Travel & Tourism

Forty projects worth over Rs 3,295 crore and spanning 23 states have received nod from the Centre for developing lesser-known destinations into iconic sites and promote a more balanced distribution of tourists across the country. As per the directives of the Department of Expenditure, the Ministry of Tourism issued operational guidelines for Special Assistance to States/Union Territories for Capital Investment (SASCI) for the development of iconic tourist centres, officials said. The Ministry of Tourism circulated the SASCI guidelines to the state governments with a request to formulate and submit the project proposals to the ministry, which are iconic in nature and can create impactful destinations, they said. By the last date of submission, October 15, 2024, a total of 87 project proposals were received costing more than Rs 8,000 crore, a senior official in the ministry said. Thereafter, the Ministry of Tourism in line with the guidelines and as per the procedure or criteria, ...

Domestic travel remains popular, with 88 per cent respondents opting for trips within India, while international travel is on the radar for 61 per cent

49% are eager to engage in activities they've seen in a film or show

The luxury British superyacht was carrying 22 people onboard when it was hit by a sudden tornado-like storm on early Monday in Sicily and then sank in water, reportedly trapping six people inside

Companies inside and outside of China, and local travel authorities, are starting to tailor their services to the needs specific to this growing cohort

Atlys' Visa Probability Evaluator tool uses advanced AI and machine learning models to predict your chances of getting a visa

Airbnb has implemented several measures to safeguard its customers' information and bookings

Public policy should pay particular attention to boosting the tourism sector, Survey notes

The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 3.14 million last month, exceeding the previous monthly record of 3.08 million set in March

Women solo travellers grew at the rate of 47%, whereas solo travellers who were men grew 39%

Over the years, Thailand has become a popular destination as it offers beautiful pristine beaches, nature reserves, rustic countryside and hillside towns

Do you prioritise sustainability while planning your travels? If you do, you are among the 87% of Indian travellers who care

Global digital travel platform Agoda will continue the accelerated rate of onboarding of accommodation properties in India, its fastest-growing market and a global travel powerhouse, its CEO Omri Morgenshtern said on Tuesday. The company is also looking to enhance partnerships with local firms in the travel and hospitality sector in the country to tap the huge potential of inbound and outbound traffic from the country. "India is the fastest growing country for us, by far, faster than anybody else. So, we are acquiring (onboarding) properties in India much faster than anywhere else," he told PTI in an interview from Bangkok. On the significance of adding more accommodation properties, he said, "We recognise that bringing more properties in, is a part of localisation because if you want to cater to more Indian travellers from different geographical areas and also from different income levels, then you need to grow". Beyond the metros with four and five-star hotels, he said Agoda is .

Airlines are projected to report a lower net loss of Rs 3,000 to 4,000 crore in the current as well as next financial years, helped by healthy passenger traffic growth and pricing discipline, a report said on Monday. For February, credit rating agency Icra in its report said domestic air passenger traffic was estimated at around 127.5 lakh. The aviation sector has also been grappling with supply chain challenges and issues related to Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines. IndiGo grounded more than 70 planes due to P&W engine problems. "It is estimated that 24-26 per cent of the total fleet of Indian airlines in operations will be grounded by March 31, 2024. Considering the bulk recall of the engines globally by P&W and other existing issues with the OEM's engines, the testing by P&W is likely to take longer at 250-300 days," the report said. Meanwhile, it said the pace of recovery in industry earnings is likely to be gradual owing to the high fixed-cost nature of the ...

South Korea, Sweden and Finland all climbed one spot to take joint second place, with access to 193 locations

As remote working and flexibility declined, travelers sought to maximize their vacations and extended long weekends this year

Hyderabad was the most booked city in India followed by Bengaluru in 2023, while Uttar Pradesh was the most visited state in the year, followed by Maharashtra, according to hospitality tech platform OYO's Travelopedia 2023. As per the year-end annual travel trends index, Travelopedia 2023, the period from September 30 to October 2 recorded the highest bookings among all long weekends in the year, OYO said in a statement. "Hyderabad emerged as the most booked city in India followed by Bangalore, Delhi, and Kolkata...Smaller towns like Gorakhpur, Digha, Warangal, and Guntur experienced the highest year-on-year growth in bookings compared to 2022," it said. Among leisure destinations, OYO said Jaipur took the lead as the most visited in 2023 followed by Goa, Mysore, and Puducherry. On the other hand, Puri secured the top spot as the most booked spiritual and pilgrimage destination, followed by Amritsar, Varanasi, and Haridwar. "Lesser-known spiritual destinations like Deoghar, Palani

In outbound travel, India will be behind only the US, China, Germany and the UK but ahead of Italy, South Korea, Australia, Canada and France, to name only a few

With the new declaration of Malaysia and Thailand offering visa-free access to Indian residents, Indians can now go to 57 countries visa-free or visas on arrival plans

The Southeast Asian nation - popular for its vibrant nightlife, beaches and national parks - is discussing a plan to let tourists of some European nationalities stay as long as 90 days.