Kerala, while gearing up for the end of the year high season, is seeing a surge of new hotels this year. One of the most successful brands in the business travel sector is ibis. Accor Hotels brings its international economy brand, in the capital of Kerala with the opening of ibis Kochi City Centre. Jean-Michel […]

According to a ruling from the top courts of India, from January 22 2017, tour operators will have to pay a service tax on 60 per cent of the amount that they bill the customer. This is likely to impact the cost of the tours by 10-15 per cent upward. Before this, tour operators had […]

ICS Group (India) makes a foray in the Indian market with Ayana Hospitality with the flagship property ‘Ayana Fort Kochi.’ This is pegged as a luxury boutique hotel in Kochi, the gateway to the state of Kerala. The hotel is a 200-year-old courthouse that has been restored and refurbished with the best of amenities, but […]

Royal Orchid Hotels will open two hotels under its brand Regenta Inn in Vadodara and Kolkata, expanding to 40 hotels. Regenta Inn Vadodara is located at Ved Transcube Plaza adjacent to the Central Bus Terminal. This is walking distance to the Vadodara Railway Station and a short ride to the airport, making it a convenient […]

A new cross-border rail service to connect India with Bangladesh is set to be operational in January, to coincide with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina’s state visit to India. The route will connect Kolkata with Khulna and will span a distance of 155km between Kolkata and Bangladesh’s third largest city.  The passenger train is a […]

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced the opening of Andaz Delhi at the Aerocity region of the capital. This marks Andaz brand’s first hotel in India and 16th worldwide. At the moment, Andaz Delhi will open with a partial inventory of its 401 guestrooms, including 45 suites. The hotel will also offer 129 serviced apartments. Other […]

India has signed open skies agreement with six countries. Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka will be the nations that will enjoy an open skies agreement. This was signed at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2016. The agreement allows unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, […]

A 490-room property by ITC is all set to open doors in the eastern city of Kolkata. ITC Hotel, Kolkata will lie next to the already present ITC Sonar and will represent the rich history of Bengal and Kolkata. It is being built with aesthetics from the colonial time, as Calcutta (former name) was the […]

Bhutan Airlines started flying to Bodh Gaya in order to cater to the Buddhist pilgrims that come into India and hop over to Bhutan. Effective 4 December 2016, the airline started flying from Bangkok and Paro to the UNESCO-listed heritage site in Bihar. This is where Lord Buddha gained enlightenment. Flights will operate twice a […]

According to e-commerce website, Booking.com, the financial and entertainment capital of India, will witness an increase in domestic and international tourist footfalls in 2017. Mumbai has been trending as one of the most popular destinations in the world. This is great news given that India has seen a slight lull post recession and Brexit. The […]

Loa cost airline, Spice Jet will commence its daily direct flight on the Hyderabad–Jabalpur circuit from December 23, 2016. Delhi and Mumbai are already connected. Hyderabad is the third metro that Spice Jet will be serving a daily direct flight connecting Jabalpur. The fares for the Hyderabad-Jabalpur route will start from Rs 3500 plus whereas […]

The hotel chain has recently signed its 26th property in Bharuch, in the state of Gujarat. The hotel will be branded under the Lords Eco Inn banner, and will commence operations from December 2016. This makes Lords Hotels & Resorts the largest hotel chain in the state- this is the 26th address of the hotel. […]

Premier Inn hotels in India, located in New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Goa, are being offered for sale through an international tender process with JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group. The bid is scheduled for December 19 to 23, 2016. Premier Inn’s India portfolio of five hotels in prime locations in the nation’s best performing […]

The Lemon Tree Hotel, Candolim in Goa and the Lemon Tree Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh are the two new ventures of the group, that will be launched in the coming year. After seeing the success of the first property, this will be Lemon Tree’s second hotel in Goa. The hotel offers 34 rooms, […]

Goa Tourism has launched amphibious bus service for tourists in the form of duck boats. Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar launched these at the beginning of the tourism season in the state. The duck boats are bound to be a commercial success given the footfall of family bookings in the state. The duck boats are […]

Vistara inaugurated operations to Port Blair, as its flight UK 747 took off from Delhi for Port Blair via Kolkata on Sept 30. Vistara now serves 18  destinations across the country. The new service to Port Blair offers a daily flight from Delhi and Kolkata (same aircraft service via Kolkata), with arrival and departure timings […]

The Indian hospitality space will see three new addresses from the ITC Group in 2017. “ITC is a rapidly growing chain and we are building new hotels. In 2017, we’ll have a second hotel in Hyderabad— ITC Kohinoor. We  will also be coming up with a hotel in Coimbatore as well as in Amritsar. In […]

IndiGo is set to introduce its first daily return flights connecting Bengaluru to Patna, Varanasi and Imphal from the end of October. The airline is introducing 47 new  flights on its existing route network. With this the airline’s frequency will increase to an impressive 883 flights on a daily basis. Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, […]

Wildlife enthusiasts can rejoice as the Government of Assam, Tourism Department has declared to open the Kaziranga National Park from the first week of October this year till middle of May 2017. Earlier, it was from November 1 to April 30 every year. The BJP-led government is taking steps to keep the Park open for […]

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has opened doors of its latest property in Rajasthan — The Gateway Resort Pushkar Bypass Ajmer. The hotel has 81 rooms and suites and is built in the Rajasthani aesthetics with a royal touch. It is ideal for leisure and business travellers both. “Ajmer and Pushkar are two secret jewels […]

India and Greece have signed an open skies agreement which will allow airlines from India to operate unlimited number of flights to Greece while Greek carriers have been granted unlimited traffic rights to six Indian metro cities which are Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and  Chennai. This means that the Indian traveller and the Greek […]

India based airline brand IndiGo has introduced new daily non-stop flights to Port Blair from Kolkata and Chennai from September 28 and September 30, 2016, respectively. Port Blair will also be connected to Delhi (via Kolkata) and Hyderabad (via Chennai) for better connectivity. The airline will also launch additional frequencies with daily non-stop flight  between […]