Speaking on the sidelines of South African Tourism’s first virtual roadshow, Mputle Dikobe, Acting Head (Destination Marketing), Gauteng Tourism Authority, says, “We always look forward to participating at platforms that allow marketing opportunities for Gauteng as we focus on expanding business and re-igniting demand. India has always been one of the core markets for Gauteng and we are ready to welcome travellers from India.”

Cygnett Group of Hotels and Resorts plans to launch 9 new properties across multiple cities in different regions of India over the next six months. The new properties will come up in Dehradun, Jaipur (2 hotels), Bhiwadi, Dalhousie, Solan, Kolkata, Rajkot, and Goa. “There is a lot of pent-up demand, especially in the smaller cities and towns, and we want to aggressively capitalize on that demand,” said Sarbendra Sarkar, MD & Founder Cygnett Hotels & Resorts

Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic last year domestic air traffic reached its highest level on Sunday, said Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. A total of 3,27,923 passengers travelled on 2,372 flights within India on Sunday, he noted. Before the pandemic struck, India’s daily domestic air traffic was approximately 4.25 lakh passengers. The Centre had suspended all scheduled domestic flights from March 25, 2020, to May 25, 2020, as part of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, Waterways and Tourism, Shripad Naik inaugurated a week-long campaign of India Tourism, Goa to promote the national festival of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ at Panaji. Venkatesan Dhattareyan; Regional Director, India Tourism and Manager Jitendra Jadahav were also present on this occasion. “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate the occasion of 75 years of Independence with grandeur and enthusiasm befitting the historic nature, glory and importance of the occasion. This Mahotsav of 75 years of Independence is dedicated to the people of India”. Said Naik.

The government of Karnataka announces on Monday that RT PCR reports of international travellers on arrival at airports in Karnataka is not required as the Covid numbers are declining. Chief Secretary, P Ravi Kumar, said passengers would have to mandatorily upload the RT PCR reports on Air Suvidha Portal. Also, the international passengers will not be checked for oxygen saturation level unless they show signs of being unwell.

New measures to boost bilateral travel between Sri Lanka and India came under review yesterday at the third meeting of the Joint Working Group. The virtual meeting was co-chaired by Ministry of Tourism Secretary, S. Hettiarachchi from Sri Lanka and Ministry of Tourism, Joint Secretary, Rakesh Kumar Verma from India. Almost two-thirds tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in the month of September 2021 were from India, the High Commissioner mentioned that the easing COVID-19 situation in both India and Sri Lanka and the tourism promotion activities undertaken by the Government of Sri Lanka had been instrumental in the resumption of large number of tourist arrivals from India to Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh on 20th October. The inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport will be marked by the landing of the inaugural flight at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying Sri lankan delegation of over hundred Buddhist Monks & dignitaries. The Airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs. 260 crore, to facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvana sthal of Lord Buddha. It will serve nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is an important step in boosting the investment & employment opportunities in the region.

The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts announced the opening of their second hotel in the Garden City,The Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru. Nestled amidst the pristine environs of Bhartiya City, one of India’s largest integrated smart cities, spread across 125 acres, the hotel exudes modern luxury and sophistication.“Bhartiya City is a unique place that celebrates local history and environment and has become a landmark in Bengaluru today. We are pleased to welcome The Leela to Bhartiya City to join us in our vision of providing space and legendary luxury to our customers. We hope that this launch will be a step in redefining the future of hospitality”. said Snehdeep Aggarwal, Founder-Chairman, Bhartiya.

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, CEO, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, had an interaction with the Administrative Secretaries of different Departments in Srinagar today. Kant said that long term growth needs the involvement of private players in a transparent and competitive manner.”The industrial sector is the one having a major role in creating jobs, therefore focus on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ which will help bring in private players and that NITI will support the government through transaction advisors in range sectors that may need to involve private players, besides, creating an ecosystem for large companies,” he added.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government is planning to craft a religious tourist circuit comprising all places travelled by 15th century Vaishnavite scholar Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev. Sarma said that Sankardev was a great Indian and the greatest Assamese of all times. He was a great social reformer who laid the foundation of the greater Assamese society. He added considering the social and religious contributions of Sankardev, there is still ample scope for research on his life and works.