Editors Note World View Asia-Pacific Scene Indian Panorama Kerala Traveller Aviation Face to Face 10 Questions Woman of the Month Hospitality Columns Bookshelf Variety Quiz Back Issues asian traveller :: home :: Indian Panorama I ndian Panorama Karnataka Tourism Gets a Fillip at Global Investors` Meet The recently concluded two-day Global Investor’s Meet (GIM) in Bangalore organised by Karnataka State Government which saw investment worth Rs 4 Trillion has also acted as a boost to the state tourism industry. The long-pending idea of helitourism, also known as the ‘air taxi’ project will be one of the first to benefit. B S YeddyurappaKarnataka Chief Minister ... read story India Tourism Shows Upward Trend !/tbody> The data released by the Indian Ministry of Tourism, tourist arrivals to the country has began to grow again in early 2010, after declining by six per cent in 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, visitor arrivals reached 1.5mn, up by 12.8 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. This continues a trend of high growth that began in late 2009, when December’s arrivals increased by 21.0 per cent, rebounding from a particularly poor performance in December 2008. Industry watchers observe that “it is highly positive that India has maintained strong levels of visitor growth in 2010, indicating that the industry recovery is well underway. This will have positive implications for domestic companies in terms of earnings, with foreign earnings from touri... read story Conservation of Natural Resources the Focal Point of TN Tourism Policy Conservation and preservation of natural resources, prescribing standards for the stake holders to follow and adoption of public-private partnership (PPP) model are main aspects given stress in the recently released Tamil Nadu Tourism policy. The Policy, which was formally released by M K Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu, Monday in the presence of Tourism minister N. Suresh Rajan, Forest minister N. Selvaraj, Tourism secretary V. Irai Anbu, Principal Secretary of Forests Debendranath Sarangi, TTDC Managing Director  A.C. Mohandoss, General Manager of Eco Tourism wing  P.A. Mani and other officials, provides strategic direction to engage local communities, tourists, forest officials, government and other stakeholders in promoting effective Ec... read story The Lalit Suri Green Initiative Launched > The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group has recently launched “The Lalit Suri Green Initiative, Bangalore 2010”, a comprehensive and proactive programme to green Bangalore and bring back its lost glory of being the “the Garden City”.As part of this initiative The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group will be planting 1.5 lakh saplings in and around Bangalore, and thus contribute towards restoring Bangalore's green cover.The Green Initiative was inaugurated by Minister of Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs, S Suresh Kumar, Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, Suresh Heblikar, Founder Eco-Watch, A. S. Sadashivaiah, Chairman Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and K Jaisim, Architect ... read story India`s First Marina Opened in Kochi The First International Marina in India was commissioned recently at Cochin, Kerala opening a new horizon of opportunities for the tourism and cruising sectors In India especially Kerala. The marina and the marina house is built as part of Bolgatty Palace Hotel, run by the KTDC. The cruisers will be able to access fuel, water, power, maintenance sewage pump-out for boats on their halt at the marina. The marina, marina house and the new two lane approach road was inaugurated by Indian Union Minister for Defence, A. K. Antony, in the function presiding over by Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Kerala Minster for Tourism, Home and Vigilance. A high level delegation including KV Thomas, Union Minister for State, Agriculture, Cheriyan Philip, Chairman, KTDC, P Rajiv MP... read story Tiger Reserves in India to Remain Open for Tourism Tiger Reserves in India to Remain Open for TourismGovernment of India has made it clear that there is no move to stop tourism activities in the country’s Tiger Reserves in the country. “There are reports in both national and international Media that the Government was planning to stop tourism activities in the country’s Tiger Reserves. There is no such plan or proposal”, said a Press Information Bureau release. The Government of India’s Policy is to develop a set of guidelines for eco tourism where tourism takes place in a sustainable way, linked to the carrying capacity of the reserves. There is no intention in the Government to stop Tourism at Tiger Reserves. Tourism at some Reserves needs to be better regulated as reven... read story Adieu, John `Papa` Wakefield Colonel John Felix Wakefield, who passed away recently in Mysore, Karnataka, India at the age of 95 and popularly known as ‘Papa’, was the man who introduced the concept of eco-tourism in Karnataka. He was the brand ambassador of Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR), a unit of Government of Karnataka’s Tourism Department which manages a number of resorts and camps which are located in some ecologically sensitive yet amazing natural destinations.Born on March 21, 1916 in Gaya, in Bihar as a fifth generation Englishman in India, John Wakefield took to hunting by instinct. He shot his first ‘big cat’, a leopard, at the age of nine while accompanying his father. He shot his first tiger a year later but became an arch conservationist by the ... read story Uttarakhand to Restrict Tourists in Eco-sensitive Zones Uttarakhand to Restrict Tourists in Eco-sensitive ZonesUttarakhand Government has decided to put up more restrictions on travellers to Gangotri, Valley of Flowers and other highly eco-sensitive zones of the Garhwal Himalayas in order to protect the precious biodiversity of the Himalayas, including the glaciers. According to a rough estimate, thousands of pilgrims, who visit the hill state travel to these areas leaving heaps of non-degradable waste, including plastic, which are hazardous to environment.Earlier the Centre has decided to ban two key hydropower projects in the Bhagirathi valley to protect the biodiversity of the region. The state government has now decided not to allow tourists to Gaumukh glacier, the origin of River Ganga in Uttarkashi di... read story Indo-Turkey Tourism Council Set-Up The Travel agents association of India (TAAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Turkish Tourism Board to promote tourism in both the countries. The MoU is aimed at contributing to industrial and technological collaboration between the enterprises and economic institutions, according to Rajji Rai, President Travel agents association of India (TAAI). He said that the tourism council would cooperate in the form of two national divisions and set up secretariat in each other countries. The divisions would meet once a year to examine the achievements and investments in the field of tourism and technical cooperation in various forms of bilateral and international collaboration.The MOU also stressed the need to discuss and explore the possibilities for ... read story Take Incredible India Brand to Next level to Present a Cohesive, Forceful image The India Minister of Tourism Kumari Selja has said that there is still a lot of hidden potential for development of tourism in India and the Union Ministry of Tourism is working with all the stakeholders to make destination India one of the top destinations of the world. Speaking at the inauguration of  the Great  Indian Travel Bazaar 2010 in Jaipur  she said,  the ministry had launched the ‘Incredible India’ campaign in the year 2002 which  has created a distinctive brand image in the minds of the people across the world. Now there is a need to improve the delivery of the products to match the brand image created by the campaign. “There is also a need to take the brand to the next level by integrating the sub-brands- ... read story Indian Travel Agents Need to Introduce Travellers to New Products, Experiences The tourism industry in ASEAN is going weak at the knees and falling in love with India’s rapidly expanding urban middle class. If pesky issues of visas, food choices and prejudices can be overcome, the infatuation will grow into a long-term marriage of dependency and mutual respect.Furthermore, Indian travel agents need to introduce Indian travellers to new products and experiences beyond trips to ASEAN’s gateway cities for shopping and nightlife with quick add-on beach trips to Pattaya, Penang or Sentosa “to see and be seen”.These were some of the realities and issues emphasized by Dr Sanjay Nadkarni, Associate Professor at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai. In his 29 March presentation entitled &ldqu... read story Tamil Nadu Becomes a Preferred Medical Tourism Destination Tamil Nadu, a land inspired by Dravidian culture and tradition in the southern most state of India. A land of divergent beauty, it is bestowed with peace and knowledge. With a distinctive title as “A Land of Temples”, Tamil Nadu has always excelled in the field of music, art, dance and literature and is home for some of the most reputed artiste. Over the years, the state has shown tremendous growth in the field of Information Technology, Education, Infrastructure, and Agriculture and in the field of Medicine and Wellness. It currently ranks third in the industrial map of India. Tamil Nadu is now widely regarded as one of the most preferred destinations for Health and Medical Care. The state boasts of numerous multi-speciality hospitals and is a... read story Reduce Luxury, Service Tax to Boost Tourism: FICCI Industry chamber Ficci has demanded reduction of luxury and service taxes on tourism that account for 40–45 per cent cost of the average tour package for foreigners. Ficci made these demands ahead of the the three-day Great Indian Travel Bazaar-2010. The Great Indian Travel Bazaar, the biggest pan-India travel show, focusing on inbound tourism and business-to-business meetings between foreign tour operators and Indian sellers, kicked off in Jaipur on April 11. The third edition of Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) which w... read story Visit California Events in Mumbai and New Delhi California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) has recently hosted “Visit California” events to unveil the California Walk of Fame in Mumbai and New Delhi. Coinciding with the opening of CTTC’s India office, the red carpet events in two cities featured a special video message by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who extended his personal invitation to Indian travelers to come and experience California’s diverse attractions like pristine beaches, breathtaking mountain ranges, thrilling sports events, and world-class vineyards. ... read story The Golden Chariot Introduces Southern Splendour Golden Chariot, South India’s first luxury train, started its maiden trip on its newly extended circuit. The trip was flagged off by Siraj Sheik, the Chairman of KSTDC. Principal Secretary, Tourism Department, K Jothiramalingam, KSRTC Managing Director, Vinay Luthra, Bangalore Divisional Railway Manager, Akhil Agrawal, Chief Commercial Manager, South Western Railway, N R Sagar were present. Vinay Luthra, MD, KSTDC said that this package was thought of from the perspective of opening the entire South of India to the luxury a... read story 95 cr Vivanta by Taj in Guwahati North East’s first five-star hotel, ‘Vivanta by Taj’ brand is coming up at Guwahati with the laying of the foundation stone by Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi in the presence of Tata group Chairman, Ratan Tata on March 9 last.The luxury hotel – only the third in the Vivanta range by the group (it already has Vivanta hotels in Bangalore, Goa and Maldives) – will be ready to welcome its first visitor within two years and is expected to cost around Rs.95 crore.  It will have 150 rooms, including suites, and will be built with a design theme inspired by local architecture. The hotel to be built on 4.5 acres will have an all-day dining restaurant, a speciality restaurant and a bar. An expansive spa and fitness centre will al... read story Capt. Nair Conferred the Hotelier of the Century Award Capt. Krishnan Nair, Chairman of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has been conferred the ‘Hotelier of the Century’ award at a glittering ceremony held in Belgrade, Serbia.  The award instituted by International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), Geneva was presented by Dr. Ghassan Aidi, President, IH&RA. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Aidi said, “Capt. Nair is an icon of a hotelier with vision. The quality and service seen at The Leela Hotels across India remains unparalleled and is a new benchmark for luxury hospitality.”This is only the second time in 140 years that this unique award has been presented to an international hotelier. The previous recipient of this celebrated accolade was Joseph Giacoponello, forme... read story Jamnagar - A Muti Coloured Stopover JamnagarA Muti Coloured StopoverJamnagar, called the Jewel of Kathiawar is one of the traveller’s favorites the Saurashtra region of the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is historically known as Nawanagar, which means 'the new city'. Jamnagar was one of the princely states of Saurashtra. Situated around 302 km from Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat the place offers a variety of attractions to the travellers including islands and beaches, Hills, Temples, Palaces, Forest, bird sanctuary and marine sanctuaries and the marine national park. Considered an ornithologist's paradise, the place exhibits numerous species of birds including rare ones. The rich heritage of Jamnagar is showcased by vario... read story Vinay Gupta Calls for Collaboration Among Travel Trade > Vinay Gupta, CEO Via, has called for Collaboration amongst the Travel Trade. He was speaking at the inaugural session of CII -SATTE Business Travel meet in New Delhi recently. He urged the travel trade professionals to use the Via model of Success to over come the presen... read story Signs are Encouraging for Tourism in India: Selja !/tbody> Tourism in India has already started showing signs of early recovery from the impact of global economic meltdown and in December 2009 tourist arrivals grew substantially by 21 per cent registering a growth of over eight per cent over the arrivals in December 2007 which was a year of high growth. India’s Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said this at the 5th Tourism Leadership Forum on the “Prospects & Challenge of Tourism Recovery for 2010/2011” held in Madrid, Spain. She informed the gathering that one of the reasons for the to... read story State Tourism Departments, Stake Holders Urged to Help in Poverty Alleviation The Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja has urged upon the state tourism departments and stake holders to explore all possible ways for poverty alleviation through tourism. She was speaking at the inauguration of the inter-state regional conference of Tourism Ministers of southern States/UT administrations in Bangalore recently.  The Minister said, tourism to her should be all inclusive and bring in visible change in the livelihood of local communities and elevate their economic status. This is what the “responsible tourism” model aims to achieve. She said, tourism plays an important role in most developing as well as developed countries as the main-and sometimes the only- means of economic and social development on a sustainable basis, with me... read story Domestic Travellers the Mainstay of National Tourism !/tbody> “While the foreign tourist arrivals are subject to various external factors that are beyond our control, the domestic travellers continue to be the mainstay of national tourism Industry”, said Union Tourism Minister of State Sultan Ahmed.  He was speaking at the inauguration of the Road Show for Domestic Tourism in Bengaluru. Sultan AhmedUnion Tourism Minister of State The show was organized to focus the tourism attra... read story Biggest Thai Celebrations A13-day long Thai celebration will be held in Guwahati in India as part of the 17th International Guwahati Trade Fair (IGTF). The fair, being organized by the Industries and Trade Fair Association of Assam (ITFAA) in collaboration with DC (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles and NSIC, will showcase the rich socio-cultural heritage of Thailand.During the celebration Guwahati will turn into a mini- Thailand.“Our relationship with India, the North-East in particular, is growing. We want to cement this further,” said Tharadol Thongruang of the Royal Thai Embassy in India. “For us, it was a small beginning four years back when we participated first. But now things have changed. There is a tremendous interest among the Thais to take part in th... read story India Tops in Macau Tourism Charts “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” goes the adage. Typically, the Indian travellers, despite the storm clouds of the recession that loomed globally, continued to globe trot. Macau has reaped the dividends of the trend.  In a year when the tourist arrivals from most source countries declined, the number of Indian tourists travelling to Macau in these tough times grew by 31 per cent over 2008 (jumping from 82,369 to 107,513): the only country to show a double digit growth. Significantly, India had also posted a growth of 80 percent in 2008 as compared to 2007. Indeed in the last seven years (since the Indian office of the Macau Government Tourist Office became operational), the number of Indian tourists visiting Macau has grown by ... read story Arrivals to India Show Upward Trend !/tbody> The Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja has said that it was heartening to note that in spite of several bottlenecks faced by the global tourism industry and India the tourism, arrivals into India is showing a growth trend. During Dec 2009 the Foreign Tourist arrivals in India saw an 21 per cent increase over the same period in 2008. The future looks bright and we expect the buoyancy to return in the sector she added. According to the Minister the recently introduced ‘Visa on Arrival’ scheme for five countries namely Singapore, Finland, New Zealand, Luxemburg and Japan will give a tremendous boost to inbound tourism as it has sent positive signals to the source markets. She added. At the same time the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is likely to waive off ... read story India Post, Thomas Cook Join Hands to Provide Travel Services India Post, the world's largest Postal network and Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL), India's largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company, have entered into a mutually beneficial and long term relationship to provide Foreign Exchange and travel related services through the Post Offices. Under the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in January this year Foreign Exchange and Travel Bureaux will be established within the Post Offices to offer on-site Foreign Exchange, Insurance and Travel Products support to India Post customers. This partnership will ensure availability of two strong brands to the customer, especially tourists, and provide them with a legitimate source for undertaking foreign exchange and travel related transactions.... read story C urrent Issue O ther Stories Karnataka Tourism Gets a Fillip at Global Investors` Meet India Tourism Shows Upward Trend Conservation of Natural Resources the Focal Point of TN Tourism Policy The Lalit Suri Green Initiative Launched India`s First Marina Opened in Kochi Tiger Reserves in India to Remain Open for Tourism Adieu, John `Papa` Wakefield Uttarakhand to Restrict Tourists in Eco-sensitive Zones Indo-Turkey Tourism Council Set-Up Take Incredible India Brand to Next level to Present a Cohesive, Forceful image Indian Travel Agents Need to Introduce Travellers to New Products, Experiences Tamil Nadu Becomes a Preferred Medical Tourism Destination Reduce Luxury, Service Tax to Boost Tourism: FICCI Visit California Events in Mumbai and New Delhi The Golden Chariot Introduces Southern Splendour 95 cr Vivanta by Taj in Guwahati Capt. Nair Conferred the Hotelier of the Century Award Jamnagar - A Muti Coloured Stopover Vinay Gupta Calls for Collaboration Among Travel Trade Signs are Encouraging for Tourism in India: Selja State Tourism Departments, Stake Holders Urged to Help in Poverty Alleviation Domestic Travellers the Mainstay of National Tourism Biggest Thai Celebrations India Tops in Macau Tourism Charts Arrivals to India Show Upward Trend India Post, Thomas Cook Join Hands to Provide Travel Services To place your advertisements in this space please contact Marketing, Mediastepsindia home | about us | advertise with us | subscribe | contact us | team support : colorvibes The news items and Advertisements published herein have been collected from various source, which are considered to be reliable. Readers are however requested to verify the facts before making business decisions using the same. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission from the Publisher. All rights reserved. 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