Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Post 18 months of restrictions, being confined at home and living in a virtual world, Thomas Cook (India) and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have identified a strong pent-up demand for outdoor and adventure experiences. India’s unparalleled biodiversity, exceptional wildlife and jungle experiences hold strong allure, and the companies have hence launched an exciting portfolio of Safaris & Jungle Experiences intended to target India’s millennials/young professionals, honeymooners, families; equally corporates – with exciting team-building jungle getaways. The products are attractively priced, starting from Rs 4,990.00 per person for stays of 2-7 nights. With the pandemic bringing focus to health and safety, while Indians are longing to escape from the monotony/ restrictions of work-from-home, they are actively seeking holidays away from crowds. Thomas Cook and SOTC’s Safari & Jungle Experiences are hence designed to offer safe/secluded yet magical landscapes: from rugged scrubland to lush forests, across rolling hills, watering holes and the floodplains of the mighty Brahmaputra to the awe-inspiring Sundarbans – the world’s largest delta. Thomas Cook and SOTC have included India’s top game reserves with the thrill of crossing paths with majestic tigers at Corbett, India’s oldest National Park – regarded as the ultimate tiger safari destination, or  sighting a leopard at the Ranthambore National Park; a glimpse of snow leopards at Hemis, one of the world’s highest altitude parks; Bandhavgarh National Park, once a royal hunting ground and now a protected reserve for the Royal Bengal Tiger; the famed Asiatic Lion at the Gir National Park; spotting panthers, bears, pythons and elephants at Kanha National Park featured in Kipling’s ‘Mowgli’, a variety of migratory birds at the Kumarakom/Vembanad Bird Sanctuary or the magnificent one-horned rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park …

The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai will conduct a one-hour virtual panel discussion on Spain (Schengen) visa for travelers from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka today at 3pm IST. Speakers include José María Ridao, Ambassador of Spain in India; Fernando Heredia Noguer, Consul General of Spain in Mumbai; Helena Escorial López who is the Head of the Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in India, Ambica Shrestha, Hon. Consul of Spain in Nepal; Priya Jayawardena, Hon. Consul of Spain in Sri Lanka; and Director of Turespaña in India – Elisa Robles. To register, please visit https://event.webinarjam.com/register/327/n7kngavw or write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call on 9650196532.

Ministry of Tourism in association with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting organised a Symposium on Film Tourism in Mumbai yesterday aimed at promoting film tourism and establishing domestic destinations as preferred filming destinations. The symposium’s aim was to reach out to the tourism industry in terms of the opportunities available in the states for conducting film shootings. Arvind Singh, Secretary Tourism, Govt of India said, “I request all states to establish film promotion offices to help coordinate will all necessary departments to give permissions for film shoots on time. Also develop film tourism policies.”

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and India’s diplomatic missions around the world have been in talks with their counterparts to secure mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, and the World Health Organization’s decision on Bharat Biotech’s locally produced Covaxin has bolstered their efforts for a diplomatic effort to widen the list of countries that will reciprocally accept vaccine certificates, letting Indians to travel smoothly. According to MEA data, more than 20 countries have allowed vaccinated Indians to enter without being quarantined — largely with Covishield, but some with both Covishield and Covaxin.

This decade belongs to Uttarakhand, with significant increase in connectivity in the years ahead and a halt to exodus from the highlands, PM Narendra Modi said on Friday.He laid the foundation stone of reconstruction projects worth over Rs 400 crore at the Himalayan temple. He also lauded Baba Kedar for the reconstruction work he did in Kedarpuri after the disastrous floods of 2013 in sub-zero temperatures.

As the United States reopens its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from overseas, Los Angeles is thrilled to welcome international visitors to start their comeback. The L.A. visitors know and love is back, continuing to push the envelope of creativity and innovation with new adventures to discover with the full range of the visitor experience from museums and restaurants to theme parks and outdoor live events open for business. Prior to the disruption to our industry, international markets represented a highly important share of business with nearly 1 in 4 visitors to L.A. coming from overseas. In 2019 alone, the destination welcomed over 7.4 million international visitors who injected $11.6 billion in visitor spending into the local economy. November 8 marks a crucial milestone in the recovery of L.A.’s tourism industry. Los Angeles Tourism forecasts project a growth in international visitor spending from $3.7 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion in 2022. This represents a growth of 262% in international visitor spending. “We have desperately missed our international guests,” said Adam Burke, President & CEO of Los Angeles Tourism. “As one of the world’s most diverse and inclusive destinations where everyone is welcome, L.A. just isn’t the same without them. It’s also impossible to overstate the economic importance of this market segment for our local business community.” Throughout the pandemic, L.A. has continued to be actively engaged in top international markets. Los Angeles Tourism continues to be the only U.S. Destination Marketing Organization with full-time staff overseas based in Australia, China, India, and the United Kingdom. The destination has also made the health of visitors and residents top priority throughout the pandemic, implementing proactive and preventative safety protocols to mitigate …

The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai will conduct a one-hour virtual panel discussion on Spain (Schengen) visa for travelers from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Nov 9 at 3pm IST. Speakers include José María Ridao, Ambassador of Spain in India; Fernando Heredia Noguer, Consul General of Spain in Mumbai; Helena Escorial López who is the Head of the Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in India, Ambica Shrestha, Hon. Consul of Spain in Nepal; Priya Jayawardena, Hon. Consul of Spain in Sri Lanka; and Director of Turespaña in India – Elisa Robles. To register, please visit https://event.webinarjam.com/register/327/n7kngavw or write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call on 9650196532.

In the fifth Deepotsav of Ayodhya on Wednesday more than 9 lakh lamps were lit up on banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya, breaking all the previous records. The Deepotsav program and the construction of grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya will boost the tourism opportunities in UP. “UP govt with the assistance of Govt of India is working towards achieving new heights”, UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), India Offices, and TravelBullz Indian Travel League organised an Indian Travel League for Pan India Travel Agents. ITL is a weekly campaign with a total of 4 rounds. The campaign began on October 20th, and each week, a match would be followed by a wordplay format quiz. The campaign is set to have its semi-final round on November 10th with K. D. Singh, founder and president of TravelBullz, and K. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, New Delhi Office, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), as the panellists for the semi-final round. The winner stands a chance to win a 4-night stay in Phuket.

The Karnataka government announced a slew of concessions and relief measures for hotels, resorts, restaurants, and amusement parks in the state on Thursday, the most notable of which was a half of property tax dues. They also announced that for the months of April, May, and June of 2021, electricity charges will be waived. The government has also agreed to provide a one-time financial payment of INR 5000 to all Tourism Department registered beneficiaries, which will be directly sent to their accounts.