Category: News

Yatra Online, Inc., India’s leading online travel company, has appointed Neelam Dhawan as an independent director to its board of directors effective January 1, 2019. Neelam has been lauded by leading business journals like Fortune, Forbes and Business Today as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business and has played an integral role in shaping the IT Industry in India. “We are very pleased to have Neelam join our board and look forward to her contributions. With thirty-five-plus years of experience, Neelam is an accomplished leader in the tech industry and brings with her a unique blend of experience ... Read more

Calling all outdoor enthusiasts, weekend warriors, world travelers and nature adventurers: Neat Jug, a revolutionary water purification system, has been officially released on Kickstarter. By utilizing a self-charging mechanism and UV technology, each Neat Jug is NSF Class A system-compliant and can effectively produce up to 20,000 liters of clean and safe purified water. Here’s how it works: By turning the handle for about 180 seconds, the device will be ready to discharge UVC light for 90 seconds (1 cycle) and purify 750 milliliters of water (about the same amount in a typical bottle of wine). “Every detail of Neat ... Read more

The Disgusting Food Museum, featuring the most provocative foods from around the world, is opening its doors in Los Angeles for visitors to see, smell, and even taste (if they dare) international foods. The Disgusting Food Museum is not just an exhibit, but a celebration of food from around the world highlighting how different cultures may or may not view certain things as disgusting. Exhibited at the A+D Architecture and Design Museum in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District, The Disgusting Food Museum welcomes visitors to enjoy a culinary journey beginning December 9, 2018 through February 17, 2019. The Disgusting ... Read more

Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott International’s brand that pioneered the select service category, has announced it expects to further grow its European footprint of 63 hotels by almost 50 per cent over the next two years. With nearly 30 hotels anticipated to open in Europe by the end of 2020, Courtyard will offer business travellers a continually elevated experience that meets the generational shift in how our guests work and travel today. In addition to strengthening its portfolio in the established markets of Germany, France and the UK, Courtyard is continuing its first-to-market approach with anticipated debuts in seven emerging destinations ... Read more

Second Philippine Sports Tourism Awards night will be conducted at Savoy Hotel in Manila on 5th December 2018. The objective of the event is to recognize those who are directly or indirectly take part in promoting tourism through sports. At least a dozen awards will be given to different entities, event organizers, hotels, airlines, government agencies, sports associations, destinations, corporate sponsors and charities. Founded by tourism marketing and public relations group, Selrahco, the Philippine Sports Tourism Awards (PSTA) is a result of the Sports Tourism Forum (STF) which had its inception in 2014 in Cebu City. The STF encouraged local ... Read more

Vinod CS, President of ATTOI, delivering the welcome speach Association of Tourism Trade Organizers, India (ATTOI) has organized a seminar on Sports Tourism Potential of Kerala at 10.30 am on 1st December 2018, at Kanakakunnu Palace Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram. The seminar was conducted on the occasion of the 4th Trivandurm Marathon, which is taking place on December 1, 2018. The event will be officially inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at 6 PM and the marathon will start at 12:00 midnight. Vinod CS, President of ATTOI has welcomed the speakers to the dais.  Ram Kamal, former Brand Consultant of FIFA; Senan, Managind ... Read more

Naval cooperation between India and the United Kingdom is based on the long term strategic relationship between both countries. Both Navies have, over the years, undertaken bilateral activities such as training exchanges and technical cooperation. The Bilateral KONKAN exercise provides a platform for the two Navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices. The KONKAN series of exercises commenced in 2004, and since then has grown in scale. KONKAN-2018 is conducted from 28 November to 06 December 18 off Goa with units participating from both navies. The harbour phase was ... Read more

Etihad Airways has launched its first ever scheduled flights linking Abu Dhabi and Barcelona. The inaugural flight, EY49, departed Abu Dhabi this morning carrying a special delegation including dignitaries, media representatives, influencers and senior members of Etihad Airways’ management team. The UAE national airline is celebrating the occasion in style by hosting a special event held at the historic Capella dels Angels, a sixteenth-century Gothic building which is now part of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), attended by leading figures from the local government, diplomats, media, corporate partners and travel trade. “We have been tremendously excited about the ... Read more

Kenya tourism seeks the help of hotliers for driving the marketing campaign of the country.  Najib Balala, Tourism secretary has met with hotliers to discuss the marketing programmes. Top hoteliers of the country have been appointed by the tourism secretary to help with the development of tourism by formulating marketing strategies for a sector that suffered a series of terrorism attacks, which discouraged foreign tourists to visit the country for several years. The hoteliers have to feed the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) with the new trends in Kenya’s tourism sector to help promote the country as business and leisure travel ... Read more

Minister of State of Railways and Minister of State (I/C) of Communications, Manoj Sinha has flagged off one pair of 63229/63230 Buxar-Varanasi MEMU. This train will provide additional end to end connectivity between Buxar and Varanasi. Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Member Traffic, Railway Board, Girish Pillai, Member Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agrawal with other Railway Board Members, Senior Officials of Railways and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion Manoj Sinha congratulated the people of Buxar for this new MEMU train. He said “this 16 coach MEMU train ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Kerala Tourism The High Court of Kerala has lifted the ban on women for trekking in Agasthyarkoodam. Justice Anu Shivaraman has lifted the ban observing that there should be no gender discrimination in a place where trekking is already allowed. Earlier, it was the Department of Forest, Govt. of Kerala had issued orders restricting women from trekking on Agasthyarkoodam citing potential risks while climbing the hill. Points to Ponder during Agasthyakoodam Trek

Rashmi Verma (IAS), of 1982 batch from Bihar Cadre, has retired from her service today as the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. She had joined as the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, in May 2017. “Secretary Tourism, Rashmi Verma, retired today after doing an exceptionally outstanding job in my Ministry. She has contributed greatly in getting India Tourism to 3rd rank in the WTTC report 2018,” said Alphons K J, Minister for Tourism, in twitter. Before getting appointed as the Tourism Secretary, Verma was serving as the Secretary in Ministry of Textiles. She had previously served as the Chairman ... Read more

Keeping the indomitable spirit of adventure alive, soldiers of Indian Army conducted ‘Cockerel Gunners’ White Water Rafting Expedition’ at Rishikesh on 29 November 2018. The expedition commenced on 26 November 2018 wherein a team comprising of 20 adventure enthusiasts of a Medium Regiment were flagged off at Rudraprayag. After successfully traversing 150 kilometers across River Ganges over four days, the team was flagged in at Rishikesh. As part of its challenging journey, the team successfully negotiated numerous grade III and IV Rapids. The expedition reaffirmed the Indian Army’s resolve of a strong sense of determination, grit and perseverance in face ... Read more

Ayodhya – Photo for representative purpose only After ‘Deepotsav’ and ‘Saryu Aarti’ in Ayodhya, the Utar Pradesh government plans to organize ‘Ayodhya Mahotsav’ in the temple town. The 11 day festival will be organized by the the state tourism department at the Government Inter College from 27th December. “The history of Ayodhya and its culture will be showcased in the event along with other aspects of the historic city,” said Ved Prakash Gupta, MLA of Ayodhya assembly constituency, who is the chief coordinator of the event. The state government will also provide a platform to artisans of Ayodhya and its ... Read more

In an effort to promote ‘Gotra’ (clan lineage), the Uttarakhand Government plans to to offer ‘gotra tourism’ packages to tourists. According to Hindu culture, ‘gotra’ or clan broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. The progeny of seven sages or saptarshi, Gautama and Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra and Jamadagni, Vashishtha and Kaśhyapa and Shandilya are declared to be gotras. Announcing the plan a few days ago, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that the idea is to encourage visitors to come to the Himalayan state to update their family records, ... Read more