Tag Archives: Thiruvananthapuram

The Adani Group signed concession agreements with the Airports Authority of India, for the management, operations and development of Guwahati, Jaipur and Thiruvananthapuram airports. The agreements were exchanged between N.V. Subbarayudu, Executive Director, Strategic Initiative Unit, AAI & Behnad Zandi, CEO Adani Airport in the presence of AAI Chairman, Arvind Singh, AAI Board Members & senior officials and Adani Enterprises.

The Adani group has won the bid to operate five out of six airports put up for privatisation by the government. It was the highest bidder for the Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Mangaluru and Jaipur airports, a senior official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said. The bid for the Guwahati airport will be opened on February 26. AAI chose the winner on the basis of “monthly per-passenger fee”. The official said the bids put by Adani group were “very aggressive” as compared to other bidders. The five airports would be handed over to Adani group after completion of formalities, the AAI official said. A total of 32 technical bids were received from 10 companies to operate six airports currently under AAI’s management. In November last year, the government had cleared a proposal for managing six AAI-run airports on public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports received seven bids each. Those at Lucknow and Guwahati received six bids each. Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram received three bids each. The move to manage the six airports on PPP basis, according to AAI, is part of an initiative to provide world-class infrastructure and services to stakeholders. Source: PTI

Union Minister of State for Tourism, Alphons Kannanthanam laid the foundation stone for a spiritual circuit connecting Sivagiri Sree Narayana Guru Ashram, Arruvipuram, Kunnumpara Sree Subrahmania Swamy temple and Chembazhanthi Sree Narayana Gurukulam, at a function held at Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala near Thiruvananthapuram. The circuit will have facilities like a craft bazaar, bus shelters and an audio-video virtual reality show. Speaking on the occasion, Alphons said that the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned seven projects to Kerala under the Swadesh Darshan and Prashad schemes at an approximate amount of Rs 550 crore. He further said that Kerala’s future lies in exploring the possibilities in tourism sector. The project was sanctioned in January 2019 for Rs 69.47 crore.

To promote airlines to extend their service to Kerala, the Kerala government has decided to slash the tax on aviation fuel to 5 per cent from the current 28.75 per cent for domestic airlines. Making the announcement in the assembly during the discussion on the state budget for 2019-20, state’s Finance Minister TM Thomas Issac said that not only airports under the UDAN scheme but also non-UDAN airports would get the new tax breather in the state. “The tax on ATF will be reduced to 5 per cent from the existing 28.75 per cent for domestic airlines operating service from the state airports. A revenue loss of Rs 100 crore is expected through this,” he said. The tax cut is expected to benefit Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode international airports as the government had already decided to levy only 1 per cent fuel tax from airlines operating service from the newly commissioned Kannur airport. Aviation fuel accounts for a major portion of operating cost for airlines. The tax cut can help become Kerala an attractive destination for various airlines as neighboring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are charging a state tax of 29 and 28 per cent, respectively on jet fuel. The tax cut benefits would benefit only domestic passengers as the international airlines that operate to and from the state have not been charging VAT as per the new GST regime.  

The Handicrafts Heritage Tour, organised by the Sargaalaya Arts and Crafts Village, was flagged off by the Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran in Thiruvananthapuram. The Sargaalaya Handicrafts Heritage Tour will travel from the state capital to Kasargod and will pass through various villages known for its tradition, arts and handicrafts. On the occasion, Minister for Excise and Labour T.P. Ramakrishnan was also present. The Heritage Tour is being organised in the run up to the seventh annual ‘Sargaalaya International Arts and Crafts Festival’, scheduled to be held between December 21, 2017 and January 8, 2018 at the Sargaalaya Village at Iringal in Kozhikode. The handicrafts festival is being organised with the support of the Departments of Tourism, Industries, Culture, and Coir, Government of Kerala. The festival will have the participation of more than 400 artisans from as many as 25 states in India. Besides, artisans from South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Nepal, Sri Lanka will also be participating in the event. The Sargaalaya International Arts and Crafts Festival will put on display-and-sale handicrafts items made by around 500 artisans. The festival will also include arts and entertainment programs organised under the aegis of the Central government’s South Zone Cultural Centre, Tanjavur; the State Department of Culture’s Bharat Bhavan; and the Kerala Folklore Academy. Artisans from villages like Aranmula (known for the renowned Aranmula Mirror), Thazhava (known for unique mats), Perumbava (renowned for the manufacture of Mridangam and Maddalam), Vellinezhi (known for the decorative accessories used in Kathakali make up), Aruvacode (famous for clay products), Cherppu (known for wooden handicrafts items) and Kunhimangaalam (famous for the manufacture of metal handicrafts products) will be a part of …

New Zealand has witnessed a steady increase in arrivals from India with 53,424 travellers visiting there as of March 2017, a 14.9 per cent growth from same period last year. To further boost the Indian tourist numbers, Tourism New Zealand is tying up with two airlines to promote the island country in the India sub-continent. The partnership between Tourism New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand is valid from May 2017 to April 2018 and will seek to position Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines as the preferred carriers for travelling to the country and promotional fares will be offered to passengers. The strategic partnership aims to encourage more travellers from key cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Vishakhapatnam. “New Zealand is the ultimate destination for many Indian travellers and special promotional fares provide a great opportunity to turn their dream holiday into reality,” said Tourism New Zealand regional manager, South and South East Asia, Steven Dixon. Elaborating on the initiative, David Lim, General Manager, India, said, “We offer 98 weekly connections from 11 cities in India to Singapore and together with our partner – Air New Zealand, we provide over 25 weekly, onward connections to three cities (Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington) in New Zealand.” Scott Carr, Regional General Manager-Asia, Air New Zealand, said, “India is one of our fastest-growing emerging markets and we’re excited about the potential of this campaign to reach more Indian travellers. Through our alliance and code share services with Singapore Airlines, we connect passengers from 11 Indian cities to Singapore, where they can access three non-stop flights a day to New Zealand.”

Japan will open 13 new visa application centers in India. The centers will be opened at Gurgaon, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Puducherry and Hyderabad. This was informed by Ryoichi Matsuyama, President, Japan National Tourist Office at the opening ceremony of the 2017 the year of Japan-India Friendly Exchanges and the Announcement of Japan-India Collaboration Film Project. “Last year Japan saw 120,000 Indian arrivals whereas 230,000 Japanese visited India. Though the number of Indians visiting Japan is steadily increasing, the current figure is yet modest despite the vast size and scale of India and more so given the long-standing relationship between the two countries,” said Matsuyama. The Japan-India Collaboration Film Project was also announced. The event was attended by Kenko Sone, Minister, Economic and Development, Embassy of Japan; Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister, Government of India, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Ayog, Government of India, Kenchi Takano, Executive Director- Preparation Office for New Delhi, JNTO amongst others. His Excellency Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India added that there will be a number of cultural and tourism related events are planned to be held all around India in 2017.

With effect from March 21, 2016, Jet Airways will launch a new daily flight between Delhi and Muscat, Oman, at fares starting Rs 15, 782. The addition of this new flight from the airline’s strategic hub in Delhi will further strengthen the airline’s growing international network and enhance flight connectivity from Northern India, SAARC and ASEAN and to the Gulf region. India and Oman are linked by historical maritime trade linkages and the important role of the Indian expatriate community in the development of Oman. With the launch of the new flight, Jet Airways will operate a total of four daily flights between India and Muscat. This includes flights from Mumbai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Gaurang Shetty, Senior Vice-President, Commercial, Jet Airways, said, “It is indeed a proud moment for us at Jet Airways to launch our maiden international flight between Delhi and Muscat. This is a significant milestone for enhancing the strong ties between India and the Sultanate of Oman. With the launch of this flight, Jet Airways guests from Northern India, SAARC and ASEAN regions will have the option of travelling to Oman via Delhi.” The airline will deploy a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on these new services, offering Premiere and Economy guests an in-flight product that is among the best in its class, warm service, as well as delectable cuisine and convenient schedules.