Maharashtra No. 1 State for its Tourism potential

Mumbai: The survey compiled by HVS in association with the World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) rated Maharashtra after analysing the state-wise potential of Travel and Tourism in India, and assessing the relative competitiveness of different states in the country.

The evaluation has been carried out for 30 states. Maharashtra ranks 1 in this year's survey moving up one position from the previous edition. The state benefits from a strong economy, good infrastructure, presence of a sizeable quantum of branded hotel rooms and a variety of demand generators to occupy these rooms. In line with these factors, Maharashtra has recorded perfect scores in four parameters – tourist visits, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign and aircraft movement. The state has performed well across all other parameters with the exception of its expenditure on tourism.

Ms Valsa Nair Singh, Secretary State Tourism and Cultural Affairs, GoM, said, “We are proud of being ranked as No 1. This recognition is prestigious, as Travel and Tourism is an integral part of our economy and we are happy that we stand as number one in attracting tourists. This is a team effort, through innovative promotional campaigns, marketing strategies, planned - focused and aggressive ideas we have reached such milestones and we are motivated to do better every day. Our recent thumping success of MITM attracted global buyers and sellers and we are confident to grow over the magic numbers in coming years, making Maharashtra number one destination on the world map.”

As per the Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the total number of International Tourist Arrivals (ITA) worldwide was 1,133 million in 2014, India attracted 0.67% of the world's international tourist arrivals out of which Maharashtra attracted 4.5 million tourists from foreign countries and over 8.4 million domestic tourists, which is largest than any other state in the country.

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SpiceJet spices up Air Travel with “Red Hot Offers”

SpiceJet, the country’s favourite low-cost carrier, has teamed up with popular retailers such as Kingdom of Dreams, O2, Archies, Thyrocare, Babyoye, Mom & Me, and Ferns N Petals to offer special discounts ranging from 15% upto 70% to SpiceJet passengers for purchase of products such as kids apparel, gifts and collectibles, health care, footwear, entertainment, and hospitality sectors.

Customers can obtain their discounts simply by producing their SpiceJet boarding pass at these retail outlets, or by using a promo code for online shopping. The promo code will be sent to the registered email ID upon the completion of travel.

The offer is applicable on bookings made on www.spicejet.com, through SpiceJet’s mobile app, airport ticketing counter and SpiceJet call centre. Offers are valid within six months of the issuance of boarding card for all offline redemption. For all online redemptions offers are valid with six months of the booking made.

Discounts can be obtained only on completion of the air travel when you produce your boarding pass or your promo code. Customers can visit the SpiceJet website for more information related to the partner offerings.

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Skyscanner Reveals: 54% of Indian Travellers Prefer Flat Discounts over Packaged Deals

A recent survey commissioned by Skyscanner, a leading global travel search engine, revealed that 54% of Indian travellers prefer flat discounts when it comes to travel bookings. The survey which studied the booking habits and preferences of Indian travellers, highlighted that 38% seek flexibility of cancellation and rescheduling of their flights, while 37% hunt for packaged deals and offers.

"With over 116 million internet enabled smartphones, more and more Indian travellers are moving away from traditional methods of booking to a more evolved eco-system where they complete their transaction after browsing through all the available deals and discounts available. With the advancements in technology and increase of mobile and smartphone adoption, travellers now have the flexibility to plan a trip according to their budget – all at the convenience of their fingertips. Skyscanner saves people time by enabling travellers to search for flights, hotels and car hire options in one place by comparing results from over 1,000 partners – offering them the cheapest prices to choose from. Moreover, our “Price Alerts” enable travellers to monitor flight prices in real time," said Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Senior Marketing Manager, Skyscanner India.

The future of travel bookings
The survey revealed that while 45% of Indians prefer to make their travel booking on PCs, increasingly more travellers are booking through apps via their mobile and tablet devices (27%), followed by mobile web (13%). The same trend is reflected in Skyscanner’s data as the number of sessions recorded on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) were 56%, followed by desktops at 44%. Convenience being the contributing factor to this trend, regular updates on promotional offers have also prompted the shift in how Indian travellers plan and book travel.

With credit card penetration at 21 million3, the survey also witnessed a changing trend among Indian travellers when it comes to payment methods. According to the survey, credit cards (49%) and debit cards (32%) are the most preferred modes of payment by travellers. 31% of Indian travellers prefer completing their transaction through Internet banking, while a small percentage (5%) of respondents favour PayPal as a mode of payment. On the other hand, the survey highlighted the barriers which hinder Indians from completing their transaction on their mobile device, with 38% of Indian travellers believe there are accompanying security issues, and 33% of respondents find it inconvenient.

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Celebrity Cruises announces the ‘Grass is Greener’ campaign

New Delhi, August 4: TIRUN Travel Marketing, the exclusive India representative of Celebrity Cruises, announces the exciting “Grass is Greener” campaign which highlights how holidays onboard the upscale vessels are prefect to satisfy those cravings for outdoor luxury. The endeavour is to engage new-to-cruise and new-to-brand consumers with a multi-layer fun campaign that also includes the trade partners. It turns the spotlight on the unique attributes of Celebrity Cruises such as the Lawn Club where real grass is grown onboard the vessel, along with stellar butler services to give guests a truly indulgent cruising experience.

The campaign boldly and innovatively calls out the brand attributes of Celebrity Cruises in a way that harks to the luscious summertime and resplendent outdoors. Celebrity Cruises is running a digital contest to spur greater excitement with the hashtag, #‎GrassIsGreener. Participants need to post a selfie with anything green it and use the hashtag. 10 particpants with the best Selfie will stand a chance to win Celebrity Cruises merchandise and shopping vouchers every day for 10 days.

Speaking on the campaign, Mrs Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing and exclusive India representative of Celebrity Cruises said, “The campaign underlines the magnificent, most iconic and unmatched qualities of a Celebrity Cruises vacation. Guests can get their fill of a stylish outdoor experience which many seek in the summer. They can order picnics on a private verandah or bask in the exquisite lawns with exotic cocktails of their choice. The digital campaign has been crafted to further drive awareness about the inspiring experience that awaits vacationers on board this premium cruise line.”

In order to make the campaign equally inviting for its trade partners, TIRUN Travel Marketing has launched a unique incentive programme. For every 10 staterooms they sell on board a Celebrity Cruises ship on double occupancy basis up to 31st December 2015, agents will get a free berth. This programme makes the ‘Grass is Greener’ campaign truly appealing to all stakeholders and guests!

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Panasonic and UNESCO Jointly Release New 2015 World Heritage Calendar Application

Panasonic and UNESCO Jointly Release New 2015 World Heritage Calendar Application
Tokyo, Japan

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Panasonic Corporation announced the release of the new 2015 World Heritage calendar application for PCs and tablets. The calendar application is available in five languages (Japanese, English, French, Chinese and Spanish).

After installing the application on a PC or tablet, the user can enjoy stunning photographs of World Heritage sites from around the world. January features a photograph of Shiretoko, which is one of the World Heritage Sites in Japan. The calendar also includes fun facts and trivia about World Heritage sites, and the pictures can be viewed as a slideshow. The application was developed as an educational tool for the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network of more than 9,000 educational institutions in 180 countries, and Panasonic plans to enhance the content of the calendar in the future.

UNESCO and Panasonic have created wall calendars since 1995 and, in addition, an application version since 2010 with the aim of promoting environmental education through the protection of World Heritage sites. The application version includes content that is not available in the print version, such as informative games and other information related to World Heritage sites.

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Global E-passport and E-visa Market

TechNavio Says High Adoption of Hybrid Smart Cards Will Lead to Significant Growth in the Global E-passport and E-visa Market

Increase in cross-border travel has led to growth in the Global E-passport and E-visa Market, which is expected to post a CAGR of 30.17 percent from 2014-2019, says research firm TechNavio.

As more and more people travel across borders for both business and pleasure, the need for access control at borders has increased. To enhance the safety of individuals and reduce the risk of terror attacks, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has made it mandatory for its member countries to implement e-passports.

The Global E-passport and E-visa Market is also experiencing high adoption of hybrid smart cards. These smart cards have shared storage and processing of information, which eliminates the need for multiple cards and ensures easy handling.

“Hybrid smart cards not only secure user information, but also have the option for MIFARE functionality, which is a technology owned by NXP Semiconductors,” says Faisal Ghaus, Vice President of TechNavio.

“MIFARE functionality increases transaction speed, has enhanced security features, is reliable, easy to use and is expected to drive the Global E-passport and E-visa Market in the coming years.”

Furthermore, third generation e-passports are picking up pace, as they have advanced security features and are increasingly being adopted in many countries.

TechNavio currently has more than 3000 market research reports on a huge range of topics, including:
Global E-passport Market 2012-2016

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GoAir offers discount in Fares

Wadia Group-promoted budget carrier GoAir has been offering discount in the fares for January 1 to March 31, 2015 with a five-day booking period starting from Saturday.

The offer would last till the December 25, 2015 and the fares are as low as Rs 1469 for the passengers to book their travel for January to March next year.

The Mumbai-based airline GoAir operates across 22 destinations in the country with a fleet of 19 Airbus A320 aircraft.

GoAir was launched the five day offer period aiming to stimulate the demand during the lean period – January to March, putting 1.7 million seats for sale.

Domestic passers those having advance plan to fly places can get the benefit of this five days booking period.

The Chief Executive of GoAir, Giorgio De Roni told media that keeping the view of January-March, which was traditionally a lean quarter, the company has introduced discount with five days booking period.

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Air Canada Partners with Concur TripLink to Enable Full Visibility for Corporate Travelers

Air Canada Partners with Concur TripLink to Enable Full Visibility for Corporate Travelers

Concur TripLink Adds Esteemed Star Alliance Member to Suite of Suppliers

India: Concur® (Nasdaq: CNQR), the leading provider of spend management solutions and services, today announced at Fusion Exchange in Toronto a partnership with Air Canada to develop and enable corporate travel booking solutions functionality for aircanada.com and Air Canada apps. By leveraging Concur TripLink, companies can capture direct Air Canada corporate bookings while still receiving their corporate benefits and meeting their corporate travel reporting requirements through Concur.

Concur TripLink complements travel programs by providing visibility and information continuity to enable travelers and companies to book directly with Air Canada.

Through TripLink, corporate travelers can use Air Canada channels to book their corporate fares and automatically have the trip data sent back to Concur to populate travel and expense reports on Concur and related platforms. In addition, travelers who link their profiles to Air Canada receive great benefits, including:

•  More Choice: Whether a traveler chooses to book through Concur Travel, their TMC or directly with Air Canada, Concur TripLink accommodates the travelers’ choice by allowing the user to define their travel shopping experience.
• Greater Value: Concur TripLink enables travelers to take advantage of their corporate programs regardless of where they book travel; travelers and their companies get better visibility, negotiating power and control. Organizations and their TMCs can use the information to drive programs and services to increase compliance. 
• Improved Traveler Tracking: By capturing out-of-program bookings, companies know where their employees are traveling at all times, supporting their Duty of Care requirements. This also enables their TMCs to support these travelers and deliver new services.

“Corporate travelers want to stay compliant with corporate policies, but at the same time, they crave the convenience of direct booking. With today’s announcement, we are giving our mutual customers a transparent and seamless experience so they can get the most out of their travel budgets,” said Steve Singh, chairman and CEO at Concur. “By enabling direct booking at an enterprise-level, we are creating a new and deeper level of customer experience that is centered on direct end-user connections. These are the same types of connections that have transformed other industries.” To date, Concur TripLink has the following partners, including: Airbnb, Avis, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Marriott Hotels, Starwood Hotels, and United Airlines.
“Air Canada is very excited about partnering with Concur to ensure our high value corporate customers always have access to the best, richest Air Canada content, while maintaining the benefits of tracking and reporting of expense through Concur,” said Keith Wallis, Manager of Distribution Business Development for Air Canada. “Air Canada has a long history of being an early adopter of innovative technology to meet and exceed their customers’ high expectations. Integrating Concur technology directly into the Air Canada website is the next step in the evolution of corporate travel as we seek to deliver exceptional benefits to our corporate customers.”

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Top Travel Destinations for Monsoons in India

There are some beautiful destinations that you can visit during the monsoons in India. June to September are the months of monsoons in India. In these places monsoons add more beauty to the places and bring life into them. Eager to know them, let us look at them.

1. Coorg: This is located in Karnataka, and is in the borders of Mysore. If you are planning Honeymoon in Monsoon then this is the best place to visit. The weather is cold and the beautiful locations in and around it is just breath taking. The beautiful and Holy Cauvery river and the beautiful mountains surrounded by mist and fog, are a must see.

2. Lahaul & Spiti: This is in Himachal Pradesh and shares its borders with Tibet. The major places of interest are ancient forts, monasteries, rivers forests, mountains, and valleys. This is a perfect place for mountaineers, and people who seek adventures, this place is full of beautiful scenery and breath taking views.

3. Goa: The land of sun, sand and sea, is one of the best places to visit. Its spectacular scenic beauty, colorful beaches, beautiful lakes, rivers, water sports and beautiful architectural work make this place paradise. One of the most important reasons that should make you visit this place during the monsoon is the list of festivals during this season. They are Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Sao- Joao, Bonderam flag festival, and Ganesh Chaturthi. Wild Life sanctuary, National Park, Dudh Sagar falls and the beautiful Mondovi River are other places to visit.

4. Rajasthan: This is located in North India, and Jaipur the pink city is the state capital. Tourists come here attracted by its beautiful Royal Palaces, forts and their history. The beautiful Mount Abu and Chambal River are located here. Monsoon is the best time visit Rajasthan, as all the rivers will be full, and the weather becomes cool.

5. Ladakh: Ladakh is a plateau and Leh is its capital. This is a separate province of Jammu and Kashmir. This place is full of glorious and unpolluted beauty and there are many Buddhist monasteries in this place.

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Top 10 Haunted Places in India

Many people like traveling to beautiful places, historical places and adventurous places. But leaving aside all these categories there are also some kind of people who love the dark side, people like ghost hunters and people who want to experience the thrill of visiting some haunted places.

If you willing to visit the following listed haunting places, take help of some travel agencies those offer special package to visit such places.

Check out the following haunted places in India, to know about these places before you could decide to visit.  No matter you believe or not in the ghosts or haunting experiences, but sure those places would enthrall you.

1. Bhangarh Fort : This is located in Rajasthan and is the top most in the list of haunted places. Entering inside the fort or staying inside the fort is strictly prohibited after the sunset.

2. Dumas Beach: This is located in Gujarat, in the past sometime this place was used as burial ground, and there have been many instances where people went missing and disappearing from this beach in mysterious ways. So, this also occupies place in one of the top haunted places.

3. Brijraj Bhawan Palace: This is one of the Royal palaces located in Rajasthan. According to what people believe, British Major Mr. Burton and his son were killed in the palace, this was before India’s Independence and since then their souls have made this palace their home.

4. Dow Hill: This is located in the beautiful place of Darjeeling. According to the believes of the people many people were murdered in the forest and people keep seeing ghosts in the forest, nearby boarding schools and in the areas that are near the forest.

5. Three Kings Church: This is located in Goa. As the story goes, Three Portuguese kings were living in Goa one of the Kings, King Holger Alvunger, who also wanted to gain power invited the tow other kings and poisoned them. Later on he also he also committed suicide.

6. Writer’s Building: This is located in Kolkata. This building was the official residence of the Junior Writers and Clerks during British rule. According to what local people say Captain Simpson of British East India Company was killed in this building, and his spirit is believed to be roaming here in the building. Though this is the secretariat of the state, people do not stay here after the sunset.

7. Bangalore International Airport: This place is in Bangalore, the technology hub of India. Many of the airport staff have seen her, some on runway and some at some other places in the airport, but whenever someone tries to approach her or help her she immediately disappears.

8. The Shaniwarwada Fort: This is located in Pune. According to what local people say a prince was killed in the fort by his own relatives. Many people say that Para normal activities take place after the sunset in the fort, so no one goes inside the fort after the sunset.

9. Taj Mahal Hotel Palace: This is located in Mumbai; this was constructed by Tata Group and is famous for its outstanding architectural work. According to the belief the architect of the Hotel killed himself in the building as it was not constructed according to his plan. Many people claim to have seen the ghost of the architect in the corridors of the hotel.

10. Agrasen Ki Baoli: This is located in Delhi the capital of India and very near to Jantar Mantar. According to the believes of the local people, the water in the step well, hypnotizes people to commit suicide in the well, as it is filled with black water.

Well, these are only some of the top most haunted places in India. Next time you want to try some adventure, try going to these places.

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Top 10 Most Expensive Cities in India

When people want to relocate to a new place there arises a question in their mind as to the expenses and cost of living in that place.

In the recent times there is an increase in the number of people who want to relocate to a new place. Reasons may differ but it is always helpful if you know what the most expensive cities are.

Let us look at them.

1. Delhi: Capital of India is one of the most expensive cities and is also the largest metropolitan city of India.


2. Mumbai: Is one of the most expensive cities of India. Every day many people come to this place to fulfill their dreams and it is the financial capital of India.


3. Bangalore: Earlier known as garden city and now known as IT hub of India, is one of the most expensive cities in India and was ranked as “Beta World City”.


4. Chennai: Famous for its historic temples and beaches, it is also one among the most expensive cities in India.


5. Hyderabad: The newly formed capital of the Telangana State is also an IT hub and is famous for Pearls. This is also one among the most expensive cities of India.


6. Pune: Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra and is also one among the expensive cities of India.


7. Kolkata: This city is the head quarters of many corporate companies and is the second highest populated metropolitan city in India. This was once considered cheap to live in but with changing economy, it has secured place in the most expensive cities in India.




8. Jaipur: Known as pink city and the capital of Rajasthan, is also one of the most expensive cities in India and is also a hot tourist destination.


9. Goa: Known for its beaches is the most sought after tourist destination. It is also one among the expensive cities.


10. Ahmedabad: Capital of Gujarat is also one among the expensive cities in India.

Bonus:

11. Chandigarh: It is well known for its architectural work and is the first planned city of India. It is also common capital of Haryana and Punjab.

The list is prepared without any order or ranking in terms of cost of living or expenses. The motto of the post is to share the names of the cities those are being considered as most expensive, and mo method has been executed to gauge the ranking. 

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Yatra.com welcomes 2014 in association with McDonalds

New Delhi: Yatra.com, India’s most preferred online travel companyis celebrating the New Yearby offering discount couponsin association with McDonald, the world's leading global foodservice retailer.

Under this offer, customers making a purchase of Rs.25 and above at any McDonald outlet will receive a complimentary coupon having a unique code. Thisunique codecan be used to avail discounts on flight booking, hotel or holidays at Yatra.com.

Mr. Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.comsaid,“This is the time forfestivity, cheer and sharing giftsand as we all gear up to welcome 2014,we wish to bring a smile on every face through this unique offer and continue creatinghappy travellers.”

“Our cards take the guesswork out of gift-giving because this will offer something for everybody,” says RameetArora, Senior Director, Marketing Communications and Menu Management, HRPL. “Plus, in the spirit of the season, this gift card allows us to thank our customers for their support and add an extra sparkle to their eyes as they take away not just a great meal but happy memories too.”

This promotional offer starts from December 27, 2013 and will continue till January 2014.

About Yatra.com

Yatra.com is India’s leading online travel company. Positioned as a brand “Creating Happy Travellers”, it provides information, pricing, availability, and booking facility for domestic and international air travel, railway reservation, hotel bookings and holiday packages. We offer a host of travel services designed to make business and leisure travel easier.

Based in Gurgaon, India, Yatra.com is a one-stop-shop for all travel-related services. A leading consolidator of travel products, Yatra.com provides reservation facility for more than 12,000 hotels in India and over 300,000 hotels around the world. Through continued excellence in providing travel solutions, responses to booking travel online through Yatra.com have also reached new heights with the company doing 20,000 domestic tickets and 1000 hotels and holiday packages booking a day.

Customers can access Yatra.com through multiple ways: through our user-friendly website, 24x7 multi-lingual call center, a countrywide network of Holiday Lounges and Yatra Travel Express stores or through their mobile phones. Yatra.com provides booking facility for all the popular as well as exotic national and international destinations. Launched in August 2006, Yatra.com is today ranked as the leading provider of consumer-direct travel services in India. Yatra.com has emerged as the most trusted travel brand in India, and we were recently voted ‘Most Trusted Brand of India’ in the online travel category by Brand Equity. We have also received the coveted most preferred online travel company award for the last two years consecutively, at the CNBC/Awaaz Consumer Travel Awards.

For media queries contact: EshaVerma/SaumyaBhushan +91 9711472896/9910353007

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First Free Flight-Road-Rail Educational Trip for Students

The first free flight-road-rail trip educational program conducted by UAE Exchange, India for St Thomas Girls High School, Perumanoor was a thrilling experience for the students. This was evident in the thanks letters, written after the trip, by the students to the company.

“The fourteen students for the program were selected based on their overall merit in academics and co-curricular activities. The students were accompanied by our three excellent teachers and an official of UAE Exchange,” said Sr. Leenus the Principal of the School.

The trip was conducted on Wednesday, December 04 from Kochi to Trivandrum by flight. After the visit to zoo and planetarium in Thiruvananthapuram, the group returned to Kochi by train. To motivate and make the students to study well and score good marks, this prize program was announced a year earlier in the school by Mr. V George Antony, Managing Director and Country Head of UAE Exchange.

“Students are precious for the nation's development. To make a bright future of the society it is clear that we should invest in our growing schools. So it is for the promotion and inspiration of talented students we have invested in this first free flight-road-rail trip program,” Mr. V George Antony commented.

UAE Exchange has been awarded by Public Relations Society of India and India Human Capital Award for its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Source:Business Wire India 

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Airlines may get direct subsidy for small town

Planning to take measures to increase regional connectivity from 89 small towns. The aviation ministry is planning to give direct subsidies to airlines, so that they can put these towns on their networks.

To enable this, the existing route dispersal guidelines that makes it mandatory, that “airlines fly a certain percentage of their flights to the northeast, Kashmir and some other areas may be terminated in the coming two to three years.

A senior official said, "We expect an annual subsidy of Rs 400 crore would be required for airlines for flying to these otherwise commercially unviable areas. To fund this, a reasonable amount of about Rs 50 will be levied on all domestic tickets. There will be a bidding process for the flights linking the small towns to bigger cities. Airlines with lowest viability gap funding would be given those routes,"

The ministry has decided that it will not force airlines, but instead pursue them to provide regional connectivity through this route.

This will not make it compulsory for airlines to have small turboprops. But the benefit of the subsidy for flying to small towns in India will motivate the airlines to do so.

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10 million Indians want to move to US: Gallup Poll

According to a latest opinion poll, More than 100 million people from across the world, including 10 million people from India, would like to move permanently to the US.


The Gallup poll said that 19 million Chinese would like to move to the US, followed by 13 million from Nigeria, 10 million from India and six million from Brazil and Bangladesh, each. The poll said about 13 per cent of the world's adults or about 630 million people, said that they would like to leave their country and move somewhere else permanently.



That somewhere else would be the US, for roughly 138 million people. The poll said that the US is the number one desired destination for potential migrants. Among other top rank choices for potential migrants are The UK, Canada, and France it said.

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Passports for Musical Instruments

Musicians will no longer be stopped at airports because their instruments might be made of endangered wild life products like ivory or tortoise shells. All that the musicians are supposed to do is to show the passport issued for their instruments.

The system of giving passport to the musical instruments was adopted at the recently held meeting of CITES (Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) at Bangkok. The passport would be valid for three years and would be non transferable. This would offer great convenience to the musicians carrying legal instruments.

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Economy Class seats in 24 Aircraft to be Increased: Air India

As the airlines has been witnessing more passengers in Economy Class. Air India has decided to add more economy class seats by reducing business class seats in its 24 narrow body aircraft.

K. C. Venugopal, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation informed Lok Sabha that. The national carrier has decided to reconfigure 24 newly acquired narrow body aircraft 20 Airbus321 and four Airbus320, which are part of 43 newly acquired A320 aircraft by reducing two rows of business class and increasing the economy class seating by two or three rows.

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From June Onwards No Full Body scanners at US Airports

Keeping in view the wide spread privacy concerns controversial full body scanners will be removed from US airports. The scanners which are a part of the security screening at airports in the past few years, will no more be seen from June onwards, a Federal Agency announced on Friday.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said, the primary reason behind this is. The company which has installed scanners on airports has not been able to send non-imaging Automated Target Recognition (ATR) software as made mandatory by the congress.

TSA added "Due to its inability to deploy non-imaging ATR software by the Congressionally mandated June 2013 deadline, TSA has terminated its contract with Rapiscan, by June 1, 2013 travelers will only see machines which have ATR that allow for faster throughput. This means faster lanes for the traveler and enhanced security. As always, use of this technology is optional."

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US to Allow small knives, bats and golf clubs on Planes from April 25

Under a policy change announced by the head of the US Transportation Security Administration. Airline passengers will be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes beginning next month. The policy goes into effect on April 25.


The agency said in a statement, that. The new policy conforms US security standards to international standards and allows TSA to concentrate its energies on more serious safety threats.

The announcement drew an immediate outcry from unions representing flight attendants and other airline workers, who said the items are still dangerous in the hands of the wrong passengers.

Transport Workers Union Local 556, called the new policy "dangerous" and "shortsighted," saying it was designed to make "the lives of TSA staff easier, but not make flights safer. While we agree that a passenger wielding a small knife or swinging a golf club or hockey stick poses less of a threat to the pilot locked in the cockpit, these are real threats to passengers and flight attendants in the passenger cabin."

David Castelveter, a spokesman for the agency, said. The policy change was based on a recommendation from an internal TSA working group, which decided the items represented no real danger.

The presence on flights of gun-carrying pilots traveling as passengers, federal air marshals and airline crew members trained in self-defense provide additional layers of security to protect against misuse of the items, he said”.

The policy is aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other knives.

The new policy permits folding knives with blades that are 2.36 inches (6 centimeters) or less in length and are less than 1/2-inch (1-centimeter) wide, novelty-sized baseball bats less than 24 inches long, toy plastic bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs, but Box cutters, razor blades and knives that don't fold or that have molded grip handles will still be prohibited, the TSA said. The agency said, passengers also will be allowed to bring onboard as part of their carry-on luggage.

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India Travel Trade Workshops Showcase 2013 UK Offerings

UK suppliers reveal value for money and new deals across Britain for Indian holidaymakers this summer

New Delhi, India

VisitBritain is hosting its annual Sales Mission in India to provide UK suppliers with the opportunity to meet over 200 agents from across India.The country’s national tourism agency, VisitBritain is holding their 2013 India Travel Trade Sales Mission, promoting holiday destinations, tour packages and attractions from the UK, highlighting to regional travel agents the value-for-money deals, family attractions and unique experiences available to the Indian holidaymakers in the lead up to the long summer break. The workshops are being held in the Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai and at the Le Meridien, New Delhi.

Representatives from tourism, retail, major attractions and sporting industries will participate in the India Mission 2013, encouraged by the emergence of the country as a major player in terms of tourism visits to Britain over the last couple of years, with rising figures for both spend and visits being witnessed.

The India Travel Sales Mission 2013 allows UK suppliers to present their products and services and close sales with an interested audience.New and established companies showcasing from the UK include tour operators, key attractions and hotels.

In 2012, it was not only the Olympic Games that drew the Indian visitors to the UK shores. Ahead of the Olympics in July was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend in June, where celebrations included the River Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant and hundreds of art and culture events that took place all over the UK.

Britain is a major beneficiary of outbound travel from the Indian region wherein the best performing quarter for was April-June 2012, the major holiday season for India, where 145,000 visits by Indians took place. This is a record high figure compared to figures for last 10 years for India promising that 2013 will indeed be another record year for Britain in the region.

The British High Commissioner, Sir James Bevan KCMG said, “The links between the British and Indian tourist industries, so enthusiastically promoted by VisitBritain, make a significant contribution to the special partnership between the UK and India that Prime Minister Cameron described on his recent visit. For many of us, tourism is the front door to each other’s countryside, culture and character. The UK offers a feast of opportunity for Indian travellers, be it as a family holiday, as a weekend stopover after a business trip, or a surprise getaway with all the luxuries of the high life. Our friends from India will enjoy a warm welcome, a chance to see things both familiar and unexpected, or simple indulgence in creature comforts in a home away from home.

Keith Beecham, Overseas Network Director, VisitBritainsaid: “This mission will help foster relations with key trade who can help us achieve our ambitious targets for visitors from the Indian region.We’ll put British businesses in front of decision makers, generating growth from a high spending region. The massive exposure Britain enjoyed in 2012 has enhanced our image and we are encouraged by the same to offer the best in this market for 2013."

He further adds, “Our research also suggests that potential visitors want to see more than just London and the Indian Trade mission will look to educate the industry, making sure they know all there is to know about Britain.”

Shivali Suri, Country Manager – India, said “With the success of a memorable 2012 behind us, we at VisitBritain carry forward the legacy from the Olympics through our 'GREAT Britain You're Invited' campaign into its second year and hope to be able to use key events in 2013 to entice a greater number of Indians to choose Britain as a destination for their holidays."

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For more images: media.visitbritain.com
For further information, please contact:
Neepa Sharma/ Maria Mishra
LinOpinion – The PR Division of LOWE Lintas
+91 9871222065/ 9873001136
Neepa.Sharma@loweandpartners.com/Maria.Mishra@loweandpartners.com

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