Category Archives: States

The Tourism Department, Mizoram organized a B2B ‘Mystical Mizoram’ roadshow in Kolkata on 4 April 2022 at The Park Hotel.  Speaking at the function, Vantawl Lalengmawia, Director, Mizoram Tourism spoke about the need to capture Bengali tourists as Bengalis are avid travellers and are the most widely travelled people in India for they are looking for a new destination. He also spoke about easy accessibility of Aizawl from West Bengal which can be reached within 45 minutes from Kolkata, much lesser time taken for reaching Durgapur from Kolkata which takes around 3 hours. He invited tour operators in Bengal to experience the nature and culture of Mizoram before sending their clients to Mizoram and the need to bridge between West Bengal and Mizoram through tourism Industry. He also spoke about Mizoram Responsible Tourism Policy where the aim is focussing and developing services that promote tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner with diversification of tourism products and creation of employment opportunities for the people so that benefits of tourism should directly go the people. He said that the State’s tourism policy is a policy for the pro poor with a human face. He wanted the people of Bengal to explore Mizoram markets, to explore what its offer. He wanted to connect people, to open a new chapter of tourism between West Bengal and Mizoram that will boost economy of both States. Vantawl Lalengmawia, Director, Mizoram Tourism also conveyed the message of Mizoram Tourism Minister Robert Romawia Royte, that Familiarization Tour for the Tour Operators in Kolkata would be conducted in the near future. Anil Punjabi, President, Travel Agent Federation of India, Kolkata Chapter also spoke about the need to experience Mizo culture …

The Mumbai International Cruise Terminal, the iconic sea cruise terminal coming up at BPX-Indira Dock, is expected to be commissioned by July 2024. The terminal will have a capacity of handling 200 ships and 1 million passengers per annum. Out of the total project cost of Rs. 495 crore, Rs. 303 crores will be incurred by Mumbai Port Authority and the remaining by private operators. This was informed by the Chairperson, Mumbai Port Authority, Rajiv Jalota, while addressing the media in Mumbai , on the occasion of completion of 7 years of Sagarmala – Government of India’s flagship programme for port-led development of the nation. 

Apart from ayurvedic treatment, Kerala offers numerous experiences, such as backwater holidays, resorts, and houseboats. Responsible tourism and adventure tourism are also important aspects of Kerala tourism. “Adventure tourism has become part and parcel of travel today and Kerala has reinvented itself as a destination for nature-based adventure activities, especially in the hills and forests of the Western Ghats”, said V R Krishna Teja, Director, Kerala Tourism. 

Maharashtra Tourism has initiated a 9 city road show tour across the nation. As a part of this initiative, Maharashtra Tourism conducted a road show in the glorious city of Delhi. Milind Borikar (IAS), Director of the Directorate of Tourism, Govt. of Maharashtra said, “We at Maharashtra Tourism are organizing a road show series with a core motive of promoting tourism industry in Maharashtra and to boost inter-state travel and tourism opportunities. We are happy that post the second Covid wave, hospitality sector in Maharashtra is witnessing a steady increase in recovery and travel companies too are seeing surge in the booking trends. It is astounding to have received such an overwhelming response from Delhi towards Maharashtra Tourism road show and we wish to see the same response from other cities as well.”

Kerala Tourism launched its 24×7 WhatsApp chatbot ‘Maya’ to enable tourists to access all information and updates about the tourism ecosystem in the state. Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas said “Maya will serve as a virtual travel assistant for tourists to ask and get complete information they need for a hassle-free travel experience in the state”. 

Punita Singh, Joint Director, Rajasthan Tourism, has said that they are looking at promoting border tourism in Rajasthan. She said, “We have identified three border points in the state for developing border tourism products.” She was speaking at the PATA India & BBC News webinar ‘The New Ways of Marketing to Recharge Tourism’.

Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), has said that a new convention centre is being opened by the end of year to boost MICE Tourism in the state of Goa. MICE will be one of the products that will be in focus of their strategy, he revealed. He said that they are working towards repositioning Goa apart from sun, sand and sea. “While Goa is synonymous with sun, sand and sea, we are trying to attract the attention of tourists to various other offerings in Goa including wildlife, nature, MICE, etc.” he added. He also informed that they are seeing a huge rise in social events in the last one year at a number of properties across Goa.

Valmiki Hari Kishan, Chairman- Tourism Committee, Federation of Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI), has said that Telangana State still hasn’t released its tourism policy, which we have been pushing for the past few years. However, he says that news has come that it will be released soon. “I am happy to share that the policy is ready within the Secretary of the Tourism committee and they will be rolling it out very shortly,” he said.

In a paradigm shift from one-stop location-specific approach, Kerala has firmly marked itself as a destination for extended holidays for all segments of visitors with diverse experiences across the state like homestays, drive holidays, wellness vacations and adventure activities, State Tourism Director, V R Krishna Teja, announced. “Year 2022 is going to be the year of Kerala Tourism. The year ahead is packed with events and festivities including the Kerala Travel Mart in May, Champions’ Boat League (CBL) and Kochi Muziris Biennale besides several cultural and literary fests and adventure tourism activities,” he said.

Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), has said that they are working towards repositioning Goa apart from sun, sand and sea. “While Goa is synonymous with sun, sand and sea, we are trying to attract the attention of tourists to various other offerings in Goa including wildlife, nature, MICE, etc.” he said. He also informed that they are seeing a huge rise in social events in the last one year at a number of properties across Goa.