Category Archives: States

Kerala Tourism has rolled out ‘The Great Backwater Experience’ zone at a special interactive stall in the departure terminal at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi. The initiative uses virtual reality to allow passengers to experience a Kerala experience while waiting to catch their flight. Similar zones are also being set up at airports in Mumbai and Bengaluru. U.V. Jose, Director, Kerala Tourism, said, “The zone is up and functional at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi and visitors can get an immersive experience of sitting inside a ‘kettuvellam’, a traditional Kerala houseboat, floating on tranquil backwaters in a place situated over 2,000 km away. This has been made possible through the innovative use of virtual reality.”

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has taken a step towards boosting agriculture tourism with its Agri Tourism Conclave 2016 in the Vidharba region will take place on 20 November 2016, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development in Nagpur, during the Kalidas Festival 2016. The motive of this conclave is to increase employment and investment opportunities in agro tourism in the region. The conclave will be inaugurated by Pravin Datke, Mayor, Nagpur followed by a presentation on encouraging people to take up agri-tourism as a profession by enterprising speakers from Baramati, Washim, Pune, Nagpur and Satara. This will serve two purposes i.e. boosting the farmer’s income and also bringing rural India closer to the cities. Dr. KH Govinda Raj, Managing Director, MTDC said, “As tourism is becoming increasingly important to the economy. Agricultural tourism is one alternative for improving the incomes and potential economic viability of small farms and rural communities. The objectives for promoting rural and agri-tourism is to educate the public and promote the products of the farm and generate additional farm income; provide rural experience to urban residents and allow diversification of income opportunity to farms and ranches that can help buffer fluctuating markets.”

In an attempt to boost tourism in lesser-known and less visited parks like Mansinghdeo, Pench Tger Reserve (PTR) has allowed daylong stay inside Deolapar forest. MS Reddy, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) and Field Director, Pench, informed that a three-pronged strategy has been made to boost tourism at Chorbahuli, Saleghat-Nagalwadi and Deolapar in buffer. According to the new strategy, surplus tourist vehicles coming to Pench will be allowed to visit Chorbahuli from Sillari side. Chorbahuli’s total capacity of 48 vehicles per day has been bifurcated to 28 per day where 14 vehicles each on morning and evening can enter from Chorbahuli gate and the remaining 20 vehicles entry has been shifted to Sillari from where tourists will be able to visit Chorbahuli. “This has been done owing to tourists’ lukewarm response to Chorbahuli. It never exceeded capacity since its inception. The new move will help guides and gypsy owners earn livelihood,” said Reddy. At Khursapar too, daylong visits have been allowed to four vehicles in Deolapar (Khursapar) side. The tourism routes have also been increased by 20 kilometres. From Khursapar, carrying capacity has also been increased from existing 38 vehicles to 60 vehicles per day to allow more tourists to enter this zone from Madhya Pradesh Pench. Reddy elaborated that Pucca machans have been set up at scenic spots and watch towers at Khursapar, Bandra, Bakhari and Usripar and of the 30 vehicles, four vehicles will be allowed to stay daylong on machans inside the forest. This entry will be offline and will be available on first-come-first-serve basis by paying three times more for entry fee and guide, and double fee for Gypsy and vehicle. At Saleghat, tourists had to …

Minister of State for Education, Technical Education, Culture, Tourism, Horticulture, Floriculture and Parks, Priya Sethi said that efforts are being made to develop Jammu into an international level golf destination. Addressing delegates of India Travel Mart, Jammu, Sethi said the State Government with the support of Centre would give a big push to the development of the state. The Minister said that Jammu and Kashmir has a geographical advantage which when properly utilised can make J&K frequent host for the international level golf tournaments. ‘Whereas the golf courses available in Kashmir are open to people in summers, Jammu Tawi Golf Course provide year round location available to the national and international golf lovers’ the Minister added. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh, Minister for Cooperatives, T Dorjey, Secretary Tourism Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism Sushma Chauhan, senior officers of State administration besides representatives of Tourism Departments of many states, tour and travel bodies were present in the inaugural function of the three day event.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will assist the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) team for the Ajanta Ellora conservation and Tourism Development Project Phase II. JICA India office (JICA, New Delhi) had recently send a letter to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation regarding the external evaluation of the JICA ID – P150 ( i.e. AEDP – Phase II project). The JICA team will visit the sites between November 27, 2016, and December 24, 2016. Following the visit, studies will continue for almost one year, i.e. up to October 2017. Various respected diverse agencies have also assigned to complete the allocated components which include Central Government agencies such as ASI, AAI along with MTDC and other State Government Institutions, etc. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and its branches have completed the assigned components given of the projects (for example, Ajanta Visitor Center and Ellora Visitor Center was completed by work branch of MTDC, Public Awareness by Publicity branch, HRD by Development Branch and IT related work by IT branch).  MTDC has further requested its respective officer to note the tour program and assist JICA team. Satish Soni, Joint Managing Director of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation stated, “The Ajanta and Ellora Caves are UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the Aurangabad district in the state of Maharashtra, approximately 400 km northeast of Mumbai.  The Ajanta-Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project was initiated in 1992 and Phase I was initiated in March 1993. Phase I was successfully completed in 2004 and phase II was completed in-between year 2004 to 2017. Now external evaluation of phase II will take place in the year 2016 – 2017. Our aim is to conserve the cultural heritage and its surrounding environment, …

After strategic tie-ups with four state tourism departments across India for joint promotion of homestays, Stayzilla the largest homestay aggregator now gets on board with Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) to promote and launch more homestays in the region. The MoU was signed and exchanged in the presence of Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Raman Singh, M.T. Nandi – IFS – Managing Director – Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, Shreerang Pathak – Deputy General Manager – Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, Dilip Acharya – Head Operations Section – Chhattisgarh Tourism Board and Ankit Rastogi, VP Marketplace, Stayzilla.com. Under this agreement, Stayzilla will support verification procedures, jointly boost homestays in cities & places of interest within Chhattisgarh. All homestays registered within the state will receive technical support in the form of inventory management and software applications to ensure seamless booking procedures. Stayzilla & Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) will also jointly conduct educational and training sessions for Chhattisgarh registered homestays on best practices such as online usage, content management, operations and expense management.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has announced the launch of its special Diwali package to Alibaug this festive season. The tour will start from Gateway of India and will proceed to Mandava by ferryboat and will further proceed to the majestic Murud Janjira fort. Tourists will get to experience destinations like the beautiful Birla Mandir which lies on the Alibaug-Roha route, near Salve Village and sightseeing at beaches like Alibaug, Nagav, and Kihim. The 1 night, 2 days package is valid for October 30, 2016. Swati Kale, General Manager, MTDC commented on this initiative and said, “Under the guidance of Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, MTDC has introduced this package to celebrate the festival of lights in a whole new illuminating way. This initiative will not only increase tourism activities in the state, but also give an opportunity to tourists from outside the state and experience the pristine and tranquil beaches of Alibaug. The pick-up for this package will be at 7.30 am from Gateway of India.” The cost of this tour is Rs 6,897 for Single Room Occupancy and Rs 5,419 on Twin Sharing Basis and includes all meals.

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has restricted boating service (Jalaraja boat with 126 seats) in Periyar River from October 21, 2016, onwards till further orders due to low water level in the river. Bookings in KTDC boats will be cancelled and refunded or adjusted with future bookings. As per the information received from Kerala Forest Department, small boats (2 boats with 25 seats each) operated by the department will continue their boating services in the river.

Government of Telangana and O2 Skills Academy have signed MoU to train 1,260 men and women between the ages of 18-35 over the next 3 years. This collaboration will aim to provide employment linked, market-oriented vocational training that will enable filling in the gaps the spa and hospitality industry faces by providing trained resources. The role of O2 Skills Academy will be to ensure effective mobilisation, training, certification and finally placement into apt jobs. This agreement is within the purview of the Telangana Employment Generation and Marketing Mission (EGMM) which falls under the Department of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development. The first batch of students under this program starts classes from the 17th of October 2016. A maximum of 35 students per batch will undergo practical and theoretical classes for 3 months with an option of being trained in Wellness therapies, Hair and Beauty treatments in addition to Hospitality (F&B and Housekeeping).The curriculum is designed and approved by the Government of Telangana (EGMM).

A three-day International Ellora-Ajanta festival organised by MTDC in association with Divisional Commissioner Aurangabad was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Ellora Caves. Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, visited the monuments, caves, Bibi ka Maqbara and Panchakki in Aurangabad and discussed about the cleanliness and preservation of the historic monuments with the ASI officials and tourism officials. To boost tourism flow of the historic city of Aurangabad, a meeting with all the stake holders like the Aurangabad hotelier, travel agents and taxi drivers’ association also took placed with Rawal, where he also proposed that work skills and development sessions will be conducted for the rickshaw and taxi driver in Aurangabad. He also discussed in length about the ideas on how to make Aurangabad the top most visited city in India. In the stakeholders meeting, Rawal, announced “Aurangabad is a historic city in Maharashtra state of India. The city is known as the tourist hub, surrounded by beautiful historic monuments, a visit to this city is truly a cultural as well as an architectural delight for the tourist; it’s a great privilege for us to have such marvelous creations around us. We are all responsible for the cleanliness and preservation of these monuments. If the city and the environment around the monuments are clean and maintained, it will boost the tourism in the city. Aurangabad will also host tourism conclave every year and will also host rediscovery of Ajanta caves centenary year 2019 very soon. The department of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra is keen on aggressive marketing in International market to amplify tourism in Maharashtra.”