Category: India

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and Mizoram government have entered into an agreement to boost investment and develop tourism in the northeastern state. “The tourism and agro-market potential of the state were worth exploring, for which more states like Maharashtra and corporate houses can help. The best practices of cooperative societies in Maharashtra could be emulated to move away from subsistence farming to a more profitable commercial one,” said Mizoram Governor Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma (retd).  The Governor also laid emphasis on roping in film makers and producers to explore the pristine nature of the state and involvement of the community while ... Read more

Foreigners touring India need not go to the Foreigners Registration Office/Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRO/FRRO) in person to registration or visa extension services, as it is from now onwards, can be done online through an e-FRRO platform. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the web-based application e-FRRO scheme aimed at providing fast and efficient visa-related services online to visitors to India. The scheme has already been implemented and is running successfully as a pilot project in four FRROs in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai since February 12. Now it has been rolled out in the remaining eight FRROs — Kolkata, Amritsar, ... Read more

The much-awaited 2018 edition of Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) is about to hit the Pink City, which is also known as the Paris of India. Regarded as the biggest travel and tourism event held annually in India, FICCI GITB is expected to add another feather in the cap of this historical city by turning it into a tourism hub. Jaipur’s growing reputation as a tourism hotspot, speaks volumes for its chances of becoming a heritage centre in India and its suitability to host an event for the tourism players across the world to chart new growth strategies and discuss ... Read more

Philippine Airlines (PAL), the flag carrier of Philippines, has appointed Bird Travels Private Ltd, the Airline Management Services arm of Bird Group, as its local representative in India. The association marks the airline’s latest step in developing its sales distribution network within the Indian market. The appointment of Bird Travels is a part of the intensive preparations undertaken by Philippine Airlines to realize its firm plans to commence operations to India by Winter 2018, the airlines said in a statement. Reinforcing the airline’s commitment and growing confidence in the market, Bird Travels is given the challenge to take responsibility for ... Read more

The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has signed an MOU with Hyderabad-based Suraas Impex for developing a mega tourism destination project at Bairav Lanka in Kakinada, East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost Rs 550 crores. This project is the first of its kind for the state-owned ITDC with any private player. Ravneet Kaur, IAS, Chairperson and Managing Director (C&MD), ITDC; Piyush Tiwari, Director (Commercial & Marketing), ITDC; and Ravi Pandit, General Manager, Ashok Consultancy & Engineering Services (ACES), ITDC as well as officers from Suraas Impex were present at the ... Read more

Sri Devi bags the National Award for Best Actress and A R Rahman takes home two of the awards for the best music director and best background score. Malayalam films including ‘Bhayanakam’ and ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’ has bagged ten awards in total in the 65th National Film Awards declared today. The List of winners:  Dada Saheb Phalke Award: Vinod Khanna Best Director Award: Jayraj for Bhayanakam Best Book on Cinema: First book on Manipuri films. This is the first time that a book on Manipuri Films has got award Best Film Critic: Giridhar Jha Special Mention for Film Criticism: Sunil Mishra of ... Read more

With an aim to attract more tourists from Buddhist countries like that of Japan, the Indian Tourism Ministry is planning to promote Buddhist tourism. The country is organizing international Buddhist conclave every other year and is also aggressively developing Buddhist Circuit, which connects key places associated with the religion’s heritage.   “We are receiving a minuscule number of Buddhist tourists – just 0.005 per cent of the total Buddhist population in the world despite being a key pilgrimage destination for millions of practicing Buddhists around the world,” said Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. “The idea is, even if we are ... Read more

At least 12 people died in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur and Dholpur districts after heavy rain lashed the areas. Five children were among those who died in Dholpur, as per the reports. The administration said the toll may go up. Most of these deaths were reportedly happened due to collapse of houses in the storm. At most of the places victims were sleeping, said an official from the district administration. The heavy rainfall snapped power lines in many areas, leading to outages or fire due to short circuit. Several main streets were waterlogged and traffic and railway lines were affected. The Dholpur-Bharatpur ... Read more

Saraf Hotel Enterprises has announced the launch of its luxurious five-star beach resort in South Goa. Located right on the Benaulim beach, the resort offers unparalleled views of the Goa shoreline. Azaya Beach Resort offers 114 impeccably designed rooms and suites, out of which 38 rooms feature private plunge pools and a sea facing suite. The resort is exclusively designed to provide a luxurious yet a fuss-free and contemporary experience. “Azaya Beach Resort, with its location, aesthetic design and the luxury of personalized experience to the world travellers, will spark timeless memories. Life is all about the memories we make ... Read more

Many of the picturesque destinations of Jharkhand will soon be on film, as the state tourism department feels it will help prospective visitors make up their minds to select their choice of place to visit when they plan their vacation. The State tourism department has started the process of empanelling a private agency to make the films that would not only be exhibited at national and international travel marts, but also be uploaded onto the department’s website. “The objective is to promote the famous and lesser known tourism destinations of the state through video films. As of now, we can only ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off new bi-weekly all electric Humsafar Express connecting Katihar to New Delhi. The PM has arrived in Bihar to address “Swachchh Bharat Mission” volunteers as part of the concluding celebration of Champaran Satyagraha centenary launched by the Bihar Government in April last year. The country’s first all-electric high speed locomotive is made with the help of a French company under Make-In-India Project at Madhepura Rail Loco factory in Bihar. The first engine to be rolled out from the factory has 12000 HP capacity, more than double of existing locomotives and capable of pulling along ... Read more

The Haryana government said it is planning to strengthen its infrastructure to promote religious tourism related to Kurukshetra. The Haryana Tourism Department is reported to have decided to spend Rs 38.31 crore on the beautification of ‘Brahm Sarover’ and Rs 32.33 crore on ‘Jyotisar’ under various schemes. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the central government, an amount of Rs 97.34 crore had been allocated for the ‘Sri Krishna Circuit’ out of which Rs 32 crore had been spent on the development of Brahma Sarovar, Jyotisar, Narkaataari, Sanniihit Sarovar and beautification of the Kurukshetra city. Apart from the said works, ... Read more

Darma valley in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district has been a quaint, small village town unnoticed by travel buffs. Now, it is abuzz with tourists and so as the homestays in the town. About 125 families in the valley are now providing homestay facilities to visitors. Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), a state government undertaking, is giving them training and ensured sanitation facilities for the guests. Drama, Vyans, Chaundas and Johar are the four tribal valleys, of which Vyans and Johar valleys have been promoted as tourist destinations. Homestay tourist facilities have been developed on Munsiyari-Milam track route in Johar valley, and on Chota ... Read more

Rajasthan tourism marks a remarkable increase in tourist arrival, as in 2017 around 475.27 lakh, tourists visited the state which is higher in number when compared with the previous statistics. Around 16.10 lakhs arrivals, out of the total number were foreign tourists with the other half being domestic tourists. More foreign tourists are getting attracted to the state, which is filled with rich heritage and history in the form of forts, arts, festivals and architecture. The data further reveals that most of the foreign arrivals were reported from France 2.02 lakh, followed by the United Kingdom 1.56 lakh and USA’s ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: smithsoniamag The special train for women passengers on the Delhi-Panipat section would be restarted soon, said Haryana Women and Child Development Minister Kavita Jain. The minister said that the move to restart the train is after observing a large number of women commute between Delhi and Panipat daily. The train is likely to be restarted within the next three to four days. “The train service was stopped due to some difficulties which has caused a lot of resentment among women passengers who faced commuting problems,” Jain said. The minister sought the intervention of Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and suggested ... Read more