General Awareness

TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS - July 2019

Jul 2019

Sep 05, 2019

Most Liveable City 2019

For the second year in a row, Vienna, Austria has been ranked the most liveable city in the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The Austrian capital had almost perfect scores for stability, culture and environment, education and infrastructure and health care.
Melbourne, Australia took the second-place spot, following close behind Vienna's score. Vienna had taken the top spot from Melbourne in 2018 after seven consecutive years at No. 1.
Sydney, Australia; Osaka, Japan; and Calgary, Canada make up the remaining top five on the annual Global Liveability Index of 140 cities around the world.
Atlanta has risen 17 places due to a major upgrade in its stability score, while Seattle rose by 10 places.
Despite being rated highly for culture, New York only ranked 58th. The city's rank lagged due to lower scores in infrastructure and stability, with a higher perceived risk of crime and terrorism.
The index considers more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors spanning five broad categories, weighted as follows: stability (25%), healthcare (20%), culture and environment (25%), education (10%), and infrastructure (20%).

India Ranked 34th On World Travel, Tourism Competitiveness Index

India has moved up six places to rank 34th on world travel and tourism competitiveness index, driven by rich natural and cultural resources and strong price competitiveness, according to WEF report.
India's ranking improved from 40th to 34th, the greatest improvement over 2017 among the top 25 per cent of all countries ranked in the report.
India, which accounts for the majority of South Asia's T&T (travel and tourism) GDP, remains the sub-region's most competitive T&T economy, moving up six places to rank 34th globally.
As per the report, China, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil and India -- which are not high-income economies but rank in the top 35 in the overall list -- stand out in the Cultural Resources and Business Travel Pillar through their combination of rich natural and cultural resources and strong price competitiveness.
From a sub-regional perspective, the nation (India) has better air infrastructure (33rd) and ground and port infrastructure (28th), international openness (51st) and natural (14th) and cultural resources (8th).
Compared to global benchmarks, the country can also add price competitiveness (13th) to its roster of strengths.

Sep 02, 2019

Mumbai-Surat AC Ferry Service Planned For Nov Start

In principle approval has been given for a ferry service between Mumbai and Surat and operations are likely to begin in November 2019.
The air-conditioned passenger ferry service, with 20 rooms and with a capacity of 300 passengers, will operate between Hazira port in Surat and Bandra in Mumbai once a week to start with, and its frequency will be increased depending on public response.
The Gujarat government operates a roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) passenger cum cargo ferry service between Dahej in Surat and Ghogha in Bhavnagar district under a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
In another development, the release said the state will get a Rs 45 crore early warning dissemination system for early information on cyclones along its 1,600-km coastline.
The system will be built by the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority under National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project, a joint undertaking of National Disaster Management Authority and World Bank, the government said.
The state has provided Rs 20 crore for its operation and maintenance for the first five years.

Sep 01, 2019

'Namaste Pacific' - Culture Of Countries In Pacific Region Showcased In Delhi

The High Commissions of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji jointly organised a cultural event 'Namaste Pacific' in New Delhi to showcase in India the culture of the Pacific countries.
A curated menu including the national drink Kava from Fiji and dishes slow-cooked in an earth oven using heated rocks in a pit oven specially dug for the purpose at the New Zealand High Commission were among the cuisine showcased at the event.
Aaradhna, a multi-award-winning R&B and soul artist from New Zealand, performed with her band. Aaradhna is part Indian and part Samoan and has to her credit four individual albums.
Traditional masks and artefacts from Papua New Guinea and Pacific Green furniture and other products from Fiji were also displayed.
There was also showcase of the International Solar Alliance and Pollinate Energy based in Australia, Nepal and India, and solar lanterns from Barefoot College in Rajasthan.
The event saw the participation of members of the diplomatic community, government officials, business leaders, and cultural personalities.

IRCTC To Restore Service Charges On e-Tickets From 1 September

E-tickets bought through the IRCTC website will be costlier as the railways has decided to restore the service charges from 1 September, 2019.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will levy a service charge of ₹15 on tickets for non-AC classes and ₹30 for AC classes, including first class, according to the order.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be applicable separately.
The service charges were withdrawn three years ago to promote digital payments.
The IRCTC used to levy a service charge of ₹20 on every non-AC e-ticket and ₹40 for every AC ticket.

Aug 31, 2019

In-principle Agreement with Swiggy, Zomato on Delivery

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said that there is an in-principle agreement between the association and the two major online delivery aggregators, Zomato and Swiggy to resolve the issues of the industry including deep discounts.
Zomato which has been at the logger-heads with the association over the Zomato Gold programme in dine-in services, wanted to push through its Gold programme in the delivery services too which NRAI outrightly rejected.
NRAI deliberated eight critical issues pertaining to the online delivery space with two key aggregators, Swiggy and Zomato.
Both of them deduced issues of deep discounting, high and uneven commission charges, data masking and mandatory bundling of services which are crippling the restaurant industry.

Aug 30, 2019

Unique Tribal Eco Tourism Programme To Restart From Sep 2, 2019

The unique tribal eco tourism programme is being conducted in various parts of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
Reservations can be made for the tour programme, according to Tourism department officials in Mettupalayam, the entrance to the famous Ghat highway to Udhagamandalam, the Queen of the Western Ghats.
The eco tourism programme is being conducted jointly by the tourism and SC/ST Welfare departments.
The trekking tour also includes the excitement of a boat ride in the expansive water bodies including the Pilloor dam. Tourists are also given guided tours to the dense forests of Sathyamangalam as well as the option to take part in a lunch cum music and dance session with the forest tribes of the area.
The tour programme, that had attracted much attention, had been temporarily suspended because of the heavy rains that had lashed the Western Ghats areas in the past few weeks. Now things are under control and the sporadic rains do not possess any problems to tourists according to meteorologists

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