Tourism developments in Puducherry

Tourist arrivals to Pondicherry has increased to 7.5% compared to last year.

The recent Oscar Winner "Life of PI" was shot in Pondicherry. The film has given tremendous publicity in the International Market for Film Tourism in India. To develop the spots of "Life of PI" The Ministry of Tourism has prioritized two projects for Rs.10.00 Crs in this year.

The Arikamedu, the only place in India which gives clear evidence for Indo-Roman Trade is proposed for development under mega scale. The Ministry of Tourism is under the consideration of sanctioning the project under "Mega Circuit Development".

Further, the National Level Consultant appointed by the Minister has identified various projects for development of tourism in Puducherry at an approximate estimated cost of Rs.188.00 Crs.

Mango Festival and Rabindra Jayanti Programme

The Department of Food Processing Industries and Horticulture, Government of West Bengal and the Department of Agriculture Marketing, Government of West Bengal, with support from the Office of the Resident Commissioner, New Delhi, are organizing a "Mango Festival" at Dilli Haat, INA, from 11th June to 30th June, 2013. The event will be inaugurated at the conference hall (behind AC lounge) at Dilli Haat at 4 pm on 11th June, 2013. On the same day, a special tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore will be organized from 6.30 pm onwards at Muktadhara Auditorium, 18-19 Bhai Veer Singh Marg (near Gole Market).

Goa airport will now offer visa on arrival for foreign tourists

Five more international airports across the country, including the one in Goa, will now offer visa on arrival facilities to foreign tourists. Currently this facility is operational only at four international airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. It was decided at the third inter-ministerial coordination committee meeting to extend Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility at Goa, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi airports. The government has permitted VoA facility for citizens of 11 countries – Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia.

A shot in the arm for recreational tourism

Kerala Tourism has started benefiting from surfing and wave riding, now a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. The country’s first ever national three-day Surfing and Stand up Paddle competition that commenced in Kovalam on Friday is a shot in arm for Kerala Tourism’s effort over the years to tap the huge potential for recreational tourism.
Over 100 surfers from within the country and abroad are taking part in the competition and the event has been billed as a great way to commence Surf tourism.
Tourists arriving at the famed beach resort over the last two years had been looking forward to surfing, wave riding, scuba diving, snorkelling, boating and water skiing.

Artificial reef

The host of water sports had been made possible with commissioning of a multipurpose artificial soft reef off the Light House. Installed between the Light House and the Edakkal rocks, the reef has protected the eroding coast and had made Kovalam a round-the-year surfing destination. Since then, the reef had been able to stabilise the beaches and make them wider by eliminating the wave power offshore. Tourists are also getting sheltered swimming.
The Rs.7.8-crore project, funded under the Centre’s tsunami rehabilitation programme, was executed by the New-Zealand-based Artificial Surfing Reef Ltd. through the Department of Harbour Engineering for Kerala Tourism.  

Visa on arrival

With Tourist Visa on Arrival soon to be launched at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, the tourism authorities are hoping to prevent the movement of surfers from Kovalam to adjoining Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Besides, Kovalam will get free publicity and the tourism authorities can now market it as a surfing destination around the world.

Goa tourism department bans drinking on beaches

The Department of Tourism in Goa has banned drinking and carrying of liquor bottles on beaches in the state. Goa's image has taken a beating recently, largely due to a spate of crimes against foreign tourists, rising prices and its overcrowded beaches.

The Director of Tourism Department in Goa, Nikhil Desai, said they took the decision to ban consumption of liquor on beaches to make tourists feel safer.

"Now, if people want to come to Goa, they are our guests, we will welcome them. Let them have drink in shacks or inhotels or any other licensed premises, which is perfectly legal, and let them behave responsibly so that Goa continues to remain beautiful not only for them, but for other tourists and other stakeholders who are part of this industry," said Desai in Panaji.

Tens of thousands of tourists visit Goa to enjoy its sun kissed beaches, which are also famous for night-long parties. The tourism department has also asked the state police to increase patrolling to prevent the tourists from breaking glass bottles on the beaches.

The President of All Goa Liquor Traders Association, Dattaprasad Naik, however, said the ban would affect liquor traders and sales.

Goa attracts over 2.6 million tourists annually. The surf, sun and cheap liquor are some of the main draws of the state, which is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country.

Best City Awards to Gujarat

Gujarat cities again create benchmark in urban planning, transparency and resources. Surat gets best city award, Ahmedabad runners up.

Gujarat has been adjudged with four prestigious awards by the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) in different categories at a function held here. Out of total six awards, four awards were received by Gujarat for Overall Quality of Life in all parameters and Quality of City and Governance. Surat bagged best city award for Quality of Life and Governance while Ahmedabad city ranked third. All the four awards were received by Shri I.P. Gautam Principal Secretary (Urban Development) of Gujarat Government and Shri Manoj Das, Commissioner Surat from Shri N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Ltd.

The cities were ranked on a primary survey of 11 India’s largest cities and two global benchmarks, London and New York. Gujarat has received a number of national and international awards in last decade for Good Governance. Under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi as Chief Minister, Gujarat has developed one of the best infrastructures in the country and created conducive environment for its people to realize their full potential and excel in their chosen vocation.

Gujarat has invigorated the development of its cities and urban spaces with innovative ideas and their speedy implementation for long term, robust urban growth. In the last decade, the State Government has taken a series of initiatives dedicated to urban areas that have generated wonderful results. Gujarat’s pioneering initiatives in areas such as water management, disaster management, health care, education, women empowerment, rural development, industrial development, investment promotion have been studied far and wide and several of them have been replicated and up-scaled in other states of the country.

Recently, “India Today- awarded Gandhinagar, Surat Rajkot and Vadodara for providing best public services to the citizens.

“Chalo Chalen Bengal”: First-Ever Month-Long Campaign for Tourism Promotion in West Bengal Launched in Delhi on the 4th April 2013

As part of the campaign, with the attractive catch-line of “Chalo Chalen Bengal” (Let’s Visit Bengal), picturesque and high-quality advertisement panels depicting premier tourist attractions of the State will be displayed in 15 such bus shelters across Delhi, apart from the city airport and key railway stations.

In keeping with the multi-dimensional approach to present the tourist-friendly atmosphere of the State, the Hon’ble Minister also inaugurated a new state-of-the-art tourism information centre at the WBICC office, equipped with high-speed internet connection and other modern facilities. He opened a Photography Exhibition titled “Beautiful Bengal” by Shri Sanjay Das at the Muktadhara Art Gallery at WBICC, with an objective to project to the visitors the myriad hues of West Bengal.