Category: News

Emirates and Jetstar Pacific have announced a new codeshare agreement, expanding the existing partnership between the Dubai-based carrier and Jetstar Group. The new partnership with the Ho Chi Minh City-based carrier allows Emirates’ passengers to enjoy connectivity on domestic flights within Vietnam, in addition to flights connecting Vietnam to Singapore, Thailand as well as Australia. The new codeshare services from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi connect Emirates passengers to 14 Vietnamese cities beyond Ho Chi Minh City and six cities beyond Hanoi. Emirates will also operate codeshare flights with Jetstar Pacific between the latter’s hub in Ho Chi Minh ... Read more

To celebrate Emirati Women’s Day, the Emirates Group unveiled a special video tribute to the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, who was a driving force in supporting the advancement of women in the country. Released on Emirates’ social media platforms, the one-minute video draws a parallel between Sheikh Zayed’s vision decades ago and the pivotal roles occupied by Emirati women today. The video concludes with a heartfelt declaration affirming Emirati women’s pride and determination to continue on the path of success as ‘daughters of Zayed’. “I’d like to take ... Read more

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has declared the winners of the JAPAN Best Incentive Travel Awards 2018, which recognizes outstanding Japan incentive travel. This year marks the third time these awards are being presented. The awards are organised with the aim of increasing the understanding and motivation of parties involved in the MICE industry in both Japan and overseas through the recognition of examples of the best practices for Japan incentive travel. Award Winners: Best Incentive Travel was bagged by Comfort Travel Service Co., Ltd./Colatour (Taiwan) and Best Creative Planning was pocketed by ‘Dancing snow in Tohoku and Hakodate’. Best Community Contribution was ... Read more

India is going to be ticket-less in public transport.  It was announced by Amithabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, while talking in the Future Mobility Summit-2018-India’s Move to NextGen Transport Systems, in Dehlhi. “The objective of the strategy is to plan for the citizens first, rather than focusing on vehicles alone, by providing sustainable mobility and accessibility by switching to a cleaner mode of transportation,” said Kant. “A robust transportation system is the backbone of any economy and especially for a densely populated country like India, the focus of the nation’s mobility strategy was on sustainable modes of public transport, ... Read more

Turismo de Portugal (TdP) has conducted roadshows combined with B2B sessions, in New Delhi and Mumbai. The roadshow was aimed to educate and motivate the focused invitee list of preferred travel agents, tour operators and trade partners and update their knowledge about Portugal, the products it has to offer, USP’s of the destination, exchange rate, visas and how it caters to different segments of the Indian travellers. The event was divided into 2 different sessions – one was the focused B2B sessions where the invitees held business meetings with the Portugal DMCs. The DMCs and their top management attend the Roadshow; ... Read more

To the delight of the visitors in Western Ghats, Neelakurji flowers have bloomed in Vettaikkaran hills near Kanthalloor. Almost every valleys of the area are adorn with blue blooms, though not that expensive as in the seasons. People can reach Ottamala region of Vettaikaran Kovil by jeep from Kanthaloor town. Those who cannot trek through the hills can opt for visiting the nearby areas like Pattissery, Keezhanthoor, Kolutha Malai, where also you can see blooming Neelakuriji flowers. Tourists from Tamil Nadu have already started flowing to the region to witness the blue-purple flowers, which blooms once in 12 years. As ... Read more

Qatar has become the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently updated its visa openness rankings, confirming Qatar’s recent visa facilitation improvements including allowing nationals of 88 countries to enter Qatar visa-free and free-of-charge. With an aim to improve visa facilitation, Qatar has introduced an online platform for efficient and transparent visa processing and e-visas, as well as a free 96-hour transit visa doubling the time stopover passengers can remain in the country. As a result of these measures, Qatar’s visa openness ranking ... Read more

P K Anish Kumar, President, Association of Tourism Trade Operators India (ATTOI) and C S Vinod, Vice President, receiving appreciation certificate from the Tourism Minister, Kadakampally Surendran. Tourism Department of Kerala honoured tourism professionals who took part in the rescue and relief activities during the recent floods in Kerala. Kadakampally Surendran, Kerala Tourism Minister, felicitated tourism fraternity and appreciated their selfless participation to the rescue and relief activities during the floods. The programme was held at the Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram. EM Najeeb and V Sreekumara Menon representing Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), receive certificate from the Minister “The flood ... Read more

Kochi airport, the seventh busiest in the country, had been non-functional from August 14 to 28 owing to the devastating flood that shook the entire state between August 8 and 22. The airport authorities had first announced the shuttering of the facility till August 18, which was then extended to August 26 and further to August 29 as water levels continued to rise inundating the runway, the terminals as well as the large solar farm surrounding the airport. The engineers from government-owned consultancy Kitco have begun a survey in Nedumbassery and Kanjoor panchayat areas as a preliminary step to help ... Read more

The priority of the government after the floods is to restore and rebuild roads and bridges to the major tourist destinations in Kerala, said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism.  The minister was addressing a gathering at ‘Kaithanginoru Kooppukai’ after felicitating tourism/hospitality professionals who were involved in rescue and relief activities during the flood. The event, organised by Kerala Tourism, honoured tourism sector personnel, including tour operators, associations, life guards and boat drivers, who were engaged in the rescue and relief operations. “The major challenge faced by the tourism sector is damage suffered by roads connecting tourism destinations. The government, however, is ... Read more

Realising the potential of adventure tourism, Sri Lanka has launched a programme to assist the tourism industry to standardize and develop adventure tourism and training in the country. Sri Lanka Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga launched “The Adventure Tourism Curricula,” under the initiative, at a ceremony held on 29th August 2018 at the Temple Trees. Sujith Sanjaya Perera, member of Parliament, Officers of Policy Development Office (PDO),Officers of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM) and Industry stakeholders participated in the event. The Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs and the Policy Development Office (PDO) ... Read more

Indian Blackbucks Indian Blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) is one of the three species of antelopes found in Odisha, which are in the endangered list. In order to enhance the population of the black bucks, the authorities are planning to release some of them in the Chandaka forest on city outskirts this year. Last month the authorities have sought the help of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for the population management of the antelopes.  As per the recent census the total number of blackbucks the Bhetnoi-Balipadar landscape of Ganjam district was counted to be 4,080. “The fact that the landscape of Bhetnoi ... Read more

Pamukkale, Turkey After their recent participation in the trade exhibitions in India, Turkish tourism industry is eyeing on Indian Metro cities to develop wedding and Mice tourism in their country. The tourism department is planning to have campaigns to lure people from Chennai and other metros. Recently Indians are showing interest in conducting wedding and other important functions abroad.  They are less hesitant to spend money to make the functions as grand as possible. Turkish tourism department is trying to exploit this tendency and showcase their historical monuments and other world renowned tourism spots to the MICE and Destination Wedding ... Read more

ATOAI 12th Convention in Madhya Pradesh Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) always hold their annual conventions in adventure destinations and, this year the association has selected Araku Valley its venue for the next convention. The 14th Annual Convention of ATOAI will be held in Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh from 25th to 28th October, 2018. Araku Valley, located 115 km from Vizag airport, is an amazing hill station, one of unfathomable valleys in India that lures the tourists with its breath-taking landscapes and pleasant weather. The annual convention of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India is a gathering of the ... Read more

Goa government plan to include agro-eco tourism in the school syllabus. It was suggested by the ICAR-Central Coast Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) and they are said to be in the process of writing to the state education department recommending this. An agro eco-tourism unit has already launched in the state equipped with a range of agricultural activities and display of various operations like mushroom production, bee hives etc. “When the agro eco-tourism unit has launched, lots of schools have contacted us showing their interest. We are writing to the government to include this in the school curriculum. We may also ... Read more