News

Dubai to welcome 5 million tourists during Christmas & New Year.

Dubai, one of the tourist destinations in Middle East, is expected to welcome more than five million tourists during the peak holiday period of the Christmas and New Year. Dubai will host Expo 2020, an international event ready to attract people from all over the world. Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East. Dubai is rich in tourism and entertainment options, receives millions of tourists annually. Dubai also boasts a variety of hotel options that are suitable for all budgets and provide comfort and entertainment. Dubai is a cosmopolitan city with an architecture that combines modernity and originality. It also has an attractive view of the Arabian Desert and many unique landmarks, and it hosts some of the largest and most unique tourism projects in the world, such as the largest dancing fountain and the tallest building in the world, the 163-floor Burj Khalifa. It also has the largest artificial archipelago, the tree-shaped Palm Jumeirah, as well as water parks and numerous and diverse shopping malls. In addition, Dubai will host Expo 2020 Dubai next year. The Emirate of Dubai embraces many historic treasures, museums and heritage areas, including the Grand Jumeirah Mosque, the Dubai Museum, traditional markets and Al Seef on Dubai Creek. Dubai also has many prominent projects under construction, which, upon completion, will add to its list of attractions, including the site for Expo 2020 Dubai and the Museum of the Future, which is a unique incubator for exploring the future of science, technology and innovation with a unique concept, by employing Arabic calligraphy.

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Tamil Nadu retains its numero uno position in terms of tourist arrivals for the fifth time.

While inaugurating the 46th Indian Tourism and Trade exhibition at Island Grounds, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami stated that Tamil Nadu for the fifth consecutive year retained its numero uno position in terms of tourist arrivals. He also claimed that Tamil Nadu had the highest tourist arrival from the year 2014 to 2017. And in 201839 crore domestic and 61 lakh foreign tourists visited Tamil Nadu. In fact, the number of tourists to Mamallapuram, which is a UNESCO heritage site, has increased after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held an informal summit there. The Chief Minister further stated that Tamil Nadu has also identified new tourist places, and developmental works have been started in those spots. Various initiatives have been introduced to create job opportunities, he added. He stated that the state has allotted INR 99.91 crore for development of coastal tourism places by building basic amenities like toilets and drinking water facilities. Referring to this development, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said that temple tourism was also a reason to attract more tourists in the state. The Chief Minister further added that the said 70-day fair will be helpful for people to know more about the state government’s schemes. The departments will be showcasing their services in the said fair, whereas visitors will be able to take part in entertainment activities and amusement rides too.

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Indian tourism board puts up signages in Mandarin to lure Chinese tourists.

Signages in Chinese language have cropped up at the Qutub Minar’’s Iron Pillar and five other tourist sites in Uttar Pradesh under the Tourism Ministry’s plan to attract more tourists from the neighbouring country. The five sites in Uttar Pradesh which have got sign boards in Mandarin include archaeological remains in Sarnath, Chaukhandi Stupa, Mahaparinirvana Temple in Kushinagar, Piprahwa and Sravasti which are visited by tourists from China because of their importance for Buddhists. The ministry has also taken a decision to put up signages in other foreign languages at major destinations as part of a plan to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2020, officials said. Under the plan, the ministry has installed sign boards in Sinhalese, the language spoken by a majority of Sri Lankans, at the Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh, they said. The sign boards in Sinhalese have been put up after a survey indicated that over 30 lakh Sri Lankans visit the site annually. They are followed by about three lakh tourists from South Korea, the officials said. While 50 lakh Chinese tourists travel globally, India”s share currently is only 3.5 lakh per annum. The other sites which will be covered to include sign boards in Mandarin, a major language spoken in China, are Nalanda, Rajgir, Vaishali, Kesharia, Vikramshila, Kidhinagar, Kapilavastu, Bhashut and Satdhara. While Chinese tourists are the top priority, the ministry is also planning to put up sign boards in Sinhalese, Japanese and Korean at places like Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh and Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

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Christmas special: Him Darshan Express to be introduced on Kalka-Shimla track.

This Christmas, new Him Darshan Express will be launched that will run from Kalka Railway Station to Shimla. Latest reports suggest that this train will be chugging on the tracks for the next one year till December 24, 2020. This train will have seven coaches, including one first-class sitting cum luggage room coach (FCZLR) and six first-class AC vistadome coaches. Each vistadome coach will have the capacity to accommodate 15 persons, whereas the first-class coach will have a seating capacity of 14 passengers. This will be the first-ever train by the Indian Railways having all vistadome coaches that will run on a regular basis, that too on the concept of individual seat charter services via Passenger Reservation System (PRS) and various other online modes. Reportedly, fare for a single passenger will be INR 630 every single journey, and that is irrespective of age and boarding/de-boarding station of the passengers. While the train will start its journey at 7 AM from Kalka station, it will reach Shimla at 12:55 PM. Likewise, the train will depart at 3:50 PM from Shimla and reach Kalka at 9:15 PM. The Him Darshan Express will stop at Barog station en-route during both the journeys. Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Gurinder Mohan Singh said that the initiative was taken to woo more tourists. Also, as per sources, seats in all coaches will be adjustable (reversible), which will enhance the overall sight-seeing experience from inside the train. The coaches have been modernised in terms of lavatory provision, which is adequately equipped with enhanced features.

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Aeroflot and Brussels Airlines sign codeshare agreement.

The Russian flag carrier and Belgium’s national airline are joining forces to offer their guests even more choice, thanks to a newly established codeshare agreement. Сustomers can now book flights with Aeroflot or Brussels Airlines and travel between Brussels and Moscow from 20 January 2020. Booking a codeshare flight means that flights operated by one airline can be booked with either of the partners under the agreement. The new agreement allows travellers flying from Moscow easy connections to the entire Brussels Airlines network, while travellers from Brussels will enjoy better connections to the Russian capital and Aeroflot’s global routes. Aeroflot’s home base and major hub, Sheremetyevo International Airport, is a convenient choice for business and leisure travellers to the Russian capital, and close to Moscow city centre. Brussels Airlines relocated its Moscow operations to Sheremetyevo in June 2019. Brussels Airport, in the heart of Europe, offers direct connections to major leisure and business destinations. Convenient connections to the centre of Brussels and Belgium’s major tourist destinations make Brussels Airport a first choice airport for corporate guests and holidaymakers.

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Goa facing drop in foreign tourist arrivals this Christmas due to CAA protests.

Recently issued tourism advisories, issued by nations across the world, asking their natives to avoid visiting India has become a matter of concern for the stakeholders. The advisories have been issued due to the protests and riots occurring in India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), it is likely to witness a sharp fall in foreign tourists arrivals in Goa. Despite this being the Christmas season, which is one of the most profitable seasons for the tourism industry in Goa, the situation is quite grim as far as tourist arrivals are concerned. Messias said that Goa hasn’t witnessed protests like in other parts of the country, but there are chances that some tourists will defer their plans to visit India, and Goa too will see a dip in foreign arrivals. Among international tourists visiting Goa, Russians top the list. During the past two years, the number of Russian arrivals to Goa has dropped.

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