Category: News

Uttarakhand and Bali has entered into a deal to boost tourism, culture, e-governance, human resource, capacity building, environment and health. A five-point Letter of Intent to this effect was signed by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Governor of Bali I Made Mangku Pastika today. “With cooperation in field of tourism, culture, environment and health, Uttarakhand and the Indonesian province of Bali will come closer to each other. Bali is an important tourist destination and with this agreement, the flow of tourists in both India and Indonesia will increase. I hope more Indonesian tourists will now visit Uttarakhand,” said Rawat ... Read more

Emirates and flydubai revealed strong passenger numbers for the first six months of their partnership, illustrating tremendous positive response from customers, and the successful start of the expanded codeshare partnership which was announced in July 2017. The first code-share flights began at the end of October 2017. Between November 2017 and March 2018, over 400,000 passengers have taken advantage of the partnership and more than 250,000 passengers have already planned their trip for the year ahead. The partnership initially began with codeshare flights to 29 cities, and this has quickly expanded to meet growing demand as customers realise the benefits ... Read more

Dubai Cruise Tourism, a department of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), hosted a ceremony at the Dubai stand at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) officially launching the Dubai Cruise Committee. This ceremony confirms the implementation of a collaborative framework designed to consolidate the city’s position as ‘cruise hub of the region’. The Dubai Cruise Committee is a strategic network of leading industry partners; Dubai Tourism, DP World UAE Region FZE, Emirates Airline, The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai, and Dubai Customs. This newly-signed MoU ... Read more

American flag carrier Southwest Airlines is facing flight cancellation, as well as delays, due to an emergency engine inspection throughout the fleet running with the CFM56-7B engine. Last week, a faulty CFM56-7B engine explosion from a Southwest Boeing aircraft which was on its way from Newyork to Dallas, killed one of the passenger, through a fan blade hit from the side window. Southwest on a statement said that 40 of its 4000 flight schedules were cancelled, due to an emergency fan blade inspection. A thorough checking has been initiated by the National Transportation Safety Board Investigators. Meanwhile, in India Jet Airways has ... Read more

Delhi based private aviation company JetSetGo, has acquired Indo Pacific Aviation Company. Established in 2014 JetSetGo owned by Kanika Tekriwal and co-founder Sudheer Perla has grown swiftly within and outside India. JetSetGo offers seamless airline connectivity connectively through a fleet of services that includes private jets, helicopters, and Airliners. During the last financial year, the company has commuted over 2,800 flight movements. “As the oldest NSOP (India’s oldest non-scheduled aircraft operator) and having truly created the aircraft management market in the country, Indo Pacific has been instrumental in many ways in the growth of the private jet and helicopter market ... Read more

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), has declared the ‘Tourism for Tomorrow Awards’ at a special function conducted at Buenos Aires in Argentina. The awards are distributed under 5 categories in the travel and tourism industry namely – Community Award, which was bagged by Global Himalayan Expedition, India. Destination Award by Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, British Colombia, Canada. Environment Award by Airport Authority Hong Kong. Innovation Award by Virgin Atlantic. People Award by Cayuga Collection of Sustainable Luxury Hotels and Lodges, Costa Rica. The highlights of the awards are based on the business practices, that supports people, planet and profits. ... Read more

The stall of Kerala Tourism at the Arabian Travel Market was inaugurated by Navdeep Suri, Ambassador of India to UAE. “Impressive projection of Incredible India at ATM Dubai. Also, good to see strong tourism promotion drive by Kerala Tourism,” Navdeep Suri tweeted after inaugurating the stall. Kerala Tourism has succeeded in creating an impact with its participation in the ongoing Arabian Travel Market, with the state’s tourism delegation led by Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms, doing its best to be noticed and appreciated on the global platform. The state tourism minister held interactions with the local tourism players and ... Read more

With an aim to start promoting religious tourism circuit in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Union Minister for Tourism KJ Alphons held discussions in New Delhi. The ministers discussed about a Rs 300 crore including a project for improving the infrastructure facilities of the state. Himachal Pradesh is famous for its various eco-tourism activities that support various tourism hotspots in the tourism map. The discussion went pretty well in which the Union Minister has promised to provide all essential support for the state. Himachal Pradesh, which is famous for its picturesque pristine beauty, is free from the outside ... Read more

Thirty two Chinese tourists and four North Koreans are reported to be killed in a major bus accident in North Korea. The Chinese foreign ministry has informed that two Chinese nationals were also seriously injured and are in a critical condition. The China’s state broadcaster CGTN tweeted that more than 30 people died when a tour bus fell from a bridge in North Korea. The tweet was later deleted. A State television news channel have also showed images of a crashed blue bus with its wheels in the air, in footage taken in pouring rain in the dark. The accident ... Read more

Hainan, a small southern island province of China, plans to offer visa-free on arrival for over 59 countries. According to media reports, the policy might come into force from 1st May in which the travellers are permitted to stay for over 30 days. As part of the new policy, individual tourist and groups from countries namely Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, can visit Hainan visa-free and stay there for up to 30 days on conditions. However, since 2000 Haina has offered a 15-day visa-free stay for over 21 countries, which was extended to more countries back in 2010. The ... Read more

In the wake of the continuous political unrests, sexual attacks and violence against foreigners across the nation, Sri Lanka beefs up its security and established new police posts and patrols at popular resorts. The Sri Lankan government has allocated Rs 30 million to establish the police posts. With an aim to protect the visiting tourists, the police department has set up 20 new stations at holiday hotspots. “I wish we had more men and resources for this job, but we are making adjustments to our deployments to ensure better productivity,” said Police chief Pujith Jayasundara. A Dutch tourist was sexually harassed and several other tourists ... Read more

Oman Air unveiled the new First Class Mini Suite of its Dreamliner 787-9 fleet, on the opening day of Arabian Travel Market, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event concludes on April 25. H E Maitha al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism unveiled the Mini Suite at the Oman Air stand on Sunday. The First Class suite offers unparalleled levels of comfort and ultimate luxury with one of the longest lie-flat seat available on any commercial airliner, electronically controlled privacy divider, à la carte dining as well as an in suite minibar. H E Maitha said, “It ... Read more

Bahrain, the island nation in the Persian Gulf, is expecting a double-digit growth in the tourism and hospitality industry, that can further uplift the nation’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Tourism has bestowed over 6.3 per cent to Bahrain’s GDP back in 2017. Hence the figures could rise up with respect to the completion of the ongoing tourism projects,” said Ali Ghunam Murtaza, the director of real estate, tourism and leisure business development at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). “We foresee the contribution to go up for many reasons. Part of that is that we are actively working towards ... Read more

Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), established in 1870 by the British East India Company is all about to start a heritage cruise tour through the Hoogly from 28th April onwards. The cruise tour named ‘A voyage through Tide and Time’ is coordinated by the Kolkata Port Trust. The voyage starts from Maritime Heritage Centre at Old Fairlie Warehouse, in which the visitors would get the opportunity to learn about the country’s maritime history. Currently, the Kolkata Port Trust aims to run the service on weekends, with minimum participants of at least 20 people. All the marketing and associated promotions are conducted ... Read more

Rajasthan Department of Tourism has bagged two Times Travel Awards 2018 for ‘Best Marketing Initiative – Domestic Tourism’ and Brand Equity Marketing Magazine Award for ‘Best Print Media Creatives’. State’s tourism department’s additional director Gunjeet Kaur received the award at an event in Delhi. The award from Best Print Media Creatives was given to Rajasthan tourism by Brand Equity, the marketing and advertising magazine of Economic Times, at a ceremony in Mumbai. The award was received by additional director of state’s tourism department, Sanjay Pandey. The tourist arrivals to the state was increased by 10.50 per cent to 45.91 million visits ... Read more