Category: News

Rani George, Kerala Tourism Secretary presents the ‘Sun is out’ presentation to the media After the devastating floods, Kerala tourism is bouncing back with rigorous promotion programmes by the Ministry of Tourism. Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Minister of Kerala, along with Rani George, Tourism Secretary and P Balakiran, Tourism Director, have conducted a press meet in Delhi, as part of the first ever India Travel Mart. Rani George has made a presentation of Kerala’s revival activities with a title ‘Sun is out’. The presentation expounded how Kerala is getting back to normal from the havoc of the flood. After the presentation ... Read more

IndiGo has launched its 5th service to Singapore with the commencement of additional services from Kolkata and Tiruchirappalli. The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options. “We are pleased to operate our first daily non-stop flights between Kolkata-Singapore and Tiruchirappalli-Singapore starting September 15. IndiGo has completed 12 years of successful operations in the India market as a low cost carrier, and adding new flights to its network will further augment the connectivity that we aspire to provide to our customers. It is our constant endeavour ... Read more

The government is taking a slew of measures to increase the number of tourists visiting India from China. And, as part of this initiative, the ministry is planning to appoint a strategic adviser for the Chinese market. The strategic adviser is appointed to advice and coordinate strategies to attract more inbound tourists from China. This was revealed by KJ Alphons, Minister for Tourism, Government of India, at the India Tourism Mart in New Delhi. “As a destination India is doing phenomenally well and is growing well above the global average. In the meantime, Chinese market continues to be a concern for India ... Read more

Houseboat industry of Kerala, mostly concentrated in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts, is spreading its focus to other regions such as Eranakulam and Malabar. The Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has sought the permission from the authorities to set up a houseboat terminal-cum-hub on Kadamakudy Island. “They can also operate from DTPC’s boat terminal at Marine Drive. The Chittoor-Cheranalloor route and the water body on the north western parts of the city are ideal to operate and berth them. We intend to procure a few boats once the houseboat hub is realised at Kadamakudy,” said S Vijayakumar, DTPC Secretary. One ... Read more

Emirates airline’s fully-enclosed First Class Private Suites, launched in November last year on its Boeing 777 aircraft, has been awarded gold by Future Travel Experience (FTE) in the “Up in the Air” category. The FTE Global Awards celebrate the outstanding efforts of organizations that have gone the extra mile to improve the passenger experience both on the ground and in-flight. The “Best ‘Up in the Air’ Initiative” category recognizes the top three initiatives that have helped to improve the passenger experience and/or significantly enhance operational efficiency during the in-flight phase of the travel process. The awards ceremony took place at ... Read more

Union Tourism Minister Alphons K J today invited the global tourism stakeholders to visit Kerala supporting the flood-hit state. “Though it was hit by one of the worst floods in the century, Kerala is emerging from the deluge at an amazing pace,” he said inaugurating the India Tourism Mart in New Delhi today. “The tourism centers and hotels in Kerala have been fully opened after the floods. I’m inviting you to visit this beautiful place,” he said addressing the gathering. “If Kerala will submit a detailed project on the renovation of Pamba river, the central government will take all the ... Read more

Gorkhnath temple at Uttar Pradesh is going to have a face-lift with a project cost of Rs 6.5 crore. The renovation works will be carried out with the assistance from the Central Government. The authorities are planning to have a light, sound and laser show in the temple premises. Historic stories of Indian mythology and culture will also be narrated. Distinct equipment and engineers are invited from France to install machines and music units. Other than this, the entire temple premise will be adorn with lights, in a way that it would be visible from an airplane passing above the ... Read more

Yoga is India’s greatest gift to the world, said Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India. Suman Billa was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the India Tourism Mart in New Delhi. “Give us 15 days, we will make you 5 years younger,” he said while talking about the importance of yoga and the different yoga practices followed in the country. The Tourism Ministry is organising the India Tourism Mart (ITM) from 16th to 18th September, 2018 in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) and with the support of State /UT ... Read more

The focus, at present, needs to be on attracting high spending, high quality international tourists to the country, opined Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal. The minister was addressing the audience after inaugurating the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM) on 17th September, 2018 at Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. “The profile of the international tourists needs to be studied in detail so that we can attract more tourists to the country. We should also ensure that the government should provide facilities which can attract high spending tourists,” he said. The minister also said that religious tourism and sports tourism also has lot of ... Read more

Gokaraju Gangaraju , Narasapuram MP taking part in the Swachh Pakhwada programme on Gandhi Hill Vijayawada on Sunday (Photo courtesy: The Hans India) Andhra Pradesh Tourism department has launched ‘Swachh Pakhwada’ (clean fortnight), a tourism and cleanliness campaign, to attract tourists to various destinations in the state. The Swachh Pakhwada was launched by the Union government in association with the State governments and Union Territories exhorting people to participate in the two-week campaign of cleaning. As part of the campaign, the Andhra Pradesh tourism department will take up activities like cleaning of surroundings, placing of dustbins, conduct cleaning awareness rallies ... Read more

Southern Railway is planning to operate round trip Udagamandalam-Ketti-Udagamandalam as part of Paryatan Parv 2018. The special train have seating capacity of 80 seats in First class and 40 in second class totalling 120 seats, with four trips consisting of three coaches.First Round trip service started from Udagamandalam at 10.00 am on September 16 and arrived at Lovedale at 10.11 am and departed at 10.13 am. The train reached Ketti at 10.30 am and returned from Ketti at 11.00 to reach Udagamandalam at 11.30 am. The new service halt at Ketti for 30 minutes to enjoy the beauty of Ketti ... Read more

Home minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates Paryatan Parv 2018 Union home minister Rajnath Singh reiterated that India is full of cultural diversity but yet it is unbreakable and it is being developed as a tourist destination. He was inaugurating the second edition of ‘Paryatan Parv’ (Tourism Festival) at Rajpath Lawns in Delhi on Sunday.  K.J. Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism, Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and other dignitaries from participating Central Ministries and State Governments, were present at the occasion. The event is being organised by the Tourism Ministry, aiming at drawing attention on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural ... Read more

  Shanghai Tourism Festival (STF) is one of the major tourism events, which is jointly hosted by Shanghai Municipal Administration of Tourism, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV and Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce. It is held since 1990. Now it has become an important event for Shanghai local residence. The 29th STF is has kick started on 14th September 2018 and will conclude on 19th September. The Opening parade is one of the traditional programs on this occasion. Many art ensembles from all over the world will be invited to join the parade. During the past ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) is planning to enhance community based tourism in the capital city, Amaravati. Under this project the residents of a region invite tourists to visit their communities and provide them with overnight accommodation. APCRDA also plans to have feasible tourism projects in the region; in public sector and also private-public partnership (PPP). “The master plan will be drafted with the aim to promote community-based tourism. It will, however, focus equally on conservation of natural resources and their optimum utilization. It will also prepare guidelines to fill the gap in public infrastructure,” said an official. ... Read more

Kerala has been getting back to normal after the devastating rain and flood that has caused terrific damages to the state’s infrastructure and economy. Tourism was one among the major sectors experienced widespread damages. However, with the tireless efforts of the state tourism department and the government machinery along with the selfless support of the tourism fraternity, the state has been reinstating most of its tourism destinations to normal. All the restrictions on tourist destinations have been lifted by the authorities. Major tourist destinations like Munnar and Thekkady are ready to receive tourists and most of the damaged roads have been ... Read more