Category: News

Captain Swadesh Kumar, Managing Director, Shikhar Travels India, has been re-elected as President of Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) for 2019-2021. Sanjay Basu, Managing Director, Far Horizon Tours, has been elected as the Senior Vice President; Tejbir Singh Anand, Managing Director, Holiday Moods Adventures as the Vice President; Vaibhav Kala, Founder, Aquaterra Adventures, as the Treasurer and Vinayak Koul, Director, Snow Lion Expeditions as the new Secretary. The elected Executive Committee members are Akshay Kumar, CEO, Mercury Himalayan Exploration; Ajeet Bajaj, Managing Director, Snow Leopard Adventures; Rajesh Ojha, Co-founder, Banjara Camps and Retreats; Ravi S Kalra, Managing Director, ... Read more

Twenty-six travel bloggers from across the globe began a fortnight’s trip across Kerala from Kochi on March 21, 2019. The sixth edition of the ‘Kerala Blog Express’ (KBE) was flagged off by Rani George, Secretary, Kerala Tourism at the Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolghatty. The Blog Express had its first halt at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, where the prominent social media influencers from 21 countries took a round of India’s biggest contemporary art festival. The Blog Express this time has a stronger representation from Latin American countries with 16 of its 26 bloggers being women. The journey facilitates the visitors to write and post ... Read more

Emirates has announced that it will increase the frequency of flights between Dubai and Cairo, adding four additional flights a week to its existing thrice-daily service, starting 28 October, 2019. The four new flights operating on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, will take the total number of weekly Emirates flights serving Cairo to 25. “Cairo is a very popular destination for both business and leisure travellers, and the additional flights will provide our customers with greater flexibility in their travel choices, and allow seamless connectivity to Emirates’ vast global network. There is a clear demand for our award-winning products and ... Read more

The new civil terminal at Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad is likely to start operations by April-end. The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, Hindon Airbase is located at a distance of 40 kms from Indira Gandhi International Airport and the airport has been developed for the operation of RCS flights at the cost of Rs 40 crore. This Civil Enclave will be connected to Jamnagar, Shimla, Kalaburgi, Kannur, Faizabad, Nasik, Hubli and Pithoragarh under RCS – UDAN. The development of new civil enclave at Hindon Airport will take the load off from Delhi`s IGI Airport and will also serve ... Read more

Rain Room is now permanently and exclusively housed in the Middle East through the efforts of Sharjah Art Foundation. Rain Room, an installation by Random International in Sharjah, immerses visitors in continuous rainfall! When visitors enter the room, they are directed to navigate intuitively and carefully through the dark underground space in order to protect themselves from the downpour. As the visitors walk through the room, which uses 1,200 liters of self-cleaning, recycled water, their movements trigger motion sensors that pause the rainfall when detecting movement. Founded in 2005, Random International is a London-based collaborative studio for experimental and digital practice ... Read more

Petra, Jordan The Petra Archeological Park has been selected by the Green Destinations Foundation as one of the Top 100 Sustainable Destinations for 2019 at ITB Berlin 2019. The event, the 2019 Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards, not only highlights but also recognizes innovation and best practices in tourism management of destinations and tour operators whose hard work and perseverance has helped lead the way towards quality, attractiveness, and sustainability in tourism. The competition was organized by twelve leading sustainable tourism organizations and networks, and destinations were nominated upon submitting a comprehensive application that addresses 30 key criteria. Applications were ... Read more

Jordan Tourism Board has been recognized by Expedia Group Media Solutions, the digital advertising organization of Expedia Group, as a winner for ‘Middle Eastern Campaign of the Year’ category. Presented at ITB Berlin, Europe’s largest travel trade show, Expedia Group Media Solutions’ annual partner awards recognize partner campaigns that demonstrate innovation, creativity and achievement in travel marketing. The Jordan Tourism Board leveraged its strong relationship with Expedia Group Media Solutions to promote new Ryanair flight routes from 10 different Eastern European countries, including Belgium, Greece and Romania. Routes to Amman and Aqaba were promoted on Hotels.com in these locations, resulting ... Read more

Marriott International has opened Four Points by Sheraton Setif in Algeria, in partnership with Prombati SPA owned by Rachid Khenfri. With 191 rooms the hotel is conveniently situated in the centre of the city, providing easy access to Setif’s new tram line and Setif International Airport just 20 minutes’ drive away. The modern hotel towers high above the city and is situated in one of the most desirable areas in Setif which is steeped in history and surrounded by national landmarks dating back to the Berber Kingdom and the Roman Empire. “Four Points by Sheraton Setif is Marriott International’s ninth property ... Read more

Amit Mathuri has joined as Operations Manager at The Fern Kesarval Hotel & Spa, Verna Plateau-Goa. He has been in the hotel industry for over a decade. Before joining The Fern Kesarval he was working with The Fern, Goregaon-Mumbai. Amit has worked with various hotels like Royal Orchid-Chandigarh, The Chandigarh Ashok (ITDC)-Punjab, Kohinoor Continental-Mumbai . He has been associated with Concept Hospitality for over 5 years. His expertise lies in maintaining service standards along with achieving customer satisfaction through his team. His strength lies in planning and organising hotel operations and ensuring standard operating procedures. Mathuri is known for his ... Read more

Dubai has attracted 1.61 million international visitors in January 2019, with India being the top source market with 206,000 visitors. Total international guests shows a marginal increase with 1.61 million in 2019 compared to the 1.59 million visitors in 2018. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands second with 160,000 visitors and China stands third with 100,000 visitors. However, the number of visitors from India showed a 12 per cent decrease compared to the 2018 period. The guests’ length of stay at the emirate recorded 3.8 nights.

Vidyasagar Pandey has joined as Operations Manager at Viola Beacon Hotel Resort, Lonavala, Before joining Viola Beacon, he was associated with The Fern Hillside Resort, Bhimtal (Nainital). Vidyasagar carries over 20 years of experience having worked with many hospitality groups in India. His earlier associations have been with Lords Hotels & Resorts and Sarovar Group of Hotels. He has also worked with Best Western Ranbanka – A Heritage Hotel – Jodhpur, Ambrosia – A Unique Food and Beverage Gallery, and Hotel Kailash Parbat – Lonavala. A hotel management graduate, Vidyasagar carries a rich and diverse experience and has worked under ... Read more

Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) has launched its global advertising campaign film that will be showcased across traditional and digital mediums in the India market. The film is a first of its kind initiative of Seychelles Tourism Board, India Office and is directed and developed by digital content creators –TheVibe. The film captures the essence of Seychelles and highlights diverse aspects of the destination. Seychelles being a popular destination for island hopping, the video begins with mesmerizing aerial views of the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and highlighting the world’s most photographed beach Anse Source D’Argent known for ... Read more

UAE and Colombia have signed an agreement on the mutual exemption of prior visa requirements for ordinary passport holders from both countries. The agreement was signed by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Luz Stella Jara Portilla, Vice Minister of Foreign Relations of Colombia, following their meeting as part of Sheikh Abdullah’s visit to Colombia. “Relations between the two countries are steadily growing at all fronts, including trade, investment and cultural ties. Our relations could expand further to include cooperation in the fields of food security, services and tourism,” said Sheikh Abdullah. “There ... Read more

Thanks to the liberalisation of the visa policy, India has managed to jump to the 66th rank on the list from 77th in 2015.  and the improvement has been due to liberalisation  and several other measures. India’s passport power has improved by 11 ranks in the last four years whereas United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become number one in the ranking, replacing Singapore. China, on the other hand, ranks just nine levels above India, with 57th rank. The ranking by Arton Capital Passport Index (APCI), an online tool which collects and displays the ranks of passports of the world, to various passports is given ... Read more

Buddha Air, Nepal’s leading private air service provider, will operate flights to Kolkata from May-end this year. Buddha Air will operate its flights to Kolkata with the ATR 72-500 aircraft on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week. The airlines had earlier planned to start flights to the eastern Indian city from mid-April. However, it changed its flight dates considering upcoming Indian parliamentary elections. “Although the date of the flights has been changed due to the elections, the flight schedule remains unchanged,” said a media statement issued by the Buddha Air. Source: Himalayan Times