Category Archives: States

Sharing an update on the popular North East festival, Arijit Purkayastha, Festival Organiser and Chapter Chairman for North East, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), says, “With the inputs from our stakeholders, we propose to organise the 8th edition of North East Festival on December 19-20 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Guwahati. It will also be streamed via the North East Festival Facebook and YouTube channels.”

Sunil C Gupta, Chapter Chairman, IATO -Northern Region, has said that the construction of Agra Metro Project, inaugurated by the Prime Minister, would make many monuments like Sikandra and Rambagh accessible to tourists. “There are a lot of tourists—both domestic and international coming to Agra. The Agra Metro for the first time connects the monuments of Agra and especially monuments alike Sikandra and Rambagh, which due to traffic congestion, distance and time taken to travel to these monuments were not being visited. Now the tourists will be able to easily visit these monuments. The Metro will also ease the traffic. This metro is going to be world-class and will be better than the ones in Lucknow and Noida,” he said.

The Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society has elected a new Managing Committee after the AGM in Chennai. D Karunanidhi is the new President while Palani Murugesan and PK Gupta are new Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

The Kerala Travel Mart Society has filed a writ plea in the Kerala High Court against the central government on the issue of their inaction to facilitate revival of the tourism industry.The HC has asked government’s counsel to file an affidavit explaining the actions taken to revive the tourism sector in a week’s time.

Ladakh has rolled out its first tourism incentive policy with focus on ensuring equitable and sustainable development of all regions in the Union Territory.special emphasis on the new Capital Outright Investment Subsidy which aspires to promote a concept of small and beautiful fixed assets in Ladakh based on local tradition and architecture

Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary, Rajiv Gupta has said that the Statue of Unity situated in Kevadia attracts more tourists than the Statue of Liberty in the US with 3,000 more daily visitors before COVID. The former received around 13,000 visitors in comparison to later’s 10,000 daily visitors.

Tour operators from Maharashtra have started the ‘Unlock Kashmir Tourism Campaign’ with support from the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department, for which a 70-member delegation of travel operators from Mumbai visited Kashmir. Since the tourism industry in J&K took was shaken post COVID, tourism department of J&K supported this initiative and invited the trade and media to promote tourism sector in the valley.

The Goa government is drawing up a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for hotels amid the ongoing tourist season. “We are in the process of issuing guidelines for hotels, which will make it mandatory for them to reserve one room as an isolation room on their property,” said CM Pramod Sawat. Any guest who tests positive for COVID-19, but is asymptomatic, can be put up in the isolation room on hotel premises.  

The Madhya Pradesh government has reconstituted its tourism cabinet, which will be headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while the principal secretary of the tourism department will be the secretary in-charge of the cabinet committee. The panel will focus on promoting tourism in the state by developing infrastructure to generate employment in the sector.

Pema Khandu, Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, has announced that the state is now open to visitors, but they have to follow the SOPs, that includes a COVID, negative report. Khandu tweeted regarding the same and stated, “Arunachal Pradesh opens today to welcome tourists. Get mesmerized by its beauty and rejuvenated by the purity of its nature. Those who dreamt—it’s time to explore.” Here’s what tourists have to keep in mind when visiting Arunachal Pradesh: As per the SOP, only pre-booked package tours, done exclusively via local tours operators of the state will be allowed to operate. All ground handling and tourist transport services, including pick up/drop, will also be authorised via local travel tour/agent operators. Since Inner Line Permit (ILP) is required to visit the state, visitors will need to provide four other additional documents—tour itineraries and vehicle details, COVID-19 certificate, tour booking slips, and details of the guide and driver. Tourists should possess a valid COVID-19 negative certificate (RTPCR or True NAT test) from ICMR designated laboratory/facility, which they have undergone not more than 72 hours prior to the date of arrival, as per a government notification. All tourists, accompanying drivers and guides from outside the state should adhere to COVID-19 inter-state traveller testing protocol issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Arunachal Pradesh. As per the protocol, tourists should strictly observe adequate social distancing norms. Although family groups can stay together, they would have to ensure that they will remain 2 m away from other individuals or family groups. Visitors are expected to wear protective face masks when they are within the premises of any tourist destination and that all payments are processed via digital mode, …