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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: A blueprint to spruce up India’s tourism industry is in the works. The Centre is preparing a five-year plan to develop about 100 tourist destinations to global standards, and position them according to their individual potential, according to two officials close to the discussions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A decade ago in Chennai, bars were the exclusive prerogative of five-star hotels as they needed to sell rooms to serve liquor. Gradually, stand-alone cafés, restaurants and bars opened around town.

Besides, a push for sustainable tourism and protection of natural resources, and the CM Elevate programme—a state-funded initiative to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs for the youth—which has already supported 20,000 entrepreneurs, including a “Ride the Cloud” initiative offering 50% subsidies for tourist taxis, is also on Sangma’s agenda. “For tourism to grow as a whole, and in terms of the entire ecosystem, multiple factors need to be addressed,” Sangma said. The annual Cherry Blossom Festival in the ‘Scotland of the East’ has attracted a record-breaking 50,000 plus tourists, almost double the number received last year. To continue with the momentum at the music festival, take the “music and tourism economy” growth story forward, and build the overall ecosystem on a larger scale, Sangma announced several ambitious projects during the festival. The skywalk and New Shillong township Mawkdok in the East Khasi Hills in Shillong is a must-stop tourist destination. Tourists, almost certainly, make a stop at Mawkdok during their visit to the Sohra (Cherrapunji) tourism circuit, making it a strategic location for a project as ambitious and futuristic as the skywalk.

Worsening bilateral diplomatic relations, a burgeoning housing crisis and a tight job market might dull Canada’s allure further, said multiple experts assisting Indian students with higher studies abroad. Canada’s decision to pause fast-track visas has left Indian students facing extended wait times and increased uncertainty, they said.

Goa are particularly prone to a kind of reporting. Journalists or social media influencers come on a holiday. They hang out in a resort, go out to a few restaurants, shop in a few places, meet a local friend and speak to their taxi drivers. Then they string together their peeves or “new” discoveries, and a tourism trends story is born. Have to justify the time off, right? Some of the disgruntled posts that triggered the recent spat over the apparently declining state of tourism in Goa are right out of this playbook, with added moralism. “The problem with Goa is that it became rich without much effort,” declared a particularly pompous post. Tourists complaining about tourism-linked problems show a profound lack of self-reflection. Meanwhile, comparing a small state in India with countries like Sri Lanka and Thailand will yield inaccurate perspectives. Nothing is helped, though, by the reliably wrong-headed responses of the Goa government. LOOK CLOSER The data doesn’t show Goa being “down in the dumps”, as a social media post alleged. According to Noesis, a leading hotel investment and advisory firm, Goa’s tourism is gearing up for a landmark year in 2024, building on the momentum of a strong 2023 recovery. Domestic arrivals are projected to top 8.5 million, while foreign visitors may touch pre-pandemic levels, potentially exceeding 500,000.

«I decided on Baku because I am getting a Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard at ₹58,000 for four nights for two adults and a child,» she said. «In contrast, rates for some properties in Kovalam, Udaipur and Rishikesh are steeper than this for a night.» She's not alone. Rates for the Christmas-New Year period at many popular leisure destinations such as Varanasi are turning out to be much higher than international locations such as Danang in Vietnam, persuading many to look overseas.

Air India Express on Friday announced that is is expanding the number of weekly flights in its winter schedule from Kolkata to Bagdogra by 37 per cent. The Tata-owned airline will now operate over 230 weekly flights from Kolkata and Bagdogra, up from 168 during the previous winter season. This expansion includes new direct routes that will significantly improve travel options for passengers. For Kolkata, Air India Express is introducing new direct flights connecting the city to Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) and Indore, while Bagdogra will see a new connection to Chennai.

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Thursday said the Ministry is exploring the use of seaplanes to connect even the most remote areas of India, including the North East. Naidu, who was here to participate in a two-day aviation conference, also took a test ride on a seaplane during a demonstration at the scenic Umiam Lake, where Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and other senior officials of the ministry were present. «Let it be road, rail, or air connectivity, Modi wants the North East to be integrated with the mainland with the best connectivity possible. The Ministry of Civil Aviation wants to ensure that his (Modi) vision becomes a reality,» Naidu told reporters after a 30-minute joyride on the seaplane. He said people come to Meghalaya and the region for a variety of reasons, such as tourism, spirituality, to connect with nature, and for business activities.

Indian tourists are the largest group visiting Sri Lanka, thanks to the country’s proximity—a quick 2.5-hour flight from Mumbai—and its affordability. Following the Sri Lankan rupee’s collapse in 2022, the country became one of the most budget-friendly luxury destinations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As festivities bring families and friends together, dinner table conversations more often than not turn to children and their future. This time it was around higher education, a topic that is particularly resonant for me as a parent of a 13-year-old son.

A federal judge has ordered the Port of Oakland to stop using San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport as its airport’s new name while a lawsuit by the city of San Francisco over copyright infringement is ongoing

Diamond Sports Group has reached a multi-year agreement with Prime Video to make its 16 regional sports network channels available as an add-on subscription

US elections 2024's polling phase is now over, with Donald Trump destined to be the next US President after Joe Biden. Meanwhile, the Senate and the House are also being captured by the Republicans, which means that the coming four years will be 'ruled by the Reds'. Meanwhile, ace US pollster Nate Silver has analyzed the US election results and claimed that there is at least some 'good news' for Kamala Harris and the Democrats, that is hidden in the fine print.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: UK-based Standard Chartered Bank is looking to up its wealth management play in India, hiring more relationship managers and giving a facelift to several branches in a market that has recently attracted strong interest from both global and domestic money managers. “India is a huge opportunity for the wealth business and in the next decade, the amount of wealth that will get created in India will possibly be the highest in any of our footprints," Samir Subberwal, global head of wealth solutions, deposits and mortgages, and chief client officer, Standard Chartered Bank, said in an interview on Tuesday.

The city of Florence is taking new measures to crack down on overtourism

Protesters have blocked bridges leading to the capital of the Georgian separatist region of Abkhazia as tensions flared in a dispute over a proposed law that would encourage Russian investment

Air India Group is currently serving 312 domestic and international routes with around 8,500 weekly flights, according to airline sources. For now, Tata Group-owned Air India, which has merged full service carrier Vistara with itself, has a total of 67 wide body aircraft, including seven of Vistara. The integrated entity of Air India and Vistara is India's largest international carrier and the second largest domestic airline. The entity has 210 planes serving 91 destinations and 174 routes with weekly flights of around 5,600, the sources said.

Donald Trump's decision to impose higher tariffs on imports may be implemented as soon as he comes to power at the White House on January 20 next year. This is the day he would ascend to power at the White House, backed by a huge mandate from the US Presidential elections, which he achieved by convincingly beating Kamala Harris, by even whitewashing her in all the key swing states.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows in the non-conventional energy sector surged in the first three of months of this financial year, making it the tenth-largest FDI destination of all time, underscoring rising global interest in India’s green energy initiatives.

Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo from November 11, Kerala’s Industries, Law & Coir Minister P Rajeeve said as part of the southern state’s efforts to drive investments in the emerging areas of technology. The event, the minister told ET, would showcase his state’s spirit and reputation as a welcoming destination for businesses. “Kerala has rapidly emerged as a magnet for global conferences and high-impact events, thanks to its business-friendly environment, robust infrastructure, and forward-looking policies that support growth in technology and sustainable development,” he said. The CIOs and IT executives from leading companies, while in Kochi, would also experience Kerala’s culture of tradition and innovation as they explore the latest trends and strategies in IT and digital transformation, Rajeeve said.

foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the Indian stock markets, Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), expressed confidence in the resilience of India's growth story.