India Tourism News (Inbound/ Domestic)

20th airplane inducted into SpiceJet
(New Delhi, 1st April, 10')
With five more new airplane deliveries scheduled in the next year, the airline is set to grow its fleet size to 25. This new 737-800 airplane with advanced cockpit technology and blended winglets improves safety and efficiency of the aircraft.

SpiceJet has recently announced its new schedule with strengthening of its connectivity to the NorthEast. Agartala was announced as the 19th destination in their network with the addition of a daily flight on the Kolkata-Agartala-Kolkata route effective 15 April 2010.

Commenting on this, Sanjay Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, SpiceJet said, "We are excited to welcome the 20th airplane to our fleet. Having a young and state-of-the-art fleet allows us to offer reliable and comfortable service to our customers." In keeping with SpiceJet's practice of naming each of its airplanes after a spice, the new aircraft is christened 'Vanilla'. It will carry the tail sign VT-SGF.

Srinagar-Leh highway opens after five-month closure
(Srinagar, 31st March, 10')
The highway is the lifeline for the cold desert Ladakh region, comprising the Leh and Kargil districts. The 11,000-foot high Zojilla pass, which connects the valley with the Ladakh region, receives very heavy snowfall during the winter months, forcing the closure of the highway for nearly six months each year.

The highway is normally opened for traffic by the end of April, but this year the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), that maintains the road, started snow clearance operations right from the beginning of this month. The first convey of vehicles from the valley was flagged off by senior officials of the BRO across the Zojilla pass.

Luxury train of Karnataka chugging in Southern states
(Bangalore, 10th March, 10')
Come March 15, Karnataka's Golden Chariot luxury train will roll into Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on an exciting trip of the southern states and a union territory. The seven nights and eight days trip on the and #65533;Southern Splendour' will take travellers to some of the hot tourist destinations in the southern circuit, including famous temples, heritage sites, royal palaces, monuments, exotic beaches, verdant backwaters and breathtaking scenic spots rich with flora and fauna.

"We are extending the Golden Chariot route from Karnataka and Goa to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala for promoting international and domestic tourism in the southern circuit as an exciting holiday package," state Tourism Minister G. Janardhana Reddy told reporters here Monday. The over week-long trip to Karnataka and Goa has been re-christened and #65533;Pride of the South' and will be operated on alternate weeks till March 29. The luxury packages will resume from June after two months of maintenance break during April and May.

To be run by the state-run Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with Indian Railways and the tourism departments of other states, the Southern Splendour will start from Bangalore and cruise through Chennai, Puducherry, Tanjore (Thanjavur), Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Alapuzha and Kochi before returning to the originating destination.

"The itinerary is being extended in response to a growing demand from the tourism industry to widen the scope of the super luxury train, which has been appreciated the world over. The occupancy rate of Golden Chariot has increased to 40 percent from 35 percent during the last 12 months despite global recession and slowdown in the Indian economy," Reddy pointed out.

Tariff for international tourists is USD 450 per night for double occupancy and USD 385 per night for triple occupancy. For Indian tourists, the tariff is priced lower at Rs.15,000 per night for double occupancy and Rs.12,250 per night for triple occupancy. The state tourism department is also launching April 2 and #65533;Silver Chariot' a special package on a Volvo coach that will take tourist travellers across Karnataka on a week-long trip.

"The Silver Chariot will be the economy version of the luxury train itinerary aimed at domestic tourists, especially the middle class. It is an affordable option to those who want to experience Karnataka's treasure-troves in comfort," Reddy noted. Apart from heritage sites across the state, the six nights and seven days package includes trips to Coorg and Bhadra for a glimpse of the flora and fauna in the Western Ghats.

Priced Rs.22,000 per person, the tariff for Silver Chariot trip includes accommodation, food, and entrance fee. Booking can be done for both packages online on www.karnatakaholidays.net from March 10.

India Budget, Union Budget of India 2010 - 11
(New Delhi, 26th February, 10')
The Union Finance Budget announced a 4% increase in the allowance for Defence today. Finance Ministry allocated a sum of Rs 1,47,344 crore towards defence in the budget presentation, which was 4% more as compared to last year's Rs 1,41,703 crore. Last year, funds for defence were hiked by a whopping 34%, but this year the hike in fund allocation was just about 4% which actually calculates up to Rs 5,641 cr only. Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, tabled the Union Budget 2010-11 in Parliament today.

Costlier Things: Jewelery, Gold and Platinum, Refrigerators, Televisions, Cement, Air Conditioners, Cigarettes, SUVs.

Costlier Things: Gaming softwares, Toys, CDs, CFLs, Mobile Phones.

Grand Rest Pavilion Promotion launched by Hua Hin
(Goa, 14th January' 10)
The luxury Rest Detail hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand, has opened a four-bedroom pavilion which gives travellers the sense of staying at their very own beachfront residence.

With 485 square meters of living space spread over two levels, the Rest Detail Hua Hin beachfront Grand Rest Pavilion features four bedrooms, oversized living and dining areas and a private pool, together with outdoor dining area. Guests staying in the Grand Rest Pavilion are assisted throughout their stay by their very own Pavilion Master, who helps to ensure that each stay is the ultimate break.

In addition to the standard bath robe, the hotel provides unique outfits for relaxing around the hotel grounds, whether beachside, poolside, the spa or restaurants. A tunic, fisherman pants and flip flops are provided, as well as ipods being available and a docking station in each room or villa.

In keeping with its location, Rest Detail Hotel provides a range of activities to enable guests to enjoy the outdoors, including beach volleyball, yoga by the sea, water aerobics, or a walk through their unique hydroponic garden. A complimentary shuttle bus for shopping and a visit to Hua Hin famous night market is also available.

Upgraded world class airport in Goa by 2011
(Goa, 5th January'10)
Interacting with mediapersons at the airport on his arrival here to participate in a private wedding reception yesterday, the Minister said the authorities had sorted out the hurdles between the Navy and the Goa government regarding handing over a land by the former to facilitate the expansion cum modernisation of the project.

The issue related to construction of a parallel taxi way in the airport also delayed the project, he said, adding the retendering process would be over by the end of next month.

The project was expected to meet the galloping requirement of the ever increasing tourist influx at the airport.

The opposition (BJP) expressed its grave concern over stalling of the tender for the much hyped project the foundation for which was laid by the very Union Minister, casting aspersions on the intentions of the Centre and the state governments ruled by the Congess.

With the existing airport not able to meet the future projections of the air traffic, the state government had embarked on acquiring land for setting up a greenfield state-of-the-airport at Mopa in North Goa amid stiff opposition from South Goa lobby.

Flights between Delhi and Himachal cancelled
(Delhi, 4th January'10)
"All flights on the Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kullu and Delhi-Dharamsala routes have been cancelled today," Subhash Thakur of Kingfisher Airlines, which is the only air service provider in the hill state, told IANS.

The flights cancelled are IT 4349 Delhi-Shimla and IT 4350 Shimla-Delhi, IT 4351 Delhi-Dharamsala, IT 4352 Dharamsala-Delhi, IT 4357 Delhi-Kullu and IT 4358 Kullu-Delhi, he said.

Another official of the airlines posted at Kullu, Prem Deep Thakur, told IANS over phone that Kingfisher has also cancelled the Delhi-Leh flight.

Thick fog Saturday had severely affected flight services in Delhi. The heavy backlog led to cancellation of flights Sunday.

Delhi Metro Rolls Into Noida
(Noida, 18th November'09)
With the expansion of Metro Rail to Noida, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has entered into a new phase.

Recently, for the first Delhi Metro has entered into Noida, a neighboring commercial sub-urb of Delhi. But, for the general public it has started its journey.

The train was flagged off by Shiela Dikshit, Delhi Chief Minister along with Jaipal Reddy, the Urban Development Minister from Akshardham Metro Station in Delhi. And Mayabati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has flagged off the train for Delhi from Noida city centre.

It marked a new beginning for DMRC as it entered to the neighboring state Uttar Pradesh. The Yamuna Bank-Noida City Centre Metro is an elevated stretch and has 10 stations. This east Delhi segment will be integrated with the operational line towards Dwarka Sector-9 in southwest Delhi.

This Delhi-Noida Metro corridor would surely bring drastic change in the travelling habits of thousands of people in trans-Yamuna areas -- Mayur Vihar and Ashok Nagar in east Delhi and Noida -- and is likely to ease traffic on the Noida Highway as well as at the ITO junction. It is expected that once the Noida line would started, this train will add more 53, 000 passengers to its daily number of 900, 000 passengers.

On the occasion of flagged off , Mayabati has disclosed her plans for expansion of Metro into other parts of the state starting with Greater Noida and remaining parts of Noida. Further she had planned to connect metro with the proposed airport at Javer (near Greater Noida).

Mayabati hoped that with the expansion of Metro into the city, Noida will be now counted among one of the World's technically advanced cities. DMRC has informed that the security of Delhi Metro in Uttar Pradesh will be taken care by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Before starting of its operation, tracks and stations of Metro Rail would be completely sanitized.

Common Wealth Games To Showcase India
(New Delhi, 17th November'09)
CommonWealth Games, 2010 is the latest buzz in the town. This mega sporting event scheduled to be held from October 3 to 14, is a blessing for both sport and tourism in India.

As the countdown for Common Wealth Games, 2010 has already began, excitement for this mega event is touching the sky. And to make it a successful event, Indian government is keeping no stone unturned.

It is assumed that Common Wealth Games, 2010 would open more new doors for tourism in India. It has provided a golden opportunity to Tourism Ministry to showcase India as a unique and hospitable tourism destination.

Speaking in a summit on "Tourism: Tackling the Global Crisis" in London, Kumari Shelja, Minister of Tourism has said that India is expecting large number of tourist influx (over 100, 000) during this sporting event. She has also assured that Common Wealth Games, 2010 will definitely revive tourism sector of our country which is facing tremendous downfall due to global economic recession.

This Summit was organized by United Nations's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) - a specialized agency of the United Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. This Summit serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.

Around 80 tourism ministers of various nations has attended the Summit and present their views on travel related issues. Keeping her views, Ms Shelja said that tourism ministry of India is working very hard to provide good facilities to the tourists. Lots of new hotels are developed to provide adequate accommodation and quality of hospitality is enhanced, so that visitors can enjoy a pleasant experience during and after CWG 2010.

She had even informed about several initiatives taken by our country such as "Visit India Year - 2009" in close partnership with airlines, hotels and tour operators to attract visitors to India from different countries for a repeat visit, advertising campaigns and roadshows in key markets to meet the challenges posed by adverse affect of global meltdown.

Moreover, Ms Shelja has informed that the tourism ministry has launched "heliport tourism" to connect remote areas that are not accessible and to promote them through helicopter rides, as well as "wellness tourism" and "caravan tourism". This 'Caravan Tourism' is a completely new concept to India and involves the use of a specially-equipped vehicle deployed on a tourist circuit and connecting it by road.