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Starbucks debuts in Kolkata, opens three stores
March 22 (Notintown.net): American coffee house chain Starbucks has finally opened its stores in Kolkata in a star-studded gathering yesterday.
Starbucks, which has kept its feet in Kolkata for the first time, opened three stores on the same day.
Kolkata has joined the list of Indian cities where 113 stores of Starbucks operates through a network of 1,700 partners. Continue reading Starbucks debuts in Kolkata, opens three stores →
Dubai stamps passports with smiley on Happiness Day
March 21 (TravelAndy): The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai, has run a host of diverse activities in support of the International Day of Happiness, coinciding with 20th March every year. Also, passengers at the Dubai airport were surprised with General directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs on Tuesday welcoming them with the title ‘Welcome to the Happy UAE’ with a smiley face design stamp on their passports.
Events targeted the RTA employees, mass transit users, parking inspectors and drivers. Chocolate boxes were distributed to 1,600 employees, together with messages that inspire positivity and spread happiness & fun. Continue reading Dubai stamps passports with smiley on Happiness Day →
World’s longest sandstone cave found in India
March 20 (TravelAndy): The world’s longest sandstone cave has been found in India’s Meghalaya state, Hindustan Times reported.
At 24,583 metres, the cave called Krem Puri, was measured between February 5 and March 1, 2018.
The second longest cave is Cueva Del Saman in Edo Zulia, Venezuela — a quartzite sandstone cave that is 18,200 metres long. Continue reading World’s longest sandstone cave found in India →
VietJet to fly to Brisbane, Australia
March 19 (TravelAndy): Vietjet is set to make Brisbane its first Australian long haul destination following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the airline and Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), Queensland, Australia.
Scheduled to commence in 2019, the non-stop service between Ho Chi Minh City and Brisbane is expected to boost trade integration and exchange.
The signing ceremony which took place in Sydney was witnessed by Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other senior leaders of Vietnam and Australia. During which, Vietjet also signed a MoU worth US$609 million with Investec Bank PLC to finance the purchase of five Airbus A321 aircraft at manufacturers’ list price. Continue reading VietJet to fly to Brisbane, Australia →
Indian airlines celebrate women’s day
March 8 (TravelAndy): Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Vistara are among the flights that are operating all-women crew flights on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Thursday.
“All women-crew flights will take off from Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Mangalore, Mumbai and Delhi on Thursday,” Air India Express, the budget arm of Air India, said in a statement.
Vistara is offering complimentary one-class upgrade to all solo women flyers, subject to availability upon check-in. The airline is also offering priority boarding to all women travellers, among other benefits. Continue reading Indian airlines celebrate women’s day →
India’s first helicopter taxi launches in Bangalore
March 6 (TravelAndy): If times equals money for you, consider taking the 15-minute helicopter ride to the Bangalore airport from the city instead of spending close to two hours getting there by road, said reports.
Thumby Aviation started India’s first helicopter taxi service with a Bell in Bangalore earlier this week.
The ride costs INR3,500 plus GST and this includes pick up and drop to the airport terminal from the helipad.
For now, the services are available from 06.30 to 09.30 and from 15.00 to 18.15 between the Kempegowda International Airport and Electronic City. Continue reading India’s first helicopter taxi launches in Bangalore →
Tulip attraction for Kashmir visitors
March 4 (TravelAndy): The Tulip Garden in Srinagar has added 50 varieties of flowers and north India’s Jammu and Kashmir state government expects a boost in tourist inflow because of that, said The Kashmir Monitor.
Sydney Harbour Bridge hosts first same-sex marriage in Australia
March 3 (Notintown.net): Writing their names in history books, Warren Orlandi has married his partner on the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge of Australia, media reports said.
Orlandi and Paul Phillips tied the nuptial knots on Thursday.
It was for the first time that a gay couple married on the iconic bridge.
“Today’s journey of more than 1000 steps is one chapter of a much bigger journey for us finding each other and this is an unforgettable moment in a very special place that we get to share with our loved ones,” Orlandi was quoted as saying by The New Daily. Continue reading Sydney Harbour Bridge hosts first same-sex marriage in Australia →
Sculptures by the sea in Perth
March 1 (TravelAndy): A floating stainless steel rock sculpture, over two meters high and four meters long, will float off Perth’s Cottesloe Beach as part of the iconic Sculpture by the Sea event.
Created by this years invited international artist, leading Chinese sculptor Zhang Wang – famous for his stainless steel sculptures – it is set to be one of the key attractions at the event.
Sculpture by the Sea is one of Perth’s largest free public events, and sees Cottesloe beach transform into a sculpture park with more than 70 sculptures on display from Australia and the world, and will run from March 2 to 19. Continue reading Sculptures by the sea in Perth →
2017: Great year for Scotland tourism
February 26 (TravelAndy): The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) has announced that visits to its member sites rose dramatically in 2017, the fourth year running that an increase in numbers has been recorded.
ASVA, which represents the interests of the key visitor attractions sector in Scotland, has over 450 members comprising some of Scotland’s most popular and iconic castles, galleries, museums, historic houses, heritage sites, wildlife parks, gardens and leisure attractions.
Analysis of statistics submitted by 232 of the organisation’s member sites for its annual ‘Visitor Trends Report’ confirms that over 30 million visits were made to those sites in Scotland in 2017, a rise of 9.7% over 2016 figures. The increase comes on top of a 6% rise in 2016, which itself followed a 3.4% rise in 2015, confirming once again that visitor attractions in Scotland are enjoying a period of sustained growth. Continue reading 2017: Great year for Scotland tourism →
Indonesia to promote 10 ‘new Balis’
February 24 (TravelAndy): Indonesia intends to promote 10 new tourist destinations as “the new Bali”, the South China Morning Post said.
The beautiful beaches and picturesque rice fields attract millions of tourists to Bali every year and Indonesia intends to cash in on the island’s popularity through this tourism promotion exercise. (ALSO READ: My 2016 prediction on Bali is coming true now)
Indonesia, which is looking to increase it’s tourism revenue from 4 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2014 to 20 per cent in 2019, is looking at China to be its major investor in this initiative. Chinese tourists outnumbered Australians for the first time in Indonesia in 2017 and the archipelago nation expects this trend to continue. Continue reading Indonesia to promote 10 ‘new Balis’ →
Ukraine plans Chernobyl tourism push
February 23 (TravelAndy): Ukraine will develop tourism near the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant, reported Xinhua.
Quoting the Ukraine’s state agency for the Chernobyl zone management, the report said a new hotel and an information centre for tourists will be opened in Chernobyl.
New routes will also be developed for visitors’ access to interesting sites in the area. Continue reading Ukraine plans Chernobyl tourism push →