52, Sector 61, Sector 59, Sector 62 and Noida Electronic City. The new section will provide a convenient and faster mode of transport for the residents of Noida. The extended metro line will decongest the roads and provide an environment-friendly mode of transport. The Noida extension line will bring the Blue Line close to ... Read more

The Bhindawas bird sanctuary in Jhajjar, the largest wetland of Haryana, will get a face-lift to promote tourism. The area spread over 1,017 acres will be developed to attract both domestic and foreign tourists and provide a good habitat with a plenty of food to migratory birds for breeding. As per records, thousands of birds of around 150 species from several countries flock to the sanctuary during the winter. A project has been chalked out by The Forest and Wildlife Department to construct a beautiful entrance gate, a boundary wall, a stylish watch tower, an interlocking pathway, comfortable benches for ... Read more

Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal, launched 3 projects supported through ‘Rail Sahyog’, which is a platform for the Corporates and PSUs to contribute to creation of amenities at or near Railway Stations through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. These projects would help augment Railways infrastructure, improve passenger experience and enhance cleanliness and hygiene. According the initiative, Wi-Fi Facility at 4,791 stations will be carried out by Tata Trust. Indian Railways is striving to provide high speed internet services to its passengers over its network as part of the Prime Minister’s initiative to create ‘Digital India’. Out of 8,738 stations, 6,441 ... Read more

Bardia Natonal Park is awarded as the best sustainable destination in Asia-Pacific region at the Green Destinations Gala, an initiative that recognizes innovation and good practices in tourism management of destinations. The award ceremony was held on March 6th within the framework of the ITB Berlin 2019 fair in Germany. The CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, Deepak Raj Joshi received the award of best of Asia Pacific on behalf of Destination Management Authority. Experts from 12 international organizations analyzed the proper planning of tourism, monitoring elements related to sustainability, tourist experience towards nature, always encouraging their protection, among other aspects. ... Read more

Namom Railway station Indian Railways to build a new Coaching Terminal at Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, laid the foundation stone for the terminal and unveiled WAP-7HS passenger locomotive through video conferencing on 7th March 2019. Ghanshyam Singh, Member (Traction), Railway Board, Rajesh Agarwal, Member (Rolling Stock), Railway Board, Vishwesh Chaubey, Member (Engineering), Railway Board and other Senior Railway Officers were present on this occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Piyush Goyal said that the present Government has consistently focused on development for all areas in the country. Focus has been on large scale infrastructure creation both ... Read more