The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) in association with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) organised a touring session to four new museums at Red Fort Complex, Delhi for major tour operators and industry association members in order to give a wide publicity to these museums and discuss ways to make Red Fort a two-day destination. Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, MOT said that around 20 tour operators and other stakeholders, who specialise in promoting tourism in Delhi took the tour, which aims at educating the masses about the rich history and culture of the country. Situated in four barracks of Red Fort, the museum at Barrack 1 is all about First War of Indian Independence 1857 while the other museum at Barrack 2 contains specimens and information on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. A third museum at Barrack 3 covers history and life of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA movement, while Barrack 4 is a collaboration with ASI Delhi Art Gallery on contemporary paintings. The entire complex of museums will be known as ‘Kranti Mandir’ as a tribute to the revolutionary zeal and courage of the freedom fighters.  

After witnessing a 25 per cent increase in Indian arrivals in November 2018, South African Tourism now aims to cross the 100,000 mark this year. Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of its four-city roadshow, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head—Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism, said, “We want to now go over 100,000 travellers from India. India is our biggest international source market. It is our NIC market, which stands for India, China and Nigeria. India is also our largest consumer of adventure activities. Keeping this in mind, we have a new strategy for the trade for this market. We will now look at above the line marketing collaborations with price points with the trade. This means that when Indians are looking to travel to South Africa, they will first see the price and details of the tour operator with whom they can travel and book right away. We are also looking seriously at developing a mobile campaign to enable this.” The recent visit by the South Africa president to India on Republic Day led to discussions between the two countries about easing of visas and direct flight connectivity by bringing back the South African Airways direct flight between Mumbai and Johannesburg. The South African delegation will travel from Mumbai to Chennai, Kolkata and finally to Delhi for this roadshow. South African Tourism has been working closely with the Consulate General of South Africa in Mumbai to introduce an updated visa procedure. Consul General Maropene Ramokgopa said, “In an effort to ease visa procedures, the Consulate of South Africa is working in close association with South African Tourism. We are collaborating to accredit select travel agents …

Vision of Scandinavia (VOS), a 20-year old inbound tour operator and DMC for the Baltics and the Nordic Countries, based in Copenhagen, has recently opened an office in Mumbai through the appointment of Mahip Agarwal, Sales Representative & Operations Manager (India), VOS. This makes India its first Asian country to have an office. It also recently opened an office in Russia. Speaking about the company’s plans for the market, Agarwal says, “We are targeting 3,000 passengers from India this year. Our focus will be on series departures apart from FITs, specially the honeymooners. At present, Scandinavia doesn’t get much of series departures from India and we want to tap this niche. Apart from conducting one-on-one sales calls with the trade, this year will be devoted to research and gathering data. We are also listed with the Scandinavian Tourism Board – India and will be part of their annual roadshow this year.” He added that VOS is keen to take part in exhibitions and trade fairs next year in Mumbai and New Delhi. “We welcome travellers from all segments. It is a myth that Scandinavia is an expensive destination and meant only for the premium segment and we want to dispel this myth by showcasing the products in the right way,” Agarwal adds.  

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI) is set to organise its next conclave in Lucknow on February 16, 2019. Set to be held at Taj Mahal, Lucknow, the conclave will be inaugurated by Justice D P Singh, Chairman, Uttar Pradesh Solid Waste Management Monitoring Committee. The theme of the conclave ‘Environmental Concerns of Hospitality Industry’ is chosen to promote ecotourism by adopting environment-friendly practices. Dr Anita Bhatnagar Jain, Additional Chief Secretary, Food Safety and Drug Administration Dept., Govt of Uttar Pradesh; Anurag Yadav, Secretary, Urban Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and I K Kapila, Advocate & Solicitor, Techno-Legal Environmental Consultant will be gracing the event as guest speakers. The topics for discussion during the upcoming HRANI Conclave – Applicable SWM and plastic waste disposal rules and role of stakeholders in effective implementation of plastic and solid waste management – aim towards spreading awareness on the environment-friendly practices that hotels can adopt.

Sarovar Hotels has announced the signing of a new hotel in South Goa, marking the group’s further foray into the state. Sarovar Portico in Palolem will offer guests a perfect stay experience upon completion in mid-2019. In addition to well-appointed 48 rooms, the hotel will offer all-day dinning, bar, spa, gymnasium and swimming pool. The hotel will also feature meeting rooms for up to 300 guests to meet the rapidly growing demand of MiCE segment. Commenting on the development, Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, said, “We are delighted to expand our presence in the market. We believe the hotel’s location clubbed with Sarovar’s signature hospitality will deliver a notable experience to its business and leisure guest’s alike.”

Union Minister K J Alphons has said the country’s tourism sector fetched USD 234 billion revenue last year, registering a growth of over 19 per cent. Delivering the inaugural speech at the 2nd ASEAN-India Youth Summit here, he said the country was ranked third in the tourism sector, according to the 2018 report of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). “Last year, India generated USD 234 billion revenue from the tourism sector. While the global revenue growth was 5 per cent, it grew by 19.4 per cent in India,” the Union tourism minister said. This revenue was contributed by 87 per cent domestic and 13 per cent foreign tourists, Alphons said. “From the foreign tourists, we earned USD 27 billion, which grew by 14 per cent compared to global growth of 7 per cent,” he said, adding that around 82 million people are employed in the tourism sector. About spiritual tourism, Alphons said 60-70 per cent of the total domestic tourists fall under this category. “The Indian philosophy is yoga. We see all as one. Yoga is the way of life and it says the entire universe is part of me. If I want to be happy, others have to be happy — this is the philosophy behind yoga. Let us forget physical connectivity, this is the spiritual connectivity between us,” the minister said. Alphons also advocated for a peaceful and sustainable world, free of pollution and damage to the environment. Source: PTI

As per data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), India features as one of the most popular destinations for Australian travellers. However, travel to the eight North Eastern states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim – each of which is gifted with a diverse range of tourist attractions from splendid nature and diverse wildlife to colourful culture and vibrant history, has been limited. To boost this, Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North East India Tour Operators Association (NEITO), which comprises Ministry of Tourism-approved inbound tour operators specialised for North East destinations. The MoU was signed by Madhushmita Khound , Secretary, NEITO in Guwahati and Sandip Hor, Chairman, AITTC in Sydney. The AITTC part of the signing was done in presence of B Vanlalvawna, Consul General of India in Sydney; Chandru Appar, Deputy Consul General of India in Sydney; Barbara Ward, President, NSW, Australia India Business Council; Phillip Bonicace, Co Chairman, AITTC and Vishnu Daram, Seccretary, AITTC. “This is a major step to put North East India under the tourism radar in Australia”, said Chairman Hor after the signing. According to him, attractions of the region like the Assam’s Brahmaputra River Cruise and the Kaziranga National Park, Tripura’s Royal Palaces Sikkim’s Himalayan beauty, Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival and many more have tremendous potential to add a new dimension to international tourism growth in India. The two main purposes of this MOU are to enhance destination knowledge among Australians and to facilitate the establishment of a suitable ‘travel & tourism connect’ between Australia and North East India.

The Goa Assembly has passed a bill amending a state tourism law, under which drinking alcohol, cooking and littering in tourist places will be a criminal offence. In fact, tourists are banned from carrying away bottles or cans containing liquor from stores selling alcohol in tourist places. According to the new amendment, violators of the law will be fined Rs 2,000, and if the violation is committed by more than one person, the group will have to pay Rs 10,000. There are, however, no penal provisions in the new law. The passing of the bill has been welcomed by Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) but cautioned that failure to implement the law would defeat the purpose.

Domestic air traffic has grown by 18.6 per cent from January-December YoY, according to a latest report by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-December 2018 were 1389.76 lakhs as against 1171.76 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year. The passenger load factor in the month of December 2018 has increased compared to previous month primarily due to the ongoing tourist season.

In the Interim Budget 2019-20, the Railways has been allocated Rs 64,587 crore. The Railways’ overall capital expenditure programme is of Rs 1,58,658 crore. This was stated by the Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs, Railways & Coal, Piyush Goyal while presenting the Interim Budget 2019-20 in Parliament. He said, “Indian Railways has experienced the safest year in its history as all Unmanned Level Crossings on broad gauge network have been eliminated”. On the introduction of the first indigenously developed and manufactured semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express, he said, “ This will give Indian passengers world-class experience with speed, service and safety. This major leap in wholly-developed technology by our engineers will give an impetus to the Make in India programme and create jobs.”