Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Thailand has extended its visa-free entry policy for Indian citizens indefinitely. Under the program, Indian citizens can enjoy a hassle-free entry into Thailand for a stay of up to 30 days without obtaining a visa beforehand. As per reports, 1 million Indian visitors travelled to Thailand between January and June this year.

Kerala Tourism is all set to replace its traditional tourist information centres with robotic and automatic kiosks to digitalise the information delivery system. P. A. Mohamed Riyas, Minister, Kerala Tourism, highlighted that introducing robotic kiosks at railway stations is part of a broader effort to modernise and digitalise Kerala’s tourism infrastructure.

On the special occasion of Madhya Pradesh’s Foundation Day, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav launched a captivating new TV commercial, “Moh Liya Re,” created by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board. This latest TVC seeks to showcase Madhya Pradesh’s stunning natural beauty, historical heritage, and vibrant cultural diversity through a fresh and captivating lens. The TVC is brought to life by the talented and celebrated actor, Mr. Pankaj Tripathi, whose performance adds an inspiring depth and charm to the campaign. Mr. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary of the Tourism Department and Managing Director of the Tourism Board, commented, “Madhya Pradesh Tourism is globally renowned for its scenic locations and breath-taking landscapes. Our continuous endeavour has been to present the state’s iconic destinations with a distinct identity that resonates not just across India but internationally. This new TVC, brimming with vivid visuals, colour, and life, will play a pivotal role in drawing travellers to our beautiful state.” “Moh Liya Re” – A New Perspective This TV commercial masterfully portrays Madhya Pradesh’s unique natural splendour, spiritual landmarks, historical sites, and rich wildlife, igniting a desire among tourists to revisit and explore the state even more deeply. Through “Moh Liya Re,” the audience is once again reminded of Madhya Pradesh’s enchanting allure, reiterating that “Jo Aaya Wo Wapas Aaya, Ye MP Ki Maya”. The previous campaign, “MP Ki Maya,” launched in September 2023, has already garnered immense popularity, amassing over 29.7 million views across social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Specific engagement highlights include 9,262,161 views on Instagram, 12,637,120 on Facebook, 6,365,305 on YouTube, and 1,507,000 on Twitter. The Journey of Madhya Pradesh’s Memorable TVCs: – 2023: MP Ki Maya – …

Praising FHRAI’s new Centre of Excellence, Pradeep Shetty, President of FHRAI, says, “This has been a long-standing desire of our federation, as we have often faced challenges when approaching the government regarding policy issues, regulatory bottlenecks, compliance burden, and the overall ease of doing business One of the major gaps we identified was the lack of comprehensive data to support our claims and recommendations. With the Centre of Excellence, we aim to address this gap head-on.”

Underlining the importance of wedding segment for India, DG Tourism, Mugdha Sinha says “Wedding as a market is worth US$ 130 billion with 8 to 10 million annual weddings in India, second only to China. Delhi had the most weddings about 30,000 in one month of November 2023 that energised the whole paraphernalia around the weddings from invites, to wedding planners to apparel, jewellery, gifting, accommodations, logistics, photography, which adds up to the employment generation and contribution to both GDP of economy and creative economy. As a policy maker we also look at issues like permissions, taxes, incentives, that need resolution to make India an attractive destination for Wed in India, for celebrating wedding anniversaries and for honeymooning in India.”  

As per HVS ANAROCK Hospitality Monitor, growth in demand has led to consistent improvements in occupancy rates across key markets in September 2024. Bengaluru led the way with a notable 8-10 percentage points (pp) year-on-year increase in occupancy rates, followed by New Delhi, which recorded a 6-8 pp growth. On the other hand, Jaipur and Kolkata were the only markets that saw declines in occupancy rates of around 0-3 pp.

VFS Global has worked with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland since 2010 and under the new agreement will continue to provide Schengen short terms visa services and Residence permit services including biometric enrolment in 32 countries (including India) across 10 regions. Since 2010, VFS Global has handled more than 8.5 million visa applications on behalf of the Government of Finland. Present were several esteemed dignitaries including Jussi Tanner, Director General Consular Services, Ari Uusikartano, Senior Ministerial Adviser and Director of Information and Documentation at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Zubin Karkaria, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global Group. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland said: “We anticipate a seamless and professional collaboration with VFS Global. In our tender, we especially highlighted the global coverage of the outsourced services, quality of biometrics and technical capacity, quality control, risk management and customer service. The external service provider receives applications, collects biometric data and application fees and forwards them to the missions. It does not make visa decisions. Visa decisions continue to be the responsibility of Foreign Ministry officials.” Jiten Vyas, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Business Development, VFS Global, said: “VFS Global is delighted that we will continue to serve the Government of Finland as their trusted service provider. We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and welcome the opportunity to renew our services. We look forward to offering visa applicants best-in-class visa solutions, and a seamless application process across 10 regions globally.”

Speaking about the significance of research and data in the tourism industry, Suman Billa, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism said, “Being in the sector which is vast and multifaceted, it is essential to have accurate and comprehensive data to inform our decisions. While government data provides a solid foundation, it often captures only one facet of the entire landscape. To truly understand the dynamics of the tourism and hospitality sectors, we must triangulate this data with insights from industry bodies, international organisations like the WTO, and other reliable sources.”

An Amex Trendex India finding highlights that 73% of Indians are using travel credit card rewards, airline miles or loyalty points to manage costs, reflecting a shift toward maximising value during the holidays. Domestic travel remains popular, with 88% opting for trips within India, while international travel is on the radar for 61%.

Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, IHCL, has announced that IHCL has committed to skilling 100,000 workers in hospitality industry by 2030. He stressed that addressing the sector’s talent shortage is crucial for future growth, especially as India’s tourism infrastructure continues to expand.