Category: News

Iceland’s low fare transatlantic airline, WOW air, announces the launch of its flight operations in India from December 7, 2018 with incredibly low airfares. The airline is planning weekly direct flights between New Delhi and Keflavik airport in Iceland that will connect to multiple destinations in North America and Europe. “We are thrilled to launch our operations in India, a diverse country with tremendous potential. Our launch is in sync with India’s aviation growth story and we look forward to being part of it with our very affordable fares to North America and Europe on board brand new Airbus A330neos. ... Read more

The state government of Jammu and Kashmir has recently opened an alternate seven kilometre track to the Vaishno Devi shrine, atop a hillock overlooking Katra town in Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Tarakote Marg will be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 19. N N Vohra, Governor of J&K, who is also the chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVSB), took the new track during a visit to the shrine on Sunday and reviewed the preparedness for its operationalisation. The new route between Banganga and Adhkuwari is opened with an aim to decongest ... Read more

Acacus Technologies has just signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to bring driverless technology to Dubai’s roads by 2020. The company is all set to revamp the entire fleet of Dubai Police’s cars so that the city’s streets will be patrolled by driverless vehicles by 2020. The MoU was signed by the general command of the Dubai Police department, major-general Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, commander-in-chief of Dubai Police and founder and CEO of Acacus Technologies, Talal Ben Halim. Acacus will install the self-driving functionality in the existing fleet of cars and other types of vehicles used by Dubai Police. “We are proud to contribute ... Read more

New Zealand has confirmed that it plans to impose tourist tax and could be implemented by early 2019. The Tourism Minister, Kelvin Davis, while talking at a tourism conference in Dunedin last week assured to the media that an official announcement will be there soon. The plan is to initiate a NZ$25 (US$17) tourism charge for the international tourists. It is estimated that this will bring in a revenue of NZ$75 million (US$52 million) for the tourism sector and its maintenance. The fund will also be utilized for creating world-class facilities for the visitors without making the residents pay for ... Read more

This Ramadan, break your fast and experience a floating iftar launched by Boardwalk’s BBQ Donuts at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. The iftar will feature favourites such as shish taouk, lamb kofta, falafel, kibbeh and fattoush, with a variety of fruit and local sweets to top it all off. Each float can accommodate up to eight people at a time, with an à la carte option also available with a customisable barbecue package. The tables in BBQ Donuts are decorated in the traditional colours of the region, along with a wide selection of Middle Eastern treats. The Queen Elizabeth 2 ... Read more

In an effort to uplift Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple as a global pilgrimage centre, revamp plans has been proposed by the Singapore based not-for-profit organization, the Global Citizen Forum (GCF) and its Founder-President & Global Thought Leader Dr M, adopting the values of Advaita and One World. The new plans include the overall development of the temple including restoration and the display of temple wealth with the temple premises and on shrines. It is believed that the restored, decorated look of Sree Padmanabha deity will generate whopping revenue up to USD 1 billion every year and it’s expected to go ... Read more

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, and Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, announced that they have renewed and expanded their partnership until the end of 2022. Emirates has been an F1 Global Partner since 2013, and the renewed agreement will see the airline enjoy an expanded branding and consumer activation presence at over 15 races on the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar across Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America. The renewed agreement, which came into effect at the start of the current 2018 season in March with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, also includes Emirates ... Read more

Emirates, the largest international airline in the world, announced it will start a daily service between Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, and Dubai, from 1 October 2018. Edinburgh will become Emirates’ second destination in Scotland after Glasgow and its 8th in the United Kingdom after the airline starts its daily service to London Stansted in June. The new service will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three class cabin configuration, with 8 private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. The Scottish capital, with its Old Town ... Read more

Privatisation of the maintenance of airport terminals was a plan initiated by the previous UPA government, which has faced a roadblock as the employee unions started protesting against the move. The current plan is to privatise at least eight government-owned airports — Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati. The civil aviation ministry is believed to be having discussions on designing the model on how the airports would be bid out and is likely the airports will be bid out for 30 years and the tariffs will be fixed upfront. Under the two models being examined, one is ... Read more

Relief for the Bangladesh tourists, as from May 20th they can walk-in and submit their applications at the Indian Visa Application Centers (IVACs) in Sylhet, Mymensingh and Barishal without prior appointment. The new move is to further relax, streamline and ease access for Bangladesh nationals to Indian visas as part of ongoing plans of Indian High Commission. The applications will be accepted at the centres from 8am-12pm. “These measures are aimed at easing access to the Indian visa and strengthening people-to-people contacts between India and Bangladesh,” the High Commission said. There is no change in the existing schemes for submission ... Read more

GoAir and AirAsia are offering discounted domestic flight tickets starting at Rs 1,610 and Rs 1,399 respectively on select routes. This offer is a part of GoAir’s ‘Low Fare Wednesday’ promotional campaign. GoAir’s offer is applicable on flights to destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Lucknow. All fares offered under the scheme are applicable till May 25, 2018. Under the ‘Low Fare Wednesday’ scheme, GoAir is offering flights ‘to destinations with affordable flight tickets’. AirAsia India’s ‘Mid-Summer Sale’ offer is applicable on destinations including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ranchi.  This offer on domestic flights is applicable on travel till ... Read more

As per report and expert opinions, sturdy visa regulations are hindering the growth of tourism sector in Africa. The experts also blame the lack of innovative ideas among the service providers as another reason for the sluggish and meagre performance across the continent. The data statistics from Word Travel & Tourism Council reports that out of the 1.2 billion global travellers recorded in 2017, Africa had only 62 million of that. The tourists’ arrivals had lead to 8.3 million jobs last year. The number of jobs is expected to rise by 11.6 million by 2028. Morongoe Ramphele. Deputy Director-General of ... Read more

The India Meteorological Department has predicted thunderstorms across north-west India over the next 48 to 72 hours and as a result several trains and flights are also running late. A powerful dust storm and rain hit Delhi, grounding flights, uprooting trees and bringing traffic on the city’s roads to a grinding halt, days after an alert across north India for a massive storm. The alert says that thunderstorm accompanied with squall (wind speed reaching 50-70 kmph) are very likely at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Coastal Andhra ... Read more

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering 5 nights/6 days ‘Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka Ex Delhi’ tour package at a starting price of Rs 47,600. The tour dates of the package are June 12, August 25, September 18, October 2, November 20 and December 15, 2018. According to the official website of IRCTC Tourism, the destinations covered under this package are Negombo, Kandy, Nuwara Ellya and Colombo. The trip provided by SriLankan airlines, will start from Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The flight will leave at 6:35 pm from Delhi and will reach Colombo at 10:10 pm. On ... Read more

Hyderabad has registered a 76 per cent rise in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in 2017 owing to the rise in the number of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) in the city. The city’s domestic tourist arrivals (DTAs) shot up by 16 per cent last year. According to Telangana tourism department, 2017 ended on a high note with as many as 2.47 lakh foreign tourists visiting mana sheher, against 1.63 lakh who travelled to Hyderabad in 2016. Domestic tourist arrivals rose from 2.33 crore in 2016 to 2.71 crore last year. Maximum tourist arrivals were recorded between September and December. The ... Read more