Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The sixth edition of the Bengal Travel Mart (BTM) will be held from 10th April, 2021 to 12th April 2021 at Mayfair Tea Resort, Siliguri – the gateway to the North Eastern part of India. Bengal Travel Mart is an initiative of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators Association (EHTTOA), West Bengal Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to showcase tourism in Siliguri, West Bengal.

Kamala Vardhan Rao, IAS, CMD of ITDC, has stressed on the need to encourage responsible tourism and how the state of Kerala can referred as a case study for the same. He said this while addressing government officials and tourism experts at an event recently. Rao also spoke about the success that can be achieved via expansion of hotels, better connectivity and availability of skilled human resources while keeping sustainability as a focus. He also shared insights on the strategy and work required to develop India as a tourism destination.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism has said that MOT will further strengthen and revamp its schemes for providing support to the Indian MICE industry. “We have amended the two components of the Champion Sector Service Scheme to give impetus to MICE industry during the pandemic. The number of minimum participants required for conference has been reduced to 250 from 500 for availing incentive and also increased the GST refund benefits on rooms to 2 nights,” he said.

Sundance Mountain Resort has announced that construction will begin in the coming months for changes that will be in place for the 2021-2022 ski season. The new additions are: two new ski lifts and the retirement of the Rays lift, upgrades to snowmaking, more parking, renovations to the Creekside building. Resort leaders said one of the new lifts will be a seven-minute, high-speed quad to Mandan Summit at the resort. The lift will provide access to slopes for experienced and intermediate skiers, as well as mid-station unloading for routes easier for beginners. An additional fixed-grip lift will also be constructed to provide better access to the backside of the summit. The resort stated this lift will be used to provide more access to that area in the summertime. The resort is open during the non-snow season months with multiple outdoor activities available, including ziplining, mountain biking and hiking. The resort announced it will also build a ‘snowmaking reservoir’ which will help collect water for snow guns. The tools are used to create snow so a resort can open sooner if needed. The resort will also add 125 to 150 new parking spots to help address busier ski days. “We are excited for what these improvements mean for the future of Sundance Mountain Resort,” said Chad Linebaugh, the resort’s president and general manager. Of course, the biggest change in Sundance’s 52-year-old history is new ownership. Robert Redford had owned the facility since founding the resort in 1969 but sold it to Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners late last year. The legendary actor said that he selected the new owners because they shared his values and promised to maintain the resort’s …

The Globus family of brands has launched a new touring style called ‘Choice Touring by Globus’ which offers travellers 13 new itineraries in Europe and North America. Sharing more details on this is Varesh Chopra, Regional Director – India, Middle East & South Asia for the Globus family of brands, who says, “Our streak of innovation continues. We just introduced 6 domestic vacations for travel within India under the brand of Monograms India Discoveries. And now we are gearing anew with yet another innovation. With the introduction of Choice Touring by Globus, we’re giving travelers a whole new way to cure their curiosities. On these new, special itineraries, they can choose from a menu of memories while still enjoying everything they love about a perfectly planned tour.” In addition to providing guided sightseeing at the must-see sights, Choice Touring by Globus presents YourChoice Excursions: A selection of curated experiences in key and off-the-beaten-path destinations – included in the package price – so travellers can tailor their tours.

Sulaiman Bin Suip, Director, Tourism Malaysia, North & East India, has said that as they continue to gear themselves for opening borders, they have been conducting activities in the market. “Our participation in the Gulf Travel Show itself is part of our plan for gearing up towards border opening. I hope the travel fraternity will be participating in the show will continue to engage with us and we will try as much was we can to engage with them to ensure that our destination and products are. Also, we will tell them that we are taking all necessary measures to ensure a safe destination for their clients and travellers,” he added.

Kerala Tourism today launched a pioneering travel initiative led by ten influencers from around the country who will carry out a new-media campaign to attract domestic tourists in the post-Covid era. Rani George, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism, flagged off the Kerala Blog Express, titled ‘My First Trip 2021’, which is slated to conclude on March 29. The influencers will tread different itineraries for six nights and five days, facilitating production of exclusive contents for Kerala Tourism.The images, videos and literature generated by them will be shared on social-media platforms as #MyFirstTrip.  They will announce to the world that destinations in God’s Own Country continue to be open for tourists. Kerala Tourism Director V.R. Krishna Teja, IAS, and Biju. B.S, Deputy Director, Marketing, Kerala Tourism, were also present at the function held at the Hotel Mascot in the city. “The trip will give the participants a chance to not just visit the famous tourist destinations in Kerala, but experience the cuisine, culture, art and other popular activities around,” Smt George said. “Tourism industry was struck by the pandemic and Kerala was no exception. Gradually, we learned to live on with Covid-19. We started to see visitors coming to Kerala from November-December 2020. Now, these vloggers can also spread the word to the world that Kerala is safer to explore since Covid-19 cases are on the decline in the state. So, people would understand the situation,” she added. Teja, in his address, said that through the trip, the vloggers would certainly experience the warmth of people and understand how safe the state was to explore. While the previous editions of the Kerala Blog Express had only international bloggers and social media influencers, …

JTB India has confirmed key NTOs, hotels and airlines as exhibitors for its B2C virtual platform dedicated to MICE which will be held on April 28, 2021. These includes key Tourism Boards, Global Hotel chains & Airlines. The last date for signing up for this show is 30th March. JTB invites the trade to participate in this unique show to take advantage of its wide corporate network. The event will see attendance from top corporate companies in India. For more information, contact Kritika Kunden at kritika.kunden258@jtb-india.com or Deepali Gupta at deepali.gupta040@jtb-india.com.

FHRAI has cited and lauded the SC order where a waiver of compound interest on loans above Rs 2 crore has been announced which has come as a major relief and positive sign for the Hospitality industry. FHRAI plans to continue engaging with the government for sector-specific relief.

Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has inaugurated the Kurnool Airport in Orvakal, Andhra Pradesh, which is the  6th airport in the state to become functional after Kadapa, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Rajahmundry & Vijayawada. Flight operations from Kurnool will commence from 28th March under the RCS-UDAN scheme to Bengaluru, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai which will bring the region closer to the major hubs in the South India.