Tourism Boost for Jammu! Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Set to Build Lord Balaji Temple
Big boost for Jammu tourism! A new Tirumala temple in Jammu is set to be constructed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust. The Jammu administration has given in-principle approval to allot 100 acres of land to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust to build a replica of the Tirumala temple currently in Andhra Pradesh. Reports further stated that the temple premise will also have a Vedic school and a hospital. It is likely to be built in a span of two years.
Feb 13, 2020
A 117 Year-old Steam Engine Attracting Foreign Tourists
A 117-year-old steam engine in the Himalayan region is attracting scores of foreign tourists on the Kalka-Shimla heritage line, helping the tourism in the area and boosting the revenue of Northern Railways in equal measure.
Tourists come from many countries, including England to ride this steam engine train. It helps the promotion of the heritage culture of the country and helps in the earning of the Indian Railways as well.
The northern railway is offering the steam engine travel on booking to the tourists on 12 to 20 miles (20 km to 32 km) on the Kalka-Shimla heritage line.
The railway department has kept the train running for its historical importance.
The Kalka-Shimla railway line was declared the UNESCO's world heritage line in 2008. It has been attracting tourist in the area ever since.
Feb 10, 2020
UDAN Heli Services To Connect Dehradun With Badrinath, Gangotri
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) operationalized the first-ever helicopter services from Dehradun's Sahastradhara helipad to Gauchar and Chinyalisaur under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) of Government of India. Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttrakhand and Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, MoCA were present.
The inauguration of the helicopter routes in the Uttrakhand region is in line with the objective of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to enhance the aerial connectivity of the hilly areas in the country.
MoCA awarded the Sahastradhara-Gauchar-Chinyalisaur route to Heritage Aviation under the UDAN 2 bidding process. Heritage Aviation will operate helicopter services from Sahastradhara to Gauchar and Chinyalisaur twice daily.
For these services, Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is provided under UDAN to keep the fares affordable for the common people. The State Government of Uttrakhand is also providing additional incentives to make the scheme more attractive.
World's Fastest Growing Tourist Destinations
Overseas trips hit 1.5 billion in 2019, up four per cent from 2018, according to the latest statistics from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
France remained the most-visited country with more than 90 million visitors, followed by Spain's 83.8 million.
But the most interesting stats related to the countries that saw the highest jump in visitor numbers year-on-year.
Top of the pack was Myanmar, which saw a 40.2 per cent per cent increase in visitors, followed by Puerto Rico (31.2 per cent) and Iran (27.9 per cent), although this last is likely to suffer a drop in 2020 given the current political climate.
Other trends saw central Asia increase in popularity, with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan all in the top 20 fastest growing destinations.
Winter sun destinations previously hit by terror attacks also saw a comeback last year, with Egypt seeing a 21.1 per cent increase in visitor numbers, Turkey a 14 per cent rise, and Tunisia up 13.6 per cent.
Feb 06, 2020
Bhutan Ends Free Entry for Indian Tourists
Ending decades of free entry to Indian tourists visiting Bhutan, the government in Thimphu decided to levy a daily Rs. 1,200 ($17) fee for "regional tourists" from India, the Maldives and Bangladesh, beginning July 2020. The fee, called a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), is meant to help the government deal with burgeoning numbers in tourist traffic, which it is seeking to regulate through a new tourism policy.
The decision was passed by the National Assembly as a 'Tourism Levy and Exemption Bill of Bhutan', 2020. The SDF is considerably lower than the $65 charged to other foreign tourists, who are also charged a compulsory flat cover charge of $250 per day.
Feb 03, 2020
Budget Carrier Air Asia Denies Allegations of Bribery
Asia's biggest budget airline denied allegations it was paid a bribe of $50m (£38m) by plane maker Airbus.
AirAsia vigorously rejected claims that it was paid to buy 180 planes from the European manufacturer.
The allegations have surfaced after Airbus agreed to pay $4bn in fines to settle accusations of corruption.
European plane maker Airbus had agreed a settlement with French, British and US authorities following lengthy investigations into allegations that it bribed airlines to purchase its planes.
AirAsia has said that it will fully cooperate with Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission, which is working alongside Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probing the claims.