Tag Archives: Rajasthan

The site namely ‘The Walled City of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India’ has been proposed for World Heritage. As per Operation Guidelines 2017, only one site can be nominated by the state party each year. The recognition of World Heritage, as a matter of great pride, impacts the local economy by giving a boost to domestic and international tourism leading to increased employment generation, creation of world-class infrastructure and augmentation of sale of local handicrafts, handlooms and heritage memorabilia. Besides, it adds to the prestige of the country as well as prescribed site. There are a total of 37 World Heritage sites in India currently.  

In a bid to attract investors across the industry, a number of state tourism boards presented their ideas and prospect on tourism in their respective states during the 4th Tourism Investors Meet held at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi. The tourism boards of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Manipur gave detailed presentations on how their state provides lucrative opportunities to investors. Each presentation counted on their USP and explained about the incentives and concessions provided by the respective state governments. The first presentation was given by the meet’s Theme State West Bengal Tourism which stressed on developing the state as an ‘ecotourism hub’. This was followed by a presentation by Partner State Rajasthan Tourism which focused on promoting heritage location and properties in the state. It also talked about opportunity of growth for adventure sports and MiCE in the state. Feature State Gujarat Tourism stressed on providing attractive incentives to investors with last mile connectivity for travellers in the state. The final presentation was given by Feature State Manipur Tourism. Highlighting the state’s rich culture and resources, the presentation talked about the prospect of developing Manipur as a ‘tourism hub’. The main focus was on Loktak lake, the largest fresh water lake in the Northeast.

Mana Hotels is set to open a resort in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. With 27 rooms; 16 Deluxe Tents and 11 rooms along with a conference hall, restaurant, game room and swimming pool, this property will be positioned as a three-star deluxe resort. With a location closest to Kumbhalgarh fort amongst this category of hotels and with amazing views of the hills, Mana at Kumbhalgarh will ensure a satisfying experience for guests. The bookings have already started from July 1.  

The maiden edition of Très RARE recorded over 100 Indian destination management companies and 30 foreign tour operators from the UK, US, France, Germany and Italy. Instituted by RARE India, the event was a showcase of the finest boutique hotels, lodges, hideaways, camps and retreats in India, Nepal, and Bhutan that aimed to engage with the bespoke tour operators and media from India and overseas, alongside an eclectic mix of world travellers. Conducted over two days, the event focused on intensive one-on-one engagement, knowledge building and innovations. The close interactions with hotel owners and hosts were followed by 11 hosted familiarisation trips across India. The event also hosted speakers on hospitality and related topics to add value to the concept of experiential travel in the sub-continent. Sowmya R Vijaymohan, Partner at RARE India said, “This is probably the first green event where no plastic has been used, thus following the green document. It is a tribute to all the bespoke boutique hotels. These boutique hotels inspired us at RARE to break away from the traditional and create an intimate showcase that focuses on the niche rather than the mass and mainstream.” Some of the hotels which participated at Tres Rare were RAAS Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Bhainsrorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, Hotel Druk, Bhutan, Pepper Trail, Kerela, Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge, Nepal, Deccan Odyssey, etc.

The Park Hotels enters Jodhpur with the launch of its second hotel in Rajasthan – ‘Zone by The Park’. With 90 guest rooms, the latest Zone by The Park Jodhpur is located at the city centre in close proximity to popular tourist destinations such as Umaid Bhawan Palace and scenic Kalyana Lake. The city airport and railway station are minutes away from the hotel making it convenient for the guests. Zone Jodhpur boasts of 7,600 sq. ft. banquet hall with a spill over 14,000 sq. ft. outdoor lawn for large weddings, exhibitions, social gatherings, celebrations and conferences. The hotel has two restaurants and a discotheque. Speaking at the launch, Vijay Dewan, Managing Director, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels said, “We are extremely delighted to launch our second property in Rajasthan, especially in Jodhpur as it is a discerning tourist’s destination with a reflection of history. The hotel is designed to meet the requirements of the price-conscious, design-conscious urban traveller. Witnessing the success of Zone Jaipur, we are confident that this hotel will play a key role in strengthening the brand. We are certain that the hotel will appeal to customers with its design and format.” Zone Jodhpur has 90 rooms in three categories at an average tariff of Rs. 3,000 – Rs. 7,400 per night. Zone by The Park is present in Coimbatore, Jaipur, Chennai ORR, Raipur, Bengaluru with upcoming hotels in Pondicherry, Igatpuri & Goa. The brand will have 17 properties by the year 2020; this will be about 1,500 keys in the next 4 years.

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned projects worth over Rs 203 cr for Uttar Pradesh alone for the development of Ramayana and Krishna circuit in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. Under the Ramyana Circuit, the sites of Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Nashik & Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu) have been included. The Krishna Circuit involves the sites of Dwarka (Gujarat); Nathdwara, Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan); Kurukshetra (Haryana), Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh) and Puri (Odisha). The projects sanctioned under the scheme have a gestation period of 18-36 months and are subject to availability of funds, submission of suitable Detailed Project Reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilisation of funds released earlier. No proposal has been received in the Ministry for the development of Sita Circuit. The Ministry also has the PRASHAD scheme (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) for holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations in the country. Under the scheme, 25 sites have been identified for development.

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.

The Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) conducted its 6th Annual Convention this time in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The Convention was held from September 2-3, 2017, at Hotel Suryagarh in Jaisalmer. With an aim of trying to revive the rich, cultural, historical and architectural heritage of India IHHA 2017 saw the participation of several heritage hoteliers. The Association which was formed with only 14 members has now reached a whopping 198 members in 2017, with members spread over different parts of the country. This year’s theme – ‘Harnessing Heritage to Tourism Advantage’ also focused on reviving the traditional art, culture music and to provide local artisans opportunities to practice their craft. The convention was inaugurated on September 2 by the Minister of State for Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Krishnendra Kaur along with other dignitaries by lighting the traditional lamp. The session was headed by IHHA President, Maharaja Gajsingh of Jodhpur. The panel saw the participation of Deputy Speaker, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Rao Rajendra Singh; Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, NC Goel; Vice President of IHHA, Jose Dominic; Principal Secretary Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Government of Punjab, Jaspal Singh; Member of Parliament, Yuvraj Sambhiraje Chattrapti and Joint Managing Director of Maharashtra Tourism, Ashutosh Rathore. The session witnessed discussions on several topics such as – India’s large young workforce, as its strength; promoting the art and culture of special regions and generating employment; framing a National policy on heritage tourism and promoting wellness tourism. The session was moderated by Mr. Rakesh Mathur. The vote of thanks was given by the Honorary General Secretary of IHHA, Randhir Vikram Singh. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje attended the heritage hotels convention on September 3 at …

Thomas Cook (India) has strengthened its presence with the opening of four new outlets in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, Pitampura, Lajpat Nagar localities and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s distribution and reach in North India to 42 consumer access centres: 13 owned branches and 29 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Thomas Cook India’s data has revealed high demand from India’s north markets, with strong growth of 25 per cent for January- August 2017 against the same period of the previous year. The year has seen significant uptake for favorites like USA & Canada, UK, France, Switzerland and Asia’s Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia; equally for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Emerging strongly are destinations like Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Japan and Bali, as also exotic locales like Georgia and Azerbaijan. Rajeev Kale, ‎President & Country Head Leisure Travel & MICE, Thomas Cook (India), said “North India is a powerful source market for us at Thomas Cook India and we are witnessing strong growth of over 25% y-o-y across our leisure travel businesses lines. Our strategic intent is to maximise on this market potential via organic expansion and we’ve carefully selected high footfall centres for our new outlets in prime catchment locations within the larger NCR metro market; also Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Our new outlets give our customers in North India (across families, business travellers, millennials, senior citizens, students and NRIs) access to Thomas Cook’s experts right at their doorstep!”

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas has announced plans to open Six Senses Fort Barwara featuring 48 suites in Rajasthan – its first in India. Situated 68 miles (110 kilometres) southeast of Jaipur, the property is located in the village of Chauth ka Barwara on the site of a 700-year-old fort, which was owned by the Rajasthani royal family. Prithviraj Singh, heir of the family, is now restoring the fort to its previous glory in tandem with Espire Group. The project team will seek the five-star green rating for the Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) certification, the highest classification of national sustainable design ratings in India. Bernhard Bohnenberger, President, Six Senses, said, “Six Senses Fort Barwara marks the second heritage property that Six Senses will manage. It is slated to open in late 2018.” Six Senses Fort Barwara will feature two restaurants, a bar and a lounge, a spa and a fitness centre spread over 30,000 sq ft, two swimming pools, a banquet space, a retail boutique and a kids club. The key focus of the landscape concept is at reinterpreting the gracious and regal ambiance experienced at Rajasthan’s royal forts and palaces. Rooted in the rich history of the fort, the design will include traditional gardens and water features as well. Shekhavati art will be used to depict the rich history of the fort in the landscape. A Six Senses Spa, located in the original women’s palace, will feature an extensive ayurveda programme, meditation and Six Senses Integrated Wellness programmes, including Six Senses Integrated Wellness and Sleep with Six Senses. Thirty minutes from the Ranthambhore National Park, Six Senses will offer daily safari drives into the 1,400 sq km park.