Category Archives: States

In a bid to promote Kerala in the China Market, Kerala Tourism with a high-profile delegation, along with the travel trade partners from the state, participated in China International Travel Mart (CITM) 2019 at Kunming and also organised two roadshows in Shanghai and Beijing. Kadakamapally Surendran, Minister, Tourism, Kerala, said, “We are trying to ensure brand visibility in East Asian markets using innovative strategies.  China is an important emerging market for Kerala Tourism. In just two decades, it has become the world’s largest outbound travel market, with some 145 million Chinese travellers visiting abroad in 2017.” Apart from Japan, Kerala Tourism is also focusing on Singapore and Japan, and participated in ITB Asia 2019 in Singapore and Tourism Expo Japan, held in Osaka, Japan.  

Goldstone Hotels & Resorts has spread its wings in the state of Bihar as the brand is set to launch two new properties; one at Motihari which will open next week and the other one in Patna, which will be unveiled in the next 15 days. Sandeep Singh, Managing Director Goldstone Hotels says, “The brand’s presence in the state was long due and we aim at having at least 7 more properties in Bihar by the end of this financial year to cater to every segment of clientele.”

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata are the preferred destination cities for medical tourists arriving in India. Nearly 27 % of India’s medical tourists head to Maharashtra, out of which 80% go to Mumbai, reveals the report India Building Best Practices in Healthcare Services Globally 2019-20 by FICCI. Chennai attracts nearly 15% of the incoming foreign patients while Kerala handles around 5% to 7%. 

The four-month-long runway re-surfacing work at Kochi Airport has begun and there would be no flights from 10 AM to 6 PM till March 28, 2020. Since almost all services have already been re-scheduled between 6 PM and 10 AM, the project period would see cancellation of only five services during the major runway re-surfacing period, a statement from the airport said. Domestic sector is going to have only four cancellations. In view of it, CIAL has decided to increase the check-in time to 3 hrs for the domestic passengers and 4 hrs for the international passengers, the statement said.

WelcomHeritage (WH) has opened its latest property—WH Inderpura Resort, which is situated on Delhi road State highway 37B at Udaipurwati of Jhunjhunu District in Rajasthan. With an inventory of 21 rooms, the property is situated on 1.75 acre land at the foothill of Aravalli range. Sanjeev K Nayar, GM, WelcomHeritage shared shared, “The addition of this property is part of our strategy to expand and open more properties in the current financial year. Rajasthan has such abundance of cultural properties and we are extremely lucky to find few of such gems and add in our existing portfolio. Udaipurvati is a beautiful location with a vivid historical importance. The picturesque location of the property and the cultural heritage of the city promise to give a perfect holiday experience. Moreover this property has close proximity to Delhi/NCR, we expect to see the business flow from this part of the country on a higher pace, especially in weekends.”

CT Ravi, Tourism Minister, Karnataka, has said that the state is planning to introduce a new tourism master plan, which will focus on the overall infrastructural development of tourist destinations, improving inter-connectivity between destinations, along with providing adequate security measures. Through this, the tourism department plans to increase its revenue contribution to the state’s GDP to 20 per cent from the existing 14.8 per cent. Also, with a new tourism policy, the government hopes to create about 2 lakh direct jobs, said the Minister. Karnataka’s existing tourism policy ends next year. With a thrust on experiential tourism, the tourism department will work towards skill development for tourist guides, promoting local fests at tourist destinations and others. Traditional sports like Kambala will also be promoted, added Ravi.

A total of four islands will be developed for tourism in Andaman & Nicobar (A&N), while five will be developed in Lakshadweep, revealed Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, while speaking at the pre-application conference for Eco Tourism Resorts for Andaman & Nicobar Islands. “These are some of the most pristine islands, and one of the last destinations in the world to be opened. We want to develop them as high-value destinations. They will be built around the carrying capacity of the island after detailed analysis.” Chetan B Sanghi, Chief Secretary, A&N Islands, Administration, said, “The islands are Long, Aves, Smith and Shaheed Sweep of A&N islands. We will ensure that investors get easy and early clearances. Also, initially 30 per cent and later 60 per cent of the local population will get employment.”

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.