Haryana plans shopping festival to lure tourists

September 24th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The India Pavilion, to be set up at the Global Village in the forthcoming edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) will have an exclusive section showcasing Kerala's products. Addressing reporters Thursday, Brij Bhalla and Nissar Syed, the promoters of the Kerala section, said that the Global Village would open Nov 22.

September 5th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Election Commission of India (ECI) Saturday indicated that it could consider advancing the counting of votes in assembly elections to be held in Maharashtra and Haryana next month. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navin Chawla said here that the long gap between the polling (Oct 13) and the counting (Oct 22) for assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh was kept in view of the Diwali festival season next month and also due to the tough terrain in Arunachal Pradesh.

September 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tourism destinations need to package themselves attractively to attract tourists repeatedly to India, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said Tuesday. Inaugurating the fortnight-long Ladakh Festival at Leh, she said it was imperative that destinations diversify their products to allow the tourist to experience the real customs and heritage of local communities.

August 12th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - In the wake of a poor monsoon in Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Wednesday urged the central government to allocate 400 MW additional power from the unallocated pool of central generation. In response to our earlier request, the central government had allocated only 100 MW of additional power for Haryana.

August 4th, 2009 PANCHKULA - Planning to visit Haryana tourist resorts? Here is some good news for your comfort and convenience. To make hotel reservation convenient for tourists from across the country, the state tourism department Tuesday launched an online facility on its website www.haryanatourism.gov.in.

July 12th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Keen to capitalise on religious fervour during a major solar eclipse July 22, the Haryana tourism department has made elaborate arrangements for visitors to the holy town of Kurukshetra as it expects around 1.5 million tourists to come during the celestial phenomenon. The solar eclipse will last from from 5.35 a.m.

July 4th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Lovers of the king of fruits thronged a Haryana town as the 18th edition of the mango festival started Saturday. Around 2,835 entries of mangoes from all across northern India were displayed in the Mango Mela but the highlight of the event is the display of 285 rare varieties of the fruit.

July 3rd, 2009 CHANDIGARH - There's good news for lovers of the king of fruits - mango - as Haryana is all set to host the 18th edition of its annual Mango Mela (festival) from Saturday. This two-day festival, jointly organised by the state's horticulture and tourism departments, will be held at Yadvindra Gardens, one of the prominent tourist destinations, in Pinjore town in Haryana, around 30 km from here, from July 4.

June 3rd, 2009 SHIMLA - The summer festival of dance and music in the Himachal Pradesh capital has triggered a surge in tourist arrivals in the state, hospitality industry representatives said Wednesday. "The fest has evoked a good response as is evident from the surge of tourists to witness the five-day annual International Summer Festival," Harnam Kukreja, president of Shimla Hoteliers and Restaurants Association, told IANS.

May 30th, 2009 SHIMLA - The five-day annual Shimla summer festival will begin in this Himachal Pradesh capital Tuesday, an official said Saturday. "Shimla summer festival will start June 2.

March 17th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - To give a boost to arts and culture and present Chandigarh as a tourism hub, the city's administration has organised a six-day Arts and Heritage Festival beginning March 27. The festival will see participation of nearly 500 artists from all over the country besides some proclaimed artists.

February 21st, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The city's annual Rose Festival began at the Zakir Hussain Rose Garden here Friday though many of the rose beds looked shorn of flowers thanks to Cupid-struck youth who plucked roses during Valentine's Day last week. The Rose Festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors during the three-day event - many to see the roses in bloom but the majority to enjoy the festivities.

February 13th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Flower exhibits, painting, photography competition and much more - the union territory of Chandigarh is gearing up for the Rose Festival-2009, a three day festival starting Feb 20. 'This year we have plans to organise this annual festival in a big way.

January 15th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Travel agents in Kerala have begun announcing packages to attract travellers to participate in the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival that began Thursday. The festival is considered the biggest shopping and entertainment event in the Middle East.

December 24th, 2008 KOLKATA - With the aim of emulating shopping festivals in Dubai and Singapore, the Great Kolkata Shopping Festival has got off to a glittering start. Inaugurating the festival here Wednesday evening, West Bengal Tourism Minister Manabendra Mukherjee said: 'This is the first time any such festival is happening in India.