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IRCTC to start 'Shri Ramayana Yatra’ train on June 21 from Delhi's Safdarjung

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is set to launch a 18-day ‘Shri Ramayana Yatra’ through a special tourist train on June 21 to take pilgrims to sacred places associated with the life of Lord Ram, officials said on Wednesday. Booking is on for the tour on the Ramayana circuit by ‘Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train’ which will start from Delhi's Safdarjung railway station on June 21, Ajit Kumar Sinha, chief regional manager of IRCTC, Lucknow, told reporters here. The 18-day journey by the train, which has 11 third AC class coaches with an accommodation capacity of around 600 passengers, will cost a passenger ₹62,370, the officials said. The tour package aims at realising devotees' dreams to visit places, where Lord Ram, his wife Goddess Sita and Lord Laxman had set foot, while undertaking an exile in the forest for 14 years, Sinha said. The train will run on the Ramayan circuit identified under Swadesh Darshan scheme covering prominent places that include Ayodhya, Janakpur (Nepal), Sitamarhi, Buxar, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Shringverpur, Chitrakoot, Nashik, Hampi, Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram and Bhadrachalam (also known as Ayodhya of South India). Sinha said that it is for the first time that a tourist train will go from India to Nepal, and connect two religious cities of Ayodhya and Janakpur. The boarding points, apart from Delhi, are Aligarh, Tundla, Kanpur and Lucknow, he said, adding that the cost of a ticket is uniform irrespective of the station a passenger boards from. Sinha said the tour plan includes food, stay in hotel and guide services at the points of visit. The interiors of the Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train, which will return to Delhi on the 18th day of its journey covering roughly a distance of around 8,000 kilometres, will be based on the Ramayana epic, the officials said. As many as 285 bookings have already been done from various parts of the country, Sinha said, adding the maximum 61 bookings are from Maharashtra followed by 55 from Uttar Pradesh. The IRCTC has also tied up with Paytm and Razorpay payment gateways for providing EMI options to the passengers. Besides, an early bird discount of 5 per cent in fare will be given to the first 50 per cent passengers. The EMI payment option given by the IRCTC is also for the first time, Sinha said.

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Ladakh now boasts of world’s highest bungee jumping site

Ladakh now boasts of the world’s highest bungee jumping site, which was inaugurated by Member Parliament Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal on May 22, 2022. It is just 35km away from Leh and 7 km from the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus rivers, on the way to Chilling. The location provides a wonderful view of Tsongsti Village. This new effort intends to attract travellers from all over the world to the village, as well as boost tourism in the region. Sonam Wangyal, the founder of Ladakh Bungee Jumping, is a bungee jumping professional. Bungee jumping, in addition to rafting, trekking, and skiing, has the potential to promote adventure tourism in the region. The bungee jumping spot provides a beautiful view of the Zanskar river. People can jump up to 190 feet from the ground from the cliff, which is placed at a 90-degree angle. The total time duration for this sport ranges from three and a half to four minutes. Keeping in mind the safety precautions, bungee jumping will be supervised by trained professionals. Before the jump, the jumpmaster will give you instructions and will guide you. Participants must be at least 18 years old. They must, however, weigh more than 40 kg in order to compete. Bungee jumping costs over Rs 4,000, while a vertical zipline costs around Rs 3,000.

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Germany to recognise Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for travel from June 1

German Ambassador to India and Bhutan, Walter J Lindner on Thursday said the government of the European nation will start recognizing Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine for travel purpose there from June 1. In a tweet, Lindner said, “Very happy that GER government just decided to recognize WHO-listed Covaxin for travels to GER, starting June 1! This Embassy has been pushing very actively for such decision (because of Covid-backlogs visa sections have longer waiting periods than normal, please have patience).” In November last year, the World Health Organisation recommended Emergency Use Listing (EUL) status for Covaxin. Several countries including Australia, Japan and Canada allow passengers vaccinated with Covaxin into those countries.

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UAE firm signs contract with authorities for ground handling services at Afghanistan's airports

A United Arab Emirates company signed a contract with the Taliban authorities to provide ground handling services at Afghanistan's three airports, officials said, as the country seeks to resume international transit. Capital Kabul's only airport was trashed in August when tens of thousands of people rushed to evacuate as the US-led forces withdrew. While some domestic and international flights are still operating out of the facility, it needs significant upgrades for major foreign airlines to restart full service. The full operation of Kabul airport is crucial for reviving Afghanistan's shattered economy. But no country has yet formally recognised the Taliban government, with nations watching to see how the Islamists, notorious for human rights abuses during their 1996-2001 stint in power, will rule. UAE firm GAAC, which was previously operating in Afghanistan, signed a new 18-month contract covering three airports: Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. “The current contract is only for offering ground handling services,” Hameedullah Akhundzada, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation said at a press conference. GAAC has provided these services at Kabul airport since November 2020, and played a key role in rehabilitating the facility in August. AFP. “But GAAC signing the new contract will give confidence to international airlines to resume flights to Afghanistan,“ he said, without specifying when such flights, including from the UAE, were expected to resume. A Qatar-Turkey consortium has been in talks with the aviation ministry for months over operating airports at Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Khost. But the talks snagged as the Taliban insisted its fighters will guard the facilities. Qatar and Turkey want a say in managing security, at least at Kabul airport, experts tracking the negotiations say. On Tuesday, Afghan officials refused to comment on whether the consortium was still open to operating the five airports. GAAC officials also declined to comment on whether its new ground handling contract would be expanded into other services. Currently, two Afghan airlines, Kam Air and Ariana Afghan, fly to Dubai, Doha, Islamabad, and Tehran from Kabul airport. Iran's Mahan Air also operates flights to Kabul.

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Rebound of tourism in Spain leads to 36% surge in hotel rates in April

Hotels in Spain increased their rates by 36 per cent in April from a year ago, charging EUR 96.3 (USD 103.4) per night on average around the Easter holidays that marked a long-awaited rebound of tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic, official data showed. The average rate was also 15 per cent higher than in April 2019, before the pandemic struck in early 2020, bringing global travel to a near halt and forcing the few hotels that remained open to significantly lower their rates. The National Statistics Institute said that rooms in five star hotels cost 23 percent more than a year ago, averaging EUR 226.5 per night. Ironically, staying in cheaper, two-star hotels was now 40 per cent more expensive, with rates at EUR 66. Hoteliers have been able to adjust their rates and cover the inflation and energy price rises thanks to a significant increase in foreign tourism, mostly from Britain and Germany, as the European countries eased or lifted travel restrictions. In March and April this year, the number of clients staying in Spanish hotels rose more than five times from a year ago, and 40 percent of them were residents in the country, INE added. Tourist arrivals in April were at 86 percent of pre- pandemic 2019 levels and some popular islands hosted the same number of holidaymakers as they did before the pandemic, according to official figures Spanish hotel chain Melia said last week that during Easter week it recorded a global increase of 18 percent in its room rates. The Mallorca-based group experts to have better sales at its resort hotels in 2022 than in 2019.

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India expected to witness 13.34 million inbound tourists by 2024: Visa – PATA Destination Forecast

Global digital payments leader Visa joined hands with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for the Asia Pacific Destination Forecasts 2022-2024: India report and highlighted key travel trends, observations, and forecasts for the industry and country specifically. As per the findings of the report, Asia is projected to remain the dominant source region over the forecast period, while Europe and the Americas, the second and third major suppliers of visitor numbers into India, are projected to have visitor share contractions. India is expected to witness 13.34 million inbound visitors by 2024, which is around 22.1 higher than that of the pre-pandemic year 2019. That year, India received 10.93 million inbound tourists. Tourists travelling to India are forecasted to increase year-on-year between 2022 and 2024. To start with 4.1 million in 2022, which would double in 2023 to 8.5 million and 13.34 million in 2024. Over the last two years, inbound tourism not just globally but in India as well suffered badly, and numbers came down drastically. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of international visitors to India reduced dramatically to 2.74 million in 2020, a 74.9 per cent drop in comparison to the previous year mainly due to stringent border control measures, lockdown, and other pandemic-related restrictions. In absence of scheduled international commercial flights, the demand also dropped considerably and connectivity to India took a huge hit. The share of India in international tourist arrivals in 2020 was 1.57 per cent and the country accounted for 10.67 per cent of international tourist arrivals in the Asia Pacific region in 2020.

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