Category: News

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet is all set to test India’s first biofuel-powered flight on August 27 as it is planning to cut its aviation fuel bill. SpiceJet is planning to operate a turboprop Q-400 from Dehradun to Delhi using this sustainable alternative fuel. If the test passes off successfully, the aircraft — powered by a mix of conventional air turbine fuel and biofuel — will operate a flight to Delhi. The biofuel for the flight has been developed by Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun. The made-in-India alternative fuel has acquired all statutory clearances, including those from designated testing labs and the Directorate General ... Read more

An order to ban night stay at high-altitude meadows and limiting the number of tourists, by the Uttarakhand High Court will adversely affect the adventure tourism in the state, experts say. It is expected that one lakh people engaged in trekking and mountaineering expeditions will be jobless, besides the loss of revenues to the state. .”Tourism, especially adventure tourism, is the only bread earner for the hill inmates and a court order like this is indirectly asking tourists not to come to the state,” said Jayendra Singh Rana,  President of Garhwal Himalayan Trekking and Mountaineering Association. “The judgment will deprive ... Read more

A set of recommendation for the development of the Odisha tourism industry have arisen from the 3rd Odisha Tourism Conclave that commenced on Friday, 24th August 2018 in Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha. “Now people can have tourism on the mobile handsets, but the growth is like on aeroplane mode. We need to have a vibrant campaign to brand Odisha in line with New Zealand, Thailand and Dubai to promote the destinations,” said JK Mohanty, Chairman of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), while speaking in the Conclave. Social media should be used to market Tourism globally. Blog posts, podcasts, videos and ... Read more

This year, Malyalees around the world to have a colourless Onam festival, following the devastating floods that took around 400 lives. Over a million people are still in relief camps and at least 50,000 houses fully or partially damaged by the floods. On the occasion of Onam, Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister, urged the people to celebrate the festival by helping those who are suffering due to the ravaging floods, the worst disaster in the state’s history. Considered the state’s harvest festival, ‘Onam’ falls in the beginning of Chingam, the first month of Malayalam Calendar and is celebrated all over ... Read more

N Chandrababu Naidu, CM Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, has exhorted his officials to complete all the tourism projects in a fast-track mode. He was addressing a review meeting with the State Tourism Promotion Board officials at the Secretariat. He asked to identify tourism circuits and develop state-of-the-art infrastructure to attract more tourists to the state – both domestic and international. The state has hosted around 168 million domestic tourists during the year 2017-18, while had around 2.5 lakh foreign tourists in the state. “The state will have 23 five star hotels by the year ... Read more

Photo for representative purpose only India Tourism Mart, first-of-its-king, will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on 17th September 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The three-day programme is organized by the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) in association with the Ministry of Tourism. The programme will kick start on 16th September at 5:00 PM with a welcome address by the President of FAITH, followed by a ‘Welcome cocktail Reception’. The official Inauguration will be on 17th at 10:00 AM. The objective of the event is to position the tourism destinations and products of the country in ... Read more

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation aims at promoting tourism in Buddhist hotspots of the states with the help of Buddhist Monks. MTDC is going to seek help of monks from 15 neighbouring Buddhist countries. Thhese monks will propagate Buddhism’s traditional and historical facets, in the state in the form of caves, stupas, gumphas and viharas, among other artefacts. The state’s ministry of tourism has organised the 6th International Buddhist Conclave 2018 in Aurangabad on Thursday.  Buddhist delegates with monks from 15 nations were present at the conclave, where monks and Buddhist delegates have an opportunity to interact with the tourism operators ... Read more

Tribes Indian outlets will be launched in Ahmedabad, Udaipur and Kolkata airports. The Airport Authority of India has allotted space at Ahmedabad, Udaipur and Kolkata airports for opening of Tribes India outlets. Besides, TRIFED has been offered spaces at International Airports at Dehradun, Varanasi, Pune, Goa, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Amritsar and Gangtok for setting up of Tribes India Outlets. “Presence of Tribes India Outlets at these Airports will not only be a good opportunity to market tribal products but also would help promote “Tribes India” as a brand among target customers,” said a press statement issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. TRIFED ... Read more

When Kerala has been undergoing the disaster of the century, all the Kerala people stood hand-in-hand to confront the calamity. Kadakampally Surendran, Kerala Tourism Minister has lauded the manner in which Kerala have tackled the situation.  He was talking in a meeting with the tourism officials and other dignitaries from the tourism industry.  He lauded the contribution of the tourism fraternity in the rescue operations during the floods. He praised the efforts of Kalypso Adventures, who brought rafts from the Himalayan clubs to use in the rescue operations. He also applauded the diving experts of Bond Safari, who have rescued ... Read more

Third Odisha Tourism Conclave, organised by Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), kick starts in Bhubaneswar. Governor Ganeshi Lal inaugurated the conclave at 10 am in the presence Rajya Sabha MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Additional Chief Secretary Home Asit Kumar Tripathy, and Tourism & Sports Secretary Vishal Dev. In Travel and Tourism, sector more than 50 per cent of the bookings are done online, said J K Mohanty, Chairman, HRAO in his welcome speech. “The government is working on long term plans to bring in strategic investment into the Tourism sector with the participation of the private sector. While a ... Read more

India’s first engine-less train will roll on the tracks from September this year for trial run. The Train-18 is a semi-high speed self-propelled trains like Metro trains and can run at a speed of 160 kmph. All new luxurious T-18 coaches will be replacing existing Shatabdi coaches and coaches of intercity trains. As per reports , Mumbai may get the first set of T-18 coaches. The coaches may be maintained at the Virar car shed. The trial is likely to be conducted on the Delhi-Agra-Bhopal stretch. Train 18 is coming with a number of unique features than the traditional trains ... Read more

Jatayu Earth Centre will be open to public from today onwards, said a press statement issued by the authorities. The ticket charge per person is Rs. 400. The tickets are being booked through the website www.jatayuearthscenter.com. “There is a great response to online ticket booking,” said the statement. The entry to the Earth Centre is only through online booking so as to restrict the crowd. On the ‘Uthradam’ day (first day of Onam), the JEC is dedicating the World’s largest bird sculpture as well as the Swiss made hi-tech cable car to the people. The inauguration which was scheduled on August ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Seamedu Kerala has always been a favourite destination for students of foreign countries for their higher studies. Renowned universities and comparatively cheaper fees structure and cost of living makes Kerala a preferred place for higher education for foreign students. Kerala government is planning to utilize this positive atmosphere prevailing in the education sector, by promoting a unique concept of ‘Education Tourism’. By this programme, the government plan to provide education of international standards to the students, while they could enjoy the benefits of tourism. The concept is yet to get consensus from the universities; however, the Kerala Infrastructure ... Read more

Emirates SkyCargo said it will carry flood relief cargo of over 175 tons to Kerala, joining the UAE community in their support of the people of Kerala. Over more than a dozen flights, the air cargo operator will transport the relief goods, which have been donated by various UAE-based businesses and organisations, to Thiruvananthapuram – the nearest online Emirates station to the areas most affected by the flood. The goods, including lifesaving boats, blankets and dry food items, will be handed over to the local flood relief and aid organisations for distribution.

The President, Ram Nath Kovind at the inauguration of the International Buddhist Conclave- 2018 The President of India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the “International Buddhist Conclave (IBC), 2018” today. The Minister of State (Independent charge),  K J Alphons presided over the inaugural function. The 4 days long Conclave has been organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the State Governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from 23rd – 26th August, 2018 at New Delhi and Ajanta (Maharashtra), followed by site visits to Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh). The President also launched the Ministry ... Read more