The Union Cabinet has approved leasing out of Airports Authority of India (AAI) land measuring 4050 sq. mtrs. to Assam Industrial Development Corporation for Centre for Perishable Cargo at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati. This will be utilised for setting up of Centre for Perishable Cargo (CPC) and its future expansion at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBI Airport), Guwahati. The land is to be leased by AAI on a token licence fee of Rs.1/- per annum for a period of seven years subject to signing of Lease Agreement. After expiry of initial period of seven years, the future lease period will be made afresh as per AAI policy in-vogue. North Eastern Region (NER) in India is rich in flora and fauna. Revenue from export of agriculture and horticulture items will improve economic conditions of NER. There is a need for promotions of perishable cargo export from this region, which will generate employment opportunities directly or indirectly. Facilities for air upliftment of perishable cargo from Guwahati are required to be more effective. Therefore, it has been decided to lease land measuring 4050 sq. Mtrs. to AIDC, by AAI for setting up of CPC and its future expansion at LGBI Airport, Guwahati.

Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, recently visited Shanghai in a bid to attract Chinese investment in India’s tourism sector. Close to 20 prominent investors participated in the event which was a part of roadshows being conducted in different parts of the world to promote participation of investors’ at the forthcoming Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit scheduled  to be held at New Delhi from September 21-23, 2016 being organised by MOT, in partnership with Tourism Finance Corporation of India and the CII. The Summit will bring together more than 20 Indian states unveiling a large bouquet of projects close to around 1000 in number, both of core infrastructure and those specific to various themes of tourism be it hospitality, medical, MICE, Buddhist, entertainment and cruise tourism etc, the Secretary informed the Chinese investors. He also said that what makes this Summit unique is that it would see a large no of B2G meetings and states would offer single window for foreign and domestic investors interested in picking up their tourism sector projects in the true spirit of ease of doing business. Zutshi also pointed out that never was there a more favourable time to invest in India than now with strong macro-economic indicators and the current government’s commitment to investment facilitation like never before. Several members who were present from the Chinese side expressed their interest in attending the Summit in now Delhi next month and appreciated the preparation of the Indian Government in attracting Tourism specific foreign investment.

Seychelles records 62 per cent increase in tourist arrivals from India during January-July 2016, compared to the same period last year. This surge in the arrivals can be attributed to the India tourist office’s increasing focus on educating and hand holding the trade to better promote the destination, increase in Air Seychelles daily flights from four to five times a week, special efforts from the hotels and DMCs to tap the India market and increasing efforts to reach out to the customer through association with Bollywood and other avenues. Sherin Naiken, CEO, Seychelles Tourism Board, said, “We are thrilled with the way India market has responded to our efforts. We have seen a phenomenal increase in arrivals since we opened office three years ago. However, this is not the time to bask in the current successes and relax. As we enter the pre-honeymoon and festival season we will double our efforts to reach out to both travel trade and consumers. We are fortunate to have supportive partners like Air Seychelles, the DMCs and the hotels who walk with us hand in hand in going the extra mile to support the India travel trade. As a result, owing to its diversity, we have been able to position Seychelles as a destination which is meant for all – families, couples, small groups, celebrations and MICE.” New hotels have opened in the Seychelles in the past one year giving tourists more options. Carana Beach Hotel, the 40 chalet four-star property in North Mahe, opened its doors to guests in April 2016. It is the only resort in its category to boast of in-villa plunge-in pools. Dubai-based H Hotel and Resort Management Company opened …

GMR Airports, the company that runs Delhi and Hyderabad airports, has won the bid to develop and operate a new airport in North Goa. “GMR Airports, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure has won the international competitive bid for development and operation of Mopa Greenfield Airport in North Goa,” as per BSE release. The company is going to built this airport on BOT (Build Operate Transfer) model and the concession period for the said project will be 40 years with a possible extension of another 20 years through a bid process. The letter of award is expected to be issued within 60 days, while signing of concession agreement will be done within 45 days from the date of issuance of award letter.

In a bid to promote Railway related education and research Ministry of Railways has been taking significant steps in setting up Centres of Railway Research (CRR) in collaboration with premier Educational Institutions of India. Formal MoUs for setting up such centres have already been signed between Ministry of Railways and University of Mumbai, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee. Another Fifth Center for Railway Research is also in existence in IIT Kharagpur. These Centers for Railway Research are working to contribute immensely towards providing solutions for utilization of Railways assets in a more cost effective manner and its various processes towards complete customer satisfaction. To expand the areas of research further, Indian Railways have also set up the Malaviya Chair at IIT BHU, Varanasi for development of proper materials for use by Indian Railways. In addition, a ‘Chair on Sustainable Mobility’ has also been set up at TERI University, New Delhi. Railways Research arm viz., Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) based at Lucknow is coordinating with all the CRRs and chairs. The areas of research have also been earmarked for these different CRRs based on the core competencies of the different institutes. The assigned areas of the CRRs include: CRR,  IIT Roorkee: Civil Infrastructure of High Speed Rail, Bridges and structures, Track management system, Environmental Engineering, Rail wheel dynamics, etc. CRR,    IIT Kanpur : Geo-Tech Engineering, Advanced Fuel efficient systems, Fire Safety Management, Advanced electronics, High speed Rolling stock design, Advanced Signalling and Fog vision etc. CRR,    IIT Madras : Structural Health Monitoring of Railway Infrastructure, Intelligent  transportation, Computer vision and imaging, reliability engineering, energy management etc. CRR, Mumbai  University: Research related to Heavy Haul Technology, High-Speed Technologies, Energy …

According to a Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) study, Maharashtra has attracted highest investment from private investors in building facilities for tourists and visitors till June 2016. “Maharashtra attracted investments worth over Rs 15,500 crore of the outstanding investments worth over Rs 93,400 crore attracted by the hotel and tourism industry in India as of June 2016,” stated the ‘Domestic Tourism: Tap the Treasure,’ study conducted by ASSOCHAM’s Economic Research Bureau. The study said domestic tourist visits in India can increase from over 143 crore in 2015 to over 227 crore by 2020. While Maharashtra attracted investment proposals worth more than Rs 15,547 crore, Gujarat recorded Rs 13,542 crore, followed by Karnataka (Rs 11,049 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 89,26.4 crore) and West Bengal (Rs 8,207 crore) corresponding to 61.3 per cent of the outstanding investments. The remaining 16 states out of the major 21 states received Rs 36,150 crore worth proposals as of June 2016. The report also revealed that these investments would mainly cater to domestic tourists who have multiplied from 6.6 crore in 1991 to 143 crore in 2015. Big tourism projects are expected in the Mumbai-Pune zone, followed by the Konkan, Nashik, Ajanta-Ellora and around tiger reserves in Vidarbha. (Source: Times of India)

Nashik will be developed as a mega tourist destination under the Visit Maharashtra plan 2017. Jaykumar Rawal, Tourism Minister, Maharashtra, Government of India, said that Nashik Circuit, comprising tourist spots in the region, would be promoted under the 2017 plan and the idea of ‘Visit Nashik’ would be publicised on the lines of Visit Maharashtra. He also assured of making air service available through small airlines and the gap payment will be borne by the Union and state governments. Various tourism options were also discussed like ropeway at Saptashrungi Gadh, promotion of medical tourism in the state, dam tourism, wine tourism and agro tourism promotion including the controversial boat club. “The chief minister announced 2017 as Visit Maharashtra year. He wants to give number one priority to tourism. We are trying to attract tourists not just from India but from abroad. We can promote Nashik in Visit Maharashtra project. Our tagline Maharashtra Unlimited can also be applied as Nashik Unlimited. We will develop a circuit here,” said Rawal. He further revealed that Nashik Circuit will include travel from Mumbai to Igatpuri, Trimbakeshwar, Bhandardhara, Bhavali, Hathgad, Shirdi, Shani Shingnapur, Nandur Madhyameshwar, Saptashrungi, Chandwad, Nashik, Trimbakeshwar in a planned manner. “We can have Godavari Aarti every evening like Ganga Aarti. Nandur Madhyameshwar Bird Sanctuary is of international importance. We will also resolve the problems with respect to Gangapur Boat Club and will start it soon,” said Rawal. (Source: Times of India)

West Bengal has scaled up one point to become the 8th preferred destination among the domestic tourists and 6th preferred among the international tourists for 2015, informed Surajit Bose, Additional Director and Ex-officio Joint Secretary – Tourism, Government of West Bengal. “In 2015 West Bengal recorded a tourist footfall of 7,16,82,950 as against 5.04,15,685 in 2014,” he said. “The budgetary allocation for Tourism Department has increased manifold over the years, from a meagre Rs 44 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 257 crore in 2015-16. This has certainly encouraged us and given more room for growth.” With a revamped brand identity, the state government is working on a slew of initiatives such as a home stay policy, several mega projects, launch of mobile app, among others, and aims to position itself among the top three most visited states.

Air India Express will connect Sharjah with Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli (in Tamil Nadu) from September. The airline will introduce three non-stop flights per week each from Chandigarh (IXC) and Tiruchirapalli (TRZ), to add Sharjah International Airport, bringing the total number of its routes between Sharjah and Indian destinations up to seven. India is one of the United Arab Emirates’ leading trade partners, accounting for some 9.8 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade, buying 14.9 percent of the Emirates’ exports and 8.7 percent of its re-exports. The total volume of bilateral trade between India and the UAE is expected to increase from $60 billion in 2014 to $100 billion by the year 2020. India is also the largest single origin of investors for Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone and Sharjah International Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone). Air India Express has been expanding its services to destinations in the UAE, including daily Mumbai-Dubai, Mumbai-Sharjah, New Delhi-Dubai and New Delhi-Abu Dhabi routes, which it added earlier this year. According to the airline, the number of its weekly flights between India and the UAE increased from 107 flights to 146 flights per week before the summer. The low-cost airline currently operates five routes with a total of 15 weekly flights to Sharjah International Airport. Air India Express now flies direct to Sharjah from Kochi (COK), Kozhikode (CCJ), Mumbai (SAHAR), New Delhi (DEL), Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) and Varanasi (VNS. India is well connected to Sharjah, with Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia operating flights between Sharjah and 13 Indian destinations. Jet Airways, India’s second largest airline, operates direct daily flights on Sharjah-Kochi and Sharjah-Mangaluru (IXE) routes.

The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu met Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism to discuss the issues for promotion of tourism and development of tourist infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh. Khandu said that there are many important tourist destinations in Arunachal Pradesh including many religious and pilgrimage tourist places which are to be developed and promoted. He emphasised that Arunachal Pradesh has great tourist potential which needs to be harnessed properly. Dr. Sharma assured the visiting Chief Minister that the Ministry of Tourism wants to help Arunachal Pradesh in promoting tourism, especially high-end tourism preserving natural beauty and eco-system of the State. Many tourism schemes in the State can be promoted with the help of North-East circuit and PRASAD scheme. He said that economic air fare packages will also boost the tourism sector in Arunachal Pradesh.