Author: P Krishna Kumar

Realising the importance of connectivity for travel and tourism development, and the need to synchronise the two, the Union government is understood to have started exploring ways to bridge the current mismatch between connectivity-related developments and tourism infrastructure, and ensure that both move in tandem going forward. Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave ample indication of this new thinking in the government at the Hoteliers’ Conclave 2026 of the Hotel Association of India (HAI) in Delhi a couple of days ago. Aligning the country’s expanding connectivity infrastructure with tourism and hotel investments can open up new economic opportunities, as…

Kerala HATS, a trade body representing micro and small entrepreneurs in the tourism industry like Home Stay owners of different categories, has demanded a dedicated vehicle in the form of Kerala Rural Tourism Mission to address the specific challenges faced by their community in training, quality improvement, product development, branding and marketing and building market linkages. In a representation to the State Tourism Minister, PC Vishnunath, Kerala HATS Chairman, MP Sivadathan has called for the constitution of a dedicated body exclusively focusing on small tourism entrepreneurs with the objective of enhancing their capacity building, quality standards, and branding and marketing…

For a government that has been putting most of its focus on domestic tourism while international inbound tourism has remained relatively muted, the growing gap between inbound and outbound travel appears to be emerging as a concern. With outbound travel by Indian citizens growing faster than inbound tourism, India has turned net foreign-exchange negative on tourism, reversing the situation that prevailed before Covid. At a time when the economy is facing one of its biggest tests of resilience amid geopolitical uncertainties and tariff pressures, the government is looking closely at different sectors and trying to plug potential leaks. While domestic…

Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Culture, Government of India, has called for steps to unlock India’s ‘monument economy’ and use the country’s vast heritage assets to stimulate the tourism ecosystem, generate employment and contribute to national GDP growth. Aggarwal was addressing newly inducted Senior Conservation Assistants and Conservation Assistants of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) after inaugurating their training programme at the Institute of Archaeology in Delhi NCR. He stressed the need to harness India’s protected monuments as economic catalysts. Highlighting the importance of the country’s “Monument Economy”, the Culture Secretary said cultural heritage can directly generate employment and contribute to…

The Indian School of Nature (ISN) sees its recently signed MoU with the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) as a major step towards bringing sustainability measurement and certification into a much larger part of India’s organised tourism sector. The three-year agreement, signed during IATO’s annual convention in Visakhapatnam last week, will see ISN audit the carbon footprint of IATO’s annual conventions and undertake carbon audits of its more than 2,000 member businesses. The audit of this year’s convention is already underway, with the report expected within a month. Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor, Ram Pratap Singh, Founder, ISN, said the…

In the wake of recurring natural calamities, particularly the recent flash floods in Nepal, travel and tourism industry stakeholders are calling for a rethink of conventional tourism planning and operations in the high-demand Himalayan destinations. The Himalayas have always been a major draw for tourism, bringing together trekkers, mountaineers, hikers, pilgrims and leisure travellers from across India and overseas. But the region has also seen a worrying succession of natural disasters in the past decade, raising questions about how tourism in the mountains should be planned and managed in the years ahead. From the Kedarnath floods in 2013 and the…

As the controversy surrounding the closure of the Eiffel Tower in Paris earlier this week over a staff strike has made headlines internationally, the Indian travel trade fraternity has come out strongly against what it sees as an isolated incident being blown out of proportion. The strike was reportedly triggered by the removal of female staff from guest-facing duties to facilitate the visit of a religious group from India, raising questions around gender discrimination and bias. The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff went on strike over the reported removal of female workers during the visit of an…

Suyatri, a social enterprise focused on community-led, experiential and ethical tourism, is stepping up its efforts to create greater awareness among travellers about responsible and slow travel, with a new campaign and mascot among the initiatives it plans to roll out this month. Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor, Suyatri founder Sumesh Mangalasseri said the organisation will use a two-day programme in Bengaluru on September 18 and 19 to take its message of ethical and slow travel to a wider audience. The programme, being organised in collaboration with Alliance Française de Bangalore, will see the launch of ‘Muthu Swami, the Gentle Wanderer’,…

India has emerged as one of the most resilient source markets for Sri Lanka, continuing to drive arrivals even amid regional and global disruptions, according to Hashan Cooray, Director – Marketing & Development, Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka. For Jetwing Hotels, a major player in Sri Lanka’s hospitality with around 38 properties spread across key tourist destinations, the Indian market has increasingly become a strategic strength, with the company stepping up its sales, marketing and trade engagement in India as the profile of the traveller evolves. “India has been leading the way. I think right now one in five travellers to…

In an age when information flows through multiple channels and platforms, creating perceptions almost instantaneously about everything, it is imperative for stakeholders on the ground to ensure that only verified and credible information is disseminated. Failure to effectively manage the flow of information and communication could cause indelible damage not only to rescue and relief efforts during a disaster, but also to the revival of economic activity in geographies beyond the affected areas. Nepal needs to urgently address the distorted perception about the extent of the recent flash-flood damage and communicate credible, timely and unified information to international travellers, according…