1.             NATIONAL TOURISM ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETS

New Delhi: The National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) and the stakeholders met here today under the chairpersonship of Minister of Tourism and Culture Ms. Ambika Soni. The emergent meeting of the council with representatives of the travel and hospitality industry was convened by the Union Ministry of Tourism to discuss the Industry problems as a fall out of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai as well as issues affecting the industry due to the ongoing financial melt-down. More than 60 top representatives from hospitality, travel and tour, senior Union/ State Governments officials attended the brain storming session. The Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Ms. Kanti Singh was also present.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

2.             TAJ TOWERS AND OBEROI TRIDENT REOPEN WITH SOLID BOOKINGS

Bombay: The Taj Towers wing of Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Oberoi Trident reopened on December 21 amidst chanting of prayers of all faiths. Both hotels had solid bookings and restaurants were also full on the opening day December 21    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

3.             INDIAN RAILWAYS AND COX & KINGS SIGN DEAL FOR LUXURY TRAINS

Bombay: The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Cox and Kings (India) to set up a company to operate a luxury tourist train service with a pan-Indian reach. India has several luxury tourist train services like the Palace on Wheels, Deccan Odyssey and Golden Chariot, but all these are regional. The new train will traverse multiple states, showcasing India in totality with the joint venture known as Royale India Rail Tours Ltd.

4.             LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Regarding item 15 (POLISH ARTISTS TO GIVE JODHPUR PALACE A FACELIFT in issue of 10.12.2008), and Stefan Norblin’s self exile from Poland during the 40’s. He was in India together with 10’s of thousands of war refugees. My Mother spent the years 1942 to 1948 at one camp that held 20,000 people just outside of Kolhapur. I took my mother back to India last year for her to visit Kolhapur and then a few other spots as well. She wants to go back again next year so I will try to get her to Jodhpur to see the frescos if at all possible.
Yours sincerely,
Bronislaw Tabaczynski.
Living Travel International, Perth, Australia
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5.             THE PRESIDENT’S ESTATE OPEN FOR ECO GROUP TOURS

New Delhi: Visit the President’s Estate (Rashtrapati Bhavan) to get up close and personal with Mother Nature. President Pratibha Patil inaugurated a 'Nature Trail' at the President's Estate, which showcases a rich biodiversity, including more than 150 plants and trees, 84 animals and 32 birds. It is proposed that the Trail would be thrown open to the general public on Saturdays, when the Changing of Guard ceremony takes place. Spread over an area of 75 acres, the Trail is located at the western end of the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

6.             FOREIGNERS SAFE IN INDIA ASSURES TOURISM MINISTER

Cochin: Ms. Ambika Soni, Minister for Tourism and Culture has asserted that India won’t let itself be marred by terrorism. Speaking on 13 December at the departure ceremony of the Volvo Ocean Race at Cochin, the first Indian stopover of the global race, she said that the stopover proved India could take care of the welfare and safety of foreigners. “We will do everything in our power and see to it that there is an Indian on board in the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race,” Ms Soni added. Kochi was the first Indian stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race. This yacht race around the world is held once every three years.

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Chennai/Madras: “Culture-vultures” swoop down on Madras in December for the country’s most highbrow celebration of classical music and dance. The less classical minded take in sessions of folk dance at the Mahabalipuram festival near by. For a month starting December 25, the World Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram provides the backdrop for a series of dances and concerts. Though classical will be well represented most go for the folk, with a high representation from the Northeast this year.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

New Delhi: The Ministry of Tourism will receive entries for National Tourism Awards 2007-08 till 15 January 2009. The Awards, like every year, will be given for the Best Hotel, Best Tourist Film, Best maintained National Park/Monument, Best Travel agent, Best State and Best Tour Operator and many more. For details log on to http://www.incredibleindia.org and http://www.tourism.gov.in    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

New Delhi: One of the institutions of the Ashok Hotel, the Durbar, which first opened in 1995, has been re-designed completely and is now known as the Oudh. The restaurant that previously stuck to kebab platters and Punjabi curries has taken a dramatic turn to quintessential Lucknawi food. There is a selection of Dum Pukht dishes and biryani’s. The dum-cooked rice is flavoured with saffron and the morsels of lamb are tender. Among the desserts, Shahi Tukre can be ordered with health ingredients that include brown bread and stevia, a sugar-free herb.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

10.          JAIN SHRINE REOPENS AFTER TWO DECADES

Hyderabad: A 2,500-year-old Jain temple located near Kolanpak village in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh has reopened after completion of renovation that took over 20 years. Sri Shwethambar Jain Tirth temple is one of the top ten Jain pilgrimage centres. Over 1,000 workers, artisans and stone-cutters worked for two decades to complete the renovation work at a cost of US$ 2.2 million..

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11.          DLF GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB AWARDED AS INDIA’S FINEST BY ASIAN GOLF MONTHLY AWARDS

New Delhi: DLF Golf & Country Club reaffirmed its status as a leading golfing facility in the country by retaining its crown as the best Golf Course in India for a second year in succession, at the recently concluded Asian Golf Monthly Awards held in Shenzhen, China. Mr. Akash Ohri the director of DLF Golf and Resorts has been conferred the second runner up title for the best club man of the year. On accepting the award, Mr. Akash Ohri said: "There is tremendous prestige and honour attached to the awards as they acknowledge the best of the best in the Asian golf course industry. We are proud to be presented with this award as it signifies the excellence of our Golf Course."

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12.          THOMAS COOK INKS PACT WITH INDIAN OCEAN CRUISES FOR HERITAGE CRUISE MS OCEAN ODYSSEY

Bombay: Thomas Cook, will play a key role in marketing of Indian Ocean Cruises destinations of Reunion, Rodriguez and Madagascar from Pristine islands through its agents across Mauritius, India and Europe. Indian Ocean Cruises from Foresight Smart Ventures, the flagship company of the $500 million London based Foresight Shipping Group has entered into a strategic partnership with Europe’s second largest travel firm Thomas Cook Group plc. Announcing this association with Thomas Cook, Mr. Sanjeev Goswami, Joint Managing Director of Foresight Smart Ventures said, “Our partnership with Thomas Cook is one step forward in branding Mauritius as an exciting cruise and vacation destination. We are glad that the launch of heritage cruise liner ‘MS Ocean Odyssey’ in January will bind the islands of Indian Ocean on the theme of their historical evolution”. Mr. Goswami added, “We have invested over US$30 million to develop our Cruise offering in the Indian Ocean and we have aggressive plans for next 5 years to establish world class cruises in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius, the “star and the key of the Indian Ocean” will now become the starting point of this wonderful journey adding value to the customer offerings”.

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13.          AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER HIGHLIGHTS ALL THINGS THAT MAKE INDIA GREAT

New Delhi: Australian photographer Angus McDonald paid a tribute to all things that make India great in his recent exhibition in Delhi. After years of living, studying and working in the country, Angus wanted to gather a set of photographs that would summarize many of the things he admired about India. “Through this photo exhibition, I have tried to highlight the country’s tolerance, its diversity, its beauty and most significantly its ability to endure,” says the Aussie. Angus says he chose the hill trains for the exhibition titled “Hill Trains of India” because they are a metaphor for all these qualities. Over two and a half years, the Australian photographer rode the Kanga Valley Railway, Darjeeling Hill Railway, Nilgiri Hill Railway and Mavli-Marwar Railway, documenting life along the lines with his digital camera. The result was an exhibition of 54 colour images at the India International Centre Annexe in New Delhi.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

14.          INDIGO FLIES PAST KINGFISHER TO CLAIM 3RD SPOT

New Delhi: Low-cost carrier IndiGo has dealt a double whammy to Kingfisher Airlines. Not only has the airline wrested the third largest position from Kingfisher, it has also replaced Kingfisher Red as the largest Low Cost Carrier (LCC). IndiGo gained a market share of 14.7 per cent, closely followed by Kingfisher Red at 13.3 per cent whereas Kingfisher slipped two notches to the fifth position at 11.6 per cent. Kingfisher stood at No.3 in October, followed by Kingfisher Red and IndiGo at fourth and fifth, respectively.

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15.          GOVERNMENT PROPOSES MARKETING 2009 AS 'VISIT INDIA' YEAR

New Delhi: To counter the world economic meltdown and consequent downturn in tourism the Centre will be pulling out all the stops to aggressively promote India at the domestic and international level, including declaring 2009 as the year to ‘Visit India’. Incentives from leading hotels like Taj and Oberoi besides packages from the government itself are on the anvil. To woo travelers, the tourism ministry is considering providing one, two or three day stay at a wellness resort, rural stay or a taste of adventure tourism. Ambika Soni Minister for Tourism and Culture said. ‘‘Among others, adventure tourism, rural tourism, Buddhist sites and other products will be offered to tourists in various packages,’’ as she chaired a National Tourism Advisory Council meeting convened by her ministry, which was attended by representatives from the travel and tourism industry, civil aviation and hospitality sector among others. It was decided to form a committee of representatives of trade associations and officers of the concerned ministries to look for ways to improve visitor experience at important monuments.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

16.          AFTER FINNAIR EYES FLIGHTS FROM SOUTH INDIA

New Delhi: Beating the slowdown in the aviation sector where airlines are reducing their flying zones, Finland’s national carrier Finnair, is keen to start operations from Madras and Hyderabad as there is a lot of traffic for Finland from these cities. “We are waiting to operate from these cities as a large number of engineers from India working with Nokia are posted in Helsinki,” said Kari Solbow, director Indian subcontinent, Finnair.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

17.          GALILEO EXPRESS TRAVEL WORLD AWARDS 2008

Bombay: Many tourism related businesses were given awards for 2008 some of which were: The ITC Hotels were awarded the prize for the Best Premium Hotel Brand with the Trident as the Best First Class Hotel Brand Jet Airways won the Best Domestic Full Service Airline award and IndiGo Airlines the Best Domestic Low Cost Carrier with Air India the Best International Airlines – Short Haul and British Airways the Best International Airline – Long Haul. Le Passage to India was chosen for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, Kuoni Travel Group, India’s Best Outbound Tour Operator – National and TUI Best Regional Outbound Tour Operator North. H.H. Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar was chosen for the Tata AIG- Lifetime Achievement Award    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

18.          ITC UNVEILS 25TH FORTUNE PARK HOTEL

Hyderabad: ITC’s wholly-owned subsidiary Fortune Park Hotels Ltd. announced with much fanfare the opening of its 25th property, ‘Fortune Select Manohar’. The event was flagged off by Mr. Pawan Verma, senior executive vice-president, ITC hotels division. The hotel that until now was known as the ‘The Manohar’ is owned by Shri Shakti Resorts & Hotels Ltd (SSRHL), has now been totally refurbished and is currently, managed by Fortune Hotels and is positioned as a ‘select hotel’. The hotel is expected to service both Hyderabad and Secunderabad.    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US

19.          GOAIR TO EXPAND FLEET SIZE TO 35 BY MARCH 2011

Bombay: Wadia Group’s no-frills airline GoAir is expanding its operations and increasing it’s fleet. The airline has decided to scale up its fleet size to 35 by March 2011 from the existing six, in two tranches. It will add 20 aircraft by this year and later bring in another nine in the next two years. The proposed expansion coupled with the tumbling crude and ATF prices will help the business break-even faster,    Courtesy of contents:: email from InterMedia, New Delhi  kumaraswamy-worldwidetravels.com A to Z worldwide Travel Tour information Provider--[incredible India Tourism Promotions]    Email US