Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Infrastructure major GMR has come forward to adopt the historic Golconda Fort, Union Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said on Tuesday. He told reporters that this would be on the lines of Dalmia Bharat Group adopting the Red Fort under the Union Tourism Ministry‘s ‘Adopt a heritage’ scheme.

Alok Sharma, CEO& Founder, Shycocan Corporation has claimed that there is a need for widespread use of technology to mitigate the risk of COVID. “We can sure help prevent the next wave and it will give confidence to business and humans to have a more normal life. The incidents, if any, would be less sporadic if it was not adopted in a big way,” he said. He also said Shycocan can work in outdoors and it is effective against mutants of virus as well. “It worked equally well on all mutants because it neutralises the cell positive charge from the virus and it doesn’t kill the virus. Human cells are negatively charged, and that’s why infection happens. Hence, it doesn’t matter which variant is there because the shell will get neutralised with Shycocan,” he claimed.

In an insightful discussion with industry stalwarts during the M!CE talk Digital Conclave, powered by Cvent India, Sabbas Joseph, Founder & Director at Wizcraft International Entertainment, called for an urgent need for the government to collaborate with MICE players in India. He said, “The world that we operate in has changed. While the government has gone very heavily for technology, its in bits and pieces. That technology must be made available to the MICE industry to help it make it that much safer. I think there is a need for collaboration using AI to understand consumers and being able to predict patterns and behaviour.”

As of 26th June 2021, Indian travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield can enter Switzerland without having to undergo quarantine. The Embassy of Switzerland and VFS Global have started accepting applications for all types of Schengen Swiss visas. Switzerland Tourism, in partnership with the Visa Section of the Embassy of Switzerland, will conduct a special webinar for the travel trade highlighting the latest news and information about the visa process and travel procedure for Indian travellers on Friday, 27 August, 2021 at 3:00 PM IST. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

M!CEtalk Digital Conclave, powered by Cvent India, on rebooting Indian MICE landscape will be held on 25th August, 2021 at 11am. Panelists include Nikhil Desai, MD, Goa Tourism Development Corporation; Sabbas Joseph, Founder-Director at Wizcraft International Entertainment; Rajdev Bhattacharya, Global Head (Travel & Hospitality) & Business Head, WAY2GO and GM, Global Travel Services, Wipro; Arif Patel, Regional VP, Sales & Marketing, Hyatt India; and Sandeep Nagpal, VP & Head of Marketing, Cvent India. To register write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call 9650196532.        

TAAI recently organised its first virtual workshop on wellness and tourism through its initiative, Women in TAAI and Travel (WITT). Rolled out only last month, WITT’s membership has now reached 300. Keeping in mind the issues and challenges faced by the women in the industry, WITT decided to organise its first workshop on wellness. Jyoti Mayal, President, WITT & TAAI said, “Within a woman is the power to create, nurture, and transform. We should remember that wellness is not simply the absence of illness or stress, but a broad practice of internal and external behaviours even when experiencing challenges.”  

The Department of Tourism, Odisha held a kick-off meeting on the preparation of an integrated tourism Master Plan for Chilika at Paryatan Bhawan. The tourism department has engaged Oman-based Bharath Engineering Innovation Design & Consulting to prepare this plan. This will include developing new tourism products like cruises at Chilika Lake, Hirakud Reservoir, Mahanadi River and Bhitarkanika. Shacks at prominent beach destinations are also being operationalised.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that will include the government’s four-year plan to monetise its brownfield infrastructure assets. For this project, the Centre has finalised Rs 6 lakh crore worth infrastructure assets that will be monetised. The list includes a range of assets. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, has said, “15 railway stadiums, 25 airports and the stake of central government in existing airports will be up for monetisation.”

The Karnataka government has announced collaboration of the Department of Technical Education (DTE) with Montgomery County Community College and the Harrisburg Area Community College in the US. Under this partnership, the state will offer twinning programs in travel and tourism as well as cyber-security for which students will get diplomas and associate degrees.

Speaking at a virtual meet recently, Dr Venu V, Additional Chief Secretary Tourism, Govt of Kerala, discussed plans to make tourism development in Kerala environmentally sustainable, community-led and economically beneficial to the local people. He also spoke about creating community-level linkages and encouraging adoption of responsible tourism principles and practices among stakeholders.