Hello Friends.  
   
  As we bid goodbye to a rather cold winter, we get ready to celebrate the liveliest of all Hindu festivals, Holi. Holi heralds the end of the winter and the beginning of spring and is literally the most colourful of Indian festivals, with revelers throwing coloured powders at each other and generally making merry. As always, you are welcome to join in, so make the most of it!  
The Department of Tourism, Government of India has won the foll:
     
  - PATA Grand Award, 2005, in the Heritage (HE) category, for the "Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project"
  - PATA Gold Award, 2005, in the Print Media (AD-P) category, for the "Incredible-Taj" ads. To view the ads online, click here.
The PATA Grand Awards recognise exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavours, bringing acclaim to the best the region's travel industry has to offer. The winning projects set industry standards for excellence and innovation.
     
 
Chicago based iExplore.com unveiled its top 10 destinations for 2004. We are delighted to report that India makes it to No. 5, a dramatic vault from the 36th slot it occupied in 2003. Peru tops the list, followed by Egypt and China, while Antarctica, Australia and Nepal, toppers for 2003, have dropped out. George Deeb, iExplore founder and CEO, said, “2004 clearly marked the rebound in exotic destinations like India.” iExplore has been affiliated with the National Geographic and Forbes adventure travel sites for the past five years. The list is based on the vacation purchases of travel offers during the past year.

Courtesy: FHRAI
     
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, India is poised to emerge as the 2nd fastest growing (8.8%) tourism economy in the world over 2005-14. Montenegro (10.3%) is at the top of the list, and China comes after India at 8.7%. Tourism enhancing developments like a high-octane Incredible India campaign and liberalized airlinks were cited as major factors for India’s high growth prospects in travel and tourism demand.
     
 
Taj Residency, Hyderabad won the National Tourism Award for the best 5-star hotel in India, based on criteria that include highest forex earnings per room, incremental forex earnings over the previous year, highest percentage increase in foreign tourist arrivals, facilities for physically challenged guests, and eco-friendly and socially responsible practices being followed. The award is instituted by the Union Ministry of Tourism.
Courtesy: Business Line, New Delhi, 29.1.2005
     
 
The sprawling, 220-year-old Chowmahalla Palace of the Nizam of Hyderabad has been thrown open to tourists since January 2005. The complex, recently restored, is made up of four different palaces in the shape of a rectangle, and a massive courtyard with fountains. It was once the seat of power of the Asaf Jhahi Dynasty.
     
 
 
The 19th Annual Surajkund Crafts Mela ended on a colourful note with the Punjab Police performing the bhangra. Nearly 80,000 people visited the mela. This year, the theme state was Chattisgarh, and visitors were enthralled by the state’s tribal dances and the handcrafted iron artifacts made by about 70 master artisans from Bastar. The mela lasted for 20 days, 5 more than the usual 15. The Haryana Tourism Department is turning some of the stalls in the Designer's village into permanent outlets, so that tourists can continue the experience through the year.
     
 
The tsunami which hit a few coastal districts of Tamil Nadu in December unearthed a big block of stone carvings hidden under water near the 7th century heritage shore temple at Mahabalipuram. Sculptures now revealed include lions, a horse and a miniature cut-in-shrine. The ancient "gifts" of the tsunami are expected to be presented to an international seminar on maritime archaeology in Delhi.

Courtesy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4302115.stm
     
             
     

Amitabh Kant
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism,
Transport Bhawan, Parliament Street,
New Delhi - 110 001.
T: 91 + 11 + 23715084
F: 91 + 11 + 23710518
M: amitabhk@incredibleindia.org
W: http://www.incredibleindia.org

 

While others may claim breathtaking locales, the mysticism of the east, the draw of civilization, the call of the wild.... India is that and much more.....
It is a journey of mind and soul.
It is a journey of the five senses
It is a journey of self-discovery
It is a journey of self-fulfillment.

  
     

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