Category: India

Music pillars of Hampi, Karnataka Ministry of Tourism has identified 17 sites in 12 clusters in the country for development under Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project, pursuant to Budget Announcements of 2018-19. The seventeen sites are: Uttar Pradesh- TajMahal & Fatehpur Sikri; Maharashtra- Ajanta & Ellora; Delhi- Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort & Qutub Minar; Goa- Colva beach; Rajasthan- Amer Fort; Gujarat- Somnath & Dholavira; Madhya Pradesh- Khajuraho; Karnataka- Hampi; Tamil Nadu- Mahabalipuram; Assam- Kaziranga; Kerala- Kumarakom; Bihar- Mahabodhi. “The Ministry shall be developing the above sites in a holistic manner with focus on issues concerning connectivity to the destination, better ... Read more

The holy annual Amarnath Yatra has been suspended on Baltal route due to inclement weather conditions. The route of Amarnath Yatra from Baltal has become slippery and muddy due to continuous rain last night. The yatra on Phalgam route, however, is unaffected and is going on as per schedule. An organization providing free food, night shelter and blankets to the Amarnath yatra pilgrims suggested to Shrine board headed by Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra, the Shri Amarnathji Barfani Langer Organisation, to limit the annual pilgrimage to 30 days. The 60-day long annual yatra to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in ... Read more

The Mumbai-Goa cruise ferry service, which is set to start after the monsoon, will also have its halts in towns like Ratnagiri, Malvan, Vijaydurg and Raigad. The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), the executing authority of the project has already appointed an operator who will run the cruise services. Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) is currently working on the feasibility of having additional jetties for the cruise service. “The jetties can be used by all the vessels, and are being constructed as part of coastal tourism plan which means it will also boost tourist activities in the Konkan region. The jetties are ... Read more

Anjnapura Dam, Shikaripur, Shimoga District, Karnataka The Anjanapura dam garden in the Shikaripur Taluk of Shimoga to become one the favourite tourist attractions of Karnataka in the coming days. The dam was declared a public tourist place only recently.  The State government had sanctioned Rs 6 crore to develop a garden in the vicinity of the dam area. Cement sculptures of Dollu Kunitha artistes at Anjanapura dam garden (Photo Courtesy: Hindu) The garden will be set up on a 6.5 acre land and has extensive lawns, a music fountain, pergola, walking path and fruit-bearing trees. The Esur freedom struggle – ... Read more

Minister of Tourism for Government of Uttarakhand, Satpal Maharaj has sought support of Central Tourism Ministry to develop new tourism circuits around Buddhist travel and destinations associated with Ramayana and Mahabharata in the state. Satpal Maharaj called on Union Tourism Minister, KJ Alphons in Delhi to seek support for the state and thank him for financial support of Rs 85 crore under Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD which are currently under progress in the state. Maharaj said that projects worth Rs 65 crore have already been completed in the state. The minister said that a marathon meeting is being scheduled in ... Read more

As per the first six months’ reports of 2018 by the Immigration Department of Nepal, almost one lakh Indians visited the Himalayan Nation, out of the total 5,20,000 foreign tourists. Chinese came second with 71,379 visitors, while US became third 43,816 visitors during the six months. The total number of foreign visitors during this period shows an increase of 13 per cent, when compared to the same period in the previous year. Other foreigners who visited Nepal were from South Asia and European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden etc. “The number of foreign ... Read more

At a time when most of the states are taking the help of private channels and medium to promote their destination, Meghalaya is all set to tie up with the national channel Doordarshan to promote tourist places and cultural centres in the state. Following the unrest in the city last month over the Sweepers’ Lane issue, the state highly need a promotion about the destination at different levels. “We lost many tourists in June due to the unrest and we want to make up for the losses,” said Metbah Lyngdoh, Tourism Minister. The minister, along with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma ... Read more

Pachmarhi – Pandava Caves This year’s monsoon season has been in favour of the tourism industry of Madhya Pradesh. As per Hariranjan Rao, Principal Secretary, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC), there has been an increase of 15 per cent in hotel bookings in this season. Other than the favourite Pachmarhi, tourists are opting for other destinations like Raneh falls in Chhatarpur, Patalpani and Mandu in Indore etc. “Most of the hotels remain packed at weekends since the beginning of the monsoon the average occupancy of MPSTDC properties shown about 65 per cent,” said Rao. Rane Falls Earlier, the ... Read more

Inland Waterways Authority of India is planning to construct a Rs 169.59 crore multi-modal terminal (MMT) at Varanasi. The MMT built under Jal Marg Vikas project is set to be completed by November 2018, which would be a major landmark for the project. The construction of the Rs 280. 90 crore MMT at Sahibganj is to be completed by May 2019, and the one at Haldia, being constructed at a cost of Rs 517.36 crore, is scheduled to be completed by December 2019. Jal Marg Vikas is a Rs 5,369 crore World Bank aided project on National Waterway 1 (River ... Read more

Considering the footfall of tourists, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department (APTD) is expecting one lakh room accommodation will be required by 2025. Andhra Pradesh has been actively promoting and exploring the possibilities of tourism in the state since the bifurcation. With APTD being aggressively marketing the tourism activities, the state climbed from fifth place to third this year. “About nine crore tourists visited the state in 2014 and it has now reached 15.37 crore in the state,” said Mukhesh Kumar Meena, Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department. Andhra Pradesh, with about 975-km long coastline with plenty of tourist attractions, is aiming to reach number ... Read more

Well-known for its state-of-the-art passenger-friendly amenities, the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, came fist in the quarterly ACI-ASQ Arrival Survey. The airport is operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), In the survey conducted by Airports Council International’s Airport Service Quality survey for arrivals during April-June 2018, Bengaluru Airport gained 4.67 points (out of five). Abu Dhabi International Airport was second with 4.53 points, while Toronto Pearson International Airport was third with 4.44 points. First-of-this-kind, the survey focuses on the experience of arriving passengers – helping airports measure, benchmark and enhance service quality levels. Bengaluru Airport is the only Indian airport ... Read more

Jog Falls Unlike the monsoon seasons earlier, this year the tourism sector of Karnataka is experiencing a boom, instead of shortfall in the number of tourists. Incessant rains these days have revived the rivers and waterfalls, which lure a number of tourists during this off season. “Earlier, June and July were considered off-season. Now there is a change in the trend. People like to travel during monsoon. Our properties, especially opposite Jog Falls have seen 90-95 percent booking during this time, which is unlikely,” said Kumar Pushkar, Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC). Other than Jog Falls, Madikeri ... Read more

S K Mishra, Chairman, ITRHD with Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting “Conservation of rural heritage will help to promote tourism and development in rural India,” said Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. He was speaking at the inauguration function of the seventh Annual General Body Meeting of the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development (ITRHD). He lauded the conservation efforts of ITRHD, which is devoted to the preservation of Indian heritage and culture in rural India. Khare highlighted the ITRHD’s conservation works of 17th -19th century village of terracotta temples in Maluti, Jharkhand. He said such conservation efforts will help not ... Read more

Rock Beach Seven beaches in Puducherry will have a face-lift with an estimated cost of Rs  44.07 crore. It was informed in the Assembly by the Health and Tourism Minister Malladi Krishna Rao. The works are about to complete in March 2019. He further stated that the development of the heritage area in Puducherry was in progress at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore and would be completed by December 2018. Promenade Beach Works are going on to develop two temples and a spiritual park at Thirunallar in Karaikal. The Kirumampakkam lake would be developed as a tourist destination ... Read more

Giving a much needed relief to the tourism sector, the GST Council has slashed the rates as per the demands of the industry. The GST of those hotels which has tariff rates upto Rs 7500 is reduced to 18 per cent. For hotels with the tariff rate of Rs 7500 plus, the GST will remain as 28 per cent. The council also decided that GST for hotels to be charged on the actual price that the customer pays and not on the declared tariffs. The GST Council in its 28th meeting, chaired by interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, has decided ... Read more