Category Archives: States

In a message to the people on the 50th statehood day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that, with the Centre formulating a comprehensive action plan for development and tourism, Meghalaya could become one of the most developed states in the country in the next 25 years. Dedicated efforts have been undertaken in Meghalaya for the development of infrastructure over the last several years.

Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister, Himachal Chief Minister has unveiled the Dharamsala Skyway (Dharamsala ropeway) constructed at a cost of Rs 207 crores, which would connect Dharamsala with McLeodganj. It has the hourly capacity of carrying 1,000 persons and would reach Dharamsala to McLeodganj in five minutes instead of usual 20-25 minutes taken by car. The length of the ropeway is 1.8 km. The ropeway has 10 towers and 2 stations at Dharamsala and McLeodganj. One way tariff for travelling in ropeway from Dharamsala to McLeodganj is Rs 300 per person and two way tariff is Rs 500 per person.

Sumita Saroch, JD, Tourism, Rajasthan, speaking at the Expo 2020, has said that Rajasthan offers multiple picturesque settings and culture. During her presentation, she showcased Rajasthan as a social events destination. “Rajasthan Tourism Policy 2020 strongly focuses on promotion of wedding tourism in the state,” she said while presenting the various offerings and facilities for such events.

Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas unveiled the logo for the ‘Fam 2 Malabar 500’ initiative, that will bring around 500 tour operators from India and abroad to the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad, and Kasaragod this year to familiarise themselves with the region’s potential as a vibrant tourism hub.

At the session, ‘Adventure & Wildlife: The untapped potential of Incredible India’, G Kamala Vardhan Rao, DG, MOT, said, “For adventure tourism, India will emerge as a major destination. Gulmarg is identified as an alternative skiing destination by international ski lovers as Alps are already saturated with traffic. While we have infrastructure but the international standard infrastructure needs to be created, to attract more skiers.”

Madhya Pradesh Government is offering land at 8 potential land parcels & 3 heritage properties in the state to set up tourism projects, through online bidding process on attractive conditions such as; long term lease for 90 years, minimum reserved price per hectare, 1% lease rent per year of the premium, properties can be mortgaged to avail loans.

Amusement Park industry will remain closed as per the latest Maharashtra govt. notification, to prevent spread of Omicron. Rajeev Jalnapurkar – Chairman, IAAPI and Director Ramoji Film City, requested the state government to allow amusement parks & theme parks to operate on 50% capacity as allowed to indoor venues like malls, cinemas, restaurants, gyms, saloons, etc for survival and employment retention in the industry.

G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER virtually participated in the NE Festival and interacted with entrepreneurs and potential start-ups. With the visible and rapid development in the last 7 years, he urged the business community to confidently carry the message of ‘investment ready North East’ across the country and beyond.

Kashmir recorded the highest tourist footfall of decade with a total of 1,27,605 tourists in November in 2021. According to J&K govt officials, the number is more than all the figures in the month in the past seven years. As per officials, only 6327 tourists visited Kashmir in November 2020 which is a lot lesser than the present number of nearly 1,27,000. Dr GN Itoo, Director, Kashmir Tourism, revealed that almost 1,27,000 tourists visited in November and almost 93,000 tourists visited in October and that it is the first time in the past seven years that Kashmir recorded such large numbers of tourists in these two months.

In view of the weather advisory issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the Directorate of Tourism Kashmir has established an emergency 24×7 helpline number service to facilitate the tourists seeking help during any emergency arising due to inclement weather, rain or snowfall in the valley.