Category Archives: States

Eco-Tourism programmes in Kerala, managed by the forest department of the state, have earned good profits in last one year. The department has generated an income of Rs 137.31 crore through ticket sales from eco-tourism activities conducted by various wildlife divisions in 2017-18. There are 60 such sites in Kerala. The eco-tourism spots saw a huge number of visitors with 12.68 lakh visitors in the same period. As many as 24,537 foreigners and 42,032 students visited these spots. The scenic Athirappilly waterfall, generated Rs 47.77 crore followed by Parambikulam division which generated a sum of Rs 29.41 crore.

The number of domestic tourists in Himachal Pradesh is expected to grow to 26.97 million by 2023. (CAGR 5.90%). In terms of foreign tourist arrival, the state is expecting the number to 0.66 million by 2023. (CAGR 6.49 %). During the period, the state has planned to highlight adventure tourism, spiritual tourism and eco-tourism, revealed a tourism, hospitality and civil aviation report revealed during the Rising Himachal Global Investor Summit in Dharamsala. Notably, tourism sector’s contribution to state’s GDP is 6.8 per cent.

Inaugurating the Rising Himachal Global Investors’ Meet in Dharamshala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Himachal is a land full of investment opportunities and possibilities of conference tourism is increasing in the state. Emphasising on tourism sector, Modi said Himachal was set to benefit from the country’s improved ranking in the sector over the years – from 65 in 2013 to 34 – in World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Index. “How this transformation came? We understood the potential of tourism sector, gave e-Visa facility to dozens of new countries. Performance changed and ranking changed. Today, tourism is being promoted as a package in India,” added Modi, referring to various offshoots like eco-tourism, medical tourism and spot tourism. Himachal CM, Jai Ram Thakur said that his government is committed to make sustainable tourism as one of the prime engines of growth in the state by establishing it as a leading global sustainable tourism destination. He informed that the state has signed MoUs on tourism with UAE and other countries.

Tourist destinations in Kerala will be made differently-abled friendly by 2021, informed Kadamapally Surendran, Tourism Minister, Kerala, who revealed in the state assembly that they have identified around 120 tourist spots across the state in the first phase. Of these, 98 destinations have already been made completely differently-abled friendly. A host of facilities, including special parking areas and toilet facilities will be made available. Work on the remaining centres is in progress. Special tour packages for the differently-abled will also be brought out under the responsible tourism initiative, the Minister added.

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) board members are all set to visit Jammu & Kashmir on November 7, 2019 to show their solidarity with the tourism industry in the UT, revealed Subhash Goyal, Hony. Secretary, FAITH. “On November 7, 2019, FAITH, along with FICCI are going to Srinagar to express  our solidarity with the tourism industry of Jammu & Kashmir. We have circulated the information regarding the same amongst all our members and we are getting a good response.”

Addressing a gathering of Indian diaspora in Bangkok, Thailand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Northeast India is being developed as a gateway to Southeast Asia. He also said that plans are on cards to establish seamless connectivity between Thailand, Myanmar and North East India in the years to come. He also said, this initiative will immensely strengthen India’s Act East Policy and Thailand’s Act West Policy.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) has launched direct service between Chennai and Tokyo. With the new service, Chennai has become the first city in South India to have the flight connectivity to the Narita International Airport, Tokyo. The Chennai-Narita connect will operate thrice a week on Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, AAI said.

To make Goa the number one adventure hub in the country, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) is offering several adventure sports such as river rafting, scuba diving, parasailing, paragliding, and hot air ballooning. Nikhil Desai, MD, GTDC, shares, “We have introduced India’s second highest bungee jumping facility at Mayem Lake and have tied up with reputed private operators to ensure safety.” A full-fledged family theme park is also in the offing here. Desai also adds, “In addition, we are introducing several new tourism facilities like an underwater submarine, giant wheels, and bike tourism circuits that would allow tourists to hire bikes and go to nearby places like Hampi. A hanging restaurant, which would go up to 100 metres in the sky, is also in the offing, and would allow people to get a great view of Goa while enjoying their food.”

Goa is all set to have a convention centre in Panaji, Goa. Nikhil Desai, MD, Goa Tourism Development Corporation, said, “For MiCE, there is a full-fledged convention centre in the offing at Panaji, with a capacity of 1400 people, with a mini expo centre as well. Also, there are talks about a large convention centre, with about 5000 seating capacity, to come up in Dona Paula near Panaji.” Goa has a lot of scope in terms of MiCE and is one of the most favoured destinations for events. Having convention centres in the state would certainly boost the number of conferences as well as arrivals to the state.

The State Government of Karnataka has decided to return the Rs 96 crore under the Swadesh Darshan programme, which was sanctioned by MOT for development of coastal tourism projects in three districts of the state, after not being able to implement the project within the stipulated time. According to CT Ravi, Tourism Minister, Karnataka, reportedly said that the Centre had sanctioned Rs 95 crore for the integrated development of coastal tourism circuits in Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts in 2015-16. After that MOT also released Rs 19 crore to start the work. However, the state could not make any progress, and thus has decided to return the sanctioned amount. They will now submit a new implementable detailed project report in two months and get it sanctioned again.