Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Travel & Tourism

  • Explore Secret Wonders In Land Of Kiwis

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    Recognised for its clean and green environment, New Zealand is made up of many beautiful landscapes – from vast mountain chains to grand volcanoes, from flowing rivers and contemporary museums to expansive caves, fiords, lush rainforests, grassy plains and rich thermal areas. Get off the beaten track to find lots of hidden gems that are…

  • Keechan Welcomes Demoiselle Cranes

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    Come September and the residents of Keechan, a tiny village near Phalodi town of Jodhpur district of Rajasthan gets ready to welcome their winged visitors from across the Himalayas. Already 350 “visitors” have landed in the first week of September. Caretaker Sewaram is busy preparing for their comfortable ‘stay’. For the next six months, he…

  • Reviving Tourism Sector With New Trends

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    India may be gradually unlocking, but the recovery of travel, and the future of millions of people associated with the tourism industry, is still uncertain. As social distancing turns out to be the way to go for many years to come, travel businesses must adapt now for tomorrow. A recent survey by Nasscom indicated the…

  • Explore India To London By Road In 70 Days

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    A private tourist company based in Gurugram has announced a bus service from Delhi to London where the travellers will cover 18 countries and 20,000 km in 70 days. Adventures Overland on August 15 announced the “first-ever hop-on/hop-off bus service between Delhi and London”, named “Bus to London”. People taking this tour will travel through…

  • Maldives receives 3,054 tourists since resumption

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    Maldives has received a total of 3,054 foreign visitors since the resumption of international travel last month, it was reported. Maldives Immigration said on Saturday that the arrivals were recorded between July 15 and August 13, reports Xinhua news agency. Majority of them were from the UK and US. The arrivals fall drastically short of…

  • Geo-Tourism In India

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    With diverse physical attributes, rich cultural heritage and ancient history, India is an adventure lover’s paradise. Of late, there has been significant initiative in promoting tourism even in the remotest corners of the country. The Indian subcontinent exhibits imprints of varied geological processes through the ages and is a storehouse of interesting geological features. Geological…

  • Qatar Airways plans route to USA

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    Qatar Airways, the Global Launch Customer of the A350 XWB, has announced that Philadelphia will be the first destination served with the world’s newest aircraft from 1st January 2016, reports Asian Lite, a leading newspaper in UK for British Asians. It will fly to the USA using the state-of-the-art aircraft. The airlines plans to begin operating an…

  • Rail Strike to spoil bank holiday Monday

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    British rail workers will go on strike on May 25 – the bank holiday Monday. The 24-hour strike of Network Rail workers will begin at 5pm seeking salary hike. The workers, including signallers and maintenance staff, will also ban overtime for 48 hours from 25 May. The move follows a decisive vote for strikes from RMT…

  • Cabin Fever hits Blenheim Palace Flower Show

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    Visitors to this year’s Blenheim Palace Flower Show are in for a feast of amazing spaces when it returns to the Oxfordshire stately home on 19-21 June. Forget any thoughts of humble storage huts, exhibitors will be amazing the crowds with the grandest of structures to transform the space and use of any garden. From artic cabins…

  • TRAVEL: St. Augustine Beckons You

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    Florida’s Historic Coast includes St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and 42 miles of beautiful pristine Atlantic Coast beaches St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in America, established by the Spanish in 1565. Four and a half centuries later, the city and its people continue to symbolize the rich history and cultural diversity that…

  • Goea goes sun, sand, surgery

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    By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar  If you thought Goa was only for tourists looking for fun, think again. If the medical fraternity and the state government here have their way, Goa, conventionally known for its beaches and music bashes, may well pip big cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai as an attractive medical tourism destination as well.…

  • India Ignores World Heritage Sites

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    Agra’s monuments victims of ASI’s callous neglect …writes Brij Khandelwal to mark World Heritage Day   It’s becoming increasingly clear that only professional managers can preserve this Taj city’s heritage, experts say. The parliamentary committee on environment, headed by former union minister Ashwini Kumar (Congress), after spot visits and interactions with stakeholders last week, expressed concern over the poor…

  • Nile Beckons You

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    Egypt seeks bigger share of India’s tourist pie…writes Rahul Vaishnavi   Vegetarian food, attractive holiday packages and, above all, advertising the country through Bollywood and regional cinema are all part of an elaborate game plan chalked out by Egypt’s tourism ministry, recovering from declining footfalls due to political unrest of the last few years, to woo the…

  • Kashmir looks to a tourist boom

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    By Sheikh Qayoom and Waseem Shah   After losing its peak autumn tourist season last year due to unprecedented floods, Kashmir is bedecked with flowers to receive tourists this year. The good news is that tourists are already arriving here in encouraging numbers. In the first week of April, which traditionally marks the beginning of Spring…

  • India to boost tourism in Egypt

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    By Rahul Vaishnavi To revive the country’s tourism industry, which has suffered the most following the 2011 revolution, the third edition of the India by the Nile festival is being held with a message that Egypt is safe for tourists. India’s ambassador Navdeep Suri told media that Egypt has been going through a rough patch…

  • Indian tourism reaches out to Indonesia

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    Inspired by Sahabat India, the ongoing festival of India in Indonesia, captains of the Indian tourism industry, comprising over 500 members of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), held their annual India Travel Congress 2015 and exposition from March 26-28 in the island of Bali, the tourism gateway of Indonesia. The Indian Travel Congress,…

  • Kerala Tourism wins national award

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    Kerala Tourism was conferred the national Web Ratna Award for 2014 for exemplary e-governance initiative through the internet. The Kerala Tourism website (www.keralatourism.org) won the Golden Icon award in the ‘Outstanding Content’ category of the Web Ratna Awards, instituted by the Union government under the ambit of the National Portal of India. Kerala Tourism secretary…

  • Solar Impulse begins epic journey

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    A world record-breaking attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane has got under way from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft – called Solar Impulse-2 – took off from the capital of Emirate, heading east to Muscat in Oman. Over the next five months, it will skip from continent to…

  • Recession melts Himachal’s skiing business

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    By Vishal Gulati   The global financial meltdown and uncertainty has severely hit the heliskiing industry in this picturesque tourist resort in Himachal Pradesh, known for powder skiing. This winter, a majority of skiers from Europe and Russia cancelled their bookings. The gloomy economic outlook in Europe and the falling rouble have discouraged people from travelling…

  • Vintage beauties on Delhi roads

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    The fifth edition of the 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally and Concourse Auto Show left many onlookers spellbound in the capital Saturday, as they watched 201 cars and 50 vintage bikes participating in the event. A procession of Rolls Royce Tourer, Buick special series, Cadillac Convertible, Rover 8, Ford and many other restored…

  • SpiceJet offers discount on seats

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     Days after the aviation regulator allowed it to open fresh bookings, cash-strapped budget passenger carrier SpiceJet  launched its discount scheme starting at Rs.1,499 for one way advance booking on all direct flights. The airline is offering 500,000 seats through the new discount scheme. Bookings have to be made from Jan 28 to Jan 30, and…

  • Taj Mahal see fall in visitors due to cold wave

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    Footfalls at Agra’s Taj Mahal have fallen considerably due to the cold wave that has engulfed north India, guides said. The day temperatures in Agra fell to around 14 degrees Celsius, as the city was enveloped in a thick blanket of fog. Visibility was reduced to zero on the Yamuna Expressway and the national highway…

  • ‘achche din’ for Goa Tourism

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    By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar   ‘Achche din’ (good days) are here for Goa’s travel and tourism industry, stakeholders claim, rubbing their hands in glee at the inclusion of Goa’s Dabolim international airport as one the nine nationwide authorized to issue visa-on-arrival (VoA) to foreign tourists. Francisco Braganca, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG),…

  • India pins hopes on tourism

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    India’s new Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma is targetting to double the foreign tourist arrivals by 2015. An interview with Mr Sharma by Prashant Sood and Shilpa Raina  The Narendra Modi government intends to double the number of foreign tourists by next year from the present 7.2 million, union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said and assured that total…

  • Taj Mahal under threat of neglect?

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    By Brij Khandelwal   The annual “Heritage Week” observed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has just ended in the Taj city but most people gave it a miss, while activists mourned the conditions of monuments under threat by rampant neglect and encroachment by squatters. Except for painting competitions for school students held in Agra…

  • Legendary NRI hotel doorman dies

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    Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, the legendary doorman at the Galle Face Hotel here, who served dignitaries like Lord Mountbatten, Princess Elizabeth, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Yuri Gagarin and Arthur C. Clarke, has passed away, media reported . Kuttan left his village in Kerala when he was 17 years old and reached Sri Lanka in 1938…

  • Mega music to revive Goa’s faltering tourism

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    Known as a balm for the soul, music could just bail out Goa’s floundering tourist season this year. With tourism industry stakeholders fearing a drop in Russian charter tourists by as much as 30 percent this year – largely due to the troubles in Ukraine – music festivals that have already lined up their gigs…

  • Didi to develop Sagar Islands

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    The West Bengal government has formed a task force to work on transforming Sagar Islands in the Bay of Bengal into an international standard tourist spot, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said . “We visited two beaches today. One of them will be developed as a port. I have named it Bhorsagar. “We have formed a…

  • E-business modernising Indian rail travel

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    By Rohit Vaid   Gazing at the far-away tracks searching for signs of train arrivals might bring in nostalgic memories as a host of e-companies are providing everything from tracking minute-by-minute locomotive locations to details of taxi availability or the best deals at hotels to make rail journey in India a more pleasant and less taxing…

  • Britain, Ireland visa deal to benefit Indians

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    Britain and Ireland  inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on visa cooperation to allow Chinese and Indian visitors to travel to the two island nations on a single visa. The landmark visa deal will help Britain and Ireland share data and exchange information to inform and determine immigration decisions and allow visitors from India and…

  • Halloween At Blenheim Palace

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    Families can enjoy plenty of Halloween entertainment at Blenheim Palace during October Half-Term. As the Autumn season draws in, and our thoughts turn to Halloween tricks and treats, Blenheim Palace offers the perfect family day out. From 25th October – 2nd November the Blenheim Palace ghost train will taking families from the Palace through the…

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Jodhpur Fest

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    Over the years, rustic folk music has often found space within Bollywood space, but the organisers of Jodhpur’s Rajasthan International Folk Festival(RIFF) aim to go a step beyond by nurturing a platform that creates a demand for bucolic music by retaining traditional ethos and flavours. “There is no demand for folk music in the cities…

  • Telangana dreams of big in tourism

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      The aroma of biryani slow-cooked over wood fire, a unique flower festival, beautiful waterfalls inside pristine tiger forests, Hyderabad’s famous Charminar and Salar Jung Museum and a modern IT hub: all this has led the newly-created state of Telangana to dream big about its tourism potential. Barely three months into existence, India’s 29th state,…

  • Kerala Tourism, a hit in Japan

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    Kerala’s tradition of ayurveda and its unique backwaters have found numerous admirers in Japan where these were showcased at the state’s theme pavilion at one of the biggest travel events in the world. The JATA Tourism Expo, held Sep 25-28 at the Tokyo Big Sight, the biggest convention centre in Japan, saw heavy footfall at…

  • Apple orchards to bring tourists to Himachal

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    In a uniqe initiative to make tourism business more fruitful in Himachal Pradesh, the state tourism department is all set to take tourists to apple orchards, far from the maddening crowd. “We are going to link tourism with our apple industry, both major contributors to our economic development, by offering an opportunity to our guests…

  • Walking with Wordsworth

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    Anjana Parikh takes you back into that era of the famous poet William Wordsworth She guided a group of tourists including Paresh and me into the Dove Cottage—the home of the famous poet William Wordsworth in Grasmere, Lake District. After her welcome speech, Margret, the guide, pointed her index finger towards the corner of the…

  • Foreign tourists flock to India

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    Foreign tourist arrivals rise 16.9 percent in August There has been a 16.9 percent rise in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in August 2014 over the corresponding period last year, the tourism ministry said. In August 2013, FTA growth was logged at 9.1 percent over August 2012. The ministry computed the figure on the basis of…

  • Kashmir floods affect tourism

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    The devastating floods in Kashmir are expected to hit the state’s tourism hard, a top tourism industry official said. With domestic tourists’ numbers to Kashmir Valley expected to cross two crore this year, a top tourism industry official Thursday said the floods in peak travel season will impact the industry. The natural disaster has led…

  • GOA: Lessons to learn from Bali

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    Francisco de Braganca says Goa should look east, emulate Bali’s success  Goa should look east and learn from the transformation of Indonesia’s Bali province from a backward region with poor infrastructure in 2001 to a beautiful, thriving beach tourism paradise. As things stand now, Bali, as a tourism destination, is far ahead of Goa. We…

  • Indian honeymooner’s paradise

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    For Nidhi and Rohan Nanda, who have just tied the knot, choosing the perfect honeymoon destination was perhaps the toughest decision. With fingers crossed, Vienna was picked on a friend’s recommendation and a week in the quaint city proved to be the perfect ending to their elaborate wedding. “There were so many suggestions from all…

  • Dry state & Tourism: Kerala to ape Gujarat

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    Kerala to study ‘Gujarat model’ of dry state With Kerala deciding to close all the 730 bars to bring about prohibition in a phased manner, Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar Wednesday said they would study Gujarat model of a dry state for tourists. “When it comes to the tourism industry, tourists arrive in the state…

  • Vietnam woos Indian tourists

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    Ranjana Narayan says Vietnam is keen to tap India’s Bollywood tourism India and Vietnam could see a welcome jump to the poor tourist figures to each other’s countries with direct flights set to take off from November even as this pretty Southeast Asian country plans to tap Bollywood to shoot films and host its glitzy…

  • Tomatina reaches up to Indian women

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    The world famous Tomatina festival in the Spanish town of Bunol has shown earnest solidarity with a cause that will brighten the lives of underprivileged Indian women.Owing to overcrowding in the Valencian town during the La Tomatina festival, the authorities decided to limit attendance to 20,000 ticket holders, Xinhua reported. The controversial move led to…

  • Air India to begin daily flights from Birmingham

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    Air India has committed to increase its Birmingham-Delhi-Amritsar operation from four flights per week to daily services from November, when its 18th Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft is inducted into service.  Announcing the growth plans at a celebratory dinner to mark Air India’s first anniversary of operating from Birmingham Airport, the airline’s Commercial Director, Mr Pankaj Srivastava,…

  • FEATURE: Presidential Palace Museum

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     A flower petal that was found on the body of Mahatma Gandhi after his assassination, a piece of rock from the moon, gold-plated ceremonial chairs used by the British colonial rulers, Edwin Lutyens’ rough sketches of a grand sandstone structure that took the shape of what is now Rashtrapati Bhavan — such invaluable artefacts are…

  • Air India gets big leap

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    Rohit Vaid analysing the national carriers’ alignment with 27-member Star Alliance.  It took eight years and a host of hiccups before flag carrier Air India finally joined Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline accord. And finally, the 60 million passengers who fly from the world’s fifth largest aviation market will gain better global connectivity and…

  • Kerala explore water adventure sports

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    With changing times and its competitors catching up, Kerala Tourism has decided to promote water adventure sports, a minister said Thursday. Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar said that as all states are becoming tourism friendly, Kerala too has to look for newer programmes and projects. He said water sports like white-water kayaking, para-sailing, seaplanes, mini-cruise ships…

  • Himachal hills lure tourists

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     The prolonged heat and dry spell in the plains has led to an exponential increase in footfall of tourists in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, say members of the hospitality industry. The tourist season this summer has been extremely good. As per the field reports, there has been an approximate increase of 20-25 percent in…

  • India working on cheaper visas & air fares

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    Efforts are being made to control escalating air fares during the holiday season and to slash visa rates in order to compete with cheaper tourism destinations, Tourism Minister Shripad Naik said Saturday. The union minister of state for tourism (independent charge) was referring to cheaper destinations in South East Asia, Maldives and Sri Lanka. He…

  • Air India joins Star Alliance

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    India’s flag carrier Air India becomes 27th member of Star Alliance State-run Air India became 27th member of Star Alliance. The move will provide customers access to lounges of member airlines the world over and single-ticket travel across airlines and other such facilities. “From today, we open up a completely different world for our passengers,…