India Tourism

Tourism can help in economic transformation, rural development: Minister

Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said tourism can be a positive force for economic transformation, rural development and community wellbeing, and India plans to use the key segment to achieve sustainable development goals during its G20 Presidency. The minister was addressing a side event at the start of a three-day Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting of G20 at the tent city of Dhordo in Gujarat's Kutch district. This is the first meeting of the working group. Speaking at a panel discussion on 'Rural Tourism for Community Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation', Reddy said, India is focused on using tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) during its G20 Presidency." SDGs are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. "The soul of India lives in its villages," the minister said quoting Mahatma Gandhi. The focus of rural tourism should be to showcase villages, the country's way o

US asks its citizens to exercise caution while travelling to India

The US on Friday asked its citizens to exercise "increased caution" while travelling to India due to "crime and terrorism" and advised them to not to travel to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In a new travel advisory issued on Friday, the US State Department reduced the India Travel Advisory Level to 2 on a scale of one to 4 with the latter being the highest. The State Department in a separate advisory, a day earlier, had put Pakistan on Level 3 and asked its citizens to reconsider their travel especially its restive provinces due to terrorism and sectarian violence. Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism, said the State Department. Do not travel to: The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest. Within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border due to the potential for armed conflict, it said. According to the travel advisory, "Indian authorities report rape is one of th

Varanasi, Tirupati, Puri among top pilgrimage destinations in India: OYO

Varanasi, Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Shirdi have emerged as the top pilgrimage destinations, according to a report by travel tech firm OYO. The report titled 'India's Treasure Trove of Cultural Travel 2022' said with over 3.5 times growth over the past year, Srinagar clocked the highest growth in bookings among cultural destinations in 2022. Besides Srinagar, Pahalgam and Jammu in J&K also ranked among the top cultural destinations in India, the report released on Monday said. As per OYO's booking data analysed between January to April 2022, Srinagar, Pahalgam, Bodhgaya, Shirdi and Jammu are among India's top five cultural destinations in order of ranking. "Varanasi, seen by many as the spiritual hub, tops the chart as the most popular pilgrimage destination in India in 2022. This is followed by Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Shirdi. Besides this, OYO's Mid-Summer Vacation Index also highlights keen consumer interest in visiting Vaishno Devi this summer," it said. As per the ...

RBI creates liquidity window of Rs 15,000 crore to help hotels, tourism

Relief meant for 'contact-intensive sectors' that have been pulled down due to coronavirus

India most booked destination globally in 2020, Delhi on top: Oyo report

Gandhi Jayanti and Christmas weekends were the country's favourite holidays to travel in 2020. In December, over 1.7 million people have checked in over the weekends so far

Industry, govt need to work together for growth of tourism sector: Fogel

The travel and tourism industry and government in India need to work together for the growth of the sector

FAITH revises upwards forecast on tourism value at risk at up to Rs 15 trn

For the survival of the sector, a FAITH spokesperson said, "The tourism sector requires a customised sector-specific relief package, and it cannot be delayed any further"

India tourism on right track, ranking up in 5 years: Minister in Lok Sabha

Patel said that the Centre and the state have to work together and they should not be seen as "competitors".

CAA protests: Tourists cancel trips; industry may take hit, fear operators

December is the busiest month for foreign tourist arrivals in the country. However, operators are bracing for a decline this month

Thomas Cook ordered to pay Rs 400,000 compensation for cancelled tour

The complaint said he wanted to travel by Eurostar train from London to Paris, which Thomas Cook agreed to arrange

No country for tourists

The one state in India which can attract wealthy European skiers in winter is Kashmir. But India itself restricts and denies access to people going in.

India introduces flexible e-tourist visa with lower fee for lean season

India to offer 30-day e-tourist visa with $10-fee during the lean period from April to June and $25-fee during peak tourism period from July to March

In a first, an Odisha village earns Rs 1 cr from community tourism project

In 2018-19, Badmul raked in Rs 1.3 crore from eco-tourism, bolstered by 3000 visitors, 20 per cent of whom were foreign tourists

India's tourism potential needs to be tapped: Economic Survey II

Total market size of Indian tourism & hospitality sector is expected to touch $418.9 billion by 2022

India to generate 6.5 mn outbound luxury tourists annually by 2020: Report

The report reinforces India's influence as a key source market for MICE and luxury travel

Kashmir hopes for busy tourist season after low footfall in 2016

Spark in violence last year reduced tourist inflow by 55%, revenue by 80%

US tourist arrivals to India surge 27% in four years despite advisories

Over 1.3 mn Americans visited India in 2016; arrivals from US grew 27% over the last four years

Bangladesh replaces US on tourist inflow

Quality medical and health-care facilities in India is one of the reasons