Tag Archives: Karnataka

Sudha Murty, Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, has donated Rs10,000 each to 300 tourist guides from seven heritage hubs of the state of Karnataka that include Hampi, Belur, Halebid, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Chitra. The latest wave of COVID-19 has left tour guides destitute, especially after the ray of hope that the opening up of tourism beginning late 2020 had brought.

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), have signed a Vivanta resort in Hampi, Karnataka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 80-room resort is a management contract with Dhruvdesh Ventures. Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President – Real Estate & Development, IHCL said, “IHCL has been a pioneer in developing new destinations and putting them on the global tourist map. With Vivanta Hampi, IHCL will create new circuits with Goa and Bangalore for both domestic and international travellers. We are delighted to partner with Dhruvdesh Ventures.”

Spree Hotels has signed another new boutique hotel in Ilkal (Karnataka), Zip by Spree Hotels Ilkal. The hotel has well-equipped banquet halls and board rooms for meetings and events of all size, and a host of facilities for guests to unwind, including spa, bar, gymnasium and snooker room apart from comfortable, spacious rooms.

The first direct flight operations from Kalaburagi, Karnataka to Hindon Airport, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh was recently flagged off under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik). The officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) were present at the launch.

Tourism Minister of Karnataka, CT Ravi has proposed a five-phase recovery to bring tourism industry back-on-track. One of the most important steps amongst them is promoting local tourism on the lines of Singapore Tourism’s ‘Love Your Local’ campaign. In the detailed proposal sent to the CM, the minister said that five-stage recovery is based on suggestions received from officials and industry representatives. While the first stage involves creating awareness among citizens on the coronavirus, the second one will have local tourism activities – Nodu Baa Nammoora (Come, See Our City), dining out within the city and ‘Love Your Local’ based on the Singapore model. In the third stage, the government will look at the regional or inter-state tourism followed by the fourth stage where preparation will be made to attract domestic and international tourists. The final stage will see staggered tourism activities involving domestic/international tourists. “Consumer mindset, guarantee of safety and hygiene are two things that will have an impact on the revival of the sector,” the minister further said.

Indian Railways is planning to seal stations just like airports and passengers would be advised to arrive 15-20 minutes before scheduled departure of trains to complete the process of security check. Arun Kumar, Director General, RPF, told PTI, “The security plan has already been put in motion in Prayagraj, in anticipation of the Kumbh Mela, and at Hoobly railway station in Karnataka with a blueprint for 202 more stations ready for implementation. “The plan is to seal the stations. It is primarily about identifying openings and to determine how many can be closed. There are areas which will be closed through permanent boundary walls, others will be manned by RPF personnel and some will have collapsible gates.” He further added, “At each entry point, there will be random security checks. However, unlike at airports, passengers need not come hours in advance, but just 15-20 minutes ahead of their departure times to ensure that they are not delayed because of the security process.” Kumar said that while security will increase, presence of security personnel will not. “If we are inventing in technology, then manpower requirement will reduce,” he said. These steps are a part of a security plan under the Integrated Security System (ISS) which was approved in 2016 to strengthen surveillance mechanism at 202 railway stations. Source: PTI

Set to redefine the luxury hospitality scenario, ‘The Postcard Hotel’ has been launched by its Founder and CEO, Kapil Chopra, at a press conference held in Delhi. The Postcard Hotel is a brand of unique, intimate luxury hotels in India and the world. Transformative experiences and local community are at the heart of The Postcard Hotel’s offering. “What I wanted to do with The Postcard Hotel, is make luxury hotels for the modern audience but bring back the romance and charm of holidays. We wanted it to be rich in its experience but also wanted it to be simple. We believe guests want to stay in a place where the hotel does the thinking for them, where they get the simple things right, yet offer fantastic spaces for them to relax, meet like-minded people and experience local culture. This is why, we handpick our locations and our hotels, so that guests have a different experience whether they are in Goa or overlooking the snow-clad Himalayas,” stated Chopra. In an unprecedented move, The Postcard Hotel has announced the opening of three luxury hotels on the opening day, ready to receive guests that are spread across unique neighbourhoods in Goa – The Postcard Moira, nestled in one of the four heritage villages of Goal; The Postcard Velha, surrounded by 300 acres of virgin coconut plantations in old Goa; and further south, The Postcard Cuelim, that houses a 350-year-old chapel. The brand is committed to building and operating 50 hotels in the next five years. In the next 12 to 18 months, the brand will be present in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Dhauladhar Mountain Range, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Sundarbans and Kanha.  

With an aim to increase tourists from Tamil Nadu, the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka recently organised a roadshow in Velacherry, Chennai to promote tourist places, hotels, resorts, homestays and service providers from Coorg and Karnataka. This B2B roadshow had over 200 travel agents from Chennai and over 35 discerning trade partners from Coorg. The event was aimed at showcasing the scenic beauty of Coorg which succeeded in being one of the most vibrant editions that the Karnataka Tourism had ever seen. The main objective of Karnataka Tourism is to promote Coorg as leisure, MiCE and wedding destination in the Indian market. Under the theme ‘Destination Coorg’, this is aimed to promote the different hotels, resorts and service providers from Coorg and Karnataka. The roadshow was inaugurated by Sadananda, Vice President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Coorg, in presence of N Ravindra, Deputy Director, Karnataka Tourism, and Rathnakar, Jungle Lodges & Resorts. The roadshow brought together different aspects of the tourism products in Coorg like natural beauty, adventure, pilgrimage, coffee tourism, homestay experiences and many more to the Chennai and Tamil Nadu market.

With its theme “Together for a Better Tomorrow”, SIHRA Convention is taking place from October 4-5, with participation from nearly 600 delegates. The convention looks at connecting all the south Indian states and brings about varied opportunities in exploring the hospitality and tourism fraternity. The event is expected to be a perfect mix of technology, emerging trends in the beverage and food industry, innovations in hotel projects and women leadership in the hospitality industry, among others. It is being supported by the departments of tourism, governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry.  The event will be inaugurated by Vellamandi N Natarajan, Minister for Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, in the presence of SP Velumani, Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development; KA Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education; Shri Sellur K Raju, Minister for Co-operation; RB Udhaya Kumar, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management and Dindigul C Sreenivasan, Minister for Forests Department. Edappadi K Palaniswami, Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu, said,  The state continues to hold the leading position in tourist arrivals, both domestic and international for the fourth year in a row. I am sure that SIHRA, which has over 1100 hotel and restaurant members playing a major role in providing comprehensive logistic support to all our tourists.” S K Hari Arumugam, Chairman, Organising Committee, SIHRA Convention 2018, said, “It is our objective that each and every fellow member is an integral part of this movement, empowered with a forum to voice concerns and have problems redressed and, to facilitate every member in  enabling them to take advantage of this event and enterprise.”

India’s participation grew manifolds at IFTM Top Resa MAP Pro, France’s only multi-sector travel and tourism trade show. Indian states, such as, Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Goa received an overwhelming response from this market. India Tourism and the private sector created a buzz and saw great potential at the event held from September 25-28. The four-day event was attended by 30,929 industry professionals, demonstrating the vitality and energy that characterise the travel and tourism industry. As many as 1,694 brands were spread across 543 stands.