Category: News

Cocoon Maldives has won the leading designer hotel for the second consecutive year, among a number of prestigious hotels and resorts of South Asia region in the third edition of SATA Awards. SATA awards presents the principle of travel and tourism achievements, celebrating the best in the fields in the South Asian region, with endorsements from key affiliations based in the partner countries of SATA. Selected among 13 nominees from Maldives, Sri Lanka, India and Bhutan, Cocoon adds this esteemed award into their collection consecutively for the second time. “Being a young and newly established resort in the South Asian ... Read more

The team of students and professionals that brought solar power to the village of Seyul International School of Zug and Luzern Global Himalayan Expedition was honoured in recognition of their commitment toward sustainable development of remote communities situated at an average altitude of 12,000 feet through impact tourism, providing access to clean energy, digital education and livelihood creation opportunities for over 30,500 people across 71 off-grid Himalayan villages to date.The award was accepted by Paras Loomba, Founder & CEO, GHE. The award was presented on November 5, 2018, the opening day of WTM London (World Travel Market) at the Excel London. ... Read more

Surrounded by the Vembanad Lake, Vaikom embraces travellers with its beautiful water bodies and serene village life. Exploring the backwaters, narrow canals and life of the small villages of Vaikom is best possible through canoe cruises which are close to the hearts of nature lovers since it is eco-friendly. A laid-back cruise in a canoe soaks one in the rich natural beauty of the surrounding greenery. The pottery village of Vaikom grants travellers a chance to watch the enthralling process of rendering life to clay and mud. Visitors can experience the village life on the way. traditional coir making, pottery, ... Read more

Thailand’s cabinet approved a measure to waive for two months fees paid by visitors for visas on arrival, with an objective to boost tourism, which was hit by a drop in visitors from China, its biggest market. The fee of 2,000 baht (USD 60) will be waived between December 1 and January 31 for travellers from 21 countries, including China, Taiwan, India and Saudi Arabia, government spokesman Puttiphong Punnakan told the media. The scheme is expected to increase tourist numbers by at least 30 per cent during the period, he said. In September, overall tourist arrivals rose just 2.1 per ... Read more

Jet Airways has started its new non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester, further expanding the airline’s connectivity in the United Kingdom (UK). The new service is the first non-stop service connecting India, via Manchester, the 3rd largest city in the UK. With the launch of its 5th non-stop service to/from the UK, Jet Airways is now the largest carrier between Mumbai and the UK and Manchester, the 21st international destination on the carrier’s network. Jet Airways’ first flight to Manchester 9W 130, departed on schedule from Mumbai at 0230 hrs with a full complement of Premiere and Economy guests on ... Read more

The first International Investment Tourism Forum is all set to be held in Tashkent from November 19-21, 2018. Representatives of international financial institutions, potential foreign investors, international tourism organisations, leading tourism companies, experts and specialists of the sphere will attend the forum along with domestic entrepreneurs. The forum is aimed at expanding international cooperation in tourism industry, attracting direct investments and promoting the country’s tourism potential among investors. Participants of the event will visit the regions of the country to become acquainted with ready projects offered to investors. They will also get acquainted with opportunities provided in Charvak free tourism ... Read more

Koyilandy Municipality Building Kerala government is venturing to generate more employment opportunities in the tourism sector by exploring the potential of Malabar region. It was informed by A C Moideen, Minister for Local Self Governments, while addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for the Koyilandy municipality’s new shopping complex-cum-office annex on Monday,5th November 2018. “The government will give priority to innovative ventures like river tourism. Around Rs 350 crore is planned to invest in the sector,” said the minister. Koyilandy Harbour “We are confident of executing the proposed National Waterway project in the State by 2020,” added the ... Read more

Rashmi Verma, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India has inaugurated the India pavilion at the World Travel Market 2018 in London. Pramod Kumar Singh, Tourism Minister, Bihar; Vellamandi N Natarajan, Tourism Minister, Tamil Nadu; Aashima Mehrotra, Director, Ministry of Tourism and Charanjeet Singh, Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK were also present at the function. “Last year has been a very good year for India tourism with a growth of about 14 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals and about 19 per cent in terms of foreign receipts, much more than the global growth of 6.8 per cent. We also crossed ... Read more

Emirates’ latest Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with the ‘Game Changer’ First Class product will operate between Dubai and Vienna on a daily basis from 1 December 2018. Austria will be one of the first few countries in the world to be served by Emirates’ Boeing 777 aircraft with fully enclosed private suites inspired by Mercedes-Benz. Emirates flies to Vienna twice daily and both flights will be operated by its flagship products – the iconic A380 and Game Changer Boeing 777 product – underscoring its commitment to the market since 2004. It also means customers travelling to or from Vienna can ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Government for the Republic of Korea for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism in New Delhi today. K J Alphons, Union Tourism Minister and Do Jong-hwan Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sports, Republic of Korea signed the MoU and officials from the Ministry and their counterparts from the Korean side were also present during the signing ceremony. The MoU was signed by two parties desiring to strengthen and further develop the established relationship for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism. “The signing ... Read more

Shripad Yesso Naik , Minister of State for AYUSH , addressing the gathering Shripad Yesso Naik , Minister of State for AYUSH has announced that Ayurveda Departments will be opened in the new 19 AIIMS. He said, work is already on to start Ayurveda Departments in hundred ESIC hospitals under Ministry of Labour.  Further, approval has been received from Home Ministry to open Ayurveda Departments in seven hospitals of BSF and other Para military forces. While Inaugurating the 3rd Ayurveda Day in New Delhi on 5th November 2018, the minister said, this year Ministry has taken many steps to fulfill ... Read more

Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi – Terminal 3 K J Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism, inaugurated the Tourist facilitation and information counter at Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi, today. The facilitation counter is located at the T3 terminal arrival gates of the IGI Airport on 5th November 2018. The Tourism Ministry is also starting Facilitation Counters in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Gaya and Varanasi. Opening the facilitation center for visitors, which is first-of-its-kind by the Government in IGI airport, the minister said that this shall be of great help to the tourists visiting the country. The Minister of State ... Read more

WTM London, held from November 5 to 7, has almost 170 exhibitors making their debut at this year. “Ideas Arrive Here” is the theme for the 38th edition of the show. The show expects some 50,000 delegates from 182 countries and regions, who will conduct even more business than last year’s record £3.1 billion. The new entrants include airlines, movie-set tour providers, adventure operators and sports venues, as well as tourist boards, destination marketing companies, tech innovators and car-hire companies. New airlines that are flying in are US-based Air Transat; Indian-based Go Airlines; Middle Eastern carrier Royal Brunei Airlines and Iceland’s national carrier, Icelandair. World ... Read more

The Kenyan government to review a charter incentives program to incorporate low-cost carriers and scheduled flights to boost inbound tourism. Joe Okudo, permanent secretary at the tourism ministry, said the number of charters has risen from one charter (Condor Airlines) to 10 now, boosting tourism business in the region, which has been affected by negative travel advisories. “This move will not only strengthen our destination’s brand visibility as a whole in the source markets but increase visitor number. It will allow us to venture into joint marketing initiatives with the airline operator and the travel agents’ consortia,” said Okudo, as ... Read more

Arunachal Pradesh is all set to promote the state tourism with the help of tourism police. The state Chief Minister Prema Khandu has recently launched tourist police spreading across seven different districts. The concept of tourist police is a first in the northeast and 15th overall in the country. “Arunachal Pradesh is popular among tourists for its splendid beauty and serene landscapes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in February this year steered us to work more seriously on making Arunachal one of the best tourist destinations, not only in India but worldwide,” Prema Khandu said after the launch. “Our Himalayan mountain ranges ... Read more