Category: India

Ebix Inc., leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance financial, healthcare and e-learning industries, has announced today  that one of its Indian subsidiaries has signed agreements to acquire the assets of Delhi based Pearl International Tour & Travels and Mumbai based Lawson Travels & Tours. The two companies cumulatively conduct a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of approximately USD 140 million. Both these companies will be tightly integrated into EbixCash’s Via travel Division. The acquisition of the assets of the two companies will increase EbixCash’s travel expanse across its two travels brands Via & Mercury, to ... Read more

The country is planning to have a total of 200 airports by 2040, against the 99 at present. “We would also be adding 1000 aircrafts in the next 7-8 years and one billion trips in the next 15 years,” said R N Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. He was speaking at the Global Aviation Summit organized by FICCI in Mumbai today. “The domestic aviation has been growing at 20 per cent every year, for the last four years and, this growth has been the highest in the world and it has sustained,” he said. “This growth will be inclusive ... Read more

SATTE – photo from 2018 event Kashmir Tourism department is participating in a number of promotional events and exhibitions within and outside the country with a view to promote the tourism products of the state. As per a statement issued by the department on Monday, the department will showcase its tourism products at SATTE (South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange),  South Asia’s largest travel and tourism event, to be held from January 16- 18 at Greater Noida. The event will be followed by another Road Show at Pune on January 21, where the department will be interacting with the media ... Read more

Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore This year, Pongal – the festival of Tamil Nadu- will be celebrated in collaborating with Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbatore. This year’s festivities will take place on the centre’s premises in Coimbatore from 3pm to 6pm on 16th January 2018. “People from across the world with distinct culture and religion will join the Pongal celebrations that will include Pongal pots, sugarcane, rangoli and traditional games,” stated a release from the Yoga center. On the occasion of Mattu Pongal, 15 varieties of native cattle breeds like Kankarej, Kangayam, Sahiwal, Gir and others will be exhibited to depict the ... Read more

Arrival of winter in Kashmir helped the tourism sector valley, as most of the hotels and guest houses in Kashmir’s Gulmarg and Jammu’s Patnitop are full, as tourists from across the country have been flocking to enjoy the cold weather and snow. “Today both Gulmarg and Patnitop are witnessing 100 per cent occupancy. Over 1500 rooms of hotels, guest houses and government huts are occupied in the famous ski resort Gulmarg,” said Rigzin Samphel, Tourism Secretary, to the media on Sunday. “The Patnitop hills and its adjacent resorts are also chock-full with local visitors as well as from north India ... Read more

AccorHotels has opened the 189-room ibis Kolkata Rajarhat, marking the debut of the brand in the City of Joy, Kolkata. This is the group’s 50th property in India, taking the brand’s total inventory in the country to over 3,000 rooms. At the launch, AccorHotels also announced the arrival of a new strategy for the ibis brand, designed keeping in mind the demands of today’s travellers. “The ibis brand and hotels in India have been successful in integrating into the hearts of Indians and our partnership with InterGlobe Hotels has been integral to this success. Last year we launched ibism, a campaign ... Read more

People in and around Udupi can now enjoy the view of the picturesque city from above, flying on a helicopter. Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat has inaugurated a 3 day heli-tour programme at Udupi on 11th January 2019. The event was organized by the district administration in association with Mantra Tourism Development and Chipsan Aviation Company, to attract more tourists to the city. The heli-tourism will be conducted for 3 days in Kundapur. The chopper trip route will include Udupi, Malpe fisheries port, St Mary’s, Hoode, Manipal and the surrounding areas. Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat with other officials at the inaugural ... Read more

Uncontrolled taxi fares, rude nature of policemen, who are over enthusiastic in penalizing outstation vehicles are said to be the root cause of decline in inbound tourists in Goa. Savio Messias, President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, said that the 30-40 per cent decline in the tourist footfalls in the coastal tourist destination is also due to the inability to handle the mushrooming garbage crisis, which had led to Japanese, Finnish and Danish tour operators to abstain from Goa, stating ‘safety and health concerns’. “There is widespread indiscipline among taxi operators and drivers, which is one of ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned four new projects worth Rs 190.46 Crores under the tourism infrastructure development schemes, Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive) schemes in the states of Meghalaya, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Under North East Circuit of Swadesh Darshan Scheme, the Ministry has sanctioned the project ‘Development of West Khasi Hills (Nongkhlaw- Krem Tirot – Khudoi & Kohmang Falls – Khri River- Mawthadraishan, Shillong), Jaintia Hills (Krang Suri Falls- Shyrmang- Iooksi), Garo Hills (Nokrek Reserve, Katta Beel, Siju Caves)’ in Meghalaya for Rs  84.95 crore. Siju Caves, Meghalaya The above project focuses on ... Read more

Hampi, Karnataka India’s Hampi bagged second position in the list of ’52 places to go in 2019’ published by The New York Times. The UNESCO accredited World Heritage Site stood behind Puerto Rico, which has grabbed the top place for its amazing recovery from Hurricane Maria to rebound as a tourist destination. The report recommends Hampi as a favoured place, and talks about its archaeological monuments, scenic vistas against the Tungabhadra river, and geological rock formations. “At the heights of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century, Hampi thrived as one of the largest and richest cities in the world. ... Read more

Umium Lake The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma, inaugurated the project “Development of North East Circuit: Umiam (Lake View) – U Lum Sohpetbneng- Mawdiangdiang – Orchid Lake Resort” implemented under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Minister of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya, Metbah Lyngdoh, the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Yogendra Tripathi, and the Chairman, Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., Sanbor Shullai in Umiam were also present in the inaugural function. This is the first Swadesh Darshan project of Union Tourism Ministry in the state of Meghalaya. Chief minister and other officials after the inauguration ... Read more

Passengers may leave the airport and return to board the aircraft, if the flight has been delayed. It was proposed by the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). They have also suggested changes to protocol that would speed up the number of checks that a traveller has to go through while re-entering the airport. The proposal came up in a meeting between DIAL and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security of India (BCAS), who sets rules for security arrangements in airports across the country. Currently the proposal is under consideration of BCAS. Current rules allow for a passenger to leave the ... Read more

Glion Institute of Higher Education, a hospitality management institution in Switzerland, is offering a new set of online certificate courses starting from March 2019. The new courses occur four times per year with a span of two weeks. The course includes videos, readings, discussions, peer-reviewed assignments, quizzes, and a final exam. The Online courses are : • Maximising Spa Profitability and Excellence in Spa Operations are taught by Glion faculty member Mariana Palmeiro and leading spa and wellness expert Dr Mary Tabacchi on the financial and organisational aspects of spa management, a particular growth area in the hospitality industry. • Revenue ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: BIAL twitter Safety of women travellers have always been a main subject of discussions in the media recently. To ensure safe and hassle-free journey for women travellers, the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) has launched a fleet of ten ‘women only’ cabs, in association with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). As Bengaluru airport is at a fair distance away from the main city, it is expected that the service will be helpful to women travellers, especially at night. The Pink Cabs will be a 24 hour service from the airport. The cabs will be equipped with GPRS ... Read more

As per the press release issued on 8th January 2018, the government aims at enhancing  the length of National Highways in the country to 200,000 kms. Currently the country have around 131,326 km of national highways. In addition to this about 53,031 km of state roads has been declared as new NHs in principal. The total length of National Highways in the country was 91,287 km as on March 31, 2014. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the 58 kms, four laned,  Solapur – Tuljapur – Osmanabad section of  NH-211 (New NH-52) in Solapur in Maharashtra ... Read more