Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

According to a report by CAPA, with competition heating up again in the domestic sector, IndiGo sees the international market as having the best potential for growth. It will increasingly look overseas for more opportunities as new aircraft deliveries enter the fleet. 

Anjit Mukherjee, Deputy Manager, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat said with the celebrations of Rann Utsav in November-December this year, Gujarat anticipates to reach pre-pandemic levels. He further added that Gujarat never took a pause and has been continuously working on promoting itself even during the pandemic. 

Continuing with its series of webinars to help the travel trade discover Spain, the Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai, along with Barcelona Tourism, will conduct an exclusive webinar titled ‘Know Barcelona’ on Wednesday, May 15 at 3 pm IST. Sign up today for the Spain Specialist Program (SSP) and register now to attend the webinar. The webinar will conclude with an exciting quiz on the destination and the winner will leave with a 5-day free trip to Barcelona in October 2022. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532. 

After 2 years of the pandemic, the Etihad team launched a mega sales blitz across 10 cities in the Indian Sub-continent to re-engage with customers and promote their brand new A350 aircraft along with sustainability initiatives and enhanced connectivity options through the new codeshare with Air Arabia Abu Dhabi from 7 cities in India.    

Spree Hospitality launches its bold and unconventional brand with the opening of Zip by Spree Hotels Mangala Towers in Thrissur, Kerala. This 4-star property is located near Thrissur business centers and is one of the top business hotels, fully equipped to meet corporate and business needs.

Singapore has eased entry for travellers. At the ‘Reimagine Cruising from Singapore’ webinar, it was revealed that travelers will not require Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) or Vaccinated Travel Passport (VTP) for entering Singapore. Now, it’s only a three-step process which includes proof of vaccination for pax of age 12 and above; apply your visa (3-day approval process) and submit your arrival cards online three days before arrival.

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, has revealed that all three ministers of tourism will be leading the event at major sites on behalf of MOT. “Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy will be at the Anand Sagar Lake in Hyderabad and State Tourism Ministers Ajay Bhatt and Shripad Yesso Naik will be at Wagah Border in Punjab and Churches and Convents of Goa in Old Goa respectively.

India’s diversity of tourist destinations goes well beyond the beaches, hills, and cities. As one of the oldest civilizations in the world with an all-embracing confluence of spirituality, heritage and traditions, India has always been a top choice for cultural travel at a global stage. As the pandemic pushed Indians to explore domestic destinations, cultural travel has witnessed its biggest boom in the past two years. Tracking consumer travel sentiment across India, OYO has published ‘India’s Treasure Trove of Cultural Travel 2022’ report. As per the report, with over 3.5 times growth over the past year, Srinagar clocked the highest growth in bookings among cultural destinations in 2022. Besides Srinagar, Pahalgam and Jammu in J&K also rank among the top 5 cultural destinations in India, citing increasing travel interest in the region. As per OYO’s booking data analyzed between January to April 2022, Srinagar, Pahalgam, Bodhgaya, Shirdi and Jammu are among India’s top 5 cultural destinations in order of ranking. India is known for its spirituality around the world. Within the culture-travel category, OYO’s data highlights rising consumer interest in pilgrimage and heritage destinations. Varanasi, seen by many as the spiritual hub, tops the charts as the most popular pilgrimage destination in India in 2022. This is followed by Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Shirdi. Besides this, OYO’s Mid-Summer Vacation Index also highlights keen consumer interest in visiting Vaishno Devi this summer. As per the report, when it comes to heritage sites, with 25% votes each, Ajanta & Ellora caves in Aurangabad and Taj Mahal in Agra tied for the top spot. Hampi, Khajurao and Mahabalipuram round up the balance of the top 5 heritage sites. Commenting on the rise in …

Speaking about future plans, Dr Dhananjay Sawalkar, Joint Director, Directorate of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, revealed, “We have created a Responsible Tourism policy for the state because we are seeing instances of over-tourism, land pollution and even water shortages where tourist footfalls are high. This will help is disperse tourists to adjoining places, reduce impact on environment and channelize benefits to the local communities. This policy is already ready; some government level decisions are pending. Hopefully we will release it soon.”

In an elderly-friendly decision, Kerala Government has announced 50% concession for senior citizens in entry fee in all state-run tourism centres. Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said, “This is part of elderly friendly policies across all sectors in the state. This will encourage the senior citizens to mix with the society.” The Kozhikode Human Rights Forum had made a submission before the Assembly Committee urging it to consider the possibility of giving concession in entry fee for senior citizens in tourism centres. After studying the submission, the house panel recommended the Government that the request could be considered positively