Category: News

ITB Berlin 2019 with some 10,000 exhibiting companies from 181 countries and regions, has kick started today. At the ITB Berlin Convention close to 400 leading speakers will discuss how the international tourism industry should respond to overtourism crises, the shift in customer demands, the threat of climate change, and new forms of transportation. This year’s Official Partner Country is Malaysia. For the first time ITB Berlin is devoting an international platform to the fast-growing Technology, Tours & Activities (TTA) segment. Both major players and small start-ups will be able to present their innovative products at the first event of its ... Read more

Messe Berlin said it will be organising the inaugural ITB India in 2020. The three-day business-to-business travel trade show and convention will take place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, India, from April 15th-17th next year. The show is expected to bring together key travel industry leaders and buyers from cities across India, and international exhibitors from the MICE, leisure and corporate sectors. ITB India will also have a Hosted Buyers’ Programme that will cater to buyers from first, second, and third tier cities in India. The Indian travel industry is expected to be valued at US$56 billion by 2020 with ... Read more

Avis Budget Group and Abu Dhabi based Etihad Aviation Group have announced a new, global partnership which sees Avis Budget Group become the exclusive car rental provider for Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, Etihad Holidays and Etihad Guest, the airlines loyalty programme. The partnership will see the Avis, Budget, Maggiore and Zipcar brands offered across the various Etihad booking channels worldwide. Etihad Guest members will benefit from the Avis Preferred programme and an improved earning proposition. “We are delighted that we have extended our partnership with Etihad to be the exclusive global mobility provider. The partnership is ... Read more

With an objective to provide seamless urban mobility to commuters across the country, the Center has launched India’s first indigenously-developed National Common Mobility Card (NCMC). The card is launched by Prime Minister Naredra Modi in Ahmedabad on 4th March 2019. Dubbed as ‘One Nation-One Card’, the inter-operable transport card would allow holders to pay for their bus travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping and withdraw cash. It is said that Union ministry of urban affairs have been working on it since 2006, when it was envisaged as part of the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP). “With this ‘one-of-its-kind’ card, ... Read more

Kerala Tourism delegates in America As part of the intense tourism campaigns to attract more tourists to the state, Kerala Tourism has been conducting trade meets and road-shows in the major cities of USA.  New Jersey, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles were the four American cities where Kerala Tourism held trade meets during February, as revealed by a press release by Kerala Tourism. “USA is the second largest market for Kerala Tourism after Europe. The four trade meets conducted there were part of a concerted campaign to tap the full potential of the American travel market. The campaign was aimed ... Read more

International High speed Rail Association (IHRA) and Embassy of Japan in India in collaboration with Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), has conducted a Japan Travel Seminar 2019 recently: The Shinkansen- Make your way through Japan with a high- speed Train at The Lalit, New Delhi. The key travel agents of New Delhi were invited to the event. The objective of the seminar was to introduce, promote Japan tourism in India and help Indian travellers know about the rich cultural heritage of the country and for travellers to explore it through the high-speed train. The opening ceremony was kicked off by ... Read more

Photo for representative purpose only Prime Minister Modi will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stones for five National Highways projects worth Rs 5010 crore in Tamil Nadu today PM will dedicate to the nation the two-laning of 122 km section of NH-38 (Old NH-234) falling in Vellore, Thiruvannamalai and Viluppuram districts, and four laning of 32 km section of NH-381 in Tirupur district. Modi will also lay the foundation stone for four-laning of 116.5 km Vikravandi-Sethiathope-Cholapuram-Thanjavur section of NH-36 (old NH-45C) in Viluppuram, Cuddalore, Ariyalur and Thanjavur districts, six-laning of 36 km long Karaipettai-Walajapet section of NH-48 ... Read more

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline group, has finalized all preparations to once again celebrate International Women’s Day by operating an All-Women Functioned Flight this time on Addis Ababa – Stockholm – Oslo route on March 08, 2019. The all-women flight will have as a theme of “All women functioned flight to operate from the continent of African to meet with their counterparts in Europe to show the power of women to the world” The historical flight will be operated by Ethiopian Airlines women professionals from flight deck all the way to the ground including airport operations, flight dispatch, load control, ... Read more

Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkatta West Bengal Tourism Department is planning to appoint a consultant to provide detailed report on how to develop tourism infrastructure in the state. As per sources, Chief Minister Mamta Banarjee wanted to showcase West Bengal as one of the world class tourism destination. The government also envisages generation of employment opportunities in the tourism sector. As per an official from the tourism department, the state has received record number of visitors- both domestic and foreign, in recent years, which has contributed to the GDP of the state in a significant manner. Howrah Bridge, Kolkatta The proposed ... Read more

The Konkan region has a long and beautiful coastline blessed with picturesque white sandy beaches. The region is not only blessed with rich natural beauty but also has ancient temple and historical forts. With the new airport coming up in the region, air connectivity to areas of Northern Karnataka, western Maharashtra and parts of Goa will improve. It will also boost tourism in the region and will enhance the economic development of the region. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Commerce & Industry Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate the newly constructed terminal building and associated works of Chipi Airport, Sindhudurg ... Read more

SpiceJet has launched eight new daily direct flights to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme. Gwalior will be SpiceJet’s 11th destination under the regional connectivity scheme. In addition to the eight new flights to Gwalior, SpiceJet has also announced four new daily flights connecting Bhopal including the Bhopal-Udaipur UDAN flight. Gwalior will be SpiceJet’s 52nd domestic destination. SpiceJet will be the first and the only airline to offer daily direct flights on the Gwalior-Hyderabad-Gwalior, Gwalior-Jammu-Gwalior, Gwalior-Bengaluru-Gwalior and Gwalior-Kolkata-Gwalior sectors. Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister, Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India, ... Read more

Around 80 travel agents from 18 countries were hosted in the 8th edition of ‘Where Else’ conference, the official tourism conference held annually by the Israel Ministry of Tourism for the world travel fraternity. The week-long convention was held from 7th to 13th February, 2019. With a grand opening ceremony in Tel Aviv, senior members of the tourism industry from around the world participated in tours of key sites in Israel with support from the regional Tourism Associations, Hotels Association and the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association. Israel is a multicultural destination with a perfect mix of modernity and history, culture ... Read more

Mud houses at Purulia The Panchayat and Rural Development department of West Bengal have envisaged extensive plans to implement a plantation and tourism development project at Kumari Kanan in Purulia, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme and will be backed by West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation (CADC). At Kumari Kanan, several offspring of orchards have been grown by the district MGNREGA authority to develop the mother stock of all kind plants. Two story round house The idea was presented during a brainstorming session where officials of the district and block administration and Comprehensive Area ... Read more

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched its own payment aggregator system, IRCTC iPay. The new payment system is expected to help promote government’s Digital India initiative. The exclusive digital payment gateway will provide an improved online digital payment convenience and ease of doing business to passengers availing online travel related services through the IRCTC website. “With the launch of IRCTC iPay, the passengers will not need any third-party platforms as the IRCTC iPay provides payment options like credit card, debit card, UPI (Unified Payment Interface), and International Card. The option of IRCTC prepaid card cum wallet, ... Read more

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran addressing the gathering Kerala Tourism has launched the first phase of its ambitious Barrier-free Kerala tourism project on 4th March 2019, making 70 destinations across the state disabled and elderly friendly, becoming the first state in India to implement UN World Tourism Organization’s call for ‘Tourism for All. Inaugurating Phase One of the project, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister Tourism said that the state’s objective was to make all tourism centers accessible to the differently abled by 2021. “Special tour packages for differently empowered tourists, both domestic and foreign, are being planned together with Responsible Tourism Mission,” said ... Read more