TripAdvisor’s #1 hotel in the world
There’s nothing like the royal touch for bringing in tourists — or for providing the glitz needed to be named number one. It certainly hasn’t hurt the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India, listed by TripAdvisor as the best hotel in the world in 2016. As in the UK, where the royal family in 2015 brought in tourism revenues of $760 million, India’s regal past is also proving profitable. That’s a relief for the palace’s founding family, who turned to tourism after India’s government de-recognized royal titles and ended their privileges in the 1970s. Stripped of an official income, they decided to turn the palace — originally built between 1928 and 1943 as a private residence for Maharaja Umaid Singh — into a hotel. But not before almost losing it.
“It was considered wrong for a king or royal family to indulge in business,” Gaj Singh, Umaid Singh’s grandson, tells CNN. “You enforce business and you run the state. When independence came, and we didn’t have a state, we had no source of income.”
News source: edition.cnn.com
You might also like
Winter chill persists in Delhi, fog delays 17 trains
Heavy snowfall is likely to be experienced over the Western Himalayan region with peak intensity. The national capital and surrounding NCR woke up to a foggy morning on Monday. At
Vietnam Airlines expands partnership with Sabre
Vietnam Airlines and Sabre Corporation are delighted to announce an expanded agreement which reaffirms their long-term partnership. The carrier will leverage the breadth of SabreSonic, Sabre’s passenger service system (PSS)
Tourism Ministry launches new series of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ TV commercials
Union Tourism Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma recently launched new series of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ TV commercials starring Aamir Khan as brand ambassador, at The Ashok, New Delhi. On the occasion
