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Ladakh will soon have a snow sculpture as tourist attraction

Ladakh will very soon have a snow sculpture as a new tourist attraction. On Monday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed Ladakh Lieutenant Governor (LG) RK Mathur about the same and said that in winter this year, a snow sculpture will be introduced in Ladakh. The snow sculpture will also create job opportunities for the locals. The LG said that once the snow art is properly established in the region, Ladakh will start the Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in some years. Ladakh concluded its very first Ice and Snow-Sculpture Workshop on February 11, 2022 which was organised by Kangding Snow and Ice Sculpture Association along with Ladakh Police at Sangtakchan. During the concluding ceremony, the LG said, “I see no logic in leaving Ladakh in winters. This is the time to earn here. My theory all along has been that while summers are great here (Ladakh), I would like to say that winters are greater, much better.” He also called out Ladakhi youth who are absolutely talented, especially in creative fields. The LG also promised to support and assist with the machinery needed for making ice sculptures. The Union Minister further said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also prioritised Ladakh.

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Flights between India's Tripura and Dhaka, Ctg set to begin in a few months

Flights between Dhaka, Chattogram and Agartala, capital city of the northeastern Indian state of Tripura, are expected to begin in a few months. An official told our New Delhi correspondent that the flights on Agartala-Dhaka and Agartala-Chattogram could start in six months. "The proposed international flight service with Bangladesh will surely boost Tripura tourism & take the state to a new height in terms of air connectivity. It will also benefit the people of Bangladesh in various ways and strengthen relation between two countries," Deb said in a separate post. A senior Tripura official said India's Ministry of Civil Aviation will soon float tenders inviting expression of interest from private airlines wishing to operate on Agartala-Dhaka and Agartala-Chattogram routes. The Indian Civil Aviation Ministry has included the proposed international routes under a special regional connectivity scheme, Sanjoy Mishra, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Deb, said. MBB Airport Director Rajiv Kapoor said Chief Minister Deb has taken up with Indian Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia the commencement of international flights from the airport at the earliest. "Right now, I cannot say when the international flight services will start from the MBB Airport but we are ready for it. The new terminal building, which was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 4, has all facilities, from customs to immigration and separate zones for arrival and departure, for handling international passengers," he said.

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SpiceJet Launches Direct Flight On Delhi-Khajuraho Route

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia flagged off the first direct flight between Delhi and heritage city of Khajuraho on last Friday. With this, 405 routes would be operationalized under the UDAN-RCS scheme. SpiceJet was awarded the Delhi-Khajuraho-Delhi route under the RCS-UDAN 3.0. The inaugural event was also graced by Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA; Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet; Vishnu Datt Sharma, Member of Parliament, Khajuraho and many other dignitaries. The airline will be operating flights on 2 days of the week – Friday and Sunday, and will deploy its Q400, 78-seater turbo prop aircraft designed for shorter distance flights on the route. SpiceJet is India’s largest regional carrier and the strongest supporter of UDAN scheme. The airline operates 65 daily flights under UDAN connecting 14 UDAN destinations to various parts of the country. At present SpiceJet services Gwalior and Jabalpur airports in Madhya Pradesh. With Khajuraho, it will be their 15th UDAN destination. Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said, “Khajuraho is world’s pride, and it is the gateway for Madhya Pradesh’s cultural and art prowess and religious diversity, and it has a significant importance in Madhya Pradesh’s Past, Present and Future.” The minister further emphasized “Apart from Khajuraho, we have 4 airports in Madhya Pradesh with Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur. In the past 7 months, Madhya Pradesh has seen 40% increase in flights per week, amounting to 759 flights per week as on 18 February 2022. Apart from that, 2 new FTO (Flight Training Organizations) will come up in Khajuraho which will help in training our commercial pilots. We have set our aim to construct 100 airports and 1,000 new air routes by 2024-25. Till now, 65 airports have been constructed, and 403 air routes are operationalized. Air Passengers also saw an increase from 6 crore in 2012-13 to 14.5 crore in 2021-22. We are fully committed to Hon’ble Prime Minister Vision of UDAN - Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik.” Khajuraho airport was established in the year 1978 with flight services to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi. MoCA has invested Rs 50 crore in Khajuraho airport and advance facilities were incorporated in the airport with installation of instrument landing system, a 1,20,000 sq ft new terminal building, night landing facility, recarpeting of runway and new ATC towers. The flight begins couple of days before the start of the Khajuraho dance festival.

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Museum of the Future prepares for Dubai debut

The Museum of the Future is preparing for its launch in Dubai, with guests from around the world expected to be in attendance. The location will open next to the Emirates Towers on Sheikh Zayed Road on February 22nd - 22/02/2022. The building is an “architectural and engineering marvel, confidently straddling the past and the future and applying advanced technology to traditional artforms,” according to authorities in the United Arab Emirates. It also ‘speaks Arabic’ – the facade is a canvas for the poetry of sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum rendered in the calligraphy of Mattar bin Lahej. The form is futuristic, with the building hoping to “open a new path away from the high-rise towers that dominate skylines everywhere,” especially in Dubai. The development was conceived by Killa Design and is composed of over 1,000 individual fiberglass and stainless-steel exterior elements. Inside guests can expect to find immersive future environments that merge science and technology. Outside, the museum has a garden with 100 plant species reflecting the United Arab Emirates’ heritage and biodiversity. Trees and plants, from ghaf and sidr, to palm and acacia trees, are all sprouting from the green plateau where the building stands. A release ahead of the opening said: “The museum builds on the visionary culture that has transformed the United Arab Emirates’ into one of the most advanced nations in the world in less than 50-years. “We are a showcase for the spirit of courage, optimism and innovation that propels Dubai forward. “Like our home city, the museum is a place of tolerance, inviting varied cultural, philosophical, social and spiritual outlooks. “Our goal is to provide light in dark times: in an age of anxiety and cynicism about the future, we are showing that things can and must progress.” The Museum of the Future is an initiative from the Dubai Future Foundation. The organisation was formed in 2016 by sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. The museum claims it will be a gateway to a future world, crafted by visionary designers, artists and filmmakers. It combines elements of exhibition, immersive theatre and themed attractions. Each floor is like a film set from a future that guests can inhabit, explore and interact with.

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Kerala Travel Mart to offer 70-75% airfare reimbursement

To boost the tourism sector in Kerala that is badly hit due to the Covid pandemic, this time, the flagship trade exhibition organised by Kerala Tourism and Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) society is offering 70% to 75% reimbursement in airfare for international buyers. Majority of buyers who have shown interest are from the UK, USA and UAE. Even buyers from crisis-hit Ukraine have shown interest in sending tourists to the state, especially for ayurveda and yoga. “Times are tough and we are working hard to revive Kerala as a global destination for tourism. To promote Kerala tourism to foreign tourists, we are now offering buyers incentives and also helping them explore new tourism experiences within Kerala along with traditional attractions like ayurveda and houseboats,” said KTM president Baby Mathew. Kerala Travel Mart will be held in Kochi between May 5 and 8. Last year, the meet was held virtually, and this year, it was scheduled to be held in March but had to be postponed due to the Omicron wave. Organisers expect to attract buyers from more than 65 countries besides domestic buyers. In 2019, Kerala had seen an increase in foreign tourist arrival, with 11.89 lakh foreign tourists visiting the state. Foreign exchange earnings were more than Rs 10,271 crore. It dropped to 3.4 lakh international tourists during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, during KTM, foreign buyers were reimbursed 50% of the airfare. Also, they are provided free accommodation and travel to destinations that Kerala wants to promote. “Also, in an effort to motivate tourism industry persons in Kerala, we are offering a 50% discount to local sellers to set up stalls. Tourism industry has gone through its worst phase since the pandemic started in 2020, and through KTM, we hope to revive the industry,” added Mathew. This time, Kerala’s caravan and adventure tourism projects are its main theme. “However, our mainstay is ayurveda and majority of international tourists come to Kerala for ayurveda treatment and yoga. However, adding newer things attracts more of both international and domestic tourists,” added Mathew.

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Holiday travel rush in Kuwait as anti-coronavirus curbs ease

More than 242,000 expatriates and Kuwaitis are expected to use the Kuwait airport during an upcoming holiday lasting for 10 days coinciding with relaxed travel restrictions against COVID-19, according to figures carried by a local newspaper. Around 55 per cent of the travellers will leave the country to spend the holiday abroad with the top destinations including Istanbul, Cairo, Dubai and Jeddah, Al Anba newspaper reported. The other 45 per cent of the passengers will arrive in Kuwait. The figures show that the travellers will be carried aboard a total of 2,280 flights during the holiday or 228 flights on average per day. The Kuwaiti government has given public sector employees a holiday starting on February 27 to mark the Independence Day, the Liberation Day and Al Israa Wal Miraj (Prophet Mohammed’s night journey).. Eased travel measures went into effect on Sunday in Kuwait. They include scrapping pre-departure and on-arrival PCR testing for fully vaccinated travellers. They also allow unvaccinated travellers to enter the country, provided they present a negative PCR test result conducted 72 hours before the flight, go into seven-day domestic quarantine after arrival and do another negative PCR test on the seventh day to end the quarantine, Al Anba said. The fully vaccinated travellers, including those who obtained two doses of vaccination less than nine months ago and those who received the booster shots against COVID-19, are exempted from pre-arrival and on-arrival PCR tests as well as home quarantine. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has said that the travel measures and exemptions from the PCR testing include Kuwaiti and expatriate travellers.

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