News

Assam's Kaziranga National Park sees surge in tourist footfall

Assam’s Kaziranga National Park received over 2.20 lakh visitors in 2021-22, the highest in the last 12 years, and the revenue earned from tourist footfall surpassed ₹4 crore, according to official data. The number of foreign tourists visiting this UNESCO World Heritage Site has dipped in the last two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions. As per data, annual footfall from 2010-11 to 2014-15 ranged from 1 lakh to 1.32 lakh. Between 2015-16 and 2020-21, the number of yearly visitors did not exceed 1.88 lakh. In 2021-22, the park registered as many as 2,20,760 tourists. In terms of revenue, the year 2017-18 recorded maximum earnings at ₹5,60,66,795. The next two years saw a marginal dip, though the annual earnings remained over ₹4.80 crore.

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You can see Northern Lights in New York City this month

If you are in New York City until the end of March, then you can see the fascinating Northern Lights atop a skyscraper in the city. The building, all of 1131 ft high in Hudson Yards offers this novel experience for residents and visitors in the city. The observation deck atop this building is called Edge, and the Northern Lights experience is called Skylight. It is basically a laser that simulates the Northern Lights. This special experience is open to the public until the end of March, and Edge is the only place in New York City to see it. Imagine seeing the incredible Northern Lights with Manhattan in the backdrop. Surreal, isn’t it? At the Hudson Yards, you will find yourself in an elevator ascending to the 100th floor in less than a minute, and becoming a part of this surreal experience. The show is held on allotted days at 7 pm, and lasts for 20 minutes. According to the organisers, it is a revolutionary lighting technology to create dramatic illustrations over the NYC skyline. Each show will be followed by a 45 minute break, until the next show. It is an amazing opportunity to see the skyline of this iconic city in a whole new light, literally. The Edge is also known for its outdoor observation deck, so you could spend some time there. Moreover, there is a glass floor on the deck that can give you goosebumps if you look down 1000 ft into nothingness.

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Myanmar all set to welcome foreign tourists from April 17

Myanmar has announced plans to restart international passenger flights starting April 17. The announcement of lifting a two-year ban was made by the military on Saturday. The Southeast Asian nation had shut its borders to international visitors in March 2020 when the world was hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. Later, Myanmar saw a military coup and was isolated for a long time which disrupted the country’s tourism industry quite badly. The National Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of Coronavirus Disease said, "We will open all international flights on 17 April, and can fly as regularly." The statement further said that the decision was taken to improve the tourism sector along with having a smooth trip for visitors who come to visit Myanmar. The health ministry said that as of now only fully vaccinated tourists will be allowed to enter the country. Requirements to enter Myanmar 1) Only fully vaxxed travellers will be allowed to enter. 2) Foreign travellers will have to quarantine for a week. 3) Two RT PCR tests will be conducted. Myanmar registered a whooping 40000 daily virus cases during the peak of COVID-19 in 2021. The virus has claimed nearly 20000 lives in the country.

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Boeing in talks for landmark Delta MAX order

Boeing Co is edging towards a landmark order from Delta Air Lines for up to 100 of its 737 MAX 10 jets, a model it is battling in separate talks to get approved before year-end rule changes, people familiar with the matter said. The deal, if confirmed, would be the first order from Delta for Boeing's bestselling single-aisle airplane family, and the first major Boeing order for the carrier in a decade. It comes as Delta - the only major US carrier without a 737 MAX on order - reshapes its fleet in anticipation of a swift recovery from the pandemic. Boeing and Delta, which have had a frayed relationship in past years, are working on details of an order that could consist of 100 aircraft, many or all of which could involve the largest variant, the 737 MAX 10, two of the people said. If a deal is reached, an announcement could come as soon as next month, one of the people added. Boeing and Delta declined to comment. Industry sources cautioned negotiations typically go down to the wire and no final decision had been taken. There has been speculation about a MAX order from Delta in the past, without a deal coming to fruition. The MAX 10 competes with Airbus' strongest-selling model, the A321neo. Both planes are aimed at the fast-growing segment of the market just above 200 seats. The A321neo, which leasing company Air Lease described on Wednesday as the "hottest airplanes in the market", has a commanding lead in sales, but Boeing has scored a series of contract wins in the past year. Airbus also declined to comment. In September, Airline Weekly quoted Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian as saying there was a place for the MAX at Delta if the carrier could figure out how to bring them in. Asked about the MAX in London earlier this month, he told reporters Delta was always looking at all airplane models.

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70% rise in daily air traffic movement at Bengaluru airport in February

Air Traffic Movement (ATM) at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on February 28, 2022, increased by 69.5 per cent when compared to February 1, the highest among major airports in the country, shows a monthly report by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). According to a post-operations analysis report for February 2022, recently released by Central Air Traffic Flow Management under AAI, air traffic movement including passenger and a combination of other flights — domestic, international and cargo — from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai indicates improvement in flight travel as Covid-19 cases have dipped in the country. Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad airports recorded a rise of 49.6 per cent, 49.8 per cent and 45.8 per cent, respectively, in air traffic in February. However, the ATM at KIA in the entire month of February fell year on year by 21 per cent — from 13,866 to 10,913. While Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata also recorded a downward trend, Mumbai and Delhi showed slight signs of recovery with 2.8 per cent and 1 per cent rise in ATM. The daily average flight movement in Bengaluru in February 2022 was 390, whereas it was 394 in January, the report said. Following the third wave of Covid, there has been a slight increase in domestic flight travel in the country and international travel is also showing an increase with more air bubble arrangements. But travel experts say it would take a few more months for air travel to return to pre-Covid levels. According to the report, the downward trajectory of Covid-19 infections in India prompted states to review and amend the existing pandemic-related restrictions by mid-week of February 2022 and the daily average air traffic movement saw a slight increase at Delhi and Mumbai Airport as compared to the previous month. Indian airports in main cities, on average, saw 3,060 flights per day in February, peaking at 3,594 on February 24. Thursdays were the busiest during any week of the month, recording an average of 3,170 flights a day.

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Epidemiology, tourism experts welcome Australia's border opening

Epidemiology and tourism experts have welcomed Australia's move to open the country's borders after nearly two years since they were first closed during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. It has been nearly a month since February 21 when Australia's borders opened to all travellers who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. It marked an end to the "Fortress Australia" approach to the coronavirus pandemic, which began more than 700 days earlier when Prime Minister Scott Morrison closed the border to all non-citizens and residents from March 20, 2020 and imposed a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for arrivals. Along with strict lockdowns, the border closure has been credited with Australia's relative success managing COVID-19, with the country reporting approximately 30,000 cases in the first year of the pandemic. However, the federal government faced widespread criticism for failing to repatriate Australians who were left stuck overseas due to caps on international arrivals that were introduced to ease pressure on the hotel quarantine system. Matthew Mason, an expert in infectious diseases and infection prevention expert at the University of the Sunshine Coast, told Xinhua on Friday that he welcomes the idea of easing border restrictions. "We did have a lot of people who should have been able to come home and all that able to get home," he said. "I think the limits that we put on were probably in excess of what was needed." In September 2020, Morrison promised that by Christmas on December 25 the government would repatriate all 24,000 Australians overseas who had registered with embassies to return hom

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