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ICAO creates new system to verify health certificates

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has published a new data resource designed to provide more efficient and secure authentication of traveller health certificates, including Covid-19 vaccination and test result data. The United Nations agency has unveiled the Health Master List, which is a global directory of “public key” certificates signed by ICAO. It is available through the ICAO website and will be updated as more health certificates are issued. A public key enables third parties to verify that a health document is authentic and valid. ICAO secretary general Juan Carlos Salazar said: “The presentation of documentation related to Covid-19 health interventions has become commonplace since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and many states originally issued health proofs appropriate for domestic and/or regional use cases.

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Dubai Expo 2020 to welcome Global Tourism Resilience Day

The first ever Global Tourism Resilience Day is set to be launched at Expo 2020 Dubai by Jamaica minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett. The minister is also co-chair of his brainchild, the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), which will be organising the event. As Dubai prepares to mark Jamaica Day on February 17th, it will also launch Global Tourism Resilience Day. The travel industry is and always has been fragmented, 90 per cent of the companies involved are small- and medium-sized entities and studies show that the majority are not prepared to respond to crises. Destinations must, thus, lead, and the GTRCMC is tackling that concern in a big way. By launching an annual tribute to resilience and naming a day as such, the centre is bringing the need for the travel industry to focus on preparedness, crisis management, recovery and on-going resilience to the fore. Coupled with the launch of the day, the centre has partnered with the Global Travel & Tourism Resilience Council (GTTRC) and the International Tourism Investment Corporation (ITIC) to provide an in-depth forum on resilience. “The focus will be on the ability of countries to build capacity to respond to international shocks and to be able to predict with greater certainty their responses. “It will also aid countries in understanding and mitigating the effects of these shocks on their development, but most importantly, it will help them manage and recover quickly afterwards,” Bartlett explained.

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Tiger reserves in Vidarbha, Maharashtra to reopen from February 2

Good news for wildlife lovers! All the tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra will be reopened for the public from February 2, informed an official from the state forest department. The Divisional Forest Officer stated in a release that the Pench Tiger Reserve, Bor Tiger Reserve and Umred Paoni Karhandala Sanctuary will be opened for tourism from Wednesday. All these wildlife parks have been shut since January 11 because of the rise in COVID-19 infections across the country. On February 1, the famous Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district was reopened for the public after remaining closed since January 11. Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) Field Director Manikanda Ramanujam informed that all the COVID-19 protocols will be followed and visitors need to be fully vaccinated for entry. Officials further informed that it will be the responsibility of the management at these wildlife parks to make sure that guides, gypsy carriers, gate staff and other personnel are fully vaccinated.

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50,000 Indian tourists visited Turkey in 2021; new record expected in 2022

The Turkey Tourism on Wednesday said the country has emerged as one of the top destinations for free independent travellers (FIT) and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourists from around the world in 2021, including 50,000 from India. The country had welcomed over 30 million international visitors, including 50,000 Indian travellers, and tourism revenues doubled to almost USD 25 billion last year, marking a whopping 103 per cent growth since the emergence of the pandemic, the Turkey Tourism said in a statement. In the last quarter of 2021, Turkey's tourism revenues shot up by 95 per cent to USD 7.6 billion, which is only three per cent below the numbers witnessed during the pre-pandemic period of October-December 2019, it added. Turkey hosted over 50,000 tourists from India in 2021. In December alone, the country welcomed over 10,000 Indian visitors, it added. The country welcomed 52 million travellers in 2019, touching a whopping $34.5 billion in tourism revenue. Of this, 2.3 lakh were Indian nationals, the highest recorded till date. Owing to its highly successful 'Safe Tourism Certification Program', Turkey expects to set a whole new record of hosting Indian travellers in 2022.

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Bali reopens to tourists from February 4, cuts down quarantine period

Indonesia will reopen Bali to all foreign visitors starting February 4, this time requiring a shorter quarantine period as the country seeks to revive tourism and sustain economic recovery. This comes after the nation lifted a ban on all foreign arrivals and on Feb. 4 will reduce the quarantine period to five days from seven for fully vaccinated foreigners, Luhut Panjaitan, a cabinet minister who also oversees the government’s pandemic response, said on Monday. Those with only one shot of Covid-19 vaccine must continue to comply with a seven-day quarantine. Singapore Airlines Ltd. will restart daily flights to Bali from February 16, the carrier separately said in an e-mail to customers on Monday. Singapore and Indonesia resumed quarantine-free travel between the city-state and the nearby Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan last week. Famous for its temples and beaches, Bali started a limited reopening in October but requirements including a 10-day quarantine, a visa with a local sponsor and an international health insurance have put off visitors.

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Union Budget 2022-23 Will Give A Boost To Tourism : Tourism Ministry

The Union Budget 2022-23 presented the government’s plans to increase capital expenditure by 35% and fuel growth for an economy recovering from 3 waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minister of Tourism, Kishan G. Reddy expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister for the continued focus placed on the development of large infrastructure, connectivity and border linkages will play a major role in boosting tourism in India. The PM Gati Shakti master plan for expressways will facilitate speedier implementation of development projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline through the use of technology to facilitate faster movement of people and goods, seamless multimodal connectivity, economic transformation, and logistical synergy. In this regard, the National Highways Network will be expanded by 25,000 km in 2022-23 and INR 20,000 crore will be raised for the same through innovative funding.

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