When it comes to leisure trips, Indians are the ones to beat

Indians are world leaders when it comes to spending on leisure tourism and travel and have beaten Mexico, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, US and China, among others, to emerge as global leaders according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Impact 2019 report.

The WTTC Economic Impact, which represents the global private sector of travel and tourism, measured country-wise contribution of travel and tourism to GDP and found that while India spent 94.8% of its total GDP contribution to travel and tourism on leisure, countries like US and China were far behind at 71.3% and 81.4%, respectively. Mexico, Thailand, Spain and Brazil are the next biggest spenders on leisure after India.


In contrast, India spend just over 5% on work-related or business travel.

In 2018, travel and tourism contributed 9.2% of India’s GDP, with a total value of $247.3 billion. The bulk of India’s leisure spending, however, was on domestic travel at 87%, while the remaining 13% was on international leisure travel.

The WTTC Economic Impact report for 2019 also says the Indian travel and tourism sector outpaced the global and regional growth rates in 2018. While the global sector averaged a growth rate of 3.9%, Asia grew by 6.4% and India by 6.7%. The travel industry also created 4.27 crore jobs for the Indian economy.

India, the WTTC report said, is home to the thirdlargest travel economy in Asia, behind only China and Japan, and is also the largest in South Asia. India’s largest inbound international markets were the US and Bangladesh, which accounted for 9% of all tourist arrivals in the country, followed by 7% from UK, and 2% from Canada and Sri Lanka.

At a time of falling employment levels in the country, tourism has also emerged as one of the biggest employment generators. The travel sector alone is responsible for 8.1% of employment in India, which translated to over 4 crore jobs in 2018.

WTTC president and CEO Gloria Guevara said, “Over the last decade, the Indian travel and tourism sector has experienced tremendous growth with the sector now almost double the size it was in 2008 in terms of contribution to the GDP.

“The government’s ETourist Visa on Arrival (ETVoa) has had a very positive effect on increasing international tourism arrivals and could be made even more competitive with other destinations in the region in terms of pricing.”

Guevara also said India is among the world’s fastest growing aviation markets.

If you grew up watching black and white television you are more likely to dream in black and white

Not everyone dreams in colour and not everyone dreams in black and white. If a person grew up watching black and white television, he/she is more likely to dream in black and white. In a survey, it was revealed that 12 per cent of sighted people only dreamt in black and white and rest of the sample dreamt exclusively in colour. Today, only 4.4 per cent people under 25 dream in black and white. The change is being based on the transformation from black and white to colour TVs.

Enjoy Dubai’s finest seaside attractions

In the jewel of the ocean... they fall from the sky’ was the mysterious clue revealed in the award-winning campaign BMG 3.0’s second film with Shah Rukh Khan. With the third film revealing La Perle as the second stop, we took a deep dive into the some of the other jewels that Dubai has to offer.

La Mer


One of the city’s newcomers — La Mer is known for its top seaside restaurants, cafés and plethora of ice cream parlours. Beach bars MASTI and Stars ’N’ Bars are at either end of the quarter, providing al fresco dining and drinking with magnificent views from outdoor terraces. The picture-pretty shoreline is lined with brightly painted beach huts and open for swimming from sunrise to sunset. While patrolling security forbids anyone from a dip in the dark, you can still sit on the beach and listen to the sound of the waves long after the sun sets. It’s perfect to chill out on after a hard day’s slipping and sliding around the family-friendly Laguna Waterpark.

Blue Waters, Dubai

Blue Waters Dubai is an island off the city and one of the latest attractions. It is home to Ain Dubai, houses 132 shops, restaurants, Caesars Palace Hotel and the new Cove Beach. The island’s lifestyle and retail area, The Wharf, is home to all the shopping and eating action, connected by walkways dotted around low-rise boulevards, with outlets still yet to open. As well as licensed fine-dining restaurants at the waterfront, there are quirky cafés and intimate bistros at every nook and cranny. For those who want to class it up a bit, there’s always Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai, featuring an outdoor swimming pool, six brandspanking new restaurants, a fitness centre and a health spa. It will also house Gordan Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. When the lucky island residents make their move (the first of which should be in early 2019), they’ll be dropping their boxes in one of 10 elegant mid-rise towers featuring 698 apartments, four penthouses and 17 townhouses set over a podium with stunning views of the sea and Ain Dubai.

Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

One of the world’s most daring developments, the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is a haven for vacationers. Jutting out into the Arabian Gulf, this man-made archipelago was built in the shape of a palm tree, with a three-mile-long trunk and a fan of fronds lined with luxury villas and five-star hotels. From water parks and wildlife encounters to beach clubs and boozy brunches, discover 10 cool things to do at the Palm Jumeirah. One of the first things that strike you when visiting is its size. This giant archipelago is visible from space and the outer crescent is almost seven miles long. One of Dubai’s most lavish day spas, the Talise Ottoman Spa at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, offers a host of pampering experiences. Awaken your senses with the Coffee Peeling treatment, where you’ll be scrubbed and buffed using Turkish coffee in the hammam (traditional bathhouse). Or treat yourself to ‘The World’s Most Luxurious Spa Experience,’ a full-day session that includes a 24 karat gold mask, a rose bath and a diamond body ritual. This ultra-luxe package includes an overnight stay for two and a caviar lunch with Champagne.

Atlantis, Dubai

Standing proud at the top of the Palm, the rose-hued Atlantis is one of Dubai’s most recognisable landmarks. It’s home to a five-star hotel, celebrity chef restaurants, and a pulse-racing selection of entertainment and leisure options. Unleash your inner kid at Aqua Venture Waterpark, where you can ride record-breaking waterslides (including one that shoots you through a shark tank), splash in the pools, or kick back on the private beach. The underwater thrills don’t end when you leave the waterpark. While you’re at Atlantis, swim with dolphins at Dolphin Bay, get up close and personal with the resident sea lions, and take a tour of The Lost Chambers Aquarium, where you can snorkel or dive through lagoons that are teeming with 65,000 marine animals, including 14 species of sharks and rays. For something a little more sedate, sign up for a yoga session overlooking the aquarium.

India boycotts Pak nat’l day event after invite to Hurriyat

New Delhi:

In a significant departure from practice and what is being seen as a major diplomatic snub, the Indian government officially boycotted the Pakistan national day reception in New Delhi on Friday evening over an invitation to Kashmiri separatist group Hurriyat.


“The government of India has decided not to send any official representative to the Pakistan National Day event at the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Hurriyat leaders also did not show up at the reception.

Despite the official boycott in New Delhi, Modi did send formal greetings on Pakistan’s National Day to Pakistan PM Imran Khan.

Although PM Modi did not tweet the message from his official or personal Twitter handles, it was Imran Khan who tweeted Modi’s message to him. “Received message from PM Modi: “I extend my greetings & best wishes to the people of Pakistan on the National Day of Pakistan. It is time that ppl (sic) of subcontinent work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive & prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence”

MEA spokesperson Kumar said government’s decision to boycott any official attendance was due to the invitation to the Hurriyat and is seen as part of recent measures against separatist and extremist elements in J&K like the ban on Jamaat-i-Islami and the proscription of Yasin Malik’s JKLF. The Pakistan high commission invites the Hurriyat every year, and despite protests, Indian government sends an official representative.

India’s absence was noted since the event is attended by the diplomatic community in New Delhi. The MEA spokesperson said Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner would not attend any Pakistan Day celebrations in Islamabad either. Indian diplomats have been asked to stay away in every country where Pakistan day is celebrated by its mission.

In the past four years, Union ministers V K Singh, M J Akbar, G S Shekhawat and Prakash Javadekar have been government representatives to the Pakistan day reception.

This time, the Indian government’s move is part of the larger effort to pile pressure on Pakistan after the Pulwama attack.


Despite the official boycott, the PM sent formal greetings to Pakistan PM Imran Khan, who tweeted Modi’s message

Engineers, management postgrads make a beeline for level-1 railway jobs

New Delhi:

Engineers, postgraduates in management, science and commerce are vying to become gangman, cabinman, helpers, keyman, trackman and welder, which are level-1 posts in Railways. The minimum qualification for these 62,907 posts was Class X pass and a certificate from the National Council on Vocational Training or ITI, or have a National Apprenticeship Certificate.


TOI has learnt that besides nearly 1.9 crore Class X pass candidates, another 48.48 lakh under graduates and postgraduates had applied for the jobs. The Railways has now short-listed about 75,500 candidates after two rounds of selection process; computerbased test and physical efficiency test. Currently, the Railway Recruitment Board has started the process of document verification and medical test.

According to the advertisement issued by the Railways last year for filling these posts, the new employees will get Rs 18,000 per month as salary and other allowances. A detailed break-up of the applicants shows that 4.91 lakh undergraduate engineers and another 41,000 postgraduate engineers had applied for these jobs. The number of management undergraduate and postgraduate applicants was more than 86,000. The Railways had received about two crore applications for the level-1 posts, which the opposition had used to target the government on the issue of growing unemployment.

But the government maintained that high number of applicants for any government job cannot be a criteria to sense the job situation since there had been a trend of people applying for government jobs because of stability and other benefits. It had said many of the applicants could already have some job while applying for these posts.


The railways’ advertisement for filling these posts said the employees will get Rs 18,000 per month as salary, and other allowances

Tweaks in Forest Act to give more immunity for gun use

Will Turn Quarter Of Country’s Land Area Into A Police State: Activists


New Delhi:

The Centre’s first draft on comprehensive amendments to the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927, sent to states early this month for comments, has drawn flak from experts and forest rights activists who felt that giving more powers, including higher immunity for use of firearms, to forest officers can easily be misused.


Experts believe that though certain provisions in the 123-page draft are relevant for promoting conservation and in bringing the law in sync with India’s current international commitment, excessive powers to the forest bureaucracy would turn the country’s forests into a police state.

“The proposed amendments will directly clash with decentralised governance mechanism enacted in the 2006 Forest Rights Act (FRA). These legal contradictions and their implications must be debated before any steps are taken to accept these amendments,” said Kanchi Kohli, a legal researcher at Centre for Policy Research (CPR). Citing an example, she noted the exclusion of ‘village forests’ from the FRA purview can create huge governance confusions on the ground.

The draft, with expanded definition of ‘forest’ and introducing a new category of ‘production forest’, also makes stronger provisions for immunity to forest officials where state won’t be permitted to grant prosecution sanction without an inquiry. “These amendments will turn India's forests — almost a quarter of India’s land area — into a police state where the interests of forest bureaucrats and private companies will reign,” said Shankar Gopalakrishnan, Uttarakhand-based forest and tribal rights activist. The ‘production forest’ will be forests with specific objectives for production of timber, pulp, pulpwood, firewood, non-timber forest produce, medicinal plants or any forest species to increase production for a specific period.

Referring to India’s current dependence on import to the tune of Rs 46,000 crore every year to meet its demand for wood, Ajay Kumar Saxena of the Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) said, “The idea of creating ‘production forests’ is catching imagination of stakeholders while generating apprehensions also. The states are expected to submit their comments and suggestions to the environment ministry by June 7.