Category: India

UBM India has successfully conducted its first food and hospitality show, Food and Hotel India Expo (FHIn) at the Sahara Star in Mumbai. The inauguration of the preview expo was marked by the presence of  Param Kannampilly, Chairman and Managing Director, Concept Hospitality; Manjit Singh Gill- Corporate Chef, ITC & President IFCA; ernon Cohelo – Chef, President WICA; Thomas Schlitt, Managing Director, Messe Dusseldorf India; Paul March, Managing Director, UBM AllWorld; Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India and Abhijit Mukherjee, Group Director, UBM India amidst an industry gathering. The show featured top-tier category of over 20 market leading food and ... Read more

The union ministry is planning to make the Sambhar Lake in Rajastan the world’s first ‘Salt Tourism’ site. Under the ‘Swadesh Darshan’ programme, the ministry prepared a number of programmed to develop the lake as a sought after tourist destination. Located 96 km southwest of the city of Jaipur and 64 km northeast of Ajmer along National Highway 8 in Rajasthan, Sambhar is the largest inland salt water lake in India. At the lake, the tourists can witness the traditional way of salt making. There will also be a heritage train for the visitors to enjoy. Another attraction at the ... Read more

Happy news for people of Trivandrum!. Budget airlines, AirAsia and GoAir to start operations from Trivandrum. The airlines have expressed interest in starting domestic service from Trivandrum International Airport. Air Asia will start services to Bengaluru, while Go Air will have daily flights to Mumbai. Currently, Air Asia do not have service from Trivandrum. However, they had operated from Trivandrum during the floods, when Kochi International Airport was temporary closed. Go Air is the 5th largest airline operating in India. Meanwhile, joint venture of Singapore Airline and Tata Sons, Vistara Airlines, has also expressed interest to have flights to Chennai ... Read more

Tourism Australia has launched a new tourism promotion campaign in India and South East Asia, targeting high value travellers in India, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The latest chapter in Tourism Australia’s evolving There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign, UnDiscover Australia, challenges perceptions and stereotypes of what Australia offers as a tourism destination by showcasing unusual, unfamiliar and unexpected attractions and experiences. The campaign is being backed by Australia’s state and territory tourism organisations, airlines, and a range of other key distribution partners. India is currently Australia’s fastest growing market for arrivals and spend, achieving a fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth. ... Read more

Tour operators in the country should tap the full tourism potential of the country and also special focus was needed to bring in more Chinese tourists, said Union Tourism Minister for State (I/C), K J Alphons. The minister was addressing the gathering at the inauguration of 34th IATO annual convention held at Novotel Hotel in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The minister also suggested that IATO be renamed Indian Association of Tour Ambassadors. “Though we have taken special measures to attract Chinese tourists to the country, only 2.47 lakh Chinese tourists visited India in 2017. I request IATO to play a major role ... Read more

The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu is going to open its buffer zone for tourists. As per the Forest Department, the procedures are in final stage. Once the buffer zone is opened for tourists, the authorities expect to generate around 200 job opportunities in the reserve. The department is planning to formulate Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) in the region, in order to elicit active co-operation from the people residing on the peripheries of the reserve and to ensure their mutual commitment in conservation works. Members of the EDCs will Engage in protection works such as Anti-poaching watchers (APWs), ... Read more

Kashmir tourism department is planning to have country wide promotion campaigns in association with the private sector. In the first phase, attracting more south Indian tourists will be in focus. “We have set up stall in the 34th IATO (Indian Association of Tour Operators) convention in Vishakapatnam, which started on 6th September 2018 and will have presentations about our tourist hot-spots,” said Tasaduq Jeelani, Director of Tourism, Kashmir. “There will be promotional campaigns in all major cities, with priority to south Indian cities like Chennai and Bengaluru,” he added The state has been experiencing shortfall in the tourism inflow due ... Read more

In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court today scrapped Section 377 of the IPC, decriminalising the 158-year-old colonial law which criminalises consensual gay sex. Five judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra delivered the verdict today. The judges have come out with a concurring judgment. Four judges, CJI Dipak Misra, Justices RF Nariman, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, have authored separate judgments while Justice Khanwilakar has chosen to concur with Misra. Upholding the rights of LGBTQ community, CJI Dipak Misra said autonomy, intimacy and identity of an individual are to be protected. Misra said that the LGBTQ community has ... Read more

Photo Credits: gotnewswire India and the Netherlands could join hands for promoting medical tourism in both countries. It was suggested by Shirpad Yesso Nayik, Union minister of state for Ayush, while talking in a seminar titled ‘India-Netherlands Collaboration in Healthcare, including Ayurveda, at Leiden. “India is the world’s largest producer of generic medicine and there is tremendous potential for medical value travel to India for conventional and alternative medical treatments like Ayurveda,” said the minister. Alternative medical streams in India, named Ayush, denotes to medical treatments other than allopathic such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and homeopathy. Naik reiterated the ... Read more

India is going to be ticket-less in public transport.  It was announced by Amithabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, while talking in the Future Mobility Summit-2018-India’s Move to NextGen Transport Systems, in Dehlhi. “The objective of the strategy is to plan for the citizens first, rather than focusing on vehicles alone, by providing sustainable mobility and accessibility by switching to a cleaner mode of transportation,” said Kant. “A robust transportation system is the backbone of any economy and especially for a densely populated country like India, the focus of the nation’s mobility strategy was on sustainable modes of public transport, ... Read more

Indian Blackbucks Indian Blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) is one of the three species of antelopes found in Odisha, which are in the endangered list. In order to enhance the population of the black bucks, the authorities are planning to release some of them in the Chandaka forest on city outskirts this year. Last month the authorities have sought the help of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for the population management of the antelopes.  As per the recent census the total number of blackbucks the Bhetnoi-Balipadar landscape of Ganjam district was counted to be 4,080. “The fact that the landscape of Bhetnoi ... Read more

With an aim to facilitate adventure tourism in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is in the process of framing guidelines for adventure activities being carried out by various agencies in the state. The guidelines envisage registration of the adventure tour operators, granting them proper permission for carrying out adventure activities, minimum requirements needed including equipment, safety norms, dos and don’ts for any agency to conduct such adventure activities in the state. “J&K has huge potential in adventure tourism and many domestic and international tourists visit the state for adventure activities, “but unlike other states we never had adventure ... Read more

The government of Goa has re-formed the committee to evaluate the progress of the works on preparation of a master plan and tourism policy for the state. The work has been assigned to the renowned consultants, M/s. KPMG Advisory Services Private Limited of Spain. The 12 member committee will be headed by the Tourism Secretary, with association of the Additional Secretary of Finance. The committee will also have the Managing Director of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), Member Secretary of Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), the President of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry etc. The objective of the ... Read more

Maharashtra tourism department plans to launch a web portal to provide a single source of authentic information about medical care and to eliminate hawkers and middlemen. “Maharashtra is trying to enhance its strength in the medical and wellness industry, which includes therapies like yoga, Ayurveda and meditation. The portal will include all the stakeholders in the industry like, doctors, practitioners, hospitals, spas, transport and travel agencies, service providers, bureaus providing bedside assistants for patients and even security services,” said a senior official from the state tourism department. Before implementing the program, inputs from experts in all the related sectors will ... Read more

The Union Ministry may consider reduction or waiver of GST (Goods and Service Tax) for cruise tourism service. It was announced by the Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Shipping and Highways. He was speaking at the first international conclave for global cruise tourism in India held on 30th August 2018. “The matter may be discussed in the coming GST financial meeting presided by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,” said the minister. He expressed dismay on the slow progress of cruise tourism industry in the country. He exhorted for more investment in the shipping industry. The request for reduction ... Read more