Category Archives: States

Hampi’s tourist inflow has dipped by nearly a lakh between April 2018 and March 2019 where 6,34,145 lakh tourists visited Hampi. The footfall for the same period last year was 7,30,456 lakh.  Despite, the dip, tourism officials are hopeful that the numbers will go up by the end of the year since the tourist season is mostly from September to March. The arrival of foreign tourist is above 500 in the months of April, May, June, and July which gradually increases from August. (Source: The Hindu)

The Rajasthan government will soon come up with a new tourism policy, informed Sreya Guha, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Arts and Culture Department, Government of Rajasthan. Elaborating on the policy, she said, “In order to tap new avenues of growth in the tourism industry, we are starting up on the new tourism policy. At present the policy is at the draft stage and we will soon share details with all our stakeholders. The thrust areas are to develop new destinations, develop rural destinations and try and generate as much employment in rural area.” On the other hand, Rajasthan’s luxury train, Palace on Wheels has bagged the first bulk booking of the season with a deal worth Rs. 5.2 crores during the GITB 2019 on account of 20 per cent advance bookings for the next two seasons of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. “It’s our best selling product, we are also looking to revamp the train. With constant feedbacks, we are working to make it more better and convinient for our travellers,” Guha said. The first draft of Rs 4 crores was presented by Arun Kundu, Director- Incoming, The Rail Journeys, Mercury Travels to the Principal Secretary. The total business from Ebix Group will be Rs. 20 crores in the season. While the second draft worth Rs. 1.5 crore was presented by Manish Saini, CEO, Worldwide Rail Journeys on account of 20 % advance booking for next two seasons. The next two upcoming seasons of the heritage train already have a total advance booking of 80 per cent

The Election Commission of India has levied a ban on serving alcohol after 11 pm which has pushed many tourists away. Concerned over the impact of the time restrictions and inflow of tourists, hoteliers in Goa submitted a representation to the Director, Department of Tourism seeking relief from the ECI on the same. The representation stressed on the need for a relaxation in timings as the tourism season is currently at its peak and is expecting a further surge for the weekend festivities. In November last year, the state government made a draft public for comments- Tourism Policy and Masterplan by KPMG Advisory Services and Tourism and Leisure Advisory Services. Post which, the stakeholders of tourism industry were upset since there wasn’t much for small-scale restaurateurs and businesses while the big players were taken more into consideration. In the future, tourism officials want the state to plan a roadmap in such a way that doesn’t hamper the inflow of tourists. Goa has concluded its polls on April 23 and Panaji assembly by-poll will be held on May 19.

Enable Travel, accessible holiday specialist along with Ezy Mov, India’s first wheelchair taxi service has tied up with Red WAVE (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle / Eco-friendly) cab services in Jamshedpur to address different travel related issues of people with disabilities and provide safe and reliable transport options to them. Through this tie-up, all three travel partners will work towards making travel around Jharkhand hassle-free and offer customised comfort vehicles for travellers as well as  fully accessible taxis to accommodate passengers with wheelchairs and other mobility issues including the elderly. Enable Travel will also offer tourists customised sight-seeing options in and around Jharkhand. Speaking about the partnership, Debolin Sen, Head, Enable Travel said, “An accessible Jharkhand will serve as a gateway to East India and further our cause towards accessibility and inclusivity. To ensure barrier-free travel and enhance transportation within a destination, we have partnered with Ezy Mov who are experienced to address this need along with Red WAVE Cabs for their expertise on local challenges. We are very proud to be continuing our commitment to make travel easy and hassle-free in India and working with like-minded partners to create an inclusive and accessible travel environment.” Bennet D’cunha – CEO, Ezy Mov said, “Our mission is to position India as the leading country with regards to accessible tourism. We have successfully implemented end to end accessible assistance in Goa and aim to replicate our success in Jharkhand and other parts of the country. With our joint efforts we want to reach out to a larger audience, address concerns of person with disabilities and senior citizens and provide the right travel solutions to them.” Sunil Kumar Dutta, Co-Founder Red WAVE said, “Accessibility is a right of …

Karnataka Tourism will be organising Karnataka International Travel Expo 2019 from August 25-27 in Bengaluru. The travel expo will feature around 350 international and domestic buyers interact, network and do business with exhibitors and stakeholders from the state. The event is supported by major travel trade and hospitality associations such as ADTOI, ATOAI, IATO, TAAI, SKAL, FICCI, Karnataka Tourism Forum, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), among others. Sharing details, Kumar Pushkar, MD, KSTDC and in charge Director, Karnataka Tourism said, “Karnataka International Travel Expo 2019 or as we call KITE in short, has been one of the long-standing demands of our private stakeholders in tourism. The need was to conduct a travel show for showcasing Karnataka on the international platform immediately. This year, we have planned to host the show on 25-27 August. The two-day show will mainly feature B2B roadshow and meetings between buyers and sellers, where 100 hosted international 250 hosted domestic buyers would be coming to Bengaluru to network, interact and do business with all our stakeholders. There will be post—fam tours for buyers as well. The show will help tourism achieve new heights in Karnataka and build relationships across the world.”   Karnataka International Travel Mart aims to create a platform that will offer the perfect environment for the like-minded people to interact and do business together. The show promises to provide an opportunity to tap into this market by bringing a forum of exceptional one-to-one business meetings.

A big delegation from Kashmir comprising J&K Tourism, J&K Hoteliers Club and Maharashtra Tour Organisers’ Association (MTOA), organised a Kashmir Conclave in Mumbai to address the safety issue in the state and to encourage the travel agents in India to continue to sell packages. The event was addressed by Advisor to Hon’ble Governor J&K, Khurshid A Ganai. The evening also saw the presence of Rigzin Samphel IAS, Secretary Tourism, Govt of J&K along with Sudhir Patil, President, Maharashtra Tour Organisers’ Association (MTOA), and Mushtaq A. Chaya, Chairman, J&K Hoteliers Club. A delegation of more than 40 members from the travel and hospitality sector of the state of J&K participated in the J&K Tourism Conclave. Ganai said, “We recently met in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Mushtaq A. Chaya. The kind of media publicity that Kashmir tourism received for the Kashmir situation, we felt that we need to come and interact with the stakeholders in the country and particularly starting with Mumbai and the surrounding areas because that is our main source market. Jammu & Kashmir, in particular Kashmir and Ladakh attracts the maximum tourists from all around the world. The government will do and has always been doing for their people, for example we organize Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir which again attracts a lot of people from across India. As you know the common people of Kashmir are peace loving, they want the tourists to be extremely comfortable, we want tourists to come and be our guests. We will do everything, whatever is possible for us to do that you are comfortable and safe.” Sudhir Patil, President, MTOA, said, “In Srinagar, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Gulmarg and including Katra, Jammu and another …

Enterprising Knot of Travel & Tourism Associates (EKTTA), organised its first annual convention in Bhubaneswar, with an aim to develop local tourism and bring forward the unexplored destinations of the state to the limelight. The event was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Priyadarshi Mishra, MLA, Bhubaneswar North and Guest of Honour, Aruna Mohanty, Padma Shri awardee and renowned Odissi Exponent, Utpal Kumar Pati, Joint Director, Odisha Tourism and Sarat Kumar Lenka, Nodal Officer, IITTM. Addressing at the inaugural ceremony, Sanjay Kumar Mohanty, President EKTTA recounted the journey of the association and briefed about the activities and initiatives it has taken to help its members and the tourism fraternity. The convention was aimed to bring all the stakeholders of the tourism together at once stance with a motive to develop the concept of MOS (Man, on Spot) and WOS (Woman on Spot) keeping the local representatives at focus. EKTTA further aims to spread the importance of Odisha Tourism worldwide and develop new points and ideas to create a proper mechanism and channel for tourism management.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a Rs 25-crore project for the restoration of the heritage of the iconic Mascot Hotel, coinciding with the celebrations of 100 years of the hospitality pioneer in Thiruvananthapuram. The comprehensive project, drawn up by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), was unveiled close on the heels of Mascot Hotel bagging the five-star status. Vijayan also unveiled the plaque to mark the historic occasion and opened a month-long exhibition that depicts the 100 years of glorious service of the trail blazer in hospitality sector in the state. Minister for Co-operation, Devaswom and Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran presided over the function held at Mascot Hotel. Surendran said that Mascot has got the unique distinction of being the maiden five-star hotel in the public sector. Recalling the history and fame of the institution, he noted “In the hotel map published by the Bombay-based Indian Hotel Company in 1937, Mascot was one among the four hotels listed from South India. In 1965, it came under KTDC.” The Minister underscored the need to adopt quality service and new marketing strategies in order to compete with private players in the hospitality industry. M Vijayakumar, Chairman, KTDC, delivered a felicitation speech. He said, “Mascot Hotel is a priceless treasure of Kerala. It is the jewel in KTDC’s crown. The heritage restoration project will be carried out without in any way harming its distinguishing architectural features.” The project to strengthen and preserve the heritage property will be executed under the leadership of Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society. The works to be taken up include strengthening of the building, rooms, passages, beautification of the premises and improving the amenities. They will be completed in two phases within a …

The National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) and other stakeholders recently met with Gujarat Tourism officials at Tent City, Statue of Unity, Kevadia in Gujarat to chalk out a strategy for bringing five million tourists to the Statue. The Council came to the conclusion that the number of tourists visiting the Statue would touch three million in 2019, taking into consideration the footfall during the last two months. Further, to reach the goal of five million tourists, a detailed proposal was made by the state government. After discussions, it was suggested that additional facilities should be created at the Statue of Unity like night safari, ropeway between the dam and safari, check dam to be constructed about 10 kms downstream of the dam so that boating and water sports would be possible for a length of over 10 kms from the check dam to the Statue, amusement park, tribal museum, state bhawans at the site, restaurant complex to be expanded with cuisines from all states, adventure tourism, boat riding in the dam, mid-segment hotels to be set up on land to be leased out by Narmada Valley Development Authority on long term lease, regular helicopter service to be started from the Statue to various towns in Gujarat, and seaplanes to be operational from the Dam to various destinations.  

In an initiative to reignite interest in Kerala as the must-visit tourist hotspot, Kerala Tourism has launched a new global brand campaign, ‘Human by Nature’, which offers a refreshing perspective of the state where human and nature fuse together in an enchanting spectacle. During the launch event, the tourism board premiered a three-minute destination campaign film. Shot in the enchanting locales of Kerala, the film offers a spectacular snapshot of the state as a mystical and transforming land that delivers an emotional experience for the traveller. The ad-film was unveiled by the Tourism Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran in the presence of Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Rani George , Secretary – Tourism, Kerala and P Bala Kiran, Director, Kerala Tourism. With the new global campaign, Kerala Tourism aims to attract tourists to the state that suffered huge losses in last year’s floods but has made vigorous efforts to completely wipe out the scars of the calamity in double-quick time. The new campaign comes nine years after the 2010 launch of ‘Your Moment is Waiting’ in London.