Travelmail

Seamless movement on Golden Triangle route

travelmail — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:52:30 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
As a successful culmination of the collaborative and pro-active efforts of Ministry of Tourism with Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, the seamless movement of commercial tourist vehicles has finally taken off. A beginning has been made as the first set of tourist vehicles left for the Golden Triangle of Delhi – Agra – Jaipur on July 17, 2010 and returned the same night.
The Golden Triangle of Agra-Delhi-Jaipur is one of the most visited by foreign and domestic tourists. There is going to be an influx of tourists during the Commonwealth Games. To avoid hindrances in movement of tourist vehicles in the NCR especially, in the Golden Triangle of Agra – Delhi – Jaipur, Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and the State Governments of NCT of Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh has made an arrangement whereby taxes would be collected centrally at each of the four starting nodes at Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur and Agra in such a way that the taxes thus collected are to be apportioned and the tourist coach / car would be allowed unhindered movement in the Golden Triangle. An octagonal sticker with security features designed by the Ministry of Tourism in consultation with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is being provided for the commercial tourist vehicles. The sticker contains all requisite details such as registration number of the vehicle, name of the operator, origin and destination points, route and period for which tax has been paid. There would be random checking by the Transport Authorities and both the Ministries would take penal action against deviants.
In the case of Delhi, the Delhi Transport Authority would collect taxes from the Government approved Tour Operators / Tourist Transport Operators on behalf of concerned states, based on type of vehicle, travel itinerary and tax structure prevalent. These taxes would be collected as separate drafts and Delhi Transport Authority would issue a composite permit allowing vehicles to move freely throughout the concerned states, on the circuit. All the concerned state governments for the duration of its validity would honour the permit.
The new arrangement would not only boost the tourist inflow in the region but also would be beneficial for the States to plug in revenue leakage. The Government approved Tour operators and Tourist Transport Operators are very enthusiastic about this arrangement by which they clear many hurdles in inter-state movement, in one stroke. Needless to say, the reduction in travel time by eliminating en – route hold ups is expected to bring in greater tourists satisfaction also.

Mobile recharge coupons now available at stations

travelmail — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:07:51 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
The Ministry of Railways has decided that the rechargeable coupons for mobile phones would be made available for the benefit of the passengers at the STD/PCO booths at Railway Stations. As per the decision, all Zonal Railways are being permitted to allow sale of recharge coupons from the existing STD/PCO booths at the Railway stations which opt for selling the recharge coupons on payment of the following additional license fee as per the category of the station.
Category of Station Additional License Fee per month
A-1 and A Rs. 500/-
B and C Rs. 300/-
D, E and F Rs. 200/-
The STD/PCO booths opting for the scheme will be required to display a sign indicating that “recharge coupons for mobile phone are available” and will not be allowed to display the name of service provider companies.
The above approval is being initially granted for a period of one year upto June 30, 2011 only. Thereafter, the scheme will be reviewed by the Railway Board on the basis of detailed information regarding number of booths opting for the scheme, additional license fee realized etc. to be received from all Zonal Railways.

26 schools to offer Hospitality and Tourism Vocational Course

travelmail — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:17:14 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
26 CBSE schools have opted for “Hospitality and Tourism” as a vocational course from the current academic session 2010-11 under a pilot project. A MoU to offer Hotel Management and Catering Technology courses for XI and XII class students in Central Board of Secondary Education schools was signed between National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT), New Delhi and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Delhi on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Following is the list of CBSE schools offering “Hospitality and Tourism” as a vocational course.
Kendriya Vidyalayas: Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh).
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas: Ratibad, PO Suraj Nagar, Distt. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Dhanansu, Distt. Ludhiana (Punjab), Theog, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Kherli PO Bhandarej Distt. Dausa (Rajasthan), Pipersand, PO Sarojini Nagar, Distt. Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Gargarkote, Suyalbari Distt Nainital (Uttarakhand), Kolara Kalan Distt Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Gajokhar, PO Parasara Distt. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Satari, Valpoi Distt. North Goa (Goa) Cuttack (Orissa), Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh), Anantnag (Jammu & Kashmir), Ambala (Haryana), Rohtak (Haryana), Panipat (Haryana), Saraikela (Jharkhand), Nalbari (Assam), South Sikkim (Sikkim), Bishnupur (Manipur).
Central School for Tibetan: Darjeeling (West Bengal), Chotta Shimla, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh).
Schools of Delhi Government: Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Delhi Cantt, Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, FU Block, Pitampura, SCSD Govt. Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Sec IX, Rohini.

Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 in Assam

travelmail — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:17:02 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia

The President of Assam Olympic Association and Minister of Forest And Tourism, Rockybul Hussain along with other sports person holding the Queen's Baton, during the Queen's Baton Relay 2010 started from Nehru Stadium in Guwahati on July 20, 2010

Kumari Selja seeks support to expand the reach of Hospitality Education

travelmail — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:45:34 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
The Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said that the contribution of tourism to the country’s GDP was 5.92% and contribution to employment (both direct and indirect) was 9.24% for the year 2007–08.
She was speaking at a function organized for signing of MoU between National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in New Delhi today.
She said that as per a survey conducted in the year 2004, the Industry requires about two lakh-trained persons annually. As against this, the supply is only 18000 persons, which effectively came to only 12000 persons after reckoning the attrition. She said, this huge skill gap in the Industry is cause of serious concern and the Government has to find means to negotiate huge skill gap which is affecting the hospitality sector.
She said that it is expected that by the year 2022, we will have about five million educated persons with tourism specific skills. This number will constitute direct employment in the Industry. The MoU, therefore, is an instrument that will significantly contribute to the realization of inclusive growth.

Railway revenue earnings up by 3.44%

travelmail — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:57:47 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the period from July 1 to 10, 2010 were Rs. 2267.35 crore compared to Rs. 2191.91 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 3.44 per cent. The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 1445.45 crore during the period from July 1to 10 July 2009 to Rs. 1503.83 crore during same period, showing an increase of 4.04 per cent. The total passenger revenue earnings during the period were Rs. 684.22 crore compared to Rs. 666.37 crore during the same period last year, reflecting an increase of 2.68 per cent. The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 63.16 crore during this period compared to Rs. 56.49 crore during the same period last year, showing an increase of 11.81 per cent.
The total approximate numbers of passengers booked were 218.70 million compared to 210.09 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 4.10 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the numbers of passengers booked were 115.03 million and 103.67 million compared to 110.56 million and 99.53 million during the same period last year, registering an increase of 4.04 per cent and 4.16 per cent respectively.

3151 VoAs were issued during January to June 2010

travelmail — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:49:16 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
The total numbers of 3151 Visa on Arrival (VoAs) were issued during the period January to June, 2010 for the nationals of Singapore (1040), Finland (802), New Zealand (768), Japan (521) and Luxembourg (20). Total number of VoAs issued during June, 2010 were 401; Finland (66), Japan (68), New Zealand (108), Singapore (156) and Luxemburg (3). During the six month, the maximum number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (1663), followed by Mumbai (689), Chennai (635) and Kolkata (164).

Domestic Passengers carried in the 2nd quarter of 2010

travelmail — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:58:31 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
The total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled airlines of India in the second quarter of 2010 from April to June were 134.77 lakhs and in the first quarter from January to March 2010 was 118.53 lakhs.
The break-up for the second quarter is as follows: Air India (Domestic) – 23.69 lakhs, Jet Airways –24.75 lakhs, Jet Lite – 10.53 lakhs, Kingfisher – 28.42 lakhs, Spice Jet – 17.57 lakhs, Paramount – 0.45 lakhs, Go Air – 7.88 lakhs and IndiGo – 21.48 lakhs.
The total domestic passengers in June: 45.04 lakhs, Air India (Domestic) – 7.60 lakhs, Jet Airways –8.40 lakhs, Jet Lite – 3.51 lakhs, Kingfisher – 9.44 lakhs, Spice Jet – 5.98 lakhs, Paramount – 0.13 lakhs, Go Air – 2.61 lakhs and IndiGo –7.37 lakhs.
The percentage share of the carriers in the second quarter: Air India (Domestic) 17.6%, Jet Airways – 18.4%, Jet Lite – 7.8%, Kingfisher – 21.1%, Spice Jet–13.0%, Paramount – 0.3%, Go Air – 5.8% and IndiGo – 15.9%.
The percentage share of the carriers in the month of June: Air India (Domestic) – 16.9%, Jet Airways – 18.7%, Jet Lite – 7.8%, Kingfisher – 21.0%, Spice Jet – 13.3%, Paramount – 0.3%, Go Air – 5.8 % and IndiGo – 16.4%.
The seat factor of the domestic airlines in June: Air India (Domestic) – 72.3%, Jet Airways – 80.5%, JetLite – 83.6%, Kingfisher Airlines – 85.1%, Spice Jet – 88.5%, Paramount Airways – 86.8%, Go Air –84.0% and IndiGo – 90.7%.

Railway provide increased accessibility on IRCTC website

travelmail — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:05:49 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
In a significant initiative to remove the difficulties faced by ordinary common users in accessing the IRCTC website for booking Tatkal tickets and ordinary tickets over internet in the first hour of the booking on the opening day, the Ministry of Railways has decided to bar travel agents, web-service agents/web agents of IRCTC from accessing the website during that period.
Under this decision, which is expected to provide increased accessibility of the IRCTC website to the ordinary users, following instructions have come into operation:
a) Travel agents/web-services agents/web agents of IRCTC will not be given access to Tatkal booking, through e-ticketing on all days between 8 am to 9 am.
b) Travel agents/web-services agents/web agents of IRCTC will not be given access, through e-ticketing, to trains defined in the system on their respective opening day of Advance Reservation Period (ARP), between 8 am to 9 am.
This passenger friendly measure comes in the wake of a large number of complaints regarding IRCTC website not becoming accessible to common users at the time of the commencement of the Railway reservation booking in the morning, making it difficult to book e-ticket and Tatkal on-line.
In addition, a drive has also been launched for a period of one fortnight at all major reservation offices to conduct special checks between 7.30 am to 9 am to prevent touts/unscrupulous elements from cornering the seats/berths in the first hour of the opening day of the advance reservation period.

Vinay Phadnis receives Entrepreneurship Excellence Award

travelmail — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:58:22 +0000

breakingtravelnews.in BTNIndia
New Delhi, Small and Medium Business Development Chamber of India honoured Vinay Phadnis ,CMD of Phadnis Group with Entrepreneurship Excellence Award for “Infrastructure & Hospitality Sector”.
Thrilled on this occasion, Mr Phadnis said, “I am both humbled and delighted to have been given such an honour, such accolades will go a long way in steering Phadnis Group to the path of success. I dedicate this Award to the entire team of Phadnis group, who have shared my dreams and made them their own and worked hard towards catapulting the company to new heights”.