Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday inaugurated the country’s second international airport built by China that will help connect Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha and a major tourist and pilgrimage destination, to Buddhist circuits in South Asia as well as to the rest of the world. The USD 76 million Gautam Buddha […]

Nepal has decided to waive several charges for one year for international airlines conducting flights to the country’s newly-opened Gautam Buddha International Airport. The decision by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on a 100 per cent waiver of charges, including for landing, parking, communication, navigation aid and security check, will be effective from […]

Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, has become the first city in India to house two leopard reserves after the launch of the Amagarh project.  Amagarh is a reserved forest section in the Aravali mountain range spreading over 1,524 hectare and it houses 15 leopards.Besides leopards, other wildlife found here are hyenas, jackals, wild cats, foxes […]

India’s tiger conservation efforts received a boost after the environment ministry notified the Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Rajasthan as India’s 52nd tiger reserve recently. With this announcement, Rajasthan now has four tiger reserves — Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district, Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota district and Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district. […]

International flights have commenced from the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) on 16th May. A plane of Jazeera Airlines landed at the airport for the first time. The narrow-body aircraft carrying 178 passengers arrived here from Kuwait as a maiden international flight to the GBIA, coinciding with the 2566th Buddha Jayanti. The airplane was welcomed with […]

The Ministry of Home Affairs of India has granted security clearance to Jet Airways as the airline plans to relaunch commercial flight operations, an official document said. The security clearance comes in wake of the proposed change in Jet Airways’ management control and shareholding pattern, for the scheduled operator permit. The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium is currently […]

Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) recently announced the opening of Taj City Centre New Town hotel in Kolkata, West Bengal. The 137 rooms and 10 suites at Taj City Centre New Town, Kolkata offer a soothing sojourn away from the city’s hustle and bustle. From the luxurious suites with private jacuzzi to charming rooms, it […]

Global travel data operator, Official Airline Guide (OAG) recently said Delhi Airport has emerged as the world’s second busiest airport in March 2022, in terms of total seat capacity and frequency of domestic and international flights. The airport handled about 31.65 million domestic passengers and 5.49 million international traffic in calendar year (CY) 2021. It […]

The luxury train, Palace on Wheels, which was halted in view of the Covid pandemic in 2020, will resume services from September this year, a senior official said recently. Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation chairman Dharmendra Rathore is expected to soon ink a new agreement with the India Railways after multiple meetings on the topic, said […]

India is known internationally for its time-tested, ancient Ayurvedic treatments and medicines that are used to cure and heal many ailments. And the government of India has been making efforts to promote the manifold benefits of traditional medicine and Ayurveda to international tourists who often visit India for acquiring these treatments. Now, it will get […]

Malcha Mahal, a Tughlaq-era hunting lodge, will be brought on the tourist map of Delhi. It is one of the many destinations in the city that have successfully created an aura that draws in people from far and wide. The 14th-century monument will be undergoing renovation and then be added to the heritage structure, said […]

La Vie Hotels & Resorts, one of Asia Pacific’s independent hotel management companies, has signed a landmark deal with Radisson Hotel Group and Sino Lanka Group to operate three hotels in Sri Lanka. This major new agreement with Radisson Hotel Group will see the company launch an upper-upscale Radisson Blu resort on the shores of […]

The Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Rupandehi district of the Lumbini Province has formally come into operation from today. This is the second international airport in the country after the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the regulatory body, Engineer Pradip Adhikari recently informed […]

The Indian Railways is set to deploy three new toy trains on the Kalka-Shimla route for the first time since the service became operational 118 years ago, railways officials familiar with the development said, adding the trains will start running by the end of the year. The new toy trains will operate on the 96.6-km […]

Qatar Airways and IndiGo recently said they are reactivating their codeshare partnership following India’s decision to resume regular international passenger flights from March 27. In a codeshare partnership, each carrier on its distribution system can sell seats for other’s flights. IndiGo had in November 2019 signed the codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways. Their joint statement […]

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), the parent company managing Taj Hotels worldwide, recently announced the opening of Anand Kashi By The Ganges – IHCL SeleQtions hotel in Rishikesh. Nestled between the majestic Himalayan mountains and the banks of the pristine waters of the holy Ganges, it was the erstwhile residence of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal. Known […]

Jet Airways is gearing up to take to Indian skies by October 2022, its CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said recently. The resumption of services will come after a hiatus of more than three years. Jet Airways stopped services in April 2019 after being bogged down by financial woes. Kapoor said that Jet Airways will offer two-class […]

India last Sunday began the administration of the precautionary “third” dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, also known as the booster dose, for the 18-plus population. All those who are more than 18 years of age and have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose, would be eligible for the precaution dose, the […]

Dutch flag-carrier KLM has announced that it will resume flight services between Amsterdam-Bengaluru from May 25, 2022. This route was launched in October 2019 and was temporarily suspended in 2020 amid Covid-19 and the air-bubble limitations. In a statement, the airline said that KLM will operate three flights per week from Bengaluru to Amsterdam, offering […]

Radisson Hotel Group plans to more than double the number of hotels it has in India taking it up to 288 by 2025, as it seeks to ride on the burgeoning demand. The company is also launching a new lifestyle brand extension Radisson Individuals Retreats amid a rise in demand for curated travel and experiential […]

Sri Lanka is undergoing an economic crisis due to a shortage of foreign exchange to pay for imports. The economic impact of the pandemic was quickly followed by maturity of several large loan repayments which have mopped up most of the country’s less than spectacular dollar reserves. The increase in oil prices has not helped and […]

The famous living root bridges found in Meghalaya in India have been included on the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. These living root bridges are grown by the indigenous Khasi tribal communities. They facilitate connectivity in more than 75 remote villages in and around the wettest region on the planet. These simple suspension […]