Category: News

Goa and Japan plan to have ties between the two regions to boost tourism. Ryoji Noda, Consul General of Japan met Menino D’Souza, Director of Tourism, Goa on Thursday, 6th September 2018. Various initiatives to be taken up to develop tourism in Japan and Goa have been discussed during the meeting. As per a tourism official, Goa has been receiving Japanese tourists, availing the electronic tourist visa through the Goa International Airport at Dabolim. Records depict that around 250 Japanese tourists visit Goa annually and the Goan authorities expect to increase the number in the coming days. D’Souza has informed ... Read more

Tour operators in the country should tap the full tourism potential of the country and also special focus was needed to bring in more Chinese tourists, said Union Tourism Minister for State (I/C), K J Alphons. The minister was addressing the gathering at the inauguration of 34th IATO annual convention held at Novotel Hotel in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The minister also suggested that IATO be renamed Indian Association of Tour Ambassadors. “Though we have taken special measures to attract Chinese tourists to the country, only 2.47 lakh Chinese tourists visited India in 2017. I request IATO to play a major role ... Read more

Kerala has faced the worst flooding in over a century that has left more than 400 people dead. Incessant rain since August 8 caused the worst floods and triggered landslides, blocking access to many of the popular destinations and forcing the Kochi International airport to cancel its operations for 14 days. Looking at the damages and the devastation the floods has caused, people were skeptical about the revival of the state, especially the tourism industry. But, in less than a couple of week’s time, the state could overcome the difficulties in record time and is now ready to welcome tourists. “The ... Read more

Kashmir tourism department is planning to have country wide promotion campaigns in association with the private sector. In the first phase, attracting more south Indian tourists will be in focus. “We have set up stall in the 34th IATO (Indian Association of Tour Operators) convention in Vishakapatnam, which started on 6th September 2018 and will have presentations about our tourist hot-spots,” said Tasaduq Jeelani, Director of Tourism, Kashmir. “There will be promotional campaigns in all major cities, with priority to south Indian cities like Chennai and Bengaluru,” he added The state has been experiencing shortfall in the tourism inflow due ... Read more

Kerala has been in the news for the past couple of weeks due to the devastating floods, which took the entire length and breadth of the state into shackles. But, the lush green paddy fields and the backwaters in Kumarakom are all the more beautiful and refreshing after the downpour. The deep emerald of the coconut fronds and the silvery backwaters is bustling with life. After a couple of week’s fall, the God’s own Country, as it is aptly called, has resurrected and is all set to welcome globetrotters. A team of 16 foreign tour operators have landed in Kerala to be ... Read more

K J Alphons, Minister for Tourism, Govt of India arrives at Vizag for the IATO convention The 34th Annual Convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) kick-starts at Novotel in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The annual convention held from September 6 to 9, 2018, is conducted under the patronage of the Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu. The minister will inaugurate the India Travel Mart at 6 pm at the hotel. The previous two conventions were held in Hyderabad in 1997 and 2003, both were inaugurated by the Chief Minister himself. The three-day annual convention, with the theme, “20 million foreign tourists by ... Read more

Booking.com has entered into a partnership with Air India to offer the airline’s customers access to over 28.9 million accommodation listings, including everything from homes, apartments, villas to world-class hotels and resorts from the Air India website. “Air India being the country’s national carrier and one of the most extensive flight service providers in India, makes it the perfect partner for us to showcase our global online accommodation offering to their domestic & international customers. As India is poised to become the third largest aviation market by 2020 with its fast-growing outbound travel market, we are happy to combine our ... Read more

Plastic waste is a plague on the world, and our holidays are also partially to be blamed in contributing a large chunk of it. With an aim to bring down the plastic waste in the destination, Munnar, the famed hill station of Kerala, is taking some commendable measures. Munnar Grama Panchayath has banned plastic products in and around Munnar area in Devikulam Taluk. The local authority has banned buying and selling plastic products under the Plastic Waste Management Rule – GS320(E) dated 18.03.2016 and ESR285(E) dated 28.03.2018. The products banned in Munnar area are plastic carry bags, plastic banners, flex, ... Read more

In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court today scrapped Section 377 of the IPC, decriminalising the 158-year-old colonial law which criminalises consensual gay sex. Five judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra delivered the verdict today. The judges have come out with a concurring judgment. Four judges, CJI Dipak Misra, Justices RF Nariman, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, have authored separate judgments while Justice Khanwilakar has chosen to concur with Misra. Upholding the rights of LGBTQ community, CJI Dipak Misra said autonomy, intimacy and identity of an individual are to be protected. Misra said that the LGBTQ community has ... Read more

The JW Marriott Hotel in Pune has announced the appointment of Manuj Ralhan as Director of Operations. With over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, Manuj in his new role will be leading business and strategic operations of the property. Primarily responsible for overseeing smooth functioning of the hotel, Manuj comes with experience that will help to implement the brand service strategy and initiatives. He has always been looked up to as a highly encouraging mentor and thrives on guiding teams to ensure that the services of the hotel are known for being the best in the city. During ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned the project “Development of Rural Circuit: Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project’ in Kerala under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for Rs 80.37 crores, said Minister of State for Tourism (I/C)  K J Alphos. The project focuses on development of water based thematic cruise experiences in and around Valapattanam and Kuppam Rivers of Kannur District. The three thematic cruises developed under the project are as follows: a) Malabari Cuisine and Culinary Cruise in Valapattanam River (Muthappan Cruise) – Cruise starts from Valapattanam to Munambu Kadavu in Valapattanam River with an effective Cruise Length of 40 km. b) ... Read more

Kenya to have discussions with economy airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet to begin flying to the East African nation famous for its beaches and safaris. Tourism is one of the country’s highest revenue earners of the nation and earned around USD 1.2 billion last year, as per statistics from the Kenya Tourism Board. “We are developing a strategy to encourage low-cost carriers from the U.K. to fly here,” said Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Kenya. Other than beaches and safaris, Kenya is also popular for its wildlife. The authorities expect, with the arrival of low-cost flights the inbound tourist ... Read more

The strongest typhoon, named Jebi, hit Japan in 25 years battered the west of the country on Tuesday, September 4 with violent winds and heavy rain. The country’s meteorological agency has said that large area of Japan should be on high alert for strong gusts, high waves and heavy downpours. At least nine people have been killed and over 150 people are injured. In Osaka Bay it swept a tanker into a bridge and in Kyoto parts of a railway station roof came down. Officials ordered more than a million people in affected areas to evacuate their homes amid warnings of high waves, flooding and ... Read more

In a stimulus to the tourism sector in Odisha, large hotel brands such as Taj Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, ITC Hotels and Crown Plaza have come forward to start their hotels in the state. Taj Hotel “Taj Hotel is coming up with a large commercial complex. Similarly, we are hopeful that ITC’s property will be ready in the next six months. All the new hotels will be coming up in Bhubaneswar,” said a senior official of the tourism department. ITC Group is putting up a 110 room five star hotel in Bhubaneswar under its Welcome Hotel brand. According to the Odisha tourism website, the state ... Read more

Haji Inayat Ali, Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Advisor to the governor,  have inaugurated the two-day Kargil Ladakh Tourism Festival-2018 at Khree Sultan Cho Sports Stadium at Biamathang Kargil. The two-day event features multi-ethnic traditional music and dance performances by folk artists of different ethnic groups of the region including Purgi, Dalti, Dardi. The event also features traditional horse polo and archery matches. Besides, it also has an exhibition of local art and craft on various stalls, which serves ethnic food. Haji Inayat Ali highlighted the scope of tourism in Kargil, and said that the topography ... Read more