Kerala to be showcased at Dubai Shopping Festival

October 8th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Dubai-based Emirates Airline is planning to expand its Kerala operations by adding nine more services per week by Dec 1, a senior official said here. The airline's weekly operations out of the state will go up to 37 from 28 now, Asha Subramanian, sales manager of Emirates in South Kerala, told reporters here.

September 17th, 2009 HYDERABAD - GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), the operators of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here, will organize a shopping festival Sep 19-Oct 24, a company official said Thursday. Courtyard Marriott Hotel and Jet Airways, along with all the retail and food and beverage outlets in the airport premises, are sponsoring the festival, said a statement by the company.

September 10th, 2009 KOCHI - With gold prices soaring across the country, bullion merchants, jewellers and even customers are a worried lot in Kerala. The disappointment looms large particularly in the context of the ensuing festival season.

September 2nd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Week-long festivities commenced here on Monday as Onam festival celebrations got off to a colourful start. Kerala Chief Minister, V S Achuthanandan on Wednesday inaugurated the celebrations on the occasion of Onam here and honoured Malayalam actor Mohanlal in recognition of his completion of three decades in filmdom.

June 1st, 2009 KOCHI - Smart City Dubai, the developer of a Rs.1,500-crore ($316 million) IT project here, Monday said the project cannot be delayed any further and urged the Kerala government to take quick action to sort out the free-hold land issue. Smart City Dubai chief executive Fareed Abdul Rehman told reporters here that the company wanted assurance from the government regarding the free-hold rights on 12 percent of land meant for the project.

May 28th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Haryana's tourism department will organise a shopping festival at Gurgaon in December, the state's tourism minister Kiran Choudhry said here Thursday. The state has planned the event keeping in mind the increased number of foreign tourists expected to visit India for the Delhi Commonwealth Games next year.

May 20th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Wednesday said the global economic slowdown may delay the launch of Kochi's Rs.15 billion Smart City project.

March 26th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala is targeting Russian and Swedish tourists to beat the downturn feared this year, the government said Thursday. According to a press release issued here by the state tourism department, the state's tourism department participated at the Moscow International Travel and Tourism (MITT) exhibition from March 18-21 - and showcased Kerala's beaches, backwaters and houseboats - key attractions for tourists.

March 1st, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Theatre buffs in Kerala would be treated to more than a dozen award-winning plays at the fifth National Drama Festival that starts here Monday. The festival will be inaugurated by Chief Minister V.S.

February 25th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - From his family and friends to the Kerala government - everyone is gearing up to give a warm reception to Oscar winner Resul Pookutty who is on his way to Mumbai. He will arrive from Los Angeles Thursday.

February 25th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - A court here Tuesday gave conditional bail to Madathil Reghu, an influential Dubai-based businessman, for allegedly manhandling a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) trooper at the airport early this month. The Thiruvananthapuram chief judicial magistrate's court gave bail to Reghu on a deposit of Rs.500,000, two sureties and asked him to present himself for two days for police questioning.

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.

January 15th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The United Nations will partner Kerala at a week-long Nishagandi Festival beginning here Jan 20. 'This is the first time that the UN is partnering an event in South India,' State Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters.

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.

December 23rd, 2008 KOCHI - The two-day diaspora meet 'Ente Naadu', billed as a platform for the Kerala diaspora to invest in tourism projects in the state, concluded here Wednesday with an investment of over Rs.10 billion expected to take place in the coming years, a minister said. Over 500 non-resident Keralites (NRKs) from 42 countries took part in the two-day event.