The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) is planning to set up one-stop food stores in railway stations across India by June this year. 

And here's the best part. Bangalore will be the first city to have such a facility. "Passengers have to go stall-hopping for colas, snacks and books. We are trying to integrate stalls scattered across stations into six to seven large format stores where passengers can buy everything under one roof," IRCTC chief regional manager (South Western Zone) S Gagarin said on the sidelines of the CII 9th annual tourism summit. IRCTC is also trying to rope in KFC and McDonald's for standalone outlets at the stations.  

Tour operators and hoteliers are peeved with an advertisement issued by the ministry of civil aviation, which doesn't indicate the presence of Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airports on the aviation map. The ad, the ministry's share of the pre-election PR drive of the UPA government, mentions only the Cochin International Airport.

The ad, which depicts the five-year growth of the sunrise sector through a comparison chart of major international air routes, claims that even the "smallest cities are connected to the world". Srinagar, Amritsar, Lucknow, Gaya, Guwahati, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur, Goa, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Bengaluru and Trichy join the original connectivity points of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi on the map.

Munich/Kathmandu  - Eighteen people including 14 European tourists aboard a small aircraft were killed last October when it crashed at Nepal's Lukla airport.

The incident sparked concerns about air travel in the kingdom, but figures show that Nepal still managed to attract more tourists in 2008 than at any time in the previous three decades.

Along with its unspoilt countryside, most people come to Nepal to catch a glimpse of Mount Everest - the world's highest mountain.

Travelling to Everest requires a measure of physical fitness, but also some knowledge of the country which is one of the world's poorest.

Hamburg - Bookings are presently being accepted for the maiden voyage of the Sea Cloud Hussar vessel next year.

The new tall ship is owned by Sea Cloud Cruises and will begin its 12-day maiden voyage from Malta to the Greek port of Piraeus on April 5, 2010.

The ship will ply the waters of the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula and northern Europe, said the Hamburg-based company.

Sea Cloud Cruises already has two traditional sailing vessels: the Sea Cloud built in 1931 and the Sea Cloud II which was launched in 2001.

Cape Town - South Africa is a holiday paradise for families with children - who can ride elephants, pet cheetahs and splash in the Indian Ocean - to name just a few activities. It is also an ideal gateway to exotic Africa for families who do not want to do without European standards.

"An increasing number of tour operators offer trips tailor-made for kids," noted Stephan Gotta, who works for South African Tourism in Frankfurt, Germany.

"Hotels and restaurateurs have reacted to rising demand and geared accommodation and prices to families with children." Demand has grown steadily since 2007, he said.

The region around Cape Town is particularly suited for an exciting and relaxing stay in Africa.

Lushoto, Tanzania  - Many of East Africa's touristic highlights lie in Tanzania: Serengeti National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Another area, the rain forests covering Tanzania's Usambara Mountains, may be little known to tourists but is a major attraction to scientists.