The Sultanate of Oman abounds with various underwater/submerged cultural heritage, which is witness to its role as an axis of the human civilizations since the early prehistoric periods. Since several ships, coastal human settlements and aircrafts containing collectibles with cultural and economic significance sunk in the Omani territorial waters, it prompted the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) to establish a directorate for the underwater antiquities, the first unit of its kind in the GCC region. Ayyoub Nagmoush Al-Busaidi, Director, Directorate of the Underwater Submerged Antiquities, Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT), said, “The underwater archaeological sites and ships are a source of precious historical information as they contain antiquities of human existence. The archaeology aims to analyze the antiquities, identify the origins and the development of civilizations.”  “Underwater archaeology is a scientific discipline that deals with the studying sites, man-made objects, human remains, and submerged landscapes. This science should be placed within its broader framework of marine archaeology, which studies human relationships with oceans, lakes, and rivers, while complementing it with navigation,” he added. In 2012, the MHT has launched a program aiming to identify the resources and components of these antiquities, enumerating them, and determining their nature, and protecting them from illegal trade/natural factors, he added. The department is now working on formulating rules for protection, management, employment, conducting surveys, excavations, restoration, preserving, documenting archaeological sites, analyzing the results, and presenting them to the local and international community. It may be noted that Oman’s maritime history dated back to the 3 BC, when commercial activity flourished in Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley. After Omanis gained good expertise in navigation in the 18th century, Muscat emerged as one of …

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Between April and December 2022, Indians spent US$9,947 million, surpassing the previous record of US$7 billion before the pandemic. In fact, Indians splurged US$1,137 million on travel in December 2022 alone.

Naveen Kundu, Managing Director, Ebixcash Travel Services, has said that they are currently in the process of building our global MICE platform, following on from our achievements last year.

Christina Garcia Frasco, Secretary, Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippines, said that the goal of the Department is to increase cruise ship calls to various ports and islands. “Phillippines aims to be cruise hub in Asia,” she said.

The ver.di trade union has announced that employees at seven airports in Germany will go on strike for higher wages on February 17. Severe disruptions to all planned flights are expected. Airports in Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart will all be affected.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, has launched best tourism village competition for the promotion of rural homestays and rural tourism and a dedicated portal showcasing the rural tourism potential of India. In addition, he also launched the website and portal for the first global investor summit

Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, India, has said that Global M!CE business is worth ₹52 lakh crore today. “G20 events offer states an opportunity to showcase their capability to host such events. Similarly, through proactive measures, states can hope for a bigger share of the ₹440 lakh crore global tourism, travel, leisure and wellness industry.”

According to JLL’s latest Hotel Momentum India (HMI) Q4, 2022, Bengaluru emerged as the RevPAR growth leader in Q4 2022 with 110.6% growth over Q4 2021, followed by Mumbai and Delhi with a YoY growth of 105.3% and 94.3% respectively.

Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has commenced an official partnership with the world’s preeminent Twenty 20 cricket league, the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL). An event to inaugurate the partnership was held in Mumbai today, attended by Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah, Vice President BCCI, Rajeev Shukla, and Honorary Treasurer of the BCCI, Ashish Shelar, along with representatives from the Saudi Tourism Authority, including Alhasan Aldabbagh, President of APAC. Cricket is one of the most popular sports around the world. Through this partnership, STA aims to tap into a strong fanbase between the two countries, encourage affinity and increase awareness of Saudi as a leading destination for Indian travelers, especially among young people. With more than half of its population below the age of 30, India shares a similar demographic profile with Saudi Arabia, where 58 percent of the local population is in the same age group. As part of Saudi’s tourism strategy, India represents immense potential as it is expected to be Saudi’s largest tourism source market by 2030. The partnership is a strong example of Saudi supporting the country’s Sports sector. Saudi continues to strengthen its competitive advantage in the market, and it will look to welcome more than two million visitors from India this year. IPL is one of the biggest events on the international sporting calendar and the partnership adds to a growing portfolio of STA’s global strategic relationships. Partnerships like IPL are a key pillar of Saudi’s tourism strategy as they bring fans, athletes and nations together, while sparking curiosity from those that may want to be among the first to visit Saudi as a destination. The dynamic partnership …

The eighth edition of Travel M!CE & Corporate Show is scheduled from 18-19 March 2023 in Chennai. The travel show is India’s first and only corporate show focused on B2B meetings amongst suppliers and corporates. It delivers positive face-to-face events bringing corporate buyers from different regions in India to meet, network, collaborate, and do business with suppliers.