News

Finland is the ‘Happiest Country of 2022’

Finland has become 2022’s happiest country in the world! And this is not the first but the fifth consecutive year that the nation has bagged the prestigious title! The other top five countries in the list are Denmark (second), Iceland (third), Switzerland (fourth) and The Netherlands (fifth). Luxembourg, Norway, Israel, and New Zealand are also in the top 10 list. Also, 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report. It measures happiness on three main factors, which are life evaluations, positive emotions, and negative emotions. The rankings are based on life evaluations. This year, the World Happiness Report gave special attention to specific daily emotions considering how COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of people. The World Happiness Report stated, "Finland continues to occupy the top spot, one of five Nordic countries in the top ten." After the top ten nations, Austria, Australia, Ireland, Germany, and Canada are the next five happy countries in the list. While this time the United States secured the 16th spot in the list of happiest nations (up from 19th spot last year), the UK is 17th place. Czechia is on 18th spot, followed by Belgium at 19th and France at 20th position. According to the report, the ten countries with the largest drops were Lebanon, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Jordan, Zambia, India, Mexico, and Botswana. Last in the list is Afghanistan at 146th position.

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Rester Hotels to launch its first hotel in Telangana

Rester Hotels & Resorts, a home grown hospitality management company aimed at extending heartfelt moments to the guests, team members and stake holders are opening its hotels soon in India. Rakshit Sharma, CEO, Rester Hotels & Resorts, commented, “We are delighted to welcome guests with warm hospitality. We will manage Rester Hotels & Resorts in India under three brands i.e., Rester Resorts, a mid-market leisure brand, Rester Select, a midscale full service hotel brand and Rester Xpress, a hotel brand for on the go traveller.” Rizwan Sheikh, COO, Rester Hotels & Resorts, further added, “We are excited to announce the opening of our first hotel in Telangana. We look forward to extending the Rester family in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh soon. All our hotels will be ideal places to Rest, Revive and Rejuvenate for business and leisure travelers.”

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3-day Shekhawati festival to start in Rajasthan from Sunday

The three-day Shekhawati festival, which showcases the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan, will start from Sunday. The festival is being organised by the Rajasthan Tourism Department in Lakshmangarh and it gives a close glimpse of the art and crafts and rural sports activities. "The Shekhawati region has an ancient opulence and breath-taking landscapes. The three-day festival will let visitors explore the cultural heritage of Rajasthan, its food, art and crafts, the beautiful folk art, Kavi Sammelan and serenading evenings," Principal Secretary (Tourism) Gayatri Rathore said. Well known folk artists like Bhungar Khan and Sarwar Khan, representing the Manganiyar community, will be participating in the festival.

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Pune airport terminal to be ready in August 2023

The construction of the new terminal building of the city airport will be done by August 2023, but the multilevel car parking at the under-construction facility is likely to be commissioned by July this year. This is the third time the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has shifted the dates, previously committing to open the facility on August 2022, then January 2023 and now August 2023. Around 55 per cent construction of the INR 475-crore project, which will have 10 passenger boarding bridges, 72 check-in counters and in-line baggage handling system, is done. “There is a sewage treatment plant (STP), which has to be constructed. The land for it has the aviation fuelling units of two oil companies. While the land has been transferred to AAI, the oil companies are removing their infrastructure. After that, planning and construction of the STP will begin,” an AAI official said.

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Travel bookings see surge this weekend

With the coming long weekend marked by the Holi festival holiday, travel plans soar across the city as tour operators see a significant spike in business. Residents of Hyderabad are planning a quick getaway to preferred destinations such as Goa, Delhi, Manali, Mysuru, Bengaluru, and other north Indian cities. Tour operators note that bookings for the long weekend saw a significant 50 per cent spike than other weeks in March. Chairman of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India, Abdul Majid Faheem explained that the bookings are high towards north Indian states. “Domestic travel has spiked during the long weekend, but international plans took a beating as the ticket prices have increased,” Faheem told TOI. “For nearly 2 years, travel limitations have caused travellers to restrict themselves. While the world is still reeling from the pandemic, travellers want to relax and embrace the experiences that they have missed out on,” Ritu Mehrotra, regional director of Booking.com said. While many celebrate the festival in colourful events, renowned painter Sravanthi Juluris spends her time in front a canvas. “Sending love and healing energies to every living being across the globe on this auspicious festival of Holi. May this day bring forth peace, joy and harmony to all,” Juluri said.

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J&K witnessing rail, road infra development, rise in tourists, says Union minister

Rapid rail and road infrastructure development has brought about positive socio-economic changes in Jammu and Kashmir, including rise in tourist footfalls, Union Minister Prahlad Patel said here on Saturday. Queried about the recently-released film 'Kashmir Files', he said he understood the pain of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits as he had earlier visited some of their camps. "Rail and road infrastructure has been expanded and strengthened in Kashmir. A record number of tourists from different parts of the country have visited Kashmir after the lifting of coronavirus lockdown curbs," Patel told reporters on the sidelines of a Holi Milan programme here. Speaking on 'The Kashmir Files', Patel said "I had got an opportunity to visit the camps of displaced Kashmiris. I understand the pain the displaced Kashmiris underwent. I had participated in various movements to support displaced Kashmiris." He said now if a displaced Kashmiri Pandit sends an email to the Union government to get back possession of his property in Kashmir, the officials there get his land vacated in a short time and ensure he gets possession. This is the change that is being seen in J-K now, he added.

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