In the last 12 days following the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Temple, Ayodhya has welcomed over 2.4 million visitors, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Initially, the consecration day alone drew an estimated 500,000 visitors, marking a significant boost to spiritual tourism.
“Our pilgrimage sites, our temples, the places of our faith, are not just places to visit; they are the infinite landmarks of our civilization for thousands of years. These are witness to Bharat’s resilience in facing every crisis. We have seen civilizations that were once very prosperous, now reduced to ruins,” he added.
“When pilgrims and devotees come, even the poorest of the poor earn. Everyone’s income increases whether they are rickshaw pullers, taxi drivers, hoteliers, or street vendors. That is why we have given a lot of emphasis on tourism in this year’s Budget,” said Modi.
“Central government is about to initiate new schemes for the development of places of historical relevance”, he informed.
Also noting the growing enthusiasm for tourism and pilgrimages in the country, the Prime Minister informed about the record influx of devotees in Varanasi after the completion of the Kashi Corridor. “In the past year, 8.50 crore people have visited Kashi, more than 5 crore visited Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, and more than 19 lakh devotees visited Kedardham”, he informed, reiterating that a similar sight will unfold here after the completion of Maa Kamkhya Divya Lok Pariyojana.
Following this, a similar rush after the completion of the Maa Kamakhya Divya Lok is expected in Assam, he said.
Besides branding and marketing on a global scale, a framework for rating the iconic tourist centres based on the quality of facilities will be established. The Finance Minister also highlighted how local entrepreneurship can get a boost with the possible surge in spiritual tourism. She also acknowledged that the plans to expand the existing airports and develop new ones will continue expeditiously.
In a significant move to enhance the visitor experience at pilgrimage sites, the Prime Minister recently marked a milestone by laying the foundation stone for various projects, among them the Maa Kamakhya Divya Pariyojana (Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor). This initiative, sanctioned under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North Eastern Region (PM-DevINE) scheme.With this, Assam will become the gateway to tourism in the North East with an increase in the footfall of devotees for Maa Kamakhya’s darshan, the Prime Minister said as he lauded the efforts of the state government.
Explaining the vision and scope of the project, Modi outlined how its completion would not only enhance accessibility and convenience for devotees but also stimulate an increase in visitor numbers. Speaking at the ceremony inaugurating connectivity and infrastructure projects worth INR 11,000 crores in Guwahati, Assam, he underscored how these developments would bolster the state’s connectivity with the North Eastern states and neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, while also generating employment opportunities in the tourism sector.
Pointing out the record number of tourist footfall in the North East in the last 10 years, the Prime Minister said that even though the beauty of the region existed before this, the number of tourists remained extremely low, mentioning poor air, rail and road connectivity in the region.
this year, the government has also increased the region’s development expenditure by 4 times this year. Drawing comparisons to before and after 2014, the Prime Minister stated that the length of railway tracks laid was increased by more than 1900 kilometers, the Railway budget was boosted by almost 400 percent and 6,000 kilometers of new national highways were constructed in the last 10 years compared to 10,000 kilometers till 2014. Referring to the projects inaugurated in Guwahati, the Prime Minister said that it will strengthen connectivity to Itanagar.
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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) recorded 109% recovery in November passenger traffic compared to the pre-pandemic levels of November 2018 with 4.46 million passengers travelling through the airport.
Additionally, the airport recorded the highest passenger traffic movement in a single day for the month on November 25with 167,132 passengers travelling through CSMIA (with more than 1,20,000 domestic pax movements and more than 46,000 international pax movements).
In another record, on November 11, CSMIA achieved its highest-ever single-day Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) with a total of 1,032 ATMs, shared CSMIA.
Andhra Pradesh airports, including Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Kadapa, and Tirupati, have accumulated over INR 520 crore losses between 2020-21 and 2022-23. Vijayawada alone posted INR 203 crore losses, followed by Rajahmundry (INR 135 crore), Tirupati (INR 129 crore), Vizag (INR 31 crore), and Kadapa (INR 25 crore). However, Vizag airport managed to turn a profit, reporting INR 2.4 crore in 2022-23 after losses in the previous years.
Additionally, the airport experienced its highest-ever monthly traffic in November 2023, reaching a substantial 4.46 million, with a growth of 13% as compared to November 2022 (3.9 million). With regard to domestic traffic, a staggering 3 million passengers travelled through CSMIA during the month. November’23 also witnessed a total of 28,679 ATMs, a 12% growth compared to November 2022 (25,375). This includes an approximate of over 20,000 domestic and over 7,000 international ATMs, CSMIA shared. In November 2023, Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai retained their positions as the top domestic destinations for CSMIA, while Dubai, London, and Abu Dhabi continued to be the preferred international choices.
Notably, on the bustling Mumbai – Delhi route alone, CSMIA recorded a substantial traffic of 557,393 pax. Among airlines, IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India were leading in the domestic market share once again, with IndiGo catering to over 1.6 million domestic passengers. Whereas, in the international sector, IndiGo, Air India, and Emirates continued to maintain their leading positions.
CSMIA recently expanded its international connectivity and frequency with services to destinations such as Entebbe, Baku, Bangkok, and Toronto adding to the diverse travel network.
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The revenue earned from tourism increased to 205.3 million dollrs in November 2023, which is over twice the revenue in November 2022, according to the latest data.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry told parliament on Thursday that the tourist arrivals will spike in 2024 with more airlines coming into the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
Sri Lanka welcomed 151,496 international tourists in November, the highest monthly number of visitors it received in 2023, official data showed.
Sri Lanka’s cumulative tourist arrivals for the first 11 months of the year stand at 1.27 million, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Tourism is one of Sri Lanka’s top foreign revenue generators. In late November, the government waived visa fees for nationals from China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan to boost tourism in the coming season.
Sri Lanka welcomed 151,496 international tourists in November, the highest monthly number of visitors it received in 2023, according to the latest data released by the tourism authority. The island nation’s cumulative tourist arrivals for the first 11 months of the year stand at 1.27 million, according to the SLTDA.
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BLS International Services Ltd, a global tech-enabled services partner, has reported its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter and six-month period ending on September 30, 2023.
In the quarter ending September 30, 2023, BLS International recorded a 14.3 per cent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue, reaching INR 407.7 crore. Notably, the company’s operating EBITDA also saw substantial growth, increasing by 52.7 per cent to INR 86.7 crore.
The company has attributed this strong financial performance to a more favourable business mix, especially within the Visa & Consular services segment, which has consistently contributed to EBITDA margins exceeding 20 per cent.
The company’s consolidated Profit Before Tax (PBT) also witnessed an upswing. In Q2 FY24, the PBT surged over 16 times, reaching INR 766 million, as compared to a mere INR 49 million in Q2 FY23. The upward trajectory extended over the first half of the fiscal year, with the Group’s consolidated PBT for H1 FY24 reaching INR 1,774 million, compared to INR 26 million in H1 FY23.
Additionally, several key growth drivers contribute to the company’s success, including the reopening of travel and tourism destinations, securing new contracts and tenders in the pipeline, increasing demand for value-added services, and potential opportunities in Visa and Consular and Digital Services segments, stated BLS. In a year-over-year comparison for Q2FY24 and Q2FY23, BLS International reported a 14.26 per cent increase in operational revenue, reaching INR 407.74 crores, driven by growth in both Visa & Consular services and the digital business.
For the first half of FY24 compared to H1FY23, operational revenue saw a substantial growth of 25.66 per cent, reaching INR 791.22 crores, up from INR 629.66 crores in the prior year. EBITDA reached INR 166.79 crores in H1FY24, up by 88.90 per cent from INR 88.30 crores in H1FY23. PBT for H1FY24 amounted to INR 167.62 crores, representing an 89.11 per cent increase compared to INR 88.63 crores in H1FY23. The PAT for the first half of the fiscal year reached INR 152.99 crores, showing an impressive 87.28 per cent year-on-year growth compared to INR 81.69 crores in H1FY23.
The company said it maintains a debt-free status with approximately INR 687 crore in cash reserves. Additionally, the asset-light nature of the business has enabled impressive returns for shareholders, with a Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) at 35.5 per cent and a Return on Equity (ROE) at 34.6 per cent based on the annualised financials of the first half of FY24.
In Q2 FY24, traditionally the weakest quarter, the airline reported a profit of INR 8,061 million, excluding foreign exchange loss. Even after considering the foreign exchange loss of INR 6,171 million, the net profit for the quarter aggregated to INR 1,889 million. Compared to the same period last year, the airline saw a significant increase in capacity, with a surge of 27.7 per cent.
As per the current data, BLS International Services Ltd is one of the world’s top three Visa & Consular Services companies, processing Visa applications for numerous countries, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Thailand, Hungary, Morocco, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Slovakia. The company is pursuing contracts and tenders for visa services worldwide, anticipating growth through new agreements.
In recent developments, BLS International secured a Schengen Global Visa Outsourcing Contract for Slovakia in 18 countries, further expanding its responsibilities to include national visa services in addition to Tourist and Business visa services. The company also partnered with Kotak Mahindra Bank to revolutionise Indian banking, focusing on providing accessible and affordable banking services in underserved areas across multiple states in India.
Additionally, BLS E-Services integrated UMANG Services into its digital platform, offering convenient access to over 500 e-governance services. Also, BLS International extended its Visa outsourcing services to Hungary and Italy Missions in various countries.
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The Char Dham yatra this year has breached all previous records of pilgrim numbers, with a total of 44.7 lakh pilgrims participating in the journey to the revered shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri located in the Garhwal Himalayas.
Last year, the pilgrimage season saw 44.2 lakh devotees offering prayers at the four sacred sites. Also, for the first time, Kedarnath witnessed a higher turnout of devotees than Badrinath.
During the last pilgrimage season in 2022, Badrinath saw 17.6 lakh visitors while Kedarnath registered 15.6 lakh pilgrims. Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines received 4.8 lakh and 6.2 lakh pilgrims respectively. In addition, 2.4 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at Hemkund Sahib, the revered Sikh shrine situated near Badrinath.
Nepal is looking to attract 1 billion travelers to the sacred site of Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet once an agreement with China is finalized. The pilgrimage is highly regarded by Hindus worldwide, and many Indians opt to go through Nepal to save time and avoid the difficult trek through Indian terrain.
This year, Yamunotri and Gangotri, both located in Uttarkashi district, have also seen a significant increase in visitors, with 6.7 lakh and 8.1 lakh pilgrims respectively. So far, 14.5 lakh have visited Badrinath, 15.3 lakh have visited Kedarnath, and another 1.69 lakh devotees have made their way to Hemkund Sahib.With approximately 50 days remaining for the yatra to conclude, authorities anticipate that the total number of pilgrims may well exceed the 50 lakh mark. Notably, after seeing a lull during the monsoon season, the Char Dham circuit now continues to attract around 40,000 pilgrims each day, as per officials.
Before 2022, the highest recorded number of pilgrims was 32.41 lakh in 2019. Subsequently, the yatra seasons in 2020 and 2021 were curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said, “Despite the challenges, we have strived to provide the best possible facilities to pilgrims. This encouraging response motivates us to continue improving.”
The Gangtori, Yamunotri and Kedarnath shrines will close around Diwali (November 12), while Badrinath usually closes around 20 days after the festival of lights. The official closing dates of the shrines though are yet to be announced.
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Different airlines operating from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) in Karnataka on domestic and international routes recorded good passenger traffic. In the first five months of the present financial year, IndiGo and Air India registered passenger load of 87.5 per cent on the domestic destinations they connect directly.
On international routes, Air India Express and IndiGo recorded 81.7 per cent passenger traffic, a press release issued by MIA said.
Against a seating capacity of 3,21,554 on flights landing at Mangaluru from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, IndiGo and Air India had 2,80,739 passengers.
Arrivals from Mumbai saw the highest traffic with 1,12,973 passengers travelling against a seating capacity of 1,23,836. Pune had the least load factor of 69 per cent with 11,078 travellers against 16,062 seats on offer, it said.
Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai emerged as the top domestic destinations for CSMIA in August 2023. In the international sector, Dubai, London, and Abu Dhabi remained the most preferred destinations. Moreover, the airport witnessed substantial growth in international sectors compared to the previous year. The Independence Day weekend in August saw a substantial surge in passenger numbers.
For domestic flights departing from MIA, Chennai and Hyderabad recorded passenger loads of 89.91 per cent and 89.66 per cent respectively. A total of 10,520 passengers travelled to Chennai against 11,700 seats on offer, while Hyderabad saw 21,370 passengers travel against the available 23,836 seats. Mumbai came third with a load factor of 87.3 per cent with 1,08,695 travelling against 1,23,836 seats on offer. On the international sector, the airlines recorded a passenger load of 81.7 per cent for 1,10,823 passengers arriving from Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait and Muscat between April and August. The seats on offer for those destinations in these five months were 1,35,626.
The departure load factor for the above destinations from MIA was 83.3 per cent with 1,12,930 passengers travelling against a capacity of 1,35,449.
Arrivals from Dubai to Mangaluru saw airlines ferry 67,538 passengers against a capacity of 76,841, a passenger load of 88.26 per cent. Abu Dhabi was the next busiest, with an arriving passenger load of 85.65 per cent (13,414 travellers against 15,660 capacity).
Abu Dhabi emerged as the most sought-after international destination from Mangaluru, recording a load factor of 90.12 per cent with 14,276 passengers travelling against 15,840 seats on offer.
A total of 1,66,047 passengers travelled in August, both domestically and abroad. The arrival load factor to the 13 destinations was 83 per cent with 79,377 passengers travelling against 96,837 seats on offer.
Departures saw a load factor of 90 per cent with 86,670 passengers emplaning against 96,837 seats on offer. With additional domestic flights scheduled in the upcoming winter schedule, more people are expected to travel to and from Mangaluru, the release said.
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