Golden Temple

 Place : Amritsar in the north Indian state of Punjab.
Time : Any time of the year.
Significance : The Pilgrimage Centre.
The Golden Temple, also known as the Hari Mandir Sahib is a living symbol of the spiritual and historical traditions of the Sikhs. Golden Temple, on account of its scenic beauty and golden coating for English speaking world, has been a source of inspiration to the Sikh community ever since its foundation. It is evident from the Sikh chronicles that the Gurus exhorted their followers to accept all Sikh centers as places of pilgrimage. As Sri Hari Mandir Sahib was the first prime holy shrine, it became, as the center of inspiration and action and the most significant achievement of the Gurus, the chief place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs. The Sikhs all over the world, daily wish to pay visit to Sri Amritsar and to pay obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib in their Ardas.
Guru Arjan Sahib, the Vth Guru, conceived the idea of creating a central place of worship for the Sikhs and he himself designed the architecture of Sri Harmandir Sahib. Earlier the planning to excavate the holy tank (Amritsar or Amrit Sarovar ) was chalked out by Guru Amardas Sahib, the Third Nanak, but it was executed by Guru Ramdas Sahib under the supervision of Baba Budha ji. The land for the site was acquired by the earlier Guru Sahibs on payment or free of cost from the Zamindars (landlords) of native villages. The plan to establish a town settlement was also made. Therefore, the construction work on the Sarovar(the tank) and the town started simultaneously in 1570. The work on both projects completed in 1577 A.D.
Guru Arjan Sahib got its foundation laid by a muslim saint Hazrat Mian Mir ji of Lahore on 1st of Magh, 1644 Bikrmi Samvat(December,1588). The construction work was directly supervised by Guru Arjan Sahib himself and he was assisted by the prominent Sikh personalities like Baba Budha ji, Bhai Gurdas ji, Bhai Sahlo ji and many other devoted Sikhs.
As compared to erecting the structure on the higher level (a tradition in Hindu Temple architecture), Guru Arjan Sahib got it built on the lower level and unlike Hindu Temples having only one gate for the entrance and exit, Guru Sahib got it open from four sides. Thus he created a symbol of new faith, Sikhism. Guru Sahib made it accessible to every person without any distinction of caste, creed, sex and religion.
The construction work completed in 1601 A.D. on Bhadoon Sudi 1st, 1661 Bikrmi Samvat (August/September,1604). Guru Arjan Sahib installed newly created Guru Granth Sahib, in Sri Harmandir Sahib and appointed Baba Budha ji as its first Granthi i.e. the reader of Guru Granth Sahib. After this event it attained the status of ‘Ath Sath Tirath’. Now the Sikh Nation had their own Tirath, a pilgrimage center
The architecture of the Golden Temple represents a unique harmony between the Muslims and the Hindus way of construction work and this is considered the best architectural specimens of the world. It is often quoted that this architecture has created an independent Sikh school of architecture in the history of art in India.
Reaching Amritsar, the city of Golden Temple -
Air : The Rajasansi airport at Amritsar is well linked by flights from all over India. Recently, it was elevated to an international airport.
Rail : There are direct links from Delhi to Amritsar by train. It is an 8-10-hour journey.
Road : Buses also ply regularly between the two cities.
This article is taken from- http://www.tsiindia.com/pilgrimage-india/golden-temple.html

UNWTO announces the first Global Tourism Forum in Andorra

REPORT - WTM 2010: UNWTO announces the first Global Tourism Forum in Andorra(Forimmediaterelease.net) Despite representing 6-7% of the world’s employment, an estimated 5% of its GDP and US$1 trillion a year in export revenues, there remains a general lack of awareness of tourism’s role in addressing today’s global challenges. Meeting at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, UNWTO and the government of Andorra announced the holding of the first Global Tourism Forum to promote the value of tourism to global decision makers (March 6-7, 2011, Andorra).

Speaking at a Press Conference at WTM, UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai, and the Andorran Ministry of Economy and Finance, Pere Lopez Agras, outlined the scope and objectives of the Global Tourism Forum/Andorra 2011: “Building New Models for Tourism Growth: Competitiveness&Responsibility."
“We want this to be the first truly global forum where the tourism public and private sector meet other sectors of the economy and political leaders and work together to make the true value of tourism understood by top level decisions makers and business leaders,” said M.r Rifai, announcing the event.
“Andorra has a strong tourism history. We are a small country in which the tourism sector plays a vital role and Andorra is very pleased to host the first Global Tourism Forum,” said Mr. Pere Lopez Agras. “I am sure that the relationship between Andorra and UNWTO, which has been based on strong collaboration since it began 10 years ago, will be further strengthened in the future through the holding of the first Global Tourism Forum in Andorra,” he added.
The forum will be the first meeting of all the major players from the tourism sector, public and private, as well as economists, academia, and civil society, allowing the tourism community to reach out beyond the sector and demonstrate its role in the post-crisis sustainable recovery, climate change, and fair and inclusive development.
This article is taken from- http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/39972-UNWTO-announces-the-first-Global-Tourism-Forum-in-Andorra

Cruise bosses urge destinations to come onboard

REPORT - WTM 2010: Cruise bosses have called on destinations to see cruise lines as partners, not "the enemy". They also urged destinations to work more closely with them on joint marketing and said better dockside facilities were vital to keep passengers happy.
Speaking at a cruise debate at World Travel Market – the premier global event for the travel industry – cruise line bosses agreed that destinations were still the key factor in why passengers choose a particular itinerary, even though many ships are akin to floating resorts.
Cunard President Peter Shanks urged Cruise Baltic – which represents 27 ports in 10 countries – to "squeeze out more money" for marketing the region and its offerings.
He highlighted Barbados as a good example of a destination which works well with cruise lines and other stakeholders such as ports and airports to smooth the way for cruise passengers. But he did flag up problems with the island’s infrastructure and "bumpy roads".
Jo Rzymowska, UK General Manager for Royal Caribbean, agreed with Shanks about Barbados working with cruise lines rather than viewing them as "the enemy". But she warned: "Ports often operate as warehouses. It is important to get guest satisfaction when disembarking."
Hong Kong was highlighted as one port which needs to "wake up and invest" as it has passengers disembarking at container berths.
Bo Larsen, Cruise Baltic Director, admitted it was a challenge to get people from many different countries, ports and cities to agree on joint marketing. But he highlighted how certain cities are introducing innovative excursions to boost cruise line revenues, such as the Stieg Larsson ‘Millennium Trilogy’ tour of Stockholm. He said the Baltic region is set to see 3.5m passengers next year and Northern Europe – which includes the British Isles, Baltics and fjords – has overtaken the Caribbean in terms of cruise passengers from the UK.
Petra Roach, European Vice-President of the Barbados Tourist Board, said bumpy roads were part of life in the Caribbean - but she agreed joint marketing was important, especially as cruises often acted as a taster for holidaymakers, encouraging them to visit again for a longer trip.
Geoff Lawrence, sales and marketing director of Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic, said interesting and new destinations were vital for his itineraries as the cruise ships were much smaller and the repeat ratio for Swan Hellenic was 80%. "We work hard with ports, guides and guest speakers and try to make each itinerary unique," he told the debate.
This article is taken from- http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/39944-Cruise-bosses-urge-destinations-to-come-onboard

Goa wants visas to be issued in 10 days to up tourist inflow

Panaji: In an attempt to contain drop in foreign tourist arrivals in Goa due to visa issues, the state government has requested the Centre to ensure that the process to issue visa be cut short from three weeks to 10 days.
The state has written to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna after few of the chartered flights had to delay their landing in Goa due to visa problems.
The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) had addressed this issue to the state government fearing that it will hamper the foreign tourist inflow in the coastal state.
"When TTAG approached us on this visa issue, we escalated the matter to the state Tourism Minister as well as the chief minister immediately," State Tourism Director Swapnil Naik said.
Naik claimed Krishna has promised to review the situation and possibly reduce the time required for processing tourist visas from the present three weeks to about a week or 10 days.
"Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has also urged Krishna to look into the matter urgently, while on a recent visit to Delhi," Naik said.
TTAG was apprehensive after chartered flights from Poland delayed their arrivals by one and half months. The state lost around 1500 tourists after seven flights from Poland were cancelled due to delay in issuing visa.
The operators were supposed to have weekly chartered flight from first week of November but it was postponed till December 15.
This article is taken from- http://www.financialexpress.com/news/goa-wants-visas-to-be-issued-in-10-days-to-up-tourist-inflow/709272/

Global governments should put tourism higher on the agenda

REPORT - WTM 2010: Governments around the world should follow the Chinese approach to tourism, according to the UNWTO Ministers Summit which took place this morning at World Travel Market.
Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said: “China is seeing the benefits from giving tourism a very high priority within government. It is an example other countries should try to follow.”

More than 150 tourism ministers and aides attended the Summit. Qiwei Shao. Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, said that the Chinese government started to listen when he was able to show that 109 other sectors were involved in tourism. Some 15 million people are employed directly in tourism, with another 85 million indirectly employed.
The importance of tourism generally varies across the globe. John Penrose, Minister of Tourism of the UK pointed out that he is the first dedicated tourism minister the UK has had; Italy and Argentina have both upgraded the importance of tourism within the structure of their government.
Mexico’s tourism minister, Gloria Guevara, said that tourism was a priority for the country, which wanted to become one of the world’s top five destinations. It is already in the top ten.
One way in which ministers can make their government colleagues listen is to rethink the data used to make the economic case for tourism. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Minister of Tourism and Aviation for the Bahamas, said that the key metric should be economic value not only arrivals.
The role of the private sector in this is pivotal, ministers insisted, although competitive concerns and the fragmented nature of the sector often prevent companies from working together.
Sustainability also came up high in the Summit’s agenda, with ministers told that they also needed to be more vocal in defending tourism’s environmental record. Many ministers agreed that sustainability was not only about climate change but also culture heritage, resources and socio-economics.
Taxation was another recurring theme. The UK’s controversial Air Departure Tax (APD) was blamed for prompting other countries – Germany and Austria to introduce a similar measure shortly.
Christopher Brown from Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) in Australia warned that governments “could drown small island nations in a sea of taxes before the tidal waves arrive.”
Fiona Jeffery, Chairman, World Travel Market, said; “This is our fourth UNWTO Summit at World Travel Market. We are delighted that it’s the largest-ever and includes ministers from Iraq and China for the first time.
This article is taken from- http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/39917-Global-governments-should-put-tourism-higher-on-the-agenda