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| Kashmir buses roll on route of peace
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| Two buses have made history in Kashmir, carrying dozens of passengers across the border for the first time in over 56 years.
One bus left Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday morning for the inaugural journey to the so-called Line of Control, the border with
Pakistan. Another left the Pakistani city of Muzaffarabad and both buses met at a new bridge built by army units from both countries in the past few weeks.
The Indian Prime Minister was on hand to flag off the bus from
Srinagar, which left on time despite an attack by Islamist militants the day before.
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There were emotional scenes at the Line of Control, where the passengers crossed on foot and rejoined the buses on either side to complete their journeys.
Families in Kashmir have been separated since the partition of Kashmir in 1947, and for some this was the first opportunity to be reunited. The buses were given a military escort over the 100-mile route along tortuous winding mountain roads.
The inauguration of the cross-border bus service is the first direct transport link between the Indian and Pakistani sections of Kashmir, and marks a boost in confidence for the peace process being pursued by the governments in Delhi and Islamabad.
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India and China: The next big thing?
One of the central messages to emerge in two days of intensive discussions at the 5th World Travel & Tourism Council Global
(WTTC) Summit is that India and China are the next big thing in world tourism. Industry leaders meeting in Delhi heard that both countries in their separate ways have enormous potential for growth and both seek and need foreign investment to realize their potential.India and China are big in every way. They are big countries India is the size of 28 European countries put together and both have huge populations. Both are big on cultural assets that could be developed as tourism assets. Both are big on talking up the amount of money they are prepared, at last, to put into developing tourism. |
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After years of centralized government control of their economies, both India and China have taken steps to liberalize their economies and have come to recognize the power of the tourism industry to be an engine of national prosperity.
India is already reaping the benefits of the WTTC India Initiative and the Tourism Ministry's marketing campaign. Incredible India, has helped India to pass the threshold of 3 million visitors in the past year.
Other achievements of the WTTC India Initiative include persuading the Indian government to relax hotel expenditure tax and allow duty-free alcohol imports for hotels and restaurants. It is pressing for improvements and modernization at India's airports.
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India, Greece sign tourism pact
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Tourism ties between India and Greece was recently strengthened with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and the Greek Association of Tour Operators (GATO). The signing took place on Saturday, April 09, 2005 during the 5th World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit, held at New Delhi.
IATO and its Greek counterpart agreed on a venture to jointly promote tourism programs. The MOU was signed by Mr. Subhash Goyal & Mr. Yiannis Evangelou on behalf of their respective organizations.
The two associations have decided under the MOU to promote and market tourism between their countries, and for this purpose enhance their mutual contacts and communications.
They have also agreed that arrangements for travel and tour services, including hotel reservations required by members of the respective associations in the two countries, will be channelled through their respective associations only.
Under the MOU, the members of both the organizations are entitled to become overseas members of each other's association and can use and print their respective logos.
Further, IATO and GATO have also arranged to form a joint action committee to discuss strategies for the development of their cooperation programs. The committee will meet once a year, and will form sub-committees for the implementations of specific programs, IATO said.
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India, United States open up their skies
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India and the US signed a landmark agreement allowing unrestricted number of airlines to mount any number of flights to any point in each other's territory.
The historic agreement was signed by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and US Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta in New Delhi.
The Union Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has given its nod for replacing the 1956 Air Services Agreement with the new one according to which Air India and other carriers will have additional ports of call other than existing ones like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Newark (New Jersey).
Similarly, American carriers will also be able to have direct operations to additional cities in India.
Currently, Indian carriers operate 28 flights a week to the US, which has 14 flights.
The new accord also seeks to remove the earlier restriction of code-share rights to any five points in the respective territories of both countries.
It proposes to eliminate all existing restrictions on fifth freedom traffic through intermediate points and provides for greater operational flexibility.
A special provision relating to safety has been added in the new agreement.
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AIR INDIA Express all set to take flight
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Billed as the budget airline of the Maharaja carrier Air India, Air India Express announced it will inaugurate service on April 29, 2005.
According to the low-cost carrier, it will initially have three Boeing 737-800s, but will expand its fleet with about a dozen planes in the coming months.
Senior ministry and airline officials at the unveiling of Air India Express said that the salient feature of the new venture would be to tap the leisure and business traffic to the Gulf region from India and later South East Asia will also be covered.
The no-frills carrier will operate 35 flights per week to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Salalah, from Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbal and Delhi. The fares will be about 40 percent less than the prevailing market offerings, sources said, adding that the inventory will be sold over the internet, unlike the traditional GDS sale system.
Access to the airline's website was also demonstrated at the announcement ceremony, and attendees said the site is “user-friendly.”
However, bookings can only be done through travel agents or Air India Express offices where service or transaction fees will be charged.
The plane will have 181 seats in economy class configuration, and the flights will be operated on a Quick Turnaround Basis.
Upon the delivery of new aircrafts, Air India Express said it will initiate service to Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta.
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Indian outbound crosses 6 million mark in 2004
The number of Indian travellers going abroad has for the first time crossed the 6 million mark to 6.2 million
travellers, a growth of 17 per cent in the calendar year 2004. Travel from India has been mostly to destinations such as US, UK, Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia and Switzerland. In the recent past, travel to France, Italy, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand too has topped the charts for Indians. The statistics released by the department of tourism reveal that the outbound travel market in India has grown by over 25 per cent in the last two years (from 4.9m travellers in 2002 to 5.3m in 2003 and 6.2m in 2004).
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TAJ extends presence in the Middle East
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Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, India's leading hospitality group, has extended its presence in the Middle East, by entering into a strategic tie up with ETA Star Property Developers LLC to develop and manage the Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, a luxury resort at the Palm Island Jumeirah crescent in Dubai. Increasing the shoreline of Dubai by 120 km (72 miles), the Palm Island Jumeirah is considered the world's most unique man-made island. Spectacular homes, world-famous waterfront resorts, boutique hotels, shopping, spas, marinas and dynamic canals, make the Palm the most imaginative and luxurious commercial cum residential project in the world.
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Singapore Tourism Board opens regional office in Delhi
The Singapore Tourism Board
(STB) opened a regional office in Delhi, its third in India and 21st worldwide. The opening of the new office signifies the importance the city-state places on India, which sent nearly 471,000 visitors to Singapore in 2004. It already has offices in
Chennai and Goa. The regional office would seek to strengthen partnerships with the Indian tourism ministry as well as the travel industry.
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Dubai International Airport - passenger movement up 12.7%, while cargo shows 18.3% growth in 1st quarter
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Passenger movement at Dubai International Airport in the first quarter of 2005 registered at 6.02 million showing a growth of 12.7% as compared with 5.34 million over the same period last year, while Dubai Cargo Village registered a 18.3% growth having handled a total of 303,206 tonnes of freight as compared to 256,229 tonnes during the same period last year. First quarter sales at Dubai Duty Free topped Dhs 510 million (US$141 million) representing a 20% increase over the same period last year and placing the award-winning operation on track for another year of record sales. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates, commented: “The first quarter passenger movement was boosted by strong growth in the months of January and March.
“Taking into consideration the continuous growth at Dubai Cargo Village we have started the initial works at the airport city in Jebel Ali. The project will be completed in phases. The first phase, costing US $ 547 million (Dhs 2 billion) will include the Logistics City and one runway keeping the initial focus on cargo requirements. The airport will consist of a number of terminals, six parallel runways, a large area for cargo and two main entrances. When completed, the airport will have the capacity to handle 120 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually. All facilities will be equipped to handle new generation aircraft including the A380.”
Meanwhile, construction of Terminal 3, Concourse 2 and Concourse 3 for passengers and a Mega Cargo Terminal, and upgrades to Terminal 2 are well underway and on schedule.
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Study: Spanish-language skills increasingly important in business
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A survey of executives conducted by www.theladders.com found 61% believe Spanish is the best language to know besides English, followed by Chinese with 16%. The burgeoning U.S. Hispanic population means executives who are proficient in Spanish are increasingly valuable to businesses, said Marc Cenedella, CEO of
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22853081 or 22830133 or e-mail ihctm@rbcsgroup.com
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| Worldwide events to mark Disneyland's 50th anniversary
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New fireworks shows, parades and rides, including a walking, talking animatronic dinosaur named "Lucky," will be rolled out at The Walt Disney Co.'s 10 worldwide theme parks in May to mark the anniversary of the one that started it all-Disneyland.
Dubbed "The Happiest Celebration on Earth," the 18-month event will begin on May 5 and include the opening of Disney's 11th park, Hong Kong Disneyland, in late 2005 or early 2006.
Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, on land once occupied by orange groves in Anaheim, California. It was built within a large earthen berm so that parkgoers would enter a protected, fantasy environment.
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| In that regard, as well as the fact that it featured characters from Disney's animated films, it was different from other amusement parks or carnivals at the time.
The celebration planned for Disneyland includes the docking of one of Disney's popular cruise ships on the West Coast for 12 seven-day Mexican cruises.
Disneyland will also get a new parade, a new fireworks show and an exhibit highlighting the evolution of Disneyland from concept to opening day.
The indoor Space Mountain roller coaster, which has been closed for refurbishment, will reopen with new special effects.
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At Walt Disney World Resort celebrations include:
• The "Cinderellebration" show from Tokyo Disneyland will play at the Magic Kingdom.
• The Soarin' over California ride, which debuted at Disney's California Adventure park, will open at Epcot.
• The "Lights, Motors, Action" stunt show from Disneyland Resort Paris will open at Disney-MGM Studios.
• A walking, talking dinosaur named Lucky will interact with guests at Disney's Animal Kingdom. A new roller coaster attraction, Expedition Everest, will also open at the park.
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At Disneyland Resort Paris, the “Wishes” fireworks show, similar to the one playing at Walt Disney World, will open with a new musical score.
The celebration at Tokyo Disney Resort will include the 2005 opening of Lost River Delta, which features a vertical, 360-degree loop combined with fire and water effects.
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