Speaking at the side event of the 2nd TWG meeting in Siliguri, Arvind Singh, Secretary, MOT, said that the event is a great occasion to discuss, ideate possibilities to achieve the SDG’s. “The deliberations reiterate the notion that Adventure tourism can be a positive cause for achieving the 2030 sustainable development goals,” he said.

The Goa Tourism Department, in partnership with Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter, is organising its first-ever Roadshow across Europe. The roadshow will start on 18 April from Frankfurt, 20 April Zurich, Vienna on 24 April, and will end in Paris on 26 April.

UNWTO shared global best practices for developing Tourism Investment Strategy (TIS) at the Chintan Shivir by MOT. The session highlighted the structured approach for developing a comprehensive investment strategy,

KB Kachru, Vice President, HAI and Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia Radisson Hotel Group, speaking at a recent interaction chaired by Minister of Tourism and Secretary, Tourism, said, “Given the local pull factor & ability of our domestic market combined with recent government policies, we can showcase our diversity to attract foreign investment.”

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, lays out three major pillars for developing tourism in mission mode to make India the major travel destination—Active participation-to encourage competitive federalism among States and their participation in creating national strategies and models. Convergence of government programmes and Public-Private Partnership

Travel Professionals attending GTFF 2023 may register for a free Familiarization tour of North Bay, Ontario. The full day program that will include lunch, will provide an opportunity to discover the charms of the city and get a taste of Ontario’s magnificent Northern region. Featured in the itinerary are museum visits, including the North Bay Museum, Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace which provides understanding and connection to Canada’s historical and current contributions to air defence, and a visit of the Heritage Railway and Carousel Company; to experience the magic of a restored Heritage Carousel and nostalgic Heritage Railway. Participants will continue the day with a tour of the city and tour a local North Ontario Brewery with a delicious selection of local craft beers; enjoying a flight or pint. Participants may also have the opportunity to visit a Maple Syrup Farm (subject to time availability), to indulge in savouring Canada’s iconic sweet delicacies from a region well known for maple syrup production.

Syed Abid Rashid Shah (IAS), is the new Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Jammu & Kashmir. He has served as DC Kulgam, DC Anantnag, DC Pulwama and DC Srinagar and has contributed immensely with his capacities of head and heart for the overall development of the UT of J&K. He was CEO ERA and smart city project as well.

Anticipating the surge of foreign tourists coming into the Philippines in summer season and following President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s directive for the implementation of electronic visa systems, the Department of Tourism (DOT) initiated a high-level convergence meeting with the heads and representatives from the DFA, DICT, DOJ and B to discuss visa reforms to ease entry for country’s tourist source markets.

Atlys, India’s leading visa application platform, is organizing a webinar today at 3:30pm IST. Become a distributor for Atlys, which automates and simplifies the visa application process and helps agents apply for visa in few mins. Register on +91 9650196532, jaspreet@ddppl.com.

The visa application volume from Kolkata has reached 85 per cent of the pre-pandemic level as travellers from here give vent to ‘revenge travel’ made easier by the re-opening up of borders and easing of COVID restrictions, said Prabuddha Sen, Chief Operating Officer (South Asia) of VFS Global. He said thatthe volume showed a 160 per cent rise in 2022 as compared to 2021.