World Of Tourism

Plan a rendezvous with South India to experience the outstanding natural beauty and historical and cultural heritage of the bygone era. With its meticulously carved temples, stunning palaces, exotic wildlife, romantic beaches, mesmerizing backwaters, refreshing hill stations, pilgrimages and delicious food, this destination holds interest of millions of tourists from across the globe.

Kerala

There is a big reason why Kerala is known as 'God's own country'. It is a destination offering heavenly attractions such as enchanting forests, romantic beaches, enticing boat rides and rejuvenating Ayurvedic massages, which makes it a dream-like destination. Each place in this state has its own specialty to offer. The backwater cruises in Alleppey is a big hit with tourists from all over the world.

Karnataka

This state is a perfect blend of deep rooted traditions and modernity. Its cities like Belur, Mysore, Hampi, Halebid and Badami offer a variety of amazing attractions, starting from ruins of the ancient temples to the world famous silk saris. The options in this state are simply boundless.

Tamil Nadu

The fascinating land of Tamil Nadu occupies a special place on the tourist map of South India. The most overwhelming part of the rich cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu is its temples, which are around 30,000 in number. Strewn with interesting legends, some of the temples in Tamil Nadu leave the onlookers in awe with their sheer architectural beauty. As it is not possible to see all the beautiful temples of Tamil Nadu in a single visit, tourists at least must not miss the following ones: Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Kapileshwar Temple in Chennai, Shore Temple and Rathas Temple in Mahabalipuram, Kanyakumari Amman Temple in Kanyakumari.

Pondicherry

To experience the French taste in India, visit Pondicherry. Its peaceful ambiance and sheer natural beauty will leave you spell bound. Explore its unique culture, the architectural wonders, historic sites and appealing beaches to make your holidays memorable.

Going on holiday is what everyone looks forward to and so many of us prefer to venture out in search of cost-effective travel. With the emergence of online booking services and great discount travel websites, booking travel has become relatively easy. You can easily find cheap travel package to exotic destinations all over the world. Today, all you need to do is log on to the Internet and perform a quick search for various travel options online.

Most of these discounted travel sites offer you all the resources you need to plan your trip. These sites also allow you to compare prices, choose your most preferred airline and get the best travel deal on holiday packages. You can also customise a cheap travel package by choosing from the various individual travel components available. These are a convenient way to make your dream holiday a reality. These travel packages may include flights, cruises, additional car hire, hotel booking, travel insurance and several other exciting travel services. Apart from the regular holiday packages, you may also come across last minute packages online. These special packages are fantastic bargains for the spontaneous traveller and perfect for weekend getaways.

Many of the online travel services specialize in offering the best airfares on the web whether traveling within Australia or to overseas destinations. Be it for a weekend gateway, business trio or a long vacation, every travel can enjoy the best updated deals and make their dream trip come true
source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Cheap-Travel-Packages

South India is one of the most visited destinations of the country. The superb sculptures, dance forms and the temples give evidence of the rich cultural heritage of South India. The tours around South India will help you discover the true spirit of this part of the country. You can visit various places, which are rich in scenic beauty, monuments, temples, beaches, wild life, hill stations and Ayurveda centers. You will find several places to visit during your South India tours.

Some of the major places, which you can visit during the South Indian tours are the following:

Bangalore

Bangalore, also known as the garden city of India, is known for its modern architectural edifices and historic buildings. Vidhana Soudh, which is beautiful post independence architecture, is located in Bangalore. This structure now houses the State legislature and Secretariat. The guided tour in Bangalore will take you to the Tipu Sultan Palace, which gives an insight into the Mughal lifestyle. This palace has now turned into a museum. The ISKCON temple is another impressive structure that shows the blend of Dravidian and modern architecture. Another important place which you can cover in Bangalore during the South India tours is Lal Bagh Garden.

Mysore

This city with rich heritage, grand palaces, beautifully laid pout gardens, impressive buildings and sacred temples has a quaint charm around it. Maharaj Palace, the Amba Villas Palace and Chamundi Hill are the major attraction of Mysore. Brindavan Gardens can not be missed during the visit to Mysore. The beautiful lush green garden with musical fountains is sure to enthrall you.

Nagarhole

Another important tourist destination, Nagarhole, is greatly frequented by the travelers. Kabini River is the major attraction. You can go for boating on this river and have a great time. You can book a jeep or van to go on a wildlife tour to the national park.

Conoor

Conoor is a popular getaway for the tourists. This romantic hill station in the Nilgiris, is marked with tea plantations. You can spend some time bird watching and visiting the botanical gardens.

Cochin

Visit this natural harbor city, which happens to be one of the most important places to visit during South Indian tour. Here, you can enjoy the scenic view of the rougher seas and the beauty of the natural harbor. The major attractions include Portuguese churches, Hindu temples and mosques. Chinese fishing nets are the major draw of this place.

Kerala

This city of scenic beauty, absolute serenity and peacefulness is the land of backwaters and swaying coconut trees. You can spend your small trip on the house boats that lay afloat on the waters of the lake. Kerala Ayurveda is also an important aspect of this city. There are various Ayurveda resorts which are worth visiting the tour.

Madurai

This historic city is also marked by the presence of Meenakshi Temple, Alagar Hills and Tirupara Kundran Rock Temple.

Mahabalipuram

This city of 1000 temples was the capital of the Pallavas. These temples have 124 existing shrines, which are dedicated to various deities. The paintings on the walls tell us about the rich cultural past. You can visit the temples of Ekambaswara, Kailasanatha, Sri Kamakshi and Varadarajaswamy. The rock temples and pagodas are tourists´ delight.

There are several other destinations, which are counted as major places to visit during the South Indian tour. Tanjore, Periyar, Kanchipuram are other major tourist destinations that are worth visiting.
Source:http://www.americanchronicle.com

When foreigners go to Japan, Tokyo tops their list of places to see. Seven of the 10 most-visited destinations in the country are in the capital, according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.

This makes it easy for visitors to check the top spots off their must-see lists without leaving Tokyo, a sprawling city encompassing nearly every important aspect of Japanese life (except nature; "man-made" is the buzzword here). To get to the other spots on the top-10 list, a quick shinkansen (bullet train) ride is all that's required, and that's an experience itself, as the trains run at speeds of about 200 miles per hour.

Whether you choose to stay inside Tokyo's city limits or leave them, however, the complete tourism experience in Japan involves an equal mix of modern and traditional — easy to accomplish in the city and beyond.

Wherever you go, you can expect the locals to be friendly due to a government tourism-promotion campaign, Yokoso Japan (Welcome to Japan), through which the Japanese government is aiming to increase the number of international visitors to 10 million by 2010 (the country had 6 million foreign tourists in 2007). The tourism agency has spent the last five years trying to convince foreigners that the famously closed society is welcoming.

Tokyo sights
The No. 1 place tourists visit is Shinjuku, a massive, crowded skyscraper district within Tokyo. Built beginning in the '70s, Shinjuku keeps adding new and bigger towers, and its commuter rail station is the transit system's busiest, with nearly 2 million passengers a day.

Shinjuku has three main components: offices, shopping and nightlife. The shopping consists of a flotilla of chic department stores, mainly branches of the stores you'll find in Ginza or elsewhere. At night, many tourists head for Shinjuku's Park Hyatt, the hotel made famous in the film "Lost in Translation", to have a drink at the penthouse New York Bar and take in the city-wide views. The Kabukicho district is also a popular hangout, thanks to its many bars and lounges.

Tokyo's next most-visited area is the famous Ginza neighborhood, a shopping mecca that's home to the fanciest stores, Japanese and foreign alike. Weighing in at No. 4 on the most-visited list, Ginza is where you'll find all the luxury brands from around the world, many in custom-designed boutiques.

Shoppers throng the streets as they meander from Chanel to Mikimoto (for world-renowned pearls); you'll also find them stopping for lunch in the department store cafés. When you're done at Fendi and Gucci, follow their example and stop at the basement food halls in one of the department stores (every department store, all over town, has one). It's fun to pick up a picnic lunch from the myriad prepared-food vendors, but remember, it's considered rude to eat standing up in Japan.

Also on the top-destination list, within Tokyo are Shibuya and Harajuku, the twin centers of teen culture and the places to see what the hip kids are wearing these days. But there are also more traditional attractions that shouldn't be skipped, such as the museums, zoo and Asakusa, an old-style temple district.
source:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Every year, thousands and thousands of travelers come to this exotic country to have the mesmerizing pleasure of an exotic vacation. So, if you are also tired of your monotonous life and have an affection for deserts, sunny atmosphere and traditional surroundings, then come to Pushkar and discover a totally new sense of lifestyle. Pushkar is a city that is well known for its diversity and variety of harmoniously existing cultures. All you have to do is to plan your vacation with Pushkar travel and then let yourself free in the real pleasure hub of culture, heritage and serenity. With temples, culture, royalty, hospitality palaces, forts and holy rivers to choose from, this city will surely win anyone's heart.

Shopping in Pushkar can be really interesting. The city is full of traditional bazaars and other shopping centers from where, one can easily purchase textiles, exquisite embroidery pieces, finely crafted jewelry, miniature paintings and many other items of interest. Moreover, if you have planned your Pushkar travel tour during the festive season, then the great variety of regional fairs will make your trip totally outstanding. On the other hand, those who have taken a break for a peaceful outing can find their solace in the mesmerizing lakes of Pushkar. So when you customize your plan of visiting Rajasthan, ensure that you take the guidance of a proper Pushkar travel planner.

Besides shopping, sight seeing, shrines, safari etc, another thing that can make your entire trip all the more fascinating is the camel fair. During the camel fair season, more than 200,000 traders, dealers and tourists throng the city of Pushkar. Moreover, the complete sight is quite magnificent as the desert landscape comes alive with very lively ambiance. Colorful camps, countless camels and avid traders make the entire scene very interesting for all the tourists. Special arrangements of folk singers and dancers and good food joints are some of the additional features of this captivating and zealous fair. Pushkar travel also offers the facility of night campfires, which serve as an ideal place to meet all the different visitors of the fair.

Pushkar is widely known for its holistic and religious aspect and thus, visiting the mystical temples of this region is quite mandatory. Start your trip with a visit to Lord Brahma temple, the huge, majestic worship center and the only temple of Lord Brahma in the entire country. The floor of this temple is well studded with beautiful coins. Some of the other beautiful temples located here are Savitri temple, Rangji temple, Warah temple and Apteshwar temple. So,if you also have Pushkar travel plans on your travel schedule, then it is recommended to seek the advice and guidance of a local travel agency or a person who frequently visits this place, as it would help you in planning your trip with much more convenience. As this place is considered to be one of the most sought after tourist destinations, it would be better if you make efforts to plan everything in advance.
source:http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=node/15563

Believe it or not, Kerala has around 20,000 Hindu temples and shrines and in almost all the villages there is at least one place of worship for Christians and Muslims.

These major and minor places of worship had contributed significantly to the development and continued maintenance of the rich cultural heritage of the state through the vibrant annual festivals.

Although some of the major festivals are known at the national and international levels, many of them are not known beyond the boundaries of the state.

The organisers of these celebrations are not publicity-conscious. As a result, the efforts to keep track of these festivals have become very difficult.

Obviously, neither the State Tourism Department nor any individual have tried to systematically bring out the detailed information on these cultural festivals till recently.

Kerala Festival Message 2008’, a directory of festivals in Kerala, edited by C A Menon, is a major work which provides detailed and systematic information about the festivals in Kerala.

The directory was first published in 2004 figuring out the details of around 1000 festivals across the state.

The latest and updated version lists out over 2500 festivals in the state in the year 2008, with eye-catching pictures to provide a glimpse of the richness of these festivals to its reader.

The latest volume also covers all the festivals beginning from January 2009 as well as major festivals next year.

The compilation is a valuable addition to the material that helps both domestic and foreign tourists to acquaint themselves with the festivals and rituals in Kerala.

Aimed at facilitating travel agents, tour operators and tourists, especially foreign tourists, to plan their programmes well in advance and to synchronise them with the festivals of their choice, the author is at present engaged in bringing out a directory of festivals in the state in the next five years shortly.

source:http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20080527001853&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0

Kerala is a gateway to paradise. The state offers an enthralling experience with its captivating landscapes, mind blowing backwaters, majestic hills, wildlife parks and sanctuaries, tea plantations, and last but not the least, its stunning sun-kissed beaches. With the hordes of tourists and travelers visiting Kerala for spending holidays, Kerala tourism is rising at great strides. Apart from an excellent getaway to nature, Kerala tourism is also redefined as Kerala Health Tourism, Kerala Backwater Tourism, Kerala Culture Tourism, Kerala Beach Tourism, and many more.

Kerala takes pride in being one of the oldest civilizations on the face of the earth. Historians suggest that Kerala culture is a blend of numerous civilizations, varied customs, practices and beliefs as a result of interaction of Indian as well as overseas cultures. A variety of performing arts such as Koodiyattom, a type of drama or theater and UNESCO-listed human heritage art; Kathakali, a dance drama that depicts ancient epics; Kerala natanam, a popular offshoot of Kathakali; Koothu, a light-hearted comedy performance similar to modern-day stand-up comedy; Mihiniyattam, the dance of the enchantress which is a choreographed performance by women accompanied by music and vocalizations, and many more art performances are unique to Kerala.

The Kerala culture is reflected in its festivals, pilgrimages, literature, music, traditional performances, customs, practices and cuisine. Variety and uniqueness of Kerala's culture may be experienced by being a part of its annual ten-day festival known as Onam. During Onam, a host of colorful sports, cultural programs and rituals are organized. Celebrated at the end of August or beginning of September, the festival is a complete reflection of the rich culture that Kerala boasts of.

The Kerala food is unusual which offers some of the most sumptuous tastes on earth. Keralites are gourmets with a difference. The cuisine is usually hot, spicy, aromatic and flavored. Use of coconut is an integral part of the cuisine. It is used either chopped or grated to garnish the dishes. Coconut milk or paste is used to thicken gravies and its oil is used for cooking. Rice is the staple diet. A typical lunch or dinner may consist of rice, seasonal vegetables cooked in coconut oil with different spices for flavor, dal, seafood curry and a sweet dish as dessert. Seafood is taken almost with every meal. Fish like sardines, tuna, rays, and crabs, mussels and oysters are taken with unique preparations. Apart from meals, different snacks such as banana chips, murku, shakaruperi and many types of halwa are consumed any time during the day.

Sorce:http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/62158

In the monotonous life, most of us feel the need to change. This is a universal fact that after a particular time period, we all resist with our same old ways of doing things.

Our tedious works do not allow us to dream beyond the box and go wild with our strange way of imagination. This actually puts us in a dilemma of what to do and how to do. Is there a better way to get out from this boring life? Well, for those who are still confused and thinking about different ways to break the restraints of obscure lives. Holiday packages are the only way that helps you in breaking the barriers of life and gives the moral fiber to break all the conventions of life.

So, before the scheduled life gets over you, indulge yourself with your kin with any of the holiday retreats. There are numerous benefits of these tiny yet meaningful holidays. Even the researchers have shown that the best from a man evokes after a happy and eventful break from his daily work.

If you able to manage a holiday vacation for yourself then you can get benefit from numerous websites that give you a clear idea about the prospective destinations. These websites give valuable information’s that will help to plan your holidays in a memorable way. In fact, most of the travel agencies, tour operators, and travel agents take help from these websites to come up with all cheap holiday packages to their clientele.

The tourism industry could be seen growing at a very fast pace. This is the result of the growing market competition, emergence of new tourist market players and the urge to offer products and services to the customers at a reduced price. There are so many unexplored destinations that need your wild visit. These destinations ensure to spend quality time with your family away from the hassles of the life. There are places like Goa, Kerala, Seychelles and Zurich requires more and more visitor.

So don’t think twice, just grab the chance and go for your dream holiday vacation.

It’s that time of the year when the majority of people will start scouting for options to take advantage of their children’s school holidays and exhaust their pending leave from the previous year as well.

Though the planning for these trips is done well in advance, if you are one of those who is still working out the nitty-gritties, take a look at some of these planning tips.

WHAT IS POPULAR?
Kashmir has been a popular destination historically. But over the years, it had lost its sheen because of apprehensions about terrorism. However, this summer, Kashmir has made a comeback.

“The problems of targeting tourists have come down as tourism is a source of income in many parts of the state,” says Sandeep Srivastava, head, domestic travel, Thomas Cook.

The other preferred destinations include Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Leh and Ladakh, Ooty and Munnar.

Travel companies have come up with aggressively-priced packages for this season. For instance, Thomas Cook is offering a 5-day package at Rs 8,000 per person for Kashmir.

This includes accommodation, meals and sightseeing, but does not include train or flight costs. In Uttaranchal, one can visit the four pilgrimage sites or take a multiple tour of Corbett National Park, Mussoorie and Nainital. The basic package per person for this multiple location tours starts at Rs 13,000 per person, excluding the airfare.

Other areas where aggressively priced packages are available include multiple destination packages for Himachal Pradesh that includes the hill stations, Manali, Shimla, Dharamshala and Dalhousie.

Besides hill stations, another destination that is witnessing rising interest is the Sundarbans in West Bengal that is only accessible through waterways. Only a private cruise operator and government ships take visitors to the forests. “One of lures in this delta is that there is a weather change every three hours,” says a tour operator.

If you looking for adventure, there are difficult Himalayan treks that can be pursued. These treks last for about 11 days and there are a large number of travel packages that are offered by tour operators. These packages start at Rs 14,000 per person.

For the super rich, there are options of travelling to resorts such as Ananda in the Himalayas, where a range of spas and meditation packages are available. These tours are typically for three days and start from Rs 15,000 per person per day.

Other similar luxury areas include Udayvilas, Ram Bagh and Shiv Vilas in Rajasthan and Amanbagh and Brunton Boatyard in Kerala. The packages to these places could go up to Rs 50,000 a night per person.

PLANNING THE VACATION
Okay, enough of luring you to luxurious places, but the business end of it requires you to have the funds and take a call on the different packages on offer. Here’s a “how to do it” guide for the newbies

Budget: For starters, you need to create a budget for travelling. This would imply savings for that cause. “Typically, a tourist should be able to manage his stay within a budget of Rs 2,000 – 3,000 per person per night in a three-star category package. This expense would include meals, local transport and sight seeing,” says an industry expert. As a result, most of the week-long packages start from Rs 13,000 – 15,000.

For you, the important part is to figure out the money you will be able to spend. This would help in choosing the destinations, transportation, and accommodation. Try to control the urge to over spend on your vacation.

Cost optimisation: Now that the budgeting and the destination have been decided, you need to carefully gauge other costs. For instance, though the travel person might want to sell you a hotel room with a view for that little extra, if you are planning to do a lot of sight seeing, there is no need to go for it.

Shop around: Vacation packages are often good because they offer attractive discounts. Also, booking everything separately could lead to a lot of headaches. If you belong to a frequent-flyer programme, vacations are the perfect time to cash-in. Look into how many frequent-flyer miles you've earned and when they expire.

Choose payment method carefully: If you can afford to pay for the entire trip at once, exercise that option. For travellers on a budget, paying in instalments helps to ease the financial burden. Travel companies do offer various financing options to their customers.

For instance, Kuoni India has a finance scheme. Kesari, another tour operator, arranges personal loan with Bank of India. Thomas cook, who were offering financing options, have withdrawn it from this year. Instead, it has a co-branded credit card with ICICI Bank.

The payments made through the cards can be converted into equated monthly instalments (EMIs). Using a credit card is another option, but make sure you can pay it off promptly. Of course, financial planners would always advise that when you do not have the money, there is no need to spend.

When to book: Ideally in order to go through least amount of hassles, you should do all the work well in advance. However, travel operators say that in metros, since most of the family members are unsure of their schedules, they process requests even 10 days in advance.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=lmnu6&subLeft=2&autono=319899&tab=r

One million fewer tourists visited Britain during the three months to September, compared with the same period last year, as sky-high prices, poor airports and bad weather deterred people, official figures showed.

Overseas visitor numbers fell by 10 per cent to 9.25 million – the largest quarterly fall since the fall out of September 11, 2001, when American tourists numbers ground to a halt. This time, the weak dollar, rather than terrorism, is behind the fall in numbers.

Added to this, is Britain’s increasing reputation as an unexciting, troublesome destination, compared to more exotic places in Asia.

Elliott Frisby at VisitBritain, the Government-backed agency that promotes the country to tourists, said: “The exchange rate is seriously starting to bite for many North Americans. Visits from that region are predominantly driven by price, and many Americans are choosing to stay at home.”

Americans are the most important visitors to the UK as they tend to spend the most and stay the longest, frequently travelling outside London to the Lake district and other areas that are very reliant on the tourist dollar.

Tour operators and analysts also cite “Heathrow hassle” and the increase in air passenger duty as contributors to the fall, with this summer’s airport delays and dire weather all helping to persuade visitors to travel elsewhere.

The emergence of China, Turkey, India and other exciting locations competing for international visitors is another factor.

“Competition is hotting up and people want to go to new destinations that have got the 'brag factor’ – where you can take the photos and come back home and tell all your friends. Britain just doesn’t have that,” said Mr Frisby.

David Else, the author of Lonely Planet’s guide to Great Britain, said he was sad that tourist numbers had fallen after a resurgent few years.

“My view is that Britain is not boring at all. Yes, it is expensive compared to many other countries, but it is a great place and the tourist facilities have all improved enormously in recent years – the cafes, restaurants, attractions, the transport links. Everything is getting better.”

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2007/11/14/et-tourism-114.xml