Category: News

Three new eco-tourism zones on the suburbs of the Corbett Tiger Reserve will be open in January, just a month after the Supreme Court’s approval for night stays at forest rest houses near the Reserve. Recently a division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court adjudged that “No tourist should be permitted to stay overnight in national parks, protected forests and reserve forests in order to protect wildlife.” The HC had also restricted the number of vehicles that entered the Reserve to 100 per day. However, following the plea from the stakeholders of the National Park, the Supreme Court has stayed the ... Read more

Jayant Sinha, Union Minister for State for Aviation said that his ministry was considering introducing 15 helipads at 15 places in the country to promote heli-tourism in the country. The helipads are proposed in hilly areas to exploit the potential tourist destinations in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country where air traffic is not possible by flights. Sinha was speaking at an interaction at a national conclave in Belagavi in Karnataka recently. The minister credited the government for its move to enable inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the aviation sector with a cap of 49 per ... Read more

China organizes a tourism promotion event in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. The event named ‘Charming Beijing’ has kicked off on Monday, 3rd December 2018. During the opening ceremony, Zhao Li, Beijing Chinese cultural counsellor in Romania, said Beijing wants to serve as a window. Through that window, people in Romania could see more about Beijing and China. “Romania is committed to strengthening cooperation with China and attaches great importance to developing relations with China in various fields,” said Iulia Dangulea, counsellor from Romania’s Ministry of Tourism. “There is a lot of space for promoting tourism between Romania and ... Read more

As Kerala Tourism has already been putting an effort and highlighting ‘Barrier Free Tourism’, allowing the differently abled to enjoy unhindered access to destinations in Kerala, Bond Safari, Kovalam, a pioneering adventure water sports organization, has hosted an event of a lifetime recently. Bond Safari had the differently abled Neeraj George, a person who is a powerhouse of energy and dedication go on a scuba dive into the depths of the calm blue waters. In this season they came up with another differently abled person, the Pride of India, Pooja Agarwal, the lady shooter who has bagged multiple medals for ... Read more

Alappuzha became the first ‘Differently abled friendly beach’ in Kerala on 3rd December 2018, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. As part of the government’s policy to provide barrier free tourism destinations for all – ramps have been built in the beach to provide access for the differently abled visitors. The first phase of the ramps was inaugurated by S Suhas, Alappuzha District Collector. National Health Mission, Palliative Care, District Tourism Promotion Council, Fire Force, Alappuzha Municipality, Medical Collage Students’ Union, Wheel Chair Users Association, I am for Alleppey etc., were part of the organizing ... Read more

Bakel Fort, Kasargod Association of Tourism Trade Organizations India (ATTOI), is organizing its Annual Convention in Kasargod from 6th to 8th December 2018. Members of ATTOI from all over India will participate in the convention. Almost 50 members are expected to participate in the convention. Usually conventions and MICE events are held in popular tourist destinations like, Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Munnar, Thekkady etc. However, ATTOI has decided to focus their attention to northern Kerala for its annual convention. “Kasargod has been chosen as the venue to introduce the tourism potential of the Malabar region,” said Vinod CS, President of ATTOI. “Kerala Tourism ... Read more

Association of Professionals in Tourism (APT) has a new team to lead the organization. Hari KC (East Bound Discoveries) is the new President of APT; Janeesh J (Chalukya Grace Tours Pvt Ltd), the new Secretary and Joe Julian (LPTI) and Arun Kumar (LPTI) are elected as Vice Presidents. Saji R S (Aamantran Travel) and Karthik (Floohoo Travels) are taking charge as Joint Secretaries where Mahesh R (Southern Experts) is the new Treasurer. Biju H Nath (Dharma Connect), Sanjeev Kumar (Voyages Kerala) and Subhash Ghosh (Kerala Greenery) are elected as Senior Advisory Members. Hari KC, President Apart from the new appointments, the meeting has ... Read more

AYANA Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach Ayana Hotels has opened AYANA Komodo Resort at Waecicu Beach; the first five-star resort to launch on the dreamy island of Flores. Built in just 14-months, and spanning 1.4 hectares, the new resort showcases 205 bedrooms, 2 designer pools, children’s pool, and a handful of hospitality outlets including Rinca Restaurant, UNIQUE Rooftop Bar, Naga Bar, Mesa Bar, Kisik Seafood Grill and famous Japanese restaurant, HonZEN. The resort also features a premium spa, grand ballroom and handful of inspirational meeting spaces. “AYANA Resort and Spa, Bali and AYANA Midplaza, Jakarta are much-loved industry leaders, with guests traveling ... Read more

Cambodia and Nepal signed their first air service agreement (ASA), which allows 14 weekly flights between both countries, according to Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA). The agreement was made during Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official three-day visit to Kathmandu, Nepal last week, during which he also attended the Asia-Pacific Summit. “Nepal has become the 45th country to have an ASA with Cambodia. Passengers travel to Nepal currently needs to make a connecting flight to Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore” said  Sinn Chanserey Vutha, SSCA spokesman. Vutha said the deal is an opening air service for airlines from both ... Read more

Third UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture is taking place at Lutfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center Istanbul, Turkey, from 3rd to 5th December 2018. The 3rd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture will build on the outcomes of the two previous editions of this event and their respective Declarations: the 2015 Siem Reap Declaration, which recommended closer and targeted partnerships between stakeholders of culture and of tourism; and the 2017 Muscat Declaration, which committed its endorsers to enhancing the contribution of tourism and culture in national SDG strategies. This year the theme of World Conference is ‘for the Benefit of All’, ... Read more

Government of Tanzania is planning to launch direct flight service thrice a week connecting India and Tanzania starting December 2018. “This will improve tourism, people-to-people connectivity and bilateral trade. I am here to strengthen the centuries old historical, cultural and linguistic relations between India and Tanzania,” said Mahmoud Kombo, Minister for Information, Culture & Tourism, Government of Zanzibar, Tanzania. “Gujaratis and Goans are the first settlers in the history of eastern Africa 1,000 years ago. The present day Indian community in Tanzania represents the 17th generation. The first newspaper in Zanzibar island of Tanzania was in Gujarati language. Today, 4,000 ... Read more

Uday Samudra Group of Hotels, in association with Ocean Love, is organizing the second edition of Blue Ramp today on the occasion id International day of persons with disabilities. The event will be held today at 4 pm at Samudra Beach, Kovalam. The event is curated to fulfill the dreams of the children from Centre for Rehabilitation of Differently-abled (CRD), Polio Home. “Blue Ramp will feature a variety of programmes filled with fun and entertainment, experiencing the beach, hospitality, game for the children who have been dreaming to soak their feet in the blue waters. We will be creating a ... Read more

OP Bhagat, Director of Tourism, Jammu flags off the rally (Photo Courtesy: Daily Ecxelsior) Jammu Tourism department has organized a twin lake cycle rally from Sidhra Golf Course to picturesque Mansar lake via Surinsar. The rally was flagged off by OP Bhagat, Director of Tourism, Jammu on 2nd December 2018. The Twin Lake Rally was organised under ‘Mansar Sunday Series’ to provide varied experiences to the tourists, youths and adventure enthusiasts. Secretary, Jammu Tawi Golf Course, Hitesh Gupta, Divisional Sports officer, Ravi Singh, ETO Suraj Chander Singh also accompanied the Director in the flag off ceremony. The cycle rally passed ... Read more

Courtyard by Marriott Paris Gare de Lyon Courtyard by Marriott has welcomed a new property in the heart of Paris, ideally situated opposite the Gare de Lyon train station, which serves as both a domestic and international travel hub for millions of passengers each year. This dynamic area of the city is also home to numerous co-working spaces and start-up incubators, making the hotel the perfect choice for business travellers. Housed in a 19-story tower, Courtyard by Marriott Paris Gare de Lyon offers exceptional views over the city and its emblematic sights. The design in the 249 bedrooms was led ... Read more

India is the second largest most populous country in the world with the tag of fastest-growing major economy globally. Due to this economic growth, its people are earning more year on year and their disposable income is also growing. Air connectivity from India to foreign locations has also improved significantly over a period of time. First-time Indian visitors generally prefer to visit Asian countries due to their proximity to India and being less expensive compared to western destinations. In the case of long-haul travel Indians prefer going to United States (US), Australia, Europe, New Zealand etc. Thailand, Singapore and United ... Read more