Category Archives: Agents

‘Music festival aims at sensitising people about need to give voice to ‘unheard’ artistes’: Reddy

On the occasion of World Music Day, G Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER inaugurated Jyotirgamaya, a festival to showcase the talent of rare musical instruments from across the country, including street performers and other unsung performers. He said, “The festival also envisages sensitising people about the need to safeguard the craft of making as well as the skill of playing rare musical instruments, and to give a voice to ‘unheard’ artistes.”

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Varanasi in East, Shirdi in West, Amritsar in North, Tirupati in South are India’s top spiritual-travel destinations: OYO’s Treasure Trove of Cultural Travel Report 2022

India’s diversity of tourist destinations goes well beyond the beaches, hills, and cities. As one of the oldest civilizations in the world with an all-embracing confluence of spirituality, heritage and traditions, India has always been a top choice for cultural travel at a global stage. As the pandemic pushed Indians to explore domestic destinations, cultural travel has witnessed its biggest boom in the past two years. Tracking consumer travel sentiment across India, OYO has published ‘India’s Treasure Trove of Cultural Travel 2022’ report. As per the report, with over 3.5 times growth over the past year, Srinagar clocked the highest growth in bookings among cultural destinations in 2022. Besides Srinagar, Pahalgam and Jammu in J&K also rank among the top 5 cultural destinations in India, citing increasing travel interest in the region. As per OYO’s booking data analyzed between January to April 2022, Srinagar, Pahalgam, Bodhgaya, Shirdi and Jammu are among India’s top 5 cultural destinations in order of ranking. India is known for its spirituality around the world. Within the culture-travel category, OYO’s data highlights rising consumer interest in pilgrimage and heritage destinations. Varanasi, seen by many as the spiritual hub, tops the charts as the most popular pilgrimage destination in India in 2022. This is followed by Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Shirdi. Besides this, OYO’s Mid-Summer Vacation Index also highlights keen consumer interest in visiting Vaishno Devi this summer. As per the report, when it comes to heritage sites, with 25% votes each, Ajanta & Ellora caves in Aurangabad and Taj Mahal in Agra tied for the top spot. Hampi, Khajurao and Mahabalipuram round up the balance of the top 5 heritage sites. Commenting on the rise in …

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Maharashtra DoT launches Responsible Tourism policy to prevent over-tourism, pollution

Speaking about future plans, Dr Dhananjay Sawalkar, Joint Director, Directorate of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, revealed, “We have created a Responsible Tourism policy for the state because we are seeing instances of over-tourism, land pollution and even water shortages where tourist footfalls are high. This will help is disperse tourists to adjoining places, reduce impact on environment and channelize benefits to the local communities. This policy is already ready; some government level decisions are pending. Hopefully we will release it soon.”

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Senior citizens in Kerala get 50% cut in entry fee in tourism centres

In an elderly-friendly decision, Kerala Government has announced 50% concession for senior citizens in entry fee in all state-run tourism centres. Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said, “This is part of elderly friendly policies across all sectors in the state. This will encourage the senior citizens to mix with the society.” The Kozhikode Human Rights Forum had made a submission before the Assembly Committee urging it to consider the possibility of giving concession in entry fee for senior citizens in tourism centres. After studying the submission, the house panel recommended the Government that the request could be considered positively

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Indian tourism has manifold opportunities for local communities: Steve Borgia

Steve Borgia, Chairman & Managing Director of INDeco Leisure Hotels, emphasising upon the pandemic as a driver of organic tourism, has said, “There are manifold opportunities for local communities that Indian tourism has to offer.” He also brought forth the role of youth as a catalyst to forging the nation’s tourism with a vision of sustainability.

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‘Reimagine Cruising from Singapore’ webinar to be held today at 11:30 AM IST

As Singapore gets ready to welcome fully-vaccinated Indian visitors back to cruise from its shore, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Resorts World Cruises (RWC) and Royal Caribbean International (RCI) are conducting the ‘Reimagine Cruising from Singapore’ today at 11:30 AM IST. The aim is to update the trade about Singapore’s latest cruise offerings. Register on https://event.webinarjam.com/register/405/5v7qwi1w or contact jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

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Spend on spiritual tourism up 35%: Thomas Cook India

As per the latest report by Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, there is a strong 35% growth in Spiritual Tourism. In a focussed endeavour to tap into this high potential yet unorganised segment, the Companies have expanded their portfolio to include a range of ready-to-book pilgrimages and personalized spiritual journeys. Products start at an affordable Rs. 20,000.00 per person for a 5-day tour, with premium-personalised options priced at Rs. 200,000.00 per person for a 6-day tour.

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Tourism sees greatest YoY jump in fraud cases, credit card most popular fraud these days

Fraud detection and prevention company mFilterIt released its study of top frauds in travel industry. Amit Relan, its Director & Co-Founder, says, “According to some reports, credit card fraud is the most popular form of fraud these days, in which a client uses a fake or stolen credit card to make a transaction, resulting in a chargeback to the site. Customers must be made aware of such rising fraudulent activities taking place in the travel sector and keep themselves at bay when planning their future travels, also reporting these fraud websites to the concerned authorities. We hope our study will help in spreading the awareness on this topical subject.”

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Thomas Cook India & SOTC witness strong demand for Spiritual Tourism

The pandemic with its unprecedented hardships/challenges have caused Indians to actively seek spiritual solace. Thomas Cook (India), and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have witnessed a strong 35% growth in spiritual tourism. In a focussed endeavour to tap into this high potential yet unorganised segment, the Companies have expanded their portfolio to include a range of ready-to-book pilgrimages and personalised spiritual journeys. Products start at an affordable Rs. 20,000.00 per person for a 5-day tour, with premium-personalised options priced at Rs. 200,000.00 per person for a 6-day tour. India’s seniors segment and 45+ age group form the core segment for Pilgrimage Tours. Keeping this in mind, the Companies’ top pilgrimage tours extend across: the popular Char Dham Yatra and Do Dham Yatra (option to charter a helicopter as well; VIP darshans) Muktinath in Nepal, Amarnath Yatra, Vaishno Devi shrine with Kashmir, Varanasi with Prayagraj, Ayodhya, etc. India’s couples and solo travellers (30-45 yrs) are displaying strong preference for the Companies’ customised spiritual tours that include meditation, yoga and wellness programs like the Yoga Centre/Ashram in Coimbatore, Dharamshala and Rishikesh; Panchakarma programme at Kumarakom, etc. India’s millennials/young professionals and families present the highest growth opportunity – and their preference is for spiritual journeys in combination with outdoor-adventure and authentic local culture/culinary experiences. Thrilling experiences like white-water rafting and night trekking in Vaishno Devi, Kathadi (close to Rameswaram – an emerging hub of water sports), Badrinath’s famous valley of flowers trek; bungee jumping in Rishikesh, etc. are inspiring India’s millennials to explore the land of spiritual journeys. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) said, “Post the pandemic, we are witnessing a definitive surge in Spiritual …

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