G Kishan Reddy held a review meeting with the officials of MOT, ASI and Goa Tourism along with Shripad Yesso Naik MoS, Tourism and Manohar Azgaonkar, Goa Tourism Minister. He discussed key issues pertaining to promotion of tourism & culture in the state of Goa. He also inaugurated helipad at old Goa. “The helipad will facilitate tourists with easy travel & will further heli tourism as envisioned under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of MOT in the state,” he said in a tweet.

South African Tourism is all set to kick off the last quarter of 2021 with its maiden virtual roadshow. Titled ‘VirtuallyYoursSouthAfrica’ the roadshow aims to showcase unique offerings from South Africa starting from October 20 to 22, 2021. It will have a delegation of approximately 100 suppliers from South Africa who will meet 1,000 Indian buyers from across India. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism, said, “This roadshow is a testament of our unwavering commitment to the Indian market. We expect mutually beneficial partnerships and impactful business conversions between South African exhibitors and Indian buyers to stem from our first virtual roadshow.”

In the final week of #ThailandBetterTogether campaign, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) India offices will highlight luxury and wellness. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, TAT, New Delhi, shares, “For the final week, our theme will be luxury and wellness in Thailand, and our team will bring you up to the northern part of Thailand, where we’ll be learning about Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, which are the two charming provinces in the Northern part of Thailand. Chiang Mai is regarded as the Rose of the North because of the charm of its people, culture and nature. One can do a lot of things in Chiang Mai from eco-tourism, adventures, shopping, local experiences, learning about cooking, and last but not the least is spa, Thai massage and the hospitality of the people in the Northern part of Thailand. Going up a little bit is Chiang Rai, which is very nice and charming and its highlight is that it’s a place of art. There is a very beautiful temple, called White Temple or Wat Rong Khun, as well as another temple called Blue Temple or Wat Rong Suea Ten. These two temples represent the craft and art of the Thai people. Apart from this, there are a lot of adventures and other activities that one can do in Chiang Rai as well.”

EbixCash Travels(Via.com) has taken the bold initiative to re-engage with the trade by conducting Travel Sub-agent Meets across the country, making sure that all COVID protocols are followed. Naveen Kundu, MD, EbixCash Travel Services (parent company of Via.com) says, “The aim behind these meets is to bring agents out of their post-COVID shells and from their offices/ homes, to get back to work and their business. These are small and medium enterprises, and we have been telling them that we as a conglomerate will help you with technology, credit lines, efficient payment remittances. When the partners and the principles meet together, they develop a camaraderie, which eventually will work in the favor of the customer, suppliers and the business. We must put in efforts to bring the business to normal, these are the efforts that we are making and rewarding them for staying through with us, even during the pandemic.” Now that the situation is getting better, EbixCash Travels (Via.com) is all out to support, reassure and extend help to its trade partners to grow their business because we believe in developing and keeping the connection personal with the community, and expanding it by creating physical community meetings. The meets are being conducted to have a closed group conversation with the partners to understand challenges and help them overcome them.

Fortune Hotels has signed an operating agreement for a resort in Benaulim, South of Goa, which is set to open in October. The resort is the third alliance of the chain in Goa. Samir MC, Managing Director, Fortune Park Hotels, said, “With this signing, we expand our leisure portfolio and now have three distinct offerings in the most popular holiday destination of India- an operating hotel in Panjim and an upcoming hotel in Candolim in the North, along with this balmy 96- key resort in the South of Goa.”

In line with the new development plans for 2021 by Bhupesh Baghel, CM, Chattisgarh, the state is set to launch its ambitious ‘Ram Van Gaman Path Tourist Circuit’ project on the auspicious occasion of Navaratri on October 7,2021.“To preserve the memories linked to Lord Ram and Mata Kaushalya , the government has envisioned this project where the devotees and tourists will be able to feel the essence of divinity with every step they take on Ram Van Path Gaman Tourism. Circuit,” said Baghel.

Rajasthan Government will launch a mobile application for tourists on World Tourism Day. “All information regarding tourist spots, modes of transport and other services will be available through the application. Users would be able to know if the local service provider is registered with the department,” Nishant Jain, Director of Tourism Department, Rajasthan said in a statement. The application will initially be available on Google playstore while its iOS version is also under development and will be launched in a few weeks.

Corporate travel in India is making a comeback with 100% recovery across Pharma, Healthcare, Real Estate and Biotech sectors on MakeMyTrip. There is significant recovery in sectors including Manufacturing, Defense & Space, Logistics as well as utilities with professionals returning to travel for work. MakeMyTrip’s recent market study on the recovery trends for the corporate travel segment further indicates that sectors including Financial Services, IT, Consumer goods and Automotive will see relatively slower recovery and are likely to be the last to see a complete recovery as far as corporate travel is concerned.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, has said that the PRASHAD scheme being implemented by MOT will enhance development of the renowned Parasuram Kund in Arunachal Pradesh. “The total amount sanctioned is of Rs 37.87 Cr that will ensure necessary infrastructural development of the iconic destination,” he said in a tweet.

The West Bengal cabinet has announced the new guidelines for the recognition of tourism service providers of Bengal. Under the new guidelines, the State Tourism Department will extend recognition to the eligible tourism service providers registered in West Bengal in the segments of tour operators, travel agents and tourist transport operators. This would certainly help the state to position Bengal as one of the top line destinations in India by ensuring quality service providers for the travellers across the world.