Mountain biking in the hills of Uttarakhand, para-sailing in Goa, a therapeutic spa in a Mughal-era palace in Rajasthan and even a kite flying competition to soak in the Independence Day festivities- the tourism sector in India is going all out by offering attractive packages and discounts to lure maximum travelers for the four-day extended Aug 15 weekend. Thursday (Aug 15) is Independence Day followed by a Friday and then Saturday and Sunday. The hot favorite destinations for Delhiites continue to be Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Agra, Goa and Rajasthan as they offer a great mix of adventure and laid back holiday options without raiding the bank. The majority of travelers are opting for a domestic holiday. Luxury holidays are emerging as a strong trend this year and these dest...
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Rajasthan in India will spend over Rs.1.47 crores on refurbishing two luxury trains - the Palace on Wheels and the Rajasthan Royal on Wheels - this year, a tourism official said.The Palace on Wheels, a joint venture of Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) is in for major refurbishment at an investment of Rs.1 crore. RTDC will also give another world-famous luxury train, the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, a makeover at an investment of Rs.47 lakh, in a bid to deliver a richer, royally enchanting experience to each guest. Based on the feedback of guests, we have undertaken redecoration of the Palace on Wheels. The luxury tourist train will sport a new heritage look. Modernisation of even minor things is being undertaken, including water purifiers in washroo...
Read MoreIn order to tap its tourism potential, six new special tourism zones have been declared in Madhya Pradesh in central India. The new special tourism zones include - Salkanpur, Chitrakoot, Panna, Choral, Maheshwar and Amarkantak. The state government has issued notification to this effect and with this, the number of special tourism zones has gone up to 16 in the state. Under new special tourism zones, water, adventure and eco tourism activities are proposed in Rehti, Nasrullaganj and Budhni tehsils of Sehore district, Majhgawan tehsil of Chitrakoot in Satna, Panna, Pawai, Gunnaur and Raipura tehsils in Panna district, Choral in Dr Ambedkar Nagar Mhow tehsil in Indore, Maheshwar and Kasrawad tehsils in Khargone and Amarkantak in Pushprajgarh tehsil of Anuppur district....
Read MoreThe essence of Indian cinema Exhibition of photographs by Géraldine Langlois at Brussels in Belgium Cinema which leaves people “with a spring in their step and a song on their lips”! Gautaman Bhaskaran, film critic. Prepare for the centenary of Indian cinema by viewing portraits of the stars of the largest cinema industry in the world through the photographs taken by Géraldine Langlois. The exhibition “The essence of Indian cinema” presents portraits in black and white of actors, actresses, directors and producers who are flavour of the month, belonging both to the world of “Bollywood”, with its financial clout and its glamour, and the more realistic and authentic so-called “parallel cinema”. Pictures taken on film sets, at gala evenings and in relaxed settings somewhere between Mumbai,
Read MoreTwo Indian beauty pageant winners are in Kathmandu to promote tourism in Nepal as well as the latest Shahrukh Khan movie "Chennai Express". Himangini Singh, Miss Asia Pacific World 2012 and Akshitaa Agnihotri, finalist of Femina Miss India 2013, will be promoting "Chennai Express" and are also planning to raise funds for the recent flood victims of Nepal and promote tourism. They will promote Nepal as the potential film shooting destination for the filmmakers of Bollywood, the official said. They will host a charity show of Chennai Express in Kathmandu and the funds collected by the show will be donated to the flood victims, according to the organisers. Singh and Agnihotri, both are visiting Nepal for the first time and they are planning to promote the country's tourism after they retur
Read MoreWhatever the political situations might be, even the border tension between the countries has not been able to deter Indian tourists from flocking to China. It started as a trickle a decade ago and is turning out to be a flood as China has steadily emerged as a new destination for Indians who are going to Chinese cities in droves, lured by budget tours and low cost shopping attractions. Over six lakhs Indians visited China last year taking advantage of the affordable group tour packages offered by Chinese tour groups. Name any top Chinese city, you can find Indian tour groups visiting places like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xian. It highlights the growing trend in the communist giant's tourism sector. It appears that the 'Mysterious China' campaign unleashed by Chinese tour operators...
Read MoreAn Indian cyclist who is on a mission to peddle around the globe has reached Qatar after touring 79 countries. Somen Debnath, who plans to set up a global village near Kolkata in West Bengal, has already toured 79 countries and plans to visit 191 nations by 2020 and he will move to Saudi Arabia on August 15. Debnath started his 'Around the World on Bicycle' initiative in 2004 to spread awareness on HIV/AIDS. Debnath said he expects the local government to award him eight hectares of land for his global village. He plans to cover 200,000 kilometres, reaching up to 2 million people by the end of his journey in 2020. About his plans for a global village, the idea is to share and care for everyone in society irrespective of their caste, color or creed and give dignity to each of them. Th
Read MoreAiming to be among top five travel destinations, the West Bengal hopes that its two ambitious projects - Jharkali in Sundarbans and Gajoldoba near Siliguri would help improve the tourist inflow. West Bengal currently ranks ninth in tourism with tourist inflow of nearly 24 million per annum, and is looking to scale up inbound visitors upto 30 million over next two years. Jharkhali in Sundarban and Gajoldoba near Siliguri, shall be developed as multi tasking tourism hubs. The two ambitious projects are expected to attract investments upto Rs 5,000 crore. Land and infrastructure will be provided by the government, while eco-system for tourism promotion will be developed by private players on PPP model. Gajoldoba, 35 kilometres east of Siliguri, is part of Terai-dooars forest circuit, and is
Read MoreDudhwa Tiger reserve is one of those tiger reserves in India which are loved by conservationists. What else to prove that Dudhwa is known for one of the most popular names associated with tigers in India- Billy Arjan Singh. Dudhwa, not as glamorous as Bandhavgarh or Ranthambore or Corbett, but is a beautiful forest. Don't go there with a single point ambition of seeing a tiger, and you will enjoy much more what the jungle has to offer. Dudhwa is located in Kheri district of Uttar pradesh in the terrain bordering Nepal. Travel to Lucknow or Shahjahanpur via train and then go towards Palia by road. Dudhwa main gate is another twelve kilometres from Palia. Dudhwa is the only place in India where you can see one-horned rhinoceres in wild besides the Kaziranga in Assma, which ofcourse is...
Read MoreHistoric Buddhist sites across eight south-east Asian nations will be mapped out and compiled into an atlas to boost tourism potential, an official said. In accordance with the Indo-Thai initiative, the National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO) is scheduled to complete the mapping project in two-to-three years spanning a plethora of Buddhist sites in countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and Thailand. The mapping would be done with the help of remote sensing data available and through various facts and figures available in the cultural texts and records of various countries. The Department of Science and Technology-funded project will take into account remote sensing data through images from Cartosat, which are earth observation satellites develo...
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