Category: News

Marking a new record of visits, San Diego County had 7.6 million visitors for the first three months of 2018. The recent statistics by San Diego Tourism Authority confirms that the number of tourists visiting the county has increased considerably and so is the spending spree. The hotel bookings, museum visits, theme parks business have also gone higher and there were tourists who even visited the county just for a day. The rise in number of tourists went up by 8.4 percent during the first quarter and their spending amounted to a total of $2.5 billion, which records a 5 ... Read more

Mongolia has declared 2018 as tourism year when it will promote green-eco tourism, informed the Ministry of Environment. The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Mongolian Tourism Association and Mongolian Culinary Federation to standardize services in the tourism sector. The ministry will also promote green-eco tourism and also has plans to improve the service in restaurants and tourist camps. Specific rules and regulations will be developed for nature travellers. 70,500 tourists visited Mongolia in the first quarter of this year reporting a 11 per cent year-on-year growth. The biggest number of tourists arrived from Russia (36 per cent) and China ... Read more

Spanish Hotel Group, Palladium Hotel Group has appointed Mumbai-based Blue Square Consultants (BSC) as its representative in India. As the hotel group’s representative in India, Blue Square Consultants will conceptualise, implement, and promote PR and sales strategies for three of their Spanish properties in India – Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife, and Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel in Spain. “India is turning into a strong outbound market in the world and is ranked among our top 20. Ibiza is among the popular places visited by Indians which is also known for its vibrant music scene and eagerly-awaited concerts ... Read more

Planning to vacation outside this planet? We’ve been hearing about space tourism for long and reports suggest that it could soon turn out be a reality, perhaps this year itself. Virgin Galactic headed by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are the two companies which could take us beyond this planet. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two had a successful first powered test flight in April. To add to the excitement, Blue Origin had another successful test launch of its New Shepard rocket on April 29th. This is why 2018 is rumoured to be the year of space trips. The Virgin ... Read more

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering an 8-day trip on Maharaja Express. The trip, named ‘The Indian Splendour’, is offered at a starting price of USD 5,980. Passengers availing this trip will be visiting nine Indian cities. Indian and foreigners tourists can avail this package. The trip, which will start from October 2018 to April 2019, will take you to  Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Balasinor, and Mumbai. With an aim to attract more passengers, the Railways have decided to slash the tariff of its luxury trains. Haulage charges for royal trains such as ... Read more

Airbnb is planning new ways to get back Puerto Rico on tourist map after hurricanes shattered the island and its tourism. The plan was revealed by Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky in an event on Wednesday. Airbnb will be introducing 50 new ‘experiences’ and activities hosted by people of Puerto Rico where the travellers can book these through app and participate. Brian Chesky said that Airbnb has used its platform previously in relief efforts, like providing housing for those in need during 100 disasters around the world. For the next three months, Airbnb will be also donating the entire booking fees ... Read more

In the wake of the recent death of Latvian tourist in the state, Kerala Tourism Department has decided to strengthen the tourism police force in the state, and is also planning to recruit more women to the force. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, has informed informed this after a meeting held with senior tourism and police officials. The Tourism Department and the Home Department have held joint consultations and arrived at plans to effectively ensure safety and security of tourists at various destinations in the state. “The recruitment of more women to the tourism police force is among the many ... Read more

It is reported that the aviation sector in India, currently growing at nearly 28 per cent, will see an investment of close to Rs 1 lakh cr in the next five years for capacity augmentation and development of new greenfield airports, according to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. The Aviation ministry is planning to achieve 1 billion passenger trips per annum within the next 15-20 years. “The capacity addition will come with other amenities such as use of digital technology for passenger verification and bringing about a paradigm shift in airport designs,” said the minister. The Airport ... Read more

One more eco-tourist spot to be adorned in Tamil Nadu as the works for developing the Villivakkam lake into an eco-tourist spot officially began on Wednesday. The project was inaugurated by S P Velumani, the Minister for Municipal Administration. The lake that has of total area of 36.50 acres will have its 24.64 acres developed into an eco-tourist spot. The eco-tourist spot will be developed by The Greater Chennai Corporation at a budget of 16 crore as in their plan to restore 32 water bodies under Smart City project. The residual 11.5 acres of lake will be utilized to setup ... Read more

Smruti Mandir situated at Reshimbagh in Nagpur has been given grade-C tourism status. Known for the memorial of RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar, the 78-year-old Smruti Mandir will now be able to get funding from Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), central and state government on works in and around it. The status was given following recommendations of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the district planning committee. BJP city vice-president Bhushan Dadwe obtained copy of the notification under RTI Act on May 5. Dadwe, in a press release, said that the oral statement of the state government before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High ... Read more

Israel is becoming a favourite tourist spot for tourists and the initial statistics affirm this. As per reports, Israel had 1.36 million visitors from January-April this year. In this, 4,08,000 tourists alone visited Israel in April 2018 when compared to 3,50,000 last April, recording a 17%hike. The Ministry of Tourism claims that the revenue from tourists in April had exceeded NIS 2.1 billion. Out of all tourists visited Israel in April, 2,38,000 were from Europe. France, UK, Germany, Poland and Italy were the main contributors. The rise in European tourists is attributed to the Giro d’Italia bicycle race. Tourists from ... Read more

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is launching Dubai Pass, an all-inclusive pre-paid card, grants cash-free access to 33 key events and venues across Dubai. It is a new way for visitors to enjoy the city’s exciting range of attractions, experiences and tours and will be available to redeem from 16 May 2018. Starting at AED399, the pass offers ‘Select’ and ‘Unlimited’ packages, with a specially-curated list of popular attractions and experiences. These include Burj Khalifa, Dubai Parks and Resorts, IMG Worlds of Adventure, Wild Wadi Waterpark, Ski Dubai, Desert Safari Tours, and many more. With every purchase, visitors will ... Read more

China has the largest number of outbound travellers. The major share of these travellers were visiting Europe, Asia and America, and now Chinese travellers have found out a new destination. Africa has turned out to be the favourite destination for Chinese travellers and the numbers are substantiating this new found love. South Africa, Madagascar and Morocco are the main favourites of Chinese travellers. It’s supposed that the shift in strategy by African nations played a major role in the greater interest of Chinese tourists along with support from Chinese policymakers. China’s roaring economy, better jobs, and an open strategy toward ... Read more

To boost the tourism sector, Himachal government is planning to encourage ‘Heli-Taxi’ services at major tourist destinations, a senior official said today. Presiding over a meeting of the officials of aviation companies including Pawan Hans Limited, Skyone Airways, Ind Jet and hospitality players, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Manisha Nanda said at present the state has three functional airports at Gaggal, Shimla and Bhuntar. “Work was in progress to facilitate the tourists and common people at Rampur and Jhakri in Shimla, Baddi in district Solan, Pandoh in Mandi and Manali in Kullu under Uddan-II scheme,” she said. Manisha ... Read more

The Odisha government has formed a tourism promotion council to monitor the development of tourism and related issues in the state. The chief minister will head the council, which will also include two representatives from two major airlines operating in the state – AirAsia and Air India – apart from two representatives each from the hotel and travel industry. The secretaries of the home, finance, tourism, commerce and transport and handloom and textiles and handicrafts departments and the development commissioner, a senior representative from FICCI and CII will are be members of the council. Nominated members will serve for a maximum of ... Read more