Mumbai, September 28: First, the jocular travellers' tale: tourism in India took a nosedive as globe-trotters covered their noses because of the SARS scare and Mumbai became the 'Getaway from India' after the twin blasts rocked the city. Then, the reality. Despite the images of terror and masks, India, for the first time, has entered the top ten tourist destinations of the world, according to the latest research by Conde NastUK Readers' Travel Awards. In fact, a trip to India is preferred even above Greece, Malaysia and Switzerland by Europeans and Americans.

In its latest October issue, Europe's biggest travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveller lists India at the number 9 spot, with the top three slots going to Italy, Australia and France. Bureaucrats promoting India's pretty picture postcards, high-flying airline executives and hoteliers are all celebrating this big leap forward in tourism. While Agra's Taj Mahal has been the legendary motif for the country's tourism industry, newer attractions such as Kerala's promos for Ayurvedic health resorts, Maharashtra's grand karmic cleansing at the Kumbh Mela, historical Buddhist finds in several other states and, of course, the Goan beaches are surefire tourist magnets today.

Not surprisingly, MTDC's budget has jumped from Rs 12 crore last year to Rs 90 crore this fiscal year. The 9/11 nightmare seems to have disappeared. ''India's result is very exciting and shows the countries increased popularity amongst the sophisticated traveller. It also reflects very positively on the individuals involved in promoting India as a premium tourist destination,'' states the editor of Conde Nast Traveller, Sarah Miller.

If the latest trends are anything to go by, tourism trade watchers are hopeful that India will break the jinx of just 2.5 million foreign tourists a year. During January to August this year, tourist arrivals have increased by 14.2 per cent as compared to last year, totalling 16.74 lakh arrivals. Credit for the turnaround is being given to a government-backed advertisement blitz in the electronic media, titled 'Incredible India'. The recurrent terror attacks in the country too have not affected the spurt. ''Despite the blasts, there is an increase in hotel bookings by nearly 10 to 15 per cent. This can be attributed to political stability and the fact that the Indian economy is growing steadily.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, September 29, 2003

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New Delhi: It's not just Venice and Cannes where Indian entertainment and ad industry are making waves. Trivandrum-based animation studio Toonz Animation India, has got three nominations at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF).

To be held next month, the film fest in Chicago has selected 200 films from all over the world for the final screening. Cute Bunny, The Flame Who Loved To Dance and 123 Math Toon have been selected from India.

All the three films have been written and directed by Indian kids - Manasa Rao, Ujwal Nair and Akhilesh Anandh respectively. In fact Cute Bunny had recently bagged the 'Best Animated Film for Children' award at the first Latvian International Film Festival BIMINI 2003 at Riga, Latvia.

The three-minute film of the 11-year-old native of Hyderabad, Manasa, revolves around a banana peel which makes a bunny slip with the message - be careful and hygienic.

The Flame Who Loved To Dance is a story about a flame when the lights go out and 123 Math Toon is about a teacher who takes his student on an excursion to the Math Land.

CICFF is the largest and oldest film festival in US celebrating its 20th anniversary. It is the only children's festival in the world to be recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an Academy qualifying festival.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.com, September 22, 2003

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After a concerted effort to promote Indian cinema in Europe, Ravi Shankar Prasad should be thrilled with the results of the first Bollywood film festival in Australia. What makes the effort more rewarding is that the festival organisers in Sydney reported an unusually enthusiastic response from Australians constituting up to 70 per cent of the audience over the weekend. Whether this augurs well for the I & B minister's plans to sell Indian cinema abroad on non-ethnic circuits is not yet clear. But makers of Hindi films, who have suffered badly in domestic territories, have now something to celebrate. Hopefully, what is the thrill of watching an exotic blend of music, colour and costumes in abundant doses will become something of a habit. The sale of 3,000 tickets to local movie-goers could in course of time grow into a handsome response.

All this could well have resulted from the Confederation of Indian Industry getting into the entertainment business. The film industry on its own had confined itself largely to live performances by Indians stars in England and America attended mostly by the NRI community. There are now signs that Indian culture has a larger potential market in the West, and now in Australia as well, which can be usefully tapped. This is not to suggest that Indian dreams, elegantly packaged with the aid of new technology now available, have become more irresistible than the action emerging from Hollywood. All that it may imply is that audiences abroad are looking for a taste of India - a change more than anything else.

Courtesy: The Statesman, September 17, 2003

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The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has decided to make Jammu and Kashmir its partner State to promote tourism in a big way. This figures in the Srinagar Declaration of WTTC, which on Sunday concluded its 3-day conference, held here for first time.

Briefing media persons about the deliberations of the council meeting, Mr Yogesh Chandra, Secretary General, WTTC, said that Jammu and Kashmir is the fourth state after Kerala, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in Indai to be the partner State of WTTC.

He said Jammu and Kashmir is bestowed with abundant natural beauty and the council would make every endeavour to market this tourism potential at global level through its strong network of 110 partner states all over the world. "J&K is a fascinating international tourist destination and the WTTC is confident to bring it back on the map of world tourism circuits", he said.

Replying queries he said that WTTC would create awareness among various states to withdraw their travel advisories against visiting J&K and would explain that tourists would be safe in Kashmir as elsewhere in the world. He appreciated the fact that no tourist had been harmed in the past years of turmoil in the State.

"Violence and terror strikes", he said, "cannot be the basis for avaiding the beautiful Kashmir valley as such terror strikes had taken place in different parts of world including New York and Bali.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, September 08, 2003

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There's nothing new about successful Indian entrepreneurs in the hospitality business. Earlier it was the Gujarati story along American highways. Now Indian hoteliers are also making their presence felt in UK. Jasminder Singh, CEO and chairman of UK's Radisson Edwardian group, made news when he snapped up the elegant Intercontinental Hotel in London's prestigious and upmarket Mayfair for a mind-boggling 115-million.

"Once refurbished, the Intercontinental will become one of the finest hotels in the capital and will further strengthen the group's position in the luxury market segment. However, the visibility of Radisson Edwardian, which is London's largest privately owned upscale hotel group, speaks for itself. Since 1977, this group has been on an acquisition spree in London and around UK tying up with the Carlson group in 1990 and morphing completely into a five- and four-star business. Singh whose personal wealth is estimated at 320-million, is one of the richest Asians in Britain.

"Singh's acquisition of the Intercontinental is the deal of the century," said hotelier Joginder Sangar who himself owns the four-star deluxe Washington Hotel just down the road in Mayfair. Also sharing the excitement was Dr Diljit S Rana, founder and the chairman and MD of the Andras House group which is the largest hotel group in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This will enhance the respect of the Asian community in London," adds G.S. Gill proprietor of the London-based Gill group of companies.

Restaurants also upbeat

Of course, the concept of Indian food which was earlier considered to be a cheap spicy curry has now changed with educated and talented individuals stepping and investing in the business. They have realised that it's a good business with a lot of potential and hence have introduced a lot of creativity.

Fifteen years back Indian cuisine was considered as a cheap alternative for late night drinking binges but now with more and more Asians investing in the restaurant business, the cuisine is getting the recognition it deserves. It is served at affluent Punjabi weddings and treated as a symbol of sophistication.

The popularity of Indian food and restaurants in UK has obviously been a boost to the reputation of Indian-run hotels as well.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, September 08, 2003

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Tourism has its foot firmly planted in Ladakh's soil this season, resurrecting Leh, the chief city in one of India's most impoverished districts as backpacker haven after seven years of fighting terror.At least 25,000 foreign and domestic holidayers entered Ladakh since June this year, following resounding success of the annual Sindhu Darshan festival and gradual demilitarisation of the region.

Over 2003, several of Ladakh's earlier inaccessible areas were opened up for tourists. Parts of the Chhangthang Plains for instance, known for their scenic beauty and protected species like the Tibetan Wild Ass, are now open for Indian visitors.

The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), also responsible for developing tourism in Ladakh, now wants foreign tourists to be allowed into several of these border areas, specially along the two world-renowned high altitude lakes, Pangong and Tso Moriri.

Nearly 10,000 Indians and foreigners were in Leh and Ladakh by June, giving local trades a fillip. And the trend did not wane over the year, as Indian, French, German, Canadian and visitors from other countries flocked to the region's mountains and monasteries.

For a district that is still trying to put the Kargil war, 9/11 and terrorist attacks behind it, Ladakh has done surprisingly well in 2003. In 1998, before the war over Kargil, Ladakh received 21,000-plus tourists, a record broken only this year and in 1989, marked by more than 22,000 arrivals.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, September 08, 2003

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Mumbai: Another plume to adorn Shahnaz Husain's bright auburn tresses! A name synonymous with ayurvedic beauty solutions in India, Husain has been selected for the Global Indian Awards to be held in San Francisco on September 27 in the Woman of the Year category.

Currently put up at Hotel Radisson in New York, she declares, "I have dedicated 32 years of my life for a cause - spreading awareness about ayurveda.

Talking about the application of this science of life that was born in India about 3,000 years ago in various herbal treatments and therapies, she predicts that India will emerge as the leader in the international beauty market.

"People all over the world have accepted ayurvedic therapies as a way of life - what with ayurvedic antidotes being offered at major health shops, spas and resorts," states Husain.

And you begin to see her point when cites an instance about a certain Ms Madeleine Mono, an American who who made a whopping $1 bilion in a period of just one year by selling kajal. "Instead, it's we who should've been doing that," she exclaims.

Husian believes that our future lies in going back to nature. And she definitely doesn't shy away from taking initiative.

She recently addressed a press conference in New York accentuating the myriad benefits of ayurveda. Husain also asserted that India has much to offer to the world by way of the Indian heritage of natural healing.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, September 07, 2003