Category: India

Qutub Minar has bagged the top award in the differently-abled friendly monument category at the National Tourism Awards. The awards were presented by Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons at a ceremony held at the Vigyan Bhavan. Qutbu’d-Din Aibak laid the foundation of the Minar in AD 1199, to which subsequent additions were made by his successor Iltutmish and Firoz Shah Tughlak. The 73-metre tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Qutub Minar has made best possible efforts to provide amenities to the differently-abled at a World Heritage Site. ... Read more

The Union Minister for Tourism (IC), K J Alphons has launched the ‘Incredible India Mobile App’ and the “Incredible India Tourist Facilitators Certification” programme on September 27. The Incredible India Mobile App, showcases India as a holistic destination, revolving around major experiences, such as spirituality, heritage, adventure, culture, yoga, wellness and more. The mobile app has been designed keeping in mind the preferences of the modern traveler and follows the trends and technologies of international standards. The app has been equipped with features to assist the traveller in each phase of their journey to India. The app has been developed ... Read more

Tourism Minister K J Alphons has presented National Tourism Awards 2016-17 in New Delhi, on the World Tourism Day. The Awards were presented to various segments of the travel and tourism industry. These awards are presented to State Governments/ Union Territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performance in their respective fields. The awardees were chosen on the basis of several parameters including tourist traffic and efforts undertaken to make the state tourist friendly. The awards are given to encourage healthy competition with an aim ... Read more

India has taken great strides forward in the field of tourism during the last four years of the Government and added that tourism, today, is the cornerstone of the Indian economy, as it is a major source of employment and foreign exchange, and in order to tap the full potential of this sector, industry has to join hands, said K J Alphons, Union Minister for State for Tourism.  The minister was addressing a gathering after distributing the National Tourism Awards in Delhi. Congratulating the awardees, K J Alphons also shared the concern that the tourism sector needs to improve its ... Read more

On the event of World Tourism Day – 27th September 2018- Pondicherry University organizes a workshop on ‘Tourism and the Digital Transformation’. Professor Gurmeet Singh, University Vice Chancellor, will open the event at the School of Management, Pondicherry . P Parthiban, Tourism Secretary, M Nanda Kumar, President, CII-Pondicherry and other industry leaders have participated in the event. “The workshop will serve as a platform for discussing various issues and challenges for the tourism industry,” S K Swain, Head of Department of Tourism Studies. Events had commenced on September 14 with an interaction with school students at Bharati Park as part ... Read more

Cochin International Airport Ltd was presented with UN’s highest environmental prize the ‘Champions of Earth-2018’ at a grand ceremony held at New York on the side line of the 73rd General Assembly of United Nations on 26th September 2018.  V J Kurian, Managing Director of CIAL, who pioneered the idea of making the airport a world’s first fully powered by solar energy, received the renowned prize from Sathyapal Thripati, Assistant Secretary of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) “Cochin International Airport took home the award for Entrepreneurial Vision category, for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy. Cochin is showing ... Read more

Vivek Lokur Vivek Lokur, a cyclist from Maharashtra has set off for an expedition on Tuesday, 25th September 2018, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to spread a positive message about Kashmir among tourists in the country. The event was flagged off by Tasaduq Jeelani, Tourism Director of Kashmir. “Vivek will work as an ambassador of Kashmir and spread the message that Kashmir is a safe place for travellers,” said Jeelani “We welcome such sports enthusiasts here and will provide them all assistance so as to facilitate their expeditions,” he added. Vivek, who works as an insurance company, said he chose to ... Read more

Chief Minister Biplav Kumar Deb launches the new logo of Tripura Tourism (Photo Courtesy: The Telegraph) Biplab Kumar Deb, Chief Minister of Tripura has launched a new logo for the Tripura Tourism Development Corporation on Tuesday, 25th September 2018. The logo was designed by a final-year computer science engineering student – Debaditya Bhowmik- at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala. The logo contain the historical and cultural places and icons of Tripura like images of a spectacled monkey, famous historical tourist spots Unakoti, Tripura Sundari temple, the queen pineapple and the image of an indigenous woman. “Tripura has a large ... Read more

Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India, said that India’s rich cultural, historical, religious and natural heritage provides a huge potential for development of tourism and creation of employment opportunities. He was inaugurating the Indian Culinary Institute at Tirupati, near the Renigunta airport on Monday, 25th September 2018. While talking about our culinary traditions of the country, he said no foreign culinary skills could beat India’s traditional and ancient practices as it was a combination of traditions and skills. He reiterated the need of branding of indigenous varieties to the world. “Encouraging the younger generation to take up traditional Indian culinary studies, ... Read more

The Tourism department of Odisha is undertaking to take a pledge to make a Odisha plastic free on the World Tourism Day, which is falling on 27th September 2018.  It was decided on in a review meeting to plan various activities to celebrate the forthcoming World Tourism Day. 27th September of each year is celebrated all over the world as World Tourism Day as per the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) directive. The theme of this year’s Tourism Day  is ‘Tourism and Digital Transformation’. A Tourism Walk will be organized, which will start from Kalinga Stadium and will conclude ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: NewsX on Monday 24th September 201. Pakyong Airport, spread across 201 acres, is the 100th Airport in the country. The high-altitude airport (1,120 m from seal level) is also strategically important from the defence point of view as it is within 60 km of the border with China. In his inaugural address, PM Modi told people gathered at Pakyong airport that the emphasis is on enhancing infrastructural and emotional connectivity in the north eastern region. Construction of the Pakyong Greenfield Airport was started in 2008 at an estimated cost of Rs 254 crore. Work on the project got ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first airport in Sikkim at Paykong on September 24 and is expected to improve connectivity, benefitting the people of the state. “In Sikkim, I will be inaugurating the Pakyong Airport tomorrow, which will improve connectivity and benefit the people of Sikkim,” Prime Minister tweeted today. Sikkim’s dream of having an airport is fulfilling after 9 years. The foundation stone of the greenfield airport was laid, around 33 km from Gangtok, in 2009. The Pakyong airport is spread over 201 acres and is located on top of a hill about two km above Pakyong ... Read more

The celebration of ParyatanParv from 16th to 27th September 2018, organized by the Ministry of Tourism has reached a high note with a series of activities and events being held across the country. The events with an aim to sensitize people about Sustainable Tourism, Swachhta, and to promote tourism were organized in collaboration with the India Tourism domestic offices, Central / State Government organizations and other Stakeholders. Let’s have a look at the different cultural/art performances and other activities held as part of the Paryatan Parv celebrations. Kathakali performance, Kerala Terah Taal Dance, Rajasthan Heritage walk at Qutub Shahi Tombs, ... Read more

Photo Courtesy-sangaimoonlightcamping Manipur Tourism has organized a seminar on Homestays & Sustainable Tourism as a part of ‘Paryatan Parv 2018’ celebrations, at Sangai Hall, Hotel Imphal. “The department is in the process of preparing guidelines of home stay for the state in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Tourism. We are also planning to provide training to the registered home stay owners and conduct district-wise awareness drive regarding the importance of homestay development to the public,” said W Ibohal Singh, Director, Manipur Tourism in his welcome address. “Knowing the purpose of the visit of a tourist is very important ... Read more

Jharsuguda airport, Odisha Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new airport in Jharsuguda, named after freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. The first flight took off from the airport today with 10 passengers, including four differently abled children and three crew members (a pilot, an assistant pilot and a flight attendant). The Air Odisha plane flew to Raipur minutes after the inauguration function. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier wrote to the Union Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, requesting him to name the Jharsuguda airport after the freedom fighter, who hails from the region. Veer Surendra Sai Airport is the second operational ... Read more