Mahaparinirvan Express (Odisha Special) - Departing on 23rd December, 2013

India, where Buddhism was founded, has many important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. The easiest way to visit them is by taking Indian Railway's special Mahaparinirvan Express Buddhist Tourist Train. The only issue is that while it goes to the most important Buddhist sites in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, those in Odisha have been missing from the itinerary.

There has been growing demand from pilgrims to visit more places associated with the Buddha. Buddhist sites in Odisha is at Ratnagiri, Dhaulagiri, Udayagiri, Khandagiri and Langudi, date back to early 6th century BC. They are dotted with stupas, chaityas and Ashokan edicts. Vajrayana Buddhism is also studied there.

In response to this, Indian Railways has added the Mahaparinirvan Express Odisha Special to its popular tourist train service. It is a seven night/eight day tour that includes Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, Udaigiri in Odisha.

Kerala Named Among World's Best Family Destinations in 2014

Lonely Planet has named Kerala as one among the world’s 10 best destinations for taking the family along for a holiday in 2014.  The Lonely Planet award for the Best Family Destination was bestowed on ‘God’s Own Country’ at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London, the world’s leading travel trade event attended by industry representatives from around the world.

Kerala joined the likes of New York City, Denmark, Prague, Iceland, Italy and Hawaii in being described by the travel expert as a child-friendly destination ideal for the family.  “The intensity of travel in India could put you off taking a trip here en famille, but Kerala is a family-friendly version: more laid-back than other regions, greener, slower paced… There are also lots of national parks for elephant spotting, palm-fringed beaches and boat trips along the lush canals of the backwaters,” it said.

Kerala Tourism Director Mr. S Harikishore IAS , who led the state delegation to the WTM, received the award from Lonely Planet. The WTM, which began on November 4, concluded on Thursday.

Former South African cricketer Mr. Jonty Rhodes was among those who visited the Kerala pavilion at the WTM, themed on the Ayurveda. Rhodes, who retired from international cricket in 2003 after a spectacular career during which he became best fielder in world cricket, is a brand ambassador for South African Tourism.

“With the British economy registering the fastest growth in the last three years in the previous quarter, the mood at the World Travel Mart hosted by London was upbeat,” said Mr. Harikishore.

The United Kingdom is the most important market for Kerala, recording nearly 1.5 lakh tourist arrivals in the state last year.

“The WTM presented us with a significant opportunity to target higher growth figures for Kerala Tourism, as far as foreign tourist arrivals are concerned, in the coming years as there are signs of recovery also in the rest of Europe after a severe debt crisis,” Shri Harikishore added. “We are also very honoured to have received such a prestigious award from Lonely Planet and being named among the best destinations for family travel.”

The Kerala delegation included 12 co-exhibitors representing the hospitality industry from the state. The co-exhibitors were Abad Hotels & Resorts, Carnoustie Beach Resort and Ayurveda Spa, Intersight Tours & Travels, Jayasree Travels and Tours, Joy’s Resorts & Hotels, KTDC Hotels & Resorts, Kumarakom Lake Resort, Lake Palace Resort, Spiceland Holidays, Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel & Spa, Vythiri Resort and Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala.

Several key members of the world’s travel trade industry visited the Kerala pavilion, which showcased the state as the ‘Home of Ayurveda’. The pavilion received thousands of visitors during the four-day event.

An annual event, the WTM, London, along with the ITB, Berlin held in March, is considered the top travel and tourism event in the world. According to WTM organizers, the event last year is expected to generate nearly 3.2 billion dollars worth of travel and tourism business. As many as 5,000 exhibitors attended this year’s WTM, representing 184 countries and regions.

Japan interested in Karnataka's bullet train project: CM

Japan has evinced interest in funding and sharing technology in a bullet train project in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here today. Siddaramaiah said he had a meeting with Japan's Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Hakubun Shimomura, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting at Dalian in China.

The Japanese side evinced interest in a high speed (bullet) train project in terms of technology and investment and promised to send a delegation to Bangalore on an exploratory visit, the Chief Minister said in a media briefing on his three-day China trip.

"A bullet train between Bangalore and Mysore (about 140 kms) is necessary as we want to decongest Bangalore. One can reach Mysore in 30 minutes (by bullet train)", said Siddaramaiah, who appeared impressed by his eight-minute travel by a high speed train from Shanghai central to Pudong international airport covering a distance of 50 kms.

The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by a 14-member business group and nine-member official team, said China's growth and development are impressive.

"We have to learn and imbibe the quality (of infrastructure) and vision from them", he remarked. State officials said Malaysia's Q1 Group expressed interest in investing in e-retail, IT and education sectors in Karnataka while Spanish firm Acciona did so in waste water treatment, renewable energy projects and wind energy when Siddaramaiah held one-on-one discussions with top executives of the two companies.

Sikkim's first greenfield airport to be completed by 2014

The first greenfield airport in Sikkim at Pakyong will be completed by December 2014, which will provide air connectivity to the land locked state, Bhim Prasad Dhungel, Minister for Tourism, Government of Sikkim said yesterday, the PTI reported.

The Pakyong airport, being built at an altitude of 4,700 feet, will be one of the five highest airports in India. The reinforcement wall on the project is 80 metre in height, which is one of the tallest reinforcement walls in the world, Dhungel told Dr K Chiranjeevi, Minster of State with Independent Charge for Tourism, Government of India, in New Delhi, official sources said. He said that construction work on the Rs 300-crore airport being constructed by Airports Authority of India on 200 acre land is in full swing and added that operation of flights from the airport will be commissioned by March 2015.

Dhungel said that the airport having 180-metre-long airstrip will facilitate landing of ATR-72 plane. Presently, the nearest airport to Sikkim is located 124 km away at Bagdogra in West Bengal.

Travel Bengal 2013: Mamata gets Asean travel agents

Bent on attracting capital investment, the Mamata Banerjee government is organizing Travel Bengal 2013, a business-to-business enclave, with travel agents from Asean countries to promote the Bengal-centric Buddhist circuit.

After the mega industry-meet in Mumbai, where the government's hands-off policy was seen as a deterrent for investment, the Mamata government has thought of the simplest way it could draw foreign capital. "We have decided to hold this event for tapping the tourism market in the Asean countries with an attractive project like the Buddhist Circuit," state tourism secretary Vikram Sen said. More than fifty travel agents from countries like South Korea, Mynmar, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal will attend the event.

The event will be a closed-door one with the business-to-business format with the tour operators from the Asean countries. "Once they go back, they will be able to promote this part of India - especially the Buddhist Circuit," an ICC spokesman said. There will be representations from the northeast as well.

The event on September 23 will be held at Town Hall — the heritage building was consciously chosen so that the hard-selling of Bengal could begin at the venue itself.

Odisha Tourism bagged 'Best Pilgrimage Tourism Destination Award' 2013

Odisha Tourism has bagged ‘Best Pilgrimage Tourism Destination Award’ 2013. Acclaimed tourism magazine 'Today's Traveller' conferred this award to Odisha Tourism in a glittering ceremony at The Taj Hotel in New Delhi on Aug 30, 2013.

Odisha Tourism, Director, Manoranjan Patnaik has received the award on behalf of Odisha Tourism from Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes. After receiving the award Odisha Tourism, Director, Manoranjan Patnaik said to media that Odisha received this prestigious award following its initiatives to promote tourism at various religious places and preserving culture and history and raising the quality of tourism services.

The awards are presented at a star-studded gala awards’ ceremony and a distinguished guest list at a five-star hotel in New Delhi. The Minister for Tourism, Government of India gives out the awards.

Maharashtra, AP sign MoU to promote tourism

To provide a major fillip to tourism in the two states, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (AP) have agreed in principle to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The announcement was made during the inauguration of Tourism Information and Reservation Centre of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) at Tourist Plaza in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. MTDC had also held a roadshow for tour operators of Andhra Pradesh, as per a release.

Chhagan Bhujbal, Minister for Public Works & Special Assistance Department and Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “It would be a win-win situation for both states, which share many similarities and complement each other’s culture. Tourists from other states can visit these two states and that would be the core focus of this joint effort. Besides, we would like to ask tourists and tour operators of Andhra Pradesh to explore the destinations of Maharashtra, which in itself is a wholesome experience.”