Category: News

Telengana government plans to ban tobacco in all the tourism destinations of the state. As part of implementing ban on tobacco in public places, Sunita M Bhagwat, the Commissioner, Department of Tourism, has sought declaration of all the tourist and heritage precincts managed by the department in the State as ‘Tobacco Free’. She wrote letters to the Managing Director, Telengana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), Director, Heritage Telangana, and also the Commissioners of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in this regard. In the letter she suggested to make all the tourism departments of the ... Read more

Russians continued to top the list of foreign tourists to Goa in 2018, with British tourists ranking second, according to statistics tabled during the ongoing budget session of the Goa Assembly on Wednesday. A total of 3.11 lakh Russians arrived in Goa from January to October 2018, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said in a written reply. Another 1.48 lakh tourists from the UK also landed in Goa during the same period. Ukraine ranked third with 10,466 tourists. Overall, 6.04 lakh foreign tourists visited Goa from January to October 2018, said Ajgaonkar.

Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission has been changing the perspective of tourism in the state. The mission’s new venture PEPPER (Participation for Planning and Empowerment through Responsible Tourism), envisages preserving the ecology, while ensuring sustainable development in the village areas. The first phase of PEPPER has kick started in the Peringamala grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district. Foreign tourists trying rubber tapping PEPPER aims at identifying new zones or unexplored destinations which have a huge tourism potential and developing them in a hundred per cent sustainable fashion with the active participation of the local community. The project aims to empower the members ... Read more

Emirates and China Southern Airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to progress a comprehensive reciprocal codeshare agreement, which is set to open up new destinations for passengers travelling between China and the Middle East and Africa. The partnership with the Guangzhou-based carrier also allows Emirates’ passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity on domestic flights within China, adding eight new destinations to its global network. The Chinese cities covered by the codeshare agreement include Fuzhou, Chongqing, Kunming, Qingdao, Xiamen, Chengdu, Nanjing and Xi ‘an during the initial phase of the partnership, subject to necessary government approvals. Passengers travelling from China ... Read more

The 3rd edition of the Guwahati International Music Festival will be held at Pragjyoti ITA Center for Arts, Machkhowa on February 8. From the 2nd edition of the festival Conceptualized in 2010 by North-east based writer and cultural activist Aiyushman Dutta, to fill the need for a premier music festival in the country, Guwahati International Music Festival had been, showcasing the best of regional, national and international talents in the music field to the people of the region. Besides serving as a platform for interaction among musicians, music professionals, music lovers, music trade firms and music institutes, the festival was ... Read more

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to launch the first ever in-house AI Academy in the region, which will revolutionise the way the airline serves its customers by upskilling its workforce, optimising operations and creating alternate revenue streams. As part of the AI Academy, all Etihad employees will be given access to an online training programme, and instructor led classes, to drive companywide AI literacy, empowering every employee to deliver more value to the company and its customers. Microsoft specialists will also conduct a series of AI business workshops and hands-on ... Read more

Emirates has celebrated a milestone in its operation to Ghana, marking 15 years of service to Accra. The first Emirates flight flew into Kotoka International Airport in January 2004, and the airline has since carried close to 1.6 million passengers between Accra and Dubai and its network. The airline started operations in Ghana with three flights a week, increasing to six flights a week in March 2005. Currently, the airline operates daily Abidjan – Accra – Dubai flights to over 150 destinations via its Dubai hub. This is set to increase to 11 weekly flights from 2nd June, 2019 following ... Read more

The wedding of Australians Tim Robertson and Kate Hamilton took place on Thursday at St Mary’s church in Gulmarg. It was the first in over three decades wedding bells ring at Kashmir’s oldest Protestant Church. The couple were adorned in traditional Indian attire; dozens of foreign skiers wearing Kashmiri Pherans were guests, local priests and snow all around. Tim Robertson and Kate Hamilton described their wedding as ‘nothing less than a fairy tale’, after the pictures shot at the snow-bound 100-year-old St. Mary’s Church were widely shared by local residents. Engaged for a year and fond of snowboarding, it took ... Read more

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has inaugurated Burj Jumeira, the new tower set to be built in the Al Sufouh neighbourhood of Dubai. Accompanied by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai International Marine Club, and His Excellency Abdulla Al Habbai, Chairman of Dubai Holding, His Highness reviewed plans for the unique tower and surrounding area, which will be known as Downtown Jumeira. His Highness described the tower and Downtown Jumeira as a continuation of Dubai’s vision for ... Read more

“Continued economic growth in many African countries is driving greater interest in the continent from a tourism perspective but it’s interesting to see that Ghana, in particular, is proving increasingly attractive as a leisure tourism destination,” says Wayne Troughton, CEO of specialist global hospitality and tourism consultancy HTI Consulting. “In many ways this is not surprising,” he says, “particularly considering Ghana’s natural beauty and unspoiled coastline, its cultural and historical heritage as well as it’s relative political safety under the new government elected in December 2016,” he states. “But, in the past, these assets remained largely underexplored by foreign visitors, many ... Read more

The curtains go up on the acclaimed annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela from 2nd February onward in Haryana, a celebration of Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage. The event will conclude on 17th February. The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. At least 20 countries and all the states of India will be participating in the Mela. Occupying a place of pride on the international tourist calendar, more than a million visitors throng the Mela during the fortnight including thousands of foreign tourists. ... Read more

A recent report of World Tourism and Travel Council anticipates Pakistan’s tourism industry has the potential to grow to around USD 40 billion within the next 10 years. The ruling government led by Imran Khan has already vowed in its election campaign that it would promote Pakistan as ‘Asia’s Best Kept Secret’ in global tourism market. The government is confident that tourism would be contributing Rs.1 trillion to Pakistan economy by 2025. Countries like Switzerland, Thailand, Philippines, Maldives and Sri Lanka demonstrate that sustainable tourism is a tool for development. The initiative of the government under the National Action Plan ... Read more

The ambitious tourism project of Odisha – Shamuka beach tourism project– which will come up in 3000 acres of land at Sipasarubali Mauza, 10 km south of Puri town, is at stake, as the members of the coastal land and forest security samiti are protesting against it. Shamuka Beach, Puri The members of the outfit took out a rally against the project and staged demonstration in front of district Collectorate on Friday, 1st February 2019. As per reports, the State Government had started acquisition of land for Shamuka project at Sipasarubali Mauza by ignoring the interest of the poor and ... Read more

Infosys Foundation, the humanitarian wing of Infosys, plans to take up the conservation and restoration of the Panchakalyani, the largest ancient lake in Melukote, in the Mandya district of Karnataka. The Foundation will restore the lake by cleaning the tank, removing silt and waste deposit, ensuring structural and chemical conservation of the Panchakalyani and a nearby tank called the Ganeshan Honda, reconnecting the existing canals and building a compound wall. Panchakalyani Lake The Infosys Foundation has been working in the preservation of ancient cultural heritage of India for several years. The Panchakalyani lake is among the most visited monuments in ... Read more

Tourist inflow has been in a growth track for Turkey during 2018, as per data released by the tourism ministry. Around 40 million foreign tourists visited Turkey during the year, depicting an increase of 21 per cent when compared to the previous year. Photo courtesy: Clueless Compass The Turkish tourism industry has been recovering from the wave of terror attacks in 2015 and 2016, which seriously shattered the sector. The total number of tourists visited turkey during 2018 was 46 million, including the foreign tourists counting around 40 million. The last major terror attack to hit Turkey was during New ... Read more