Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

The 15th Finance Commission ((FC) has recommended the Central government to provide a grant of Rs 875 crore to Tripura for five state-specific projects related to tourism development. The projects included construction of ropeway at Mata Tripureswari Temple and installation of light and sound show at Neermahal Palace near Tripura.

Sharing updates on the tourism highlights in the Union Budget 2021-22, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, revealed that developing expressways will offer better connectivity to tourist sites and in turn will contribute to the development of the tourism sector. He added that construction of the 3500km highway will start in Tamil Nadu next year, which will include Madurai-Kollam Corridor and Chittoor-Thatchur Corridor. He highlighted that AAI Airports in tier-II and III cities, NHAI toll roads, and railway infrastructure will also strengthen the tourism might of the country. The new aesthetically-designed Vistadome LHB coach on tourist routes will give a better travel experience to passengers. Singh also highlighted various initiatives to maintain health and hygiene in the country mentioned in the Budget, including vaccination drives, Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, and opening of wellness centres in urban as well as rural areas.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha said that no plan for setting up a vaccine certification programme for foreign tourists has been announced yet by the Government or the Ministry of Tourism. In response to another query, the minister asserted that no MOT project or scheme has been deferred or stalled due to COVID-19.

Karnataka’s luxury train Golden Chariot, which remained off the rails for over three years, is all set to run again on track since a complete overhaul, from 14th March. This will also be its inaugural run after the operations were taken over by IRCTC from the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC). The second run would be on March 21.

With the pandemic highlighting the need for greater sustainability in the travel and tourism supply chain, TOFTigers has relaunched its internationally-recognised PUG and Footprint certification programme to help accommodation providers improve their businesses, now that travel is slowly resuming. It is a globally-recognised standard, to show their operators, OTAs, agents and to clients that their business is a world-class operation that is conscious of its responsibilities to people and the planet. TOFTigers is also running tutorials on understanding sustainability and how to build better itineraries, the fourth in the series is today at 2pm led by Julian Matthews, Founder and Chairman, TOFTigers. To join, sign up at https://www.toftigers.org/toftigers-event.

According to the ‘Asia Pacific Visitor Forecast 2021-2023’ report released by PATA, growth prospect for international visitors arrivals reveal that the Asia Pacific region is expected to return to 96% of the volume of foreign arrivals received in 2019. Of immediate concern, for all of the Asia Pacific destination sub-regions, 2021 is likely to be another difficult year for international travel movements.

Accor has announced the opening of its 2nd Grand Mercure, at Gopalan Signature Mall, Bengaluru. This is Accor’s sixth hotel in Bengaluru and seventh property in Karnataka. The hotel with 212 rooms is inspired by the iconic Hoysala architecture, incorporating local touch points to the overall ambience.

IHG® Hotels & Resorts has announced the first opening of 2021 in India with Holiday Inn Chandigarh Zirakpur. The newest hotel in the tricity – Holiday Inn Chandigarh Zirakpur in association with ABC Sites features 131 keys with scenic city views and is located on Chandigarh- Ambala highway.

In a bold initiative to try and jumpstart MICE in the country, Thomas Cook India conducted a roadshow dedicated to MICE for its corporate clients at the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel on February 8, 2021. Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook India, addressed the gathering and said, “We have reached an inflection point where we are able to move from virtual to physical events now.” The event included a panel discussion with three key corporates, a motivational session by actor Ashish Vidyarthi, and table-top meetings. Various Marriott properties in India were part of this B2B meetings, along with Tourism New Zealand.

In a recent Tweet, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, has said that “domestic aviation operations in the country are slowly reaching towards the pre-COVID numbers.” He adds, “With 2,77,235 passengers on 2,235 flights, 4,469 total movements & 5,51,506 footfalls at airports, we are almost at a touching distance.”