ESOI to conduct two workshops on sustainable tourism at Amritsar and Kochi
 
The Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) will organise two more workshops on Environment Laws & Sustainable Tourism in partnership with WWF-India. The two-day workshops, which are being co-sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and PATA India Chapter, will be conducted in February at Amritsar and in March, at Kochi. Building on the discussions held in its first such workshop at New Delhi in December, ESOI will further sensitise the tourism service providers on environmental and forest laws, as well as on the mechanisms to profitably incorporate sustainable tourism practices in the business.
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Alila Hotels and Resorts unveils its first property in India
 
Alila Hotels and Resorts launched Alila Diwa Goa, a resort property in December. The resort is Alila’s first property in India and tenth in Asia. The 149-room Alila Diwa Goa is situated in South Goa along Majorda Beach, which is a 20-minute drive from Goa Dabolim International Airport.
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VITS Pune, a Kamat Hotels property, opens doors to guests
 
VITS Pune recently opened its doors. The 208-room luxury hotel, a latest offering from Kamat Hotels India, is located on the Pune-Bengaluru highway. The property is 45-minute drive from the airport and 30-minute from the Pune railway station. Soft launched a few months ago with limited inventory, the hotel is now fully operational. The hotel, apart from the modern day trappings of a luxury property, offers a well-designed banquet hall of 6464 sq-ft pre-function area for buffet spread and 21,000 sq-ft of open lawn for various events.
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Clarks Inn hotel opens in South Delhi
 
Clarks Inn Group of Hotels on January 8 announced the opening of its Clarke Inn branded property which is third in Delhi. The all executive 30-room property, equipped with three-star facilities, is located at Kailash Colony near Nehru Place in South Delhi. The room tariff is expected to be in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000. The company now manages a portfolio of seven Clarks Inn hotels across India as well as two Clarks Exotic properties located at Bengaluru and Goa.
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MOT sanctions 94 infrastructure projects worth Rs 3.9 billion
 
The Ministry of Tourism has put infrastructure development as its top priority to boost the potential of attracting higher number of foreign arrivals to India. It has sanctioned 94 projects worth Rs 3.9 billion for infrastructure augmentation till November for the current financial year 2009-10. India has immense potential as a destination with a very strong possibility that many foreign tourists will make repeat visits to further explore destination India once the world class infrastructure is developed.
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IRCTC renews contract with yatra.com
 
IRCTC has renewed its contract with yatra.com to offer train ticket bookings on its travel portal. Those booking rail tickets on yatra.com will also be entitled to get a discount of Rs 1,000 on hotel stay. IRCTC has extended its agreement with yatra.com due to its proven track record and number of bulk bookings. Yatra.com has also rolled out a scheme wherein clients making rail travel bookings on the website can avail a discount of Rs 1000 on any domestic hotel.
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Gujarat Tourism soon to unveil investor-friendly tourism policy
 
Gujarat Tourism recently organised a roadshow to promote The International Kite Festival which will be organised in Gujarat from January 10-14. Vipul Mittra, Secretary, Tourism, government of Gujarat, informed TravTalk that Gujarat Tourism is drafting a policy that will augment private-public partnership to develop tourism in the state. He said that the policy is being drafted and will be complete by March-end. Through the policy, Gujarat Tourism will attract investors to develop tourism, which will, in turn, attract domestic and foreign tourists to the state.
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aSpire launches web-hosted application to simplify mid and back office automation
 
aSpire e-Travel Technologies, the strategic business unit of Sakshym Services, has launched the beta version of the travel workflow software IntramGAZEBO. It is a specialised web-hosted workflow application software designed for changing the way the mid and back office automation in the travel industry works. IntramGAZEBO provides a unified collaborative platform by bringing in an end-to-end solution from booking to invoicing, from credit realisation to statutory compliances to final culmination in financial reporting.
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Ministry of home affairs to scan frequent tourist visa applications
 
In a bid to check the misuse of tourist visa facility, the ministry of home affairs will scan the frequent applications by foreign nationals prior to granting tourist visa. For instance, the government has passed instructions that if a foreign national applies for tourist visa frequently, say within one month of expiry of the previous visa, the Indian Missions abroad should refer such cases to MHA for clearance before granting fresh visa.
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