The Annual Report of China Outbound Tourism Development 2009-2010, released by the China Tourism Academy, estimated that 54 million tourists would go abroad this year, up from 47 million in 2009.

They are expected to spend $6.86 billion overseas which is up by 14 per cent from a year earlier, the report carried by official China Daily said.

“The outbound travel market of the Chinese mainland will remain brisk this year, continuing to contribute to the recovery of the world economy and helping to offset China’s trade surplus,” said Jiang Yiyi, director of the academy’s international tourism development institute.

“We are running a vigorous campaign with dances and cultural events all over China projecting India as tourists destination. It is in many ways paying off,” Shoeb Samad, Beijing-based Director of India Tourism told media.

“We are expecting the numbers to go up well this year,” he said. The number of Chinese tourists arriving in India has gone from 21,152 in 2003 to 98,724 in 2008. Over 1,02,509 visas were issued in China region and much of it is believed to be for tourism, he said.

The campaign has led to increasing numbers of Chinese girls and boys taking up Indian dance and yoga at the India Cultural Centre here. A series of such programmes were inaugurated by Indian Ambassador to Beijing S Jaishankar here.

As a result, increasing number of airlines are operating flights between China and various Indian destinations, including Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, Samad said.

India is a natural destination for Chinese travellers looking for a spiritually gratifying experience.

“Buddhism is a strong focus of our promotional efforts. It’s a significant commonality that unifies India and China,” Samad said.

Pilgrimage to historical destinations, such as Sanchi, and Budh Gaya, are high on the list for Chinese tourists along with India’s most famed tourist sight, the Taj Mahal in Agra, he said.

He said many Chinese businessmen combine their trips to India with leisure. Given these enticements among others, Chinese travellers are increasingly opting to see India, he said.

New tourism campaign to woo Chinese tourists is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

Egypt Tourism Authority starts tourism campaign in India is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

The HDPB Board, to be established will streamline permissions and clearances required for the hotel industry. Currently, 64 clearances that are required to set up a hotel.

The proposal is in the final stages and waiting for approval from the cabinet secretariat.

The decision comes at a time when India is under pressure to meet accommodation demands for Commonwealth Games 2010. With an estimated 30,000 rooms required, hotels have only contributed about 10,000 rooms.

Easier clearance for hotel projects with Hospitality Development and Promotion Board is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

‘Action has been taken to develop three sites in outer islands – Hut Bay, Neil island and Lalji Bay under PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode,’ Lt. Gen. (retired) Bhopinder Singh, the lieutenant governor of the union territory, said in an official statement here.

He also announced setting up of the country’s first ever marina in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

‘The islands administration has started some unique projects like introduction of seaplane service launched for the first time in India. The administration will set up canopy walkways, luxury cottages, and procure luxury boats to attract high-end tourists. Plans are afoot to start more sound and light shows and setting up de-compressions chambers for scuba drivers in the islands in the near future,’ he said.

Singh informed that ITDC (India Tourism Development Corporation) has submitted a detailed project report to connect Port Blair-Havelock-Baratang islands, work on which will start next year.

Singh said a comprehensive tourism policy has been formulated with detailed deliberations from local tourism industries, entrepreneurs, academicians and other stake holders.

‘Annual tourist arrivals increased to 130,000 in September 2009 as compared to 33,716 tourist arrivals recorded in 1990,’ he added and exhorted people to visit the islands.

The Andamans are a group of 572 islands, inhabited and uninhabited, in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal.

Andaman and Nicobar islands to promote eco-friendly tourism is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

The offer was made by the state Tourism and Culture minister Debi Prasad Mishra while interacting with the Bishops of north-India here.

“We want to tell the Christian spiritual leaders that Orissa is full of religious heritages belonging to their religion. The Christian heritage sites will attract many from the community to the state,” Mishra said adding that the state government had already included Christian heritage sites in the tourism map.

Special Package for the Christian Tourists in Orissa is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

The summit aims to provide a platform for the development of tourism in Gujarat. GOG, CII, various national-travel associations, important stakeholders and experts will participate in it. Gujarat Tourism Summit-2009 will highlight the emerging opportunities and challenges for the tourism sector, and implement new policies, ideas and ways for preparedness under the current risk scenario faced by the large tourism community.

The summit aims to build a common platform for projecting the role of Gujarat government’s initiative and the Indian tourism community. The summit will cover a wide range of topics of interest to stakeholders in the industry, with leading industry players participating in an exclusive CEO’s interactive roundtable on’Way Ahead for Tourism in Gujarat’, ‘Gujarat Tourism Strategy and its Partners’, Tourism Infrastructure & Investments in Hospitality Industry’ and also ‘Heritage Tourism in Gujarat.’

Gujarat Tourism Summit in Ahmedabad on November 21 is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

“While Luise Cruises, the Greece cruise liner, is entering the Cochin port in the last week of this month, a German cruise liner AIDA Cruise is also nearing port,” Tourism Joint Secretary Leena Nandan said.

Besides, Ocean Village 2, Costa Deliziona, Explorer, Queen Elizabeth, Seabourn Odyssey, Spirit of Adventure are among 35 major cruise lines which have confirmed to anchor at Cochin port.

The Union tourism ministry, which has framed up the cruise tourism policy to promote cruise lines in the country has given Rs 14 crores to Cochin port to develop world-class infrastructure at the port.

With the financial support given by the ministry, the Cochin port is emerging as a passenger turnaround port, Nandan said.

India Cruise Tourism is a post from: Coastaltourism.in

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has submitted the revised bid document for the proposed Rs 3,500-crore Shamuka tourism project to the Orissa government.

PwC was engaged by the state government to prepare a fresh bid document for the Shamuka tourism project so as to make it investor friendly.

“PwC has submitted the revised bid document to the state government and it is likely to be approved by the end of this month. The tenders for the Shamuka tourism project would be invited after that”, an official source told Business Standard.

Moreover, the state tourism department is planning to launch campaigns for the tourism project both within the country and in some select overseas destinations to attract the investors for the project, the source added.

The state government felt the need for a revised bid document after it had received a lukewarm response to its bids for developing four five-star hotels as a part of its showpiece Shamuka tourism project.

It may be noted that only three hotel chains had participated in the final bidding process for developing the four five star hotels.

Earlier, eleven bidders were shortlisted in the pre-bidding process held in September last year. The shortlisted payers include both individual as well as joint bidders like Taj Group of Hotels and Resorts, ITC, Park Hotels, Ananda Spa, Emaar MGF with Hyatt, DLF with Hilton, Unitech with Starhood and Zoom Developers with Kamat hotels.

While the four five star hotels would be developed on 100 acres of land, the master developer was to develop the infrastructure on the remaining 900 acres of land at the project site, near Sipasarubali, about 10 km south of Puri. The state government is investing Rs 50-70 crore on providing external infrastructure like electricity and water supply for the five-star hotel properties.

Apart from the four five star hotels, the Shmauka tourism project would have facilities like a convention centre of international standards with a seating capacity of nearly 1,500, an 18-hole golf course, boutique hotels, international spa and wellness centres, an entertainment zone and sports facilities.

Orissa Shamuka Tourism Project is a post from: Coastaltourism.in