Tag Archives: Punjab

With a 150 per cent growth in registrations in comparison to last year, GPS Chandigarh managed to outdo itself in this Tier-II city by some margin. “We received nearly 1000 registrations for GPS Chandigarh this year and with the excellent quality of buyers we have brought in, the number of exhibitors saw a growth of 30 per cent, registering 80 exhibitors over 50 exhibitors in the last edition,” revealed Harmandeep Singh Anand, Founder, Global Panorama Showcase (GPS). The show received over 600 buyers over the two days of the B2B session.  One of the key features of GPS this year was the paperless format, which was introduced last year but perfected this year. The use of technology in conducting a major business show like this was very well received by the trade present in Chandigarh who heralded it as a revolutionary and futuristic concept. The exhibitors were especially happy with the quality buyers that the show provided them from key market areas such as Punjab, J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh etc apart from local buyers from Chandigarh. The next stop for GPS this year is Kolkata which will be held from July 27-29, 2017 and is expected to bring to the fore vast tourism offerings from the eastern wing of the country.

After launching its Rajasthan chapter, ADTOI is all set to launch its Punjab and Haryana chapter in the first week of March, revealed P.P. Khanna, President, ADTOI. While more new chapters are on cards, Khanna revealed that the biggest concern for them right now is service tax and help its members sail through this crisis.

Air India Express will connect Sharjah with Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli (in Tamil Nadu) from September. The airline will introduce three non-stop flights per week each from Chandigarh (IXC) and Tiruchirapalli (TRZ), to add Sharjah International Airport, bringing the total number of its routes between Sharjah and Indian destinations up to seven. India is one of the United Arab Emirates’ leading trade partners, accounting for some 9.8 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade, buying 14.9 percent of the Emirates’ exports and 8.7 percent of its re-exports. The total volume of bilateral trade between India and the UAE is expected to increase from $60 billion in 2014 to $100 billion by the year 2020. India is also the largest single origin of investors for Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone and Sharjah International Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone). Air India Express has been expanding its services to destinations in the UAE, including daily Mumbai-Dubai, Mumbai-Sharjah, New Delhi-Dubai and New Delhi-Abu Dhabi routes, which it added earlier this year. According to the airline, the number of its weekly flights between India and the UAE increased from 107 flights to 146 flights per week before the summer. The low-cost airline currently operates five routes with a total of 15 weekly flights to Sharjah International Airport. Air India Express now flies direct to Sharjah from Kochi (COK), Kozhikode (CCJ), Mumbai (SAHAR), New Delhi (DEL), Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) and Varanasi (VNS. India is well connected to Sharjah, with Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia operating flights between Sharjah and 13 Indian destinations. Jet Airways, India’s second largest airline, operates direct daily flights on Sharjah-Kochi and Sharjah-Mangaluru (IXE) routes.

India Travel Mart (ITM) Amritsar is back in the city with a special focus on promoting sports and adventure, pilgrimage tourism, hill tourism, beach tourism, honeymoon packages, MICE and medical tourism. The three day exhibition is scheduled for August 12 to 14, 2016 at Hotel Holiday Inn, Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar, Punjab. ITM will witness specially prepared travel and tour packages, hotels & resorts deals from tour operators, destination wedding packages and honeymoon packages. “With the kind of stressful lives that we lead, a person tends to look for refreshing holidays and unique travel destination to unwind, to simplify this need and to help people of India in choosing the best option according to their requirements, we organize ITM-Amritsar annually wherein the customers get specially designed packages and great deals with countless choices. The constant support and eager interest from Travel Industry makes it a success year after year. So if you are planning to visit a place you have never been before or if you are willing to explore fresh tourists ‘spots then visit our exhibition” says Ajay Gupta, Managing Director, ITM. Gupta added, “ITM-Amritsar caters to the needs of both B2B and B2C visitors. The basic purpose of holding this event is to boost tourism awareness worldwide. We believe that the inflow of domestic and outbound tourists will increase in the coming months and Punjab will play a vital role in the promotion of Tourism. Our main aim is to promote tourism potential in India and spread awareness among the people. “Tier II and Tier III cities are evolving day after day and we understand the need to promote these developing cities in Indian tourism sector as they have …

Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy CM, Punjab, flagged off the first Tirth Yatra train from Amritsar railway station to Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazoor Sahib, Nanded. Eleven trains to different pilgrimages are set to be launched in January under the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Yojana. Speaking on the occasion, Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “Punjab government has been working relentlessly to preserve and promote the precious heritage of Punjab. It is our duty to transfer the rich cultural legacy of Punjab to the future generations. Furthermore, the cultural heritage will also boost the heritage tourism in the state and will be critical in building sustainable visitor economy. Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Yojana is yet another attempt of the Punjab government to preserve and promote majestic culture and royal heritage of Punjab.” The train comprising of 18 coaches can accommodate 1,080 pilgrims and its pantry can cater to 1500 passengers. The train will return on 6 January and the pilgrims will be provided transportation, boarding and lodging facilities free of cost. Audios of chanting of hymns will also be played in the train. Seven more such trains will ply for Nanded Sahib from Maur (Bathinda), Sri Anandpur Sahib, Tarn Taran, Patiala, Batala (Gurdaspur), Sri Muktsar Sahib and Beas in this month. Apart from the trains to the famous Sikh pilgrimage, two trains to Varanasi from Ludhiana and Jalandhar and one to Ajmer Shariff from Malerkotla will also start in January. 11 more Tirth Yatra trains are planned to start in January and February under this scheme. Tirath Yatra trains to Katra for Maa Vaishno Devi and to Chennai for Basilica in San Thome built over tomb of St Thomas, an apostle of Jesus, are …