Indians spent a whopping USD 575 million, mostly in shopping, in Singapore during the first nine months of this year, city-state's tourism board said.
About 64 per cent of the total outbound Indian tourists had sightseeing on the agenda; others travelled to explore new places, seek a change from daily routine, destress and visit family and friends, the report stated. Nature, safety and hygiene are among the important factors considered when selecting a travel destination. Singapore emerged as the most common travel destination for Indians (24 per cent) in the next 12 months, followed by Dubai, Australia, and Malaysia.
18% cent GST on iPhones continues to weigh heavily on the final cost to Indian consumers, limiting the impact of price cuts.
Travel companies have been seeing cancellations and enquiries on safety issues are piling up.
Among the 10 categories that hotel managers were quizzed on, Indians fared the worst on the politeness front. While the Japanese could not be faulted on their manners, Indians were rated the most impolite.
The new visa-free regime allows travellers to stay for up to 60 days instead of only 15 earlier.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the passengers onboard the bus that fell 150 metres into a river in central Nepal were from Jalgaon district in the state as per preliminary information, and efforts are on to bring them back.
The Maldives still considers India a friend, the tourism-dependent country's economic minister has said while defending President Mohamed Muizzu's stand against the presence of "foreign soldiers" in the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean.
The two leaders would also discuss the proposed visit of Dr Singh to Pakistan, the sources said.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said Indian firms, involved in the export of arms and equipment to Israel, may be sued for breach of contractual obligations if they are stopped by it from supplying.
A 15-member group of tourists from Indore returned home safely after experiencing a "nightmare" in the quake-hit Nepal.
The deceased -- two couples and four children -- were part of a group of 15 people travelling from Kerala to Pokhara, a popular mountainous tourist destination. They have been identified as Praveen Krishnan Nair, Saranya Sasi, Sreebhadra Praveen, Aarcha Praveen, Abhinav Saranya Nair, Ranjith Kumar Adatholath Punathil, Indu Lakshmi Peethambaran Ragalatha and Vyshnav Ranjith.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Travel companies are reducing the number of days from packages to make it more affordable for globe trotters.
China said on Tuesday that it supports the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty, as the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter left the island nation and was replaced by a civilian crew.
As March draws to a close, two consecutive long weekend opportunities - Holi and Good Friday - are driving up hotel occupancy and airfares across major routes. According to travel platform Cleartrip, hotel bookings have seen a 3.5 times spike for the Holi weekend, while a 3.7 times spike has been visible in the Good Friday weekend.
The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by eight ASEAN countries for the purpose of social visits, tourism and business.
Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer on Saturday said India's gesture to renew the quota to allow the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for his nation signifies the longstanding bilateral friendship and the commitment to further expand trade and commerce.
Obama's emphasis on these three countries is driven by the fact that tourists from India, China and Brazil contributed approximately $15 billion and thousands of jobs to the US economy in 2010.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
The Maldives media reported Azim's win as a 'landslide' and 'victory by a large margin.'
The US has already eased the procedure for issuing visa to attract a million Indian tourists by 2015
Around 50 per cent are business travellers, while the rest are mainly MICE
The meeting between Jaishankar and Zameer in the Ugandan capital city of Kampala came amid an unease in the Maldives' bilateral ties with India.
On being asked if the ongoing spat between the two countries is going to have an impact on the India-Maldives ties, as well the revenue that Indian tourists have generated for the island nation over the years, the Maldivian leader, who was also the former Minister of Economic Development of Maldives, asserted that it is much more than economics or revenue.
'The main worry is lots of new investors coming into the markets in order to make a quick buck/easy money.' 'Those things are happening again and have happened in the past as well.' 'All that has led to problems.' 'We are not there yet, but will get there eventually.'
'The two sides agree to continue firmly supporting each other in safeguarding their respective core interests,' a joint statement issued at the end of Muizzu's talks with Chinese leaders said.
Baga and Gokarna make the list of the world's top 100 beaches.
People familiar with the matter said the new Maldivian government conveyed to the Indian high commission in Male that Muizzu wishes to travel to India.
During his just-concluded visit to China, Muizzu, regarded as a pro-China leader, sought to align Maldives closer to Beijing and both countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership.
Data for the first nine days of January shows that tourist arrivals from India to the Maldives has been at similar levels as last year during the same period.
Terming India as one of the closest neighbours and allies of the Maldives, MATI noted that India has always been a first responder to various crises throughout the history of the island country.
He urged China to bolster the flow of its tourists to the Maldives.
'India should respect Maldivian nationalism and their desire to be not over-dependent on India.' 'India should not behave like a big brother towards Maldives as many times, we tend to behave like that.'
'India and Canada have almost 200 years of shared history and migrations. This won't be the last of our partnership.'
The four Indian tourists had entered Nepal via the Jhulaghat border point in the Baitadi district in Western Nepal.
The Indian embassy has received requests from Indian tourists stranded in the country to facilitate their exit. Most of the tourists are travelling in groups.
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