Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The Government has announced to clear all pending dues of exporters worth Rs. 56,000, which includes SEIS. An official release states, “Service sector exporters, including those in the travel, tourism and hospitality segments will be able to claim SEIS benefits for FY 2019-2020, for which Rs 2,061 crore has been provisioned. The SEIS for FY 2019-20 with certain revisions in service categories and rates is being notified. This support would have a multiplier effect and spur employment generation.” Piyush Goyal, Union Minister, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, announced that the Government has decided to budget Rs 56,027 crore in this Financial Year (FY22) itself in order to disburse all pending export incentives due to exports. The final date of filing application of due scrips for SEIS is 31st December. There will also be a dedicated portal for filing scrips dues and it will be made live soon.

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Madhya Pradesh Chapter conducted a physical meeting for its members in Pune recently over two days. It was led by Chapter Chairman TK Jose along with the National Committee team led by President Ajay Prakash. The team met in Pune in order to promote the destination along with nearby places like Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar after IndiGo started a direct Indore-Pune-Indore flight.

Pronab Sarkar, Immediate Past President of IATO has been elected as member of the SEPC Central Governing Council for 2021-23 to represent Travel & Tourism Sector. Sarkar has won the elections with a big margin. Hence, travel and tourism sector will have strong representation in SEPC and will pave way for taking up issues and raising concens, with the Ministry of Commerce and other Ministries through SEPC.

The Indian Railways has recently started two Vistadome train services in Assam and North Bengal. The Vistadome tourist special trains will run between Guwahati and New Haflong in Assam and New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar Junction in North Bengal. There are jungles, wildlife and tea gardens on the route between NJP and Alipurduar, thus providing a tourist with the opportunity to view the natural beauty of Dooars during their travels.

On his recent visit to Nepal, Sadhguru met Dhananjay Regmi, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board, and shared his experience of Kailash Darshan from Nepal. He said, “Nepal can be Switzerland of Asia for its natural beauty while all kinds of diversities add further value and importance as tourist destination,” and stressed the urgency of earmarking Nepal’s tourism industry as a prioritised sector by the government. Regmi also updated Sadhguru about NTB’s efforts of promoting Nepal in Indian markets as spiritual destination, and the destination for the holistic health of body, mind and soul.

Air Tanzania has announced the resumption of its services between India and Tanzania. The first flight out of DAR was on 30th August, 2021 and return from Mumbai was on 31st August 2021. To start with, this will be a bi-weekly service every Tuesday and Saturday out of Mumbai with convenient departure timings of 05.50 hours arriving in Dar es Salaam at 09.20 hours. It will operate B787-800 new Dreamliner aircraft. Once the situation normalises, the flights are likely to increase to thrice a week.

The Karnataka Chapter of TAAI, in collaboration with the MSME Development Institute, conducted a virtual workshop to educate members about various schemes of Ministry of Micro, SME. This is part of the series initiated by TAAI at pan-India level to educate its members about the benefits and reliefs extended by the Ministry of MSME. Gopinath Rao, Deputy Director, MSME Development Institute, Bengaluru shared various schemes and initiatives of MSME and explained how it can benefit businesses at large. He specifically mentioned the schemes which attendees may avail finance, both at micro and macro levels.

In a recent awareness session conducted on the opening of Sri Lanka for Indian traveller, Sanath Ukwatte, President, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, said “Sri Lanka is now open for Indians. We are getting about 1,000 requests a day for visas from Indians which is a huge surge.” Indian travellers travelling to Sri Lanka should have the Indian government approved vaccination certificate that is the mandatory guideline issued by Sri Lanka.

Switzerland Tourism will conduct a webinar on Friday, 9th September 2021, focusing on Swiss Travel System (STS), Switzerland’s public transport network. STS offers comfortable, convenient, and scenic travel across Switzerland by rail, bus or boat. This webinar will highlight STS’s various products and services for the Indian market, as well as showcase the hassle-free booking experience of these offerings on RailEurope’s distribution network. To register, contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is reportedly planning to lease out ‘The Ashok’ to investors and turn the 25-acre property into a ‘multi-purpose’ building, which would have an array of facilities including service apartments and a mall, revealed an official. According to a PTI report, MOT working on the details of bidding and aims to complete the process in the current financial year. “The intention is to turn ‘The Ashok’ into an iconic building which would house service apartments, besides a mall and other amenities taking advantage of its location,” said the official.