Goa Invites Public Suggestions for New Tourism Bill - India Report

The Indian government is exploring adventure tourism as an avenue of promoting destinations across the country. For instance, earlier this month, the newly appointed minister of tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat went skydiving in Haryana on World Skydiving Day. 

India’s foreign exchange earnings through tourism in 2023 was INR 2.3 trillion ($27.5 billion), according to the government’s latest Economic Survey for 2023-24 – a 66% gain over 2022.

A fierce diurnal wind is gusting up the Kali Gandaki valley in Mustang, an isolated region in central Nepal, suffusing the austere terrain with drama and motion. It whips the thousands of prayer flags into a frenzy and relieves unsuspecting visitors of their hats. The powerful wind is the breath of this land; its heart is the Kali Gandaki, the river that originates in the north, near the Tibetan border, and empties into the Ganges. Over centuries the wind and the river have carved this gorge out of the Annapurna range, part of a 500-mile band that contains some of the Himalayas’ proudest peaks. But all are dwarfed by a single form looming 23,000 feet above, somehow both near and far: the triple-peaked, snowcapped Nilgiri Himal, which keeps watch over its dominion below.

Intrepid Travel’s India arm has a target of getting 30,000 tourists a year to India by 2030 — that’s four times the 7,500 it brought last year.

The lifestyle hotel sector continues to woo some of the world's largest hotel companies, it seems.

It just got easier to visit the «world’s greatest open-air museum.»  Luxor, Egypt is known for its massive historical temples, the nearby Valley of the Kings, stone statues, and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Now, thanks to a newly introduced flight route from low-cost carrier easyJet, travelers to the region will have direct access from London's Gatwick airport.

The Indian aviation industry has recorded its highest-ever half yearly domestic passenger traffic. Between January and June 2024, Indian airlines carried 79.35 million passengers. This was an increase of over 4% from the previous year, as per data from Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation. 

Paytm started as a financial services company in India, but is now diversifying its revenue streams, with a special focus on travel. The fintech company often refers to itself as an online travel agency and is looking at travel as a core business segment.

India’s largest online travel agency MakeMyTrip and budget airline Air India Express have partnered to launch ‘Xpress Holidays’ – a platform that would allow travelers to book end-to-end holiday packages. 

The Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is about to join an exclusive club.

The vacation rentals market represents a relatively small segment of India’s hospitality industry. However, despite its small size, the short-term rental market has significant potential. Catch Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia in conversation with Skift Research’s Varsha Arora as they discuss what’s driving the growth of this sector in India, in the latest episode of the Skift India Travel Podcast, presented by Amadeus.

The Tata group is likely to retain the senior management of full-service airline Air India post its merger with Vistara, an Economic Times report said. While Campbell Wilson will continue as the CEO of Air India, the merged entity will have Nipun Aggarwal as the chief commercial and transformation officer, while Sanjay Sharma will continue as CFO.