Category: News

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has unveiled its “Giant Suitcase” initiative for the Holy Month of Ramadan. With more than 75 per cent of travellers admitting to over-packing clothes for their holidays, this programme will provide them with the opportunity to do-good through a simple donation programme. Etihad has placed a Giant Suitcase in their terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport, encouraging travellers to donate just one item they know they can do without to those less fortunate. Research shows the vast majority of leisure travellers over-pack for their holiday. Etihad staff will also contribute during giant ... Read more

Emirates has commenced its signature Ramadan service for customers during the holy month. Emirates’ Ramadan service consists of specially crafted iftar meals on board, relevant programming on its ice inflight entertainment system, and the distribution of dates and water on the ground for those breaking their fast. Emirates provides iftar boxes with a nutritional meal for customers breaking their fast on board. The boxes have been redesigned this year by local homeware specialists Silsal Design House. The designs are inspired by the Middle East, its people, places and culture. Silsal has also created bespoke Emirates Arabic Coffee Cups available at ... Read more

Ever since South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met at the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone, it is reported that tourism to security-related spots near the border has been booming. The number of visitors has to these sites has gone up to 1,500-3,000 per day when compared to 1,200-2,300 tourists per day the same time last year. The rise in number of tourists is also attributed to the release of restrictions on package tours imposed by the Chinese cities following a political row last year. The tourists’ sights comprise of Dora Observatory from ... Read more

Chinese multinational company Fosun International Ltd is planning to expand the business in North America’s tourism and leisure market through acquisitions. Fosun, the parent company of Club Med Sas aims to begin a new product line for China by acquiring travel agencies, resorts, theme parks or anything related to tourism sector. Currently, Fosun and Med receives most of the revenue from Asia and Europe. The firm presence in North America will enhance the tourism portfolio of the company. It is believed that the ongoing trade tensions between US and China will not affect the travellers and tourism sector. “We take ... Read more

Twelve countries, including United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, have issued travel advisories for their citizens in Indonesia following recent terrorist attacks in Surabaya and Sidoarjo in East Java. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that issuing travel advisories was a country’s responsibility to alert its citizens. “Travel advisories meant a country was still safe to visit, explaining that there were three levels of alerts, namely travel advisory, travel warning and travel ban,” he said. He also explained that several countries issued travel warnings last year amid Mount Agung’s eruption in Karangasem, Bali, with island seeing a loss of ... Read more

Pakistan tourism has always been turbulent owing to the security issues in the country. However, a start-up named Find My Adventure is steadily drawing tourists to the country. The portal which went online on 2016 is concentrated on making travel easier for those who are exploring Pakistan. Pakistan’s tourism sector has started blooming with the improvement of security situations. As per the reports of World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2017 was Rs 930.9 billion, constituting 2.9% of GDP. It is expected to rise by 5.9% in 2018 and Rs 1,727.7 ... Read more

Zimbabwe attracted more than 2.4 million tourist arrivals in 2017, a 12 per cent increase from the previous year. The increase in arrivals can be attributed to the country’s safe ans peaceful environment,” said Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga while addressing the gathering during the launch of the National Tourism Master Plan. In 2017, Zimbabwe received a total of 2422930 tourists, registering an increase of 12 per cent compared to the 2167686 footfalls in 2016. Already in 2018, the country has recorded an increase in the number of tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year,” he said. The ... Read more

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering a 5 night-six day tour package covering Russia starting from Rs 97,100. IRCTC’s tour, titled Charming Russia, is set to depart on June 1. The package includes night stay of 03 nights at Saint Petersburg and 02 nights in Moscow. The package allows the tourists to visit Palace Square, Winter Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress, Petroff Palace in Saint Petersburg. Along with this the tourists will also get a chance to visit and enjoy the world famous Moscow Circus, sightseeing of Lenin’s Tomb, Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square, and enjoy the bullet ... Read more

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is planning to hire over 5000 students from the city for working in different positions as a step to better the tourism prospective of the state. The Tourism Board is planning employ 5000 students for 20 different positions in and out of the state. As per plans, the tourism board will be conducting an open job fair at the UTD campus of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) for the mass recruitment. Dr Manoj Kumar Singh, Director for skill, training and adventure at MP Tourism Board had met Dr Narendra Dhakad, Vice Chancellor of DAVV, on Friday regarding ... Read more

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Jakarta and talks are already on to develop a cruise tourism circuit between Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Indonesia as part of steps to bolster bilateral ties. Union minister Nitin Gadkari met Luhut Binser Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs of Indonesia, and discussed ways to take ahead bilateral relations between the countries. Developing a cruise tourism circuit between Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Indonesia and thus implementing Govt of India’s vision to put India on the global cruise market both for ocean & river cruises under its Sagarmala programme was highlighted in ... Read more

India’s booming tourism industry is aided by the transportation services in a great way. A meeting was held between Union Tourism Minister K.J. Alphons, Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayanta Sinha, along with the officials of both ministries for creating better air connectivity of tourist destinations in order to heighten the tourism sector. The Ministry of Civil Aviation agreed to take immediate action regarding better connectivity after discussion with the air operators. The ministry also decided to widen the UDAN scheme to all the undeserved destinations at the earliest. The decisions also ... Read more

Jet Airways said it will commence direct flight operations between Lucknow to Allahabad and further up to Patna from June 14. UP civil aviation minister Nand Gopal Nandi said that the air connectivity will part of the Centre’s flagship, Regional Connectivity Scheme. “More flights will operate under the regional connectivity scheme in the days to come. This will also encourage the business environment of the city. State and central governments are working together to facilitate air travel and to connect more cities for flight services,” Nandi said. Jet airways will operate a 72 seater ATR aircraft that will fly thrice a ... Read more

RoBoHon is not just another robot. It can hold short conversations with humans and can even take pictures and tell you about the locations you pass. This humanoid robot is believed to have the capabilities to be the next iPhone. RoBoHon is available for rental at Haneda Airport for US$12 per day, with marginal discounts for longer rentals. The other famous humanoid robots Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri focuses on giving you information, such as providing weather data and news, but, RoBoHoN, manufactured by Sharp, is made to be a companion to you. This spiffy robot is outfitted with GPS and can track your whereabouts ... Read more

Krishna district administration is all set to launch heli tourism in an effort to boost tourism sector of the region. The prime reason to initiate this venture is to put away visitors time during travelling. The region consists of major attractions like Kanaka Durga temple, Bhavani Island, Gandhi Hill and Manginapudi. Some private agencies have also been included in the project, with the attractive packages for heli tours starting from an attractive Rs 3,000. The number of tourists has considerably increased in the state after state-bifurcation. The district administration had already started works for converting major attractions into prime tourist ... Read more

A recent women’s travel safety survey revealed that 45 per cent of female travelers feel less safe or much less safe about traveling than they did five years ago. Results of the travel trends survey, commissioned by AIG Travel, a worldwide leader in travel insurance and assistance services, also show that safety is top of mind for women while they are evaluating potential destinations as well as during their travels. Further analysis of the data indicates an opportunity for employers to adopt a bigger role in educating employees about travel safety. “The local risks where employees travel may be completely ... Read more