New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) The romance between India and gay tourists is growing and, cashing in on the interest, many Indian and international gay travel agencies are keenly pursuing the market by organising packages and special deals to cater to this niche segment.
In the same context, the national capital Monday hosted the first Asian symposium on gay and lesbian tourism, attended by travel agents, agencies, hotels and airlines.
"India is slowly but surely catching up on the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) travel radar as a preferred destination due to its culture, spirituality, awesome destinations and history," Abhinav Goel, founder of OutJourneys.com, a travel agency dedicated to gay travel, told IANS.
According to Goel, the growth potential for gay tourists is so high that it has attracted even established players like Sita, Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings to the emerging travel segment.
"Today there are around 10 travel players which are providing services to the sector including established names and boutique operations," said Goel, who is also one of the organisers of the event.
The symposium is being partnered by the likes of American Airlines, Tourism Thailand, International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) and attendees like Taj and Oberoi hotels.
"We have a good representation at the summit. All this is because the companies today want to know how to market a particular product to this new kind of tourists," Goel said.
Goel said the symposium would be attended by 11 international journalists who write on LGBT issues and will travel to Indian tourist locations.
"They will visit Delhi-Jaipur and Udaipur to see for themselves the friendly tourist environment here. It is important for international customers to know what India is offering," Goel said.
Meanwhile, IGLTA, which is a UN-accredited body to look after the travel trade industry of this niche segment, said that with an improving environment in India regarding the gay issue the country will surely attract more LGBT customers.
"With the political climate changing in India it makes it more viable for travel agencies to expand," said IGLTA president John Tanzella.
Currently, three dedicated gay travel boutique agencies and 10 general tour operators, including travel trade majors like Sita Tours and Travels, are also members with IGLTA.
As many as five gay travel agencies in India offer customised packages including surrogacy tours, spiritual camps, weddings and honeymoon packages and a promise of an experience sans negative incidents that they face in conservative cultures.
"Customised packages which provide tours related to activities such as yoga, spiritual, weddings, honeymoon or even surrogacy are the attractions for gay tourists," Goel said.
While weddings do not carry any legal status in India, gay visitors do it anyway to experience the traditional Indian wedding.
The niche sector provides services such as gay-friendly lodging, transfer and guides in a protected environment, in which they impart specific training to hotel staff, drivers and guides to act in the same courteous manner as they would to any other customer.
Though there is no specific data on the actual numbers of gay overseas tourists, the numbers would be huge even if one percent of all tourists are from the queer community. In 2010, India welcomed 5.58 million foreign tourists, up 9.3 percent over 2009.
The average travel packages to India starts at $200-$600 per night per person or couple depending on the package.
Jr. NTR is now on leave. He had earlier planned to take leave from April 21 to prepare for his marriage. However, the ongoing film strike by federation came in as a sweet surprise and bonus for him.
So, NTR has been busy enjoying his bonus holidays for the last 10 days and he is now getting ready to tie the knot with Pranathi on May 6.
NTR will resume work after the third week of May and will shoot for Surender Reddy and Boyapati’s films back and back.
A simple thread or a fanciful version, whatever shape or colour it may be, the rakhi is the strand running through our past and present. It’s a sweet gesture of sibling love, that’s truly made in India.
And if you are looking for a rakhi studded with semi-precious stones to make your brother's day dazzle, head to jewellery designer Pushpita Singh.
Singh and her karigar will make you a rakhi the way you want it. Combining small ethnic stones and simplicity is her forte.
And if your brother likes blue, your choice could be the ferozy turquoise and the inky lapiz. But if you go in for more colour and bigger stones, no sweat, it’s your design and imagination ladies stretch it as you like.
TRS party or its president K. Chandrasekhar rao don’t need a reason to start agitation or to stage dharnas. Yet, they always find one for it. All their efforts are intended to let the fire live till something takes place positively in favour of Telangana. This time, KCR’s daughter Kavita takes charge of the event and came to media warning the State Government. She has issued an ultimatum to the Government not to cut down the Dushera holidays of the college students in Telangana region. She criticized the State Government for being partial towards Andhra students and harming the interests of Telangana students.
Kavita said, “The State Government’s decision to cut down the Dushera holidays of the Telangana College students is merely a plan to keep them away from the popular Batukamma festival which reflects rich Telangana tradition. We condemn such ideas of the Government. While, the government sanctions 10 holidays for Sankranti festival, which is widely celebrated across Andhra region, its prejudice to reduce the holidays in the Telangana region. If, the Government fails to withdraw its decision we are ready to take up the issue to streets again.”
2011/10/28 8:51:55 Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday directed the officials to arrange for payment of salaries to all the teachers for the strike period.
According to Chief Minister's Office, the payment is being made as the teachers have agreed to work in the coming holidays in place of the 16 working days of the 32 day strike period. About 1.35 lakh teachers will be benefitted to the tune of Rs 375 Crores.
It may be recalled that in pursuance of the agreement reached between Government and Telangana Teachers Joint Action Committee, the strike was called off on October 17. It was agreed that the period of absence from September 16 to October 17 will be compensated by working for 16 days on holidays which will be treated as duty. This shall apply for all teachers, apprentice teachers, Vidya Volunteers, contract teachers and part time teachers working in all Residential Schools, Lectures in DIET, CTE, IASE, SCERT, SIET, SSA, RMSA, CDSE and all non-teaching staff working in the schools only. (INN)
2011/9/21 4:56:11 Over 17,300 apprentice teachers who joined the Telangana strike from September 16, may not be regularised as full-fledged teachers as per the schedule as the state government has already initiated steps to take action against them for violating the prescribed DSC 2008 notification rules.
The quarterly examinations in government schools which were scheduled to be held from September 19 to 26 were postponed due to the teachers joining the strike movement. According to School Education department officials, the erring apprentice teachers were expected to follow their service rules and complete their apprentice duration as per Rule 19 contained in GO Ms No. 221 of July 16, 1994 to qualify for claiming the regular pay-scales. Besides, Rule 18 in GO Ms No 161 (related to Rule 19) issued on Dec 6, 2008, which is related to DSC teachers' appointments, also made it mandatory for the apprentice teachers to complete their probation successfully for eligibility to claim regular pay-scales.
Out of 48,000 apprentice teachers spread out in Andhra Pradesh, 17,310 were working in the Telangana region but due to their participation in the current Telangana stir they are bound to be losers as the government began the process of taking disciplinary action against them. Further, where the teachers abstained from duties on Sept 21, they are bound to lose wages for the entire Dussera holidays as the rules made it mandatory for them to work on the day before holidays begin and on the re-opening day. (INN)
'Spider-Man 3' biggest-ever Hollywood hit in India
2007/5/28 1:03:06
`Spider-Man 3'' is Hollywood's biggest hit ever in India, a news report said on Monday, although it still has earned far less than Bollywood's most popular films.
``Spider-Man 3'' has already collected 570 million rupees (US$14 million, euro10.5 million) since it was released earlier this month at a record 588 theaters across India, the Economic Times reported. The previous biggest Hollywood hit here was ``Titanic,'' which collected 555 million rupees.
In comparison, last year's biggest Bollywood film, ``Dhoom-2,'' an action movie, collected 855 million rupees (US$21 million, euro15.6 million.)
A major reason for Spidey's popularity here was Sony Pictures' decision to dub the movie in four major Indian languages _ Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bhojpuri, the report said. The timing of the film's release, which coincided with summer holidays at schools and colleges, also helped.
India is home to one of the world's most prolific film industries, but only in recent years have Western movies been screened in India.
Foreign films were generally limited to big cities because few were dubbed in local languages and the government restricted their distribution. That has changed with the country's rapid globalization over the past decade, making Western films more popular here.
Indian box-office sales for the latest ``Spider-Man'' amounted to 5 percent of what the movie made in the first three weeks in the United States.
Hyderabadis appears to be under the influence of shopping mania. An extended weekend in the festive season provided a great opportunity to thousands of Hyderabadis, to finish their Eid shopping in advance. Huge rush was seen at shops located between Madina Building and Charminar, especially after Iftars.
For many people, weekend holidays started from Friday onwards and went on till Monday. Almost four days of holidays, especially in the middle of the month, when wallets still remain heavy, people could not resist shopping. "We have seen an unusual rush of customers since Saturday. Probably people are trying to take advantage of holidays and avoid last minute shopping for Eid," a senior executive at a shopping mall in the Old City told INN.
However, several shop-keepers say that although the footfall into their shops or showrooms has increased, not many people are really buying the stock. Since more than 15 days are still left for the Eid, the customers are just having a look at the quality and prices of the stocks available in the market. Once they finish checking the stocks, they will make up their mind on what to buy and at what prices.
Presently heavy rush is seen at almost all garment showrooms in the city. Unlike last year, not many people are preferring readymade garments. Therefore, the demand for cloth is much higher than the ready-made stocks. However, the young girls are looking at traditional dresses, whose designs or outlook can be changed with minimal tailoring. Once the shopping of garments is over, people would rush to footwear stores.
Like every season shopping is completely dominated by women. Very little rush is seen at shops selling men's garments, footwear or other products. "This is not unusual. It happens every year. Women's shopping is always the priority," a shop-keeper said.
The ineffective management of traffic and lack of proper parking space are causing lot of inconvenience to shoppers, especially on the Patharghatti-Charminar stretch. However, despite all difficulties, the Old City has remained a top destination for the shoppers in the city. (INN)
Ajit is back on location of Aegan in Yercaud, after a whirlwind 72 hours trip to Cannes and back!
The man is incredible as he wanted to be present at the Billa screening in Cannes on Sunday and provide moral support to his director Vishnuvardhan.
Ajit was in Cannes for less than 14 hours as he flew in on Saturday late night to the festival city, visited the venues next day morning and in the afternoon was there at the screening. In the evening he packed his bags, and flew back to Chennai, and from the airport he drove down to Yercaud.
The man’s commitment to his work is remarkable, as he was shooting by Tuesday morning with Nayanthara at a prestigious private school in Yercaud.
The school authorities have let out the school for shooting during the summer holidays. The entire shoot in that location had to be completed before the school reopens after the holidays.
Fardeen Khan's home t has strictly marked custom-made loos. the actor doesn't even share a loo with wife Natasha.
In a recent interview when Fardeen was asked if he had to change any old habits after marriage, Fardeen said, "Thankfully my wife and I have separate bathrooms so we have no problems when it comes to that!"
It's a lesser-known fact though that Natasha isn't too happy with the smoking habits of Fardeen either.
2011/10/17 8:53:38 India defeated England by eight wickets in the second One-day International of the five match series at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Monday.
India achieved the target of 238 losing two wickets in 36.4 overs after Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 112 while Gautam Gambhir made 84 not out. India have taken a 2-0 lead in the series.
2011/6/23 2:34:41 The Srisailam temple authorities on Thursday disclosed that the temple has received Rs 75,36,148 as offerings to the hundi in the last 25 days, as hordes of students had visited the shrine during the summer holidays.
According to Sri Bramarambika Mallikarjuna Swamy temple Executive Officer P Venkateswarulu, the Rs 75,36,148 was its highest collection in a 25-day span.
Briefing to media persons after calculating the hundi collections with temple officials at Nitya Kalyana Mandapam, the Executive Officer said the temple witnessed huge number of devotees during the last 25 days with the completion of summer holidays and opening of schools. “Devotees, mostly students and their parents, have visited the temple, seeking the blessings of Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy and Goddess Bramarambika Devi,” Mr Venkateswarulu said.
Apart from the hundi collections, the temple has received 112 grams of gold jewellery, 780 grams of silver ornaments, 137 American dollars, 5 UAE Dirham and some Malaysian currency.
The temple also earned income from rituals which include Rudrabhishekham and Ati Sreeghra Darshan, by selling laddus, and by providing other services to devotees.(INN)
2007/12/7 6:13:15 Chief minister Y S Rajashekar Reddy will soon have a state of the art chopper at his disposal. The helicopter AW 139 is of Italian make and has a capacity to seat fifteen people. The chopper will cost the exchequer 40 crore.
The helicopter is custom built and has Internet and crystal TV and night landing facilities. The new chopper will arrive in a couple of months. The old Bell helicopter currently in use will be retired. The helicopter was acquired during the tenure of Chandra Babu Naidu.
Power star Pawan Kalyan said that there was no question of his joining the BSP or any other party. He will stand by his brother Chiranjeevi and do whatever his brother asks him to do. The question of his joining another party does not arise at all. Pawan Kalyan is also unperturbed over the allegations made by some BDP leaders.
Pawan Kalyan has also resumed shooting for his much delayed ‘Jalsa’. The film is in the final stages and as such, Pawan Kalyan did not tonsure his head. Even Chiranjeevi did not tonsure his head, as is the custom when the last rites are being performed.
2011/9/24 5:08:04 In a sign of improving bilateral ties, Pakistan Commerce and Trade Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem will begin a five-day visit to India from Mumbai Monday.
He will be the first Pakistani minister to visit India's financial hub since Pakistani terrorists attacked the city nearly three years ago, plunging bilateral ties to a new low.
Faheem will be accompanied by an 80-member delegation comprising the elite of Pakistan business.
The visit is aimed at promoting bilateral trade with a strong possibility of Pakistan announcing a step forward on the Most Favoured Status (MFN) for India. The two sides are also expected to focus on liberalizing the visa regime for businessmen.
Faheem will address an India-Pakistan business conclave Tuesday at the iconic Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai that bore the brunt of assaults by ten Pakistani terrorists.
Top CEOs from Indian and Pakistani companies are expected to highlight business opportunities and synergies between the two countries.
Faheem's visit builds on the positive atmosphere generated by the talks between foreign ministers of India and Pakistan in June this year, during which the two sides unveiled a host of steps to boost cross-Kashmir trade and travel.
Faheem will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Anand Sharma in New Delhi Sep 28. He is also expected to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Ahead of the crucial talks, India is hopeful that Pakistan will grant MFN to it or at least move from the positive to negative list of goods that it does not want to import from India.
This will effectively amount to giving an MFN status to India. India had granted MFN to Pakistan way back in 1996. Pakistan has given access to 1,940 product lines on its positive list and has 12,000 on the negative list.
The two ministers are also expected to focus on streamlining procedures for business visas and address issues related to custom duties and inclusion of new products in the trade list.
India and Pakistan decided to resume their dialogue process in February after a hiatus of more than two years.
India-Pakistan trade was estimated to be $1.85 billion in 2009-10. Indian exports accounted for $1.78 billion. In April-December 2010, bilateral trade is estimated to have jumped gone up to over $3 billion with India's exports at $1.7 billion.
A study by Delhi-based Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations estimates, given reciprocal concessions, bilateral trade between India and Pakistan could go up to $14.3 billion. (IANS)
2011/12/8 16:34:52 Indore, Dec 8 (IANS) India defeated the West Indies by 153 runs in the fourth One-Day International and took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series here Thursday.
Riding on Virender Sehwag's record 219, India made 418 for five in 50 overs, their highest ODI total. The West Indies were bowled out for 265 in 49.2 overs after Denesh Ramdin made a fighting 96.
2012/3/16 7:14:47 During the league match played between India and Bangladesh at Merpur, Team India has made 289 runs for 5 wickets in 50 overs, thus setting 290 target for Bangladesh.
Sachin has made 114 runs, Kohli 66, Suresh Raina51, Goutam Gambhir 11 and Sharma has made 4 runs in this match.
Film star, former MLA, former minister and now Rajya Sabha MP, Harikrishna is now once again playing his favorite role, as that of a charioteer. Harikrishna took steering in his hands for the custom built bus for Babu's 7,000 km yatra 'Mee kosam'.
Harikrishna drove the late NT Ram Rao's Chaitanya Ratham in 1991 when NTR first set out on his whirlwind tour of the state soon after announcing the formation of his political party, the Telugu Desam. NTR rode to power and the rest, as they say is history. Babu now hopes that history will once again repeat itself and he let the lucky mascot Harikrishna to steer the ratham on the first day.
2012/5/5 4:01:46 Hyderabad, May 5 (INN): In view of the summer holidays, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has decided to operate two shows of the Laser Show daily at Lumbini Park from May 7.
While the first show will be at at 7.15 pm, the second show will be at 8.30 pm from May 7 onwards.
2011/10/22 4:11:19 For Akshay Kumar, Diwali means having a great time with family, playing with his son and decorating the house.
"My son has finally broken for his Diwali holidays :) We cycled & played volleyball all morning before I came for shooting. Tomorrow we are decorating our house," posted Akshay on Twitter.
The 44-year-old is presently working on three interesting projects "Joker", "Housefull 2" and "Rowdy Rathore".(IANS)
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday directed the officials to arrange for payment of salaries to all the teachers for the strike period. 
Over 17,300 apprentice teachers who joined the Telangana strike from September 16, may not be regularised as full-fledged teachers as per the schedule as the state government has already initiated steps to take action against them for violating the prescribed DSC 2008 notification rules.
India defeated England by eight wickets in the second One-day International of the five match series at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Monday.
In a sign of improving bilateral ties, Pakistan Commerce and Trade Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem will begin a five-day visit to India from Mumbai Monday.
