Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Sri Lanka’s domestic military airport in the Jaffna peninsula has been upgraded from where direct international flights will be operated to several southern Indian cities from this month. Palaly Airport was converted into an international airport following the work which commenced in July this year. It will be formally declared as an international airport on October 17. The regional flights operations service from Palaly to Indian destinations and the Maldives is expected to commence from October 15 with the completion of the first phase of the development. Out of the total cost of investment of rupees 2,250 million, the government was to allocate rupees 1,950 million while the Indian assistance will provide 300 million rupees. Sri Lankan officials said India had shown interest in developing Palaly to have direct flights from Jaffna to the southern Indian cities of Madurai, Tiruchi and Thiruvanathapuram. It is the fifth international airport in the island after the airports in Colombo, Ratmalana, Batticaloa and Hambantota.

Nearly half (44%) of travellers have now used voice search to help manage travel, with use greatest among Gen Y travellers (61%) and lowest among Baby Boomers (12%), reveals Travelport’s Global Digital Traveller Research 2019, which surveyed 23,000 people from 20 countries. One quarter (25%) of Gen Y travellers today ‘nearly always’ use the technology for this use. When the technology is used by travellers, some of the most popular requests made are for information relating to the weather at their destinations (60%) and getting live traffic updates (54%).

During Aug 2019, a total of 760 passenger related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines, reveals Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of Aug 2019 has been around 0.64. While Vistara received least number of complaints (only 1/10,000 pax), Air Deccan received the maximum complaints (86/10,000 pax).

A total of 157,000 Indians took cruises of up to 3 days in 2018 as compared to 117,000 Indians taking the same duration of cruises in 2017, making it a YoY increase of 35%, revealed by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Cruises of 4-6 days duration saw an increase of 10% with 32,000 Indian passengers, which was 29,000 in 2017. Around 24,000 Indians took cruises of 7-day period in 2018 as compared to 20,000 Indian passengers in 2017, recording a YoY increase of 19%. Long haul cruises of 8-13 days were taken by 5,000 Indians in 2018, which was the same in 2017 as well.

During the month of August 2019, a total of 1,66,424 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa, as compared to 1,50,457 during the month of August, 2018, registering a growth of 10.6%, according to statistics released by Ministry of Tourism (MOT). During January- August 2019, a total of 17,00,717 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 14,18,534 during January-August 2018, registering a growth of 19.9%.

Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Tourism, along with Usha Sharma, DG, ASI; Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Tourism and Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, launched the Audio Guide facility Audio Odigos for 12 sites of India, which includes Iconic Sites as well. Listeners will be offered various versions of history like synopsis, detailed history and podcasts. The audio can be chosen in their preferred language & version of the history. The app was unveiled on the second day of Paryatan Parv, and the MoU for the same was exchanged with Resbird Technologies last year, as part of the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme. Speaking on the occasion, Tripathi said, “This is a very good example of the PPP model, wherein the Government works hand-in-hand with the public sector to enhance the tourism products for both international and domestic tourists.” The Audio Odigos app contains an inbuilt map of the site for a smooth navigation during the tour.

Ministry of Tourism has released 11 itineraries, that will trace the life of Mahatma Gandhi, under the ‘Gandhi Gramin Circuit’, announced Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Tourism. Tour operators are going to promote the circuit throughout the year to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations. All these locations are directly connected with Mahatma Gandhi. Not only his birthplace, Porbandar, Gujarat, but all the locations he worked, lived and connected with people throughout his life. These locations include Mani Bhavan in Mumbai, Aga Khan Palace in Pune, Champaran in Bihar, National Gandhi Museum in New Delhi, Birla House (Where Gandhi was assassinated), Rajghat (Memorial dedicated to Gandhi) and certain places in Kolkata as well, where he led his movements during the freedom struggle of the country. Crafting some diverse tours and packages to sensitise the people about Gandhi, the itineraries include Shimla as well, where Gandhi spent a significant amount of time in his life.

Lords Hotels and Resorts has launched Max Lords Plaza equipped with 116 rooms, business center, conference room, board boom, lawns, f&b outlets, spa, gym and a lavish pool. Commenting on the occasion Pushpendra Bansal, COO, Lords Hotels and Resorts, said “We are delighted to expand our presence in the very popular tourist destination in India. Max Lords Plaza is located near the serene Varca beach and popular tourist spots in South Goa”. The unit like all other Lords Hotels would also follow the company ethos of being ‘True Value’ and offer its guest great prices while ensuring no compromise on world class facilities, services and amenities

VFS Global has commenced Belarus visa services for the residents of India through centres in five cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. This is the first time the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs has outsourced their visa services. The centres accept applications for tourist, business, and private visit visas across all these locations. Prior to this, customers in India had to visit the the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in New Delhi to apply for their Belarus visas. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global said, “It is always exciting to commence our visa services for a new country and bring our travellers the best application experience we can offer. Footfall to Belarus has been growing in recent years, and we are looking forward to serving customers for Belarus in India.” Belarus has recorded a steady increase in the number of Indians travelling to the destination in recent years, with an average of 1,200 applications being submitted annually. H.E. Andrei Rzheussky, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to India said, “Starting cooperation with VFS Global on visa issues in India is an important step of Belarus in tourism development strategy in South Asia region. New approach of Belarus in this cooperation is reflecting the gradual tendency of  travels facilitation between India and Belarus which is crucial for developing fruitful bilateral relations between our friendly countries.”

Low-cost carrier airline based in Kuwait, Jazeera Airways, will soon launch its new flight from Kuwait to London Gatwick starting from October 27, 2019. This will be a direct flight from Kuwait and a first for a low-cost carrier from the Middle East. Sharing this news is Romana Parvi, Country Manager – India, Jazeera Airways, says, “Jazeera Airways is now preparing to launch new routes in Q4, staring with flights to the British capital, London in October 2019. London Gatwick is a milestone for us as it is the very first low-cost service between the Gulf and United Kingdom. We will operate four flights a week in the initial stage of our LGW ops until 30 November, 2019 (Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun). Effective December 1, 2019, we will operate daily non-stop flights between KWI and LON. Passengers from five Indian stations can connect to LGW with a smooth transit of anything between 2.5 hrs to four hrs via Kuwait.” Besides London Gatwick, by the end of 2019 Jazeera Airways will see a couple of more routes launched on its network  including Nepal and Bangladesh. On flights to London Gatwick, Jazeera Airways will fly passengers using the new A320neo aircraft with a cabin configuration in three classes: Business Class, a new Premium Economy Class and Economy Class. The Business Class offers passengers a 33-inch seat pitch, 50 kilograms in baggage allowance, priority boarding and a complementary inflight meal. The Premium Economy Class offers passengers a 31-inch seat pitch, while Economy Class offers a 29/30-inch seat pitch. Hot meals will be provided for the first time on Jazeera flights – complimentary in Business Class and Premium Economy, and from the Jazeera …