For an industry that was focused on drawing foreign tourists, the mounting influx of domestic travellers has been a wakeup call. Despite its great impact on the economic development, domestic tourism is yet to receive adequate attention in the process of development planning. Industry experts…

ITC Hotels has tied up with Bahrain-based India-born billionaire Ravi Pillai to manage five of its hotels under the WelcomHotel and Fortune brands in India and Dubai.For the Pillai-led R P Group, this is the second big tie-up with an Indian hospitality chain. Two years…

At a recent press conference, Parvez Dewan, Secretary, Tourism, Government of India announced the second edition of the Ministry of Tourism’s (MoT) travel event, International Tourism Mart (ITM). The Mart will be held on 17 and 18 October in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. “With ITM, we…

Chandresh Kumari Katoch, Union Minister for Culture, yesterday unveiled the Brass Plate World Heritage Plaque at the Chittaurgarh Fort, Rajasthan and released brochures on the Fort in Hindi & English. Chittaurgarh Fort is one of the six hill forts of Rajasthan recently inscribed in the…

The PATA Travel Mart 2013 (PTM2013) kicked-off today in Chengdu, China. More than 1,000 delegates from 60 countries around the world have joined the annual B2B travel trade event organized by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), hosted by the Chengdu Municipal People’s Government and…

A growth of 29.4 percent has been recorded in the total number of tourists availing of the tourist Visa on Arrival (VoA) Scheme during the period January to August, 2013. A total number of 12,176 VoAs have been issued in this period as compared to…

In its mission to attract tourists from North Indian states Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has opened a tourist information centre in the North. Maharashtra Tourism aims to cover 10 prominent cities of India to promote tourist destinations of Maharashtra having already opened a tourist…

Like every year, the Indian Association of Tour Operators’ (IATO) 29th Annual Convention in Kochi is providing a platform to tour operators from across the country to network, discuss business, deliberate contemporary issues and draw a roadmap for the future. The theme of the convention…

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in Rupees terms in August, 2013 increased by 12 per cent to Rs.8,139 crores in comparison to Rs.7260 crores in August, 2012. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in August, 2013 was 4.74 lakhs which was 4.46 lakhs in August 2012…

The tradition of getting married in a temple/church or marriage hall is slowly going out of vogue with the arrival of newer trends such as resort weddings and destination weddings, making the wedding more than just a celebration. While traditional weddings are in no way…