Category: India

As part the efforts to bring more tourists to the country, the government has extended e-visa facility for citizens of 165 countries. The e-visa facility is available at 25 airports and five seaports. It was informed by K J Alphons, Tourism minister, in the Lok Sabha. “Government has launched the ‘Incredible India 2.0’ campaign, indicating a shift from generic promotions to market-specific promotional plans. A 24X7 toll free multi-lingual tourist helpline has also been put in place as part of the efforts” added Alphons. To promote tourism in India, events such as ‘paryatan parv’ (tourism festival), International Buddhist Conclave and ... Read more

Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of state for shipping and finance stated that five major ports have developed to facilitate cruise tourism. “Chennai  in Tamilnadu, Mormugao in Goa, New Mangalore in Karnataka, Cochin in Kerala and Mumbai in Maharashtra are developed with dedicated cruise terminals and other related infrastructure for docking of cruise vessels and embarking and disembarking of cruise passengers,” said the minister while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Earlier, a Task Force on Cruise Tourism has been formed jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Shipping with representatives of all major ports and ... Read more

The Supreme Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to seal or close down 11 resorts and hotels constructed on the elephant corridor of Nilgiris in violation of law within 48 hours . A Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur directed the owners of the other resorts and hotels located in the area to produce their documents of approval before the Collector within 24 hours. The apex court said the Collector will verify the documents and if he arrives at the conclusion that a resort or hotel has been constructed without prior approval, the same should also be closed within ... Read more

Areal view of Aluva / Ernakulam by Indian Coastguard Team In an advisory issued by Jeevan Babu  District Collector of Idukki, on behalf of the District Disaster Management authority, tourism and operations of heavy vehicles are banned in the Idukki District, until further notice. The advisory states” As the rain is continued to be strong, there are chances of damages to the roads. Considering this, operation of tourist vehicles and heavy goods vehicles would be unsafe in this region. Therefore, as per section 34 of the Disaster Management Act 2005, the tourism and heavy goods vehicle operations in this region ... Read more

In order to have clear interpretations of the rules and regulations to follow in eco-tourism, the government is formulating a new policy to provide guidelines and norms for tourism in protected areas such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and even territorial and revenue forests. A draft policy is framed by the environment ministry in consultation with the states and it is presently with the tourism ministry for their comments. The draft also suggests the need of rules and regulations in areas such as mangroves, mudflats and wetlands. Currently, tourism activities are carried out based on management plans of ... Read more

Pootharakulu Sweet AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) is all set to prepare the largest ‘pootharekulu’, a traditional sweet from Andhra Pradesh, and set a Guinness record on Thursday. APTDC is hosting this event at the Berm Park, aiming spreading the name of the traditional sweet around the world.  The process of making the 10 meter Pootharekulu will start in the morning and go on till the evening. The entire process may take 6-8 hours. “The department was striving to give a global identity to the traditional dishes of Andhra Pradesh and unique event is part of that objective,” said Himanshu ... Read more

Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the Indian Culinary Institute on August 19 in Tirupati.  The construction of the Rs 98.6 crores ICI has been completed. Union Minister of Tourism K J Alphons will also participate in the programme. The State government has provided 14.21 acres of land for ICI near Tirupati Airport. The completed works have been visited by Visiting secretary of department of tourism Mukesh Kumar Meena, APTDC MD Himanshu Shukla and district collector P S Pradyumna. “With the expansion of tourism sector, the students who come out of ICI may get good employment opportunities,” said Mukesh Kumar.  ... Read more

IndiGo has announced the launch of 24 new flights on its network. The airline has introduced four new routes and will operate its first flight between Ahmedabad and Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad and Varanasi, Hyderabad and Patna and Kolkata and Surat. All 24 new services will commence from September 2018. IndiGo will provide a second flight in Agartala-Guwahati, Hyderabad-Guwahati and Kolkata-Nagpur routes. It is also planning to run a fourth flight between Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar and a fifth flight between Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. IndiGo has also introduced a discount offer for domestic air passengers, with tickets costing as low as `981 between ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Voice of Sikkim The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR) in Sikkim, surrounding the world’s third highest peak Mount Khanchendzonga, has been added to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves, making it the 11th biosphere in India to be included in the network. It is to be considered an opportunity for joint collaboration and conservation of biodiversity with neighbouring countries like Nepal, and Bhutan. The Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim is popular among trekking and hiking enthusiasts, is also the starting point for several stunning trails, taking explorers up and through a dizzying variety of forests and terrains to ... Read more

Renowned Saputara Mnsoon Festival has begun in Gujarat on 4th August 2018, as part of the tourism development programmes of Gujrat Tourism. The festival aims at attracting more tourists to the state during monsoon season. Saputara will adorn like bride during the festival days. There will be cultural programs every day, from 4 PM to 7 PM. Other attractions of the festival are rain dance, cartoon characters to keep kids entertained, lake lighting and fountain at Saputara Lake. Saputara, the only hill station in Gujarat, is located in located in Sahyadri Hills or Western Ghats. With its lush forests, waterfalls, ... Read more

If you have yet to book your tickets for your summer holidays, here is a chance to save some money. Dubai-based Emirates is offering discounted fares to various Asian cities. The offer is available for those who book the tickets on or before 12th August 2018. The passengers can travel until 31st October 2018 with the discounted prices. Currently Dubai to Mumbai economy ticket is priced AED. 460/- only. Dubai to Delhi is AED 500/-,  to Chennai AED 570/-, to Kochi – AED 500/-, to Thiruvananthapuram – AED 550/-, to Bengaluru – AED 560/- The rate may even be less, ... Read more

The Tourism Ministry in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) is organising the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM) from 16th to 18th September, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The objective of the event, which is well supported by all the State /UT Governments, is to create an annual Global Tourism Mart for India in line with major international travel marts being held in countries across the world. The Mart will provide a platform for all stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industries to interact and transact business opportunities. “India, with its great potential in tourism ... Read more

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) in India has seen a 14 per cent jump in 2017 as compared to 2016. The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) in the sector in 2017 was Rs 1,77,874 crore, said Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons. He said India ranks 26th in the world in arrival of global tourists and is one of the highest growing tourist economies in the world. The minister also said that there is a shortage of two lakh rooms in the tourism sector, mostly in the mid-segment. The minister said there has been a 28.8 per cent increase in domestic tourist ... Read more

The Tourism Department of Karnataka is planning to install zip-lines to come across Cauvery to attract the adventure buffs. The adventure seekers can soon enjoy zip-line rides across the Cauvery at Chunchanakatte. The installation of zip-lines will take a minimum of three months. The Tourism Department has identified Chunchanakatte waterfalls near K R Nagar as ideal for zip-lining, and is expected to begin the works post monsoon. It is expected that the zip-line will be fully operational by December. The department is planning a twin zip-line. The distance to be traversed from one side to the other will be 400 meters and the ... Read more

Lord Krishna’s childhood – in an artist’s imagination (Picture Courtesy: krishna.org) As part of the pilgrimage tourism development programme, Uttar Pradesh is building a 400 acre ‘city forest’ near Kalidah ghat in Vrindavan, which is going to be the largest park in Asia. Yogi Adityanath, The Chief Minister of UP, will lay the foundation stone of this project by the end of August and will complete within 18 months. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 150 crore, as informed by Srikant Sharma, UP government spokesperson. “The prime objective is to develop Braj, Lord Krishna’s childhood abode, same as ... Read more