India Invites Tourism Newsletter May - Jun'06; Hotels & Airlines, Festivals & Marts, Goa

INDIAN hopeful of over Rs 100-cr net profit: Indian (Airlines) has projected a net profit of more than Rs 100 crore in 2006-07. Not only has there been a steady improvement in the number of passengers, it has also introduced a number of cost-cutting measures. Therefore, despite the fuel bill increasing by more than Rs 350 crore in the recent past, the airline should be in a position to report a net profit of more than Rs 100 crore.

JET AIRWAYS PROVIDES WEB CHECK–IN TO E-TICKET HOLDERS: Jet Airways has become the first domestic airline in India to provide web Check-in to those holding a confirmed and valid e-ticket anytime between 48 hours and 60 minutes prior to their flight departure at 29 of the airlines destinations nation wide. Passengers can now choose their seat and print their boarding cards on www.jetairways.com.

PRIVATE airlines capture 75 pc market share: Private airlines continued their dominance in the domestic market, capturing a market share of more than 75 per cent in the domestic sector in March this year. The latest data compiled by the Airports Authority of India shows that more than 85 per cent of the domestic air traffic at Bangalore is handled by private sector airlines. The case is similar at many domestic airports, with the private sector airlines handling 75.7 per cent of domestic passenger traffic at Mumbai, 70.6 per cent at Delhi, and 74 per cent in Chennai. Currently, there are at least eight established private sector airlines, including Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Spice Jet, Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, Jagson Airlines and Paramount Airways. In 2005, the private airlines enjoyed market share of 69 per cent against 31 per cent of Indian Airlines.

BANGALORE’S NEW AIRPORT WILL NOW BE BIGGER: The new Greenfield Airport at Bangalore will undergo a midway correction to complete by 2008 most of what it had planned to complete by 2015 (in the second phase). The capacity will be increased to handle annual passenger traffic of 11.4 million instead of the first phase target of 6.8 million.

Air Deccan ropes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to its network: Air Deccan recently launched direct flights from Chennai & Kolkata to Port Blair, the capital of the world famous Andaman and Nicobar Islands. An Airbus A320 (180 seater) is to be deployed on this sector.

Go Air announces acquisition of 20 A-320 aircraft: GoAir, the budget airline promoted by the Wadia family, has announced the acquisition of 20 A-320 family aircrafts, valued at $1.2 billion (about Rs 5,300 crore). Additional aircrafts would allow it to expand aggressively on the North Indian and the metro-to-metro routes. The new fleet would help the airline respond to the "tremendous growth in air traffic being experienced in India and the increasing demand for GoAir. The A-320 family aircraft would have a single-class economy layout with 180 seats. The airline launched in November last year and currently operates three Airbus A320s, on 24 flights covering 11 cities.

FINNAIR’S DIRECT FLIGHT TO DELHI: Finland's flag carrier Finnair will start a scheduled air service between capital Helsinki and here from October 31 to tap the growing business and tourism ties between India and the Scandinavian countries. The Finnair service will be the fastest between Delhi and northern Europe - it will take six hours and thirty-five minutes from Helsinki and seven hours and fifteen minutes the other way. It will deploy a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft for the service that will have a frequency of thrice a week.

AIR-INDIA TOP LINE SOARS DESPITE HIGH FUEL COSTS: The provisional financials result for 2005-06 show Air-India’s revenues soared to Rs. 89840 million (US$ 1968 million) compared to Rs 76760 million (US$ 1680 million) in 2004-05, despite rising fuel cots. Air-India hopes to make a profit in the current year (2006-07) as well. Tough margins will be hit. Air-India expects good growth as 12 new aircraft are inducted in to the fleet over the next 12 months.

EMIRATES TO ADD BANGALORE TO ITS ROUTE FROM OCTOBER: Emirates have plans to start services to Bangalore from October. The airline will launch 8 flights a week to Bangalore with a total capacity of 2108 seats in each direction.

INDIA AND NEW ZEALAND SIGN AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT: India and New Zealand signed an air services agreement to allow new airlines to operate daily flights to India. This will allow airlines from New Zealand to operate 7 flights per week to Bombay via Australia or Singapore. India can operate services to Auckland. Both country’s airlines can also enter into code share agreements with other airlines.

SriLankan Airlines flies to Goa, expands further into India: Sri Lankan Airlines will expand services into India, flying to Goa from October this year, with plans to also up frequencies to existing destinations. The twice weekly flights to the Indian coastal resort town of Goa will also be the national carrier’s fiftieth global destination and the tenth to India. The flights to Goa will also act as a link for travelers between Goa and destinations in the Europe and the Middle East. This service would be very useful for travellers between Goa on the one hand and our destinations in Europe and the Middle East on the other.

India is Sri Lanka’s top tourist generating market, ahead of the United Kingdom, with large numbers of Indian shoppers descending on the island for bargain prices, tea, gemstones and handicrafts, or just for a holiday. Colombo city has also begun attracting Indian business traffic for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE tourism). Sri Lankans in turn, now rank as the third largest block of visitors to India, after the United States and Britain. SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier to India, with close to a hundred weekly flights to New Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madras, Trichy, Trivandrum, Calicut, and Kochi.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC OFFERS INDIAN TRAVELLERS A SUITE IN THE SKIES: Virgin Atlantic has introduced the Upper Class Suite on the India route, which will offer a fully flat bed, an onboard bar, a relaxing massage and a chauffer driven pick up and drop service.

LUFTHANSA NOW FLIES DAILY FROM HYDERABAD: Lufthansa launched the Hyderabad - Frankfurt service in February last year with 3 flights a week and now has a daily service. Lufthansa is planning to increase the number of “gateways” it flies to India, from the present five. The airline has 42 flights per week from the 5 cities (Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Madras and Hyderabad) may restore flights to Calcutta. TOP

HOTELS NEWS

SWASWARA OPENS IN GOKARNA: For the 21^st century traveler, time, space and individual experience have become the ultimate luxuries. This, in a nutshell is the offering at SwaSwara - Time, space and individual experience. SwaSwara means “Inner Vibrations” offering it’s guests a rare opportunity to “Discover the Self”. This is the latest addition to the famous CGH Earth group (earlier known as Casion group of hotels).

It is located on the cliffs of North Karnataka over looking the Arabian Sea. Surrounded by forest land adjacent to the temple town of Gokarna and the legendary “OM” beach. SwaSwara is a Life Style Resort with Yoga as its special offering. Cuisine is Fish and Vegetable both Konkan and International. 27 large Garden Villas (1200 sq.ft) with it’s own private yoga deck. And all services one would expect in a World Class Resort.

It is recommended to have a minimum stay of one week which may be extended. It can well be included into the itinerary starting or ending into Kerala (or vice versa) by surface.

SAROVAR HOTELS EXPANSION: Sarovar Hotels continues to burgeon and make its presence felt across different destinations within the country. They have announced four new hotels in Mumbai, Corbett, Badrinath and Pondicherry. While the hotels, The Park Plaza Royal Palms in Mumbai and The Promenade in Pondicherry are business hotels, the Solluna Resort in Corbett is the Company’s first venture in a wildlife destination and the Park Inn in Badrinath is another addition to their cluster of pilgrim destinations.

FORTUNE PARK HOTELS TO EXPAND IN BOMBAY AND BANGALORE: ITC - Welcomgroup’s mid price hotel chain Fortune Park Hotels has signed up properties in Bombay and Bangalore. The Bombay project will be the ITC’s first foray into the “Wellness and Medical tourism” category.

WelcomHeritage Narmada Jacksons, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh: Offers 66 centrally Air-conditioned Rooms and Suites, with Internet Connectivity, a Business Center, a wide choice of Banquet Halls, Conference Room, Terrace Garden, Multi Cuisine Restaurant, a Bar, a Circular Roof Top Restaurant, a Swimming Pool, Television in Rooms.

WelcomHeritage Kikar Lodge at Anandpur Sahib, near Chandigarh, Punjab: The resort is spread in 1800 acres, India’s very first private forest reserve. Offers 20 air conditioned deluxe cottages, a spa, 2 swimming pools, pool tables, table tennis and 1800 acres of forest rich in Wildlife.

WelcomHeritage Denzong Cherry Banks Retreat - Gangtok, Sikkim: Total Number of rooms - 29. Located in the grounds of cherry Banks. A Heritage Manor (under construction)

WelcomHeritage Grand Imperial, M. G. Road, Agra, Uttar Pradesh: The hotel offers 30 air conditioned deluxe room & suites, a swimming pool, a bar, a restaurant serving Indian & continental cuisine, lush garden.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL GROUP TO RE-ENTER INDIA AFTER 4 YEARS GAP: The Hong Kong based Mandarin Oriental group is planning to re-enter the Indian luxury hospitality market after 4 years. It plans to open five star deluxe properties in Bombay and Delhi by the year 2010. The group has 21 properties across Asia, USA and Europe. It plans to enter into a management contract agreement with developers with limited equity participation on its part. The group entered India with a joint venture in 2000 called Mandarin Oriental Ananda, The Himalayas but the alliance broke off in 2002. The Canadian luxury group Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is also set to open a property in Bombay by November.

ORANGE COUNTY RESORT TO INVEST US$ 27 MILLION FOR 4 PROPERTIES: The owners of the Orange County Resorts and Hotels in Coorg Plan to invest US$ 27 million to acquire four properties across Karnataka. The group has acquired 20 acres in Hampi and is in the process of acquiring 40 acres in Karwar and 28 acres in Kumbalgodu. The group is launching Orange County in Beerampally village by December. The other properties will become operational in 3-4 years.

Taj Hotels launches GINGER hotel at Haridwar in Uttaranchal: The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) recently unveiled its GenNext 'Smart Basics' hotel - GINGER - in Haridwar. The first of the 'Smart Basics' hotels was launched in Whitefield, Bangalore and was called indiOne. After completing the test marketing of the concept and following it with a fine-tuning of the hotel facilities and services, Taj is now ready to launch the Smart Basics concept all across India. These hotels will be launched with the new name – GINGER Hotels – incorporating a freshness that is simple yet stylish and reflects the warm world of Smart Basics with a price range of Rs 900 for a single room and Rs 1,175 for a double room. By the end of 2006 there will be one each in Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Mysore, Trivandrum Durgapur and Goa. The Bangalore indiOne has now been re-named Ginger. Soon the budget conscious traveler will have a lot of Ginger in life!

HOTEL MARINA TO RE-OPEN AS RADISSON MARINA: Hotel Marina situated in the capital’s historic market, Connaught Place, was built around 1930 and is one of the earliest hotels of Delhi. It will open as a four star hotel maintaining its heritage character. The Marina has signed a franchise agreement with Radisson and after renovation will open as the Radisson Marina.

LEELA GROUP ENTERS DELHI MARKET VIA MANAGEMENT DEAL: The Leela Hotel Group is entering the Delhi market by signing a management deal with Ambience Hotels and Resorts to manage a 5 star deluxe hotel under construction in Gurgaon (a Delhi suburb). It will be known as the Leela Kempinski Gurgaon.

RAMADA PLAZA SOON TO OPEN ITS DOORS IN DELHI: Next to the Shangri La (erstwhile India Tourism Development Corporation’s Kanishka) is the former Ashok Yatri Niwas of the ITDC. This property has been sold, refurbished and will be launched as a 450 room hotel, to cater to upscale tourists, as the Ramada Plaza.

TRAVEL AND LEISURE DESIGN AWARD 2006 WON BY ALWAR’S AMANBAGH: Aman Bagh has won the Travel and Leisure Design Award 2006 for Best Resort by the Travel and Leisure magazine. Designed by Edward Tuttle, Amanbagh is part of the Aman Resorts Group. It is drawn on natural features unique to its location which is around an ancient arbor. It is a lakebed retreat of mature, palm, fruit and eucalyptus trees within a walled royal hunting camp.

SERENO SPA GOA – THE BEST SPA IN WORLD: Sereno Spa, Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa has been declared as the best spa in the world by the readers of reputed travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller. Sereno scored an aggregate of 98.18 per cent on the basis of customer satisfaction and was closely followed by Ananda Spa in the Himalayas at 93.90 per cent and Oberoi Spa by Banyan Tree, Udaipur, which scored 92.86 per cent.

TRAVEL AND LEISURE FEATURES SHREYAS TOP 50 RESORTS: Shreyas Resort near Bangalore has been featured amongst the top 50 romantic and unusual resorts. According to the publication "A farmland yoga retreat 22 miles outside Bangalore. Its four cottages and eight tented chalets — with all the typical luxuries (but no television) — are drizzled with jasmine, frangipani, and rose petals. Couples spend most of the day indoors, recharging with rigorous twice-daily Hatha yoga classes and vegetarian dishes prepared with produce from the gardens.

THREE INDIAN HOTELS ON CONDE NAST HOT LIST 2006: Three Indian hotels find themselves on the 2006 Conde Nast hotlist. The fortunate hotels are Amanbagh in Alwar district, Umaid Bhawan Place in Jodhpur and Jayamahal Place in Bangalore. TOP

BUDDHA’S 2550^th MAHAPARINIRVANA CELEBRATED: Lord Buddha’s 2550th Mahaparinirvana was celebrated on the full moon day in May (13 May). Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment and left this world all on Buddha Purnima (full moon day in May). Stamps will be released on Lord Buddha as also Emperor Ashok (who spread Buddha’s message far and wide). The UP Government began the celebrations with lighting earthen lamps in Sarnath (where Buddha preached his first sermon) and Kushinagar (where he left this world).

EXHIBITION ON 150 YEARS OF 1857 REVOLT: To mark the beginning of 150th year of the 1857 revolt on May 10 an exhibition opened at the India Habitat Center. It is a collection of cartoons, folk art, archival documents letters and etchings gathered from different parts of the world, of India’s first freedom struggle. Other events are planned for the year.

GOA PREPARES TO HOST INDIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: Preparations have already begun to host the 10 day International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa 23 November to 4 December. The Government wants to ensure a hassle free festival and has started inviting bids from vendors such as event managers etc.

DELHI TO HOST GLOBAL VILLAGE THIS OCTOBER: A 40 acre plot near Delhi will host the “Global Village”, an annual exposition like the one held in Dubai simultaneously with the Dubai shopping Festival. Delhi’s global village will showcase art, craft, food and culture of the world. A Dubai based company which helped organize India’s pavilion in Dubai this year will help organize the month long global village in October. Delhi’s Global Village will open on 30 September and will have an all-night bazaar. TOP

NEWS MEANS GOOD NEWS (India)

KASHMIR SHIKARAS TO FLOAT ON RAJASTHAN’S LAKES: The houseboats and Shikaras of Kashmir will soon become a part of the lakes of Udaipur and Jodhpur. Initially shikaras and houseboats will be launched in Fatehsagar lake in Udaipur and in Kaylana lake in Jodhpur from March. If successful the project will be extended to Jaipur, Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar.

SUPER FAST TRAIN BRINGS TAJ CLOSER TO DELHI: Two historic Mughal capitals Delhi and Agra are now linked by the fastest train in the subcontinent, plying at 150 km/94 miles per hour. The 196 km/120 miles non stop journey to Agra will now be completed in less than 2 hours from Delhi.

INDIA’S OWN CRUISE SHIP: As chairman of the Foresight group of companies with interests as diversified as shipping, oil drilling and exploration, hospitality, IT-enabled services and call centres, Mehrotra has staked his all ($25 million, to begin with) on one project: a cruise ship that is India’s very own.

Scheduled to start on 7 October, M V Ocean Odyssey will sail from Goa to Lakshadweep Islands and return to Goa. The plan is simple — offer chartered flights from Europe and the US to cruise-lovers bored with the overcrowded beaches of Miami, Bahamas and Nassau.

Ocean Odyssey offers the noisy sophistication of Goa followed by the solitude of the pristine beaches of Lakshadweep and the Andamans (and could extend the cruise to Colombo too). The cruise, Mehrotra is clear, will be for the high-end traveller.

The ship has been retrofitted in Greece with every possible modern facilities including a crane on board that will be used to land portable toilets in Lakshadweep.

The cruise line has been given clearances by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Environment on the condition that the ecological balance of several islands (foreigners were not allowed to visit some of them at all till recently, and even Indians had to take permits) will not be upset.

99 YEAR OLD MATHERAN TOY TRAIN’S SERVICE RESTORED FOR TOURISTS: The floods in Maharashtra (26 July 2005) washed away most of the tracks of the Neral-Matheran toy train putting a stop to the train that will complete a 100 years in 2007. Now the Central Railway is offering charters of the train for a 6.5km run between Neral and Jummapatti. A group of 20 British tourists paid US$ 900 (Rs 40,000) on 5 February for travel on the three coach rake.

JAPANESE TO HELP DECIPHER INDUS VALLEY SCRIPT: The 5,500 year old Harappan script of the Indus Valley civilization has still not been deciphered. In Kutch in Gujarat, Kyoto University is to collaborate with the Indian Archeological Survey in carrying out excavations at a fourth Harappan site this December. Three sites have already been excavated (Dholavira, Surkotada and Kuran) and are visited by many tourists each year.

RAILWAYS PLAN DOUBLE DECKER AIRCON TRAINS TO TAKE ON BUDGET AIRLINES: In order to stave off competition from low cost airlines the Indian Railways are working on launching fully air-conditioned double decker passenger trains. The first such train will hit the Delhi-Patna route. A doable stack container train on the Jaipur – Papavav route has already been flagged off on 22 March. The fares for the passenger trains will be almost 25% lower than the present air-conditioned III tier.

Poor man`s Palace on Wheels to hit tracks: The cheaper version of India’s best-known tourist train Palace on Wheels will be launched soon. Called Bharat Darshan, the train will be flagged off from Madurai and take passengers on a 16-day tour of important places in southern and northern India. The trip will cost the normal train fare plus an additional charge for accommodation and in-city transport. The service will be the common man’s Palace on Wheels.

The train will pass through Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruchirapalli, Madras, Nellore, Vijayawada, Warangal, Agra Cantt, Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Hardwar, Varanasi, Gaya, and Allahabad before returning to Madurai. It will take tourists to pilgrimage sites and places of historical significance on the way.

By the end of the year, Karnataka will also have its own tourist train. Special coaches are being manufactured at the Integrated Coach Factory in Chennai. Two other luxury tourist trains have already started operating, one being Heritage, which plies between Jaipur and Bikaner, and the other, Deccan Odyssey, between Maharashtra and Goa.

HOLLYWOOD’S BRAD PITT WENT RAFTING ON THE GANGES: Brad Pitt accompanied by his bodyguard jetted into India, took a helicopter to Rishikesh and set out with his team and instructor from Snow Leopard to shoot the rapids on the Ganga, navigating the 16 km volatile stretch between Shivpuri and Lakshman Jhula on 7 March. There are over 13 rapids with fun names like; Return to Sender, Golf Course, Three Blind Mice etc. Pitt booked the entire holiday package (meant for 120 people) for his day out on the Ganga.

ANDHRA TO RENOVATE FORTS WITH FRENCH EXPERTISE: The Andhra Pradesh Government has asked France to help renovate the legendary forts at Nirmal, Khammam and Jagtyal built by French engineers centuries ago. French architecture is even today mirrored in these sturdy forts. France has supported earlier projects in Pondicherry and Yanam which were French settlements. The forts constructed with stone and lime mortar situated at a vantage point had cannons at strategic locations and crocodiles in their moats to make them impregnable. The state archaeological department plans to connect the forts by building good roads so it is easier for tourists to visit them. It wants French help to restore the crumbling structures.

ROYAL RAJASTHAN LIQUOR CATCHES THE FANCY OF TOURISTS: Royal Jagmohan and Royal Kesar Kasturi are 2 vintage brands of Rajasthani royal liquors. They evoke the grandeur and opulence of Rajasthan. These heritage brands from the royal households are a hit with tourists who are also buying them as souvenirs particularly those from France, Germany and Italy These liquors which were traditionally brewed in royal households have more than 80 condiments, spices and herbs but no artificial chemicals and spirits.

Scientists feel kerala received “alien life from showers” in july 2002: Red rain fell over several districts of Kerala in July 2002. Scientists feel that the rain had biological cells released by a comet shower over Kottayam. The international scientific community agrees that what fell was biological as the cell structure testifies. Local scientist Godfrey Louis sees link to the “Panspermia” theory that life on Earth evolved from microbes that fell to its surface from a comet. The samples are being tested at a lab in Cardiff (Wales).

PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILLA TOUR PUNJAB AND RAJASTHAN: Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived on 26 March for a visit. The royal couple visited Indian cities like Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, Jodhpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan. The Prince was keen to visit organic farms in the Bhat Majra village in Punjab. The focus of the couple was to take forward a range of charitable initiatives started in the area by the Prince and the British Indian community such as an organic farming and water conservation.

MTDC plans tie-up with Star Cruises: In an attempt to offer foreign tourists an innovative travel experience, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) plans to tie up with Star Cruises for a train-cruise package, the first-of-its-kind in the country.

The proposal sent to Star Cruises outlines a combination of the SuperStar Libra which is anchored in Mumbai and the Deccan Odyssey, MTDC's luxury train. Tourists were finding the seven-day Deccan Odyssey itinerary a little long. So it is decided to break this up into a train-cruise package which would offer a different experience.

MTDC has proposed various package options to the cruise operator. "Tourists can board Deccan Odyssey at Mumbai, go up to Goa and board the cruise liner to visit Kerala and (Lakshadweep). They can then return to Goa, board the train and tour Kolhapur, Pune, Ajanta, Ellora and Nasik on their way back to Mumbai. This could also be worked backwards where tourists can take the cruise liner from Mumbai, go up to Goa and then board the train from there, he explained.

MTDC plans to introduce this concept only by 2007-end as overseas markets plan a year in advance. It has already received positive feedback from overseas tour operators who are promoting the concept to garner the response.

MELBOURNE GAMES PUT SPOTLIGHT ON DELHI COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010: As the curtain came down on the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 Delhi (the next venue) got an 11 minute window to present its Mascot Shera the lion for the 2010 Games. The presentation by India showcased the culture and heritage of the country beginning with a yoga inspired dance performance followed by Bollywood’s Aishwarya Rai with another dance number. Other Bollywood stars followed with dance and music and dancers dressed as elephants, peacocks and butterflies took over the stadium with fireworks in the colours of Indian flag erupting from the roof of the stadium. All the 71 countries of the commonwealth were invited to Delhi in 2010 with cries of “Delhi Chalo” (come to Delhi).

COORG RECOGNIZED AS THE SACRED GROVE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD: The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has selected the Coorg district of Karnataka for its international initiative to conserve ancient sacred sites and termed it the grove capital of the world. The UNEP will provide money to conserve the centuries old traditions of conserving forests as a local deity by the Coorgis. Locally known as “Devara Kadu”, it is a traditional institution whereby a patch of forest in each village is devoted to the worship of the local deity. Spread over 346 villages of Coorg the size of “Devara Kadu” ranges between one acre to 1000 acres.

NATIONAL MUSEUM DELHI TO OPEN COINS GALLERY: Rare punch-marked 6th century BC coins, 100 beautiful coins of the Gupta period which bear iconographic representation of Puranic deities, the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s “mohars” and machine made coins of the Nizam of Hyderabad will all be on display at the coins gallery to be opened this month by the National Museum. The 1669 coins slated for display will range fro the 6th century BC to the British era thus projecting Indian history in a nutshell as well as the growth of scripts and languages over the ages. The museum has over 1, 20,000 coins of different ages in its possession.

BIHAR TO SET UP TOURISM PARKS AT BUDDHIST SITES: Bihar Tourism has proposed 2 state of the art Tourist Parks at the Buddhist sites of Nalanda and Rajgir with support from Japan, South Korea and other Southeast Asian countries. The Parks spread over 300-400 acres will be equipped with facilities for tourists such as hotels, tour operators, art exhibition centers, shopping complexes, theatres, research centers etc. A replica of Patliputra, the ancient capital of Magadh will also be built. Buddha relics including what are believed to be his ashes, will be moved from the Patna Museum and housed at the new site here.

DELHI TO TEACH TAXI DRIVERS ENGLISH: As Delhi gears up for the commonwealth Games (2010) taxi drivers are to the taught English. They will have to pass a test at the time they renew the fitness certificate for their taxi China is doing the same as it plans for the Olympics. For the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Australia trained its cabbies to have neutral accents.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II SAILED INTO COCHIN ON 28 MARCH: The World’s largest cruise ship “Queen Elizabeth II” docked in Cochin port on 28 March. The cruise liner had 1795 passengers and 1020 crew on board. TOP

DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE TO WRITE ON THE SUNDARBANS: Dominique Lapierre (of “City of Joy” and “Is Paris Burning” fame) will soon write a book on the Sunderbans Delta region of Bengal and its “forgotten people”- the people who live on the islands of the delta of the Ganges barely eke out an existence from the saline soil.

INDIAN CARIBBEAN MUSEUM OPENED IN TRINIDAD: An Indian Caribbean Museum to help preserve the history of descendants of Indian immigrants to the Caribbean was inaugurated at Carapichaima in west central Trinidad. Indian migrants came as indentured labour between 1838 and 1917 and worked on the sugar plantations. Today they number over a million across all the Caribbean nations and are all doing well.

SRI LANKA TARGETS 150000 INDIAN TOURISTS THIS YEAR: Sri Lanka is expecting 150000 tourists from India by the end of this year. (113000 in 2005) Sri Lanka has seen a 5% increase in the Indian MICE market in 2005 and hopes to hit 7% in 2006.

“AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 PLATES” WINS GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK AWARD: Rashmi Uday Singh’s compilation of the best vegetarian recopies the world chiefs had to offer in “around the world in 80 plates” has bagged the gourmand world cookbook Award. The book won the award in best vegetarian Book category. The results will be soon announced in Kula Lumpur.

HOLLYWOOD’S MEL GIBSON AND COLIN FARRELL TO SHOOT IN BOMBAY: Hollywood’s top stars Mel Gibson and Colin Farrell will be in Bombay to shoot for “Tree of Life”. They will shoot in Bombay for the last leg of the film, about 15% of the film.

IBM plans big India investment: Computer giant IBM has announced plans to invest nearly $6bn (£3.2bn) in India over three years on the back of strong growth in business outsourcing. The deal, which is triple the $2bn that IBM has already invested in India, is the biggest by a multinational corporation in the country recently. The company has extensive operations in India, most of which are also running business services such as call centres. IBM's workforce in India is the firm's largest outside the US. The company has about 43,000 employees in 14 cities in India.

SUBMERGED BANGLADESH PALACE REAPPEARS 50 YEARS LATER: A royal palace of the Chakma dynasty which ruled the Chittagong hills Bangladesh has come up on the Kaptai lake after it was submerged 50 years ago. The present "Raja" (Devashish Roy) revered by Buddhist tribals, wants the government to maintain the mansion and protect Kaptai lake which is a major tourist destination. The palace was submerged when a hydroelectric project came up but now that the lake level has gone down drastically the palace has resurfaced. TOP

HERITAGE ON WHEELS TRAIN: The Heritage on wheels comprises of 14 coaches including one restaurant and a bar lounge. The train is fully air-conditioned. However, there would be no facility of attached toilets in the cabin. In every coach there are two toilets shared by four cabins occupants.

It has fourteen saloons with heritage ambience / décor with a capacity of 104 seats. It also has 2 restaurants - Maharaja and Maharani, well stocked bar cum lounge, kitchen and service cars, etc· Each saloon has a capacity to accommodate eight guests in four bedrooms with two bathrooms on sharing basis. Well-experienced staff in traditional uniform on board ready to serve variety of cuisine including Rajasthani. Other things included are: a visit to Palace / Castle at lunch; sightseeing by deluxe coaches and Jeep Safari at sanctuary.

The entire Rajasthan has been a passion to be explored by the tourists. Bikaner and Shekhawati being lesser explored regions have been chosen for the Heritage on Wheels. For booking, please contact us or visit our website: http://www.indiainvites.com/Trains_files/heritageonwheels.htm

Medical Visa to boost India as a health destination: Giving a new boost to medical tourism in India, a new category of ‘Medical Visa’ has been introduced, which can be given for specific purpose to foreign tourist coming to India for medical treatment. A special task force roping in senior officials of ministry of tourism, ministry of health & family welfare and experts in the medical field has been constituted to assess the opportunities and recommend suitable action for promoting India as a health destination. The accreditation norms and price banding are worked out for identified hospitals and specialised medical services. Guidelines for accreditation of Ayurvedic and Panchkarma Centres have also been finalised and issued for implementation. TOP

Dabolim Airport upgradation TO take off SOON: The spadework for upgrading the airport at Dabolim in Goa takes off soon with all proposals being placed before the Central Cabinet for its approval. All plans were afoot for making Dabolim a first class airport. As soon as the Navy transfers the land of nine acres as assured to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), work will begin for extending the Dabolim apron. A minor hitch of a road belonging to the Indian Oil Corporation crossing the runway will also be looked into. The upgradation plans will help extend the infrastructure for adding 10 wide bodied aircrafts. Currently, only six can be accommodated. The AAI will also build a new terminal on the northern side and will have four aero bridges. The Navy and the Civil Aviation Ministry were working in tandem for air traffic control, which would help night landing of flights at Dabolim Airport.

Several foreign private airlines including Virgin Airlines from Europe, Lufthansa from Frankfurt, Midland from Manchester and Air Arabia from Sharjah are ready to run flights directly to Goa. All these steps were to strengthen the existing airport in Goa to meet the projected future traffic, which was expected to touch 4,308 international flights and 17,480 domestic flights by the year 2013-14 as against 1,402 and 7,422 flights, respectively, in 1995-96.

Hotel Reservation in Goa Surges As Wine Festival Lures Visitors: The three days “Fiesta of Flavor” hosted by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, titled the “Great Escape 2006”, had the hotel bookings surge. People took part in the wine tasting festival with gusto. Between 12th to 14th May, Goa had become a gourmet’s paradise. Hotel reservation in Goa sky rocketed as tourists from all over the world touched down to enjoy the fine art of culinary connoisseurs. The unique festival brought together some of the best people in the industries of wine making, hotels, restaurants and entertainment. The festival proved to be a true fusion of the orient and the occident. TOP

2) How many days in advance the monsoon rains have hit the Goan coast this year than the normal schedule?

4) Please advise the name of person who climbed Mt. Everest this year in May, who had both his legs amputated already?

2) Mumbai received a record rainfall this year on a particular day. What was the approx. amount is cm? ANS: 100 cm

WINNER OF LAST CONTEST: There were quiet a few all correct answers, however Ms Rajashri Sutar is the lucky winner out of the lot! Warm congratulations! The other people with all correct entries are Ms. Deborah McLaren, Mr. Benny Fernandes, Ms. Nirmal Sachdev, Mr. Vijay, Ms Damiana Fili & Ms Meena Chhichhia – better luck next time!!! TOP

AIRLINES UPDATE

HOTELS NEWS

NEWS MEANS GOOD NEWS (India)

QUEEN ELIZABETH II SAILED INTO COCHIN ON 28 MARCH: The World’s largest cruise ship “Queen Elizabeth II” docked in Cochin port on 28 March. The cruise liner had 1795 passengers and 1020 crew on board. TOP