News

Norwegian Cruise Line celebrates full relaunch of 17-ship fleet

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) celebrated the completion of its Great Cruise Comeback with the sailing of the Norwegian Spirit, the 17th and final ship in its fleet to return to service. NCL’s return to service after a 500-day pause began with Norwegian Jade’s July 25, 2021 sailing from Athens (Piraeus), Greece. Since then, the Brand has systematically relaunched its ships around the world, welcoming guests and crew members aboard its award-winning vessels. “This is an incredibly important day in our history and a defining moment for our future,” said Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line. “We are moving full speed ahead, having already welcomed more than half a million guests for an exceptional vacation at sea.” Norwegian Spirit, which is sporting an extensive bow-to-stern, over $100 million revitalisation, will be sailing through the deep blue South Pacific, visiting eight ports in 12 days, with departures from the beautiful Island of Tahiti. Itinerary highlights include a journey to Bora Bora, where guests can enjoy snorkeling and discover why the elegantly calm waters are world-famous. They also can venture to Raiatea, which is considered the most sacred island in the South Pacific, where visitors can spend the afternoon exploring lush rainforests and the extinct volcano, Mount Temehani. The itinerary also features other destinations for guests to experience, such as Nāwiliwili, Kauai, where nature is truly the star. Nicknamed “The Garden Island,” guests can admire scenic views of the Kokee Mountains and stop at the geological wonder, Fern Grotto, a lava-rock cave covered with tropical flora. This cruise departs from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia Saturday, May 7, 2022, and disembarks on Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Honolulu, Oahu. As part of the most extensive renovation in Company history, Norwegian Spirit now showcases 14 new venues, additional and updated staterooms, enhanced public areas and new hull art. Enhancements included a doubled-in-size Mandara Spa that features a new thermal suite and relaxation areas, an expanded Pulse Fitness Center and the second Onda by Scarpetta restaurant at sea. New complimentary dining venues include an additional main dining room, Taste; the 24-hour eatery, The Local Bar and Grill; the all-day dining outlet, Garden Café; the Great Outdoors Bar; and Waves Pool Bar. Making their debut are The Social Comedy & Night Club and Spinnaker Lounge, which features the Humidor Cigar Lounge, as well as the adults-only retreat Spice H2O, a daytime lounge featuring two new hot tubs and a dedicated bar, which transforms into an after-hours entertainment venue.

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Indians will be able to apply online for Schengen Visas after 2026

Indian passport holders will be able to apply for a Schengen visa online in around four years to visit any of the 26 Schengen Area member nations, including France, Germany, and Italy, as the European Union’s Commission works to digitise the Schengen visa application process. The Commission has revealed its plans, stating that by 2026, it will launch a platform that will allow nationals of third countries under the Schengen visa-free regime, including Indians, to apply completely online, including paying the visa charge and submitting documents. Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, commented on the initiative, saying that half of the individuals arriving in Europe on a Schengen visa say the visa application is cumbersome, and that over 30 per cent must travel great distances to apply for one. “It is high time that the EU provides a quick, safe, and web-based EU visa application platform for the citizens of the 102 third countries that require short-term visas to travel to the EU,” the Commissioner said. The Commission has also asserted that the current process for obtaining a Schengen visa is lengthy and heavily paper-based, and the applicants have to travel to submit and collect their passport with a visa afterward, which can be quite costly and tiresome. Indian nationals are also subject to the same procedures and often have to travel long distances in order to submit an application for a Schengen visa, which is not always approved. According to SchegnenVisaInfo.com, Indian nationals filed 1,141,705 Schengen visa applications in 2019, accounting for 6.7 per cent of the total number of visa applications submitted in the same year. At the same time, India was the third-most-popular destination for Schengen visa applications, trailing only Russia (4,133,100) and China (4,133,100). (2,971,032). Once the platform for online visa applications goes fully into effect, Indian passport holders will be able to complete the application form on this platform and upload their scanned passport and other required documents. They will have to go over to the embassy facilities to submit their biometrics – photography and fingerprints – however, they will have to do that only once for 59 months. The visa will also no longer be issued in the form of a sticker, but rather “in the form of a 2D barcode, cryptographically signed by the Country Signing Certificate Authority (CSCA) of the issuing Member State.” The platform is especially beneficial to people who require a visa to transit the Czech Republic, Germany, France, or Spain on their way to a non-Schengen country such as the United Kingdom.

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Leading personalities take over Ras Al Khaimah in new global brand campaign

Marking the next chapter in its tourism expansion and overall growth, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RATKDA) unveils an all-new brand campaign at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022. Building on the successful launch of its new vision and brand identity at last year’s ATM, RAK Calling uses integrated social media platforms to follow a group of influencer friends as they discover the nature Emirate. In collaboration with renowned content creators from Europe and the Middle East, the digital-first campaign showcases the diversity of Ras Al Khaimah and a myriad of tourism experiences across its pristine beaches, lush mangroves, and sprawling deserts and majestic mountains. Locations include the beautiful Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah and Jebel Jais, the UAE’s highest peak, with its iconic zipline, unique dining experience Puro 1484 and new and upcoming attractions Jais Wings, RAK Airventure, Jais Sledder and the Wingsuit Diving Platform taking center stage. Appealing to those who cherish responsible, meaningful and truly memorable experiences in the new era of travel, RAK Calling will resonate with those seeking ‘a sense of place’ and wanting to ‘live their moments.’ It joins several other leading and emerging destinations that have focused on purposeful, engaging content, including Iceland and New Zealand. Launched on May 9th, creative assets will be released in the Middle East and Europe across multiple languages via digital and social media channels. “This campaign marks an exciting next step in providing visitors with immersive content that not only highlights our iconic locations but also gives a sense of how Ras Al Khaimah can make you feel,” said Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority. “We recognise how important different mediums are in creating something that can easily be understood and remembered by intended audiences. We saw this first-hand when we launched our new brand identity last year with a razor-focused approach that was instrumental in helping us achieve almost pre-pandemic visitor numbers in 2021. With RAK Calling, we are on the cusp of the metaverse; it’s an exciting new chapter in the destination’s virtual presence.” He further added, “This campaign also represents other emerging destinations that don’t have large scale budgets but can creatively work with content makers to develop something super compelling and relevant to today’s audiences.” The new campaign stars Egyptian actor Sherif Fayed (@sheriffayed) paragliding over the Hajar Mountains in a teaser for the soon-to-be-launched Jais Wings experience, as well as Saudi mountaineer Raha Moharrak (@rahamoharrak) experiencing the thrill of the Jebel Jais Flight and UAE-based radio host Kris Fade (@krisfade) rock climbing at Bear Grylls Explorers Camp. Other highlights include: ‘Emirati batman’ Khalifa Al Ghafri (@khalifa_alghafri_uae), Dani Roman (@daniroman_) and Marco Fuerst (@fuerstmarco) gliding over Jebel Jais from the Wingsuit Diving Platform – the first base jump platform in the UAE recently opened for professional base jumpers and wing suit flyers Dany Neville (@danyneville) hosting a DJ set whilst soaring over Ras Al Khaimah with RAK Airventure, the Emirate’s new tethered hot air balloon experience Jessica Kahawaty (@jessicakahawaty) and Enjy Kiwan (@enjykiwan) taking on the mountain biking trails at Jebel Jais Mad Shadz (@madshadz)conquering his fears on the Jais Sledder, the region’s longest toboggan run Arabian Gazelles (@arabiangazelles) taking on the picturesque mountain roads and hairpin bends German model and reality television star Fiona Erdmann (@fionaerdmann) enjoying the view from 1484 by Puro, the highest restaurant in the UAE As part of its digital-first approach, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority has also unveiled two redesigned websites for the destination, reflecting the new brand identity announced last year. “We are constantly innovating to provide incredible and seamless experiences for our visitors, which starts even before they set foot in our beautiful Emirate. In the new era of travel, people research their destination in detail before making an informed choice. Our new websites give them a real feel for what our Emirate offers and provide both inspiration and details to make their visit truly memorable,” added Phillips.

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Selamat Datang! Malaysia all set to welcome back Indians

Malaysia finally opened its borders on April 1, 2022, marking the end of travel restrictions to visit the country. Leveraging this new development, Tourism Malaysia conducted its first roadshow in six major cities in India from April 18 to April 30, 2022, after a gap of more than two years. To know more about the current developments, TTJ spoke with Manoharan Periasamy, Senior Director of International Promotion Division (Asia and Africa), Tourism Malaysia. – Gurjit Singh Ahuja The six-city roadshow kicked off in Delhi, followed by Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Manoharan Periasamy led the trade mission, which included three Malaysia-based airlines, 22 tour operators, four hoteliers, and four product owners. “This is the right time to be back in India, as the resumption of scheduled international flights from India coincides with the reopening of Malaysia’s international borders. Although our overseas offices have always been in constant contact with all stakeholders in India, through virtual conferencing and webinars, nothing compares to meeting with industry players face to face here and telling them that ‘We are in Business’. This is the first large-scale overseas roadshow undertaken by Tourism Malaysia since the pandemic. After this, there is ATM and the other events happening, but this is the first overseas initiative to promote Malaysia, despite the Ramadan month,” says Manoharan. India remains and has been one of the top market sources for Malaysia and has contributed 735,309 arrivals (+22 per cent) in 2019. Apart from the objective to instil confidence among Indians to feel safe to visit Malaysia once again, the roadshow aims to provide a platform for the industry stakeholders to rekindle their business contacts and set the process in action to steer the tourism sector back to its former glory between India and Malaysia. Indian travellers have a lot more to look forward to in Malaysia, with exciting, new value-driven, and action-packed itineraries on the shelf to witness the best and latest on offer. There is so much more to explore after two years, especially the newly opened outdoor theme park, Genting SkyWorld, the refurbished Sunway Resort in Kuala Lumpur, and a magnificent new attraction, the Merdeka 118, the world’s second-tallest building. New attractions along with beautiful beaches, exhilarating mountains, and jungles with a plethora of activities will again make a trip to Malaysia, a memorable one. Since the reopening of its borders, India is on the top four arrivals to Malaysia. The entry procedure requires an RT-PCR test two days before departure and travellers must undergo a professionally administered RTK-Ag test within 24 hours upon arrival in Malaysia. Currently, Malaysia eVISA can be applied online and more than 14,000 seats are offered weekly between India and Malaysia through Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, AirAsia, IndiGo, and Air India Express. MICE and wedding businesses are definitely priority segments for Malaysia to generate numbers. Malaysia’s proximity to India, warranting short flying times combined with a deep understanding of Indian sensibilities and competitive pricing, offers an attractive alternative. Malaysia is hopeful that by the coming winter, they can attract quite a good number of wedding and incentive groups. Entry accessibility will also be further liberalised if there are no spikes for the next couple of months. Once the Malaysia-based airlines revert to their full capacity and India-based airlines also add seats, airfares will become more affordable and competitive. Manoharan further elaborated, “Based on surveys and numerous studies done, we realised that people now want to avoid crowded places. Earlier, everyone wanted to visit the Twin Towers to take a photo, but now they want to explore beyond Kuala Lumpur in smaller niche groups looking for soft adventure and time in nature. Today, we can offer these elements and our operators are ready.” So, although Kuala Lumpur still maintains itself as a shopping and entertainment destination, the tourism board is looking beyond destinations such as Penang, Langkawi Desaru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and Sarawak. For MICE, Desaru offers good convention and wedding infrastructure for the India market. The setup in Desaru is excellent. One doesn’t have to worry about hotel capacities. Desaru has Westin, Hard Rock, and Anantara, where each hotel offers an inventory of more than 300 rooms. The emphasis for the tourism board now is to regenerate the interest in destination Malaysia and get MICE groups and wedding groups back into the country. Many positive inquiries for groups from India ranging between 300 to 500 guests are already underway and these first movers are being incentivised for their business with various add-on benefits in tandem with the hotels, airlines, and attractions.

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Covid-19 entry rules for travellers to European countries

Tourism in Europe is slowly moving back to pre-pandemic levels. Since the omicron variant predominantly causes moderate symptoms, most countries have relaxed their restrictions. The European Union An overview of EU travel measures, including information on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, is available via the European Commission website. Detailed information regarding quarantine rules, testing requirements and more in the EU's 27 member states — along with non-EU Schengen countries Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland — can be accessed through the Reopen EU platform. You can also download the Reopen EU smartphone app for up-to-date information on the go. Please note that every member state maintains its own rules for granting entry to third country travellers already within the EU or Schengen zone. Member states may require a negative COVID test upon arrival, or mandate a quarantine period after entry. In addition, some EU countries have implemented social distancing rules, curfews and mask-wearing mandates. The European Union COVID traffic light system The EU has introduced a traffic light system for a better overview of the epidemiological situation in individual member states. Three colours — red, orange and green — denote high-, medium- and low-risk areas in the bloc. Grey regions signify areas where insufficient data is available. Please note: The information listed here is not exhaustive. It serves as a reference and is subject to change at any time. All travellers to and within Europe, the EU and the Schengen Area are strongly advised to consult the official guidance and regulations of local, state and national authorities in the relevant countries. EU Digital COVID certificate To ease EU travel, the European Parliament approved a digital COVID certificate that has been rolled out across the entire bloc. It shows that individuals have either been fully vaccinated, tested negative for the virus or recovered from the disease. The document is issued by test centres and health authorities, and has been available in all EU member states since July 1, 2021. At this stage, however, only COVID-19 vaccination records performed by an official, government-mandated body within the European Union can be logged on the certificate. Vaccinations from outside the EU are not accepted yet. These COVID rules are currently in place in different European countries (listed in alphabetical order): Austria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Greece Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain Switzerland United Kingdom

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Dubai airport witnesses busiest quarter in years

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, reported that it handled over 13.6 million passengers in the first three months of 2022 - more than double last year's number in a clear sign that a long-awaited travel revival has reached the global aviation hub. This quarter's passenger count represents the airport's busiest since the virus struck in 2020 and compares to just 5.7 million passengers logged in the same period last year. In a sign however that long-haul markets have yet to enjoy a full recovery from the pandemic, CEO Paul Griffiths said that the airport didn't expect to see transit traffic back to pre-virus levels for another two years at least. Still, flight traffic has improved as nations around the world have loosened Covid 19 travel restrictions such as testing and vaccination rules. “It's been extremely encouraging,” Griffiths told The Associated Press, praising government efforts to keep Dubai's border open, aggressively vaccinate and introduce policies that have attracted an international workforce. “We're now seeing a massive resurgence. A whole new sector of the world's population is starting to look at Dubai as a very credible and attractive place to live and work.” The key east-west transit point, home to Emirates, long the jewel of Dubai's state-linked companies, is expected to handle 58.3 million passengers in 2022. This year's passenger traffic has so far been driven by the airport's reliable destinations and source markets with large expat populations in Dubai - India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. More recently after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine and the West piled sanctions on the Kremlin, the airport has become one of the few remaining flight corridors out of Russia. Major American companies have transferred employees from Russia to the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf Arab federation has avoided overt criticism of Russia's war on Ukraine and not enforced sanctions imposed by the West. The UAE also offers three-month multiple-entry visas upon arrival to Russians. Emirates flights between Dubai and Russia have continued. “Since the tensions in Ukraine and Russia started, Dubai has remained open to people coming from those areas,” said Griffiths, saying he couldn't provide a breakdown of passenger traffic from Russia. “Where others have closed borders, we've remained open,” he added. Griffiths also said that the private jet terminal at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central, the Gulf city's second airport, has been “incredibly busy,” with a recent 400 per cent spike in traffic. Satellite images show dozens of private jets parked at the terminal. He declined to elaborate on whether the parked jets had connections to Russia's wealthy trying to leave the country with their assets, saying only, “We've just allowed everyone to go about their business.” Griffiths sounded optimistic when asked how Dubai's airport was rebounding not only from the pandemic's devastating blow to aviation, but also to travel retail sales. The Dubai airport's soaring terminals, with water cascades and artificial palm trees, cavernous duty-free stores and luxury boutiques, relies on revenue from retail concessions. As international passenger traffic plunged and Chinese tourists largely vanished, much of that money dried up. But Griffiths said the tourists who have trickled through the terminals in recent months are big spenders. Demand for luxury goods has remained high in Dubai. “Interestingly, even though passenger volumes have fallen over the last few years, those who are traveling tend to spend more,” he said. “If we are delivering the experience people come to expect, we hope that will be enough of a pull to get people through Dubai.”

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