Category: News

Procession organized by ATTOI in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala’s tourism sector has been bouncing back to normalcy after the devastating floods of August this year. However, the industry is still facing holdups in various forms from different areas. The recent strike (harthal) in the name of Sabarimala temple was the latest event, which affected the tourists visiting the state. Normally tourists are exempted from strikes or harthals, as they are considered guests of the state. However, for the first time, tourists were also targeted on  harthal, which took place on 17th November 2018.  The protest in the Kochi International Airport on 16th ... Read more

The 2018 Global Traveler Report reveals that despite record numbers of air travellers, up from 415 million in 2012 to a projected 808 million this year, the size of the travel retail market is slowly shrinking. Global travel retail spending has dropped by $15 billion from $397 billion in 2016 to a projected $382 billion this year. The average travelling consumer is now spending $491 per trip, almost $170 less than in 2012, says the report. Bucking the trends in almost every category is China. Between 2016 and 2018 Chinese travellers increased in outward bound traffic by a staggering 50 per cent ... Read more

Trinus has just launched their new, innovate three-in-one transformable travel bag. The Trinus 3-in-1 has a unique folding system, turning the bag from a larger travel bag into a laptop bag and finally a smaller crossbody bag. The bag changes size to suit any daily need and is an indispensable travel assistant. The company, which launched the bag through an Indiegogo campaign on Nov. 15, reached 130 per cent of its goal within just two days. “This is becoming a popular bag to have because of how versatile it is. When customers are choosing what the best bag is for ... Read more

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has received the prestigious Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Motherhood & Childhood in the category of ‘Best Initiative in the Support of Mother and Child’s Healthy Lifestyle’ for its Flying Nanny programme, which was announced last night at Emirates Palace. The award ceremony marked International Children’s day on November 20 to recognise excellence and creativity within the fields of motherhood and childhood in the UAE. Flying Nannies were introduced by Etihad Airways in September 2013, and are on-board to provide an extra pair of hands and to allow parents more personal time ... Read more

MakeMyTrip Limited, has appointed Vipul Prakash, ex-PepsiCo, as Chief Operating Officer for MakeMyTrip and Goibibo. In this role, Vipul will be responsible for developing and executing strategic direction and priorities of the company. “We are excited to welcome Vipul to our leadership team. His rich experience of two decades at PepsiCo spanning geographies, deep understanding of consumer market and expertise in industry leading operational practices are truly invaluable. We are confident that his proven track record and extensive experience will extend MakeMyTrip’s upward trajectory,” said Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and CEO-India, MakeMyTrip. “MakeMyTrip is an iconic brand that has played a defining role ... Read more

Thomas Cook (India) has opened new office at Gomti Nagar in Lucknow. Romil Pant, Senior Vice President and Jatin Sharma, Associate Vice President, Thomas Cook (India) has inaugurated the office. This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in Lucknow & Uttar Pradesh to 10 consumer access centres: three owned branches and seven Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Thomas Cook India’s internal data had highlighted Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh as a high potential source market for its holiday business. Hence, in an initiative to harness this opportunity, the company has identified Gomti Nagar, Lucknow to set up its new Gold ... Read more

As many as 17 grama panchayats in Calicut district of Northern Kerala, is planning to jointly host Malayora Mahotsavam, with an aim to overcome the crisis in the rural tourism sector caused by the floods. The event will showcase the unexplored destinations in the district and attract investments. The event, backed by the state Tourism Department, will be held in January and will offer venues to small-scale industrialists, rural innovators, and farm tourism entrepreneurs to display their products and services. “The aim of hosting the event is to let the world know that our eco-tourism destinations are fully back on ... Read more

KJ Alphons, Minister of Tourism (I/C), Government of India, will inaugurate the South Asia’s largest travel trade exhibition, SATTE 2019. The 26th edition of the event, will be held at a different venue. This edition of the event will be held at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida. In order to boost the image of India as the most sought-after tourism destination in the global tourism market, earlier this year the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Govt of India has also continued its support to SATTE’s buyer programme for 2019. The objective is to bring more and more international buyers and ... Read more

Singapore is expecting 14 per cent growth in tourist footfalls from India this year compared to 2017, and plans to tap the growing young travellers. “Last year was a record year where we received 1.27 million Indians travellers. This year, from January till September we have already received 1.08 million Indians. So looking at this growing trend we are hoping 14 per cent growth over last year,” said GB Srithar, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) regional director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa. “With the record arrivals in 2017, India has become the third highest contributor of visitor arrivals to Singapore,” ... Read more

Russia to reinforce its bonds with Kerala in the tourism sector, said Oleg Avdeev, Consul General of Russia to South India. He was speaking after inaugurating a seminar organised by the Russian Cultural Center and Yatrika magazine in Thiruvananthapuram. Avdeev said number of tourists to Kerala from Russia there had been increased substantially these days. “Kerala has always been the favourite tourist destination of Russian tourists. Although there was a dip in the number of tourists in the 90s, Kerala has yet again emerged as the favourite tourist spot of Russians,” he said. He further noted that the number of ... Read more

Photo for representative purpose only Tripura will host three-day 7th International Tourism Mart from November 22. As many as 80 international tour operators from 21 countries including Bangladesh, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Thailand, South Africa and Russia will attend the fair and engage in dialogue with the state tour operators, attend seminars and visit different tourist spots of the state. The event is organised with an estimated budget of Rs 2.60 crores, which is provided by the Ministry of Tourism. Union Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons will inaugurate the International Tourism Mart on November 22. The event will ... Read more

Airbus Bizlab India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Kerala to help establish an aerospace-focused innovation centre in Thiruvananthapuram. This state-of-the-art centre will be the nodal body for planning and executing all the activities to help start-ups. The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is aimed at fostering and nurturing an enabling ecosystem for aviation startups in the state. The move highlights Airbus India’s continued commitment to the ‘Startup India’ mission. The MoU was inked between Airbus Bizlab India’s Siddharth Balachandran and Saji Gopinath, CEO of the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi ... Read more

Thailand’s highest 360-degree observation deck and rooftop bar at 314 meters high, offers spectacular panoramic views of the city from Thailand’s tallest building. The new premium attraction opened its doors to the public on 16 November 2018. Located on the 74th, 75th and 78th floor of the King Power Mahanakhon Building, highlights of the indoor and outdoor observation deck include one of the world’s largest glass tray floors, Thailand’s highest Rooftop Bar, and Thailand’s fastest video-themed elevators — which allows visitors to ascend to the 74th floor in 50 seconds. Located in the heart of Bangkok’s central business district and ... Read more

Dubai Tourism expects a steady growth of 13 to 15 per cent in Indian tourist visits in the state. As per reports, India remained the top source market for Dubai during the year 2017 and it is expected to be a crucial contributor to their targeted 20 million international visitations by 2020. “The priority is to get the messaging tailor-made for each market in India to attract every segment of travellers to Dubai,” said Khalid Al Awar, Manager – India & Pakistan (International Operations), Dubai Tourism. He was interacting with the media in an informal chat on the side-lines of ... Read more

The U S Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved Aemcolo (rifamycin), an antibacterial drug indicated for the treatment of adult patients with travellers’ diarrhea caused by noninvasive strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), not complicated by fever or blood in the stool. “Travellers’ diarrhea affects millions of people each year and having treatment options for this condition can help reduce symptoms of the condition,” said Edward Cox, M D, M P H, director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Travellers’ diarrhea is the most common travel-related illness, affecting an estimated ... Read more