General Awareness

TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS - June 2019

Jun 2019

Aug 27, 2019

Nepal, India Launch Kathmandu-Siliguri Bus Service

A bus service was launched between Kathmandu and Siliguri, the 10th bus service between Nepal and India.
The Kathmandu-Siliguri bus service was launched during a programme in the outskirts of Kathmandu. Minister for Transport Management Raghubir Mahaseth and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly flagged off the bus service.
The Kathmandu-Kakarbhitta-Siliguri bus service will operate on a daily basis.

Aug 24, 2019

OYO Buys Las Vegas Hotel Hooters

SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Indian hospitality startup OYO will rebrand Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas in a deal worth $135 million.
Oyo would partner with restaurant operator Highgate, which runs the Hooters hotel in Vegas, to rebrand it Oyo Hotel and Casino. The hotel, with 657 rooms and a 35,000 square-feet casino located near the famed Las Vegas Strip, will continue to be managed by Highgate.
Oyo and Highgate will spend $20 million in total to renovate the hotel, which will remain open during the transformation.
The deal, Oyo's first such in the US, suggests the startup is setting its sights high, but founder Ritesh Agarwal told Reuters in an interview that the company would continue to focus on its mainstay: large numbers of middle class travellers looking for affordable accommodation.

IRCTC To Bring Back Service Charge On Online Ticket Booking From Sep 1

The government has allowed the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to bring back service charge on online ticketing, as it plans to come out with the initial public offering (IPO) of its tourism and catering arm.
To push online transactions after demonetisation, the ministry of finance had removed the charges levied by IRCTC on passengers for booking railway tickets online as service charge. The charges were Rs 20 per ticket for non-air conditioned (AC) classes and Rs 40 per ticket for AC classes excluding service tax.
The decision on November 22, 2016 had wiped out the entire revenue of the railway arm to the tune of around Rs 500 crore per annum for the last two years.
However, from September 1, 2019 onwards, IRCTC is planning to charge convenience fee of Rs 15 and Rs 30 on the passengers for the booking railway tickets online for non AC classes and AC classes, respectively.
For payment made through UPI/BHIM applications, the convenience fee will be Rs 10 and Rs 20 non AC classes and AC classes, respectively

Aug 23, 2019

Union Ministry Of Tourism Organizes One-Day National Conference Of Tourism Ministers

One-Day National Conference Of Tourism Ministers was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture Shri Prahlad Singh Patel.
The conference was attended by State Tourism Ministers of 19 States.The meeting focused on various issues related to the development and promotion of Tourism in New Delhi. It suggested better coordination between the Centre and State to increase the number of tourists in India and work towards removing negative impressions.
The Tourism Minister Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched the Hindi version of the New Incredible India portal at the conference. He announced that the Ministry is planning to launch the new Incredible India website in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish.
Mr. Patel also launched the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC). IITFC is a digital initiative online programme where one can learn about tourism at their own time, space, path, and pace.
Night tourism:
The Ministry has also decided to open 10 historical monuments till 9 PM for common visitors across the country. This move aims to promote night tourism across the country.

Aug 22, 2019

New five-year e-tourist visa to be introduced

With the aim of attracting more foreign travellers to the country, it has been proposed to reduce the e-visa fee while also offering the option of a short-term as well as long-term tourist e-visa.
The Tourism Ministry has proposed to introduce a short duration e-visa for tourists with one month validity at a charge of $25. However, this will be applicable during peak tourism season between July and March.
To attract more tourists during the lean period, the visa fee is proposed to be reduced to as low as $10 between April to June.
The information was given by Tourism minister Prahlad Patel .

Govt Opens 137 Peaks For Foreign Nationals

Mount Kailash and Kangchenjunga are among the 137 mountains that the Centre has opened up to foreigners for trekking and mountaineering. The peaks are spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. J&K has 15 peaks.
Recommendation was made by union tourism minister Prahlad Patel to union home minister Amit Shah following a long term demand from the adventure tourism industry.
Among the 137 mountains, Uttarakhand has 51 peaks, Sikkim 24 and Himachal Pradesh, 37.
These include Dunagiri (7,066 m) and Hardeol (7,151 m) in Uttarakhand; Kabru South (7000 m) and North (7000 m) in Sikkim; and Mulkila (6,571 metre) in Himachal Pradesh.
The state ministers were asked to issue guidelines for adventure tourism in line with the Indian Adventure Tourism Guidelines 2018, which covers land, air and water-based activities including mountaineering, trekking, bungee jumping, paragliding, kayaking, scuba diving among other sports.

Aug 21, 2019

3000th Railway Station Gets Wi-Fi

Ellenabad railway station under Bikaner Division of North Western Railway, became the 3000th station in the country to have free public Wi-Fi.
A historic town in Haryana, Ellenabad is situated at the north of the Ghaggar- Hakra river, and serves as a port of entry into Haryana from Rajasthan.
Incidentally, the 2000th station to get Wi-Fi was Rana Pratap Nagar, also under the North Western Railway, on August 3, 2019.
Indian Railways' promise to provide free Wi-Fi at all stations, (except the halt stations), for which Team RailTel is making efforts to meet the target.
In the first phase, Wi-Fi was provided 'live' at 1600 stations across country. RailTel has now roped in Tata Trust for providing Wi-Fi at the remaining railway stations across the country.

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