In the last eight-and-a-half years, India built extensive tourism infrastructure worth nearly Rs 7,000 crore to improve the experiences of tourists, Union Tourism Minister G.K. Reddy has said. He added that India is also nurturing and developing young ambassadors through YUVA Tourism Clubs in schools and colleges and listed several initiatives taken to boost the industry, including short-term hospitality courses.

Manipur CM N. Biren Singh said that a US-based company will spend USD 500 million in the state’s tourism sector with several other foreign investments on the cards. He added, “The state will receive an investment of 500 mn dollars in tourism from a company based in the US.” Citing the willingness of several other foreign investors, particularly from Argentina, Peru, and Bangladesh, to invest in the state, he said Manipur will witness development in all sectors.

Despite having a natural geographical advantage, Indian airports have, to date, not been able to realise the opportunity that exists, according to CAPA India. According to its research, for years India has ceded traffic to offshore hubs. In fact, over the last couple of decades, there has been a structural evolution from hubs to mega-hubs, particularly in the Middle East, supported by world class airlines with large widebody fleets. It will discuss this and more at its research briefing on ‘Prospects for airport hubs in India’ at 4pm IST today.

There’s a luxurious new way to cruise through Vietnam’s Halong Bay, Paradise Vietnam owns the most luxurious cruises in Vietnam, confirming its leading position in the luxury cruise industry. Pioneering in the Indian market to redefine luxury and create brand awareness, Paradise Vietnam selects IRIS Reps as its India representative to position and increase their visibility in the travel industry. In a statement regarding the appointment, Cao Anh Tuan – Director or Sales , stated, “We are pleased to have IRIS Reps on board to help us establish a strong foundation for Paradise Vietnam in India. Our joint efforts will enable us to gain greater visibility and penetrate the vast and diverse Indian market. Paradise Vietnam will continue to uphold its mission of bringing premium and quintessence cuisine to tourists with the desire to reach new heights. We always try our best to bring Paradise Vietnam to new successes and maintain our leading position in Vietnam’s tourism industry. Paradise Vietnam is the pioneer in setting the standard for world-class leisure at sea with 12 most luxurious cruises in Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay, along with experienced staff capable of quality event services, Paradise Vietnam is the first choice for events of various styles, sizes, and occasions.” Commenting on the appointment, Alefiya Singh, Director IRIS Reps said, “We are elated to have entered the partnership with Paradise Vietnam. I am delighted to see Vietnam become one of the best tourism market for India, we aim to still derive greater growth into the region through strategic sales initiatives, marketing partnerships and working closely with the travel trade in India. We look forward to further strengthening Paradise Vietnam as the first choice of destination from …

Switzerland Tourism invites the trade to attend this exclusive webinar in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland Visa Section. This webinar will highlight the latest information and guidelines regarding the Swiss Schengen visa and the application process. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2024! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Air India has announced orders for 470 Boeing and Airbus passenger jets. It is buying 220 Boeing aircraft valued at $34bn and 250 passenger jets from Airbus. Air India is seeking to reinvent itself by expanding its operations and modernising its fleet to tap surging demand for affordable air travel. India is going to be the world’s third-largest market in the aviation sector,” Modi said, adding that over the next 15 years, it is estimated India will need more than 2,000 aircraft.

The Finance Minister has announced that an app will be developed covering all relevant aspects of tourism. States will be encouraged to set up Unity Malls in state capital as the most prominent tourism centres to promote One District One Product, GI products, handicrafts and products of other states.

As per JLL’s latest Hotel Momentum India (HMI) Q4, 2022, the hospitality sector continued to witness strong Y-o-Y growth in Q4 2022, primarily driven by corporate travel, weddings, winter vacations and festivities. The year ended with a 90% Y-o-Y growth in RevPAR for the calendar year 2022 over 2021. The performance in Q4 2021 was strong as well on the back of weddings and domestic leisure travel, however corporate travel was only a fraction of what has been witnessed in Q4 2022.

Addressing the Inaugural session of the first Tourism Working Group Meeting under G20 hosted by the MoT at Rann of Kutch, Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER G.K Reddy said that the National Digital Tourism Mission (NDTM) is being formulated to ensure the digitalisation of the Tourism sector in Mission Mode and India  has built  many large scale  Digital Public  Infrastructure  such  as Aadhar  for Identity  and  UPI  for real-time payments.

Highlighting the importance of safety, the Union Minister remarked that the Government of India is focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of tourists travelling in India and is formulating and implementing Uniform Tourist Police for providing a safe and secure environment to the tourists. G.K Reddy also said that India is appointing nodal officers in the Indian Missions abroad of the top 20 source countries. Union Minister further said that the National Digital Tourism Mission (NDTM) is being formulated to ensure the digitalisation of the Tourism sector in Mission Mode and India has built  many large scale Digital Public  Infrastructure such as Aadhar for Identity and UPI for real-time payments.