Category: News

The Parliamentary Committee has extended its helping hands and offered help to the flood affected Kerala. The Committee gave the assurance during a meeting of Kovalam-based tourism/hospitality operators held on September 10. The tourism fraternity from Kerala has requested the Committee to include the state in the promotional videos of Government of India. The Tourism Department has assured that Kerala would get good visibility in the next set of promotional videos brought out by the ministry. The state tourism professionals have also requested the Committee to include Kerala in the Leave Travel Concession of central government employees. The team has ... Read more

Tomb of Mehu Egypt has allowed the public to visit a 4000-year old tomb in the Saqqara necropolis near Giza on Sunday, 9th September, for the first time, as part of tourism promotion. The tomb was discovered in 1940 by Egyptologist Zaki Saad, which is said to be belongs to an ancient Egypt high-ranking official named Mehu who was related to the first king of the 6th dynasty. “It is a beautiful tomb, and it was discovered in 1940. We are making sure to persistently to showcase our cultural contents for tourists. This is why we open tombs for visitors ... Read more

With an aim to tap the tourism market in the Middle East, Taiwan Tourism Board has partnered with Musafir.com, the UAE’s first premium-experience travel website. The partnership is aimed to raise awareness about Taiwan as a compelling leisure destination in the Middle East. Under the new agreement, Musafir.com and Taiwan Tourism Board will collaborate and conduct joint marketing campaigns in order to diversify the tourism culture in the UAE. In an effort to push the limits of destination marketing, both Musafir.com and Taiwan Tourism Board aim to position the island nation as the top destination amongst travellers out of the ... Read more

SpiceJet is all set to launch its dedicated air cargo services from September 18. The carrier said it would operate the cargo services under the brand name ‘SpiceXpress’ and has a detailed plan for domestic as well as international routes. SpiceJet would be the first schedule domestic airline to start dedicated air cargo services in India. A Boeing 737-700 plane has been inducted as the first freighter aircraft. The airline would launch SpiceXpress operations on September 18 and the first flight would be from the national capital to Bengaluru. The aircraft, taken on operating lease, has capacity for 20 tonnes of cargo. “To begin ... Read more

The Bengal forest department is going to open eight aviaries at the South Khayerbari Nature Park in Alipurduar district to enhance tourism. The nature park was inaugurated in 2005, which has lost its gleam after the leopard safari has stopped seven years ago, as the battery-run vehicles which were used to carry tourists to the enclosure went out of operation. “Even though the safari had stopped, at least 200 people visit the site during the tourism season. At present, there are seven leopards and one royal Bengal tiger at the nature park. It also has four cottages and boating facility ... Read more

The Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) has come up with a new concept in tourism to attract more people to Rajasthan.  The new concept – Battlefield Tourism- was announced during its 7th Annual Convention in Bharatpur. The idea is to reinstate the famous battle fields in the history to become tourist attractions. There have been several important battles in Rajasthan such as the Battle of Jalore (1310-11) in which Alauddin Khalji defeated Kanhad Deo after a long war, Battle of Sammel (1544) in which Sher Shah Suri had a pyrrhic victory against the army of Jaita and Kumpa; and the ... Read more

Lakshmi Menon with Chekkutty, the doll A group of designers are making soft dolls out of the stained and torn handloom cloths, the remains of the rain and floods that affected many lives in Kerala. The handloom cloths are collected from the flood affected Chendamangalam in Eranakulam, a region famous from its handloom products. During the floods, handloom sarees worth lakhs were damaged. Normally the damaged cloths would be burned, as the stains would not be fixed by washing. At this point of time the volunteers come forward with the idea of making dolls out of the stained cloths and ... Read more

Tremors were felt in Delhi and the National Capital Region today morning after mild earthquake in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale struck 6 km from Kharkhauda in Meerut, at 6.28 am, it said. No loss of life or damage to property have been reported so far. Another medium intensity quake hit Haryana’s Jhajjar district and the tremors were also felt in Delhi. The earthquake occurred at 6.28 am today at a depth of 10 km and had a magnitude of 3.7. On Sunday morning, an earthquake of 3.8 magnitude ... Read more

Etihad Airways has launched a new hand baggage only ‘Deal Fare’ across selected destinations, allowing travellers to purchase lower fares in Economy Class if no checked baggage is required. The ‘Deal Fare’ includes a complimentary carry-on baggage allowance of 7kg and is available on flights between Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Azerbaijan. “After a successful trial of the ‘Deal Fare’ late last year, purchasing behaviour demonstrated guests appreciate having more choice and like to be able to select the travel option that best meets their needs. We are enhancing our product offering to align with ... Read more

Vaishno Devi Temple, Kashmir Tourism officials and private stakeholders have urged the Gujarati counterparts to visit Kashmir to alleviate the negative impressions about visiting Kashmir.  They were participating in the three-day Travel and Tourism Fair at Ahmedabad, as part of the country wide Kashmir tourism promotional campaign, which was started last week. The team was headed by Tasaduq Jeelani, Director, Tourism, Kashmir. They met tour operators and media persons and invited them to participate in the upcoming ‘Kashmir Paryatan Utsav’ scheduled from September 29 to October 1. “We highlighted the need for the media to play a constructive and positive ... Read more

Kerala is recovering from the recent rain and floods that caused devastating damages to the state’s infrastructure and economy. Tourism being one of the major revenue earners of Kerala, prompt and adequate measures are taken by the state tourism department to streamline the tourism activities. The government is gearing to launch a revival campaign – God’s Own Country 2.0. “The state’s tourism sector suffered infrastructure losses of around Rs 100 crore, while business losses count around Rs 500 crore,” said P Balakiran, Director, Kerala Tourism. However, the state is going on with the 10th edition of Kerala Travel Mart, one ... Read more

IRCTC is taking one of its leading luxurious trains, the Maharaja’s Express to exhibit at OTDYKH Leisure 2018 in Russia. OTDYKH Leisure is the largest tourism event in Russia and the CIS, which enables the development of the tourism industry in Russia and facilitates the establishment of business contacts for representatives of the tourist market, as well as advertising of the country´s capabilities at an international level. Maharajas Express has 23 huge carriages and runs on five circuits, covering over 12 famous destinations in India. The train features five deluxe cabins, six for junior suites, two for suites and one for a ... Read more

The floods in Kerala had washed away the Periyavara bridge on the Munnar – Marayoor route, there by stopping all kinds of transportation between the two places. The bridge connecting tourists to Rajamal tourists zone and the Eravikulam nation park was the only access for the tourists to reach Rajamala to watch the mass blooming of Neelakurinji. The new temporary bridge is expected to be ready in two days’ time. Eravikulam National Park reported the blooming of Neelakurinji, the flower which blooms once in 12 years, last week. A huge inflow of tourists is expected in the area in the ... Read more

Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA India) has successfully conducted a four-city roadshow in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Mumbai along with 26 operators. “The objective behind conducting this roadshow is to show that Mauritius is more than a beach destination. It is a luxurious and glamorous destination as well,” said Arvind Bundhun, Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority. “Roadshows are a good opportunity to acquaint with Indian travel partners with the destination and meet the hoteliers, DMCs and activity companies. India is the fourth largest market for Mauritius and by the end of this year, we are expecting about 94,000 to 95,000 Indian ... Read more

Emirates celebrated a double win this week at the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards, after being named ‘Best Business Airline’ and ‘Best Airline – Long-Haul Holiday’. The airline won the prestigious accolades based on votes from Condé Nast Traveller readers’ for the best travel experiences in the world. The Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards 2018 questionnaire ran online from 4th March 2018 to 3rd May 2018. “We are honoured to have been recognised by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller as one of the world’s best airlines. We are committed to delivering the best possible experience both in ... Read more