Category: India

Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tourism and cultural affairs minister of Punjab has finalised a plan to develop Virasat-e-Khalsa, a museum of the Sikhs. The proposal was announced on 20th July, which will make the Virasat a ‘strategic tourist spot’ in the state. It also propose to improve the basic amenities and infrastructure at Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of Khalsa. “Since Virasat-e-Khalsa is attracting a number of tourists every year, it is high time to develop tented accommodation, budget hotels, food courts and souvenir shops in its vicinity,” said Sidhu, who was presiding over a meeting of Anandpur Sahib Foundation. “The Union ... Read more

The West Bengal government is renovating around 25 state-owned tourist lodges to make them three-star properties. It is a significant move from the affordability archetype for tourist accommodation run by the former government to one of ensuring luxury.   The estimated cost of the project is Rs 100 crore. “The room tariff will likely to increase when these lodges reopen in three months,” said Atri Bhattacharya, principal secretary in the Department of Tourism. The move is aiming at expanding clientele in the state-owned lodges. Currently, the tourists looking for luxury prefer to stay in expensive private hotels. Though there will ... Read more

Aiming at making the tourist destinations in the district clean and presentable, the District Magistrate, East Khasi Hills has issued an order prohibiting the use of polythene bags with a thickness of less than 40 microns in the district. The objective is to restraint the spread of plastic wastes in all tourist destinations in the district. This order comes into force with immediate effect. The order has been issued in the light of reports received from different sectors that indiscriminate disposal of used plastic in various forms is profusely taking place in tourist spots within the district. Accumulation of plastic ... Read more

WhatsApp has said its users in India will not be allowed to forward more than five chats at once. It also said that the company will remove the quick forward button that appears next to media messages, as part of its efforts to reduce circulation of fake messages on the platform that have even incited mob lynching incidents. In a blog post, WhatsApp noted that its users in India “forward more messages, photos, and videos, than any other country in the world”. The Facebook-owned company has over one billion users globally, of which over 200 million are in India. “Today, ... Read more

Lakshadweep is planning to open its doors for tourism. The authorities have decided to invite investors to strengthen the tourism sector in the islands, while protecting the ecology and inhabitants of the islands. Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal A B told reporters in Kochi on Wednesday that several tourism projects for the union territory were under consideration. Until recently, Lakshadweep did not seriously consider tourism as revenue generating sector. There has not been any tourism policy for the Union Territory. Now a tourism policy will be formulated as per the report of Justice Raveendran Committee. “Once monsoon season ends, we will come ... Read more

Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) has organized a training programme on homestay tourism on Wednesday, 18th July 2018, for the women in Meghalaya with the supportof the National Commission for Woman (NCW) “The purpose of the programme was to promote women entrepreneurship in home-stay tourism,” said Theilin Phanbuh, the Chairperson of MSCW. “Tourism is one sector that offers immense potential, especially in Meghalaya with its natural scenic beauty,” she added. She also expressed hope that more women will come up and make use of this opportunity which would help them to generate income, when the unemployment rate in the ... Read more

Nithin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, said  that discussion are on with Singapore to develop cruise tourism at various locations in India. “We are keen on promoting cruise tourism on a mega-scale in the country. Mumbai alone is expected to have 950 cruise vessels in the coming five years,” added the minister who was addressing the delegation from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in Delhi on 18th July 2018. “Around one lakh Indians visit Singapore every year for cruise tourism. We have large scope for developing cruise tourism in India, with our 7,500 kilometers ... Read more

Lake Palace, Udaipur Udaipur has been voted as the favorite city in Asia by the readers of Travel + Leisure readers at the 2018 World’s Best Awards. Every year for the World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Readers rated cities on their sights and landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping, and overall value. Udaipur, known as the City of Lakes, is located around azure water lakes and is hemmed in by lush green hills of Aravallis. The ... Read more

Flipkart has announced the addition of two new tabs to its mobile application: Recharges and Travel – Flights. The online retailer has partnered with payments platform, PhonePe to enable customers to recharge their phones through its website, while for air ticket booking, it has partnered MakeMyTrip. Flipkart is offering a 25 per cent instant discount on phone recharges subject to a maximum discount of Rs 50 as an introductory offer. Customers can also avail a discount of up to Rs 1,500 on flight tickets booked using select debit/credit cards and via net banking. The offer on flights is applicable until July ... Read more

The Government of India has announced a three-year visa for Bangladeshi students who are willing to study in the country under a newly signed bilateral agreement. The students will immediately get a minimum three-year visa, said Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Shringla said Bangladeshi students wishing to study in India and their parents will get three-year visas immediately after their enrollments. A good number of Bangladeshi students take admissions in Indian universities every year for studies at different levels and in varied courses. “India is an important destination for higher education. It has more than 800 universities and 3,800 ... Read more

The Uttarakhand government is all set to launch a special bus services in 13 districts for tourists to enjoy vibrant Pahari folk arts and traditions and places of cultural attractions including castles, temples and archaeological sites dotting the picturesque Himalayan landscape. Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said, “The local youth, who will be trained as guides, will explain the tourists about the locations as well the folklore associated with them. Moreover, the tourists will have a chance to experience the local culinary traditions and enjoy ‘Garhwali cuisines’, popular for their unique tastes”. The minister is optimistic that the tales associated to ... Read more

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s announcement of imposing fines for those who drink in public and littering public places is welcomed by the Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar. He further urged tourists to abstain from misbehaving with women under the influence of alcohol. It was on Monday, Parrikar had announced that from August 15 those who drink alcohol in public would be fined Rs 2,500. People found littering would also face sheer fines. A notification in this regard would be issued shortly, he said. Ajgaonkar rejected the possible shortfall in the inflow of tourists to Goa due to the fine. Instead, ... Read more

The state tourism board of Madhya Pradesh is organizing a three day adventure tourism event in Bhopal in collaboration with Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOPA) and international partner Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) from 3rd to 5th December. While addressing the gathering at the curtain raiser programme of the event in Bhopal on Monday, Tourism Minister Surendra Patwa said it is the responsibility of the government to conduct the event successfully. “The event named ‘Adventure Next’ is considered to be a recognition for the state, as ATTA has selected it to organize its first event,” said Hariranjan Rao, ... Read more

Malshej Ghat Expecting a heavy tourist inflow during the monsoon season, the Maharashtra Tourism Department has issued strict advisories to district collectors to identify a list of “vulnerable” spots and take precautionary measures to avoid unfortunate incidents. Joint Managing Director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), Ashutosh Rathod,  told the media that state Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal had instructed district collectors to enhance security measures after identifying the spots at risk. Matheran Waterfalls Bookings are almost full at several destinations including Malshej, Bhandardhara, Matheran, Karla and other MTDC resorts and most of the tourists are interested in wildlife sanctuaries or climbing ... Read more

With an aim to attract the leisure travellers out of India, Vistara plans to connect Sri Lanka and Maldives from Delhi and Thailand from Delhi and Kolkata before October this year. Vistara has applied to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for permissions to launch flights to connect these destinations. The airline plans to connect destinations in Bangladesh, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to Delhi and Singapore to Pune in the next phase. The new services will be through an Airbus 320 family aircraft. Vistara has announced firm orders for 13 Airbus A-320 Neo family and 6 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft worth ... Read more