Category: News

The Indian hospitality chain, Oyo, is all set to enter the Saudi Arabian market.  Other than its regular offerings such as hotel rooms, homestays and townhouses, Oyo is launching a new category for the Saudi market. The new category of offer is expected to tap the huge number of religious tourists visiting the country. OYO Hotels & Home has also set a target of reaching 12,000 rooms by 2020 in the Middle East market, which is a 10-fold jump from 1300 rooms on its platform in the UAE market. In September 2018, the company has raised some AED3.68 billion (US$1 billion) funding ... Read more

Ajman Municipality plan to create a central square in the emirate to attract more tourists. The project is expected to be launched in early 2019.The Ajman Square project will include a number of cafes and restaurants, an open-air seating area and a walking track to encourage people to gather in one place. “The project highlights Ajman’s unique identity and aims to improve its living environment, by raising the emirate’s quality of life,” noted Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Director-General of the Ajman Municipality and Planning Department. “The square will enable visitors to practice sports on a walking track and the open-air ... Read more

Kazakhstan is not usually the first destination that comes to a conventional traveller when they plan their trips. But, here’s some good news to make it in your bucket list. Kazakhstan has introduced a single-entry electronic visa for citizens of 117 countries. An electronic business or tourist visa or one for medical treatment will be issued to travellers from all these countries including India. However, to obtain the visa, you need to produce a valid invitation from a person or agency. The passport provided by the visa recipient should not cause doubts in authenticity and belonging to its owner or ... Read more

Polish national airline became the “Best Airline in Eastern Europe”, surpassing Aeroflot of Russia and Wizzair of Hungary, among others. US magazine Global Traveler was the organizers of the award. “The award is proof that LOT is an appreciated and increasingly recognizable airline on the international markets,” stated an LOT spokesperson. The ceremony, during which awards were given in almost 70 categories, was held in Los Angeles. LOT won the title of “Best Eastern European Line” for the second time, ahead of the Aeroflot, Wizzair and Croatia Airlines. “We are proud to have received the distinction awarded in the prestigious ... Read more

Indian Railways envisages providing a comfortable jerk free journey to its passengers and endeavours to achieve that with the use of better technology continuously. Currently travel by rail is not that comfortable as travelling by road and Air. In order to minimize the effect of jerks and to improve riding comfort for passengers, Indian Railways has introduced new design of Center Buffer Couplers (CBC) with Balanced Draft Gear (BDG) as per specification prepared by Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow. It has been decided to introduce CBCs with BDG on all the mainline passenger coaches of Indian Railways. All ... Read more

War flight Tupolev-TU 142 M, the anti-submarine warfare aircraft of Indian Navy, will be converted to a defence museum in Hyderabad. Telangana State Tourism Department in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is planning to establish the defence museum in Hyderabad where defence related labs and missiles would be exhibited for the public. B Venkatesham , Telangana Tourism Department Secretary, wrote a letter to the defence authorities requesting them to facilitate a war fighter and submarine to display at the museum. As per the plans, the officials approached DRDO Chairman Dr Satish Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence ... Read more

Emirates announced the return of My Emirates Pass, an exclusive seasonal pass that turns an Emirates boarding pass into an exclusive membership package, allowing customers to take advantage of fantastic discounts and benefits in over 500 locations across the UAE. Emirates’ customers now have more reasons to start off the New Year and explore Dubai’s many attractions. Emirates passengers travelling to and through Dubai from January 1 until March 31 2019 can benefit from My Emirates Pass privileges across participating retail and leisure outlets simply by presenting their boarding pass and a valid form of identification. Customers can take advantage ... Read more

Murud, Maharashtra Maharashtra state government has inked an agreement with realty firm Mahindra Lifespaces to develop the coastal town of Murud in Raigad district as a medical tourism and wellness destination. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 500 crore and it is expected to generate around 6,000 job opportunities. Deep Mangal Developers, subsidiary of Mahindra Lifespace Developers (MLDL), will be executing the eco-friendly project in an area of 1,300-acre; which is expected to be the largest medical and wellness tourism investment in the state. It is said that the project will strengthen Maharashtra’s impression as a global tourist ... Read more

Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings shares his views on trends that are set to define travel in 2019. Travel to influence For millennials, travelling to new places, exploring new experiences, trying out new cuisines and interacting with people from diverse cultural backgrounds has become an intrinsic part of their lifestyle. This passionate generation of travellers is more likely to make their travel decisions based on the travel posts of their peers on social media because social media is a more authentic source of information. At the same time, it is important for them to capture their best travel ... Read more

The ISRO plans to set up Space Galleries in various locations in the country. It was informed by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. The Space Galleries are expected to disseminate the knowledge about space science and technology amongst the citizens of the country. The Gallery will consist of interactive methods and models describing the principles of Space science and technology. Initially, Space Galleries are planned to be established at Birla Science Center at Hyderabad, Nehru Science Center at Mumbai and National Science Center at ... Read more

Long ride enthusiasts can have a really long road journey that crosses two countries.  A 1360 km long highway is coming up connection India, Myanmar and Thailand. India is undertaking construction of two sections of this Trilateral Highway in Myanmar, which include 120.74 km Kalewa-Yagyi road section and 69 bridges along with the approach road on the 149.70 km Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section. The works on both these sections were awarded on Engineering, Procurement and Construction mode in May 2018 for Kalewa-Yagyi section and November 2017 for the TKK section. The works are expected to be completed within three years ... Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stone for three National Highway projects of nearly 200 kilo metre worth Rs 3,318 crore in Baripada in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha on Saturday, 5th January 2019 The projects include four laning of Rimuli-Koida section of NH-215 (New NH-520), four laning of Koida-Rajamunda section of NH-215 (New NH-520), and four laning of Singara-Binjabahal section of NH-6 (New NH-49). The works include construction of four bypasses, 3 flyovers, 11 vehicular underpasses, 12 major bridges, 50 minor bridges and 34 kilo metres of service road. The projects will improve interstate connectivity between Jharkhand, West Bengal ... Read more

The latest Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index has shown Kyoto, Japan came in second on the list of Asian destinations. The rating was measured by social and environmental sustainability strategies, industry supplier support, and Convention Bureau strategy and initiatives. International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) recently gave out GDS-Index Awards to top five destinations recognised for their sustainable practices in the business tourism and events industry. List of cities with the five highest overall scores are Gothenburg (Sweden); Copenhagen (Denmark), Reykjavík (Iceland), Oslo (Norway), and Uppsala (Sweden) respectively. According to the index, top five Asian cities with highest overall scores ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: thefabulousscript.com Australia is expected to have around 10 million foreign tourists in the year 2019.  As per data analysis, the foreign tourist inflow is pointing towards a record number of guests in 2019, which spells good news for the economy and employment generation. Bessie Hassan from comparison website ‘finder.com.au’ said Australia is taking an ever-greater share of the global market, with arrivals rapidly growing over the past several years. “It is likely we will welcome more than 10 million overseas guests for the first time this year,” said Hassan “International tourists are pouring into the country, which is ... Read more

Foreign tourists can now fly directly to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as the government has designated Port Blair airport as an authorised immigration check post for entry into and exit point from India. The decision to open up the Andaman and Nicobar Islands directly for foreign tourists came after it was found to be the most sought-after tourist destination in the country receiving an average four lakh tourists, including several thousand foreigners, annually. “The central government hereby designates Port Blair airport of Union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as an authorised immigration check post for entry into/exit ... Read more