"With Delhi preparing to host tourists for the Games, we are thinking of marketing the Golden Triangle package during and after the event. Tourists will get to visit more Indian cities and spend a longer time in the country, and generate more revenue for us," a senior Tourism ministry official said.

Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri are prime tourist spots in Agra; Qutab Minar, Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb are the major attractions in Delhi, while Hawa Mahal and the City Palace are in Jaipur.

Sources said Union Tourism minister Kumari Selja is interested in developing the concept and has directed top ministry officials to coordinate with Road Transport and Railway ministry officials and chalk out a comprehensive plan. Tourism officials will also liaise with state government officials for easy movement between these three cities.

Ministry officials said the famous Golden Triangle covers three of the most beautiful cities of the country. "The package presents India in its most colourful forms and offers a dazzling vista of magnificent forts and palaces with a rich heritage. All three cities have been the capitals of princely states in the past and are the epitome of the country's culture, history and architecture," the official said.

Goa's main economy, tourism, is going through a crisis, with numbers plunging every season. The drop continues even as resorts and holiday homes clamber to offer discounts for a better-room occupancy.

Now, the state tourism department has taken upon itself the task to revive holiday interest of the people in the coastal state. "Goa is very beautiful in the rains, and it's a good respite from the sweltering heat that the rest of the country faces. We can create a market if people are made aware of this fact," said Nikhil Desai, managing director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC).

While 710 charters flew into the state in 2008, the numbers dropped to 615 the next year. This season, long-haul foreign travelers were further reduced to only 500-odd fliers till March 2010.

Domestic travelers too seem to have given Goa a miss. From over 22 lakh Indians who visited Goa last year, only a little over nine lakh have come to Goa this year. These figures are considered to be much lower than the tourist arrivals in rival tourist destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Source: Economic Times By Smitha Venkateswaran Goa romancing with monsoon to revive tourism

Coming ahead of the Commonwealth Games, the code has been developed in association with PATA India Chapter, Save the Children - India, United Nations Office on Drugs & Crimes (UNODC) and Equitable Tourism Option (EQUATIONS) and aims at checking exploitation of visitors and also local residents to prevent sex tourism besides ensuring safety to tourists, particularly women.

Reports suggest that in the past two years more than 126 foreign tourists died in Goa alone, with nearly 60 per cent from unnatural causes.

On June 26, two Dutch women on a world tour alleged that they had been raped and robbed of their money and passports by two men posing as tourist guides. Just three days later a 27-year-old Brazilian national, who had arrived in India earlier this month, alleged that she has been raped twice by her landlord.

This incident, coming after Dutch women alleged that they were terrorised and raped by two Kashmiri men for about two months, once again raised the question of safety and security of foreign nationals.

India's performance in tourism sector has been quite impressive. During 2002 to 2009, India witnessed as increase in the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) from 2.38 million to 5.11 million while Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism increased from 15,064 crore in 2002 to 54,960 crore in 2009. Goa alone witnesses a footfall of around five lakh tourists every year.

Source: The Tribune By Vibha Sharma Govt unveils new code for safe tourism

The three day festival to be held in Naukuchiatal in Uttaranchal from May 21-23 will see 15 bands from across the country playing it loud by the lake, creating the mood for a perfect weekend getaway.

"People are looking for something more in their holidays; this festival will recharge your battery. We asked people 101 ways to break away from it and we got the answer in 'Escape'. Music along with travel is a much more relaxed holiday," Mohit Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer of makemytrip.com that co-organises the festival said.

'Escape', which is in its second year now, will feature some of the biggest names in the Indian music circuit like like Mrigya, Menwhopause, A Boat, Skinny Alley and Pink Noise. From rock, Hindi pop to genres like Blues, Sufi music and Fusion 'Escape' has something in store for everybody.

Source: Financial Express Get ready for the music in the mountains

If you were planning a holiday on a cruise liner from India this year, you might have to make new plans.

Dealing a blow to the efforts to boost cruise tourism in India, the Union government-owned port at Kochi has withdrawn a 33% discount in rates for cruise ships calling at the port.

For around six weeks in December-January, the Kochi port had been the only facility for tourists wanting to go on cruises beginning and ending in India. In 2009-10, the harbour hosted 44 cruise ships, making it the biggest cruise port in the country in terms of numbers.

Still, in a submission to the tariff regulator, the Tariff Authority for Major Ports, it said there wasn't much demand for cruise ships.

"There is no steady growth in cruise traffic as well as vessel-related income for the last three years due to concessional vessel-related charges for cruise vessels," the port said in its submission. "Hence, the concession is being withdrawn."

The regulator gave its approval on 7 April.

Source: Live Mint By P. Manoj Efforts to boost cruise tourism sail into rough weather

According to Veena Patil, chairman and managing director ( CMD) of Kesari Tours and Travels, compared to last year there has been a huge jump in their domestic travel business.

" For certain destinations, there has been a 70 per cent increase. On an average the growth has been around 30 per cent as compared to last year," she said.

Last year people were reluctant to undertake any travel activity, she added.

"This year in nearly all our segments, we are witnessing an increase. Cool places like Kashmir have become a huge hit. We have started around 35 buses operating on a daily basis there. People are actually forgetting about terrorism and just enjoying the cool climate there," she said, adding even people from the south are opting for the cooler southern travel destinations this summer.

Source: Mail Today By Amit Shanbaug Hill stations back on tourists' hot list

Speaking at a tourism ministry's Singapore roadshow for promoting the Delhi Commonwealth Games and visa on arrival on Monday night, the agents said travelers were no longer comfortable to make a return trip to India, having landed at one of its airports and then travelling to neighbouring countries.

The ministry and the Indian high commission officials, led by assistant director Neela Lad, explained that the New Delhi had liberalised the visa restrictions by giving authority to immigration officials at entry points to allow a person of Indian origin to revisit within the two months.

The agents were not satisfies by the clarification given by the officials and said there were no certainty that Indian immigration officials would allow re-entry to a traveler who had landed in India, and then went on to visit places such as Kathmandu or elsewhere in Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Source:www.mydigitalfc.com India's new visa regime problematic: Travel agents