Zuckerberg visits Taj Mahal, finds it stunning

EFT Report, Agra: Social networking giant Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday visited the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh's Agra city and said: "It is even more stunning than I expected."

"I'm in India for our Townhall Q&A tomorrow (Wednesday), and I decided to visit the Taj Mahal. I've always wanted to see this," Zuckerberg posted on Facebook along with his picture in front of the monument to love.

"It is even more stunning than I expected. It's incredible what people can build -- and what love can motivate us to build," he added.

Zuckerberg, who hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month in the US, is scheduled to hold a Townhall Question and Answer session at the IIT-Delhi on Wednesday. 

The event is being seen as a very positive one, especially after Zuckerberg described Indians as "one of our most active and engaged communities" on the social media.

"More than 130 million people use Facebook in India. I'm looking forward to hearing directly from one of our most active and engaged communities," Zuckerberg had said. 

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Hyderabad's Taj Falaknuma declared world's best palace hotel

EFT Report, Hyderabad: The Taj Falaknuma here has been awarded number one position among the best palace hotels in the world category for 2015 by the world's leading travel and tourism website - Trip Advisor.

The coveted award is given to hospitality industry's best that have attained outstanding reviews from discerning travelers across the world, according to a statement by Taj Falaknuma.

After 10 years of sensitive restoration, the Taj Group of Hotels presented opened this 60 room private palace in 2010 to offer its guests a glimpse of the imperial lifestyle of the Nizams, the rulers of erstwhile Hyderabad state.

Once the residence of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan (1869-1911), the sixth Nizam, the palace had been lying unused since 1911.

It was Nawab Vaqar-ul-Umra, the Nizam's prime minister, who built the palace in 1893. Impressed by its magnificence, the Nizam bought it for himself.

It is amongst the most luxurious of all Baroque mansions in India. The interiors of the Taj Falaknuma Palace are a statement in royal opulence, replete in its large Venetian chandeliers, rare furniture, grand marble staircases, priceless statues and objects d'art and murals encased in ornate frames along with a Palace Library, which is a collector's envy and home to rare manuscripts and an acclaimed collections of books.

"It is our constant endeavour to offer unique and impeccable experiences to our guests. This award is really a testament to our staff's efforts to accord world-class service, deeply rooted in India's rich tradition of Indian hospitality delivered with warmth and sincerity to our guests," said Taj Falaknuma Palace general manager Girish Sehgal.

Taj Falaknuma Palace was also recently acknowledged by Conde Nast Traveller UK Readers' Travel Award for being amongst the world's best hotels and Travel + Leisure India & South Asia's India's Best Heritage Hotel Awards 2015.

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4th International Tourism Mart in Gangtok from Oct. 14-16

EFT Bureau, New Delhi: With the objective of showcasing the largely untapped tourism potential of North Eastern region in domestic and international key markets, Ministry of Tourism in association with the North Eastern States organizes International Tourism Mart (ITM) in different North Eastern States on rotation basis. Considering the contiguous features of West Bengal with the north east, the State has been included in the Mart.

The numbers of Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) to North Eastern States during 2014 were 1.19 lakh with a high growth of 39.8% revealing a significant improvement in the growth of 27.9% in FTVs registered during 2013 over 2012.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd ITM was organized in Guwahati, Tawang and Shillong, respectively. The 4th ITM is being organized in Gangtok, Sikkim during 14th – 16th October, 2015 by the Ministry of Tourism in association with the North Eastern States and West Bengal.

International buyers and media delegates from 27 countries namely Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam and from different regions of the country will be participating in the Mart and will engage in business-to-business meetings with sellers from the North East Region and West Bengal. This will enable tourism product suppliers to reach out to international and domestic buyers and promote tourism in the region.

Besides the foreign delegates, domestic buyers from other parts of the country and sellers from the North Eastern States and West Bengal will be participating in the Mart. Representatives of State Tourism Departments of these States will also be present to showcase their tourism destinations and to interact with the delegates. In addition to the business meetings, the three day event will include presentations, cultural evenings, visits to local attractions in and around Gangtok and press meetings with the media. It will bring together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight north eastern States of India and West Bengal. The event has been planned and scheduled to facilitate interaction between buyers, sellers, media, Government agencies and others.

Post-Mart Familiarization tours to the States in the region have been arranged by the State Governments for the overseas delegates from the 17th to 26th October 2015 to create awareness about the rich and varied tourism products of the region and give them first-hand knowledge and experience of the destination.

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Three-day Northeast festival in Bengaluru from Nov. 6

EFT Bureau, Bengaluru: The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that after having successfully showcased Northeast in the union capital of New Delhi and other important towns in North India, the next step would be to carry forward the Northeast showcasing campaign to South India, beginning with the hosting of a 3-day Northeast Festival at Bengaluru from 6th of November this year. He disclosed this after a meeting with representatives of “Northeast India Welfare Society” who presented him a detailed Program book describing the highlights and diverse facets of the three-day event. 

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that during the last nine months since he took over the Ministry, he has tried to follow a two-pronged strategy. One is that of bringing rest of India closer to Northeast for which initiatives like “DoNER at Doorstep” were started to hold monthly Camp Secretariat of DoNER Ministry in each of the eight States of the region by rotation. The second part of the strategy envisages carrying Northeast to different parts of this vast country and the Bengaluru event will be a step in this direction. On the one hand, while the rest of India needs to be familiarized and acquainted better with rich attributes of Northeast and its people, on the other hand the people of Northeast also need to be exposed to the diversities that enrich India from North to South and from East to West, he added. 

The Bengaluru Festival, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed, will be split over three days and will include cultural programs, tourism displays, Business summits, seminar discussions, sports slots and arts & craft shows. The participants will not only be from different parts of Northeast but also from different parts of the rest of India, so as to facilitate a healthy intermingling of different cultures at the important South Indian destination of Bengaluru which also currently happens to be a favorite professional and educational hub for youth from the entire subcontinent, he said. This will also help in inspiring stimulating environment for “Startup India” and entrepreneurship, he added. 

The representatives of Northeast India Welfare Society including Dr. Simanta Sharma and Kabir Hazarika informed that each of the sections to be hosted during the 3-day event will have some illustrious luminaries and celebrities from their respective fields.

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World Tourism Day: Entry to about 200 monuments free

EFT Bureau, New Delhi: The World Tourism Day is celebrated on 27th September every year. The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture are organising various activities for celebrating the World Tourism Day tomorrow. The Ministry of Culture has announced free entry for tourists to nearly 200 ticketed monuments and museums across India except Bihar as a part of the World Tourism day’s celebration on Sunday. The Minister of State for Culture (Independent charge), Tourism (Independent Charge ) & Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma has said that the government is taking various measures to reach out to tourists and that the Centre is determined to attract more Internationals Tourist from across the world. 

The monuments that will be free for entry include 116 National monuments such as Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutub Minar, Red Fort, 35 Museum sites under the ASI (like Buddhist sites includes Sanchi and others) along with Museums under the control of the Ministry of Culture. 

The foundation stone laying ceremony of Parytan Bhawan will also be held on 27th September in New Delhi. The Ministry of Tourism will organize various tourism promotion activities tomorrow like Street Play on Swachch Bharat theme by Students of IHM at Delhi Haat, INA and Seminar with Panel Discussion on the theme of “ One Billion Tourist One Billion Opportunities” in New Delhi. 

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Eiffel Tower closed amid terror threat

EFT Report, Paris: The Eiffel Tower was shut to all visitors on Sunday after three "terrorist suspects" with "large rucksacks" were seen ascending France’s most popular tourist attraction.

Anti-terrorist police supported by a helicopter could be seen at the iconic landmark following the alarm being raised in the early hours.

But after a search that went on all morning it was thought they escaped via parachute -- prompting a theory that they had been extreme sportsmen all along.

"There were reports of three people climbing the tower from the outside from about 5.30 a.m.," said a police source.

"They were said to have large rucksacks so no chances could be taken. They completely disappeared, so enquiries are centred on them being extreme parachutists.

"There were, of course, fears that they may have left dangerous material on the tower before leaving."

According to Daily Mail online, the tower has frequently been threatened by terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda and IS, with security stepped up since attacks by three radical Islamist gunmen in the city in January.

A police cordon was formed around the tower and people were moved to the banks of the nearby River Seine.

There have been numerous bomb alerts at the Eiffel Tower in recent years, and France is currently on the highest state vigilance alert.

The 1,050 ft-tall iron lattice tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, and soon turned into a prestige symbol of modern France.

It is the most visited paid-for monument in the world, with some seven-million people a year going up it.

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Bihar to get Rs 600 crore for tourism development

EFT Bureau, Patna: As a part of the package of Rs.1.25 lakh Crore announced by Indian Prime Minister on 18 August 2015 for Bihar, Ministry of Tourism pledges Rs 600 Crore for various tourism development activities in the State of Bihar 

Keeping in view the vast tourism potential of the State of Bihar, the Ministry of Tourism decides to consider seven tourism circuits, namely, Vaishali and Bodhgaya development along with other places in Buddhist Circuit including Vikramshila (Rs 200 Crore); Sultanganj to Deoghar project (Rs 50 Crore); Patna Sahib (Rs 50 Crore); Mahatma Gandhi Circuit (Rs 50 Crore); Ramayana Circuit (Rs 100 Crore); Jain Circuit including Champapuri & Pawapuri (Rs 50 Crore); Circuit for Mandar Hills and Ang Kshetra (Rs 50 Crore). 

Their development would be carried out through appropriate circuits/cities identified by the Ministry of Tourism under plan schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD. 

In addition to above, based on the findings of the study conducted by the Ministry to assess the potential of Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management (IITTM) Chapter in Bihar, Ministry of Tourism announces in-principle approval of a Centre of IITTM in Bihar with budgetary provision of Rs 50 Crore.

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Air Taxi Service in Rajasthan Soon

EFT Report, Jaipur: The Rajasthan government is set to launch an air taxi service, which will help connect major industrial and tourism points in the state, officials said.

"As per the plan, approved by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje before the (Lok Sabha) election code of conduct came into effect (March 5), we will give on rent the state government-owned planes to individuals and organisations for flying in the state," a senior official of the general administration department said.

He said Rajasthan has two planes and airports are functional in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. 

Work on airports is on in Kota and Ajmer while defence-owned airports are operational in Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer. The state also has a number of airstrips and helipads.

"To begin with, we will fly these two airplanes with a capacity of seven passengers each as air taxis and charge a minimum fare of Rs.10,000 per person. The condition is the planes will only fly when all seats are booked," he said.

Welcoming the idea, tour and transport operator Karan Singh said Rajasthan located in the north-west of India is the country's largest state in terms of area. Foreign tourists visiting the state have to skip important destinations due to absence of proper air connectivity or lack of quick means of transport.

"I think this air taxi service will not only help to open some of the virgin tourism sites in the state but also give a boost to the flow of tourists," he said.

Rajasthan with its heritage, culture, safaris, sand dunes, lush forests and wildlife continues to be one of the favourite tourism destinations in the world.

The foreign tourists are mostly from France, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the US, Spain, Canada and Australia.

The state in the past couple of years attracted over 1.5 million foreign tourists and over 28 million domestic tourists.

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