News

Night landing to start at Shirdi airport by June end

The much-awaited night landing facility at Shirdi airport is likely to be operational by the end of next month. “Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Deepak Kapoor, visited the facility on Tuesday. He inspected the airport and asked us to expedite the process to operationalise the night landing facility. We will be contacting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), requesting for an inspection. It is expected to happen by the month-end. They should approve the facility soon after their visit,” an airport official said. The completion of two projects — night landing facility and runway extension — was awaited at the airport for almost two years now. “There have been some delays, mainly because of the pandemic. It was hard to find workers first and the contractor engaged earlier didn’t do the work properly. Both the projects are complete now and we are waiting for the DGCA’s approval. We hope to get more flights after the night landing facility starts and are in talks with airlines. Also, we hope to see an increase in the movement of private chartered services,” another official said. The airport officials said that the runway length had been increased to 3,200 metre from the earlier 2,500 metre. “Night landing and runway extension will open new avenues. It will also increase the possibility of Shirdi becoming an international airport,” the official said. A maximum of 22 flights (11 departures and 11 arrivals) operate in a day at present from the airport, managed by MADC. All flight operations from the airport was suspended because of the pandemic in March 2020. The operations resumed in October 2021.

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Passenger train services between India and Bangladesh to restart from May 29

Passenger train services between India and Bangladesh will resume from May 29, an official order said. The train services between Kolkata and cities in Bangladesh were suspended in March 2020 as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19. The Railway Board has issued orders to resume KolkataDhaka Maitree Express from Dhaka by Bangladesh Railway rake and Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express from Kolkata by Indian Railways rake on May 29, 2022. The services of NJP-Dhaka Mitali Express will be started on June 1 following the scheduled virtual flagging off of Mitali Express by the Railway Ministers of India and Bangladesh from Rail Bhawan. The Railway Minister of Bangladesh is expected to be in India during that time.

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Gujarat will soon be home to the highest space observatory in India

In a bid to boost tourism, the Gujarat government is planning to open the highest space observatory in India! The city is already brimming with some amazing, global-level attractions including the Statue of Gujarat, which is the tallest statue in the world. The idea of a space observatory was suggested by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and the government soon started working towards the project. As per reports, the 140-m space observatory will be built in Dharoi Dam which is located close to Narendra Modi’s hometown, Vadnagar. Nearly INR 1041 crores will be spent on the project and over a huge area of 1500 acres. The estimated time to construct this massive project is three years. Along with boosting tourism in the state, the government is hoping that the observatory will also help in the development of the surrounding regions. They are hoping that this will increase the number of tourists too. Prime features of the space observatory When done, this incredible space observatory will boast a pretty telescope gallery from where one can see different planets. There will also be an astronomical observatory, and viewing points. Those who want can also walk up to an open-to-sky viewing deck on site. A cafe and a hotel are also part of the project. There will also be an amphitheater to accommodate 2500 people.

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A mobile-exclusive NYC Go Pass launched by NYC & Company for travel professionals

NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau presents a mobile-exclusive NYC Go Pass available to certified travel professionals from around the world, offering discounts on accommodation, attractions, dining, museums, performing arts, shopping and tours across the City’s five boroughs. “We are delighted to launch the NYC Go Pass which offers such a wonderful level of flexibility to our valued travel trade partners to select attractions, restaurants and hotels that suit their specific interests and fit perfectly into planned itineraries for a variety of deeper NYC neighborhood experiences”, says Makiko Matsuda Healy, Managing Director, Tourism Market Development, NYC & Company. The NYC Go Pass is packed with special offers encouraging travel trade professionals to experience and broaden product knowledge. Hotels across the city offer discounts and restaurants welcome travel trade professionals with specials, like a complimentary dessert or a percentage off the bill. Pass holders also receive exclusive benefits like free admission for two at Madame Tussauds New York and the Museum of the Moving Image, for example, and complimentary entry for two to the New York Historical Society. Additionally, travel professionals can also experience the City’s incredible performing arts scene with deals on musical tickets. Discounts are also available on Food on Foot Tours, Like A Local Tours, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises and more. The NYC Go Pass offers savings at more than 50 curated attractions, retailers, restaurants and more, offering deals and discounts to redeem during a visit. Once registered, it will instantly be delivered to your phone via text and email and is ready for use immediately. There is no app to download, the pass can be saved to a phone’s home screen for easy one-tap access. When visiting a participating business, simply present the phone to the attendant or staff member to redeem available discounts. Please note that offers are provided by the individual companies participating and are based on availability.

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Thailand to attract more foreigners by promoting medical tourism post Covid-19

Thailand aims to lure more foreign visitors in the post-Covid period by promoting itself as a medical tourism hub, building on its good track record of handling the pandemic, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said. A virus task force headed by Prayuth on Friday will also consider demands to reopen bars, pubs and other nightlife entertainment venues that have been shut for more than a year amid a rebound in tourist arrivals. The lifting of the curbs are seen as key to lure more visitors in the June-September period, considered a low season for Thai tourism. “Thailand has a proven track record in dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak,” Prayuth told a conference. “We will use this to promote the country’s medical tourism and health treatment to attract foreign visitors after the Covid.” Thailand expects tourist arrivals to more than triple to about a 1 million a month from October as the nation rolls back most of the pandemic-era travel curbs. While the country has scrapped mandatory Covid testing and quarantine for tourists, pre-arrival registration and insurance requirement are seen as deterrents with other tourism-reliant nations doing away such restrictions. But with new Covid cases and deaths steadily declining, Prayuth has vowed to relax the remaining restrictions to boost business and economic activities, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said in a statement Thursday. Thailand has seen its omicron-fueled Covid-19 wave ease in recent days with new cases averaging about 5,000 a day from a peak of almost 30,000 in early April. The country, which drew praise from the World Health Organization for its handling of the early phase of the pandemic, has contained total Covid fatalities to below 30,000, fewer than neighbors Malaysia and the Philippines. The reopening of pubs, bars and other nightlife entertainment venues in some provinces can promote tourism and help millions of people dependent on such business for livelihood, Supot Malaniyom, secretary-general of the National Security Council, said. While Thailand’s household debt level has risen to almost 90% of the gross domestic product, seen as a major barrier to its economic recovery, lower interest rates and fee charges will help ease the burden, Prayuth said. The government is also betting on large investments by some of the world’s top companies in technology and digital platforms, he said. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Pride Hotels eyes 100 hotels by 2030 with over 10,000 keys primarily in Tier-I & Tier-II cities

Pride Group of Hotels which presently has 44 properties nationally has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan to open 100 hotels by 2030. Once the new hotels are operational, Pride Group will have 100 properties with over 10,000 keys spread across various geographical regions, primarily in tier 1 and tier 2 markets. The focus is on an asset-light model for expansion with a major slice of the portfolio managed directly by the company. Most of the new properties will be located in popular leisure destinations with great tourism potential. Announcing the developments, SP Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Pride Hotels Limited, said “Subsequent to the challenges due to the pandemic in the past two years we are now witnessing exponential growth. While we will have 50 properties by the end of this year we plan to expand our footprints nationally by doubling our portfolio to 100 hotels by 2030. With the market gaining rapid momentum we will soon come back to expansion mode for our flagship properties. The Pride Group performed exceedingly well in 2021-2022 compared to 2020-2021. The ADR and occupancy have gone up from 43 per cent to 65 per cent for the current year 2022-2023. We are expecting to clock a turnover of INR 250 crores this fiscal year”. The new portfolio includes resorts and hotels in the cities of Nainital, Jim Corbett, Jabalpur, Daman, Rishikesh, Surendranagar, Dwaraka, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Agra, Somnath, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Neemrana, Rajkot, Bhopal, Aurangabad, and Haldwani. Pride Group has also forayed into the premium service apartment space with the launch of its new brand ‘Pride Suites’, with the first property signed in Gurugram. Currently, Pride Hotels operates and manages a chain of hotels under the brand name 'Pride Plaza Hotel', the luxury collection. 'Pride Hotel', centrally located upscale business hotels, 'Pride Resorts', mid-Market segment hotels for every business and 'Pride Biznotel'.

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