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Hospitality sector breathe a sigh of relief, say experts

The Indian hospitality and travel industries have benefited from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2022. The FM announced a general increase in the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), with a focus on hospitality and allied services, particularly micro and small businesses (MSMEs). "The hotel and MSME industries have yet to regain pre-pandemic business levels," Sitharaman said. "As a result, the ECLGS will be extended until March 2023." Its guarantee cover would be increased by 50,000 crore, bringing the total protection to 5 lakh crore," she said. She stated that the hospitality industry will be given special attention. “The extension of the ECLGS scheme by Rs. 5,000 crores for the hospitality and related sectors, announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a welcoming move. It’s good to see the mention of the hospitality and related sector in this year’s budget. The past few years have been tumultuous for the hospitality segment and I am hopeful that this initiative gives the industry a much-needed boost. It would be right to say, that it’s a good start and I look forward to a seamless allocation of the sanctioned amount to the people and segments who need it the most.” said Masterchef Extraordinaire and Padma Shri recipient Sanjeev Kapoor. “The Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is progressive and growth-oriented. I see it in three words - innovation, inclusivity and infrastructure. It will help in India’s progress towards its aspiration of a $ 5 trillion economy. The focus on start-ups, which have emerged as drivers of growth for our economy, was evident. The extension of incorporation period for eligible start-ups will certainly give a boost to this segment. Hospitality services by the small & medium sector are yet to bounce back, and the Finance Minister’s decision to extend the ECGL service for this sector up to March 2023 expanding the cover by ₹50,000 cr is a welcome move.

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Spain travel rules change today with new vaccine requirement for travellers

While Spain welcomes tourists, they must be vaccinated and fill out a form providing a reason for travel. For those visiting from the UK, proof of recovery or a negative Covid test will not be accepted but they may be subjected to testing on arrival. From today, February 1, Spain will only admit visitors with vaccination certificates indicating they have been fully vaccinated against the virus within the previous 270 days (nine months). This means that anyone who has been given their last dose of the Covid vaccine more than nine months will need a booster jab to enter Spain. Brits with children hoping to visit Spain will have to be aware that entry requirement rules applies to anyone aged 12 and over. Fully vaccinated children aged 12 to 15 can request an NHS COVID Pass letter for international travel. The booster jab must also have been administered at least 14 days before travel and evidence of the third dose must be contained on the NHS app, or document used for entry. The country's official travel website Safe Spain stated: “From February 1, 2022, in order to travel to Spain with a vaccination certificate, the certificate must have been issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin at least 14 days after the date of administration of the last dose of the full course of vaccination, as long as the final dose of that course of vaccination was no more than 270 days ago.” When visiting Spain, holidaymakers are encouraged to check the rules for the specific regions.

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Economic Survey: Indian aviation sector has started to rebound

The Indian aviation sector has started to rebound with accelerated pace of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and easing of travel restrictions globally, stated the Economic Survey released on Monday. In 2021, the Centre took various initiatives to boost the aviation sector which included calibrated opening of the domestic sector as the first wave of the pandemic ebbed and introduction of air transport bubbles or air travel arrangements with specific countries, it mentioned. "The domestic traffic in India has more than doubled from around 61 million in 2013-14 to around 137 million in 2019-20, registering a growth of over 14 percent per annum," said the Economic Survey released by the Centre. The Survey stated that the Centre in 2021 also took other steps to boost the Indian aviation sector such as disinvestment of Air India, privatisation, modernisation and expansion of airports, boost to the regional connectivity scheme - UDAN and incentivisation of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MROs) operations. UDAN is a regional airport development program of the Indian government and part of the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) of upgrading under-serviced air routes, it mentioned. "Till launching of UDAN in 2016, India had 74 airports having scheduled operations," it noted. However, within four years under UDAN, four rounds of bidding under RCS-UDAN have taken place and 153 RCS airports including 12 water aerodromes and 36 helipads have been identified for operation of RCS flights, it stated. "During the last four years after commencement of the scheme, 948 valid awarded routes have been allotted to various airlines and out of which 389 RCS routes connecting 62 unserved and underserved airports (including six heliports and two water aerodromes) have been operationalized so far," it mentioned. With the help of these supportive measures, India's aviation sector is on the path of gradual recovery from the turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it stated. Also, the government has liberalised Drone Rules in August 2021 and released PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme for drones in September 2021, it mentioned. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), also known as drones, offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy and can become an important propeller for growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India's remote and inaccessible areas, it noted. "The policy reforms will therefore catalyse super-normal growth in the upcoming drone sector. A resurgence of the sector is foreseen as a result of swift measures adopted by the government and industry," it mentioned. "With the accelerated pace of vaccine roll-out and easing of travel restrictions globally, Indian aviation sector has started to rebound," it noted. Despite the travel restrictions, the total passengers carried in October 2021 reached 99.58 lakhs, which was approximately 68 percent of the pre-Covid level of 146.25 lakh, it mentioned.

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Ministry of External Affairs: India ready to discuss expansion of pilgrimage sites, travel modes

In a recent turn of events, the governments of India and Pakistan have shown interest in introducing more religious sites and modes of travel for the pilgrims of the two nations. This will make visiting respective religious places easier for devotees on either side. Though there is already a protocol to allow pilgrims on both sides, a new proposal to expand the number of sites is also there, reportedly. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a media briefing informed that India has a very positive approach towards this issue and is ready to talk with Pakistan. He further said, "As you are aware, under the 1974 Protocol between India and Pakistan, visits to religious shrines are being facilitated regularly. There is an interest on both sides to expand the agreed list of shrines and mode of travel." Pakistan media has reported that the Pakistan Hindu Council has proposed to fly 160 Pakistani Hindu pilgrims from Karachi to Jaipur and the trip has been postponed because of "non-clearance" from the Indian side. Bagchi also said that it naturally needs to be discussed under the protocol. “Let me underline India has a positive approach on this matter and is willing to engage with the Pakistani side. You are also aware restrictions are in place on movement and gathering in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the situation normalizes we expect that time can be utilized to hold a discussion". India has stated that once the COVID-19 restrictions are removed, the expansion of the pilgrimage sites can be discussed under the 1974 protocol.

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Vistara offering date change fee waiver for rescheduling flights with travel until 31 March

Vistara cancelled and rescheduled a significant number of its February flights during the last few days. In recent days, many of the affected passengers have expressed their difficulty getting in touch with Vistara customer service on social media. Vistara has now announced waiver of change fee for one-time rescheduling on all direct bookings with travel until 31 March. They do not include tickets booked through travel agents like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Cleartrip, etc. "After a sharp decline in demand for air travel, due to the surge in COVID19 numbers and restrictions imposed by various state governments, we are observing a marginal increase in traffic in February compared to the previous month", said Vistara spokesperson. "However, in view of volatility we continue to closely monitor situation&adjust capacity to demand." During the last 48 hours, ISRO scientist Shibasish Prusty has tweeted that his flight from Delhi to Bhubaneswar has been cancelled and that Vistara's customer care number has been busy. Vistara has cancelled another passenger's flight for Delhi-Kolkata for February 12 and unresponsive customer service representatives are answering his calls. This report comes from Arpit Singh Khurana on Twitter. Cancer patient Pronab Kumar Mandal said on Saturday that he will need chemotherapy on February 9, but Vistara cancelled his flight from Kolkata to Mumbai on February 8. Throughout the last two days, Mandal said he has been trying to contact the airline. According to Mohammed Dawood, his Delhi-Kolkata flight for February 10 has been cancelled without any option for rescheduling. "Now, fare cost is double and your customer service is extremely unhelpful, even the call doesn't get connected," he told. The airline has not responded to his calls, tweets, emails, and tweets since Sunday afternoon, he tweeted. Sanjit Kumar Das, a Vistara passenger, said on Sunday afternoon that his Bhubaneswar-Delhi flight has been cancelled and he has attempted to reach customer service "without any luck".

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Delhi to get a Bollywood Park and a host of other new parks

South Delhi is soon going to get a Bollywood Park in Jangpura. Furthermore the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has also announced that there is going to be a Dinosaur Park in Sarai Kale Khan. The theme parks are going to be made out of scrap material. The dinosaur theme park is going to be named Waste to Wonder Park, while there are talks of opening a Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav themed park as well at the Shaheed Park in ITO. The Municipal Corporation is also planning to start a phase-2 development of Bharat Darshan Park in Punjabi Bagh. The Bharat Darshan Park will have replicas of monuments and historical sites from 14 states that were left out in phase-1. There are going to be 17 more replicas that are going to cost INR 51 crore, which is likely to include Sirpur Temple, Basilica of Bom Jesus, Lepakshi Temple, Sheesh Mahal, Patiala Punjab, and Rang Ghar. The proposal says the park should represent all the states, and ensure that tourists do not feel that their state is excluded from the list. The Bollywood Park will be home to different sides of the film industry, which includes blockbuster films, and also iconic characters. The park is all set to show visitors the history and the journey of the Indian film industry with the help of murals, figures, sets, and scenes. You could take some amazing pictures and selfies with your favourite movie sets. Scraps from old trucks, cars, electricity poles, pipes, and other things will be used for the parks. The dinosaur park on the other hand will have a total of 15 sculptures, with various types of species, from velociraptor, to brontosaurus. It promises to be a fun place for children.

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