Category: News

Photo Courtesy: IG/nuchienuchiee Experts in the field estimate that by 2020 Dubai will welcome a whopping 20 million international tourists. With a host of tourist-friendly activities and developments, the Emirate is all set to welcome the globetrotters and has even exempted tourists from value-added tax recently. Dubai recorded 15.8 million overnight visitors in 2017 – a 6.2 per cent increase from 2016, which was an all-time high number. Around 4.7 million international overnight visitors were recorded in the first quarter of 2018, registering a 2 per cent increase from the same period last year. The UAE hospitality market is expected to ... Read more

Travellers with Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France. “I’m pleased to announce that, with effect from July 23, 2018, holders of Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa (ATV) while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France,” tweeted Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India. An airport transit visa is applicable for those who are just transiting the Schengen territory and who will not leave the transit area of the airport. However, hotel accommodations are only available outside the ... Read more

  Association of Tourism Trade Organization of India (ATTOI) has been pursuing its relief activities in the flood affected Kuttanad. Recently ATTOI has distributed drinking water to the relief camps in Kuttanad. As a follow-up action, ATTOI team have visited the flooded areas and the relief camps for the second time. This time Kainakari and the other innermost areas of Kuttanad have been visited. Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS), Taj Group, Confederation of Accredited Tour Operators (CATO) and Association of Tourism Professionals (ATP) have also take part in the relief operations of ATTOI. PK Aneesh Kumar, President, ... Read more

After ‘Shoot the Rain’ and ‘Madhu Memorial Cricket Tournament’, tourism fraternity in Kerala is coming up with another sports event. Munnar Destination Makers (MDM) is organising a badminton tournament, in memorial of Sudheesh, who was the Manager of Munnar Cook Maker Resort and Executive member of MDM. The event will be held at the Ace Badminton Academy near East Farm, Adimali on 4th and 5th August 2018. The title sponsor of the badminton tournament is Blanket Hotel, Munnar whereas Uniqloth and Spice Country are sponsoring a cash award of Rs 20,000 and an ever rolling trophy for the winners. Sudheesh was a vibrant ... Read more

Myanmar will grant free visa allowances to Chinese, South Korean and Japanese nationals from August 1 onward in a bid to promote eco-tourism, according to U Ohn Maung, Minister of Hotel and Tourism, during an economic seminar organised last week by the Thai embassy in Yangon and the Thai Business Association in Myanmar. The initiative has taken considering the decline in visitors from the West, who have cut short travel to Myanmar in view of the refugee crisis in Rakhine. The ministry of tourism hopes the free visa to Asian countries could compensate the downfall in tourists from the western ... Read more

European countries are experiencing a surge in inbound tourists from China during the first half of the year. The main reasons for this trend is said to be the changing tastes of Chinese tourists – from shopping to art and culture. Moreover, the cold reception from Trump’s America also considered a factor for Chinese tourists to opt for European countries. Recent surveys states, Chinese tourists are avoiding package tours to Europe to strike out on their own trips to unexplored locations, than the popular names in the tourism map. Bookings for the month of July and August in Europe are ... Read more

The Maldives state-owned Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) stated in a press release that it is seeking interested international public relations corporations to boost tourism in the Maldives. MMPRC said that the prospective PR corporations are from Macao and Taiwan. The selected companies would be hired on a one-year contract. Currently, the Maldives government is implementing a mega campaign to promote tourism in the island through its foreign offices and embassies across the globe. MMPRC stated that they are utilizing the digital marketing techniques for propagating Maldives on various platforms. According to statistics from the Tourism Ministry, a total ... Read more

Foreign tourists’ spent in Brazil has been showing an increasing tendency in recent years. During the first half of the year 2018, the income earned from foreign tourists has increased by 5.94 per cent when compared to the previous year, as stated by an official of the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism. Around 3.15 million foreigners visited Brazil during this time, which is 8 per cent more than that of last year. The total spent for the period is USD 3.24 billion, according to the ministry. Tourism is one of the major revenue earners of Brazil, whose total contribution to GDP ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Wake’N’Bite Happy news for the ‘Biryani’ lovers of Thiruvananthapuram. Celebrate the friendship day with stomach full of biryani in a festive mood packed with lots of fun. Uday Saumdra Beach Hotel, Kovalam is providing the opportunity to foodies to eat as much as biryani they can, by competing in the ‘Clash of Foodies’ to be held on 5th August 2018, the World Friendship Day. The competition will be arranged at the ‘Courtyard’ restaurant in the hotel. Six pre-registered teams of six members each can take part in the event. The team has the choice of selecting veg or ... Read more

Adorned by brightly coloured banners and national flags of the participating nations of the on-going 10th BRICS summit, Johannesburg beckons foreign visitors to stroll on its bustling streets. The 2018 BRICS summit has been giving the capital city a new life during the generally tranquil weather of July. The streets witness people taking selfies with the colorful signs that are hoisted on the sides of streets around the Sandton International Convention Centre, where the event is being hosted on July 25-27. Foreign delegates are delighted to ride on Johannesburg’s electric tram and visiting the elegant shopping malls where aristocratic restaurants ... Read more

Representative Photo Installation of solar lights at the tourism hot-spots proved to be a great success, as stated by an official from the District Tourism Promotion Council. The pilot project at Kovalam was carried out in association with Kerala State Industrial Enterprises, where 48 solar lights have been installed. The project cost was 31 lakhs. Another 37 lamps were installed at Veli Tourist Village at a cost of 28.5 lakhs. Solar lights are cost effective than electric lights. The lamps installed are with one year warranty and with five years maintenance contract. It also avoids the risk of power failure ... Read more

India, being one of the best source markets for Egypt, has contributed to the Egyptian tourism with over 30 per cent growth in the tourist arrivals in 2017. Realising the potential of its source market and draw more tourists to the country, Egypt Tourism is conducting roadshows in Indian cities to promote its cultural, Christian pilgrimage and MICE offering. Christian pilgrimage is one of the important focus areas of Egypt Tourism and they are focussing mainly on Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kochi for promoting this. The tourism department is organising roadshows in Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.  Egypt Tourism has conducted four-city ... Read more

ixigo has plans to roll out ‘Tara’, a voice-enabled travel assistant, for its customers by the year end. “Among the 500 million user base which will come online in the next three years, we expect 100 million across India to be interacting using voice as a medium in the same duration. And this is one of the reasons we are planning to enter the segment,” said Aloke Bajpai, CEO and Co-founder, ixigo. Tara will be initially available in English and Hindi, and in regional languages later on. On getting the accent 100 per cent correct, the company is working on ... Read more

“Tourists who do not respect the culture of Goa and create nuisance by littering on the beaches or taking narcotic drugs are not welcome in the state”, said Manohar Ajgaonkar, Tourism Minister of Goa. He was talking in the Legislative Assembly on 26th July 2018.The minister also said that existing laws were not strong enough to confront the nuisance created by hawkers on the beaches in the state According to Ajgoankar there is a difference between a drunk Goan and a tourist who is drunk. “Goans will walk straight on the road while tourists walk shaking their body,” said the minister. Speaking on other issues at the beach like stray animals, ... Read more

‘Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart’ (RDTM) held in Jaipur from July 20 to 22 was considered a landmark event and the organizers claim it was a huge success. The event was organized by the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR) with the support of different stakeholders. Though Rajasthan has been a major attraction for both domestic and international tourists, recently states like Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have been getting more attention, and the organizers of the event hope to reverse this situation. Lalit Panwar, Vice Chancellor of the state Skill Development University, noted that human resource development was a ... Read more